My Immortal

So we've been really into superhero movies lately.  It all started when I allowed BA to go to a birthday party where they were going to see The Avengers in the theater.  For the most part they are okay, but some of them are still pretty dark.  (I won't let them see the new Batman ones yet.)  Anyway, we rented an oldie the other night.  Daredevil.  I remember liking it, but not much else.  I probably shouldn't have let them watch it.  During some parts, the kids had pretty horrified looks on their faces.  I'll be more careful.

Do you remember that part when Electra is kicking some major butt in a room with hanging sandbags? Well, that left an impression on the boys.  First thing after waking up the next morning, G asked me if we had any sandbags he could hang from the ceiling.  Huh.  No, no we don't.

We settled on a couple of the girls' stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling fan.  I realize I don't always think things through, but nothing was permanently damaged, so we're good.

Daredevil is pretty cool.  They should make another movie.

Pick Up All Your Floor Bags

Since I'm just about caught up on my blog (all but Europe) I've been thinking a lot about why my blog sucks.  There are a bunch of reasons.  I think blogging in general has become less interesting.  Most people have stopped writing, and stopped reading.  That's okay for me because I didn't have that many readers to begin with, but I don't read a lot of blogs anymore either.  And unfortunately I'm inspired by other's blogs.  Another big reason is because I don't 'think' blogging anymore.  I used to take pictures with a story in mind.  It was good for me.  I liked writing and thinking that way.  My blog isn't like that anymore, and it's boring.  I know this.  But I think the main reason (one of the main reasons?) is because when my life changed drastically, I tried to make my blog stay the same.  I didn't want my blog to be taken over by how different my life has become.  I wanted it to stay only being a story of our family life.  But I'm realizing that where I live, and what we are doing, is so much a part of our family life that when I try to keep it out, I end up not saying anything at all.  I think I was afraid if all I talked about was Jakarta, and how strange it was, my friends and family would get annoyed by my blog.  So I ended up not blogging about day to day life as much.  I got the big events in, but even then I felt like I was just doing it to get it done.  Which is good since this is my journal, but not great.  I even tried to start up a new blog all about life in Jakarta, but that didn't work out either.  I just sucked at both blogs.  I also worried that if I talked about Jakarta too much people would think I'm miserable and it is horrible here.  It's not.  I'm very happy, but it seems when I think of things to write, it's always about the wacky stuff.  I have a lot of complaints, yes, and that is usually the funnest stuff to write about. :)  And of course, one last reason is because I've been lazy.  

Well, it's going to be different now.  I'm just going to blog about whatever I want.  Even if I know no one cares.  I really regret all the stories I should have, could have told and I didn't.  So if you're out there, this thing is probably going to get even less interesting for you.  But in a way, maybe it will be more interesting because I'll have my creative writing back.  I hope.

So, how I'm feeling about moving away from here for good?  Well, for now.  There is always a chance we could end up here again.

I'm not going to miss Jakarta.  A lot of the choices we made here turned out to be bad ones.  And they were really bad as to effect our life incredibly.  Right now I'm feeling like I'm ready to just put the whole experience behind me.

This was my first go at living overseas and I didn't do a good job.  It was a learning post.  And I learned a lot.  I'm not going to talk about all of it, but for one, I was never prepared for anything.  I'm not a good planner by nature, and you really have to be on top of it when you live overseas.  You have to be ready for holidays and birthdays and special breakfasts and movie night.  Nothing is right there waiting for me.  I have to be on.  I'm not organized.  I'm not on.  I have to work harder, but I love my spontaneity.  So there's a bit of a struggle there.  There's lots of other things too, but that was a big one for me.

But at the same time, this is a very emotional event.  Jakarta is filled with firsts.  Everything will forever be compared to our life here.  Our first overseas post as a family.  It's a big deal.  So when I think of those things, the emotional ties Jakarta has to my family and our experiences, I think I will miss it a bit.

That is my watered down version of something that I could talk about for hours.  But I'm done.  That's enough.  I'm good. 

*****

I went furniture shopping the other day.  And I bought something.  It's a miracle really.  I don't like spending money especially if I don't know if I'm getting a good deal or if I'm being taken.  That's always the challenge when shopping here.

Here's the store I bought from.  See that opening between the two stacks of furniture?  That's the path to get to the front door.  These shops are pretty typical on the 'furniture street' right by my house.  There are many fancy ones too, but I happened to find what I wanted in this one.

That's the front door.  Furniture is stacked to the ceiling everywhere.  Those men weren't super happy when I asked if they could take the bench I was interested in outside so I could see it properly.  There was no light inside.  Only what came through a small window.

Chelisa took a picture of me in one of the open areas around where they just took out the benches.

Inside it was hot and stinky.  It smelled like pee.  Hopefully cat pee?  I also saw a rat scuttle by.  Maybe it's rat pee?  Either way, it was gross, but I was almost sure I found exactly what I wanted.

This is it!  I wanted something Indo looking but not too huge.  It needed to be durable enough to survive traveling, but not a million pounds.  And since I never know what my houses are going to look like, it needed to be versatile.  I think I found it.  I was so excited, especially because he only asked 1.5 mil for it.  And since I'm a bargainer (I hate it, but I do it) I didn't even pay that much.

I also decided to get the 2 smaller ones.  He will refinish them and deliver them to me.  I got all three pieces, all refinished, for about $250.  I'm calling it a success.  Don't tell me if you don't think so.

Since I got my camera out, and we were all excited to make a sale, I thought it would be fun to take a picture with the guy running the store.  He obliged.  So I stood by him, and he wrapped his arm around me.  It was weird but I went with it.  Then he started holding on pretty tight.  I laughed and made the mistake of looking at his face.  Since the guy was shorter then me, I practically looked him right in the eyes.  He was close!  After the shot, I was ready to be done so I walked away.  But I wasn't fast enough because he planted his sweaty, whiskery lips on my cheek for a kiss.  Oh brother.

Another lesson learned:  Don't take pictures with dudes you just gave a million rupiah to.  They are much too daring at that point.

Past The Green Line

Dare had a medical unit in school, and at the end they have a clinic.  We made appointments, and the doctors checked us out.

Love Dare's exasperated look.

G is getting his interview.  He said he has 1/2 glass of milk a week and exercises for 60 hours a week.  She also asked if he did regular stretches to keep his body healthy.  He said he does every morning when he wakes up.

Checking Mads' lungs.

Then Manu had an appointment.

Afterwards, I had lunch with the girls.

When I met them, they were already eating.  I noticed quite a bit of space at their table.  All of the other tables were crammed with kids.  Then I noticed a line of their lunch boxes blocking off the other end of the table.  They use their lunch boxes to make sure no one sits by them.  They were all spread out and comfy.  So those 4 girls sit at a table where 10 or 12 kids could sit.  Rhon says she glares at anyone who even thinks about sitting there.

Then I watched them play on the playground.  They played tag with the boys.  They wanted me to play, but I declined.  Call me boring, but I would have gotten way too sweaty.  And I hate sand.  Sand belongs on the beach, and on the beach only.

Ready or Not

BA's birthday/going away party.  She wanted to have it a few weeks early.

You're Grounded!

So, this was taken on April 4.  Exactly 4 weeks from the day we leave Jakarta for good.  Well, I guess we could come back, but here's to hoping we don't! :)  If you ask them what the peace signs are for, they will tell you they aren't peace signs.  They are just showing how many weeks we have left.  "Four weeks?"  {Said Finn style}

This would be a good time to talk about Jakarta, and how I feel about it, and how I feel about having 4 weeks (3 now) left.  But I'm not ready yet.

We Saw Java Man

The boys and I went to the National Museum.  Nothing like a month left at a place to get you to do something you've wanted to do for almost 2 years.

This is what the Wayang puppet stages look like.  I didn't have my camera when I saw the actual show, so it is nice to have this picture.  The stage is filled with musicians, and the puppet guy works in the back near the screen.

It was a pretty cool museum.  I'm glad we went.

And we didn't actually see Java Man.  We saw a replica.  The real Java Man is in Europe.

Spring Break 2013

And then there was spring break.

This spring break was special because I decided it was a great opportunity to go through everyone's stuff to get ready for the move.  Obviously everyone was very excited.  I didn't get any pictures of their crazy messy rooms and excited faces while we were doing it, but I did get some of the other activities we did that week. 

Monday...

Coloring the boys' hair.  It seemed like a fun idea until I noticed a red tint all over the couches and chairs from marker rubbing off.  We won't be doing that again.

Tuesday...

Another fun activity I had planned was to get our shots up to date.  Add that to cleaning rooms, and spring break might be more fun than one can handle.  We went to the American Club for lunch first, and then to the medical unit.  Then we went to the commissary to get treats afterwards.  They deserved them.  Unfortunately, no one bought a treat for me.  I got shots too!

BA had to get 4.  She is tough.

G had to get 4 also.  He is tough.

Mads had to get only 2.  Didn't even phase him.

Two for Rhon.  Rocked it.

Dare was a little worried, but she kicked those two shot's butts.

Wednesday we cleaned the sun room.  That might have been the worst room.  It was a 2-dayer.  After a few hours of hard work, we decided to go see a movie.

The Croods in 3D.  We brought Teagan with us.

That night we also had soto ayam.  It's an Indonesian chicken soup.  A family favorite.  I want to make it for everyone to try!

Thursday...

                                                      

Thursday we cleaned out the garage (I know, I'm so fun!) and we ran into this guy.  He is about the size of the palm of my hand.  Not small.  I could not kill him for many reasons.  Most of them moral, like he's too big, he's only in the garage, and things like that.  But most of all, I wasn't sure my bug spray would work on something that size.  And I was sure as heck not going to get close enough to smash it, even if I could.  Which I can't.  I just barely started smashing ants.  So I brought the box he was in outside the garage, and kicked it around a few times until he scampered away.  He was fast, and freaky, and he ran straight into our yard.  I should have killed him.  Because now I always wonder where he is.

Friday...

Since Good Friday is a national holiday here (ironic) Nate was home.  So that meant the swimming we did was filled with children being chucked into the pool.

Also on Friday, we painted eggs.  Luckily we were able to find white eggs.  They were all different sizes.  It was quite unusual.  This was a late-night egg painting party.  We started after 9.

For some reason the last few times we have painted eggs, the color kind of just wipes off.  It's weird, and all of our eggs end up looking like little planets.  It's still fun, if not more fun.  The product is just not as pleasing to the eye.

Saturday...

The Easter Bunny came!  This was one holiday treat time that I was actually prepared.  I bought candy and toys online and had them weeks ago.  I won't mention the fact that the kids always get a book for Easter, and that didn't happen.  Or the fact that the candy, albeit delicious, didn't have much variety.  You win some, lose some.

You could probably tell that there is some sarcasm in this post.  Especially the part where I wrote BA is tough.  :)  But it really was a great week.  We enjoyed our time together, and got a lot done.  Now pack-out won't be so stressful.

Beginning And Ending With Chocolate

The next morning we had one of my favorite breakfasts of all time.  It was fun making it, it was fun eating it, it was fun sitting on the porch to eat it, and those people are fun.

Just enjoying the ability to sit in nice grass, breathing nice air, and not sweating.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to get a non-silly shot of Mads ever again.  He takes after his dad.

Then the fog rolled in.

We promised the kids a fire.  They had their sticks all carved and ready for roasting their own hot dog.  

Drying their feet.  They got a little wet from running around in the grass and mist.

Whoops!  It looks like we had the corn that night. :)

The fire was a big hit.  They played with it for a few hours.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to buy marshmallows.  Very disappointing.  We had hot chocolate instead.

That was day two.

The next day we just cleaned up and went home.

I got this shot of the grounds as the sun was coming up.  It is so beautiful there.  This is definitely the part of Indonesia I want to remember.