I start my job tomorrow, Ministerial Liaison for something-something, writing speeches something-something, blah-blah. Can't wait for some income dum-dum.
And continuing in my "reading books I shoulda read ages ago" phase - I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Perhaps this might explain why ah cayan't stop tawkin lahk ah gowt a suthun acceyant.
I want to talk about music for a minute. Up until several weeks ago, if people had asked what was my favourite album of the year, I would have answered Madonna-Confessions on a Dancefloor (which I think, ironically, was released last year). Nonetheless, in spite of your audible booing and hissing about that previous statement, I have stumbled upon some great muzaks the past few weeks.
For a start, in Bali I bought a pirate copy of Ben Harper-Both Sides of the Gun after hearing it played in Bintang in Yogya, and my-wordy, that is a toe-tapping revelation of a hoe-down soundtrack. What am I talking about? Hmmm, well anyway, its a good album. Much lighter than other offerings yet still mighty serious. Radicool.
Then the other day, in celebration of the end of my period of unemployment, I bought a couple of CD's, one being Thom Yorke's Eraser and the second being Goldfrapp-Supernature.
Well, on first listen, Eraser was a thoroughly unlistenable hotch-potch of blips and beeps, but having been a long-long-time fan of Radiohead I have listened again, and goddarnit, if there wasn't the odd melody in there that I didn't hear to begin with. Who wudda thunk it? It is growing on me, like some kind of blippy-bleepy disease. :-)
The Goldfrapp CD is also good. "Hell-80's" as kids on tha street mite say. But well worth 8.95 from the JB's bargain bin. Infact, possible even worth 28.95. Aduh.
I had also heard some stuff about the most recent Fiona Apple record, Extradordinary Machine, but they didn't have it in the shop, so I didn't get it. Then happened to mention this sequence of events to my brother when I got home, who said, "I bought that stupid CD months ago. I hate it. You can have it." To which I replied "Are you sure?", and he said something along the lines of "Well put it this way, I can keep it in my CD stand and never listen to it again, or you can have it in your CD stand and possibly turn it into something less than a waste of my money." And, it is pretty cool. Very eccentric, and dare I say, unlike past works, and I am still warming up to it, but after several listens yesterday, I can say, I. like. it.
Ok, prattle prattle. What have been your favourite albums this year?? And what are some other books I can add to my "Books I Shoulda Read Ages Ago" list? I already have Wuthering Heights (thanx to Sam).
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Occurrences
Ok, this week I have
a) Finished Great Gatsby (and added it to my all-time favourite books list)
b) Finally watched Garden State (cool movie)
c) Got a job (more on that one later)
d) Conceded that my front tooth is turning a strange colour and that I need to get it fixed (if only I hadn't chipped in that handball game in Year 6....damned gutter)
e) Made an appointment to get my hair done
f) Unpacked another box of stuff
g) Bought new shoes and mascara and various skin products aimed at resolving my war on open pores
h) Went to the movies to watch Beyond The Sea with Kevin Spacey about the life of Bobby Darin (I hadn't heard of him either, it's ok!). Good film, but the little kid was annoying and irrelevant if you ask me.
i) Thought about the Middle East and how depressing that whole situation is (feeling increasingly angry at Israel's behaviour)
j) Watched Indonesian news and seen that there is some kind of natural disaster in Surabaya (what is lumpor panas?)
k) Found 30 CD's in my little sister's cupboard (realised I wasn't losing my mind, and that some of my best CD's were actually missing until I found them again)
l) Found a bunch of my clothes in my little sister's cupboard (see note above)
m) Acclimatised a little bit more.
So life is well and truly back to normal.
Oh and a question- if y'all were gonna learn a new language what would it be?? And why?
a) Finished Great Gatsby (and added it to my all-time favourite books list)
b) Finally watched Garden State (cool movie)
c) Got a job (more on that one later)
d) Conceded that my front tooth is turning a strange colour and that I need to get it fixed (if only I hadn't chipped in that handball game in Year 6....damned gutter)
e) Made an appointment to get my hair done
f) Unpacked another box of stuff
g) Bought new shoes and mascara and various skin products aimed at resolving my war on open pores
h) Went to the movies to watch Beyond The Sea with Kevin Spacey about the life of Bobby Darin (I hadn't heard of him either, it's ok!). Good film, but the little kid was annoying and irrelevant if you ask me.
i) Thought about the Middle East and how depressing that whole situation is (feeling increasingly angry at Israel's behaviour)
j) Watched Indonesian news and seen that there is some kind of natural disaster in Surabaya (what is lumpor panas?)
k) Found 30 CD's in my little sister's cupboard (realised I wasn't losing my mind, and that some of my best CD's were actually missing until I found them again)
l) Found a bunch of my clothes in my little sister's cupboard (see note above)
m) Acclimatised a little bit more.
So life is well and truly back to normal.
Oh and a question- if y'all were gonna learn a new language what would it be?? And why?
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Not quite a Gili Islands Picture
In response to complaints from some of my siblings that I never posted a pic of them on my blog (which was btw incorrect) and also because my blog looks boring without photo's and also because there is not much interesting stuff at this point in time for me to show you......here is a photo of me and my crazy younger sibbles. Jonathon, Gabrielle and D-andy, oops I mean, Sandy.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Reacclimatisationising
Adelaide is still cold- and no matter how much the people around me try to tell me that 20 degrees celcius is warm, i won't accept it. It is not warm when the mercury spends all day shivering it's way up the stem of the themometer only to reach 20 for a microsecond and turn around again. And all of you people currently living in cooler climes- shut your mouths - let me have my whinge just for a few more days...
No, no, no. My blood is tropicalised. And it ain't detropicalising without a fight.
So the past week I have been sitting at the computer, hittin the keys, typing up cover letters and CV's and sending them off. And now I wait.
And my scholarships are due soon enough, so i shall let u know, kasitahu, about that.
I have seen my adorable little new family members, Anderson and Madison. Both super-cute and cuddly. And though they are both my cousins, I hope they call me Aunty - cos the chances of one of my siblings spawning offspring anytime soon is slim methinks.
I watched one of my Indo VCD's tonight - to check whether i still understand the language after 10 days (I did)- I watched "Janji Joni"- and it is actually a cool little Indo indie flick. I really enjoyed it, and it is pretty funny. Unlike virtually every other Indonesian film I have seen. And, it wasn't sponsored by a tobacco company, so there were no pointed and random shots of someone lighting up a ciggy, totally unrelated to the plot. I also recognised a lot of the Jakarta city scenes they used - at one stage I am pretty sure he drives past Plaza Semanggi - where I would often go when I was pulang kantor - going home from the office!
I didn't quite get the same exhilarating feeling about seeing a mall I recognised, as when they are scaling the walls of the Vatican in MI:3 and I could lean to my neighbour and say "I've been there" but it was still cool to see it.
And before I go some additions to the Crappy/Good Things About Being Home list:
Happy
1) Seeing my friends - ( & calling them on the phone and not having to worry if my phone credit will run out.)
2) Red Wine
3) My champion Grandparents - who are still super-happy after circling the globe in their mini-world-tour.
4) My Tax Return!!!!! (Woohoo!)
5) Broadband internet
Crappy
1) After not using moisturiser for the entire time in Indo, applying 2-3 times a day to avoid having skin like paper.
2) Losing my hard-earned tan.
3) Not bein able to walk 10m down the road at lunchtime, pay 50c for my lunch, and walk home.
4) Missin my friends in Indo, and the relaxed vibe of Yogya, and of course, Bar Bintang.
5) I do not know how to make Telur Dadar like Ibu Kos, and as for adding jagung - ha- gak mungkin! (If anyone has that recipe - please tell me)
But all in all, being home is better than I expected. And I will be back in Indo many times in the future I suppose.
Oh and my family are the newest in a long line of sambal addicts - i made some on the weekend and my psycho brother is having it on toast. Aduh. Gila banget!
Rite, time to read more of "The Great Gatsby" - I am still trying to work out if I can include it in my favourite books list......
No, no, no. My blood is tropicalised. And it ain't detropicalising without a fight.
So the past week I have been sitting at the computer, hittin the keys, typing up cover letters and CV's and sending them off. And now I wait.
And my scholarships are due soon enough, so i shall let u know, kasitahu, about that.
I have seen my adorable little new family members, Anderson and Madison. Both super-cute and cuddly. And though they are both my cousins, I hope they call me Aunty - cos the chances of one of my siblings spawning offspring anytime soon is slim methinks.
I watched one of my Indo VCD's tonight - to check whether i still understand the language after 10 days (I did)- I watched "Janji Joni"- and it is actually a cool little Indo indie flick. I really enjoyed it, and it is pretty funny. Unlike virtually every other Indonesian film I have seen. And, it wasn't sponsored by a tobacco company, so there were no pointed and random shots of someone lighting up a ciggy, totally unrelated to the plot. I also recognised a lot of the Jakarta city scenes they used - at one stage I am pretty sure he drives past Plaza Semanggi - where I would often go when I was pulang kantor - going home from the office!
I didn't quite get the same exhilarating feeling about seeing a mall I recognised, as when they are scaling the walls of the Vatican in MI:3 and I could lean to my neighbour and say "I've been there" but it was still cool to see it.
And before I go some additions to the Crappy/Good Things About Being Home list:
Happy
1) Seeing my friends - ( & calling them on the phone and not having to worry if my phone credit will run out.)
2) Red Wine
3) My champion Grandparents - who are still super-happy after circling the globe in their mini-world-tour.
4) My Tax Return!!!!! (Woohoo!)
5) Broadband internet
Crappy
1) After not using moisturiser for the entire time in Indo, applying 2-3 times a day to avoid having skin like paper.
2) Losing my hard-earned tan.
3) Not bein able to walk 10m down the road at lunchtime, pay 50c for my lunch, and walk home.
4) Missin my friends in Indo, and the relaxed vibe of Yogya, and of course, Bar Bintang.
5) I do not know how to make Telur Dadar like Ibu Kos, and as for adding jagung - ha- gak mungkin! (If anyone has that recipe - please tell me)
But all in all, being home is better than I expected. And I will be back in Indo many times in the future I suppose.
Oh and my family are the newest in a long line of sambal addicts - i made some on the weekend and my psycho brother is having it on toast. Aduh. Gila banget!
Rite, time to read more of "The Great Gatsby" - I am still trying to work out if I can include it in my favourite books list......
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Novelties that Don't Wear Off (and those that do....)
Happy things about being home
1) Seeing my family & friends
2) Seeing my cousin's gorgeous new little baby, and my new cousin!
3) Being able to go the fridge and cut a piece of CHEESE as I wish, and eat it, with my left hand, as I wish!
4) Being able to drive my car
5) Being reunited with my CD's
Crappy things about being home
1) It is bloody freezing
2) Adelaide does not change, at all.
3) I have no money and no job
4) Did I mention it is bloody freezing?
5) Um, the last time I spoke Indonesian was when I stepped on the plane in Bali. Fab.
Anyway's luckily I have managed thus far to avoid the post-travel blues, as I have so many damned things to do, I ain't got no time to feel sorry for myself.
To all my regular commentors, thankyou.
To all my anonymous commentors- if you knew me, you would know how much i want to know who you are :-).
And to all my non-commenting readers, thanks for nuthin punks! Ha ha. Only kidding.
The guardian angel who sits on my shoulder has been telling me all who you are anyway. So don't think I don't know......
No seriously. I derive a lot of pleasure from writing this blog, and sharing all the crazy stuff I do with you, even if my grammar is bad, my expression colloquial, and my point often unclear.
Not sure how prolific I will be in the next few months - perhaps I need to take a show of hands from my O/S readers to see just how interested they are in my hum drum Adelaide life. Sampe nanti.
1) Seeing my family & friends
2) Seeing my cousin's gorgeous new little baby, and my new cousin!
3) Being able to go the fridge and cut a piece of CHEESE as I wish, and eat it, with my left hand, as I wish!
4) Being able to drive my car
5) Being reunited with my CD's
Crappy things about being home
1) It is bloody freezing
2) Adelaide does not change, at all.
3) I have no money and no job
4) Did I mention it is bloody freezing?
5) Um, the last time I spoke Indonesian was when I stepped on the plane in Bali. Fab.
Anyway's luckily I have managed thus far to avoid the post-travel blues, as I have so many damned things to do, I ain't got no time to feel sorry for myself.
To all my regular commentors, thankyou.
To all my anonymous commentors- if you knew me, you would know how much i want to know who you are :-).
And to all my non-commenting readers, thanks for nuthin punks! Ha ha. Only kidding.
The guardian angel who sits on my shoulder has been telling me all who you are anyway. So don't think I don't know......
No seriously. I derive a lot of pleasure from writing this blog, and sharing all the crazy stuff I do with you, even if my grammar is bad, my expression colloquial, and my point often unclear.
Not sure how prolific I will be in the next few months - perhaps I need to take a show of hands from my O/S readers to see just how interested they are in my hum drum Adelaide life. Sampe nanti.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Gili Gaga
Well I am home in Adelaide - arrived back to a delightful 9 degrees - hard to believe that 3 days ago I was sitting having this photo taken.
The Gili's were fantastic. Imagine snorkelling 10 metres of a beach and seeing sea turtles, tropical fish of every imaginable colour and drifting one Km on the current as the sea world passes you by. So cool!
Another thing about the Gili's is the hilarious combination of Europeans who stumble their way across Indonesia and find themselves in paradise. I hardly met any Australians there - on the other hand - Swedes, Germans, French, Spaniards, Slovenes, Belgians, Swiss, Irish & British were there in abundance. The vibe is so remarkable relaxed, it is impossible to stress about anything while you are there.
I travelled there with Sam, and Alana joined us a few days later. Accomodation was great value, and so were the drinks. Aduh - just writing this I was wish I was still there. I even managed to get a tan!
So now I am sitting at the computer in my parents new house, wearing 7 layers of clothing and with the central heating cranked up, scouring the net for employment opportunities and contemplating scholarship options for a Masters next year. Talk about jerking me back to reality. :-)
But its all good. Will gradually catch up with my mates this week and sink back into the groove. Plan my next move and freeze in the process.
Sigh, so I bid Indonesian farewell. Had a great 6 months. Met amazing people. Did crazy stuff. Fantastic. Hebat.
The Gili's were fantastic. Imagine snorkelling 10 metres of a beach and seeing sea turtles, tropical fish of every imaginable colour and drifting one Km on the current as the sea world passes you by. So cool!
Another thing about the Gili's is the hilarious combination of Europeans who stumble their way across Indonesia and find themselves in paradise. I hardly met any Australians there - on the other hand - Swedes, Germans, French, Spaniards, Slovenes, Belgians, Swiss, Irish & British were there in abundance. The vibe is so remarkable relaxed, it is impossible to stress about anything while you are there.
I travelled there with Sam, and Alana joined us a few days later. Accomodation was great value, and so were the drinks. Aduh - just writing this I was wish I was still there. I even managed to get a tan!
So now I am sitting at the computer in my parents new house, wearing 7 layers of clothing and with the central heating cranked up, scouring the net for employment opportunities and contemplating scholarship options for a Masters next year. Talk about jerking me back to reality. :-)
But its all good. Will gradually catch up with my mates this week and sink back into the groove. Plan my next move and freeze in the process.
Sigh, so I bid Indonesian farewell. Had a great 6 months. Met amazing people. Did crazy stuff. Fantastic. Hebat.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Bali Dreaming
Well just a short post to say I am in Bali, staying with Alana - and the three of us are having a great time!
In a little while Sam and I are going up on a bike to Ubud to have lunch with Alana and her mum, and then tonight we are going to stay at a beach called of all things Dreamland.
After that I will be off to the Gili's on Monday, and I don't think there is internet there, so you might not hear from me. So if not, I will write again when I get home.
Yay! Sun!
In a little while Sam and I are going up on a bike to Ubud to have lunch with Alana and her mum, and then tonight we are going to stay at a beach called of all things Dreamland.
After that I will be off to the Gili's on Monday, and I don't think there is internet there, so you might not hear from me. So if not, I will write again when I get home.
Yay! Sun!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
A Shadow In Sosro
Well, it is my second to last day in Yogyakarta. My Exit Permit will be ready tomorrow, and I am fairly confident I will be jumping on a plane tomorrow afternoon and heading over to Bali.
I am staying in Jalan Sosrowijayan, which is one of the two tourist- areas in Yogya. My losmen is costing about $6 a night and it is really nice. I am so happy I decided to try and see Yogya from a different perspective because I have noticed new things in the last few days, even though I have driven down this street countless times.
Today I am going to go to Kota Gede, the silver city, to try and pick up a nice souvenir. Later I am going to head over to my old kos and get rid of some of my stuff. I have a ridiculous quantity of luggage - all books. And because I was an idiot and flew Qantas, the letter I have from my University asking for leniency RE weight of luggage, doesn't have any effect.
Anyhoo, thankfully, I was nowhere near the Tsunami/Earthquake that happened the other day. I left Jakarta three hours before the ground shook again. Some of my office friends said they felt the shake on Level 23 of the Jakarta Stock Exchange. I am not sure how well I would have coped had I been there......
Right, time to go and keep pretending to be a tourist!
I am staying in Jalan Sosrowijayan, which is one of the two tourist- areas in Yogya. My losmen is costing about $6 a night and it is really nice. I am so happy I decided to try and see Yogya from a different perspective because I have noticed new things in the last few days, even though I have driven down this street countless times.
Today I am going to go to Kota Gede, the silver city, to try and pick up a nice souvenir. Later I am going to head over to my old kos and get rid of some of my stuff. I have a ridiculous quantity of luggage - all books. And because I was an idiot and flew Qantas, the letter I have from my University asking for leniency RE weight of luggage, doesn't have any effect.
Anyhoo, thankfully, I was nowhere near the Tsunami/Earthquake that happened the other day. I left Jakarta three hours before the ground shook again. Some of my office friends said they felt the shake on Level 23 of the Jakarta Stock Exchange. I am not sure how well I would have coped had I been there......
Right, time to go and keep pretending to be a tourist!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Last Day (Pretending to Work)
I'd like to pretend that I wasn't just posing for this one, but then, that would be lying.
Indian MTV
I just flicked on TV to get my sporadically required fix of Indian MTV, and by some bizarre coincidence (or tasteless joke), or cultural quirk, they are screening India’s best ever “Rail” tracks. Given what happened in Mumbai this week it seems like a strange choice of special feature, but I am not sure whether I am more surprised by the fact that there seems to be a genre of music in India devoted to music about trains. I just watched two film clips- one with a Bollywood star who I see every time I turn on the channel, running along the roof of a train, and another one with some happy looking guy hanging out the side of a train and smiling at all the girls picking tea. Of course, I can’t understand anything that they are singing about, or what the VJ’s are saying, but if anyone can provide an explanation on this apparent love affair Indian MTV has with trains I might be able to go some way toward actually understanding why the hell they would be screening this crazy stuff in the same week that a bunch of trains got blown up. Aku lagi bingung.
Anyway. I had my last day in the firm yesterday, and was kinda sad to finish there. The people have been so absolutely lovely, from the “office boys” to the partners, they were all very welcoming to me, as well as patient and kind. I got some good feedback on my project from my Supervisor – it is going to be made into a guide for the office on Broadcasting in Indonesia, and apparently I even get my name printed in it, which is kinda cool. It is tradition in Indonesia to buy cakes, or noodles or something on a special occasion like birthday, last day or whatever, and I bought some nice sponge cakes from a shop nearby. It was amusing to see some of the lawyers that I had never seen before emerge from their offices to eat it. Hehehe!
I then had dinner with my fellow “magangs”, that is interns, as well as Ryan and Rizky, at my favourite restaurant so far in Jakarta- the Italian restaurant Trattoria at Pondok Indah. It is the closest service I have come to that is reminiscent of Australia, and even better, they give you free appetizers and a chocolate liqueur free for dessert. I had warned them all that the dinner would be “Australian” style, i.e. I would not be paying for their food, because for that kind of function here it would also be usual to pay for your guests. However when the bill arrived and for the 12 of us who ate the bill was like about $120 including wine and beer, I decided to bring out the card and pay for everyone. Being on occasion a bit of a dunderhead, I didn’t realize that they didn’t accept credit, and ended up looking silly because I only had enough cash to cover about a third of the bill.
Luckily, one of the partners had showed up late to eat dinner on his way home (which by the way was also cool because it was just us interns there) and he put in another third of the bill, leaving the rest to be split between the others. In true Indo style, or perhaps true Australian style, the Indonesian’s left leaving myself and Ryan (mate from Yogya who is also here) to sit at the bar and drink a quiet beer. We started talking to the owner of the place and the chef, who from the looks are maybe a tiny bit older than me – and they gave us some more free beer. I highly recommend that place to anyone who comes to Jakarta. Fabulous food.
So we finished the beer and went on to that old favourite bar of mine Second Floor. Ryan and I got another beer, took a seat at some random table and within about 10 minutes were drinking Chivas Regal…..gratis. Rizky showed up a while later and we hung out with his friends, who were also buying us drinks. To cut a long story short, I had a headache this morning which is from a combination of over-consumption and hitting my head on the sink in my bathroom before I went out yesterday because the electricity was dead and I am unco. I stayed in bed for a long time today feeling sorry for my head and watching the Lost marathon, and now I am about to go out and watch Rizky’s band one last time.
I fly out of here Monday morning (I lost my paper ticket at the office– so I have to practice the dramatic “Oh dear I must have left it at home” thing), after I stop off at the office one more time to say goodbye to the head of the firm, an Aussie, who was in China last week. I will then be arriving in Yogya midday-ish, dropping off my bags at a Losmen (cheap hotel) in the tourist area, and get to Immigration so that I can get my exit permit within the week and head to Bali to join Alana.
It’s all action. I am gonna do Yogyakarta like a (budget) tourist this time. See all the things I missed last time, and see how things are going after the earthquake.
I am not exactly sad to be leaving Jakarta, I think it would be hard not to look forward to less traffic and fresher air. However, I could easily have stayed here longer if the opportunity had arisen. I have really liked my kos, maybe because I haven’t been in it a lot (I still haven’t really met anyone else who lives here, I have come to the conclusion that they are either ghosts or werewolves) but having cable has been fun. I will be very unhappy not to be able to watch Lost, Project Runway, Rockstar Supernova and CSI whenever I feel like it. On the other hand, perhaps I should stop rotting my brain and start reading, or having intelligent conversations, or pondering on life’s mysteries.
Ok, enough, rambling rambling rambling. See some of you soon, and others of you sooner.
Anyway. I had my last day in the firm yesterday, and was kinda sad to finish there. The people have been so absolutely lovely, from the “office boys” to the partners, they were all very welcoming to me, as well as patient and kind. I got some good feedback on my project from my Supervisor – it is going to be made into a guide for the office on Broadcasting in Indonesia, and apparently I even get my name printed in it, which is kinda cool. It is tradition in Indonesia to buy cakes, or noodles or something on a special occasion like birthday, last day or whatever, and I bought some nice sponge cakes from a shop nearby. It was amusing to see some of the lawyers that I had never seen before emerge from their offices to eat it. Hehehe!
I then had dinner with my fellow “magangs”, that is interns, as well as Ryan and Rizky, at my favourite restaurant so far in Jakarta- the Italian restaurant Trattoria at Pondok Indah. It is the closest service I have come to that is reminiscent of Australia, and even better, they give you free appetizers and a chocolate liqueur free for dessert. I had warned them all that the dinner would be “Australian” style, i.e. I would not be paying for their food, because for that kind of function here it would also be usual to pay for your guests. However when the bill arrived and for the 12 of us who ate the bill was like about $120 including wine and beer, I decided to bring out the card and pay for everyone. Being on occasion a bit of a dunderhead, I didn’t realize that they didn’t accept credit, and ended up looking silly because I only had enough cash to cover about a third of the bill.
Luckily, one of the partners had showed up late to eat dinner on his way home (which by the way was also cool because it was just us interns there) and he put in another third of the bill, leaving the rest to be split between the others. In true Indo style, or perhaps true Australian style, the Indonesian’s left leaving myself and Ryan (mate from Yogya who is also here) to sit at the bar and drink a quiet beer. We started talking to the owner of the place and the chef, who from the looks are maybe a tiny bit older than me – and they gave us some more free beer. I highly recommend that place to anyone who comes to Jakarta. Fabulous food.
So we finished the beer and went on to that old favourite bar of mine Second Floor. Ryan and I got another beer, took a seat at some random table and within about 10 minutes were drinking Chivas Regal…..gratis. Rizky showed up a while later and we hung out with his friends, who were also buying us drinks. To cut a long story short, I had a headache this morning which is from a combination of over-consumption and hitting my head on the sink in my bathroom before I went out yesterday because the electricity was dead and I am unco. I stayed in bed for a long time today feeling sorry for my head and watching the Lost marathon, and now I am about to go out and watch Rizky’s band one last time.
I fly out of here Monday morning (I lost my paper ticket at the office– so I have to practice the dramatic “Oh dear I must have left it at home” thing), after I stop off at the office one more time to say goodbye to the head of the firm, an Aussie, who was in China last week. I will then be arriving in Yogya midday-ish, dropping off my bags at a Losmen (cheap hotel) in the tourist area, and get to Immigration so that I can get my exit permit within the week and head to Bali to join Alana.
It’s all action. I am gonna do Yogyakarta like a (budget) tourist this time. See all the things I missed last time, and see how things are going after the earthquake.
I am not exactly sad to be leaving Jakarta, I think it would be hard not to look forward to less traffic and fresher air. However, I could easily have stayed here longer if the opportunity had arisen. I have really liked my kos, maybe because I haven’t been in it a lot (I still haven’t really met anyone else who lives here, I have come to the conclusion that they are either ghosts or werewolves) but having cable has been fun. I will be very unhappy not to be able to watch Lost, Project Runway, Rockstar Supernova and CSI whenever I feel like it. On the other hand, perhaps I should stop rotting my brain and start reading, or having intelligent conversations, or pondering on life’s mysteries.
Ok, enough, rambling rambling rambling. See some of you soon, and others of you sooner.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Burn Your Rubbish
How is it that I once more sit writing this blog post in my kos, having just eaten pop-mee and watching the Crows play again?? And this afternoon I will once more be going shopping…. Weird.
Anyways, am about to enter my final week of my time in Jakarta. I gotta heap of work to finish before I finish my internship, which I have a feeling is going to entail several later than usual finishes. But the good news is, there is a silver lining on the horizon – very soon I will be in Bali/Gili Islands getting a tan, so that I don’t get back to Australia and have to face your incredulous questions about where I have been living because of the enduring whiteness of my skin!
So anyway, today I am going to tell you about something that amuses/dismays me everytime I ride along Jalan Casablanca on my way to work on the back of the motorbike with a scarf tied around my face to block the pollution.
Jakarta has some of the worst air quality in the world, it also has some of the worst traffic in the world. The government, having in it’s wisdom decided that these two things may actually be connected, in an effort to ease the congestion in the CBD, implemented a law that says that between certain hours of the day any car on the road must have a minimum of three passengers.
Ok, cool. But because some people just couldn’t care less about complying with the spirit of that law, that is by organizing for example (shock horror) ‘car-pooling’, a few enterprising young souls realized that they could earn some spare cash by standing on the side of the road, and jumping in the cars of the law-breakers, earning probably the equivalent of a dollar or less, and then jumping out when the risk of the driver getting a fine has passed. It looks to me like the kids who stand on the side of the road, and who by the way are probably homeless/unemployed/orphaned or all three, have regular “customers” who pick them up everyday. Good on the kids I reckon, but in the meantime, absolutely nothing is being done about the pollution problem.
That is one thing that gets to me about Indonesia. Everything comes wrapped in 27 layers of plastic, people look at you like you have three heads when you say you don’t need a plastic bag, and the idea of throwing rubbish in for example, a bin, as opposed to the street or a public waterway, is quite a foreign concept. Burning rubbish is also contributing like mad to the poor air quality. Even many of my exceptionally well-educated friends that I have met through the internship don’t quite get the idea of taking care of the environment. Nonchalance about the environment is systemic, endemic, epidemic, call it what you will. Sadly, the Western world can put their shopping in recyclable “green” bags as much as we want, but while this kind of ignorance prevails in the developing world, it seems hard to see anything improving. Of course, this is all anecdotal and based on observation only, as opposed to facts and statistics, but I am pretty most people who have lived here will understand what I am saying. And my the way, I don’t attribute blame toIndonesian people generally. In the absence of a government that prioritises the environment, and strong civil society with influential and well-resourced NGO’s, it is probably not surprising.
Ok, enough ranting. One thing I realized the other day is how little I have mentioned the importance that music has had for me while I have been here. Right now I have a minor obsession with Gnarls Barkley, who I saw on MTV two weeks ago (that song Crazy…) and as yet, have been unable to find the CD. I bought the new Keane album the other day though, and that is very good. What else have I been listening to here?? Madonna-Confessions on a Dance Floor (yes I am a remarkably daggy Madonna devotee, still), Peterpan – Alexandria Soundtrack, Jamie Cullum, Neil Young and James Taylor, Tiesto, Pete Murray, m-FLO, Joanna Newsom, Kanye West- Late Registration (I still can’t get sick of that hip-hop masterpiece), Ween, John Legend, Goodnight Electric (of course), Kyoto Jazz Massive, Radiohead (of course), a Coldplay MP3 CD that I bought and has about 200 songs on it, and Nihtin Sawnhey! And a heap more of course, but there are some of the particularly important musix that now have memories of Indonesia embedded in their choruses and hooks. ;-)
Anyway, I’ve had my whinge. Time to go an upload this baby onto the blog. And if anyone can tell me more about Gnarls Barkley I will be, forever in your debt. Oh and btw, I am going to add a link to vimeo to my blog soon, which will let you see my video’s. I haven’t made many, but now I can share them I will make more. Sip!
Anyways, am about to enter my final week of my time in Jakarta. I gotta heap of work to finish before I finish my internship, which I have a feeling is going to entail several later than usual finishes. But the good news is, there is a silver lining on the horizon – very soon I will be in Bali/Gili Islands getting a tan, so that I don’t get back to Australia and have to face your incredulous questions about where I have been living because of the enduring whiteness of my skin!
So anyway, today I am going to tell you about something that amuses/dismays me everytime I ride along Jalan Casablanca on my way to work on the back of the motorbike with a scarf tied around my face to block the pollution.
Jakarta has some of the worst air quality in the world, it also has some of the worst traffic in the world. The government, having in it’s wisdom decided that these two things may actually be connected, in an effort to ease the congestion in the CBD, implemented a law that says that between certain hours of the day any car on the road must have a minimum of three passengers.
Ok, cool. But because some people just couldn’t care less about complying with the spirit of that law, that is by organizing for example (shock horror) ‘car-pooling’, a few enterprising young souls realized that they could earn some spare cash by standing on the side of the road, and jumping in the cars of the law-breakers, earning probably the equivalent of a dollar or less, and then jumping out when the risk of the driver getting a fine has passed. It looks to me like the kids who stand on the side of the road, and who by the way are probably homeless/unemployed/orphaned or all three, have regular “customers” who pick them up everyday. Good on the kids I reckon, but in the meantime, absolutely nothing is being done about the pollution problem.
That is one thing that gets to me about Indonesia. Everything comes wrapped in 27 layers of plastic, people look at you like you have three heads when you say you don’t need a plastic bag, and the idea of throwing rubbish in for example, a bin, as opposed to the street or a public waterway, is quite a foreign concept. Burning rubbish is also contributing like mad to the poor air quality. Even many of my exceptionally well-educated friends that I have met through the internship don’t quite get the idea of taking care of the environment. Nonchalance about the environment is systemic, endemic, epidemic, call it what you will. Sadly, the Western world can put their shopping in recyclable “green” bags as much as we want, but while this kind of ignorance prevails in the developing world, it seems hard to see anything improving. Of course, this is all anecdotal and based on observation only, as opposed to facts and statistics, but I am pretty most people who have lived here will understand what I am saying. And my the way, I don’t attribute blame toIndonesian people generally. In the absence of a government that prioritises the environment, and strong civil society with influential and well-resourced NGO’s, it is probably not surprising.
Ok, enough ranting. One thing I realized the other day is how little I have mentioned the importance that music has had for me while I have been here. Right now I have a minor obsession with Gnarls Barkley, who I saw on MTV two weeks ago (that song Crazy…) and as yet, have been unable to find the CD. I bought the new Keane album the other day though, and that is very good. What else have I been listening to here?? Madonna-Confessions on a Dance Floor (yes I am a remarkably daggy Madonna devotee, still), Peterpan – Alexandria Soundtrack, Jamie Cullum, Neil Young and James Taylor, Tiesto, Pete Murray, m-FLO, Joanna Newsom, Kanye West- Late Registration (I still can’t get sick of that hip-hop masterpiece), Ween, John Legend, Goodnight Electric (of course), Kyoto Jazz Massive, Radiohead (of course), a Coldplay MP3 CD that I bought and has about 200 songs on it, and Nihtin Sawnhey! And a heap more of course, but there are some of the particularly important musix that now have memories of Indonesia embedded in their choruses and hooks. ;-)
Anyway, I’ve had my whinge. Time to go an upload this baby onto the blog. And if anyone can tell me more about Gnarls Barkley I will be, forever in your debt. Oh and btw, I am going to add a link to vimeo to my blog soon, which will let you see my video’s. I haven’t made many, but now I can share them I will make more. Sip!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Child Squeezing in a Capital Market
Am at work, its Friday night, and I think I am about to turn off the lights and leave at the conclusion of my third week here. This is notwithstanding the fact that half of the firm is stuck in a professional development seminar about capital markets, and from the sound of their laughter, something about the purchase and sale of shares is tickling their sense of humour.
Am going to see Goodnite Electric later on tonight with a bunch of work people. They all just got bonuses (well the Associates did) so apparently I will once more be getting my drinks bought for me which is always nice ;-)
Anyway, this week have been up to my elbows in Indonesian Broadcasting Law, and I can’t resist but share with you this little gem from a translation of a law relating to broadcast advertising;
Article 46 3) e) – Commercial advertisement broadcast shall be banned from exploiting a child aged less than 18.
Ok fair enough, but the elucidation of this article then goes on to say........
“Exploiting a child shall be, for instance, the act of employing, using or squeezing a child in order to obtain personal, family or group gains.”
Employing, using, or squeezing. What the hell does that mean?
So all ye exploitating “child-squeezers” out there beware, no broadcasting of such abhorrent behaviour shall henceforth be permitted in Indonesia.
And for your information, the correct translation is something along the lines of blackmailing.
Will write more on Sunday!
Am going to see Goodnite Electric later on tonight with a bunch of work people. They all just got bonuses (well the Associates did) so apparently I will once more be getting my drinks bought for me which is always nice ;-)
Anyway, this week have been up to my elbows in Indonesian Broadcasting Law, and I can’t resist but share with you this little gem from a translation of a law relating to broadcast advertising;
Article 46 3) e) – Commercial advertisement broadcast shall be banned from exploiting a child aged less than 18.
Ok fair enough, but the elucidation of this article then goes on to say........
“Exploiting a child shall be, for instance, the act of employing, using or squeezing a child in order to obtain personal, family or group gains.”
Employing, using, or squeezing. What the hell does that mean?
So all ye exploitating “child-squeezers” out there beware, no broadcasting of such abhorrent behaviour shall henceforth be permitted in Indonesia.
And for your information, the correct translation is something along the lines of blackmailing.
Will write more on Sunday!
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Be Patience Darling
I received the above message in an SMS from my fellow intern Amel this morning. Don’t you think that’s a motto to live by? Be patience.
Anyway, handed in two pieces of work to my supervisor this week and haven’t heard anything back yet, so I am going in to ask him on Monday. I hate not getting feedback. Even if he says “that was rubbish, do it again” it’s better than hearing nothing.
Aside from work this week I did some pretty cool stuff.
On Monday I went and watched football at a bar that was absolutely chocca-bloc full of Aussies. On reflection, probably not the safest place to be in Jkt. I don’t think I will go there again. A) It was an average bar and b)if I am going to hang out in a bomb-target there are plenty of better ones in Jakarta. Hehehe. (Mum, Dad- I am being deliberately provocative- santai! Relax!) Anyway, bad result- absolutely unbelievable finish. But if we had made more of our opportunities when Italy went a man down, we wouldn’t have lost like that. And by the way- how the hell did Harry Kewell get gout? Can someone please explain that?
On Wednesday I caught up with my Japanese friend Kenta from Yogya. He is also doing an internship up here. We went to my fave Japanese restaurant so far in Indonesia- Sushi Groove in Setia Budi. It was another one of those occasions that freaks out Indonesian’s- one of the “why the hell are those to foreigners communicating using our language” moments! Anyway, Kenta is a champ- we had a good conversation about whaling- and agreed to disagree, with respect to each other’s points of view.
On Friday, I finished work at about 8pm and was invited by several colleagues including 2 of the partners to go to a bar to watch the Germany v Argentina match. Little did I realize I was the only girl, until one of the Associate’s friends showed up. Meanwhile this bar was like a relatively high-class escort establishment- i.e. not somewhere you go for a girl’s night out! I had been warned it was a bit seedy, but in the end it didn’t matter. The rule is if you go out with the partners they have to pay, so I got to drink a couple of glasses of lovely Western Australian Cab Shiraz. If you had asked me 6 months ago if it was lovely, my answer may well have been different- however given the fact I have hardly drunk wine here my palate is back to basics I think. Aduh.
And then, in the continuing theme of being given little choice as to whether I will embarrass myself in front of my colleagues, I became a cheerleader for the firm at an inter-law firm tournament. Every year 15 law firms across Jakarta take part in a sporting tournament, and yesterday morning was the opening ceremony as well as the opening of the women’s futsal tournament. I have already uploaded the relevant photo’s. I even suited up for futsal however because I hadn’t trained the coach wouldn’t play me. Nice waste of time!
Last night (Saturday) I stayed home- I can hardly believe it- but at 7pm I thought “I will just have a little nap” and then woke up at 10.30, ordered McDonalds home delivery (shame on me- but it’s so easy!) watched England lose on penalties and then fell asleep again.
Which brings me to today – it’s ¾ time in the Crows v Geelong match – the first Adelaide Crows game I have watched all year – I am typing this blog – eating Pop-Mee that is, instant noodles (I swear – I usually eat more nutritional food!) and then I think I am going to head out with my pal Riri to the Zara sale. Jakarta shopping is seriously fabulous. And I love Zara. It has to come to Australia soon.
Speaking of coming to Australia soon. At this point in time looks like I am coming home late-July. And after that, who knows???
Anyway, handed in two pieces of work to my supervisor this week and haven’t heard anything back yet, so I am going in to ask him on Monday. I hate not getting feedback. Even if he says “that was rubbish, do it again” it’s better than hearing nothing.
Aside from work this week I did some pretty cool stuff.
On Monday I went and watched football at a bar that was absolutely chocca-bloc full of Aussies. On reflection, probably not the safest place to be in Jkt. I don’t think I will go there again. A) It was an average bar and b)if I am going to hang out in a bomb-target there are plenty of better ones in Jakarta. Hehehe. (Mum, Dad- I am being deliberately provocative- santai! Relax!) Anyway, bad result- absolutely unbelievable finish. But if we had made more of our opportunities when Italy went a man down, we wouldn’t have lost like that. And by the way- how the hell did Harry Kewell get gout? Can someone please explain that?
On Wednesday I caught up with my Japanese friend Kenta from Yogya. He is also doing an internship up here. We went to my fave Japanese restaurant so far in Indonesia- Sushi Groove in Setia Budi. It was another one of those occasions that freaks out Indonesian’s- one of the “why the hell are those to foreigners communicating using our language” moments! Anyway, Kenta is a champ- we had a good conversation about whaling- and agreed to disagree, with respect to each other’s points of view.
On Friday, I finished work at about 8pm and was invited by several colleagues including 2 of the partners to go to a bar to watch the Germany v Argentina match. Little did I realize I was the only girl, until one of the Associate’s friends showed up. Meanwhile this bar was like a relatively high-class escort establishment- i.e. not somewhere you go for a girl’s night out! I had been warned it was a bit seedy, but in the end it didn’t matter. The rule is if you go out with the partners they have to pay, so I got to drink a couple of glasses of lovely Western Australian Cab Shiraz. If you had asked me 6 months ago if it was lovely, my answer may well have been different- however given the fact I have hardly drunk wine here my palate is back to basics I think. Aduh.
And then, in the continuing theme of being given little choice as to whether I will embarrass myself in front of my colleagues, I became a cheerleader for the firm at an inter-law firm tournament. Every year 15 law firms across Jakarta take part in a sporting tournament, and yesterday morning was the opening ceremony as well as the opening of the women’s futsal tournament. I have already uploaded the relevant photo’s. I even suited up for futsal however because I hadn’t trained the coach wouldn’t play me. Nice waste of time!
Last night (Saturday) I stayed home- I can hardly believe it- but at 7pm I thought “I will just have a little nap” and then woke up at 10.30, ordered McDonalds home delivery (shame on me- but it’s so easy!) watched England lose on penalties and then fell asleep again.
Which brings me to today – it’s ¾ time in the Crows v Geelong match – the first Adelaide Crows game I have watched all year – I am typing this blog – eating Pop-Mee that is, instant noodles (I swear – I usually eat more nutritional food!) and then I think I am going to head out with my pal Riri to the Zara sale. Jakarta shopping is seriously fabulous. And I love Zara. It has to come to Australia soon.
Speaking of coming to Australia soon. At this point in time looks like I am coming home late-July. And after that, who knows???
pompompompompom
As you can see, i am not averse to embarassing myself, especially where there are pom-poms involved!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Kulcha
Well that football game last night was extremely disappointing- possibly the worse way to lose. But the following email to "Crikey" today made me laugh:
"A Crikey reader writes of the football: I am bereft. The only brighter point was walking home with Fed Square attendees last night past the art gallery when I overheard this sensational exchange: Fan 1: "Let's go to Lygon Street and break things." Fan 2: "No look, let's just break something at the gallery – there's a Picasso exhibition." Fan 1: "Mate, I reckon he's Spanish." That's Melbourne – passionate about footy but at least our hoons have kulcha."
Hehehehe. Does anyone even read this thing anymore btw??? Yuk! Commentlah!
"A Crikey reader writes of the football: I am bereft. The only brighter point was walking home with Fed Square attendees last night past the art gallery when I overheard this sensational exchange: Fan 1: "Let's go to Lygon Street and break things." Fan 2: "No look, let's just break something at the gallery – there's a Picasso exhibition." Fan 1: "Mate, I reckon he's Spanish." That's Melbourne – passionate about footy but at least our hoons have kulcha."
Hehehehe. Does anyone even read this thing anymore btw??? Yuk! Commentlah!
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Miss Jakarta Contest
As well as running counter to many of the feminist principles that I hold close and tight to my heart, this was also very embarassing. This is me with fellow interns Jesse and Amel.
Oh and BTW - I had to get a new phone number- so for those of you who love me- here it is : +6281385385861
Oh and BTW - I had to get a new phone number- so for those of you who love me- here it is : +6281385385861
A New Groove
It seem to me that no matter where in the world we find ourselves, it is human instinct to start carving out a little niche, a little routine, and a little zone of predictability. After just over a week here my little niche is well and truly carved, and the pace at which it has happened has given me an insight into what my life here would be like, if for arguments sake, this internship became a job.
I was pretty stressed and anxious before moving up to Jakarta, just because it was a big change from the happy little life I was living in Yogya. However, the instant I moved into my kos, the anxiety dissolved and I realized that I had been worrying subconciously about the fact I had nowhere to live. As such, surprisingly, I was not that nervous on my first day when I took the lift up to the 21st floor to start work.
The office is I imagine, fairly typical of top-tier legal offices the world over. Because the Indonesian firm I am with is linked with the international firm who authorized my placement in the first place, they are forced to work to international time keeping standards and meet monthly billable hour targets set in the States, but as consolation they receive their wages in $US. I have absolutely no doubt that they are working far harder than lawyers in the vast majority of other law firms in this country.
I have been assigned to a Partner who is American but has lived in Indonesia for over 20 years. He is a nice guy, even if he has loaded me up heavily with work, but has given me quite a bit of responsibility for a memo that that has been a long time in the making. My task has been to plough through an enormous folder of law (about 30% not yet translated into English i.e. in Indonesian) and check that it reconciles with what has been written in the memo and then make sure that all the various parts of the big fat thing don’t conflict. That was a nice baptism of fire for me.
The cool thing is that I am actually lumped in with the Indonesian interns who have all recently started in the firm (however their terms are for 3 months plus) and so I kind of had an instant support network of fellow travelers in the office. It has been very interesting to get to know some of them over the past week (and last night), and has reaffirmed my suspicion about this country about the way money flows to money. All the interns are from very wealthy families have grown up in the best districts of Jakarta and I am sure have never had to cope with the day to day struggle to make ends meet that most other Indonesians endure. That said, they are all good people and they have been very welcoming of the random white girl who showed up to their office. They also find me hilarious because I go to work at the Stock Exchange on the back of a motorbike (I pay the guy about $10 a week to pick me up from my kos and take me) whereas as they all come in their own cars, or with their drivers.
On Friday it was Jakarta’s 471st birthday (or something) and also the firms 17th birthday, and so there was a bit of a function put on at lunchtime (we get lunch free every day but this was a “special” lunch which was kinda gross) which entailed each of us new kids putting on traditional Betawi (original Jkt people) dress and being interviewed as part of a “Miss Jakarta” contest in front of all the employees of the firm. We each also had to dance in the Betawi style with one of the Partners, which was very embarrassing as I had never seen the Betawi style until I entered the room where the party was happening. The whole thing was conducted in Indonesian and although I can usually understand everything that is being said, the Jakarta dialect is very different from the Central Java dialect and combined with the fact that they were speaking at a million miles an hour, I had very little idea what was going on. So that was a good way to impress my colleagues. Wearing strange clothes and a blank expression.
A couple of things about the firm- the owners are both women (which I think is unusual even in an Australian context…….) and the business of the firm is conducted predominantly in English. This does not however, mean that I can get away with speaking only English. Because people know that I speak Indonesian and it is a novelty for them to hear an expat using Indo in the office, they insist on speaking to me in Bahasa. Which is good really and means that even if I don’t improve much this month, at least I won’t be going backwards.
Some other observations- there is a secretary in the office called “Candy Baby Joy Christie Wawaruntu”, Indonesia has a “Department of Manpower” and there is no such thing as a professional ring tone in the office- I have to laugh every time I hear the house music ring tone of one of the particularly serious partners.
Anyway, that’s the first week- it was pretty full-on- I can’t believe I forgot to mention the working hours- I start at 8pm and finish between 7pm and 10pm. A lot of the new kids brag about pulling 2am finishes, but I have seen their productivity levels after 6pm and the way they drop dramatically, so I am not going to be busting my *something* just to look like I am staying late. I would rather get my work done and leave, than hang around trying to look busy! This rule will especially apply on Monday night, as I refuse to sit and watch the Socceroo’s in the staff kitchen or while sitting in my kos, so I am going straight from work to seek out some compatriots to share the love with.
Ok. I am going shopping. Sampai ketemu lagi.
I was pretty stressed and anxious before moving up to Jakarta, just because it was a big change from the happy little life I was living in Yogya. However, the instant I moved into my kos, the anxiety dissolved and I realized that I had been worrying subconciously about the fact I had nowhere to live. As such, surprisingly, I was not that nervous on my first day when I took the lift up to the 21st floor to start work.
The office is I imagine, fairly typical of top-tier legal offices the world over. Because the Indonesian firm I am with is linked with the international firm who authorized my placement in the first place, they are forced to work to international time keeping standards and meet monthly billable hour targets set in the States, but as consolation they receive their wages in $US. I have absolutely no doubt that they are working far harder than lawyers in the vast majority of other law firms in this country.
I have been assigned to a Partner who is American but has lived in Indonesia for over 20 years. He is a nice guy, even if he has loaded me up heavily with work, but has given me quite a bit of responsibility for a memo that that has been a long time in the making. My task has been to plough through an enormous folder of law (about 30% not yet translated into English i.e. in Indonesian) and check that it reconciles with what has been written in the memo and then make sure that all the various parts of the big fat thing don’t conflict. That was a nice baptism of fire for me.
The cool thing is that I am actually lumped in with the Indonesian interns who have all recently started in the firm (however their terms are for 3 months plus) and so I kind of had an instant support network of fellow travelers in the office. It has been very interesting to get to know some of them over the past week (and last night), and has reaffirmed my suspicion about this country about the way money flows to money. All the interns are from very wealthy families have grown up in the best districts of Jakarta and I am sure have never had to cope with the day to day struggle to make ends meet that most other Indonesians endure. That said, they are all good people and they have been very welcoming of the random white girl who showed up to their office. They also find me hilarious because I go to work at the Stock Exchange on the back of a motorbike (I pay the guy about $10 a week to pick me up from my kos and take me) whereas as they all come in their own cars, or with their drivers.
On Friday it was Jakarta’s 471st birthday (or something) and also the firms 17th birthday, and so there was a bit of a function put on at lunchtime (we get lunch free every day but this was a “special” lunch which was kinda gross) which entailed each of us new kids putting on traditional Betawi (original Jkt people) dress and being interviewed as part of a “Miss Jakarta” contest in front of all the employees of the firm. We each also had to dance in the Betawi style with one of the Partners, which was very embarrassing as I had never seen the Betawi style until I entered the room where the party was happening. The whole thing was conducted in Indonesian and although I can usually understand everything that is being said, the Jakarta dialect is very different from the Central Java dialect and combined with the fact that they were speaking at a million miles an hour, I had very little idea what was going on. So that was a good way to impress my colleagues. Wearing strange clothes and a blank expression.
A couple of things about the firm- the owners are both women (which I think is unusual even in an Australian context…….) and the business of the firm is conducted predominantly in English. This does not however, mean that I can get away with speaking only English. Because people know that I speak Indonesian and it is a novelty for them to hear an expat using Indo in the office, they insist on speaking to me in Bahasa. Which is good really and means that even if I don’t improve much this month, at least I won’t be going backwards.
Some other observations- there is a secretary in the office called “Candy Baby Joy Christie Wawaruntu”, Indonesia has a “Department of Manpower” and there is no such thing as a professional ring tone in the office- I have to laugh every time I hear the house music ring tone of one of the particularly serious partners.
Anyway, that’s the first week- it was pretty full-on- I can’t believe I forgot to mention the working hours- I start at 8pm and finish between 7pm and 10pm. A lot of the new kids brag about pulling 2am finishes, but I have seen their productivity levels after 6pm and the way they drop dramatically, so I am not going to be busting my *something* just to look like I am staying late. I would rather get my work done and leave, than hang around trying to look busy! This rule will especially apply on Monday night, as I refuse to sit and watch the Socceroo’s in the staff kitchen or while sitting in my kos, so I am going straight from work to seek out some compatriots to share the love with.
Ok. I am going shopping. Sampai ketemu lagi.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Gotta Kos, Seentha Office, dAH bANkrup!
Ok so am 15 hours, a world cup game and a nervous tummy away from starting work. My first few days in JTown have been interesting and expensive (mum- please bear in mind when you see my credit card statement that I have been buying work related clothing! except for the one drink at the four seasons where i was caught embarrassingly short on cash!!! :-) !!)
anyways, flew in to Jkt with Sam and Lauren (yes Heights people- Lauren Carter) and that was good cos it took my mind of feeling sad about Yogya and being nervous as I was around people excited about having a debaucherous Jtown weekend.
On Thursday we traipsed around in a million cabs looking for a hotel for the first night which was a pain in the proverbial. Something hilarious happened- we went to one hotel in Chikini and were rejected because they have a rule about unmarried opposite sex people staying in the same room. It was pretty hilarious. We ended up falling back on the Lonely PLanet option which was mediocre but was run by a very nice man who taught us how not to get ripped off by taxi drivers.
Anyways that night we went out to Plaza Senayan- a playground for the rich and ridiculous (one of many in this city) and all got haircuts. I needed a business-y style cut and wasn't prepared to risk my locks at Johnny Andrean- Indonesian wide chain cutter- so paid for a haircut that worked out to be about $A35. My Ibu Kos will hopefully never find out- she freaked when I paid $8 in Yogya- most Indonesians pay $1 or less. Anyway, we did that, then went out to the wine bar Vin+ and drank some Aussie red then watched England play in the bar Second Floor.
The next day I had to look for a kos, and made the mistake of waiting ages to start doing it. I fortunately came across the nicest taxi driver, certainly in Jkt and possibly the world, who then drove me around for 4 hours. All the places recommended by work unfortunately were full, although all proximate to the office- it's a shame, one of them was next door to the Iranian Ambassador's Residence.
Anyway roamed hi and lo, and after a lot of stress found the perfect place. However they couldn't give it to me straight away cos someone had put down a deposit. So I waited and then they called me back and said no it was definitely taken and I couldn't have it. I was very annoyed and stressed a) because it was perfect and I could have fitted half of yogya in my airconditioned hot water shower room and b) cos I had nowhere to sleep that night. Ended up going for option 2 which was at the time my distant 2nd choice. About $300 for the month, air con, tiny room, washing included and warm water. Turns out it was a good choice, I have cable tv in my room, free drinking water and a very helpful guy in the kos who is going to drive me on a motorbike to work and pick me up for $3 a day. He also set up my tv so that I can watch world cup! Woo hoo! So this is the reason when my first choice kos called me the next day and said "actually we do have a room we got it wrong" i said "no i am quite happy here thanks". oh and the other cool thing was, they reduced the rent for me in my kos to only $200 for the month because I am only staying 4 weeks. they were initially going to make me pay for the whole of july then took pity on me! for those of you who know about my dire financial situation and the fact I am NOT GETTING PAID while I am here will appreciate just how important that is!!!
anyhoo, thats the kos. it has worked out better, but the kos vibe here is way different to yogya, i have only seen 2 other people who live there- it's definitely a business type kos. oh and its mixed so there are boys and girls, and i can actually have my male friends come in my room without having to ask permission like in yogya- so thats nice cos my only 2 friends here are riskhy and ryan- who obviously are both boys.
so i have done a practice run up to the office, and it looks pretty plush. i went up on the saturday thinking i could get the elevator up, see the office and then leave stealthily and undetected. but my plan was foiled by the fact that two lawyers saw me gawking in the door! i went in and said hello, all in Indonesian, and said see u Monday and then left feeling stupid. Oh well, would have been stupider if I hadn't said hello.
Right, so this is already long enough, have to go home and read my Indo law book and try not to be too nervous about tomorrow and also think about watchin the world cup. am gonna be watching it solo in my kos.... bit lonely, but I would be an idiot to go out and watch it the night before starting work...... Come on Aussie! Post me some comments people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyways, flew in to Jkt with Sam and Lauren (yes Heights people- Lauren Carter) and that was good cos it took my mind of feeling sad about Yogya and being nervous as I was around people excited about having a debaucherous Jtown weekend.
On Thursday we traipsed around in a million cabs looking for a hotel for the first night which was a pain in the proverbial. Something hilarious happened- we went to one hotel in Chikini and were rejected because they have a rule about unmarried opposite sex people staying in the same room. It was pretty hilarious. We ended up falling back on the Lonely PLanet option which was mediocre but was run by a very nice man who taught us how not to get ripped off by taxi drivers.
Anyways that night we went out to Plaza Senayan- a playground for the rich and ridiculous (one of many in this city) and all got haircuts. I needed a business-y style cut and wasn't prepared to risk my locks at Johnny Andrean- Indonesian wide chain cutter- so paid for a haircut that worked out to be about $A35. My Ibu Kos will hopefully never find out- she freaked when I paid $8 in Yogya- most Indonesians pay $1 or less. Anyway, we did that, then went out to the wine bar Vin+ and drank some Aussie red then watched England play in the bar Second Floor.
The next day I had to look for a kos, and made the mistake of waiting ages to start doing it. I fortunately came across the nicest taxi driver, certainly in Jkt and possibly the world, who then drove me around for 4 hours. All the places recommended by work unfortunately were full, although all proximate to the office- it's a shame, one of them was next door to the Iranian Ambassador's Residence.
Anyway roamed hi and lo, and after a lot of stress found the perfect place. However they couldn't give it to me straight away cos someone had put down a deposit. So I waited and then they called me back and said no it was definitely taken and I couldn't have it. I was very annoyed and stressed a) because it was perfect and I could have fitted half of yogya in my airconditioned hot water shower room and b) cos I had nowhere to sleep that night. Ended up going for option 2 which was at the time my distant 2nd choice. About $300 for the month, air con, tiny room, washing included and warm water. Turns out it was a good choice, I have cable tv in my room, free drinking water and a very helpful guy in the kos who is going to drive me on a motorbike to work and pick me up for $3 a day. He also set up my tv so that I can watch world cup! Woo hoo! So this is the reason when my first choice kos called me the next day and said "actually we do have a room we got it wrong" i said "no i am quite happy here thanks". oh and the other cool thing was, they reduced the rent for me in my kos to only $200 for the month because I am only staying 4 weeks. they were initially going to make me pay for the whole of july then took pity on me! for those of you who know about my dire financial situation and the fact I am NOT GETTING PAID while I am here will appreciate just how important that is!!!
anyhoo, thats the kos. it has worked out better, but the kos vibe here is way different to yogya, i have only seen 2 other people who live there- it's definitely a business type kos. oh and its mixed so there are boys and girls, and i can actually have my male friends come in my room without having to ask permission like in yogya- so thats nice cos my only 2 friends here are riskhy and ryan- who obviously are both boys.
so i have done a practice run up to the office, and it looks pretty plush. i went up on the saturday thinking i could get the elevator up, see the office and then leave stealthily and undetected. but my plan was foiled by the fact that two lawyers saw me gawking in the door! i went in and said hello, all in Indonesian, and said see u Monday and then left feeling stupid. Oh well, would have been stupider if I hadn't said hello.
Right, so this is already long enough, have to go home and read my Indo law book and try not to be too nervous about tomorrow and also think about watchin the world cup. am gonna be watching it solo in my kos.... bit lonely, but I would be an idiot to go out and watch it the night before starting work...... Come on Aussie! Post me some comments people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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