my life in words

Madrid Lost Again

2008-12-08T00:24:00.002-05:00

Madrid lost again 3-4. This time against Sevilla. I don't know what the hell is going on with the club. But a club with a stature of Real Madrid should be feared by other clubs, but this has not been quite the case since the Galacticos era.

Real Madrid's form, however, is hardly surprising because they have lost so many key players to injuries: Robben, Cannavaro, Sneijder, Ruben de la Red, Higuain, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Pepe, Diarra. That is one off of the full team minus a keeper. Nonetheless, the injury should not be a justification, excusing the loss of form of Real Madrid because Los Merengues, however crippled they may be, is still Los Merengues.

One of the root of the problem is the horrid summer transfer window Real Madrid had. Too much attention had been paid to the ungrateful, c*cks*cking, mo-fo (sorry for the obscenity) Cristiano Ronaldo who could not make up his effing mind where he wanted to play come 2008/09 season. It is true that Real Madrid needed a right winger but Calderon had diverted far too much energy during the summer transfer window to come inches away from making Ronaldo a Madridismo only for that c*nt to get a p*ssy and blow the deal mere days away from the end of the transfer period.

This whole saga, pissed Robinho off because allegedly, or so he believed, that he was part of an exchange deal to get Ronaldo's ass down to the capital of Spain. Not so long after that, Robinho left for Manchester City in one of the biggest transfer shocker in the history. And even breaking Premier's League transfer record! The bad news is he was one of, if not, the best Real Madrid player last season. Now, he is thriving in Manchester City and getting paid petrodollars by the Sheikh. And, although difficult to admit, Real Madrid dearly miss him.

So, who did RM signed instead? Rafael van der Vaart. The Dutch's Beckham. I actually loved that he signed for Real Madrid, and at a bargain too! He was one of the best talent in the Dutch squad, but, aside from the first few matches of La Liga, he has not performed up to his hype. He could not do a single thing right during the match against Getafe in which RM ended up losing 1-3. The only time Van der Vaart did not make a mistake was when he went missing for most of the game. Realistically, he shouldn't be blamed for playing badly because the whole team is not functioning well.

I actually wanted to avoid blaming the management in the form of Calderon, Mijatovic, and maybe Schuster for RM's problems; but after hearing the resignation of Michel, RM Castilla's coach, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't blame them. We know that Calderon and Mijatovic is the main cause of the whole summer gone bad. The extreme fanboyism of Cristiano Ronaldo is wholly unnecessary, and the whole idea of throwing Robinho as part of the deal is nothing but plain stupidity. The list of comical acts performed by these two clowns are long and ever growing.

And why the blame on Schuster? It is mind-blowing how a club as well-known and professional as Real Madrid, with the state-of-the-art facilities and staffs that they have, manage to have a full team of first team players in the infirmaries. Is it a question of unprofessional coaching, mishandled diet, or pure coincidence? Only the insiders knows.

But one thing we all know for sure is that Real Madrid is tumbling this season and something is needed to be done. Nobody knows what that is and how to do it. But a change is needed fast. Especially as el Clasico is next week and in a really bad time. The venue is at Camp Nou. And aside from the injury list, we would be missing two players in Marcelo and Robben as a result of bookings. Schuster has already threw in the towel, but I am hopeful that it is just a mind game and the team is not giving up the title so quickly.

The only positive news this season is the revelation of Higuain as a world-class striker. He has developed into a match-winning goal scorer as he changed his hairstyle from the wavy uptown boy to a straight silky haired confident man look. He has already bagged 10 goals in 13 La Liga matches.

In the meantime, solution is being sought and one of them is the capture of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the winter transfer. His statistics are amazing for a goal scorer albeit playing in eredivisie. Hopefully, he could be the solution of our thinning forward. And one of the other solution is the promised winger. Who could it be? We should wait and see. Don't disappoint us, Madridistas, Calderon.

The end of a studio class

2008-12-06T03:05:00.001-05:00

Finally, the day that I have been longing for this quarter came. Its the end of my studio class. Its been a heck of a ride. Up until the last day of class, I spent 4 days straight in the studio doing my model (there goes my Thanksgiving). The end result was pretty satisfying. I just hope I get what I deserve from the effort I put in this class.

For our last day of class, we were to present our final model to a panel of critics (faculty members). Unfortunately, our group had the toughest guy in the panel (damn!). He is literally the Simon Cowell of KSA. His name is Douglas E. Graf. Apparently, he is the teacher of Jeffrey Kipnis (also a faculty in OSU) a world-renowned architecture critics. Mr. Graf called everyone's project crap and compared them to the buildings in OSU and Columbus which he also regarded as crap. I was pretty satisfied though on having Mr. Graf on the panel because he gave out constructive criticism which is IMO better than a praise. However, he said that he liked my Perfect Cube frame in the middle of my final model (which made my day :p). After the review was done one of the panel members went up to me and said that my model was actually good which restored my self esteem. :)

Its been a fun class. I had the chance to know some cool people like Bobby, Tina, Alex, Dustin, Brian, Robin, Spencer, Katie and the list goes on. I hope they get into the program because I really like them and I can't wait for us to be studio mates again.

These are a few of my projects for the whole quarter:

Where are thou, cool layout?!

2008-11-16T20:43:00.001-05:00

I need a cool layout for my blog! This pre-made template is soo mundane, and its just one day since I used it. Which explains a lot, right?

Anyway, as I'm writing this post, I am using Windows Live Writer. I don't know how I ended up knowing this program, but it just popped up from the air just like that. Looks cool, practical, and so worth trying.

I don't know what is up with me. But for these past fivedays I have been saying "waduh, bolo-bolo" a lot. It embarrasses me, yet it feels very soothing just blurting it. I'm in a dilemma, in a very strange one indeed.

Update

2008-11-16T00:54:00.000-05:00

Hi,

Its been 2 years since I got this blog updated. My life has been so different since I last blogged. Most things did not go as I had planned, but life goes on. No complain, since some people have it harder. Even though my life could and should have been better.

My Grand-Dad just passed away this summer. May he be blessed where ever he is at. Love and miss you always. It had been so different at home since his loss. My Grand-Ma has not been taking it very well (Duh!). But we've been trying hard to cheer her up. Admittedly, I have not. I haven't been calling her to see how she is coping up and doing. I badly want to, but I am not sure what's been keeping me away from doing it. I will try harder! I'll call her tomorrow. I promise myself.

I got rejected by UW's architecture. What a bummer. Well, its their loss. grin. :)

And one other thing. (IP)

As I reflect on this downfall and tragedy, I hope I could take it as a constructive reminder to be better in many aspects in the near future. As the Robinsons say, "Keep Moving Forward!" :p I just watched Disney's Meet the Robinsons yesterday on Netflix's streaming video and it was inspiring. I know its for kids but whatever! I love Disney's movies.

Anyway, just to keep things updated, I want to briefly tell how I'm doing. Just this fall I had moved to Columbus, OH studying at Ohio State University. OSU is a great campus: state of the art facilities, top notch faculties, excellent resources, diverse communities and great friends (Indonesians, Internationals, and Americans alike).

I've been working hard on my studio class this quarter, and I hope I'd reap the benefit a.k.a good marks at the end of the quarter.

O, and I'm currently broke right now. I'm waiting for my check from BofA after I closed my account with them. It'll take me 7-10 days waiting for the checks. In the meantime, I'll starve. I could use some dieting to lose these extra baggages around my waist. :)

Can't wait for Thanksgiving.

Death in UW

2007-04-07T15:19:00.000-04:00

There was this murder case in UW on Monday this week. Ngga cmn totally kaget, tapi it was especially creepy cause terjadinya di gedung GW!!! gedung arsitek (Gould Hall). Murder case leads to hantu gentayangan.. coi coi coi... jangan ampe aja..

Anyway, it happens last Monday around 9.30 in the morning when 6 shots was heard up on the 4th floor. Banyak yg kira kalo suaranya itu suara mesin construction ato some sort la, karna di gedung arsitek bnyk suara yg similar kayak gt. It was until somebody found out that a woman named Rebecca Doe (gw ga mo nyebut last name) was shot 6 times, and the murderer eventually committed a suicide, that everyone inside the building panicked and went out.

Ini si kasus relationship violence gt. Rebecca is a UW staff in Gould Hall. Rebecca and this murderer was a lover and they used to live under the same roof. trus gmn gmn gmn... relationshipnya mereka mungkin jadi longgar ato gmn.. that eventually Rebecca moved out of their apts. She went into hiding but her-ex kept ketemuin dia mulu sampe2 she had to move to several different places. Karna her-ex suka follow on her, Rebecca even had to work at home for about a month to prevent confrontation with her-ex.

I don't really know too much about this detail. Tapi akhirnya sampe laa di Gould Hall. Mereka ktemuan mungkin mo bicarain ttg relationship mereka. Si cowo ini emg udah prepare to go the extreme that he possessed a pistol in handy in case he didn't get the answer he wanted. But, katanya ngga tega gt untuk mlakukan hal bodoh itu. Unfortunately, their conversation got ugly that the guy couldn't help but pull the trigger 6 times at Rebecca. She died. And he kicked his own bucket.

H00ters

2007-03-30T04:07:00.000-04:00

Hoot.. Hoot.. hooters

Dang! This diner is one hell of a place. Food, atmosphere, and service jammed-packed into a superb site to hang out with in the weekends. Definitely one of the best restaurant to visit while in the States.

Right after entering, we were welcomed by a band of hooter-girls dancing to YMCA -- a 'ritual' celebrating customer's 21st Birth'say' party! Birth'say'? Its just a pun I made up to mock the usual false birthday claimed otherwise by customers. One most apparent example was this old sport who came out along with a boy and a girl (apparently, girls do that too!) to celebrate their Birth'say's accompanied by YMCA and a couple of hootgirls. The old sport, CLEARLY, looked old enough to be the father of this boy, but he claimed that he was 21. Even the hootgirls, I believe, promote this ritual because everytime after taking orders, they will ask, "So whose birthday is it today?" But this is kinda obvious, because, of course, this is one of the main attractions at hooters.

Anywho, we waited to get seated until the show was over, which wasn't that long either, and it was not worth it. Apparently, seats are for customers to choose as long as they are empty. The way the atmosphere is set up in hooters is detrimental in making the patrons feel like they are at a friend's party.

Besides the atmosphere, the chicken wings are exceptionally delicious. It really is to my liking, especially 'Hot Chicken Wings'. Its crispy coating enveloped the soft and juicy flesh, making it the best tasting wings in Seattle (IMHO). And the spice is just perfect! Not too hot, not too mild!

Not to forget the curly fries along with the ranch dressing that makes your saliva drips uncontrollably even just imagining one.

Its been 3 months

2007-03-27T04:50:00.000-04:00

First post in 2007. In just 3 months, I can officially conclude 2007 as the toughest, most complicated, yet most interesting year mentally, spiritually, and physically. Well not so much physically; just for the sake of completing the typical 3-set of conditions.

Everything in 2007 just kicks off like crazy: People around started leaving like leaves falling off in the fall season, Portfolio deadlines are starting to catch up (some had even passed *uh.. oh*), and I had other mental issues (not some 'crazy' kind of mental problems cause I'm still definitely sane!).

First, it was Jemima (though she still visits often, like OFTEN ^^), Ko Herman, Ko Budi, C TheThi , Ko Andi, then now C Yoshe. Its like there is this magnetic repulsion that suddenly changes the whole gravitational field around the church that those people were repelled one by one away. Its so heartwrenching to see everyone leaves and this is not gonna stop anytime soon.

Next is the portfolio deadline that is coming ever faster. Time flies so fast, that three months has disappeared in one blink of an eye. Three months ago I was like, "OH. Ntar aja C, masih May koq duenya." And Now I was like, "OH Shit! two months and I still am 70% away from completion." And thats only for UW application, which is the latest of all the deadlines. Some 'Uni''s deadline had passed and some is reaching soon. Damn that Portfolio Requirement!

Lastly is this mental clash thats been on my mind. One part of the brain says this way and the other part says another way. Its like those little Angels vs. Devils scene in movies that suddenly popped out of nowhere and started arguing in your mind. I don't know what to do. No, actually, I know what is the right thing to do, but I just can't do it. Its not that I don't want to do the right thing, its just the thought or the knowlege that there isn't a way to get back to the right track that hindered me from doing what society (even r) accepted as right. Is it really wrong?

Anyway, yeah! Its been a heck of a lot that has been going on around. I just hope that all this matters is gonna stop pouring down and the heavy clouds starts to step aside allowing the sun to shine. Seattle is trying hard to do that. And these problems hopefully will work hard on it too.

Bummer!

2006-12-04T04:00:00.000-05:00

didn't think it'd be this soon that this blog would be filled with my nagging and personal, non-public reflections or, to be more correct and simple still, are things that I can't speak up (though this blogger thingy isn't actually all that non-public! oh well!). currently, as I am typing on this post, I am supposed to do my geography assignment (damn!), but I couldn't focus because there are things that has been bothering me and it HAS to come out of my system before I can concentrate on my assignment.

it has always been difficult to me to meet and get along well with not just the people I just met, but also people who are older than me, especially male. those shy and unfriendly aura (that's what i think of), along with the quiet, cool and humble act usually feigned on people when they met someone new or out of respect, that I emit seems to signify me as an introvert and nerdy guy (which i assume would be partially correct). the specific reason i do not know but I think this is because of the whole respect-older-people deal and first impression. I was just trying to make a better impression of people on me so that they would not think that I am this crazy and noisy guy, that actually i prefer better and that is what i am to people i know very well of and close to. but as I reflect again, its not that I do not want to be what i like to be, I just can not be what I want to be in front of "those" people. (I'll start typing "those" if i want to mention acquintance or older people).

to drift away a little bit, i consider myself as a person who prioritize other people's feeling than myself (well, this is what i think, i do not know how others feel about me), for example, i would rather sulk and weep to let others have it the way they want rather than them hating me for choosing things i like that they don't; this might be for things as simple as sitting position or walking orders.

anyway, what other people think of you might not as be a big deal to many people. but for me it is. that is why i mentioned it here....

(this is the draft that I was gonna publish as soon as I finished it. However, it was like 3 months ago and I had forgotten what I wanted to write, rather than just dumping it away, I'll post it now. Its actually about the difficulty in interacting with other people who are brand new to you!)

Real Madrid

2006-12-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

nothing interesting going on, just posting for the sake of updates to my "tag-fans" (T_T).

snow shower has ended. and its not gonna happen anymore anytime this year, which is sort of not fun because we wont see any white christmas, not to mention the "school holiday" that we are going to miss. but o well. apparently, the precipitation this month has been the largest since 1933. wohoo.. that's 73 years!

anyway, its been a normal week. no incident whatsoever, no surprises whatsoever. kinda boring isn't it? i was hoping there'd be more "something" to fill my spare time.

o i know, i can talk about real madrid in this post. if anyone ever cares. i know i do, though.

till this day, they are the most successful football club ever. i'm not gonna list the trophies and achievements they have won, cuz it'd be too long. however, these past 3 years, it seems that luck has gone afar from their sight. they are having trophies drought. and it is a "no no" for a club of that magnitude.

IMO, well... obviously, this is partly due to the 'Galacticos Policy' since the reigning of Florentino Perez. During his first year alone, he brought the so-called Judas (by Barcelona Fans) namely Luis Figo and his transfer broke the world's transfer market record of being the highest of all time. Then came along big known names like Zinedine Zidane (his transfer broke Figo's previous record and its the all time high, even until now!), Ronaldo Luiz Nazario da Lima, David Beckham!

Although there are opposition to the doctrine that Perez has, during the first few years of his reign, the signings has taken its positive effect, Madrid won trophies, became the highest income earner, and became the best club ever! Then came in the incident of firing Vicente Del Bosque. This IMO, is the most crucial factor of the downfall of the Real Madrid era. The expulsion of Del Bosque was unthinkable because he won 3 trophies that year alone - Spanish La Liga and two more that I couldn't remember - and logically speaking, that is a good result. After that is the worst 3 years for the Galacticos.

Now, with Ramon Calderon and Capello in charge, Real Madrid is turning into a real challenger again. Players that are useless are benched and released. Then, champions such as Cannavaro, Emerson, Diarra, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, and Reyes are recruited. Youth players namely Robinho, Ramos, De la Red, Nieto and Mata are being given experience to play. Positive results are coming in and according to realmadrid.com, history is repeating itself like 10 years ago where Capello was in charge for the first time. And that year Real Madrid won the La Liga. Hopefully, history IS repeating itself and is even better than last time. My hope is high this year with Capello in charge and the system changed. Not to mention three Latin players that are predicted to come this January Transfer. (One had been successfully recruited: Marcelo, the other 2 are in progress and is supposedly to come: Gago and Higuain)

all the "right" reasons

2006-11-29T03:04:00.000-05:00

nothing's really going on today. i just wanna post my disappointment for making the decision not to apply to UC Berkeley! i wouldn't wanna brag about how i would potentially have a chance to be accepted to berkeley and refused to do it because i do not have enough information about it, cuz that would be a total bull and just a piece of shitty arrogance coming out of my mouth (but that was the excuse i told ppl today). that is probably ( i am not even sure why the hell did i give such reason) just a cover-up for not applying to prevent the downfall of my pride from happening later if my application to Berkeley was declined, which i'm pretty sure would be the case. i don't know.

yesterday, actually there's this girl, Miyuki (whom I coincidentally just met), who asked me again if Architecture (my intended major currently) is really my passion. that question seems like a god-send to me because: (1.)I just met her and (2.)the many times i heard the question again from myself or even from other people, it always dumbstrucks and shooks me hard in the head and heart because, honestly, i don't have the answer myself. is this God's way of asking me,

"Are you sure this is what you want to do? your passion? your desire?"
"Well, I DON'T KNOW!"

a childish answer I must say. but, considering that i always liked designing stuffs and drawing, i presumed that this might be the right thing for me. but how do you actually sense a right or wrong choice you have made? you wouldn't know the answer to this before you got the result of your choice. and that... wow I drifted too far.

i know i want to take something which majors in art but not limited to art and that is why i feel architecture is for me. another thing is the big bucks that we'd be paid for being one. moreover, i also had ambitions about having my architectural buildings decorating the horizon of the biggest cities in the world. all the "right" reasons.

as a start..

2006-11-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

at last... my own blog! not that (having a blog) was my longing desire or anything. lol. its this cousin of mine that's pushing me upon making one, and here it is. lol. and it seems fun too.. so.. there's no harm in making one. lol. ya ngga tel? :p

well. that's my remark for my first blog! lol.

o yea.. Seattle's been snowing for the past 2 days. first day was fun. today.. not so much. buses were out of service due to the slippery roads, so I had to walk and my feet was all wet! damn!