Selamat Datang!

Good morning from Malaysia! Selamat Datang means just such in Malay, and I can promise I have butchered that a few times already today.

I thank those well wishers for the flight last Friday, and happy to report that I survived the loooooooooong haul over fairly well. The top highlights included watching a silly rom com without feeling guilty for wasting 2 hours/$10 on a (sorta stupid) movie; multiple episodes of Glee without protests from my husband; and Clarins products in a Tumi toiletry bag (WOW, Malaysia Air!). The only "bad" things were, well, sitting / sleeping on a plane for 20 hours, and the smell of fish at 5AM for breakfast (really, Malaysia Air?) Still, not much to complain about.

After arriving on Sunday at 7am, some colleagues and I wasted no time in starting to explore the city. I have so many pictures and stories to share in the near future, once I get home and can work on the photos. For now, I will update on a few key/random observations I have made in my first 24 hours in this interesting country:

- KL might rival Houston as the most hot/humid place on the planet. So thick you could cut it with a knife. In most pictures we took of us, it appears that we are melting. I have already warned my colleagues that my hair is going to be big, poofy, and downright awful-looking for the week.

- The coldest place on the planet may be the conference room we are meeting in for our workshop. I can't even recognize my own handwriting in my notes because my hands are so frozen. I am having to sit with my legs under the tablecloth for warmth!!

- I have had noodles for every meal so far, including breakfast and snacks. This is for two reasons: first, I adore Asian noodles and will eat them if offered (even on a breakfast buffet) and 2) they are general not spicy. The spice level here on EVERYTHING is off the charts - like, 4 chilies on the Thai takeout menu hot. I have to carefully navigate the buffets and menus (of food I have never heard of) to find something that won't be too spicy. Although I can handle a little bit of heat, my gastro system considers it a punishable offense.

- The good thing about jetlag is that I go to bed at 9:30PM and wake up at 5:30AM. This gives me time for a good, long workout before the meetings. That is key for this week (see above - NOODLES EVERY MEAL!)

- It is a little hard to sit in a big process design workshop all day long as "the client" without missing my former life as "the consultant". Facilitating these babies was so much fun! I have tried to convince the D friends here that I could help run a breakout, if they need me to... :)

Hope all is well across the Pacific, and I will try to get into something fun and non-spicy this week to report back on!