computers and whatnot

I got my HP back yesterday. The manager of the warranty office went over it completely before I picked it up, and assures me that it is now fully working. His receptionist kept her distance when I went it.  Once agreed that the computer could come home, he advised that she was afraid of me. I dont blame her for that - she gave so much conflicting information the other day that I spoke sternly to her, explaining I would appreciate truth; not a swack of messages she thought I would want to hear.  Yesterday I explained to her that I was yes, annoyed and somewhat angry with her previously, but if she followed this rule of only giving information that was accurate, we could be fine.  She indicated she understood and then went to a closet and brought me YET ANOTHER carry bag, delivered with a huge grin on her face. I must have one for every company in business in Malaysia now.  Seems to be the peace offering from miscommunicating Malaysian businesses. Plus, they get free advertising if I use the blasted things. Which I do; so they do.

So, why do these people tell you what they tell you? It is the Asian culture of collectivism and saving face. They will not tell you anything they think will offend you and they will not tell you something that appears they do not really know something. So, giving an answer that appears like they know the 'answer' is completely acceptable in this culture. Ahhh, Rita, my professor at RRU would be proud to know that I learned the intercultural aspect of communications so well. Too bad the rest of my cohort does not have the same opportunity.  They were completely insensitive to this issue and refused to believe this was the case.   Whole problem with this sort of communication is that there is frequent miscommunication and seriously skewed information given and received. So, now I have a bright orange carry bag to add to my cache.

Yesterday, driving home I think I figured out how to keep dry during a monsoon rain. Great pools of water collecting on the roads, air con full blast to keep the condensation at bay inside the car, and windows open to help the situation do not make a good mix.  The pools of water end up inside the car when some goofball flies by me. But I need the window open - the freezing temperature in the car is more than I can bear.  Hence, the passenger side of the car also has a window and no one sits there. I dont care that the seat on that side of the car is drenched. So, down goes the passenger window, which helps the air con from steaming inside the car, and pooled water on the road is so far not lifting up and drenching me any longer.  You might want to consider sitting in the back seat of my car if you are travelling with me during a monsoon - or wear goggles and a tank of air.

This week is final exams in my schools. Not a lot of mentee visits will be happening this week.  The teachers act like they are the ones taking the exams. I think there must be some reflection on their teaching if the students do badly. That is the only reason I can deduce for their stress level. Yesterday I observed a teacher preparing the students for an exam on verb tenses. Unfortunately, her own skill level with this concept was less than accurate.  Using present tense for past tense scenarios and future tense for present tense was what she was teaching. EEEK, too late to begin that lesson - they will be tested today! Besides all this, the teachers and students are winding down for the year. think of what it is like in a Canadian school during May and June. Not a lot of new work introduced. October is our May and November is our June.  I am sure glad the travelling library got 'rockin' and rollin'.  I am the hero who comes to the schools and reads the new books to the students. The teachers have just as much fun as the kids listening to these stories. No stories today though. All serious and quiet as the young learners apply their knowledge to a sheet of paper. Guess I will skirt around all this and see who is available to visit me and talk about next year. Trying to prepare these mentees for next year is like trying to feed mashed peas to a baby when there is a dish of ice cream beside the peas.  Thoughts of vacation is their ice cream.

Indulged myself

Today I cleaned the house - finally -  after the big luncheon last weekend.There were mucky footprints everywhere, and I somehow just managed to ignore them all week.

Then, I went for a two hour massage and put myself back in the car to hie off to J.B. to have reflexology treatment. I went back to my Thai massage therapist, but wanted reflexology this time because I wanted to see if it would help with the dengue aches and pains. It did. Or maybe the two treatments combined did the trick. I don't care, just as long as it helped. And the cost - RM98 for the two hour massage, RM38 for the one hour reflexology. That means about $75.00. 

My biggest achievement was stopping in at Jusco after the reflexology. I broke down and bought some eggs.  They were in a cooler, and labelled 'organic'.  I feel like I can eat these.  And there were only 8 in the package, unlike the flats of eggs you see everywhere - at room temperature - that would feed an army.  I will see if I get up the courage to actually eat one.  If not, it won't be difficult to dispose of such a small container in the trash can.  It would be kinda cool to have an omelet. I even picked up some 'shrooms just in case I try them out.

so much for TGIF

Frustrated, I left the HP warranty office - with the manager's own computer. Somehow in a city of over 2,000,000 people, they do not have any kind of a loaner program for computers when work is done on warranty issues. And I was not leaving until something was resolved - because my beast is now in K.L.  The smiling clerk gave me mumbo jumbo about the computer and then thought I would be satisfied with an explanation that it will be ready maybe next week or week after. NO
Now time to speak with the manager.

Manager was out on a service call, but when I demanded to speak with him, he assured me he would meet me at the office at noon. Off to work for me, and then back at noon for his song and dance. I told him I was not leaving without a computer today. If it had to be a new one, then so be it. But in truth, I did not want a new one - just another opportunity to have to go through what I have been going through for the past 8 months.  He ended up telling me that I could have his computer, which I am typing on right now.  Problem with his computer is that I need to write and upload my reports and when I turned on this stupid thing, I was greeted with 2 virus warnings - one a TROJAN that were unsuccessfully removed earlier. So, no work on this beast this weekend, and further behind I will get.  He did assure me, after I suggested he call KL, that the computer will be back in JB on Monday and he will go over the entire computer himself before I take it. To be sure all has been repaired this time.  We will see.

No one is going on the jungle trek. Seems that one has to book rooms at least 3 days in advance, so we are staying in our own corners of the country. I could go to Melaka, but I am looking forward to just staying home with my gate locked and talking to as few people as possible. 

Who has ever felt complete joy when they have spied a DOMINO'S PIZZA OUTLET?  Me.  On my journey back to the warranty office, there before my peepers was just one of those outlets. With only PIZZA HUT, with its little clumps of mystery meat that look very much like a rabbit has hopped across the disc (if you know what I mean), I have declined PIZZA HUT ever since my first night in Kota Tinggi where we dined on just what I described. I ended up taking that disc of bunny turds back to my hotel room and tossed pieces out my window to a starving anorexic doberman laying in the blazing sun.  I wonder how that dog is doing now that I have left him??? Well imagine my delight when I saw DOMINOS. I had time, so I pulled up, ordered MEAT LOVER'S personal size crispy crust and could hardly wait.  I don't think I have ever had a DOMINOS in Canada, but believe me, I would have another.  The goofy menu is a typical moderation for Malaysia that you would not see in Canada. Chicken this, and chicken that, I begged the girl to show me something that had NO CHICKEN.  I don't get it. If you don't like the taste of something, or don't approve of eating a certain food - meat for example, then don't eat it. But when you stretch that truth and alter a food to be like another food (a forbidden one) then what the heck is that all about?  Chicken pepperoni? Have you ever heard of such a thing? Chicken salami? Have you ever heard of such a thing?  It is like people I know who tout themselves to be vegetarians, and almost faint when they see people eat pork. But they are the same people I have witnessed wolf down some gawd awful concoction called TURKEY BACON. Good God, what part of the carcass do they slice that off? The pope's nose?  I don't understand what caused food producers to even think of making turkey bacon - unless they had a bunch of fake vegetarians who really didn't want to be vegetarians. Which also brings to mind - the famous tofu fake foods. You can get burgers, hot dogs, pork cutlets, and anything else under the sun; all formed and flavoured bits of tofu mixed with who knows what to mimic what you really wanted in the first place. You don't see carnivores craving a juicy slab of tofu do you? You obviously miss the little porkies so why are you torturing yourself? No one has died from eating bacon. And you would not have to pretend you are a vegetarian that eats only fowl - and nosh on TURKEY BACON all the while pretending you cannot bear the thought of pork in your diet. Wow, that kinda turned into a rant, didn't it?  I guess I have my own oddities. I hate yogurt. I cannot tolerate the word. So, I cannot tolerate the food. Much like sour cream. Who on earth would intentionally eat something that has gone bad (sour)?  As for the yogurt, I am selective. I can eat Greek yogurt and pretend it is just a sauce for my lamb souvlaki.  As for any other kind, I gag. So I admit I play a mind game with myself in order to eat Greek yogurt. I wonder what the mind game is for a vegetarian who consumes all these fake meats and occasionally real meat that tastes exactly like the forbidden meat??

My pizza was good. An aroma from home was the draw.  The pepperoni and salami were beef - not chicken.

one more thing

 Now armed with the new Maybank card, I breezed into Jusco mall to get moolah to give to my boss who covered me for my hospital stay months ago. Seems he covered what I did not pay initially because I went there as an emergency. All my colleagues who visited me apparently had no money - for some reason, we were not paid on time that month and their accounts were drained when money was needed to release Frannie from the facility.  Anyway, boss was summoned and he arrived with cash.  Finally, I got paid some of that from our health care plan - I give up trying any further. I had a deposit to my account, which I asked the bank what the heck it was. I had not deposited to the account and did not know of anyone else who had. Did not want to assume this was my money, and also did not want some poor dupe to have thought they deposited to their account and put in my account in error. It only took 10 days to find out what the deposit was. Very quick customer service here! Discovered it was from ING, my health care provider. So, went to the Maybank ATM with my shiney new card. There at the Maybank counter was a couple of dudes with new inards for the machine. All other bank ATMs were fully functioning. Needless to say - no test of the new card yet.  I completed the transaction and they were still there fiddling with machine parts - I guess trying to figure out how to make the machine work. I could have told them to save their time, but what the heck, they need a job like everyone else.
Ah yes, for your amusement - I was at one of my schools yesterday. I was scratching like a fiend, and the teachers, who all know about my dengue episode, said 'no worry, we have no dengue mosquitoes here, only jungle mosquitoes.' I saw a little guy with nasty looking scars (much like my own) all over his legs and arms. They explained to me 'no it is not chicken pox, or small pox - sensitivity to the mosquito bites' 

You know of course, that jungle mosquitoes carry Malaria???? Guess it is time to pull out the g&t again.

computer woes

 
my hp is in the repair shop - ONLY THE THIRD TIME IN LESS THAN A YEAR. My old one I brought from home has been playing games with me. It types from right to left, but not always. Just when I think it has quit doing that, it begins again, and then switches back to normal part way through a word. That, I am sure is because you never know when it is really backwards or not, so cannot decipher anything. Yesterday I could not scroll either. Remember the days when there was no mouse - you had to use the arrow keys. Glad they left that feature on a computer keyboard - it comes in handy when the mouse does not feel like being part of my operating system. I think I am getting a step closer to being a Mac user. 

For those of you who still have me in your phone address book, and did not delete me once I left North America, I still have that phone connected. (my cell). It is on a basic plan, so no vm, caller id etc, but I can make and receive calls on it. So, we can keep in touch that way when I get back. Also, if you have a blackberry - we can use that feature too. Gotta publish this post now.  I am exhausted from having to retype, replace, and repair all the text as is populates wherever it wants to in the dialogue. Whoever no longer has that phone number, send me an e-mail and I will send it to you.

there are 2 of them!

Keep your fingers crossed that the HP gang will call today and say my machine is ready for pick up and actually working! TGIF for me today.  Many friends want to gather at some national park for a colleague's birthday. Sounds like fun - jungle trekking, hiking, and various fun activities planned. I have not decided if I will go. I am still recovering from the weekend of chinwags with the politicians and feeding and entertaining former mentees. I have also not really cleaned the house after the event and it clearly needs a vacuum and floor wash.  No rain yet this morning - it is about 6 am, and just warm, and not yet sunny (mr rooster is crowing and asking the sun to rise still). Could be a nice day to drive to work. Yesterday was challenging. Downpour on the way home, but still very manageable. With two lanes on my highway, I have the option to just stay away from the nutbars, and mosey homeward in the slow lane, through the puddles, pools, and downright flooded areas on my route. But doable, and so far, manageable. I am going to my  most distant school this morning - all of about 30 - 40 minutes drive. Nowhere near my other routes, times, and challenges. For now I think I will sit in my living room, overlooking my pretty garden, and watch that beautiful orange globe rise in the sky; in anticipation of it warming my cockles and other parts exposed to the rays.

A Wonderful Phone Call with Ryan this morning

I took my technical skills a step further and called Ry this morning from my stashed number in my cell phone. Much to his surprise, my voice was on the other end of the call he picked up. So surprised, he even asked 'who is this'? 
We managed to have a a good chat - I love hearing my kids voices.  Does not look like a family gathering in Canada this Christmas - but there is always Skype.  And he reminded me again, to behave myself in Canada. Be nice I think were his words.
Now, with this recent conversation fresh in my ears, I am ready to forge ahead into my day in Malaysia and hit the rainy roads to my work locations for the day.
Perhaps drivel to you, but that is how my day is beginning here. I like it.

Happy Deepavali

The greeting was explained to me yesterday - in Tamil, it apparently is Deepavali Varticle (who knows how it is really spelled). But I learned it, and used the phrase and was greeted with broad grins, which I took as pleasure in my words; but could have easily been amusement with my mispronunciation too. I also was passed by on the street with couples and friends bursting into laughter - I had purchased this lovely garland of gardenias strung tightly and whafting the most incredible perfume around me. I asked if it was appropriate for me to wear this, when I bought it, and was answered with the can can can. So I did. I know it's normally purchased to hang around the neck of a goddess in the temple, but assured that my SD5 was allowing me to wear it myself. Then, with the amusement of all who saw me, I am thinking that perhaps I was the amusement of the crowds and will likely be talked about by many. Dont care - I still have this garland at home and it is still perfuming my home.
On the walk to Little India, we stopped in at a small bistro. My friend had promised we could have one meal of my choice and the other of her's. The bistro fit the bill for me. The food was incredible. I had lamb shanks and a medley of vegetables fit for the gods. So this goddess devoured the entire plate. Not sure if they even had to wash it after I was done. Take a look.

Justs looking at this makes me WANT MORE

After moving through all the shops, stalls, and various temples and displays, we seated ourselves at a vegetarian restauant that my friend chose. The sun setting, the crowds getting thicker, found us taking in the evening displays before we began our trek back to Malaysia. A quick photo before dark, I tried to capture the exquiste copper columns at the entrance to the Temple.

A continuous banner of lights burst into the sky above the main street, enchanting the daytime banners that were beautiful on their own, but became stunning and dramatic archways to travel through the festival.

This next picture is a diorama that is a permanent fixture in Little India. I had to capture it, I have been teaching diorama making to the mentees for the past several months. I should have just taken them all on a field trip to Singapore. Much more fun that a classroom with powerpoints and explanations. It was delightful - I wish I knew the story it told. There was the goddness, a crocodile, a flock of ducks and some other birds settled high on the rocky crops as well as the other birds at the front of the display.

Yikes, when I look at these photos I cannot help but want more Lamb Shanks. They were so good - almost the same as my own Osso Bucco.  Why on earth can Malaysian restaurants not figure out this kind of fare?



And last but not least - on my shopping adventure through the day I found a long fringed rainbow top, that is exactly the same as the sarong Ryan bought for me in Thailand. I had to buy it, Now, a complete hippie, I can embarrass both my children or anyone who is with me. I intend to wear this new OUTFIT often. In fact, I am wearing it now.

Also found a place that sells electric toothbrushes. I am so excited  - although it is still charging. I should be able to have sparkling white teeth again. Hopefully can scrape off the tea stains I have acquired over the past several months.
Levi is the lucky dude - Nana found some fun little gimmicks for him. He is gonna have to wait until November 23rd.

Now time to dine. Left over Thai chicken curry with left over rice. Just enough for one, so guess that would be me.

Technology Bites

I made the silly mistake of thinking that the HP warranty shop understood my needs and were going to deliver what I needed. Arriving there this morning, I advised that yes, indeed I could not back up my files because the usb ports were being 'tired' lately; meaning that no flash drives could be injected into them to transfer files, and the disc driver was on vacation - as usual, meaning that this too could not accomodate any kind of file back up. They advised me that they could definitely help if this occurred. Standing there, they looked at me like morons and said 'you must back up your files'. There was no answer to my 'how'? Just a sweet smile.  I turned on the computer, and asked if I could try the ports - with hopes that just one would work. Ta Da, one did. But fearing if I turned the baby off, it would not work again once rebooted. So leaving that lovely place that does not assist the customer, I went in search of an external hard drive to back everything up so I could leave my baby to get healed.  Yes, yes, Tesco sells them, can, can, and a wriggle of the wrist I was off to Tesco. NO TESCO DOES NOT SELL THEM. Went back for the baby and carried it gently to the car, still turned on, and fully charged.  In pursuit of a hard drive to help me, I went to Giant Hypermarket. It is like a rabbit warren of little wiggles and squiggles of halls and whatnot. I felt like Gretel, thinking I should have brought along breadcrumbs to find my way back to the car. Asking various shop keepers 'where is a computer store', generated blank stares. I just mumbled nasty words and kept driving the cart with the sleeping computer awaiting liposuction of data.  Finally, just traipsing around various halls I found an acer store. Nice young lady there actually plugged in my computer, attached the external hard drive to the sleeper (in the happy little port that still worked) and said 'take your breakfast, I will do this for you'. SO I did. And upon return, the data was copied and moved and the computer ready for the hospital. Back to the smilers. God only knows what they will do with it this time. I reminded them that half of it is replaced, why not just finish the job and replace whatever else was still original. Foolishly, I suggested this was likely a Monday machine. They had no idea what I meant, and I was stupid enough to try to explain. Still blank stares. Oh if there is justice in the world, I do hope this is the last time it will need repairs and that it actually will be repaired. Oh ya, the stupid little car (workshop - is what they call it here) yelled at me because I was partially blocking his precious driveway, which was empty, just like his workshop. When I returned (after having to NOT PARK THERE) I admit I said a not very nice thing. I said, I hope you go bankrupt sooner than later. Iam sure he never knew what I said, and I felt better having said it. Stupid little man!
Now the morning is over, my mentee visit nixed, so went to chin wag with her Head Mistress. We had a good meeting, advising her that I think I can get her some good funding for resource room furnishings. Now, back to KT, the bloody bank card still does not work in ANY MAYBANK MACHINES. But works in other bank machines where I have to pay a fee. This time the manager was who I demanded and waited for. He finally did some checking with other Maybanks, and discovered that others too have had the same issue. For God Sake, sounds like if your friend jumped off a bridge, do you think you need to as well?  I have been telling them all along that this fancy schmancy card with the fancy schmancy chip is likely defective. Please give me a new one. FINALLY today, they deduced that the card chip could be defective. I got a new card. Oh Please make this one work. Being in Canada next month is not exactly the best place to be when it does not work. Dashing to the Maybank in KT is not easily done.

Breaking News for Me and My Peers

Jokes do not normally make it to my blog, but then I thought "Harper.... maybe this is not a joke"

Read on if you are in my age catagory, and if not, then read anyway- you will be eventually.


Subject: Fw: Where will you go?



BREAKING NEWS!!



To save the economy, on October 30, 2011, Harper will announce that he
is ordering the immigration department to start deporting old people
(instead of illegals) in order to lower Canada Pension Plan and Old
Age Security costs.
Old people are easier to catch, and will not remember how to get back home!
I started crying when I thought of you.

RUN, YOU OLD BUZZARD, RUN!!

More gifts

These wonderful mentees came bearing gifts. One group from a school brought me some gorgeous plants for my patio.They should be a nice addition to what I have there now. They did tell me that they had red palms growing wild in their area, so perhaps I did err in buying from the greenhouse. But not really, the nice man planted it so well, and it is a great focal point in the garden. Besides, Gordie and gang love frolicing there.

And the final bit of sustenance at today's feast cannot be duplicated in Canada - star fruit fresh from the tree with other bits to brighten the stick.

Another school sent a lovely coffee set, which means I can actually serve coffee or tea to others and use matching cups.  Jeff has claimed what we call the cancer cup - a gift from a wedding we attended - it is a mug with a lump(factory defect) on the side, like a tumor and the picture of the bride and groom turns out to be a sticker, not a part of the cup, so it is eroding over useage.I hope this erosion is not an indication of their marriage.  I use either a jar or my lovely KFC mug. So now we can drink our evening tea together with cups and saucers like civilized folk.

lovely day and lovely people

today went well. My former mentees arrived, and one even showed up in the evening with her two daughters - bearing gifts. She and her colleagues from the school wanted to give me a farewell gift. Nice of them - a set of dishes to use. So now I have matching dishes for 6. Wow, a big change around here. I think I only have a couple of things that match - and that was by accident.

I think everyone enjoyed the eats - nothing left. So that seems to be a good indicator. I am now going to turn this nasty machine off and prepare it for the repair shop tomorrow. Wish me luck with the outcome. I have had a great deal of frustration with the bloody thing. I cannot seem to back up the files either. No room on any device I have to back up, and the dvd tray does not work - so cant make any discs. Hopefully the idiots at HP will have some external harddrive to sell me and back them up there.

And that is what kind of day it has been. Good night all

One more - THIS ONE'S FOR LEVI

Look who is trying to hitch a lift from me!  Crazy little dude thinks he should go for a car ride. I DONT THINK SO

I tried to shoosh him off the car window, and when that didn't work - the trusty hose came out and he flew in the jetstream I created. Bad Gecko!

SEDILI LUNCH ET AL

 oiled and ready for the oven

 in the oven and bubbling away

ready for the guacamole, hummus, and salsa

Not really sure why I am taking the time to do this. But I think I am totally impressed with the fact that I actually am making papadoms with this crazy toaster oven. I managed to turn some into a black inferno that when I opened the door to the oven, flames licked up toward the ceiling, which is about 15 feet high. Guess I timed that batch badly. But what the heck, I am having a production line of papadams rolling out the oven door nicely now. Also, while those bubble away, I am shelling pistachios for the Thai curry. You cannot prepare any of this stuff beforehand as the humidity turns everything into a soggy mess.
I dashed to the 7 11 for the coveted ice. On the way, some woman flagged me down. She recalled me coming to her shop in the past and has been trying to find me ever since. Her daughter seems to need some tutoring in essay writing in English and she wants me to help. I told her I will not be here over the vacation, so I guess we will meet before I leave and then try skype while I am away. Finally moved on and picked up the ice. Now back here with ice in two chests, one cooling the drinks and other awaiting my fruit kabobs which are the next creation I need to make.
I will let you know if I have survived this ordeal once done.
For now, here is my brilliant assembly line of papadoms

Saturday Tasks and Gecko Playground

I'll start off with the playground.  Since creating my jungle garden I have discovered something I was kind of concerned about. Every flippin' gecko in the range of Jalan Tun Hamzuh have decided my patio is the place to gather for frolic and fun.  Flying in and out of the tall fronds and various greenery, I can find the little critters squealing with delight on a daily basis.  I guess that is why Gezebelle and her buddies are sunning themselves on the patio furniture every day.  I was prepared for this event - knowing that I must keep it all clean, minimal, and defined. Thus, the white pots so that I can see who is around the plant from the floor perspective.  At least I wont step on a critter when watering if I can see a wee fella dashing to the playground. I love watering now because my newest friend has tighened all fittings so that water only spews from the sprinkler head and not the connections.

Yesterday on the way home from work I stopped in at Jusco to check out rice cookers. Who would have ever thought I would consider such a beast? But with panic attacks on a daily basis, wondering how I would cook enough rice for this Sunday bunch brought me to the realization that one was needed. A lovely Chinese lady on the same mission guided me through the various appliances available. She was concerned when she watched me opt fo the smallest one there. Even that one makes 6 cups of raw rice. I dont think it will be used on a regular basis after this lunch.After parting with RM44, (about 15 bucks) I headed to the veggie aisles and found a variety of tomatoes to make my salsa today.  My current dining come writing table is groaning with the purchases for the big day.  I still do not have a head count for Sunday, so will just make lots and hope it gets eaten. One of my old mentees was kind enough to find out who at her school would attend. She has a great sense of humour that matches any westerner, and responded with the list, adding that I should not worry - she will eat everything to make up for the non attendees! I hope she does, and I hope she actually likes what I make.

I still have to purchase the fruit for kabobs, but I have found that Kota Tinggi is the best place to buy fruit. Will head over to the market to buy that stuff once I have finished my work reports, salsa making, and maybe the hummus making.  Lucky for me, Jeff has an empty fridge, so I can store the prepared foods in there overnight.  Barbie's fridge would not work for a party preparation otherwise. But our matching baby fridges combine be the equivalent of a small fridge back home. I moan about conveniences, but I recall when I started out life without a 'wusband', I only had one pot - a dansco stock pot. And I held dinner parties according to the appliances I had. Many meals of prawns, linguini and salad were prepared with that pot. So, a rice cooker, pot, and kettle are far ahead of that. I clearly have a well equipped kitchen over here. I even indulged myself in a small toaster oven yesterday. For less than $30, I now have a machine that can make toast from the baguettes that become stale overnight; for my almond butter and honey that Jenn sent me. Yummy

As for drinks, I have found several bottles of various juices. No hootch for this crowd. They better drink it all - I cannot drink the stuff. Laden with sugar and dyes, I have no palate for the drink of choice here. 7 -11 will help me out in the morning. Ice is a commodity that is precious. You can only buy ice at 7-11, and there you will find a big sack of the stuff in cubes that are about the size of 2 O Henry chocolate bars. Not exactly something to plunk in a drink, but good to fill a cooler and stuff the bottles around.  I might pull out my trusty hammar, and slam one bag into shards to add to drinks. We will see.

I just had a fantastic skype with VIDEO FOR BOTH SIDES with Jenn, Kollin and Levi. That little munchkin, according to her mother, lights up and babbles when she hears her Nana's voice. And Levi happily told his Nana all sorts of information regarding his past few days now that he can see me again.What a treat. Now I can get on with my day.  Maybe Ryan will appear soon too.

still dont know the head count

Not sure what protocol is in Malaysia for invitations. I could have a ton of people for lunch or a couple. Only two have replied with affirmative answers and two have declined as they are travelling home that weekend. I guess Roshemerah will get a frantic drop in by me if more people than food show up at my house on Sunday. I hope that many do come - I think I have some very good news for them. But I wont write about that here because I also know that many of them read this blog. I want it to be a surprise. Other than this drivel I really have nothing much to say.

Today I am gathering all my mentees for a special meeting. I am teaching them how to make phonics fun and will have them be the students and I the teacher. Games and activities that should be a good addition to their daily routines. Then the explanation of how to prepare for January and the year ahead.  Although they have been learning about the methodology of student centred teaching, I do not see this understanding applied in the classroom.  A wee pep talk of what they need to think about over the vacation, and how all I have presented over the last year needs to be integrated into the lessons.

Will sign off and hopefully have something amusing or interesting to tell you later. Well maybe I have something interesting now. I am up, and it is about 5:30 am. No one around here is moving around - except something very LARGE AND KINDA QUIETLY NOISY. I dont know if it is an animal rooting around in someone's stuff or a person foraging through someone's stuff. But whatever the heck it is, I am wondering why others are not responding to the noise. I have decided I am not really brave enough to check it out myself. I think I will just let it find what it wants and hopefully move on PAST my place. Ahh, I just heard someone's car door opener beep, but nothing else. Probably their way of scaring off the invader. Not very effective though. Ok, here is what it sounds like. A big elephant moving logs and everything in its path, slowly and methodically. But I know it is not an elephant - please God make me right!  My gate is big, my gate is strong, but not too sure it would stand up to an elephant.  And I have a succulent little palm tree that might just be a delightful breakfast for one of those guys.  It is still going on.  I will wait until daylight to check it out for myself.

re inventing the menu

Sunday will not be a Chili lunch. I cannot imagine eating left over chili if there are tons of it, and dont want to deal with packaging it up for the guests and sending it home. So, international day is the menu.  After all, in Canada, what the heck is Canadian food - other than poutine? And big juicy steaks or barbecued salmon? None of that is available here, so the other option has been decided.
Guacamole, hummus, and salsa for starters. Thai green chicken curry with coconut rice for the main course, and fruit kabobs and cake for the dessert.  Yes, chicken once again. The dreaded chicken back on the plate.

LOCATION: My place

international fare

Overdue for a Rant

I dont know how many times I have told my kids to not live their lives on debit cards. I have always said that they are too easy to use, and too difficult to keep track of what has gone in and gone out of the account. Plus, if there is a technical problem, you are hooped.

So, today, with humble pie, I was hooped. This part of the world is very much a cash based society. But they also use debit cards, and seldom credit cards. So, crawling into Giant (a food store chain) I made my way up and down the aisles to begin the food shopping for Sunday lunch for who knows how many. Changed the menu too. Decided that they would be interested in a Canadian menu, so will be preparing various foods from various cultures. Just like Canada is. Anyway, with the buggy loaded, I headed to the checkout. Items were scanned and accounted for, debit card given, and DECLINED 4 TIMES. I was so annoyed, I asked the fellow to hold the buggy. Flying back to Kota Tinggi, I demanded to see the bank manager. I have been in that bloody bank 5 times in the past week or so, because the card does not work - at Maybank ATMs and elsewhere. Each time they say 'the card is fine' and send me on my way. This time 'the card is fine' was not gonna work for me. Manager not in, the second in command met with me. He gave me the same song and dance, and then did admit that the technology in Malaysia is deficient, and shops as well as banks give this error message often. Now I know why everyone uses cash. So, after letting him understand that I have much more to do than drop into the bank for chats, I was back on the highway, burning up petrol to return to the recent purchases. I could not bear shopping again. This time, now after 4 pm, I hit the usual daily downpour. Wipers could not clear the window, but on I forged - to my packages waiting my return. It was so bad that huge lorries pulled over to the side to wait out the rain.  Let the smiling little clerk know that this time it was likely their card machine that was the culprit, and used the card once more, just to prove my point. Card accepted, my money taken and back on the road to Kota Tinggi.

So, I guess I have preached the lecture to my kids for my own information. Too bad I did not heed it. I know both the kids are just fine with their finances and banks. Mama bear, on the other hand has had her feathers ruffled enough that I hope I take my own advice. Now - forget any food preps for the lunch. I think a cool beverage and feet on a hassock are what I need right now.

The Library is REAL

I am so proud of this project. Who knew that a few books in a rolling basket could bring such job? The Head Mistress and I cut the ribbon to officially open the new library in the newly appointed reading room. She has dedicated a room just for this project.  So once we cut the ribbon and looked at the books we decided we needed some young readers. Off we went to enlist some volunteers from the year one class to come back with us and chose a book and enjoy it. I was dumbfounded when I saw them look at this meager basket and beam with delight. Like kids looking into their loot back at Halloween.  Each chose a book and seated themselves and began to read. I am so pleased this worked. Thank you for the support.

awakened to Kolly's sweet giberish

What a pleasant way to waken. The two girls from my Vancouver family logged onto the old computer and skype called my phone. All of us are looking forward to the visit in just over a month's time. Every time Kolly heard my voice, she began to babble and respond to my words. Not sure what she was saying - but it was a treat to hear her input. 
I have been assured that no presents are required from me but this morning was told if I could find some kind of wine glass markers here, that would be great. Imagine me asking for wine glass markers in Kota Tinggi!  You cannot even buy wine here. Heart of Muslimism - so maybe I can craft some from dead geckos hardened on my patio - and painted with markers, with duct tape attachments. Cant really find a useful way to use duct tape here otherwise. They might just get bamboo spoons - they are plentiful in this neighbourhood.
Now off to teach the word, in English.

Morning coffee for you with a chortle

I was in the metropolis of downtown Kota Tinggi this afternnon, shopping at the RM2 store.  Entering the store I saw an old chubby grandpa doling out some change to let his little granddaughters take a ride in a car-car thing just outside the shop.  Fishing around for a bit of change, he finally plugged the car-car in and ta da, the song started and the motor revved.

And what to my wondering ears did appear?

We wish you a Merry Christmas

The old guy looked at me, and I looked at him, and we burst out laughing. He from embarrassment, and I from amusement.  His little granddaughters, complete in tudung, had no idea what the song was that was playing for them. But they loved the tune, and pretended to sing along, tudungs flapping in the make-believe wind.  They got their money's worth. It was still pounding out Christmas cheer after I left. Nothing like pushing the season, and in a place where it is not really celebrated.

AFTERNOON TEA WITH GEZEBELLE

Decided that is her name. She seems to think the garden is her's so I guess we will refer to it as Gezebelle's garden. She is a bit of a Jezebel, so aptly named too.  She flirts around the property, sunning herself on the patios chairs.  Her favorite spot is in the backside of the chair - I guess it keeps her from being sat upon by unwary seaters.  She is a wee thing - I am sure one of Gordon's offsprings.  She was ready for a photo shoot; myself on the other hand am a sweaty pool of dank, from cleaning the mess she and her buddies made last night in the house. Well, maybe they contributed to the mess I made myself during the week. In any case, I am not photo material today.

I am wondering about myself - I really do not like lizards but what the heck, they are everywhere. I have often seen the little rascals scurry past me going down the stairs when I climb them to go to bed. Kind of like that dog cartoon of the sheep dogs punching in and out on their shifts. They take a look at me, and just continue on their way - down the stairs to get into michief when the landlady is asleep. And they are the tiniest little guys. But I think I know why I have the tiny ones. Gezebelle was inside my laundry basket this morning and took a leap out when she saw the clean laundry being tossed into it. I think I bring the brats in myself!

So, back to tea time. Gez was clearly not comfortable  and kept trying to find the right spot. She moved from the back of the chair, to the crease on the chair, and then onto one of the back rungs. Finally, she sidled over to the table and perched herself on the metal pedistal. Safe from feet, bums, and anything else that could bring her harm.

Here is her debut on the blog

she is about the size of a dime OR as we say here a 10 sen piece

Now, for the garden.  I am very proud of it. But can't really take credit, other than design.  It rains, it is hot and it rains and is hot again. Perfect conditions to create this beauty. I will have to get a sign made - Gezebelle's Garden

This is her favorite view. Mine too. (pardon the laundry drying above)

Invitations written, map drawn

Today I made a batch of chili, to see if I could make the stuff here. It seems to be ok, and it is the hottest thing I can think of to serve a crowd of Malaysian teachers.  I will also put out several pots of hot sauce. I know Faisal will be able to provide me with that. Not too sure what I was thinking when I decided to do this. But I had promised them all, and I am good for my word. Besides, I am looking forward to seeing all of them.

Not until next weekend, so I have a whole week to stew over it.  But what the heck, I have hosted dinner parties for 100 people in my home in the past. A chili bowl for friends should be a snap. Right?I also gotta find tossable plates and cutlery. I am sure that is not difficult in the land of plastic. I have yet to find anything metal that is of any substance here. They love their plastics.

Now back to work. Tons of files to write and upload, and then put my feet up in my lovely garden for the afternoon tomorrow.

Oh yes, the garden hose. I am not a complete moron. I took the blasted thing back to the shop and my new friend had a big grin on his face. He was very amused that I cut the stupid thing off the actual hose. I explained that the connection to the water source was the only thing that was working - so did not want to disrupt that. He agreed to send one of his employees to my house to connect this crazy sprinkler head. Well, the expert took 2 hours to do the job. So I am not incapable. The unit is impossible, so he ended up having to be creative and make it work. And it does. I tried to give him RM30 for his help, because I told his boss I would pay whatever just to get it working. His boss told him to only take RM6. Good grief, it must have cost him more than that for the gas to get here. I finally was able to convince him to take RM10, and I was still embarrassed about the service and low cost. Nice to have another new friend in the trades that I can count on.

Saturday Flotsom

I have been assigned the task of the writer for Johor state for our company newsletter. Kind of silly - I have never received the newsletter myself, so not sure how valuable my contribution will be. Sort of a dilberty thing I think.  Anyway, I tracked down all clusters in Johor asking for input and got a couple of replies of what they are up to. I, on the other hand, have three entries of what I have been doing outside normal job descriptions. And I had to stop there because I have a limited word count allowed. Nice to be the writer - I can pump myself up nicely.  Two of the others held special phonetic workshops. Hmm, should be interesting; we do not teach phonetics - we teach phonics; and it is a little late in the year to begin that. Another taught a special workshop on teaching various activities in the classroom. Hmm, what exactly do they do with the direct contact with the teachers then?

Being presumptious, I am writing here to advise if anyone thinks they might want to buy me a Christmas present - a Seuss book would be wonderful.  Being even more presumptious, I am writing a list of the books I want.
FOX IN SOCKS
THE LORAX
THERE IS A WOCKET IN MY POCKET
HORTON HATCHES THE EGG
I HAD TROUBLE IN GETTING TO SOLLA SOLLEW
HORTON HEARS A WHO
BARTHOLOMEW AND THE OOBLEK
THE KINGS STILTS
THE TOOTH BOOK
SCRAMBLED EGGS SUPER
THE SNEECHES AND OTHER STORIES
YERTLE THE TURTLE
AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET
MY BOOK ABOUT ME
WET PET MY PET YOUR PET MY PET
WACKY WEDNESDAY
OH SAY CAN YOU SAY
MARVIN K MOONEY WILL YOU PLEASE GO NOW
OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO
ALL ABOARD THE CIRCUS MCGURKUS
GREAT DAY FOR UP
HORRAY FOR DIFFENDOOFER DAY
OH THE THINKS YOU CAN THINK
SIX BY SEUSS - THIS ONE IS GREAT - THE KIDS WILL LOVE IT
IN A PEOPLE HOUSE
I CAN READ WITH MY EYES SHUT - FABULOUS FOR DIRECTIONS!!!
SNEECHES ON BEACHES
GERALD MCBOING BOING -FUN FOR THE KIDS
SEUSSISM FOR SUCCESS - (FOR THE MORE ADVANCED KIDDOS)
TEACHING WITH FAVORITE DR SEUSS BOOKS - BY JOAN NOVELLI
(this is not a Seuss book, but a teaching suppliment - would help the mentees use the Seuss books effectively) if you find it , please get it to me!

ok, I think I have filled enough pages with this list. It could go on and on, but if any or all of these end up in Malaysia there will be some very happy children here. Yesterday I had a class zooming around the outdoor area while they blew bubbles before I read The B Book.  I slipped the bottle of bubbles into a young girl's hand when she produced a huge grin after blowing bubbles herself. Her teacher was astounded.  She has not spoken a word or smiled in the class all year. (a product of a nasty divorce). If a bottle of bubbles can encourage a smile, imagine what a box of books will do.

Now I must tackle the water hose debacle. What a nightmare. I have purchased two hoses and connecters already, and this one is so bad that I wear more water on me than my plants and patio floor ever get to experience. I have bought clamps, screw drivers, and rolls of plumber tape, all to be discarded and dismantled on a daily basis. The nice man who sold me the latest batch of stuff insists it will work. I took a pair of scissors and cut off the culprit this morning and I am marching back to his shop to have him decipher the problem. I refuse to disconnect the hose from the water supply. That is the only area that is working.Wish me luck on this one. I intend to flash a few ringgits his way to see if he will come over and fix the problem once and for all.  There is no where in this country one can buy a garden hose with a connector at each end. Only the hose - and then you build the system. And the system is not very buildable - the connectors do NOT match the size of hose. Good God! I first learned about male/female ends (to join plumbing) in Canada. I blushed when I understood the context. I am thinking that the system here is female/ little boy ends - they do not match!

Yuppers - a quake in indonesia

Although they are closeby neighbours,  I have been told that we never get quakes here. I am chosing to believe that. So far so good. Returning home today, in driving rain, I dashed upstairs to check on the bedrooms. My room was fine - I closed the windows. The two back bedrooms were not in the same state. I forgot to close those two. it boggles my mind to discover that the rains come driving into the house willy nilly. One day they will drive into the rooms on one side of the house, and then the next day, they will attack the other side of the house. Drat, I guess that is what towels are for.

CONTRASTS

I taught the mentees how to make dioramas in the TPD program I had today. They need to learn how to include language arts into the classroom, project based learning, and student centred learning. A diorama covers all these points, so I slapped one together myself at home and then took all the materials they would need to make them in groups today. Of course, as usual, they knocked my socks off with their talents. Here is my effort against one of the team efforts. They created a scene that can be used for several different projects and then proceeded to make Humpty Dumpty, the horses, king's men and all other characters of the nursery rhyme. I made three camels - badly.
Here they are:

Good thing I was not hired as an artist in residence huh?

Heroes in Malaysia

In my mind, these guys are the heroes over here. They are armed with a whipper snipper and donned in the hottest garb you can imagine. Daily, they traipse around the country dressed like this, making sure that cobras and other nasties are not lurking in grasses and weeds where people may walk. Now, granted, these guys appear to be a bit pansy-like, because they are in a somewhat urban area. But I never did get around to snapping a photo of the guys out in my old school area. They were very brave. Out in the middle of nowhere, dressed as they were, with faces covered from exhaust from the gas powered weed whackers, and dust, they travelled the road sides for miles cutting down the weeds.  I am still unclear as to why there are no mowers over here. I have yet to see any kind of a mower. Only these little weed whackers.

I would not take this job for all the  tea in China. Or coconuts or durian in Malaysia. Hats off to them.

not exactly a great pictures, but you get the idea. right?

I hope I soon learn....

Last week I got soaked in my car driving to work in the rain. Seems one should not leave their window open on the freeway during the rain. Others pass through deep puddles at great speeds and the water that was a puddle becomes the interior of the car when the window is open. Well, a similar rule can apply to the home. I was told by the realtor that I must always shut all windows when I go out. Well, in this inferno, one does not shut the house up and go out. Well, maybe that will be a past tense sentence now. I came home to my bedroom upstairs flooded. Oops. I always leave my bedroom windows open. Hot is hot, so I figure I get a chance to begin cooling off by just letting the air in when it wants to come in. Now that the rains have begun, I see what she meant. Halfway into the bedroom was a pool of water. I had lazily left some clothing on the floor - instead of putting them into the laundry basket. Good thing I did that. They soaked up a great deal of the water that came in.  It does amaze me how the rain patterns occur here. You can be just a few kilometers away and have completely different weather. I had no idea what had gone on here in Kota Tinggi while I was in JB working. But now I do. I also discovered a route that I should be able to take if , what do I mean 'if"; when is a better word.  When the highway floods between work and home.  I was forced off the road by some goon, and ended up slipping off into some trail. Turns out it is a high road from Ulu Tiram ( just past my school) that; if I can get to it through back roads, should get me past the flood area on the highway and then clear sailing homeward. Yay  I should not say clear sailing - it might be a forwarning of the mode of transporation needed in the next few weeks.

I liked the little picture I found to demonstrate the weather here - although I doubt very much that the locals would take kindly to it, considering the animal. doesn't look too happy, does he?

The Library is ready to roll

I have spent all my free time getting the library ready to go to the schools. Not an easy feat with inventory and what to include.  But, last night was the big night, laminating several items I have constructed - including sets of flashcards I bought, but are only made of hard cardboard. These things will deteriorate in about an hour of handing, so out came the laminator and cutting into cards again. I also managed to purchase one of those shopping carts grocery stores provide - large baskets on wheels with a long handle. That should make the transportation easier from school to school.

I read Hand Hand Fingers Thumbs to a year one class in one of my new schools yesterday.It attracted such attention from the rest of the school - with our raucous din banging desk drums and chanting the
Hello Jack, Hello Jake, that we had more people outside the class joining in and smiling, than we had in the actual classroom.  I think I have put together a rather fine project here in Malaysia, thanks to Jenn and a friend in Canada with their donations of books.  Jenn, you were a star with the Hand Hand Fingers Thumbs book. Now all I need is Fox in Socks to round it out.

I try to model myself after Ryan, who definitely does all his homework before he begins a project. He knows when to ask for expert advise, and when he needs it, goes after it. Lucky for him, friends from around the globe step up to the plate and help. My first fan for this blog was just the one to do that. Thanks Jimbo.  And now, it would be a good thing for me to know when I need help and acknowledge that I do. Being stubborn is my strongest trait. I hope I can master that to my advantage instead of my nemesis. Libraries dont grow on trees, and nor do they become fully mature with only one person at the helm.  Lets see how I can delegate others to join in with me, and slacken the reins a bit, and trust.

Monday Ramblings

While the rest of you are enjoying the aroma of turkey, turducken, or whatever else tempts your palate, I toss out the cream in my fridge because it has gone off. Not gonna try any coffee today. My mind plays little games with me, and after looking at that lumpy mess I cannot face using the new stuff - for fears of more of the same.  Sometimes a vivid imagination is not a blessing. Right now I am trying to imagine the aroma of a turkey in the oven and just when I think I have captured it, I get a whaft from outdoors - one of those stenches that drifts in from who knows where.  I better not keep telling you this; I will never have guests come to visit if I do.
What did I do to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday? Bought the happy palm tree, sweated like a labourer wrestling it out of the car, and then took myself to the salon for a luxury hair wash. After my beautiful self coiffed, I drove to the hot spot of Kota Tinggi at 6 pm on a Sunday. KFC, world hunger meal was my menu choice.  For some reason, everyone was staring at me.  Maybe because I was all alone on a Sunday night, maybe because I looked radiant with the clean styled hair, or maybe because I was different.  But I am not so different any longer to many. The cashiers at the til know what I will order, and fight over who will wait on me, knowing too that I want a knife and fork (stainless steel) with my china plate. And on my way there, I was in a shop picking up some plumber tape.  I had snagged an electrician to fix the(2nd) garden hose I purchased.He came to my house to install the water heater for the shower a few weeks ago.  I assumed he was a plumber, so asked for help. Later discovered he was an electrician. For some reason, garden hoses are not something to take for granted here.  It comes as a long hose with no connectors on either end. Then you purchase a joiner for the tap, and then a screw on plastic thing to screw on a sprayer head. When I bought this one I prefaced the purchase with you need to build this for me before I buy it.  They did, but not well.  Attaching the thing to the tap and turning it on resulted in more water on me than on the plants.  Defeated, I turned it off and changed my clothes.  Anyway, the electrician did not do the job well. It still sprays all over me, even wrapped in a towel, it manages to get me wetter than the patio I am cleaning or the plants I am watering. But magic plumber tape- I bought 8 rolls, should do the trick.  The hose will be white instead of green by the time I patch it.  While buying this tape, an old fella came up to me and said more shoes? Turns out he was the dude that sold me the birksenstocks for RM8 several months ago. I was wearing them when he talked to me, so a broad grin on his face showed his delight in my purchase.  Those were the shoes he and his buddy punched several holes into the straps to make them somehow fit my feet. It is kind of nice to become a part of a community where others greet you and even if we cannot talk each other's language, we can figure out something pleasant to say to each other.  I have now had to add more faces to the hard drive in my head. Now with 5 new schools and countless teachers, administrators, and Head Masters, I am the known one, while I try to sort out who is who and from where. I met a couple of new faces in the Giant Mall on the weekend, who came up to me and spoke. I could not put a face to either so had to admit my ignorance. Both turned out to be new teachers from two of my new schools. 

Well, I can see that I have a need to blather these days. Now that gmail has cut me off on my phone calls, I guess this is where I would have called someone and babbled about this drivel. You get to see it in print my friends. A sunny day - no rain in sight, it must be Monday. I recall weekends in Canada that rained for two days and then brought back sunny skies once we were all back at work. Not a big deal here. It is always hot, so even the rain is not a bother - until it floods. Better get ready for work now and don the duds and drive the drive.

I wonder why Malaysia does not celebrate Thanksgiving. Surely they must have been assisted by the natives here once landing in this tropical paradise many years ago. But then, finding food was probably not a big deal. It grows all around you.  I have a massive coconut palm across the road from my house. I would not want to stand under that tree when they are ready to fall. A big concussion could  be the result. Banana trees are everywhere, and of course the coveted durian is still being sold by roadside vendors. I am going to have to pick up one of the bamboo rice things on my way home from work one of these days. I just don't know how to transport it. I can imagine a fire taking place in the car on the trip home once I do pick one up.And how the heck do you even hold it? Better ask some teachers - I am sure they have suggestions.

Bon Apetit Canada - and for those of you blessed with being Jennifer's guest, I know you will be well fed and fed well.

Meryl Streep and ABBA

Mama Mia on Singapore tv, and I sang like a lark, grinned like a fool, and danced around my house like a teenager. What a fabulous movie. If you have not seen it, get it and watch. I loved the bell bottom pants - think I should get me some. I think I may have damaged the tv speakers - the volume was full blast for two hours. It was my turn to let the neighbours know I was home. It certainly has been done often enough to me.
I am still grinning, so better grab the opportunity to brush my teeth as they are all fully exposed.

I loved the costumes. For those of you not old enough to go back 35 years - we all thought that get up was tres chic.  And as for my kids, they fell asleep to ABBA every night at Katepwa - remember guys?

Frannie Has Her Palm Tree

I have always wanted to have a palm tree. And now, in the land of the living palms I figured I needed to fill that desire. And the best of it is I bought a red palm. They are beautiful. The trunk is a bright crimson red and the fronds the lovely deep green. My own little Christmas tree without having to do any decorations. I will have to find some kind of LED lights for it though.  What a trip bringing it home. The nice gardener potted it for me and then put it in the back of my car. I had to take the trip today about mid day when I figured the traffic was the least. I had no side vision and the trip home is constant merging lanes. All worked well, but what a heavy beast to get out of the car. I almost gave up and thought I would just carry water and consider it decor in the car.  So life is almost complete here in Kota Tinggi. I think I am going to ask this gardener to plant the seeds that Jenn sent me. I gave one of the packets of oregano to Emma. She has a very green thumb.  Yesterday she reported that the packet has sprouted and all tiny plants are thriving. I am afraid to plant the oregano. EVERY time I plant oregano I move. EVERY TIME. So, I am leaving them in the packet until either 2013 or else maybe if the gardener plants them it wont mean the same. He can just give me the plants and I will pretend to look after them for him. 
Here is my garden delight for now.  The hybiscus and other flowering shrub are in a different area of the patio, and blooming merrily.

You will have to believe me that the trunk is red. I will take a close up later.  And as it matures, it is just this bright red stock 'in your face'.

g'nite

Tedious - I know, but a Jungle Trek?

Nothing to report - except it rained today.  And yes, the highway flooded once again.  But I got through it before it was as high as last night, and came back to Kota Tinggi and stayed put. The school went to so much trouble for those kids. All the teachers were the cooks, and they produced a feast for them. I managed to take a few pictures of the kids who were able to take a jungle trek before the skies opened up on them. But on their return they looked like jungle warriors with mud painted all over their faces. The mud here is a light beige, so I was not aware at first that their clothing too was saturated with the muck. I am sure their parents will be delighted when they come home looking like they do.

I wonder how many school kids in Canada can go on a jungle trek right outside the school grounds? Probably not any, if I recall the geography over there correctly. 

here are the photos before the rain today

just over the ridge is a jungle to explore

everyone watching as the trekkers come into view

Just like Canada - Parent volunteers man the grills and pots

The teachers don aprons and prepare the veggies

I caught the tail end of the juniors in the school leaving after their Saturday relious class

Proudly displaying mud faces and clothing. (the beige tops are actually white ones covered in mud)

camping and floods

I went to the camp at Taman Bukit Tiram on Friday at 2 pm. And the heavens opened up to flood us with merciless rain. The poor kids had the tents pitched in the field, but not pegged. Some were tossed around the field, while others just sat there and absorbed all the rain. We all huddled in the corridors of the school complex staying out of the rain. So, what did Madam Frances teach them? Amazingly, I was able to teach them how to know how close the storm is. Amazingly, the storm(s) were frequently right overhead. Counting the seconds from lightening to thunder, we often saw lightening and immediately were rocked with thunder that matched any of my stubble jumper days.  There were many storms meeting overhead, so we settled into plan B.  I attempted to play games with the kids, but the organizers had other ideas. They had them assemble to hear the new rules, which took in excess of two hours. Not sure why there were so many rules, but not spoken in English, I had no idea what they were being told. I then stayed on to see them assemble for Mosque prayers, at which time I took my leave - to see what kind of roads I would find on my way home. It was only 5 pm, but already dark, due to the heavy cloud cover. Emerging onto the highway from the under ramp entrance, I was greeted by gridlock, stalled and waiting to take the plunge. I pulled off to the side, thinking this little buggy would never get through. Flashers on, I watched several cars push their way into the foray, and wondered what I was going to do. Brown sludge, passing as water, was lapping at my car door. Hmm, it' s not really my car - who cares. I dont want to sit here all night. I pushed my way into the crowd, and joined the parade. I did not take a photo - too busy navigating the traffic jam and water level. But attached is something much like I experienced. 

If you add about two hundred more cars, you get the picture of where I was. I must be getting more acclimatized. I just pushed my way into the mess, between tankers and transport 'lorries' and moved my way through the mess. Anticipating further floods down the road, I keep an even pace of about 60, much like many other drivers.  To my delight, I did not encounter another, although the turn off to Kota Tinggi showed me palm groves underwater, and travelling toward my road. Good think I left when I did. I think it eventually covered the highway there too.  This is not monsoon season, so God only knows what kind of a mess I will find myself in when that happens.  It is the only road to work for me, so perhaps there will be no days of work for a while. I was also smart enough to keep my driver window closed this time. No buckets of water hit me in the face, although several hit my windshield on the trip home - knocking out any visibility for short periods of time. I went to sleep with rain falling last night. However, this morning, no rain but still overcast. I guess I don my camp clothing and head off toward the school to judge the cooking contest there this morning.  It amazes me when I return to the scenes of flooding, only to find the water receded. Much like Palm Desert and their flash floods, the waters go 'somewhere' after the build up that causes havoc.Unlike Palm Desert with their storm troughs, I dont really know where this water goes. Probably into our community water systems. Remember - it is not potable. One of my colleagues actually drinks tap water. Yuk, even the locals boil first!  I am now fully understanding why I was told to carry a bag of clothing for a few days of changes.  Please, God, help me to not need it.

I am attempting to find a weekend to have all my former mentees and Head Masters for a visit. I have fretted over what to serve them. They only eat food that would cause blisters inside me, so came up with the idea of CHILI. I can brew up a batch of the stuff and then serve pots of chilis to heat it up to their liking.  Now all I have to do is find a vat big enough to make enough for 55 people. I had hoped to do this on Thanksgiving weekend to explain the concept of thanksgiving. Not going to happen. Camping took over. Happy Thanksgiving Canada.  I am jealous.

Steve Jobs and some of his many notable quotes

Nothing like stealing media from the net. But for those of you  not on LinkedIn, here are some wise words for all of us.  Before I paste the quote here, I think that those of you who use a Mac have already taken the first step to the greatness Job speaks of.  Myself, a non Mac user, am a non Mac user simply because I am in a job that requires me to have the same computer as my colleagues. But once this work is complete, I believe I will take that plunge into Mac ville, and join the rest of you adventuresome people.  It certainly cant be worse than what pc's have done for me.

I watch my son Ryan go on adventures far greater than I have ever taken. And his current one is something I have no doubt will be successful.  He knows how to study something he goes after, and doing his homework is the key to the success.  I remember his first plan to be a diver. He knew more about diving than many people who already had begun that path, and definitely more than I will ever know. His methodology of certifying himself in the steps to where he has come were clearly well thought out with a result of what he has attained in this underwater world. Why have I told you this? Because I read a Steve Jobs quote this morning and I can see how Ryan's focus matches what Mr Jobs has quoted as a description of a creative person.Ryan is a man who thinks before he speaks.

Something many of us never master.  Here is the quote:

What it means to be a creative person“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.

Another page from my son's life is something else Mr Jobs has been remembered for. Ryan is not one who takes his work lightly. I recall him contemplating the diving work even after he took the 'plunge'.  My old woman wisdom which is actually not very wise, told him to do what he loves doing - thinking not about the money - but about the joy in doing it, and the money will come. Good grief, dont look at my life to see me as a model of that philosophy. I cannot hold a candle to Ryan's accomplishments, but I am not penniless, and I am joyful. So, I seem to have part of the formula he has figured out, in spite of me. I am pasting another Jobs quote that I think is very integral in success and in life, and here it is.

Don’t. Settle.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

Oh my, after reading that one again, I realize I 'think'  I have actually found my work I believe in. I think this is the job that has plucked that string in my heart.  But why did I have to travel half way around the globe to find it? Maybe this is not the one. If I have to write the words 'I think', perhaps it is not the one. You see, that is why I have not reached the greatness he speaks of - I keep second guessing myself, instead of just enjoying the journey. I whine here about travelling around the globe. Ryan has done more laps around the world than anyone else I know, and is half my age. Buck up Frannie, you are no hero.

And here is another description of Ryan on his journey thus far. He could have taken the easy road to the work he has done. But that easy road comes with a pricetag of ownership. The route he has taken has given him ownership of what he does, who he answers to, and now this new venture he has begun.  If working for someone as an employee, he probably never would have seen the opportunity he has found. I applaud him for this, maybe because there is a large part of me in that way of looking at the world. We two have had many discussions of why we are contractors and not employees. I have to admit now, that I am an employee - but my work I am doing allows me to be very independant, which in my mind is the same as a contractor. And the reinforcing factor in that is the company I work for is a contractor - so the job is not 'secure' in the sense of an employee model as well. Besides, we have all seen what kind of security an employee has these days. Once downsized and turfed, they are given the opportunity to look at contract work another time. Following is one of the best quotes I think Steve Jobs has been noted for. Having said that, I must also mention that Jenn has been an employee at a comfortable level of employment. She is one of those downsized people, but unlike many, she is poised and ready to step up to the plate, like her brother, and seize the opportunities that await her attention. I have no doubt that she will seize a great one, once she is ready to get back into the workforce after getting her little chicks settled into a routine without her constant attention.

Conformity is boring. “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”

[from Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple, 1987, via The Wall Street Journal]

And there is my tribute to Steve Jobs and the man who I think has been described in many of his quotes.  Ahar Me Matie, lets all be pirates and see what we can do in this world to create the life  we were put here to experience.