ACE

Hey Wednesday. Way to go NEW COFFEE POT. The coffee was really good this morning. Gotta like that.

Some happenings here around Balikpapan; for starters - there's a whole lot less imported foods these days. The story I got - apparently exports (food exports) are way down. No surprise about that, and you're not alone on that one either Indonesia. So - the government here has decided to limit the amount of imported foods to try and offset the shortfall.

This is not good news for all those little shops we like to frequent and get our reminiscent tastes of home. This is not good news for those of us who happen to like some of those things. But, on the plus side of that - the stuff was outrageously expensive anyways. So guess we'll all start saving a little more Rupiahs soon. Big boost for the rice industry I guess. (And wholly am I glad I have 2 brand new jars of Cheez Whiz.)

I'm not sure how this is going to effect everything else we can buy here. Ace Hardware is full of imported stuff. Full of expensive imported stuff - but it's still good to have all this stuff. And right now the store is really full. I wonder if there is some anticipation going on or is it just that some competition has finally moved to town.

The other big story; is all about the ALCOHOL TAX. Now up to 400% on wine I'm told - WOW - good thing I don't need any of that. The last I heard the cheapest bottle of wine in town (if you can find one) is about $40 USD. Tomorrow I'm due to make a beer run - it'll be interesting to see if there is any and what will be the price of that.

TODAY: Whizzing by in a big hurry. Already more than half done.

I'm still busy sorting and rearranging and putting things away. Good thing I'm not in a hurry about that. Made a quick stop at the BBC this afternoon. Rather was suppose to be a quick stop - ended up sampling a whole bunch of food. Good stuff guys + love the new batiks.

That's it for today folks. Good to Go!