Author: rike jokanan

Me, now here

Perfect Weekend

Learning, Poetic
Weekend, Beloved
Perfect with noisy kitchen
And finished laundry--

—

today’s healthful brunch❣️ we call it urap in Javanese cuisine — the raw leaves are “kencur” from the pot in the balcony ♥️

About kencur

wanted to eat raw veggies but i didn’t trust the source so boiled it was — missing my home in Yogyakarta where greeneries grow organically

the grated coconut

i still haven’t bought a new food processor after the old one was spoiled so today i had to do it with my favourite pestel and mortar — now my hands feel burnt of the chili heat 😎

Work & Study

Learning, Poetic
In this life of hues
How can I note what’s given?
To work and study--

had breakfast sometimes dinner at this table for 9 days was an experience

it is a table under an artificial tree, the light is not too bright, not so obvious from too many angles so I chose it and when I saw the number, it became my table

next time might be other numbers 🍀

44 means foundation, hard work, growth, achievements and if it is what is communicated to me, thank you.

44 is also country code of United Kingdom; I miss Chisholme House where time flows calmly while this body works and mind studies life with true devotion engaging with fellow human beings and nature. Dear God, please carry me there again.

About Chisholme House

Spirituality

Learning, Poetic, This Person
Spirituality--
What is it, Dearest?
She talks to all sides of walls, ceilings and floors.
They talk no word, just a long hum enticing her to stop thinking;
Leaving her no choice but a weekend laundry.
Spirituality, Dearest
Is her life with
Its ups and downs,
Its ins and outs.
Her strong wills and deteriorating muscles--

—

a short spiritual interview in my laundry weekend — thank you!

enjoy your weekend!

Pose!

Learning, Poetic, Those People
Pose as you love to.
Life gives one chance for one name.
Breathe in and breathe out.

my friend in his funny pose 😂

I can’t thank enough to him for informing me about the “Da Vinci Alive Bangkok”

he said “Rike, I’ll go with you if my boyfriend goes to his class”

Thank you, Bank!

Epic Dinner

Learning, Map It!
Today's dinner of a dreamer
Looks like a dream
Tastes like a dream
Smells like a dream
Sounds like a dream
But feels real
At a table for one
Of epic dinner.

—

Today’s dinner was way beyond my expectation especially the size. The taste was still as predicted as Thai food to be yet the vibe where I enjoyed my dinner was so relaxing that everything became good!

Let me show you today’s epic dinner.

In fact I surpassed the word gluttony. Please forgive me for being so greedy yet not finishing the order.

Next time better (better means eat more???) 🙃

💕

namprikapik muang kung: mackerel, deep fried eggplant, omelett cubes plus all the raw vegetable (some leaves like coriander leaves and others i know not, long bean, cucumber, small eggplant) and the shrimp paste sauce

❣️❣️❣️

fabulous💕

miang krob bai mara: deep fried bitter gourd leaves❣️❣️❣️

kaeng leang: spicy herb vegetable soup with prawns

butterfly pea leaves tea❣️❣️❣️

this… is… the pinnacle! i thought it was a warm drink as a gift — lucky i asked: it was to wash my hand 😂😂😂

and so i did

it smelled good yet my hand is coloured now 😂😂😂

One Hot Day Out

Learning, Map It!

It is very hot in Bangkok but I really want to sit down meditating before praying in a place where people pray. A place of praying is one of best places as in that area human beings are willingly connecting themselves with power beyond their own, God’s or whatever they call the power is.

I went to Wat Pathum Wanaram Rachaworawihan near the hotel and it really is a serene spot among this busy city.

This hot day out has turned to a serene cool within.

Thank you❣️

in bloom

ready to bloom

Wat Pathum Wanaram Rachaworawihan

wherever i go, i won’t miss — i won’t iss praying (my own way), it can be in mosque, shrine, temple, church, meditation center, hotel room, where.ever i feel my heart is showing me a space ♥️ — praying hall of Wat Pathum Wanaram Rachaworawihan

wherever i go, i won’t miss eating — lunch before temple 💕

Da Vinci Alive Bangkok

Learning, Map It!

Lucky to be in Bangkok this time with the “Da Vinci Alive Bangkok”–

I thought Mona Lisa painting was big until seeing it with my very eyes; this one is the replica displayed in “Da Vinci Alive Bangkok”

back in 2017 in Paris, I didn’t even have the energy to walk nearer — maybe next visit, Mona Lisa ❣️

Fresh

Learning, Map It!, Poetic
Best local delight's
Bangkok's 7-Eleven's.
Fresh presentation--

—

this is what’s fabulous about Thailand, not pictured are grilled banana, etc, etc, done for dinner!!! 💋💋💋

International Jazz Day

Learning

Jazz didn’t simply come to me. My beloved sister contaminated me with jazz through time. When I was 14, she was a 17 yo girl crazy about music through cassettes (ahhh…. do 17 yo nowadays know what cassettes are).

The weird jazz up to acceptable jazz were played by her daily….

Now I am enjoying it when life sounds so messy and dry.

Thanks, Mbak Yuda. You are loved!

Happy International Jazz Day!

Bengawan Solo aka Solo River where my placenta was “floated away”

Twins

Learning, Poetic
There are twins in life
Where mirror is concluded,
Balance is guarded.

—

my most worn twins — one pair is 6 years old, the other is 4; wait until both are uncomfortable to retire 😍

this time a room with twin bed is chosen, not because i stay with someone but i want to experience a different type of room — the same design, just the bed is different 👍🏽

the Twin Towers across the 38th floor

Burnt Hair

Learning, Those People

Here is the long wait!

Here is the curiosity potion!

Here is the Burnt Hair!

😁

a message sent to me on Apr 24 when I was in my mother’s house, from a shipping company – could not recall what I purchased as not much shopping these days

today I picked it up when arriving home – what is it, what is it, said I curiously

ahhh!!! I purchased Elon Musk’s perfume, the Burnt Hair on Oct 14, 2022

the longest wait of a PO to be shipped in my life 😂

it is almost like burnt hair smell – maybe this is the smell of Elon Musk’s burnt hair 😂

does it worth the wait? hmmm…. for my curiosity yes, not for my olfactory system 😹

at least I have his product, not Tesla though 😎

Preference

Learning, life, Poetic, This Person
It's a preferred life,
Not a perfect one. Not much,
And she's fine.

—

45R is one of my preferred brands (doesn’t mean i buy a lot of its products though) – its good material is preferred, its most designs are not as they are to me “very foreign” ☺️

Navigated

Learning, Poetic
She's navigated
By stars that cluster in shapes.
They're glowing maps.

—

remarkable aspect of manta ray behavior is their ability to navigate across vast distances

a friend who didn’t meet for quite some time met me again in Hanoi and brought me this manta ray for my bag

she said she will invite me soon to her wedding 😍

thank you❣️

About manta ray

Light upon Light

Learning, love, Poetic
I've opened curtains,
Layers of curtains
Curtains of light;
Lifting layer by layer of the dark,
Distinguishing hues in stacked of spectrums
Then
Here
You are
Converting this believing
To this knowing.
It's been
Light upon light.

—

His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp is in a crystal, the crystal is like a shining star, lit from the oil of a blessed olive tree, located neither to the east nor the west, whose oil would almost glow, even without being touched by fire. Light upon light!….

(The Light, 35)

Learning from Tarot

Learning

I realise that I am a meaning seeker and I seek meaning in anything interested to me.

I seek meaning in the holy Books, in my own self, in nature, in literary works, in work of art and even in Tarot cards.

I don’t regret my failures of putting the right meanings to things as they’ve brought me here.

Thank you❣️

Four of Cups

⬇️

many lament over life as if they have no love ignoring a hand offering love 😁 what an irony!

thanks to my dear self who has found a pinch of self love in the journey – not perfect yet, hope it be before the end of this journey

Experience

Learning, Poetic
Nothing's right or wrong
To experience this life.
Hey! Judgement applies.

—

fish with veggies and rice paper (paper rice?) — green is always the best part in Vietnamese cuisine

not suitable for one, should invite a friend next time

not professionally, very slowly for satisfactory experience

Fresh and Unique

Learning, Poetic
I wish you a fresh air
That brings coolness in a hot day,
And lullabies me in a cold night.

I wish you a unique vibe
That loves me romantically,
And beautifies yourself naively.

—

banana flower salad — fresh and beautiful

young rice ice cream only in autumn ☺️ — unique and cool

Cảm ơn, Hanoi 🙏🏼

The Fool

Learning, Poetic, This Person
This fool
Is learning
Through
Humming and
Walking with a friend and
Greeting fun adventures and
Kissing the flowers and the air.

Hello,
Fool.
Be sweet life!

—

one of my best friends is a prominent tarot master in Ubud, whose reading always reminds me that I am The Fool — thank you, De Nov ❣️