Eyes of the Innocents

I was tracing through some old folders and found these pile of left-forgotten photographs taken around July last year, when me and some friends were helping our seniors doing the research for their final thesis. The study took place in a public school in Tebet and was held for 5 days in a row. It was also held for charity, we provided free eye exams and glasses. I wasn't officially asked for documenting the event, so I didn't bring my SLR along. But, I couldn't help myself not to capture these wonderful children and moments. Sooo, I grabbed a friend's Sony pocket digicam, and just snapped around whatever I could get. Hopefully the pics still can quite tell the story for themselves :)

Good morning and welcome,

We arrived too early on the first day.

We were hungry like crazy, so we walked around a little just to calm the tummies down.
We found some street food nearby.
Seeing those toy stalls kind of recalled the childhood memories.

Tell me, who doesn't adore kueh cubit?

I bought a box of it for myself, and back then, I always used to have it half-baked.
And no, this time I wouldn't share ;P

We had our quick (and unhealthy) breakfast by the riverside. Let's say goodbye to hygiene for a while.

Mbak Aci was happy to find some cute sweets. She bought the Blackberry toy candy for her daughter.

We went back to the school, it was around 7. Some of the kids were doing the sport.

I remember the theme song that day. It was the famous Chaiyya Chayya these kids were danced into.

Each of us in position, getting ourselves ready...

Some of the boys started lining up at the registration table.

Bluey-shoey, so you're the little rule breaker, hey?

"The eyes of the innocents"

These beautiful twin dolls were very quiet. It's sad to know that they're fatherless.

The kids were so excited for the eye exams.

Kids posing for me. I still can feel their laughter of excitement.
One of them couldn't stop yelling, "Liat deh! Liat deh! Dokternya putih banget!" *me sighing*

Measuring their weight and height.
Can you feel that pure soul of innocence? Like there's no sense of disobedience. 

Mbak Aci doing the Hirschberg's corneal reflex test.

On the right hand side, a kid was having Titmus stereoscopic test.

Special visual acuity test for children, using Lea symbols.

The right pic: Bang Iqbal, one of our seniors, doing the Maddox rod test, for diplopia.

Mbak Rien, doing the Hertel, a test for ocular misalignment. 

Kids having OCT and pachymetry test. 

My desk, where I worked for the color vision test with Ishihara cards.

Me and Mbak Ria, my sister in crime during the 5 days. 

One of my patients, sooo sooo ready for the test. Such a sweetie.

My other patient... Why so serious, boy?

I wasn't giving you a math test, was I baby girl? Please don't give me that look.

At the very end, glasses to be given away if they're proven to be ametropic. Children were free to choose the model and color of their favorites. 

The happy teachers... who couldn't stop thanking us,

the happy us, felt so relieved to finally finished the tasks,

and surely the happy and wide-smiling seniors, after very long and exhausting days.

It always feels good to do something for others. To really see them smile. Such a warmth in our hearts :)

With love,
Indira

Insomnia's knocking on the door, then left me staring in front of the monitor, blogging. My mind's been busy lately, even with the eyes closed. I've been asking myself, "Have I, have you, have us all, been grateful enough? For what we got today?"
As human, it's probably easy to be thankful when we are happy. But where do we go when things are not going the way we plan? Most of us will go like, "Why me?", or... "No, you don't understand." And other bunches of lines showing how desperate we are. How this life has cost us nothing but endless suffering.

This reminds me of what my father told me. Unconsciously as human, we often think we deserve merely good deeds in life; health, happiness, wealthiness. However, we got the opposite; illness, failure, unworthiness. Then we think God's not fair. When we receive bad things, try to remember those times when we had the good ones.."Racing horse doesn't know why it has to run and win the competition. All it knows is that it has to run, because it's painful when its back got hit."This life is like a race. And God's the jokey. When you got hurt, when you think everything's ruining under your roof, try to think, "God wants you to win."
So, cut the drama. We're not playing a soap opera or Grey's anatomy. Life is not as bad as it may seem. Let's ask ourselves, have we done our best? Or perhaps it's us who cause ourselves the trouble? And exaggerate everything? I know it wouldn't be fair for me to judge how big or small one's problems are. But, why don't we introspect and improve. Because maybe the obstacles we're facing today are nothing compared with those that'd be coming tomorrow. Easy to tell, h*ll to do, yes? But I'm sure, it'll be worth trying.
And remember,
there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

Night's getting late. I'm shutting my laptop down, with the hope, these two eyes will follow.

Have a good rest, dear readers. Nito.
Indira

How dark is the darkness?

Dragged into the lowest point of your life. Moments of paused steps, muted. Worries, doubts, fears... blended. A time when you feel like your life is nothing but your own enemy. Days of sleepless night. Very tiresome. Then you are conditioned like you're rushing that better things will show. No, they won't. Not always. But try to believe that there's no such thing as infinite darkness. Because maybe under that unenlightenedment, it'll be the only time you'll be able to see, that through that curtain, there'll be sunlight coming in. Maybe not now, not anytime soon. But they're there, finding their way to you. Then you'll realize that, there'll be no longer cold nights under that moonlight biting your skin. 

February the 18th 2012

Never give in, even with the slightest breath you still have. Because those wounds will dry and patched themselves up.

This post goes to someone once dedicated me this song.

I might be the one the rest of the world would call 'out-of-her-mind' to write this for you. But let that be. You'll get through whatever you're facing now. Not only because you can, but also because you have to. You have no idea how you still break me with everything you do, good or bad. But I'll manage my sorrow, I care about you too much to tell you how it hurts knowing what you're going through right now.

Indira

Time does fly. Snap! Just like a flick of your finger. Distance torn people apart. What the so called grown up business rapped our time.We're all drown in our own paths we've chosen. Our all-time dreams. Got us all nearly insane by routines. Left us unconciously egocentric. Then, to some part, friendships broken. As well as faith tortured, somehow, irreversibly. Love fell in, then failed out. Relationship shattered. Hopes aimed high, then the next day regrets left. Things changed. We all, too. Time did teach us, nurtured us. Yet, changed us all. Both in a good or sadly, the bad way.

Good old times? Hey, what are they?

Where did they go?

Looks like precious memories cost us heavy price these days..

"Or maybe it's just waiting for the right time to come up again.." 

-B.P- March, 2012

And yes, I'm looking forward to that.

Indira