The Man in the Silly Red Sheet

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I was trying to find new song from Foo Fighters (well, it’s not new anymore now), when I ran across a file titled “It’s not easy to be me” by Foo Fighters. I never heard such a song from Foo Fighters before, so I checked the song, and later realized that ‘twas not a song by Foo Fighters at all (lucky me that I didn’t have to do a lyric search in Google since Ari gave me the song when I left for Japan, so I had heard it before). It was actually a song by a group called Five for Fighting, and the actual title of the song was “Superman”.

Perhaps many of you had heard the song before, but anyway, I’ll tell you the content (It’s not bloopers, isn’t it?). It tells about Superman (as the title suggest, I think you should have been able to figure it out without having me telling you :-) ). However, the song doesn’t tell us about how great superman is, who can jump over tall skyscrapers in a single bound, neither tell about any other superman clichés. No. It tells that Superman also has problems and sorrows, has dreams and wishes. After all, he just a human (or an alien that looks like human - at least a living being), and it is normal for him to have problems like any other human (besides regular problem of Lex Luthor trying to rule the world and such...).

So, for superman that possesses all the superpower that you’d fancy to have, superman that be adored by Lana and Lois whose mere smile would make the sun seems to shine your universe all day thru’ (if you happened to be a boy, you might envy him for the second reason rather than the first one though :-) ), everything is not always going as he wishes. Even sometimes he has to worry about problems that won’t sweat a normal human (i.e.: us). It might sound trivial, but it’s true that nobody’s perfect, and each has different things that make him/her worried.

Anyway, if you read the lyric thru’, you’ll reckon that most of its contents also fit with most of us. We’re all more than a bird (except if you’re a bird and happen to read this blog. On the second thought, if you indeed a bird and you can read and understand this, you are more than a bird!). We’re clearly more than a plane (I’m sure about this one). And we’re also more than some pretty faces beside a train (except if you wish to be considered as just some pretty faces beside a train, it’s your choice then... :-) ). What I wanna say here is that we’re all special in our own sort of way. And of course with that specialness, each of us also has our own special kryptonite that made us worried. However, it shouldn’t keep us worried all the time, because that’s just the way life is. God gives us our kryptonite, so we can learn to face it, and grow much stronger from it.

By the way, I put the lyric here for your perusal. No matter how tough the going for you right now, just don’t give up fighting and dreaming. As the song suggests, even a hero has the right to dream, and you’re the hero of your own story.

I can’t stand to fly, I’m not that naive
I’m just out to find, the better part of me

I’m more than a bird, I’m more than a plane
I’m more than some pretty face beside a train
And it’s not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry, fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie, about a home I’ll never see

It may sound absurd, but don’t be naive
Even heroes have the right to plead
I may be disturbed, but won’t you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
and it’s not easy to be me

Up, up and away...away from me
It’s all right...you can all sleep sound tonight
I’m not crazy...or anything...

I can’t stand to fly, I’m not that naive
Men weren’t meant to ride, with clouds between their knees

I’m only a man in a silly red sheet, digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet, looking for special things inside of me
I’m only a man in a funny red sheet, I’m only a man looking for a dream
I’m only a man in a funny red sheet, and it’s not easy to be me

(Superman, Five for Fighting)

Getting A Little Bit ‘Ecchi’

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I think most of us realize how communicating using two different languages sometimes can result in misunderstanding. Well, I’ll tell one of the problems that can arise between Japanese and Indonesian this time (if you think that this is related to the word ‘ring’: it’s not that one!).

Like perhaps I’ve already told you a hundred times before, I often receive an invitation related to the word “eat” (he he he…) from my friends in Japan. This time Ali and Kiki, friends from Korea, invited me and several other people from Hippo for a dinner party at their home. The dinner was great (I quickly realized that I can live happily ever after in Korea if it’s only a matter of food :-), well, that’s probably simply because Kiki can cook very well... ), and while eating, we talked about lots of things.

Since people from Hippo always like to learn languages, they didn’t forget to ask me to teach them some Indonesian words. All was going well, until they asked me about the Indonesian word for “study”.

Well, the Indonesian word for study is ‘belajar’. However, when it’s spelled, it sounds like brajaru for Japanese (they don’t have the character for L in their kana), and in Japanese, barajaru means (sorry!) bra (actually, it came from the word brassiere). Most of us laugh after knowing the fact, and although I was worried that the dinner would turn a little bit awkward after that, it wasn’t (thanks to the openness of most Japanese to such a thing). That “study” thing even make the party become more lively (later Ali even wondered whether the word for not studying in Indonesian would be no*** (you guess those three stars yourself :-) ), but Ani quickly cut him by menacingly saying「アワン君に何を教えてるの！」(And what are you trying to tell Awan-kun!) - so the conversation was quickly switched into other topics...

So, one important advice: be careful with what you’re saying...

* If you don’t know the meaning of Ecchi, it’s actually means ‘H’ in Japan, and ‘H’ is more or less equal to ‘x-rated’ in English. If you still don’t know what it’s meant by it, you better consult your encyclopedia, because I don’t want my blog to be banned for underage :-).

When There’s Someone That Care More Than You Do...

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There were several moments in my life when I just let go everything and just followed where the destiny took me. I’m not saying that I gave up and quit the fight. I still kept on fighting, but I did it without any passion at all. I was just feeling empty at those times, and thinking that anything that might come surely would be enough for me. (And one of those let go’s landed me here in Japan. I’m not complaining at all, I’m more than happy that I can be here, and it’s not just a lip service...).

And recently the same kind of feeling came again. With about 6 months left, I was still undecided about where to go after finishing my master. I was thinking that I just do what I used to do: do everything properly, not more and not less, and just take anything that will come from it

Anyway, something that happened yesterday changed my vision a bit. One of my junior gave me a luck charm, and she also wished me the best for my doctoral study plan. Well, it was just a simple thing (and I also don’t believe in charm since my religion forbid it), but the fact that someone cared about my future more than me myself really got in me. I think I’ll change the way I think a bit and try to consider about what I’m gonna do more seriously. Well, I’m not trying to say that I’ve already got in my mind what I fancy to do after graduation; I am still undecided about it, but now I’ll try all the chances that I shall come across with all my passion. I’m not trying to say that I’ll only seriously think about the future; I’ll try to take every single chance to laugh and have fun, since it is pointless to do something if I couldn’t enjoy it.

And about the charm, I think I’ll keep it. It’s not that I believe about the power that it has. I’ll keep it because it will remind me that there’s someone around me (and I also believe there’re several others out there) that cares about my future more than I do, and it should help me be more grateful for all the gifts that God has blessed on me...

The Things That Will Happen If You Borrow the Car of A Friend of A Friend of A Girlfriend of Your Friend

My mother used to make us birthday cake on our birthday, but ever since I went to university, I never had it anymore (because I never home on my birthday - and birthday with my friends always enough only with pizza). However, this year Seada made me one (my first in 10 years) and it really brought back the memories of old days...
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There was indeed something special that happened on my birthday this year, and some of my friends had asked me ‘to disclose’ it in details. I’d like to do that, however, for the sake of protecting the innocent (singular - without ‘s’ to be exact :-) ), with much regret I have to refuse the request :-). Yet, to indemnify the disgruntlement that it may cause, (Why do I sound so formal? Anyway all I want to say is: To make up if you’re feeling upset with me, ...) I’ll write something that happened on my other birthday (Lucky me, there’s almost always something unique or strange that happens on my birthday, which worth to remember).

It was in 2001. Ari had planned to celebrate Bonggo’s, Lisya’s, and my birthday at muara karang (MK) (additional fact: three of us were born on the same day, only differed by hours). I was planning to ask Irma too, but because I’m a very shy type of person (okay, I can hear you tripped off your chair and start to throw up, but I’m indeed a shy boy :-) ), and that we were still just friends at that time (so I didn’t know for sure whether she would be fancy to go or not), I put off asking her until the D-day. I also didn’t tell the others about my intention, and planned to tell them later when I had already got the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer (to be exact: I would only tell them if I got a ‘yes’ answer :-) ).

The MK plan was on the night, and I went to Irma’s place in the afternoon (she knew that it was my birthday and I had told her that I would come). To make it short, she gave me present and wished me a happy birthday. We then went out, originally for dining, but since it was too early to eat, we went to Gramedia (I think Ari would say “You two went dating in bookstore?” when he knew about it :-) ). The sky had turned deep grey by the time our stomachs screamed starving, and Irma said that it might be better to go back to her place and tried to find something to eat nearby. So, we went back.

It was not long when the drop of water started to fall, and soon it was raining cats and dogs. By the time we reached her place, it was almost impossible to get out without getting wet, even with an umbrella. It was then when the lady that owns the home that Irma rented came and said that she worried about the roof of the house. There was some problem with it before, and she worried that water had sipped inside the house through it. Irma went to her room (it was in the 2nd floor), and found that almost everything had turned wet.

We spent the next half an hour to clean the room. She said sorry countless of time and said that it was no fun way to spend a birthday. But anyway, it was fun for me. Well, at least because of that I came to know that she had a pokemon poster in her room (she picked the poster merely because she like the color) and that she had our picture on top of one short cupboard (that made me know that it wasn’t one way love back there :-) ).

Ari called not long after we finished cleaning the room, and I realized that I had not asked her about the MK plan at all. Thus, I told Ari to hold on a sec and quickly asked her. Like I had already said, I’m a very shy type of person (I hope you didn’t trip off this time :-) ), but I can asked her quickly that time without any hesitation. (I think that was because I had seen our picture in her room - it made the odds of having her saying ‘yes’ higher :-). Furthermore, the “pokemon effect” also had created a big impact. You can safely guess that someone is fun if she doesn’t mind having pikachu face hanging on her wall :-) ). To my delight (and as you may have guessed), she said that she’d like to, so the next moment I told Ari that I would bring someone with me. He said that ‘twas okay (but I think he hid his laughter that time :-) ), and asked where he could pick us up.

For the rest of the night everything seemed to go smooth for me and Irma (The rain had stopped, and at least we didn’t have to mop somebody’s room again that night :-) ), but unfortunately not with Bonggo. Because Ari’s car was not big enough to bring us all to MK, Bonggo was borrowing the car of a friend of a friend of a girlfriend of his friend (if my memory doesn’t fail me, that was the right order :-) ). Actually everything was going as planned, until he took a prohibited turn in order to save time, and as a result had a police car followed him. Being in state of panic (because he was not driving his own car and it would be very awkward if he had to tell the police that it was the car of a friend of a friend of a girlfriend of his friend that he was driven that night), he ran the car into Ancol (one of the amusement park complex in Jakarta), and luckily the police gave up the chase. Still, he then had to awkwardly respond to our question: ‘Why the hell should he go into Ancol?’

The trip was then going with no big incidence (unless if the fact that Ari (who’s driving with Lisya) mistook the highway could be categorized as incidence). We arrived at MK very late from schedule, but MK is even better if you come late, so we weren’t complaining at all. Furthermore, Bonggo said that with all the things that happen that night, all of us then have a nice story to be told to our kids and grandkids :-).

We returned almost morning (close to 4.30), and I quickly walked Irma to her home. She said that that night was really fun and that she glad she went with us. A little bit out of the story, we started going steady four months later, and even we’ve broken up now, I’ll follow Bonggo’s advice: I won’t cry because it’s over, but I’ll smile because it happened...

And I do smile every time I recall it...