I canât know anymore what makes this area special for me, whether the Masjid Sultan or Wardah Books or two favourite restaurants here. Anyway at least two are in must-visit list at the same time. After visiting Masjid Sultan to submit charity from my fellow Indonesian, todayâs preferred was Hokkaido (halal) ramen as Wardah Books was closed and the Turkish restaurant was too crowded â I donât like crowded restaurant.
FYI, Masjid Sultan is surrounded by hundreds of restaurants and shops; it is an equivalent with old-time mosque which was always built around market place in order for people to reach it in no time.
When I meet friends in this area, it is either with a statement âletâs meet up at the mosqueâ or âmeet at *** restaurantâ or âWardah Books this time?â. There is one question that my friends and I like to ask each other as either teaser or respect: âeating 1st or praying*) 1st?â The answer?
*) praying here is not a flash pray before starting activities like simply saying âIn the name of The Gracious and The Mercifulâ but praying is around 5-10 minutes protocol that is normally done by fellow Muslim.
Group #1 (religious friends, they can pray âforeverâ, wow!): Pray first. It is more important than anything including eating. We should prioritise God who has given us everything, others can wait. Donât make God jealous.
Group #2 (rascals, will let you pray while they start eating): Eat first. God wonât force you to pray when you are hungry. Better you eat remembering that you will pray rather than you pray and your thought is wandering around all kinds of food.
Group #3 (clown, bitter that makes all chatters jokers): Donât ask me, I am fasting everyday because of having no food at all and so I donât pray because I have nothing to thank for.
Group #4 (good jugglers, like Group #3 but to the next level): Why so picky? Canât we do both at the same time? You can choose at the mosque or in the restaurant!
Some jokes are actually dead serious that the way people respond can either be considered as intelligence or harassment or abuse rather than as just fun. Yet I share mine as part of showing how religious comedy exists among Javanese Muslims (there are way more that I will never share publicly to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation); no harassment or abuse whatsoever. I even see philosophy in many if not all jokes. đ
Ah! Life is so rich, why feel no good just because of one point of view?
this is how Hokkaido (halal) ramen looks – eater can select ramen with light-consistency broth thatâs why I like it yet the presentation is not up to my expectation: messy kelp, wet spoon, no wet tissue đ
A stroke of a brush is how universe started. A surprise that lastsâ
â
Certain friend is good at the same time destroyer of mood. I have one who can leave meâouch ouch ouch oooouuuuchâ 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 âouch callerâ.
OC: Ready for a forced holiday? Have fun! Donât work every night, just every two nights.
Me: (1st ouch) Hmmm ok, Sir.
âŚ. Blah blah blah
OC: How is your romance? Get rid of him. He doesnât even care about you. Donât 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 donât 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 Iâve been selling my quality to you for the past how long with no buy in. Youâre 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 donât 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 blahâŚ. 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 couldnât 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 donât even know how to party. You donât even know how to drink except that weak wine. You donât 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 doesnât like you as you. Oh! So relief I could say all these finally.
Me: (OUCH OUCH OUCH OOOOUUUUCH and this will last long) Youâre right. Very right. Time to stop your ouches, Sir.
OC: Then you still say no to me?
Me: (Mild ouchbut I got impatient) You? I canât 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 wonât care about me. You work too hard. You eat too much healthy food, I love deep fried. You ouch people too much. Listen. Donât 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 â unfortunately came too late after too many ouches happened.) Describe how you think about that person and letâs 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 â 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! đ¤
Chris Martin is My Universe đ
Disclaimer: blogged with this ouch callerâs consent with one condition âno exaggerationâ which is not accepted like he never said âI want to throw upâ and never said that he is handsome and rich although he is rich but not handsome đ
See this pendulum Swinging between two far poles Knowing each otherâ
â
Someone called me and asked if we could have a dinner. We hadnât met for many years. Knowing this person was in Singapore, I excitedly agreed to meet. Meeting this person, I was given a shock. This person looked weary and older than oneâs age. The excellent appearance and posture was totally gone. That time I felt so blessed for for being me.
Me: I am not a marriage advisor, dear. Not even ever married yet! (Thatâs after a very long ranting from the friend stopped).
SO: But I know you are the most suitable one I can talk to.
Me: OhâŚ. (damn wrong, whispered to myself)
SO: âŚ. A broken marriage⌠!@#$%^&*()_+=-::â<>,./?~~~~~~~~~~ What should I do?
Me: OhâŚ. (proven wrong talking to me, whispered to myself)
SO: âŚ. Divorce is painfulâŚ. !@#$%^&*()_+=-::â<>,./?~~~~~~~~~~ What should I do?
Me: OhâŚ. Ummm (starting to show sympathy) I understand how you feel in this situation. Must be painful. Your own stress, the other oneâs stress, your children, other peopleâs impression and words about you, your workâŚ.. Everything seems not at your side. I can understand you feel unwanted, useless, bad, irresponsible. Yet decision was made. You just should face it. How? Not sure if my word is reasonable and responsible but I think you just need to keep being you: working as before, doing activities that are still accessible, talking to your children like before, talking to your ex about the childrenâŚ.
SO: You donât know! It is not that easy!
Me: OhâŚ. I am so sorry. I might not fully understand it is not that easy. I am so sorry for my ignorance. (told ya I am not the right person, whispered to myself)
SO: How would you survive alone all this time? You seem so happy with your life. Sometimes I regret for getting married too young. Look at you and X and Y and Z. All the singles are happy.
Me: (Oh! A sudden death! I know this would come but too soon, too soon. Let me find the right words. Whispered again to myself ) UmmmâŚ. I think it is not that easy tooâŚ. UmmmâŚ. I am happy, yes. Not always, but most of the time I am. Yet I also probably started hard.
SO: You donât seem ever in hard time.
Me: Thatâs what you see. !@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&%%%%%%%%%%%%%.
this is there, whoever the person is
SO: So do you think I can survive?
Me: Of course. Although our problem is not the same, I am sure you can. Donât underestimate your ability to cope with the hardship of life. You are stronger than you think. You just donât know it yet.
forgive yourself, donât be too harsh to self (talk to the hand, Maâam) đ
SO: You really donât want to get married?
Me: (This question I never like, never like, never like; whispered to myself, but need to find the best words that wonât cause any further question.) This is out of context; you should not ask me this question. Not that I donât want. Itâs just about time.
SO: Do you fall in love?
Me: Ok, now you are asking me question about me.
SO: I feel good when knowing I am not alone.
Me: (Make sense, but why me oh my God!) Ok. Ok. I can make you feel better. Yes I fall in love and break my heart. And I donât want to break my heart again.
SO: So you donât want to fall in love again?
Me: Of course not like that. I fall in love again and again.
SO: With whom?
Me: With my eyes. With my lips. With my hair. With my morning. With my job. With myâŚ. (I saw the person got annoyed but I continued with more things) HahahaâŚ.
fall in love, be in love, donât be ashamed of your feeling; it is a blessing although the beloved doesnât care ânot good enough oneâ or doesnât know âtell or leave as simple as that đ
SO: Is it that easy?
Me: Nothing is easy automatically. It takes practice and time.
SO: What if I donât get married again in the future?
Me: Thatâs too far away. Think about what you can do today.
SO: Do you think I still have a chance to get married?
Me: Of course if you want! Just find the right person.
SO: How can I find it? How?
Me: (Oh my God, help me before I can help others. Whispered to myself while finding the best words for this troubled person; even an intelligent person can be as dumb as this in oneâs bad time) Hey, hey! If I know how to get the right person, I would have been married much earlier. This question is irrelevant.
SO: HahahaâŚâŚ! Sorry, sorry! HahahaâŚâŚ..!
Me: (Ok, at least I made you happy, whispered to myself.Mostly smiling among listening to the ranting, I enjoyed a perfect night â no rain, enough breezeâŚ. Hours can feel like minutesâŚ. On and on and on and on until midnight. Whispered to myself.) Cinderella has to go home, my friend. Or else, she will be back to be Cendrillon.
been there done that and not anymore
SO: I feel so much better. It feels like I find myself again. Maybe I was too preoccupied with not important things that I thought I lost the person I had known so long, myself.
Me: I might be like that in the same situation, maybe worse.
SO: Thank you very much.
Me: (I didnât do anything. Just sat down and listened and responded to you. Whispered to myself for how many times heaven knows) The least I can do. It is good to meet long lost friend. Welcome back.
there is always reason to be happy; make it! it takes time but your happiness is the ultimate goal of your life; self align!
Dear friend, I know youâll read this with a smile. Get better. See you some day. When meeting me again, make sure you look nicer.
Lesson learnt: Be patient with those facing fresh-from-the-oven problem. Donât judge. Be a good listener. Donât try to be a perfect advisor because you are not. Be yourself. Donât get offended, someone in trouble may unintentionally disturb you.
Life is a quarter With many doors to access. Ever rendezvousâ
â
me, Mel the mother of groom and Choo photographed when we were having good time after the wedding matrimony đ souls meet for a good reason, no bad reason at all đ
Love is not fading. Love is distancing away From shooting stars Hurting a peaceful land.
Dear, shooting stars. Dance. Fly. Free fall. Father of Sky will redirect you To another land who is willing to be hurt Or Simply re-orbit you to safer route.
â
Gaia is well protected from outer orbits by Jupe the Jupiter; sadly the children are damaging her – you are blessed, Mother Earth đ
Thanks for the present. Good breathing and walking Unwrapped everydayâ
â
thank you! it is said not a Christmas gift but there is a âMerry Xâmasâ on a card; thank you for the gift every year although I am not a Christian đđi guess the boxes are all empty đ
Smile, Beloved, smile. Itâs a luxurious gift For you and for me.
â
I was checking my educational docs and was in awe to see my photos in each of different docs. How I am touched by physical transformation and what experiences attached to it, that makes me stay loyal with my own self whatsoever.
Tell yourself that your life is a journey that if you need buddy, you should pick those willing to share wonder. Otherwise, travel alone. đ
Thank you!
đ
sleepy, angry, yet stop telling me to take a nap! đđđ
classroom, my party time; playground, my party time, my childhood was everyday party! đŻââď¸
no smile, no mercy đ
length of hair defines how I treat the world; i love my pretty silly me! đ
Journey to the self Takes a long and winding road, Worth doing. Half doneâ
â
Human beingsâ journey to understand oneâs self is often unpredictable. I never wanted to visit Mecca and Medina yet because of my devotion to a mother, I agreed to go to ensure that she was safe and healthy. And the result was tremendous evolution of self. đ
To Ibu: I miss you much today đ
Alfatihah
Masjid Nabawi (Mosque of Prophet) in Medina â where I started strongly realising that there is a journey âa silent oneâ that I must commit đ someday Iâll be back with a clearer mind and a calmer heart yet the same level of âdisobedienceâ and stubbornness đ
where I witnessed how a human beingâs karma is overtly paid off and showing the quality of a person visiting this place – my mother is a humble, kind and very very generous person and in this place she was greeted by sooo many female pilgrims from other countries, requested to take picture together, given a looooooooooot of food every day, given space once arriving in the mosque (her friends in her group were not that much) – me? oh of course she introduced me as her daughter cum translator and then was included in all her blessings đ
the only person who could move my heart to finally go – thank you, Ibu; might not be a happy ending for me but was a best start of a journey đ
where my heart was knocked from inside that the journey is within and silent, a precious gift â the physical is a gift wrap to respect whomever we wish đ (Masjidil Haram, Mecca)
a life long pilgrimage of mine đ a private, silent, almost secretive so only I and whom I most love know the milestones đ others are guessing and interpreting đđź
Ocean welcomes all, River flown and rain fallen. Friends in a friendshipâ
â
A meet up with my first mentor training me in my current profession almost 20 years ago. He and his wife are in Singapore to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary and spend this whole day to meet up with me: shopping in Orchard Road Apple Store, browsing around looking for my favourite Japanese restaurant that was found closed down since 2021, having lunch (Indonesian food in SingaporeâŚ.? Oh my) walking around Orchard Road, taking MRT for fun, enjoying evening coffee in Starbucks Bugis Junction before our farewell.
This wise couple gave me a bunch of advices to be this and to be thatâŚ. How lovely this life is to have friends who are willing to share their (personal) experiences for precious lesson learning.
Thank you, Pak Donny and Mbak Maya. See you in Jakarta! đđđ˝
Alfatihah to my dear friends.
three mugs, different content, enjoyed from the same table
Manusia mengembarai langit Manusia menyusuri cakrawala Tidak untuk menguasainya Melainkan untuk menguji dirinya Apakah dia bertahan menjadi manusia, Tidak untuk hebat kuasa atau perkasa Melainkan untuk setia sebagai manusia.
(Emha Ainun Nadjib)
â
Good morning, Surabaya. You did a lot of moulding to this human being. Thank you!!! đ
thank you đ for making me a human being; I wonât give up moulding this self to be loyal to being humane
Tragic is comic After fermentation time. Dark jokes bring bright joy.
â
We always remember how our father loved our mother. He liked giving gifts to her and doing household chores like cleaning the floor and doing heavy laundry. Yet he also enjoyed teasing my mother around; his goal was to make her angry just to show that he was good at calming her down. đ Yet his strong affection to our mother did one extreme discomfort to her and some of us.
This morning my older siblings asked mother to re-tell a story that we the younger donât record well as we were too young to save the moment. While they laughed before she started telling the story, we three waited curiously.
Mother: Once I went with my friend to a beauty parlour. She wanted to have her hair cut.
Younger children: With whom?
Mother: (mentioning a name that we are familiar with)
All children: (commenting about motherâs friend who happened to be a very fashionable woman at that time)
Mother: She said that I should have my hair made curly or at least wavy so I could look different. I said no because I should get permission from your father. But you know her, she was able to convince me to do it.
All children: (laughing and commenting about the lady who spent money like she would die today. Mother said that woman got much money from ex husbands so she deserved to do it.) So, curled or waved?
Mother: Medium curled
Older children: (laughing and commenting how she looked fresh but weird as we had never had anyone with curly hair in the family before)
Mother: When I reached home, your father seeing me with curly hair looked surprised. I thought it would be a terrific moment but then it changed to one terrible day. He was so angry, never before he became that angry.
Older children: Ya, I was shocked. Never saw him like that beforeâ
Mother: I was not shocked with his reaction but the next action of his was a biggest discomfort in my life. He said he wanted to make the hair look better which I thought minor trimming and he took a pair of scissors.
Older children: I didnât expect that to happen. He cut most of the curly hair and only left the one with very vague curls near the headskin. You were almost bald! (laughing) You became so not you.
Me: (upset) Why didât you run to hide and protect your hair?
Older children: Hey! Donât be too serious. He didnât hurt her.
Me: But he hurt her pride! I wonât let my hair be screwed up by anyone.
Older children: I remember mother sobbed and I screamed to father to stop. He didnât do it harshly, but I felt worried about her sobbing.
Me: Damn wrong thing! I never knew he would have this in the checklist.
Mother: No worry. He regretted and apologized on the same day. And trust me it was the only one bad thing he did to me. He said he didnât want me to draw attention of other men.
Older children: Jeeeaaaalousy! We know some other things about his jealousy! You should tell more stories.
Mother: I think it was the best lesson for him about how he should not be too possessive.
All children: Yaaa!!! Agree!
Older children: Do you remember that you turned to be a better fashionista than her. I remember you wore turban and sometimes wigs.
Mother: Yes. And I guess he regretted it even more as I asked for different wigs and turbans until my hair was good enough to show.
What a comedy! Oops! What a tragedy turning to comedy after some time!
Lesson learnt: choose the best expression of love to avoid bad impression, donât have your hair curled đ, find a husband who doesnât hate curly hair đ, forgive your husbandâs wrong expression while educating him, and see a comedy in a tragedy
There is a tall tree Greeting the sky with its green, The earth with its white.
â
There is only one choice left: grow! Whatâs grown within affects whatâs grown without and the other way around â all in unison. Liking it or not, I grow as the sole way.
when feet are happily walking, eyes are happily observing đĽ°
Deaccelerate, Accelerate on the road. Life is not a race.
â
Fasting is a very familiar way of life to Javanese. Called pasa or poso, fasting in Javanese culture is always related to the effort to self align. Many Javanese like doing fasting with or without meditation (tapabrata or topobroto) depending on their commitment.
While Javanese Muslim do at least one month of fasting per year in Ramadhan, fasting in Javanese culture itself came even much earlier before Islam was introduced. While in Islam fasting is between dawn to dusk and the same restriction is commonly applied to all kinds of fasting, Javanese fasting is more varied both in term of period and restriction.
Fasting helps Javanese slow down the pace in their mind, regulate the speed of their ambitious behaviour upon life goals, train themselves to be patient.
There are several kinds of fasting in Javanese culture that are still practiced by relatively many nowadays.
1. Regular fasting This fasting is done only from dawn to dusk like the Islamic fasting. This is a common practice, many Javanese parents use this kind of fasting to train their children about how to manage their immediate excessive desires and concentration in under pressure situation. I remember when we were elementary and high schoolers, we were instructed by parents to do fasting on Monday and Thursday during yearly school testing weeks. Yes, I felt more focused on my study as I had to prioritise tasks to save energy. Brilliant!
2. Mutih Mutih is derived from the word putih (white in Javanese, Indonesian, Malay). During this fasting, a person is restricted to eat other than white rice and fresh water for 24 hours started either at dawn or dusk. Ordinary Javanese can do it for one day, three or seven. Yet more advanced (usually senior) Javanese would extend the period as per commitment.
3. Ngasrep or nganyep Ngasrep is derived from the word asrep that means cool or cold; while nganyep from the word anyep means tasteless. In this kind of fasting the food and drink should be all cool and tasteless. The person is suggested to eat only boiled vegetable without adding taste (salt, sugar, oil, sauces, etc) and drink fresh water. It is mostly done in three days.
3. Ngrowot Ngrowot is a word derived from the word krowot that means Javanese common carbo source except rice. The person who does this fasting will only eat carbo non rice like sweet potato, suwek (konjac), gembili, gembolo (English pleaseâŚ.), taro, cassava and other tubers.
4. Ngebleng Ngebleng means staying in; so doing this, a person will do regular fasting but very limited food intake allowed without leaving room or house, not meeting anyone, just doing meditation or doing household chores without distraction from anyone. Someone can do it three and seven days and forty days. Not many are doing this as this is a challenging one: not easy to find a place. This fasting is quite heavy because it does not allow sufficient food intake for a long time.
5. Patigeni(pati: turned off, geni: fire) It literally means âfire turned offâ. This is the highest level of Javanese fasting as the restriction applied really tests the personâs very high commitment: s/he is not allowed to eat, drink, sleep including fall asleep and see any light both artificial and natural. How long? The shortest is 24 hours, maximum unlimited. Note: if s/he sleeps or falls asleep, s/he has to restart the fasting.
There are other kinds of fasting in Javanese culture which were done by very limited people and have been left by many due to the impracticality such as pasangidang (from the word kidang or deer) in which a person is only allowed to eat raw foliage like a deer, pasangalong (from the word kalong or bat) only eating ripe fruit from the tree, pasakungkum (bathing up to chin level either in the pool, river or shallow sea) without eating or drinking, etc. There are probably other kinds of fasting as Javanese used to be very creative in âfasting engineeringâ hahahaâŚ.
Javanese believe that with fasting they will connect better to themselves and inevitably with the ultimate power of the universe. They will usually become confident people without showing off. Those fasting committed people âif doing it right and without evil intensionâ will be a highly spiritual people and voluntarily dedicated to environment and people.
Javanese believe that this type of people bring blessings to the surroundings although blessings are not always tangibly seen. The blessings can be as simple as peaceful daily life with little conflict,
Do we still have many of them? In very silent villages around Java island we might still find a few. They are traditional farmers who feel the need to connect with the ultimate power as only that can help them manage their humble farming that is now severely industrialised and exploited.
Hope we still have them in silence. Amen.
Alfatihah.
âtoo muchâ in all kinds: portion, protein, sugar, carb – never mind, itâs good! 𼰠my yesterdayâs break fasting
A path to a place Is walked through trees and uphills. A meadow is waiting Opening another path To a warm home filled with love.
â
My friend sent me three photos of our beloved âsimbahâ (those senior people who are considered wise or those who have grandchildren) – Javanese). Most people call these simbah âbatik makerâ because they make batik to earn a living. We both call them âbatik artistâ. More than that through what weâve seen and heard about them, weâve considered they are artists of their life. How they embrace their humble life gracefully and consciously has always amazed both of us. They live like calm river flowing to the sea. They donât struggle against what others think about or do to them. They live as if there is no hindrance and disturbance in life.
When my friend told me some things about those three honourable ladies, I secretly harvested some lessons. It is very critical reminder for me who is still very much attached to a feeling of (accidentally) underestimated and (slightly) humiliated because of one petty case. These three artists of life have silently told me to let go.
What a loud shot in a quiet weekend!
No apology is needed. All is gradually let go through my own wish and willingness. This is my life and I only want to be the artist of my own life. đ
Thank you, artists of life. Youâre blessed. đ
She be, Beloved, The space not the furniture, Lets all come and go.
â
If only maturity could be implanted like nose or breast or whatever, I would still choose to get mature naturally through ageing and weakening although it takes almost half of century of struggling and pain to find only its gate. Damn late!
One maturity breakthrough of my life was when realising I should be more a âspace human beingâ (my teacher calls it âroom human beingâ) rather than a âfurniture human beingâ.
SalaamâŚ.
a hey from the space to bodies floating in it đ
Come true, Beloved, Wishes colouring this life, Bringing love and joyâ
â
My mini daruma dolls package arrived from Japan. Now it is time to make wishes and draw the left eye.
May all beings be happy!
arriving from trip then checking the mail box at the basement this afternoon and found these package among all letters and magazines! đĽ°each colour has meaning! quickly copied them! (ignore the ugly handwriting đ) now letâs make wishes and paint their left eye 𧿠then let them take a rest in the box to open and be drawn right eye when the wishes come true đ
Friendship, Beloved, The sun rising so early, Pushing stars awayâ
â
(Very early) morning conversation that left me sleepy but so energized after talking with someone whose genuineness could kept me listening to whatever this person saidâ My day is always good especially when started with a cheap talk with my best friends. Today is going to be super good one!
âŚ
BF: Still writing?
Me: Everyday
BF: Poems and ranting?
Me: Ya, you donât read mine?
BF: Not these two weeks. Busy! You still talk to yourself in your writing?
Me: Ya
BF: You think people like it?
Me: No
BF: Why do you do it then?
Me: I do what I love doing.
BF: Even if no one cares?
Me: Even if no one cares.
BF: Are you happy?
Me: Not always
BF: Are you happy writing?
Me: Mostly
BF: What happens when you are not happy writing?
Me: I have so much in head but I donât want to make it so obvious or it is so hard to make it concise.
breakfast pleaseâŚ. đ
BF: Do you know that people reading your cheap writings might think you are madly in love?
Me: I donât care. But yes Iâm madly in love.
BF: With whom?
Me: With many different things.
BF: Name some.
Me: Oh myâŚ. Are you interrogating me?
BF: đđđ Yaaa! You didnât know?
Me: I just realised it.
BF: Thatâs how you donât care about what people are doing to you? Donât be silly. Put some suspicion and negative thinking to some people, even to someone that you love.
Me: I will.
BF: Youâre 50 several years to come and still have mental of a ÂŁâŹ$@$ÂŁâŹL!
Me: What?!
BF: Do you know who is among your friends genuine or not?
Me: Yes.
BF: But you look like not knowing.
Me: Because I donât care. Itâs my business to make sure Iâm me but I canât ask others to do the same thing to me the way I do to them.
BF: What about me?
Me: You are genuine especially when you have problem.
BF: You mean?!
Me: Yes, only I can listen to you for 5 hours non stop ranting about your problems! The same problems unsolved for years! Thatâs how genuine we are with each other.
BF: &$@!?890:;((@:!!!!
God bless all my best friends. See you all soon! đ
These gifts, Beloved, Peace and love hummed to loved ones Living here and thereâ
â
One of the Javanese and Islamic teachings that I will never leave for the rest of my life is sending gift of prayer containing peace and love to my loved ones wherever they are, whether they are physically wandering on earth or spiritually gathering around life.
I believe that my passing-away ancestors are living in different levels of consciousness (call it hell, heaven or somewhere in between up to your liking) and they are watching their offsprings without being able to directly communicating with us. They deserve my gift as they have been my line to get the chance to be here now. They deserve peace and love as they have done the best they could to draw a meaningful family tree. Yes, some might have made silly mistakes but hey thatâs what Buddhism calls âkarmaâ. Yes, some might have caused shameful stains on the family picture but hey thatâs what Islam calls âalam syahadahâ. Whoever and whatever they were, all of my ancestors deserve good wishes sung to them.
I also wish peace and love to those I love still breathing the air. Wishing all of them health and happiness. đ
We Javanese Muslim will send gift by reciting some Javanese prayer closed with Alfatihah, a short chapter in the Quran containing peace, love, praise, forgiving, protection and guidance. A basket of beautiful wishesâ
How light this heart is to be sure that all whom I love are well.
Alfatihah to all whom I love. Youâre loved. Youâre blessed. Donât shop too much. đ
Happy weekend!
born as part of a nation doesnât make someone higher or lower – being born a Javanese, Aborigine, African, Arab, Chinese, English, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Sundanese, Vietnamese or whatever is a gifted tool to contribute the best quality of culture in sustaining and respecting humanity – respect yourself, respect other human beings đ
if not respected (by you), your origin will be a boomerang (spun around hitting you) – be grateful for being born as you are, never wasted, fully loved, surrounded by beloved only if you accept who you are đ
Root of a tree Who grows in in the dark, Breathes with the creepy crawly, Sleeps in none of seasons. Silently grateful for Whatâs not understood.
Cartilage of a human body Who is not hard enough to be bone, Not soft enough to be muscle, Comfortably sits in between, Catches messages delivered By whisper, breeze and wind.
Jasmine sambac of the garden Who is humbly tiny, clustering; Blooms the whole year, Leaves much fragrance to the day, Deep meaning to celebration Before she dries brown.
Helium of the sun Light, low, odourless, tasteless, insipidâ Itâs peaceful to be low profile, Itâs more joyful and freer, Itâs easier to be me, Closer to Gaia.
Yet no secret bandit among The rascals in the block!
What?!
What what?! Donât ask. I can be anything But You.
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Rainy weekend is good especially when just have to shortly reply âOk!â to a message saying âHeavy rain. Impossible to bike. Rain check ya.â
Idyll, Beloved, Found in rural area; Hidden heritageâ
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Saw a package in front of my door today. It had been there for several days as instructed to the courier while I was away for a biz trip. Three pieces of jarik batik (long fabric with traditional batik patterns) from Yogyakarta were delivered safe and sound.
Idyllic gift for myself for the hard work in the past one year. Thank you, dear self! đ
đ thank you
this handmade batik was crafted by Mbah Suhir, a 93 year old batik maker – truntum background with sido asih (combination of 2 classic patterns) – Iâm blessed!
Truntum (depiction of thousands of jasmine flowers) symbolises life under divine guidance and peaceful life fragrant like jasmine. Sido asih symbolises living in love and compassion.
210*120 cm – shorter jarik is for male as he wonât put any pleats when wearing it
the one-sided black âsido asihâ handmade by another senior batik maker (still trying to find her name) – Iâll keep this beauty with love đĽ°
250*105 cm, classic batik – longer jarik is for female as she will make some pleats at one end of the cloth to beautify the lower apparel
While sido asih pattern bears common symbols everywhere in Java island, the color and the strokes show its place of origin. Black and thin lining is originated from Solo, white and bold lining is originated from Yogyakarta.
ânitik cakar ayamâ two-sided classic batik handmade by Ibu Suminah (80 years old batik maker) đĽ°
Nitik (literally means making dots/points) is an original batik pattern in Bantul district, Yogyakarta. Nitik âcakar ayamâ (literally means chicken claw) symbolises someone who is good at providing good life for his/her family (hard working, prosper and wise).
Two-sided batik is such a luxury to have in modern day. It doesnât always show the price; but it is more about the maker has to block both sides of the fabric and it doubles the time of craftsmanship. Most batik is one-sided nowadays.
Canât wait to directly thank the batik makers for their love to Javanese culture.
Matur sembah nuwun, Mbah. Mugi penjenengan dipunbarokahi dyaning Gusti Allah Kang Maha Agung. đđźđ
My beloved said You need pens, I give you trees. You need ink, I give you oceans. Write love poems with love Until you run out of paper.
I said I need much paper I want as much as I want My love poems are trillions and more.
My beloved said I wonât let you write forever The last paper is not for you It is for me to invite poets for a party Where a special spread is ready.
I asked How much paper will I get Will you give me as much as I want Will you let me write trillions of love poems?
My beloved said Write as much as you want Iâll give you as much as you write Youâll get your paper for your trillions As long as theyâre yours.
My beloved said Be dignified, write your own poems, As the spread will be only for those Not claiming from othersâ names.
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big lunch, mini spread for my hard work today – my parentsâ message about how to enjoy luxury of life: be dignified to âeatâ what youâve worked and share with love đđź
Looking forward to a set of daruma dolls of different colours I ordered from Amazon (because of cancelled plan to buy them in its original city). Not a real surprise but hope the dolls give me a little shade of surprise! đ¤Š
Salaam.
daruma doll in Takasaki station sent with a message âHappy birthday, Rike. Come on draw my eyes!â đâEnjoy!â another message with another photo đ
I donât want to race. Only safety that I wish So I can meet you.
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started late today and found the undercharged front lamp, decided to go back to the brighter track, safety first đ§ˇbrighter area near home is always the safest
rike jokanan 
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