sleep deprivation

Sydney Australia Current Time, Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 12:28:46 PM
it's 8:51 PM in New York right now.
and I am exhausted.

I woke up at 7am in Sydney on Wednesday, February 27th.
didn't sleep at all from Sydney to Los Angeles.
movies watched: Atonement, The Darjeeling Limited, The Invasion
tv watched: I Shouldn't Be Alive, House, some show on burlesque, some makeover show
slept maybe 3 hours from Los Angeles to New York due to my location as middle seat.

car services are great.
my apartment is nice.
my fish is alive.
my eyes are closing.

but I am in desperate need of some time to unpack, repack, shower and sleep.
getting picked up at 7:45am in the morning to head to Daytona Beach.
won't have internet, but my cell is now working at normal calling rates.
nice to be back.

the deal about the next week

1. Wed 2/27: arrival at newark 5pm
2. Thurs 2/28: flying out of laguardia to florida at 9:30am
3. Fri 2/29: funeral at 10am
4. Sat 3/1: happy anniversary, darling
5. Sun 3/2: flying back to Maryland with Jack & Sue
6. Mon 3/3: mom getting dental surgery
7. Tues 3/4: show Jack & Sue their awesome souvenirs
8. Wed 3/5: train back to queens
9: Thurs 3/6: filling in at theatreworks
10. Fri 3/7: filling in at theatreworks
11. Sat 3/8: mac makeovers at saks fifth avenue with the girls
and so the month continues...

positive thoughts, everyone. positive thoughts.

manly beach, day two

after some phone calls this morning, headed back to Manly Beach on the ferry. the QE2 is gone and in its place the Sapphire Princess. bought a cheap towel and grabbed some fast food. already put on my spf 30, so I was roaring to go. lasted 1-2:30pm and headed back to Sydney.

popped into the Virgin Megastore to get a few cds I was eyeing and let me tell you they are expensive! and I bought them b/c I couldn't find them in nyc. I got two cds for $40 and it's was a "Red-Hot Deal" as a cd is normally $25! craziness!


then I got back to the hotel about 5ish. and realized that I didn't get much color on my body, but tons on my face! tons! it hurts! the tan on my chest is from my Bali burn.



picture this: shortish American girl, puffy swollen eyes, chubby cheeks, red faced, eating an ice cream cone talking to MP on a public phone. it was about time for me to call it an afternoon.

it just started to DOWNPOUR and the hotel lobby has become very congested all of a sudden. thinking about dinner and then the MSI show tonight at The Gaelic Club.

so that's about it. gonna rest for a little bit and think of what to eat, as it is still pouring and I don't want to go outside right now.

probably won't blog later tonight or tomorrow morning, as I have a noon flight back to LAX and a connecting to Newark. it's been a good trip, but it feels like this Sydney trip has just been one thing after another and it's seriously time to go home.

sad news

mom called me on my cell at about 1:30am my tuesday to inform me that her mom, my Granny had passed away. when we went to see her at Christmas in Daytona Beach, she was getting worse, but still didn't have a problem spending time with us. when I called to say goodbye before my trip, my uncle answered the phone and informed me that Granny had had yet another heart attack and was at the hospital. so I didn't get the chance to speak with her. after the release from the hospital, mom let me know that they had put her into a hospice home. this was during my first week in Jakarta, so I am thankful that she held on as long as she did. it's disheartening to learn that someone you love is unable to speak to you, as she just barely made sounds that told mom she recognized her voice over the phone the other day. and knowing that she was getting worse by the day doesn't make it any easier to deal with the fact that she's gone, but knowing that she is with my grandfather, someplace that she has wished to accompany him for 11 years, makes it a bit safer within my heart.

they are trying to put off the funeral to thurs, fri or sat, as the earliest I would be able to get down to Daytona would be midmorning thursday. so it looks like I will be back for a few brief hours and back into the airport for the weekend.

so I ask you to please keep Thomasina Groch and my family in your prayers.

off a recommendation from a Hell's Kitchen waitress

(Manly Wharf and Cove)

I have already been to Bondi Beach. so I decided to try out Manly. MP and I had a waitress at Chelsea Grill that was from Manly and said it was a nice place. so I said ok.



checked the weather. I was going to lie out, work on the tan that no one will ever see when I am back in NYC all bundled up for the cold weather. but I guarantee you my face will be tan!



was going to be cloudy, chance of rain. put on shorts and tank. went outside. went back inside to change clothes that included a tshirt. left bikini in hotel. dumb move.



yesterday the QE2 came into Sydney and was in Circular Quay, so I got a few good pics. hopped on the 30 min ride to Manly. got off the ferry and what comes out of the sky? hot sunshine and lots of it! it was a little cool with the wind, but I was still pissed at myself for not bringing the suit.


at lunch at Blue Water Cafe. had a flat white (coffee) at Jellyfish Cafe. I am checking off recommended places in my Lonely PLanet Sydney City Guide. it makes me feel accomplished! walked about for a little bit. offered to take pics for couples in exchange for a photo opp of my own. works out for both parties :)



hopped on the ferry back to the city and ran some errands for strategically packing these overweight bags: extra 3rd duffle bag, packing tape, razor blade, free FedEx boxes, a scale. you should see the way I molded those boxes to form fit my painting and wood carving. perfection I tell you.



here's the baggage deal: flying Quantas to LAX. flying American Airlines to EWR. both flights have different baggage regulations. which majorly sucks. so this is what I'm doing:

chelsea's bag: currently 26kg -> paring it down to 23kg, free for both flights
rizal's bag: currently 37kg -> paring it down to 32kg, free intl & $50 domestic
3rd bag: putting all those extra kgs into it -> max 23kg, $140 intl & $132 domestic

now, sending a medium size box back to the States would be $320, as a starting point. so this totals $322, so it's about the same. I am seriously going to look like a crazy person at the airport on Wednesday. wearing very comfy pj clothes and carrying all these bags. I am gona be ready for them if they try anything. and I will unzip those bags and shift stuff around if I have to. I'm ready, man.

in the immortal words of Kirstin Dunst, "Bring it!"

jatu's facebook photos

updating with the pics jatu just put on facebook :)

photos in the hallway of Dragonfly leaving the L'Oreal Party

group shot after bride/groom finished their night on stage

(before the designer took Novie's bling)

me, Jatu, Puspa & Deece at Birdcage

soundwave 2008

for the SECOND day in a row, I have realized my watch was 30 minutes slow. and yet again it happened just as I missed the train to St. Peter's train station near Sydney Park.

today was Australian Soundwave 2008. and I had my list of bands to see roaring to go- Boys Like Girls, The Starting Line, Plain White T's, Mae, Mindless Self Indulgence, Motion City Soundtrack, Alexisonfire, Incubus, mewithoutyou acoustic. didn't want to see The Offspring b/c to ask a blunt question: does anyone care about them anymore in the US?

so the day started out bad. and got worse. stood in a horrible cluster of people trying to enter the one entrance to the festival onyl to be told that the woman at the guest list booth didn't have the band guest list and told me to contact the band contact. well, didn't have that info. walked out of the park and 10 minutes away to the closest pay phone b/c my cell wasn't working (got it working later at a very expensive fee). called MP, who told me to think positively and act dumb. went back to the woman who after 10 more minutes, called my name and apologized for the misunderstanding. got my VIP bracelet and headed in.

now I have been to my share of music festivals and this one was not well organized (a girl at the train station tonight said the same thing). the lines for everything was crazy long (I waited in line for a rainbow slushie for a little over 1 hour). that and a stick of chocolate covered fruit were the only thing I ate for 6 hours in the sun. and the placement for the stages were not placed well I think. anywho...

got to Main Stage 2 just in time to persuade the security guard to let me backstage since I was MSI's only VIP from America! ran into Kitty (their drummer) and her tech, who allowed me to watch the show from the side of the stage. which was awesome. Mindless Self Indulgence is a pretty awesome band if you ask me. Little Jimmy Urine, their lead singer, like to crack insults at the crowd and told them today that MSI was here to punish them for making Crocodile Dundee 2 b/c "why try and top perfection?". one of the techs for Incubus gave me some ear plugs, which definately came in handy. they are playing another club gig on Tuesday night, so I may try and head down there for that on my last night in town.

waited in line for a slushie. got out of line. bought chocolate covered fruit b/c there was no line. bought a Soundwave 08 tshirt. waited in line for a slushie. for over an hour. it was $6.

headed back down to Main Stages 1 & 2 and caught some of Alexisonfire and the first few Incubus songs. headed back to Stage 5 and caught a few mewithoutyou acoustic songs and got the hell outta Sydney Park. it's summertime here, but man, does it get chilly when that sun goes down.

now I missed a bunch of the bands I wanted to see b/c of my entry problems and waiting in line for something to quench my thirst. sucks.

got the CityRail train back to Central Station, where I stopped in China Town for some food that I just ate in my room. my back hurts, my right heel has a blister on it BUT I AM HAPPY AND PROUD TO INFORM EVERYONE THAT I PUT SUNSCREEN ON THIS MORNING AND DID NOT GET BURNT! of course, I wasn't in the sun that long, but I was responsible today.

tomorrow I am going to ferry it to Manly Beach for some more sun and good food. Tuesday really is going to be the day of figuring out how to get all my stuff home. I think I may just pay for a third bag and try to evenly divide my bags so they are all at ok weights. still have to look into it.

so that's about it. getting pretty tired, so maybe I will sleep better today, as I wanna get up early tomorrow and head to Manly. yay!

summer sunshine & the opera

I am having such a horrible time trying to sleep here. the bed isn't all that comfortable, I have to say, but I was up till about 1:30am again this morning. which made me wake up late and unfortunately my watch was 30 minutes slow, so I just made it to my seat for La Boheme in the Opera Theatre at the Sydney opera House at 1pm. they won't let any late comers in until the intermission, 55 minutes into the performance. I've never been to the opera before, but my seat was fantastic because I could see the entire stage and the subtitle scroll above the stage. of course I have been Rent, but I didn't know too much of the plot and fell in love with it. at the end, when my eyes were filling up with tears, a gentleman in front of me started sniffling like crazy! he definately caught the attention of those around him, as he was not trying to be discrete at all. this opera moved him to some unknown place.

(oh. I ate hazelnut gelato for breakfast.)

the Queen Victoria cruiseliner is on it's maiden voyage around the world and arrived into Sydney early this morning. as I watched the news late this afternoon, I learned that the QE2 is coming into Sydney tomorrow for the very last time and the two cruiseliners will be crossing paths in the harbor at about 6:30pm. I would love to view this, but I will be at Soundwave. I've emailed the drummer of the band I am going to see and hoping that we'll be able to catch up for a few during the day. not excited about all the down time, but I checked the lineup and it looks like I'll have a busy day. and yes, I will wear SUNSCREEN! SPF 30. NO EXCUSES.

grabbed a Matilda ferry (didn't pay! haha!) to Luna Park, at Milsons Point on the North Shore of Sydney. this mini theme park even have an attraction called Coney Island. took a ride on the ferris wheel for $8. damn, I am never having kids in Sydney! I also saw 3 wedding groups taking photographs around the Opera House and Luna Park today. at the latter, two brides were competing for the entrance shot, with their bridemaids, who were in almost identical shades of pink dresses. scary. I was actually banking on a fist fight. that would have been cool.

grabbed another ferry to Darling Harbor and Harborside. ate another ice cream cone. ok. I know it's getting ridiculous, but I am glad my clothes still fit and yes, it's back to Jenny Craig when I get home. but it's summertime here! when in Sydney...

took the monorail (yeah I said it) close to the hotel and grabbed a piece of pizza (b/c I hadn't eaten anything but iced goods all day) and it sucked. it was beyond horrible. not even comparable to those small places in New York that don't have good New York pizza. this was just bad. and I ate it. yuck.

I've been in the hotel lobby on the computer for awhile now. Paula is going away in March, so I'll be filling in at TheatreworksUSA in her absence and Annie & Suzanne are going to Athens mid March and they started a blog! Carolyn is also going to Cape Town, South Africa to do some volunteer work in March. lots of things going on in people's lives and I have to say that I miss being home and being connected to those that I have such close relationships with. and so that is why I am excited to be going home soon. a trip to see Mom and Dad is also needed that week I get back and to Jenny also, since I need to see her new place.

Soundwave Festival tomorrow at Sydney Park and I'll let ya know what bands were great and which were horrible. The Offspring, Incubus, Mindless Self Indulgence (yay!), Killswitch Engage (boo!), Boys Like Girls, Mae... lots of good music to listen to :)

why I cannot live in Sydney

(Sydney Tower from Oxford Street)

ok. so maybe it's wasn't such a wonderful idea to eat all that Dairy Milk and beer for dessert... and some double-stuffed Oreos (that Sari's mom bought me in Jakarta) for breakfast... and after that late lunch in Chinatown, that strawberry shortcake ice cream from Baskin Robbins. fat.

got a late start today and slept in till like 11 (hitting the snooze on my alarm for 1.5 hours) then watched an episode of Dr. Phil, where the husband thought Christmas was a Pagan holiday and was a cheapskate towards his wife regarding presents. then Oprah, where a woman hoarder had soooo much stuff in her house and of course Oprah fixed it and got her all new stuff. I don't think she'll be hoarding again with all the brand new furniture she received :) yeah, ok, so I needed a down morning. for me.



walked past the Surry Hills Police Centre and onto Oxford Street, which was beautiful, but full of pricy shops. got a pair of earrings at Sportgirl and a dress at a sample sale that was only $10. the sun was shining today and so I dropped off my stuff at the hotel and headed to Patty's Market Haymarket branch and got the most fabulous souvenir EVER! I will have to post a picture later, but Sari's family had them everywhere (kitchen, car, bedrooms)... and it is a kangaroo tissue box holder! it's amazing and to say that for $4 I could have both half a kangaroo stuffed animal AND a tissue box holder is beyond my wildest dreams. I wish I could have bought everyone one, but Mom said I have to stop shopping since I'm alreday overweight (my bags, not me). I did manage to call them at 2am though. Dad managed to get on the phone for promptly a few seconds and went back to bed. I got a kickass two piece bathingsuit at the (Ken) Done Gallery Factory Store in Market City, which is located above Paddy's Market. and a tee. and all three pieces were on sale.



dropped by for a late lunch/early dinner at the restaurant I missed yesterday (since I was alreday in Chinatown) and had some duck soup and shanghai dumplings. yum. followed up en route to the Pack & Send store, to check out how much it would cost to send a box back to the States, by an ice cream cone. by the way, it would cost $330 to send one that was 20 kg back. fantastically expensive. still have to call American Airlines about my luggage situation, because if I could just pay for an extra third bag and if it's cheaper than excess baggage fees, then I am heading back to Paddy's Market for a piece of luggage.



(cathedral & town hall)



but I got to Pack & Send and it was closed. EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE BARS PRACTICALLY CLOSE AT 6PM. and the bars are packed with people having a pint on the sidewalks. how is anyone that gets out of work at 5pm supposed to run shopping errands (yes, the Queen Victoria Building shops were closed as well) or do anything if everything closes at 6pm. AND THAT IS WHY I LOVE NEW YORK. I could do pretty much ANYTHING at any time or atleast until 9 or 10pm. makes me a better person. I don't know if I could live in Sydney now that I know this occurs.



since I ate late, I am gonna stay in for awhile, then maybe walk a bit to get something to eat later. it's not that I don't want to go out and do things, but once again it's the end of my trip and I am totally feeling the drag of being by myself in public places day after day. especially since I have seen the tourist attractions from my trip back in 2004 (aquarium, zoo, BridgeClimb). I do have La Boheme to look forward to tomorrow and taking the ferry to Luna Park should give me some nice pics of Circular Quay.



a little something extra. this gem of a rowhome is on Goulburn, arpproaching Crown in Surry Hills. it's a little dream house. it's green and has a balcony and is awesome. someone buy it for me :)

walking the Sydney basics

so after all that drama, I started my day in Sydney. walked down Pitt St, which I remembered from my last shopping experiences in the Arcades and down to Circular Quay, stopping to pick up brochures for the ferry rides and such.

went to the Opera House and found out they are alternating performances of Carmen and La Boheme in the Opera House and I got a ticket in the mezzanine for the matinee performance of La Boheme on Saturday. figured I walk past Hyde Park on my way there, grab lunch and maybe hit Luna Park (children's amusement park) via ferry after the show.

the last time I was in Sydney I had the chance to see a theatre production in the Drama Theatre, so I am very excited about seeing an opera in the infamous Opera House. and I have apparently one upped MP with this one. point for me :)

got my ticket, read my city guide and wrote down a semi schedule of my trip till I leave on Wednesday afternoon. walked over to The Rocks, near the Harbor Bridge and popped into The Ken Done Gallery that I found on my last trip. If you have ever been in any of my apartment since 2004, I believe you have seen my "I Wish You Were Here" Sydney print. it's currently in a brand new frame (thanks goes out to MP) in my Sunnyside bathroom. viewed some original painting and they are so incredibly vibrant and amazing, that I will always make it a priority to stop in when I visit this city.

had lunch at a lovely little teagarden cafe- chicken/leek pie with salad. yum. walked back to the hotel, only to realize that I had worn the wrong sandals and had blisters beneath toes on each feet. grr. got in the room and promptly took a nap for about 2 hours. dressed and walked over to Chinatown for dinner. wanted to go to Emperor's Garden BBQ & Noodle Shop, but ended up at Emperor's Garden Seafood Restaurant, but the later was amazing. had some soup, dim sum and salt & pepper squid with fried rice and let me tell you- now that I have a wok at home, I am putting in all my effort to learn how to cook that. it was delicious beyond delicious.

took a cab to a local alt music venue, Annandale Hotel, but once I got there, I realized it was a little too seedy for me to go into after all, so I hailed another cab and grabbed a six-pack of Cooper's Sparking Ale and some Dairy Milk and headed back to the Travelodge.

what a day it has been. I am very excited for tomorrow, even though I don't really know what I am planning to do. definately need to exchange more money b/c like I said before, the exchange rate sucks and after eating twice, buying a book, internet card and those meaningless taxi rides, I am down a significant amount from what I changed today. grrrrrrrrr.

I'll keep ya posted. thanks for reading :)

recent sucky developments

1. I had a breakdown at Sari's house yesterday morning. the trip is getting long for me.

2. I had to pay US$615 to Malaysia Airlines because my two pieces of checked luggage were a total of 63kg and 34kg overweight. I was charge US$18.09/kg. even after I started crying and becoming more and more confused b/c my bags were the same weight as they were when I left Newark, they didn't take mercy.

3. heading back to New York on 2/27. no stop in Los Angeles.

4. got about 2 hours sleep thanks to the 4 children (belonging to one couple) who nearly gave me several heart attacks while standing up on their seats and jumping through the aisles at 3am.

5. had to deal with bringing in a wood carving through Australian Customs & Quarantine. thank God they let it in.

6. just arrived in Sydney and gonna check out Circular Quay before I can get into my hotel this afternoon, repack my souvenirs bag and take a nap.

7. probably would have been smarter to send my second piece of luggage international freight than pay that fee. looking into what American Airlines will charge me when I am going back home.

8. stomachache. bring on the new day.

leaving on a jetplane to Oz!

this is what Sari wrote for today, Wednesday the 20th, on my/our initial day-to-day schedule of this trip to Indonesia.

woke up at 4am to the local mosque readin the Koran and got it on video. prayer call at 4:15am. made some phone calls, remade the bed and tidied up my room. uploading photos and updated the blog. not much to do today other than spend some time with Sari and shower and pack.

heading to the airport for a 6:20 flight to Kulala Lumpur then to Sydney, where I will arrive Thursday morning.

it's been a great trip, although one very different from what I had in mind when I arrived. with Sari sick, I was left to do many things on my own and make my own fun. but it was a fantastic trip and I only hope I can come back and visit. next time only leaving 3 days in Jakarta and more in Bali! and I have to visit Lombok and Yoygajarta.

miss you. it's becoming a very long trip, but I can't wait to spend some time in Sydney and stopping in Los Angeles to see my man before heading back to NYC and the job search!

Taman Mini Indonesia

I finally got there yesterday and it didn't even start raining until I was back in the house for about 10 minutes!

took my second Gray Line Tour to Taman Mini Indonesia, which is a theme park that houses examples of all the different islands in Indonesia's archipelageo. stopped in the museum and saw all the different clothing from the different islands and villages and it's amazing to see the vast difference between them! some of the head dresses that these women wear are crazy- they look like they will topple over at the very mention of a light wind!

spent the most time in the Sumatra section, where this picture demonstated what the prayer house would look like for a family's housing compound. we didn't stop in all the locations- just Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Bali.

there is also a small theme park inside the larger park especially for children and it's castle is based on the DisneyWorld's castle in Orlando.

headed up into the cable car, number 06 for a ride across the lake in the middle of the park. in the lake, there are little islands and they are shaped and placed to represent the Indonesian archipelageo. that was really cool. the Taman Mini Indonesia landscapers really have their fill of work to do on a daily basis! took visit on the first half of the ride and it turned out great!

I was the only person on the tour again, so they dropped me off at the local grocery store, where I picked up some packing essentials and went home to start packing all my stuff up. and it's quite a lot, but I actually have a good amount of room left in that second suitcase. great! I can buy more stuff in Australia!

Free Sari! (even for 1.5 hours)

with Kariim in town, Sari's parents thought it was okay to allow Sari to leave the house for a family dinner at a traditional Indonesian restaurant right around the corner from the house. but we still drove. and it rained. go figure.

not much to say about dinner, although I had some crispy beef tenderloin, along with a little of everyone elses and had some Es Campur for dessert. it's shaved ice, with chocolate sauce and a mixture of fruits and juices- very tasty and extremely sweet!

{and I almost completely forgot! Kariim took me to the World Trade Center to get my next plane ticket from Malaysia Airlines and we had to stop at Plaza Semanggi to get some video games for him to take home to Quatar. the boy (or man, as he is a husband and father, but has a baby face to me) bought me POPCORN! from a movie theatre! love him.}

a 24 karat gold flame & costume kebaya

Jatu picked me up yesterday morning, for an exciting day of tourist adventures. She had never been to see MONAS, the National Monument in Jakarta, so I didn't feel so bad when Sari recruited her to take me to see it. MONAS is basically like a candle, erect like the Washington Monument, but it has a 24 karat gold flame on the very top. expensive, Jakarta!

we got our tickets, saw the diarama stations in the museum beneath the monument, depicting the coming of age story of Indonesia. the diaramas were awesome, but much too dark, so I wasn't able to take any photos. then we stood in line. Jatu compared it to standing in line art Disneyland, but it lacked the immense excitement that you know you are going to feel. yes, you stand in line for a long time and yes it's over in a few minutes (hell, a few seconds for a Disney ride), but the anticipation wasn't the same. all in all, it took us FOREVER to get to the front of the line and realize the monument has 1 elevator that fits 10 people. hey, it's an old monument.

got up to the top and started taking photos. the landscaping was gorgeous and they had banners of the city and buildings labeled so you knew what you were looking at.

waited in line to go down to the pedastal and took more photos. we were getting good at taking pictures of ourselves by this time.

I do have to say this though. Indonesian people are by far the pushiest people I have met. whether it's trying to squeeze in a motorbike or minibus on the road during a mass traffic jam or pushing their way into an elevator- it's not pretty. they are worse than New Yorkers trying to get into a subway at rush hour. and that is not an easy thing to top.

left MONAS and went to eat at the food court in Grand Indonesia and started searching for a kebaya for me to wear with my batik sarong I purchased in Ubud. went to Pasaraya and found a whole section in the department store dedicated to formal kebaya wear and stayed in the Rizal Costume section, where I tried on many a different fit and color kebaya with the bustier underneath. after a good amount of time, I settled on a red/gold kebaya and two bustiers- red and gold. I am determined to wear the gold with the kebaya and the batik sarong.

but the red with the kebaya and jeans. and heels. it just looks hot.

but of course, I couldn't just leave the store yet. my eye caught on a mermaid skirt, Sari told me is called Prada Batik. it's a batik skirt but with glitter. very fancy. and I got it. to wear with kebaya or navy/gold top back in New York.

ate dinner with Jatu and bought some more dvds and then headed home for a fashion show. Sari's brother Kariim met me at the gate and he'll be staying at the house till tomorrow, I believe. he's a pilot for Quatar Airlines and lives there with his wife and little girl, but is only in town for some business.

then we had a fashion show for Sari and her mom. and I was taught how to wrap my sarong properly. and I have come to the conclusion that I might possibly need help getting dressed and will definately be taking a taxi if wearing this in New York!

Novie's 1st Wedding & my 3rd

Jatu and Puspa came over to take me to a wedding hall to say "Selamat Ya!" to Novie and Ronny. Novie used to work at Femina. the room was filled with birdcages lit up by tealights and the colors were purple and red, with red chinese lanterns hanging everywhere. Novie is Chinese and Ronny is from upper Sumatra, so his male friends were wearing traditional shawls over their right shoulders.


I don't know if I mentioned before the amount of photos that the bride and groom take with various family members, cousins, groups, etc. but I did go up on stage and represent Sari in the Femina Magazine photograph. it was a lot of fun and we even took more pics with the couple after the reception had winded down and before Novie had to return her diamond hair pins and brooch to the designer, who was waiting on her. we waited around for awhile then headed out for a drink at Birdcage, which was full of well dressed people and they (thank god) knew how to make a dirty martini. my bartender in Bali didn't know how to make one :( almost fell asleep in the car on the way back.



Jatu and Decee (all the way on the right) will pick me up today and we are gonna go see Monas, the national monument and try and find me a kebaya to wear with my batik sarong.



oh! and Sari's brother is coming into town from tonight through Tuesday, so all the rooms in the house will be full, as her parents have been staying here since she's been sick.

blog later :)

my last days in Bali

tuesday 12th: went shopping in Kuta Beach, bargained for some tshirts and wrap-around batik dresses and those people are ruthless! you gotta walk away and they'll come running back after you. Laila picked me up at the hotel and we stopped by Ku De Ta, an expensive and fabulous restaurant, bar and lounge in Seminyak that Sari had told me to visit. Kate Moss had a party there when she visited Bali sometime ago. it was crazy windy still, so we just took a pic and headed back to the house. Anchit, Laila and their two boys, Mir and Kavi took me to Ultimo, an Italian restaurant in Seminyak for dinner and it was delicious. Anchit is originally from India and speaks wonderful, proper English and his son Kavi is the most polite little man you have ever met. decided to stay in Bali with Laila until friday the 15th, and so I had to buy a new plane ticket and forfeit the one for the 13th. the longer stay was worth it though :)

wednesday the 13th: woke up with Laila and dropped the kids off at their private school, then hung out at the house. had Balinese coffee and breakfast pastries at Ninih's house. went home and watched the movie Waitress, which I bought in Kuta (awesome burned copy). I highly recommend this movie, so much heart. had lunch with Laila and Irma, her partner at The Bali Services, where they work from Laila's home and organize private villa rentals. one of the maids then took me to Seminyak on her motorbike (yes, I wore a proper helmet this time), about a 15 min ride and dropped me off. did some browsing and when Laila and Irma picked me up a few hours later, I had a birthday card for Kavi and started blowing up ballooons in the car. we sang for him and had a birthday dinner and chocolate cake, which Laila shoved into her son's face while laughing hysterically. he had apparently seen it done to someone and requested that for a future birthday it be done to him. we then watched a bootleg copy of Across The Universe, the Beatles movie, which was wonderful. great songs and story and everything.

thursday the 14th: happy valentine's day! places do celebrate it, but we didn't so anything special. dropped the kids off at school, Laila drove me to Denpasar to go to the market and see all the stalls and fruit and such. bought some snake fruit- the outer shell feels like snake skin, but it is sweet and tasty. spent the rest of the afternoon at the house lounging and then got dressed and we headed to The Beach House at Echo Beach for dinner. I picked out a snapper filet on the seafood bbq buffet and it was delicious. Ninih joined us, as she had decided to move to Solo to join her fiance, so it was a tearful goodbye for Laila, as Ninih will be moving while Laila and Anchit are in Singapore for vacation through the end of next week. oh! and I got a drink called Arak Attack, which is Balinese Arak (rice alcohol), sprite and lime juice and it was delicious. and I forgot to mention that all of this dinner took place in the middle of a monsoon. it was crazy windy and rainy like no other. definately would not have made for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner since you practically had to shout to the person across the table from you.

friday the 15th: finished packing, driver picked up Anchit, Laila and I to go to the airport. they were flying about an hour after me for their trip, so we shared a car. stopped at the Bintang supermarket and I bought some goodies to take home, along with some Balinese coffee (completely ground, you put it in your cup and add the water, stirring the coffee powder in- it's delicious and doesn't need milk once you add the sugar. it's black as death though) and a bottle of Arak. had to pack it in the bag and thankfully it didn't break in the luggage! got to the Air Asia counter and my bag was 27kg OVER THE FREE BAGGAGE LIMIT of 15kg. so at Rp 20.000 per excess kg, I had to pay Rp 500.000, which was a little over $50. I was also told that they have a baggage limit of 32kg, but they let me go anyways. I have no idea what I would have done if I couldn't get that bag home. I went crazy shopping on presents. AND I had to carry a painting and a woodcarving on the plane. few hours later I was back in Jakarta and it started to rain the moment I got into the house. WELCOME HOME! spent the evening with Sari, who is still being cared of by her parents. she gets yelled at if she gets out of bed.

saturday the 16th: had to take Sari to the hospital for one more blood test. then we went to Sari's grandmother's house (Sari's mom's mom), who I previously saw at the family reunion in Bandung. she was extremely happy to see me and tried to feed me even more than Sari's mom does on a regular basis. we had lunch, but she kept insisting (in English) that I have some of the chicken soup with chicken feet. I told her they scared me. she still loves me though, as she told me I have to come and stay with her the next time I come to visit. "when will this be?" she asked. "when Sari gets married again". this got a chuckle out of everyone. now I am posting this in Sari's room as she sleeps and about to check on the laundry I just put in the washer. tonight, Jutu (Sari's boss) is taking me to their friend's wedding reception and for a girl's night out. looking forward to it :)

good intentions and sand storms

both yesterday and today I woke up to a rooster crowing early in the am. delightful. that's sarcasm. yesterday I woke up and decided that I will not be traveling to Yoyga and was trying to extend my trip to the 14th, but Air Asia would only grant me an extension of leaving a day later on the 13th, without having to buy a new ticket. so I will be staying at Laila's house again tonight and leave Bali at 9pm on wed the 13th- just in time for Valentine's Day with Sari!

I went to the pool with all the best intentions of getting a fabulously dark tan and I should realize by now that this does not happen to me after a short period of time; that it must happen after several, several days in the sun with suncreen on. in the end, I didn't reapply as quickly as I should when I got out of the pool and yes, I got a sunburn. it looks like I am wearing a white bikini no joking! the front and back of me are red, but my sides are completely untouched by the sun, so I feel like some kind of weirdly painted racing car! vrrrrrrrooooommmm! and this morning, it hurts, even after buying aloe vera and walking around my hotel last night watching the Grammy Awards and letting my body cool off.

after the pool, I headed inside for some tv and Harry Potter reading (which I finished by the way and will be leaving books 6 and 7 for the hotel library). and then I made the decision of all decisions: it was bungy jumping time! I called up AJ Hackett to make sure they were still doing jumps b/c it was crazy windy yesterday (and continued onto today). they were, so I got in a taxi and headed over. there were tons of people, given the winds, but I paid for my regular jump, talked to the guys I was going up with and waited till it was my turn.

now, I am not joking about these winds. it was serious. I was afraid that I would swing side to side and hit something after I jumped, but it was cool. I would have gone at sunset, but a storm came and it was getting dark when I jumped. I didn't let go of the rail for a few seconds and then I just jumped out. I think this might have been the first of the 3 times I have done this (Cairns, Australia and Las Vegas), where I actually jumped and soared out. it was awesome. and after you do it once, you want to do it again. but they actually had to postpone some of the jumps b/c of the high winds. got a taxi home and took a shower. walked to a nearby Shanghai restaurant b/c I didn't want to walk far, as it was blowing all the sand from the beach to the road. after putting lotion on, my body was covered in sand that was blowing through the air. even this computer is grimey with sand particles. bought some aloe vera and as I was going to bed, the hotel lights shut off! the electricity had gone out due to the storm and this happened a few hours later while I was sleeping. you could hear it go off it was so loud.

now it's morning and I am at Rosso Vivo having breakfast and using the internet. a bit overcast today, but I have to pack (late checkout at 2pm) and will go to the market until Laila comes and gets me tonight. not much else, it will be nice to see Sari again, who got home from the hospital last night but is till on bed rest. looking forward to some down time with her in Jakarta, although it's a crazy city and I don't think you could pay me enough to live there. probably won't post till thursday and I'll give ya a Sari update :)