Vagabond Jim

 Some thought on Miri. First we should establish a few facts. Miri (Wiki) A former fishing village where some Canucks working for some Cloggers (Royal Dutch Petroleom) found oil in 1910.  Thus naming the little escarpment above town: Canada Hill.  Shell is still the big boy in Town. Town is not big, the streets on this map are basically the only 4 lane roads in town. The N/S route is the Pan Borneo Highway as it approaches the border with Brunei.  It's part of the Asian Highway Network , who knew there was one. After time here, it appears there are three key types of visitors to Miri. 1) Bruneians.  The Brunei Dollar is strong.  And, a lot of stuff just ain't available in Brunei - it's a much more serious theocracy.  I think they tend to stay in the large mall cum hotel complexes here (at least 2.)  They're shoppers. 2) Oil Workers.  They are not shoppers.  There here for the time between boats mostly.  Dutch, Aussie, and Lithuanian...

I suspect that will be the gist of this one... I last wrote on Thursday, today is Tuesday.  What has happened since?  Honestly, not much. Let's just do the lazy thing where I pull up a few pics I took to refresh my failing memory.  Surely you're on to the that lil' ruse by now and it does not seem to offend. Some translations lack the nuance in the 2nd language. I think Bahasa will be fun for this reason.  E.g., the high point on the Kuching Waterfront is Bukit Mata. "Eye Hill"  Literally. But, c'mon, it's surely more akin to 'Lookout Hill.'* If you think, and take lots of pics, sometimes you get the one you want. Sometimes you don't have to think. Adding some humans changes the feeling too. No, that's not my buddy the post over on the left.  My guy is an upright dude, like me. Something here that I have continually failed to capture.  I'll keep trying. Grilled pork belly.  Good.  But anglo oriented bars that serve food just ain't w...

 Was gonna, then I found shade and a breeze. Gonna just be. Seems expensive given the accomodations Kuching is for Kucing-Kucing...in style. Roti Cenai.  So simple.  So good. The owner is mad that he's paid RM10,000 over 40 years of maintenance! Nice park up there.  Where I spent yesterday reading.

 Woke up feeling good.  And needing laksa.  So I went to my favorite Auntie's mamak.  I had intended to go to my preferred laksa joint (Cafe 63).  I made sure to get the "no prawns" straight.  Alas I did not consider fish or fish balls.  Some white vaguely protein/gelatinous (yeah, best I could do.) white slices of a neurotically preferred texture. But the soup.  Oh, it hit.  I could taste the Assam (sour from the tamarind), the Lemak (the creamy, amazing unctuousness of the coconut milk) and the bones of the fish stock (that's just flavor, not texture.) Add the local lime (which has a tangerine fragrance in it's arsenal), the laksa leaves (aka Vietnamese Corriendar).  So good I didn't mind paying a 50% premium for the fish I didn't eat (but did order.)  RM12.  Half the price of the Bun Cha yesterday.  And I will happily pay those prices!  And eat the foods joyously!!! The Borneo Post cost RM1.40 in Kuching!  Big...

I am on record as saying taking a sexy picture of the sun at the horizon is not particularly skillful.  But I realized today, it's not so easy for everyone. My Pixel is slowly transferring them to where I can add them. The guys who want the sun's lower or upper limbs touching the horizon get a lousy, over exposed shot.  I got there early and got some cool stuff - looking away from the sun... The guys that wanted the disc in the pic?  I said wait 5 minutes and look at the sky. I watched them take a good camera and go eat dinner with the sun doing this behind them. Post sunset.  I LOVE this.  2 families breaking their fasts in this view. Even an atheist can recognize what it means to the faithful to be faithful. That is the good that belief can bring. Pre-sunset has great light.... This has lousy composition   I missed the greens by seconds. (Why, yes, I am red-green color blind.  So what?) Another lousy comp -- the oil boon. Look where the light is poin...

My computer overloads are telling me that it is 13:26 on 26 March 2025.And,apparently it's a Wednesday.  I can accept all that. (What I cannot accept is hearing "kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown" in a British smooth jazz rendition in an elevator.  NOOOOOOOOOOO!  That's just wrong.) So where am I?  The Mercure Hotel in Miri City Center.  Ok, where is that compared to the previous stay on the Miri Waterfront?  About 4 small blocks.   300 meters.  Enough to fry one's nape.  Ears have been toasted a bit in the last few days due to poor haberdashery choices. Let's kecap with some photos The view from the roof.  Breezy is good.   The Pullman of last stay in MYY is the distant tall building on the left side. A different view of the waterfront. The SCG just up river. The best roti cenai I have ever had.  Sweated onions - yummy. But the dal.  OMG.  Packed with flavor. I'm really going to learn Bah...

...As best I recall - I tend to forget shit when anxious. So, let's start back in Miri.   Well, leaving Miri. The flight was crowded and cramped but easy.  I made a rookie mistake when choosing a seat.  I forgot most cheap fares in Asia do not allow one to pre-select.  So, I thought the flight would be empty.  NOPE.  It has been years since I had been seated aft of the wings.  Simple physics applied.  It was bumpy as hell sitting in the very back of the plane.   Watching the stability of people's (backs of ) heads increase as the seats went forward was funny.  COG, COE...it makes sense. If you did not see the comment I left on another post...It was hilarious when the party in the rear started meowing when we landed in Kuching.  "KUCING" is the Malay word for "Cat."  Once I figured it out, I LOL'd. The Pullman here is under serious renovation.  I'll dedicate a post (trying not to rant tonight) to that later. ...

9 hours. Still anxious (that tension behind my sternum is realizing but ain't relaxed.) Not calm, calming. So it was a Valium at 0830. There was a time when Klonopin, Lexapro, and Welbutrin, Weed, and Ambien got me through.  No weed, Klonopin, or Welbutrin.  I'll take a small risk in 12 hours.  And, no risk tomorrow. Off to find food....more than a Snickers bar.

 Much in the way of developments -- none harmful or bad.  It's just frustrations and disappointment. Details later on.  I am OK.  Just being passive aggressive, sublimating,  and conflict avoidant...you know being really autistic.  A melt down won't help.  A shutdown (extended sleep and withdrawal from excess stimulation) may help; probably will happen.  In a hotel being wracked with construction noise (literally jack hammering on floors below me.) A parade (Chinese equinox celebrations?) has been going on for 2 hours loaded with banging drums and a lot of whistles and too much fucking cowbell. Too muggy to walk it off here. I cannot find calm.   Uggggh.  Lack of calmness is NOT a calamity.  It's an annoyance. I wanna go back to Miri.  That decision is not surprising and clearly means I know where to live. Maybe I will. I am grinding my teeth, hard.  Valium and Ambien don't mix (>20 hours apart was the pharmac...

Thank you for taking my call the other day.  You made a difference in my day, as always. Thank you for making your call tonight.  I am here to help in any way I can.  My promise to you: "Philia (φιλία, philía) means "affectionate regard, friendship", usually "between equals". It is a dispassionate virtuous love.[ In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends ("brotherly love"), family, and community; it requires virtue, equality, and familiarity."  from wikipedia I will do all I can to be a part of the community to be built.  You are a foundation in mine. Demand the dividends from your faithfully investments. The mental maritime environment in our heads is complex and dangerous.  HOLD FAST.  One hand for you, one hand for the boat at all times.  Don't leave the ship until you must step UP to get into the lift raft. We'll talk again soon,

I crossed that inflection point or threshold today. No naps.  Feeling well. Tomorrow it's off to Kuching.  Friday starts the paperwork. Not as good as hoped for, but good enough. Found it by the nose...the aroma of charcoal cooked flesh gets me every time. A quick thank you to the following readers for their emotional support through readership.  It helps!  Terma Kasih! Noodle Noodle Man  Lady Pho Ga A Georgia Peach The Poke Poodler My SLO Vibers Stockton...Merced...Modesto...Fresno...Dammit, I Still Can't Remember And, potentially, a few naval aviators' parents in the Rockies.  Fly Navy!

 I slept well last night. Again, awake far earlier than in the States.  The angle of the sub here is very different.  It's 30 degrees of arc different latitudinally.  And, believe it or not, your body depends on a certain 'steadiness' of the suns' placement.  It is the longitudinal version we hate the most - jet lag and Daylight Saving Time.  But the latitude can be offsetting too. This is natural to all animals: crepuscular, nocturnal, diurnal, or whatever other patterns.  For me, I have lost the ability to reasonably guess the hour.  I was up at 0700.  Had breakfast and read the paper.  So-so kolo Mee.  Frankly a blah teh.  Won't go back.  No biggie. Look, not all of us look at boobs first.  Well, not all of the time. (TJK, kind of reminds me of Qantas and our arrival in SYD!) Hilarious headline uespecially when you realize the company name is "Dutch Lady Milk Enterprises." Oh, shit, even that is a doozey. Save The ...