The air shifted the moment the shuttle crossed the green rice fields flanking the highway. The tension from the last couple of weeks slowly started to melt away. My brain was fried. My eyes were heavy. But as soon as the rice fields came into view, something inside me shifted too.
I knew I was close. The city where I live now was just around the corner, and with it, a quiet sense of peace I didn’t realize I missed until that very moment.
I stretched my legs a bit, sat up straighter, and let my eyes wander across the scenery outside. The road was quiet, and the shuttle moved smoothly. My mind, of course, didn’t sit still. It drifted, thinking about everything I’d just wrapped up.
This season’s job was done. Finally. It had been a hectic couple of weeks going back and forth between cities. And now, I found myself reflecting on everything, especially the numbers. I earned less than I did last year. And as a freelancer, that hits differently. There’s no guaranteed paycheck. Fewer projects means tighter income, but the expenses don’t change, especially when I have to pay for hotels, shuttles, and food every time I go back to Jakarta. It adds up fast.
With the last minute change (that happened again since last year) which always successfully put me in a panic mode to rearrange my reservations: hotels and shuttles (not to mention to pay the additional charge for changing the dates), I started wondering: should I move back to Jakarta? Would it be easier? Cheaper?
