What's your poison? Finding some stress relief<\/p>\n
Aida Greenbury, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Living in this decrepit metropolitan city can be really
\ndepressing. What's new, right? Face it -- it's hard to follow
\ngrandma's advice to always think positive and always make sure to
\nbe surrounded by positive energy in this place.<\/p>\n
I wake up every morning, with my throat and nose full of weird
\nstuff I inhale from the air conditioner in my bedroom, which is
\non maximum strength every night or else I would be covered in a
\nlayer of unhealthy gooey sweat. Don't dare suggest opening the
\nwindow to breathe in the \"fresh\" air while I am sleeping: I would
\nend up looking slightly blue when I wake up in the morning, if I
\nwake up, that is.<\/p>\n
Then I climb in the bathtub to soak my body in the yellowish
\nwater, a questionable mix of rust and other deposits seeping from
\nthe half-blocked shower holes.<\/p>\n
After my rejuvenating regime, piles of work usually greet me,
\nwhich would be quite OK if there was actually real work to be
\ndone. Which means that I would be actually making a bit of money
\ninstead of wasting the cheerful morning like most of the time.<\/p>\n
The good old socializing method, where people actually meet
\nand talk face to face, sounds like a crime now when e-mails,
\nvideo calls and SMS have the same functions, minus the hassle of
\na dehydrated mouth due to the act of plastering a friendly though
\nusually false smile on my face, the traffic jammed trips and, God
\nforbid, physical touching and friendly gestures! They are so last
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
Work, no healthy socializing, awful air and woeful water
\nquality, traffic jams: Don't have to be an Einstein to figure out
\nthat the MC2 is a highly stressful lifestyle. I also realize that
\nI would end up looking scarier than a stuffed Keith Richard if I
\ndo not do anything about it. Release me, my precious.<\/p>\n
What do I do? What should you do to release the stress? Please
\ndon't give me that snobbish spiel of \"Oh, I'm fine here, life is
\nbeautiful, I'm enjoying it, care for a cup of tea, dear?\"<\/p>\n
When I think about it, there are handfuls of stress release
\nactivities in this city. There are the beaches, golf courses,
\nmovie theaters, hundreds of interesting hobbies. Did I mention
\nthe wonderful beaches? There is Ancol in North Jakarta, for
\nexample, with its finicky dress code found nowhere else in the
\nworld. The beach's visitors are urged to wear blue jeans, T-
\nshirts and\/or black leather jackets.<\/p>\n
Don't try to sunbathe there in your latest D&G bikini unless
\nyou want to be gawked at by drooling males, snotty kids, mutant
\nseagulls and God knows what else. The stretch of Anyer and its
\nlittle beach minions to the west of the city are also quite
\namusing. However, you cannot really snorkel there, because your
\nunderwater visibility is less than five meters and there is
\nnothing to see except the long waste pipe from the nearby
\nindustrial complex.<\/p>\n
For good-hearted humble people, charity is often the chosen
\nstress-release activity. Now, that does not include the noble act
\nof giving cash to the police officers when you are pulled over on
\nthe street for not being able to read the traffic regulations
\nwritten in tiny font on the street sign while not speeding (who
\ncan speed on Jakarta streets anyway?).<\/p>\n
Taking young jockeys for a three-in-one ride and giving them
\na few thousand rupiah is also classified as a charity act by
\nsome, as in improving the welfare of street children in Jakarta.
\nAnd for the aged and depressed? Well, they can always play golf
\nto relieve the burdens of life.<\/p>\n
For my personal stress relief, I chose to make a marine
\naquarium a hobby. Ages ago, my biology teacher told me: \"If you
\ncan't watch marine animals in their original habitat, you can
\nalways set up your own marine habitat in an aquarium in your
\nhome!\"<\/p>\n
So I did just that. I have a marine aquarium at home. It's got
\nabout a dozen fish that look a bit out of place living in a glass
\nbox, adorned with colorful live corals. But now I can happily say
\nthat I can maintain my sanity amid the assault of daily stress,
\nplus giving job opportunities for those people who earn a bit of
\nmoney from chipping away the precious coral reef, fighting
\nagainst the wild tropical current to survive while probably
\ninadvertently poisoning themselves with cyanide while they are
\ntrying to tranquilize the fish at the bottom of the ocean.<\/p>\n
It's the balance between the stress and the release that you
\nneed folks. After all, to live and earn money in this colorful
\ncity, one pays one's dues.<\/p>",
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