2008

Whoa...it's 2008 already! A year closer to becoming an architect! ;p

That aside, yesterday I had countdown in my church, TJ. Well...despite having been in TJ for 5 years and loving it, that was my first watchnight service, since before I came to archi this year I would be knocked dead at 10 pm, much less 12 pm. (So yeah, an architectural education is really useful for real life ;p ).

Before the service, had dinner with a good friend from church, talking about how the year has been for us..been truly blessed and taught and growing, and there's an absence of the usual nagging feeling of "Hey I could've done better..Dang I should've done better.." Guess it's because this year has been truly enjoyable despite some regretful things, and my attitudes have changed too... ah well, merrily we roll along!

And the service.. one of my friend abroad was sms-ing me this morning and he said "Huh? Countdown in church? Aren't there many places in Singapore for countdown?" To which I would answer: I'd rather be in TJ than anywhere else! I'm blessed with a church that feels like a family, (and which, just like a family, often I took for granted..) and it makes me so glad to spend the first hour of the year worshipping with them. Great way to begin 2008 =D

Resolution wise...
1. Will keep the Untouchables untouchable, i.e. keeping my commitments to God and church no matter how hectic archi life will be..Honestly..I dread the way it sounds, and am haunted by past failures.. but His grace is sufficient for me!
2. Win more battle in little things, like waking up a bit earlier, holding my tongue, saying less nonsense and more encouragement, better discipline, paying more attention to people and be more caring..in any case, I don't wanna be a "fat" person next year.. having a lot of knowledge and resources but keeping it all for myself..Well, this involves two things I don't really fancy: spending time with other people I don't know well, and having less time for myself...I realise I will not succeed unless I be very deliberate in this..
3. Keep life balanced and thoroughly enjoy every aspect of it!

Welcome 2008!

Drunk-Driving and Male Chauvinist Pigs

Went out with 2 of my secondary school friends 2 days ago, and somehow our conversation came to driving test cuz Mike had just gotten his driving license in Melbourne, and we were comparing the difficulty of Singapore driving license tests with that of Australia. So.. the conversation got to this part: (written from memory, but the essence is there.)
Me: Know wad, I heard my physics teacher failed Singapore's written test for license 3 times..must be dang difficult..
Mike: I passed it when I was 16!
Amrit: But well, usually women are not good in driving...so yeah..
Me: My physics teacher is a guy!
Amrit: Yah but still women are not good in driving..a lot of road accidents involve women.. (Anyone knows the statistics on this?)
Me: Hey but such a large percentage of drunk-driving accidents involve guys! they are more careless.
Amrit: Well that's because women don't even need to be drunk to get into accidents..
Me: .......

Hmph. Will do further analysis on this topic but meanwhile invites anyone who SERIOUSLY has something to add for discussion. MCPs included, I guess..

Apalah Artinya Sebuah Nama......

"Gue jadi inget, dalam drama Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare pernah bilang 'Apalah arti sebuah nama? Mawar, jika diganti dengan nama lain, pasti akan sama harumnya.' Gue gak terlalu setuju sama Shakespeare. Kalo mawar diganti namanya jadi eek, orang kan bisa jadi ilfil. Misalnya, gue baru beliin mawar buat cewek gue, terus gue bilang, 'Sayang, aku baru aja naruh eek di bawah jendela rumah kamu.' Bisa-bisa dia langsung ilfil."
- diambil dari buku Radikus Makankakus, Bukan Binatang Biasa oleh Raditya Dika

Iya betul juga ya... nama seseorang itu penting adanya.. Misalnya aja nih,aku punya saudara sepupu yang kalau nggak naik kelas atau terlibat hal yang jelek, trus diganti namanya sama kakekku..Maklum cara tradisional..Setauku sih orang-orang Cina pulau (umumnya dari daerah Sumatra) dan Melayu pulau percaya hal ini. Trus ada lagi kasus "keberatan nama", yaitu seorang anak dikasih nama seperti "Yesus" atau "Siddharta" ternyata jadi sakit2an, tapi setelah namanya diganti lebih "normal" jadinya tuh anak baik2 aja. Jadi, sebuah nama itu besar artinya, dan dipikir2 nama2 orang Indonesia itu cukup unik tiada dua (biased nih..) ..okeh, mari kita coba analisa nama-nama orang Indonesia..heheheh..

Termasuk yang paling umum adalah orang2 serakah yang menggabungkan jatah nama 3 atau 4 orang jadi satu. Aku termasuk dalam golongan ini karena namaku bisa dipecah at least untuk 3 orang..huhuhu.. Nama temen2 baikku di archi juga gitu: Gisela Aviel Edria Rense (Reren..hahaha), trus Edo Adrianus Kartono. Contoh nyata lain2: Audrey Cecilia Wijaya, William Adriano Pujianto, Andrew Sofyan Putra, etc etc. Satu nama aneh yang sampe sekarang masih nempel di kepalaku meski aku lupa pernah nemu di mana : Bejo Brojolukito Melinjodarmo...

Hm..golongan selanjutnya adalah orang-orang yang namanya bisa dirumuskan jadi: (kata berkonotasi positif) + (wan). Contoh (semua nama temen2ku dari kecil jadi memang ada) : Setiawan, Kurniawan, Sastrawan, Hartawan etc. Variasi lain yang belum pernah aku temui includes Gantengwan, Kekarwan, Jeniuswan... Jelas, nama2 ini mencerminkan harapan orang tua akan sifat2 anaknya kelak. Yang aku heran yah, kenapa harapannya harus tanggung-tanggung gitu loh.. misal daripada ngasih nama Setiawan, boleh diganti Satuistrisampematiwan, atau daripada Sastrawan sekalian aja kasih nama Pemenangnobelbidangsastrawan. Hm...enaknya apa kalau punya anak dikasih nama Panjangumursehatselaluentengjodohbanyakrejekidisayangtuhanwan yah...hahahahaha....

Selanjutnya, nama orang yang diambil dari nama2 benda atau sifat. Umum kan ketemu orang bernama: Intan, Indah, Bayu (Angin), Fajar, Bintang, Mentari, Wulan, Melati, Mawar (yup satu sepupuku ada yang namanya Mawar), Surya, Kristal, Cinta,Topan, Rahmat, Mazmur etc. Yang jelas bendanya harus yang indah-indah dan keren-keren, sehingga gak ada orang Indonesia dikasih nama Kaktus, Pispot, Jamban, Sendaljepit, Banjir, Gerobak dan sejenisnya.. Menurutku sendiri sih ngasih nama sesuai benda2 yang indah itu keren juga, apalagi kalau dikasih nama sesuai benda2 di alam.

Trus lagi ,masih dalam urusan nama, ada ortu2 yang menamai semua anak2nya dengan huruf awal yang sama. Ini unik juga sih. Keluarga salah satu temen deketku kujuluki "Keluarga H". Gara2nya, sang ayah, Pak Howandi, ngasih nama ketiga anaknya Himawan, Handoko dan Hilman. Sedangkan Hilman si anak bontot sekaligus temenku ini peliharaannya Hamster. Komplit deh. Nah, kalau ada yang berniat melakukan hal yang sama, hati2 aja jangan menikah sama orang yang namanya berhuruf awal nggak umum. Bayangin kalau Zulkifli menikah sama Zubaedah, maka kemungkinan anak2nya tar dikasih nama Zakaria, Zaenab, Zara, Zorro, dan Zebra karena rada sulit nyari nama berawalan Z apalagi yang bukan dari bahasa Arab. Belum kalo ortunya bernama Xena dan Xavier, bisa2 anaknya dinamai Xantophyll (Yah ini benda yang indah juga sih..sejenis pigmen tanaman gitu..huhuhu...).

Nama paling aneh yang aku tau so far? Uhm..anaknya Melly Goeslaw : Anakku Lelaki Hoed. Gak tau deh ntar kalo anak itu besar dia akan suka nggak sama namanya...belum kalau ntar anak itu kawin trus anaknya perempuan semua..lha gimana, padahal namanya Anakku Lelaki... tapi sekali lagi yah, seandainya Melly Goeslaw menerapkan prinsip jangan tanggung-tanggung, mungkin nama anaknya sekarang :Anakku Pejantan Tangguh Taklukkan Cewek Sejagat Hoed...hmm...kadang2 restraint berguna juga..

Well, nama tentu punya arti. Tapi berhubung bahasa tiap tempat lain2, sulit juga kali ya mencari nama yang keren dan artinya bagus dalam tiap bahasa. Misal anaknya Tom Cruise dan Katie Holmes yang bernama Suri. Dalam satu bahasa (kalo nggak salah bahasa Persia, Parsi, aku nggak ingat.) Suri itu berarti "Princess", tapi dalam bahasa jepang suri artinya pencopet..huhuhu.. parah kan kalau anak itu nantinya besar, sekolah dan kerja di Jepang...

Mengenai namaku sendiri, kata "Shiela" itu variasi dari "Sheila", yang artinya bisa "pemusik" atau "orang buta".. Aneh sih, tapi jujur aja aku rada2 bangga dengan dualisme arti dari namaku, bisa berkonotasi positif atau berkonotasi negatif. Lagipula, dengan sifatku yang independen, over-pede, suka main terjang sendiri dan cuek sama sekeliling, aku nyoba untuk tidak grasa-grusu sendiri kalau ingat bahwa namaku berarti "orang buta", yang mana aku harusnya tergantung sama orang lain juga.

Berani Berkata (Tidak) Jujur

"Honesty is the best policy." Setidaknya itu yang sering dielu-elukan orang. Walaupun gak ada orang yang bisa 100% jujur seumur hidupnya, kebanyakan orang beranggapan sebisa mungkin manusia harus jujur. Bahwa kejujuran adalah sebuah virtue, sifat moral yang harus dijunjung tinggi.

...Aku mulai merasa itu omong kosong. Dunia ini gak mungkin bisa berjalan kalau nggak ada kebohongan. Okelah, kejujuran mungkin menunjukkan niat baik. Kejujuran mungkin tulus. Kejujuran mungkin noble, berani, dan apalah sifat2 terpuji yang lainnya. Tapi ada satu sisi dari kejujuran yang nggak semua orang sanggup menghadapi: kejujuran itu brutal. Bru.Tal. Makanya orang menerima bahwa ada yang disebut white lie. Kebohongan seorang cucu yang bilang bakal dateng 3 bulan lagi karena nggak tega liat neneknya nangis, padahal dia tau dia nggak bakal datang sampe setaun lagi. Kebohongan seorang sahabat yang mengubur perasaan "lebih" dalam-dalam daripada nyakitin orang yang paling dia sayang. Kebohongan seorang anak yang milih membohongi orang tuanya daripada mereka khawatir yang tidak perlu. Kebohongan seorang ibu yang memilih nggak memberitahu anaknya bahwa dia bangkrut karena nggak mau anaknya terpukul. Kebohongan yang ini dan kebohongan yang itu.

Masalahnya, di pikiran orang-orang, bahkan mungkin orang tukang bohong sekalipun, ditanamkan bahwa kejujuran= baik. Kebohongan = mutlak buruk. Makanya ada adegan sinetron seperti seorang cewek yang berlinang air mata ngadep ke seorang cowok dengan tampang super bersalah: "Rasa sayang mu ke di masih tersisa kan??!!! Kenapa kamu nggak jujur aja sama aku??!! Kenapa kamu nggak percaya sama aku??! Emang enak dibohongi! Sakit tau!"

Yeah, right. Kebohongan yang berjenis white lie sering menyakitkan buat orang yang dibohongi karena mereka merasa, sekali lagi, jujur = segalanya yang baik. Tapi memangnya orang yang bohong itu nggak sakit? Put it this way, dalam suatu situasi, orang yang memilih jujur itu biasa merasa punya pilihan, mereka bisa milih mau jujur atau bohong, dan mereka memilih jujur karena "It's the right thing to do." Sementara, orang yang bohong seringkali merasa nggak punya pilihan dan karena itu terpaksa rela berbohong dan menanggung segala cap nggak enak karena berbohong = perbuatan jelek. Demi untuk nggak menyakiti orang lain. Misguided? Twisted?

Salah nggak sih kalau aku menganggap kejujuran dan kebohongan itu statusnya sama, bahwa keduanya cuma sebagai alat, dan tergantung digunakan untuk tujuan apa. Tergantung apakah prinsip hidup seseorang itu adalah untuk selalu berkata jujur, atau untuk selalu mempertimbangkan perasaan orang lain. Apakah aku orang amoral, atau bahkan abnormal, kalau merasa berbohong, di waktu dan dengan cara yang tepat, adalah perlu?

....hueh....capek.... jadi orang suka mikir itu sulit. Jadi orang suka mikir dan sering mikir hal2 serius itu namanya menyiksa diri sendiri, belum kalau mikir bahwa toh kita nggak bisa praktek apa2 setelah mendalami teori dengan sedemikian njelimetnya. Ironis banget bahwa satu2nya cara bagi seorang pemikir untuk tetap berada di jalur waras adalah dengan cara sering-sering menyalurkan daya pikirnya untuk memikirkan hal2 remeh, ngawur, nonsensical dan lucu. Karena terlalu banyak mikir hal2 serius malah bisa bikin keseimbangan jiwa terganggu!

Langit Penuh Bintang

To see the world in a grain of sand
Heaven in a wild flower
To hold infinity in the palm of your hand
Eternity in an hour
(William Woodsworth)

Barusan pulang dari Astrobash XX, iseng nebeng NUS Astronomy club pergi observasi ke pulau Bintan, dan sekarang pendapatku pribadi adalah: setiap orang harus punya kesempatan untuk berbaring di pantai gelap dan sepi, dengerin suara ombak sambil liat langit penuh bintang... waaaa..... hahahahaha senang banget sih, terasa banget kalau aku adalah manusia kecil di pulau kecil di laut kecil di benua kecil di planet kecil di tata surya kecil di alam semesta yang luasnya nggak bisa dipikirkan oleh otakku... wah.....

Newae, emang keren sih ikut astrobash itu.. pas observasi itu, ada yang bawa laser pointer yg powerful gitu jadi bisa buat nunjuk2 rasi bintang di langit, bener2 kayak sinar lasernya nyampe ke bintang2 itu..serasa langit jadi papan tulis raksasa! Asli hebat! Trus sekarang at least aku tau nama2 dan letak bintang dan rasi2 bintang yang umum...Andromeda, Cassiopea, Perseus, Taurus, Pisces, Aries, Canopus, Aldebaran, Sirius, Pleiades.. nanti kalau punya anak kasih nama rasi bintang ah..hahaha... oh ya, mengenai Orion, ternyata tiga bintang sejajar yang selama ini aku pikir that's all to Orion itu namanya Orion's Belt, yang berarti itu cuma ikat pinggangnya rasi bintang Orion doang! Masih ada busurnya, perisai, kepala, kaki etc..malah menurutku ada jerawatnya juga..hehehe.. Orion's Pimple ;p Saw the Milky Way too!

Liat meteor shower juga..Geminid... yang aneh ya..kan menurut orang kalau ada meteor lewat tuh bisa make a wish,tp begitu liat meteor2 itu n aku mikir enaknya buat wish apa, aku nyadar kalau so far aku dikaruniai hidup yg berkecukupan banget dan aku sendiri enggak punya wish apa-apa.. yah, semoga aku selalu bisa maintain this attitude of gratitude...
Keinget satu filem yg pernah aku tonton, judulnya Le Papillon, dimana ada adegan satu anak kecil liat meteor shower trus nanya ke kakek2 yg ketus, kira2 begini:
Anak kecil: "Kek, sebetulnya bintang jatuh itu apa?"
Kakek ketus: "Itu rambut Tuhan yang rontok!"
Kakeknya keren deh...heheheh...

That aside, bener2 enjoy trip ini karena it was a good break dari cuaca Singapur yang hari-hari hujan dan berawan terus.. hari pertama pas nyampe sih emang di Bintan gerimis trus ujan, yg bikin aku merasa setelah pernah masuk "hutan hujan tropis" akhirnya aku bisa mengalami "pantai hujan tropis"....huhuhu...masa di pantai bawa payung... untung hari kedua nya really sunny jadi jiwa outdoorku langsung mengganas dan puas2in maen di pantainya. Sebetulnya pantainya biasa aja sih, tapi karena sepi jadi masih banyak binatang2nya gitu, umang2 lah, ubur-ubur, segala kerang2 aneh dan kepiting, pokoknya asik sendiri liat binatang macem2..hehe...btw pernah liat kerang jalan? Unik sekali! (Nggak bisa describe jadi moga2 pembaca bisa liat sendiri kapan2)

Ahhh....langit penuh bintang..Masih terbayang di kepalaku....

Penyakit Orang Romantis

(Catatan: blogpost dihasilkan dari analisa terhadap diri sendiri maupun berbagai subjek, akan tetapi harap diketahui tidak ada Homo Sapiens yang dirugikan, apalagi disakiti, dalam proses analisa.)

Punya teman orang yang romantis? Atau merasa diri sendiri orang yang romantis? Dalam kesempatan kali ini kita akan membahas orang-orang yang romantis akut, alias orang-orang yang sangking romantisnya memutuskan untuk menunggu sampai menemukan satu orang, dan hanya satu orang, yang untuk seterusnya akan dicinta, dipuja, dan of course, dikawinin.

Sebenarnya, pandangan seperti ini cukup menguntungkan, selain jelas-jelas secara finansial (apalagi buat yang cowoknya), juga secara mental dan emosional,bahkan mungkin religius. Tapi seringkali, orang2 romantis akut ini punya satu penyakit, yaitu kadang-kadang tidak sabar menunggu yang namanya cinta datang, dan akhirnya malah memaksakan diri suka pada orang lain.

Adalah kepribadian orang-orang romantis untuk memuja dan mencinta, makanya mereka hampir pasti punya kecenderungan kuat untuk ingin sekali menyayangi orang lain. Biasanya para romantiswan dan romantiswati yang sudah cukup lama menunggu untuk bertemu dengan "The One" paling tidak punya waktu mem-formulasi kriteria2 orang seperti apa yang mereka inginkan, dan begitu bertemu orang yang sedikit-sedikit memiliki kriteria yang diinginkan..wah... jiwa romantisnya langsung mencuat ke permukaan. Akibatnya mereka merasa "Iya, iya, aku harusnya suka sama orang ini, wah kayaknya orang ini nih." Sad to say, tapi seringkali orang2 romantis jatuh cinta pada cinta itu sendiri, pada kesempatan untuk mencintai orang dalam hidupnya.

Nah tau kan, kalau orang jatuh cinta (atau merasa jatuh cinta) itu, matanya jadi katarak gitu. Yang kulitnya hitam legam dibilang sawo mateng, yang sawo mateng berubah kuning langsat, yang kuning langsat jadi putih berseri...you get the idea.. *disclaimer: saya tidak mendiskriminasikan orang2 berkulit hitam legam. Ini hanyalah contoh kasus.*

Padahal logikanya menunggu hanya untuk satu orang itu apa? Adalah supaya bisa bener2 menyayangi satu orang saja, kalau sudah 100% yakin orang itulah yang tepat untuk menjadi pasangan hidup. Mengendalikan lidah adalah sulit, tapi lebih sulit lagi mengendalikan perasaan kalau sudah tercampur expectations, pada masa2nya terserang hormonal imbalance. Perlu usaha ekstra untuk membulatkan tekad dan memusatkan pikiran: "Pokoknya tunggu orang yang tepat! Titik!" apalagi kalau ketemu cowok yang senyumnya dahsyat nan menggoyang iman.... *kenangan masa lalu...aih gak penting banget!!!!*

Pikir-pikir, posisi para manusia romantis tapi jomblo ini mirip dengan peneliti. Mereka sedang meneliti sejenis virus bernama "cinta", menganalisanya dari berbagai segi, berusaha mengerti, memahami, tapi ya itulah, peranan mereka sebatas peneliti, yang cuma bisa mengamati objek penelitiannya dari balik mikroskop. Padahal mereka setengah mati ingin terinfeksi oleh virus yang mereka teliti, tapi setiap saat juga ada keraguan, "Apa ini saat yang tepat untuk meng-inokulasi diri sendiri?"

Moral: jadi orang romantis itu susah. Jadi orang romantis DAN jomblo itu perjuangan. Selamat berjuang, saudara-saudara!

Polygamy...and a little something...

First, the little something. Went to library to stock up on books for holiday, and being a person who thinks "Never limit yourslef", I headed to the Malay books shelf...Experimenting, you know.. And so a book caught my eye, a novelet for Muslim teenagers from Indonesia, titled "Yang Tak Tersentuh". Reading the back cover, one of the story is about a pastor-to-be loving a Muslim girl, which I thought is pretty interesting to be featured in an Islamic novel. So I proceeded to read the compilation of short stories.

Then, one of the story turned out to be about a pair of Christian teenagers (explicitly stated, and the girl was even described as wearing cross-shaped earrings.) deceiving, drugging and "christianizing" a Muslim girl. Until here I was still okay. But then, I read below the story, a postcript: "
"Catatan: Wawah adalah korban program kristenisasi di Padang, Dia diculik, diperkosa, dipaksa melepaskan jilbabnya lalu dikristenkan."
(Literal translation: Wawah is a victim of the christianization program in Padang, She was KIDNAPPED, RAPED, FORCED TO TAKE OFF HER TUDUNG and then 'CHRISTIANIZED'. Emphasis mine.)

Say WHHAAAAATTTTTT?????? DID I READ THAT CORRECTLY????
The moment I read it I was so angry at the author, at the publisher who allowed the book to be published,at whoever that is who taught the author that kind of skewed belief...the desire was very strong to do *unspeakable things* to any persons invloved in the perpetuation of this so very misleading and damaging lie! ARGH!!

Don't get me wrong. I do not think that all Muslims and Islam are bad because of that. Just as the people who raped the Chinese community while shouting "'Allahu akbar!" in May 1998 did not represent Muslims in general, I'm sure (or at least, i really hope) this defamation does not represent the view held by Muslims in general. Not all Christians are saints either. We did our share of shameful things, entrenched in the church history and impossibel to erase. I am just SO.VERY.ANGRY that in this day and age where it is difficult enough to allay the tensions between people who are perceived as different, someone seeks to plant such a potent seed of discord. I mean, c'mon RAPING people to "christianize" them????? Hello!!!!?? And pray how would Christian wives react if their husbands decide this is a more fun method than going through the difficult way of living their lives as examples of Christian teachings???!!!

Grrrrh...But enough about that. When I was browsing also found a book about polygamy, specifically on the polygamy of Aa Gym, previously quite a respected Muslim preacher who pretty much lost his popularity after he decided to take another wife. (See, i have faith in the common sense of the general Muslim population in Indonesia.) A funny coincident since I brought it up in a chat with my friend in the morning.



Curious, I read the back page and this is basically what is said, translated:
"In the view of Aa Gym, polygamy, which is allowed, is demeaned, while having an affair which is prohibited became the norm. It is this basis that encourages Aa Gym to marry another wife.
So, it is highly probable that Aa actually did not want to practice polygamy, but this fact forces him to choose this road. He did not have even a bit of desire to practive polygamy, but circumstances forced him to do it. An emergency measure for the purpose of telling every Muslim who does not yet know that sexual relationships outside of marriage is haram (wrong) and polygamy is halal (right)."

Pretty speechless by the time I finished reading that... Kalau mau polygamy dan ada wanita yang mau dimadu, ya silakan aja, asal adil, tapi masa harus di justify sampe terbitkan buku segala??!! parah!

Oh well, aside from these two glitches my evening went rather well. The weather is perfect for reading,and Jasper Fforde's new novel is out! Those who claim themselves booklovers, especially who love classics, simply must read him! He takes classic characters and weaves around them masterful plotlines... the newest novel is titled "The Fourth Bear", in reference to Goldilocks and the three bears, and I quote:
"The Gingerbreadman - psycopath, genius, convicted murderer and biscuit - is loose on the streets of Reading."

Also there is a question that I wonder why I have never asked before:
"How could the bears'' porridge be at such disparate temperatures when they were set at the same time?"

I want to go to Dubai!!!

The Trump Hotel, Dubai. Dang.....doesn't mean i think this is good architecture, but still really wants to see it.....
Oh man oh man....Dubai!!

NUS Archi Year 1 Studio FLOODED!

Found this video on youtube (together with other videos titled "Archi students without sleep", "Archi students gone wild".... rather pathetic...

But seriously...the video is so cool!!!! Wah where did all that water come from???!! Looks so fun!!! huhuhhuhu...but I guess all chances fo experiencing something like that are gone since now we're in Yr2 Lvl 2 studios..

Satu Semester Telah Berlalu...

....lebih dekat lagi pada cita-cita (mimpi?) menjadi seorang arsitek...yah.. tapi sekarang saatnya kembali untuk hidup seperti orang normal, tidur seperti orang normal, mandi seperti orang normal (bukan mandi bebek yang ciprat-ciprat doang..hahaha...)...saatnya kembali punya waktu luang.. baca buku selain buku archi!!

Tapi....apa anak arsitektur bisa liburan seperti seorang murid universitas yang normal...? Baru nonton The Golden Compass, dan yang ada di tengah2 filem malah kita ngobrol "wah itu bangunannya kayak punya Calatrava," "Itu mirip Glass House ya.." "Wah pengen tinggal di gedung kayak gitu!"

Malah Edo nambah lagi satu metode untuk get high sepanjang malam : mengulum Redoxon di mulut sambil minum kopi. *belum diuji coba, btw, jadi harap jangan ditiru dulu*

Haih...pokoknya liburan ini harus jauh-jauh dari archi! Apalagi konon next semester adalah traditionally semester dimana paling banyak anak yang retain.. jadi harus benar2 istirahat dan "menyegarkan diri"...

*Baru nyadar post ini sangat nggak mutu karena isinya nggak ada analisis, humor, bahan pikiran...hueh....*

Satu semester sudah berlalu... Banyak pelajaran, banyak kebahagiaan..tapi ada penyesalan karena sempat punya susunan prioritas yang salah... dan rasanya aku perlu bertapa lagi supaya lebih ada self-control, karena orang yang membuat aku berjanji pada diri sendiri, enggak bakal diutak-utik sampai ujian selesai....
Pendek kata I need more restraint! Ya udahlah, udah selesai ujian ini...

*Betul-betul post yang nggak ada tujuannya.. Mungkin cuma pengen buang2 waktu saking selalu merasa guilty kalo buang2 waktu pas sibuk2nya semester..*

Percakapan Ngawur Orang2 yang Kebanyakan Stay di Studio

*Setting: sebuah cafe bernama Munchie Monkey. Seorang mugger bersama dua mugging friends baru selesai dinner. Nama2 pemeran disamarkan untuk menjaga reputasi. Don't try this at home.*

S:"Duh sem depan mesti ngambil 28 MC.."
E:"Aduh bikin sakit perut nih kalo dipikir..."
R: "Iya padahal gw pengen ngambil jap nih.."
E: "wah semester depan harus beli shabu-shabu ..."
S: "Napa coba??!!"
E:"Biar high, biar high.Atau pake panadol dicampur soda.." *soda atau coca cola ya? ud lupa..*
R:"Ah itu mah bodrex, bodrex"
S:"Atau itu aja, red bull dicampur kopi! itu mah sepanjang malem jantung nya bisa dagdugdagdug"
R:"Dagdugdagdug? Ntar nggambarnya gimana dong, tangannya goyang -goyang"
E:"Ah pokoknya harus beli shabu-shabu"
S:"Alah, glue-sniffing aja! kan kita bisa choose from 8 types of glue!"
E:"Iya, iya, itu loh white glue baunya mantep man!"
R:"Ah gak ada baunya..."
S:"Iya, enakan UHU...gw sih sukanya UHU.."
E:"Super glue, super glue!"
S:"Ah super glue lengket semua di tangan...gak enak ah..."
R:"Apaan coba super glue pas dihirup serasa lem nya udah masuk idung! Itu aja, wood glue! Wah itu baunya enak! Asli enak!"
S:"Oh gw belum pernah tuh..tar pulang gw cobain.." *barusan dicoba, ternyata masih lebih mantep UHU...*
E:"Eh UHU stick enak tuh! lu hirup...wah...bener-bener glue sniffing man!"
S:"Eh gw suka jg baunya fixative lho"
E:"Ya udah ntar kita pake UHU langsung disuntikin aja sekalian"
R:"Eh tau gak temen studio gw pernah.."
S:"HAH? Masa?!"
R:"Iya iya waktu itu kan kita lagi bikin model acrylic, trus pake chloroform gitu.(Acrylic glue is made of chloroform,and is usually applied with a small syringe.) Trus si ****** itu lagi ngelem, jarum suntiknya jatuh ke kaki. Pas dia mo ngambil malah kesenggol trus nancep gitu.."
S:"Wah gile trus gimana tuh?"
R:"Berdarah...! Trus dia yang pusing-pusing gitu, ya kita bilang "O it's just psychological.."
S:"Wah sebenernya gak boleh diketawain sih...tp lucu juga.."
E:"Hahahahaha...."
E:"Ah tapi shabu-shabu....wah dihirup lewat idung.." *sambil memperagakan*
R:"Eh eh tau kan ada orang bisa makan spagetti lewat idung?"
S:"Wah gw taunya bisa minum lewat idung.."
*sampe sini...percakapannya tambah lama tambah nggak penting....*

Pesan moral: Yang mau masuk archi harus kuat iman supaya tidak terpengaruh oleh practice2 maksiat yang dibudidayakan di dalam fakultas...huhuhuhu....

7 things meme - tagged by Ren

7 things that scare you:
uhm...I'm not really scared of anything...so will change the title to:

7 things people are usually scared of and why I'm not scared of them:
1.insects - I think they're gorgeous and cool =D
2.ghost/evil spirits, at least the way they're depicted in horror movies - part of it has to do with me being a christian, another part is because I believe they can't do anything to me.
3. death - just another phase of life...in fact I'm sometimes curious as to how it feels..
4. failure - well, one can't stay on top all the time
5.loss of a loved one - will hurt, but life goes on
6. hurting a loved one - can't help doing it sometimes..say sorry and face the consequences..
7.being alone - quite enjoyable if one gets used to it
Used to be afraid of people's expectations as well as my own's..and also of being given too much responsibility,but have since learned to manage it.

7 things you like the most:
1.books!!!!
2.Nature
3.good friends
3.the colour Blue
4.lame jokes - and people who can crack them
5.tempe goreng...my staple food!
6.trees - currently my fave tree is the raintree
7.piano

7 important things in your room:
1.my books... (ok I'm cheatingi...but they are the most important things...)
2.laptop
3.guitar
4.potted plants (neutralise chemical contaminants!)
5.keyboard...though it's not exactly inside my room...
6.dark blue curtain, gift from my mom..makes the color of the whole room a very nice blue
7.drawing - modelling equipments

7 things you plan to do before you die:
1.see the Aurora (dream since childhood...)
2.visit all major architectural works around the world
3.write a book
4.volunter in an ulu place for half/one year,alternatively go around Indonesia visiting small tribes and learn how they live
5.climb a mountain (short one will do ;p )
6.design a house that my parents would love
7.make my clients very happy,as an architect

7 things you can do:
1.study for 5-6 hours straight, then go eat and continue studying..ya..my reputation as a mugger is kind of deserved..
2.either make people laugh, or otherwise freeze them, by telling jokes
3. read very fast, and very widely..I'm a very curious person regarding Nature and things
4.eat tempe goreng for lunch and dinner everyday without getting bored
5.learns languages pretty fast if I get to speak it quite often
6.can deal with insects..never thought this is a big deal before I went to ISCF camp and even the guys didn't dare to remove the insects in some girls' room...
7.can eat no meat for years,and years, and years..haha..not really an ability though, comes from being vegetarian..

7 things you can't do:
1.can't stay in a crowded places for a long time
2.can't be with people all the time - I need quite some time alone
3.can't concentrate with music around
4.can't live without books..haha..
5.can't be serious for long stretches of time, even when I'm alone
6.can't NOT think too much regarding some things
7.can't sleep with the lights on

7 things that attract you to the opposite sex:
1.knowledge - will be very happy if we can converse about lots n lots of things
2.sense of humour
3.ability to play musical instruments
4.love for Nature
5.interest in books and poetry,and Indonesian language!
6.straightforwardness
7. D.I.Y ability (fascination comes from watching my dad repair almost anything around the house..)

7 things you say the most:
1.buset
2.hah?
3.wahlau (ng...baru nyadar betapa singlish-nya gw kadang2...)
4.dude
5.yo
6.shoot
7.are you serious...?

7 random facts about you:
1.likes to make friends with people from different countries since I like hearing about and learning about other cultures
2.have difficulty remembering names, especially Chinese names..so yeah,I'm very happly if people's names are unique and easy to remember
3.used to be tomboy but have since gotten much better (at least I think so...)
4.want to learn Hindi and go around India..since I adore Indian food and am fascinated by Indian architecture and mythology
5.am a very tropics person..hates cold and snow but loves strong sun and pouring rain (whether to be seen through the window or be experienced directly ;p )
6.used to wish I'm born a boy and a pribumi so I can go around my beloved country exploring without my parents being so worried all the time.In any case, yeah, I used to REALLY wish I was born a boy.
7.for a person who studies design...I have a very can't-be-bothered and practical attitude towards my appearance and the things I use..as long as they can function well, then that's enough.

Hm...I really don't know who to tag..oh well, anyone who reads this and feels like being tagged, be my guest!

Archi Student's Trivia

At last can apply my brain to nonsensical pursuits again...fiuh...newae, created this specially to keep my archimates occupied ;p

1. If you can go for a fully paid trip to visit three architectural works, which one would you go to?
...ng....thermal bath at Vals, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, and Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama.

2.If you can apprentice under any architect for one year, who will it be?
Peter Zumthor!!!! Alternatively, Santiago Calatrava or Leonardo da Vinci..

3.If you are given only three items to make models, though you are given unlimited materials, which three items would you use?
white glue (so much better than UHU!), x-acto knife, set square. Hm..I guess not much choice in this one..

4.If you have to do your work the whole night listening to the same song over and over again, which song would it be?
"Begadang" by Haji Rhoma Irama ;p dangdut can really keep the brain awake!

5. If the guy/girl you really,really, really like asks you out the night before final submission, would you say yes?
Uh...nope....anyway I would be thinking of submission the whole duration I'm with the person..

6.What would be an ideal "brunner" (breakfast-lunch-dinner summarised into one) menu?
a Subway Garden Patty set meal, with 2 oatmeal raisin cookies. Yum..hehe..

7.Which do you think is the ugliest building in the world?
Actually..anything post-modernist is usually very very ugly...say, those by Michael Graves.

8.The first time you stayed over in studio?
Second or third week of semester two year one...managed to escape for the whole sem1 yr1..

9. Honestly, have you ever not bathed at all in one day because there was too much work?
Fortunately no...but I did reduce my bathing frequency to once a day several times..huhuhu...

10. Where would you be if you are not in architecture?
Nooooo!!!! I want to be in archi!!!! But I guess it would be biotech...nearly went there..

11. Which one better, sleeping 8 hours every 2 days or sleeping 4 hours per day?
Uh...preferably not both...but if I have to, 4 hours per day is better..

12. Would you be willing to trade 7 years of your life with being a star architect the calibre of Herzog and De Meuron?
Actually,no..but I think sometimes we all can't help sacrificing our health in archi..

13.If you can buy and own one building, any one in the world,which would it be?
Thermal bath at Vals! Wah...this is a very enticing thought...

....ran out of questions...hahaha...
Am tagging Edo and Ren,of course, also Sky, Grace...hm.....will think of other people to sabo..

Iris

Am mellowing up after extended periods of solitary mugging while listening to downpours outside the window...Looks like I'm not that much of an academic loner anymore....Oh well....Jiwang, jiwang go away, come again another day..

And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

-Iris (Goo Goo dolls)

Kata-kata untuk Cinta

"Sebuah cinta memang harus diungkapkan karena tidak pernah ada cinta yang patut disembunyikan, kecuali oleh seseorang yang terlalu mencintai dirinya sendiri. . . . Dan, cinta sekali lagi membuktikan kekuatannnya malam itu kalau cinta ada untuk cinta itu sendiri, bukan untuk dimiliki. . . .Cinta memang ada untuk dicintai dan diungkapkan sebagai sebuah jembatan baru ke pelajaran-pelajaran kehidupan manusia selanjutnya. Cinta yang akan membuat manusia lebih mengerti siapa penciptanya dan siapa dirinya. Dan, dengan penuh rasa syukur akhirnya manusia menyadari bahwa tidak ada cinta paling yang paling besar di dunia ini kecuali cinta Sang Pencipta kepada mahluknya. Tidak pernah ada cinta yang bisa dimiliki manusia, kecuali cinta dari Sang Pencipta -yang tidak pernah berpaling dari manusia dan selalu mencintai manusia mahluk terbaik ciptaan-Nya. Sang Pencipta tidak pernah memberikan apa yang manusia pinta, seperti cinta..Ia memberi apa yang manusia butuhkan." (5 cm - Donny Dhirgantoro)

-

(Shiela's Law: "Ilham selalu datang di saat yang salah.")

Yah....mau diapain lagi...bakal aku laporin ke mamanya nanti si Ilham...

Puisi Fisikawan Patah Hati

Jiwaku beresonansi membayangkan senyummu
Cahaya dirimu yang selalu dan selalu
Jatuh di titik fokus lensa hatiku
Namun..

Resultan gaya kata-katamu nan tajam
Melibas melontar mencabik menghunjam
Seolah engkau mengkalkulasi vektor
Jarak terpendek menusuk hatiku

Engkaulah gaya gravitasi yang menjejakkan kakiku ke bumi
Demikian Hukum Newton berlaku
Namun heran aku karena dirimu
Telah kulakukan serentetan aksi
Mengapa darimu tak ada reaksi?

E = mc kuadrat
Begitu Einstein bernubuat
Besar massa rasa di hatiku,
Cepatnya sarafku bereaksi melihatmu
Tak kunjung menimbulkan energi
Membujukmu berpaling padaku

Segala cara menyampaikan cinta
Konduksi konveksi radiasi, sudah dicoba
Konduktor macam apa harus kupakai?
Beritahu aku, Feynman
Di bagian mana aku lalai?

Memang aku hanya magnet induksi
Tanpa arus listrik yang mampu menarikmu
Biarlah aku jadi tetes minyak milikan
Bolak-balik di ruang hampa,
Selalu dipermainkan
Memang nasibku bukan menjadi pujangga
Hanya seorang fisikawan
___

Note: TIDAK merefleksi kejadian di dunia nyata! tapi ini adalah pertanda aku sudah betul2 jenuh belajar..huhu..rasanya sudah siap sih, tapi juga nggak tau mau ngapain sampai besok..haih...mau tulis puisi arsitek patah hati, tapi kurang etis lah nanti malah bisa2nya jadi kenyataan..
Hueh....Bosan.....

You Were There -by Avalon

I wonder how it must have felt
When David stood to face Goliath on a hill
I imagine that he shook with all his might
Until You took his hand, and held on tight

'Cause You were there, You were there
In the midst of danger's snare
You were there, You were there always
You were there when the hardest fight
Seemed so out of reach
Oh, You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So there he stood upon that hill
Abraham with knife in hand was poised to kill
But God in all his sovereignty had bigger plans
And just in time, You brought a lamb

'Cause You were there,
You were there
In the midst of the unclear
You were there, you were there always
You were there when obedience
Seemed to not make sense
You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So haven't I learned that my ways
Aren't as high as Yours are
And You alone keep the universe
From crumbling into dust
You are God and though we would
Not have understood You
There You were

Hanging blameless on a cross
You would rather die than leave us in the dark
Every moment, every planned coincidence
Just all makes sense
With Your last breath

You were there, You were there
During history's darkest hour
You were there, You were there always
You were the Victor and the King
You were the power in David's swing
You were the calm in Abraham
You are the God who understands
You are the strength when we have none
You are the living, Holy one
You were, You are and You will always be
the Risen Lamb of God

You were, You are and You will always be
The Risen Lamb of God
__

When obedience does not make sense, and rebellion genuinely seems to be the right thing..remind me that Your ways are so much higher than mine,Lord.

Tackling Prospective Fathers-in-law - The "Biblical" Way

(Story told by my youth pastor, as a negative example. Attention, NEGATIVE example.)

Here goes.....

A young man was going to meet the father of his prospective bride for the first time, and knowing that the father was strongly religious, he wanted to impress the man with Bible verses.
And so, when he met his prospective father-in-law, while he talked he quoted Proverbs 18:22 :"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD."
The father replied, "Ah young man, but do you not know what apostle Paul said? He that marries does well, but he who does not marry does better."
The young man got rather nervous, but after thinking for a while, he flashed a triumphant smile and said, "Well sir, we know that apostle Paul did not marry, while Solomon had 700 wives. So, surely in matters of marriage Solomon is more experienced?"

=) Well, well, for those who are in courtship age (I can hear my cousin complaining that the Israelites were all married off by the time they're 20..) and still waiting for your help mate, remember: God's choice is so much better than simply any good choice, and "let not our longing slay the appetite of our living."

God bless you!

Random Thoughts....at a very wrong time....

Dizzy from watching 4 webcasts consecutively...(hence giving my mind this chance to wander and think nonsense.) This is the risk of being a sucker for archi that sacrifices every webcasted lecture to design..haih...
Newae it got me thinking..I thought that an utopian world in terms of education system would be a world where everyone who is born has kind of a neon sign on his/her forehead that says what talents he/she has, and what would he/she loves to do best. Wouldn't that be cool? I mean, right now maybe there's a school teacher somewhere whose artistic talent rivals Da Vinci, but he's never touched a paintbrush all his life because his father thinks it's only for sissies. Or a struggling pianist could have been a three star Michelin chef, and conversely a cha kway tiau seller could have been a composer rivaling Nobuo Uematsu. But they did not even realize they have the talents!! Wouldn't it be cool to skip so many years of misguided, competitive education system that forces you to study everything with the lame excuse of discovering where your strength lies? Wouldn't it be cool if all a talent scout has to do is scour poor villages for a kid who has a "star footballer" sign in his forehead? Wouldn't a lot of hurt, a lot of worry, a lo of wasted chances, a lot of mistaken decisions, be avoided?

Well, I used to think so. But then, the human world is much too complicated to create utopia even if such a system is in place. What if a child who has a "musician" sign shining so bright on his forehead met an accident that paralysed him for life? Would he then be convinced he canno do anything else? What if a "star footballer" loves to relax and laze around even more than play football, would society accuse him of wasting talents right away? What about the kids who has the signs "Lawyer", "Politician" and "Taxman"? Would they be ridiculed since childhood by some people? What if I was born with a "scientist" sign, but wanted to try so many things before becoming a scientist? Would the system prevents me from doing that since it has already known where my talent lies, and would not allow me to waste precious time and energy from developing that talent?And if children go to "Artist School", "Scientist School", "Architect School", "Teacher School", how segmented a society will we be?
And so many other questions...haih..

Humans..we're created with immense potential to do good, but with immense potential to do evil as well.
Case in point:


The human-mouse ear. A real genetic engineering creation that rocked the biotech world some years back (Quite long already actually.So I assume they must have a better creature by now, if only slightly.) One of my favorite photos to illustrate the gray world that is science. Well, if scientists are able to generate and harvest human organs from animals, then a lot of people would be helped, that's for sure...ignoring cost and ethical problems. Would Nature really not bite back the way we are manipulating it now?

Which brings me to another point..one of my lecturer for Design and Environment said, "We shouldn't say that at the rate we're going we're going to destroy Nature. The correct statement is, at the rate we're going, Nature will destroy us."

So true, yet so ignored in actual life..
Uhm...why did I come to this point again? Oh well...continue studying!
(Just watched Disney's Robin Hood to relieve some boredom of studying SS..."Faint hearts never won fair ladies," faint muggers never won fair grades! Muuuuuuggggggg!!!

Inspiration to Mug

"When you can direct light, create sounds, coax water, sculpt the ground...You are no longer an architect of wood and stone, but an architect of the elements." (Inspired by Dr.Ong Boon Lay)



Patrick Blanc's vertical garden, Paris


Steven Holl's NYU Department of Philosophy,New York

Tadao Ando's Church of Light

Kengo Kuma's Waterglass Villa

And so, I must rajin-rajin mugging, keeping in mind this ultimate goal: to be a cool architect! Yeah!

A Bittersweet Evening..

Today my studio dismantled the structure that we built using half-semester's worth of time,energy, life and sleep....
And it was actually so fun! I've said this so many times but I'll say it again...archi is the fun-nest of faculties! ;p hm..in this case,it's actually the act of destruction and not of building that constitutes architecture...maybe I should go to demolition industry instead?

Kinda sad, but well, no structure in this world can stand forever. (Especially not if it is build with inferior quality plywood! Totally infested with ants, maggots, fungi, spiders, don't know what else!)

"And if I die mugging...."

"...at least I was mugging about archi-related stuff...."

Hahaha..thankfully the situation is not that serious, plus I'd rather die hiking up some difficult mountain rather than die mugging..so uncool!

Oh well, for those facing reading week, here are some stuff I've read: "The root of education is bitter, but the fruits are indeed sweet." And for those who are very pressurised: "A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work."

The easy part: reading. The difficult part: ignoring truly inventive distractions usually created by my creative brain. To top it off, I'm supposed to stay away from a person until after exams. Ah well, focus and restraint!

Bukit Timah Trek

The outdoors at last!! So happy that I finally have time to explore nature reserves again. Went to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve today..it's good to get away from car noise and air-con and breathe damp,earthy air while listening to insects..surrounded by trees..ahhh...

Arrived there at around 10 AM, then started the trek up....
up and up we go...and the stairs are not the standard 15 cm riser ones, but 25 cm...against human comfort constructional guidelines!
Eventually reached the summit though..nearly out of breath which showed just how cooped up in studio I was during semester time.

After that we went to explore the paths to the quarry, which mainly consists of all kinds of stairs...and so up we go....

And up...and up... (seriously, if you have no stamina to go up hundreds of fligths of stairs, don't go to this nature reserve...halfway of the trek I was already cursing the steps...)

Oh well,but we did get rewarded with a beautiful view of the quarry:

And when I was taking pictures of the quarry...Leonard saw a snake! Ok granted, it was a tiny, (I think) non-poisonous snake that's just long, cute and bright green..but still, was so excited to actually see something other than monkeys, butterflies and squirrels! (yup, that's how harmless nature reserves in Singapore are..)

Here's what I managed to take of the snake..I did not manage to take the head!!! Aaaa!! but then, I had to watch out for the snake as well as watch my balance since we were standing on cliff edge...(strayed from the normal path..which is well...just so like us...)
I hope I'll get to see it again next time I visit.



Also saw a weird tree with many flowers coming out of its base, part of an old wall (could be the boundary of the nature reserve) and n eerie structure that could have been a toilet, but it's really not for the faint-hearted...






Well, what goes up must come down, so....

Eventually we came to a tarmac path which we didn't know would led where, but one thing signals that this is an ulu part of Singapore:


You just don't find above ground electrical posts in the city anymore. Eventually we reached a little cottage...wondering what that was..and turns out that cottage was an architecture office of one of my tutors at school! Life is weirdly funny... maybe I'll apply to work there next time because the atmosphere is really nice.





Went further down and saw a weird building with a thick wall built in front of it:




So the thick wall was built in case the explosives start acting funny...hm...the government does keep lotsa weird things inside nature reserves..bunkers,manholes, even explosives...secret research facilities next?

Anyway, we went to eat in Mad Jack, a western food eatery in Bukit Timah road,and surprisingly they have a vegetarian section! So Leonard chomped on his fish n chips while I munched on my "fake fish" and mashed potato ;p



After that, went for ice cream at Island Creamery, but forgot to take photo cause I straight away attacked the ice cream! Roarr!! Hahahaha... Oh man, after weekends and weekends of staying over in studio, chasing deadlines and rushing models, at last I have a pure Saturday of uncontaminated bliss...

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD!

You see me worship o LORD
Though my dancing may be clumsy
You hear the songs that I sing
Though others may sing
Much better than me

For it is with a heart of worship
It is with a heart of praise
I come in front of You
Lift my hands and say:

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD!
For that is all He needs
He doesn't care if we were sinners
The time is now, the place is here

To make a joyful noise unto the LORD!
For that is all He needs
This is the least we can do
Just to say
Thank you..
__
Just came back from Indon fellowship, and was talking to one of the mentors about music. How does qualify one song as fit for worship and another as unfit? The melody? The lyrics? The intention fo the songwriter? The emotions it arouses?

The discourse on worship music is amazingly influenced by doctrine. The church that strongly influences the fellowship happens to be Calvinist, and far as I know they come from a tradition that does not so much emphasis the individuality of each person, but the person as part of the congregation. Hence, the type of music preferred also does not focus so much on the individual and his/her personal relationship to God. I think this is also why they frown upon contemporary Christian songs who supposedly emphasise mroe on the individual instead of on God.

I come from an apostolic pentecostal church that emphasises the teaching of God as a personal saviour,hence I'm used to songs depicting the closeness and the very personal nature of a person's relationship to God. I don't agree that these songs will compromise the purpose of worship, which is gloryfing God, but the discussion just now did give me something to think about.

When we worship, are our emotions gloryfying God as well? I think the people I talked about are wary of feeling good during worship due to emotions like "Oh God loves me so much", "Oh everything will be okay",and people focusing on the nice beat and melody instead of "Oh God You are awesome!" Yes I agree with that. If people cry because the song has a sad melody, and not because they really are moved by God, something's wrong. But well, can these only be achieved by singing hymns alone?

Still thinking. Being open-minded does bring problems of its own.

Teach me n my trusty guitar, LORD, to put a smile on Your face..even if all I know is how to make a joyful noise!

Penderitaan Orang Pintar

"Orang cerdas memahami konsekuensi setiap jawaban dan menemukan bahwa di balik sebuah jawaban tersembunyi beberapa pertanyaan baru. Pertanyaan baru tersebut memiliki pasangan sejumlah jawaban yang kembali akan membawa pertanyaan baru dalam deretan eksponensial. Sehingga mereka yang benar-benar cerdas kebanyakan rendah hati, sebab mereka gamang pada akibat dari sebuah jawaban. Konsekuensi - konsekuensi itu mereka temui dalam jalur-jalur seperti labirin, jalur yang jauh menjalar-jalar, jalur yang tak dikenal di lokus-lokus antah berantah, tiada berujung. Mereka mengarungi jalur pemikiran ini, tersesat jauh di dalamnya, sendirian.
Godaan-godaan besar bersemayam di dalam kepala orang-orang cerdas. Di dalamnya gaduh karena penuh dengan skeptisisme. Selesai menyerahkan tugas kepada dosen, mereka selalu merasa tidak puas, selalu merasa bisa berbuat lebih baik dari apa yang telah mereka presentasikan. Bahkan ketika mendapat nilai A plus tertinggi, mereka masih saja mengutuki dirinya sepanjang malam.
Orang cerdas berdiri dalam gelap, sehingga mereka bisa melihat sesuatu yang tak bisa dilihat orang lain. Mereka yang tak dipahami oleh lingkungannya, terperangkap dalam kegelapan itu. Semakin cerdas, semakin terkucil,semakin aneh mereka. Kita menyebut mereka: orang-orang yang sulit. Orang-orang sulit ini tak berteman, dan mereka berteriak putus asa mohon pengertian. Ditambah sedikit saja dengan sikap introvert, maka orang-orang cerdas macam ini tak jarang berakhir di sebuah kamar dengan perabot warna teduh dan musik klasik yang terdengar lamat-lamat. Itulah ruang terapi kejiwaan. Sebagian dari mereka amat menderita." (Andrea Hirata, "Laskar Pelangi")

Aku menulis tentang orang pintar, bukan karena merasa pintar. Cuma, kayaknya aku cukup banyak ketemu bermacam-macam orang pintar, dang yang jelas kondisi mereka jauh dari stereotype murid kesayangan guru yang tanpa perlu banyak belajar mendapat skor gilang-gemilang.

Terlalu banyak orang yang mengandai-andai bahwa menjadi orang cerdas berarti terhindar dari kewajiban untuk berusaha,lepas dari hukum "apa yang kau tabur itulah yang kau tuai", sekaligus bisa menyombongkan diri karena otak yang di atas rata-rata. Maka sekarang aku ingin menulis tentang bermacam-macam orang pintar yang nyatanya menderita.

Orang pintar menderita jenis pertama, adalah orang yang karena kepandaiannya harus menanggung beragam ekspektasi, baik dari orang-orang sekelilingnya, maupun dirinya sendiri. Orang macam ini biasanya menggunakan isi kepalanya untuk mengejar prestasi, baik dalam bentuk nilai, uang, atau status. Ironis, karena karunia kepandaiannya itu bukannya membuatnya bahagia malah memberi tekanan dan membuat stres. Tambahan lagi, orang pintar jenis ini tak jarang kecanduan berbagai2 penghargaan dan pengakuan, karena dari sana dia mendapatkan identitasnya. Sungguh kepandaian yang mubazir. Dan jelas, kalau ada negara di mana orang pintar tipe ini bertaburan, Singapura lah itu.

Orang pintar menderita jenis kedua, yaitu orang pintar yang selalu skeptis. Saking pintarnya, dia selalu mempertanyakan apa saja, dan yang paling celaka adalah bila tidak ada orang di sekitarnya yang sanggup menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaannya dan memuaskan keraguannya.Orang pintar begini biasanya berpendapat dunia ini jahat, manusia tidak ada yang dapat dipercaya, Tuhan itu tidak ada, dan berbagai pandangan negatif lainnya. Kasihan, karena bukannya melalui hidup dengan penuh ketenangan, mereka justru tidak punya keyakinan. Kecerdasan membuat mereka takut ditipu - ditipu orang, ditipu agama, ditipu masyarakat, ditipu sistem - maka mereka sangat sulit mempercayai sesuatu.

Yang ketiga, orang pintar yang sangat sangat sangat pintar sehingga, seperti kata Andrea Hirata, mereka dianggap orang yang sulit. Konyol memang, tapi seringkali orang-orang "kurang pintar" bukan saja tidak mau mengerti,malah sekalian mencemooh dan bahkan membasmi mereka.Makanya Van Gogh mati depresi setelah potong kuping, dan Copernicus divonis murtad oleh gereja jamannya. Kecerdasan mereka melampaui jamannya masing-masing, tapi justru karena itu Jangan salah, yang dibutuhkan orang-orang pintar jenis ini bukan pengakuan, tapi semata-mata pengertian. Adalah kebahagiaan yang tak terkira menemukan orang yang bisa mengerti kita, dan buat orang-orang cerdas , semakin cerdas, semakin kecil lah kemungkinan menemukan orang yang selevel dengan mereka.

Keempat, orang pintar yang karena kepintarannya menjadi malas dan sombong. Mereka merasa berhak mendapat jabatan paling tinggi, status paling terhormat karena, yah, seringkali mereka memang punya kemampuan untuk itu. Yang gawat adalah apabila mereka tidak bisa mendapatkannya, karena memang dalam dunia ini yang diperlukan bukan kepandaian saja. Maka mereka menjadi orang-orang pahit yang mengutuk dunia karena merasa dicurangi, menyia-nyiakan kepandaian mereka karena kesempatan emas yang dinanti-nanti tak kunjung tiba.

Kelima, dan inilah menurutku jenis orang pintar yang paling menderita, adalah mereka yang pintar, sadar dirinya pintar, tapi tidak berdaya meraih fasilitas untuk mengembangkan kepintaran itu. Kasus yang membikin aku malu jadi orang Indonesia karena bisa saja the next Einstein atau Feynman atau Mendel adalah orang Indonesia, tapi dia terpaksa putus sekolah waktu SD gara-gara kekurangan biaya, sekolah digusur, guru tidak memadai dan tidak berdedikasi, serta sejuta alasan lainnya. Aku sungguh beruntung karena rasa hausku akan ilmu bisa kupuaskan dengan begitu banyak cara, sementara pasti ada orang yang IQnya lebih tinggi 50 poin dariku dan kemauan belajarnya 3x lipat sekarang sedang memandikan kerbau di sungai. Orang boleh saja menghamburkan uang, menghamburkan air, menghamburkan makanan,menghamburkan waktu, tapi orang yang menolak dan menghamburkan kesempatan mendapatkan pendidikan sungguh tidak tahu kemewahan apa yang diberikan kepada mereka.