M&Ms

You might not know but

Ever since Indonesia entered F1,
I kept following the tournament.

For the first round or two, it was still for Rio Haryanto of course. You know, karbitans euphoria. But finishing Chinese Grand Prix on week three, when I found out that Nico Rosberg had won 6 GPs in a row, I began to completely un-biased-ly enjoy the show.

It's apparently fun to see the race. Probably less nerve-wrecking than MotoGP where changes in positions can happen in just a matter of seconds. But Formula One has its drama too. I started to realize the true beauty of F1 when they did it in Monte Carlo. When Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo spiced things up the shortest circuit. I remembered the time I screamed to my TV for what I saw, my subconsciousness told me

"Man, you've never been manlier than this before."

Best race I've ever seen so far, in my debut season.

But last night, another one came to my amateur sense.

Austrian Grand Prix

Pic belongs to F1's Official Twitter Account.

Too many things happened yesterday. From Rio Haryanto gained his best position ever -12th place- before an incident put the whole circuit in major rearrangement, to Sebastian Vettel's ironic car breakdown in lap 20s despite the fact that it was his birthday, to Felipe Massa and some other drivers having to leave the race unfinished when entering the last 10 laps.

There are some good news as well. Like Rio's Manor Racing teammate Pascal Wehrlein that finished in 10th place. It was a big stepping stone for a minor team like MRT. In fact, it was their first point ever in the tournament so reaching the end of the race, they were like all hysterical and exaggerated. It was so funny seeing the big drivers took it easy receiving their big wins, while these newcomers celebrated like crazy for a mere last position. But that's no wonder. Because it was, something really big. And hopefully this could make Rio fired up too.

However, the biggest drama, of course, happened during the fight on the last lap. Two Mercedes boys Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were after each other for the first place, resulting in a disappointing collision between them. It was so unfortunate. The crash sent Hamilton to the first place in the podium, but Rosberg had to finish fourth due to some severe damage on his car. On some level people took it as Hamilton's unwillingness to let Rosberg win, so those Germans booed him pretty bad during his podium speech.

Phew.

Now that's the "true beauty" of Formula One I told you about. You got 22 drivers, each of which has the same chance to serve one hell of a great, unexpected performance. The top ones can fall with no further ado, or retire on lap 65 out of 71 -that sucks!- while the underdogs can suddenly be only stones away behind the pole.

So unpredictable. It's like, eating M&Ms off the pouch. You pick one, and whatever color you get, you'll enjoy it anyway because it offers the same damn delicacy.

No preference, no differences in taste.
Anybody can be your main entertainer.

The celebration for first position, and celebration for tenth.
Both pics belong to F1's Official Twitter Account.

Well, Mercedes and Manor.

It's obviously a great weekend for both of them.

But now, can you spot something pretty ironic?

That the one which ended up in the first place, on some level didn't enjoy their victory. Meanwhile the one which ended up in the bottom, celebrated and made it like they won the whole series.

Life's weird sometimes.

Even in the sweetest moments,

It can still go nuts

Iceberg

Hello, and welcome to the evening Neverland Sports Network.

I'm Vicky Amin, your smartass host that is actually incapable of talking sports.

Tonight I will be discussing on the ongoing international tournament UEFA Euro 2016, and some little snippets about the participating nation(s). Now let's begin!

Background image belongs to The Guardian.

Off to the first exclusive coverage, we have, of course, the football thingy itself. Now honestly, I missed all the group rounds because boy, I've been really damn busy the last couple of weeks. Doing work. That triple life I live, which I'm not planning to talk about right now. So yea I missed all the group matches, but still I got the updates from my timeline thanks to my fellow football-enthusiasts and George Lineker's talkative tweets.

Then drifting away a bit from sport, but still about Europe—we got the UK's off-EU referendum. Well I'm not the type of a politic lover here, but bite me, this one really fancy my arse. It's just so interesting how it all started, how it all affected the global life, and how it all unveiled many things many people had no idea about -such as how British people didn't even know that they were a part of EU, and how people couldn't differentiate between United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England.

Now with these two topics, I'd like to narrow it down.

To a simple one phrase, two nouns, three words:

Iceland and Wales

It's crazy how both amateurs performed. Looking back to their participation history in which they neither entered nor qualified, this one, the Euro 2016 series, can be actually considered as their first ever major tournament appearance. And both progressed amazingly throughout the tournament!

Iceland

Has been a bad-arse since the very beginning of the cup. Even long before it. It's funny how this underdog can be a killing hound, biting all other teams. Especially when they defeated England. The momentum was spot-on, as UK just announced their #Brexit and England had to walk out of the tournament as well. People started mocking England for being lost to a team that has "more volcanoes than footballers", whose second coach was a dentist -crazy trivias how could they find these out!?

But after all, Iceland is something worth considering about. Remember, they kicked Netherlands out even before the tournament started so, it's not just mere luck. Tomorrow, they'll be facing the host France. It'll be really alluring if they win the match -and I got a feeling that they'll do- because one, the host will be taken down by a newcomer, and two, the semifinal round of this Euro will be crowded with two amateurs—the other one being

Wales

Oh Wales. Ever since #Brexit broke the internet followed by the fall of England and Northern Ireland, people started making jokes about how both UK as a nation and UK as a collective of football teams exited Europe. They took Wales for granted, assuming that the tiny dragon would also fall respectively.

But now, what do we get? This not-so-popular team just beat one of European's top teams Belgium last night with a surprise victory—even their fans go wild and couldn't believe it. Well why not, they're the last hope for the UK to stay in the competition and prove that they exiting EU didn't affect anything in their football sense.

Well.

Iceland and the last nation yet to Brexit.

If both of them do meet in the final round,

It'll be as colossal as that classic time when

Titanic met the Iceberg

For more fancyarse views about football, log on to www.turntoneverland.com/booger.

Settling Down, Part Three

I liked today, again,

And these past three weeks or so.

I've been bragging much about how Jakarta had improved in here and there, making my life easier. Well apparently it's not only the tangible outer atmosphere that has shifted. It's myself, and my surrounding too, that gave a big portion of happiness to... Myself.

Lots of things happened to me recently. And it was like boom boom boom, so fast, I even forgot to breathe. My jobs were crazy. My fast-paced activities came and went away before me. Yet somehow, I managed to get myself in the zone.

Zone of life I've always imagined I'd live.

Sweat

It's always my major weakness. But I knew I've put off enough. So I did some friendly sports I can always tolerate doing. Swim, with my family; walk, like really far - most people find my walking habit crazy, but that's the only way I exercise! - and jog, not that typical mini run at some tracks near my house, but more to real jogging at one of the city central park.

Simple exercises. Yes. But for me, for this lazy ass bastard, pulling off those movements are considered pretty cool. And if only I can keep doing this, well, it's a wonderful life I'm really living.

Nightout

Gone are my clubbing days—that's not the type of nightout I'm talking about. Well, I'm actually still eager for that, but it has become one of those mere "nice to do" activities which I'm okay not doing. So my newer type of nightout consisted of something like going to a themed dinner, a pasta night one, and having a long talk with strangers, enjoying beer—I mean, ROOT beer, conducting some ambitious discussions, dining Thai food, going on a night lone ride, visiting street fairs, picking up some random eateries by the street, having a big grilling dinner, attending musical shows, completed with a late eat at downtown hub afterwards. My city pretty much never sleeps either so, these kinds of nightout never seem to be a bad idea.

People

Well I don't know why, but recently life seems to be generous enough to me in the sense of sending great (new) people throughout my days. Old ones getting closer, new ones making me grateful of being a human: a constant mentor, helpful locals, like-minded stranger, friends for life, new friends, new co-workers—hm. 'New', co-workers?

Work

Some of you might know that I'm a proud freelancer. I work from home, doing the job I proudly claimed after returning from Japan—and some other job in film industry. When I'm pretty much sick of just staying at home, I bring my laptop out and chill at some cafe. Needless to say, it's a really nice routine. People I share my work stories with are always jealous of me not having to go to an office.

But then again, I realized I need to progress. I need to learn more, in which I need to make mistakes and have got to have a next-to-me superior I can always take lessons from. Plus, working from home is not always beautiful. The boredom and the stress you can't share with anybody else (like an office team, for instance) can sometimes be unbearable.

Therefore once again,

After all my on-and-off habit,

I'm employed one more time.

And this time I'm convincing myself not to go anywhere else, unless it's for the master degree. I've explored enough, and this company I'm now working at, is too hard to get and too big to ditch.

See, even the random restaurant I chose off the street told me to work hard.

So.

Jakarta has decided to transform, with all those elements I fond of. And I, without myself knowing it, has been slowly immersed to the life in the capital.

I think, I THINK, this is

My real "Settle Down"

寂しい

Ever since I returned from Japan,

I still haven't got the spirit to go back working at the office. I'm still enjoying my life working for the Japanese company from home, and doing some other projects. So I got lots of spare time, and--wow, hold it. It's not what I'm going to talk about.

Okay.

Ever since I returned from Japan,

I still haven't completely moved on.

Best trip so far.

Well, I've always said that after finishing one trip.

But seriously, this one, is crazier and incomparable.

Giving the fact that it's a trip I find really, really immaculate, I never want the memories to fade too quick. So I write many memoirs about the journey, I keep contributing for the company I did my internship with, and, this is the one I like the most:

I watch K-ON.

I stood here, right where they were standing. Pic's from here.

An anime about a school band, consisting of five female high school students. Despite the title ("K-ON" derives from word "keionbu" which literally means "light music"), most of the episodes tell about the girls' daily routines like finishing homeworks, going on a vacation, arranging their club room, and many other non-music-related stuff. Yet so rich in Japanese day-to-day dos.

And that's why I love the show.

Watching K-ON reminds me a lot to the country I've been, and am still in love with. And it's smoothly created with delicate human gesture, natural dialects and intonations, and most importantly, 100% representing Japanese high school students. Unlike any other anime which sometimes can be, too much. Like Naruto. But still, I love that bastard ninja.

I've watched the show for quiet some time before I flew to Japan, but after my trip, everything seems to be much more relevant. How they go to the convenient store, how they arrive in Kyoto Station and visit the major tourist destinations, how they eat the soba sandwich I once ate in Osaka, damn, I'm now one million steps closer to the girls.

And of course, you know what happens next.

I'm emotionally invested to the show.

I have spare time, remember? So I spend my afternoon on Monday to Friday to get myself closer to the girls. And weird things have started crawling inside my mind ever since.

Like the fact that I began to think that Mio is cute and could be a perfect girlfriend. Mugi, too. And Ritsu could be a best bud I can do crimes with. I also constantly laugh to their jokes -the humour it's really my kind of sense, I imitate the way they speak as a part of my Japanese practice, I can even relate the feelings they create to each other, and the feelings that they are feeling.

Including the time they performed at the school festival on the senior year. Yes, their last performance. Finishing the top-notch play, they returned to their club room, and started recalling that performance they just did. One thing led to another, and they began to imagine how would their life be after this, after high school, when they go on separate ways and can't spend time together again. And being girls, high school girls, of course, they cried.

When Mio (the one on the very right) started crying, I began to lose control. Pic's from here.

The scene was so touching I even shed a--kidding, I didn't cry, I just, well--okay, I was going to deny, but no, I'll man up now. I cried. I knew exactly what they felt, and I felt like I was so close to them so, I also cried.

What made me feel worse that this episode remarked the end of the show. Literally. The anime is about HIGH SCHOOL music club. When they are to go on for university, of course, the club has to be broken up. But apart of the fact that "I feel close to the girls" thingy, which I'm pretty much disappointed because my bonding with them will end soon -am I starting to sound like a weird otaku guy now!?- it also upset me that, I was going to lose my main channel to reminisce the journey in Japan.

You see, I traveled there alone.

I met people, lots of people, but that's all. It's not like they were 24/7 with me during the trip, and it's not like they're available 24/7 for me to talk about the trip with.

And that's why I hated it when these girls left.

But yea, that's the price of solo traveling.
All stuff that happened, only matters to you.

Damn you, Japan.
I miss you

Settling Down, Part Two

I liked today, again.

Just when I thought making the most of living life in this city could only be done during weekend, I had a wonderful Thursday instead. Well, no wonder, because it was a holiday. But still!

The holiday was of the commemoration of Prophet Muhammad ascension. As a religious man, the presence of this day gave me an ultra inner peace. Everyday's a holiday for me -as I'm a freelancer who works from home- but when this day came, I felt that exact joy felt by people who works and having a long weekend.

On the very same day, my cousin's held his wife's shower at his house, which is just steps away from mine. I got to dress in koko suit, got exposed to the verses, met my relatives and of course, had that typical family reunion pleasure.

What made it even better was because I planned to catch Europe on Screen again. This time, it was a spontaneous call and I was to go alone. This plan ignited such awesome mood since the time I woke up in the morning. And nature decided to conspire.

Rain

I usually hate this thing. But today, the rain was of that nicer type. It was somewhat slowly pouring shower, rather than a drenching waterfall-like one—a kind of rain in which my tiny umbrella can handle. The chills, the breeze, I felt like I was in the middle of a tropical rain forest, riding an elephant having the freshest day of my life.

Ride

Of course the elephant of my Jakarta rain forest, is TransJakarta buses. I originally didn't expect much for today's buses because, one, it was raining, and two, it was TransJakarta. You don't expect much for TransJakarta, and that's the tips. But surprisingly, my ride that day was enjoyable. Passengers were civilized. Ambiance was hectic-less -everybody seemed to be in the mood to be the prophet's best ummah. It took less than an hour to downtown Jakarta, making it so suitable for spontaneous decisions.

Book

A nice, well-written Agatha Christie's "A Caribbean Mystery". And tranquil beats of Filous remix ran trough my earlobes. Can you imagine how serene my feeling was? Nice cold ride, sitting by the bus window, raindrops dripping next to me, music playing on my ears, plus a good reading in my hand. Get myself indulged doesn't always require expensive meals or fancy activities!

Show

Of course, on top of everything was the Europe on Screen itself. It was not the film that became the highlight of all these -although yea, the film, "Tabu", turned out to be a romantic drama I adored a lot. It was the fact that this kind of thing, shows or somewhat, being accessible to Jakartans—that was what made me so grateful about today.

You see, until recently, our main means of entertainment revolves around malls, and malls only. I really long for high quality shows or events we can easily enjoy as easy as New Yorkers wake up in a weekend morning to decide, "Oh, I think I'd love to catch The Lion King today in Broadway". The show today was in Institut Francais Indonesia, right in the heart of Jakarta. It was more like a culture space, rather than a commercial venue. And reaching the place, despite the distance, is as easy as whining. It was so awesome to be able to get out of house and ended up somewhere non-malls!

Phew.

It's not soon, I guess, but obviously, my city is transforming to the one I've been expecting. When we're reaching that stage, and I got to feel this kind of peace everytime I leave my house, I'll be totally in deep love with my hometown.

Just in front of the venue, and there it is, the central of Jakarta.
And yes we could walk, that's the best part of all!

Really.

If settling down in Jakarta this easy,

I swear I'll never again think about

Residing overseas