My Valentines

As my junior high school friend ever so subtly put it, February is the official 'Bulan Bercinta'--the month of loving. And it all culminates on February the 14th. The Valentine's day.

Yes, break that old piggy bank. Start shopping for that special someone, be it already acquired or at the courting stage. Get a box of chocolate, a dozen of roses. Get something fluffy and pink. Or heart-shaped. Be somebody. Better yet, be somebody's somebody special. Yes, stop flying under the radar. Make the control tower jolt. Go for it. You only live once.

And this year, all I want is to see them emerge from Sydney Airport's arrival gate. That is worth all the chocolates in the northern part of New South Wales.

Embrace

I wasn't a big ice cream fan. They're not thirst-quenching. Ice, of all variants, is supposed to quench thirst. For me it was more like a sweet cold meal. And most of them come in small quantities. A couple of years ago, a friend bought me an alarmingly small cup of strawberry ice cream at some fancy parlour. The reddish thing with bits of strawberries in it was tagged at thirty grands. Ridiculous. Of course, I didn't tell him that.

This afternoon, however, I developed an unusual craving for ice cream. So when the ice cream truck passed by I flagged it down and ask the man for 'a liter of something good'. In exchange for six dollars, he gave me a container of something called Embrace, which according to the label translated into 'choc coffee almond swirl'. The surface was so pretty with off-white ice cream and dark brown chocolate coating in a pattern that closely resembled a submarine propeller. Plus a liberal amount of chopped almond scattered here and there. I stared for a full minute before resolving to stab my spoon at it.

What followed was a phenomenon many culinary expert recognized as a flavour explosion. Not a kaboom-there-goes-your-limbs explosion. Rather, it was subtle and elegant. Like the burst of ink deployed by a scared squid. I swore I could feel the chocolate and coffee swirled hand in hand like a pair of champion ballroom dancers in my tongue, stepping on my every taste bud to make sure that I knew they were good. It's chocolatylicious, coffeelicious, almondylicious. Delifuckinglicious.

The first spoonful sent me into an ice cream frenzy. Initially, I planned to be civilized and ate out of small bowl. But when I felt that scooping the ice cream into the bowl took what seemed like aeons I just dug in straight from the container. I didn't know where I was. The whole world turned mute. All I felt was this sensation of sheer grandeur in my mouth. Teasing, flirting, and bewitching like 19th century French courtesan. When I came to, I was halfway down the container. There went my resolution to a healthier life. I knew there was little I could do but surrender in its embrace. And dug in some more.

O, Wounded Hearts, Trivialize Thy Pains..

Yeah..as if it's easy

What Cigarettes do to Your Lungs

It's all pretty hazy now. But I distinctly remember that there was a time when playing football was actually fun. Nonetheless, as I lay there, flat on my back, my chest felt like a furnace and and my head was throbbing agonizingly, I wished that I had liked chess instead.

I used to play a lot when I was a kid. Every afternoon, I would go down to the football pitch near my house and played until sundown. That's nearly two hours of football. Scurrying here and there. Everyday.

I remember feeling like Maradona everytime I scored a goal. Or like Hans Van Breukelen when I went into full-stretch dive to deny one. I could still recall what it was like to be hacked down while running or the clashing of shin-bones when I tackled. What I don't remember is that feeling of having my life sucked out of me every time I finished playing.

I don't get it. Where is that kid now? Has he really became this decrepit of a bloke who is lying on the grass gasping for air?

Reflection in the Dark

Remember when you went home on a night bus or train? It was pitch dark out there. You couldn't see a thing. Even so, you still tried to look. And mused. And mused. And mused. But then you realized that all you did was marveling at your own reflection on the window. And suddenly you felt guilty of being narcissistic.

t.A.T.u

Hmm..let's see..two teenage girls, Russian accent, wet school uniform. What's not to like?

Saat Pulang

Jadi teringat saat pulang. Menjenguk keluarga di Cilacap, bermalam bujang di Jogja, atau menjumpai kekasih di Semarang. Bersusah payah antri tiket di Pasar Senen jam tiga siang, tapi akhirnya mencari sela di balik bangku paling belakang. Gelar koran, rebahkan badan.

Hebat juga kalau dipikir-pikir. Betapa selembar tipis koran bisa membuat lantai kereta jadi sedikit beradab. Dan terkesan higinis. Lha, mau bagaimana lagi. Sampai sekarang belum bisa menguasai seni tidur sambil duduk.

Kompartemen tidur milik pribadi. Kepala tidak harus berjajar dengan kaki. Wajah tidak harus terlangkahi. Badan yang terguncang-guncang, lelap dalam buaian. Irama kereta jadi lagu pengantar tidur. Kaki terjulur di lorong, jadi sandungan bagi siapapun yang lewat. Tidak ada yang protes. Semua mafhum.

Lepas Cikampek. Lutut ditepuk oleh kondektur. Karcis! Diucapkan dengan lafal yang khas. Diiringi bunyi cekrak-cekrik pembolong kertas. Beberapa kali mencoba tidak beli karcis. Menyuap kondektur dua kali. Tapi hati tidak tenteram, tidur tidak tenang. Tidak sepadan. Kondektur lewat sambil dikawal polisi. Senjata laras panjang yang disandang di punggung. Konon tanpa peluru.

Bangun karena lantunan terhenti. Rupanya Cirebon. Saat makan malam. Belasan penjaja menawarkan nasi bungkus di kantong-kantong plastik berwarna-warni. Merah telur, hijau ayam, biru rendang ati sapi. Lengkap dengan seplastik air putih hangat untuk diminum atau mencuci tangan. Biasanya layak, tetapi terkadang basi. Tergantung hoki. Sajian malam ditutup dengan kopi di cangkir plastik. Nescafe, Tugu Luwak, atau Kapal Api

Cirebon adalah awal dari rangkaian pedagang asongan. Semua naik berganti-ganti. Pedagang Cirebon turun di Brebes. Pedagang Brebes turun di Tegal. Demikian seterusnya. Mainan, nasi bungkus, air mineral, minuman ringan, jagung rebus, mangga, berbagai jenis kacang dan keripik, dodol garut, wingko babat, kerupuk, rokok, dan terasi. Berpura-pura tidur untuk menghindari rayuan maut tahu sumedang dan cabai rawit hijau.

Empat jam lagi pagi akan menjelang. Dan kaki akan menapak Kroya, Tugu, atau Tawang. Pulang.