It's still rock 'n' roll to me

March is a big month for Bali. From around March 14th until March 26th (Nyepi Day, the climax of the celebrations and the start of the Balinese new year) just about all of Bali shuts down. Classes are canceled, work is put off, and there are loads of Balinese (Hindu) ceremonies. In Klung Kung they had a big ceremony that lasted three days and each night they had a fund-raiser/party after the ceremony. One of my Balinese friends invited us to come, and since it was three of the girls last night in Bali, we decided to check it out. They had a live band covering some English and Balinese songs which provided a really nice atmosphere. Then, due to a bit of miscommunication and my Balinese friends scheming I ended up on stage with the band. The first two songs were Balinese but pretty simple so I played a bit of lead guitar and then one of the guys knew "Freebird" so we rounded out the set with it and a Balinese rendition of "Don't Stop Believing" and a simple blues jam.

Galaxy

There's a basketball court at the town center in Gianyar and lately I've been playing some pick-up ball there. While I was playing the other day I met some college kids from Denpasar and they asked if I could play with them next Sunday. So as pulled up on my motor bike I saw a couple refs and two teams in full uniforms and a big crowd waiting for the game to start. So, naturally I assumed that something had been lost in translation (my bahasa still has a long way to go) and they just wanted me to watch their game. Nope. One of the guys walked over and handed me a Jersey and we started doing lay-up lines. The game was a blast and we pulled out a nail-biter with a few late baskets in the fourth quarter. We have a big game aganist klung kung next week so hopefully can get anouther mark in the win column.

Also, as I side note I've lost all respect for "big men" in basketball. As out of positon as it seemed for me, I played the 4 and 5 spot in the game and it's a joke, it's so easy to score and pick up rebounds and blocks.