January 8, 2009

HAPPY 2009!!!! I know, I know it's been awhile and really I have no excuse. Many of you know that I was away in the States over the holidays and those who I saw already know what I've been up to. Today I'm feeling bored as I try to wake up, hence, a new post. I see my last post was about Langkawi, WOW! it has been awhile! I'm not even sure I can remeber everything we've done since then...I'll try my best. Hope you have some time to read this, it could take a minute.

I guess the main focus of the last few months has been the holiday season starting with Hari Raya which I described last. Well since then there has been Deepavali, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Awal Muharram, and New Years. Since 3 of the 5 holidays are well-known in American culture I'll only tell you about the other 2. Deepavali or Diwali is a major Hindu holiday also known as The Festival of Lights. This holiday signifies the beginning of the financial calendar and is celebrated over 4 days. Each day has a story behind it involving gods and battles, mothers killing sons, and of course blessings. I'm sure there were celebrations, we didn't see any, but I do remember seeing in all of the stores designs on the floor made out of colored rice, sort of like a sand design ( that's what I originally thought it was) but on the floors of the malls and no one ever disturbed them. All in all to sum it up: Diwali is Hindu New Year.

Duriing this time Jim and I were preparing for our trip home. I was shopping for gifts and he was working. One night we were invited by one of his clients to a launch party for one of their products. I'd never been to one so of course I was game. It was for Dunhill, a brand of cigarettes and it was being held on Heritage Row, a neighborhood of clubs and bars near the city center. There was a DJ, food, and free flowing drinks ( Johnny Black only, somehow Jim got vodka). Pretty typical party: loud music, crowd of people, no one dancing, everyone was very clique-y, no one socialized outside the circle of friends they were with. The highlight of the night was an all girl group who, instead of singing, played a trio of string instruments to club music. I'd never seen anything like it...very entertaining, Jim just thought they were pretty. Our host Jade was kind enough to take photos of us which include the one in our Christmas card in front of the Petronas Twin 'Towers.

So then we're off to the States, first Dallas where we visit Jim's family and my brother's family, then on to Atlanta to visit my parents and celebrate Thanksgiving and then lastly to Aurora, my old stomping ground. It was FREEZING!! I saw more snow than I care to ever again in my life. Jim only stayed in Illinois 1 week whereas I stayed 3. It was great seeing everyone and just makes me appreciate my life more that I'm able to go on vacation for a month at a time. I did miss my husband though, and my dogs, so to come home to them and warm weather was also greatly appreciated. The trip home was rough, I had to fly to Houston then to Moscow then to Singapore and finally Kuala Lumpur. Along the way I noticed my insulin pump was low on medicine and because in Chicago they made me check one of my carry-on's which had my insulin in it ( I forgot) I had to go without medicine for about 11 hours of my trip. And then my luggage was lost when I arrived in Malaysia so needless to say, I was not a happy camper when I finally saw my husband.

I got home just in time for Christmas ( I didn't want Jim to be alone) and it was a quiet holiday for us. We had lunch at Chili's, Sim came by for a visit, and then I made prime rib for dinner. We were invited to a Christmas party by Jiim's friend Andy ( Jim and Andy play poker together) so we did spend Christmas Eve with other Americans. Everyone seemed nice but we were the only couple without children so I felt a little out of place. New Years Eve was also quite subdued for us. Sim invited us over for dinner so I whipped up some side dishes and packed our swimsuits and off we went. We ended up playing Gin and watching the fireworks. Sim's house sits on the side of a hill so we had a good view of downtown and all the fireworks. There were actually 3 different sets going on at the same time. Funny part was when the show started the monkeys all gathered on the telephone wire and watched the fireworks too!! I tried to take a picture but it was too dark, it was cute though. Awal Muharram is the start of the Muslim New Year signifying the journey Prophet Muhammed made from Mecca to Medina. What do all the holidays mean for all of Malaysia? Time off from work!! I swear Jim didn't go to work for like 2 weeks, ok maybe he went 2 days out of 2 weeks, but everyone was off from work. I've never seen my grocery store so packed! The malls were all decorated with Christmas stuff and there was even a Santa Claus! Sorry I didn't get close enough to Santa to see if he was white or Malay...a Malay Santa would be weird!

So now the only things I have to look forward to are: my birthday, and Chinese New Year. I'm really excited about Chinese New Year, I want to go downtown to the festivals and see the dragons dance around. I'll be sure to take some pictures, plus I'm almost positive Jim won't have to work. In the meantime, I'm getting my house back in order since Jim was alone for 2 weeks, rebonding with the dogs, and introducing my friends to the greatest dice game ever...LCR!!! And if I didn't see you or tell you: Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Birthday to Me!!