One day before my next exam for sociology, two of my classmates suddenly approached me, grinning. They started asking me whether I could get them the problems for the next exam. I believed I already curled my eyebrow that time… It turned out that they thought I was cheating on my last exam! They asked me my grade for the last exam which was an A, while I finished the 60 multiple choice problems exam for less than 15 minutes. They happened to suspect that I worked in Computer Lab had anything to do with where our professor actually composed the exam.

So, I told them that professors actually had their own computer lab to compose the exams, not the computer lab that students could use. By the time I was about to make it clear that they were, well, pretty rude, dared to ask that kind of question to me with their funny looking face, they didn’t apologize (duh!) but kinda backed off and well, ‘ran away’ with embarrassment…

Thinking back about that, sometimes I thought I would snap in normal circumstances. But that time I thought my brain didn’t work properly because watching those two dudes with their funny looking face and assumption, it was hilarious if not rude. It was really amazing that people’s assumption can be so blunt as how the rudest assumption sounds too stupidly funny.

At the end, I did the second test less than 20 minutes and got an A again. By the time I got out of the class, I felt satisfied. I don’t know why though. Maybe because I wanted to show them that my grades were not forged. I believe they will not dare to ask me similar question again.

The Day when the Power of the Tiger Is Unleashed

Two thumbs up for Tibet for their courage and intelligence of creating a havoc and chaos for their independence over China in one of the most celebrated event that has the attention of the whole world on it, the Olympic. Now China has to work hard to press down the courageous action of Tibetans in order to maintain her sovereignty and pride in front of the world. But it turns out that China's effort to solve this matter quickly doesn't happen. The day for the opening ceremony has drawn nearer as time flows when the Tibetans use this momentum to draw the attention of the whole world towards them, in the name of human rights. And yes, their effort is not futile as a lot of people and human rights activists respond greatly upon this matter and demand the independence of Tibet from the big, super-power People of Republic of China. Tibet thinks that they can be independent with the help of the world... No, actually they will regret they have ever tried to anger and unleashed the fury of the sleeping tiger of China.

There are several reasons why they will not and they will never get their independence for their action. First, China is a super-power of the world, the second after the U.S. (by a little bit of margin down which will make them the same with the U.S. in the near future), and the veto holder as one of the main member of UN's Security Council. We know that, even the U.S. doesn't mess with China. China is also one of the foundation of world's economy and their economy is intertwined with U.S.' economy from all aspects. Even though our democratic president candidates curse China's iron hand action towards Tibet and press Bush for not attending the opening ceremony of Olympic in Beijing, we know better. Bush can't afford to clearly declare a war on China by hurting Beijing's pride by not coming. The consequence is bigger than we can imagine. And believe it or not, even though they curse it, Obama and Clinton also know about this fact. But as the U.S. we should as least shows our affection towards the oppressed despite the fact that, well, we will not intervene with anything that has something to do with China. No, we are not afraid of China, but so does China. We respect each other and the balance of the two super-powers in this world has to be maintained.

Second, the reaction of the people in the world in Paris, London, and San Francisco, actually is severing Tibet's situation, without them realizing it and still think of it their momentum. They are really wrong. We don't expect that China will back off and give Tibet their independence because of the pressure of the world. They haven't in the past, and they will never in the future. Instead, China now is raging with fury over Tibet for staining their face and pride in front of the whole world in the Olympic that is supposes to lift China's image in front of the other countries. As China has done their best to make sure that they finish the matter as quickly and silently as possible, but if it still doesn't work, China will definitely annihilate Tibet without mercy, even if that means they have to host the Olympic with hands stained with blood. Because of Tibet's (audacious) action and people's overreaction, the Olympic doesn't matter anymore. China will take down Tibet at any cost and maintain their pride and power. With this, even if they will be shunned by the world for a while, they will still maintain the power and dignity as the superpower. China can't afford to pull back from their action because it means that they don't have the power. That's that last thing China will want to happen.

The worst case scenario, there will be another slaughter like Tiananmen Massacre. Never once China will show their weakness because of people's protest. The one at lost will be Tibet. Only them, no one else. England and German planned not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic. China could care less about that, they are no longer the greatest empire of the world or the big powerful NAZI lunatics. All that matters is the U.S. government. Even kids know, there will be nothing good and beneficial coming out of the opposition between the super-powers. Maybe adults should play Command and Conquer: Generals by EA so that they can understand more about the fact and the truth of how world works.

Friendship's Essence in Life

I was reading Sean L. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens this morning about the account of relationship between ourselves and others. This was my third time to re-read this book and there was one topic that was discussed and really attracted my attention; it was about faithfulness between friends.

What ‘friends’ actually means? Are they the people that we usually hang out with? Or are they the people that will support in your weakness? Or are they just… be there for you? Covey described it very well in his book what a really good friend should be like. A good friend is a friend who is trustworthy and devoted to their relationship. They don’t talk behind our back. They uphold their support and our trust for them even when we are not around. They practically are being sincere friend everytime and everywhere, even though we might be far from them.

I have one best female friend that I have known since my first year of college. We supported each other when one of us had problems, with study, or about anything. I trust her and she trusts me. She is one of the dearest friend of mine which is really difficult for anybody to find even in life time. At my sophomore year, I had to move to another city because I transferred. We still contacted each other and remained best friend. Being best friend is a good thing, that even if we sometimes are really occupied with our own activities and life that make us contact each other less, it doesn’t affect our friendship. Once we contact each other, we are best friend, always. The quantity of the phone calls that we make doesn’t hurt our friendship. We are best friend nevertheless.

One of the most dangerous and poisonous epidemics known to human is gossip. Although our distance is thousands miles away, I took notice of some gossips that were told about my friends: about her friends, her attitude, how she dealt with people, and a lot other things that I perceived were not supposed to be anybody’s concern. One day, one of my good friends told me about a bad rumor about her (which he actually didn’t know himself, but heard from somebody). My reaction was, ”So?” I forgot what my friend’s reaction that time was, but I remembered telling them that she is my best friend despite anything. I don’t become her best friend depending on her relationship with others. I don’t become her best friend and then become influenced with the fact of how she dealt with people. In fact, I don’t really care.

If it is about my friendship with her, I don’t think other factors, that are about her personal decision on how to deal with other people, are my concern at all (except if she wants to discuss it with me). This is my friendship. It is about me and her. As long as she still considers me as her friend and is being true with me, then I will always be beside her and be her support and friend in whatsoever condition she will have to face. Even if other people, or even the entire world talks bad to her or goes against her, even if I have to be the last person standing with her against the others, so be it! That’s what I think a friendship is all about.

Best friends are not asked. You don’t ask somebody to become your best friend. It is just your decision whether you think your friend is worthy of being your best friend or not and if he/she thinks the same way about you. It is an unofficial and unsaid covenant, between you and your best friend.

Remember! Don’t ever ever… don’t ever ever… try to bond a friendship with somebody that you are actually sexually attracted to and claim them to be your best friend. It is not going to work and it is not going to be pretty. You will indirectly cheat him/her by doing that. It is definitely possible to bond a close friendship with someone from the opposite gender and remain best friend forever. But it is impossible to become a best friend with somebody that you are actually sexually attracted to.

The Living Gift of Life

In one lecture, my sociology teacher explained sexism and racism. At one point, he mentioned how asian women are seen as exotic from the eyes of westerners. He gave an example how during the Vietnam war, American soldiers were sent to Thailand for their vacation and recreation time to be sexually entertained. Now, Thailand is still the center of prostitution in the world. My teacher said that when he said asian women, he referred to east asian women (oriental race). He claimed that westerners see oriental women as exotic, because they are submissive and they love sex. When he said that, even if I am not a female, I was really offended because he said it as if it is really an undeniable fact and he agrees with it. I don’t agree and I think that statement degrades asian women as whole. The statement puts asian women is a position like an object, not like an individual that needs to be respected. The statement also indirectly classifies asian women as inferior to other women races. Maybe because I am an asian, I am also a feminist, and that’s what make me enraged for that statement.

Yes, I admit and we all know, that Asian women are submissive. That is our culture and that is our value, and we are proud of it. The women are proud of it and good men are grateful for it. It means being a woman is being a partner who helps her man, instead of going against him. She is being supportive and serves her partner wholeheartedly. With the support of his partner, a man can be strong and stay where he is in the society. I don’t want to talk about some uneducated and ungrateful males that make the support of women taken for granted. They are ones to blame how the submissiveness and support asian women give to their men is referred as a weakness and humiliation than a strength and a pride of being good women.

And yes, I believe asian women loves sex. Who doesn’t? Sex is not something that’s awarded to certain group of females based on their races, is it? Speaking of it religiously, sex is one of the best gift God ever give to human so that they can enjoy themselves in marriage/committed relationship. Speaking from the point of view of Darwinism, sex is in us, in our DNA, and it is just simply there. You cannot deny it, you cannot reject it, it is not something to be proud or brag about but it is also not something to be embarrassed or shunned. So what’s the big deal claiming that asian women love sex and make it sound like asian women are whores? No, we aren’t. We value our sex relationship. It is not something that we easily do outside committed relationship and marriage. Therefore with all respect, I condemn everyone that talk about asian women like they are inferior and lower in status to other women races, or even to be lower than men. The only reason that Thailand is still the center of prostitution is because Thailand is one of the Third Worlds. It deals with money and power. The saddening condition is dealing directly with the economic and financial condition of that country. And the reason why women’s kindness is being abused is because there is a lot of males that take women for granted. They believe that women exist only for them and for them only, which is a really egoistic statement and ideal. Men and women are equal and they exist for each other, to maintain a harmony and a mutual relationship.

People that keep thinking about women being a weak individual, totally dependent on men, and an object, don’t know how to respect others. They who don’t know to respect others also don’t know how to respect themselves. Even though men and women have different purposes and function in life, it doesn’t mean that they are different and one is more inferior to the other one. It also applies to races. Each race has its own value and nobody has a right to determine which one is superior to the other one.

I believe that good men never and should never treat women as inferior and an object whose purpose is just to live to serve men. Good men have to protect women and treasure them, instead of abusing them and taking them for granted. Women are not there just to please us, we also exist so that we can please them. Again, it is a mutual relationship. Have a good life!

the Integrity, the Hypocrisy, and the Fall...

Okay, seriosly, both of my eyes are already like Cyclops and I really want to end the day and go to bed, but if I keep delaying to write about this, I am afraid that it will be too late. Well, it is not a prophecy nor something like that. I just want to talk a little bit about this guy. Yeah, this guy... New York Governor that is stupid enough of getting caught red-handed while enjoying his moment (I mean, if you want to do something bad, we have to do it smartly and make sure we do it right. And we are talking about power and money that this Eliot dude actually possesses).

The first time I read the story about some New York dude, Eliot Spitzer, getting caught involved in some kind of prostitution ring by wiretap set by federal law enforcement, I thought it was not such a big deal. I was wrong. People make such a big deal, big time, over this issue. I am getting interested because of the fuss that people made around this guy.

For me, I don't care if you are NY governor or a judge or an attorney or a teacher, getting involved with prostitution. Don't get me wrong, I am not supporting the idea of prostitution and such (as me myself is a feminist). It is just prostitution is something that is in our society and it always happen everyday at the backstage of our community. Therefore, I thought that Spitzer didn't have to resign just because he is involved with this because we are all human and we all make mistakes. For me, it was all his own business and people should just shut up and leave everything to his wife and families to punish him.

But again, I was wrong. I know why the general public is pissed by this guy. I found out that this guy talked about ending the prostitution practice when he was a governor. Okay, now this IS wrong, big time. He said to put an end to it, but he did what he told people he would put an end to. That's what hurt the people. He has severed his image, his integrity, trust that people have for him, and he also ruined his family.

if he were caught red-handed getting involved with in a prostitution, but he hadn't had made a statement and vow where he would cease prostitution, he might be able to get out of this mess. As we know that Spitzer is a strict governor, especially when he was an general attorney whose actions were burdens to people in Wall Street. I believe that this incident also caused by people's hatred towards him, whom others may used to call hero. But as a hero, as a person who talked about justice and righteousness, he had a big responsibility upon his life and action. Hero without integrity is not a hero at all. He is a figure that we have to trust and rely on. If he can't be trusted, then we can't rely on him. That's what hurt the people, and that's what his weakness. Without people's trust and support, none can stay on top.

it is a pity, but yes, integrity [and principal] can take you up to the summit, but a failure to maintain the integrity will bring you down, hard. It will definitely crush you, depending on how high you are. The higher, the severer the damage.

Oh yeah, and for the heck of it, let me show you the picture of Spitzer's call girl:


I don't want to make fun of this issue, but I can't resist it lol. Maybe that time Spitzer thought like this: "The Heck! I don't care if I die today, let me do her, hard!" *laugh* because sometimes, at least I do that. "Whatever! I don't care about tomorrow's test, I want to finish this series!" something like that. And I DO face the consequences after that. Okay, enough with the jokes, I believe that his life is destroyed and in ruin now. Now it depends on him, how he will fix it. The scar and the stain will still be there, but it depends on what you do to the scar so that won't ruin your entire life. Let the scar be your rebuke and don't be foolish anymore.



Note: yeah yeah, I do realize and feel that there is a lot of grammar errors. I don't care. Will do better in the next post. Ciao :D

Transferring is probably one of the two most crucial time in college life as a student, with the remaining one is finding a proper job after graduating. Since long I have been yearning to go into Cornell University when transferring. That time I only knew that Cornell is one of the prestigious Ivy League institutions. On my last semester at Community College, finally I have to go through the process of transferring. That included choosing the right university, keeping updated with the deadlines, fulfilling all requirements, and also writing so-called personal statements that is said to be the most important part of University admission. At first, I thought I was doing everything with enough vigor and excitement, but it seemed that the entire process is really time-consuming and stressful. I believed that there were times when I didn't do it wholeheartedly.

It was until I have a thought of visiting Cornell. I think I should know better of the university that I am applying to. I contacted my two of my female friends that are Cornellians to tell them my intention of visiting them and the campus. Shortly, I was there, in Ithaca, during Spring break. First impression, "Where on earth have I ended at?" when the greyhound that took me to Ithaca cruising on highway of upper-state New York. I mean, I can see this prairie covered with white untouched show piling up beautifully with mountains on the background. Well, my overreaction may be caused by me living in Philadelphia. A big city, high criminal rate, and is really dirty. I admit it has been a long time since I come to such a beautiful place. Later I was told that I was supposed to have seen cows along the way if I were there when it is warmer.


















So, here I am. I was just simply stunned. First impression that came to my mind was: huge, gigantic, massive... Well, I believe they are not suitable phrases for the campus, but I do know that Cornell is really big and, stunningly, beautiful. It's just pretty. And it seems that the size is like one of a small city.

After several minutes trapped in my own world, I came back to my senses and followed the direction to The Biotech Building where the Informational Session was supposed to be held. The presenter was one of the transfer advisor whom I contacted by email and phone, Ms. Chandra Joos, so she knew me when I introduced myself. Other students, who were all seniors in high school and accompanied by their parents, didn't seem to have contacted her (maybe because they are going to apply as a freshman and they may have contacted someone other than her. Well, at least their parents might). The session was like any other informational sessions that are held when some schools present themselves and the programs.


Done with the session, I talked a little bit of my strong interest in Cornell and I excused myself for a lunch. When I arrived at the dining hall, I understand why Cornell's dining hall is winning an award. First, the food is good and a lot of varieties of food are offered there. Second, it is big and spacious, without anybody have to worry to stand around looking for a place to sit. Third, when you are done eating, you will have to dispose of the dish or bottles or anything to specifically designated place. Liquid of any kind of food's remains is going to a sink with flowing water. Bottle and can are going to recycle bin. Styrofoam is going to Styrofoam bin (?). At last, trashes are being separated to decomposable and undecomposable. Pretty cool huh?

After lunch, I finally meet with my friends. Basically we talked about Cornell and everything I would find useful for my information. I came to know about a lot of things there. How Cornell is referred as the Hottest Ivy and one of my friends, Melvany, joked about how it is not only the Cornell that is hot, but what inside are also the hottest among all *wink wink* I agree with that. lol. The girls are great. Ok, I am not trying to stray from the topic, but the girls, indeed, Cornellian girls and ladies, are great. Well, based on general opinion and definition of beauty. I said to Melvany that when she was accepted, Cornell's rate of hotness increased. She laughed. I laughed. But it is true :D

I met with my other friend, Vidia, and we talked about the future and how we want to be successful. The main topic was about capitalism and the dark side of capitalism which exploit the third worlds for our commodity and bigger profits. And yes, we didn't talk about how we should change the condition so that the third worlds can be better. We talked about how we have to find a much better way and more profitable methods to work with the third worlds. Bluntly, we are aware about the condition of the third worlds, but we honestly admit that it doesn't have to change. If it were to change, it had to change to our favor. It had to change so that we could gain more profit. Again, we don't talk and consider morality here. We are pure capitalists who think about way so that we can be a part of 2% of the population of the United States that own 50% of the total assets of the country. It IS a big dream... We don't know what we will face in the future, but as for me, at least I have a big dream and I am working towards it.

Finally, time came when I have to go back home. My visit to Cornell and meeting with my friends had motivated me. It gave me an insight on how bad I want to get admitted into this prestigious institution: The Big Red, with a really famous green salads run by the Hotel Administration Students and coffee that is really good and booming in NYC now. After that, I filled up the application with full of vigor and excitement. Different kind of excitement, because I feel that I know Cornell better now. During my visit there, I almost felt that I was already a Cornellian. Walking around campus, meeting with competitive peers who are eager to study but can balance their life with fun activities around campus and off-campus. Using the 25 cent locker at Statler Hall, which actually is only intended for students at the culinary class (blame Melva for this). Experiencing the peaceful night life in College Town, enjoying the food, although it is a little bit more expensive than average. And meeting with reindeer on-campus at night :D

I am done with the applications and I have done my best. But I am willing to do more so that I can be accepted into Cornell. Now, I am feeling a little bit more at ease, because everybody have helped me during the stressful process of applying to Cornell. I want to thank Melva and Vidia, who have been really supportive and let me stay over during my visit to campus. Thanks also to my parents and my sister that keep supporting me morally during this time. A great appreciations for Ms. Virginnia Ramirez for the evaluation she provided for me along with the recommendation letter, Mrs. Julieta Johnson for the recommendation letter, and Dr. Aleks Ilich my first boss and my friend who has provided me with a great recommendation letter :) Also thanks for Ci Cynthia and Ko Johan, along with Pastor Sonny, who have encouraged me too. The biggest thanks to Ci Mei Cristyani who has put so much effort to revise my personal statement on her vacation to Atlanta (including sending emails and calling me when she is supposed to be having fun). Also thanks to Ms. Paula White, my great and fun english teacher that I will always respect and love. At last, thanks also to Elissa ;) that keeps telling me that everything will be alright at the end.

I will get accepted and treat you all Cornellian Ice Cream. Oh yeah, they do produce their own ice cream and breed their own cows. Long live the Big Bear! :D

welcome :D

With this, I will introduce you the [future] contents in this blog and what you will expect from this blog. This blog will practically serve as the mediator between my thought (of course not only on Friday like the title of this blog suggests, anyway...) and the reader[s]. As a note, I am not a professional writer nor a professional blogger, so there will be a chance that I will be bored and leave this site to rot away and forgotten. The thing is, you just have to make sure that you are open-minded when you read the contents of this blog. Some, if not all, will need parental advisory (like as if those parents called themselves adults know what they are doing at all) and/or reader discretion. It is not recommended, it is a must. AND, I do NOT proof-read the contents. So, be at ease, open your mind, exhale, and welcome the truths.