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!

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!!!  =)

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!!!

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!

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...

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!

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...