It's Dark And Stormy

“Do you guys want to go home? I can give you a ride if you want!” offered a friend, Mr. Smith, after attending a seminar at Seattle.

I wanted to say yes, but my friend, Mr.OCD had taken the chance to speak, “Thank you very much. But I think we’re going to walk around for a while.”

“Walk around in Seattle at this time?”

It was 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Why not?” (I went out from my house at that time in Medan)

“Nothing is wrong here. But, what can you see in weekday like this?”

“No idea.”

***

“I wonder where the people are?” Mr. Talented asked in one of our visits to Seattle.

“It’s now 10 p.m.”

“Yes, I know, but in Jakarta, you can see many people hang around 7-11”

“Who wants to hang around in this kind of cold weather?”

“Maybe you’re right. I’m freezing now.”

***

Several days ago, I read a note in F*cebook about Seasonal Affection Disorder written by a ‘cool’ psychologist. Weather and season can affect your mood and emotional state!

I tried to observe my own behavior in the past months to see how weather changed it.

When I was in Bremen, the first thing I checked when I woke up in the morning was the temperature. Weather forecast had become my breakfast. Why? You need to know what to wear if you plan to go outside.

You didn’t want to wear jacket if the sun shone or T-shirt when it was raining (actually, drizzling).

The thing got worse because the weather changed quite drastically throughout the day.

It might be cloudy and drizzling in the morning, sunny day in the noon, cloudy in the afternoon and freezing at night. Or the variation of those four.

So, if you plan to spend half a day outside, you have to prepare at least 2 kinds of clothes to save yourself (literally). You need to save yourself if weather get too chilly and save your face by not wearing thick jacket on sunny weather.

It was the end of spring. Restaurants and Biergarten (place you can buy beer and sit around) started setting chairs and tables outdoor, greeting the summer. My friend told me it’s typical summertime. People wanted to enjoy the sun. Nobody wants to sit outside, having a glass of beer during winter (or even spring time).

I was unlucky that this year’s summer was kind of late. I was entitled to enjoy ‘only’ 2-week sunny days. The first day I saw the forecast telling me it was 31-Celsius degree, I was so happy. I treasured the sun. That was the first time I really appreciated sunshine even it was 34-Celsius degree. I remembered how I avoid sunny day in Medan (even worse when I moved to Jakarta), which mostly ranged from 27 to 33-Celsius degree. But then, I really enjoyed being sweaty.

I’m now in Everett. A 120,000-population city. The weather is not much different from Bremen.

It was summer when I first arrived and of course the sun shone. However, we were warned that the weather would become worse and prepare for drizzling days.

Summer ended and here came fall.

A friend of mine once asked why a lot of people whine about September and why there was a song like “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day. Now, I did understand why.

September was the beginning of fall and marked the end of happy summer.

Weather changed dramatically from happy sunny day to gloomy cloudy day. Who wants to go out in a cloudy and windy day? Isn’t it nicer to enjoy the heater and a cup of coffee in front of your laptop? It’s like asking somebody who is playing game to go working on assignments.

(FYI, I think it’s only Indonesia has “September Ceria” (Cheerful September) as a song).

I remembered when I was taking Environmental Psychology class, we discussed about how environmental changed people’s behaviors. In this case, weather.

It’s believed that people who live in places with less daylight are more vulnerable to depression. Offices in Norway, for example, will have lights turn on the whole day to prevent the employees being depressed, especially during winter time when daylight is only 2 hours a day.

I grew up in a tropical country where daylight time is relatively the same in the whole year. I learnt how to read the time from the sun and the sky. I know the approximate time just looking at the sky.

But here (and also in Bremen)? I really need a watch. I was time disoriented. When I was in Bremen, daylight was longer (it could be 16 hours) during summer. I might think that it’s 5 p.m. because the sun was still there. But when I looked at my watch, it was 9 p.m. And here in Everett, the sky might look like 9 p.m. while it was actually 5  p.m. during fall. I couldn’t imagine how my skill would be ruined when winter came.

Weather also affects people’s activities. In cold area, people tend to do things indoor. It’s okay to hang around 7-11 at 11 p.m. in Jakarta. But here? You attempt suicide. Shops usually close at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. No point to open late because less people want to walk outside (like Mr. OCD and I did in Seattle). So, it’s less likely you can find 24-hour stores.

Does environment affect people?

Yes, definitely.

Now I learn one thing: you know how worse the weather by seeing what people wear.

Once Upon A Time in Lona Vista

“My homesick is kind of cured” my friend, Mr. OCD, told me when we were sitting in the dark at the kitchen. Two candles accompanied us on that chilly, windy Sunday night.

“What makes you say so?” I asked while sipping a cup of cold coffee.

“Yeah, with this black out. It gives me the sense that I’m back at home, not in the US,” he smiled innocently – actually it was ghastly with the light flaring from the candle. (if you watch Indonesian horror movies a lot, you’ll know what I mean)

I smiled back, signaling an agreement.

Wait a minute… Black out in the US? How could that be possible? You might think that only in Indonesia you get a frequent black out.

Need more explanation? Let’s go back to few hours earlier.

11. 00 a.m.

I woke up late. Who doesn’t want to wake up late on Sundays? Raise your hand!

You wake up late, too? Good. Yeah. I think I deserve a long sleep after the shocking first week of college life. You know, after living leisurely for a quite a while, readings and tons of assignments (it's a hyperbole) had sucked up all my energy (another hyperbole. So, pretend you don’t really read that). From outside my bedroom, I could hear the buzz from a machine. I walked out to the kitchen with the intention of having a glass of water. Oh, I wished I could sleep a little longer.

As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, my roommate, Mr. Batak rushed into the room. He looked half panic, half excited.

“Hey, you know what has just happened?” he asked. I could not recognize if he were smiling.

“No…” my mouth stayed in “o” form for a while. How could I know? I had just awaken!

“Come here,” he was now at the window of the kitchen, pulling up the blind.

“Do you see a police car down there?” he pointed to the north and I saw the blinking red-and-blue light.

I nodded.

“Do you see that pole?” he moved his index finger to the right.

I followed his hand and saw the fallen pole and some wires on the ground.

“That pole fell down and, congratulation, we have no power at the apartment,” he moved his head left to right (like an Indian), his favourite gesture.

“What?” suddenly I was awake, “we can’t cook? “

“Don’t be saaaad..” his favourite answer

“No hot shower?”

“Don’t be saaaaad…”

12.00 p.m.

After a quick cold shower, I walked outside to find out what really happened. Now I could see several workers were using a tool to pull the wire from the pole (the one that was still standing). The wind still blew hard. FYI, yesterday night was very, very windy. On the stair level (this is the level between two slanting stairs, like this -->__/… Oh never mind that, I need to check my dictionary, anyway) stood the next door guy from Vietnam, Nguyen (this, of course, is not his real name. I just want to make it sounds Vietnamese)

“Hi” I greeted him. It’s kind of a culture here in Everett to greet every people you meet.

“Oh, hi,” he smiled at me.

“How you doing?” (I know, it’s grammatically wrong)

“Oh, I almost died today,” he smiled bitterly.

“How come?”

“Yeah… you see that circular thing on the pole?” he pointed another pole on the next side of the street.

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“Whew, I was standing at this side, the one near to our complex, to smoke a cigarette when I heard an explosion. That circular thing exploded right in front of me.”

“Gosh… what did you do then?” –stupid question

“I ran. Of course.”

“Whew... lucky you, didn’t get hit or injured”

“Yes,” he seemed reluctant to remember that horrible moment and changed the subject, “they react very quickly.”

“You mean the workers?” another stupid question.

“In my country, it will take 3-4 hours before the people come and fix the thing.”

“I see. How long did it take for them to come and fix this pole?”

“Ten minutes, fifteen minutes.”

Yeah, it was fast. I remembered when a storm hit Medan several years ago and brought down a big tree and a billboard. The tree and the billboard was left on the street for almost half a day, causing a road blocking.

9.00 p.m.

Ting-tong.

Somebody rang the bell. I opened the door. A man in his forties stood there, he wore a stabilo-green vest and a yellow helmet.

“Good evening, we are going to shut the power off for a while.”

“Oh, okay.”

The power was back since 1 p.m., actually.

“Who’s that?” Mr. Batak’s face showed up behind his laptop screen.

“The man who works on the electric pole. He said they will cut the power off in 15 minutes.”

“Whaaattt?? I need to save my work now. I haven’t finished it yet….” Panic, he sank his head into the laptop again.

“Don’t be saaadd...,” I imitated him

My phone rang. Oh, Mr. OCD.

“May I help you, Sir?” my favourite greeting on the phone.

“Yes. I need your help badly.”

“What can I do for you, Sir?”

“Can you please go upstairs? My roommate is out and they are going to cut the power off in 15 minutes.”

“Oh, okay.”

I walked out, stepped on the stairs and, da-raaa, I was in front of his room. Don’t be surprise. My room is exactly under his room.

“Why do you smile?” he asked as I was sitting by the dining table

“I know why you call.”

“He he he …” he grinned innocently.

He is a man, older than I (I hope he doesn’t read this part), but he is afraid of dark and doesn’t like to be left alone. He is a hen-hearted (I’m not sure this will be the best word to use).

On the table, I saw two candles and a small box of matches. Ready to be used.

And here the story started (or ended)

The power was off.

We lit the candles.

And brought back our little memory of home, curing our homesick

An Afternoon in A Park

A man (probably in his 30s) is rowing a brown boat. In front of him sit a blond woman(it might be his wife) and a cute girl (probably their daughter). The water reflects sparkling sun shine. A duck is swimming, or I should say, sailing  silently in the middle of the pond  (or a made-up lake?). And here I am, sitting on a green bench, 50-meter away from the pond, watching people rowing their boats or simply sit on the grass, enjoying the sun in the spring time. Once in a while, a bicycle or two come past in front of me. The first time in my life enjoying myself sitting in a park surrounded by greening trees.  

Yes, until now, I still find it hard to believe that I have stepped up my feet on Europe. The real Europe town, not just pictures I usually saw on TV shows or magazine such as Nat. Geo. The first realization came when I was still sitting on my economy class plane. It’s a good thing to choose a window seat. I could see what’s outside. Actually, most of the scenery you will find is dull white clouds (hopefully, not grey ones, or prepare for a shake!) or blue sky.

I looked at the display. 50 mins before landing. Gee, it was a long flight! I was not feeling quite well after a small bottle of free-on-board red wine. I could sense that my face was flushing. I could not go to sleep anymore. In fact, I have had enough sleep. I have watched all the film I wished to watch and found it a little silly to start a new movie as I would have never finished it. Again, I looked at the display which now showing the route the plane had been taking. We were somewhere in Poland! Another excitement popped up when I read the names of the cities on the display. Those names only come to me during the classes of Geography or Social Science. Or when we, my friends and I, as kids, used to play “Mention the name of countries or cities”.  Gosh, do I really fly over those cities?

Being bored, I looked at the window. Land! Green in color, with some red spots. I kept telling myself: Europe! Is this really true?

Duck on Boat

I don’t know how to describe the feeling in words. I mean, when I was a kid, let’s say 9 years old, I used to read a kid magazine. I remembered my teacher (she taught Bahasa Indonesia) asked me to ask my mom to subscribe a magazine for kids with blue bunny as the main character. In that magazine, sometimes there were reports about other cities in Indonesia or other cities. And you know, as a kid, I usually dreamt that one day I would visit one of those cities, just to see it for real – not only great scenery pictures.  Then, TV came into my life, which even gave more dreams because not only did I “see” stories but also motion pictures, video, and sounds. “It’d be nice to visit those places one day”, I told myself.

Then I grew up. I read more, I watch more and I listen more. All in all, the asian countries seem somewhat easier to reach. I mean, thanks to budget airlines which make everybody can fly, so that I had a chance to visit several places in Asia and beautiful Indonesia. (Now my appreciation towards Indonesia’s nature is even more).

A woman sits next to me. She is carrying a cute baby. She put a bottle of water to the baby’s mouth.

I took a deep breath. Still can’t believe in myself, but it’s for real now.           

Here I am now, in Der Bürgerpark, Bremen. 

Good Old Time

Since my friendster blog is under maintenance (they are going to release a new Friendster, which I think will be imitating Facebook, oh crap), I can’t really blog…

However, you can still read them at j4ck-boy.blog.friendster.com

So, here is my new ‘home’ for “It’s A Break” until I find out how to resolve the problem.

Today, I have just found a ‘new’ toy. It’s not a real toy, actually. I was like giving a tour to my friend about where and how I live here in Bremen. And big thanks to her, I found out how to use a vinyl record player!

Well, Toto, whose flat I’m living right now, used to be an Indies music player. He can sing and is able to play accordion and piano. He used to record the music from his band in vinyl. From what he told me, the records were compilations he made with street musicians across Germany. And of course, I can see a stack of vinyl records here in the flat.

In case, you might ask, what a vinyl record is…. So, before the era of CD, DVD or event cassette ( I guess), people used to record and play music in a black vinyl disc. It looks like a usual disc (at the moment) with the size of LD (Laser Disc). It was so popular in the 60s-70s. (Remember, LD, CD and their friends weren’t exist at that time). In the old time, people play the vinyl using a player called gramophone (if you like old movies, you might notice it)

So, when giving a tour, I found a vinyl record player at the corner of my room. To be raised in CD era, vinyl records are some strange things for me. I have seen them in TV programs or films, but never really experience to use the real thing. Let’s say I came out of a jungle and knew no such “advanced” thing. So, I tried to find out how the player worked. Actually, it’s a rather ‘modern’ version of gramophone (minus the big brass phone-speaker).

I tried to browse on Toto’s vinyl collections and fascinated by them. There are a lot of albums, which I have in my computer such as Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan. I might sound stupid but to find the ‘original’ version of what I’m having right now (they are all digitalized) is some kind of great thing!

So, I picked one record and played it. Put the black disc on the player, lift up the needle and put it on the spinning disc. And taraaaa…!!! John Lennon sings his famous Imagine in ‘original’ version. Although I’m no expert in music, I feel back to basic, when everything was so simple and lively.

It was so nostalgic. Not to say that today’s inventions are bad, but as if I could turn back time, I felt excited that I could still do what people in the old good time did.

Ah, tomorrow, I will want to play Bob Dylan or Cat Stevens…  (maybe Mozart and Heydn)