Another...

another rainy day at work or another work in rainy day? (Amatoo)

Reflection at Amatoo

No Betel-Nutting Here!

A message to discourage betel-nut eating (which induces spitting), Nabire Airport

Nongkojajar

apples. watercress. kali biru. cold. kletak. atok. oom darto. church. camping. pine aroma. dwarf apple trees. white blooms. white flowered rheumason-aromatic rooted plant. cold dip. charisma with curled-at-salon hair. naked dip. market. hermon. nelly. old woman named saniah (not shania, sem). red hi-ace. pickup kijang. long walk. Lima Sekawan-inspired camping at schoolyard turned disaster. no money, walking to pasar, hoping to hitchhike. saved by tante yayuk. 1991. the last time i saw oom stube. the legendary horse-shoe-like bent road. what did i eat? oom (?) at kletak whose daughter (?) married an australian. oom bambang? oom kusno? pak pi'i? camping at kletak. drank fresh-yet-sour milk, coffee added. kak flora and napak tilas? was it at Bukit Gembala? mas toton? what did he do up there. i guess he wasn't even present there. did papi came along? dont remember a trip with papi. mbak astuti? where is she? apples. never ate apples. sad eh? amazed at seeing carrot plants for the first time. did oom alex mentioned going there? whose empty house it is at the top of the cliff? seeing the small pink flowers of the shamrocks plants whose leaves taste sour. semanggi? apples. apples. why din they gave me apples?

Sambal Matah a la Chef Sem

once, i felt this like crazy: craving for sambal matah. the crispness of the onion, the hotness of the chilis, the lovely smell and pungent taste of lemongrass, the fresh and spiciness of kaffir lime... made me drool. If only i could get any nasi campur and sambal matah now! One has to fly to Bali to get them! Oh Ibu Oka!


So when friends and i went to Cianjur, i saw these scattered on the wooden floor:

- chilies
- onions
- kaffir lime leaves
- lemongrass

suddenly the sun shone through the clouds...

i waited no more and started to cut them into thin fine slices. mixed well, the ingredients were infused with heated oil, fresh from the wok. et voila.....

the smell ...heavenly... it was the best condiment for the fried chicken and fish, sayur asam, and kerupuks we had for lunch. friends loved it too!

did i happen to mention that the floor also served as cutting board?

Semalam di Cianjur (See the World in BW)

Earlier this year, friends from Wiken Tanpa ke Mall (or WTM, @wikentanpamall) executed the idea of giving away family photos. For free. I agreed to join the trip. This is a serious matter: who would have had thoughts of having family photographs when rice is the top priority of all?

Off we went to Cianjur. Bolang drove, Umi served as navigator. Budi, Hanum, Eep and moi acted as, what else, passengers. It was Friday night. Ahead of us was a car with three friends from SCTV inside. They will tape us! we'll be on TV!, said Umi. I quickly combed my hair.

In the morning, it rained. It was 05.30. We were lost in the middle of a tea plantation. I approached a bunch of elderly womyn to inquire direction. I was all amazed. They pointed the direction, smiling--their lips en rouge! Yes they, all five of them, wore red lipstick, the reddest lipstick, even before the sun rose! You need to feel good at work!

I love the layers

 les monsieurs. il etait 6 heures du matin

An hour later we arrived, then ordered hot tea and instant noodles. much relieved. We later prepared things and cooked at the rented house. It was a medium sized house, all build of wood and bedeck, elevated a meter off ground. We had the broadest cutting board in the world, which was the wooden floor. of course we cut vegetables on it by carefully layered it with actual cutting board and some banana leaves. Hanum and Budi cooked sour soup aka sayur asem, Eep took water from the well, Umi and I prepared other meals. I had the idea of making sambal matah. Friends from SCTV joined the fun. Bolang slept. We forgave him for we can’t drive car!

mes amies  

In the afternoon the rain came. We split into two groups. I went along with Eep, Budi, mas (?) knocking from door to door, asking for their kindness to come to the rented house the next day for the photoshoot. Some did not understand my Indonesian. Eep showed the biggest patience in the world by speaking in Sundanese. The most polite Sundanese.

Later at night we ate and ate. we then slept until the phone rang endlessly. It was Firman, Hamok, and Hamok’s love interest (sorry sister I forget your name!).

Came morning and we rose to our feet and prepared the photoshoot. At 09.00, people were coming. We were delighted to see them wearing their best clothes. I saw friends were doing their best organizing the photoshoot. Me was more than happy to be the stylist.

 

“Bapak, get closer to Ibu, please. You could please put your hand on her shoulder. Yes, that’s it.” “Could you please smile? Don’t be serious. Ah yes.” “Can you please show off toothy smile?” “Could you please hug your wife please?”

It was tiring yet fun. I learned once again to “keep the customers satisfied”. One thing made me sigh in relief: I learned how and when to utilize “peluk” and “rangkul”, each meaning “to hug” and “to embrace”. It seemed that people here like “rangkul” better. I wish I had used the word instead of “peluk” which whenever I said it, they looked confused.

 

The photoshoot was over and we climbed up the hill. It is the biggest megalith site in Southeast Asia. The stones are big and unbelievably heavy. Yet they were carved simply, beautifully. The literature and the guides couldn’t explain the phenomenon. One suggested that it was some kind of place of worship. I gazed at the stones and kept wondering why people of ancient times labored hard to build the site. Never mind, it's just wonderful to see it.

Come what May (June and July and so on)

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!