This month, I'll be celebrating my 10-year high school reunion in the Island of the Gods. I'm not feeling the usual apprehension about seeing my peers and measuring our accomplishment against each other - perhaps it's because I've never really felt in competition with anyone. (And when you have a genetic duplicate, trust me, it's a hard discipline to keep. People will compare away... but luckily Danie and I have always avoided such conflicts).
I'm excited because it's revisiting the part of my life that I remember most fondly. The late-night conversations over Martabak Manis and Teh Botol, going to the cinema in Pondok Indah Mall for Rp 14,000 and going bowling at Garuda (before it burned down in the riots). Ahhhh yes, compared to the kids in the Big Durian now, we enjoyed how truly ghetto Jakarta was in the 90's.
All this reminiscing reminded me about a few semi-serious things that I wanted to share with you. I feel that although we have the demands of today, we can't let real life slip by. We can't allow ourselves to be distracted by the small tasks that won't matter a year from now, a decade from now - because before you know it, the game is up, the show is done, the curtain closes. The ten-year event is a special chapter in my book of life - a celebration yes, but also a reminder about the passing of time.
During a midnight walk this evening, I thought to myself about what made me truly happy in life - and I re-remembered that it's always been the small things. Tea with friends, love letters, road trips, home-made jam, Christmas's where Danie hides the cinnimon rolls, reading thick books, farmer's markets and writing. I love writing.
Sorry for the radio silence my friends. Let's get to writing again... I'll send you more short articulations throughout the week.
And for you dragons out there, I'll see you in Bali.
Naga! Naga! Naga!
Riani
