Old St-Hubert

One of my favorite things to do is trying different routes to get to a place. It often makes a dull walk interesting.

So today I took Rue St-Hubert to walk home from the city. This has to be one of the best streets in Montreal for house-watching. You know, like people watching; only this time it's the houses that are watching you walk past.

The houses here, they're not mansions, and they're old as hell, but they have this aura around them that make your head brim with imagination about who live in them, what their bedrooms look like, whether they have clandestine lovers, and what they'll cook for dinner tonight.

The weather was premenstrual today, forlorn and all, but hopefully these pictures will make you understand what I meant.

And this, is what ruined my otherwise enjoyable house-watching. Don't you just hate it when people dress like that? The picture might suggest that I'm exaggerating - bitchy even - but trust me, this girl neeeeeeds a spoonful of good taste.

Doin' just fine

While wiping the ***hole after doing the number 2 this evening, I observed something rather strange.

There's a shred of carrot in my turd. Or something that resembles it anyway. I didn't go so far as picking it out and verifying its identity - 'cos that's just gross, alright?

Don't worry about me, though. I just thought I'd share that with you.

Don't make me watch this video again

OMIGOD OMIGOD. Right now I'm really hating Islam. Like, really. As a proponent of freedom and democracy, what I really want for Christmas this year is for that religion to be demolished and banned from this planet.

Thanks to this video.

Wow. Propaganda really works, eh?

Ohhh I'm so sad... why do they hate us so much just because we're different? Ohhh... this is worse than racism.

One bike, many bruises

So I bought a bike yesterday. At this bike recycling shop that also sells pinball machines dating from the 70's and, apparently, weed. I wonder if there's a correlation between the three.

"Did you smell anything while you were there?" GZ asked me afterwards. He knew that place since his friend the drug addict is a regular customer there. But apart from rubber and that distinctive yet inexplicable smell of junk, no, I didn't get a whiff of anything else. I guess I can never be part of a police drug squad, then.

But anyway, the bike is extremely cute, complete with a rearview mirror and a front basket. Not sure how old it is, though there are some rusty parts. Its main colour is golden brown; even the saddle is brown.

All that cuteness couldn't save me from trouble though. Riding it home for the first time from the shop - which was far far away in the city south - I fell twice and almost got hit by a car once, in between which the words "fuck", "ngehe", "anjing" and their varieties could be heard from my direction.

What do people do, anyway, when they fall off their bikes? Do they laugh at themselves to minimise the embarrassment? Or do they pretend nobody saw it? When I fell yesterday, in front of about 5 people at a bus stop and Jesus knows how many cars, I could see that those people were trying hard not to crack up. Some even looked away, kinda hoping I suppose, that I didn't see their faces, to make me feel less embarrassed. Man, I felt so sorry for myself that I almost wished I was dead.

I'll get better, you'll see.

It's not me, it's you, yes you

Tonight is not amazing at all. The cracks are starting to show. Could I have reacted differently? Perhaps. But then, that wouldn't have been me.

On the other hand, it's 2008. Maybe I'll be nice this year and see what happens. Either that, or I'll keep reminding myself that guys are stupid and insensitive and that I should forgive them for those shortcomings. After all, they're built that way, ya know?

GEEZ.

Guys, stop using these lines, right now:

"Do you want me to leave?"
If we really want you to leave, we would have said so. Stop trying to read what women are thinking. That's not something men are ever capable of. Oh wait, is this just another one of your lame escape routes?

"But I have had such a long day."
We all had to live through the same number of hours today. Just because yours felt longer doesn't mean you can start acting like a 2 year-old and like, piss us off, in the process.

"Are you jealous?"
Rule number 1. If men ever have to ask that question, the answer is always yes. We're women. We're built that way. No further explanation required.

Cari kerja

Kemarin job interview untuk yang pertama kalinya sejak pertengahan tahun lalu. 2 lawan 1. Kemampuan nge-bullshit gua sedikit karatan dan gua cengengesan di dalam ruangan. Mudah-mudahan kesan yang membekas di dua orang itu adalah gua anak yang ramah, bukannya dodol dan gak serius. We'll see, we'll see.

Boo!

This is my first official day of unvoluntary unemployment. Yup, I am no longer on holidays (although the visa I'm on is called Working Holiday Visa), and starting today I'll be throwing my resume around town.

On one side, I am looking forward to having a 'normal' life again where I can actually sound normal when people ask me, "So what do you do?". On the other, I am dreading the thought of having to subscribe to a schedule day after day, week after week, month after month, again. Oh humanity! Thinking about it makes me feel jittery, goosebumpy, and nauseous. Just awful, basically.

But I guess I can't live on my savings forever. I'm not that rich. Nor are the parents. Lol.

It is times like this that I wish the world operated a la Jacques Fresco. A moneyless economy. A society where people don't have to do jobs just to earn a living. A society where people live to learn and do things that interest them without having to worry that their wallets will get undernourished.

No, I'm not an idealist. I'm just lazy. And I'm trying to justify it.

Ensemble, c'est tout

Masih jetlagged. Buanget. Tipe kebangun jam 1.30 pagi dan nggak bisa tidur lagi sampai jem 10. Selera makan juga ikut-ikutan kacau. Tapi untung ke belakang masih lancar, kekekek, I'm sure you wanna know about that. Yah inilah efek samping pergi ke belahan dunia yang lain.

But that's just a minor matter; it's a (bad) habit of mine to start a blog entry with a whinge. Because right here, right now, I'm happy. All the things that were hanging over my head during the last six weeks are no longer. Separation is indeed the best medicine, sometimes.

"How long do you think before we get sick of each other?" I asked him while we were reading in bed last night.

"A couple of weeks," he said with that trademark serious look of his. "Love is fickle."

He's probably right. But I'm not worried about that. I'm still too busy playing this new game and enjoying being his 'petite poule'.

Instant Karma

Tadi sore gua melihat fenomena luar biasa. Ada orang yang bentuk badannya seperti kodok. Badannya bulet, kedua kakinya kurus, dan semua itu dibalut baju senam ketat. Yang terjadi selanjutnya adalah gua mulai membayangkan orang tersebut sedang melompat dari papan terjun kolam renang. Syuuut! Bagi gua sih itu lucu (banget).

Tapi Tuhan itu memang adil. Dan karma itu bukan hanya nama.

Karena barusan gua diberakin burung.

Giliran nyokap dan adik gua yang ketawa. "Tadi dia ngata-ngatain orang, sekarang di-e-e-in burung, hahaha!"

Untung cuma kena celana pendek gua dan bukan kepala gua. Well this is another reason why I want to leave this country. There are so many freaking seagulls here! And to think that this is the third time this lawlessness has happened to me.

Cerita gua belum selesai.

Barusan, ketika gua nyari-nyari gambar kodok di google untuk mendukung blog entry gua kali ini, gua menemukan gambar ini:



The keyword that I entered was 'human frog'. I guess I got what I asked for. Oh God, this image will haunt me forever. I'm really being punished. You can read the story here, but I hope it's just a hoax by someone who's really good at Photoshop.

S is for Suspense

Dari kemarin gua deg-degan gak karuan. Kayak orang abis minum Red Bull tiga kaleng. Tidur gak nyenyak, bangun super cepat. Jadi inget waktu SD, sehari sebelum terima raport. Hihihi, ngomong-ngomong dulu tuh gua lugu banget, kalau udah mo deket-deket terima raport, pasti isi-isi doa sebelum (dan sesudah) tidur gua bunyinya begini, "Tuhan, saya mohon supaya dapet ranking 1." Kalau dipikir-pikir, mungkin itu akar dari ketidakpercayaan gua dengan doa-doaan, karena dalam 6 tahun doa itu hanya terkabul sekali saja!

So there you go my friends, yang penting adalah usaha, bukan doa. God is just an observer who'll laugh at you when you fall on your ass.

Hari ini Jumat. Besok Sabtu. Lusa Minggu. (Yeah I know, this paragraph is lame.)

Setiap menit yang berlalu,
membawa aku lebih dekat dengan kamu.
Sampai ketemu hari Rabu,
jangan lupa jemput aku!

Splash!

Untuk urusan yang ngga-ngga, orang Indonesia memang paling jagonya (nggak heran gua jadi begini). Seperti yang kita semua udah tau, besarnya masalah transportasi di Jakarta tuh udah lebih dari luar biasa. Mobil pribadi terlalu banyak, sementara kendaraan umum terlalu sedikit - itu pun mayoritas udah pada reyot dan nggak layak untuk menyambut turis-turis yang diharapkan bakal datang tahun depan dalam rangka Visit Indonesia Year 2009. Get real!

Nah, salah satu masalah yang lagi diributin adalah penumpang liar di kereta api kota. Liar dalam arti bukan hanya nggak bayar, tapi duduknya di atap kereta, jadi membahayakan diri sendiri dan orang lain juga (karena dulu sempat ada atap yang jebol).

Karena usaha konvensional - seperti teguran atau jeweran - untuk memberantas hal ini tidak mempan, petugas-petugas kerapi itu akhirnya dapet ide cemerlang. Gak mau turun? Kita siram saja mereka dengan cat! Ini berita lengkapnya.

I wonder what SBY has to say about this!

Probably nothing, as usual.

Well that's Indonesia for you. A country where symptoms, and not the causes, are treated. A country where riding on the roof of trains can turn into a giant paintball party.

Hari ini dan beres-beres

Ada yang bikin hati berbunga-bunga hari ini. Dia bilang,

La seule chose qui m'a nui c'était ton absence. Reviens-moi vite SVP.

Gak percaya gua bacanya tadi siang. Ternyata si nyolot itu bisa mewek juga.

Malam ini gua memasuki tahap packing yang terakhir. Koper gua udah penuh! Padahal tas toiletries yang gemuk itu belum masuk. Beha kolor belum masuk juga (tapi untung yang ini gak makan banyak tempat... if you know me you'll know what I mean). Dan ohhh buku french grammar (peninggalan French101 di Usyd) yang bobotnya dijamin ampuh untuk ngebocorin kepala anak orang. Pupuslah harapan untuk membawa beraneka ragam beads yang tadinya gua pikir bakal berguna sekali untuk dijadikan kado ultah teman-teman (cewek) disana.

Inilah alasan mengapa gua yakin gua bukan reinkarnasi Noah yang dari alkitab itu. Bocor kali kapalnya kalau gua yg mesti nge-pak!

Barang-barang yang terpaksa gua tinggal di Sydney:
- Raket tenis
- Sepatu bowling
- Jam weker
- Guling
- Novel-novel Haruki Murakami
- 2 x figurine Precious Moments yang gua sayang banget

Oh harta benda... mengapa engkau harus ada?

She completes him

Bertahun-tahun berlalu, dan gua masih rajin baca blog (walaupun frekuensinya sekarang sudah jauh lebih rendah). Pagi ini gua membuka blog yang udah lama nggak gua kunjungi dan menemui tulisan ini:

I must be the luckiest person on earth to have you.

As a wife, lover, and most of all, as a best friend.I still remember what I promised you 5 years ago, during our engaged day. I said that I would give you the world. Or die trying to. And yet what I found was,

Orang yang gak minta banyak.
Gak minta apa-apa malah.
Orang yang selalu ada di samping gua.
Orang yang nerima diri gua yang angkuh dan rendah ini, apa adanya.

Kamu, yang tidak pernah minta prada.
Kamu, yang tidak pernah meninggalkan butiran nasi di atas piring.
Kamu, yang masih mengucap syukur di saat kita susah.

Kamu, alasan saya selalu bergegas ke rumah.
kamu, alasan saya bergegas ke kantor.
Kamu, alasan saya kuat menghadapi apa pun di dunia ini.

Thank you for standing by me.
Thank you for these 4 years.
Thank you for loving me.

I love you. Everyday.

------------------------------------------------------------

Tanpa gua sadari, mata gua jadi basah karena terharu. Sampai bulu mata gua ada yang copot dan nyemplung ke mangkok cereal yang baru setengah dimakan.

One day, I want to have a relationship like that. I want to want to accept him for who he is and who he wants to be. I want to want to stand by him. I want to want to thank him for loving me.

I want to be able to say, "I love you. Everyday." Even if I'll never know what love means.

Aku ingin begini, aku ingin begitu

Oh susahnya naikin berat badan. Kenapa gua nggak diciptakan sempurna seperti Heidi Klum??? Pffft...

Hehehe... banyak maunya deh. Maklum, udah jem 1 malem, pikiran udah mulai jalan-jalan ke hutan rimba yang penuh mara bahaya.

Ceritanya gua lagi mulai rutin minum protein shake lagi, karena 7 kilo ekstra yang berhasil gua raih tahun lalu sudah lenyap selama dua minggu pertama gua di Montreal, dimana gua yang terlalu pelit untuk beli tiket bis bersedia berjalan kaki kemana-mana. Nyusut lagi deh gua kayak balon yang umurnya udah tiga hari, walaupun ada hikmahnya juga karena sekarang pengetahuan jalan gua gak kalah sama supir taksi disana. So listen up all you overweight people out there: walking everywhere will help you lose weight!

Pokoknya tahun ini gua banyak maunya. Mau ndutin badan. Mau lebih jujur pada diri sendiri. Mau lebih rajin latihan nulis. Mau cari temen yang banyak. Mau bersikap dewasa dalam hubungan cewek-cowok (hayo lho, maksudnya apa tuh?). Mau lebih giat belajar masak (biar hubungan cewek-cowok makin lancar, hahaha!). Mau memperlicin bahasa Prancis (biar bisa ngobrol sama cowok Prancis yang kece-kece, amin!). Dan lain-lain.

If you have known me for a long time, you'll notice that that list is so different from my previous 'To do' lists. Especially number 4, 5, and 6. KW, the arrogant, emotionally self-sufficient (or so she thinks), "I can live without other people" bitch wants to make more friends? Wtf?

I guess people really do change, huh?

Say good night, not good bye

Sekarang ini lagi musimnya good bye. Sejak gua pulang, hampir setiap acara yg gua hadiri pasti ada hubungannya dengan farewell. Dan itu semua membuat gua capek. Karena ngucapin 'bye-bye' itu bikin gua sedih, walaupun acaranya sendiri nggak (justru kebalikannya).

Tinggal satu lagi acara farewell: makan malam minggu depan di bungalow8, untuk gua dan Eva yang mau pindah ke Hong Kong.

Gua... nggak... pingin... datang. (Andaikan tiket pesawat gua bertanggalkan Senin besok.)