The morning starts off rocky. I was told to meet my ride at 9:30 am at the front gates of the complex, Palm Spring Damansara. In the style of my father, Lt Col Orr, I get to the rendezvous point 15 minutes early. 9:30 comes and goes, 9:45 comes and goes; no ride comes. So the thought hits me, I can’t miss my first day of work, period. At about 1 am the night before my ride pointed out to me where the office was on our way to grab some late night food. However, at this point, I wasn’t exactly sure where the complex was and the office is at least a mile away in a large business complex without visibility from the main street. Regardless, my crazy – or shall I say less cautious – side takes over and I say to myself “if my ride isn’t here by 10 am, I’m going to walk and find it myself.” 10 am arrives and I take off on foot in a city that I’ve never been alone in. After about 25 minutes of uncertainty, - deciding in my mind that s long as I can see my very tall complex, I always have the option to turn around and go home – some things start looking familiar and I gain confidence. About 10 minutes later, I find my destination. If I could do a back flip and I wasn’t wearing a backpacking and sweating in the humidity, I would have done a back flip. When I enter, everyone I speak to initially is also amazed that I found my way there on foot. Regardless, I’ve made it. So I speak to my contact, also my boss, who is happy to see me. I’m immediately given the good news that I will be getting paid more than expected and won’t be spending a dime on my lodging unless I decide to move out of my prearranged and convenient situation; fat chance. Furthermore, any problems with electricity or anything else with the condo will be taken care of at the company’s expense. Furthermore, within the next day or two, I will have a phone ready to use in Malaysia. The office has wireless, which I’m free to use also. I’m informed that Ramadan, the month where Muslims fast from 10:30 pm to 7:15 pm every day, has just begun and they have celebratory meals every evening. So, I will be attending such a dinner this evening with two ladies and some higher ups in the company (especially a high-roller, I've come to affectionately call "Deep Pockets" pictured below) in downtown Kuala Lumpur at a fabulous restaurant right beside the Petronas Towers; the architectural marvel and iconic image of the country. Although professional on the outside, I’m grinning on the inside. I meet my coworkers who mostly seem excited or intrigued at their American coworker. A few of the ladies are fairly cute too, although covered up. The office is brand new, including office chairs still wrapped in plastic, and I get to pick my chair. I settle into one facing a window where I can see another of the company’s construction projects, a shopping mall being built just down the block. So I spend the day diving into the plans and in some cases authentic blue prints (a rarity these days) of the fabulous project I will be working on. I feel like I have grasped a decent understanding of what is currently going on and how the progress of the project is coming together. Some coworkers treat me to lunch at a Chinese restaurant, as Muslim run spots won’t serve mid day food in observance or Ramadan. Upon my return from lunch, I’m fighting the –itis combined with the effects of no full nights of sleep in the past 72 hours and jet lag. But I’m still optimistic. We go straight from work through the ridiculous rush hour traffic to dinner at the Mandarin Oriental. The food was great. Among the standouts as chicken rendang, it’s even better than the beef rendang at the Malaysian restaurant in Charlotte. I make friends with an older authority figure in the company and his family, I get to see the traditional Malaysian equivalent of a live cover band, and I get to see downtown KL and the Petronas Towers up close. Good food, nice scenery and laughs before heading home for the night. I feel a lot better about things today than I did 24 hours prior. Whenever I complete a shopping trip at “Giant” (a Super Wal-Mart equivalent), get the phone tomorrow, have the electrician come by, get my two needed access cards, and hack into one of the wireless networks at my condo, everything may just shape up fine. Everything seems like it’s going to be fine after all. Selamat malam (“Goodnight” in Malay)…
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