Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This last week may be the first week I'd forgotten I have a blog. This might neither be good nor bad, I mean I suppose I am allowed to be occupied by other things in life, but at the same time I feel quite like I've worked a 10 day work week which I suppose indicates aside from my blog there are other personal enjoyments also neglected this week.

Aside from working non-stop while in the office this week, I came back Sunday night around 11pm from Malaysia where I had a lovely experience of accompanying my hubby (for the weekend) who'd been down there for a week on business.

Traveling is an enriching, valuable experience - and yet on the same hand after visiting 4, 5, or 6 'exotic' countries one begins to wonder if there is much in this world that is truly that different.

I say that and then I remember how living here in Hong Kong has taught me that in some ways very little need be different to change the feeling of being 'home'.

Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore - sure they are different in cuisine, weather, structure to say Washington state but perhaps less than one might think.

Sometimes I liken traveling to stepping inside your sisters bedroom. Here's a person who has the same mother, same father, same address, same exposure to certain foods, similar hobbies and yet you're boggled by (hypothetically speaking my dear sisters three) their choice of wall paint, or bedspread or lack of clothes folding, or rootbeer stained carpet, again hypothetically speaking, as you step over a few stale cheetos to exit...

And in those moments you wonder how is it she and you came from the same two bods? And yet time passes, and a few hours later finds you both laughing at the same goofy B-flick that probably only your family owns (does this lyric sound familiar?: "Hold on, hold on; we can make it together") and you determine, yes indeed, we were woven from the same yarn.

Malaysia was worth visiting. Aside from the Auntie Anne's pretzels (yea!) and nice company-paid-for hotel room (plus) and husband (plus, plus) there are things to be noticed - people to watch, observations to make.

I will forever remember the experience of gyming at California Fitness (24HR in the states) where all around me were ladies in sports wear and burka-covered heads. Being a Muslim country it wasn't the presence of burka's I found surprising but rather the presence of them in the massive 'Jackie Chan Sport Fitness' center as the larger scale California Fitness locations are referred to.

There we were, Nick and I walking around a six story mall, reveling in soft pretzels and cheese dip passing Clinique and Gucci, Nike and Watson's (the Rite Aid of Asia) thinking, are things here really that different, different enough? Sure we passed woman after woman in full body burka's and crinkled our noses at food stands with snarfy smelling fatty chicken stews and other slightly off dinners, however for the most part if we both agree soft pretzels are yummy, are things more similar than they aren't?

I enjoyed Malaysia if for no other reason than having the chance to see whatever was there, (and be with Nick) despite the funny looks we received - as though foreigners don't live there or visit for work (which they do, so go figure) resulting in waiters over staying their welcome, staring at us while we scanned menu's, or folks doing double takes as we walked down the street.

This world is definately worth traveling, but perhaps for the purpose of discovering how similar we are vs. different - despite marketing brochures that highlight the exotic thinking we otherwise won't leave our homeland.

We didn't take many pictures but here are a few of us near the Petronas Twin Towers, which a few years ago were the tallest buildings in the world until the Taipai 101 building was built in Taiwan in 2005. These are still the tallest twin towers on the globe and not surprisingly they remain the biggest tourist attraction in Malaysia.

Maybe I should ice up with frozen french fries..

You win some, you lose some.

In this case, winning refers to my having 'become' a runner. What defines becomming a runner you ask? Congratulations on using your noodle for more than just stir-fry.

According to the 'Nordberg Journal of Athletics' a runner is one who can maintain a reasonable jogging-like pace for 30 consecutive minutes three to four times a week.

I roll my eyes at the vagueness of 'reasonable pace' yet still I think I safely fit the description. Yes, I've logged about 16 miles in the last 5 days.

Here are my personal records*:

Fastest Time: 9.8km's held for 9 minutes
Longest Time: 48 minutes
Longest Distance: 4.5 miles

*not counting my record from a running stint a few years back: 1hr 30m 7 1/2 miles

While exercising isn't really out of the norm for me, adhering to a 'healthy' diet is. I'm a carboholic and have a tough time fighting off advances from them and their sneaky counterpart called dairy fat. Fried and oily things don't always sit well with my tummy, but cheese, creams and butters ala carbs more often than not make their way onto my plate by 10am.

I suppose this is where the 'losing some' enters in. Yes I've made some changes in my diet. I now eat more fruit per day than I'd eaten in one week and my breakfasts and lunches typically qualify as low-fat. I rarely pick up high calorie snacks opting for pretzels and water wafers and veggies such as onions, zucchini and broccoli are usually on hand.

But last week after a long run my sore legs desperately needed therapy in the form of something icy and I just couldn't resist reaching for the bag of frozen peas and carrots. The veggies formerly reserved for a healthy dinner had no choice but to accept their twisted fate as an anti-inflammatory device. And seeing as how sweat and skin cells are neither an herb nor a spice those veggies ain't after all, making it on my dinner plate.

Yes, you can't win them all.

A Sad Day

Today my best friend is leaving me. He has work to do in Malaysia and as always I have responsibilities in Hong Kong and can not follow him...

Yesterday we spent a few hours wandering the Stanley Market and just generally enjoying each others company as we do 99% of the time.

I'll miss you Nick!

Dear Filipino Consulate, I am getting your calls...

If you were curious to know how many phone calls regarding 'Domestic Helpers' the Filipino Consulate in Hong Kong receives weekly I could tell you. A few months back someone at the PC began (presumably accidently) giving out my office number - and here and there overworked Honkie's tired of treading through their dirty apartments began ringing me in effort to get a 'Domestic Helper' signed on.

A few weeks later the calls kept coming. Today before hanging up on a British gentleman I managed to remember to ask for the source of the number he called. "Was it on a website?" I asked. And following our little chat I called up the consulate reaching a rather crabby women whom denied having given my number out. "I know it's not 2868.. she said, it's 2866.., I know..."

Alrighty, well looks like someone got to ya first - all fine and good so long as I no longer find myself returning voice mails to folks letting them know I do not have authority to play match maker with maids and messy houses nor underpaid nannies with spoiled neglected children.

On this topic - Nick and I have been desperately seeking household help. For the first year, between Nick not working for several months and my cleaning a bit on the weekends we managed. However, the norm in HK is to not wash one's dishes nor sweep one's floor and the thought of crossing these chores off my list helps me stay level during weeks where I don't catch a cab home from work til 7:30 or so. Not to mention the 9pm conference calls with New York every other week.

The strange thing is we've found it quite challenging to 'do this thing' legally. Filipinos make up the majority of helpers available in the market however to have one you must hire them full-time, i.e. serve as a 'sponsor'. These ladies are not supposed to take on work for anyone not sponsoring them, however most do and in turn most expats simply pay them under the table for 4-10 hours of help a week.

With us only requiring 4 hours a week we aren't looking to sponsor anyone and thus need someone eligible to live and work in Hong Kong on a part-time basis, likely the profile of a middle aged Chinese woman. But where are they? And how do we hire them? And will they work for us when we don't speak Canto and they don't speak English?

Aiya! The pressures of 'being legit' and so I continue to call Merry Maids on a weekly basis to haggle with the coordinator who speaks limited English and offers limited services all because there hasn't appeared a better way to keep our apartment serviced. MM can't offer me an 'ongoing weekly schedule' thus the weekly call to arrange.

Somehow we'll make do. One would think 700sf wouldn't require much time in upkeep, but in figuring out the equation of square feet to man hours one must also consider just how much junk is squished into each square foot, which in our case is more than I would like it to be.

So, if I could only find someone to sort through and throw away non-necessities taking up precious space. I may not have the strength to throw out the 2002 almanac (and be scolded by Nick) but I wouldn't fault someone else for doing so.