A Bug's Life

Thursday night, Friday AM, October 21-22, 2005. After three days delivering sales pitches and attending curious meetings where mostly I continued an education in "Other perspectives on 'yes' and 'no'," by Wednesday evening I was wrung out, strung out, facing a business trip in the early AM, and as my boss wisely pointed out to me, right on schedule for a little culture shock. Passed a Dunkin' Donuts on the way home, remembered mornings in Virginia, picked out a half-dozen assortment to make the rise for the trip a little easier, but was denied, not really to my surprise, a large iced decaf to go. The weather was right for it, but like I said before, occasionally it may look like it, but we're not in Kansas anymore... Got home, set the carton by the microwave, slowly headed towards the above bed.... (fade to black)

A Day in the Life

(fade in) Woke up (at 5:00), got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head,

headed for the tea and donuts. Turned the oven on, opened the carton...

...were the donuts stirring 'neath their covers ("what covers?!"to greet me?

Without my lenses in, looked kinda like the the heads of Hydra in there. Looked like the swirly portal to a hell dimenion in there. Looked like an Bones McCoy finally realizing his worst nightmare -- an Enterprise transporter malfunctioning, caught in a materialization loop. Someone had (not) been sleeping in donuts last night. At least these little critters didn't fly... Apparently they are Indonesian ants. 4th day of the 4th week of my time here, and I really wasn't enjoying the place anymore. So all six of the donuts were covered in this psychedelic display, and I was having quite a trip. However, not one to go down without a fight, I washed these donuts like they were tomatoes. Can you imagine what the bottom of the box looked like? Thick with these sugar-high ants... talk about tripping...

Anyway, washed 'em off, threw 'em in the oven... and in DIE HARD mode, returned my attention to the box and sink with appropriate malice, no conscience, and a tall can of... well, dunno what it's called but there's a pic on it of a gross winged-monster asphyxiating in a thick grey cloud (why do they need a thick grey cloud in jakarta? ... No guilt that I felt a tremendous satisfaction, after my week of 'yes and no' maneuvering, when a short burst of thick chemical smog at the box, sink and counter resulted in an instantaneous return to stillness of my
cozy home. Trash can.

Shower. Tea, donuts, music. Taxi. Airport. Offensive airport tax to leave the country. Good coffee. Airplane. Friendly women on Indonesian budget airline in elegant uniforms with excellent breakfast wrapped in banana leaf (pic).


Take that, apple-bearing Southwest!

End of DIE HARD mode.
Motherless Brooklyn by Lethem: so far finest reading experience since Lahari's short stories. Out window before landing: green city brownie-cut into perfect squares.

Drizzle.
Sunglasses in shirt, umbrella in front hall at home.

Dratted cell phone pitches 2 Singapore money changers (how do they know!!!!!?????).

Torrents.


Outside
taxi stand luscious air. Actual moving traffic.

4 hours in Singapore: Singapore = shopping mall. Fine ale lunch :-).
New York big and tall; London orderly, clear pavements; new moon shiny.




Over time frightfully dull, sure. 4 hours mighty fine.

Home again, I draw up organizational plan for personnel in my company. Deep down, despite the culture shock, I'm mostly here for this cross-cultural experience. Time to do a little sharing of my own perspectives on 'yes' and 'no'. This is how it's gonna be.