Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true.
                                                                   - Stranger Than Fiction (2006)-

Tell your loved ones that you really care for them and really mean every word of it.

excited.
elated.
exhausted.

currently having two different projects running.
one almost finished, one's just budding.
too early to say. just wish me luck and hope i
don't run out of fuel before it's done.

(thinking on taking another [third] project offered at the end of last year)...

should i?

And one by one they would come
The old ones, the senior citizens
And they would sit around the table

And they would light their cigarettes
And they would light their cigarettes
And they would light their cigarettes
And they would light their cigarettes

And although all the doors and windows are closed
The smoke would somehow wafts through and fills the house
The living room, the kitchen, the bedroom
And I would sometimes hear my child cough,
Or—although less often—hear him wheeze in his sleep
Inside the air-conditioned room
And I would feel tightness in my chest

And still they light their cigarettes
And still they light their cigarettes
And still they light their cigarettes
And still they light their cigarettes

And so I ask you for forgiveness, my child, my son, my sun
For I am powerless in the face of a habit that's older than me
For I have bartered your health with politeness
Trying not to offend those who precede me

Forgive me, my world
For I cannot guarantee you the fresh air you need
Although they said that the air we breathe
Is the only thing that's free

So bloody tired after a whole day of on continuous meeting....

......and to think of all the work I know I will be bringing home for the weekend for next week's meeting....







>sigh<

'Yo, you still got that Nana dvd? Can i borrow it again?'

'No man, it's all gone. I've thrown it away.'

'Seriously, man? Is it because you're getting married?'

'Yeah.'

Pause.

'Well, actually what happened was, I went home and found my room all tidy and redecorated and repainted and...'

'And?'

'Before I even say a word my mom said "I've thrown everything out!"'

His eyes focused on nothing. He was close to tears.

'All my collection from my high school days. Bandung Lautan Asmara, Sarah Azhari, Casting Iklan Sabun, Asia Carrera's Greatest Moments, even my FHM collection. All gone, Man.'

A moment of silence.

'I feel for you, man,' I said and went away.

Yeah, I feel for you.

Pearl Jam perfectly summed it up in this song:

Do The Evolution

i'm ahead, i'm advanced
i'm the first mammal to wear pants
i'm at peace with my lust
i can kill 'cause in god i trust
it's evolution baby

i'm at peace, i'm the man
having stocks on the day of the crash
on the loose, i'm a truck
all the rolling hills, i flatten 'em out
it's herd behavior
it's evolution baby

admire me, admire my home
admire my son, he's my clone
this land is mine, this land is free
i'll do what i want, but irresponsibly
it's evolution baby

i'm a thief, i'm a liar
there's my church, i sing in the choir
hallelujah...
hallelujah...

admire me, admire my home
admire my son, admire my clones
appetite, for a nightly feast
those ignorant indians got nothing on me
nothing... why? because...
it's evolution baby

i am ahead, i am advanced
i am the first mammal to make plans
i crawled the earth, but now i'm higher
2010 watch it go to fire
it's evolution baby
it's evolution baby
do the evolution
come on
come on come on


i usually heard (or sing) the i'm at peace, i'm the man line as i'm the beast, i'm the man.
and feel free to substitute other race/tribe/ethnicities in the place of Indians in the line those ignorant indians got nothing on me.

well,

for a while now i've been trying to make this blog alive again, but to no avail. either i am too busy to think about something to write, or if there are things to write about it's much too personal for tender eyes like yours.

sure, the last entry was made but five days ago, but before that 'Strange Meetings' was almost never updated. (and to think that i actually made a resolution to update it at least once every month.)

well,

we shall see whether i could continue this endeavour in the upcoming months. in the meantime please enjoy this little tale that happened a couple of nights ago.

so there i was, just got home from work, dog-tired mentally and physically, and hungry to boot.

I looked at the TV Guide searching for something interesting to watch while i had my dinner alone for the nth time, and sure enough i found something that might hold my interest while keeping my brain from working. i switched the tv on and shuffled through a multitude of channels to the one channel i wanted, no, needed to watch.

NHK World.

the program was Shibuya Live Stage: That's Comedy.

do i understand Japanese? not enough to understand what the two characters are yelling each other at, that's for sure.

meal: check. incomprehensible yet entertaining tv program: check. table and chair: check.

so i sat down, like so. and put my right foot on the chair, like so. and enjoyed the meal.

and the door connecting the living/dining room to the garage opened, and enter my wife's cousin.

before we go on with this tale, let's take a gander at this cousin of hers. he lives in Bandung with his family, but worked in one of the oil and gas company in Jakarta, so he spend weekdays at our house and weekends at his own house in Bandung. this guy is one of the most taciturn person i know. i usually got home finding him asleep before the tv set. and after a couple of minutes he would wake up just enough to say, "i'm turning in," and went upstairs to his room.

in the morning i would wake up to find him ready to go to work, saying: "i'm going now," to which i would sleepily nod or make some appropriate sounds i seldom remember. he seems to talk more to my son.

which is fine, as i am also a man of few words. (this may be hard to believe, but believe you me.)

so anyway, he went in, glanced at the tv and asked me, "what're you watching?"

"japanese comedy," i said.

he went to the pantry and returned with a glass of water, and seated himself on the other end of the dining table.

and we proceed to watch two japanese (one of them dressed as an old woman) yelling at each other.

when the comedic duo finished he asked:

"naon ceunah?"

"teuing," i answered.

and he grabbed his glass of water and, smiling, went upstairs to his room.



naon ceunah = what did he/she say? or what did they say?
teuing = dunno.

Is it any wonder that Loki Laufeyiarson was so mischievous and evil?

Consider these facts: Loki was (or is) one of the most handsome—if not the most—Aesir. Well at least he was (is) good looking. You gotta admit that, at least. On top of that he’s got one hell of a brain inside his fiery head and with that brain he often saved the day and the asses of those pompous Aesir. I can imagine how the other Aesir got jealous of his looks and brains. Let’s face it man, he’s got it all! Asyniur will fall for his charm and looks alone! Trust me on this.

Nobody would actually spend the night with I-am-oh-so-mighty Thor with his divinely boring talks about hunting trolls and giant killing and his expanding hammer. Freyr was (is) a flake after his cancelled wedding. Odin was (is) not much of a talker and his one eye is frightening for some. Heimdall was (is) too childish with nine mothers doting on his every wish and whim. And Bragi? C’mon man, that one is a pansy. He’d be more interested talking to—and admiring—Thor and the other Aesir  than Asyniur. Baldr was (is) too full of himself what with his invincibility and all. Tyr only interested in war and conquest (it’s like boys who always want to talk about his favorite football team all the time).  That leaves those Asyniur babes with only Loki, right?

Consider this: when Val-hall was built, the builder was a giant wishing for the hands of Freiya when (if) he finished building the infernally huge castle in three seasons.

 But those friggin’ Aesir give him only one winter to finish. One fucken winter!! That guy asked for three seasons’ time and those ‘divine’ Aesir give him one measly winter to finish the construction.

 Man, these gods really were (are) a jealous bunch, weren’t (aren’t) they? They just couldn’t bear the fact that there was (is) somebody better than them. The giant was, of course, disguised as an ordinary builder, and the gods didn’t recognize him for who he really was despite his shoe size.

So, with the help of his magical horse (the only living help he could get) the disguised giant almost made it. Those Aesir were in deep shit. A divine one, but deep shit nonetheless. If Freiya went with this guy, this…this nobody from who knows where, why, there would be no Asyniur they can gawk at, would there? Everybody knows how divinely beautiful Freiya was (is)! Beautiful, fierce, and those eyes, lips, breasts, hips, nipples…

…where was I?

Oh, yeah. Freiya. If she’s gone then those Aesir wouldn’t have anyone to peep at when she’s bathing, would they? So no, they would not—could not let this nobody from nowhere take their Freiya.

So who do they turn to? You guessed it: our dear friend Loki. They demanded that Loki found some way to obstruct the construction of the mighty Val-hall since it was he who permitted the man to get assistance from his horse. But, hey, Loki was only being kind. Who in the right mind demanded a castle as big as Val-hall to be built in one season without any help? That would be utter madness!

Loki just smiled his amiable smile (this was before his mouth was sewn shut, but that’s another story) and agreed to do all he can to slow down the construction. He transmogrified himself into a mare (did I tell you he’s also a shapechanger? Well he was [is]) and seduced the stallion. To cut the long story short, he succeeded. The stallion went mad with love, the construction came to a halt, the giant was exposed and exterminated by Thor, and the Aesir are happy they can still peep at Freiya.

Loki got pregnant, by the way, and gave birth to an eight-legged horse we know as Sleipnir. But did he raise his son, the fruit of his loin? No, the Aesir took Sleipnir away into Odin’s stable saying that this fine stallion who rode faster than the wind should carry the venerable Allfather.

Loki just smiled his charming smile, but the mother in him was shaken. And he became mischievous, though he could still fix his mischief.

Loki also had other offsprings. From the giant Angrboda he had three children: Fenriswolf, Iormungand (Midgard Serpent), and Hel. All of them monstrous, one a gigantic wolf who bit off Tyr’s right hand and imprisoned under a mountain, one a humongous serpent who was thrown into the sea where he coiled his length around the world, and the last was part girl-part zombie creature who was thrown to Niflheim by Odin.

All through this he just smiled, but the father in him was taken aback. And he became full of hatred with the Aesir, though he hid it and hid it well at the expense of his escalating mischievousness and being called evil by the Aesir.

And then he learned that Thor one day went fishing and caught Iormungand. Thor glared his patented fierce glare at Iormungand, and when the serpent slid back to the bottom of the sea Thor threw his hammer and supposedly hit Iormungand’s head, but apparently the serpent is alright, maybe Thor missed his throw but would not admit it.

That did it. Loki Laufeyiarson had enough. The Aesir had to pay and pay dearly. He knew that Baldr the Invincible was (is) the Aesir’s favorite, and if Baldr was to be taken away from them, it would be a sore blow for the Aesir in Ragnarok.

So he tricked Frigg into telling him the only thing that can harm Baldr. ‘Weapons and wood will not hurt Baldr. I have received oaths from them all,’ said the Queen of the Aesir, ‘but there grows a shoot of a tree to the west of Val-hall. It is called mistletoe. It seemed young to me to demand the oath from.’

Bingo!

And everybody knows how Loki plucked and sharpened the mistletoe’s twig. How he guided blind Hod to aim at Baldr (the Aesir, in their arrogance, love to throw weapons at Baldr, and, being invincible, no weapon can harm him). How Baldr died with a mistletoe twig sticking out of his left big toe (this shows how lame Hod really is. Loki guided Hod’ shot and he can only hit Baldr’s big toe? Sheesh!)

But Odin sent one of his sons to Niflheim to plea with Hel so that Baldr could return to life. Hel said Baldr will return to life if all things living or not would weep for him. And all things living or not did wept for Baldr. All but one old crone sitting on a stone beside the road.

And so Baldr stayed in Hel.

You can safely bet all your riches that the old crone was Loki in disguise.

But the Aesir hunt Loki and caught him and imprisoned and tortured him for what he did to Baldr. And to think that Loki never raised a finger when the Aesir took and did as they will to his four children.

And you still wonder why Loki Laufeyiarson is so mischievous and evil?

 

 

Di lantai 4 lift terbuka dan masuklah segerombolan orang, memadati ruang lift yang memang sudah setengah penuh itu. Salah satunya, dengan badan yang tidak bisa dibilang kecil dan ransel yang tak kalah dengan badannya menyeruak di antara gue dan Pian, OB kantor.

Setelah orang terakhir masuk, alarm berbunyi. Lift kepenuhan. Gue mulai was-was. Untungnya orang yang naik terakhir langsung sadar dan menarik diri keluar lift.

‘Waa keberatan tuh,’ seru seorang perempuan yang berdiri di dekat pintu dan tombol lift bagian kiri, ‘coba kalo lo yang naik pasti bisa deh, masih muat nih.’ Katanya lagi sambil mengajak seorang temannya yang memang bertubuh kecil. Tangan perempuan ini menahan tombol pembuka pintu.

Si laki-laki kecil berbaju merah enggan masuk, ia masih cukup berakal sehat untuk tidak memaksakan diri berdesakan dalam lift yang sudah penuh itu. Mungkin juga dia agak jeri melihat pandangan galak gue.

‘Ayo!’ seru perempuan itu lagi, ‘masih muat kok!’ tangannya masih menahan tombol yang artinya selama itu kami yang berada di dalam lift menjadi terhambat turun.

‘Pian, tutup aja pintunya,’ bisik gue ke OB yang berdiri di depan gue di hadapan tombol lift bagian kanan.

Gue mulai kesal. Kalo emang dia nggak mau ikutan kenapa mesti dipaksa dengan mengorbankan orang lain sih? Kan bukan cuma dia yang mau pake lift ini! Heran!

Setelah sekali lagi gagal membujuk temannya, akhirnya si perempuan itu menutup pintu lift.

Alarm kembali berbunyi.

Tiga perempuan yang masuk bareng di lantai 4 ini kembali menceracau. Mengomentari berat badan temannya yang berada di antara gue dan OB itu.

Temannya diam dan berusaha mengecilkan tubuhnya. Tindakan yang jelas sia-sia. Alarm berbunyi bukan karena ukuran tubuh, tapi karena kelebihan beban, Mas.

‘Keberatan nih, keluar aja lo,’ kata salah satu dari tiga perempuan itu pada si badan besar, tapi tak satupun dari mereka beranjak.

Kesabaran gue habis.

‘kalau nggak ada yang mau keluar, ya udah saya aja yang keluar,’ kata gue sambil melangkah ke pintu.

Si badan besar dengan ransel segede gunung akhirnya mengalah dan melangkah keluar melewati gue.

Akhirnya, setelah cukup lama tertahan karena hal-hal yang nggak penting itu pintu lift tertutup dan kembali bergerak turun. Kali ini alarm tidak berbunyi.

‘Bukan apa-apa,’ kata gue memulai pembicaraan to nobody in particular, ‘soalnya minggu lalu saya naik lift ini dan kepenuhan, akibatnya jatuh dari lantai 2 ke lantai dasar.’

‘Kapan Mas?’ kata si perempuan yang tadi menahan pintu dan memaksa temannya masuk.

‘Minggu lalu,’ jawab gue nggak acuh.

‘Jatuh bener apa cuma turun terus ketahan?’ tanya seseorang.

‘Jatuh bener. Saya naik di lantai dasar, lalu di lantai 2 ada segerombolan orang naik, liftnya kelebihan beban, dan nggak bisa naik ke lantai 3 malah jatuh ke lantai dasar. BRUK! Gitu,’ jawab gue.

‘Wah serem juga ya,’ kata si perempuan.

‘Iya, lagian liftnya juga sih yang udah kedaluwarsa,’ kata temannya.

Monyet! Babi! Anjing! Kutukupret! Laknat! Bangsat! Udah tau lift kedaluwarsa ngapain lo pake maksa-maksain temen lo masuk?? Mikir dong! Mikir! Pake otak! Jangan pake handphone terbaru!!