Anonymity

Hey, I love it when people read through my blogs and leave comments. But when I'm getting lots of anonymous comments, I get really interested in knowing who you people really are. It's nice to have you all as friends who read my stuff closely, but seriously wouldn't it be better if I know who you are? Something other than an initial would be good. OK? I only need 3 letters. That's not too much to ask??

But if that's a problem.. hell, I don't really give a shit. I'd rather have you read and be anonymous.

About Love

In July, I heard that B broke up with his girlfriend, whom he was supposed to marry next year. Their relationship had been suspicious in the final years but the fact that they hung on to the last minute diminished all doubts, until the bomb dropped.

In August, a girl friend that hardly calls rang out of the blue.
A: Hey, did you hear about K?
C: What about her?
A: She’s getting divorced
C: Oh, really? No, I didn’t know. Where did you hear this?
A: She told me.
C: Oh, then it must be true.

Last Saturday, a guy friend rang. We were meeting up later that evening because there was a friend in need. The whole crew was going to be there and I had to be there, too. D had a fall out with her boy friend. They were together for 11 years. “Huh? But we just hang out with them a few weeks ago??”

It seems like it’s a season to fall out of love. Like there is a season to get married, a rainy season, a mango season, a pencil skirt season?? Jakarta is slowly resembling other big cities all over the world, where keeping a relationship is apparently harder than finding the person to have it with. Why is it so hard?

Things like infidelity, principal differences, family complications came into mind. But surely you would know about these things before one decides on moving towards tying the knot?

K: Yeah, but I was blinded by love.

Actually, the signs are always there. Often we choose to ignore them because we want to believe in it so much; because we don’t want to be the ones who end up alone; because we don’t have the heart to be honest to ourselves. When it comes to love and relationship, nothing is ever easy and nothing is ever what they seem. At the end of the day, everything is about choice. To choose means taking a risk, committing to it, working on it, and not easily giving up.

Love IS blind…

But it is also patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV I Cor 13:4-7;13)

On Loving Someone Part.2

Initially it was loneliness, and then it was confirmation, and after that things just spiraled out of control. Consciously. Firmly. A virtual reality that is too good to be true, too beautiful to let go and yet, too magical to be believed.

How do you make sense of a feeling that fills every stream of your blood, rushing past the bones, creating shivers and irregular heartbeats?

What do you say to the people who watched the smile on your face whenever you think of love? Every time you speak in the name of love? When words on the screen suddenly have sounds? And typed in laughter becomes music to your ears?

RAINY DAYS

Jakarta was blessed with heavy rain on the last two days. It was fat droplets of water that fell over your head and drenched you within seconds. I love it when it rains. As long as I'm indoors and I can just watch them fall behind the glass, all warm and comfy.

Most of the times we had to battle the pouring rain in the horrible traffic. It's just the way it is, no matter which part of the world you live in. People drive slowly, carelessly, impatiently, which in turn creates a longer, more unpleasant journey. Lucky for me, the rain on the last two days did not last very long. My drive home was not easy but it was painless enough.

What more can I ask?

MAYBE

The head speaks of forgetting
Don’t make me wait for Godot
Years go by with nothing

Live it before it passes you by

The heart lingers
On the thoughts of maybe
Of what ifs and what could be

Clutching to the slightest of hope
Tomorrow
Someday
…

Cheap Culture

A photography exhibition attracted my interest a few days ago, and last Sunday I visited the National Museum to catch a glimpse of MASA DEPAN SEBUAH MASA LALU. I was walking to the wrong entrance when the parking guy called me to point me to the right direction. As I walked to the entrance I passed another guy selling Woody ice cream on the side. I made a point of getting some later..

I nearly got a shock when I got to the entrance. The entry fee is Rp 750. At the moment, 1 USD = Rp 10200. Yeah, go figure. This entry fee actually allows me to go through everything in the museum, and not just the exhibition. Isn't that crazy? It is sad to know that a Museum that holds important historical and cultural artefacts can charge so low. It is as if the fact that they keep remains of the past makes it stuck in the past, too. On the one hand, a museum entrance fee should not be steep so that everyone can spend some time in the museum and learn about the days of the previous generation but it should at least charge enough to ensure maintenance of the place itself!!

The exhibition was quite interesting. Nancy Lee is worth checking out for. Within an hour, I walked out and bought myself a Woody ice cream lolly that costs Rp 1500, went to my car and drove off. Parking costs me Rp 2000. The total cost of this Sunday cultural experience Rp 4250 -- about 50 US cents. How hard is it to believe?

In Memoriam Dede

Picture 001
Originally uploaded by cynth_18.

It is that girlie smile of hers that break hearts and spread warmth to those around her. Can't you just see it? She's radiant in her pinkish top, even when we had been waiting around working. That photo was taken in KL, a few months ago. It was my first encounter with Dede.

I can't say we're super close friends. We met through work and we got along. We hardly see each other outside work but the most amazing thing is that was enough.

When you're sincere in all you do, the love radiates all around. It doesn't take very much to leave love behind.

Rest In Peace Dede...
We love you...

Teko

Teko
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

The last stop for the day is a cozy resto-cafe called TEKO. Located on Jl. Neglasari No.4 -- It is a house that has been converted to take guests for long hours into the night. Open air patios and eclectic furnitures created a homey feeling.

And oh, they serve great coffees and teas. And yummy poffertjes and fries and sausages. It was with a contented feeling that we left TEKO, ready to tackle the remaning 2 hours drive back to Jakarta. But of course, Hani being the distracted driver that she is, saw a cafe with film/books sign at the front and decided to make a stop. The book/film cafe turned out to be a student type of library where one can borrow books and DVDs and just average. The finale for the night was a little shop about 3m x 2m in size with a bit of jewelry, bags, shirts, sunnies, etc. That little shop saw us parting with the last scraps of money that we had. Evil. Evil. Evil. I don't even remember the name of that shop!

It was 2230 when we got back to the highway. This time I was driving and Ruby was sitting next to me. Her sole assignment for the night was to make sure I don't fall asleep behind the wheel, whilst Lia and Hani got into sleeping position and went to slumberland in no time. Many trucks later and a really sore right foot after, we got in to Jakarta. Safely. What a night!

Batagor Kingsley

Batagor Kingsley
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

More shopping aside, lunch time had finally arrived. The hustle and bustle of Batagor Kingsley was not like anything I imagined. The place was so full of people that the four of us must split up and wait for different tables. Yeah, to ensure a place whenever somebody finishes.

Our wait would have been longer if Hani didn't go down to the counter and pester them for our order. Heck, she even carried 5 teh botols herself. Viva Sudarmini!

Yoghurt Cisangkuy

Cisangkuy
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

Three factory outlets after and a few shopping bags later, we were ready for something else. We arrived to Yoghurt Cisangkuy to get a taste of the infamous refreshing drink. Hani made a point of taking us only to places that are full and therefore serve the best. The specialty of the house is the strawberry yooghurt juice. That was we decided upon, plus a grape one for me. Just to be different... And a slice of brownies kukus. The brownies is actually more of like a sponge brownies than a real one, because it's soo... spongey??! All of that for 30,000 rups. Yumm...

Eating in Bandung

Mie Naripan
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

As the long weekend approached, we wondered on travel possibilities. But as usual our last minuteness left us with not much option. We decided that a culinary travel to Bandung would enlightened our stomach horizons and expand our taste buds. We were fully aware that Bandung on that day is going to be a traffic nightmare.

The call time was set at 5 am. It felt like a shoot day. We were slightly sleepy but excited. There were 4 of us in the car: Hani, Ruby, Lia and myself. Each of us gave 200,000 to Lia -- she's the acting cashier. That pool money will take care of us the whole trip. Food and pterol. I drove all the way to Bandung, using the new highway that cut travel time down to just 2 hours. The view on that highway is very beautiful too, which made it a very pleasing ride, but our stomachs were making noises and we needed to shut them up fast.

I swapped with Hani once we got to Bandung, since she's going to be our guide/driver for the day. We drove around to get this porridge place, we drove around to 2 places but naa... no porridge for us that day. Both places were no longer there!! So, we settled for Mie Naripan instead.

This infamous noodle place was packed by families, having noodles and fried meat balls for breakfast, and possibly lunch. It's hard to imagine why such a 'simple' place could attract such crowd. When the noodles came, so did the answer of my question. They're to die for!! And you know what? When the bill arrived, there was a price to pay. Four bowl of noodles and six pieces of fried meat balls worth 98,000 rups. Nobody complained. It was our first in our long day's adventure and nothing beats the feeling of a full stomach.