Worse Case Scenario…

I recently introduced myself to a Colleague…

Me: “Hi… I’m Dismas.” Colleague: “Nice to meet you Dismas. Interesting Name… (short pause)… DISMAS… “Dis Miss”.. Helps me to remember your name easier.”

Me: OK @__@

A conversation with my buddy a couple of months back..

Buddy: gw iseng-iseng google nama temen2 gw, dan gw baru sadar kalau nama elo itu sebenernya adalah nama seorang Santo. gw pikir salah ketik di akte lahir dan males ngurus sehingga stuck sampai sekarang…

Me (again): OK @__@

Let me make things clear. NO: that’s not a good way to remember my name.. if you want to use a phrase to easily remember my name, you can use “Dis Mas Be True”. YES: Dismas is a name of a Catholic Saint. It’s my baptism name given by my parents, as I was born and raised as a Catholic (and trying my best to be a good one). Hence (another) NO: it was not a typo error in my birth certificate that I have to live with for the rest of my life. The “S” was intentional typed!

DISMAS (as earlier said) is a name of a Catholic Saint. Wikipedia (its an irony that I’m using Wikipedia, and not the Bible, as a source of reference for a Catholic Saint — like I said earlier.. trying to be a good Catholic people!); Also known as the Good Thief or the Penitent Thief, is the “good thief” described in the Gospel of Luke. This unnamed thief, crucified alongside Jesus, repents of his sins, and asks Jesus to remember him in his kingdom… [read more] Good Thief?! There’s no GOOD in a THIEF! Walaupun ada kata GOOD di depan THIEF, at the end of the day, the bugger is still a thief. And apparently (Dismas) is not a professional thief (unlike anyone of Ocean’s Eleven or from the Italian Job team) — he got caught and (worse) crucified!

I once brought this issue to my parents; why would they name their son after a thief. Beginilah jawabannya:

Parents: “Ya kami berpikir worse case scenario saja. Seandainya kami salah mendidik kamu dan kamu ternyata menjadi orang yang jahat dan merugikan orang lain… semoga kamu sadar bahwa bagi YANG MAHA KUASA… tidak pernah ada kata telat bagi pertobatan”

Me (another again): OK @__@

But I believe they have a good point, and I thank them for the name. My name is a constant reminder for myself, that I am (and nobody) is perfect; People make mistakes… and it is never too late to repent. Moral of the story: In Life… always prepare yourself for the worse case scenario.… deengg jeeeggerrr…

Ade Ku..

Dia Debat ya Mas??? #__#

PEMILU 2009 is around the corner. Indonesia sudah mulai mengimplemantsaikan debat antar Capres dan Cawapres sebelum masyarakat memillih. Recently, it struck me: sampai saat ini (sebenernya) tidak semua orang di bumi Indonesia ini tahu apa arti debat itu. I had this funny yet kinda sad incident, ketika sedang dinas ke Balikpapan:

Di suatu kedai nasi goreng di Balikpapan: TV menunjukkan Bapak SBY sedang memaparkan visi dan misi dalam debat Capres putaran pertama….

Tukang Nasi Goreng ~ TNG : Apa nih Mas? (menunjuk ke arah TV)

Me : Debat Capres Pak.

Mendengarkan paparan visi misi SBY sebenatar…

TNG : SBY menang?

Me : Mungkin… kita lihat saja pas Pemilu nanti.

ketika Pak SBY selesai, gambar berubah ke moderator (Anis Baswedan) yang akan mempersilahkan Bapak JK untuk memulai gilirannya.

TNG : (sambil menunjuk sang moderator di kaca TV) Dia debat ya Mas?

Me : ~~ diem hening binggung… mikir2 saya salah ngomong dimana ~~ baru sadar bahwa sang Bapak tidak tahu artinya debat.

Just to be sure; menurut Wikipedia: “Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. .. [read more]“

Nevertheless, walaupun banyak yang pesimis dengan debat antar Capres-Cawapres, saya yakin bahwa bangsa kita sudah (sedang) mengambil langkah yang tepat. Di tengah kampanye yang banyak di dominasi iklan-iklan (menjual janji) di media massa, spanduk-spanduk (mengotori) jalan raya, dan “ceng-cengan” tidak penting antar tim sukses partai… sangatlah jarang kita bisa melihat dan mendengar calon-calon pemimpin kita side-by-side and face-to-face berbicara tentang bagaimana mereka akan membawa bangsa kita ke depan. It’s time to change! Hidup Indonesia!!

Fun Together…

everyday person

Compilation of individuals that caught my attention… [ go to album ]

Edges

I took these pictures during my university years. In this compilation album, I tried to give a different approach in the objects or people I took. I hope you take pleasure in this compilation. Cheers!…. [ go to album ]

Brand new look…

A late night inspiration led to a new look. The idea struck me when I was writing XML script (looks familiar??).

From Carlsberg to Teh Botol Sosro

Dimas and Rachel, my 2 most best buddies, we’ve been a long journey together; heart breaks, discussions, chats, coffees, getting drunk, cafes, pubs, clubs, beers, girlfriends/boyfriends, curhat, breakups, nongkrong bareng di tempat ga jelas, love life, gossips, smiles, sadness, disappointments.. You name it we got it!!

It started out 3 years ago, as a pioneering High School English debate team sent to Malang for a debating competition (which we didn’t win) and lasted till today; despite our individual change of differences in priorities, jobs, studies, universities, and countries. I like to refer the 3 of us as Partners in Crime; each with their own uniqueness and mischievous experiences to share and enrich each other.I thank you guys for everything and would like to make a toast for our friendship: “A journey is best measured in the quality of time spent with friends rather than miles! Our journey together for the past years was indescribably fun… I cherish the moments we had-have-having. I really appreciate you guys! Here’s to you guys: I wish you all the best in Life, Love, and all the shits the the world has to offer!!”

Trailer: Thailand Trip 2007

Me and my friends recently went to Chiang Rai, Thailand for 10 days. We decided to compile our journey’s memories into a reality show episodes. More stories of the trip can be found in our blog: International Service Avenue.

Flashback…

I am closing a crucial chapter of my life: University Life! Let’s have a little flashback shall we?! I still remember the idealistic me when I first entered UTP 3 years back. A pathetic (and maybe still is) 18 year old greenie who thinks he can conquer the world by himself. Well sad to say BOY… life is just not like that. The mysteries of life have prompted itself in people and situations unimaginable. Difficult times, break ups, broken heart, rejects, acceptances, accidents, project deadlines, test, exams, work pile, losing friends, new roommates, old roommates, loosing roommates, getting new roommates, changing rooms, changing houses, making friends, making enemies… not forgetting the laughter, togetherness, fun, boring, happy times, bad times, sadness, fights, quarrels, arguments, debates, discussions, embarrassing moments, proud moments, meetings.. Basically all the bitterness and the sweetness mixed together into one gigantic stain which colored this boy’s life.

Regrets? Well I do regret some things I did and didn’t do. Complains? You can’t complain about life can you?! Ashamed?! Not all of them, some of them maybe. BUT… one thing is for sure: I learned a lot form these bitter sweet experiences. This chapter of my life matures me, one way or another, and I will never dream of how my life would be without my university life. I watched this series: Samantha Who, proposed by a good friend, Qi Hua; in one of the episodes there was this statement: “Yesterday can’t be unlived, it’s part of today; today is all we can control, we do today right… we may even have a shot at tomorrow!” I know this is just one phase of my life… and there are (will be) more to come! But then again… after a long journey… it’s good to stop a while… and recall the extraordinary memories and experiences…