Life In The Times Of Corona - The Real-Life Twilight Zone

  There’s nothing to declare about my oh-so-boring life lately. Every day is mostly the same: get up, work, go about my day, write, watch TV or listen to music or podcast at night, sleep, and repeat. Oh, don’t forget workout and minor social interactions in between. Then, how do I still get to write every day? Where do I get the ideas? I’ve always loved stories. I love reading, listening, and watching them. Sometimes when an ending of a story does not satisfy me, I write my own stories. I know that they’re mostly fiction and I may have a bit of an issue with control. If you ask me how many pieces I’ve already written, I’ve lost count of them. I’ve written some stuff for personal reasons. Others are work-related. Some others are for promotional purposes. Actually, finding your everyday stories is not as hard as it seems. Besides owning a passion for storytelling is a start, here are some of the other things that you can do:   1.         R...

Wait a minute. What does this mean? Why do I start with this whole ‘taking the baits’ thing? Am I a fish or something? Of course, in this case, taking bait can mean a lot of things. It can mean someone trying to make fun of me, just to expect my reaction. It can also mean a salesperson offering some products I don’t need and they’re kind of pushy. It could also be about a guy with lame pickup lines. It could be someone who hates my guts and tries to get me to argue with them – just to see how far I can really go. Either way, none of them are worth it. I have many reasons, but here are five (5) examples of why I choose not to take the baits:   1.          I’m busy … and I’m in a hurry. Yes, we all know the joy of keeping ourselves busy. It gives us a sense of purpose in life. It makes us feel (hopefully more) useful. It’s also a perfect escape from unnecessary drama. For example: if I see an unpleasant acquaintance approaching me to gossip abo...

Actually, it’s easy to spot this. It’s nothing new and you’ll know it right away once you have the confidence and keep your eyes open. Let’s start with school bullies. They’re typical examples of this lie’s favorite users. They usually have reasons to target you. There are always things about you that they somehow resent. It doesn’t matter that you try to be nice to them. They’ve already made up their minds about you. “You have no friends here. Nobody likes you.” Sounds familiar? That’s what bullies usually tell you. They try to make you feel and appear small to their eyes. They try to isolate you from your surroundings, only so that you’ll feel helpless and all alone. That way, you’ll be too afraid to ask for help. In reality, that’s not entirely true. Yes, there may be some other kids in school who take your bullies’ side and dislike you. Forget about trying to understand why; that attempt will only exhaust you. There are other kids who don’t take your bullies’ side. They...

  Okay, so I’ve turned 40 since November 4, 2021. How does it feel? Not so surprisingly, I feel like. I admit that, back in my twenties and thirties, I was a bit anxious imagining this moment. You know why. Being 40 and single for women in Indonesia requires some serious courage. Most of my people here are still so crazy about getting married A.S.A.P. and having kids as many as possible, no matter what. No joke here. Before anyone gets the wrong idea about me, here’s the thing: I’m not anti - marriage. I have nothing against the idea of having kids, as long as you know damn well how to look after them and are fully committed to it. I love kids myself. Although I’ve only got a chance to have babysat my nephews and niece when they were still babies — and I don’t know if I’ll ever have my own one day — I still love them. Sometimes I hate that I (feel like I) have to explain this again and again. I’m bored with the same damn questions, given by this society I’m still stuck with.  ...

  If they say experience is the best teacher, then I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, it is more than that. To me, experience is also a vivid reminder. I am not nicknamed The Elephant Memory for nothing. They say I store a lot of memories —  good and bad ones  — like either precious treasures or scars that stay visible. Many of them have been from years before. For this reason alone, I am feared by quite a plenty of people. There are a lot of examples that have turned me to become this way. For starters, I have stopped sharing stories about boyfriends with so many people. The reasons are varied. They either don’t take me seriously or always suspect the guy’s possibly ill-intentions. They don’t have to clarify, but I know it every time they look at me. It’s either my extra fat or the fact that I’m not that girly. It’s even worse if the guy happens to be good-looking — according to society’s general standard. They suspect him even more. I have noted down their questions like ...

I grew up watching bizarre and creepy TV shows like “The Twilight Zone”. I didn’t remember how it started. Although my mother had warned me that such TV series were not good for kids, I didn’t care. I kept watching. I guess that explains why I think differently than most Indonesians here now. Well, this doesn’t have to sound good or bad – just a state of fact. For starters, I’ve been called a freak or a weirdo since I was in my teens. Those who have done so couldn’t understand me. (A plenty of them still refuse to, but why bother?) That’s okay, though. I’ve stopped expecting anything from anyone way too much. Back in the 1990s (yes, you may guess how old I am now) when I was still in middle school, I started having more interest in crime and supernatural stories. In high school, I didn’t have much interest in things teenage girls my age would normally like back then. You know parties, rom-coms, boyfriends, clothes, trendy stuff, and typical teen dramas. I’m not saying those ar...