Bittersweet Symphony

Monday, 18 February 2008, 08.50 a.m.

It was raining again this morning when I got out of the house for work. Looking out through the car window scattered with raindrops, my mind wandered off.

As I saw the cars and buildings along the road, I thought about my life - my state of being for the moment. Not that it's of any importance. It was nothing serious or depressing nor reflective - I was just daydreaming. My mood was content.

And then on the radio, I suddenly noticed this crystal clear voice, singing one too familiar song. The new version of Sempurna, sung by Gita Gutawa.

Kau begitu sempurna. Di mataku kau begitu indah. Kau membuat diriku akan slalu memujimu.
Di setiap langkahku. Ku kan slalu memikirkan dirimu. Tak bisa kubayangkan hidupku tanpa cintamu.

One very popular song with one too many memories in it. Hidden within the words, there was a brief story of us. And I can't help but be nostalgic about it. Reliving the past, revisiting the moments. Maybe this is what they call a bittersweet symphony.

And so as I saw the cars and buildings along the road, I though about my life - and I smiled at the uncertainties of it.

Janganlah kau tinggalkan diriku. Takkan mampu ku menghadapi semua. Hanya bersamamu ku akan bisa.
Kau adalah darahku. Kau adalah jantungku. Kau adalah hidupku, lengkapi diriku. Oh sayangku, kau begitu... Sempurna..

Jakarta, Indonesia - A Sinking Giant? by Andre Vitchek

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - A SINKING GIANT?

Jakarta (Jaya Karta - Prosperous, Glorious City) Capital City of Indonesia, what are they doing to you!
http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/ 2875.cfm

by Andre Vitchek

Today, high-rises dot the skyline, hundreds of thousands of vehicles belch fumes on congested traffic arteries and super-malls have become the cultural centers of gravity in Jakarta, the fourth largest city in the world. In between towering super-structures, humble kampongs house the majority of the city dwellers, who often have no access to basic sanitation, running water or waste management.

While almost all major capitals in the Southeast Asian region are investing heavily in public transportation, parks, playgrounds, sidewalks and cultural institutions like museums, concert halls and convention centers, Jakarta remains brutally and determinately 'pro-market' profit-driven and openly indifferent to the plight of a majority of its citizens who are poor.

Caution in Love

"Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness."
Bertrand Russell, philosopher and writer

The Heart and The Mind

Then...

The Heart feels like leaping,
but the Mind says,
"Why take chances when you know you'll be hurt?"

The Heart leaps forward.
It fell down and got hurt.
But it stood up again.

The Heart feels like fighting,
but the Mind says,
"Why fight a battle you'll never win?"

The Heart keeps on fighting.
It lost and was disappointed.
But it got stronger.

Now...

The Heart feels like crying
but the Mind says,
"What is there to cry for?"

The Heart kept silence.
And it is secretly crying - inside.

Not knowing why it's still shedding tears.
Not knowing why it's still bleeding.
For something that was never there.

The Mind is finding reasons.
Reasons to save the Heart.

Finding reasons not to shed tears.
Finding reasons not to bleed.
For something that was never there.


Really, what is there to cry for now?
Now that it's finally over..

"And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow"Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

W0t d0 y0u fEeL wHeN y0u ReaD SumtHIn LiKe ThiS?

Okay, maybe I am a bitch.

Well, who wouldn't be? Given you stumbled upon something like this:


ReMinIcInG d'daYz 0f "It's tiMe t0 be a BIG giRL n0w....
4:07pm Friday, Jan 18

Sitting here all al0ne in da c0rner 0f c0ffee sh0p, seeing pe0ple m0och ar0und da sh0p and hearin evryb0dy's chatter while am tryin t0 write s0methin 0r just kiLLin da time... Heard m0st 0f them taLk ab0ut Life,Love, Work.. Are th0se da biGgest MaJoR thinGs in LiFe??? Well, it seems t0 be like dat in this 2000 era... I remembered a new cYber fReN asKin me aLL 0f th0se thinGs ReCeNtLy... aNd mY aNsWeRed is Like This " life?? excited for 2008, w0rk = waiting for SQ interview tomorrow, love = zero"

Life, yea, lets taLk ab0ut life... Life is a stRuGGLe.. Life is a j0uRneY bf0re I ReaCh mY fiNish LiNe... LiFe is a cHaNce and Life oso a cho0se f0r eVeRy iNdividuaL, a cho0se 0f *i h0pe* da rite path between many paths t0 keep in da traCk... I mite have a right t0 say dat i've been thru a LIFE... Experienced aLL da heaRtache,tRauMatic, iNfideLitY *even in a fRenship*, m0ckin fr0m sum ppl, wiLd nite life *but n0t dat wiLd*, tRaGedY, deSpaiRs, meNtaL abuSe, huMiLiati0N, being da laSt 0pti0n, and alm0st all da bad thinGs in Life untiL da tRiuMph expeRieNce th0u i havent c0mpleted all 0f da triumph experience since i just begun it wif HIM... th0se are da things which make a free spirited ME, fragiLe ME, brave n str0nger ME, iNdePendeNt ME, huMbLe ME, PuNctuaL ME, aSSeRtiVe ME, witty and aDaptabLe ME, aNd n0t t0 MeNti0n aLL mY naKed thinGs in fr0nt 0f HIM.
Bec0me 25 at da eNd 0f last 2007, had made me tRembLin f0r a whiLe of yunno, w0t ppl caLLed 'a quaRteR LiFe cRisis' But the fact is, it is n0t dat c0mplicated but it is 0s0 n0t eaSy.. 0redy make s0me c0mmitmeNts f0r LiFe aNd leaRnin' t0 see things fr0m diffeRent siDe..a ReaLitY cHecK i GueSs.. U mIte never lo0se w0t u d0nt ReaLLy Have, but u mIte gaIn thinGs dat u neveR reaLLy th0ught 0f.. Just keep in miNd dat there's aLwaYs a PrIce t0 PaY f0r sumthin PRecIous...


Now, the above paragraphs are just a cut from the whole piece (quite a long piece, by the way). But it's enough to show what I'm trying to express here. Out of annoyance and curiosity, I managed to finish reading the whole post. Trying to really understand what her points were through all the misspellings (ReMinIcInG), lousy slangs and lingos (oso, w0t), bad grammars (Life oso a cho0se f0r eVeRy iNdividuaL), and - the worst part of all - the combination of alphabets and numbers, plus the misuse of uppercase and lowercase used in the writings (no need for any example, you've seen it clearly).

It was posted on a friend's page as her thoughts for the day or some sort of reflection. And I know that she was clearly trying to say something serious. But, really...

I mean, for gawd's sake, why would anyone want to go through the hassle of typing such sentences? I'm lost! And hellooooo... Didn't you notice that it's not easy to be read? It's a pain-in-the-arse! It is not cool. It is nowhere near cute. And it makes you look St0oPid.. uhm sorry, I mean stupid.

So please, do yourself a favor. Write normally. Unless you're on SMS, which doesn't allow for such long and proper writing. Or unless you're chatting online on instant messengers, then it could be forgiven in a way - but just for the slangs and lingos, not the alphabets/numbers and uppercase/lowercase combo. Not ever.

Other than that, if you want to post a piece of your mind to be seen (and read) by the whole world wide web, then write normally and properly. People would take you (more) seriously, you'll get your messages straight across. Plus, you'll look smarter and cooler. Grammar and spelling mistakes aside, as they're not my biggest issue here. But if you have time to write in such manner then I assume you'd have all the time in the world to work on them. It's for your own good. I've made the same mistakes in the past and that's why I'm working on it too (the slangs, lingos, grammars, and spellings - not the dreaded combo). Because I wanted to improve. And not look like some sort of a stupid teenager with no access to proper education.

Okay, so am I officially a bitch now for bitching about this?