I’ve been dull, dull, DULL for some weeks now, for no reason except that I let myself slip into the mundane task of simply existing – some swimming, some cooking, no housework, being lazy – just my usual summer hibernation. But now it’s vacation time, plus my visitor season is opening up after a lot of cajoling family and friends, and I’m starting to poke my nose out into the hot air of Jakarta’s dry season.

We’ve had Ma and Joy in March, then Suman dropped in last week, and next on the list are Aparna and Deven with their kids, two days from now. Namkeen mathris have been made, menus planned, cookies to be baked, and some meats to be marinaded for the welcome barbecue.

Soon after they leave, we’re packing ourselves, and taking off on a trip that’s a year overdue – to Vancouver – and then to New York. (We desperately needed a break from Asia!) We had started to plan Vancouver last year, but put that on hold to relocate to Jakarta. Now it’s summer again, and the plans have firmed up nicely. As preparation for our holiday, I watched all episodes of Castle – with Canadian actors, set in New York :-), downloaded the Lonely Planet guides (of course), and successfully navigated the scariest block – of visas! My friend, Rupali, is probably more excited than me about the NY trip, and has taken on the role of my personal holiday planner. So tours are being researched with gusto, shopping lists being drawn up, packing checklists to be started. That just leaves Reva’s recommendations on places to eat everywhere we go (and she’s quite thorough about follow up and reviews on her favorite topic of Food).

Oh, I’m so excited, and am going to blog about it endlessly!