Thursday Thirteen - Happy Birthday Aaron

Two years ago, Aaron's arrival completely change my life. There hasn't been a single day in the past 730 days that remotely resembled pre-Aaron life. Life is harder and there I times when I say things like "I wish I could just have 24 hrs to myself" but, I don't really mean it. So today, on his 2nd Birthday, here are the:

13 Things I Wish For Aaron

1) Good health

2) Good emotional health

3) A childhood that will be full of happy family memories

4) Strong family ties

5) A circle of loyal friends

6) A demeanor that is polite, respectful and kind

7) A sense of humor and the ability to be an optimist

8) The drive to pursue any dream he may have

9) The stamina to complete any project he starts

10) The confidence to be true to himself

11) The strength to face and learn from failures

12) A balanced life (I wouldn't want him to be successful but a workaholic.)

13) Finally, I wish that he will always have a special place in his heart for me.

Thursday Thirteen #17

13 Strange Searches That Landed People Here

1. What clothes go with yellow shoes?
If you're an adult, I don't think ANY clothes go with yellow shoes.

2. i am looking for denim skirts that are orange and green
I'm sure this person must have a good reason for wanting something like this.

3. bar girls in malaysia
There were multiple searches with these words even if they were sometimes in a different order. They must have been disappointed when they clicked on "The Milk Bar"

4. dog grooming in sitiawan
Sitiawan is a very small town near my hometown of Ipoh. I didn't think that people there would look for dog grooming services.

5. "farter in heaven"
I hope this is somebody who read my post about Aaron praying and was looking for it again. Otherwise, I can't imagine why somebody would be thinking about farters in heaven.

6. lady boys in palembang indonesia
Maybe this person would have had more luck searching 'Banci'. I'm told thats what the Indonesian word is.

7. amanda balding
OK. Is there somebody out there who thinks I'm balding?

8. Indonesia husband
I've heard of mail order brides but never grooms.

9. husband punished wearing diaper
Er....all sorts of people in the world!

10. bar for eyelashes
I had no idea what this was until I searched it myself. Its a place where they sell eyelashes. Take a look at this example.

11. eyebrow bar brisbane
Initially, I thought this was strange but when I searched it, its actually a place where people go to get their eyebrows shaped. Still, it does sound funny doesn't it? Imagine saying "I'm just going down to the bar for a pluck/wax".

12. I had to pee during the flight
Can't figure out what this person could be searching for...

13. bilbo pregnant
Bilbo, I think this takes the cake for being the strangest!

Thursday Thirteen #16

13 Facts about our house and our neighborhood
(Bit of a long one this week)

1) When we have a power outage, it also means that we have a water outage because the pump won't be working to get any water into the house.

2) These beautiful lilies have been blooming around the house for 2 weeks now. I didn't plant them and there weren't this many last year. All of them are in little ledges of that stick out of the walls outside.


3) The bathroom next to the kitchen must have been what the original owner designated as the maid's bathroom. It has a squat toilet and no flush. The other two bathrooms are normal toilets that flush. Just another reminder of how some people can have such low regard for another person who helps them out 24 hrs a day with chores that they'd rather not do. Plenty of people like that around...

4) The drains in the neighborhood are filthy and mostly so bogged up that water flows nowhere. We stupidly cleaned the muck out of the drains immediately in front of our house but unfortunately we're now at a lower level than other places 'down-drain' so we have even more water stagnant. Still working on a solution.

5) These horrible drains have a lot of wildlife in them. In addition to the germs and diseases, there are also little crabs, fish and supposedly some sort of small eel. The eel is something that Richard told me about but I can't imagine that it really is an eel. Maybe just some big worm....

6) The neighbor's son recently caught himself a pair of doves and has been 'training' them. The doves are a craze amongst the kids this year. They're all walking around with a bird in hand. Last year it was kites.

7) I'm supposedly getting a new neighbor, two doors down, that is from Singapore. Don't know yet if its just a single guy or a family.

8) I live 200m from a mosque. Five times a day, when the prayers are broadcasted, a neighbor's dog howls his own prayers. He does this 5 times a day, every day. None of the other dogs are as disciplined as he is.

9) Directly opposite the mosque is a house inhabited by a Canadian man, his Indonesian wife, 3 daughters and about 5 maids. The man is oldish and has been in Indonesia 30 years. He's friendly with lots of good stories but its hard to chat with him long because he never wears a shirt (and has a HUGE beer belly) and his pants are always falling off him. One day, we drove past the house and were treated to a view of his entire behind. EEW!

10) All the names of the roads here are animals. We live on Bear St.

11) The clanging has stopped but the past few nights have been noisy with cats mating.

12) The housing area we live in is 'gated' and takes about 30 mins to walk the perimeter at a leisurely pace.

13) So far, we've only heard of 3 thefts in the 16 months we've lived here. Haven't heard of any other types of crimes in the area.

Thursday Thirteen #15

Sometimes I find that I use these Thursday Thirteen posts as a sort of planning / list making tool for myself. So today, we have:

13 New Activities I'll Try With Aaron

1) Fingerpainting.

2) "Pretend" fishing in our pond. I just need to make a fishing rod.

3) Gluing some colorful shapes onto paper.

4) Negotiating toilet paper barricades or 'detours' around the house.

5) Walking on a low (and wide) balance beam.

6) Finger puppets.

7) Get a magnifying glass so we can look at things.

8) Playing with a flashlight.

9) Drawing with chalk on the driveway.

10) Typing in Microsoft Word using big bold fonts.

11) Toddler hopscotch.

12) Marching and funny walks.

13) Word "treasure hunt" while we're reading.

There can never be enough activities when it comes to occupying a toddler's time, so, leave me a comment on any other indoor fun ideas you may have. Thanks!

Thursday Thirteen #15

13 Things That Change My Bad Moods into Good Ones

1) Reading fiction. I find it hard to read non-fiction if I'm in a bad mood. On the other hand, a good fantasy story allows me to completely escape my world.

2) Eating anything crunchy. Usually unhealthy deep fried stuff :)

3) Going dancing. I don't get to do this at all right now but in the past, this always made me happy. Its just not the same dancing around the house.

4) Foot Reflexology - This works with getting your circulation going and I'm always in a good mood after one of these sessions.

5) Exercise. Everybody knows that exercising releases endorphins and I make full use of them everyday. I'm just wondering why running after a toddler in the house (which seems like exercise) doesn't seem to release the endorphins.

6) Eating cold fruit. Sometimes I think I get a little grumpy just from all the heat and humidity.

7) Looking through all the photos I have of Aaron.

8) Finding a friend online to have a good long chat with.

9) Exfoliating. Somehow, scrubbing all the dead skin off my body makes me happy.

10) Tickling Aaron. His laugh and scrunched up little face will bring anyone out of a bad mood.

11) Listening to Michael Buble. So many of the songs he sings are happy, toe tapping ones.

12) Thunderstorms. I love sitting and watching the rain, lightning and thunder. Now, I do it together with Aaron and its all the more enjoyable.

13) Finding out I have lots of comments on my latest post.

Thursday Thirteen #14

13 Indonesian Words
Here are a few words that I like either for the way they sound or what they mean.

1) Dong - This word doesn't really have a meaning. It is my favorite because it sounds so funny. I hear it tacked on at the back of sentences a lot. For example "Don't do that, dong". If you're a Malaysian, think of it as the "-lah".

2) Choi - I think it means something like "Buddy". You only use it to call friends. For example "Hey Choi". Its actually from the Palembang dialect.

3) Kodok - Frog. I just like saying this one. Try it.

4) Chowok - Male. I think this one and the next word are in the Palembang dialect.

5) Chewek - Female. When Aaron was a baby and still androgynous looking, people used to ask me, "Chowok atau (or) Chewek?" I was always so confused wondering why they were trying to talk about Chewbacca.

6) Koki - Chef. Isn't it a cute word?

7) Balita - Toddler. This word is actually the short form of saying "BAyi di bawah LIma TAhun meaning "baby under 5 years old". Isn't it amazing how they abbreviated a 5 word phrase to just 3 syllables.

8) Kring - Cell. As in the neighborhood Catholics getting together for prayer or other fellowship. I wonder if those terrorist cells are also called 'Krings'. Once again, the word reminds me of 'Klingon'.

9) Pelit - Stingy. I learnt this word a few days ago and I've been using it a lot.

10) Gengsi - Snobbish. The dictionary has this word translated as 'prestigious' but when I asked an Indonesian how this word would be used, it had more negative uses to it than anything prestigious. Its like calling somebody a 'Snob'.

11) Yo - C'mon. This is another everyday word that is used in informal settings. I usually hear it when people are leaving "C'mon, lets go".

12) Santai - Relax. Whats not to like about this word?

13) Cicip - To try. This is used for tasting food. When you're cooking and taste to see if its right, thats called 'cicip'. Or if somebody sees you eating something yummy and they want to have a bite, they might ask to 'cicip' it.

Thursday Thirteen #12

13 Things To Get Done Soon-ish

1) Complete a new 'map' for Aaron with a musical and counting theme.

2) Resuscitate my garden. The combination of hot weather, no rain and poor soil seems to be taking its toll on all my plants. The Okra have lost most of their leaves. The winged beans also look like they are heading that way. I dug out the Zucchini plants some time ago because it just looked so sick. Right now, only the tomato plant seems relatively healthy. I need to rescue them all....

3) Research my 'old age list'. I try to stay healthy by exercising and eating right. However, I thought of boosting the effectiveness of this by making a list of all the common ailments people encounter in their later years. Then, perhaps I can do the right things from now to hopefully avoid some of them.

4) Complete my 1001 things in 101 days list.

5) Major clean up of my hard disk. I need more space.

6) Backup Aaron's photos. I should do this weekly but its so easy to put off. I think i have 13 weeks of photos sitting dangerously unbacked up on my hard disk.

7) Organise all my music CDs/MP3s. They're all over the place now. In my desk drawer, next to the TV, saved on my too full hard disk. We need some ORDER :)

8) Start a family photo album. My plan is to have one for each year. I think its nice to have a physical photo album that I can pull out to look at.

9) Go for our first professional family photos. I've noticed that its relatively inexpensive to get this done in Palembang. Why not give it a go?

10) Repack my first aid and emergency packs (y'know, passports, money etc in one place). I had this done some time ago but then made the mistake of dipping into them for odds and ends and now everything is a mess.

11) Invite the few new people that we've met over for lunch. I'd like to say barbecue but this is definitely not the climate to be standing in front of any sort of heat. I'll just order in since I don't want to scare them away from future invitations.

12) Go for a day trip to the outskirts of Palembang. There are a lot of smaller villages and farms there that we have not been to.

13) I'm not sure if I can actually do this one. I've noticed that there is at least one Bidan in every neighborhood. A Bidan is a 'midwife'. I'm not sure what sort of training they receive (probably traditional) but I think it would be very interesting to see how they operate. I've been wondering if one of them would let me spend a day following them around.

Thursday Thirteen #11

13 Things I'm Looking Forward To Next Week

1) Aaron's reaction when we walk past a real plane. He looks for them each time we hear one fly overhead. He seems to be getting more excited about them. The Air Asia terminal in Kuala Lumpur is one of those without the tunnels directly inside. We'll need to walk down the stairs and across the tarmac. I think he'll enjoy it.

2) An over the water chalet with a supposedly spacious deck for me to enjoy the sea view.

3) An open sky bathroom. I'm really curious about what this must be like. We'll be having showers / baths under the stars (or hot sun!). What if it rains? What about birds flying overheard?

4) Splashing around the pool with Aaron and Richard. Up until now, it has only been Aaron and I whenever we go swimming.

5) Buffet breakfasts. This ought to be good after our three months of daily oatmeal here in Palembang.

6) A haircut. My hair is so long and heavy now I'm getting tangled in it in my sleep. Can't wait to get a bit of it lopped off. Perhaps some long layers like Eva Longoria?

7) A deep cleansing facial. The humidity and my own laziness has led to a face in need of some serious exfoliating and deep cleansing. Of course, the pampering that comes with a relaxing facial is the icing on the cake.

8) Some real Tau Foo Fah for Aaron. This is a beancurd dessert that Aaron can't get enough of.

9) Pancakes. The last time I was in KL, we went to a restaurant that served pancakes, and all its variations, from around the world. It was amazing! I didn't expect them to be so delicious. Can't wait to go try more of them.

10) Shopping. I'm not usually a shopper but living in Palembang has really made me miss aimlessly wondering around malls. The ones here are just too noisy and crowded to be enjoyable. Kuala Lumpur is definitely a shoppers paradise and the three of us are going to enjoy it. Yes, even Richard and Aaron will enjoy it.

11) A change in Aaron's sleep patterns. Each time we go on holidays, something improves with Aaron's sleep. I hope that this trip will bring more positive changes.

12) Stocking up on the essentials I need to bring back here. We'll not only be walking the malls. We'll also be scouring each and every aisle of the supermarket to replenish our supplies for the house in Palembang. Things as ordinary as Glad Cling Wrap, Bovril and some nappy liners.

13) Roti Canai, Char Koay Teow, Chee Cheong Fun......these are all Malaysian food that we can't get here in Palembang. Its going to be a week of lazing, eating and shopping!

Thursday Thirteen #9

13 Things I Never Thought I'd Be Doing

Lets go back 13 years. I was 19 then and I never thought I'd ...

1) ... be a housewife. I had hoped to be a 'wife' but didn't think I'd be the stay-at-home kind.

2) ... be a mother. I thought I decided in high school that I didn't want to be a mother. BUT, I also remember thinking if I did end up one, I'd want to be the stay-at-home sort. Talk about being a confused teenager.

3) ... be planting my own fruit and vegetables.

4) ... not be working. I always imagined working in a cleanroom environment and enjoying every moment of it.

5) ... be cheering while looking at somebody else's number 1s or number 2s in the toilet.

6) ... count countries as varied as Costa Rica, Philippines, China, Japan, Korea and the US as places that my short lived career had sent me to. I'll forever be thankful for those trips.

7) ... live in a place where I have no friends. Back then, I had so many friends I used to wish I had time to just be alone.

8) ... be trying to figure out if cookies can be made without a microwave. Can they?

9) ... mute the volume whenever a movie has too much suspense buildup.

10) ... choose to go to bed early instead of watching TV.

11) ... be enjoying the Wiggles as much as Aaron does. Initially, I thought they were ridiculous but now, I'm as into the Wiggles as he is! Toot-Toot-Chuga-Chuga Big Red Car.....

12) ... become meticulous about tidiness. I just find that its so much easier to meet Aaron's needs if I knew exactly where everything is. So now, even his toys are always kept in the same groups and all members accounted for before being placed in their allocated space. I find that its easy for him too because he can zoom straight to whichever one he's thinking of.

13) ... be this contented and happy with my simple life.

Thursday Thirteen #8

13 Things I Learnt in April

1) There are 9 tones in Cantonese, as opposed to the famous 4 in Mandarin.

2) People in Palembang assume that being called for an interview means they've got the job.

3) The short cut to picking the husks out of rice is to soak all the rice you want to cook. The husks will float to the top. Background to this is that the rice we buy here are so full of grains with the husks still on that it is really annoying to eat if you don't sort them out first. A real pain!

4) If Aaron does not wake from his morning nap before 10am, he will not be able to fall asleep for an afternoon nap and the rest of the day will be difficult with an overtired toddler. This is irregardless of the morning nap duration.

5) Tomatoes (and perhaps all fruit) grow from the spot where their flowers bloom. NEw to me! This shows you how ignorant a gardener I am :)

6) Cabbage belong to the same family as broccoli and are also a super food. Supposedly, it "stimulates the immune system, kills bacteria and viruses, and is a good blood purifier."

7) Mother panda's need to help their young urinate and defaecate. They also er...ingest the product afterwards. Talk about dedicated potty training! I learnt this from a friend who was watching some panda documentary while chatting with me.

8) Buses in Panama sound as garishly decorated as the ones here in Palembang. Bilbo, was the one who left a comment on my Angkut post and shared this piece of information.

9) Looking after one toddler is a walk in the park compared to watching over a toddler and a four year old. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a mom of two! Getting my practice now watching over Aaron and Linmas.

10) The flip-flop style slippers sold in the markets here are colored according to size. Meaning that you don't have a choice of colors, it all depends on how big your feet are.

11) Pluto was downgraded to "dwarf planet" status in August 2006. This means that there are only 8 planets in our solar system now. I guess I missed that news because the decision was made the same month Aaron was born.

12) A popular method of weaning in Indonesia is to rub a particularly bitter leaf on before each feed so that the baby will be too disgusted by the taste to continue. A little drastic! Wonder how the women then dealt with the engorgement.

13) A 'tare' is a term to describe the weight of an empty container or vehicle.

Thursday Thirteen #7

13 songs from the past 13 years

I wouldn't call all of these my favorite songs but they were songs that I remember liking a lot at the time.

1) 1995: On Bended Knee (Boyz II Men)

2) 1996: Breakfast At Tiffany's (Deep Blue Something)

3) 1997: I Want You (Savage Garden)

4) 1998: Truly Madly Deeply (Savage Garden)

5) 1999: Last Kiss (Pearl Jam)

6) 2000: I don't have a song for this year. Looking through a list of songs released in 2000 doesn't ring many bells in my head. I remember a year of a lot of travel and a lot of wedding planning. I must have forgotten to listen to the radio.

7) 2001: Thank You For Loving Me (Bon Jovi)

8) 2002: Get The Party Started (Pink)

9) 2003: Where Is The Love? (Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake)

10) 2004: This Love (Maroon 5)

11) 2005: Lonely (Akon)

12) 2006: Home (Michael Buble)

13) 2007: Rage Over a Lost Penny (Beethovan). This piece was on a children's CD I bought for Aaron. Since we moved here last year, I haven't been listening to any new music released. We get MTV and Channel V but I haven't been watching either.

I'm becoming one of those out of touch moms already!

Thursday Thirteen #6

13 Things I've Been Wondering About

1) Will I end up preferring life without the live in maid? Its surprising how quickly one gets used to such a luxury but Linmas's mom has been coming in for a couple of hours each day for two weeks now and life has been good.

2) Is the idiom "Better the devil you know, than the one you don't" just an easy way out of making a change?

3) Do I really wish that I didn't know about trans fats? After knowing about them, I see them in everything!

4) Did I really see Aaron try to eat dirt this evening?

5) When will Aaron wean himself? WILL he wean himself?

6) How many other 19 month olds out there DO NOT sleep through the night?

7) How much longer will the Legos entertain Aaron? He has been playing with them daily, several times a day, for nearly two months now.

8) How do you give a 19 month old a 1 minute time out? Does the clock reset if they leave the spot?

9) Richard's boss has indicated that they are extending his contract here for another two years. I wonder if we will end up being here for a total of 4 years. Will we get to upgrade the car?

10) Should I spend the money on a second hand piano or maybe an electronic piano now that I know we'll be here for longer? I really want to start Aaron young.

11) Will the internet be able to teach me how to play chess?

12) Will my parents, my brother and I ever live in the same city again?

13) We need to decide where to go during the May break. I've been wondering about Langkawi for the beach, Singapore for the zoo or Kuala Lumpur for its convenience. Where else? Brunei? Thailand? Vietnam?

Thursday Thirteen #5

The Numbers 1 to 13 Around Me

1) One incredibly entertaining toddler.

2) Two (and ONLY two) biscuits are used as daily 'ammunition' against Aaron during the car trip home from the gym.

3) Three month membership at the gym. I don't sign up for anything longer in case I need to leave the country.

4) Four hours is the longest uninterrupted stretch of sleep I've had in the last 19 months. I've adjusted.

5) Five different types of plants in the garden that we can eat; Okra, Winged Beans, Tomatoes, Zucchinis, Baby Cucumbers. The first two are regulars on the dinner table but we're still waiting for the other three. Those just got planted a month ago.

6) Six - Size of my shoes.

7) Seven days before my mother leaves.

8) Eight years married to Richard.

9) Nine cousins in total.

10) Ten years since I left Australia.

11) Eleven chapters left on the novel I'm reading: Red China Blues by Jan Wong.

12) RM12 (~USD3.70) is the average we pay for half a week's groceries from the local markets.

13) Thirteen pet fish.

Thursday Thirteen #4

13 Phrases I don't like saying (and hearing)

This is a list of phrases that I try not to say. They've come about because I feel that what we say has a subconscious effect on how we behave. Some of these are also derived from me not liking to hear these things said to me.

1) "I don't know..."
Sometimes, this phrase gives me the impression that the person can't be bothered to have the conversation. OR, it give me a lazy impression. Everybody (almost) has access to the internet and you can find out almost anything. Its just a matter of how deeply you know the topic.

2) "I don't care..."
Its just lame to have this sort of attitude.

3) "You're lucky..."
This one always makes me feel as if the work I put in had counted for nothing and that whatever I'm enjoying now is purely because I had luck. I don't like the way it makes me feel and I try not to put other people's good fortune down to their luck.

4) "If only..."
There is no point dwelling on something that can't be changed.

5) "I'm bored..."
I always think that if you feel bored, its most probably because you are a boring person in the first place.

6) "I'll let you decide."
This one can get so irritating whenever there is a decision to be made regarding things like where to eat. But, sometimes, I feel I have to say this out of a genuine respect or deference to the other person.

7) "I want..."
Just the opposite to #6. Some people are so demanding and leave no room for compromise. This too can be irritating.

8) "You should..."
I really dislike this one when it has to do with people telling me how I should raise Aaron, especially when it comes to our breastfeeding.

9) "Its too hard, I can't..."
By saying this, I'm likely to give up before I even try.

10) "What are we having for dinner?"
Now I know how my mother feels. We used to ask her this every evening and now, its getting thrown back at me. My solution is to make up a meal time table and just point to it whenever I get the question.

11) "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer?"
I don't think I said this much when I was a child. I knew how much it annoyed my parents. Yet, these days, I find that I simply must know how much further there is to go so that I can set my expectation regarding the sitting time in the car.

12) "Do I look fat in this?"
OK. I really don't like saying this but I have to admit that I say it all the time. I can't help it. I really need to know sometimes.

13) Name Dropping
So, I don't have a 13th one but I do dislike the use of name or title dropping during a conversation. I know that I make it a point never to do this.

Thursday Thirteen #3

13 Wants I Can't Classify As Needs (Yet)

1. A new desktop with maybe a 17" LCD monitor. Unfortunately, my laptop is still working even though its a little slow and the screen not as big as I would like it.

2. A piano. Too big to move with us.

3. An ipod. I only have one hour each day that I would probably use it.

4. A new DVD player. The existing one plays most DVDs.

5. A new TV. Since the DVD player doesn't play everything, it would be nice to hook the TV up to my laptop. Unfortunately, this seemingly 'new' one doesn't have the ports for an S-Video cable. Since I'm getting neither, I'll just have to stick to watching on my laptop.

5. An oven. Another chunky piece of equipment. Maybe when we know we're living in a permanent home.

6. A heavenly bed, Westin Hotel style. We have these less than satisfactory foam mattresses at the moment.

7. A tarsir for a pet. Completely illegal and not something that I would ever do but, wouldn't it be the CUTEST little companion? Maybe if I live in the jungle one day.....

8. A new hairstyle, something funkier. Right now, I see no one and hardly leave the house so my hair is going to stay long and straight for the time being.

9. A higher car. The one we have is about 2 inches off the ground. But since we don't pay for it, I can't make the change and won't complain to 'management'.

10. A flute. I have no idea how to play one but it seems like the perfect instrument to be into because its so portable. I'll wait untill I live in a place where I can get lessons.

11. A swing for the garden. Unfortunately, there isn't any place to put this and the place is full of mosquitoes so its definitely something I like but can't have at the moment.

12. A Nintendo Wii. Sounds perfect for our stay-at-home lifestyle here but how long would we actually play it for?

13. A year long world tour, first class. I'm sure this is on most people's wish lists.

Thursday Thirteen #2

My Thirteen Homes

1) St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia: Think it was a one bedroom flat. My parents lived here at the time I was born.

2) Lim Garden, Ipoh, Malaysia: My paternal grandparent's home when first we moved back to Ipoh. I'm not sure how long we stayed here for.

3) Canning Garden, Ipoh, Malaysia: Rented house in Canning Garden near maternal grandparents. We stayed here for about 5 years.

4) Ipoh Garden, Malaysia: My parents first house in a neighboring suburb to Canning Garden. Notice how all the suburbs are some sort of garden? I always found that so unimaginative. Check out the names of the subsequent places I've stayed.

5) Toowong (Place of doves), Brisbane, Australia: A really tiny one bedroom unit. My father was staying there before we moved over so it is where the four of us crammed for a couple of months.

6) Auchenflower, Brisbane Australia: Supposedly my mother decided to buy our quaint little wooden house the moment she saw it. I lived there for 11 years.

7) Island Glades, Penang, Malaysia: I rented a room from an old lady when I started my first job.

8) Pulau Tikus (Rat Island), Penang, Malaysia: I moved to another rented room because I couldn't stand the fungus and oil spills in the shared bathroom anymore. Unfortunately, this one was also owned by an old lady.

9) Sungai Dua (Two River), Penang, Malaysia: I finally decided to rent an entire apartment because the second old lady wouldn't allow Richard to come up to my room.

10) Bayan Lepas (Takeoff area), Penang, Malaysia: Our first property. Richard and I bought a 3 bedroom apartment when we got married.

11) Bayu Perdana (First breeze), Klang, Malaysia: We sold our apartment and rented a house when Richard took on a new job in a different city.

12) Bandar Botanic (Botanic city), Klang, Malaysia: After two and a half years at the first house, the landlord informed us that he had sold the place and we had to move. I was 8 months pregnant when we moved to this other rented house in Klang. We stayed only 3 months before moving to Indonesia.

13) Kedamayan (Peace), Palembang, Indonesia: And here we are now.

My out of control guava tree is blocking most of the house but I can't trim it until all the fruit ripen. The weedy looking thing you see creeping along my front fence is my four angled bean plant. They look messy but are delicious. And that guy, Mr. Soon-to-smell-nice.

Thursday Thirteen

I'll give this a go. I often spend time complaining about Palembang but in actual fact, I do enjoy living here. So my thirteen is on:

Why we moved to Palembang

1. The adventure of living in a developing country.

2. To give Richard's career a bit of a fast forward.

3. To live rent and debt free.

4. To enjoy a slower paced way of life.

5. To break out of our comfort zones. Change is hard but its always for the better. I don't want to get too comfortable in one place yet.

6. To see how people in different parts of the world live.

7. To be able to be in awe of progress and modern cities again. HA! HA! We only found this out after living here awhile and then leaving the place.

8. To allow me not to need to go out to work and spend time at home with Aaron instead. Although there I days that I do wish I had to go OUT to work.

9. To experience life in 1950s Malaysia. This is supposedly what much of Palembang is like.

10. For the very affordable manicures, pedicures, massages, hair spas etc.

11. For the perks that we enjoy as part of the package: A maid to help in the house and a driver to take us everywhere.

12. For the surprises that life throws at us here. From stink bugs, to muddy water, to power problems....

13. And finally, I have to admit it. For the money.