Defining Eli

Eli is the main character of my no-plot kamikaze novel, as I am participating with the other 5,000 people for the Nanowrimo in November. I will post the progress in my other weblog, mydesignationiseli.blogspot.com. My pretty-ambitious goal is to have 50,000 words in 30 days, and have a very rough draft of a novel. What do I know about fiction or creative writing? Probably none. But, I heard alot of people that has done this has a good result to discipline themselves to write several hours a day. That's a good thing, practice for perseverance and patient.

Chris Bate, the founder of Nanowrimo, suggested not to do so much research and planning in our novels, but just go with the flow and enjoying the process to write. I had that bad habit, doing all the research before I write, because I write non-fictions, you have to know everything you have to know for your article, that's for sure for non-fiction. But in fiction writing, you define how much reality will be in your fiction.

So I will throw all the fun stuff I have been thinking all this time. I have this love affair with Southern Culture. It is close enough to call the culture as home to me, but the history, the controversy, and reality that I found here is not always delicious. Not to generalize people based on their culture is true, but I found a range of reality in every "rumor", rumor that I don't agree with such as racism. But it was back to the Civil War era, where no one is alive to testify right now. And it is limited to certain people who worship their only race as neo nazi. I think people are prejudice when they are prejudice, and it is not fair to identify individual or group attitude as regional one. There are so many things I discovered through living in the border of the south and the north, the transition poin where the identity seems to collapsed and combined at the same time. I know so many nice and decent Southerners, who I thought to be more polite than anyone else. And I love the idea of family, the porch culture, community, bow tie, and food...

This guy, Eli, is a twenty-four year old white Southerner guy who just graduated from a private prestigious college in Virginia, Hampden Sidney College. He moved back to Cincinnati, his hometown, and found a different world ready to dig in. The story is range around two years of his life, where he really found out what life is all about. I like everything about Eli, and I know him very well, for I am his creator. Basically, I am in love with my character. Although he is not perfect, just to make it real enough, he (finally) has the character I admire in guys. I have it all in my mind, but I can't start writing until November 1, not even the layout or the plot. I'll let Eli decide what he wants to do. The other main character is Mitch, his long lost dad, who always watch him, and help him (sometimes) but always keep his identity a secret. I don't know anything about Mitch, yet, but I know what kind of father he is. So far, I am excited to enter his world, but we'll see in the next thirty-days.

What's Eli doing?
That full of pride guy is in Virginia, having a good time with all his fraternity brothers, playing games with girls, enjoy being around them and admired by them. Something is going to happen tonight, something big that will totally change his life, but he doesn't know yet. Enjoy your last good days, Eli!

I was at church today when I suddenly realize of how foolish is someone who's in love. Remember the old phrase "the fool never sees the thruth"? When you were out of love, suddenly you can see everything clearly, and you will ask yourself "what were you thinking?". It seem so hard when you go through the process of letting go, but when you get there, it will be very clear that what you were doing what was right. One more thing I learned is that never tried to forget them because they will never go; they were part of your life, and you will never forget them; I just tried to forgive myself and the other person, think that everything happened for a reason, and I learned so many things from the relationship, it even got into the point that it brought me closer to God more than ever. Also, never tried to runaway either. It might seem odd, but my latest successfull attempt to forget about the relationship is to accept the other person the way he is, to accept the situation, and to accept the new kind of relationship, whatever it is, with the person, in a new kind of way, that doesn't involve anything more than friendship. Is it possible? Yes, with God everything is possible. I believe that guys and girls can be friends, especially if they have been through rough times together, knowing each other, respect each other's space, and remember the reason why the relationship didn't work at the first place

Back to Eli. He was so stubborn and convinced me that he is a rich, full of pride guy, who thinks the world is in his pocket. He got everything he wanted and think that it was all his achievements. Even he is smart, may be genius, though, Eli had poor grades, he was almost got kicked out of college. He doesn't know what life is all about, he doesn't know what he wants to do in his life.

Day one = 1,334 words. Eli moved to Cincinnati and got his own apartment; an introduction to a stranger; a good love life, and a bitter childhood. I already loosing my faith on Eli, so I decided to change his character and his attitude.

How to eat lumpia

I stand in front of sushi table in Keller’s IGA grocery store waiting for my shushi guy making my lumpia.There are so many variations of stuffed vegetables in lumpia around asian countries such as Thai, China, and Indonesia. Lumpia is a deep fry stuffed spring roll with cooked bamboo shoots and chopped shrimps. But this time, I the he substitutes the bamboo shoots with cabbage, which make it very different from the original lumpia I used to have at home.

In Indonesia, we eat lumpia as snack or dessert. You can find a variety of lumpia in the other countries such as Thai and China. If you like Chinese food, probably you already know about it, some Chinese restaurants serve lumpia as a complement of their dishes.

The best lumpia in Indonesia can be found in Semarang, Central Java, where most of my relatives from my mom's side live. I went there almost every summer on school holiday to stay with my cousins who are all girls. Semarang has a strong influence of Chinese heritage; it is a small port in central Java where the Chinese people came hundreds of years ago to trade and stay.

Lumpia can be found at street vendors in Semarang, where we can watch the vendor made it from scratch. Lumpia Semarang is so famous, and it became a trademark of the city. There are two kinds of lumpia, the lumpia basah (basah means wet, the lumpia is ready to be served without frying) and lumpia goreng (deep fried lumpia).

The traditional lumpia had fresh long thin sliced bamboo shoots, shrimps, green onion, pepper, and nutmeg, wrapped with thin rice wrapped, deep fried in hot vegetable oil.

After golden brown, the vendor would put it on top of a plate with banana leave cover that would cried out of the hot lumpia thrown over it. While they are frying the lumpia, some other people serves us fresh Javanese tea, and a plate for each where we could pour out the sauce on it.

The sauce preparation is not complicated either. In Semarang, the main ingredients for the sauce is what we call Tauco, or fermented soy sauce, it has a deep salty taste to it, with a thick texture with whole soy beans in it. Other ingredients are spices that you sauted with the tauco.

It is fun to watch the process of making lumpia. It won't take long for those lumpias to change position in our plates and then our mouths. You gotta be cautious though because hot lumpia would do similar thing to your tounge as other hot stuffs.

Traditional lumpia had a thick sour sauce, but I would add hot sauce too on mine.

Afternoon is the best time to eat Lumpia, as your stomach craves for a snack in between meal. A cup of hot tea is the perfect combination for the snack. Pour the sauce on top of it or dip the sauce to the lumpia. It usually arranged on a sheet of banana leaf, served with the sauce, small green chilies, and cucumber pickles.

A Red Apple

I chose a red apple among maroon grapes and green pears and yelowish-green bananas and red nectarines. I pick up only one red apple that fit in my small hand. It will be my choice for breakfast instead of a cruncy chocolate roll I used to buy at Shadeau Breads. I need this red apple to begin my day.

"Only one?" the old fat big white guy said to me.
"Yes, please."
"Nice purse," The older guy who is thinner who is standing at the right of the old fat big white guy said.
"Yes, I have to carry this big bag everyday," I noted while getting a dollar to pay for my apple. The fat big white guy put the apple in a small brown paper bag.

This red apple is amazing. It is very ripe, with healthy and shinny skin, with a little light color as if shredded and painted to it. The skin is soft but firm with no scar at all. I run water on the sink on to it after I peel the plastic like paper that shows the mark. The running water washed away any pesticide or chemical that I assumed used to plant the apple tree. It washed away any excessive bacteria I don't need for my body.

I bite it once I can taste water coming out of the apple so fresh and cruncy and sweet. Thank God for creating apple, I said in my mind.I wanted to bite again. And again. And again. Until I didn't realize I ate it like there is nothing more in the world I could eat.