Thursday, March 30, 2006

Life is not just about...

It's like a page from chicken soup for the soul. Jessup is not just about winning. It's the process, the experience, the people you meet. The toil, the teamwork, the challenges you take.
And so the judges said, and told us to remember to have fun, because Jessup is so much more and so forth. And then they announced that we had lost. To Singapore. And the fact flew out of him and stuck on me like a thorn, just hangin' around, parasytical. And as humans we go through the usual humanic phases. A brave face, a hearty congrats; glued on in the spirit of sportsmanship, and pure ego. A suppressed tear, not so suppressed when alone. And then exhaustion, and a primitive survival instinct groping around for the positive things to stop the pain: The incredible fun. The victory against UK. Against Germany. Against Uruguay. The moment they announced we made the top 24 teams.
The rush. The process, the experience, the people you meet. The toil, the teamwork, the challenges you take. (and there goes the warm chicken soup, tasting slightly bitter)

Friday, March 24, 2006

JKT-SG-HKG-SF-DC

Perhaps sometime after we have arrived I will be focusing on feeling the rush. The uncanny calmness, the sudden tensity, the surging panic, the certainty that I will fail miserably combined with extraordinary confidence.
But for now I am just exhausted. Exhausted, cramped, dry, bloated, unclean, and unpretty. We have been travelling for... well, I'm not sure. Perhaps two days. We've crossed 4 airports, countless baggage checks, and a myriad of immigration officers. Friendly immigration officers, flirty immigration officers, hostile immigration officers, apologetic immigration officers, gay immigration officers (this is not prejudice! the guy was wearing make up >:o)...
And the Americans, they're funny. Strangers smile at each other in a queue. Say, "hello, how are you?". In a brief minute before boarding, before entering the plane toilet or before nodding off to sleep beside you in the cramped plane seats, they manage to tell you about their family, their favourite book, their plans for spring break, topped with an overbright "how are you?".
Amusing. And slightly intriguing.
Our final destination is getting near, and I can't wait to take a warm shower, and sleep on a warm mattress, while the winter is slowly dying outside.

Monday, March 13, 2006

of thoughts revealed

conjuring up the magic
delighting in the play
smiles and silly poems
borne and carried away

and words flip, fling, flit
like images in a book
passing quickly, pausing
catching her eye with a glint

oh, but everything now catches the eye!
a saturday of images
caught between the fire
and she, inside, smiles

the dreamees and the dreamers
whose life takes form and shape
images in the play
and she, crosses her fingers.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Tribute to JavaJazz Festival

It was like a playground, and it was a long time since I’ve felt so alive! Saw, by order: Andi Wiriantono, my feisty, hard-bop-ing mentor; Ello, because he gave me a three-day freepass; Bali Lounge, in which I was surprised to be amazed by the vocals of Tompi… can’t really blame the guy for his name; Chiarra Chivello, who made our heartbeats samba; Jeff Lorber, funky and upbeat; Daniella Schachter, whose chords are slightly reminiscent of Bill Evans; Bob James, collaborating beautifully with a Chinese orchestra; Raphael Gualazzio, who played with so much fun he made me laugh; and Hiromi, breathtaking and out of this world.
And what it all comes down to is Jazz. Pure and Unsimple :)

Sunday, March 05, 2006

rage against the machine.

I'm completely jaded.
Say what you will.