Mc Donald’s Sarinah, the 24 hour shop, located in the heart of Jakarta’s night life. There, along with other places, is where people see and being seen, where people come after a very late activity, just to satisfy their empty stomach. And in Mc Donald’s Sarinah is where I unintentionally left my camera, EOS 400D, and just realize it 4 days later.

I came back this morning with slight expectation that I would ever see the camera again. “I left my camera here 4 days ago, is it possible that it was found and kept by the shop?” I was asking, with little hope in it. “Hold on a second”, Mr Sugito, one of the staff said as he disappeared behind the door.

Moments later, he came back with a piece of paper to get my detail. “We need to be sure that you are the owner of the camera. Could you tell a little bit of description of the camera”, he said after taking my details. I told him about a small scratch, and other detail as much as possible. When he decided enough, he again went back to check the camera. And relief come into my heart as he came back with a familiar camera bag .

I checked inside to ensure that nothing is missing, and indeed all is still in there as I remember. Four days missing, and I can’t tell how thankful I am with Mc Donald’s Sarinah. Thank you Mr Sugito, thanks for your staff who found my camera, and for their honesty to ensure a safe return of it.

Jakarta, 27 October 2008

I’m sitting in the church, waiting for the evening mass to start. The talks I had with mom few hours before won’t slip out of my head. He asked my comment for her friend, which is unhappy with the fact that her daughter is dating a widower.

“He has two kid. And he also live in different city!” my mom said. From her voice and gestures, I can sense some anxiety in her. Although she does not said explicitly, I know that she would also disagree if it happened to her daughter.

The mass has entered to the Liturgy of Word as I continue to think about it. Is there something wrong if you are marrying a widow or widower with kids? What would the religion said? As we get into a reading from Gospel, I recalled that Catholicism forbid a second marriage. A Catholic marriage is once in a lifetime, and only once. But since the widower was not married in Catholic, he is not bind by this rule.

What would be the social consequence by having a spouse or son/daughter in law, who were married before? “People will think that you are so bad, ugly, that you nobody single would want to marry you”, my mom said what her friend told her. I’m also sure that she also share her friend’s thought. In the old days, somehow people treat it like a sin if you married a widow/widower. But in these day, people might be more open, or just don’t care if you married a single or divorced. Except maybe for friends of their parents, being raised with the antique mindset.

We were given a blessing at the end of the Mass, and I drove my car home. On the road, I started thinking: “What would I do if it is my daughter? Will I give my blessing?”. Given my circle of friends – I have 2 friends dating a widow – I won’t let the widow/single status to cloud my judgment for the spouse of my kids. A great man, or woman, will still be a great person regardless of the status. Great person also made mistake sometime.

I retired to my sleep with a little prayer: “Bless my friend, may You give her what is the best according to You. And also bless me in the future, should I face the same condition” – Amen….

I spent the whole holiday week battling a very bad flu & cough. It isn’t common that I caught in such bad flu… in fact, I haven’t caught flu this bad since the last 3 years.

Then suddenly this morning she called, sms-ed, trying everything she can (telepathy if it is possible) to let me know that, she would come with hot chicken soup…. not only a bowl, but 2 large plastic of homemade chicken soup . The sausage floats as it is being heated, and sip of it really sooth my sore throat. I also love chipping on the carrots and small chunks of chicken.

Another portion of the soup for dinner makes me feel better already. Thank you very much for the soup >:D<