The Interaction
Saturday, September 29
I like to plunge myself into a crowd of stranger, like a challenge to meet a character. I don’t follow a flock of people I know although I know quite many in the Festival. At least eight ladies from the Heritage, two Australian friends from last year, and some new Indonesian friends from last and this year. I like to just sit anywhere I want when come to any session, or lunch in food court. If I’m lucky, I can talk to an interesting character. Or listen to one, as some times I sat by a writer being interviewed.
Today’s main topic is the quest if anybody can write. I enjoyed listening to Shashi Tharoor’s session in the morning. He was an important person in the UN before, where he only had limited time to write. But of course he could not hold the urge to writing so he kept his writing ritual after work. And later the office asked him to ‘report’ his activity where he takes it as anyone’s activity off office: hiking, trekking, golfing. Interesting. At that time he chooses to write non-fiction because, according to him, it's easier to tune into his writing anytime he has time to write unlike writing fiction where he needs a solid time to be able to materialize his writing into a book. Understandable. Now he finished the office but travels a lot so he hasn’t been there yet to have time writing fiction.
Later in the afternoon, Christopher Merrill from University of Iowa responded to a question about whether we are all writer with interesting quotation. He quoted Marsalis’ comment about how to keep the jazz in the family (his well-known boys play musical instruments, various kinds), he said, his boys have interest. That’s very true! Talent can be key but interest that brings us to what we can master. Hm. We don’t have to be in our low to be able to produce a poem a day, that's what I heard later. We need to nurture the habit. That’s all!
In a flash I thought about where has my “a haiku a day” gone? I don’t spare time to produce a three-liner a day anymore? Lose interest? It got me thinking. Well, at least I still write a piece of writing a day.
I sat in food court dining table with a girl I know since last year. She is a psychologist who also writes as contributor in some noted newspapers. Interesting character. We were engaged in such a scientific conversation while she’s having lunch and I was reading her piece when I opened up a bit of my life story with such a scientific approach. I liked to see her reaction as a scientist. We had a good time!
I must say, people I listened to and met had entertained me today. I closed the day with listening to Made Wijaya, a successful Australian landscaper who has lived in Bali long time, about being foreign in Bali. He is more Balinese now. Funny guy who runs many columns. And the rest of the evening was spent with a nice girlfriend who had made me shopping in Pasar Ubud. We had long dinner with nice talk. Some old friends have the opportunity to see the new us through an unexpected interaction.
Photo of my favorite Ibu selling basket in Pasar Ubud who I met today.