Park Bench Society

Lemon Cheesecake

That was what it says in white chalk on the menu board standing on the pavement in front of this café announcing the special package for the day. I felt raindrops fell heavier on my head and was deciding whether to go inside escaping the rain or just continued walking. I peeked inside and saw empty white linen clothed tables decorated with a white lily in a small crystal like vase on top of every table.

I decided to sit on the veranda section of the café protected from the rain by a white colored canopy and chose the farthest side of the table from the sidewalk to avoid the rain. Not really in a hurry to be served I looked across the street watching wet grass on a small park turned shinier from the rain. Overlooking the park my eyes caught a window display of an interior design gallery. It showed a white themed bedroom décor of a massive light colored teakwood bed softened by sheets, down pillows and comforter all in white. My wandering mind then was so quick to build an imaginary setting of its own. One was an illustration of a tropical setting with ocean breeze flowing through an opened window blowing at a white see – through curtain. Inside is a teak paneled floor bedroom in some hidden villa in Canggu, Bali surrounded by rice fields and a view of a small river. Contrary to the tropical setting, other images that popped up from that “all white” window display were clips from TV commercials for either an air condition product or sanitary napkins for women. I couldn’t really help it of coming up with these latter pictures since it was an occupational hazard from working in an ad agency. Commercial for these type of products tend to highlight the whiteness of things to portray freshness and cleanness. Strange that since I walked past this café I felt attacked by this color starting with the white chalked menu list, tablecloth, white lily, canopy and that bedroom décor display. Anyhow, I prefer the tropical picture over the TV commercial ones as it gave me a quick get away window from the damp wet autumn day as it was that day.

The green tropical picturesque was shattered when the waitress came over to take my order. She was wearing an oversize white shirt (again that color) but wrapped thankfully in a black apron with front pockets filled with order book and a pen. I asked for a double espresso to speed up my caffeine intake for the day and asked her to come back later while I browsed the menu. My espresso came and I asked if she could give me a small cut of lime skin to put on my coffee. She came back with two small pieces on a white small plate. I learned this from an old Italian man years ago on how to make an espresso richer in flavor.

I studied the menu and saw lemon cheesecake again which was slightly more expensive than the plain cheesecake, obviously. I was always one that went for the old fashioned way when it came to food and drinks so I started to automatically think of ordering the plain one. The way I run my life was complicated enough and I could use a few basic simple way of living like a plain bagel instead of a cinnamon taste one or a cold beer instead of those colorful designer cocktails.

However, sitting there and staring again at the clean white tablecloth I felt I was entering a comfort zone that was long ago forgotten. So all of a sudden this out of the ordinary thought came over me and I told the waitress to bring me the lemon cheesecake. While waiting for my order I took out my shag tobacco and rolling paper . My finger started to do the art of rolling the thin white paper and making it into a thin cigarrete.

Watching my cigarette burned by a Zippo I started to think is it curiosity for the blended taste of cheese and lemon or is it simply boredom for the ordinary? The “great white attack” somehow already gave me a hugging – like feeling of coziness and now the thought of lemon taste over a traditional delicatessen like cheese charmed my curiosity.

The waitress came back with my cheesecake. I looked at it and it was prettier to look at than the ordinary one with gradient of yellowish color on the white cheese surface. The twist of lemon taste on my tongue felt like a fresh witty surprise over the usual stand alone cheese taste. As I took more bites I felt the fresh sweet taste was arousing some long forgotten senses inside. Savoring the lemon cheese taste, sniffing the aroma of strong espresso mixed with a scent of lime while enjoying the whiteness around me was like slouching in a giant comfortable sofa, it felt like home.

As I sat there absorbing all these, the rain has stopped. It was home but in a different world. It was like going scuba diving in that tropical place, seeing the beauty of the colorful marine lives and an underwater flower garden made of coral reefs. The world separated by open water and an oxygen tank, the deeper you go the more beautiful it was. It was a dangerous playground unless you are an expert diver in the hand of an experience dive master.

I tossed a few bills to pay for everything and left the café. Walking across the small park I kicked some reddish autumn leaves lying on the green carpet of wet grass. Some raindrops still rested on the leaves like teardrops hanging on a pair of sad eyes. Kicking the leaves made the water splashed on my shoes and I carried those teardrops with me as I walked away. Sitting on a wet iron park bench l looked back at the café. I thought about the options, weighing possibilities of living between two worlds. I knew my next stop would be home, the one in my world.

I would miss my lemon cheesecake even when the taste continued to linger on my taste bud. I even knew that I would miss it still as I bite into it the next time. This was like a secret love affair between two characters on two different story frames of the same comic page. Sharing the same space but separated by two different stories. Unification could only be decided by the almighty illustrator.

I then realized that I too wore a white shirt over a pair of washed out jeans that day. Another long forgotten habit of my preferred attire for a simple look which strangely I put on again that rainy autumn day. I continued my walk home and wondering whether my closet would have enough space to hang my white shirts and a diving wetsuit.

Tragedi Cumi Hitam

"Ya yang waras ngalah lah" ucapnya sambil mengaduk - aduk garpunya kedalam sepiring gado-gado. Sementara itu jari tangannya satu lagi menari-nari diatas touch pad di  Power Book Mac G4 nya untuk memamerkan layout print ad yang baru dibuatnya ke teman disebelahnya. "emang dia mau ngalah sama loe, jek?" kata temannya itu dan tertawa keras sekali. Aku dan dua teman lain di meja itu turut tertawa. "hah ?...sialan" katanya sambil meneruskan penjelasannya mengenai arti dari pesan iklan yang akan di muat di sebuah directory periklanan. "Jadi gambar ini kalo diliat dari sudut yang berbeda punya arti dan message yang berlainan. Bisa optimis, realistis, ilusionis ato juga pesimis" demikian dia menutup penjelasannya. Sementara itu dua temanku yang lain sibuk membicarakan jadwal rekaman untuk album terbaru mereka dan membahas studio mana yang akan mereka pakai.

Aku duduk menatap pesananku yang baru datang, cumi hitam dengan cabe hijau. "Looks good" kataku dalam hati. Suara - suara mereka terdengar jauh dan seperti gaung dalam kepala ku yang saat itu terasa seperti ruang hampa. Sesekali aku dengar tawa mereka dan bunyi  sound alert Yahoo Messenger dari Power Book yang tersambung oleh Wi-Fi gratis di restoran dengan makanan khas Jawa yang menawarkan setting dan design interior seperti chilling lounge dan presentasi makanan a la fine dining.

Aku perhatikan tata letak makanan di piringku yang terlihat agak sepi dan kontras sekali dengan dekorasi minimalis antara warna tinta cumi yang hitam pekat, potongan besar cabe paprika dan nasi putih diatas piring lebar berwarna putih. "Looks good" gumamku dalam hati. Sepi tapi kelihatannya enak. Hidangan ku malam ini membuatku kembali teringat akan santapan cumi yang berbeda di sebuah meja makan beberapa bulan yang lalu. Sebuah makan malam yang cozy dan berlanjut dengan obrolan yang kalau mengambil istilah dari seorang teman lain merupakan "mind blowing conversation" di teras rumah dengan banyak tanaman hijau. Aku tersenyum. Senyum pahit. Pahit karena rasa sepi dan getir di hati atau karena lapar yang terasa sejak tadi sore, akupun tidak tahu pasti. Aku ingat pada malam itupun aku sangat lapar tapi suasana hati pada saat itu sangat jauh dari rasa sepi. Aku menggeleng kepalaku seakan mengusir rasa sepi untuk tidak tetap bertengger disitu selama aku menyantap cumi hitam yang ada di depanku ini.

"Slamatzzzzzzzz...." tiba-tiba terdengar seseorang menyapa dari arah ujung meja. Ternyata seorang lagi teman atau dalam istilah bodohku satu lagi agen ganda telah datang untuk bergabung. Agen ganda, sebuah cap yang aku tempel ke segelintir orang yang sering datang ke kantorku yang berada di daerah Gandaria. Dia langsung duduk di kursi sebelah ku dan membongkar tas laptopnya. "Serius amat si loe pak?" dengan mulut setengah penuh aku bertanya ke si agen ganda. "Sedikit cukup serius juga sih kalo diliat situasinya pak, mau email booking konfirmasi about gig nya si Monday Michiru next month.....tapi yang penting suasananya tetep aman kan?" jawabnya sambil menusuk Wi-Fi adapter kedalam tubuh laptop Sony Vaio nya. Yang lain hanya terkekeh mendengar jawabannya, sudah biasa dengan gaya bicaranya yang sering ngga nyambung dan acakadut antara dua bahasa itu. Aku hanya bergumam "ohh....." sambil merenung. Sebutan agen ganda dengan double meaning itu membawaku ke sebuah istilah lain yang mirip, agen beras. Lamunan ku mengenai beras terhenti ketika salah satu dari teman musisi yang ada di meja itu melempar ide untuk tahun baru. "ke Lombok yuk tahun baru" katanya. "Bali bosen, Jakarta mati lah....kita ke Lombok aja rame-rame" lanjutnya. "Setuju, kita di tempat Philipe aja di Gili Meno" kata si agen ganda sambil tetap sibuk mengirim emailnya. "Jadi kita bikin Ibiza nih di Gili ?" kata si pembuat reklame. "Berangkatzzzz pak" kataku sambil menghabiskan sisa nasi di piringku yang sekarang sudah berubah menjadi hitam.

Sementara obrolan tahun baru terus berlanjut dengan rencana membuat Ibiza a la Lombok, aku menatap cheting atau tempat nasi tradisional khas Jawa terlihat sudah setengah kosong di depan ku. Kembali pikiranku melayang dan melamun mengenai beras.  Aku berpikir mengenai impor beras yang sedang ramai dibicarakan. Kalau akan mengambil istilah si pembuat iklan tadi mengenai arti dan pesan dari design yang dia buat maka aku sedikit agak bingung mau memilih yang mana. Negara agraris kok masih harus meng impor beras. Sama tidak masuk akalnya dengan kondisi negara yang memiliki minyak tapi terus menerus menaikan harga BBM . Apakah keputusan untuk mengimpor beras merupakan langkah realistis, ilusionis atau pesimis? Padahal stok beras tidak kurang dan kalaupun akan menurun karena harus memberi makan rakyat miskin kenapa tidak beli saja dari petani lokal sehingga dapat membantu sektor pertanian dimana banyak rakyat miskin yang bekerja di sektor itu. Ini lebih baik daripada buang uang untuk membeli dari luar negeri yang otomatis pasti menggunakan mata uang asing. Makin miskin saja nanti negara kita. Aku membayangkan para petani beras itu pasti sedang merasakan rasa sepi yang jauh lebih dalam dengan adanya distorsi pasar seperti ini. Mungkin juga rasa getir dan pahit atas ketidak adilan yang mereka rasakan dari tidak adanya keberpihakan pemerintah disisi mereka.

Lamunan ku melayang kembali ke teras dengan banyak tanaman hijau itu dan teringat dengan plakat yang di tempel di satu sisi dinding luar dirumah itu. Sebuah penghargaan untuk jasa atas rasa nasionalis yang tinggi dari salah satu pemilik rumah yang telah almarhum. Pasti beliau pun merasakan getir dan pahit yang sama saat ini kalau masih hidup. "Ya yang waras ngalah lah" kembali terngiang di telingaku. Siapa yang waras dan siapa yang harus mengalah dalam situasi dan suasana yang tidak aman ini? Mudah -mudahan tahun baru yang akan datang ini akan membawa rasa optimis yang realistis dan bukan pesimis atau ilusionis dari hal-hal yang tidak masuk akal.

A Cup of Coffee and Sex, Please ?

Imagine saying this when ordering something to drink in a café or coffee shop. When associated with sex perhaps the drink that come to mind would be something alcoholic in nature. However, it couldn’t be more wrong as it turned out the world would choose coffee. This reminds me about an ad series by Absolut Vodka with a copy by William Shakespeare which says drinks “provokes the desire but takes away the performance". Curiously it makes me wonder how a male populated vodka drinkers in certain parts of the world are rated on their bedroom routine?

Getting back to the coffee issue, there have been scientific evidence relating caffeine to be not only act a stimulant that increases blood pressure but also to improve sexual functionalities of both men and women. It was recorded that after coffee was introduced in Europe there were more madames in the brothel houses of Europe that have a patented coffee making apparatus than men. This is simply a wonderful example of economic forms between the oldest profession in the world and a brand positioning that says coffee rules the bedroom.

It was also told that there was a petition by women in England in the 16th century against this liquor substance called coffee because it made the men think better. Now this for me is a little bit confusing. Was it bad that coffee makes men think better or was it just unthinkable that men were better in bed? Is this the same as saying that men think better with their penises? If truth were to be told, I have been accused of not using my brain and thinking rather from between the leg but trust me this definitely was not seen as being equal to brilliantly charming or clever.

Whatever the effects are of caffeine on the body metabolism, coffee has the heritage and history that relates to the mind and spirit. As well as to improve the process of oneness in physical intimacy for pleasures of the flesh, coffee was also known to help clear the path to enlightenment during spiritual process to achieve oneness with the divine.

Coffee or Qahwa as it was known during the Ottoman Empire and throughout the Arabic Peninsula was widely used in Sufism as a stimulant to leap from the earthly body in flight to becoming one with the grand universe.

In general terms Qahwa means wine but somehow the meaning was changed as the intake of any alcoholic substances was prohibited in Islam. Being denied the substance that was most common in other religions and cultures in order to reach nirvana, coffee then was discovered as the substance that helps clarity of the mind to reach the blessed state with God. Judging from this fact then maybe those women back in England did have a point that this Qahwa or the Wine of Islam do really make men think better.

Interesting as it is about the history and heritage of coffee I do wonder now if the term “let’s go have coffee” should have a sexual implication attached to it?