Monday morning, I had started working for about half an hour or so. Suddenly, a message appeared on my screen. "Pak, can we talk real quick?" one of my team members messaged me. "That sounds very serious", I replied. I thought it was unreal. She informed me that she tested positive for COVID-19 along with …
The land of Atoni
The sun was setting down and the temperature was dropping slightly. It was a different feeling to see the sun setting here at this mountainous range compared to seeing the sunset at Kupang bay. We were camping at Lelogama, a village about three hour drive from Kupang city. Kupang is the capital of Nusa Tenggara …
No more “ruang tamu” in our house
Thirteen months into the Pandemic, and It is just now that I have my own workspace. I used to work in the only guest bedroom in our house. There was a little table at the corner that I used every day from around eight to four, or sometimes, five in the afternoon. Working from home …
Dreadful sacred lotus
Seroja, if you google it, you'll get a translation of Sacred Lotus, a beautiful water plant that comes in different colour of yellow, pink or purple. Commonly known in English as water lily, Seroja is a beautiful flower. It usually symbolises innocence and purity. Some culture even associate it with spirituality. Yet, the Seroja, that we know of recently, wasn't beautiful and kind at all, instead deadly.
An old man at the park street apartment
It has been more than ten years now but I could still remember him clearly, the old man who lived two units away from ours on Park St, Melbourne. We lived in a studio apartment across the Royal Park in Melbourne. It's a small studio but cozy, just like a typical size of "Kos" here, …
babi atau hantu
Pergi ke sekolah itu sesuatu yang sederhana bagi anak-anak lain tapi akan menjadi rumit buatku. Lewat kali atau jalan raya? Setiap hari pertanyaan inilah yang harus aku geluti saat mengenakan sepatu, mengambil tas dan beranjak ke sekolah: Aku bersekolah di SD Inpres Oeba 1 di Kupang. Rumahku tidak jauh dari sekolah. Hanya butuh waktu sekitar …
Sepatu
Jam istirahat pertama, aku bersandar di tiang emperan kelas dan termenung memandang anak-anak kelas 1 berlarian di koridor depan laboratorium. Dari sudut mata, aku lihat ada seseorang yang datang mendekat dan berdiri di tiang lain tidak jauh dari tempat ku berdiri. Aku berpaling ke samping. Oh, rupanya si “John”. Kami sama-sama warga kelas 2 E, …
Decluttering journey (Part 1)
Gloomy Jakarta welcoming me back to the city, she knows I'm not too excited coming back here. Sunday - January 10, 2021 The street in front of our apartment in Taman Rasuna was unusually quiet even though it wasn't that late in the evening. I could see from the balcony only a few people walking …
Smelling the rain again
It has been almost a year since the start of the pandemic and now I get to spend the rainy season back at home. We tend to take things for granted until suddenly they are slipping away from us. I used to miss the smell and the sound of rain. Living in an apartment for …
Ending Jakarta Chapter
I'm enjoying a cup of coffee at Periplus coffee shop waiting for the boarding call. What a week! I've been working from home in Kupang since the start of the pandemic last year but our rent contract is expiring very soon. I had to return to Jakarta last Sunday just to pack up and send …
