How do you turn SATAY into SEXY? (feel free to interpret this liberally)

How do you turn SATAY into SEXY? (feel free to interpret this liberally)

Answer here

Oldboy

I never thought I'd be where I am today.

Nope, this isn't the opening line of some sort of autobiography titled Ranaditya Alief: The boy who endured the hardships of his youth, and against all odds became a national icon. Moreover, the term 'hardships of his youth' becomes over-the-top politically incorrect when applied to my wonder years. Bloody hell, the closest thing I've ever experienced to the expected famine that comes with poverty is Ramadhan!

Anyway, what I meant by not having the slightest idea on where I would be right now refers no less and no more to where I am now academically, and how I envisioned it back before I regularly wore shorts to campus. During those me minus 8 kilogram days, I had a mental picture of myself in full graduation attire at the end of my 7th semester, and my name as a cummlaude graduate on the big screen in Balairung.

Simply put, flash-forward June 2011, I'm a veteran.

I didn't submit my thesis in time to graduate at the end of my senior year, and thus, my undergrad days will outlive the normal student lifespan of eight semesters. To be blunt, my dear mom -who happens to work where I study- chose to comment on this added longevity by stating, "those who do not finish in time diminish the accreditation points of this campus". Bummer.

No need to scathe, fellow veterans. What my old lady said was just a failed attempt to fire me up; she doesn't regard it inferiorly, and for all I know, she ended up with my dad, who took eight years to don his toga, long even for 80s standards.

But for a period of time, I myself did.

It wasn't a taboo, but if I had to fill in a form about all of the undesirable things in university life that could possibly happen, I'd definitely pencil graduating late somewhere in the middle of the paper.

Yet funny enough, here I am now, facing a late graduation in the eye, while peering occasionally at my classmates, all of them saying "It's a wrap!" to sunny Depok. The melodrama inside of me points out my delayed graduation date as a form of karma for all of my snobbery in the past. I'd like to think that it was true, because these kinds of quirks are both funny and charming in a way.

However, I can only point to myself for not getting the job done. I am guilty of slacking and more criminally, dwelling, especially when faced with questions I can't answer, and dots I can't connect. Some people say I'm too ambitious, but that kind of irritates me, because I have the least intention of crafting any kind of magnum opus. I just want it to make sense.

Sadly for me, it hasn't. Although in all fairness, I admit that my attitude could benefit from a change, namely in dealing with all of the stumbling blocks.

Excuses aside, the weird thing these days is that I don't consider graduating late as an inferiority anymore. For all I know, this might be another rational justification of mine, just to deal with the fact that I am graduating late. Or perhaps, the blow has merely been taken out by the optimism that I'll get my thesis finished in the end, I'll get my fair share of job offers, and I'll do well with one or two business ventures (pretty amped about it right now). Either way, I do hope that all of this doesn't bog me down, although premature indications suggest otherwise.

So with all that, I guess I'm a veteran, albeit a happy one who doesn't want to stay one for too long.

Well, God bless me. And my 'hardships'.

Late Night Karaoke Song 008: Luv (Sic.) Part 2

by Nujabes (feat Shing02)

Once again, now where do I start, dear love
Dumb struck with the pure luck to find you here
Every morn' I awake from a cavernous night,
Sometimes still pondering the previous plight,
Seems life done changed long time no speak,
Nowadays I often forget the day of the week
Taking it by stride if you know what I mean,
No harm done, no offense taken by me
So let's rap, we'll catch up to par, what's the haps?
Perhaps we're even closer now after all things considered on this side of the planet,
Couldn't pick a better time even if we planned it!
To come clean and candid if I have to
Oh what I wouldn't trade for your laughter
Sweet and sour spice in my poetry pot melting,
Even better than the real thing!
It's like the God in me saw the Devil in you
I wanted to break myself in the worst way when I met you
Who would have thought, conversate by the river, celebrate birth,
Sit and delivered the lines that would prove to be the seeds of trust
Unsigned, yeah but destined to grow with sunshine
Self-assigned task piled on the desk of good works,
Knowing hardship appreciate the best of both worlds!


C'est la vie, as they say L.O.V.E evidently, see every song has a sequel
Never same, everything but the name, all fresh just like back then, how we do everyday
C'est la vie, as they say L.O.V.E eloquently, see dream has a part two
Never same, you got to keep it tight, all fresh just like back then, now hear me out...


Once together, now where do we go, dear divine
I pray that you keep watching over us,
From the heavens where light is the nucleus
To this space filled with darkness and negative matter
Anti-gravity pull is what I would rather feel when I leave this shell eventually
Ties to the mother earth ground me mentally,
Real vibes will keep me alive spiritually
Imagination brings bliss at no cost, when I blink blink I receive at no loss
Victory comes in small packages like a leaf of an olive tree brought back by a dove
From above, then I'm gonna rhyme love,
Well you saw that one coming ever since the beginning of the end
Well anyways, I am not a perfect being, yes I am a man full of sin
It's like the Devil in me saw the God in you,
You epitomize the etymology of enthusiasm!
Look it, up there lies the clouds that form the rain
That came from the ocean that flowed from the river
I'm a believer, firm with the first words, lyrical transceiver of our ancient roots
(Science + Arts) * Faith / # of our Ethnic Race!
Let me mention what I've been thinking
How to save the children, when the ship is sinking
So I'm singing, no lip syncing to slogans,
Political hooligans with tanks, missiles and guns!
Everything is relative when it's all in the family of man,
Understand the time has finally come to realize the great power of 1,
All formulas equalize under the Sun, Amen!


The rhymes will heal 'cause I believe in music,
In times of need I won't be leaving you sick
The beat plus the melody's the recipe,
Your vibe surely brings out the best in me!
The rhymes will heal 'cause I believe in music,
In times of need I won't be leaving you sick
The beat plus the melody's the recipe,
All good souls lost may they rest in peace!
(repeat)
Hiphop worldwide we got to live in peace, like that!

R: A combination of random myspace-ing and random youtube-ing brought me to this plethora of Japanese Hip-Hop, I suppose, in which DJ's utilizing some of the most feel good samples I've ever heard reign supreme. Thus, the likes of DJ Okawari, Uyama Hiroto, and of course, the late Nujabes (Jun Seba), have been playing in my ears every night for the past few weeks (accompanied by Seinen manga, of course!)

Luv (Sic.) Part 2 is my favorite in a trio of Luv (Sic.) songs (all of 'em are heaven to my ears) from Nujabes. Shing02's intonation is far from flawless, but the song is angelic due to it's beat. It just has this airy quality to it (sorry, I'm not a music-man), I think, that makes it all the more soothing than it all ready is.

In short: the perfect tune for a galau night.

Well, it still feels good in any kind of night :)

-R

Potato Couch

I'm not an intern undergoing internship.
I'm an internet-addict undergoing internetship.

Life is good. So good, I've chosen to post this on my blog instead of on twitter.

-R

Benchwarmer

Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary

(John Keating, Dead Poets Society)

The above line is one quote I find myself, not thinking of perhaps, but rather, vouching for, whenever I go to bed at night during the holidays.

Tommorrow will be another day, a new day.

The sun will shine, clouds will make way, for it will definitely be my day.

A day to set things right, to turn on the green light, to make things happen, to take things by the scruff of the neck.

Giddy-giddy, Ole! Let's go people, time to roll!

Alas, by the time the 10 AM, or 11 AM, or -nah, 12 would be obvious- 3 PM o'clock pokes my insipid eyes the following day, all foolish notions are quickly vanquished. Here we go again. Twitter-set. Facebook-set. Formspring-sometimes set. Youtube-set. Pamper me, fellas.

Most times it's peeking and poking. A lot of times it's a case lalalalala... tube karaoke.

But sometimes, I go around and around and around and I find something worthy of my going around (aside from softcore porn).

That something for me today is the works of Japanese film director, Kosai Sekine.

I was originally googling for ad agencies, as I am currently possibly in need of an internship experience. By unorthodoxically stating 'possibly', I'm saying here that I'm still perplexed and not sure on if I really want such an endeavour or not, and on the reasons for both sides of the issue. Call it a long holiday pre-senior year undergrad complex.

"BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY"

(Epilogue text, Conan The Barbarian and Conan The Destroyer)

Anyway, from google I went to tube, a spin-off from the original pursuit. Now, was the time to see some cool ads, I thought (and tell about them to the world to make myself seem like a bloody eccentric, eclectic, hip, cool, quasi-aksara, know-it-all dudey-dude).

Keyword: Saatchi & Saatchi. Not that I want to end up there, but I've heard of the London-based multinational agency as one of the best in business of nabbing awards, and thus, I expected to have my need for some "oohs and aahs" fulfilled. Turns out they had this channel for this cool event at Cannes International Advertising Festival, dubbed the New Director's Showcase (NDS). On it (or is it, in it?) were these really cool shorts from young, up and coming directors from around the world. Needless to say, although they weren't exactly, ads, they were totally cool, and made me go ooh and aah.

One of the up and coming directors was the above mentioned Japanese director. I heart his following work for Adidas.

Original, insightful, and kind of funny. The grin I had from watching it drove me to browse the related video's sections and on and on, to indulge my curiosity further on. And boy I saw some cool stuff.

And lastly, my favorite, the award-winning short, Right Place

I really like how his works connect with the human, especially in Right Place with the OCD theme. The technicalities and the art, are top notch, and as commented by Richard Grey, Creative Director Global Culture S&S Worldwide on Break-Up Service,

"Excellent storytelling. Great editing -not a frame wasted. Love the casting too."

That comment kind of sums up all of my newfound admiration towards Master Sekine, I guess.

And, my something for today. Gosh, how can I someday be at least involved in stuff like those, I have no idea.

One thing's for sure, though. Carpe diem, needs to happen first. Although, for now....

I'm happy watching from the stands. Life is good :P

-R

PS: For more info about Kosai Sekine, visit his tube channel and his homepage

Italian Dressing

Calma

is a chant I repeat over and over to myself whenever I'm frustrated, stressed, or a little bit short of breath. It's not that I speak Italian, or have any grudges against "Astagfirullah", but I just prefer saying 'Calma' out loud, despite the reckless pronounciation.

Calma.

Remember, everything's fine. You are happy, life is good.

Think about what you can do to others, instead of what others can do to you.

Okay, shoot, now I'm starting to sound all funkyfucius.

(pseudotrance mode -look how I used pseudo instead of pretend. Yeay)

Wow.

Good lord this blog is turning into the dreaded 'curhat' blog.

Okay, that is so not cool.

Okay, I am having second thoughts. Okay, I am having issues with this. Okay, this is so against the image I want to project through this blog. Okay, this is embarassing myself. Okay, well maybe I should...

Calma! Calma! Calma! Calma! Calma! Calma!

Does this shit really work?

God why does Berlusconi get to bang hot young women and jibe Finnish cuisine at the same time?

-R

PS: I knew the word from reading a volume of FANTASISTA, in which main protagonist Teppei Sakamoto shouts the word out loud to distract the opposing team's defender's concentration

I Saw You Doing Something With Your Hands

Let's talk about Grand Gestures.

Objects, love-gifts, charming giveaways , whatever you name it.

I'm a fan of them, I craft them, I enjoy making them, although I don't buy them.

Some people (the well-educated, I presume) questioned why I needed to make them.

Useless, over-the-top, theatrical, they said.

One fellow even went to the point of analogising them as masturbation.

Yes, jerking-off, playing with yourself, rocking the snake, all just because the act was assumed for self-gratification.

Now my friends, this woeful misinterpretation, I think, is because some folks think that the climax happens when I'm spraying stories around with that gleam in the eye to the canteen crowd, when I'm engaging in some kiss and tell (inherited from my old lady) with my comrades, the so-called Kom, where gossip spreads at the speed of light (of which I know, Kom peeps are secretly proud of this notion. Sorry to say, my highschool still one ups you by a country mile).

Well, that would be a very, very daft conclusion, a dishonorable mention to who I intended all of my 'Grand Gestures' for. That's why some have a degree in Sexology, like Boyke, while some play the Love Guru, like Mike Myers. They just can't spot the difference between actual orgasm and that spring in your step the following morning post-sex.

Pardon the analogy, by the way. I've never had intercourse, of course, but I couldn't find a more appropriate counter-analogy to the one about masturbation, which irks me constantly. But my point is, the pleasure... --Okay, I'll defect from the sexual thesaurus, so it won't erode my point--...

That warm, fuzzy feeling, I'd never experienced before I woke up on the other side of the bed some 30 days ago, sometimes occur when you truly know that the one you gave a Grand Gesture likes it, feels that it's special, and likes you even more for doing it.

The effort doesn't count up for anything.

Whether the effort has any meaning for that special someone, however,

counts up for everything.

-R

PS: Do you know where I left my sweetener?