View of Hoboken from New York with the sun setting in the background

The epiphany

When it takes 30 years to get an ‘aha’ moment… And other expat insights.

The view from ground-level seats to the stage

It’s official…

If the US has taught us anything, it’s that binge-watching a TV series is as delightful and legitimate as a concert at the Lincoln Center.

Summertime, y México

As I lounge in a blissful resort in Playa del Carmen, the subconscious butts its head in and wonders why I’m not working. ‘Tis the curse of the digital nomad.

sun shining behind island

The second half

Is it so bad to age? 12 days on the Queen Mary 2 and four dozen gluten-free pastries later, I am happy to disagree.

Richard Bourdon stands in front of a tub of dough

The quest for gluten, part III: Richard the baker

Netflix meets reality as Alex and I step inside the inner sanctum of the Berkshire Mountain Bakery and meet the guru of gluten himself, Richard Bourdon. He spent over one and a half hours generously explaining to us his theories on the modern man and his diet. He also shared some starter for me to try.

One year on, deep thoughts

A year ago, on September 28, 2015, Lufthansa’s flight LH 412 from Munich to Newark landed on Jersey soil, carrying, among others, two would-be expats to their new homes. Moving here has been quite educational. And a bit confusing. It is something new and something old at the same time. The […]

The quest for gluten, part II: Our brilliant B&B

Hi all, hope you’re all well! I had an impromptu and short summer break – flying to Jakarta via Munich and back – which it itself produced a whole set of new stories, some of which I will share with the WWW in the next blog entry. In the meantime, however, I do need to […]

The quest for gluten, part I

The other weekend, Alex and I drove to the Berkshires in search of gluten. Not just any gluten, mind you. Gluten that has gone through the natural process of fermentation, made by the baker Richard Bourdon, proprietor of the Berkshire Mountain Bakery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. We were flipping through Netflix […]

My days in numbers

It’ll almost be 9 months since Alex and I have moved to New Jersey. Kaum zu glauben! It’s really hard to summarize all that I’ve seen, and all that’s happened. So, I thought I would go clinical and just use numbers. So here some random stats from our days in New Jersey, […]

My LA story

First…a moment. To take a deep breath, gather strength and remember that despite some fanatics’ best efforts, the world isn’t falling apart and that bombings, nuclear testings and bizarre presidential candidates are anomalies in this world. I pray for all the souls – for those whose lives were tragically lost, […]

My LA story

I recently spent a great two weeks in Los Angeles. When I say great, I really mean it. I was never excited about LA before. I mentioned in a previous post that when I was growing up there I was dependent on others to drive me around, and that made […]

Persona Grata

Die Umsatzsteuer bei grenzüberschreitenden Dienstleistungen. Yeah…a mouthful, ain’t it?  Roughly translated, it means ‘VAT and international (cross border) services’.  I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this as I try to figure out the best way to freelance over here while working with clients in Germany. It’s not quite as easy […]

Breaking news!!!

THIS JUST IN: Frau Ibu Ms. Pingkan Marya Lucas is now officially authorized to work in the US of A!!! 😀 I am sooo psyched, had to do a post right away! The timing could not have been better. I have been sooo restless, it’s crazy. I mean, taking care of […]

Kangen

An odd thing has been happening lately. I started mourning all of the losses I experienced all the times I moved. I look back and realized how much I missed my childhood in Jakarta. How much I missed my cousins, aunts and uncles. Running around freely in the complex, with neighbors […]