Blood is Thicker?

One of my cousins has been calling me a lot lately to talk, to pick my brain, and also to size me up. It's interesting seeing her journey so far, there were tremendous progress in her part toward a good direction. That being said, it still bugs me when I feel like she's competing with me for things that I dont think it's worth competing for.

What interesting is, she keeps saying about us sharing the same blood, that we need to unite. Join forces. What ever that is.

It's just I am in the place where I wont give my loyalty to family without questioning it anymore. I learned my lesson the hard way. For me, blood is not always thicker... I'd rather be there for my closest friends than some people I share the same blood with.

iPad

Is it just me, or Apple just revealed its most period-y sounding gadget ever? Seriously.

Century Saga

I dont get the whole Century Bank Problem. So, there's Rp. 6.7Trillions. There's Sri Mulyani & Boediono. There's Robert Tantular. There's various political parties.

It seems like the media & politics is trying to get Sri Mulyani & Boediono out of the government. No matter what. At any cost.

But nobody is really asking the Century Bank any question on how they misspent the money. And I thought that was the problem. Why doesnt Pansus follow the money?

Sight Unseen

I wished I was in London today so I could visit this photo exhibition by blind persons.

Orang Biru

I've noticed how media in Indonesia tends to cashing in on whatever trends at the moment. We had tons of horror movies before, many kinds of tv programme about looking for love, you get the idea. Nothing wrong with it, actually. The same theme with a twist.

Now, with Avatar winning awards, and box offices, Indonesian's media wants to cash in too. Hence the Orang Biru sinetron. Yes, sinetron, not parody. Or perhaps it was both?

Too bad I missed it last night.

Mind Over Matter

I grew up with Yu' Nur coming around our house every day, she was our grocery seller back in the days in rural Java. When we first met, she was carrying this bamboo baskets around the neighborhood filled with veggies, meat, seafood, what ever people asked her to bring. She then gradually selling things using a motorcycle, then a small pick up truck. Later on she opened a small lesehan restaurant. She's one of a kind.

Two years ago, during a visit she told me her house is getting better. Now, she has indoor sitting toilet for her guests. Why only for the guest? Cause she still does her business in the river!

So I was curious, as she was staying at my place for almost a week, did she have problem or not? She said, she didnt do #2. Why? She needs the river. I offered to take her to the nearest river but she refused. When I was worried about it, she said matter-of-factly that she did it before, a week is nothing. She went without any bowel movement for 40 days during her Hajj pilgrimage!!

Between laughter and amazement I asked her how did she do that? She said in her cute accent, "I got there, and tied a knot on my cloth and said salawat, then I didnt have to go for 40days, and felt fine"

Now that's an example of mind over matter.

Back to The Roots?

Jakarta Globe posted this story about Indonesian born Dutch Jeroen de Graff who is in search for his roots in Indonesia with the help of Internet. Knowing full well how dodgy Indonesian administration was/is, I wish him lots of luck, as you never know if what your papers stated true things or not.

Let me give you some examples.

It happened more than two decades ago. I was ditching school that day as I had stomach ache earlier, in the afternoon I tagged along a friend of our family surveying her plot of land. When we visited the house of her land's guard, the wife was cradling this tiny baby that I helped feeding with mushed banana as the guard didnt have any money to buy her any milk. As it turned out, she was a foundling. A couple of days earlier a white car stopped by in the middle of the night not far from that place, a couple went out and placed a box on the ground. The woman wept as they went away.

Inside that box, there was this baby, still had her umbilical stump. It means she was less then a week old. From the clothing she was wearing it seemed that the parents were pretty well off.

Our friend wanted to adopt her, but a tofu maker saw her first and wanted to adopt her. Fast forward several years later, our friend was approached by her guard regarding that foundling. As it happened, the tofu maker's wife and kids had been abusive to her, calling her 'bastard child', 'unwanted child', and also hitting her. He wondered if our friend still wanted her. She did.

So, she took that child home. She asked my father to help her getting a birth certificate. My dad did. To this day, it stated that our friend is the biological parents of that child. I think that gal knew she was adopted, because I remember she asked why she used to live with that awful family, and some people near my friend's place touted her being adopted.

Another story happened to a friend of mine, who flew to Indonesia to pick up this baby, put the child's name in his passport, and went back to the country he resides.

I also remember watching many episodes of Dutch TV on finding people such as 'Spoorloss'. Each time when it comes to Indonesia, the chance is slim that they find the real parents due to 'fake' papers or incomplete information as where to/from people are relocated.

I hope Jeroen's story turn out well

Hello Old Friend.. Not Happy to See You

Since January 2nd, an old friend has been my daily companion. Sure he's not all present, but I am still not happy about it. I thought I put him behind with so much progress in the last two month or so.

Alas, he greeted me again. Or maybe he never leaves, just lay low waiting for his turn to strike back. I know I am able to handle him again. Just like before.
One thing tho, I wont do any invasive procedures like this girl. Been there, done that.

If you accept the pain, it wont hurt you

Hugh Macleod

Showing Breast

We were waiting for my mom's turn for a consult at the hospital this morning when I saw two ladies with jilbab breastfeeding their babies. They didnt wear special breastfeeding clothing, or putting cloth on top of their baby's head to cover them while feeding, but they were discreet enough.

I think it's a beautiful scene, a breastfeeding woman.

In Indonesia, it is more acceptable for women doing that in public than in Europe, I guess. I remember reading and hearing people objecting to women breastfeeding in public while I was there.

I found it interesting that doing something wonderful like that is frown upon, while you can see women walk around with only a lick of paint covering their breast in public. Alright, the latter is not ordinary everyday scene, but still it happens and under the pretext of 'arts' they get away with it.

What makes a breastfeeding woman a problem to these people? Is it the act of baby's sucking the breast, or is it the showing of breast it self?

Naked

One of the coldest winter in decades...
and tabloids keep posting some (semi) naked celebs everyday.
Airbrushed.
Natural.
Skinny.
Plus size.
Young.
Old.
Man.
Woman.

Naked. Nude. Birthday suit.

Ferrari v. Trassi

We were on our way back to the villa at Cipanas when we saw this bright yellow Ferrari trying his way out to escape the unruly angkots and motorcycles while dodging the many potholes of the narrow country road.

Katro, our ojek-guy-cum-guide who was with us, upon knowing the price of that car made this observation: You buy that smelly trassi, you keep it inside all the time. You buy that car, you put it outside.

Happy New Year!!

May this be the happy beginning of a wonderful year!