Today is Day 2 of my participation in the #30dayswritingchallenge.
Today’s topic is writing a piece concerning things that make me happy.
I froze for a while by staring with my blank eyes on my laptop screen, thinking of things that can make me happy.
Until finally, out of tons of things that might stimulate happiness to me, I have decided to pick up these two: Manchester United and coffee. Two things that sound irrelevant to be partnered. Those two are not even related and interchangeable by definition in any way. Nevertheless, randomly I just want to share my thought about them.
Manchester United
Manchester United is arguably one of the biggest football clubs in the world. United has held difficult periods in the past seven years after over two decades of the glory regime under Sir Alex Ferguson era. Looking at what they perform over the years back, I know that some of you might doubt it and ask me to go to the doctor for illness checking. But to me, that’s the fact!
My friends or anyone who follows me on Twitter will acknowledge how do I love this club, no matter what. Even a close friend labels me as a die-hard fan. During the United bad performance against West Ham United, a friend asked me, “Why do you obsess with that club? Look how sh*tty they are!”
That is hard to answer. It is like a question on why do you still love your wife after realizing that she made a stupid mistake that cost your life — and you cannot answer it. To me, that is the analogy. I explained this analogy to my beloved friend. Then, he stared at me, deep into my eyes, and screamed as crazy, “You idiot. That’s just a stupid analogy.”
That is love, isn’t it? Coercing someone like an idiot.
My love for this club is eternal. I started to know United since I was 13. At that time, I had a crush on a girl from high school, who was obsessed with football. She loved football so much, with Arsenal as her favorite club. Meanwhile, I had zero knowledge about football and don’t even know any sh*t about English Premier League football clubs. By the time I pursued her, understood that I needed to know football and be a fan of the football club. I wanted to make her impress with the hope that I could secure her heart.
Long story short, I learned from a friend who is crazy about football and he is a fan of Manchester United. And here was the period of my introduction to football and ‘the red devils from England’. I started to love the club.
As time goes by, I have witnessed the glorious periods of United under Sir Alex Ferguson. They won a number of Premier League trophies, once in Champions League, and some in cup competitions. They beat the small teams in England easily, humiliated Arsenal 8–2 at Old Trafford, won over Chelsea to crown the champion of Europe in 2008, and noticed their world-class defender and captain: Nemanja Vidic along with their phenomenal trio attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tevez. However, not all good memories of course — they had poor games once in a while.
All in all, for about 15 years I have grown up by witnessing their journey through ups and downs.
Coffee
If there is another addiction from me out of Manchester United, I will take coffee. As an Indonesian, coffee is a part of country culture. Almost every region has its own identity.
During this difficult time following the pandemic that restricts people’s movement, I rarely can pass a day without a cup of coffee. Sometimes I even got three cups in a day. Caffeine has become an addiction to me.
My introduction to coffee began early. It was started with some Indonesian instant coffee brands like Indocafe, Good Day, Kapal Api, Nescafe, and Torabika. I made those coffee brands as my partner to work on the school assignment. Once in a while, I spent some moments at a coffee shop like Starbucks, Excelso, and other cafes to enjoy better coffee with friends.
Now my curiosity about coffee has enormously widened. I have experienced to sip specialty Arabica coffee beans from various regions in Indonesia, such as Gayo, Toraja, Mandheling, Java, and Bali. Those regions are quite popular as the high-quality coffee beans producers, not only for domestic consumption but also for export.
My interest is not only searching for the beans but also in manually brewing them. I have practiced doing brewing with various methods: tubruk, V60, french press, and cold brewing.
I and a friend even started my coffee brand named Efosca. We have a mission to bring the specialty Arabica coffee beans from Indonesia to the world. With our crazy addiction to coffee and our knowledge in international trading, we aim to connect the Indonesian local coffee farmers to the world. We desire the world to recognize the greatness of Indonesian coffee beans.
I comprehend coffee as a way to get back from the hustle and bustle of life. One thing you have to know: no matter how bad your day is, you can always have a moment to relax through coffee.
Manchester United and Coffee
To me, there is a similarity between Manchester United and Coffee. Until today I am not an expert in football and coffee things. I can’t even perfectly play football. I have no idea how to shoot the ball with the right technic or pass it accurately. I am just a fan of a football club from another country that I haven’t visited yet.
Similarly, I am still learning how to better brew and differentiate the coffee beans from different origins. I even doubt the coffee that I drink right now has brewed in the right way.
Overall, I am not great on those two stuff yet. What I understand is I just love them both. One thing that I have learned: we don’t need to be an expert to love something.
