I got stuck between two moving buses. I remember not how frightened I was, whether my memories came flashing in my mind, or whether I prayed for my life. But I remember how I felt the pain and how one of the bus kept pressing me mercilessly. I remember that I screamed a lot, loudly. I did not decide to scream. I did not think. It was done… instinctively. There was no comprehensible word coming out from my mouth. Not a “no”, “stop”, or “help”. It was a long vowel of “a” and my mind went blank, but remain conscious. I was far from being intelligent in that moment. I was dumbfounded.
But the bus driver eventually realized that someone was stuck. I lived to tell the tale. My right hand still hurts but nothing seems serious.
I wonder, will love results in similar dumbfoundedness?
I did not take photo regarding the accident, so this is a random photo I have in my phone. Staying alive in Jakarta for 24 years is definitely an awesome feat.
Your dear president (I am referring to myself.. this is Anton World, so I am the president…I know..it is hard to understand) is alive and kicking. No assassination plot can kill me so far. A hiatus, even a short one, make resuming harder. I experienced it and thus I have not posted for a while. What happened? I know it is just and excuse but I want to share this with you (I’d like to imagine that someone out there really want to know). I was quite busy with document preparation for MEXT scholarship in my endeavor to pursue higher education. That process involved making a lot of phone calls and multiple adventures to my old campus. Plus, my job at a certain FMCG company suddenly got a lot more demanding. A big portion of my energy and my time at home got confiscated with all these businesses to the level that a translation sent by Tomomi got neglected in weeks (that is a great sin!).
This post is meant to break the hiatus. I hope I will write routinely again soon. Wait for it!
I went back and forth to this place at Universitas Indonesia to obtain some documents. What an onerous process!
P.S. well, the next post is probably a translation of an old Negicco song. Excited?! I am!
I do not have immediate idea on the relationship between this photo and this post. I just think this photo looks nice to fill the empty space above. Plus, this photo is taken by ex-president of Smukiepixel.
Greetings, reader of Anton World? El Presidente is here. Are you a tourist? or a citizen of Anton World? Well, I have not settled a rule on what to call you. As long as you care for my story, you are welcome to stay.
How is my life going? I believe I have decided to pursue higher education and I am progressing toward that goal. I took IELTS test last month and I scored an 8, a satisfactory result I must admit, though my writing score is below expectation. I also booked a private teacher for GRE test and she will help me for about four weeks on the preparation. As for the university I am pursuing, it is Doshisha University, specifically its Global MBA program which provided popular culture management study. I also consider MBA-IB program of University of Tsukuba, Waseda University’s International Culture and Communication study, Waseda University’s Human Science study, and Waseda University’s MBA program.
Other stuff in my life includes my effort to write more. I have been trying to be more active at Negicco.club and I have also signed up as an author in Akibanation.com. Writing for those sites poses considerable challenge for me, especially Akibanation which requires me to write no less than 350 words for each post, consider the density of my keywords, and give more concern to the SEO-ness of my post. Furthermore, since both of them are not my personal blog, I am inclined to put some standards on my posts, specifically about the structure, punctuation, pronoun, clause, and repetition of word. I hope these extra tasks will be a useful experience to improve myself.
In other news, my dear overlord of Sakura Gakuin has graduated. Isonon Rinon has graduated together with Shirai Saki and Ooga Saki this March. I must admit her graduation took away some part of my fondness of Sakura Gakuin. This group will not be the same with what it was under her watch. Her outstanding improvement through those years in Sakura Gakuin, her cheerful smile, her calm leadership, and her jolly dance are what kept me hooked on the group even after Marina’s graduation (and those generations before her). I doubt I will love the new generation of Sakura Gakuin at the same level, but I love to be proven wrong on this.
I thought by using online procedure it will be a lot easier; it was, but not as much as I expected. You have to enroll online at a designated site, which only consist of submitting your personal data, then print a paper, bring it to a teller of a selected bank with the money needed, then submit code given by the teller to the previous site, then you must make a choice which date you want to come to the immigration office (somehow you can not just walk in without appointment). It was complicated enough and I thought the process ended there. I was wrong. The first visit to the immigration office was only to take your picture, interview, and validation of your legal documents. At this point, the perk of online procedure became evident; I did not have to queue together with non-online applicants, but with other online applicants, which was fewer (that time). I could not take my passport in the same day and had to come at least after four following working days after 13:00. So, it took me two days to make my passport, which I think is not really easy. But non-online procedure takes three days. Yeah, online application is faster.
Meeting Old Friends
Being “fired” gave me a thought of how less meaningful was my job. I guessed all my hard work was not really considered. I know it was a wrong thought, but that was how I felt. Many time and energy that I should have spent maintaining my relationship with my friends were used for work, and I intended to pay my debt. Thus, I spent some weekends with my old friends and I realized one year of not meeting them was quite a long time. So many things in their life that I have missed. I should meet them regularly from now on.
Thinking of Running Away
Why did I suddenly want to make a passport? Frankly speaking, I wanted to run away. Well, I am still thinking of running away. I am considering leaving everything behind me and go somewhere far. My plan is to continue my study in Japan, but we will see what the future holds. The next step in my plan is to take IELTS and gamble for MEXT next April. Wish me luck!
Bought Another Imported Idol Goods
I bought Sakura Gakuin album and poster. I love the poster! A “Jump Up ~ Chiisana Yuuki” poster is a very nice addition for my room. It has Marina, Nene, Raura, and Hinata in it; my favorite quartet. They were supposed to be gifts I prepared for my graduation from MT program. I guess eventually they turned into consolation prizes. Hahaha *secretly crying inside. But I will not give up! I will jump up!
Jump Up! Even with a Little Courage!
oh, and Tasya Kecil yang imut said she is back from hiatus on cumadikabeltelepon.blogspot.co.id. She really has funny stories. Her life is full of laughable materials. Most of the time the joke is on her (ﾉ>∇<)ﾉﾟ.
Laura Trice, in this video, reminded us of something that we have known so well, but we often tend to forget; “thank you”. I think we was taught to always say “thank you” whenever we received something and we sedulously conformed to it when we were young; our parents made sure we complied. But somehow in the trip to adulthood, we no longer care about it.
It’s important. Expression of gratitude is important. That’s what Laura Trice tried to convey in this short video. And she closed the video with interesting point; asking for “thank you”. Why asking for “thank you” feels odd? Why is it normal to ask for refill for your Chinese Tea pot in a restaurant, but it’s very odd to ask someone to thank you for the favor you have done for that person?
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 30 trips to carry that many people.
Basically telling me that no one is listening to my radio so just shut it up already
Alas! You might not be able to hear my golden (and kawaii) voice now or in the near future (you should thank God for it). I started this project some months ago and I intended it to be a surprise for you, my dear reader!
I named my radio station: Smoking Flax. Why Smoking Flax? The intention behind the name is to inspire people to not give up; no matter how small the fire is, or even when only the smoke comes out and no fire in sight, please hold on and persevere!
I uploaded some Japanese songs (mainly BABYMETAL and Sakura Gakuin), and Indonesian songs (mainly JKT48, Sheila on 7, and Project Pop). I maintained the station by uploading more songs over time, scheduling different songs for different time, and experimenting with the site’s interface (I’m using Radionomy, btw, and there’s some learning curve to face). I also planned to produce my own show, but I couldn’t find the idea for it and I was kind of nervous with the thought of becoming a broadcaster, and so time moved on without any program produced.
Three months passed and I’m possibly the only one listening to it. Radionomy shut it down with the notification above.
Rewatching Old Sakura Gakuin Videos
I watched old Sakura Gakuin videos again, especially where Ms.Ayami was still the president, and even now, they still amuse me (can you understand the pun?). Their lyrics still cheer me up when I need some encouragement. Check out this Twinklestars’ (Sakura Gakuin’s sub-unit) video!
And all member of that generation graduated already…how years fly away just in a glimpse. Wait! Rinon is still in Sakura Gakuin! Rinon, the last heir of the first dynasty. I’m rooting for Rinon until next year when she will graduate!
Koinaka Could Have Been Better
I have been following a J-dorama named “Koinaka” from the first episode to the finale and I hate it because I like it (I know, I know, it’s a cheesy romance drama and I still like it). The characters are lovable; the premises are interesting; the storytelling is enticing; and the plot is attractive. But, they just rush it! And I hate them for rushing it like that. It’s like playing Fallout 3 and just run to finish the main story without finishing the side missions; you can’t enjoy the real deal of the game. The same thing with Koinaka; so much potential diamond inside it that were left unearthed.
First, the main protagonist (Aoi) and the main heroine (Akari) have not met for years and you just expect the spark to come back in just a very short amount of time (less than a month)? They could have gave them more time to explore their feelings, with more flashbacks of the past, and more intimate events. That would make their strength of love a lot more believable.
Second, what the heck happened after the flashback and before the current events? Time jump? Seriously! I want to know more about them! I want to know what shaped them in those years. Show me how hard Akari’s life was, rather than just telling me she had a hard life with a short dialogue. Tell me how Aoi got through the college and landed his first job. Why Nanami moved with her brother? All of those stories can strengthen the characters and yet again, they just rush it! Zannen!!!
Third, there are other interesting characters that just left there as figurants. They deserved more. I personally like Ruiko and her relationship with Aoi. I think they are best-couple-ish and should have been given more screen time. I wanted to know how they met, why they broke up, and I want to see Ruiko actually give more effort to get Aoi back, rather than that less that half-ass effort she gave and then totally given up even before Aoi expressed his feelings on episode 5 (it’s just unlike Ruiko to give up like that). I also wanted to to know more about that female doctor who had crush on Shota, not just that pathetic scene where she asked Shota for dinner and asked him to treat her when Shota told her that he proposed to Akari. Even Scrat in Ice Age got better treatment in story than her.
They should have done it in 25 episodes, rather than just nine, or cut it on episode 5 and let the audience imagine the rest of the story.
Watched the finale of Hanzawa Naoki
Have you heard about Hanzawa Naoki before? It’s great! You should watch it! It’s a serious J-dorama, about an ambitious banker and great turbulence he faced in his job. Totally worth following from the first episode to the last. And I actually agree with the ending. It is a lot more believable that insubordination in a Japanese company received punishment. It makes the story closer to reality. Plus, I think Hanzawa needs to take more time with his family and activities outside work. Hanzawa goes to work early in the morning without greeting his son, ate gyudon in the afternoon, conversing with his colleagues in a bar or sparring kendo in the evening, and went home late at night without seeing his son. That’s not a life Hanzawa-kun! You should learn more from Kariage-kun and Wally-kun!
My Project
I finished my second project on August and… I got assigned to new project on October. So how about September? I guess they love Green Day so much and wait to woke me up when September ends. Not much to talk about, still obscure. Well, I still got paid. I should be thankful. But it made me uncomfortable whenever I conversed with my peers, especially when the question “how’s your project” comes out.
That’s all the update on my life! Ups, actually more is coming!
I’m cleaning up my pile of drafts, so expect a blast of posts, outdated posts. But I still find those posts interesting and I hope you will find them interesting as well. So try reading them a bit and tell me how you feel about them.
Hello, dear readers! Well, if you’re still around, I must say that you deserve an honorary citizenship in Anton World, a truly prestigious status, with unknown rights and responsibilities. I haven’t written a lot…more like an extended hiatus. I’m busy with this “salary man” life, but that’s probably just an excuse. I find writing is less charming now, especially after more blogs I have been following stop updating. But behold! I’m here now. The El Presidente of Anton World is sitting on the throne again. I will explain reason of my sudden motivation spark…in the future post 😛
Quick update on my life: still employed in milk industry (8 months, yay!), laptop got chronic illness (still love her though), new house (just a block from the old one), and currently following some idol groups, or “Japanesque Pop Group with emphasis in cuteness”, if you are offended by the word “idol”.
Yup, that last part is probably quite perplexing for some people (maybe?). I’d like to elaborate more on it in this post (not like people really care about it anyway, I just feel like posting about it XD)
It started out with a friend I met in college. He’s a big fan of 48 groups and I noticed that he got really vocal on twitter since the end of 2014. I clicked a few links he shared and… I think JKT48’s kawaii-ness (cuteness said in Japanesque style) got me. To be frank, their songs were the deal breaker. Cheesy lyrics, repetitive melody, and unremarkable vocal quality; those factors make their songs easy to sing and replay in my mind, but most of all, their songs give youthful and innocent impressions. They sing about dream, hope, love, and other things most people think are too cheesy to speak out. And that’s why I like them! Songs like “Sonichi”, “Yuuhi wo Miteiruka?”, “Himawari”, and “Shiroi Shirt” are especially my favorites; hearing “it’s not futile”,”it’s alright”, “your hard work will pay off”, “tomorrow will be great”, etc, are definitely what I need these days and I can hear those words with every replay. Moreover, I can hear those young girls praising me in their love songs (okaaay…that sounds kinda wrong in some ways -_-).
JKT48 First Gen
Then my travel to Kawaii world didn’t stop there. I stumbled upon Sakura Gakuin, specifically their Nendo Test video, in Youtube. They are ADORABLE!!! I can’t stop watching more about them. I joined their fans subreddit, twitter, and facebook group. I know each member names (until the 2014 generation) and pretty much some part of their personality. This idol group is really different from JKT48, since there’s only 12 girls max in the group and you can grow a lot more attached to each one of them. Their shows are a lot more memorable too. Oh, and when the members graduated from ninth grade in real life, they have to graduate from Sakura Gakuin too! *sound of heartbreak and a lot of sobbing* Check them out yourself!
From left to right: (back) Nene-don, Hinata-chan, Suu-chan, Airi-chan, Ayaka-chan, Ayami-chan, Marippe, Raura the Panda Boss, (front) Yui-chan, Moa-chan, of course I can mention them all muahahaha…*pedo alarm
BABYMETAL was a sub-unit of Sakura Gakuin, but their members got graduated and now they are an independent group. BABYMETAL is AWESOME! They are the spearhead of a new genre that will shake the foundation of the world of music; Kawaii Metal. You will hate them or you will love them very much. Why? Imagine three cute young girls singing and dancing. Normal? Now, imagine they are singing Metal songs with the backing of Metal band, and one of the song’s theme is about eating chocolate and afraid of getting fat. WHAT?! Yup, that’s right. They are leading the Kawaii Metal Resistance and you can either join them or fight them.
They have been touring around the world, spreading the Kawaii Metal all over the globe. Notice that they’re not giving the goat horns sign (Metal symbol), but kitsune or fox ears sign with their hands! War is on!
Random fact: I got a pillow with BABYMETAL girls picture on it!!! (don’t tell my parents)
Violently cute!
And the most recent would be Negicco. You might not have heard about them before, but they are the one that gave me a spark of motivation to end my hiatus in Anton World. I will write more about them in a new post for they deserve their own post (or more posts). For now, just watch this:
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Anton’s note: the idea for this post was actually conceived after the post “Negicco and I”, but I thought I need to give short explanation on how my life turned out. I started writing this on Saturday midnight in a very sleepy mode. I decided to post it right away and update it over and over later. It’s a style I’m experimenting on to end this hiatus. So, check out this post again in the future and it might not be the same!
Anton World 