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| This was the highway in the small town of Negara, not Denpasar, jammed with motorbikes, cars, buses and constant traffic. |
“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”
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| The photo was taken at 4 00 pm of cloud reflection in our pool. |
Most days, I get busy preparing the post in the early morning, WiFi connection providing, starting around 7:00 or 8:00 am, depending on a few factors. Many days, we prefer to drink our coffee sitting in the cabana, chatting and looking out to the sea.
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| A small temple along the highway? |
At other times, when we have projects to tackle or activities planned, I may begin earlier or later. With the huge time difference making calls on Skype is best handled early in the morning when it’s actually evening for our family members in the US with the 12 to 15 hour time difference.
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| A typical “strip mall” with vendors parked to deliver their products. |
With business-related tasks requiring phone calls, we must determine the hours the business is opened to be able to reach a live person such as when we call our cruise rep at Vacations to Go. or deal with financial stuff.
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| A small shop along the highway. With cigarettes cheap here as low as IDR $25,515, US $1.87 per pack many Balinese people smoke. Tom, always struggling not to smoke, checked the prices and was tempted but didn’t buy. |
Each time we’ve moved to a new location I create a time difference chart for our family members and email it to all of them, also having it for our own use making time difference calculations easier. Here is the chart we created for family in both Minnesota and Nevada:
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Minneapolis, Minnesota time to Bali time converter -13 hours
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7:00 am CST in Minneapolis =
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Las Vegas, Nevada time
to Bali time converter -15 hours |
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With three of our adult children and all of our grandchildren in Minnesota and our eldest son in Nevada, this chart has served us well. Each time we move to a new part of the world we edit this format and rename it accordingly.
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| In attempting to translate this yellow sign, it appears to be a bank. |
Tom is great at making these calculations in his head. I, on the other hand, have a part missing in my brain that can easily calculate time differences. Ask me to figure out a detailed expense analysis of our world travels over the past 43 months and I can rattle off these numbers in a flash.
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| A tattered bus stops providing shelter from the hot sun while waiting. |
Ask me what time it is in Los Angeles or Boston and I have to look at these charts or take time to do the calculations. Go figure. Maybe there’s some truth to the fact that the male and female brains work differently.
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| We were unable to decipher the type of business is conducted in this building. |
No, my intent is not to be sexist with this type of comment but after watching animals in the wild these past years, there certainly are varying behaviors in the sexes as is also the case for humans, whether we like it or not. OK, I won’t go there.
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| In certain areas the homes are less decorative, often one story, as seen anywhere in the world. Most Balinese people live in houses, not apartments, as we mentioned in a prior post. |
The point I’m trying to make, feebly at best, is that our state of mind when posting in the morning may vary from how we’re feeling and what we’re thinking in the late afternoon. Most certainly, I feel more creative in the morning.
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| A security building at a sardine factory near the beach. |
Now, as I sit in our bedroom at 4:40 pm in air-conditioned comfort while we wait for dinner to be ready, I find myself struggling to write. Maybe all I need is some caffeine. Our iced tea is caffeine-free and I gave up drinking afternoon tea when I couldn’t find any I liked at the local markets in Bali. I have no interest in teeth staining Lipton.
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| A newer structure utilizing the Balinese/Hindu design and vibrant colors and of course, with a satellite dish on the roof. Modern technology is prevalent in Bali, although services may be slow in some areas. |
Maybe I need to resign myself that this is a “morning thing” not a “late in the day thing.” We all have our times of the day when we’re at our sharpest. Hopefully, you’ll bear with this post when you think of your times of the day when you’re at your brightest and realize it does in fact vary based on the time of day or night.
May your day be bright regardless of how sharp you’re feeling at any given moment!
Photo from one year ago today, May 21, 2015:
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| Grass-fed bull in Kauai poses for a photo. Everywhere in the world, we find grass-fed beef at reasonable costs, and yet, in the US, it’s outrageously priced. It’s all about money, money, money. Our health has a price tag on it. For details, please click here. |