Chase Your Dream
It’s strange. I hardly controlled my eating appetite while in Malang that I was worried (the appetite would stay!). But last night, a few hours before I left, the appetite started to disappear. I had appetite for Mama’s apple pie but hardly wanted to cut even half slice. And this morning, my Jakarta appetite was back. I didn’t feel like having breakfast before left for airport. Mama said traveling changes our body. I liked that she emphasized on the change to the better. I could not agree more. I know she’s right, her spirit to always travel is no joke.
I had nice chat with EYA last night. Mama had helped financing her last two years in university in 1994. She did well in Mathematics. Later they recalled that they knew each other from EYA's doctor in university. This doctor, BE, is Mama’s good friend and she knew that Mama likes to help youngsters to finish school.
To cut long story short, EYA came for Mama’s birthday yesterday. Special visit after ten years of not having contact at all. Mama didn’t remember her well but I vaguely had her in mind. How could I forget? She was a very unconfident girl but living ‘dangerously’ with Mama. So brave. She went and worked in Jakarta after finished school in 1992. We lost contact since.
She looks different now. She looks like other Jakarta girls – confident, content, settled,.. Apparently she knows how to handle Jakarta now. Her reason to meet Mama on her birthday this year was well 'calculated'. She said that she needs to be settled and strong in her life path before meeting Mama. And this year is the right timing.
She started her career as accountant (not mathematician!) in a multi-national company. She gets passion to watch environment and animal from Mama that took her to work in a local NGO as banjir – flood – consultant for Jakarta governor (that helped her to predict 2007 flood so she was not affected although her rent room drowned 2 meters high).
Now she works as scenario writer for TV mini-series and movie! She works for a noted novelist translating her novel into a scenario. I admire her ‘imagination’. Novel is “two-dimensional” work and scenario for film is “three-dimensional”. Her ability to learn is amazing. She likes her work so much because then she can work part time. As only kid, she has to visit her Ibu in East Java often. She also has interest in web programming and I could sense that she’s good in that. She talked about online living with ease.
Her love life is another interesting story. She prefers to date foreigner. She thinks that many Indonesian don’t give her chance to develop as person and often treat her unfairly. Whatever she thinks, she dated some foreigners working in Jakarta. The one she dated five years left her in the middle of the process of getting a marriage legal document. He left her for a Texan girl back home. I asked her how she coped her broken heart. It took her one year to heal but now she feels blessed to have gotten love-immunization (her term). No man can hurt her anymore. She said she doesn’t want to waste life for men who hurt her. She wants to be happy and won’t let any "bad" man stands on her way. I laughed but, again, had to agree with her.
She stayed overnight with us. Mama offered and she was more than happy to accept. We talked till late and again this morning on the way to airport. She taught me about horoscope while I was driving. She learns about zodiac trait division to understand others better. I’m interested to know more. She’s Taurean. Her last boyfriend from Canada was Aquarian. She felt click, same as her feeling with Mama. So I asked her what the zodiac of her 5-year boyfriend who left her. She said Fish. Too much manipulation, she said. Kind but not straight forward, and hurting in the end. Hm.
I feel rich meeting her. I admire her personal development. It’s a proof of success; daughter of a dress-maker in market and single mother, from a small town three hours from Malang. She said that Jakarta is the best place to live because of its dynamic. No doubt, she has conquered Jakarta. She also told me that setting a dream is important :-) We promised to keep in touch.
Call me silly, I am. I flew to Jakarta in 9:10 flight to catch flight to Bali at 14:10. For those who cannot imagine Indonesia map, Malang is in the east, I flew an hour west to Jakarta then back an hour and half east to Bali. I decided not to take flight to Bali from Surabaya because of the road after mudflow disaster. Many said that land transportation may take 2 / 3 / 4 hours, very much depends on weather and time. I don’t want to spend my life in car so I took this silly route. I only sat in an hour flight to Jakarta, two hours in airport browsing a bookshop and writing this post, then fly to Bali. Same length of time spent, different feeling. With computer and books, I feel safe.
Photo of Monique, the dog, trying to chase a black cat on tree in Mama's garden. She set her dream.