countdown

Sometime after the sun rises I will be going for my haircut. There will be a bit of arm twisting to get the cut I want. Kiki was away for my initial haircut and when she returned she looked and kept trying to mime something. I think her story was 'too short, looks like a pea on a pumpkin'. Of course not her words but I could gather that was the message from her body language - twisting the wrist, which always means finish finish or not good, shaking her head, and the word small repeated frequently while pointing at my head. I told her I didn't care - I needed the damaged, sun bleached, strands adorning my head removed. 'Hair grows' I told her. So now I need a new story to get her to cut it where I want it. I guess I could help her come around with the fact that I will get someone in Canada to cut it if she does not. Yesterday when I went in to make the appointment, she was frantic that I was considering a cut; she thinks it has finally grown to an acceptable length. Jenn suggested that she make an appointment for me over there. Not likely - I like the price here. RM10 suits me fine. I don't think a salon over there can match that. Another funny thing here - they call them hair saloons. I wonder if they serve cocktails while getting a haircut? Haven't seen this at my saloon. Maybe I should rebook for happy hour and see if I get served anything.

Also bought a lamp yesterday. Good marketing ploy. The fella had it turned on, glowing in the window of a shop that I was passing on my way to my massage.  Rather reckless purchase considering all the cash flying out the door with various travel expenses mounting. But I am tired of waiting for Ikea and the lamp I want. My eyes were delighted with the new lighting. It is a Malaysian version of what I wanted - the tall fabric covered pole lamp that diffuses light in a room. This one, if you can recall Malaysian manufacturing is none other than a plastic tube version of  this. My choices were Barbie Doll pink or orange. Went with the orange - but now thinking about the Barbie Doll things in this house (size wise) maybe that would have worked for me. Last night was the first night in months I did not have a headache. When you turn on those overhead fluorescent lights you first hear a sound that must be what a death row person hears for the last time. There is a cacophony of buzzing, humming, and then flashes of light before the thing engages.I think I recall a sound like this when I was taken to the xray room in the Kota Tinggi hospital where they left me alone with the antique equipment. Technician left the room entirely, and then hollered at me through a closed door - keep still, while the old machine revved up, fired radiation all over me, and then shut down like a jet engine landing at its destination.  My overhead lights produce  harsh bright light flooding the room, burning my eyes, and humming continuously until extinguished. Now I have a soft orange glow that makes me keep thinking there is a fire somewhere in the room. Maybe I should hang a Christmas stocking in front of it and call it a fireplace. Never quite as easy as home to make things usable though. Swaddled in more plastic wrap - a common occurance here, I removed this, to find the plastic tube covering the three light sockets quite nicely, and only about 8 inches in diameter. No way was my arm going down that tube to screw in three lightbulbs. Finding my trusty screwdriver, I undid the three screws at the base of this plastic tube, shooting one of the screws across the room to God knows where. Pulled it off, screwed in the bulbs, and on hands and knees, searched for the missing screw. Designer really did not think of ease of use when they came up with this one.  Hopefully the bulbs will last a long time. If I have the energy, I will tart up the house and do a video to bring home for those curious about how I live here. For now, I think a sit on the sofa, check on TV for news, and a count of the berkat banyak I have had every day.

Thank God I was smart enough to let Royal Roads know that I could not attend the MBA conference in China and Hong Kong. I would have been there yesterday and for the next two days. I am no where ready to travel, and would have had to been ready to leave for holidays on Friday. Sometimes I actually make good decisions.

Date	Day	Notes	Day Count	Days Left
November 13, 2011	Sunday	Asked Jenn if I can play with my friends at end of November – waiting for the answer	1	10
November 14, 2011	Monday	Preschool Convocation Exercises	2	9
November 15, 2011	Tuesday	Work – then travel to Batu Pahat for meeting	3	8
November 16, 2011	Wednesday	‘batty’ Pahat all day, went yesterday and dined on wild boar at a restaurant out in the middle of nowhere near batty.  Stayed with Karen and stayed up way too late. Now again home and counting down the days	4	7
November 17, 2011	Thursday	Not a lot of gecko activity – I must have made an impression. School visits – 3 if I can fit them in, delivering their certificates for the TPD’s	5	6
November 18, 2011	Friday	Waiting today for TV antenna man to come back. Kinda fixed it yesterday and then poof, no more. Muttered something about electricity. Someone senior arriving today.  LEVI wrote me a letter, from his own e-mail account.  Said”I love you”	6	5
November 19, 2011	Saturday	Massage later this morning. Nice skype chat with Jenn and kids. Not great internet connection, but I did manage to see them, and them me. Look – only 4 more days!	7	4
November 20, 2011	Sunday	Wow, I am running out of boxes to write in. This morning – clean my bedroom and then off to a haircut. Home again and begin packing.	8	3
November 21, 2011	Monday		9	2
November 22, 2011	Tuesday		10	1
November 23, 2011	Wednesday		11	0