The Opera Populaire

Yupz I'm back in 1 piece from the Banten region. It has been a while since we last went there. The place generally remained very much the same, one huge part being the big industrial area of Krakatau Steel, the other part being simple villages with rice fields side by side with beach resorts. But tourism has largely fallen since the tsunami as ppl avoid going to beach resorts these days. We were hounded by villagers trying to sell us things from seashells to soursops and did buy some stuffs after hearing their plight.

I also went for my 1st ever massage cum lulur ( Javanese body scrub) session at this Japanese restaurant cum massage chain. Found myself feeling very ticklish a lot of times and had to stifle my giggling, but it was a relaxing experience. Hmm it reminded me of Weijin's posting about the "dirty Hong Kong gal" :p Have always been lazy about beauty regiment other than the most basic cleansing, toning and moisturising. In between rubbing the lulur into my skin, I asked the lady about the owner and background of the restaurant. Turned out that he is a Javanese who had studied in Japan and married a Japanese! I have always found the restaurant very nicely decorated and the food super good and authentic, and apparently away from the capital, the chain still lived up to its reputation. Took a shower to wash off the lulur in a beautiful stone bathroom that looks like those hot spring places in Japan. Very impressive indeed!

Recently, a few of my best frens talked to me about the issue of love and money. Not the most romantic issue, but a very crucial one nevertheless. The few of us coming from relatively able family, we have never had the burden of needing to support our folks and thus may have a different concept of spending and saving vis-a-vis our partners. Sometimes this becomes sensitive enough to warrant a quarrel or even a break up.

I guess it's a fine line to walk for us gals oso. "High-maintenance", "materialistic". So far, nobody of the opposite sex has put that tag on me, but I have heard it so often that I wonder how do they define those terms? I guess sometimes these are just impressions and maybe once they understand these gals, that's not how they are, really. Some of my frens who are in relationships also do care and try to be sensitive to the their guy frens' financial situation and try not to demand too much, hard as it may be at times. It is indeed not easy to date or marry someone from a different financial background or/and attitude.

Being romanced with chocolates and flowers etc are nice, but to me, what is the most romantic is to be romanced with the heart. It doesn't take much to make a girl happy, really. Going all the way to get breakfast for someone cos she can't wake up early, talking to her till late cos she needs a listening ear, a nice simple origami just cos he was thinking of her then etc. The monetary value isn't the key here; it's the heart. Sounds simple, but I guess it's becoming increasingly rare in our fast-paced society and as we grow up. Sometimes I think guys romance gals with their heart when they are still studying and had no money to spare, but turn to the monetary value of the gift once they start earning, perhaps to make up for not having the time oso. Sad indeed.