Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

It’s that time of year again when we blogging nerds feel it’s necessary to get away from our digital worlds and to interact with some real people in the real world.

So, if you’re that way inclined, do drop by the Absolute Café at the top end of Jl. Jaksa, about 50 metres down on the left as you drive in, this coming Friday (22nd) from 6pm onwards.

It’s a chance to down a few reasonably priced beers, eat some ok nosh and to swap yarns of the “what- the- expletive deleted” variety, the sort of small, yet aggravating events in our daily lives which keep us on our toes, peering, ever curious, over the parapets.

Like the fact that it seems to be an annual occurence, but I’m having the devil’s own job in paying for my Indovision satellite TV service. Last year I wrote about my difficulties in paying them; tightwad though I may be, I really wanted to and really tried.

This year is perhaps even worse. Firstly, last Friday Indovision closed two accounts which one could transfer subscriptions into by ATM. They didn’t give information about their new account, not on the bill nor the ATM.

So I tried to pay by cash at Bank Mandiri, having suggested that they ring Indovision’s customer service dept. to ascertain details of the new account. Apart from discovering that Citibank were to be the new recipients of our subscriptions, assuming anyone is able to pay, we reached a dead end. That was an hour wasted.

‘Er Indoors then tried to get the information and was told that she could transfer at any branch of BCA ~ Bank Cinta Antri. She came home angry: being told that there is a fee of Rp.50,000 (c.$5.50), instead of the customary Rp.5,000, for transfers to Citibank seems particularly outrageous. Another couple of hours wasted.

As a commentator wrote here last year, “My wife (who is Indonesian by the way) tried to collect and pay (bills) herself and got more confused and upset then I did.”

For the time being, we seem to have a notionally free service and you know one of the yarns I won’t have to relate next Friday.

See you there?
(PS. I’ll be there around 7pm)