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February 10, 2005

life under the bridge

i thought i saw a wooden man today. or rather, i mistook a man for being a piece of wood. i was looking out the window of the car and saw him lying on the grass, on a patch of green on the side of the road. he was lying on his side, not a young man, an old man, his body wrinkled and sinewy. he was dark brown and shiny, like polished wood, and lighter brown on his joints and where his bones protruded under his skin, his ribcage, his hips.

i remember thinking, what a beautiful carving. then i realized it was man, not wood. he appeared to be sleeping. then i also noticed he was naked. i wondered if he was working and got too hot, so stripped naked and took a nap. or whether he was insane. or whether he was homeless. or both. i didn't even know if he was alive.

anyway, it made me sad. life under the bridge.

we were under the inner circular ring road that circled jakarta. the ring road around jakarta is a raised toll road, about 25 meters off the ground, allowing dual traffic on the toll road and on the road beneath it. so it's not really a bridge as such.

when you're driving on the toll road, you're presented with a view over jakarta; that is, if the smog doesn't get too thick. you can see the rooftops of the dilapidated wooden shacks, the office buildings, the gleaming towers of the financial district.

the road beneath is a lot more interesting. people build their shelter beneath the road, simple wooden or cardboard shacks. street peddlers at the traffic lights, selling everything from cold drinks, cigarettes, plastic globes, gorilla masks, etc. motorcyclists weaving in-between cars. they're a pain in the ass, motorcyclists, they search for death, and they're one of the reasons i don't drive in indonesia.

beggars and street musicians also gather at traffic lights. when i got to indonesia in 1992, i couldn't get used to seeing them. their eyes bore holes through the car, i felt. i didn't know how the others, my cousins, my family, could wave to them away nonchalantly; now i find that i do the same.

sometimes you see more interesting people though. the other night, there was a transvestite, dressed in a dress so tight it was like second skin, his makeup applied more expertly than when i put on make-up (!!!), his hair teased back into a bouncy puff. asian men make perfect transvestites; smaller body build, less facial and body hair, beautiful arms.

he danced in front of cars, playing a tambourine and sang along. he would get turned away, but occasionally, a car window would scroll down and a hand handed him some money.

anyway, anyway, anyway. life is good. been busy. doing family stuff, wedding stuff, and eating indonesian food, glorious indo food. it's a little bit overkill actually.

so yesterday, after getting measured for my wedding costume, i was craving a nice big fresh salad. my cousins drove me to pizza hut pondok indah nearby where i could binge on their salad bar.

i'm going to get ready to go out now. my sister turned 24 today. hooray! we're going out to celebrate... hooray! :-)

Posted by Yasmina at February 10, 2005 04:15 PM

Comments

Posted by: avianto at February 10, 2005 09:51 PM

Posted by: irene at February 11, 2005 12:17 PM