KP in KL

For those of you hoping for a great culture-filled story of KL, sorry to disapoint you this time. Those of you interested in silly things that happen in my life, keep reading. I got a little behind and was reluctant to post this one when I wrote it Thursday without photos out of fear of boring you to death, but I feel now I need to because the issues that seem to find me are somewhat humorous and seem to go well with today's blog. So, I give you one blog post from two days.

Thursday:

While there's not too much new and exciting news to share, I need to get out my word quota for the day and figured I'd be merciful on Paul tonight. So, here goes:

We are really enjoying the new apartment. It's great to have our own place without having to worry about getting kicked out of our room for an hour by the cleaning crew,-they were VERY thorough, and being able to cook and actually wash our own laundry is fantastic. Who knew? Remind me I said that a few weeks from now. So, we now have a lot more room to relax and even have been enjoying the gym.

It's been interesting trying to adhere to the shopping methods of the KL residents here. Instead of making a weekly trip to HEB and filling an entire basket for the two of us, I'm limited to filling only the two nylon shopping bags I carry everywhere, and further limited by the weight which my weakling like linguine arms, can carry. So, shopping has become very methodical with only those items of top priority being purchased at a few trips throughout the week. We've been especially enjoying the very small "4 wheel drive" shopping carts. While it's a little harder to control, if you have to dodge a kid running through the isles you can quickly do a little sidestep with the cart since the back wheels also turn. It makes for an interesting Lipizzon-like shopping experience. And, we've found all sorts of interesting things at the store like the whole fish, or what looks like a 17 pound pet rabbit I once knew, Ricky Bobby, wrapped in saran wrap in the freezer section.


And, when I am not shopping for groceries and staring at rabbits in the freezer section, I love coming across finds like this hand carved sheild from Borneo. Hopefully Paul can find a way to get the handle off the back so I can hang it on the wall.




I'm really enjoying the produce selection here. They have most of the produce you find at HEB, but you pay more for the imported things. But some of my favorites like Asian mango, pineapple, sprouts, bok choy and others are so extremely inexpensive. For example, today I bought enough fruits and vegis to last at least a week and payed a total of $7 US. Not bad! You never know though if they will have what you're looking for the day you go. They have just a small handful of each kind of fruits and vegetables in small wicker baskets, and if they are out they are out. Same goes for the grocery store, which is separate from the produce store. On my grocery trip Friday they were completely out of sugar and said I could come back Monday and they might have it. So, my shopping mindset is slowly being molded and I'm trying to conform to the idea of replacing a few items in a recipe with the items they are selling for the day.

We got news today that our air shipment is going out on the next flight. Hooray! Now we wait. 10-12 days and I will have a blanket to sleep under (I've comfortably gone without one since it's so warm here) along with measuring cups and spoons, my Pioneer Woman cookbook, tools to hang things on the wall and who knows what else our mothers packed up for us after we left.

If any of you are curious about TV and radio here, let me enlighten you. There are lots of TV and radio station that are Malaysian and Chinese, but then there are probably more that are regular stations like we're used to. Since we now have the cable hooked up, we have E!, CNN, Discovery everything, NatGeo, Travel Channel, HBO, Cinemax, MTV, Fox and all the others that air the popular shows like Glee and Australia's Next Top Model. Lately I've felt the need to work out with the salsa and cumbia station, La Bomba in the background, and I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with my subconscious missing the Mexican influence at home! Possibly a replacement for all the green sauce, guacamole, tortillas and margaritas I dream about so often.

I've begun my latest UNHCR project to be completed in the next week. They've asked that I design the folder that they will use for whatever they need a folder for in the next five years. I've come up with a few designs today, and will hopefully send in a few more in the next couple of days, and keeping my fingers crossed they like my ideas.

Now that I've spent a quarter of my day reading Pioneer Woman recipes online, which happens to be one of my secret favorite pastimes, I've got the baking itch. I feel almost as sinfully indulgent just reading her recipes as I do when I'm stuffing my face so delightfully with the product of the recipes. For those of you totally in the dark about this Pioneer Woman as she's known, check her out immediately. You will not be disappointed. www.thepioneerwoman.com If you're trying to stay away from butter though, you better not even look. It will be too large of a temptation to overcome as it has been for me. This is the very reason I have to call on my wonderful sister to whip my whole entire body into shape.
I'm thinking I might attempt to make her orange marmalade yogurt cake
(De-lish!) without any sort of measuring device, spoon, or spatula since they are in my airfreight with everything else. This should be interesting!

So, off I go to conquer this recipe by eye-balling it. I'll get back to you after I clean up the disaster area with hopefully a more exciting story with pictures.

....And I'm back already with bad news. No disaster area surprisingly, and my eyeballs did a wonderful job measuring. But, sadly the fate of my concoction promising so much mouth watering deliciousness was at the mercy of the oven which I've never used, and it decided to shut off 7 minutes into the baking. So I'm left with a disappointing version of a molten-like something or other and an "easy bake" oven that won't turn on. Easy bake,.. not so easy.

.......................................................................................................................................................
This was where we spent our time this weekend after Paul put in some time at work on Saturday.


Today:

After my baking disappointment last week, I decided to protest my oven situation by not baking, which was convenient considering I didn't even have an oven to use. My chocolate chips were staring me down today though, so I got a second wind and gave in.
I finally called the maintenance men to fix the oven, and they were here in less than 5 minutes and just as baffled as I was as to why the oven wouldn't work. Speaking in Malay, they questioned each other, pushed some buttons, checked the breaker and nothing seemed to do the trick. Nothing until they pulled the oven from the cabinet and pushed the plug in further. Voila! Apparently the plug became loose somehow. Now I know to man handle the oven myself next time for a quick fix. So I'm back in business!

Back in business so much that I of course made an excellent attempt at a new Pioneer Woman recipe for dinner, which turned out bread soppingly delicious. While I cooked, I had the washer going with all the towels in it, the cable tv shut off because the torrential rains that were pounding the heat away and I was blissfully enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof while I had no idea it was intruding into our apartment like the Blob.

There is a door that opens to the outside patio from the guest room. And on that patio is a drain of course, with a two inch step down for flooding I suppose that really did just the opposite of drain the water today. When I took a short break from cooking, in my oven I might add, I realized the entire hallway was filled with about 1/2 an inch of water. So I took of my shoes and treaded lightly only to realize that both bedrooms had been flooded completely with water that was overflowing from the drain outside the guest room patio. Paul of course was at work during this discovery so I called him expecting a quick fix. Instead, he told me to do what I could to fix it, use some towels, and he would be home in a half hour after walking through the rain to buy some dry towels. There's no way the towels would work with the amount of water I was dealing with, especially since they were soaked in the middle of a wash cycle. So, not really sure what in the world to do to fix a drain that was spewing water instead of taking it in, I waded on the patio with water up to my ankles, gave it a good look, and mater-of-factly decided that everyone was better off without me attempting to fix the drain.

And this is how I discovered exactly the purpose of those silly bathroom drains finally! I mopped all the water into the bathrooms of both guest rooms and that was it! So, here's to you Mr. Installer of Pointless Bathroom Floor Drains! I've now decided they aren't so silly when dealing with a flood. Though I would still appreciate an electrical outlet here and there.

A little too much water for the dish towels to soak up even after all the mopping.


Now, after the disaster dessert Thursday, and the wading and mopping today I can say I think I'm prepared for any other surprises this apartment might bring! And you thought KL was going to be nothing but new excitement!

On my To Do List today was to deposit a check and pick up some art supplies. Both the bank and art supply store are at Masjid Jamek, which is 4 stops and about 7 minutes down on the subway. Really the bank and art supplies were the boring part of the day compared to the people watching I did. A few hours, lots of perspiration in the humidity, and 183 photos later, I've got quite the archive of this area referred to as Masjid Jamek. I think that name actually refers to the oldest mosque that's nearby. I've posted a picture of it before, but there's so much going on down there I took advantage of my time alone and took all the photos I could sneak in without people staring at me too much wondering what in the world I was doing with my zoom lense all up in their business.

This area is completely different from the Ampang/KLCC area as you can see from the photos. A much less developed area, it is a host to people from all different backgrounds and many poor and homeless people. It's a huge center for buses traveling around the KL, with people doing all sorts of business around there. I was the only blonde in the entire area today, and one of only a few foreigners. Anyway, enough talking for now. I'm going to attempt to take you on the little field trip I enjoyed myself today so you can actually see pictures of a small part of KL. You should be able to click on any picture to enlarge it.



I started the walk down our apartment driveway (above) and thought I'd include some pictures of Paul's office and the mosque, Haji, next door to the office and directly across the street from our apartment.
Since today is Friday, the mosque service was going on while I was walking, and for the first time I actually heard them talking, preaching, or whatever they do over the loud speaker before the singing starts.


There is a homeless man who has set up camp right at the corner near our apartment. For some reason he left his things bunched up under the tree today. Normally he's always there under the shade.

So this is the street Paul crosses on foot everyday to get to the office, and the main street we regularly cross to get to the subway. It's not really that bad as long as you're quick enough to dodge the cars and dirt bikes that usually will not yield to pedestrians.

Just around the corner from Paul's office is the subway (LRT) and the taxi drivers line up waiting for people to hop in and give them their next destination.

And a few minutes and short ride later, I arrived at Masjid Jamek, took the escalator back to ground level, and came out looking at this mosque. I was just a few minutes early to witness the Friday service and all the barefoot men washing their heads in the large long troughs.

After a quick stop at the bank, I walked through the fruit carts and bus stop down the street to the Central Market area. It's the same shopping mall I've discussed before where you can buy all the handicrafts. Today however, I chose to hang out outside of the mall to see all the interesting people. So the street below is where all the action takes place. Most of the photos are pretty self explanatory. I really just wanted to let you actually see some pictures finally!

Those numbers are the T-shirt prices in Ringits. Divide it by 3.3 to get the amount in US$.

ISA is a law that allows people to be arrested without granting them certain rights like trial among other things.

Taking her oranges head on in traffic, she ain't sceered!

Who knew Paul's Texas style would influence fashion here so quickly?

The guy in blue is the bus driver who stands there for a good 10 minutes yelling the names of all his stops, along with the 20 other bus drivers at their buses behind him.

The owner of this one is riding hard! Definitely a step up from the average dirt bike.

This little stand in the alley actually became overrun with people buying lunch around 11:30.

This is no Ritz Carleton.

The little boy riding on the back with the red helmet actually has a much younger brother riding shotgun without a helmet. You can see his head just under his dad's.

I will spare you from all 183 photos, and update you on what's going on around here while I've got your attention. Pretty much the same 'ole. I've been working on the folder cover for the UNHCR, a different project than last time. And Paul has been working pretty hard. We're feeling much more at home in the apartment and can't wait for our things to arrive in the airfrieght. During the day I'm trying my best to follow my uber-fanatical-workout-expert sister's advice on how to work off the year's worth of steamed rice I've consumed within a months time. Aside from that, there's not too much else new! I've been reluctant to post anything without some descent pictures, so I thought this might suffice for today. Maybe we'll have new news and pictures after the weekend. Enjoy the weekend!

For those of you hoping for a great culture-filled story of KL, sorry to disapoint you this time. Those of you interested in silly things that happen in my life, keep reading. I got a little behind and was reluctant to post this one when I wrote it Thursday without photos out of fear of boring you to death, but I feel now I need to because the issues that seem to find me are somewhat humorous and seem to go well with today's blog. So, I give you one blog post from two days.

Thursday:

While there's not too much new and exciting news to share, I need to get out my word quota for the day and figured I'd be merciful on Paul tonight. So, here goes:

We are really enjoying the new apartment. It's great to have our own place without having to worry about getting kicked out of our room for an hour by the cleaning crew,-they were VERY thorough, and being able to cook and actually wash our own laundry is fantastic. Who knew? Remind me I said that a few weeks from now. So, we now have a lot more room to relax and even have been enjoying the gym.

It's been interesting trying to adhere to the shopping methods of the KL residents here. Instead of making a weekly trip to HEB and filling an entire basket for the two of us, I'm limited to filling only the two nylon shopping bags I carry everywhere, and further limited by the weight which my weakling like linguine arms, can carry. So, shopping has become very methodical with only those items of top priority being purchased at a few trips throughout the week. We've been especially enjoying the very small "4 wheel drive" shopping carts. While it's a little harder to control, if you have to dodge a kid running through the isles you can quickly do a little sidestep with the cart since the back wheels also turn. It makes for an interesting Lipizzon-like shopping experience. And, we've found all sorts of interesting things at the store like the whole fish, or what looks like a 17 pound pet rabbit I once knew, Ricky Bobby, wrapped in saran wrap in the freezer section.


And, when I am not shopping for groceries and staring at rabbits in the freezer section, I love coming across finds like this hand carved sheild from Borneo. Hopefully Paul can find a way to get the handle off the back so I can hang it on the wall.




I'm really enjoying the produce selection here. They have most of the produce you find at HEB, but you pay more for the imported things. But some of my favorites like Asian mango, pineapple, sprouts, bok choy and others are so extremely inexpensive. For example, today I bought enough fruits and vegis to last at least a week and payed a total of $7 US. Not bad! You never know though if they will have what you're looking for the day you go. They have just a small handful of each kind of fruits and vegetables in small wicker baskets, and if they are out they are out. Same goes for the grocery store, which is separate from the produce store. On my grocery trip Friday they were completely out of sugar and said I could come back Monday and they might have it. So, my shopping mindset is slowly being molded and I'm trying to conform to the idea of replacing a few items in a recipe with the items they are selling for the day.

We got news today that our air shipment is going out on the next flight. Hooray! Now we wait. 10-12 days and I will have a blanket to sleep under (I've comfortably gone without one since it's so warm here) along with measuring cups and spoons, my Pioneer Woman cookbook, tools to hang things on the wall and who knows what else our mothers packed up for us after we left.

If any of you are curious about TV and radio here, let me enlighten you. There are lots of TV and radio station that are Malaysian and Chinese, but then there are probably more that are regular stations like we're used to. Since we now have the cable hooked up, we have E!, CNN, Discovery everything, NatGeo, Travel Channel, HBO, Cinemax, MTV, Fox and all the others that air the popular shows like Glee and Australia's Next Top Model. Lately I've felt the need to work out with the salsa and cumbia station, La Bomba in the background, and I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with my subconscious missing the Mexican influence at home! Possibly a replacement for all the green sauce, guacamole, tortillas and margaritas I dream about so often.

I've begun my latest UNHCR project to be completed in the next week. They've asked that I design the folder that they will use for whatever they need a folder for in the next five years. I've come up with a few designs today, and will hopefully send in a few more in the next couple of days, and keeping my fingers crossed they like my ideas.

Now that I've spent a quarter of my day reading Pioneer Woman recipes online, which happens to be one of my secret favorite pastimes, I've got the baking itch. I feel almost as sinfully indulgent just reading her recipes as I do when I'm stuffing my face so delightfully with the product of the recipes. For those of you totally in the dark about this Pioneer Woman as she's known, check her out immediately. You will not be disappointed. www.thepioneerwoman.com If you're trying to stay away from butter though, you better not even look. It will be too large of a temptation to overcome as it has been for me. This is the very reason I have to call on my wonderful sister to whip my whole entire body into shape.
I'm thinking I might attempt to make her orange marmalade yogurt cake
(De-lish!) without any sort of measuring device, spoon, or spatula since they are in my airfreight with everything else. This should be interesting!

So, off I go to conquer this recipe by eye-balling it. I'll get back to you after I clean up the disaster area with hopefully a more exciting story with pictures.

....And I'm back already with bad news. No disaster area surprisingly, and my eyeballs did a wonderful job measuring. But, sadly the fate of my concoction promising so much mouth watering deliciousness was at the mercy of the oven which I've never used, and it decided to shut off 7 minutes into the baking. So I'm left with a disappointing version of a molten-like something or other and an "easy bake" oven that won't turn on. Easy bake,.. not so easy.

.......................................................................................................................................................
This was where we spent our time this weekend after Paul put in some time at work on Saturday.


Today:

After my baking disappointment last week, I decided to protest my oven situation by not baking, which was convenient considering I didn't even have an oven to use. My chocolate chips were staring me down today though, so I got a second wind and gave in.
I finally called the maintenance men to fix the oven, and they were here in less than 5 minutes and just as baffled as I was as to why the oven wouldn't work. Speaking in Malay, they questioned each other, pushed some buttons, checked the breaker and nothing seemed to do the trick. Nothing until they pulled the oven from the cabinet and pushed the plug in further. Voila! Apparently the plug became loose somehow. Now I know to man handle the oven myself next time for a quick fix. So I'm back in business!

Back in business so much that I of course made an excellent attempt at a new Pioneer Woman recipe for dinner, which turned out bread soppingly delicious. While I cooked, I had the washer going with all the towels in it, the cable tv shut off because the torrential rains that were pounding the heat away and I was blissfully enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof while I had no idea it was intruding into our apartment like the Blob.

There is a door that opens to the outside patio from the guest room. And on that patio is a drain of course, with a two inch step down for flooding I suppose that really did just the opposite of drain the water today. When I took a short break from cooking, in my oven I might add, I realized the entire hallway was filled with about 1/2 an inch of water. So I took of my shoes and treaded lightly only to realize that both bedrooms had been flooded completely with water that was overflowing from the drain outside the guest room patio. Paul of course was at work during this discovery so I called him expecting a quick fix. Instead, he told me to do what I could to fix it, use some towels, and he would be home in a half hour after walking through the rain to buy some dry towels. There's no way the towels would work with the amount of water I was dealing with, especially since they were soaked in the middle of a wash cycle. So, not really sure what in the world to do to fix a drain that was spewing water instead of taking it in, I waded on the patio with water up to my ankles, gave it a good look, and mater-of-factly decided that everyone was better off without me attempting to fix the drain.

And this is how I discovered exactly the purpose of those silly bathroom drains finally! I mopped all the water into the bathrooms of both guest rooms and that was it! So, here's to you Mr. Installer of Pointless Bathroom Floor Drains! I've now decided they aren't so silly when dealing with a flood. Though I would still appreciate an electrical outlet here and there.

A little too much water for the dish towels to soak up even after all the mopping.


Now, after the disaster dessert Thursday, and the wading and mopping today I can say I think I'm prepared for any other surprises this apartment might bring! And you thought KL was going to be nothing but new excitement!

We've moved out of the hotel completely now and into our new apartment at Ampang 183! My friends Zara and Martina at the G-City Hotel were sad to see us go. Seeing we were two of only a handful of hotel guests, and the only people who stayed longer than a weekend by 30-something days, I guess I can understand them missing our bright shining faces. Really they probably miss laughing at us. We were the only two people who routinely ordered fresh pineapple juice with our sandwiches (only on the few days we didn't go out for chicken rice of course) and they had fun trying to teach me a few Malay words. The only one I really got down was Terima Kasih, which means thank you or T.Q. as they abbreviate it here. I have that written down in my purse for the next time I go for lunch and they try to quiz me. We were the only people watching one of the World Cup games Tuesday night, so they gave us the mini "game ball" as a goodbye gift and said they will miss me. They didn't mention Paul however,…

So here in the apartment things are going very well so far. It's not a compound, as people have asked, but it has a tall stucco wall around the perimeter with 6 guards on location and a guard at the front driveway to control visitor access. The guards are very friendly, although we haven't verbally spoken to them much. When we pass they give us a big smile and thumbs up sign. We're on the second floor so from our balcony we're looking into the tops of palm trees and can look over into the pool. It's a 3 bedroom unit with a king, queen, and twin bed, with three bathrooms. Then there's the maids quarters which is a twin bed with bathroom but lacks a/c and shower walls. I'm giving you the heads up there's enough room for visitors!

(Living room)

(view out of the guest room window)

(kitchen)

The first thing I did when they gave me the keys was move some furniture and paintings around. They have decorated the place in nice neutral colors, but all the paintings in every single room are of leaves. Over time I'm hope to replace many of them with something a little more interesting. Outside of the front door we have a shoe cabinet, and after all of the contractors and utility service people that have been in this week, we've realized we really are the only people who don't take our shoes off before entering. I guess that's alright since it's our place though. Utilities and things are almost hooked up completely. Still waiting on Astro (cable tv) and water delivery. All the water here must be boiled before drinking, so getting the equivalent to the giant bottles of Sparkletts, called Happy Water here, with a dispenser delivered is common. I just got internet back this morning so I'm getting back into the swing of things. We've made several shopping trips for things like groceries and disposable utensils to hold us over until the air shipment from home gets here. Which by the way, thanks to our parents and siblings, everything at the house has been packed up and shipped out. And thanks to my parents our house is closing in just a few hours! I'm feeling a sense of normalcy coming just around the corner.

I thought I had made it over the learning curve at least halfway. Then I realized that the move to this apartment brought an entirely new set of things to learn. For example, the washing machine with all the words written in Spanish, is so small it can really only wash underwear and socks in one load. Therefore, doing all the laundry after letting it sit in the hotel for the past week in an effort to not pay the $70 laundry bill one last time, takes several loads and several hours. And the same goes for the dryer. In addition, I learned that shopping for dishwashing detergent can be tricky. The liquid detergent that has no English writing on it is probably not the right stuff. When in doubt, just don't buy it or else you end up with enough foam for a foam party in the utility room from what was actually dishwashing- by- hand soap. Also, I've always been intimidated by gas grills because I know that I will turn the knob on the propane tank and something will go wrong and it will all end in a big explosion. Well, now I have no choice but to learn as the gas stove in the kitchen has a giant propane tank underneath. There's an extra tank in the utility room that I have to change out when the one under the stove is empty. Should the silent killer take my life, just know that I'd rather that than the tank exploding.

Hopefully we won't have to worry about it. I'm slowly getting used to not having central A/C. There are wall units in each bedroom and in the living room, but not in the bathrooms, closet, utility or kitchen. So for now I think any prolonged showers will not be happening unless it's with cold water.

I do understand that all these things that are different is normal for lots of the world, and I'm okay with "roughing" it a little. But what I think is just crazy is that each individual light bulb in this house has its own plate and switch. As a result you end up with a 2 ft. line of switches in every single room, and if you want the lights on you have to flip approximately 12 switches per room. And there's a switch to turn hot water on in any room with water, and there are on/off switches on every electrical outlet. It seems like this could have been thought out a little better. Speaking of electrical outlets, they are few and far between as I mentioned might be a possibility, and they are non-existent in the bathrooms. I'm wondering if this has something to do with the fact that there is a drain in the bathroom floor, and each bathroom steps down about 2 inches like they expect a flood in the bathroom. And, there is a faucet coming out of the wall down low, which I think is for the Muslim people to wash their feet before prayer. If I'm correct in my assumptions, I would imagine there aren't plugs in the bathroom to prevent assassin hair dryers from falling into this flood which must be so common and taking people out. If that's the reason, that is the only logical excuse I will accept. Otherwise, it's a silly idea and the KL Interior Design office, which is next door to Hock Choon, needs to come up with some different regulations. Oh, and my toe was introduced to the two inch change in floor levels once already. I forsee broken toe happening sometime in the next two years at least once when I go to the restroom at night. That is a sure fire way to wake me up!

(the step down into the bathroom to hold in the flood)

(and the faucet and drain in the floor that will cause the flood)

(The dozen switches, fan remote and a/c remote just for the living room)

A walk to Hock Choon yesterday revealed many American items that I never thought I would see again. They even had Maranatha peanut butter for a hefty price tag of 25 Ringit, but still it's good to know they have things like that! I also found Cascade dishwashing detergent, so my foam party by myself didn't last long. I was able to try pink dragon fruit, which is delicious, but the durian was sold out yesterday. I don't think I would have bought it anyway. I've heard many people can't get past the smell to even taste it, so I'm staying away from that one. On the second floor of Hock Choon was like a treasure chest of things I've been looking for! There's a dry cleaners, two nail salons, a hair salon, art and framing shop, drug store, post office, money changer, KL's very small version of Bed Bath and Beyond, and a cell phone booth. I love uncovering these little finds already a month into things. Who knows what I will find 6 months from now. Hopefully all the finding will be finished soon so I can be a more efficient errand runner.

And speaking of efficient errand runner, carrying my groceries all the way back from Hock Choon on foot was not going to happen especially after that long trip Paul and I made a few weeks ago. So, I hailed a taxi after several drove by me. I learned in this ride speaking Spanish to the Malaysian driver does not work. Not sure what was going on in my head except that I was trying to get out words that he would understand quick enough, and when he finally realized where I wanted to go, the word that automatically jumped out of my mouth with no thought at all was "Si!" I quickly looked around to make sure I was the only one who noticed that little mix up, and then told him, "Yes, Ampang 183." Maybe I should start taking Malay language classes??

A freebie with the apartment is no need for a stereo. My blogging now is being serenaded by the prayer call coming from the giant mosque called Haji across the street. We were told to take note of where the nearest mosque was in relation to apartments when we started looking. The prayer call comes very early for some people, but if you have the a/c units on it's not loud enough here to be disruptive. When you can hear it, it adds to the foreign country ambiance. The prayer call usually lasts at least 7-10 minutes, is sung 5 times a day, and on occasions like today (Friday during the 1:00-2:00 mosque service) the singer/prayer guy gets extremely passionate about his singing and really belts out the words for an entire hour. No, it's not a recording. We asked.

A few words of advice for anyone thinking about moving overseas and not sure what to do with your things like furniture, dishes, pot and pans, etc. We heeded the advice of some people who moved here before us who said it's much easier to get a furnished place and store you things at home. Well, this is true that it's easy, as long as you have the money in your budget to buy all the extra things that a furnished apartment does not include such as dish towels, pot and pans, dishes, bath towels, iron, blender, any cooking utensils, bed sheets, pillows, rugs, wall décor, toothbrush holder, soap dispenser, trash cans, trash bags…. You get the picture. The list is endless, it all adds up, and with a limited amount of items you can airfreight, we've decided in our situation we should have shipped everything to a non-furnished place to keep from having to buy so much again. But, it's all part of the learning experience right? The downside to shipping everything is it takes about 8 weeks. So, if the apartment doesn't have a bed because you're shipping your own, looks like you might become really good friends with the floor.

Some things we're learning about living in a predominately Muslim city: Alcohol and cigarettes have a very high sin tax. Pork is very hard to come by and many restaurants have signs at the front that say, pork served here, or pork not served here. Should you buy pork (ham lunch meat) or alcohol, you have to purchase them at a register labeled that it's okay to do so. Otherwise you make the mistake like Paul and I. We got sliced turkey breast from the deli and took it through the regular checkout line. Even though it was turkey, in a sealed bag, the girl looked at me like I was crazy, stared at the turkey for a while, called over her friend to ask how to do it, then ended up putting on a plastic glove and a bag over the glove to pick up the turkey and put it in its own bag. She didn't want to take any chances in case it was ham I guess. So from now on we know not to send our turkey down the wrong line. They treat alcohol the same way.

I've heard several of you were not too fond of the fish feeding on feet that I posted last time! Too bad because Paul is planning on opening a fish pool pedicure place in the US after he imports and sells lots of Tony Llama boots here in KL. Last night I actually cooked after over a month of not cooking a single ounce of anything! Pasta salad and Chicken breast was so tasty and probably more so because of the idea that it came from my kitchen instead of going out to eat. I'm getting back into the swing of things and get to cook tonight. We'll see how long this excitement for cooking lasts. While I'm chugging along, I think pancakes are on the menu for this weekend and possibly cinnamon rolls if I have a day long enough to bake them all. For now I'm going to think about what to cook for dinner tonight. Should I attempt the real Malaysian Chicken Rice at some point? I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep Paul satisfied. Well, for now I'm going to continue breaking in our new apartment, or more like the apartment will continue to break me in, and maybe I can really call it "home sweet home" soon.