Its been a while since I last posted and there has been a lot of sweat going on around here, and, and and get this, went to a place that sold pitchers of beer for 50,000 rupiah, the cheapest I have since beer anywhere in the country, anyway.
The school has been inundated with power outs and that has meant bad teaching, bad standards, bad reports, no internet, no lights, no smiles and lots of sweaty unhappy people.
Actually Thursday was not so bad at the school. by the time I got there the power was off and by 5pm it had come on and so life could go on kinda like normal. It meant I was able to get some work done and sort things out but not as much as I would like.
However on getting home, riding though Tanjun Duren which is normally alive with people, buses, sounds, a strange man wearing huge headphones and a whistle and always shouting at the traffic all were not present. I guess the fact there was no power in the street at all meant there would be no electricity at home. Right as normal the basement at the apartment was in half light which meant no power in the apartment.
Luckily I had my Ipod and some beer so I managed to get through the evening, helped by a telephone call from Jon in England which did me a lot of good and cheered me right up.
Friday morning was met with the news of the Earthquake in Sumarta and the rising damage and destruction from the previous day. Packed for the gym, barely able to move my arms, off I went. The school was in light but the warning that we should be in darkness soon makes for a dull afternoon.
Then it happened. 5pm off go the lights. Up rise the temperatures. A 7 year old student decided to lock himself in the computer i lab at 3 and by 5 he was pretty much bored and still refused to come out. The locksmith also failed to open the door, some use he was and so the office boy ended up cutting through the wall to get him out, all to the amusement of this child who was determined to just create mischief. At 6pm with his mother still shopping and his nanny unable to control him he eventually decided to go home much to the relief of everyone at the school. I left at 7 in the dark. Yovita had told me that it was raining in the city and so that was an omnious sign and so right on cue, hot and sweaty, it rained. It rained all the way home to the apartment leaving me totally fed up and soaked and so bollocks to the gym I came home and sat in the power cut apartment for a second night. However being bored I decided to really find out if I had an emergency socket that might work like the lights did and hey presto yep, so with 3 long leads, TV is on, the fan is on and I have power and tv and almost a normal evening again.
Friday was a bad day at work it started badly and then got worse.
Shopping on a Saturday in Jakarta, thats a hot Saturday mind was fun. Off to blok M plaza for coffee and a look about and then a quick ride to blok M pasa rayar for Batik and cheap indo stuff and surprisingly nothing is cheap and I found a shirt for 3 million rupiah and it was not all that special.
So off again to Mentang to the key Keris clothing store and plenty of batik and gifts which once money spent led us to lunch. Pizza and a beer in a good restaurant in Mentang then home. Quick jump in the swimming pool and then a little sleep before going out.
This night we were invited to another DoS's birthday bash at the marina at Sunda Kelapa (old harbour) and we were sat in a garden overlooking the sea and had a nice breeze, the cheapest of beer at 50,000 a pitcher (litre and a half) good food and even better company and so that was a good. The evening ended early and then back home.
Sunday was cleaning and laundry and all sorts sorts of things to do and then some more sleep while I wait for Yovita to arrive. It rained and rained and so that was not a good sign of things to come.
We were off to a wedding reception of an ex teacher and so we left in plenty of time to have photos, eat and generally stand about. However the first taxi's radiator sort of blew up so we had to get out and find another and then the traffic was in a stand still and it took at least an hour to get to the reception, by which time the whole event was over. Some of the teachers were still there but we stayed only 15 minutes and then left. A quick photo with the bride and off we went.
Can you believe I am watching Titanic while typing this? luckily its the bit where everyone drowns so thats cheery. The violins have just stopped playing.
Today started with rain and good intentions of being a good start to the week but as I was about to find out that was all to change. Around 2pm no power. So that meant, hot sweaty teachers, students and nothing getting done. It is such a waste of time. But what to do.
I hung around until 7 and watched the lightning and listened to the thunder as guessed it would rain, luckily I guessed wrong and so I managed to get to the gym dry. An hour later I left the gym, it seems I have lost some weight albeit 1 kilo but thats a start.
And home and titanic. I am complaining I have 60 channels and this is all there is? Shite............
So thats was the weekend, not so bad. I am hoping the power outages will cease immediately and that tomorrow the window cleaners will come back and do my windows as they gave this morning in the rain. Also I need to was the bike as it now officially very very dirty.
I guess I will have to think about the news that I will need to find somewhere to live in March as it appears the landlady may not want to rent the apartment next year. Mixed feeling with this, good that I can move again, bad that it will cost me money. I am thinking of either another apartment or maybe a Kost which is a boarding house. I am sure I could get a good place for about 1 million a month, but thats March.
The best news is that it is only 16 days to Thailand.
Yeay..................
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