December began softly this year, with a simple Sunday-date-on-a-Monday with my husband in PIK 2. The real reason we were out, of course, was to drop off our eldest at her campus event, Sports and Arts Day at Galaxy Sports Center. She needed to be there from eight in the morning until three. It felt like such a long stretch of time, the kind that invites you to turn errands into moments.
Since only a few places open early, we ended up at Starbucks The Land’s End. The sunlight spilled through the windows in that gentle morning way that makes everything feel possible. My husband immediately dove into his marathon of meetings, as usual, while I tried to make the most of the brightness for reading. We avoided sitting near the beach because the heat was already creeping in. Instead, we settled indoors on the second floor, right next to the toilet, which sounds funny now but felt practical at the time.
By noon, we left the cool room behind and took a slow walk through The Land’s End area. It was Monday afternoon, so everything felt strangely quiet, almost abandoned. The sun was merciless, the type of heat that drains your desire to take photos. All we wanted was air conditioning and shade. It was one of those moments where you laugh at yourself because the idea of “romantic date” quickly turns into “let’s not melt.”
After wandering around, we headed for lunch at Porky’s, just across from Galaxy Sports Center. We planned to wait for our daughter to finish, but to our surprise she arrived not long after we ordered. Apparently her event ended early because there wasn’t much going on. So she joined us, and the three of us shared a table and a meal that was delicious, indulgent, and absolutely non-halal. It was imperfect but warm, the kind of unexpected family moment that feels like a bonus round.
The evening brought us back to real life. We took her to Atma Jaya clinic because her flu hadn’t improved after a week. From there we looked for dinner nearby and ended up at Gohan-Ku. It was… okay. The food was just fine, but the cigarette smell was overwhelming. The cashier stood right at the smoking area, and the odor seeped into everything. When I asked if we could order inside the air-conditioned room, the cashier snapped, saying we could only order there because the menu was there. It wasn’t the menu that bothered me. It was the tone. The feeling of being dismissed. It made me wonder why it’s so difficult for some places to treat non-smokers with basic courtesy. A printed menu can’t be that expensive. Anyway, we probably won’t return.
But the day still ended on a lighter note. We got good news: our KPA application was approved. Another asset added, even though we once said we wouldn’t bother with another apartment. But it makes sense for now. The old place already has loyal customers renting it, so why force ourselves to move back? Better to let half the rental income support the mortgage and slowly turn something that can become passive income again someday… maybe even something we’ll rent out if we ever move overseas.
So that was my Monday. A little messy, a little hot, a little tiring. But also full of small joys, unexpected togetherness, and tiny wins. Sometimes the day doesn’t need to be perfect to leave a gentle lesson behind.
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