Just another day – or so I thought. I stepped out of the cold, dark Abercrombie and Fitch flagship store into the bright, hot sidewalk on 5th avenue. I looked around for some shade to stand under – nothing in sight on this side of the street and I wasn’t going to bother crossing the road just to smoke a cigarette. So I leaned against the glass and lit up a stick. Under the blazing sun, I smoked my cigarette and observed people walking by, going about their daily lives.
I was about to finish my death stick when all of a sudden I saw a CD in a clear plastic sleeve thrust in front of my face, accompanied by an announcement from a stranger, “hey man, this is my CD, check out my music, I’m giving it to you for free.” (more…)
I can’t believe it’s been almost 3 weeks since I left KL for the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Jakarta. Tomorrow is the last day of the sale before we start the whole tear down – something we all dread since it’s not exactly fun. But hey, overall, it’s been a great trip.
Firstly, the sale isn’t even in Jakarta. It’s actually in a city called Tangerang, 25 kilometers away from Jakarta. Something I only discovered after landing. Not that it really mattered – people from all over Indonesia attended the sale anyway. Also, BBW Tangerang doesn’t really roll off the tongue.
Tangerang is a pretty nice city. It’s not too different from KL, so I didn’t really feel homesick (not that I feel homesick often anyway). However I do miss people and Snuggles, so I’m looking forward to going back home.
I’ve come to appreciate the efficiency of Malaysian cashiers. They are really miles ahead when it comes to efficiency. I’ve never waited so long for a McDonald’s meal before.
Counting in Rupiah is challenging. Maybe I’m just mentally challenged but shit, the number of zeroes they have to deal with. Why not just remove three zeroes since the lowest denomination they have is 1000 anyway? I have no idea. But stuff here is generally cheaper than back home. And even the pop up restaurants outside the event didn’t cost an arm and a leg for a drink.
My command of Malay is terrible – and despite Indonesian being pretty similar, there are quite a number of words which don’t carry over. I definitely had trouble communicating sometimes. Fortunately I have Google Translate to help. Download your dictionaries for offline use – it seriously helps.
The sale has been tiring. On the plus side, I feel like I can lift heavier shit. No idea if I’ve been this strong all along or I’ve gradually gotten stronger over the past few months. I’m also better at using a pallet jack than I was a few months ago. Nicked myself with a cutter earlier today – only injury I’ve had so far. Saw this one dude with a hugeassmotherfucking water blister on his toe. They call it ‘kapalan’ over here. Something to do with a ship because there’s water inside the blister.
I also learnt some important words – the Indonesian word for masturbate is apparently a word that sounds like ‘cholly’.
Also discovered a new band which I’m digging a lot – The 1975 (thanks Pam! btw do check out her paper craft, it’s insane) here’s one of my favorite tracks from them:
Online dating – the social club of today. In case you were wondering, online dating is the practice of searching for a romantic or sexual partner on the internet, typically via a dedicated website. Most online dating services follow the same model: you setup a profile of yourself, browse for matches, send them messages, and hope for a reply.
The topic of online dating has come up every now and then, but only in recent years has it really been accepted as the norm. Heck, even I didn’t believe in it back then. I have a post on Facebook with a screenshot of me saying something along the lines of ‘online dating is for desperate people who can’t get anyone in real life’. It’s been years since I wrote that and my perception on the whole subject has changed. (more…)
