Last Day

It's time for a resolution. They say only a donkey makes the same mistake twice or three times. Knowing myself and resolution were never quite see eye to eye over the years, this year I'm going to be realistic. No need to be idealistic or dramatic. My resolution is going to be practical, pragmatic, matter-of-fact, stick to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. My resolution is 1366 by 768. Happy New Year!

Heaven On Earth

Angels are everywhere but don't look with your eyes, you won't find them. Teach your heart to see and they will find you and help you grow your soul.

CATastrophe

One fine Saturday. Having coffee and cakes. Sitting at a round table, listening to a conversation in a terrace with tall handsome trees in the background. A cat gracefully jumped on the table and walked over cups and cakes! I get nervous around cat. Maybe even a cat phobia. First it circled the table and everyone on the table stroke it or pat it or baby talk to it except me. Then it stopped right in front of me. Staring. I got more nervous. I avoided eye contact. Then it made another round and this the time the cat wouldn't take no for an answer. While I again avoided eye contact it slowly walked on to my lap as if it knows I would probably screamed if it jumped unexpectedly. I gasped and froze. Speechless. Cat got your tongue?  

Carpe Diem

I know how to ride a bike. It's just the thought of falling off a bike that scares the living daylights out of me. Dena says I pay too much attention to past time and future time that I forget to live in the present time. All this time I have missed the joy and the energy I get from a morning wind kissing my face when I ride my bike! So I put Bumblebee (Yup! my bike has a name) right by the front door as a daily reminder that it's not my past or my future that defines my present, but it's my present that defines my past and future. 

Sibling Rivalry

One fine afternoon in McD. "Here, tante Tina, for you!" said Marvin, my little nephew. He handed me a toy from his Happy Meal. "Why thank you, Marvin," I said, "How nice of you. Santa will be so proud of you!" Not to be outdone by his big brother, Maureen looked at her toy, put it down on her lap, then looked at me and said, "Tante Tina, you don't need two penguins but I want to say that you are a nice person." LOL

Blessings In Disguise

Stubborn injured left heel leads to a lot of swimming days instead of running days. Twenty nine days and counting. During which: I discovered that swimming long distance is as meditative as running, I was made aware that I can listen to the rhythm of my body courtesy of Diwin Hartono, I was taught by my chiropractor how to spoil my spine (Sit up straight, both feet on the ground, no cross legs, no slouching. Stand up tall, shoulder back) and I got rid of my bike phobia (Signed, sealed and delivered by Love). Every cloud has a silver lining. Looking forward to more discoveries about me, myself and I. Let's play!

In Sync

One fine Friday afternoon in a supermarket. A young mom carried a baby with a baby harness. Keeping her baby busy with a rattle. Picking up groceries. Her little girl, riding a shopping cart, trailing a little bit behind her. But whenever mom picked up something from the supermarket isle, the little girl sped her cart right next to her mom, took whatever mom had on her hand and arranged it neatly in the shopping cart. No yelling. No sour face. No tantrum. No nanny nannies. No gadget. And yup, they are Indonesians.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

A wacky Wednesday. Six regular toll booths. Two automatic toll booths with prepaid card. Feeling rather smug to pass a very long queue of cars lining up for the regular booths. Felt like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz because the lanes that leads to the automatic toll booths was painted with fat yellow stripes. Out of the toll gate in no time. My wicked grin quickly turned into sour frown when I found out the eight lanes exit are merged into four lanes! Total chaos. Darn!%$# Patience is a virtue. Breath in. Breath out. Beautiful blue sky.

Momster

A slow Monday in a mobile network operator office. "Four, zero, eight, two. Go to counter number eight," an automated voice over a PA system calling out customers. Repeatedly. Loudly. A digital 4082 in blinking lights on the counter. A customer service occasionally yelled out a number repeatedly. I couldn't even concentrate reading a newspaper and this mom next to me made her little girl do her math homework! Mom got upset when her little girl was more interested in numbers around her instead of numbers in her book. Seriously?

Keep Calm Read On

One lovely lazy Friday evening in a bookstore. I found only one out of two books by Ratih Kumala. I looked around for help. Bookstore guy #1, not too far away from me, casually leaning to a bookshelve reading something. Bookstore guy #2, a little further away, doing some inventory check. I have a weak heart for people who read. Guy #2 helped me while Guy #1 kept on reading without missing a beat. Totally oblivious to customer distress. Never hire a bookworm in a bookstore.

Aruna & Lidahnya

"Aku paling suka tiba di sebuah kota pada pagi hari. Pagi selalu menahan perasaan, memperlambat segala sesuatu, murah hati dengan fakta. Ia menerangi dengan perlahan, lapis demi lapis, hingga kota hadir bukan sebagai sesuatu yang jadi, melainkan sesuatu yang belum final, yang masih bisa dibentuk, penuh kemungkinan." Laksmi Pamuntjak

ASICS

Anima Sana In Corpore Sano. A sound mind in a sound body. Thank you knees. Thank you ankles. Thank you heels. Thank you arms. Forgive me for not listening to all of you. For being a no-pain-no-gain-dictator. I am the cause of my own infirmity. From now on I'm going to listen to all of you and find a balance that connect mind & body. We are going to be just fine Awesome! Let's play! Eer... whenever you guys are ready. 

Power Nap

One lovely moody and lazy Sunday in IKEA cafe. A guy slept on a chair peacefully. Never mind the noisy crowd. His table was full of empty plates, bottles, cups and glasses. I think he fell asleep while he was eating with his family because he has a sleeping disorder. Every time he feels happy he falls to sleep immediately. His family deliberately made him the happiest man on earth then left him for more shopping. Can you top my imagination? Spongebob will be so proud of me. 

Walk On Air

It's not even my birthday and it's too early for Christmas. My lower back wants to give you a big hug, my right shoulder wants to kiss you, and my spine wants to move in with you. You are awesome Awesome! I love you from your toes to your face!

Manternity

A lovely lazy warm Sunday morning at a pool. Three Japanese dads with their children. One was tanning with a boy. One was busy picking up toys after two little boys. One was jumping in and out of the pool with a little girl. No mommies. No nannies. 

Kill Joy

One lovely Saturday morning walk in GBK. I was just wondering what was it about this morning that made everything seemed nice (perfect weather, not too crowded, happy faces everywhere) when I saw a bubble man. Dressed in black shirt and khaki pants. He had a moustache, a long white goatees and a white peci. To a boy who asked eagerly, "Can I try?" he said harshly, "No! Only if you buy." You should've seen the little boy's face.

Catch Of The Day #35

Pep Talk

Things to do while I wait for my heel to heal; sleep in, more swimming, eat brownies for breakfast, movie marathon, stay up late, kiwi mojitos, dinner dates, rearrange my books by color, do a one thousand piece puzzle, write and send Dena letters, make a running shirt out of old t-shirt, make your own running shirt. When life throws lemon, make lemonade. 

Carpe Diem

One lovely night at a packed concert hall. Tulus! A lot of people around me rather captured him in digital form than seeing the actual artist. Live, in person, right in front of you, with your own two eyes, singing his heart out to you, talking to you, engaging you in a conversation. If only you look up. He's better in person than in byte. Really!

Shoe-icide

Health vs Style. I know high heels, wedges, platforms can cause a lot of foot problems and back pain. But flats and flip flops too? That's it! I'm sticking to sneakers from now on. 

A Running Break

A lovely morning in a chiropractor clinic. The bad news is years of bad postures = not aligned spine = imbalance body. I'm a leftist, not politically but physically; I tend to unconsciously lean more to the left when I walk or run which makes my left foot injury prone. But the good news is a couple of therapy sessions and a life time practice of good postures will get me running in no time. Yay! 

Going Banana

Banana is a runner's best friend. As a pre race smoothie, a stamina booster during a race and a post race re-energizer. Banana never fails me. A banana a day to keep the doctor away. I never leave home without it. It keeps me going and going and going. My favourite kind is Single and Available. What's yours? ;-)

Heel Me Roar

My left heel is furious with me. She has been giving me a silent treatment after Disaster Half. I tried everything. Nothing works. Sweet talk, treat her like a royal queen, cold packs, analgesic gel, glucosamin, nutritious food, stretching exercises. Nothing works! How about a strawberry popsicle? Please? With sugar and cherry on top? Aaaaargh!

In Sync

You think after 12 plus years of wearing uniform from kindergarten to high school we Indonesians would despise any type of uniform? On the contrary! We love to look the same, matching, identical, alike, or similar. We have dress code for every occasion under the sun; weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, weekly run, office gathering, monthly arisan, reunions, lunch dates, high teas, dinners, even funeral. 

Doodle by Dena

E-Bonding

A little man and a big man sat on a chair next to each other. Little Man's feet barely reached half the length of the chair's leg, his tiny hands fluently navigate his mini Ipad rapidly. Not once he made eye contact with Big Man who was busy texting rapidly with his thumbs on his mobile. There they were together separately. Oblivious to one another. 

Oh, Grow Up!

They say when you grow older you become wiser. By wiser I am told that I'm suppose to be more lenient toward mistakes. Look who's talking. I'm full of mistakes myself. But I find as I grow older I am less tolerant toward mistakes. Mine and others.

Anxious Aviator Arnie vol 2, by Aimi

Disaster Half

Just because I love running I thought I have the privilege to feel awesome every time I finish a race. Not today. Have you ever had one of those day when things just go nuts? Blazing heat, too fast start, stubborn knee & heel pain, no water in three consecutive water station at km 12 onward. Not to mention this nagging and loud voice in my head telling me to quit running for good. I felt meh and blah when I cross the finish line. Oh well! It's just another race. It's not the end of the world. 

Super Sloth

Christmas Enterprise

One lovely afternoon in a quiet restaurant. All staff wear either a rain deer headband or a santa hat. An over-friendly waiter offered a special Christmas menu. A brochure about Christmas hampers on every table. And it's only 22nd of November. Sigh.

Shh!

More listening and less talking. I think that's the reason why I have two ears and one mouth. I get into troubles way too many times because my mouth is faster than my ears. James 1:19. Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. 

Surprise!

When I made this notebook my initial plan was to draw everyday. Four years later I haven't even close to draw half of the pages. I was counting the pages and wondering how many more years needed to complete it when I found some portrait doodles by my little sisters in KDM. Cool. Thank you. 

Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk

"Ah ya! Mestinya semua orang seperti sampean; tak usah ragu mengubah pikiran bila disadari pikiran yang dimaksud tidak baik. Mengapa masih saja orang datang kemari dengan tujuan mencari pelampiasan dendam, bahkan kadang hanya karena rasa iri terhadap sesama. Mereka mengira dengan melampiaskan dendam maka urusannya selesai. Nah mereka keliru. Dengan cara itu bahkan mereka memulai urusan baru yang panjang dan lebih genting. Di dunia ini, Nak, tak ada sesuatu yang berdiri sendiri. Maksudku, tak suatu upaya apa pun yang bisa bebas dari akibat. Upaya baik berakibat baik, upaya buruk berakibat buruk. Lebih aneh lagi, Nak. Orang yang sudah tahu akan berakibat buruk tetapi masih juga berani mengambil resiko." Ahmad Tohari

You Are My Sunshine

What do you do when you wake up too early in the morning and you just can't go back to sleep no matter how hard you try? You go for a run and make some sun of course. 

Manic Monday

Monday was not in a good mood today. What do you do on a day in which things just don't go your way? Just shrug it off , shake it off and get a strawberry popsicle of course! 

Popbar

Bilingual

One late afternoon in a supermarket with Marvin, my little nephew. "Tante Tina look! Look!" he repeatedly tugged my shirt to show me something. He couldn't stop giggling. "What?" I asked, curious. He pointed to a tag in front of some string bean packages, "That vegetable is bancis!" Giggling uncontrollably. Apparently sounding out an Indonesian word with an English pronunciation is hilarious. 

Big Apple

One rainy Monday. A Mac store in a quiet mall. Computer stuff not make up stuff. Was looking at the latest version of MacBook Air when a young girl walked in and stood in front of me holding her MacBook lovingly. She had the coolest Mac ever. Not because hers was the latest version of whatever Mac. Hers has the most wicked decal!

Big Durian

One lovely drizzling Saturday Nite. Waiting for Trans Jakarta. A young girl caught my attention. She had a grey wool sweater on. A black opaque stocking underneath her white mini skirt. And black leather boots. Knee length! I checked my weather apps. Jakarta 30°. Scattered clouds. If only I could scan her with my apps. Female. Overheated. Scattered beads of sweat all over her face. For a brief moment I thought I'm still in the Big Apple. 

Catch Of The Day #34

Hair Raising

One lovely Wednesday afternoon in Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park, NY. Completely mesmerized by a Van Gogh self portrait. I was taking a lot of pictures of it from every possible angle with my camera when a lady museum officer dressed in deep blue uniform approached me and asked,"Excuse me, do you speak English?" I was startled. Oh #$%@ I'm in big trouble! "Of course." I said, tried my best to keep calm. Then she said,"I've been wanting to cut my hair like yours but I don't quite know how to explain it to my stylist. Do you mind if I take picture of your hair?" I laughed, totally relieved and said, "Sure. A picture worth more than a thousand words." She took out her mobile and snapped the side and the back of my head. I felt like an artwork. 

Not Again!

One lovely Monday night in MOMA's bookstore. I was looking at books when an elderly woman asked me three questions to which I answered no: "Are you Japanese?" "Are you Chinese?" "Are you Philippines?" What is it about me that makes a total stranger ask me such questions? Next time someone ask me where I'm from I'm going to improvise: I'm from Papua New Guinea. 

Get Your New York On

If you want to witness human kindness go see NYC marathon. I saw a runner helped push a disable runner on two wheels. I saw friends and family went the extra miles to support their loved ones. I saw people cheering for strangers. I saw volunteers giving out drinks and shoutings uplifting words for hours. If you want to be inspired go see NYC marathon. I saw Backwards Bill. I saw a blind runner. I saw grandmas and grandpas. I saw one little person (people who suffer dwarfism). I saw disable runners. I love NY.

Banana Split

A fruit stall on 6th Ave, Manhattan. Fresh fruit never taste so good after a run. "Are you Japanese?" the vendor struck up a conversation. "Nope. Guess two more time," I said. "Chinese!" I shook my head. "Vietnamese!" I smiled, "Sorry, better luck next time," and walked away. "Wait!" he said, "I'll give you a banana if you tell me where you from." I laughed, said Indonesia and quickly grabbed my banana. I love NY.

Starry Night

One lovely afternoon in Museum Of Modern Art, New York. I've seen it on books. I've seen it on postcard. I've seen it on prints. I've seen it on t-shirts. Now I've seen it with my own two eyes. Couldn't take my eyes of it. My legs refused to move. Totally swept away. I swear if you look at it long enough you will see the beautiful sky move. 

AWOL

Love and Hope are alive in Manhattan! But where is Faith? Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Starless Night

Sitting on a 35th floor's deck, looking at Manhattan's skyline. Feeling a bit overwhelm after visiting Ground Zero. Wondering why human can do horrifying things to one another in the name of beliefs, ideas, fame and fortune. Feeling vulnerable like a little speck in the middle of a concrete jungle. Hungry for Love. 

Denasaur

American Museum of Natural History. Stegosaurus. Ankylosaurus. And every-saurus under the sun. Like a kid in a candy store. Four hours went by so quickly. All this remind me of one thing. Denasaur. All your dinosaur drawings on A3 paper. Your dinosaur birthday. Your dino costume for Halloween. Hours of watching Land Before Time with you. Do you remember when you got scared in Taman Safari's Dino tunnel? Your dino plush toys: Little Foot, Cera, Petrie, Spike, Duckie. Wish you were here kiddo. 

Bathroom Relay

Sunday long run in Central park, New York. My Garmin just beeped 9K when I had to take a bathroom brake. A public bathroom with three stalls in a remote part of the park. Stall 1 was occupied. I took stall 2 which was in the middle. Then to my horror a hand with tissue slid under the stall. Oh my God I'm dead! I'm going to be robbed in a public bathroom or something. I was about to have a heart attack when she said, "There's no tissue. Here take some." I'm such a drama queen! She heard another lady went to stall 3 and said," There's no tissue. Would you like some?" Lady in stall 3 said, "Sure, that would be great." She then passed some tissues to me which I passed to the lady in the next stall. I swear I felt like I just finish a relay race. I love NY. 

Ambidextrous

One lonely Thursday afternoon in a food court of a mall. A guy eating his late lunch. Maybe it's an early dinner. He used his right hand to feed himself. He used his left hand to scroll or text or something on his mobile. A restaurant in Los Angeles offer a 5% discount for customers who leave their phones with the receptionist for the entire meal. I'm 100% sure no restaurant in Jakarta would even consider to offer such thing. 

Wonder Woman

It's fun observing people and transforming them into lines. I get to wonder about them and let my imagination run wild. Time is always on my side when I draw and wonder. A man in a print shop reading something. A prenuptial agreement! He couldn't believe his eyes. Tears in his eyes. She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. Wait! She loves me not.

Nickname

One of my little brother in Kampung Kids Foundation think our new President's last name is Dodo because his real name is Jokowi. I guess Juliet was right when she said to Romeo, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." 

Dream On!

Another hope I wish back in 2012 come true today! Desmond Tutu says, "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." Dalai Lama says, "I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe." Emily Dickinson says, "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all." Robert H. Schuller says, "Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future." I say, "Hope makes the world go round." :-)

Nanny's Boys

One hot Friday Afternoon. A young woman entered a small cafe. She picked a table for four. Oh! She is waiting for her friends. So I thought. Three minutes later a nanny carried a sleepy little boy and a driver carried another boy. He was not in a good mood. The boy not the driver. Both chose to sit so close to the nanny instead of the young woman.