News at last!

At last! I had planned to blog every few days, but you might have noticed that I haven't bothered. There is a truly logical reason for my extended absence from blogspot- basically, I have had very little to say. For the past two weeks, He has been back in Cairns, finishing off the myriad jobs that were left unfinished when we rushed off. I did at least listen with delight as he related stories of the many wonderful and potentially "useful" items that failed to make their way into the shed, instead being sold, given away or relegated to the care of Cairns' landfill. For more than two weeks, He slogged away at supervising work on the house and cleaning up loose ends while rolling along with work on his invention. Meanwhile, the useless wife sat in Brisbane, frustrated and bored. Actually, I kept busy, doing a lot of the little jobs that needed to be done, mainly on the phone an internet, but the completed jobs did little to help the frustration of waiting.

Why then, you ask, am I back here boring the hapless reader with tedious stories of everyday monotony. Because, dear reader, I have NEWS! After three weeks of marking time, we have finally booked our tickets and will depart on Saturday morning. We have been unable to make the move as our Malaysian colleagues were concerned that our accommodation  wasn't ready, but we can now say that not only is there a home waiting for us, but as of today, it is also furnished.

I'm looking forward to learning more about the Chinese Malaysian customs once we get there, as I'm often somewhat perplexed with the goings-on and the reasons for them. D seemed quite concerned that we would be there by the weekend, and there was no furniture in our place. The inventor received a relieved call late this afternoon- furniture has been acquired. We had reassured D that we were happy in a guest house for a week or two if things weren't yet ready, but he would have none of it. We also can only speculate as to why we were asked if we needed a two-storey house.

Should you be wondering about our accommodation, I stand in no position to relieve this lack of knowledge. We know no more than the fact that there is accommodation, and it is in Kampar. It may be very near to the university, but of this we are unsure. It may also be a townhouse in a row, but of this we are also unsure. We will probably be living beside the newly-appointed lab manager, whom Tony has met briefly. With communications as they are, between countries, on mobile phones, with very busy people both ends and accents to contend with, we remain content to know the basic information.

I have spent some of the waiting time investigating the University in Kampar, and preparing an application for a job in the Centre for Foundation Studies there. I am thinking that some study might be on the cards- a masters, perhaps? There are many options and possibilities for me at the moment. The Inventor is just very keen to get settled into the lab in Kuala Dipang and get stuck back into really productive work.

The few days we have left in Australia will be busy, with all the remaining jobs on my list needing to be done, and the copious possessions to be distributed between bags to go now, bags to go later, and a box to add to the chaos in my parents' garage. We are hoping to head to the Gold Coast on Thursday to spend some time with other family members we haven't seen much of lately, before our early Saturday departure from Coolangatta Airport. And before then, we'd like to see family and friends in Brisbane one last time. We are going to be busy. The outcome of this, is that what you are reading is likely to be the last blog I write in Australia for some time. Farewell! I'll catch up with you again in Malaysia.

Moving is a verb, so why aren't we going anywhere?

It's been a few weeks since I last blogged, and if the reader has any comprehension of the mammoth moving mission that has been undertaken, you will not question my failure to report in to blogspot. We have left Cairns now, and it wasn't without tears. Quite a few. I bawled when Pastor Vaughn invited our friends from church to the front to pray a blessing for us- the reality of leaving behind our church family hit me suddenly, and as I watched those wonderful people and dear friends gather around me, the sense of loss, gratitude and blessing was so very heavy.

Five of the most blessed of these angels then answered my desperate plea for assistance, and came to our place when available over the next three days to help with cleaning and packing. A superhuman effort all-round resulted in our departure as planned in the evening of Wednesday 4th July. True to our usual form, we left many loose ends flapping wildly, and tomorrow The Inventor is flying back for a quick few days to complete some jobs, while I stay here and blog to my heart's content. In the meantime, we have enjoyed days at our annual medieval festival, visiting family and friends, and today, our daughter's birthday. Today I also completed the series of  four TKT exams to gain an internationally-recognised ESL teaching qualification. I'm happy with the marks I have recieved so far and today's exams went well. Teaching English in Malaysia is still an option I'm considering, but not the only option.

We continue to sit in Brisbane waiting for Price Waterhouse. The setup of the joint venture company has been somewhat delayed, and while we wait for PWC input, we do not move. So we sit and wait. There is nothing patient about this waiting- we are ready, we have said our goodbyes and we have moved, and now we are frustrated that the next stage of our life and plans approaches with the unhurried imminence of an approaching dawn. I hope that, like the approaching dawn, the waited-for moment will be sudden and complete. No airfares have been booked yet, and family and friends marvel at the apparent calmness with which we accept the wait, but we have no choice but to accept the delay, and continue to work as best we can in this hiatus. The contrast in urgency of the last two weeks has been both a shock and a relief.

The Inventor has been able to make some more contacts with his networking while in Brisbane, though he is frustrated at his lack of laboratory facilities, and is looking forward to having the lab and newly-ordered equipment on our arrival in Kuala Dipang. Time moves on.