Indonesia…

what to talk about this country?

Well, apart from Corruption, of course. Apart from its corrupt government, and all the corrupt practices practiced in every system inside this country.

Well…

There’s Indonesia’s Independence Day coming up, three days from now. Not much talk about it nowadays, but still it is a big day for Indonesia.

and there’s also Miss Indonesia-gone-Universe Nadine Chandrawinata, a contradictive representative of Indonesia.

oh not to forget Bali bombing, the Tsunami, the earthquake… Who can forget those three when talking about Indonesia.

Speaking of hot topic, is bribing still a topic discussed often in Indonesia?

Is it still a concern of the government, that a lot of its systems are corroded by bribing practices in all area?

I just so happen to experience the need to bribe today. I went to Daan Mogot to get my driving license, and the supervisor failed me in my writing test. He just can’t let me pass, so I asked him why.

"Susah, susah. Lulusnya memang susah."

"Supaya bisa lulus harus gimana, Pak?"

"280ribu lah"

By that he meant that I need to pay him two hundred and eighty thousand rupiah to pass and earn my driving license (as opposed to the real official fee of a hundred and ten thousand rupiah - i paid this amount already).

I did ask him how to pass the test, but I expected an answer like "try learning more about the rules and regulation of driving" or something similar. But hey, lack-of-money seemed to be the reason why I failed. I didn’t give the man enough money, so he just can’t let me pass.

It made me wonder, did he failed me on purpose? He did seem to be very ‘nice’ during the test. He talked to me, asked me questions (he asked if I was ‘with anybody’s help’). Apparently that’s him trying to know whether I’ve bribed someone already. If I said "No, I’m on my own and not receiving anybody’s help" that means I haven’t bribed anyone, and that he’s allowed to force me into bribing him. Maybe this supervisor failed me on purpose, so that he can earn a bribe-money from me.

Bribing is definitely a form of corruption. We see the flow of money is corrupted from flowing right into the government’s account, into the government’s workers’ hands.

Oh my, I guess we can’t not talk about corruption when talking about Indonesia, right?

I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart.

I am never without it. Anywhere I go, you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling.

I fear no fate; for you are my fate, my sweet.

I want no world; for beautiful, you are my world, my true.

and It’s you are whatever a moon has always meant, and whatever a sun will always sing, is you.

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows

Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud, and the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide, and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart.

I carry your heart, I carry it in my heart

-e.e Cummings-

Before i begin, let me say I credit all of the quotes down below to Levin. We are quote-searcher and quote-typer

"I am someone else when I’m with you, someone more like myself." -Original Sin-

"Your eyes are the sweetest stars I’ve ever seen." -Moulin Rouge-

"The hardest part of love isn’t loving someone, but having the courage to let them love you back." -The Wedding Date-

"Will you love me for the rest of my life? | No, I’ll love you for the rest of mine." -Phenomenon-

"I’ll never let go." -Titanic-

"I don’t come here to say I can’t live without you. I can live without you. I just don’t want to." -Jennifer Aniston, Rumor Has It-

"You complete me." -Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire-

"If you love something let it go free. If it doesn’t come back, you never had it. If it comes back, love it forever." -The Mexican-

“That’s my sweetheart in there. Wherever she is, that’s where my home is.” -The Notebook-

"I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it." -City of Angels-

"A life without love is no life at all." -Ever After-

"If I could ask God one thing, it would be to stop the moon. Stop the moon and make this night and your beauty last forever." -A Knight’s Tale-

"The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -Moulin Rouge-

"Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness." -Shall We Dance-

"It’s only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reasons can be found. I am only here tonight because of you. You are all I am. You are all my reasons." -A Beautiful Mind-

"Every step I have taken … has been to bring myself closer to you." -Memoirs of a Geisha-

"Say you’re a bird // If you’re a bird, I’m a bird." -The Notebook-