Book Hunting and Snob-spotting
During the weekend, my beau and I went to the Book Fair at JCC. Because we left during lunch-time, the traffic was insane – which came as no surprise – and even when we were a few minutes far from the place, I was already busting to go to the toilet that I took a constant dislike to men for being able to wee anywhere and the sight of green grasses on the sides of the road made me feel even more furious.
Anyways – we got there safe and sound and as soon as we got the entrance ticket and passed through the entrance door, I begged my beau to let me out of the car and with his approval, sprinted out and hunt for the toilets – eyes narrowing and focusing on little signboards depicting two people with one of them doning a skirt – and the state of the toilet was nauseating beyond reality. It was Jakarta Convention Centre, for god’s sake. You’d think it would take on a more elegant approach to cleanliness. But then again, the airport toilets were even worse.
The Book Fair. It was like being stuck in Mangga Dua at its highest peak. There were lots of people everywhere. There were sweaty, disgusting looking guys who stared at me up and down – nevermind my boyfriend was right beside me! – and there were girls who reeked of absolute horrors of the worst body odour. I had to walk around covering my nose with my fingers as if there were dumpster bins all around me. But despite all those traumatic obstacles, we managed to find a decent architectural book on houses, 50% off from the original price which was half a million rupiah. It was heavy as armloads of bricks, but what a bargain! I also found a good book on illustrating, but it wasn’t half off, and I was hanging onto a Marian Keyes novel I’d been wanting to get but decided to drop it at the last minute.
When we got home, I told my beau I regretted not getting Keyes’ novel, in which beau kindly offered to go again the next day, which was Sunday. I told him I’d better go to a proper bookstore that sold imported stuff.
So we headed off to Plazza Semanggi, but since the last time I went there was sometime in 2005, I was a bit nervous I’d get lost. For all I knew, it was easier getting to Plaza
“Yeah, lets! I’ve never been on it!” Beau’s eyes gleamed with excitement. That’s the thing I love about him- he is always up for anything. He’s not the type of guy who’d go, “Oh..uhmm…but it’s the hottest at this time of the day…can’t we just drive there? Why leave the car here and catch the bus…there would be sweaty people and it would be so crowded and I hate all that shit.” or “Are you mad??? Whatever the hell would you want to do that for?”
You know what I mean?
When we got to Aksara and found my book I was delighted beyond relief. Beau also spotted the book that he had purchased the day before, still full price and nevertheless he was happy upon this surprising discovery. We were all set to go back to Semanggi, but because I’d been walking too fast- bad habit I couldn’t let go since I developed it being overseas and all – wearing my new shoes and everything, I was getting blisters. So I had to get some band-aids from the chemist nearby. And this is where it pissed me off.
I was asking for the shop-assistant who was all beyond eager to serve, for band-aids and within two seconds she reappeared holding up five different types of band-aids so that I could choose one for my preferrence. I was on the cash register waiting to pay, when out of nowhere this snooty old woman distracting all the other cashiers with her stupid questions and requests on things that were common sense for normal people.
First, she was asking the cashier about pads. She got one from Whisper, which she seemed to have picked up from the rack right next to her. But she kept bothering the assistant to get her another type of pad even though she claimed she only knew one type of it.
And because she was all made up so heavily the foundation on her face might have fallen over if someone bumped her from behind and she was holding a Gucci tote-bag and looking expensive from head to toe, all the assistants ignored the other customers – including me, who was purchasing a Rp. 3000.- worth of band-aid and originally just wanting to get in and out of that place in the mere three minutes. But because of the snobby, snooty demanding cake-faced lady, I ended up being there for fifteen minutes. That old bag had all the stuff on the cash register, already paid and in the plastic carry bag, and she was still adding things up on the go. What the fuck.
I decided that I hated the place. For all its worth, it was full of useless eejits and superficial bullshitness that made people who weren’t over made-up and all labeled up from head to toe looked so out of place. Because underneath all those expensive get-up, they were actually not more smarter, nor substantial than me. All the money in the world couldn’t buy manners and classiness that so little people were willing to present there.
The more I spent time in
4 comments
errr yeaaaa…PI is full of that kind of people. i’m there a lot for lunches because that’s like the nearest place from my office. seen lots of aunties with hairs like birdnests…or what my dad would call them, “istri yang ngabisin duit suami”….
told my roommie if one day when we were older i set my hair like that, please just shoot me.
do you ever wonder what they do ALL DAY? It’s not SHOPPING,isn’t it? I mean, as rich as people can be, wouldn’t it be boring?
“Oh bloody hell. I’ve already got every new collection from LV. I just dont know WHAT am I going to do with myself…oh well..better start a new collection from another designer then…Ohhh what’s that? That’s a nice little teeny tiny handbag… I wonder how much THAT is…ONLY FIFTY MILLION?? Oh my gosh I HAVE TO HAVE IT!! My friend so-and-so would be ABsoLUtely jealous and it will TOTALLY heighten my social status!!”
It’s so unfair. These people are so stupid and they have SO MUCH MONEY.
I wonder what they feel like when they see beggars on the street. Probably immune to that kinda shit anyway.
i don’t think they ever pass that street
Seriously??? But beggars are omnipresent these days