Pieces of me in letters

It’s December 31 2008, a little past noon. Year 2009 is coming in less than 12 hours!

I am in a pretty good mood now. The sun shines, clear blue sky… listening to Alicia Keys and thinking I want to just write something light on this posting, about my daily life as a housewife :)

I cook almost everyday and I can proudly say that my husband is the biggest fan of my cooking Having plenty of free time in my hands, I cook many different things, experimenting with new recipes or just trying to use the tips I got from that cooking channel I watch on TV. I baked dinner roll, and cinnamon rolls for breakfast (and no, I didn’t use that store-bought dough or cinnamon-rolls-in the-canister thing. It was all from flour, yeast, milk, butter, etc put together). Cooked different kinds of Indonesian food (my husband loved my springrolls and spicy shredded chicken with kaffir-lime leaf) and I recently invented my own asian-noodle-and-turkey-meatball-soup-with-Italian-twist. Got very good fresh Chinese noodle from Asian supermarket, very flavourful turkey broth and some left-over dinner rolls that I both made, and some ground turkey that just happened to be in the fridge… and voila! My husband had almost never eaten the same thing for dinner two nights in row, but he happily ate noodle-and-turkey-meatball for dinner two nights in a row And last night I made my first Indonesian beef curry ever, from all-fresh ingredients (except for the coconut milk, I used canned ones… made my life ALOT easier :P). The curry is called kalio, which is actually rendang but not as dry. It contains alot more thick sauce like regular curry. I cooked it for a couple of hours on the stove, then continue the cooking process in a slow cooker for about 5 hours. Also added mini potatoes (about quail-egg size) because my husband and I love potatoes. The result was amazing! The beef and potatoes held up their shape surprisingly well against the long cooking process, but were very very very tender. And the sauce was just great with white rice (probably good too with some rustic bread or pita bread too, I think). YUM-O! Both my husband and I had a second of the curry (couldn’t help it… it was just so yummy!). I guess now I have to admit that my husband was right when he said I made him fat (in a good way) :P 

I wish everybody a very happy new year! (^_^)

Paulo Coelho is my favourite author. Possibly you know that already from my previous posting(s) about him. I went to the book store last week to get his newest novel “Brida”. It was my first time to go to a book store in this city, and I was kinda excited. Went straight to the “Literature” section, and looked up for the novel. Not one Paulo Coelho’s book was there. Not even his most popular book “The Alchemist”. How strange! But then I thought… maybe I looked in the wrong section. Maybe Paulo Coelho’s books were displayed in “Novel” or “Fiction” section (although thinking about it made me feel a little disturbed…). So I looked around… but no “Novel” or “Fiction” section in the store. Went back to the “Literature” section and checked the books displayed there. Just what I thought… novels! But why Paulo Coelho’s books were not there???

I told my husband that I couldn’t find the book. He looked at me in disbelief and asked if I had looked in the right place. I said I couldn’t find it in “Literature” section and I didn’t know where else to look for it. We found a computer and looked up for Paulo Coelho in the book store database. It did come up… and none of us could believe what we saw. The books were displayed in the “Methaphysics” section!!! 
Although we were both thinking the database might be wrong… we decided to go look anyway. The book store clerk showed us the “Metaphysics” section, apparently a small section in the far corner of the store. And… the books were all there!!!! Waaaa…….

Paulo Coelho does write about spiritual journey in most - if not all - of his books… but I don’t think it’s suitable to be categorized as “Metaphysics”. His books should be displayed in the “Literature” section because of the beauty of Paulo Coelho’s words and sentences, and the stories that inspire people.

I am still reading “Brida” and so far so good Will probably tell you about it when I am done.

A little over two weeks since my last posting. I can happily say that I have made progress in adjusting to this new city

The most important progress: I’ve made new friends! Yattaaaaa!!! I feel extremely lucky because it’s almost too good to be true. It was all started when I sent an e-mail to local Indonesian community association  mailing list, asking where I could purchase Indonesian herbs and spices. Many kind replies, but one reply was more than kind. She said she knew good stores to get everything I needed, and in fact she would be very happy to take me to those stores! Waa!
We exchanged phone numbers, and made plan to meet up. I suggested that we meet up somewhere near a train station downtown (habit from Tokyo!). But she said she would just pick me up because she had some work to do near my neighborhood anyway. And so she did, and she took me around the city and to her house to see her husband who worked from home. Irma, my new friend, is a very talkative and very genki Indonesian girl. Her husband Anthony is from Greece. They just got married about 7 months ago. A relativey newly wed just like my partner and I. When I arrived at their house, I saw a boat in the garage. Later I found out that Anthony and my partner have quite a bit in common. They both have a boat, they like fishing, and they both have a jeep to pull their boat
Later that day Irma’s friend Lorein came over and three of us went to have dinner in China Town. Food was great, and we had so much fun together. Like Irma, Lorein is a very talkative and genki girl. She is hilarious too!
Last weekend Irma threw a pot luck party at her house, for her friend Carlos who just finished his first marathon ever, and for me (^_^). Food was great. Indonesian, Mexican, Greek, Indian, and so many other things! So much fun!
Thank you Irma… for everything!

Apparently there was no need to show ticket to ride the train. The old mas asked me where I was going, and told him I wanted to go downtown. Fortunately he was also heading downtown, and so we got on the train together.

The old man’s name was Garland. When he knew that I was new to the city, he kindly showed me around an area downtown where there were museums, park, and cafes. We parted ways, but then somehow met again at train station. We got on train together again, and finally said good bye when I had to transfer to another line. He gave me a little hug and wished me luck.

I came home with a big smile on my face. My partner was already home from work, earlier than ussual. He was happy to see me happy. I guess he was worried to see me unhappy the day before.

Adjusting to this new city is hard. I only have my partner and his families. I have no friends here and I miss my friends so bad. I guess it’s part of the adjustment process. I am struggling now… but I am sure things will get better over time.