Tesco!

Well today the three of us slept in, I really think we all needed it big time. We decided that we would do one of two things today, head down to the Tesco market (the Penang answer to Wal-Mart) and get some stuff we needed, or head to the wet market and browse around...We decided on the Tesco, Roxanne decided to drive which was very cool, no cab meant no hassle, however we left way to late and may not be able to get a parking space. We were off anyway, the traffic down was a nightmare, it too us almost an hour to get there. we did find a place to park! hooray us!! Now the Tesco is something you have to experience first hand. Although I said its like Wal-Mart, only in its size and types of merchandise, you can antifreeze/coolant and frozen peas, motor oil and olive oil, however it differs from Wal-Mart in that you will find things that here would be more likely to be in a flea market. Off brand DVD's, items that had been open, used and then sealed and put back...The produce is also something closer to a street market than a true grocery store, whole chickens just laying out on ice, fish sold the same way, there were freezer cases full of loose french fries that you had to scoop into your own bag...and the smells were intoxicating (at times nauseating) from the fresh fruit, to the fish, to the veggies...it was an experience all its own!! We spent about two hours wandering and getting what we needed. Then we got some Pizza Hut, (could be worse) and headed home, the ride back was better as far as traffic, and part of it I filmed with my phone, got home and set it to music, I think it is cool, but I cant seem to put it up on here. so if you really want to see it I can figure on a way to get it to you or its up on Facebook. So we got home and we were supposed to meet with a possible candidate for domestic help, she was supposed to be by at 5:00pm, but we never saw her or heard from her...not sure what happened, but we both hope that everything is ok with her...we will see if she thought it was Sunday, and make sure that we are around tomorrow at the same time. Oh also this morning Brenna got to Skype with her cousins, that was very cool. We also got to see Marc and Nele and the Baby, but only for a minute or two before our connection started to go crazy and then Brian got ahold of us, and then Poppy and Diane were on...We never got back to Marc...Sorry my friend...we will catch up to you!! promise!!. I am not sure if I put it in yesterdays blog, but Brenna got to Skype with her class from Florida last night, that was fun, but she is such a ham...and she loves to ham it up for the boys!! Anyway, quiet dinner at home tonight and everyone is getting ready for bed...Tomorrow is "the Soccer Experience" in the morning, and then we will be going down into Georgetown to walk around and shop for Mothers Day!! Happy early Mothers Day to all the moms out there!! Well off to bed!! night all!! until tomorrow!!

Of gym memberships, Cable Bills, and Coconut Oil.

Well today started way to early I managed to get a run in, but the soreness won out and it was short, that is for another blog. Brenna got off to school with no problem today, she is so over the goodbye daddy kiss and hug, she sees that bus and she is ready to go...its now more of a "Bye dad I love you!" from the window, they gotta grow up!! Anyway, after that i hitched a ride with our neighbor Nina to the Gym down the street (I was way too sore to walk the whole thing after my run). I got Roxanne and i signed up for a month to month plan, hers is unlimited and mine is mornings on weekdays and unlimited on the weekends. All of that for $180RM a month, that's like $40us a month for both of us!! Its a great gym too, all the latest machines, spin bikes, free weights...all of it!! Walked back from there, and then got myself off to the Astro cable office, waited for an hour to pay our bill only to find that credit only at the office, if you want to pay cash you have to go to the post office...I can pay just about every bill at the post office, electric, phone, cable, and I can mail stuff from there too...what a concept!! these people have it figured out!! Anyway, the walk back took me past an organic market I wanted to try out, I did not find much in there, but I will go back, as I did find some Coconut oil...I can get coconut milk in the grocery store now, good thing, because the rice milk is not cutting it, trying to find someone with raw milk, but there are no cows on the island, except for the ones I saw while running the other day, but they were in someones back yard, and looked more like the beef cattle variety than dairy, and they were chained to a post too...they might very well have been pets! So the trip back home took me till almost Brenna time, needed to get some groceries, so swung by the cold storage, then went out to wait for the bus, and people watch...That is a sport all on its own...I love people watching on Gurney drive...it is just way too cool!! Brenna got home, and she read and did some homework...I began though, starting with the walk from the bus stop...to notice...my daughter sounded like an Australian!! She has picked up the accent very well and at times it sounds very cute and at others a bit like Madonna trying to sound British because she lives in London...we explained to our little girl that people from Australia might be offended by her talking like them, that they may think she was making fun of them...she seemed to understand, but that did not stop her from turning on the accent at least a few more times, until we finally had to get on her about it. We went out to our FAVORITE dim sum place and had a good meal out, we noticed that they were setting up a stage in the gurney outdoor atrium, for some live music...which as we noticed when we got home, you could here from our kitchen with the windows open...totally cool. Brenna got to skype with her class tonight which went well, she does love and miss her friends from the US...I just wish that she could understand that liking her friends here too, does not change that...Ah well, it is what it is...Anyway, goodnight all!! a great weekend ahead!! ENJOY!!!

What to do today....

After two "busy" days in a row, today was a bit of a letdown, I had no school things to do and no sports related stuff, except for my run this morning...have already talked about that, lets put it to bed! So got Brenna off to school, Katie missed the bus and I really thought Brenna was going to panic, but she was a trooper, found some other friends to sit with and was off and on her way!! Her school had a visit today from the Chief Minister of Penang, to officially open their new building...Brenna said it was "ok". I spent most of the day with ice on my Quads and Hamstrings following my morning run, the soccer experience was indeed an experience, new muscles that were not at all happy today. Got to watch the third period of the Lightning game, and watched the SWEEP the capitals, figures this team has a chance to go to the cup for the first time since 2004, and we are halfway round the world!! I also relaxed a bit by the pool, and then waited for Brenna to get home, she had the second of her "specials" today, which is supposed to be about writing alternative ends to Disney movies, Brenna said all they did today was watch a Disney movie and that the class was Boring...I hope that we did not pay 20 ringit so she could watch Disney movies, she can do that at home...It just means that we wont sign up for that one again! We will have to see how it goes. Brenna seems to be doing well  in her class, we have had no reports of bad behavior, but Brenna likes to play games though especially if she knows she can get away with it. I agree with the school wanting to place alot of the in class responsibility on the child, in fact i love it...she seems to be getting a VERY good education, hopefully she will learn the responsibility stuff also!! So the night was good, we had some leftovers, and Brenna got an Easter card from her Grandma. Going to try and plan something for mothers day for Roxanne, not easy though...Not a big holiday here either. Ah well getting late, and need to get to bed early tonight. Goodnight all!! Until tomorrow!

The "Soccer" experiance!

Well today was a great day here in Penang, i actually felt busy!! I got Brenna off to school, via Nina our next door neighbor. She offered to give Brenna a ride in today, since we were both attending the PTA meeting today. Ok ok, i know me at a PTA meeting, yes and the world did not stop, pigs were not flying about, and there was another non-working dad there as well. "Jeff" seems like a pretty good guy! So with the meeting over, I got a ride back home from Nina, and then, did some laundry and ran the dishwasher. I watched some of the Vancouver/Nashville game, and then it was time to meet Brenna for the bus. she had some homework to finish, and then while waiting for Katie to finish hers, she fell asleep...poor Boo boo...anyway. I gave her about 1/2 hour of rest and then had to get her up to get her to her play date with Katie, so I could head down to the "soccer experience". Decided I would run down there as the extra mileage would be good, and it would give me a bit of a warm up. I arrived got stretched and hit the pitch. The way this game was structured was 7 a side, and there were 3 or 4 kids on our team, along with a few adults, while the other team was made up of all adults. It was really fun, though we got our buts kicked. I scored, and thought I did ok for a guy who has not touched a soccer ball in about 20 years (I think I went to one practice with Roxanne's work team a few years back, but that was not anything like a game). I got in some good exercises, spoke to Martin a bit, and then ran home. I was tired and a bit sore. I picked Brenna up from Nina's, she settled in at home with her DS, i watched some news (BBC) and then Rox got home. We made some "Hamburgers" which tasted more like sausage...it said Beef, but the mystery meat in these things might have been a combination...they were not bad though. I got my next Kombucha brew bottled, and we settled in for the night. Skyped Nanny/Mary, and had a nice talk with her, Then off to bed for Brenna. I wanted to get this finished, and although this is a pretty short post it was a very full day. i would give you a better account of the soccer, but It was not anything all that organized. It was like pick up hockey, although the teams were in no way evenly matched, we were out there to have a good time, and i for one did. I was never a very good soccer player even when i played, so the fact that I can kick and pass the ball is enough for me!! Martin did say that he has talked to the guy at the soccer experience that plays "Floor Ball" locally, and I will need to hook up with him as well, that would be some fun!! Anyway, another great day here in Penang!! Goodnight all, see you tomorrow!!

a little volunteering goes a long way!

Brenna went back to school today after our long weekend in Singapore, she seemed to transition seamlessly and continues to ride the bus and also seems to be doing well in school. She has problems following a new set of rules, it is getting to the point where it is more "Brenna being Brenna" than "Brenna being New", but our little champ will milk that for all its worth!! we have been communicating with the teacher, we are glad that she is putting the responsibility on Brenna and not reaching out to us just yet, Brenna is 8 and way past the "I don't know how to do that" phase....its coming along, the responsibility i mean. Today was also a day for "specials" after school, Brenna has chosen three days of "specials" including origami, a writing workshop (its about finishing/continuing/or changing the endings of Disney stories, she is pumped for this one!) and Knitting, she has always been very crafty, so this will be good for her!! I have also made my first venture into the volunteering at school by showing up today at 13:30 to do "guided reading". Basically you are assigned a group of kids from the class (Brenna's class) and you take them away from the classroom, on the campus and they all take turns reading an assigned book. They are given a list of questions and you help to facilitate the discussion. Easy! Before this though I had to go "Top up" my 3G phone plan...Have I said how much more I like this Sony/Ericsson Experia phone than my iPhone...Well in case I didn't I do, and i am so happy that I can get whatever service on it i want when i get home!! Might invest in a Samsung Galaxy Tablet while i am here also, they are really nice, and I can save myself some money. So "top up" done, 3G service back and onto school. Well I got a really good group for "guided reading",very bright kids who needed little in the way of facilitation. they jumped right into a discussion of what they thought the book was about, the characters, and the things that they liked and did not like. It was great! Poor Brenna, she is bummed that I don't get to facilitate her group, but the rule is you cant have your own children. I'm actually ok with that...Brenna needs to have time away from mommy and daddy and begin to develop her independence, because at 18, she is out the door ready or not!! When guided reading finished up, Brenna had to go onto her "special" and i decided to see what "Floor ball" was all about, i had heard it was very much like hockey, so i was interested to see if the coach needed any help. It turns out the usual coach, a man who plays for the local "professional" team, was not there today, and I had a BLAST! It was fun helping the kids out, more fun to get to run around with them a bit (a bit hot). It is close to hockey, but mostly for a pure skill perspective, the stick play and physical aspects are not allowed, so there is lots of room to move around. the kids really had fun, and I heard latter from Martin the guy who runs the soccer experience, that another person who volunteers there also plays for the Malaysian national team, so I may have found something else to do!! My pot runneth over!! I have gone from nothing to do, to filling up the days. In fact I will spend tomorrow afternoon, playing a little football, with the less experienced players, i need to get my feet wet a bit before I try any league play, it has been 20+ years since i have touched a soccer ball. I am excited though! So the day ended with me having to drag Brenna off the school bus, so we could catch a cab back home, i figure next week she will grab the bus, so she can ride home with Katie, and I will just run home, the extra mileage wont kill me. We got home and then went Grocery shopping, and had a nice home cooked meal! Another good day in Penang!! well goodnight all, Until tomorrow!!

Home again

Thought I would do a quick post for today...Flight back home was uneventful, I took some last minuet shots of some of the art around our hotel and the city...not much but I thought they were cool. We looked around some antique shops before we left and saw about a million things we wanted, we will have to find shops like that here in Penang also!!

What a great trip we had, we are all tired, but it is back to school, back to work and back to life on the easy for me!! I think i may have a chance to volunteer at school tomorrow, Guided Reading!! should be fun!!
Another great day in Penang!! Goodnight all!!

Singapore Zoo and our flight back home.

Sorry we missed you guys on Sunday evening/Sunday morning, Internet was a bit too expensive at the hotel, and connectivity was average at best. Anyway, Sunday morning found us (following Chris's rather harrowing pre dawn run...see http://www.afloridianrunnerinpenang.blogspot.com/ for details) headed out to the Singapore Zoo, via subway and bus, which had become such a convenient and inexpensive way to travel. The trip to the zoo took about 45 min though, it would have been a bit shorter by cab, but not much. I can say this for the Singapore Zoo, it is Awesome!! As zoos go, it was clean, well maintained, the animals looked healthy,they had some amazing exhibits and the animals are so close you can almost touch them (sometimes!).

We got some great shots throughout the day, and they had so many exhibits and the animals were all very active, the Proboscis Monkeys above had beat up and chased the guy into the water , damn he looks guilty. Brenna got to pet the small deer above, also. This Lemur, was right above us in a tree, and three of his troop continued to

bounce around in the trees above and next to us. it was very cool, I love Lemurs!!

We continued to wander around the zoo until well into the afternoon, we saw Asian elephants, and huge Komodo Dragons, we got to see great big Flying Foxes, and stood for a long time watching a large group of Orang-utans get free reign over the tree tops throughout the zoo, there were times when they would be in the trees right above you. That is what amazed me about this zoo, it seemed as though the philosophy was that you are coming into their habitat, not that their habitat has been created for you. It was really an incredible experience. We had such a great time!! I will post a few more pictures that we took..

Our day ended with a trip to the gift shop, which is always Brenna's favorite part of any trip!! We picked up some nice souvenirs and then headed to the stop to catch our bus. We then picked up our train.

It was a really great day today, we had a blast!! We came home exhausted and then went and met a colleague of Roxanne's who lives in Singapore, He invited us to a small pub, and we got to meet his wife and daughter who was adorable, she and Brenna hit it off, Brenna got to play big sister, she things she is an awesome big sister!!

Oh and the really cool thing is that this was parked out in front of the Hotel...for a Hilton it does get the "bling" !

Great day in Singapore!! Goodnight all!!