Do we really need instructions for this?

Feels Like Home

I'm aimlessly walking around the store looking for those darn labels.  Where are they?  Do they even carry them?  Paper everywhere, all different colors, sizes, textures, but no labels?  I'm getting dizzy here.  I need to get out, SOON!  The papers are closing in on me!   I would do anything to walk into a Walmart, Best Buy or Target.  At least I would know for sure that they would be waiting for me.   I stop for a moment because my brain picks up an all to familiar tune playing on the radio.  No way, 89.3 KSBJ!  With a big smile on my face I'm thinking, could my sister in law, Liz Jordan, be on air at this very moment?  I calculate in my head the time difference.  Noon here, 10:00 p.m. there. Awe, too late.. but still, the owner of this store is listening to KSBJ!  In my little corner that I stopped at to listen, I look up and guess what's the first thing I see?  Labels!  

Jam Sesh

The Air is Cool

This is the view out of the laundry room this morning. It has been raining a lot lately and the storms have been so refreshing. The air drops about 5-10 degrees, the wind picks up and everything gets washed away. I was riding home with Kim last night and I felt so happy to be here in KL.

Potential New Hobby...

One big question on our minds since we moved to KL is, "what are we going to do as an active hobby?" Kim and I have always been into some kind of sport, mainly revolving around the outdoors. We mountain biked in college, hiked and Geocached in New Mexico and adventure raced in Houston. So when we got to KL it didn't take long to get antsy about getting into the outdoors.

I first looked into swimming. I bought some goggles and proper swimming trunks and actually kept up a good schedule (still do a bit). I was able to rotate 500 meters and 1000 meters each day and my technique was looking good. The pool at our temporary apartment was pretty out of this world as well...But it didn't take...Too much repetition and not enough scenery; I was bored to death in no time.

Next were "Hash" runs. Essentially a group meets on the weekend for a race through the jungle and/or palm oil plantations, after which copious amounts of beer is consumed. I immediately liked the idea as it was a lot like the adventure racing group we ran with in Houston. However the hobby didn't take, because it was only weekly and we didn't have a car to get out of town for the meet ups.

Then there was mountain biking. I figured I should stick with what works, right? I was literally one debit card swipe away from buying a new bike, but I knew I was trying to apply an instant solution to this problem, and I hadn't thought it through. I walked out of the bike shop and it was a great decision. Again, we ran into the problem of transport. I would need a car if I had a bike, because the trails, although only about 10 kilometers away, were not accessible by bike. I would have parked the bike in the store room and only used sparingly.

I was hard up, but then the clouds parted and we learned of Camp 5! Camp 5 is the largest indoor climbing gym in Asia, and I don't doubt it for a second! Kim and I went last weekend for a 4 hour basic wall course and now are official members. It is only a 10 minute scooter ride, and it's open late.

So no issues with transport, or time and the cost of starting up is really low. Best part of it all is Malaysia is a gem in regards to outdoor climbing. There are limestone cliffs in every direction and we are planning to climb our first outdoor route in a couple weeks. Sweet!

I think this one will stick...I have that gut feel!

Curious George

Being that David and I live on the 17th floor and our elevators are extremely slow, at times I read the current posts on the community message board.  Last week management notified residents of several upcoming renovations, someone posted an American size van for sale, and then there's the weekly schedule for the aqua-size class.

Now, here's the latest news.. Had a good laugh with David about it.  We have so many things to worry about.. 

What would you do if you found a monkey in your home?

K.L. Experiment 101.

O.K.  This is the deal, and I'll be completely honest.  Until recently we got hooked to  the expat lifestyle of wanting to escape your new home (K.L. for us) , especially during the weekends.  We noticed this unique behavior with our expat friends while we lived in Houston.  Every weekend, they just HAD to take a break from "city" life.  So did we as soon as we moved to K.L. We took a flight to Borneo, a quick train ride to old colonial Melaka,  and then across the border to beautiful Thailand.  But then you have to ask yourself.. what about your own home?  What about your own town?  So, this weekend we decided we would take a break and explore more of  K.L.   We have two guide books, and in both of them they recommend a reserve called the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.  On saturday we took the KTM commuter train from K.L central to Kepong  and arrived just in time to walk across the 200m forest walkway, suspended 30 m above the forest floor.  This gave us beautiful views of the forest as well as the KL towers rising behind.  After our exciting forest walkway, we found a waterfall.  Kim sat on a comfortable rock, contemplating life while she ate her pistachios,  and David explored the surrounding area by jumping from one rock to the other, which eventually lead us to a cafe for lunch.  It's interesting how close nature is to your home when you really look for it.  A  good weekend it was.. What's next? 

 

Attention!!! Attention!!! Attention!!!

Today I introduce to you my latest blog, dailydrawingsbykim!!!

This project was inspired by my extremely creative sister-in-law, Liz, and her talented boyfriend, D.K.  Last year they started their 365 project on FLickr, which involves them taking a photo together every day for a whole year.  What interested me about this daily process is the evolution of the image.  It changes from week to week, month to month and finally a year passes in no time. The result:  you learn, create, play, test, inspire and evolve.  

I decided before our move to Kuala Lumpur that I would start one of my own, with a twist,  and have succesfully kept up with it since November!  Hope you enjoy!  Please leave me your comments (good or bad).  Anyone should be able to comment.. even you Oma!  

p.s. I changed the settings on Durian Delights to where everybody can comment on this blog as well. : )

Say What?

I've been really getting into Kung Fu lately...Kung Fu movies that is!  Living in Asia has made the genre much more accessible, and there are endless movies to see.  Only trouble is, the subtitles are a little funky.  It is almost always a direct translation so following the dialogue is a little rough! 

Ah well, it's all worth it in the end.  I can still follow the stories pretty well.  A general rule is whoever gets punched in the head the most is the evil guy! 

Weekly Flowers

Being a big fan of fresh flowers and plants, I was excited to find out that they are very affordable here in Malaysia.  This weeks arrangement is the Molucella plant, also known as Bells of Ireland. Very nice contemporary look. 

Back in Thailand!

About a year ago David and I couldn't wait to get married. One more month until a life time of marriage bliss, but also a long awaited trip to Thailand.  We had two weeks to visit the ancient temples of Bangkok, the mountainous terrain of Northern Thailand as well as the pristine beaches of Southern Thailand. We accomplished 2/3 of our itinerary, but due to lack of time we realized we had to skip one part, which ended up being Northern Thailand.  So no elephant ride for me! 

A year later, here we are, in Southeast Asia and only a two hour flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand!  With a three day weekend we accomplished exactly what we were not able to do last year and some more!  The fun thing about returning to Thailand is the fact that we had been there once before. With so many places to visit, so many things to see and do we usually skip from one country to the other.  This time we got both, a new place but same old Thailand.  There's a warmth amongst the people, a slower pace of things. There is comfort in that. 

On Saturday we arrived around noon, and got picked up by a tour company and headed 30 km north to visit an elephant camp where we got to ride on top of an elephant!  It was not as exciting as we thought it would be, but now we can say that we rode an elephant!  Ha!  After a bumpy ox-cart ride and a quick float down the river on a bamboo raft we headed back to the hotel.  On the way back we dropped by Tiger Kingdom to pet the tigers.  You know how I look so comfortable in the picture?  Well, I'm scared sh#$less that this animal is going to turn around an bite my hand off!  I don't know what I was expecting, but hey!  now I can say I pet a tiger!  We end our night with a wonderful dinner which included three different curry dishes, one of them being frog legs! EEWW!!  But tastes like chicken.  Opposite the restaurant was a night market where we watched a fire dancer almost burn his face off and taste tested all sorts of foods at the hawker stalls.  

Sunday morning I wake up early and ask David in good spirits, "are you ready for some breakfast? We've got a long bike ride today!"  David replies with, "umm, I'm kind of still full from last nights food binge.."  I should've called the downhill mountain biking company right then and there to tell them we were not able to go, because there has to be something wrong with David if he says he doesn't want to eat!  And yes, I am right!  There is something wrong with him, because David ate the wrong thing last night.  It must have been the sausage! Urggh, food poisoning. I experienced that in Borneo!

Being tough Dave, we continue our mission to ride down the tallest mountain 5700 ft in Thailand, and it was a continuous struggle.  Imagine while extremely sick, exercising for 5 hours straight!  One hill after the other.. Thank goodness we arrived safely at the bottom of the mountain and David gets an award for pushing himself so much.  Personally, besides worrying that David was going to pass out on me, I thought it was a wonderful and exciting ride!  The views were spectacular.  At parts we had to pick up our bikes and hop from rock to rock in order to cross a creek.  Finally at the bottom we rode (very fast) through small towns and crop fields, and watched the local people hard at work.  Nice stuff.  I would love to go back and do it all over again!  Next time David only gets to eat bread and water beforehand. He! He!

Posted on Flickr are more pictures of our weekend

D(free) Day!

Today is a great day. It's "D(free) Day"!!!! I made the final payment on my student loans! We are now 100%, unequivocally, undoubtedly, unconditionally free from any sort of monetary obligation to a bank, credit card company or other lending organization. Free...free to do whatever we please. I can change careers, go back to school, bum around Europe...whatever. If I all of the sudden feel like I can best apply myself flipping burgers, I can do that because I don't owe anybody any money! Ahhhhh...

This morning I woke up, dressed up, asked Kim to grab a camera and meet by at the computer to take a photo of the momentous occasion! In five minutes I zeroed out a balance I have been working to diminish for 5 years.

So what to do in a world without debt? All of the sudden the money I make will stay in my bank account! So for starters I can take advantage of the economic downturn and invest more aggressively. Also, there is a house to think about down the road; I'll need a down payment for that. There is even a plan for a hike somewhere in or across the U.S. that needs funding to become a reality.

It really doesn't matter. What matters is that we have fought to (a) pay down debt and (b) not get deeper into debt, and today we won! Who cares what we spend the money on, it is about having the freedom to spend it on whatever you like!

The Big Visit

Today we had a visit from the Chief People Officer (HR equivalent to CFO), Karen Wood.  We have had a long list of senior managers to come visit us, check progress and meet the new team members...but never at this level.  In fact, in my 3+ years with the company I have only met one other manager at this level, and that was by chance in an elevator in Melbourne.  

As you can imagine the place was jumpin'!  Everybody really wanted everything to be in tip top shape for the big visit.  Then in a morning meeting yesterday, the finance team was asked to create a presentation!  Oh shikes!

We built our presentation yesterday afternoon, and even videotaped the thing so we could critique it.  Today dragged on and on, and the tension grew and grew.  Everybody read their bits over and over...it just had to be perfect!  

When we finally presented, I was really happy to see everybody come into their own and not only present their assigned material, but really put their best work into showcasing our team.  It was the first piece of work that we have put together as a team and we did it very well.  

After the dust settled, we all went to get a drink to wash away the jitters.  It was still 4pm so coffee or tea had to do the trick!  It was a good decompression though.  

I guess to me this is a milestone.  Mike, Tania and myself came over here to "set up financial services," but didn't really know what that meant.  There were never any real finite milestones along the way, just about a trillion minute tasks that have moved us to the presentation today.  We spent months discussing theoretically what we wanted to create here, and watching the team today I can vouch that we have hit the mark and then some.

In light of this wonderful realization, I left work early!  ha!

Batik Attempt No. 1

Now, look at this.  This is my very first completed Batik painting and I can honestly say it doesn't look half bad!  The background is my favorite part! What to do next. What to do next.

*Little side note* After starting this painting I found out that the hibiscus flower is the National flower of Malaysia. PUUURRTTYYY

Moped Ride Home

With my arms tightly around David and feeling the cool night breeze, I re-collect my thoughts on today's happenings.  We just spent our night at Bangsar Village, where we sat outside on a patio and smoked the hookah. I had a few glasses of the house red wine, while David drank Tiger beer. We talked politics, class systems, and future travel plans. Possibly an elephant ride in Chiang Mai? 

All along we notice the number of police cars driving by and realize that they probably have a check-point set up just outside of Bangsar Village. Right before our move to K.L we read about these check-points.  They set them up around public holidays when alcohol consumption is high, or in popular expat areas.  i.e. Bangsar Village.  Similar to our friends "south of the border" (i.e. Mexico), Malaysia's finest have a subtle on the spot fine system where you can trade all the cash in your wallet for your freedom.  This makes checkpoints scary because one can only wonder if they are out there to collect on trumped up charges.

After a quick stop at the DVD shop and the grocery store we're back on the road.  I see some blue flashing lights up ahead.  I realize that this is the all to famous check-point and tell David, "you better behave!"  We smoothly drive past a police car on our right and two police officers standing next to their mopeds, smoking cigarette's. "Phew! We're safe!"  

We continue on our journey home and stop at a stop sign, take a left on Jalan Ara, and then another right on Jalan Penaga. I continue to day dream about elephant rides in Chiang Mai, when I hear someone on a moped behind us say, "Hey boss!"  We look behind us.  There are the cigarette smoking, moped riding, police officers pointing at the shoulder.  David pulls over on the side of the road.  I notice how young these guys are.  They must be in their early twenties. They ask David, "where you..go?" David says, "Oh, we just went to the grocery store." silence.. I told David, "I think they meant, where do we live." "Ahh... We live at the condominium just up ahead!  You can see it from here. Look!" He doesn't care. The police officer asks for David's I.D. He pulls it out and shows him his Texas Drivers License, and insurance.  The man looks at it and says, "where's passport?  Where's visa?"  This is when David turns on his act as the clueless foreigner.  It always works, wherever you are! "Umm.. it's at home." "Why you not have it?" "I didn't know you were supposed to have it on you. I just live just down the street. I can get it for you!"  They nod their heads, disappointment, and finally look at me, and ask, "passport? Visa?" "Sorry, it's at home..I didn't know" I'm wondering, are we supposed to give them money now so they will leave us alone? I think our clueless act worked though. They said something to each other in Malay, and said, "OK, next time. you go." And on our way we went! 

Lesson learned. Don't forget your passport at home in a foreign country, and when in doubt, always play stupid!