Plans change!

Well the trip to the temple is postponed until tomorrow. We simply ran out of time! Liza, Lucas, and Shannelle went back home yesterday, but we will be visiting them on Thursday! Thursday is Chap Goh Mei (fifteenth night), which marks the final day of Chinese New Year celebrations, until next year! Tina and I will travel to Sibu on Thursday to celebrate Chap Goh Mei with Lucas' family, then we will return to Kuching with Liza and Shannelle on Friday evening! We'll enjoy the weekend together, then I jet off on Tuesday! Wow, time is flying!!
Talk to ya later!

Beautiful Kuching

It is hard to believe I have been here a week as of today! What a week it has been! I have eaten everything I have been wanting to eat since I was last here 4 years ago, with the exception of the wild game, which I will be eating in a few days time! My brother-in-law, Ah Soon, has a friend who owns a restaurant specializing in just this sort of cuisine, and I can tell you from experience that Soon's friend is an awesome chef!
Tina's daughter (Liza) and family (husband Lucas and my granddaughter Shannelle) came for a visit from Sibu, which is a 10 hour drive from here. They actually took a flight (45 mins) though. We all went to spend a couple of days at the Damai Puri Beach Resort, a place that I have been wanting to see since I first came here 8 years ago! I can only say that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been blessed to see! Please see the photos on my Facebook site.
We have been staying at Tina's sister's (Ling) house. She has a large house, very comfortable, and we are happy to be here with her! Houses here are not like houses in the U.S., as they are built from concrete, nearly entirely! This keeps the house cool since the average outside temp is 90F, and quite humid as this is a tropical paradise! Don't get me wrong, it is still warm and we use fans to keep the air moving, but it is comfortable. Usually it rains at some point everyday, but there has been just two periods of rain in the last week! Very nice for vacationers!!
Today we are going to a very large temple that sits high on a hill overlooking a fishing village. I have been there before, with a guide, but this time we are going with Liza and family, and Armand (Tina's son) and Ling (my sister-in-law) and Ping (my niece).
More to come!

What a ride!!

We are finally in Malaysia, on Borneo! What a ride! We were snowed out of our flight on Tuesday, so we were re-booked for Friday. Thus, I called my boss and told him I could work the rest of the week. He gladly approved! I worked on Tuesday night (Wednesday shift) and went home to bed. Tina woke me in a panic on Wed afternoon at 1:30 saying we had been re-booked for 5:00pm THAT DAY! WHAT?!?!? So we hurried to get ready and make it to the airport. Dad dropped us off and we went to the ticket counter. Guess what, they had NO RECORD of our re-booking. It should be said here that I called Delta to make sure Tina had the right info and was told we were indeed booked at 5:00pm. So here we are at the counter, perplexed. To make matters worse, the Delta agent told us WE had to call and straighten it out on our own because Part of the fight was being handled by Singapore airlines and they would not let us re-book! WHAT?!?!? I called the Delta people and, after much conversation, they got us going. Oh wait, there's more! When we got to Atlanta we had to go through it all over again, minus the 'me calling Delta' part. Well, the Delta girl in Atlanta did for us what the Delta people in Maine couldn't; booked us through to Malaysia with no trouble. They even checked our bags straight through! Awesome! Off we went to Singapore via Japan. After a long wait, we finally got here to Kuching, but Tina's bags didn't! The baggage agent at the Kuching airport was actually waiting for us! Turns out he had been contacted by Atlanta to say Tina's bags were delayed! Luckily she put a change of clothes in my bag! SO, here we are, a few days later than planned but just as happy to be here! So good to see the family, and enjoy what's left of the Chinese New Year celebrations! Needless to say, we crashed hard last night! Our time is 13 hours ahead of EST, in case you were wondering.
MORE TO COME....

Five days from now...

In just 5 days we will be jetting off to Malaysia! Honestly, I cannot wait to feel the tropical weather surrounding me! But alas, a wrench in the works. I have applied for a promotion, and if I get it I will NOT be able to go on this trip! I am torn! Obviously the promotion is more important than the trip as it will help secure my future retirement! It is in God's hands!
We are filing out financial status paperwork with the court on Monday. The foreclosure mediation will take place in March. And so it goes...
I don't suppose anyone has an extra $178,000 hanging around? No? OK, thanks anyway.
Tonight will be a good night! We are going to enjoy KFC at Mallory's, and we will have a bit of time with our grand-daughter, Lily Mae! Looking forward to that!
Be well friends. My next post will be from Borneo! (I think)

More Snow?!? Aaaarrrrrggggghhhhh

I can't believe it's snowing AGAIN! Ugh! I have GOT to find a better climate to live in! Speaking of which, just 10 day till we jet off to Borneo, to this trip! It's been nearly four years since I have been there, and now, with the recent surgery, I will be able to sight-see! I am very excited about it all!
Mom is doing well with the chemo, but she's in for another round on the 31st. :^(
She's very upbeat about it, but still...
On the lighter side, there is a jam tonight! A little music, a little friendship, a little coffee, and ALOT of fun! I love music nights, I love music. We begin at 7pm, in the Cockpit cafe at the Sanford airport; every other Friday! See you there?

It's Friday!

Wow, another week has gone already! I spent all week wishing Friday was here, and now it is! I wish I had some plans! Maybe I'll watch TV, or go to the mall, or go to bed early! I lead such an exciting life, don't I? Today we go to the first of three meetings at the court concerning our foreclosure. I wish my broker would get that house sold!
Dad made a huge pot of soup the other day. He literally took all the leftovers from the fridge and made a soup out of them! you know, it was good! I really enjoyed it, but I couldn't help thinking that all that stuff in there reminded me of what you see in the drain filter after you've washed the dishes! :^) Yummmmm
See-ya

Here we go again!

We are now eight days into the new year and the only thing that has really changed is the date on the calendar! I am looking forward to a much needed escape to Malaysia beginning February 1st, but I have also put in for a promotion at work. If I get that promotion I will NOT be able to travel! I have applied for many promotions, but never got one. Wouldn't it be ironic to get this one? Still, I would like to have it. We'll have to wait and see! Tina will be gone for 3 months this time around! It already seems like an eternity!! Mom begins chemotherapy next month; that's gonna be a heavy weight around here! Somehow, we will make it to day 9, then 10, then 11....