Well, the last weekend in DM before I head back to KL was not too exciting. Friday night was a little interesting as I needed to work later than usual at the facility because one of the residents refused to return to the facility and therefore was in violation of her parole and that’s never a good thing. The cops were called and a missing person’s report was filed but nothing could be done because the cops knew where she was and unless there was a warrant out for her arrest, their hands were tied. My concern was my female colleague would have had to deal with the situation with a staff from an agency and I did not want her to carry the responsibility herself so I stayed until she left.
On Saturday, John and I headed to the Farmers Market – I’ve not been there for a couple of weeks so it was nice to walk and the weather was most perfect. While walking, John bumped into a couple of people he knew and one of the guys and his wife and family just got back from spending over two months in Singapore. He went back and forth between Singapore and Malaysia for business and commented that even in the two years since he went to Malaysia, quite a lot of change had taken place. So, he told me to be surprised by the amount of change since it’s been six years for me. I pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon in the apartment before heading to Ann’s house for dinner. I brought some steak for all of us to eat and Harley grilled it since I can’t have a grill at my apartment. My word, talk about a good piece of steak that was grilled to perfection. All of us had more than enough to eat. The conversation was exhilarating as always and I could tell that Ann was definitely excited for me with regards to my trip home.
That really was the weekend. The international students attending Drake have their orientation on Wednesday so they will be arriving in a couple of days if they have not already arrived. Classes begin next Monday. Where oh where has summer gone?! It’s weird because as school and college starts for most people it’s the end of their vacation, but in my case, my vacation is just beginning. Oh I should say that the excitement really hit me before and after Mass when I informed a couple of people that they won’t be seeing me for a couple of weeks because I’ll be going to Malaysia. They were all so excited for me because they know how long it’s been since I was back in KL. The thing I like most is the sincerity in their wishes.
So, that’s all the news from me. Next week at this time I’ll be basking in the heat and humidity of KL!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tying up loose ends.
In case you’re thinking I’ve been slacking off by not writing, it has nothing to do with that. I’m actually trying to tie up as much loose ends as possible prior to my trip home. I usually have time on Monday morning to send a note. However, because I’m trying my best to tie up loose ends, work has kind of taken on added importance. So, here I am finally with a note.
Well, I made it to the State Fair on Thursday as planned and had a blast. The first group of people I went with was John, his sister, Carol and her husband Warren. They were in town for a couple of days and I try to meet up with them whenever I can. So, it was just fun hanging out at the fair with them. The weather was most perfect and you really could not ask for better weather. Prior years, it was hot and humid. The humidity was pretty low and that made it all the more pleasant. I had some of my regular favorite food, but this year they had crawfish etouffe and a London Broil sandwich. The sandwich was fine, but the etouffe was amazing. It was the first time the vendor made it to the fair and business was kind of slow so they were happy to see me and even happier that I totally loved the food. The residents of the facility will be headed there this evening and I may end up joining them if they need an extra staff. We’ll see. If I do, you can bet I’ll have the etouffe again. I saw the things I wanted to see and the art and photography was even more amazing than last year. All in all I just had a blast. Later that evening, I met up with the young adults and we ended up listening to the group called, “Blenders” from the Twin Cities. John and I went to their Christmas concert last year and thought they were extremely talented. I’m glad I got to hear them this year at the fair and for free too! Those in the group who have not heard them before thought they were good. We stayed still roughly 10:30PM. Honestly, the fair time is definitely one of my favorite times of the year – you get to see so many people from such a varied background. For someone like me who likes to observe others, it’s observation galore!
On Saturday, I met up with Matt and Sam. I’ve not seen Matt and Sam since Matt got married the end of May so it was good to just catch up with one another. Sam moved back to DM after spending a good part of the summer in Iowa City where he was working. Alicia was in Mexico as part of her social work course so Matt decided to make a trip back to DM just for the weekend. The three of us met up at the Matt’s house before heading to Zuzap for lunch. Neither Matt nor Sam had been there, but they thoroughly enjoyed the meal there. After lunch, we shoot the breeze at Matt’s house. Kevin and Martha were around too so that was nice. Once again, it was a gorgeous day so it was nice to sit out in the garden just soaking the sun.
Later that evening, I attended Abby and Joe’s wedding at the cathedral. Joe was in my RCIA class just this past year and that’s kind of how I got the invitation. I’ve known Abby for a number of years now especially because her parents are active member of St. Kate’s. Abby’s dad, Gene was the former mayor of WDM and now is head of public safety for the state of Iowa. Needless to say he’s a pretty important guy and this was going to be one of those fancier weddings. Abby and her two brothers all went to Oberlin Conservatory and majored in music so needless to say they are all extremely talented musicians. The wedding Mass was what I would describe as simple yet very elegant. Her brothers and a cellist played a number of pieces that just blew everyone away. For the reception, I sat at the table where a number of Oberlin alum were seated. It was nice getting to know some of Abby and Joe’s friends. It’s amazing just hearing where some of them are right now. Let’s just say it’s your cream of the crop program at top notch US universities. I kind of chuckled because all of them had never been to Iowa before and they had a good experience of the state. I definitely had a good evening, but ended up leaving kind of early because I had a pretty stressful and long day on Thursday. I could tell you about the day, but I’ll just skip it. Let’s just say I had three hours sleep that night. Oh, while at the reception I spoke to a lady who complimented my singing and was shocked when I told her I never had any voice lessons. She mentioned that she’s the choir director at a Baptist church and would be more than happy to have me sing with the group AND that it was paid! I really cracked up because he was really selling her choir and church and wanted me to be part of it. I graciously thanked her and said thanks but no thanks. I get a little self conscious when people compliment me in my singing especially strangers.
Apart from those exciting stuff, nothing too much happened really. This weekend, I’ll be headed over to Ann’s house for dinner and am looking forward to it because I’ll be provided the steak and Harley will be grilling it. I told Ann and Harley that they need to try Costco’s steak and since I’m unable to grill at my apartment, I offered to bring the steak if they were willing to grill it. Moreover, it’ll be great just hanging and chatting with Ann a week prior to going home. OK, that’s all the news from me.
Well, I made it to the State Fair on Thursday as planned and had a blast. The first group of people I went with was John, his sister, Carol and her husband Warren. They were in town for a couple of days and I try to meet up with them whenever I can. So, it was just fun hanging out at the fair with them. The weather was most perfect and you really could not ask for better weather. Prior years, it was hot and humid. The humidity was pretty low and that made it all the more pleasant. I had some of my regular favorite food, but this year they had crawfish etouffe and a London Broil sandwich. The sandwich was fine, but the etouffe was amazing. It was the first time the vendor made it to the fair and business was kind of slow so they were happy to see me and even happier that I totally loved the food. The residents of the facility will be headed there this evening and I may end up joining them if they need an extra staff. We’ll see. If I do, you can bet I’ll have the etouffe again. I saw the things I wanted to see and the art and photography was even more amazing than last year. All in all I just had a blast. Later that evening, I met up with the young adults and we ended up listening to the group called, “Blenders” from the Twin Cities. John and I went to their Christmas concert last year and thought they were extremely talented. I’m glad I got to hear them this year at the fair and for free too! Those in the group who have not heard them before thought they were good. We stayed still roughly 10:30PM. Honestly, the fair time is definitely one of my favorite times of the year – you get to see so many people from such a varied background. For someone like me who likes to observe others, it’s observation galore!
On Saturday, I met up with Matt and Sam. I’ve not seen Matt and Sam since Matt got married the end of May so it was good to just catch up with one another. Sam moved back to DM after spending a good part of the summer in Iowa City where he was working. Alicia was in Mexico as part of her social work course so Matt decided to make a trip back to DM just for the weekend. The three of us met up at the Matt’s house before heading to Zuzap for lunch. Neither Matt nor Sam had been there, but they thoroughly enjoyed the meal there. After lunch, we shoot the breeze at Matt’s house. Kevin and Martha were around too so that was nice. Once again, it was a gorgeous day so it was nice to sit out in the garden just soaking the sun.
Later that evening, I attended Abby and Joe’s wedding at the cathedral. Joe was in my RCIA class just this past year and that’s kind of how I got the invitation. I’ve known Abby for a number of years now especially because her parents are active member of St. Kate’s. Abby’s dad, Gene was the former mayor of WDM and now is head of public safety for the state of Iowa. Needless to say he’s a pretty important guy and this was going to be one of those fancier weddings. Abby and her two brothers all went to Oberlin Conservatory and majored in music so needless to say they are all extremely talented musicians. The wedding Mass was what I would describe as simple yet very elegant. Her brothers and a cellist played a number of pieces that just blew everyone away. For the reception, I sat at the table where a number of Oberlin alum were seated. It was nice getting to know some of Abby and Joe’s friends. It’s amazing just hearing where some of them are right now. Let’s just say it’s your cream of the crop program at top notch US universities. I kind of chuckled because all of them had never been to Iowa before and they had a good experience of the state. I definitely had a good evening, but ended up leaving kind of early because I had a pretty stressful and long day on Thursday. I could tell you about the day, but I’ll just skip it. Let’s just say I had three hours sleep that night. Oh, while at the reception I spoke to a lady who complimented my singing and was shocked when I told her I never had any voice lessons. She mentioned that she’s the choir director at a Baptist church and would be more than happy to have me sing with the group AND that it was paid! I really cracked up because he was really selling her choir and church and wanted me to be part of it. I graciously thanked her and said thanks but no thanks. I get a little self conscious when people compliment me in my singing especially strangers.
Apart from those exciting stuff, nothing too much happened really. This weekend, I’ll be headed over to Ann’s house for dinner and am looking forward to it because I’ll be provided the steak and Harley will be grilling it. I told Ann and Harley that they need to try Costco’s steak and since I’m unable to grill at my apartment, I offered to bring the steak if they were willing to grill it. Moreover, it’ll be great just hanging and chatting with Ann a week prior to going home. OK, that’s all the news from me.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Summer cleaning.
The project for the weekend was summer cleaning. More on that later. Tuesday, Darren and I went out for lunch at the Thai restaurant that specializes in Thai food vendor cuisine and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Darren was visiting John and I’m glad he had time to meet up with me. Things are going well with him down in Kansas. Thursday, a group of religious and I met at Carola’s apartment for some wine and cheese. Some years ago, I was invited to be part of the wine and cheese group at St. Kate’s. They used to meet in the evening and it’s a cool group of people all of whom I know pretty well. It was really nice to just sit down in a fun and relaxed setting.
I took some residents to the annual Indianola Hot Air Balloon celebration on Friday right after dinner. Those who went really enjoyed it and said it was a fun evening. The weather cooperated and I’m happy about that. There were probably close to forty balloons that landed kind of nearby and it was truly a sight to behold. As the sun set, a band played some music that was familiar to older people. I recognized some of the songs. Like I said, it was definitely one of the better activities we’ve brought the residents to.
On Saturday, I had made the decision to finally clean my apartment after not having it done for roughly two months. My excuse is that I’ve been house sitting. Yeah, I know it’s not the best excuse and I’m sure if I think hard enough, I could come up with a better one! So, I started at 8:45AM and was done by 11:30AM. It felt good to clean the place. I’ll probably do some light cleaning prior to going back to Malaysia just so I don’t come back to a dirty apartment. Once the cleaning got done, I walked over to the library to catch up on some magazines. Oh, I should say one of the reasons why I did not do anything fun outside is because this was the first day during this summer when it was in the high 90s and whenever the weather gets that warm, it’s never advisable to be outside if it’s not necessary. The library was cool and I just got to relax there. Up next was a movie that I’ve not had the time to see because it’s a pretty long movie. It’s called Book and Sword and it’s a Mandarin movie. I thought it was pretty good. As a treat to myself, I had sushi for dinner and it was divine. The chef greeted me and commented that he’s not seen me in quite some time. I told him that I’ve just been busy with work, but I’m glad to be there. I just had to fulfill my sushi cravings.
Sunday was another scorcher and I stayed indoors pretty much. It was a very non-stressful day at the facility and those are the kind of days I like. I was just happy that the residents did not decide to walk outside with the heat advisory. Those who were out on passes were with family so that turned out pretty well for them. Sunday actually came and went pretty fast and that’s always a good thing.
This Thursday is the start of the Iowa State Fair and our young adults group will be having dinner there. I have some comp time that I’ve been saving to use. So, I’ll be working half a day on Thursday and pretty much spend it at the state fair. I love this time of the year – there’s nothing like eating your way through the fair. There are a number of new stuff to try and I’m looking forward to it. Something that is interesting would be flour batter dipped deep fried pineapple on a stick. Now, doesn’t that just sound yummy on a hot summer day?! A new vendor is selling London broil sandwiches and that should be fun to try. I know I’ll be saving room for my turkey leg – it’s a tradition!
We’ll that’s all the news from me.
I took some residents to the annual Indianola Hot Air Balloon celebration on Friday right after dinner. Those who went really enjoyed it and said it was a fun evening. The weather cooperated and I’m happy about that. There were probably close to forty balloons that landed kind of nearby and it was truly a sight to behold. As the sun set, a band played some music that was familiar to older people. I recognized some of the songs. Like I said, it was definitely one of the better activities we’ve brought the residents to.
On Saturday, I had made the decision to finally clean my apartment after not having it done for roughly two months. My excuse is that I’ve been house sitting. Yeah, I know it’s not the best excuse and I’m sure if I think hard enough, I could come up with a better one! So, I started at 8:45AM and was done by 11:30AM. It felt good to clean the place. I’ll probably do some light cleaning prior to going back to Malaysia just so I don’t come back to a dirty apartment. Once the cleaning got done, I walked over to the library to catch up on some magazines. Oh, I should say one of the reasons why I did not do anything fun outside is because this was the first day during this summer when it was in the high 90s and whenever the weather gets that warm, it’s never advisable to be outside if it’s not necessary. The library was cool and I just got to relax there. Up next was a movie that I’ve not had the time to see because it’s a pretty long movie. It’s called Book and Sword and it’s a Mandarin movie. I thought it was pretty good. As a treat to myself, I had sushi for dinner and it was divine. The chef greeted me and commented that he’s not seen me in quite some time. I told him that I’ve just been busy with work, but I’m glad to be there. I just had to fulfill my sushi cravings.
Sunday was another scorcher and I stayed indoors pretty much. It was a very non-stressful day at the facility and those are the kind of days I like. I was just happy that the residents did not decide to walk outside with the heat advisory. Those who were out on passes were with family so that turned out pretty well for them. Sunday actually came and went pretty fast and that’s always a good thing.
This Thursday is the start of the Iowa State Fair and our young adults group will be having dinner there. I have some comp time that I’ve been saving to use. So, I’ll be working half a day on Thursday and pretty much spend it at the state fair. I love this time of the year – there’s nothing like eating your way through the fair. There are a number of new stuff to try and I’m looking forward to it. Something that is interesting would be flour batter dipped deep fried pineapple on a stick. Now, doesn’t that just sound yummy on a hot summer day?! A new vendor is selling London broil sandwiches and that should be fun to try. I know I’ll be saving room for my turkey leg – it’s a tradition!
We’ll that’s all the news from me.
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