It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

It has been sometime since we have blogged, so with our upcoming trip home for a visit, I figured it would be a good time to sum up the last 8 months. We have learned a lot about our new home, we now shop the wet market regularly for veggies fruit and fresh meat, rather than paying Cold Storage market prices ( and dealing with the low quality). We have experianced some of the local food, not as much as we would like, but Brenna often has a say in what we eat and she is far from a foodie, her experimentation with food goes as far as putting pepperoni on a pizza. We have had a chance to see some of this beautiful country, there is so much more to see though that we look forward to traveling more in the coming years. Our home has become just that, with Roxanne putting many of her personal touches on our place we are beginning to see this as "home". Brenna is doing very well in school, she was just selected to train for the FOBISSEA games, in Beijing next year. We are both very proud of Brenna for working hard at this and not quitting. If she makes it we will be traveling to China next year to watch brenna compete against other kids from international schools across Asia. Brenna also has many friends who are from many different backgrounds and cultures (she still misses her Florida friends though). Roxanne and I have made many good close friends that it will be difficult to say goodbye to when this assignment ends. We have both taken advantage of the quality medical care. My hip and wrist are healing very well, the wrist is fully healed but the hip has until February before I can do any running. Rox has had a procedure done to help her hip to feel bett and she has gotten some range of motion back. I have also been able to do some massage work on her which is helping also. So we have embraced Penang, and Penang has taken us in and embraced us as well. Could the last 8 months have been better, well I could have stayed on my bike and not crashed, but everything happens for a reason right? (no not really, thats just what people who do stupid things say as explanation for their stupidity...just call me stupid). So the Neilsons will fly back to Florida for the holidays, it's exciting to see family and friends again, but (and I can only speak for myself) I will be looking forward to returning to Penang, hungry for some curry mee, and a tea tarik, and a nice run. Today was another great day in Penang.

So its Thanksgiving day here in Penang...not a holiday that is celebrated here, so let me tell you Turkey, not an easy find. We did however find them at the Cold Storage grocery, however they were $30 US! That was a bit much for something that we would most likely burn or undercooked, Roxanne and I have yet to figure out the Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion with the oven, and both of us have dried out some varying cuts of meat in that oven, I mean Sahara desert dry too. Turkey is a fickle bird, and even with the best of technology, intentions and know how, you can still screw it up. I have had some Sahara dry Turkey for past Thanksgiving dinners. So instead, I walked, yes WALKED, to the Pulau Tikus wet market and got two roast duck from  my duck lady, and some pork ribs. Now I have to talk about the pork ribs for a moment (Queue the deeply religious music)...AhHem....

these ribs are smoked and marinated in the most heavenly of sauces and then lovingly rubbed with spices and brown sugar...*sob*...so that with every bite there is a beautiful explosion of flavor...they are...*sob*...in a word...legend....wait for it...*sob*...dary...legendary!

The duck is really good too...I mean its roast duck, for Thanksgiving, in place of turkey, nuff' said.

So this will be the first Thanksgiving that I can remember when  I have been away from extended family (I'm sure some of them are quite happy the obnoxious old guy is not coming to dinner)...We will be together though and WE have much to be thankful for. I know that everyone gets into all the "Things I'm Thankful For" especially during the "ThanksChristmas" Holidays.(Oh come on, its funny).I mean health is a big one, and family is another, may be friendship....So I figure, I will list what I am thankful for...I'm sure you all are waiting with baited breath for this drivel huh...no no don't walk away, it will be good...i promise.

Things I am Thankful for

1) Im not dead...because I could be...
     I mean if you could see the place I crashed you would be patting me on the back right now and going "damn son you are lucky to be alive". The entire stretch of roadway I was riding on has guardrail, accept mind you, for where i crashed. its an opening in the guardrail about 6 foot wide and I hit it dead on, so I am told. Roxanne still feels I was aiming for it and she has a top 10 list like Letterman, with the reasons why I crashed...its pretty funny too. So we can laugh at it now that I am past the roughest part, but for a while there it was not funny.(it was still funny)...no it was not funny at all (hysterical).

2) Family....We were told experiences like this can tear people apart or bring them closer together...I think for us it has brought us closer in some ways and unchanged in others. Rox and I are unchanged, I think our love for one another has always been deep and abiding. With Brenna I think I am closer, i spend more time with her, and in doing so have gotten to know our little girl even more. she is really a wonderful, kind, annoying, intelligent, sarcastic, sweet child, who embodies so much of who Roxanne and I are as individuals its like looking in a mirror sometimes. Brenna has grown up allot in 8 months also and i think she will continue to grow. Roxanne and I have gotten closer in a way also because I think we understand each other better. At least i think I understand her a bit better, I have had to take on some things that before i never did and she always had to and i appreciate her more for that. My wife is a complex, intelligent, beautiful woman. I am thankful to have my two girls with me on this journey, cant think of any two people I would rather experience it with.

3)Friends....I have not always been a good friend...I know this....but the friends I have, we share one thing, no matter how long it has been since we last spoke I know that if they needed something I would be there and vice versa. The friends I have made here I already know I will miss dearly when it is time for us to depart Penang. During my accident and during my recovery they were always there. they are still there waiting for me to rejoin them as individuals or as a  group, running again. It has been a tough road for me, but it would have been far more difficult without my friends and my family. They have helped us in buying electronics, celebrated my birthday in style, have introduced me to food I would never have tried much less enjoyed, they have all been Friends in every sense of the word

4) Martin...from Penang Soccer Experience, Jo...OB's mom...Nina and Dan, and Michelle from Spiral Energy (and all the other Ex-Pats we have met). Without them, we would not have lasted the first month, and we would not have seen and experienced everything we have so far!

5) Duck...specifically Pulau Tikus market roast duck....Its awesome...do I need another reason to be thankful for it....

and finally 6) The Experience itself, never in my wildest dreams would I have had the chance to see New Zealand, run a marathon on the Great Wall in Beijing China, See Angkor Watt in Cambodia and experience the culture and people of Malaysia...we are so very lucky to have this opportunity and so far we have fully embraced our new home. We even bought a Christmas tree for the house! It has thus far been a great time and we still have so much left!!

Have a great Thanksgiving Everyone!

Neilson Family "Showcase"

Well Chris is finally mobile enough to make traveling possible, so we finally took our first proper vacation here in Malaysia.  We visited the gorgeous Tanjong Jara Resort in a small town called Dungun, just south of Kuala Terengganu on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia (not to be confused with East Malaysia, which is on the island of Borneo that is part Malaysian and part Indonesian - time to get out your maps folks!!).  As we soaked in the beachfront pool one afternoon, we observed that it was quite unbelievable that we were here, in a place we never imagined visiting.  We agreed that this was one of those trips you read about in a magazine or saw as a prize on the Price is Right.  So with a nod to Johnny Olson (okay, okay- I watched a lot of Price is Right when I was a kid and I remember Bob Barker and Johnny more than I recall Rod Ready and Drew Carey)...

"Neilson Family, your showcase begins with new swimsuits and snorkeling gear for the entire family" (see Barker's Beauty Brenna below)

"You and two guests will be escorted to an offshore marine sanctuary, where you will spend the day observing fabulous sea corals, hawksbill turtles, spotted rays, and schools of rainbow parrotfish, yellow boxfish and more before feasting on a lunch of grilled snapper, tiger prawns and fresh fruit on Tenggol Island, MALAYSIA!!"

"Your trip includes a 5-night stay at the fabulous Tanjong Jara Resort in Dungun, Malaysia.  Experience all that Malaysia has to offer at this 5-star resort and spa, including Chef Ann's culinary talents.  Choose your daily fare from the Nelayan "Western" style beachfront cafe or Di Atas Sungei  for your choice of Asian delights.  Relax poolside and watch the waves crash along a private beach. 

"Join local naturalists for an eco-river cruise to spot native fauna and flora such as monitor lizards, long-tailed macaques and exotic birds.  Stroll through a fishing village to sample "kampung life" and find local produce such as rambutan, jackfruit and more.  Experience the wonder of batik and take home your own colorful creation."

"Experience the local market and watch artisans and craftsmen as they go about their daily work.  Visit a batik factory, a songket weaver, boat builder and a brass foundry.  Spend copiously on handmade batik sarongs for your friends and family.  Stop for delicious nasi briyani (fragrant rice) and fried chicken with "soursop" to wash it all down...mmm...delicious.  Then relax your weary muscles with a visit to the world-class spa."

"Spend your afternoons relaxing in a beach hut, at the pool or snoozing on your front porch as the cooling monsoon rains fall.  Lose badly to your spouse and 8-year old daughter at Uno as you watch the sunlight fade.  Tanjong Jara Resort, Unmistakably Malay.  And this, Neilson Family, is your "Showcase".  Would you like to bid or pass?

We'll bid please....and it looks like we won!!  

"This is Bob Barker signing off.  Don't forget to help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered!"

Happy Anniversary Rox!

11 years ago on a beautiful October 20th, in a place blessed by God himself,  I married my best friend...Oh god that's corny!! It is true though, i mean yes we could never go on "The Amazing Race" unless we really wanted to end up in divorce court. At the end of the day though we are best friends. Roxanne is also a saint, you have no idea, i mean you really don't, for a human being to have put up with me for 11 years...now that's saying something...I always wish that the Vatican would offer up an online application for sainthood...I would sign up my beautiful wife in a second!! All joking aside...tomorrow we will celebrate 11 years together, and it has been an up and down ride, but it has also been a great one...I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you Rox, you are the best, Happy Anniversary!!

Now go get a damn MRI on your hip before I drug you and take you my damn self!!!

Happy Anniversary, Love you!!

How time flies...

It's been some time since we have posted.  The last few weeks have been full of ordinary, day-to-day activities, so not much to write about.  But that in itself is something to write about!  September 30 passed our 6-month anniversary in Penang and we have certainly settled in.  Rox is busier than ever at work.  There was a "grand opening" ceremony a few weeks back to mark the official opening of the new Global Business Centre (yes, it is spelled the "UK" way) and she got to make the opening remarks and introduce the VIP guests.  Her boss was over for the week, along with another co-worker who is considering an assignment in Penang as well.  We went out for dinner every night and it was fun to have company!  Since then, things have remained busy and just last week, she was in Singapore for 3 days and made a 1-day trip to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.  We would definitely like to go there as a family to explore more of the sites.
Chris has been busy with rehab.  He goes to a therapist (the "physio" here) once a week for about 2 hours and they are pushing him harder than he can on his own.  He has also been cleared to do non-weight bearing exercise, so goes over to the gym next door to ride the stationary bike and do some light weight training for his abs.  He can also hobble up the stairs to the pool and can do some resistance exercises in the water.  On land, he still needs the crutches, so our walking range is still very limited.  Can't wait until he can walk again so we can resume our explorations in Penang!
Miss Brenna Boo is excited to announce that mommy found her a Webkinz plush while in Singapore, so she can spend even more time online with her virtual pets (we all miss our live pets).  She named her new tiger "Tarzan"...  she is doing well in school and is finally getting the hang of the new homework routine.  In two weeks, her class will be going for their annual "residential" or overnight trip to Ipoh.  Ipoh is a town about 2 hours from Penang and is famous for its dim sum and other hawker food.  The class will be visiting a resort with rooms up in the trees, so they will experience the Malaysian rain forest, visit a nearby mangrove swamp to learn about responsible harvesting of the mangroves for charcoal production, visit a local tribal house (Orang Asli) and visit some nearby caves.  Wish we could all go, but this will be a great adventure for our girl.  She is making friends and has attended a couple of birthday parties over the past few weekends.  Next Friday the school will hold a Halloween "disco" - can't wait to see what kind of costumes all the kids show up in as this is not traditional outside of the US and UK!
Well, that's about it for now!  Here is a photo of a lovely sunset we had a few nights ago... pink clouds with a rainbow:

Taiping Weekend

Last weekend found us ready to take our first drive over the Penang bridge to the "mainland" for a visit to Taiping, a small town about 1.5 hours from here known for its lovely lake gardens and a small zoo.  Chris had registered to run in the 21km Taiping Heritage Run taking place on Sunday and we had planned to make it a family trip.  So, even though he cannot run it, we decided to go anyway and support his fellow runners and explore the sites.
Taiping receives the most rainfall of any Malaysian town (there is actually a bookie in one of the hawker complexes that takes bets on the exact time rain will fall on a given day) and it did not disappoint!  Shortly after crossing the bridge, we hit heavy rain - just like home- and it drizzled pretty much the rest of the drive in.  We checked into the hotel and then met our friend Thuan for a late lunch - char koay teow, popiah (kind of like spring rolls, but not deep fried), chicken & rice, fried oysters and some teh tarik (hot tea sweetened with condensed milk....you really need to taste it to believe how good it is).  Chris can even eat with chopsticks left-handed now and Brenna is starting to pick things up.  That's the char koay on the banana leaf... not as good as the Penang char koay, but still good.



After lunch, we drove out to pick up the race packets and then around the lake gardens.  They were beautiful and it was really nice to see some open green spaces after the congestion of Penang.  We saw lots of brides and grooms in the gardens having their photos taken, families out for picnics and walks.  Everyone loves the gorgeous trees arching over the drive!

I loved this little pagoda with the crooked walk.  I read in a book once that the crooked bridge is designed to trap spirits or ghosts as they can only move in a straight line.  Not sure if that is true, but it's an interesting thought.



The morning of the race, we awoke to the sound of rain on the roof at about 4 AM (really miss that sound now that we are in a condo!).  It rained steadily until just before the race start at 6:15 AM, so was a long wet run for Thuan and the others.  It slowed to a drizzle and eventually stopped by the end of the race, allowing us to visit the zoo before it got too hot.  It was a really nice zoo with the exhibits well spaced and the animals all appeared well cared for.  We took a quick tour by tram first and then walked to a few areas.  Chris' range and stamina on the crutches are getting better, but he still can't wait to ditch them!


White-handed Gibbon

Malaysian Eagle Owl

These are just two of the different species we saw.  Will send more photos via Shutterfly to the usual suspects!  It was a nice trip and was great to get out and see some other parts of Malaysia. Can't wait to see more...

We'll need a bigger house...

One of the things my boss told me before moving here was that we could find beautiful, high quality furniture here for a fraction of the cost back home.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I have always loved furniture and decorating in general, so this was just another plus for Penang!  You will also know that our small house in St. Pete is already filled to the brim with furnishings we've (well, I've) accumulated, so even though we sold some things prior to moving, there's not much space to work with.  Well, that hasn't deterred me.... last week we finally got to visit a shop I had been wanting to get to during their annual clearance sale.  We got our delivery on Wednesday - so excited!  Here is our new console table (and the book case we ordered back in May):

You can see that I also overcame my fear of the concrete walls and hung up Brenna's baby photos.  This is in our living room with the doorway to the master bedroom to the right.  Here's a closer view of the console cabinet - the doors are covered with carved Chinese characters:

We also picked up an interesting lamp - the base is a salvaged ventilation tile from the old Penang shophouses.  You see them in some of the remaining structures and they are typically this glazed green color.  Couldn't pass that up...

And finally, we added this lovely piece... don't worry Mom N, we haven't become Buddhists, we just thought it was pretty and not something we could find back home!

We could have bought so much more, but thought we'd better pace ourselves!  There is still much to see and do here in Malaysia.  That was our excitement for last week.  More posts to come from our weekend in Taiping and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Orchids and hibiscus!

Since we don't have a yard here in Penang, Rox had decided she would try to grow orchids here!  I mean, they're native to the area, so what could be easier?  Since I haven't found a plant nursery yet, our first plant came from none other than Tesco and cost about 9 RM (~$3 US).  This plant would have cost us about $20 back home, so it made the gamble that much easier.  Well, I brought it home and hung it in the breezeway leading up to our door.  It gets a nice breeze and afternoon sun, so nothing too harsh.  I promptly left it alone only watering it about once per week and even then, very lightly.  Well, after about 2 months, we have our very first orchids opening and they are just beautiful! These photos were taken this afternoon as the sun was setting...

Once it is done flowering, I will move it to a larger pot as it has outgrown the original basket.  Need to find some dry wood chips or charcoal as it does not need soil.  Our other nice surprise was buying a few plants from some neighbors who were moving away a couple of weeks ago.  We picked up some more orchids (different variety), an ornamental plant or two and a large hibiscus tree we've placed on our balcony/ patio where it gets the morning sun.  The hibiscus started blooming last week and produces a very nice red "double" bloom if I am recalling my varieties correctly.  Different from the ones we grew in Florida, but clearly from the hibiscus family.



So we are off to a good start with the plants and hope to add some more soon!  We really miss our yard (not really the mowing and weeding part) and especially the butterfly garden.  We don't think butterflies will fly as high as our balcony, so not sure if we'll try that here.  You never know...

Welcome to Kenny Rogers!

Well last week was a busy week, with Chris visiting Dr. "Param" (well, Parameshwaran, but we can't say that very well and apparently neither can the staff at Gleneagles as this is what they call him too!) for a follow up on his wrist.  He's all set and ready to start rehabbing it - one hurdle down, big one still to go... we go back in three more weeks for new x-rays on the hip.
Tuesday, Rox headed to Singapore for some meetings, which unfortunately meant she missed the Hari Raya Puasa Aidilfitri and Merdeka Day holidays.  Hari Raya Puasa marks the end of Ramadan and is the biggest Muslim holiday of the year.  Most people return to their home cities and break the fast with their families and friends.  The event is also marked by the wearing of new clothes, purchase of new furniture and just generally making a fresh start after the month of fasting and atonement.  The traffic in Malaysia is legendary during this time and in fact, one of Rox's colleagues had to cancel his drive to Singapore because he could get no further than KL.  There are a lot of accidents during the "exodus" as it is called and so we were more than happy to stay off the roads.  On Tuesday morning, the streets were oddly quiet, but by the time Rox left for Singapore, Gurney Drive had turned into a slow moving parking lot.  She made it to the airport in time and enjoyed catching up with colleagues in the Singapore office for a couple of days.   Merdeka Day is one of the two dates marking Malaysia's independence from British protection and the formation of the new national government.  Things were festive, but overshadowed a bit by Hari Raya.
After returning late on Thursday night, Rox was up early to get Brenna off to school on Friday morning.  Hard to believe summer break is over, but we're all a little relieved since it's been such a dud of a summer for her.  She was sad about losing her lazy days, but excited to see her friends again.  Rox picked her up and after a bit of unwinding, we all headed out to dinner, which is the inspiration for today's blog title...
We have generally resisted eating at the "Western" food restaurants except when Brenna or Rox will just not eat anything else.  We try to resist eating in Western fast food outlets even more...especially those we have not seen in the States for more than 10 years.  However, this Friday evening, Chris was craving chicken and Brenna will not eat at Nando's (their chicken is too spicy for her...), so we decided to check out Kenny Roger's Roasters.  So although we have not seen a Kenny Rogers outlet in the States for several years, here in Malaysia they are all over the place (there used to be one in the airport).  The menu was as expected, the service was friendly - except that they forgot to inform us that they were out of drumsticks and instead just didn't bring Brenna's meal at all.  Once we asked, the other server told us they were out of drumsticks (on a Friday night?!), so we ordered something else.  Good thing we asked...  Anyway, back to the title.  The thing that was the most surprising was hearing them greet every new customer with an enthusiastic "welcome to Kenny Rogers'!!" in their melodious Malaysian accent as they walked in the door.  We almost expected to see "The Gambler" himself to come out of the kitchen and for some reason, this reduced Chris and Rox to hysterical giggles every time someone walked in.  I don't know why we found this so funny, but the only thing that would have been better was to have them playing his songs.... Too bad Mom Hooker didn't keep all those old 8 tracks from the SuperSkates days!  Good night once again from Penang... and thanks to Kenny for "decorating our lives" with tasty chicken and a good laugh after a long week!

Stuff!!

Doctors visit tomorrow (Monday).
Roxanne goes on a business trip. (Tuesday) So if your a crazy psychopath who reads this bog waiting for us to give you that one opportunity to come turn us into dinner (some fava beans and a nice Chianti). come get some...I have "Mad Max'ed" my crutches.
Brenna goes back to school, Friday...isnt that the weirdest thing...First day of School is a Friday...Why not just add a day to the end of the year and start them on a Monday?? Brenna is a little excited for school, I think her friends and her new teacher (1st male teacher, should be interesting!) is part of that...she will miss her summer of doin nothin!!
Rainy season seems to have arrived here in Penang, every day for the last week it has rained for long periods of the day...Ugg!! (one reason i can be glad I cant train 4 days a week).
Well that's it for today, goodnight all!!

Recovering...still.

So it has been a few days since we have updated anything, and in that time not much has happened. Brenna continues to have a very boring summer...I feel bad for her as that was not the plan going in, we planned on traveling this summer and seeing some of Malaysia, but its not going anywhere. This weekend Rox and Brenna went to a moving sale in our building, a family that has been here 20 years, was headed to Hong Kong, so they were thinning stuff out. Rox picked up some plants and some books, Brenna got a hamster cage, in preparation, we have given up on killing fish at this point. we have not been able to keep anything alive, even goldfish! So we have promised her a hamster when we get back from our trip home in December. The only thing of note, was the 1st annual I-Run dinner, which I will cover in the running blog, and my newest wrist infection. I had a horrible night on Saturday night and woke up thinking that the surgery site was infected, rested the hand all day Saturday and most of Sunday, I mean limited movement if any at all, went to the dinner Saturday night, and Monday morning we were back at the hospital. The wrist was VERY infected, so the Doc removed the last wire, cleaned it up and put me back on anti-biotic. So the wires are gone, and once the infection is out,I can begin rehab on the wrist at least. The hip still has another 2 months or so. So we are still adjusting to our new home, getting more comfortable every day, there are still things we miss. We all continue to wish that someone from home would visit, there is so much here we would love for people to see!! Anyway, that's a quick update, hope everyone is well...see that hurricane season is cranking up, stay safe everyone!! Goodnight!!

Hungry Ghost Festival

Throughout this month, we have seen the many stages and offering tables set up as part of Ghost Month.  The Ghost Festival actually occurs on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar, but events are held all month.  During this time, the gates of Heaven and Hell are opened and the spirits of the departed wander the earth.  Many ghosts or spirits return to their homes where family prepare offerings of food, clothing and money to ensure their ancestors are well cared for in their other world.  Hungry ghosts are those who have no home to return to, so wander the streets in search of sustenance.  Believers set up offering tables to appease these hungry ghosts and prevent them from entering their homes or businesses and causing havoc.  As part of the offerings, public performances of Chinese opera, puppetry or other arts are also performed.  These are often at maximum volume as the sound is thought to attract and entertain the ghosts.  If you attend a performance, you will notice the front row consists of red chairs or benches...these are not for the live audience, but are reserved for the ghosts and should not be used!
Brenna and I were able to attend a performance just down the street from our condo last weekend and although we could not understand the performance, it was fascinating to watch.  Such elaborate costumes and music and great facial expressions from the performers.  We hope to catch one or two more performances before the end of the month!

Almost every major Chinese neighborhood or business area in Penang also has an altar featuring and effigy of Phor Thor Kong, King of Hell, where offerings are made and devotees pray.  We had an opportunity to see how these effigies are made by local craftsmen, then visited a nearby altar and then proceeded to one of the opera stages for a "behind the scenes" tour.

The effigies are constructed from a bamboo frame, then covered in newspaper and eventually the beautiful colored papers and trim.  Kind of like a parade float in the US!

We'll send out more photos through Shutterfly.  Now, on to the opera stage.  Two of the troupe members played a brief song on the traditional instruments and allowed us to go back and look at the costumes.  We asked if Brenna could put on one of the head-dresses and here she is...

The interesting thing is that this year, the Ghost Festival is during the same month as Ramadan.  Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims and, accordingly, they avoid excesses during the evening hours which is in stark contrast to the loud, festive performances for the Ghost Festival.  The two communities seem to respect each other's needs and it's interesting to see how other countries deal constructively with cultural diversity. We hope to visit one of the markets to see some of the traditional foods prepared during this time of fasting and post about that soon.  Hope you enjoyed this post and let us know your e-mail address if you'd like to see more photos!

Wrist is almost healed!

This was a busy weekend for us all, After Thursdays bad news and some pretty stressful weeks, Roxanne decided to take Friday and Monday off! We decided to do the Penang Butterfly and Insect farm on Friday, despite being a difficult process on crutches, it was amazing!! tons of butterflies, neat insects, cool reptiles!! Rox got some great pictures, and will blog the trip separately when she has time. Saturday I was exhausted, and a little sore also. Rox and Brenna did some clothes shopping, Roxanne got some nice stuff, it was much needed. Sunday was to have been our going downtown day, I was still sore and I hate to say it a bit unmotivated.Roxanne suggested that we go to the movies instead, the new Harry Potter was still in the theaters and we both wanted to see it...Brenna did not though, and with some talk about doing things as a family she agreed.It was a fitting end to this film franchise, well done in both of our opinions, and Brenna was not too bad about it...she did guarantee that she would have nightmares, but slept like a log!! Love that Brenna boo!! Our washing machine died, and the repair guy came and checked it, and said he would be back with the part on Monday (today), however he did not show up...hopefully tomorrow, we need to do some wash!! So Monday (today) ended up being a day to rest for me...ok, I slept in, I have not slept until 9AM in a while, so I guess I needed it!! Rox went grocery shopping, and at 4pm I had another DR appointment so that the Doc could check the infection he treated on Thursday, It was much better, but i have to say the medical tape he used to cover the bandages is not the newfangled no pull tape its the old really sticky stuff and it ripped what little hair I did have on my arm off!! holy crap..ouch!!So 2 weeks from now he will take out the last wire and I should be able to start my rehab on the wrist at least. Progress is good!! The maintenance guy did not show up to finish the washing machine repair so wash is piling up...we may need to try a plan B, if he does not show up tomorrow!! Good day in Penang!!

Cast came off today!!

So I woke up this morning, and checked my cast, because it really hurt last night, when I checked it the one pin, was REALLY infected, I called Rox to let her know and we got in to see the Doc this afternoon. I could have waited till my regular appointment tomorrow, but figured better not risk the infection. Well when we arrived we met another couple from the US at Gleneagles, the husband had a case of whiplash.We did not have long to wait and they sent us right away for x-rays. I had x-rays done on my wrist and hip, then saw the Dr. His assistant took off the cast, and the doctor came in to take a look. with the cast off the swelling was not as bad and seem more localized to the places where the pins were put in. The Dr. decided to take one pin out and leave the other one since the ulna had knit most of the way...he just wanted to make sure it had healed completely...The taking out of that pin was excruciating...no local anesthetic, just a pair of pliers...holy crap it hurt!! Once that was done there was no re-casting, he put me in a wrist brace, and gave me some anti-biotic to treat the infection. Back to see him Monday when he may take out the last pin. The last bit of good news was that the hip looks good so far, looking at the x-ray the bone density is equal between the femoral head and the rest of the femur...that is awesome news, but he said i will need a bone scan, in another 2 months just to be sure, but for now the news is good!! Good day in Penang, despite waking up, thinking the worst.

Relaxing weekend...sort of.

So this weekend was very laid back for us, Rox desperately needed to catch up on rest as she is shouldering the work of two right now, and she deserved a break. The only busy thing was a trip to the fish store on Saturday for Brenna and Rox...we have lost all the fish at this point and as Rox said in an earlier blog, "fin rot" and "ick" seem to be the culprits. so they went to find some medicines and possibly water treatments to counter the conditions. They returned with wonderful stories of all the animals...this pet store we go to is much more than a normal pet store, it is like a zoo with more animals and fish than you can imagine, and the selection of food toys and misc products is huge. the last time we were there we fell in live with the cats (we miss ours). They had some American short hairs with beautiful gray markings, Brenna loved the hamsters and this time got to pet some guinea pigs that were being purchased by another family.So they had fun and got the supplies we needed to counter the diseases and also a PH kit and a new thermometer...hopefully with all this we can keep these two goldfish alive!!My busyness was confined to Sunday, and the 54th Annual Penang Chung Ling 8km Cross County Run. More on this in the other blog! Great weekend in Penang!! goodnight!!

 

Catching up...Bon Odori Festival

So the night before Chris' accident, we attended an outdoor festival on the Esplanade in Georgetown called the Bon Odori Festival.  This festival celebrates Japanese culture, which tells you just how cosmopolitan Penang is....you see, being a British protectorate (not a full colony), Penang was occupied by the Japanese during WWII, yet there is still an enthusiasm and acceptance for Japanese culture today.  The weather was terrific with a nice breeze off the water to cool things down.  The food tents were incredible - so much to choose from, we struggled to make a choice and were then so hungry we took whatever we came across and didn't bother to take any photos.  Ladies and men in traditional kimonos were quite common and lovely to see.  This lady was one of my favorites - traditional kimono, modern accessories!

There was an opera singer and children's drum team to start things off.  Then the lovely ladies (and a few men) took the stage for several dances.



Brenna Boo had looked forward to this festival for several weeks once she found out there was a game in years past where kids could win goldfish!  Indeed, there were several games, but all she was interested in was the goldfish scoop.  You are given a flat rice paper paddle and can "scoop" as many of the fish into a cup as you can before the paper tears from getting wet.  We had to do it twice and she ended up with 4 goldfish.  One (the largest) was already upside down before we even left, but the other three did just fine.  Even through all of our long days back and forth to the hospital, these little guys hung in there and ate like little piggies.  Eventually though, they started to die off and sadly, none made it past two weeks.  However, we did determine that they developed "ick" and possibly "fin rot" (which one of our previous batches suffered from), so today we headed back to the aquarium shop and picked up some medicine to kill the parasites that cause those diseases.  So, two more goldfish have joined our family and we are hoping this time, we can keep them around for a while!

We also rescheduled our trip to Krabi, Thailand for Brenna's mid-term break in October instead of next week as we had originally planned.  Instead of Maine lobster, we will be dining on prawns and sitting on the beach this fall (we hope).  Chris should be getting off the crutches by then, so this will be cause for celebration!  It was a nice, relaxing day in Penang!

Getting stronger...still bored to tears!!

I am indeed getting stronger, getting more movement back all the time, still taking it easy most of the time though, no more 3-4 hour days at the mall for me anymore, but I can get out there for an hour or so...so that's good, it gets me out of the house...I think next week I might try the pool for a bit. So I am getting better but still not in any way healed...that process is a long one, and one i am looking forward to. So there are Hungry Ghost festivals going on, and we are going to try and catch some of that. For those of you that may not know Ghost Day In Chinese Tradition the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. (thanks to wikipedia for that.) There are performance stages around Georgetown and there are operas and plays in celebration, and the temples are very active, so that might be a plan for the day. We also have to go down the fish store (again!!) and get medication for our water to get rid of the "ick" and the "fin rot". so hopefully we can get that done and actually keep some fish alive for more than a week. Anyway, its been a blah kind of week, mostly do to my inability to go anywhere and do anything. Love Penang, just not on crutches!! goodnight!!

Better.

So its been a few days since I have sat down to write, I have been taking it easy after the weekend, and my foot continues to swell really bad. So there has not been much happening as of late, Rox has been working long hours but that is nothing new. My sleep pattern is still disrupted at best... I tend to toss and turn from 4 AM on most nights and sleep until 6 or so, everything is cramping so bad by then its time to get up. I continue to get stronger on the crutches, but as much as my leg seems to be swelling I am taking it easy going out. My wrist has also been driving me nuts...it hurts so bad sometimes...hopefully that means lots of healing going on. So I got two more phone calls for deep tissue massage stuff, had to turn them down, but they did say that once I am strong enough they would be back. Today was my sports day with the kids at SE (soccer experience) its going well, but the turnout is poor...everyone said it would be over the summer, but you have to begin somewhere, right?? So Rox will be posting about the Bon Odori Festival that we went to the Saturday before my accident...My memory is a bit fuzzy yet so I will let her speak on it...i know we had fun and ate great food, my memories of it are vignettes though, not a stream of memory.Rox also has an idea for the top 10 reasons why I crashed...she has not shared them with me so it will be fun to see what she says. Things are going as well as expected...I wish this swelling would go away, but for now it is what it is. A great but exhausting day in Penang today.

An easy Sunday.

So I paid big time for our long day at the mall on Saturday...very sore today and a bit exhausted. So today was to have been Brenna's big soccer day, but I begged off and Brenna did not want to go either. I feel so much for Roxanne, she works so much all week and then has to take care of all the errands during the weekend...I am just no help at all with groceries and stuff, so about mid day, she and Brenna headed to the mall to get some stuff done. The drama for the day is that we have no wireless Internet right now,, strange but we can connect via a cord, to our modem, but there is no signal to the computer, wireless....I have no idea how to fix it, but everything in the computer seems to be working fine, the wi-fi card, everything. I am also out of SMS for my phone and need to top up tomorrow....weird having a pay as you go plan. So I got both gaming systems hooked up today. The wii was no problem, although it is a bit squirrely running off of an external hard drive for some of the games, but they all seem to work, sans one, which is the only pokemon game we got...figures! Brenna has made due though, playing "spore" and "wipeout". The PS3 took us a bit longer to get set up as there was no transformer included with the system..I dont mean bumblebee. Here the voltage is 220, the system is rated 120...so I needed a step down transformer, so I thought. I got ahold of my friend Thuan again and he was nice enough to call the place we bought it from (we had trouble yesterday after he left, communicating so i figured the phone call would be a waste of time). He told me that the PS3 has its own internal step down transformer and the cord that we had is fine, so we tried that and "presto" PS3 baby!! Thank you again Thuan!! About this time the doorbell rang and it was Katie, they were back from their holiday in the US, Brenna was very excited!! so Rox and I talked with Dan and Nina for a bit and they offered to help if they could, good people!!Rox made some chicken curry for dinner which was very good, and the rest of the night was relaxing

Every day a little stronger...

So over the last two days, Chris has gotten out of the house a little and is definitely getting stronger on his crutches.  On Friday, we went back to the doctor for a check up.  Now, doctor's here don't give you individual appointments.  They have office hours and it's first come, first serve during those hours.  After spending 5 days driving to the hospital at various hours, I learned enough to know that it would be impossible to find parking at 10:30 AM, so we cabbed it in and arrived at 10:39 AM.  We were told to check in at the desk, where we were given a number and told to go to the 1st floor, room 13.  We went upstairs to a giant waiting room and joined a few other folks outside our room.  1.5 hours later, we were still sitting there waiting for our number to come up, so I finally asked a nurse when we would be seen, only to learn that the front desk person never registered our number (not sure how that happens since it is printed by the computer she was operating).  Anyway, they got us in and Chris' check up went well.  Things seem to be healing nicely and the doctor was happy with the range of motion Chris has in his hip/ leg.  Still, no weight bearing exercises at all, even for the upper body as the bones and blood vessels in the hip need time to heal.  Chris was disappointed, but we will go back in 2 weeks for xrays to see how everything is coming along and see if the cast can come off the wrist.

So Friday night has traditionally been our eating out night (even before we came to Penang), so we decided to try crutching over to Gurney Plaza next door to eat at our favorite Chinese place.  Brenna loves the crab rolls and we love the fried rice and various chicken or beef dishes.  We decided to stop at the bookstore first to pick up some workbooks for Brenna to use over the summer (multiplication needs work!).  I just love book stores and am so happy to see they are still very popular here.  Chris made it through the whole adventure with just a few stops to rest.  Once we got home, we had another visit from friends Andrew, Chun, Kelvin and Mei Ling (who brought another one of her fabulous cakes - this one chocolate mint - and some homemade jam).  They also brought Chris' bike back....it's actually in good shape with the exception of the rear wheel, which resembles a figure 8.  His body obviously took most of the impact... We had a good visit with the group - most of them were heading out early Saturday to KL for a night run on Saturday (which Chris had planned to do with them, but....).  We hope they all do well and have a great time!

Saturday was exciting for Brenna - finally a play date with her friend Jade!!  Jade and her family arrived at our place about 10:30 and we had a good visit.  The girls spent some time playing Moshi and then went for a quick swim.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time to feed them as it went by too fast.  After lunch, we Neilsons headed up to Queensbay Mall on a mission to find a Wii!  Our friend Thuan had offered to help us figure out which place to go to and met us there.  Gaming systems here typically are "unlocked" or "cracked" so they can play the bootleg games that are common here.  Our new Wii came preloaded with about 12 games of our choice and we can add about 18 more in the future.  It will also play our discs from home, so we're all set.  While we were there, we decided to spring for a PS3 as well since they have more games Chris likes.  An expensive trip for us!!  The other downside was that it took almost 2 hours to load all those games, so we had to kill some time in the least painful way for Chris.  We ended up at the Ace Hardware store there, checking out BBQ grills.  We really miss our grill, but were not prepared to spend another 2,000 RM (about $700) on a grill we would pay about $300 for at home.  We may go back another time for a simple Weber grill, which will still cost us about $250...ouch!  The real find was the aisle with all the cleaning supplies....they had EVERYTHING from home - Windex, Clorox Cleanup, Clorox wipes, Tide detergent, Comet, some of the new eco-friendly brands and, my favorite....Barkeeper's Friend!!  I've never been so excited about cleaning supplies.  Unfortunately, most cost about $8 US or more, so I did not splurge, but at least I know where to find stuff if I really need it!  We ended up getting home pretty late, so it was a simple leftover dinner for us and a movie with Brenna Boo.  It was a long, but good day in Penang!

Sports day for the gimp!

So Wednesday as you know is usually a busy day, I have the sports day with the kids, then the friendly match I play in, then a massage client at night...so this Wednesday was a bit LESS busy. I did head out to get some play in with the kids, it was allot of fun, one to get out of the house and two to get a chance to see the smiling faces of the kids...all the parents say that they wait all week for this time, so I cant disappoint them. It was the toughest 1.5 hours I have spent in a while though...standing on crutches for that time is rough, than god for my assistant Rhama, she is such a big help!1 I also had another assistant today, Benna Boo, who was a big help too but also wanted to play the games with the kids as much as help...which was fine, she needed the time also! So that was my time out for the day...I got back and crashed hard!! I had a good day today...great day in penang. Moving around better...everything is coming together!!

Moshi day!

So Brenna's new favorite thing is a website called "Moshi Monsters" she loves the little characters, and although you can be friends in this "game" she cannot friend anyone without our permission, and is not allowed in the chat rooms ever, I mean EVER!! so she is enjoying that for now, but we are going to have to do something to make this an interesting summer for her, with me broken...it is going to be hard. so our first trip to Langkawi is done, that was supposed to be this past weekend. The next one is in three weeks to Krabi...that one we will cancel also...sucks!! I am going to try and do the sports thing for the kids tomorrow, rox thinks I am nuts, but I have no way to get ahold of all the parents so we will make the best of it, I have an assistant Rhama, and she will make it easier. Not sure if I can last for 1.5 hours on crutches, but we will see...So yesterday was another day of nothingness for me...did get out to the porch for 2 hours though, good to be outside!! another great day in Penang!!

first full week of recovery.

So in this time, I have been operated on twice, spent 4 days almost 5 in the hospital, and am attempting to get around on crutches with a broken wrist. Today we have our new domestic help, she was on time and here...that is awesome!! Rox has been fantastic though, as has Brenna. I am getting around more and more, yesterday I went to watch Brenna at soccer experience, so that got me out of the house, but it was also exhausting. I napped most of the afternoon, and got some better sleep last night...I figured out that with the pillow between my knees, I can sleep on my side relatively pain free. So my days are pretty lazy...I try to do as much work seated as I can and get up and walk about with the crutches when I can. I did find a true sports rehab clinic here in Penang that I will check out. I am thinking it might be Singapore or KL though, if I really want to get back on the road and do more than walk. I am still a bit down in the dumps, but it does no good, so better to be positive!! Good day in Penang!! night all!!

Finally Home!

Finally home from the hospital!! got a good night sleep and I am resting. the crutches are difficult as my wrist injury interferes with using them correctly...I am making due, but don't know what I would do without Roxanne and Brenna -boo! Happy to be home. Rehab starts at the end of next week, cant wait to get some strength back!!

"It's a growth experience"

So when we decided to take the plunge and come to Penang, I (Rox) can clearly recall my boss telling me "it's a growth experience you will never forget."  Sunday was a growth experience we had not counted on...  at about 10:00 AM, I got a call from my loving husband to tell me he had cycled out with the i-Run group past the Teluk Bahang Dam (where we watched the dragon boat festival a few weeks back) and he would probably be late getting back for soccer.  So, at about 11, Brenna and I headed down to the Soccer Experience.  Not too long after that, I got a call from Chris' phone, but it was not Chris...it was someone telling me that Chris had a crash.  My stupid phone kept cutting out and it was really hard to hear. Finally, they put Chris on and he told me he was "not okay" and he thought he busted his leg.  So, I called Brenna off the pitch and started making for home to get the car.  Two more calls later, we were headed to Penang General Hospital to meet the ambulance transporting Chris in, still saying it was mainly his leg that hurt.  I also received a call from the doctor in the A&E department letting me know they had my husband in for treatment - again, focusing on the leg.  Brenna and I found the A&E (Accidents & Emergency) fairly quickly and were directed into the "green" zone (least severe injuries).  There sat my loving hubby on a gurney, with his leg in a splint and wrist wrapped up tight.  But, the biggest surprise was the gash on his forehead and dried blood all over his face, neck and shirt.  Still, I know head wounds bleed easily and I just made sure they were x-raying his head as well as the obvious parts.  He seemed fairly alert and relatively pain free.  He had zero recollection of his crash, but that was to be expected.  He was whisked away for x-rays and they came back super quick.  Skull was negative, but wrist and hip were both fractured...ughhh...the fun began.  We spent about 3 hours in the A&E waiting for his head to get cleaned up and stitched (it was pretty deep) and then he was admitted to the surgical ward to see an orthopedic surgeon.  We waited there for quite some time - he still in his dirty riding outfit with sand and dried grass particles stuck all over him, leg still in the splint.  The care was good, but they were just woefully short of staff (Sunday).  After the orthopedic surgeon came by and said the hip would require surgery and they could tell us tomorrow when the surgery could be scheduled, I decided it was time to transfer him to a private hospital.  His friends from i-Run stopped by and filled in some of the gaps, but none of them actually saw him go down (he actually went off the side of the road and down a ravine some unknown distance, but out of view of the road).  Poor Chris kept saying "I don't know what happened.  How did I get here? Who was with me?  How's my bike?"  To which I would reply, "That's okay; by ambulance; the group from i-Run and I don't know, but Chun has it."  I had to repeat this every 10 minutes or so for about 7 hours...no ability to retain the information.  So, no food or drink for him as they clearly needed to observe his concussion symptoms closely.  This led to endless requests for water, to which I had to reply, "I'm sorry honey, they said you cannot have anything to drink" for about 8 hours...so 4 phone calls and about 3 hours later (and some help from Praga, my coworker who came to the hospital as soon as he got my message), the ambulance from Gleneagles Hospital finally arrived to transfer Chris.  Once there, the surgeon arrived in about 30 minutes and had him in surgery within the hour (now about 12:30 AM Monday morning).  At this point I took Brenna home and we prayed and slept.  We were back up at 6 AM so we could be there when he awakened.  Our little girl was so calm and cooperative - she clearly grasped the situation, but was not at all afraid and read, drew and played on the iPhone the whole time.  So proud of her!  When we arrived Monday morning, he was pretty groggy and still in some pain.  The hip required 2 (or 3?) screws and his wrist has two wires inserted to stabilize the bones.  The wrist will heal in 4-6 weeks, but the hip will require him to be on crutches for 3 months, then another 3 months or so before he can start any serious physical activity.  At 3 months they will assess the healing and see if the femoral head has become necrotic at all.  Thank God we transferred him as he would probably still be waiting for the surgery and the chances of necropsy would be significantly higher had we stayed at Penang General!  So glad our research prior to moving here had us aware of and confident in Gleneagles instead of casting about for suggestions at the nth hour (thank you Steven and Carla!).  His memory was still very foggy and he was very uncomfortable for most of the day, but all in all, the situation was improving.  By the end of the day he was in a lot of pain again, but visits from several of the i-Run group (too many to name:-)) had started to prompt some memories.  JabilFacebook or phone as we can!   We cannot express enough appreciation for the support and prayers from everyone - both here and at home - though scary and NOT part of the "life experience" we envisioned, we both grasp how lucky he really was and are grateful for our friends and family!  We will definitely not forget this (and Chris will have the scars to show off too)...

A Friday or Goodbyes!

So Brenna has had to say goodbye to her first school friend as her friend Erin is going back to the states tomorrow. So they had a chance to play together today, got in some art time and some pool time. Its interesting to see people go, knowing that in another two years that will be us. Erin's mom Kirsten, brought us most, if not all of her dry goods from there house, and shared with us their problems with the "renovations" that need to be done to their place to the tune of $8000.00RM...She said they had to pay to have the condo repainted and re wallpapered...all of this on their last day here...insane!! Not much else going on today...Saturday will find us at the Bon Odori festival in Penang its going to be at the Esplanade tomorrow, its a show of  traditional dances and performances by groups from Penang and Japan. Brenna has heard that they sell goldfish as well, which makes her excited to go!! Great day in Penang!!

Wednesday and Thursday

Well Wednesday was Brenna's last day of School, now she has almost 8 weeks off before school starts back up at the beginning of September. I had my normal Friday client today as she was headed back to the UK for the summer months. Then I was off to the afternoon at the SE, for my kids sports program and my own friendly game. The kids did show up despite the last day of school, and I was able to get the word out again about continuing the program for the summer. My own game was a really good game also, and I seem to be procuring more clients every week. injuries on the pitch, means that they might come to see me! back home and dinner and a little SKYPE time with nanny. Really good Wednesday!!

Thursday was our first day (Brenna and I) relaxing day, with me sleeping in pretty tired was I!! Brenna has found another Internet program to obsess about, Pokemon has been replaced. We are monitoring this site and refuse at this point to let her become a "member"...chat rooms are pretty scare and in my opinion an 8 year old does not need to get involved in all that. Pretty much a relaxing day as the AM was rainy and overcast. The interesting part of the day was when my phone decided to breathe its last breath. I really loved my Sony/Ericsson Xperia X10, but it had been causing me some problems as of late. I cannot at this time with signs up and business cards out be without a phone. I tried everything to get this thing to come back. I brought it to the Sony store in the mall and there was noting they could do either, but give me the info to send it into Sony and wait 8 weeks...cant be phoneless for that long. Now these are all unlocked phones...no plan programs, as we are not traditional residents. So I went to the HTC store and got myself an Incredible S ($500 US). Nice phone for sure, but I still love my X10. The last thing the Sony guy said was to take the battery out for 5 days and see if the phone does not reset...otherwise it might be the OS that is corrupted...if that's the case I am out of luck!! I am phoned again which is good. Other than that it was a very relaxing day! Another great day in Penang!!

Monday and Tuesday

Well every weekday is busy for Rox, in fact there are times I feel so badly for her! up at 5:00AM off to work, home by 5:00pm, then sometimes on the phone until midnight...that is work!! No really,  I have been busy recently, if you can call it that. I had two clients on Monday, and Rox was actually home (it was a holiday). The days are beginning to fill up with massage clients. With another client scheduled for Tuesday and possibly another two for Wednesday and then one Thursday and Friday 7 in a week is not bad, that is if they all show up and i get the two maybes for Wednesday confirmed, fingers crossed! The rest of Monday was bit slow and just a normal day for us, not much to report. So for dinner we had pizza, we were all craving a good pizza hut pizza, so we broke down and went for it!! Yum!!
Tuesday broke with me finally taking care of our Rita problem. I advised her that we would no longer need her services, it was just not working out well. That left most of Tuesday open, except for a morning run, a trip to the wet market, the chicken lady had fresh duck on her table...I came this close to getting it, but i need to know how to cook it first...next week!! My favorite fruit guy is gone too...I have another lady i go to also, but she did not have the pears I love...ah well, that's the way it is with fresh produce. So that left getting some cleaning done and possibly heading to the school for my last guided reading class. Brenna has only one more day of school, and tomorrow (Wednesday) is only till 11:00 AM, which does make getting to the SE easier. I was to have another client in tonight but work kept him so we will reschedule for sometime Thursday. Good days in Penang!!

Blah days...then Saturday and Sunday of play dates...Hand vs. Motorcycle.

So This stomach thing kicked my butt most of the week, and other than my Thursday massage client I did not do much until Sunday. Friday, blah day, other than Hawker food which was SO good, but made an unhappy stomach even more pissed off. Saturday bit better, Brenna had a play date with her friend from school, Jade. her family lives at "The Cove" apartments which are in Batu Ferenggi...They are really nice, lost of green space for kids to play, two pools, including one with a cool slide for the kids, a larger one that is a lap pool for the adults, they have a nice gym, they own beach...I mean this place was the bomb!! If anyone was actually going to come out here and visit us this would have been the pre3fect place for us. We do love The Regency, mostly because it is so easy to get everywhere from here, The pool though is not a kids pool, it is 4 foot deep first of all, there is a smaller kids pool but it is not anything to write home about. There are no green spaces for the kids to play in , and the proximity to the beach area is a bit lacking. You cannot beat it for location. As far as size the two places are big, i mean big, so that is pretty even. Food for thought anyway. and now that we know people there we can share in the awesomeness!! So Brenna had fun and so did Jade, to the point where they invited her over again on Sunday to have some fun again. Brenna wanted to and we could still get to soccer and the gym and such and get here there. Oh skip back to Saturday for a minuet. Rox finally got her hair cut, and the place that she went to was great, they did a really nice job on here hair, to the point where I might go there as well. I love the hair cuts here...first they are inexpensive, like $15 US, but for that you get a cup of tea, a full shampoo, a head and neck massage, and a great haircut!! its a frackin bargain!!! Back to Sunday, so Rox to the gym, Brenna and i to the soccer experience, Brenna had fun and came just that close to scoring a goal today (when she wasn't playing grab ass). I am proud that she continues to participate, we are just never going to have an athlete, and that is fine...I am glad she tries at least. After Soccer was over and Rox was done at the gym, I worked on her hip...my good she has got some work needed on her whole right leg...I really need to get her on the table more often!! We took Brenna back to Jades, and Rox and I had a nice latte at Coffee Bean. We spent some time with Jades mom and dad when we went to pick her up, VERY nice people, we had a great conversation with them, and they invited us to dinner, we took a rain check as Brenna was tired, she still had homework to do and we had dinner to make. So all in all a good weekend. Oh yeah, "hand vs motorcycle" on our way home tonight we were driving down Gurney, which can be busy, and the cars were stopped, but the motorbikes still whiz through and this older lady was walking through the parked cars, she stuck her hand out, with the intention, i think of stopping the motor bikes and not only did she almost lose her hand, but she almost got tagged as well...Hand Vs. Motorcycle...Motorcycle every time!! Goodnight all!!

Thursday..feeling blah!!

So Rox is finally feeling better and today I am feeling a bit blah. I am not feeling as sick as she was just...well Blah...getting frustrated with the haze, should be out running today, but that is a story for another blog. I will skip over my middle of the day which was none too exciting and get to Brenna getting home. She had her school pictures today which were really good, and packaged nicely as to make for a good memory of the time here!

Boy she is growing up so fast!! Such a pretty girl (she gets that from her mom)! I had a client tonight, and other than that the day was fairly uneventful. Good day in Penang!!

Busy Wednesday

So Wednesday has turned out to be by far my busiest day during the week, between a morning run, and then having to be at the soccer experience by 12:30 for the sports stuff with the kids, and then my own friendly match afterward. I will talk more about my run this morning in the running blog, as it is more appropriate mentioned there. I will talk about the smokey haze that we have had around for the last week or so, it makes it near impossible to do anything aerobic outside, for me anyway...i end up coughing half way through a run, like i have TB. I am hoping that it gets better soon or I am just going to have to accept it and go out anyway. The Sports skills program is going well, there is one week left of it and then a break for the summer, I have talked about continuing it over the summer and have finalized the plan to do so, I just have to get the information out to the parents, which I should be able to do next week. The soccer is getting better for me, as I have said before, I was never very good even when I was good, so as an adult that has not played the game for some time, I am not finding it an easy transition, I do like playing goalie (I just think i like the challenge of the position) however the advantage is clearly not yours, the net is huge and even if you cover an angle well you give up size. My shoulder and elbow are also very unhappy about the stretching and the diving about...some ice packs have been on the menu as of late. I may have also secured another massage client I guess direct marketing works best. Anyway Wednesday will continue to keep me busy at least through most of the summer and hopefully introducing a summer camp like program will catch on here and may grow a bit!! Brenna got her report card today, she did really well despite a tough go at times. she is continuing to improve in all areas, and really excels in her reading and art skills. She tested well above in reading and at or slightly above in all other areas...that's our smart girl for you, so proud of her for a great year!! another great day in Penang!!

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

So Sunday saw us trek off to the newly opened TESCO, kinda like a walmart. It is always interesting to see what they have and there was some things that we needed. so we spent some time there, got some stuff for the house and some essentials, and headed home. Rox and I (I only helped a little) spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening hanging more pictures. We only had one casualty...but it was only the frame, and just one corner, and Rox fixed it. The house is looking better all the time!!

Monday turned out to be a day of real illness and crying wolf. rox has had a stomach thing now since Saturday, today it was at its worst, with her back and forth to the bathroom, and at one point she was laying on the bathroom floor, because she new it was only a matter of time. i suggested the hospital or the Doctor, but she said no. Brenna decided that her stomach hurt also, and that lasted until around noon and then it was, "can we go to the mall, can we go to the pool". So we made the day as boring as possible. I am not sure when she is going to get it that if she stays home from school sick it is going to be a day of rest, and not a fun day...I guess never. Anyway. Monday was very laid back for everyone.

Tuesday (today) So The fourth of  July passed without so much as one rockets red glare or one bomb bursting in air...Today found me at the market in the AM, rox trying her best to kick this stomach bug, and Brenna at School. The rest of the day was not much more eventful than that...the AC guys came in to look at Brenna's AC unit and decided it needed to be replaced. Rita was a no show again...had to go to the insurance office about her car...This is still not going well. time to let her go. so not much happening these last 3 days, Rox has been sick, so we have not been doing much. Brenna has two more weeks of school and then the week after that we go to Langkawi. Fun!! Goodnight all!!

Food n fun day.

Saturday woke with us, sleeping in, sorta...I got in a run, Rox did her yoga, and Brenna chilled, drew, and watched some TV. I needed a haircut so after Breakfast I went to see my stylist Thomas, at Janzens, in Gurney. He really cuts my hair very well, so I will continue to go back and see him, although, my hair is not much of a challenge. We also picked up so free weights, at one of the fitness stores in the mall...we do still have and use (occasionally) our gym membership. It is nice to have some free weights at home, just in case we cant get to the gym. The funny thing is walking through the mall and then to the Coffee Bean to get some lunch, with free weights...not the kind of thing i guess you see often, because we got some looks of confusion, some looks of concern, and some smiles followed by polite laughter...Hell I would have been scared and laughed at me too!! Anyway after a light lunch, Rox decided to let me work on her hip for a bit, that did not go well, she really does have some muscle problems in her right leg and she was in pain for most of the 45 min i worked on her, i tried my best to keep it light, but the work needed to be done!! After that we grabbed a cab to the Food and Fun fair at Brenna's school. We were going to drive there, as it is not that far away, but we were thankful that we cabbed it when we saw how far away people had to park, and the traffic today in Penang was horrible. The food and fun fair was, well FUN!!

Rox and i wandered and tried some of the foods (Thai, Korean, Japanese) all of it really good. Brenna was off with her friends running around and playing the games. Rox and i then had to man the USA table..Chili, cornbread and brownies...not sure if Chili is really ours or not...more Mexico...but i guess tex-mex is close enough...not sure what truly is ours...I would have done Cheese steaks...We were busy the whole time and eventually sold out of the brownies and most of the Chili. We got to see most of our friends (both foreign and domestic) and were saddened to hear that quite a few would be leaving this year. I guess we will have to take the point as the experienced ones at some time!! anyway it was a great time, and we all come home full and exhausted!! So another great day here in Penang!!

Wednesday and Thursday

So my Wednesdays are now really busy, and thankfully Roxanne has used the day as a work from home day, this coming week though the struggle of getting Brenna from school and getting to the Soccer Experience by 12:45 begins. I took the bike out again today and that did not go well...The Activities with the kids is going great and it looks like it may turn into a viable summer program...I have some fliers out for the parents and for the schools around and I have to sit down with Martin and see when I could do it and the cost. May turn out to be a pretty big deal, since there are few if any summer programs available for kids here, most of them go home anyway, but the ones who are left behind are out of luck. I am having fun playing as well and soccer goalie seems to have come easy...not that I was a very good Hockey goalie, but I guess I was good enough skill wise to understand at least the concept of angles and positioning. Beyond all that, which took up most of my day, the rest was all just down time and family time, good stuff though! Thursday is a fairly light day and again there was no Rita (sick) she was supposed to cook, and we were looking forward to that, but I guess we will have to wait until next week. I also had to cancel my client for tonight as my elbow has taken a crap (it hurts) I needed another full day to rest it or it would have meant no client on Friday. So it was a very routine day for us, Rox to work, Brenna to school, and me waiting for Rita, then doing some laundry so she does not dry the things that need to be hung up to dry. So It has been a good week so far...Rox has a girls night out Friday night and that means Brenna and I get to do our own thing!!Fun for both!! Loving Penang!! Goodnight!!

Review of Monday and Tuesday.

So I promised not to bore you with rather routine days, hence a post like this where I will cover two relatively routine days and just bring you the high and low lights. Brenna has been fully initiated into the world of pet death...Her last remaining fish, Mr. fins who was doing so well, despite all the other fish taking a powder...he just suddenly dies on Monday..I mean literally, on minute swimming around the tank happy as a...fish, and the next minuet dead on the bottom of the tank in full rigor!! I just don't get it...Mr. fins was a tough one for her to take, he was the last fish left overall and the last remaining fish from the first batch of fish we bought...he actually looked good...Brenna cried for the first time, and we will have to look into what we are doing wrong. I have never owned fish so I don't have a clue, but i never thought they were this hard to keep. I had my usual Monday client, that was most of our Monday. Tuesday, had me headed to the wet market, always an enjoyable trip and the interesting thing about this trip was the plethora of Frogs, yep that's right Frogs...not pet frogs either, cut em up and fry em up frogs...there were three different stalls selling frogs today...usually there is just one and he does not often have many. I have heard that frog legs are good, I would have a tough time preparing them though, so that may be a meat choice that we will have to wait on. the red snapper looked awesome today, huge fish, but we decided to do something different this week...not sure that was a good plan though...The fish here has been awesome!! (the eating kind not the swimming in Brenna's tank till they die kind).Tuesday was another client day, a Rita day (always interesting to see when or if she will show...we are getting some consistency) and a guided reading day. All three things went well, Client went well, Rita showed up and promised to cook for us on Thursday (not holding my breath), and guided reading was fun as always!! So the week has begun well and it has been two good days in Penang