Call me Badfish. Or call me Tio. I’m about as far on the other side of the world as you can possibly get from being an interesting IT geek. I don’t even have a smartphone. I can’t create a table on Excel. I’ve never Skyped anyone. I just started using FB last July while traveling, I have maybe 8 friends. And I’m an absolute newby to blogging. I registered my blog yesterday, I wrote my first post yesterday. Today, I am suspicious that I totally messed up my site. It doesn’t look like a site. I thought I bought a private domain name, which miraculously was available, but it didn’t work, and I now have a domain name with WP in it. I can’t find the “comments” box. I can’t find my “like” button. I can’t find my dashboard. I can’t find my Admin Bar. And I’m a little freaked out because someone I don’t know is now “following” me. How did he know I started my blog? Cyberspace is a scary place.
Good news: I am also about as far away as one could get physically from where many of you are—I’m presently visiting the Island of Gods and Demons, Bali. I’m in Ubud, in the mountains where Elizabeth Gilbert found love after gorging herself and praying for it. I can show you the very place where Julia Roberts lived in the movie and where she almost got run over by that Toyota Land Cruiser while riding her bike.
Bad news: I don’t speak Indonesian. My WordPress site is in the Indonesian language, and won’t translate into English sometimes. Or when it finally does translate into English, and I try to type on the site, a box pops up covering the cursor and asks if I have a better translation to offer…from English to Indonesian.
More bad news: I’m sitting in the Yellow Flower Café waiting for this rain to stop drenching the land and creating all the outrageously gorgeous, green scenery. The Yellow Flower is pretty much an outdoor, open-air restaurant that sits atop the rim of a vertical ravine covered in lush jungle plants. This is the bad-news part here: it rained so hard the other day that all the plants (a 20-foot-high wall of plants) at the Yellow Flower broke and washed away.
Good news: now the view is of the valley and a few houses clustered on the rim on the far side of the ravine, and a ridge they call “The Dragon’s Back” running up the middle—which I may hike later today if those clouds disappear beyond the volcano.
Bad news: the view of the plants was a more agreeable, a more comforting,
more relaxing and calming setting, with giant purple flowers and a palpable, tranquil energy emanating from the living wall of vegetation.
Good news: the sun just popped out, the rain stopped, and I’ve just finished drinking my hot ginger with palm honey and lime, so I’m outta here.
If you’re reading this, let me know if it looks like a site, or not. If there is a “like” button, it may say “suka,” Indonesian for “like.” You don’t need to like me, just let me know if you see a button, and whether it’s in English or Indonesian. That is, if there is a “comments” button.
Badfish & Chips Cafe 
It is in Indonesian. I had no clue what it said in this box and I almost didn’t comment, thinking I was writing over someone else’s comments. LOL It looks fine, you at least got some wonderful pictures on there, so that is something to consider for my own blog.
As for feeling like you lost something, welcome to my world. I need to take that class, for sure. Tomorrow, you will be way ahead of the game. (smile)
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I’m home now. But my blog is still in Indonesian. It’s a pain. Every time I change a page, I have to click translate to English. I think now, though, other people see it in English. Do you still see it in Indonesian?
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Well, we found the comment button. And then magically, once you get to leave a comment, you also get to “like” it. I have so many mixed feelings right now. I love your witty, straightforward, writing. And am almost spitefully jealous that you’re visiting and doing yoga in gorgeous Bali. All that to say…it looks like a site. Clean, organized. Good to show off those amazing views of greenery and volcanoes.
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Thanks for checking this out for me. I don’t know why it’s in Indonesian. A friend looked at it and the whole thing was in Indonesian on her computer.
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There is a Like button and a Post Comment button, yay! In English too. 🙂
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I too have found the like and comment buttons 🙂
It looks like a blog!
I love your easy writing. Jealous 🙂
Congratulations!
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All your issues from yesterday seem to be sorted. Just need to get ‘perihal’ changed to ‘about’
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I just found this page…where the buttons are. But I had to find it in the place where the blogs I follow are located. When I got to my blog, all I get are the reader and stats. Where is my blog?
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?????????
Have you found your dashboard?
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Ha! Yes, I found my dashboard. But everything is still in Indonesian. I have to right click and “translate” every time I change pages or do something. And when I put my cursor on any button, a big box appears on top of the cursor and button, and asks if I can offer a better translation. I don’t get it. Isn’t there a page I can look at that looks like the page everyone else looks at? Or do I have to read comments from here, this Admin thing? I followed you from my blog, is that going to mess things up with my other following your blog?
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You must have the same dashboard page that everyone has, but it’s very confused because you started an English blog in Indonesia. Go back to the forums for help with that.
You should definitely be able to read comments at the bottom of the post not just in your admin area.
I don’t think following as badfish will affect your earlier follow, it just means you’ll get notifications twice every time I publish a new post.
Hang in there!
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A&D…Jeeesh! When I click “see comments” from your message received in my email, I see my blog as it SHOULD be with comments and buttons. But I can’t find that page in my blog. I’m going to pray that when I go home, this will fix itself. I think a writing blogger needs a partner for the techno-side of things; otherwise, one might spend an inordinate amount of time badmouthing his Mac Pro.
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I agree, my dream reader would have to deal with all the techno bumf!
I am the stay at home ,miles away reader who is enjoying your writing . As for your site I am amazed that you are a newbie, it all looks fine to me!
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Thanks for checking things out for me. Yeah, it’s a steep learning curve. And I resisted doing a blog for…years. thanks again
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This made me chuckle! Good News: What an entertaining post. Bad News: None.
Well done & welcome to blogging fellow newbie!
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Thanks for reading…especially since my blog is 10 days old. The learning curve in 101 is pretty steep, especially if you’re not a techno kind of person. And I’m not. I’m glad you chuckled. I’m not that fun in person, but on the page, my inner voice hops out sometimes, and I’m always laughing on the inside. cheers and luck with your blog!
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oh, and what’s that thing on your head, giant sombrero?
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and the better news is that you write fascinating travel stories!!
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I used to have a fairly good understanding of WordPress, but then they changed stuff . . .
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Well, luckily I didn’t have to deal with THAT! But I do have to deal with the idea that all the SUPPORT still refers to the OLD system…and before I knew there was an old system, I went bonkers trying to find something to click that no longer exists on the new system.
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It was fun to read your post even though you are long past the time when it was in Indonesian and you couldn’t figure out what you were doing.
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Karuna…hey, glad you had fun…even though it was a while ago. My heart is always in Bali, I think.
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I’ve never been there but I know other people who love it too.
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