Goody Two-Shoes

Almost two years of running and I've worn out four pair of shoes. But this is the first time I felt so attached to a pair of shoes. I don't want to give them away. I don't want to put them in a closet. I just let them retire nicely near a washing machine, a recycling basket for paper and a cardboard box for plastic. Every other day when I do my laundry my shoes and I reminisced about the day we crossed a 42.195K finish line for the first time. 

Air Head

One lazy afternoon. Long queue in a boarding bridge. A flight attendant was greeting passengers at the entrance door. Quiet tall. Tiny waist. Classy make up. Elegant standing pose. Confident. Attractive. She could be a model. She looked me straight in the eyes and gave me the sweetest smile. Then she said, "Jakarta?" I wish I had the nerve to say "OMG! I'M IN THE WRONG PLANE!" to add a little drama to a boring day. Whatever happened to: Welcome! or Selamat datang! or Hello! or Good afternoon! or Apa kabar?

Helpless

Long queue at a shinse's office. Shoes scattered at the entrance. No one is allowed to go in with shoes. A family of three generation. A grandma, a mom, and a 10 year old boy. Grandma and Boy played a game in their own iPad. One of those game you can play together I assumed because Grandma and Boy were busy giving each other instructions. Mom looked on quietly. An hour passed. Queue moved so slowly. "Let's go eat first!" said Grandma. All three of them went to the entrance. Grandma and Mom put on their shoes quickly. Boy just stood at the entrance and did nothing other than buried his head in his iPad. Mom came to the rescue and put his shoes for him. He didn't even say thank you. Grandma didn't say anything, her eyes were glued to her iPad. 

Q-Tips

Which one is the right way to queue in a restroom? A or B? If you answer B you seriously have no clue how to queue. First come first serve. If there were two cashiers at a department store do you see two queues? If there were six tellers in a bank do you see six queues? Of course not. The same principal should apply to restroom queue in Indonesia. 

Damsel In Distress

One quiet afternoon in an empty restaurant. A couple. An Indonesian woman, look about mid thirty, small frame, colored hair, heavy make up. An Indonesian man, big build, about forty, beer belly, hair facial. Nothing special. Just an ordinary couple. They would probably go unnoticed if the woman hadn't spoon-fed the man an entire meal! Seriously? Mom! See what happened when you spoon-fed your son? 

Run Forrest Run

Tahura Djuanda Trail Running Race 2014. My goal was to beat my own time from last year's race. Not only did I made a PB, I finished 3rd place in 10K Women Master division! On a podium to receive a medal, I was like a little kid in a candy store. Delightful and Giddy. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing and blabbering adjectives repeatedly: Cool! Awesome! Incredible! Crazy! Totally swept by a podium-phoria. In contrast the second and the first winner were cool, calm & collected. Unlike me they just smiled a little here and nod a little there. I was the happiest #3 on earth! What do you expect, this the first time I received a winner's medal! This one for you Wolfgang Oey. Thank you for always pushing me out of my comfort zone. You are Awesome!

D & L

It's always delightful to bump into former students. Hello Lakesha! Thank you for a cheerful greeting, a very big hug, and some encouraging words. You just made my day! Really nice to see you blossom into an awesome young girl. You kind of remind me of Dena. I wonder what she is up to now. 

To Be Or Not To Be

I'd like to believe that I'm a pretty nice person. I don't like confrontation. But sometime I wish I would just tell off a person. One lazy Monday in a bank. Yay! There was no queue. Only one elderly lady with her nurse at the counter. I was watching something on the big screen when out of nowhere this woman just cut me off and when straight to the teller. I wish I would tap her shoulder and said "Excuse me, but I'm next in line." Instead I took lots of deep breath and let it go. What would you do?

Girl Talk

One fine cloudy Saturday afternoon. Three girls in a restroom of an upscale mall. All wore heavy make up, stylish tight revealing clothes and killer high heels. Girl#1 gave each girl a white envelope. Both started counting the money. Girl#2 counted the money twice and said "Only five hundred thousand rupiah? Seriously? Are you kidding me?" Girl#2 kept complaining about the amount until Girl#3 said "Oh well! At least we had a great meal!" I wonder what kind of work they do. Food critique?

Art Run #3: Elephant

I love Horton. He is one cool elephant. When he commits to something he stays faithful, persistent until the end. No matter what. Through all season and weather, through boredom, fear and humiliation. He stays committed to his words. My kind of animan er...animal. "I meant what I said. And I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent!" Dr. Seuss' Horton Hatches The Egg

Garmin Connect: Elephant Run