March 13, 2008

It's Thursday morning here and for the couple of days I have transformed myself into a real estate agent. There is a website that I've been using to find properties and so I've been emailing people, responding to emails, phone calls and texting ( I'm actually getting better at it now that I do it several times a day). After the adventerous afternoon with Kenneth on Monday I'm taking a hands on approach in finding us a house. I've found that I have to be adamant with the agents about what I'm looking for so as not to waste my time looking at something that I know I will absolutely hate. I finally got an agent to send me interior photos of a property in Bangsar and by looking at them, I decided that it be worth taking a look at.

So I ventured out alone on the subway and took it to Bangsar, where I took a cab to the Bangsar Shopping Center and called Lina because we had agreed that she would pick me up there. While I waited I remembered that there was a property that was right around the corner so walked there to take a look at the outside. Usually I can tell from the outside whether or not I want to see the inside. The agent for this property named Judy said that it was rented out to expats all the time so I had expected "tah dah!!" instead I got "so so". It looked like it had a lot of room, with 2 storys but the outside had been neglected some and needed a coat of paint. I called Judy to see if she was nearby so I could see the inside but she wasn't so walked back to the shopping center to wait for Lina. I found a Chili's restaurant and it had an outdoor patio/bar so I had a beer while I waited. When she arrived, we took a short drive back around the corner but on a different street to the property which surprised me because before I left home I checked my maps and was under the impression that it was located further up the hill. I was really pleased with the location because that meant I would be able to walk to all the shops and restaurants if I wanted to. Inside was modern and clean, so far so good but what about the kitchen? I had seen lots of houses described as having a wet and dry kitchen but wasn't sure what that meant. So when I walked into the kitchen I was slightly disappointed because even though there were lots of cabinets ( a very pretty mahogany wood) and the countertops were renovated, there was only a sink. So I'm thinking that I have to negotiate for a fridge and a stove...right? No because adjacent to the kitchen was another kitchen where the appliances were, apparently the wet kitchen is where you actually cook and the dry kitchen is where you would prep, clean up and store a lot of your kitchen goods. The wet kitchen also had a sink, if only I could knock out the wall that separates them, but it was still nice and renovated. All of the bathrooms were renovated as well and the bedrooms were a nice size. I have moved this house to the top of my list and will be taking Jim back to see what he thinks, we could have a winner!!

After viewing the house, Lina dropped me back at the mall and I went back into Chili's to get some lunch. While I was sitting there I met a couple from England, well not really a couple, they looked more like Grandmother and grandson. I learned that his name was David and hers was Morie. David has visited several times, he says he leaves for 3 weeks and then comes back because he has a "partner" here and Morie just happened to come along this trip. He went on to tell me how this trip for him was disastrous because he found out that his partner has another partner that he didn't know about who happens to be his partner's ex and somehow his partner's ex ex was involved, it became very confusing at one point because that's how he referred to them, the ex, the ex ex etc. I was having such a good time that I lost track of the time and the next thing I knew Jim was texting me asking me where I was. I admit I did get into a little trouble and I can completely understand that he was worried but I really was having a great time with David and Morie. When his partner called to find out where he was (apparently they had a dinner engagement that David missed on account of meeting me) I was truly surprised that he went off on him and said he never wanted to see him again and that he was going back to England and to lose his number! I was secretly cheering him on. See, it's just like back home, drama and miserable people everywhere. David shared with me that he had found someone else on his recent trip and would actually be coming back in 3 weeks, he is considering moving here because his mom died last year and he says that there is nothing for him in England. We made a date to meet again at Chili's 3 weeks from Friday. I may have found my 1st friend in Malaysia.