there are two places that i like very much to stay as longer as i want to. the first place is cinema or theater. the second place is a bookstore.
yeah, a bookstore is like a my-own-rendezvouz if i get bored or if there are no good movies on cinema ;p. and i spend like an hour just to enjoy what's new on new-released racks or which books that in a best-seller racks. or just adding some books into my wish-list.
especially a bookstore with a discount promo. hell yeah! i can spend around two hours and a half there and drowned my self into the books and be autism for a moment. haha!
just like what i did on Tuesday May 26th, 2009 in Gramedia Bookstore in Grand Indonesia. there's a 30% discount of ALL ITEMS (exclude electronics) for their grand opening. well, it's my second time to attend a grand opening of that bookstore in my town. on my first time, i lost my consciousness and bought 4 books at once! (which a rare number for me to buy some books). and today, i did the same, bought 4 books at once and planned to go back because there 2 more books that i want to but i didn't bring enough money. huhu!
and i'm so damn HAPPY! it's have to be celebrate! (well, that's why i'm writing this blog)
yeah! it's a happy day for me! because when i get into a bookstore, i rarely buy some books and rather putting their titles on my "wish-list" just because i never have enough money at the time. or if i have enough money, i need that for another bussiness. so it's like a window shopping for me if i "hang-out" in a bookstore. just see if there are a new titles, what's the best seller on that time, or reading and look sadly to the book of i wanted. pathetic!
but if there a discount, oh hell yeah undoubtly i can spend a lot of money for that. of course, it's because a discount promo is a rare event, isn't? and perhaps the items that has a discount may out of stock.
lately i bought a Periplus Map of Philipine only Rp. 10.000,- from its original price around Rp. 123.000,- it's almost 93% discount! ahahaha!
well i don't know if i a victim of commercialism or promotional events or something like that. what i do know is i really like books and rarely buy them (just because of money, argh!). and i really use the discount promo moment to fulfil my desire.
aaaaanyway, i just bought Lonely Planet Story (oh yeah, it's completing my travelling-book collection), Botchan (as my friend's recommendation, Peter Pan & The Shadow Thieves (to support my thesis, yeah don't ask! i'll explain later!), and The Old Man & The Sea (just because i want to begin to know about Ernest Hemingway). and i bought them for only Rp. 145.000,- from its original total price Rp. 190.000,- . yeah!!
and actually i really really want to buy Lonely Planet of Philipine but after 30% discount, it's still waaay too expensive for me. the original price is Rp. 303.000,- and if i bought it, it will be the-most-expensive-book-i've-ever-bought. well, i really have to think it again.
so that's it, i just want to share my happiness for today, for fulfilling my book wish-list. hm, i think i have to make a new wish-list. anyone want to recommend any books?
PS: the 30% discount promo of ALL ITEMS (exclude electronics) will be held until May 31, 2009 on Gramedia Bookstore in Grand Indonesia. Read More...
i don't know but i think you can't read this as a stand-alone post. you have to read A Worth of a Glance at first. it's almost like you can't see Before Sunrise or Before Sunset as a stand-alone movie. oh that will be so mean. it's like you only watch Star Wars Episode IV, V, and VI without watch Episode I, II, and III ;p
yes, i was talking about Before Sunrise (1995) with its quotes and my most-favorite-movie-scene ever.
and now i want to talk about its sequel. do you ever know about Before Sunset (2004)? after separated in Vienna nine years ago and and made a promise to meet again each again six month later in the same exact place, (finally) they're meet again nine years later in Celine's hometown, Paris and once again doing their very interesting conversation and city walking. and the movie ends with the-most-fair-ending-story ever (which is i will not spoil it ;p). i want to share the memorable quotes from Before Sunset (credit to imdb) hope these quotes can help you to describe or to remind you how the movie goes on. it starts with Jesse made a small press conference of his recently published book at the one of bookstore in Paris and suddenly Celine encounters him.
Jesse: I heard this story once about when the Germans were occupying Paris and they had to retreat back. They wired Notre Dame to blow, but they had to leave one guy in charge of hitting the switch. And the guy, the soldier, he couldn't do it. You know, he just sat there, knocked out by how beautiful the place was. And then when the allied troops came in, they found all the explosives just lying there and the switch unturned, and they found the same thing at Sacre Couer, Eiffel Tower. Couple other places I think... Celine: Is that true? Jesse: I don't know. I always liked the story, though.
Jesse: Maybe what I'm saying is, is the world might be evolving the way a person evolves. Right? Like, I mean, me for example. Am I getting worse? Am I improving? I don't know. When I was younger, I was healthier, but I was, uh, whacked with insecurity, you know? Now I'm older and my problems are deeper, but I'm more equipped to handle them.
Jesse: In the months leading up to my wedding, I was thinking about you all the time. I mean, even on my way there; I'm in the car, a buddy of mine is driving me downtown and I'm staring out the window, and I think I see you, not far from the church, right? Folding up an umbrella and walking into a deli on the corner of 13th and Broadway. And I thought I was going crazy, but now I think it probably was you. Celine: I lived on 11th and Broadway. Jesse: You see?
Jesse: So what kind of songs do you write? I didn't know you did that. Celine: What kind? Jesse: Yeah, sure. Celine: I don't know, just songs. Jesse: Like? Celine: Like, some are about, you know, people, uh, relationships. One's about my cat. Jesse: Sing one. Celine: No, I can't, I don't have a guitar. Jesse: Oh, co- come on. A cappella. Celine: No, no, no. I'm not singing a song without a guitar. You're nuts! Jesse: Why not? It's... Celine: No, okay. Not now. No. Jesse: One. Celine: No. Jesse: If not now, when? Wanna meet here in six months with a guitar? You know, I'll fly all the way over here, you may or may not make the metro... Celine: [laughing] Okay, that's funny.
Jesse: You want to know why I wrote that stupid book? Celine: Why? Jesse: So that you might come to a reading in Paris and I could walk up to you and ask, "Where the fuck were you?" Celine: [laughing] No - you thought I'd be here today? Jesse: I'm serious. I think I wrote it, in a way, to try to find you. Celine: Okay, that's - I know that's not true, but that's sweet of you to say. Jesse: I think it is true.
Jesse: What do you think were the chances of us ever meeting again? Celine: After that December, I'd say almost zero. But we're not real anyway, right? We're just, uh, characters in that old lady's dream. She's on her deathbed, fantasizing about her youth. So of course we had to meet again.
Jesse: Oh, God, why weren't you there, in Vienna? Celine: I told you why. Jesse: Well, I know why, I just - I wish you would have been. Our lives might have been so much different. Celine: You think so? Jesse: I actually do. Celine: Maybe not. Maybe, we would have hated each other eventually. Jesse: Oh what, like we hate each other now? Celine: You know, maybe we're - we're only good at brief encounters, walking around in European cities in warm climate.
Jesse: Oh, God, why didn't we exchange phone numbers and stuff? Why didn't we do that? Celine: Because we were young and stupid. Jesse: Do you think we still are? Celine: I guess when you're young, you just believe there'll be many people with whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times. Jesse: And you can screw it up, you know, misconnect.
Celine: The past is the past. It was meant to be that way. Jesse: What, you really believe that? That everything's fated? Celine: Well, you know, the world might be less free than we think. Jesse: Yeah? Celine: Yeah, when given these exact circumstances, that's what will happen every time: two part hydrogen, one part oxygen, you get water every time. Jesse: No, no, I - I - I mean what if your grandmother had lived a week longer, or, you know, or passed away a week earlier, days even. You know things might have been different. I believe that. Celine: You can't think like that, it's... Jesse: No, I mean, I know you shouldn't on most things, but - It's just, on this one it seemed like something was off, you know?
Celine: You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.
Celine: Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.
and i want to share my most-romantic-scene-ever in this movie. (credit to youtube) in the end of the movie, Jesse enters Celine's home and ask her to fulfill her promise to sing a song with her guitar.
Let me sing you a waltz Out of nowhere, out of my thoughts Let me sing you a waltz About this one night stand
You were for me that night Everything I always dreamt of in life But now you're gone You are far gone All the way to your island of rain
It was for you just a one night thing But you were much more to me Just so you know
I hear rumors about you About all the bad things you do But when we were together alone You didn't seem like a player at all
I don't care what they say I know what you meant for me that day I just wanted another try I just wanted another night Even if it doesn't seem quite right You meant for me much more Than anyone I've met before
One single night with you little Jesse Is worth a thousand with anybody
I have no bitterness, my sweet I'll never forget this one night thing Even tomorrow, another arms My heart will stay yours until I die
Let me sing you a waltz Out of nowhere, out of my blues Let me sing you a waltz About this lovely one night stand
A Waltz for a Night, composed and performed by Julie Delpy
why do you watch movies, whether it's on theater or on DVD? what the things in the world made you to watch movies? is it because your friends ask you to hang out and suddenly all of you just got nothing to do and then you decide to watch some movies in cinema? is it because you looking for an entertainment, just to step outside for a while from your daily routine? is it because the movie itself is a blockbuster movie that everyone is waiting for and you don't want to miss the hype? is it because you get a lot of good recommendation about the movie?
i don't know, maybe there's other reasons that back you up to watch some movies. but for sure, i always remember what the one of my lecturer had said about this;
maybe people watch movie because they are (want to) looking for some part of their self in the movie
the first time i heard that, i didn't agree with him. but time after time, i began to accept that sentence and made some kind of justification in my self about why i keep watching movies until now.
of course there are a lot of great movies i've ever watched. some of them you can see it on my facebook profile. i still put The Sound of Music (1965) as my the-most-favorite-movie-ever because of their drama of family and love, thriller, war, and musical.
but recently i watched some movies that really touched me in a way. those movies told about relationship between man and woman transparently and psychologically logic. those movies gave the viewer a lot of beautiful scene and scenery. those movies gave a lot of nice thought of human thinks about their world.
if you plan to go to Europe, at least Vienna or Paris, because those movies gave you a little trip around the city, the exotic places, the non-tourists places. those movies is also fit for those who experienced some problem in their relationship. those movies is a great example of the nature of relationship between man and woman; interesting of each other, get comfortable, talking about anything, getting fight, and reconciliation.those movies is a perfect example of the nature of relationship; falling in love with someone, lose her/him, and you'll understand.
ok, i have to admit that this not a regular-commercial movie. it has no action-gun-shot scene. it has no explicit-sex-or-nude-scene. it has no sophisticated-visual-and-sound-effect. it only has two characters dominating the whole movie, walking around beautiful places, and has tons of (beautiful and smart) dialogues. for my self, i consider it as a festival-class movies.
ok, let's go to the point.
do you ever know about Before Sunrise (1995)? plays a very strong character of Jesse (Ethan Hawke), an USA guy who travelled in Vienna and suddenly meet a Parisian girl who just visited her grandmother, Celine (Julie Delpy). after a very nice conversation and a great time spending ever in the heart of this beautiful city, they splitted out without exchange any contact information.
if you don't know about the movie, go and run to DVD rental near your house and buy or rent them! or if you don't have any money but you have a good internet connection, watch them online at http://www.watch-movies-links.net/
i want to share the memorable quotes from this movie (credit to imdb). hope these quotes can help you to describe or to remind you how the movie goes on. it starts from their meeting on the train that will alight in Vienna.
Jesse: Alright, I have an admittedly insane idea, but if I don't ask you this it's just, uh, you know, it's gonna haunt me the rest of my life Celine: What? Jesse: Um... I want to keep talking to you, y'know. I have no idea what your situation is, but, uh, but I feel like we have some kind of, uh, connection. Right? Celine: Yeah, me too. Jesse: Yeah, right, well, great. So listen, so here's the deal. This is what we should do. You should get off the train with me here in Vienna, and come check out the capital. Celine: What? Jesse: Come on. It'll be fun. Come on. Celine: What would we do? Jesse: Umm, I don't know. All I know is I have to catch an Austrian Airlines flight tomorrow morning at 9:30 and I don't really have enough money for a hotel, so I was just going to walk around, and it would be a lot more fun if you came with me. And if I turn out to be some kind of psycho, you know, you just get on the next train. Jesse: Alright, alright. Think of it like this: jump ahead, ten, twenty years, okay, and you're married. Only your marriage doesn't have that same energy that it used to have, y'know. You start to blame your husband. You start to think about all those guys you've met in your life and what might have happened if you'd picked up with one of them, right? Well, I'm one of those guys. That's me y'know, so think of this as time travel, from then, to now, to find out what you're missing out on. See, what this really could be is a gigantic favor to both you and your future husband to find out that you're not missing out on anything. I'm just as big a loser as he is, totally unmotivated, totally boring, and, uh, you made the right choice, and you're really happy. Celine: Let me get my bag.
Celine: You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more. You know, women, free your minds, free your bodies, sleep with me. We're all happy and free as long as I can fuck as much as I want.
Jesse: I don't know, I think that if I could just accept the fact that my life is supposed to be difficult. You know, that's what to be expected, then I might not get so pissed-off about it and I'll just be glad when something nice happens.
Celine: I had worked for this old man and once he told me that he had spent his whole life thinking about his career and his work. And he was fifty-two and it suddenly struck him that he had never really given anything of himself. His life was for no one and nothing. He was almost crying saying that.
Jesse: You know what's the worst thing about somebody breaking up with you? It's when you remember how little you thought about the people you broke up with and you realize that is how little they're thinking of you. You know, you'd like to think you're both in all this pain but they're just like "Hey, I'm glad you're gone".
Jesse: OK, well this was my thought: 50,000 years ago, there are not even a million people on the planet. 10,000 years ago, there's, like, two million people on the planet. Now there's between five and six billion people on the planet, right? Now, if we all have our own, like, individual, unique soul, right, where do they all come from? You know, are modern souls only a fraction of the original souls? 'Cause if they are, that represents a 5,000 to 1 split of each soul in the last 50,000 years, which is, like, a blip in the Earth's time. You know, so at best we're like these tiny fractions of people, you know, walking... I mean, is that why we're so scattered? You know, is that why we're all so specialized? Celine: I don't know. Wait a minute, I'm not sure... I don't... Jesse: Yeah, hang on, hang on. It's a, it's a totally scattered thought. It... which is kind of why it makes sense.
[during in the church] Celine: Even though I reject most of the religious things I can't help but feeling for all those people that come here lost or in pain, guilt, looking for some kind of answers. It fascinates me how a single place can join so much pain and happiness for so many generations.
Jesse: You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.
Jesse: Yeah. So, uh, were we having our first fight back there? Celine: [pause] Jesse: Yeah, I think so, I think we were. Celine: Well, even if we were a little bit, y'know. Why does everyone think conflict is so bad. There's a lot of good things coming out of conflict.
Jesse: Would you be in Paris by now, if you hadn't gotten off the train with me? Celine: No not yet. What would you be doing? Jesse: I'd probably be hanging around the airport, reading old magazines, crying in my coffee cause you didn't come with me. Celine: Aww... Actually, I think I'd probably have gotten off the train in Salsburg with someone else. Jesse: Oh, yeah? Oh, I see. So, I'm just that dumb American momentarily decorating your blank canvas. Celine: I'm having a great time. Jesse: Me too.
Jesse: I feel like this is, uh, some dream world we're in, y'know. Celine: Yeah, it's so weird. It's like our time together is just ours. It's our own creation. It must be like I'm in your dream, and you in mine, or something. Jesse: And what's so cool is that this whole evening, all our time together, shouldn't officially be happening. Celine: Yeah, I know. Maybe that's why this feels so otherworldly.
Jesse: I know what you mean about wishing somebody wasn't there, though. It's just usually it's myself that I wish I could get away from. Seriously, think about this. I have never been anywhere that I haven't been. I've never had a kiss when I wasn't one of the kissers. Y'know, I've never, um, gone to the movies, when I wasn't there in the audience. I've never been out bowling, if I wasn't there, y'know making some stupid joke. I think that's why so many people hate themselves. Seriously, it's just they are sick to death of being around themselves. Jesse: Let's say that you and I were together all the time, then you'd start to hate a lot of my mannerisms. The way every time we would have people over, uh, I'd be insecure, and I'd get a little too drunk. Or, uh, the way I'd tell the same stupid pseudo-intellectual story again, and again. Y'see, I've heard all those stories. So of course I'm sick of myself. But being with you, uh, it's made me feel like I'm somebody else.
Jesse: Listen, if somebody gave me the choice right now, of to never see you again or to marry you, alright, I would marry you, alright. And maybe that's a lot of romantic bullshit, but people have gotten married for a lot less. Celine: Actually, I think I had decided I wanted to sleep with you when we got off the train. But now that we've talked so much, I don't know anymore.
Jesse: This friend of mine had a kid, and it was a home birth, so he was there helping out and everything. And he said at that profound moment of birth, he was watching this child, experiencing life for the first time, I mean, trying to take its first breath... all he could think about was that he was looking at something that was gonna die someday. He just couldn't get it out of his head. And I think that's so true, I mean, all - everything is so finite. But don't you think that that's what, makes our time, at specific moments, so important? Celine: Yeah, I know. It's the same for us, tonight, though. After tomorrow morning, we're probably never going to see each other again, right? Celine: We, maybe we should try something different. I mean, it's no so bad if tonight is our only night, right? People always exchange phone numbers, addresses, they end up writing once, calling each other once or twice... Jesse: Right. Fizzles out. Yeah, I mean, I don't want that. I hate that. Celine: I hate that too, y'know. Jesse: Why do you think everybody thinks relationships are supposed to last forever anyway? Celine: Yeah, why. It's stupid.
Celine: Maybe we should meet here in five years or something. Jesse: All right, all right, five year- Five years! That's a long time! Celine: It's awful! It's like a sociological experiment!
Jesse: [stops Celine and positions her in front of him at arm's length] Celine: What? Jesse: Uh... I'm gonna take your picture. So I never forget you or, uh, or all this. Celine: Okay. Me too.
and i want to share my the-most-favorite-scene-ever in this movie (credit to youtube). at some music store, they are looking around and Jesse impulsively ask Celine to try some LP in the some kind of a-box-for-trying-LPs.
song that played:
There's wind that blows in from the north And it says that loving takes this course Come here, come here
No I'm not impossible to touch I have never wanted you so much Come here, come here
Have I never laid down by your side Baby, let's forget about this pride Come here, come here
Well I'm in no hurry Don't have to run away this time I know you're timid. But it's gonna be all right this time...
Come Here by Kath Bloom
PS: i already prepared a sequel post about the movie's sequel ;p
actually i want to write about this topic many days ago, but unfortunately i have no time to do it. then finally i found the right time to write it on after i've received some signs, enough to made me decide to write about it as soon as possible.
it's triggered from a short dialogue from one of the character in The Matrix (1999), which like three weeks ago i watched it from one of TV station who aired that fantastic movie. the dialogues goes like this,
Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? [Takes a bite of steak] Cypher: Ignorance is a bliss.
at the moment , i realize that "ignorance is a bliss" sentence is not only talking about electrical signals which interpreted by our brain. the meaning of that sentence can be more wider out of that context.
is it really an ignorance a bliss?
i keep thinking about it and found this analogy.
do you ever watch a TV show that tells the secret behind the magic trick that performed by magicians? that TV show, showed the magic performance at the first. and later they revealed the secret behind it. what did you feel about it? what did you feel when you see the magic performance before you know how to do the magic? and what did you feel after you know how the magic has been done?
i don't know, but for me, i feel curious and more exciting when i watch the magic performance. it's like, "wowh! how they do that? it's wonderful!" and i feel kinda disappointed and less exciting when they revealed the secret behind the magic trick. it's like, "oh, it's only that so?" and after that i found out that, i kinda lazy to watch the same trick that they had revealed because i feel like, "ah it's not so that interesting anymore, i already know the truth".
is it true, that after we know about the truth, it's not interesting anymore like it was?
one more analogy i've found lately. and it's confirmed with a short dialogues made by one of the character on the movie Angels & Demons (2009) which i watched it last night. i can't find the quote on imdb, but more or less the dialogue goes like this,
Camerlengo: why the science always opposite each other with the religion? how was they feel when they know the thunder is a sort of particle's friction in the sky than one of the greatness of natural event?
precisely, that dialogue justify me of what i've been thinking of these days. what i've read about history, that our ancients worship their gods to ask for the rainfall. how our ancients worship their gods because of the rainbow in the sky, or the fertility of their lands, and so on. and what do people think and feel about the rain after they know the truth it's about air condensation in the sky?
is it really ignorance a bliss?
then what is knowledge use for?
my wild thought reached about Holy Bible in the first chapter. it writes about how Eve and Adam ate the apple of the knowledge that results in their expulsion from Paradise and the curse of suffering. it's because after they ate the apple, they become know that they're naked and yet they know about good and evil.
with no intention to wider the discussion into religion aspects and the use of knowledge, let's emphasize of what was Eve and Adam felt about the Eden before they eat the apple.
i imagine that they really enjoy their life. they enjoy how the wind blows, watch the tree grows, feel the warmth of the sunshine, taste the sweetness of the fruits, become wet because of the rainfall, and maybe taste the juicy and delicious steak ;p i suppose they joyfully enjoy their life every a bit of moment in that garden of Eden. the garden of safe and secure environment. the garden of a piece of Paradise.
these thoughts is confirming of what i've read lately to support my thesis, it's about archetype Innocent. Carol Pearson, in her book, Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World (1991), on the chapter about Archetype Innocent, she wrote about how Innocent believes that the world as it is being experienced is all there is. that the world which Innocent lives is an utopia, a secure and safe environment, a safe garden, a Paradise, a Kingdom of Heaven.
just simply bless the Lord of what you hear, what you see, what you feel. that's why i suggest you to spend your day in the outside, maybe take a walk to visit some churches in villages around Taize. just take a walk, enjoy the nature, and simply bless the Lord of it.
with a lot of confusions, i asked him again how i suppose to do that. and he replied,
sometimes when we are blessing, there are almost no thoughts in our mind. so keep your mind on the basic level, not too high, neither too deep. just feel and accept everything around you. just like a little children who always joyful of everything around them.
it takes time for me to learn these things and quite difficult at the first; to bless of everything that all around me, without some thoughts. the flower which i found in the middle of the road, the shape of clouds in the sky, the trees' formation in the wood, the fresh air that i breath. and finally i found the love shape in the asphalt. at the first, i was thinking, is it really a love shape? how can it be this kind of shape is formed? did it made on purpose? because of the workers was so in love with his partner so he made this kind of shape as his dedication to his partner? or it is simply because of the combination of rainfall, heat, and cars tires' friction with the asphalt and unintentionally made this shape and (maybe) some electrical signals interpreted by my brain, combine with my experience and knowledge about this kind of shape, made me consider it as a love shape?
and then i was thinking, ah whatever the reasons is, whatever the facts behind it, it's only a shape. simply a love shape. it's beautiful and it made my day.
so is it ignorance a bliss?
or a bless?
hm...
i've made my own conclusion about this thoughts that, (maybe) it's better that sometimes, we ought to awaken our inner child (archetype Innocent ;p) to feel about almost everything in our life around us, even on a very simple thing, simply just to be grateful.
Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world? If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.
i think this quotation can mainly open my post here. a post that will tells about a tale. about a dream that becomes real. what is dream anyway? what is real? what is the difference between the dream and real?
but somehow, i brought that dream into reality, even this 'reality' is simply electrical signals interpreted by my brain. but hey, at least that signals can produce a lot of positive emotions.
so, during my stay in Taize, some people always asked me a question, Timo, what will you do after you leave Taize? and i always replied with the same answer, i want to touch the tower. of course all of them wish me a good luck and some of them even help me to fix my Metro Plan just to make sure that i won't lost in the big city of Paris. but two of them made me this drawings on my Taize Memorial Book (a book that all my friends write anything for me before they or i left Taize).
click to enlarge
it's can't be more sweet than this.
Saturday, October 4th, 2008 11.20am Bosquett-Rapp, Paris
suddenly that drawings becomes reality, means that i can see it clearly with my both eyes, not far away from me. from the spot where i alight on the bus stop, i began to walk down the road, while holding tight the road map on my right hand.
i walk down this boulevard, with street on my left side and buildings on my right side. with trees along the pavement and leaves that began to fall, covered up the street. tighten up my jacket and my scarf because the autumn-breezing wind start to freeze me out.
while walking down the road which i already checked it on my map every 1 meters, my wild thought starts to jumping around,
i can't believe it, FOUR HOURS ago i was in bus stop Taize, saying goodbye to all my friends, smiling at them while some of their face showing sadness. THREE MONTHS i was staying in the most wonderful place on earth and now here i am, waiting hours for the plane which will bring me back to my country.
I'm in PARIS! while NINE MONTHS ago i was in Tokyo. who am i that can done such things like these??
now i'm walking in the street of Paris. will i GET LOST? it's a big city! and i'm walking alone, thousands kilometers from my home, just bringing a map, digital camera, and a handbag. what am i doing now?? what if i took the wrong way? what if i made mistake to read the map? what if something happens to me? is it the right way?? what if i really get lost??
then i tried to take control of my self, just stay around and trying to live in present. so i took my camera and began to took some pictures. the funny thing is, when my thought said the last sentence "what if i really get lost?", after the the word "lost", i turned my head to the right and saw this beautiful picture.
oh, then it's the right way...ahahaha.....
so, with more confidence, i continue my contemplative-walking on that beautiful morning. and finally i arrived at Avenue Boulevard, a name of the park which placed exact next to the tower. while i walk down that park, my mind goes back on the ending scene in Shyamalan's latest movie, The Happening. on that scene, the virus also spread out in the middle of Paris, exact at this park.
then i finally reach the middle of the park. tremendously beautiful park. it's green, it's wide, and it's crowded by people. of course, it's weekend. and surprisingly, the people there looks like came from every part of the earth, talking with their own language. it feels like in Taize, but all of them are tourists. haha!
but every people on that park, took photos, smiling, chattering while looking in to the same direction. then i turned back and... gosh!
whether it's only electrical signals interpreted by my brain or not, it's REAL!
so this is the tower...a 324 meters height tower...
the tower that for this long i only can take a look of it from movies...
so i began to take out my digital camera and find the angle to start the photography session. for that i have to circle the park to fill my digicam with the tower's picture.
and by the time i found the big Indonesian family! voila! it's not difficult to notice them. they walked together in group with their children running and yelling something in Indonesian language. so for me, it's not difficult to notice what language they used after my three months abroad. and kindly i began to make quick conversation with one of them and apparently they're from Jakarta as well! ahahaha...so to make a profit with the circumstances, i asked one of them to took a picture of me with the tower. voila!
so after i circle the park, finally i arrived in the beneath of the tower. it feels amazing! it's like...i'm a kind of part of this tower!
and on that time, there were some kind of maintenance of the tower. so lucky me, i can see some of maintenance officer who climb up and down the tower using ropes and it was so cool!
then i found this statue in the corner of one of the tower's feet, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, a French structural engineer, who design the tower. i didn't know it before that this kind of statue is exist. unfortunately it's cornered and only a few people notice, visit, and took photos with this statue.
then i see a lot of people queuing something. ah, they were queuing for a lift to the top of tower and it's cost 12 euros. ah, i don't have enough time (and money). ;p
ah, apparently i can't touch the tower with my own hands. because four of its feet is constructed on top of 2 meters high concrete wall, like what you see in the picture, on the back of the statue. so if i really want to touch it, it's like i have to climb it. but hey, what i mean with touch is not a literally meaning. hehe ;p
i checked my watch, ah there's still a plenty of time in my tight schedule. so i went to the bridge in front of the the tower. i checked on the map, this spot called Pont D'iena. a bridge that we can look the tower, Trocadero in the opposite, Seine River on the left and the right side. and this spot is the best spot to hang out with your couple, which is what i saw when i look around. haha!
so i spend a few seconds to lean on the bridge, enjoying the sparkling water because of the sunshine, the boats which cruising down the river, and the tower's reflection on the river.
for the hundreds time, i checked my watch, ah it's 12.00 pm. it's time to move from here and catch the train. so i crossed the street, back to tower's area, took a quick photo while walking down the street. and i follow the map to find Bir-Hakeim station to take the M 6 Green train. ah, apparently it's need five minutes walking to find the station. it's not that difficult to find the MRT station based on my experience because they will provide you a lot of signage.
so before entering the station, once again i look back to the tower, gave a slightly see-you-later-looking, and walk down the underground station.
ah, it's done...a 40 minutes of dream come true...still can't believe it, but it's real! haha...
the next challenge is to find the right peron where i can take my train. honestly, don't know for many times, i felt afraid to get lost. but i took control of my self and put more confidence with a point; i survived and didn't get lost in MRT in Osaka which all the signage don't use Latin Alphabets. so it's not a new experience for me, just find the right word and follow. prepare yourself to ask the people if you're not sure.
tips: you have to know what is EXIT in local language. because if your in the building and something happens, you have to get out from the building by the exit signage. so for this i already familiar with SORTIE, exit in French.
so finally i found the right peron and used the ticket to enter the station. yes, the same ticket that i already used for the bus. Paris has provided a transportation ticket that can be use for bus, train, metro, and RER (an upperground train) and can be valid for a period of time (which i forget the exact period) or if you don't through some special gate that will make your ticket not valid anymore.
12.28 pm my upperground train departed from Bir Hakeim station to Charles de Gaulle Etoile. from Charles de Gaulle Etoile i have to change the train to take A Red train back to Gare de Lyon station to take my luggage. (just exact like what i already discussed my back-trip plan with the angel ;p)
just a short schedule recap while i'm sitting on the left row next to the window. then i voluntarily look out the window and i stunned. i saw one of the most beautiful scene i ever saw. a scene that i never expect.
ah, it's PERFECT! the tower and the river. and because the train goes so fast, i can only took two photos of it. when the tower starts to moving backward, my eyes followed it until i can see the passenger's reaction behind me of what i did; just smiling at me. when the tower is out of my view, i back into normal position and start to cursing my self; you are damn lucky, timo! it's perfect! it's a damn perfect!
12.30 pm i alight at Charles de Gaulle Etoile. it's a kind of intersection station so i have to find the right station to find my train. i was following down the signage then i stopped in one spot.
that spot occurs some kind of crossroad; behind me is a way which i came from, on the left is a way to another station, on the right is a way to the station which my train will depart and in front of me there's a silver gate that has a little announcement with various language. it tells that if you walk through this gate, your ticket will no longer valid.
and i know exactly where that gate is headed to.
exactly. because i've done this small research for three months i already prepared this kind of situation. a Plan B Situation. a situation where i found my self got enough time to take a detour. only i don't know that this situation can be this difficult for me to take an option.
i should take the right way, to the train that will take me to Gare de Lyon station, take my luggage from the locker, and take the Air-France Bus to go to Charles de Gaulle Airport. this option will leave the risk of miss the flight. BUT it's vanishing my opportunity to see that thing.
but i know what i will meet if i take the special gate. it's no longer than 5 minutes walking and i will see that. BUT this option will increase the risk of miss the flight.
it takes around one minute for me to take decision. it feels like that one minute is very long time. i found my self frequently circle around that spot, walk to the right, go back, walk to the front, and go back again. feel some kind of stupid!
ok ok, let's do the systematical way. i looked at my schedule again. my plane will take off on 15.30 pm so i have to check-in and boarding at least on 14.30 pm it takes 45 minutes bus riding from Gare de Lyon to Charles de Gaulle Airport, so i have to depart from Gare de Lyon at least on 13.30 pm. it takes around 30 minutes from this station to Gare de Lyon so i have to take the MRT at least on 13.00 pm. what time is it now? it's 12.35 pm
ah kangennya menulis dalam bahasa Indonesia. sorry for my international friend, i promise on the next post i will write in English again. i'm just too miss already to write in my own language. ok? so see you on the next post!
nah nah nah sudah lama yah gue engga bercerita ringan di blog ini. dari postingan bulan Januari kayaknya yang beraaaaaaaaat mulu. padahal kalau beberapa hari lalu gue iseng buka-buka Elmo's Street, postingannya yang ringan-ringan krupuk gitu jadi asik kan nulis dan bacanya. hihi.
jadi apa yang terjadi, mo?
aku punya earphone baruuuuuu! yihiy!
iya iya setelah punya webcam baru dengan merek ga jelas dan didukung oleh harga termurah se-cempaka mas, gue membekali diri gue dengan earphone baru setelah earphone lama gue rusak bo! ga bisa nunggu lama lagi karena kayaknya ga bisa aja menghabiskan 30-45 menit perjalanan rumah-kampus atau kampus-rumah tanpa didukung oleh sarana musik di telinga gue. hoho.
setelah sekian lama mensurvey, earphone apa sih yang oke dan tentunya harga yang paling pas dengan keadaan dompet melarat gue. pertama, satu keputusan besar yang gue buat adalah dengan memilih earphone bermerek! oh ini merupakan sebuah keputusan besar bagi seorang timo, karena biasanya si anak bodoh ini selalu memilih barang-barang tidak bermerek yang penting MURAH. ahahahaha. udah gitu ga tau diri pula, mau cari yang paling MURAH tapi dengan kualitas yang SEBAGUS mungkin. ahahaha pathetic.
kenapa? karena gue belajar bahwa earphone adalah sesuatu yang menempel di telinga lo dalam jangka waktu yang sama. ya trus? udah pengalaman sih, 2-3 kali gue beli earphone murahan di pinggir jalan atau di jembatan benhil yang harganya ga pernah lewat dari tiga puluh ribu rupiah. kualitas suara sih oke TAPI OH TAPI biasanya enga bertahan lama. yaaaa paling lama cuma 3-4 bulan saja. kenapa? biasanya earphone murah nan gembel tersebut lama kian lama akan semakin rontok. yup, RONTOK! yang karet di pinggiran speaker copot lah, yang kabelnya tiba-tiba kekopek lah, yang speaker juga bisa copot lah. brodol! aduh emank harga ga boong lah yah!
dan dengan pengalaman tersebut, gue pun mengikrarkan diri untuk membeli sebuah earphone yang punya merek dagang yang lumayan oke di mata dunia. dan pilihan gue pun jatuh pada PHILIPS SHE1360 dengan harga hanya lima puluh ribu rupiah! yeah!
yup, seri yang ini memang yang paling murah di spesiesnya. ada sih seri yang bagusan yang "Extra Bass" gitu tapi harganya juga lebih mahal, sekitar delapan puluh lima ribu. ah dengana keadaan dompet yang bener-bener sekarat, ya udah lah yang seri ini aja. mepet juga kebutuhannya. lumayan lah dengan kocek segitu bisa dapet merek dagang PHILIPS yang lumayan kan? ya kan? lumayan kan? bener donk? iya ga? iya aja deh? ya ya? yakin? pasti?
ehem okay. apalagi di boxnya ini bahasa Spanyol. wah mantep punya nih kayanya kan. sapa tau ada fasilitas terjemahan otomatis bahasa Spanyol-Inggris atau Inggris Spanyol kalau gue lagi nonton film Spanyol atau ngobrol sama temen-temen berbahasa Spanyol. ihiy!
pas dipake, yaaaaaa lumayan sih. bisa kedengeran vokal dan instrumennya. trus suarana bisa dikecilin atau digedein lewat volume di mp3 player gue. bisa digonta-ganti pula lagunya. atau pilih folder lagu yang mau dimainin. keren kan??
eh eh yang paling gue suka dengan menggunakan earphone atau headphone tuh, ajaibnya si musik itu serasa berdentang di kepala gue loh! ya ga sih? walaupun kita memasang si earphone atau headphone di kiri dan kanan telinga kita, tapi suaranya serasa muncul di tengah-tengah kepala kita! serasa otak ada speakernya gitu loh! atau serasa dari jidat gitu muncul suara! ahahahaha..
kadang-kadang gue suka amazing dan norak sendiri sih kalau plugged-in gitu, yang mata gue bisa bergerak ke tengah atas untuk mencari-cari asal muasal si suara musik itu, "amazing loh! speakernya ada di kiri kanan telinga, tapi suaranya kaya ada di tengah kepala gini!". haha!
eh gue udah menambahkan widget gue di Persimpangan Elmo ini loooh! liat deh ke kanan, ada SHOUTBOX! yipiy! emank sih templatenya masih standar, tar gue perganteng (kalo percantik kan buat cewe) lagi deh! jadi langsung aja ya kalau lagi males komen di postingan, komen di shoutbox juga boleeeeeeee buat ngejunk gitu. ahahahaha!
sama pollingnya juga diisi dooooooonk! tiap bulan mau gue kasih polling-polling menarik sih. haha!
yah biar postingan ini jadi postingan rehat aja sih sebelum kita mengikuti kelanjutan perjalanan gue seputar Paris dan Eiffel. so siap-siap buat part tiga, udah diketik sih tinggal klik publish aja. hoho! Read More...
huhu!
collection), Botchan (as my friend's recommendation, Peter Pan & The Shadow Thieves (to support my thesis, yeah don't ask! i'll explain later!), and The Old Man & The Sea (just because i want to begin to know about Ernest Hemingway). and i bought them for only Rp. 145.000,- from its original total price Rp. 190.000,- . yeah!!
Posts
