Reversion

Never mind the workaholic “close friend”
Never mind the hyperactive girl next door
Never mind the librarian—she’s for your brother, BTW  

Because since the first time I knew you
I know that it’s—

It’s you

Susana

You and your small flower shop
and your cute sincerity and shyness
and your soup and pie
and your environmentally friendly lifestyle
and your rough little hands
showing your humbleness
and the bright evening with you
with cups of hot tea
and your handmade cupcakes
at the terrace of your shop

Never mind your mood swing
I know your unpleasant past
You need somebody to hold on
And I’ll be happy if it’s me

Hope you don’t mind to stay here for a while
I belong to here

***

Oh wait, what happened to me?
Just a few months ago I was looking for ambitions and stuff…

Departure

My parents often said that when they were young, things were not as easy as they are nowadays difficult. Neither my father nor my mother comes from a rich family. My mother has 5 siblings, and when they were young, they had to share a bowl of bakso (meatballs), usually just consisting of 3 meatballs. As for my father, I remember him saying that Khong Guan biscuits were luxuries to him back then, yet kids nowadays aren’t really fond of them. It was blood and tears for both my parents to have education until graduating from universities. But even, as I mentioned a few months ago, after they got married, life was not really easy. My father always said that I am a “comic boy”, as he had to work in a comic rental in our hometown to support the family, especially my birth, until my mother got a position as a civil servant in a village in the outskirt of my mother’s birthplace.

Now, sometimes I am ashamed that things are much different and easier for me. I always have enough coins to spend on Pepsi or canned green tea at vending machines, although nowadays I mostly drink te-ping, mineral water, and milk. At least until next year, I have enough money to buy meals with one heavy and one light side dishes. Even when I went home last month, when I went out with a friend and was photoed, I noticed that I seemed to look like an upper class person, even though I borrowed the T-shirts and pants from my father. Some of my friends in the close circle are high-spenders. And I went to buffet restaurants a few times already.

I know that the place I am in now is not comparable to where I come from, which is of much much lower living cost. But still, even being average here is considered high enough there. My condition is much much better than those of my parents when they were about my age. Indeed, this implies that financially speaking, my family’s condition is getting better. But as I go forward, I seem to depart from the humble life my parents and I had in the past…

Majority and Minority

1)

A: Hi, I’ve got some snacks for you guys. This one (pointing to one snack) is halal, but I don’t know about the other one. So it’s fine if you don’t—

B: (suddenly interrupts) Actually I don’t care

A: …oh, OK

***

2)

C: OK, so…where do you want me to bring you?

D: What about having lunch together? Do you know any good restaurant around here?

C: Hmmm…it depends; what kind of food do you want to have?

D: OK, let’s just go to your favourite restaurant. In which restaurant do you often have lunch?

C: Ah, I know a place. I’ll bring you there

(…after arriving there…)

C: I used to work there (pointing to a nearby shophouse), so during lunch time I usually went here.

D: Aha, I see. Let’s see what they have here…

C: Do you like pork?

D: (Wut ) Do you eat pork? You don’t, do you?

C: No I don’t

D: Hmmm…what is that?

C: Hmmm…I don’t know, maybe pig organs?

D: …oh, OK I think I’ll just eat fish.

Ndak Tega…

Saya sedang ikut konferensi di Saigon. Konferensi ini dipelopori oleh salah satu profesor ternama dari Jepang di bidang Computer Graphics, walaupun isi konferensi kebanyakan tentang Image Processing dan Computer Vision. Kebanyakan presenternya juga orang Jepang.

…dan kebanyakan mahasiswa Jepang kurang lancar berbahasa Inggris. Bukan soal logat mereka yang Japrish (“informaashon”), tapi memang kurang lancar…

Saya sudah merasakan ini sejak pertama kali ikut konferensi tahun 2008 lalu. Seorang presenter waktu itu membaca skrip presentasi dalam Bahasa Inggris, dan setelah selesai presentasi juga berkata “tolong bertanya secara perlahan, karena saya kurang bisa berbahasa Inggris”. Namun demikian, walaupun sudah ditanyai secara perlahan (mungkin perlahan standar bule sih ya), beliau tetap kebingungan dalam menjawab, sampai seseorang (saya lupa, antara temannya, profesornya, atau moderatornya) menerjemahkan dalam Bahasa Jepang. Waktu itu konferensinya lebih global, dihadiri peneliti dari seluruh dunia. Jadi, ketidaklancaran ini kurang mencolok, karena tertutup presentasi orang-orang lain.

Nah, yang sekarang ini, mayoritas orang yang datang ke konferensi sekarang ini kebanyakan orang Jepang. Dan ini terasa sekali. Bahkan presenter non-invited pertama sudah begitu, membaca skrip dalam Bahasa Inggris. Ketika ditanyai, dia cuma tersenyum dan tertawa tersipu. Akhirnya, sang penanya, yang tak lain moderatornya, bilang, “Baiklah kalau begitu, ada baiknya kita teruskan diskusi kita setelah sesi ini”. Dalam Bahasa Inggris tentunya.

Saya ini kalau ada begitu suka ga tegaan. Kaya kasihan gitu sama presenternya, karena kalau saya ada di posisinya, dengan latar belakang yang sama, saya bakal bingung juga. Jadi, ketika ada keinginan untuk bertanya, saya malah mengurungkan niat. Juga, presenter yang ingin saya tanyai itu udah “dibantai” sama profesor pelopor itu tadi. Ndak tegaaaaa….

Sejauh ini, saya baru lihat satu presenter yang murid dari Jepang yang lumayan lancar berbahasa Inggris. Dan lumayan ganteng juga. Yaa model-model bishounen kamen rider jaman heisei begitulah *eh*

Resolusi 2012