I work with others. Have gotten so much help from others that I know what I'm doing is not really mine or even from me - it's from us. But I'd love to have more help right here at home. I dream of getting an enthusiastic young intern, better a couple so they can explore Bali while getting the home front organized beyond what I do - stuff others could do so I can focus on what others can't and I've got tons of that. My old psychic adviser Fred said always say thanks for what you've got and then politely ask for more.
My wonderful Balinese assistant, Gus, (goose) is so busy helping to run a successful eco-villa (not his) and his own micro-businesses that it took him three months to get back this last time. Gus caught up with a list of what he does for me. Then we work together on other tasks either Cuke Archives related or not. He's helped a lot with online tasks for my music including working with me to translate the songs of mine I've produced here. This time though we spent the rest of the time setting up Team Viewer which my tech guy uses so he can work on my laptops here while he's at home. Now Gus can do that so we'll see how that helps. I used to think, especially because of my experience here, that Balinese couldn't do things at our level like the Chinese Indonesians can. The island laid back culture too embedded in them. No more. People can adapt to new ways quickly. And it's not just Gus. It's hard not to feel the same way in Thailand about the non Chinese, the Lao they call it - Thailand and Laos I gather are basically the same people. But I had the same sort of wake up experience there too. I talked to a therapist who has local clients there about that and he said at first he thought they had totally different issues but he'd come to see all people as pretty much the same. I keep seeing that too. But culture is strong and deep so I'm not saying many differences aren't still there.
Gus is sharp, figures things out, gets a step ahead of me, and is occasionally on the phone about his own business. He'll say "Just got an order for 100 tee shirts from a high school with their mascot on it." He sells trophies and medals for youth sports events. Katrinka orders her favorite sparkling water from him delivered by the case. When the the small propane tanks we use got scarce I realized we needed two more but you can't buy them from the little stores, only put a deposit on them and get them refilled and they couldn't get more. The government subsideses refills for the small tanks because they're for home use. He had a couple of small tanks dropped off by his delivery truck. He arranged for us to get a better deal on our wifi.
Katrinka loves to cook the meal but our housekeeper Kadek makes a lot of stuff for us, occasionally a dish, but mainly other stuff. Some of what she makes is local like jamu health drink, sambal (like their salsa), fresh coconut water. Much of it we taught her or developed with her - fantastic yogurt before I went off dairy, fantastic coconut yogurt, great muesli and trail mix, wet dog food, almond-cashew and oat milk. Gus liked the unyeasted bread she and I came up with. She calls it kue keras - hard cake. Cuts it up into 3" squares. It's less than half an inch thick, made from different combinations of whole wheat, cassava, and gluten rice flour, roasted nuts and seeds, raisons. But when he took a bite of the latest and highly popular creation, thin crunchy crackers made from cassava and gluton rice flour, roasted and ground up flax, chia, sesame, and sunflower seeds, almonds and cashews, he immediately perked up and said, "This is marketable."
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