This country was everyone’s favorite. Lush and mountainous. One is  greeted  by persons with  hands place together in prayer format. If you see the King  place your hands way above your head. Neutral greeting is below the  sternal notch. I attended a lecture about Thailand before my visit. I was surprised to hear that the men can have girlfriends and mistresses and it’s  accepted…somewhat. A pragmatic culture with emphasis on being mostly nice and pleasant. I quickly memorized some Thai words that I wanted to use to  convey my best regard for Thai people and make a  good impression. Baht dollars went far and speaking of few Thai words  went further. The King  is celebrating his  88th birthday. He is not in the Palace but at a hospital, given his failing health.  All throughout Phuket  there are altars with his picture.  I try to learn as much as I can in the amount of time given but here it was about quietness and observation. People love the King. Faces range from full moon plumpness  to exotic light eyes and razor high cheekbones. I chose a legit Thai massage and had an experience that gave me deep respect for this skill. A bone deep inside my body had released and I was not scared of the “pop” sound.  All that I was holding in was released and I was whole again.  Long live the King!

I didn’t go but here it goes. Thanks to Espy and Mary brave gals who gave me report immediately. These 180 lbs dragons can take down a deer. One bite wait 3 days for infection to kick in then feast. They smell with their tongue which explains why menstrual peeps stay away as well as anyone with recent cuts or wounds. The mother lays eggs and once hatched the babies scamper up a tree to survive otherwise they become a snack for a hungry male.   They can sprint faster than you think. The  rangers who work 2 days on an island then return home via boat, make 45$ dollars. 200 people live on  the island and the young boys hop quickly  in the outrigger in hopes that someone will throw something worthy over board. I remember years ago Sharon Stone former  hubby got bitten by a Komodo and was brought into the emergency room (never on my shift). It was bad news because a komodo mouth is worst Than a drunken sailor’s. With that said I enjoyed my futile attempt to see one with binoculars. The driftwood looked like one so that counts doesn’t it?

I KNOW VERY LITTLE BUT HERE IT GOES. WOMEN HAVE SAME RIGHTS AS MEN. VOTING HAS RECENTLY TAKEN PLACE SINCE 2004. ALTARS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK. BUDISM AND MUSLIM IS MOST PROMINENT AND THE WHITE COW IS SACRED. NO BEEF PLEASE BUT “BABI”.  FREE RANGE CHICKENS ABOUND NIBBLING ON RUBBISH AND DEBRIS.  WOMEN SMILE RELUCTANTLY  AND IT IS THE OLDER WOMEN WHO ARE THE THINNEST. BEAUTY HAD NO BOUNDARIES AND WAS MOST EVIDENT IN BUILDINGS AND TEMPLES. STEADFAST IS THE CULTURE DESPITE GLOBAL INTERVENTION.  STONE CARVINGS AND STATUE INVENTORY MAKES ONE CONTEMPLATE EXPORT BUSINESS. THE ARTISTRY IS GIFT WELL PERFORMED. NEW MOON CELEBRATION CLOG THE STREETS WHILE HAZE IS PRESENT FROM THE BURNING OF TRASH WHICH IS OFTEN ABANDONED.  YES I DRANK LUWAK COFFEE WHICH IS PASSED THRU THE GI SYSTEM  OF SAID MAMMAL. AND IT WAS GOOD JUST LIKE “CATPOO..CHINO” ziajian.

Dark chocolate faces is what I notice first. Then the hustle which can’t be helped. “Taksi”. Thin and sinewy men with sun beaten faces, days and years  have registered quite nicely on their face. Stares continue throughout the time spent  here. What must they saying to themselves? “Oh you again” I  say “no no you have it wrong I wish to learn and love more my Indonesian brothers and sisters.” Economic dependence on tourism  is 69% as I was told. Brochure says at 55 years of age I can retire here. Proof of pension, health and life insurance and an agreement  to hire balinese is in the handshake. The food although not questionable, is suspect. “Fry the heck out if it I say and forget the cloudy fish eyeball. My dear mother got the Bali Bug. There is madness in the traffic and  delight in finding the motorbike with the  greatest number of people riding on it.  I personally like to ride side saddle so I can’t see.  I feel like an unwelcomed cousin, a necessary evil and wish to apologize and explain as I am not a tourist nor a traveler but somewhere in between. 

I dislike it when someone says it outloud.  I dislike this stitch of a sentence with intensity of the white hot sun.  You see,  I have brothers from another mother and we are loosely connected through few  social networks. As of late there have  been pictures posted of my real father who  died 4 years ago yesterday.  First glance was awkward then twinge of jealousy disguise as envy then downright sadness with what I call “Well at least you had assemblance of a family” as this pics portrayed. I often felt my relationship with his parents would suffice. Family have stated “Well you had your grandparents” the best default outcome I guess. This is where it hurts, as a young child that is  picked last to be on a team so is this feeling. The  ebb of time has flowed inadvertently in direction that has reached deeply to elicit  melancholy without effort.  And to have  chest heaving sadness for the those who have  gone. To my brother Aaron who I pretty sure if he was alive he’d say this very thing. I get it and yes may I one day get over it.

How did I get so lucky. Like a third round pick for the NBA, I received a call from a good friend and because my name starts with an A I thought it was a butt dial…again. She asks “what are you doing mamas?” Oh boy here it comes “nothing why? “Do you want to go to Finland?” Without hesitation I said  “Does a fat baby fart?” And I hung up the phone and realized again that my gal C. K. Is my sensei.  Although she was not born before another, she has given me opportunities to experience such wonderful places and this time to a place where the temperature is  zero to minus 30 degrees, where it will be dark in the daytime and  where a  hotel is made of ice.  This gal has told me “fragrant beef” is cooked dog.  She has  snowboarded down a volcano mountain and had  smartly schedule a tour so early by 11am we were done since  the temperature there in the jungle rose to 112 degrees with 89%humidity.  She speaks Spanish and Mandarin  fluently, has a beautiful face and rock star body.  And she is my friend ( thanks God). So here’s to celebrating her Birthday and me answering the phone to say yes.

One of the passes between southern California and central California is called the grapevine. Recent rain caused a mudslide and I didn’t have a clue.  I described the pictures I saw at other passings.  ” Imagine cake batter in a pan then placing your Matchbox race cars in the batter and baking it”. The cars and trucks completely envelope in dirt cookie madness. I knew a guy who told me about a flood he experienced. He had the wherewithal to jump on the hood of his truck and said he saw snakes and deers swimming right pass him. Truck dried out and worked another 9 years. Yea Ford. I feel so fortunate that people out there remedy the situation so promptly  that I and others get down that mountain.   May I never take anything for granted.  Weather is life affirming for sure.

This is a picture of my maternal grandfather who came to this country from the Philippines, he dyed his hair and changed his age. He lived with us for a short time when I was a little girl. My recollection of how he came to live with us goes something like this. My mom had been searching for him and found him living in downtown Los Angeles.  The reacquainted efforts lasted for awhile and while he lived with my brother and I, he was a wonderful cook and babysitter.  The status of my parents marriage was sketchy at best and I remember my dad’s  presence was fading which probably causes action on my mom’s part. The proverbial “writing on the wall” was looming over like a gray cloud, the situation was not clear and it felt cold. I saw my grandfather more as entertainment than anything else. He permed his hair, made most of a polyester ensemble and hit on my mom’s friend’s. He also  made himself 10 to 15 years younger which benefitted him in the short term then punished him in the long end. I heard he had to work well into his 80’s as a cook. He died several years before my mom found him again. And the items in his tiny unit in downtown LA were held for 90 days then dismissed somehow. I feel terribly sad now because he didn’t want to necessarily be involved with us and his desire to slip back into anonymity had to be respected.  As I see it he was especially fond of my brother who I felt got much needed attention then sadly shortchanged in this whole scenario. My  brother was without a father in the home during the years where it counted the most.  So when people ask me my nationality I tell them I am Mexican with a little Flip…from Cebu.
 

Porterville laundromat and I beat the crowd. I was in a micro dilemma having to be out of the house by noon before my house sitting expired. I left behind my Woolite detergent behind so I decide to use an Avon bathing product to substitute. Agriculture and livestock reminders are everywhere. Signage says “no horse blankets or  picking bags ” I’ve done laundry by hand, in a river and on a boat, so what a little creamy body wash gonna do? Beautiful rain made its much needed debut and I finally got the bigger picture of the drought situation here in Porterville. People who live in certain parts of town state their wells have dried up completely and those least likely to afford it have to purchase water. “Why?” I ask. The locals say companies here sell it to southern California.

Lucky for me I found  a site on the social network that shares information and insight about traveling nurses.  Discussions of contracts, tax options and stipends are insightful and helpful but from what I can tell there is quite a few people wanting to reach out to others or at least ask en masse what one does about the loneliness. i am alone but not lonely.  Being a traveler is kinda of a solitary event, driving to your location, entering a new place and finding housing. Most go at it alone and others hook up the fifth wheel and live out their contract at a RV park with family in tow. The weird  thing is now I’m beginning to prefer it more at this time in my life than ever before.  “People do it all the time”  and some people are especially good at it.  Is that why girls go the bathroom together? Have play dates with other mom’s or avoid going out if no one else is up for it. Songs like “All By My Self” or “One Is The Loneliest Number” make me second guess myself but I get over it quickly because are we really all alone?