I've been accused of being dramatic in the past

Just saw the doctor this morning who is concerned that the level of infection in my body is not going down with the medications I am receiving. Leaves her thinking that I might have appendicitis. Now talking about a possible transer to Johor Baru as no specialist here to do such surgery.  So, having said this, I think any of my dramatics in the past have easily been overshadowed by these latest developments.  On a positive side, my friend who lives in JB just called me this morning and said she would come down to look after me, not realizing I was in teh hospital.  It is nice to know that we do have a network of Canucks over here.  And even nicer to know that I can count on their help.  Maybe I will see her after all - just in JB, and not KT
This hospital is ok, they do the best they can do with the resources they have.  Jeff describes it as one step below a MASH Unit. He could be right, but at least I am not in a war zone.  For those of you who know me best, being in a hospital is not my first choice. Going to a doctor is not my first or second choice, but this place is not like any of that so I guess it is not so bad.  Feels more like a camp for adults. I got my usual gruel of fish and some kind of vegetables, but ate my orange that accompanied this. Ate the whole thing and could eat another if it was offered. Something must be improving.
oh ya, they showed my x-ray to me. There were these little dashes across the upper right side of my abdomen. When I asked what they were, seems there are the clips from having gall bladder surgery. Now that is one good clip.  The surgery was over 30 years ago.  Made in Canada - just like me.  Now if my sense of humour dries up, let me know.  I must be seriously ill if that is the case.

Latest Adventure for the Stubble Jumper

I am now learning what 3rd world medicine is like. Maybe a few steps below our own Canadian system.

I seem to have dengue fever with several complications, but in spite of that, this old workhorse also seems to be recovering (slowly).  I have learned what warmth and generosity the locals display here.  Jeff, of course comes to see me every day - usually twice a day. I think, more in self defence because he fears that he will have to do my work as well as his own. The M. of Ed people have all been here, many of my teachers have come to visit after school, and my boss and district manager will be here today and tomorrow.  I am either at death's door or they are extremely thoughtful. I am going to believe thoughtful. 

Not feeling very energetic right now, so just a note here to advise I might not be posting much for the next few days.

maybe I figured this out. Video of children thanking Madam Frances for the mural

It might repeat itself, if so, just click stop.

Broccoli Cheese Soup Malaysian style

Being frugal, I could not toss out the cheese slices that feel like silly putty in my mouth, but put them to use today when I spied real broccoli in Econsave this afternoon.  Not exactly the recipe I use in Canada, but believe me, a taste of home actually overtook tandoori chicken leftovers in my fridge.

A couple of heads of broccoli along with a few cloves of garlic simmered in the induction cooker in a bath of beer.  I picked up some beer at the Chinese place because they had this special if you bought two, you got two free.  Frugality won over and I took my 4 bottles home. However, I did not realize they were large bottles, so I always have more left over than I drink. No stock in the larder, so the leftover flat beer that I keep in the fridge became stock for the soup.  Once melded together, the concoction went into my blender and then back into the pot on the induction cooker again.  This time, the unwrapped cheese slices joined the brew and melted into the green sea.  Now believe me, this is not exactly soup made with broth, fresh mushrooms, emanthal and guerere and cheddar cheeses, but even in the heat it was a treat to consume this blast from the past. And I have more for breakfast this week before my daily journey to the countryside. 

John Lennon - Imagine there's no Heaven (My Easter Sunday thoughts)

I have been listening to the song the past few days, as I only have a few tunes downloaded to my computer. It is a good one though, and I especially love the line Imagine no possessions - I wonder if you can.  Good line I think.  Maybe I have reached that point, finally.  I have a car, a cell phone, a home, but I dont own any of them. Well, a bit more than that, I do have a computer and a printer (which bugs me that I had to buy them even though they are tools required to do my work). Anyway, back to my rant.  Ryan has taught me a great deal about owning things.  He travels lightly and appears to be comfortable with that approach.  I too am travelling lightly, and all I am acquiring here for my household, I intend to give to people who do not have such things when I leave.  I cannot give them directly, because in this culture, it demonstrates that a man cannot support his family and that means disgrace. So I thought I would hold a lottery, and have teachers and families buy a ticket for the lottery and when proceeds collected, I would donate the money to the school to buy some resources because they have nothing. A big screen tv and a laptop to produce material would be so wonderful there.  Wow, I I seem to be jumping the gun here.  Maybe I will not last the entire contract and slide back to Canada early. Even so, everything can still proceed to a lottery and recipients would  have even newer appliances etc. If anyone has a better idea, please send me an e-mail or post a comment here to give me feedback.
So back to the song.  Imagine there is no heaven.  I wonder how this concept would go over here in Muslim territory.  Of the people I have met, I think there is a good chance they would open their minds to this idea. It is only a desire for peace worldwide. So, who would not want that?  Everyone I have met shares what they have with me with a very open heart.  If they would be able to see the world beyond their own borders it would just mean sharing at that level. Not too sure they would buy into no religion, like the song states.  Their religion is their life.  I have to admit that I am happy to not follow a religion.  I dont think that stifles my ability to be spiritual plus it allows me to accept others who think differently than I.  And the song continues, imagine there is no countries,it isnt hard to do  nothing to live or die for, Imagine all the people living life in peace , you may say I'm a dreamer.  Well I know that I am a dreamer but I hope that my dreaming catches on here and that I open eyes and teach by example.

I do not see homeless people here like I do in Canada.  But there is one man who regularly sleeps on hot concrete downtown, so he must be the token homeless fellow here.  Otherwise, I think those who have nothing live deep in the jungle and cannot get into the city, in fact probably dont even know that the city exists.  
My base school has students that live in a hostel there. The reason for this is that their home is a 2 hour walk to the school. Well, when you think about my schools being in the middle of nowhere, imagine where the families 2 hours walk away live. That is jungleville.  They have no money for a car, not much for food, and the children wear uniforms provided by the school. They travel home about once a month on a weekend, but other than that, they live at the school.  And that is the most urban thing they know and probably will ever know. 

So although there is no war or famine here, I hope that I can help to open eyes in this part of the world and support others to think as the song says: Imagine all the people sharing all the world... - I hope someday you join us and the world will live as one.
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No further home invaders and other stuff

Following Ryan's advise on our Skype chat, I decided it was best that I do not know who was in my attic the other night. ON THE PLUS SIDE, the critter(s) left and I returned to my bed. As for my Easter greetings here, I must admit that I am out of touch with what season and celebrations are going on around the world. With a constant temperature and length of day, it becomes difficult to know what day, date, or month it is.  I also have to admit that my Muslim friend who owns the Rosemerah cafe is the one that told me that yesterday was Good Friday.  I am not sure he saw the humour in telling a Christian that it was Good Friday, but I had a giggle. They don't celebrate that day as we do in Canada, but there was a civic holiday just same.  There was some raucous event last night that I was able to listen to from home. Music and festivities were erupting from some marquees near Econsave a couple of km away but clearly travelled over the airwaves to my place. Guess I will have to gambol over there today to see what the attraction is.
Because I was able to upload that little chick picture here I will attempt to upload the cache of pictures I have waiting to get on the blog. I am not gonna spend a lot of frustrating time trying -- if no success, I will go back to the cafe and see if there is better luck there. But first I wait for Mr Wong to arrive with some workers to see how they can screen my doors and windows for me.

TGIF already

Like every Friday morning in Malaysia, I wake at 5:15 with anticipation of the evil twin sister of the GPS lady nattering at me with her chant 'it's time to get up, the time is 5:22' . But unlike other mornings, she is joined with a cacaphony of chanters who seem to compete for the Friday call to prayers.  They are not on the same page so the noise of their voices combined with Nokia alarm lady causes quite a din. I am not sure why there is a competition on Fridays but each time the call goes out, there are several chanters trying to outdo the others.   All this compounds my very weary body because I have yet again given into a critter and moved to accommodate their wishes. After a long day of work, I hit the hay only to hear tapping or scraping or some odd sound that I thought was outdoors.  I ignored the sounds and attempted to go to sleep.  By 1 am I could still hear the noises so got up to investigate.  Discovered that the noises were overhead, not outdoors.  With 15 foot ceilings, there was not a lot I could to other than stare. Trying to bring an image of the outdoor view of my roof structure left me with thinking that there is some sort of an attic above my bedroom.  There is a papery ceiling tile covering what I think is an attic there.  I checked other areas of the upstairs and the large hall way with 20 foot ceilings only had Gordon and a couple of his buddies hanging on the upper areas of the walls looking at me, ready to dash in case I tossed a paper airplane at them.  There was no way of sleeping with that tapping sound, so I traipsed down to my living room and made a nest on the tiny 2 seater sofa of sorts and attempted sleep there. I got up a couple of times when my right leg went to sleep without me and resurveyed the bedroom. MORE TAPPING AND SCRAPING. Back downstairs to the nest. I refuse to sleep on the floor any longer. I do draw a line. But maybe should not have been quite so stubborn. I could have had an actual sleep on the floor and not had to rub my leg back to life every few hours.
So I ask myself: Why am I in Malyasia? I certainly hope it is not to overcome fears of the critters that are abundant here and who seem to think my home is their home.  If I wanted a room mate I would have advertised for one, and taken 1/2 the rent. Whatever is above my bed has to leave. I am officially giving notice this morning. And then I will go whining to the screen man to come back with me to investigate further. (that is my plan)
On a better note, I had written to several screen manufacturers in Malaysia and I am slowly getting responses from them. Nice people. They probably have to take my note to a translator and then reply to me. But it is progress.  And I will arm myself with these responses on my journey to the screen guy I have found here in Kota Tinggi.  He is actually an interior designer and probably wishes he had never met me. You'd think an interior designer would have known how to find screen manufacturers, wouldn't you?
Wish me luck in tracking down the new home invader and finding a way to make him/her leave promptly. This is my weekend and I do not want it ruined by this dude or dudette.  I am not really the brave woman that many of you had thought I might have become.

Internet in Malaysia is getting me down

I have tried several times to post pictures and other things here but cannot get a decent connection to do this.  I will persist, and see what I can put up for your entertainment.  For now, heading to work before the sun rises as I am co teaching in a year one class this morning at 7:30.  Then a variety of meetings before the trek down south.  I hope it does not rain like it did yesterday.  I managed to get home before I had to stop because of reduced visibility, but Jeff was delayed for a couple of hours.  Seems we have to travel with a packed bag in case we are stuck out in the rural areas overnight.  I still have not packed a bag, so better do that soon.
I will check on internet connections during my travels today and see what I can find that allows uploads.

all for now

Wednesday in Kota Tinggi

Well, the nice man who measured my screens gave a price.  RM2000.  I think not!  The whole house is only worth about RM30 - 40,000, so how could a bit of screen be worth that much? And that was not even a quote for all the windows.
I am heading back there today after work to see how exactly the cost breakdown works out and see if I can negotiate a better price.  I also got online last night and wrote directly to manufacturers of screens in Malaysia to see if they can sell directly to me.  Not sure if they can read my message.  I guess I will find out today by seeing if there are any replies. Just when I think I am being treated like a local I get a wakeup call and realize that someone is trying yet again to gouge the Canuck.  One of the Chinese restaurants keep adjusting their prices for my orders.  My first trip there was for gai lan, and the price was RM 8.  I sent Jeff there and whatever he bought was RM 8 -- nothing on the menu is priced. I guess they just look at you and decide a price.  SInce those initial visits the prices have slowly dropped and sometimes items are only RM 4.  There must be a time period to denote a local resident in their minds, and once you have met that time period, the prices are adjusted.  I wonder what that time period is?

good intentions

I went downtown after stopping to use the internet at the cafe which was not up and running. Fully intended to take some street shots, but it was very hot.  I took a couple and then headed homeward.  Spying a Durian stand with several people seated and munching on the fruit I realized I had to try the stuff. So, pulled into the lot and approached the vendor.  He had no English but a couple of older Chinese men sharing a durian offered me a bite. They knew I had never had any before and said it is ok if you dont like, just leave it.  So I took a chunk and gave it a sniff. That wonderful aroma of fresh fruit that I smell every time I pass these stands is not what I smelled. It was  big blob of creamy whitish stuff, much like soft butter. Also the texture of soft butter.  The piece I was given was about the size of a large plum.  The smell - like onions at a hotdog stand.  I took a bite, and had difficulty swallowing because it was like eating soft butter.  I love butter, but not a chunk of it. Then, within the soft butter texture that tasted like onions was a network of stringy particles.  I was told to eat this too, and just leave the pit. Thank God there was a substantial pit, because I could not have eaten the whole thing otherwise.  I politely ate my bit and thanked everyone.  Back in the car and homeward  after taking a couple of pictures of the vendor and the nice men who shared their durian with me.  Tried to download the pictures and discovered I had left the camera in movie mode, so I had lovely shots of the car tire, my skirt, and several other nonsensical things. I did end up with a short clip at the durian stand but I must have kept taking pictures thinking they were not shooting making the movie clip look like it kept repeating itself. So, once again, no photos to post.Two hours later I have a repeat from the durain taste in my mouth but now it tastes like kerosene. I think I will stick with apples.

Accomplishments and other things

I am beginning to figure out how to navigate around this place. Still can't find a newspaper to read but I do have Singapore Asia News channel so catch up there.  In my travels today I bought some socks, bins, and paper for the printer.  You should see how people wince when I ask for bins.  It is kinda fun. You see, every man here is named with his given name and then Bin and then his father's name.(women follow the same pattern with Binti in the middle). So when I ask for a bin, the clerk thinks I am looking for a man.  Anyway, after sorting all that out, I got my bins and saw the famous KFC in the corner of my eye.  I was dying for some salad, and sadly was completely satisfied with a carton of KFC coleslaw.  In fact, I think I will go back tomorrow and buy a couple of big ones for the week. It uses the franchise recipe but I wish it was the non creamy one. But beggars can't be choosers.  Also very difficult to get the clerk to understand that all I wanted was coleslaw.  I drove away and parked the car and ate the entire little cup right away.  Now heading back to my neighbourhood I have figured out a route that you don't have to close your eyes to navigate the crazy drivers. I crossed the bridge and found myself driving toward one of my new Chinese restaurants.  They prepared me some great gai lan last week so went back for more.  I also asked for bok choy and like all others in Malaysia, they don't seem to know what the heck it is.  So I told the lady that I can buy it at the Econsave. She said, you can buy some and bring it back and we will cook it for you.  Not so shabby huh?  While the gai lan was tossed around in their wok, I headed to Econsave and picked up the baby bok choy.  So now I have 2 veggies in the larder and have ingredients for more gazpacho.  I think it will leave this Chinese vegetable cooking to the experts -- why mess up my own house with cooking and pots and pans when they gladly cook it for me.
Oops, before I was doing this food thing, I passed some furniture store I checked out in the past. They had a small aluminum table I thought might work well for my kitchen.  Thought I would go and barter a discount, as it was a second hand item in their store.  No longer there, I was ready to leave when I spied a small round wicker table outside. No price on it, so I asked the vendor 'how much?'  Somehow I think I bought something that was not his, because he kinda fumbled, and spewed out RM50.  Being a negotiator, I responded with ' I'll give you RM35' and now the table is in my living room beside my new lawn chair. They were far too quick to get it into my car, which makes me think it was not really theirs to sell.
BENEFITS OF BEING A LOCAL:

• gas man lets me pump my gas before I pay
• a man at the pump pumps my gas for me and waves when he sees me elsewhere
• clerks at Econsave come up to me in the store to say 'hi' and ask if I need anything
• man making screens for me has offered to come by and change any lights i need changed (because the ceilings are at least 15 feet high) - just have to call his assistant and he will come over
• local Chinese food restaurant will cook whatever I bring to them

Many accomplishments today, but I think it only fair to mention my fox paws too.  At Econsave I was buying Kleenex when I saw a bottle of some product called whitening cell repair for fair skin. Absolutely every product of women skin  products here are labelled whitening.  I don't need further whitening, but my face is getting burned with all the sweating that removes my sun screen regularly.  So, I thought, who cares about the whitening component, maybe it will repair my skin from the sun damage.  I was too lazy to get my glasses out to read the product so bought it and took it home.  At home I opened the package and thought it odd, but rolled it on my face (much like a roll on antiperspirant).  Didn't sting, kinda sticky, but otherwise ok.  Looked at the label and could read that it had aloe vera and witch hazel in it, so got my glasses to read more.  At the bottom of the label I read "antiperspirant".  I had just rolled deodorant on my face!  But I left it on. I am gonna see if I can get though a few hours without a sweaty face.
I think I have admitted enough for today.  Now I think the schewpps tonic I picked up will be a nice malaria medicine for the weekend.

Saturday in Kota Tinggi

Wow I only had to wait a couple of hours to get an internet connection. Things must be progressing in this part of the world.

I am so excited. I stopped in at a kitchen, blind and drapery store yesterday to see if they could suggest a construction person to make me screens for my house. The nice man there, who could not speak English got his assistant to help us communicate and he came over this morning and measured several windows and my patio door for screens.  His plan is to put permanent screens on each of these with a kind of velcro material so I can pull it back to open and close the windows and doors.  I think he had a good laugh at my double front door screen I built with about 5 pounds of duct tape.  I had to not allow him to measure that area because I need some door to open until his handicraft is installed, after which he can pull my efforts off and fix up that one too.  He and I tried to talk but did not get too far, so he called his assistant who spoke with me on the phone advising she would come over to translate for us.  That worked well, and the two left and advised they would have a quote of costs on Monday. I really hope the quote is reasonable and that I have screens next week.  They will be leaving my own handiwork on one of my bedroom windows and the main floor computer area. They didn’t even laugh at it, at least not until they left the property.  But as usual, they asked how much I paid for rent, and then snickered when I told them the amount.  I am clearly paying at least double what a local would pay.  Also, not to forget the usual question: How old are you? Are you married?  I told the truth to all.

Now to do my errands in a downpour.  No food in the larder so have to brave the weather conditions.

TGIF

Friday does not come soon enough around here. Glad to be heading to work today knowing that the day ends at noon.  My mission for this weekend is to find a construction worker who will build me some screens.  I have no idea how I will do this , but I am sure it will happen.  As for the dobi, I mentioned that if I asked enough people I would eventually see one. Well it happened, and on my way to my most remote school I found a dobi.  I am glad I bought a washing machine because this dobi is very makeshift.  It has a swack of old appliances sitting out front, one of which is a washing machine. I am thinking this is not where I want to drop off my clothing. So, having said that, I am sure enough talk about construction people will cause someone to show up in my vision that can make me some screens.  Will keep you posted. as I am sure this is an event that is keeping you all on the edge of your chairs.
Oh yes and for those who are wondering, the water came back on a few hours after it stopped. Not sure why, but it did and that suits me fine.

Paying Bills in Kota Tinggi

I think I have discovered why the water bills are so low in Kota Tinggi.  Keep the bill low, and the customer will have low expectations of delivery. You recall that my hairdresser told me where I pay my electric and water bills?  Well, I paid the water bill last month and there was no new charges for my electric bill. This month, my electric bill arrived again, and it still indicated no charges, in fact, there was a credit balance. Well, I marched down to the office and said I thought there was a mistake because I have been using electricity.  Seems they have an incentive program here – you use minimal electricity and you are rewarded by not having to pay a power bill. I don’t scrimp, but then I really don’t have much in the way of electrical appliances. Still looking for lamps.  While I was there, I asked if I could just pay my water bill even though the actual bill had not arrived. Their system is so archaic and she was not able to find my bill in their records. So, I had to go home and pick up my previously paid bill and return.  They advised there is no charges available for them to view, so I then asked if I could just pay them something and have a credit on my bill until the charges are available. This was clearly a difficult procedure but eventually she took RM10 from me which seems to have me paid up until the end of May.  Crazy huh?  However, it is now 5:30 pm here and I turned on the faucet to wash my hands, and ta da, no water!  Thought I would mosey over to Jeff’s and steal a pail of water from his patio outlet but he too is waterless.  Seems I have caused some nasty response to prepaying my water bill. And of course the office is closed so I guess I am waterless all night.  Good thing I have three bathrooms. I should be able to plan the next night accordingly. As for a shower, that is not gonna happen I guess.

Picture taking will begin

Now that I have purchased a tripod for my camera I promise to go downtown and take some photos of the streets there. As my colleague pointed out, a person would be dead if they were down there after a few drinks. All the shops are up on some risers that I guess are stairs.  But they are not consistent in elevation, and even when you think you are on an even stretch of cement, you hit a ledge that can send you reeling.  And if you are slightly disabled in walking or climbing, you cant even get into some of the shops.  You have to climb up about 18 inches for the first step and then who knows what else. But I will go there with my camera and take some street views for you to see.  When I had my knee problem I would not have been able to get into the bank because it is on one of those weird step configurations.
As for today, I was all decked out in cheap clothing that I bought just for painting day. Remember I have to wear certain attire, that covers me, so picked up a long blouse and skirt I will never wear again.  I did not want to ruin my better duds.  I dashed to work, set up the camera and finished up the preparation painting for the kiddos and then the clouds opened up and poured all morning. So, no painting today.  I have had to put it off until next Monday, as my schedule is full this week.
So thanks again RyGuy for telling me to get a tripod years ago,  I move, but not quickly.

everyone keeps telling me that the picturs are not loading here

I will try to upload again but not right now.

our chat this morning

                                                                 Listening to her Nana's voice
                                                                

                                                         I can hear my Nana, but I can't see her
                                                                 

isn't Skype great?