Thursday came and I got ready to face another excursion. People that know me know that I am pretty outgoing and meet people easily. What is hard to believe is that I have a bit of anxiety before I actually get to the meeting people part. While I'm still at home getting ready, I go through this whole thing in my head about getting to the place I'm supposed to be and trying to figure out how I'm supposed to be once I get there...you know, planning how everything is supposed to go before it happens. Well this day it was even worse because right from the start I was having trouble. I had called the taxi company and couldn't get a taxi to come to my house. I was supposed to be at my friend's house at a certain time so that her regular taxi driver could pick us up and take us to the AAM office since it is very difficult to find and he has already been there several times. So I called my friend and told her what was going on and told her to just go without me so that she wouldn't be late. Instead, she called her taxi driver and asked him to come get her a little early so they could come get me. How nice it that?
This is where the fun really starts! Remember in an earlier post I had mentioned I live in new construction? Yeah, well...unless the taxi driver drives in this area frequently they won't know where I live and with me being new to the area I'm not much help in the giving directions department. I'm sure you can guess where this is headed. I texted my address to my friend, Jacque. She in turn gave it to her driver. Keep in mind the coffee morning started at 10:00 and ended at noon. Jacque and her driver started out at 9:15 and at about 9:45 they were in my area. With morning traffic this is good time. They did not find me until 10:30. We did not get to the coffee morning until 11:00. Now, I told Jacque twice in that time she should just go to the coffee morning but she said that her driver would not give up and kept looking for my address. I have to say that I was very happy that he did!
When we got there we found that there weren't very many women there. That could be due to the fact that we were late or just because not many showed up. Either way, it worked out fine for us. Only one of the ladies that we met at the first Friday lunch was there and it was one of the ladies that was hosting it. None of the new ladies were there. I did meet other really nice ladies though!
Jacque and I went to lunch with four of the ladies that were at the coffee morning. They took us to an Italian restaurant that is on one of the most famous streets in KL...Ampang. It is the street that the embassies are on. I didn't take pictures of the meal because I'm sure you have all seen pizza before. It was a really good pizza though. The best part of the trip though was after lunch. They took us to Ampang Grocery. It is a very small store that is cram packed with everything, and I do mean everything, an expat could possibly want! I found Baked Cheetos!!!!! I didn't think to take the time to see if they had the Tazo Chai concentrate but as soon as I can I am going back to see if they do. I was told that their stock rotates and if you find something you want you need to get as much as you can because they may not get it again for a while. Don't think I won't buy them out of that if I can find it there! The only draw back is the price is high because they know they can get it. I paid $6 for that bag of Baked Cheetos. But I am loving having them!
An interesting conversation took place between one of my new friends and myself while shopping in this amazing store. A common topic of conversation between expat wives is what we used to do for work, especially since most of us worked before coming here. When I told her that I was an Office Manager and loved my job before I left it she had a spark of interest in her face. She asked if I did the books. I told her I didn't, that we had an amazing bookkeeper that I supervised, but that I had experience doing books from past jobs. She immediately asked me if I would be interested in volunteering with AAM. I told her I would and asked her, a little skeptically, doing what? She just happened to be the Treasurer and her husband was being transferred backed to California in February so they would be looking for someone to take her place. She wanted to know if I would be interested. I was kind of surprised that she was asking someone that she just met...I figured there would be someone they were already grooming for this position or at least someone that would want it so I asked about these possibilities. I also asked about the responsibilities of the position. She said there was no one in line and the day-to-day bookkeeping was done by another person. This position basically just supervised...a few hours a month to check postings. I said I would be interested in checking into it to see what it was about and then we could go from there. So, I could possibly have a volunteer job with the AAM! She is on vacation right now but when she gets back we are going to start getting together to check it out. I'm kind of excited about it...
So after all of that was over Jacque and I left our new friends to head out of town before gridlock hit. I came home which meant no shopping...yay!!! I know there is a little shopping scheduled for the weekend but hopefully not much...
See you next post!
Monkey update: I have uplifting news! One of my new friends has given me hope!!! She showed me pictures of her and her husband actually WITH the monkeys! Now I've seen someone I know with them and I have renewed faith that they exist. She said they are about an hour and a half outside of town and she will take me to them!!!! Unfortunately, she is leaving Friday to go to Vietnam for a couple of weeks to be with her husband who is working. At least I am a little closer now than I was Wednesday...fingers crossed that I will have pictures soon friends!!!
Monday, October 31, 2011
My First Girls' Day...Doing What???
I received an SMS (they don't call them texts here) from Shayne (yes, our boarder) asking me if I wanted to hang out with her and the girls on Wednesday. They were going to Sunway Pyramid Mall (one of the many gigantic malls) to have lunch and do a fish spa. I asked her what a fish spa was. Her reply was that is was something that I would like and I should try it. Even though this whole conversation took place via text I could practically hear the smile coming through. I agreed to this mainly because I was tired of being in the house and really needed a day out...especially with "the girls". After the conversation ended I looked up "fish spa" on the internet. It is where you put your feet in a pool of water and a bunch of fish basically swarm them and nibble. Seems harmless...
Wednesday came and I took a taxi to Sunway Pyramid Mall. This mall is huge! It has a condo attached to it. It also has a resort and a water park. The Indian holiday Deepavali was approaching so there was a beautiful display not too far from the entrance.
All of the colors at the base of the statue are done with flowers. This entire display stretched pretty far and it smelled so good!! There were so many different types of flowers throughout that you would have thought it would have been overpowering and the smells would have been too much. But somehow they made them work. Since I was a little early I spent a little while just walking around in this...it was very relaxing!
Once Shayne and Novi showed up (it wound up being just the three of us), we went to lunch. I didn't take a picture because I didn't want them to think I was too weird right away. I want to save some of that for when they get to know me a little better. We went to a place that does Italian with an Asian flair. It was very interesting. I had spaghetti with teriyaki chicken and a half boiled egg. It was actually very good. The egg gave it a very interested flavor that worked very well. They love adding egg to things here and most of time it is half boiled. It is definitely something that you have to learn to like or do without.
After lunch we went to the fish spa. It was a very interesting set up. After we paid we had our feet rinsed off. Then we walked up some steps to what felt like a stage. The area was open so we could see out into the mall and they could see in to us. I'm sure this is a marketing gimmick. The tanks the fish are in are down in the "stage". The way it worked was that we sat on the floor and put our feet in the tank. They had it set up really nice. There were comfortable backrests around the tanks so we could lean back. As soon as we put our feet in the tank the fish came to us. The initial feeling of having the fish start to nibble is kind of a shock. It doesn't hurt at all but it is a feeling like no other I've ever felt so it is very hard to describe. It is tickly and almost like your foot being asleep...that kind of a shock. But after a few minutes it becomes very relaxing.
Doesn't that look relaxing??? I'm not really sure exactly what the purpose of this is but I would go back and do it again just because it was a cool experience.
When this was over we explored the mall a little. We stopped at a popcorn stand called Planet Popcorn. Apparently Novi owed Shayne some popcorn for her birthday. So we sampled some different flavors. Most of the flavors were the same as what you can get back home with one exception...seaweed. I can now say that I have tried seaweed flavored popcorn. It is not one of my favorites but it was not that bad. It was the one that Shayne picked for her bag though.
After that we finished our girls' day and I headed home. Actually, I headed to 1 Utama to meet Patric and do some more shopping for the house and to have some dinner. Dinner was nothing exciting...TGIFriday's. At this point I'm wondering if we will ever be done with shopping for the house!!!
Looking forward to Thursday...I will get to go to my first coffee morning with the American Association of Malaysia (AAM...the expat assoc). Hopefully I will get to see the ladies that I met at the first Friday lunch again and meet more!
See you next post!
Monkey update: They weren't at Sunway Pyramid Mall... =)
Wednesday came and I took a taxi to Sunway Pyramid Mall. This mall is huge! It has a condo attached to it. It also has a resort and a water park. The Indian holiday Deepavali was approaching so there was a beautiful display not too far from the entrance.
All of the colors at the base of the statue are done with flowers. This entire display stretched pretty far and it smelled so good!! There were so many different types of flowers throughout that you would have thought it would have been overpowering and the smells would have been too much. But somehow they made them work. Since I was a little early I spent a little while just walking around in this...it was very relaxing!
Once Shayne and Novi showed up (it wound up being just the three of us), we went to lunch. I didn't take a picture because I didn't want them to think I was too weird right away. I want to save some of that for when they get to know me a little better. We went to a place that does Italian with an Asian flair. It was very interesting. I had spaghetti with teriyaki chicken and a half boiled egg. It was actually very good. The egg gave it a very interested flavor that worked very well. They love adding egg to things here and most of time it is half boiled. It is definitely something that you have to learn to like or do without.
After lunch we went to the fish spa. It was a very interesting set up. After we paid we had our feet rinsed off. Then we walked up some steps to what felt like a stage. The area was open so we could see out into the mall and they could see in to us. I'm sure this is a marketing gimmick. The tanks the fish are in are down in the "stage". The way it worked was that we sat on the floor and put our feet in the tank. They had it set up really nice. There were comfortable backrests around the tanks so we could lean back. As soon as we put our feet in the tank the fish came to us. The initial feeling of having the fish start to nibble is kind of a shock. It doesn't hurt at all but it is a feeling like no other I've ever felt so it is very hard to describe. It is tickly and almost like your foot being asleep...that kind of a shock. But after a few minutes it becomes very relaxing.
Doesn't that look relaxing??? I'm not really sure exactly what the purpose of this is but I would go back and do it again just because it was a cool experience.
When this was over we explored the mall a little. We stopped at a popcorn stand called Planet Popcorn. Apparently Novi owed Shayne some popcorn for her birthday. So we sampled some different flavors. Most of the flavors were the same as what you can get back home with one exception...seaweed. I can now say that I have tried seaweed flavored popcorn. It is not one of my favorites but it was not that bad. It was the one that Shayne picked for her bag though.
After that we finished our girls' day and I headed home. Actually, I headed to 1 Utama to meet Patric and do some more shopping for the house and to have some dinner. Dinner was nothing exciting...TGIFriday's. At this point I'm wondering if we will ever be done with shopping for the house!!!
Looking forward to Thursday...I will get to go to my first coffee morning with the American Association of Malaysia (AAM...the expat assoc). Hopefully I will get to see the ladies that I met at the first Friday lunch again and meet more!
See you next post!
Monkey update: They weren't at Sunway Pyramid Mall... =)
Friday, October 28, 2011
Nail Update
Remember how excited I was to finally get my nails done? Well, the Monday after they were done that excitement turned to sadness. Just about everyone one of my nails started lifting at the back near the cuticle. Hopefully they will last for the three weeks that I'm used to them lasting.
Tracy, if you are reading this...I miss my nail appointments!!!!!
Tracy, if you are reading this...I miss my nail appointments!!!!!
A Weekend of Shopping...Ugh!
We were finally in the house and had all of our family members with us. We even had furniture! We were set...yeah! What's missing from this picture? Only some of the basic necessities of life - food, water, sheets for the bed, plates, glasses, silverware, pots/pans, etc. Doh! Here it is, late afternoon on Saturday and we had to go shopping to get at least some of these items so we could stay in this house that night. Here was another example of that feeling paying off - you know the one, no matter how much I prepared I wasn't prepared enough.
So we headed out. Luckily, we live within walking distance to a major mall that has the only Ikea in Malaysia in it. No, we did not walk to it but it is that close. Believe it or not, we didn't head straight for Ikea. We didn't want to get caught up in the crowd that we knew would be there so we decided to look at a couple of other home stores in the mall. We should have saved that time for crowd fighting since we just wound up at Ikea anyway...
Off to Ikea we went and we were not disappointed by the crowd! We made our way to the market place which is where most of what we needed was to be found. It had been a very long time since I had to stock the place I moved in to from nothing so I had forgotten how tedious this could be. Even with a list, needing everything is next to impossible to get on one run...especially when you are rushed. Not only did we have to get stuff at Ikea but we still had to do a grocery store run...would it never end??? So we got what we knew we needed - a sheet and comforter for the bed, towels for showers, plates, glasses, silverware, small set of pots with one skillet and a few utensils. It's really hard to shop for the kitchen when you know you have a full kitchen somewhere on the ocean scheduled to be here at the end of November.
When we finally finished at Ikea and had everything from that trip loaded in the car we headed to Cold Storage. Lucky for us, there is also one of these in The Curve. Unfortunately, we spent all of our energy at Ikea so we were running on fumes at Cold Storage. We tried to get through the store getting only the essentials but we really couldn't remember what they were so we were getting just about anything that came to mind that we knew we needed. Happily, the list wasn't long. Right about now my friends that know me are probably wondering why I would step out of the house without an actual list of things that I needed. Don't fret...I had a list. The problem was that the list was all inclusive and by this time of night and with the lack of energy and brain power, I was having a hard time processing what was actually necessary for that night and what could wait until another day. So I had put away the list to lessen the confusion. See my problem?
We survived the trip to Cold Storage and headed home. As soon as we got home we had to start laundry. You can't sleep in sheets that haven't been washed. Before I could start the laundry I had to read the manual on the washer/dryer combo. Now keep in mind, we didn't even get home until after 10:00. It took me a little bit to master this new appliance...well, at least to figure out how to operate it. Mastering it was a dream way off in the future...definitely not that night!!! So I got the sheets in the washer/dryer and got everything set and the timer told me it would take four, yes 1, 2, 3, FOUR, hours for this load to wash and dry. I just about died. That meant these sheets would not be ready to put on the bed until at least 2:30 AM. I was already exhausted...I just knew I was going to die!
There is only so much straightening and tidying you can do in a house that you just moved in to and that has nothing to clean. In other words, by about 11:00 I was sitting on the couch...by 11:05 I was sound asleep. I have no idea what my poor husband did while I was sleeping. I had a vague awareness that he was moving around but I never fully awakened until he woke me up and said the sheets were done. We went upstairs and put them on the bed. While we were doing this he told me that the shower worked really well - good information to have. I probably should have tested it myself but you know...the bed looked really inviting after we got it made and it took every ounce of remaining energy I had just to brush my teeth so I figured I would confirm his findings when I woke up. Yay bed!
Sadly, we were minus one of our family members upstairs for the night. Our oldest dog, Josie, is not a fan of slick floors - especially on the stairs. This made it hard for her to join us in our room which is where both of our dogs sleep. Instead, she stayed downstairs and whined...all night long. This prompted the need for some sort of stair covering...immediately. Back to Ikea. =(
Granted, we knew we weren't really finished with the Ikea
We made another run to Cold Storage, too. This time we could take our time and actually get some things that we wanted and get familiar with the layout of the store since it will most likely become our store. It is a pretty good size store and it has a decent selection of items that we are familiar with since it caters to expats.
We got home and started putting up all of our stuff. Check out all of this amazing help we got!
This is PK helping me fill up the pantry.
This is Duke and Josie (under the table) supervising the whole job.
After the hard work of the day was done, Shayne (the boarder) came by to deliver the dog carriers. She also had a gift for the dogs...
This is a cake. It is made by a lady here out of her home. It is made from all natural ingredients. Humans can eat it but Shayne said we wouldn't taste anything. Even the colors are all natural. They are made from food and not dyes. Really cool, huh? Duke and Josie loved it!!!
I would like to be able to tell you that we got everything that we needed in this weekend of shopping but there were still things that were not crossed off on my list. This means that there will be more shopping in our future...I hate shopping!
See you next post!
Monkey update: I can tell you they are not in Ikea!!! =)
So we headed out. Luckily, we live within walking distance to a major mall that has the only Ikea in Malaysia in it. No, we did not walk to it but it is that close. Believe it or not, we didn't head straight for Ikea. We didn't want to get caught up in the crowd that we knew would be there so we decided to look at a couple of other home stores in the mall. We should have saved that time for crowd fighting since we just wound up at Ikea anyway...
Off to Ikea we went and we were not disappointed by the crowd! We made our way to the market place which is where most of what we needed was to be found. It had been a very long time since I had to stock the place I moved in to from nothing so I had forgotten how tedious this could be. Even with a list, needing everything is next to impossible to get on one run...especially when you are rushed. Not only did we have to get stuff at Ikea but we still had to do a grocery store run...would it never end??? So we got what we knew we needed - a sheet and comforter for the bed, towels for showers, plates, glasses, silverware, small set of pots with one skillet and a few utensils. It's really hard to shop for the kitchen when you know you have a full kitchen somewhere on the ocean scheduled to be here at the end of November.
When we finally finished at Ikea and had everything from that trip loaded in the car we headed to Cold Storage. Lucky for us, there is also one of these in The Curve. Unfortunately, we spent all of our energy at Ikea so we were running on fumes at Cold Storage. We tried to get through the store getting only the essentials but we really couldn't remember what they were so we were getting just about anything that came to mind that we knew we needed. Happily, the list wasn't long. Right about now my friends that know me are probably wondering why I would step out of the house without an actual list of things that I needed. Don't fret...I had a list. The problem was that the list was all inclusive and by this time of night and with the lack of energy and brain power, I was having a hard time processing what was actually necessary for that night and what could wait until another day. So I had put away the list to lessen the confusion. See my problem?
We survived the trip to Cold Storage and headed home. As soon as we got home we had to start laundry. You can't sleep in sheets that haven't been washed. Before I could start the laundry I had to read the manual on the washer/dryer combo. Now keep in mind, we didn't even get home until after 10:00. It took me a little bit to master this new appliance...well, at least to figure out how to operate it. Mastering it was a dream way off in the future...definitely not that night!!! So I got the sheets in the washer/dryer and got everything set and the timer told me it would take four, yes 1, 2, 3, FOUR, hours for this load to wash and dry. I just about died. That meant these sheets would not be ready to put on the bed until at least 2:30 AM. I was already exhausted...I just knew I was going to die!
There is only so much straightening and tidying you can do in a house that you just moved in to and that has nothing to clean. In other words, by about 11:00 I was sitting on the couch...by 11:05 I was sound asleep. I have no idea what my poor husband did while I was sleeping. I had a vague awareness that he was moving around but I never fully awakened until he woke me up and said the sheets were done. We went upstairs and put them on the bed. While we were doing this he told me that the shower worked really well - good information to have. I probably should have tested it myself but you know...the bed looked really inviting after we got it made and it took every ounce of remaining energy I had just to brush my teeth so I figured I would confirm his findings when I woke up. Yay bed!
Sadly, we were minus one of our family members upstairs for the night. Our oldest dog, Josie, is not a fan of slick floors - especially on the stairs. This made it hard for her to join us in our room which is where both of our dogs sleep. Instead, she stayed downstairs and whined...all night long. This prompted the need for some sort of stair covering...immediately. Back to Ikea. =(
Granted, we knew we weren't really finished with the Ikea
We made another run to Cold Storage, too. This time we could take our time and actually get some things that we wanted and get familiar with the layout of the store since it will most likely become our store. It is a pretty good size store and it has a decent selection of items that we are familiar with since it caters to expats.
We got home and started putting up all of our stuff. Check out all of this amazing help we got!
This is PK helping me fill up the pantry.
This is Duke and Josie (under the table) supervising the whole job.
After the hard work of the day was done, Shayne (the boarder) came by to deliver the dog carriers. She also had a gift for the dogs...
This is a cake. It is made by a lady here out of her home. It is made from all natural ingredients. Humans can eat it but Shayne said we wouldn't taste anything. Even the colors are all natural. They are made from food and not dyes. Really cool, huh? Duke and Josie loved it!!!
I would like to be able to tell you that we got everything that we needed in this weekend of shopping but there were still things that were not crossed off on my list. This means that there will be more shopping in our future...I hate shopping!
See you next post!
Monkey update: I can tell you they are not in Ikea!!! =)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Moving Day...At Last!!!
Saturday finally got here...moving day! We had to get up early and we thought we had the alarm set early enough. But remember that feeling I fell asleep with, you know...the one about not being prepared enough no matter how much preparation I put into it? Well, it was foreshadowing. We got up with no effort Saturday morning because we were both excited about the move not to mention getting our dogs. But we still had so much to do. And we had to meet Shanny at the new house at 9:00. Did I mention that the new house was new construction so the address wasn't recognized on GPS yet?
Let me give all of you out there a good bit of advise. Communication is key. I think Patric and I had a slight communication gap on one key piece of planning. I thought we were going to hold on to the keys to the apartment so that we wouldn't have to rush to get everything out all at once that morning...just the main items. It turns out that his plans were to get everything, every little item, out that morning and turn the keys in as we were leaving. Since this was an apartment and not a hotel back home I kind of figured that there would be a whole process to turning in the keys. Patric, on the other hand, thought it would be just walking in, dropping off the keys and saying thank you.
So, after we cleared up the first miscommunication and agreed to get everything out and crammed into the car we realized that it was going to take a little longer than we planned. So our running around got kicked into high gear. There is nothing like waking up early on a Saturday morning and then rushing around like crazy...what fun! But we just kept our eyes on the goal...moving into the house! I really wish I would have taken a picture of the car when we finished loading it. It was quite hilarious!!
On the way out Patric stopped to do the "key drop off". I tried to convince him that it would not be that easy but he just knew it would. I waited in the car for him. Two or three minutes later he came out and got back in the car. He was hesitant but admitted that there was a whole process to checking out - they needed to do a walk through and have him sign off on some paperwork. I didn't want to say it but I was sure thinking it...told you so! Patric one...Jennifer one. But who's counting? =) (It's going to be one of those days...)
We called Shanny to let her know that we were on the way but of course couldn't find the house on GPS. She agreed to meet us at Patric's office since it is only a few minutes from the house. When we finally made it to the house we were so happy to be there. The listing agent was there also...we did not expect to see him. We thought the whirlwind part of our morning was over. Boy were we wrong!!! Patric and I were immediately separated - he went with the listing agent to check off items on one list and I went with Shanny to look over another list. Shanny and I walked (quickly) through the house to look for any defects. As we were doing this the owners of the house showed up - another unexpected surprise! Talk about pressure! I'm walking with Shanny who is already on high speed then the owners are there watching as I'm critiquing their property. Crazy! I don't think I even saw Patric for at least half an hour.
When I finally saw him again it was only for a few minutes before he was pulled away to sign a whole bunch of papers. It was almost as bad as buying a house. One thing I have noticed - since he is the only one working, he is the main one required to sign most paperwork. That is kind of hard for me but it is ok. The owners of the property were very nice! I spoke with the wife who understood exactly how I felt. Her husband worked a lot so she handled most of the business of the rentals so we figured out that we would be talking to each other when it came to issues with the house. Funny how things like that work out!
As all of this was starting to wind down our furniture showed up...no time to breathe! Round one is over...time for round two. There was a little bit of craziness as the agents tried to get the last bit of information they needed from us and the the furniture people started coming in and asking the beginning of their questions. The owners just kept telling us if there was anything they could do please let them know...how nice! Finally the first group left and we were left with figuring out where we wanted the furniture to go. That was when it really hit us that we hadn't had any time to really think about that. We did a quick discussion and agreement then Patric went and unloaded the car so we could get PK in a room that could be shut off (she had air in the car - please, no comments about killing the cat!!!) from the movers.
I'm sure you can figure the day the furniture was delivered it didn't come with sheets and we didn't have the rugs for the floors. The shopping for that is another post...
Once all of the furniture was successfully in place it was time to retrieve the rest of the family. Have you ever seen someone go through withdrawals? Sadly, I have but that is something that we will not go into here. What I can tell you is that I have never seen someone actually have withdrawals over another living thing...until now. I was missing our dogs, very much. Patric was having withdrawals. Once the furniture was done it was all about getting the dogs. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, else mattered. We tried to have lunch but when he found out that it was going to take too long for the lunch to be prepared we left (in fairness this was coupled with the fact that they did not have options for him to drink). It was even difficult to have conversation with him - small talk was wasted and he couldn't focus enough for in depth conversations to be held to anyone's benefit. It was a very sad thing to behold, for sure. I can't tell you how happy I was to arrive at Shayne's house for everyone's sake! We had already agreed that we would pick them up Saturday and she would deliver their very large crates to us on Sunday.
We loaded Duke and Josie in the car and set out for home. Patric was back to normal and the dogs seemed happy to be with us. When we got home and introduced them to their yard they seemed to like it right away. What made them even happier was coming in the house and having us follow them. We walked them through every room, as empty as they were, and let them know that this was home. Then, sadly, it time for us to leave them so we could start getting the necessary things for the house...but that is another post!
See you next post!
Let me give all of you out there a good bit of advise. Communication is key. I think Patric and I had a slight communication gap on one key piece of planning. I thought we were going to hold on to the keys to the apartment so that we wouldn't have to rush to get everything out all at once that morning...just the main items. It turns out that his plans were to get everything, every little item, out that morning and turn the keys in as we were leaving. Since this was an apartment and not a hotel back home I kind of figured that there would be a whole process to turning in the keys. Patric, on the other hand, thought it would be just walking in, dropping off the keys and saying thank you.
So, after we cleared up the first miscommunication and agreed to get everything out and crammed into the car we realized that it was going to take a little longer than we planned. So our running around got kicked into high gear. There is nothing like waking up early on a Saturday morning and then rushing around like crazy...what fun! But we just kept our eyes on the goal...moving into the house! I really wish I would have taken a picture of the car when we finished loading it. It was quite hilarious!!
On the way out Patric stopped to do the "key drop off". I tried to convince him that it would not be that easy but he just knew it would. I waited in the car for him. Two or three minutes later he came out and got back in the car. He was hesitant but admitted that there was a whole process to checking out - they needed to do a walk through and have him sign off on some paperwork. I didn't want to say it but I was sure thinking it...told you so! Patric one...Jennifer one. But who's counting? =) (It's going to be one of those days...)
We called Shanny to let her know that we were on the way but of course couldn't find the house on GPS. She agreed to meet us at Patric's office since it is only a few minutes from the house. When we finally made it to the house we were so happy to be there. The listing agent was there also...we did not expect to see him. We thought the whirlwind part of our morning was over. Boy were we wrong!!! Patric and I were immediately separated - he went with the listing agent to check off items on one list and I went with Shanny to look over another list. Shanny and I walked (quickly) through the house to look for any defects. As we were doing this the owners of the house showed up - another unexpected surprise! Talk about pressure! I'm walking with Shanny who is already on high speed then the owners are there watching as I'm critiquing their property. Crazy! I don't think I even saw Patric for at least half an hour.
When I finally saw him again it was only for a few minutes before he was pulled away to sign a whole bunch of papers. It was almost as bad as buying a house. One thing I have noticed - since he is the only one working, he is the main one required to sign most paperwork. That is kind of hard for me but it is ok. The owners of the property were very nice! I spoke with the wife who understood exactly how I felt. Her husband worked a lot so she handled most of the business of the rentals so we figured out that we would be talking to each other when it came to issues with the house. Funny how things like that work out!
As all of this was starting to wind down our furniture showed up...no time to breathe! Round one is over...time for round two. There was a little bit of craziness as the agents tried to get the last bit of information they needed from us and the the furniture people started coming in and asking the beginning of their questions. The owners just kept telling us if there was anything they could do please let them know...how nice! Finally the first group left and we were left with figuring out where we wanted the furniture to go. That was when it really hit us that we hadn't had any time to really think about that. We did a quick discussion and agreement then Patric went and unloaded the car so we could get PK in a room that could be shut off (she had air in the car - please, no comments about killing the cat!!!) from the movers.
I'm sure you can figure the day the furniture was delivered it didn't come with sheets and we didn't have the rugs for the floors. The shopping for that is another post...
Once all of the furniture was successfully in place it was time to retrieve the rest of the family. Have you ever seen someone go through withdrawals? Sadly, I have but that is something that we will not go into here. What I can tell you is that I have never seen someone actually have withdrawals over another living thing...until now. I was missing our dogs, very much. Patric was having withdrawals. Once the furniture was done it was all about getting the dogs. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, else mattered. We tried to have lunch but when he found out that it was going to take too long for the lunch to be prepared we left (in fairness this was coupled with the fact that they did not have options for him to drink). It was even difficult to have conversation with him - small talk was wasted and he couldn't focus enough for in depth conversations to be held to anyone's benefit. It was a very sad thing to behold, for sure. I can't tell you how happy I was to arrive at Shayne's house for everyone's sake! We had already agreed that we would pick them up Saturday and she would deliver their very large crates to us on Sunday.
We loaded Duke and Josie in the car and set out for home. Patric was back to normal and the dogs seemed happy to be with us. When we got home and introduced them to their yard they seemed to like it right away. What made them even happier was coming in the house and having us follow them. We walked them through every room, as empty as they were, and let them know that this was home. Then, sadly, it time for us to leave them so we could start getting the necessary things for the house...but that is another post!
See you next post!
Thought Provocation...
I had an email conversation with a friend of mine last week and she ended her part of the conversation with "I hope you are having fun in Malaysia".
This is an innocent enough comment, right? Well...
It's been sitting in my mind and just kind of rolling around making me think about it. Am I having fun in Malaysia? I've been here a whole four weeks and a few days now and I'm really even wondering if that is long enough to really have fun.
By nature I'm an impatient person. When I found out we were coming over here I did a little research and I decided on some things that I wanted to do and see. High on my list was visiting Singapore and Thailand. Well, I haven't done either of those things. But realistically, who could in just four weeks? I mean, I only just moved into my house a week ago. I'm still trying to get the basics for the house, you know?
Since I've gotten here I've found out about these really great island and beach locales that I want to go visit. I haven't done that yet. Again, only here four weeks...what do I expect from myself and my poor husband who is still struggling to learn his job?
My friends that are reading this right now are telling me "baby steps, Jennifer". I can hear them as I type this out. I want to take giant leaps! I can tell you that I have taken baby steps though. I am getting out and meeting people. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and doing things by myself more and more...at least I start off by myself. I head out to coffee mornings to meet a group of people that I've never met and hope I will be able to figure out where they are...sure enough, I do. I head out to a luncheon with the same goal and get the same results. From these chance outings I'm meeting other people that are doing the same thing I am and relationships are starting to form.
On the other side of this coin, when I leave those functions I come home and I get on my computer and log in to Facebook and see what I am missing back home. Sometimes I feel like I am caught between two worlds. I have Skype and I am grateful for the friends and family that have it and are willing to get on with me when they can. It is great to feel like I am sitting in the same room with someone every now and then.
I guess part of it, too, is that just about every spare minute Patric and I have had together has been spent shopping for the house. I have to tell you, I'm burned out on Ikea and shopping for the house in general!! We haven't done anything fun together yet. Tomorrow he has the day off for Deepavali which is an Indian holiday. There are different celebrations going on all over town for it and we have agreed to go watch one that is happening at the mall that is right here near our house. It should be very interesting and fun. This should help out some.
Back home I worked. I had a job that I loved oh so much!!! It is very hard to go from that to not working and being told that I am not able to work. I have put myself out there to volunteer with a couple of organizations so hopefully that will come to fruition and help fill my days and keep me around people.
So I know this post is a little different than the rest but sometimes you just gotta do what comes to ya! For just being here four weeks, I think I am having fun. I'm in a house that I just love, I'm already out meeting people, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone to do it, shoot...I'm out of my comfort zone just living half way around the world! Sometimes I wake up in the morning and just smile when I realize that yes, I am in Malaysia. The rest of the stuff will come, I know it will. There are so many things I've already done with only four weeks under my belt...the world is truly my oyster!
See you next post!
This is an innocent enough comment, right? Well...
It's been sitting in my mind and just kind of rolling around making me think about it. Am I having fun in Malaysia? I've been here a whole four weeks and a few days now and I'm really even wondering if that is long enough to really have fun.
By nature I'm an impatient person. When I found out we were coming over here I did a little research and I decided on some things that I wanted to do and see. High on my list was visiting Singapore and Thailand. Well, I haven't done either of those things. But realistically, who could in just four weeks? I mean, I only just moved into my house a week ago. I'm still trying to get the basics for the house, you know?
Since I've gotten here I've found out about these really great island and beach locales that I want to go visit. I haven't done that yet. Again, only here four weeks...what do I expect from myself and my poor husband who is still struggling to learn his job?
My friends that are reading this right now are telling me "baby steps, Jennifer". I can hear them as I type this out. I want to take giant leaps! I can tell you that I have taken baby steps though. I am getting out and meeting people. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and doing things by myself more and more...at least I start off by myself. I head out to coffee mornings to meet a group of people that I've never met and hope I will be able to figure out where they are...sure enough, I do. I head out to a luncheon with the same goal and get the same results. From these chance outings I'm meeting other people that are doing the same thing I am and relationships are starting to form.
On the other side of this coin, when I leave those functions I come home and I get on my computer and log in to Facebook and see what I am missing back home. Sometimes I feel like I am caught between two worlds. I have Skype and I am grateful for the friends and family that have it and are willing to get on with me when they can. It is great to feel like I am sitting in the same room with someone every now and then.
I guess part of it, too, is that just about every spare minute Patric and I have had together has been spent shopping for the house. I have to tell you, I'm burned out on Ikea and shopping for the house in general!! We haven't done anything fun together yet. Tomorrow he has the day off for Deepavali which is an Indian holiday. There are different celebrations going on all over town for it and we have agreed to go watch one that is happening at the mall that is right here near our house. It should be very interesting and fun. This should help out some.
Back home I worked. I had a job that I loved oh so much!!! It is very hard to go from that to not working and being told that I am not able to work. I have put myself out there to volunteer with a couple of organizations so hopefully that will come to fruition and help fill my days and keep me around people.
So I know this post is a little different than the rest but sometimes you just gotta do what comes to ya! For just being here four weeks, I think I am having fun. I'm in a house that I just love, I'm already out meeting people, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone to do it, shoot...I'm out of my comfort zone just living half way around the world! Sometimes I wake up in the morning and just smile when I realize that yes, I am in Malaysia. The rest of the stuff will come, I know it will. There are so many things I've already done with only four weeks under my belt...the world is truly my oyster!
See you next post!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Comments Figured Out...
I know most of you know that this is my first foray into the world of blogging. I've had a few people ask me about how to leave comments on my blogs. I love that you are asking because I love getting comments! It's a win-win situation...
Well, before now I was at a loss as to how to help you. I had suggestions but none of them worked. People that had left comments in the past had gmail accounts which made it easy for them.
That was then...this is now. Thanks to a friend that has been blogging for a long time I have an answer. I have now found and changed the comment setting so that anyone an leave a comment. All you have to do is type in your comment and in the area that asks how you want to post, if your email option is not available, add your name under the name/URL option then post your comment.
My mom who has been my guinea pig in the past has yet again tested this theory and it has been a success. From what I understand though, it only works on current and future posts. Unfortunately, the past posts can't be commented on.
Thanks to everyone that has been reading! I look forward to hearing from you!
See you next post!
Well, before now I was at a loss as to how to help you. I had suggestions but none of them worked. People that had left comments in the past had gmail accounts which made it easy for them.
That was then...this is now. Thanks to a friend that has been blogging for a long time I have an answer. I have now found and changed the comment setting so that anyone an leave a comment. All you have to do is type in your comment and in the area that asks how you want to post, if your email option is not available, add your name under the name/URL option then post your comment.
My mom who has been my guinea pig in the past has yet again tested this theory and it has been a success. From what I understand though, it only works on current and future posts. Unfortunately, the past posts can't be commented on.
Thanks to everyone that has been reading! I look forward to hearing from you!
See you next post!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Lots to Do!
Friday came and I was so excited! This was the day that I was finally going to get my nails done...and believe me they needed them! I had one pinky nail that was cracked on either side and looked like the cracks were going to meet in the middle. I was also going to spend the day getting ready to move into our house on Saturday...yay!
I got ready ready to face the day and headed up to the lobby and had a taxi called for me. Unfortunately, I didn't give myself enough time to stop at The Coffee Bean on the way to get a chai. That would have made the morning oh so much better (sigh). But that is ok...have water, will travel. My appointment was at 10:15 and I made there just on time. I'm not sure if it was the way I was having my nails done or the fact that I brought all of my own product but a lot of attention was paid to my end of the table throughout my process. And a long process it was! It didn't take quite the full three hours that they told me but I didn't get up until 12:45 so it was close enough. I was very happy with the job that was done, too! Of course, there were some things that I could see that were a little off but it was her first time to do them. A first time to do anything is going to have some errors. I was really happy with the job overall!
After the nail job I had some banking business to take care of across the street. I'm not sure I will ever get used to the banking process here. Even going into the same bank it seems the process is different than the last time I went in. Maybe it is just me...or it is the bank...or whatever. And I swear the teller doesn't like me. I "lucked" out and got the same teller that I had the last time I needed to exchange traveler's checks - I don't think she likes doing that (or she doesn't like me...either way). Anyway, this is a very long process at the banks here. Customer service is a little lacking here to begin with but at the banks it shows even more. It is ok though. I had time to sit and think about what I wanted for lunch. I actually got very excited when I realized what I wanted and started planning on where I was going. When I finished up with the exchange then went to our bank and deposited it into our account (yes, this has to be done separately...no idea why) I went to lunch!!!!
This may not excite you but leave home for a while...it will! I can tell you that McDonald's here tastes a lot better than McDonald's in Prague and very close to the one back home. It will definitely suffice when I have the fast food craving. The french fries are perfect!
After that indulgence I headed back to the apartment and started packing. It wasn't nearly as fun as it was when I had my friend helping me pack to fly over here but I managed to get most of it done. Some of it had to wait for when Patric got home and for Saturday morning.
Once Patric got home and before he got his part of the packing done, we decided to go have one last dinner at Michelangelo's...mmmmm! He had a yummy chicken pesto dish with real veggies (haven't seen many of those since we arrived here) and amazing cheesy potatoes...
I had pasta with chicken breast and mushrooms in a cream sauce. It had some pepper flakes that weren't mentioned on the menu but they were spiiiiccccyyyy!!!!!
The meal was really good and I will miss being right next door to Michelangelo's but not so much that I will cry for it... =)
After dinner we walked back to the apartment and finished gathering as much as we could in preparation for the move. We had agreed to meet Shanny at the new house at 9:00 Saturday morning which meant the day was going to start early for us. You know that feeling you get that no matter how much you prepare for something you just don't think you have prepared enough? I went to bed with that feeling Friday night...
See you next post!
Monkey update: You know the drill by now...I feel like hope is all I have...are they even really out there???
I got ready ready to face the day and headed up to the lobby and had a taxi called for me. Unfortunately, I didn't give myself enough time to stop at The Coffee Bean on the way to get a chai. That would have made the morning oh so much better (sigh). But that is ok...have water, will travel. My appointment was at 10:15 and I made there just on time. I'm not sure if it was the way I was having my nails done or the fact that I brought all of my own product but a lot of attention was paid to my end of the table throughout my process. And a long process it was! It didn't take quite the full three hours that they told me but I didn't get up until 12:45 so it was close enough. I was very happy with the job that was done, too! Of course, there were some things that I could see that were a little off but it was her first time to do them. A first time to do anything is going to have some errors. I was really happy with the job overall!
After the nail job I had some banking business to take care of across the street. I'm not sure I will ever get used to the banking process here. Even going into the same bank it seems the process is different than the last time I went in. Maybe it is just me...or it is the bank...or whatever. And I swear the teller doesn't like me. I "lucked" out and got the same teller that I had the last time I needed to exchange traveler's checks - I don't think she likes doing that (or she doesn't like me...either way). Anyway, this is a very long process at the banks here. Customer service is a little lacking here to begin with but at the banks it shows even more. It is ok though. I had time to sit and think about what I wanted for lunch. I actually got very excited when I realized what I wanted and started planning on where I was going. When I finished up with the exchange then went to our bank and deposited it into our account (yes, this has to be done separately...no idea why) I went to lunch!!!!
This may not excite you but leave home for a while...it will! I can tell you that McDonald's here tastes a lot better than McDonald's in Prague and very close to the one back home. It will definitely suffice when I have the fast food craving. The french fries are perfect!
After that indulgence I headed back to the apartment and started packing. It wasn't nearly as fun as it was when I had my friend helping me pack to fly over here but I managed to get most of it done. Some of it had to wait for when Patric got home and for Saturday morning.
Once Patric got home and before he got his part of the packing done, we decided to go have one last dinner at Michelangelo's...mmmmm! He had a yummy chicken pesto dish with real veggies (haven't seen many of those since we arrived here) and amazing cheesy potatoes...
I had pasta with chicken breast and mushrooms in a cream sauce. It had some pepper flakes that weren't mentioned on the menu but they were spiiiiccccyyyy!!!!!
The meal was really good and I will miss being right next door to Michelangelo's but not so much that I will cry for it... =)
After dinner we walked back to the apartment and finished gathering as much as we could in preparation for the move. We had agreed to meet Shanny at the new house at 9:00 Saturday morning which meant the day was going to start early for us. You know that feeling you get that no matter how much you prepare for something you just don't think you have prepared enough? I went to bed with that feeling Friday night...
See you next post!
Monkey update: You know the drill by now...I feel like hope is all I have...are they even really out there???
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
...Building Up to a Great Finish!
I knew all I had to do was get to Thursday. I had a fun day planned for Thursday. I was going to have lunch with a new friend, Jackie, that I had met at the AAM lunch. Then we were going to get our nails done...YAY!!! Let them jackhammer away - I wouldn't have to suffer through it that day!
So I got up with an extra spring in my step and got ready to face my day. I was supposed to meet Jackie at Bangsar Village 2 (a mall) at 12:30 but since I had no idea where that was in relation to me I got there early. This mall was smaller than most of the other malls I had been to since arriving to KL but it felt more familiar. It had all of the necessary stores to make it a mall worth hanging out in without all of the flash and flare. I walked around in it and checked out the lay of the land until Jackie arrived. We met in Borders then went to the restaurant where we had agreed to have lunch - Delicious.
This place had a little bit of everything which made it a little hard to choose. I had decided on a Thai style sea bass. My only concern was that since it was Thai style it could be a little spicy. I've been told by more than one person to be careful of the the Thai spices in different restaurants - some are more spicy than others. So I asked our server if the dish was spicy. She looked at me and said it was medium spicy but not too bad. Well, anyone that knows me knows that this will send up red flags. So I looked at her and kind of laughed and said ok but I'm an American, your medium spicy not too bad might be bad for me. I don't really like spicy. She looked at me, smiled and said this is is not a choice for you. So I decided on the minestrone soup and a gourmet three cheese sandwich. They were both really good!
After lunch we headed upstairs to a nail shop that Jackie had found online. After searching this place out we discovered that this branch did not do what they call extensions (tips or refills) - they only did regular manicures. Their other branch did the extensions. So we found another nail salon in the mall. This salon did extensions but suggested that Jackie give her nails another few weeks of resting since she had been without for a little while. It is hard to find a good salon here. Then I showed her my bag of tricks - yes, I had all of the stuff to do my nails. Now, if you know me you know that I was not going to leave Texas without my blue powder! My nail lady in Texas wasn't sure if they would have the liquid to use with my powder so she set me up with everything - liquid, both powders, bonding agent and gel. I showed all of this to the lady and she seemed quite intrigued. The problem was that she was about to leave and she wasn't sure if she trusted any of her staff to do the job. So, Jackie got her manicure and I sat and talked to her. It was all good though because I got to know my new friend a little better.
After the nail shop we left Bangsar Village 2 and walked around the surrounding area a bit. I saw a post office for the first time since being here. Patric and I were wondering if they even had them here. I was craving a chai so I asked if there was a Dome or a Coffee Bean anywhere close to where we were. We took a short taxi ride to Bangsar Center which is a larger mall and found a Dome...woo hoo! Our whole day had already been filled with conversation and I was worried that we would run out of things to talk about but this was an unfounded fear. I found it amazingly easy to talk to my new friend and conversation flowed smoothly while I drank my chai and she drank her ginger beer.
When we finished these we called for a taxi to take us home. She has found a driver that she likes and trusts and calls him directly...I'm still looking for one I can develop a relationship like that with. Anyway, I made it home just fine and was winding down from the day when Patric got home. Oh yeah, something I forgot to mention...earlier in the day I received a call from our real estate agent letting me know that we were going to be able to move into our house on Saturday! How great is that?!?! So when Patric got home we had a lot to talk about. We decided to discuss it while eating dinner at 1 Mont Kiara and picking up a few things at Village Grocers.
We ate at a Japanese restaurant (I can't remember the name). I took pictures this time! I had tempura prawns and assorted tempura veggies. The exciting thing about this meal is I had no idea what the veggies were until I bit into them. Some I liked, some I didn't. Some I still don't know what they were to this day...
Patric had sushi from a conveyor belt. The price was determined by the color of the plate.
Of course, he was on his own there!
USD - a little higher but closer than most of the other quotes I was getting. So I made an appointment for 10:15 the next morning - yay! Then we headed to the store. We didn't get much since we would be moving in a few days. We didn't want to add to the load so we only got essentials like water and a few other items.
So see, the week did turn around and things are starting to look up! The days are starting to get full and now we are picking up steam...
See you next post!
Monkey update: days are a blur...I had hope since I was heading to parts unknown but alas, today was not the day. Fear not, the day will come!
So I got up with an extra spring in my step and got ready to face my day. I was supposed to meet Jackie at Bangsar Village 2 (a mall) at 12:30 but since I had no idea where that was in relation to me I got there early. This mall was smaller than most of the other malls I had been to since arriving to KL but it felt more familiar. It had all of the necessary stores to make it a mall worth hanging out in without all of the flash and flare. I walked around in it and checked out the lay of the land until Jackie arrived. We met in Borders then went to the restaurant where we had agreed to have lunch - Delicious.
This place had a little bit of everything which made it a little hard to choose. I had decided on a Thai style sea bass. My only concern was that since it was Thai style it could be a little spicy. I've been told by more than one person to be careful of the the Thai spices in different restaurants - some are more spicy than others. So I asked our server if the dish was spicy. She looked at me and said it was medium spicy but not too bad. Well, anyone that knows me knows that this will send up red flags. So I looked at her and kind of laughed and said ok but I'm an American, your medium spicy not too bad might be bad for me. I don't really like spicy. She looked at me, smiled and said this is is not a choice for you. So I decided on the minestrone soup and a gourmet three cheese sandwich. They were both really good!
After lunch we headed upstairs to a nail shop that Jackie had found online. After searching this place out we discovered that this branch did not do what they call extensions (tips or refills) - they only did regular manicures. Their other branch did the extensions. So we found another nail salon in the mall. This salon did extensions but suggested that Jackie give her nails another few weeks of resting since she had been without for a little while. It is hard to find a good salon here. Then I showed her my bag of tricks - yes, I had all of the stuff to do my nails. Now, if you know me you know that I was not going to leave Texas without my blue powder! My nail lady in Texas wasn't sure if they would have the liquid to use with my powder so she set me up with everything - liquid, both powders, bonding agent and gel. I showed all of this to the lady and she seemed quite intrigued. The problem was that she was about to leave and she wasn't sure if she trusted any of her staff to do the job. So, Jackie got her manicure and I sat and talked to her. It was all good though because I got to know my new friend a little better.
After the nail shop we left Bangsar Village 2 and walked around the surrounding area a bit. I saw a post office for the first time since being here. Patric and I were wondering if they even had them here. I was craving a chai so I asked if there was a Dome or a Coffee Bean anywhere close to where we were. We took a short taxi ride to Bangsar Center which is a larger mall and found a Dome...woo hoo! Our whole day had already been filled with conversation and I was worried that we would run out of things to talk about but this was an unfounded fear. I found it amazingly easy to talk to my new friend and conversation flowed smoothly while I drank my chai and she drank her ginger beer.
When we finished these we called for a taxi to take us home. She has found a driver that she likes and trusts and calls him directly...I'm still looking for one I can develop a relationship like that with. Anyway, I made it home just fine and was winding down from the day when Patric got home. Oh yeah, something I forgot to mention...earlier in the day I received a call from our real estate agent letting me know that we were going to be able to move into our house on Saturday! How great is that?!?! So when Patric got home we had a lot to talk about. We decided to discuss it while eating dinner at 1 Mont Kiara and picking up a few things at Village Grocers.
We ate at a Japanese restaurant (I can't remember the name). I took pictures this time! I had tempura prawns and assorted tempura veggies. The exciting thing about this meal is I had no idea what the veggies were until I bit into them. Some I liked, some I didn't. Some I still don't know what they were to this day...
Patric had sushi from a conveyor belt. The price was determined by the color of the plate.
Of course, he was on his own there!
USD - a little higher but closer than most of the other quotes I was getting. So I made an appointment for 10:15 the next morning - yay! Then we headed to the store. We didn't get much since we would be moving in a few days. We didn't want to add to the load so we only got essentials like water and a few other items.
So see, the week did turn around and things are starting to look up! The days are starting to get full and now we are picking up steam...
See you next post!
Monkey update: days are a blur...I had hope since I was heading to parts unknown but alas, today was not the day. Fear not, the day will come!
Slow Start...
Don't you just hate it when a week starts off slow with no hope on the horizon? That's how last week started. And you know, they always say to never tell yourself "At least it can't get any worse than this" because that is a sure fire way to make sure that the one more thing that can go wrong, will. Well, I didn't say it out loud so I didn't think it would count but it was Monday and I didn't have anything on the agenda for three whole days but dealing with the world's worst washer and dryer. Honestly, how could it get worse? Then I found out...
Right around 10:00 Monday morning it started. I'm not sure what the upstairs neighbors had done before they moved out but they did a doozy on the floor because it caused the apartment management to decide to replace the tile. To do this they apparently needed to jackhammer up the old tile. This took ALL day. The only break I got was lunch - 12:00 until 1:00. I'm just grateful it wasn't a government job which would have gone on around the clock. The good news, I thought, was that I heard the jackhammering throughout the apartment above me so there shouldn't be any on Tuesday...right?
Well, the old adage held true to form and I cursed myself good! Tuesday started relatively quiet. I could tell they were still working on the floor but it wasn't the jackhammering...yet. They saved that for after lunch. There was no way I could handle another full afternoon of it so I used this as the perfect excuse to go indulge in some chai and escape in a good book (yay Stephanie Plum!). Yes, I was still doing battle with the washer/dryer but I decided to let them win this round and knew the load would be there when I returned.
I woke up Wednesday morning full of hope that the floor was finished only to have this hope dashed quickly by the sounds of work being done. But, this wasn't the sounds of jackhammering so there was still some hope being kept alive. I picked up with the laundry battle knowing that I would win the war this day (I was down to the last two loads...I just don't see how full families do this!!!)! I had gotten far enough in my book the day before that I didn't want to put it down so I picked it back up and continued reading...what a junkie! Anyone that has read these books understands so I feel vindicated! Just as I was really getting into the book again, it started...the jackhammering!!!! I could not believe it - day three in a row! What on earth were they doing up there??? Too much more of that and they would be able to look through and see me! I just kept on with what I was doing and pretended it didn't bother me...yeah, right! Oh well, what was I going to do?
It wasn't too long and I had laundry done - yay! Patric emailed me and suggested that I take a taxi and meet him at 1 Utama so we could have dinner. This was the best idea I had heard all day in light of the other noise I had been hearing all day. I got dressed in record time and was upstairs in the lobby asking for a taxi.
I met Patric at the mall and we discussed a few places for dinner but none of them really sounded good. Then he suggested Chili's...yes, just like back home. They have them all over the place here. So we gave it a shot. Patric had eaten at TGIFriday's for lunch a couple of times but neither of us had tried Chili's yet. It was very good! Sometimes you just need a taste of home...we found one! I have to admit that I am enjoying the small steps that I am taking out into the new tastes of Malaysia but I do enjoy being able to step back to the comfort zone, too. I didn't take pictures of what I ate since I'm sure everyone knows what the Quesadilla Explosion Salad looks like! =)
So there is the slow start to last week. Believe me, it gets better...
See you next post!
Monkey update: I've lost track of what day this is...I refuse to give up, I know they are out there - the TV shows other people experiencing them! My turn is coming...I know it is!!!
Right around 10:00 Monday morning it started. I'm not sure what the upstairs neighbors had done before they moved out but they did a doozy on the floor because it caused the apartment management to decide to replace the tile. To do this they apparently needed to jackhammer up the old tile. This took ALL day. The only break I got was lunch - 12:00 until 1:00. I'm just grateful it wasn't a government job which would have gone on around the clock. The good news, I thought, was that I heard the jackhammering throughout the apartment above me so there shouldn't be any on Tuesday...right?
Well, the old adage held true to form and I cursed myself good! Tuesday started relatively quiet. I could tell they were still working on the floor but it wasn't the jackhammering...yet. They saved that for after lunch. There was no way I could handle another full afternoon of it so I used this as the perfect excuse to go indulge in some chai and escape in a good book (yay Stephanie Plum!). Yes, I was still doing battle with the washer/dryer but I decided to let them win this round and knew the load would be there when I returned.
I woke up Wednesday morning full of hope that the floor was finished only to have this hope dashed quickly by the sounds of work being done. But, this wasn't the sounds of jackhammering so there was still some hope being kept alive. I picked up with the laundry battle knowing that I would win the war this day (I was down to the last two loads...I just don't see how full families do this!!!)! I had gotten far enough in my book the day before that I didn't want to put it down so I picked it back up and continued reading...what a junkie! Anyone that has read these books understands so I feel vindicated! Just as I was really getting into the book again, it started...the jackhammering!!!! I could not believe it - day three in a row! What on earth were they doing up there??? Too much more of that and they would be able to look through and see me! I just kept on with what I was doing and pretended it didn't bother me...yeah, right! Oh well, what was I going to do?
It wasn't too long and I had laundry done - yay! Patric emailed me and suggested that I take a taxi and meet him at 1 Utama so we could have dinner. This was the best idea I had heard all day in light of the other noise I had been hearing all day. I got dressed in record time and was upstairs in the lobby asking for a taxi.
I met Patric at the mall and we discussed a few places for dinner but none of them really sounded good. Then he suggested Chili's...yes, just like back home. They have them all over the place here. So we gave it a shot. Patric had eaten at TGIFriday's for lunch a couple of times but neither of us had tried Chili's yet. It was very good! Sometimes you just need a taste of home...we found one! I have to admit that I am enjoying the small steps that I am taking out into the new tastes of Malaysia but I do enjoy being able to step back to the comfort zone, too. I didn't take pictures of what I ate since I'm sure everyone knows what the Quesadilla Explosion Salad looks like! =)
So there is the slow start to last week. Believe me, it gets better...
See you next post!
Monkey update: I've lost track of what day this is...I refuse to give up, I know they are out there - the TV shows other people experiencing them! My turn is coming...I know it is!!!
Chai Replacement Therapy
Alright my friends...I have been back to the coveted Dome!! It took me long enough but like most things in life, the best things are worth the wait! I didn't take a picture of the actual drink (I should have, I know) since I drank it there but I did get something for you.
Here is the menu cover...
And here is the page that goes into detail about chai...
It's actually pretty cool because it tells a little about the history. So not only does Dome make really good chai it even educates about it. Nice!
So far I've sampled three replacements for Starbucks. I'm sure there are more out there...trust me, I'm still on the hunt! As I find them, you will know!
See you next post!
Here is the menu cover...
And here is the page that goes into detail about chai...
It's actually pretty cool because it tells a little about the history. So not only does Dome make really good chai it even educates about it. Nice!
So far I've sampled three replacements for Starbucks. I'm sure there are more out there...trust me, I'm still on the hunt! As I find them, you will know!
See you next post!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Did We Survive?
It hit me today that I haven't filled you in our full Saturday yet. Well let me correct that grave oversight!!
I've already let you know that the day basically started with us taking possession of our rental car. Our first adventure in it was to 1 Mont Kiara. We realized right away that we hadn't paid any attention to how parking worked for this shopping center. We just knew from our experiences crossing the street that it was always very busy. So my stress level started to rise pretty quickly. But we were able to talk about the area and come up with what we thought would be a route to a parking garage. Sure enough, going on blind faith, we found it. The ramp down to the garage was extremely tight but if I didn't look out the window on my side I couldn't tell how close to the wall Patric was so it was all good!
The only store we needed to visit was the pet store so we could pick up a few things that Duke and Josie (our dogs) needed. This shouldn't have been a long trip to the mall but when I called our boarder she said it was storming on her side of town and knowing it was Patric's first day driving she suggested we wait to head that way. So we grabbed some lunch and just killed some time. After a little more than an hour, when the rain had pretty much stopped on our side of town and we were tired of waiting to hear from her, I called her back for a weather update. I found out it was subsiding on her side as well so we did our shopping and headed her way. And what a journey that was... =) (but that's another post...)
We made it to Shayne's in one piece and were so happy to see Duke and Josie and they were happy to see us! Then they saw the bones we brought for them!
We were forgotten pretty quickly. That is until it was time for us to leave. That was a pretty sad moment. But, it is not forever!
When we left Shayne's we decided to go to 1 Utama (the mall that is connected to Patric's office). This made me a little nervous because if we stayed here too long it would put us driving home in the dark...kind of scary! But, there were a couple of stores that Patric wanted to check out and he wanted me with him. We checked out TVs and Blu-ray/surround sound systems for the living room. Anyone that knows Patric knows he is very particular about these things. We finally found an alarm clock...yay! We also found a case for my phone - a pretty blue one. =)
By this time it was definitely dark so we decided to go ahead and eat at the mall. We went to a Viet Namese restaurant...yes, you read that right! We ate some of the best beef we have had since we have been here! It was called Skewered Beef in a Bamboo Boat - seriously! It was served in a bamboo boat on dried rice noodles. I also ordered stir fried kailon with garlic. I really had no idea what this vegetable was but it turned out to be pretty good. I don't really have anything to compare it to. Patric ordered spring rolls. They had shrimp in them and I tried them anyway...and I liked them! They had peanut sauce to dip them in that was not bad. I would love to post pictures of this fine feast but I completely forgot to take them which is sad considering I had my camera, my phone and my video camera on me. There is really no excuse! This just means I need to go back to this place and order this meal again... =)
We finally left 1 Utama and headed home in the dark. I'm really grateful for GPS even though we did make a few wrong turns. Recalculating route is not always what you want to hear but it is better than being lost! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things then headed for the apartment. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to make it home as I was on Saturday! I had fun being out and about with Patric but the getting to where we needed to be was a little nerve-racking.
Unfortunately, nothing great on the horizon for the next few days!
See you next post!
Monkey update: day 14...I had high hopes since we would be out and about in different areas of town but I was so rattled by the driving that I couldn't even watch for monkeys. One could have run in front of us and would have missed it...how sad is that???
I've already let you know that the day basically started with us taking possession of our rental car. Our first adventure in it was to 1 Mont Kiara. We realized right away that we hadn't paid any attention to how parking worked for this shopping center. We just knew from our experiences crossing the street that it was always very busy. So my stress level started to rise pretty quickly. But we were able to talk about the area and come up with what we thought would be a route to a parking garage. Sure enough, going on blind faith, we found it. The ramp down to the garage was extremely tight but if I didn't look out the window on my side I couldn't tell how close to the wall Patric was so it was all good!
The only store we needed to visit was the pet store so we could pick up a few things that Duke and Josie (our dogs) needed. This shouldn't have been a long trip to the mall but when I called our boarder she said it was storming on her side of town and knowing it was Patric's first day driving she suggested we wait to head that way. So we grabbed some lunch and just killed some time. After a little more than an hour, when the rain had pretty much stopped on our side of town and we were tired of waiting to hear from her, I called her back for a weather update. I found out it was subsiding on her side as well so we did our shopping and headed her way. And what a journey that was... =) (but that's another post...)
We made it to Shayne's in one piece and were so happy to see Duke and Josie and they were happy to see us! Then they saw the bones we brought for them!
We were forgotten pretty quickly. That is until it was time for us to leave. That was a pretty sad moment. But, it is not forever!
When we left Shayne's we decided to go to 1 Utama (the mall that is connected to Patric's office). This made me a little nervous because if we stayed here too long it would put us driving home in the dark...kind of scary! But, there were a couple of stores that Patric wanted to check out and he wanted me with him. We checked out TVs and Blu-ray/surround sound systems for the living room. Anyone that knows Patric knows he is very particular about these things. We finally found an alarm clock...yay! We also found a case for my phone - a pretty blue one. =)
By this time it was definitely dark so we decided to go ahead and eat at the mall. We went to a Viet Namese restaurant...yes, you read that right! We ate some of the best beef we have had since we have been here! It was called Skewered Beef in a Bamboo Boat - seriously! It was served in a bamboo boat on dried rice noodles. I also ordered stir fried kailon with garlic. I really had no idea what this vegetable was but it turned out to be pretty good. I don't really have anything to compare it to. Patric ordered spring rolls. They had shrimp in them and I tried them anyway...and I liked them! They had peanut sauce to dip them in that was not bad. I would love to post pictures of this fine feast but I completely forgot to take them which is sad considering I had my camera, my phone and my video camera on me. There is really no excuse! This just means I need to go back to this place and order this meal again... =)
We finally left 1 Utama and headed home in the dark. I'm really grateful for GPS even though we did make a few wrong turns. Recalculating route is not always what you want to hear but it is better than being lost! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things then headed for the apartment. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to make it home as I was on Saturday! I had fun being out and about with Patric but the getting to where we needed to be was a little nerve-racking.
Unfortunately, nothing great on the horizon for the next few days!
See you next post!
Monkey update: day 14...I had high hopes since we would be out and about in different areas of town but I was so rattled by the driving that I couldn't even watch for monkeys. One could have run in front of us and would have missed it...how sad is that???
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Chai Replacement Therapy
Here is my next installment...and I'll bet you thought I forgot about this, huh? I didn't forget. I've just been stuck on The Coffee Bean. They have really good chai lattes and you know the old adage - if ain't broke, don't fix it.
Well, I decided to step out anyway. I've had this chai before but it was a few weeks back and on the same day that I had the chai from The Dome so I'm not sure it was fair sampling this chai next to it. It just so happens there is a shop in Solaris. I have been passing it up because I have been enamoured by The Coffee Bean.
So today I went back to...
I sat in the coffee shop and read (they were doing jack hammering for the second day in a row in the apartment above me so it was a good excuse to get out). I opted for the to go cup even though I was sitting there...
The only thing I didn't take a picture of was the chocolate muffin I ate because I wasn't sure if I was going to tell on myself...but I have to tell you it was really good!! They warmed it up just the right amount so that it melted in my mouth. I'm very glad I cheated... =)
The chai wasn't to the standards of The Coffee Bean so it definitely wouldn't measure up to The Dome. The chai spices where there but it was a little watery and I think they might have used soy milk. Soy milk is very popular over here since regular milk is hard to come by.
I'm glad I gave it another try just to make sure that I'm doing the right thing by continuing to go to The Coffee Bean for now. Rest assured, once we move I will have two malls full of other options to try. But I will also have The Dome in my back yard!!!
See you next post!
Well, I decided to step out anyway. I've had this chai before but it was a few weeks back and on the same day that I had the chai from The Dome so I'm not sure it was fair sampling this chai next to it. It just so happens there is a shop in Solaris. I have been passing it up because I have been enamoured by The Coffee Bean.
So today I went back to...
I sat in the coffee shop and read (they were doing jack hammering for the second day in a row in the apartment above me so it was a good excuse to get out). I opted for the to go cup even though I was sitting there...
The only thing I didn't take a picture of was the chocolate muffin I ate because I wasn't sure if I was going to tell on myself...but I have to tell you it was really good!! They warmed it up just the right amount so that it melted in my mouth. I'm very glad I cheated... =)
The chai wasn't to the standards of The Coffee Bean so it definitely wouldn't measure up to The Dome. The chai spices where there but it was a little watery and I think they might have used soy milk. Soy milk is very popular over here since regular milk is hard to come by.
I'm glad I gave it another try just to make sure that I'm doing the right thing by continuing to go to The Coffee Bean for now. Rest assured, once we move I will have two malls full of other options to try. But I will also have The Dome in my back yard!!!
See you next post!
Driving in KL
Saturday brought new excitement by way of a rental car. Yes, we bit the bullet and had one delivered to us. We requested a Malaysian made, small Perodua Myvi. We've seen these around and they are very small and functional. We knew it would suit our needs (and our budget) very well. So I sent the email requesting the car and all of the necessary add-ons - GPS, theft waiver and Personal Accident Insurance (PAI). I also requested delivery in time to use the car for the weekend. The email was sent on Thursday. This should be plenty of time, right? It is back home. I'm having a really hard time remembering that things here are not done with the same efficiency that they were back home...
Time went by with no reply to the email. Those that know me know that this worried me so I wound up calling...a few times. When I finally spoke to my contact it was late on Friday and I found out two things: 1. they didn't have anyone to deliver the car until 10:00 Saturday morning, 2. they didn't have any Myvis in stock so they were going to upgrade to a Nissan Sentra (bigger car) for the same price. Well, at this point this is all still sounding ok. We will still have the car to do what we need to do on Saturday and we get a bigger car for the smaller car price. Good, right?
The car was delivered on time Saturday morning. After Patric signed his life away for this rental car we registered it with the front desk then went back down to our apartment to gather the things we would need for the day. I'm not going to go into the specifics of the day because that is another post, I'm just going to share the drive with you. I made a short video to help with that. I'll share that with you now...
Some of the things that weren't shown in this video were the most hilarious. I mentioned having the death grip on the money but I don't think I did it justice. My thumbs were cramping to the point where I was actually scared that we would come up to a toll and I would have to release the money and wouldn't be able to.
Patric was having his own struggles. Adjusting to driving on the right side of the car is not without its own issues. The blinker is also on the right side which means the windshield washer controls are on the left side. I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this. We had to have the cleanest windshield on the road Saturday! And something that would seem like second nature - the seat belt. You would think it natural to reach to the door to grab it, right? Patric kept reaching to his left shoulder, basically towards me, to reach for his seatbelt. My poor husband was all turned around in his little cockpit!
Along with the inside of the car came some issues with the outside of the car. He didn't hit anything but to this day I'm still wondering how he got away with it. I can tell you three things that don't work from the front passenger seat: 1. the brake pedal, 2. leaning waaaaay right to help steer the car, and 3 yelling at the driver when you are really close to an object on the left. These are my personal experiences...they may work for you.
GPS was fun! Listening to it try to say the street names here was hilarious! It can barely say the names in Texas...need I say more? Several wrong turns were taken throughout the day but it recalculated the route every time and got us where we needed to be every time so I have no complaints. We learned to pay attention to distance and right and left - not street name.
I'm not sure when I'll embrace driving in KL. For now I'm really ok with keeping the taxi drivers in business. We think less is spent by me on taxis anyway...yay me! But, you never know...after I've had time to soak it all up and figure out the system I just may jump in with both feet. Then look out...here I come!!! =)
See you next post!
Time went by with no reply to the email. Those that know me know that this worried me so I wound up calling...a few times. When I finally spoke to my contact it was late on Friday and I found out two things: 1. they didn't have anyone to deliver the car until 10:00 Saturday morning, 2. they didn't have any Myvis in stock so they were going to upgrade to a Nissan Sentra (bigger car) for the same price. Well, at this point this is all still sounding ok. We will still have the car to do what we need to do on Saturday and we get a bigger car for the smaller car price. Good, right?
The car was delivered on time Saturday morning. After Patric signed his life away for this rental car we registered it with the front desk then went back down to our apartment to gather the things we would need for the day. I'm not going to go into the specifics of the day because that is another post, I'm just going to share the drive with you. I made a short video to help with that. I'll share that with you now...
Some of the things that weren't shown in this video were the most hilarious. I mentioned having the death grip on the money but I don't think I did it justice. My thumbs were cramping to the point where I was actually scared that we would come up to a toll and I would have to release the money and wouldn't be able to.
Patric was having his own struggles. Adjusting to driving on the right side of the car is not without its own issues. The blinker is also on the right side which means the windshield washer controls are on the left side. I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this. We had to have the cleanest windshield on the road Saturday! And something that would seem like second nature - the seat belt. You would think it natural to reach to the door to grab it, right? Patric kept reaching to his left shoulder, basically towards me, to reach for his seatbelt. My poor husband was all turned around in his little cockpit!
Along with the inside of the car came some issues with the outside of the car. He didn't hit anything but to this day I'm still wondering how he got away with it. I can tell you three things that don't work from the front passenger seat: 1. the brake pedal, 2. leaning waaaaay right to help steer the car, and 3 yelling at the driver when you are really close to an object on the left. These are my personal experiences...they may work for you.
GPS was fun! Listening to it try to say the street names here was hilarious! It can barely say the names in Texas...need I say more? Several wrong turns were taken throughout the day but it recalculated the route every time and got us where we needed to be every time so I have no complaints. We learned to pay attention to distance and right and left - not street name.
I'm not sure when I'll embrace driving in KL. For now I'm really ok with keeping the taxi drivers in business. We think less is spent by me on taxis anyway...yay me! But, you never know...after I've had time to soak it all up and figure out the system I just may jump in with both feet. Then look out...here I come!!! =)
See you next post!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A Day Full of Adventure
Life has certainly gotten busy! The funny thing about is that is seems to be taking a roller coaster approach - a kiddy coaster right now - and going up and down at a leisurely pace...not a breakneck pace. I'll take it right now.
Friday was an AMAZING day!!! It started off pretty normal except for the ball of nerves that were writhing in my stomach. I was able to get up and function through them and get ready to meet the world. I looked very confident and felt comfortable. Sometimes I struggle with what I wear here. Even though this is a Muslim country they are tolerant of all types of dress. I'm not one that is accused of dressing in an extreme manner but it doesn't have to be extreme to be offensive to some here. I know I'm not going to make everyone happy but I do want to feel comfortable...
Anyway, I achieved that goal Friday morning. I had to be at Ben's in The Pavilion (one of the MANY shopping malls in this city) at noon so I went downstairs to have a taxi called for me at 11:00. It arrived a few minutes later so I was on my way quickly. By this time I was excited for a few reasons: 1. the lunch was getting closer which meant I was going to meet new people, 2. I was going to a new area of town so there was a new possibility of seeing monkeys!!!! =)
On my way to The Pavilion I was on constant look out for any and everything new (a good piece of advice I received from a friend of mine), especially monkeys. You know when you are watching a movie or TV show and the stars are staring off and there is an imposed picture of someone looking back at them? Or remember the Scooby Doo cartoons when they had the chase scenes and Scooby and they gang was running one way into one door and the monster was running another way into another door? I had myself feeling something like that in some areas...laugh if you must. In some places the foliage was so dense that I just knew if the taxi had gotten stuck in traffic and we sat long enough for me to stare into it I might have been able to convince myself that I saw movement. Hey, you never know!
I can report that I did see something different, though. And it was something that made me very happy!!!
I can't wait to add to my shot glass collection!!! I was so happy to see this place! By the time I got my camera out we had already passed it by this much but I was determined to get the pic!
Not long after I saw Hard Rock Cafe I was at The Pavilion. When I arrived I felt so under dressed. I wrote in an earlier post that Patric and I went to 1 Utama and that mall blew the Galleria in Houston away. Well, let me just tell you...The Pavilion steps it up a notch...maybe more. This place is bright white and glass everywhere. And every brand name is represented. Ben's was on the sixth floor. I was going to take a bunch of pictures but on the escalators there were no camera signs posted...bummer! Since I got there early I walked around a little bit. I found a TGIFriday's that was advertising their Mexican menu...mmmm. There were also a lot of local flavor restaurants and clothing stores.
I was still a little early but I decided to head to Ben's. I read the menu that was posted outside the restaurant and waited. After a few minutes a lady came out and asked if I was waiting for the lunch and told me to come join them in the back. As I stood, a lady that had been sitting across from me said she had been waiting also so we walked back together. She was the first person I met at the lunch. I met a total of eight ladies at that lunch and enjoyed meeting them all. I found out that three or four (I can't remember now) of those eight had lived in Katy, TX. A majority of them were from the Houston area. All of them have been in KL less than a year but three of them seven months or more so they were the ones that were basically hosting the lunch and representing AAM.
I had the best salad I've had since I've been here! It was grilled chicken on romaine lettuce and baby spinach with red grapes, turkey bacon (yes, I said turkey bacon, YUM!), and tossed in ranch dressing. There were other things that looked really good on the menu, too. I will definitely be going back to this place!
I look forward to seeing the ladies I met at this lunch again. There is a walking tour of Little India coming up that is an AAM function. Most of them will be going and I plan to sign up soon. Some of us are already talking about getting together for lunch very soon. Numbers and emails were passed around so this should be easy to do. Yay, friends!
On my way home I had my taxi drop me off at 1 Mont Kiara so I could do some grocery shopping. Guess what I was able to get? A roasted chicken!!! Along with that I picked up a can of green beans and a can of corn. YAY
Saturday promises to be another big day. Our rental car gets delivered and we are going to see the dogs! I should have plenty to share after that...
See you next post!
Monkey update: day 13...well, sadly no monkeys but I just know they were watching!!! =)
Friday was an AMAZING day!!! It started off pretty normal except for the ball of nerves that were writhing in my stomach. I was able to get up and function through them and get ready to meet the world. I looked very confident and felt comfortable. Sometimes I struggle with what I wear here. Even though this is a Muslim country they are tolerant of all types of dress. I'm not one that is accused of dressing in an extreme manner but it doesn't have to be extreme to be offensive to some here. I know I'm not going to make everyone happy but I do want to feel comfortable...
Anyway, I achieved that goal Friday morning. I had to be at Ben's in The Pavilion (one of the MANY shopping malls in this city) at noon so I went downstairs to have a taxi called for me at 11:00. It arrived a few minutes later so I was on my way quickly. By this time I was excited for a few reasons: 1. the lunch was getting closer which meant I was going to meet new people, 2. I was going to a new area of town so there was a new possibility of seeing monkeys!!!! =)
On my way to The Pavilion I was on constant look out for any and everything new (a good piece of advice I received from a friend of mine), especially monkeys. You know when you are watching a movie or TV show and the stars are staring off and there is an imposed picture of someone looking back at them? Or remember the Scooby Doo cartoons when they had the chase scenes and Scooby and they gang was running one way into one door and the monster was running another way into another door? I had myself feeling something like that in some areas...laugh if you must. In some places the foliage was so dense that I just knew if the taxi had gotten stuck in traffic and we sat long enough for me to stare into it I might have been able to convince myself that I saw movement. Hey, you never know!
I can report that I did see something different, though. And it was something that made me very happy!!!
I can't wait to add to my shot glass collection!!! I was so happy to see this place! By the time I got my camera out we had already passed it by this much but I was determined to get the pic!
Not long after I saw Hard Rock Cafe I was at The Pavilion. When I arrived I felt so under dressed. I wrote in an earlier post that Patric and I went to 1 Utama and that mall blew the Galleria in Houston away. Well, let me just tell you...The Pavilion steps it up a notch...maybe more. This place is bright white and glass everywhere. And every brand name is represented. Ben's was on the sixth floor. I was going to take a bunch of pictures but on the escalators there were no camera signs posted...bummer! Since I got there early I walked around a little bit. I found a TGIFriday's that was advertising their Mexican menu...mmmm. There were also a lot of local flavor restaurants and clothing stores.
I was still a little early but I decided to head to Ben's. I read the menu that was posted outside the restaurant and waited. After a few minutes a lady came out and asked if I was waiting for the lunch and told me to come join them in the back. As I stood, a lady that had been sitting across from me said she had been waiting also so we walked back together. She was the first person I met at the lunch. I met a total of eight ladies at that lunch and enjoyed meeting them all. I found out that three or four (I can't remember now) of those eight had lived in Katy, TX. A majority of them were from the Houston area. All of them have been in KL less than a year but three of them seven months or more so they were the ones that were basically hosting the lunch and representing AAM.
I had the best salad I've had since I've been here! It was grilled chicken on romaine lettuce and baby spinach with red grapes, turkey bacon (yes, I said turkey bacon, YUM!), and tossed in ranch dressing. There were other things that looked really good on the menu, too. I will definitely be going back to this place!
I look forward to seeing the ladies I met at this lunch again. There is a walking tour of Little India coming up that is an AAM function. Most of them will be going and I plan to sign up soon. Some of us are already talking about getting together for lunch very soon. Numbers and emails were passed around so this should be easy to do. Yay, friends!
On my way home I had my taxi drop me off at 1 Mont Kiara so I could do some grocery shopping. Guess what I was able to get? A roasted chicken!!! Along with that I picked up a can of green beans and a can of corn. YAY
Saturday promises to be another big day. Our rental car gets delivered and we are going to see the dogs! I should have plenty to share after that...
See you next post!
Monkey update: day 13...well, sadly no monkeys but I just know they were watching!!! =)
Friday, October 7, 2011
I'm Connected Again!!!
Yesterday was a relatively quiet day. I really didn't do much of anything all day. I had the best of intentions but just not the right amount of oompf behind them. So I was happy when an email conversation started up between Patric and I in the afternoon. This email gave me something to do from home...yay! Productivity with little effort...I like this!
Last week the wheels (there's a pun in here...) were set in motion to rent a car. My mission today was to wrap this up. So, I composed the email to our car rental contact (being the master email composer that I am), included all the necessary information in the information table she provided and made sure to include all necessary people on the distribution list. After I hit send I was feeling pretty good about that email. In just a few short minutes I received an email from Patric. His was very short to me. He only asked me if his was the only one that was missing the required attachments - copies of passports and driver's licenses...you know, important stuff. DOH!!! I really felt like an idiot! So, I sent an additional email apologizing for leaving off the attachments and added them to that email. Yeah... We asked for the car to be delivered to us in time to be used this weekend. We shall see.
My husband loves me so very much. This I know because he tends to overlook sooo many character defects and reward me for the good things. Kind of like our dogs. You know, you have to reward the good behavior...positive reinforcement is what it is called. Not only did I get the car rental ball rolling I also got dishes washed (by hand mind you) and a load of laundry washed (including the first two hours of drying started). So the whole day was not a waste. For this, I was rewarded with...wait for it... A NEW PHONE!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!! I just cannot tell you how excited I am to be connected again! Let me show you!
It has all the creature comforts I am used to! And this one I will be able to take with me no matter where we go...best part of it!!!
After the phone excitement we tried a new restaurant. I didn't bring my camera because I didn't know about the new restaurant. We were in Solaris so I thought we were going somewhere we had already been. But Patric had been told about a place called Asian Terrace. He, naturally, thought that since it was Asian food I would not be interested. Anyone that knows me well understands his train of thought. But I was so tired of eating the same old thing at Solaris that I was up for something new...so Asian Terrace it was.
Now, my friends, before you go getting too terribly excited...wait. You know that I am going to start tame. I had the stir fried black pepper beef. It was a little spicy but very good. I also had the stir fried broccoli and garlic. Mother, you would hate it but I loved it. And I had the steamed jasmine rice - again, very good. My meal, overall, was very good. My more adventurous eating friends would find this a dull meal but I'm ok with it. Patric had a vegetable soup that I tasted and it was so spicy that I was surprised I had any taste buds on my tongue afterwards...and that was just the broth! He had some sort of duck in a Thai chili sauce and rice. His dish was a lot more daring than mine...more power to him. The presentation was beautiful and it wasn't that outrageous. We will definitely go back...and I will take the camera!
From there we went home to wind down. I played with my new phone and Patric was finally able to get on the computer. I also spent a lot of time thinking about the lunch that I was going to the next day. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it. It's a newcomer lunch for the American Association of Malaysia. I was feeling a bit nervous and anxious about it. I was planning out was I was going to wear and how I was going to feel because you know that had to be planned...it couldn't be natural. =)
Anyway, that's another post.
See you next post!
Monkey update: day 12...do I even I have to say it? But there is hope...going to new places in the next post!!!
Last week the wheels (there's a pun in here...) were set in motion to rent a car. My mission today was to wrap this up. So, I composed the email to our car rental contact (being the master email composer that I am), included all the necessary information in the information table she provided and made sure to include all necessary people on the distribution list. After I hit send I was feeling pretty good about that email. In just a few short minutes I received an email from Patric. His was very short to me. He only asked me if his was the only one that was missing the required attachments - copies of passports and driver's licenses...you know, important stuff. DOH!!! I really felt like an idiot! So, I sent an additional email apologizing for leaving off the attachments and added them to that email. Yeah... We asked for the car to be delivered to us in time to be used this weekend. We shall see.
My husband loves me so very much. This I know because he tends to overlook sooo many character defects and reward me for the good things. Kind of like our dogs. You know, you have to reward the good behavior...positive reinforcement is what it is called. Not only did I get the car rental ball rolling I also got dishes washed (by hand mind you) and a load of laundry washed (including the first two hours of drying started). So the whole day was not a waste. For this, I was rewarded with...wait for it... A NEW PHONE!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!! I just cannot tell you how excited I am to be connected again! Let me show you!
After the phone excitement we tried a new restaurant. I didn't bring my camera because I didn't know about the new restaurant. We were in Solaris so I thought we were going somewhere we had already been. But Patric had been told about a place called Asian Terrace. He, naturally, thought that since it was Asian food I would not be interested. Anyone that knows me well understands his train of thought. But I was so tired of eating the same old thing at Solaris that I was up for something new...so Asian Terrace it was.
Now, my friends, before you go getting too terribly excited...wait. You know that I am going to start tame. I had the stir fried black pepper beef. It was a little spicy but very good. I also had the stir fried broccoli and garlic. Mother, you would hate it but I loved it. And I had the steamed jasmine rice - again, very good. My meal, overall, was very good. My more adventurous eating friends would find this a dull meal but I'm ok with it. Patric had a vegetable soup that I tasted and it was so spicy that I was surprised I had any taste buds on my tongue afterwards...and that was just the broth! He had some sort of duck in a Thai chili sauce and rice. His dish was a lot more daring than mine...more power to him. The presentation was beautiful and it wasn't that outrageous. We will definitely go back...and I will take the camera!
From there we went home to wind down. I played with my new phone and Patric was finally able to get on the computer. I also spent a lot of time thinking about the lunch that I was going to the next day. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it. It's a newcomer lunch for the American Association of Malaysia. I was feeling a bit nervous and anxious about it. I was planning out was I was going to wear and how I was going to feel because you know that had to be planned...it couldn't be natural. =)
Anyway, that's another post.
See you next post!
Monkey update: day 12...do I even I have to say it? But there is hope...going to new places in the next post!!!
Look at All of This Wonderful Help I'm Getting!!!
I don't think I've taken the time to introduce you all to my lovely assistant! I don't think a single post to date has gone out without her input and sometimes I even wonder if it is me or her that is actually typing the post! I know there have been times when we have spent hours on end fighting for position on the laptop. I must admit that sometimes I just give in and let her win. She does have a way about her that makes her somewhat...well, the words escape me but what can I say, I just love her.
Meet my adorable assistant, PK...
Isn't she just being a fabulous help?!?!
She is still being so loving and adoring that Patric still wonders if we received the right cat from quarantine. But then she will do something that only PK would do and we know that she is our cat. I know the loving and adoring part shocks those that know her well...I'm sure once the dogs come home things will get back to normal.
Speaking of the dogs, we are going to see them tomorrow so I will be sure to get pictures and post them for you.
See you next post!
Meet my adorable assistant, PK...
Isn't she just being a fabulous help?!?!
She is still being so loving and adoring that Patric still wonders if we received the right cat from quarantine. But then she will do something that only PK would do and we know that she is our cat. I know the loving and adoring part shocks those that know her well...I'm sure once the dogs come home things will get back to normal.
Speaking of the dogs, we are going to see them tomorrow so I will be sure to get pictures and post them for you.
See you next post!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Plans Are Funny Things!
Just so you know, you didn't miss anything Tuesday. I didn't go anywhere or do anything (this means there was no possibility of a monkey sighting...day ten was a flop).
Yesterday, however, was full of plans. And as I have previously stated, I am fully aware of what plans are. They are really my HP's inside jokes in disguise. Well, rest assured that I gave him plenty of opportunity to laugh yesterday!!
My ultimate goal and main plan of the day was to go to 1 Mont Kiara. This is the closest mall to us - the one we walked to on our first day here. In this mall is a grocery store that is a little bit bigger and sells different items than Cold Storage. Last time we were there we noticed they had whole, fully cooked chickens for sale...like you can find at stores at home. They weren't flavored - just regular, cooked chickens. But since we are having such a hard time finding a regular meat and veggie meal a regular cooked chicken and frozen veggies would be a great dinner.
I figured a nice walk there would be good especially since there is a Coffee Bean on the way and very close to the mall. It had been a few days since I'd had a chai latte and I'm really not used to that. So I got ready to head out and I looked out my back door...it was raining...hard. The rainy season here starts in September but from what I was told it has started late. It wasn't very rainy when we got here. I believe it is making up for that. Over the last several days it has rained a good three quarters of the day and most of it has been pretty steady. So I settled into some TV.
I watched a tear jerker of a movie called For Hope. Very eye-opening about a disease I had never heard of but very sad. And still it rained...and time ticked by...and HP laughed.
Finally, at the suggestion of Patric, I bit the bullet and took a taxi. I need to interject something here. I did something really cool Tuesday. I had three Skype sessions with people back home - two of them planned and one of them spontaneous. Amazing things...Skype sessions! It's like sitting in the same room with the person you are talking to...it's great! Anyway, in one of the conversations I was told that I needed to get out and go somewhere everyday and while I was out make sure I see something different even if I was in the same places I have already been (I'm not quoting, only paraphrasing). Well, as I've already stated, I didn't take that advise Tuesday but I did FINALLY get out yesterday. It was much later than I planned and it was by different means than I planned. Two plans down...
I refused to have all plans fail right out of the gate! I had the taxi driver drop me off at Coffee Bean. I ordered my chai and I even splurged and got a chocolate chip muffin. I sat outside under these really big square umbrellas that have fans attached to them and drank my chai and ate my muffin. I couldn't see anything different but just as good I felt something different. I felt calm. I just sat there and soaked up this entirely different culture and lifestyle going on around me and I felt calm in the middle of it. When I realized that was what was happening I smiled. I was the only one sitting at a table outside by myself but I was ok with that. There were several other tables being used and I could here the conversations in different languages...some were serious and some were friendly. I just took it all in. There was laughter behind me every now and then from two men. People walked by on the sidewalk below. There was a constant stream of cars on the street. The rain was steadily tapping the top of the umbrella that I was safely tucked under. And I was calm and at peace with where I was at that very moment and smiling. I was very happy that my HP let me have this plan!
When I finished my chai I got up and walked to 1 Mont Kiara. It took me all of two minutes to get there and the rain had let up so it was barely misting. On my walk I decided to check on nail salons while I was here. Anyone that knows me knows that I will need to have my nails done...soon. Lucky for me, there are two nail salons in this mall. The first one seemed a little iffy as to whether they could do my nails but were willing to quote me a price of RM 250 (roughly $80). I said thank you and left quickly. The second salon seemed a little more familiar with my style of nails - they called them gels - and quoted me RM 180 (roughly $60). I asked if there would be a price break since I have all of my own product (my nail lady back home is awesome!). I'm waiting to hear from them on that. I know that this bit of information has you all on the edge of your seats so I'll be sure to keep you posted! =)
After this I went down to Village Grocers (think they are related to the one in College Station?...Hmmm). I made a beeline to where the chickens are kept...only to find no chickens!!! Third plan down! Ok, not to worry...I can improvise. I start to look around for ideas. I headed over to the meat section. As I'm looking at these really good looking pre
So I went home where Patric was waiting for me and the chicken. I explained my adventures to him. When I finished he looked at me and said, "We have a skillet." Then walked over, opened a cabinet door and showed me a skillet. I could have died. He even showed me a pot - one of my thoughts was spaghetti. The items here are minimal but they are here nonetheless. What a funny sense of humor my HP has!!! It turned out to be a sandwich night.
One other plan my HP did allow me yesterday...we got the house!!! Patric signed the paperwork yesterday morning. Hopefully this means we will be in it within 10 days. It all depends on how quickly the owner gets paid...keep your fingers crossed. From what I understand, there is a dog park very close to that house that has monkeys in it!!! =)
In other news - I contacted the American Association of Malaysia, which is the expat organization, yesterday. This Friday they have a newcomer lunch and I'm signed up to attend. I'm very excited and nervous! Wish me luck and send me good thoughts!
See you next post!
Monkey update: day eleven...you guessed it, nothing new...
Yesterday, however, was full of plans. And as I have previously stated, I am fully aware of what plans are. They are really my HP's inside jokes in disguise. Well, rest assured that I gave him plenty of opportunity to laugh yesterday!!
My ultimate goal and main plan of the day was to go to 1 Mont Kiara. This is the closest mall to us - the one we walked to on our first day here. In this mall is a grocery store that is a little bit bigger and sells different items than Cold Storage. Last time we were there we noticed they had whole, fully cooked chickens for sale...like you can find at stores at home. They weren't flavored - just regular, cooked chickens. But since we are having such a hard time finding a regular meat and veggie meal a regular cooked chicken and frozen veggies would be a great dinner.
I figured a nice walk there would be good especially since there is a Coffee Bean on the way and very close to the mall. It had been a few days since I'd had a chai latte and I'm really not used to that. So I got ready to head out and I looked out my back door...it was raining...hard. The rainy season here starts in September but from what I was told it has started late. It wasn't very rainy when we got here. I believe it is making up for that. Over the last several days it has rained a good three quarters of the day and most of it has been pretty steady. So I settled into some TV.
I watched a tear jerker of a movie called For Hope. Very eye-opening about a disease I had never heard of but very sad. And still it rained...and time ticked by...and HP laughed.
Finally, at the suggestion of Patric, I bit the bullet and took a taxi. I need to interject something here. I did something really cool Tuesday. I had three Skype sessions with people back home - two of them planned and one of them spontaneous. Amazing things...Skype sessions! It's like sitting in the same room with the person you are talking to...it's great! Anyway, in one of the conversations I was told that I needed to get out and go somewhere everyday and while I was out make sure I see something different even if I was in the same places I have already been (I'm not quoting, only paraphrasing). Well, as I've already stated, I didn't take that advise Tuesday but I did FINALLY get out yesterday. It was much later than I planned and it was by different means than I planned. Two plans down...
I refused to have all plans fail right out of the gate! I had the taxi driver drop me off at Coffee Bean. I ordered my chai and I even splurged and got a chocolate chip muffin. I sat outside under these really big square umbrellas that have fans attached to them and drank my chai and ate my muffin. I couldn't see anything different but just as good I felt something different. I felt calm. I just sat there and soaked up this entirely different culture and lifestyle going on around me and I felt calm in the middle of it. When I realized that was what was happening I smiled. I was the only one sitting at a table outside by myself but I was ok with that. There were several other tables being used and I could here the conversations in different languages...some were serious and some were friendly. I just took it all in. There was laughter behind me every now and then from two men. People walked by on the sidewalk below. There was a constant stream of cars on the street. The rain was steadily tapping the top of the umbrella that I was safely tucked under. And I was calm and at peace with where I was at that very moment and smiling. I was very happy that my HP let me have this plan!
When I finished my chai I got up and walked to 1 Mont Kiara. It took me all of two minutes to get there and the rain had let up so it was barely misting. On my walk I decided to check on nail salons while I was here. Anyone that knows me knows that I will need to have my nails done...soon. Lucky for me, there are two nail salons in this mall. The first one seemed a little iffy as to whether they could do my nails but were willing to quote me a price of RM 250 (roughly $80). I said thank you and left quickly. The second salon seemed a little more familiar with my style of nails - they called them gels - and quoted me RM 180 (roughly $60). I asked if there would be a price break since I have all of my own product (my nail lady back home is awesome!). I'm waiting to hear from them on that. I know that this bit of information has you all on the edge of your seats so I'll be sure to keep you posted! =)
After this I went down to Village Grocers (think they are related to the one in College Station?...Hmmm). I made a beeline to where the chickens are kept...only to find no chickens!!! Third plan down! Ok, not to worry...I can improvise. I start to look around for ideas. I headed over to the meat section. As I'm looking at these really good looking pre
So I went home where Patric was waiting for me and the chicken. I explained my adventures to him. When I finished he looked at me and said, "We have a skillet." Then walked over, opened a cabinet door and showed me a skillet. I could have died. He even showed me a pot - one of my thoughts was spaghetti. The items here are minimal but they are here nonetheless. What a funny sense of humor my HP has!!! It turned out to be a sandwich night.
One other plan my HP did allow me yesterday...we got the house!!! Patric signed the paperwork yesterday morning. Hopefully this means we will be in it within 10 days. It all depends on how quickly the owner gets paid...keep your fingers crossed. From what I understand, there is a dog park very close to that house that has monkeys in it!!! =)
In other news - I contacted the American Association of Malaysia, which is the expat organization, yesterday. This Friday they have a newcomer lunch and I'm signed up to attend. I'm very excited and nervous! Wish me luck and send me good thoughts!
See you next post!
Monkey update: day eleven...you guessed it, nothing new...
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Check This Out...
I've been playing around with the design of my blog (really nothing much that you would notice because I change most of it back...) and I've found these things called gadgets. Most of them are ads which I'm not real keen on adding right now, mostly because I'm not real sure what they will do to my blog. The purpose of this is for me to have some sanity while I'm adjusting to a new place. I don't really care about having the world find me or making money with my blog. I really just want to stay grounded and let my friends and family know that I'm ok and things are going well with me.
So anyway, back to the real purpose of this post...
I did find this one really cool gadget that I added to the layout of my blog. My mom found it and she tested it for me. I have some followers (thanks to you...I love you dearly!!!) but I don't really know what that means and what the benefit of being a follower is. This new gadget is just above the followers and it gives you the option to follow by email. This doesn't send me your email but what is does do is send my post to you via email. How cool is that???
There are a few drawbacks. For those that like to comment (I LOVE the comments) it doesn't give you that option. My mom said she couldn't view the pictures but when she forwarded me what she had received I saw the pictures just fine so it could depend on your email address. Also, I can see the stats of how many people are viewing my blog. It looked to me like there were links at the beginning of the email which could take you to the blog itself. This could take care of the comment issue and still show you as coming to my blog so I could still see the stats as they have been. What can I say? Even though I'm not out to be found it makes me happy to know I'm seen. Crazy, I know...
I just thought I would pass that tidbit of information along to those of you that like to read but might forget to check in or would find it easier to have it emailed.
See you next post!
So anyway, back to the real purpose of this post...
I did find this one really cool gadget that I added to the layout of my blog. My mom found it and she tested it for me. I have some followers (thanks to you...I love you dearly!!!) but I don't really know what that means and what the benefit of being a follower is. This new gadget is just above the followers and it gives you the option to follow by email. This doesn't send me your email but what is does do is send my post to you via email. How cool is that???
There are a few drawbacks. For those that like to comment (I LOVE the comments) it doesn't give you that option. My mom said she couldn't view the pictures but when she forwarded me what she had received I saw the pictures just fine so it could depend on your email address. Also, I can see the stats of how many people are viewing my blog. It looked to me like there were links at the beginning of the email which could take you to the blog itself. This could take care of the comment issue and still show you as coming to my blog so I could still see the stats as they have been. What can I say? Even though I'm not out to be found it makes me happy to know I'm seen. Crazy, I know...
I just thought I would pass that tidbit of information along to those of you that like to read but might forget to check in or would find it easier to have it emailed.
See you next post!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Phone Call Monday
I knew that Monday was going to be a pretty mellow, boring day. But some days have to be sacrificed so that phone calls can be made, right? Well, yesterday was that day. They were definitely important calls, too.
I started the day with a Skype call to my mom. It's always good to see her! Then I got busy and got to work...
The first call I made was to Mayflower Rental to ask some questions about renting a car. Patric had sent an email requesting information last week and the reply he received had a lot of what he was looking for in it but there were still some questions that needed to be answered. So I called to find out things like how much more a GPS would be and how much it would cost for theft coverage - you know, the essentials. One day soon either Patric or myself will shoot a video of the way traffic flows here and I will post it. He asked me the other day if I would call it controlled chaos or an elegant ballet. This is definitely controlled chaos!!! But it works! We have been here over a week now and have only seen two wrecks when in reality we should have seen at least 100. It is just crazy how it works. Let me make it clear - Patric will be the only one driving right now. I need time to get used to how the ebb and flow flows. So by the end of the week I expect Patric to be amongst the ranks of those driving the streets of KL. Hmmm...
Next call was to the American Embassy. I was very excited to make this call because I figured I would get to talk to an American. I needed to call to see what it would take to get registered with them. The person that answered the phone may have been American but definitely had an accent that was not American. I told him why I was calling and he transferred me to the Consulate. The woman that answered may also have been an American but again, very thick accent. What a bummer! She was very nice and super helpful. Come to find out we can register online - there is no need to go the Embassy for that after all. The only reasons we will ever need to go to the Embassy is if we need something notarized, if we sell a house back home, or if we need to renew our passports. Crazy, huh?
My last call I was really excited about because it was to the American Expat Association. I found the number on a list of numbers that was provided by the apartments. When I called the number I was told it was disconnected...bummer! The saving grace in this scenario is that I have already been in contact with the Schlumberger Spousal Association and received their newsletter with upcoming functions for this month - some of them I plan on attending!
The rest of the day I just spent bumming around doing nothing. When Patric got home we did our usual walk to Solaris and went to our new favorite Italian food restaurant. Sorry I don't have pictures this time. We also went to the grocery store, Cold Storage. Then we came home. See, yesterday was kind of boring. Sadly, there is nothing on the horizon to make tomorrow seem much better...
See you next post!
Monkey update: day nine...didn't leave the house again so still no monkeys...
I started the day with a Skype call to my mom. It's always good to see her! Then I got busy and got to work...
The first call I made was to Mayflower Rental to ask some questions about renting a car. Patric had sent an email requesting information last week and the reply he received had a lot of what he was looking for in it but there were still some questions that needed to be answered. So I called to find out things like how much more a GPS would be and how much it would cost for theft coverage - you know, the essentials. One day soon either Patric or myself will shoot a video of the way traffic flows here and I will post it. He asked me the other day if I would call it controlled chaos or an elegant ballet. This is definitely controlled chaos!!! But it works! We have been here over a week now and have only seen two wrecks when in reality we should have seen at least 100. It is just crazy how it works. Let me make it clear - Patric will be the only one driving right now. I need time to get used to how the ebb and flow flows. So by the end of the week I expect Patric to be amongst the ranks of those driving the streets of KL. Hmmm...
Next call was to the American Embassy. I was very excited to make this call because I figured I would get to talk to an American. I needed to call to see what it would take to get registered with them. The person that answered the phone may have been American but definitely had an accent that was not American. I told him why I was calling and he transferred me to the Consulate. The woman that answered may also have been an American but again, very thick accent. What a bummer! She was very nice and super helpful. Come to find out we can register online - there is no need to go the Embassy for that after all. The only reasons we will ever need to go to the Embassy is if we need something notarized, if we sell a house back home, or if we need to renew our passports. Crazy, huh?
My last call I was really excited about because it was to the American Expat Association. I found the number on a list of numbers that was provided by the apartments. When I called the number I was told it was disconnected...bummer! The saving grace in this scenario is that I have already been in contact with the Schlumberger Spousal Association and received their newsletter with upcoming functions for this month - some of them I plan on attending!
The rest of the day I just spent bumming around doing nothing. When Patric got home we did our usual walk to Solaris and went to our new favorite Italian food restaurant. Sorry I don't have pictures this time. We also went to the grocery store, Cold Storage. Then we came home. See, yesterday was kind of boring. Sadly, there is nothing on the horizon to make tomorrow seem much better...
See you next post!
Monkey update: day nine...didn't leave the house again so still no monkeys...
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