The Real March 7 2008

Yesterday completed my first week of work in Malaysia. In my opinion work is work anywhere you go in the world, I have to adjust to some of the idiosyncrisies of Malaysian culture but other than that there have been no problems so far.

Driving to work I corrected the mistake that caused me to become so lost the day before and was doing great and feeling very confident when I knew I only had one more exit to naivigate and I would be at work. I was thinking I was going to get to work in about 25 minutes which is what the cabs had done so I was very proud of myself. However that is when it all went wrong. At the exit I was supposed to take the right fork and instead took the left fork which put me on a road heading out into the boon docks. Highways in Malaysia are not like highways in the US where if you make a mistake you can simply get off at the next exit turn around and go back. In most cases if you get off the highway you can only get on in the opposite direction if you know the local streets and which ones you need to take to get on the highway in the opposite direction. You actually have to look for a U-Turn exit much like they have in Dallas to get on in the opposite direction. So I found one of these and then find the entrance for the highway I had been on before the exit and got on going the correct direction. (No small feat in its own right). So I have reset myself and am coming up to the exit with the fork again and what do I do???? I take the left fork again and have to retrace my steps again. If I could have I would have kicked myself in the butt. I was very frustrated but on the third try I was able to remember to take the right fork and got to work in time to immediately leave for a meeting.

I had lunch at a North Indian restaraunt today and ate an appetizer called pomdom (not sure about the spelling) but they are like Tortilla chips you might get at a Mexican restaraunt only they are "puffier" and I think made of rice. Then we had shrimp and chicken with rice which was very good. Apparently South Indian is much spicier than North Indian. Something Tif and I will have to remember if we decide to go to an Indian restaraunt.

Coming home today was not really a problem. I made one wrong turn but got myself heading back in the correct direction right away. The blackberry I have has GPS navigation on it so this helps out tremendously in knowing whether you are going the right way or not. But it still does stop you from making mistakes since it does not tell you what ramps to take or roads to look for in the map screen. Though I am starting to recognize areas and landmarks so this is going to help with me getting more familiar with the area. Though I have taken so many wrong turns that I also recognize when I have made the same mistake on different days.

We went to a steak place around the corner from our hotel Fri night and it was all right....they cut there prime rib alot thinner than they do in the states. The waitstaff was very friendly and I do not think this is the norm in Malaysia but they hovered around us and were right there when we needed anything. With drinks and everything the bill came to 181 RM which is about 60 dollars so I did not think was bad when you consider I had prime rib, tif had surf and turf and we each had 3 beers.

After dinner we went up and found the lounge in the hotel. There is a pool table, bar, tv and couches in the lounge. It is pretty nice. When Tif and I arrived the only people in the lounge were employees so we started to talking to them and playing pool with them. Then a couple of other guests showed up. One was name Senna I think and he was from Bosnia and June who was from the Phillipines. June was the party animal of the two. Anyway the pool table was not like a US pool table the table was about the same size but the balls were about the size of a raquet ball, the pockets were much smaller and the pool sticks were very thin and the tips were about the diameter of a bic pen. Tif and I lost our first 4 games and then we started playing singles and I went a winning streak. An Australian named Alad (yes a d not an n) arrived with his Asian wife/girlfriend. Alad was very outgoing and fun, I think I will be joining him to watch a rugby match in the lounge at 9 pm tonight. I am hoping he can explain the rules to me so I can use rugby as a surrogate for football. Alad's wife/girlfriend was very clinging but supportive of him while he was playing pool. She hugged him after almost every shot and was hovering around the pool table all the time. After playing Alad started talking to Tif about politics and the US out in the smoking area. I don't think his date liked this very much because towards the end of the evening she came out and wanted the key and wanted to leave. I think she wanted the attention on her. During this time a couple more people came up to the lounge. One was a European biologist who was very quiet and reserved and though I did not talk to him very much he reminded me of what you think about as a Jehovah's witness. Tif will probably talk about the next guy more but I did not catch his name but he was a short stature man who almost looked right out of a comic strip. He had bushy hair, a handlebar mustache and wore suspenders. His walk and his actions were all in line with his appearance. A very nice man but it was like having a caricture walk right off the paper and into the lounge. Tif for some reason starting teaching the bartender spanish. We closed the bar at 11 pm and paid our 200 rm bar tab and we ended our first friday.

Now we are getting ready to head off to look at a town house so you will more tomorrow I am sure.