astuteretracers

"How much time remains, truly?" The question circles my thoughts like a vulture over a trembling, dying thing. It looms in the quiet moments—those spaces between breaths, between the seconds ticking away on a clock I can no longer bear to look at. The very air feels thick with urgency, as though the cosmos itself is holding its breath, waiting for something I cannot name. "Am I doing the right thing right now?" This moment—this—is all I have. Yet it slips through me like water cupped in trembling hands. I ask myself this not once, but over and over, as if repetition could wring an answer from the silence. But there is only the echo of the question. No response. Just me, and the unrelenting tick of now. "And then there are people. Ah… people." Those strange, seething sparks of soul and skin, endlessly striving, endlessly failing. Why did God create them? Was it love? Was it boredom? Was it necessity, or something darker? Sometimes I look at them and wonder—...

Sometimes, I feel this pressure building in my chest—an unnamed heaviness, dull and low, like an overcast sky that never quite lets the rain fall. And on those days, I want to scream—not in anger, but in mourning. As if I’m grieving for something vague and distant, maybe even imaginary. I want to scream part of my thoughts into the void, hoping they'll scatter and settle somewhere. Not to be heard. Not to be understood. Just to exist beyond me. And yet, I’ve spent too much time—years, even—thinking too hard about the logistics of screaming into the void. Like, which app do I use? There’s X (the husk formerly known as Twitter). I thought about it, briefly. But the place feeds on instant judgment. It devours you the moment you step outside the boundaries of the identity you've unintentionally built. I think some people followed me because of one hit tweet—one viral moment that said, “This is who I am.” But I’m not that moment. Not anymore. Maybe I never was. Now, when I post anyt...

Rencana awalnya, cek lokasi ruangan SNBT tepat di H-1 sebelum ujian. Dia dapat jatah ujian di tanggal 24 April. Berarti, harusnya cek di tanggal 23 April. Pagi ini, aku tiba-tiba berpikir, "Bagaimana jika pada di H-1 itu, kampusnya jadi sangat penuh?" Asumsiku, setiap satu siswa yang ingin cek lokasi ruangan, akan ada banyak anggota keluarganya yang ikut datang mengantar.  Hari ini, H-2. Datang sedikit lebih awal, harusnya masih bisa ditoleransi. Oke, berangkat. *** Seperti biasa, LRT pagi ini mogok lagi. Kereta nomor 1 (K1 1 20 97; TS21 MC 01), sekitar pukul 08.30, beberapa puluh meter tepat sebelum masuk ke Stasiun Cawang. Notifikasi "pintu akan segera dibuka" lagi-lagi berbunyi saat kereta belum masuk ke Stasiun. Untungnya, kali ini, pak masinis sudah tak panik lagi. Dengan sigap, beliau mengambil alih kendali manual kereta ini, lalu menuntun gerbong secara perlahan-lahan, maju memasuki Stasiun Cawang. Ketika posisinya sudah pas dan tepat sasaran, ia menekan seb...

  --- I've managed to check off quite a few things from my wishlist lately. And this - this is one of them. Well, to be clear, my wishlist wasn't just about getting a hat. That would be oddly specific. It just so happened that, once I achieved this particular personal goal, a hat came along for the ride - like an unexpected side effect. A freebie. A little surprise bonus. And somehow, it feels like the perfect trophy for that accomplishment. This actually isn't the first time something like this has happened. --- Years ago, there was another goal I had, and when I finally reached it - won a competition and advanced to the next stage - I was handed a batik uniform. The official batik of the Bekasi regency contingent, reserved only for those who had earned the right to represent the region at the provincial-level competition.  It wasn't just fabric; it was a symbol of trust, of recognition. That moment felt like being knighted by the city itself, draped in colors that car...

sukajadi

The incident occurred around 5:30 AM on Saturday, April 12, 2025, on the KM 332 of the B lane of the Pekalongan Toll Road in Central Java. At the time, a group of Persebaya Surabaya football fans, known as "Bonek," from various districts of Surabaya, were asleep in a bus operated by PO Fransindo Trans. These fans had collectively contributed Rp 650,000 each for a trip to Jakarta to watch their team play Persija, with their journey commencing from the Pasar Turi area in front of a gas station on Jalan Semarang. The sleeping passengers were suddenly awakened by the sound of a collision, and some were thrown forward, striking the seats in front of them. Following the impact, the passengers disembarked the buses to find a severely damaged car. The impact of the collision left the cargo of the damaged Honda BR-V strewn across the toll road.  Initial reports indicate that the Honda BR-V suddenly entered the second lane traveling against the flow of traffic at an estimated speed of ...

Sports where the Gold is the top prize in respective sport >Archery >Artistic Gymnastics >Artistic Swimming >Athletics >Badmiton >Basketball 3x3 >Beach Volleyball >Breaking >Canoe Slalom >Diving >Equestrian >Fencing >Handball >Field Hockey >Judo >Karate >Marathon running >Modern Pentathlon >Rhythmic Gymnastics >Rowing >Rugby Sevens >Sailing >Shooting >Sport Climbing >Surfing (???) >Swimming >Table Tennis >Taekwondo >Trampoline >Triathlon >Volleyball >Water Polo >Weightlifting >Wrestling Sports where the top prize is NOT an Olympic gold medal >Basketball (NBA Finals, NCAAW Championship) >Boxing (World title belts : The WBA (World Boxing Association), WBC (World Boxing Council), IBF (International Boxing Federation), WBO (World Boxing Organisation) and The Ring) >BMX (X Games) >Cycling (Tour de France) >Football (World Cup) >Golf (PGA Tour majors : Masters Tournament in...

Satu per satu bus dari luar kota memasuki Terminal Kampung Rambutan, Jakarta Timur, Minggu, 6 April 2025 siang. Gedung kedatangan penuh dengan penumpang membawa koper, ransel, dan harapan. Di antara ratusan penumpang pada siang itu, tampak R (21) bersama kakak perempuannya. Mereka baru saja tiba dari Sumedang dan bergegas menuju area penjemputan. Air muka R terlihat lelah setelah menempuh perjalanan selama lima jam. Namun sorot matanya memancarkan semangat.   "Sudah lima bulan jadi tukang las. Ikut saudara. Enak, bayarannya lumayan daripada di kampung," ujar lulusan SMA dari Wado, Sumedang.  Ia diajak kakaknya untuk bekerja sebagai tukang las di Ciracas, Jakarta Timur. Tempat kerjanya itu tak jauh dari kediamannya di rumah sang kakak. Sebagai tukang las, upahnya Rp 250.000 per hari. Setelah dipotong untuk makan dan minum, ia bisa menabung Rp 150.000 sampai Rp 200.000 setelah jajan. Jumlah ini dua kali lipat dari gajinya ketika masih bekerja sebagai tukang las di kampung h...

Terminal Cicaheum, Bandung, Senin, 7 April 2025, pukul 08.00 WIB pagi, sudah ramai. Suasana arus balik Lebaran masih terasa di terminal yang beroperasi sejak tahun 1974 itu. Turun dari bus, penumpang sudah ditunggu petugas Disdukcapil Kota Bandung. Hari itu digelar pendataan identitas penumpang bagi warga dari luar kota. Di dalam tenda pemeriksaan, dua meja pelayanan sudah disediakan untuk pendataan. Petugas lalu meminta para penumpang mengisi data kependudukan di formulir.  Mereka juga diminta mengaktifkan aplikasi identitas kependudukan digital di telepon seluler. Proses pendataannya hanya lima menit per orang. Mereka diminta mengisi data kependudukan, alamat e-mail, tujuan kedatangan, hingga alamat terkini. Dari banyak orang yang menjalani pendataan, dua di antaranya S dan R. Mereka dari Tasikmalaya. Tahun ini, keduanya baru berusia 19 tahun.  "Libur seminggu di kampung. Ini bawa oleh-oleh cemilan," kata R dari Citamba, Ciawi. Ia bekerja sebagai pelayan di salah satu resto...

"Tetangga sebelah baru saja beli mobil." "Hah?" "Itu, lihat. Diparkir di depan." "Lah, serius diparkir di depan? Gang sempit ini? Sekampung ini bisa sulit akses keluar!"  "Hmm.. Gak tau deh." *** "Nih, makan ini, ayam panggang. Enak." "Dari mana?" "Selametan tetangga yang tadi siang baru beli mobil." "Dia kan pelihara anjing?" "Dia beli ayam ini dari rumah makan padang di depan." "Ooh.. Terus, mobilnya diparkir dimana?" "Gak tau. Mungkin ke komplek belakang." "Ooh.." *nyam*