One Best

One best, Beloved
Not ranked number one but that
From problems not run--

—

there’s always one best and this one is for today’s ๐Ÿ˜Š (sautรฉ grated carrot, fried dried fish, seaweed)

home cooking is my favourite food

Old

I'm old, Beloved.
Inch by inch closer to the gate
Of letting all go.

—

the wooden structure at the end of the bridge used to be a ryokan that is not in operation anymore, it was left with its old days’ golden era — it is now deserted and decayed

a reflection of getting old?

A conversation with best friend about definition of old and our getting old.

Me (M): By UN definition we are not old yet. Old is those above 60.

Best friend (BF): That’s just to make the working age later and later.

M: So we still have at least 16 years before officially called old by the definition.

BF: By then they define old as those above 70.

M: I guest human beings push the boundary to stay young.

BF: Young and immortal?

M: I don’t want to be immortal.

BF: You will if you have children. You will want to live seeing them grow up, get married, give you grandchildren, and so on with you healthy and happy with them.

M: They want it, too? Only if I am around without any care needed from them I guess.

Both of us: ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚

About the UN definition of old

Home

A home, Beloved
Where kitchen's fun and alive,
Diningroom's smiling

—

i’ve been living away from my parents since young age and before that i loved to cook for everyone in the family; i was not a best cook but my father loved most of what i made — now i realize why i prefer home cooking (both mine and my friends’) to the restaurant food — most home cooking is loaded with fresh ingredients, less additive substance and lots of sprinkles of love

my friends are visiting soon and i am thinking of cooking for them — excited! ๐Ÿ’•

Home

I'm flying back home
To weave a new home that's warm
And knows only you.

—-

Muraksara Nusantara — “Indonesia’s human beings” in Soetta Airport domestic arrival, in transit before Singapore

Yes, I know most of them thanks to their roles and professions in Indonesia — I respect most of them due to their integrity leaving me no doubt that human beings are created to inspire others positively, question some due to their fake impartiality whether their people or their “political promotor”

we Indonesian will never forget how these two men of two poles apart life principles fought for the birth of Indonesia that is formed from hundreds of sultanates and kingdoms — asked, I would vote Hatta first as a man of integrity for his loyalty and honesty, while Soekarno for his speech and bravery

Home

Home, Beloved,
When all faces lining up
Remind me of you.

—-

Rupa Buwana in Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Banten — faces of those people of the world who have outstanding contribution — I am still asking “why there is no Steve Jobs and Emily Dickinson? ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ’•

Indonesia’s 1st President and Vice President — Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta

Purple

Purple is royal,
Then royal becomes too high.
Let white be ruling.

—-

dots, lines, shapes and colours — i used to love purple until one day white looked lighter to both my eyes and head ๐Ÿ’•

when light is growing prettier

Self Portrait

How do you look, Love?
Are you as fierce as tigers?
Or as cute as cats?

—-

picture from Pinterest

selfie is a modern version of self portrait — we can be the best artist we’ve ever wanted and shown the world the best version of our interpretation of our appearance

I love selfie — it is a freedom to see myself, not always good yet that’s me ๐Ÿ’•

i tried to paint a self portrait yet the result is sooo artistic that I can’t recognise my own self ๐Ÿ˜ƒ i have a friend who is painting not really nicely but able to capture the character of the subjects — i should practice more โ™ฅ๏ธ

I think one year is good enough to at least knowing how to capture the character, painting nicely is never my goal

goal: capture the tigerness in my catness and the vice versa โฃ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜Š

Home

A home, Beloved,
Where orchids bloom silently
Giving a surprise.

โ€”โ€”

can you see a long spike there? how didnโ€™t I see it before my trip? it should have been around for around 2-3 weeks ๐Ÿ˜

a bud! ๐Ÿ’•

Welcomed

The goodness welcomed
Is goodness prepared. No doubt.
Enjoy all goodness.

โ€”โ€”

they donโ€™t allow guests to bring in durian and mangosteen to the room, yet they welcomed me with fruit incl mangosteen! I love buah manggis! ๐Ÿ’•

A Pair

You and I, my love
Are everywhere. Two extremes
Composing whatโ€™s oneโ€”

โ€”โ€”

everything is a pair to sum up union

we call it antonym

we call it opposite

we call it antithesis

but we also call it paradox

I want to call it separation that missed union

what would you call it?

Farewell Party

Farewell party
Is tasting the best of mood
That is remembered.

โ€”โ€”

lunch on my last day in Kyoto โ€” a set of Japanese washoku ๐Ÿ’•

I wonโ€™t be back for work in Japan anymore so I will be back next year in my personal trips; yay! ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜

About Aoi-Jaya

About washoku

Tongue Twisted

This tongue is twisted
By taste and a language
For a little while.

โ€”โ€”

Iโ€™m having lunch now and remembering one lunch on my first day in Kyoto. Lovely!

appetiser โ€” too lovely to eat up ๐Ÿ˜ญ

Yuba Sashimi (sea bream tuna) โ€” ๐Ÿ’•

clear soup made in an individual Dobin โ€” no spoon is needed, you drink the soup with the lid

grilled Spanish Mackerel โ€”- I could eat another one ๐Ÿ’•

Yuba Oke (their specialty)

steamed tofu with vegetables โ€” verrrry good!

rice, miso soup, pickles โ€” still good but the least I liked ๐Ÿคญ

dessert – persimmon ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ’•

About Shozankaku Matsuyama

Colourful

Life is falling leaves
Layered colours to decay.
Colourful beautyโ€”

โ€”โ€”

my life is like a stack of ironed clothes: colourful!

household chores done for today ๐Ÿ’• ready for packing

Dilemma

Itโ€™s a dilemma
Between safety and beauty.
Each is a glory.

โ€”โ€”

falling leaves on a moss garden

red falling leaves are beautiful and I want to experience them again someday yet it is always hard choice to me โ€” always a dilemma between beautiful autumn or short torture of itchy welts

Iโ€™m allergic to cold weather โ€” after 1 week Iโ€™m getting bad skin rash and itch that wonโ€™t let me stop scratching crazily on the itchy part; my recent Kyoto was the worst so far

I should have had antihistamine with me so all the falling leaves and moss garden images wouldnโ€™t have been shaken by my skin-scratching disco ๐Ÿ˜‚

I still wish to be back someday ๐Ÿ’• not in an extension of biz trip, but a personal leave only ๐Ÿ˜

Remote

Thereโ€™s a vibe within
Spreading a home everywhere.
Close yet so remoteโ€”

โ€”โ€”

most of my friends think I would always visit big cities with all the luxurious and sparkling night life when visiting Japan; yet theyโ€™re wrong as many of places Iโ€™ve visited are rural areas where no Hyatt, Shangri-La, and other big chains of hospitality brands are planted โ€” I will usually stay in local hotels, meet humble kind genuine Japanese who donโ€™t speak English and are willing to converse with my broken Japanese, listen to stories that impress me of how all human beings are basically struggle in life

not all Japanese are like the one I met some time ago whose rich life has formed one prouder and less kind than I thought one was ๐Ÿ˜Œ

feeling so blessed in a remote area in Gobo โ€” letโ€™s work wonder tomorrow, good people ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ

Talk to The Self

One talk to the self.
Alone among cheering crowd.
Peaceful in the noiseโ€”

โ€”โ€”

it was a beautiful night with myself among the crowd ๐Ÿ’•

Tokyo at A Glance

Tokyo at a glance
Brings me a shadow of you
Longing for a home.

โ€”โ€”

sightseeing ๐Ÿ˜

(affordable) sushi so far is only nice in Japan ๐Ÿ˜Š

made one once and will make it again someday ๐Ÿ˜

Deli from My Heart!

When heart is joyful,
It radiates through senses.
Deli from my heartโ€”

โ€”โ€”

gudheg ayam ala Rike โ™ฅ๏ธ โ€” light and bright, my must-eat for all my family and friends visiting me

most of feedback: can you make it saltier ๐Ÿ’•

tempe kemul aka blanketed tempe โ€” yummy like in heaven!

todayโ€™s lunch box โ€” leftover of gudheg ayam, rambutan and mini banana ๐Ÿ’š

Coincidences

Coincidences,
Unexplained experience
In one fast crossroad

โ€”โ€”

โ€˜M supposed to watch Coldplay in Japan with Vito, my nephew. Weโ€™d planned the trip since May; he passed away in July. Feeling desperate and not wanting to go alone, I was about to cancel the trip when coincidently one best friend said she wanted to visit me in Singapore in the week of the supposed-to-be-cancelled trip. I offered her a free Coldplay ticket to go with me. She agreed! And so the trip cancellation didnโ€™t happen. ๐Ÿ’•

I am still selecting which photo of his is the best to bring. I want to take picture with his picture before, during and after Coldplay concert and wherever we would have been going in Japan.

Sometimes we live to walk on othersโ€™ dreams and those who have the dreams must let go off their dream to be walked on by others. Thatโ€™s why I always want to live my life with true dedication as not everyone has the opportunity to live this long.

For those living chasing dreams, you can!

For those leaving with some dreams behind, your dreams are cherished by your beloved!

Rest in love, dear boy.

Salam.

my life is a chain of ordinary acts, rare sprinkles of drama and magical coincidences โ€” unexplainable except that I am blessed with all the problems and solutions ๐Ÿ’•

Next Flight

I wish to meet you
And greet each other sweetly
Where sun looks red round.

โ€”โ€”

sometimes I imagine I meet a long lost friend in one busy airport and we greet each other โ€”- โ€œlong time no see, letโ€™s have some tea!โ€

(Changi Airport picture – Rain Vortex)

Hidden

Whatโ€™s hiddenโ€™s beauty
Admiring silently.
Reciprocityโ€”

โ€”โ€”

getting off from bus #857, i saw something silently looking at me as saying โ€œhey, sweet heart how was your day?โ€

itโ€™s this beauty!

A Best Gift

A best gift, my love
Knowing you seeing my heart.
Do you know my heart?

โ€”โ€”

wooden comb is one best gift from myself to myself this year ๐Ÿ˜€

Soaked

Soak the self in love.
Treat the life with all blessings.
Every breath counts hope.

โ€”โ€”

these ingredients will be soaked in water for two days before applied to hair after shampoo

this time: rice + ginger + rosemary + pomelo rind

False Alarm

Evacuate. Now.
Hundreds of steps in the dim.
Sorry, false alarm.

โ€”โ€”

this morning I felt kind of alarmed; nervous at the same time energised because of alarm going off early morning in the hotel โ€” fire warden in action; run run run! lucky enough I stayed on 11th floor, not the highest! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ

with other guests who were (I guessed) sleepy and not ready to show themselves up to the world

no need to dress up! I just grabbed my MacBook, iPhone and my sling bag, left other stuff less important (although important) โ€” oh my! predictably I saw many were wearing โ€œwhatsoever as long as wearing thingsโ€ ๐Ÿ˜ tired as well as entertained ๐Ÿ˜‚

in the assembly point waiting, waiting and waiting โ€” false alarm

the hotel rep said โ€œWe are terribly sorry. It is a false alarm and all guests would you please go back to your room? We will arrange a compensation for you all affected. We once again apologise to you for the inconvenience caused. Sorry, Maโ€™am. Sorry, Sirโ€ฆ.โ€

a love letter I found arriving in the room this evening ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ