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Dear all scholars…

Waktunya berpisah ya? Sebenarnya gw ngerasa lega juga hantu2 momok dan para orang HTT udah hilang ( - courtesy of Mr. Lim). Tapi lebih entah kenapa gemuruh kesedihan belum juga berakhir…?

Kenapa? Setelah introspeksi gw jadi inget banyak hal…

Pertama, angkatan kalian adalah angkatan yang bareng2 gw masuk boarding school. Walaupun gw lebih ke ‘kembali ke boarding’, tapi boarding rasanya udah beda banget dengan orang2 yang beda2 dari dulu. Tapi kalian sudah membuat suasana jadi lebih enak dengan diverse personality of the people in your batch. Ada yang narsis (dengan berbagai intensity level of vanity, eg. Daniel, Andana, Stanford, dll. haha!), ada yang mualeees (Timothy, nobody beat you for this category! haha!), ada yang jago ngegosip (Thanks for all the enlightenment, BB boys! - Putu, Willy, Steven, and of course Valentino), ada yang diem banget tapi ternyata kalo dah kenal cerewet juga dan iseng banget (Daud! hati-hatilah kalian kepada Daud!), ada yang kembar (hahaha!), ada yang keliatannya ganas tapi ternyata fun-loving, yang item (Audi, Aji, Buana, etc - hahaha! Rasis ya gw? J/K), ada yang rajin banget remedial dan banyak lagi! Boarding school will never be the same with you all, guys!

Kedua, kalian dah ngelewatin O level yang bikin eneg. Begitu banyak kesulitan yang dihadapi, guru2 ga jelas ngajarnya, godaan2 dari Warcraft, etc. Jadi bangga juga juga kalian semua akhirnya lulus.

Ketiga, karena angkatan kalian juga, gw ngerasa nyaman tinggal di boarding dengan banyak orang2 baru dan guru2 yang gw ga kenal. Terima kasih atas semua dukungan, bantuan, jokes2, gosip2, pengertian dan semuanya yang membuat 2 tahun gw di boarding ini bener2 spesial. Walaupun banyak yang bikin masalah dengan cross-hall tiap minggu (Wilson, loe masih ngutang S$150!!! itu lumayan tau buat beliin gw 14 loyang pizza!!! bwahahahah!!!), masalah kamar yang ga pernah beres2 (533 - terutama bed ‘E’ - tsk tsk), orang2 manjat masuk lewat jendela dan ngumpet di bawah meja (hmmm… siapa ya?), diajar remedial tetep ga masuk2 dan ngerti2 (gw yang ga qualified ya… sheesh… haha) dsb dsb., tapi tetep aja saya ngerasa sedih pas nganter kalian naik taxi buat ke airport dan mengucapkan selamat tinggal.

Gw tau gw bakal ketemu kalian lagi, tapi tetep aja rasa kehilangan itu ga ilang gitu aja. (Mana gw nulis ini sambil denger Harvey Malaihollo lagi… sial… jadi tambah sentimental gini haha!) Semua remedial, dinner bareng ke WahKee ato clementi (Kapan2 lagi, Ji!), diskusi abis prep soal JC, guru, etc,

Well, every beginning has an end, dan setiap pertemuan punya perpisahan. Terima kasih atas semua kenangan yang kalian sudah tinggalkan. Terima kasih karena kalian sudah membuat hidup gw lebih berarti. Gw bangga bisa jadi senior, assistant hall tutor dan bagian dari angkatan kalian, dan gw juga bangga bisa menyebut kalian junior2 Indo. Terima kasih… Ga ada yang bisa saya ucapkan kecuali selamat jalan, dan ke manapun kalian pergi, bawa kenangan di boarding ini dan lihat semuanya dari sisi lain - bahwa setiap konflik, kesedihan dan kegembiraan yang kalian dapet di sini hanya sebagian kecil yang bisa membuat kalian lebih dewasa lagi. Treasure all the friendships for only when you lose sight of that friends you’ll realise that they mean so much to you.

Akhirnya untuk kalian semua : Daud, Agus, Andana, John, Audi, Irsan, Vincent Jayali, Paul, Wilson, Elvan (edited-haha), Alvin, Irvan, Nugraha, Chris, Bagus, Buana, Putra, Daniel, Stanford, Valentino, Willy, Putra, Steven, Aji, Julian, dan juga anak2 IB Timothy, Agong, Indra, semoga sukses di mana pun kalian belajar tahun depan dan sampai kali lain yang cuma Tuhan yang tau. =)

Proud of you guys! Take care! Til next time…

Your Senior and fellow Indonesian,

Reginald.

Living in Boarding Schools and hostels in Singapore molded my perception on people around me, especially the Singaporeans and Mainland Chinese - and no offense, some of the perceptions are not really pleasant ones. It’s a human nature to create such perception for we tend to want to feel superior - something that I hope to avoid but succumb to once a while…

Anyway, I just finished watching TV show ‘Stories of Love : Anthology Series’ and Zhang Yimou’s ‘Riding Alone for Thousand of Miles’, and I’m touched, really touched with the shows.

The latter was combination of 4 stories of different people which interlink with each other - a Phillipino maid who was about to meet her son for the first time in more than 17 years after she gave him up for adoption, an ex-prisoner who surrendered to the authority on behalf of his best friend who committed murder, a cruel husband who regretted his deeds to his victimised wife after she succumbed to loss of memory and deterioration of health, and a boy raised in a broken home family who was about to be separated from his beloved older sister.

The stories evolve along accepting one self’s facts - accepting the person as himself or herself . The maid’s son was trying to run away from the fact that he was a maid’s-son doctor-wannabe, while the best friend of the ex-convict was trying to conceal his friend’s identity to protect his status. The stories are also about regret and memory. All the characters were regretting what could have happened if they had not done what they had done.

But love still prevails and that’s the message of the stories - that in whatever circumstances, no matter how hard they are, love will open people’s eyes and whether the story ends with death or happy occassions love will still leave positive impact in the heart of those involved.

The funny thing about this show is that it changed my mind about Singapore’s English show. Never in my 6 years plus in Singapore I’m touched with homemade show! The setting was simple and the movies revolved around day-to-day issues without trying to overachieve anything. This was the first one that do so other than some Chinese language shows. Kuddos to Channel 5 for showing it!

Meanwhile, Zhang’s RATM tells a story of a Japanese father who tried to work on enstranged relationship with his dying son. His son was a journalist and tried to cover a performance titled ‘Riding Alone for Thousand of Miles’ in China but not allowed by his health. Therefore his father tried to cover his dream to cover the performance for a present to his dying son. However, the journey turned out to be a really difficult one - a lot of troubles popped out in the way. He had to race against the time as his son’s time on earth could end anytime soon. He travelled with companions but the further he went into his journey, the more he felt like he’s travelling alone - alone pondering what he felt about his son and what his son might think about him.

This is one lovely show - great plot and lovely sights! I never thought that Lijiang and Kunming could be so beautiful!

Anyway, the point is I’m just so touched with these shows. I have been watching heavy shows and these shows just uplift my spirits as the messages are just so positive and moving. You may think a person needs a lot to be happy and you may never be able to fulfil those needs, but when you ask you realise that it’s a simple thing that you could have given ages ago. So don’t be afraid to ask that special one, guys!

Anyway, it’s not yet the end of the post, I have yet to reach my main point. These movies change my perception on the Singaporeans and Mainland Chinese. It may seem superficial to say that there are still good people out there. I know this is a simple lesson that I should keep in mind. However being deluded in harsh and super-competitive environment in Singapore and around extremely kiasu and tactless people, watching these shows was just a waking-up pinch, reminding me that goodness still exists.

I know these are manmade shows, but even so, I am very glad that I am reminded that we are social human beings who need each other and this natural basic need is just above all the ambitions and hunger of fame that seem to cloud our views on other people.

I guess I learn to see more positive sides of life and to appreciate and treasure time I have with everyone around me. These people around me are just too precious to let go or to reject cos of their status. Treasure each friendship and relationship, no matter bitter or sweet, for there are just so MUCH to learn! I am glad to have everyone around me, so if one day I smile at you and thank you without giving any specific reason, you know why I do so. =)

I was watching TV at 2 in the morning and was browsing through channels when I stumbled upon a Korean show showing in Channel 8, titled ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ and it’s rated PG Mature Theme.

I was wondering why it’s shown in late hours for the first 30 minutes of the show as there is nothing controversial shown in the movie. It’s just a guy who fell in love in the first sight with a girl when they shared an umbrella in one fated rainy day. He even ‘cast’ a spell on her (you know that kind of romantic comedy stupid joke that becomes reality in the show…) such that whenever she thinks of her, her small finger would stick out. They became lover but the girl died and the guy moved on with his life, got married and worked as a teacher.

Oh for your info the girl is played by Lee Eun-ju, a VERY VERY VERY beautiful Korean actress! I think she’s much pretier than Jun Ji-Hyun (My Sassy Girl) !!! Unfortunately she killed herself after a year of depression in Feb ‘05. No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, what happened next made me realise why it’s shown at such early hour - so kids don’t watch it.

Basically what happened was that the teacher met a 17 year old boy who had characters of the deceased girl. He asked questions, posted comments, had hobbies and talents that the girl had. And there was the point where his small finger stuck out while being confronted by the teacher. The teacher became very obsessed with the student that he even got angry when the student was talking on the phone for hours with his girlfriend. And the scandal just started… The teacher just couldn’t help it but fell for the guy, despite knowing that he’s not gay - ie not liking other guys except this one. ugh, confusing huh?

Well, for the remaining of the story, go ahead and watch the DVD or something. But one thing for sure, the girl love bungee jumping, and throughout the story there was no bungee jumping at all. So could you figure out what would happen at the end of the story?

This movie left the ending hanging just like ‘Il Mare’, one of my most favourite movie ever, about a girl living in 1999 who fell in love with a guy who stayed at the house she’s staying in but in 1997. They fell in love after corresponding through a special mailbox that allowed them to send letter to each other through the time barrier. Lovely show! Must go and watch it! Well, the good thing about the endings is that it’s up to the viewers to conclude the ending - whether or not they want to shed tears, rejoice in happiness or whatever response you may have.

Anyway, my point of this entry is not whether this movie is nice or not. Tho I must say it has one of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen in a while. It’s subtle, subdued, soft, simply beautiful and makes you go ‘aaahh….’ And the actors and actresses are so believeable. They portrayed the characters very strongly and gave a very fine performance - something that Korean movies are very strong at.

My main point is at the core of the story, soulmate.  This movie is made in such way that people of different sexual orientations will have their own different interpretation. The straights will think that it is a true love between the guy and girl, the gays will think that it is a story bout homosexuals wanting to overcome the odds, but for me it is about the concept of soulmate.

The main character believed that no matter how many times he and the girl reincarnate, they will find each other. He will know that it’s her inside the person’s body. Which means that it doesn’t matter whether they are gonna be girl-guy or guy-guy or girl-girl relationship, it’ll be the two of them - the two souls together.

This movie handles controversial issue very well. Instead of condemning homosexuality or agreeing with it, it came with an opinion - how if it’s a matter of souls not sex? Do you love a person because of the person itself (see i use ‘itself’ here, not ‘himself’ or ‘herself’) or because of the sex (ie he’s a man, she’s a woman) ?

As a Christian, I don’t accept such theory, but it left me appreciating more about people - the diversity and complexity. Do you believe in it? Well, it’s your right to believe whatever you believe. Who are we to judge?

Yet, this show is about different perspective of love and soulmate. It’s ingineous and original, and will make you think ‘So if Romeo and Juliet think they have problem, what do you make out of this love story?’

Soulmate - what do you think?

Talking about betrayal to schools, it reminds me to talk about national pride.

Many people ask me why I wouldn’t convert my citizenship and stay loyal to my own country. Well, the answer is simply because of national pride.

Then people ask further, what the basic of the national pride is. My own country has been in disarray in long time, a lot of corruption, unrests, natural disasters and discrimination towards races and religions.

Well, friends, really I can’t find any reasonable basis on that. But one thing for sure to me, ‘Di sana tempat lahir beta, dibuai dibesarkan bunda, tempat berlindung di hari tua, sampai akhir menutup mata’ - it is where I was born, where I was raised by my mother, and in the old days, my solace and my final resting land…

I don’t need any reason on why I should stick to my own country. I guess it’s inherent and personal. If you force me to give me one reason, quoting my friend Alvin, the answer will be whatever advantages I have eg. Scholarships, respects from other nationals while I’m overseas are because of I’m the national of my own country. Will I ever be able to repay that? Well, how do you repay chances and opportunities and respect? Will you be able to value these priceless things? Will a million bucks be enough?

You want more reason? I think my country has a lot of potential and I’m not losing hope. I went to Bali few years back and wasn’t expecting much. But there I realised how wrong I had been. I stood in awe of the beauty of my country. The richness, the diversity, the islands, the uniquness. These are priceless and being part of it is simply giving me sense of pride and belonging.

All respect due to all other countries, they have their own advantages and I don’t deny that. And all respect to those who converted citizenship, for I understand their feeling and reasons. But national pride is not of economic-based theory and may not be rational to others. I have been, am and will ever be part of my own country.

Indeed it is not what your country gives you, but what you can give to your country - I now truly understand that.

Being an ACSian and Rafflesian at the same time is one of the most interesting, fascinating, and excrutiating at the same time.

No matter how far it is in the past, people will still question my decision of ’swerving’ to different path.

I always find it funny and amusing. Never once I consider myself betraying any of my almamater. I am, once again I stress - I AM, VERY VERY proud to be part of both environments that have created the best of characters in Singapore. I love both and never will I forsake one for another.

Both have given me unique experience and nothing can replace those memories for they have made me what I am today, and I am happy with what I am today.

At the end of the day, those people who seriously consider such act as betrayal, must think twice - what is the meaning of ‘betrayal’? I promise myself to always give back to both school with all my heart and my best in any form I can. Is being faithful person to an affiliation but at the same time an idle person during the school life and after graduation towards his/her schools counted more than the opposite?

Betrayal, huh?

I met an old male beggar on the street on the way back home. And I was still contemplating whether or not to give him, when I saw another guy, with no legs, working hard under the sun, trying to sell tissue papers.

I hate myself when I have to question myself, ‘Should I give that old lady/child/man some money?’ , cos in a way, by asking that question I’m putting myself in shoes of a judge - society’s norm judge.

And I just hate it to the core…

In one side, God always says, give clothing to the naked ones, food to the hungry and shelter to the homeless, and there I am, standing there, judging a person whether or not he/she deserves the small amount of money I am going to give.

But on the other side, I hate it when able, strong person go around, begging for money. For the example above, I’d gladly buy the tissue, rather than give the money to the first beggar who seems still able to work - or at least try to find a work.

Other example is that my brother is being too nice to his friends by giving them lotsa privileges, and I told him that kindness doesn’t always beget kindness, so be careful in giving people more attention or being too nice to somebody cos they may not give you back in return - or even leave you when you are in need and it’ll only make you angry.

So does Karma or ‘God-will-give-you-back-what-you-have-given’ really work?

I was still thinking of it even as I wrote the first few words of this entry and I realised one thing - I didn’t buy the tissue either! I didn’t even do what I think is the best of the two - to buy rather than give for free!

and then I laughed and laughed at myself. You don’t be nice and hope for something in return at the same time. You give or buy for charity cos your heart tells you to do so, and it IS good! 

Does it matter if the money you’ve given will only make the person lazier? Well, I reached conclusion that it’s the person’s onus to make a good use out of the money. I am in NO position to judge if one is really in need or faking it. Who am I to judge that selling tissue is better than begging? who am I to judge that one is still too strong to beg on the street? I’d rather lose some money than regret and keep pondering that I have done something terrible by not giving. As long as I give it with sincere heart - and I hope I will have such heart in giving.

So, give to the poors, friends! Give and don’t calculate every single cent. Don’t judge cos you’re not one and you will never be able to do so, cos you don’t own these people. Be nice, and be sincere about it. People might say you’re gullible to give to a type of beggar, but I say trust your heart, not your ears. You may not get back what you give, and you may be betrayed by your friends who’ve been receiving your kindness, but it’s none of your business, cos the person’s conscience gonna hit the person really hard; or if they don’t have one, they’re gonna be judged by other Man who own them, whoever you might believe the Man could be. Cos even in this unfair world, kindness will still beat evil in the end - it’s just a matter of from which angle you see it.

Me? I think I’ll just need to get ready lotsa small changes and coins! =)

Just watched an episode of Oprah Winfrey show and there were a lady who’s overweight (tho not badly overweight) and the husband who has been cheating on her twice openly and who said that she’s fat and not as attractive as when he first married her.

It was ghastly really! He said that he married her cos of her look as one of the reasons, and he cheated on her cos he felt that his fantasy of two of them running on the beach with each other with good bodies not fulfilled, and he felt that he’s just too good looking and she’s not enough for him. Yucks! As in, seriously, I know we guys are looking for beauty as well, but dude, we are talking about marriage here!

He said that he never imagined that overweight issue was in his mind when he married her, and it’s not something that was ‘in the contract’. Oh well… and the wife was really depressed and even said that the reason she didn’t leave him was cos she felt that he’s the best man she could get - of course, much to Oprah and other audience’s shocks! I think that’s love… Love is indeed really blind… Just hope she gets happiness in the end. I really admire her courage and fight not to get divorced. Wish her luck…

To other people out there, you may think that you are ugly and fat, and there will always be this thought that ‘I am not good enough’. Believe in yourself and get a comfort zone within you. I never disagree with ‘inner beauty is the most important thing’ and ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholders’ for they are true. You are good enough! Just don’t compromise other things, like health and tendency for condifent to turn into sloth, ya?

I wanna end this entry with a story I heard from my friend. There is one lady who’s beautiful and cheated on his boyfriend, and one day she got into accident that left her face totally disfigured. She lost her new boyfriend and lotsa things, especially confidence. But then the old boyfriend came to her and treated ehr like nothing happened, and she asked him, ‘Why do you still love me? I’m ugly and weak now’

the gentleman answered, ‘cos you’re you.’

Can you ever say the same thing to the person you love…? 

Yo! starting my film review - I just copied this from my X-Crazy forum - it’s mine tho. haha.
I’m writting this more on acting review and the moral behind the story, so use your own judgement whether or not to continue reading, cos I’m gonna use lotsa parts of the movie to be reviewed. Dun worry I won’t reveal the main plot. And this is quite memorable review, since this show is my first R21 movie (as in legally, hahah, I’ve watched some R21 show illegally haha.)
This is one of the most powerful movies, the most emotionally taxing movies for me in years after Empire of the Sun, Shawshank Redemption, The Talented Mr Ripley, Gosford Park, and Far from Heaven. There are lotsa powerful and unforgettable scenes, and definitely, the most powerful ones this year. The puking and shirt-hugging scenes are so touching and moving that lotsa people cry watching it.

The last scene was definitely the best ending scene I’ve seen after ‘Monsters, Inc.’ last scene, but instead of happiness like in that cartoon, we get sorrow and sadness. The last scene was so moving, that lotsa people in the audience last night broke to tears (not counting those who’ve been sobbing all along - and I’m not exaggerating here! Orang2 di belakang gw itu yang kayak sobbing dan meler2 gitu. haha.) and even Tay Yeak Keak (Dis, loe inget ga? Komentator Life! section yang jayus banget??) nangis nonton film ini. So get your Kleenex, Tessa, or whatever tissue brand you use, cos girls (or even some guys) , you gonna need it.
The acting was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant… Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams are fantastic in the movie. They deserve the nominations for Oscar, if not the Oscars themselves. That’s why I agree with the possibility of all three receiving Oscars for their roles (which unfortunately din come true…)

I have two suggestions before you watch it, firstly prepare yourself to see love story, a sad love story, not a gay story. Secondly, try to watch it alone in DVD or something, cos it is unavoidable that some people in the audience will laugh nervously and unneccesarily and unappropriately when it’s supposed to be a superbly deep, emotionally draining, dramatic scenes in the movie, for example when Williams’ character finds out that her husband is having forbidden affair. She’s shocked, angry, yet she can’t do anything. And Williams did justice to her character, yet people laughed during this scene. man…

Anne Hathaway brought a surprisingly fresh, powerful breakthrough acting! She evolved form the liked-by-everyone notion in Princess Diaries to a headstrong woman, all the way from when the character was in late teen age to late 30s. All characters grew old but her character is the most convincing one. She made the character age gracefully and with enough maturity to convince the audience. She control her emotion very well, eg. there is one scene where she receives a phonce call from Ledger’s character asking about her husband. She knows there is something fishy going on between these two men, and she is emotional, going to break to tears soon, but she holds her dignity up high. She’s definitely on her way to be much better actress! And of course what I love about her is that she is very pretty and lights up the mundane screen, especially with her flashing her boobs! hehe! More reason for guys to watch it huh? hahah

Williams… Nothing else to say, she is GOOD! She doesn’t cry, but her gaze, her gestures and her speech really make us to be sympathetic towards her. She so doesn’t deserve the lack of love she’s experiencing.

Ledger has the most memorable scenes throughout the movie. The puking, the shirt hugging, the last scene. But one that is very vivid in my memory is one when his wife confronted him with his affair truth. His body shook violently in anger, guilt, and shame but he restrained himself from doing something stupid. (Really reminds me of Diane Lane’s acting after she had first affair in Unfaithful - which leads her to clinch the very deserving Oscar nomination) When Ledger’s strong character cries, your heart goes with him. He never cries, he is a stronghead person who endures difficulties in life. But when it comes to love, he cannot do anything.

But out of all characters, I must say Jake Gyllenhaal steals the show! If only one can be awarded from this movie for acting, I’d support Gyllenhaal totally. His longing and sad gaze is just heartbreaking! The last time I feel the power of such gaze was from Jodie Foster in Anna and the King and from Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven. He shows his vulnerability in front of Ledger and they just complement each other. His ‘I wish I knew how to quit you’ scene really shocks you and makes you asking is there love that is so powerful? His best scene is when he found out that his ’soulmate’ is divorcing his wife. With exuberance and high hope, he drives quickly across the cities to met his soulmate, yelling ‘here I am’ hoping his ’soulmate’ would go with him to live happily ever after, only to find straight rejection. I have seen lotsa Japanese and Korean shows showing guys and girls being rejected, but really this one is heartwrenching, simply cos it is forbidden love and he cannot find another ’soulmate’. Unfortunately, stupid audience laughed again at this scene, I really dun understand Singaporeans…
The sex scene is gross (duh!), but not erotic. I have watched lotsa more erotic show like Original Sin, 9 and 1/2 weeks, Eyes Wide Shut, and in fact BM do not have such erotic show really.

Kudos to Ang Lee. This is his masterpiece indeed. He never makes a scene without purpose, and they are artistically beautiful as well. The script is well written. I have read the book and the movie plot really stays true to the book. The additions are not screwed up and enhance the story, though personally I really find the book more moving than the show. Annie Proulx is just darn good with choice of words…

The movie really rises up lots of questions, that scene of ‘I wish I knew how to quit you’ really makes me asking myself, ‘Did I think of that when I have a girlfriend?’. Hell, I am a straight guy, but, man… I never know such love exists in the first place. as in I never have such inclination to say such thing they say to each other to my girlfriend last time. or could I only meet my loved ones once a year?? It’s just too powerful to be true. haha. But that’s the power of this movie!
So people, go ahead and watch this movie with your boyfriend/girlfriend, and at the end of the movie, ask yourself, ‘have I made the right decision?’ or ‘could I quit her as time passes by?’ Or for the singles ask yourselves, ‘could i get such true love?’ or ‘could i live with somebody i love, tho he/she is not my true love?’
This movie is not a gay movie, it’s simply a love story, its power and tragedy. It is a celebration of love, a true love. Love that as my friend said last night, ‘ against all odds, but endures time, tragic, but beautiful’.

Simply to put it in short form, love is complicated and you gotta be brave, ready to sacrifice, and you gotta stand it…

I was helping my junior doing essay on evolution. and while reading it and trying to churn and sort eevrything out, I realised how complex the world is.

They just found out few months ago a fossil of a specie that is believed to be the lost links of otherwise tight chain of evolution.

then it struck me, how if evolution is all about chances? how if evolution is simply due to great diversity - so great that scientists can just come up with all the suggestions that humans are related to monkey? (not that I despise the theory - really, sometimes some humans are just acting worse than animals - corruption, etc)

and talking bout that, how about Big Bang theory? I was discussing it with my senior and we stumble how people believe that it’s all about chance and nothing to do with God. Ditto with cells - could it be formed just by chance?

then I argue, how do you define chance? How if chance is not really chance? even when chance means 1/no of possibilities, there are other possibilities. How about other possibilities? have the scientists ever thought of the other ways that might have taken place? If there is no God, how do you define chance?

I dunno… I don’t always think that deep in my life. I’m always in awe with those philosophers and thinkers, but I wasn’t moved from the set of belief that I have. Maybe that is faith. Or could it be apathy?

I told my senior, that life is matter of choices. You decide what you want to believe and what not to. Try to stick to what you believe in, fight for it. But respect others’ choices.

Man…… it’s just much easier to say than to do it, huh? or else, there’ll be no Jihad or other over zealous people. But then again, who’s right, who’s wrong?

Maybe I shouldn’t have helped checking my junior’s essay… haha! j/k

My junior was commenting on fairness of phone and sms votings in Idol shows.

He’s right. This stuff is definitely not fair, and sometimes at the expense of the quality. Seriously, who ever thought that the unsteady and incosistent Katharine McPhee would ever go to the final? Or Delon and other idol hopefuls got very far cos of sympathy votes?

Well, for me it’s simply cos of two different reasons.

Firstly, idol is about somebody with whom people can relate; someone whom you can see yourself on. People pity some of the idol hopefuls cos they are from poor family, have hard lives, the underdog, etc. I think this reason is far stronger for a commoner to vote, rather than reasons like, cos someone is pretty or cos someone has good voice. You would feel great if the idol hopeful that looks like you move further in the competition as it feels as if you are moving forwards as well. That’s simply how reality TV works…

Second reason is life in this world is never fair, indeed. Seacrest or Gurmit says, ‘America/Singapore voted…’ or Daniel or Atta says, ‘Indonesia memilih…’, but indeed it’s never the whole Indonesia. But hey, who says life is fair? Life is tough and sometimes hardwork doesn’t pay and talents don’t work out well.

So to Adit and others, world will just keep on rotating with or without us, so let’s just make the best out of it. Vote for whoever you thought is good and if the results show different thing, just laugh at it, and move on with life. It takes bigger heart to accept stuff then complain about it - something that I , myself, will always find hard to do… =) But i’m learning alright… haha!