2009.03.14 19:00 - Discussion on proposed PaB retreat in Hawaii

The Guardian for this meeting was Myna Maven. The comments are by Myna Maven.

Pila Mulligan: hi Myna
Pila Mulligan: bye
Pila Mulligan: aloha Scathach
Pila Mulligan: kind of laggy today it seems
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, is is:)
Pila Mulligan: welcome back Myna
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Myna:)
Pila Mulligan: I'm going to try loggin out and back in to see if it helps the lag
Pila Mulligan: oops, there -- that was timely
Pila Mulligan: maybe it is okay now
Pila Mulligan: hi Pema
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Pema
Pema Pera: Hi Pila, Scathach, Myna!
Pema Pera: It was nice to fly over here, for a change, rather than tp-ing
Pema Pera: oh, Myna poofed?
Pila Mulligan: that's the second time Myna has crahsed in the past few minutes
Pema Pera: oh my(na)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pila Mulligan: it is laggy for me also
Pila Mulligan: yes you flew down the chimney like Santa Claus, Pema
Pema Pera: hehehe
Pema Pera: first time to do so!
Scathach Rhiadra: nice landing though:)
Pema Pera: I had some business to do in the area, and recognized the pavillon, so . . . .
Pila Mulligan: isn't Santa's helper in the Nehterlands named Piet?
Pema Pera: YES!
Pema Pera: but he is black
Pila Mulligan: hohoho
Pila Mulligan: oh
Pema Pera: zwarte piet
Pila Mulligan: well, black is cool
Pema Pera: black Pete
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: problem is, now some people think it is racist . . . .
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm
Pema Pera: tradition of a few hundred years, but . . .
Pila Mulligan: well, Jeez, how could you not be blkack going thru chimneys
Pema Pera: white Santa Claus with black helper going through chimneys . . . racially black :-)
Pema Pera: not very PC . . . .
Pila Mulligan: obviously, Piet opens the door
Pema Pera: no, descends and ascends through chimneys
Pema Pera: no doors
Pila Mulligan: but logic compels us to consider that perhaps Piet does the chimenys and Santa then enters thrugh the door, staying white as a reuslt
Pila Mulligan: Pila at Play
Pema Pera: well, logic doesn't play a large role in myths . . . .
Pema Pera: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: true
Pila Mulligan: ahh, yes, but we live in modern times and we must adapt
Pila Mulligan: I'm about to beceom the scinetist here it seems
Pema Pera: :-)
Pila Mulligan: we are getting just the slightest hint of steam from the volcano today
Pila Mulligan: it is actually a kind of refreshing thing -- like a hot srping
Pila Mulligan: not a dense blast
Pema Pera: no ash?
Pila Mulligan: no, that only happens with new eruptions
Pila Mulligan: the steam is a constant though
Pila Mulligan: blowing south usually
Pila Mulligan: and I am north
Pema Pera: wb Myna!
Pila Mulligan: but today the wiands are calm
Scathach Rhiadra: wb Myna:)
Pila Mulligan: hi Myna
Myna Maven: Big problems getting in.
Pila Mulligan: looks like you made it this time
Myna Maven: Looks like it may hold.
Pila Mulligan: third time is charmed, they say
Pema Pera: three strikes and you're in !
Pila Mulligan: have you had the first theme meeting on karma and sin yet, Pema?
Scathach Rhiadra: it starts next week I think Pila
Pema Pera: no, that will be next week
Pema Pera: today we decided, but didn't really start yet
Pila Mulligan: it is aninteresting topic, wish it was not so early for me
Pila Mulligan: 5 am
Pema Pera: ah!
Pema Pera: wow, yes
Pila Mulligan: i usuually meditate at 4 am, so it is possible, but kind of early still
Pema Pera: see what works!
Pila Mulligan: yep
Pema Pera: Today this is my fourth PaB session
Pema Pera: in case you wondered why I was relatively quiet :-)
Pema Pera: 1 am 7 am 1 pm 7 pm
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pila Mulligan: 24 hours of PaB :)
Pema Pera: doesn't happen often!
Pema Pera: just woke up early
Pema Pera: for me 4 am 10 am 4 pm 10 pm
Pila Mulligan: was early the 7am one?
Pila Mulligan: I hope
Pema Pera: no, the 1 am
Pema Pera: for me 4 am
Pila Mulligan: oh, that is early
Pema Pera: in New York City
Pila Mulligan: oy, I forgot, of course
Pema Pera: Schathach and Myna, Pila and I have been scheming . . . . . . . . .
Pila Mulligan: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: oh?
Myna Maven: ?
Pila Mulligan: Pema's going to break a topic I think
Pema Pera: thinking about building a PaB retreat in RL . . . .
Pema Pera: in Hawaii
Pila Mulligan: break open
Pema Pera: :-)
Pema Pera: next door to Pila's
Pila Mulligan: ahh, what a timely appaearance by Steve
Pema Pera: Hi Steve!
Pila Mulligan: hi Steve
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Steve
Myna Maven: Hi Steve.
Pema Pera: We're talking about our new PaB retreat in RL in Hawaii, Steve
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: never been to hawaii
Pila Mulligan: and the need for architectural competence (this time)
stevenaia Michinaga: hmmm, what DO you mean?
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pema Pera: 20,000 sqm, or about 40 times the size of a 512 sqm plot :-)
Pila Mulligan: I have a vacant lot next door to me, Steve
Pema Pera: If you design it, Pila will build it
Pema Pera: :-)
Pila Mulligan: I previously talked with Steve about the pitfalls I encountered building my own hous ewithout competent architectural assiatnce
stevenaia Michinaga: nods :)
Pila Mulligan: Pema enviosions a retreat center there
Pila Mulligan: it is an interesting idea
Pema Pera: Do you want to unfold the vision Pila? Central kitchen, etc
stevenaia Michinaga: would be a wonder project
Pema Pera: we have had a few thousand lines of email exchanges this last week :-)
Pila Mulligan: my first concern was the distance
stevenaia Michinaga: lol, a defined architectural program is important
Pila Mulligan: half a world away from Europe
stevenaia Michinaga: distance from the volcano, for instance?
Pila Mulligan: Scathach, would oyu consider a retreat in hawai`i or is it oo far?
Pila Mulligan: 7 miles Steve
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, I think it is even farther than Australia
Pila Mulligan: actually, Australia is closer going east
Pila Mulligan: but we are closer if you go via a great circle or west
Pema Pera: It all started exactly one week ago, in the morning session of PaB, March 7, 7 am SLT:
Pema Pera: [7:46] Pema Pera: what would really be great is a kind of joined monastery, where Christian and Buddhist monks would practice for at least a few years, praying together and mediating together -- say for three years . . .and then ask them on a really personal-experience basis what they saw/felt/learned, the energy, the insights, . . . . [7:47] Geo Netizen raises his hand to volunteer [7:47] Pema Pera: well, Geo, PaB may grow into that, seriously . . . . . [7:56] Pema Pera: how about a PaB monastery? [7:57] Pema Pera: in RL?
Pema Pera: [8:04] Pema Pera: I actually have been thinking that some day . . . . [8:04] Pema Pera: . . . . we might want to open a RL kind of community for PaB, years from now . . . . [8:04] Pema Pera: as an extention beyond, of course, any particular religion or order or humanism or science -- all ways of knowing [8:04] Geo Netizen nods [8:05] Pema Pera: the first step will be the August retreat [8:05] Pema Pera: everything starts with small steps . . . .
Pila Mulligan: and whaere better than a rainforest?
Pema Pera: with a scenic vulcano
Pema Pera: and a scenic care talker :-)
Pema Pera: car taker
Pema Pera: care taker
Pila Mulligan: ahh, there we have par tof the scheme -- a real caretaker (as opposed to neighbor Pila)
stevenaia Michinaga: I've seen it in google earth, very nice
Pema Pera: (not car talk)
Pila Mulligan: did oyu do the Google view Pema
Pema Pera: well, another small step, Pila :-)
Pema Pera: yes, Pila
Pila Mulligan: yes :)
stevenaia Michinaga: very nice land Pila
Scathach Rhiadra: and you really envisage 3-year retreats?
Pema Pera: oh, 3 years was for the topic with Geo
stevenaia Michinaga: what kind of forest is that around your house?
Pema Pera: talking about monks getting together
Scathach Rhiadra: ah
Pema Pera: I was thinking more a few months to forever
Pema Pera: I can imagine some of us wanting to settle there
Pila Mulligan: paste these coordinates into a Google map search box: +19.483540 -155.148046
Pila Mulligan: to see the land on thr Google view
Pila Mulligan: it is an ohia rainforest Steve, but it has been invaded by an alien speices called strawberry guava
Pema Pera: a 512 sqm plot would be only $2,500 for land cost . . . . but of course it is not that simple, as Pila will explain; we need room for roads and central facility and gardens
Pila Mulligan: it was once pristine, it is now more jungle like
Pila Mulligan: the building codes here seem to allow a central building with any (reaonable) number of surrounding bedrooms structures
Pema Pera: Hi Ibrahim
Myna Maven: Hello Ibrahim.
Pema Pera: come join us if you like
Pila Mulligan: just getting your feet wet?
Pema Pera: born today, welcome!
Myna Maven: This is a Play at Being meeting.
Ibrahim Moonwall: how to set?
Myna Maven: I can give you a notecard. Just a second.
Pema Pera: right click on a cushion, choose "sit" from the pie diagram
Pema Pera: put your cursor on a cushion
Pema Pera: then right click
Pema Pera: and choose "sit here"
Pila Mulligan: close
Pema Pera: yes, that's the idea
Pema Pera: but better to sit on a cushion :)
Myna Maven: Meetings are recorded, Ibrahim.
Pila Mulligan: there :)
Pema Pera: congratulations!
Ibrahim Moonwall: thank you
Pema Pera: how do you like exploring Second Life, so far?
Ibrahim Moonwall: good
Ibrahim Moonwall: but i don't know how to explore
Pema Pera: what are you most interested in?
Ibrahim Moonwall: but i am trying
Pema Pera: what kind of activities or hobbies?
Ibrahim Moonwall: i just came half an hour ago
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pema Pera: wow, you found us fast!
Ibrahim Moonwall: yes
Ibrahim Moonwall: i was flying
Pema Pera: We get together four times a day to talk about the nature of reality
Ibrahim Moonwall: aha
Pema Pera: but I don't know whether that is interesting for you
Pema Pera: we are curious to know who we are, or what we are
Pema Pera: what we really are
Ibrahim Moonwall: aha
Ibrahim Moonwall: good
Pema Pera: so we try to look through all that we have, to see what we are
Pema Pera: and share what we see
Ibrahim Moonwall: i would like to join you
Pila Mulligan: welcome
Pema Pera: you can come here any time
Ibrahim Moonwall: thank you
Pema Pera: at 1 am 7 am 1 pm 7 pm Second Life Time
Pema Pera: it is now 7:36 SLT
Pema Pera: pm that is
Pema Pera: which country are you from?
Ibrahim Moonwall: when do you finish?
Pema Pera: we continue as long as we like
Pema Pera: people come and go
Ibrahim Moonwall: i am from saudi arabia
Pema Pera: you are welcome to visit any time
Pila Mulligan: ah
Pema Pera: and leave any time
Pema Pera: Oh, how interesting!
Pema Pera: We have people from many different countries
Ibrahim Moonwall: but i live now in the US
Pema Pera: ah!
Pema Pera: We sometimes talk about Rumi, one of my favorite Sufi poets
Pema Pera: (but perhaps you call him by a different name)
Pila Mulligan: and we should add Mulla Nasrudin :)
Ibrahim Moonwall: I don't know that much about it
Pila Mulligan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasrudin
Ibrahim Moonwall: Where are you from guys?
Pema Pera: I'm from Holland
Pila Mulligan: I'm in Hawai`i
Myna Maven: Georgia.
Scathach Rhiadra: Europe
Ibrahim Moonwall: nice to meet you
stevenaia Michinaga: Pennsyvania
Pila Mulligan: Nasreddin sat on a river bank when someone shouted to him from the opposite side: - "Hey! how do I get to the other side?" - "You are on the other side!" Nasreddin shouted back.
Pila Mulligan: a legendary satirical sufi figure who lived during the Middle Ages (around 13th century), in AkÅŸehir, and later in Konya, under the Seljuq rule.[4] Many nations of the Near, Middle East and Central Asia claim the Nasreddin as their own
Pema Pera: are you interested in philosophy, Ibrahim, or perhaps science, or some other field of knowledge?
Ibrahim Moonwall: no
Ibrahim Moonwall: i am actully so ypoung
Ibrahim Moonwall: i mean young
Pema Pera: what do you study?
Ibrahim Moonwall: i am 19 years old
Pema Pera: not so very young :-)
Ibrahim Moonwall: i study mechanical engeneering
Pema Pera: ah, I am a physicist
Pema Pera: astrophysicist to be precise
Pema Pera: Hi Adelene!
Pila Mulligan: hello Ade
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Adelene
Myna Maven: Hello Adelene.
Adelene Dawner: Hi! Sorry I'm late, I was helping Buddha out.
Pema Pera: what a great line!!!
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Adelene Dawner: ^.^
Pila Mulligan purrrs
Pema Pera: Oops, I was helping God, couldn't do my homework!
Adelene Dawner giggles.
Pila Mulligan: buddha ate my homework, very nice
Pema Pera: yes, was just thinking about that
Pema Pera: Adelene, we were talking about starting a PaB retreat in RL in Hawaii, permanently
Ibrahim Moonwall: Ok guys
Ibrahim Moonwall: i have to go now
Adelene Dawner: oo. :)
Pema Pera: bye, Ibrahim, nice to meet you!
Ibrahim Moonwall: what is that?
Pila Mulligan: nice to mee tyou Ibrahim
Adelene Dawner: 'night, Ib.
Myna Maven: Bye Ibrahim.
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Ibrahim
Pila Mulligan: hi buddha
Ibrahim Moonwall: byeee
Myna Maven: Hello Buddha.
buddha Nirvana: hey
Pema Pera: Hi Buddha!
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello buddha
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Buddha
buddha Nirvana: exuse me for a moment
Pema Pera: well, I have to go, I'm afraid
Pema Pera: sorry to leave a bit early
Adelene Dawner: aw :)
Pema Pera: but have a few chores, and then it's time to sleep, after 4 PaB sessions today :)
Pila Mulligan: bye Pema -- congratulations on 4 in a day PaBs
Pema Pera: I will probably dream about SL . . . .
Pema Pera: hahaha
Pila Mulligan: :)
Myna Maven: Bye Pema.
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Pema, sleep well:)
Pema Pera: the real record was a six hour session -- I was not part of that
Pema Pera: were you, Adelene?
Pema Pera: Last summer?
Adelene Dawner: Yep. I was just telling Pila about that yesterday, actually.
Pema Pera: hehe
Pila Mulligan: soounds exhausting :)
Pema Pera: I couldn't believe it, the one session ran into the other
Adelene Dawner: Nope. I liked it. ^.^
Pila Mulligan: a marathon
Pema Pera: the chat log was on line, and it was actually interesting to read!
Scathach Rhiadra: like a mini retreat
Pema Pera: but took a few hours to read :(
Adelene Dawner: hehe
Pila Mulligan: yep, Scath
Pema Pera: back in the days that I still had time to read all logs . . . .
Pema Pera: well, see you all soon again!
Pila Mulligan: aloha Pema
Pema Pera: bfn
Adelene Dawner: ^.^
Pila Mulligan: I wonder what bfn means
Scathach Rhiadra: bye for now
Adelene Dawner grins at the idea of going to Hawaii.
Pila Mulligan: thanks
Pila Mulligan: Pema sent an email a couple of weeks ago suggestng the idea
stevenaia Michinaga: we need major underwriting for that I'm afraid
Pila Mulligan: well, maybe not Steve
stevenaia Michinaga: oh?
Pila Mulligan: it just so happens that i own a five acre lot next door to where my house is
Pila Mulligan: vacant, but for jungle
stevenaia Michinaga: we chartering a plane?
Adelene Dawner: oo, camping. :)
Pila Mulligan: :) there's the rub -- distance and travl
Pila Mulligan: Pema wants structrues
stevenaia Michinaga: camping in a rain forest
Pila Mulligan: shared central kitchen/dining/living area with separate private sleeping/bathing quarters connected to it by walkways would probably work with county building regulations.
stevenaia Michinaga: how big are the spiders, Pila?
Pila Mulligan: tiny
Adelene Dawner: How poisonous are they?
Pila Mulligan: not, except for the brown recluse
Pila Mulligan: and they are not around here
Adelene Dawner: And how 'friendly' is your local wildlife?
Pila Mulligan: some -- the feral pigs can be nasty, but we almsot have the property fenced
Pila Mulligan: one side to go
Adelene Dawner *knows* she's the designated remover of baby opossums from tents, always hgas been.
Pila Mulligan: the volcano is the one to respect
Pila Mulligan: it is quite interesting
Pila Mulligan: and not particularly dangerous, but respectable
Adelene Dawner nods
Adelene Dawner: And now you have me thinking, Pila.
Pila Mulligan: :) me too, thanks toPema
Adelene Dawner: No, not about that. (Well, not just about that ^.^)
Pila Mulligan: about what Ade?
stevenaia Michinaga: how often do you need to sacrifice someone there?
Myna Maven: A number of observatories, I see.
Pila Mulligan: you're safe there Steve :)
Adelene Dawner: Well, for all that I'm not fond of people and keep to myself... guess who was the one who always wound up dealing with rogue critters and escorting whoever was afraid of the dark or the spiders to the latrines, in girl scout camp? And, I'm wondering how that happened. 'Cause it did, every single year.
Pila Mulligan: you seem to be ok with the reality of nature then :)
Pila Mulligan: it can be intense sometimes int he rainforest, rain like a waterfall
Adelene Dawner o.Os at Pila and peers from him to her paws. "That's a surprise?"
stevenaia Michinaga: I know an architect in Hawaii (who lives on a catamerand who can help with the local regs
Pila Mulligan: cool
Pila Mulligan: lots of people here ignore the permits, and juts build, but I'd at least start with permitted sturctures
Pila Mulligan: especially for this type of thig
stevenaia Michinaga: well, there are sually reason for some regs
Pila Mulligan: yes
Adelene Dawner: May I demand a fire pit? ^.^
Pila Mulligan: of course
Adelene Dawner: :D
Pila Mulligan: an imu, they are called here
Adelene Dawner: cool :)
Adelene Dawner: I'll have to brush up on my campfire cooking. It's been a while. I'm sure I can still build a fire, though.
Pila Mulligan: "The central feature of the luau is the imu, an underground oven (a shallow pit lined with stones)."
Pila Mulligan: the thing that is important to me, and it may sound less modest than it is, is to keep the idea in harmony with the Hawaiian culture
Pila Mulligan: there are so many things that have happened here that treat the place as if it is Disneyland
Pila Mulligan: it is a really beautiful culutre and I am happy to see things blend with it
Adelene Dawner hmms
Pila Mulligan: it is like this forest
Pila Mulligan: you can still see vast areas of it that are poristine
Adelene Dawner: For myself, that's hard - I'm not good at 'culture' in general - but I'll follow whatever lead you set, Pila. :)
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pila Mulligan: it is easy
Pila Mulligan: aloha is the essenc eo fit
Pila Mulligan: if we are interested in the reality of nature, the Hawaiin culutre has been doing it for millenia
Scathach Rhiadra: I had better say good night , it is late here, see you all soon:)
Adelene Dawner: 'night, Sca
Pila Mulligan: bye Scathach
Myna Maven: Bye Scath.
Adelene Dawner: For the log: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha
Myna Maven: I am tired. I will be going along.
Pila Mulligan: bye Myna
stevenaia Michinaga: well, perhaps we should beging a new wiki page.. Elements of a PaB Retreat/Monestary so an architectural program can develope
Adelene Dawner: :D
Adelene Dawner: 'night, Myn
Pila Mulligan: here's acomplement to your web link, Ade -- http://www.edithkanakaolefoundation.org/ -- for the log
stevenaia Michinaga: more of a nod than a night Myna
Adelene Dawner hmmmmms again...
Pila Mulligan: actually, Steve, probably themost difficult part of cuilding her eis clearing the areas for building and putting in a driveway
Pila Mulligan: building*
Myna Maven: I crashed before I could get the log.
Myna Maven: Hope that won't interfere with my getting it?
Pila Mulligan: did you claim it
stevenaia Michinaga: dificult in an enviornmental way, or very hard trees to cut down?
Pila Mulligan: both, Steve
Adelene Dawner: Myna - you'll get it when we leave, and I'll stop the recorder so I get it too, to be safe, ok?
stevenaia Michinaga: :) well better cut down as few as possible,
Pila Mulligan: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: do you need a forest mgt plan?
Pila Mulligan: no, but you can make on if you like and get some benfits from doing so
Pila Mulligan: financial support and stuff
Pila Mulligan: from the US Soil guys
Myna Maven: I've not had the chat logs mailed to me. Where do I set a preference for that?
stevenaia Michinaga: the appear after everyone leaves and show up when you log in next time
Adelene Dawner: It's IM'd, you'd have to set your account up so your IMs are emailed,
Myna Maven: OK, thanks Steve.
stevenaia Michinaga: you get a link to a web page
Myna Maven: Thanks, Ade. Bye.
Adelene Dawner: :)
Pila Mulligan: here's a retreat center that did it full tilt -- http://kalani.com/
Pila Mulligan: not far from my place
Pila Mulligan: but this would be the mega-bucks approch
Pila Mulligan: Pema's idea seems more modest, mininal habitations
stevenaia Michinaga: hmmm, yes, simple
Pila Mulligan: I got this land in 2004, a 21 acre parcel, and subdivided it into four 5 acre lots
Pila Mulligan: the fmaily that was on board to get the lot that is onw vacant backe dout when they got an offer to work as caretakers for a retreat center in New Mexico :)
Pila Mulligan: the other two lots are owned by freind
Pila Mulligan: s*
Pila Mulligan: itis kind of a cooperative community
Pila Mulligan: shared utility poles and driveway
stevenaia Michinaga: I saw that
stevenaia Michinaga: sounds interesting
Pila Mulligan: I'd sell it Pema or kira or whatever for just a we bit over my actual costs
Pila Mulligan: wee*
Pila Mulligan: under $100k for five acres in Hawaii is agood deal
stevenaia Michinaga: then you ahve to build :)
Pila Mulligan: yes, that's the hard part
Pila Mulligan: and you have to prepare the land for building, the harder part :)
Pila Mulligan: we would up using a excavator
Pila Mulligan: it is the best mix of sensitivty and effect
Pila Mulligan: the guy uses a bucket with a thumb and grabs the junk trees and pulls them out
Pila Mulligan: leaving the good trees in place
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Pila Mulligan: then we found aguy with a giant rolling woodchipper
Pila Mulligan: he turned the junk trees into chips -- just ran over them
Pila Mulligan: we needed to use heavy road fabric under the gravel dirveway, to keep the mud from coming up
Pila Mulligan: but it has been very stable -- supports cement rrucks and all
Pila Mulligan: the code still allows cess pools here, and we use rain water cathcment, so that part is not too bad, once you get the building site ready
stevenaia Michinaga: yukky
Pila Mulligan: and we have the utility poles on the shared main driveway already
Pila Mulligan: yes, cess pools can be yukky, but they work well her
Pila Mulligan: here*
Pila Mulligan: they dig down to the porous lava and it just disapears
stevenaia Michinaga: sorry, IM delue I must go
Pila Mulligan: ok, nice to see you Steve
Pila Mulligan: food for thought in today's ideas :)
Adelene Dawner: mmhmm :)
Adelene Dawner: And I have a theory now about the taking the other kids to the latrines thing.
Pila Mulligan: ... ?
Adelene Dawner: hold on, now I'm getting im'd.
Pila Mulligan: what it the theory Ade?
Pila Mulligan: ok
Adelene Dawner: As mentioned, I'm not big on people... there are exceptions, PaB is full of exceptions to that rule, but it's still often true. But, perhaps even *because* of that, I don't think any worse of people for showing weakness - I just don't care that much, in most cases. And that shows.
Pila Mulligan: and so helping people to the latrine was just an ordinary act of courtesy
Adelene Dawner: Yep.
Pila Mulligan: one they no doubt appreciated :)
Adelene Dawner: My question was more - why did they always ask *me*?
Pila Mulligan: because you would do it :)
Adelene Dawner: mmhmm :)
Pila Mulligan: nature itself frightens some people
Pila Mulligan: especially in the dark :)
Adelene Dawner: And I don't rattle easily, so I'm an obvious choice for wrangling opossums... skunks... bats... frogs...
Pila Mulligan: just don't mess with the larger pigs :)
Pila Mulligan: the little ones are okay
Adelene Dawner: hehe
Adelene Dawner: I read animal body language like most people read human body language. I think the pigs and I will get on fine.
Pila Mulligan: we don't have many ground critteres here
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pila Mulligan: not even squirrels
Adelene Dawner: aw :)
Pila Mulligan: lots of unique birds
Pila Mulligan: and unique plants
Pila Mulligan: but few groound critters
Pila Mulligan: probaly because they could ont swim 200 miles to get here
Pila Mulligan: 2000*
Adelene Dawner: I'll be at a disadvantage, then - I don't speak Bird, in any dialect.
Pila Mulligan: do you speak plant?
Adelene Dawner: Not very well ;)
Pila Mulligan: ahh, always time for learning :)
Adelene Dawner: ^.^
Pila Mulligan: the forest ferm trees are very communicative
Pila Mulligan: fern*
Adelene Dawner: cool :)
Pila Mulligan: the ohia trees are the first to grow on fresh lave
Pila Mulligan: they are the pioneers of the plant life
Adelene Dawner: ^.^
Pila Mulligan: lava*
Pila Mulligan: they also act as hosts for othe rplants that grown in them
Adelene Dawner: Corvi speaks Plant reasonably well. I'll have to drag her along to translate. Though she may only speak the local dialect; not sure ^.^
Pila Mulligan: very cool
Pila Mulligan: on their branches and trunks
Adelene Dawner: ^.^
Pila Mulligan: and you both can probably learn bird easily
Pila Mulligan: birds are prteey straightforward
Adelene Dawner: I've tried. It just doesn't parse. Many birds speak a little Primate, which helps, but if they stop broadcasting that? I'm useless.
Pila Mulligan: a mason came here today to make a landing for the shipping continer where I was living before the house was done -- so we can add a porh there
Pila Mulligan: like a sportscast
Pila Mulligan: this bird sat on a fence and gave a running coomentary no the work for about half an hour
Adelene Dawner chuckles.
Pila Mulligan: "they are mixing the cement and now moving toweard the forms, the big guy is emptying the wheel barrow ..."
Adelene Dawner: :)
Pila Mulligan: do you think it would work, or is the distance factor too much?
Adelene Dawner: In general? Dunno. But *I* have been wanting to come visit, retreat or no. ^.^
Pila Mulligan: there have been directflights here from some European airports, don't know if they still do it though
Adelene Dawner: Wow.
Pila Mulligan: it is exactly half a world from England
Adelene Dawner nods.
Pila Mulligan: or Belgium
Pila Mulligan: somewhere around there
Adelene Dawner: Belgium and England are the same time zone, I think.
Adelene Dawner: Belgium's pretty close to directly south of there, and it's a wee little country.
Pila Mulligan: at first I told Pema my own plan to make campsites on this lot for visitors
Pila Mulligan: but he is more interested in enclosed structures with bathrooms
Pila Mulligan: and that makes sense
Adelene Dawner: You don't even have to tell me the rest of this story, Pila. For someone who espouses Wu Wei, Pema does push ^.^
Pila Mulligan: with a central place for gathering, cooking, etc
Pila Mulligan: :0
Pila Mulligan: it's his enthusiasm :)
Pila Mulligan: infectuous
Adelene Dawner: mmhmm ^.^
Pila Mulligan: or is it infectious?
Adelene Dawner: something :)
Pila Mulligan: so would you want to be a resident caretaker?
Adelene Dawner: I don't think you have a good enough internet connection for that. ^.-
Pila Mulligan: :) true
Pila Mulligan: not yet anyway
Adelene Dawner: Even if I was anything other than hopeless at the physical labor part of that.
Pila Mulligan: wow, how oculd PaB get a caretaker without real boradband :)
Adelene Dawner: (I assume ther is some?)
Pila Mulligan: there is, no doubt
Pila Mulligan: mow the grass, take the trash to the dump
Adelene Dawner: hm.
Adelene Dawner: If that's as bad as it gets...
Pila Mulligan: after the building part gets done it wold be just like an ordinary residence
Pila Mulligan: maybe a few more rooms to clean
Adelene Dawner: Ah. Cleaning. You don't want someone with executive dysfunction issues then.
Pila Mulligan: :)
Adelene Dawner: Although...
Adelene Dawner: hm.
Adelene Dawner: My thing is, any place *I* use regularly, 'later' is the unavoidable name of the game. But cleaning up after a retreat or something? Different rules.
Pila Mulligan: could be
Adelene Dawner: Known functional habit.
Pila Mulligan: actually, hiring help to clean up could be part of the retreat budget
Adelene Dawner: Not sure I'd want to rely on it... but it's likely enough to work that it's not hopeless.
Adelene Dawner: And I'm probably one of the few PaBers who's that flexible right now.
Pila Mulligan: Pema seemed to thnk there might actually be quite a few interested in living there, part time at least
Adelene Dawner: Okay :)
Pila Mulligan: between retreats
Pila Mulligan: I have no idea, actualy, to me the distance is the most concern
Adelene Dawner nods.
Pila Mulligan: in a sense, a rotating or shared set of caretakers might work ok
Pila Mulligan: kind of like Guardian on Site :)
Pila Mulligan: but the boradband issue is also actual, as you noted
Adelene Dawner: I'm a little nervous about flying at this point. I hear it's gotten pretty brutal, and I'm not sure if I pass for NT quite well enough for it to be completely safe. Taking a boat might be the better option, for all that it'll take 15 times as long.
Pila Mulligan: since most of the people would ant it
Pila Mulligan: yes, boats are easier to ge tonto probably
Pila Mulligan: a freind was just telling me earlier abot the hasle fo going thru the airport
Adelene Dawner nods.
Adelene Dawner: That NT habit of not making eye contact when you're hiding something *really* makes my life difficult sometimes ^.-
Pila Mulligan: my freind was annoyed my the indifference of the security people to the fact that he did not have his reading glkasses and they wanted him to fill out a form
Adelene Dawner: >.<
Pila Mulligan: well, Ade, it is about dinner time ...
Pila Mulligan: it will be interesting to see where the PAB retreat site idea leads
Adelene Dawner: ok, enjoy :) and yes, interesting :)
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pila Mulligan: aloha
Adelene Dawner: aloha ^.^