I packed up necklaces I plan to sell at discounted price last night. For packaging, a good friend suggested individual boxes instead of sheer pouches I have used since the beginning. I ordered quite a lot of boxes that turned out so neat. I was happy till I finished putting each necklace in a box and saw a stack of boxes. Not just that, each box has bubble sheet inside to keep the necklace in place during transporting, and to keep it clean… Ziplock helps!!

I am truly overwhelmed by the packaging. I feel not so good about it because putting the necklaces into individual boxes means creating… waste! I know my product is supposed to be presented in a nice way but how can I deal with this packaging dilemma? (You can actually Google packaging dilemma, it’s an issue these days.)

For me, even without excessive package, I am still going to buy stuff I like. I accept nice packaging if I buy for others as gift. Often I feel sorry to have to stop a shop from going into the procedure of packing stuff I bought. There’s a high-end batik shop in Jakarta that caters mostly Japanese so super nice packaging is necessary. The shop uses layers of recycled papers to wrap every piece that I respect it as part of presenting their exclusive product. What I do then is reuse the papers because I don’t have the heart to stop them from presenting an artwork to their customers. In this case, I cannot refuse, but I reuse. I hope my decision helps the world a bit.

It may sound odd but I decided to give my necklace-fans the choice of getting the necklace without box but sheer pouch. They can always use the pouch for storage. I’m trying to be good to the environment, not to exercise cost cutting. It has impact on the cost in the long run yes but that’s not my initial intention.

I am a forever tourist in Ubud, it seems. Whatever I wear, whatever I carry, whatever accent I speak, I look and act like tourist for Balinese. I don't mind because I admit I still see Ubud from tourist’s eyes. Been living here three years, I still take pictures a lot, anything I find on the way. And this noon, me and my good friend visited Puri Lukisan I hadn't been very long time. A sculptor from Mas shows his work with the help of an art organizer in Jakarta. It's a bit unusual since I don't quite see the business in organizing an exhibition without sales. I don't know, maybe I'm a novice in the industry.

The exhibition is super, and on top of enjoying the exhibition, it feels so good to know that I live in Ubud. I enjoyed the green garden with lotus pond with the beginner’s mind. Later over lunch, my Balinese friend told me that the local usually don't walk around in their own village. They go to other area if they want to relax. My friend could not find the reasons why. For me, there’s nothing wrong to be a tourist in my own town.

I spent all afternoon giggling with three girlfriends. We threw a get-together for a friend who is going to roam Europe for six weeks next week. We are truly happy for her as it is going to be her first time visiting Europe. And it’s good to have a netbook handy since many conversation topics lead to life in the net. Today we learned more about CouchSurfing; how to make a good profile as couchsurfer and how the network works. Amazing! How come the world shrunk into a netbook size?

The sculpture of Darlun.