This is to summarize that May is full of happiness. First, I let myself free of Jl-Antasari-n-Fatmawati traffic jam and then this is the month in which I made trip the most to Kepulauan Seribu.
First I went to Pulau Bidadari (and Pulau Kelor), Pulau Macan (and Macan Gundul and Pulau Kayu Angin Bira), and then Pulau Pramuka (and Pulau Semak Daun and Pulau Bandeng).
That’s what I call island life. I love it. And if gratitude is in the details, here it is:
Pulau Pramuka
The first time I went here was May 2007. It was when only a handful of 120 high school students graduated from Ujian Nasional. One can imagine how grim the air was. It was also dull. It rained the whole weekend.
Now I went back. The sun was smiling and the air was cheerful. This time with The Nature Detectives and Cupliz who co-organized the trip. The Nature Detectives are a group of high school students who has their eyes on environmental issues. They are clever, chatty, and eager to learn. It was wonderful trip: observing the mangroves, the turtles, the sea grass, and the corals. Not to mention the bandengs, the neners, the sharks, and the barramundi. I was so thrilled to spot the latter. They’re big, muscled and look very edible! Also when snorkeling, I spotted a large school of cuttlefish. Very cute creatures. Speaking of the cephalopods, I tried Cupliz’s squid-like fins, and I thought my feet smiled broadly. My legs rejoiced (I must sell my pair of ugly fins immediately!) and I am happy I made acquaintances too!
Senin, 30 Mei 2011
La Musique
Lately I been accompanied by this playlist:
10. Dolphins (Fred Neil)
Funny that I got this song two weeks before I went to P. Bidadari early this month. There, my point finger was almost crushed by a hungry dolphin. the dolphins live in a very narrow tank. I don't blame them. They must have been stressed or hungry. Dolphins should be free!
9. Jerusalem (that choir)
When everyone seemed to pay attention only to the bride and the groom (that Royal Wedding), I paid attention to the trees inside the church and the music. this old piece is sweet: "Bring me my bow of burning gold, bring me my arrows of desire...bring me my chariot of fire!" Chariot of fire. imagine. no visa no tickets. faster than the speed of light.
8. Don’t Leave Home (Dido)
Every time I go on a trip, she sings “Oh don’t leave home…don’t leave home…”
7. Driftwood (Aselin Debison)
Love her version better than Travis’. “Driftwoods hollow and of no use…” au contraire! When I went holidaying at Pulau Macan, I found driftwoods ever useful. Lovely song anyway.
6. God Bless the Child (Shania Twain)
Lately I been falling in love with the sound of guitar plucking. This song has banjo plucking.
5. Mirando (Ratatat)
When I need something upbeat, this song wakes all nerves. It takes away tiredness and set my feet to dancing.
4. Morning Has broken (Nikita Boldyrev)
Among Earth’s phenomena, morning is the best. To witness a big red ball rising from an the “edge” of the sea, to listen to black sea birds chirping, and listen to the wind through the conifers are blissful. This Boldyrev’s version is cool: guitar plucking and violin weeping.
3. overpowered (Roisin Murphy)
The song is very biological: “your data, my data…the chromosome match”
2. Brothers (Enniol Morricone)
Taken from The Mission soundtrack. It’s another brilliant piece of guitar plucking.
1. My Friends (Red Hot Chili Pepper)
A reminder to be happy a bit more often: “prison phone…give her seven years for being sad”
Rabu, 18 Mei 2011
The Man in the Lotus
When I was very young, I often visited Emak and Engkong in Magelang. In like 10 years they moved here and there in the city. One time in the outskirt of the city, then to the middle of the city, and later not far from the previous. I loved meeting uncles and aunts too. all six of them.
Among the three uncles, Oom Jien was the most handsome. He looked like a young Hong Kong kungfu movie star, with sideburns and thin moustache. but he was my least fave. He disliked us children and we seldom talked. but i admired him. me, one time being too small to know anything, found a photograph of him. in the picture, he was inside a giant lotus flower, stretching, one leg straight, one leg bent. i was so amazed that i believed it was real.
why wasn't it real: in the morning, he'd do triangle position, as if saluting the sun. he did one pose to another. he had a sepia picture of a man ("That's his spiritual teacher," said Mami) but Oom din burn any incense like Engkong did every morning. Oom wasn't a Buddhist. He "believed in the power of the universe."
Mi would introduce Jesus to Oom and Oom would at the first place dismiss the attempt. it was always an amusing sight.
Little did I know of him. When Engkong died, I learned that he sold ice cream at one school. Later, he moved to Tulungagung with Tante Hwa n Oom Alex. One morning, Tante Hwa called Mi, rejoicing that Oom Jien has ended his soul searching. "He's accepted Jesus as [his] savior," Tante said. He lived there for about two years. I know not why he chose to move back to Magelang.
Last April 2010, I went to stay at Oom Hok for three days. Oom Jien was there too, so did Oom Lok. My three uncles.
Like always, he spoke a few words.
"How's Cik Ing?" he asked.
"She's fine," I replied.
Silence.
"Do you talk often on the phone with her?" I asked.
He nodded.
During my short stay, I was happy, however, to see how he busied himself everyday and that he read the newspapers i brought. And for the first time in life, I knew his complete name. It must have been spelled like "yien" but back then i was afraid to ask, afraid the topic--or any topics--wouldn't be of his interest.
"Oom, come, let's take photograph of you and me," i said minutes before I left for Jogjakarta. He dismissed the idea. I couldn't encourage him. We shook hands and parted. That was the last time we talked.
This morning Oom Jien died. I know Mami, my other ooms and tantes, are saddened by his sudden departure. I too am sad.
The late Tante Hwa once said, Oom Jien had spent his whole life soul searching. Now I wish his soul find a peaceful rest.
Among the three uncles, Oom Jien was the most handsome. He looked like a young Hong Kong kungfu movie star, with sideburns and thin moustache. but he was my least fave. He disliked us children and we seldom talked. but i admired him. me, one time being too small to know anything, found a photograph of him. in the picture, he was inside a giant lotus flower, stretching, one leg straight, one leg bent. i was so amazed that i believed it was real.
why wasn't it real: in the morning, he'd do triangle position, as if saluting the sun. he did one pose to another. he had a sepia picture of a man ("That's his spiritual teacher," said Mami) but Oom din burn any incense like Engkong did every morning. Oom wasn't a Buddhist. He "believed in the power of the universe."
Mi would introduce Jesus to Oom and Oom would at the first place dismiss the attempt. it was always an amusing sight.
Little did I know of him. When Engkong died, I learned that he sold ice cream at one school. Later, he moved to Tulungagung with Tante Hwa n Oom Alex. One morning, Tante Hwa called Mi, rejoicing that Oom Jien has ended his soul searching. "He's accepted Jesus as [his] savior," Tante said. He lived there for about two years. I know not why he chose to move back to Magelang.
Last April 2010, I went to stay at Oom Hok for three days. Oom Jien was there too, so did Oom Lok. My three uncles.
Like always, he spoke a few words.
"How's Cik Ing?" he asked.
"She's fine," I replied.
Silence.
"Do you talk often on the phone with her?" I asked.
He nodded.
During my short stay, I was happy, however, to see how he busied himself everyday and that he read the newspapers i brought. And for the first time in life, I knew his complete name. It must have been spelled like "yien" but back then i was afraid to ask, afraid the topic--or any topics--wouldn't be of his interest.
"Oom, come, let's take photograph of you and me," i said minutes before I left for Jogjakarta. He dismissed the idea. I couldn't encourage him. We shook hands and parted. That was the last time we talked.
This morning Oom Jien died. I know Mami, my other ooms and tantes, are saddened by his sudden departure. I too am sad.
The late Tante Hwa once said, Oom Jien had spent his whole life soul searching. Now I wish his soul find a peaceful rest.
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)