London, January 2009
Every time I went home from Overseas, I always send a text to Laurensia, called her. I did that because I like to share things with her. She was an indifferent world to me, and I had been friends since I was ten years old. We were friends because I knew that she had a boyfriend. But in London, I was single, and I did not care about relations, one thing that I am sure that I am pretty lonely. One time I got the reply email from Laurensia that I sent years before.
We conversed by email, and I knew that she was single, she broke up with her boyfriend. We shared life around us, and I knew that she worked so hard. She went to the rural areas in the mountain to practice, serving the government every day. In Indonesia, to obtain a license, a young dentist needs to fulfil the service to the government. It took three years for her to do things like that. It took hours to travel, and the need to change transport several times, from cars, mini can, and motorcycles. Her life was tough, and she was consistent in fulfilling her service to the government.
We conversed by emails and texts several times, noting that when I went back to Jakarta, I wanted to ask her for dinner. I wanted to see her in person. My curiosity grew because She lived in two routines, in the morning, she did service to the government in the rural area, and in the evening, she worked in her dental clinic. She worked so hard, and I can see that I am in love with her hard work. I did my hard work as well as an architect, working overtime and living morning and evening work. I saw her hard work as reflection of my life, how we are different but her story fill my heart.
I often questioned myself, have I changed since school, university. I am now in my formative years. Am I still having my ground? Having her beside me actually answered that question. Talking to her it’s like talking to a long-lasting friend that in every moment we speak, it’s effortless. I would spend hours preparing emails for her, dream for my words, and waiting for a break in Foster and Partners for me to take days off to visit her in Jakarta. I feel that she is my missing piece, and always excited when I met her virtually.
My Mayonnaise Jar 