We have started our personal Thai lessons. It is one of the benefits that Ford provides us. At least we thought it was a benefit, until we got started. HOLY MOLY is about all I can say. This language is so complex and nothing like any language I have ever pretended to speak while visiting. It has like three times the letters and then five tones for every constant/vowel combination. Each tone makes for a completely different word. These lessons quickly went from being exciting and the next step in our process to now being dreaded each night as you know you are going to fail and be told NO for the next two hours of your limited American life. As of right now, I have 16 more wonderful hours left to meet the requirement of time I must complete.Alright, enough of me complaining. I have to come to terms that this is just one of those times in my life that I just won't pick something up as quickly as I should.
On to the more exciting item, our first trip to Thailand and Asia. We head out on Saturday (kinda nice since our original flight was Friday night which I was not prepared for). During the one week there we get to find and secure a house (beach or golf course - any advice as to which to pick?). Justin gets to meet some of his new co-workers and go to the plant. We get to visit the neighborhood we will live in as well as the key items of our concern (grocery stores, public transportation, etc.) I am hoping this visit will be the turning point in fear and apprehension to excitement. Once I know what our house will be like I can come back and prepare more accurately.
And the ongoing bathroom saga. The shower door in the master was to be installed on Monday. Instead there was an attempt to install only to find they weren't cut to the proper size. Supposedly the door will be installed now on Friday as we can get our bathroom back. Yippeeeeee. Downstairs bathroom is another story. It is still out of commission and behind schedule by a few weeks. surprise surprise. As soon as these are done, there will be tons of pictures.
Speaking of pictures, I promise to take lots of pictures while we are in Thailand.
Off to pack, paint a bathroom, do more work, and have more Thai lessons. :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
fixing up the house & packing
Preparation continues in our household and depending on the moment is overwhelming.
Ford provides us with a moving crew to pack our belongs in a large 20ft shipper as well as 550lb unit that flies with us. Beyond those items, Ford will pack our remaining items to another location for storage as we are going to be renting our house. This is where the struggle begins... what to pack and to where. I don't like waiting till the last minute, but I also don't want to waste my time packing when a crew will do it.
In the last two weeks, I have now packed up all of our pictures/art, books, holiday decorations, tax documents, all knickknacks (thank goodness i don't have many) and my antique dishware that I refuse to let a packer get near. Justin worked on the workshop and has it at cleaned up so we can begin determining what tools we will take plus have a place to pack some items to remain in the house with the renters.
Of course, now that we will be leaving it seems as though everything in the house has decided to take a crap. Here is the list:
1. Master bathroom - toilet flange broke causing major mess. Required tearing out entire bathroom to the frame. So this means new everything (shower, floor, tile, plumbing, vanity, painting, etc). It is now in the final stage and should be wrapped up this week. It has been in progress since June (arg).
2. Basement bathroom - drywall was showing water damage (note this is the only 4 foot stretch of drywall in the entire freaking basement). Required us (okay Justin) to tear out the shower and half of the drywall to find a crack in our foundation. Now that we have found this - we will be redoing the shower, drywall, painting, changing the door, adding a new built in cabinet, etc. Hopefully this gets done in the next couple of weeks before family arrives.
3. Spare bathroom - found that the toilet flange broke. Thank goodness Justin caught this much earlier and we don't have the damage. However, due to the terrible construction (note previous two items) of the house, it wasn't a quickie fix. Justin had to replace all of the toilet plumbing since they didn't have it installed at the right height and hence the breaking. (jerks). And to top it off (after 4 hours of replacing crap and running around to stores to get the parts), when installing the toilet we forget to pull the rags out of the pipes. So the next day we got to remove the toilet and start over again. Did i mention that toilet wax is disgusting.
4. Dishwasher - while justin has been breaking his back doing home repairs, i have been queen homemaker. Plus i am trying to use of our food before we are going. All of this means that the dishwasher is getting used much much more than usual. Of course this means something should go wrong. The handle has now broken and randomly gets stuck up inside the door when you try opening it, which requires you to get a fork out and pry it back down. Hell no i won't be replacing this for a handle before we go. The renters will have to use a fork just like i am. :)
5. Washing Machine - Since working on the master bathroom (see #1) we found the plumbing to the washing machine to be wrongly installed and was running off of the same line as that bathroom, instead of the utility sink line sitting right next to the washing machine. No wonder I was always screwing with Justin in the shower while I was doing laundry (oops). We had the plumbing fixed, but now the washing machine when it changes stages of the cycle sounds like the motor is trying to go into orbit. I keep reminding Justin that fixing this is also on his list.
I swear we spend lots of time every week constantly working on our house, and this never ending list of things to fix up is getting really old really fast.
On a good note, I got to spend Saturday with my mom, Aunt Jean and my grandmother. We did the annual pie baking extravaganza. This was my and my mom's first time partaking in the adventure, so now I can mark this off of my bucket list. Speaking of bucket list. I think my next post will be to officially post my always growing and changing bucket list. And for those who have been to the asia pacific region, please provide me your insights as to must see and do things while we are there.
Ford provides us with a moving crew to pack our belongs in a large 20ft shipper as well as 550lb unit that flies with us. Beyond those items, Ford will pack our remaining items to another location for storage as we are going to be renting our house. This is where the struggle begins... what to pack and to where. I don't like waiting till the last minute, but I also don't want to waste my time packing when a crew will do it.
In the last two weeks, I have now packed up all of our pictures/art, books, holiday decorations, tax documents, all knickknacks (thank goodness i don't have many) and my antique dishware that I refuse to let a packer get near. Justin worked on the workshop and has it at cleaned up so we can begin determining what tools we will take plus have a place to pack some items to remain in the house with the renters.
Of course, now that we will be leaving it seems as though everything in the house has decided to take a crap. Here is the list:
1. Master bathroom - toilet flange broke causing major mess. Required tearing out entire bathroom to the frame. So this means new everything (shower, floor, tile, plumbing, vanity, painting, etc). It is now in the final stage and should be wrapped up this week. It has been in progress since June (arg).
2. Basement bathroom - drywall was showing water damage (note this is the only 4 foot stretch of drywall in the entire freaking basement). Required us (okay Justin) to tear out the shower and half of the drywall to find a crack in our foundation. Now that we have found this - we will be redoing the shower, drywall, painting, changing the door, adding a new built in cabinet, etc. Hopefully this gets done in the next couple of weeks before family arrives.
3. Spare bathroom - found that the toilet flange broke. Thank goodness Justin caught this much earlier and we don't have the damage. However, due to the terrible construction (note previous two items) of the house, it wasn't a quickie fix. Justin had to replace all of the toilet plumbing since they didn't have it installed at the right height and hence the breaking. (jerks). And to top it off (after 4 hours of replacing crap and running around to stores to get the parts), when installing the toilet we forget to pull the rags out of the pipes. So the next day we got to remove the toilet and start over again. Did i mention that toilet wax is disgusting.
4. Dishwasher - while justin has been breaking his back doing home repairs, i have been queen homemaker. Plus i am trying to use of our food before we are going. All of this means that the dishwasher is getting used much much more than usual. Of course this means something should go wrong. The handle has now broken and randomly gets stuck up inside the door when you try opening it, which requires you to get a fork out and pry it back down. Hell no i won't be replacing this for a handle before we go. The renters will have to use a fork just like i am. :)
5. Washing Machine - Since working on the master bathroom (see #1) we found the plumbing to the washing machine to be wrongly installed and was running off of the same line as that bathroom, instead of the utility sink line sitting right next to the washing machine. No wonder I was always screwing with Justin in the shower while I was doing laundry (oops). We had the plumbing fixed, but now the washing machine when it changes stages of the cycle sounds like the motor is trying to go into orbit. I keep reminding Justin that fixing this is also on his list.
I swear we spend lots of time every week constantly working on our house, and this never ending list of things to fix up is getting really old really fast.
On a good note, I got to spend Saturday with my mom, Aunt Jean and my grandmother. We did the annual pie baking extravaganza. This was my and my mom's first time partaking in the adventure, so now I can mark this off of my bucket list. Speaking of bucket list. I think my next post will be to officially post my always growing and changing bucket list. And for those who have been to the asia pacific region, please provide me your insights as to must see and do things while we are there.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Our New Location
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| Rayong is located on the coast of Thailand on the Gulf of Thailand. |
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| This helps to see that we are nearly exactly opposite side of the globe. As for timezones, 12 hours different. |
Getting started
This is where we are going to document our experience from start to finish with moving to Thailand and becoming expatriates. Okay we all know it will be me doing the work and Justin reading about it as well, if even that. :)
Expatriates... is that really what we are, that word seems so daunting, scary and nothing I ever thought I would say to describe myself. It always seemed to me like a term describing a person abandoning their life and running away. And at this point in my life, that couldn't be farther from the truth as to where I am.
I love my life (family, friends, house, job, etc) so why am I/we doing this. Justin works for Ford and is being offered this amazing opportunity. And if you are reading this, then you know how much we love to travel and experience other cultures. So when this offer came up, we couldn't pass it up.
We will be moving in December-ish, or so we are told at the moment, and will be relocated there for the next 2-3 years.
I am excited to go and have the experience/opportunity. However... nothing, I mean nothing, comes between me and my family. And this move, is difficult because of the physical distance I will have with our family. Ya ya, I know there is a phone, and web cams, and planes, blah blah blah. But there is nothing that can replace playing with my niece and nephew, hanging out with my siblings, working around the farm with my parents, or gabbing with my grandmother over McDonald's, ice cream and a puzzle. Those are just things that will have to be on hold for this time period. And to top it off, a new addition is coming to the family in December (Trav & Steph's second) and I'll be damned if I miss out on seeing and holding the baby. It is my job to pull night shifts and work to get the baby to sleep through the night on their own. A job I am unwilling to share. :)
I think the real difficult part at this point is the unknowns such as how often will I be coming home, and will my family take the plunge to fly 20 hours and spend the $2,000 bucks to get over to see us. It is a lot to ask of anyone. And then the most important questions like can I have a maid, a cook and don't forget the pool boy. :)
Anyhow... this will be your one stop shop to hear about our crazy Thai adventure. This is for you Heather, I will talk Thai aka Tricia talk Thai (I've got 200 hours lined up with a personal trainer to get me all taught up).
Hopefully, the travel God's that don't usually grace my travelling experience decide to change their minds and start treating me a little different. Cause in a matter of weeks I will be flying around the globe from Detroit to Seoul South Korea to Bangkok Thailand to Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne to Sydney to Los Angeles to Detroit.
Wish us luck!
Expatriates... is that really what we are, that word seems so daunting, scary and nothing I ever thought I would say to describe myself. It always seemed to me like a term describing a person abandoning their life and running away. And at this point in my life, that couldn't be farther from the truth as to where I am.
I love my life (family, friends, house, job, etc) so why am I/we doing this. Justin works for Ford and is being offered this amazing opportunity. And if you are reading this, then you know how much we love to travel and experience other cultures. So when this offer came up, we couldn't pass it up.
We will be moving in December-ish, or so we are told at the moment, and will be relocated there for the next 2-3 years.
I am excited to go and have the experience/opportunity. However... nothing, I mean nothing, comes between me and my family. And this move, is difficult because of the physical distance I will have with our family. Ya ya, I know there is a phone, and web cams, and planes, blah blah blah. But there is nothing that can replace playing with my niece and nephew, hanging out with my siblings, working around the farm with my parents, or gabbing with my grandmother over McDonald's, ice cream and a puzzle. Those are just things that will have to be on hold for this time period. And to top it off, a new addition is coming to the family in December (Trav & Steph's second) and I'll be damned if I miss out on seeing and holding the baby. It is my job to pull night shifts and work to get the baby to sleep through the night on their own. A job I am unwilling to share. :)
I think the real difficult part at this point is the unknowns such as how often will I be coming home, and will my family take the plunge to fly 20 hours and spend the $2,000 bucks to get over to see us. It is a lot to ask of anyone. And then the most important questions like can I have a maid, a cook and don't forget the pool boy. :)
Anyhow... this will be your one stop shop to hear about our crazy Thai adventure. This is for you Heather, I will talk Thai aka Tricia talk Thai (I've got 200 hours lined up with a personal trainer to get me all taught up).
Hopefully, the travel God's that don't usually grace my travelling experience decide to change their minds and start treating me a little different. Cause in a matter of weeks I will be flying around the globe from Detroit to Seoul South Korea to Bangkok Thailand to Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne to Sydney to Los Angeles to Detroit.
Wish us luck!
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