Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The best 3 out of 5



On a recent trip to Houston, I purchased various goods to re-stock my shelves. Some things purchased were items that are unavailable in Indonesia; i.e. contact lens cleaner for gas permeable lenses and underwear that is sized for an ibu like me. Other things purchased were preferenced brand items, also not available here, but could really be lived without; i.e. Far East Couscous and Country Time lemonade packets.

However, the item that I lugged back with me that was the most challenging was two king sized pillows that had to be stuffed in to a "space bag" (as seen on TV). I swear to goodness, I had horrible flashbacks to Championship Wrestling right there in my hotel room during this encounter.

First let me say, that I have an obsession about a pillow that is squishy enough to contour a bit, yet firm enough to support my head and neck. I seem to buy a lot of pillows that just don't live up to the criteria or die due to the fact that I must abuse my pillow more than the normal person.

It seemed like a simple thing, well sort of, to find and pack two king sized pillows in the largest suitcase that the airline would allow me to carry. I packed two large space bags in my baggage before leaving my tropical island home just for this purchase. I had great hopes in their ability to assist me in returning with the required sleep aide. That however, was not exactly how it worked out.

I found a couple of pillows that passed the poke and squish test and purchased them. They lingered on my vehicle backseat for a bit before I decided to give putting them in the suitcase a whirl. This was a mistake, as I think those hateful pillows began to develop a strategy to remain in their safe little domain rather than come live at my house.

Round one began with me stuffing one pillow in the bag and really wondering if the other one would fit as well. I finally managed to get both of them in there, but was way over the little dashed line at the top that indicates "do not fill above this point". In fact, pillow number two was several inches above the top of the bag but I ignored this and still felt somewhat confident. It was a clear win for me.

Round two saw a major shift in the scoring. As I began to squish the pillows further down into the bag, I realized that trying to zip the bag and also hold the pillows down was going to be a major problem unless I suddenly grew a couple of extra hands. I pushed and tried kneeling on the pillows, with my knee in the top of the bag, while quickly zipping the bag as close to my knee as I could get it. This didn't work very well and soon as I got my big ol' knee out of the way the top pillow would pop out of the opening. This went on for way to long and I had to remove my sweatshirt and continue the round in my tee shirt and jeans as things were getting really physical at this point and sweat was forming on my brow. I definitely lost that round. Thus, the pillows and I were tied at one all.

Round three. I finally managed to get the zipper closed, but needed to squish the air out of the bag to make it flat and as small as possible. Carefully I opened a small amount of the zipper and pushed on the bag with my knee to force the air out. That tricky top pillow was making an extremely successful effort to escape again, so I was both pushing and pulling on the bag at the same time and managed to rip it. Holy Cow! Sweat and not so nice words were flowing. Pillows had won another round.

Round four. New space bag, same process. This was not at all how the lady on TV had to do things when she demonstrated how marvelous these bags are. I was once again faced with how to get the air out and keep the pillows in. This time I thought maybe I could sit on the bag and get the air out. Space bags are rather slick and this was not as easy as one might expect. As carefully as possible I executed this maneuver. I just wasn't getting as much air out as I needed. At this point, I decided to use a full body press.

Looking back on it, this must have looked absolutely ridiculous. A grown woman laying, or is it lying, on this bag of pillows trying to squish them flat without anything escaping time after time. I finally got the job done and proceeded to the packing process. Round four was mine! Score - two all.

I got the pillows in the suitcase and began to gather other things that would fit in the bag along with them. Upon returning to my luggage, I realized the pillows were fluffier than just a few minutes earlier and there was considerably less room then before. Uh oh. I unzipped the zipper just a bit and pushed on the bag. At that point I could hear air escaping, but not from just the top. I had manged to blow out a small seam in the side of the bag and air was being forced out there as well.

In my book, round five went to me by just a hair. The pillows were swelling, but the space bag was still containing the sprawl. I managed to get other goods in the suitcase and go through repeatedly pressing the bag and zipping my luggage until everything was trapped inside. I was victorious!

As I locked my bag I prayed that no TSA employee would decide to frisk my luggage and undo all of my hard work. I felt quite sure they would just toss the pillows and not wrestle them, liked the Masked Marauder, back into their corner.

So as this time of travel is upon us; requiring many to go by air, land, and sea in order to celebrate this glorious Christmas and New Year with family and friends, remember my experience. In times of stress, as only travel can bring, be happy that you hopefully didn't have to pack KING sized pillows in your luggage.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good nights sleep on a perfectly delightful pillow.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

and presents for pretty girls


Holiday time is alive and well in Jakarta. Thanksgiving arrived with no parades, fall leaves, or college football games. However, sweetie pie and I managed to have a very nice turkey dinner with a few modified accompaniments. There was roast turkey, cranberry sauce, green beans and something that I think was supposed to be a form of dressing, and some pumpkin based desserts on the menu. All of this was part of the American Club Thanksgiving Dinner right here in Jakarta. It was very nice and we had two ladies sitting at our table that we had never met before and talked of things in the US and things in Indonesia. It was a little slice of home that I didn't have to cook.

The cleaver Indonesians, or at least the ones in Jakarta, have discovered that Christmas is big business. The malls are decorated with Christmas trees, Christmas music is playing in lots of places, both secular and non-secular. Today at the grocery, the clerks had on Santa hats. Ho. Ho. Ho.

Now keep in mind, that some of the decorations are a little different than what we have. At the mall for instance, you can have your picture taken with Santa. There is a big elaborate area where you wander up to Santa's grass roofed hut. Past jolly figures wearing capri length pants, cone shaped hats,and no shoes. Santa and his cute little helpers are dressed in bright red batik. Beautiful, huge butterflies are suspended from the ceiling of the mall. They are made from lovely batik fabrics and swing as the air moves. Tall narrow cone shaped artificial trees are decorated with garlands and colored balls and lights. It is very festive and an unexpected sight.

Today I am on my way back to the US. My first solo flight to the mother-land. I am in capri pants, not at all like the ones the Indonesian elves are wearing at the mall and a short sleeved shirt. I will go to Singapore who's weather is much like ours. From there I will go to Moscow. Holy cow! I have a change of clothes as I know capripants are not going to cut it there. December in Russia is not the same as December in Southeast Asia. I will change before I get off the plane and then wander around for an hour, get frisked and then get back on the plane. Can hardly wait.....

From there, I will arrive in Houston which is also not like Southeast Asia in terms of December temperatures. On my last visit in May, I never got around to driving myself. Those days are over for me very soon. I will be in charge of getting myself from point A to point B in one piece. I will be driving my honey's truck no less. Can hardly wait.....

I am looking forward to a visit and to bringing our son back with me to Indonesia. I imagine, it will be a bit like watching the disbelief and awe on his face when we took him to Disney World. It is going to be a blast to show him things we have discovered. Seeing his face as he watches all of the incredible stuff that goes on around you every single day. Every single time you leave the house. It will be a fabulous Christmas gift to us to share our new home and life with him.