Back to work

This is a water taxi, piloted by a woman.

I don’t think I’ll get back to the three books I have in the works anytime soon. The day is just too filled with tasks needing to be done, and then, in the evening, I’m generally in the restaurant having conversations with total strangers, about what they do, all the places they’ve been. My head hurts.

Yesterday (Sunday) was really the first day I tackled any of my normal duties. Orientation, for the time being, was over. Time to get the elbows dirty. First item up: find and download relevant articles from the Jakarta English-language paper. We’re kind of a news consolidator for a community of expats who may, or may not, get the news from other sources.

Our meal at the kelong yesterday during our tour of the island.

Of course, the day was interrupted by “Roast Day” at Goodies. All afternoon, you can have a meal of beef, chicken, pork and lamb, roasted, with lots of sides. Just $9. Two nights ago, it was Free Beer Happy Hour. Thursday, it’s Australia Day. Most of the 1,500 expats in town are Aussies. Doug’s thinking of starting a karaoke night on Thursdays. How can I sit down to write with all this going on?

Anyway, back to the mundane. Today I really dove into the nitty-gritty – basic copy editing and formatting of copy to start. Then, I tackled the page maker program they use here, loading articles and artwork into templates, creating headlines, doing some basic design. I fumbled a lot, but the boss was patient. I feel like such a rookie.

Tomorow, hopefully I get my laptop back, good as new.

As much as I’ve traveled, I feel like such an infant around here. The expats who come to the restaurant have had colorful lives, lived and worked in many countries, come from different countries. Wednesday, two guys from Bahrain are coming in for a stay. Tonight, I chatted with a man from Germany, several from Australia, another from India, last night a couple from Holland.

The projects going on here are huge. Some are so large that the customers have to award contracts to multiple bidders, because no individual bidder has the resources to take on the whole project. They’re making what are called “jackets” for oil rigs. I looked it up. I don’t know. I even asked. Anyway, they may be as heavy as 23,000 tons. The manufacturers here don’t seem to be able to keep up with the demand. And the demand for oil equipment is great in the Pac Rim.

Tomorrow, we will try to finish the newsletter and send it. Doug is helping, or course. I’ll pick it all up pretty quickly and be able to move into some other areas, as well. The office was quiet today, as the girls were off for the Chinese New Year’s holiday, although they came in yesterday (Sunday), which also was a holiday. It’s a dedicated staff, in the office and in the restaurant. Let’s talk about that.

Goodies is basically a sports bar. One big screen and one smaller one. Lots of wooden tables and stools, rough-hewn word and wicker. There’s a bar as you walk in, but it’s just a corner alcove and there is no place to belly up to the bar. The main room overlooks the huge pool. There are usually two women working when I arrive for coffee in the morning. I haven’t learned their names yet.

Which brings me to a bit of useless information. I’m called Mr. Ken by any locals I meet, especially staff. I’m told not to fight it. Just doesn’t sound right to have a pretty waitress call me Mr. Ken.

For lunch and through the dinner hour, there are maybe six women working in the restaurant and several more people in the kitchen. I only know the names of two, and these will probably be misspelled: Leah and Resmay. They’re the prettiest of the lot, which accounts for me learning their names. I’m old, not stupid!

In the office, there is Mawar, basically the office manager; Cita and Saraijan (again, misspellings, probably). They are all very nice but I haven’t even attempted a real conversation with any of them.