THIS IS GOODBYE. January 30, 2009

it was a magical year.  the kind i never imagined i would be blessed enough to experience.  on new year’s day 2008, i rode the giant tricycles of puerto prinsesa all over the city … in march, i shopped till i dropped, then put my feet up on the window sill to catch a singapore sunset …                          [...]

BLUE SNEAKERS’ 2008 AWARDS LIST January 4, 2009

                         1.   MOST ICONIC MOMENT – Literally walking in the footsteps of Gandhi on his way to his death.  At the Gandhi Smiriti in Delhi.  It was as sublime a moment as I may ever have in my life.  Sigh.   2.   MOST INDEPENDENT EXPERIENCE - Taking myself to Capitol’s emergency room at dawn then heading to progcom as if [...]

ANCIENT KHMER FEMINISTS … AND ME January 1, 2009

A European traveler visited Angkor Wat in the 12th century and was amazed by the women he encountered there.  He wrote that females were the shopkeepers, the bigwigs in the marketplace, that they bathed naked in a nearby river without the usual modesty.  He also observed that it was accepted practice for a woman to go up to a man she liked and simply offer to lie with him.  Whoa!             Khmer women also [...]

SYDNEY SIDE UP December 6, 2008

                   What isn’t there to love about Sydney? I love big cities.  Sydney has the skyscrapers, the art scene, the modern transport system.  But its people aren’t obsessed with moneymaking or shopping the way I’ve seen in other urban centers.  In fact, stores close at 5 pm, allowing staff to happily go off for a drink or a [...]

WHERE’S THE BEACH? November 17, 2008

Spur of the moment, I decided to escape to the beach for the weekend. One I’d read about but had never actually seen.   Took a bus to the pier.  A rickety older one, the kind with baby roaches that creep out from under the plastic seatcovers when passengers are asleep.                           Then rode the slow boat – a [...]

COLOR BARS October 26, 2008

I’m glad I don’t read tarot cards anymore.  Because if I’d seen the past week coming, I might have tried to call in sick for seven days! It was a week that sort of blew up in my face in full color. And now I am literally breaking out from the stress, stress and more stress of it …                [...]

ON THE RUN October 1, 2008

I dream of being a beach bum.                            But it’s not exactly working out for me.  The bum part, that is.   On a lightning trip to Bora off season, I tried to imagine owning a charming little shop like that of island legend Lee Rosaia.  She spent the afternoon chatting us up then reading [...]

PURPLE SUNSET August 14, 2008

I shot this purple sunset the other day …                 Totally apt imagery since the island is starting to take on a darker cast. Homesickness is rearing its head.  The drinking is starting to escalate.  Illicit love affairs are mushrooming all over camp.  The prayer group didn’t meet for the first time last Sunday.  It’s a sign. I’ve [...]

A NOTE ON DATING August 8, 2008

So I had a t-bone steak and mashed potatoes with gravy and banoffee pie and a tall mocha after the earlier post.  And then I couldn’t eat anymore.   A couple of days after that, I started to laugh at myself.  It occurred to me what’s probably obvious to you all.  I don’t have any problems! I just have to accept the [...]

JUMP! August 3, 2008

I’ve been doing a lot of jumping lately. Jumping up and down at work when I’m bored.  Jumping into relationships just because.  Jumping off the edge of so many things.  Today … I jumped into this pool.                                  Louie was starting to teach me how to swim on the island.  Now I’m trying to apply what I learned.  But [...]