Home Improvements

When my wife & kid were away I managed to carry out the following home improvement projects:

1. Repainting of walls (inside and outside of the house) - the landlord was too stingy to cover for this but agreed to keep the rental rates the same for the next 2 years. The paint job will be carried out by my driver.
2. Relocation of A/C to the play area/computer desk - in preparation for the hot season, I had the idling second room A/C relocated to the area that my wife and kid spends the most time.
3. No more "dripping pee" hot water! - adjusted the settings at the pump so that hot water could be continuous & strong in the bathroom. Changed the hose that was crumpled (limiting water flow) as well.
   

Not related to home improvements: one day after Hari Raya Haji my ex-driver dropped the following dish off for my dinner. It is curry lamb! I remembered last year he also gave us curry lamb after mutton and beef were handed out by the mosques during Hari Raya Haji (Hari Raya Qurban in Indonesia).

This will be my final post before I leave for my 2 week vacation in Cairns tomorrow. We be back after Christmas, see you after that and have a very Merry 2008 Xmas!!

What I Want For Xmas

A picture says a thousand words.... The original costs RM250 but I was too stingy to spend that amount, so I guess a good replica will do (as long as the quality of the material is silky smooth).

Things I Can Do Alone In Palembang

Next week I get to reunite with my family after 3 month's of being "single" in Palembang. Perhaps you are thinking of reading something "spicy" but these are just the routine things that I have been doing while I am living by myself in Palembang:

1. Get the whole laptop to myself at home at night - the laptop is normally occupied by my wife 24x7 when she is in Palembang.
2. Increased blogging time, commenting/playing around with Facebook.
   
3. Eat dinner in front of the laptop and TV.
4. Watch all the Manchester United matches even if it is on 12 midnight during the weekend (English Premier League) or 2am during the weekdays (Champion's League night).
   
5. Watch ESPN/Star sports channel for the whole night.
6. Eat junk food like chips or chocholates on the couch while watching TV.
7. Sleep for 8 hours & even 10 hours if not feeling well.
8. Get to watch 2 DVDs straight during the weekends.
9. Get to sleep on a bed for 3 all by myself - "star shaped" or "prawn shaped" without having to knock anyone in the process of stretching.
10. Shooting hoops during the weekends.
11. Staying out late with suppliers/customers without having to worry about being "Cinderella".
12. I can leave the toilet seat up! ha ha ha!
    

Anyhow, nothing beats good old family time. After every short separation, I feel like a "re-born person". The time apart gave me time to think about my relationship with my family. It made me realize the significance of their existence and their impact in my life. It also gave me clues on how to make life living in Palembang better (stay tuned to read my next post on home improvements).

1 More Week Before My Holiday In Cairns

In 1 week's time I will be traveling to Australia to join my family for a vacation in Cairns.

I have been alone in Palembang for 3 months since my wife and kid left for Brisbane back in Sep'08. After this long 3 months of separation, I can't believe that I will be reunited again with my family. I guess the people who "left" will not feel as lonely as the people who were "left behind". Anyway I already had some mental preparation before the "annual separation". I know that it is quite boring in Palembang and 3 months of exposure in Australia is good for my toddler son's exposure. Every time he leaves Palembang, he seems to have grown more.

Prior to my connecting flight to Brisbane, I have a whole day in transit in Singapore. I took the opportunity to make an appointment with my old friend KJ, who was also my college house mate and high school friend. We have not met up for a few years because KJ seldom goes back to Penang (our hometown) for Chinese New Year. He told me that it is better to travel to other countries rather than squeeze his schedule to the CNY rush back to Penang. Anyway, I am quite excited to meet up with KJ although I have doubts on how to fill my time in Singapore despite KJ offering me the job of "Singaporean Tour Guide".

Palembang -> Singapore -> Brisbane -> Cairns. Looks like a pretty hectic flight schedule to me. But I can't wait to hug my wife and son in Cairns and go to the beach. Anticipating a hot hot hot Christmas in Cairns.

Bye Bye Corolla, Hello Innova!

The company rented a 1986 Toyota Corolla for me and my family since we moved to Palembang 2 years back.

It is a old and not well maintained sedan car. The tires burst twice and the timing belt broke once.

Today came the day where the company decided to upgrade the old piece of junk to a 2005 Toyota Innova.

I am glad that I do not have to ride/drive the car that we used to own in the 90's before we changed to a Honda City back in Malaysia.

Bye bye Corolla! Hello Innova!!!

The "Yellow House"

When I first came to Palembang, I went around looking for houses with my father in law. We came across a yellow coloured house that we were very interested to rent but the contract did not fall through because it has been leased by another occupant a month before.

After 2 years, the house became available again and I took a look at it again today. The following are some photos of that "yellow house".

























However, that house is smaller than our current house and does not have any "green areas" for plants as the landlord had already made his lawn "concrete". We also calculated again the cost of moving to another place and it seems like it is still worth it to pay for a slightly higher rent with the existing house that is "semi-furnished".