ICE QUEEN

The Ice Queen comes bearing sharp stalactites to stab virgin hearts. The seemingly cool and calming aura lures them close, and when they get real close she freezes and the cool becomes cold, the calm turns stormy. They are trapped but the she would not let go. She is what she is. Only beaming sunlight with patient warmth can melts the stalactites and turn the Ice Queen no more.

Clubbing

So last night after a boring day at work I went out for some drinks. That has not happened in a while. Upon my return from Ozland I lost all desire to be in the middle of a smoky crowded room drinking copius amount of alcohol and looking pretty. It's hard looking pretty after a few glasses of wine. It was Tuesday night last night, and one would be pressed to find a 'happening' venue. We ended up at a rooftop of a building drinking wine with Jakarta's foggy night as out shelter. We sat by the pool on the deckchairs not having a care in the world. That was just fantastic. There were lots of good conversations and slowly the group grew bigger.

We then moved to a supposedly more happening place. Cheap drinks, dark smoky room and lots of half drunken people. It was a small club. It was then that I was reminded on why I didn't want to go out clubbing lately. I'm just over it. My mate bought me drinks, and I quickly skulled it down so I can be rid of this place.

I'm really over it. For now at least. Till then...

Workaholics

I always resent being called one. It's Easter weekend and I'm beginning to slowly believe that maybe, I am. Most people rejoice in the fact of having a full long weekend to themselves, to have quality time spent with friends and family. I rejoiced, too -- until one night came and I realised that I didn't know what to do with myself when I have no work. I have friends, family but I just don't feel like hanging out with them. Sad. PATHETIC. I know.

Apparently it's a common problem among us, the twenty somethings. We crave work and spent hours working to justify our existence as if we always have something to prove. I don't. I don't think so, at least. I work because I like it. And that's where it becomes dangerous. How does one draw the line of doing something out of love and doing something because it's the only way they can feel loved? Some kind of self-gratification? Again, I'd say that I belong in the first category but there are people out there who can not differentiate the two. Work can be some form of escapism; similar to that of a holiday, and other extra curriculer activities. It's oh so easy to blame work, use it as an excuse.

As one member of the twenty somethings club, I long for intelligent conversations, plenty of travels and worldly experiences. Work should be means to an end. I just have to be careful. The line is getting very blurred.

Nu Crib

So, I've moved into this new place. I need to decorate to make it a bit more livelier. Wait up for the house warming invites.

Art, Love and God Part.2

It is not exactly a continuation of a post of a similar title, but thanks to my beloved fellow blogster faetryn, I've become a regular visitor to Jeffrey Overstreet's fantastic blog, and discovered Mystery and Message .

Ay! Ay! To all the things said.
Oy! Oy! For the zillion attempts to understand and make meanings on life and art.

Meaningless conversations about everything and nothing, anyone?

Organised Hitchiking

For those who are unfamiliar with my home city of Jakarta, the sight below would be rather unusual. Jakarta's bad traffic is definitely the number one factor why people don't like this city despite its continuous buzz 24/7. Being the capital of the world's 4th most populated country in the world clearly shows in the everyday traffic of Jakarta.

The municipal government is trying to improve the situation (... present continuous; they are yet to suceed) by enforcing 3 in 1 rules, setting up a busway system -- all to no avail. In the recent weeks, a radio station that I normally listen to started a program for organised hitchiking. Similar to the notice board often found in hostels in Europe offering lifts to a particular route, the morning show DJs act as a notice board for those who need help with commuting for work. Those who want to get extra passengers for whatever reason can simply send a text message stating what time they're leaving their area and the route they will be passing. Similarly, those who need a lift can scream for help, too. The radio station just collects the information-- the parties involved must make their own appointments and decide on cost involved, etc.

Remember the old saying of, "Don't talk to strangers?"

It is nice and refreshing that despite the height of crime and despair in this metropolitan city, human goodness and faith can still be found in the small form of participating in an organised hitchiking. This concept can only work where there is a basic trust among all the parties. And that, is not something that is easy to come by.

My New Family

The insanely lovely Imaginex Family @ AAA 2006. We're one helluva noisy brunch. That's what we are -- that's what we're good at. We're good at making lots of funky, happening noise.

FIRING HIRING

It's cool to be in a position to hire people. It is the recognition that your judgement counts that can really add fuel to the ego booster machine. Let's face it, we all like to feel important. It makes one feel good when, once again, your judgement becomes an important input in a large organisation. However, it sucks to have to do the firing when you didn't do the hiring. I guess that comes with the job. Like many things in life, often we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Life can suck like that. For the firee and the fired.

Which one do you want to be??

Lonely in America

Is loneliness a real problem in this world? Recent events had led me to think about this matter more. Where the boundaries of the world are diminishing, so are people's sense of security and comfort. The opening of the unknown creates an alienation which highlights how lonely we really are. The hustle and bustle of this world push us in one corner; where we desperately hanging to the things that we know -- our race, our gender, our nationality, our religion, anything at all. We look for things in common so we don't feel so alone. There's no telling where we can find similarities with others.

This is an example of how lonely people are -- throwing things out there to see if there's another feeling as lonely as they are:

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I found your profile online here and thought I would
take the chance to contact you. My email
address is: ********@yahoo.com. I would
greatly appreciate the opportunity to know you.

I am looking for a lifetime partner, someone with
whom I can share my happiness. But I am also
looking for friends, as well. I live in a small house
with a large garden. Gardening is one of my
hobbies. I have rose bushes, dwarf fruit trees
(orange, tangerine, cherry, peach, nectarine,
kumquat, etc.) lots of other flowers. I also make
great desserts and I am an excellent baker. I like
to water ski, play tennis, ice skate, hike, go to the
beach and I am a voracious reader (mostly non-
fiction).

My parents are retired and still live in Iowa where I
grew up. Iowa is in the Midwest of the U.S. and is
farm country. I also have 4 sisters, all married and
8 nieces and nephews. Two were adopted from
Korea. My sisters all live in the Midwest too, near
my parents.

When I was a child, I would work on my
grandfather's farm in summer and during harvest
season. I guess this is why I like to garden.

I am 2000 miles away from my family, as I live in
Oakland, CA. Oakland is just a few minutes from
San Francisco where my law office is located. I live
close to the ocean, although most of the time the
water is too cold to swim in. I do go to the beach
frequently or hike along the cliffs and sand by the
beaches. There are hundreds of miles of hiking
trails here. The Bay Area is very scenic. The
weather never gets too hot or too cold. 200 miles
from here are mountains.

I am compassionate, patient, romantic (that is why
I grow roses), have a corny sense of humor,
knowledgeable about the world, and very
intelligent. I do not drink, smoke or do drugs of
any kind.

I am not your typical American. I represent the
poorest in our society. Even though we are a rich
country, tens of millions are living in poverty. These
are the people I serve. Even in the Bay Area there
are over 600,000 poor people. My agency is a
Legal Aid and we are the lawyers that are
supposed to represent them. It is an impossible
task. We have seven offices and about 80 staff, but
we have more possible clients than we can
possibly help. I primarily assist abused women
with divorces, custody, etc.

I also do media work as well. I am also our
Communications Director/Media Coordinator. I
write our newspaper column and occasionally do
radio and TV to let the public know that not all is
well in America.

If you have other questions for me, feel free to ask.
Tell me more about yourself. Anything you want
to tell me is appreciated. Have you ever been to
the U.S.? I was in the Philippines in November
2004 and in Singapore and Malaysia in 2001.

I look forward to hearing from you if you would like
to know me.

A journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single
step. Please take that first step by writing back to
me.

Or are they simply American? Hahahaha... Bad joke, I know. I'm sorry. And no, I don't join any online dating service or anything like that.