The Obamania

So, America officially got a new president, Barack Obama. I watched the inauguration ceremony last nite, cancelling the CSI Season 8 that has been waiting since last month hehehe.. I am sure that this ceremony is a lot different than any other before it. They just elected the first afro-american president, a leader that came from many backgrounds that for sure have shaped him into a great leader with vision.

Here in Indonesia, the reaction from the people are various. Some are very proud and happy because Mr. Obama spent four of his youth age in Indonesia. He went to an elementary school here in Jakarta, spent his days with some of our local residents. Many of them still remember him as "Barry", a big dark colored foreign student who -at first- spoke little Indonesian language. Then he moved to Hawaii and started his teenage time and career in the States.

His father is Kenyan, Hussein Obama, who got married with American woman. They got divorced and she married an Indonesian man, Soentoro, who at that time worked for Pertamina (state owned oil company). Of course, even his time in Jakarta was only short (about 4 years), but this enough to ignite a thing what they call "Obamania". People talk about him, read his biography and book, even visiting the school he was once attending. They also founded a fans club for him, where his picture is idolized just like they did with Martin Luther King or JFK.

As for me, Barack Obama is a very unique figure. Not because he spent some of his childhood here, but because of what he represents. He represents freedom, equality and hope. I'm sure it's a big challenge for the Americans when they knew that Obama will run for presidency. C'mon, who are you kidding here? Even many countries have claimed to be a democratic society, racism and stereotyping are still the biggest culprit in their social problems. Hatred and negative suspicion are common in almost every society. So, this is a challenge that needs exact proof of democracy, proof of equality.

This could be seen as a freedom realization that every citizen has the chance to run for presidency. They are no longer limitations that focus more on what color is our skin, whether our hair is straight or curly, do we have blue eyes, or which faith we believe in.

These things had attracted me from the beginning of his campaign. Of course I didn't follow his day-to-day campaign or speech, or rally. What I mean is, from many of his speeches, many of his promises, and many of his extraordinary approach, this man is a promising leader. A leader that would not only lead Americans out of their crisis, but also a leader that hopefully will re-shape the prominent image of American Government and society.

Barack Obama represents equality, that all mankind are the same. Each of us needs wealth, needs a comfortable zone whether at workplace or at home. The projection of our hope and needs are as real as the life itself. We all hope that this equality will bring us out of these global problems and it will start in America.

He represents hope, the last thing we have and beyond our dreams. People put their hope on him. Not only his people, or his political party. But people from every layer of societies and countries. People from many backgrounds and ethnicities. Those who have been waiting for so long to see the dreams our previous leader unable to create. This marks the beginning of a journey, not only for the man himself, but for us as a citizen of the world.

Too bad that I'm not an American or I could try to be there in National Mall, listen to his voices of hope and unity. Then perhaps at the end of his speech, I could scream out and do standing ovation with the other two million souls out there in the cold day of January. And perhaps... perhaps I would also shed a tear with the others for we just got one great leader that would shape our modern history into a new beginning.

Congratulations Mr. Obama, and congratulations America.

Things do not change; we change.
Henry David Thoreau

Another Day In Another New Year

It's been exactly one month since my last posting *sighs*. What can I say? I've been too lazy and busy lately with all the errands. So, now I will try to sum up what have happened in my merry life for the last couple of weeks.

I or we to be precise, have moved into our new house (yay). As some of you already know, moving houses just sounds like an easy stuff to do during holiday. Things that most of us might think, "Oh, hell, what's so hard moving things from old place into a new one?". Well, it is actually more than that. The more time I, again, we, spend in the our new house, the more things are needed to be fixed. Ceilings, bathtub, lights, door handles, and the list goes on.

Another thing is, I already have enough routines everyday. Teaching in the morning, another teaching outside the school time in the afternoon, going home, watering the plants, spend time with wife and daughter, dinner, then movies or computer games, perhaps one or two cans of beer. Repeat that for 5 times a week, and weekends is unpredictable. We could have a relax weekend, or just truly tiring hehehe..

Like now, it's already 1 a.m. but yet I'm still awake writing this entry. Well, the only good thing this would bring is that some dudes are lucky enough for not have to play against me in the Battlefield 2 servers lol! I still enjoy the game until now. Maybe because it's more complex than DoD: Source and of course much more complex than the infamous CounterStrike. To be honest, I miss playing DoD: Source and CounterStrike: Source for some reasons. Not the repetition gameplay, but in CS:S and DoD:S, I've met players that are not only enjoyable to play with but also to have a chat. More of them are already aware the needs of teamwork and positive communication.

Heck, even I've played with a housewife who enjoys spending the Friday night havoc playing DoD:S as a machine gunner. That was when I'm in Australia tho. As the community in here, people are tend to spend time on trash-talking or insulting others hehehe.. not a pretty thing to have during weekends, but what can you do?

Back to the moving house topic, moving into a new settlement also needs extra time and money. After almost a month, now we are agree that we need some more items for the house. First, we need a portable air-conditioning device. The thing that blows air (cool air, that is) and can be moved around the room. I don't care about any brand because of the tight budget.

Second thing is we need another extension of our desk in the study room. A bigger space is needed to put all the peripherals of our desktop computer PLUS a laptop. Now it's just too small for anything that an computer screen and printer.

Third thing that is also importantly needed is an office chair, the one with comfy arm rest and good for the backside hehehe.. if we're going to spend much time on the Internet or computer, than this is a strike one item that would make things a bit easier.

Our fourth items needed is a mail box. The real mail box, the one that you can put outside your front door. Because this is a housing complex, all houses don't have fence. So, anything that the postman put in our front yard or terrace would also easily been accessed by anyone. Not good when you're having or expecting important postage.

The last but not least is a microwave. The-God-blessing-invention is very helpful for reheat the food or defrost meat. Of course we can always go natural like letting the damn meat sitting for hours just to sweat hehehe..

But I can't deny that moving into our own place is one of the greatest thing you could get. I mean, you arrange what you want to eat, what you like to watch, which channel you want to tune-in, etc, etc. Anyway, don't forget that "with great powers come great responsibilities". Meaning that if something is needed to be fixed then I have to drag my sorry @ss to fix it first hehehe.. also checking that windows and doors are locked before I hit the hay.

As for weather update, it becomes cloudy here. The rainy season might hit our place faster than they are expected. Example for today, it's been raining all day long since brunch time. It is a good thing, because the air is so much cooler and easy to enjoy. It's just the flooding thing that makes me worried. Two years ago Jakarta was forced into a complete stop as 85% of our region was flooded. By "flood" we don't mean a water as high as your leg. Our definition flood could go up to 7 m in some places and on average it's about 60 cm deep. The scene is also so surreal. Our flooded capital will make swamp looked like a heavenly paradise.

Oh well, that's everything I can think of now. After this, I might hit some rounds of games in Facebook or trying harrassing my friends mwahahaahha.. cya when I cya (WTF??)