Am just saying - not really complaining

When I first got here, the first 3 months, each time I opened my FB account, my friends and family back home would want to chat and their main query was how was I settling in. Sometimes, I will be FB chatting with 2 to 3 friends at one time, re-typing the same responses over and over again. Until at one point, I decided to turn off that chat room because it can be quite distracting as it stopped me from doing other online things like reading the news and checking my emails.

Come this April 22, we would have been here 10 months and honestly speaking, I feel like I have been here way longer than that! Macam dah rasa lebih setahun.

In this entry, I want to briefly describe my life here - in the land where women are forbidden to drive and taxi fares are so damn Mengarut!

Last weekend, I bought some very good looking sweet potatoes. I told myself that sometime this week, I would make kuih keria, one of my favorites local kuih. I did not really know when exactly I will make it but will buy the keledek anyway because in my household, following the rule of the man of the house, barring any unforeseen circumstances, grocery shopping takes place only once a week. So, I kinda have to plan ahead which involved stocking up the fridge, the kitchen for any sudden craving.

Last Thursday, I "planned" that I will crave for kuih keria. Six days later, the craving never made its appearance. So the sweet potatoes are still there, in my rattan-like basket, on the kitchen counter, next to the sink. Each time I stand by my sink, I would glance at them, asking myself : "would I end up throwing them away soon as they slowly rot away?" like most of the veggies I bought a week ahead but never got a chance to cook them. Even if I did cook them, there will always been one or two tomatoes, one cucumber, half a packet of bean sprouts, that ended up all soggy and thrown into the trash bin!

Last Thursday too, I "planned" not to want to eat taugeh or spinach. But by Sunday, I want to eat taugeh. And today, I wished I had some spinach so I can rebus it together with the good looking keledek. But this is not like back home where I can easily grab the car keys and drive to the nearest grocer.

It is frustrating. Really. This lack of spontaneity. The overdependence on the man of the house who even back home hardly liked going to supermarkets and I personally never minded this. I loved doing grocery shopping alone but since Jeddah, that feeling has waned.

So that my dear friends, in a nutshell, describes my life here. My experience may differ from others so please don't assume that life here is a pain for everyone else too.

If only this city has good public transportation system, like public buses or light rail transits (I wish!), no doubt, I would find living here more bearable. When I was working my butt off in England, I did not drive. I cycled or took buses. Money was tight but heck, I was happier because I can go to the market or shops anytime I wanted.

(Some of you may say now, buatlah keledek goreng ke, mee rebus ke (but mee kuning tak de??)etc but, if I am not in the mood to do it, what to do? But I promise myself, that sweet potatoes will be consumed one way or another!)

There is a quote by Charles M Schulz "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it."

And I think I am going to do just that. He... he...