If I were to describe all the moments of the past two months since my last blog, it would take too long. So I will highlight them here, briefly. First of all, I was so lucky to have visitors for almost a month from December 13 to January 7th. First my sister Thea came! I was so happy and excited that we would spend another Christmas together. Lucky me. We traveled around the island, diving, lying in the sun, relaxing, eating great Christmas dinners, walked around Ubud in the rain, playing a few games of chess. It was wonderful! Then Kriss and Mark came, all of the visitors together at the same time. We had one weekend all together down south at a little beach. We ate, walked on the beach, toured Ulu Watu Temple and took pics of the over-sized monkeys, whilst watching a Kecat dance of Rama and Sita. Lovely. Than after Mark's quick visit and a tour of the GS school , Kriss and I had New Year's (yeah dancing!) and the week after to explore and hang out. Good times to day the least. Weird feeling to wake up one day and its just me, the snoozing kitties on my face and the pouring rain outside.
Then it was back to school and the mad rush of not having much free time: planning, organizing, grading, meeting. But the bonus was my Christmas packages arrived! That and the gifts that Thea and Kriss brought. Oh, my coworkers were jealous. :) Thank you everyone: Thea, Kriss, Peter, Lenore, Aunt Pat & Uncle Macy. Liz, sadly the calendar has not arrived yet. But I am still looking. I can't express how wonderful it was and how I miss everyone. So all in all it was good to be back at school but things got hectic quickly.
I think the loss of my cousin was the hardest thing to experience so far from home. I couldn't be in Portland, close to grieve with everyone and yet I felt the intense loss. My sweet cousin Caroline, who I think about every day, I am hoping and praying has found herself in a better place. Can't go too much farther on that one in a blog. But the loss was compounded in a way with the loss of one of my kitties, Penny.
The immediate death here in my house for me to deal with alone, was horrible, but in a strange way allowed me to grieve for my cousin too. Since I raised the little fur balls from two weeks old, I can't express how sad and responsible I felt for Penelope's loss. I didn't know how sick she was and the guilt is sometimes over powering. When I left for school last Wednesday, she was still sick from the night before (I thought food poisoning). I had just had them both fixed a few days before. I came home from work that evening and I couldn't find her and called and called. I knew something was wrong. She had curled up in my closet and died. Ugh. Awful. I went out to Wayan and her husband Neoman, a blubbering mess carrying her little body. They did a quick ceremony and burial in the dark. I then whisked the other one off down the rice paddies, to a taxi and the 24hr kitty vet that I didn't know existed previously. The vet said their immune systems were compromised from the surgery and since not vaccinated, succumbed to a virus. Javier, then spent a week on an IV and in kitty ICU, trying to recover from that deadly virus. He did. And I brought him home a few days ago, after spending every afternoon, motorbiking over and holding him in my lap for an hour.
Of course, I couldn't bring him home alone, since Penny and Wayan's kitty had died too. So I brought another rescue kitty home, and he is a miniature of Javier, named Ginger. Pretty cute and very sweet. Javier came home looking all over for Penny. Sad. But he is better. Ginger is three months old and a precocious lover. Both have to go back and get more vaccine's and check ups, but all is good in Bali kitty world. I can't explain how compounded everything is here. But to open my world to an animal, is hard knowing what a harsh environment this is for animals. Most people don't do it. But I am a sucker and can't help not having animals around me.
Now, it's Sunday after a long weekend of the Galugan holiday of staying home and reading, relaxing and sleeping. Galungan is a time, every six months, where the Balinese make these beautiful decorated poles outside of every house, and spent the next 11 days giving thanks to the ancestors, the families and the Gods. It is extremely spiritual and happens every 210 days, or the rice cycle. I hope to go to the Temple next weekend with Ani, my housecleaner or Pembantu, and experience one of the ceremonies and blessings. I didn't go on a trip with the 200 GS families to the Gili Islands since I found out my kitty could come home. I know I missed another good time, but I was allowed some solo time to grieve, think and deal. Sometimes that is what is important.
Today no rain. I decided I need make more Skye calls, write shorter, more up to date blogs and take advantage of this healing place I live in: get more massages, drink more juices and start really exercising again. Ha! Stay tuned.
