dear future alex

Hello future Alex!

I wrote this post from the present simply to apologize for the things I have done and probably you're still paying the price. Yes, it's true. There have been things I'm not proud of, but I was not thinking clear or will not be thinking clear when I made or make that decision.

There's a chance while you're reading this post, you might be sitting in your new office. There's also a bit fat chance that you might not like what you're doing. You miss your old desk, you miss your friends and you even miss those craps they serve daily at the canteen. I cannot express how it must have felt for you, but please understand, it took me a while to make that decision and it just feels right. I hope you're not quitting simply because it's difficult, but you will find your way to embrace the challenge.

But yes, missing your friends is simply natural, but you might have or will make more new friends.

Remember April 8, 2013? Remember how you hit rock bottom? And as the saying goes, when you hit rock bottom, there's no other ways to go, but up. I'm blabbering, but my point is we've been or seen the worst. We've learned our lessons, we should've been much wiser by now. If not, at least, we understand the chances we've been given. Should we be nothing else, but thankful.

I'm pretty sure that I might do more errors as time passes by. I might hurt your friends, disappoint your family, constantly have disagreements with your co-workers to which you definitely have to suffer the consequences. Includes this post, to which I'm about to publish, you might be ashamed of not only the content, but how poorly it's structured. Ha!

I'm constantly struggling in making the proper decisions. I'm trying not to lose myself. I wish there was a way for you to guide me, warn me of things I might do that affect both of our lives. Oh Future Alex, I have a clear vision of what you should be and I hope I will not fall in doing things that might screw that vivid image of you that we both can be proud of.

Don't forget to call your mom.

Don't forget to appreciate your co-workers.

Call your old friends and do some catch-ups.

Travel, eat well, read books and always be kind.

Sincerely,

Your oldest pal.

restoration

I have not written anything almost a year now and I seriously have forgotten how grey my blog was. So many things have happened. For people who are close to me, know that 2013 is a life-changing year for me. It was probably one of the most difficult year to get through. But on the other hand, it's also the year I began to realized how blessed I have been. 

I have nothing yet to blog, but I promise to write more often. I went two weeks ago, that's probably going to be my first entry after a long hiatus. I can hardly wait for that!

Happy Sunday!

don't call me botak, unless ...

Okay, do not judge me based on this photo above. Not only that I look ridiculous, I also look a bit over-weight. The initial idea of the photo was to challenge myself to lose some weight and blog about the whole thing. I was going to take the before-after shot. Then this other idea came up and I thought this photo kind of represents it, so voila, that's the whole story. 

Almost two years ago, I decided to shave my head. I remember telling myself that it was a crazy idea, but at that time, I assured myself that it's going to be liberating, which it is. Some people give up eating meat, I gave up having hair. It's just that simple.

Unfortunately, I live in a society that probably is not familiar with a completely shaved head. I cannot begin to tell you, how many people have use my hair absence to deliberately mock me. I have been called shining-head, egg-head, golf-ball to the most vicious and offensive one, botak (translated as bald).

Okay, let me try to explain to you why it's offensive. You probably remember that Gwyneth Paltrow - Jay Z - Kanye West incident a year ago? When Paltrow joked around using or referring to Jay Z's song which contains the N word (you know which word I'm talking about, don't you?). Jay Z, Beyonce and (probably) Kanye were extremely upset and offended by Paltrow due to that usage of N-word simply because she's white. 

The same thing applies to my situation. Despite the fact that I am botak, but to have someone who is not, calling me that is very insulting. For me it's equally offensive as Paltrow using that N-word. 

However, I'm a man with a big heart. I forgive and forget. So I forgive you, crazy super-drunk mas-mas at Pluit who almost made a song of my baldness. 

I also forgive you, you little brat at Grand Indonesia last weekend, who probably was there for your first time ever. I forgive you for pointing your index finger at me and calling me "om botak". 

I hope in the future once this post published, being bald is no longer unusual, but it can be considered cool and trendy. 

deux mille treize

2012 just ended. Despite the fears of Armageddon, it's actually a great year. By the end of year, Facebook has this apps, which (I think) its purposed is to help you review what has actually happened for that one year period. Considered it as a scoring chart, I must admit that I didn't do well. HAHAHA. So here are a few highlights from my 2012 Year in Review according to our beloved Facebook:

1. I added 41 new friends this year. For your information, in 2011, I added 106 new friends, so that's a sign how anti-social I was last year.
2. I liked 39 new pages. Again, it shows how desperate I need to hang out and start drinking beer or something.
3. The rest of the Year in Review page shows the peak of events that I recorded (with photos, or comments). Most of them are farewells. 2012, despite its greatness, is also the year of parting with so many great friends at work.
4. I must not forget the insane trip I decided to take last June to Hong Kong - Malaysia and Singapore with Billy, my nephew. It was so rewarding. In a way, the trip has made me learn being a better person.
5. And weddings, which I didn't attend. BUT .. I noted that so many of my friends' lives changed significantly (of course, without my presence, I'm a douchebag, I know).
6. I know how to swim and drive!!! Isn't it great??

And for the new year, 2013, like Madonna's movie career, it's a mystery, but I have hope (for the year, not her career .. KIDDING!). I have not shared many personal things with others, but sometimes I wonder, what if I do. I mean, most of the time, I forgot what my resolutions are. Maybe it's best that I put it out there, so I can have this tiny reminder which will bite my ass any time soon. So here they are:

1. This might be a bit vague, but my first resolution should be having more compassion towards life, mine and others and be more responsible with my actions and my words. 
2. There is something about time that has troubled me for quite sometime and for a person who lives in Jakarta, time is always an issue. I mean, we spend like at least 3-4 hours a day being caught in traffic. Not pretty. So I learn, I should be more wise regarding time-spending. If I have to be caught in traffic for hours, I should have learned how to spend those hours wisely. In short, be wise with my time.
3. Friends, I always say how much I appreciate good friendship, but I also notice that I haven't participated much in some of my friends' lives, so I decided to invest more time in my friends' lives.
4. See the world, well, maybe a part of the world. I haven't had any trips planned yet for next year, but I have a few places that I really want to visit.
5. Also self-actualization should be part of my resolutions, I have some interests to learn a few things, which I will share with you here.
6. I was going for number 6, but then I heard this thunder sound outside my window. I assume it's a sign that 5 is enough.

So well, I'm super-excited like fireworks that we are in 2013. Do you know that it's also my 6th year blogging? I'm terribly touched knowing it has come so far. I can't thank you enough for a very wonderful friendship. Ready for another round? Buckle up, Toto! Here we go.

conjunctivitis and loneliness

I should have posted this blog like a month ago. So 3 weeks ago, I was suffering from conjunctivitis. Not a bit deal, I just took 3 days off from work and since I was all alone at home, it felt a bit lonely. Actually it's not really a big deal. I just feel that at the end of 2012, at least I could say that I was suffering from something memorable other than some cold. So there you go, I had conjunctivitis.

In case you're wondering what conjunctivitis is. It's an eye infection. Mostly caused by virus, but in some cases, it could be bacterial. It wasn't really anything that one should worry, too much anyway. The symptoms of the disease are usually: 

1. Your eyes are red, it could be one eye or just both
2. There will be extremely dark circles around your eyes. It probably looks like the after-effect of one-week crying. Not that I had the experience, but I assume.
3. Sometimes itchy.
4. There will be excessive amount of eye crust, especially in the morning. Not pretty.

Anyway, usually it took 4 to 5 days for the disease to be completely gone. But unfortunately in my case, it stayed a bit too long due to my lack of knowledge of the disease. Here are a few tips from one survivor, me!

1. Don't panic! I know it sounds like a stupid suggestion, but really, don't panic. There are doctors, eye-specialist doctors that you can go to. I've waited for 4 days before visiting one. I'm a dumb-dumb.
2. Never put a wet warm cloth on your eyes although it might feel like you're getting better, but actually you're not. The wet cloth actually is actually like a bar for germs. So just don't.
3. Wash your hands every time you apply your medicine to your eyes or for no reason touching your eyes. This is what I call compassion, so other won't be infected. Be responsible.
4. Avoid sharing anything. Even if you're not sick, unless it's some B-movies DVDs, you shouldn't share anything with anyone .. Just saying.

essentially living

I'm probably the last person anyone would ask for beauty tips or fashion tips or anything in that department. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a bit behind when it comes to the newest trend in fashion. But I'm not trying to be a smartass, I just want to share some of the things that are essential for me and sometimes they (some of them) create little joyous moments to my tiny life.

I must also warn you that I'm not endorsing any certain brands. So if I did mention some brands, I'm not selling them or anything like that (yeah, like they'd pay me! HAHA). I just want to point how I enjoy certain things in life. Talking about brand, the truth is I don't even believe in brand, but I believe in being comfort, being decent and sometimes being my unique self. 

One minute oatmeal

Okay, I'm not being philosophic here. I just want to point out the first essential in my life is that one minute fix of breakfast I've been having for the last two weeks. Yes, that tasteless plain not pretty meal we all call Oatmeal. I know, at some point I complained about my weight, but the truth is I believe it's a healthy meal and I owe it to myself to at least have one healthy one out of three. 

Water and ice water

This one is classic. We have heard so much about the advantages of water and how one must drink at least 8 glasses of water. They're all true and there are times when I suffer from dehydration, my body becomes unbalanced, weak and my skin becomes irritably dry. 

I also have this new ritual every morning and night. After I brush my teeth and wash my face with soap, I usually take a bottle of icy water (which was stored in the fridge) and sprinkle my face with the cold water. Although it's not scientifically proved, but I believe it can decrease our facial pores. HAHAHA. Yes, I too can have silly ritual!  

Coffee, coffee and coffee

Like Lorelai Gilmore, I am too a coffee drinker. I usually limit myself to not more than 2 cups a day. But there are days that I could have at least 3 cups. Mad mad day, I say.

Eau de toilette 

Let me tell you that I'm a big fan of L'Occitane, although there's a big fat chance I might have pronounced it wrong. I love the smell of their products. This L'Occitan has been my latest favorite. It has that edgy smell of pepper or some spices mixed with some grass or flowers. I know it sounds so stupid, but I love them. 

I have a few friends who think that using products of L'Occitane does not make you look classy. The truth is I prefer to go for L'Occitane or Bodyshop product than those fake Bvlgari or CK perfumes. At least, I got them from an official store. #JustSaying. HAHAHA.

Hair shaver - Being bald

I have shaved my head for more than a year now and it will continue be my style until I die probably. This has been a dilemma and some of my friends have been so openly against it. All I can say that it's a commitment and I shall not back off now. To all of you who think I look horrible, it's not that bad, really.

E-paper

I LOVE e-PAPER! I read my Kompas either at work or at home with my PC or my tablet. I never bought printed newspaper since Kompas introduced the electronic version. Beside Kompas, there are Media Indonesia who also uses the same format. I enjoy reading HuffingtonPost online as well. 

They're flat, aren't they shoes?

I don't know exactly what they're called, but they're extremely comfortable. I love these flat shoes. I can walk tens of blocks wearing this shoes. I probably can run marathon in these shoes, well, maybe not. 

The monstore in my closet

Because of my petite figure, it's not easy for me to find the exactly fit tees. But I have found this cool local brand (I think they're actually from Bandung) who produced shirts in my size. I love, love monstore. Not only they're very comfortable, they're quite artsy. 

Hats for my head

At first, I wore hat because I found out that no everyone can cope with me being bald. So I thought hat might tone down their reaction a bit. Yes, it's probably only in my head. But then, that prejudice (if you want it call it that) has turned into a fetish. I love buying and wearing hat. I love my bowler, my fedora and my beret. The only head piece that I might not wear in public is those mickey ears probably. 

ni hao, xie xie

I have no idea how many of my previous posts started with how long I have not posted any posts due to being busy at work. Disregard the fact that it might bore you, my friends, the way I started each post for the last 3 months, I actually have been quite busy. 

Recently I just moved to a new house (I told you, didn't I?). There are at least a box or two that I haven't unpacked yet. And at work, we just have this new management which I'm still adjusting to. I just feel bad to not be able to check on my friends, to not meet them as often as I wish I could.

Anyway, for almost a couple of weeks now, there are two very important family friends who stay with us, a man and his wife. I'm absolutely fine with it since mostly I was alone at home. Although sometimes I feel some portion of my privacy has been taken away. 

They're actually from mainland China and they barely speak Bahasa. And since I hardly speak Mandarin (don't let my Chinese eyes fool you!), our conversations always involve miming. I once literally was sounding Moo and Oink to ask / answer questions regarding what a dish made of. Even after my two weeks vacation in Hong Kong, the only mandarin I know is: xie xie and ni hao. As for them, the only Bahasa words they seem to know are bir and mabuk. So you can only imagine how the dinner time went for the last two weeks. HAHAHAHA.

Beside the free dinner for the last two weeks, I also enjoy learning new habits from them. Our dining utensils include chopsticks and bowl instead of spoon, fork and plate. I have been remastering my skill using chopstick. Not bad, I must say. From the blog I found online, I learned that chopstick has been used for at least five thousands years ago. There was an idea that they used chopstick to avoid burning their hands when they tried to get the food out of a pot.

There's even a belief from Confucius, that men should avoid using sharp and pointed utensils (such as knives and fork), which represent violence. One should be in a happy and good mood when they're at the dining table. This is a very interesting, isn't it?

I personally also believe, using a tiny bowl and chopstick also teach us to only take the food in a moderate way due to limited space. A few years back, my brother started this diet, eating only using a tiny bowl and chopstick so he only dined in small portions. Too bad, it didn't go for long.

Although I couldn't find it anywhere, but somehow I believe to take a piece of dish from our dinner companions reflects honoring the recipient. 

bowler hat's new home

Finally, I settled in to a new home. Well, I don't want to say much about it since I don't actually have to change my zip code. So pretty much I still live here in the north side. We of course, hired this cool mover company (not sure how if that's what they are), which helped a lot during the process.

But to get things going, to reorganize and rearrange the whole house is simply not an easy task. Not only that it's not easy, but it's also time-consuming. Let me be very honest, I'm not a fan of moving, or change for that matter. I'm the kind of person that needs time to adjust, although I must admit I enjoy exploring new things, I also want to be secured. To plan is the keyword here, people.

So Yesterday, at around 3pm, where everything's pretty much at where they should be, a friend texted me and asked how the moving's gone. I simply replied, "My wi-fi is working, so I'm pretty much home." HAHAHA. Yes, I'm the victim of the vicious cyber world.

Anyway, that's a joke. I'm just glad that everything's going to be okay (soon). This is my first post from the new headquarter, and (fingers-crossed) many more to come.

Happy Sunday!

hello there, dear void

So today (May 1), we commemorate the national Labor Day, which I myself must admit is quite interesting. Thousands and thousands of people currently are practically taking over Jakarta (Yes, that's me being dramatic). Not the whole the Jakarta, but probably the main business districts in Jakarta. My twitter timeline keep suggesting to avoid Sudirman and Thamrin area.

Anyway, despite the excitement everyone's having downtown, I feel a bit cranky these last few days. Due to that irregular unwanted emotional state of being, I really cannot find any contentment in my daily routines. I also believe I must write a "I'm sorry for being an a-hole" note to a few people at work and my maid at home. 

In case you have watched that movie, You've Got Mail, you'd probably remember there's a scene where Kathleen (that girl played by Meg Ryan) wrote an e-mail about questioning her life and how it might have been if she did or did not do certain thing. Well, I'm probably wearing those same shoes. Yes, maybe I don't have enough of sleep, maybe I'm quite tired or simply bad weather, I really don't know.

I feel a bit useless (I know, you probably are going to scream: again, Alex?). I feel that everything else going in a full speed while I'm a bit stuck. I feel that the first four months of 2012 has just passed by without me achieving anything significant. I don't remember doing anything memorable, neither at work nor everywhere else.

Yes, yes, I know. I have the options of doing or not doing things. I have the options to behave or not to behave certain way. But maybe like Kathleen Kelly, I'm sending this question out into the void without expecting any answers.

So, hello there, dear void! Thank you for listening.

the rocky 2011 and the hopeful me in 2012

Modern English has been rocking out "I Melt with You" on my stereo for a few rounds now as I have been staring at my computer screen with thoughts and words running around my huge head. Anyway, it's the first day of the year 2012 and here I am blogging. It's a productive year, I surely can tell you that!

At first, I felt that 2011 was a very dark and rocky year for me. Like, two weeks ago, my friend asked this out-of-nowhere question about whether I was (we were) happy. Honestly, I still have not been able to answer that question. I mean, at that time, of course I was extremely gleeful, hanging out with my fabulous mates. But I don't think I could describe my sentiments toward the whole year as a happy one. 

Then, as I was trying to remember a few highlights of the rocky year, I was brought to an understanding that it's not actually that horrible. Well, there are some good memories though. Here they are (I have altered them a few times, HAHA):

1. I got mugged which caused me quite a lot of financial loss. I seriously tried to make this point sound funny, but somehow it ended making me sound like a loser. However, the accident did teach me to indulge myself more, since I was often reluctant to spend money for me. So, it's a good lesson. 
2. Remember back in April, when there was this dispute with the MPAA regarding the movie tax which left us with no Hollywood movies for 3 - 4 months. All the available options were pocong and kuntilanak. So I can confidently say that's a very dark time for our cinematic history.
3. It's not easy to bring back all these memories of what happened in 2011, but this new layout of Facebook helped a lot. According to my Facebook, I added 106 new friends in 2011, which might be a small number for most of you, but trust me, it's a lot! 
4. My commitment to shave off my head was one of the big decisions I made also this year. I think it's going to be how I look for the rest of my existence. Although I must admit I am often offended when people call me "botak", which describes who I really am. But somehow, I find it offensive. I don't know why, maybe it's their voice tone. 
5. The delightful wedding of two of my high school friends, Asnih and Effendi. I cannot even put in words how sweet they are (yes, they are sweet!) and how wonderful the wedding was. Also my colleague, the always gorgeous miss Detty's wedding in November. And to friends with new babies this year: Lisa, Hana and Ernih. What a joy!
6. Bleki, the amazing Bleki was missing in March 2011 but then miraculously found. He was taken care by one of our neighbors in Pluit and this good person put out brochure in order to find the owner of Bleki. It's so rare and it's not something people normally do. God bless that woman.
7. It's also the year I returned to twitter and tweeted more than 5000 twits in 6 months. I was opinionated apparently. 
8. A break-up.
9. Farewell to my awesome boss, Bu Jenny and some good friends at work.
10. To be introduced to Ramen Hakata Ikkousha, which has been officially my favorite dining place.

Since 2011 was quite out of the rail, I decided to really not care so much about what I must achieve in this year. Although I have a few plans made, some good traveling plans (yes, you shall read them here), some good new acquaintances, reconnecting with some old friends, a new project at work which I'm quite excited about, plan to learning new stuffs and certainly be healthier. 

So, let me raise my glass and cheers to: a healthier life, a job we love, new and old friends, many great opportunities, good jokes, good movies (Prometheus in June 8, btw), good food, a healthy faith, good coffee, wonderful trips, roasted green tea (yes, Sisca!), Tom Cruise, Billy Crystal hosting the Oscar, freebies  (o yeah, sir!), budget airlines (I'm cheap, what can I say?), iPhone 5 and twitter!

Happy new year 2012!

my 7 favorite apps for ipad

This is probably my most subjective post by far. Come to think about it, can a blogger be objective? Really? But when it comes to things one like or dislike, there is no rule saying who can or cannot be subjective. It's a free world and everyone's opinion should be appreciated. 

You're probably thinking what I'm babbling about. Actually I'm again talking about making a list and this time it has something to do with a friendly device of mine, which I named Ripley (taken from one of the coolest fictional characters on the silver screen). See the picture above and yes, I look strangely weird. And again yes, I named most of my devices. My iPod's named Chopper, Chihiro for my flash-disk storage and for my Blackberry, it was The Material Girl, probably because it's the only song I have in that phone which automatically is its ringtone.

Anyway, enough about my craziness! I'm going to share with you the 7 applications for iPad which I personally like (currently, since Apps Store releases like 50 new apps each day) and they have successfully made me want to stay home all night. Please notice that the order of the list does not imply degrees of fondness.

Discover by Cooliris
Discover is a reference apps which acquires articles from Wikipedia. Each day, the apps picks one certain article and send it our devices.The coolest parts of the apps are we can actually refer terms that we might not be familiar to other articles and so on. Having Discover on Ripley makes me feel extremely smart and knowledgeable.

Editions by AOL
Almost like Discover, Editions is sort of like a magazine that makes us the editor. We decide what we want to read and the order we want to read it. The articles are from various of sources. Everyday the apps create a magazine based on our preference, even personalize it with your friends' birthday if we connect Editions to our Facebook. We can also share the articles we enjoy reading to our Facebook or Twitter account. I like Editions probably because of the nice layout although there are many apps that are quite similar (such as Yahoo! LiveStand).

iBooks
Yes, I know. I know. iBooks is just probably one of so many apps that exist for reading books. It's not even the first apps of them all. However, I must say that (again, subjectively) it might be the best of them all. The smoothness of page turning, the supports it provides to help you enjoy your reading such as reference, highlight, note-taking and bookmarking, it certainly make my reading (should be) much funner. I own more than 40 books and honestly I haven't started (or worse, finished) any of them yet.

Flipboard & Showyou
If your iPad does not have Flipboard or Showyou, you need to click on that Apps Store and start downloading. Like Discover and Editions, both Flipboard and Showyou acquire videos from many sources, includes your own twitter and facebook account (videos your friends posted), and many respectable channels. There a few channels in Showyou which I have spent many nights watching. Most of them are short movies, short animations and news.

EA's Monopoly
The first time I installed this apps, I stayed until 3am playing Monopoly. It's extremely addictive and fun. We can play the game alone against the computer or we can play it with our friends (maximum 4 players). I had to relearn all the rules all over again, but trust me, I have never been so mesmerized by any board games as I was by this apps. Now me and my friends have another board games to play when we are bored.

Domino's Pizza Hero
Graphically stunning. It is a bit silly if you seriously think about it. It doesn't make you any smarter or anything, but it was fun to pretend cooking pizza. And actually it's not easy! The pizza manager, I must say is not the easiest boss to please. He never likes my dough and how I arranged my toppings. Gee, I'll never be promoted (and Alex, it's only a game!).

There are many-many-many apps that are equally excited, beautiful and important. Unfortunately I have no plan to write an extremely long post, but you can look it up if you're in the same circle based on these 7 apps. Well, they are: Apple Trailers - for viewing the newest movie trailers, The Collection - which is a must have apps for all fashion designers, Yahoo! Into, Apple's GarageBand, Noteshelf.

Oh gee, I cannot stop. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you too have your own favorites, please share them! I would appreciate that. Thank you.

a windy day on the 4th of november 2011

So yesterday I finally couldn't make it to work due to illness after days of suffering from cold, flu, cough and everything that associates with those diseases. I finally came back to work today and found out that more than half of people were taking a day off today. Well, it's going to be a lonely day.

Actually when I came to work today, it's quite windy. And to find out that I was going to be actually alone in my area, it increased the coldness level of the day. I'm totally fine with being alone in my room. I find it a bit fun since I had (or have) tons of works to be done (and yet, I'm blogging here. HEHEHE). I had my coffee with a piece of banana cake (which was too sweet) and said my prayer before I started the day.

The other advantage was probably I can turn-up the volume of my iTunes to the level where I can actually hear the music. This rarely happens at work and I must admit I enjoyed it! To have Miss Jo Stafford singing Blue Moon, or Miss Billie Holiday singing Stormy Weather (can you find a more suitable song for the weather?) which followed by the always awesome Nerina Pallot singing the haunting Sophia (Yes, my strange preference of music!).

Anyway, what I'm trying to share here is that I enjoy working in a slow quiet phase. Although usually in a horror movie, something "unusual"' tends to happen when one's alone. Urrgh, wait, where's everybody? ARRGHHH! 

how the year ends with good movies

Long time ago, I was introduced to a boy named Nandy. Nandy is a bored accountant whose dream is to be a movie critic. Nandy loves movies. From a very small number of our encounter, Nandy said that the last four months of the year are his favorites. Not fully agree to his opinion, but I understand why the Fall/Winter are his favorite seasons.

In Hollywood, January & February are the months of the awards. All the "important" awards are scheduled on those two months. So for all movies that want to be considered for the awards season of the year, they have to be released before the previous year ends. So let's say for the Oscar 2012, all movies must be released before 2011 ends. Well, I could be wrong about this (probably about the timeline), but then that's why the last four months become Nandy's favorites. For this year and the first two months of next year, I have so many movies I'm hoping to see (at least in the big screen). Most of the opinions here are collected from movie resources, such as: imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com, and many others.

SHAME

Director: Steve McQueen

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan

Why must we not miss this movie? Two words, my friends! Michael, that's one and Fassbender! Undeniably that Fassbender is the actor of the moment right now. He already had a couple of awesome movies released this year, X-Men First Class and Jane Eyre. This NC-17 rated movie (which means only adults are allowed to watch the movies) talks about a compulsive sex addiction. Shame will be released in December, but before that another Fassbender's movie, A Dangerous Method will be released in November.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Director: Sean Durkin

Stars: Elizabeth Orsen, Christopher Abbott

This is a playing-with-your-mind drama thriller with some first class acting. It was said that Elizabeth Orsen gave the best performance of the year and there's no way she's not getting any Oscar nomination.

WEEKEND

Director: Andrew Haigh

Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New

It has been hailed by critics when it was showed in Sundance this year. I was also intrigued by Jim Ridley when he commented Weekend as this countdown to farewell romance that will stay with you, may break your heart a little bit and shouldn't be missed. The Antlers singing I Don't Want Love in the movie trailer also helps a little bit to raise my interest. It's going to be a very sad movie. 

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Director: Simon Curtis

Stars: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench

The first time everyone saw the official photo of Michelle Williams posing as Marilyn Monroe, I believe everyone thought of Oscar! Well, maybe some of us, maybe just me and socialitenews.com. But seriously, Michelle Williams has transformed to be an amazing actress. I still cannot get over her powerful performance on Blue Valentine and I think she's going to kill it with this one as well.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Director: Steven Spielberg 

Stars: Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg

I used to read the comics and I must not miss this movie, that's all I can say. Although Spielberg's last movie, the Indiana Jones was a huge disappointment, I have my fingers crossed on this one. 

CHRONICLE

Director: Joshua Tank

Stars: Alex Russel, Michael B. Jordan

The trailer doesn't speak much, but it reminds me of the mystery of one of my favorite movies, Cloverfield. It also actually has the same exact way how the movie was shot. From what I know, these there teenagers were exposed to a strange substance that gave them power. That's all I know. Unfortunately we have to wait until next year to know what it's really about.

LIKE CRAZY

Director: Drake Doramus

Stars: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones

About that first love, about being apart from it, about constantly thinking about it when you're already with somebody else. Does it sound like your love life? Well, this year's Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner will explore that how love depicts the hopefulness and the heart-wrench of love.

TYRANNOSAUR

Director: Paddy Considine

Stars: Peter Mullen, Olivia Colman

I always enjoy watching movies that involve two different persons, such as Tyrannosaur. Winner of various awards in the Sundance Film Festival and it has been hailed as this year's British best film, surely it should not be missed.

W.E

Director: Madonna

Stars: Abbie Cornish, James D'Arcy

When it was screened at this year's Venice Film Festival, not everyone thrilled with Madonna's attempt to direct. W.E. received mixed reviews. Many hate the movie, but those who actually love it, praise it.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Director: Lynne Ramsey

Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly

Again, two words: Tilda, that's one and Swinton! Another psychology thriller, but then again, anything associate with Tilda Swinton, it must be a first class acting movie, includes this one. 

I didn't have much time to mention every movie, but there are other movies that I really want to mention, such as Roman Polanski's Carnage with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslett, The Descendants and Ides of March with George Clooney. What a happy season for movies! 

the importance of one's existance

Sudah beberapa pagi ini hujan melulu. Mengingat untuk mencapai ke kantor gue itu memerlukan perjuangan keras, cuaca pagi seperti itu sangat tidak mendukung. Belum lagi jika malam-nya harus lembur, jadi tidur itu benar-benar gak berasa. Seringkali gue berharap bisa menjadi mahluk yang gak perlu tidur.

Ngomong-ngomong soal lembur, akhir-akhir ini setiap kali gue pulang ke rumah, gue selalu menemukan rumah dalam keadaan kosong. Gue tinggal dengan kakak gue, yang mana malah pulang lebih malam daripada gue. Dan karena mbak gue, mbak Indah memutuskan untuk menjadi petani di kampungnya (yang mana bagus, gue selalu senang kalau ada orang yang memutuskan untuk kembali ke desa), tambahlah sepi tuh rumah.

Tiap hari minggu ini, gue pulang (kadang-kadang kakak gue bahkan lupa menyalakan lampu sebelum dia pergi) menemukan rumah dalam kondisi gelap gulita, harus bersih-bersihin rumah sebentar (yah, paling gak, bersihin kamar sendiri. HEHEHE), memastikan seragam buat kerja besok sudah tersedia, makan malam. Setelah itu, masuk kamar, nonton tv, menyalakan komputer dan ngecek email. Menjelang waktu tidur, cuci kaki - mulut, gosok gigi, berdoa dan tidur.

Yah, walaupun beberapa teman sempat berbaik hati, bersedia untuk bertukar kabar, namun menjalankan aktivitas berulang seperti ini sendirian sangat menjemukan dan buntut-buntutnya sangat berpontesial menciptakan rasa sepi.

Kesepian, menurut Hulme dalam bukunya "Creative Loneliness", adalah indikasi kebutuhan manusia untuk bersosialisasi atau berteman, sesuai dengan salah satu natur manusia itu sendiri. Hulme menambahkan seperti rasa lapar yang mendorong manusia untuk makan, rasa haus mendorong manusia untuk minum, kesepian mendorong manusia untuk berinteraksi dengan manusia lain. Bayangkan kalau tidak ada rasa lapar, rasa haus dan dalam konteks post ini, rasa kesepian. Sungguh yah, kreatif banget pikiran si Hulme ini.

Gue suka berpikir kalau kesepian juga bentuk bukti manusia butuh dianggap penting, (baca: dihargai, diperhatikan) apapun profesi, tingkat sosial, ataupun umurnya. Kalau istilah modern sekarang: perlu eksis. Dan mungkin saja, situs-situs seperti facebook dan twitter mencoba untuk mewadahi kebutuhan ini. (Gue ngaku kalau gue punya account di kedua situs ini).

Belajar dari Hulme yang bijak, didukung oleh situs-situs pertemanan, kita (baca: gue) gak perlu takut terhadap kesepian. Bahkan ketika rasa gengsi untuk memulai percakapan dengan teman-teman lama (atau baru) menyerang, ingatlah petuah bijaksana: "Lebih baik memberi daripada menerima", yang mana intinya kalo butuh teman obrol, jangan malu-malu duluan bilang HELLO (mulai gak nyambung yaks?).

Eniwei, kalau ada yang bertanya-tanya apa sih coffeetalk (sebagaimana gue melabel post ini)? Seperti salah satu segmen di SNL, coffeetalk adalah percakapan gak penting yang gak perlu disimpulkan. Seperti mengirimkan signal ke luar angkasa tanpa koordinasi tertentu, gue mengepost pikiran-pikiran gue tanpa berharap mendapatkan jawaban. HALAH! HEHEHE.

Selamat pagi dan selamat berakhir pekan!

4n6k4

Tahu gak kalau angka itu ditemukan di India? Yah, beberapa sumber yang tidak bisa dipercaya (HEHEHE) menuliskan kalau angka itu pertama kali dipakai oleh India, walau dalam bentuk tulisan, pertama kali angka ditemukan dalam bahasa Arab.

Percaya atau tidak akan informasi di atas, angka harus diakui adalah salah satu penemuan terbesar bukan? Dari bocah 4 tahun hingga mahasiswa, ilmu hitung-menghitung terus dipelajari. Yah, pentingnya angka tidak perlu diragukan lagi.

Hampir semua alat ukur, walau berbeda satuan pasti akan menggunakan angka. Angka dipakai untuk menyatakan ukuran dari hampir segala sesuatu, termasuk keadilan - misalnya penipuan uang nasabah salah satu bank di negara kita dikenakan penjara 3,5 tahun dan sebagainya (yah, adil tidaknya sangat relatif yah, tergantung juga sistem pengadilan sih).

Selain contoh tersebut, angka juga dipakai untuk mengukur keunggulan seseorang. Serius saja, untuk seorang manusia, angka-angka berikut ini sangat penting:

• Angka yang tertera dalam slp gaji atau angka yang menyatakan jumlah uang tersimpan di bank atas nama sendiri
• Angka yang menyatakan jumlah aset ataupun ukuran besar/luas aset yang tidak mengalami amortisasi
• Angka yang menandakan tinggi/berat, dan ukuran perut/pinggang/dada/pantat/tangan dan paha (khususnya untuk dunia perbusanaan, angka-angka ini sangat penting)
• Angka yang menandakan kecerdasan atau kemampuan penguasaan satu ilmu, yang biasanya dikeluarkan oleh lembaga-lembaga tertentu
• Angka yang menyatakan berapa lama seseorang tinggal di dunia ini (sayangnya angka untuk mengetahui sisa waktu seseorang hidup di dunia fana masih merupakan misteri hingga saat ini)
• Dan masih banyak lagi, bukan?
  

Mangkus tidaknya sebuah angka untuk mengukur hal-hal yang bersifat fana sebenarnya sah-sah saja, tapi itu bukan segala-gala-nya. Beberapa ribu tahun yang lalu, Yesus menampik pemberian seorang kaya tetapi memuji pemberian seadanya seorang janda karena ketulusannya. Pada masa yang sama, Yesus juga menikmati jamuan dengan Zakheus (which my dearest friend described as vertically challenged) dan kaum papa.

Yah, benar angka/statistik sebagai hasil dari ukuran keberhasilan kita akan selalu ada (tahukah lo kalo Meryl Streep adalah aktor dengan nominasi Oscar terbanyak? 15 kali!), tapi apakah itu yang menentukan keberhasilan kita?

Jujur, gue bisa saja berbohong dan bilang, gue adalah orang yang berhasil karena gue mengukur keberhasilan gue dari tingkat kebahagiaan/rasa bersyukur, tapi bukan, gue sendiri masih bergumul. Dan kalau lo mengalami hal yang sama dengan gue, mari kita bergumul bersama. HEHEHE.

la joie de vivre

Today, Jakarta was shocked by 2 totally unrelated suicides, not even yet 25 years old. One was in Grand Indonesia and the other was in Senayan City. Sometimes, I wonder what really crosses their mind, what makes them think that there's no possible way out or what's so painful that it has no cure.

I cannot judge for maybe I never or will never stand on their shoes. I never had that kind of life, but I do know it's important to always be grateful. For instance, Monday is never anyone's favorite day (except that you're having your day off on that day), but this Monday was special, very special indeed. We were celebrating Diana's birthday (her birthday is 27 November 2009: Happy birthday, darling friend!). I don't know how to begin telling how much this woman means a lot, how deary she's to me.

At noon, without (or with) any proper plan, we went to visit Cici. She's on her 3 months maternal leave and there he was, Jovan Yudhistira, Cici's second son, as cute as an button.

If Maria found raindrops on roses and whiskers on kitten comforting, and thinking of them made her feel good, I think my joie de vivre (actually one of them) is being with my loved ones, celebrating their existance. If you don't believe me, start celebrating your loved one's existance with cake, food, (or wine, if you fancy it) and silly jokes, you will feel it.

And I guess that's what all the fuss of celebration is. Yes, putting up those decorations, baking cakes, preparing a feast are totally painful, but la joie de vivre it creates truly lasts forever or at least you will get a few laughs. Totally worth it!

5 things you (might) want to know about me

Well, I have this idea of writing 5 things that truly show who I am. Honestly, it's not easy. I have been editing for many times. Until I think now it's appropriate (it does show something, doesn't it?).

One, I like my bedroom. I think it has everything that one can possibly need. Books, DVDs, a comfy bed, TV, and a 24 hours connection to the world (Yes, I'm a freak!). A friend once said that it's a madness that I enjoy staying in, but then I told him: you would too if you had my bed room. I believe one's bedroom should be the most convenient room in the house. HEHEHE.

Two, I'm not an open person. It's difficult for me to really expose myself to someone or anyone. I once wrote how I clustered people I know in life and I have no idea why I did that. I don't think anyone in this world can admit that they really know me. Not even if you read this blog religiously, because the truth is: I often delete many-almost-published entries.

Three, I don't eat sweet before 8 o'clock in the morning and after 10 at night. I don't know why really, I think it's just my body saying I don't really enjoy sweets, but if I have to, maybe only a tiny bit. HEHEHE.

Four, I hate ceremonies. All my life, I have only attended not more than 4 weddings, 3 funerals and on my graduation, I wore t-shirt, jeans and a pair of adidas. I didn't even bring my parents, because I planned not to stay long (and I don't have any photos of my graduation).

Five, I still have no idea who I want to be in life. When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a president, then a doctor, then a writer. But today, now, I still haven't been able to figure it out. I'm screwed, big time! HEHEHE.