Old Friends

There is memory shared around a round table at a starry night.

so blessed to meet friends — they said “Chinese food for dinner ok lah, Rijk, no pork lah no pork!” ok lah, everyone…. 😘 thank you! 🙏🏼

Two Towers

Towers will mostly collapse of weak foundation…. Or the strongest quake

Petronas Twin Towers from taxi 👍🏽
solanum on the reception table 💝
no one can make me feel not good if I don’t allow myself to – it’s a commitment as strong as tower with solid foundation, not only a lip service. KL, see you soon 🔥

Ceremony

There’s fire kindled, prayer sung, fragrance bellowed in ceremony.

Life is humble as a simple smile at the same time sacred as a ceremony, enjoy it with bare heart (RC Gorman’s Ceremony)

Deep Sea

White foam on turquoise sweeps back to dark blue deeper to where secrets are.

dive more deeply to this deep sea and let yourself be greeted by the calmness and warmth of your own honesty and acceptance — there is something that doesn’t demand you to be anyone else but you 💗

Angels (sharing)

The wings are flapping sprinkling blessings through the air. Breathe them. Be blissful.

In Arabic angel is called malaaikatun or malaaikah or simply malaaikat (الْمَلٰٓئِكَةِ) literally meaning “power that governs”. In Islamic tradition the “power that governs” are grouped based on what type of assigned power they govern that are many and one of them is “power to govern protection”.

I always believe I am fully protected through the existence of the angels surrounding me although I am not interested to discuss about their form; people say angels have wings, others say they are made from light, some say malaaikah are systemic laws to run the universe, and so on and so forth. It doesn’t matter to me. That they exist and follow the assigned “power to govern” is enough for me.

Only when we listen, we will hear. We will hear the songs of the angels, the songs of universe, the songs of the heart, the songs of the soul. I prefer my angels to sing jazzy songs in this end of long weekend. 😁

Listening to heart…. 💗

Salaam.

‘ve met feathers almost everywhere walking recently; i took it as a sign that protection is everywhere and decided to always wear this silver pendant this year as an appreciation of the protection — thank you for the protection

Heaven & Earth

Does heaven and earth exist other than in a lover’s smile? Yes. Dream.

although not there, I still seek heaven and earth in you through my dream 🥰 happy new year to the other time zones until every spot on earth is covered by Jan 1, 2023

3 1st on Jan 1st

There is always first.
A tree greeting breeze and sky
Comes from minute seed.

1st breakfast to make
1st movie to (re)watch in 2023 – an energizing movie! always love Sandra Bullock
1st chore while 1st movie rewatch after 1st breakfast completed — more 1st things on Jan 1st of 1st long weekend in 2023 — i’m gonna love 2023 much 💗

Counting Blessings

There’s always blessing counted through breathing. Close eyes, the air prays for you.

this is enough for the whole day! no rice today 😊
1st plate for breakfast 💝 urap Jawa in cassava leaves, long bean, kecipir (square bean), carrot and sprout + raw long bean and damn kencur (fragrant ginger leaves)
that raw leaves are leaves of kencur (fragrant ginger), fragrant and refreshing 😊 the yellow leaf was not wasted😀
tempe and tofu, side dish that rocks! 😇

Days Hum with A Smile

Days hum with a smile,
Swiping hours of hunger
Leaving only joy.

opening the freezer, i found a bag of oxtail; bought 1kg even before the trip — ok, the best choice was making oxtail soup! 😎
1st serving – i love delicious oxtail soup! 💕
2nd one, there were 3 more — thanks god i don’t have cholesterol issue so it was a 2-day oxtail soup every meal with smiles and hums 😀

Romance

Romance is a dimmed space under a dome bedazzled with glowing stars.

dear glowing stars, let’s celebrate this light warm heart…. dear clean sky, keep being a space for this light warm heart…. dear centred earth, hug this light warm heart in a serene mood forever

The Right Pink

The rose apple is pink enough to be harvested. It’s the right time.

waiting for the flight home, once again looked at the pink Lucy and once again blessed this key ring “will definitely be suddenly Lucy Van Pelt to the snobbish and to the arrogant” 😇

About Lucy Van Pelt

They Call It This, I Call It That

Or I call it this, they call it that. It is it. Pronouns that fool around—

Some know, like telling. Some know, don’t tell enjoying the fun of knowing—

Some names are easy. Some are hard. All refer to one uttered many.

Some are fooled with words, some with views, lots with both. Few are clear with both

Which one is called a blessing? Ah…. Choose a door and say your oath.

Salaam.

they call it this, i call it that
they call it red anthurium, i call it anthurium
they call it golden shower orchids, i call it oncidium
they call it layered yellow alamanda, i call it alamanda
they call it fragrant orchids, i call it orchids
they call it patterned pink rose, i call it rose

Super Charged

Super charged young boys can beat super charged old champs just with light laughter.

two boys joined our group to go river-rafting
while the adults were resting after 1-hour rafting before the next 1-hour, these boys were playing
and they played helmets throwing 😂
we asked the boys to stand up…. 💝
only one succeeded 😂 the other fell down on to the boat soft floor of the swift waves in Ayung River 😀

Fastfood

Life pace gets faster,
Food follows the same pattern.
Time and space collide.

My nephews always want fast food. They said it is good and fast. On the contrary I am not a big fan of fast food. So we always go to fast food restaurants first for them to eat then they’ll drive me to local restaurants for mine.

It takes longer time but giving fair treatment to all fellow travelers are the right thing to do.

Salaam.

😘

urap Bali 💝 is more greasy compared to urap Jawa, both are superb!
sate lilit is Balinese special skewer; the stick should be lemongrass
balado terong – not so good in the most recent restaurant but still better than French fries 😄

Old Bone

Old bone works so hard
To chase young heart. Worth doing
For meaningful life—

that’s not alcohol, that’s green melon flavour syrup 😀 my two brothers could get mad at me if I feed them the R-OH substances 😊
they rock! i now be a careful rider 🙃 “where’s your young bone, Mbak?!” 😂

Morning

Morning gives her vibe with fragrance of dews to start a day that is bright.

our view is a small pura (Balinese Hindu temple) for the surrounding villagers at Dedari river bank to pray when they are nearby and a bit far from their houses

Sky’s Blessing in Uluwatu

Rain is a blessing
From the sky before starting
Journey to the north.

Me: Boys, the rain seem to stay heavy. Boys, are you ok?

Nephews: Yes, it is fun! We just want to pee again!

Me: Don’t pee on your pants ya.

What a conversation!

heavy rain + heavy wind the whole day which only stopped right before until almost after Tari Kecak show, hundreds of human beings from different parts of the globe experienced the same happening that might result in different memories— a nostalgic one with these boys, splashing our bodies and bags in hugs with blessing sky water 🥰
the start of show, the blessing water took a break
in Javanese and Balinese tradition Rama and Sinta is a couple adopted to depict true love — in my opinion, no! I think it was boring to be a wife of a great (almost) perfect king so Sinta purposely put Rama in a love trial to test his love by letting herself be in a kidnap trial without fighting back against the kidnapper and all its drama 😄
Rahwana came in his own buta (giant) form to kidnap Sinta and he failed
Sinta was kidnapped by an old weak polite beggar who was actually Rahwana
Jatayu, the bird that visited Sinta in Alengka’s palace
Anoman Obong — in Javanese and Balinese culture Anoman is considered a monkey demigod who is very very very old butq energetic in moves and young in heart 💗 fyi, “Anoman Obong” scene should be with sunset background in normal weather 💗
almost the end of show, restart of blessing water from the sky

I Left

I left my flowers behind a closed door to be beautiful stories.

home alone and still continuously blooming; when I am home, they will be a history of blooming flowers left behind a closed door — employ some adjectives to make a factual history an extraordinary story 💝

Challenge

Being young in heart is a challenge for those who goes aging sweetly.

Traveling with those adventurous always energises me. Otherwise, I prefer (mostly) traveling alone so I can do whatever crazy as I wish.

Enjoying Bali with these two young human beings bring the 5-years-ago me who would move around as if having high power unlimitedly charged. After hibernating because of the dear virus, I want to have my young fun again with my nephews like I did the same fun with myself back then.

Let’s have fun go mad, my dear boys!

Remember, boys! You can smoke cigarette. You can vape. But you can’t alcohol. 😃

💝

nephews = protectors? no, annoying boys 😘 waiting for the rental car — my official driver and navigator

Love Rain (haiku for lunch)

How she loves pink rain!
Glistening in the blue sky
Swaying to the earth—

rain colour is pink 🙄 if you wear pink glasses 🤭

Heaven on Earth

Smile’s heaven on earth—
Circulating joy. Taste it.
An eternity—

pempek (deep fried fish cake) Palembang – love it, love it! no time to make, bought it in Indo Express 💝 trust me it’s heaven on earth

About pempek Palembang, click here.

Missing You

Missing you, dear you who might not realise that you’re you who’s dearly missed.

“oncom” in grated cassava (oncom di jero = combro), Sundanese deep fried snack that in Singapore is only available in Indo Express — not a best combro but a perfect one when homesick

Moon to Cat

Hey, Cat. You smile cute, calming the mood. Wave to me. I am wholly yours.

Hey, Moon. You shine bright, showering the night. Greet me. My paws are all yours.

wordless conversation is beautiful 💗

A Cake

Perfect is a cake baked with heart and soul for those waiting patiently.

There is nothing perfect in material thing. Perfect lies in the patience of queueing buyers and in the chef’s dedication of making the best cake for those patiently waiting. And more…

It looks like just a cake but there are more than stories of recipe behind it. There is love of mother to her child. There is trial and error of a chef for her best cake. There is a rent that the shop should pay. There is a smile after every bite of the chocolate chiffon cake. There are best materials supplied by many different shops whose owners commit to customer satisfaction. There is mood that demands stability. There is a city that will be remembered because of this cake. And so on, and so forth. And all happen because of heart vibrating love with any reason possible in this life.

What looks simple or trivial knocks loudly if we lend some listening space.

Salaam.

💗

many things about Japan fascinate me; I wish this country with its ethical practices can last much longer than what’s predicted 💝

Ouch Call! (ranting)

A stroke of a brush is how universe started. A surprise that lasts—

Certain friend is good at the same time destroyer of mood. I have one who can leave me“ouch ouch ouch oooouuuuch” for at least one week. This person loves ouching friends as an ice breaker but to some of us he has made it to the next level. This time he ouched me romantically, the worst of all my ouch experience from him. Call one “ouch caller”.

OC: Ready for a forced holiday? Have fun! Don’t work every night, just every two nights.

Me: (1st ouch) Hmmm ok, Sir.

…. Blah blah blah

OC: How is your romance? Get rid of him. He doesn’t even care about you. Don’t be stupid. You are not a door mat.

Me: (2nd ouch)

OC: What type of man do you want? Am I not good enough?

Me: (3rd ouch, but I have to say something) Hey, hey! Not a good time to talk about romance. Painting here and don’t want to lose vibe in the head.

OC: Tell me then. Handsome? Healthy? Rich? Hard working? I… Am… Everything!

Me: (Laughing like crazy as this person was very right about himself) Are you a sales person of your own product?

OC: Yes! And I’ve been selling my quality to you for the past how long with no buy in. You’re getting older and older.

Me: (OUCH OUCH OUCH) Ok, ok. I have to explain. I want someone whom I can be comfortable being with even when both of us don’t like the same things. Can you, Mr Cruel Oucher?

OC: What! Of course not! When I go to party, you have to go to party with me. When I go to the gym, you have to go with me. When I cook, you have to cook all what I want. Blah blah blah…. You have to do what I like to do! If necessary you should give up what you like to like what I like.

Me: (Still couldn’t stop laughing) You are not. You are not that right person. You are just my ouch person.

OC: Is he still that person?

Me: Yes.

The next is the most ouched one but probably the most accurate to describe a fact.

OC: Then you have thin hope, thin chance. Not compatible. You don’t even know how to party. You don’t even know how to drink except that weak wine. You don’t even know how to flirt. He might not like reading. He might not like art and literature and walking. He might not like biking. He might hate you singing. He might hate you writing. He might hate you touching your hair again and again. You are not his physical type of beauty. He might hate you with your job. He might hate you being honest and independent. He just doesn’t like you as you. Oh! So relief I could say all these finally.

Me: (OUCH OUCH OUCH OOOOUUUUCH and this will last long) You’re right. Very right. Time to stop your ouches, Sir.

OC: Then you still say no to me?

Me: (Mild ouch but I got impatient) You? I can’t tolerate a die hard nerd like you. You cook better than women. You manage money too well; you are stingy! You love your nephews and nieces more than anyone else, you won’t care about me. You work too hard. You eat too much healthy food, I love deep fried. You ouch people too much. Listen. Don’t call me just to ouch me.

OC: Ok, ok. How are you?

Me: Fine.

OC: Broken heart still?

Me: (ouch) Not really, just a bruise and scratch. Will get over it soon.

OC: It will be gone. For you not too soon though because you are not intelligent in romance. Be patient with yourself. (He was calming and that is when everyone likes him, a calm nice guy — unfortunately came too late after too many ouches happened.) Describe how you think about that person and let’s start the real conversation of today.

Me: My universe

OC: I want to throw up! You imagine him as a Chris Martin? Hahaha!

Me: Never heard of him singing hahaha!

Then we started to chat without ouches for almost two hours — a very nice two hours. A good friend to me is that who ouches me but still makes me comfortable with her/his genuineness.

Thank you! 🤝

Chris Martin is My Universe 😁

Disclaimer: blogged with this ouch caller’s consent with one condition “no exaggeration” which is not accepted like he never said “I want to throw up” and never said that he is handsome and rich although he is rich but not handsome 😊