Every once in a while, my mind would glitch and I'd wonder if maybe I should save up for a car. Oh the places I could go. Out-of-town trips I don’t have to wait until the weekend to take. Long solo drives I could go on when my body tells me to leave the house without a particular destination in mind. I was never one of those kids who had a car to drive to school in high school or college, which is why I think I still have it in me to romanticize the idea of a car in a city where cars can barely move. Most of my friends who spent their teens and/or 20s driving no longer do so these days, opting for the backseat of cabs or Grab/Gocars instead. Too tired. Too stressful. Too much time precious time wasted driving. If I had a car, though, I think I’d be free. There’s this idea that I could just go at any given moment, without the hassle of ordering on an app, or having strangers know my address. And with my current working hours — which is non-existent — I imagine being able to easily beat inconveniences like ganjil-genap, rush hour, and the likes.
I feel the same way about owning my own car, taking friends for a car ride, driving friends home, long solo drives, chaotic family drives, the ngelamun in Jakarta's traffic, the singing alone in the car, the ngebut to Taylor Swift's Reputation. I almost wrote an essay about it but I'm so glad you did so I don't have to, lol. There's this quote by Annie Ernaux in The Years that I'm really drawn to but never had any chance to talk about!! So I'm sharing this with you.
"The most enviable and expensive object was the automobile, synonymous with freedom, a total mastery of space (!!!!!), and in a certain way, the world (!!!)"
#13: Take me on a ride
I feel the same way about owning my own car, taking friends for a car ride, driving friends home, long solo drives, chaotic family drives, the ngelamun in Jakarta's traffic, the singing alone in the car, the ngebut to Taylor Swift's Reputation. I almost wrote an essay about it but I'm so glad you did so I don't have to, lol. There's this quote by Annie Ernaux in The Years that I'm really drawn to but never had any chance to talk about!! So I'm sharing this with you.
"The most enviable and expensive object was the automobile, synonymous with freedom, a total mastery of space (!!!!!), and in a certain way, the world (!!!)"
Vroom vroom