My contract has expired.. no extension whatsoever.. so, technically today’s my last day!
(Well, even though I still have to work for 3 days a week for the next two weeks to clear up the administration and transition stuffs. You know what they say, resignation is much more tiring than the first day of work)
So starting from April 15th, I will be starting to work at LGS again. It’s kinda exciting even though the place is not new to me. At the same time I feel a bit sad having to leave the REDD+ Task Force. Well, I feel acknowledged as a person, I have a great boss, a highly professional team, good friends. All in all I feel like having a second family there. But yet, they can’t afford to give me the certainty I need to build a future: a secured job. So, I have to leave.
However, I will be working (again) in a big law firm, I have a girlfriend whom I love very much, friends whom I can trust and a very broad network. I don’t think I could ask for more…
…………………..than an LL.M. degree!!
It was both funny and awkward to read my previous posts. The mushiness.. the grammatical errors.. I don’t even believe I’ve ever posted those (not that my grammar have improved drastically. I still suck). I don’t even remember posting them. Yeah, those were dark days…
But anyway. Not that I want to hide past mistakes or safe the embarrassment, I decided to delete a few posts (well, actually most of them). To put it simple, I have my own reason.
So, yeah..
Recently I “incidentally” watched Transformers: Dark of the Moon, again. In my defense, I was too lazy to move from the couch when my mom was watching the movie. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad movie, since I write this in a virtual blog and as you know you literally can’t keep things discreet in the internet. So, let me just tell you what I learned after watching this thing for the second time.
1. Rosie Huntington cannot act, and the director knows it
I know what you’re probably thinking: “D’uh doy!”. But still, I think I have the obligation, and the rights, to emphasize this one after watching her acted for the second time. She has a smokin’ hot body, but not a very nice lips (IMO), and she surely isn’t a born actress. I don’t have to describe her roles, because I’m sure that you already know what I am talking about.
2. Patrick Dempsey is just too wise to be a villain
When you see Patrick Dempsey, you imagine a doctor, a professor, a mentor, a just district attorney, and a good-loving father. But can you imagine him as a fighter? Maybe. As a villain? Not really. How about a diabolical boss villain? Definitely, not. Why? Read what I have written above. However, he could be a perverted professor who likes to seduce young students in his office. But still, I don’t think he could nail the interrogation scene because he is just too damn wise. He might nail it, IF he pleads guilty before the detectives even start to ask any questions. And I’m not sure he’s even the real culprit.
3. Shia LaBeouf is a lucky bastard
He made out with Megan Fox. Not once, not twice, but in two movies! And when they dumped her, they replaced her with another hot girl namely Rosie Huntington. And guess what? He made out with her too! And what did he do to get such a reward? Nothing except running around in the city, screaming, and yelling. C’mon! It was always Optimus who kicked the villain’s ass. Why didn’t he (it?) get his (its?) own sexy time? And also, this proves one thing: a guy with a nice ride always gets the girl. What did Optimus ride (or what was Optimus)? A truck. And what did Mr. LaBeouf ride? A Chevy. Point Proven!
4. The movie gave me a headache
No, not because the movie was bad, which I’m not saying it was, or the story was too difficult to follow. I literally got myself a headache after watching it. Probably because there were lots of robots rolling around that eventually I couldn’t tell what those were anymore.
5. Huntington vs. Fox
If ever there is another Transformers movie, I’d really like to see a scene where Rosie Huntington doing a cat fight against Megan Fox. I don’t have (or need) any particular reasons for this argument except that I am a straight man. And I’d like to see those two slapping each other’s faces, ripping each other’s clothes, pulling each other’s hairs while screaming filthy words to each other. I think it would be fantastic and way, way better than seeing two giant robots rolling around like dilapidated metals. Furthermore, I will surely have a reason to watch the movie. No matter how awful it is.
(wait, did I just say awful? oh, well)
Have you ever been in a more than 12-hours flight? If not, then you may find these tips below handy before you flattened your own asses during the flight. So, this is…
JONGMADURE’S GUIDE TO A LONG FLIGHT TRIPS*
1. Mind your flight details
This first tip is also the most essential tip of all, since for sure, you don’t pay the excess charge due to your baggage overweight, or, even worse, having to miss your flight.
So, check your ticket and check your flight details like the check-in counter, the availability of online check-in (seriously, this is pretty handy if available), boarding and take-off time, and baggage limit (usually 20 kg/person). Last but not least, check if you’re not dreaming. There’s no point on arriving on time at the airport if you book your flight in your dream the night before. Seriously! Dude!
2. Put your passport, tickets, and boarding pass in the most convenient and most comfortable place
I wouldn’t say put those three substantial things in easy places. No, I wouldn’t suggest that. You can put those easily in your pocket (jeans, jackets, any pockets you prefer), but that doesn’t mean that will make you comfortable. During several occasions, you will be asked to give your passports, ticket, and boarding pass several times by not so friendly people (-immigration officers, esp. in Malaysia for godknowswhy).
So my suggestion is to put your passport, tickets, and boarding pass in any place that is most convenient, and most comfortable place for you to take-out and put them in again in the exact same place. For example, you can put them in your secret bag (yeah, I use that), or perhaps in the front part of your hand-carry.
3. Pick your seat!
There are several flights that allow you to pick your seat without any additional charges, e.g Cathay Pacific, or KLM during the online check-in. If that so, take your chance! Pick you best seat! I would suggest, however, those that are near the alley or window seats. Alley-seats is suggested for those who have uncontrollable bladder, while window seats in good for introverts but not suggested for those who are just broke-up and/or depressed, which I am sure you will understand later on.
For me, the middle is the worst. I have to bother everyone just to go to the bathroom. Even the lovely stewardess wouldn’t see your existence in that seat. And of course, there is ‘the back seat‘. Ooh, I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone, even the emos. Unless you want an extreme 60,000 feet above the ground roller-coaster ride, don’t seat in the back.
Remember one thing, though: you will be on a plane, will sit on the same seat and will sit next to same person for more than 10 hours. So, pick our seat wisely.
4. Pick comfortable outfits but not too outrageous**
I think this is what separates travelers from Indonesia and travelers from western countries. Us Indonesian, tends to wear nice outfits during long flights for whatever reason there is. But one thing to note from Indonesian traveler is the hats they’re wearing. I don’t know why, but most of the mid-aged guys always wear sport-jackets completed with Fedora hats. And do they look good with that? God, no!
On the other hand, travelers from western countries always wear (or bring) sweat pants and sweat shirts. Back then I always wondered why would they wear something unpleasant like that? However, just recently I found out that those kind of outfits are the most comfortable to wear during long flights. For one thing, they can sleep comfortably without having to worry where should they put their jackets and fedora hats.
So, in conclusion, wear something comfortable like pair of sweat pants and shirts, t-shirts, sweater, or whatever you like as long as you don’t wear something outrageous like a speedo (unless you’re a girl, of course:D)
5. Bring your battle kit
No, not that battle kit!
You must remember, long flight is very, very boring. Therefore, you must equip yourself with your own battle kit to overcome the boredom. A book, mp3 player, a game (Nintendo DS-esque not PS3), laptop, or even iPhone (switched to flight mode) or iPad. Even though they serve you with movies, TV-Series and other entertainments, but still (from my own experience) those are not enough to overcome the boredom of 14 hours flight.
6. Smile!
Seriously, be nice and smile because you’ll never know what would happen! There might be a good looking stewardess (unless you take KLM) serving you. Or you might sit next to a single-beautiful stranger. However, most of the times those are just merely wishful thoughts. But still, it wouldn’t hurt you to smile sincerely.
7. Don’t flirt with the stewardess!
Don’t! Not during the flight. Unless you’re Jude Law, don’t get ahead of yourself.
Most importantly: pray! Whatever your religion is, or perhaps you don’t have any, just pray. Anything can happen during that long flight, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to pray for one minute.
If you managed to follow these tips I suggested above, then you are damn ready to travel! Well, at the very least, you know the basic stuffs.
Have a good flight!
(*) valid for Economy Flight only.
(**) may also be useful for trips taking more than 4-hours flight.
Contrary to my birthday last year, this year was superb!
Even though I was sick and was not able to go anywhere, I got a neat present from my parents, got a cake delivery from my sister all the way from the Netherlands, and last but not least, I got a surprise party! It has been a very long while since I got one (during high school, I suppose). Funny thing was, my parents didn’t know anything. Odd and awkward. Those are the best words to describe the situation.
I hope next year I’d get a kiss from Anne Hathaway on my birthday (keep dreaming, dude!)
But yeah, I had a blast and thank you isn’t enough to describe the blast!
Happy birthday to me!
Yeay!
Since two days ago I was diagnosed based on the blood-test result, I managed to catch-up with an old friend of mine. His name is pharatyphus, and I first met him at the 9th grade when I was on a study-trip to Bandung. Back then I had to stay in bed for two straight weeks without eating anything except plain-porridge. Now I have to stick my ass to my bed for a whole week, at home, where I’m aware I can do anything I want to during my day off. And the worst thing is that my room is on the 2nd floor so that I have to go downstairs if I need anything (I think it’s inappropriate to call-out my mom and makes her go up and down just to get me something). Oh, the really worst thing is that I cannot eat spicy foods! How uncool is that! How can I eat without any chilies involved? Sigh.
As I’m typing this post, I’m just an hour away from my 24th birthday. I really don’t know what would happen on my birthday. I mean, will there be any surprises? Any unexpected wishes? Or anything unsuspected? All I know is that I’m sick and I can’t go anywhere I want to. The good thing is that my mates will come tomorrow, since I can’t take them anywhere with this condition even though I’m feeling fine at the moment. It was very nice of them actually because this was their idea to come and visit me on my birthday rather than spending the day outside with my current condition. Just today I felt a bit dizzy after spending the day outside the house even it was just for a few hours or so. That was when I realized I haven’t fully recovered yet, and still need some times to stay in bed. I really wished I’d be hospitalized for four-five days maybe, but then I thought it would be very, very expensive even though my insurance would cover half of it. Not to mention the I.V.. I already detest needles, why would I want it stuck on my hand for days? Geez..
So yeah, tomorrow’s my birthday, I don’t know what to expect so I won’t be expecting too much except to have one fine day before going back to the reality next Tuesday. I should sleep now, actually since there’s a big probability that my parents will wake me up at 4-5 a.m. to wish me a happy birthday. However, since I had too many naps today and these past few days, I think I’ll just watch some Scrubs or play FM until I get sleepy then you know the rest.
Adios!
Time passes really fast that tomorrow will be my first year at the office. A lot had happened during that particular one whole year, like my first day to ever work after I graduated, the first time I actually excited that I got a job and at one of the most prominent law firms in Indonesia!
Surely that journey wasn’t as easy as flipping a coin. I had to be rejected first at several law firms, even by those that were not as big as my office. I remember that I was unemployed for about 4 months before eventually accepted by this firm. It was the most surprising one, since I didn’t have enough confidence that I actually had nothing to loose if I calculated my chances of being accepted. But I did! For some unknown reason, the firm accepted me. I didn’t know whether it was because I finally got a job or the fact that this is a big firm, I was really excited that I couldn’t stop smiling that day.
I still remember my first day at the office clearly, since it wasn’t really a decent one. Me and 6 others were held-up in a small meeting room for about 6 hours before being summoned for a very short briefing (30 minutes or so, I think). My first room was more like a train-wreck than a project room (it’s the name of the room). It was a room for 4-6 people with documents scattered all over the place. We actually had to cleaned it up before we were able to sit and placed our laptops on the table. Up until now, I still sit in the same room but on different position.
My first task was given after a week at the office when I had an afternoon smoke at the emergency exit stairs. There I met a senior, chatted a little, before he eventually gave me a task to be done. For some reason I was excited about it until I knew that it was actually his own assignment which he was probably too lazy to finished it. I remember I used to bet on who’d stay the latest with my friends. I think I still hold the record until now for staying 2 days straight at the office.
Of course, it has been an up-an-down journey this whole year. Those memories of us being forced to be cheerleaders for a rather-stupid-competition, which only showed the true colors of lawyers. Or those memories of us being promoted and given a contract extension for one more year. And of course, that day when we received an email of our first ever holiday-bonus. Those were all delicate, except for that particular competition. I don’t know why, but I really hate that competition. It was the unfriendliest friendly-competition I’ve ever entered.
Those days has passed and one by one my colleagues already said their goodbyes until there are only 11 of us left, out of 16. Probably my time to say goodbye would come very soon, but I don’t now yet. I’m still working on my effort to continue my study abroad and if I succeed, I’ll be off around August. Besides, I have a passion to be like my grandfather: a dream of becoming an ambassador. To represent my country upon the world, and not just client’s interest upon the judges/counterpart.
There is a thing about a song, it always has a flaw no matter how good it is. For instance, there is R.E.M.’s Everybody Hurt which I think is only good if I listen to it in a movie scene. And if I just listen to the song alone, it wouldn’t be as touching and honestly the song itself is kinda boring. But that song is just one of many, such as the Blanks (a Capella band from Scrubs) and many others. There are also songs which is only good when I listen to it live, like songs by Mew, U2 or local band like the Trees and the Wild. Sure some of their songs are also good if we listen to the album version, but yet the live version would be twice better. Plus, most of the songs aren’t east to digest rather than hearing it live.
There are also songs that’s only good on the album but the live version is rather awful, like songs from Third Eye Blind. I live Third Eye Blind, but I hate seeing them live since it was so boring and all over the place. I don’t know why but Stephan Jenkins’ voice is only good on recordings. The point being is that it isn’t like what I’m expecting. It just isn’t that breath-taking performance.
However, there’s also songs which is good in the album, and way better in live performances such as Switchfoot’s, Celine Dion’s, Faith Hill’s and Sarah McLachlan’s. As for the last one, I didn’t think that it would be that good until I see her live on Youtube. It was way beyond my expectation. I’ve seen Swicthfoot live, and by golly, Jon Foreman was that great! The whole performance was just a-mah-zing that I’d love to watch them live again. I even willing to chase him to his hotel at 3 a.m. just to took a picture with him, just like a fanboy, which wasn’t really a common thing for me.
And sure, there are songs that’re just awful both on the album and on stage. I probably shouldn’t mention them one by one, but Bjork is one of those. Bjork is actually not that bad, but her music was just too hard to digest both on the record or on stage. My brain wrinkles listening to her songs, yet some people are actually loving it. And I’m just one of many who apparently also have the same opinion about her songs. But still, Bjork is bad in a good way. I mean, I have to give credit to her creativity towards her music despite all those I mentioned earlier. There’re still lost of songs/bands that are way worse than hers. I tell you this because their music is just killing my ear and my obsession towards music the soonest I listen to it in, in any possible ways.
Since it’s only the beginning of the year and I couldn’t sleep for some reasons, I want to list my New Year’s resolutions as follow:
- I want to drink butterbeer;
- I want to eat A&W’s signature waffle;
- I want to have a slice of chicago pizza-pie;
- I want to grill my own kobe/wagyu steak complete with my own signature sauce;
- I want to jump to the highest sky and land on a cloud;
- I want to make out with Anne Hathaway;
- I want to meet Emma Watson and ask her to be my girlfriend;
- I want to punch Robert Pattinson in the face whilst asking ‘from superstar at Hogwarts to sparkling vampires? are you fucking kidding me!?‘;
- I want to ride a boat and do the Titanic whilst listening to “I’m on a Boat”;
- I want to make a song for the Lonely Island;
- I want to go to the mall wearing bathrobe and sleepers, or at least boxer and t-shirt;
- I want to do the ‘EAGLE!’, whatever that is;
- I want to make friends with afro-american since I think it’d be cool;
- I want to travel around the Grid and ride the light-cycle with Jeff Bridges being my guide;
- I want to watch Back to the Future trilogy in a day;
- I want to be the Bawz!;
- I want to make this list;
- I want to make this list and put it on my blog;
- I want to do all the things I write on this list, esp. numbers 6, 9, and 11;
- I want to running around in the rain like a person who’ve lost his mind;
- I want to play in a big gig;
- I want to smash my own guitar on stage in front of the audience;
- I want to scream, yell, shout, or whatever on the top of the building;
- I want to blow 24 candles on my birthday accompanied by Switchfoot’s 24 whilst watching 24.
Above all, and these are for real, I hope to be able pray 5 times a day, read Al-Qur’an regularly, and to go abroad to pursue my master’s degree this year with a scholarship so that it won’t put another burden on my parents’ shoulders.
jongmadure 