Reclaim your "child."

I just posted this on Facebook and Google+, this version is slightly longer though:

Today we went to out to do some things. We needed to get Sylvia's passport and consular report of birth abroad. We took the LRT, light rail train, to go out. Siew took a slightly different route since I was headed to the embassy to collect Sylvia's documents. She took the kids to KLCC so Felix could play there. They have a great park with lots of playground equipment and a kids' swimming pool.

I walked to the embassy and proceeded to wait, and wait, and wait. Finally my number was called. I went up, showed them the papers and within a few minutes I was finished. I teased the lady at the counter that she wouldn't see us again, we're not having anymore kids. She said we should have 3. I told her that that was not happening. Usually she's a very serious lady, but this time around I was able to break the ice a bit. After that I walked to KLCC and found Siew.

Felix was running around the playground at that point, so I joined him. We have fun running around and jumping around. I enjoyed being able to run freely, despite my recent, frequent shoulder pain. My recently glue Vibram Five Fingers are holding up pretty well, although the rubber has hardened a bit, so they allowed me to bounce about like a kid. Felix was playing with a boy who was with his father. The boy is 4, but Felix is taller than he is. The boy's father commented to Siew that it seemed like I was having more fun playing than Felix was. I know that's not entirely true, but I was having fun.

It feels great to move around freely like that. Being limited in our movements on a daily basis is something I had never noticed. In general, as we grow up, we forget how to play like kids; free, unlimited, without notions of impossibility. Being able to flow and bounce around, jumping from things and up onto things felt so great. It made me realize that I've lost, but can reclaim, a part of my life that I didn't realize I had lost.

I hope that I can teach the kids some of my "tricks" to movement, and that they will develop their own. I also hope that they will live more as kids, in this respect, and not grow "old."

I'm posting it here since I haven't posted anything in a long, long time. I might just have to start updating this again. We'll see, I have some other ideas for blogs, so I might create new blogs, or throw those things into this one, even if that makes things a mess.

Now, go and play!

I'm not dead yet!

Ok, so, I know, I have not been writing here at all recently.

Those of you who are in the know, know that I have kept Felix's blog updated, to some degree or another, with videos, but I have not been good about my own blog!

Ummm, what to tell?

Let's see, Siew and I are working on buying our apartment. That is going to increase our monthly expenses, but the money is then going into an asset, rather than into someone else's pockets.

I started working at a new job on Monday. I am now a full-time employee of a local college as an English teacher. I am still working at the Korean-owned center in the evenings and am also trying to get my own students.

Ultimately, I would like to have my own students rather than working for someone else. I can earn more that way, and have a lot more flexibility. However I need to have a stable income, more so with the boy and with the house. The best way to stabilize things right now is to have a full-time job. I actually will get benefits from a company for the first time since I left Charter in 2007!

These changes have added pressure to Siew, Felix, and me. I have to get up earlier in the morning, walk to the LRT, get on the train, ride to the right station, get off, walk to work. Then I work at the college from 9-4. Promptly at 4, I rush out the door, get on the train, ride to another station, get off, and find Siew. Then she drives me to work where I teach for 2 hours and then we can all go home. I hope these changes are ok for her and for Felix.

On the plus side of this all, I get off work earlier on Fridays, as well as the benefits which means I get holidays off AND paid!

I hope everything can become more and more stable for us. I want to provide the best I can for my family. I will do what I can to make that happen.

I'm tired

That is all. . . For now.

Heroscape

I have a couple of sets of Heroscape. It's an interesting idea. If I had friends I'd even use it for an RPG. However,I do not, so I play solo for the time being. :-P

The game has a really interesting set of tiles to build up maps. The figures are decently painted. The price is the best part of Heroscape. It's not a collectible game, nothing you buy is randomly packed, instead it's a set-based game with many expansions. The main game is not bad, but the potential for use with other games (RPGs) or making your own rules is really high.

Here are some pictures of the last map I made:

So bad

I have been lazy about posting lately. Maybe it is because I have less time, or less to write, or something else. I am not sure.

I have been looking into other jobs. I have a feeling that the place I am at now may not be open for much longer into the future.

I have an offer from one place, but the pay is TOO low. It is just going to start up soon, and I am kind of the "head" teacher, but the pay is really too little for the position. I told the guy I was talking to that if that was the pay offer, there was no way I could accept it. So, he offered me a part-time position, paying by the hour that is about the same as what I make now. We shall see about that one.

There is a lot of potential there, and he wants me to meet with the CEO/Datuk who has started this up. That worthy fellow owns and runs a university here in Malaysia. If I meet with him, perhaps I can get myself the wages I need in this new, and certain to be stressful, position.

I have also applied for teaching positions in Dubai. There is a need for native speakers of English to teach in Dubai. The pay is really good (double to quadruple what I make now), as are the benefits. I will have to send out more résumés quickly!

Otherwise, Felix is growing fast. He is walking very well! He is actually trying to run now, and getting himself hurt because of it. He has taken to trying to go very fast, which often results in tripping to the floor. Houses in Malaysia do not have carpet. The poor boy is accumulating a lot of bruises!