...... ON MY WAY

Whoo - hoo! On the way today. Time to go find a new beach. And with any luck, tomorrow morning - I'll have the above for a view. Unfortunately, I'm way too busy this morning to get excited about it. (or pack) But very soon I'll get all the TO-DO-LIST stuff out of the way - and I'll be there.

If you want to see where I'm going (and my fortnight friend too) - you can check it out here. Looks like a pretty awesome place I think.

So I'm going to try and do something a little differently with the blog this time while I'm away. And I can only do this because this isn't the first time to where I'm going on this trip. I'm going to try and use the scheduler thingy that Blogger's got. So each day while I'm away I'm going to hopefully do a post (guessing of course) of where I'm at. And we'll just have to wait and see if it all works out - when I get back.

........ and I was informed last night by my informant - that I'd better make a mention about the sour cream. No you don't just put the cream out on the counter over night (com'mon tell the truth - did you try it?) and wait for it to go off. No, that's not quite it - there's a little more to it than that.

TODAY: Clear-up all the THINGS-TO-DO, pack a suit case and get on a plane and get outta here. To bad the other Me couldn't come too. (darn job)

Time to Go!

THE HALF-WAY POINT

Half way through the week again. Well. I guess now that really depends on when you started counting it and when your week actually ends. Hmm?

So I'm wondering this morning what the correlation between banana trees and snakes is. Please somebody help me out with this cause there's a banana tree behind my house. (Everything seems to happen behind the house - including thunder and lightning and the afternoon naps the gardeners take.) And rumor has it - in our compound there's been many sightings of snakes. @#%!

Yesterday sure blew by. And sorry about my lack of effort with putting something of value into that post yesterday. Pretty darn lazy of me I guess. It happens. Not sure what's happening these days but having an inner battle with ambition versus the Blog. A Blog Block perhaps - or maybe I'm just too busy thinking about other stuff.

Like all the end of the month stuff I need to do (like fast) and some other projects I need to get finished for next month. One really, really big project - that will take all of next month to do. (why do I agree to this stuff?) Maybe this will be the last time - almost time to move on after that.

And get organized and packed. For the trip I'm about to take. Tomorrow night in fact - out of here and on my way. Will update you all tomorrow about that.

TODAY: Eat fruit and make a packing list (get a plan), straighten out the desk (notice I didn't say clean-up this time - I'm actually on a roll with that), bug some people that didn't do the stuff they said they'd do (@#%!), a tiny bit of a shopping trip and the ATM too, try and stay out the sun (cause it's really fricking hot), send some emails I been neglecting to do, and work on (maybe finish) a job that I need to do for the end of the month (that's like tomorrow in fact).

Ok, gotta run - thanks for reading everyone.

Good to Go!

NOT EVEN CLOSE TO MORNING

Oh oh. So, the day is gone. I started this post about twelve hours ago. But, before I knew it - whole day gone ..........

............ and now, my creative juices are dried up for the day. And no, that's not my fancy work in the flower pot. What can I say?

Here's something you should all check out. The King of Kings. Very cool - well worth a look. (and make sure you click on the little squares too.)

More tomorrow.

Go to Go!

FEELS LIKE MONDAY

Feels like Monday all over again. Snuck up on me and now here it is.

Thank you for inventing the Internet. (and the backpack) Although we're still having all kinds of issues with it (the usual ones - like it doesn't work most of the time), it's still number 1. And because of that I got to do the face to face Skype thing with one of my favorite sons (and some other special people too) - now if I could just do that with the other favorite one.

Note: The backpack. Ever noticed how almost everyone in the world has one?

So Me and the other Me had a really nice weekend (together). Spent more than 24 hours together in the same house. (been awhile since we got to do that) Nice. Quite likely a quiet precursor of what's to come. Busy days ahead, comings and goings for both of us - unfortunately though, not the same time or the same place.

How the weekend went. (not necessarily in any order)

:: Fed the cat.
:: Started a new book. (starts with Dear Mr. Premier - so far a good book)
:: Fell in love with the Apple TV and listened to music all afternoon.
:: Went to a Farewell Party.
:: Found out there's going to be another Farewell Party here real soon, and another one.
:: Drank too much wine. (again) (and, by now you'd think I'd know better than that)
:: Sprayed for ants. (again)
:: Booked a hotel room. (and confirmed)
:: Picked up plane tickets.
:: Listened to my favorite hockey team loose a Playoff Game over the Internet. (sad, sad, sad - so sad)
:: Crawled into bed and watched a movie in the middle of the afternoon. (enjoyed that)
:: And had an nap. (enjoyed that too)
:: Fed the cat. (again)
:: Ate too many perogies. (yes, I can cook)
:: Invented sour cream. (not really) (but I'd like to think I did - at least now I know how it's done, so simple in fact)
:: Watched F1. (and yet again J. Button is #1)
:: Fed the cat. (fat cat)

Ah, the ducks - at Manggar Beach. You can rent them. Like that's going to save your life out in the sea. I think NOT. But I bet their a whole lot of fun. I'd love to see them all out in the water together - all 30+ of them.

TODAY: Given that I pretty much did whatever I liked over the weekend - my Monday is now stacked up with a whole bunch of stuff I need to do (note, not want to). And with any luck, today I might even get my hair done.

Ok, gotta run.

Good to Go!

BIG MAC

Ok, so having some serious Internet issues here today. Off and on, and slow and starting and stopping and all that other stuff. Makes a person sooooo frustrated - can't believe I haven't just given up and quit. No idea what time or day I will actually get to post this but.....

So anyways, about the Samarinda trip; ah, every once in while a person needs to laugh at one self a little bit. Doh. Honest - we didn't know half of Samarinda was in the midst of a week long flood. (Regardless of a little, little article in the Jakarta Post all about that.) Guess we should have paid a bit closer attention to that. Ooops. Next time I guess.

Oh well, despite getting turned back a few times - the trip still worked out quite alright. We didn't get to the Museum we thought we'd go to or the Matahari Mall. (Under a meter of water we were told and the roads are impassable too.) But we did do some shopping, and McDonalds for lunch. Checked out the turtle eggs for sale along the road and saw the biggest I've ever seen mosque. Mesjid Raya Darussalam. Beautiful building in fact. Brand new I think. Not too sure about this, but my guide book talks about a mosque in Samarinda being the largest in all of Southeast Asia - but I'm really not certain whether or not this is it.


So imagine having your first BIG MAC. Good old McDonalds. Back home in North America, I don't even actually like the stuff. However, when it's not readily available to you - all of a sudden it rockets itself to the top of the food chain list. So anyways, turns out my driver has never been to a McDonalds before. (In his whole life.) First time for everything I guess.

So when it came our turn to order, he didn't know what to have. He does not ever eat chicken (?) - so that was totally off the list. Note: The Golden Arches do serve chicken and rice here. (And that does make sense.)

"Do you like burgers?"
"Yes."
"What kind do you like?"
"Hmmm, maybe you pick"
"Do you like cheese?"
"Yes."

So we got him a BIG MAC. And it was worth every single cent (rupiah) to see the look on his face when it was put in front of him and he saw the size of it.

"Sorry Mrs. Me not hungry yet"

Bless him - I think my friend said. So in the end he did take-away and that was a big surprise for him too. That BIG MAC made the trip all the way back to Balikpapan with him. And later that night, he shared it with his wife and his kids. Nothing like a cold BIG MAC.

TODAY: Suns out. Enjoy the the day. Happy weekend!

Good to Go!

FRIDAY RECAP

AWESOME! Ok, so where do I begin? This might end up being a little bit longer than the norm post. Need to do a bit of a recap I think.

The Crocodile Field Trip on Wednesday with the English Class - what a blast. I'm hoping if they do that again - they'll invite me back. What a great bunch. I must point out - I was invited along so the students would have an English as a first language person to practice with. And they did a great job of it too.


This was not my first trip to the Crocodile Farm - in fact I've been there quite a number of times - but it has been awhile. Note: This is a FARM and not a ZOO. Yes, there are a whole lot of crocodiles there - quite likely a thousand perhaps (maybe more). Big ones, VERY VERY BIG ones, medium to large ones - little ones (babies) and a whole bunch of sizes in between. I should also add there are a number of species there too. And if you so choose ......... they have crocodile meat (satay) to try too.

We didn't just see crocodiles there either. There's a few other things you can can see and do there too. There's monkeys, turtles, a pair of elephants (that offer rides on the weekends) and another weird looking thing that reminds me of a badge, but most impressive to me and the scariest - the snakes. Definitely the snakes - boa constrictors. The little snakes in the top photo are actually 2 baby ones that were found in someone's house. (Special Note: I am completely horrified of snakes.)

Oh yeah, and about the soccer (football) on the right. Well after all that, we ended up at the Pantai Manggar for a bit of football on the beach and fresh coconut drinks. Great fun everyone - Thanks for asking me.

And about Samarinda, now that's a whole 'nother story. But, enough for this post. Let's just say it was a long one. Will write about that next post. (Have some good photos too.)

TODAY: What can I say? It's Friday! And the usual pre-weekend stuff. Most importantly though - off to pick up plane tickets for next week.

Good to Go!

.....LATER

YESTERDAY: The Crocodile Farm. More later about that.

TODAY: Off to Samarinda. Gotta Go.

Good to Go!

EARTH DAY

Earth Day today.

Yes believe it or not these people are cleaning the beach. Good deal.

This is probably a good time for me to tell you all about the garbage can plan around here in Balikpapan. I'm not exactly certain when this new edict (law) was put into place, but anyways, as of now - all vehicles here, must be equipped with a garbage can. And I have no idea what the actually fine would be for not following that, so - a garbage can we've got.

Good Book Club get together last night. That was fun and it sure was nice to see everyone. And even though the book was not my favorite 'Night' by Elie Wiesel, it certainly generated some really good discussion. Don't get me wrong, not that it wasn't a good book. Just not my kind I guess.

I had a great yesterday. Big THANK YOU(s) to everyone. It was a special day.

TODAY: I'm hooking up with an English Language Class - going on a field trip. Going to Tritip. We're off to the Crocodile Farm this afternoon.

And, I'm going to do something I haven't done in a very long time. PAINT. Yup, today is the day - I'm going to get back into that again.

........ but first, we're making a big big batch of perogies. Yum.

And just so all of you know - the internet here the last couple-five days SUCKS. Having big problems with publishing posts. Very S-L-O-W. But I'll just keep trying.

Good to Go!

KARTINI BATIK DAY

Hello sun shinny day. Ready to go.

So yesterday proved to be a bit of a challenge. All was going well until the whole world seemed to get a shook-up. Stop changing the rules people - I don't much like that. Stop moving your offices with out giving notice - I don't like that either. And please - if you say your going to do something - just do it! Enough said about that - sometimes a person's just got to rant a little bit.

Our plan is set for the Samarinda trip later this week - all geared up and ready to go do that. Tomorrow is the Croc Farm Field Trip - more about that after I actually do it. And very close to nailing down all the details for the Manado trip. Love it when a plan comes together.

TODAY: Today is a special day. Kartini Day in Indonesia - a celebration of sorts. The birthday of Raden Ajeng Kartini, (April 21, 1879–September 17, 1904) a prominent leader in the women's movement in Indonesia and a national heroine in fact. The government declared Kartina a national heroine in 1964 and every year since then, April 21st has been observed as Kartini Day. On this day, women in Indonesia celebrate her life and wear their batiks.

Book Club thing to do tonight. And I have in fact finished the book. Yeah for me in. Pat myself on the back.

And for the rest of the day - no plan just yet - but I have this feeling, as it always does, this day will soon get filled up.

Good to Go!

OK MONDAY

Ok Monday. Let's roll.

In answer to the question. "Can you drink the water here"? NO. Absolutely not. At least I don't (would not). We all get our water (quite commonly known as AQUA) from the Water Shop.

Oh, what a beautiful weekend it was. Perfect weather - gentle breeze(s) and lots of sun. That was great. ..... just the way we like it.

Not sure what happened to me this weekend - seems the alter ego or second self came out. I seem to have turned into an organizing, purging and cleaning freak. Some times you've just got to do it I guess. Must be SPRING.

Have a few plans underway for this week and possibly the next. Later this week - myself and a friend are heading to Samarinda. What/where/why Samarinda you ask? Samarinda is the capital city. Capital of East Kalimantan. About a 2 - 3 hour drive north of here - pending traffic. Why are we doing that? Just because we can I guess. Actually we think we might do some shopping there (heard it's better than Balikpapan) and maybe a museum and even maybe stop and see if we can get a Big Mac. Yes believe it or not there's a McDonalds there.

....... and if all goes well, we might do Manado next week. Still working on that.

And now you're probably wondering - why do we do all this crazy kinda stuff? Well, in fact, there's not a whole lot to do in Balikpapan. And some times you just have to invent stuff for yourself. It is what you make it I guess - and I like it like that.

TODAY: Have a ton of things to do and get done. On the run. Ok Monday - let's go!

Good to Go!

HAPPY HARI SABTU

Is this not the coolest cactus or what? And, yes you can grow cacti here (Balikpapan). It must be the sand I think, or more likely the heat. This was actually a gift - to someone very special in fact. Ahhh. Yeah, ok - enough of that. Anyways, was a really good find this week and gotta love the colours too. Puts a little SPRING into life I think.

First things first, before I forget (again), an interesting note: the A&W here has added to their menu. Onion Rings! Yes believe it or not, they finally have onion rings. Now, come on - who ever heard of an A&W that didn't have onion rings? And really - how hard was that?

TODAY: Off to do the Hunter/Gatherer thing. More about that in a minute - first I must tell you about my yesterday and the purchase of milk.

So, yesterday, I stopped in at the Deli Cafe (on my quest for non-sour milk). I mentioned to the girl that the one I bought the day before (from another shop) turned out to be not so good. She in turn - asked me if I wanted to test the one I was about to buy. Even offered me a glass to taste it with. (Inner smile) Only in Balikpapan I think - gotta love that.

So back to the Hunter/Gatherer thing, aka - doing the grocery shop. Hunter/Gatherer is a suitable name for that here (I think) - cause you never get everything you want in just one stop. You actually have to go and look for it (whatever it is) everywhere. And more often than not - you'll come home empty handed. There's no continuous stocking of shelves around here. If you see something this week - next week is probably a NOT.

And if you do happen to see something that you really, really like, you better buy lots - no matter the cost. And after that, you need to SMS all your friends and them all know too. Sometimes in fact, it's even worth an SMS to other Me. "Hey Honey - guess what I got?" Don't get me wrong - there's absolutely NO shortage of food here, just might not be the stuff you want.

Ok, enough rambling for one day. Tomorrow, the F1 Chinese Grand Prix - 3 o'clock. Happy weekend everyone!

Good to Go!

FIRE ANT FRIDAY

Friday. Fire Ants!! Check out the guy on the right, I think he's dishing out the daily drill to all the rest. I wonder if they actual listen? Ok, so that was a pretty sad attempt at some humor, and I'm not really certain they're even called Fire Ants. But when they bite - it sure fricken hurts and and lasts a long time too. And these guys are big. They're fire RED and about 1 cm long - that's about 1/2 inch for the imperial people amongst you. Anyways, these guys thrive here. Not hard to find them walking along just about any old fence.

So it's Friday and I don't even have the urge to add f-i-n-a-l-l-y to that. In fact it's been a really great week. I'm attributing it all to that list that I made. The "Things I Want To-Do" list, has been working out totally great. It's not that I haven't been busy and I've had all kinds of things I had to do - but somehow, without even thinking I've managed to tick 4 things off the things I want to do. Awesome!

Some exciting news - my favorite book of all time (kid's book) is being made into a movie. Where The Wild Things Are - by Maurice Sendak. Can't believe it took this long - in theaters October 16th. http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com/ Go check it out. ....... and the sound track is aiming to be pretty cool too. Can't wait to see it. Any takers for this?

Good Fortnight Lunch yesterday too. (Not that I ever thought that it wouldn't be) We had a really great day in fact. Except for the sour milk I somehow managed to get. Yup, turns out the one I bought was not the best choice after all - YUCK. My friend even managed to get herself a new watch. And it's a really cool new watch too. Too bad I didn't get a photo of that. Oh, well - maybe next shopping trip. (oops - did I say that? I meant lunch - wink wink.) Just wait till you hear the plans we have for next week.

TODAY: It's Friday. It's raining again (still), I can hear the dripping again up in the roof (still), I think it may have rained pretty much the whole night - the puddles outside are starting to turn into lakes. And I have a zero plan for the day. I think I might just jump into my list. Love it!

Good to Go!

BOOHA

Mission accomplished with the Income Tax. Yeah! Wholly - that sure took a bit. Done, finished, habis, and Booha to that!

So good in fact to get that done, we stopped and got a big bag of pisang goreng (fried bananas) to celebrate with. GREAT! I am so happy to be done with that. (I shared the bananas by the way - I only had 1) Time to get on to some more interesting stuff. Like buying new flower pots and re-potting plants - I think I must miss Spring.

Still counting the votes here from the election last week. So far no party has managed to collect the 25% + votes. No surprise I don't think - how is that possible with 44 parties in the race? So now it's all about coalitions - who' s joining with who? I just don't understand why they didn't do that in the first place.

Popped in at the BBC last night. Our favorite bartender's last day in fact. There's been a big turn-over in the staff there over the last few months. Time for change I guess. ......... a little sad though of course.

Special Note to the other Me and everyone else who's ever seen it: I talked to the boss yesterday, and I think the "Ugly Cat" is now officially gone!

And the photo for today; The view from Pasir Ridge. Pasir Ridge is where all the Chevron folks live. Live, work, play, school - pretty much everything. Pretty amazing I think.

TODAY: Looks like rain. And rather welcomed in fact. Time to cool things off. The last couple of days here have been hot, hot, hot.

And a good day for the Fortnight Lunch. Have to admit, the Fortnight Lunch started out as an every other week thing - but it's sure grown from that. Actually earlier in the week the other Me asked what a fortnight was (fortnight is not a usual word for us). I think maybe we've now developed our own version of that.

Good to Go!

ANZAC

Firstly - About the Wooly Bears - well yesterday, I happened to come across a whole bunch of the damn things. And apparently they are "D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S", or at least so I'm told. They don't bite - but they make you itch. Hmmm - well I'm not so sure about that. But I'm not about to test that idea either. Anyways - they're all gone now - we got out the big can of Baygon and took care of that.

I need to also point out - I'd never heard of the Gilis before I got here (Balikpapan) either. But trust me, if you ever get the chance it's worth it. 100%.

Ok, now on to the ANZAC stuff. For starters ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Yesterday, the BIWA group did a coffee/information thing up on the Ridge (Pasir Ridge) in commemoration of ANZAC Day that's coming up. (April 25th) ANZAC Day is kinda of like a Remembrance - Memorial Day sort of thing.

How does Balikpapan factor into all of this? There is a connection in all of this (see below). I should also point out there's quite a bit of military remnants left up on the Ridge (the Ridge was a major vantage point) - including a very large suspected mass grave.

In 1945, Australian forces launched three military actions against Japanese-held Borneo: at Tarakan, at Labuan-Brunei Bay and at Balikpapan. These were the biggest and final Australian campaigns of World War II.

In the early hours of Sunday, 1 July 1945, over 150 ships were gathered off the southwest Borneo coast. On board were 30,000 Australian troops. They were preparing to participate in Operation Oboe2, an amphibious invasion on the town of Balikpapan, which was the second largest oil producing area in the Dutch East Indies.

The large refineries had been supplying the Japanese military in the southwest Pacific with over half of its fuel products since 1942, and so were one of the US Army Airforce and RAAF's most important targets from 1943 till 1 July 1945.

On this morning, with American bombs having already fallen on the beach, the Australian troops landed five minutes early and began the assault, joined on the following day by a reserve brigade.

Oboe2 was successful, with the retaking of the town and harbor of Balikpapan, and the securing of the oil installations, airfields and coast from Klandasan to Manggar. Within six weeks of the successful assault, the Japanese had been defeated.

TODAY: Back to dealing with that Income Tax stuff. Up early this morning and lined up a the bank by 8:30 a.m. And everything was going really good too - until, the lines of communication stopped (by that I think they meant the internet). Anyways only 1 out of the 13 pieces of paper got paid. And now, this afternoon - I have to make the trip back. @#*!

....... and in the in between time - we're deal with re-potting a bunch of plants.

Have a good one.

Good to Go!

GILI TRAWANGAN

Finally, I'm getting to the Gili Trawangan part. What a great place. I totally loved this place.

But first a little note about my yesterday mission. NOT. That did not work out. Turns out you can not pay your Income Tax in CASH - need to use your bank account. Tomorrow we head back. This time with the bank book in hand. @#*!

....and turns out, just as well anyways. Today the other Me brought 12 more of the darn things to pay. We are now on the monthly installment plan for 2009. Believe it or not 950Rp per month. That's like 9 cents. .......... and I have to stand in line for that. @#*!

So about Gili Trawangan. First off you have to get there. Which is not exactly an easy feat. The trip starts with a plane ride into Mataram (Lombok) and then hire a car to go over-land, through the Monkey Forest (Yes, it's really called that - and yes, there's a ton of monkeys there too.) to Bangsal Harbor where you get to use your bargaining skills to negotiate a price ($6) for a regular public boat.

Trawangan is one of the 3 Gilis (Islands) Gili Air, Gili Meno and Trawangan. In between the islands of Lombok and Bali. It is the cleanest, greenest place. Beautiful in fact. There are no motorized anythings in the place. The only transport is by horse cart, bike or by foot. Tiny little hotels or Home Stays some with hot water, but mostly not, and direct from the sea in fact (salty). And not a whole lot of these places come equipped with AC. A BIG beer in Trawangan costs all of 30,000Rp ($2.75 USD), there's snorkeling and scuba and some great seafood too, but best of all - Trawangan is just a really, really great place to don your bikini and go and relax.

An interesting side note about Trawangan: By tradition, only one establishment per night can play music and host a dance party until 4 a.m. And 7 days a week, they take turns doing just that.

TODAY: Up early and on the go. Have an interesting ANZAC thing to do up on the Ridge this morning. And tomorrow I'll tell you all about that.

Enjoy yours. Good to Go!

WOOLY BEARS

Wooly Bears? In Balikpapan? What's this?

Ok, so I once used to call these things Wooly Bears - but they didn't really quite look like this. Not sure what variety of caterpillar this thing is, or what it might turn into - but it was very, very cool. And a very hairy little thing it was too.

So I managed to recover all the photos from the Surabaya-Bali-Lombok-Gili trip. And I was going to post some Gili photo stuff on the Blog today too - but then the little Wooly Bear thing crawled by on the patio and bumped the Gili stuff off from the top of the list. Tomorrow I'll get some of those posted and tell you all about that place.

I officially made my list this weekend too. I've name it the "Things I Want To-Do" list - it's a physiological thing. Want-to-do sure beats have-to or need-to-do. And it works too. Trust me - you wouldn't believe all the stuff I've gotten done - it's amazing how you can find time to do the stuff you really want to do. So what would be on your list of things you want to do?

We had a great weekend around here too. Ate way too much turkey though - of course. And now we're faced with what to do with all the left over turkey stuff. Turkey sandwiches, soup, a-la-king and whatever else we can find a recipe to do. Anyone out there got some good left over turkey recipes you'd like to share?

And a special note to my friend with the Chocolate Easter Eggs. Just what I needed - many many thanks. I had no idea you could buy those here.

TODAY: Heading out to pay what we still owe on our Indonesian Income Tax - all 13,300Rp of it. ($1.18 USD) This should prove to be a very interesting event. I just know it's going to be another one of those take a number and wait your turn things. Another queue event.

And a whole list of other things to do too. It's Monday. Let's do it.

Good to Go!

EGG DAY

Happy Egg Day - Happy Easter everyone!

Sorry folks, but a short little post today. Today I'm on the run.

A quick note about buying eggs in Balikpapan. In Balikpapan and all around here, eggs do not come in a 12 pack. Usually they're sold in 10. (the metric version of a baker's dozen - I think) Or if you really want - you can just buy 1. No egg cartons around here either - they put them in a plastic (bag) that you can gently carry home with you.

TODAY: Turkey is in the oven, cold beer is in the fridge and just because we're in the tropics with an abundance of pineapples and coconut - we're making Pina Coladas too. And any minute now the house is going to fill up - and it's time for our Easter Dinner.

Good to Go!

HMMMMM

So, I woke up this morning listening to rain, rain and more rain (and the windows fogged up from the inside out - yes that is possible in fact) - must be some kind of significance to this as 2 of our news channels here showing us (Borneo) on the weather map. And that rarely ever happens here. We never never make the weather map. Hmmmmmm?

And just to set the record straight - that black hole in the blue room, is all fixed up. Patched over and disappeared in fact. But it is raining out .............. Hmmmmm - well we'll see about that.

And since I'm in the mood of setting records straight. That F1 Race in Malaysia - So I was told (informed) last night, Button got the win as he was ahead in the the last lap. Ok, so I've thinking about that - isn't that kinda like the same thing as farther than anyone else? Theoretically? ............. another hmmmmm.

SPECIAL NOTE: I think I might start referring to my informant (and this guy does know a lot) as "The F1 Nut". Unless he wants to challenge that? Hmmmmm.

Election Day around here, (that sort-of like a holiday thing). Still trying to figure out how all of this works. So here's what I think I understand - so far. (And if any of you out there knows more about this - please let me know). Today is the General Election, and any party (out of the 44) that gets at least 25% of the vote, gets to nominate someone for president in the Presidential Election. But I think we all have to wait until July for that.

TODAY: Rain Day. Maybe all day in fact. Good day for a duck suit and an umbrella or maybe just act like a duck in fact.

Lunch date with the ladies and it's Girls' Night Out too. That sort-of like a holiday thing - just doesn't really apply.

Today, I'm seriously going to build myself a list. Not that I actually think I might tick or cross things off. But if I really do make a list - I might just remember all the things I'd like to do.

...... and with any luck, today, the other Me might just be able to find his way back. Hmmmmm.

Good to Go!

WHOA WEDNESDAY

Whoa Wednesday. Slow down day ........ you're going way too fast.

Ok, so I bought this really great lampshade on my "shopping trip to Lombok" White, rice paper, a fold up-down accordion kind of thing for a new hanging lamp. Yeah, I know - the living space in this house has 23 (counted them) light bulbs - but the bedrooms, do not. Anyways, how hard can it be to build a new lamp? Really?

Some electrical wire (white), a plug-in receptacle (white), a switch (white), and a receptacle for the bulb (black?) BLACK? What do you mean black? Believe it or not - a white one does not exist here. Really? I went to darn near every shop. Everything in white except for that. What's with that? Now I have a completely white lamp that looks totally great except for the one-part BLACK. !@#$ Welcome to Balikpapan. Next time I'm going to do the whole thing in black. Yup, next time I'm going with black.

Great day yesterday (except for the one-part BLACK) Wandered. Everywhere. And we all liked that. Stopped in a place called Resto for lunch. Nice little spot. And I do mean little - decorated completely in a Harley Davidson theme (more motorcycle madness), including the bar in the shape of the crest. Nice spot. Good place for lunch and some good company too!

..... and we have boughten the nice little turkey (rather on the large side of little) for our Easter Dinner too.

Today: Last day before the big Election that's taking place over here. All over the news. Appears there's a few issues regarding the voters lists. Seems the same ID numbers are showing up more than twice. Hmmmm

.......... and the jet planes are flying overhead. Today - one, two, three.

.......... and since the other Me is still out and about. Good day for Kepiting - crab night tonight.

Good to Go!

6.3

Hello Everyone, Good morning. (It's morning here in Balikpapan anyway...)

So, I've been watching the news about the earthquake in Italy today. 6.3 - that's pretty big in fact. Can't imagine what it's like to have buildings around me tumbling down. Anyways, just so turns out a friend left last week for some R&R in Rome and other Italian spots. Where are you? Hope you're alright.

Made some serious progress with all the piles on the desk yesterday. And today I'm going to finish it. (I hope) One more day and it should all get done - at least until the next time it comes around again. It always comes around again.

The fighter planes are back in town. Yesterday. With all the noise they can possibly muster. Trust me it's LOUD. Big time. But as a trade off - we do get to have our own private airshow at least. Not sure what they were up to yesterday, but they seemed to be making big circles over town. Around and around and around. And tried as hard as I could - but no way could I get a picture of that. They just go way, way to fast. Fast enough in fact that you don't actually hear them till they're clear out of site.

The other Me - back on the road again this morning and heading out of town. Staying at the Handil Hilton in fact. By now probably knows every bump and curve and chicken on the road in fact. Just hope the Thursday holiday (election) doesn't mess with the plans to get back.

Today: Today is a fortnight lunch day. Not sure where we're going or what we're going to do. Just going to go and wander about. ......... and with any luck (fingers crossed) we'll find ourselves a turkey for our Easter dinner too. (Cross out ham - that's not happening here) No problem, turkey's good too.

Ok, wander time.

Good to Go!

GO MONDAY

Go Monday. Fresh start. This is going to be a busy week. Lots and lots of stuff to do. ........ and it's raining, imagine that. Actually, this is the first rain in a few days. Maybe, just maybe we're heading into the dry part?

I hope everyone's weekend was a little more productive than mine! Somehow it was busy - but, can't actually think of anything that really got done. It was one of those types.

This is election week in Indonesia. ..........and surprisingly it's relatively quiet in fact. All the campaign flags and posters and billboards have all come down. The campaign parades have stopped too. Now is termed the "cooling off" period, almost like a calm has washed over this place. So very unlike an election in North America - almost the complete opposite in fact. Not sure what to expect on voting day Thursday, just might be a good day to sit put in the house.

F1 Malaysia - rained out. Cut short by the rain before it even got done. Button and Brawn - "Brawn GP's Jenson Button won amid much confusion as the race was red flagged after 32 laps"........ still trying to figure out how all this works though. Every 2 weeks it seems, somewhere (someplace) in the world there's a race. And they get points (not sure how or why or for what?). Guess I'm going to have to keep watching so I can figure this out.

.......and just to point out. There are some people who truly do devote themselves to following this. All of this in fact. Kinda like being a Rider Fan almost. "Go Riders Go". Anyways, turns out they gave the win to a guy named J Button (Mercedes) as seems he got farther (more laps) than anyone else.

Today: A whole wack of stuff in the office to do. Stuff that should really be already done. But, ....... kinda traded that out for some fun. Bali, Lombok, etc. etc. Still trying to get all those pictures back too - working on it.

Off to the Kantor Post - the post office. Need to send a letter out. No, it's not quite like going to the mail box or dropping it in a mail slot. Need to get in the queue and wait my turn just like everyone else. Except that, when you get to the front - so does everyone else. And sometimes (most times) the queue even re-invents itself. Standing elbow to elbow instead of one in the back and one in the front....... and then pushing and shoving and rushing to get to the front. Kinda like plane rides here too.

Ok, lots to do. Have a good one.

Good to Go!

BACK ON BLOGGING

Hey, I made it. I'm back. Good trip. Very good trip in fact. And just what I needed I guess. Special note: if you ever get to do this - make sure you get the window seat.

Seems all is well in Balikpapan. Gearing up for the election next week. Thursday - which is a day off for some, but not for everyone. Yup, the other Me will be working that day too, and the next and the next and ....... (The other Me could really use a day OFF.)

So about my trip: Balikpapan - Surabaya - Bali - Mataram - Gili Trawangan - Mataram - Surabaya - and back. Busy, busy trip and a whole bunch of plane rides too (+ a boat or two) A sort of shopping trip actually. But not for me - for my friend's new spot she's setting up here in Balikpapan. Will tell all about that, at a later date. I've decided to refer to this as my "not like a tourist trip". It was great - not once did I feel like a tourist. And that was probably the best part.

Took loads of photos too. BUT, big but in fact. My camera card doesn't want to work. And that sucks - big time. They are not lost - just need to get a program that will recover all the great photo shots I got. I'm working on it, managed to recover a couple so far (today's post photo from Surabaya) Promise I'll post a whole bunch once I get a handle on that. Gotta show you the pics from Gili - what a great spot.

So remember the "THE DOCTOR" post from a few posts back? Well one of my Blog followers thinks he's figured it out. Turns out "The Doctor" might just be Valentino Rossi; a professional Italian motorcycle racer (MotoGP) and apparently one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time. World Champion in fact. Now that would just figure, makes way too much sense. Of course people here (a country that has more motorcycles than any other place in the world) would idolize this guy enough to put his aka-name on the back of their truck.

Valentino Rossi - AKA 'The Doctor'. Check it out.

SIDE NOTE: Everyone over here watches the races - of any kind in fact. And tomorrow night we're having some folks over to do just that. Formula 1. Malaysia Grand Prix from Kuala Lumpur.

TODAY: I have no idea yet. Today - I woke up without a plan. Working on it.

Good Saturday. Good to Go!