bananaTALK

To keep life interesting and prevent boredom, we are usually advised to do things differently. Doesn’t have to always be new. It could be the exact same activity but different way of doing it.

A best friend, who happened to know I was having a chronic boredom, asked, “What have you done differently in 3 days?” Uhm… “3 months?” Err… “3 years? Did you change job?” There was a change, technically… “What have you learned in 3 decades?” I got silenced. And he laughed at me.

I’m quite a person of routine, I think. Didn’t really mind status quo. It’s not the problem of status quo itself but if we don’t manage ourselves well, it tends to be boring. So I’m the problem.

Yesterday when my friend dropped me off his car, I took different way to get angkot. It could just be done in the usual way which was crossing the roads by zebra cross. But I saw this man walking the other way, so I thought I could take that way, too. When he took turn to the watercourse, I hesitated but still followed him.

He then stopped to chat with men in the slum area, I thought of getting through anyway. But getting more hesitated, because I didn’t see any footpath. Greeted the men, I asked if I could reach the other side of the stream. Unexpectedly they were very friendly. “Bisa, dek! Lewat situ aja. Tenang, ngga perlu naik getek, kok. Tapi hati-hati, ya!” I laughed and thanked them sincerely.

So I continued walking toward what I saw as bushes, then I found it. Part of the grass showed it’s been stepped on frequently. I had to walk very carefully on the narrow bank of the streamlet, across a small viaduct, through the side of water sifter (that’s a bigger viaduct) filled with garbage (it smells!), then reached the other side of the stream. After crossing another road, I felt glad. A small adventure of the day. Ha! And I did it while wearing skirt. Double ha.

Small change but it brought different feel to the day. As silly as it may seem, it’s useful. It feels good. Likely to be a nice thing to do now and then. The change.

So what thing have you done differently? Care to share?