tsunami

update:

for complete information on how to help the victims, please visit http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com

to help specifically those in aceh and sumatra utara, please visit http://indonesiahelp.blogspot.com
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i was just about to rant two days ago about what has been happening lately, but cancelled the plan for now it would seem very inappropriate.

in a snap my problems became insignificant and i felt like the most ungrateful imp alive.

scott, my landlord, knocked on my door a couple of times before i opened it and thought that someone has been calling. instead he told me about the earthquake and tsunamis and dragged me in front of the tv to look at the news itself.

i didn't know what to react at first;my mind was still in the dreamland and i couldn't comprehend what's going on properly. it took me about five minutes to finally realize how bad the situation really is. eva—scott's girlfriend—and tom—my other roommate—were there too watching the news. somehow that living room scene on that particular morning revived memories of hearing 9/11, bali, marriott and kuningan bombings for the first time. the air was filled with shock and awe.

and pang of sadness.

i quickly jumped back to my room and checked the news from the internet. for the next two hours all i did was bustling back and forth from the living room to my room, checking the latest progress from both the internet and tv. briefly i forgot my plan to hunt sale items for boxing day blowout. what crushed me most was the fact that the number of the death toll is constantly increasing—even until now.

all three of them urged me to immediately call my family and check whether they're okay or not. i looked at my watch and it was past 9am. there's no point of contacting them that time—it'd already be past midnight there anyway. plus, jakarta is quite far and i was pretty sure they're not affected.

i told them that but they still thought calling them is a good idea. i promised i'll contact them in the afternoon, when it'd be morning in jakarta. needless to say, my family was fine although very worried about the casualties.

some friends left messages on msn messenger, asking the same question about my family and suggested their condolences for the tragedy. some called or left a message on the answering machine.

indonesia is mentioned on the news, and everybody enquires on my hometown, my loved ones and my comments.

somehow all these sympathies confirm my aforementioned statement, how i'm an ungrateful imp. most of the time i take things for granted. it's true that i don't know anyone who might be affected with the disaster; i don't have any relatives or friends living in aceh, sri lanka or india for that matter. but i do know, now, that i have one big safe family back home and a lot of very considering friends surround me. i also know, now, that my life is about as miserable a condition as a person who has just won a lottery, compared to the mass which have become victims.

i think i learn more about my life and myself these days. in between the grimness of the tragedy, lessons lurk and seep in.

it creeps me out.