How often do you ask for a window seat when flying? I suppose IÂ’m like a little boy still filled at the wonder of flying, always requesting one when the chance arises. It boggles me how many people will close their shade as soon as the plane takes off, only to open it upon landing. IÂ’m definitely a geographical nerd in love with maps and seeing the world from any angle. When I was young, I spent hours looking atRead more
Posts filed in: Rantings and Ramblings
Indonesian Presidential Elections
Since everyone seems to be talking about the election in Indonesia today – I’d like to reflect on the other aspects of an election day. With everyone having the day off to vote, there were amazingly few people on the road. It’s phenomenal how this impacts so many other things. I spent the day buying plants and flowers and landscaping my tiny yard. The first thing I noticed this morning was how quiet the streets were. This in turn, loweredRead more
New Obsession
Ok, well it’s not what you think. But this is a definite weakness of mine. I find something that I want and I completely devote myself to learning about it, researching about it, comparing it with other similar things. I’ve applied this formula to everything from mountain bikes, rollerblades, cars, stereos, laptops, and video cameras to things like taking trips to the best spots, and finding the best of everything. The problem is that I educate myself to the pointRead more
Bird Flu, Photoblogs, and Ramblings
I found a few very cool websites devoted to weblogs… one in particular that I thought was clear, concise, with refreshing content was photoblogs.com. It’s nice to stray from the traditional “text†weblog into some that offer more of a photographic intention. I admired the entire list from welldesignedweblogs.com – they provide inspiration for me to finish my own site – thejavajive.com – yet the list makes me realize how much I’d like to improve this blog. I’ve been askedRead more
Volunteer Hit and Run
Ok, so get this. In Indonesia, if a person is driving down the road, obeying every law, they can still go to jail or get sued for everything you are worth – even if they did nothing wrong. Why is this possible? Because, in typical fashion, there’s a law that makes no sense to an expat. If I’m driving down the street, minding my own business, and a guy walks out in front of me, drives his motorcycle into me,Read more
Starbucks, Terrorism, and Samurai
Have you seen that flick? I saw it last night – sorry, but everything takes a bit longer to reach Indonesia. What an awesome movie! I was surprised to see Tom Cruise take up this role, but in the end I think he did a much better job than I would have predicted. Maybe I’m a sucker for these “male pride/honor comes first/wish I was there†type movies (Gladiator, Braveheart), but it really was well done. The main opposing character,Read more