Inspired by a woman, a friend and an occasional visitor of my house when desperation and loneliness overwhelm her subliminal mind (you can read her blog here), I decided to answer my own Proust Questionnaire. In case there is someone out there care enough to be fascinated with my abstract and quaint mind.

You should try it sometimes, It's more like a self-assessment for your mental health. It's nothing special, but surprisingly, some questions might really get you and you'll start to question a thing or two with yourself. Sometimes, the simplest thing could be so complicated. So, if you have some time, just copy these questions and answer it straight away. Do it once a month and see whether there is a change in yourself.

Over the past week, I've been heavily intoxicated with the news of the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370. My fascination grows like a little boy enjoying his very first detective book. Conspiracy? Mystery? Or just bad luck?

Concerning that matter, every time I indulge in deep conversations with my fellow colleagues (just to sound professional), I always ask what they are thinking about the missing MH370. Interestingly, you cannot rule out any possibilities or factors that cause the phenomenon, unless it is highly unnatural. So, without further ado, below are the list of opinions I've heard for the past few days.


"Terrorist attack. I am not sure what the motives are, but I think they are just trying to make a point. Imagine if in each month of the year, there will be a new plane that's missing. The pattern of attack could be so random; first in Malaysia, second maybe Iceland, Brazil next and then Somalia. With that in mind, you wouldn't want to fly anymore, would you?" (Ian. 19 yrs. Geology background)

"The pilot, or the co-pilot, or both, got a bit of life problems. Maybe someone accidentally used a condom that is leaking? And he doesn't want to be responsible. So, they commit a suicide. No one knows, man. Life is hard." (Adi. 19 yrs. Environment background)

"They got abducted by aliens!" (June. 23 yrs. Accounting background)

"Too much cocaine/weed/meth/LSD/heroin/whatever substances they are using at that time. They suddenly turned away from their original path because they got too high and started following their imaginations." (Muhammad. 19 yrs. Politics background)

"It's North Korea! Its those d*mn NORTH KOREA! I knew that we shouldn't took them so lowly! They are capable of such unfathomable powers you won't believe exists! Too much secrets happening inside their land! (Gerald. 21 yrs. Finance background)

"They crashed. Bam! Dead. Gone forever. Sinking beneath the everlasting waves, unreachable even by the hands of men. Typical engine problems, nothing major." (Budi. 21 yrs. Computer engineering background)

"This is a high level of conspiracy. First probability, Malaysian Airlines is on the edge of bankruptcy. The accident is just a scheme to cover it. Second probability, it is a competition between developed countries to showcase their technologies and advancement. U.S, China and Canada are among the big leagues. And recently, Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, released an update 'from some unknown, but reliable source' that the plane was last traced on the waters near Perth. Now, who will win the race?" (Putra. 25 yrs. Marketing background)


Whatever happens to MH370, I only pray for the best. But, deep down I actually prefer if the worst will happen, because it would lead to more things to be discovered, new questions to ask and new mystery to solve. And whoever is behind the missing MH370, you deserve my clap.





I am currently still looking for more possible factors that could explain, or in some way related to, this phenomenon. If you have your own possible explanation, please feel free to comment on this post.

We boast our nation as the most varied archipelago. As the country with most diverse culture, language and ethnicity. As an exotic groups of islands with crystal-clear beaches and glorious fronts of mountains and volcanoes. As the home of sincere smile from an old farmer. And a getaway paradise from all the trifling sensations of the everydayness. As the emerald on the equator. But, are we that proud?

For at least three and half centuries, Indonesia has been colonized by at least three, no, four nations: the Dutch, the British, the Portuguese and the Japanese. And, as an Indonesian who is desperately in love with observing fascinating Indonesian-affiliated phenomena, I conclude that, to a certain extent, the impacts of 350 years of colonialization still exist even in nowadays contemporary era. One I would like to highlight the most is the presence of  the mental of slaves within the Indonesian people.


The Locals

During my last journey across Java and lesser Sunda, I've encountered many alluring, and often pretty secluded, tourism spots that are worth visiting. And almost all of them are managed by the very hands of the local people. However, traveling as a local, I found myself pretty alienated even in my own country; two of my friends and I are the only locals on most of the places we visited, where the rest are mostly westerners or Japanese (I always think that Japanese is the 'Israel' of Asia. They just... have my respect).

Moreover, because we are locals, we are greeted and treated as a second-class citizens. And the local people on these places are just taking somewhat unusual high regard to the westerners, or as I can put it, worshiping them excessively. Unconsciously, the belief of westerners as a more superior being has been deeply ingrained, or inherited, to the minds of Indonesian inlanders. It is as if there is a certain stereotype of Indonesian tourists being very poor and unable to afford such goods and services they offer.

In extreme cases, these local people would be very hostile toward us, which are also locals, for sitting on the chairs provided at the beach. Yelling that "bule (westerners) will leave if they see local people hanging around". On events like this, we usually being the one who forfeits the battle.




Overseas Indonesian

For almost two years now, I had the opportunity to study abroad. Australia has been one of the most favored country for Indonesians to pursue tertiary qualifications. And lately, I have been active in several Indonesian affiliated groups, not only to seek networks, but also to observe how Indonesians behave when they leave their homeland.

It turns out that based on my remarks, Indonesians are smart. Sometimes are even smarter than students from any other nationalities. When talking about grades, especially considering that English is not our native tongue, many Indonesians circulate among the top 25% of the class. Also, taking into account that most of these Indonesians are enrolled in heavy quantitative subjects such as engineering, science and finance. Some of them are so hardcore they list bioengineering and actuarial as their major.

However, although Indonesians are smart, they don't usually realize their own potential. They rarely compares themselves to people from other countries, especially Australian students. And often, when involved in conversations or group works with westerners, Indonesian tend to stay quiet and, unconsciously, feel nervous when stating their opinion. Sometimes, they are just too scared whether or not their opinion is true.

And for some reasons, having a western friend is something that Indonesians could be proud of. Specially when you have a picture with a westerner from opposite gender that shows up on your Facebook gallery.




Again, the feelings of being someone that descends from a lower race degree, or nation, has been deeply rooted in our subconscious mind. But the puzzle is: is it a mere result of 350 years of colonialization or is it a common trait shared by the people who originates from the third world country?

"Mimpi kamu apa?"

Kita semua punya passion. Punya interest. Yang mungkin sulit kita jalani, tapi kita bermimpi untuk bisa melakukannya. Tapi, sering juga kita labil, memiliki terlalu banyak mimpi. Rakus. Ingin mencoba semua hal. Karena darah muda yang mengalir deras.

Tapi, justru karena kita masih muda, kita masih punya banyak waktu, untuk melakukan banyak hal.

Maka, temukanlah satu jalan, dimana hati kalian merasa nyaman. Susuri jalan tersebut, dengan kecepatan yang pas buat kalian. Kadang kalian akan menemukan polisi tidur, atau jalan yang berlubang. Susah kan? Tapi, ya memang harus dilewati. Kalau buntu maka kalian buat jalan baru. Terus menerus hingga ke paling ujung hingga ke garis finish.

Ya, memang benar perjalanan tersebut akan memakan waktu yang panjang, dan perjuangan yang berat. Tapi, dengan bahan bakar yang cukup, masa sih kalian nggak bisa? Perjalanan ini akan membentuk diri kalian yang baru, yang lebih kuat dan menghargai betapa nikmatnya kehidupan. Mungkinkah ini tujuan akhir kalian? Atau akankah lahir tujuan yang baru? Yah, hanya kalian yang tahu.

Jadi, bila kalian masih berangan-angan...
"Gue mau bikin band!" maka kumpulkan teman kalian dan mulai berkarya!
"Gue mau bikin novel!" maka ambil secarik kertas dan mulai menulis!
"Gue mau keliling dunia!" maka kemasilah barang kalian dan mulai melangkah!

Bayangkan bila kita menjadi seorang master dari sebuah hal. Itu adalah kebanggaan! Sebuah cerita! Sebuah kenangan! Sebuah mimpi yang menjadi nyata!

Dan bila satu master bertemu dengan master dari suatu hal yang lain, maka akan terjadi perbincangan yang seru dimana kalian sama-sama meneteskan darah, keringat dan air mata untuk mencapai sesuatu yang paling kalian hargai di dunia ini!


Sebuah testimoni dari seorang teman yang tergila-gila dengan dunia gym:

"Menurut gue, hidup itu ketika hari ini bisa ngangkat beban yang lebih berat dari kemaren. Dan besok bisa mengangkat beban yang lebih berat dari hari ini. No one said its gonna be easy, but its gonna be worth it!"




Sampai jumpa di garis finish!