the green bugs invasion!

Have you ever lied down, facing up the bedroom's ceiling at two o'clock in the morning and suddenly you feel like experiencing an eternal moment? The outside world radiates a perpetual serenity. It was only you and the bedroom's ceiling.

At two o'clock in the morning, suddenly a glitch in your brain built up such a strong chemistry reaction that forced your weary eyes to open wide to meet your matte colored ceiling. And like I said above, your horizon was perpetual serenity and your vertical was the dull-colored ceiling.

For a nanosecond, you were pretty sure that everything was going to be all right. Forget insomnia, forget nightmares, and forget fantasy. It was just you, your ceiling and that perpetual serenity. And you were in a dream-state condition. And it was fine. You were ready to embrace your true seven hours of serenity. Again. Before long, you realized that your window was wide open. And then it came to your senses that you are not alone in this room.

A buzzing sound from your three o'clock warped up towards you. It won't stop! And it's alive! But then again, remember, you were in a dream-state condition that does not allow you to be responsive to anything. Before it hits you, it hurled itself up. Faster than your eyes. Before it hits the ceiling. "Thwab!" You thought it was dead and you could seize your peace again. Until you realize that it was flying in circle around the round white lamp of your room. "Zzzinggg.. Thump!" Over and over and over again. If that small flying thingy is a human being, that human being must be having a very hard time to end his or her life. It came across you that that thing was small. Against the ceiling, that thing would sure be dead. You were wrong.

It went down straight to you in a full speed. It decided to confront you eye to eye. It was floating on your eye level. That nasty little stuff that just ruined your serene little moment was a huge green bugs you've never seen before. A huge green bugs that flies and buzzes. Was there any horn on the front? No, there wasn't any. But didn't it cross your mind that it might hit you in a full speed any nanosecond from now? The cover, quick, quick! The bedcover, the blanket, anything. Anything that will provide you an emergency full protection against crazy bugs invasion!

"Zzziinggg…" NO! You thought you were finished. That nasty little thing. You were wrong. "Thwabs! Thwabs!" You didn't fascinate the bugs; it was the lamp and the ceiling. Yet you were still peering from behind your helpless blanket. Swearing. Complaining. All the dirtiest words you could ever think of. And you lost, my man. Against the green bugs invasion.


Now you thought that you were the warm center of the universe, like Ed Norton in The Fight Club who was able to seize his serene moments at nights. "Zzziiinggg… chink! Zzziiinggg…" This one was damn close to your ears. "Chink!" YIKES! The green bugs just made an alliance with a lean, mean, little dragonfly-look-alike bugs! The latter seemed to be lethal, as you could spot the (sengat) at the end of its body. It was floating gracefully across your room. As if it was a strayed biplane. First it was flying in circle around the lamp, sizing up the green bugs sitting on the edge of the lamp. Wrong again. The dragonfly bugs started to expand its coverage. It drew itself closer and closer against you.

For a second or so, you just stared dumbfounded at those two bugs, which have just ruined your (again) serene little moment. Those two little creatures were roaming freely, showing off their knack for flying right in front of your very eyes. An F-16 wouldn't fly that gracefully, perhaps.

Then you begun to realize and asked questions to yourself, you started to wonder what those two crazy bugs were up to. A minute later or so, you realized that conquer of paradise has just begun.

More "zziingg" sounds enveloped you. More "'thwabs" sounds of the silly green bugs humping against the ceiling. More "chink" sounds of the other bugs. They might be small and harmless, but very intimidating. A wider flight coverage. A bolder maneuvers. A more threatening looks. No bugsticide anywhere within your reach. In that three by four meters by three meters room, you mind has finally made a decision. Bugs bites might not be dangerous or anywhere near lethal. But the trauma might last longer than you thought. And then, how you hate bugs.

The next maneuvers they made, you reached a decision.

To leave the room. That's it!

Precisely at 04:00 AM in the morning, those two little bugs have beaten you. It was the night of the green bugs invasion.


You were hanging out there to dry. All alone. In the pitch dark of the night. You started to review your sleeping disturbances in the past six months. You had to realize that you had a very nice and challenging job. With a pool of friends. And a nice room to stay. Enough money to fulfill your desire of any gadgets you wanted. Whatizzit then? You don't have a female boss so bitchy you couldn't stand her. No. You enjoyed both public transportation and private ones. You are the balance point of the world of comforts. Chicks? Hey, you've got yourself a series of occasional girlfriend to hang out with. All is well educated, well behaved, damn smart, and easy to get along with and most of them are in your wavelength. You could still hear those bugs initiating another attack in your room. Must be against the big huge white lamp. It was not the bugs, despite their invasion.

Must be the chick in pink, who swayed smoothly and beautifully in her refined, latest fashion and perfume. The pink lady, who happened to threw her deadly smile at those two guards in front of your office. The day after the green bugs invasion, you found yourself confronting the center of your universe. The pink lady. At any rate, she was probably the most gorgeous creature on earth. You settled your sleeping disturbances. Like Ed Norton said in The Fight Club. "Babies don't sleep this well." Do they? Do you? What about the mobile number you were clutching in your sleep?

Jakarta, September 26, 2000.



"I live at the 32nd floor of this apartment in downtown Jakarta. At night, those brown-hard shell-bugs would invade my room and start to hit anything in front of them." *shrugs*

-- confession of an expatriate coping with Jakarta's apartment.