August 17th is always a big deal in Indonesia. It’s the independence day of the country and people of all ages celebrate this day with various activities. Last year, the independence day fell on Saturday but this year, it falls on Sunday. Though I’ve been noticing people aren’t as excited as last year, this year, my celebration was a lot more special. Last year, I went to attend community gatherings and their annual jogging. This year, they didn’t organize such a thing but only a few games for the kids in the neighborhood.  I went to observe and watch the game because this year, I sponsored some of the prizes for the games. I felt like giving back because as a kid back in the day I won a lot of these games and always snatched all the prizes. I hope the winners will be happy with the prizes this year. Before getting some of the prizes, I consulted with some of the organizers because I don't want them to get disappointed. There were about 5 games at the time and all of them were fun. Though the essence of the game is similar to when I was growing up, the name of the game has changed. As you see below, this game is basically trying to insert the pencil to this small bottle. In the past you had to dance and the rope with the pencil is tied to your waist but these days, they use a rod and rope to tie the pencil.  Since it was really hot, I went back home early and prepared myself for the afternoon Sunday service. The whole neighborhood became a lot more festive as the sun gets high. But I had to go home as I have quite a bit of things to do as well. And at the same time, I had to prepare before doing the Sunday service that also done one time only with some special performances. ---  Some of the elderly in the church sing folk songs before the liturgy. I was really amazed by their performance because it was musically pleasing and for once, I got to hear something so mesmerizing. Thankfully I also wore something with red and everyone else wears the same thing too 😂so, I blended right in. The elders wear this traditional clothing and it was something unique to see as well.  After Sunday Service, I went to this ramen shop nearby that I have never tried before. It’s quite a humble establishment with some chairs set up inside and outside the shop. Honestly, it never really convinced me to try but since I was hungry at the time, I decided to actually try it. I got shoyu ramen with shrimp coated in bread crumbs. Their soup was pretty okay and honestly, tastes as if I made it from an instant noodle flavored shoyu from home. It was good but not the best one I’ve ever had. I also ordered a platter of gyoza as an extra snacks with ocha free refills. Remembering how I spent this day last year, somehow this year there's progress. Sometimes, I wonder if I am still stuck with the same thing for years but I made a huge progress in life.  Thanks to hive I get to remember and recognize how far I’ve changed because without having this type of records, I would think I made no progress in life while I actually did. Sometimes I look back to all my previous writings I wrote here and even within the same event, I could see plenty of differences. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst 😂