.... AND THEY'RE OFF!

So this week kicks off the official start of the CAMPAIGN of POLITICAL PARTIES for Indonesia's Parliamentary (Federal) Election coming up on April 9th. Everyday now, up until the 5th of April, each of the 44 different parties will take turns parading through the streets. Honking horns and waving flags and wearing their brightly coloured T-shirts in an attempt to drum up support for their favorite candidate.

So, officially what this means to all the rest of us is ........... be prepared to get caught up in the traffic. Plan your route. And there is an actual official schedule for all of this.

..... can you imagine having to choose between 44 official parties. Wholly smokes. The Jakarta Post had a picture last week of what the voting ballot looks like. It's huge, like the size of a poster in fact - I can't even figure out how they're going to fold it up to get it in the ballot box.

TODAY: For starters - well, no big surprise, the DRIP, DRIP is back. Yup, pretty much rained all night - and now the leak in the Blue Room is turning into a steady stream. Actually, I don't think it ever really went away - just stopped raining for a bit. The little drip is now even bigger than before. And the black hole, has in fact, more than doubled in size.

And, seems last month we paid someone else's house phone bill by mistake. So, need to get that sorted out. The office inverted the numbers (phone number) on the bill and so when we paid it .......... well turns out we paid the bill for some other house. What I can't figure out is why our phone didn't get cut off - there is like a zero grace period here for anything. In fact, if you don't pay the Indovision (Satelite TV) bill on time, a warning will scroll across your TV screen telling you to pay up or be cut off. Not a bad plan actually. No body ever gets behind on their bills around here.

Ok, so guess it's time to for me head out in tropical rain that seems to have NO plan of easing up. Stay dry everyone - good day for duck suits.

Good to Go!

TRAVELING SALESMEN & HAPPY ST. PAT'S

Who needs to go shopping when you have one of these guys out and about? And check out what he's got! Plastic dippers, strainers, kitchen knives, fake flowers and wooden spoons, little rugs for your front step and even a hand saw too. And doesn't even bother with VAT tax. Talk about being an entrepreneur. Cool. (VAT = Value Added Tax. Not sure how the value gets into that?)

And today is St. Patrick's Day too. Yes - it's celebrated over here too. I'm not sure where they got it from, but the girls from BIWA will be serving green beer tonight at the Travel Expo event. Might be a wee bit of Irish going on tonight ........ or maybe just a little luck.

TODAY: So yesterday turned into one of those days where I didn't seem to get anything done. WINK WINK. And for that reason - makes today a little more full and maybe even a little more fun.

Start out by picking up those paintings I should have already done. And figure out the where and how of hanging them.

Busy, busy day ahead. Here's goes..........

Good to Go!

THE DURIAN FRUIT

Goodbye weekend. Back to real life. Can't pretend I'm on holidays anymore.

Another successful weekend ...... whipped by way to fast. Again. Funny how that happens. And a busy weekend it was too - but we did manage to get some down time in yesterday afternoon. Good deal for us!

The leak in the roof - I think is sort-of-fixed. Need to wait for a big rain storm to see if the repair job the maintenance guys did really works out. Still have the black hole in the ceiling but they were up in the attic for quite awhile doing something at least. Another one of those we'll see things I guess.

Now about the DURIAN. (See photo up above) It's a fruit believe it or not. And it's in season and they are everywhere. And it stinks. Really, really and lots. In fact in a lot of places this thing is banned or against the law. And for good reason too. There is no possible way to describe the smell of this thing - you've just got to experience it for yourself. Hard to believe they allow this thing in the supermarket.

TODAY: Much of the same. Errands this afternoon. It seems like we do a lot of errands around here ........ There's a LOT of stuff going on here at all times. And we like it like that.

Bought some really cool paintings on our holiday and need to make a run to the framing shop to pick them up. That's the easy part. Then we need to hang them up. Cement walls - gonna make that task a little tough. But ................

Good to Go!

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP

Better grab a bucket. Cause the blue room ............ has sprung a leak. Ahhhh, we knew that was coming - didn't we? Just a matter of time and a little bit of rain of course. Can't wait to see how this gets fixed. My best guess - we're going to have a nice big orange tarp over the house for a bit. And at least for now - the rain has quit. I'm not sure where the maintenance guys are today - things have gotten a little sketchy around here the past week. Thank GOD we have a bucket at least.

NOTE: There is no such thing as preventative maintenance. And the drip, drip, drip ...... has been going on for months. Just like the one above our bed at night. (Can't wait till that one goes when we're sound asleep in the middle of the night.) But, need to wait until it actually makes a nice black hole in the ceiling and comes through before you can get it fixed.

Had a nice, nice night last night at the BBC. Got caught up. Met up with some other folks that have been away. Good to see you guys again. You're looking like you had a good trip. ....... and I understand you got a bonus day out of the trip. Too funny. Met some very nice people visiting from the UK too.

TODAY: Just might be a good day to hang out in the house. A good day for Scrabble and books and cleaning up the desk and maybe even an afternoon nap.

At least until latter on. The big Kaltim Panah Wind-up thing is happening tonight. Time to sharpen up the darts and finish this season up. Good darts everyone - good season - it was fun. See you all later tonight

Good to Go!

MULTICULTURAL PIGEONS IN PARADISE

Good guess. You got it. Your right. Kuala Lumpur (KL) was our first and last stop. Did a few other places in between. This was my (our) first trip to KL. And easily fell in love with the place. It's so green and clean and has pretty much everything and anything a person could ever want. And the rest of the world could definitely take a lesson in multiculturalism from them too. Everyone just simply fits in. Black or white. Great place and I'd definitely go there again.

......... and so this is why we had to wait in the Jakarta airport to get home.

A Lion Air airplane flying from Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, skidded off the runway at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Monday, but no passengers were injured during the terrifying ordeal. It was the latest in a string of incidents within the country’s troubled aviation industry.

Heavy rain which showered the Greater Jakarta area had caused the runway to become slippery, and at around 3:30 p.m. as the MD-90 aircraft was landing, it skidded across the runway, going into a 180-degree spin before eventually stopping tail first in an open field.

Rescue workers immediately evacuated all 166 passengers and crew on board. Although traumatized by the ordeal, no one was hurt.

....... and to think that we were actually there at time and didn't even know. Hmmmm??? Hard to believe no one was hurt. On this side - everyone is seat belts off and up and out of their seats as soon as a wheel touches the ground.

Looks like we're going to have the perfect weather day around here. Suns out, a few fluffy popcorn clouds and a nice bit of wind. Just like living in the tropics - this is half of what it's all about. Love it. Great way to do a day.

The "Girls Night Out" was a total success - at least as far as I can tell. Open House was great. Good pick. Next time though ....... maybe I won't stay out quite so late. Was a bit of a s-l-o-w start to my day today.

Today: Oh heck it's Friday the 13th. Again? And possibly a BBC Night tonight.

Have some errands to run this afternoon and need to get out and collect some new pics. I should make a TO-DO-LIST too, but then that would just make way too much sense.

Good to Go!

HOLIDAY TRANCE

Ok, so a bunch of you have been wondering about the holiday.

For starters I have to tell you - living in Balikpapan is great - but, it is a very isolating place, and every once in a while a person just has to get out. Out of here. And right now flying is super cheap to almost anywhere from here. (One of the few pluses to the Global Slowdown - all the airlines are trying to get people o fly.) And hotels etc., etc. have some pretty good deals going on right now too. For us - that's great!

To say the least our holiday was fantastic! Except for plane ride #1 with the kids from HELL. I'm sure 6 kids should NOT be jumping over top the seats on the plane or screaming their heads off the whole trip. No wonder their parents had to fight with them to put the seat belts on when we landed - "..... you let them go wild the whole time leading up to it". Doh!

Everything got better after that. Even all the time spent waiting in the airports didn't match that. We had a fabulous view of the Andaman Sea for the majority of our trip. (yesterday's photo) And even did the photo thing in front of some very, very tall towers. (today's photo) Can you guess? Collected sand, sunburns and loads of photos too. Did some real shopping, ate lots of pizza and just pretty much acted like tourists on the loose. It was great. And the best part of the whole trip - was hanging out with some of our very best friends. Thanks so much to both of you guys - you're the best!

Today: Still working on coming out of the holiday trance. Maybe tomorrow? or maybe the next?

I have no idea what I'm doing today. But tonight is Girls Night Out. Going to meet up at a place called Open House. And we'll see what happens from there. Sorry other Me - you're on your own tonight.

Good to Go!

HOORAY FOR HOLIDAYS.

Hooray for holidays. A little tired, a bit way too much sun, a whole bunch of fun and ..... I'm back. Back from a really great trip. 7 plane rides later (that's 7 ups and 7 downs by the way) and a whole bunch of airport time - and you know your back in Balikpapan when - the electricity goes out. Again and again and again. Welcome back to Balikpapan. Good to be back.

....... and there's a lot to be said for sleeping in your own bed. And having your own favorite pillow too. Next time I might pack that. (The pillow - not the bed)

...... and Air Asia does in fact make you pay for all the stuff that weighted your suitcases down after a big shopping trip. Oooops!

Suitcases are all unpacked and everything is almost put away. Except for the pile of English language books that are sitting on the desk right now. One must stock up on those when you're away. Get lots and lots. Enough to make your suitcases go over Air Asia's legal limit in suitcase weight. Anyways we needed them - got lots of reading time in while we were away.

Looks like all is good here in town. Nothing new that I can tell. Except for the new building that's taking shape for the brand new Etam place. Things all look the same - and pretty much feels the same too. Hot, muggy and looks like rain.

Updates from the last post:

1. The little cat - has a new home. And that's a good thing. Definitely don't need anymore cats hanging out at this house.

2. The kitchen tap - fixed. Not quite right - but good enough.

3. The kitchen cupboard door - fixed. Again - I think.

4. The Bocce Ball hunt - not yet. Back on. I have not given up. Not yet.

Tomorrow: Get back to what sort-of feels like normal around here. Back to regular Balikpapan life. See you then everyone.

Good to Go!