Tales of an Expat

New Blog!

2008-07-09T03:35:00.003+08:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we've repatriated back to the US, so it's time to change my blog! My new blog is called I'm Just Saying - y'all come by for a visit, k?

It's Not Just My Uterus That's Irritable

2008-04-05T10:28:00.003+08:00

I am slowly getting settled in back home. M arrives tomorrow which should help things a lot. It’s a bit frustrating because I have a list a mile long of things that I need to get done, except that I have to really try not to overdo it, and so I have to parcel it out, depending on how I feel each day. Good days earn me perhaps a trip to Target AND the dry cleaners. Bad days earn me a spot on the couch.

My uterus is still bitchy. I suppose the correct term for it is “irritable” but whatever. She’s bitchy. So am I. While I love being back home and have a tendency to get all rose-colored glasses about it (Oh look, bluebonnets! Oh, aren’t the grocery store checkers so nice here! And other truly bizarre random observations...), I am also reminded of the simple fact that helped me have so much objectivity while living in KL and pining for the US. That fact is: There are assholes everywhere. So I tend to swing from “Oh the US is so wonderful!” to “What in the hell is so great about it?” I’m having a hard time biting my tongue at rude people, and I’m ready for M to get here so he can save me from getting my ass kicked for popping off at the wrong person. Note to self: Houston is not KL. People are confrontational here, and some of them carry guns and/or are not above bitch-slapping a pregnant chick.

I’m now 31 weeks, and each week that passes is a good thing. Having dodged many of the more common pregnancy ailments thus far, some of the later pregnancy symptoms are kicking in at this point:

- The swelling, she has arrived. I don’t have the dreaded cankles yet, but the wedding ring no longer fits.
- Shaving is next to impossible, and my poor bikini area is sorely neglected, which is making me insane. However, in order for me to get close to it with a razor blade, I have to be able to SEE it. That’s an area that I find unwise to guess at with a sharp object.
- I leak. And not just when I laugh either. Damn, that's sexy. Should’ve done the Kegels.
- First trimester mood swings can’t hold a candle to third trimester mood swings. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT.
- The weight gain is coming on fast and furious. As in, six pounds in two weeks. Now, some of it is because of the swelling and some of it is because I hit the US right at the time that weight gain really picks up (at least I am clinging to those two excuses), but you and I both know that it’s because, although Char Kway Teow is yummy, it’s not nearly as good as Girl Scout Cookies, Easter candy and Marble Slab.

Perhaps a Blog Name Change is in Order?

2008-03-18T09:42:00.002+08:00

Well.

I am no longer an expat.

In three short weeks, M will no longer be an expat either.

It really is quite a long story, but I’ll try to summarize:

The whole thing started about a month ago, when we found out about a family issue involving my stepdaughter. Add to that several days of wondering how to handle said situation, until deciding that it would be best if we moved back to the US. Then throw into the mix the fact that a few days later I started having contractions. And not just a couple. At 25 weeks. Then add to that a hospital stay, some medication (which I’m still on), a hastily made trip back to the US as soon as my doctor cleared me, and here we are.

So hopefully this explains why this blog has been so quiet lately. I’ve been a little distracted. But you should hear more from me now that I am back and getting settled into a bit of a routine.

As for me, I am not on bedrest, but on a vague “take it easy” sort of regimen which involves medication, working from home most days, and (apparently) eating bizarre quantities of food, all while finding none of it all that appealing. The baby and I are fine, which we are so unbelievably thankful for.

Sooo…..our repatriation begins. Hmmm...perhaps a new name for this blog might be in order...

We Don't All Live on Wisteria Lane

2008-02-16T19:34:00.004+08:00

M is in the US on business and serious baby shopping duty, so I've had an eventful Saturday of reading, watching TV and emotional eating. My current Emmy worthy viewing selection is a US show, something along the lines of "Extreme Car Chases Gone Bad", or something to that effect.

That got me thinking: I wonder what in the world your average Malaysian, or anyone else outside the US for that matter, thinks of the US when they watch a show like this? I kind of wonder about what impression that leaves, although it has to be better than the impression they get from watching an Akon video. Anything is. Seriously though, I've become much more aware of people's impressions of America, both positive and (more typically) negative, since living abroad. So, many times, I'll view American TV shows and movies through a non-American's eyes, just to better understand how impressions, generalizations and opinions are formed, because for a lot of people here, that's really the only exposure they have with the "American way of life" - the entertainment industry. (You know, because that's so representative.) Oh yeah, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Seriously. They love their chicken here. They need a 12 step program for it. But I digress.

The creme de la creme is when they show "COPS". I cringe when they show "COPS". Fifteen year old episodes of "COPS", complete with a shirtless, shoeless BillyBobRayDon sitting on the curb with a cigarette dangling out of his toothless mouth, trying to explain to JoeBobJunior of the Fort Worth, Texas police department that he didn't KNOW she was a prostitute, he was just giving her a ride home and no, sir, I have no idea where that crack pipe came from. (I'll admit it. The Fort Worth episodes are my favorite, if only to see a glimpse of home and occasionally tell M "Hey, I've been to that bar!".) Or when a suspect tries to resist arrest and the cop, relying on slight, ahem, use of force, body slams them to the ground, I tend to think that this is not painting the US in a favorable light.

So, yeah, it's a little disconcerting that the primary examples of American life that people are exposed to here are COPS, American Idol and Desperate Housewives, served with a greasy bucket of fried chicken. I'm just thankful they haven't added Jerry Springer to the line up. Then we're all screwed.

Spoke Too Soon...

2008-02-08T16:37:00.000+08:00

Well, we got two days of a fully functioning condo before something else konked out. Our bedroom air conditioner has decided to die...for the THIRD time. If it was any other unit, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I can't stand to be hot when I sleep, and having to sleep with a full body pillow doesn't exactly keep one cool and refreshed, does it? With Chinese New Year, it will be at least next week before we can get the contractors over here again to play the "Let's guess at what the problem might be" game.

Now, the good news is that our owner is actually pretty great. She is very responsive and will usually intervene to help expedite things if necessary. So we are lucky to have her as an advocate, but still, we are looking at at least several more muggy, stuffy nights. We are hoping we can just get the unit replaced. It's too small for the room and so it always works at maximum capacity and just peters out. We need to step up to the next size compressor, or else we will just continue to play this game until we leave KL.

Moving on...on the positive front, Paula Abdul appears to be spiking her Coca Cola cup on American Idol again this season, which is FABULOUS. The hiccup last week was truly awesome. It's the little things that keep me entertained.

Results!

2008-02-05T17:25:00.000+08:00

So at 11am this morning I am waiting. Waiting for phone contractor that was already an hour late, and who I imagined wouldn't bother to show up at all.

Dealing with these daily frustrations is like someone lightly scratching the same place on your arm over and over again. Someone scratches you once, no big deal. Even a few times...not a problem. But when they scratch the same spot over and over again, eventually it irritates you to the point of wanting to bitch slap someone. It's times like this that M sometimes has to step in so that I don't completely freak out on someone and embarrass myself.

So when M came home to pack for his trip to Bangkok, he went down to the management office to find out why the contractor hadn't shown up. Truth be told, it's completely normal here for contractors to be completely unreliable. But we were tired of dealing with it, so M proceeded to go to the manager's office and he gave her a thorough ass chewing. Her attitude was that it was completely out of her control, which is a lame excuse and one that we were tired of hearing. No, it's not completely out of your control. You can control this. Be accountable. It's called "customer service."

Now, normally when we get angry or confrontational here, it results in absolutely nothing other than raising our own blood pressure. It's actually kind of a helpless feeling. So, I have no idea how the conversation went down in that office, but...

Within one hour not only had the contractor shown up, but so had the other contractor that we have been asking about for a month to fix the bathroom door. This is unprecedented for us in Malaysialand. Bitching = RESULTS. Ah....just like home. I was giddy. I actually think endorphins were involved, I was so damn happy. I could have skipped. I would have jumped up and down and clapped with glee if it wouldn't have made me pee myself. I have no idea why complaining actually worked this time, and I don't care. It worked.

Now, as soon as we can get the freezer door fixed, I can (hopefullyhopefullyhopefully) take a much needed break from dealing with maintenance frustrations and get back to the business at hand - nursery preparations and the pursuit of my daily donut fix.

And We Don't Even Own the Place

2008-02-04T18:20:00.000+08:00

Holy fucking shit.

Have you ever had one of those days where it is absolutely imperative that you curl up in the fetal position and have a good cry? Things have gotten a tad overwhelming and so it's good that "my face scrunches in a cute way" when I cry, according to M, because he sees that look more often than I'd like these days.

We got back from our baby shopping weekend in Singapore last night to the oh so pleasant odor of all the food in our refrigerator having spoiled. Our latest maintenance woe is the refrigerator. That mother fucking refrigerator. The seal on the freezer sucks major ass, and so it becomes unsealed regularly. Well, it became unsealed while we were gone over the weekend, causing the fridge to essentially crap out, and everything thawed and spoiled in both the fridge and freezer. We went to the grocery store on the way home, so not only was all of the food in the fridge spoiled, but most of the food that we came home with ended up having to be tossed out as well. M finally got it back working later last night, but not before I calmly walked in the bedroom, laid down, and cried. It was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Everything seems to be such a pain in the ass these days. Nothing is going smoothly. And so it goes on and on like this, until I have to release some of that stress. Some people throw things, some people yell. I cry.

Then, this morning, our power converter imploded as M was making pancakes for our Superbowl breakfast. (Quick aside: What is wrong with that statement?? Superbowl = beer and queso. Not pancakes and juice. It also means Superbowl commercials, which we don't get here. That's just fucked up not to get the commercials. I mean, why even watch the game?) The whole apartment filled with smoke. It still smells.

Then, to continue my lucky streak with maintenance issues, we had the telephone guy come over today to do some work. Here's the deal: We have like, six phone jacks in this place. But, we can only have two of them work at a time. (No, I don't know why. Because it's Malaysia.) So, we want to turn off the jack in the bedroom and turn on the jack in the gym, because we will be moving our computer in there to turn the office into the nursery. So we explain all this to M's administrative assistant. She calls the phone company. The guy comes over, and then proceeds to explain that he can't do anything because it's not a cable issue, and it's inside the apartment. Apparently, the admin told him incorrectly. Whatever. So he has to get management's approval to do anything in the condo. Fine. So we went down to the management's office, and, my good luck for the day, she was actually in the office. I spent the next 45 minutes listening to the phone guy and the manager argue over whose job it was to change the damn jack, and the phone guy explain to the condo's contractor over and over again what we needed done. I kept thinking to myself, "It shouldn't be this hard. It's essentially unplugging a plug from socket A and plugging it into socket B." I mean, if I get it and the contractor doesn't, then it doesn't bode well for us to have a working jack anytime before Chinese New Year. Then a few internal screams later, the contractor told me he would come tomorrow, then started raising hell with the manager again. Okay, so the contractor is supposed to come tomorrow. It remains to be seen, however, if he a) shows up, b) knows what the hell to do once he gets here and c) brings the proper tools.

Wankers.

More Baby Goodness

2008-01-20T23:29:00.000+08:00

I'm so over this whole Dubai trip. Really. Just...over it. This latest visit has certainly not enamored me with the city, and I have had pain in the ass thing after pain in the ass thing happen since I've been here. Plus, I woke up last night with the worst pain in my stomach ever. The doctor on speed dial (aka Triad 1) assured me it was probably reflux, but damn, it was the worst reflux I have ever felt. Four Tums didn't even put a dent in it. So it looks like it may be Pepcid and sleeping sitting up for a while.

Enough with the bitching, because I tend to get on a roll if I indulge myself...so onto happier things!

I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but we had another doctor visit a couple of weeks ago. This one ended up being the BIG ultrasound, as they say, although I didn't know that until we were in the doctor's office and he started the ultrasound. It was a treat to get more than a couple minutes' glance at the wee one! We had made the decision to switch doctors while we were in the US over the holidays, so this was our first visit to the new one. We really liked him; he was thorough and explained everything we were looking at on the ultrasound, plus he gave us all the ultrasound photos on a CD to take home. But the best part were the 3D photos. I had imagined that those would not even be an option in KL, as they are just now becoming more mainstream in the US, and are an extra charge typically. So I figured that it wouldn't even be an option for us, but halfway through the ultrasound, he clicked the mouse a few times, and there our little girl was in 3D!

In other fun news, I feel the baby move on a regular basis now, and I have to say, it is the GROOVIEST FEELING EVER. One of my favorite things to do is lay there and just feel her wiggle all around.

And another fun baby-related tidbit...we have decided to take a trip to Singapore in a couple of weeks to look for nursery stuff. We've looked all around KL, and while we can find some things relatively easily, there are other items that we just need a larger selection to look at before making a decision. You know, because I'm so good with decisions...having MORE options is REALLY going to help with that. Yeah. But I am the kind of person who wants to see all her options before deciding on something, and I am just not happy with the selection of the three bouncy seats that we have seen in KL. Is that so wrong? So off to Singapore we will go, where the stores have a larger selection, and (hoping against hope), the prices might be a wee bit better. We are primarily going to look for nursery furniture. We can only find cribs in KL, with the occasional plastic changing table, and sorry, but I'm not paying $550 US for a plastic crib. I'm just saying. When the saleswoman told me the price, I felt a little rude for my snort of laughter, but are you freaking kidding me? It's PLASTIC. There's supposed to be some lovely furniture in Singapore, though, which I'm totally jazzed about. Our car packing skills will be put to the test as we cram half of Singapore's nursery inventory into the teeny MyVi.

Can I Get Those With a Side of High Fructose Corn Syrup?

2008-01-19T00:14:00.000+08:00

You know you are pregnant when you are in one of the largest shopping malls (Mall of the Emirates) in one of the shopping meccas of the world (Dubai) and, while the stores aren't doing much for you, the food outlets make you GIDDY WITH ANTICIPATION.

Aside from all the restaurants and fast food outlets, there was also a Baskin Robbins, Marble Slab Creamery, Cinnabon, an awesome crepe place that I love, candy stores with bins of fruity, chewy goodness dotted all along the walkway, and best of all...

Krispy Kreme.

As in, the Krispy Kreme that you cannot find anywhere in Southeast Asia. As in, home of the major pregnancy craving that I have had - that being, the Chocolate Covered Donut with Sprinkles. They had so many other kinds too - way more than the stores in the US - including one with a filling like a Ferrero Rocher chocolate. Now, I ask you, how can you top that?

So, instead of drooling over shoes, purses, and overpriced sunglasses, I did my drooling over every sugar laden confection I could find.

I have to go back tomorrow.

My Desert Packing List Doesn't Normally Include Galoshes

2008-01-16T23:08:00.000+08:00

What do you get when you cross a city built in a desert and 105mm of rain in 48 hours?

A really solid argument for a city drainage system.

I arrived in Dubai last night, not knowing that it had been raining pretty solid for a couple of days. Apparently, when this happens, all hell breaks loose because, well, it's a desert and thus, their infrastructure isn't really prepared for rain - much less a lot of rain.

I guess my first clue was last night when, on the way from the airport, we saw several cars stalled on a flooded feeder road. This morning, it was still raining, although not particularly heavily. Those of us used to driving in Houston (which also can't brag about its drainage system) thought nothing of it. But like I said, when it rains this much in a city with no drainage system, it doesn't take much. Most people couldn't even make it into work. I had a crap time trying to get a cab when the car and driver for me didn't show up. Then, once I found a cab, I couldn't find a freakin' working ATM. Finally, the front desk of the hotel brought me some cash, and I was on my way. I got all the way out to work, only to come back to the hotel after finding out my meeting was cancelled.

As it turns out, schools have been closed for days now. I've heard of snow days, but rain days? Speaking of snow, it's supposed to snow in Saudi Arabia this week.

It's also in the 50's here. Not only did I not think to bring an umbrella to the desert (silly me), but I also brought no jacket and only one long sleeved shirt.

I used to always check the weather before packing. But living in KL, where there is no point in checking the weather (because it's the same every day) has thrown me off my game.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-08T17:39:00.000+08:00

Well, hello hello! It's certainly been a while! All in all, it was a lovely visit to the US, once all that pesky work stuff was out of the way. We got back to KL on Friday, and ever since then, I've been jet lag's bitch. Last night was a little better, so hopefully I will be adjusted just in time to head to Dubai (and a four hour time difference) next Tuesday.

To recap, there was much shopping, MUCH eating, much visiting doctors, much family time, much time driving the various Texas interstates, and oh yes, did I mention the eating? There were also many firsts - my first maternity shopping experience (shudder...more on that later), the first time someone took the leap and asked me when I was due (I've finally moved out of the the Pregnant? vs. Beer Gut? phase), the first time I put on a "grown up" bra, and on the day we were leaving, I felt the baby move for the first time!

Next post: All the jacked up pregnancy symptoms that no one ever tells you about. Oh, and I'll throw in something non-pregnancy related as well, for those of you that quickly grow weary of hearing about hemorrhoids and the wonders of the Boppy.

I Heart America

2007-12-05T09:26:00.000+08:00

Since arriving in the US last Sunday....

7: The number of Christmas gifts bought
9: The number of cars on 290 that sped up when I tried to pass them on the way to/from Austin
0: The number of times I gave them the finger
9: The number of times I wanted to
1: The number of used condoms in the parking lot of the Love's truck stop on 290
6: The number of vegetables that came with my entree at Cafe Lux (Who says Americans are excessive?)
1: The number of railroad crossings that came down on my rental car while sitting at a ridiculously long Houston light
6: The number of donuts consumed
3: The number of them that were chocolate with sprinkles
1,000: The number of times that I have gotten in someone's way or caused a minor pedestrian traffic jam because I am walking on the LEFT of everything
5: The number of times people have asked me "So, are you actually going to HAVE the baby in Malaysia?"
2: The number of near meltdowns
1: The number of times I totally lost my shit
3: The number of times I was told how hot my anti-embolism stockings were. You know you want a pair.

Coming Clean

2007-11-29T21:24:00.001+08:00

I mentioned in my last post that there have been some things going on that I had decided not to post about yet. Well, time to come clean...

Hi. I'm pregnant.

We are thrilled! Now, from here forward, I will try not to make every post all about the pregnancy, but to be honest, a good number of them will be. I know that women have been doing this since the beginning of time, but hey, it's my first baby, and I know that you are all waiting with baited breath to hear all about my latest hormone headache, my newly acquired sense of smell and every bout of constipation that I endure. I shall not disappoint.

I'm Still Here....!

2007-11-24T13:16:00.000+08:00

I haven't posted much in the past few weeks, because it's felt like there wasn't a lot going on to post about, except that there have been a ton of things to post about, I have just made the decision not to post about them yet. Perhaps next week...

So let's see, what's been going on....

The Christmas tree has been up for weeks. Who cares if it's a balmy 90 degrees outside? I wanted to be able to enjoy it before I left for the US (which I am doing TODAY!), so up it went. Our tree is a hodgepodge of decorations - there is not a lot of color coordination involved, except that the white lights do match the white and gold sheer ribbon that I twirl around it. While I think the color coordinated Christmas trees are beautiful, it just wouldn't be Christmas without this on the tree:

(It's a hollowed egg dressed as Santa, thanks to felt and cotton balls - made by me when I was 6 or so I think.)

**********

I'm writing this from the airport lounge in the Singapore airport, waiting for my flight back to the US! The only ick factor (aside from a 15 hour flight) is that I have a nine hour layover in LA. And LA is such a great airport to have a long layover in - there's so much to do!! Or not. Seriously, I would think that an airport that sees so much international traffic (and thus, probably has a lot of folks that have lengthy layovers there) would do a little bit more for those customers that end up having to be there for hours on end. I can't go to the Singapore lounge, because even though I have ten thousand kabillion miles with them, I can't use the lounge after a flight, only before. So I ended up getting a hotel. After a long flight, I just want a shower, and bed and a nap. The upside is that at least I can catch up on all my movies on the flight.

**********

In other random news, we celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend. The only thing that we couldn't find in KL were French fried onions for the green bean casserole. We did find some dried red onions, and I guess they were okay, although not quite the same. A little of those went a long way. We had Reese and J over and feasted on turkey, homemade cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and apple pie. We thought about buying the stuffing mix, but I just couldn't do it. Stove Top will do in a pinch, but not at Thanksgiving. I am quite particular about my dressing, and I wanted the recipe I grew up with. Isn't that funny how people have their little quirks about Thanksgiving? Whether the dressing is cornbread or white bread, in the turkey or on the side, whether the sweet potatoes have marshmallows in them or not (and to that I say, what the hell people? Marshmallows should not be running around in any type of food other than Rice Krispie treats or s'mores. I'm just saying.) Anyway, so Thanksgiving was nice, and we had plenty of leftovers to feast on for several more days.

**********

I will arrive in Houston early on Sunday morning, and after a couple of weeks of work, I will be on vacation for the rest of the year! I can't wait to see everyone! (and go to Target) :)

Carpet Auction

2007-10-30T17:49:00.000+08:00

Twice a year or so, the American Association here in KL holds a carpet auction. Each time, the same company comes in with all their wares, and for a nominal fee, one can eat samosas (yum!), drink wine and bid their hard earned cash on a carpet or two.

M and I arrived late, and the bidding was already underway. We would have arrived earlier except that one way streets aren't marked on KL maps. Fucking maps. Much cursing ensued. So, after finding another parking garage to park in, we made our way over to the hotel.

Before we headed into the auction, we viewed the carpets outside to decide which ones were our favorites. As we were checking out the carpets, a guy came out to the buffet, reached into a chafing dish with his hand, pulled out a handful of spaghetti noodles, tilted his head back and ever so gracefully lowered the noodles into his waiting mouth. I shit you not. Then, a few minutes later, the same guy went over to the open bar, and while he was talking on his phone, he pulled the wine cork out of the bottle with his teeth. Okay, we will just mark your name on that wine bottle, sir, because no one else wants to put their hands on that nasty cork now. This guy ended up buying several rugs, which illustrates the point that money does not buy class. I feel a little bad for ragging on him because he seemed like a nice guy, but fuck! Spaghetti is not a finger good, and the chafing dish is not a trough.

The auction itself was a blast. The auctioneers were entertaining and very knowledgeable (aside from being really amazing salespeople - quite smooth). We were about three rugs into things when the carpet up for bid caught our eye. We ended up bidding on it (and we were total auction virgins) and we ended up with a new carpet! So that sufficiently scared the bejeezus out of us bidding much more that night, as I didn't want our bidding card writing checks that our bank account couldn't cash, so to speak. The bidding part would be oodles of fun if, at the end, you could just tell them, "Never mind, I was just practicing" or something like that. They tend to frown on that, so our bidding card stayed in M's pocket for the most part for the rest of the evening.

Not everyone else though. They were bidding left and right, on almost everything. The auctioneers have obviously learned that Americans + open bar = a very profitable night. As the night wore on, the crowd got more and more vocal, to the point of the auctioneer having to shh the crowd (I think the phrase used was "focus" - ha!) And while one or two Americans in a crowd of foreigners can sometimes appear a bit obnoxious, a whole group of Americans together? Well, that was just lovely. Really. It was the first time in KL that we've been around a large group of Americans. It was nice.

Self restraint at the next auction will prove difficult. I do think, however, that I should at least be able to keep my fingers out of the spaghetti.

Hari Raya

2007-10-23T16:54:00.000+08:00

The weekend before last was a lovely, lovely weekend. Not only was it our first wedding anniversary, our anniversary also fell on a four day weekend, as it was Hari Raya - the end of Ramadan. Balik kampung gave me sweet, sweet relief!

Everyone hightailed it out of town for Hari Raya, and M and I were originally planning to do the same. But after realizing that we could 1) join the millions of Malaysians on the highway (and waiting for hours at the toll booth) or 2) stay in KL and enjoy the city, which would be far less crowded than the highway, we knew what we had to do. So we cancelled our reservation at the E&O in Penang, and stayed in KL all weekend.

The city wasn't empty, but it was a hell of a lot less crowded than it normally is. And it was freakin' great. The traffic was nil, the restaurants weren't crowded (the ones that were open, that is) and there was a slower pace to things - and I don't just mean the speed at which people walk here. (Seriously. A snail's pace. Drives us batty. I'm just saying.)

We had a great Italian meal for our anniversary, then spent the rest of the weekend taking it easy, doing a bit of furniture shopping, and we even caught a movie on Monday.

Okay, about the movie...it was Bourne Ultimatum, which I didn't think was all that great. I mean seriously, at the last minute you LOOP YOUR ARM through the seat belt and that saves you from the latest fiery multi-car crash? I am the "Oh, Like That Could Really Happen" Viewer. This is why M hates watching movies with me. But the part of the movie that was actually good? The theater itself. We went to the Gold Class theater, complete with leather recliner, blankie and snacks-on-demand button. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go to a regular movie theater again.

All rested up from our relaxing weekend, we are thinking about putting up our Christmas decorations. It's only October, you say? We aren't concerned with the calendar. In our mind, it's close enough. Besides, it's 90 degrees here at Christmas, so what's the difference? I want to be able to enjoy the tree for a while before I leave for the US (which will be Thanksgiving weekend). Who's up for some eggnog and carols?

(Who am I kidding? In my family, it's not eggnog and carols, it's Bud Light and Dirty Scattergories. Norman Rockwell, we are not.)

Autumn

2007-10-13T09:14:00.000+08:00

I miss autumn. Okay, scratch that…I miss seasons. But autumn is my favorite. Every year, I look forward to that first crisp fall morning, where you get to break out your autumn clothes and maybe even a jacket. In Texas, that usually doesn’t happen until around Thanksgiving, but every once in a while we were lucky, and autumn would peek her head around the corner in October…for a day or two, until the 90 degree temperatures would take over again.

Autumn is my favorite season. I like my fall and winter clothes so much more that my summer clothes. I get to wear my sassy suede jacket that needs to be replaced, but I can't seem to find a jacket like it and it’s one of my favorite items of clothing ever. So I'll wear it until it disintegrates. Halloween and Thanksgiving are fall holidays. Football is in the fall. Falling leaves (and in some lucky parts of the country, leaves of different colors) abound. The leaves in Texas pretty much go from green, to brown, to gone in a matter of a couple of weeks, but I’ll take it. They make such a nice crunchy noise on the ground.

Seasons mark the passage of time. So it makes it a little difficult that we don’t have seasons here. It’s the same temperature…all year long. The sun rises and sets at the same times each day. The main variation on the weather here is if it will rain a little or a lot on any given day. Every day it’s like this. Every day.

I miss autumn.

Daily Dose of Irony

2007-10-03T17:23:00.000+08:00

Last night, I was watching an episode of Seinfeld.

They censored the word "butt".

They censored the word "butt" in the episode where the entire fucking episode was about masturbation.

I'd like to thank the Malaysian censors for protecting the viewing public from the horrors of the word "butt" while they are viewing the Seinfeld episode where the characters bet who can refrain the longest from masturbating, and JFK Jr. de-virginizes Jerry's ex-girlfriend.

Thanks guys, your priorities are definitely in order.

Strangely, He Didn't Offer a Receipt

2007-10-01T19:20:00.000+08:00

Friday night, M and I drove our lovely little car to dinner. We were heading for our favorite Indian restaurant, and since it was our first time driving there, we took the same route that all the cab drivers have taken during the many, many times they have driven us to said restaurant.

Well, getting there involved making a right hand turn across a couple of lanes of traffic (we drive on the left hand side here). We made the turn and started down a dark back road, where we were waved down by a cop. Turns out, when we made the turn, we crossed a double white line, which is a no-no. I guess we didn't notice it because we were too busy trying not to get hit, hit anyone else, dodge the motorbikes that are whizzing by us, etc. Besides, every cab we have taken to this restaurant has gone this way, but DING!DING!DING! We were the lucky winners who got pulled over.

So he asked M for his license (which, luckily, we found the other day after misplacing it). He explained what we had done, we were apologetic, yada yada. He asked where we were from and we told him where we lived, but turned out he wanted to know where we were from, so we told him the US. Damn! I hate when we have to do that.

He proceeded to tell us that we could pay an on the spot fine. Now, we have never been pulled over before, so we didn't know how it worked here. The on the spot fine was RM 300, which is the going rate according to a couple of other expats we've talked to.

M didn't have cash, so the cop even escorted us to an ATM...holding up traffic and everything so that we could stay behind him. M got cash and the cop then proceeded to escort us to the restaurant. Along the way, on a dark and desolate street, he stopped and told us we could pay him there. Seriously. So we pay, and since at that point we didn't really know the neighborhood we were in, he escorted us to the restaurant.

As it turns out, he could have given us a ticket and according to some locals, the fine would have been about RM 100, which we would have then paid at the police station. I guess that other RM 200 must have been a "convenience" fee, right? Do you get my sarcasm? Are you sure? 'Cause I'm laying it on pretty thick.

Although, truth be told, I might opt for an on the spot fine again. Something tells me that going to the police station to pay a fine would not be an exercise in efficiency. Quite frankly, 200 ringgit is worth it to save my sanity. I have so little to spare these days.

Anyone Need a Ride?....Seriously, Anyone?

2007-09-23T19:19:00.000+08:00

Because we finally have a car! We have now joined the rest of these guys in KL:

One of our biggest frustrations in KL has been transportation. Not having a car means that you are at the mercy of the weather, the taxi drivers, and hoofing it to the subway station every time you want to go somewhere. It's a control issue with me, and a couple of months ago, I hit my limit.

So we bought a car. FREEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!!!

We picked it up last week, and I have to say, it's some of the best damn money we have ever spent. We love our little Perodua. We've named her Lucy.

Lucy is small, but that's exactly what we need in the city. The lanes are narrow, the traffic is (sometimes) harrowing, and the parking garages have tiny ramps and parking spaces. I have no idea how people even maneuver a Camry into some of these parking garages.

We love Lucy. Seriously, every couple of hours or so, M and I will turn to each other and say "Why didn't we get a car sooner?" It's our very favoritist toy ever these days! After we picked it up last week, we drove out to dinner every night. On the weekend we drove all around town, even through Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon, which is taking your life into your own hands. A true madhouse. So our off time consists of thinking up different reasons to drive the car. Do we need to go to the grocery store? Let's go by towels! Let's go to dinner! Do we want to go to the mall?

M seems to have gotten pretty comfortable with the driving style here. Lanes are mere suggestions. Sometimes they abruptly end because people are double parked. They merge on a whim. People like to straddle them for kilometers on end. Blinkers are never used. Scooters rule the road and weave in and out of traffic. We are learning all about the "traffic circle" and how to read the signs in general. The signs will tell you what part of town you are going to, but generally, they don't tell you what road you are on. So with M at the wheel, and me attempting to read the map, it's like the blind leading the blind. I guess that's the best way to learn, I suppose. It would help if half the streets weren't named Damansara something.

In general, while the traffic can be bad in some places, we find that most drivers all work together, far more so than in the US. If you need to change lanes, they will let you in. If they are in your blind spot, they will give you a friendly honk to let you know, rather than hang out of their window screaming obscenities at you. In Houston, using your blinker is like waving a big sign saying "Cut me off! Please race ahead so that I don't dare move in front of you! Where you are going is far more important, and I understand that if you are one car in front of me, that means that you will get to your destination a full two seconds before I will. So please, go right ahead!" (Yeah, it's a long sign). Here, when you use your blinker (and I think we're the only ones that do)...they let you in. Brilliant.

We love Lucy. Lucy takes us where we want to go, rain or shine. Lucy smells like new car, not like a cab or stinky subway. Lucy plays great music. Lucy has working seat belts, airbags and air conditioning. Lucy doesn't overcharge us. Lucy will take us to Melacca, or Penang, or Cameron Highlands, or Singapore. Lucy's meter always works, and Lucy gets her gasoline at a full-serve station (I didn't even know those still existed).

We love our new addition to our family.

Musical Meme Update

2007-09-21T19:29:00.000+08:00

In the spirit of musical fun, I've added a couple of lines to the songs that haven't been guessed yet in the Musical Meme below.

Go on, you know you wanna play....

If You Get the Feeling Someone's Crazy, They Are

2007-09-21T17:41:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, I went over to KLCC and had a lovely lunch with Reese. Afterwards, I headed back home via the KLCC park.

The park at KLCC is really nice. Lots of trees and grass, a well maintained children's play area and a big wading pool for them to play in. I was meandering along on the path when I noticed footsteps behind me. Usually, footsteps behind me kind of bother me, since I am naturally completely paranoid of being snuck up or surprised in any way. Seriously, M can't even surprise me in the shower. He knows that it will scare me so bad that it usually will bring on tears. He's also likely to get hit with a bottle of shampoo, so he's learned. I have a bit of an anxiety issue, in case you can't tell. However, here in KL, I've gotten a little more used to it. There are so many people in general, definitely in the park, and given the "smaller personal space" issue as well as the shuffling noise that many people make when they walk here (seriously, people, pick up your feet), that I'm used to hearing people walk behind me.

So I'm walking along, and hear these footshuffles behind me. This continues for a bit, until I hear,

"Excuse me, miss?"

I pretend to have not heard.

Again, "Excuse me, miss?"

So I turn my head and keep walking forward a bit. A local guy approaches me. Please don't try to sell me a Rolex, I think. (I'm not generalizing here. We get approached to buy Rolexes in front of KLCC on a semi-regular basis. M usually just speaks Spanish to them, they get frustrated, and end up leaving us alone.)

"Where are you from?" he asks.

"I live in KL," I reply. As I've said before, I typically won't offer the information that I'm from the US. I wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"You...are so beautiful," he says.

"Um, thanks," I reply. K...that's a bit random. Where was this guy going with this? I have a healthy distrust of random compliments. Especially considering that I was wearing a ratty tank top and carrying a sassy nylon sling bag. Oh, and sweating profusely. Yeah, looking great right now.I figured he was going to try to sell me some face cream, or maybe a timeshare. I continue walking.

"Where do you live?"

What, are you crazy? Do you really think I'm going to tell you where I live? This guy was starting to weird me out.

"I live in KL," I reply. I start walking again.

"Excuse me, miss?" So I turn around again. He jogs up next to me. "I wanted to ask you a question."

I wait.

"Would you like to have...a dinner sometime?" he stammers. Okay, now I'm a teeny bit flattered, as he's obviously nervous, and that's kind of sweet in a stalkerish sort of way.

"I'm married," I tell him, thinking that will finally end the conversation. I don't really do "conversation" with strangers in general, and in particular random guys who approach me in a park.

"That's okay, it's just dinner," he said. Ohhhh, okay, just dinner. Well, sure, why not? I'm sure M would understand. Definitely.

I shook my head and repeated, "I'm married."

"Oh, okay," he said and I went on my merry way.

A little weird, but nothing major.

Except that then, from behind me, he starts yelling "You are so beautiful! You are so beautiful!" Okay, now this guy has crossed the line from a stammering, harmless enough fellow, to a loony stalker type.

Maybe he was with some friends who put him up to it. Otherwise, he lacks what I would call "the social skills".

Now, if he shows up underneath my window tonight holding a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", then I might be in trouble.

Musical Meme

2007-09-18T18:59:00.000+08:00

Saw this on Donna's blog and thought it looked really fun! Here’s how it goes:

1. Put your mp3 player or music player on your computer on random.
2. Post the first four lines from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song (Skip repeat artists).
3. Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.

Leave your guesses in the comments. No Googling for answers!

1. I’m trying to tell you
Something ‘bout my life
Maybe give me insight
Between black and white
Guessed by Triad #1

2. Well when you’re down on your luck
And you ain’t got a buck
In London
You’re a goner
Even London Bridge
Has fallen down
And moved to Arizona

3. There is nothing that competes with habit
And I know it’s neither deep nor tragic
It's simply that you
Have to have it
So you could make a killing

4. This old man
I’ve talked about
Broke his own heart
Poured it in the ground
Big red tree grew up and out
Throws up its leaves
Spins round and round

5. Well I know it’s kinda late
I hope I didn’t wake you
But what I’ve gotta say can’t wait
I know you’d understand
Guessed by Triad #1

6. Mother mother ocean
I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters
Since I was three feet tall
Guessed by Triad #1 (close enough)

7. Well my baby threw me out
Because I drank too much
She offered me her car
So I could move my stuff
I'm gonna sell the bitch's car
I'm gonna sell the bitch's car

8. Twenty twenty twenty four hours to go
I wanna be sedated
Nothin to do nowhere to go
I wanna be sedated
Guessed by Donna

9. I know a girl who
Thinks of ghosts
She’ll make you breakfast
She’ll make you toast
But she don't use butter
And she don't use cheese

10. I look at you
You might your tongue
You don’t know why
Or where I’m coming from
But in my head I'm close to you
We're in the rain, still searching for the sun

11. So scream you
Out from behind the bitter ache
You’re hanging on the memory
You need most
You still want love
Love's ugly, smooth and delicate
But not without affection, but not alone

12. Oh l’amour
Broke my heart and now I’m aching for you
Oh l’amour
What's a boy in love supposed to do?
Guessed by Donna

13. Listen to the girl
As she takes on half the world
Moving up and so alive
In her honey dripping beehive
Beehive
It's good, so good
It's so good

14. Oh we were walking
Just the other day
And it was so hot outside
You could fry an egg
Guessed by Reese

15. Sweat baby, sweat baby
Sex is a Texas drought
Me and you do the kind of stuff
That only Prince would sing about
So put your hand down my pants
Guessed by Triad #1

16. Well he was fueled by a lack
Drew inspiration from a need
So many problems to crack
And mouths to feed
Crooked was the path
And brazen was the walk

17. You saw me standing by the wall
Corner of a main street
And the lights are flashing
On your windowsill
Guessed by Donna

18. There’s something in the way she moves
Or looks my way
Or calls my name
That seems to leave this troubled world behind
Guessed by Triad #1

19. Coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
Guessed by Reese

20. Every time I see you
Something happens to me
Like a chain reaction
Between you and me
My heart starts missing a beat
My heart starts missing a beat
Every time

Ramadan

2007-09-13T17:27:00.000+08:00

Today marks the beginning of Ramadan (or Ramadhan, if you prefer). During the month of Ramadan, Muslims must fast from dawn until dusk. When I say fast, I mean not only from eating, but also from drinking (anything, even water), sex, sarcasm, gossiping, etc. Since I'm no expert on the subject, read this article from Wikipedia. It explains things much better than I could. If I tried to explain it to you, I would basically just recite the article, and plagiarism is bad, 'n kay?

All around town, people are gearing up for Ramadan. Advertisements are everywhere for Ramadan buffets. Breaking fast is an event, and hotels are game to cash in with lavish buffets. Rush hour starts earlier as well. Many offices shorten their hours during Ramadan - some only offer this to Muslims, and other offices offer it to all employees. For example, our office in Dubai will end the workday at 2pm. Again, I totally agree with this. Dubai traffic is horrendous anyway, but to adding a bunch of hungry, low blood sugar, not having eaten all day drivers to the mix just doesn't make a lot of sense from a safety standpoint. For those offices who offer it to only Muslims, I am wondering in the back of my mind - how come I didn't get to leave work early during Christmas in the US? I could have gotten a ton of Christmas shopping done! Then again, I hardly think that fasting all day is akin to needing to go to Toys R Us to pick up some last minute gifts. Although, going to Toys R Us at 6pm during the two weeks preceding Christmas does have its own kind of sacrifice - that being, my sanity. But I digress...

Companies will often hold events for breaking fast. Nice idea, really. I've heard though, that some companies make these events mandatory for everyone in the office, regardless of their religious beliefs.

Huh?

This doesn't fly for me. "Participating in social events" isn't part of many job descriptions out there. Neither is "participating in religious events". And I think it would be a stretch to include it as part of the "other projects as assigned" on said descriptions. As an HR person, I'm surprised at this. I enjoy social gatherings as much as the next person, but I'd never force anyone to attend. To me, this is akin to requiring employees to attend a Christmas party (in the US, you can't even call it a Christmas party anymore - it's a Holiday party, for fear of offending any particular religion), or requiring them to dye Easter eggs for the local kids to hunt. A social event, yes, but one grounded in a particular religious belief. While Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, religious freedom is an important part of Malaysia as well.

So I'm left scratching my head on that one.

Did the Earth Move for You?

2007-09-12T22:14:00.000+08:00

So M gets home from work tonight. We are sitting out on our balcony, which is what we normally do, discussing what we are going to have for dinner tonight. All of a sudden, M stops and looks at me.

"Do you feel that?" he says.

Well, I'll be damned, I most certainly did feel that. So I respond "Yeah, I feel it."

And we both watched his drink sway in his glass.

"Holy shit, that's an earthquake," he says.

"Oh. Cool," I respond.

So we go inside, and sure enough, the hanging lights in our kitchen are just kind of swaying back and forth. Not violently or anything, but just a gentle sort of rocking. We notice it in the living room too, and our kitchen door is kind of rocking back and forth, making a sqiuik-squick noise. It's not like you feel the ground is moving, you just feel this weird vertigo and you notice that shit is moving that should not be moving.

Whoa.

So M is all about getting the frick out of there and going to dinner, because he's not too keen on experiencing more of our first earthquake in KL from the 11th floor of our building. Having grown up in California, he's all too familiar with earthquakes. Me, I'm fascinated. This is totally gnarly.

See, I grew up in Tornado Alley (for those of you who aren't familiar with Tornado Alley, it's a swath of land, going from the Midwest - Kansas or southern Nebraska - on down through north central Texas, where most of the world's tornadoes occur). Growing up, I always had a strange fascination with tornadoes, and would plot them and track them as the weather bulletins would scroll across our TV screen. One time, I even saw the green clouds slowly swirling above us as we stood at our kitchen window, peering through the pea green blinds that were so circa 1982 it's not even funny.) So, given my penchant for weather and other things scientific, it's a wonder I ever got laid in high school. I'm fascinated with tornadoes, hurricanes, ice storms, all of that stuff.

I am mesmerized by nature's violent tendencies. Not to make light of it because I'm not, I've just always been in awe, and so interested in these sorts of things. If we felt it on the 11th floor of a building, I wonder what it felt like to people on the 88th floor of the Petronas Towers?

I never felt like we, in KL, were under any particular danger, since we are hardly ever (if ever at all) near the epicenter of earthquakes. The epicenters of the quakes we feel are typically in Indonesia. My fascination with them doesn't mean that I am naive to the damage they can do, so I don't mean to sound unsympathetic. It's just that for someone who has never experienced it, it's pretty wild. I always thought it would be a violent shaking. For us here, it was more of a rocking or swaying motion. It felt like when you are out on a boat all day, feeling the waves gently rock you, and then when you go to bed that night, it feels like you are still in the boat. Just a weird sort of vertigo.

So, there you have it - our first earthquake. So during dinner, M went on about his dissertation about structural natural frequencies and mass moments of inertia.

I love it when he gets all technical.

Zzzz...

2007-09-10T18:12:00.000+08:00

It's a bit of a snoozer around here these days...not a lot going on. So, just a few quick updates:

*****

We finally got our possessed ceiling fan fixed. It took three (or four) appointments, but this time, the service guy finally showed. It was a bit touch and go for a while though, since this afternoon the service office called and said they needed to know where we lived. (Okay, I don't understand since they supposedly came by last week when we weren't here, but anyway.) So the service guy called, and he spoke mostly Malay. This is fine and all, since we are, after all, in Malaysia, but we were having a hard time of it - me understanding his questions, him understanding my directions. Luckily, M came home about then, so I was able to thrust the phone at him so that he could give the directions. He's just way better at being concise (big shocker there, I'm sure). So now we have a ceiling fan that not only turns on, but turns off as well. Handy.

*****

The ants are back in our kitchen. How do ants get up to the 12th floor of a building? So I'm having to be extra clean and tidy in the kitchen so that they don't take over our pantry and march off with its contents, a la "ants at a picnic" that you see on cartoons. Being extra clean and tidy is tough for me. It goes against my very nature.

*****

I was inspired by Donna, and I've started the Couch to 5K program. I was starting to work out a little anyway, and this program seemed like it would give me some structure and something to shoot for. I'm only on Day 3, so it remains to be seen if I stick with it or not. I still truly believe that endorphins are a myth created by Nike and Powerade.

*****

It just occurred to me today that when I'm in Texas at the end of October, I'll be able to go to a high school football game! Give me a good high school or college game over the NFL any day. Plus, I'll get to see my nephew cheer, which I've never been able to do! Their squad is supposed to be really good too, so that will be fun. I love the smell of autumn high school football games - clean air, cut grass, nachos and hot dogs. It's not fall without it.

*****

Speaking of high school football - Friday Night Lights just started showing on Star World here. All I can say is, having grown up in a town like that, the creators and writers are spot on. Spot On. They really capture the authenticity of the whole thing. I'd love to know who they have consulting on that show, and how they are so accurate. It's like they hung out at the diner in my hometown.

Yep, exciting times around here...

Bless Her Heart

2007-09-08T11:36:00.000+08:00

You know what? The 90 degree, 90% humidity of KL feels downright cool after being in Dubai's 115 degree heat for the past couple of weeks.

You know what else is cool? After a red eye flight in which I got maybe two hours of sleep, and no nap all day yesterday, I slept for 13 hours last night. M finally had to come and wake me up. Thirteen hours...I guess I'm officially rested up now.

And finally, something that's not so cool:

(From the Teen Miss USA pageant a couple of weeks ago)- (yeah, yeah, I wanted to post the video here, but I don't know how, so you get a link instead)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

Bless her heart. I just want to tell her to stop talking. Please. You - have - derailed. Her logic seems to be "Well, if I just keep on talking, something halfway intelligent should come out at some point." Sigh. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

At least she got an appearance on "The Today Show" out of it. And the most shocking thing? She placed THIRD in the whole pageant.

One Year Ago

2007-09-05T21:52:00.000+08:00

One year ago today, M left for Malaysia.

I remember the day he told me he was approached about a possible job opportunity in KL. It was early May - we had just gotten engaged and were just beginning to plan our wedding. The timing wasn't right. I guess it never really is, you know? It's always one thing or another. For whatever reason (I think it was all the heavy drinking), we considered it. Planning a wedding and an international move in five months? Sounds like fun and ever so stress free! Sign me up! And while you're at it, can I have that Lexapro prescription now?

We spent endless nights talking about it, weighing the pros and cons. With my HR background, I found myself riding a fine line of supporting fiancée and HR advisor. I knew that this would be great for his career, but I didn't want to influence his decision. It was partly my decision too, I know. I just didn't want to push him into it, and I didn't want him to resent me if he ended up hating it. We ended up making the decision the way couples should - together. He took the job, and then the fun really began :)

With planning a wedding and planning a move, I was insanely busy, which I think sheltered me from the reality of the situation. It was all about checklists and organizing. I didn't have time to worry about anything other than what was next on my list. The wedding was the focal point for us; the move was secondary in our minds. We didn't want it to overshadow the wedding in any way. It almost felt like I had been swept up in a tidal wave and things were just kind of happening. Auto-pilot. I was just trying to keep up and keep my head above water.

One year ago today, M left for KL. It was strange to know that we were about to be married, yet here I was staying behind while he left, but it couldn't be helped. I had to finish planning our wedding, which was, at that point, six weeks away. I had to wrap up my current job, and was busily crossing my fingers that the job that my company had said they would work out for me in KL was miraculously going to materialize. I had a house to pack, a cat to find a home for, two cars to sell, finances to get in line, an air shipment to gather, designate items for storage, all while going to dress fittings and frantically finalizing wedding details. I know M felt guilty, but he shouldn't have. The situation just was what it was. He had plenty of things to deal with as well, with his new job and setting up our apartment in KL. So I, in turn, felt just as guilty. I was busy and all, but I had a support system, and I was in familiar territory. M was out in the wild, so I think it must have been harder for him than it was for me.

The next six weeks went by in a blur. I oversaw the house pack. I finalized all the little wedding details that you forget about until the last minute. I transitioned out of my job duties as work. I had picked up steam and I was on a mission! I had a list, and by God, those things were going to get checked off. Food poisoning tried to derail me a couple of weeks before the wedding (again, timing is one funny bitch), but after a quick stint in the ER, I was back on track. I was on a mission.

And you know the rest of the story. The wedding went off without a hitch, on a perfectly gorgeous October day, the day before the sky decided to dump 15 inches of rain on Houston (timing owed me one, I suppose). Here we are, one year later from the day M boarded a plane heading for Asia, immersed in this new chapter in our lives.

What a difference a year makes.

You've Got to be Kidding Me

2007-09-05T21:39:00.000+08:00

You know our brand spanking new TV? The one that we finally got because our OTHER brand new TV was determined to malfunction?

Yep, it’s broken.

They delivered it last Monday. All was hunky dory. M flew home on Sunday - again, fine. But then when he got back from Brunei a couple of days later, the sonofabitch won’t turn on.

Sigh.

I guess to look at the bright side of things, M was able to resolve it with the store today, and they are going to come replace it on Friday. However...that model has now been discontinued, so we are getting a Samsung. And...the Samsung is more than the second TV. So this means that for our trouble, we have had to replace two TVs, and have paid more for each one than the last.

I blame Toshiba. Evil Toshiba.

Mmmm......Carbs.......

2007-09-04T15:56:00.000+08:00

I just finished a lovely, chicken tikka filled pastry. That's one thing that I do love in Asia and the Middle East - so many stuffed breads and pastries. It's absolutely heavenly. Samosas, curry puffs, parantha with filling, puff pastries, it goes on and on. There's nothing much better than yummy filling ensconced in flaky carbohydrate goodness. That just covers the filled carbs. It doesn't even touch the carb/dip combo, which is a wonderful creation all it's own, and in full abundance in this part of the world.

They are usually pretty cheap too, which doesn't help things. When I go into the office, I like to hit the cafeteria around 9AM to pick up a few curry puffs. Spicy curry chicken, potatoes, in a puff pastry, then DEEP FRIED. They are almost better than a donut.

Almost.

The Stamps in my Passport Are Still Cool Though...

2007-09-02T22:26:00.000+08:00

M and I finally sat down last night and planned our travel for the rest of the year. Traveling for work has picked up quite a bit for the both of us, so The Planner in me had to get things as settled as possible.

It was only after our conversation that we realized how bizarre it was. For example:

Me: "Well, I have to be in Singapore that week, and you'll be in China. Then you have to be in Bangkok the next Monday, so maybe I can meet you in Bangkok that Friday and we can spend the weekend there..."

Or this:

M: "You have to be in Houston for two weeks, so maybe I'll go ahead and try to go to Dubai and then hit Mumbai on my way back to KL..."

WTF? Is this really my life?

A part of me wants to pinch myself that I have these opportunities. There's a part of me that still feels fifteen years old, and when we have these kinds of conversations, I feel like a grown up, lucky and adventurous, like I have graduated into some semi-adult life or something.

A bigger part of me is getting so unbelievably tired of hotels. I used to like hotels. They felt very decadent, and raiding the mini bar for cashews was pure indulgence. These days, I just miss my pillow. I miss not living out of a suitcase. I miss being home. I miss our being home together for any major stretch of time. But aside from work travel, I also feel like I'm pressuring myself to see as much of Asia as I can while we are here. So while some of this stress is work related, I'm responsible for quite a little bit of it myself.

So some people might be envious, I guess. I mostly just feel frazzled and tired.

Our first anniversary is coming up, and it falls on a four day weekend. What a perfect opportunity to take a trip together! Or so we originally thought. But after thinking about it, the thought of dealing with luggage, airports and passport control is just completely unappealing to us right now. We decided, instead, to take a road trip (road trip!) in our new car somewhere. We don't know where yet, but not having to deal with the stress of air travel on our anniversary will be worth it, and we will still feel like we are celebrating.

I feel guilty, like I shouldn't be complaining. I always face this guilt, this "there are starving children in China so eat your vegetables" kind of guilt; I know this is a great opportunity, that there are people who would trade places with me in a heartbeat. I know this. But there are days, especially when things feel most crazy, when I yearn for our former life - our backyard, lazy Sunday evenings, spur of the moment barbecues, and a slower pace of life.

Oh yeah...and Target.

Greetings From Dubai

2007-08-30T16:24:00.000+08:00

I'm back in Dubai for work for a couple of weeks. Ah...Dubai in August...so refreshing!

This trip has been a little crazy. M and I are here together this time, so between his work obligations and mine, I've felt like I've been going 1000 miles per hour this week. Luckily, it's the weekend in Dubai now, so M and I will have a couple of days of lounging by the pool and generally being lazy. It's kind of hard to be anything but lazy when it's 115 degrees outside.

And in other news, on Monday, before I left KL, our new TV was delivered! M and I are now the parents - er, owners - of a beautiful, bouncing 47 inch LCD flat screen TV.

We bought our 42 inch TV back around the end of last year. It only took a matter of a few weeks before it started to malfunction. So, after several months of going round and round with Toshiba about getting it repaired, they finally agreed to just let us return it and upgrade. In the months since we bought the TV, the prices on LCDs have gone down considerably, enough that we were able to upgrade our 42 inch to a 47 inch for only a few hundred dollars. Since I don't have a penis, I'm not exactly sure why we need a 47 inch television, but M assured that we indeed do need it. Desperately. I'm having a hard time wading through the testosterone laden logic of that decision, but at any rate, we have it now and as long as it works, I'm happy!

We also found out that we will probably be getting our new car next week! Yay! We thought that we would have to wait six or seven weeks for ours to be delivered, but someone canceled their order which bumped ours up to the top of the queue. We can't wait - we will be mobile! Good thing M already has his license, because since I figured we wouldn't have the car for a number of weeks, I've kind of dicked around about submitting my paperwork for my license. Finally got the ball rolling on that today.

So by the time I get back from Dubai, we should have our car. We. Can't. Wait!

Girl's Lunch (Thanks Mr. Gore!)

2007-08-25T21:35:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I went and had my very first, non-work girl's lunch in KL. I met up with Reese, an American who just moved here with her husband.

We ended up at Santini's in KLCC. I was a bit worried because lunchtime on Friday's at KLCC can be crowded, the likes of which Toys R Us the week before Christmas has never seen. But we got there a bit early, so no problems at all.

By the way, Santini's? Ten ringgit ($2.80 US) glasses of wine during their happy hours. Move over Boone's Farm, Sarah has found something better!

By the way, Part Deux. I love how it's "Happy Hours" here, rather than just "Happy Hour". Because when you think about it, "Happy Hour" in the US isn't really just an hour, is it? It's usually three...or four...or six if you are so inclined. So Malaysia has hit the grammatically correct nail on the head, so to speak.

Anyway, we had a lovely lunch! Donna is the one who got us in touch with each other. Reese and Donna got to know each other a couple of years back, via the blogosphere. Donna and I have known each other since 1998, when we met at work and bonded over our shared love of Lulu's Bait Shack and sarcasm (What a great Dallas bar Lulu's was! It closed some years back, but I still look back fondly on their fishbowl drinks and John Denver singalongs.) Anyway, Donna and I have been friends ever since. So she, of course, knew that I moved to KL, and what do you know? She knew Reese, who also happened to be moving to KL. So Donna hooked us up online, and we went and had a really nice lunch.

Ain't the internet great?

Ear Candy

2007-08-24T18:17:00.000+08:00

I'm so behind the times. How come I never noticed what fantabulous, wonderful ear candy MIKA was?

Now, I loves me some Damien Rice, but that man will drive you to drink. MIKA? He's just poppy, bubbly goodness. He won't drive you to drink. He'll drive you to dance around in your kitchen, twirling your dishtowel, skipping around like an asshat, praying that no one walks in on you.

Daily Etiquette Lesson

2007-08-23T19:21:00.000+08:00

There's a handy little buzzphrase going around the world these days. It's called "cultural sensitivity". Let's discuss, shall we?

I understand that what is considered proper, improper, rude, complimentary, etc. varies from culture to culture, and society to society. It would behoove all of us, as a global society, to remember that. I'm not talking about what our world leaders do; I'm just talking about the daily interactions with people who share our daily life. For example, waving to a stranger in Texas is considered polite - for example, the two finger "wave" that you do from your steering wheel to a passing car in a smaller town - that's just a nice thing to do. Try that in New York, and they are liable to kick your ass before putting you in a straight jacket.

Here in Malaysia, we have tried to be polite and acclimate ourselves to the culture here. We point with our thumb, not our finger. I don't run around in my dazzey dukes and my tube top here. Not that I'd do that anywhere (especially when the damn things are always at the dry cleaners), but I do try to dress a bit more modestly here, just because that's how it's done. Cultural sensitivity.

So, quid pro quo, here are a few points I'd like to make about what are considered inappropriate questions to ask Americans (or generally, any Westerners):

1. It is not okay for people to ask how much money we make. This is considered impolite. Ditto for how much large ticket items cost.

I can't tell you how many times we are dropped off by a cab driver who comments, "Oh, nice place. How much does it cost?" Now, I know that the driver, by asking this, is probably just being complimentary, but it's still uncomfortable. We typically respond with "We don't know, our company pays for it." It's much more polite than responding with "Well, that's actually none of your business is it?" Point being, I don't even know how much my sister's monthly mortgage payment is, and we're blood. If she wanted to tell me, fine, but I'm certainly not going to ask. Money issues are definitely a gray area to comment on to Westerners.

2. It's not okay to comment on someone's weight gain. EVER.

I understand that in some cultures, being a bit round is considered a sign of prosperity, or being taken care of well. That's great. I don't think that's the case in Malaysia, though, so I don't get the ease in which people will comment about someone else's weight. It can easily hurt someone's feelings.

I mean, first, there were the pregnancy pooch comments in Florida (from an American no less), then last week a colleague told me that, last time she saw me, I was much slimmer. Then, this week two of M's local colleagues asked him if I was pregnant. He said, "Uh, no. Why?" "Because she looks pudgier lately." M told me this today, and it was the thing, that one thing that sends someone like me, running at a generally high level of stress, that one thing that sends me into a feeling sorry for myself crying jag. In fact, M even told his colleague, "You know, if she knew that you had said that, it would probably make her cry." He was right. So I had my boo hoo fit and now I'm over being sad about it. Now I've moved onto Cultural Sensitivity Training 101, via the blogophere.

This brings me to my last point.

3. Don't ask if someone is pregnant.

This is especially bad, because, what if they aren't? If we are pregnant, and we want you to know, we'll tell you. Otherwise, my uterus is my business.

So, since I no longer wear my assless chaps around town, can you please not comment about how fat I look in them? Deal? Deal.

We have a car! Well, almost...

2007-08-21T18:26:00.000+08:00

We bought a car!!

We took a test drive today, and beforehand, we had already decided that as long as it drove okay, we'd go ahead and order one today. So, the sales guy came to pick up M from work, and then they swung by to pick me up from the house, and off we went!

While we thought it was a little odd that we had to make an appointment to take a test drive, setting up the test drive was no problem at all. I called yesterday and set it up for 10am today. So, the sales guy came to pick us up this morning for our test drive - very convenient. We were able to drive it around for at least a half hour or so. We went around our neighborhood, up Jalan Tun Razak, and back through Kampung Baru. It's not like in the US, where it seems that you get to drive it around the block and that's it. All the while we discussed the car, reconfirming our conversation from the other day at the showroom about the car's features. We discussed the warranty, how insurance works, how the buying process works, etc.

So, at the end of our test drive, we had worked out all the details. So all that it took to complete the deal was 500 ringgit down to order the car, a first and second choice of color, and a copy of M's driver's license. He'll order the car and we should get it in about six weeks. We don't have to actually pay for the rest of the car until it's delivered. We're not crazy about having to wait, but like I've said in earlier posts, it's the most popular car in Malaysia, so it makes sense that there's a waiting list. Building cars for inventory isn't just commonly done here, I guess.

So here's a photo of our ordered car:

We got a car, and my People magazine came today too! Life is good today :)

Photo: http://www.perodua.com.my/index.php?section=ourcars&page=myvi

Getting Twisted

2007-08-17T20:33:00.000+08:00

Something's been bothering me lately. I find myself getting twisted over the littlest things. It makes me feel like a really unpleasant person to be around.

I left the office yesterday to head to the airport. Two hours later, we finally arrived at said airport. The traffic nearly made me crazy. So the twisting began. Keep in mind that I think I spent more time in traffic than I did in training, so this had been building all week. And luckily, Friday was Indonesia's Indepedence Day. Have you tried to get out of Houston on Fourth of July weekend? Take that times 1,000.

Then, I got to the airport check in line. There were two parties in front of me. Fifteen minutes later, I'm in the same place. I check the desks. Yes, all the desks have a customer service rep. Yet, we are not moving. They are all just sitting there. Maybe it's a computer problem. And here's where I know that I'm become a total bitch. See, at this point in time, I couldn't give a rat's ass about the computer problem. Maybe if you caught me at another time, I don't know. Sometimes this stuff doesn't bug me at all. But other times it's all I can do to not cause a scene and end up in airport security. I imagine it's not a pleasant place to me. All I know is that I'm in work clothes in an airport that has virtually no air conditioning. Move the fucking line. It's all about efficiency, folks. And the twisting continues.

So, I finally make it through the line and got to customs. Short line I observe, thankfully. Until the customs officer in the line that I chose to stand in seems to want to read through the couple in front of me's entire passports, and then discuss the next Harry Potter book's plotlines. MOVE. So I switch lines, which is never a good idea, but I just can't help myself. I have an uncanny knack for picking the slowest moving grocery/immigration/entry/check in line. As I move, another line becomes open next to me, so I try to get the guy's attention who is in that line. He finally he looks at me and I utter the only words I can politely say at this time. I motion to the empty line and say:

"Go."

For the love of God, just go so that I have a chance to get through the line before midnight. Karma is busily chowing down on my ass.

I finally get through customs and breathe a sigh of relief.

See, I get twisted lately. The smallest things will, in my mind, build up to the point where I will, for example, exclaim "Well, for fucks sake!" to the poor Continental Airlines counter clerk when my flight is delayed (as is what happened in Austin a few weeks ago).

This is not healthy. Nor polite, which kills me more than you would know.

I could say that this is because we are living overseas. But we've been here damn near a year. I could say that this is because I've lowered my Lexapro to a pitiful 5mg a day. It's the stress. It's being a newlywed. It's work. There are lots of excuses for the fact that I get twisted over the tiniest things.

But the thing that scares me the most is that, maybe it's not the living situation. Maybe it's not the travel. Maybe it's not.......fill in the blank here.

Maybe I've just become a total bitch.

I'm well versed in the ways of chronic mild depression (which in my mind, is simply the result being too self reflective for my own good, coupled with the genetic predisposition to depression, which makes me truly unpleasant at times). I'm also very familiar with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) which plagues all the women in my family. I think it's a result of good ole' genetic Catholic guilt gone awry when combined with the white-bread Methodist background of my father.

I've suffered from GAD and depression since I hit my teens. It's easy when you are plagued with these particular ailments to blame everything on them. But I've finally gotten to the point where I think I know myself well enough to, well, know myself. And so because of my supposed self-awareness, I think I should be able to rise above this. As I've always said "The first step is understanding the root cause. The issue. Only then can you take the necessary steps to correct them."

Only, the problem is, I know my issues. But I can't seem to change my reactions.

I just feel that I'm spending a lot of my time here pissed off about one thing or another. And I just despise that. It makes me feel terribly ungrateful. But I can't help my reactions. Logically, I know that we have an unbelievable opportunity. Plus, I get to keep working, even though M's job is really the one that moved us here. So, ungrateful = guilty. Plus, the one person who understands my frustrations is M, but I worry about sharing my frustrations with him, because then he feels guilty. Like it's his fault, or rather his job's fault. But I encouraged him to take this job. So it's an endless cycle of me reassuring him, and him reassuring me.

So I'm going to assume that this is just work travel hangover. There are so many things we enjoy here.

If I could only get over myself and appreciate them.

A New Olympic Sport

2007-08-17T17:57:00.000+08:00

There are two basic concepts that I'm having a hard time grasping overseas. They are so basic that I feel ridiculous for not having mastered them.

1) I can't read military time.

2) I can't dial the phone anymore either.

Okay, the time issue first. In some parts of our life in KL, military time is used. For example, travel itineraries - which are a big part of our lives here, although it's usually for work and not for fun, which rates high on my list of Things That Suck. So I generally end up trying to quickly compute what time it is in "real time". "Oh, 2115? That's 7:15."

Wrong.

It's 9:15. It's simple mathematics really. I don't understand why I can't get this. But it's painfully obvious that I can't. I screw it up all the time. Had I read my itinerary correctly yesterday, then I would have been able to tell my colleagues that, no, I can't make a conference call at 8am Houston time. But rather than stop and do the simple math, I immediately think, "Oh sure, no problem - my flight lands at 2115 (which is 9:15pm), so sure, I can call in for an 8am Houston call (which is, uh, 9:00 KL time). But, see, for some reason I thought it was 7:15pm. Luckily, the flight was delayed just enough - we ended up landing close to 10pm - that I wouldn't have been able to make the call anyway, even calling in late. It's much easier to say that your flight was delayed rather than tell them that you are a moron who can't tell time.

I have the AM times down, as, well, they're the same. I even do okay during the afternoon. But the evening fucks me up. Always. The hours of 1700 to 2200 just don't compute in my head.

As far as dialing the phone goes, having to add in the country code is one thing. There are lots of people in the US who rarely have to dial internationally, so country codes aren't part of our every day existence. But, since some of my work in the US involved international folks, I had at least mastered that concept prior to moving overseas. But, when people give you their phone number overseas, they don't think to give you the country code. It's the same in the US. How many times have you given your number and said, "Well, the country code is this, then my number is this," and so on. It's just not something that occurs to us. Plus, since different countries all have a different phone number system, you may dial eight digits, 11 digits, or 1,529 digits to call someone, so you never know whether or not they've been kind enough to give you their country code.

Oh, and to dial internationally from the US, you dial 011 then the country code and number. But from overseas you dial 001 to dial internationally. Why must the US be different than the rest of the world with this? Sneaky bastards.

I don't even have the energy to point out all the other differences. But I'll try, since I know you are hanging on the edge of your seat and all. In some countries they add in extra digits. These digits all vary depending on not only if you are dialing internationally or locally, but also if you are dialing locally via home phone or mobile phone, and depending on if you are calling another home phone or mobile phone. Fun times.

For example:

The country code in Malaysia is 60. Or just 6, depending on the kind of number you are dialing. The city code for KL is 3. The mobile code for KL is 012. Other states have other codes, but they are all three digits, starting with 0. So to dial mobile to mobile in Malaysia just takes the three digit mobile code and the number. But to call land line to mobile means you also have to dial the country code (6), then the mobile code and the number. Landline to landline is just the number, no country code or city/mobile code.

Do you see why it takes me 30 minutes to order McDelivery? (Yes, McDonalds delivers here, via scooter. I'm surprised they don't know us on a first name basis.)

For those of you who are still reading...another thing. All those rules go out the window if you are dialing internationally. They may even throw in extra digits that you don't even need to dial - I've decided that's just for sport.

So, to find my driver in Jakarta this week, I dialed the number that was given to me, which was 018 blahblahblah. When I didn't see him in the airport, I called the number. I couldn't get through. Now, my cell phone is officially the biggest call dropping piece of shit you've ever seen, so when a call doesn't go through, sometimes it's the blasted phone, and sometimes it's user error.

So I called M.

"I can't find my driver and I can't call out on this mother fucking piece of shit phone," I explain to him in a not-so-discreet voice.

Yes, the people of Indonesia know that I am every inch a lady.

So M goes on a quest to figure out how to call the driver, because taking a taxi in Jakarta is taking your life into your own hands. Houston traffic, Dallas traffic, LA traffic...none of them hold a candle to Asia traffic. It's a sport, really.

Long story short (although it's too late for that), that "0" at the beginning of the phone number? Not necessary. The country code (which was not in the number given to me)? Obviously very necessary since I am calling from a Malaysia handphone. And the country code is one thing I didn't have.

So, rather than calling "018blahblahblah, it would be +62(country code)18blahblahblah. No 0 necessary. How do I know this? From getting twisted, i.e. "learning", from trial and error. Oh yeah, and to dial internationally, you have to use the + on the mobile phone. 001 won't work.

These are things that I generally don't bring up to other expats we associate with. See, most of them are seasoned expats who work for our company, and for me to turn to them and ask "Do you have a hard time using a phone?" would not help me in the HR credibility department.

Car Shopping

2007-08-11T21:37:00.000+08:00

We ventured out to look for a car today. I've done a bit of research on the 'net and right now we are leaning towards a Perodua MyVi. This of course was after I had researched virtually every car available in Malaysia, new and used. I research and contemplate things to death, to the point that I suck all the joy out of it. Wedding planning was really fun with me.

The little Peroduas are too cute. Really. They are little boxy things that come in fun colors, although we will probably get one in silver because I am known to basically never wash cars. The back seat even folds down, so M can put his mountain bike in the back. Funny that a car small enough to fit in your backpack can fit a mountain bike inside, but there you go.

Okay, a few weird things...

1) All the dealerships are really small. There are maybe three or four cars on display. That's it. No big lot in the back. We aren't in the land of CarMax any more. So what you do is pick out what you want and it's ordered. Of course, we want the most popular car in Malaysia, so the waiting time is one to two months before the car is delivered. Don't they understand? I have no patience. I come from the land of 24 hour Walgreens and one hour dry cleaning. I want it yesterday. I want them to hand me the keys to something shiny, with the new-car smell and the plastic covers still on the seats, so I can drive it home today.

2) You have to make an appointment to take a test drive. That's fine and all, it's the way things are done here, but it still took us by surprise to ask about a test drive and the sales guy said that we had to call and make an appointment to take one. Huh? You mean I can't just give this one a go and see how I like it? I like to test drive the actual car that I'll be buying, but that's just not how it's done here. "So can we test drive it next Saturday?" we ask. "No," the sales guy replied, "you can only test drive cars from Monday through Friday. We have to arrange to bring a car here so that you can test drive it." Okay. So I guess we will be taking time off of work to test drive a car. K...

3) As far as the wheeling and dealing goes, that's basically nonexistent. The sticker price on the car is basically the price you will pay. Now this I really don't understand. There are like, ten, Perodua dealerships in KL. How do they compete with each other? How to they all stay in business if they charge virtually the same price? Maybe it's different with other dealerships, or maybe if you are a local you can bargain more, I don't know. I know that we have picked the most popular car in Malaysia, so they really don't have to negotiate in order to sell a buttload of them. They sell themselves. So maybe that's why there's no wiggle room, although from what I've heard, negotiating a price on a new car in Malaysia is a much more straightforward process than in the US. What this list price is, is what you will pay. Especially when there's a waiting list.

So we'll make an appointment to test drive it (at some point when M and I are both in town, which will be a rare event this month) and see how it goes. Barring any major issues, that's probably the car that we will get. Except that on the way home, M turns to be and says "Maybe we'll just buy a used Merc instead." Okay, now he's just messing with me. I can't handle too many options, or else we won't have a car until Christmas.

One Foot Out of the Closet

2007-08-11T19:22:00.000+08:00

No, not that closet.

Are you a closet blogger?

I've had a couple of things come up this week to make me think about this. First, my husband recently started a blog. While I completely support him in this, and I think it's a great blog, he asked me if he could list my blog on his blogroll. That would be all well and good, however, he has no problem with blogging under his full name. Or sharing his blog with people from our "real life". There are even pictures of us on his blog. So when he asked me, I told him that I preferred to remain relatively anonymous in the blogosphere, to which he had a good chuckle. Actually, I think the words I used were, "I prefer to keep an air of anonymity on my blog". Okay, so that's probably why he laughed.

The second thing that happened is that this week I was approached by an expat website to participate in a survey about expatriate women working in Asia. I am listed in their blog directory, so I was asked if I could answer a few questions about who I am, the company I work for, my role and my some other questions centered around my thoughts as an expat woman working in Malaysia. This was in conjunction with a magazine article that they are writing for a US magazine. While I was flattered to be asked, I doubt that anything I sent to them will be included in the magazine. I mean, who knows how many people they are asking? But as I responded to them, I had to stop and think before I did so. See, they asked me for my name. My full name. The name of the company I work for. My title and job role. Things that could, horror of horrors, force me out of the blog closet.

I'm not sure what my intentions were when I started this blog. Was it to remain completely anonymous? Or not? Or somewhere in between? I didn't think about these things, so I just started writing and figured it would work itself out. Initially, I was so excited that I had joined the 21st century and started a blog of my own that I told some people in my "real life" about it. Some family members know, but some don't. Some friends know, but most don't. Now that I'm too far into it to remain completely anonymous, my main goal at this point is just not to have people from work read my blog. This is tough sometimes because most of our friends are also people we work with. So I've had to be pretty careful about who I tell about my blog. The last thing I need is a bunch of work colleagues reading about my visit to the gynecologist. I've learned that work people are far too interested in some HR chick's personal life. Not because I'm all that interesting, but because they are always on a mission to - gasp! - make us human and thus, forward the post about my latest gastrointestinal issues. "Wow! She goes poo just like the rest of us!" (Actually, I don't, thanks to the family curse known as IBS, but let's save that for another post, okay?)

So, do I censor myself? Sure. Would I censor myself if I was completely anonymous? Probably. I'm far too paranoid not to. But, sure, my blog would be less censored if I was just writing to the great, big blogosphere rather than write knowing that people I know are reading my blog. That's why I'm sometimes envious of bloggers who, whether or not they are truly anonymous, are completely candid and "let it all hang out", so to speak. The bloggers that write about those things that we all secretly think, or do, or say, but are scared to write about them. How incredibly liberating just to put it all out there. It reminds those of us who are too paranoid, or too embarrassed, or too self conscious to do so that in the end, we are all just people, made up of good and bad, highs and lows, crowning moments of glory and times that we want to crawl in a hole from shame, that really, we're all just human, trying to do the best we can.

So what about you? Are you out of the blog closet? Do people from your "real life" know about and read your blog? If so, do you find yourself censoring your posts, or having to deal with any consequences if you don't?

Settling In

2007-08-08T17:17:00.000+08:00

I got back from the US yesterday, after a two week long trip. The trip was basically a blur of meetings, hotels, airplanes, fattening dinners and credit card swipes. On the plus side, I was able to spend some time in Austin with Triad 1 and hubby over the weekend. We ate yummy Mexican food and did some shopping, including a trip to Sparks, which is one of the most fun stores I've been in in a while. Then, last Thursday, my mom and my sisters came down to Houston and we were able to spend some time together, along with my stepdaugher and my wonderful friend B. Again, much overindulging food-wise and shopping-wise ensued.

While in the US, M called and told me that he talked to our landlord (landlady, I guess) and she's going to let us get a cat! I'm unnaturally excited about this, so much so that when I told my mom and sisters that I had an announcement to make, they automatically thought I was going to tell them I was pregnant. Nope. Just getting a cat. Still quite cool however.

We are also continuing to research how exactly to go about getting a car here. As it turns out, there are some leasing options available. Normally, I would opt for buying something used so that when we leave KL, we can sell it and at least recoup some of the money we spent on it. However, with the leasing option, the monthly cost includes road taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. One stop shopping, basically. They take care of everything. So it really comes down to a question of convenience versus a return on investment. I need to do some more research on how to go about getting insurance here, the cost of it, how easy it will be to buy and sell the car, how easy it is to have maintenance done on the car, etc. etc. I haven't been able to find a lot on these things, although maybe I just haven't looked in the right place. We're planning on visiting a couple of dealerships this weekend before M heads off to Australia, so hopefully after that we will have more information so that we can make a decision. Because now that we've finally decided to get a car, I want it, like, yesterday. I'm all about the instant gratification.

Between the car and the cat, I'm pretty excited and it seems to have really improved my outlook on things. I can't pinpoint it exactly, but I guess some of it has to do with the fact that it will feel more like home. Settled, I suppose. So far, this has felt very temporary, which I think has really inhibited my adjustment. I've felt kind of...trapped. It's funny how the lack of car made me feel that way, and I didn't realize the full extent of it until we decided to get a car. I just felt this huge sigh of relief. It's a quality of life thing. I know that we can do most of those same things without a car, but having our own ride will make it far more convenient. It will cut down on the ick factor, the little niggling knot in my stomach every time we try to go anywhere here. It just pushes all our buttons and ultimately ends up being a frustrating experience. With a car, we won't be at the mercy of errant taxi drivers, or bad weather that makes it impossible to walk places sometimes. If we feel like having artichokes for dinner, I can just hop in the car and drive to Great Eastern Mall (the only place in KL that carries artichokes it seems) and get them. No trying to hail a cab only to have it start raining and my chances of getting one going down to zip. No calling my list of taxi drivers to try to find one that is working and that can come get me. No scheduling of a car and driver when we want to run a bunch of errands. We can head out to 1 Utama and The Curve and get cute things for the house, and it won't be an exercise in frustration from a transportation standpoint. I can sign up for yoga or dance classes and be comfortable that I'll make it there on time because I'll be the one driving there.

So, yeah, I'm pretty excited.

We've Finally Caved

2007-07-31T09:40:00.000+08:00

We've decided to buy a car.

We live in the middle of the city, about four blocks from work, so up until now we've figured we could get by without a car. Not having a car has saved money, but I think having a car will save my sanity some days, so the the whole sane thing? Yeah, it wins out.

So far, we've been relying on taxis, the occasional monorail ride and lots of miles in my pink Keens to get us from point A to point B. But I've realized that most of my pissiness usually stems from the inconvenience of not being able to get to various parts of town on a whim, without getting soaked or being interviewed by a taxi driver. Yes, walking is convenient sometimes, especially when traffic is snarled to a halt. But the rain often puts a damper on things. Get it? Damper. Ba duh bum. Plus, walking can get us to the grocery store, but not the grocery store that carries artichokes, which is a serious problem. It also doesn't get us to any malls that we like. Also a problem for me.

So another option is the monorail/subway (or whatever it's called in KL). Again, that gets us around the center of town, but it's not really convenient for most places we like to go. Plus, there is still walking involved from the station to our destination. So there's the rain factor there as well. Did I mention the rain here bounces off the sidewalk and back up on you? An umbrella is useless against a KL midafternoon downpour. Plus, all that humidity is bad for my hair, should we feel like getting gussied up for a nice dinner. And all the walking means that my sassy black heels don't get nearly enough wearing time.

Enter option #3. Taxis. I don't even need to explain why this is no longer an acceptable option.

So while C was here, we had a hair appointment out in Bangsar. Just as we were leaving the apartment to get a cab, it started to rain. So getting a cab wasn't going to happen. If you are running to the store, that's one thing, but when you have something that is timebound, it plain sucks. So I just hit my limit. I called M, and said "That's it, we are getting a car."

Okay, that comment was also partially driven by PMS, but it turns out that M was starting to think the same thing, so we are starting to browse around for cars. Neither one of us wants to spend a lot, nor are we particularly picky. It needs to be automatic, have seat belts, preferably airbags, a decent service record and can get us from point A to point B. So we are looking at little Kia hatchbacks and things like that. They are so tiny and cute, you can almost fit one in your purse.

It's a convenience thing, and I'm sure a control thing as well. I really think that this will really help me enjoy the city more. I may sit in traffic just as much as I would in a cab, but I'll be in my car, and it will have seatbelts and some excellent tuneage to distract me from the traffic and torrential rainstorms that we will inevitably encounter. I'm so excited!

There's No Way This Just Happened

2007-07-28T10:54:00.000+08:00

Last night, I went out for dinner with my colleagues. I changed clothes beforehand, and wore was I affectionately call my "pregnant dress". I explained to them how I have to concentrate on sucking in when I wear it, lest the other restaurant patrons give me dirty looks for being knocked up and sucking on a Bud Light. We had a good chuckle, and that was that.

This morning, the same group of people and I were waiting in the hotel lobby to leave for the office. One on my colleagues looked at me and said "Are you sure you're not pregnant?" My brain short circuits a bit as I begin to try to determine why she might think that's the case. The self consciousness takes root in the second or two before the next thing happens. She then reached over and patted my stomach fat and said, "It looks like you have a little pregnant pooch!" WHAT. THE. FUCK. Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck. That so did not just happen.

Now, I'll freely admit that I have been enjoying my fair share of our restaurant dinners on this trip. I'll give you the fact that I've gained a bit of weight since we moved. I've even go so far as to say that my bad posture and genetic predisposition to gaining weight in my stomach might have something to do with it. (THANKS MOM. I could have gained weight in my boobs and butt instead, and then would have been able to tell the colleague that I don't think she's ready for this jelly, but instead I inherited the stomach pooch and the digestive issues. Score!)

She knows I'm not pregnant, so I have no idea what would give her the idea to make this comment. My wheels started spinning as soon as I heard the words (and felt the pat). I've been drinking all week, so what do you think? Oh God, I really need to improve my posture. Shit, I need to work out. And so on. I wouldn't say I was mad, because I know this woman, and she is always polite and personable, so this comment was kind of out of left field. I'm more bewildered by it. I'm always of the mindset that unless either the woman has shared with you that she is pregnant, or you see a baby actually emerging from her at that moment, then you keep it zipped on any pregnancy comments. Oh yeah, and unless you are a blood relative, or my husband, you do not get to touch the fat. No touching of the fat.

So, my reaction wasn't anger, but more so that I was torn between laughing at the sheer audacity of it and crying about it. I can't believe that a small part of me is weepy over it, but someone telling you that you look pregnant when you're not is a little damaging to your self esteem.

At least she didn't jiggle the fat. Then I would have had to open up a can on her.

Fuel for Shopping

2007-07-27T05:09:00.000+08:00

One of life's little pleasures: Pulling out last summer's shorts on the first warm day of spring, putting them on, reaching into the pocket, and pulling out a $20 bill! Okay, well, the first little pleasure is discovering that the shorts still fit; the second one is finding the money. I remember this happening a couple of times in college, and it made me so happy I almost cried. $20 bought a lot of beer back then.

Before I left for my business trip back to the US, I remembered that I wanted to bring a couple of gift cards that we received as wedding gifts. They were from Bed Bath and Beyond and Williams-Sonoma. Since those aren't in KL, I set aside the cards and figured I'd use them the next time I was back in Houston. I went to the kitchen drawer where I had put them, and only found the BBB card. Where the hell did I put the other card? By some miracle, I didn't have to tear apart the house to find it. I thought I'd check the keepsake box that I put our wedding cards in.

I opened up the box, and there was the Williams-Sonoma card...and four other gift cards....and two checks!

Neurotic aside: I hope no one thinks "Oh, how ungrateful. You forgot about the gifts that people so thoughtfully gave you!" Just to clarify, everyone did get a thank you note, so we definitely are appreciative. (Except that we have yet to figure out who gave us a lovely serving platter and the pasta bowl set that we really wanted. The fact that, since I don't know who gave them to us so I can't thank them, continues to haunt me. People can think a lot of things about me, but it makes me insane to think that any of our friends think that I am rude. While we are on that topic, I've always been of the mindset that thank you notes serve a couple of purposes: 1) to thank the person for the gift and for their thoughtfulness, and 2) to acknowledge that you did, in fact, receive the gift. I've always read that if you don't receive a thank you note for a gift you've sent, that you should inquire to make sure that the recipient received the gift. No one has asked us, and since we didn't really expect gifts, I have been really hesitant to ask anyone about it. While we appreciate the gifts that we did receive, we didn't necessarily expect gifts, so asking about the dishes is like asking "Did you get us a gift?". Horribly uncomfortable for me, so I've been hoping that someone will approach us about it.)

The reason we set aside the gift cards is that we wanted to use them to buy housewares and such, rather than use them for groceries or something like that. We wanted to be able to buy something for the both of us and be able to enjoy it for years to come. Since it took us a while to settle in and figure out where we might go in KL to buy things like that, I put them in a special place that I figured I would remember, so that when we were ready to use them to purchase some things for our home, we would take them out and buy some lovely wall hangings or something like that. Then I completely spaced out.

So...I brought them all with me to the US! Now that we are settled, we have some good ideas about some things that we can use and things that we would like, so I'm off to shop for wedding gifts this weekend!

I guess being more excited about a Williams-Sonoma pepper grinder rather than beer money is more proof that I'm becoming a grown up against my will. And if anyone has any suggestions about what do to about the dishes, let me know.

Clear as Mud

2007-07-25T09:30:00.000+08:00

I didn't really like some of the questions on this, but it's probably pretty close.

table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2>Your Political Profile:
Overall: 55% Conservative, 45% Liberal

Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Random Updates

2007-07-25T08:50:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm back in the good ole' US of A. Again. For the second time in three weeks. Normally, not a big issue, expect that it takes about 30 some odd hours of travel time just to make the trip. Strangely, though, I've not been too jetlagged from my KL-Singapore-Taipei-LA-Houston-Florida 36 hour trip.

I'm in Florida for some work training, and since talking about that is about as exciting as watching paint dry (or, my recent postings about my computer fiascos), I'll move on.

So, here are some random observations from the trip:

Does anyone in the US really give a rat’s ass about how Victoria Beckham is adapting to life in the US? Didn't think so. One word comes to mind - “overexposure”. No one cares. Let's move on.

Ditto for Katie Holmes. Sure, she's a cutie patoodie. We'd all look like cutie patoodies with a great stylist on speed dial. Again, why is her new outfit/hair/vacation newsworthy? Oh yeah, because people like me buy People magazine.

Seems that the movie Hairspray is getting a lot of press, more overseas than in the US from what I've seen. I am having an unnaturally negative reaction to John Travolta in drag. I don't know, maybe it's just me. It just skeeves me out, almost as much as Madeline Khan does in just about anything she’s ever been in. (Don’t ask me why Madeline Khan gives me the heebie jeebies – she just does. Always has.)

I am a Target junkie. It's strange the things that you miss when you move overseas. This morning, my second CHI flat iron died. CHI lovers will relate. The CHI is the best flat iron ever created, but the damn things have a way of petering out on you. So, since the CHI doesn't work overseas on an adapter, I fought the urge to buy a new one, and just went to Target for a less expensive flat iron that would get me by. The plus, other than getting to browse Target (which I can't believe I'm so excited about, but like I said, it's odd the things that you miss), was that I got to introduce a work colleague from Argentina to the wonders of Target. I felt better that I wasn't the only one enjoying Target a little bit too much.

Now, once I make it to Sephora, then you will really know that I need to get a life.

New Computer!

2007-07-21T00:04:00.000+08:00

I have a computer. Didn't get the call until 4:45 (from M, who they called instead of me), but I have it. They basically replaced the whole thing, so I now have a new keyboard to destroy. Kind of messing with the OCD, virtually unmedicated Sarah, but still. They came through. Good on them.

Update: Tried again to go to Eye on Malaysia. Was, again, rained out. I should take this as a sign. We went to KL Tower for dinner beforehand. After they bent us over the table with the bill, we took in the sights, and the view is actually pretty spectacular. I recommend going to the observation deck rather than going for dinner. That way, you can still see the view and be able to walk to catch a cab to take you to a nice dinner somewhere else...I'm just saying.

I should up the meds again, huh? I'm kind of bitchy these days.

Computer Update

2007-07-20T15:41:00.001+08:00

It's 3:40pm. No computer yet. I have to have a computer to travel to the US with, so fingers crossed. We have found out that they have no back up plan in case it doesn't get repaired. I am a big fan of back up plans, but that's just me...`

At 2pm, the IT guy told M that they were waiting on the Dell guy to come after 2. M asked "2pm Malaysian time?" to which the IT guy chuckled. He understands why we are worried. It's Friday afternoon after prayers. Traffic is snarled and not a lot gets done on Friday afternoons.

M and I have been total thorns in their side, calling or dropping by every hour or so. We've learned the hard way that this is the best way to try to get things taken care of here. Just ride herd on it.

I just called, and the Dell guy was there. Hallelujah! We are over hurdle #1. Now, as long as the problem really IS the motherboard, and the Dell guy actually BROUGHT the part with him, we should be in business. Fingers crossed...

Pervy Nature Photos

2007-07-20T09:22:00.001+08:00

...because I'm just that kind of a person.

"Pecker Rock", Black Hills, South Dakota, USA
Heh heh.

"Grandfather Rock", Koh Samui, Thailand

Hee hee.

Who knew? I figured the US had the market cornered on large, phallic shaped pieces of granite. The SD one is obscene.

While we are at it, here's Grandmother Rock in Koh Samui.

Supposedly, the legend is that two star crossed lovers who, rather than live without each other, jumped into the ocean to their deaths. So it's no secret that the rocks totally look like genitalia. The legend completely supports that fact. I wonder, though, why did the symbol of their love have to be a rock that looked like a hooha, rather than a nice tree or flower or something?

Random Updates

2007-07-20T08:18:00.000+08:00

We are nearing the end of C's visit to KL. She leaves next Tuesday to head back to the US; I have to leave on Saturday to go back to the US as well. KL-Singapore-LA-Houston-Florida-Houston-Austin-Houston-LA-Singapore-KL. Ack. Tonight we have dinner planned at KL Tower, the revolving restaurant that most big cities seem to have nowadays. We've heard the food is nothing to write home about, but that the view is pretty good.

After that, we will attempt, once again, to go to Eye on Malaysia. Attempt #1: Wednesday (since the laser light show is on Wednesdays), but an early evening rainstorm derailed us. I know, rain in Malaysia...shocking. But between the rush hour traffic and the rain, we knew that any attempts to get a taxi would merely result in raising my blood pressure, so we opted out. Attempt #2: Last night. We actually made it to the Eye on Malaysia location. We got out of the taxi, and after looking at the ominous black clouds rolling in and lightening in the distance, we decided not to get on the 60 meter high metal object. Call us crazy. After waiting out the worst of the rain, we decided to head home. So we'll try again tonight. Maybe the third time's the charm, and we will actually get so far as to ride the damn thing.

Today, I have to finish packing for the US, and then at lunch C and I are going to get pedicures. Hopefully after that, I will be able to go pick up my work laptop from the IT department at work. Yesterday, my laptop chose (two days before I leave for the US and need my laptop while I'm there), to die. I was in the middle of working, and all of a sudden, it just turned off. Black screen. Nothing.

Normally, this would have been followed by a colorful, creative string of vulgarity, but I think all I said was, "Well, shit", since C was sitting right next to me. See? Having a kid around is improving my disposition! Either that, or it's forcing me to repress my rage, one or the other. But regardless, C didn't learn any fun new phrases from me, so score one in the stepmom department. So I called the IT department. They said that I had to bring it in right away so that Dell could come look at it, and no, they didn't have any loaners that they could switch the hard drives with for my trip. For fuck's sake. No loaners? Should have figured. This is the same department that has no extra network cables either, so I should have figured the chances of them having an actual entire spare computer were slim to none. So I knew I was shit out of luck unless I got my computer there pronto. A day and a half to troubleshoot and fix the computer is not a lot of wiggle room.

I got a call from them yesterday afternoon.Turns out, the motherboard needs to be replaced, which is a relief. I had figured that all the food crumbs and cigarette ashes in the keyboard somehow wriggled their way into some sort of nook and cranny and raised all kinds of hell with my computer. (See kids? Not only will smoking pollute your lungs and make your hair smell like an ashtray, it will BREAK YOUR COMPUTER. NO MORE MYSPACE. NO FACEBOOK EITHER. Holy shit, I think I've just hit upon the best anti-smoking campaign for kids ever.)

I even tried to blow dry out the assorted crumblies before I took the computer in. (Now I don't think that those little keyboard vacuums are so stupid. One sure would have come in handy yesterday). I could just imagine the IT guy opening up my computer and seeing all the ashes, dried cereal, Twistie crumbs and the occasional smear of Nutella inside my computer. I would hang my head in shame as he says, "Well, of course you broke your computer. The remnants of your pantry are stuck here inside your keyboard."

New Hair!

2007-07-18T11:42:00.001+08:00

I have always had a hate/hate relationship with my hair. Growing up, it was always stick straight and lifeless. My mom used to put it up in Princess Leia buns on either side of my head. I still haven't gotten over the endless teasing.

Enter the dreaded spiral perm in junior high. Spiral perm with the bangs that you teasesprayteasesprayteasespray and blow dry them until they stick straight up. Then came several different kinds of perms, all equally hideous.

I discovered early on that my hair Does. Not. Grow. So I've always been pretty limited with experimenting with different cuts. Lots and lots of baby fine hair that splits if you look at it wrong, won't hold a curl, and flips all the wrong ways doesn't really lend itself to many different cuts. No big Texas hot roller hair. No Rachel shag for me (although I did have a poor man's version in college that still took massive amounts of hair spray and two different curling irons to achieve). I'm also one of those people who really shouldn't have long hair. It's a bitch to maintain for me, and it always splits. I haven't given up that dream yet, though.

Then, when I was 15 or so, I discovered color. Beautiful, acid red color. Although, coupled with the perm I had at the time, it's still a look that I would rather not revisit. But that experience did teach me that color is a great way to experiment with my hair without having to endure years of growing it out between new looks. My hair has been every shade of red, auburn, brown and black. All fun. It was even blond at one point in college. That was Not Good.

Today, C and I went to ISH to get our hair done, and I got some fun new streaks!

I've always wanted to try something really fun, like blue or pink, but I like my paycheck more, so I've opted out so far. I already have a hard enough time being taken seriously at work since I look twelve years old; sadly, I doubt my hair being a color called Cotton Candy on Acid would really help my case.

My Husband is Curled Up in the Fetal Position

2007-07-17T22:22:00.000+08:00

Just now, M and I walked by C sitting at the computer, updating her MySpace page. On it was a picture of her sucking her boyfriend's tongue. GAWD.

My sixteen year old stepdaugher sucking some guy's tongue = An image I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing.

Excuse me, I have to go console my husband now.

Reason #492 To Come Visit Us

2007-07-17T19:59:00.000+08:00

Places like this are an hour plane ride away.

M and I took C to Redang this past weekend. We had never been to Redang before, and I'm always game for a weekend of sun, sand and being a slug, so I was ready.

Redang is a tiny island off the east coast of Malaysia. The water is crystal clear, the beaches are powdery white, and it's a haven for scuba divers, snorkelers and anyone else wanting to "get away from it all". The first day, we lounged on the beach and went on a four stop snorkeling tour around the island. The snorkeling was great, and some people in our group even saw a black fin shark. Luckily, we didn't hear about it until we were on our way back to the resort, or else we wouldn't have gotten C back in the water!

On our way back to the resort, we saw a great little deserted beach just one cove over from our resort, so on the second day we rented a four person paddle boat and (slooowly) made our way over to the other beach. A private beach, all to ourselves! We had C with us, so there was no hanky panky, but this kind of beach would have been perfect for it (if you are keen on getting sand where no sand should be). Then, since we had promised C, we went on a banana boat ride. Banana boats are the long, well, banana looking things that are pulled behind a speed boat. M and I thought that it would be a little boring, because from the beach, it didn't look like it went very fast and the driver didn't seem to get very western with it. We were wrong. The banana boat rocks. Highly recommended (with goggles).

The resort we stayed at (Berjaya Beach Resort)....eh. Five star view, 3.5 star facilities, 2 star service. Slow is one thing - I mean, you're on a beach resort - but they just really didn't have their stuff together. I'll spare you the many, many examples. Plus, they didn't walk around the beach and bring us drinks with umbrellas in them. This is an extremely important part of my beach resort experience. Thumbs down on the whole "no bringing of the umbrella drinks to my beach lounger" thing. Suffice it to say, I'm sure we will go back to Redang, because I think that most of our problems with this trip can be resolved next time by staying at a different resort.

She Didn't Even Buy Me Dinner

2007-07-13T10:23:00.001+08:00

The other day, my stepdaughter and I went to the spa and got massages. Before getting started, my therapist asked about the stomach and breast massage part of things. Typically, they will rub/massage your stomach and the top part of your chest. Getting my stomach flab rubbed around doesn't really do it for me, but I don't necessarily mind it. During the breast massage part, in my experience what they'll do is massage the top part of your chest, and they ask because either they will completely undrape you from the waist up, or they will undrape you and put a little strip of a towel over your nipples. So, in the past, I've found that they ask about this more for modesty reasons rather than for permission to feel you up.

Not this time. When she said breast massage, she meant breast massage. She pushed them in. She pushed them out. She pushed the top and bottom together to make a horizontal boob. She pushed them up to my chin. Okay, okay, those of you who know me are thinking "Sarah, quit kidding yourself. They won't reach your chin" but she was sure giving it one hell of a try. I had to bite my tongue and think DONTLAUGHDONTLAUGHDONTLAUGH to keep from busting out laughing. I really thought I was going to lose it at one point.

Since I'm such a spa whore, I'm sure I'll get another massage in Redang this weekend. This time, I think I'll opt out of the breast massage. I really don't want to go to second base with another massage therapist. Plus, I really don't want to have to explain it in painstaking detail to M afterwards.

Stepmomming It

2007-07-11T19:31:00.000+08:00

We met M's daughter in LA, and she flew back with us to KL for a couple of weeks. Last time, she and her brother came to KL, it was over the Christmas holidays, and M and I had time off from work. This time, we aren't able to take off the whole time she's here, so of course I'm concerned that she is bored. We looked into several options for her to do volunteer work while she's here, and we came up with some volunteer work at the SPCA for her during some of her afternoons.

She went yesterday, and part of her job was to pull chicken meat off of cooked chicken necks to feed the dogs. I know that volunteer work isn't glamorous or anything, but she's sixteen, and we envisioned her being able to play with puppies and kitties all day, maybe scoop the occasional poop and what not. But I don't think chicken necks were part of C's plan, so she wasn't too keen on going back today. Oh well, we tried.

Since I work from home, I've felt pretty torn this week. I mean, I need to be working while I'm at home, but it's tough because I don't want her to be bored. But we are taking her to do some fun things in the evenings, and we are going to Redang this weekend, so hopefully we've struck some sort of balance between our work obligations and making sure she has a good time.

I'm also kind of worried because we would love for her to come and live here, so we are trying to expose her to all the fun and interesting things to do here. But she's experiencing some of the same frustrations that we did when we first got here. They are really not frustrations, simply differences that she encounters, but to a sixteen year old, every difference IS a frustration. Small things like the milk tastes different here, or salespeople follow her around the stores in the mall, or it takes longer than normal to get our restaurant bill. We try to explain that things are simply different here, but I'm not sure she's having a good time. And I'm feeling some major stepmom guilt about that.

What really sucked though is that on Tuesday, she went to the mall by herself. When she was walking home from the mall, she passed by a street where a lot of delivery trucks were parked. A couple of the drivers got out of the trucks and made kissy noises at her and asked her to marry them. That kind of freaked her out. So I got pissed because, they can do that to me if they want, whatever, but leave my stepkid alone. Ah, the protective parenting thing is in full gear. I'm sure The Triad is teary eyed and proud.

Once she got home, she went downstairs to swim. Of course, since we have lots of construction around us, that means that there are a lot of construction workers around. There's one building in particular, where M and I have watched them stop working and leer down to the pool and stare at whichever women are using the pool at that time. Well, that happened to her as well, which made her uncomfortable. I really can't blame her; it makes me uncomfortable too, which is why I don't use the pool very often. I don't need an audience, and she doesn't either.

So hopefully, this weekend will be really nice. Then, next week, we are planning to take her to Eye on Malaysia and some other cool stuff, then she and M will spend a day in Singapore before she flies home.

So, between the chicken necks, the leering men and the strange food, she doesn't seem to be enjoying herself as much as she did last time. I feel GUILTGUILTGUILTGUILT. Any ideas on some fun stuff for her to do during the day in KL?

Vacation Part II: South Dakota

2007-07-11T12:12:00.000+08:00

After spending a few days in California, we headed to South Dakota, which is also where M is from and where all of his family still lives.

Okay, I have to summarize two weeks, so I'll try to keep it short of a novel. Let's see...spent lots of time with family. Drank far too much Bud Light. Smoked like it was my second full time job. Pined over expensive real estate in the Black Hills. Got way too excited about the plethora of deodorant choices in Walgreen's. Ditto for Target. Indulged in Taco Tuesday at Taco John's. Spent a few days in a cabin with the family, playing Phase 10 (I love that game!). Watched a bunch of lesbians sing karaoke. Put a life sized doll in M's teenage nephew's bed and took pictures to blackmail him with later. Almost wet self putting putting said doll in bed (it was at 2am after last call. Guess you had to be there). Fed baby bears. Climbed Little Devil's Tower with a minimum of cursing. Donated (read: lost) money to Deadwood. Set off and watched fireworks from the field of my sister in law's house. Saw more stars than I've seen since we were there last summer. Felt like we were home.

Okay, let's revisit. First, Little Devil's Tower. This is M's most favorite place in the whole world, although he bemoans the fact that there is actually a trail marker on it, like, for tourists and stuff. Although I'm not much into trudging up sides of mountains, I do it because I love him and it's nice to know that I can still climb it. Did I mention that I had a cold when I did it? Yes, I am a very good wife. However, I don't know how many more times I'll be able to climb it. Not because I am woefully out of shape, but I've found that the older I get, the more of an issue I have with heights. There's even some vertigo involved. So I can only spider crawl around the granite dome for so many years before I just hang it up. But we did see a real, live mountain goat while we were up there, so know I can at least say "Yeah, this one day, I was climbing a mountain, and I saw a mountain goat!".

Second, Deadwood. Deadwood has legalized gambling, and so each year M and I get a room, go tie one on and play blackjack until the wee hours of the morning. Las Vegas is too intimidating for me. Deadwood is just my speed. But what I found more than a little disturbing is that a few of the people that played at our table had no business gambling their money away. When we gamble, it's a very small amount that we are fully okay with losing. We think of it more like a fee for the time that we play. So the objective isn't winning a lot of money, it's longevity. That, and getting the free drinks. There was the 20 something guy who had gotten so wasted the night before that he had gotten fired that day...and it didn't seem to bother him one bit. Then there was the guy (nice guy, but still) that had a wife, a 3 year old and a two week old baby back in Sioux Falls who was betting $10 to $20 a hand. Dude, I have an idea...why don't you buy diapers with that money? If I was sitting at home with a two week old baby while my husband was out gambling, let's just say that his chances of fathering another child with me would be slim to none. I'm just saying.

It was really nice to be home. We had a wonderful time, and I'm so glad we got to see his family (which we usually only get to do once a year, even when we lived in Houston). But what was also nice about it is that it gave me some perspective. It's easy for us, sitting in KL, to imagine how perfect life would be if only we lived in the States. Yes, it would be nice to have Taco Bell, Target with it's rows and rows of choices, and clothing stores that sell my size. But you know what? There are dumbasses everywhere. There are people who get your food order wrong in the US. There are people in the US who take up the entire walkway in the mall, and then stop right in front of you. There are people in the US who drive 20mph on mountain roads, with a line of cars behind them, and don't pull over to let you pass. So it was actually really good for us to see that, so that we don't imagine how much better it would be, if only. Discourtesy and bad service are global. It was good for us to get that jolt of reality, to bring back some objectivity.

And now, fun photos.

Near pants wetting incident with doll in the nephew's bed:

Mountain goat on Little Devil's Tower:

Baby bears that we fed:

Groovy fireworks photo:

Vacation Part I: The Land of Fruits and Nuts

2007-07-09T16:40:00.001+08:00

We are back from our vacation in the US, and now that I'm finally getting over some really fierce jetlag, here's a recap.

We spent the first few days of our vacation in California. I had never been to California except for flying through LAX, and M wanted to show me where he grew up.

Our flight landed on Thursday night. We checked into the hotel and went on a search for Bud Light and Other Things American. We had dinner at the Santa Monica Pier where we had Bud Light AND baseball on TV. We were giddy.

The next couple of days we went to Universal Studios, spent time with M's cousins, and played a card game (Pegs and Jokers) that apparently is all the rage with the motorhome set. We love games (and dream of the time when we can truly be a part of the motorhome set), so we had a great time.

Random observations about California:

People in California probably do more blow than the other 49 states combined, so why can't you smoke ANYWHERE?

No shortage of silicone, however. There's no smoking, but apparently, multiple elective surgeries are no problem. I went from having some of the biggest boobs in KL to feeling woefully junior high-ish again.

We feel safer walking around at night in KL than we do in Santa Monica.

Ojai is the only place in the world where a topless chick can ride her bicycle around the main street of town for about two hours, and no one bats an eye. Wait. Not topless. With silver sparkly pasties. 'Cause that's way more normal.

There is a school of Theosophy in Ojai. That's right, Theosophy. As in, Theology + Philosophy. I love how people can just randomly combine two words and make a new religion. We learned about this when we stopped to buy a T-shirt and heard all about it from the shop owner, who also told us about her trip to India with her guru and the apparently orgasmic joy of the mango. Actually, she was very nice, and I admire people who have that much zest for life. It's just that she just got a little too excited about that mango.

My husband did some pretty crazy shit in his younger days in California.

And...drum roll please....we had to drive all over Ventura, and finally to Ojai to find it, but I finally got my Taco Bell. The angels sang. Here's a lovely photo of the best CrunchWrap Supreme I have ever eaten:

Our adorable hotel in Ojai, the Blue Iguana. Highly recommend it. So cute and amazingly well priced for California:

I may be poking a bit of fun at California, but actually I really enjoyed it and I'm sure we'll go back. Next time - RVing it up and down the coast!

Leaving LA

2007-07-06T10:37:00.000+08:00

So, here we are, sitting in LAX waiting for our long flight back to Singapore. Although I typically loathe LAX, it's not so bad this time since we are in the airport lounge. Singapore's payback to M for traveling a kabillion miles this year is that he is Gold status (and I will be soon), and now can have all the free Sunchips and scotch he wants in their lounge.

I always feel like a fraud when I go in, like I really don't belong. All the grown ups watch me and wait for me to stuff my purse and all my pockets with all the bags of Corn Nuts. As if. I would totally go for the little mini boxes of sugary cereal instead. I LOVE THOSE.

I'll recap our vacation once we get back to KL.

A New Kind of Loyalty Program

2007-07-04T06:36:00.001+08:00

Forgive my lack of updates...we've been on vacation for the past couple of weeks.

Last Thursday we flew from KL to LA to spend a few days in California before heading to South Dakota. We picked up our rental car on Friday morning, and after we drove it for a little while, we looked in the ashtray. I opened it, glanced in, and shut it.

Wait. I opened it again. Hm. Those sure don't look like cigarette ashes. And what's with the little stems in there?

Yep, there was pot in our rental car ashtray. Welcome to California.

I immediately looked in the glove box, expecting the motherload, but no such luck. Then of course we had to capture the moment on camera for our Flickr page. We weren't pissed about it or anything. It was a tiny amount and I doubt we would have gotten in any sort of trouble with the authorities had they stopped us (plus M would have gotten say hi to them anyway - being a teenager in California apparently means being on a first name basis with all the police in the Ojai area).

When we returned the car a few days later, we couldn't resist mentioning it - we figured they needed to know, plus we thought that maybe they'd give us a "Sorry for the Weed" discount. The guy at the counter was professional looking, about 35-40, clean cut, just the sort of guy we figured would at least be somewhat apologetic, or surprised, or maybe a bit embarrassed about the doobage in their rental car. Not so much.

M: "The car was great, but we did have one problem. There was pot in the ashtray."

We prepare for the apology and discount that we are sure are coming.

Avis guy: "You're kidding?" Laughs. "Well, at Avis, we try harder! Next time we'll leave you a six pack too!"

See? Avis really does try harder, God bless 'em.

We're Off!

2007-06-20T17:07:00.000+08:00

We leave tomorrow! We are like two kids on Christmas Eve...we probably won't be able to sleep tonight. That's okay, we will have PLENTY of time to sleep on the flight over. Sixteen and a half hours worth of time.

Of course, I now have a ginormous zit on my forehead, just in time for vacation. Woo hoo! I'm all kinds of thrilled about that. I'll probably have to buy it it's own seat on the flight. Seriously.

All to do tonight is finish packing. I tend to overpack for vacations. I never know what I will feel like wearing or where we might go, plus now I have to pack for my new travel companion, Mr. Ginormous Forehead Zit. So I have the giant suitcase out. Thank goodness for airport luggage carts. After that, I have to call in to a work conference call later tonight (a work call the night my vacation starts...that's wrong on so many levels) and then we are off to the airport bright and early tomorrow!

Tagged Again!

2007-06-20T16:54:00.000+08:00

I was tagged by La Nina, so here goes...

5 - You’re going on a long journey, what five albums MUST you take with you? Albums that you need to listen to regularly.

Okay, if I couldn’t take my iPod or my self burned compilation CD’s with me, then this is a tough one! I’ll apply a little flexibility and say a long road trip. I can pick some pretty kick ass road trip tuneage.

1. Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits
2. James Taylor Live
3. Barenaked Ladies Rock Spectacle
4. Robert Earl Keen’s #2 Live Dinner
5. Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s Greatest Hits

4 - What four albums/songs do you most associate with a journey or travel experience? You know, the ones you listen to that instantly transport you back to a place and time.

1. “Bobby et Angelo” by Bobby et Angelo – Takes me back to Tahiti. This is a local band that M and I listened to the whole time we were there.
2. “Summertime” by Janis Joplin – Reminds me of moving into my first apartment after high school. Doesn't everyone have a Janis phase?
3. “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes – For some reason, this reminds me of driving to the next town over for beer with Triad #2 in college. We must have listened to it on the way or something.
4. The whole “Scarlet’s Walk” album by Tori Amos, especially “Taxi Ride” – Reminds me of moving to Houston all by my lonesome. I listened to this when I went down to find a place to live.

3 - Your three favorite songs of all time?

This is like having to pick a favorite child.

1. “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor
2. “What a Good Boy” by Barenaked Ladies (live version)
3. “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel

2 - Two feel good songs, the ones that are guaranteed to lift the blues and put a smile on your face.

1. "Surrender” by Cheap Trick
2. “Why Can’t I Be You?” by The Cure
Ooh, just thought of one more…
2 ½ . “Bad Reputation” by Reverend Horton Heat

1 - Absolute, overall, undoubtedly the best album of all time, in your opinion.

This just isn’t fair.

1. Rock Spectacle by BNL or James Taylor Live

Tagging Donna for this!

I've Been Tagged!

2007-06-19T17:50:00.000+08:00

I've been tagged by Donna, and since I think these things are kind of fun (maybe it's because of my unnatural love of lists), here goes:

Instructions: Remove the blog from the top, move all blogs up one, add yourself to the bottom.

Smiling Mom
Playgroups Are No Place For Children
Scenic Overlook
Spuddy Buddy
Tales of An Expat

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Wow. I had just finished up my third year of college, and was in summer school trying to make up for the fact that I had changed my major four times in three years. I figured if I had any chance of finishing college before Chris Farley did in Tommy Boy, I'd better hit the books during the summer. I lived in Tiny Texas Town, USA and has just gotten married to my now ex-husband. We were so busy in school and pretending to be adults that we never realized that we actually had no business being married to each other. We lived in a 900 square foot house that, looking back on it, was ridiculously cheap. Although window unit air conditioners during a Texas summer are a real bitch. I drank plenty of Keystone Light, ate tons of fast food, and was still at least 15 lighter than I am now. Frickin metabolism.

Five Snacks You Enjoy

1. Nutella on anything
2. Cheese
3. Wine Gums
4. Edamame
5. anything with butter, lard, sugar, or a creamy center

Five Songs That You Know All The Lyrics To:

1. Copacabana (At the Copa) by Barry Manilow
2. You Don't Mess Around with Jim by Jim Croce
3. Every James Taylor song ever
4. Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order
5. The Road Goes on Forever by Robert Earl Keene

**Like Donna, this is really just a sampling, because I know all the lyrics to most of the songs on my iPod. M and I will be singing, and he'll look at me and say "How do you know that?" I don't know. He retains the knowledge of how to perform calculus equations, and I retain song lyrics. Mine is a far more useful gift, I think.**

Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Millionaire:

1. Volunteer
2. Have our dream house built
3. Travel
4. Take care of our families
5. Invest

Five bad habits:

1. I'm the Queen of Clutter
2. Eating dry cereal out of the box
3. Pessimism
4. Not putting the roll of toilet paper on the holder
5. Laziness

Five Things You Like To Do:

1. Eat
2. Play board/card games
3. People watch
4. Surf the internet
5. Spend time with family

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:

1. My size 1 short shorts with the beaded fringe and matching bustier, also with beaded fringe. I keep it just to remind myself of how tiny my ass was at some point, and also to remind myself to never ever let my daughter wear shit like that. I also look at it when I need a good laugh.)
2. Gold lame
3. Hair bows
4. Tapered pants
5. Anything with a belt (I have no business tucking shirts in, as I have no waist)

Five Favorite Toys:

1. Laptop
2. DVR
3. Ipod speakers
4. Yep, out of toys...

Five People to Tag:

1. La Nina at Mentation of an Unsettled Woman
2. anyone else who wants to do it. I can't think of anyone else who I know for sure would do it for me.

Housing Maintenance

2007-06-19T17:12:00.000+08:00

Only two more days until the US, where I can blend in with the crowd, and not be the Giant White American Woman!

We've had a run of bad luck lately with housing maintenance, both here and back in Texas. We are having trouble with our new television that we bought here, and our bathroom window is leaking like crazy. When our TV is off for several hours or overnight, it usually takes two or three tries before it will switch on. We can hear it click, but either we get sound but no picture, or we get nothing. Yesterday, the TV repair guy finally came over and replaced the dillymajobber that he thought was causing the problem, but this morning we had the same issue, so we have no idea what's wrong with it. Since the TV is less than six months old, and wasn't cheap, we are obviously concerned and want to get it fixed while it's still under warranty.

Also, our bathroom window has been leaking for several months now. We first noticed it because our towel shelving is right in front of it, so we noticed moldy towels on the bottom shelf. Ick. Contractors here are notorious for being late, or not showing up at all, so after multiple phone calls, and me basically being a thorn in maintenance's side all last week, they finally came today, armed with the biggest caulking gun I have ever seen. They were here for about five minutes, then came out to the living room and told me that they couldn't fix it because the guy hadn't brought the right tool. So I wonder why exactly our building's maintenance had to come look at it several weeks ago to determine what was wrong with it. One would think that he wanted to check it out so that he could tell the contractor the problem so that when they came over, they would be prepared to fix it. One would think.

As for the house in Texas, we are renting it out, and so far we've had pretty good luck with our renter. He pays his rent on time (for the most part) and our neighbor there says he takes care of the house and the yard. We know he has two small dogs in the house, which is prohibited in the lease, but it really hasn't bothered us. Now, if I go over there in July when I'm back in Houston, and find out that the dogs have been pissing everywhere, then we'll have a problem. I can handle my own pets peeing on the carpet, but not anyone else's pets. Well, as it turns out, the property management company hasn't really been doing their job, according to our renter. Our neighbor, who we trust, backs him up, so I don't think it's a case of whiny renter syndrome. The air conditioner went on the fritz, and it took four days and multiple phone calls from us and the renter for the property manager to fix it. That's just not cool...no pun intended. I know that if I was a renter, and the air con went out in Houston, in June, and they weren't on it pronto, I'd probably be a bit hot under the collar myself. Okay, that pun was intended.

It's hard to manage these sorts of issues from halfway around the world. It's not like we can show up at the property manager's office and demand to have it fixed. We can't oversee the work and make sure that it's quality work. So we kind of just have to cross our fingers and hope for the best. We're lucky that we have a great neighbor who keeps an eye on things for us. We're not doing back flips over having to spend several thousand dollars on a house that we don't live in, but welcome to being a landlord I suppose. Houses cost money, and it's due to be replaced, so it's just one of those things. Hopefully, this is the last major house expense for a while. We had the roof replaced and the house painted before we left for Malaysia. Pray for our foundation...

**UPDATE:** Hubby just got home and he had a good discussion with our property manager. As it turns out, he basically did everything by the book, plus the air con is now fixed. What happened is that the air con broke, the renter took two days to get something in writing to the prop manager, meanwhile called his own buddy to come fix it, which lasted a day, then the property manager maintenance person fixed it the next day, which again, lasted a day, and then it was the weekend. I still think that no air con is a maintenance emergency which requires some weekend work, but tell that to the repair people. As far as his other (somewhat petty) complaints, per the lease, they are his responsibility. No, Mr. Renter, someone will not come and pressure wash the back patio. Rent a pressure washer and do it yourself. So at least we can feel better about our property management person.

Vacation Countdown

2007-06-18T17:31:00.000+08:00

We are now in the throes of planning for our vacation to the US. I've been ordering stuff online like mad, getting birthday presents to take back with us, doing endless loads of laundry, and trying to get all of the things that need to be repaired in our apartment taken care of before we go. You would think that we would be gone for months with the way I'm planning. But you know what? I love it. I'm The Planner. The kind of person who will add something to her list that she's done just for the sheer pleasure of crossing through it. So things are busy, but good.

This weekend, we went to Chinatown and picked up a ton of DVDs. While we were waiting on them, we wandered over to the Reggae Bar, which is a bar in Chinatown that caters to the backpacker crowd. Honestly, all we wanted was some air conditioning, but as they say, "When in Rome..." so we had a beer while we were there. I would have loved the place back when I was in college, but had we been there when it was crowded, I figure we probably would have been the oldest ones in the place, which would not have helped my "When did I get old?" mindset that I have these days. Interesting to see a place in KL with marijuana stickers all over the walls, though.

Sunday we made homemade enchiladas. Not as good as Chuy's, but pretty tasty nonetheless. So I finally got my Mexican food! Although, since we will be in California for a few days this weekend, I'll probably get my fill there. Wait. What am I saying??? I'll never get my fill of Mexican food.

I've also been getting M's daughter's room ready, since she will be coming back with us from the US for a visit. We are so excited that she is coming! We'd love for her to live here, but getting a sixteen year old to leave her friends, her car and her boyfriend....just not going to happen. It's not like we would get any support from her mom on that front, so unfortunately, that's a battle we are just not going to win. But we are lining up some fun things to do while she's here. We're going to try to go somewhere for a weekend, maybe to the beach or something. So if anyone has some fun ideas, let me know. She doesn't get to come over very often, so we want her to have an awesome time while she's here.

Only three more days until vacation!

We're Back Online

2007-06-16T10:08:00.000+08:00

We finally have our internet fixed! It was relatively painless, which means that it only took a week and approximately six phone calls to get it fixed.

Without the internet to distract me, I got so much done this week! I changed out a bunch of framed pictures, sort of redecorated our living room, cleaned out our closets, and did the filing that had been piling up for the past four months. I also tried to read more of the Portable Identity book that I got, but I'm kind of struggling with it, which is really strange for the poster child of self-reflection. But the point of self-reflection is to learn about yourself, and this book hasn't really taught me anything new. M had a similar experience this week. He read a book about cultural differences, and he said that while the book was good, it didn't tell him anything that he hasn't already learned by living overseas. So I'll try to push on and get through the book, because I don't want to be one of those people who bitches but doesn't take any action. So we'll see how it goes. I'm feeling better about things and more adjusted in general though, so maybe that's contributing to my procrastination with the book.

But I'm glad we have our internet back, since our online shopping spree now begins in preparation for our trip back home. M's sister is about to receive a lot of packages at her house - clothes and bras and contacts, oh my!

The Horror!

2007-06-12T16:46:00.000+08:00

Our internet is down at our house! The modem is completely fried after the blackout the other night. (Note to self - modems like surge protectors. Keep the modem happy.).

We lost power on Sunday night for around five hours. There's nothing like all the lights, TVs, and air conditioner kicking in at 2am to just about make you wet the bed. It reminded me of when Hugh Grant gets woken up on his wedding day in Four Weddings and a Funeral with all the alarm clocks going off. Just a complete WTF moment.

So, anyway, our modem has passed on. No lights. No nothing. Fried. I have a call into our internet provider, so I expect a call back in a couple of weeks probably. Whatever am I going to do without the internet?? Imagine if I put all the time I normally spend on the internet to good use - can you imagine how productive I would be?

Nah, the TV still works.

KL International Dance Festival

2007-06-10T20:39:00.001+08:00

Earlier this week, I saw a commercial on TV about the KL International Dance Festival. Immediately, I wanted to go check it out. It was held at Berjaya Times Square Mall, which isn't far from our apartment, so on Saturday I roped M into going there to check it out. Truthfully, I think he really wanted to go to replace the remote control helicopter that he bought a couple of months ago that met an untimely demise a couple of weeks after purchase. Plastic remote control helicopters don't like tile floors. Especially when they hit them from six feet in the air. But he still watched the festival with me. Now that's love.

It was really great! It went on all week and Saturday ended up being the semifinals, so it was a bit difficult to find a place to watch, but we ended up standing on a bench a couple of floors up and watching the floor below. There were hip hop dancers, ballroom, Latin, all kinds of dancing, all kinds of ages. On of the best was right before we left. About ten couples, all under the age of 12, strutted out and got ready to perform. M and I figured it would be cute and all, but we completely underestimated these kids. They were phenomenal! They did the cha cha and the jive, and they were so entertaining and so good!

But the best thing is that I found a studio called The Dance Space that was a sponsor, so I checked them out online, and they have all kinds of classes that I can go to! Hip hop, belly dancing, contemporary....I'm so excited! Their studios are in Sri Hartamas and Ampang, and the classes are in the evenings, so I'm a little worried about getting there amidst all the rush hour traffic, but hopefully I'll figure something out. This is what I need to be motivated to work out - when I go to a dance class, it's not even like working out, it's just fun for me. I think that's what makes a perfect workout activity.

I grew up dancing and danced throughout college, but I haven't taken a class in oh, about seven years or so. Not too long ago, right? Ha. Hopefully my jazz boots (which I did bring to Malaysia) aren't terribly dated and uncool, and of course I have no idea what I will wear. But I'm still pretty excited. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to get there in the traffic and the classes are good.

Finally! Motivation to get off my lazy ass and work out!

The Art of Conversation

2007-06-10T08:46:00.000+08:00

There’s a great saying I’ve heard that goes, “People who want to share their religious views with you, almost never want you to share yours with them.”

I’ve found that the same is true about politics, especially overseas. M and I often find ourselves the unwilling recipient of various diatribes about what a piece of shit country the US is. Usually these unsolicited comments come from someone that we just met, who to their delight, has just found out that we are Americans. So they take their opportunity to explain to us how their country does things so much better and how they could run the US if only they had the chance. But as the saying goes, they really aren't interested in hearing our opinion, they simply want to share theirs.

Before I go on, I just want to mention that I won’t engage in political debates here. This isn’t even a political post, but rather, a post about respect and common courtesy.

Some people are generally just curious, or want to have a respectful, two way discussion. That’s fine, regardless of their opinion, and that’s not what I’m referring to here. I’m referring to the “Oh, you’re American? Well let me give you my opinion about how crappy America is” monologue that starts the moment that someone finds out we are from the US.

I think having an opinion is great. I think that when it’s an educated opinion, it’s even better. Sometimes I may even agree with some of what they are saying. But here’s my first point - I didn’t put a quarter in them and ask for their opinion, so the appropriate thing to do is to keep it to themselves. It's like if I were to walk up to some stranger in a restaurant and proceed to tell them how ugly their outfit is. It seems that there is some sort of unwritten rule that common courtesy and respect aren’t necessary when talking to an American about their own country. It’s like they feel that they have free license to share their dislike about the US, since we are American and all, and quite frankly, that’s just not what M and I signed up for when we walked in the door of the pub.

It’s not like we think America does no wrong or anything like that. There are certain things that America does well, and certain things that America screws up. Sometimes we agree, and sometimes we don’t. It's the same with any other country. Which brings me to my second point - I would never, ever, in a million years presume to tell someone what a shitty country they are from. How tremendously rude. I’m sure most people would be offended, and rightly so. So why don’t the same rules apply for the US? It seems that once people find out we are from the US, it’s an open invitation to criticize our government, our lifestyle, our food, whatever. I struggle with how people think that this is acceptable behavior.

There is no way I can win in these situations. When this happens, people aren't interested in having a real discussion. They aren’t asking questions, or trying gain an understanding...they’ve already made up their minds. It’s a lecture cloaked in the appearance of a conversation.

Sometimes, I wish we could just talk about the weather.

My TV Addictions

2007-06-08T17:46:00.000+08:00

We don't get a lot of US TV shows in Malaysia, and the ones we get are typically a season or so old. But there are a few that I have been getting into, such as...

"Grey's Anatomy" - Okay, I'm a little late to the game on this one, but I love this show. We just finished season 2 here, so don't tell me what happens on season 3! (Although, given my ongoing subscription to People and the recent addition of E Entertainment as a channel here, I already know how some of the questions are answered.) Plus, I love the music on the show, and it's become one of my main sources of new(ish) music to download from iTunes.

"Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations" - This comes on the Travel and Living Channel here, and I really like this show. He goes to cool places and eats some far out foods. I want to drink beer with Anthony Bourdain. "Globe Trekker" is also really good.

"Everest" - This comes on Discovery Channel. I got sucked into it because of M, but it's actually pretty good.

And don't laugh about these:

"One Tree Hill" - I can't help it. I think it's good. Totally unrealistic, but good teeny bopper drama. It's a show about teenagers pretending to be adults, which is kind of silly sometimes, but the show is also a source of some pretty good music. We just finished season 2 here (I think), so don't tell me if the teenage marriage ends with Nathan drowning his sorrows in a river of Purple Passion and Boone's Farm.

"Falcon Beach" - A total teenage soap opera, Canadian style.

(I can't believe I watch these shows. I didn't even watch teen dramas when I was a teenager - except for 90120, and who didn't watch that? - so I'm not sure why they are appealing to me now. They are kind of lame, but they are total brain candy for me.)

I've also kind of gotten into Heroes, and we love 30 Rock and My Name is Earl. Of course, they won't show Family Guy here (and I'm not sure it's even still on the US), so we have have to buy most of the seasons of that on DVD.

When I was in Singapore this week, I got to see "So You Think You Can Dance?". I'm out of the loop, so I don't know if the show is still on in the US, but what a great show! I was totally sucked in.

Any suggestions for TV show DVDs that we should pick up while we are in the US later this month? We can get some of them here, but to get the unedited ones means a trip to Chinatown, checking each DVD to make sure it works, etc., so we are just planning to pick some up in the US since we will be there soon enough.

What TV shows are you into?

Does He Want to Go Home With the Armadillo?*

2007-06-08T16:58:00.000+08:00

M snapped this photo near a temple that was just down the beach from our hotel in Koh Samui. He showed it to me and I asked him if the monk saw him taking his picture, because I'm not really sure of the etiquette of all that and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to offend.

M said no, he didn't notice, because he was too busy messing with his iPod. I thought that was kind of interesting. But what was even more amusing was that his iPod was playing...get this...Bellamy Brothers. Priceless. I wonder if he has any Jerry Jeff Walker on there?

* The post title is from the song "I Wanna Go Home With the Armadillo", which is by old school Texas country singer Jerry Jeff Walker, who also sings "Sangria Wine" as well as a personal favorite of mine (and Texas bars across the state), "(Up Against the Wall) Redneck Mother".

An armadillo is an animal found in Texas. Sometimes seen alive, but usually as roadkill given that they don't see well in the daytime and they tend to skitter across country roads right in front of Billy Bob and his Ford Dually. A teacher of mine thought it was a little dinosaur when she saw one for the first time. I guess it kind of looks like one. But still. A dinosaur? You teach Honors English, woman.

Image:http://www.everwonder.com/david/armadillo/

Honda, the ADD Elephant

2007-06-05T20:29:00.000+08:00

Friday morning in Koh Samui, we decided to go for an elephant trek. We arrived at the park and were promptly introduced to Honda, the ADD elephant. Of course we got the elephant in need of a massive dose of Ritalin. The elephant trek itself was pretty cool. They had a big bench on the elephants, with cushions between the bench and the elephant's back. They treated the animals very well, aside from forgetting the ADD medication and all. During our ride, Honda kept drifting off course, munching on leaves, gallivanting through the jungle, over bushes taller than she was, and generally being blissfully unaware that there were three people riding her - me, M and the guide, who sat on her head. All the other kids were minding their teachers, raising their hand, following the rules, and Honda was the kid at the back of the room eating paste. Oh, did I mention that Honda also had the shits during our ride? That's always romantic. Our guide kept laughing and saying, "Honda, shit! Honda, shit! Hahahaha!"

Have you heard an elephant fart? Is it wrong that M and I giggled like junior high kids while Honda kept phff, phff, phffing along? Who knew that elephant poo was so funny? But it so was. My eight year old nephew would have loved it.

After Honda finished her business, she decided to wander into the stream to munch on bamboo. Then something spooked her and we were off for a gallop down the river. Is gallop the right word? Do elephants gallop? I don't know, all I know is that Honda was feeling sprightly after her major weight loss, and we discovered that elephants can run pretty damn fast.

After the elephant ride, we walked up the stream a bit (upriver from the dumping ground) and swam in a beautiful swimming hole at the bottom of this amazing waterfall. It was the perfect temperature and was a gorgeous sight. Very cool indeed. Much needed relaxation after our elephant adventure.

Adventures in Koh Samui

2007-06-05T18:24:00.000+08:00

Whew! We are back from Koh Samui! After a weekend of sun, sand, Thai headbanging and errant elephants, we finally made it home around midnight on Sunday night, thanks to a flight delay out of Koh Samui.

Let's see, where to start? We arrived at the hotel in Koh Samui around 8pm or so on Thursday night. We ventured down to the bar, where we were serenaded by a Thai lounge singer singing all the best cover tunes. Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Simon & Garfunkel...I was in karaoke heaven. Of course, it wasn't karaoke, but that didn't stop me and M from singing along. "Sweet Caroline...bah, bah, BAH..." Yes, we are obnoxious Americans.

Friday we got up and decided to go for a little elephant ride. Our ADD-challenged elephant deserves a separate post entirely.

Later that evening, we ventured down to the main village of Lamai. Koh Samui is laid out for a party. Beach bars, little roadside bars, lots of restaurants and great sightseeing. After visiting a couple of bars and grabbing dinner, we found a great roadside bar called the Longhorn bar, complete with burnt orange stools and cheap drinks. It was just like Texas, well, except for the transvestites and all. (Wait! Austin has its own resident cross dresser by the name of Leslie. I think he ran for mayor at one point.) We sat by the road, people watching and playing the "Is it a man or a woman?" game. We finally got ready to go and wandered down the street, where we ate the best hawker Nutella and banana crepe ever. Then we heard the music coming from a bar nearby.

We wandered into the bar, where this great cover band Ovada was playing. Black rocker outfits with one of the best lead guitar players we had ever seen - and she was this tiny Thai chick. She was hot. I'm just saying. The chicks would swing their hair in a circle in time with the music, and I think she played the guitar with her teeth at one point while sitting on the dude's shoulders. That, or I had too much Jaeger. (Jaeger!!) They were playing Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Queen...M was back in his mullet days. We noticed a couple sitting near the end of the bar, and when they were not simulating sex at the bar, they were sucking each other's fingers. Seriously. Blondy McCheerleader wasn't digging the old school jams, but shit, the minute they played Bon Jovi, she decided it was time to daaaanncccce!!! So she got up in front of the stage and put on a show for everyone. Too bad she was the only one dancing. Even worse that it was the white girl dance. Step together, step together, clapping her hands over her head and that whole bit. Between their soft core porn, her dancing, and the great music, we were thoroughly entertained. Of course, the band had to play Stairway to Heaven. Sigh. Is this the best Led Zepplin song you can play? I think not.

The next day, we went down to the main part of Lamai beach, which was prettier than the beach where we stayed. We found a great little beach bar that made boozy, Windex colored drinks, and decided then that we were going to chuck it all, move to an island, open a beach bar and start a papaya farm. The Swedish guy that owned the bar was living the dream, man, living the dream. Later that night we went back and the sky decided to pour all night, so we hung out in this little bar with the owner and the gang from Cheers, aka his bar buddies. We drank many, many adult beverages and then the owner whipped up some Swedish pancakes for all of us. I'm telling you, we are opening a beach bar. Anyone want to join us?

The last day we hung out by the pool and recovered from our weekend. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. Why do I delude myself into thinking that I am still 20? But we did have a lot of fun, and even though I’m in Singapore on business now, my suitcase still has sand in it :)

Off to Koh Samui!

2007-05-30T17:33:00.000+08:00

We are off to Koh Samui, Thailand for a long weekend! We leave tomorrow. We booked the trip months ago, back when I figured that I would be a few pounds lighter. Well, that didn't happen, but that wasn't going to stop me from taking my pale, not-so-toned ass to the beach for a few days.

We tend to take these mini vacations...it must be a holdover from living in the US, where I just had two weeks of vacation a year. So we end up taking several small three and four day trips so that we can see more places while we are in Malaysia. I chalk it up to, when faced with too many choices, my sheer inability to make a decision. So, we only commit to a few days, then the plan is to hopefully have time to go back to some of the places we enjoyed the most. The only trouble is, we want to go back to all of them that we have visited so far. Hmm, the plan isn't working too well. How am I supposed to visit all these great places when pesky work keeps getting in the way?

We get back on Sunday, then on Monday I'm off to Singapore for a week (I see a visit to Taco Bell while I'm there). Then, only a week and a half before we leave for South Dakota! We are going to spend a few days in California first; we'll visit some of M's relatives and then he'll take me to do all the touristy things in LA! I've only flown through California, but M spent a good portion of his childhood there, so I'll have a great guide.

But first, Koh Samui! There are so many things to do there that we are torn between "going and doing" versus "vegetating on the beach". Hopefully we can strike a nice balance. We are going to go on an elephant ride up to some waterfalls one day, and M really wants to rent a scooter as well. That should leave us plenty of time for lounging around and doing nothing which, in my mind, is what makes a great beach vacation.

Happy Birthday Triad #1!

2007-05-29T18:37:00.000+08:00

It's Triad #1 birthday today, so....ahem....

(As I clap in rhythm, as is the tradition in all fine Mexican food establishments...)

"Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you
Happy happy birthday, may all your dreams come true
We wish you happy birthday, from all of us to you
So happy happy birthday, from Jose's to you, ole!"

Alas, I am without a sombrero, which would complete the sentiment. However, given the state she was in when she called me Saturday night from her birthday dinner, she probably wore one that night.

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Daily Dose of Irony

2007-05-27T09:14:00.000+08:00

Earlier this week, I posted about bad grammar and my intense dislike for it. However, I recently realized that I inadvertently used bad grammar on my profile on this blog. (Hangs head in shame.) Mistypes are a bitch.

Previously, the profile read "lack of unaccountability" when describing things that irritate me. Of course, the phrase is either "lack of accountability" or simply "unaccountability". However, I'm sure due to a moment of indecision on my part, the hybrid "lack of unaccountability" was what ended up in my profile.

And that's ironic.

Thank you, Triad #1, for pointing out the error of my ways. I can always count on my sisters to break the really tough news to me, such as when I (gasp!) use bad grammar or when my ass really does look fat in these pants.

Finale in the Sweater Trilogy

2007-05-25T23:23:00.000+08:00

Okay, I just have to laugh. Thank God for Lexapro.

As you may recall, we called NeroVivo last night and located The Sweater. In their office. We told them we would be by tonight to pick it up.

So we went by tonight, and figured we would just have dinner while we were there. We were seated, and after we ordered our appetizer, we asked our server about the sweater. He said, "Oh, you're Sarah?". Great, now the waitstaff knows me. Shit, I was nice and everything about it. Now I have a reputation. Now I am The Patron Who Will Not Stop Calling About Her F*cking Sweater. I replied that yes, I called about my sweater, and he says that it is in the office and he will go get it.

So we munch on the tuna carpaccio while we wait to be reunited with my sweater. You guys know what's coming now, right? If you live in KL you do.

The waiter comes out...with a gorgeous pink floral pashmina shawl and holds it up hopefully. "Is this it?" Okay, I'm still cool about this. I keep thinking "I'm the one who left it. This is my fault." Although I have told multiple people that I left a black sweater, which means that it's a sweater, not a shawl, and it's black, not pink floral. I'm just saying. God, I am such a bitch sometimes.

So I told them nicely that it wasn't mine, so they, after an apology, took the floral shawl back to the office. Again, not their fault, my fault. They tried. Turns out that one of our servers was the one that I spoke with on the phone the other day. She very nicely apologized (like it's her fault or something) and tells us that she feels guilty because she's the one who found it. I'm thinking, she put it in the Sacred Reception Drawer, so it's so not her fault. And then I began to feel like an ass, even though I have been totally appropriate during this whole thing, which is somewhat of a crapshoot these days. It's like when you break up with a boy and they say that they want to see other people. You hold on to hope that one of those people may be you and that you may be reunited one day. If they just said screw you, I'm gone, I'm finding someone else who will take care of me, then you don't hold onto hope. But I have been Wishing and Hoping...I wish they would have cut the cord already, but the fact that they didn't means that I have something to post about and, thus, is keeping me out of the candy dish tonight. All about the silver lining. At least by seeing the pink pashmina I realize that I'm not the only one who leaves clothing in swanky Italian restaurants in KL. Before, I thought maybe I was just a lush. Now I feel like one of the crowd.

So M and I laugh about it and toast my lost sweater. Did I mention that I love Lexapro? Did I mention that when you remember to take it every day it makes all the more effective?

Later someone ELSE comes up and mentions the sweater while M and I were having dessert. Now I am beginning to have a complex, because they all know Sarah of the Lost Sweater. One might think that if that many people know about the Sweater Incident that one might know where the thing is. I'm just saying...

That thing is somewhere in that building. But I've made my peace. The Sweater is gone. And I'm sure, as nice as I was, that someone spit in my food.

Update: Vacation Trip and the Sweater Saga

2007-05-24T18:59:00.001+08:00

First, the vacation update...

We finally got our schedules straightened out, and it's official. We are getting to go to South Dakota for summer vacation as planned! Woo hoo! We were a bit concerned that between M's work travel and mine, we wouldn't be able to go. So although M and I are totally jam packed with travel for work before and after the trip, we were able to keep the SD trip as scheduled. We ticketed the flight yesterday, so it's all systems go! We are so excited!

Now, an update on the Sweater Saga...

I called yesterday and actually spoke to The One Who HAD My Sweater. As in, she didn't have it anymore. She said that she put it in the reception drawer and then proceeded to look while we were on the phone and said, "Oh, not there anymore." Thanks for the news flash. I had just finished telling her that I was there yesterday, we looked in that exact drawer and it wasn't there, so I'm not exactly sure where she was for the first five minutes of our conversation or why the fact that when she looked in the drawer, it was a surprise that, gasp!, the sweater wasn't there anymore. So I asked her if she could check around with some other employees or maybe in the office. She kept saying, "The sweater not in the drawer." So after about five more minutes of that fun game, I finally said (nicely, because getting angry doesn't help in Malaysia - persistence does) for the last time, "Can you check around and maybe ask the manager about it?" Finally the light bulb went off. She took my number (just like the chick on Tuesday did), told me she would check and call me back (just like the chick on Tuesday did) and then proceeded to NOT call me back (just like the chick on Tuesday did).

So we called again tonight. Talked to someone else. After explaining the whole story again, the person looked, and...the sweater has magically reappeared! Tah dah! So, as of this exact moment, the restaurant knows where my sweater is (in the manager's office) and we told them we would be by to get it tomorrow. So I hope they staple the damn thing to the office desk if they have to, just don't move it again, because every time it's moved, we start back at square one.

Keep your fingers crossed that the Sweater Fairy does not abscond with my sweater between now and 8pm tomorrow. Hopefully not, because I really like my sweater and I really like this restaurant, but if they lose the damn thing again they might end up on my boycott list, which I would so hate. I'm a sucker for a good carb.

Words and Phrases that Can See Me in Hell

2007-05-24T17:04:00.000+08:00

You know a phrase that I despise?

"HR Girls".

Yes, I work in human resources. Yes, I'm female. But at 31 years old, I hardly consider myself a "girl" anymore. I think that ship sailed long ago. But when you work in an industry full of men who are your father's age, it's bound to be said. A lot.

Now, Hooters Girls? Yes, I can buy that. Heineken Girls? Sure, makes sense. But HR girls just doesn't sit well with me. I think that putting "Girls" at the end of one's profession is really only reserved for one who serves beer and/or hot wings. As I do neither, I really don't think it's necessary.

Since we are on the topic, other words and phrases which should be banned:

"I seen..." As in "I seen that movie" or "I seen them the other day". If English is your native language, there's no excuse to leave words out of a sentence.

"Conversate" - Not a word. You converse or have a conversation. You do not conversate.

"Whilst" - Many people use this word if they want to sound more worldly than they really are. If you are actually British or your country was recently under British rule (and therefore, your current culture's grammer grew from that), using the word is fine. Otherwise, it just makes you sound like a pompous ass.

"Orientate" - As in "HR Girls, will you orientate this new employee?". Orientate is not a word either. Donna has this same pet peeve. She and I share our distaste for bad grammer. For some of Donna's other grammer pet peeves, click here.

Rugs are Oriental; people are Asian. People are not Oriental. That phrase waved bye bye a long time ago.

What phrases bug you?

Finders Keepers

2007-05-21T19:59:00.000+08:00

Saturday night we got all spiffied up and went out on a real date. I even wore shoes that were NOT flip flops (although they were in the bag we brought, just in case). We went to NeroVivo on Jalan Ceylon. Quite the tasty taste treat. We had a great tuna carpaccio and I had the tagliatelle with veal. Yes, yes, I felt a tad guilty about ordering the veal, but not for long because, damn, it was awesome. M had the salmon with capers which was alright, although he enjoyed my veal more and felt less guilty than I did. I could write the whole damn post about the food, but I won't because A) this is not a food blog and B) it's completely uninteresting unless you share the same unnatural love of carbohydrates as I do. We had a great bottle of wine, and then more wine at the bar afterwards. In fact, so much wine that I left my cute sweater that goes so well with my cute new sundress at the restaurant. Of course, that's something I would do totally sober anyway.

So we went out again tonight. I know, on a school night and everything! It's part of our "How To Avoid E! Entertainment Television Turning Your Brain to Mush" plan. We went for dinner, then hit the grocery store (crazy kids that we are) and then went to get said sweater from the restaurant.

I called them on Sunday as soon as they opened. (I literally woke up and said "Oh shit" because that's the first thing I thought of when I woke up.) We went back to the restaurant tonight and I told them who I was and that I was here to get my sweater. After much looking around (but they WERE busy, so no big deal. I mean, I'm the asshat who left my clothing at the restaurant) she came back to me without said sweater and said, "Oh, you said you were coming yesterday."

Okay, this matters why? I thought. In all fairness, I HAD told them on Sunday that I would be there on Monday, but after a busy work day, rain, the thought of getting a taxi in the rain, and the fact that I am inherently lazy by nature, I waited until today. Sue me. Why should this matter? She further explained that the girl who was "keeping" my sweater was off tonight, so they would need to call me tomorrow. After being assured that the Girl Who Was Holding My Sweater Hostage would be working tomorrow, I told her that I would come back tomorrow.

It's no big deal; after all, it was my fault that I left the thing there. But I have to wonder...why is my sweater not at the restaurant tonight? Why is it with the Girl Who is Keeping It? Is she wearing my sweater around KL?

So, hopefully I will get my sweater back tomorrow, otherwise I will be running around KL in a strappy little sundress, which just won't do. They keep the malls 50 degrees Fahrenheit in KL.

We obviously need to go out more on school nights if this is the most interesting thing that I can write about tonight.

"Make New Friends, But Keep the Old..."

2007-05-18T18:36:00.000+08:00

Isn't it odd that there are certain people in your life that you stay friends with, and then there are others that you just drift apart from? I'd like to think that for those that you aren't really in touch with, unless the friendship ended on bad terms, you could shoot them an email and say hello. No bad blood (or drawn blood, for that matter), you just used to be friends and life tossed you in different directions. So what's the harm in touching base with them and seeing how life is treating them?

I think guys are generally better at this. M has friends from elementary school, high school, old college buddies and work buddies that he keeps in touch with. Years can pass and it's like nothing has changed. There's never any weirdness or hurt feelings. They just generally pick up where they left off.

I guess it's different for women, or maybe it's just different for me. There are some friends that I have had for a long time, and it's like nothing has changed. Then there are some others...

See, I'm a bit bothered, because over the past few months I have emailed two old friends that I genuinely would like to see how they are, and they haven't emailed me back. I know that sounds whiny. Maybe I'm more sensitive than I thought, huh?

One was my best friend in high school and the other was a friend I met at a job in Texas. The first one I emailed in January, after I found out that she had gotten married the same day I did. I know the email address was good (my mom got it from a family member of hers who told her about her marriage - what can I say, we are from a small town) and the second one I emailed about a month ago. Now the second one I have kept in touch with over the years, but I can sort of see him going all "I can't be friends with a woman!" now that he is married with a kid, which I think is total bullshit, by the way. Reach down there and locate your balls, my friend.

I guess when it comes down to it, I feel a bit rejected. I don't know. When I have gotten emails from old friend, I have been pleased that they thought of me. I have emailed them back and we have caught up on life. We may not be close or email regularly, but I guess I'm of the mind that as long as a friendship didn't end badly, why not email and catch up? Good times were shared, what's the harm in saying hello?

Hell, maybe I just have PMS. Who knows?

The Triad

2007-05-18T18:01:00.000+08:00

I mention the The Triad on this blog sometimes, so I figured that I needed to define The Triad. No, it's not a cult (although my husband might disagree with you). It's not a self help group (although it does kind of serve as one).

The Triad consists of me and my two older sisters. Triad #1 is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met, and the older I get, the more I realize how alike we are. She is married to a great guy, S, who I've known since I was nine and remembers me back when I had a retainer and a bad perm. He also makes a mean home brew. Triad #2 is truly a hilarious person and the coolest soccer mom I know (and I mean that in the most complementary way possible). She is married to K, a Cabela's poster child who plays my favorite rendition of "Everything that Glitters is Not Gold" on the guitar. They have three munchkins I love dearly.

The older we get, the closer we get. They are the kind of sisters who would drop everything and fly halfway around the world if I needed them. I would do the same for them. It's family. They are my best friends, and when the three of us get together, the menfolk just end up occupying themselves, because they don't get most of our jokes anyway. We share an awesome bond that gets us through all kinds of fun shit that life throws our way.

My dear husband coined the phrase, "The Triad". See, at Christmas time, we always play some sort of board game, like Scattergories or Taboo. Taboo is a game where you pick a card and your team members have to guess the topic on the card. But there is a list of words on the card that you can't use to describe the topic. For example, you can't describe the word "ice" with the words, "cold", "wet", "igloo", "frozen" etc. So the first round might go something like this:

I look at my card. "Okay, this is so funny. (I laugh for a moment at the upcoming inside joke. Then laugh some more.) Then finally, "They grow on trees, and-"

The Triad, in unison: "Picantes!"

(As in, the stuff that makes Picante Sauce. Yes, there's a story there. Picantes grow on trees - you didn't know?)

Hubby: "That's not fair! Like we can compete with The Triad."

And thus, the term The Triad was born. That's also why the boys won't play Taboo with us anymore.

Can I Get Cinnamon Twists With That?

2007-05-17T22:07:00.000+08:00

I just found out that there are Taco Bells in Singapore. Holy shit! The elusive Taco Bell, home of the Frito Burrito, the Gordita and the granddaddy of them all, the CrunchWrap Supreme. Ah, ground grade D beef, cheese, refried beans and sour cream nestled between two crunchy corn tortillas and enveloped in a flour tortilla, a la coin purse style.

My Crunch Wrap Supreme! I will come and visit you next month when I am in Singapore! Maybe you can introduce me to your buddy, the Seven Layer Crunch Wrap Supreme that I have heard so much about. Is it true? Can you be made even better with the addition of guacamole and Spanish rice? I have no doubt.

A Portable Identity

2007-05-16T20:39:00.000+08:00

I recently began reading a book titled "A Portable Identity: A Woman's Guide to Maintaining a Sense of Self While Moving Overseas". I decided to buy the book because ever since we moved, I have felt a bit adrift (okay, a lot adrift). Essentially everything about my life changed in a matter of weeks. I got married. I became a stepmother. Right after the wedding, we moved to KL. (And I mean right after. The morning after the wedding we took off for our honeymoon, and rather than flying back to Texas, we flew to KL instead.) My job changed tremendously. And so now I find I'm juggling all these new "roles" and it's overwhelming sometimes. I'm still me, except...I'm not. I'm me, but me within a whole new context, if that makes any sense. This whole feeling sort of crept up on me. Between planning the move and the wedding, I was so immersed with that, that any doubts I had I just shoved into the back of my mind because I just didn't have time to think about them with everything else doing on. I was the optimist who thought, "Oh, everything will be fine. It will be an adjustment, but it will be fine."

Well, it's truly not THAT bad. I mean, I'm not talking to the voices in my head (any more than usual), or prone to long afternoons drowning my sorrows in cheap wine (any more than usual - I mean, who can find cheap wine in KL anyway? But I digress...), but it's been more of an adjustment than I bargained for. So I figured, rather than sit, talk, hypothesize and over analyze (which I'm prone to do), I'd take some action. My job is a source of my frustration, so I'm taking some action on that. Matt and I are planning to start playing tennis. We discussed learning golf, but one sport at a time for me. I'm not exactly the sporty type. We are also talking about some other activities that we can get involved in as well, to get out and start meeting people other than work colleagues.

I've also sent several inquiries about doing some volunteer work, but I haven't heard anything back. I find that odd. I never thought I'd struggle to find somewhere to volunteer my time. Hopefully, I will hear something soon. In the meantime, if anyone knows of any volunteer opportunities in KL, let me know. I'm ready.

And lastly, I bought this book. Now, as I mentioned earlier, rather than over analyze the situation, I'm trying to take action. And while this book is really good, it is all about self-reflection. I guess that makes sense, since how can you figure out your identity without some self-reflection and analyzing of yourself? But the book is exhausting! It's a workbook, so every couple of pages there is an exercise for the reader to do. I have spent all evening thinking back in great detail about my identity (internal factors, external factors, roles and relationships) before we decided to move, during the move and after the move, writing summaries and drawing diagrams from said summaries. In other words, "YOUR LIFE IS MUCH DIFFERENT NOW, ISN'T IT? SEE YOUR DIAGRAM?" Well, duh. At least it's kept me out of the candy dish tonight. It's actually been quite a bit of work, so I hope it pays off. I just have to get through this part so that I can move on to the next part where they tell me how to fix everything and become a rational, normal person again :) Okay, kidding there. Sort of.

Sigh...it would be wrong to skip ahead, huh?

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

2007-05-15T18:26:00.000+08:00

Gotta love Tom Petty, eh?

Over the past few weeks, we have been planning our home leave back to the US. We've been planning to go back to South Dakota, where hubby is from, during the summer and then back to Texas to see my family at Christmas. We researched all the flights since we not only have to get to LA, which there are plenty of flights for, but also to Rapid City, which will involve connecting in at least one more city in order to reach our final destination. Add into the mix the fact that my stepdaughter will more than likely meet us in SD and then fly back to KL with us and spend a couple of weeks over here before she goes back to school, and you can see that lots and lots of planning needed to take place.

That's no big deal, I was all over that. I'm a Planner with a capital P. You need a list made? I'm your gal. You need to see all your options before deciding on a final vacation choice? I can do that. In fact, I really enjoy planning, so that usually falls to me to handle, which I'm fine with. So all of our plans are basically finalized, with flights booked and everything. Visions of hanging out with family, cool evenings, the Heritage Festival, camping in Custer State Park and eating my weight in tacos at Taco John's are dancing in my head. Except....

As it turns out, we just found out that hubby might have to do a significant amount of travel in Asia Pacific during the months of June and/or July. Since he may have to be here, that means one of four things: 1) It all works out and we get to go as planned, and my stepdaughter can come over as planned, or 2) we have to delay and go later, which will involve changing all our reservations, not to mention that my stepdaughter may not get to come since if we go later, it will be almost time for her to start school again, or 3) we don't get to go at all but my stepdaughter can still come and we just take some time off and stay here, or 4) we don't get to go and my stepdaughter won't be able to come because what's the point if hubby and I will have to travel the whole time she's here (yes, I now have possible travel for my job during June/July as well).

As One Who Likes a Plan, it makes me antsy when things are up in the air, so you can see why this is making me a bit nutso. (I'll admit, I walk a fine line between sane and batshit crazy these days, but still.) We won't find out for sure what our options are until hubby's employer and all the other people on his team decide on the specifics of his travel. Who knows when that will be. So now we are in limbo, waiting on all these other people to make decisions before we know if we can go to SD or if we can even see hubby's daughter this summer. I know that the whole work/life imbalance is sometimes the price you pay for being gainfully employed, but we will be really disappointed if we can't go as planned.

Today a few things happened that makes us think we can hopefully make our trip happen, but ack! I am not a fan of Unsettled Things. We have really been looking forward to this trip, so hopefully everything will all work out. It's the not knowing that's going to make me have to increase my meds....

Daily Dose of Irony

2007-05-11T17:22:00.000+08:00

I got back from Dubai last Friday. Nothing like leaving Dubai at 8pm and finally reaching your apartment in KL at 11:30 the next morning. I had to share a couple of interesting things I noticed in Dubai.

I picked up a Cosmo in the Dubai airport for the flight home, as I knew sleeping the entire flight was out of the question for me. It was the UK version which was good, because at least some of the products featured in it are actually things that I can find in KL. However, as I was reading through it, I noticed that page 107 to 115 were missing. At first I thought it was a misprint, but as I looked closer, I noticed that they had been neatly torn out. I thought "Someone wanted to read this article and didn't want to pay 38 Dirhams (roughly 11 USD) to buy the whole magazine." I didn't think much of it until I flipped through more pages, and noticed that certain body parts in photos had been attacked by a black marker. So I thought I'd look at the table of contents just to see what had been torn out. It was an article titled "I Love Men but I Kiss Girls". Ah - the media police strike again!

I guess there's someone that gets paid to be on nipple and asscrack alert. I'll bet it's not a tough job to recruit for.

No biggie. However, I did find it ironic considering what happened the other day during breakfast in Dubai.

I was sitting in one of the hotel restaurants eating breakfast. This was a nice, upscale hotel. And for our listening pleasure was Akon's uncensored CD. A lovely little ditty is linked below. Beware of little ears before clicking on it.

First of all, don't get me started on this Akon character. He is a featured "artist" on Channel V here, which is a music video channel in Malaysia. I use the term "artist" loosely. Seriously, I can't believe what passes for musical talent these days. I know I sound like my mother, but I can't help it. He skeeves me out. His song above has been marketed as "I Wanna Love You", and on a Channel V clip he explains his inspiration for the song. "I thought of this song when I was sitting at the strip clubs, and I'm surrounded by all the beautiful women." Listen to the song. This is utter crap.

I didn't know that "I Wanna Love You" was actually the edited version of the song, and that the actual song is "I Wanna F*ck You". Ah, the romance of it. He's a lyrical poet. So I almost spit out my eggs when I heard the chorus the other morning. I figured that someone would be bolting to change the song or turn it down, but not so much. We were able to listen to the entire masterpiece.

So, I'm confused. A butt crack needs to be marked out but we can listen to "I Wanna F*ck You" over our croissant and orange juice?

And that's my dose of irony for the day. Carry on.

Are You Smuggling Pickles or Are You Just Glad To See Me?

2007-05-09T00:11:00.000+08:00

My sister will occasionally send us care packages with goodies from the US that we can't easily find in KL. She will usually ask us if there's anything in particular that we would like when she's getting ready to send one. Normally, I would be hesitant to request certain things, but I've recently learned to swallow my pride. There are some things that we just can't find in KL. I'm sure most of them are around somewhere, but since we haven't found them, I asked for a few things that Matt and I needed/wanted.

Our package arrived today, and so Matt called me and told about all the goodies that we had gotten. However, there was one item that I had requested that sadly didn't make it. Pickles.

I have been craving bread and butter pickles for months now. Once again, no, I'm not pregnant. But we've been searching for them and haven't been able to find them...I think that's probably why I am craving them even more now, because I know I can't get them. Sweet and tangy goodness. I eat the small crunchy slices and Matt eats the bigger slices that have the seeds. I don't eat the bigger slices because they have the slimy middle with the seeds. It's one of my food texture issues.

So Triad #1 and her hubby bought us a big ass jar of bread and butter pickles. And is his way, my BIL wrapped and wrapped them up and even bubble wrapped them so they wouldn't break or leak.

However, after all that work by Triad 1 and hubby, we got an email today that the shipper could not ship them because they would never make it through Malaysian customs. They seized my pickles. I guess that probably means that my Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Supreme didn't make it either. :)

Hey, I just thought of something....I could MAKE bread and butter pickles. People do that, right? They have all the ingredients here. I just have to stock up on Mason jars. I'm sure my gal Paula has a fantabulous recipe.

No Wonder My Back Hurts

2007-05-08T00:09:00.000+08:00

Purse BKLM (before Kuala Lumpur move)

Purse: a lovely, compact black Coach with matching wallet
Contents:
- wallet
- 4 lipsticks
- lip liner
- face powder
- pen
- sunglasses
- key chain with approximately 7 keys

Purse AKLM (after Kuala Lumpur move)

Purse: all weather nylon shoulder sling bag. Think parachute pant material. Quite the fashion statement.
Contents:
- chapstick with SPF
- 4 lipsticks (some things never change)
- toilet paper/tissue packet (the lack of toilet paper in some bathrooms is a very real concern)
- umbrella (for the impromptu rain shower or hot midday sun)
- mini deodorant (it's freakin' hot)
- cash (no credit cards)
- house key card
- hair claw, clips and bands (again, freakin' hot)
- sunglasses
- pens
- camera (for feeding my Flickr obsession)
- face blotting papers (powder just mixes with the sweat and makes a...paste)
- spare flip flops (if I'm wearing my "going out" shoes, which I can only do if we are cabbing it. Then, if we can't get a cab home, I'm all set with my walking shoes)
- cards (so Matt and I can play gin at the pub - we like to live on the edge)

The cuty, tiny clutches that are so popular right now are just a pipe dream for me.

Can you imagine when we have kids? We won't be able to leave the house without one of those luggage carts you find at the airport...

Travel Happenings

2007-05-05T12:04:00.000+08:00

Greetings from Dubai! I usually have to travel to Dubai about once a quarter for work, so here I am again.

Traveling here yesterday started normally, and then a series of strange things happened.

Bizarro moment #1: I got to the airport early, so I figured I'd indulge in a little reflexology. (It had only been two days since my last one, but as I've said, I'm a spa whore.) I went to a reflexology place that recently opened up in KLIA. I had been to another branch that was outstanding, so I figured, why not? The prices were airport inflated (almost double from their other branch), but I figured it was a small price to pay for the heaven that is reflexology. When my session was done, I went into the other room to put on my shoes, and that's when it happened. My therapist followed me into the other room and said...

"Tip."

Not "Tip?" as in a question. Just a statement. A nice statement, said with a smile, not particularly demanding, but a statement nonetheless. I had to ask him again, because I thought surely I had misunderstood. I mean, tipping doesn't happen much in Malaysia...right?? :) So he said it again. I asked him "Do you want a tip?" to make sure I understood, to which he said yes, again with a smile. It was odd. Even in the US, where tipping is more widely practiced, I've never been asked so directly for one. I've been asked in general in a bar: "Ladies and gentlemen, be sure to tip your bartenders and waitresses!" I've been asked passively at a salon: On a sign - "If you feel the service of your stylist/masseuse/etc. was exemplary, please feel free to leave a tip in one of the envelopes provided." I've been obligated to give one: On a restaurant bill in US - "Gratuity charge". In Malaysia - "Service charge". And so on. So I tipped him. No biggie.

So, anyway, I wasn't necessarily offended or anything, I just found it strange. Considering a comment I received the other day on this blog about tipping, I thought it was certainly ironic. Who would have thought tipping was ever expected in Malaysia? I'm just saying. :)

Bizarro moment #2: Sighting of a man sitting at our gate at KLIA, very openly reading a book entitled Singapore Erotica. I love it. I guess if reading erotica in a public airport in a conservative country butters your muffin, so be it. I usually prefer it in the privacy of my own home, but that's just me.

Bizarro moment #3: Fell asleep while watching The Last King of Scotland on the plane. Really good movie, by the way. The sleeping had more to do with the red-eye flight than the movie. Anyway, I woke up during a very graphic part, and I don't know if it was that or what, but all of a sudden I had this huge wave of nausea. I tried to fight it in my seat for as long as possible, but then the cold sweat came, and I knew I had to get to the bathroom, just in case. A flight attendant waiting near the restroom took pity on me, got me a bag and let me go in front of her into the next bathroom. Then...it just completely went away. It was awful though. Given that my digestive issues are usually IBS related rather than pukeage related, that was indeed bizarre.

Bizarro moment #4: After arriving at my hotel, I crawled into bed and set my phone alarm. It went off and so I groggily got up. I looked out the window and thought, wow, the sun sure isn't very bright this morning. Strange. Then I called Matt in KL, who was in a breakfast meeting. Strange. Something wasn't adding up. Breakfast? I asked Matt what time it was and he said it was 10am. Which means...it was 6am in Dubai. In my sleepy daze, I had forgotten to change my clock on my phone. So after talking to him for a while, I couldn't go back to sleep.

(Okay, none of those were all that bizarre, but cut me some slack. I'm a sleepy girl.)

It's just as well though. I have so much day now! I need to do some work, and then I am off to the mall. I like to shop for clothes in Dubai, since it's easier here to find clothes that fit my linebacker shoulders.

Kitty Jail or Kitty Spa? You make the call.

2007-05-03T18:55:00.000+08:00

When Matt and I moved overseas, we had to find a home for our cat, Katy. She also goes by many, many other names, such as Mimi, Meemus, Shmeemus, Rotten Kitty, Baby Kitty, or Meemus VonStinkyButt Meisterstein. We were very sad and still pine for The Meemus every day. Luckily, my sister and brother in law took her in, so it's good we got to share the Meemus joy with family. Heh.

This is one of her favorite activites. As soon as a suitcase appears, she sprawls across it in an attempt to stop you from packing. That, and generally looking at us with disdain, are her two most favorite activities. She is such a sweet baby kitty, and also a total bitch, as is the way with most cats. She is mixed breed, but there's got to be some Siamese in there somewhere. She has many Siamese traits, my favorite one being that she is the most vocal cat I have ever met. She'll tell you a story, all right. I miss how she used to allow us to sleep in the bed with her, and she would make biscuits on us until she settled on one of our chests in a successful effort to block the TV.

If you have to travel, she is usually okay for a day or so, but much more than that, and she will demonstrate her displeasure with you by peeing in your gym bag, or perhaps your pajama bottoms. Discovering that loving calling card after aforementioned gym bag has been sitting in your car all morning during a Texas summer is quite the treat. Ask Matt. We still love her to pieces though.

So, my sister and her husband had to go to San Diego this weekend, so they had to take her to Kitty Jail, as my sister calls it. Actually, it's Lakeline Animal Care in Austin, and they take wonderful care of her. Of course, Mimi will never let you know that.

Now, I've gotta ask you, does this look like Kitty Jail to you?

From their website: "Without question, our cat house provides the most charming and luxurious accomodations available for your cat. Your precious pet will enjoy his or her own unique hotel room. Each room is warmly decorated with it's own kitty-sized furniture to help your cat feel completely relaxed and at home. Each room also has a large window, so choose a view for your cat -- either overlooking the lovely reception lobby on the cat side, or overlooking the beautiful old oak trees and lush green lawn behind the main building."

She's so mistreated.

Kitty jail? More like kitty spa. Does she get aromatherapy with that?

Gravylicious

2007-05-02T23:19:00.000+08:00

I was browsing Amazon.com, and came across a great book. I might as well confess. As a true Southerner....

I adore Paula Deen. Simply love her.

For those of you not familiar with Paula, she has a great show on the Food Network (ah, how I miss the Food Network) where she cooks up the tastiest Southern dishes. She started her business as a packed lunch business out of her home in Savannah and now has one of the most successful shows on the Food Network, along with having published a number of cookbooks. You've got to love a woman with a separate recipe section solely devoted to barbecue. Plus, everything she makes has at least one stick of butter. Mmmm...

A few of her recipes include:

Bill Nicholson's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding (Krispy Kremes are, hands down, the best donuts around)
Country Fried Steak Biscuits and Gravy (Fried? Steak? Biscuits? AND gravy? Sold.)
Paula’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich (I keep trying to talk Matt into making these for dinner one night, but to no avail.)

I remember watching her every Saturday morning, during which I would inevitably call Matt from the other room saying, "Oooh, come look at what she's making now!" You could gain weight and clog your arteries just by watching her. I guess that's one of the reasons I like her (other than the fact that she just seems so darn nice) - you can watch her whip up sinful dishes without subjecting yourself to the 1,000,000 calories that each one contains.

Matt calls her "Deep Fat Fried Mayonnaise Sandwich with Ranch Dressing" lady. (Of course, it's funnier when he does it in his faux Southern twang.)

She's my kind of gal.

Hi, I'm a Stereotype!

2007-04-30T22:04:00.000+08:00

Before we moved to KL, I felt like I was fairly culturally sensitive. I may not have been the most worldly person, but I was sensitive to other cultures and somewhat aware of how my "Americanism" was perceived by many people outside the U.S. Therefore, I've always strived to combat the perception of the obnoxious, rude American expat at every turn.

That's why it drives me nuts when I act like one.

See, ever since we moved to KL, my number one stress trigger has been shifty cab drivers. Specifically:

1) KL cab drivers essentially get to interview you and decide whether or not they want to take you where you want to go.
2) The meter rate is a foreign concept to them. Some of them "forget" to turn it on, and then some just outright refuse to when you ask them.
3) The reasons for not using the meter vary - "It's raining" is a popular one. In fact, forget getting a cab at all if it's raining, but if you are lucky, you can get one and only be charged double or triple. Other reasons include, "Bad traffic" or "It's Tuesday" (or fill in the blank with whatever day of the week it is).
4) Back to being interviewed...some cabs will drive by the cab stands and ask people where they are going and then pick the one that is going where they want to go or who they think they can charge the most to. It doesn't matter where you are in the queue. Still others will queue up in front of restaurants and smoke while calling out "You need a cab?". Then the negotiation starts and he decides what to charge you. If you say no, then that's fine, he will choose to continue to sit by the side of the road and make no money rather than agree to what we consider to be a reasonable rate (and still more than the meter).
5) Most of them drive like a bat out of hell and some don't even have seat belts, so you are paying a premium price for one crazy ass ride.

This happens to locals as well as expats, however, I feel that it happens to expats more often. In fact, when we are with one of our local friends, she will usually hail the cab for us, just so we can get the meter rate.

Let me say, there are some cab drivers who don't do any of these things. Some of them are very nice people and we keep their cards and try to use them whenever possible. So no hate mail, okay? If someone gives us the meter rate, we usually tip extra because we are so grateful not to be cheated. So if your husband, brother, cousin, etc. is a KL cab driver who goes by the meter, don't yell at me. Send me their number and we'll gladly use them at every turn.

So...we were walking up the street after our spa afternoon and managed to hail a cab. This was good, because it looked like it was about to rain, I had on a white T-shirt and we had no umbrellas. Good so far. He turns on the meter. Good again. We needed him to take us by the grocery store, wait for about 5-10 minutes and then take us home.

Now, cabs have two meter rates, a "driving" rate and a "waiting" rate. The waiting rate is less. We got to the store, and the driver said "Five extra to wait", to which Matt said okay. I love these arbitrary negotiations. I was surprised that Matt said yes, because it would have been less than half that had he gone by the meter rate. We figured that he meant a flat fee of five to wait, RATHER than the waiting meter rate. We got back in the cab, and he had kept the meter going, so he was going to charge us five extra PLUS the meter waiting rate.

Okay, please let me say - This is not about the money. I repeat, this is soooo not about the money. This is about our frustration with the treatment we have gotten from most cab drivers ever since we moved here. This is about the principle of the matter.

So Matt told him (nicely, I might add) that we could go by meter rate or the flat five to wait, but not both. So pick one or the other. I'll spare you the gory details, but this pissed the driver off and things escalated pretty quickly. Much yelling was done by all three of us while we are driving down the road. At one point, he pulled over and we were just going to walk. He told us that we needed to read the taxi laws and that it was just one or two ringgit and did we think they they are all just shit, he always uses the meter (hello?) and on and on it went.

We finally struck a deal, which I think ended up being more than if we had just kept our mouths shut. Yes, I will cut off my nose to spite my face for the principle of a matter almost every time. Not about the money. About the principle. But we finally made it home.

Matt and I realized when we got home that it was really probably a misunderstanding. He thought we agreed to five ringgit PLUS meter waiting rate, and we thought that it was five ringgit instead of the meter waiting rate. So of course we felt like giant American turds who raised hell over two ringgit. But it's the principle!!! I would gladly support an increase of taxi rates throughout KL. I have no problem paying more. As long as everyone pays the same amount for the same journey.

So even though the misunderstanding was due, in part, to the lack of clarity about exactly HOW he was going to screw us over, the fact remain that he was going to screw us over. Still, I can't help but feel like a total obnoxious American expat stereotype. Like America needs any help with being unpopular right now...

Random Weekend Happenings

2007-04-30T16:56:00.000+08:00

Friday night we went for karaoke. I usually feel the need to belt a tune or two about every couple of months or so. So we went for sushi and then headed over to Red Box in Low Yat Plaza. I love karaoke in Asia; you can make an ass out of yourself in the privacy of your own room rather than up on a stage, like in the US. We did all the old stand-bys, including "Sister Golden Hair" and "Copacabana". This time we added some Air Supply to the mix for the first time, and I have to say, Air Supply is awesome karaoke material. I can't believe I haven't tried it before now!

Around 11 or so, some friends of ours called and we met them over at Finnegans. Well, apparently the rain wasn't through with us, because it started to absolutely pour around midnight or so! We tried to wait it out, but around 1 am, it was still going strong. Our friend has a little car, and she really didn't think she could make it back to Bansgar (where she lives), so....we had our first overnight guests in KL! We were so excited to have company that we even broke out the wedding photos we just received. I'm surprised we didn't break out the video or make them sit through our latest vacation slide show. We really need to get a life.

Saturday we ventured out for our spa treatment that I talked Matt into in return from the Hike From Hell. I am such a spa whore. I can't believe how inexpensive it is here compared to the US. I would go every week if I could. We had a foot spa, sugar and spice scrub, hot stone treatment and massage. It was wonderful, but I've decided I'm a bit ambivalent about scrubs. They feel great, but I don't like them when they are really watery. We had sugar and spice and everything nice in every nook and cranny. We did smell like a cinnamon cookie though :)

The rest of the weekend was pretty mellow, except for the taxi altercation we had on the way home (more on that in a separate post). Sunday I started to feel like I was catching a cold, so we just chilled out all day. Good thing, because today I woke up with a runny nose and a terrible cough. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow, since I have to go to Singapore. Traveling when you are sick sucks.

My Seasonal Affective Disorder is Kicking In

2007-04-27T16:42:00.000+08:00

Malaysia, enough with the rain already. I know that this is the tropics, but you are seriously interfering with my ability to get out of this house these days.

Every afternoon, without fail, we get rain. Normally, I like rain. I like thunderstorms, which we get a lot of here (minus the hail and the tornadoes, which is a bonus), as long as I can watch the rain from INSIDE. But lately, it seems like every time I plan to leave the house for something, it starts to rain. And you never really know if a light sprinkle is going to turn into a gullywasher.

This afternoon, I had planned on walking over to the mall to get some lovely reflexology. It had already rained cats and dogs earlier this afternoon, so I figured I was good to go. So I gathered up my things, and between the time I left my apartment to the time I stepped off the elevator and walked outside, it had started to rain again. Right now, it's coming straight down, but you never know when it will suddenly decide to come down sideways, so it's not always safe to assume that an umbrella will save you, should you be caught in it (yes, I learned this the hard way). And forget getting a cab in the rain. Even if I was lucky enough to get one, the price will suddenly be doubled (or tripled) because "It's raining". Besides, getting a cab in KL is my #1 pet peeve anyway. I'd rather walk than put myself through the stress of knowing I am getting screwed over by the cab driver.

Blasted rain! I so wanted that foot massage! Oh well, at least I have karaoke tonight to look forward to.

Our Wedding Pics are Here!

2007-04-26T20:58:00.000+08:00

It took us forever to order our wedding pictures. We had already ordered the CD of all the proofs, which we can always print out, but we did want a few professionally printed, touched up photographs.

So, as is my way, I became overwhelmed with decisions, so what did I do? Procrastinated, which is what I always do when I have too many options. Give me three or four, and I'm fine, but give me 500 options, and my brain almost just spontaneously combusts. (Hence my and Matt's discussions every Friday..."Where do you want to eat? I don't know, where do YOU want to eat? I don't know, I can narrow it down to three or four....")

So we finally sat down and made our choices, and they made it here today! Hey, six months after the wedding isn't TOO bad. Now we just have to find frames for them all, which will be another project that will inevitably take at least another few months :)

Let Me In, Dammit

2007-04-23T18:33:00.000+08:00

An adorable, very pregnant kitty adopted us at our hotel in Cameron Highlands. She hung around our patio and several others during our stay. She must belong to someone because she was so domesticated. We brought her leftovers from our dinner. (They don't really have "doggie bags" here, so explaining that we needed a "kitty bag" for the remains of our romantic dinner was awkward.) She had leftover chicken for dinner and leftover fish for breakfast the next morning. Kitty ate good.

I couldn't resist posting this picture. For those of you that love cats, this is classic. They have such distinct personalities. It's a crack up!

Love Is...

2007-04-23T18:04:00.000+08:00

To borrow a title from Donna, love is...allowing your husband to pick the hike that you do on your weekend break.

See, I married the poster child of REI. (For those of you who aren't familiar with REI, it's a US-based store for the outdoorsman (or woman), filled with handy camping, mountain biking, kayaking and various outdoor gear.) I, on the other hand, am not driven to many bouts of physical exertion unless it involves walking to get ice cream.

But I think it's important for spouses to at least make an attempt to try some activities that the other spouse likes. You don't have to like it, but at least try it, you know? That's how I found out that I like tennis. It's all about compromise. So they had these hikes, and Matt really likes outdoor activities. He says it helps his stress levels, and he just genuinely enjoys them. I understand. Little Debbies snack cakes do the same thing for me.

So, they had several hikes, and I told Matt he could pick one, as long as it's not the hardest one. I like being outside. I don't mind getting dirty. I just don't like scaling the side of a mountain on my vacation. For me, vacation = massages and drinks with umbrellas in them. Well, the hike brochure was a bit misleading, as it stated that the hike Matt picked was the fourth or five most difficult trail out of eight or so. Wrong. So wrong.

So after about the fifth round of scaling up the mountain, then back down again (the down part? No picnic either), I turned to Matt and asked him if people really did this for fun. He replied by telling me that he owes me big. Took the words right out of my mouth, he did!

I can barely walk today, and I know tomorrow will be worse. In exchange for the hike from hell, Matt has to go to the spa with me this weekend. Somehow I think he got the better end of the whole deal, if you ask me....

We Survived our first road trip!

2007-04-23T17:37:00.000+08:00

We are back from the Cameron Highlands, and I'm happy to say we survived our first road trip in Malaysia! Since we had never driven on the left side of the road, we were more than a little curious how we would fare. Matt did the driving, and what was interesting to him is that all the things that he thought would be troublesome, weren't. For example, the fact that we were on the left hand side of the road wasn't a problem. What threw him for a loop was the layout of the car - specifically, he would always reach for the seat belt to his right (it's on the left) and every time he wanted to use his blinkers, he switched on the windshield wipers (they are switched). So not only is the driving direction the reverse of what we are used to, all the bells and whistles in the car are switched as well, which we had not even considered. For me, riding as a passenger on the left hand side of the car was pretty weird too. But we got the hang of it, and now we are mobile!

Cameron Highlands was nice and cool, which was exactly what we were after. We stayed at Cameron Highlands Resort, which was nice but totally overpriced. However, we had a chance to drive around and found a couple other less expensive places to stay next time, like Bala's Chalet. We will definitely go back - the weather was fantastic, the scenery was beautiful and it had a nice mix of the types of things we like to do.

The one low point of our weekend was when, on the way back, about an hour or so outside of KL, our rental car just....stopped working. We were crusing down the North-South Highway at about 120 km/hour when, the engine just stopped. No sputtering, no warning, but at least we were able to make it across three or so lanes of traffic to get to the side of the road. And thus began our adventure titled "What the Hell do you do when stranded on the side of a road in a foreign country?"

I will try to make this explanation short, although it seemed the experience was neverending. We called the rental guy, and shortly thereafter a mechanic showed up on the side of the road. We asked, "Did Hawk send you?" he said yes, and that was about all the English we got out of him. That and "Looks like the timing belt." He told us to wait there and left. We called the rental guy back and turns out, no one had called a mechanic. So we aren't sure what that was all about. The rental guy said, "Someone is on his way." Now, this is at 4pm on a sunny day in Malaysia, so it's not exactly pleasant sitting in a car on the side of the freeway in the baking sun. After several more calls to the rental guy (some of which he answered, some went to voicemail), we thought someone was coming to get us. After getting the guy's voicemail, we called the agency number on the sticker inside the car. Guess what? Disconnected. WTF?

Anyway, it seemed like the rental car company didn't really have a standard procedure for this, so it took about 5 or 6 calls before we finally got it straightened out and the rental guy came to get us. Luckily we had a bit of water left from our hike that morning, because by the time he got there, we had been sitting in the sun on the side of the road for two hours. Matt and I talked about it, and we honestly don't know if, had this happened in the US, if the response would have been any better. However, while we were waiting, several people stopped and asked if we needed help, which I thought was very nice. And we saw a full rainbow on the way home :)

So, lessons learned:
1) Take water on future road trips. You never know when you will need it!
2) Find out what the procedure is for car trouble. I was all worried about the insurance, but it didn't even cross my mind that the car would break down.
3) Get a car that was serviced in a timely manner. Turns out, ours was overdue when we got it. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but we were less than pleased when we did the math on the side of the road and discovered that ours was overdue.

Can't wait to hit the road again (with a serviced car, of course)!

Life's Soundtrack

2007-04-20T17:03:00.000+08:00

You know how sometimes you can hear a song, or smell a smell, or eat a certain food, and it evokes a feeling, a memory of that certain point in your life when you heard the song, smelled the smell, etc.? I love that feeling. I especially get it with music. See, I LOVE music. It has to be a part of my life. In fact, I took a personality/aptitude test a few years ago at work, and it essentially said that if I can't work directly with music or the arts, that I needed to have it incorporated in my daily life somehow in order for me to be truly happy. So while I don't work directly with music, I almost always had it on in my office (back when I had one), and my 8 GB ipod Nano is almost full.

So anyway, Matt and I are going on a road trip this weekend to the Cameron Highlands. The last time that Matt and I drove together was on our honeymoon in Tahiti. We rented a car one day to explore the island and wanted some local island music, so we picked up a Tahitian CD by Bobby & Angelo, local musicians. And we listened to that thing all day and during our entire honeymoon. So when we started planning this little getaway, I decided we should take that CD, since it evokes such memories of a relaxing, wonderful time and we certainly feel the need to "get away from it all" this weekend. But then....I couldn't find the CD!! I was so bummed. I looked everywhere for it. I knew it made it to KL with us, but that was before we got our household shipment, so I figured there was no telling where I put it.

So after searching high and low, and even looking to see if I could replace the CD or download songs from it off of iTunes (no luck on either), I decided to search one last time. And it was right there where it was supposed to be, which is probably a first for me - in it's own case in our CD cabinet. Seems obvious, right? Well, if you know my home organization skills, it's not surprising that I didn't think to look there the first time. I'm sure I have Matt to thank for putting it in it's rightful place.

So as it's about to pour here in KL, I am listening to my Bobby & Angelo CD and loving it. Takes me right back to Tahiti; I can smell the ocean and feel the breeze...

Other random songs that take me back:
"Free Fallin'", Tom Petty - takes me back to playing darts in a friend's garage in Texas. We did it every weekend and always listened to Tom Petty and Bob Seger.
"Informer", Snow - I wonder if anyone else remembers this song? Reminds me of cruising around town in high school. Same with "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega.
"Africa", Toto - Reminds me of playing in our den (we called it the New Room, since it was converted from a covered patio). I can still smell the way the new room smelled then, over 20 years ago.
"Minute by Minute", Doobie Brothers - reminds me of my dad, patting his legs to the beat, the change jingling in his pocket, jamming on his ginormous headphones that were cool circa 1984.

I could go on and on...

So what songs take you back?

American Idol Recap

2007-04-18T19:35:00.000+08:00

Finally, it's Wednesday! Time for American Idol in KL. I have been looking forward to this all week. It's Country Week! I was convinced that Sanjaya would entertain us in an outfit from Pauly "Son-In-Law" Shore's House of Rustic Couture. Minus the assless chaps of course. PLEASE.

First, let me say I love Martina McBride. I think she's gorgeous and an amazing singer. And I wish that Paula McSmirnoff would get as drunk as she used to, because that makes the show all the more entertaining. Now that I've gotten that out of the way...

Phil "Scares the Kids" Stacy: He was okay. I didn't think he was as great as the judges did, but he didn't suck. He annoyed me when he said he was a "country boy", since he lived in Wichita, Kansas for a while. Listen, tell that to a girl who grew up in the middle of Texas, in a town of 15,000, with a statue of a Holstein cow in the town square, and she'll laugh. Hahahahahaha.

Jordin "She's 17!" Sparks: I like her, but there's not a lot to make fun of, so I'll move on. I did think she was a bit pitchy in a spot or two. But I will go out on a limb and say that I've thought she was a sleeper to win the whole thing for a few weeks now. I genuinely like her. And she could kick Ryan Seacrest's ass, so that's a bonus.

Sanjaya Malakar: I can't even come up with a nickname for this guy; there's an overabundance of material, and you guys know I'm not good at decisions. The thing about this guy is, he takes each week's theme and turns himself into a caricature of it. That's why I was expecting something along the lines of Pauly Shore's outfit in Son In Law. I mean, last week during Latin Week he turned into a total Latino stereotype. But I did predict that he would break out a bandana this week, I just figured it would be around his neck rather than on his head. He looked like Gerardo this week. Wrong week dude.

Now, usually as bad as his performances are, I can usually pick out a few parts that are decent. But this whole thing was just batshit crazy. I can't decide whether to feel bad for him or give him kudos though. I mean, the whole world is poking fun at him, but man, he is totally riding the wave. He is balls out embracing the limelight and going for it, and I kind of admire him for that.

Oh, and I loved the catfight between Ryan and Simon afterwards. Awesome.

LaKisha "Did I Tell You I Have a Daughter?" Jones: Gold scrunchy boots? Really? Anyway, this performance was not that good. I think the judges told her that she was shouting, but my ears were ringing so I didn't really hear.

Chris "Righty McTimberFake" Richardson: So nicknamed because of his irritating habit of turning his head to the right after he sings a line. Maybe it's a tick, I don't know. He always looks slightly constipated when he sings, which is distracting. He was less so this week, but that didn't help him much. This was pretty cringe-worthy. According to him, "nasally" is a form of singing. Uh....k. Moving on.

Melinda "Am I Really Good???" Doolittle: She can sing the McDonald's menu and it would sound good. I'm glad Simon called her out for her faux modest reactions every time one of the judges compliments her. Have you heard yourself, Melinda? Are you really surprised? You don't exactly sound like shit, you know.

Blake "Fauxhawk" Lewis: This was okay. I think I like the song better than than Blake. He's starting to pick up on Chris' irritating habit of looking to the right after almost every lyric.

All in all, another entertaining week. I'm a bit disappointed that no one broke out the cowboy hat or sang "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy". Maybe Haley would have if she was still around.

Now nothing to do except wait until the Results Show!

Watch out, Malaysian roads...

2007-04-16T19:28:00.000+08:00

...here we come! That's right, someone actually gave us the legal right to drive in Malaysia.

Right now, neither Matt nor I drive in Malaysia. The fact that we live in a VERY high traffic area and are already close to work, we figured it was a bit pointless. Plus, we thought it would be a good idea to learn how to get along with the traffic and the whole left-hand side driving thing as a pedestrian before putting ourselves behind the wheel of a vehicle. Call us crazy.

But several weeks ago, we started to feel like we could tackle the Malaysian roadways. Maybe not KL during a Friday afternoon rush hour just yet, but we figured a weekend road trip was doable. So Matt applied for, and about six weeks later, got his license. Well, actually, his work did it so that made it very convenient for us.

So we are ready to hit the road! This weekend we are going to drive to the Cameron Highlands to get out of this heat and humidity. Now we just need to buy a good road map and a handy reference guide for the road signs, which happen to be mostly in Bahasa Melayu once you get outside of KL.

Woo hoo, our first Malaysian road trip!