Sunday, August 23, 2009

On My Rare Skin Deep Moment

They say, when there are five Lebanese girls walking down the streets, six of them are pretty. I agree hehehe. Lebanon is blessed with pretty women, in my personal opinion, one of the prettiest kinds. Their face profile is so well-defined, their skin tone is perfect, their eyes are dark and deep.

Only one country is blessed with beautiful women more than Lebanon. It’s Indonesia. Let me tell you why. The key factor here is variety, and variety is refreshing. Why don’t you spend one evening in a place where people are gathering, let’s say, here in Jakarta. Don’t go Bali, you may mistake the local with the tourists. Okay so now we’re in a mall in Jakarta. Look on your right, you will see a medium fair-skinned girl, lean, long black hair, soft face profile, dark brown eyes, small nose, it’s a lanky Sundanese girl. Look on the right, you will see a girl with a more defined face profile, stronger nose, deeper eyes, something middle-eastern-ish about her, she’s an Aceh girl with Arab descent. On the far right side you will see a girl, petite, yet her face is sculpted with sharp chin, perfect medium-sized lips, and piercing eyes telling you she’s in command, she’s a Padang girl with the bravery of her adventurous ancestors. Then you walk further, you bump into a girl with a heart-shaped face, small single eyelids eyes, small nose, her skin flawless resembles ancient princesses, so slim she walks featherweightly, she’s an Indonesian Chinese. Then what do you say, a girl is walking to your direction, your jaw drops a bit at her perfect jawbone, high nose, very light brown eyes, at her long legs and torso, she sweeps you with her Manado sassiness from mom and Dutch blood from dad. Well your treat continues, when you about to hop on an escalator, a girl with perfect smile lets you go first, her big dark sultry eyes shows kindness, her brown skin glows healthily, she moves gracefully as her grandma taught her how a Javanese girl with royal blood should carry herself. Then you’re going up the escalator, oh what do you see now, is it Beyonce, is it Rihanna, oh no she’s not, it’s indeed an Indonesian girl from Ambon, her dark skin so exotic, her lips full, her figure toned, she can easily be a hiphop darling if she ever tries a career in music.

“Then…” my friend confusedly asked me once, “if Indonesian girls are pretty, why you go to Singapore?”

Hahaha. I smiled to myself. Yeah, why is it?

Sunday, August 9, 2009

In Search of a Perfect Person

A few days ago I had lunch with my ex from high school, Sophia. She was once the sunshine of my life. It was childish, rather trial and error, a bit clumsy of a relationship, but I’m sure it was love. Yet after me, she never looked back. She went the mainstream and married a guy.

We had traditional chicken dishes, and since she was pregnant, she ate a lot. So funny seeing her eating passionately. She’s petite, with the bulging tummy it really made her looked cute.

“Sophia, what makes you marry Andy?” I asked.

“Why,” she laughed. “You mean that Andy is dark skinned, kind of short, and an Indonesian?”

Sophia lived in France for a while and developed a soft spot for French guys after that.

“Haha yes…” I chuckled.

“He is there, Nat. Andy is always there. I can be pretty with my best makeup on, I can be ugly fresh from a whole night sleep, I can be smart after coffee, I can be dumb over too much carbohydrate, I can be a sweetheart when my serotonin is in abundance, I can be a bitch when my period dries my estrogen, yet through it all, Andy is there. Yes he’s not French or tall or has a high-flying career at this moment, but he stays. Despite all he has the courage to marry me. Then here we are, married.” Sophia smiled at me, her light brown eyes were as pretty as I always remember. I smiled back at her.

“Nat,” she touched my hand, “when you are searching for a life partner, don’t search for a perfect person. A perfect person doesn’t need us. Choose someone who you know you can grow together with. Someone who, despite all, stays.”

Sophia was once the sunshine of my life. And that afternoon, she warmed my heart once again.