Fitna: There's nothing wrong with it

So, I finally gave in to the temptation and watched this short film. To tell you the truth, I didn't see anything spectacular, nor do I see anything wrong with it. It's just a matter of how you perceive the film, which is relative and differs from one person to the next. Its contents are based on facts (news clips of incidents that has happened like 9/11, the Madrid bombing, and the beheading of a journalist - if I'm not mistaken it was a journalist whose head was chopped off in this clip) and shows several verses of the Koran which Wilders did not manipulate (I checked my copy for the verses he quoted which is exactly the same, though Muslims argued that the verses were taken out of context - that part I don't know, I am not an expert on the book.)

The movie itself is like a short clip made my a high school student. It borders on being juvenile and I think there is, again, nothing special about it. Editing-wise, it was awful. I think that based on the editing and the cinematography (if such thing exists in this film) itself, the film is not compelling. Nobody would ever watch have it not been a controversy. Then I became curious on how Indonesians think about it so I logged on detik.com and searched articles about fitna, and boy oh boy, did I find loads of articles about it.

I started reading them one by one, and being the naturally curious person that I am, I read the comments too. I wasn't too shocked by the comments, I can say that around 85% of the comments condemned Wilders (many explicitly expressed their wanting to kill him or wish for his death) some urged a boycott of anything Dutch (products, people etc). MOST of the comments were violent although I saw a couple of cool comments suggesting people to calm down, asking them to ignore the film and take things easy, but that was probably one out of the 20 "let's kill Wilders" comments.

There were some other articles about how the Indonesian People's Representatives Council (DPR) are suggesting that internet sites relaying this film should also be banned, as opposed to only porn sites (There has been news in the past couple of weeks of the DPR's suggestion to ban porn sites in Indonesia)

Well, this is just wrong. What they are suggesting will promote ignorance among the people. Do they have that low of an opinion of the intelligence of the majority of Indonesian people? Or the Indonesian Muslim's faith? What is it about the Muslims' oxymoron that arrogantly states that Islam is the best religion, the truth, the only way to salvation but at the same time shows a great lack of self-confidence and panic every time there is an attack on its teachings? I don't think a real Muslim will turn on their faith just because they saw this film but I don't think they should run around wanting to kill 'blasphemous infidels' or burn stores selling Dutch products or bomb the Dutch Embassy either. The DPR should instead urge EDUCATION to inform the people to calm down and ignore the bloody film.

Then I saw an article of ex-Indonesian President Gus Dur's view of this whole thing. This very wise, peaceful and cool old guy thinks that according to the Indonesian 1945 Constitution which (supposedly) guarantees the freedom of thought and expression, this film should not be banned. I totally agree with our ex President. This guy is the Patron of religious tolerance in Indonesia, and his cool point of view goes way back several decades. He is a liberal Muslim whose ideas and thoughts I feel should be heard and implemented in our country, rather than those of the extreme MUI (the Indonesian Islamic Leader's Association) that has damaged religious tolerance in Indonesia.

I think anger and threats towards Wilders and anyone like him is like pouring gasoline on a small flame, it will do nothing but make things worse. The Muslims should just ignore the film, and if that happens, people like Wilders will not have the ammunition to further their depiction and perspective on Islam and Muslims.

Have you ever seen Atheists and Agnostic being angry and attack people who call them stupid, infidels who are wrong and doomed to hell? No. Which is why nobody will profit from making movies discrediting Atheists and Agnostics, hence the lack of that kind of films. We (Atheists and Agnostics) don't care what people think of us and our beliefs, and we don't get upset when someone insults our belief. Religious (Muslims and other extremists) people should learn from us how to lay back and take a chill pill. Why? Because when religious people get all ballistic like animals every time their belief system is attacked, people like us will just shake our heads in disbelief and feel relieved that we are members of the non-prophet organization.

Earlier this afternoon I stumbled upon a speech by Moez Masoed in youtube that is so beautiful and inspiring. I am obviously a non-Muslim, but even I think that this guy should be heard by many. If only we have more people like him in the world I think there will be less Geert Wilderses running around. I think that fitna should be a wake-up call for Indonesian Muslims (and other Muslims in the world) to rise up to the challenge and prove everyone wrong. Prove to the world that Islam really is a religion of peace, justice and tolerance. Talk is cheap, action speaks louder than words. Do what you preach and stop practices of the medieval world.

Mr. Masoed is right, we have to live a life that's good, living life in harmony and not agitation. We should not be the cause of agitation for one another. Is that the recipe for a better and peaceful world? I think so, but what do you think?

Unsung heroes: Pembantu

The literal translation of the Indonesian word pembantu is aide or helper, derived from the word bantu which means help or aid. But over the years this word has a new connotation which is domestic helper/servant/maid.

Being an Indonesian I was used to having maids, plural. Growing up our family had a live-in driver, security guard and at least two live-in maids at a time, sometimes three. We also had a gardener who comes two or three times a week. It may seem self-indulgent but it is very common to have a maid (or two) in the common Indonesian household. Sometimes even those who go to big cities and seek jobs as domestic helpers employ their own maids to work in their houses, in the villages where they come from.

My parents were busy people, my father worked and my mom had businesses. My brothers and I were practically raised by our pembantus (who often double as cook/babysitter/cleaner/washer). Three of which I was particularly fond of were Entay, Bibi and Ganie. I don't know where they are or how they are doing now, but they were good people who loved us like their own kids. The domestic helpers in our family usually stay longer than those working for other families. We are forbidden scold them and ask them to work after 7 pm, they have Sundays off and they eat the same food we do, and they hang out with our family whether watching TV or a movie, and they have their own TV and living room if they feel like watching something different or when they have friends or family over.

Of course I know people who treat their domestic helpers the same as we do, but I know many who don't. Some who are actually verbally and physically abusive to their maids. I actually know an Indonesian government representative (they live in the same country as I do now) who, together with the spouse, are verbally and physically abusive to their live-in staff and even cheat them out of their salary. This is sad, but even sadder is the fact that this kind of thing will not prompt anyone to do anything, and instead, their live-in staff would have to suck it up and continue to work with constant daily abuse and threats with no one that could help.

Although most people think that maids are expendable and do not have the right of the same courtesy as their "masters" I personally think that they are unsung heroes. On a larger scale, with a massive export of domestic helpers annually, Indonesia's unsung heroes contributes an annual income of more than Rp. 26 trillion (around USD 320 million). On a much smaller scale, pembantus have made our lives easier, yet their contribution to their employer often goes unnoticed and under appreciated and most of the times they are taken for granted. I hear horror stories of the "exported" pembantus who are robbed on their way home from the airport, or even by government officials in the airport! Nothing significant has been done to help them.

When we first moved together, my (then boyfriend) husband, asked me to sew a loose button on his jacket for him. I couldn't sew, so I told him so. He was O.K. with it, but when he found out that I have never done my own laundry or iron clothes or cook (except for the occasional instant noodles) he couldn't believe how useless I was (This is the importance of a test-drive when purchasing anything major - including a wife. Moving in together was a good test-drive and it eased our lives together) He always knew that I was a bit spoiled, being the first and only daughter, and the fact that he is also Indonesian, he knows how big a role servants play in the average Indonesians' life. However, he never thought I was a severe case of the domestically challenged.

I remember how at age 25, I couldn't even cook rice in an automatic rice-cooker! This was an embarrassment seeing as I am Indonesian and rice is our staple food. Husband taught me everything when it comes to household chores, from sewing, the basics of cooking, doing laundry, dishes, etc. Now that I am a domesticated wonder woman, I can manage anything by myself, I don't even require help from hubby anymore (he still helps because it has been our commitment to help each other out in and outside of home, plus methinks he likes doing stuff together) Once we moved in together, I realize how hard maids have it and I can truly say that I have a newfound respect for them and their profession.

Maids, servants or domestic helpers, however you wish to call them, are unsung heroes in my book. I hope more people will feel the same way I do, (I know most Indonesians living overseas share the same sentiment) I hope they will be appreciated more and I hope that they will have better treatment from their employer, better workers' rights and protection from the government.

Entay, Bibi and Ganie, wherever you are in the world, you guys are my heroes.

A beautiful snowy spring morning. Yes, spring.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not yet spring this week. Now, I don't know what's happened, but spring should've started a week or two ago but instead we had snow. Lots of it.

I was in Amsterdam on Saturday, didn't plan to go there but some friends tricked me into coming (details are not *ahem* blog-friendly so I will not post it here), and as we walked in Leidseplein and further to Dam Square into damstraat in our never ending search for a place to eat and relax, all that happened was we got hungrier and down came snow. Again on Sunday, again on Monday and guess what I saw today as I woke up and peeked out the window? Yes, you got it, snow. Lots of it. Again.

Everything was white, my gray car was white, as was the black asphalt covering the road.
It was cold, white, beautiful and WRONG, very wrong. It is after all March the 25th, what was supposed to be early spring, but snow is what we get instead of blooming flowers. I don't suppose the Easter Bunny will climb down my chimney and adorn my living room with easter presents (husband, if you are reading this, hint: i-phone) now that we had no White Christmas but instead a White Easter, will it?

-My hood, with piles of snow-


Although I woke up feeling grumpy and miserable because of the friggin' cold, as soon as we got into our car and drove away, the white and pure beauty took my breath away. Snowy mornings never fail to amaze me, e-ve-ry time.

When I arrived at the office, I asked a Belgian co-worker of mine about the phenomenon that is March snow. She told me that it is normal, that in French it is called Giboulees de Mars meaning March ice rain, which I have loosely translated as "March Madness".

This year, I guess the March Madness has upped itself a couple of notches. I guess it's a given, with global warming, greenhouse effect, climate change and whatnot. I cannot imagine what will happen in the next 10 or 20 years, if things do not improve. Year round snow? Snow in South East Asia? We'll just have to wait and see.

-The view from my car as I drove to the office-


I remember the past 6 Marches I went through, it was never this cold, nor was it ever this snowy. In fact, I remember this time two years ago, when I went shopping for gifts for friends and family for my trip to Indonesia. It was chilly, but the temperature was well above 5 degrees Celcius and I was already wearing a miniskirt with tights, something I cannot do today due to the weather (thank God I still have a sunny disposition despite of my occurrent belief of being eagerly slim once again in summer. Let's hope summer comes late as did spring, which would give me more time to contemplate the many ways in which I might succeed to lose all 30 kgs of my current excess baggage)

-The beautiful view accross husband's office-


This year everything is different. From my life, my relationships, myself to the weather.

I shall no longer complain about the inevitable. This is one of the few things I have on my New Year resolution list, and because snow is up high on the inevitable list, I will no longer complain. Instead, I decided to bask in its cold beauty and immortalize it with my camera phone, which is exactly what I did, and the proof is in the pudding that is my blog.

But as much as I love snow, I hope this would not happen in June and July. It'll just be bizarre, and I have enough bizarreness in my life to last me several lifetimes.

Resensi Film Indonesia: Ayat ayat cinta

Saya sangat penasaran dengan film ini. Kenapa? Karena gaungnya terdengar sampai Eropa. Well, at least, di antara orang orang Indonesia, bukan di antara bule-bule Eropa. Belum sampai situ kok kualitas sinema Indonesia.

Akhirnya, dapat informasi dari teman bahwa film ini sudah bisa ditonton di youtube. Jumat malam lalu, saya dan suami ada waktu luang sedikit dan kami akhirnya menonton film ini. Untuk film yang "katanya" adalah drama cinta yang sedih dan menyentuh, sungguh aneh, karena (seperti biasa) kami banyak tertawa, terpingkal-pingkal bahkan.

Sebetulnya tangan saya sudah gatal ingin menutup windownya youtube dan menghentikan siksaan film tersebut, namun karena saya sudah bertekad untuk menulis review film Indonesia lagi, maka terpaksa saya urungkan, walau dengan berat hati. Kami akhirnya baru dapat menyelesaikan film itu hari Senin, selain karena yang mengupload ke youtube melakukannya dalam beberapa tahap, kami juga tidak dapat menontonnya sampai habis dalam satu hari. Kami tidak mau sampai buta, karena biaya operasi Lasik sangat mahal, jadi akhirnya nontonnya dicicil agar otak dan mata kami masih dapat berfungsi setelahnya.

Sesuai niat, di bawah ini ulasan film Ayat-ayat cinta yang menurut orang banyak adalah film Indonesia terbaik tahun 2008 tapi menurut saya mungkin adalah film Uranus terbaik tahun 2008, karena saya menolak anggapan bahwa pembuat film Indonesia bisanya bikin film yang jelek. Di Uranus, mungkin film ini dianggap bagus.

Akting: Seperti bisa, kaku. Akting para pemeran Baywatch saja, yang adalah seri TV yang teramat cupu dan culun, jauh lebih baik dari akting para pemeran film ini. Untung yang memerankan “Aisha” dan “Maria” cantik, jadi saya masih terobati dengan hal itu (sayangnya pemain wanita yang 2 lagi standar kadar kecantikannya, kasian karena jadi timpang dibanding celeb-celeb indo yang dua lagi). Tapi akting pemeran “Fahri?” Well, emosi dia dalam film ini mirip dengan emosi sebuah ketimun, atau mungkin tomat, tapi begitulah kurang lebih, mirip sayur (baca = tidak ada emosi, emotionless).

Acting para pemain pendukung lebih parah lagi terutama sang pemerkosa. (Jangan lupa lihat adegan setelah dia merkosa cewe psycho yang lagi-lagi jatuh cinta ma Fahri dan menuduh Fahri sebagai pemerkosa, nah si pemerkosa ini aktingnya penuh dengan ke-klisean pemeran antagonis, pasti akan tertawa melihatnya) Tapi acting Surya, Marini Sardi dan teman kost Fahri yang bernama Saiful masih agak normal ketimbang yang lain. Mengenai Rudi Wowor saya tidak bisa berkomentar banyak, karena akting dia dari saya masih kecil sampai sekarang ini, di film mana pun, sama saja, sama jeleknya dengan aktor pemeran pengacara. Belum lagi aktingnya teman penjara Fahri yang khas sekali akting teater, (mungkin dari IKJ?) tidak seperti kriminal tapi lebih mirip orang gila. Saya rasa aktor ini temannya Sujiwo Tejo.

Para pemain figuran juga ikut berkontribusi atas jeleknya film ini. Adegan pengadilan yang lucu, adegan penjara yang lucu, yang penuh oleh dorong-dorongan penjaga penjara, aneh sekali. Dorong-dorongan itu boleh saja terjadi, untuk menguatkan kesan “menderita”, “teraniaya” atau kalau si pemain utama misalnya meronta-ronta menolak masuk penjara tapi dipaksa, itu bisa jadi bagus sekali, tapi di film ini semuanya kaku dan sangat buruk. Sedikit sedikit didorong dan diseret tanpa alasan, yang akhirnya membuat adegan tersebut tambah culun dan mengurangi kesan nelangsa yang ingin ditampilkan si Fahri, karena baru pasang muka sedih sedikit, tiba-tiba dengan awkward dia sudah didorong penjaga. Absurd. (Kebetulan si Fahri ini, throughout the whole movie, mukanya nelangsa melulu, apabila senyum pun palsu, matanya tidak ikut tersenyum. Benar benar acting kelas wahid apabila dia ingin berakting sebagai actor pemula yang tidak bisa akting, tapi apabila memang segitu saja kemampuan aktingnya dia, yah berarti dia aktor yang sangat buruk)

Adegan Fahri bebas dari pengadilan. Teman-temannya berhamburan memeluk “Mas” Fahri, dan menggandengnya sembari berteriak, “Hidup Indonesia!” Lho, apa hubungannya? Wong dituduh memerkosa dan terbukti tidak bersalah, kok ujungnya Hidup Indonesia? Lagi-lagi suatu absurditas yang lucu.

Alur dan detil cerita: Mungkin bukunya bagus, saya tidak tahu juga, tapi yang jelas script film ini tidak bagus, ceroboh dan absurd. Tidak eksisnya pengembangan karakter para pemain, terutama karakter Fahri, yang seharusnya merupakan dasar para 4 wanita itu untuk jatuh cinta kepadanya. There is nothing special about this guy, he isn’t even good looking! Ini membuat saya bingung. Si Saiful juga kelihatan baik, kalo ngomong shaleh, Saiful juga terlihat sama, kenapa dia tidak ditaksir sama banyak wanita?

Beda misalnya dengan James Bond yang jelas ganteng, gagah dan macho atau Mcgyver yang ganteng, gagah, pinter dan baik, atau Casanova yang ganteng, sexy dan jagoan merayu ataupun Aragorn di Lord of the Rings yang terlihat bijaksana, menaungi dan powerful, pengembangan karakter yang terlihat jelas sehingga believable apabila ada wanita jatuh cinta kepada mereka, namun hal-hal ini tidak terlihat dalam karakter Fahri, sehingga tidak ada alasan bagi ke 4 wanita tersebut untuk jatuh cinta padanya. (Apakah sebegitu bodohnya 4 wanita tersebut? Sepertinya ini sangat merendahkan martabat wanita)

And then, karena surat cinta tidak dibalas, si “noura” jadi menuduh Fahri sebagai pemerkosa dia? Tanpa saksi mata yang credible, si Fahri masuk penjara (celaka satu) tidak boleh dikunjungi istrinya pada awal-awal dia dipenjara (celaka no. 2) dan tanpa vonis bersalah, dikeluarkan pula oleh Universitas Al-Azhar Cairo (celaka no.3). Masih banyak celaka lain, hingga tiga belas, tapi anda tonton dan cari sendiri saja, kalau menemukan yang lebih aneh lagi, boleh ditambah dalam comment di bagian paling bawah.

Walaupun saya sangat menentang poligami, tapi film seri tv amerika yang berjudul « Big Love » mengenai seorang mormon poligamis yang beristri tiga sangat sarat emosi, kehidupan, kelucuan dan kenyataan. Problem yang mereka hadapi juga masuk akal dan logis, sehingga saya bisa bersimpati pada karakter-karakter seri itu. Belum lagi aktinya yang sebetulnya kelas wahid, menambah bagus dan ironisnya seri tersebut, suatu nilai plus yang membuat saya bulak balik nonton. Poligami dalam AAC? Digambarkan dengan konyol, tidak beralasan jelas dan hanya menyentuh permukaan. Padahal disitu ada kesempatan memainkan peran kedua istri agar lebih dalam, ada kesempatan penggalian emosi dan kontroversi (apabila aktrisnya jago akting, and we can all see mereka semua modal tampang bukan kepiawaian berakting) adanya sumber konflik yang bisa digarap sehingga menjadi menarik, instead, cuma ada adegan2 cemburu tersembunyi, karena masnya mesra sama yang satu, yang satu ngintip dan sedih, lalu mesra sama yang lain, yang pertama ngintip dan juga sedih. Diikuti oleh aisha yang ngambek dan ingin pergi ke Turki, dihalangi omnya, lalu Fahri datang, tiba-tiba tanpa alasan, Everything is Ok, aisha pulang, Maria menyambut dan keduanya berpelukan (jadi bisa threesome dong?) Sangat tidak masuk akal.

Yang juga lucu adalah pertemuan Fahri di metro/tram (kendaraan umum) dengan Aisha. Beberapa puluh menit kemudian ketika mereka telah menikah, ternyata Aisha orang kaya, naik mobil mewah kemana-mana dan membayar segala sesuatunya sehingga Fahri tidak merasa nyaman dan protes yang membuat Aisha berkata (dengan sinis), “Tinggal di apartemen murah, tidak pakai mobil juga tidak apa-apa” Ini lucu sekali, toh memang sudah biasa naik kendaraan umum, wong ketemunya aja di metro kok?

Tokoh Nurul, kemana dia akhirnya? Kok menghilang begitu saja? Awalnya agak prominent atau terlihat, saya kira akan ada sesuatu yang menarik dari situ, ternyata hanya peran penggembira yang diperlukan untuk mengukuhkan bahwa Fahri ini banyak yang naksir. Sayang, padahal kalau digali, mungkin tokoh ini bisa membuat film menjadi sedikit lebih mendingan.

Tokoh Noura juga, ini tidak jelas, apa baik apa tidak, motifnya tidak jelas dan terlalu dangkal, pokoknya tidak jelas intinya.

Satu yang saya senang adalah banyaknya pemakaian bahasa asing disana sini dengan lafal yang sudah ok (kecuali pas bahasa maria membaca surah maryam di metro, kok aksennya sunda?) plus juga subtitling atau penempatan teks yang tidak konvensional (baca: ikut-ikutan seri tv heroes) jadi lain dan agak keren.

Cinematography, setting, sound dan soundtrack: Setting film ini, walaupun terlalu suram dan hampir semua dilakukan indoors (mungkin Manooj Punjabi sedang melakukan penghematan besar-besaran untuk antisipasi apabila tidak laku filmnya) sudah lumayan. Belum bagus, tapi lumayan. Begitu juga dengan Cinematographynya, saya rasa sudah banyak kemajuan dibanding film-film jaman dulu, lightingpun sudah ok, begitu juga dengan pengambilan gambar. Namun soundnya, yang mati nyala dan sangat mendem disaat para aktor berbicara, itu hal yang kerap kali saya temukan di film, juga lagu-lagu Indonesia. Vokal mendem, musik keras. Untuk soundtracknya, saya cinta lagu yang dipakai film ini, yang merupakan soundtrack film Schindler’s List (ini, baru film bermutu) sehingga ada beberapa blog yang mengatakan bahwa film AAC ada agenda zionis karena memakai soundtrack film Yahudi (bagi yang berpendapat begitu, seharusnya berhenti juga memakai computer, internet, mobil, televisi, teknologi selular, fax machine, pacemaker jantung, incubator bayi premature, sports bra, video tape, remote control, electric meter, oral kontrasepsi, antihistamin dan ribuan hal “zionis” lainnya). Harusnya memang the Punjabis memakai lagu qasidahan untuk film ini agar tidak dituduh zionis.

Sebetulnya masih banyak gangguan lain seperti adegan ciuman (walaupun bohongan) yang sebetulnya tidak perlu, karena kan katanya kini film bernuansa “Islam” jadi Public Display of Affection walaupun oleh dua orang yang sudah “halal” bukan hal yang selayaknya ditampilkan (anehnya kali ini tidak ada yang protes) dan juga adegan terakhir Maria shalat/masuk Islam, tanpa alasan tertentu, dikena-kena kan, terlihat dipaksakan. (Karena cinta? Picik sekali alasan itu tapi mungkin hal ini yang bikin film ini sebegitu meledaknya. Coba kalau Fahri dan Aisha Kong hu cu dan Maria Muslim lalu pindah agama ke Kong hu cu, saya rasa tidak akan meledak filmnya, mungkin bioskop yang memutar justru dirusak dan dibakar massa) Tapi karena terbatasnya waktu saya menulis pada saat ini dan juga sudah capek mengetik, maka sampai disini saja resensi AAC versi saya.

Intinya, film ini bagi saya sama seperti sinetron, hanya seratus kali lebih panjang dan lebih menyakitkan, walaupun bukan a total waste of time, karena menjadi inspirasi resensi kali ini. AAC saya anugerahkan 2 (dua) kondom bekas, karena alasan di atas. Tadinya saya mau kasih 3, tapi karena camera worknya cukup bagus dan artistik, maka saya upgrade satu level. Bagi yang tidak setuju dengan resensi saya, tough luck. Tapi inilah pendapat saya tentang film celaka tigabelas bernama Ayat ayat cinta. Semua venting out dan caci maki (sepertinya yang ini akan banyak, berhubung banyak yang berpendapat bahwa ini adalah film Indonesia yang “the best ever” – yang saya lanjutkan dengan “if watched when you are drunk out of your silly little mind”) maupun anggukan tanda setuju silahkan ditujukan kepada comment section.

update: Baru dapat kabar bahwa film AAC yang saya tonton di youtube dan yang diputar di Bioskop memiliki perbedaan soundtrack. Yang resmi diputar di bioskop tidak menggunakan OST Schindler's list lagi, telah diganti with who knows what. Saya tidak tahu karena saya tidak di Indonesia, dan tidak mungkin menonton yang versi sana.

100 things to know about me

Thanks to Andie Summerkiss and no thanks to my lack of creative idea, I am going to list 100 things to know about me - being the narcissist that I am, with no regard of whether it matters to anyone but me - and I hope it will at least be enjoyable to read.

Besides the fact that I am a penniless recovering shopaholic who live life by this quote: "I have the simplest tastes, I am only satisfied by the best" - Oscar Wilde. I am so much more than that. I am a singer, a songwriter, a poet, plus size model, a wife, a lover, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a writer, a partner, a listener, a chef and a baker and read on below to see what kinds of things I really am and what I have in my head...

1. I only eat chicken, turkey, ground meat and smoked bacon.
2. I don't eat anything that still has a face/eye/nose on my plate and nothing that smells or looks weird (escargot, mussels, rabbit/horse meat etc is a definite no-no)
3. My brothers and I once spent the entire week-end watching a couple of seasons of Friends. Non-stop watching, paused only when someone needed to go to the loo or get something to eat.
4. I use to speak passable Arabic (17 years ago) but lost it because I had nobody to converse with.
5. I had only black and dark blue clothing, not until I was in my twenties did colors started raiding my closet.
6. I could live off only chocolates and ice cream for a whole month. Or two.
7. I sing along to songs while driving, and upper-body dance too.
8. I know people in nearby vehicles look at me funny but I don't give a pig's arse of what anybody thinks.
9. I am afraid of earth worms and anything squiggly and small (centipedes, maggot etc) but I am not afraid of snakes.
10. I get crazy when people make spelling mistakes.
11. Yet I sometimes make the stupidest spelling mistakes, and when I do, I beat myself up over it.
12. I like cars, and compared to other women, I have quite an extensive knowledge about them.
13. I love my family too much.
14. I can't live without friends.
15. I have several best friends who know absolutely EVERYTHING about me.
16. I am a singer and songwriter who can play no instrument but vocal chords.
17. I can't write a song in Indonesian.
18. Nor can I read notes.
19. I am obsessed about my weight problems and am forever on a diet (it all started when I was 10 years old)
20. I had my first kiss when I was 10.
21. It was with my first boyfriend whose name is Hamish Ivey.
22. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for a day, from 9.30 to 14.30 when he broke up with me for a bitch named Rachel King (I swear, I was broken hearted then, lol)
23. I get along better with guys than with gals.
24. I get along better with gays than with guys.
25. I have a char-dar (character radar) that is 90% right on the money.
26. Growing up, our house has always had many pets, dogs and cats. At one point we had 13 dogs and 3 cats, all at the same time. It was a zoo, really.
27. I can apply make-up while driving. The knees steer, hands apply make-up.
28. I can speak English with four accents, Malaysian, Javanese, Sundanese and French (is zis ze Otel Iltong?)
29. I can speak French with an American accent. (My Belgian friends love it when I do this ignorant-american-tourist-trying-to-blend-in accent)
30. Whenever I pass a window or a shiny surface, I can't stand to not look at my reflection.
31. I can spend days reading an interesting book and nothing else.
32. I can live without a television but not without an internet-connected computer.
33. I will always use my maiden name, much to my husband's annoyance.
34. My first real love is torn between a man and New York City.
35. The plan was as soon as I finish my post-graduate I will go back to New York City, with no intentions to live and fall in love with Europe.
36. Although I was born and partially raised in Indonesia, I don't have a strong emotional connection with the country. Belgium is where my heart is.
37. I am a strong member of the 'non-prophet organization' with lessening belief in the Almighty.
38. I don't know to react to a compliment, and most of the time, I have to let it sink in before I can extend an awkward appreciation.
39. This is a problem that goes back several decades.
40. On top of that, I have daddy issues as well.
41. I come across as intimidating and strong at first, second, third and fourth, but I'm all gurgly-globey-gooey inside. It's a serious disadvantage on my part.
42. I see nothing wrong with gay rights and marriage.
43. I get into heated debates with other people for endorsing this "curable" lifestyle (as if it was a disease).
44. I wear size europe 42/US 10/UK 7.5 shoes which is HUGE.
45. My dad and youngest brother Romi (size 43) and brother Rama (size 47) are among a few people I know who has bigger shoe size than me.
46. Contrary to other "pleasantly plump" women, I will tell you what I weigh if you ask. (depends on my mood but generally this in an information I don't mind disclosing)
47. I only drink tea and water. No alcohol, no coffee although I will indulge in the occasional hot chocolate, but apart from that, nothing else
48. I usually prepare beforehand all clothes/shoes/bag/accessories before a major event, but will most likely change everything at the last minute.
49. When driving, I cannot seem to slow down, I tend to speed in a no speeding zone. If I had a euro for every-time I got a speeding ticket, well i'd not be rich but I will certainly have enough for a warm meal for two at the nearest thai restaurant...
50. I can't not have a contingency plan. This applies to almost all aspect of my life.
51. The thing I fear most are losing my family and friends, and being involved in an automobile accident with me driving and hitting a pedestrian.
52. I can't live without my cellular phone.
53. I can't keep a plant if my life depended on it.
54. I can, however, keep animals. I'm good with them (explains why I am good with men)
55. I fell in love with STING when I was 9 and when I finally saw him live 2 yeas ago, instead of singing and dancing to his songs, I cried in awe, literally.
56. I can die happy after the chance to do a duet with him.
57. When I encounter (those who I think are) stupid people, I sometimes want to slap them silly and try to make them wake up and smell the coffee.
58. My best friends and I are honest-to-God frank with each other but we try to end an argument the same day we start it to avoid resentment.
59. I don't watch Oprah and I am not a fan of Dr. Phil.
60. My own personal Oprah is My Aunt Ade, who is wise beyond her years.
61. She practically taught me life ethics.
62. I love her like my own mother.
63. I get frustrated when people ask me when I will have a baby.
64. When they do that I normally provoke them further by saying things like, "I'd rather have a dog than a baby" just to make them shut their pie-holes.
65. In the 7 years that I have been living in Europe, I have been back to Indonesia once. Plans to go back there? Not in another three years.
66. I don't understand women who can't or won't cook or bake. I find it exciting and very therapeutic.
67. I think SEAL is hot and most men think I'm crazy for thinking that (hubby thinks he is exponentially better looking than SEAL. He is sadly mistaken)
68. I am pro cosmetic surgery (if necessary), I think I might get one when I turn 40.
69. Like Andie, I too, judge a book by its cover. I won't be hypocritical and say otherwise. It's human nature to see things on the surface and let's face it, I'm no Mother Theresa.
70. What else, yah?
71. I am a very messy borderline OCD.
72. I miss my little brothers so much that I dream of them every week.
73. I can't live without my best friend Deffie, so much that my mom and I were successful in finding her a dutch guy to marry just so she can live near me.
74. She now lives with her wonderful hubby in Zwolle, a small city north of Holland, 3 hours drive away from me.
75. I believe that Karma's a bitch and will bite you in your ass deservedly.
76. I use to hate the Indonesian 'dangdut' music (equivalent of country music for the americans) but after knowing how hard it is to sing, I now have respect for its musicians and singers.
77. I listen to only jazz, blues, soul, funk, folk, electronic, progressive rock and its derivatives.
78. I do, however, have a fondness for music from the 80s no matter how corny it may be.
79. I can't stand the current rnb, pop, hip hop, rap music, and I do not listen to any country or reggae.
80. I think I have superior taste in music than most people I know (musicians are like that, it's the norm, so don't take it to heart)
81. I think Hillary Clinton is da bomb and I don't like Barrack Hussein Obama "Soetoro"
82. I started smoking at the age of 11/12, and was heavy smoker (2 to 3 packs a day) by 18.
83. Quit 'cold-turkey' on August 5, 2005 and haven't had a puff since.
84. When out at night, I prefer to drink coke or ice tea although my friends call me a "pussy" for not drinking alcohol anymore.
85. I don't drink alcohol because I don't like to lose control over myself.
86. Apparently, I have a high pain threshold. My doctors will attest to that.
87. I am better at writing than speaking. This applies to all the languages I speak.
88. I was listening to my own songs as I was writing this list. Shows how narcissistic/self confident/proud (depends on how you see it) I am of my songs.
89. If you think my written English is bad, wait 'til you hear me speak.
90. So far, I have lived in four countries in four continents. I have no plans to ever live in the African or the Antarctica continents.
91. My life motivation motto is from my dad, which is, "Impossibility is not plausible. There is just the matter of how hard you want something which is a step away from making it a reality"
92. My father is a wise man and although as a child and adolescent I detested most of his advise, I have come to find 99% of what he taught and preached to be true.
93. I get very nervous before singing.
94. I still get nervous despite a one person audience. Even if that one person is my husband.
95. I am my biggest critique therefore it doesn't matter if someone nit-picks my writings/songs/singing because I will be even more harsh on myself.
96. I have no patience when it comes to teaching someone something.
97. Yet, I was an English teacher for almost two years back in Indonesia. I had many students crying out of the classroom as a result of my well-known impatience.
98. I don't like children but for some reason they keep following me around. (aren't they supposed to have a radar for people like me to tell them to stay the hell away?)
99. I do prefer animals to children.
100. Unlike some people, I have no problem in making this list, in fact I can still go on.

My Top Pet Peeves

I have many of them, so many that I will list them here. Some are silly, some are maybe yours too, some are serious and as I said before, I’ve got many of ‘em.

Crap Drivers

I really can’t stand these. I also hate the fact that most female drivers belong to this category. I’m a woman and a good driver. I had my share of racing when I was young(er). I know how to defensive drive and not offensive drive and more importantly, I know road signs and driving ethics. But the crap drivers I hate most are those who do not use their turn signals, those who tailgate, those who honk unnecessarily, those who won't let you change lanes, those who use their cellphones whether to talk or write an SMS while driving and those who drive too slow in front of me, in the middle of the road while taking two lanes at once, the road line/separator underneath their cars. It’s as if they are ex airline pilots. IT'S A CAR YOU’RE DRIVING NOT A PLANE, THE LINE IS SUPPOSED TO SEPARATE TWO LANES NOT TO DRIVE ON!

No toilet paper in public lavatory

Well, public lavatory alone is a pet peeve for me, but no paper in one is my worst nightmare. Imagine sitting there, all done with whatever it is you were doing when your hand reaches out only to find nothingness in the toilet paper dispenser. What are you supposed to do? Use the ends of your shirt to wipe? Spit on your hand and wipe with it? Call someone to bring you some? What? WHAT?
Not only that, I also hate finding an unflushed “missile” in a toilet, the stink someone left you as a souvenir as you open the door, or pee that is everywhere else but in the toilet, toilet paper put in the wrong way (read: my way) and other kinky stuff you might’ve found in there that will never appear in your own toilet in the comfort of your home.

Annoying Observers

I hate it when people (usually women), especially people I don’t know, look at me from head to toe to check out what I am wearing. Really, this is annoying. I don’t always feel like dressing to the nines, I sometimes like to dress in a sarong and a tank top with a cheap batik bag and flip flops. What’s wrong with that? I do not need to constantly wear expensive items (not that I have any) and 2 cm thick foundation with an additional layer or four of powder plus eye-shadow and lipstick and mascara. That’s just wrong, unless you are performing Kabuki. When they look at me like that, it makes me stare at them back until they stop staring at me. I did this on several occasions but some of these people just don’t seem to get it and WILL NOT STOP!

Things that should not be on a person’s body

I really don’t know how to react when talking to a person who has a booger peeking out of their nose, or eye-shit dangling like it’s a third eye staring at me or ear-shit that is waving when I just happen to stand by their side. I mean come on, it’s disgusting! Don’t you ever check yourself in the mirror before you get out of your apartment? Another thing I can’t stand is excessive hair whether it is sticking out of one’s nose (extra revolting when it’s a woman), ear, women with hairy upper lip and legs (this is not sexy at all), and of course the occasional mole with a hair or two sticking out from middle of it. The mole itself is yuck, hairs sprouting from it, well .. it’s just sordid, no?

Excessive Talkers

This is something that really gets on my nerves. I like talking too, but I know when to stop, most of the time anyway. I get especially bothered when watching a movie in a theatre or somewhere else, a person will not shut up. Have you ever had that experience? A person that keeps on talking, discussing the movie while watching or repeating things from the movie we just heard. One can only ssssshh so many times.

Worse than the excessive talkers are braggers, interrupters, put downers and constant complainers. Braggers are those who brag about what they have/themselves/their character and start the sentence with, “I don’t mean to brag, but I (fill brackets with the most annoying thing to brag about)”; Interrupters are those who interrupt with no respect to the person talking, while put downers are those who put down other people just to make themselves feel better or to have a stronger relationship with whomever it is they are talking to. If you don’t have anything nice to say about a person, don’t say anything at all! Constant complainers are no better, they complain about everyone and everything. I know a person who is a five (and more) in one. She is an excessive talker, an interrupter, a bragger, a put downer and a constant complainer plus several other things I choose not to write here.

Web annoyances

I hate pop-up windows, gratuitous background images that interfere with the readability of the text, or text and background colors that really disturb your eyesight after just one minute. Good thing I am not Superman otherwise I’ll come and beat up the people who make horrendous sites that is a hazard for human eyesight. These kinds of sites will eventually cause blindness or even worse, trauma of net-surfing.

Language ignorance

I feel like pulling my hair out every time I see someone use your instead of you’re and the other way around; when they confuse than and then; when they mix the use of they’re, their and there; weather and whether; to, too and two; and many others. People with bad spelling also get on my nerve, especially when they are native English speakerd. Nativ English speekerd should be abel to now how to spell corectly, English is my second language yet I now how to spel definitaley and seperate "a" from "lot" whitch should make a lot insted of the meeningles alot.

Wrong use or lack of apostrophes is also bothersome, and don’t you even get me started on stupid/basic grammar mistakes and Indonesians speaking English with Bahasa Indonesia intonation! Really irritating! (Indonesians out there, try saying “Ooo she went to the mall!” using Indonesian intonation. It will sound so stupid and wrong, trust me)

Other things that bother me are:
People who don't realize how incredibly lucky they are to live as well as they do when there are so many people in this world living terrible lives beyond their control, being called "stupid" by someone who doesn't have enough brain power to UNDERSTAND what I'm talking about, spitters and constant snorters, bad eating manners, loud chewing, chewing without closing the mouth, ceilings or walls with peeled paint or uneven surface, people with too much acne on their face (Every time I see something with uneven surface , I get crazy disgusted and feel like rubbing it with a sandpaper. This includes acne ridden faces *shudders*), poor personal hygiene (bad BO or mouth odor) and I really HATE it when I make stupid mistakes!

So there it is, my pet peeve list. A lot, but I am a picky person who is really hard to please. You are welcome to let me know your most freakish and strange pet peeve in the comment section!

Carpe Diem!

Usually translated from the Latin as 'seize the day', or sometimes as 'enjoy the day, pluck the day when it is ripe'.

NIKE uses it for its tagline. Just do It. That’s fits nicely too.

I think Carpe Diem is all about seizing chances, about taking risks, about believing in yourself and your full potential.

Growing up, I was very self conscious of my looks, of what I am capable of, of my grades and my likeability factor. No matter what the turn out was, whether it be the boys hanging around my place, which used to drive my father crazy, or how people used to compliment me on my voice, or the fact that I have never had problems in my study or that I had tons of friends, I still doubted myself.

I was that way up to a point where it almost debilitating because I was convinced that I was not worth anything, that I am nobody, and that I will never amount to anything. I was self destructive, which led to my whole family being frustrated and torn apart as a result of my actions.

Despite what I went through and the sufferance that I had put my family through, I was fortunate enough to get a second chance, during which, I changed. I became much more realistic and confident and most importantly, I learned to really love myself. Eventually I became stronger and then strong enough to seize my life. I started taking risks in my life, love life and my livelihood.

I am doing things that I never thought I’d be doing ten years ago. I feel exhilarated and I notice the difference in my quality of life.

Now, looking back at my life I feel a pang of regret. Why didn’t I realize all of this sooner? Why was I so stupid to ever doubt myself?

I think life matters most when you have people to share it with and when those people believe in you. When they believe in you, there is no possible reason for you to ever have any kinds of doubts about yourself, if you still do as did I, it’s just silly.

Carpe diem, seize the day, given the choice would you rather grab or leave?

The Poorest Person On Earth

According to Forbes, Bill Gates is no longer the richest person on earth. He is now down two places to no. 3 with only USD 58 billion, up USD 2 billion from last year. Warren Buffet is up USD 10 billion from last year, totalling in USD 62 billion, which makes him the richest man on earth. Closing in on the 2nd place is Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecom tycoon, with USD 60 billion. A note to Bill Gates:should get off his ass, stop playing around and start making money again to relinquish the title that is rightfully his. Or not. Or just give me a coupla billion. Whatever.

There is so much hype about rich people, it's not fair. I mean, they are already rich, obviously they live very comfortably. Their families, families of the saner rich people anyway, are probably living comfortably too as are their close friends (If I am rich my family, the family of my husband and my close friends will definitely be on the receiving end of my fortune as well). These rich people would also be able to have anything they want, on a whim. Eat sushi on a gold plated table on top of the Himalayans? Done. A limousine made of a pink humvee? Done. Celebrate birthday in space? Done. So yes, ANYTHING.

How about the poorest sob? Nobody knows him, nobody talks about him, nobody cares if he cannot have anything at any given time because he is so bloody poor that he would probably eat his own feces if he ate enough beforehand to produce any. Yes, that kind of poor, not the "I don't have enough money to buy a CD/Lipstick/Playboy this month" kind of poor. At the time of writing this blog, there are 19,276 people that died of hunger - today alone. This figure changes every couple of seconds. Are there hype about these people? About people in the same situation? No, because nobody will buy Forbes if the main article is depressing.

You can donate online through the following sites:
handicap international
oxfam
habitat for humanity
justgiving
network for good
PBI Indonesia
Hope Indonesia
Mercy USA for Indonesia
IRF USA for Indonesia
Millenium Relief and Development Services

The meaning of (one's) Life?

If I had an inkling of a clue of what life is, I would either:
a. feel smug and tell everybody about it, just to make them feel miserable;
b. profit from it;
c. point my finger and snicker at everyone else who doesn't know;
or
d. commit suicide.

Good thing I don't know what the meaning of life is and I don't think I want to considering the four above things I might do should I have known.

I started thinking about this a week ago when I was having coffee with some (Indonesian) friends. There we were sipping our coffees and having small talks (read: gossip) and just laughing at jokes or funny experiences we occasionally share. I got up and excused myself because I had to powder my nose. When I got back, the whole conversation was all serious and apparently our topic du jour was the pregnant lady who died of hunger in Makassar early this month.

I was in no mood for serious talk. Mind you, I came straight from work, and we all know that work is no Disneyland, except when you actually work there. At first I stayed a bit quiet and it wasn't long before I started daydreaming about the coming weekend and how long I was going to spend my morning just cuddling with hubby under the blanket on Saturday.

Suddenly X said, "I do feel sorry for her, but come on, it's not like her life was significant. I mean, she didn't do anything except have babies that she really couldn't afford!"

Hearing that, I was rudely awakened and brought back to reality very annoyed, though I did not say anything much afterwards. Driving home, I remembered that Duc de la Rochefaucauld said that the true means of being misled is to believe oneself finer than the others. Well honestly, I don't know if the Duc really said that or anything else about him for that matter, but if he did, he is one hell of a smart dude.

Since I don't think anyone - not even the Dalai Lama - knows the answer to the jackpot question on the title, I can safely said that my friend X was being misled (read: a total idiot) for saying what she did. Who was she to judge how significant a life that the dead pregnant lady had? Who are we all to judge another person's life, whether it has meaning or some or a significant one at that? We don't even know the meaning of our lives, let alone the meaning of someone else's.

I try living my life the best way I can, a praline at a time. But seriously, I do try my best. Sometimes it might not seem much, sometimes it's not enough, but on good days I feel proud to be able to speak out my mind and state the obvious (in my lifelong battle against the evil empire of ignorance, hatred, self-loathing and weight gain). If just one person can benefit from it, the prouder I am - which will result in the most likely scenario of self reward through the occasional treat of peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes. Yes, with me it's that simple.

I will continue my search to find the meaning of life, while learning and self introspecting from other people's and my (occasional) daft statements. Thus far, in my soul searching process, i think that life is what you want it to be. Significant or not, is how you and you alone create it to be.

This is written on a tomb of an Anglican Bishop (1100 A.D.) in the Crypts of Westminster Abbey, one I thought appropriate to close this entry with.

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.

As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.But it too seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, on one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.

And now as I lay on my deathbed, I suddenly realize – if I had only changed myself first, then by example I might have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement I would then have been able to better my country and who knows, I may have changed the world

An Indonesian on Technorati's top 100 blogs.

This blog is on technorati's list of top 100 blogs.

There are top blog lists based on popularity, fans, hits etc.
This particular list is based on authority.

What is blog authority exactly?
It is simply the number of blogs [not number of blog posts] linking to a website in the last six months.
or
The number of other blogs that link to a blog (in the last six months).

So, the more blogs that link to your blog, the higher your blog’s authority is. Jauhari ranks at #43 and has 4000+ authority. A lot, huh? Although according to seowacko blog authority can be engineered by paying a small number to a certain forum, the fact that Jauhari is at #43, is still pretty awesome.

Authority or popularity based, it's good to see an Indonesian up there.

Hopefully we'll have more soon.
And here is the rest of it.

Are we facing doom?

I am passionate about human rights, both in the workplace and in daily life. I don't care for snobby, power tripped, corrupt, ignorant, inconsistent, illogical, irrational, sexist, discriminative, blind-hearted people who think that they are so above and beyond that they harass people in a blink of an eye and make a habit out of it. I also do not understand how some people insist on being respected instantly and refuse to gain the respect they long for by being civil and kind to other people.

Although I am lucky enough to be working under people who are very nice and who appreciate their staff, I cannot say the same for my husband. He has to work with the worst bunch of people - Indonesian bureaucrats - and he comes home hurting and frustrated each day. Since the people he work with are those we care not to meet but whom we can't escape from, there is nothing we can really do about it. We are surrounded by these people not by choice, but rather by condition. So, It's a shitty situation.

C'est une situation merdique!

After several years now, I feel the feeling of dislike towards them building up inside me. Not as strong as hatred, maybe closer to loathe. But the thing is, I fear this feeling I have. I don't like it and I fear it. I fear it because I am afraid that it will eat me up and turn me as bad as they are.

What is worse, we and they are both of the same nation, which is a real embarrassment to us because we know just how corrupt, untruthful, manipulative and torturous they really are. Don't get me wrong, we try to defend them from people of other nations, but since the government officials of our country are notorious for black practices, our defense attempts have remained are futile.

I am afraid of my heart turning stone cold and feeling nothing but anger that I would one day lose the ability to show compassion and pity for those who need it the most; Those egotistical bastards who, by the way, has still the nerve to call themselves humanitarians!

Humanitarians, really? If vegetarians eat vegetables, do humanitarians eat human? If this is the case, then it would suit them very well.

Sometimes I think they are just heartless humans. They show no compassion whatsoever and they are filled with greed. No, wait a minute, what was I thinking? Not just greed, but rather all the 7 deadly sins; Greed, Pride, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth. I just don't get how these people can live with themselves and raise a family when in the workplace they treat people like nothing and feel like they have the right to do anything they wish.
Per l'amore di Dio, what kind of values are they teaching their children?

Are we, Indonesians, facing doom? I don't know. But I wish that one day these people would wake up and feel ashamed by their actions. Maybe they would change, maybe they would embrace all the good virtues that people in their positions in the government SHOULD posses.
I know that it is La certitude des fous - wishful thinking. But who knows? God works in a mysterious way and I just hope that He will give us the strength to face our demons (and the likes of them), and to conquer all bad doings. Our country and nation need a break, and they (government officials) should realize it and get it together. The future of our nation depends on it.

Funny signs

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have done it once again! Yes, the new and innovative beauty salon where apparently urination is the main service yet you will come out as if you'd just been to a beauty salon.. Very convenient, don't you think?




While the Japanese have their "Engrish", we have ours.

This is a banner from one of the leading Indonesian English School chains.
Apparently, when you belief hard enough, you will be fluent in the language.

8 facts about me you might not but will know after reading this entry.

I am a bit narcissistic, but this list is made not out of that, but just to give you - my readers - something more tangible, something that would make you feel like you know me better.

1. My middle name is Geofary. Short for Geo = earth (daddy is a geologist) and Fa from Fauzi (daddy's last name - mine too) and ry from Cherry (mommy's name). Apparently when they had me they felt that the world was theirs alone.

2. Spent some years of my childhood living in New Zealand, where most of my friends called me "five" because evidently Rima means five in the Maori language, which is the language of the native New Zealanders.

3. I smart talked my way into most of my earlier jobs in Indonesia and the career I built there was also based on a lot of smart talking and "highly creative actions" on my part.


4. All my thesis' and papers, from my bachelor's to my master's are also a result of something similar with point no.3. "Resourceful" writing (from an overly creative imagination), inspired bluffing and other things nobody should actually do when writing a paper or thesis.

5. I dont eat red meat when it still looks like meat. I will eat it when it's ground. I dont eat fish either. Or anything that still looks like a living thing, or from the sea, or duck, or shrimps, or bird/pigeon/quail. Basically I only eat chicken, turkey, bacon, cheese, fries, and A LOT of chocolates and ice cream. I eat fruits too, like durian and avocado. Yes, I try to be as healthy as I can.

6. I was told that I am actually borderline obsessive compulsive and a control freak. I go out of my apartment after making sure everyhing is locked and turned off. I get into my car, drive away. After a few miles I am convinced I forgot to turn the lights off and/or lock the apartment, so I would have to go back to check on everything only to find that everything was turned off and that the door was locked. Yet, I feel that I am normal.

7. I laugh at people who think that hair will grow faster if you trim the ends, so that "the ends will be all healthy to grow more hair, faster" I also do the same to those who think that mixing a bottle of 6% peroxide and a bottle of 9% peroxide in a bowl will give you a bowl of 15% peroxide (yes, there are people like that, seriously). Basically I laugh at a lot of things, but this public display of american stupidity has got to be the thing that really made my week, it almost made me pee in my pants.

8. Although I like to laugh at other people's stupidity, I love to laugh at myself and just be goofy. It lightens up the people around me, and lessens my "intimidating factor" that normally scares away a good deal of people the first time they meet me. Although, I dont know whether they scurried away because I appeared intimidating, or whether it was because I forgot to put some make-up on.

So there you have it. 8 things about me you probably don't know, and would hopefully make you feel more comfortable reading more of my posts, knowing how weird I am and all...

hmmmmm

He added me.
I approved.
He dropped a note then I replied.
Told him I listened, I liked and I gave my opinions. Told him he sounded a little metallica, a little red hot chilli peppers, a dash of curtis mayfield and a dash of hendrix (cocaine came to mind).

His response?

He asked me when I could relocate. He told me he was in love with me (which is outrageous). He said he'd want to have little babies and make beautiful songs together. He told me he was joking a little bit but that his love for me is real. He told me I was beautiful. He confessed of having been talking about me to people in his gym.

Weird, but flattering.
To which daily e-mail banters was inevitable.

I'm liking him too.. plus It felt good to have someone appreciate your looks, your talents, and value your opinion.

He said I've made his month while he had unknowingly made mine.
Good thing he's thousands of miles away.

I'm safe this way.

Don't ask if you're not prepared for the answer

I got this joke from a friend, through e-mail. I don't know who wrote it, but it made me smile. I thought I'd share it with you guys.

When Grandma Goes To Court

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.
In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?' She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'
She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said,
'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

Une Belle Histoire

J'auditionnerai pour La Nouvelle Star cette année (ou peut-être l'année prochaine). S'ils me demandent de chanter en français, je ferais probablement une de Michel Fugain.

UNE BELLE HISTOIRE

C'est un beau roman
C'est une belle histoire
C'est une romance d'aujourd'hui
Il rentrait chez lui, là-haut vers le brouillard
Elle descendait dans le Midi, le Midi

Ils se sont trouvés au bord du chemin
Sur l'autoroute des vacances
C'était sans doute un jour de chance
Ils avaient le ciel à portée de main
Un cadeau de la Providence
Alors, pourquoi penser aux lendemains

Ils se sont cachés dans un grand champ de blé
Se laissant porter par le courant
Se sont raconté leurs vies qui commençaient
Ils n'étaient encore que des enfants, des enfants
Qui s'étaient trouvés au bord du chemin
Sur l'autoroute des vacances
C'était sans doute un jour de chance
Qui cueillirent le ciel au creux de leur main
Comme on cueille la Providence
Refusant de penser aux lendemains

C'est un beau roman
C'est une belle histoire
C'est une romance d'aujourd'hui
Il rentrait chez lui, là-haut vers le brouillard
Elle descendait dans le Midi, le Midi

Ils se sont quittés au bord du matin
Sur l'autoroute des vacances
C'était fini le jour de chance
Ils reprirent alors chacun leur chemin
Saluèrent la Providence
En se faisant un signe de la main

Il rentra chez lui, là-haut vers le brouillard
Elle est descendue là-bas dans le Midi
C'est un beau roman
C'est une belle histoire
C'est une romance d'aujourd'hui

J'aime cette chanson, si vous voulez savoir comme ce qu'est il, vous peux écouter ici.

Veuillez écouterez mes chansons (vous pouvez le trouver sur mon myspace ou ma section de chansons) et me direz si j'ai une chance dans cette concours?

J'espère que je peux le faire, j'ai encore trois années, après cela, je suis fait. :(

De toute façon, souhaitez-moi la bonne chance!

Is being an Agnostic such a bad thing?

I was once upon a time a religious person. I am now a spiritual-romantic-intellectual agnostic.

I am the daughter of a fanatic intellect who taught me to be critical. Because of the way my father raised me, I grew up into a critical young woman, one who eventually broke his heart. He paid a dear price for letting me be my own person and become extremely critical (compared to other people from my country and generation).

When I was 25, I was at a turning point in my life where I could no longer believe in the religion I was born into and decided to convert to another religion that was closer to the values I believe in. When my father found out, he disowned me. This was 7 years ago and I am still an outcast in my own family.

My first religion was a very strict one that rendered me a fanatic. When I converted to my second (and somewhat present) religion, I could not shake off the need to be a fanatic. I was still the same fundamentalist, just with a different outfit and set of beliefs.

In the past 4 years, I have experienced so many new and interesting things that have turned me into an even more critical person than I ever was. However, critical as I maybe, these turns of events have also made me much less religious and fanatical. I have found that being a spiritual agnostic agrees with me much more than whatever it is I was once before ever did. I was finally happy and doing good things in life.

Of course I still believe in God/Higher Power/Deity but I have relinquished all organized religions because I personally think that they just cause complete chaos, segregation, hatred towards other groups, suspicious mindset and limit my thinking ability and willingness (not to mention how both my religions used to force me into believing certain things without the possibility or permission to break the mould, and to think and ask questions out of the box).

Even though I know that my kind are most likely condemned by most people from my own country (daddy included), I now choose to live life with love (to the best of my ability) and I try to be as kind possible to anyone without the guidelines of a specific religion. I strongly believe that as humans, we were all born with a moral compass, we are all familiar with the primordial morality - do not do to others what you don't want done upon you.

Yes, I am a spiritual-romantic-intellectual agnostic. Does this make me a child of a lesser God? Does this make me a bad person? I dont think so. But one thing I know for sure, I am no longer scared of the abstract, of death and of the unexplained. Instead I am now blessed with the ability to feel God's love for me. Two words to describe it: absolutely awesome!

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it out of religious conviction. Blaise Pascal

Bukti bahwa sistem pendidikan Indonesia tidak maju-maju.

Sebagai orang trilingual dan mengerti pasif (written and a bit of spoken) beberapa bahasa eropa plus beberapa dialek lokal nusantara, saya agak miris melihat papan-papan seperti yang dibawah ini. Mengapa? Karena manusia Indonesia adalah manusia yang cerdas dan mampu beradaptasi dengan berbagai bahasa. Terbukti dengan banyaknya orang Indonesia yang mampu berbicara dalam beberapa dialek lokal yang sebetulnya lain total satu sama lain, dan sudah hampir seperti bahasa (seperti minang, aceh, jawa, sunda dan bali yang memiliki tata bahasa layaknya bahasa indonesia) ketimbang sekedar dialek, dan juga mahir berbahasa asing.

Apakah anda akan merasa semiris saya?

Sebuah halte yang kabarnya banyak diprotes oleh orang orang karena tulisannya tidak betul.



Lalu dikoreksi menjadi:


Sebuah kantor kecamatan/kelurahan yang memiliki service bak McDonalds, namun sedikit berbeda karena bukan drive thru tapi "drive thrue"



di Cianjur bebas narkoba, suatu papan himbauan yang berniat baik, namun terjemahannya juga baik bagi mereka yang menggunakan narkoba..



Terlihat seperti demonstrasi, saya kurang tahu demonstrasi apa, mungkin kepada pemerintahan yang duduk saja tanpa melakukan apa-apa. Mungkin kepada bosnya karena mereka merasa "little-little me, but salary no up-up"



Satu papan di Bandara, saya kurang mengerti artinya..


Namun setelah melihat yang ini, tiba-tiba pesan diatas menjadi agak jelas.


Yang terakhir ini, sebetulnya tidak ada salah apa-apa, hanya miris melihat nama sekolah tersebut, makanya mungkin para ahli ekonomi (dan politik) di Indonesia menjadi mirip nama sekolah ini, tanpa huruf "H" di belakangnya..


Semoga anda terhibur dengan gambar-gambar di atas, tapi tergerak untuk membuat perubahan, setidaknya bersuara agar para oknum pemerintahan mulai bergerak untuk "do some thing" selain korupsi dan memperkaya diri dan keluarga.

Death by Hunger in Indonesia. How to end this madness?

According to the International Herald Tribune, the Indonesian Government Welfare Minister (Menteri Koordinator Kesejahteraan Rakyat) Aburizal Bakrie, is the nation's richest person with a personal wealth of USD 5.4 billion, which is a 400% surge from his net worth in 2006, and topping the list from his #6 place last year. A phenomenal achievement for him, not so much for the nation.

On Monday, 3 March 2008, I visited several local news sites where I found this article. Died of hunger? In Indonesia? The land that was blessed by the Gods of Fertility? I guess we have somehow angered the Gods. Maybe because they are banned by Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

How ironic is it that the Welfare Minister is the richest man in Indonesia, yet there are people dying of hunger?

Apparently, this is not the first time that this has happened. I found a couple of other articles, one of an elementary school student from a very poor family who committed suicide because he couldn't stand being hungry all the time, and another of a poor becak driver ( becak is a three wheeled public transportation, pedaled by a driver who sits behind the "coach" that seats two to three people - depending of their width) who also died of hunger.

It is so sad to see that in the midst of the new-found capitalism in Indonesia (especially Jakarta), the tall sky scrapers, luxurious cars, democracy, reformation, religious bolster and the disposal of the supposedly-bad New Order, hunger related deaths still occur.

One of the legitimate questions thrown around on the world wide web forums is "where are her neighbors?". Another one is "if they are poor, why do they have so many children?" (she had four and another on the way). One lame question/statement that is not legitimate at all and almost idiotic is "why do you ask the government's support? It's not their job!"

My answers for these questions are;
for the first:
- maybe they didn't know
- maybe they didn't care
- maybe they knew and cared but wasn't in a position to help
- maybe they wanted to help but was afraid (the last is in relation to people from certain religion that is now afraid to help people from another, in fear of being accused of trying to convert the people they helped)

for the second:
- they were so poor that they could not afford birth control
- they believed in the principal of "children are blessing from god" (roughly translated to banyak anak banyak rejeki in Indonesian
- which apparently is nothing but a cruel joke for them)
- the husband did not care and the wife was too stupid/ill-informed/ignorant to do anything about it
- she was mighty fertile..

for the third:
- Of course it's their job!!
- It's bloody well their job!!
- What are the government paid to do if not their job? This is one of their main duties!
- It's not the government's job, WTF? Did the poster of this question go to school?
and some other answers with NSFW language I dare not write here.

Then I came across this brilliant article. It might not solve all problems in Indonesia and bring peace and prosperity to the world, but it is a well intentioned article. It was written in the same tenor as those who hope for a better Indonesia. This article reminds me (hopefully all of us)of the fact that once upon a time we did it, we prospered, thus to achieve it again would not be something so far off.

Maybe the government needn't focus on irrelevant laws and regulations, those that benefit a certain group. Maybe the government needn't fret on how women are supposed to dress, on pornographic and pornoaction laws, maybe the government should reconsider renting forests and opening new mines, maybe the government should use their head and heart. This is a wake-up call, and if things still worsen after what has happened to this poor pregnant woman and her family, then the (once) great nation of Indonesia should re-think its position on humanity and god (religion). Cos it seems like the nation hasn't got one or the other.