Finding the Spirit...

The beginning of any month marks the month-end close schedule for Patric at work.  If it falls during the week then it is just a matter of him working late.  Don't get me wrong, that is a bummer but it is better than spending a weekend without him while he works.  This is what happened the first weekend of this month.  It was the first time he had to work an entire weekend but I know it will not be the last...

So, needless to say, there is nothing to report for really cool weekend excursions.

Luckily for me the week started off differently.  I was fortunate enough to spend the first Monday of the month hanging out with my friends.  Our first task of the day was to go to the AAM villa and help decorate for the Christmas party.  It was a lot of laughs and we actually did some decorating, too!  We left there and went to a mall called Berjaya Times Square.  The entire top floor of this mall is a theme park and includes a roller coaster.  We didn't go to it but I will venture back that way.  I've been told that the roller coasters that are found in this country (and there aren't many) are nothing like the ones we have at home.  At this point I'm ok with that!  I was having roller coaster withdrawals before I left there so they are so much worse now.

The cool thing about going to Times Square on this day was that I had my first Papa John's pizza since I have been here.  I've had Domino's but that was the only pizza chain pizza I had before this.  It was pretty good but nothing like home!  There are no pork products so I couldn't have my favorite - ham, beef and mushroom.  I had to settle for two out of three.  Now I only have Pizza Hut to try.  And before it is said...I know these are not exotic, local foods!  (You know who you are...)

After lunch we walked around the mall for a bit.  I'm not much of a shopper but one of the ladies I was with is so we walked...and looked.  The funny thing about the malls here is that there are so many of them but most of them have the same stores.  No matter where you live here you won't have to drive far to get to a mall...crazy!!!  We finally left and headed back to KLCC where I caught the LRT home.

When I got home I found myself in the decorating mood so I pulled out my Christmas decorations.  As I started looking around for places to put them my mood sunk.  I have a great house with an awesome open floor plan and amazing windows.  What don't I have?  Places to put things out.  I have no bookcases which is ok since I don't have much wall space.  There are no built in shelves and since the walls are made of concrete it is difficult to install any.  If you have ever seen the inside of my house at Christmas you know that I have a ton of decorations - most of them Santa.  Sadly, I was only able to put out a small fraction of what I normally do.  And to make matters worse, I still didn't have a Christmas tree to decorate.  Man, this was turning into a bust!  That's ok because I had Tuesday to look forward to.

Christmas at the Villa - this is what the AAM Christmas party was dubbed.  It promised to be a good time and I woke up ready for it.  I headed into KLCC to ride with my friends.  I even had my really cool Santa hat to wear.  Lunch was catered and everyone that came was asked to bring a dozen cookies.  Pauline, Sharon and I kind of cheated and bought Famous Amos cookies on our outing the day before.  Before we had lunch we engaged in a very competitive game of Dirty Santa (known by many other names).  Here is the gift I ended up with...

Since I am in the middle of reading a series of books on my Kindle, I loaned this to a friend that seemed interested.

The day was a lot of fun but like all good things it had to come to an end.  The sad thing about this was that my running buddies were all leaving in the next day or two for different locations and different amounts of time.  The rest of the week I would be left to my own devices.

I took advantage of the time by hanging out with some other friends on Thursday, one of which I met at the First Friday lunch I went to right after arriving here.  I met her and one of her friends at a place called Jim's house.  It is an actual house that is full of really cool home decorations...most of them antiques.  Since I figured out just how empty of knick-knack space my house was, I put myself on a mission to find a solution.  I fell in love with this at Jim's...

It's a 200 year old bench made of elm.  It is only RM 2600 (a mere 870 USD).  Maybe Santa will bring it to me for Christmas.  And I even have the perfect place for it!

We left Jim's and went to another gift shop type store called Allison's Place.  It is very similar to Peter Hoe's - it is an expat favorite and they serve lunch.  The items they sell are not quite the same as at Peter's shop.  These were more craftsy and I was told that most of what is sold there is made in Malaysia.  We had lunch there and it was pretty decent.  I figured out that it would be best to go earlier though...I had a hard time ordering because the first choices I made were sold out...bummer!

My friends drove me home which was really nice!  I didn't stay home long because I wanted to go to 1 Utama to try to do some shopping.  Anyone in a relationship knows that it is just better to go shopping alone sometimes rather than bring the other half (hubby, boyfriend, etc).  Now I love Patric dearly but I'm not a fan of shopping and when I have him with me it is just that much worse.  I've been having trouble finding clothes in my size here and it's not that I'm big - by American standards.  By Asian standards I'm humongous!  So I ask every American expat that I meet if they have found stores here that carry their size.  I had been given the names of a few that were in 1 Utama and wanted to see if I could find any shorts in my size.  Plus the bonus of going to 1 Utama was that I could catch a ride home with Patric instead of taking a taxi.

When I got to the mall Patric was about to leave for a late lunch so I met him and had dessert since I had really just eaten.  It was mid-afternoon and there was a lot that he had to do back at work so we didn't sit long.  From there I started my navigation efforts to find a store, any store, that I had been told about.  1 Utama is one of the biggest malls in KL and it has two distinctive wings.  I'm starting to get my bearings in this mall but since I was looking for stores I didn't know I had to rely on the directories that were sparsely placed.  I finally found Dorothy Perkins (quite by accident while looking for another store).  This is apparently a UK based store because the clothes had the UK sizes listed first, then the European sizes and last the Australian sizes.  I already knew from past experience that the UK size is two sizes larger than the American size.  I lucked out and found some shorts in my size!!!  They were the largest size in the store but I found them!  I bought two pairs of shorts and two shirts...success!

As I was finishing there Patric let me know that he was close to wrapping up at work so I headed to a new little restaurant that served Satay.  I had only had it once before and really liked it.  This was not as good as the first time but I could see myself going back to it.

The rest of the week was spent catching up on laundry and just lounging at home.  I view this as a pretty decent week...

See you next post!!

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Nothing really big happened on Thanksgiving weekend which is a good thing.  It's really nice when we are able to go and do some exploring together but easy weekends are good, too.  Now that we are starting to get settled in the house we find ourselves doing shopping for it.  There is a really big Ace Hardware store in the Curve and Patric seems to find himself there at least once a week.  In his defense I will say that this store has EVERYTHING!!!  It is definitely a good find.

On Tuesday I went back into KLCC so I could go to the AAM board meeting.  It was my first time to be at one so, again, it was cool to be in on the behind the scenes stuff.  There were several things on the agenda and my vote was scheduled for close to the end of the meeting...what???  Luckily for me the meeting didn't stay on target and there was a lot of jumping around.  I was officially voted in as the next Treasure of the American Association of Malaysia.  I take full responsibility for the position as of January.

Pretty much immediately after being voted in I was told that I need to write an article about myself - an introductory article for the magazine that AAM puts out monthly.  It will be put in the February issue and the theme of that issue will be turning over a new leaf.  Hmmm...this will be interesting.  Any volunteers to write it for me?  =)

I was also tasked with doing a market analysis for pay to our General Manager.  I've done these before but they were always for me - to make sure I was asking for the right amount of money, or was being offered a market value, for different jobs I would apply for in the past.  I know how to look this type of information up online back home.  The catch here is that I'm not back home anymore and I've never worked for a charitable organization.  Luckily, one of the ladies that I hang out with is the Community Service Director and is, therefore, familiar with different charity organizations located here.  The bummer is that I will have to actually make calls...no online searching for this one.

By the time it was all said and done I felt like someone that had been given homework on the first day of school.  I'm sure it will all work out...hopefully...keep your fingers crossed for me!

The rest of that week was uneventful.  I find myself making a lot of trips to malls.  Most of them you have already heard about and there's nothing new at them.  I will say that there are a lot of Christmas scenes being put on display which makes me very happy!  I'm just waiting to see Santa...I LOVE SANTA!!!!!

Hopefully I won't have too many slow weeks like this one.  The year is coming to a close though so things are winding down for both of the associations that host the different events.  A lot of expats will be going home, where ever that may be, for Christmas so things will be slow until the new year.  I'm sure I will find stuff to keep myself busy...

See you next post!!

A Week of Gratitude!

So you would think that things couldn't get any better after finally finding the monkeys, right?  Guess again!  After the monkeys we went into Thanksgiving week and I was given much to be thankful for!

Right off the bat, the first day of the week, I went to the AAM villa to meet with the President and First Vice President of the association for my interview for the Treasurer's position.  It was really interesting because I got there early enough to be part of the activity planning meeting.  It was cool to see some behind the scenes stuff.  There is a lot that will be going on soon and even more that is still being worked out!  After that was over I sat for my interview which was really a formality.  It went really well and by the end of it I knew that it had come down to just being voted in by the board at the next board meeting.  A special one was being called the next week so my vote would be put in that meeting.  Hmmm...

Tuesday was interesting just because I stayed home and performed some of my domestic duties.

Wednesday I went to China Town and met a friend for lunch.   There is a really great shop called Peter Hoe's that sells really great stuff and has a little eatery in it.  It was my second time in the store but first time to eat there.  There's nothing worth really taking pictures of but the food is pretty good.  I had a broccoli and carrot quiche with a side salad that had amazing salad dressing.  Jacque and I then walked around China Town and took in the sights and sounds...and even some of the smells.  Every time I go to China Town I experience something different and I absolutely love that!

Thursday was Thanksgiving.  It was a very bittersweet day.  We didn't have plans to celebrate that day and we were far from home so it definitely had a bitter edge to it.  This was offset though by the fact that our stuff was finally going to make it to us...woo hoo!  It was a very cool sight when the truck got here an they started unloading our stuff.  The process was very interesting.  Every box was numbered and as it was brought in or opened outside I had to check off the number on the paperwork I was given.  It worked out really well...it assured that I received every box that was sent from College Station.  Then they even unloaded all of the boxes that had been brought in.  They didn't put the stuff up but at least I didn't have to worry about what to do with the boxes...bonus!  I spent the rest of the day figuring out where things were going to live in their new house.  The kitchen was interesting because I don't have any overhead cabinets - I mean none.  I have cool windows instead.  Then I ran into the problem of where to put stuff in my living room.  I was used to having tons of shelves in past homes...not here.  Again, amazing windows that take the place of wall space.  Plus, the walls are made of concrete so it is kind of hard to install our own shelves.  I finally found homes for the majority of the stuff.  A few things were left floating until a solution could be figured out...

Friday I went to a play that was put on by Magic - a school for people with Down Syndrome.  This is one of the charities that the AAM provides help to in the way of volunteer hours and monetary donations.  This was a lot of fun!  The students put on the play which was all method acting, nothing verbal.  When the play was over I went back to my friend Pauline's apartment.  Patric met me there that afternoon so we could enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with friends.  It was the first time that Patric had met the ladies I spend most of my time with here and the first time either of us had met their husbands.  There was a total of 13 people at dinner and we had a great time!  It was a traditional dinner with all of the trimmings...yum!!!

Overall the week was definitely a really good one!  Life just keeps getting better if I let it...

See you next post!!

Batu Caves...BONUS!!!!!

MONKEY UPDATE:  A picture is worth a thousand words...so here are several...

This one was taken on my cell phone on the steps heading up to the caves.

The rest of the pictures are camera pics.  I couldn't keep up with both the phone and the camera.  These two were taken on our way up to the entrance stairs.

This little one was in the middle of the stairs on the way up.  The stairs are split into three lanes all the way up.  Notice how this one has been given a wide berth?  There is a reason for that...

So, as you can imagine there are plenty of opportunities to take breaks while climbing the stairs to watch all of the monkeys.  This guy is significant for a reason.  While we were stopped at one point watching the entertainment around us this one let us know he was there, too.  We were standing on the stairs just under this guy with our backs to him completely unaware that he was even there, until...for no apparent reason he just reached out and hit Patric on the head and started yelling at him.  What makes this so funny is that he didn't even run after doing it...he just sat right where he is and looked down on us like nothing had happened.  Needless to say, we moved on.  =)

Doesn't this one look like he is posing?

They really like their coconuts.  Actually, they really like any kind of food type substance that they can find.  We saw many an argument between monkeys over such items!  We even saw them chase a group of guys that sounded like they were from England over a water bottle...crazy!

Another one that looked like she was posing.

A mother and her baby on our way out.

So I have finally seen monkeys!!!  These were pretty interesting to watch but I've been told that there is a place not too far out of town that has better monkeys.  They will sit and hang out with you while you feed them.  I'm looking forward to going and seeing these monkeys!  But for now, the Batu Cave monkeys will do just fine!

See you next post!!

Batu Caves

As if hanging out with a new friend and going on a jungle walk weren't enough, the weekend held its own adventure!  Since that is the only time that Patric has to explore we sometimes get to do really cool stuff.  That weekend was no exception!

One of the most talked about attractions in the KL area are the Batu Caves.  We had heard that there was a Buddhist temple deep inside the caves.  Depending on who you talk to the caves are really great or they are not worth the time.  We decided to make up our own minds and seek out the temple within.

Entry into the caves was free and parking was only RM 2 (less than one USD).  Already I was enjoying this trip!  We parked and then started walking towards the entrance...

On our way in we met the nicest guys from New Zealand.  They took our picture in front of a temple that was on the outside of the caves.  It was a very bright and sunny day!

I don't know the story of this building.  It was across the pond on our walk in and I thought it was a cool looking set up...so I took the picture and now I'm sharing with you!

Then we got to the entrance...all 272 steps of it!

This is about half way up...

...and this is the top.  Overall the climb wasn't too bad.  It was sure hot though!

Here we are about to enter the caves.  It's amazing how many nice people you can meet when you just offer to take a group picture for them!  =)

These are shots of the last cave - there are two.  The first one is very plain.  It is really just a walkway into the second one which I found to be much prettier.  I didn't take pictures of the temple in here because there was some kind of ceremony with people praying so I didn't want to be rude.  The temple inside the cave is not nearly as nice as the one outside walking up to the caves.  It was very small and plain looking.  What made it cool was that it was inside the cave.

There are actually two temples in the caves.  This is a picture of the one in the walk-through cave.  I took this from the top of the stairs that go from that cave to the inner cave.

I took these from the top of the stairs as we were leaving.

On our way out Patric wanted to go through an area that housed snakes.  If you know anything about me you know that I have the most horrific fear of snakes so I just waited next to the pond for him to come out.  The first picture is of some ducks and the really huge coi that were in the pond.  The second picture is of a turtle on a lily pad.  Look really closely...you will just be able to make out his head.

So that was our adventure at the Batu Caves...most of it...

See you next post!!

Monkey update:    =)

Chai Replacement Therapy

I have two entries for this installment and they are both truly replacements.  I am noticing more and more that tea, in general, is a favorite here.  I'm sure this is remnants of the English occupation.  Since I don't drink coffee, despite my many efforts, I have been curious about tea in the past.  I'm thinking that now would be a good time for me to expand my horizons.

There is a restaurant in the Curve called Winter Warmers.  I'm not sure why they are called that unless it is a franchise from a chain that started somewhere that actually has a winter.  Anyway, as we walked by this restaurant one day I looked through the menu they have on display outside.  A drink caught my eye and I put it on my list of things to try.  I tried it this past weekend.  It is a Caramel Tea Latte.

I ordered the butter and chocolate cookies separately.  The drink wasn't too bad...didn't have enough caramel flavor for me.  It also still had the tea bag in the cup.  That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it.  This restaurant has a bunch of tea lattes but no chai...

Then yesterday (Monday) I found myself needing to kill time while I was in KLCC so I found a Coffee Bean with every intention of getting a chai.  To my utter dismay they were out of chai!  But, this gave me an opportunity to try something different...

This is an English Breakfast Tea Latte.  Very good!  I've been curious about the English Breakfast tea anyway so I figured a good way to try it the first time was in the form of a latte.  Now I think I might have to try it just as a hot tea.  It is in the black tea family just like chai but it is a little stronger.

And as a side note, I tried the green tea latte from Starbucks (I was with someone else or I would never had gone there) and I didn't like it at all.  I'm getting to a place where I like green tea hot but there was something about the latte that I just did not like!

So, there you have it - true replacements for my beloved chai latte.  Sometimes it may be easier to get these than the chai and now I know they are good, or at least decent, replacements.

See you next post!!

Jungle Walk

I woke up last Thursday very excited about the day ahead.  The SSA was hosting the jungle walk.  I knew there would be a lot of people I hadn't met before since that is how it usually goes with SSA functions.  I also knew there would be a few people that I had met before.

My taxi picked me up and took me to the Coffee Bean in Mont Kiara.  This is where I was going to meet the group of women I was riding with.  I had met the driver and one of the other women at the mosque tour the week before.  There were a total of five us riding in Laurie's vehicle.  Our destination was the zoo (this is now on my bucket list) so we could meet up with the rest of the people doing the walk.  The journey was one of the highlights of the day!  It's always a good thing when you can get in a car full of women you don't know and laugh most of the way to the destination.  That is a sign of a good life!

We made it to the zoo and in spite of a few wrong turns and recalculations of the GPS, we were only 15 minutes late and we weren't the last ones to show up!  So far the day is going spectacularly!  When our entire group showed up we caravaned to the starting point of the walk.  First thing, as soon as we started the walk, there was a really big hill to climb.  Hmmm...

Here are some pictures that I took while I was on the walk...

This is one of our guides.  He is showing us a plant that can be eaten.  This is actually the root of a yam plant but it needs to be cooked before it can be eaten.

This is most of our group of women (there were 13 total) along with our two guides.

Way back in the day rubber was the major export of Malaysia.  That's changed now but there are still rubber trees every where - this is one.  One of our guides cut into it so we could see the rubber that comes out of it...that's the white stuff dripping down the trunk.

Just a pretty jungle shot.

This is one of our guides cutting away growth so we can follow the path and the back up caused while waiting for him to finish.

This tree is over 100 years old - as are most of the trees in this jungle.  This one will most likely fall over in the next few years because of the insect activity that has caused a large hole near the base.

This is another 100+ year old tree.  Just off to the side of this tree it looks like there is a much skinnier trunk right next to it.  That is actually a root that grew out off the tree and down to the ground.

Here is another view of the root going up the tree.  It even wraps around the tree a far way up.  This root is helping to hold the tree up - it's kind of like a cane for the tree.

How pretty are these?

After the walk we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant that the guides knew well.  I did not eat - only drank water just because I was so overheated!

Overall the jungle walk was a good experience and I'm really glad I went.  I doubt seriously I will do it again.  We walked a little over six kilometers (about four miles) and as the day went on it got really hot.  There were also A LOT of leeches.  I had never even seen one in person - now I can say that I have been bitten by one.  But I'm glad I went so I can say that I have done it.  This was something I had never had an opportunity to do so I would have been sad to let it go by.

When it was all said and done I went home and took a very cool soaking bath.  I think I might have even dozed off in the tub.  Then I took a shower and chilled out the rest of the afternoon.  I knew I didn't have anything planned for Friday except doing laundry so I didn't have to get ready for anything.  I was looking forward to the weekend though.  Patric and I had already discussed some really cool plans.

See you next post!!

Monkey update:  I was certainly on the lookout since we were in the jungle.  Alas, someone must have told them we were coming because we didn't see a single one...