Archive for January, 2009
Pre-Chinese New Year
Saturday, January 24th, 2009Well, I am in Sibu now, I had an 8 hour bus ride yesterday from Miri. Sharon went to Sibu on Tuesday early in the morning, because her Great Grandmother died, so she went to the funeral. I stayed behind to feed the dog and finish up my work before Chinese New Year. I really missed her during those 4 days of not seeing her. Anyways, now I am in Sibu and we are preparing for the Chinese New Year celebration tonight. I went to buy some fireworks yesterday night because no one else bought any, so we are ready to light up tonight. I am excited. We are going to Sharon’s other grandma’s house to eat the dinner with them, then we are coming back to town to do the fireworks at 12 am tonight. I will take some pics and post them on my next post, which I will likely post tomorrow.
Chinese New Year is according to the Lunar Calendar, so that’s why the date changes every year (a lunar month only has 29 days). Every few years they have to move it back a month by making it a 13 month year rather than a 12, so that it stays about January-February ish. Some of the traditions include giving ‘Hong Bao’ (red enevelopes with money inside) to family and friends, singing lots of songs about luck and money, wearing brand new clothes for the first week, going home to be with your family, and shooting off tons of fireworks. Good traditions if you ask me (except for being so obsessed with money haha). I will update tomorrow with what went down (or up!).
Progress has been made…
Saturday, January 17th, 2009This week we got some really happy news! I was checking my email Wednesday morning and there was a message from CRIS, so I opened it and it said that my petition for the K-1 Fiancee Visa had been approved! It was such a huge relief to see that. I called Sharon immediately but her phone was just in the other room, so I had to wait til she got home to tell her the good news. She was so happy, and we both jumped up and down and danced around the kitchen for a while haha. It is really nice to get an update and know what is happening after such a long period of uncertainty. This makes it so much easier to wait. The long part of the process is now over. The next step is to fax the approval letter to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur so that they can open a file for our case and we can start sending in the required documents so that when they receive the approval notice from USCIS we will have a head start. Then we need to go in for an interview there before we can get the Visa. We have been thinking more and more about a good date for the Wedding, and the place as well. We are thinking (tentatively) somewhere between April 12 and April 17, but maybe the following week instead.
Anyways, aside from that our week was good. It really flew by. Just one more week until it is Chinese New Year, which is a really big thing here in Asia. Sharon will have a week off so we are going to Sibu to be with her relatives there. Usually for Chinese New Year, they have TONS of fireworks and it is also customary to buy a weeks’ worth of new clothes before hand so that every day of Chinese New Year you can wear something new. So anyways, that is going to be fun.
We are still alive and well. We went out to eat at Soho’s last night, my new favorite restaurant here in Miri. They have really good food, a good atmosphere, and the price is right.
Work this week has been a bit busy, but it’s also been satisfying. I have a lot of new ideas floating around in my head, just have to find the time to chase them down and make them a reality. I have also been working on my new business website, which is not done yet but I will post the link here when it is (hopefully by next post).
I love all my family and friends (you people that are reading this). Until next week… Bye bye^^
Random Pics for this week:
From my days in Florida with Paul
Miri’s First District Conference
Saturday, January 10th, 2009Well, another week has gone by and I am still writing! Sharon says she doesn’t think I’ll last on this ‘write once a week’ gig, but I’ve heard statistics that once you’ve done something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. Well, this is 21 days now, so we’ll see what happens.
This week Sharon and I both were kept pretty busy with work, she at school and I at home on my laptop. We went to help the Elders teach a family one night, and another night we went out to eat with Sharon’s Mom’s friends. The rest of the time we stayed home. On the weekend, Sharon and I went out to eat at Hot Spot, and it was pretty good.
The exciting thing this week was the Miri District Conference. It is the first one ever, and many people from Bintulu came up for the Saturday and Sunday sessions. I was able to see lots of people I knew from Bintulu, among which were Bro Gibbison, Pres Lembang, Sis Pantai, Sis Amy, Moses, Rina, Roslan, Jerini, Bro Joseph and his wife and Sis Man. I also met (former) Elder Simon Baker-King, who I knew from my mission. He and two of his friends were in town from Australia. They are traveling around the world, stopping different places along the way. I also was able to speak with Pres and Sis Skelton after the conference. Pres Halstrom was the keynote speaker, and it was good to see him again as well. I still have a picture of me with him from when I was in Sri Lanka.
So that was our week. I just realized that Tyler gets home in a month and one week, so that’s coming up very fast. I remember the last month passes like a dream. He will be back in no time. I wish I could be there, but Sharon and I are still waiting on the Visa.
I have decided to post pictures on my blog every time I post, to spice it up a bit and also for my own memories (since I write this blog mostly for the benefit of my old self in 10-20 years). So here are some pics:
Me Before I bought my new laptop (thats 2600 Ringgit there!)
Eating Indian food at a local food court
One of my tricks: MAGIC!
Happy New Year!
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009Hey, I hope everyone had a really happy new year celebration! I know I did. Sharon and I spent some quiet time at home and then went outside to watch the fireworks. I made some Resolutions and have been trying my best to keep them. Last week we went to an Archery Range that was on the top floor of a mall here. I’ve been wanting to go for quite a while and Sharon finally relented and took me there. We ended up having a lot of fun, and resolved to come back more often. After Archery, we went to the Movie Theater there and watched Bolt. It was a good movie, and we really enjoyed it. Other than that, not much happened this week. Sharon was able to get the upgraded pay rate at her job as a School Teacher here, so that was a real blessing. We had been praying for that, so it’s nice it happened. We are still waiting on the Visa, but hopefully it will get here soon.
I am going to be starting school this week, I am taking Online Courses from Dixie. It will be a nice change of pace, and even though they didn’t offer any computer-related courses online, I am still happy to get some electoral credits.
It was also nice to be able to talk to my mom and Tyler over the Holidays. Tyler is coming back on February 19th. That is pretty close! Anyways, I’ll keep everyone updated on the latest. Ciao!