Act Your Age

One hot Sunday morning. Halfway the 77K route of Last Sunday Ride. Check point #2. Feeling rather worn out from the scorching heat. I took refuge in a shaded curbside, sitting down, stretching my aching legs. Then I saw her. An elderly lady. I would say 60ish. Not a trace of fatigue on her face. She was standing up and talking with  her friends. I stood up right away. Age is not important unless you are a cheese, a wine, or a scotch. 

Angel In Disguise

A long two hours service in a church. My mom kept asking me about the time. Marvin was completely lost outside his e-world (Sleep Over Rule #3 No iPad when we go out). He was shocked to see a 15 page long service rundown booklet. He kept asking me about which page we were on through out the entire service. Even I complained about the long closing speech from a church officials after the service. Maureen sat quietly next to my mom, reading the booklet, singing hymns she probably never heard, listening to whoever using a mike to talk ; she actually enjoyed the service! No whining, no pouting, no complaining, no evil plan. I was completely in awe! We should do church date more often Maureen!

In A Word

One lovely Sunday morning in CFD. Feeling lovely to see lovely happy people out in the sun. A lovely family of three walking leisurely. Dad in the middle, Mom on his right side and a young girl on his left. The girl lovingly held her dad's left arm. Then I saw what was written on his t-shirt. So not lovely. Poor girl.

Tiger Mom

One lovely cloudy Thursday in a swimming pool. A boy in the pool doing laps of freestyles in the shorter length of the pool. I would say about 11-13 years old. His mom sat on a plastic chair right at the edge of the pool, using her mobile as a stopwatch.  He stopped every two laps to catch his breath and to catch his mom's negative words about his timing. You should've seen his face. Cloudier than the day.  

Cheesy Battle

One lovely Friday afternoon in a supermarket. A mom and her toddler in front of a produce freezer. Round #1 "Cheese!" the boy pointing at some tiny but pricey cheese wrapped in a shiny bright red transparent paper. "You never eat it!" mom said. Round #2 "I waaaant that cheese!" the boy screamed. "But you never eat it. You didn't eat it last time, remember?" mom sounded like a broken record. Round #3 "I really want it," said the boy with teary eyes, on the verge of throwing a tantrum. "Promise me you eat it. Otherwise I'm not buying it again next time." He gave her no pinky promise but she gave in anyway and put the object of desire in the cart. He totally had her in the palm of his hand. 

Angry Bird

Bahagia itu habis latihan interval minum segelas kunyit & beras kencur sambil ngobrol bersama mba Sri dan para langganan jamunya. Topik hari ini Metro Mini. "Saya sih biar Metro Mini saya lawan. Enak saja hampir menabrak mobil saya. Saya cegat, saya turun dan saya labrak supir yang kurang ajar itu. Saya nggak takut. Pernah Metro Mini lain saya lempar pake botol air dari mobil dan bla bla bla," kata seorang ibu berperawakan mungil dengan nada berapi-api dan bersemangat menceritakan sepak terjangnya melawan Metro Mini di jalanan Jakarta yang kejam. "Saya sih lebih baik mengalah dari pada naik darah," jawab saya. Dalam hati tentu saja. Daripada dilempar gelas jamu? ;-)

Mood Buster

I think most people would have problem to dance and sing your heart out in a public swimming pool. Except this guy I saw on a warm Sunday morning. He had a portable speaker on his pool lounge. An upbeat latino song was on. Barely audible for other people to hear but loud enough for him to hear from the edge of the pool. So there he was in the pool; dancing, whistling, singing out of tune, lip sync-ing,  air drumming, air piano-ing having a time of his life without a care in the world. I couldn't help but smile. 

Windows To My Soul

One lovely early Friday morning. A high school on my left. An elderly gentleman stood right outside its entrance gate. He greeted all students with a handshake, an eye contact and a smile. What a pleasant way to start a day. Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. Mother Theresa.

Back To Basics

One long Tuesday afternoon in a cafe. Stuck in a writer's block. Words just could not come off my fingers. Everywhere I looked people were busy with their gadgets including me. Except this lovely lady. Two tables away from me. On her table were note books, stack of papers, soft pencil case full of pens, pencils and stuff. No gadget.

Different Angle

Minggu pagi mendung penuh awan kelabu. Sampai hari ini saya masih ingat hebohnya pertama kali lomba lari. Jakarta Marathon 2012. 5K. Menikmati sensasi melewati garis finish untuk pertama kali. Cape tapi senang, senang tapi pegal, pegal tapi puas serasa terbang ke langit ke tujuh. Walaupun waktu itu tidak ada medali finisher untuk 5K. Fast forward tiga tahun kemudian. Lomba 5K yang ke dua. Tidak seheboh dulu rasanya, baik di garis start ataupun finish. Yang lebih bikin gugup gembira dan gegap gempita adalah dapat PB 5K walau itupun menurut hitungan jam Garmin bukan official time race. Heja!

Friyay!

Bahagia itu mendapat kiriman enam botol Cold Press. Just because. No reason. Six bottles full of goodness & kindness. I feel healthy and clean already. Thank you Ninit! 

Frame Of Reference

One hot Wednesday late morning at a dentist office. A young lady and her mom. Her mom tried every possible reason to talk her teenage daughter into letting the doctor pull out her aching tooth. She wouldn't budge. Pouting face, teary eyes and whiny complaints continued. The mother ran out of patience finally said, "Look, the problem is not your tooth, the problem is your jaw. You have a a small jaw and your new tooth has no space to grow. Would you rather have a jaw operation?" She stopped complaining. Pulling out one tooth didn't seem too scary now. Way to go Mom!

Outodbox Quiz #6

What two days you should not worry in order for you to live happily ever after? You can only answer one time. The first one to give the correct answer will get Sky Blue, an A5 journal that I made. Brown paper, 208 pages, print of my doodles on cardboard for its front and back cover, side stitch binding, and an elastic band with a blue button. Send to you wherever you are. Free of charge.  

Talk Of The Town

One unbearably hot Sunday afternoon in Kota Tua. Maureen, my little bottomless-talking-box-niece, stopped talking for fifteen minutes while a street artist did a quick sketch of her. Not only did she stop talking, she froze the same pose and smile for the same length of time. I was most impressed! 

Wisecrack

One lovely Saturday night after a bed time story. "Tante Tina you should get a henchman for a husband," said Maureen my little niece, a second grader. What on earth is a henchman? Dictionary says a faithful follower or a political supporter, especially one prepared to engage in crime or dishonest practices by way of service. Thesaurus says supporter, assistant, aide, helper, adjutant, right-hand man, subordinate, underling, minion, lackey, flunkey, toady, stooge, acolyte, shadow, bodyguard. Sounds good Maureen! ;-)

Momster Inc

One lovely rainy Thursday evening. Filling out registration form for Vancouver Marathon on a terrace. My only daughter has been living there since 2012 so automatically I put her as my emergency contact person. Phone number? To my horror I just realised that I don't know hers! We communicate through Skype and Line. What kind of a mother doesn't have her daughter's mobile number? Oh no, my reputation as an awesome mom is at stake! But I have plan. If anyone throw that question my way with a put down look on his or her face, I have an answer: The kind that raise a very independent, self-sustain, problem-solver daughter, thank you very much! :-)

Joie De Vivre

One lovely Tuesday morning. "Kak Tina! Kak Tina! Di rumah aku punya ikan ibu-ibu. Anaknya banyak!" Iqbal, five years old. I never laughed so hard in my life. I love my job. Do what you love. Love what you do.
 

KPK

Senin pagi yang cerah. Bahagia itu habis latihan interval minum segelas kunyit dengan sedikit perasan jeruk sambil ngobrol dengan mbak Sri penjual jamu di GBK. Topik pembicaraan hari ini parkir. Kata seorang bapak yang ikut ngobrol, "Saya sih parkir di sebelah mesjid. Memang agak jauh dari sini tapi kalau parkir di sana saya tidak bayar karcis. Saya sudah kenal dengan petugasnya. Tinggal kasih dia uang tujuh ribu." Kata mbak Sri, "Tapi kan uangnya masuk ke kantong dia sendiri ya pak? Bukan ke pengurus GBK?" Si bapak tidak menjawab, tiba-tiba sibuk dengan telfonnya. Mbak Sri idolaku.

Sibling Rivalry

One lovely afternoon in Auckland War Memorial Museum. I took pictures and sent three messages to my little nephew & niece thru my sister's chat apps. They sent me sixty five messages in return. Marvin, the game boy, went banana over a Minecraft exhibition. All those capitals! And Maureen, the chatterbox, not to be outdone by his brother, wanted to spend her long holiday in my place. No poopticon this time. Yay! 

Jackass

Kata orang hanya keledai yang membuat kesalahan dua kali. From my last marathon I already learned that having only a 21K run as my longest run for a marathon training is not enough. Yet here I was doing the same thing again. Auckland Marathon 2015. I was feeling rather smug after I reached half way right on target when my body and my mind just gave up on me. Just like that. No warning. Within seconds everything turned from awesome into awful and awry. I struggled all the way to the finish line. New rules to abide or else! Never underestimate 42.195K (no matter how many marathons I have under my belt) Do my training thoroughly. NO shortcuts. Hee haw!

Second Wind

One lovely Sunday. 22K mark. My body was killing me. My calf stabbed me in the back, my thigh strangled me, my ankle kicked me in the stomach and my knee used my shin bone to beat me up. When I reached water station #8 at 26K a young volunteer handed me a cup of water and said, "Hang in there Rina! Keep going!" Huh?! I thought that was it, I had lost my mind. WAIT! He must've had seen my pin on my hat. This was nothing compare to what she had to endure. Without warning tears just rolled down my face. There I was running jogging and sobbing. And somehow my calf, my thigh, my ankle and my knee had a change of heart. Instead of killing me they just inflicted a little pain here and there all the way to finish line. This one for you Rina! 

Attitude Barrier

AKL passport control. "When did you buy your ticket?" "Do you have relatives here?" "Where have you been in the last 12 months?" Unfriendly tone. Sour frown. Interrogative stare. Then when I answered, "I'm here to run the marathon." to his what-is-your purpose-of-visit-question he had a change of heart. "I wish I could do a marathon. I did some half marathons." "Is this your first marathon?" "How many marathons so far?" "What is your best time?" "Good luck!" Pleasant tone. A smile! Inquisitive stare. 

Two Sides

The good things about flying in the wee hour are there are no traffic and no queue. The bad things about flying in the wee hour is when you happen to sit across an elderly couple who shared a tablet to watch a video with a loud volume. You found yourself caught in the middle of a battle between your drowsy body parts and your annoyed ego. 

Super Hero

One hot Sunday in a TransJakarta. A kind attendant ask passengers to give away their seats to Marvin & Maureen, my little nephew & niece. Polda stop. A wave of passengers rushed in and I got separated from them. Seven stops later I inched my way through the jam packed bus, found my kin were on their knees on their seats looking outside, enthusiastically pointing at this and that. Then Marvin said, "Don't worry Maureen, I have a plan. If we can't find tante Tina we can take a taxi and pay at home."

Likewise

Saturday evening at a chain noodle outlet in a mall. Dinner date with my nephew and niece. Marvin, a fourth grader, and Maureen, a second grader. In a hallway right in front of the open restaurant about eight to ten kids ranging from 7-12 years old were running back and forth chasing a balloon yelling and screaming like crazy. Their parents were busy talking inside the outlet. "I don't think it's a good idea to run around in a busy hallway, "I started a conversation with my hyperactive kin. To my surprise Maureen replied, "Yea, this is not a playground." Marvin added, "First one of them is going to bump a chair, the chair will knock off a table with a glass of water and water spilled on an electric circuit which cause fire and explosion. And everyone die!" Wise beyond their years. I'm impressed. 

Catch Of The Day #39

Oh Snap

Suatu pagi di outlet franchise toko foto kopi. Jam 7:56. "Mbak foto kopi masing-masing sepuluh ya," saya menyerahkan dua lembar kertas, cukup terkesan melihat dua pegawai sudah sibuk sepagi ini. "Jam delapan mbak," kata si mas yang berdiri persis di samping mesin foto kopi. "Di belakang?" tanya saya heran. Si mbak di depan cash register bantu menjelaskan, cukup maklum kuping saya belum berfungsi 100% di pagi hari, "Kami buka jam delapan mbak!" Hah?! Kepingin ajak si mbak dan si mas berdebat, tapi yakin percuma buang waktu dan energi, karena mereka cuma pelaksana peraturan, bukan yang membuat peraturan. Ahirnya saya duduk menunggu. Jam 8.01 lewat PA system yang suaranya amat keras terdengar, "Customer nomor satu, harap ke counter nomor satu!" padahal tidak ada pelanggan lain kecuali saya dan jarak tempat saya duduk dan si mbak tidak sampai satu meter. I guess rule is rule. Peraturan dibuat untuk ditaati bukan untuk dilanggar. 

Wreck This Journal, Keri Smith

SOP

One fine Saturday in an upscale mall. A black van approaching the main drop off area. It stopped for a total time of 10 minutes 45 seconds to drop off its passenger. No, it didn't carry like 15 kids. There were only 3 adults (a driver, a nanny and a lady) and 1½ kids (a toddler and a baby) inside the van. They follow Six Steps For Getting Out Of A Van: Driver take stroller out of car & assembly it near passenger door. Keep van's air condition on. CHECK! Nanny get out of van carrying Child#1 and put Child#1 in the stroller. Driver assists. CHECK! Driver take a diaper bag from van and wait by the stroller. Keep Child#1 company. CHECK! Nanny take Child#2 from the car in a baby sling. Take diaper bag from Driver. CHECK! Driver go back to van. CHECK! Lady get out of car and walk straight into mall. Nanny follow. Driver drive away. CHECK!

Put Down

Stick and stones may break my bones. But words will never harm me. So not true! One hectic late afternoon at a check out counter of a supermarket. A long queue. A young boy, a bit too old to be in a shopping cart in my opinion, curiously touched anything within his reach until he accidentally knocked a box of candy bars. "ABANG!" her mom yelled on top of her lungs, startled not just the boy but everyone else in the queue, "Can't you do anything right? You are such a big baby!" You should have seen the little boy's face.

Servant Leader

One quiet Thursday morning. Gardeners who tend plants, trees and flowers in our apartment complex work in a dark blue overall and a blue cap. Today I saw a man in a different uniform. A crisp white long sleeve shirt, a tie, a grey flat front dress pants and a shiny black shoes. First he hosed some plants, got down on his knee and picked some dead leaves, continued with a lively discussion with two guys in a blue overall about different way to safely trim a tree. A leader who's not afraid to get down and dirty to get things done; a leader who respect and value subordinates as equals. My kind of leader. 

Bookworm

One lovely morning in a swimming pool. A Japanese guy was standing still and reading a book near the pool. By his sock mark on his calf I'm pretty sure he is a golfer. Or maybe a cyclist. Into the pool and on with my morning practice. Thirty laps later, he was still there at the exact same spot doing exactly the same thing; standing still and reading. Must be a page turning book.  The kind that demand its reader to finish at one go.

Dena

Positively Pointless Pineapple Princess. You are my Painkiller. Papoy!

Mark My Words

One fine Saturday on a treadmill in a gym of an apartment. Feeling rather awesome I'm almost accomplish my goal when suddenly, "Are you done yet? You've been using it for more than an hour!" An elderly lady said in a rather harsh tone. "Could you wait ten minutes? I'm almost done," I said in between breaths. First she stood right beside me and just stared at me for a while. When her staring didn't stop me, she went outside and called a duty manager. That didn't stop me either. I kept running until my ten minutes was up. I said what I meant and I meant what I said. 

Out Of The Blue

It's not even my birthday and Christmas is two months away. You are awesome! To top it off it rained cats and dogs after months of no rain. Must be my lucky day. I will hold you responsible if from now on I will be often glued to my note. ;-)

Keep Calm Look Around

God has a sense of humour. The day I pray to make peace with Jakarta traffic and ask to replace my hostile attitude with a just-go-with-the-flow attitude, sure enough I was stuck in a mean traffic. Good thing I had plan: Ferris Bueller Plan. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Now I know who to call if I need balloons for whatever reason. ;-) 

Rina

This is not goodbye. Until we meet again in heaven. You are forever near and dear to my heart. Your body gave up to pulmonary hypertension but not your spirit. You left an eternal footprint in my heart. Hope and pray I can be as strong and courageous as you were. "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." Christopher Reeve  

Little Lady

One lovely afternoon in a lobby of an apartment. Two Japanese women busy talking. Nearby a young Japanese girl sitting on a sofa by herself. I'd say about eleven. A short sleeve cardigan, a full skirt, and a ballet flats. First she wrote something on her book. Then she read a book. While I changed my sitting pose more than twenty times already in thirty minutes, she kept the same poised pose without any flinch. "A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind." Morihei Ueshiba. Darn!

Stumped

When I didn't reply my little niece's text right away she sent me a "poopticon" among other emoticons. The next day I saw her, I told her, "Maureen how could you send me a poop? That wasn't very nice!" Without missing a beat she said, "But it's a very cute poop!" 

Sopan Santun

Kebanyakan penjual mungkin tidak akan menjelaskan kepada pelanggannya kenapa harga barang yang mereka jual naik. Tapi mbak Sri di GBK bukan sembarang penjual jamu. Mula-mula saya ditanya apakah jamu yang seharga tiga ribu rupiah segelas itu beda rasa dari biasanya. Saya teguk pelan-pelan jamunya dan memang terasa beda, lebih pekat dan lebih terasa kunyit  dan asamnya. "Tak' tambahi bahan jamunya, mbak, biar lebih mantap. Soalnya kata ibu-ibu langganan yang lain nggak apa-apa harganya mahal sedikit asal lebih berkhasiat, ya kan mbak?" Saya mengangguk setuju. Tapi waktu saya bayar dengan pecahan uang sepuluh ribu, mbak Sri mengembalikan tujuh ribu. "Lah mbak Sri," saya protes, "Kok harganya sama, katanya naik? Berapa?" Sambil tersenyum malu-malu si mbak menyebut lima ribu rupiah. Oalah mbak Sri! 

Loud & Clear

Happy birthday Dad. Just want to let you know I am doing fine down here. A little drama here and there courtesy of Life but nothing I couldn't handle. You raised me well. Thank you. I love you to the moon and back. 

Skill

One lovely Thursday afternoon at a traffic light near a small roundabout. Waiting for the red light to turn green. A rickety Kopaja passed by. Oh, I would say about 40-50km/hr. Nothing unusual. Except that while it was still moving a young guy jumped out of its back door, landed safely in the middle of the street, instantly ran to balance the force of jumping out of the moving vehicle. He had the most beautiful running form: upright upper body with extremely long and quick strides. What struck me the most was that he kept looking to his left for whatever reason and he had the biggest smile on his face! 

Role Model

While I whine about this and that courtesy of Life, mbak Sri, who sells jamu in GBK, told me that her daughter got accepted in Universitas Diponegoro's faculty of law. I call myself a runner but I know little about perseverance. Stop being drama queen, already! Good things come to those who don't whine and get things done. Well mercy me!

Ceritera Dari Singapura

"Apa beda wiski dengan perempuan," dia bertanya sambil memeluk gelas wiski dengan jari-jarinya, penuh kasih sayang. "Tidak tahu," kataku. "Kalau engkau mabuk wiski, tubuhmu bisa rusak, mungkin jiwamu ikut rusak. Akan tetapi kalau engkau mabuk perempuan, bukan saja tubuhmu bisa rusak, jiwamu bisa rusak, tapi rohmu bisa ikut hilang. Jadi perempuan itu lebih berbahaya dari wiski," dan dia meneguk wiskinya habis-habis. Mochtar Lubis

Manly Love

One lovely Saturday evening in an empty Trans Jakarta. The busway attendant was a man, early thirty-ish. In my experience most busway attendants would go about his or her business quietly, some even unwillingly. I mean it's totally understandable, going over and over the same route for hours could take a toll on you. Mentally and physically. But not this guy. He greeted incoming passengers, politely asked them to watch for their steps, even offered to hold hand to some. He said goodbyes to outgoing passengers. Smiled and wished them a great evening. He didn't care that most of the passengers didn't even say anything or look him in the eyes. To top it off he sang out a cheery tunes between bus stops. A gentle reminder of 1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done with love.

Wonder Woman

One hot Wednesday in a swimming pool. One woman and five children, ranging from four to ten or eleven. Two older boys, three girls. Mom sat comfortably under a big white umbrella. Children were busy swimming, chasing each other, going in and out of the pool, running here and there making mayhem. Once or twice someone cried because someone accidentally did something. But none ran or called out to the woman to be a tattletale, they just resolved their own problem. She just sat and observed her children quietly from afar. No meddling, no instructions, no yelling, no nannies, no gadgets, no drama.  

Catch Of The Day #38

They say the grass is always greener on the other side. I say the grass is greener on my side because I stop looking at the grass on the other side and water my damn grass! ;-)

Killjoy

One fine Thursday in an ophthalmologist office. A red bloodshot eye. "Did you scratch your eye?"; "High blood pressure?"; "Heavy lifting?"; "Diabetic?"; "High fever?"; "Taking blood thinner medicine?" "Any pain, headache?" "Has it ever happened before?" No to all of the above. After she checked me she said, "Your eye is fine. The bleeding is only on the outer layer of your right eye. It should clear up within two weeks." What a relief, I thought. Then she said, "Go see an internist make sure it's not something serious like stroke." Huh?

Donkey Work

One ordinary early Thursday morning in a swimming pool. Feeling rather gloomy. Going back and forth the 25-meter pool, completely engrossed in my own thoughts, concentrating on my swimming form. Then I noticed something small and grey amidst at the bottom of the blue tile pool. A tiny Eeyore! The most gloomiest, observant, negative, pessimistic, depressed, cynical and complaining donkey on earth. What a codonkeycidence!

Prince Charming

One hot and humid evening in a mall. As I was approaching an escalator I saw a family of four heading in the same direction as me. Two boys. About 12 & 9. The oldest walked right along mom and dad, while the younger one walked leisurely a little further behind them.  I reached the escalator right after Mom, Dad & the oldest boy got on it, so I waited for the little guy to join his family. "Go ahead," I said. He looked at me in the eye, extend his right arm and nod a little bit and said, "No, after you!" What a delightful little guy! I did a little curtsy and said, "Why thank you, that was very kind of you!" 

I'm Back!

A half hour jogging never felt so good after a seven and a half weeks running break.