The First Week in Indonesia

reading: blink - malcolm gladwell

---

So it's been a week since I was back from my travel. It felt good to be home and see family once again before going to Tegal to fulfill my promise to my boss that I would work here for another month or two after my travel. The last update about it, however, was that Ibu seemed to misunderstand my coming back here. She thought I would sign another year of contract, while I will NOT.
I love Tegal for a lot of reasons, but I just can't live here another year. No way. It's like wasting my precious youth here. I could have gone off partying somewhere in another part of Indonesia after working hard in the day time.. while in Tegal, I don't pretty much have that luxurious option. It's OKAY, of course, if I could compensate it with some short-distance traveling in the weekend. But that's not possible, either, cause Saturday is a working day!

SO the boss is coming next week, and I'll most probably have to negotiate the whole thing again. But for now, I just know that there's 85% chance of me moving to another place, Bali most likely, to get another job and a new life. So Pam and Mariza, prepare yourselves. I'm gonna bug you both for a short while until I get a job there. Hahaha!

I realise that I haven't written too much since I was back. It was just so easy to write when you're on vacation. But now back in real life, though I'm still very reachable via internet, my actions are mostly limited to opening emails and answering them, that's if I have more time before the next classes. :P I haven't been active, either, on DeviantArt or Usefilm or FN. There are just so many things to catch up, so many people to contact and so many things to do.

I'm starting to get my normal life back. I wake up every morning (at 6 normally). Early, I know. But the window in my room faces the east and the sun just shines too brightly it hurts my closed eyes. I need to get some curtains on, but I just don't wanna bother. I am not staying here too long. If it wasn't the sun -- when it gets cloudy and rainy it's just so nice to curl up in bed inside my blanket and enjoy longer sleep -- it would be Excel, Mba' Minda's 2 year-old son, who would cry so loudly in the morning. I haven't got another new cellphone since I soaked my brand new one in the pool last month, so I practically don't have an alarm clock. I have an alarm in my electronic organizer but the loudest sound it can produce is just a squeak -- which is not a very big help to wake me up. But Excel could be my alarm. Though he chooses the time when he should scream and cry to wake me up. Can't say it's too nice.

Anyway, I really like being back in Tegal and meet Ernie and the other friends. We seem to have not enough time to share our stories (Ernie just had her travel, too, for a month; and she's got "deeper" but happy stuff on her vacation). Everything is going so well for her and I'm happy for her. Sometimes I feel a little (just a little) envious, too, cause her boyfriend lives (though not too near) pretty close to her. She's definitely feeling head over toes and it's just good to see her like that.
We were talking last night and we agreed that things really happened for a reason. I was meant to move to Tegal last year (though I felt reluctant to) and she and Pam were meant it, too. The three of us WERE MEANT to meet one another, cause though not even one of us shares hardly any similarity, we fill one another perfectly well. Religious, nice, but tough Ernie; Wicked, Japanese-crazed, unique Pam; and Cool, sweet lovely me!

It's good to be friends with them, and I hope (and know) that we will always be good friends, no matter how far we live from one another in the future.

UPDATE! (after being forced to mention his name here. haha):

My dearest unmet brother, Johann Grimm, sent me a really nice book of "The Best Places to Kiss in Paris."
It was such a lovely surprise, especially when I was so worn out after traveling thinking that I might not want to travel to Thailand again. But the book encouraged me in the way that Europe was still my main travel aim. I'm working on it, darling brother. If all goes well, it should be next year. Get ready to show me those places!