Saturday, September 17, 2016

For Real

Lovely Saturday evening in an elevator of UOB building on jalan Sudirman. On the way to 9th floor for IES Saturday service. In came three teenagers from B1. All dressed in black with sleek hair. "Besok udah gue siapin mobil sama ajudan buat lo ya," one guy said to his friends as he pressed 8th floor. "Ajudan lo?" his friend replied casually. "Nggak lah, ajudan gue sama supir udah jalan duluan. Jadi mobil gue dua-duanya udah siap disana besok pagi." Was I on candid camera or something? 




Friday, September 16, 2016

Forget-Me-Not

Hari Rabu yang panas di Mayestik. "Ya ampun, mbaaak. Untung belom saya jual bajunya. Hampir 4 bulan di gantungan," sambut si mbak penjahit yang membuat saya cuma bisa tertawa malu sambil mengarang cerita untuk menutup kekurangan diri yang sering lupa. Sampai rumah baru sadar bahwa botol minum tertinggal di tempat penjahit, karena ikut sibuk membantu mbak penjahit mencari baju yang terlupakan. Kalau botol minum lain nggak akan dibela-belain balik lagi ke Mayestik. Mending beli baru. Tapi ini edisi spesial!


Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Knock On Wood

We have been together for years if not decades. We get along quite well because; he hardly say any words, he doesn't mind if I bend or twist him any which way I want, I always have him in the palm of my hands, and he is crazy about my drawings. I recently learned that he can teach my friends to swim! That moment when you think you know someone, then they delighted you in ways you never thought they could. LOL



Monday, September 12, 2016

Mind Your Manners

One lovely lazy Monday morning in a supermarket. Vegetable and fruit section. A lady and her shopping cart. I would say late 30 something. I was admiring how neatly she organized her stuff in her shopping cart when she took a plastic bag from a plastic roll stand, gave it to a supermarket attendance guy without saying a word. The guy opened it and handed it back to her. She left without a word. Seriously? 


Friday, September 9, 2016

A Laughing Matter

Urban myth says children laugh about 300 to 400 times a day. Which mean a child would be laughing at least once every 1-2 minutes from sunrise until sunset! Studies shows that laughter helps lower blood pressure, boost immune systems, reduce stress hormones, burn calories and triggers endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. On the contrary an adult laugh an average of 17.5 times per day. Go figure. Laughter is the best medicine.


Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Dr. Lily

Senin pagi di klinik umum RSPI. First she turned off the air condition when she saw me warming up my bare arms when I came in. When I told her that I'm not sick she said, "Oh? You need another health reference for your marathon?" She remembered! When I told her that I need pil kina for my trip she first called her colleague who specialized in tropical diseases to find more information. Next she called the pharmacy to check which medicines are in stock. Finally she said, "Leave your mobile with the nurse, I will contact you if I find more information," before giving me a thorough physical check up. 


Monday, September 5, 2016

Isaiah 40:31

A sound mind. A sound body. Training my mind is harder than training my body. My mind has a mind on its own. Once I get caught up in waves of fear, self-doubt and worry, I tend to let myself rolled over by the crashing waves. I tried positive pep-talk, visualisation, self-help book, motivational you tubes, inspirational quotes. Nothing help. But now I have a heavenly power that remind me all the time to focus & keep calm. That everything is fine. I will trust the Lord. I will find new strength. I will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings. I will walk and run without getting tired. In triathlon or in life.



Sunday, September 4, 2016

A Laughing Matter

Sabtu sore nan sibuk di Grand Lucky. Eating the best cheese pizza in town with my chatterbox niece and her equally chatterbox friend. "Kulitnya kok bisa sampai mengkilat begitu?" an older lady sat next to our table startled me with her commanding voice. "Oh iya, hmm ini abis triathlon minggu lalu, biasanya tidak sehitam ini!" jawab saya terbata-bata merasa bersalah terlalu sering berada dibawah matahari. Eh tunggu dulu! That was a compliment right? Why am I defending myself? And there is absolutely nothing wrong with dark skin tone. "Oh ini karena pake body butter yang olive, bu." LOL