Quick Bandung Jaunt

Hooraay, today is a holiday! I looked perhaps too forward to this well-deserved free day that I only realized what this holiday is for just now. Honestly, I couldn't care less about it. I just knew that in the matriculation calendar, this day is marked in red- as if holidays were hell. Anyway, today turned out to be the Islamic holiday Isra Mi'raj, celebrating the Prophet's lightspeed trip to the Heavens to sort some stuffs out with God.

Without any intention to imitate him, I also had a quick jaunt upwards today with my family. Plus my grandpa. We abducted him under my grandma's order to get him out of the house. No, don't get me wrong; she's in Balikpapan right now and she wanted my grandpa to get a nice trip somewhere other than his dream land. The destination couldn't be more obvious, as it has become some kinda backyard playground for many Jakartans. If you haven't got the slightest clue, turn off your computer and get a life. Really. Back to the topic, the answer is Bandung. Yes, that Bandung with all its eagerness to rival the chaos of Jakarta.

But, the best thing about my family trips to Bandung is that we don't really go to Bandung. We proudly bypassed all the mess in the city, and went straight to the mountains in the, err....., south? We don't even want to dip our toes in Bandung's traffic jam. I got somewhat traumatized after one afternoon when I was trapped in the street with actually-unnecessary giant superhero figures. Again, pardon my Jakarta-centricity: I've never really paid any attention to other city's street names, save some important ones. Was that Cihampelas? That's the only thing I could come up with.

We started the trip around 6 A.M. Rather unnatural to rise up so early on a holiday, but we're going to (the south of) Bandung. We did that to outrace the holiday traffic jam attack. That's a good enough reason to cut my beauty sleep -and believe me, there's another story about the reason. The journey was smooth and just-like-that. Then again, what can you expect in the highway?

First thing, we chose Situ Patenggang over Kawah Putih since the latter has become too Indonesian-ly touristy (I'm not sure if those are real words) for our taste, compared to what we experienced a couple of years before. Back then, Kawah Putih was virtually unknown. My family was the only visitor, apart from a Chinese shop-calendar photography team. We had the chance to really take it all in. Today, it's sadly not too different from Tangkuban Perahu the Invaded. So, to Situ Patenggang we went.

Fortunately, it's not too commercialized yet. Frankly, I doubt that it will reach the same level as Kawah Putih or Tangkuban Perahu. I didn't see any uniqueness to the lake. It's a gorgeous place, true; but not something I could, let alone would, brag about to others. Not knowing what to do, we agreed to some guy's advice to ride a boat around the lake. In the middle of the voyage, the boat's operator took us for a stop at a spot called Batu Cinta - Love Stone, but not Lovestoned. Unsurprisingly, we didn't have, or get, any clue how the place got its name. Heck, we didn't even know which stone is the mythical Batu Cinta.

When lunchtime came, the real reason for this so-called quick jaunt was officially revealed. Well, it was never a secret, just a familial understanding. Going to the Situ was too noble a reason to spend hours and hours on the road. We actually wanted to have lunch at a great place named <fill name here>. It's not my fault that I don't know its name, because they put up so many Sundanese words there and I don't have any idea which one says the name of the place. What I know is that they serve one of the best nasi liwet I've ever had.

When lunch was over, we still held firmly to our belief that we don't need to go to Bandung proper to have some one-day fun. And we went home with a relaxed body, peaceful mind, and a full stomach. Oh God, this post is long! I guess I have a reason to not post think deeper about my next post.

Movie Chit-Chat: The Dark Knight

The dark tights have successfully transformed into The Dark Knight, the latest incarnation of Gotham City's superhero Batman. The movie's title couldn't be more suitable, as many reviews noted it as "dark", "toxic", and "haunting". Well, I'd like to add another one: "awesomely long" as in "it's so long your ass will hurt" long. Those red seats must be really warm after each show.

Gotham city got a strong new DA, Harvey Dent, whose career has seen a huge number of criminals sent to jail. He has become some kinda bright light of law enforcement for the citizens, while Batman still did his usual crime-fighting away from the spotlight. The White Knight and the Dark Knight, you might say that. Then came the anarchic villain Joker with all his ingenious evil plans which ranges from your plain ol' robbery to provoking the whole city into murder. Hence, Batman, along with his pal Jim Gordon, teamed up with Dent to end Joker's reign of terror. Inbetween the exhilarating action scenes, they talked stuffs about darkness, evil, and all that jazz which are so not in my area of expertise; but still, the whole story is thought-provoking.

The highlight of the movie is simply Joker. The late Heath Ledger brought the evil clown into a totally new level. We can see Joker's eccentric thoughts through his acting, and also through the tons of makeup. His character was very strong and consistently crazy just like his astounding plots. His last plan involved talking the passengers of two ferries -one filled with civilians, the other with criminals- into blowing each other up.  Maybe his line is the best way to describe himself: "this city deserves a better class of criminal" and apparently, he is that better criminal.

This movie undeniably lived up to the hype surrounding it. If at this time you haven't seen it, go to a confession and repent.

Oh My Blog!

It really surprised me to see that the last time I wrote something was exactly last week. In the standards of my incessant blogging, a week of not posting is way too much. I almost didn't realize it until I felt this nagging feeling which told me that I should've done something. And suddenly, I remembered my blog! I've been away for seven days. No post. No comment. Nothing. It's kinda silly to be absent for so long after posting my 100th post (yes, a hundred post!). Anyhow, don't blame me.

The matriculation program is invading my wonderful live. The program literally takes hours and hours of my day, which should've been used for something better: anything else. Well, actually the English classes are quite enjoyable. Or at least, bearable. If not for the annoying magazine + wall bulletin final projects, I would fall in love with it. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the sciences program, which somehow only consists of math and physics. I want to describe it, but I have to keep my blog clean and decent. Thus, I'll keep it really short: blurgh, blurgh, aaargh. Every week, we had to endure less-than-interesting classes that doesn't really connect with what we're going to study for real. I guess I deserve some a lot of credit for ditching only one session of math. I had to sort out some, errr, stuffs at my high school. I'm not lying! What makes you think I'm not telling the real thing?

By the way, my lovely twin cousins had gone back to Oz last Sunday. Surprisingly, I miss their unbearable noise and acrobatic stunts - they're Kevin Rudd's problem now.

That's all folks. I'm posting this just to let you know that I'm not gonna procrastinate let anything separate me from my blog anymore. Thank you for not giving up on my blog and expect something soon.

Random TV-themed Post

Apparently, some children's welfare advocacy group made today "TV-Free Day". It is certainly a bold idea, and I simply have to praise them for such courage. I am here to announce that I am totally observing TV-Free Day - if you substitute totally with so not. TV-Free Day is so wrong on so many levels. I do get the point that we need more quality programs for appropriate age groups. We are fed up with annoying sinetrons and reality shows which are so not real. Yet, I don't think that the right amount of watching great TV shows is a delinquency. Anyway, as a sign of goodwill, I am writing this post while not watching the television like I usually do.

Well, we just can't get ourselves off the idiot box, can we? It has somehow become an integral part of our lives like junk food and lame jokes. We remember so many things from TV, which shouldn't be much of a surprise. Just compare the number of people who remember how Peter Petrelli first took flight and the people who knew the number of provinces in the country. Or compare the number of those who can name all six casts of Friends and those who can name all of the country's vice presidents. (Honestly, I can't.) Especially for our generation -not you, grandma- we have grown up with television.

I can go on and on about our love affair with television, but let's not. Instead, I have some random news that I found while aimlessly wandering the internet recently. First, there is a widespread news about Grey's Anatomy that in the coming season, there will be some kind of lesbian relationship developing seriously between dr. Callie Torres and dr. Erica "the-new-Burke" Hahn. The creators of the show consulted with GLAAD and found out a way to put down the story in a surprising, unoffensive way. Now, that's something to be curious about. By the way, Desperate Housewives fans should get desperate: the creator said that the series will end in the seventh season.

Next, which might be a little late, our favorite student body is going big screen. Uh-huh. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (HSM3) is scheduled for a theatrical release, following the footsteps of The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Wikipedia lists the date as October 24, 2008, but that is probably the US release date. Let's pray that it will be released in Indonesian cinemas too. I am not ashamed to say that I really look forward to watching the movie. I've seen the trailers quite a few time on E! and Youtube. I do hope that it is far better than the latest DC Original Movie fiasco starring The Jonas Brothers, Camp Rock. OK, I am being unfair, because I haven't watched it. But even JB-obsessed Michael Buckley from What The Buck Show gave it a noisy thumb down, so it must be that bad.

Anyway, that's the end of today's second post. Happy TV-Free Day. You ask, "Really?"; I say, "You wish".

Ibu Mega's "Golput" Gaffe

Two weeks ago, our former president Ibu Megawati Sukarnoputri was campaigning in support of PDI-P's candidate competing in Maluku gubernatorial election. Responding to the ever growing call for mass abstention, she remarked that those who intentionally abstain from the elections (golongan putih or golput in Indonesian) don't deserve to be citizens of Indonesia, for they are ruining the development of democracy in the country. She urged everyone to use their political right to choose the best leader they can have.

Apparently, that statement didn't go very well with a big part of the public, especially with her opponents. They criticized that it is perfectly OK to stay home during the election and give up their right to vote, since no law states that voting is compulsory. It is the people's right to not vote in the elections if they feel that no existing political party can improve the current condition. Thus, she was under fire for quite a while. Critics ranged from the sensible to the laughable, but does she really deserve such brouhaha?

She popped out the remark -call it a gaffe if you want to- only to remind voters that the future of this country is in our very hands. Whether this nation will rise up to the sky or plunge down a bottomless abyss of freakish destruction depends on what, and whom, we choose in the coming elections. Abstaining from voting or casting a blank vote will never help Indonesia develop into a strong, developed country. Frustration is not a reason deter anyone from contributing to build a trusted reliable government. If one feels that none of the numerous parties can really reflect 100% their views, he/she can always pick the lesser of 34 evils. After all, there are always variations even inside a political party.

The criticism she got is out of proportion, because what she said didn't have any actual consequence. People can still ignore the elections and not get arrested by the police. It is comparable to saying "those who don't love their country should just leave". Anyone will simply take it as a strong encouragement for everyone to love their country, not as a threat of expulsion for obnoxious citizens. Therefore, it is totally cool for her to say that. We do need someone who is not afraid to lead the people to the best direction.

Intelligent Exchange

A week in the university and I've made wonderful developments in the field of conversation. There are students from every part of this huge archipelago; each speaks with his/her own dialect, if not language. For a person with pathological Jakarta-centricity like myself, it could be a somewhat dizzying experience. It doesn't actually hinder the creation of smart conversations, but it does complicate things a little bit. Furthermore, there are also differences in our way of thinking and of expressing our thoughts. Sometimes such factors -not problems- can produce laughable results.

Last Saturday I was in my English class. Inbetween sessions, we had short breaks so we can stretch our limbs and wait for the next teacher to come. One of the guys came from Jogjakarta, which is why his Javanese accent is so strong and he can speak Javanese fluently in all styles: ngoko (informal), kromo (polite), and kromo inggil (the most polite). Honestly, I simply took words I never heard as kromo words, but that's not the topic. That day, we were having a lively conversation when it accidentally changed into a conversation in Javanese.

He kept talking Javanese to the others, who can understand the language. Feeling left out, I wanted to get into the conversation again, and maybe show off my informal-slash-poor Javanese fluency too. Sooo, when he asked others whether they can speak Javanese too, I confidently answered "Gue juga iso" which means "I can (speak Javanese) too", expecting an excited response from him. Then came nothing...until I realized something. Apparently, the word gue is not Javanese at all. As a Jakarta-centric person, my mind automatically set gue as the default word for I without thinking about what language I'm speaking. Juga (also/too) is not genuinely Javanese either. I only got iso (can) correctly. Being a kind person, or just feeling sorry for my stupidity, he corrected the sentence: "Aku yo iso". Yeah, I totally got that.

Today, I had a so-called "scientific" debate, in which I was the presenter/defendant of my group's experiment on falling objects and terminal velocity. My opponent -and yes, we call them the "opponent"- turned out to be a physics olympiad who should've gone international if not for some reasons. Just my luck. The presentation proceeded well, even though I failed to stick to "Bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar". Then, it's his turn to debate whatever he could. He did.

He asked, "You have admitted that the data were not very accurate, even though you repeated each experiment quite a few times. Can you guarantee that the data are valid?" What the what!? That was a mean low blow that, IMO, didn't hit any target. Validity is not in my hands. Validity is in the hands of anyone who is concerned with the experiment, and it was up to them to say either it is or is not valid, according to their standards of accuracy. I unenthusiastically replied, "We tried everything we could to be as accurate as hell and the data we got showed consistency". I deeply regretted it. I should've deal him another low blow like "This is my experiment on which I worked my ass off. It's not your business whether it is 'valid' or not; your question is pointless and useless. Thank you. Zip it." That would've been great and I would've looked so cool on the modest stage.

Anyway, the rest of the debate went smoothly flow-wise. It kept flowing despite my ignorance on the subject and constant guessing to answer questions from both the opponent and the lecturer/moderator. I just had to answer all the questions. Not looking stupid is only an extra, which I didn't get. Yet, I feel really proud of myself today for surviving through such intelligent exchanges.

Where Are We? "Afgan"istan?

As you may know from my previous posts, my cousins from Melbourne are staying here until next week. I had to accompany them everywhere. I took them to the many malls Jakarta has to offer, have a nice meal together, and I even braved the typically-Indonesian crowd in Taman Safari a couple of weeks ago. Now, that really says "everywhere". This weekend, we headed to the Ancol beach, if you can still call it one. As usual, we stayed at Putri Duyung so that we can easily enjoy the facilities there, like the cable car, sailboat, and the much-hyped Police Academy Stunt Show, which reminds me of a wonderful childhood experience in Warner Bros Movie World, Gold Coast. But I'm not sacrificing my precious spare time to talk about that, although I could find many things to write about.

This time, it's about a new nascent talent and his booming hit song: Afgan and his "Terima Kasih Cinta". I heard this song like a thousand times in Ancol. First, I came at dinner time since I had to endure the torture of matriculation program during the day. We had a nice meal, accompanied by an aspiring singer who happily sang his rendition of "Terima Kasih Cinta". Then, he invited the dinner guests to come up to the stage and sing too. One man answered the call to fame, and sang. His song? "Terima Kasih Cinta". That's number two. Back to our cottage, there was a birthday party happening next door. I pity the guests, it was a night of awful singing. But fear not, for "Terima Kasih Cinta" was there too, albeit a little bit off. That would be number three. And I thought I heard another party quite farther away with, of course, a dose of "Terima Kasih Cinta".

The next day, it started out without the grace of Afgan, fortunately. But the peace didn't last long. We decided to have lunch at Bandar Jakarta, which serves excellent seafood dishes. As if the universe was conspiring against me, they had this live music show that, you guessed it, cheerfully served Afgan's hit to everyone at the restaurant. It's like number five or six, or even more; I didn't really count. As if the torture weren't enough, the vocalist invited guests to sing on the stage. A young kid went there, and sang something from some band that I don't really know. By the way, he could sing really surprisingly well. He deserved an applause...if he didn't keep on singing and, yeah, covered "Terima Kasih Cinta". Can you believe my luck?

What I wrote is just a small part of the whole Afgan experience. There must be some more "Terima Kasih Cinta" performances that I don't remember for sure. I'm not dissing Afgan in any way, but listening to his only hit to date over and over is just annoying. Hello, Indonesia, there are thousands of other songs in the great Indonesian songs book. Please pick something else. We're not living in "Afgan"istan.

Pick a Number, and Pray

The 2009 Indonesian General Elections is still months away, yet it has started to make a huge buzz. Last time, I talked about how our "party people" name their new political rides to power, which is a good source of pointless thoughts. Yesterday, all thirty four parties took their numbers for the legislative elections. And as far as Indonesia goes, we still have a lot of things to say about "lucky numbers".

On top of the list is nationalist Partai Hanura. Yep, the so-called "people's conscience" party that has started openly campaigning early after its inception. One might remember party leader Wiranto's nasi aking drama, in which he visited a poor family's house and deprive them of their already minimal food stock in a media circus to criticize the current government. "Vote for me, then no one will have to eat such terrible food. Let's just go to McDonald's!"

It was reported that the Prez's Partai Demokrat (which doesn't, in any way, resemble its US namesake) craved number 9, which they got in the previous election. They wanted to replicate their surprising performance in 2004, and rather coincidentally, SBY's birthday is 9/9/1949. They can keep coveting the dream number though, because they got listed at the back of the pack, number 31. Number 9 goes to Partai Amanat Nasional -National Mandate Party- instead.

Everybody's favorite unlucky number 13 was picked by Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa -National Awakening Party- as if the universe is reflecting its current leadership conflict. IMO, they should really set things straight and prepare for this election in unity. Otherwise, they'll lose lots of votes from frustrated supporters, and who knows what they'll choose. No, I'm not bashing any certain party right now. By the way, the "death" number 4 goes to Partai Peduli Rakyat Nasional - National Concern for the People Party(?).

Former president Bu Mega's PDI-P, or Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle, is located in number 28; while the biggest party in the House, Partai Golkar, sits confidently in number 23. A statement by its official in the news today sparked my curiosity. He said that "people can remember number 23 more easily". I just want to ask, "How?". I've never heard of anyone considering 23 as a beautiful number with any significance above others. Let's ask Veep Jusuf Kalla about this.

In the end, every party calls their respective numbers the lucky number. For a full list, see Wikipedia's page on the election. I believe that it will be exciting, especially since I'm a first-time voter.

Thirty Four Can Play the Name Game

The Elections Committee just released the list of political parties, both existing and new, which are eligible to enter the 2009 general elections. Of course, the old players like PDI-P, Golkar, PAN, PKB, and PPP are there. And PKS is still in it too, sadly. In total, there are 16 parties that passed the 2004 electoral threshold; therefore, they are automatically entered in the coming election. Additionally, there are numerous new players on the table. Eighteen of them, to be exact. That brings the number of parties up to 34, compared to 24 in the last election.

Those infant parties have the most creative names of all. I said it both wholeheartedly and sarcastically. The nice side of it comes from the fact that it's not easy to formulate a catchy name when there were already so many parties with different names each. It's like naming a baby, actually. It's not an easy job to find a great name for the baby that hasn't been used like a thousand times. However, some names are too template-ish, while some are simply laughable.

The first category includes new parties with names that consists of trite, cheesy words like "national", "democracy", "unity", and the whole gang. Even worse is that those words doesn't show what their platform is. There's no one brave enough to just plainly name his/her party "Liberal Party", "Centrist Party", "Green Party", or "Islamic-Ultraconservative Party". (I think I totally should stop bashing PKS.....naah). Let's say that I'm making a new party and want to name it. I'll cut some paper, then I'll write those overused words on each piece. The must-have words will most probably be "democracy", "national", "unity", "people", "development", and "justice" along with others. After that, I'll put them in a bowl and randomly pick two or three papers. Finally, I'll just put together whatever words I get and make it the name of my party. Simple enough.

The second is more "unique" and it's hard to keep a straight face when you read it. One of them sounds like a Republican party-wannabee, Partai Republika Nusantara or RepublikaN, for short. I hope there's no resemblance to the war mongering party whatsoever. Partai Hanura is another case: Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat -People's Conscience Party. It sounds like those corny advices: let your heart choose, your heart knows what's best for you. Maybe they want to attract the support of the subconscious. Partai Pengusaha dan Pekerja Indonesia, loosely the Entrepreneurs and Workers' of Indonesia Party. Next time, it'll be Hot and Cold Party, or Water and Oil Party. That's smart.

Some parties will give translator a hard time. Partai Nasional Benteng Kerakyatan. Put it in English, National People's Fortress Party...or something along that line. Partai Kasih Demokrasi Indonesia: Indonesian Democracy Love, Love of Indonesian Democracy, Indonesian Love of Democracy; what were they thinking?

Update: apparently, Partai Nasional Benteng Kerakyatan is translated into English as National Populist Fortress Party. Not that it'll improve anything...

Test Post using Windows Live Writer

I just read an IT column in The Jakarta Post today, and it was titled "Help for All You Bloggers". Motivated by self-realization that I need help in blogging, I happily read the article. It touched the topic of blog post editing, which is the most vital part of blogging. Duh.

When my sight fell upon the text, I instantly connected. It started with a scenario familiar to me: late-night blog writing and the mess if you can't complete it before you accidentally doze of in front of the screen.

Then, the writer suggested this new free software by big daddy Microsoft called Windows Live Writer. It's like the friend of Windows Live Messenger and other Live services, if you want to call it so. I read everything, and digested what I could. I didn't really get what the benefit of using the software is, but for the sake of my curiosity and the joy of showing off, I went to  http://writer.live.com and downloaded it.

Here I am, trying out Windows Live Writer. I haven't figured out all the neat things it could do. I'm too excited and I just want to test it before I do anything else. If it turns out to be less than expected, I'll just have to make do with the Blogger editor.

Now...how do I post this?

Totally Random 060708

Man makes damn good plans, but ultimately it's not in our hands. My family had actually planned a trip to Bandung for this weekend to escape the hustle and bustle of Jakarta into the hustle and bustle of Bandung. But, it turned out that I had to start going to the uni on the very day I was supposed to leave for the Jakarta van West Java. In the end, I was left home alone until tonight.

During the lonely time, I got into an embarassing, useless conversation on the phone with a McDonald's delivery service operator. It was a quiet Saturday night, and I decided against being a lonesome guy in the mall. Thus, I pushed the magical 14045 McDonald's delivery. An operator guy answered my call for food, and he asked what I was going to order.

Op : "What would be tonight's order? May I suggest that you try the double cheeseburger meal?"

Me : "Well, that's exactly what I wanted."

Op : "OK. So, you'll have how many meals?"

Me : "Just one. I'm home alone because my family left me to Bandung."

Stop right there. That was totally uncalled-for. Why did I even bother to tell him that? He's not a shrink, or my friend. Heck, I didn't know him at all, except for the fact that he's my key to dinner. Maybe the next time I call 14045, I should pour my heart out and cry on the phone.

Next, we're visiting our misanthropic superdude Hancock again. One magazine reviewed the movie as Will Smith's latest action movie, while another as his latest comedy. That's how unconstructed the story is. If Will Smith weren't in it, I wouldn't hesitate to call it a sad movie. Sad as in pitiable. By the interesting way, fellow Indonesians might want to check out Hancock's movie poster when they're in the movies. Look at Hancock in the shades-covered eyes and you will see something very surprising from within. Within Hancock's shades, actually. There's a reflection of a monument there, with fountains all around it. The figures on top of the monument are raising their arms in a welcoming gesture, as if they were welcoming every guests to the city.

Yeah, it's the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, or popularly known as Bunderan HI. However, don't feel so proud that our beloved Bunderan is being put up in cinemas worldwide. I checked wikipedia and no, the poster for Hancock didn't feature the ever-welcoming, pollution-ridden monument.

Back to what I'm (supposed to be) doing, I have to write an essay about my future Indonesia. Quite a few brilliant ideas were floating around, and I even had some written down. Unfortunately, my inner devil's advocate totally loves to derail my train of thoughts. The farthest I got was two paragraphs, and still, my inner writer was defeated by my inner devil's advocate. It's ultra-difficult to write when your mind always questions this and that and everything else you've written yourself, even when what you write is true in some sense. It just keeps questioning from every side available.

Sooo, for the time being, I'm stuck. Help me.

Movie Review: Hancock

First of all, my ridiculously long holiday is over. My free time is gone and I haven't written anything in days. I'll still try to write as frequently as possible, but anyway you'll be freed a little bit from my incessant ramblings. So, because I don't have anything to write, I'll just review the last movie I watched: Hancock.

John Hancock is a superhero. He can fly, he's indestructible, he's ultra-strong, and he is a desperate, lonely alcoholic. His reckless superheroing, while it gets the job done, really pissed off the citizens of LA. Instead of cheering him, they wished that Hancock be incarcerated for the damages he caused. And then he met Ray, an aspiring PR-something whose project seemed to be stuck. Ray then persuaded Hancock to let him change the public's view of the messy hero's image. Hancock agreed and then a whole lotta stuff unfolded, including about who he is.

Starring Will Smith, the lean mean hit-making machine. You already know what to expect when he stars in a movie. Sadly, this one is a bit off. It started out rather promising but then it didn't deliver that promise completely. It started as comedic, then action-y, then romantic, and it ended kinda anticlimacticly (is that even a word?) The story itself produces a ginormous question mark that it never answers. We don't really get to know who the hell Hancock was, besides some vague description of his life in the past millennia. Is he a god, a fallen angel, or Cher's long-lost immortal brother?

Anyhow, if you're looking for some actions and explosions, this one is for you. Just don't look for much of a story behind it.

A Tale of Two Adjectives

Tomorrow, or technically in a few hours, I'll be on my way to Depok for my registration process in University of Indonesia. Whew! Let me catch my breath first. I really have come to this point in my life: university. I get annoyed when my relatives say "wow, you grew up in an instant" or "you were not this grown up yesterday"; but now I am saying those kinda sentences to myself. I'm surprised that I've actually reached that point, which seemed so distant even when I was doing my final high school exams.

We were taught the difference of adjectives "eager" and "anxious". The last time I checked, eager is the good kind of waiting for something, while anxious is the bad kind. For example, you are eager to see who will be the next American Idol; and anxious to meet the mean dentist. Apparently, things are not so simple -or my vocabulary is not good enough.

I expect people to describe what I'm feeling as "eager". Reaching my targets, entering my dream uni, and all that stuff should make me eager to face tomorrow and the days (whoops, I meant years, looong years) to come. Yet, I don't think that the word eager can fully describe what I'm feeling right now. And by "now", I mean 11 PM June 2, 2008.

Anxious must be in the concoction too. I don't really know what to expect during the registration process and normally, not knowing something to come makes someone anxious. I guess that's why we like to be in the know. But today, I honestly don't know what on earth is going to happen tomorrow. That reaaaally prevents me from anxiety. Annoying, stupid thoughts are making more visits to my brain more frequently than usual. That's also a sign of anxiety. Crazy thought is a regular visitor, by the way. Nothing crazy with that.

However, I'm certainly not a nervous wreck; Chris Crocker is. Kidding. I just don't know which adjective to use to convey what I feel, basically a night before officially getting into uni. This tale of two adjectives (what a lame wordplay, Dickens must be turning in his grave) is not a clear intersection. I don't get to choose the "eager" route and leave "anxious" behind, vice versa. The line between them is very blur. Eager is a cocky person's anxious, while anxious is a stressful eager.

Eager or anxious, it doesn't matter. What I know is that I have to stop typing randomly and sleep. I'll have to beat the rooster tomorrow, and beat the world too in a few years.