Electronics, The IT Crowd, and Mama Mia

I'm on a visa run. Laptop is in the shop. It miraculously came alive again after crashing a couple weeks ago, but just to be safe, I took it in to have a diagnostic run on it. As I backed up my data in the shop before turning it in, it ran slower, and slower, and slower. They are going to downgrade me to Windows XP, which should speed things up. I am excited! Gone are the days of vista. Apparently Singaporians downgrade to XP as soon as they buy a new computer, since Vista is the only thing available on new computers nowdays. My ipod was having issues, too, and the shop guy had it working in less than 2 seconds. Yay!!!

I am addicted to The IT Crowd. My rommate got me hooked. If you haven't ever watched any, check out this clip for starters. Ha ha! I love it. Jen has been hired by a flaky boss as manager of the IT department, knowing nothing about computers. The show is about her and the IT guys, them playing on her ignorance, and her dying social deaths with the geeky guys. British humor, so if you're not into that sort of thing, don't bother. I haven't ventured into season 3, as it looks to be a bit dodgy/raunchy. I am only recommending seasons 1 and 2. The episodes get funnier every time I repeat them.

Last night I watched Mama Mia. I felt like I needed a cleansing after watching it. The story line had potential, but Eeewwww! A bunch of old ladies trying to be cool. Who says old ladies aren't cool? Why try so very hard to act that way? Sorry if you loved it. I don't think I'll be watching it again. I wonder what the critics have said about it....

One Master

I have slowly been working my way through a book titled, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It has given me some great things to think about. This week I read through Lie #18: “I don’t have time to do everything I’m supposed to do.” Interesting quote from that:

Years ago, I read that the average woman today has the equivalent of fifty full-time servants, in the form of modern, timesaving devices and equipment. That figure may or may not be accurate, but we certainly have many conveniences available to us that were unknown to women of past generations. Imagine going back to the days when there were no dishwashers, microwaves, washing machines, dryers, or automobiles—or even further back to a time when people had never heard of indoor plumbing or electricity.

Hello. Yeah, tell me about it.

Last week I was really struggling through guilt--again (not sure that one ever really goes away for me, but hopefully one day it will!)--and realizing that I have been living my life in a state of mind that focus on everything that is not. What I have not been doing and wonder if I should have been, what village I have not been spending time in and wonder if I should, etc, etc...

As I journaled, I quickly came up with a list of 8 different sources/entities I feel the need to please/appease, and processed through the stresses I felt from each of those. I cried out, "Jesus, you said your yoke is EASY and your burden LIGHT!" Then out of the blue these words came to me:

No man can serve two masters.

It struck me like a blow: I am trying to serve at least eight!

...Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other" (Mat.6:24).

I generally have thought of God in terms of being my Heavenly Father, but seeing him as Master and me as servant really spoke loudly to me. It's an obvious relationship, not a new concept to me or anyone else, and I wondered why it hadn't occurred to me before. In print, it seems cold and impersonal, but to my heart, it is special and intimite. Why? Because acts of service is my strongest love language, and serving others is a passion with which God has gifted me. Over the last several years I have also discovered something about myself: I love being given specific, and direct instruction. So, to decide that God is my One and Only Master is freeing, liberating. Who knows me better? Who knows my limits? What I can do? The areas in which I need to grow? Who loves me more? Who has my best in mind? He is the One I want to serve, from whom I want to take all marching orders.

A current lesson being learned in the life of SJ.

Personal daze

I think I've mentioned before that I try to take a personal day each week--one where I get away by myself with some of my favorite items and just sit. Journal, take pictures, try to write a song, whatever. It's been more than a week since my last

personal day, and I'm not sure when I'll get my next one, but I think I'm ready.


On this particular day I read the story of Jonah, and when I read the end about his little vine that gives him shade, my little spot I had chosen of made me feel like I could have been Jonah. :)



Crabs crack me up! I know I am always posting pictures of them, but it is so amusing to me all the kinds of homes they come in. When I take time to be alone on the beach, no matter where I sit, the ground comes alive with little hermit crabs--crawling in my shoes (yes, they probably should be replaced), my camera case, and desperately trying to get away from my scrutiny....

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

P.S. Happy Independence Day to Indonesia, land of my birth!

Silence

So, I've been running around a bit, and running myself down a bit, and now I'm catching a cold and the yuckiness is starting. A whole lot of things up in the air at the moment affecting the next few months--and even years?--not sure when I'll have a moment to blog some more, but that's the brief rundown on the lull.

Speaking of brief rundown... I hope this one is brief.

Profession

Last night as we left his mom's birthday dinner, JE said, "I'm going to hold Sawajoy's hand." His mom said, "you love SJ, don't you?" Very gravely he said,

"I weely do, mommy. I weely do love Sawajoy."

Ah, the love of a three-year-old. Nothing like it to warm the heart and boost the self-esteem. :)

Incidentally, the very next bit of conversation went like this:

JE's mom : "Do you want to marry her?"
JE (with equal seriousness as before): "No, I don't want to mawwy Sawajoy."

Reminiscing

Looking back at my pictures from vacation and wanted to post some memories (as always, be sure to click on picture collages for a better view--then you'll be able to read the signs, too)....

Moving day. I arrived at midnight and we moved apartments the next morning.
I hadn’t planned my wardrobe too well, so borrowed some pants and didn’t have a belt. Why spend money when you can improvise?


In case you didn't know, it's all about food in this family.... :) Sushi to celebrate mom's birthday, steak at Swenson's to celebrate Father's Day; you already saw the dinner cruise buffet for anniversary; Ikea just because you can; Indian vegetarian because it's AWESOME.

















Charis was taking photos of different signs she saw around the city. Talk about an efficient place! They think of everything. Laundry goes on a pole that you stick into a slot outside your window, 11 storeys up (or however high you may be). That’s a long way down to lose your knickers! The mailboxes have a trench for your junkmail—you get that instant pleasure of tossing it on the floor, only it is orderly tossing! I forgot to get a picture of the trash chute—Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not mind taking the garbage out in Singapore. Open up your kitchen cupboard door, and there is a special trap door where you toss your garbage—right down the trash chute! Wow. And when you’re talking about the beauty of this city, you can’t forget transportation. It is lovely! Tried to take a family shot from our reflection on the subway doors while waiting for our train.


Fun at the botanical gardens after church on Sunday.
Mom and dad look like a welcoming statue! :)



That was a great Sunday. After a yummy lunch at the botanical gardens, we went home and crashed. After naptime Charis gave us a class on water painting. I had no idea all that went into water coloring! Here are my samples of the techniques she showed us. Vanilla ice cream with home-made hot-fudge topping plus nuts afterwards, and I think we watched A Knight’s Tale after that. Family not as entertained by it as I am. :)

Twenty minutes before I needed to leave for the airport, we tried to cram in a family photo. Lighting and angles were tricky with no one to help; improvising with multiple stools and someone’s outdoor coffee table. Charis posed for test runs.

Good times!

Python!

Yesterday morning while warm and snuggled in my bed I could hear the kids next door saying, "Ular! Ada ular!" Hmmm, I wondered, There's a snake? Should I get up? I do love seeing snakes, but what if it's just a small black one? It's probably not worth it.

Later that day, as I began asking around, I quickly wished I hadn't stayed in bed. The kids said it was about the length of our porch, and they couldn't find a stick big enough to show how big around it was. I asked another neighbor if it was as big as my calf, and he said, "Bigger. Like your thigh. It was probably 3 and a half meters long and weighed like 30 kilos."

"It can kill people."
"That kind can swallow a whole baby goat. They unlock their jaw and swallow their food whole."
"Sometimes they wrap around their prey and squeeze it to death."

A little chant began to stir up from the cobwebs of my memory:

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff

Apparently at 11 pm, 3 doors down, Di's dad discovered the snake after it had eaten one of their chickens. He hacked it up and disposed of it in the morning.

"Where is it???" I asked.
"He threw it away."
"Where???"
"Far away over there," they motioned to the ocean.
"Is it still there? Can I go see it?"
"The ocean might have taken it away. But if not, it smells!!!"
"I'll follow my nose then," I joked.


So as the sun was setting, I trotted off down the beach to see if I could find the thing. I didn't know how far or close to the water to look--it's a bunch of exposed coral. At first I did see a trail that might have been where a snake had been drug along, but I soon lost it with the coral. Then I actually prayed. I wanted to see that snake so bad! And would you believe it? God answered my prayer. Who says He doesn't care about the little things in our lives that give us pleasure?



He wasn't quite as big as my thigh, nor 3.5 meters long (at least 2, maybe even 3), but he was well worth hunting down. I ran home and got my camera and found C, and we had fun taking shots of him. We could even see the chicken feathers (check it out in the photo)! I haven't been able to get Shel Silverstein out of my head since. After looking online today, C determined it was probably a Python reticulatus. Welcome home to the jungle.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog

I am just about to close my computer and head back to the island. Feeling a bit panicky, as the internet is not working out there, so I don't know when I'll be on again. I have lived without internet before; surely I will survive? :) Didn't get to do more posts as planned, but oh well.

39 Years

June 20 is my parents' anniversary. Unfortunately I wasn't here to celebrate as planned, but they pushed their plans back a week and dad surprised us with a dinner cruise in the world's busiest harbor! We almost missed the boat, but fortunately we made it even though we arrived 15 minutes after they told us to be there.

















The first Youth Olympic Games were getting ready to start, so there were lots of helicopters on the skyline. Notice in the background, the world's tallest ferris wheel/"observation wheel," standing at 165 metres (541 ft) high. It has 28 "capsules," each one able to hold 28 people.












As the evening finished, we were starting to talk about a recent discussion mom and dad had started, talking about the last 39 years and the merging of their family values and traditions. Good times. I am blessed beyond belief to have parents who are happily married after 39 years.

Another Kind of Stuck

Talk about a sticky situation…. I bought some super glue yesterday to fix some shoes for a friend and a ring of mine that had broken. The glue was advertised as having “Up to 2 tons holding power!” Yeah, right, I thought. Talk about false advertising! But I’ll give it a try.


Back at the ranch, I poked a hole in the top, applied the head to the tube, and started squeezing. Nothing came out. I kept squeezing. Some was coming out. Then I was aware of a warm feeling on my hand, and realized that I was stuck. The glue was leaking out at the mouth and not flowing through the attachment. All my fingers except my pinky were holding 2-tons-fast to the tube.

That was about 6:00. I had just returned from an afternoon of running errands. After searching the guest house for acetone, I decided there was nothing left for me to do but turn around and go back to the “mall” to see if a nail salon could help me out. Then I read the instructions and saw that I could try hot, soapy water as well. Eventually I did find some nail polish remover, too.

So, while watching Anne of Green Gables—the Continuing Story, I soaked and pried, using a butter knife to help. First the ring finger came loose, then my index finger, next my middle finger, and last but not least, my thumb was free at 8:15! The thumb was the most painful, but today my hand feels fine. What an adventure.

Waiting on the other end

My family is taking pictures of them waiting for me. :)




Just found out that it will probably be late Thursday night that we'll be together.

Stuck

I left the island on Wednesday, headed to Singapore to have a 2-week vacation with my parents and sister. For months I had been planning a reunion with a good friend in my supply town before she returned home. We were even booked on the same flight Thursday night--she had a layover in Singapore. We had a great 30 hours hanging out together before we hopped in a taxi for the airport, 2 hours ahead of our flight as recommended. After sorting through several luggage complications at check-in, we proceeded to taxes and immigration. A man behind a desk looked at my brand-new passport and asked me when I last entered the country. I racked my brain to remember.

"Where is your old passport?" he asked.

"I don't have it with me." I said, with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as he began to question me about various things. Eventually he waved me on to get a pass for paying an exit tax. I thought everything was ok, but wondered if I should run back to the guest house where my old passport was (thankfully I didn't leave it on the island!!!).

In immigration, I was ushered into a superior's office, and told that I definitely needed my old passport. By this time there was less than an hour left until departure. I called the guest house, and someone graciously retrieved my passport and brought it to me--just after they called our flight to proceed to the waiting room. I handed my old passport to the immigration man. After thumbing through it, he said, "Your multiple exit/re-entry permit expired in April. You cannot leave the country."

Suddenly I felt like I was in a dream (or nightmare?). It isn't real. This isn't really happening. It can't be. Am I going to cry? No, because this isn't really happening. If I do cry, will this guy let me get on the plane? There HAS to be a way out.

There were less than 30 minutes left. More brain-racking. Who could I call? Surely there was a way to fix this. Well, there wasn't. If I got on that plane, I would not be allowed back in the country. My passport needed to be sent to the capital and I needed to apply for a permit. It was 8:30 at night. The next day was Friday. Even with same-day shipping, nothing could be done until Monday--government offices are only open half-days on Friday, and are closed Saturday and Sunday.

So here I sit, stuck in my supply town, Monday morning finally approaching. I have reason to hope that I can obtain a permit in 1-2 days, then wait for my passports to be mailed back to me, and hopefully the airlines will have an open seat for me. School is out, so a lot of people are traveling now. Despite the kafuffle, there are some things to be thankful for, like:

1. As long as I fly within 2 weeks of my original plans, the airlines will not charge me extra for the flight changes.

2. I was refunded my airport tax.

3. My parents now live in Singapore, so they are not going anywhere for a while. Charis is planning on taking some classes there this summer, so I will still be able to see her, even with the readjustment of my plans.

4. I was able to see another friend who was headed out to the island to keep C company in my absence.

5. I am super tired from these last 2 months of island life. It wore me down more than usual. My body and spirit are welcoming pre-vacation isolation and rest. It will be even more enjoyable to see my family on full tanks of gas.

Please pray that the permit is obtained quickly, and that the airlines has a seat for me! Thanks.

De-husking

Earlier this week I learned how to get the husk off a coconut without injuring myself. Tough stuff! I had a couple tutors. Apparently a big storm had come in the night before, so the girls went and collected a bunch of coconuts that fell so they could sell them--about 80 cents per kilo.

Hard Work

We went out for lobster the other night and had some yummy "fan" lobster. Other times when I've had it, they whacked it in half, but this time I had to break it open wit my bare hands. I nearly bled! :) But it was worth it.

Random chillings....

So, our internet has been out of comission for a full week. Great to have it back! I tackled my 52 new emails, and now posting a few pictures from my week....


The neighbor's kitchen turned into a coconut factory last Sunday.


Me and my buddy JE enjoying some watermelon.

Cake!!! C brought cake back as a gift for the neighbors, so we had a bit of a crowd in our kitchen yesterday morning.

the Newleyweds

Grandma returned last week with her son and new daughter-in-law. Although the wedding and festivities occurred in the bride's hometown off the island, there were some celebrations held next door a few days after their arrival. Being considered family, and being next door, there was no escaping the activity. Our living room became an overflow "dining room" for about 20 men, and all the cooking occured behind our house. We had front-row seats since our kitchen is screened-in like a florida-room. :)

Starting from the top left photo and moving clockwise:
creative island-style shade from the intense sun while grating/shaving up gobs of coconuts for the ladies' cooking; me and the ladies preparing napkins for guests; the couple, dressed up again for the occasion of the bride meeting the groom's village; friends observing a blessing ceremony from the window; a procession of family members and friends speaking words of blessing and sprinkling the couple with water and yellow rice (uncooked); gift-wrapping station in our kitchen; outdoor cooking station created in the space between our house, the neighbor's house and the well (a temporary shelter was set up that became a hangout for the ladies); friends stirring a big veggie dish.

Center photo: a close-up of greeting the bride and groom. Note the painted fingernails of both bride and groom. They use some sort of thick paste (henna-like?) that leaves the nails dyed when removed. It stays on until the fingernails grow out again.

More on Waiting

Another Streams in the Desert.
Meant to post this sooner (click to enlarge).

New baby

A friend just had her baby, so we went to visit.

Transformation

New battery = new computer.

At least that is what it feels like. The last few weeks were pretty stressful, as my laptop battery zeroed out. Electricity was rarely on, and when it did come on, it wasn't steady. It would go off and on. I would be booting up my computer, all excited to have electricity, then the electric would die for a few minutes. But the instant it died, so did my laptop. Then I coudn't be bothered to reboot. I can't count how many "unexpected shutdowns" it endured.

And then, I ordered a new battery, and someone brought it to me this week. Now when the electric dies, I have over 7 hours of battery life! My stress level dropped, and I feel like I have a brand new computer. :) And I say to myself: what a wonderful world.

W.C.

Tried a new toilet this morning. I was recently informed that they built a WC behind the mosque next door to us. I trotted/ trekked through the jungle behind Mindy (my 7-yr-old buddy who lives next door on the other side) to try it out.


She hopped in the first "stall" with a torn curtain, so I went round to the next one. Turns out a torn curtain is better than no curtain, which was the fate of stall #2. I stood there, considering for a moment whether or not to go. I decided to risk it. After all, there was a fair amount of jungle foliage near the "doorway," and I was wearing a sarong.



After a few moments Mindy called out, "Kak" [term for older sister], "you finished yet?"

"No, go on ahead of me."

She appeared in the doorway. "Are you done?" she asked again.

"No, go away! I can't poop with you standing there!"

As she stood there observing my squat, I tried not to die a thousand deaths and made sure my sarong had my behind covered. Sarahjoy, let go of your privacy. Let it go, let it go, let it go. Don't let her know you're mortified. Die, mortification, die. Perspective, SJ. Keep it in the balance. This is no big deal to her.

"Do you have water?"


"Yes, now go away so I can poop!!!
I'll be along in a minute. You go on home ahead of me," I tried to reason with a firm voice.

She stepped inside to look in the bak [water storage] and assess my water situation for herself and then stepped back.


After looking at me for another moment, she said, "Kak, I'm gonna go on home first, ok?"

"OK!" Great idea. Who thought of it? :)

I took care of my "reporting" in grateful solitude and trekked the 10 yards/meters or so back home, deciding, I think I prefer less adventure for my morning constitutional. I'd rather walk 3 doors down the other direction and tell eveyone I pass where I'm going and what I'm going to do and then have a secure door to hide my behind behind.

*** By way of a disclaimer, I have used the word "poop" freely here to give you a taste of conversational life here (not saying life tastes like poop--maybe poor word choice?). People talk about it as casually as we might talk about brushing our teeth in the U.S.

The Road Again

So, it's great to have a paved road, but now when I need to send the aqua jug to town for refilling, I have to sit by the road and wait for the trucks to go by, because they go way too fast to yell at them and make them stop!