Rain of an Epic Proportion

A furious blast roared through the trees, making everything sing as it went. One blinding flash after another came, and peal on peal of deafening thunder. And now a drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground.

The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain

Rain has been a very good student lately and boasted a perfect record of attendance in Surabaya.

Last Monday's rain was a particularly blasted one. The rain came storming into the city in all its majesty. The trees and billboard signs were like the chess pawns who were easily defeated by the rain. Not long after, the human invented electricity, the queen of our town, was humbled by the force of nature and shamefully retreated from the battleground. The citizens of Surabaya were left in deep abyss of desperation during the several hours it took for the queen to nurse her inflicted wounds. All I could think of during this trial time was whether my dearest ice cream can survive this horrid turmoil.

We were definitely unprepared for the blackout. Very much so that we sadly had to use a birthday candle for the emergency light. I couldn't believe that we have a birthday candle in the office, but not a regular candle. How old was the candle? It must have been very old, since I reckoned that the last time my younger sister celebrated her 8th birthday, it was about 12 years ago.


Maybe it's not very obvious from the picture, but the candle was supposed to have a shape of 8. Alas, it was obviously not meant for a long duration of use. Only a few minutes after it was lightened and Mr. Osake was in danger of being melted in the sea of hot paraffin. The 4 candle was thankfully holding strong and dutifully illuminated any area within the 15 cm distance from where it was planted.

Armed with my mother's compact camera, I went out with the intention to capture the moment of this great thunderstorm. Unfortunately, my mind easily wandered, and I took dozens of pictures of reflected leaves instead.

An odd thing happened when we were about to leave the office. My mom strangely volunteered to drive. I was dumbfounded by her generosity. To be honest, I was a bit worried that my mom couldn't handle the traffic as well as I could, considering that I'm a very good driver and have only a slight long list of traffic accidents. But, oh well, we're family. I decided that I should trust her just as much as she trust me.

I was actually relieved that I didn't have to drive. Traffic was moving as fast as a snail and I had all the time I needed and more to take pictures.

Don't you think that Miss Kimono looks cute in this picture? I may have to take more pictures of her.


The Siomay seller didn't look happy. Think happy thoughts Miss! At least the flood in Surabaya is laughably meager compared to the ones in Jakarta :)

An hour and few minutes later, we finally arrived home. I could happily report that my ice cream survived the blasted blackout, all thanks to my quick emergency aid of transporting the ice cream to a pool of ice cubes. Disaster averted, I was planning to spend the quiet time reading Lolita.


Unfortunately, my shifty mind couldn't help to see how beautiful the candle was and ended up taking pictures of the candle until the electricity returned from her hiding place. I looked how far I was with my reading and found out that I had successfully completed a paragraph from the book.


And that is it. I have nothing else interesting to report, so I guess this will be the right moment to end this photo log.

So, ... the end.




Note: All but the last 2 pictures were taken using the Pentax compact. Not too shabby methink.

Going Lomo

I'm thinking Holga for Christmas. It was actually Tokina 12-24mm to begin with, but with the Rupiah going downhill, the lens price has gone up by 20%. 5 million plus is not a cheap investment, especially for one with no profitable return.

Still, I need to do further research. Can I find a lab to process 120 film? How much is it going to cost? Should I just buy the developing kit, especially considering that I'm prone to shot BW.

Photography, never a cheap hobby.

At least it makes me happy :)

My excuse

Boy oh boy, poor blog, who have abandoned thee? Oh, right, yours truly.

Here is a picture of a little girl having her lunch on a couch located strategically on an empty parking spot. Groovy.

The blog will be heavy on pictures in the near future, that is until I found my writing muse again. Just like any other activities (read: exercise), once you stopped updating your blog, it will take a whole lot more energy to start updating it again.

I've been in a depressed mood this past few weeks and I didn't feel like writing. One, because it will not going to be a fun read. Two, because I don't think I want to put down any of this horrid feelings into words.

Well, men are only men. That's why they lie. They can't tell the truth, even to themselves.
Rashomon

Yes, I'm weak therefore I can't bear reading what is truly on my mind right now. To counter depression or to get my mind of depressing thoughts, I've been watching a whole lot of movies, at least once a day. So, I might do some movie reviews as well.

Not to worry, it's cyclical. Life has its ups and downs. It's in it's down period now, but it only means that I will have my up period in the future. Hooray!

No Love for Tukang Tambal Ban?

There is a survey that one needs to complete when they want to get their NIK (Nomor Induk Kependudukan). One of the questions is in regard of your occupation, and you have to choose from the existing list of options.

The list is so incredible that I need to share with all of you. Please click to enlarge and see all of the glorious options:


Now, the list is awesome and quite thorough already, but I can't help to wonder. Why there is no love for Tukang Tambal Ban?


Any other occupations that you think should be included in this list?

Bribe Me Please

Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) has just announced East Java as the second most corrupt province in Indonesia. The first position belongs to DKI Jakarta.

Upon reading this news, I was greatly saddened. Why does Jakarta always have to be number 1?

We, as the citizens of East Java, have done our best to improve the corruption rate. We've tried to bribe whenever we can. Passport Renewal? ID Card Renewal? You name any type of cards, forms, and letters that require the stamp of government, and you can rest assured that we have, in one way or another, bribed the officials to smoothen the process.

Many departments in our province have also worked hard to beat Jakarta on this race. The article in Jawa Pos has mentioned that the health department and education department in our province have so many loopholes for corruption. So does the procurement department for civil servants (Pegawai Negeri Sipil). Keep up the good work guys!

Unfortunately, there have been some attempts to drop our rank. Take my city, Surabaya, for example. They introduced a drive-thru system for driver license renewal. No corruption opportunity here (at least not yet).

Early this year, they also released a strict no-bribe policy for traffic rules violators. The regulation stated that anyone who attempts to bribe the cops will be imprisoned immediately. There were even a few individuals who have gone to jail because of their ignorance to this policy.

This somehow reminds me of what happened a few weeks ago. I was stopped by a police officer while I was driving. Apparently, I was making an illegal U-Turn. Turns out, you can only make a U-Turn when you’re at the right most lane. I was at the second to right, so a right turn is allowed, but not a U-Turn.

I was so sure that I didn’t make any mistake, that when the police officer stopped me, I was so furious.

Police: Can I see your driver license and registration please?
Me: What have I done, Sir?
Police: You have made an illegal U-Turn, Mam.
Me: But there is a U-Turn sign at the corner and I’m on the lane that can either turn right or go straight. So, it’s a legal turn, Sir. (What a schmuck I was).
Police: Yes, but that lane only allows you to turn right, not U-Turn.
Me: But there is a U-Turn sign, Sir.
Police: Again, can I see your driver license and registration please? And please step aside to our post.
Me: But, I’m innocent, Sir.
Police: Just come to our post please.
Me: Fine.

At the post police

Me: I have done no wrong, Sir.
Police: Just hear me out, OK. Imagine what happens if the car at the right most lane wants to turn right while you’re trying to make a U-Turn.

He then made a little imaginary sketch to try to emphasize his point:

(Materializing the sketch for your convenience)

Me: Ahh, Kaboom, Sir!
Police: YES, that’s right! (He seemed so relieved that my tiny stubborn brain can finally understand his point)
Me: Well, sir, I really didn’t mean to break the law. I really didn’t know.
Police: Fine, well, can you come to the court on the xxth to go on a trial and pay the fine?
Me: To the court, Sir?
Police: Yes, to the court? Will you be able to attend?
Me: Well, I would be working on that day, Sir. Can’t you just let me go with warning, Sir? I really didn’t have any intention to break the law.

(using my Shrek's cat's innocent eyes technique)

Police: Haha, no, I can’t do that. So, will you be able to attend, Mam?
Me: Well, Sir, as I’ve said, I will be working on that day. Is there any other option, Sir?
Police: Well, no, you have to come and attend the trial. So, what shall we do now?
Me: I don’t know, Sir. Can’t you tell me what other options I have?
Police: Well, if you want to, I can help pay the fine for you. So you don’t have to go to the court yourself.
Me: Ahh, yes, Sir. That would be great.
Police: Well, here’s the chart. Based on your violation, you will have to pay Rp. 40.000,-.
Me: Hmm, can’t you put me on a very light violation category, Sir? The one that only costs Rp. 25.000,-? As I’ve said, I really didn’t know that it was against the law, Sir.
Police: Haha, no, I can’t.
Me: Well … I don’t have an exact change. I only have Rp. 50.000,-, Sir.
Police: Well, I don’t have any change for that.
Me: That’s fine, I guess.
Police: Alright then, here’s your driver license and registration.
Me: Thank you, Sir!
Police: Drive safe!
Me: OK, Sir!

Wow, I was blown away. Not only that they were not asking for bribes, they were being helpful and offered assistance to pay my fine.

Maybe we don’t have to be number one on this corruption thingy. The title can be all yours to keep Jakarta! I'd rather have a clean and helpful government.

But wait, they didn’t write down my driver license number or any other data. How can they pay the fine for me? Oh, they must have written it quickly while I wasn’t paying any attention.

Yes… that must be it.

Disclaimer: The writer is a law abiding citizen who is repulsed by the idea of corruption and bribery. Any part of this post that indicates an action of bribing by the writer must be considered as a fiction only.

*grin*

Between Bond and the Mafia

Quantum of Solace left me unsatisfied. As entertaining as it was, I felt like I'm watching a modern action movie the likes of Bourne rather than watching a Bond franchise.

I think Ebert captured my sentiment precisely. Where's the absurd gadget? Where's the cool detachment? This Bond is so thirsty of blood and so serious most of the times.

The only redeeming factor is watching some creative ads placements in the movie. M applying Avon Lotion while on the phone with Bond is one of the funny moments in the film. Another good one is Bond checking in to the luxury hotel by pretending that he's a teacher who just won a lottery (ads for UK National Lottery).

All in all, I may like Bond better if it's not because of this scene:

Yeah, you there missy, you're bothering me.

Seriously, is it even remotely possible to walk on the dessert barefoot and still maintain that brooding look?

Don't you feel the slightest bit of burning sensation on your feet from walking on hot sands?

Don't you feel any pain from stepping on the rocks?

This scene bothers me so much that I couldn't fully concentrate for the rest of the film.


Anyway, I wouldn't even talk about Bond had I not seen this news. Carabinieri Police has seized a cellphone pistol that belongs to a mafia boss.


Now, doesn't it sound wrong when people in real life uses wackier gadget than Bond? Granted the cell phone's look is not something to brag about. It actually reminds me of a big good old cellphone used by Hongkong mafias in the 90's movies.

However, what lacks in design is paid off in its feature. Whenever you feel like shooting someone, just press 5-8 and four .22 caliber rounds will fire in quick succession. To reload, just slide the cellphone in the middle and place the ammunition.

Someone even came up with the illustration of how this cellphone gun works. I guess, anything to help fellow earth inhabitants to reproduce this fine piece of machine.


By the way, if someone is really going to build a newer version of this, can you please make it look slicker? Bond might like to order one for the next sequel.