Tolerance

Usually.

Let me just peel one by one the layers of my true identity.

Usually, I really put a massive jealousy towards people my age, that has become very famous or successful in his or her own way. Let's get back to yesterday's World Cup. If you notice who I felt so envy to, ya, it was Neymar. He's 22, popular, rich, and I hate him. I know, it's very pity. But I can't handle it it's one of my weird natures.

But.

Maybe I've grown to be a more mature man in just two months but, now I don't think I have that thing anymore. Pft, no, I still hate Neymar. He'll always be on my death note til doomsday comes. I was talking about the jealousy. Ya it's kinda disappear. Or maybe it has a higher tolerance level now. I don't know. But the thing is, I don't feel much of a jealousy, when I see

S  A  M     S  M  I  T  H

http://www.factmag.com/tag/sam-smith/

In fact, I love his art. His songs. He has a weird voice tho, but it's unique. And I happen to like many of his songs. It's just not my habit, you know, to listen to something slow, sway and, a bit sad. You know I listen to Pitbull and all those upbeat music. But then when Sam appeared with his money on his mind, I just fell. To the ditch. Of course not! I fell, in love with his music!

Then compared to Neymar who's a month older than me, Sam's two months younger. So according to my "guide to hating people", I should've carried more grudge towards Sam. Because he's younger than me, he's a newborn singer but globally noticed, classy, got an attitude, well, I gotta stop because if I keep mentioning, I'll begin to hate him :)

Now why do I accept him more than Neymar? Well, maybe because the field of music is more reliable to me than sport -you know I'm not a big fan of doing sports- so I'm acting much rational to Sam than Neymar, so... There we go.

Or maybe, maybe... Because of the fact that Neymar's been like all over the world I only been able to dream of, meeting all kinds of football stars I only been able to see from the internet, because of those two big points I've been longing to come true, that could be the reason why. While Sam, he's a newbie. And I never been exposed to him being somewhere in the other side of the globe that can make me being jealous about. Maybe.

So.
Smith.

Don't get too all comfy now.
Because if you ever travel the world,
Or worse yet, meet Pitbull or even collaborate,
You'll surely be be on top of the list, of people my age
Whose ass I want to kick hard

Shalom, Ishah Metuka

Let's get all freaky.

Remember the time I confessed about having a crush towards one female protagonist of one crime investigation TV series I like a lot, and really hated her successor so much? Yes, I'm talking about Kate and Ziva here.

For you who didn't watch NCIS, Special Agent Caitlin Todd was the initial female heroine of the show. She could probably end up fornicating Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, one of the male protagonists, if her portrayer Sasha Alexander didn't decide to leave NCIS. Kate then got killed in season 2 finale, replaced by Liaison Officer Ziva David of Israel's Mossad.

At first, I hated Ziva. A lot. She appeared in a very wrong situation, with a very wrong attitude. To make things worse, it was Ziva's half brother who killed Kate. How could I not hate her? :) I also knew, by the first time I watched NCIS, that Ziva remained on the show in way longer terms than Kate did. I just, didn't want my favorite agent be less popular than the newbie.

But as time went by, as I was exposed more and more to Ziva David and her overall background plus personality, as you know my weakness, I began to like her. A lot. But not even close to how I adore Kate. But still. I eventually gave in, and found her really interesting.

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/ziva-david/images/25967177/title/ziva-david-wallpaper-wallpaper

It's her growing attitude. From an enemy-material bitch kind of character, to a loyal supportive committed agent. Also her low understanding in American culture. Her natural wild-survival appearance. Her gesture, her way of talking, basically, everything!

And the fact that she's an Israeli added her value for me. I have an Israeli friend and Hebrew somehow began to be so interesting to be learned. Of course Ziva taught me many stuff about how to suddenly surprise my friend. I can out of nowhere greet him in Israeli, use Israeli phrases in the middle of our discussion, many things Ziva said and did along the series, I could just imitate those all and apply it to my friend!

Although apparently, Cote de Pablo who played Ziva, she is Chilean and can't at all speak Hebrew. Well... Does that make me love her less? On the contrary, since I recently am learning Spanish, I LOVE BOTH ZIVA AND COTE!

Well, well, well... As usual, I got carried away.

I was all about Kate, and now, I'm all about Ziva.
Which leads me now to guess what you are thinking.
I'm thinking that you're thinking of what I'm thinking about

Which one is better, right?

Well, to be honest, I can't pick.

I've been too attached to Kate so no matter how realistic things go, I'd always pick her. But then Ziva's character was just so smooth, she was a bad ass who brought more colors, tensions, as well as stories to the overall NCIS series. But please keep in mind that Ziva appeared after NCIS survived its vulnerable yet crucial first-two-seasons. Without Kate's constant appearance, it's not impossible that NCIS might had been cancelled already by FOX long ago.

But as far as I believe, both Kate and Ziva made the team looked so much vibrant. Despite the fact that Kate was a former President's bodyguard, and Ziva was even wilder an assassin, the two girls made the show, sweet.

Caitlin Todd's pic's from here, Ziva David's from here.

So, Kate or Ziva?

I don't know. Well, at some point, maybe I actually know.

But I prefer to act like I don't know

Eyes Opened

"... that I'll write right after this."

-- previous post    

Pft. Me and consistency. Big issue. But no worries, it's only 24 hours late. Now I'm here, ready to write about the quick escape to one of Indonesia's pearls,

B A N G K A

Parai Tenggiri Beach, Sungailiat, Bangka

First of all, let's have some prologues. Bangka, was my very first domestic trip I ever did. I know, pity. Mom's from Manado and I never even been there. Dad's from Cirebon I go there all the time, but I don't really consider that as a 'real' trip. Also when I went to Palembang, Bandung, Jogja, Semarang, Solo, Surabaya, Malang and Bromo, ya, because with mom and dad around, that's called 'vacation', not 'traveling'.

And Bali... Well, I've been there tons of times without mom and dad. So whenever I go there, it is, a traveling. But not domestic. I don't know, Bali no longer feels local to me. It's too overexposed with bules, bules everywhere so... Yea, really un-local. I love it tho, really much! But it just doesn't taste 'domestic'.

So when I say "a domestic trip", it should be something... Exotic. Something mainstream people don't go to. Something you can't easily see in your Instagram timeline. Something expats don't wander around because, there's not many expats! Just, something when you mention to people about your plan going there, they'll be like "wow, what are you gonna do there?"

The Bangka trip, actually it wasn't my plan at the first place. My friend initiated it. I myself preferred going to Belitung tho because, it's more popular. But then one thing led to another and Bangka it was. Only three days, two nights, but eventually, I realized a thing.

Indonesia, is really, literally rich.

Not being cliche, but it is. You don't even have to fly far to the east to see how diverse this nation is. Bangka's just 500 kilos away and there you go! It feels more like Malaysia rather than regular Indonesia. Then the next thing I know, I imagine myself in Sulawesi, and it'll feel like Philippines. Then I'll be in Sumba and it's the extremely different other thing! Crazy.

I saw common tourist spots tho in Bangka. Beaches -sick, sick beaches because those were so beautiful, museums, historical residences, Chinese temples, souvenir shops, yea, regular. What made me stunned, and really made my eyes opened about this whole "Indonesia's so fvckin marvelous" thing was, the local living itself. As well as the culinary.

Oh my God, wow. Can't believe myself.

Never thought I'm so obsessed with locals.

Went to Vietnam, acted like a local. Went to the US, tried to be local. Went to Philippines, people thought I was local. At this point I really just realized that my main personal ultimate objective of traveling, is actually nothing but to see how locals live!

It's not just overseas trip, apparently domestic ones too.

Air Anyir Beach, Pangkal Pinang, Bangka

Presindent Soekarno's Excile House, Menumbing, Bangka

Pangkal Pinang City

Tin Muesum, Pangkal Pinang, Bangka

Now Bangka, thank you so much.

You didn't only make me see that

Indonesia's filled with sick islands.

But you also made me be fully aware of

The true essence of traveling

Traveling: In or Out?

Lately, traveling's been a very popular activity for us Indonesians. Some people stay inside the country in search of hidden beaches, experience of hiking mountains, sensation of island hopping, and many other ways. Some others, on the contrary, fly over the continents, hang around Doraemon museum, pose in front of Eiffel Tower, sleep at Sappada Mountain, damn, never thought that Indonesians are actually rich!

Many people said,

"Why traveling abroad? Indonesia's good already."

And to be honest, I don't like that justification. I mean, without a doubt, Indonesia's the most beautiful set of lands I ever known in my whole life. There are indeed, some scenic islands somewhere on the other side of the globe but, that could be all for the country. While Indonesia, there are lots, and many others yet to be discovered.

But there are many things you can't see, or learn, just by traveling within Nusantara borders. Like culture. Or, what others have that we don't. And vice versa. Then you can figure out similarities between them and us, as well as learn their origins, way of living, language, economy, God, I can't even mention everything. Traveling is not just about the beauty you see with your eyes, but also what you feel in your heart.

Okay you've seen crazy panoramas, sick beaches and volcanoes, but if inside you don't feel challenged like, you're just safe at home, well, it's just a simple holiday that happened to be exciting because of the good visuals. I'm not offending Indonesia's potential in tourism, oh God no, because believe me, I just figured out that I actually want to start conquering this country. In fact, this post is actually a teaser of my very first domestic trip I ever done, that I'll write right after this.

So why am I bringing this up?

Simply because I just want to make things clear. That from traveling own country, and traveling overseas, I don't think you can make a comparison out of those two. There's a whole lot of different things to be talked about in each side. You can't say which one is better than which one.

Although to be honest, I still have one ultimate point of why I slightly prefer go on an international trip. The one thing you can't have from just traveling inside, from just enjoying your own treasure, which is

The grateful feeling,

That you weren't the citizen of those places you're traveling to

That instead, you were born, and raised, in such rich nation

We call it "Tanah Air"

Who's Getting a Book Now

Hey blog, what's up?

HAA hahaha yeess I'm talking to you again now. Wow--what?? Are you accusing me of been hiding something from you again and this post is the part when I'm confessing?? How could you do that to--okay, yes, I'm here to confess something again.

Sorry I been concealing this for so long but,

I actually been working on my own traveling book.

And since it's out in the bookstore now, there's no harm telling.

Well, in my defense, I kept sending you signals that I planned to make a book out of my Vietnam trip ya!? Let's take a break and look back to my posts about Vietnam. See? See? See!? I said, "Well I'm sorry I can't tell much about it. I have plans of where to spill more things about Vietnam." didn't you get what it means?

Okay whoa sorry I'm here to confess and apologize now, not to make a scene.
And maybe to briefly tell you how this magical thing could actually happen to me.

Trip to Vietnam was too affecting for me. It was crazy unforgettable, with all stuff I did alone, all people I met along the way, God, I can't just waste it, I talked to myself. So I had this idea to record everything in a form of a book. Because I know, a blog couldn't -and wouldn't- hold all details anyway.

Spent the whole February and half of March working on everything from A to Z, before I finally sent it to a publisher. At first I didn't expect them to want to publish the script I proposed because, they're like the top publisher in here. But then, God really loved me because it was reaching my birthday when they mailed me back, telling me that they were interested to work on the script. I was trembling all week long.

Since after that, the times of struggling kept coming. Worked on the revisions, checked and edited the proof, I did so many editorial stuff I never even learned before. Those were actually fun because, it was what I like! What's not fun was, the waiting process. When I couldn't do anything about it, but to wait and to keep myself in the loop about the on going stages.

Until last week, my editor said that the book was going to be out on Monday, August 25th. It drove me crazy. I don't know why, I mean, I knew it'd eventually be released, it was not a shocking-unexpected news. But then, ya, I was totally energized. But the climax happened on Friday, August 22nd.

I was passing by the bookstore, and slowing down near the traveling section, when I saw a blue book I knew I was so familiar with. Because I've been too many times exposed to that cover. Because I was the one approving that cover. Because that was the cover of my book.

I went out of control. Flashed straight to the nearest praying room and cried in joy. All the waitings, finally paid off. But still I have to wait for the best time to show this book to my family. And then to everybody, right after my family. Because of course, I'd want to show that first to my family.

So last Sunday I brought them to the bookstore. It was a really weird invitation because at first my brother didn't really want to come -he's not a really big fan of books- but I somehow insisted all four of them to join me to the bookstore. They gave in tho, maybe because I started to be all nerdy and freaky. Then I walked them to the traveling section. Stopped near my book, turned around and face everybody before saying,

"Guys, all these times, I wasn't unemployed
for nothing. I made this."

Then entered my book. Right to their faces. Their stunned faces. Seeing my name written on the cover. Dad was speechless, mom cried. My brothers started shaking my hands awkwardly. We spent like almost half an hour taking photos of the book. And me.

Crazy day. I've been dreaming about that scene since, wow, I don't know when. I always pictured it before I slept, when I was doing nothing, basically, almost all the time. And it went the way I wanted it to go.

That day, and that August 22nd,
And that day when I got the emails from my editor,

God, will forever be in me.

"Cheating Southern Vietnam"

Never thought I could go through everything. Alone.
Well, not that alone because I always have a place to lean on.

So thank you, Allah Almighty.