My goal is to make it to the 29th, and then I feel like I’ll be just fine. There are reasons for that, but it’s best to leave them unblogged.
This week, I have a real weekend – two days off in a row. It’s always welcome, although honestly, it’s kind of nice to work three days and then get a day off, too. Tough call on which is actually nicer.
Last week, I really only had one day off because I had to go to Singapore, so today I ran the errand that got waylaid last week.
Again, I just walked. For some reason, that just shocks everyone here. I was talking to some people at work and when they found out I walk over 30 minutes to and from work, it just stunned them. I guess there aren’t all that many people who actually walk here – most people are on the overcrowded roadways.
Me, I’d just prefer to walk if at all possible, and it seems that we might have come into the dry season, which means it’s not quite as humid as it has been before. It’s hot, though. I checked the forecast and it lists 92/77 every single day. Compared to the 105 that it is in Florida right now, it seems like it’s not such a big deal, but remember right now I am on the other side of the equator, so technically this is my winter.
If Wendy wants to move to Jakarta, here's her place of employment.
Really, though, there are only two seasons here, wet and dry. And although I think we are finally entering the dry season (it’s running late), I still felt the need to hunt down an umbrella. I’d bought one before, but it pretty much crashed and burned the first time I used it. I still have it and will keep it as a backup, but it’s not that great.
And this week, it did rain lightly on the way home once, so even though it’s going to be dry I wanted a decent one.
Now, you’d think in a country with just “wet” and “dry seasons,” umbrellas would be easy to find. Not so. I’ve had a devil of a time.
And the selection – God, they’re ugly. All the fold-up ones are just so frou-frou. I mean, my other one is pink.
I didn't lie, did I? Just as I describe.
But I found one. It’s pretty horrible. Little green hearts and lace on the ends. But it seems to be well-made. I hope it lasts.
And I got it at ACE Hardware, really. Our ACE is just awesome. It’s like a Bed Bath and Beyond on steroids. It’s got absolutely everything, from custom insoles to these cute little kitchen spoons that have faces and feet.
The only other thing I did in the grand mall was hit up Pizza Hut. I had a free coupon for what I thought was a personal pan pizza. I figured I’d just get a cheese one, but for whatever reason that wasn’t even on the menu.
This is the statue at the roundabout that's pretty much a landmark. I don't see the big deal, although this is a bad photo.
What I got wouldn’t even be considered pizza in America. It did come in a little pizza pan, no bigger than a grits bowl, really. Four little pieces, but they were little BIG pieces.
That’s mostly because it was almost all bread. Not pizza crust bread, but almost just roll bread. The topping was a thin bit of cheese – not even a real layer. I got the “Idaho,” which was a snap judgment mostly because I didn’t recognize the names on the three other options. There was no pepperoni, no sausage. I went with what I knew.
And, as you might expect, the Idaho had potatoes. Now, not a lot. I figure each piece of pizza – there were four, it wasn’t even 6 inches across – had about three little squares of potato about the size of an individual hash brown piece. And there was a tiny dab of what I am guessing as hamburger, but if it was something more evil there wasn’t enough of it to worry about – not quite the size of a regulation marble.
The parking lot in the area where the Hard Rock is. Mostly, judging by the lunch crowd headed there today, these belong to people who work across the street, not to patrons of the Hard Rock.
But it was free, and it came with a pony can of hot Coke. The coupon was from two Coke bottles, which is kind of odd since Pizza Hut, so far as I know, is a PepsiCo holding. Maybe that’s old news. But hey, it was free. I have another coupon for tomorrow, too.
My splurge after lunch was a Magnum bar. For those who don’t know, this is an amazing ice cream bar. It’s just plain old vanilla ice cream wrapped in chocolate, but it’s REAL ice cream and REAL chocolate. They had them in Morocco and I was pleased to find they’re here, too, although I did learn today they’re considerably smaller than they are in Morocco.
We have Hagaan Daaz here, too, but it’s incredibly expensive. And I’ve learned that my freezer doesn’t do such a fabulous job of keeping things frozen, so it’s best if I stay away from buying larger containers of ice cream.
My other splurge was some beef. It’s very rare for me to cook beef. Not sure why, other than I guess chicken is cheaper. I think I bought beef a total of three times in Morocco, and this purchase is my first here.
I am varying my regular meal and trying to make a little roasty thing tonight. I’ve encountered some problems already, such as first of all, not really knowing how to make a roast without a Crock Pot, and not having cream of mushroom soup, which really holds it together.
But another issue is my potatoes. I buy about 6-7 a week and I was going to use two. Well, I cut up two and they were pretty darn nasty inside. I did eventually get enough taters to cover, but then I pulled the frozen veggies out of the freezer and they don’t look so good. I’m going to pick through them and use them anyway.
Fairly typical of traffic. I make more progress by foot than people in cars.
Thanks to my previous splurge, I do have some spices now. I was getting tired of salt and pepper, so I bought some Louisiana spice and some chili spice. The former is for special things, and the latter I’ve been using on my hash browns that I make pretty much 4-5 times a week for breakfast.
The other night, I finally caved and placed an order when people at work ordered. Every night, someone from the crew takes orders and calls it in. Consistently, there’s an Indian place, and Italian place and this burger joint called Fat Burgers.
Thursday, it was Fat Burger, which is owned by Queen Latifah (I think I told someone Aretha earlier – I messed that one up). I had a milkshake from there once and it didn’t turn out so nicely but yesterday a burger sounded really good. And I figure I do need to order now and then or they’ll stop asking me!
The burger was pretty darn good, too, though again the milkshake was a bit runny. I have no idea where the restaurant itself is, but I’d definitely go in and order. It’s not 5 Guys, but it’s a really good burger.
(Aside: I did learn that I have a Wendy’s just across the World Trade Center from me, but I haven’t been there yet)
In the FB bag, they had some “chili sauce.” I am considering putting that in my roasty meal this evening, too. I have no idea what it is, but garlic is listed as an ingredient. That’s usually right in my book.
And in all the excitement of having a burger, I realized on the way home I left my PB sandwich in my desk.
That’s going to be a nice surprise when I go back to work on Sunday.
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