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Saturday, May 22, 2004
notification

due to external considerations, i'm putting this blog into a temporary break at least until the first week of june.
my apology and gratitude to all blogwalkers.
in the mean time, have a great week ahead. :)


# | posted by emil @ 5/22/2004 03:37:00 p.m. |

Wednesday, May 19, 2004
beached

i still believe in paradise, but now at least i know it's not some place you could look for.
because it's not where you go, it's how you feel for moments in your life.
and if you find that moment, it lasts forever.


// angelo badalamenti // orbital //


# | posted by emil @ 5/19/2004 04:40:00 p.m. |

Sunday, May 16, 2004
the Odyssey

i dreamed of becoming Odysseus.

i have just watched this movie last night. aside from my opinion about the movie and the slight alteration of the story (and history), it inspires me to imagine the life of Odysseus.

i mean, who wouldn't want to be the son of Laertes from Ithaca, fighting with fellow Achaians for 10 years in the Trojan war and come up with the idea to build a wooden horse in order to break into the city just to burn it and have a quarrel with Ajax over Achilleus' armour and spend another decade to come home which at first start off with 12 ships but during the great journey has to sack and plunder the city of Ismarus so the Cicones can launch a counter-attack, nearly tricked to eat the lotus that can induce a memory-loss, find a way to be able to escape from the man-eating cyclop Polyphemus son of Poseidon and thus cursed in the sea by the father, meet Aelous the lord of the winds, land at Telepylus and forfeit the chance of being eaten by Antiphates the Laestrygonian chef, risk the danger of being turned into a pig but instead charm the Circe and stay with her for a whole year, go to the Land of Perpetual Mist and enter the house of Hades ruler of the Underworld to speak with the soul of mother Anticleia and find an oracle from Teiresias yet also deppresed to see the sufferings of the dead sinners, listen to the deadful songs of the Sirens, sacrifice the sailors to be eaten by the six-headed beast Skylla, being cursed again by Hyperion for eating his cattles at the Sun God's island so at the end being the sole survivor from the ship wreck, cling to a piece of wood for days in the sea and almost get swallowed by the Charybdis whirlpool, washed up to the island of Ogygia and stay there for seven years with the company of Calypso's love, nearly drowned in a storm and saved by the sea-nymph Ino, creep to the Scheria helpless and naked but manage to take a peek at some girls bathing in the river and meet Nausicaa the daughter of the king of the Phaeacisians, receive noble service from the kingdom and hear the adultery gossip between Aphrodite and Ares trapped by Hephaestus in the Olympus from Demodocus before finally come to the homeland Ithaca but still have to disguised as a ragged beggar, stay in Eumaeus' hut, getting insults from the Suitors and compete with them to string the great bow of Odysseus so that at the end slaughter them and finally reunite with son Telemachus and wife Penelope even though still have to make peace with Poseidon the earth shaker and have another journey?

i wish modern life still embodies such passion and sense of adventure.


# | posted by emil @ 5/16/2004 07:02:00 p.m. |

Wednesday, May 12, 2004
on my weight (again)

here's an excerpt of monique's blog:

"...Emil dengan gaya anak kost-nya kupluk-kupluk dateng ke tempat kerjaan gw di *AP. ...Anywayz, gw kesian juga ngeliat Emil. Seperti yg gw udah tulis sebelumnya, Emil itu bener2 kayak anak kost. Kurus (he lost so much weight since I met him last!) and pretantang pretenteng bawa backpack..."

this is what my friend told me yesterday:

"hey, you know what? i just realized that you look a lot thinner than last semester. i mean, i know that you've been losing weight, you've told me. but just now i looked at you and i was like, whoaaa... you really are look different!"

another friend, today:

"lo tuh aneh deh mil, orang tuh berenti ngerokok biasanya beratnya nambah. kok elo malah jadi mengurus?"

and here's my post on my weight, 3 weeks ago.

okay, so i've been losing weight and i look thinner. and it seems that almost everybody has pointed that out. despite my confusion whether this is a good thing or not, let me explain my condition first. before i went to canada (i.e., august last year), i was a smoker and weighed around 62-65 kg. when i decided to call off my smoking habit, this was what my friend said, "hahaha... kayak lo bisa aja. pasti ntar kerjaannya makan mulu deh. ama makan permen. sama aja bo'ong mil, bukannya sehat malah gendut ama gingivitis." while this is my cousin's reaction when i told him i'm going to canada, "taruhan mil, pasti ntar kamu pulang-pulang beratnya nambah. makanannya yang greasy semua dan karna dingin pasti jadi pengen makan melulu."

it turns out to be quite a surprise that the exact opposite happens to me right now. the thing is, although i admit that my eating schedule has been, errr... irregular, i actually put a lot of concern over my health and choice of food. i spend a generous part of my budget solely for food, which means i don't just eat anything because it's cheaper than another. i eat fruits and vegetables regularly, rice almost everyday, perfectly balanced by protein sources, be it meat, fish, chicken, etc. i avoid fast food. i take vitamins religiously. juices, yoghurt, even milk. all in all, i'm taking care of myself.

...come to think of it, maybe that's the very reason why i've lost my weight. i have been too careful with my choice of food, that now i have a very unhealthy lifestyle (lack of sleep, irregular eating pattern, stress, you name it), the result isn't turn out to be as expected.

as of now, i'm just giggling thinking of reactions and comments people would say when i come back in 2 months. :)


# | posted by emil @ 5/12/2004 07:49:00 p.m. |

Saturday, May 08, 2004
vancouver recollection

Vancouver Skyline

being a tourist for 3 days in vancouver has made me realize at least two things.

the first is that a refreshment is always crucial—especially after passing a hectic period of time—so no matter how shabby the condition that we face, it is important to make it as enjoyable as possible. we departed late due to a union strike. we stayed in a crappy hostel due to our budget constraint. we even have to tolerate the not-so-friendly weather on tuesday and the rain that kept pouring on wednesday morning. nonetheless, after we toured ourselves around, the initial disappointment lurked out and a refreshment is indeed what we got.

Vancouver Lookout! @ Harbour Centre Tower the second is how great the city really is. as my third encounter to the city, i found it surprising how little i've traveled around on my previous visits. so we decided to become real tourists by dropping by to almost all attractions that vancouver offers.Canada Place our first destination, naturally, is the harbour centre tower—the tallest building in town—where we can go up to vancouver lookout! and have a 360° view around the city. although the day was very cloudy, we could still see as far as mount baker in the states (though not very clear) and an enthralling view of the burrard inlet with west and north vancouver in the background. we next drop by at canada place on harbour side. we didn't go inside (it's a cn imax theatre) since we too have a similar thing in victoria, but we at least could enjoy the harbour scenery, lonsdale quay and an excellent view of stanley park. Steam Clock @ Gastown before the night approached, we managed to go to gastown, the original block of vancouver. the place is famous for its steam clock—the first one in the world—and is the oldest part of the city, yet one of the most exciting. although what we can find there is the same as what we could find anywhere else—shops, cafes, restaurants and clubs—what makes them special is that they are placed in more-than-hundred-year-old buildings (the place was founded in 1867). by the time we left gastown, the weather didn't really permit us to go elsewhere, so we just strolled around downtown (without leaving out virgin megastore, of course).

Vancouver Public Library the next morning was raining. dissapointed, we went into the public library until (hopefully) the rain stops. the library itself is a great place. we spent a lot of time there but the rain won't stop, so we just decided to go to stanley park anyway. thankfully the clouds cleared up around noon, and the sky was blue for the rest of the day. really, it was a great day to spend walking around the famous stanley park. being north america's third largest urban park, the park is located at the cape downtown vancouver and home to all kinds of attractions.Stanley Park the first place that we went was of course vancouver aquarium, now becoming one of my favorite spots i've ever seen. why? because the place really has a lot to offer. we spent a good 2 and a half hours wandering around the aquarium. we watched 4 outdoor shows: the dolphin, the sea lion, sea otters and, my favorite of all, beluga whales of the arctic. in fact these animals are the reason why i found the place is very attractive:Beluga Whale @ Vancouver Aquarium the smiling mouth attached to their big white fat body. aside from that, the aquarium also have a section of amphibians, a section of the pacific canada, a section of the BC coast, a section of the tropic zone, and the most amazing, the amazon section. here, aside from just aquariums (which of course have the arapaima), they also build an imitation of the rainforest, included inside are anacondas, boas, sloths and even the birds. satisfied, we explored the rest of the park by foot (though only part of it, the park is huge!) wishing we have a camera in hand. at first we thought we could rent bicycles and have some ride around the park, but some parts of the seawall were renovated, so instead we just looked around brockton point where they have totem poles of the first nation people. our next destination was granville island. the island, which located on false creek just below the granville bridge, isn't really an island because it actually attached to the mainland.Granville Island Gate but it's an interesting site nonetheless, with lots of weird shops, artists' studios and restaurants to visit. the public market is a great place to have some free snack in the afternoon. from the ferry place, we could see the south part of downtown and if we want, we could take a ride using water taxis to yaletown marina, but due to our limited budget we decided not to. and so we spent the afternoon there until it's time for my friend to go back to victoria while i stay for another night. later in the evening, i met up with monique at her workplace in the pacific centre and she kindly accompanied me having dinner at tropika, an indonesian restaurant downtown. it's been so long since the last time i taste cah kangkung or even sate ayam and tahu isi with nasi uduk, that i couldn't control my drool when they arrived on our table. yes, i am that pathetic. too bad that was the only time we could meet up, we said goodbye in the skytrain on our way home.

Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden and so finally came the last day. and that day i went to dr. sun yat sen classical chinese garden in the heart of the chinatown, just as i've planned before. the garden—the first full-scale classical garden constructed outside china—despite its lack of size, is a haven of serenity and has a long story behind it. Yaletown Seaside it's amazing how a garden that small takes more than an hour tour full of explanation. before the tour started, we were advised to stroll around by ourselves and see it from our perspectives. what i saw was a beautiful chinese garden. after the tour, however, our view changed dramatically. the garden is now an extraordinary piece of man-made artwork full of not just aestethical, but also architectural, historical and spiritual value. and i felt mentally tranquilled. so, after having my heart refreshed, i didn't have many choices to go. of course there are still a lot of attractions around the city that i haven't visited yet: the museums, science world, capilano suspension bridge, grouse mountain, fort langley, other parks and gardens, etc. but i was running out of time as well as money, so i chose yaletown instead as my last place to visit before i go back to victoria. while it's basically just another part of the city, i found the marina is simply wonderful and the modern buildings are incredible. my dream place to live in. really.

pardon my excitement. this is the villager inside of me talking, mind you.

on a side note, one of two books that i've finished reading during my stay has become one of my favorite books: life of pi by yann martel. if anything, as the main character claims, the story will make you believe in God.


# | posted by emil @ 5/08/2004 11:36:00 p.m. |

Tuesday, May 04, 2004
ost - my life [part 5]

while i'm not really in the mood to write anything, the list is here to keep this blog updated. for previous lists, see: part one, part two, part three, and part four.

81. the scene when i'm drowning deeper: incognito - deep waters

82. the scene of me almost slip over when hiking at mount douglas: groove armada - edge hill

83. the highschool scene: john mayer - no such thing

84. the scene of me walking in a breezy friday afternoon: kings of convenience - toxic girl

85. the scene of me watching a girl with a bumblebee costume dancing: blind melon - no rain

86. the scene when i'm in a party and everyone's wearing funky clothes: incubus - are you in

87. the scene when i find the bitterness of life: portishead - it could be sweet

88. the scene of me entering a dark, soulless, no ambient kinda room: nina simone - black is the color of my true love's hair (jaffa remix)

89. the scene when everything seems like in slow motion: air - venus

90. the scene when i'm reminding myself that i'm always free: ben folds - protection

91. the scene of me inside a train looking outside the window: chemical brothers - star guitar

92. the scene of me reminiscing of my junior high school time: des'ree - you gotta be

93. the scene when i look down beneath the side river: dzihan and kamien - homebase

94. the scene when i need the convincement to do better on something: levitation - more than ever people

95. the scene when i want to live longer: lightning seeds - life's too short

96. the scene when i see the path from behind and keep tuning to the music: lake trout - burr (the man)

97. the scene of me gazing at the pouring rain through that broken window: brooklyn funk essentials - take the L train (to 8th avenue)

98. the scene when i'm one step closer to heaven: supreme beings of leisure - never the same

99. the scene when i stand by my faith : ben folds five - philosophy

100. the scene of a blast weekend in one straight shot: charles spencer and david harness - taboo jazz

> special thanks to wulan for the mp3s. see you guys on friday :)


# | posted by emil @ 5/04/2004 01:43:00 a.m. |