I've seen it in movies before, I've read about it somewhere before, and I'm not quite sure what to think, now that it happens to me.
I rent this pricey room, somewhere in the centre of Jakarta. It was the 'it' room at first, it has relatively spacious space and it adapted that minimalist interior trend thing going on. It has orange blinds, and nice color mix. It has a spring bed. It has an inside bathroom with hot shower and a sitting toilet. It was perfect.
For a month, it was a real hacienda, go home from work, a little dizzy from the rain. Turn the radio on, something loud to cleanse my corporate filthy skin back to my self again, Oh Please, save my day, with some Stone Temple Pilots songs. Get in to the bathroom, not even wanting to close the door.. Freedom is when you can take a bath without closing your door. Turn on the shower tap, turn it to the left side, where the color red means hot. I can even wipe the mirror that were steamed by the hot air.
Then the house owner, clearly needed some fast money, take in a couple to the room next to mine. It was supposed to be girls only. And because the owner thought that they were nice religious ones, just because she wore jilbab, and they will go to heaven. Hey, but even nice religious people needs relaxation.
Oh, dear God.
I didn't even notice that the wall was so thin, all this time. Until the couple came in. I never seen them in person, and after what I had hear from their room, I don't want to ever see them.
At six in the morning, the husband decided to play his radio as hard as possible, and oh okay, six in the morning time to wake up anyway, listening to some cool tunes won't hurt. So, what do you think that he played out loud? I can stand Peter Pan at six in the morning, even that Kangen band.. But Dangdut remix was the one he chose to hear, and I'm very sensitive at mornings. I'm a nocturnal being, so having to wake up when the sun just show it self was not a happy moment ( Taking for granted the sunlight and enthusiasm of a new day? Moi?) And I am also depended on my morning tunes. I need good music, to start my day. If I woke up to a good insightful music, than it means I could get through the day. If, example, I woke up to Velvet Underground's Rock 'N Roll, then it would be my pill for the day. All those annoying people who complain that I sit too much on the chair facing the monitor screen, and thinks that I refused to enjoy the office's exiting vibrating social gossips when they know that they a minute ago, ordered me to create an award winning design solution in just one day, just because they forget that the deadline is tomorrow. These people will not break me down.. No... because I drank the right pill this morning.
But what happen if you woke up with A dangdut remix beat? Every song have the same beat but with different melodies. Sometimes if you can move pass your personal taste and listen to the lyrics, it could be extremely hilarious, forget about the deep cheesy words of a regular love song, dangdut’s are blunt, descriptive like hell, and on your face. Something that obviously too hard for me to digest on six in the morning, for sure.
Think that's not severely damaging?
Even religious people have sex. And they do it. Night and day. Whenever they want to. I wasn't sure what I was hearing, at first. But, it sounds like they are having sex. It's not wildly loud, we're not talking about those porn movies, I mean for God sakes, we are talking about religious people here. They do it quietly, but it's audible, sometimes it's a woman moaning. Sometimes I could hear their bed moving. Sometimes it's a woman nearly shout, scream, I don't know. It's disturbing. The wall is too thin to handle that kind of activity, you get it?
Sometimes I just turn my radio out loud, so they would get the idea, that the wall is thin, hence they would stop doing the thing that they do, the dangdut remix and the sex. The dandgdut remix stopped, or at least he had change the schedule to the afternoon, when I'm not around. But the sex didn't. Oh, okay, it is basic human needs.. but I mean, the wall is thin, dude! Can't they have a little sympathy to an innocent twenty something single girl? Don't they realise that they are damaging my mental well being. I have a bipolar tendency and you're having an audible sex? Can't you find ways to do it in mute?
Should I find some bloke and do the same thing in my room, so they would get the message? I doubt it. I would be the one who get thrown out of my room. I mean, I'm not wearing any religious attributes and theoretically the imaginary bloke is not my legal couple, The owner won't want to be paid with dirty money from future hell resident like me. Oh, unless the bloke is someone famous, internationally famous like Peter Petrelli from the Heroes series. Oh, wait.. he's a character in TV. I mean, the guy who played Peter Petrelli.. Milo Djflksomething , wait. No, He's not that famous here. Ooo... a football player.. Both religious and infidels like football. Let's see. The British ones, Stevie G ! Maybe not.. I can't understand a word he's saying. He needs to watch My Fair Lady ( it wouldn't matter if we are actually doing it, no language barrier can stop repressed physical needs).
I don't know if I should get therapy for this.. I am damaged, Corrupted. How should I cope with this mental baggage? It's like a post earthquake trauma, you can still fill the quake, after it's gone. You know it's in your head, but you can't tell the difference between the real quake or it's just your head. It's the same thing. When soon, after I move out from this place to a nice serene environment in the South Of Jakarta, I will still hear noises, not sure that it's real or it's just in your head, then you put your ear on the wall, like stupid, for sure. See, the damage you've done? Is there any way I can sue them for damaging my mental well being ? These days you can sue anything just to get big paycheck. I mean, there's an old woman who sued MacDonalds, because the tea was too hot that her tongue was in trauma. The word S is something that she cannot pronounce very well now. She won, get paid.
I don't want to face them now. The Couple. I mean, there's thing called the theatre of imagination, all normal human have it in their system. And some have trouble taming the imagination. What if, they are not that pretty to imagine about? I mean when they are doing it, it's easier to slide away from the horrific event, if I imagine perfect bodies collied to in each other arms ( OH SHIT! Where did that thought came from?) Rather then imagining not so perfect bodies move awkwardly, like seeing your parent's having sex. It's an ugly few, but the more you try to erase that from your brain, the more you remember it. So, surely I do not want to see what the couple looks like. But, rest assure that I will be moving out of the busy, polluted, jam packed streets, noisy Kwitang area to a more serene livable environment in the south of Jakarta. I’ll be missing the easy access to many comfortable hang out places like cafe Au Lait, Bakoel Coffee, random street vendor at Sabang, Taman Ismail Marzuki, or adventurous shopping in Pasar Baroe and Pasar Senen, Cheap Book Hunting in Kwitang, the foods are dangerously delicious ( I never asked if they had any pork element in it, better not to know?) The Old City was fascinating, that’s for sure. But to have somewhere to sleep and bath in that area? Unless you live in a posh real estate or luxurious apartment then you just have to deal with the hustle and bustle of Central Jakarta. Including the sound that you really don’t want to hear from the room next door.
