XMAS IN SEPTEMBER

Ria, one of my BAM (Bad Art Monday)friends and AWOL (Artist Way Of Life) sisters is here for 2 weeks! As if Phil and I are a couple of refugees stranded in the wilderness, we prepare a list of items for her to bring. None of the items are particularly critical, they're just nice to have, things like good quality cotton underwear, my favorite shampoo, floss and toothpaste, Bragg (liquid aminos), and - oh please, please, please... some GOOD trash. Things get pretty much used up here, so much so that whatever trash you find in the street (and there's plenty) is either so decomposed or much too filthy to pick up.

Phil, of course, wants medicines. He misses Tom, his pharmacist at Long's Mililani Marketplace. You should hear him order his medicines here from Kimia Farma.
"Hello... English, please... Can you speak English?... Is there anyone there who can speak English?..." Usually this is where he hears a click, because rather than saying No (very difficult for Indonesians), they just hang up. If Phil is lucky Dwi is available when he calls. She is the only one with enough English for him to get his business done. But then there's still the problem of spelling out the names of the medications. Indonesian is a phonetic language: A is pronounced Ah, B is Beh, etc. And Y is pronounced Yeh. P-H-I-L would be Peh Hah Ee El.

But back to Ria. My AWOL sisters went into high gear and filled up Ria's extra suitcase with gift upon gift... books, music, trash art supplies, comfort food, beautiful scarves... you name it, it went into the suitcase. Ria came laden as Santa Claus. The suitcase was so big and heavy, I couldn't just fling it open and delve into the gifts. It was overwhelming. When I finally did get to it, it was a feast. The thought and energy that went into the gifts my friends made, found or bought for me, just filled my heart and made me sing. If my AWOL sisters ruled the world there would be no war. There would be art and parades and tons of chocolate. Oh and massages for everyone. Ria is getting one every other day. I thought she might want to try different spas, you know, like a research project. But she's sticking to the first one she visited, the Zen Spa by the Yoga Barn. Why change if it's fantastic already, she says. I should get commission for all the customers I've sent there. Okay, who else is planning to come visit us?