APAAN TUH? NGE-BAND? KAGAK BAKAL JADI KAYA..

I have to say thanks to my manager.. she is working in the same department with me..

Tadinya, saya hampir batal menonton Tohpati in Concert di Graha Bakti Budaya TIM itu, karena keabisan tiket yg dijual lewat agen. Itu padahal seminggu sebelumnya saya coba-coba untuk hunting. Then, I tried to forget it, daripada keobsesi dan kebawa mimpi untuk tetep nonton..

Ternyata my manager, yg juga kepengen nonton, bersedia ikut mbeliin (menerima titipan) tiket box jam 14.00, 6 jam sebelum konser. Dan, DAPET! Even duduknya rada mepet kiri, tapi tetep juga enak kok posisinya. Karena emang Graha Bakti Budaya di TIM itu di-design untuk konser, dan dimana pun kita duduk, pasti sound n vision-nya asik-asik aja..

Tohpati was so excellent at that time. Dan, saya juga salut sama dia, karena dia bisa berkompromi dengan pasar. Idealis, tapi juga kompromis. Karena gimana-gimana juga, idealis ya idealis.. tapi kan dapur tetep harus ngebul juga.. he..he..

Lagu-lagu yang disajikan Tohpati pada Gitar juga beragam. He is the man of a thousand faces. Jazz yang ng-funk ayo, jazz yang swing ayo, romantic jazz yang setengah-setengah klasik pun juga ayo, ditambah dengan ethnic nuance (suara-suara kendang bali, teriakan-teriakan kecak, tari barongsai) pun juga asik-asik aja. Mungkin kalo bisa disamain dengan aktris, Tohpati ini seperti Meryl Streep. Bisa berperan sebagai siapa aja..

Ditambah dengan sentuhan orkestra lewat klub "Gee Strings" yang terdiri dari sekitar 20 orang member pemaen alat musik gesek, malem itu, cukup orisinil juga hasilnya. Kebetulan akustiknya juga bagus, sound-nya juga OK, so semoga tidak berlebihan should I say that this concert was closely to the perfect result! Band pengiring yg terdiri dari Piano, Marimba & Vibes, Clarinet & Saxophone, Keyboard, Bass, Drum en Percussion juga kompak banget.. Dan, bintang tamu "Sutha AFI" yg nyanyi "Lukisan Hati" juga tidak mengecewakan (walo belum maksimal sih keliatannya.. but it's OK)

For a ticket that cost us about Rp100.000, the concert gave us more that we have paid.. Walo kalo dijualnya lebih dari 100rb, jangan-jangan belum tentu banyak yg dateng sih.. he..he..

Pada saat Tohpati kasih kata sambutan, "Terima kasih.. kepada mertua saya, yang udah ngijinin anaknya untuk saya kawinin." Dan semua penonton tertawa, dia pun lanjut, "Thanks juga untuk percaya sama saya dengan ng-band sebagai pekerjaan saya. Padahal dulu kan, 'Apa itu nge-band nge-band?'!" Semua penonton pun tertawa lagi, dia melanjutkan kembali, "Kalo sekarang nge-band bisa kaya loohh. Eh, tapi mah, kalo maen Jazz tetep miskin.. he..he.."

Hihihihi.. Tohpati bisa aje. And suddenly I realized, ini sebenernya emang fenomena yang terjadi di belahan bumi mana pun, bahwa pekerja seni, biasanya identik dengan kemelaratan, kecuali segelintir orang aja kali ye. Bahkan nih, waktu saya ngasih tau ke temen saya bahwa malem itu saya mo nonton TOHPATI IN CONCERT, dia sempet ngira bahwa saya mo nonton KERISPATIH! Coba tuh, gimana ya? Jangannya membayangkan uang, bahkan ketenaran pun juga belum didapet dari jadi pemaen band jazz di Indonesia..

Bahkan saya sendiri pun, yang udah mendarah daging maen piano, dan sukur2 masih bisa ng-jazz (walo pun pas2an) sampe sekarang, juga sudah diultimatum oleh orang tua untuk tidak bermusik sebagai pekerjaan utama. Itu dari jamannya saya SD, ketika saya mulai hobi bermusik, pattern untuk 'jangan jadi pemusik' itu udah ditanemkan di otak saya. Walhasil, sekarang, saya.. ya.. pegawai tulen deh.. But, I'll never regret it. Karena toh jadi pegawai ternyata ya asik-asik aja, walo pun kadang2 kalo liat konser2 kayak Tohpati tadi malem, aduuuh, kapan yaa saya bisa konser Jazz lagi ditonton dengan banyak audience..

Saya pikir, kalo emang kita udah suka sesuatu, rasa-rasanya lebih baik kita wujudkan itu, walopun mungkin belum tentu mendatangkan efek materi yang bagus untuk kita. But, kalo kita memang puas menjalaninya dengan setulus hati, pasti rasanya bahagia deh. Dan, kalo mo amannya sih, mungkin kita bisa ikut jejak Tohpati. Untuk idealisme, dia wujudkan tadi malem pada saat konser. Dan di luar itu, mungkin kadang-kadang dia berkompromi dengan selera pasar di Indonesia, sehingga jazz-nya ngebul, dapur.. ya nge-bul juga..

Dapur di Indonesia rasa-rasanya belum bisa nge-bul kalo cuman dari Jazz doang..

Then, I don't know.. will the condition be better for Jazz in our country?

I really.. don't.. know..

THE REVIEW (1): WILL YOU SAY YES TO A MARRIED MAN?

Ini sebenernya cuman topik iseng-iseng, yang kebetulan tiba-tiba terlintas pada saat nonton film 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. Film ini berkisah tentang 2 gadis, adik-kakak, namanya Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson) dan Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman), dengan latar belakang masa Inggris kuno di tahun 1500-an gitu lah. Pada awalnya, Raja Inggris Henry VIII (Eric Bana) yang sudah beristrikan Ratu Catharine Aragon (dari Spanyol), kecewa, karena pernikahannya dengan Catharine hanya menghasilkan anak perempuan. Dengan 'mencari-cari' alasan ingin punya anak lelaki (man born to be a king, but not woman.. at that time), Henry VIII pun mencari-cari mangsa dari kalangan bangsawan Inggris.

Pilihan pertamanya sebenernya jatuh kepada Mary. Namun, karena Mary itu sangat polos sekali, sementara Anne justru berambisi untuk jadi Ratu Inggris, maka Anne pun menyabet perhatian Henry VIII, dan berhasil membujuk Henry VIII untuk menceraikan istrinya, Catherine Aragon. Ndilalah, Kepausan Roma yang saat itu memegang kekuasaan tertinggi Katolik 'marah' besar atas perceraian Henry VIII, dan tidak merestui kekuasaan Henry VIII di Inggris. Apa yg terjadi? Anne ini justru kembali berhasil membujuk Henry VIII untuk KELUAR dari jalur Katolik (yang pada saat itu jadi agama resmi di Inggris) dan membuat agama baru, Kristen Anglikan!

What I wanna say is,
Anne itu rasa-rasanya kalo diliat-liat untuk ukuran 'hare geto' (bentuk 'past tense' dari 'hare gene' ;P), kok terkesan kayak perempuan gak ada harganya ya? Jelas-jelas sejuta pria muda bujangan nan keren disana tersedia banyak, kok malah mau-maunya sama orang yang udah beristri? Well, tapi kalo dalam kasus ini, berhubung Henry VIII itu raja, berkuasa, dan kebetulan cukup keren (kalo bener tampangnya mirip Eric Bana.. he..he..), ya who could resist of it?

But the point is,
Still..
Women, will you say yes to married man?

Saya pernah melontarkan pertanyaan iseng-iseng seperti ini to the girl that I feel (baru feel loh.. he..he..) will be the 'one' for the rest of my life. Kalo nggak salah, waktu itu saya baru kenal sekitar 2 bulan dengannya. Ada pun motiv saya bertanya kepada dia seperti itu, because I've heard an unpleasant gossip regarding to her. One of my friend said that she has ever had an affair with the married guy. Sebenernya saya sendiri gak akan mempermasalahkan kejadian yg telah lalu, dan manusia kan bisa saja berubah..

Tapi.. penasaran kan boleh dong? He..he..

Maka saya tanyakanlah kepada dia, "Kalo misalnya ada pria beristri, mau sama kamu, dan kamunya cinta, kamu iyain gak? Setidaknya, dimadu ato maksa dia untuk ncerain istrinya?"

Dugaan saya, berhubung 'kayaknya' (mudah2an saya gak salah, but it's all over now, jadi, kayaknya salah deh.. he..he..) dia udah agak 'jatuh hati' kepada saya, pasti dia bakalan jaim-jaim by an answer, "Gak bakalan lah gue mau.."

Ternyata jawabannya, "Hmm.. kalo aku cinta, yaa.. bisa kupikirkan lagi deh!"

DEG! Saya kaget! Lha opo iya sih bo, hare gene masih mo merusak rumah tangga orang?
"Hati kan gak bisa diboongin, Mas. Kalo udah cinta, akan kuperjuangkan. Tapi kan seperti aku bilang, aku mikir dulu, gak maen tomplok aja.."

Terlepas dari ini jawaban asal-asalan ato bukan.. terus terang point saya jadi agak minus untuknya. Karena gimana pun juga, tegakah kita untuk merusak rumah tangga orang? Kebayang gak? Kalo misalnya kita yg digituin sama orang, pasti pitam kita udah naek sampe ke langit ketujuh dan tinggal milih aja dilangit ketujuh itu, mo ke sorga ato ke neraka? He..he..

So, to all women around the world..
Again, I ask you..
Will you say yes to a married man?

But..
I think..

Kalo Anne Boleyn would have said 'no' kepada Henry VIII, dapat dipastikan cerita kesuksesan sejarah Inggris bisa lenyap dari muka bumi nan bulat ini! Soalnya, pada waktu pemerintahan Henry VIII, Inggris ini malah terpuruk habis-habisan dan bangkrut tiada tara. Justru pada saat Elizabeth I (yg notabene anak 'perempuan' dari Henry VIII dan Anne Boleyn) memerintah di pertengahan abad 15 sampe awal abad 16, Inggris bangkit meraih masa keemasan, dengan harta karun yang melimpah dan kekuatan armada perang angkatan lautnya yang sangat nge-top di seluruh perairan internasional. Elizabeth I ini juga yg paling sukses 'berprestasi' diantara sekian banyak raja-ratu Inggris sampai saat ini. Kata ahli sejarah, masa-masa itu belum (dan rada-rada gak mungkin) terulang lagi..

Lantas, bagaimana dengan akhir nasib Anne Boleyn sendiri setelah say 'yes' to Henry VIII dan membuat porak-poranda rumah tangga Henry VIII serta merubah peta religi di Inggris?

I guess, bila anda telah mengetahui apa yang terjadi dengan Anne Boleyn di akhir hidupnya (tontonlah film-nya, atau baca novelnya).. Anda pasti "will say no to a married man.." Kecuali, kalo anda nekat sih.. he..he..

So, the choice.. is all yours..

Yes.. or.. No? ;)

IT’S ALL ABOUT CHEMISTRY..

Weekend is a good thing to consume.. INFOTAINMENT! Yes! In weekdays you have already filled with those numbers and points that appeared in your audit working paper, and on weekend, it is your turn to audit the life of so many celebrities that appeared in papers or TV..

The news from the infotainment that interested me so much is about the actresses who are still being single, although they are already above the age of 40. And then, the red alert came to the interviewer with caps lock, bold and underlined, “What kind of a man that you are all looking for?”

Their answers averagely could be summarized into one point,
“I’m looking for a man that has a same chemistry like me..”

What is the chemistry then?

As far as I know, chemistry is the thing that really frightened me during High School. It was my nightmare until EBTANAS (they have been transformed into UAN nowadays). And of course, it was the thing that made me stood in the difficult position in front of my parents, since I got the ‘unpleasant’ grade of that subject in my EBTANAS.

I could conclude that chemistry is a very difficult subject then..

As for the actress that I’m pointing above, I’m sure that chemistry is a very difficult subject, like chemistry in EBTANAS for me (please, don't start to get confused.. he..he..). If it was the easy subject, I’m sure that they already getting married and no need to look for the man who has the same chemistry like them..

;P

Is it important? I mean, chemistry?

In my religion, we have been taught that we have to pick our spouse (or legal lover.. he..he..) based on our feeling of attractiveness. At least, you have to attract to him or her at the first time, then you could follow up that feeling by the next step.. until getting married. We were not suggested marrying someone if we didn’t have any feeling of attractiveness.. and it involved both party.. not just one.. to be fair..

I believe that attractiveness is the same thing as chemistry that have been mentioned by those actresses. But, to tell you the truth, it is very hard to understand about the concept of such chemistry.. even harder than understanding about consolidated financial report in advanced accounting..

;P

Some of my friends told me that ‘chemistry’ is important, but not ‘that’ important (I feel that they were trying to make me crazy for thinking about their answer). They (who averagely have been married, and left me with the all miserable for being single.. he..he..) think that once you got married, that chemistry was gone, and it just left us about tolerance and responsibility..

They told me, if you don’t like about something unpleasant in the marriage that you had, and you feel very burdened with it, it means that your chemistry is declined, or maybe gone. But, could it be enough reason for you to end your marriage?

I don’t think so..

All you have to do is giving your tolerance and responsibility to bring your marriage happily ever after.. though that ‘divorce’ could still be used as en emergency exit, but we are suggested to avoid that as much as we could..

Unless if you're celebrities and wanna make a nice head line in infotainment, of course..

Still, then, is it important for us to consider about chemistry in entrying or starting the marriage life?

The answer is.. it is still confusing like the subject of chemistry in UAN/EBTANAS..

THE OLD MAN & THE SEA

Well,

To increase my English ability, and my literary taste as well, recently I've decided to read so many fictions that has been composed by famous authors, some kind like the works of Pulitzer Prize Winner and the works from classical era..

And this time, I've read 'The Old Man & The Sea', from Ernest Hemingway..
(notes: The original English one.. not the translated one.. he..he..)

The story is..

There was an old fisherman, who one day decided to sail accross the sea, all just by himself. Before that, he always took the boy with him to fish together in the sea, but brought no good luck. There wasn't any fish enough to be caught..
And this time, when he was alone, he could.. caught.. a shark! For 48 hours he has spent the time on the ocean. And a lot of people gave him a big appraise regarding to the shark he has fished..

And suddenly, I remember about my friend.. whom just I've known for about 5 months..

She told me that lately she felt lonely.. She was used to play with her friends, when they were single. And after that, one by one has got married, and then, she was.. kind of.. being left by them..

I've just told her.. that should I read the book of "The Old Man & The Sea", I could conclude that sometimes people needs to be alone. Therefore, she or he could be stronger.. like the old man.. The old man could catch a shark when he was alone, and catch none of much when he was helped by the boy..

But, I noted to my friend, that it depends to the person itself.
I felt that my friend is very talkative, and could stand talking in a phone for many hours (which I hate most! And I will never do that with her, or I could burn her phone itself should she pushed me to do that! He..he..), doing everything together with other people, and left just a little space for her to do something individually (except learning at home.. she is taking her post graduate degree right now).
For my friend, of course, it is almost impossible to do such a thing like "The Old Man & The Sea"..
She just informed me that she has an intention to get married soon..
But I gave her a notice, that her intention should not becaused of.. trying to eliminate the loneliness feeling..
It could be one of the intentions.. But.. not the 'only' intention..

On the other circumstance, I really couldn't say much about it, since I've never been married with that reason, and also still being single until now.. he..he..

So,
To keep yourself together with the other people is a must.. (family, friend, husband, wife, children..)..
But, it's very important too, to keep a little space sometimes for you to be alone..
To have yourself getting stronger..
Like "The Old Man & The Sea"..
He could catch "shark" when he was alone..

Somehow, we could catch a shark then.. as long as it doesn't bite you at all..

;)