Glee-ing

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Leaving the ultimate cliffhanger after almost 3 seasons long, Glee is going on hiatus for 7 weeks. Here I’m asking you, do you enjoy Glee? I wrote a review of this charming TV serial in here a long time ago. You know, I personally, love cheesy movies. But Glee isn’t one of it. I do love Glee (and I have two red and yellow Glee T-shirt as worn by some fans in Oprah show) as a whole package of entertainment. But not when it gets overrated.

If you are one of the 9gag zombies, you know how overrated Glee got criticized. And if you’re one of the fans of some singer/band, you know how overrated Glee fans commented about the original song (or sometimes wondering how on earth people don’t know Bohemian Rhapsody is first sung by Queen, not Glee). Excessive things always lead to destruction.

The early season of Glee is winning my heart for its charming characters and its great songs. The series started by recycling all 70s – 80s songs, from Journey to Fleetwood Mac, from Van Halen to The Rolling Stone. The series kicked off strong by bringing great issues like teen pregnancy, bullying, homosexuality, religion, and some interesting storyline. The response is overwhelming, Oprah invited them to the show and many art programs and show choir inspired by it. Lea Michele and Chris Colfer got their spots in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and Billboard seems to love them. The spotlight came most likely from people who shared the same story. Dumped into the trash bin, humiliated, being the underdog, fear, denial, there’s a loser inside all of us that in such way got connected with the characters. Many lives saved, the relation between the viewers and the characters becoming so strong as they found courage on the show.

The Glee phenomenon continued when they strikes back in their second and third seasons. They introduced us to more music, Florence and the Machine, Neon Trees, FUN, even Young the Giant (Cough Syrup video hits their 2 million viewers the night Glee aired the episode On My Way which featured the song). They added more musical songs, they did songs from The Rocky Horror, the West Side Story, Wicked, Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, etc. They made tribute episode, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Madonna, and Michael Jackson. Then all the shenanigans started. They started recycling EVERY hit song, they mashed up some brilliant songs into weird ones, they went from Rihanna to Katy Perry, from Maroon5 to Bruno Mars (even LFMAO or whatever the name is). The storyline (or love relationship) got annoyingly messy as they try to pair every member to another and the kiss became so intense and gross. But in such a way, they constantly given message to society that said it is okay to be different, to be brave, to fight all the stereotypes. And yeah, many people cheered watching Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson’s kiss on national television (which later that day got into the trending with hash tag #TheyKissed).

Until today, I still watched Glee. They still kept their charms by showing even quirkier and freakier characters, which I love. But I know it is overrated to hate the show, the same way as to love the show. Glee is still maintaining their high ratings and I just wish they stop singing ALL Billboard songs. I’m still looking forward to more Glee, and seeing how they inspired many other people to start a better day.

A while ago, I read my friend tweeted that said more or less like this, “Lea Michele should stay at Broadway, Glee is just a waste of talent for her”. I agree for the talents side, but I thought, Lea Michele could have stay at Broadway, won a Tony or two. But rather, she chose to be an annoying bitch that sounds amazing in Glee and then, saved lives. An easy choice.

The Fall

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In the game between feelings and reality, there is one who always wins anyway. Truth.
Do you hear the sound in your head that used to guide you to tears or laugh? Does it matter anymore in the sake of happiness?
Shoot for the moon, they say. But in order to do that, one needs to fly. Whether you landed amongst the stars or landed here on earth, it is the flight that matters. The jump and the fall, the excitement and the pain.
Everyone meant to be brokenhearted, yet everyone deserves happiness. So, take this fall, and after this, let’s hug the galaxy.

There’s plenty of fish in the sea, but there’s always plenty of stars to catch in the sky :)

Naik Kereta Keliling Jawa

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Setelah tahun lalu tanpa sengaja mendapat link tentang perjalanan keliling Jawa dengan kereta, saya cukup terobsesi untuk mengadakan perjalanan yang sama. Sebenarnya niatan untuk melakukan perjalanan ini sudah ada beberapa waktu sebelumnya ketika membaca Traveler Indonesia dengan liputan utama yang sama. Akhirnya dengan sisa field break yang belum diambil dan long weekend pertama di tahun 2012, saya kesampaian juga naik kereta keliling Jawa.

Hal yang pertama direncanakan tentu saja rute perjalanan. Kereta apa yang digunakan dan jadwal yang tepat sehingga waktu 3 hari yang saya punya tidak terbuang percuma. Cara termudah mengefisienkan waktu adalah mencari kereta malam sehingga menghemat uang penginapan dan ‘tau-tau sampai’ :P. Saran saya sih untuk yang berminat lewat Jalur Utara, wajib hukumnya mencari jadwal kereta pagi/siang, too good to be missed. Awalnya saya sudah merencanakan untuk menaiki 6 kereta, dengan rute Jakarta – Bandung – Malang – Surabaya – Banyuwangi – Surabaya – Semarang – Jakarta. Tapi karena waktu yang tidak memungkinkan dan karena kehabisan tiket (padahal saya beli hampir sebulan sebelumnya), akhirnya cuma kesampaian naik 4 kereta saja. Sempat ganti rencana mendadak di loket karena kehabisan tiket Argo Sindoro (Semarang Tawang – Gambir) untuk pulang, untungnya teringat Fajar Utama yang berhenti di Stasiun Pasar Senen. Rute yang dipilih akhirnya Bandung – Surabaya – Banyuwangi – Surabaya – Semarang – Jakarta. Dengan kereta yang dipilih Argo Wilis – Mutiara Timur – Mutiara Timur – Gumarang – Fajar Utama.

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Envy

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Envy is a strong word.

Melihat teman-teman (apalagi teman-teman dekat) meraih sesuatu yang lebih dari kita, kadang bikin minder. Entah mereka dapat pekerjaan bagus, atau dapat beasiswa nun jauh di sana. Padahal seharusnya kita ikut merasa bangga atas apa yang dicapai si teman dan menjadikannya cambuk semangat untuk berusaha lebih lagi.

Sometimes in my bizarre insane times, I got down so much that I blame myself for all those inability. To do great is never going to be my thing. I kept questioning why I couldn’t get the same chances, the same success.

Tapi kemudian saya sadar, teman-teman saya yang punya pekerjaan di perusahaan multinasional mungkin belum pernah membantu orang lain meneruskan sekolah. Teman-teman saya, yang digaji besar atau digaji dollar, bisa membiayai adik-adiknya bayaran SPP, toh saya juga bisa. Jadi apa yang sebenernya saya permasalahkan? Apa ukuran sukses bagi masing-masing orang?

But what’s the point of all the glory, if you’re not doing something for others? If you’re not touching anyone?

Saya menertawakan teman saya yang pindah haluan ke perusahaan Tambang hanya karena ingin bekerja di ‘perusahaan yang punya nama besar’ (di kasus ini walaupun dengan embel-embel terkenal dari segi gaji malah down grade istilahnya, dari segi experience-pun terlihat mundur dan bergaji lebih). Tapi kemudian saya sadar bahwa saya sedang menertawakan diri sendiri. Apa bagusnya kerja di perusahaan besar dan terkenal, disebut hebat oleh orang lain kalau punya waktu untuk membantu orang lain saja tidak ada? Ketika saya mendengar pendapat teman yang bilang kalau dengan mencari uang yang banyak, dia ingin membantu orang lain. Saya malah menertawakannya lebih kencang, membantu itu harusnya ada ketika ada niat. Karena membantu tidak melulu tentang uang (walaupun pada kenyataannya uang akan sangat amat membantu).

In the end, I found relieve.

Tujuan akhir manusia saya bukan untuk dikenal karena titel perusahaan, karena harta melimpah, apa lagi karena gengsi, tapi saya ingin dikenal dengan seberapa banyak saya menyentuh orang lain untuk meraih mimpinya.

Terdengar seperti pembenaran? Tapi saya sangat yakin dengan pilihan ini. Terlalu, sangat, yakin.