Friday night all of us (including Decy's mom) went to LIS to hear the concert.  Lots of very very good music from the high school kids.  Chely's group was the last group to sing ... they did 3 songs.

Ok, so, for Chely's choir there was about 70 people ... Chely's in the soprano group (they don't break out 1st and 2nd).  The songs were very well done ... very well balanced.  On several occassions the director pointed to the sopranos to bring up the volume for a special part ... of the probably 8 sopranos only 2 had decent voices ... there in the auditorium ... with hundreds of folks listening and 70 kids singing you could clearly heart the sweet sound of Chely's voice lifting above the others ... crisp, clear, beautiful ... just like the director wanted.

Chely has so much untapped talent in music ... and, beginning next week she will be taking private singing lessons ... we are going to try to develop that God-given talent.

As for Thaysa ... we are still trying to find that 'sweet spot' for her and her talents ... for now, she is taking some modelling classes ... and will be in a few fashion shows at the end ... this should be a confidence builder for her.

Decy says that Fairus is going to take her and the girls to the TV production studio (not sure when as he is moving to England in a couple of weeks).  Fairus is going to re-introduce Decy to the staff (recall that Decy use to act in soap operas before we met) and the girls also.  He seems pretty confident that the girls will be offered some bit-parts (in due course) ... the girls are just not your normal Indonesians ... and their confidence and the way they carry themselves sets them apart from others.

RE the Cars - A-ok ... all is in place (Yeah).  Friday we released the rental car and driver.  Decy said that Pak Supandi (driver's name) cried a bit ... I understand he didn't have any work after this and was hoping he could be one of our permanent drivers ... but we had already chosen Pak (Mr.) Mustafa and Pak Mulyono.

RE the Palm House.  On Friday we received the QA/QC audit report .... as soon as the owner agrees to the list (which is pretty short) we can move towards executing the lease.  I figure it will be Friday next week at the earliest that the lease is actually executed.

After the lease is executed we will establish a firm move-in date ... organize security 2-3 days before move-in ... and then move in the furniture.  My best guess is the weekend of 13-14 October that we check out of the hotel and sleep in the house for the first time ... BUT, its not a done deal yet ... anything can still happen.

Amsouth still sucks !!!

Time to wake Decy up and for me to go get a 2 hr massage ...

ciao ciao.

Its end of the month (EOM) ... some good things to reflect on ... some bad things to reflect on ...

Good Thought - Purchase of cars complete

Good Thought - God loves me ! (and so does my mother)

Good Thought - One month closer to retirement

Good Thought - All sons doing well, daughters are progressing at LIS; Thasya started modelling classes, Chely starts singing lessons next week

Bad Thought - Lots of finger pointing on the Palm house ... 18 days later 2nd inspection is still not complete ... everybody says it is somebody else's fault ... I don't know where we are in this process ... at this pace we will be lucky to be moving into a house by the 13th of October

Bad Thought - Amsouth bank sucks

Good thought - I'm healthy and my weight is doing fine; massages help !

Bad Thought - hotel living is not fun after 2 months ...

Good Thought - Today is payday

Bad Thought - Today's paycheck is the last of the big ones (Indonesia is not nearly as financially attractive as Angola)

... ok, enough of that ... one last good thought ... IT'S FRIDAY !!

ciao ciao

The Good - Cars:  Progress on clear-coating and rust protection on the cars is going well ... Fortuner returned / CrV in the shop  ... security stickers for school and work are falling into place.  Overall, this process has worked pretty well ...and the foreign exchange rate movement has resulted in a savings of about $3,000 ... while Decy's good negotiations have saved us probably another $3,000 ... YEAH ...

The Bad - House: Delays continue on the Palm house.  The various groups responsible for the inspections on the house just don't "get it" ... apparently they think it is fun living in a hotel, family of 4, with teenagers, for months on end ... we just learned the 2nd inspection STILL is not done ... any hope of signing the lease and moving in by 7-Oct have pretty much disappeared ... barring divine intervention ....

The Ugly - Traffic.  Yesterday's weather was just fine, so that was not an issue.  But traffic was absolutely horrid last night ... frustrated over the lack of progress on the house ... I walked out of the office at 5pm ... had to wait 30 minutes for the driver to get out of the garage [due to traffic] then it took another 30 minutes just to get out of the parking lot ...  so ... 1 hour later I'm just leaving work .... got home at 655pm ... after my [very good] driver named Yono (nickname) took a jalan tikus ["shortcut" ... or literally "rat road"] and recovered 15-20 minutes of travel time.

Well ... today (Wednesday) is a new day ....

ciao ciao

Nothing to report on the Palm house (sadly).

CrV and Fortuner are alternating turns in the shop for clear-coating and rust protection .... takes 2 days each ... both will be done by Thursday/Friday ... costs for the 2 is about $700-800 ... that will come out of the "car purchase contingency funds".  Should release the rental car on Friday ... and just be operating with the two new cars and two new drivers .... OURS !!! YEAH.

I am now getting involved in recruiting and interviewing here in Indonesia.  I did a lot of the same while in Angola.  This is a bit of a challenge as you can appreciate - first, I have to look past any language barriers to carefully understand skills, strengths/weaknesses, yadi yadi yadi.  Second, is trying to find a "baseline".  What is a "good candidate" in Indonesia may not be a "good candidate" in Angola ... may be better ... may not be.  Right now, I can only judge candidates against the few Indonesians I've met that I consider "strong".  Ah well, nobody ever said this job was easy or boring or straightforward.

Also, getting very involved in the preliminary stages of the the installation of a new SAP reporting-accounting-purchasing-warehousing system.  Its a BIG deal and costs gazillions of dollars.  I was closely associated with the SAP installation in Angola.  It nearly killed me as I was responsible for bringing up the accounting and payroll sections ... it set the pace for my working 80-100 weeks for ~1.5 yrs ... then I had to implement the financial reporting system ... which was another set of 80-100 weeks for another 1.5 years ... those 3 years were a near blur.

Good news on SAP - this thing won't grow to a full head of steam until 2008 & 2009 ... and I won't be directly responsible for the implementation.

Bad news on SAP - I will probably still be around to help implement it, and folks will look to be for "guidance" b'coz of my experience.

Current assessment on this assignment - barring severe social unrest and insecurity ... or Avian flu issues .. it is likely this assignment will go more than 3 years.

Overall, that doesn't bother me too much ... as (a) I am spending a ton of money buying cars (and soon furniture) ... and don't want to have to sell everything at a loss in a couple of years ..... and (b) working here (say) 4-5 years puts me in perfect position to work 1 or 2 more assignments and then retiring early ..... yahoo !!!! what a wonderful goal.

ciao ciao ....

Decy and the Fortuner ....

Bill and the CrV ....

... NOT !!!! Don't you know a Harley when you see one?  Sorry ... don't have a pic of the CrV yet ...

ciao ciao ....

Bill and the CrV ....

... NOT !!!! Don't you know a Harley when you see one?  Sorry ... don't have a pic of the CrV yet ...

ciao ciao ....

Today (Sunday) begins the muslim month of fasting and (extra) prayer.  While I am not a muslim, I know that this is very serious for them ... they are not allowed to eat during daylight hours ... so they must get up VERY early ... eat, pray, work all day, pray, then eat ... and then try to get 4-6 hours sleep before starting again.  This goes on for a month.  It is very tough on their bodies and work and other things slow to a crawl ... especially in the afternoons.  Muslims and non-muslims have to adapt.

Speaking of adapting, many places that are normally open are now closed, so it is very important to check ahead on key places of dining and entertainment.  Case in point - massage businesses are under pretty strict orders to be closed ... UNLESS, they are located in certain areas, hotels, etc.  Our favorite place (called "Bersih Sehat", which means "clean and healthy") in the Majestic area is closed for one month ... but, Bersih Sehat in the Bintaro area is open ... so yesterday we went to Bintaro ... I don't fully understand the logic, but I can manage and adapt.

Here's one I don't understand .. but am thankful for. After the massage we went for Nasi Padang (Indonesian "buffet" from the area called "padang" on the island of Sumatra).  The men wore skull caps and the women wore jil-bobs (I'm sure I spelled that wrong).  Anyway, I swore they were muslim ... but it was strange they were serving food.  They had the TV on .. it was in Bahasa Indonesia ... my understanding of the language improves daily and I was certain the guy on TV was preaching about Jesus.  Suddenly, Decy pointed it out to me ... and he was ... so why was the restaurant watching Christian TV ????

The Fortuner arrived yesterday.  Metallic black with dark tinted windows.  A truly beautiful and "beefy" machine.  A very smooth ride ... and one feels quite safe in it.  JOB WELL DONE DECY !!!! (CrV is ok too ... and smaller sized, as per our plan).  I'll try to post a pic of the Fortuner tonight.

Palm House progress.  I think we are moving forward on signing the lease.  I will know more as the coming week unfolds but perhaps by Wednesday I can tell people about the "signing date" ... and maybe even a tentative move-in date.  BUT, I don't want to get my hopes up ... this IS the Ramadam period.

This week Decy is going to pay off the balance owed on the furniture she has already bought ... things like beds, couches, dinettes, etc.  She is going to start queuing that up for delivery at the Palm house ... although we don't yet have a move-in date.  KEY FOCUS on new purchases will be what I calll the "day-1" items that we must have at the time of move-in ... safe, towels, soap, toilet paper, sheets, something to cook on, eat on .... etc.  After we get done with the day-1 items we will consider buying additional items ... but will wait (a) until we are moved in and see exactly what we have/need, and (b) until we can get our finances better lined out.

Gotta run ... thanks for "listening" to me.  Hope you find some of what I write as interesting.

ciao ciao 

What a week ... I think the whole family ... including those in Florida and Tennessee ... have been through the ringer this week.  Hang in there loved ones .... we are survivors !!! More than conquerors !!!!

PALM HOUSE:  Owner says he's ready to sign the lease, we say we are ready to move, my company says ... step by step, still have to do the QA/QC inspection ...and then ~1 more week before lease signing ... and then we start moving towards a move-in date.... urrrggghhhh ... 2 months of this ... poor Decy and the girls .... we just want to get it over with.

FORTUNER:  Decy made the insurance payment yesterday.  Final payment is due Tuesday ... supposedly the car will be ready Tuesday or Wednesday with "final license plates" ... we shall see ... hope so.

WORK:  Overwhelming right now, can't keep up ... and transportation is limiting my ability to work overtime in the office.  I'll need to bring some stuff home for this weekend ... sadly.

.... sorry ... that's all I have to say at this time ...

Ciao ciao

... (at least for public consumption) ... rode in the CrV to/from work yesterday.  Overall, pretty good ride and Pak Yono my new driver (the one Decy hired) is pretty good ... a bit cautious right now ... but given the car is new, he is new, and Jakarta traffice is ... (well, seeing is believing .. and Chris and Paul can see for themselves in December) ... all was fine.

CrV has this complicated new fangled DVD, CD, MP3, etal player ... and built in DVD movie monitor .. it will take some time to figure that puppy out.

RE the Palm House ... still waiting on the QA/QC inspection ... our hopes of moving in by end-Sept are fading fast ... perhaps 7-12 October ... rats !!!

Decy takes the next step on the Fortuner today ... and pays the insurance ... I think we are still on target for receiving that car next week ... hope so as our rental runs out next Friday ... and I really don't want to spend the money to extend the contract ($30/day)

ciao ciao

On Monday we received the CrV with temporary plates.  Decy and the driver went to the store to buy supplies for the car (for washing it etc) and were promptly "field arrested" ... seems the temporary plates aren't exactly acceptable .... after some smooth talking, throwing around a few high level names of friends at the police station ... it was agreed that for 150,000 Rupiah (approx US$18) Decy could be escorted back to the hotel instead of the police station where the discussions would have been in the 8,000,000 to 20,000,000 Rupiah range.

Cost:  $18 ... value of having friends in the right places ... PRICELESS.

Tuesday the car broker delivered the permanent plates ... and then later called about the final payment on the Fortuner ... Decy gave the car broker an earfull and advised that the final payment will be made when the Fortuner has permanent plates and not a moment before.  I think the payment will be next week ... we shall see

Today, Wednesday, I get to ride in the CrV to work ... he he he ....

As for the Palm House ... made it through the security inspection with only minor upgrades required ... now on the QA/QC inspection ... this is a very slow process !!! Looks like we will not get into the house by the end of Sept ... maybe 7th-10th of October .... all going well.

ciao ciao

The worse part of being overseas is difficulties in trying to reach/contact one another ... and from Indonesia ... I am essentially 12 hours out of sync with the US.  This creates some unusual challenges ... and is particularly difficult during a transition before all contact information is known.

Thankfully, today I move into my office ... will have the phone number ... plus, late Friday I received my company handphone.  Its a step by step process ... and it can be hair-raising in the event of an urgent need to contact each other.

Sadly, some communications were delayed by ~17 hours.  I apologize for the concern and worry placed on my family in the US ... starting today ... things will be easier.

I thank God for my close-knit family .... and their ability to use their resources to find me ... even if it meant Josh going back into my blogs to learn what hotel I am staying at !!!

I LOVE ALL OF YOU !!!

>>> PS ... we are fine here in Indonesia ... no health/safety issues to worry about ... just trying to resolve the basic issues of housing, cars, furniture, and finances.  

So here it is, 9am in Jakarta, on Saturday.  What does "Amigos" have to do with Indonesia ??? Well, last night Decy, Chely, and Thasya and I went to the Amigos restaurant in the Kemang area.  It was one of my favorite restaurants in 2000/2001 because after the Wednesday ladies hash all of us would go to Amigos for dinner, live music, and dancing.

Last night was good ... good food (tex-mex), good music (lots of country western and not too bad given the accents), good fun.  Only problem ... it seemed like the entire expat population took their kids there for dinner .... 90% expats ... 10% Indonesians.  Oh well, can't have everything ... but my preference is to go to non-expat places .... B'coz .... cheaper, better food, more fun, and (in reality) SAFER !!!

PALM HOUSE.  Decy met with the owner on Friday.  Essentially they closed all the open issues ... all I need to do is type up the "to do list".   Security inspection is complete ... just waiting for the report.  Also need to do the "audit/inspection" ... hope to get that done EARLY next week and then move this to the final stage - - finalizing the lease.  Decy says the owner is really nice, very straightforward ... offered information on who to use for the A/C maintenance (13 wall units), pool maintenance, what is required for water and "community security".  Owner says he will start cleaning the place now so that we can move in just as soon as the lease is signed.

CrV.  Did not get it on Friday. That ok (I had Monday in my contingency planning).  Decy made the final payment as planned ... but it didn't clear the bank ... they said it would clear today (Saturday).   Decy told them to hold the car until Monday ... which is when Mulyono (we just call him Yono) begins work.

FORTUNER.  Decy will make the final payment next week.  Not sure when that car will be ready ... maybe a week after that.

MY PC.  URRRGGGH.  I think everything is more or less ok.  BUT, seems our hotel somehow is assigning addresses and can recognize our different PCs ... we generally use Chely's for internet access ... but when I want to use mine ... we have to call "somebody" and they have to reset the machine.  Plus, I think they have some type of special settings because my machine CRAWLS on the interenet (but Chely's is fine).  I've checked all the settings (Chely's PC vs mine) and they look the same .... but.

ciao ciao ... time for a 2 hour massage.

THE PALM HOUSE:  We continue progressing this.  Yesterday the house underwent the security inspection.  I don't think there will be any major issues - results should be available today.  Then they will do the "audit" which is more of a physical inspection - that should be Friday or Monday; again, don't expect many issues on this house ... but one never knows.

On Friday, Decy meets with the house owner to clarify our "to do list".  It doesn't sound like there are any showstoppers, but one never knows ... overall, it is probably Tues-Thurs next week before we know if this house is likely to be a "winner" for us ... third time is a charm.

CARS:  Decy is finalizing insurance as we speak and has to make payment for insurance on one or more cars today.  The CrV should be available tomorrow (Friday) or Monday after we pay the remaining balance on it in full tomorrow.  Our first driver starts work on Monday.  As for the Fortuner ... we pay it in full tomorrow ... it will be available in about 1-2 weeks ... and the 2nd driver starts work at that time.

DOMESTIC HELP:  Preliminarily identified but will need to be fully interviewed once we know we have a house and a move-in date.

MONEY:  Continues to be a challenge regarding getting it here in country, good thing I have contingency plans in place ... sent into Indonesia a Wire Transfer ... and also cashed a check.  The WT made it into the account yesterday (Wednesday) ... the check funds ? Maybe today.

FURNITURE PURCHASES:  On hold until next week pending, better information on the status of the Palm House and what furniture will be purchased by the owner.

WESTLIFE CONCERT:  It was pretty good - brought back lots of memories.  Last time they were in Jakarta was 5 years ago ... we were at that concert too.

WORK:  Progressing.

VACATION PLANNING:  Stinks ... I have 27 days left in 2006 ... and will not be able to (a) take them when I want them, and (b) use them all up.  Have to carryforward to 2007 about 10 days.  Of the 17 ... lots of it will be in pieces; although I'll get a couple of extended weekends around the holidays to spend with family and friends ... in Indonesia (won't be able to leave the country for a vacation).

HOTEL LIVING: Sucks.

LAPTOP:  Now have Norton's Internet Security 2006 (shrink wrap box).  Even with that, trying to "update" the programs with latest data took 3 hours of downloading time (slow connection).  Had I tried to download the software either my old 2005 or new 2006 would probably have required another 5-7 hours .... the "original loads" are about 50 Meg while the "updates" were only 33 Meg.

LIFE IN JAKARTA:  Haven't had much of a chance to experience that yet ... but, massages are great and food is too !!

ciao ciao

Did a very modest celebration of Decy's birthday .... we were going to go to Hard Rock Cafe ... but they were doing a band audition there and it sounded like they cranked up the music to 95 decibels ... we went elsewhere.  Not a particularly exciting evening for Decy (sadly) ... but it was (a) Monday night, and (b) followed a very busy day of house and car activities.  Nevertheless, we were together ... and we wish her the very best for her birthday.

Decy went back to the Palm house ... put the "punch list" together and submitted that to our agent for forwarding to the owner.  The owner received the offer yesterday; hopefully, we will here some type of response today ... he is in bandung (about 2-3 hours a way by car) and won't be back in town until Saturday ... but he is contactable via phone and email.  In the meantime, we scheduling all the inspections/audits.

On the cars, Decy is checking out insurance for the cars; she is getting two quotes.  I'm not sure I understand the coverages, but she is an Indonesian insurance expert ... so she is well qualified ... cost for the two cars will be approx US$1,800/yr.

This Thursday or Friday Decy will make the final payments on both cars.  We are hopeful to collect the CrV on Friday or Monday (15th or 18th) ... the Fortuner won't be ready for a week or two after that.

Gotta run ... time to go to work.

ciao ciao

Monday is Decy's birthday. I am so very proud of her and love her very much.  She has gone through so much in life, yet continues carrying forward ... learning and growing each step of the way.   God has truly blessed me by allowing me to be a with a woman such as her.

Tonight (Monday) we are going to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, Decy, the girls, and me.  That was where Decy and I had our first date.  Tuesday, the 4 of us are going to see Westlife in concert.  Decy and I did that (just the two of us) 5 years ago the last time I lived in Jakarta.

Monday morning starts the negotiations on the Palm House; pray that all goes well.  We are going to try to fast-track all the activities (presuming negotiations are successful).  If the world is perfect (which it is not) we could be in house in 3 weeks.  For now ... step 1 ... negotiate price.

Computer came back from the shop ... the cleaning did the trick on the overheating ... most of the time the fans aren't even coming on now ... just during lots of memory/disk movements.  BUT, now I see a new problem - - something is wrong with the Norton's dll and it has destroyed my subscription date ... and the "synchronization" function doesn't work (b'coz of the dll issue).  Looks like I have to buy a new Norton's.  Tried that last night, but ran into problems. I'll try again tonight ... if I run into more problems I will have Decy go buy a "boxed copy" of Norton's rather than trying to download it ... urrgghhh.

Gotta run ... time for breakfast/work.

ciao ciao

About last night ... ok, so we met with our French friends that have moved here from Angola ... and introduced them to Fairuz and Cecilia (Cecilia is French).  Fairuz is an Indonesian movie star;  he and Decy use to work together about 10 years ago ... they did comedy together in that particular series.  Don't have a pic from last night yet ... but here is F&C's wedding pic from a week ago.

I've heard rumors that there may be some Industry interest in Decy returning to the studios ... I won't hold my breath, but one never knows.

About today ... continued house hunting ... went from 400 possibilities, to 100, to 31 that met our needs. Then there were about 16 in the area we can live in ... we exhausted that list of 16 Friday and Saturday.  New lead case is the "Palm House" ... see more pics in my pic area ... here's one

The realtor sent (on Saturday) a letter of intent to the owner and advised that Monday we will prepare and submit an offer (being as folks here do not do business on Sunday).  Monday morning Decy goes back to the house to prepare the "to do list" for the owner ... which will be with the owner by end-Monday.  Hopefully our LOI will prevent anybody from sneaking in on us (during our 2nd visit to the house there was a couple from Chevron looking at the house).  We hear the owner VERY BADLY needs money ... and is likely to agree to almost anything that is reasonable.  PLEASE pray that this is the right house and everything works out ... we are emotionally tired of this process ... and living in a hotel.

BTW ... sent my laptop to the "cleaners" .. they said it was very dirty and must have been in a dirty place, causing the overheating ... no kidding ... Angola is extremely dry and dusty.  Hopefully the cleaning addresses ALL the overheating/shutdown problems.

Ciao ciao.

This afternoon Decy and I looked at 8 houses ... found three that were "acceptable".  Tomorrow we look at more ... not sure how more of this I can take after trying to find a house for over a month ... I'll let you know tomorrow how long we will do this ... top #3:  (1) Taj Mahal, (2) Lost in Paradise, (3) Construction House .... stay tuned.

You might be wondering about the "star struck twist". Oh yeah, as some of you know, Decy use to be in movies here in Indonesia.  One of her good friends is still "a movie star".  We are going to have dinner with him and his wife tonight ... as well as two friends from Angola (expat french couple in Angola).  I know the industry is trying to get Decy to come back and do a few shows ... don't know if she will or not .... stay tuned.

ciao ciao 

Hit yet another road block on the DaVinci house.  From my perspective, that's the final straw.  During my company's legal review of the lease and legal documents it was determined that the house owner does not have clear deed/title to the property and house ... yes, he has some documentation but not title/deed.  To get such will cost him US$1-2k .. and 2 weeks to 2 months time ... IF ... BIG IF .... he agreed.

Today, Decy and I start all over again looking for a house ... we have lost a full month putzing around with this guy on the DaVinci house ... now it will likely be end-Oct maybe 1-Nov before we get out of a hotel and into a house. [ interesting side bar - one of our drivers told Decy yesterday that many people have tried to rent the DaVinci house ... and each time they have backed out ... the house has been vacant for +1 year, and never lived in ... so it sounds like this owner has some real problems ] 

And just think, this is a new policy the company implemented ... presumably to save time and money managing properties ... in the meantime, they are taking a specialist like me and turning me into a real estate agent.

.... ok ... time to go ... sorry ... have to run ... and can't blog about other items .... EXCEPT ... just learned one of my friends from Angola that also transferred to Jakarta (from a different company) is staying in the same hotel we are ... I need to find him !!!!

Ciao ciao. 

That's bahasa Indonesia for "I am not yet fluent" ... nevertheless, my Indonesian proficiency improves daily ... and now I even know some words that Thasya doesn't know .... such as "fasih".  Of course, it did shock her last night when I said "Thasya, dangan lupa belajar malam ini" ..... which means "Thasya, don't forget to study tonight".  She replied in English "already" ... and I replied in Bahasa "hebat" ... meaning "great !!!".  Decy broke out laughing.

Finances moving forward at a crawl ... hope to put 1/3 down payment on 2 cars today.  Then need to move the remaining 2/3rds in country late this week or early next week ... so we can pay the remaining balance next Friday.  All going well, the CrV will be available on the 15th or 18th ... so we only have a 1 week gap to work through (11th to 18th) where we are potentially down to 1 car (which is unworkable here in Indonesia). [ we are already renting one car & driver from our own pocket ]

What frustrates me the most about the cars is that the company will provide only one rental and only until 11-Sep; after that it is up to me.  And, they are supposed to subsidize the car purchase by $10k (b/coz of the high auto cost here) ... in mid-Aug they had promised to send me the money by 6-Sep ... now they tell me it will be 30-Sep ... but ... I still have to have the car by 11-Sep .. that's not right in my mind.

As for the house ... well, let's just say we are waiting to see what happens. Sure hope the owner signs the lease next week after my company says "we're ready" ... if he doesn't that means we have just wasted an entire month ... and have to start the process all over again ... pray for a good resolution.

What frustrates me the most about the house is that our allowance is for "furnished housing".  However, the houses have "no furniture" ... so we have to buy our own.  But, even so, we are supposed to attach to the lease the furniture list ... when the list is short or non-existant ... everybody keeps asking "where's there furniture?" And I have to answer "there isn't any" ... not sure how the company thought this was supposed to work .... you can't force a homeowner to put furniture in a house ... and even if you can negotiate it... you can't do it before a lease is signed .... he's not going to buy furniture on speculation.  [ for the avoidance of doubt, this "furnished housing" concept is part of a new policy that just went into effect hasn't been fully tested/vetted ... I think one other employee is going thru this and is only one week ahead of me in the process].

Gotta run ... time for work.

ciao ciao 

RE DaVinci house ... supposedly the owner said "deal".  Our broker is supposed to contact my company and start the lease execution process.  In the meantime, the owner is supposed to start the renovations and required improvements.  If the world is perfect then we will be in the house about month end.  I can't hold my breath that long ... so I'm not even going to try.  BTW, in case of doubt ... the world is NOT perfect.

Decy closed on the second car - - a CrV.  We are supposed to make a 1/3 down payment on each car before the end of this week.  And, by the end of next week pay both off in full ... can you say NEGATIVE CASH FLOW ???

Decy and I have started the "move-in checklist" to list all the things we must have before we can spend our first night there ... not trivial when (a) there isn't any furniture in the house at this time, and (b) our shipment won't arrive for months ... think:  soap, towels, dishes, food, cooking utensils, sheets (and a bed), bottled water ... yadi yadi yadi.

On a different subject ... had to go register for my work permit Monday.  Had two stops. First one was straightforward.  Second one, I couldn't find the person I was supposed to meet, didn't know where I was supposed to go, handphone number I was given was in err ... nice challenges.  Security kept asking me questions in Bahasa Indonesian.  About all I could do is answer "Saya tidak tahun de mana kantor; Saya tinggal orang" .. which was the best I could do to say "I don't know where is the office; I will wait for a person".

Time to call it a night .... hope the stock market is good to me this week. I think I want to sell some stock to help pay for the cars.

ciao ciao  

Likely interesting week ahead.  First, hopefully I will see my new manager.  Although I met him 6 years ago .... its time to renew relationships ... especially at a time when an issue has emerged in my new job (job-related, not personal) that needs some management attention ASAP.

This morning I go to the Indonesian immigration office for registering and finger printing .... I remember this from 6 years ago (last time I was here).  Then in approx 1 week I should have my official work permit (hmmm, so what have I been doing since I arrived ??? vacationing).

Decy and our agent will try to move the DaVinci owner closers to closing ... while at the same time I have to ask for an extension on staying in a hotel ... I really don't want to stay longer ... but, have no choice.

Hope all goes well this week as I transfer in all the money needed for the cars and the first pass of furniture ... I think that is going to be a challenge .... but understand the company might handle a large check for me ... so working it that way too ... at least maybe 25% of what we need so we can do the down payments.

>>> Back to Sunday .... Che, Thasi, Decy and I had a wonderful brunch at 4 Seasons (aka Regent) ... lots of shrimp, oysters, salmon, noodles, stir fried, salads, sushi, sashimi and desserts.   Never did make it to the "red meat section".  Afterwards, we all fell asleep in the taxi .... then Decy and the girls went to the pool, I got a quick massage and then joined them .... none of us ate dinner .... can you imagine why?

Gotta go ....

ciao ciao