Second Cup of Java

A Second Cup of Java runneth over with excerpts like these:

*** "Oh no! Diary, a girl is supposed to fall in love with the thirty-first man that comes along- not the first! Not the first man!

***"So did your mum's friend give up on teaching?"
"No because Mum and her other friends played a trick on Tante Nilda."

"What exactly did they do?"

"They invited Tante Nilda to watch "Gone With the Wind" at Our House, but instead, they played "To Sir With Love," with Sidney Poiter as the super-hero teacher."

"So did the movie give the desired result?" he asked, looking a little sceptical.

"It went beyond the conspirators' wildest dream! They'd plotted to make only Tante Nilda, but instead, all of them cried!"

*** "With all due respect, Arjun, I heard myself say in a small voice. I said 'central Javanese', not... not..."
"Sensual Javanese? Relax Dewi! Let your hair down a little! It's just a slip of the tongue..."

Gosh Diary, what have I done? Have I taken shelter in a lion's den? God knows I said 'central Javanese' not 'sensual Javanese'! He was just pretending to be hard of hearing and as deaf as like everybody's great-grandfather! Did he think he could pull the wool over my eyes just because I was a teenager?

***Did you know that Rabindranath Tagore was captivated by Javanese court dances? And did you know that my paternal grandfather came from Kolkata-a repercussion of Tagore's visit to Java?

**"I don't like to talk about Jazz music because it's the epitome of good taste, and I happen to be the epitome of bad taste!"

"Seventeen years old - and already conscripted into the intellectual left. But in the end, painfully shy but smarty-pants Dewi fall for debonair and well- off Arjun. Why? Because Arjun makes her feel protected and safe and comfortable in her own skin. She no longer has to deal with shyness! And that's a real relief because it's embarrassing to be shy.

**"School exams are made for Tom Dick or Harry and other run-of-the-mill conformists like me - not for creative supermen and wonder women like Nadiem Makarim and Ibu Susi Pudjiastuti."

**I turned to the left to look. And that's when it happened. Someone or something grabbed me and pulled me with a sudden force. I screamed in terror, but my voice was quickly stifled. I don't remember how I managed to break free. All I know is that everything was happening all at once. I was engulfed and consumed by a flame. One part of my heart threatened to jump out of my mouth! Another part wanted to jump down to my stomach! My lips were on fire and I was gasping for air!

It was all over in a matter of seconds. But in those few seconds Diary, I'd sky-dived, ski-jumped and bungee-jumped! He tricked me! Arjun tricked me! He'd just stolen a kiss from me, and it was all premeditated.

**Today is Bastille Day - the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille by courageous French revolutionaries in 1789. That incident which took place exactly 225 years ago was the catalyst that gave us commoners in the entire universe the freedom which we now take for granted.

Thank you, France for The French Revolution and People Power. Thank you for pointing out to us - members of the third estate that every voice, no matter how weak and powerless, counts. Alone, we're just a whisper, a formless ripple. Together and united, we're a power to be reckoned with. A thunderous tsunami that can topple centuries old institutions and perpetrators of legalized social injustice - and bring them to their knees! Thank you, France for helping us break free from the shackles of cruel, debilitating feudalism. Thank you, France for "equality before the law" and democracy."