Life in Jakarta has finally found a normalcy. It took two years, moving to a house, and trying dozens of different activities before we finally found the people, the lifestyle, the schedule and the activities that are clicking for us.
Last week Friday I hosted my first poker game in over three years. For over fifteen years, dating back to my sophomore year of college, poker was a monthly event. A time for the guys to get together and shift $20 around to each other, discuss sports, jobs and family over the course of four hours. Between my Tuesday night Futsol and the guys I've met through my wife's friends, I have my poker group again.
Saturday we spent back at Kemang Club Villas. Even though we've moved, our rent there was paid through April, so we can still use the facilities. Many of our friends still live there, too. We swam, chatted with friends, and our daughter got to play with her friend who had recently moved to China and is visiting in Jakarta for the next two weeks. Saturday evening, we had dinner at Hacienda with two other couples to celebrate finally closing out the lease on my business in the US. The wife of one of the couples is a month behind us in her pregnancy, and her husband plays Futsol with me on Tuesday nights, so we have a lot in common.
Even our children are getting into the routine. Living in the museum-sized house we now call home, they have mastered riding scooters and scoot cars around the living room, dining room, and kitchen, navigating the furniture like an obstacle course. Our driveway is big enough that I've introduced my daughter to a version of kickball with ghost runners. She always wins. They have play dates, they swim, they run around outside. This is what home was like for us in Arizona.
That's not to say all is perfect. Traffic is still a major drag on our spirits. Anyone who has ever attended a major sporting event and suffered the time it takes to leave the parking lot knows what a trip to the grocery store feels like. Everyone living in a big city complains about traffic. Until a trip to the grocery store is a three hour event, well, I'm not interested in hearing the complaint.
Quality medical care is still problematic. We've been blessed with excellent health, the occasional cold not withstanding. But we're making yet another trip to Singapore for medical care. During my annual physical they did a routine eye exam. One of the tests was for glaucoma. My test came back positive. I sent the results to my ophthalmologist in Phoenix who agreed with the findings and recommended I get some additional tests and, if they confirm the initial tests, begin immediate treatment for glaucoma.
So on Sunday, we're making the trip back to Singapore for an undetermined period of time. I get retested on Monday. If the results are clean, we'll return to Jakarta on Tuesday. If the results confirm the diagnosis, we'll be in Singapore another three to five days so I can begin immediate treatment. Not the best news I've ever received, but, like the keratoconus diagnosis ten years ago, it's treatable and it doesn't have much of an impact on my lifestyle unless I ignore it.
A few other quick notes:
Neither the maid nor the nanny wanted the motorcycle. One said she couldn't drive a manual transmission and she was afraid it would get stolen where she lives. The other said it was so old she was afraid the police would pull her over all the time and harass her to confirm it met driving standards and she didn't want to have to deal with that. So, $120 down the drain...unless I can find a buyer for $150!
We've solved the help issue....I think. We're flying down my cousin (my father's, brother's daughter) to help us out from 12 May through 1 July. My mom will pick up the help from there (assuming she gets back to me....hint hint). This means I get to go to my friend's wedding in Shanghai in mid-May! It's my first trip to China and I'm really looking forward to it, even if it is only for two days.
We've started doing yoga regularly on Wednesday nights. I've done yoga before, but never made it part of my regular routine. I feel great for a full 24 hours after the session. If you've never tried yoga before, I recommend you take a class and decide if it is right for you. I now split my Futsol and Rugby nights with a night of yoga, and we'll probably add another night of yoga. It makes us feel that good!
Last week Friday I hosted my first poker game in over three years. For over fifteen years, dating back to my sophomore year of college, poker was a monthly event. A time for the guys to get together and shift $20 around to each other, discuss sports, jobs and family over the course of four hours. Between my Tuesday night Futsol and the guys I've met through my wife's friends, I have my poker group again.
Saturday we spent back at Kemang Club Villas. Even though we've moved, our rent there was paid through April, so we can still use the facilities. Many of our friends still live there, too. We swam, chatted with friends, and our daughter got to play with her friend who had recently moved to China and is visiting in Jakarta for the next two weeks. Saturday evening, we had dinner at Hacienda with two other couples to celebrate finally closing out the lease on my business in the US. The wife of one of the couples is a month behind us in her pregnancy, and her husband plays Futsol with me on Tuesday nights, so we have a lot in common.
Even our children are getting into the routine. Living in the museum-sized house we now call home, they have mastered riding scooters and scoot cars around the living room, dining room, and kitchen, navigating the furniture like an obstacle course. Our driveway is big enough that I've introduced my daughter to a version of kickball with ghost runners. She always wins. They have play dates, they swim, they run around outside. This is what home was like for us in Arizona.
That's not to say all is perfect. Traffic is still a major drag on our spirits. Anyone who has ever attended a major sporting event and suffered the time it takes to leave the parking lot knows what a trip to the grocery store feels like. Everyone living in a big city complains about traffic. Until a trip to the grocery store is a three hour event, well, I'm not interested in hearing the complaint.
Quality medical care is still problematic. We've been blessed with excellent health, the occasional cold not withstanding. But we're making yet another trip to Singapore for medical care. During my annual physical they did a routine eye exam. One of the tests was for glaucoma. My test came back positive. I sent the results to my ophthalmologist in Phoenix who agreed with the findings and recommended I get some additional tests and, if they confirm the initial tests, begin immediate treatment for glaucoma.
So on Sunday, we're making the trip back to Singapore for an undetermined period of time. I get retested on Monday. If the results are clean, we'll return to Jakarta on Tuesday. If the results confirm the diagnosis, we'll be in Singapore another three to five days so I can begin immediate treatment. Not the best news I've ever received, but, like the keratoconus diagnosis ten years ago, it's treatable and it doesn't have much of an impact on my lifestyle unless I ignore it.
A few other quick notes:
Neither the maid nor the nanny wanted the motorcycle. One said she couldn't drive a manual transmission and she was afraid it would get stolen where she lives. The other said it was so old she was afraid the police would pull her over all the time and harass her to confirm it met driving standards and she didn't want to have to deal with that. So, $120 down the drain...unless I can find a buyer for $150!
We've solved the help issue....I think. We're flying down my cousin (my father's, brother's daughter) to help us out from 12 May through 1 July. My mom will pick up the help from there (assuming she gets back to me....hint hint). This means I get to go to my friend's wedding in Shanghai in mid-May! It's my first trip to China and I'm really looking forward to it, even if it is only for two days.
We've started doing yoga regularly on Wednesday nights. I've done yoga before, but never made it part of my regular routine. I feel great for a full 24 hours after the session. If you've never tried yoga before, I recommend you take a class and decide if it is right for you. I now split my Futsol and Rugby nights with a night of yoga, and we'll probably add another night of yoga. It makes us feel that good!
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