Classic Wish

Disney strikes again.

Don't you think it's enough for you, Disney, that you've been stealing my heart for 20 years or so, and keep doing it again and again, although you're starting to let go of your classical hand-drawn style? I've been trying to dislike you since Brave because you were getting more serious in doing hi-tech animation and stuff but... You kept blowing me away instead! Especially after yesterday I watched

Poster's from here.

You never changed. You kept delivering fantastic creations. I'm not talking about the overall animation because it's starting to not looking a lot like, Disney. What can I say, for me, you're losing your Disney touch in the animation. But then, I wasn't talking about that. It was more to the storyline, that I loved the most. The emotion you emerged, the moral you highlighted. And my old wish you brought back.

Back to my childhood era, I was so obsessed to have my own robotic friend. Like a maniac. I used to build it out of blocks, made it with papers, enriched it with special features like compartments to keep my small stuff, gave a little pocket to smudge paper made tools--I was a scientist!

Then you came up with Baymax. He talks to Hiro, comforts him, treats his wounds. But nothing that made me envy-er than the time when Baymax was upgraded to fighting form. Shit man, it was like the only reason I once ever thought about entering the natural science major in high school so that I can proceed to engineering school -thank God I didn't manage to do that for real.

But. It's not Baymax that I want to steal from Hiro.
If I have to say what made me jealous the most,

It's Tadashi.

Definitely not mine, got it from here.

For you who has no idea, I was born as a first son of three. Having two younger brothers is extremely fun, but, I've always been dying to have an older one. An asshole guardian elder brother that takes me for granted, uses and abuses me in a comical way, tells me to do his chores, get his stuff here and there--yes, it could be a pain in the ass but I would want one. I didn't exactly know when this feeling began, I just think I grew up with that wish.

Tadashi, for his whole appearance on the movie, couldn't make me stop thinking that he's the kind of big brother I've been dreaming for. Protective, wise, seem to know my needs and wants, even more than I do. And that's not all. He's also a bit rebel, knows how to act crazy with his little brother, wrestle and drive like a nut together.

As freaky as it may sound -and I'm pretty sure that yes, I might sound freak, I literally got jealous of Hiro. Felt like I wanted to get inside the movie, kick his smart-ass butt out of the screen and have Tadashi -and Baymax too!- all the way for my-damn-self.

Well.

I never realized how weird this obsession was,
Until Tadashi appeared like a big bro of my dream.

And Hiro.

He acted like I thought I would be if I have an elder brother.
Reckless, silly, behave as if I can do anything and don't need him.

But actually, deep inside
I look up to him

Indonesians Kan't be Expected Alot

For their English, yes, that's why the title of this post messed a bunch.

Oh, sorry, did I offend certain parties? Well I'm alerting you guys now. This post is going to be extra negative-toned due to this pretty unique phenomenon happened recently in my hometown. One word. Four letters.

See those people on bottom left? Guess what they were about to do! ;)

Yea, shame on us, the furniture warehouse just came in to our country. Some were familiar about it, some others just acted like they knew much about it but the fact is: they only happened to see the logo somewhere when they were shopping -not traveling- in Singapore, or, maybe just got exposed somewhere in the internet. The point is, the whole Jakarta was like really enthusiastic in welcoming the store.

I myself, wasn't really care that much. And I didn't really want to bother coming all the way down from home to the far-far-away store just to "check" what I want to buy. Check, got it? Check, not actually buy. Because I know I won't shop much in there--I know my limit in crafting things from zero to wardrobe-with-mirror, and I'd definitely, without a doubt, give up in the middle of the making.

But last week -geez, cool things happened "last week" lately I'm so living my weekdays as a worker :(- I went there anyway with a friend. It was okay, since I didn't drive, so it was okay. At least I could do a preliminary research if someday I urgently need to go there. And my college friend worked in there too so, maybe I could surprise her!

So it was Sunday, and as expected, full of people. It took more than 30 mins to search a for parking spot. And I was actually being grateful for that. Because when we -my friend, to be exact- were wasting time to park the car, I could see with my very own eyes, what people were actually doing in there.

I unlocked four (pity) insights

of what my beloved citizens actually do in IKEA

Walking away from the store, most people only had unnecessary stuff in their hands. Folded chairs, plastic plants, wall clock and... Freaking photo frames!? Oh wow, I just couldn't believe they were willing to go through everything only for frames they could actually buy in department stores closer to their houses. That's one.

Secondly, as you all might've guessed before, is dining. Crowding the restaurant. The eating place. The ice cream queue--I mean, oh my God, ice cream... Okay. Well. Good thing was, I lost my appetite when I found out that there were more people crowding the restaurant than the actual store. The warehouse where people pick their own packed furniture being the emptiest of all spaces, meaning that attendants who actually shop for actual home furnitures were, limited.

The fvcking ice cream queue :)

Then we have the "let's take a photo in front of the logo" scene. Well. No. I'm not gonna talk much about it. This case is really sensitive I think I'm skipping it.

Finally, messing around. Trash and mess are everywhere, I can't imagine what the expat employees of IKEA have in mind when they have to clean up the disaster Indonesians made to their working place. And they did mess much, but did buy nothing.

This was right before I entered the building. What a first impression.
I'd want to clean it but, I'm Indonesian so I took a photo and whine.

After all, what they were aiming for at the first place was, of course, the checking in social media part. I don't wanna be shallow about it, because I did it too. Although my actual objective of visiting IKEA wasn't either one of those four pity-ness I mentioned above, I did post a photo in Path and attach the location. But that's what everybody in Jakarta do, yes?

And of course, it's all about being the part of the euphoria. I really, really know that going to IKEA on the first two weeks would be a very fvckin bad idea. But then on the same time I felt really thankful because I had the chance to go there before the roar ends so I could see everything myself.

But that's okay, Jakartans. And Indonesians.
It's a good sign, to be honest, seeing us like that.
Means that we're growing. Socially, economically.

But we still need to fix our manner.
And please keep in mind about one thing:
Don't get too carried away


P.S. : I returned home with a wardrobe and a mirror, so don't judge me okay? :)

It's Complicated

Yes, I'm talking about a relationship.

Between me, and Liverpool.

I'm not a big fan, really. But at least I'm not that so-called fanatic supporter who appears and cheers when the team is winning. I'm also there when they lose--oh instead, I aaaalwaaaayss happen to appear when they're losing. Always. And it's starting to be very annoying to me.

I realized about this misfortune since forever ago

But after last night, I don't think it's just a coincidence.

So yea Liverpool lost against Real Madrid in Champions League team round. 0-3. Sucks as it was aired midnight I had to sleep early and woke up around 1.30 AM. Just similar to the one against Manchester City for EPL's week 2. Same time of broadcast, same number of goals suffered. Liverpool lost both matches, when I wholeheartedly interrupt my precious sleepy time just to watch them.

Mario Balotelli last night, against Madrid. Pic's from here.

Now let's go back to last weekend's EPL matchday. Liverpool against QPR. I watched it halfway. And what's up Liv?! It's QPR and you were like, struggling?! I watched the whole first round and stopped at minute 70 something because I had some stuff to do. It was still 0-0. But then when I got back, the score changed to 2-2 and with the addition of QPR's last own goal on the last minutes, Liverpool won.

I mean, what the hell?!

Why would they score a lot
While I'm away, not watching??

The biggest proof was, of course, their whole performance last season. They were shining, blasted from the bottom and ended up securing their spot for this season's Champions League. Sweet plays, as I heard from other sources.

From other sources

Yes. For last season, I missed the whole year, EVERYTHING, because I was so busy preparing my thesis, getting ready to the US, Vietnam and Philippines, as well as doing my first freelance job. I was totally like, totally occupied. I didn't even remember that I once made a pledge to start liking this British football club called Liverpool.

I was totally disconnected from The Reds,
And they were having the time of their lives.

Can't believe I literally missed their best performance last season. Stupid me. Pic's from here.

I mean, what the hell?!
Am I bringing some, curse?

P.S. : I've been noticing this for so long, but after last night I made myself pretty sure that I'm gonna be very supportive if Liverpool ever wants to kick Glen Johnson out.

Like It or Not, Enjoy

Hi.

I don't think I ever once talked about my city. Jakarta. Well, I guess I'm now in mood to talk about it. Since last weekend, I just felt how convenient this crazy city actually is.

Sunday will always be the un-guessed-able time of the week. You cannot predict what happen in Jakarta during Sunday. Usually it's empty because as the last day of the weekend, people don't feel like going out. But if everybody thinks that oh, I bet roads are empty today so let's get out then boom! Enjoy the sudden traffic jam.

Last weekend, for example, my friend brought me to two places that in general, should be crazy crowded: Tugu Kunstkring Paleis and Balai Kartini. And don't get me wrong - both were, crazy crowded. But Jakarta was so sweet last weekend -and that's why I initiated this post because if it was an ass, don't even expect me to mention Jakarta ever again in this blog- that somehow, we managed to visit both places easily, with a happy heart.

For the first place, we parked the car by the street, in front of somebody's house. This is what I benefit the most from how loose regulations in Jakarta are - also, the first thing I really adore from this city. We can be a slick and cheat the rules. Well actually rules about cars parked randomly went a bit more strict lately but still, loose regulations are loose.

So we went to the building, enjoyed the colonialism-themed bazaar and left with two super beautiful china plates we don't even know what they are bought for. I'd really love to upload the plates but, yaa maybe later.

Next stop was Balai Kartini. From central Jakarta, the venue can be reached either from the main protocol Jl. Jend. Sudirman or via this critical big road Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said in Kuningan. During weekdays, both streets are, well, what can I say, fresh shits from hell's ass. You don't, ever, wanna be stuck there. Ever. That's why during weekend, traumatized people try so hard to avoid these evil streets.

We decided not to take Jl. Jend. Sudirman and drove through Kuningan instead. And guess what. The street was beautifully empty. We were so pleased to realize that the only long line we'd be facing was around the venue, when entering and looking for parking space. But again, guess what. Apparently Balai Kartini knew that the event will be blessed with tons of crowd so they provided this shuttle service that people can take from one building in... Kuningan.

God blessed our Sunday. Second thing I like from the city, is that people here are well-developed. They didn't just make some crappy events, they thought forward about how to make people reach their event easily, practically. Well, maybe because most of the committees were expats which lead me to the third point I like from Jakarta: it's freaking internationalized.

So we parked the car in this very empty parking lot, walked to the lobby and took the shuttle straight to the venue. It was the event of promoting European countries so yes, lots of traditional foods, traditional outfits, traditional music, traditional dance, and yes, again, I watched flamenco! This time, the dancer was a female so I could get the true beauty of enjoying the dance.

I forgot her name but, she danced gave a crazy elegant show

Wow. I just love how surprising Jakarta is.

One day it could be a pain in my ass, giving me unnecessary plenty of time to waste in the street, pouring my days with extra sunlight, making me wanna curse with all bad words I learned from the day I was born. But one other day, it could be the savoriest thing in my chicken. You know, when you eat fried chicken and there's this one second of your chew that tastes better than the rest of the mealtime, yea, Jakarta can be like that sometimes.

Never once I ever thought, to actually leave this city for any other big cities in Indonesia. Not even Bali. The only choice I set for myself to live in is either Jakarta, or, abroad.

And oh, this reminds me to one striking-right-in-my-heart punchline I heard from a Love Jakarta Campaign video that, shit, I still can't get over with even until now.

It says something like,

Jakarta, my beloved cruel city.

Hm. It lost it's tone when said in English.

Okay so let's try saying it in Bahasa, shall we?

Jakarta, Kota Kejam Kesayangan

Childhood Conspiracy

Childhood is like, something I can’t get over with.

Especially mine. The 90s and early 2000s.

So I was on this discussions with one of my seniors. We were talking about cartoons and characters and stuff, and we ended up mentioning the Sailor Moon.

Okay first of all, before you judge me things, I didn’t watch the whole series. I just happened to know that Sailor Moon has lots of female characters with personalities and superpowers based on planets in the Milky Way. See, those are two things I actually like. Planets, and stories with dozens of characters. That’s why I briefly knew Sailor Moon. Not that deep, okay, just, briefly. And I happened to have a minor crush too. For Sailor Neptune –whose name I didn’t know up till last week.

Now back to the discussion with my senior. Just right when I mentioned Sailor Neptune, a very big secret I never thought I'd heard from my childhood revealed right before my very ears.

My senior told me that Sailor Neptune, along with her so-called mate Sailor Uranus, were lesbians.

Pft, stupid trivia thingy trying to ruin my childhood. I didn’t believe it right away as I categorized that news with other stupid facts my friends and I used to share during our pre-elementary school like “casts of Teletubbies died of losing breath inside the costume” or “the true ending of Doraemon says that Nobita is actually an idiotic child and all his adventures with the cat robot were all just his imaginations”. Just, what an unreliable news.

But still. When I got home, I browsed Google. Just to make myself sure, as I, again, knew so limited about the serial so who knows that it was all just pure rumor but… Well what can I say, the senior was true.

I mean, what the hell!?

How could sensitive issues like that appeared so early in the childhood stage? And in the cartoon which almost all the audiences were girls? Okay most countries cencored their relationship and made it like both Sailors were cousins and stuff, but back in Japan, it was that obvious!

Crazy yes?

I just remembered a little that Haruka Tenoh -ya now I know the name of Sailor Uranus as I kept browsing about her since last week- was a shorthaired blond, paired almost all the time with Michiru Kaioh -and of course I know Sailor Neptune’s name too. But I just didn’t notice that on the regular life, when she’s not a Sailor, Haruka was an extreme tomboy dressing like a macho guy. Well, ya, because I just simply thought that that character was actually a boy and not an alter-ego of Sailor Uranus!

Oh, sorry if I make a big deal out of this.

Really, it’s not that I’m against lesbians no.

In fact, so just you know, I'm excited instead!

I’m more like, you know, curious of what else I did miss during my childhood. Or what else I did see everyday, on a daily basis, but I just took it for granted because I didn’t notice there was anything wrong with it! Now that this came up to the serial I barely watched, I'm dying to know what kinds of tricky scheme those cartoonists did to my favorite shows.

Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, crap I was tricked all these years...

Shit now I’m more obsessed about my childhood.

More than ever