So...here we go!
1. Contractors who are late/can't fix what they were hired to fix. (Or even worse...a combo of both of those things!) Yesterday, I waited at the house for a contractor to show up, Mr. Kong. Now, normally, I would just leave Elizabeth to take care of this because she is amazing with the contractors - a regular pitbull. I hear her when she's talking to them: "What are you fixing?", "How are you going to fix that?", "Oh, how long do you think it will take?", "No, you can not leave! You did not fix it!" But, this was pretty important, so I thought I better stick around. By 4:30 p.m. Mr. Kong had still not come and Elizabeth was done for the day, so I told her to go home - she didn't need to wait - I would handle it if he showed up. Well, lo and behold, Mr. Kong showed up at 4:45 p.m. I believe our conversation went something like this:
Mr. Kong: Hello. I'm here to fix.
Me: Great! Come on in. (I proceed to show him the issue and walk to the kitchen to help kids with homework. I can hear Mr. Kong messing with some wires and the lights flick on and off. Our conversation continues as he is standing by the door to leave.)
Me: I thought you were going to fix the problem.
Mr. Kong: No can. (Some incomprehensible mumblings) I call Mr. Ong.
And he leaves.
This entire series of events took about 3 minutes and 23 seconds. And, I would like to state that we originally asked if Mr. Ong could come fix the problem. (At this point in time I would let Long Duck Dong - and yes, that is a "Sixteen Candles" reference for all my 80's friends - come fix it!)
Trust me! Not much!
2. Dining out in Malaysia. The food here is fantastic. There are restaurants for every cuisine under the sun. (I just saw a place yesterday bragging about it's wonderful Yemeni Cuisine. I have no idea what the heck kind of cuisine Yemen is known for, but I may be inclined to check it out.) But, it is just strange to me how you can sit down with your lovely family and order drinks, an appetizer, and 4 main meals...and have your husband's main course come out before the appetizer does. Better yet, you haven't received your drinks. Then the two dishes your children ordered arrive. Followed by the drinks. Oh, here comes the appetizer. And finally, your meal. Now, not every restaurant is like this, but we have been to our fair share where this happens (in some combination similar to the one above) and while we're becoming accustomed to it - the former waitress in me wants to gather up the wait staff and the kitchen staff and go all Gordon Ramsey on their asses. How hard is it to send the appetizer out before the main course? And really, you can't send 4 meals out at the same time - or at least within 3 minutes of each other?
3. Mopeds, motorbikes, and scooters. Whatever the hell you want to call them...I wish their drivers had to follow the same laws that those of us who drive cars do! Like - stay on your fucking side of the road! (I had one almost end up on my hood this morning...and if I hadn't actually seen the look of panic on his face as he saw my car, I might have been a little more pissed off! But, he was truly scared! And I was a little bit happy about that! That's what can happen when you're not on your side, dude!) Or how about, you stop at the red lights so that my children and I can cross the road without playing a live-action game of Frogger with you! Our realtor told us when we came here that we should drive like they don't even exist. He said that moped drivers had spent a lifetime driving as they do and well, if something happened, well then, yes, they had spent their lifetime driving like that. So, I'm coming to grips with this...and paying less and less attention to them each and every day.
4. Smoking. I love all of the restaurants and coffee shops that have outdoor seating. Unfortunately, this is also the smoking section - and a LOT of people seem to smoke here in Malaysia. We were very spoiled in the States where smoking is banned in most public places...including bars and restaurants. Like I said, irritation. (When I open up my salad bar, Switch Flops, Size Large and above store here in Malaysia - it will be non-smoking - even outside on my terrace!)
(This will be the sign on my storefront door!)
5. Spoilers. Oh yes, you my dear friends and family back in the States have lovingly made my list this week. I am fortunate to have Hulu Plus, Netflix, DirectTV and access to everything the American internet has to offer thanks to my VPN router. BUT, it takes 24 hours for most shows to hit Hulu Plus, or, due to the time difference, we don't watch our dvr'd shows until about 24 hours after you. Most of the time I can deal with spoilers...there are just a handful of shows that I would appreciate if you could keep the spoilers off the web - for at least 48 hours if possible! One of them starts back on October 13th - and so help me God, if any of you post that Daryl is dead or that Rick was bit by a Walker after watching the 1st episode - I will be sending a box of rotten durian to your house! (Just kidding! Or...maybe not!)
Okay...there you have it! Hope that lightens your Friday a bit...I know I feel better just having blogged about it!!!
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