Full House
Chris & Paul have now arrived in Jakarta safe and sound with suitcases and girl friends in tow (Stacy, Courtney, in that order). From a travel / airlines perspective things went about as good as they could have as they missed all the US winter storms by “tracking south” across the US rather than going to Chicago or New York and then connecting to come here – of course, that was by design.
Seems that Cathay Pacific had overbooked the flight from Los Angels to Hong Kong and offered the kids $400 each plus hotel plus food to delay their travel a day. They declined as they knew every day with us was important.
From a jetlag perspective, they are doing great. They basically pulled an all-nighter before they left. Drug themselves thru the day on Thursday … then slept essentially all of the 10-11 hours in flight to Hong Kong. By the time they woke up, it was only 1 hour time difference with Jakarta. Plus, we were able to keep almost everybody awake until 9pm … and then they slept 12 hours. To stay awake we played Twister and sang karaoke. 1st night’s dinner was pizza – but with Makassar (Indo) chili sauce as a topper.
On Sunday we all got up … me early …. everybody else about 9am … went to the 4 Seasons for brunch, then to a “local” mall … and then to an “international” mall. Stacy got a “Starbucks Bear” that says “Jakarta” on it. He was immediately named PIM for “Pondok Indah Mall”. We got home, ate some dinner and then watched a video “Evan Almighty”.
As for today (Monday), Chely and Thasya still have school. So, while Decy is running errands and going to the dentist C, P, S, C will be preparing (stuffing) the 25 backpacks for the kids. I’ll be working feverishly trying to get my work done and coming home “quickly”. Already, however, people are sending me emails over the weekend and want a pound of my flesh today. BUT, I have at least 4 meetings already lined up – and my priority will be getting ready for two important meetings (one today, one Tuesday). Also, on Monday we have interviews with 15 candidates for jobs … and on Tuesday we have Accounting proficiency testing for about 85 folks.
Everybody seems to be getting along in the Morgan – Indo House, which is enhanced by the fact that Stacy and Courtney like spicy foods. We are easing them into things slowly – and they seem to be enjoying Decy’s style foods (at the home) even though they hit a land mine (chili) or two every onced in a while. We will eat at home on Monday, but Tuesday our plan is to have “Nasi Padang” at a restaurant … as Paul has specifically asked for an opportunity to eat some “curry squid”, which he fell in love with last year.
Wednesday is a big day here … that is the Family Christmas. We have invited all of Decy’s immediate family and one Aunt/Uncle and one cousin and his family. We could not invite all the aunties and uncles. As it is …. the head count is approx 50. All the women will be cooking on Wednesday morning – and when the little kids arrive they will get to go swimming. Festivities officially kick-off at about 3pm and will likely go until 8-9pm. We have some special games planned and it should be a fun time.
Well, I need to close this … have some things I must take care of before going to work.
ciao ciao
