Midyear Report

This blog is designed to make me look wiser with stuff I’ve learned. Let the list begin.

• Converting recorded files from Cubase into readable Ableton files is not as easy as people said on the web. Scarlett sound card is also picky. Wish she’d said it on her box.
• The recent massive ransomware cyber-attack is shit. There’s a reason why Apple is a bit more expensive.
• If you’re not a Steve Jobs person, think of this: updating your Windows OS == how your body needs the antibody.
• I hope my love for the Big Durian won’t fade away. Even after a series of politically-planned protests done on Wiro Sableng dates have led us to finally see the grand scene of Ahok, especially after being defeated by two men I’m not really a fan of.
• Two things I find funny: One, our hard-fought democracy is still at its infancy. Two, religion is still something one can use as a weapon these days. I used to be able to brag about us being the role model for tolerance and shit. Now it feels like living in a country like Malaysia.
•  十 and 是 are two different shis in Mandarin.
• Doesn’t matter what business you run, ‘Utama’ still tops the list for naming your PT.
• You can fight for equality wherever you are. Be it LGBTQ or people of color or anything, really. You don’t have to identify yourself as gay or chinese even just to join the good forces. What I want is making sure one day my kid will wake up to a fairer world.
• There’s always that followable, copiable template in starting things like nonprofit or business of any industry. I don’t like that. Makes me feel locked up in a room. I will only follow what I think necessary.
• I wonder what it’s like to code before Java, Phyton or even Jess were made available for spoiled humans like us.
• I can embrace the fact marketing is essential in everything we do. I just don’t like the part we polish shit. Too much shit is fabricated and most of us still buy that.
• Money is everything. Managing the money we’ve made is more important.
• Baleku received more than 50 articles two months after being launched. Progress!
• Despite the terrible access to clean water, minimum wage in Kupang is higher than it is in Yogyakarta and Lombok. Also, you could never find a beggar.
• I constantly think what would happen if the quantum computer already existed.
• Who gets to govern the space now? like the international waters. The US? Russia?
• I could never ever ever ever exploit anyone in everything I do. For the time and everything they’ve invested into getting that skill. Never will I let that happen in my circle. You can begin with highly-skilled programmers or designers that get paid shit by the business owners. A lot of these so-called business owners run their show like an asshole just because they’re under pressure of $$$. No excuse for this matter. Be kind. Be human.
• What happened to Mirum is one small example of my previous point.
• Juggling between jobs was doable last year and two years before that while maintaining my status as a student. Starting things at the same time really means about how much stress I can handle. I’m in good shape, both mentally and physically, at least the moment I write this. 
• I’m always gonna be that guy who posts shit he likes.
• I thought I knew quite a lot about this country. Apparently, I’m just one of the 10% smartass group who claims to understand things. The more I explore this huge country, the more I feel humbled.
• Once we’ve learned how to love more, the page ends there. We don’t know how to stop. We just keep on loving.
• No matter how ugly it might look, people who confront my point of view on the internet are 10x better than those who silently click like and leave because they take part in keeping the conversation going. These folks who oppose my views make me think a lot. I like that.
• I refuse to call people as friends when all they do is telling people life is about relax and stay in your comfy room. Baby, it’s not. Life’s too short for a sunbath every day. 
• Sweat and intelligence are the sexiest two things in the entire universe to me.
• A kind heart is much sexier.
• Being able to construct sentences and switch tones are the key to succeed in many things.
• I’ve come to believe we all still have a place for our ex lovers, and we, too, exist in their world. Blocking your contact or shutting the door to their world, it could mean they can’t help falling for someone they can no longer be with. It should be understandable for you. It doesn’t mean they hate. They could never.
• In Alor alone, people speak up to 42 local languages, neither of which I understand at the moment.
• Imitating accent is the secret to understanding any language you wish to master. But it still feels weird whenever we do it.
• Wherever you setup a foundation. In Afghanistan, India, Colombia, New York, Singapore, Jakarta, they are almost similar from the way they’re started and all. There are also lots to learn from.
• I love Rowan Blanchard.
• Just discovered Ahok, Jokowi, Awkarin, have more followers than Elon Musk. I’m not liking this.
• I’d prefer more people like @plaaastic . I think it’s because I like something messy and brutally true.
• Economist > WSJ.
• Parallel universes exist, as one study suggests. I’m sure this will be the start of more exciting discoveries.
• Converting Whatsapp users to Slack is like being a missionary.
• Say no to consuming alcohol three hours before taking TOEFL. You’d fall asleep during the listening part.
• If I had enough burnable cash, I’d pay everyone to try stand up paddle board yoga.
• Surfing and diving should be part of our Indonesian education curriculum. We can beat Australians and Californians in the waves.
• One of life’s greatest pleasures is to hear someone say how gabut I am because I look like someone who does nothing 24/7 with no responsibilities attached.
• Whenever you hear someone tells you to surround yourself with likeminded people, don’t buy it. Choose the opposite and you’d be surprised how far the gap really is. Makes you learn even more.
• Regardless how much I hate the way formal higher education functions in this country, I must say Ive been exposed to quite a few things I did want to know. It’s just school everywhere only allows you to scratch the surface of things you wanna understand profoundly. I hate this. You have to always walk the extra mile to dive into things you like.
• Reading 1,000 books a year != living a life full of lessons. Balance it out. And never brag about the book you barely write.
• I often wish I was a girl. Being a guy also means a higher tendency to think with a dick. I’ll explain more on this later.
• Many introverted souls argue everyone who talks prefer this way of life. Very few of them understand that being able to deliver something vocally requires immeasurable amount of courage. It is to be able to fight through our fears and speak up. Sometimes we need to lose the cool of being in the bubble, in that comfort of being alone, for other things that really matter. It doesn’t have to be always about us in our tiny world.
• People who think 25 is old do exist.
• Living in HK vs. living in Tokyo is no longer a topic I should pay attention to.