Manusia Setengah Salmon - fascinating book from Raditya Dika

recently, i just bought a book from my favorite Indonesian writer, Raditya Dika. Just like all his previous books, "Manusia Setengah Salmon" (half salmon man) is also hilariously, incredibly, fascinatingly funny. As usual Radit done a great job.
What I also like about this book is the analogy Radit used to describe life. In the previous book "Marmut Merah Jambu" (pink guinea pig), he describes people in love as guinea pig. And in the new book, he describes about migration of human as salmon. He didn't just mean about moving from one place/town to another, but also about moving on, about transition. Though some parts are already seen before in his blog and twitter account, but this book still a must have for those who speak Indonesian.

Would you change your past?

Seorang finalis kontes kecantikan mendapat pertanyaan final,"Jika kamu bisa kembali ke masa lalu, apa yang ingin kamu ubah?". Si finalis dengan pedenya menjawab,"Saya tidak ingin mengubah apa-apa. Hidup saya sudah sempurna, dan bila saya mengubah sesuatu di masa lalu, saya mungkin tidak akan berada di sini saat ini." And it was the winning answer that makes her entitled as miss universe (I forgot what year).

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, saya nonton film "Before You Said I Do". Film ini sangat berkesan. Bukan karena kegantengan aktornya, bukan juga karena jalan cerita dengan konsep yang baru. Yang paling berkesan adalah usaha si cowok untuk membuktikan ke si cewek kalo "He's the one".

Ceritanya nih si cewek terlalu takut untuk menikah sama si cowok karena pernah gagal dalam pernikahan sebelumnya. Si cowok bikin wish supaya dia bisa ketemu si cewek sebelum pernikahan pertama si cewek. His wish is granted. Si cowok kembali ke 10 tahun yang lalu, 3 hari sebelum si cewek menikah. Segala macam cara dilakukan si cowok buat bikin si cewek jatuh cinta sama si cowok sekaligus membatalkan pernikahan dengan calon suami pertama (yang adalah seorang cowok brengsek-beliau selingkuh sama si wedding planner saat rehearsal dinner). In the end, like most movies, si cewek dan cowok akhirnya menikah.

In the contrary, pernah nonton "Butterfly Effect", gak? Film ini ceritanya tentang seorang cowok(diperankan oleh Ashton Kutcher) yang punya kekuatan untuk kembali ke masa lalu. Niat awalnya kembali ke masa lalu biar bisa jadian sama cewek yang disukai, tapi tidak seperti film yang di atas, setelah bisa jadian si cewek malah hidupnya jadi sengsara. Si cowok balik lagi dan mengubah masa lalu, tapi tetap saja si cewek hidupnya menderita. Dan akhirnya ending film ini amat sangat menyebalkan bagi pecinta happy ending seperti saya.

So, back to you. Would you change your past if you have the chance?

Dalam hidup sering kita melakukan kesalahan. Dalam hidup banyak sekali hal yang kita sesali. Dan ada beberapa saat tertentu kita amat sangat berharap agar bisa kembali ke masa lalu.

But, for every action there's an equal reaction. Dan ada kemungkinan 50% hasil dari tindakan kita tidak seperti yang kita bayangkan (seperti kasus di film "Butterfly Effect").

Dan bila mengubah masa lalu kita juga berakibat perubahan total di masa depan kita. Siapkah kita menanggung resikonya?

Saya senang mengambil quotes dari film-film. Dan salah satu favorit saya adalah quote dari film "Kungfu Panda". "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mistery, but today is a gift. That's why we call it Present."

Bagi saya, seseorang tidak dinilai dari masa lalunya. Seburuk apapun, segelap apapun, setiap hari adalah setiap kesempatan yang kita punya untuk menjadikan diri kita pribadi yang lebih baik di masa depan.

Dulu saya sering bermimpi mempunyai mesin waktu sehingga bisa kembali ke masa lalu dan memperbaiki banyak kesalahan yang sudah saya perbuat.

Hingga beberapa hari yang lalu, saya duduk sambil memandangi orang yang duduk di depan saya. Tiba-tiba hati saya tersentak. Jika saya diberi kesempatan kembali ke masa lalu dan mengubah satu titik saja dalam hidup, apakah saya akan tetap bisa bertemu orang ini? Jika tidak, apakah mata saya akan tetap berbinar seperti ini bila orang yang duduk di depan saya bukanlah beliau. Sejak saat itu, setiap kesalahan yang saya sesali seolah mulai pudar, satu per satu.

In the end, if it ever cross your mind about wanting to change your past, take a deep look at the eyes of your loved ones. Maybe your spouse, your lover, your best friend, your parents, your siblings, or maybe your children. And just imagine, would you be able to live this life without this person if changing your past means possibility of  the absence of their presence?

I already did. And my answer is, I can't. Because I can't imagine live a life without this amazing person. Every path I took in the past led me to meet him. I might not know what will happen in the future, but all I know is in this moment is I'm truly happy to have him. And I know my eyes won't sparkle when I see another person . Because I've tried a few times, and they didn't.

'Poconggg juga pocong' - an overrated book

Selama beberapa minggu, buku ini termasuk best seller di Gramedia di kota saya. Saya pun penasaran, sebagus apa buku yang selalu dibicarakan orang di Twitter.
"Poconggg Juga Pocong" atau disingkat PJP ditulis oleh sang pemilik akun Twitter @poconggg. Saya tidak mem-follow akun tersebut jadi saya tidak tahu gimana gaya penulisan beliau.
Saya meminjam buku ini dari seorang teman. Selain Raditya Dika dan beberapa penulis lain yang sudah saya kenal cara penulisannya, saya jarang membeli buku yang ditulis penulis Indonesia. Bukannya tidak menghargai hasil karya anak bangsa, hanya saja kadang kala saya merasa bahwa beberapa penulis tidak punya topik utama yang diceritakan dalam buku mereka. Tapi, bagi saya tidak sedikit penulis Indonesia punya tulisan yang berkualitas. Selain Raditya Dika yang saya sebut di atas, ada juga Dewi "Dee" Lestari, Ferdiriva Hamzah, Laura Bazuki, dll.
Saat membaca foreword dari penulis buku PJP, saya sudah merasakan beberapa kejanggalan. Misalnya, pada kalimat "they are like an angel". Entah apa, editornya lupa ato bagian kata pengantar tidak pernah di-edit, yang saya tahu, kalimat itu grammar-nya salah. Saya memang paham, typo adalah hal yang biasa terjadi, tapi tidak wajar terjadi untuk tulisan yang akan diterbitkan. Gimana kalo kebetulan ada bule yang membaca kalimat tersebut. kalimat tersebut saya yakin akan masuk ke suatu situs web yang khusus memuat kesalahan berbahasa Ingrris di negara-negara yang tidak menggunakan bahasa tersebut.
Beberapa bagian dari buku ini memang lucu. Tapi, tidak seperti buku-buku lain yang sejenis, buku ini tidak membuat saya betah untuk membacanya. kadang kala saya juga merasa bahwa sang penulis adalah orang yang kasar. dibuktikan dengan balasan e-mail ke salah satu follower. Salah satu kalimat bertuliskan "Persetan dengan kamu". What-the hell? Is that the way how you treat people? Well, I think you have bad attitude.
Beberapa komentar di cover belakang buku ini membuat saya bertanya-tanya dalam hati, apa si penulis komentar benar-benar membaca buku ini? Well, actually that's their problem, dan bukan urusan saya bagaimana penilaian mereka terhadap buku ini.
Bagi saya buku ini hanyalah buku biasa, bukan buku yang fenomenal, tapi bukan juga buku yang kurang bermutu. Dari skala 0-10, buku ini saya beri nilai 6,5.

Happily Ever After

Dedicated to my best friend, Sely.
Friday, November 11, 2011. The day which has been chosen by a lot for wedding day.
That also the day my best friend, Sely, chosen. That day was a total traffic fiasco, so we couldn't attended her matrimony. We arrived a little bit late at the reception.
Well, it was held out of town, so it was long trip. When we finally arrived, all of us are exhausted. Sely invited a lot of people to her wedding, approximately 1500 people was attending her wedding. When we got there, there's no more seat for us, and the ushers at her wedding weren't proactive enough -remembering they're the ushers, I supposed it was their job to found us some seats-, so we spent about half an hour standing.
Exhausted, hungry, pain in my legs for wearing high heels really taken over me. But when I finally see Sely's happy face, it felt like it all are paid off. She looks extremely happy. And I'm also happy for her. She finally got married with the guy she really loves. And I know how much she struggle for this wedding -the invitation issue, and lots of things.
Little prayer for Sely and Alvan, her husband, may you lives happily ever after. Congratulation for finally find your happy new beginning where you get to spend the journey ahead of both of you with the love of your life.

The Cabinet

We cry together, laugh together, fight together, struggle together, share our joy together. At the end of the day, no matter what will happen in the next chapter of my life, these girls will always have their own spot in my mind.

Meeting Bee (part 1)

Bee yang akan saya ceritakan bukanlah lebah penghasil madu. Ini adalah panggilan kesayangan saya untuk seseorang. Inisialnya B, daripada dipanggil be (ntar orang-orang nganggap saya lagi manggil Babe), saya lebih senang memanggilnya Bee. bagi kalian yang sampai di titik ini merasa penasaran, siapa sebenarnya Bee ini, maaf saya nggak bisa bilang nama aslinya di sini, dan fyi, dia bukan pacar, pasangan, atau kekasih saya. Bee hanyalah orang biasa, bukan orang paling jenius, bukan pula orang yang kegantengannya bikin silau.
I met Bee for the first time on January 5, 2009. We met for a brief moment, no "love at the first sight" or whatever it is. The only impression I got from Bee is a Smart Genius Impression. And he really is a genius. Well, the moment just passed like that. Nothing really happened. And I didn't even see him for about 5 months.
On June 2, 2009 I had the chance to meet him again. This time I got to spent a lot of time with him. Before I met him that day, I got a feeling that I'm about to met him. When it actually happened, it felt like deja vu. Time spent with him is so worthy to me. I started  to adore this smart and caring person.
Bee, not just smart and loving, he also is a caring person. That kind of cares that swept me off my feet. Made me fell head over heels. Sounds absurb right, but it is true.
From our frequent meetings, I started to notice him. Every single details of him, some details that I'm really sure a lot of people don't notice, maybe including himself.
Bee's accent sounds funny (in a cute way) when he speaks something with "s" in it. He always scratch behind his ear with his left hand while he's thinking. i also like his handwriting, not those neat-computer-font kind of writing, just regular handwriting, but I can recognize those whenever, wherever I see those.
Involuntarily, my life seemed to revolved around him. I just can't denied it if people told me  that I was obsessed with him. because I was. If any days gone by without me see him, it just felt so dull. The "Bee Phase"- that's how I like to recall those months with him- is also the phase of my life where I learned a lot of things, and I learned it from him.
For one week, during those months, Bee was missing. And he returned with some shocking news. It wasn't like I didn't see it coming, but still I was shocked. Since then I had to kept distance from him. But Bee is still the same person I know. He still tried to began the conversations between us, even though sometimes it sounds ridiculous. He still has the same glance of his eyes. And still the same comforting smile.
Bee is just a human, and so am I. I made a mistake. I thought that Bee is the one, when he wasn't, isn't, and won't be.

There still ots of wonderful things happened with Bee, I don't know when will I have the courage to share it all.

Life is an Adventure

Saya paling suka kalo iklan Nutrilon udah muncul di tivi (inget kan dulu ada iklan anak kecil di kursi belakang mobil trus ada narasi: "I want to live my life to the absolute fullest...", saya suka banget iklan ini sebelum di-dubbing jadi bahasa Indonesia). nah sekarang ada versi barunya yang saya rasa lebih keren lagi.... oooh, I Looove those commercials, both of them. Kata-katanya keren, trus bikin kita ngebayangin apa anak -anak seumuran gitu (toddlers) udah bisa mikir seperti itu.

Ngutip catching phrase-nya kalimat itu "Life is an adventure", saya terinspirasi nulis malam ini.

To be honest I'm not really an adventurer, but sometimes, I love to have adventures. 

For me, adventure is not just about going to the wilderness and try to catch some alligators. It simply going out of your comfort zone. 

Saya senang nyoba menu baru di restoran, ato sekedar lewat di jalan yang belum pernah saya lewati sebelumnya buat tau ada apa aja di jalan itu. Dan saya rasa yang dibutuhkan sebelum memulai suatu petualangan adalah curiosity and courage.

Well, di bawah ini ada gambar iklan favorit saya sama kata-katanya.