Monday, September 22, 2008

Relocating to an new country

I am posting this later as it was started and not finished until some time after I reached Asia.

At 10:30 PM on Tuesday night I walk in to the perpetual chaos of Tom Bradley international terminal. Most often when I fly internationally it's at midnight or sometime there after, I guess it's cheaper to fly after midnight...and flight MH095 was scheduled for a 1:40 AM departure, Oh goody.
It feels a little surreal, I keep reminding my self I am not coming back in a week or ten days... My ex-wife drove me to the airport, as she was going to keep my... well, her truck now. I unloaded my bags out onto the curb, rushing guiltily as if I am personally holding up all the cars jockeying for position at the curb. Even my ex ran around to get in to drivers seat for a quick getaway. So when I get my bags out, I awkwardly shake her hand and say thanks. As she drives away I stand on the curb with way too much stuff, and it sinks in I am starting the newest stage of my life,
Luckily the Malaysian airline counter was near the door and I could slip right in line, me and my dunnage, is that a word? I think it is, doesn't it mean cargo? if it doesn't it should. Anyway as you can tell I am fixated on how much stuff I'm taking (and I refuse to talk about what I shipped ahead) It's funny how we... (most of the Americans I know) are attached to our stuff...like security blankets. When I travel no mater the length of the trip I attempt to carry on my stuff, not this time.
I start the crawl to the check in counter, the guy in front of me strikes up a conversation as we're making small talk about international travel, a swarthy young guy (Ha! I have always wanted to use that word) I think he's Malay, like I know... but anyway he's looking at my bags (yes I know they're ginormus) he asks "do you know what our weight limits are?" so the three of us start discussing it...Malaysia Airlines has just recently lowered the max check in bag weight from 70 lbs. to 50 lbs. with the caveat that it applied to tickets purchased before some time in April. But, as well as Malaysian airlines appears to be run (more on that later) their website isn't very user friendly. because no one else seemed to know it, and I missed the part about carry on's weighing less than 11 lbs. So after so creative cargo shifting, collecting my boarding pass (with the admonishment " we will be boarding at 12:00 AM... really? I doubt that highly) it's off to play x-ray, x-ray where is the baggage x-ray, Oh... and after that , security....I am all a twitter with excitement.

Monday, September 8, 2008

"If" By: Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about youimage
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Becoming an English teacher (or do I really want a CELTA?)

As I said in a previous post when I decided to leave the US and live overseas, teaching English seemed the natural thing to do; I'm a native speaker right? Reasonably intelligent right? Should be easy....
So: I sold most of my things, packed the stuff I couldn't part with, enrolled in a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur and bought a one way ticket to Malaysia.
I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, met by my friend who I would be staying with. I had a couple of weeks before my course started to acclimate to living in Malaysia. I enjoyed that mini vacation. The course started on July 16th and ran until August 12th, I won't bore you with all the details. However I will say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, their description of an "intensive course", doesn't come close to describing how hard, stressful and agonizing this 5 weeks can be. I thought my previous tests for levels of black belt in Shaolin Chuan Fa were bad and physically they were, but this took the cake for mental torture.

There were 11 of us; 2 from England, 1 from from New Zealand, 3 Malaysian Indians, 1 Saudi Arabian, 3 Malaysian Chinese and me the lone American which was real special since I was the only one speaking and writing American English. There were a number of times I did not think I would pass the course, and a few times I didn't care if I did...
Two of my course mates didn't pass...a very expensive lesson.
Most of us got pretty close during the course as people do when sharing a trying experience. Now we have mostly gone our separate ways with vows of keeping in touch...speaking of which I need to send an email...Anyway 1 is off to South Korea to teach, 1 is looking to work here at the British council, and most of the Malaysians went to their respective homes to find work or continue at their previous jobs.
I sent out numerous CV's (Resumes) to places here in KL and and Singapore. I was contacted and interviewed by a school called ELS, they offered me a part time position to gain experience needed for the work permit. I observed some lessons, taught a demo. I worked there for a while when I received an email from the West Business school in Singapore, I went for and an interview and accepted a full time position which much better pay and benefits than ELS.
So now I will be moving to Singapore for at least a year maybe longer. I start on September 12th. I am searching for a room to rent and a way to get my things to S'pore without it costing more than it would to replace them...

Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy

I came across a blog called The Art of Manliness, and a discussion of cooking. Well this in my opinion is one of the most manly dishes any man can make....

Biscuits and gravy...oh how I love thee... This, to me is the soul of comfort food.
Growing up in a Bakersfield "okie",household most Sunday morning breakfasts consisted of: bacon, fried eggs, sausage patties, fried potatoes, drop biscuits and gravy. I guess it was a throwback to my Fathers Texas farmer roots.
At the time I didn't know there were different types of gravy; sawmill, bacon, redeye...Mom mostly made bacon gravy, since that's what dad grew up with, I just remember sitting down to mounds of the most unhealthy but, the most delicious breakfast fare ever imagined.
After leaving home, I would try to recapture that wonderful fluffy biscuit covered in hot creamy gravy with bits of meat. I ordered it in restaurants to be miserably disappointed, even in the South. Friends made it for me...wrong, I tried to make it...wrong. Then I discovered Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet. His cooking show first and then his books. In The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American he had a recipe for biscuits and gravy...eureka! I finally found a way to recreate that bucolic meal of my youth. This was a recipe for ,"Sawmill gravy" made with bulk sausage, years later my mom was making gravy for me and I discovered she had always made bacon gravy but as I said I didn't know the difference.
Which is better? I like them both...but, sorry mom I like the sawmill version better.
This works great at home, but it really shines when camping. Most people would agree that food is always better eaten, "outside". The gravy is dead easy and the biscuits while a little harder to do when camping, become easy with a good Dutch oven and some practice. I will write the home method and give some advice for camping after.
Biscuits;
It is perfectly acceptable to used the "canned" pre-made ready to cook type found in grocery store's refrigerated section, or even better or the pre-made frozen ready to cook variety. Follow the baking instructions provided.
I always made Bisquick or other variety of baking mix drop biscuits. Just follow the package directions.

Sawmill gravy; (here are measurements)
1/2 pound or a "chub" of bulk pork breakfast sausage
2-3 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
3-4 tablespoons of flour (Wondra works well)
2 cups milk
Pepper and salt
Having given amounts I will describe the easiest way to make it.
In a good size frying pan with high sides (cast iron is best, especially camping) fry the sausage (I use the 1 lb chub) and onion until the sausage is browned (some recipes will tell you to drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease...I won't) I then take the canister of wondra and sprinkle it over the sausage to coat it very well, add enough of the flour so the pan looks "dry" and all the meat is coated and grease is absorbed. It will look a tan-ish brown. Let the flour cook a bit stirring to mix it. Once the flour has cooked, start adding the milk a little at a time stirring and scraping (I don't measure the milk, I just keep adding it till the consistency looks good) the gravy will thicken as it cooks. Its a good idea to make it a little on the, "thin" side because it will thicken as it sits. Season it with liberal amounts of black pepper and taste it to see if it needs salt.

To make bacon gravy you can dice the bacon and fry it to render the grease, sprinkle in the flour and continue just as you do for the sausage gravy.

To serve you can split the biscuit and spoon the gravy generously over the halves or as I do just break the biscuit into pieces in a pile and ladle away!
Another tip for camping, use cast iron pans. With proper seasoning they are better than Teflon, they are near destructible and the best part...the hold the heat so while you are sitting down to eat your food stays warm.

A pinch of cayenne pepper will "kick it up"
To make biscuits while camping and impress and amaze your friends and family; find a Dutch oven, the type with 3 legs and a lid with tall sides. If it's new season it well ( wash it, heat the oven to 350 coat the entire Dutch oven in vegetable oil (I like peanut, higher smoke point) put the coated pot and lid in the oven and let is "bake" 1 hour then turn the oven off and let the pieces cool with the oven, do this two or three times)
When you want cook the biscuits, light about 50 charcoal briquettes. When the briquettes are glowing find a flat non flammable surface ( dirt clear of anything that will catch fire) and arrange about 10 coals in two concentric circles, 4 coals making a small circle, 6 coals ringing them the outer circle should be a bit smaller than the size of your Dutch oven.
Put the prepared biscuits in the oven, sides touching. Put the lid on and set the oven over the coals. Arrange about 20 coals on the lid, you want more coals on the top than the bottom.
Cook for about 30-40 min's then check the biscuits, add coals if needed....But be patient! do try to speed it up with more heat...or burn it, you will... And that's not sexy