This New Place

It has been said, if you want a different result, you should do things differently. Do it the same way, and expect the same result.

That's probably one thing (among other things, many many other things) that finally made me move out from my rented room. I wish I could say it was a rented apartment, but sadly no. I can't afford to rent an apartment so I only rent a room.

And I moved to another rented room. No, I'm not doing it the same way (or at least I think I didn't) cause now at least I got a private bathroom. Yes, lodging is a big problem in densely populated Jakarta that if you don't have much money, a rented room is all you got. I hope my housing situation will improve soon once my small apartment is finished in December.

Anyway, this new place. An improvement? I really hope so. With the same price, I got my own bathroom, a bigger room, a parking lot and overall nicer not-too-crowded house. But now I have to do my own laundry. I don't mind washing my own clothes, I used to be poor, we couldn't afford a washing machine but I do still complain about washing sheets, jeans and carpets. I guess I could just drop it to the laundry if I have the time. But I went home late almost everyday. No, I'm not that busy, I just like to hang out with friends after work. But now I just have to find a way to do it all, right?

So far, the changes haven't really affected me yet. Well, unless transportation concern. I used to rent a room in downtown area, and I never have to worry about going home late, I'll just hail a cab. But since my new lodging is kinda far from downtown where I use to hang out with friend, I oftenly have concern whether I'll still catch the last bus. I can still take a cab home, but it'll be too expensive to do everyday.

It doesn't matter in the morning where I can easily jump into public transport to my office though it's quite far. And the interesting part is, each morning my trip to the office have to pass Tanah Abang. It's a trading district with it's infamous Blok A market, the biggest fabric and clothes market in South East Asia, so I heard. Each morning I can see people struggling with their daily chores which is very different than Setiabudi, the downtown area where I used to rent a room. In Setiabudi, everybody is beautiful in their suites cause they are the so-called the young business executives (eksmud or eksekutif muda in Bahasa). But in Tanah Abang, I still see people wearing clothes that I don't think they should wear it anymore. It's dirty and torn and patched in places. In this place, you can still find people fight over US$10 cent (Rp1.000) with some "bajaj" driver. In short, it's a poor area.

Each day I pass this place, watching those people and thinking how lucky I am. But probably they're not as poor as they look, I mean, looks do deceiving. In my home town, a rich farmer can look like a beggar when he's working in their rice field but become such a noble and rich man when he goes home. So maybe I shouldn't feel sorry about those people in Tanah Abang. Who knows, they are richer than I am..

But the ones who really are poor, I also see everyday. Those are the ones who work hard but never forget to smile pleasently when they caught me staring at them. And I nervously offer an apologetic smile back, but they don't really care to the fact that I'm being rude for staring. I don't know, maybe they used to be stared. These people I really like. They seem so happy with their lives. They don't want lots of money, just enough to buy food. They don't want a good career, just enough to get them some days off. Lack of ambitions, or merely doing it the best you can? I can't tell, I haven't figure it out myself. All I know, watching those people make me feel enlighten, that my job is not bad at all, compare to them. That I have to do my own laundry is nothing, so there's no need to complain..:)