Been trying to cook recently or rather I should say learn how to cook.  Burnt the guo tie last saturday, the kiam chye has no taste today (cooking bak ku teh).  What else can go wrong?  Maybe the rice will be burnt too later?  It was supposed to be a teochew bak ku teh meal for dinner later but alas now there is only a pot of soup that is still boiling (which I really think is going to taste horrid).  Life sucks.

Been westling with the helper over how things should be placed in the kitchen.  I think its really my mummy’s way of doing things that are rubbing off me (she is a cleanliness freak).  But like someone else was saying the other day at dinner, since the helper is the one that is going to be cooking most of the time I should just let her organized the kitchen because there is simply no space for two bosses in the kitchen.  Well.

Venture into the wet markets today at Chinatown or rather an area call Pluit and a market call MuraKarang.  Went with my helper and driver to the wet market today.  Was literally stuck in the jam for 1 hour before we arrived at our destination.  When they came up with the term “wet market” they were not kidding because the market was really wet, dark, dirty and stinky.  The meat were all strewn nicely on the counter tops and you have pork hanging from the racks at the pork section, you have chickens in the chicken cages in the chicken section, which I siam of course.  You have all kinds of vegetables that will leave you momentarily confused as to what to buy.

Knowing how I am when confused, even a buying guide in hand did not help much because I went into a buying fenzy, which I am now trying to put them all into my tiny fridge in the apartment.  After buying my stuff, as I was walking back to the car, I realised that I am really my own boss (in a way), there in front of me I have two people helping me carry my barang barang.  Its therefore not a coincidence that the ladies here are not petite, what do they have to do to burn energy?  But thats not going to happen to me because I am going to go search for my running shoes and head for the gym.

Before that let me do something about that porkie smell.

Was chatting with a friend over MSN, which made me think about mid night suppers in Singapore.  Thats one thing I am beginning to miss.  The convenience of living in Singapore.  Typically here in Jakarta, I realised that its not that people don’t drive around at night but rather where to go late at night?  Besides safety issues (I still think its all right at the moment), the shopping centres are closed, the food outlets are also closed, there is no midninght screenings at the cinema (I assume), the more well to do who have their own drivers (because it can be quite tiring to drive in jakarta with all the jams) will not be able to to get around because their drivers would have gone back.  So I asked myself, what is there to do late at night in Jakarta, basically nothing, except lounge at home and be a couch potato. 

Just finished watching “24″. I know, I am a little out-dated given that having first started showing in 2001, its already into its 6th season and here I am only watching season 1. Its a really intense serial that will keep you wanting to watch it continuously just to know whats going to happen next.

As the title of the show indicates (24), it means that each episode is on the happenings of the characters in the show over one hour. Which means 24 equals 24 hours which equals 24 episodes. Imagine having to wait 24 weeks to just watch 24 episodes. Quite tough if I have to watch it week by week on television. But, thanks to the invention of DVDs, ha, I don’t have to do that.

So who wants to borrow?

Well lets call our new car Papa Smurf.  Papa Smurf is finally here.  It ID is XX33.  So for those who wanna strike it rich this saturday, email me for the first 2 digits.    Will post its suave picture when I get a chance

Now I don’t have to test luck everytime I attempt to go out by cab since I will have my own transport to go around (& I do not mean drive on my own).  Its a nightmare to drive in Jakarta, tried last Saturday night and I nearly freaked out.  Its been a hell of a long time since I drove a manual car and its no easy feat.  I hope I do not have to repeat it anytime soon.  Give me a auto anytime.  But I can seriously say that I am quite good at parking, I manged to park our MPV.  B Mao can vouch for me.

I must really give myself a big pat on the back for a “good job well done”.  Our boxes came today and in less than a day, I unloaded all 36 boxes of things and they are now nicely placed where they should be (for now). 

My food stuff came, my rice cooker came (yes, finally I get to eat rice, instead of bur-bur which is porridge).  Can’t wait to eat a good meal, but well since its going to be cooked by me, guess we will have to keep it down a little.

Was just thinking, just been here for about 3 weeks and I have this sense of being out-dated.  I miss Singapore.  I miss home.  I miss my mother’s cooking, okay I miss her nagging.  I miss seeing my sister in the next room, plus her nonsense and crappiness.  I miss my dad’s laughter, plus his ultra crappy jokes aka Moses Lim.  I miss Singapore’s hot weather.  I miss the greenery.  I miss my friends too.  But well, on the other hand, I get to see B mao every day which should make up for everything.  Give and take huh.

Watched “The holiday”. Add some romance elements with the spirit of christmas, wala you get into the mood. Simply love Jude Law in the show. Talking about which, I am so looking forward to “Music and Lyrics”, going to grab the sound track too as soon as my sis gets to Jakarta. Though nothing beats Jerry Macguire.

Gave a go at pottery today. Its really not for the faint hearted. My pottery teacher Haryo is quite young chap in his early or mid thirties. The classes are conducted in his house and his house is a mess of clay, work benches, wheels for clay moulding (aka GHOST… all my love, my darling), a big kiln and all the other barang barang.

You can come as and when you like between 9 to 1 in the afternoon. The class works in a way that you come in, you let him know what you wanna make today and he will get the clay and get you started, this is only for those who have past the beginners stage and are more experience in handling the clay. For super beginners like me, I was taught the basics of pottery whereby I did pinching, which is to slowly mould the items by hand. For today’s first lesson, he told me to make 6 bowls. He showed me one step and I did on my own for the next 5 bowls then he hopped around to the other students who were coming progressively. Being quite kaypoh, every now and then when new students come in, I will looked at what they are doing and I noticed that all of his students were japanese ladies and they were all busy making sushi trays and tea pots, which is not easy at all. I was the first to arrive with Pottery gal who intro me to this class and I was the last to finish all my bowls. I actually took more than 3 hours to finish 6 bowls and Pak Haryo can finished making 1 bowl in 15 minutes. Now that I have finished moulding my bowls, I can’t wait for him to fire the things in the kiln and paint my bowls, get it fire in the kiln again and I will have my finished products. Yippie. My bowls like a little out of shape and too weird for eating rice in, but Pak suggested jokingly that at the very least it can still be ice cream bowls.

When I say that pottery classes are tiring and difficult, I am not kidding.  At the end of the lesson, I was so tired and stoned out that I slept super early last night.  Demi Moore really made pottery looked darn easy in the movie Ghost, because its really not chicken feet.

The toilet got choked yesterday, flooded the whole toilet.  First time, I’ve seen how a toilet can be filled with waters to the ankle, amazing!  It had to happened when I was about to go to bed.

My new helper Ragil is here today, here most of the time we addressed woman as Ibu and the man as Pak.  In restaurants or service staff, we call the man as Mas and woman as Bak, something like that.

Going to go Mangga Dua with Cat later to look at beddings and linens, plus jalan jalan abit.

Settled into our new place at last, after a few days of unpacking and tidying up coupled with some of dearie’s grumpiness.  We are finally living in our new home.

The first night at our new home needed some getting used to, we are one of the first few occupants in the apartment block and looking around, not many people have moved in because all around was darkness come night time.  I’ve got to mention that we have got a good view of the surrounding because the area around us tend to be lower and the high rise office blocks and apartments are quite a distance away.  I was watching TV last night, when I thought I heard the door knocking - sounds scary.  Hopefully when dearie goes away for his work trip I can managed on my own

We were also bedsheet hunting yesterday at Metro and Sogo when we came across this brand call Frette, their bedsheets were so soft and we were seriously contemplating getting them because it was the only set with bedsheet, pillowcase sheet, bloster sheet and duvet covers.  Then we realised that instead of fitted sheets it was flat sheet whereby instead of having elastic bands at the corner to hold the bedsheet in the mattress, you need to fold the sheets in neatly like the hotel.  So after I made an expensive long distance phone back to my mummy, we decided not to buy.  So from Metro we crossed to Sogo, and we saw the same brand again.  The discovery we made were that, that particular brand had everything because the whole set costs like 19,000,000 which was like Sing dollars 2,000.  No wonder it has everything.  Thank god, subsequently we found a set going at 70% off and feels good too, plus nice