'Tis the season to make a list

On the second last day of 2009, let me ramble on some random favorite personal moments from the year.

1. Went to Singapore Airlines' maintenance facility in February. Saw several jumbo jets being repaired, lining up in the hangar like the giant steel birds they are. I love planes. Also, I got to stay in one of Singapore's best, most lavish hotels adjacent to Changi. All thanks to Mandala Airline.

2. Not long after, I hopped on another trip, this time paid by my own piggy bank. Destination: Hong Kong via Singapore. Trying to squeeze our expenses any way we could, I and Runi took the cheapest, most uncomfortable connecting flights that forced us to wait six hours in Changi in the middle of the night.

However, it was all worthwhile when in Hong Kong, I got to see Coldplay live; the best two hours of live music in my life. If you ask me how Hong Kong was, don't. I didn't see anything else aside from the subway trains, the hotel, and the venue, which was right next to the airport.

3. Another trip was to Manado for two days, my first time going to the city. It's so....far away from Jakarta, but can't complain about the foods. I also stayed at a huge, quite upscale resort right by the beach. Work trip that didn't feel like work trip.

4. The last getaway for the year I guess was Surabaya for five days sometime in November. This time, I really must not complain about the foods. Along with a few Globe Media slaves, I cruised the town every single night to eat, and the foods were getting better each day. I love the city, despite the heat and its similarity to Jakarta's hectic pace.

5. You know how I constantly rant about never seeing my besties no more? Well I got to meet all three of them I guess in August, in a friend's wedding party. It was only for a few minutes, but it was fun fun fun. I wish to see them more next year.

6. I got another nephew in July. Or was it August? Navarro surely is one of the cutest babies around. He is now four months old and very big. And I hope he'll grow as gorgeous as his older brother Agam.

7. I joined Twitter. Nuff said.

8. Bought the Wii impulsively, after Bangun convinced me that it would be a fun entertainment set as well as a tool to exercise. So far, it's doing its job.

9. My birthday, of course, was a lot of fun. I got a Star Wars DVD box set, plus some of the coolest books from Dinda and Runi. Later on, I was serenaded by an instantly-made-up birthday song.

10. I gotta say, The Offer. Can't tell much about it, but I'll spill it later on when every thing's clear.

My personal wish for 2010? To either see the world, or settle down. Told ya I was a walking contradiction. Cheers to the old and new!

No,

I will not start on the reaction on Luna Maya's remark on the so-called infotainment journalists (if they can be called journalists at all), which she wrote in her Twitter account as "lower than prostitutes."

I will just wait and see if this thing's gonna be blown up. Then we'll talk...

Fanaticism is all that's erected here.

Here's five people who could have made a better statue than little Barry Obama in Taman Menteng:

1. Prita Mulyasari. Whether she wins the case or not, she will always be remembered as one of the victims whose rights were taken away by some international, capitalism chain. She portrays an ordinary, next-door-woman who tries to voice her complains but ended up being a prey of a heartless company.

2. Nirmala Bonat, or someone who can symbolizes the migrant workers. Remember Nirmala? In 2004, she was put under the spotlight when Malaysian police found bruises all over her body and later she admitted that her employer had been abusing her every day. And her case was just the tip of an iceberg. Needless to say, many of those migrant workers are underpaid, under physical and mental pressure, and definitely underappreciated and overlooked by the government.

3. Ali Alatas. Because he was one of the greatest diplomats this country has ever had. East Timor aside, he was involved in the peace process of the Free Aceh Movement back in the Megawati era.

4. R.A. Kartini. Because didn't you go to elementary school and learn something about the woman?

5. Of course, Munir. I also don't need to say more about the guy, do I?


What has Obama done for this country, that's all I'm wondering. The statue construction is organized by his fellow classmates in that Menteng school. Oh my. Fanaticism is really something disturbing in this messed up land -- well, archipelago, I'm afraid it will be something that will tear us apart and bring us down.

Please visit

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And donate. It's not the amount, it's the thought, really, that counts. No freedom of speech, especially over the Internet, should be violated. I don't normally care for things like this, but I still want to trash whoever I hate in my blog and in e-mails sent to friends without the threat of a defamation lawsuit.

And we have to show that no big, international hospital chain, or any chain for that matter, can kill one's creativity, can interfere with one's thoughts, nor can they underestimate the power of people.

And last but not least, I want world peace *smiles and waves a little*