My trip to Houston was a blast….. It was nice to see friends that I just knew online and got the chance to see them in person.
I got on the plane Friday afternoon 8/19/05 after saying goodbye to my boys and husband… It was sad to leave them while I flew alone. I am used to take them everywhere I go….. But Sam convinced me that everything would be OK and that I needed a break…so, there I was….
I arrived in Bush International Airport in Houston about 7:25pm and spent about 30 minutes looking for Alan and Jordan (Airin’s husband and son) that supposed to pick me up at the airport. I felt sorry for them who were looking for me for a long time….but after a continuos communication with Airin, finally I found Alan and his son. So, we went to Airin’s place right away.
At Airin’s there were many people already…and the food..wow, so many. I was so exhausted and nervous so that I didn’t have any appetite to try the meal…I just ate the kerupuk and snack. Shinta arrived with the siomay and lapis surabaya… I ate a little bit and then talked and talked. I got to meet Nonie, Airin, Tina, Munuki, Ririez, Nina, Ling2, Titin, Asih..and so many others…wow, so nice. At about almost midnight Shinta and me went to TIna’s place to spend the night. We talked again and again…..and went to bed after talked a bit (again) with Shinta on the bed….. what a day….
We woke up about 9/10 am in the morning. After a quick breakfast (heheh, Indomie for me at least) we head up to the Asian store….. Wow, it was a big one…almost similar to the one in Chandler, AZ. I was so happy to see many things there…..especially their seafood collection…so nice. After buying some seafood (crabs mostly….wow….it was cheap too!!!)…. we went to another asian store called DIHO…. Shinta said that they have more Indonesian stuff…and right again…they have many Indonesian goodies… I bought some stuff and kept reminding myself not to buy a lot since I had to take it by plane.
Then we went home to cook the crabs and made uli for the bazaar. That was my first time seeing people cooking crabs alive…wow…what a raw deal for the crab. They were just pilled up in the big pot and put on the stove….poor crabs…..
When they were cooking, we made the uli…mostly Shinta and Tina…they started pounding on the sweet rice until it was formed like a ‘uli’. Tina pounded so hard and we were worried that the neighbor would be disturbed and wondering what happened…so, we moved to the other room.
While waiting for the uli to cool down, Tina dropped Shinta and me at the IKEA. That was my first IKEA trip…and wow…they were so many nice and interesting to buy…and again, I had to keep reminding myself not to buy many stuff….because I had to bring it on the plane with me. So, carefully chosen some stuff, I managed to fill up 4 plastic bags…. not too bad.
Tina picked us up and after a little bit preparation we head up to the bazaar.
It was so humid and hot that day….. the consulate were full of people already….and we met up in IUC booth. Since they were many people in IUC booth, Shinta and me decided to look around…and bought some stuff…. I bought some food to bring home, to eat there and batik shirt for my beloved husband. Then I met Doddy, my ex co-worker when I still worked with Kvaerner Indonesia. He has one son already…good job!! After a nice talk and sitting down in a shade (eating our meal there too), we joined in the IUC booth again.
We talked and took pictures and joked….. it was nice….. It was worth it flying to Houston….
Shinta and me went back with Tina, Thomas and Peter to their place at about 10/11 pm. We were so tired but then Tina convinced us that the jacuzzi would ease our tiredness and stiffness….. so, we changed clothes and went to the pool. We just sat there and relaxing…drinking and talking…wow, very nice….
The hot water surely was very nice…thanks Tina and Thomas….
We went to sleep at 3:00 am and woke up at about 8:00 am. We had to get ready to go to Airin’s place. So, Shinta and I got ready and drove to Airin place after saying good bye to Tina, Thomas and Peter… Thank you guys…you are just so wonderful.
On the way to Airin’s, thanks to Shinta, I got a chance to take shots of the downtown…hehehhe
At Airin’s Shinta was so hungry…. she just ate what was on the table (ahhahhahaha….), then Airin was kind enough to cook here some rice and food….good for hungry Shinta.
We were talking again and again and it was time for me to go… Alan took me and Nina to the airport…and Thank God I managed to be on board…since I was worried that I would miss my plane…
What a day…what a nice trip….look forward to see you guys in Houston again….
More Pics?? Here
(picture of beautiful Mimi’s room).
