This and that

Several small observations:

The biggest pleasant surprise is the weather. After hearing from everybody about how hot it is here, the weather has really not been bad, not nearly as bad as the past july in the US. But I want to write about it now because the "rainy season" will start soon and the extra humidity may increase the discomfort. And I may change my mind. I can't figure out exactly how much it will rain except it is not all day, every day. Short downpours I think.
I had an app for my iPad which showed the worldwide weather and I set it for Surabaya and every time I checked it, it said 95 -97 degrees. So I was rather dreading that aspect, but if it has been 97, I will eat my hat. It does get hot midday, but there is always a breeze and if you are in the shade, it is fine. As soon as the sun goes down (5PM!) it cools right down. I do like to make my five minute walk to the Supermarket early in the morning. Right now the wind is howling. We are on the 18th floor and it may be that these tall towers make their own wind.

I am getting amazingly busy. I will be volunteering at education USA two or maybe three afternoons a week and helping with special events. One will be to talk about writing a good essay for a college application. The GM of our apartment complex asked if I will do an hour English class per week for his staff, most of whom speak some English, but need some practice. I said I'll give it a try. The consulate staff asked if we would be willing to go to a small college on a nearby island and give a talk on "literature in the US". We said ok. I am no literature expert, but I figure I can manage. It's also an opportunity to see that island which does a lot of handmade batiks and also is known for bull races. It is connected to Java by one of the longest bridges in Asia. And I am signed up to help with a charity bazaar.
This is in addition to trying to work out and/or swim everyday. And shop for groceries every couple of days since my refrig is so tiny. So it goes.

I watched the republican debate from las Vegas on CNN this morning. It was on here live at 7AM. It's hard to believe Herman Cain has the staying power, but I can see why people like him. His 9-9-9 plan seems simple, but when one looks under the hood, I think it's terribly regressive. But I know from my days doing taxes how popular the idea of a flat tax was to my clients. I would argue it with them, as in it's not a panacea and means giving up the mortgage interest deduction, for example. But most of my clients saw it as a fairness issue. Studies back then indicated it would take a 17% flat tax to raise an equivalent amount of money and they indicated they would be happy to pay that as long as the rich did as well. The devil is in the details.

Later,
Anne