I had a chance to meet many of Mark's coworkers last Thursday when we all went out for a group dinner at a place called No Name Seafood. Yes, that was really the name. His coworkers were all very nice people, close in age with Mark, and also composed of several different nationalities (Singaporeans, Dutch, Japanese, and others). It was a great dinner. The center of the dinner table was a turn-style where you order different things and share so you have an opportunity to try more. To my surprise, I liked most of the items, although some were to0 spicy for me (darn heartburn). Both of our favorites was the crab dish with an egg yolk/salt sauce.
Mark is settling into work nicely. A few email complications but other than that I believe everything is going really well. His schedule is different than what we're used to but we're adjusting. He goes in later and works later than he did in the U.S. so we're getting up at about 6am to spent time together in the morning before he gets into work at 10am. Part of our new morning routine includes breakfast and a workout together.
We also think we've found our permanent housing. It's a place called the Watermark. We'd looked at it several times and after looking at it again on Saturday we decided to put in an offer. We should know in a few days if it is accepted. If all goes well then we should be moving by the 21st of May! We did put in a few requests for the place. Nothing too big but we did ask for a separate washer/dryer. It's common practice in Asia to have a combination washer/dryer-a product which I don't have too many nice things to say about. The maximum load capacity of this washer/dryer combo is about 5-6 pieces of clothing and EVERYTHING comes out wrinkled! So much so that I've been ironing t-shirts! Needless to say, after several falling outs between me and the appliance, Mark thinks its a good idea to get a set like we're used to (I couldn't agree more). While I'm all for embracing cultural differences and becoming a more well-rounded person, sometimes you can't teach the old dog new tricks and I just want my old washer/dryer! On the bright side, the iron and I are becoming quite close.
Colt has also finished his stay at the Quarantine facility. But, since we don't have a place for him until we get our permanent place he has been transferred from quarantine to a pet boarding facility called Mutts & Mittens. Finding Mutts & Mittens, a nice place to board Colt, was quite an ordeal...I'm going to preface with this statement: I know I maybe a bit neurotic when it comes to my dog but I really think anyone would have felt the same way. The gist of the whole boarders saga is when a place calls itself a "5 star pet hotel" you don't expect to see concrete floors with no beds, an overgrown field as the play area, and huts all around advertising the different breeds of puppies for sale. So after lots of looking and several, we'll put it delicately and call them meltdowns, I finally found Mutts & Mittens for Colt at the last minute before his quarantine release. I am very pleased with them thus far. I really like that they do a lot of rescue and rehabilitation with animals to give them second chances at finding homes.
Other notable happenings since the last blog include my attempt at making brown rice using the rice cooker. Let's just say that until two nights ago, I didn't realize it was even possible to mess up rice in a rice cooker but I have many talents. Ruining meals being at the top.
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