My Grey World

Indonesian Chinese Chinese Indonesian Chindo Indochina Cokin Tong ngin Tionghoa Cina There are a lot of things people use to call me and similar people : a person of Chinese descent/ancestry who was born and raised in Indonesia. But in English-speaking world, I always choose to call myself “Indonesian Chinese”. Sometimes I don’t use it [...]

We get depressed. Of course we do. Things don’t always go our way. Right? Sometimes I find myself in a situation so depressing, I feel crippled to do anything. It’s all so impossible, and I’ll feel helpless. But now, I think, sometimes I depress myself. It’s not the situation that depresses me, it’s me. Me [...]

I started writing this entry around 1 month ago and forgot to finish it. I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button some days ago (it was a midnight movie). I intended to write this after watching the movie but I was too tired. Anyway, this is not a review of the movie. If you [...]

Sometimes I feel that I’m always in the middle. Not good enough, but not bad either. My grades are never top grades, but they’re still adequate to keep me from being kicked out. I play piano, finished my grade 7, but I’m still not able to play Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu. Perhaps it’s because of my [...]

Home. One word, four letters. How big is a word that can make me confused and insecure? Only a four-letter word. So which one should I call home? After 2 years in Singapore, I know I’m very comfortable living here. I miss Singapore when I’m back in Jakarta, and vice versa. But somehow I think [...]

This post is to clarify that my previous post, Dear Bloggers, is not a response to a highly popular blogpost by Cowboy Caleb “How to be an irritating Singaporean blogger“. Probably it’s the timing that makes it inevitable that people think it is, and I have to admit that in some way or other the [...]

Remember what defines you as a blogger. If you have a blog and you update it regularly voluntarily (under no pressure of other people or rather money pressure), you’re a blogger. This is my personal opinion, but after muddling around the blogosphere for years, this is the best term that I think defines a blogger. [...]

I missed a choir rehearsal on Thursday. The president demanded an explanation for the choir. This letter explains the reason, and also explains why I haven’t been updating regularly. And to show my sincerest apologies. Dear choir members, This is not the best or the most satisfactory or sensible explanation ever, but this is the [...]