My Life On The Move – Current Location: Houston

We sold the Nissan 350z. Though at $1.5k cheaper than our asking price, we are happy that it’s sold and have one less big-ticket item off our mind. I’ll miss that car. You have been a great ride and a fun one too. Be nice to your new owner.

I cleared the drinks cabinet today. No alcohol in Kuwait, so we are giving all our drinks away. Sigh… the special reserve single malts, my favourite vodka, Adam’s favourite Gin, the tequila and together with a host of other drinks. We can’t take you with us but you’ll be in good hands and will be part of many fun parties.

The voltage in Kuwait is 240v so we have to get rid of some of our household appliances. We’ll be parting ways with our faithful Hoover, our almost new DVD player, our TV, my hand mixer and immersion blender and a few other things. We’ll just have to do some shopping when we get to Kuwait!

Ok, I am off now. I need to pack up the winter clothes since all will be going into the container, take photos of my handbags, pack them up nicely and add them into the inventory list for insurance purposes (very important!) and clear the pantry.

Loads to do today!

Once in awhile I miss nasi campur. I don’t indulge in nasi campur that often when I was in Malaysia but when I do, I loved it!

There are many variations of nasi campur here in Houston. I don’t like those Asian stalls at the food court level of shopping malls. I don’t think the food is authentic and more often than not, they are too greasy. I like getting my nasi campur from Chinatown. There’s a stall in a Hong Kong supermarket and it’s cheap! For $3 you get 3 dishes with rice and the portions are so big I can have it for 2 meals.

Sweet & sour pork, pork ribs and bok choy. YUM!

Pork, chicken and veg. YUM YUM!

Looking forward to at least 1 nasi campur meal when I am home. Wonder if there’s any good nasi campur in Kuwait.. hmm.

With the move, we feel lucky that we only have the cars to sell. Imagine trying to sell a house in this economy. We have put both our cars up for sale ~ Adam’s is available for immediately sale and mine will be available at the end of this month or early next (depending on when we’ll be leaving).

We have also been looking at cars to buy in Kuwait. Cars in Kuwait are very cheap so Adam is getting all excited. As good as the highways are in Kuwait, the drivers aren’t so Adam isn’t sure about getting a Porsche 911 as much as he would love one. We might consider getting a 4WD just so we appear more intimidating. I have read that the locals drive like maniacs.

Last night we had dinner with some friends and they started planning some weekend get togethers before we leave, it hit me then that we don’t have that many weekends left in Houston especially when I’ll be spending one of them in New York soon.

Goodbyes are hard and it’s something I have never mastered. It doesn’t get easier either.  I know I’ll make new friends in Kuwait but I’ll definitely miss my dear friends here. Sigh… no more happy hour at noon and girls night out to a girlie movie and drinks afters for awhile, until I meet new kaki. 

I love tomato soup but not the Campbell kind. I have been making my own tomato soup for awhile. Adam loves it too, so whenever I have way too many tomatoes at home, I’ll stock up the freezer with tomato soup. (I label every container so I know which ones needs to be eaten first )

Tomato soup with toasted buttered whole grain toast

Tomato Basil Soup

Celery – roughly chopped
Onion – diced
Garlic - minced
Tomatoes – roughly chopped
1 can of V8 vegatable juice
1 – 2 cups vegetable stock (depending on the consistency of the soup you prefer)
Bay leaves
Fresh basil – chopped
Cream or Half-and-half - optional
Black pepper
Salt

First sweat the celery with bay leave, onion and garlic.

Then add in the tomatoes and some of the fresh basil.

When juices start to come out of the tomatoes and you get a wonderful aroma, add the can of V8 juice and vegetable stock.
Add remaining basil.

Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn the heat off and  puree the bits and pieces in the pot with an immersion blender.

If you like your tomato soup creamy, add cream or half-and-half now.

Add salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

Got a nudge on MSN the other day. Was reminded that I have yet to update my blog. I know… I am sorry… well, I have been busy trying to score high points on Bejeweled on FB. No, that’s not entirely true. I have to admit I have been lazy. Somedays I do have something to blog about however it doesn’t stay in my head long enough for me to blog about it. Is that the problem with the person or the mind? Hmm…

I do have news to share. We are leaving Houston soon! Finally! We have been asking for a transfer since the beginning of last year and finally we can leave. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with Houston. We have been here for more than 3 and 1/2 years and we feel it’s time to go and explore a new country and experience a different culture.

We are moving to a country rich in oil (it has the world’s 5th largest oil reserves), is one of the richest countries in the world per capita and one of the smallest countries in the world in terms of land area. This country borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Yup! We are moving to Kuwait!

We are very excited with this move. We will be halfway between Malaysia and England which brings us so much closer to our families. My FIL lives in Turkey, that’s a very short flight away. Other than the fact that we will be closer to home, we are looking forward to experiencing the culture and living in this part of the world which gets some pretty bad press because most often than not, they are associated with terrorism.

Middle East countries also get bad press because of limitations on the rights of women. In Kuwait, women can work. They can drive if they are working or they have kids (Damn! I got to get a job!). Women do not have to wear a burqa however conservative dressing is required (need to start shopping for conservative clothes for desert weather).

Our biggest concern? In Kuwait, the import of alcohol and pork is illegal (though nothing is said on consumption ) Adam checked with some friends in Kuwait. You can get black market alcoholic beverages at a price. A crate of beer – US$200. A bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label – US$300. JD – US$275. Nah, we won’t buy them in black market. Adam suggested weekend trips to Bahrain or Dubai. There’s also the possibility of home brewing. We found a home brewing supply store near here and we’ll check that place out this weekend (no, I am not kidding)

No pork means no bacon, no pork belly, no char siew. Gosh. I am sure we will get over that. I love Middle Eastern food, I am so looking forward to sampling everything. I believe that would be the thing I will write about most when I get there.

Since we can’t drink, what’s there to do on weekends? Most expats join a private beach club. No, you still can’t drink there but at least you have the private beaches to use, gym, pools…etc. There are 2 that we get a corporate rate on so we’ll do that when we get there.

As for now, the paperwork is tedious. There’s so much required and most of the documents required have to be translated into Arabic and then certified by the State government where that document is issued. We found a company that will do it for us. Their fees aren’t cheap but it saves us time.

If all the paperwork goes well, the movers will be coming in to pack up our apartment at the end of this month. Glad I don’t have to do the packing and moving but I am giving away alot of stuff now just so we don’t take too much of what we don’t need with us.

We will leave Houston for England and we will spend 2 weeks there. Adam will then be off to Kuwait and I’ll  head back to Malaysia. I’ll spend about a month in Malaysia since the Kuwaiti government will only process my visa once Adam is in their country. I have no complaints there, a paid ticket home to see my family and friends and makan makan! I am sure I’ll see some of you when I get home ~ so looking forward to that.