Author Archives: Alice
Tea From a Tree
As I mentioned Thursday, I have some problems with drinking tea. It isn’t just the caffeine that will do me in, but that’s a big one. When I discovered a tea at a restaurant that I could drink, I got a little too excited. They passed around a little bowl holding the ingredients in the tea. It included things like ginger and cloves, a bit of sugar, and some tree bark. The only thing I couldn’t easily get my hands […]
A Tale of Property Tax and Encroachment.
The last time Old Man Matheson stepped out of his outhouse, the sun was setting. Office lights turned on and the highway filled with rush hour traffic. He was a young man in his twenties when he bought the land. A lot had changed. First houses went up, then sky scrapers. Now his little outhouse was all that remained of his original home. He could hardly complain. He’d sold the land to them in the first place. Now it was […]
Lunch On The Way to Kasongan Village
After flying from Jakarta to Yogjakarta, we took a bus straight to a restaurant that was situated across from a rice paddy. Although they had tables inside, everyone chose to eat at tables set up in front. Not just our group. Everyone. Our group happened to have over a dozen people, yet they managed to come up with a table we could all sit at. It was very elegantly appointed. This particular restaurant’s claim to fame is a serving style […]
Suzie’s House 433 : We Can Do What We Want Now
When Emma walked into the living room, she almost tripped over a pair of white orthopedic shoes – the kind her mother wore to work. A pair of hospital uniform pants lay over the back of the couch. The matching top lay on the floor by the hallway leading to the bedrooms. As Emma closed the front door, her nearly nude mother walked by with a shirt half way up her arms. “Mother!” Emma couldn’t help being shocked. Her mother […]
Engrish
I still remember times in my youth when I went to places where I could not speak the language. Generally the places in question had to do with Spanish. I recall a certain feeling of helplessness that I overcame over the years. When I go abroad now, I kind of look for that feeling of helplessness. I’d like to test myself – see if I really have improved in my ability to get what I need in a place where […]
Hike
“I’m telling you, you’d have never made it.” Jim glowered at Daria from across the crisp white sheets of his bed. “I would too.” Daria glowered back. She sat in the chair next to him. After moving her head a time or two, she gave up and moved the bouquet of flowers. “It’s even steeper than it looks, and if you fall, it’s straight down.” “That just means you have to take your time.” She tossed her hair and looked […]
The First Half an Hour in Yogyakarta
We took a morning flight from Jakarta to Yogjakarta. On arrival we packed into a bus and went Straight to a restaurant for lunch. Here are thirteen of the hundred or so pictures I took along the way. I think it gives a fairly good idea of what it looked like. 1.
Suzie’s House 432 : Malaprop Internal Affairs
Gene itched to get practice over with. In a way, it kind of felt like a total waste. He should have said something before they started instead of wanting to do it afterward. As soon as the band started putting their instruments away, he went over to Tracy. “There’s something we need to talk about.”
The Winner’s Circle
I did it! I hit 50,000 words! According to NaNoWriMo rules, that means I’ve written a book and have won. Of course, I haven’t really finished yet. I estimate I’m about two thirds the way through. Maybe a bit more. I still have the most pivotal scene to write – the one the whole book is based on. I seriously considered taking the story a slightly different way and skipping the pivotal scene all together. I’ve noticed that often when […]
Betsy’s Grate Day
It started off with a 5 am phone call from her boss that included screaming, panic, and acrimony. From there it went to burnt toast eaten while literally hopping out the door, coffee spilled on a cashmere skirt, a dead car battery, a taxi driver who took the long way and demanded twice the normal fare, and smeared lipstick applied while moving. The waterlogged inventory didn’t help. Nor did the attitude of the fire department. Panicked customers threatened to switch […]
Suzie’s House 431 : No Go
If she groveled a little, that might be fun. Bruce had never seen Tracy grovel before. Of course he’d be disappointed now, too, so it was just as well he didn’t really care. “Why?! We should just go anyway.” Tracy threw her hands up in disgust.
