Archive for March, 2009
The Secret’s Out…
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009Well, some of you already know this, so for the benefit of all, here are some pics of Sharon and I when we got married at the Hong Kong Temple December 12, 2008:
In front of the Temple
From the Side of the Temple
To see the rest of the pics, check out the Gallery.
2 Days late…
Monday, March 30th, 2009Well, for the first time all year, I am two days late on my weekly post. I do, however, have plenty of excuses to throw up in my defence, which you will soon hear whether you want to or not:
Sunday I was sick! I don’t get sick very often, and when I am sick, it really tries my patience. I really don’t like being sick. It all started that restless night in an Inn in Bintulu…
Saturday night in Bintulu I was exhausted from traveling all week AND had just gotten back from seeing my friends in Sungai Plan Flats (perhaps for the last time for a while more to come) and when I got back to the Inn, I just laid down on the bed and fell asleep (after helping Sharon grade her papers for school). It was nice and peaceful — UNTIL 11 PM WHEN I WAS AWOKEN BY LOUD DANCE-HALL MUSIC WHICH HAD A CONSTANT POUND-POUNDING OF HUGE BASS SPEAKERS. It was coming from the club which was situated -to my dismay- right next door to the Inn. We’re talking about 1 door (the door to my room) being the only thing separating me from the crazy dance music. Well, how long could it last, I thought. Give it a couple hours and it will quiet down.
5 AM. I had been awoken numerous times during the night by the incessant pounding of the music. I swear they were playing the same songs over and over. At about 5:45 the music finally stopped, and I was able to sleep for a couple more hours before getting out of bed. When I woke up in the morning I discovered that my throat was raw and sore from the aircon which had been blowing on me all night. That was the start of my sickness. Sunday morning we went to the Bintulu 2nd Branch for sacrament meeting, where I was able to see all of my friends for the last time before heading back to Miri.
Wednesday Night we flew in to Kuala Lumpur for Sharon’s Visa Interview. We landed late and didn’t get to our hotel until about 1 am. The desk person was very rude and smoked like a Steam Train. We slept well for a few hours, then got up at 6 am to get ready for the Interview.
Thursday we went to the Interview at the US Embassy after eating Breakfast at McDonalds (yay!). Immigration has been hasseling me because my Passport was full and there was no more space to stamp in it, so I got some extra pages put in at the US Embassy as well. Once Sharon submitted all of her papers, she was told to return at 1:30 pm for the interview. That meant we had about 3 hours to kill. So we went to KLCC to window shop (well, Sharon bought some makeup stuff) and eat lunch (A&W!). Then we went back to the Embassy for the Interview. This was the part that had us most worried, because if the Embassy Worker didn’t accept my Affidavit of Support, we wouldn’t be able to get the Visa. This was in all of our prayers for the past two months. I actually make enough at my current job to pass the minimum amount required by the Affidavit, but since I am self-employed, we were afraid it might cause problems.
Fortunately, the worked was very nice and we felt very comfortable during the interview. She accepted the Affidavit and we were told to come back the next day at 3 pm to get the Visa! Wow! We had gotten it! We were so excited. It was pouring down rain outside but we ran to the taxi stand (getting mildly wet) and flagged down a taxi. This was the answer to our prayers.
On the way back to the Hotel, we somehow managed to get a Crazy Indian taxi driver. He was literally insane haha! Or at least eccentric. It made for an interesting ride. He was a nice guy though and was the most honest driver we had in KL.
That night we went to see a movie at Times Square: Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was a good movie.
Friday we had some time to kill in the morning so we went back to Times Square and ate breakfast at… WENDY’S!!!! Wow, I was so excited to find that KL now has a Wendy’s! It is my favorite fast food restaurant, and I was happy to eat there. We then bought tickets to see another movie, returned to the hotel to check out, and went back to watch ‘Race to Witch Mountain’. It was a good movie as well, we enjoyed it. After the movie we took a taxi to the place we were supposed to pick up the Visa. There was a long line so I was worried at first, but it actually went by pretty fast. After we got the Visa (YAY) we took a taxi to KL Sentral, then a bus to the Airport. Our flight was delayed by 2 hours so that stunk, but luckily we were able to watch ‘The Office’ and play some games on my laptop. We didn’t get in to Miri until 12 am. When we got back, we went right to bed so we would be ready to go to Bintulu the next morning for Sharon’s interview with President Skelton for the Temple Recommend.
Saturday was Zone Conference in Bintulu, so we got to see all of the missionaries. Sharon passed the interview (no surprises hehe) and we were now all set. I had bought the plane tickets to return to the US earlier that morning, so we now had everything we needed! We were so happy!
Sunday night when I checked my email, there was a message saying there was a problem with the airline reservation and that I would have to call immediately to clear it up. It had been sent right after we left for Bintulu on Saturday Morning. I quickly called the number (despite being sick) and spoke with an agent who said they needed to mail the tickets to us since it wasn’t an e-ticket flight. This really had us worried since Malaysia’s post system is notoriously slow, and we were leaving Friday morning for KL. I tried to see if there was any other way, but the guy kept reassuring me that it would get here on time since it was being shipped by FedEx Second Day mail. We were skeptical but we really had no choice, so we agreed. Thus began the worrying over the plane tickets.
Monday morning I received another email saying I needed to call immediately about the Reservation. To make a long story short, here is a transcript of my final call with their Agents this morning (Tuesday Morning):
Ma’am, I realize this isn’t your fault, but let me explain my situation:
This is the eleventh time in the past 2 days that I’ve had to call this number and speak with an agent. I’ve been told all kinds of different stories why my tickets could not be ticketed, and have had to change my itinerary 5 or 6 times. I’ve been told to wait 3-4 hours on two occasions, and 4-6 hours on two other occasions and they all promised me the confirmation would be sent within that time. Needless to say, after more than 24 hours of waiting for this confirmation message, I still haven’t received any. I called an agent last night (it is morning time here) and she promised me that my trip would be ticketed and I would receive the confirmation email within 4-6 hours. That was 9 hours ago now.
My fiancee and I are flying to the USA to be married, so these tickets are very important to us. My fiancee is very nervous because the trip has not been ticketed yet, and I’ve been sick the past few days so it has been a nightmare for us. I promised her last night that the trip would be ticketed by morning because of what the agent promised me, and now it has still not been ticketed. I really can’t wait any more, I need to get this situation resolved now. We cannot go on like this.
I am calling you to find out why my our trip has not been ticketed yet like the agents have told us it would be.
Wow. So much worrying and so many times I had to call them. I have their hold music memorized. I spent about $15 on the calls. I was told to wait 4-6 hours so many times. Even the last time I called this morning that was her answer. Our flights had been changed so many times. Anyways, just after lunch time, I received the long-awaited confirmation email that our tickets had been confirmed! Finally! Sharon and I were both really happy. I will be returning to the USA this Saturday, flying in to the Las Vegas Airport with my darling Sharon. I am still a bit sick and I have a ton of work to do before then, but I’m hoping that I will get feeling better before we fly, and that I can finish a lot of my work first. I guess all’s well that ends well, so we are happy to be COMING BACK TO THE USA!
As a side note, I was looking at my site stats and it said that someone found my site by searching for D&C 90:24. Sure enough, when I searched google, my study journal was on the first page. Some other wierd searches include:Singapore Airport Electric Shaver, and Iban Alcohol Problems. Haha
Another Sidenote: If you read a post, comment on it! I always comment on posts when I read them, and it really is nice to see what other people think. There’s a comment form just right down below this, just enter something and press Submit! It’s not going to explode your computer, I promise*!
* Promises made in a sarcastic tone are not binding in a court of law.
Back from KK trip
Saturday, March 21st, 2009Well, I am home sweet home again here in Miri. In KK I was able to get an extension to my Visa. It was actually somewhat of a nightmare. Sharon’s Dad took me to the immigration office in KK. I waited in line and then we were told that we needed to go to this place across town to get a signature and stamp, so we drove across town and waited in line there, and filled out some forms, then we took Sharon to her Doctor’s appointment and then drove back to the Immigration office, where I submitted the papers and waited in line some more. Lines lines lines. Anyways, when it was my turn, the officer said I needed to go pay RM 100 before I could get the extension, so I had to – you guessed it – wait in another line. After I paid, I brought back my papers and everything to the officer. He put them in his basket and told me to go wait. So I went and sat down. The officer literally sat at his desk doing nothing for like 20 minutes, (all the while trying to avoid my gaze of impatience which was directed at him), then finally he took it and signed it and then called me back up. He said that I need to leave Malaysia since my passport is now full, and that he would give me 30 days to stay here. I thought, well that’s fine since I only need to be here til the start of April anyways, so I took it and we left. Once I got in the car, I was reading the papers in my passport and realized it said I could stay in SABAH ONLY for 30 days. This basically sucks since I am currently living in Sarawak, and I need to go to West Malaysia as well before I go back to the US. So we had to go back and speak with another (nicer) officer, who told us to wait while she took care of it. While we were waiting, I said a silent prayer to myself (the first time I’d prayed about my Visa) and asked Heavenly Father to let it work out in a way so that I wouldn’t have to pay any money and I’d get the Visa for the places I needed to go. I was thinking ‘pay any extra money’ but I said ‘pay any money’ in the prayer. Anyways, when the officer got back she handed me my RM 100 and said that no payment was necessary, that the system the other officer used was old and out of date. Then she said they would give me a new extension and that it would be free! Really cool, I feel like my prayer was answered. Anyways, after waiting (another 30 minutes) I was able to get my shiny new Visa sticker they put in my Passport (in the back since there was no more space left on the pages). This one was nice since it let me stay till May 2009 and was valid for SABAH and WEST MALAYSIA. The only problem was that SARAWAK was still not listed. I asked the officer and she said that it wouldn’t be a problem, since when I flew back to SARAWAK they could just stamp me another tourist visa. Anyways, that ended that fiasco.
Sharon also had a bit of a fiasco with the doctor, but I’m sure she will tell us how that went on her blog.
The rest of the time in KK we spent going to get Sharon’s hair done, seeing her friends, going to Tanjung Aru Beach Resort, and lazing around at home (well, I tried to work when I could). It was a nice mini-vacation before things get hectic again. We are planning to go for our Visa Interview in KL this week, so if you guys could pray for us that we will get the Visa, it would be a big help.
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted any pictures, so if you guys want to see some pics, go check out Sharon’s blog, I believe she will be posting some.
In Kota Kinabalu Again, and I’m almost an Illegal Immigrant ><
Sunday, March 15th, 2009Well, another week has come and gone and Sharon and I are that much closer to coming back to the USA. We really can’t wait, and we are crossing our fingers and praying that all will go well with the interview. If any of you who read this want to help, please pray that we will be able to pass the interview and get the Visa with no problem. You may think that the previous sentence is somewhat haughty since I assume people actually read my blog, but the truth is that I have this power. I can tell whenever someone reads my blog. For example, I know that YOU are reading THIS right NOW. Was I right? I know I was. Hehe. Plus I have my stats that show me who visits (I have your IP addresses – BEWARE!) haha.
Anyways, Sharon and I are in Kota Kinabalu again. We flew in from Miri this morning. We have to come so that Sharon can get her Medical Checkup and since there aren’t any approved doctors in Miri we had to fly to KK. On the way to the airport I was looking at my passport and discovered that I had only been given 1 month last time I got my passport stamped. I had just assumed that I would get 3 months since I always had in the past. I got my passport stamped last when I came back to Malaysia from Brunei on February 14th. Luckily February was a short month so my 30 days isn’t up until March 16th (tomorrow) ><. So I was able to come here fine but the immigration officers looked skeptically at my passport before stamping it. My options are running out now since I only have one day to get my Visa taken care of. I have 3 options: Fly to the Philippines, Fly to Brunei, or get my visa extended at the Immigration Office. I will try the extension first, but depending on how much it costs (or even if they will do it) it may be cheaper/easier to just leave the country then come right back. We’ll see how it turns out… I’ve always wanted to go to Manila >.> Haha
Speaking of my passport, I am running out of space! I only have two more squares for people to stamp, which may be gone after tomorrow. I will have to get additional pages put in when we go to the American Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Especially since my passport doesn’t expire until 2015.
Depending on the blood tests, we may have to stay here in KK for 4-5 days, but we’re hoping we can get the results back before then. Hopefully Sharon doesn’t have anything bad, like HIV or some other STD >< 
. But I’m sure she’s just fine 
We slept most of the day today, which for me is odd, since I don’t usually take naps (Sharon takes naps often though). We watched the Office season 1 and had a good laugh. We also got all caught up on Heroes and Criminal Minds. We may be a bit behind on Gossip Girl, but we’ll get that fixed soon I bet.
Nikki Yoder, one of our good friends, made us some really nice Wedding Invitations. If you are one of those lucky enough to receive one (insert evil laugh here*), you will see what I mean. She has been really helpful in many other things too, giving us valuable tips and pointing us in the right direction as we are preparing for our reception and wedding. If you’re reading this Nikki, let me just say, thanks a million!
Memories – Honolulu Airport
Saturday, March 7th, 2009Well, I’ve decided to start writing various memories I have that are important/interesting which I haven’t written in my journals. This memory is regarding the Honolulu Airport. There are two major times that I was at the Honolulu Airport (not including return trips).
The first time I was there was in the Winter of 2004. I was attending Dixie State College in the Fall of 2004, and I had applied to BYU-Hawaii. To my surprise, I was accepted for admission. My parents agreed to pay for my plane ticket, so I decided to go. I flew out from the Las Vegas Airport a couple days after Christmas (I think the 28th). I missed the plane I was supposed to take from Las Vegas, so I had to take the next one. This presented a problem, since I had arranged with the Coconut Express to take me from the Airport to the campus and I was hours late, so I missed it. My plane arrived in Honolulu late that night and I ended up having to spend the night there in the Airport. I found a place to sit and just sat there next to my luggage the whole night. I didn’t sleep, partly because I was afraid someone might try to steal my luggage. I just sat there listening to my CD player until morning. In the morning, I was able to meet up with the Coconut Express and go to the School. Once I got to my dorm, I slept most of the rest of the day.
The second time I was in the Honolulu Airport was when I was going back to BYU-Hawaii. I returned home from my mission to Singapore in September, 2007. I then went to Florida to work and save money so I could return to school. This time I flew out just after New Year 2008. I had arranged for one of my friends who I knew from Kuala Lumpur (Royce and his wife Melanie) to pick me up at the Airport. Everything went smoothly with the flight, but when we landed and got to the Baggage Pickup, there was no baggage. We had to wait almost 2 hours before our baggage finally came onto the Baggage Train. Not sure what the problem was with that. When I finally got my baggage and made my way out to the pickup area, I saw Royce calling me from the curb. So I brought my bags over to his car and got a surprise: Sharon was there in the car with them! She had come along with them to pick me up! I had actually secretly been hoping that she would, and she did! Haha. It was strange though because she was totally shy the whole ride home. She didn’t really say anything to me haha. Royce, Melanie and I got caught up so it was nice to be able to talk to them. They took me to my off-campus housing and I gave Sharon a hug before going into my new home for the next 5 months.
The Birds are chirping…
Saturday, March 7th, 2009As I am writing this, there are birds outside the window chirping. It is Sunday Morning, nice and sunny, and there is the faint smell of Pancakes in the air. Oh, let me introduce myself. My name is Leighton Whiting and I am the luckiest man in the world! At least that’s how I feel right now. Sharon has promised me pancakes this morning, and I am salivating already. Usually I don’t hear many birds here, but it reminds me of home.
I have had a good week this week, did a lot of work and got things accomplished. The days are getting busier and the time is flying by. Sharon and I already have most of our days planned out from now until after the wedding. It is going to be pretty busy, a lot of traveling, trying to get things ready for the Visa. This week I missed another day, somehow Thursday got away from me and in my mind we went from Wednesday to Friday. I was none too pleased about this, since I value my days haha.
Plans are moving along for the Wedding, we are getting ready to print the invitations this week and start sending them out. That will be a relief to get them sent. We are planning on only having seating for 100 people, since the reception area is a bit small, so if you get an invitation, be sure to RSVP. The Reception will be formal and guests should plan to be on time. It is going to be lots of fun and very nice.
I am really excited to be going back to the USA again. I’ve been here now for more than 7 months, and that is a long time in Leighton-Years, considering I’ve only stayed in one place for at most 7 months during the past 5 years of my life. This is about to become my longest area of residence within the past 5 years. I’ve been busy and traveled to many places, but I am happy and healthy, so that’s good. I’ve been craving American food more and more, since most of the time it’s just rice or noodles here. I can’t wait to get back and have a nice Wendy’s meal.
I’ve begun looking for a decent car I can buy for (hopefully) under $1500 so that Sharon and I can have transportation when we get back. I was thinking about buying one through CraigsList, since that is how I got my last car in Hawaii, and I was very satisfied with that. Among the criteria I have are:
1) Must look decent/nice (no paint chipping, nice interior)
2) Must have no major fixes needed.
3) Must have A/C and Heat (since Utah is pretty extreme sometimes)
4) Must be Automatic Transmission (since I’ve never really learned Manual adequately)
So wish me luck and I’ll keep searching CraigsList. I’ve found a few good potentials, and I figure if I start looking now I should be able to find one before we get back in early April.
Once we get back, I will continue working during the summer and then attend school in the Fall, probably at Dixie. I love Dixie, I really think it’s a great school. Then for the Winter/Spring semester, we were considering heading back to Hawaii. We’ll see how that turns out. Sharon and I both love it there in Hawaii. I’m sorry I haven’t posted any pics in a while, but I don’t really have anything new yet. We should be having tons of pics to post around the Wedding and Reception time, so just wait^^