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March 9, 2003

:: Just Like Riding a Bike (and other assorted tidbits) ::

After that long form post from a few days ago, I think I'm going to go the opposite way and stick to short little chunklets. First off, it is true. Look out everyone: Miss Weeza's learned to drive a motorcycle, at long last. It took me about 30 seconds to figure out how it all works, and another 5 tries to be able to stop and start without jerking. I've just returned from an 80km ride out to Mt Batur (an active volcano, last eruption was sometime in the 1990s) and through tons of little villages and rice paddies and past beautiful temples and WOW was that fun! I think I might even stay here another day just to do some more riding - Gili Air, my next destination, is so small you can walk around the island in an hour. I think a motorbike there might be a little bit of overkill.

And now that I'm back in the same Internet cafe for probably the 4th time, I would please like to know what is up with these girls and old Bryan Adams. The last time I was in here, I had Summer of '69 stuck in my head for a full afternoon. I walked in today and guess what was playing? On the other hand, I suppose it's better than Britney Spears. But only just.

In other news, it was bound to happen sooner than later - I have found a local hangout in Ubud. I was beginning to despair of such a thing happening anywhere in Bali, largely due to the lack of people (everywhere is empty, and empty places do not comfy hangouts make, except for afternoon tea and reading). But the other night, I found myself in N O Late Bar - the N and O stand for something but I forget what - listening to (and singing with, unbelievably - I must have been drunk) a local blues guitarist whom I'd met down in Kuta and ran into subsequently here. As it happens, the guy who owns the bar/restaurant also happens to own the guesthouse that's renting me my Princess Room. And thus began a beautiful friendship. Last night, it rained all evening and all night so the place was pretty dead, but I had some dinner and chatted with some locals and wound up behind the bar mixing old specialties de la Weeza. I even got to go with some of the guys to a local village fundraiser, which was amazing - all the people from neighboring villages get together and eat, drink and party in this festival hall to raise money to build a new school, temple, whatever the object of that event might be. This goes on for 3-4 days, during which something like 100 million rupiah (about $12000 US) is raised. All the people from all the villages go to all the events, it's totally reciprocal. And lovely - not a black tie in the whole place.

So that's the news in brief. And it looks like we're going to war. "How is the situation in America now?" I am asked by many locals here. I haven't been home in a while so I have to guess. Does "shit" sum it up pretty accurately?

Over and out.