WORST Guilty Pleasure Ever

Okay...
When I'm talking about the WORST guilty pleasure I've ever had, I never go further than the worst boyband you can possibly think about.
but it is still boyband.
and I never get embarrassed to admit that I like their songs.

Tapi sekarang....
God!
anybody, please kill me for my own sake!

Aku-entah kenapa-suka lagu ini:

BCL - Pernah Muda
Bilang papamu
Ku takkan buat kau berubah menjadi anak yang nakal
Bilang mamamu
Ku cinta padamu dan aku tak pernah main main

Reff :
Biarkanlah saja dulu kita jalan berdua
Mereka pun pernah muda pernah muda

Bilang papamu berhenti urusin semua urusan kau dan aku
Bilang mamamu tak perlu kuatir ataupun curiga kepadaku

Biarkanlah saja dulu kita jalan berdua
Mereka pun pernah muda
Saatnya kau dan aku sekarang

Aku tau....
Aku tau....

siapa yang bersedia membunuh aku sekarang????????????????

even MY MOM made fun of me because of this shit!

Well, mari kita lihat satu sisi baiknya:
aku belum jadi gila dan bilang kalau aku suka lagu milik band GAK JELAS bernama Hello dengan judul Ular Berbisa.

God, please help me...

Anak Pejabat

Akhirnya tadi malam aku merasakan salah satu kelebihan yang dimiliki oleh seorang anak pejabat.
HAHAHHAHA!
bukannya mau pamer kalau aku ini anak pejabat dan kelebihan apa aja yang bisa didapatkan sama anak pejabat.
Aku sih pengen berbagi pengalaman dan mengagumi beberapa hal aja.

Okay. Enough for the chit-chat.

Jadi ceritanya, papaku dapat undangan ke resepsi pernikahan anak pejabat.
Kebetulan, the bride itu anaknya mantan Menteri Negara BUMN dan the groom itu anaknya mantan Dirut PLN.
Kawinannya tentu saja mewah. Pertama kali diceritain mama, yang bikin aku tertarik buat ikut menghadiri resepsi pernikahan ini gara-gara venue resepsi-nya.
Resepsi pernikahannya dilangsungkan di Hotel Mulia, Jakarta.

Aku sendiri adalah salah seorang penggemar berat Hotel Mulia's dinner buffet.
Jadi, how could I pass on the offer to get free wedding dinner at Hotel Mulia?
I mean, who am I kidding?

So, aku, mama, papa, dan supir pergi deh ke Hotel Mulia.
Belum apa-apa jalanan disekitar Hotel Mulia udah macet. Ternyata di sekitar hotel banyak banget acara lain. Plus berbagai pintu-pintu yang gak biasa dibuka buat masuk ke Hotel Mulia jadi dibuka.
kata papa sih, "Pasti gara-gara JK mau dateng deh nih..."

Trus aku berjalan masuk ke lobby khusus buat kawinan ini.
Well, buat masuk ke Hotel Mulia kan ada lobby hotel yang berada di lantai 5. Si kawinan ini gak melewati lobby yang biasa. Jadi lewat samping gitu.
Pas baru masuk ke lobby, langsung deh ngeliat berbagai macam orang terkenal.
Orang terkenal pertama yang aku notice adalah Titiek Puspa.

Habis itu, mama sama papa langsung ngantri buat salaman sama pengantin dan keluarga.
Aku sih langsung kabur dan nyari makanan.
Dan, good lord in heaven (lol), aku langsung menemukan Udang Mayonaise.
It was so incredible sampe rasanya itu sama kayak Lumpia Udang Mangga milik Din Tai Fung.
Pas lagi makan the great Udang Mayonaise, aku ngeliat orang-orang makan Peking Duck and I was like, "what? they have Peking Duck???"
Aku langsung bermata gelap dan nyariin si Peking Duck.
Setelah akhirnya ketemu, dan Peking Duck itu udah di tanganku, aku langsung mikir, "this is one of the best days of my life"
LOL. It seems so shallow, I know. But I was that excited.

After the Peking Duck, aku langsung melihat rounds of table full of dessert.
What can I say? I couldn't help it.
I went for the dessert.
Seriusan deh, yang kawinan semalam ini bener-bener anak pejabat. Tables of dessert-nya itu pretty much identik sama dessert section-nya buffet dinner milik Hotel Mulia.
So, can you imagine how excited I was?
mereka nyiapin mulai dari Chocolate Cake, Bluberry Muffin, Pineapple Cake, some kinds of Chessecake, many different kinds of Mousse, Puddings, different selections of fruits (Apples, Oranges, Grapes, Watermelon, Guava, etc.), and many more.

Sambil makan gitu, aku ngeliatin mama sama papa yang lagi ngantri salaman.
Lumayan lama juga ngantrinya. Kasian juga mereka. hehehhehe.
Belum lagi pas mereka lagi ngantri, antriannya di-stop gara-gara ada Aburizal Bakrie.
Udah mah datangnya disambut pake karpet merah dan sets of pager ayu dan pager bagus, antrian salam-salaman di-stop, dan habis salam-salaman langsung deh penganten foto-fotoan dulu sama Aburizal Bakrie.
Habis itu mama dan papa akhirnya salaman juga sama penganten dan keluarga.

Ada satu hal yang keren dalam kawinan kali ini.
Jadi kata mama ternyata si mantan Meneg BUMN itu dulunya nikah sama seorang perempuan A dan memiliki anak, which is the bride. Trus si mantan Meneg ini cerai sama si A dan menikah dengan perempuan B.
Nah, semalam itu, the bride di pelaminan ditemenin sama si ayah, which is si mantan Meneg, dan kedua ibunya, si A dan B.
keren ya???
Trus aku langsung bilang deh...
"Waktu kawinan si anaknya Aa Gym aja, Teh Ninih yang nampang di pelaminan, si Teh Rini gak ikut-ikutan nampang."

Habis mama dan papa salam-salaman, papa langsung disambut sama seorang bapak-bapak yang kata papa adalah mantan direktur BUMN lainnya.
Kebetulan si bapak adalah panitia acara kawinan malam itu.
Trus papa langsung ditawarin buat makan di VIP section.
hahahahhaha!
Sayangnya papa menolak.
Padahal kan dengan makan di VIP section, gak perlu berdiri-berdiri dan ngantri-ngantri buat ngambil makanan. hehehehehe!

Akhirnya kami bertiga langsung menyerbu berbagai macam makanan lain.
Nasi Kebuli, Kambing Guling, Gindara Fillet, Tepanyaki, Nasi Goreng, Maccaroni Schotel, Udang Goreng Tepung, Sapi Lada Hitam, Brokoli dengan Saus Bawang Putih, Fillet Ayam, dan masih banyak lagi makanan yang lainnya....
Yang paling shocking menurut aku adalah WARM CHOCOLATE CAKE!

Gini ya, setiap aku dan keluargaku makan di Hotel Mulia buat dinner buffet, aku bolak-balik berkali-kali buat si warm chocolate cake itu.
Jadi kalo di dinner buffet, biasanya yang pertama aku ambil adalah si chocolate cake-nya yang entah apa namanya itu, yang biasanya disimpan didalam some kind of steamer buat menjaga kehangatannya. Biasanya aku tambahkan dengan vanilla ice cream dan saus coklat lagi.
Rasanya itu loh................... MMMMMMMMMMMM INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!
para pecinta coklat dan dessert, it's a crime for you not to try this amazingly delicious dessert.

Yang lucunya tuh sepanjang malam itu, mama dan papaku bisik-bisikan terus soal orang lain.
"Eh Pa, itu si Pak X."
"Ma, itu tuh yang Ketua Z."
"Pa, itu istrinya si Pak Y?"
"Katanya si Pak C itu agamanya R ya?"
dan lain-lain...
Lucu deh ngedenger papa bergosip...
Kalau mama kan udah sering ya...
hehehehe!
Sayangnya gak ada artis muda nih yang aku liat dateng.
Mungkin aku aja yang gak merhatiin, tapi masa sih the bride and groom ini bukan socialite yang gak punya temen kalangan artis muda?

Sekitar jam sembilan malam, kami memutuskan kalau kami sudah kenyang dan sudah waktunya buat pulang.
Di arah pintu keluar, tau-taunya, kami menemukan lagi satu hall penuh dengan berbagai macam makanan lain. Kami bertiga langsung terkagum-kagum.
Ternyata makanannya masih banyak....
HAHAHHAHA!
Gak taunya, pas kami lagi nunggu mobil papa dateng, tiba-tiba terdengar suara sirene.
"JK tuh baru dateng." kata papa.
Sayang banget nih, kami terlalu buru-buru keluar dari hall resepsi itu. Kalo gak kan aku udah bisa ngeliat JK live.
hahahahah! as if that's important....

Trus pas udah di mobil, aku dan mama sok-sok ngitung.
Jadi, kalo kamu sekeluarga makan dinner buffet di Hotem Mulia, biasanya biaya makan perorangnya itu sekitar dua ratus ribu lebih.
kata mama, "ambil Rp 200.000 aja minimalnya."
trus kira-kira yang diundang 2000 orang (gak habis-habis lagi. Plus porsi makanannya gede-gede banget).
Nah, Rp 200.000 x 2000 = Rp 400.000.000 cuma buat makanan doang.
belum lagi nyewa hall di Hotel Mulia, booking kamar di Hotel Mulia-nya, dekorasi, dan lain-lain.
Gosh! berapa MILYAR ya biaya kawinan anak pejabat ini?
Trus lagi kan, ini 'cuma' kawinannya anak MANTAN pejabat, gimana waktu ANAKnya Bakrie yang nikah kemarin? Berapa TRILIYUN biayanya?

Aduh...
dasar anak pejabat...

Top Tens

I got VERY excited when I found out the TIME's December 22, 2008 edition's highlight is about The List.

I'm very fond of any kind of list, my self.
Especially at the end of the year like this when people and media create all sorts of list on everything.
And of course, TIME's Top 10 List on Everything is something to look at.

Here's my personal favorites (in random order):

1. Top 10 Campaign Slogans
It's amazing how people can come up with campaign slogans. When I was involved in some kind of election, I didn't seem to find the right words or sentences that represent me. And reading the list of Top 10 Campaign Slogans was enough to let an awe off of my mouth. They are so simple but yet so deep in meaning.
I wish I could've done that...

2. Top 10 Movies
The number ONE in this list is of course, everyone's favorite, Wall-E.
It is indeed the very best movie. Suitable for all ages. Deep in meaning and all sorts of 'messages'. Incredible visual art. Very creative. and I can go on and on about this movie forever. It absolutely deserve the number ONE place.
homework to self: watch Milk (5th place), Iron Man (8th place), and Speed Racer (Alicia Keys' first movie-9th place).

3. Top 10 Bank Slogans
I think this list is very ironic.
I mean, take Lehman Brothers (2nd place) as an example. Its slogan is (or was?) "where vision gets built".
Too bad they couldn't visioned their own fall.
Or AIG's: "the strenght to be there".
Too bad now (apparently) AIG doesn't have any strength at all and worse, they're no longer there (read: exist).

4. Top 10 Green Stories
Election of Barack Obama - First Place.
I was like, "what's so important on Obama's being elected to the greener environment?"
After reading the brief explanation, I got it.
TIME actually put Obama on the first place of the Top 10 Green Stories because of Obama's plan on doing some action towards the climate change. He said that he's gonna make some program around alternative-energy investment to create green jobs. And that was one of the reasons why he got elected.
Maybe Indonesia should look at election more seriously like Obama did. The politician who would run for president probably should consider their plan on how re-planting a greener Indonesia. We'll see...

5. Top 10 Green Stories
Indonesia Warms to Less Deforestation - 8th place.
As an Indonesian, it's flattering to know that my country is granted the 8th place into one of the famous TIME's List. It feels so cool. Especially knowing that the 8th place that Indonesia earned is because of the good cause, which was preserving our own rain forests.
Keep up the good work, Indonesian government!

6. Top 10 Songs
Love Lockdown by Kanye West got the first place.
I don't understand much of Rap/R&B songs, but this song was indeed one song to dance and sing-along to.
"So keep ya love locked down, ya love locked down
Keepin ya love locked down, ya love locked down"
Kanye West is indeed some kind of God to this genre of music.

7. Top 10 Songs
So What by Pink got the SECOND place.
I got it when Kanye West got the first place. Because this is America we're talking about and black music is BIG in this country.
But Pink? PINK?
I think it's sooooooooo cool!!!
I reviewed this song in this blog and I told you one more time that I like it very much.
And still, the coolest thing about this song is the video clip: Pink got her own ex-husband to be one of her models.
Good job, Pink!

8. Top 10 Fastest Growing Jobs
I actually don't know the exact job descriptions for most jobs that made it to this list.
But I made a conclusion: the jobs that made to this list are jobs which work involved computers, animals, and people.
But the most shocking job that made to this list, in my opinion, is makeup artist (7th place).
Forget all jobs that require you to stay behind the desks or counters! Look for artists for you to do their make ups!

9. Top 10 Oddball News Stories
Nothing more ODD than the pregnant man stories.
I can't say anything else, I'm just gonna give you the direct link.
God help me and my dearest friends and family, the end of the world is indeed coming. SOON.

10. Top 10 List of List
My favorite list of all. I just have to write the complete list!

1. Schindler's List
2. Harper's Index
3. Billboard Top 10 Singles Chart
   
4. Letterman's Top 10
5. TIME's Top 10 Lists
6. FBI blacklist
7. FAA's no-fly list
8. Franz Liszt
9. Ten Commandments
10. Grocery List

The list is soooooo very true!!!
Of all the list that people can possibly make, how can one forget about the GROCERY LIST?
It's a very crucial list of life in every person in this whole world.
nice move, TIME!

Anyway, to see the complete lists, go to here
and enjoy the list to yourself...
Believe it or not: you're gonna learn about new things just by reading the list.

BOLT (3D)

There is nothing, absolutely NOTHING, more COOLER than watching BOLT 3D!

I had been delaying my urge wanting to go to the movie and watch Bolt in just some kind of cinema.
Besides that I had TONS of homework to do and a final exam to worry about, about a week ago I found out that in TWO cinemas in Jakarta, they're playing Bolt in 3D!
how cool is that?

I, a hugest fan of any kind of cartoon (esp. Disney's), couldn't help myself but gagged and freaked out when I found out about it.
Thank goodness that last night I finally watch the movie. (YUP! BOLT 3D!!!)

So, I went to the cinema with my sister.
We both were so excited because we were not sure what to expect inside the theater.
We have been to some of the greatest 3D rides in different countries (mostly in some awesome amusement parks)and not once we have been disappointed. So we actually put a pretty high expectation on what was coming in the theater.

We entered the theater and were given out the 3D glasses. We got even more excited.
We couldn't help ourselves but to try them on. Not very comfortable, just like any other 3D glasses that we ever used before.
When the sign to actually put the glasses on was up, we were as excited as ever.
Then, came a trailer of another movie.
Believe me for this: even the trailer was so freaking cool with the 3D effect!
When that Disney's sign popped out in front of my face, I couldn't be more happier than that in my whole life. (LOL. A bit exaggerating, I know, but I couldn't help it!)

And then came the real movie, Bolt. (SPOILER!)
A story about Bolt, a dog-actor who thinks that everything happens during the movie shot is real, including that he's a super dog who has super powers.
He's a big TV star along with his 'person', Penny.
Both Bolt and Penny are fighting against the Green-Eye Man with helps from two cats.
One day, Bolt got separated from Penny and finally Bolt has to face the real world.
In his running for Penny, Bolt met a Mitten, who was mistaken with the Green-Eye Man's cat, and Rhino the hamster, who happens to be Bolt's number one fan.
In the end, Bolt finally found Penny and they live happily ever after.

Besides the 3D effect is the coolest thing that ever happens to this movie, I think the story is unbelievably creative.
In the very beginning of the movie, both my sister and I actually thought that Bolt is a real super dog.
The way the story got twisted and turned is very Disney's like.
Plus the spirits of team work, friendship, and love is very typical of Disney's movies.
One thing that I can't help but adore is the script.
I mean, how can the script writers got any idea to write such script?
Very smart and yet very funny.

Other thing that I want to comment about is John Travolta is a great actor and also a great dubber.
I couldn't tell that it was John Travolta as Bolt until it got to the end of the movie. He was so absorbed in the character of Bolt. He is one quite an actor.
On the other hand, though, Miley Cyrus as Penny was really weird.
I don't know why, but the minute Penny spoke, I immediately thought about Hannah Montana.
It's not her fault that the image of Hannah Montana will stick to her forever and ever, but she's supposed to dubbed and she's supposed to got absorbed into this Penny character and all I got was "Hannah Montana is in Bolt".
Well, maybe it was just me.

Over all, I'm telling you, I don't care that I spend 50000 rupiah for a seat in the cinema for Bolt 3D. It was all worth it!
If you happen to haven't been able to watch Bolt, I ADVICE you to watch it NOW. and if you have extra rupiah in your pockets, I BEG you to watch the 3D version of it.

Senyum

Thanks to Fithro, aku sekarang ini jadi agak sedikit mengerutkan dahi.

Jadi ceritanya, aku pakai baju bergambar wajah Elmo ke kampus hari ini.
Sebenernya baju ini biasa aja. Aku beli baju ini di Harajuku, Tokyo, kebetulan memang harganya murah. Gak taunya di Two Manggo dan berbagai macam International Trade Center lainnya di Indonesia banyak yang ngejual baju ini dengan harga 25ribu rupiah saja.

Entah mengapa, setiap aku pakai baju ini, banyak aja orang yang ngasi komentar.
Ada yang bilang, "Alien, lucu banget deh bajunya..."
Ada juga yang nanya, "Alien beli dimana sih?"
Ada juga yang gak penting dan bilang, "Alien, dulu aku suka banget deh sama Elmo..."
Biasanya sih komentar-komentar gak penting kayak gini cuma aku tanggapi dengan I rolled my eyes as if saying, "Huh. Like I care!"

Tapi hari ini, (0nce again, thanks to Fithro) aku mendapatkan sebuah komen yang berbeda.
Fithro, seorang teman berjenis kelamin lelaki dan kami berdua sama-sama menuntut ilmu di bidang teknik lingkungan di ITB, bilang,

"Alien, saya pengen deh ngeliat kamu tersenyum selebar itu... Tapi kapan ya?"

Tanggapan pertama dari aku, biasa, I rolled my eyes as if saying, "what are you talking about?"
tapi trus kalimat Fithro jadi bikin aku mikir...

Pertama,
biasanya, kebanyakan cewek normal akan langsung jadi geer setelah mendengar kalimat seperti itu datang dari seorang cowok.
menurut aku sih itu flirty abis...
tapi aku-nya malah menganggap kalimat itu aneh...

Kedua,
emang aku segitu juteknya ya?
emangnya aku gak pernah tersenyum selebar itu?
aku kan juga suka tertawa terbahak-bahak....

Jadi merasa bersalah sama orang-orang...
terutama orang-orang yang baru kenal sama aku dan gak pernah aku senyum-in.
Maaf ya, gak bermaksud jutek kok.
Emang cetakan muka aku udah kayak gini. Plus tingkah laku aku emang agak frontal dan slenge'an.
Tapi, percayalah, aku bisa kok senyum selebar Elmo...
ketawa terbahak-bahak juga...

Another Review

Akhirnya, setelah sekian lama pengen menulis tanggapan tentang tetralogi paling fenomenal yang pernah dimiliki dunia sastra Indonesia (dan karena aku sedang dalam tahap menggila di detik-detik terakhir sebelum UAS), aku menyempat-nyempatkan diri untuk menulis kali ini.

Tetralogi Laskar Pelangi.
Orang Indonesia mana yang gak pernah dengar tentang rangkaian buku ini?
Well, yeah, mungkin orang-orang pedalaman di Papua atau suku-suku lain yang memang memilih untuk tidak mengetahui perkembangan Indonesia saat ini mungkin gak tau tentang tetralogi ini. Atau mungkin orang-orang yang masih buta huruf mungkin belum tau tentang tetralogi ini. Atau some ignorant Indonesians mungkin masih belum tau tentang tetralogi ini.
But oh well, in general, masa sih masih ada orang Indonesia yang belum tau tentang tetralogi Laskar Pelangi?

Seperti Twilight saga, aku pengen membahas tetralogi ini satu persatu.

Buku pertama: Laskar Pelangi
Waduh, udah lama banget aku pengen mengungkapkan perasaanku tentang buku ini.
Intinya sih banyak banget pelajaran moral yang bisa didapat dari buku ini menurut aku.
Sayangnya banyak banget hal-hal yang cukup membuatku mengerutkan dahi.
Yang pertama adalah masalah terlalu hiperbolanya segala sesuatu detil yang ada di buku ini, seperti saja Lintang yang tampaknya terlalu pintar dan ajaibnya dia tau tentang berbagai macam detil rumus-rumus fisika dari buku-buku yang secara ajaib dimiliki oleh seorang kepala sekolah yang hidup di kampung kecil dan katanya miskin.
Yang kedua adalah buku ini agak-agak ofensif, menurut aku.
Well, aku adalah seorang anak yang dibesarkan di pedalaman Sulawesi di dalam sebuah kompleks perusahaan tambang. Papaku kebetulan bekerja di perusahaan tambang tersebut dan aku kebetulan disekolahkan di SD milik perusahaan tambang tersebut.
Kembali pada poin pertama, soal melebih-lebihkan, aku selalu merasa penggambaran tentang SD PN Timah sangat ofensif bagiku. Sebagai anak yang merasakan sebuah SD milik sebuah BUMN, SD tersebut tidak semewah yang digambarkan dibuku. Apalagi PN Timah tidak sesukses perusahaan tempat papaku bekerja.
Intinya, sebagai seorang anak yang merupakan lulusan dari sebuah SD milik sebuah BUMN di pedalaman Indonesia, aku cuma mau bilang, bahwa cerita-cerita tentang SD PN Timah itu sangat ofensif dan hiperbolis.
Other than that, aku kagum sama kemampuan sastra Andrea Hirata dalam mengisahkan hidup orang pedalaman sehingga banyak sekali orang yang terbawa emosi dan kesedihan. Padahal, in my opinion, memang begitulah kehidupan orang pedalaman, tanjakan 45 derajat yang dilalui setiap hari dengan berjalan kaki dan naik sepeda itu adalah hal yang biasa, so get over it!
Oh... I'm harsh!

Buku Kedua: Sang Pemimpi
Buku ini lebih fun daripada buku yang pertama.
Dengan cepat dapat kuselesaikan membaca buku ini. Cerita-ceritanya menarik dan lucu.
Walaupun kesan hiperbolis tidak dapat aku pungkiri kembali. Maklumlah, sastra melayu.
Sisi persaudaraan antara Arai dan Ikal (dan juga Jimbron) terasa sangat nyata dalam buku ini. Walaupun tanggapanku terhadap kepandaian Arai mirip dengan Lintang di buku pertama, tapi bisa dibilang buku ini adalah buku favoritku diantara tetralogi ini.
Walaupun terkadang aku dibuat bingun akan latar cerita, di Belitong kah kejadian A terjadi? atau malah di Tanjong Pandan?
Nevertheless, buku ini menyenangkan, membuat tertawa, dan membuatku penasaran.

Buku ketiga: Edensor
Aku juga suka buku ini.
Walaupun sama juga dengan kedua buku sebelumnya, aku merasa unsur hiperbolis sangat ditonjolkan didalamnya.
Tapi aku senang membaca berbagai pengalaman Ikal di luar negeri, walaupun sekali lagi, kayaknya Andrea Hirata terlalu melebih-lebihkan cerita tentang dinginnya winter di Eropa.
Mau tidak mau, aku harus mengagumi kegigihan sosok Ikal dan Arai untuk mendapatkan beasiswa dan bertahan hidup di Eropa yang memang benar-benar mahal.
Selebihnya, aku masih belum percaya ada cinta yang bertahan sejak SD sampai seseorang beranjak dewasa dan menempuh S2.

Film: Laskar Pelangi
Jujur saja, seperti yang sudah pernah aku review di Flixter-ku, aku agak kecewa dengan film ini.
Kok review orang-orang kesannya film ini keren banget...
Kesannya film ini benar-benar menggetarkan hati...
Sinematografi-nya bagus... dan lain-lain...
Menurut aku film ini biasa-biasa aja. Gak se-spektakuler apa yang aku bayangkan.
Although, settingnya keren, trus soundtracknya juga.
Satu hal yang aku suka dari film ini adalah kemampuan Mira Lesmana dan Riri Riza dkk untuk mereduksi unsur hiperbolis dalam buku Laskar Pelangi.
Aku senang deh melihat Lintang gak super-duper pintar dan seolah-olah menadapatkan semua ilmunya dari langit. Aku juga senang melihat bahwa karakter Bu Mus dan Pak Harfan adalah manusia-manusia biasa, bukan malaikat, seperti di dalam buku.
Ngomong-ngomong, apakah film ini berhasil mengalahkan kesuksesan film (yang lagi-lagi menurutku biasa aja) Ayat-Ayat Cinta?

Buku keempat: Maryamah Karpov
"Jadi, siapa sebenarnya Maryamah Karpov ini?"
Itulah hal yang pertama aku diskusikan dengan seorang teman saat kami berdua masih berada ditengah-tengah buku. Ternyata Maryamah hanya seorang mbak-mbak yang jago main catur. Kami berdua spontan kecewa.
Aku pribadi sih agak bosan membaca buku keempat ini.
Menurutku buku keempat ini kurang memiliki fokus. Ada sih fokus, yaitu tentang pencarian cinta sejati Ikal, yaitu A Ling.
Tapi terlalu banyak tetek bengek lain yang menurutku membosankan.
Memang terkadang tetek bengek itu diceritakan dengan sangat lucu dan jenaka. Sayangnya aku tidak peduli dengan segala tetek bengek itu dan menurutku itu sangat membuatku bosan.
Temanku membela bahwa tetek bengek detil cerita adalah kekuatan tetralogi ini. Hiperbolis, layaknya kebanyakan sastra Melayu.
Setelah itu, kemudian aku jadi lebih positif dalam membaca buku ini.
Tetap saja, murutku pribadi, aku kurang suka dengan akhir tetralogi ini. Terlalu banyak blabbering dan akhirnya tidak sampai pada tujuan yang sebenarnya membuatku penasaran.
Jangan-jangan benar apa kata orang, Andrea Hirata mungkin berniat melanjutkan tetralogi ini...
Here's my favorite part, though: "hirata hirata hirata ahirat ahirat ahirat..."

Entah mengapa, aku bisa memahami situasi ini, walaupun tidak sepenuhnya.
Selalu sulit untuk menuliskan sebuah kesimpulan dan mengakhiri sebuah tulisan.
Lihat saja betapa membosankannya Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow atau Breaking Dawn milik Stephanie Meyer atau berbagai seri lain (semoga saja buku terakhir dari Princess Diaries gak se-garing yang lainnya...)
Begitu pula halnya dengan serial TV. Itulah mengapa Friends ada di TV selama 10 tahun, cerita Heroes masih dipanjang-panjangin, cerita Ugly Betty padahal bisa selesai dalam satu season namun tetap saja dibuat makin aneh di season kedua.
Jadi, aku maklum saja pada akhir yang aneh di buku Maryamah Karpov ini.
Semoga film lanjutan dari Laskar Pelangi-entah apapun namanya nanti-akan lebih baik lagi.

N.B. buat para penggemar Laskar Pelangi, tetralogi maupun filmnya, no offense, people!

Kegilaan Sebelum UAS

Seriusan ini mah...
Udah lama kepikiran mau nulis tentang sepatu, tapi selalu ditunda gara-gara aku merasa selalu gak ada kesempatan.
Kali ini, walau gak ada kesempatan gara-gara mau UAS dan masih banyak tugas, aku sempet-sempetin ajalah...
LOL

Jadi, beginilah sebuah kisah tentang sepatu.


Seperti yang bisa dilihat pada foto diatas, ketiga sepatu ini adalah kepunyaanku.
Cerita tentang sepatu ini dimulai saat aku mengantarkan mama buat melihat-lihat sepatu diberbagai counter sepatu di sebuah mall paling gaul di Bandung saat ini.
Tiba-tiba saat sampai di counter sepatu merk 'tiga strip' ini, aku langsung teringat dengan ketiga sepatuku yang ada di rumah.
Dan kalau dipikir-pikir, bukannya sengaja atau gimana, dari sejumlah sepatu dan sendal yang aku miliki, merk 'tiga strip' ini adalah merk yang paling dominan. Aku punya tiga sepatu bermerk 'tiga strip'.
Masing-masing sepatu ada ceritanya.

Dari yang paling tua dulu aja umurnya.
Jadi ceritanya aku dibelikan mama sepatu ini pada tahun 2004. Beberapa waktu sebelum aku pergi ke Kanada.
Waktu aku mau pergi ke Kanada, aku memang mendapatkan banyak sekali barang baru. Mungkin sebagai kompensasi atas hilangnya kedekatan jarak antara aku dan keluargaku. LOL.
Sebenarnya, waktu di counter 'tiga strip' yang berada di sebuah mall tua di kawasan Blok M, pada tahun 2004 silam, aku ingin sepatu 'tiga strip' yang berwarna coklat. Sayangnya sepatu yang berwarna coklat modelnya sedikit terbatas dan saat kucoba sepatu ini, entah mengapa nampak bagus di kakiku.
Sepatu ini akhirnya aku bawa ke Kanada. Gawatnya, selama di Kanada aku hampir setiap hari mengenakan sepatu ini, kecuali saat musim dingin, tentu saja. Mulai dari akhir summer, sepanjang fall, seluruh spring, dan awal summer kembali, aku memakai sepatu ini. Tak heran saat aku bawa kembali ke Indonesia, sepatu ini sudah tak karuan bentuknya. Panjang talinya sudah tidak sama, warnanya sudah pudar, cap merk-nya sudah tidak nampak, solnya juga sudah sangat aus.
Tapi tentu saja sepatu ini masing sering aku pakai karena sepatu ini adalah sepatu yang paling pas untuk dipadankan dengan jeans biru, lihat saja warnanya. Selain itu, nilai historis sepatu ini sudah sangat tinggi, aku tidak tega membuang atau memberikannya pada orang lain.
Oh ya, satu lagi kelebihan sepatu ini, sejak aku memiliki sepatu ini di tahun 2004, baru sekitar 2 minggu yang lalu aku melihat orang lain memakai sepatu yang sama dengan sepatu ini. Perbedaannya, sepatu milik orang lain itu nampak masih sangat baik kondisinya.


Sepatu yang kedua ini adalah sepatu yang paling tua kedua diantara ketiga sepatu merk 'tiga strip' yang aku miliki.
Waktu itu, tahun 2006, aku dan seluruh keluarga sedang berjalan-jalan di sebuah mall kondang di bilangan Bundaran HI Jakarta dan kami iseng saja masuk ke counter 'tiga strip' di mall tersebut. Saat itulah aku percaya bahwa jodoh memang berada di tangan Tuhan karena saat itulah aku melihat sepatu ini dan secara kebetulan harga sepatu ini sedang mengalami pemotongan harga. Aku awalnya agak sedikit ragu. Bagaimana tidak, warna kesukaanku kan hitam, bukan putih. Selain itu, sepatu berwarna putih cenderung cepat kotor, padahal aku bukan orang paling rapi sedunia. Jadilah, papaku, dengan murah hatinya menawarkan sepatu ini versi warna hitamnya. Setelah aku lihat, modelnya keren juga (mungkin karena sugesti warna hitam. hahahaha!), namun harganya langsung bikin mataku berkunang. Akhirnya aku tetapkan bahwa aku masih memiliki beberapa pasang sepatu warna hitam yang masih layak pakai di rumah dan memutuskan untuk membeli yang berwarna putih.
Kerennya, sepatu ini juga sudah memiliki nilai historis yang tinggi. Sepatu ini sudah membantuku melewati jalanan bersalju di Beijing saat musim dingin tahun 2006. Sayangnya, sepatu ini tidak tahan air sehingga semua salju yang ada di jalanan masuk ke kakiku dan aku kedinginan bukan kepalang. Juga, setelah mandi salju jalanan di Beijing, sepatu ini tidak pernah bisa kembali berwarna putih bersih. Warna kecoklatan akibaat kotornya lelehan salju di Beijing tidak bisa hilang walau sudah dicuci berkali-kali.

Entah mengapa, aku lupa dimana dan kapan papaku membelikan sepatu ini buatku. Yang aku ingat adalah melihat sepatu ini disebuah toko peralatan olahraga bernama 'planet olahraga' dan aku melihat sepatu ini dipajang disana, jauh setelah aku memakai sepatu ini hampir setiap harinya. Aku juga benar-benar lupa harganya berapa. Parah nih.
Sepatu ini memang masih muda umurnya diantara dua sepatu yang lainnya. Sepatu ini juga tidak memiliki nilai historis yang tinggi, kecuali sering kena kebanjiran di sekitar ITB karena aku memang sering sekali memakai sepatu ini ke kampus. Bisa dibilang, ini adalah salah satu sepatu favorit yang aku miliki (mungkin warnanya membantu penilaian dalam pemilihan. LOL).

Begitulah kisah tentang sepatuku.
Mungkin di lain kesempatan aku akan membahas sepatu-sepatu jenis lain atau yang bermerk lain.
Atau mungkin di kesempatan lain aku akan membahas baju, celana, ataupun aksesoris lain yang aku miliki.

cuma pengen ngasi link...

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!

puas banget aku!!!!

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!

sekali lagi, I give my highest respect for Divisi Gosip HMIF!
postingan paling oke sepanjang sejarah!

nice work, people!

Buat Mueng, temanku tercinta, hold on there, buddy!
I know you can do it!
and as I quoted from one of the comments: tut wuri handayani.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAH!

p.s. buat Mita, I quoted from Fuji: sabar ya...

Same-Same... or NOT

I'm getting irritated...

Some of my close friends mistaken me with some guy in my class.
I can't believe this is happening to me...


Do I REALLY look alike with him from behind?
I mean, honestly???

Saga plus Movie (SPOILER!)

I have been dying to write a review about the Twilight saga since the second I finished reading Breaking Dawn.
But then I decided to watch the movie first, before I write anything at all.

I first found out about the Twilight Saga by ears.
I heard that it was in some kind of best seller lists and I kept on seeing Stephanie Meyer's name over and over again.
So I google-d her and her books.
I read the review and I was like, "where the hell have I been? How can I not hear anything about this books?"
I got very curious of the saga because of two reasons:
1. I always like young adult books and/or series.
2. I can't accept that there are very famous series and I haven't heard about it at all.

Not risking my money to buy the book, I finally get my sister's friend (thanks Amanda!) to lend me the series.

First book: Twilight
Until the middle of the book, I didn't realise that the book is actually about vampires.
Absentmindedly, from the first few pages of the book, I thought that it was still about teenage romance and some kind of puppy love and I still thought it was cute.
When I finally got to the part that told me about Edward was a vampire, it actually made me gasp.
clearly, I haven't done a great job on my homework, google-ing-that is.
After I got to the part where vampires come and go, my reading got slow. I hate this kind of genre. I don't like any sci-fi or fantasy books. I like to keep everything as real as possible.
Before I even finished the book, I knew that I didn't like the book.
Good thing that it has some romantic part that seemed real to me and it was able to keep me going on reading. Although, the romance was too exaggerating sometimes.
Like, how can you say "I wanna be with you forever" to your boyfriend when you are barely 17?
I wonder...
But still, it was enough for me to finish the first book.

Second book: New Moon
Not quite disappointed with the first book, I again borrowed the second book to my sister's friend (thanks again, Mandy!).
New Moon was unlike Twilight, got right to the problem.
I was very surprised when Edward actually left. Along with Bella, I didn't get his point either.
What was the talk "I wanna be with you forever" then for?
I also never like Bella got along with Jacob and Billy. Well, Jacob was fine, as long as he was happy and nice. But Billy has always been a little bit harsh. and when Jacob started to like like Bella, it irritated me.
Plus, I got the excitement with the Volturi. I think it's interesting.
So, New Moon was not that bad either.

Third book: Eclipse
From a kind-heart friend of my sister, Amanda, I again borrowed the third book.
And I think, this is where things got a little out of control.
Suddenly, it seemed to me that every teenager in La Push is turning into the werewolves.
Suddenly, every vampires' secrets revealed.
Suddenly, the good became bad and the bad became good.
and suddenly, the old revenge finally got to be paid.
A little over board, I think.
That was also when I decided that I didn't like the saga.

Fourth book: Breaking Dawn
Unfortunately, I couldn't just stop in the middle of something. I have to finish everything I do, including reading this saga. So for the last time, I asked Amanda to lend it to me (thank you so very much, Mandy!).
and I have to tell you this: Breaking Dawn is the worst book of the saga ever!
I might have to repeat this one more time: I never like any fantasy books. So this last book is killing me. It took me almost a month to read it! So long!
I know that vampire's existence doesn't make sense at freaking all.
But a normal human girl having a baby with a vampire is just too much.
and then a werewolves falling in love with a half-human-half-vampire girl was out of my reach.
I don't know. I have nothing to say.
It is also the most boring book out of all four. I just can't believe it.
And I heard that Meyer's actually not gonna stop the saga right after the Breaking Dawn.
I think I knew why, she was as disappointed as me towards her own conclusion.

The movie: Twilight
I should say that out of the four books, Twilight is my most favorite.
That was why I got so excited on watching the movie.
To my surprise, the movie was good.
I didn't expect it to be good though. I thought it was gonna be ugly, as ugly as the guy who played Edward. I also thought the effect was gonna be crappy. I mean, when I read the book, I could have my own personal imagination on how fast vampire runs. It turned out that the movie's effect was not at all disappointing.
My biggest disappointment on the movie was that the vampires were not as pretty and handsome as they are in the books (or in my imagination).
Other than that, I really like the movie. I think it represent the book very clearly and nicely.
Even though I know that some of my friends who haven't read the book had a hard time understanding the movie. But as if it is my business.
Other thing that I want to point out about the movie is that it is very American.
I love it. I think it shows who are real Americans.
Like Americans are consist of Aboriginal people (represent by Billy, Jacob, and others), white-skinned people (represent by Bella, Charley, Renee, et cetera), African-American (represent by the steak house's waitress and some of Bella's friend in school), Chinesse (represent by Eric and other Bella's friend), and many other race.
Even the soundtracks are very American, it consist of pop songs, some instrumental songs, and country music. (You can't be less American if you play country music!)
Plus the scenery, the whole story of Quiluette's legend, and many other stuff that reminds me of America.

So, that's my review.
I hope it's gonna be helpful for people who want to start reading the saga and watching the movie.
As for the fans, I hope no one get offended by anything that I wrote here.

p.s. aku harap, buat yang pada mau baca bukunya, jangan baca terjemahannya ya... aku gak yakin kamu dapet 'feel'-nya...

Business Strategy

Gosh!
I can't deny it anymore...

come here and you'll see what I mean.

I was amazed enough by the new iPod nano...
and here they are, you can actually engrave some special words in your own iPod!
How amazing can your iPod be???
oh my gosh!

anyone nice enough to be an iPod giver???

Countdown

As usual,
towards the end of the year, many media create all sorts of countdown.

So yesterday, I stayed home, being a very nice girl that I am, and also because I can't resist the cough and cold that I'm currently having.
I flicked on the TV channels, curious to see what was on, to accompany me working on some tasks.
I came to MTV and just accidentally the re-run of TRL was on.

Since the day I first watched MTV, I was always amazed by TRL's excitement.
I always imagine how cool it is to sit in the studio and watch all those celebrities walking right in front of you.
In the teenage years of my life, getting into TRL was one of my goals.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach that goal.
Firstly because I passed my teenage years of life and secondly because there's no more TRL. MTV decided to cut off the show from their program forever.
Although, I came really close to attending one similar program in Canada.
In Canada, the US's MTV is not the biggest thing when it comes to music on TV. The youngsters are very proud of their own Much Music. Much Music is basically Canadian version of MTV. It also has a show that is similar to TRL which is called Much on Demand.
So yeah, when I was in Toronto, my family and I drove pass the Much Music Studio for a few times and that was when I decided to call the studio to find out how to be on the show.
Too bad I was all alone with my family at that time. I could NOT take my mom or dad to the show (well, duh!) and my sister was still underage. And of course I could NOT go there alone.
So, with all my hearts, I have let go one of my goals in live.

And back to TRL.
At the end of TRL, they made these whole recaps of every countdown that they ever made.
One very interesting things they did was they counted down Top 10 Videos from Boy Bands over the TRL's years.
It was one of the most interesting countdown I've ever watched. I got so curious to see who made it to the top 10 and who made it as number one.
I can't deny it, but I grew up listening to boy bands.
I LOVE Backstreet Boys. I HATE N*Sync because they tried to bring down BSB.
I got all mellow with 98 degrees. I memorized all the lyrics of LFO's songs.
and of course I was imagining myself talking to a handsome Prince Charming with O-Town's or BBMak's songs as my backsound.
I was crazy over boy bands (at that time)!

So, I don't care that I saw the re-run show,
I don't care how lame it is to talk about boy bands,
here are TRL's Top 10 Videos from Boy Bands over TRL's Years.

10. O-Town - We Fit Together
Gosh! I still remember when O-Town paid a visit to Indonesia. I was in grade 8 at that time, if I'm not mistaken. They came to Bandung and gave a press conference. Too bad the EO was really stupid and they chose one very small place to held a meet and greet. Of course with all Indonesian girls crazy over them, some of the girls were injured and even killed in that incident. O-Town was so shock because I believe that they, themselves, didn't expect girls to be dying-literally-to see them. Talking about O-Town though, my favorite song of theirs is called All or Nothing.

9. Evan and Jaron - Crazy for This Girl
I was shock that they made it to the list. I have a hard time to recall their existence in Indonesia. I just remember that this song was a soundtrack of the most favorite teenage TV series at that time, Dawson's Creek. And I remember that EVERYTHING related to Dawson's Creek meant popularity at that time.
As for this song, the tunes that I remember was only for the very first sentence in the lyrics, which was "she rolls the window down" and the chorus, "when you look at her, she looks at me, she's got me thinking bout her constantly but she don't who I am. And then she carries on without a doubt, I wonder if she's figure out: I'm crazy ofr this girl. I'm crazy for this giiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrlllll"
Other than that, NOTHING!

8. BBMak - Back Here
This is a very old song. I think I first heard this song when I was in elementary. As innocent as I could be, I could delay anything that I was willing to do whenever this video came out. BBMak's members are irresistable!
And as I wrote previously, how can you resist the very romantic lyrics, such as,
"until you're back here baby, miss you, want you, need you so...
until you back here baby, there's a feeling inside I want you to know...
you are the one and I can't let you go..."
???
Tell me about it!

7. Hanson - Penny and Me
I never really like Hanson. I think that none of them is good looking and their songs are never that good. I think they won people heart because they were brothers and their songs are very easy listening and very ear-cathcy.
Who can resist but to repeat Mmmbop all the time?
but this particular Penny and Me song is not at all my favorite. I always think that Taylor (the vocalist, I believe that was his name) was only mumbling without pronouncing any particular words besides "penny and me".

6. LFO - Summer Girls
I was laughing when I read this very review (I quoted),
"But then there are the bands that time (and taste) forgot — like LFO, or Lite Funky Ones — though LFO was neither Lite nor Funky"
But I can't deny ot though. I like LFO when it was the right time to like them.
I mean, what kind of music group can mention that they actually like girls in Abercrombie and Fitch???
I have to say though, I love their song that's called Girl on TV.
Altough, I can't deny my other love for their song called Every Other Time.

5. 5ive - When the Lights Go Out
I can't stop laughing everytime I remember that I used to called them 'five-ive'. LOL
I mean, I was so innocent back then and they were too stupid to pick a good name for their band.
I wonder though, why TRL choose this video to be on their top 10. Maybe because all 5ive videos are suck. It basically is showing the five members of 5ive dancing very hard in one room with similar tight clothing and you can expect flames and fire shot out of the floor.
Too bad many people seem to forget one of their very inspiring songs, Keep on Moving.

4. B2K - Uh Huh
When B2K showed up as number four, I was like, "yeah... they deserve this..."
But when I found out that this "Uh Huh" song that made it to the Top 10, I was like, "WHAT???"
What happened to Bump, Bump, Bump???
That is the only song that made it to be on my iPod and TRL chose other song???
Gosh! I can't believe it!

3. 98 Degrees - My Everything
It is the most ironic song ever. This song (if I'm not mistaken) was created by Nick Lachey for his former wife, Jessica Simpson. Everyone thought that they were the best couple. Not very long, they got divorce.
Just like the boy band. I used to think that 98 Degrees is the most romantic boy band ever made. I can't resist but being all mellow everytime I hear "Invisible Man" or "Because of You" or "I Do" or many other songs they ever sang.
I can still remember perfectly that Jeff's arm has a 98Degrees tattoo. I wonder what happen with that tattoo now....
Just like Nick and Jess, Nick's boy band didn't seem to be able to hold on together very long.
But still, though, thanks for the romantic songs!

2. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
It is the BEST BSB's video ever created. I agree. Considering many-many-many parodic videos made based on this video.
But to put BSB on the SECOND place instead of FIRST, it makes me growl.
I mean, BSB deserves to be in the FIRST place in ANY boy band countdown.
What other boy bands you know that actually sing???
Only BSB who share the songs rather equally. All members: Brian, Nick, AJ, Howie, and Kevin, sing.
Sure Nick Carter has the most fans because girls consider him cute. Sure Brian sang the most because his voice is considered the best. But it doesn't mean that other members couldn't sing.
Oh well, they hardly a group now, there's no sense on trying to defend them.
Still though, BSB is my favorite boy band ever!!!

1. N*Sync - Bye Bye Bye
Sure, I was upset when BSB got the second place and N*Sync got the first. But when I found out that this video is actually the winner. I shut my mouth right up.
"Bye Bye Bye" is maybe the best song that any boy band ever sang.
I mean, honestly. Everytime I go out for a karaoke with my friends, we HAVE TO sing this song and tried to keep up the moves with JT and friends.
Plus, the video is not a cheesy ones, like some other traditional boy bands' videos.
I rest my case, this song and video deserve to be number one.

One thing that I wonder though,
what happened to Westlife?
They seem to be really big here, in Indonesia.
Well, apparently they're nothing in USA, let alone in TRL.
finally, the Americans did something right. *wink*

To close everything up,
here it it, from the best boy band's song ever,

"You may hate me, but it ain't no lie, baby, bye bye bye!"