On the back stretch...probably

So many islands, so little time - view over mid-Malaysia

I will begin this post as I begin most others: my how time has flown. But my laissez faire approach to updates means that you, the reader, gets to build your anticipation for the next post. Right? You must be positively salivating at this point, because it's been about 5 months.

While we have periods of routine living, they rarely last more than a month or so. The frequency of public holidays in Malaysia and proximity of exotic destinations means that we are traveling a lot. It's really fantastic and quite exciting. Plus, Anya and Lev were off to Ukraine for 3 weeks leaving me to fend for myself.

I explore Lombok. That's a rack for my surfboard,
in case you were wondering

By "fend for myself" I mean that I extended a work trip to the Philippines to do some scuba diving and then took a four day weekend (a public holiday for the end of Ramadan) to go to an island in Indonesia, Lombok, for some world class surfing. To be clear, it wasn't my surfing that was world class rather it was the surf available that was so amazing.

The band chills between sets - a beach bar parking lot in Lombok.
These VW's seem to be all over the Indonesian islands. 

While I truly love Bali, it's pretty well discovered. Lombok is the kind of place that makes you pause and think, "man, this will be very different in 20 years." For one, they are inexplicably planning an F1 course through some of the most scenic coastline. An F1 course. WTF? On a small island? I don't get it. Perhaps some government minister has a son (or a girlfriend) who really likes fast cars. I don't know. But Lombok is great. Ignoring the fact that you can find beach bars selling Magic Mushroom milkshakes (yes, the real deal), it's pretty easy to find beaches that are totally untouched; villages that are built around a small goat corral with huts on hard packed earth and barefoot kids...the whole deal. There are almost no hotel chains, rather just small homestay places and surf camps. I fell in love with it.

Also, joined from Vienna by our great friend Valya and her boys, we ventured way off the beaten path  recently to eastern Borneo to trek around for Orangutans and whatever other wildlife we could annoy. We stayed in pretty rustic conditions and got to feel like adventurers for a while. Lev was shocked there was no water slide (or pool for that matter), but recovered well enough to do a jungle trek in the dark (guided, definitely guided) to look for things that go bump in the night.

Lev poses in front of our digs in Redang,
an island off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Oh! Anya's pregnant. And as I've told her, "you can always say that you went trekking through the jungles of Borneo while pregnant. That's super badass." So the cat's out of the bag. Posting it here rather than on Facebook is my big reward to anyone who has bothered to read this far.

He doesn't show it here, but Lev is super-duper
stoked to be a big brother. 

Due date is in January, which means we need to find employment (my contract is up soon and no job is guaranteed) and move internationally ASAP...and then have a baby. So that's a bit stressful. But we've never shied away from big life changes, obviously. It's daunting to consider unemployment as the family expands, but I'm sure it will all work out. Unless I strike out, I'm still planning to stay with Google and have limited my search there for now. I'm currently applying for a couple jobs in San Francisco (fingers crossed) and one job in Singapore (I think I would LOVE this job, but we do want to move home...so mixed emotions on that one). If you know someone looking to pay top dollar for a heck of a nice guy, let me know.

Yo' mama. Borneo. 

Beyond that, we live, love and laugh each day. My job is now flowing along nicely (a great change from my tone a year ago) and we all feel pretty adept at living in SE Asia. In fact, I really like it here a lot. It's like a resort holiday and the wild west rolled into one...with a Polo or Prada store nearby just in case. I might be starting to get sick of rice though. And Chinese tourists. There, I said it.

Borneo boat exploring. Photo credit (and thumb): Lev. Next to me is our buddy Dina, visiting from Vienna. 

This is Lombok. 

Feeling happy in Cebu, Philippines.

My posse at Lego Land in Malaysia. Anya seems more excited than Lev and that's why we love her so.