a gas leak, kitties and a black out

When you think about taking snapshots of your life, you wonder what material would interest anyone? In a classic, Nothing Ever Happens on My Block perspective, I returned home from school to find that my stove had a gas leak.

When my helper, Atik, returned from picking up something to repair the leak, I thought, “I could write about the dramatic gas explosions in Indonesia.” Two friends recently had their ovens explode. This is a result of the fact that ovens are lit by matches in Indonesia and the gas connectors frequently leak.

Atik expertly repairs a leak and saves the day.

In one case, the explosion shattered windows in the front room and caused major bruising due to the impact of being thrown back with such a force. In the other case, my friend’s husband’s hands were burned when he grabbed the gas tank to throw it out of the house. So scary.

Then my attention was diverted to the fresh litter of kittens that were lolling around the back porch. They were even exploring in between laundry like they were in some kind of a Good Night Moon sequel. There are so many cats that wander the streets of our neighborhood.

Good night, kittens. I said, Good Night!

I should be grateful due to the virulent rat population which the cats most likely assist in keeping at bay. However, this is the second time a cat has delivered in our yard. The arrival of the kittens is followed by a stay that lasts much longer than is socially appropriate. Plus, most cats in this area have freaky rabbit puffs for tails instead of the usual long sleek ones you see in the U.S. However, my newest yard kittens somehow managed to have the normal tails.

Citronella votives are always the right choice.

But then the rolling black-outs happened. All day, throughout the city the electricity had been going out here and there. Yet our school has a back-up generator so I was not immediately affected. This evening they hit my neighborhood again just as the sun was setting. Blackouts mean, not only darkness, but extreme heat in Indonesia. We lit plates of citronella votives that I picked up at Ace once to fortify my mosquito defense.

Okay, if you’ve stuck with this post to the end . . . you’ve learned 3 valuable survival tips for any potential move to Indonesia:

1. Sharpen your ears so you can identify potentially lethal “shhhh”s that indicate a gas leak.
2. Don’t feed the kitties, unless you are prepared to spay and neuter at your own expense.
3. Kill 2 birds with one stone–buy your candles in citronella.