An eventful week

A lot happened in the short, four-day period from Monday to Thursday.

The Pacific Rim experienced a lot of natural disasters. Samoa had an earthquake and a Typhoon. The Indonesian island of Sumatra had a 7.9 earthquake, followed by a mudslide, followed by a 6.8 earthquake. The planet finished its shakes for the week with another earthquake in Tonga. This region has always been tectonically active. That many major earthquakes in a short time period is rare. I was unaware of the Indonesian earthquake until people started contacting me asking if I was okay. Indonesia has a lot of earthquakes. Having them in Jakarta is rare. Jakarta has had two earthquakes in the last 3 years. I've been there for both of them.

The other big news of the week happened on Thursday at 11 AM. I had just sat down in a meeting to discuss a major production problem when my wife texts me to tell me her water broke. I leave the meeting and call her to make sure she is okay, and then make arrangements to fly to Singapore. My original schedule was to fly out at 7:30 that evening. I was able to move my departure to 3:30 instead. Driving to the airport, I get a second text from my wife. Long story short, the next time I have to urinate I will excuse myself to the restroom so I can "break my water".

On a less dramatic but more interesting note, two people informed me this week that their maids had quit. For the Ramadan holiday, the tradition is to give domestic help a bonus of one-month's pay. They then return to their families for the holidays. Apparently, it is also common for some of them to decide to just not come back. No notice. No phone call. One of my colleagues said he realized they weren't coming back when he went into their rooms and found all the personal effects were gone. What is more amazing to me is how life-altering this event seems to be. I think the middle class in Jakarta is so dependent on their domestic help that it is difficult to live without them. As much as we like our maid, I think if she quit, replacing her would be more of an ordeal than not having her. I think we just haven't acclimated to the concept of always having domestic help.

I am now in Singapore on my last there-and-back trip before my semi-permanent move here. I'll be here until Monday and then return to Jakarta until Friday. Then I return to Singapore until our son arrives, returning to Jakarta on 2 November.

Last, but not least, the biggest, most important news of all....in Singapore, I was able to pay for a channel that broadcasts both college and NFL games live. Cost about $6 USD for the month, but it will be worth it....even though I will likely not be awake for most of the games. They are played from midnight until 9 AM.