Falling Back into the Mundane

Hey all. I know it has been a long time since we have written but we have a very good excuse: without the stroke, we’ve got nothing. That is not exactly true but I wasn’t joking when I said that we would return with something more mundane. The past few weeks have been filled with the stress and challenges of finding a new place to live and the even more exciting project of actually moving so that is all I got for you today.

Finding a place to live in Kuala Lumpur was not easy. The hospital Ben frequents on a daily basis is located in a very wealthy, expatriot filled part of town. In fact, it is Embassy central so the rent in the area is pretty expensive. Some of the condos are ridiculous enough to make you want to find a way to justify the expense but with a student’s salary there was no way. So we looked for areas close by with lower rents.

Thing is we had some really specific needs besides just close to the hospital. We needed to be close to bus and train lines because we do not have our own transportation.

[Actually, a quick note on that. We are selling Ben’s motorcycle, his dream was short-lived indeed but there is no way he is getting back on it for a long while. Given his accident/injury track record, I am taking no chances. Besides Ampang, the area of town where we are spending most of our time, is a nightmare when it comes to traffic.

Actually all of Kuala Lumpur is, but in Ampang motorbikes ride on the sidewalk and drivers freely stick their cars right in front of oncoming traffic to make a turn. Aggressive, reckless driving seems to be the only way to get anywhere in this highly congested area and though he is a grown man, Ben is simply not allowed to participate in the madness just yet. And I am unwilling to even try. Many people have suggested we buy a car, saying ‘you NEED a car in Kuala Lumpur’ (there was actually an article in the paper saying that Malaysia was among the top 50 countries in regards to car ownership and when you consider, as the author pointed out, that most of the cars are concentrated in the metropolitan area around KL, this city might qualify for the top 10. No one needs a car here, there are too many already, it is a status thing plain and simple) but I would rather leave the insane traffic to the cab drivers and enormous buses. The right turn (they drive on the other side of the road here) out of the hospital is enough of a reason for me to say no way to the whole idea.]

Okay, back to our list of requirements. We needed to be real close to mass transit not just close. A five minute walk for me is still a 15 minute and exhausting walk for Ben. We wanted a pool for Ben’s therapy. We needed a fully furnished place since our place in Bangi was mostly empty. We needed air conditioning. We wanted a short term 6 month lease. And we needed a ridiculously cheap rental rate. We were asking a lot. I spent many days and kms on foot exploring different areas looking for the ideal location and apartment. When I found something promising I drug Ben along for afternoons of torture, getting in and out of expensive taxis, walking long distances only to discover that when the agent said fully furnished he meant a table and a broken air conditioner, and waiting, lots of waiting. We never found anything perfect, of course but we did find a few promising prospects.

My favorite of these prospects was the seriously too good to be true condo just minutes from a main train line, lots of central bus routes, and the hospital. It was 2 bedroom, two bath, fully-furnished service apartment with a balcony that overlooked the whole city center. It was beautiful and half the price it should have been. We even offered less and asked for a 6 month lease and they agreed. We were pretty excited and then with one peek out the back room window we realized why we were so lucky. Down below, what was once a rooftop oasis with two beautiful swimming pools, gym, sauna, etc. was now a swampland.

ThePromise

An Impressively Realistic Dramatic Rendering of The Reality

It was so depressing. Management had let the whole building go to waste. In true Malaysian
fashion the owners of the condo blamed the state of affairs on the Arab tourists who rented the service apartments for vacation and showed no respect for the property. They said the management was trying to chase them away. The management said it was a consequence of tenants who did not pay their maintenance fees. Whatever it was no one was taking care of the place and our bubble was burst.

So we did not get the dream place but we found a good one. Actually, I think we did real well for this part of town. The pool(s) is small (we have access two!), the building is old and mildewy but its cozy, centrally located, and within our budget. Perfect in its own way.

Ben Reading on his New Balcony

Ben's Personal Weight Room

Not one but two!

Truth be told, it didn’t matter where we ended up though because by last week, we could not escape SuCasa fast enough. Our phat digs had become a construction zone and daily from 9-5 we had to endure constant jack-hammering as they destroyed the concrete floor below. It was maddening and they closed the pool and hid breakfast so the dream was over. So when we packed our things up on Saturday and said adios to SuCasa there was little heartbreak.

As for the actual move there is not much to report. It took a couple of days to get settled in but with so little belongings, it only took one trip with a taxi to get everything moved. As with any move, there was the need to scrub down the bathrooms, kitchen and floors and the hours spent finding the perfect home for each of your belongings but nothing too earth-shattering.

We did encounter some unidentified and very peculiar bugs our first night in the apartment. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of bugs. It is not a phobia or anything, they just make me feel unclean when I find them indoors. These strange bugs were residing in the corner of our room and the bathroom. I discovered them squirming across the floor as I was preparing for bed. They had a flat grayish oval shaped body with a tongue like foot to move. Weird and gross. My mind immediately leapt to the idea that they could abandon their outer shell and then worm their way through my skin and infect me with whatever wormlike illness they were carrying. Yes, I know, I have a very active and convincing imagination, which is why I dislike bugs so much. My visions of them taking residence on or under my skin are so vivid it is hard to persuade me they are not real. Anyway, the next hour was spent ridding the house of every hint of these odd and disturbing critters, while Ben tried to coax me into believing they were harmless cocoons of some sort. Needless to say, I slept a little poorly the first night but I am over the bug thing already, I mean they are just cocoons after all. Just don’t dare me to imagine what will come out of them when they mature!

So that is it for our news of the mundane. Even the pictures did not help to spice it up. Oh well, this is life. I am working on being an anthropologist so maybe I will have some cultural insights to report soon. I will sign off with one cool Ben picture.

The first week Ben began attending PT he observed a woman balancing on a beam while her therapists threw balls for her to catch. Ben was impressed and hard pressed to imagine when he would be able to accomplish such a task. Well, not even 3 months later he was balancing on a beam trying to catch balls!

I am not sure if his therapists aim for him to join the circus when this is all over but the exercises are often entertaining.