Archive for October, 2007

29
Oct

A FRIEND IN WAITING

By angkasa-db 0 Comments
Categories: -Sighs-

October 30, 2007 - 3:33 AM

Suddenly you are losing the things you’ve taken for granted.
And lo! you do not even realize why.

All this time, all you can think about is yourself.
All that you care doing is to exile your friends from who they are and who they should be.
You are turning them into something they’re not and something they shouldn’t be.
And though it is never your intention, you force them to choose between you and their goals.
It is such a pain that you keep failing to notice since you can’t stop looking at yourself in the mirror.

Your eyes are closed to their radiant souls.
Your ears are closed to their stories.
You wish to be witnessed yet neglect to witness.
The life of others. The souls of others. The heartaches. Forever alien.
Thus you will always be alone.

I feel sorry for you.
But to whisper on you is to kill you, and that I need not do:
You’re already doing it all on your own.

I am your friend.
Always waiting, forever ignored.
The night feels so cold beneath the dome of stars. And they are crying.
You made promises and you keep them at the last possible moment.
And I lie in wait as pieces of me that’s reserved for you breaks little by little.
Soon I shall no longer be there for there will be nothing left of me .
All the pieces are carried away. By the wind. By the wind.
When I am no longer there for you, will you at last look away from that mirror?

Friends don’t blame each other, and I am your friend.
Thus once again, the burden is mine.

Smile, dearest friend, and respect.
Or hate, and fade.22575123

28
Oct

THE BIRTH OF (NAME HERE) part 3

By angkasa-db 2 Comments
Categories: Going Through Life

24 October, 2007

So here we are, guys, exactly 2 weeks since my newest nephew came into (or OUT to?) the world!

It was a worldwide debate and generally a hectic confusion in those two weeks, for the parents of the new-born to basically came up with a name. I don’t know what was going on and was not much inclined to ask as to why this was. I heard from some that when you’re expecting, choosing the right name for the baby-to-be is like, the SECOND most important thing for youl; the first being the baby’s future.

Or is it the other way around? Hmm…

ANYWAY… There they both were: under a heap of names for a healthy baby-boy. Nothing sounded good. They asked me awhile ago, as I might’ve told you, about this. But I didn’t come up with anything either. This time though, after the baby’s born, did I try to assist as little as possible (since naming should be the parents’ responsibilty, I think). I came up with out-dated names first, like: Mulyadi, or Parmanto and practically anything that begins with ‘Su-’… They’re not out of their minds yet over this so they said no to all of them…

Last week my brother-in-law - the baby’s FATHER - comically suggested the Sundanese favorite ‘Kiskenda’. (LOL!!! That was hilarious. But not for any Kiskendas out there though…)

And then I tried some more with better-sounding and more up-to-date names like Raka, Mahesa, And Galih. None-shall-pass!!! they said… This was such a mind-boggling situation that it drove me to discuss this with a friend. My friend reminded the importance of avoiding silly, modern names that are basically hard to pronounce and give tons of moral loads to the bearer; names that require considerable tongue-trick skills to pronounce; names with the letters ‘-sy-’, ‘-sh-’, ‘-dz-’, ‘-zh-’, and so on. I don’t want to give examples because it might hurt those who’re already hurt enough with having names like those…

And the LENGTH!!! Modern families nowadays seem to fall for trends in long, hard-to-remember names. It’s like they were hoping that complicated names will make for smart and complicated kids. You know what? It just smartly complicated things, that’s all… Another evidence is the tendency to get stuck with names beginning with ‘A’. Another is how parents try to fit all the names their families have suggested to them, and, not wanting to let these guys down, the parents squeezed the names into something that hopefully will satisfy everyone. Life IS complicated. Yes. i understand your pain, parents. But be smart. (Hey, lookit that! smart and complicated ARE important…)

I have a modern name for you: MXYZPTLK!!! He’s smart, he’s complicated, and he’s LITERALLY out-of-this-world!!! (For non-geeks out there, MXYZPTLK is one of Superman’s C-class supervillains from the fifth dimension… Don’t ask. I may be a geek, but not a Superman geek).

Now I have to say that my family and I can finally breathe easy because they announced the name today, Sunday, October 28th, 2007. It’s a good, strong and simple name; and I’m quite relieved that the proud parents didn’t fall into any of the traps above. Now THAT’S what I call smart and complicated.

Friends and families, I humbly introduce you to

ERLANDY RIZWAN SALMAN.

May he be a Name in the world to come that do us all proud.Img_6290

14
Oct

MILITARY? NO. JUST ANOTHER IDIOT LOOSE ON THE STREETS

By angkasa-db 0 Comments
Categories: Ngamuk di Jalan

I probably… No. Not probably. I will SURELY not be so bold were this had gone down for real, but it still stinks and it’s probably something a lot of us can relate to. This is another story of why I think our country is still so dumb, if not dumber.

I was driving to visit my sister who had just given birth to a son. My dad was in the car, my mom, and also my nephew and niece. We were at a busy intersection about to cross into the main road. A parking guy, or, should I say: a parking THUG was there guiding us out. He stopped the traffic coming towards us so we can move.

But then there’s this motorcycle, right? A guy in a camo jacket driving and his wife and kid in the back. I was halfway into the main road when I had to hit the brakes because this stupid SOB just won’t stop. It’s not like he was going fast, but he’s not stopping either.

I knew it was his fault so I hit the honk to him and he turned his head and looked at me. He was pissed and was yelling something; probably about how UNTOUCHABLE he is or how being in the military has given him the right to drive by anywhere he like and CARRY A THIRD PASSENGER ON HIS MOTORCYCLE!

So I honked away and my dad stopped me (he even pulled my hand) and nervously said, “No. Look, he’s military.”

I looked at him in disbelief, and yelled - though the windows were closed - to the military guy, “SO WHAT IF YOU’RE MILITARY?!!” I didn’t like my dad so much at that time. He was in charge, all those years, in teaching me things. He taught me responsibility. he taught me patience. He taught me humility. But he’s certainly never taught me about how to be a man. Damn it I’ve never felt like one, and I know it’s not fair to blame him. But I can’t blame myself either, right? Another dead end…

The moral of the story? Don’t fucking join the military or the police, man. It will fuck you up. Why? Oh I don’t know… probably because you wouldn’t be able to handle all that power. Looking down on others will be your hobby, and paying for one-night-stands will become a must for you each time you get a holiday or vacation. You’ll die of cracked knee-caps, man!

But more importantly, our entire system is now already so fucked up that none of us dare do anything about it for fear of “ruining it”. Including me. Oh hey, I hate it all, I assure you. But let’s get real: who wouldn’t want to be comfortable, right? And if that means not getting your license plate wrote down by the wrong sorts of people and a storm of power abuse hit your house and fuck up your life without warning or no way out? then yes, THAT is how I would want my life to be.

“Oh it will be better someday, you’ll see,” says you to me. Hell It’s going to be a long wait for that ’someday’, but keep that idiotic positive thinking anyway. I’ll stay behind, being the last realistic person who’s going to laugh my ass off at you, at the very end of all things. YOUR things, most likely.Girlscamoteewithfoilst

14
Oct

THE BIRTH OF (NAME HERE) part 2

By angkasa-db 0 Comments
Categories: Going Through Life

The signs I wrote about yesterday turned out to be a false alarm… lol… my sister went to the hospital and stayed there for more than 12 hours for nothing. She came back some time in the afternoon. But later that night she decided she had had enough of those ‘feelings’. You know: that feeling you get when you desperately need to take a shit, did it, but then didn’t feel quite finished like there’s a huge, solid chunk still left inside? Hahaha… No i myself don’t of course, actually know how it feels but that statement came from my very own terminally-pregnant sister.

Besides, her back ached like hell. She was sweating and swelling and ugly (kidding), and her back ached.

So her husband drove her last night at almost midnight and the next thing I know I was sleeping and waking up very late to see my parents off to visit her. I, once again, was charged to guard the house. This is due to the unfortunate robbery taking place in our house one year ago on Lebaran day. We see no reason of being positive-minded and taking no risks, so here I am.

Today on October 14 2007, as I was surfing and YouTube-ing on my laptop, comfortably lazy on the second day of Lebaran, my cellphone alerted me of a new message. It was from my dad and this was what he wrote:

TELAH LAHIR CUCU LK2 DARI TITIS/GANI TGL 14/10/07 JAM 15:31 DI RSIA TAMBAK, JKT. TRM KSH ATAS DOA RESTUNYA. (emang kawinan?)

Anyway news spread like fire on gasolene and soon people were calling home asking me about it which, of course, I didn’t have the answer to. People, like my other sister, were also calling in to TELL me that mbak Titis has given birth to a baby boy. I gave these people the appropriate “Duh!” and hung up as soon as possible. (I’m not much of a phone person)

Anyways. Congratulations to my sister and her husband. I’ll post back when they’ve named the baby, and when I have acquired a decent photo of him. Ciao!

13
Oct

NYELIP KAYAK KANCUT

By angkasa-db 3 Comments
Categories: Ngamuk di Jalan

Beberapa waktu lalu saya kebetulan sedang bawa mobil sepulang mengantar orang tua yang hendak tamasya ke Bandung sama tetangga-tetangga komplek. Hari masih pagi, tapi ini hari kerja dan di Jatiwaringin Raya, pukul 7 pagi sama saja dengan macet total.

Jadi saya merokok di mobil dan ‘take it easy’. Saya pasang iPod (karena tape rusak) dan mencoba menikmati kemacetan dengan lagu-lagu yang menenangkan.

Di lampu merah Pangkalan Jati, lalu-lintas rusuh seperti biasa. Lebih rusuh lagi karena Pangkalan ini juga jadi terminal untuk angkot dan bajaj. Nggak ada yang mau mengalah dan walaupun lampu sedang merah, kendaraan tetap mendesak maju. Posisi mobil saya di zebra cross, dan saya nggak mau maju waktu lampu menyala merah. Di depan jalur menyempit sehingga saya didesak sepasang bis di kiri dan kanan saya. Mobil-mobil di belakang mulai klakson. Di saat-saat seperti ini saya mematikan iPod sejenak supaya bisa lebih konsen ke jalan.

Klakson tetap terdengar dari belakang, dan pelan tapi pasti dari kiri dan kanan belakang saya. Saya tetap tidak mau maju sampai lampu berubah hijau. Dari spion saya melihat kalau belakang saya adalah mikrolet, sopirnya melongokkan kepala keluar dan saya bisa sayup-sayup mendengar dia teriak-teriak, “Woi! Buruan, ng&*$ot!”

Tiba-tiba sebuah sepeda motor memaksa nyelip di kanan mobil. setangnya menyenggol kaca spion saya sampai belok ke depan. Saya membuka pintu dengan keras sampai dia terjepit di antara dua mobil. Saya ambil kunci inggris dari bawah jok dan menghajar pengendara motor itu di kaca helmnya sampai hancur, lalu saya menunggu sampai kesempatan datang lagi untuk menghajarnya di tempat yang sama.

Dia jatuh, terus ketiban motornya yang masih nyala. Motor bebeknya masih menyala dan ban belakang yang menimpa kaki kanannya berputar-putar di gigi satu. Saya ambil setang dan memutar gasnya sampai ban belakangnya menggesek kaki orang itu. Dia menjerit-jerit dan menggeliat panik.

Kemudian saya tendang selangkangannya dengan kaki kanan, terus dengan kaki kiri. Terus saya hajar selangkangan itu dengan kunci inggris. Orang itu tidak bergerak lagi. Saya kempeskan kedua ban motornya dengan pisau lipat saya, ambil kunci motornya dan melemparkannya ke Kalimalang.

Saat itu lampu berubah hijau. Saya menoleh dingin ke si supir Mikrolet. Kepala yang dia longokkan keluar perlahan-lahan ditariknya mundur dan dia duduk rendah sekali di belakang kemudi. Saya naik lagi ke mobil dan sekarang berjuang menembus kemacetan, mumpung masih hijau, sambil dengerin iPod…Macet

12
Oct

THE BIRTH OF (NAME HERE)

By angkasa-db 0 Comments
Categories: Going Through Life

THE BIRTH OF (NAME HERE)
October 13, 2007

Takbiran night… The early hours of Idul Fitri…

The clock on the wall showed 01:41 when Mbak Titis, my immediate older sister, left for the hospital with my parents. A little before midnight she came down from her room and told me she had just had her first signs of labor. She planned to rest downstairs with my parents, but never came to it and decided to leave immediately.

Her husband at this time is taking the graveyard shift at work, just as he did at Takbiran night last year. Meanwhile I was to stay at home with my oldest nephew and niece, who came to visit from Jogja for the holidays. When my sister left, they were already asleep and utterly oblivious to the… relative excitement.

This was an exciting moment partly because it’s the end of Ramadhan, and secondly because between all five of my other siblings, Mbak Titis is the only one whose progress I could witness since she was living at home with me and my parents (and her husband, of course).

There is no name yet for the baby, since it is still kept from the rest of us. But by experience, my family gene have so far given birth to six male disasters and only two female catastrophes (just kidding. I love you all, you naughty maggots!) So it is likely that this next ‘production’ will be a boy. That, and the fact that routine check-ups proved it to be a boy…

Anyway, wish my sister and her husband luck. Thank you very much in advance. Such an exciting time this is. And when it happens, I’ll get back to you.

Oh, and, in the spirit of Idul Fitri:
Minal aidin wal faidzin. I humbly beg you forgive my past mistakes, body and soul, said and done.

Let there be light!

12
Oct

WELCOME TO ‘NGAMUK DI JALAN’

By angkasa-db 0 Comments
Categories: Ngamuk di Jalan

Where are my manners? Putting introduction in the second entry of ‘NGAMUK DI JALAN’? This doesn’t work. This doesn’t work. But here it is: ‘NGAMUK DI JALAN’, by far my best output to express dissapointment in our transportation system.

Some will be absurd, Some will relate well to you. Some you won’t see happening. Some you see all the time. And all entries, hopefully, will be entertaining.

Please enjoy ‘Ngamuk di Jalan’. BLODD WILL SPILL.Traffic_jam

11
Oct

NOISY BIKERS

By angkasa-db 1 Comment
Categories: Ngamuk di Jalan

They’re pimped. They make a lot of noise. They run in packs (BECAUSE they make a lot of noise). They come from that part of society where the ‘PUNK’ embroidery on the ass of your pants is a trend. And they grew up without the love and attention of their parents. In short, they’re dicks.

I’m talking about motorcycle riders who kitted out their rides so they’d be able to crack every glass window in their paths of destruction. I’m talking about how obnoxiously annoying they are with their noisy bolt-buckets. I’m talking about a big and long stretch of road on a saturday night. I’m talking about illegal street racing brought to our very doorsteps. They would rev by your home making deep yet loud rumblings. And surely, they will rev away in packs for fear of an angry mob dragging them down and burn them on the spot.

And they call it lifestyle. -Pshaw!!!- Lifestyle my ass.

Sometimes I suspect they kitted out their rides and get that God-awful noise just to get our attention. Poor people. But once they rode past you, you’ll know they’re not worth your sympathy. They’re worth throwing off a cliff.

I want to kill them. Boy do I want to kill them.

I wish killing noisy bikers was legal. I’ll shove a piece of wood in their wheels as they raced past me and watch - with a big grin - as their jaws scrape off against the asphalt.Monkescape