Between retiring, packing, moving, trying to create a writing routine, and adjusting to a new city, it feels a lot like I’ve been through a rinse cycle and then thrown into a dryer that someone forgot to turn off. We have been here almost 4 weeks now and things are finally settling down. My swollen feet from flying are normal size. I’m not sleeping on a Hawaii schedule and waking at 3 AM. My stomach is more or less used to the bacteria count and I don’t spend nearly as much time in the bathroom. We got our bank accounts established. Mostly, we’ve settled into a routine with the house. Here are some photos from our wanderings.

One of the fun activities has been going from office to office in search of our “papers”. It occasionally feels like I’m in a WW II movie where a gestapo agent is going to ask for my papers. Fortunately, it seems that they are just as confused as we are and, after two weeks of searching, we are now official. Still, after reading these signs, I’m not sure that they know what they are doing.

It seems that we will be ensconced in my late father-in-law’s house for a while because we need to stay in Jakarta until his estate is settled. He didn’t have a will, so now we need to contend with a declaration of heirs and transfer of the deed before anything can be done with it. The house is located in West Jakarta in the Grogol area. When I came here for the first time, the narrow streets seemed quaint and it was amazing to watch cars navigate two-way traffic on a road where there are only 1 1/2 lanes. However, traffic in the city has gotten a lot worse since then and it seems that many drivers have discovered that they can use this street as a short cut that they refer to as jalan tikus or ‘rat street’.  What this means is that there is a lot more traffic night and day. It also means that they made it a one-way street, but that doesn’t stop the motorbikes from going in any direction that they want.

This is probably my eighth or ninth trip to Jakarta, and it never ceases to amaze me how different this world is. To say that this is the land of unlimited sweating would be an understatement. The temperature is often over 100 when you add the heat index. It’s something you get used to and I figure it will take a few months for me. Every once in a while, there are couple of really nice days where the clouds keep things cooler and a breeze makes it even better.

Amazingly, I have been able to get my writing done in spite of the barrage of distractions. I have two choices for where I do it. The bedroom has A/C, but there is no desk and no windows. It’s a bit like sitting in a prison cell. Or, I can sit on the veranda in a plastic patio chair. There is a koi pond and I can see the outside (kind of), but the traffic noise is constant. Also, there is a padlock on the inside of the door. If there is a fire, I’m going to burn up, or find myself impaled on the spikes. This setup is all temporary and in spite of everything, I have been able to get into a flow state and finish my work.

The distractions come in all shapes and sizes. I was sitting and working the other day when I heard a loud bang in the living room. I thought the aquarium with the arowana had sprung a leak. I looked at the front door to see if a wave of water and the giant fish was coming out, but I saw nothing. I slowly got up and went in to see this:

A cat had been chasing a rat in the ceiling, loosened a tile, and fell onto some boxes. It was unhurt, but everyone in the house was afraid of cats and didn’t want to approach it. I finally got them to leave it alone and it eventually made a beeline for the door. Never a dull moment.

By March, we should be moved out of here and maybe I will be able to get a desk or even a comfy chair to sit in and write.