Back to Normal

Life's little routines are often viewed as boring. I think of them as comforting. The routines are what make us so happy to return from a vacation, even if it was the best vacation of our lives. The moment you walk in the door to your house, to the familiar smells, the familiar furniture, the familiar life, you're immediately reengergized, even after a long flight. We are pre-programmed to appreciate the familiar, the routine.

My routine is firmly established, beyond work weekdays, don't work weekends. Monday evening is a session with my personal trainer. Right now, the focus is on my flexibility so we are doing yoga. Tuesdays I workout on my own and typically spend more time with my daughter at the park. Wednesday night is date night. We'll try a new restaurant, or a new activity, while our maid watches our daughter. Thursdays is another session with my trainer. Fridays are family movie night. We order in and watch a movie none of us have seen before that we all can enjoy. Saturdays is either errands or a family trip somewhere - like to the zoo. Saturday nights we typically all go to Hacienda, where by now they do recognize us, and know what we want to drink, our appetizer, and our special requests (like no rice for me because it is made with chicken stock). Sundays is our day of rest. We typically lounge by the pool, or just at home. I also usually hit the gym and get a massage. Once our stuff arrives (yep, still waiting on it), I'll have to figure out where my piano lessons will occur. Most likely on Tuesday nights after dinner.

This Wednesday, our date night was a visit to a new spa and dinner at Hacienda. The spa is directly across from Hacienda, and last time we were there I noticed they offered Thai massage. I read in a travel brochure for Bangkok that Thai massage is "the lazy man's yoga", and have wanted to give it a try. It was an interesting experience.

Unlike most massage, where you "undress to your comfort", for a Thai massage they have you wear a "gi". These are similar to the outfits martial artists wear. A towel wouldn't do much for modesty with all of the different stretching, pulling, and contorting involved in a Thai massage, so they have you wear the outfit. The masseuse used her hands, her feet, and all the strength she had to push, and pull, and stretch my body into a variety of different pretzel like positions for over an hour. At the end, I felt invigorated, not relaxed.

When receiving a massage I have two fears and/or rules: no arousal, no flatulence. The first one is typically only an issue if I fall asleep on the table. Natural part of the male sleep cycle (at least at my age) that I can't do anything about. So, I seldom fall asleep. The second one tends to pose a larger challenge for me and often results in tightening and/or clenching and a comment from my therapist that I need to "relax". Yeah, right. Be careful what you wish for. The pressure, twisting and contortions of the Thai massage made this second rule extremely challenging to live up to, though I did succeed.

I also got the impression that I'm not the typical client to request this type of massage. My 171 pounds (78 kg) took all of this poor, porcine professional's power. I could hear her struggling to lift my legs, or twist my dead weight. That's what I'm paying her to do, so no way am I helping the cause - I don't get maximum benefit if I do.

The biggest issue with her struggles wasn't necessarily the quality of my massage, it was that she began to sweat. Profusely. Glistening with slimy, salty sweat, her hands would slip slightly as she pulled on my arms, or pushed my legs. I couldn't relax. I kept thinking I would feel a wet, warm droplet of water fall on the back of my neck or, worse, my face. Even when she washed her hands so she could massage my face, her hands were still hot and sweaty. The end result being a thin film of dry saltiness on my face when she was done. I think she is used to the small, 90 pound Indonesian women. I don't think I'll be trying that again, at least not at that spa.

Around the city, everything else has returned to normal, too, with a few exceptions. First, the hotels are closed for business. The bombers took out the lobbies so it's hard to check people in. Second, there is enhanced security everywhere. My office building now has armed guards - military - out front. The security guard on my floor now has a wand like they use to check for bombs in bags when you enter a building. In my housing complex, they've increased security, too, and spend more time inspecting each vehicle. Despite all of the demanded increased vigilance, I've still arrived to the office and not been inspected, including the vehicle. If you're a bule, and arriving at 6 AM, I guess they think there is no chance of terrorism.

Even with the bombing in Jakarta, and the shootings in Papua, everyone here feels safe. To illustrate a point I made on a prior entry, I share with you the story of an expat family we know. They have two young boys. He works security for the US Department of State and is currently stationed at the US Embassy in Jakarta. He spent the day of the bombings at the hospital with the injured Americans. She, like most expat wives, doesn't work outside the home. Their assignment here is ending and, while awaiting their new post, they are returning to their home in Georgia (US). The wife recently confided to my wife how scared she is to be going home. She is scared of being a victim of violent crime in the US - robbery, shooting, anything. She feels safer here.

In many respects, I agree with her sentiments. I would not think twice about leaving my door unlocked at night here. I would not even dream of doing that in the US. I would not say I necessarily feel safer - though in many ways, I am. I would say that I do not feel less safe.

A few other quick notes:

1) We don't watch much TV. We watch a lot of movies and we read a lot - especially me. In four months, I've completed 12 books (those of the 400 page variety). I read at lunch, I read on the drive home, and I read at home. I need our stuff to arrive so I'm not overspending on books here. The English variety are not cheap.

2) I recently viewed a movie called "The Watchmen". I'd never heard of it, though apparently it has a large enough following to have a video game. It's an okay movie, and if you look past the comic-book superhero dreariness, there's two interesting messages. The first is that the only way we'll achieve world peace is if we can unite against a common enemy. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" - Sun Tzu, mentality. If you believe that we always kill each other over our differences and inability to find a common bond, as I do, you'll agree with that sentiment. World peace will exist only when we are fighting for the survival of our planet. The second message was that once you have world peace - no violence, nothing bad to report - the media won't know what to do. They are so focused on everything that's wrong, if all they can report is what is right with the world, they won't know what to do with themselves. Over the last few years I've grown to despise the media - the Fourth Estate. Social media - twitter, face book, blogs! - I find much more informative, if you can identify the truth from the pretenders.

3) Speaking of the press, it's been full of interesting articles this week that have ticked me off. First, a Harvard Professor needs a class on stress management. If I'm the cop, I probably would not arrest this jackass, but I also won't be responding to a call for help at his house anymore, either. If the police visit my house when I'm breaking into it because a neighbor sees someone forcibly entering, I'm glad to see him. The more he does to verify my identity before he leaves, the better I feel that no one other than me is able to break into my house and steal stuff. The second article is about the money-chasing liar in Lake Tahoe. Anyone who honestly believes that this woman isn't fabricating a story - one she had a year to refine - needs their head examined. Claims like hers diminish the claims of women who have truly been brutalized. Few things make me angrier then when a woman (or a family court) treat a man like a wallet. Finally, an article about another moronic, headline seeking Congressman. Is this really the nation's top priority? Is it even in the top 100? If this guy honestly believes an 18-year-old can save the Memphis Grizzlies he is losing his grasp on credulity. I actually sent that guy a letter. He actually said that the NBA is denying an 18-year-old the opportunity to support his family. How about focusing on why an 18-year-old kid has a family to support! When Congress becomes involved in private enterprise, especially an ENTERTAINMENT enterprise, I'm just dumbstruck. Since when did the NBA have anything to do with national security or the military industrial complex? Is Shaq holding patents that, if he sold them, would cause a complete collapse of our democracy? Geesh!

4) Finally, some interesting postings regarding the bombings. The Jakarta Post had an editorial asking for the heads of the security agencies to lose their jobs. There have also been some interesting articles from the Australian press that we've posted on our intranet at work and I can't find now. The most interesting one discussed the bomb at the JW Marriott. Apparently, it did not happen in the restaurant I've eaten at. Instead, the bomber walked into a meeting where leaders of industry in Jakarta met once a month. CEO and other executives of most major companies in Jakarta were in attendance. The article says this bomb, not the one at the Ritz, is the one that injured the Directors of my company. I've not seen any of our internal communications indicate which bomb caused their injuries. The latest update is that the bomb found on the 18th floor was supposed to be the first to go off. The plan was for that bomb to explode, causing guests to rush to the lobby, where the second bomb would explode.