Sunday 14 September 2008

What a day!

Actually today I started the day with good news! My internet was able to work properly after the computer got struck by lightning (again...hu...hu...hu...I was panicked as I've got so many commitments that would need my computer!)

Then, after doing all the online work, preparing the children, and struggling through the traffic for more than one hour, brought the children to my parents' house, then I was able to arrive to the museum "in time" (perfect time...as the visitors in the museum were already preparing to make a phone call to Rose). I should be leaving earlier from Serpong! I was actually Martha's back-up, but we decided to do tandem tour with her as the leader. She had problem with her stomach...so I've got to try my best in remembering dates! Yes, I was actually share the same problem with my eldest son: it's hard for us to remember all those years of the history lesson. Usually I need to reread some information before guiding(on dates etc. to remember it the next morning).

Luckily I did have a very nice group of visitors. They were active asking questions and making comments. The highlight tour went on longer than my usual tour, but not as tiring as I usually was.

Then I went to my brother's house to work online and to print out the invitation from Toyota Kijang (and also to see what time is the venue)...it's really a small world, he knew Tuhu (the man in charge for the invitation) from the IYCEY competition.

Back to my parents' house I've got to struggle with those boys to make them take their nap. They do need it or they will fall asleep in the car (like they usually did) on the way to the event. I'd like to take part in the photo session with the new car. I knew that it would be a grumbling session if they do not have their afternoon sleep! But then they were so difficult to wake up! We moved out from the house at five o'clock...late already!

Yet, I did not think of the traffic...and actually I do not even think that the traffic will be that bad! From jalan Wijaya to Pondok Indah Mall 2 it took me an hour. I was not familiar with PIM 2 (he...he...he...it was like a villager came to the city) and I was lost in the parking lot for one hour! Really one hour! We were in already by 18.00 but we arrived inside the mall at about 19.00. I am not bless with a fairy godmother for finding a parking lot. And I saw more than one car who used two parking spaces for only their own car...being very tired, I was a bit angry! I knew now why one blogger do care to upload a post about parking spaces (see it here).

I hate parking lot! I think I never like it, even as a student of architecture...I don't really like to design a highrise building because I did not feel comfortable with all those columns in the parking lot! In the beginning I did not look for valet service as I had computer and some other bags in the car, but then...when I was hopeless I could not find their service booth!

Two hours driving with three fighting boys inside the car could make me insane! I wonder when can we enjoy the facility like MRT in Singapore (with the accuracy of departure and also with safety feeling for its riders). Traffic is something I really hate from Jakarta! Back from the PIM I came into another traffic jam in Pondok Indah and Bintaro before I could go into the toll road. 30 minutes to get out from the mall, and another one hour to go home...

Shuttle bus is OK for me, but their time schedule is not really regular, and it is also depending on the traffic...so we can't have a very tight scheduling with this shuttle bus...sometimes we can be late. But, the worst is the time I lost while waiting without any idea at what time the next bus to go home would arrive! The time schedule is also limited, so we can't really count on it to transport us home after seven in the evening!

Completing my regret of the day...my camera's batteries got exhausted again...so I could not even make a picture from the event for wikimu (I'm usually not really keen on writing about culinary but the waiter put so many things on our table, some looks interesting for the culinary article- though I am not good at writing about culinary!).

I feel grateful to the EO of the event that they were patient enough waiting for us...the boys were not really eating (we visited KFC's drive through counter on our way back,that's how we add some minutes that make our one hour riding back home he...he...he...), but they do enjoy seeing new things. And we do enjoy receiving a small plush toy Kijang. The Toyota Kijang's blog writing competition made me taking up personal blogging too (I found it fun!). I did not really write about traveling, I just wrote out everything about my Kijang.

I heard that the evening event was fabulous, guests seemed happy to go home...winning or not winning! So the new wave marketing is taking on their way...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

glad you had some things go well so as to offset your being stuck struggling with traffic & parking -- it does seem we spend much of our time in between this & that -- i'm an expert at waiting, waiting, waiting -- that's funny about your fairy godmother: maybe she used up her powers in getting you back on the internet, so she had no choice but to let you to park on your own

Retty Hakim (a.k.a. Maria Margaretta Vivijanti) said...

ha..ha...ha...the internet is a new issue, but being unlucky in the parking lot was an old story! I was not really a lucky person on the parking lot. One of my relatives has that luck, he was always getting a new vacant space when he just entered the place!

Yesterday was the most embarrassing moment in my life...I came just as the other participants were leaving! Then, I made the whole EO waited for me! Actually I could say that we don't want to dine in (as I actually came only to meet other participants, organizing committee, and take some pictures with my boys and the new launched car!), but I didn't...

tuhu said...

Terima kasih Bu Retty untuk kehadirannya, setelah berjuang keras melawan kemacetan. Nanti foto-foto acara, bakal di upload di flicker, biar bisa teteup mengintip momen-momen yang mungkin ketinggalan hehehe. Anak-anaknya lucu-lucu, dan saya yakin mereka akan jadi orang hebat suatu saat nanti. Sorot mata anak-anak yang cerdas dan kreatif tidak pernah bisa menipu hehehe

Anonymous said...

ouch, seem you got fully stuck in the tangled mess of Jakarta urban experience!!! sorry for that.... and sorry that your fairy god mother wasn't with you this time...as with the cases of almost all Jakartans...

it seems Jakarta needs to be fully restructured.... we cannot rely on fairy godmothers all the time!!