Sick Day

Not feeling quite well today. Started last night, really. Scratchy throat, feverish, weak and tired. So the family went off to Bedugul without me. Why Bedugul? Hm, not sure. Started raining shortly after they left the house and it's been raining off and on ever since. Not my cup a tea, especially where a road trip is involved.

So I'm just doing my own thing here, which turned out to be the pembantu thing, since there is no pembantu. Well, there is, actually. She's me. Did the laundry (but, of course, can't hang it out because of the rain). Ironed. Washed dishes. Waiting now for a break in the weather so that I can go purchase some drinking water.

No JCO coffee today either, I reckon. First off, because of the rain and, secondly, because Mike seems to be angry again about his conspiracy theories. Or, rather, angry at me for disagreeing. The latest involves some guy by the name of Kevin Arnett, a defrocked Canadian Catholic minister, who believes that the Queen of England, in concert with the Catholic Church, George Bush Senior, Henry Kissinger, etc., etc., are involved in the systematic kidnapping, molestation and murder of children from around the world.  Arnett points to "mass graves" of Indians, which can be seen, he says, by satellite imagery. At first, the Canadian government was willing to believe, but, as it turns out, they've dug and dug and can't find a thing. Additionally, the leadership of the Canadian tribes has rejected these claims and asked Arnett to leave them alone.

To me, these sorts of conspiracy theories seem like cancers that only grow and obscure. They multiply rapidly and very little seems effective in combating them. They are like the Jungian concept of the complex which grows and swallows up the ego. In short, they are not matters of logic and reason but of paranoia and fear.

The troubling thing is that I have been trying to simply change the subject with Mike, and yet, first thing I know, he's back to the conspiracies again. And it seems that just about any subject can lead to the return. For example, I had recently visited the Bali Peace Gong here in Kertalanggu. Situated around this giant gong are statues of world figures known for their efforts in the name of peace. One statue is of Barack Obama. What interested me, as I watched the people in the park, was that everyone wanted to stand by Obama to have their picture taken -- not Mother Theresa, not Mandela, not even their own Sukarno. Children and adults alike -- straight to Obama!

So I mentioned this to Mike as a point of interest, a sort of testimony to Obama's popularity among the common people of Indonesia. He nodded his head, seemed to be listening, but then piped in with the following:

"Obama, you know, is in big trouble. He's been hobbled. He's been bought by the powers that be and is nothing more than a figurehead now. He does the bidding of the illuminati. If he doesn't they'll kill his wife and children."

And so on.

Obviously, our friendship is becoming a bit difficult and uncomfortable. Which, for me, is sad.

Mie Setan

Stopping by this afternoon at a place called Lylo Mart, owned by a friend of my wife's, to use the internet. We do have our own internet, but it is usually slow, and sometimes doesn't work at all. So here we are. She's downloading something lengthy, my son is playing a game, and I'm sitting here wondering what to do.

Oh! I know -- BLOG!

Went to an interesting place last night called "Mie Setan", named so, I suppose, because the noodles are devilishly hot. The interesting part, though, was how crowded it was - full inside with a line outside. It's a popular spot for young people, and young women in particular, for some reason. Something about satanically spicy noodles and females? People wait a long time for these evil noodles and generally seem to have a lot of fun. It's not really about eating, I guess. It's a place to see and be seen. Bules are considered of particular interest, since there generally are none. Strange feeling to attract the attention of about 150 pairs of female eyes all at the same time.

Frankly, though, the noodles suck. I've been there twice, and on two occasions, have ended up with a stomachache.

Got into a fairly major 'tiff' with my friend, Mike, about stupid conspiracy theories (there is no other kind). But I felt bad, apologized for my temper, and all is well now. On the positive side, the argument inspired further research into the theories, which, in turn, led to the huge body of material on the subject in the field of psychology, which seems much more interesting, to me, than the theories themselves. One can come away with a better appreciation of what's going on in the minds of these people, and may be better prepared to discuss the matter in the future (with less violent results).

Night Vision

I swear, I gotta get my eyes fixed. Took a rare nighttime journey to Sanur tonight - about 10 minutes away - and had several near death experiences. Just can't see worth a damn. Have to rely on "the Force". Amazing, though - having reached my destination - how many people gather at JCO on a Sunday night. (That's right, folks, I took this death defying journey just for a JCO coffee). For many, if not most Indonesians, Sunday is their only day off. JCO, it appears, is a favorite gathering spot, for those who have a little money, anyway. For those who don't, Circle-K serves as the location. (It's your circle, as the ad on the window says). So you have friends and couples and children, all splurging on sweet iced coffee drinks, ice cream and, of course, the free donut that comes with every order. It's a lively spot, indeed, on a Sunday night. Most often, I and my friend, Mike, meet during the morning and we are sometimes the only ones there. So it was nice to be in a crowd for a change. Amazing, too, how people dress up to come to JCO. You'd think they were going to Hard Rock Center Stage.

Hot!

There are three levels of temperature in Bali - Hot, Hotter and Hell. We are currently experiencing the latter of the three. I just walked to the neighborhood store, about three blocks away (measured by the Portland, Oregon block), and by the time I got back, there was sweat streaming from every pore of my body. My shirt, front and back, was plastered to my skin. Couldn't wait to free myself from it and stand under the water in the shower, which it at least mildly cool. Sitting here in the buff now, trying to catch the slightest breeze from the open doors and windows. Oh, did I mention that it's cloudy? Just imagine if the sun was out!

Faulty Connection

Here's kind of a good example of the brain malfunctions associated with MS. It's a bit of a complex tale, so bear with me.

Some time back, my wife's friend had given her a copy of the movie series, Revenge, season 1. There were supposed to be 5 disks, but there were only 4. After watching number 4, we went to the video store to find number 5. Turns out we had to buy the entire 5 disk set in order to see number 5. Okay. The woman in the store said we could buy the 5 disk set and then bring in our 4 disk set and return it and get another 4 disks (of anything) for free.

Well, the day of this transaction arrived. We drove down to the video store, but then I realized, while still sitting outside in the car, that I had brought the set with 5 disks rather than the set with 4. Oh no! I've brought the wrong set. We'll have to do this another time when I can bring the original set that lacks disk 5.

My wife is sitting there listening to me, and then just kind of staring me, as if I'd gone crazy. I can see that she's actually starting to get angry.

"What are you talking about!"

I explain the situation again.

She stares. Then grabs the package from me, takes out disk five, and hands the package, now containing 4 disks, back.

There!

On the Road Again

Just read an article in the Jakarta Post this morning about the ideological gobbledygook behind the 'apocalyptic war' in Syria. Seems it all has to do with a great final battle between the Sunnis and the Shiites over the progression of prophets and the true faith. at the end of which the world will end. Well, I guess that's the Reader's Digest version. It's too tedious to go into detail. Not sure how accurate this can be. It's not really much of a war, is it, as far as great wars go? And I would have to wonder about putting much stock in a prophecy that comes from a man who couldn't even get the story of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael right. I mean, really. Take a closer look, fellas. Think again.

So, anyway, I'm just chillin' at Starbucks in Sanur, glad to be out of the house again after the forced imprisonment of Nyepi.

Read another interesting thing, too. Apparently there's a Balinese festival here around the same time as Nyepi that I had not previously heard of. This is a kissing festival. Crowds of people get together and kiss one another. This is thought to bring good luck. I don't know if you can kiss just anyone, or if it has to be someone who is already close. Likely, the latter. Actually, I'm surprised that the Muslims don't have a fit about this,  as they do with Valentines Day. But then, I reckon that the source is of considerable importance.

Nyepi

Another Nyepi Day in Bali - my fifth, by my reckoning. The day of silence and reflection. Not my favorite, at all, although it seems that I'm getting used to it by the progressive year. On this day you can have no lights on, you cannot go outside the house, and you are to be as quiet as possible. We buy candles, pull the curtains and watch DVDs. And, of course, write in our blogs. Of course, there's nothing to keep me from working, since I work at home anyway - although, technically, you're not supposed to use electricity at all. But who knew, right? So, I got some work done, and some emails sent, and some DVDs watched.