Monday Comes Again

Monday, my ugly, boring, and sickly girlfriend, is back again. But for this week, she changed her name to Tuesday. Yeah, Tuesday's here (I know it's you Monday!) and she's back with all her ugliness and boredom. She gave me headache this morning when I woke up and stared right into that ugly face of hers. She said she was Tuesday, but I know it was actually Monday because none give me as bad a headache as Monday usually does. She reminded my that I need to go to my campus and started looking for some material for a group assignment. She reminded me that I haven't started looking for a topic for my thesis. She reminded me that my friends were waiting at the campus for the group assignment. She told me to hurry up cause my brother's waiting for me since we were suppose to use the car together. That's Monday to me. Bad news all the way.

I wish Monday could be better, like Saturday. Saturday came to me smiling and took me along with my friends to Puncak. We had a great time there. She told me to forget about all the things that need doing and enjoy the rest and relaxation she had given me. Though the weather's cold, my heart was warmed by her personality. She showed me the sights I've been longing to see and soon I was wrapped comfortably in her embrace. Too bad Saturday didn't stay long, but I'm glad she came to satisfy me.

The next morning Sunday came and said hello. We spend the day just sitting around (or lying around), admiring the views in front of us, having few but pleasant conversations, playing some games and doing other insignificant but pleasant stuffs. During the afternoon she taught me how to cook french fries (never tried cooking before) and I did it right the first time. She was proud of me and that made me happy. Later there was some parting and goodbyes, but all in all me and Sunday had a great time together, just like when I was spending my time with Saturday. She left during the night, but her stories will forever be in the libraries of my mind. I just wished that she would stay longer with me. But I know her time is limited and I was just glad that she came.

I was dreading to wake up the next day and seeing Monday. As I woke up , my eyes were kissed by the sun that shone in my face. There's a pleasant feeling in the air. Then Monday greeted me. I know from the way she looked at me, from the way she said hello, from the way she kissed my eyes, I know that it was actually Holiday that came. She said that Sunday told her to come and pay me a visit. Sunday and Holiday are my favorites. They both are very good friends since they are almost the same. They have pleasant personalities and they are most of the times unpredictable (in a good way). Sometimes they talk a lot about their stories, and sometimes they listen to my stories. I like them both. Holiday said that she came in place of Monday (since she knew that Monday wasn't coming) and because Sunday didn't want me to be alone. This time we both shared our stories and had a great time. And by the end of the day she gave me a delightful surprise (a secret, of course).

I know Holiday won't stay long and that she had to go again, but she promised that she would visit me from time to time. I bid her good bye and closed my eyes.

Seemed to me that Monday never wanted to miss a chance to visit me regularly, so she came in place of Tuesday, put on a disguise (just to give me a surprise, an unpleasant surprise) and told me that she was Tuesday. But somehow I knew it was her. Well, she really knew how to ruin a man's life. But I can't really blame her. It's just the way she is.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are good friends. But they don't leave as much impressions as Monday, Saturday or Sunday do. They would want to walk along with you, accompany you to wherever it is you want to go or whatever it is you want to do. But most of the time they're just bland. Not boring, but not exciting either. They're not pushy, but they're not timid either (probably that's why Monday sometimes replaced one of 'em and they won't mind). Still, I appreciate their companionships, however uneventful they are.

Friday's a restless, joyful soul. I always enjoy her companionship. She knows how to have fun, she knows where to hang out, she brings new and old friends to me, and generally she knows how to make me happy. She has this indescribable charm to her, a taste of childishness mixed with recklesness and a tendency to explore the unknown. In short, she's a lively one. I would want to have Friday and never let her go, but out of all the others, I know that she's the wild one. It will be hard to put a leash on her. She's a free soul. One-night stand with her would be a great possibility, but not more than that. Still, it's fun to have her around and I think it's better that way. I don't think Friday would be herself anymore should anyone bound her like a caged bird.

Monday always makes me hate everyone or everything that comes along. She has this influence over me that made me a less pleasant person. But like I said, it's just the way she is.
Right now, I'm just waiting for her to leave me. But in the meantime, she's here (even though she keeps telling me that she's Tuesday). And that's just the way it is.

Another Trip to Puncak

A good friend of mine has this place in Puncak. It's a very nice place. I always enjoyed staying over there. The place has very great views. On one side of the house, the you could see the garden, green and very soothing. There's a porch there that also serves as the dining place. We usually sit there eating, drinking, smoking and listening to the stream outside near the house. It's a nice place. On the other side, at the front door, there's another porch that has a very great view of the mountains (when it's not covered by fog and cloud, that is).

The air's nice too up there. Cold and clean, unlike Jakarta's hot and dusty climate, full of polution. The air's so cold that when we go to sleep most of us cover ourselves with thick blankets. But I like the cold. Though I sleep with long pants and cover myself with blanket, it's kinda soothing and assuring knowing that the cold air is all around me.

Me and my friend and a couple of other guys usually go up there whenever there's a long weekend or a holiday. We would set out from Jakarta bringing stuff such as food (lots of steaks, bottles of beer and sometimes booz and cans of Pringles!), a DVD player (along with lots of movies), a Playstation 2 (with the games also of course) and other goodies like music CDs. We would stay for one or two nights, watching movies, playing games, drinking beer, eating steaks, smoking, or just sitting out at the front porch or the back porch, talking about stuffs and enjoying the great view and the cold air.

I always enjoyed staying there. Getting away from Jakarta to stay over at Puncak for a couple of days is always nice. It's a relaxing experience.

Well, we just went there again last Saturday. My friend invited me and another 8 friends to stay there for the long weekend (last Monday was a holiday). 6 of 'em only stayed for a night. The rest (me and my friend and two other people) stayed until Monday evening. It was fun, as always. We had a great time, watching movies, eating steaks, drinking beer and talking.
When the wheather is clear we usually go hiking. The surrounding nature provided many breathtaking views along the hiking route. But we didn't get the chance to enjoy the views because it rained almost all the time.

So, last weekend I had another great time there at my friend's place in Puncak. It's nice being there. Too bad that time won't allow me to stay longer there.
It was nice staying there for a change, and get away for awhile from Jakarta.

A Band of Brothers Unite

Book review, Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
Well, I've finished reading another book. The title was 'Band of Brothers', the author Stephen E. Ambrose. This book tells the story of Easy Company from the 2nd batallion of 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of th 101st Army Airborne Division during training and their campaigns in World War II. I came to know this book by watching the HBO miniseries by the same title.
All I can say is that this book is very recommended for those who are interested in military, World War II, and those who watched the miniseries and came to like it and want to know more about Easy Company and their stories.
The book and the miniseries compelement each other. There are some things that you would find in the book that you would not find in the miniseries and there are some things that are put in more light in the miniseries, and you would not find these new details in the book. This might be due to the fact that Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg did a set of new interviews with the still existing veterans before producing the miniseries. By the way, the book was published in 1991 and the miniseries was made in 2002. So it is to be expected that some new things that were not in the book would be in the movie. But there are other things that you would find in the book but not put into the miniseries.
The difference between this book and Jarhead (the one I just read before this) is very glaring. For one, Band of Brothers was written by an author who was not involved in the story. The author of 'Band of Brothers' interviewed the members of 101st Airborne, mostly from Easy Company, in writing the book. Jarhead was written by an author who was involved in the story (the first Gulf War). Jarhead was a personal account of the author about his experiences during the first Gulf War. Band of Brothers was full of idealism, of heroism, of sacrifice. Jarhead was filled mostly by disappointment and anger. But one thing in common between these two books is that both are intelligent.
I recommend both books for those who are into military in general.

Monday Blues

Monday Blues, Monday, February 16th 2004

This may sound cliche, but Mondays suck. This realization always came to me whenever I woke up on Monday mornings. It's one of those feeling you had after a great and fun party had ended, and you wished that it had not, that the party would continue on. And parties usually were always held during the weekends. Well, weekend was over, and Monday morning greeted you like an ugly and boring girlfriend that was so willing to accompany you wherever you go, whatever you do, for the whole week.

Now, this particular Monday was no better than any other previous Mondays. In fact, this Monday was worse because the fact that the other Mondays were already in the past and this Monday is the particular Monday that was staring right there and then, into my sleepy, dishelved face. And also because on this particular Monday I had to go to the campus and help my friends study for the next day's test, which I wasn't really looking forward to.

So, I got up this morning, stared at the alarm clock right in front of my face. The clock said 8.30. Should I got up and get ready? Or should I just pretend that it wasn't Monday yet, or that the clock is 3 hours to soon?

I decided to delay greeting Monday morning for about half an hour.

9 o'clock. Woke up again, looked at the clock. I hate that clock. I loathed that clock. Tried sleeping again, but can't. So, got off from my bed, talked a bit with my Mom before she left for the office, telling her my plan for the day, and got a bit of breakfast (fried noodles with sprinkles of salty fish...there's nothing like instant noodles in the morning). Didn't take a shower immediately though. Went to my PC first, turned it on and checked my email. It was just an excuse not to go to the campus immediately.

Oh yeah, I hated this particular Monday because I was having a bad throat (thanks to the flu I just caught last week). And it's not getting better, yet.

Checked my cellphone. 4 messages in it. Two were from my campus friends, asking what time I'd be at the campus. Great, I was wanted at the campus and I didn't feel like going. But I guess I just have to go. Can't let them down now, can I? Another one from my ex, saying that she had fun going out with a guy I introduced to her. Another one I forgot from who and about what. I decided that it was time to hit the shower and get going.

Got to the campus at around 11.15. Turned out that there was only one of my friends there. The others weren't there yet, or won't be coming. So, I figured it wouldn't hurt much if i went to the computer lab and browse there. My one friend was also there.

The others arrived round 12 to 12.30. Turns out that they didn't feel like studying either. The afternoon was spent talking to my friend about his date the previous day (the guy I introduced to my ex), and trying to explain to my friend a couple of little things about the subjects for the next day's test. A friend of mine asked me whether I could talk to the academic people to postpone the test from morning the next day to the afternoon. I didn't feel like talking to the academic people, I already asked too much out of them concerning postponing tests. Eventhough they granted my previous pleas, this time I just didn't wanna push my luck. My classmates has already asked too much. But my friend was quite pushy, so he asked another guy, a guy bout 9 or 10 years older than me, my classmate, to ask the academic people. And he agreed. Since I was head of the class, like it or not I have to accompany him to meet the person in charge of the test schedules. She wasn't very happy about it, but since the test was only postponed for a few hours, she agreed to it. Later on I apologized to her for asking too much. She said that it was okay.

Well, after that one by one my friends left. They didn't feel like studying. Neither did I. So I got home at around 5, fired up my PC (again) and went online (again) and started writing this blog. A friend of mine who lived near my house came for a dental appointment with my Mom (she's a dentist). While waiting, he went to my room and accompanied me while I was typing this blog. Well, guess that's it for this Monday. I still have a clogged throat, I still don't feel like studying. I think I'd rather finish reading Band of Brothers

Boy, Mondays suck

The Blunders of the American Military

My personal book review, Jarhead by Anthony Swofford

Just finished reading Jarhead. It's a good book. Very intelligent for a book written by a former jarhead. Full of anger though, but not too evil or sadistic that would make the reader flinch and close the book. Very recommended for anyone who's interested in reading military autobiography.

Getting to Know Blogger

Just got word from a friend of mine concerning blogger.com. Figured I try it out. What does TC Square got anything with this you ask? Well, just had dinner there with some friends of mine, one of 'em is the one who introduced this website to me. I like writing stuff, so I thought I'd give it a try.