Toshi's 20/20

What are your best traits?

I always feel guilty when I lie to people. Which is why the odds are higher to find me being honest, haha.

And worst?

I'm so indecisive when it comes to trivial things

Bad habits?

I procrastinate.

How do you stay healthy?

By keeping my mind happy.

What would you do as President to make a better Indonesia?

Fix the road potholes, increase the teachers' salary, and demolish half of the malls in Jakarta and Surabaya to make way for high-end libraries.

Which book do you wish you had written?

Harry Potter. I'd be living a great life if I were Rowling, haha.

What is your idea of a perfect holiday?

In a tropical island with few tourist but enough amenities.

My first cinematic memory...

Lion King.

My childhood hero was...

Michael Jackson. I used to be fascinated by him.

My friends would be surprised if...

I smoke. I'm very much against smoking.

If I could change something in the world...

I would love to have all countries in the world adopting Japan's transportation system.

Don't call me...

Tomato. I detest it.

My greatest achievement is...

I don't think I've lived long enough to be able to name one.

My favourite animal is...

Cat, their purr comforts me.

Where do you find hope?

Hmm... God?

What is your greatest fear?

Making a speech in the podium.

What is love?

More about giving, less about sweet talks.

The meaning of friendship is...

Sharing and trust.

Life's most embarrassing moment?

Nah, I couldn't tell you that.

Life's proudest moment?

When I won a two-year extendable scholarship to Singapore.

When the going gets tough...

I sometimes stumble.

What is the craziest thing you have done?

Hmm... I almost burned down a neighbour's house when I was 11. It could have turned into a work of arson if not for the people extinguishing the flames.

Preferred clothes?

T-shirt and Jeans. Or short pants when in the beach.

What makes you angry?

When things don't turn out the way I've expected them

What is an unforgivable act?

When I find out that my friends are betraying me.

Your dream dinner guests?

President Obama, of course. And Paulo Coelho... I'd love to learn a lot from those two guys. (a dinner with Keira Knightley may also suffice anyways, haha)

What do you never leave home without?

My Nokia

Favourite corner of your home?

Bedroom. I could spend hours reading while laying on my bed.

What question are you tired of answering?

Where do you go to school?

Regrets, you've had a few, or too few to mention?

I've had a few. But nah, there ain't no use regretting them, are there?

How would you like to die?

In my sleep, when I'm above 90.

What is your life motto?

Haven't thought about it yet. Will tell ya later.

My earliest memory is...

Mom left me locked inside my house in Depok when I was 3 or 4. She was going out shopping for around two hours, and I shed tears and screamed till my lungs burst during those hours. It was hellish, I woke the neighbours up..haha.

My first crush was...

Ironically, a blonde American when I was a first-grader in Richmond, Virginia.

I'm very bad at...

Visual arts. They look nice, but please don't involve me in the creative process.

At school I was...

A mysterious boy who always keep things to himself. Depending on my mood, I might also make a ruckus in the class by becoming the class joker.

My happiest moment was...

When I moved to Bali for the first time... It was July 2002.

Your favourite journey?

To Senggigi (Lombok) and Sangihe! I loved the panorama and beaches

Worst nightmare?

A psychopathic one. I saw my family members killing each other before my own eyes. Gee, I find it hard to sleep the night after that.

Who do you love?

My family, my cats, my close friends, and her.

What makes you laugh?

School Rumble [anime title].

What makes you sad?

When I have to leave the people I love.

What makes you bored?

When I have to wait (in terminal, hospital, etc.) without any reading materials.

If I wasn't me, I would like to be...

Who else? Barack Obama, I think. Or Thomas Friedman. Haha.

What talent do you wish you had?

I wish I were a child prodigy in playing piano.

What would you change about yourself?

My hair. I'm always kinda unsatisfied by my hairstyle.

First thing you think of in the morning?

Any new SMSes this morning?

Last thing you think of at night?

Ah.. sleepy. ZzZzZzZzzz....

Your last meal?

Spaghetti Bolognaise and a serving of Nachos. Preferably with some aged French wine, too.

How would you spend US$1 million?

Finish education till Doctorate degree, travel half the world with my dear girlfriend, and save the rest.

If you could live in the past, what era would you like to have lived in?

The medieval period, where I could experience old European experiences firsthand.

~will be updated with more questions in the future...~

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Indo-lyric: Yang terlewatkan (Sheila on 7)

English translation:

Those that have passed

where have you been all this time
the angel I've been waiting for
why is it just now
that we are met with each other

it would prove no use to regret
bcoze everything has happened
now you have gone thru it, du du du du du
the rest of your life with him

reff:
perhaps it was wrong of me to let you go
and did not look for you with my entire heart
I truly am sorry

it was wrong of me to let you go
that now you're with someone else
I truly am sorry

it would not be repeated
I won't let you go
with all my heart I'll look, du du du du du
wherever you are

repeat reff

although it's too late for me
you're still the best
to see you, to hear you
you're the best

Original lyric in Indonesian:

dimana kau selama ini
bidadari yang ku nanti
kenapa baru sekarang
kita dipertemukan

sesal kan tiada arti
karna semua tlah terjadi
kini kau tlah menjalani, du du du du du
sisa hidup dengannya

reff:
mungkin salahku melewatkanmu
tak mencarimu sepenuh hati
maafkan aku

kesalahanku melewatkanmu
hingga kau kini dengan yang lain
maafkan aku

tak berulang kembali
kau tak akan terlewati
segenap hati kucari, du du du du du
dimana kau berada

repeat reff

walau ku terlambat
kau tetap yang terhebat
melihatmu, mendengarmu
kau lah yang terhebat

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My colour-check

Dobutsu Uranai is a website that claims to be able to determine our personality by the basis of Name and Date of Birth alone. Quite accurate, methinks.. You should try it out!

Toshi

15/11/1989

You are Black koala, who is cheerful, amiable and youthful.
But you lack activeness and prefer to be on your own.
You are not good at taking leadership and to take initiative.
You react after carefully considering the action and are convinced.
Even if you are asked your opinion, you don't speak from heart and you don't give out your opinions.
You think you are acting cool, but people around you think you are eerie.
You can not stand to hurt others or get hurt yourself, so you tend to be nice to others.
You have a sharp instinct and when having an argument, you try to develop the argument by reading the other person's minds.
By doing so, you effectively make your point.
Both cautiousness and timidity reside in you.
If you rely too much on first instinct, your action may be haphazard.
Nevertheless, you tend to be strong-minded, and will put in all your effort, even if you upset your health.
You are indifferent to commodities.
You tend to be careful with money, so you won't experience much loss.
You have extremely strong likes and dislikes of people.
You have lots of friends, but at the same time you can create lots of enemies too.
You may exhibit extraordinary talent as a scholar or an entertainer.

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Indo-lyric: Simpan Saja (Ecoutez)

English translation:

Just keep it

You could always make me
forgive your wrongs
and now you repeat
those same mistakes

I'm disappointed with you
wounded by your attitudes
and now I could not
go on anymore

I must admit my life used to have a meaning
and my life would be empty without you
but now it would be better to leave me alone

Just keep the feeling in your heart
and forget everything
my feeling is no longer about love
let us end it here

Original lyric in Indonesian:

Slalu saja kau dapat membuatku
Maafkan salahmu
Dan kini kau ulangi
Salahmu yang itu itu saja

Kecewa ku dibuatmu
Terluka karna sifatmu
Dan kini ku tak mampu
Bertahan lagi

Kuakui dirimu pernah berarti
Dan memang hidupku hampa tanpamu
namun lebih baik aku sendiri

Simpan saja rasa di hatimu
Sudah lupakan
Hasratku sudah tak lagi saling cinta
Sudah sampai di sini

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Arson to evict slums and illegal buildings

It's an Indonesian "tradition", really.

I don't know if this kind of arson also exists in other countries as well, so forgive my cultural unawareness, everyone. But for writing's sake, let's just appellate it as an Indonesian one (albeit not necessarily unique).

In Indonesian urban, if you happen to have your building permits expired or own a shack located near a department store or a mall or any other strategic locations, chances run high that you are asked to relocate building/rundown dwelling somewhere else by some Big Brother.

That Big Brother gives you some sort of compensation in the form of money. Then you'll start lingering over the old memories you have spent in that shack/market stall of yours, with all the decades you have gone thru and perspirations you have toiled.

But for goodness sake, I advice you not to be so sentimental about it. Just take the money and leave your building/dwelling/whatever it is!

Because if you insist on staying, you will get NOTHING in the end.

Yes, you read it right...NOTHING.

Here's a case scenario:

Not long after you reject the compensation offered by Big Brother, you need to leave your building/dwelling for a holiday or Lebaran trip to your hometown.

Then you come back to your city, to find that your building/dwelling is simply....no longer there.

Or rather, it's still there, yet it is reduced to ashes and rubbles.

Nothing; absolutely nothing could be saved, not your furniture, not your TV set (let's hope it's not an LCD), not your daughter's teddy bear.

Your beloved place has already burnt into some "charcoal castle".

Then you ask yourself, how did your place catch fire? Newspapers report it that there might have been electrical fault somewhere, but as your neighbour's buildings/dwellings have also turned into "charcoal castle", there must have been a larger story to that.

Now I leave you my blog readers to take your own conclusions.

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