The Toy Story

Have I told you that I'm a big fan of this Disney craft?

Well, I am telling you now: I am.

Back then, just when Toy Story was out, I was entirely rooting for the animation. Toys in general were the center of my world, and seeing them alive in this movie was, something. So I had always felt jealous of Andy because of course, I wanted to own all his toys.

But it was pretty complicated to make it come true. The real toys would cost me weeks of begging and gallons of tears. The happy meal toys would cost dozens of chickens and burgers for me to eat. The replicas, just weren't powerful enough to satisfy my budding OCD need. The best thing I could do was just to draw em all on a paper, in their actual sizes, cut it all and acted like those 2D thingy were real toys.

As I grew up, things weren't necessarily getting easier. The toys were kept coming, in their real sizes, which I was extremely dying to have, but I was just in the middle of my highschool and campus years. Which means, I had no money to buy those expensive toys.

Having all Andy's toys remained only in my dream.

Until working days came, and Japan happened.

I knew it'd come. I had anticipated it because it was Japan, the land of imagination and childhood. So when I was walking around this hobby store and found one of Toy Story's gems on top of a shelf, the long lost hope for reclaiming Andy's toys slowly emerged from my barely-breathing childhood spirit. So without thinking much, I bought the toy.

Mr. Potato Head.

Which was definitely my most favorite. So returning to my dorm, I created a throne for this grand discovery. Not only because Mr Potato Head was my #1, but also because it was my first ever as-seen-on-TV sized Toy Story figure. It was a very tremendous moment. Because I realized that my journey to having Andy's toys, after almost 20 years, had finally begun.

My collection didn't change much for almost 1.5 year, until last month. Yep, my Hong Kong trip. Which included Disneyland in it. Ever since the amusement park was mentioned by our tour operator, I had this plan of hunting the toys. Anything, anybody. I told myself not to think much about the money, because one, you're working already, and two, you've had a better Disneyland experience in Tokyo, so dedicating this one for shopping would be really really fine.

The day finally came. My coworkers and I arrived at Disneyland. I acted normal, but my heart was beating hard and my eyes were wandering scanning where the toys were. I saw no clue of them until about 2 hours later, I spotted these two hanging out at a booth. I began trembling, but I stayed cool. Until I entered a store and saw them seated nicely on a shelf, with one other toy. So there were three of them, and I knew I couldn't buy them all at once. It was such a crazy and frustrating moment, deciding which one(s) to buy. But after thoughts and deliberations, not just with myself, but also with the help of my coworkers, I made up my mind and bought the two main stars. Yes,

Sheriff Woody, and Buzz Lightyear.

Fuck. Never thought this day would actually come. These two, which could only appear in my screens, or in front of my eyes without me being able to buy them because it cost a fortune in Jakarta, yes these two, could really be mine. No more replicas, no more stupid figurines, no more fvckin paper toys, it's now a real deal. I'm not exaggerating it, really, but I'm proud to buy them. Even some coworkers of mine said that they regretted their clueless-ness about these toys and not buying them. Yet here I am, typing this story with those two by my side.

It didn't end there. Remember the other toy I had difficult time deciding whether to buy or not? Well, ever since I left the park, I admit that I couldn't stop thinking of it. My friends said that I made a right decision because it was Woody and Buzz, for God's sake, you score! You don't need that other one. But then, it's not everyday that I could find the toy. But then again, it was too late. We left Disneyland, and now it was time for us to return home. Leaving the city, leaving the immigration desk, leaving my opportunity—and approaching a Disney Store.

Yes, for God's sake, what are the fvcking odds? Disney Store, at the airport? Just several steps away from the officers, and there it lied gracefully in front of my broken-hearted self, calling me inside to see if I still had the chance. And yes, I did. The toy was there. I doubted at first, but come to think of it, it was God's call. Rejecting it, and I'd be sinful. So I lined up at the cashier, made my last payment and went home with another addition to my Andy's toys collection:

Jessie the Cowgirl.

You've suffered enough, Jessie, you're not going to be left behind anymore. I will always love you.

Now you can imagine how hard it was in the store in Disneyland when I had to decide which one to buy, eh? Because it's Jessie. Buying Woody and Buzz is everybody's default and instant call. But buying Woody and Jessie could be good too, because then I'd have both the cowboy and the cowgirl—and buying Buzz and Jessie couldn't be wrong either, because they're an actual couple!

But hey, that difficult time had gone. And now instead of having just two toys, and calling myself foolish for abandoning the other one, I have them three, plus Mr Potato Head.

Jeez.

I can't believe it all happens.

This may seem nothing to you,

But it's a very big thing for me.

It's childhood, and faith.

So this toy story of mine,

Won't stop here

Check Two

So I've crossed the second point on my list.

I had an awesome trip with my company.

And that's not the only highlight.

In this second visit to Hong Kong - Macau, I brought back my book. The book I wrote, about the two cities. And I had my second experience in Disneyland. And I went here and there for the second time once again, and ultimately, I met one of my best international mate, also for the second time.

Well, first time's a blast,

Second time's a wonder, eh?

Restart Starts Now

You know what I’m so excited about 2017?

Of course you do, I’ve spilled everything: it’s about all the stuff I’ve ever done in my life, that I’ll be doing again this year. From parties to anniversaries, from planning this to realizing that. It’s more about the plan of my life, but as for now, let’s just stick to something I love the most.

Lord, what else but

Traveling.

And this is not just a mere traveling. This is a type of traveling I’ve always eager to do.

Hong Kong – Macau, with friends.

Pic's from here.

I know, I’ve been there. But that’s the essence, right? Trip to Hong Kong was one of the best I ever done. And I’ve made a book out of it, which thank-God-ly turned to be one of my best selling. Bringing my book to where it began? That’s a dream come true.

Better yet, I’ll be here with friends. One type of a trip I barely do. And by friends I’m not just talking about my coworkers—but also actual friends I’m going to meet in Hong Kong. And it’s not just random friends. These are people I formed this weird relationship with in Hong Kong, during my first trip there.

Australia, with myself.

Pic's from here.

I won’t treat my travel plan this big and necessary, if I don’t include any solo trip within. I know, a trip with myself is something I’ve always done. But again, that’s the essence! Plus it’ll be somewhere I’ve always been dying to visit! I’ve long planned this east coast route, from Goldcoast to Melbourne, and I’ll be actually doing that! With myself! Another big solo trip I’ve never get tired of!

But hey, I’ve told you all that. Why would I bring these all up if I don’t have something fresh and new to share? Yes, I’ve added a twist to my 2017 trip plan. This is much better, much more exciting, and the best part is, it’s local. I will be going to

Manado, with my family.

Pic's from here.

This is really big. Not just for me, but for my family. We’ve been planning to go to Manado for ages. My mom was born here, so paying a pilgrimage to her hometown is really a thing we gotta do. But our schedules never meet. And traveling to another island, even further than Bali, is something we have to plan really sleek—especially with the cats we have at home.

But then, this is happening. We’re finally, actually flying there, next month. Going on a vacation, all five of us, once more. We haven’t done this for a fair long time. When it comes to long-haul vacation it has always been only me, only mom and dad, only my brothers separately—we haven’t actually flew together anymore. Last time was Bali, and it was six years ago. Oh of course, we do road trips and stuff, but flying? That’s just a dream.

Nice, huh?

All these repeated trip plans,

I never thought it’d be happening soon!

So what next? Local snorkeling trip? Overseas internship? Endless party journey? Last-minute F1 catching? Oh I’d love to do it all all over again, really. And when it ends,

I’ll just start restarting

90s Strikes Back

It's been almost two weeks since I returned from Hong Kong.

I know, I owe you stories but I've been pretty busy with my other project--that's why I kinda abandon this blog. But I have something I really can't stand keeping anymore. It's about the group I met during my trip. These cool people whom I had this hiking adventure with, down to cliff and through the woods, in an island called Tap Mun.

Well I don't know where else to run but here so I'm gonna spill it here anyway. It's seriously kinda weird and might be WTF for those people so, I hope they never find out about this post. And hey guys if you happen to bump into this post, please, before you go on, leave at once!

So there were the eight of us. Five boys, three girls. With the jungle-ish setting and wild fantasies of ours, everybody started talking about scenarios we could possibly play, from "Lost", "The Walking Dead" to "Hunger Games". As a 90s kid, I, on the other hand, drove my mind straight to Digimon Adventure.

I completely forgot where I got this pic but the thing is, it's not mine.

You know, one of my favorite anime during my childhood. Well, it's not just "one of my favorite", it's what made me I am today. The whole cartoon is still so relevant to me I mean, if you want to open a dumb discussion about Digimon, I really can do it like right now.

So yea back to my team. Eight of us were on our way from the cliff back to the harbor, racing with time because we have to catch the boat. We were like taking a detour in the middle of the woods, directed by this French guy named Fred. Okay he's one hell of an adventurer so we counted on him to lead us back using shorter route. He then subconsciously became our leader, and lineup of who was who suddenly appeared in my mind.

Tai - Fred
The leader. The one who's so eager about adventures. The one that will most likely be the last person alive in a zombie apocalypse. Or in our case, in digital world. Fred and Tai are just so alike. He leads our way out of the jungle by using his own map, and that's what Tai did for their whole adventure.

Matt - Calvin

One of our leaders. He could stand up to take the role of the head of the pack, if it's not about surviving in the wild. He plays music, and so does Matt. And by that time, he was hosting me it made him frequently look after me. A familiar scene in which Matt protects his younger brother T.K., yes?

Sora - Sherry
Sora is the girl of adventure. That's what I saw on Sherry. And both are the eldest girls of their group. At first, those reasons are not pretty strong to me. But when I realized that Sherry and Sora have the same hair style, nobody can change my perception anymore.

Izzi - Kit

The only pure local, made Kit be the one with the most knowledge about the Hong Kong (compared to others). Sounds so Izzi? Not until I found out that his CS profile was the richest of us all. Which roughly made me assume that he's so active in cyber world as well. Sounds so Izzi.

Mimi - Zoe
Mimi was, damn cheerful. She was a happy-all-the-time type of girl, and that's what I thought about when I see Zoe. But what's more coincidental was, Mimi was a year younger than Sora, and two years older than Kari. By that time Zoe was 25, Sherry was 26 and Emily was 23. How's that?

Joe - Ray
If you're a fan of Digimon Adventure, you must remember who was the only one who brought food to the digital world, yes? Joe. And guess who brought most food for our hiking trip? Ray. Aside of that major serendipity, Ray was also calm, wise, more action than talking which all resemble Joe's personalities.

Kari - Emily

Emily was the youngest of all the girls and she's my age, so that's the first reason. But I'm not finished. She was also the last one to join the group before we head to Tap Mun, making her so much alike to Kari which was the last digi-destined. Don't you like all these "OMG IT MATCHES!" things??

T.K. - Vicky
Well I was the youngest one of all. So was T.K. And Matt is T.K.'s brother, which on the time being, Calvin was my temporary brother because I stayed at his place and I was basically counting everything on him. More (stupid) reason? Well, I wore a beanie, and T.K. did that all the time.

But on top of all, did you remember the true ending of Digimon Adventure? Yea, that apparently T.K. writes every single thing about their adventures, on his book. He's an author. And would you care to guess what I am right now? :)

This shit has just got real.

I know this weird obsession is, weird. But I can't help it!!! I'm all about Digimon and those too-real-to-be-true things are, TOO REAL TO BE TRUE!

You know what, rumor has it that this year there'll be a continuation of Digimon, highlighting the original eight characters. Well, after more than a decade, I finally get to see them again. And let's see if this coincidence still relates to the cartoon. I can't tell.

What I can tell is,
I don't want to wait for a decade
To meet these people again.

Oh no,

I'm not talking about the cartoon characters.
It's about those crazy silly Hong Kongers which,
I'm so gonna meet again someday, somewhere.

Because we're destined