:Penang, World Cup, and mean faces:
So penang. nice place.
when it's not raining.
i wont explain too much, i'll just let the pix do that.
The customary trip to BK. i had a double whopper with cheese and bacon, XL drink and Orings. janice had the junior. her burger looks so small.. i was stuffed, but very happy.
i love flying. like I LOVE IT. even before the TV sets were put in, i still loved it. the excitement, the visiting new countries, airports.. i love it. i ALSO love CX's new cupholder and other thingy in the seat, and now i watch the landing and takeoff.. i was amazing for almost an hour by these 3 things alone. janice was knocked out so she loved it too.
walking around Penang is actually fun and amazing. coming from HK i dont really appreciate old buildings, but in Penang they made it a point to keep some old school buildings. since it rained the first day we just really enjoyed the old part of town. here's some pics of the old buildings. some of them were really cool because they commissioned banks to go into these huge oldschool buildings and restore them. so you have a colonial looking building with HSBC inside it. i loved it. anyways, here are the pix:
walking around the malls and stuff was ok. it was like HK in many ways, just.. well.. cheaper, as in quality wise, but actually more expensive. everything has an additional 5% gov tax. what the heck is that? anyways, i saw this place and i loved the sign. doesn't anyone realise what S & M is?
the apple corner. people in Malaysia have not caught on to Mac yet. it's really sad. we went to starbucks and everyone had the biggest, ugliest dells i've ever seen. this one guy had a HUGE battery pack and cooling thing under his computer. it was the anti-sexy..
we passed by a bus depot/bus stop that took people phuket. cool... i just love travelling, so bus stop or airport i love it.
eating in Penang is fun. this is where i really felt that gay tagline for Malaysia tourism is actually spot on. Malaysia is truly a mish-mash of Asia, and since the only thing i know with supreme confidence is food... i loved it all. gotta love the street vendors:
one thing i really appreciated was their love for the alfresco dinning. well.. it is a tropical island resort type of place, so i guess it makes sense. but honestly? i love being able to sit outside, dine, drink good coffee, and enjoy the vibe. in this particular place they had, in a row, about 10 restaurants/cafes and they ALL had good business except dominos. every single place. amazing.
like i said. GOOD coffee. after working behind the Vine coffee bar, i know what good coffee tastes like. we were on the way to the coffee bean, but we found this cafe that had in bold, "The Best Coffee in the World"... you can't make such a lofty statement of quality and not expect people to be suspect. unless you're like pastor john who says that just so people will test it. (the Vine has the best coffee in the world though, let's be honest now).
anyways, this place was great. cool cups, nice vibe, great coffee (not the best, but great), and the waiter was definitely on crack because he was enjoying his job way too much, and all jumpy and stuff, and the other waitress was a reincarnated Malaysia Queen Latifah. no joke. a dude on crack, and Queen Latif... it was an experience.
ok so on the last night i dragged janice to eat at the grottiest cheapest place i could find, and it was great. it was chinese-malay style, but it was different, tasty and ridiculously cheap. i wanted to try their mei goreng, or fried noodles, and when i saw this.. i knew this was it.
i've never had mei goreng with so much sauce, but i have to say that i loved it
janice has some funky fried rice. it was alright, but the heart shaped fried egg made up for any lack in taste...
man.. i was so happy....
after the carnage, 2 plates, 2 drinks, 10 satays.. we ate our full for 13ringit, about 30 HKD. schnice.
world cup. it's amazing that anywhere you go in the world, there's one thing happening.. and that is the world cup. nothing is bigger than football (soccer)... and it's just insane. this is the only time in all the years i've known janice, that we can watch a sporting event and be totally engrossed in it together. i'll talk more about this later.
in the middle of an uptown bar district in Penang, we found this massive screen that was playing the games. janice and i sat there for something crazy like 5 hours straight of only going to the bathroom... of watching world cup football. it was amazing.. and the thing was.. it was HER idea, not mine. HA!
so on wednesday morning our flight was at 7:50am, so if we had to be at the airport by 6am, and the england game finishes at 5am, then we can watch the game, pack, check out and then voila.. back in HK. everything was going to plan until the plane was delayed. then janice and i got upset.. so we made faces.
so all in all it was great to get away, and while the hotel was really not that nice, we paid for what we got. I never mentioned it, but it was supposed to be thunderstorms and rain all week, but for some crazy reason, God heard our prayers and he sent out the sun for the whole morning and afternoon for janice and i get burnt. then when we went in for dinner, the rain came back and didn't stop. in fact, it's still raining now. so that was great, because janice and i loved getting burnt, lazing around a pool or beach.. we're very good at it.
anyways, let me get on to some words of substance. in case anyone has read this far that is.
janice is a world cup crazed fan. she's so into the underdogs, especially any African nation, that she's loved the group games. cheering and even seeing the underdog score is great. the amazing thing is, that this is something we share. it's like we have a common ground that we love walking together.
let's extrapolate.
if something is major in either of lives and yet we cant share it, then how does it benefit the relationship? you see at the highest desire in my life, and in janice's life is Jesus Christ. that is a huge area in which our lives have connected, and ultimately been cemented, but life has capacity for many things. therefore for me to enjoy something crazy like world cup with my wife, at a level that is not only enjoyable, but has healthy rivalry... it's a real joy.
it saddens me to think that there are so many couples in life that never make connections, never make bridges to one another, and yet when the going gets tough they wonder why they choose separation rather than toughing it out. these little things like world cup, and these big things like Jesus Christ, all add to the joy of being able to share my life with Janice.. and not just share life, but devote life to one another.
i'm not saying we're perfect, because we're not. i still piss her off with things, and she certainly does for me too, but we have chosen to fight for our marriage, friendship and lives as one. so yeah.. it was an excellent anniversary. different, but everything we needed. can't wait for all the next ones. okay, you can all stop throwing up now, the mushy stuff is finished.
when it's not raining.
i wont explain too much, i'll just let the pix do that.
The customary trip to BK. i had a double whopper with cheese and bacon, XL drink and Orings. janice had the junior. her burger looks so small.. i was stuffed, but very happy.
i love flying. like I LOVE IT. even before the TV sets were put in, i still loved it. the excitement, the visiting new countries, airports.. i love it. i ALSO love CX's new cupholder and other thingy in the seat, and now i watch the landing and takeoff.. i was amazing for almost an hour by these 3 things alone. janice was knocked out so she loved it too.
walking around Penang is actually fun and amazing. coming from HK i dont really appreciate old buildings, but in Penang they made it a point to keep some old school buildings. since it rained the first day we just really enjoyed the old part of town. here's some pics of the old buildings. some of them were really cool because they commissioned banks to go into these huge oldschool buildings and restore them. so you have a colonial looking building with HSBC inside it. i loved it. anyways, here are the pix:
walking around the malls and stuff was ok. it was like HK in many ways, just.. well.. cheaper, as in quality wise, but actually more expensive. everything has an additional 5% gov tax. what the heck is that? anyways, i saw this place and i loved the sign. doesn't anyone realise what S & M is?
the apple corner. people in Malaysia have not caught on to Mac yet. it's really sad. we went to starbucks and everyone had the biggest, ugliest dells i've ever seen. this one guy had a HUGE battery pack and cooling thing under his computer. it was the anti-sexy..
we passed by a bus depot/bus stop that took people phuket. cool... i just love travelling, so bus stop or airport i love it.
eating in Penang is fun. this is where i really felt that gay tagline for Malaysia tourism is actually spot on. Malaysia is truly a mish-mash of Asia, and since the only thing i know with supreme confidence is food... i loved it all. gotta love the street vendors:
one thing i really appreciated was their love for the alfresco dinning. well.. it is a tropical island resort type of place, so i guess it makes sense. but honestly? i love being able to sit outside, dine, drink good coffee, and enjoy the vibe. in this particular place they had, in a row, about 10 restaurants/cafes and they ALL had good business except dominos. every single place. amazing.
like i said. GOOD coffee. after working behind the Vine coffee bar, i know what good coffee tastes like. we were on the way to the coffee bean, but we found this cafe that had in bold, "The Best Coffee in the World"... you can't make such a lofty statement of quality and not expect people to be suspect. unless you're like pastor john who says that just so people will test it. (the Vine has the best coffee in the world though, let's be honest now).
anyways, this place was great. cool cups, nice vibe, great coffee (not the best, but great), and the waiter was definitely on crack because he was enjoying his job way too much, and all jumpy and stuff, and the other waitress was a reincarnated Malaysia Queen Latifah. no joke. a dude on crack, and Queen Latif... it was an experience.
ok so on the last night i dragged janice to eat at the grottiest cheapest place i could find, and it was great. it was chinese-malay style, but it was different, tasty and ridiculously cheap. i wanted to try their mei goreng, or fried noodles, and when i saw this.. i knew this was it.
i've never had mei goreng with so much sauce, but i have to say that i loved it
janice has some funky fried rice. it was alright, but the heart shaped fried egg made up for any lack in taste...
man.. i was so happy....
after the carnage, 2 plates, 2 drinks, 10 satays.. we ate our full for 13ringit, about 30 HKD. schnice.
world cup. it's amazing that anywhere you go in the world, there's one thing happening.. and that is the world cup. nothing is bigger than football (soccer)... and it's just insane. this is the only time in all the years i've known janice, that we can watch a sporting event and be totally engrossed in it together. i'll talk more about this later.
in the middle of an uptown bar district in Penang, we found this massive screen that was playing the games. janice and i sat there for something crazy like 5 hours straight of only going to the bathroom... of watching world cup football. it was amazing.. and the thing was.. it was HER idea, not mine. HA!
so on wednesday morning our flight was at 7:50am, so if we had to be at the airport by 6am, and the england game finishes at 5am, then we can watch the game, pack, check out and then voila.. back in HK. everything was going to plan until the plane was delayed. then janice and i got upset.. so we made faces.
so all in all it was great to get away, and while the hotel was really not that nice, we paid for what we got. I never mentioned it, but it was supposed to be thunderstorms and rain all week, but for some crazy reason, God heard our prayers and he sent out the sun for the whole morning and afternoon for janice and i get burnt. then when we went in for dinner, the rain came back and didn't stop. in fact, it's still raining now. so that was great, because janice and i loved getting burnt, lazing around a pool or beach.. we're very good at it.
anyways, let me get on to some words of substance. in case anyone has read this far that is.
janice is a world cup crazed fan. she's so into the underdogs, especially any African nation, that she's loved the group games. cheering and even seeing the underdog score is great. the amazing thing is, that this is something we share. it's like we have a common ground that we love walking together.
let's extrapolate.
if something is major in either of lives and yet we cant share it, then how does it benefit the relationship? you see at the highest desire in my life, and in janice's life is Jesus Christ. that is a huge area in which our lives have connected, and ultimately been cemented, but life has capacity for many things. therefore for me to enjoy something crazy like world cup with my wife, at a level that is not only enjoyable, but has healthy rivalry... it's a real joy.
it saddens me to think that there are so many couples in life that never make connections, never make bridges to one another, and yet when the going gets tough they wonder why they choose separation rather than toughing it out. these little things like world cup, and these big things like Jesus Christ, all add to the joy of being able to share my life with Janice.. and not just share life, but devote life to one another.
i'm not saying we're perfect, because we're not. i still piss her off with things, and she certainly does for me too, but we have chosen to fight for our marriage, friendship and lives as one. so yeah.. it was an excellent anniversary. different, but everything we needed. can't wait for all the next ones. okay, you can all stop throwing up now, the mushy stuff is finished.
Lord, you are amazing. help me to never forget that. and help me to always thank you for giving me Janice.
and thanks for World Cup.
-amen
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