Old Year Winnings, New Year Blessings

Are you one of those people who never wins anything in a lucky draw?

Someone who looks on as everyone at your table, including the waiter, carries something away in their outstretched arms?

Join the club.

It always seems to be the next guy who leaps up to claim the trip for two to

Hong Kong, or the woman behind you who asks for help to collect her new plasma TV.  Doesn't it?

I knew the feeling well.  That is, until I moved to Indonesia.

How my luck has changed!  As I write this, I'm staring at a huge basket full of personal hygiene items that I won at a holiday golf tournament.  It doesn't matter that I'm not sure where to point the “Body Spray”, or if the perfume container shaped like a clamshell is for me or my apartment elevator.

I won it, damn it, and it's only the latest example of my good karma heading into the New Year.

December began with a humbling occasion.  I was notified that I had won an honor from the King of Bali, Ida Tjokorda of Denpasar IX, along with 24 other Indonesia residents, including former environment minister Emil Salim and business mogul “Papa Ron” Mullers.  

The “Royal Palace Denpasar Award" is given annually for service to Indonesia, and I was told my participation in a bird flu awareness campaign and a fund-raising effort for Sidoarjo mudflow victims got me the royal recognition.

Before heading to the resort island's capital for the ceremony, I got to thinking.  Why can't this simple and low-key event become a bigger symbol for Bali and the country?  Going forward, why not rename the award the “Bali Shanti Prize”, similar to the Nobel Peace Prize, and include international recipients for positive media coverage?  It’s definitely more applicable to the Island of the Gods than to the inventor of dynamite.  

This way everybody wins.

I also feel fortunate to have won the apparently intense attention of at least two Weekender readers.

Dr. Nugroho Abikusno of the School of Medicine at Trisakti University wrote while on sabbatical in New Delhi.  He responded to my list of 35 Things I Don’t Understand (Weekender, October 2007) with a point-by-point list of answers.

Among his more entertaining explanations – for my question “What would have to happen for everyone to attend an office meeting on time?”  His answer – “Sleep overnight at the office.”

And to my bewilderment as to how someone first thought of harvesting kopi luwak, coffee beans taken from the feces of civets?  “A lot of foods seem to be more crispy if harvested in such circumstances such as using animal manure,” he wrote.   

Thanks, Doc.

Reader Sam S. Daniels of Jakarta also came up with 35 answers, including this response to my wonderment about “the appeal of American country-western music”.

“The locals don’t understand the words anyway, and the rhythm is ‘honky-tonk’ dangdut – loved by all!” he explained.

My 2007 winnings extended to the homefront as well. 

It took a four-month battle, but, finally, oh finally, every light in my apartment is now working!  When I moved in this past August, all the non-working bulbs were meticulously pointed out to my rental agent.  It took at least a dozen maintenance visits and six trips to Ace Hardware before I could see the light in all parts of my sanctuary.

Small win.  Big satisfaction.

The new year can only bring more blessings, I’m confident of that.  If I possessed the power to grant absolute victory, here’s what I’d want to see happen in 2008:

* A candidate who understands Asian issues in general and Indonesia in particular wins the U.S. presidential race.  Someone like Barack Obama.

* Kemchicks founder Bob Sadino takes first place in a “Best Legs” contest in a Kemang pub.

* The widow and supporters of murdered human rights activist Munir finally win justice.

* Indonesia grabs an unexpected gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in an achievement that will unify the country.

* Culinary expert William Wongso creates a special sambal (chili sauce) that wins an international food award and elevates Indonesian cuisine to the level of ultra-trendy Thai.

* Actress Luna Maya is named “Best Supporting Actress” at the Oscars for her role in a Hollywood movie shot on location in Bali.

As for me, I will be very happy just to gain a few more strokes on par on Indonesia’s fun golf courses.  And maybe win a month’s supply of Roti Boy. Besides, I’m already content with my basket of deodorant and shoe polish.  

Hawaii native Dalton Tanonaka is the co-anchor of Metro TV’s “Indonesia Now” program, seen on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. and Sundays at 5:30 p.m.  He can be reached at dalton@metrotvnews.com.

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