The 15th

Great expectations

Time. I really wish I could have more.

Question is: where do you want to be?

A little perspective would be good

One of the many addictions

It's probably safe to say that most of us, my generation, are addicted to the Internet to some extent. Why? It's instant, and mostly free. It used to be that we had to go to library to find reference books, pick up the phone to book tickets, buy the papers for our daily dose of news, and a lot of other things. Of course, that all changed in the early 1990s. Internet, or its predecessor has been around for years by then, but only really picked up in the end of 80s. I remembered my disbelief when a classmate told me that I could get weather prediction, and be connected to people from around the world via this cool new technology they called 'Internet'. I didn't believe it was possible then. Such is the mind of a 13 year old. I soon found myself doing exactly that in a few years' time. Internet boomed faster than a supersonic jet.

Today, I spend a very unhealthy amount of time in front of my desktop. I switch it on when I got home. Dare I say it...I can't live without it here. On the occasions and days when I'm without it though, I feel those days and minutes are very well-spent.

Probably should get myself off Internet soon!

P.S.: Found these three people sitting next to each other on subway, all on iPods and all napping at the same time. These days, the chances are higher than you think.

Another dry day

I'm going out of my mind.

The 9th

Love, love, love

Recovering from a lull

I haven't snapped out of it.

I was looking at a TV screen the other day, Denzel Washington, the much-praised actor was saying a quote that stuck with me: "You gotta do what you had to do, so you can do what you want to do." Simple, universal truth!

Spring

The trees, in their full glory.

I am back from my holiday! It feels strange to be back, it seems like I have been away for a very long time. Things don't change that much but the change is in how I see them. Anyway, happy spring festival!

I am still stranded at the airport. Apparently bad, bad weather had to hit earlier, and what followed is a string of unfortunate events. It has been such long hours. I'm tired.

Another new year

I'm off to more than a week-long holiday. I will stop posting for a while and I hope to catch up when I'm back. Here I am wishing you a great lunar new year and a fantastic rat year ahead. To infinity and beyond!

Death by sushi

Perched on top of the lifeless block of wood for too long a time, P finally decided to take charge and never let anyone control its life again. P crawled on its two-clawed toes. Hours passed by. It grew tired, thirsty, and hungry. It began to think "Was this a mistake?". Its newfound sense of freedom grew more and more insecure. Just when P decided to give up and head back to its comfortable life, it saw those red specks. The specks grew larger as P approached closer. Then P's eyes opened up wide in wonder at the sight of those amazing round plates. It has been years. OH! How P longed for those delicious forms! The feel of that succulent juice in its mouth. Those green-tinted substance that made P's eyes filled with tears and wanted to beg for mercy. At last! P enjoyed the happiest moment of its life for exactly 3 minutes and 14 seconds. Then it passed out and never woke up again.

Drawing and Painting Google

I ranted about my own misfortune with Google and how it has surprised me months ago. Yet there's one thing Google consistently do well which made me remain their fan despite that incident: their creativity. Check out Google's logo for Lego's 50th anniversary (soon to appear on this page). Thanks, Kiran for pointing it out. I love love love love Google Doodles and holiday logos, especially their April Fool's brilliance. :D

Freaky Fries at 2

There is this small cafe that occupied the center of a medium-sized compound near my neighborhood. I walk past the sight of it every single day and I had thought about going in but that never happened for the longest time. So the other day I was on my way somewhere else, for some reason I turned my head to the right and spotted a picture. As soon as I took a picture, I noticed the cafe and thought to myself, maybe today is the day. So my legs took me there. Sometimes I think my legs are faster than my head. I found a seat next to the window amidst the European style-furnitures, sat down, ordered the most wonderful hot chocolate, got my books out and had a jolly good time. Can't believe I missed that experience for years. The place is literally a few steps away from my front door. That led me to think if I just ventured two steps further out of my ordinary path, I might just discover something great. Places we pass by, people we said hi and bye to. The world just got interesting again.

Ten years since

I received the news that Soeharto, second President of Indonesia, the infamous long-time dictator (so the media says) who ruled the archipelago for 32 years, died this afternoon. In 4 months, it will already be 10 years since the riot that changed the country forever. My mind immediately recalled that night. Etched into my memory are the two scenes of that silent evening. I was in my parents' bedroom and my father came in and looked for something solid that could be used as weapon of defense. The neighbors had convened earlier and the men of the family would go out at the back of the alley and waited out with the rest, including all of us. The only thing we could use was a long wooden bat resembling a baseball bat, I had no idea how it was in the house, it was always...there. Then we were all gathered in the back alley. The alley was sealed from both sides, it was where the rear of houses from two parallel streets meet. And we waited just in case the crowd made their way to the neighborhood. Rumors ran amok earlier during the day, parts of the city had seen looting and houses destroyed. The unspoken fear occupied our minds and hearts during those moments of wait. Waiting, I learned, is worse than execution.

Nothing happened. We were relieved. I can't remember the rest. If anything else, those days were probably the few days after the students took to the streets and shouted "Reformasi!" (Indonesian word for reform) repeatedly, demanding to oust Soeharto. Much more horrible things happened (a Wiki entry of the riot is short, but it tells everything). People lost their houses, livelihood, and most importantly they lost their wives, daughters, fathers, and their loved ones.

The currency dipped lower since and never got back to the same level. Our economy suffered. Today, the woes the country faced after numerous changes of presidents and parliaments are never quite resolved. Is this the reform we were fighting for?

Soeharto was probably one of the most corrupt leaders of any nation. His family benefited from his power and capacity of being president in office. Thirty-two years of accumulated nation's wealth, that's some fortune, I imagine. He was never tried, citing health reasons each time he's supposed to appear in court. Investigation stopped after years of going nowhere. These years, he resided in his house most of the time, rarely making any public appearances. The man just faded away. I didn't think much of him actually. But I do remember during his years of being in office, we enjoyed a relatively stable economy and peaceful life. Even though he did a lot of things to get to where he was, I did not resent him. The man is gone. The very symbol of cronyism and corruption. Yet his legacy of corruption and graft lived on and still spreading rampantly like wildfire.

"I am your Father Luke!"

A series

I'm using pictures to compensate for the lack of words.

One of these days

We live our lives each day, often not paying much attention to our surroundings and what's in front of our eyes. For some reason, today I noticed reds all around me. Everywhere I turn my head, red becomes apparent, it's there on my calendar, on my keys, on my shirt, on the pictures, it's everywhere! I suppose if we concentrate hard enough, our vision will be cleared just like the scene in the opening of the movie when the fog drifts away and we see the magical kingdom, our mind will slowly be unblocked, clearing the path for the "one", and everything else falls into place to help us reach it. Maybe this is what meditation is like?

Early morning