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. 

Grow Up!

They say a character is a given thing. It is in your DNA. One can not change it even if he or she wants to. But I think a character is 30% given and 70% experience. How you deal with whatever Life throws at you will determine your character. It is possible to change. As a matter of fact it's mandatory to change. Dena, I'm sure you've outgrown occasionally assaulting, right? And I remembered a gloomy phase somewhere between grade 5 and grade 7. You've come a long way, baby! I should get an appraisal for Growth Chart in Adult's Behaviour annually. Or quarterly, or maybe bimonthly.

Exclamation Mark

I have a running date with my little niece! Three weeks and four days to go! I can't wait! Maureen look at all these stickers we are going to collect! Let's give each animal a name! Woohoo for IES Fun Run!!!

https://www.facebook.com/IESFunRun

Eat Your Heart Out!

What is it about Vancouver that makes my daughter so adventurous in edible world? She grows her own herbs: spearmint, basil and cilantro; make bread, pizza dough and pesto sauce from scratch; and some oxtail soup. Must be all those clean air.

Burung Burung Rantau

"Kesombongan berkaitan erat dengan kebenaran. Orang yang berlagak memiliki sesuatu yang sebetulnya tidak benar dialah sombong. Misalnya, tukang batu yang insinyur, atau mahasiswa yang merasa diri mahaguru, orang tidak punya duit berpentas sebagai jutawan. Sombong dan bohong itu saudara kembar..." YB Mangunwijaya

Game Boy

To undo my little nephew's "My Ipad is part of my hand"-statement today I showed him that he can have fun without it. We drew sea creatures on paper, cut them out, and put paper clip on each creature. We taped a magnet to a piece of a string and tied the string to a rolled paper for a fishing pole. He even made his own rule for our fishing game (if you get an angry Kraken you have to give away all fish). We played for almost 40 minutes. He kept saying, "One more round, one more round!" So I really thought he was out of his Ipad-mode until he said, "Wait, pause it! I have to fix my fishing pole!"

Cut It Out!

There is a pair of scissor for every occasion. For sewing. For hair. For art & craft. For fabric. For wire. For paper. For little fingers. For big fingers. I wish all I need is a pair of scissor to cut out bad habit. Ms. Krabby in an unfriendly traffic. Snap. Snap. Oh snap!

Thumbs Up

You are unique. There is no one else in the world like you. You are one and only. You are the only one who can be you. How awesome is that? Remember what Dr. Seuss said. There is no one alive who is you-er than you! So shout out loud, "I AM LUCKY TO BE WHAT I AM!" Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam. I am what I am. And that's a great thing to be. 

Quite Many Quotes

If you decide that today everyday is going to be the best day of your life. Then everyday will be the best day of your life. Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for they become Destiny. What we think. We become. Don't wait for the right moment. Make the moment perfect. Carpe diem. Every dog has its days. 

Carry On

One cloudy afternoon in an upscale mall. A couple. The guy carried the girl's bag while the girl held on to his arm. Aw, so sweet! Would you carry your girlfriend's red bag in a mall? I think most single men will answer, "Sure! Absolutely. Why not? I'll do anything for you!" Would you carry your wife's red bag in a mall? I think most husbands will answer, "No way. Are you kidding? After all the things I've done for you?" Am I right?

Blah Run

Shoot! It's already six am! I'm so late. But there is no sun. It's a bit warm but as long as you stay dehydrated. Where should I run? No CFD. It's national holiday. Streets will be mostly empty. I think I will use treadmill today. What! Are you kidding me? You were complaining about how crowded CFD these days. Heck! You almost got hit by a bicycle last CFD. Come on! Fine! Shut up already. Of the 2 hrs run I planned, I only did 1hr. The heat sucked out all the energy I had. I should've used treadmill instead. Trust my intuition? Now I know my inner voice is not always right all the time. Darn!

As You Wish

One lovely Friday morning at a swimming pool. "Shoot! I forgot my swimming watch. It's going to be a forgetful day!" a thought popped out in my mind. I regretted it the second I thought about it. The day went downhill from there. I forgot my rings. I forgot my reusable grocery bag. I forgot to take out my laundry. I forgot to rinse my dirty dishes. To top things off when I remember to take my dry cleaning they charge me extra IDR 3000 for ignoring my laundry for so long. Mind your thoughts. What we think, we become.

E-Love

One lovely quiet Thursday morning in a coffee shop. A toddler sleeping peacefully in his stroller. A young mom sitting on a chair with the stroller leaned back against her lap so her toddler could sleep comfortably. She stayed still for almost an hour. Did not move an inch. Good thing she had her gadget. The thing moms do for their children. 

The Goldfinch

"...Which means your soul is not too mixed up with hers. And that is good. Here is my experience. Stay away from the ones you love too much. Those are the ones who will kill you. What you want to live and be happy in the world is a woman who has her own life and lets you have yours." Donna Tart

The Goldfinch, Carel Fabritius