Stories from the Malaysian Treehouse

No, I'm not going crazy, but I think I'm almost there. As many of you know already, I haven't been working since Josue left the insurance business. I've been patiently (or attempting to be patient) waiting on my papers from INS to come. Josue and I interviewed with an INS officer back in the middle of January, and the timeframe that we were told is 90 days from the day of interview to when I'd hear back again with good news. We're approaching the 90-day mark and still have yet to hear anything. I have no doubt that I will get it because our papers were well put-together and there hasn't been a rejection letter yet (INS officer said that if there was such a thing, it'd been in the mail a month and a half ago). But my anxiety is gradually kicking in and I'm already seeing the effects of it in my daily attitude. Poor Josue...I think he's really starting to think twice why he married me in the first place! :)

But as you read this now, say a quick prayer for me and for us. I've waiting SO LONG for the day to come when I can once again have a 'status' to my being here in the States. Dealing with immigration is not on my top 10 list of favourite things to do because I've dealt with them all of my life--both here in the States and back in Malaysia--and it's never been fun. And on top of that, I'm just a naturally anxious person and tend to worry A LOT. I've gotten better in many ways, but this INS thing is really starting to bring the worse out of me. Aish...just end me of my misery right now!!! Hopefully by my next post (and who knows when that is) I should have good news for you. Stay tuned! :)

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

Just so I don't go missing for a long time again, I'm blogging down my upcoming weekend for all to know. :) Josue and I are really excited, because our cool friends Kevin and Kim are getting married tomorrow! They first met at one of our Tuesday Night Dinners, and the rest is history. So we've literally seen their entire love story unfold before our eyes from the beginning. We are even more honored to be in their wedding. Josue and the guys will be ushers, while the TND girls and I are going to be hostesses (actually one of them is a bridemaid).

We'll be partying the weekend away starting with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight. The guys are trying to put together a last-minute late-night bachelor's party for Kevin afterwards while the girls will go home to crash because we'll be having an early morning the next day. Tomorrow morning we have a breakfast dealy for all the bridemaids, hostesses, close family and friends together with the bride-to-be, of course. After which we'd all start getting ready because we have to be at church up in McKinney by 1 pm for pictures and such. Wedding starts at 3 pm and with the reception and cleaning up afterwards, we probably won't be done till later in the evening. Then Josue and I are hosting one of the bridesmaid for the night and we'll be taking her to the airport for her to fly home on Sunday morning. Whew! I'm getting tired just blogging all this up...

Hopefully I'll have some cool pictures from the weekend to show. It's going to be fun and exciting, I'm sure. Oh, and don't forget, for those of us living here in the US, to push your clocks forward by one hour late Saturday night! Too bad we'll all be losing one hour's worth of precious sleep, especially those of us who at that point had been partying all weekend long...

Until my next post, have a great weekend! :)

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

Okay, I'm guilty as charged---for not updating my blog in months. Everybody has been sweet to not bug me about this for awhile, but while talking over the phone with my mom last night, she finally pulled the ultimatum on me. Apparently she's been one of the faithful few who checks in to see if I'm posted anything new. So if anything, I'm doing this for her. Sorry Mom! I'm going to try and be more consistent again. :) Let's see, how am I going to do this without having to write an entire novel about all that has been going on....To spare you the headache of reading too much, I'll just do this as a list:

*The hubby recently switched jobs; no more insurance--felt like it was time for a change. He currently works with a company in Irving that specifically recruits medical professionals and his division recruits traveling nurses. Seems to be loving it and he works with some of the coolest people (I've met most of them already).

*I'm about to get my green card from immigration! The formalities have all been taken care of, now I just need to wait, and wait, and wait some more....

*While waiting, I've done nothing but sit at home, babysitting occasionally and working with some sweet ladies from church and their cathering business (yes, a sweet deal since this is what I'd like to do in the future!). I'm kept somewhat busy and the bonus is that I have some extra 'pocket money'.

*This one I'm particularly proud of: I've lost weight! Well, I don't think I've lost a lot if you judge by the scale, it's more of the fact that I've gained more muscle mass and my body is toning up quite a bit. I've also dropped about 2 pant-sizes, yea!! I had been struggling with this for awhile, but the big turnaround occurred after my parents' visit last September and I decided that I needed to do something. How have I done this? Mainly I swim laps (about a mile each time) 3 to 4 times a week at the athletic club nearby, and oh, dance crazily at home. Yup, dancing. I'd turn up music from my I-Tunes and just dance away in the comfort of my own home. Obviously, I'm not a good dancer and that's why I'm doing this secretly in my house while Josue's gone at work. But it definitely brings out a good sweat everytime!

So there you have it, the highlights. Nothing too fancy, but definitely some life-changing ones! We are happy and feel truly blessed. Hope all is well with you. I have been keeping up with some of your blogs, so thanks for your updates and also for not giving me a hard time over the lack of mine. :)

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

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These pictures serve as proves of my whirlwind trip to San Francisco and the surrounding bay area last week. Elizabeth and I rented a car when we arrived early Monday morning, and off we went! Felt like I had driven the entire state of California in a span of 2 days...nah, it wasn't that bad. In fact it was an extremely fun roadtrip; getting lost many a times while trying to figure out the Californian roadways and the system, discovering new places and towns, and enjoying the beautiful sceneries along the way. What a great experience!

Freshly boiled craps sold by the street. Fresh and readily-available seafood everywhere!

Ghirardelli Square. Here's a hint: something SWEET!

The last time I had a drink from The Coffee Bean was in Malaysia. I was definitely excited about finding this shop and just had to make a stop.

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Medical school where Elizabeth interviewed at. The movie "Patch Adams" was filmed here.

Grapes that will be harvested later to make Chardonnay.

At Domain Chandon Winery in Napa.

Domain Chandon

Driving down the hill approaching the Golden Gate Bridge.

Across the bay overlooking the San Francisco skyline.

I'm driving across the Golden Gate for the 1st time in my life!!

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Alcatraz Island

At the Marina with the Golden Gate behind us

Unique houses along the Marina

Part of Chinatown

Another part of Chinatown

Bank of America--in Chinese!

Another part of Chinatown

Leaving Chinatown--Liz did lots of shopping, ha!

Posted by Malaysian Debster at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments