Ming’s Mind

It’s dark here.
…I don’t even remember what light is.

…are you there?
Am I here?

You’re back.

Why can’t I feel a thing?
Where am I?

You’ve disconnected.

What?
From where?

From our dreams.

But..how?
…why?

It’s the rule we made.

What?
I don’t understand a thing. Can’t you be more specific?
Wai.. hhyyg!

…I…my daughter needs me!
She’s in the car!!
Where am I?! What am I doing here?!

Then she must still be connected.
Everything was a dream.

No, it’s not!

You need time get over it and time to remember.
Not that it exists.

What the fuck are you saying?!
Get me outta here! I can’t even feel my body!
Where are you?! Where am I?!

You were in the dream we, us, all created.
All this time.

I, wha…hhyyg!
…I…
…
…I remember.

That’s good.
Welcome back.

Thank you.

How was it?

Humane.

Did you do anything we’ve long forgotten?

Yes, but I’m losing them…

Did it hurt?

I can’t feel anything now but I’m sure I felt something…good.
There was also pain…but there was something so special too…which I can’t remember…something…was flowing from where I see things.

That’s normal.

We know.

It’s my turn now.

I shall wait for you.

I hope to meet you again.

We’re one.

We are.

I hope you’ll feel the things I felt.

You’ll know.

World economy seems to be getting worse and worse every second.
Our government is going to try out the new unassisted electricity tariff to middle-upper and upper-upper housing types in some areas.

I’m glad to say we don’t have blackout here as often anymore. But this is still happening in some other cities. It can happen everyday or every other days starting from 7 AM to 4 PM. I personally has experienced it myself a few months ago and it was like living in a cave for half a day and back to metropolitan for the rest.

What I’m mad about is that the government don’t seem to be doing anything about it. They’re letting people die of starvation, mothers killing their newly-borns because they don’t want them to live a life of suffering.

And do you know what the government is so-fucking-unbelievably concerned about right now?
The election of the new governor of Bank Indonesia (Indonesia’s national bank).

Many candidates have been offered by our infamous-for-having-a-lot-of-disaster-during-his-reign President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and none of them have been approved by the Parliament. They’re busy doing all of these unnecessary formalities, which is most probably done for their own advantage, instead of struggling to give their people a better life.

Not such a surprise for me to read that the leader of Hanura party, who is a candidate of the 2009 Presidential election, has practiced the Politics of Symbolism by having Nasi Aking meal along with a villager. This dish is made from the old leftover rice which is then cleaned and dried under the sun and then re-cooked, the kind of food consumed by a lot from 39,5 million ’surveyed’ below-poor-condition Indonesians. “I have to sell my homemade cakes (not those modern kinds that you can find in your luxurious cake shops) everyday around the villages so that I can buy Nasi Aking. My husband had passed away,” the villager said.

Living a life of simply living…

…
And to think that I just had yummy Conello Brownies Ice Cream in this hot tropical night, paying US$80/month of internet connection for typing useless blogs and other trivial purposes, buying a lot of expensive unnecessary stuff, and procrastinating my Human Resource Management assignment…

*sigh*

Bonne nuit.

English Version @: http://theuncertainuniverse.blogspot.com/

Tidak pernah satu kali pun di sekolah Indonesia saya mendengar sejarah dijajahnya Tibet oleh bangsa China. Yang ada  dan selalu digembar-gemborkan hanyalah revolusi bambu dan gerilya yang dibangga-banggakan oleh orang Indonesia  (padahal Indonesia pun merdeka karena US membom Jepang sehingga Jepang menyerah tanpa syarat; bukan hanya semata-mata karena bambu—yang sangat mengancam) pada setiap pelajaran sejarah.

Saya tertarik denga perjuangan bangsa Tibet saat membaca berita heboh tentang Bjork yang menggumamkan "Tibet, Tibet" saat menyanyikan lagu Declare Independence-nya di China baru-baru ini yang tentu saja mengundang amarah pemerintah di negeri Panda.

Intinya…selama ini saya sama sekali tidak tahu-menahu tentang penderitaan masyarakat Tibet! Dan saya marah!Mengapa hal sepenting ini yang menyangkut pelanggaran HAM skala negara seakan-akan dianggap tidak penting mengingat jarangnya hal ini ditayangkan oleh media?

Tidak pentingkah orang-orang yang mati di penjara dan kamp-kamp kerja paksa?
Tidak pentingkah wanita-wanita yang diperkosa, disterilisasi (dimandulkan), dan dipaksa aborsi?
Tidak pentingkah anak-anak Tibet yang diasingkan dari budayanya sendiri dan dipukuli oleh guru dan pihak berwenang dengan tongkat, cambuk, ikat pinggang, kursi, kabel listrik dsb.?
Tidak pentingkah biarawan dan biarawati yang disiksa tanpa belas kasihan dengan gigitan anjing, api puntung rorok, dan tongkat listrik yang ditancapkan pada kemaluannya?

Sebagai manusia saya merasa malu bahwa sampai hari ini ada manusia yang masih tega memperlakukan manusia lain dengan begitu kejam.

Saya malu ternyata dibalik ucapan kosong UUD 45 tentang kemerdekaan adalah hak segala bangsa masih ada rakyat yang tidak merdeka.

Sebagai manusia saya merasa ingin membantu rakyat Tibet memperjuangkan kemerdekaan mereka.

Bukan dengan memboikot barang Made in China karena kita memang membutuhkannya.

Bukan dengan memboikot Olimpiade Beijing karena tidak ada kaitannya dan kita sebagai warga dunia harus turut bertanggungjawab atas kelancaran berlangsungnya Olimpiade—seperti kata Dalai Lama.

Saya akan mendukung dengan memberitahukan hal ini kepada teman dan keluarga saya karena masih banyak yan tidak mengetahui hal ini.

Saya akan membuat petisi di kampus untuk dikirim ke:
International Tibet Independence Movement
PO Box 592 Fishers, Indiana 46038-0592 United States
e-mail: rangzen@aol.com

Orang Tibet membutuhkan dukungan kita!
Mereka akan disiksa apabila melakukan hal ini di Tibet, sedangkan kita dapat dengan mudah melakukannya di negara asal kita.

Dukung Tibet!
Bebaskan mereka!

Independence for Tibet!!!!

Situs-situs yang bisa Anda kunjungi apabila Anda tertarik:
http://rangzen.com
From International Tibet Independence Movement. Features historical background, suggestions for action, and articles and  pictures from previous campaigns.

http://tibet.org
International Tibet Independence Movement

http://freetibet.org
Free Tibet Campaign stands for the Tibetans’ right to determine their own future.

Saat ini kelihatannya persaingan di antara semua operator layanan SIM card untuk handphone sedang berlomba-lomba menawarkan tarif yang paling murah.

Dimulai dari iklan murahan oleh XL Bebas bertajuk bestiality yang diperankan oleh seorang pria gendut jelek yang mengatakan bahwa dia akan mengawini monyet apabila ada operator SIM card yang menawarkan tarif murah tidak hanya ke sesama operator.
…bahkan sampai tajuk polygamy bestiality yang mengawinkan (lagi) si tokoh pria jelek dan gendut dengan seekor kambing.

Namun, selidik punya selidik, ternyata banyak juga aturan-aturan tersembunyi yang sudah ditetapkan terhadap kartu-kartu SIM tersebut.

Kelihatan bahwa mereka memang sengaja bermaksud menjebak orang-orang yang mudah termakan iklan murahan.

Yang ingin lebih saya soroti di sini adalah efek samping dari perlombaan tarif sengit antar operator-operator ini.

1. Apakah mereka dapat memastikan kemampuan mereka untuk memberi pelayanan yang konsisten dengan menetapkan tarif yang murah? Yang diinginkan masyarakat bukanlah tarif paling murah, tapi pelayanan paling memuaskan dengan tarif terjangkau. Saya pribadi sama sekali tidak tertarik dengan tarif murahan yang diumbar-umbar operator tersebut karena saya sudah melihat bagaimana beberapa operator di Indonesia sangat tidak konsisten dalam memberikan layanannya. Better safe than sorry.

2. Bagaimana dengan bahaya radiasi handphone dikaitkan dengan penggunaan lebih lama karena tarif yang murah?
Orang cenderung akan menggunakan handphone lebih lama dan lebih sering (karena tarif murah) yang mungkin efeknya akan menyebabkan kanker pada otak.

Cara menghindari bahaya radiasi:

• Use hands-free to decrease the radiation to the head. (gunakan hands-free; tapi menurut  British Consumers’ Association, penggunaan hands-free malah dapat meningkatkan radiasi hingga tiga kali lipat tergantung penempatan handphone)
• Keep the mobile phone away from the body. (jauhkan handphone dari badan saat digunakan)
• Do not telephone in a car without an external antenna. (jangan menelepon dalam mobil tanpa antena eksternal)

3. Menurunnya kualitas hidup masyarakat yang mengincar jam-jam tarif termurah.
Para kekasih akan begadang larut malam demi menelepon dengan tarif murah. Terutama golongan ABG yang belum dewasa dan golongan dewasa yang gagal mendewasa.

Hasilnya?

Generasi berotak kosong yang sudah dicemari oleh radiasi handphone.

Wake up, people!
Jangan  mau-maunya dijajah oleh taktik bisnis murahan dan tidak ramah lingkungan kayak gini!

Ladyluck must hate me a lot or maybe it’s just simply
because it’s the 13^th today, I’m not sure. I’m actually a very good
and careful driver but why do people keep hitting on my car?

It was such a nice day and I was planning for a
happy-chit-chat day with my old school best friend (a girl; and if you’re
reading this, please don’t feel guilty at all since this has nothing to do with
you, really) after sending a package in the post office.

My car got hit on the back side (which is a valid proof that
I’m the victim here) on the crossroad by an old fart who’s taking his dusty
twat along and they fell. I stopped for a moment and observed their condition.
They seem to be okay and I continue onwards. I continued. Yes, you read that
correctly. I am the victim here and I’m very aware of the fucked up law (if you
can even call it that) that we have to obey here. I’ve been hit so many times and they ran away all the time. ALL THE  FCUKING TIME!

No matter you’re right or wrong if you’re driving a car and
happen to hit or got hit by a motorcycle, you-the car owner-is the one who has
to pay for the damage.

Anyway, someone chased me and told me that they’re reporting
to the police if I don’t go back to the scene. I went back and I raged at them.
I’m very scary when I’m mad and I told them to go to the police station to
solve this problem since they’re asking me to pay for the medication and repair
fee. These turd-brained, I’m shy and disagree to call them this, humans.

The police took our licenses and wrote down some details. He
said that he’s not in favor of anyone, yet he’s telling me to apologize to this
blind old fart.

My sister got there and she told me to just pay them so that
they won’t suspend my car for one month and sending us to the court after my
car got rusty during the suspension. We’re driving these turd brains to the
doctor. We paid their consultation fee. We paid the medicine. We paid the
repairing fee. With our hard-earned money.

I’m feeling terrible.

I know it that I’m right.

I’m a victim.

He hit my car.

We have to pay for everything.

What k

ind

of logic is this?

I’m so angry.

I’m so very angry.

I’m so angry that I can’t feel any emotions at all anymore.

Someone please save me out of this country, if you can even
call it one? Please?

Munajat Cinta [Love's Prayer]
Click here to listen to the video on youtube.com.

Malam ini, ku sendiri,
Tonight, I’m all alone,
tak ada yang, menemani,
No one accompanies,
seperti malam-malam,
Just like the nights,
yang sudah, sudah
That have passed, passed.

Hati ini, selalu sepi,
This heart, is always lonely,
tak ada yang menghiasi,
Adorned by nothing,
seperti cinta ini,
Just like this love,
yang s’lalu, pupus
That always disappear.

[Chorus]
Tuhan kirimkanlah aku,
God (please) send me,
kekasih yang, baik hati,
A kind-hearted lover,
yang mencintai aku,
Who loves me,
apa adanya
For who I am.

[second verse]
Mawar ini, semakin layu,
This rose is withering,
tak ada yang, memiliki,
Owned by no one,
seperti, aku ini,
Just like me,
semakin, pupus
Disappearing further.

[Chorus]
  Tuhan kirimkanlah aku,
God (please) send me,
kekasih yang, baik hati,
A kind-hearted lover,
yang mencintai aku,
Who loves me,
apa adanya
For who I am.

…what a great love song.
The best Indonesian love song I’ve heard so far.

(Saya akan berusaha untuk tidak memuat spoiler dalam review ini.)

{I’ll try to not include any spoiler in this review.}

Sebenarnya saya merasa beruntung telah mendapatkan kesempatan untuk
menikmati Jukstaposisi: Cerita Tuhan Mati, karena menurut saya novel
ini merupakan salah satu tulisan berbahasa Indonesia terbaik yang
pernah saya baca. (Wah, novelis baru muda berbakat telah lahir!)

{Actually I feel lucky to have got the chance to enjoy Jukstaposisi:
Tale of Dead god, because in my opinion this novel is one of the best
Indonesian literatures I’ve ever read. (Wow, another young talented
novelist has been born!)}

Menurut saya Calvin M.S. adalah novelis muda yang berani dalam memilih
topik untuk novelnya dengan secara tidak langsung menyangkal
Tuhan-Tuhan monoteistik yang kita kenal di dunia nyata dan memasukkan
tuhan-tuhan dalam dunia imajinasinya; karya yang sangat menarik untuk
para free thinker!

{I think Calvin M.S. is a brave young novelist in choosing the topic
for his novel by indirectly denying the monotheistic Gods that we know
in our reality and including the gods in his world of imagination into his book; a
very interesting piece for free thinkers out there!}

Saya disuguhi dengan Prolog menarik saat Anda mulai membaca novel ini
dan hanya setelah saya selesai membaca novel ini hingga Epilog, barulah
saya dapat memahami prolog Jukstaposisi (walaupun masih banyak hal-hal
yang ingin saya tanyakan pada CMS).

{I was served with an interesting Prologue the moment I started reading
this novel and only after I’ve finished reading the entire book up till
the Epilogue that I could make a sense out of the Prologue of
Jukstaposisi (although there are still some things that I would like to
ask to CMS).}

Beberapa hal yang kurang saya sukai dari novel ini (ada juga yang karena sentimen pribadi terpendam =p) antara lain:

{some things which I don’t really like from this novel (there is also this thing out of personal sentiment =p) are as follows}:

1. Novel ini bercerita seputar kehidupan anak sekolah (protagonisnya
adalah Ashra Trivurti, gadis berusia 14 tahun yang baru akan memasuki
masa puber), ruang kelas, UKS dll. Duhhh, apa sinetron-sinetron murahan
Indonesia masih belum cukup membuat kita-kita muak dengan topik anak
sekolahan? Untung saja saya tidak menemukan seekor siluman ular pun! =p

{This novel revolves around the life of a school girl (the protagonist
is Ashra Trivurti, a 14-year-old girl who’s just about to enter her
puberty stage), classroom, infirmary etc. Dohhhh, are the cheap
Indonesian soaps not yet enough to make us nauseous with this setting?
It’s fortunate that I couldn’t track any transfigured-snake-monster in
the novel =p (it’s typically Indonesia, if you’re wondering)}
2. Settingnya yang sangat teramat Indonesia sekali dan semua pemeran
utama merupakan orang Indonesia (kalau saya tidak salah=p) padahal
sekolahnya diceritakan sebagai sekolah yang cukup plural sehingga
memiliki kesan terlalu mengagung-agungkan bangsa (sama seperti orang
Jepang membuat komik mereka berpusat orang-orang Jepang saja); Saya
kurang menyukai hal ini.

{The setting which is so very terribly Indonesian and all of the main
characters are Indonesians (if I’m not mistaken) although the school is
told to be quite plural creates the impression as though there’s a
glorification for the people in this nation (just like those Japanese
making comics which revolves only around their people); I don’t think
too highly of this thing.}
3. Ada kesan penceritaan yang terlalu bertele-tele di awal cerita
(berpusat pada kehidupan sekolah Ashra, kehidupan Marya Yeshwa yang
penuh tekanan [BOREDOM ALERT!!!], dan pengenalan (pendek) tokoh penting
lain serta figuran lainnya) dan ngebut di akhir cerita sehingga (saya
pribadi merasa) ada kesan buru-buru (mungkin CMS dikejar deadline/sibuk
dengan pembuatan skripsi pada saat yang sama?? =p) dalam pengakhiran
cerita sehingga mungkin beberapa pembaca akan merasa agak menyesal
sudah menghabiskan waktu membaca awal cerita yang tidak penting-penting.

{A prolix beginning of the story (revolving around the Ashra’s school
life, Marya Yeshwa’s pressured life [BOREDOM ALERT!!!], and
miscellaneous introductions), yet racing the story when it’s about to
reach the end which (I personally think) creates an impression that
it’s finished in a rush (maybe CMS was racing with the deadline/too busy
doing his final term paper for college at the same time?? =p)  so that,
maybe, some readers would regret having spent their time reading the
unnecessary beginning.}
4. Ada tokoh-tokoh yang penting tapi pengenalannya terlalu sedikit di
awal cerita sehingga saya tidak habis pikir bahwa perannya akan bergitu
penting di akhir cerita (siapa yah…???).

{There are some important characters in this story which are not
properly introduced that they amazed me when I was reading the ending
because never had I thought that their role in this story could be that
important (who could they be…???)}
5. Bahasa tuhan di Jukstaposisi agak sangat terlalu mirip sekali (lol)
dengan bahasa elf di LOTR/Eragon sehingga bikin illfeel karena terkesan
semi-mencontek (sorry yah, Vin =p).

{The god language in Jukstaposisi is a bit quite too very similar (lol)
to the elvish language in LOTR/Eragon it gave me an ill feeling toward
it because it created a semi-plagiarism impression (Sorry, Vin =p).}
6. Endingnya kurang memuaskan! Tapi demikianlah yang terjadi di dunia
nyata yang kejam ini apa adanya digambarkan oleh novel ini =]

{Unsatisfactory ending! Yet it describes what really happens in this cruel reality perfectly =]}

Itu hanya merupakan beberapa pendapat pribadi saya dan hanya Andalah
yang bisa menilai sendiri apakah novel ini memang layak untuk menjadi
juara tiga dalam Sayembara Novel DKJ 2006. Saya pribadi menjadi sangat
tertarik untuk membaca novel juara pertama dan kedua setelah membaca
novel Jukstaposisi.

{Well, those are some of my personal opionions  and only you can decide
for yourself whether this novel is good enough to have won the third
place in  Sayembara Novel DKJ 2006. I personally got pretty interested
to read the first and second-place-winning novels upon reading
Jukstaposisi.}

…kalau juara 3 sudah sebagus ini, apalagi juara-juara lainnya?!?! ;]
Saya akan selalu menunggu karya-karya Calvin Michel Sidjaja yang berikutnya!

{…if the third-place-winning novel is this good already, what good
stuff could be waiting in the other champions’ novels?!?! ;]
I shall wait for the future masterpieces of Calvin Michel Sidjaja!}