Something tells me that not having a full time maid disqualifies me from being a "real" tai-tai :-p (Thank God). When I see the huge groups of expat women sitting outside and inside Coffee Bean or Starbucks EVERY SINGLE MORNING, I am SO glad not to be amongst them. I always wonder why they seem to have no real LIVES to live.... but then, they have their maids to look after house, children, cooking, laundry, etc. Ergo, they have nothing to do themselves, they die of boredom, and to alleviate that boredom they have their coffee mornings, their gin afternoons, their little get togethers...
I have a couple of expat friends who refused to live that life and made themselves useful in other ways.. but they seem to be the exception rather than the norm.
As for me, life is still busy, and I am still surprised by how much there is to do everyday, even if I don't cook. The major plus point of not working is being able to do all chores/tasks, etc during the day, and then having the evenings free to relax with Husband. This is sooooooo great :-)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Jit is definitely "happening"
Yep, Husband, me, my sister and our friend went to watch "Jit Happens.... Again" last night, and totally enjoyed it. What can I say - he is laid back, relaxed, articulate, talked to the audience as if we are just 'one big happy...', and it made for an evening of fun. As husband says "He is quite a character", and, yes, he is a character. Talks about subjects close to our hearts here in Malaysia - corruption, transparency (or lack thereof), the way we take things for granted and close our eyes to obvious misdoings, the things that are said and done and condoned (or not condoned) in the name of religion... the list goes on.. and all in his own inimitable, peripatetic, multi-syllabic style.
Jit, we are among that bunch of fans who will definitely come and listen to you again, and again, and again, and......
Jit, we are among that bunch of fans who will definitely come and listen to you again, and again, and again, and......
Friday, November 25, 2005
Fitness... or lack thereof
Have just completed my first week of fitness training with a trainer at the gym at Plaza Mont'Kiara. My aims - strengthen my rather weak lower back, tone up muscles and, if at all possible, lose some weight. The instructor (middle name "torturer") is excellent. He knows what he is doing. I have had three sessions of what "seemed" like an easy workout - all three of which left me totally wrung out, sweaty, and shaky at the end BUT (the best part) DID NOT KILL MY BACK. Whoopeeeee!!! He is stepping up the pace next week... let's hope I can keep up.
Other than that, all chores done, all filing done, today I can sit down and read a book, or do some sudoku puzzles.. and then tonight we go to see "Jit Happens... Again" at the Actor's Studio at Bangsar Shopping Centre. Have seen Jit do his stand up comedy once before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Am expecting to enjoy today's session too. There were still a few tickets left (ONLY a few) so if you want to try your luck, go for it. He is worth watching.
Other than that, all chores done, all filing done, today I can sit down and read a book, or do some sudoku puzzles.. and then tonight we go to see "Jit Happens... Again" at the Actor's Studio at Bangsar Shopping Centre. Have seen Jit do his stand up comedy once before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Am expecting to enjoy today's session too. There were still a few tickets left (ONLY a few) so if you want to try your luck, go for it. He is worth watching.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The "Tai-Tai" life
... well, it's been two days since I started my tai tai life, and this is the first opportunity I've had to SIT DOWN! Mind you, it's been good.. so no complaints.
Rundown of the last two days: Dropping husband off at work, and picking him up later (2-3 hours gone). Supermarket for groceries, buying tons of fruits from our fave Chinese fresh foods vendor who comes RIGHT OUTSIDE our apartment block on Mon/Fri, laundry, the gym (my new fitness training program has started.. OUCH), taking car for fixing a problem and then picking it up again, tidying up the house, getting tickets for various shows a bunch of us are going to see (Pixel - are you going for Julius Ceaser? We are going on the 10th Dec.)... and I still have a ton of ironed clothes to put away, and have to file all the stuff I have not filed for the last two months, and I have to finish my Xmas shopping too (Yes, that does mean I have started it!!).
Hey, while driving husband to work today, we were on Jln Tun Razak, in a traffic jam, stuck right behind a Kancil, where the driver had his BABY on his lap! I don't get it. Are people like this in their right minds? That baby was standing up on his legs, hanging out the half open window, grabbing at his face, grabbing at the steering wheel. IT WAS SO STUPID!! What happens if, God forbid, he gets into an accident. If someone slams into him from behind, or he slams into someone, that baby will go flying straight into the window OR will end up being the 'cushion' between the father and the steering wheel. End result... bye-bye, baby, bye-bye (in the words of Abba). Or what happens if the baby reaches too far out the window and falls out? Don't people THINK before doing these things... or does everyone think "Ah, it'll never happen to me." Hellooooo, wake uppppppp, it can happen to ANYBODY and EVERYBODY. PUT THE BABY IN THE BABY SEAT, strap the little fella in, keep him safe.
Other PET HATES:
- drivers who do not signal when changing lanes
- drivers who do NOT LOOK when changing lanes (worse than not signalling)
- drivers who double/triple park and then walk away from their cars. When you get back to your car, you can't move because of these idiots
- drivers who go through red lights with total nochalance, ignoring the fact that they almost hit you when it is YOUR right of way
- drivers who park so badly they take up 2 slots
- drivers who queue barge and shove their way in when everyone else is waiting patiently in line. Actually this applies in traffic jams as well as other queues
- drivers who do not acknowledge you when you give way to them, a simple wave of the hand would do
- parents who let their children run riot in public places, especially restaurants
- people who talk so loud (whether on the phone or not) that you can share their conversation from half a mile away
- people who do a 100 transactions at the ATM when there is a long queue of people waiting
- ... and the list goes on.
So, what are your pet peeves/hates?
Rundown of the last two days: Dropping husband off at work, and picking him up later (2-3 hours gone). Supermarket for groceries, buying tons of fruits from our fave Chinese fresh foods vendor who comes RIGHT OUTSIDE our apartment block on Mon/Fri, laundry, the gym (my new fitness training program has started.. OUCH), taking car for fixing a problem and then picking it up again, tidying up the house, getting tickets for various shows a bunch of us are going to see (Pixel - are you going for Julius Ceaser? We are going on the 10th Dec.)... and I still have a ton of ironed clothes to put away, and have to file all the stuff I have not filed for the last two months, and I have to finish my Xmas shopping too (Yes, that does mean I have started it!!).
Hey, while driving husband to work today, we were on Jln Tun Razak, in a traffic jam, stuck right behind a Kancil, where the driver had his BABY on his lap! I don't get it. Are people like this in their right minds? That baby was standing up on his legs, hanging out the half open window, grabbing at his face, grabbing at the steering wheel. IT WAS SO STUPID!! What happens if, God forbid, he gets into an accident. If someone slams into him from behind, or he slams into someone, that baby will go flying straight into the window OR will end up being the 'cushion' between the father and the steering wheel. End result... bye-bye, baby, bye-bye (in the words of Abba). Or what happens if the baby reaches too far out the window and falls out? Don't people THINK before doing these things... or does everyone think "Ah, it'll never happen to me." Hellooooo, wake uppppppp, it can happen to ANYBODY and EVERYBODY. PUT THE BABY IN THE BABY SEAT, strap the little fella in, keep him safe.
Other PET HATES:
- drivers who do not signal when changing lanes
- drivers who do NOT LOOK when changing lanes (worse than not signalling)
- drivers who double/triple park and then walk away from their cars. When you get back to your car, you can't move because of these idiots
- drivers who go through red lights with total nochalance, ignoring the fact that they almost hit you when it is YOUR right of way
- drivers who park so badly they take up 2 slots
- drivers who queue barge and shove their way in when everyone else is waiting patiently in line. Actually this applies in traffic jams as well as other queues
- drivers who do not acknowledge you when you give way to them, a simple wave of the hand would do
- parents who let their children run riot in public places, especially restaurants
- people who talk so loud (whether on the phone or not) that you can share their conversation from half a mile away
- people who do a 100 transactions at the ATM when there is a long queue of people waiting
- ... and the list goes on.
So, what are your pet peeves/hates?
Saturday, November 19, 2005
To Perth, and back again
Left for Perth on Mon 14th Nov, early morning.. MAS business class comfort to start the whole journey off well. Plane landed on time (!), got picked up by J, and headed straight back to their house, in a suburb of Perth called Edgewater. G&J have a most amazing house! It is very pretty when seen from the outside, nice and spacious and yet cosy inside, all pretty normal so far, but the "amazing" part is the view out the back.
They are on the top of a cliff, overlooking Lake Joondalup, and the view, as you can see from the picture, is amazing!!
Had dinner at a restaurant called "Hogs Breath" our first night. Totally non-halal, as the name implies, in fact it is an unprepossessing name but the food was excellent, HUGE servings, totally impossible to finish, but we did try our best. No space left for desserts, unfortunately. Hmmm, wonder how a restaurant with a name like that would survive in KL?
G&J have 2 cats (Beanie and Jonty) and a dog (Sophie) who is still a pup. Beanie is a really affectionate cat, loves people and loves being petted... very different from Jonty who is verra macho and only comes for a pet when he feels like it. Mind you, if you stop petting him before he is ready, he will push at your hand until you continue. You do NOT stop till HE is done with YOU!
Sophie is FULL of vim, verve and vigour, and LOVES to lick - which is something I hate - so half the time was spent in trying to stop her from licking me. She is adorable though, very friendly, very loving, loves people (which dog doesn't?), and loved having my husband around as he, like G, loves to rough house with the dog.
Tuesday and Wednesday was spent in driving all up and down Perth, with both G&J.... Hillary's Harbour (Sorento Quay), all around Fremantle, up and down the coast, stopping in many places to have a wander and to take many photographs. Both evenings we vegged out at G&J's home, relaxing with them, watching movies, yakkety-yakking, enjoying the pets, eating chocs, having a couple of glasses of GOOD port. AH, that IS the life :-)
Thursday was a relaxing day at home - barbecue steaks with stir-fry for lunch - followed by icecreams for dessert. Off to Hillary's Harbour again in the evening to catch up with an old friend of my husbands. Not a late night though as he and his wife had brought their kids along and needed to get home at a reasonable hour so they could get them to bed. G&J had kindly lent us their car to get us to and from Hillary's Harbour, so we had no worries about transport. In fact, their house is only about 10 minutes drive from there, so it was very easy for us.
Friday morning was spent on a last "stuff ourselves" and photo walkabout. All the way to Burns Beach for a delicious breakfast at a place called Costa del Sol. Then walked down to the beach to go walking in the water - COLD, you would NOT catch me going swimming there. The water all along the Perth coastline is so incredibly clear and clean, and the most vivid turquoise and blue colours. Crystal blue skies, not a cloud in sight, beautiful breezes.... Anyway, back home by 11.30am so that we could pack up, and then G&J dropped us off at the airport early afternoon, to catch our late afternoon flight back to KL. Sigh.. holiday over.
For those of you who know G and want some more specific news - he is definitely holding his own. Having some tests done this week based on the latest bone marrow samples taken, hopefully the results will show something positive. Despite that he is still the same, lovely, "absent-minded" professor person that he has always been, with his inimitable sense of humour. He and J are taking life as it comes, enjoying it as much as they can. J is totally the same gorgeous lady - loving, caring, cracked sense of humour, still the totally fantastic teacher. They were both absolutely fantastic - made us feel so much at home. I would put them on the short-list of people I would happily be marooned on a desert island with. They did a fantastic job of "showing off" Perth to us as well... consider that my husband has always been totally anti-Perth, and now, after spending the last week with them in Perth, he has actually said he would like to go back, for a longer holiday, and spend more time there! Whoa....is this the same person who, when first asked by J 2 years ago to go to Perth, he said "NO WAY"? Maybe he got kidnapped by aliens and I got someone else instead??
One last interesting tidbit about Perth - I had a book with me when we left for the airport (to read on the flight back). By the time we checked in and got to the MAS Business Class lounge, I didn't have it with me! I thought I had left it in the car, so figured that it was too bad, and tried to forget about it. Then, when we eventually got to the departure gate I saw this very familiar looking book lying there, and realised it was mine!! The staff told me that I had left it behind at the check-in counter, so the staff at the counter sent it to the departure gate! I was most pleased with that! Ian Rankin's The Falls - which I would have been sad to have lost as both husband and I are Ian Rankin fans.
Flight left about 20 minutes late, but same excellent service and food all the way back. Landed 15 minutes late - got through Immigration in record time (20 minutes flat), rushed to the limo counter, and were told that we might have to wait a while for the limo as the train (which a lot of people DO take) was not running to KL due to the tracks being flooded... so, of course, all those "should have been" train passengers, ended up taking taxis. It wasn't really that bad though - we only had to wait 12 minutes in the end. Finally got home just before midnight.. and that was the end of our holiday.
That's it folks... that was Perth and back again. A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing holiday.. and now we gird our loins for whatever comes next... what with husband starting work on Monday, and me starting my "exercise and fitness" program on Monday too - to try and shake off some of this excess baggage that has kinda planted itself around my waist (and other parts of my body) over the last few years... and, of course, the job hunt begins. Wish us luck!
They are on the top of a cliff, overlooking Lake Joondalup, and the view, as you can see from the picture, is amazing!!
Had dinner at a restaurant called "Hogs Breath" our first night. Totally non-halal, as the name implies, in fact it is an unprepossessing name but the food was excellent, HUGE servings, totally impossible to finish, but we did try our best. No space left for desserts, unfortunately. Hmmm, wonder how a restaurant with a name like that would survive in KL?
G&J have 2 cats (Beanie and Jonty) and a dog (Sophie) who is still a pup. Beanie is a really affectionate cat, loves people and loves being petted... very different from Jonty who is verra macho and only comes for a pet when he feels like it. Mind you, if you stop petting him before he is ready, he will push at your hand until you continue. You do NOT stop till HE is done with YOU!
Sophie is FULL of vim, verve and vigour, and LOVES to lick - which is something I hate - so half the time was spent in trying to stop her from licking me. She is adorable though, very friendly, very loving, loves people (which dog doesn't?), and loved having my husband around as he, like G, loves to rough house with the dog.
Tuesday and Wednesday was spent in driving all up and down Perth, with both G&J.... Hillary's Harbour (Sorento Quay), all around Fremantle, up and down the coast, stopping in many places to have a wander and to take many photographs. Both evenings we vegged out at G&J's home, relaxing with them, watching movies, yakkety-yakking, enjoying the pets, eating chocs, having a couple of glasses of GOOD port. AH, that IS the life :-)
Thursday was a relaxing day at home - barbecue steaks with stir-fry for lunch - followed by icecreams for dessert. Off to Hillary's Harbour again in the evening to catch up with an old friend of my husbands. Not a late night though as he and his wife had brought their kids along and needed to get home at a reasonable hour so they could get them to bed. G&J had kindly lent us their car to get us to and from Hillary's Harbour, so we had no worries about transport. In fact, their house is only about 10 minutes drive from there, so it was very easy for us.
Friday morning was spent on a last "stuff ourselves" and photo walkabout. All the way to Burns Beach for a delicious breakfast at a place called Costa del Sol. Then walked down to the beach to go walking in the water - COLD, you would NOT catch me going swimming there. The water all along the Perth coastline is so incredibly clear and clean, and the most vivid turquoise and blue colours. Crystal blue skies, not a cloud in sight, beautiful breezes.... Anyway, back home by 11.30am so that we could pack up, and then G&J dropped us off at the airport early afternoon, to catch our late afternoon flight back to KL. Sigh.. holiday over.
For those of you who know G and want some more specific news - he is definitely holding his own. Having some tests done this week based on the latest bone marrow samples taken, hopefully the results will show something positive. Despite that he is still the same, lovely, "absent-minded" professor person that he has always been, with his inimitable sense of humour. He and J are taking life as it comes, enjoying it as much as they can. J is totally the same gorgeous lady - loving, caring, cracked sense of humour, still the totally fantastic teacher. They were both absolutely fantastic - made us feel so much at home. I would put them on the short-list of people I would happily be marooned on a desert island with. They did a fantastic job of "showing off" Perth to us as well... consider that my husband has always been totally anti-Perth, and now, after spending the last week with them in Perth, he has actually said he would like to go back, for a longer holiday, and spend more time there! Whoa....is this the same person who, when first asked by J 2 years ago to go to Perth, he said "NO WAY"? Maybe he got kidnapped by aliens and I got someone else instead??
One last interesting tidbit about Perth - I had a book with me when we left for the airport (to read on the flight back). By the time we checked in and got to the MAS Business Class lounge, I didn't have it with me! I thought I had left it in the car, so figured that it was too bad, and tried to forget about it. Then, when we eventually got to the departure gate I saw this very familiar looking book lying there, and realised it was mine!! The staff told me that I had left it behind at the check-in counter, so the staff at the counter sent it to the departure gate! I was most pleased with that! Ian Rankin's The Falls - which I would have been sad to have lost as both husband and I are Ian Rankin fans.
Flight left about 20 minutes late, but same excellent service and food all the way back. Landed 15 minutes late - got through Immigration in record time (20 minutes flat), rushed to the limo counter, and were told that we might have to wait a while for the limo as the train (which a lot of people DO take) was not running to KL due to the tracks being flooded... so, of course, all those "should have been" train passengers, ended up taking taxis. It wasn't really that bad though - we only had to wait 12 minutes in the end. Finally got home just before midnight.. and that was the end of our holiday.
That's it folks... that was Perth and back again. A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing holiday.. and now we gird our loins for whatever comes next... what with husband starting work on Monday, and me starting my "exercise and fitness" program on Monday too - to try and shake off some of this excess baggage that has kinda planted itself around my waist (and other parts of my body) over the last few years... and, of course, the job hunt begins. Wish us luck!
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