Bobo

What do you know? Your pet can affect your life in the most unpredictable way.
I’ve always been fond of cats. Always have to have at least one in our home. I think cats are just the cutest animal on the planet.

My lovely cat’s name is Bobo. She’s a mix of Persian and non-breeder. She came to our house on 27th December 1997. She was already about 1 year at the time. So she must be around 8 years by now. On average, cats could live up to 10 years, some could stay to 13 or 15 years. So I’d say Bobo is mature in her age, but still fit.

But Bobo is ill. She caught some virus apparently (that was what the Vet said). She lost appetite, and she wouldn’t even want to touch her drink. The heat also added to her weak physics. She couldn’t stand, she could barely lift up her head, let alone walk. It hurts to see the usually strong and lively cat now lay helpless in bed. It hurts to see how she always ran around the house and tease us and now she couldn’t even jump on her 4 legs and would fall easily.

My mom said I should prepare if Bobo was trying to say goodbye. But I know that she’s going to hold on for me, for us all.

I remember when she was once catnapped by some freak who wanted fast money. They took Bobo when she was on her stroll in the neighborhood, kept her captive and finally said they would let her go if we paid some money. Those crazy b**t**ds. Good thing we got Bobo back, shivering, all thin and hungry. Never let her out of our sight ever since. I couldn’t sleep the whole week she was gone.

You may wonder, why Bobo could affect my life (our lives) like that.

No. it’s not because she’s cute. It’s not because she’s a mix breed. It’s because she kept us company through all hell. Bobo was always there, wait to greet me by the door when I come home. She would miao and climb up to bed and sit on my chest, every time she sees me lying from exhaustion. She would sit on your lap and purr like mad and pretend she was listening to our story when we were all talking to each other. Every time we’re feeling down, Bobo will always cheer us up.

There’s no moment like today when my dad called me up at work, and said Bobo is climbing down from bed. She’s walking around, and she took a sip from her favorite bowl. She’s getting better!

As always, Bobo cheered me up even from a distant.

Bobo, get well soon.

Marhaban ya Ramadhan

“We do not perceive things the way they are. We perceive things the way we are.”

A quote that always reminds me, nobody’s perfect.


May this Ramadhan bring us all to our pure self.
May our prayers be heard.
May our good deeds be unconditional.

May we be better perceiver.


Happy Ramadhan 1425 H.

Un Cours Français

Saisir, contraignant, faire frémir, intriguer, cerveau-taquiner, fasciner, impulsion-s'activer, etc...

Tout qu'ils disent sur le dos du livre broché du code de Da Vinci est vrai. Everything they say on the back of the paperback of The Da Vinci Code is true.

The plot line is very interesting, and the characters are built very strongly. Dan Brown est un génie. Peut-être un des meilleurs auteurs dans son âge. Well, I only figured this out, but I think I’m gonna put him in the same place as Michael Crichton and Frederick Forsythe.

The funny thing about reading a gripping novel is that somehow you want to hurry yourself to the end, and just 10 page before the last you’d like to stop a while, and really try to let the words seep in. Somehow you’d feel that it’s such a waste to part with such a good book so soon.

Perhaps it’s one of the reasons why I’ll never be able to finish a 500 page book in one sitting. But then again, there’s always other factors such as fatigue, boredom, sore eyes, time limit, and all the sort.

Come to think of it, a relationship is just like a good book.

The first quarter is gripping. You’re bombarded with lots of new information. The character building is strong and its conflict results in a whole new set of experience. You will read it at full speed, zooming your eyes from the left top corner to the right bottom corner in no time.

The second quarter lets you slow down a bit. You will take your time to really let the words consume you. Sometimes you even have to squint your eyes just so you can understand what is being said. And sometimes you’d like to savor the moment and stop a bit to catch your breath.

Third quarter is sometimes the hardest part. Sometimes you’d like to stop after every chapter because it is so energy consuming, but you’d feel that you just can’t put down the book. The story is too good. And plus, you want to know the ending. When you’re feeling tired after a long hard day at work, sometimes you just want to give up and not read at all. But you know the minute you walk into your room, you will catch that book with the corner of your eye, sitting nicely on your bedside table, just waiting for you to spare a minute or two, a chapter or two to kill time, and eventually fall asleep.

A good book will increase its speed again in the 4th quarter. This is the defining moment. In this quarter, you’ll no longer feel that you HAVE to finish the book. You simply seek out the explanation, simply feel the need do to know where this is going to end. Will it give a good solution? Or will you meet tragic end? Will you not like what you find at the last page. That’s why, sometimes you will have to stop a while before it reaches the last page.

And somehow, even though you cheated yourself by peeking at the last page even when you’re still struggling in the third quarter, you will find a whole different answers when you actually experience it step by step, page by page.

Now, which quarter do you like the best?

Da Vinci Code is no longer a French Course. No longer a small reminder of that pile of French books laying untouched. But it also reminds me that every relationships, like every good book, will slow down and peak up again. It reminds me to be patient if I really want to know the end.

Félicitations Dan Brown. Vous avez fait grand !

The Awakening

Sejuknya hembus angin tlah redakan
Sgala amarah dalam hatimu
Terkadang kau sendiri tak mengerti
Begitu mudah engkau kecewa
Dan ini sering kali terjadi
Setiap harapanmu tak terpenuhi

Kau coba menyendiri dan membisu
‘Tuk memahami isi jiwamu
Lalu tercipta sebuah lagu merdu
Tempat curahan sgala resah
Dan kau ceritakan pada dunia
Tentang harapan dan angan2mu

Aku ingin dapat bebas lepas
Aku ingin senantiasa merasa bahagia
Aku ingin dapat terbang jauh
Bila tiada yang perduli

Aku ingin dapat mengungkapkan
Segala yang kurasakan dalam hati ini
Aku ingin terbang jauh
Bila tiada yang mengerti

(“Aku Ingin” by Indra Lesmana – sung by Delon Indonesian Idol)


Indonesian Idol. I never thought that show will affect me long after the Grand Final.
I finally could understand what the song was trying to tell me.
I finally realized how I must have hurt someone I once held most dearly so bad, only to know I could not get what I wanted.

A, you can fly freely now, I’m sorry for being a complete idiot.

Happiness Knows No Misery

When you’re feeling low, no one will take a second glance, slow down, and sulk with you. And likewise, when you’re feeling ecstatic, the world does not stop to cheer for you.

Why does the world seem to shrink every time you’re reeling with happiness? And why does it seem too vast and huge that you feel empty and lost when you’re feeling down?

The world works in a mysterious way. Just when you think you can never be happy again, something suddenly brightens up your day. And just when you’re feeling like you’re on top of the world, somehow you will be plunged deep under in an instant.

Is that how it’s supposed to happen?

Sesame

Here I am sitting, in our office training room, fighting my drowsiness to death. The material delivered is very interesting, yet so complicated that no one in this room seems to be able to hold their eyes up for a minute.

The thing is called SESAME. Simple and Efficient Software for Analyzing Media Easily. It is Efficient alright. But it’s nowhere near Simple or Easy. We are supposed to master the software in 3 days time so that we can nail the presentations we will deliver sometime in the next two weeks. Roadshow it is. Ain’t no better way to describe it. This of course is a hasty and really important decision made due to the threatening competitor just around the corner. The issue is so vast that we are forced to provide the better than best service to our clients.

Well, I’d say it’s the curse or being the sole player in the industry. You can never be too careful because when the competitor comes, they will come with alliance and will push you to the brink of desperation.

Have we been too ignorant all these years? Or simply, have we been too complacent?

It got me thinking. Is the company just the same as human beings? When most of the time we don’t realize that there’s a threat, and sometimes we take things for granted? Is it not any better than common people who does not appreciate good companionship and only sulk when it’s gone? Or almost gone.

I learned it the hard way. Never underestimate the value of good friendship. I’ve lost mine more than I gained. I couldn’t turn back to where I was, or where we were, but there’s not a single moment when I don’t regret not being able to turn back the clock and not lose one of the most important people in my life simply by trying to please every one.

The plan today was to meet at Jamz, you know, just to be there for the sake of being a good friend. But no thanks to the brain draining training sessions, I couldn’t force myself to leave on time and meet as planned. My best friend was furious that I canceled at the last minute. But I was more furious with myself that I had let something less valuable get in the way.

But wait a minute. Sesame is not to blame. I am. I had let my ego be the cause of my best friend’s disappointment.

Ra, sorry for not being there for you when you really needed me. Sorry for taking our friendship for granted. Hope you’ll find a big enough space in there to forgive me.