Tuesday, 21 March 2006 @ 6:03pm. Since I was relatively productive yesterday, I somehow thought that today would be the same. How naive of me to think that would be possible! Yesterday I managed to prepare materials for an afternoon interview, go to the legal records office, conduct the interview, go to the gym, and have decent meals. I was tired at the end of the day, but I was okay. I was pleased with the interview session in particular, especially since it was my first time to the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR for short (House of Representatives).

Today, however, was a different story. I went to the legal records office, but it was slow going through the materials. I also came to the realization that there were many more potential articles than actual articles of real interest. I have to decide now how much do I want photocopied at this office, what do I need to request from other government offices, and whether the time spent on these documents in general is worth it. I have only combed through abstracts for 1997-1999 so far, but the abstracts aren’t very helpful. It’s a gamble whether requesting 40 photocopied pages based on a glance of the title and keywords will be fruitful. We’ll see…

I later had to wait an hour to be picked up from the records office. Waktu hujan (rain time). It was raining. Apparently enough said.

I was picked up by motorbike, which I like, though I prefer driving. I often wish I could have my own motorbike like I did when I lived in Yogya (read: freedom), but the traffic is too congested and dangerous here. Sigh…

My late lunch was what broke the camel’s back. I found two long black hairs in my veggies, only after I had started eating. Yuck!!! I remember that friends used to joke back in Yogya about various vitamins: vitamin s for vitamin semut (ant), vitamin b for vitamin batu (stone/pebble), and vitamin r for vitamin rambut (hair). I wasn’t in a joking mood this afternoon, though.

Oh, and have I mentioned that there are toxic fumes in my room? I think there is a leak in the bathroom (I’m on the second floor), so the houseboy spread a white substance on my bathroom floor. It requires a couple of days to dry. I don’t know if they are going to leave it like that or put tiles on top of it. In any case, my room smells of strong chemicals, so I’m staying at the office longer than usual.

On a bright note, however, there are a few upcoming birthdays for family and friends. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND BEST WISHES!!! :)