Our New House

• We have a gecko guardian. Turn on your speakers to hear him singing. [We're asked by the house owner not to hurt this gecko. We don't want to, but he keeps pooping on my new washing machine!)
• The movie was taken before we finished cleaning up. That's why it was still dirty and messy everywhere.
• It's a two-storey house, 3 bedrooms (2 with aircons), one big kitchen and diningroom, one big bathroom, one big terrace (but no space for gardening), one bale-bale at the terrace where we can laze around, first floor covered with tiles while second floor carpeted, 2 balconies (we're going to put beach chairs there!) and a quite big Hindu temple on the other part of the second floor.
• This house is a little big for us and my stuff I've collected these past 1.5 years is not enough to fill it. So we (especially Vincent) happily try to find reasons to squeeze our credit card and buy nice furnitures! So far we've bought: a very, very cool and nice reclining chair, a 29 inch TV, a washing machine, a bowl for fish with 2 pumps and decoration (too bad the fish are dead already), a standing fan for the kitchen, a huge mirror, 2 queen-sized mattresses (one for the guests), a vacuum cleaner for the second floor and I don't remember whatelse.
• It's a fun part to hunt furnitures when you have a new house. It was not really fun when you first moved and had to clean. My dear Vincent was of course the more diligent one on that.
• I hate the colour blue in the terrace. It makes the whole thing dark. I'm going to change it to white!!!
• One part of the yellow kitchen wall is peeling and molded. I will need to repaint it. But since to find this particular yellow colour will be hard, I'm thinking to highlight that part of the wall to dark blue, and put some black and white pictures to make it sweet. Told Vincent but I think he was doubtful if it was a good idea.
  
• Housewarming party will come up hopefully soon.

Cheers!

House Targetted and Decided

After a quick research of around 4 houses over these past 4 days, we have decided to choose a big house on Jalan Buluh Indah.

It is slightly far from my office but reasonably near from Vincent's. It's of two storeys, got a telephone line (which means we can almost instantly apply for an internet connection), a big bathroom, 3 bedrooms (two of which are equipped with aircon already), a big kitchen and diningroom, a big bale-bale (Balinese seating place) at the entrance, balconies etc. One thing that Vincent didn't really like is that it doesn't have a garden. All the big entrance is plastered. :P

We still need to do the painting job and buy curtains. But even to think of that makes me excited. Couldn't sleep last night. I may make the living room my photography gallery!!!!

Meeting the owner tonight for the down payment of the annual rent.

First Valentine

Vincent got me this lovely gold necklace - white gold for the bigger heart and string and yellow gold for the smaller heart, and a tiny diamond inside the hearts - for our first Valentine.

A confession: that was the first time I spent the 14th of February with someone I love.

I was happy. :)

New Facts about Vincent on Animals

• He's a cockroach lover. I am not allowed to kill cockroaches in the kitchen and instead I have to always call him when I see one, so that he can take it out alive.
• He hates flies. So he has got this war against the flies and bought an extermination camp. At Christmas holiday we went to the east of Bali for 4 days and found that a house gecko was stuck in his fly trap, and he struggled his best to get the gecko off of it for like... I don't know, an hour? In the mean time, he was talking to Lizu - that's how he named the gecko - that he was going to save him and not kill him.
• He is afraid of snakes because he was bitten once. Only when the snake object is mentioned in a conversation then he would act like a girl. One day I am going to take him to the Reptiles Park at Singapadu so that he can beat that fear.
• He has an inconsistent view of Balinese dogs. He loves dogs and once he would kick a guy's ass on New Year's eve because the guy was harming a dog. But another time, he said he would kill the little dogs belonging to our neighbour for barking early in the morning every morning.
• He hates ants. Well, me too. Not because they bite or anything, just because they're annoying. So we bought a magic anti-ants chalk. And I told him before we drew lines with that chalk, that it was very powerful and it could kill cockroaches, too. He was considering a moment about it, but gave in in the end. The next morning I saw a dead cockroach in the corner of the kitchen. Later on that day I saw his sad face when looking at it and he said, "There's a dead cockroach there." I was not very sure if I should laugh or be sad with him.
  

The Fabio and Inga Factor

Fabio and Inga

One could never expect what an enormous support a boss and his wife could pour onto the union of two loving souls.

But then again, I am not a mere employee. And Fabio is not a mere boss.

Though still, the overwhelming support from both Fabio and Inga did help me considerably in going through the waiting period before Vincent arrived here and after.

The newly-wedded couple was going through a sort-of similar up-and-downs like ours. And during those hard times when Vincent and I were still away from each other, they were always there to listen and to bear with me whenever I needed.

One day before Vincent landed here, they got me (or us) a HUGE flower bouquet and a box of chocolate to celebrate my being together with him. And of course hugs and kisses and the freedom to escape their moving day to Sanur (YES!).

And then through Vincent's first week here - which was not as relaxing as expected due to our own moving to the new apartment closer to my work - things had been very hectic both at work (because of the construction work) and at home (because of Vincent's culture shock and worries for his job security here).

Fabio and Inga seemed to be aware of that and they might be able to feel my being tensed at work.

So one day Fabio called me from Jakarta and told me that he got us a Christmas present. A 2-night stay at the 2-bedroom suite of the luxurious Swiss Belhotel Bay View Resort in Nusa Dua! He just asked us to promise that we would use the chance to enjoy our time and be relaxed.

We could never be thankful enough for that. It did make us way more relaxed afterwards, and so tension was successfully reduced.

Our first lunch meeting was last Saturday and it was going very well! Vincent liked Fabio and vice versa! And allow me to say, these two men in discussion are normally very picky in choosing their friends! Plus one is French and the other Italian. Not sure what I meant with it, but I think both have extreme characteristics in a way. But it was really good to know that each got a good impression of the other.

Monday Fabio referred Vincent to his friend Roberto who owns a website design company (and three other companies if I am not mistaken). Vincent followed it up quickly and yesterday he went for an interview with Roberto, and guess what... He got the managerial position at one of his companies called Barefoot Multimedia!!! Only upon his 1.5 weeks after his arrival in this country.

That was amazing.

Vincent is very happy, and so am I, and so are Fabio and Inga.

This morning Vincent went to work for the first time to be introduced to his colleagues and the other programmers. And afterwards he called me ecstatically and exclaimed: "BABY, I LOVE MY JOB!!!"

So everything turned out well eventually. And we are now just looking forward to a better future here. No more confusion and life insecurity, at least hopefully not in the short future. And I know Vincent will do his best to work things out. It is now all up to him with his job. But we both realise, if Fabio did not name-drop him to Roberto, chances of working at this specific company could be minimum to nil.

So thanks, Dear Leader!

I'M SORRY BIBOU!!!!

ARRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sucked!

Vince wanted to chat with me before he left, so I told my sister I couldn't accompany her to find a place for her. I rushed home as soon as I could after work, and I installed the new IM2, portable internet, I just applied yesterday.

I couldn't find my baby online.

So I called him and asked if he would be online for a little chat. He said that he was busy packing. I told him to sms me when he was done.

But then being alone at home - hardly feeling like home - lying down on my bed staring at the ceiling, I couldn't take my mind off of him. How we would be together in just less than 48 hours. So I thought I could do some body treatments as a treat for both Vincent and I when we will meet again. ;)

It was just at the massage parlour when Vincent called me to get online. Receiving calls in massage parlour is actually forbidden since it can disturb the "harmony" of the other guests. But I had to take it with my full-of-body-scrub hand. It was from my bibou. I tried to be polite by whispering though. But that resulted to Vincent not understanding what I said. And by the sound of it, I think he was doubting that I was having a massage at that hour (it was just 8 eve).

I went home as soon as I could and called him to chat. But he said that he was in a rush to catch a train.

There.... I missed the only chat possibility before my love came here. And he even requested for this chat! He might feel bad or he might be even mad at me. I smsed him and said sorry, but he didn't reply.

DOH. I was just so stupid. Why couldn't I just have the body treatment tomorrow instead?!

I don't like having him upset with me just before he flies here to hug me again. :(

I SUCKED! I don't know if I can sleep tonight....

Week end in Paris!! THE LAST ONE!!!

GOD i hate Paris.....

I sweared to myself that i would never go there again lol.... but i had to, for Visa matters...

I left Strasbourg at 5Am Friday to get to the ambassy at 9h30... i did reach Paris at 9h... i was like, perfectly in time... but i forgot one point.... PARIS SUCKS.... Took me 2 hours to get to the ambassy in paris.... it's like 10 Kms.... Crazy...

Anyway, i applied for my Visa, and everything turned well... Except for the 2h30 drivin to my sister's afterwards... (30 km)

if i had to describe Paris for foreigners, i would just say it's a huge Traffic jam filled with angry megalos people.... ENJOY!!!

But even Paris cannot make me angry this time... I'm too excited and looking forward to saturday...

I hate Paris, But i love you Bibou, I'M COMING!!!!