Andrias Yose

      in a matter of days, my days will be nights. the totality of the past 1 year will be summed up in 1 day. the remainder of this old skin must be shed away. the time has come.

      a week or so ago, there was the sense that something will come. either a thing, or some things. as it slowly unfolds, i realized now that ‘it’ is things instead of the singular.

      she said the birth of i was a hit-not-miss as aravsetikilova. jokingly, i rather prefer envisioning myself more like ming’s hanuman version than the former. but whichever it is, is passed with a carefree glance.

      the thinker crafted through the laborous finger tips of a certain Auguste Rodin was described as, "…a person in sober meditation battling with a powerful internal struggle." a german phrase goes, "was hilt laufen, wenn man nicht auf den rechten weg ist?" (translation: what is the use of running when we are not on the right track?"

      still, i like best, "tai… chuan ch’i chih jou, neng yin-er hu?" (translation: while you… focus your breath until it is supremely soft, can you, be like a baby? from Dao De Jing, 52.1, 4-5).

====================================================================

Andrias Y.

October 20, 2006

      as much as the despise over vanity, there is a pitfall created that needs immediate attending to. the name is arrogance.

      self-righteousness is a vice. it induces arrogance. tho’ it is not the arrogance where one feels one is better or holier-than-thou. it is an arrogance that saith, "i am the better judge than thee." now, wonder i, who makes thee the judge? ’tis ego perhaps?

      a poison. one that took root free-riding hence the yester-years, God knows when.

      desist, for it harms.

================================================================

Andrias Y.

October 20, 2006

      ja, new lingo jingo d’here. whatta fubasha iz fhrushionnatopia?

      the looney sicko vainitissimo that gets no drop of self-respecto mundos, sho-R…ealley? yeu…uap!

      concocting the modulation of bullshowa, real gold faces the heat with a half-crescent-moon gaze. Buddha got the cooler look anyhow, ’tis a-third crescent-shaped.

      just be yourself. be who you really are, not be a shadow projection that you try so hard to create, just to impress someone who already saw through the real you from the beginning. your insecurity over who you really are, where you really stand amongst the many, can’t be covered up with superficialities.

      some might be fooled, but not all. i see through. i see not fakes. phool-wools over these eyes, you phool no sympathy nor respect.

      if the least you can do is just be who you really are, yet you can’t deliver, foobasha yo! don’t have to please or impress me. i need not shits like that. who you really are is priceless to me. the more you tried to hide, the more you tried to swiggle through, the more you tried to impress, well… the more my eyes see only fragile glass and shattered shadow.

      what you do, you do it well, well enough to bleed this heart, and the mind has seen enough to see through and to walk past by a velvet smoke.

      be a fake, be a shadow, be a coward, there are consequences to be paid. it is not i who hold the hammer of judgment. not i…

==================================================================

Andrias Y.

October 20, 2006

      whilst i know not what Taki meant when she said this phrase, i found it neat when the phrase goes, "Fu Ma Shan Jyo."

      credit the voice-over personnel in this industry, especially from the country o’ origin for the creativity indeed.

      a literary figure of a not-too-ago past likens it to a swamp or a quick sand. which? well, this memory recalls, unfortunately, just a state of blur.

      things sink. but things don’t embed deep enough to take root. even the supposition some things do take root, the nature of the soil and sand naturally canonize the some things into else things. ::chuckle::

===============================================================

Andrias Y.

October 20, 2006

[note: this is an imagination running a bit out there tonight.]

      My tongue tastes the world and beyond. But, I taste most clearly, the sufferings of the living, and the living-dead. And, I taste something else beyond.

      No single human has the power to close my third eye. But, at times, it is I who allowed my self to blind what sights lie without and within.

      I seek not, perfection. But I seek least, wolves in sheep’s clothing and leeches behind home’s backyard. Ultimately, I seek not, to witness the taints of the minds, the hearts, and the souls. Yet, I, see nonetheless.

      As I neared three decades, I sensed the existence of the fourth eye. Whilst the third eye sees through what the two mortal eyes could not, the fourth eye sees something to the affinity of infinity, void, and the in-betweens. Whilst the third eye is illusive enough as it is. The fourth is beyond illusiveness.

      A few times, I asked the empty space, "…why pull strings over my eyes?" And, I asked, "…why dangle imaginary carrot across my sight?" Why bother? Yong Xin Liang Ku. Much Ado About Nothing.

      Life, in the mortal world it seems, has its intricacies, subtleties, and complexities. No wonder, there are many insane-sanes in this world…

      Being once a young and stupid dolt truly was a tad vexing today. Hold the impulse and tarry the tongue and reckless desire. The higher power seems never to forget nor to forgo a declaration.

      I smiled and bowed notches as my breath touches the skins of this ancient and rugged earth.

      Two nights past I turned my head sideway, and casted my gaze towards a reflection on the mirror. Tempted was I to claim that my life is no longer my own, but, it turns out it was never a temporal mortal possession to begin with. The pale skin reflected in the dark room awakened then stirred me deep.

      "Whence comest thou?" "Where goes thou?" "What comes?" "What goes?" "What remains?"

      My time will come. But it is definitely not to-night, not to-day, nor to-morrow. Since, it is neither to-night, nor to-day, or to-morrow, I will let these heavy eyelids droop, and let lullabies of the silent space and rambunctious matter whittle not a fatigued I.

================================================================

Andrias Y.

October 20, 2006

     i am modifying shakespeare like the following, life has its actors, and actors exist on a stage, and there is an entry and exit on a stage. whilst the few are the actors, the many are the audience. whilst there may not necessarily exist narrators during the play, there are definitely narrators post-mortem.

=================================================================

     there are 3 institutions, A, B, and C. the actors in each institution will be referred to as A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, etc.

     A has been a client of C for X years. A1 feels that C has given a poor service to A, and keen on replacing C with another institution.

     One day, B comes and offers a better service at a better priced than C, to A. A2 passes this offer to A1, however, due to a certain biased sentiment that A1 has over A2, A1 cynically orders A2 to invite B’s representatives to present their service to A1.

     B sends B1 and B2, and both presented their service to A1.

     Following that, A1 passes the information to A3. Considering that it might be a better offer, A3 is persuaded to allow B a chance to give another presentation directly to A3. B sends B1, B2, and B3, and the presentation concluded thereafter.

     A3 then decided to give B the chance for the free-trial. The catch is, B only has 3 days to show that it can offer better service performance than C. This is against B’s suggestion that it needs 2 weeks to set everything thing so that it can maximize and give its best service to A. But, A3 is resolute with the decision, and gives only 3 days.

     During the 3 days trial-period, as expected, there are 3 little incidents which disrupted B’s service to A. After the third little incident, B found out that the problem lies within A’s infrastructure. B1 sent a letter to explain the situation. However, A3 has chosen a rather negative perspective on B’s service. This is exacerbated by the fact that A3’s external ‘friend’ gave an unprofessional and truly unproven personal opinion regarding B without any proof or fact to back it up. But, A3 accepts the opinion whole.

     Then, the 4th incident appears. While A1 discusses with A3 regarding B’s offer for the second time, A1 finds that there are discrepancies with the information passed from B to A3 versus B to A1. A1 becomes furious, and then charges a few accusations towards B.

     A2, feels that the accusations are one-sided, and tries to point this out to A1. After certain debacles between A1 and A2, A1 softens the position. A2 then re-invites B1 to come to re-present B’s service to A1, which B did by sending B1 and B2.

     This meeting goes successfully. A1 now understand what goes on, and why there are discrepancies. However, the damage is done. Not towards B, B1, B2, A, A1, or A3. The damage is done unto A2. A2 feels that neither A1 nor A2 has been fair in treating B. A few things popped up in A2’s mind from the beginning of this event until this moment.

     Then somehow, things went 180 degree. A1 becomes more supportive towards B and B’s service, and tries to negotiate A3 to consider B’s service. With the pressure, albeit the 3 little incidents, A3 contacts C and sternly orders C1 to offer C’s best price within 3 days. A1 then tells A2 that the case is against C, and leans more towards B. A2 makes the mistake of passing this information to B1 not long thereafter.

     3 days later, A1 tells A2 that A3 has already decided to continue with C’s service, thereby eliminating B entirely. A1 explains that C1 has dropped its price, and offers the same price as B. Further, C1 produces a letter that accused B with a certain handicap for B’s service. A3 did not give B a chance for a rebuttal on that day, and immediately seals the case as closed.

     Now, after all this debacle, A, of course, has nothing to lose. A receives a shorter contract agreement period (X-2) with C, and with a lowered price on top of that.

     A2, however, feels that A2 has been manipulated even though there is a possibility that A1 never has any intention to manipulate A2. Further, A2 feels responsible for releasing the misleading raw information to B1 that B has a strong chance of winning the contract from A when pitted against C.

     A2 does suspect from the beginning that A3 has already decided on the matter much earlier. Probably one to two weeks prior to the final decision. What goes on during the one to two weeks thereafter is just a ploy to delay and pushes C on an uncomfortable zone.

     At this juncture, A2 is very tempted to assume that somehow A1 is also involved in the ploy. Although A1 has tried to explain the reason why A3 very quickly decided on the matter by closing the deal, A2 just feel that it isn’t right (read: unfair business competition practice).

     There is the case of suspicion where A2 feels A is giving business only to affiliates. Affiliation-specific could be based on race, nationality, religion, gender, group, or whatever. Though this is unfair business competition practice, it is practiced, nonetheless, on an international scale. Almost always behind the screen, and a publicly unspoken and unwritten agreement.

     A1 has, on several occassion, tries to explain and diffuse A2’s suspicion regarding this matter. True or false, only God knows, and only the heart and mind of those truly involved in this matter know. In A2’s standpoint, even if it is true, it would not be a secret. Many institutions, on a regional, national, international scale, with even more actors, have been involved in such a matter, past, present, and definitely, future.

     Of course, A, being what it is has to soften/downplay/divert/neutralize, if possible, the internal and/or external accusation that A is practicing the matter accused of. A does this through its actors. Today it may be A1. Tomorrow it could be A1+1, A1+9999999999999999. ::chuckle::

     The fact that A3 has not given B a fair fighting chance to begin with; the fact that A3 has not given B a fair fighting chance to end with; the fact that A3 did not take into consideration B’s past 10 year credentials when compared with C’s past 4 years credentials; the fact that A3 did not take into consideration that the 3 little incidents occured within A’s internal infrastructure; the fact that A3 chose to accept in whole the false accusation that C1 writes regarding B; brings A2 into one big fat conclusion.

     C’est la vie.

     A2 thus goes on with life, learning new lessons. Yeah, lessons - in plural instead of lesson - in singular. These lessons are non-core-duty-related, but lessons nonetheless. These lessons might prove useful to A2 in the future, and might prove useful to the reader elsewhere and somewhere.

     Among Asian societies, ‘face saving’ is important. The importance of face-saving is relative from case to case, context to context. In the matter of face-saving, logic, rationality, and the truth are not supreme.

     In life, in politic, and in business, might makes right is more or less undeniable, though not always the case. Whether one is truly right, or one is truly wrong, true might makes for true right. A part of the lessons learned is, truly, an old lesson that is re-learned in a different fashion.

     The games that adults play… Life is indeed like a stage. Enter and exit, the actors come and go. And, the audiences watched and observed, laughed and cried, clapped and boo-ed, and life goes on…

     But, of course, this is just a story. It derives a portion on human realism, and a portion on human idealism. I hope somebody comes to read this, take this simplified and raw form, then develop it into a thick book or a movie script. ::chuckle::

=================================================================

Andrias Y.

October 15, 2006

     ay note: the original article was published on TEMPO magazine, dated October 30, 2005. i copied and pasted the middle-half of the article here. the full article can be accessed for a nominal fee through www.pdat.co.id at Rp. 10,000 (1 week paid subscription; approx. US$ 1.09 @ US$ 1 to Rp. 9,205).

     i think and i believe that the combination between the #1 and #2 positions in a country, organization, or company relatively similar to the current Indonesia presents one set out of several ideals.

     if we got a calm, disciplined, wise, decidedly-mature, process-and-progress-oriented, stern-and-clear on rewards and punishment type of #1 guy; then, the #2 guy has a quick-thinking, pragmatist, active, flexible, controlled-spontaneity, and result-and-progress-orientation…., the entity with the two on top would be decidedly strong indeed. provided that those two support each other, and find a middle ground for the synergy.

     if the #1 guy becomes what layman calls as ‘jealous, short-sighted, small-minded, vengeful,’ then the entity is in for a disaster. if the #2 guy becomes what layman calls as ‘unloyal, unruly, disrespectful, immoral, and serving merely self-interest,’ then the entity is also in for a disaster. if #1 AND #2 are like that, the question of disaster is not the how, why, who, what, where. it is when.

     two to three more rounds of 4-year term, with the current or near-similar current #1 and #2 in Indonesia right now, would help speed up the country’s development. it takes probably that many rounds to set the country back to the right track. to cut down on the weeds, or to straighten the crooked demands the seriousness, commitment, and dedication. but there is no fool-proof guarantee when it is a nation and the people at stake.

     same as in the past history of just about any war time, key leaders are pivotal to success. though it takes the many to realize the success, the few act as the benchmark and shepherd. in the long run, an entity must produce more key leaders from the many, thereby increasing the stock of the few. the more few that an entity has, the more formidable the entity becomes. both regionally, nationally, and internationally.

     there are far too many who would wish for this entity to crumble. divide and conquer as the Dutch colonizers showed too well for the Indonesians in a past that is not really too far in the past. in the 36 stratagems, there are several tricks when combined, have proven decidedly effective. an entity with so many parties with so different an interest increases the possibility of fragmentations and conflicts within. without, there are eyes that watch, awaiting and/or creating momentum to capitalize. maybe it is inappropriate to say this, but i would say, there are evils within and without.

     it will take a few more 4-year rounds. and i sincerely hope, no idiots rose up to key positions within the entity. at least, i sincerely hope, either lesser idiots rose up to key positions, or, more idiots in key positions get cut down to the roots, or, both.

     the people have suffered enough.

=================================================================

Andrias Y.

October 15, 2006

=================================================================

SBY-JK: Duet atau Duel

JK memang gesit geraknya dan tekun mengejar penyelesaian sampai titik akhir. Keputusannya diambil cepat, dan khas dengan refleks pedagang yang menggunakan naluri perhitungan untung-rugi serta besar-kecilnya risiko. Sering mencari jalan pintas, dan efek sampingan bisa dipikirkan belakangan. Setiap lubang dimanfaatkan, semua alat dikerahkan, dan nyaris segala cara ditempuh. Langkahnya terkesan satu kali ayun saja, reaktif dan kaya improvisasi, tak selalu jelas letaknya dalam perspektif rencana jangka panjang.

Dibandingkan dengan Presiden SBY, JK tampak sangat aktif dan lebih lincah. Kekaguman akan reaksinya yang tangkas bisa mengundang tepuk tangan, walau tak selalu menimbulkan respek. Tidak percuma pengalaman yang dimilikinya sebagai pedagang mobil dulu. Akalnya panjang, pandai berkelit dan diutarakan dengan jalan pikiran sederhana, kadang-kadang terlalu menyederhanakan. Tak pelak, JK lebih memberi kesan cerdik daripada berpengetahuan dalam dan serius.

Gaya JK berlainan dengan SBY. Dalam menjalankan pemerintahan, kadang kala dibutuhkan kebijakan penanggulangan secara istimewa. Agar persoalan bisa segera diselesaikan dengan efektif, tindakan tidak boleh tanggung-tanggung, kalau perlu dengan biaya dan pengorbanan lebih besar. Suatu necessary overkill terpaksa dilakukan. Dalam hal seperti inilah tampak JK berbeda dengan SBY. Jika JK menekankan pada perlunya overkill atau menggenjot, maka mungkin SBY akan lebih mempertimbangkan unsur necessary, apakah tindakan itu benar perlu atau tidak. Akibatnya yang satu cepat, lainnya lambat.

Gaya kepemimpinan yang berbeda antara presiden dan wakilnya itu bisa membuat repot para menteri dalam kabinet. Tidak mungkin bagi seorang menteri secara terbuka memilih mana yang lebih cocok untuk diikuti, ke mana lebih berat akan berkiblat. Adanya dua kepala ini memaksa para menteri mengembangkan kepatuhan ganda, membelah diri untuk melayani keduanya agar tak menimbulkan kecurigaan lebih setia pada salah satunya saja. Keadaan ini menyulitkan tata kerja di kabinet, dengan asumsi bahwa terdapat hubungan persaingan antara presiden dan wakilnya sendiri.

Benar atau tidak, tapi kesan adanya persaingan antara presiden dan wakilnya harus disudahi. JK yang gesit dan sangat aktif itu mestinya bukan diperlakukan sebagai risiko atau kendala. SBY sebaiknya berusaha memanfaatkannya sebagai aset, menjadi komplemen dan penguat kepemimpinan presiden. Yang harus dijaga ialah agar peran penting JK tidak membuka kesempatan berkembangnya ”kompleks politiko-bisnis” dalam pemerintahan, yaitu jalinan kekuasaan yang dirajut dari kepentingan politik penguasa dan kepentingan ekonomi pengusaha.

Kesempatan untuk mengembalikan hubungan presiden dan wakilnya yang lebih proporsional bisa dimulai dalam cara menyusun kembali kabinet, jikalau reshuffle jadi dilakukan. Wakil Presiden boleh mengajukan calon dan dimintai pendapatnya. Tapi bukan tawar-menawar atau membuat keputusan bersama-sama. Penentuan dan tanggung jawab sepenuhnya ada pada Presiden. Sejak saat itu secara konkret tertata kembali, siapa nomor satu dan siapa nomor dua dalam menjalankan kekuasaan pemerintahan. Begitulah untuk seterusnya.

Sumber Tulisan: Majalah TEMPO, Edisi 35/XXXIV/24 - 30 Oktober 2005

      what’s in a day? i always asked myself this question.
      people know that we don’t live forever. but, some chose to run away from this undeniable truth.
      a day for me, is my last day on earth. i do what i have to do (plus a bit more), and i do it as best as i know how. if i can give my best to one fellow within that one day, i will do it.
      a day has an end for me. my time on earth is short, and, it is limited.
      while i don’t expect death to come to me at the end of the day, i live each day as though my life is not a possession - mortal.
      as i live and breathe the day, i observe, witness, and sense the little nuances that some take for granted.
      if a life is meant as a collection of all memory in a lifetime of an individual, then in death those fragmented collection of all memory would be brought to comparison with the raw and unedited version catalogued by the greater power. and, i wonder…, whether i am bold enough to face all the memories that i were ashamed of during my life on earth.
      here, on earth, naked as i am, i am nowhere as naked as i would be, were i brought to the judgment of the greater power. there, i will be naked as i have never been naked before during my brief presence on earth.
      nonetheless, at least one thing remains the same. i make no excuses, and i will not run away.
      here on earth, people make tons of excuses, and they either force themselves to believe in lies or significantly fool themselves with the lies they made for themselves.
      on earth, i have been blessed with a healthy mind, body, and spirit. two arms and two feet i was borned with. therefore, it is a self-desire, that a day’s moment would not be wasted.
      a company, or a boss, are both trivial matter to me. a country or a president are also as trivial. trivial in the sense that my time, is, my time. my time is nobody’s time. i live only once as Andrias Yose, and my time is ultimately precious to me.
      a company, an organization, or a superior may have important and/or urgent task to accomplish. but since no one on earth can succeed by his/her individual self, taking for granted my life’s time on earth is a big mistake. i value my limited time above all else. if i choose to dedicate my time on something, it is out of my own choice and desire, but it does not mean that others can take it for granted, or abuse. i, will not allow that to happen (or, to happen more than once).
      so tempted was i to assume that most individuals on earth are abusers of their time on earth, and so tempted was i to assume that some individuals on earth are abusers of other individuals’ time on earth. such a temptation to assume would remind me that i, too, have felt what it was like to be falsely accused with assumptions.
      why we choose to assume, is not a trivial question to begin with. but we assume nonetheless.
      trying to live each day without assuming anything or everything is not really a light task. and i wonder how a saint could be called a saint, a sage could be called a sage, a prophet could be called a prophet, a pope could be called a pope, without the temptation to assume? is making an assumption a sin? if it is not a sin, assumptions, based on my past experiences, have brought out the worst in things. have assumptions brought out more ‘worst’ than ‘best’ since time immemorial? i do not have an answer to that.
      so what’s in a day, i asked myself? a day for me is my last day on earth. a day for me, is two days for another individual, maybe more. a day for me is another thanks giving day. a day for me means my time on earth is another day nearing the end. a day for me, means another day of growing. a day also means i am witnessing, observing, and experiencing new changes around me and within me. but, often, a day would mean i am witnessing, observing, and experiencing old things that are packaged in different forms.
      today, is a day where i am enjoying writing, reading, studying, and exploring.
      today is an exceptionally good day.
============================================================================
Andrias Y.
October 14, 2006

      tools used most often in 2006:

• MS Word
• MS Excel
• Notepad (run: notepad)
• Calculator (run: calc)
• Explorer (run: explorer)
• MS DOS Prompt (run: cmd)
• Disk Cleanup (run: cleanmgr)
• Regedit (run: regedit)
• MoziFox
• IE Explorer
• Adobe Acrobat
• NJStar Chinese WP
• DisB2B
• Solitaire (run: sol)
• Lavasoft Ad-Aware
• Zone Alarm Firewall
• McAfee AntiVirus
• AVG Free Antivirus
• Avast Free Antivirus
• RegCleaner

      Yup, earlier i thought that only two antivirus tools can run synchronously. it turned out i was wrong. an ex-colleague installed an antivirus tool that i have never heard before, and i decided to install it on my system. it turned out three antivirus tools can run synchronously. i am running McAfee, AVG, and Avast right now. AVG Free edition for some reason can detect a virus much earlier than the others. this probably means that it’s searching ability is more sensitive. however, the Free edition doesn’t provide a strong function or ability to clean or delete the virus and/or infected file.
==========================================================================
Andrias Y.
October 14, 2006

      finally decided to download and install Google Desktop. Installed several plug-ins, and then removed most of them after a bit of tinkering here n there.
      personally, i disliked having my desktop cluttered. i like my desktop with as little icons and viewable features as possible. with the Google Desktop, i think the following plug-ins are useful for the moment: Search Wizard, Babylon Box, System Monitor, To Do, and Day NIght World Clock Gadget. Didn’t crash the system thus far, and will continue observing whether the existing plug-ins are stable with the system.
       installed the world map plug-in, but somehow things got tedious when the map changes automatically, plus the searching function isn’t really all that great. if you are in Indonesia, and wanted to check for buildings, restaurants, automatic teller machines and etc. one of the best online tool to use is at http://www.cybermap.co.id/. i hope this site keeps on developing and can live to see 2010.
      don’t know whether there is such a tool available right now. but, i want a tool that would send me information on news articles specifically customized based on my preferences. the latest news based on preferred customization would inform me in the toolbar, and by clicking it, a menu would automatically appear. the menu’s size and look can also be easily customized. one thing that is very important is that the tool shouldn’t bog down on the user’s system performance as well as clog the internet bandwidth. it should be easy to use, very quick to catch news update, very responsive with the customized preference of the user, and then send the updated catch directly to the user’s desktop.
      one of the reasons such tool would be useful is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the user’s personal time. i don’t find it fun in scrolling down and searching for the news of my preferences even after customizing in a limited fashion. it is not saving my time.
      but, considering that the Internet connection in Indonesia is still expensive, one can’t hope too much. a 1:1 ratio of 1 Mbps dedicated line to 1 user is too much too ask, especially if one is not willing to pay the service’s price in Indonesia. even if one day i can afford such a service in the future, the computer hardware, software and setting must also meet the requirements. currently, with 768 MB memory, i still find my computer in the office somewhat slow. the 1 GB memory i used at home seems to be faster.
      thus… bringing me yet again to the conclusion that the company that sold and set up the computer system for the company i’m working at has given a lower-grade system but charged a premium price. with or without the upper management knowledge of this, plus other stuffs that have occurred that were incurred from this affiliated company, i decided to shut my mouth. after all, things aren’t as simple as it seems.
=============================================================================================
Andrias Y.
October 14, 2006