The Long Way Back Home

Hi readers, it's me again! I am trying to force myself to stay awake as my plane approaches Western India, because I wanted to curb jetlag while I can. Up to this point, I have undertaken over 32 hours of travelling (starting from my 1pm Saturday Peterpan bus from Amherst). It has been quite a ride, and thus allow me to recount: My long way back home.

I have been having such amazing last few days in Amherst, thus it only struck me how unreal it felt that I am finally coming back home after a whole year of being overseas. I don't know where I ought to begin, but let me start from the amazing brunch I had in High Horse with a particular friend. It was our last meal together until we hopefully meet again in the summer, so we treated ourselves to wonderful coffee, mimosa, pancakes, vegetable omelets, and Eggs Benedict. She was the one who suggested the place, and it was the perfect closure, perhaps, because according to her, our series of dates started from a dinner date there.

"Whatever", I told her, "It means I get to pay for this meal. What I started, I must end." She eventually relented to my request. We were sitting side by side on the bar, exchanging smiles, stories, and our precious pancakes. (I had chocolate, and she had blueberry. As always, she made the better choice. LOL) It was soon time to go, and I asked the cool waitress to take a picture of us two. (Nope, due to minority interests, I can't publish the picture here.) It was a wonderful brunch.

About thirty minutes later, we were New York bound. The first stretch of travels to JFK would take around 6 hours, and I thought to myself that this leg would be the easiest leg of the journey. How it could've been otherwise? She was seated next to me throughout, drifting in and out of sleep, softly cuddling my arms, and occasionally staring at me with her mesmerizing eyes. It was the shortest Peterpan bus ride ever, ironically, as it was an hour longer than the later time slot I intended to take. (The 3pm bus would've taken 4 hours instead of 5) She cautioned me against taking the later bus, as New York's Saturday night traffic would just squash any hopes of making it to JFK in time. Thankfully, I listened to her, and I subsequently managed to reach JFK half an hour before the check-in counter closed. Thanks again, Vi!

Eventually, we reached Port Authority by ten past seven. My mate was only flying home on Sunday, thus she was staying at her good friend's place in Queens. We figured if we took the E subway together, we could extend our time together by half an hour. So we did. I stared long and hard at her, before finally smiling and saying my thanks as she alighted at Queens Plaza. I felt my heart sank deeply as I saw her standing outside the subway, waving at me teary-eyed. I waved back to her until the cruel subway took the beauty out of my sight..

Fast forward to ten to nine, I had just cleared JFK's security checkpoint, and boy I was starving. I knew what I wanted for dinner: I wanted some fake Asian food, something that I've developed a taste for, and something that if I order in one of the three Chinese restaurants in Amherst, I'd be judged for. ("你是中国人，干嘛吃那些为洋鬼子准备的菜呢？", they'd sternly say)

I browsed the directory of JFK terminal 4, and to my delight, found Panda Express, the epitome of America's fake chinese food. So I spent ten bucks on probably the unhealthiest food on earth, with the main ingredients being boatloads of carbs and starch, sugar, salt, a weeny bit of protein, and tons of monosodium glutamate. I scurried around for a quiet corner to devour my treat, and to my astonishment, I chanced upon a familiar figure. It was Aneesh! He's an upperclassman who has been helpful in Investment Banking apps, and it turned out that he was taking Emirates too, although ultimately he was headed to Bangalore, not Jakarta. I would subsequently realize that he was seated in a row behind me in the plane bound to Dubai. It was pretty nice to have someone to chat to when you are travelling solo(:

The trick to survive long-haul flights is to make the most out of what the airline offers. See some crossaints in your tray? Ask for some orange juice. Feeling adventurous? Ask for some clamato instead of tomato juice. Emirates, in particular, offers terrific red wine. If you happen to request for one, the air steward/ess will give you a tiny personal bottle of red wine. Mine was a 2011 Spanish wine that was rather rich but fruity. Not bad at all! I'm not a big advocate of drinking and flying, but at moderate amounts, alcohol dulls your senses and slows your perception of time, which is nice because six hours would feel like five. It gives you some warmth from the cold air conditioning, too, and if you are lucky, you get drowsy and bam, when you wake up there's only a few more hours left of the flight. Hehehe.

It was in the afternoon when we landed in Milano's Malpensa airport. It was my first time in the continental Europe, and I was exhilarated. I connected to the free wifi there and took pictures and sent snapchats. The airport had a very beautiful mountain range set against its backdrop, and an exuding charisma around it, with gelato shops and big brand boutiques being scattered all around. I was this close to having a taste of an authentic Italian gelato if not for the fact that Aneesh actually didn't have any Euros, the store didn't accept the greenback, and there were no money changers in sight.

I did get a funny story, however. A few minutes before the flight was boarding, nature was calling, so I strode to the nearest restroom. There, I discovered that there were two adjacent restrooms, one across the other, and the path was blocked by what seemed like a cleaning cart. As I put my foot inside the door, there was this middle-aged female janitor who started lecturing me in (what I perceived to be as) Italian. "Crap", I thought. "I hope I didn't step into the wrong lavatory". I was contemplating of shouting sorry and dashing away from her, but my eyes scurried through the door and found a gentlemen sign there. Good grief, I wasn't about to be convicted of sexual harrassment. So I figured that she was telling me that the restroom was being cleaned, and she was giving me directions to the nearest restroom. I looked at her, gave my best smile, said "grazie" and walked away after she finished her rant. She must be quite astounded, thinking to herself "boy.. this chinoese kiddo knows some Italiano!"

About five hours and fifteen minutes of airtime later, I found myself stranded in the Dubai airport for 4 hours ish. I'm more familiar of this airport, so I know the rules of the game: 30 minutes of free wifi, and 30 minutes only. Plus, the quality of the wireless was substandard: I couldn't even upload the pictures of the airport I took. So, not unlike looking for water aquifers would be the top priority when one gets stranded in a desert, I spent a good hour and a half prowling the nooks of the airport for wifi access, starting from the west end to the east end, talking to different people and even helping an old lad from 沈阳 to order coffee, but I ultimately came back with no luck. I couldn't find the Indonesian restaurant which provided wifi, which was my saving grace the last time I was stuck in that airport. By that point, I have burned through my 30 minutes worth of free wifi. I had another 2 hours to burn, and I still wanted to text a certain someone.

I grew desperate. I bought dinner thinking the restaurant might provide wifi, but nope. I spent ten dirhams (USD 3.67) to buy a cookie from a cookie cafe, thinking that the store provides wifi access. Turns out that the store keeper only referred his customers to the free wifi that was provided by the airport... By then, I only had enough dirhams to get a cup of black coffee, and I grew even more desperate. I asked Starbucks and subsequently two more cafes, but alas, I was out of luck. (These cafes didn't get my money, obviously) I was desperate enough to climb up into a hotel and to beg the concierge for the hotel's wifi password. I was turned down, of course. To make matters worse, I started developing a headache, probably a function of stress and sleep-deprivation combined.

Growing dismayed, I was seriously contemplating to pay 5.60USD for an hour's worth of potentially shitty internet access. I retreated onto a quiet corner and was about to acquiesce to this temptation, and that's when I had a brilliant idea of connecting with my laptop. Long story short, my laptop is pretty much broken, which made it easy to unfold but difficult to fold back into one piece, and that's why I was reluctant to the idea. But I gave it a go nonetheless, and voila, it worked! :,) I saw messages from her and managed to wish her a safe flight before actually hearing an announcement about my flight's final call. I checked the time, and with the broken laptop in one arm and the Steve Jobs' biography in the other, I hurried towards the gate. Thankfully, the I managed to shut the laptop back into one piece fast enough and boarded the flight just in time, after texting her goodbye for one last time. Unfortunately, it seems the wifi was cut off as I approached the gate, so I don't think the message came through, but hey at least I chatted with her for quite a bit!

So now I am sitting in the plane, salivating on all the good food I get to eat after I endure another 3 hours and 53 minutes of the flight. Jakarta, 我回来啦!

Prelude

I believe that I am going to tell a prelude. It is a prelude to our future stories together, and although it may sound like it, it is definitely not an epilogue to our story, as we spent the last month together in Amherst.

First of all, allow me to again say thank you. Thank you for being an awesome friend. Thank you for being an amazing lady, and an amazing companion. Thank you for being very understanding, and thank you for being very honest. I cannot even begin to describe how much I will miss you, and how different Amherst would feel without you around. I still blame you for suggesting me to study abroad, though ;)

What will I miss about you, you ask? A lot. From sharing cigar smokes and cheap wine with you, to your loving arms. I will miss making fun of you, and probably miss being bullied by you too. Thank you for always smiling when you see me too. It is impressive how you still think highly of me, and treat the (sometimes) grumpy me very well. Thank you. I will miss our dates, and our late night conversations. I will probably miss your tears too. (not really, :P).

As always, I am very proud for falling for you. Very proud for confessing to you too (although it did take me quite some amount of alcohol..) Even prouder (and very relieved) to have your love back. You are somebody that I have been looking for almost a year and a half in Amherst, and I finally found you. I am chuffed to bits to finally even out the number of relationships I had. And you know my attitude towards long distance relationships. I honestly probably should not admit this to you, but yes, you made me shift my attitude. You made me wanted to give LDR a try. You made me feel that it's worth a shot.

Even though I guess I was slightly too little, and too late, I feel that it's better late than never, and I'd choose one night rather than none forever. Thank you for everything. Being around you have been very surreal. I love how you spoiled me, how you thought about me, and how you treat me so well. I will miss your sarcasm and biting jokes. I will probably even miss how you laugh at me all the time. On the flipside, that means that I am spared from kale, 苦瓜, and brusselsprouts for a while. Thank God.. Hahahahaha

Thank you, vi.. Thank you.. I wish you all the best for the future. I wish you a good life, and a happy one at that too. I wish that the man of your dreams will come to you timely, and although I will be jealous, but I will be very happy if he makes you happy. Remember what is of the most importance, never forget to cherish the valuable people around you. Keep enjoying life's little pleasures. I pray that you fulfill your greatest ambitions, and receive support and help from kind people along the way. I look forward to explore the world with you again, and hopefully you get to visit Indonesia/Singapore sometime soon. Also, promise me that you won't force me to eat 苦瓜 when I visit you in New York next year, okay?

It has been surreal, it has been a pleasure, it has been lovely.

Thank you, but it's not the end. It's a beginning, and may it continue to be that way, always.

Love you,

(Another) Night Out

Hi readers :) I'm surprisingly chill for my finals such that I managed to squeeze another date yesterday evening ;)

I promised a special friend for an Indian dinner date at Northampton, and I finally acquired my American driver's license, just in time. With that came back my Zipcar (which account I got suspended because of another long story), and thus I booked a Zipcar and drove my date to Northampton. Thank goodness, everything is really beautiful in the right time. It was snowing that day, and I promised myself that the next time I take a girl out to a date, she won't be covered in snow. (See the post on Funny How. Hehehe)

So I drove up to the Webster circle, texted her to come down, and nervously waited in the car. She came after a few minutes, looking like a very gorgeous picture of the evening, and smelling like heaven. The ride was pretty smooth despite the snow, and although it took me awhile, I got super lucky for parking. The Indian restaurant was very decent, and as good dates operate, I gave her some gifts for being such a great friend and date. Incidentally, I promised her not to give her anything (because she said she's not good with gifts), so, sorry I broke the promise ;)

Funny how I pulled out a box of something and she just grabbed it from my hand curiously. And even funnier how when I told her that it was a gift for her, the look on her face changed and she stayed silent and appreciative for quite a while. I took her to Herrell's afterwards, arguably the best ice cream shoppe in Pioneer Valley. I needed some milky things to neutralize the spiciness of the curry I had, thus we shared a small cup of Herrell's signature burnt sugar and butter. (Singaporean readers: It tasted very similar to Upper Thomson's Salted Caramel!)

I had a Skype interview at 8pm, so it wasn't a particularly long date. I drove her back, dropped her off, and prepared myself for the call. Thankfully, it seemed that she enjoyed the date very much. Will I get a second date? I do hope so.

Thank you for being an amazing date, love. I enjoyed seeing your smiling face that evening. I enjoyed caressing your face every time the car stops for the red light. I enjoyed teasing you and having those interesting conversations. I enjoyed learning more about you. I loved the small things you did for me. I loved how you were so appreciative of my gifts. And thanks for the kiss as we parted that evening. It took my by surprise, really.

Take care, see you around ;)

-Truly Indonesia's Finest

Elastic Bands

I finally understand something.

There's this weird part within people which regulates their emotions and expectations. Like sort of a thermostat, this "inner regulator" does not allow people to be very happy for a long period of time. Some call it the glass ceiling. Others call it the elastic band.

When you have an air conditioner set at 20 degrees Celsius, despite opening the window and causing the temperature to drop by a few degrees, eventually the thermostat will kick in and get the room temperature back to 20 degrees. Likewise, some are programmed to catch themselves when they are being too happy, secure, and blessed. These people tell themselves to stop being too happy, because happiness won't last.

How unfortunate. It's like being bound by a giant elastic band and trying to move around. There is a maximum stretch point, at which you will eventually be slammed back to your starting point.

I finally understand that I can let go of myself. It is definitely not a case to feel happy all the time, nor it is achieved by denying fear or insecurity. It is a question of acceptance and building your optimism around it.

We see all the perils, hazards, and risks that lie ahead of us, we acknowledge them, but say goodbye to them. We don't allow ourselves to be consumed by darkness.

We give our best, every single moment. Then we have faith. When acceptance is accompanied with the best of our efforts and a grain of faith, that is when we break the glass ceiling. We remember that it is not so much about the destination, but more about the journey. For when we enjoy the path we tread, that is when we tear down the elastic band.

Because otherwise, you are simply killing yourself slowly. Why would you do such thing to yourself?

Funny How!

Hi all, sorry that it has been a while! :)

Yes, it's the usual combo: School + personal projects + ladies(or a particular one) + exams. But now, it's all good, because I'm typing this in Montreal as I am enjoying my Thanksgiving break. Amherst is generous with breaks, I feel. Even more generous with giving us school assignments and exams, though. Today's a milestone for me too, because I just had a French dinner date (and considering that I'm in the Quebec province, where everyone speaks French, it was probably the best French food you can get outside of France.) It was a BYOB experience, so I picked a random bottle of French Red Wine, and brought it into le restaurant, O'Thym.

My date(?) and I had a wonderful dining experience. I ordered a rare duck meat magret, she got a mushroom pie, and we got cheese and crackers to be eaten with the red wine we got. It was gorgeous. French dates is really a must, especially if you appreciate cheese, wine, and rare-cooked meat. It was also the most expensive dinner I have ever paid, summing up to 84CAD for both of us (including tips!) We had a really good conversation too, and I hope the next time I take a girl to a French date, I'd have my own car so that she doesn't have to come to the restaurant being covered in snow. (Yes, it was snowing... haha)

But uhmm.. What I really wanted to write about was a particular funny story. Well, at least I found it funny. :)

So I am one of the two graders of microeconomics this Fall semester. How it works is I would grade the P-set (problem set: University equivalent of homework) that are due on Mondays, and Sairam would grade the P-set that are due on Wednesdays. The grades we give range from 0 to 3, and students only get 3s on their P-sets if their work is an utter perfection. Therefore, I would get very excited whenever I see a student getting everything correct in the problem set I grade, and on top of the number '3', I would usually write an encouraging remark such as "well done!" or "bravo!".

Around last week, however, I was catching up with a particular best friend who's taking the very class I'm grading. He is aware of the fact that I grade for the class, so I would usually ask him how the class went and all. That day, Liam told me that he just got back the problem set I graded, but "I got a '3', so there were no issues", he casually told me. I told him that there's another grader in the class, and I asked him how he could be so sure that I was the one who graded this particular problem set.

"Oh, it's so simple", Liam confidently replied. "You always use the same pen every time you grade! Besides, the other grader would always write girly things on my p-set whenever I get a '3'! I just need the marks. Last time, I remembered that he wrote a "bravo" with a girly exclamation mark."

I was laughing so hard inside. I still hope that he never discovers my blog, but I'm kinda curious as to how he would react if he realized the truth. HAHAHA.

Moral of the story? Don't write bravo with girly exclamation marks!! hahahaha

Yours Truly,

Private Victories

What does the best day of your life look like?

I would argue that today is one of the best days in my life. Now, I realize that there are two kinds of best days: The former happens to you, while the latter is how you respond to life.

Yes, the grandest of masters know that things are just the way they are, and the nature of the things is largely (if not wholly) determined by how we choose to perceive those things.

If I recount today factually, it wouldn't be extraordinarily stellar. I woke up, used the sleeping meditation because I felt tired, meditated for a bit, brushed my teeth, and read something inspirational. That was my morning, and I had to rush through it because I have two exams on the following day. I went to Econometrics, slightly fumbled through the Japanese oral exam, counseled a friend whose ex boyfriend troubled her, counseled the ex-boyfriend, went to two professor's office hours, and went to the gym.

Here's the thing: I already felt tired the first thing I woke up in the morning. I had to counsel people's emotions. I had to deal with a fellow student in my comsci professor's office hours who was kind of offputting and snobbish. I was reminded how he was also in some sense, a better person than me, because he won the chance to participate in this innovation track program which I didn't. I had to prepare for two exams.. I had to push myself to read through the notes.

But strangely enough, I felt calm. I felt strong. I felt that when life was messing with me, I was able to stand up against her, laugh, and kick her butt. I find myself strangely rational and clear, I was able to analyze one of my friends and drew theories. I caught myself thinking: "Gosh, this dude is a jerk, and couldn't he just leave already because I deserve my time alone with the professor?" But I somehow was able to hijack my emotions and didn't let it influence me. I stopped thinking about him after a few moments.. I was able to somehow finish whatever I needed to do today. Most importantly, I was able to smile, to genuinely care about other people, to give good hugs, and to laugh, while the old me would've broken down from all the stress.

What is it? After some reflection, I realized that what made my day very good, what energized me, was the accumulation of the private victories I won. I don't know if it's thanks to the meditation, the inspirational stories, or to hitting the gym routinely, but I felt that I was able to score one private victory after another. I feel great, I feel empowered. I feel that I am acting in the interests of my higher self, and I am being my higher self. I now understand that...

It is not what happened to me. It is how I happen in life. (I know that what happens in my life is a function of my creation, but how I happen in my life is also part of the creation process itself. Therefore.)

-Truly Indonesia's Finest

To Care

When I started practicing Buddhism, I came across a wonderful and inspirational book by Ajahn Brahm, titled "Opening the Door of Your Heart". There are a lot of interesting stories that made its mark on me, and I sincerely recommend you readers to get the book, whether or not you are a practicing Buddhist. The book is a compilation of delightful stories about happiness and life, and if the author's name was hidden, one would not suspect that it was written by a monk!

Anyway, there is a story that struck me that I wanted to discuss today. Ajahn Brahm claims that the story was taken from Leo Tolstoy's, and in the story, there was a king who was seeking wisdom. After numerous years of study, the king realized that all the important stuff in life can be answered in three questions:

1. When is the most important time?
2. Who is the most important person?
3. What is the most important thing to do?

And eventually, as the story goes, the king was saved from assassination as he adhered to the principles he learned from the answers to the questions. Anyway, I am not here today to discuss the story, so I shall skip the answers for questions number 1 and 2. Readers, I challenge you to figure out the answer yourself.. Or I might just do a blog post on them in the future. Stay tuned :)

Anyway, I wanted to discuss question number 3, which answer is written as the title of the post. Yes, the most important thing to do is to care. In his book, Ajahn Brahm skipped the explanation of why 'to care' is the most important thing to do; Instead, he attempted to illustrate the importance of caring through other anecdotes. I personally didn't quite get the anecdotes, and I have been reflecting hard on why 'to care' precedes everything else.

Today, it finally dawned on me that 'to care' does indeed precede everything else. As part of my self-motivation and self-improvement, whenever I feel unhappy, I stop blaming or complaining. Instead, I pull myself out of the state of being reactive, and start to be proactive by asking myself "why am I unhappy?" and then "what do I want to do?" I am no longer a victim. I am a creator.

However, when I reflected further, I realize that I am at my happiest state when other people around me care about me, and also when I have people I care about. Whenever I feel that people care about me, I feel warm, I feel alive, I feel that life is worth living. As a student studying overseas in different schools and countries, it just dawned on me that my happiest moments are when I have finally established a group of friends whom I care about and who care about me back.

When I was in SJI, among other people, Christian truly cared about me. It was my two exes in Raffles, with Michael and a few other bunch. It was Ricky, Sheila, Kodor, and Christian again when I was in BLCU, and finally, it was Shanghui when I was in Amherst last year. (I know I skipped Princeton in Beijing, but then my roommate and a couple of other special ladies cared about me, so I was in good hands).

So now, at least I know what I want. I want to care more about other people, and I want people to care more about me. Caring about other people doesn't necessarily mean that you have to see them and hang out with them everyday. Giving space to your friends when they need space is caring too. Even being angry, or turning a cold shoulder, can be a form of caring too. As long as these actions are done with the betterment of the other person in mind. And no, being stressed and burnt out does not stem from overwork. Stress and burn-outs truthfully stem from the lack of connection and intimacy with the people around you, because there is no caring/being cared about exchange that is desperately needed by everyone.

I believe that if I care about other people, others will reciprocate, and now it is high time for me to manifest my beliefs.

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

My Sassy Girl OST Lyrics (John Kim, Princeton in Beijing Version) 我的野蛮女友歌词（普北班形式）

I Believe from Isue Shin on Vimeo.

When I was in Princeton in Beijing this summer, my friend John Kim teamed up with some of his buddies to do an amazing cover of My Sassy Girl's Original Sound Track. He translated the song lyrics from Korean to Chinese, so that is why the lyrics are different from the officially translated version of the song. Anyway, call me biased but I honestly find the lyrics much more beautiful than the official one. Enjoy!

我参加普北班的时候有一个朋友，John Kim。那时候，他刚刚跟他的女朋友分手了，但是她还坚持试试恢复他的关系。他想找一个活动，让他忙一些，所以他把《我的野蛮女友》的歌儿翻译下来，然后他跟两个朋友为所有的普北班学生们唱歌儿。虽然我可能有偏见，但是我个人认为，他翻译的歌词比真正的翻译漂亮多了。我希望，你们会享受这首歌儿！

I believe, 你还那里等待 (ni hai zai na li deng dai)

爱的路，总是充满了祝福 (ai de lu, zong shi chong man le zhu fu)

I believe，你还在把爱深埋 (ni hai zai ba ai shen mai)

我在这里，为你整夜在徘徊 (wo zai zhe li, wei ni zheng ye zai pai huai)

看不到未来 (kan bu dao wei lai)

却挡不住相爱 (que dang bu zhu xiang ai)

就算短暂分开 (jiu suan duan zan fen kai)

也不能，把这缘分结束 (ye bu neng, ba zhe yuan fen jie shu)

曾经走过漫漫长路 (ceng jing zou guo man man chang lu)

只要有爱，默默地祈祷 (zhi yao you ai, mo mo de qi dao)

真心的让彼此更幸福 (zhen xin de rang bi ci geng xing fu)

曾经走过漫漫长路 (ceng jing zou guo man man chang lu)

泪水模糊了我和你 (lei shui mo hu le wo he ni)

那一刻我们俩，依偎在一起 (na yi ke wo men lia, yin wei zai yi qi)

从此永远不再分离 (cong ci yong yuan bu zai fen li)

2x

我相信那份爱，这份感动 (wo xiang xin na fenr ai, zhe fenr gan dong)

只要你拥有着勇气 (zhi yao ni yong you zhe yong qi)

真心付出自己 (zhen xin fu chu zi ji)

一切，都为爱人牵挂 (yi qie, dou wei ai ren qian gua)

再长的等待也不怕 (zai chang de deng dai ye bu pa)

曾经走过漫漫长路 (ceng jing zou guo man man chang lu)

只要有爱，默默地祈祷 (zhi yao you ai, mo mo de qi dao)

真心的让彼此更幸福 (zhen xin de rang bi ci geng xing fu)

曾经走过漫漫长路 (ceng jing zou guo man man chang lu)

泪水模糊了我和你 (lei shui mo hu le wo he ni)

那一刻我们俩，依偎在一起 (na yi ke wo men lia, yin wei zai yi qi)

从此永远不再分离 (cong ci yong yuan bu zai fen li)

依偎在一起 (yin wei zai yi qi)

从此永远不再分离 (cong ci yong yuan bu zai fen li...)

Inspiration/Note to self

I just came up with these while I was running in the morning. A slight heads up: Part English and mostly Bahasa Indonesia.

Walaupun lebih baik sengasara sebentar kemudian bahagia selama-lamanya, daripada sebentar-bentar enak terus sengsara selama-lamanya, janganlah menunda kebahagiaan. Berbahagialah sekarang, belajarlah untuk menikmati pahitnya kopi kehidupan. Belajarlah untuk menari di tengah tetesan hujan. Practice happiness now!

Atur tujuan, maka jalanan akan muncul dengan sendirinya. Tetapi, nikmatilah perjalanan itu sekarang, sebab di masa kinilah kita hidup; Dan kehidupan ini merupakan kumpulan-kumpulan dari momen-moment tersebut.

Bukannya itu adalah intisari dalam menjadi seorang manusia? Senikmatnya kita kuatir dan pesimis, negative thinking tidak akan merubah apa-apa dalam hidup kita. Sebaliknya, percayalah. Fokuskan pikiranmu ke visualisasi, dan lakukanlah apapun yang bisa kamu lakukan, sebaik mungkin, setiap harinya.

Confidence comes from blamelessness. From integrity, from being impeccable. From being united and integrated with your higher stream of consciousness.

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

Near Misses.

"It was raining, and I was running.."

I remember someone telling me that my life is full of near misses. Now, I would affirm to the statement, but I would define 'near misses' as the opposite.

"I stared at my GPS. Sandwiched between my heavy breathing and soft curses, the stubborn GPS finally loaded.."

I went to Boston today. For us Amherst students, going to Boston is a luxury, both of time and money. However, one of my best friends from Princeton in Beijing, Shosuke, planned to go to Boston that day to celebrate his birthday. Moreover, they had an Indonesian festival that day, where they showcase Indonesian culture and sell heavenly food. Naturally, I came down to Boston.

"If I had slipped even once, if the metro was late by one more minute, I.."

I arrived to South Station at 10am and bought some coffee and did some reading on Freud as I waited for Sacho (lit. Company president; Shosuke's nickname) as his train would only reach Boston at 1130. Sacho has this mysterious aspect in him which makes him very likeable and popular among his friends. After thinking thoroughly about it, I finally understood why. Sacho is always smiling, and he takes things easy. He is always so funny, so relaxed and out going. He can be serious if needed, but he never allows himself to be involved in dramas. I am grateful to know such a person in my life. And you bet, he is an overachiever too: He went to Todai (Tokyo University) before transferring to Pomona and subsequently Brown.

"I looked up, and at the intersection I saw the plaque that said Atlantic Avenue. It continued to drizzle.."

We went straight to the Yamato, the sushi buffet place recommended by Sacho's friend Tomo, whom we also met there. (I know right, Tomo.) He's a cool kid from Tokyo who decided to study in MiT because he wanted to meet scientists from all over the world. He takes seven classes this semester and last semester, and he's not even stressed or swamped with work. Mind you, these are lab science classes like inorganic chemistry or advanced mathematics classes above linear algebra. Food was amazing, it was around 20 bucks per person; Tamago, unagi, tori chaahan, tobiko, and amaebi were among my favorites. Tomo took us to H-mart (where I witnessed Paris Baguette!! Talk about being Beijing-sick) and to his frat. Cool guy, cool guy.

"I finally saw the entrance to the South Station. I had less than three minutes left, so I just sprung the doors open and ran up the flight of stairs.."

So we said goodbye to Tomo and took the metro to Malden to meet another Sacho's friend for the chuanr dinner. This guy is a Japan-born-Chinese; So we all spoke mandarin for the most part. Anyway, Malden is actually about half an hour by metro from the central Boston, and we actually made his friend wait for twenty minutes (不好意思)。Nonetheless, we finally reached the 串儿 (bbq meat) place which is about a fifteen minute walk from the metro station. It was glorious food, considering the physical and cultural chasm between Boston and Beijing. I really enjoyed the 烤馒头 (mantou, is fried with an egg yolk) and the 麻辣香锅(a spicy but dry hotpot). In the midst of the food and the conversation, I decided to check my Peterpan Bus ticket on a whim. Thank goodness I did that, because I realized that my bus was leaving at 8pm, not 830. It was around 7:19pm in the 串儿 place, common sense tells one to forget it because it would take 15 minutes to walk to the station and 25 minutes to take the metro down to South Station. Remember to add in the extra 10 minutes to get to the Peterpan bus station and the fact that it was raining.

"I frantically looked for the gate that leaves for Springfield. On platform 7, I saw a giant, green rectangular object outside the glasses, could it be.."

I gave my friends 25 bucks (I was told that the dinner amounted to 20 in the end, so it's all good) and decided to make a run. The 羊肉串儿 was very delicious by the way, the cumin flavor really came through, if only I could savour it when I was not running. I reasurred myself that I would make it to Boston South on time, because otherwise I either pay a private shuttle or a taxi for 200 grand or book a hotel for the night for about a similar price. When I wasn't running with all my might, I was visualizing with all my might, picturing myself sitting in a Peterpan bus.

...

"I sprinted to the door at platform 7 and sprung the door open. I almost wanted to cry, because the bus captain was still checking the tickets of the last few passangers. My wristwatch showed 8:02pm."

I made it. The bus was really full, and I sat on the second to last seat. It was rarely the case, but the bus was thankfully slightly tardy because there had been so many passangers. If a few people decided to cancel their trip, the bus would've left at 8 on the dot, and it would've been over for me. And yes, I don't regret booking the peterpan bus a week prior, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to book last-minute, like what the circumstances within my friend circle in Amherst dictated.

Now I am seating in the bus, recounting my day and being so grateful that I am such a lucky person: I didn't miss my morning bus (which I nearly did, again due to my friend circle), I finished the Freud reading, I was allowed to join the sushi buffet, ate wonderful 串儿，and treated my japanese friends to Martabak (Indonesian sweet pancake), Indomie goreng, and Marquissa juice (idk how to spell this sorry) during the Indonesian cultural festival. I also made two awesome new Japanese friends, caught up with an amazing old friend, took pictures, had wonderful conversations, laughed a lot, joked and fooled around, spoke in bahasa for a bit, and caught the last bus back to Amherst. Despite running in the rain, at least I made it, and at least I didn't run in the rain because of a girl, like what happened in Beijing ;)

I had a good day. Thank you.

Truly Indonesia's finest.

Funny how..

I have to run for a CEOT breakfast and dry run in less than ten minutes, so I will have to write this story very briefly..

So, after the wonderful stretch of summer doing Princeton in Beijing, I am back in Amherst College, ready for the upcoming fall semester (well not quite, but). For one reason to another, I decided to participate in the international students' orientation this year, becoming one of the orientation leaders. The international first year students are a nice bunch, actually. Although as Adrian predicted, at least half of the kids won't talk to us anymore after orientation has ended, but at least we had fun in the process. (Why not? Well, probably they think that they are cooler than we are)

Anyway, I am grateful as the orientation training and process made the international orientation leaders bond (there are roughly eight of us, including me), so much so that one afternoon, after interviewing our potential International Student Director (yes, we don't have one at the moment right now), we decided to have an ISO pre-game. Wonderful. I just turned 21 a few weeks ago, and I coincidentally wanted to get some red wine for myself, so I had my passport with me. Jennifer and I volunteered to get drinks at the local liquor store, and the rest of the gang got cups and prepared the venue.

Trust me, it wasn't much, we had hard apple ciders and white wine. Nonetheless, what happened next was what made the experience interesting. So the crowd got quite high with the alcohol, the ladies in our group being ladies, started gossiping about the cute freshman in the international orientation. So there's this Singaporean lad with a mustache, and apparently he would look even cuter if he would shave it, and the ladies were so intense about it to the extent that they wanted to play a dare game and the loser would have to tell Stefan to shave off his beard. hahahah

Anyway, one of us suddenly decided that it would be amusing to tell our most embarrassing stories (or craziest) that happened in Amherst, and we had to go around in a circle telling ours. I am ashamed to say that my stories are not probably one tenth, or heck, even one hundredth as wacky as my friends'. One of my friends got drunk and climbed a fence in Mt Holyoke College (a sister college of Amherst) during her freshman year, and for her 21st birthday, got really drunk and smoked a lot of pot. (she had a rough breakup, so I couldn't blame her) What happened next made it really insane: She took a shower to cure her hangover the next day, and it backfired as she fainted in the shower.. Therefore she was drunk, hungover, stoned, naked, and hospitalized at the same time.

Another dude told how he went to the socials after a lot of drink, took off his shirt and spun it around somewhere, danced in a strangers' table, and then waking up the next day next to one of his female friends only with his pants on. He just left awkwardly, and apparently another upperclassman found his shirt a few days after.

I honestly don't quite have a "crazy" story to tell myself, and I am being honest, as I haven't had much adventures with alcohol as of today. Honestly, at one point I was somewhat sad and/or ashamed to admit that my life at Amherst was comparatively normal than theirs.. But afterwards I realized that I am free to be who I am, and I will continue to be. I will have fun in my own way, and of course I am open to interesting experiences too, but it definitely doesn't have to be that way. (man, who wants to be hospitalized naked?) But of course, that night made me realize the importance of telling good stories ;)

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

反省一下普北班项目

我现在正在一个飞机上，默默的考虑和感激我在北京的经验。你就问我，什么是普北班给我最大的获得呢？这个问题实在是有待讨论。两个明显的好处就是我中文的进步以及我交往的扩大。前者应该感谢普北班的语言誓约和个别谈话。虽然我的中文还没有那么好，可是我相信，我的发音，声调，和语法有所进步。至于后者，我可以说我靠自己的努力来交朋友。但是，我不可否认，这次的朋友们即热情又好玩。换一句话来说，认识新的朋友们是个必然结果。然而，我认识的朋友并不限于普北班的学生们。我也认识了几位北京的当地人，几位在北京打工的老外(这些人从事新能源的行业，在Beijing Energy Network认识的。我觉得他们很有意思，比那些金融的工人有热情和激情)  

除此之外，我也可以说通过普北班，我加以了 解中国的文化与社会问题了。从户口制度，人口问题，甚至于到“海龟”，上课的时候我都讨论过。我也了解了美国其他大学的同学们，实在是个少有的机会!现在如果我在美国旅游，说不定会有朋友们提供一个房间!呵呵。

可是，可能我最享受的获得就是爱情的感觉。什么爱情呢？也许其实没有什么爱情，那我就把它看成热情吧。这两个概念不容易区分起来，可是，我想，与其说是爱情，不如说是热情，关心，和友谊。好吧，是个姑娘。是个特别可爱的姑娘。表面上可能有点随便，但骨子里她又温柔又耐心。她爱笑，也爱开玩笑，好欺 负，我就爱抱她。她不但成熟，而且脾气也不大。。。  

然而，普北班一瞬连就结束了，我和她的缘分一转眼就没有了。缘分是否是个爱开玩笑的孩子呢？让我冒昧抱怨一下吧。我一年在安城所找不到的八周在北京就找得到了。这样的感觉就是哑巴吃黄瓜，有苦说不出来。   

哈哈，你看，我变成这么悲观。我想她，好想她。可是，没问题吧。反正我相信，不久我就能够找到比她好一些的对象。无论未来如何，我只想说谢谢，因为她给我带来了这么温暖的 感觉。   我不晓得她毕竟会不会看这篇文章。假如你看了，知道我正在想你。我愿你天天幸福，万事如意。托你的副，以后再会吧。

Be right, or be left

I have a mechanism built in my body that rewards me for making social contact and punishes me for abandoning my social circles too much. The result? I have plenty of friends around me, but sometimes I drag myself (or let myself be dragged around) too much.

It is a price to be paid though, and whether it is worth it or not, it still deserves to be debated! So amidst all the hubbub in my life, I find one event worth mentioning: A night in a Korean bar with friends!

How did I get tangled up in the mess?

So there I was, feeling that I need to be more spontaneous, and I decided to do some sort of a Yes Man game, but not really, since I forgot that I am playing that game real quick! Hehe.

So in essence, one of my Korean friends broke up with his girlfriend, and he asked if I would like to accompany him for a drink on a weekend. I can tell you very honestly that I am not that big of an alcoholic, so actually deep down I was like "ugh, ok". But hey, I am bound to say "yes", right? And also, as a good bro, I have this obligation to drink some of his sorrows, right? ;)

So after a trip from 王府井 (best jasmine green tea ice cream ever, I swear!) Jaeho and I went to 五道口 to team up with John and Peter for dinner. At that point, I was getting nervous, because it seems that it's gonna be a K-Night without any mandarin or english spoken (not true, Jaeho became a very good translator, hehehe). We had bulgogi (五花肉) for dinner, while waiting for the two remaining members of the party.

Alright, alright, it wasn't quite a guys night's out as a 老师 and another third year Korean lady joined us. And thing is, these two are probably among the prettiest ladies in PiB, amazing what sort of luck I am in lol. Although I am guessing (and I was half right) that these ladies are taken, it's always good to soothen our eyes, right?

The dinner ended around 8pm, and the night started awkwardly, really awkwardly. First of all, I don't speak Korean(duh) so I had to rely on Jaeho's translation half of the time to keep up with what was going on. Moreover, I have just met Peter and Ji Won, and it was kind of an awkward meeting (I'd like to blame it on the alcohol they drink before they came over) and I don't really know what to say to Huang 老师, so I spent most of the dinner talking to Jaeho (and John, the broken-hearted guy).

So I have heard that alcohol is a friend making tool, and from that night I learned that while it wasn't quite a miracle potion, it really helped breaking down barriers between people. It's as if the frozen walls of doubt, fakery, and angst, built one layer after another, are melted away by the warm kindness of smiles and laughters, blanched with alcohol. (PSA: increased alcohol intake has been associated with car accidents and pregnancy, please consume with discretion)

In the middle of laughter, teasing, and trash talking, I was quietly taking note of how much I was drinking. I had eight shots of soju in total, and quite frankly, I have never drank that much in my life. I also probably did the closest thing to drunk-texting... another 老师!

These sinful things aside, I really enjoyed the night with these people. I gained an insight on the "drinking culture" of the Koreans. They start off by shaking the bottle of soju (traditionally done to get rid of impurities), and begin pouring it to everyone, with the youngest helping out the older ones. The younger ones would drink away from the older ones out of respect. We also played Korean drinking games, from twisting the "tail" of the soju cap and flicking them off, and also the guessing number game. An interesting part is the fact that the winners of the game will eventually have to drink to compensate the difference of what they had compared to the losers of the game. In other words, everyone gets home drunk.

It was quite a night; although I had to end it while enduring a painful stomach from the chilli I had during lunch. It's all good, though :)

-Truly Indonesia's Finest

北京，我又来啦！

Okay gotta keep this short but really have lots of things to talk about but but going to climb the Great Wall of China with my new PiB friends tomorrow morning so so so, yeah.

First of all, just to clarify, my stop after San Francisco was Hong Kong, and I spent a good seven days there catching up with my family. (oh, and I met an old friend from BLCU too!) Hong Kong is heaven. Good, good food, cheap, cheap prices. (well, Beijing's prices are definitely lower than HK's but at HK you can eat without worrying about your stomach's wellbeing) I also didn't do anything productive; I talked, ate, shopped, slept, and repeat after me.

I flew to Beijing on June 20th, and was immediately greeted by the Beijing warmth (and kouyuER) as I endured a two hour taxi ride from the airport to Beijing Normal University. Ahh. Beijing never fails to make me happy. I have finally caught up with my old friends (Hello Indira, I'm talking to you!) and made some new friends from the program. I was lucky enough to bump into a bunch of Berkeley kids, who I look forward to spend more time with.

How is the Chinese class, you ask? I guess Princeton in Beijing is called 'Prison in Beijing' for a reason.. I am actually in the middle of a language pledge right now, so in the presence of my fellow PiBers I can only communicate in Chinese. I have just survived the first week, and in a week I had four small quizzes, an exam, an oral presentation, a debate session, and covered around 700 new words in Chinese. Damn, son. Also, within this past seven days I have been to Wudaokou four times. It seems that I don't quite miss Beijing; I miss Wudaokou instead. ;)

And lastly, I did have a good birthday. Although no one from the program knew that my birthday was three days ago, my parents sent me flowers and chocolates, and my old Manggala (Buddhist Youth Group) threw me a surprise party and bought me cake. How ironic, they are telling me how much chubbier I am compared to last year and they still buy me cake? I know I am in good hands. But really though, I am glad to have friends to celebrate my birthday with although I am in a foreign country! I look forward to spending more time with my old and my new friends! And thank you for the birthday wishes!

Ok, gotta go now!

-Truly Indonesia's Finest. 

Enter Summer

Although I had a month between the time exams ended at Amherst College and the start of my summer classes in Beijing; A time which I could've used to fly back home to Indonesia (and Singapore) to catch up with my family and old friends, my dad told me to "experience the summer of the United States" and insisted on me staying here.

So me, being a good son, applied for a job during commencement & reunion, and extended my stay at Amherst for two weeks. Fortunately, my dad is right. It has been an interesting (and refreshing) two weeks for me. Save the tears for my seniors who were graduating, I explored Amherst, ate at almost all restaurants in town, spent a good portion of my time talking to roommate, Jordan Young, about girl problems, and finally deciding not transfer out of Amherst.

So for the most part I worked for facilities, and I was the vacuum guy. I did suck up a bunch of different things, from pennies to bikinis. I met and talked to a bunch of wonderful people whom I would've never met otherwise, from the unicycle-riding Santabeard Tim Gaura who has this passion about spoken words and slam poetry, to the super kind and pretty (but taken!) Rebecca who actually folded my clothes after I left it inside the drying machine for too long. I was also paid to stand up, smile, and look good (guess what job is that), but nothing beats being a wine assistant for the Ouyang family.

Let me put you in context for that. Amherst College has an alcohol policy that forbids guests to serve their own alcohol. Thus, when these people throw parties, they have to hire TIPS-trained waiters to pour them alcohol. The purpose of this rule is to minimize the possibility of the guests abusing alcohol and ending up drunk (yes, we are trained to refrain from serving alcohol if the guest starts to look mildly intoxicated). The tent I was working for was put up by seven or so senior girls (one of them Olivia Ouyang), who invited their families to celebrate their graduation and chipped in to put together a tent and dinner. Interestingly, the party was BYOB, so I had to rely on their integrity to not secretly pour their drinks behind my back.

I always maintain that Americans have interesting traditions, and after an hour into the meals and conversations, one daddy stood up and told the guests that each daddy is going to tell an embarrassing story about his own daughters. Awkward laughter filled up the tent as each parent finished shaming his/her daughter, but one story stuck to me in particular. She was in primary school, and she was to partake in a school play. The parents prepared her costume, but for some reason, misheard that "pants are provided", and clothed their daughter sans a pair of pants, wrapping her torso downward with a cloth. The play begun, and the daughter was dancing in the front row. Inevitably, the cloth gave away, and the whole school gasped as they witnessed the young girl dancing energetically without any pants on. 

Another highlight of the night was watching a dad-daughter tag team playing a game of beer pong. For the unenlightened minds (heh, jk), beer pong is a drinking game where a set of cups filled with beer is placed on two sides of the table, and each player takes turns to throw a ping pong ball to the opposing team's cups. If a player successfully lands the ball into his/her opponent's cup, the opponent must finish whatever drinks in the cup. The game continues until there are no more cups left on one side of the team. I can never imagine my dad teaming up with my sister to play beer pong with other dad-daughter teams, but my sister will only make it to college in two years' time, so I might be wrong. It was about as exciting as seeing 40-year-old Amherst alums dancing to Far East Movement and Black Eyed Peas, and then high-fiving their children on the dance floor when the song ends.

I am also grateful to be able to spend a lot of time with Sarah. Kudos to her amazing ability in picking the sweetest of the corns and boiling them, for introducing the dates + almond butter combination (Heavenly stuff. Dip the former into the latter, and enjoy), and for taking me to the bird sanctuary for the first time. It's been a pleasure talking to you, miss!

I am now safely tucked in a house within the misty hills of San Francisco, together with my cousin who is a pastry chef by trade and a food connoisseur by heart. Life's been chill, food's been rad, and just for this few days, I'm going to take it easy. Here's to a great summer ahead, everyone :)

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

Farewell, Seniors.

Parting is such a sweet sorrow.

I am dedicating this post to three most influential seniors in my freshman year of Amherst College: Shanghui (codename coconut), Phyo (codename porcupine), and Alex/Xandy (codename platypus). I remember first meeting them during the first badminton training in September 2013. The first badminton session was crowded as hell, and I only managed to talk to Sarah and Xiaoling (who introduced themselves as bosses of the club), so initially, the three of them are just indistinguishable upperclassmen who likes to do weird forms of warm ups i.e. planks, lunges, and jumping back on and off. I couldn't even tell that they are damn pro at badminton, simply because I wasn't exposed to them at all.

Fast forward a few meetings, all the sudden the badminton club became much emptier, and I started talking to these three (lovely) oddballs. I must admit that I became closer to Shanghee first, simply because we were both from Singapore and RJ and we started out talking to one another in Singlish first. After that, I had this hazy memories about hitting around with Alexander and Phyo as well, but to be honest I also could not remember what or at what point we started to hang out together this frequently.

I just remember that there was one time where I visited Cohan for some reason (I think there was a cooking event), and then Shanghui popped by and I asked if he was living there. And then I asked about Phyo and Xander's whereabouts, and then Shanghui sort of told me that they live in a suite in the basement of Cohan. So I was kinda nervous but I asked him if it's okay for me to go to their suite, and voila, Phyo and Xander welcomed me in their suite for the first time.

Flash forward around ten months ahead and yesterday night I was seeing them taking off the origamis that decorated the wall of the suite. Jump ahead today and after we hugged in a group with a lot of tears, I took the keys from Shanghui, Phyo, and Alex, and after watching them pack and saying goodbye, went to the campus police before returning to my room in Val and complaining to everyone that I am feeling very sad.

You see, although I have been meeting and saying goodbye to a lot of close friends since a very long time (I change schools on an average of every 2 years so far), I have never been a very good goodbye person. I wish I could cry in front of everyone, letting out long, heavy streams of tears, showing the people I am parting with how vulnerable I feel without them. But instead, what always happens is I go to this state of denial, and I feel very empty and hollow inside, just like the Cohan suite without the TV, Wii, the origami papers, and also the FRIENDS poster. I know that parting never hits me the hardest on the day of departure, but rather a few days, weeks, or even months to come.

I am grateful to be staying at Amherst, since Phyo and Alex will be coming back to visit, and I am grateful to have my brother studying in Singapore, which gives me an excuse to visit Shanghee. I don't want to put all of you to sleep with this super long narrative about saying goodbye blah blah blah, so I will just jump ahead and dedicate a paragraph for you each.

Let's begin with Alex. Alex, como estas usted? Thank you so much for being an amazing senior who is always down for philosophical discussions. I'm kinda sad that sometimes I'm not able to fully appreciate your arguments/opinions simply because I am not well-read enough. Thank you for all the Tango dances too! Although tango did not really work out for you, I'm glad we shared a couple of decent dances during the last Milonga. At least you thought my leading skills were decent ;) and yes, I will try to keep badminton alive, at least to a certain extent. Good luck in your future endeavors, especially if you end up teaching middle school/high school kids. You'll make a good teacher with your firmness and patience, but it'll be a shame if none of the kids you teach are interested in discussing such philosophical questions. Say yes more! Remember I rolled down a hill of grass for you. Although it didn't directly come out to be a fruitful endeavor, it is something we both remember well :D. We also have many questions that we need to go through (just hit me up if you come back to Amherst and we can talk it over a meal or something). (hint: role of physical attractiveness in love?) I will also remember you by the poem you recited when we were sitting on the floor of the van on our way back from Portland, Maine. I guess when you wrote that we're kind of different, that I'm more of a moth than you are, I have to agree on that. I find that "fire is beautiful", and "it is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty". I guess that is reflected by the girls I choose to fall for (we can get to that later, or you can refer to previous blog posts such as Uno Amor in November 2011). But I wish you success! I really hope that someday you will have the opportunity to visit Myanmar, Singapore, and Indonesia respectively, so that Phyo, Shanghee, and I can show you our so-called "home". Muchas gracias, senor! Adios!

Dear Phyo, I am so proud to call someone as nice and as friendly as you as my friend. I am so ashamed to say that throughout this two semesters of knowing you, I haven't had the chance to say at least "hello, goodbye, and thank you" in Burmese at all. Although I primarily know you through badminton and remember the fact that you ALWAYS use backhand when you serve even though you are playing singles, I will also never forget your amazing cooking skills and the fact that you drive so well and the endurance that comes with it. Thank you for always being super chill about everything, and also for always being willing to drive us around, despite the fact that we play annoying car games (from the bang bang bang game that you googled and found and the country game which was un-google-able) HAHAHA. Did you still remember the first time I tried to cook fried rice and you and Shanghui ended up doing most of the cooking? Or the yum yum Burmese food that you cooked for the whole lot of us? :D Or our breakfast together, when I told you about my ex who's about to come from Stanford, or when I pushed my physics problems to you and you dealt with it like it was some grade-school math problem. Good luck in Dartmouth! I hope you will come and visit (you promised, so you'd better!! hahaha) and also, I hope that you will enjoy living/studying/researching there. I also love how the girls gossiped about you and the fact that you used to have a long hair and looked somewhat gangsterish. hahahahaha. So you should let your hair grow again and join the frat there. But I believe that whatever you choose to join or wherever you choose to go, you will find amazing friends like us (see the shameless self-praise?) who will have fun with you and probably make you play awful car games again. I will miss your innocent smile and laughter, but also your occasional naughty pranks and poking fun. Have a great summer, I hope you will enjoy Yangon, and be prepared to survive at least five more years of New England Winter! Take care! I cannot promise to lead the club, but I will try my best to promote them to future Willistonians :) and yes, I won't regret staying at Amherst but I'm missing you guys already. So, see you soon! :,) Thank you very much for everything!

Last but not least, Shanghui, or Shanghee, or Shaggee, or coconut tree, or whatever. Hi! I'm sorry I'm always being so immature and childish and weird in front of you. (or behind you, for the matter, but you never know right?) Thank you very much for everything. You are without a doubt one of the first person in Amherst to find out if I'm in any trouble, be very open in listening to me and be very overt in your opinion, and save me out of it. I will miss our badminton singles (we can always play in Tanglin CC or something in Singapore), our late night Cohan one on one talks in your room, or even just talking cock with you in Singlish/Mandarin in Val in general. I am always amused by how you try to eat so healthily (Salad + seeds + cranberry + greek yoghurt + an occasional Arctic Char or two), but will always fall for brownies, bars, cookies, and ice cream! Hahaha. I will also miss the jogging sessions with you. I still remembered our first jog together to the Book and Plow farm (omg it's so beautiful I must do it again before I leave Amherst this Summer), and how you always tease me that I find Professor Clemans a chiobu. Thank you for always listening out to me, for always trying to include me in the activities or in the conversations of the group. I can safely say that there are at least three instances throughout the year where I almost left early from badminton and you'll just call out on me specifically and make me play, and then I ended up staying even more later than the expected. I wish you luck with finding employment in Singapore, and I know that whatever you do, you will do it very well, and your employer won't be disappointed in you. I also admire you for always being so faithful to your chiobu, for being so sweet and loyal, and for being a real-life inspiration that long-distance relationships ACTUALLY work. Just remember to invite us to the wedding <3. It's a shame that I have never gotten the chance to play soccer with you or go to a buffet with you, but I WILL. In Singapore. Just wait for this December! :) And don't worry too much about missing out on Alex, Phyo, Sarah, Xiaoling, Hao, and Tianshen. I will keep you updated, and there's definitely opportunities in the future for us to meet. Just find a job that makes you fly everywhere lah!

Really sorry for the long rambling! I just want to add a few more things: I will be very sad that Cohan and Badminton will never be the same without you guys. There will be no more Saturday badminton practices, and if there will be, it will never be the same. I never even learned how to feed the birdies properly! You guys will be sorely missed. I will also miss the fact that I can go to Valentine and look around at the international middle section during breakfast or lunch (or VERY late dinner for Shanghui), and hope that I see any of your faces graciously nomming your meal and I can join you guys and just be a clown or just ramble about my life and knowing that I'll probably get away with it. HAHAHAHA. I imagine I will be kind of sad whenever I use the Cohan kitchen, so I will probably stick with Moore's next semester. Even our awesome study parties won't feel that awesome anymore (because without you guys, Sarah will just pull off a Sarah and snore and Xiaoling will just put on her headphones and focus and Jack will just be a Jack). Heck, I just hope that your senior year has been an awesome one at Amherst, and I would like to take this chance to apologize if in any way I have inadvertently and unwittingly offended any of you or made any mistakes either through my words, actions, or jest.

Lastly, I am very sad to say that our goodbyes will no longer be "See you on Friday for Badminton!" or "See you tonight in the suite at 1130pm", but rather "See you when I see you" or "May our paths cross again someday", and it pains me very much. But I do understand that when I got to know you guys in the beginning of the year, you guys are meant for greater things in life, much larger than Amherst. So one last time, congratulations, my dear Alex, Phyo, and Shanghui! Spread your wings, soar, and continue to touch lives just exactly by being the way you are! And I do hope to see you again, when I see you. So let me know if you are in the area! Contact me via Facebook/email/skype/pigeons/whatever, even if it is only for a small chat! I'm honestly a low maintenance guy, so you don't need to keep in touch with me that often. But know that I will keep you guys in my prayers, and although we won't be able to ever relive the old times again, we will still be able to relate to one another as we did in the past year, even if we grow up and have kids and all (I promise to be less silly, I promise. hahaha). And knowing you guys is grand. :,)

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

PS: Please let us know once you have reached your respective destinations safely! <3

Start of Summer!

Whew. So many things to write, and now I have all the time in the world. I have posted my summer plans on Facebook, which sadly doesn't include Jakarta or Singapore. :(

Anyway first things first, shout out to my friend and fellow blogger Diga for writing such a nostalgic post. I wish you were here too man!

So I had my last finals on Friday, tidied up my belongings (hey, it's still messy right now, and I have to vacate the room real soon!), and played a bit of pool. Went to Miss Saigon for dinner with Ali, Levi, Melissa, and Carina, and then went to Froyo (Goberry, anyone?) afterward. A bunch of other Willistonians joined us. We knew that it Williston was soon to be over :(. I left slightly earlier than the rest to join my second to last badminton practice with the seniors. After badminton was over, it was close to midnight and I came back to Williston, showered, and watched a movie together with the gang.

Afterward, a bunch of us (Ali, George, Brian, MD, and I) got hungry and decided to go to the town for Pizza. What sucks about Amherst is the fact that nothing opens after midnight, barring Antonio's, the most popular pizza joint in the Amherst locale. Given the fact that Antonio's had the monopoly on the crowd (and also a $1 cheese pizza after every Friday midnight), we had to face a monstrous queue consisting of drunk UMass kids. So we chose to walk for ten minutes to Pizza & Sub, another pizza joint that we thought would be open at those ungodly hours. We were wrong.

So we went back to Williston (the dorm) and decided to order Domino's. I chose to split up and crashed into this friend's room (she's an upperclassman living in Moore), where I talked to her until like 2am. It was raining, and the pizza has arrived, so I had to leave. :P

I reached my dorm, stuffed myself with whatever pizza I could, played card games with the four aforementioned chaps, and got bored. I suggested: "Why not truth or dare?" and it became probably one of the most legen wait for it DARY nights in Williston! Dares include going out to the quad and singing "I love big butts" or saying a pick-up line to a random girl in the common room of the dorm, and the truths ranged from innocent questions like "how long have you gone without a shower" to daredevil questions such as "what was the last object you masturbated at" and "which girl in the dorm would you like to get a blowjob from" (PG 13: Viewer discretionary advised)

The game ended at four, and I went to bed, woke up at 8 this morning, helped another upperclassman and his girlfriend move out. And then helped another upperclassman or two moved out. If this happens everyday for a few months I would be able to pose for those bodybuilding magazines. I slept for half an hour afterward before playing tennis with another friend (Ishmael) today. He had to catch a spiderman movie, and I had to do laundry (and update this blog yay!) so we parted. And here I am, looking forward to an amazing summer ahead.

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

By the way, I am staying at Amherst to work for commencement and reunion, and I expect interesting things: I was just contacted by an Ouyang family member of Amherst College to serve them wine during their party. (The Ouyang family of Amherst was the generous sponsor of my trip to Beijing this summer :D) I look forward being a waiter, and I hope I get a sip of wine and a good conversation :)

Summary on Schmoozing to Success

It is said that one is defined by his top five friends. :) Or like my friend, Christian, mentioned, a person who hangs out with musicians won't necessarily be a good musician himself, but he will develop a similar intuition or taste to those of his friends'.

Moreover, I made this post in spirit of my friend Aditya Renaldi's advice: If you are studying in the States, you must partake in things that you can't do in Indonesia, or learn about those things and bring it back to your country!

Now, what is schmoozing, exactly? To be honest, I only heard of schmoozing when I came to the United States. I think that it is an American thing, although there are actions analogical to schmoozing in cultures from all over the world. Essentially, schmoozing is the American small-talk thingy, where you 'socialize' and try to get to know people better, diversifying your connections. A common misconception about schmoozing is that schmoozing = networking. This is not true, in fact, the golden rule of schmoozing is schmoozing is about the other person, not about you. Therefore, you think in terms of the others' interests first, and what you can do for other people, not the other way around.

I am fortunate enough to attend one of the events by my career center which led to me downloading a PDF of this book about schmoozing. If any of you are interested, feel free to e-mail me, and I will be more than happy to email you a copy of the book! Anyway, these are the things that I learned or I find most important from reading about the book:

Schmoozing begins with the mind. Again with the touch of Buddhism influence, thinking about schmoozing is actually harder than schmoozing itself. Sometimes we need to force myself to reach out to people, and it gets easier as we get into the habit. It is also about our mindset, a good schmoozer sees a potential friend instead of a stranger. However, it is also about intuition and instinct: Feel free to choose who you schmooze up with, and never force yourself to continue schmoozing with someone if you feel uncomfortable about it. It has to flow naturally.

What the book reminded me was the fact that I am more often than not a bad listener. Although outwardly I often appear to be attentively listening, most probably my mind is drifting somewhere inside. After reading this book, I tried to fix that and wholeheartedly listen to other people when they speak. And voila, it became really easy to ask follow up questions! I chose to start small too, practicing my schmoozing skills with my closest friends before actually approaching random strangers. Most importantly, I think in terms of win-win, and always try to do people a favor without expecting anything back, starting from something as small as inviting someone for dinner or trying to include someone in a conversation.

Finally, I have also learned how to drop compliments and to indirectly compliment other people (hint: asking for advice or small favors give subtle hints that you trust the person's capability or authority) and also the importance of closure and following up. One of the mistakes I made when I socialize is the fact that after a good conversation, I just let the person become another face in the crowd, without closing it with something like: "I had a good time catching up with you, let's grab coffee sometime?" and actually arranging a coffee/a follow-up meeting. Of course, you don't need to do it to everyone, but make sure to do it to those who genuinely interest you.

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

Water (of Life)

So you took a plunge.

You swam, you swam, and swam.

You got yourself wet all over.

You wanted to give up, but you told yourself to press on.

Things started to fall together,

The current started to get calmer.

You found yourself here and now,

and you realize that this is thanks to all your hard work.

And you ask,

Is this what I wanted?

Do I want to continue?

Rise above. Keep swimming.

For life is not about never getting hurt. Life is all about getting harmed while never allowing it to get you hurt.

-Truly Indonesia's Finest

The Essence of Social Dance

Now, I shall not claim that I have acquired the philosophy of Argentine Tango, or any social dance whatsoever. I, however, have realized that now I have an apt way to justify my involvement in such endeavor, as I explained to an upperclassman while we were queuing for free crepes and Falafels at Amherst's Citifest.

Well, we should firstly go back to the whole "I won't be able to experience this in Asia" type of argument; Which is false but true at the same time. False because I am certain that there are Argentine Tango clubs in China, Singapore, and probably Jakarta, but true because I wouldn't have the guts to even try out these things if I were to stay in Asia.

I know some people would denounce Argentine Tango merely as a slow, rather boring form of dance. Of course, it is a social dance, not a performance/competition type of dance like Salsa, Swing, or Ballroom: We don't practice our ass off to achieve perfection with a permanent partner who we know inside out. We negotiate beauty through imperfection and improvisation, while learning how to handle and welcome new people in our life as we minimize our distances from the practice position, to the open embrace, and finally the close embrace.

As cliche as it sounds, impermanence is the sole permanence. People come and go, and social dance confers the opportunity to break this overarching walls the modern society has imprisoned us in. We learn how to balance small talk with our dance moves, how to manage our personal boundaries while learning how to touch and handle the other. My coach sums it up in an interesting point: Young men of today compete in athletic games to show off their prowess, giving the ladies a signal of his capability. This should not be the case as athletic prowess does not in any way foretell the guy's ability to handle his woman. Is he able to treat her well, is he able to touch her well? It should not be strength, it should be beauty, it should be the delicacy.

I dare not say I now know how to handle my women. I dare say that I have become much more confident in my interactions and my touch with them. For one reason or another, I have this slight fear that as an international Asian guy, I would be kinda looked down upon by western girls, and this is reflected by the lack of my confidence, needless to say especially around Caucasian women. Last Saturday, at Amherst's day of Tango, I met a girl who taught me otherwise. Tatiana from France is such an amazing sight. No, she may not be the warmest or the most patient lady out there, but she treated me nicely and fairly. We danced, we touched, and we saw each other as partners, as equals. This gave me the confidence, this gave me what I sought after, that hey, after all, regardless of everything else, I am a gentleman, too. I liked how she instilled such confidence in me, and finally I got to lead her well. And we hugged twice before parting.

Now that is such a sweet lady, and this is the experience I am seeking for and is gratefully blessed with. Thank you, Tatiana ;)

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

Relationship Advice from a Psych Prof

So here at my dorm, Williston, we have tea time every Sunday evenings 9pm. This week's special though, as my RC (Resident Counselor, some sort of upperclassmen who are responsible for the dorm's wellbeing) managed to get ahold of Professor Sanderson. Prof Sanderson is one of the most popular psychology professor at Amherst College, so much so that even sophomores have zero chance to enroll in her classes.

She shared her story about dating and relationships in college, and it was summarized in five points. The story was spiced with so many different anecdotes and examples, but for the sake of brevity I shall try my best to pick out the most relevant ones. (or rather the ones I remember the most)

So, before you can actually date someone, you should
1. Meet somebody. Yes, right, put yourself out, and actually try to meet someone. It can be through various means, such as going to parties, bars, or even through more nonobvious settings such as volunteering, dance lessons, etc. Simply because you can't get into a relationship with someone who you've never met before. (unless we're talking about online dating here, in which we "virtually" meet someone)

2. Render yourself vulnerable. Put your heart at stake, and express your interest to the person at some point. The person you like is (hopefully) not a psychic who will be able to read your mind, and you will have to let the person know. Prof Sanderson compared this with the analogy of asking questions in the class. You often have questions, and you are invited to ask questions, but you don't ask em because you are afraid that you look stupid. You see the rest of the class not asking questions, and you think that they don't NOT because they don't want to look stupid, you think it's more because they're all already smart and don't need to ask the question. And turns out everyone thinks the same way and the question was never asked.

At some point of the time, you just simply have to go out there, and tell the person the truth. Another anecdote she shared was about an ex student who was a senior athlete, good looking, intelligent, confident etc. He came to meet her personally to tell her about how he's in love with a girl since his freshman year, and how he feels that she's the one etc etc. Professor's advice? Let her know. And this guy was simply blown away at the suggestion. It's as if that the professor's telling him not to wear clothes. (ps. this was not part of the story, but at the Q&A, the professor shared how she told her current husband that she loved him, twice, and got rejected twice, when she was an undergraduate at Stanford. A few years after graduation though, the guy just came up to her door and declared his love for her. And they are married 20 years since.)

3. Okay, so now assume that you have found the person, and you have expressed your feelings. And the person said 'yes'. Now, you have to stimulate a state of arousal in that person. Okay, I am going to be super nerdy and just spam out my intro to psych knowledge here: According to this Schachter guy or whatever, the body's physiological response to states of fear, giddy excitation, and love (it's the two factor theory), and yes, so people can mistake fear from the suspension bridge into attraction (it's in fact a legit psych experiment, which you can Google it: "suspension bridge effect"). Other sources of arousal include: coffee's caffeine, roller coasters, haunted house, etc. Apparently this is used in reality tv dating shows (dates are based upon the participants' greatest fears), and she shared a story about the two survivors of a plane crash got engaged (they did not meet in the plane's couch, they met at the plane's wings after the crash to the Hudson lake). So, you can use this principle to create an aroused emotional state in your crush, and hopefully they will misattribute the heightened heartbeat and sweating palms to being excited around you and for having fallen for you.

4. So having done steps 1-3, you now have to project an idealized version of your partner or loved ones, to keep the romance burning. Why? Sounds like a terrible advice, right? Well, it's simply doing what you do to yourself and extending it to your partner. Why? Because most of us overestimate ourselves. We think that we're above average in looks, grades, personality, etc. So conventional wisdom states that the normal people have realistic expectations etc, and the depressed people are super sad and pessimistic about their life. It was actually discovered that this is not at all true: the depressed people actually have the normal expectations of their life, extremely realistic about themselves and the world. We, the "normal" people, actually think about ourselves and others in idealized terms, and have these delusions about us being extraordinary. Consider these facts: More than 70% of American drivers think that they are an above-average driver (which is statistically impossible).

So why do we have to think about our partner in idealized terms? Professor Sanderson shares another psych experiment: So a couple in the room sits down facing one another, and were asked to fill out a survey that determines whether they "see the relationship in the same way as one another or not", and they were told that the questions in the survey form they had are exactly the same questions. So at the first page they were asked how they first met one another, their first kiss, etc. At the second page, one of the person's questions made him/her list down things that he/she does not like about the partner. So he/she slowly lists down these small irks. Meanwhile, what the person does not know is the partner's question, which requires the partner to list down the things he/she had in the dorm room. So imagine the feeling of the first person who sees his partner filling down the sheet as fast as possible, with a lot of things, and even requesting an extra sheet of paper to fill in the answers. The third question for the first person though, requires that person to list down things that he/she loves about the partner. Amazingly enough, if the person has idealized notions about the partner, he/she will list even more things that he/she loves about the partner in spite of thinking that the partner listed so many bad things about him/her. This is because the person becomes so grateful that his/her partner is still with him/her despite all the bad things that is listed. Here's how you idealize a partner: not stubborn but determined, not stingy or miserly but frugal and saving the planet.

5. The last step is fight evenly. According to a psych research, the greatest indicator of a divorce in a marriage is how couples fight. Not how often, but how. Can the couple actually talk out their differences between one another, express anger and frustration, and deal with it together? Or do they seek passive-aggressive means, or allow small things to build up and explode like a volcano? So encourage openness. Be honest about your expectations and frustrations. Learn to fight it out, like an adult. Don't be like the person professor Sanderson shared about: He's been seeing a girl for six months, and they broke up. Simply because one day, the girl asked him about where is the relationship heading to, and the guy simply sent her packing. Simply because the guy wanted to deal the pre-emptive strike (which in all honesty, we all agree that she could be asking for a marriage instead of asking for a breakup!!) Be honest, be open, talk. Be angry, be frustrated, but deal with it together.

Thank you Professor Sanderson, thank you Amherst College, for such experiences are what makes studying thousands of miles away from home worth it :)

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

Delicate Dance

I think life is a delicate dance.

Therefore, I figured that I have to learn to dance delicately, while still enjoying the music nonetheless.

So on Friday I decided to be a badass, skipping my three classes for a networking session at a particularly renowned finance and assets management firm at New York. I would say that the experience itself is quite interesting, and as I learned (slightly painfully) myself, I am not an introvert. More to that later. I did get some handshakes, questions, and names, though. And for now I can at least tell the difference between a primary product and a secondary product, and also a risk manager and a product analyst.

Again, the same impression I got when I attended Morgan Stanley's info session last semester, if I ever get the chance to work my ass off in the finance world, it sounds like the workload of A Levels and Amherst's combined, with a typical 70-80 hours of working a week, and with much fewer holidays, probably around 15 days of paid leave per YEAR. But doing so will allow me to shit gold and piss silver.

Today was quite interesting. Again, there's this whole delicate dancing thingy in the morning, (but am very grateful nonetheless), and spent four hours on watching a softball game. Amherst was playing Middlebury, and thankfully we managed to win the third match. It doesn't help that the enemy's pitcher (no.1) and shortstop (no.7) are total hotties. (no.7 was an Asian btw, the only Asian in the whole field, yay fellow Asian!) Wrong place, wrong time, but good call ;)

And I ate dinner with this lad from Turkey who goes by Melih. He is an english major, and thinks that we all should read more english literature. Quiz for the readers: Can you name 5 female English writers? (I can't, and he thinks that it's a shame that very few people can.) ((Hint: The Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, To the Lighthouse, Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter :p) He has an interesting point though, and probably I shall take more humanities classes.

Alright, catch you later!

Truly Indonesia's Finest

eclipse

I'm perfectly fine standing here in the dark/but I can't wait to go back to the light/to the sunshine

Spring Break!

This has been a really interesting week for me. It is both short and long at the same time, both tiring and rejuvenating, both relaxing and nerve wracking, and both simple and complicated.

If you count Montague, Princeton, and Evanston as cities, I covered at least 9 different cities, visited at least 8 different universities, met around 15 old friends and made at least 15 new ones, and had one on one meetings with at least 7 ladies, all within the span of nine days. I spent a night at a neighborhood one block away from Harlem, missed a flight, hung out at a bar until 3am, and attended a conference at MIT for this Spring break.

Let me gloss over some of the details but I went to (chronologically) Montague, Portland, Boston, New York, Philly, Princeton, New York, Chicago, Evanston, Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, Boston, and then back to Amherst. I spent most of the time traveling solo, but I met and made friends along the way. One of the highlights is definitely the day and two nights I spent at UIUC where I met my ex-schoolmates, TJ and Hansel, and enjoyed the typical Indonesian lifestyle, with Hansel driving his fancy mini cooper and blasting the Two Door Cinema Club soundtracks and us Indonesians hanging out together and played Indonesian punny games also known as "sapi".

I also met plenty of girls during the trip, (and also guys too!) and something weird occurred as I slowly try to read into these people. I get the feeling that I start to understand them better, and I understand myself better through my way of understanding them. I had amazing food for most of the trip, spending between $1 to $25 per meal (from granola bars to fancy dinners), slept anywhere between 4 hours to 9 hours, and traveled anywhere between 30 minutes to 10 hours on each given day. However, it was such an amazing journey. Of course, there were risky moments such as when I explored the streets of Harlem past midnight or when I realize that I am the only Asian in the train full of people of a certain background in Chicago, but I believe that I became more assertive, calmer, and confident from this trip too!

Alright, since I didn't bring my laptop for the trip, I did not do any work at all, and I have to start catching up with work, so I will stop here. But I am really really grateful for this amazing spring break. :)

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

Lessons

I learned three lessons today:

1. A person who seems distracted when he or she talks to you is not necessarily a jerk. Maybe he is simply an extrovert who knows too many people, and is equipped with some kind of attention deficit.

2. You only know whether an apple is rotten or not when you bite it. Apples may have beautiful skins but also rotten cores at the same time.

3. Stay Gowther.

Truly Indonesia's Finest,

PS. I just realized what the lesson meant. If you eat one rotten apple, will you stop eating apple forever? I don't think so. I will definitely eat more apples in the future, it's just that I will remember to throw it away after the first bite if it is rotten to the core. Unless if I ever wish for a stomachache.

Improvisasi dan Sintesis Elemen

Sorry, I have to keep this in Bahasa. Cheers:)

Kalau kita pakai sistem unsur Jawa, di muka bumi ini ada empat unsur dasar: Air, Api, Udara, dan Tanah. Emang, orang Tionghoa punya unsur ada lima: Api, Air, Tanah, Kayu (Pohon), dan Logam, tapi untuk artikel ini dan seterusnya saya pakai yang unsur Jawa aja dulu deh (4 lebih dikit, jadi ga seberapa ribet). Nah, di setiap orang, unsur-unsur itu ada, tetapi ada beberapa unsur yang lebih menonjol di orang-orang tertentu.

Misalnya nih, gue orangnya lebih ke arah air sama udara: Air itu berjalan pakai emosi, mengandalkan perasaan, dan lebih mengalir jadinya suka bergaul. Kalau orang yang udaranya banyak itu biasanya orang yang suka berfikir, berangan-angan, yang analisa dan imajinasinya berjalan. Api gue ngga begitu kurang, soalnya masih ada juga di sisi gue yang membara, atau passionate untuk memperoleh suatu tujuan, walaupun kadang-kadang gue mesti agak blak-blakan dan mengutamakan tugas duluan. Feeling gue sih bilang kalo elemen tanah gue yang agak kurang. Orang yang elemen tanah itu memprioritaskan hasil. Mereka sangat praktis dan super termotivasi oleh hal-hal dan hasil-hasil yang konkrit.

Nah, kenapa tiba-tiba gue nulis soal kayak begini? Well, gue lagi kepikiran aja sih, kalo ntar nyari partner mesti yang kayak apa. Ya, gue perlu orang yang unsur tanahnya jalan biar kerjaan gue bisa beres. Tentu aja, gue bakal berusaha ningkatin terus unsur tanah (atau kayu) gue, supaya gue bisa produktif juga. Tapi kan kalo ada yang bantu enak juga. Nah tapi gue suka bergaul sama orang orang yang banyak mikir juga. Yang agak "berat" dan "dalem", yang "intellektual". Mereka ini lebih ke udara, dan kalo kerja sama mereka oke oke aja, tapi ga saling melengkapi gitu. Temen-temen gue ada sih yang elemen tanahnya kuat, tapi yah gue juga mesti pinter-pinternya ngasih mereka insentif buat temenan ama gue. Which means gue harus produktif dan berkarya dulu sendiri.. hehehe.

Apakah unsur lo? Tanah itu bertentangan sama udara, api itu bertentangan dengan air. Sebaliknya, air menunjang tanah, dan api menunjang udara. Ada siklusnya juga lho. hehehe.

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