A Piece of My Mind

1.       Smartness cannot get you far at work without associaton, connection, and a whole lot of pulling strings.

2.       A series of bad decisions can be fixed by one great good decision.

3.       But of course, there are some mistakes that you just can’t fix.

4.       If I can survive flying on a Cessna, then I can survive flying on anything.

5.       I’m very bad at controlling my patience when I see something’s not done right.

6.       I have proven personally the power of sedekah, over and over again, so it might be a good idea for you guys to start to.

7.       It’s funny how your needs grow exponentially while your salary doesn’t grow as fast.

8.       Freedom is sometimes overrated.  Before, when it actually cost me a fine of 500 million if I leave this company, I just can’t wait.  Now, that the contract-bound is over, I’m beginning to love my work more.

9.       There’s a line between “being there no matter what” with “being a push-over.”

10.   You can actually differentiate friends who are there for you and also help you grow as a person in a return with friends who are just good at drowning your emotions and yourself.  Choose wisely.

11.   First impression is not always true.  You can be best friends with people that you don’t like at all at first.

12.   You get what you give.  And you also get what you ask for.  So be careful what you wish for.

13.   My perfectly shaped nose (yes, I’ve also learned that I’m still narcissistic) is actually crooked on the inside.  And the doctor said I need surgery to fix it.  Scares the shit out of me especially since I’ve seen one too many Nip and Tuck episode.

14.   Financial success doesn’t guarantee happiness.  But it helps in buying your way into it.

15.   Choices and being able to make them is one of God’s greatest gift to a person.

16.   John Lennon was a genius when he said: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.”

17.   Now that I don’t live in Jakarta and only go there frequently, I actually love it.

18.   Moods, energy, creativity, and emotions can be controlled.  Thanks to Gavin Degraw, Robin Thicke, Seal, Sarah McLachlan, Annie Lennox, and Alanis Morissette.

19.   One of my resolutions this year is learning how to drive.  I might have to scratch that as I find it more enjoyable to be chauffeured arround.

20.   Flying solo is sometimes more fun then flying with someone.

21.   Here’s a financial advice: do not apply for a credit card if you can’t handle the responsibility.

22.   I do judge a book by its cover.

23.   When you think that your life sucks, think of one good thing in your life and let it be the ignition of your spirit to fix the other things that contribute to that suckness.

24.   Surprise, there’s no such thing as a free lunch is not always true. 

25.   If you have something to say to someone, just open yourself and say it, before it’s too late and what you say doesn’t make a difference anymore.

26.   Being forgiving doesn’t always mean you’re weak.  I learn this the hard way.

27.   You’re only as good as the last thing that you add on your resume.

28.   There can never be a sitcom who can come close to Friends.

29.   Sometimes you do have to change for the people that you love.  Just don’t lose yourself in the process.

30.   From time to time, you might receive unimportant calls or messages or e-mails.  These messages might be unimportant, but the person who sent them to you can be important.

31.   Never buy things forward, unless it’s airplane tickets for holiday plan.  They’re much cheaper that way.

32.   It’s always nice to have something to look forward to.  So plan something fun way ahead.  Like a holiday.

33.   Not being able to live up to people’s expectations is really not the end of the world.

34.   Lunch is overrated.  Sushi Tei, however, is not.

35.   I started this routine with one of my best friend in which we message each other at the end of every day telling each other “what made us smile that day.”  It sounds simple, but it opens your eyes more when you have a really, really bad day and find out that you still have at least one thing to be thankful for.

36.   There’s a thin red line between love and hate.  Really.  Not just a movie title.

37.   Somehow it’s easier for me to get mad at somebody in English than any other language.  The cuss words are just a lot meaner.

38.   It only takes a small thing to change your priorities in life.

39.   Also, it can only take a small thing to ruin your whole life.

40.   Health care is expensive.  Makes you so thankful that you can still afford it.

41.   Buying a car means paying for gas, paying for service, paying the installments, paying the insurance, paying all the accessories, paying for a whole lot of different things.

42.   Public display of affection can be cute … to a certain extent.

43.   Be careful, be very careful, of whom you give your mobile numbers to.

44.   One of my new favorite things to do: sitting alone in the airport lounge sipping drinks with a good book whilst waiting for take off.

45.   Sometimes it’s actually better not to think too much.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

I was on this longer-than-life, 19 hours drive to and back to one of my customer’s factory in this absolutely ridiculous road condition that I was literally shaking in my bones half the way.  And then we took a stop in front of a mosque, I waited alone in the car while my colleague and my driver went in for the Friday prayer.  So, I turned on the stereo, and there was Alanis Morissette singing Flinch.  You know what image flashed through my mind?  You.  You know, when we sometimes met after you just had finished your Friday prayer, and your face was a little bit blushed from the sun, and you hair was still wet a little from the wudhu.  And you smiled.  And you laughed.  And your eyes lit up as you told me stories.  And there was another image of you falling asleep, tired from walking a mile or so for your exercise.  Your face also blushed from the sun, this fresh reddish blush on your white skin.  And there was a drip of sweat on your forehead.  You snored.  How ridiculous is it that I even miss your snore?

 

 

It was a long, painful drive yesterday, but it was merely as painful as thinking that I might not be able to see you like that ever again.  You have ruined me for any other men in the world as none of them will ever measure up to who you are.  But I guess I shouldn’t have told you that and made your head grows even bigger and bigger as the arrogant, selfish, insensitive man that you are.

 

 

I read one of your old messages, the one that said you missed me.  I looked at the date and it was almost two years ago.  But weeks and months had passed.  We are barely speaking to each other.  Geography is no longer our friend.  Everything just seems to have lost in translation.  You know what’s killing me though?  I kept going it over and over in mye head, words that should be left unsaid, or even worse … words that I should have said.

 

 

If you’re reading this, just tell me this: what happened to us?  Tell me please, so I can stop being a masochistic for torturing myself with my feelings and fixations towards you.

Do you still remember the first book that you read when you were a kid? I kinda forgot the things that I read when I was a toddler, but I do remember the first book that I read, it was Tintin’s The Crab with the Golden Claws (of course I read the Indonesian version back then).  And the book captured me like no other book before.  The adventure, the funny comebacks between Tintin and his best friend’s Captain Haddock, the experience of foreign countries, they all just glued me to the book that I forgot to eat or to take a nap. 

Why do I suddenly remember this?  A couple of weeks ago, I was killing time at Periplus Terminal 2 as I was waiting for my plane to take off, and I saw a whole rack of Tintin comics.  And I smiled, as I remembered my elementary school years, the excitement every time my family drove to the book store and got me a new edition of Tintin each month.  Each time, Tintin inspired me to pursue a different career, sometimes a journalist, sometimes an astronaut, sometimes an archaeologist, sometimes a detective.  It was also Tintin who then inspired me to become a diplomat as he took me anywhere from Egypt, Eastern Europe, Peru, The United States, Mexico, Tibet, to the Antarctic.  Although I ended up studying economics instead of international relations, Tintin still inspire me to travel, to see the world. 

I’m kinda thankful that I wasn’t born in the era of Japanese comics like today’s kids, because somehow I think European and American comics are more exciting and more appropriate.  Not that I have anything against Japanese comics, I’ve read some also – especially since my brother then became addicted to the Kung Fu Boy series when he was in junior high.  But nothing as engaging, as inspiring, as exciting as an episode of Tintin or Ric Hochet.

I still have many of my original Tintin collection (can you believe that it cost only 3000 rupiahs back when I was a kid?), and now I start buying the English edition one piece at a time – although it’s funnier to hear Captain Haddock saying “Sejuta topan badai!” than “A zillion thundering typhons!” hehehehe.

Summer is coming, I would encourage you to fill your summer reading list with the books that you read as a kid.  Wanna know my list?