life as we like it

cerita bude mono. biyen masiyo turu mesti gentenan karo papamu, aku tangi, papamu turu. saya kok yo seneng terus. endik sik cilik, mas mon gawene mung ngudang-ngudang endik wira-wiri nganggo kreto bayi. pram yo sik cilik. gawene ngalor-ngidul nggawani sarung bodhole papamu. yen mamamu teko sarunge diduduhke karo ngomong, 'mbak cicik, iki sarunge pak ipit. ini lho, baunya pak ipit,' karo diambungi kae. urip ra kroso susah. padahal mas mon yo ra kerjo. proyek mung siji loro. papamu, pak mamiek karo jenthit gawene klothek'an. thuthuk-thuthuk nggawe maket nganti didhodok tonggo teparo. tapi aku yo ra tau ngersulo, ra tau pengen mulih neng tegal opo piye ngono. mergo wong ra nduwe duwit kae umum. tapi ati rasane kok yo seneng terus.

 

setuju. tapi, ternyata masa indah memang harus dibayar suatu saat. walaupun seumpama memang bisa dibeli, saya akan pasti akan membeli lagi masa-masa serumah dengan semuanya. pak uk. om pa. pak hari. pak mantok. pak agus. om rudi. mas didik. pak ek. mas donny. hiburan-hiburan rakyat. scrabble. bridge. kadang-kadang tombok'an. porkas.

ohana

i never thought that eleven years could be considered as ‘just yesterday’. yet, it did. then again i felt that your living room did not use to be that small. it used to be not that shady too. i didn’t see the wooden ducks that used to park on the buffet. and those three boys. the last time i saw you, you lost a man. now you gained three! life could not be that bad. still, i could see in your eyes who you missed the most. i know things have changed since. couples separated. people drifted apart. family lost contacts. i understand why you’re holding on to past events that tight. i could see why writing things down is important for you. it’s been long that fond memories showed up to your door. because life had stopped when he’s gone. but tears must not come, though laughter is unbearable. so, i’m personally sorry if the fact that how we missed those old things have dragged our feet to your house today and it somehow made you sad to suddenly struck by some yesteryear’s stuff.

it’s exactly why we showed up today. we cannot promise you happier things for you to experience then recollect someday. but we’re here if you need to reminisce the joyful past. because one way or the other, we’re family.

 

for mas pram, mas endik, mas sonny and especially bude mono.

yuck fou!

i would throw burning candles

or broken glasses to scar you,

instead,

i bled myself.

afterall

i love you not because you know how to write poetry,

-which i know you could, for those books you've read-

or shower me with dozens of roses,

-which i am sure you're able, for those songs you've heard-

but because you juggle while i cook,

and amuse me with your wisecrack jokes.

so, i will marry you (someday)*;

even though you wed cigarettes, coffee and her for ages

and often misspelled 'male' for 'mail'.

 

 

 

 

mixed fillings

geneva conventions. additional protocols. the hague conventions. rome statutes. impunity. what the fudge? jus in bello. juice and jell-o. grave breaches. great beaches. war crimes. omar al-bashir. waltz with bashir. germaine katanga. simba. elton john. sudan. congo. idi amin. the last king of scotland. uganda. this is africa. is this africa? slobodan miloshevic. bosnia. herzegovina? serbia? vienna mandate. apple strudel. kosovo? ah! protecting power. ratione loci. seafood gratine. ratione materiae. ratione temporis. ratione personae. fettucine carbonara. genocide. crimes against humanity. icc. arab leaders. tikka kebabs. jugun ianfu. state responsibility. montreux documents. saddam husein. nikita Khrushchev. no. that's not related, stupid! america. black water. guantanamo. abu dujana. ibrohim. temanggung. internal disturbance. nurdin m. top. nurdin leptop. nurdin topmarkotop. fattoush. hummus. pitta bread.

 

ok. stop!

makroekompromi

maklumi saya bila masih tidak mengerti;

dengan anak-anak muda berkostum urban

(celana levi's, kaos berjargon, dan sepatu converse)

yang tekun belajar tentang ilmu membela proletar

di tengah kepulan asap-asap rokok

ditemani buku-buku marx, lenin, stalin dan mao yang

berbaur dengan macbook dan latte panas setengah harga

-dengan membawa cangkir atau termosmu sendiri-

di pojokan gerai-gerai kopi waralaba barat

sambil sesekali mengupdate status

di situs-situs pergaulan masa kini

dengan mengutip che, castro atau tan malaka

masih dengan macbooknya

yang mengandung sambungan maya nirkabel.

 

itukah kompromi? atau itulah kini?

note to self (5)

"being single doesn't mean you're all alone feeding 20 cats from your armchair while watching cop show reruns."

 

true. it means feeding yourself and 'a' cat –because your pay and your landlord don't allow you to own more than one nonhuman pet– from your bedroom-slash-kitchen-slash-living room while watching Friends DVDs (for the 10^th time).

gerutu (2)

males, deh. lebai banget, sih, lu?

ngirim kartu lebaran, ato natal 'kan

just showing our gratitude to them,

yang telah sudi bekerjasama dengan kami

nggak ada hubungannya dengan

telling them that they're actually

working for us not you.

'though it may be true in some sense.

we're honestly just showing our respect.

at least, i am.

 

heran. pikiran lu, kok, jadi sama ribetnya.

gua pikir lu lebih pinter dari ini.

 

tai, ah!