For The Love of The Game

It’s no secret that there’s always a battle going on over who’s in charge of the remote control in a small family with only one telly. That is also what happened in my home for the last three years. I had that battle with my sisters during my bachelor era although only in small frequency since I studied in a boarding school. Now it’s my wife’s turn. We had a peaceful pact before but since the programme on TV keep changing all the time, the pact becoming ineffective.

I don’t really know what started my flirt affection with football because I only had it in the last ten years ever since I started to play Championship Manager in my pc during the college years. At first I barely know the system of play let alone the beauty of the game, but the devotion beginning to boost each year gone by. Now it comes to the phase when my wife can sum it up in one sentence: If Manchester United win, she’s safe. That is because every time a bad patch going on for my beloved team I would be all grumpy and rather fuming the whole lot all day. Funny that she always wants to hide in the closet whenever the game started, but I guess that’s just sarcastic exaggeration.

So when I woke up at 2 o’clock this morning and found my team playing against its most bitter enemy in the shape of those graceless Arsenal twats, drowsiness replaced by uncontrollable and unexplainable anxiety and suddenly I was fully awoken. And without a rival fighting for the remote since Ira was soundly sleeping I can enjoy the amusement to the fullest. The game itself showed every quality that is to like about football. It got controversies, male testosterone with high flying and crunching tackles, luscious class of dribbling and close control. Leadership, wit, and passion battled each other in the field for 90 minutes.

And the most pleasing thing is that Manchester United winning it with a rout of a thriller 4-2 score line. Over the years the fixture has been riled with infuriated rivalry. From last year’s Battle of Old Trafford to the Pizza Gate incident back in October, there have been punches given back and forth. But this time the hype really is rewarded with some of the best tussle ever seen in a football match.

By the point it was all over, the alarm bell to wake me up has passed 5 o’clock so it’s about time to take my shower and get ready for work. When I get to decide what to wear today I stumbled across my Red Devil replica shirt and remember thinking, 'Hm… it'd be cool wearing it just to winding up the other lot... well, why not?'. A few eyebrows were indeed raised today in the office seeing me with the red top but I just went on smiling and gave a winning smirk especially to the bunch of ‘Anything But United’ brigade blokes over here.

Hehehe, the bragging right is mine today, mate.

The One With The Memorable Quotes

We know them all too well. We’ve been watching them together for more than eleven years. They define the ‘must’ in “must see TV”. Indeed, we’re talking about the gang of six, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler. Yeah, Friends, for ten years, their life’s, love’s, and wacky antics have provided the water cooler buzz on each morning we had our coffee break or in between dinner talks. From Fun Bobby, The Ugly Naked Guy, to Joy’s big break as Al Pacino’s stunt butt, we’ve enjoyed the ride all played to the haunting refrain of Phoebe’s quirky tune ‘Smelly Cat’.

All the stars in the show has brought to life the character we get to know and love. But ten years is a long time and a lot has changed including our favourite ‘Friends’. Now that it’s already ended, it seems something has been missing. Gone are the days of curiousity of whether Ross and Rachel will be together again or whether Chandler will stuck between a rock and a hard place once more.

The show has moved beyond success to cultural icon status. And with final episodes already aired for almost a year ago, The Gen X fans who has turned from 20 something to 30 something along with the cast, still find a way to rejoice some of the re-runs from their own vcd or dvd collections.

From the get go, the show has grabbed attention from fans to critics and ultimately has been one of the phenomenon of the nineties. Can you remember when Chandler said, “You have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance.” Or when Rachel scream, “Hey, just so you know: it's *NOT* that common, it *DOESN’T* ‘happen to every guy,’ and it *IS* a big deal.” And Joey’s stupid remark, “It's a rented tux. Okay? I'm not gonna go commando in another man's fatigues.”

I think everybody saw a little bit of themselves in each one of the six character. It also represents all the different sides of who you might be, or even the various different type of people that you know of. I would look at my friends and said, ‘Oh my god, that is so Ross’ or a friend of mine who always compared herself with Monica’s type of neurotic.

One of the show’s most remarkable accomplishment is that for the whole decade, it was always funny. Everyone still have their own most favourite moment. That look or line that can still make you laugh out loud. Well for me, I would have to say my most favourite scene was when Joey and Chandler had an argument and Joey end up wearing all Chandlers clothes and do some lunging. Man, that is some funny stuff.

Friends may not literally the most seen or the ultimate best in TV show but surely it has some special place in the niche of the people my age. It’s not exactly profound or even breakthrough these whole series, but whenever I felt a little been under the weather or almost jaded, I just reach on to the cupboard and there they are ready to pick me up and make me laugh. I think Joey said it best when him and Chandler are about to split from the apartment. “It’s the end of an era”.

O Ambition, Where Art Thou?

Anyone can give up; it's probably one of the easiest things there is to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if we decided to step back, that's the mark of true strength.

To be honest this is probably the summary of what I shall and must do in life. There are things that should be accepted as it is. There are also things that if you have courage and willingness to fix and change as you want. Maybe I should re-read this phrase for myself whenever I had too many needs and wants, which are not necessarily available or achievable then and now.

What shall I do and how much effort shall I put depends on how big is my ability to accept what has been given and my willingness to minimize the threshold between "what I want" and "what I could actually get".

To be able to put up with reality, compliant and uncomplaining, handle the dire truth be it failure or unavailability, these are the skill set I’ve been developing all my life. Maybe due to the fact that I’m Indonesian where acceptance is one of the more primordial characteristic.

What I’m wary about is that I might be lulled in the comfort zone on my own and not have the aptitude and the ambition to pick up what's left and really move forward. To actually achieve something that would make me, and all the people around me be proud.

Too long have I been indulged in this so-called secured state, without ever want to risk anything so I won’t have to get out of my cushy sofa. With the salary and fee from side job, my little family could lead life economically. But is that enough? And how much is enough? I still have plenty of time if only there’s more ambition in me, instead of playing Championship Manager, or watching DVDs, browsing neither here nor there, for hours daily. So unproductive.

Living in this current world, where information about opportunity, where other people successes is right in front of you to be followed and even surpassed. It shouldn’t be hard to be more ambitious, or should it?

God please give me the courage to change things that must be changed;
Give me audacity to move forward and valor to accomplish my aspiration;
And the wisdom not to be so conceited to walk on Your earth.

The Butterfly Effect

"It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world."

Well, this time it’s not a butterfly’s wing rather a 8.9 Richter tremor and fleets of 15 m tsunami swept the south east Asia, claimed over 150,000 innocent lives along its way. The aftershock coverage shows us, from English premier star footballer to Afghan refugee, from Hollywood celebrities to a humble cab driver in Jakarta, made a typhoon of donations as much as they can.

A phenomenon inevitably brings light that human beings is not that bad after all. The Homo Homini Lupus - Man is a wolf to man – a popular Roman proverb that so often seems too true in this 'dog eat dog' world is once more put into perspective.

The multinational pledge from countries around the world exceed the number of 4 billion dollar. A numeral I can hardly understand the figure.

There’s a danger that it all boils down to mere publicity stunt though, akin to what happened after the Bam Quake in Iran exactly one year ago. International vowed for more than 1 billion dollar while the number decrease significantly to miserly 17 millions dollar. In the days subsequent to Bam's earthquake, more than 1,600 aid workers from 44 countries streamed in to help with the rescue and relief operation.

But now, the sprawling international camp on the grounds of the former city has been closed down and only a handful of international agencies remain. While the much criticized middle eastern countries, who at that time promise not more than 50 millions, truth to their words and deliver the number they promised.

Without much of a fuss the humanitarian effort from the conflict region has already enter Indonesian soil since early of the aftermath, while other head of nations still gathering in the Jakarta Tsunami High-Level Conference. They are less glamor and far from the camera scrutiny but delivered with efficiency and without interest.

I had several discussion among friends about the importance of publication and promotion to any humanitarian and social deeds. That is because there are one proverb in Islam that says “don’t let your left hands know what your right hand is doing”.

The gist of it is that we practice good and righteous deeds only for Allah alone, instead of the adulation or praise that will follow. I am not totally agree with that because good promotion and publication can be productive in spreading the intention and attract others to do just the same.

Like the case in the middle eastern country who seemingly passive and cheap in offering help due to the small amount of awareness generated by the media coverage. There’s been a negative buzz that those countries seems ignorant to the sufferings of others. While in truth they have been pretty generous with their effort and fund while other countries still mulling of how much to donate.

I remember a verse that says "By the age! Verily, man is in loss! Save those who believe and do righteous deeds, and bid each other be true and bid each other in patience".

Fantasy

When I was alone in places like the airport lounge or cafe just waiting for clients, I remember thinking how I rarely making up fantasies anymore. I used to do that, a lot. Be it a fantasy to be a Nobel prize winner, be able to fly away like a bird, creating a teleporter appliance that can beam me to places, become an unparalleled kungfu master, or to some extent having a romantic encounter with Sophie Marceau (at that time). Perhaps marriage life made me even more pragmatic and rather detached to the 'Joie de vivre' normally associated with youth and childhood.

In fact, one of the thing that separate us, human beings, from animals and robots is our ability to use our fantasy. we can teach a machine how to combine elements. Yet we can't program a machine the function and meaning of fantasy. Because fantasy has to do with imagination and a machine can only work with countable objects, or at least that's what I know of now. Mankind reach their status now in this world because of fantasy. Greater inventions, explorations, wars, major leaps in technology and almost whole aspect of our life is the results of fantasy of our predecessor.

Fantasies usually are unrealistic though. The minute we got something, we usually don't or even can't, want it anymore. For the fantasies to continue exist, desire needs absent object. So it is safe to say that desire supports itself with crazy fantasies. We're usually at the most happy when we're day-dreaming about future happiness. "The hunt is sweeter than the kill" or "Be careful what you wish for". Not because we'll get it, but because we're doomed not to want it anymore.

Could this conceivably be the reason why some of the most powerful people on earth acting like they are God ? Because there's only few things that they're actually can not get with all their might and power. Perhaps just itching to nuke down a marketplace just to see if they can get away with it. Or launch an air strike against a rogue country while the whole world is against it, just to show who's the boss. Well, that's just one of the scary side of fantasy.

Indulging fantasy is not always healthy too. It will made it harder for us to distinguish the real and the imagination. But some able to be productive and creative with their fantasies, people like Tolkien and JK Rowlings are among those who manage to mesmerize us with the sheer brilliance of their imaginative mind.

I have to remind myself that for my upcoming new year resolution is to bring back those fantasy to eliminates the tedium and mundane state of real life.

All Quiet in The Office Front

The people we work together with is not exactly our choice in the first place. Yet probably we spend more time with them than actually with our family. While all we've got in common is mostly the fact that we walk on top of the same bit of carpet, or share the same coffee mugs for around eight hours a day. And during that eight hours a day so many things could happen. There's friction, laughter, banter, and also not uncommon there's flirtation here and there.

My previous office was like the perfect example of a melting pot that is an office. We had office drunks but very popular guy. A bunch of party goers and ganja smokers. There's sorority sister packs who is beautiful on the outside but often not so quite in the inside. There's this Miss walking around feeling 'imsomuchbetterthananyother'. There's also plenty of friendly and amusing persons available to fill your daily activities. Despite all their antics, i've never had a problem with them. Infact i've been pretty close to most without being influenced too much of any unhealthy habit. Three years in that one big happy family of an office flew by and it really was an eventful periods, most of the times it was exciting, and fun, and inspiring.

My current office though is another different ball game altogether. It is more compact with fewer staffs and relatively from the same background of educations and economy unlike the first one where people from all sort of school of life mixed up. The guys and the girls are alright, well... except probably this one guy who conviniently sitting right next to me. At first he was okay, seems a lil bit uptight tho' but bearable. The trouble started when he asked to exchange seat with me because my cubicle was better positioned than him. At that time I thought, well I'm new so it's probably normal to just be polite and give the man what he wanted. And then by the time went by I started to pick up up small pieces that further enhance my suspicion that this chap is quite something alright. I mean, how would you normally react to a guy who keep bragging that he had an IQ of 160, how important he is and his works for our office, how he managed to master classic guitar by the age of 12, or how good his english is, and wait you haven't heard the worst yet, how he dated Dian Sastro (one of the most recognizable faces in Indonesia). Seriously, this guy has an issue. Not only that, he speaks like screaming his lungs out in each words, his table is messy full with garbage, he puts heavy metal songs on out loud every each day, sheesh, how annoying can a person be?

I've been trying to be polite, to the point of nodding along each lies he spout, but I just can't stand it. The problem is that he doesn't get a single clue that i've been trying to avoid him just to keep my hands not to beat him to death with my shoe. He keeps coming to my place and act like a complete wanker. Today though he's taking a day off and what a peaceful day it has been. I've never felt so quiet and in the mood of work like today. Let me celebrate this day with my regular hot nescafe, and cheers to you too for reading this. Don't take this too much, but I seriously hope you don't get to meet this guy or his kind.

Andrea & Marco's Excellent Adventure Revisited

Okay, so they've left Jakarta. It was kinda sad, because this last few weeks have been filled with plenty of new experiences for me too. I've written about their very first days arriving from Milan. The next day, they went to Cilantro at BNI Tower with the guys and girls from Jakarta office. And word has it that, after enjoying luxurious dinner, some of them went to stadium and introduce the Cardella brothers with Jakarta's dark side. I need to have their special permissions before i can write what happened later that night from them first. I can't join the occasion courtesy of a family wedding ceremony, so i took a raincheck and let my friends usher them from pubs to cafe's.

The next week they went to Singapore and do some shopping. I didn't know what hotel they spend the night in but they said it was a luxurious one since they were calling me from the bathroom, yuck gross ... They were impressed with Singapore's neat facilities which i think far more advanced than the ones in Italy. Much like other tourists they visit Sentosa Island, The Zoo, Orchard Road and spent some money in Mustafa.

From Singapore they fled to Bali and spent several days there doing what most Italians do in that paradise island... getting a body massage! Because they're a bit lazy and only wakes up when the sun had reached the zenith, they passed four days but managed to miss sunset in Tanah Lot, Puri Besakih, and many other must see activities. Something they will rue in the future. Next destination Lombok. From what i gathered from them Lombok is empty, much to their delight. It was so quiet and serene and they told me that they had to go back to Lombok some day.

I picked them up from Soekarno-Hatta airport and they proudly showed me like 700 pictures they took from the trip. They've become Japanese! Also a suitcase full of local crafts like pearls and headmasks which i think they get for quite a bargain. They seem to enjoy the trip even though they miss a lot of spots. Makes me proud of the beauty of my country. I asked whether they get to screw around and they replied to me with a big no, they've been behaving quite nice.

The next nights we went to several Indonesian restoran including Izzi Pizza where they could play critics to the claim by the diner about their food being 'The Real Italian Cuisine'. Probably because of the nitpicking Marco's got the stomach problem. And it happened in the worst place, CJ's executive club. 'Twas quite expensive to go inside and quite a hassle because of the tight security. We managed it. Andrea has been fraternizing real smoothly with several of the damn sexy chicks inside when Marco start complaining about the need for number two. Hillarious, these two brothers argue each other for a minute, they decided to get back to the hotel. Fine by me.

They visited Yogyakarta the next week and managed to tour for Borobudur and Prambanan. They enjoy it so much and got home with plenty of ideas to set up business of exporting crafts from Jogja and ask me to do some research about it. Intrigued by Indonesian culture we went to taman Mini Indonesia Indah and saw the vast and rich culture of Indonesian Archipelago. It's been so long since i went to the park my self. Shame that some of the facilities are ruined and spoilt. They wandered in the bird park quite happily, taking pictures after pictures and playing with some Kakaktua bird till the sunset over.

The last two days we went to Mangga Dua, Glodok, and Pasar Seni Ancol. They spend more than four hundreds of euro buying sets of traditional wall hanging and beautiful wooden statues.

The last night we went to dine in Tony Roma's where for the first time they ate pork in Indonesia. I still stick to my 'hopefully halal' chicken barbeque. During dinner they were asking me about taking them to some Thai Massage parlor. I didn't know any but promised to ask around. After asking permission from my wife and guarantee her that i won't mess around, we took a cab. The driver happens to know plenty of red district area. So he took us to this suspiciously creepy building inside the Mangga Besar area.

The taxi stopped and three hairy guys quickly ushered us to some glass aquarium. They mumble some words and voila, a bunch of provocatively dressed attractive gals came inside the glass and they asked us to choose which one. Oh My God... apparently the driver misunderstood our instruction. He thought that we were looking for Thailand prostitute. Fortunately the germo didn't make a big deal out of that mishap and let us go in one piece.

We laughed out loud in the cab for several minutes. So the Cardella brothers decided to go to Stadium instead. I've never been there before and quite excited of the prospect. Funnily they're the one who's showing me around in the Stadium. After about thirty minutes Marco started to feel funny. He whispered something to me and went where a bunch of almost nude girls were sitting. Marco hold one of the girl in the hand and I saw them doing some talking and go sneak about in one of the rooms.

We went home with Marco's big grin in his face, while Andrea a bit grumpy because he was trapped in a dillema of accompany me in the table or doing what Marco just did but had to impolitely leave me alone.

The next day, me and Ira accompanied them to the airport and had our goodbyes.

All in all tho' it was a good experience. I had a chance to pay back all their wonderful treatment while i stayed in Milan. I had me a chance to visit the nite side of Jakarta also and show them that Indonesian people are indeed peaceful and can be quite cool too. Glad they could acknowledged that by promising a come back soon.

Arrividerci my friends.