Once again the weekend rolls around. Actually it's Friday morning and after a session online I realized that I haven't posted anything since Monday. I was able to see my mom on a video call but as I've said before the internet connection isn't great when it comes to phone calls so our visit was brief, good to see her but brief. Jim is going to have to work on that. This week has been close to normal considering we are in another country. The first couple of days I worked on finding a doctor and received good responses from the Yahoo community as well as my new friend Janet who I met last weekend. After Tuesday I was just feeling completely unsociable so I stayed close to home with the exception of going to the grocery store. I played around on the internet and watched tv mostly. I was really happy to find Oprah and the Ellen Degeneres show airs here. They are old episodes of course, probably about 3 months but they're episodes I haven't seen so they are new to me. Because everything on tv is behind here it gives me a chance to watch shows I normally would never have watched in the States. Like right now I'm enjoying the O.C., season 2 of Prison Break which I stopped watching at home because it conflicted with another show I liked, Last Comic Standing, Friends, and How I Met your Mother which Jim and I used to watch and loved but somehow got too busy to watch. So hopefully I won't turn into a couch potato...that is if I had a couch!
Janet had sent me an email earlier this week giving me advice on several things. One that I thought was interesting but never pointed out to me was the use of Hippos. I've mentioned several times about the humidity and apparently you have to take steps against it when it comes to your clothing and shoes. Janet said that when her and her husband moved here originally they lost a bunch of clothes and shoes due to moisture building up in their wardrobes and their things getting moldy so someone told them about Hippos. They are like disposable dehumidifiers, you place them where ever there is danger of something becoming moldy like your closets and cupboards. So I found them at the grocery store and they come in a 3 pack and look like quarts of ice cream. I had to get several because in our bedroom I have 3 wardrobes and in the spare room Jim has 2 plus he keeps his shoes downstairs in a cabinet. But you just put them inside and keep an eye on them and after 2-3 months they should have collected water and you throw them away and replace them with new Hippos. Thanks Janet for the advice because if we weren't made aware of this we would be calling home for everyone to send us new clothes as we can't find anything that will fit us here.
The highlight of my week was getting my new washer/dryer delivered. I told Jim that I was not going to any laundromat to wash clothes especially walking so we bought one last weekend. It's the coolest thing! It's a combo unit which means that it's a washer/dryer all in one. You don't have to wash your clothes and then put them in the dryer, it starts drying when the spin cycle ends. It's great because I can put in a load of clothes and go shopping and when I get back they're dry. This is one thing I will be bringing home with me whenever we move back. I did have a scary moment this week and it involves Oso. The other day when I was leaving the house I noticed that there were pieces of wood leaning up against our security gate on the outside and at first I thought Jim put them there so Oso wouldn't sneak out. Come to find out, our neighbor across the street put them there ( the one with 20 cats and 1 dog ). Jim was leaving one day and the neighbor stopped him to let Jim know that Oso had gotten out of the gate and was in the street, almost got hit by a bus. Instead of getting hit by the bus, apparently the bus just drove over Oso!! So he put up the wood against our gate to prevent Oso from squeezing through again. I was shocked and thankful that Oso had gotten out but wasn't hurt. I was inside the whole time and thought I could trust him out in the front yard by himself so needless to say Oso has lost his priviledges and has to be chaperoned. I haven't had a chance to thank our neighbor but will make a point to go and visit.
The other thing I experienced this week out of the ordinary was the neighborhood fumigation. I was sitting upstairs in our office and I heard a truck go down the street with a guy talking on a bullhorn announcing something but I couldn't understand what he was saying so I ignored it. Several times during the day this happens, usually in the morning there's a truck that just drives down the street honking its horn 3 times as it goes, still haven't figured out its purpose, so when I heard the guy on the bullhorn I didn't pay it much attention. Shortly afterwards I hear this noise and it's loud! So out of curiousity I go look out the window. There is a lot of construction going on the neighborhood, at the mall and also at my next door neighbor, so I just expected to see something related to that. Instead I saw a man walking down the street holding something that looked like a leaf blower and wearing a gas mask. He was blowing white smoke at each house on the block. So I rushed around the house to close all the windows and doors as fast as I could! I made it in time by the time he got to our house and good thing too because before you know it our house was engulfed by white smoke. It looked like the neighborhood was on fire it was so cloudy. I managed to take a video of it but I'm having problems downloading my camera to my computer so as soon as I figure out what's wrong I'll forward it. One thing I thought was weird was that people were actually coming out of their houses instead of staying in and I thought maybe I was wrong in closing all the windows but after I got a whiff of the air I decided that I was right in closing them. There is an issue here with mosquitoes. Sometimes if you get bit you can contract dengue fever which can be fatal if left untreated. Supposedly you get flu like symptoms and there have been more than 26 deaths already this year so I'm assuming that the fumigation is a precaution against dengue fever. Don't worry everyone we are being very cautious especially if we get bit by something which seems to happen often to me.
I have a contractor coming this afternoon to take a look at one of our air conditioner units. Everytime we turn it on, it blows the fuse for the whole house. It's the one in our office so it hasn't been a priority considering the way our house faces we hardly ever get the sun shining directly into the house. Surprisingly if I just turn on all the ceiling fans it stays cool inside so the only time I have an air conditioner on is when we are sleeping at night. Later on tonight we are going to check out a place called Brewballs. I think it's located in Mid-Valley mall ( isn't everything inside a mall ) and Jim found it on the expat website. Hopefully we'll enjoy ourselves and possibly meet some new people to play pool with.
I was able to mail my Dad's package successfully on the third try and it just made me realize how far away from home we really are. There are some things going on at home that I wish I didn't have to miss. My brother Justin in graduating from college soon and my brother Nicholas is being deployed for the 2nd time to Iraq from Germany and he went home to visit with everyone before he leaves. Congratulations Justin and Nick I'll continue to pray for your safety and well being. Until next time...Cheers!!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Monday April 21, 2008
Good morning!! or for the majority, good evening. I am up and about today and trying decide what to do with myself this week. I'm about sick of shopping and not really in the mood to wrestle with a local for a cab. So I've decided to turn my efforts to finding myself a doctor. My insurance company doesn't have a list of participating doctor in Malaysia like they do at home, we've actually been told that we will have to pay out of pocket for all medical and then file for reimbursement. This stumps me because I've spoken with our insurance company and have been informed that our Cigna plan currently doesn't cover us outside of the States and that Jim's HR person would have to switch us to Cigna international for coverage. Jim informed HR and was told to pay out of pocket and that HR would file reimbursement forms. To me it just doesn't make much sense, why wouldn't they just switch us to the international plan. I told Jim just imagine if I did in fact get run over by a scooter, how much that would be in hospital bills and then have Cigna deny reimbursement because we're in Malaysia. I guess I just have to trust that HR knows what they're talking about. In the meantime I've been looking for any resources to help me find a doctor and have struck out. So I have to use the public for answers. I have a yahoo account but I only use it to participate in Yahoo answers. You can post questions and the web audience gives you answers. This has come in handy for me because they have a Malaysian forum. Some of the answers I receive are helpful and some are just down right stupid and that's because when you answer questions you receive points which build up so you can reach different levels. Currently I am level 2, I try to answer questions when I know what I'm talking about and I know what it feels like to receive a stupid or rude answer. So hopefully I will get a person out there who thinks like I do.
We had fun this past weekend. From my last post everyone knows that I was able to get my internet hooked up. I do have some problems making phone calls through Skype because sometimes the connection is very slow so when I talk there is like a 10 second delay before the other person hears what I'm saying, so everyone thinks that I've hung up. Jim thinks that installing an external antennae should remedy this problem but one thing at a time. Friday, Astro came out and hooked up our satellite tv so now I have something else besides the internet and reading to help pass the time. We chose several programming packages but I still can't find anything to watch. We'll have to have Astro come back out again because they only installed one decoder box that's in our spare room and once Jim buys his tv for the living room they'll have to install another one plus wire our master bedroom so we can move the smaller tv once we get our bed...how I love moving!!
Friday night we went out to dinner at a place called La Bodega at the mall. It's a spanish style place that mainly serves tapas. I would not recommend going here except to have cocktails and a small bite to eat. Jim thought we would have enough for the two of us but not with our appetites. Later we went upstairs to City Golf, the golf simulator club. I had been inside once before, they haven't officially opened yet but Jim has managed to get to know the staff so they let him in whenever he wants. The simulator itself is pretty cool, Jim was swinging his club and hitting the ball just like he would on the golf course. I took a couple of swings and have to admit that I am pretty terrible, half the time I wouldn't even hit the ball. You won't see me appearing in the LPGA anytime soon!! I'd definitely try it again but with Jim as my teacher it's frustrating and embarrasing. Golf is not easy! I do better playing it on a video game.
Saturday afternoon we were just plain lazy!! We had stayed up late Friday night because after golf we went downstairs to George and the Dragon and closed the place. Jim did get up Saturday to go and check out a golf course he is thinking of joining and then we just laid around, ordered Pizza Hut delivered and rested. We had plans to go to dinner with Jim's boss Harald and his wife Susan who I've met before. Dinner was at the mall at a place called W.I.P. that stands for Work in Progress. The decor is supposed to be like a construction site although it doesn't look anything under construction, it's actually a little chic. The floors are concrete and the walls looked stripped, the staff wear brown overalls with bright yellow shirts and bandanas. The lighting is dark in some places so the waiters wear mining lights on their heads to help you see the menus which are papers on a clipboard. They have 3 kitchens offering different cuisine, one is western, the other asian and lastly indian. Another couple joined us who were friends with Harald and Sue, Barry and his wife Janet who are Australian and this is the second time they have lived in Malaysia. Barry works if I can remember correctly in the oil industry with a German firm. They were a lot of fun and easy to get along with. They enjoy Kuala Lumpur so much that they have bought their home and plan on retiring here. Jan also gave me some tips on how to deal with the people here. All of our food was good, I ordered a North Indian dish that consisted of chicken in a slightly spicy sauce served with rice, a mixture of peas and mushrooms, grilled flatbread, and crisps which are like tortilla chips but I think are made out of rice and are thinner. Jim had vietnamese beef noodles. The only awkward moment and this is one thing that I've noticed is quite common, everyone's food doesn't arrive at the same time. It's like whenever it's done in the kitchen they bring it out and if you order soup or salad you have to specify that you want to have it first otherwise you'll get your main meal and then your soup. After a chat with our waiter everyone finally had their dinner. After dinner we all headed to George and the Dragon and Sue got to watch her soccer team win ( Sue is originally from England and an avid fan as well as a lot of fun to be around ). Eventually everyone left us and once again Jim and I closed the bar after making friends with a guy from Puerto Rico but who also lived in the States, New Orleans to be exact. We exchanged phone numbers and made plans to get together.
Sunday we made the trek back to Ampang to pick up a table that I purchased there but for some reason was never delivered and then came back to Bangsar. We went to Mid-Valley mall to buy a washer/dryer and got a wonderful surprise. We were looking for a place to have lunch and low and behold...a Long John Silvers!!! You can barely find them in the States, never would I have thought I'd find one in Malaysia!! This trip just keeps getting better and better.
We had fun this past weekend. From my last post everyone knows that I was able to get my internet hooked up. I do have some problems making phone calls through Skype because sometimes the connection is very slow so when I talk there is like a 10 second delay before the other person hears what I'm saying, so everyone thinks that I've hung up. Jim thinks that installing an external antennae should remedy this problem but one thing at a time. Friday, Astro came out and hooked up our satellite tv so now I have something else besides the internet and reading to help pass the time. We chose several programming packages but I still can't find anything to watch. We'll have to have Astro come back out again because they only installed one decoder box that's in our spare room and once Jim buys his tv for the living room they'll have to install another one plus wire our master bedroom so we can move the smaller tv once we get our bed...how I love moving!!
Friday night we went out to dinner at a place called La Bodega at the mall. It's a spanish style place that mainly serves tapas. I would not recommend going here except to have cocktails and a small bite to eat. Jim thought we would have enough for the two of us but not with our appetites. Later we went upstairs to City Golf, the golf simulator club. I had been inside once before, they haven't officially opened yet but Jim has managed to get to know the staff so they let him in whenever he wants. The simulator itself is pretty cool, Jim was swinging his club and hitting the ball just like he would on the golf course. I took a couple of swings and have to admit that I am pretty terrible, half the time I wouldn't even hit the ball. You won't see me appearing in the LPGA anytime soon!! I'd definitely try it again but with Jim as my teacher it's frustrating and embarrasing. Golf is not easy! I do better playing it on a video game.
Saturday afternoon we were just plain lazy!! We had stayed up late Friday night because after golf we went downstairs to George and the Dragon and closed the place. Jim did get up Saturday to go and check out a golf course he is thinking of joining and then we just laid around, ordered Pizza Hut delivered and rested. We had plans to go to dinner with Jim's boss Harald and his wife Susan who I've met before. Dinner was at the mall at a place called W.I.P. that stands for Work in Progress. The decor is supposed to be like a construction site although it doesn't look anything under construction, it's actually a little chic. The floors are concrete and the walls looked stripped, the staff wear brown overalls with bright yellow shirts and bandanas. The lighting is dark in some places so the waiters wear mining lights on their heads to help you see the menus which are papers on a clipboard. They have 3 kitchens offering different cuisine, one is western, the other asian and lastly indian. Another couple joined us who were friends with Harald and Sue, Barry and his wife Janet who are Australian and this is the second time they have lived in Malaysia. Barry works if I can remember correctly in the oil industry with a German firm. They were a lot of fun and easy to get along with. They enjoy Kuala Lumpur so much that they have bought their home and plan on retiring here. Jan also gave me some tips on how to deal with the people here. All of our food was good, I ordered a North Indian dish that consisted of chicken in a slightly spicy sauce served with rice, a mixture of peas and mushrooms, grilled flatbread, and crisps which are like tortilla chips but I think are made out of rice and are thinner. Jim had vietnamese beef noodles. The only awkward moment and this is one thing that I've noticed is quite common, everyone's food doesn't arrive at the same time. It's like whenever it's done in the kitchen they bring it out and if you order soup or salad you have to specify that you want to have it first otherwise you'll get your main meal and then your soup. After a chat with our waiter everyone finally had their dinner. After dinner we all headed to George and the Dragon and Sue got to watch her soccer team win ( Sue is originally from England and an avid fan as well as a lot of fun to be around ). Eventually everyone left us and once again Jim and I closed the bar after making friends with a guy from Puerto Rico but who also lived in the States, New Orleans to be exact. We exchanged phone numbers and made plans to get together.
Sunday we made the trek back to Ampang to pick up a table that I purchased there but for some reason was never delivered and then came back to Bangsar. We went to Mid-Valley mall to buy a washer/dryer and got a wonderful surprise. We were looking for a place to have lunch and low and behold...a Long John Silvers!!! You can barely find them in the States, never would I have thought I'd find one in Malaysia!! This trip just keeps getting better and better.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Thursday April 17, 2008
Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!!! I have been without technology for the past couple of days including tv, and today I finally got an internet connection at the house! It feels so good to be able to use my laptop again. This week I have been hanging out at the house and doing what I can with it. I must say that my efforts for pest control have been paying off because I haven't been visited by any "friends", no bugs, no lizards, and no bats at least what I can tell. I'm also getting used to the neighborhood. Like I mentioned before they are doing construction at the mall around the corner so during the day I enjoy the sounds of hammering, drilling and welding. Jim's boss told him about a park around the corner and down the street so I think it's ok for me to take Oso there and let him run around. It's been difficult walking him because people park on the street everywhere and they block the grassy areas where he likes to sniff and mark his territory which is half the fun for him, so the park may be a good alternative.
I have been to the mall a few times for various things, mostly lunch and cocktails with Jim. I've found that most of the stores inside are useless to me and my needs. I mean I don't go shopping all the time for clothes or shoes. There is the grocery store, but until our things arrive I don't really have the tools to cook much. I bought a cheap set of pots and pans and I've figured out how to turn on the stove ( after a good scrubbing, whoever lived here before us must have fried everything because the knobs were caked with grease! ) without blowing up the block but really haven't had a chance to cook a meal yet because Jim has been getting home late almost every night this week. Plus I got paper plates and plastic silverware ( Jim would kill me if I bought another set of dishes ) but there are no tables in the house yet or chairs so there really isn't anywhere to eat comfortably. In due time that all will be forgotten and I'll have my things.
Like I said Jim has been coming home late the last few nights. Tuesday he had a LG function to go to. I think it was like a launch for their new products coming out. He said that they had a Chinese set menu with fish, chicken, soup and various other dishes put out on a lazy susan for each table. They also gave out gift bags, I know what you're thinking, there should have been something cool and electronic inside but no, only a pair of wine glasses. LG doesn't even make wine glasses! He didn't get home until almost midnight and he said when he left the function they were still serving the meal so he didn't get to finish. He had to get up early on Wednesday so that he and his boss could catch a flight to Penang which is in Northern Malaysia. DHL has a warehouse up there that Harald wanted Jim to see and sit in on some meetings. Penang is also known for the tourist that frequent there so I was interested in hearing about what it was like. Because Jim was working, he didn't get to see much and all he really had to say was that there was a lot of water around. I already knew this because I have been researching places we could go for our 2nd wedding anniversary next month. You can take a ferry from Penang to the island of Langkawi which is tropical and filled with resorts. A lot of people go there because of diving spots, snorkeling and of course because the entire island is duty-free so you can stock up on alcohol to bring back with you. I've mentioned before how expensive alcohol is here even at the warehouse. We priced a fifth of Cap'n Morgan and it was around $50 U.S. normally at home it would have been about $23. Because Langkawi is close we'll probably end up there for our anniversary.
Today I am on the hunt for a vet for Oso. He has skin allergies when he's bitten by bugs and lately he's been scratching up a storm. I had heard that you could purchase prescription animal drugs over the counter here but haven't found anywhere. So I think it's just safer to take him to the vet. Problem is, I don't have a car ( and don't care to drive here ) and Oso isn't allowed on the subway or taxis so to take him anywhere has to be walking. He's also stopped eating his dog food so earlier this week I made a batch of ground chicken with rice and peas for him and he's been eating that. Jim says that he'll never eat dog food again. What have I done!!
I'm looking forward to the weekend only because Jim will be here with me. A person can only spend so much time alone. I have been reading a lot and fortunately there is a bookstore at the mall. I got a membership so I can get discounts, I figure I'll be shopping there a lot. I'll catch up with y'all soon. See you!
I have been to the mall a few times for various things, mostly lunch and cocktails with Jim. I've found that most of the stores inside are useless to me and my needs. I mean I don't go shopping all the time for clothes or shoes. There is the grocery store, but until our things arrive I don't really have the tools to cook much. I bought a cheap set of pots and pans and I've figured out how to turn on the stove ( after a good scrubbing, whoever lived here before us must have fried everything because the knobs were caked with grease! ) without blowing up the block but really haven't had a chance to cook a meal yet because Jim has been getting home late almost every night this week. Plus I got paper plates and plastic silverware ( Jim would kill me if I bought another set of dishes ) but there are no tables in the house yet or chairs so there really isn't anywhere to eat comfortably. In due time that all will be forgotten and I'll have my things.
Like I said Jim has been coming home late the last few nights. Tuesday he had a LG function to go to. I think it was like a launch for their new products coming out. He said that they had a Chinese set menu with fish, chicken, soup and various other dishes put out on a lazy susan for each table. They also gave out gift bags, I know what you're thinking, there should have been something cool and electronic inside but no, only a pair of wine glasses. LG doesn't even make wine glasses! He didn't get home until almost midnight and he said when he left the function they were still serving the meal so he didn't get to finish. He had to get up early on Wednesday so that he and his boss could catch a flight to Penang which is in Northern Malaysia. DHL has a warehouse up there that Harald wanted Jim to see and sit in on some meetings. Penang is also known for the tourist that frequent there so I was interested in hearing about what it was like. Because Jim was working, he didn't get to see much and all he really had to say was that there was a lot of water around. I already knew this because I have been researching places we could go for our 2nd wedding anniversary next month. You can take a ferry from Penang to the island of Langkawi which is tropical and filled with resorts. A lot of people go there because of diving spots, snorkeling and of course because the entire island is duty-free so you can stock up on alcohol to bring back with you. I've mentioned before how expensive alcohol is here even at the warehouse. We priced a fifth of Cap'n Morgan and it was around $50 U.S. normally at home it would have been about $23. Because Langkawi is close we'll probably end up there for our anniversary.
Today I am on the hunt for a vet for Oso. He has skin allergies when he's bitten by bugs and lately he's been scratching up a storm. I had heard that you could purchase prescription animal drugs over the counter here but haven't found anywhere. So I think it's just safer to take him to the vet. Problem is, I don't have a car ( and don't care to drive here ) and Oso isn't allowed on the subway or taxis so to take him anywhere has to be walking. He's also stopped eating his dog food so earlier this week I made a batch of ground chicken with rice and peas for him and he's been eating that. Jim says that he'll never eat dog food again. What have I done!!
I'm looking forward to the weekend only because Jim will be here with me. A person can only spend so much time alone. I have been reading a lot and fortunately there is a bookstore at the mall. I got a membership so I can get discounts, I figure I'll be shopping there a lot. I'll catch up with y'all soon. See you!
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