hallelujah!

i don't know if anyone has noticed (or cares), but i've been updating my to-do list below. and like half of it got checked off today. i wrote out a list last night of things that NEED to be done before i leave on friday and threw in a few things i would just LIKE to accomplish before then. but i reasoned that i would be satisfied if i finished half of that sublist.

i asked an indonesian friend to go into town with me.
between the two of us, we finished the ENTIRE LIST.
plus some.
today.
before noon.

omg. i am ecstatic. my bike got taken apart, cleaned out, tuned up, and re-oiled. for $3.20! i have pillows on my couch for the first time ever, which will be great when german girl comes tonight, because both of us will be able to have pillows! (before today, the ONLY pillow i owned was the one on my bed. and technically, i don't even own that. the school does.) i got new hangers for my closet so that all my things can go in there. i got the pictures printed off for bu iis. i was afraid that was something that i would procrastinate about so badly, as is my habit. but it's done. i have a REAL rain jacket - finally, i can stay dry on my bike during rainy season! as can a passenger, as i opted for the roomier poncho. heck, i bet we could fit 4 under there. assuming the other 3 are asian.

some letdowns though - i can't get replacement lights for my string of christmas lights that don't work because they only sell colored christmas lights in this town. and those are tacky. we asked at 8 different electric shops.
- i got my eyes checked for free. and the lady told me that my eyes are exactly the same prescription as the glasses i was wearing. they haven't changed. in 8 years. which is a lie. because i had to get new glasses 5 years ago, due to my prescription changing. but i prefer wearing the older frames. they're cooler. sooo... no new glasses for me. for now. maybe after sumatra.

but - my favorite part of the day. i bought an electronic dictionary! even if you don't care, give me a little cheer. this thing is sweet. basically, all my friends in language school have one. and they use it constantly. i, on the other hand, went old school (some might call this "cheap") and bought a dictionary. which i have used. extensively. but i don't want to haul it all around the country with me this summer. or ever again, really. so i bought this. it even adversises having games! it has hangman. in 2 languages. which i guess is ok for a dictionary. but the games icon has a pacman logo next to it, so i was still a little disappointed.



so, a couple things i learned today:
- if you need to accomplish a lot of small tasks in a short amount of time, take a native. they know where EVERYTHING in this crowded little town, crammed with a million and one storefront shops selling everything EXCEPT what you need, is.
- if you are looking for stuffing for pillows, don't go to the sewing shop. because they will send you to toko besi (the steel shop - kind of like carter lumber. but without wood).
- it takes 1 kilo of stuffing (called dakron) to fill 4 pillows.
- when the papers that came with your motorbike say to get a tuneup at "2000 km or 4 months", the monthage is more important than the mileage... err... kilometerage. the guy at the garage almost wouldn't do it for me. i'm at 2000 km, but 7 months. we had to fight for it.
- indonesian optometrists are quacks.
- claritin costs 44 cents per pill here. but when the lady at the apotek told me how much a pack of 10 costs, i was flabbergasted because of how expensive it was. sometimes i have to put things into an american perspective to feel better again.
- the english word for penjahit is tailor. not "sewer person" as i've been referring to them for the last 3 days since i decided i need one. my friend happened to use that word in conversation, after which i interjected "YESSSSS! that's IIITTTTT!", much to his confusion.

all in all, it was a successful day. highly. berhasil.