#2 A little bit of both

Being kept inside our house for the last three months makes us realize there are things we long for and learn from

Have a nice weekend! Welcome back to our readers who have received our first newsletter and warmest welcome to our new readers! In the first newsletter we were writing about links to help you improve your professional career and a review of Shokugeki No Souma. Missed the first one? Do not worry, you can read it here.

Salmon Mentai is collection of Meiska and Elsa —not limited to— essay, short story, review, or anything we can pour our thoughts, feelings, and of course ideas into. Do not miss our publication by clicking the button below to subscribe! We hope you enjoy.

---

Meiska

I love malls. If you asked me “This Or That” question to pick Beach or Mountain, I’d choose none because I don’t really enjoy outdoor activities (except doing my job haha). Honestly not that I hate being outdoor or do not enjoy crowd because I love to go to music concerts, and visit exhibition and cultural festival. It's simply because I love keeping myself hygienic and dirt-less (microbe-less!). If I were a Sims character, beside swimming and taking a shower, my hygiene and entertainment will complete their indicators when I go to mall.

This quarantine situation makes me long for malls. I miss “jajan”, eating at all you can eat BBQ restaurant, window shopping, and watching movies at cinema. Just the thought of entering mall entrance gate and being scanned for security purposes somehow make me happy haha. Here are three of my most favorite malls in Jakarta, I hope you miss them as much as I do:

1. Plaza Senayan

Plaza Senayan is located close to my office in Senayan area. Two of its famous attractions are the dancing clock “Marygold” that plays every o’clock and the fountain park. I miss sitting there for some wind after I grabbed a drink. I even have my go-to menu at PS food court; Minced-Beef Curry from Coco Ichibanya and Chocolate Pudding from Hokben.

I shared many memories with PS because some important events from my office were organized at Fairmont hotel. My colleagues and I used to go to PS through the underground access that connects from/to Fairmont.

2. Pacific Place

It all began since I was a college student. My friend and I used to go to Pacific Place to attend some events at @america! They organize —not limited to— scholarship and youth empowerment discussions for free (kindly check their Instagram or Twitter for further information). My favorite moment was when The World of Ghibli Jakarta held at Ritz Carlton Pacific Place (the hotel ballroom is integrated with the mall).

Beside going to the cinema and eating at Ikkudo Ichi or Kimukatsu, my boyfriend and I go to Kem Chicks a lot! I love the ambience it brings as a lifestyle supermarket. Going through each stall makes me feel like I’m not in Indonesia because they sell various imported products and the customers are mostly foreigners.

3. Pondok Indah Mall

Even though it is so far from where I live, going to PIM always brings back some good old memories for me. Families of my father’s used to gather there. The mall has two buildings connected by the sky bridge and currently developing the third. Most importantly, the Uniqlo outlet at PIM has the most updated collections (beside Grand Indonesia of course)!

The most meaningful memory I had at PIM was back in 2018. My close friends from work and I had dinner at our favorite all you can eat BBQ restaurant, Gyukaku! We decided to have dinner together as a celebration we had finished our tournaments, and as a farewell before we were assigned for different and upcoming tournaments. Oh those good ‘ol days!

So, what's the first mall in your mind that you will visit once this pandemic ends?

---

Elsa

Talking about love affairs would be a discussion that never cease.

At least for me, it was perplexedly a part of my life and I did different role play in scenes. I did witness love affair happened in my smallest circle. I ever did love affair and was a victim of love affair.

toxic king @777jorgeivan

“I can change him” Okay rehabilitation center

Have you ever heard about sunk cost fallacy? I have known it from my friend in Indonesia (Amalia, thanks to you) when we were having a Zoom catch up and talking about love and marriage preparation. Well, I still have no partner until now but talking vehemently about marriage was insurmountable.

Stephen Dubner explained, “The sunk-cost fallacy is when you tell yourself that you can’t quit because of all that time or money you spent.”

Even if my partner ever cheated, I could not say that we were through because I had invested too much on that—family, memories, dreams ever built together. I thought I would be happy by giving second chance that ended up by third chance and even more. Why I kept bothering myself on trying to change someone while I was not even a psychiatrist?

Dimas Novriandi @dimasnovriandi

You will not find peace if you’re always expecting other people to give it to you with their actions or words. The only way to find it is to drop your expectations of others, let go of what you think they should or shouldn’t do, and allow yourself to create your own happiness.

Then I learned that I would not be ready for a relationship if I could not create happiness for myself. I should not feel guilty for doing what is the best for myself. A Netflix movie One Day We’ll Talk About Today had a guy talking:

“I do not want to be responsible for someone else’s happiness, no matter who they are. Happiness is our own responsibility. Happiness is on yourself. You do not need someone to make you happy.”

Then if I am able to be determinedly create happiness for myself, I would be glad to find someone that can create happiness for himself too.

Steven Bartlett @stevebartlettsc

If we're dating, I want to be your second priority. I want your first priority to be you, your ambitions, your life and your future, because my priority right now, is me and mine. Finding happiness and security alone, is crucial to finding it together.

A tendency to have an expectation from others is inextricable for me. But back again, I am still in the starting point to hone my ability of finding happiness by myself. What I can do in life is to enjoy the good things and from the bad things I learn. Nothing is too late or too early to learn, it is just a phase of life and people grow!

▸ @imrvnk

Someone graduated at 21, but waited 6 years to get a good job. Someone had no education, but was a millionaire at 21. Someone got married at 20, but divorced 5 years later. Someone got married at 30, but found everlasting love. You’re not late. You’re not early. You’re on time.

---

We would like to hear your stories about your favorite malls and love life by writing a comment here. It is an open platform for you to share as no one has the right to judge fellow humans on earth.