New Year's Resolutions

I'm packed and leaving for the airport soon. I'm not looking forward to the 20+ hours that I'm going to have to spend on planes. By the time I land in Kuala Lumpur it will be New Year's Eve. When I look back at 2007, it was one of the best years of my life. However, I still have some things I want to change. Here are my 2008 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Chill out!
2. Buy some nice clothes and stop looking like a bum.
3. Get a haircut similar to this:



4. Stop wasting my money.
5. Exercise

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas

All photos borrowed from my uncle Rayambo's blog.



The Saint and Papa Saint.



Grandma Saint and Grandpa Saint



About 20% of the Saint clan. Rayambo is at the head of the table. I'm wearing the green crown at the back.





Kenny Saint

Merry Christmas to All

I'd like to wish all my friends and family a very merry Chirstmas.It's Christmas in Malaysia, but it's only Christmas Eve here, so I'd better get out and do some shopping. I've adopted Malaysia's last second mentality. Saint Boleh!

Note: I forgot the cord that alows me to upload photos from my camera. All Canadian photos will be posted shortly after I return to Malaysia.

Teddy Case Closed

I finally received an e-mail from the anonymous giver of the teddy and cake. Turns out they were from two people. Great gifts:) Thanks a lot. This photo provides indisputable evidence that Tim had nothing to do with the gift.

Paintballin

Left to right:
Dave a.k.a. Spragga Killa, Roger, Ryan, Bryan


Highlight

- Roger "accidently" unloading three rounds into Ryan's family jewels while we were taking a break and planning our strategy for the next game.

Home

Questions About Living in Malaysia

I often have people write to me to ask various questions about living in Malaysia. I'm happy to answer them all. That was the original purpose of this blog afterall. There is one question that I couldn't answer reqarding schools.

"I have a daughter that will be starting grade 7 in September. International schools are too expensive. Are there any schools in KL that teach mostly in English and have reasonable tuition?"

If anyone reading this in KL can help, please leave a comment. Also, feel free to comment if I've given bad advice in any area.




Can I buy a car for around RM 5,000?

Picking up a car for about RM 5,000 shouldn't be a big problem. Don't expect the best car in the world. There is one called the Kancil that's pretty small and cheap. I imagine a used one can't be too expensive.





What's traffic like?

Traffic can be a bitch. You will become very familiar with the word Jam. The infrastructure in KL simply isn't good. If you want to explore the country, once you get out of KL the traffic is fine. You'll always be paying tolls though. That might get on your nerves.



What's the closest beach to KL?

- The closest beach that I've been to in an island called Pangkor. It's probably a little less than two hours away from KL. Nice place. It's not touristy. Great place to bring your family. Mostly locals. Not great if you want to party.
- Penang is between 4-5 hours away.
- Langkawi is a couple of hours north of Penang, but it's a world class beach and duty-free island. It's well worth the trip.
- There are numerous top-notch beaches on the east coast, but I've never been to any of them. I always leave the country on my holidays.

"Can my husband find a job once he's here?"

I imagine that he should be able to find a job. The problem might be his salary and what he expects. Don't expect him to get a big fat expat salary.

"Do you think my family can live off RM 1,200 a month after rent?"

- Water RM 8
- Electricity (I pump the a/c) RM 80-100
- I think that budgeting to live off RM 1,200 per month for a family will be extremely tight to impossible.

Home

It took about 26 hours to get from my home in Subang to my home in Scarborough. I came damn close to missing my flight in Hong Kong. I got to the airport three hours early, but I was waiting for the wrong plane, which also hapened to be going to Toronto at 4:10 pm. I had to sprint across the whole airport to catch my flight.

It's going to take some time to get used to this cold again.

If you know me, give me a call. Same number ;)

Saint in Canada

After a year and a half of living in Malaysia and travelling all over South East Asia, I decided I needed to do something different this holiday season. I think it might be fun to visit a place called Can-A-Da. I think my decision was heavily influenced by the fact that the aircon in my bedroom is busted. I Hear it's cold up there in Canada, eh?





"I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out."
Rodney Dangerfield




Yummmmm!