Why on earth these villagers dreaming to have a simple-small-plastic factory placed in their tiny-remote-island-village?

Ok, the story is all about these people trying v hard to seduce an uptown doctor from Quebec so that he'll be so happy to sign a long term contract (5 years) as their doctor.

C'mon, what's really the excitement of working in a tiny-remote village? not much, esp for a plastic surgeon who licks (literally) on cocaine. Of course when a police (whom accidentaly was the former major of that village) shacked him for getting drunk while driving and carrying cocaine, it immediately turns into a logical-no-other-option. So he agrees to stay for a month. That means the villagers have only one month to seduce this doctor and get him settled down.

Question then, why do they need a permanent doctor so badly? sure they need one, but that's not their ultimate goal...

These people are fishermen, except there aren't so many fishes to catch anymore. So they live from monthly welfare-check from Canadian government. it's sort of embarrassment for them, getting paid for no sweat. just lining up in front of postal office every month and then straight to the bank. Like the new major said: "the money lasts for two weeks, but the humiliation lasts forever".

So they want to work. they need a factory and having a permanent doctor is a prequisite, plus population should be at least 200 people.

And here go their plans:

Plan A --> send invitation letters with tempting picture of the island to every single doctor in Quebec. Result: zero. Ain't work at all. All letters ended up straight to garbage...hah!

And then comes the good news: there'll be "A" doctor! First impression is everything, so this is their Plan B:

1. the doctor is crazy 'bout Crickets (fyi: canadians are known best for their ice-hockey teams, so cricket is definitely not what they'd call sport!). No other choice then, all villagers have to learn crickets. outfits are made for everyone and everyone gets detailed instruction about cricket game (printed from Internet). Funny is, though it seems like a crazy idea for them, they still do it, so the doctor is made to believe these villagers are also cricket facnatics as playing cricket is part of their old tradition.

2. bug his house and get all detail-little things he hates and likes: fav food, fav music, etc etc etc.

3. do other magical things to make him feel it's home.

Successful are they? As this a happy-ending story, of course they are...but not without consequences :).

It's entirely funny in a refreshing way though perhaps is not that original. Recommended for those who're eager to get a grip on a simple but not so much holywood-typical comedy.

posted by retno@09:35

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Jim Carey (Joel) & Kate Winslet (Clementine), 2004.


Borrowed this movie from a friend in office and watched it last night. I practically just have one word : Pure Lovely. It's among few movies I'd love to see more than one time (and it's not so many on my list).

It's bizzare and probably not so realistic for many, but the layers lying deep within all words, sceneries, places, eyesights, work so well on me. It is connected to all of us in this sometimes harsh world. Nothing more heart-licking than to forget all bad memories, walk on as nothing ever happened, as we are entirely new person with new life. But things do not fall easily like that. For many, the past can be damn scarely haunting every step taken to run away from it. And there're always two sides: terrible memories undoubtly are not loose chain to terrific ones. As Joel travels along his journey in this movie, he begins questioning: if you have the choices and the power, will you be able to make clear disctinction between the two and choose only to forget the bad one whilst keeping the good one because it makes you feel so happy as you never felt before?

Human brain is part of our body that until today holds so many secrects. We don't really know how much our brain is capable of. To learn and - intrigued by this movie - to forget. I choose not to question technology used herein, for it's just another metaphore. It doesn't really matter whether it does exists or it doesn't. Or whether it is ethical or not. I see this movie as merely a waking sensation: we have the freedom to choose and we must choose wisely. Otherwise, we might feel sorry thereafter and won't get as lucky as Joel & Clem who magically find their second row in the corner of their hearts. Real world, most of the times, is much more an evil to us.

posted by retno@09:15

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Today I turn 28.

Strange.... but i don't feel anything so special 'bout it.

I should be wiser now, but feel as not. not yet. still lot of things to learn of this world.

posted by retno@18:24

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Nonton langsung final pertama Tiger Cup di Senayan. Indonesia vs Singapura.

Sholat dulu di PS, baru jalan ke Stadion. Untung masih dapat tempat duduk yang bagus, di sisi lapangan. Gak terlalu atas, gak terlalu bawah. Pas buat melihat ke lapangan, pas juga buat menghindari lemparan air dan botol dari tribun atas...hehehe...

Awalnya lumayan optimis. Apalagi aura di stadion cukup menggetarkan. 100 ribu penonton! Jak mania seperti biasa, ditempatkan di belakang gawang.... asik juga dilihat dari jauh...kompak banget euy! tapi tentu saja gak asik kalau dilihat dari dekat.... it's just too dangerous.

Sayang seribu sayang. Baru 5 menit pertama kita sudah kebobolan gol "HOKI" dari tim lawan. Sedih sejuta sedih, di akhir babak pertama kita kebobolan lagi, jadi 0-2. Gemes rasanya melihat pertahanan tim kita amburadul!.

Begitu Boas cedera dan Mauly Lessy dikartumerahkan....habislah harapan....penonton langsung terdiam. Begitu Singapura melasakkan gol ke-3, langsung terjadi eksodus penonton besar-besaran... lebih baik pulang saja, daripada kena rusuh!

Walaupun kalah, tetap puas rasanya nonton langsung. suasananya memang tak bisa digantikan dengan tayangan di TV...

posted by retno@17:56

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Ada topik menarik di milis angkatan.

Ada yang menulis soal "perubahan". Katanya.... perubahan itu perlu, don't get stuck in "comfort zone"! cos once you get stuck, you'll become too lazy.

apa iya?

oke, teori saya begini:
perubahan akan selalu terjadi dalam hidup, sampai akhirnya fase "comfort zone" itu tercapai.
nah, fase "kenyamanan" itu tergantung pada dua hal.

Pertama: persepsi seseorang tentang "comfort zone" itu sendiri

Sebenarnya tingkat "kenyamanan" itu tergantung pada persepsi masing-masing orang. mungkin ada yang merasa "nyaman" begitu sudah mencapai hal-hal tertentu dalam hidupnya dan ingin terus menikmati hal-hal itu. ini manusiawi sekali. begitu manusia merasakan enaknya hidup "nyaman", akan kecil kemungkinannya manusia itu mau berubah lagi. tapi, di sisi lain, ada juga orang yang malah merasa nyaman hidup dalam arus perubahan yang terus-menerus. this kind of people would claim: without changes, without challenges, what is life? jadi kalau memang kita ini tipe orang yang merasa senang hidup "nyaman" what's wrong with it? kalau kita merasa tipe yang menyukai perubahan, again...nothing's wrong


Kedua: datangnya "comfort zone" berbeda-beda

Saya pikir itu semua sebenarnya fase-fase yang akan dilewati setiap manusia. it's part of life, like it or not, you're gonna through it. hanya saja, mungkin periodenya yang berbeda-beda bagi setiap orang. ada yang sudah merasa "settled" makanya merasa "nyaman" di usia muda, misalnya terhadap pekerjaan, atau menikah, atau yang lain. Ada yang sudah mendapat pekerjaan yang relatif baik dan "mapan" (well, mapan juga ukuran yang relatif bukan?) di usia yang sudah lebih tua tapi masih merasa "gelisah" sehingga "tidak nyaman".

Akhirnya, seperti sebuah siklus, setiap orang punya jalan sendiri2. pastinya akan menuju satu titik "comfort zone" yang mutlak yaitu, what else?, death. Apakah orang itu sebelum mencapai titik ini sudah lebih dulu merasakan "comfort zone" yang relatif itu, i have no idea. can be. and can be not.

Bagaimana dengan saya sendiri?
Rasanya mirip dengan teman saya Barkah yang mengatakan "gua ada di comfort zone yang berubah, ret!". well, what the hell is that?? hahahaha...

Gak ah. rasanya saya lebih suka dunia yang terus berubah, walaupun saat ini saya dengan nyaman duduk di kursi kantor dan mengetik tulisan ini, tapi badan sudah terasa gatal ingin mengalami perubahan, ingin bergerak, ingin melangkahkan kaki, ingin merengkuh dunia lain yang belum pernah saya lihat dan saya kunjungi. siapa tahu, mungkin saya memang sebenarnya termasuk tipe orang yang justru merasa lebih nyaman hidup dalam arus perubahan.

And how about you?

posted by retno@17:38

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yeah! we're in Tiger Cup Final!!!

paling tidak ini bisa jadi satu hiburan kecil di tengah begitu banyak kedukaan menimpa negara tercinta ini.... bisa masuk final aja sudah alhamdulillah, sebab biasanya tim nasional kita keok terus. entah kenapa, kita punya banyak reporter bola yang hebat2 (kalau dinilai dari komentar2nya selama pertandingan premier league, liga itali, liga spanyol, de el el) tapi kok sepertinya susah betul cari 22 pemain bagus dari sekian 200 juta penduduk di negeri ini.

ini pertama kalinya aku mutusin nonton langsung di stadion. iya dong, masak gak pernah nonton tim nasional sekalipun sih, padahal sudah pernah nonton Liverpool dan AC Milan live (ehm...ehm...ehm...sedikit bangga nih...:D). agak was-was sedikit sih, karena biasanya penonton Indonesia sering brutal. sebenarnya buat apa juga sih bersikap destruktif seperti itu? toh tidak akan bisa membantu pemain kita di lapangan, malah cenderung membuyarkan konsentrasi mereka.

tapi di sisi lain, memang suasana di stadion terasa beda betul dengan di depan televisi. emosi kita jauh lebih terpancing di stadion. wajar saja kalau bonek-bonek itu mudah terprovokasi. he...kalau diingat2, jangankan di stadion, di rumah aja aku bisa nonton sampai naik2 kursi dan lompat-lompat saking tegangnya....hahahaha....

moga2 pemain kita bisa bermain dengan tenang, sesedikit mungkin kesalahan (bola melambung, passing gak akurat, pertahanan amburadul) dan gak mudah terpancing.

mudah2an mereka bisa memberikan negara ini sedikit kebanggaan di awal tahun baru ini... amin!

posted by retno@17:24

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How many times in our life when memories of little things we did or people dear to us did, suddenly appeared in front of our eyes as they have just happened not long ago.

I feel curious. It seems we can easily remember and memorize little things without we actually know it or do it on purpose. It comes across my mind, what I remember most about families and friends, are not big things but little ones they often did (probably they might not even realize these by themselves). Perhaps our brain is indeed capable to record and store these little things somewhere inside it unconsciously without we need to tell first.

Today, suddenly I remember how my grandad used to smile so broadly when he's surrounded by all of her grand-daughters (apparently this didn't happen for his grand-sons). There's one time when all 6 of us were lying around him in bed and chatting loudly, and I looked at him... he was quitely smiling and then sleeping so peacefully, uninterrupted by our voices... well, what can i say, he loved being with women...:D

And then I remember my good friend Penia for her little habit of dancing in the kitchen while cooking, of course she only does this when nobody around except her roomates...:D...oh how I miss those days....

The thing I remember most from my ex is actually the way he brushed his face...very strange, isn't it?

posted by retno@17:31

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Aku tersentak.

Kemarin baca tulisan Zaki di duniazakinya: "Apa sih Cinta itu??? (Love is......?)"

Hari ini seorang teman lain, Lif, bilang di chatting: "Mencintai itu sungguh indah lho Ret..."

Dua-duanya buat aku merenung.
Seperti apa sih "cinta dan mencintai" itu?

Sebab aku pernah merasa begitu mencintai seseorang sampai meletakkan seluruh kepercayaanku pada dirinya....tapi ternyata mencintai itu pun tak gampang. karena ketika kepercayaan itu dirusak... aku pun bertanya... apa perlu mencintai seseorang sampai sedalam hati jika kita tidak pernah tahu pasti sampai kapan perasaan orang itu tetap bertahan?

atau apakah karena cintaku waktu itu masih "cinta yang ingin memiliki" bukan "mencintai seikhlas hati"? sehingga ketika kepercayaan dikhianati, yang tertinggal hanya rasa sakit dan keraguan pada cinta?

bagaimanapun... aku harus mengamini.
"Mencintai" memang sungguh indah, sungguh perasaan yang tidak ada duanya.
semoga suatu saat aku bisa menemukan "cinta dan mencintai" yang hadir tanpa diiringi rasa pedih.

mungkinkah?

posted by retno@14:33

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List of wish:

- make my parents happy (though this'd mean not the right year to move out to my own place)
- make myself happy
- make myself a better person
- do things i always want to do but never get good chance
- and finally....find someone to love again..:)

and no more disaster for anyone in this world. Amin.
Ya Allah, please spare us with peace and happiness this year. Amin.

posted by retno@14:12

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Tahun Baru datang disertai duka .

Duka melihat tragedi di Aceh.
Duka kehilangan teman yang sungguh tak terduga, Sabtu 1 Januari 2005.

Selamat jalan Reggie...
Walaupun aku baru mengenalmu selama 1.5 tahun tapi sudah begitu banyak kenangan tercipta.
Seorang teman yang ingin maju, ingin hidup lebih baik, tidak mau selamanya menjadi office boy. Iya kan, Allah SWT sudah menggariskan: tidak akan berubah nasib suatu kaum jika mereka tidak berusaha. Aku sungguh mengagumi semangat seperti itu, sebab begitu banyak teman yang jauh lebih beruntung hidupnya dari segi materi maupun pendidikan, tapi tidak ada keinginan untuk maju.

Terakhir kita bertemu, ada dua keinginan yang tersampaikan. Kamu mau kasih jawaban soal kerjaan yang aku tawarkan, kerjaan administrasi, hari Senin tgl 3 Jan lalu. Kamu juga minta oleh2 baju/kaos Barong dr Bali. Tapi Allah SWT sudah menetapkan kamu untuk kembali ke sisiNya sebelum keinginan itu tercapai.

Reggie... sekarang aku sudah bawa baju barongnya...nanti aku kasih ke keluarga kamu saja ya...mungkin akan jadi rejeki bagi seseorang yang lain.

Oh, ada satu lagi... aku ingat kamu terakhir kasih aku no rekening MetroTV... buat kirim sumbangan untuk Aceh. "Aku juga mau kirim Mbak...cuma belum sempat aja..." kata kamu. Ini catatannya masih aku simpan Gi.... walaupun akhirnya aku kirim gak ke Metro tapi ke Kompas dan SCTV.

Pagi-pagi tadi, pas jalan dari gerbang ke kantor, melihat Signboard di atas gedung, jadi ingat kamu juga...gimana dulu kamu ngerjain aku sampai ikut naik ke atap gedung buat ngukur tempat untuk signboardnya...

Rasanya kamu masih ada di sekitar kami di kantor. Setiap sudut mengingatkan kami pada sosokmu. Ade sampai bilang, kamar mandi di lantai 2 tuh "Reggie banget!". Siapa sih di kantor ini yang belum pernah kamu tolong, atau kamu boncengin? (apalagi aku ya Gi....sering banget ke Bank diboncengin...). Rasanya kok kamu masih seperti libur aja deh...padahal kami sudah kehilangan kamu untuk selamanya ya....

Insya Allah, semua dosa-dosamu diampuniNya dan surga adalah tempatmu Gi...

Aku tahu, semua orang ada sisi baik dan sisi jeleknya. Tapi Insya Allah, aku akan selalu mengenang sisi baik Reggie....

posted by retno@13:43

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