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!
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!"
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!
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.
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!
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!
"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
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.
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.
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! ;-)
