A Few Shout Outs (or "Why I Love Texas")

When I first got back to Texas for the winter break, I (thankfully) headed up to the panhandle with my parents to spend some time with them and my grandparents instead of just opting for a larger chunk of time at the end of the trip.  I had also planned to return for a few days right before flying back out.


However, when my granddad passed, I knew I needed to be by my grandma's side as soon as possible, even though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to change my tickets.  As I prepared to call the airline, my expectations were pretty low, but when I explained the situation to the agent she not only expressed her condolences, but also began the process of getting me on an earlier flight.  We were disconnected in the process, and I got a different agent when I called back.  I explained the situation and what the other agent had been in the process of doing.  After some further discussion, checking with her supervisor, and confirming the funeral home, she was able to do an even exchange for the ticket and get me back to my family sooner.  Even though it was only a difference of a day and a half, that time was so precious to me.  Thank you, American Airlines.

Everything in west Texas is pretty spread out - there's just a lot of land and so it can take a while to get just about anywhere.  Because of that, my family decided to stay at a Hereford hotel to make the funeral arrangements a little easier.  The hotel truly went above and beyond to ensure we were all taken care of, including making every effort to make my 90+ year old grandmother as comfortable as possible, not necessarily a task to be undertaken lightly.  Although I don't believe I'll need to return anytime soon, I'd certainly encourage anyone visiting Hereford and needing accommodations to book a room there.  Thank you, Holiday Inn Express.

My dad was asked to do a slideshow for the service and was having a little trouble with it.  Since I arrived early, I decided it was a project I could take over in order to give him one less thing to worry about.  Well, the incompatibility issues between mac/pc/different operating systems/etc made a "simple" project quite a bit more complicated than it really should have been.  Not only that, but the system at the funeral home didn't have the cord that could make it all possible, either.  So, Dad and I decided to check out the only place within about a 60 mile radius that might have what we needed - the local RadioShack/hardware store.  (Yep - two-in-one...that's west Texas style.)  The poor guy was swamped, but still bending over backward to try and help us with every potential option...unfortunately, none were viable.  We swung over to Walmart, just in case, then back to RadioShack because a combination of cables would work, providing they had the second one that Walmart still lacked.  They didn't.  However, he did take the time to walk me through the process of using a different program altogether to burn (rip?) the slideshow to a DVD.  It took a little longer, but worked out much better than I expected.   All because someone took the time to offer true customer service, even knowing it wouldn't earn a sale.  Thank you, RadioShack.

I know it sounds cheesy, but I really have missed that "small town service with a smile."  It was nice to be reintroduced.  Thank you, Texas.

Malaysia - Truly Asia

So, after being lucky enough to have spent a couple of weeks in Malaysia during the winter break, I simply cannot understand why they don't have a better tourist slogan.  Maybe something like: Malaysia - Paradise.  (For serious, y'all.)

(Even more) Seriously though, the second our feet hit the ground, we marveled at the beautiful, clean, cheery surroundings - even at night.  Everything (from the buildings to the freeways) was clean, well-lit, and seemed to function exactly as its makers intended.  In the capital city, Kuala Lumpur (KL), we found all the western food we'd nearly forgotten existed for 6 months - Dunkin Donuts, Auntie Anne's, Wendy's, and even an amazing sushi place (ok, not exactly western, but I have so not eaten sushi in China).  There were amazing malls filled with beautiful things at unbelievable prices, including western sizes!  We even watched a movie in a real theater with popcorn.  We had a few days there before heading down to a little island in the South China Sea.

That smile is for real beef - holla!

Our bus arrived in the little, port town too late to catch the ferry to the island, so we had a night at the Golden City Hotel.

Let's just say that all 3 words in the name were pretty inaccurate.

Hey, but they're looking out for our safety! Pretty confidence-inspiring, eh?

The island (including all the wonderful people there) was more than I could have ever hoped for in a place.  Since words will always fail to give an accurate description, I'll just leave you with one of the (many, many) photos of the relaxation this place embodies.

Sigh, la la.

Of course, even paradise can have its difficulties.  We went on a hike through the jungle and after heaving (read panting and profusely sweating) our way up the mountainous, boulder-filled path and wading through the swollen, rushing waters (due to an over zealous monsoon season), we were told by our new local friend and guide that we could take the easy path back down.  On said easy path, I contracted my first leech.  Ugh - so gross.  We then made it back down through the jungle to find a bridge washed out.

The shoes came off again and we each (one at a time!) tentatively gripped the remaining bamboo poles with our toes as we shimmied across.  We followed the path a bit further down and got to the lagoon.  At high tide.  The boys encouraged us that now was our time to feel like Indiana Jones.  Now?  It was like they somehow hadn't experienced the picture above...even though they were right there with us.  Thankfully, the Indiana Jones task was a bit of a pansy romp compared to the trek we'd already endured - they simply meant we'd take a pontoon with rope pull across the lagoon, where sand and a nicely finished concrete path would guide us directly back to our beach huts.  Phew.  

Dear America, Please Send Bleach.

Ok, so my title for this post was a bit of a joke...until I walked into the kitchen tonight and found roaches.  That's right, plural.  And then I died.  Anyway, without much further adieu, here are the initial photos of our place.  I do plan to update once further cleaning and decorating have happened.

This is the entry up to our apartment.  We're on the first floor, but it's still about 6 or 7 steps up.  To the left of the stairwell is where people tend to store their bikes, strollers, etc.

The door to the left belongs to the two single guys and the door to the right is ours.  The three married couples are in the same building, but they get a different wing and top sheets (I don't know why, but single beds only get a fitted sheet and duvet cover here - no flat sheets).

Entry view to our apartment - the kitchen is the door just inside to the right.

Kitchen view...

Washing machine - woot!  We may have to unplug our water heater in order to plug in the washing machine, and it may all be in code (or Chinese - you say tomato...), and we may have to hook up the hose to a weird nozzle in the sink, but it works!  And with the help of one of the nationals, we found some great-smelling detergent.

Isn't our little purple and gray refrigerator cute?

Here's part one of our big common area...the dining set.

Part two...the living room type space.  And yes, that lovely stripe on floral pattern mix?  Why, that's what we refer to as "double pretty" here in the middle kingdom.

As if we don't have enough reminders of how very watched we are here, we found these lovely stickers on our patio door.

Our cute, little bathroom...

My cell...errr, room!

 All of my clothes fit easily into this wardrobe after I downsized for the move.

That's it for now - we found a mall here in town and have been busy shopping and redecorating.  So, maybe I'll get some of those pictures up soon.  The place already looks a lot better than in the photos above.

But seriously, the first person to figure out how to get us gallons of bleach and/or bug bombs will be my hero. Forever.