TAN #196 BlaTANt Adulation for Yanti the Indefatigable! (Page 32)

T-Geeze! I promise to do another IM soon but also very much not TOO soon so you can be sure to run with me

Lockdown week is the celebrations of the Balinese Hindu New Year (not the same as the Indian Hindu New Year) called Nyepi. My sister and I came in on one of the last flights into the airport last night; many businesses and streets were already closed in preparation for the forthcoming holiday. Today, there were a few things open 'til noonish and some informally 'til 3pm, but pretty much from morning on everything right down to the ATMs is shut down and shut off. Tonight there is great carousing, frolicking, and giant noisy parades of people carrying papier-mache figures, mostly monsters, but cartoon characters and celebrity effigies are popular too. Some are so big it takes 20 men to carry them on a bamboo scaffold platform. The parades (which happen in every single neighborhood in Bali) all march to the beach (except in the mountains they march to a lake or river) and burn the figures in great bonfires, then throw the ashes into the sea.

This is to draw all the bad spirits out and scare them away from the Island and show them what happens to them (destruction).

At daybreak tomorrow, the Day of Silence commences, which lasts from one daybreak to the next (24 hours). Every single thing on the island is completely shut down except for hospitals. (Yes, even police and fire stations are closed). People tape their windows up with black plastic or thick cloths so everything looks completely deserted and even any inadvertent light cannot escape. You are not meant to use any electricity or light any fire. As the naughtier of the bad spirits try to sneak back, they will see that everyone is gone so they shall go elsewheres to ply their mischief. (I don't get how they fall for the same trick every single year, but nevertheless). Yeah, no talking or singing either.

On the day after, everything is still closed because it's a holiday, but you can cook and use electricity and go about your nonexistent business again and the Balinese will still milk another holy-day or two out of it.

So while the formal "lockdown" is only in force over 24 hours, essentially, it's impossible to get anywhere or do anything or buy anything on the island for a week.

dudes.

work sucks.

can i be back on vacation?

Hello again TAN

This weekend I reffed for a regatta here in Tampa called the Mayor's Cup.  It was my first real regatta as a ref.  In the morning I was judge at start/aligner so I got the boats all lined up and made sure there were no false starts.  The afternoon I was a chase ref. meaning we follow the race down the course, time the event, and make sure there are no mishaps and such.  When we chase we stand up in the bow of a john boat, a little flat bottomed 2 or3 person fishing boat, and monitor the race. Me and another ref take the first race of the afternoon and follow.  We get to the finish line and I look down at my stopwatch for the time.  My driver decelerates and starts to turn.  This causes the bow to abruptly dip to port throwing me backwards and overboard in the middle of the race course.  So in I go, fully dressed, including hiking boots, with my megaphone, my radio, my flag, my phone and my car keys.  I throw the megaphone, the flag and the radio into the boat and now have to swim to shore from the middle of the race course.  FYI swimming in hiking boots is not something I recommend!!  I go dry off as best I can with some t-shirts, hop back in the boat and head back to the start line to chase more races sopping wet. 

Then, this morning, my car starts blowing cold air with the hater on.  I figure it is either my radiator is low or my thermostat is stuck so I go home to check the radiator.  I walk in the house and fail to fully shut the door behind me.  The dog bolts, Rosie not the yorkie!!  I slam the hood jump in the jeep and go after here.  We run up and down the road with me trying to get her in the jeep worried that I am going to overheat and crack the block and her thinking it is all an excellent game.  Finally she gets tired jumps in the jeep and we go home.  I fill the radiator and finally make it to work 20 minutes late when I was trying to get here an hour early! 

Can we start today again please???

This time without the drama!!

looks like someone's got a case of the mondays!

Hahaha Kate-O-Melons! Well, congrats on your first regatta ref and baptism

Silly Rosie ... and all this time it was the Yorkie you wanted to run over.

Bite ME!!!! 

Yes to both.  After it dried out, even my megaphone survived.  I am not sure about their radio.

Nah I am more likely to throw the yorkie across the room as he seems to thing the moment I open my eyes to stretch it is time to play and he pounces on me!

Yorkie hurling. I bet they include it after Rio 2016.

I'll totally medal in that.

Morning TAN!

You're On!!! 

Silver buys gold a beer!!

Hey Matt.  What's happening?

Checking in on this chilly (and long for Kate already?) Monday morning!

In today's edition of "what I learned over the weekend": 3 bottles of wine is too much for 2 people to split in one sitting. Trust. 

Cheri chapstick!

Hi Matt, Hi Cheri Pie

Are you guys thawing out any yet?

Morning Cheri.  Took the kids over to the South Side Irish parade yesteday and had a nice time. Outside of that nothing much new really. 

How about you?

Hm. Could depend on the wine ... and bottle size ... and Wienerlisa size. Maybe if the other person was twice your size and had two?

Morning Kate, the snow is melting, sadly, due to the rain.  Im a pretty tired of the rain and dont know how people in the NW of the US stand all of the gray rainyness.