Slice of life 001

The boy was sitting peacefully.

It was midday burning above him as he couldn't even see his own shadow beneath him. The leaves fell slowly from a nearby tree, dancing gracefully within the small typhoon of dust, turning around and around and around until they finally landed softly on the hot paved street. He flicked his tongue, tasting the falling droplet from his forehead and wiped it nonchalantly with his right hand.

The sun was indeed blazing.

He looked above and smiled. He knew that no matter what, the sky would always brighten his life. He loved the colors of the sky. The vivid blue mixed with splashes of white here and there. If he could ask God one thing, it would be to keep that chef d'oeuvre forever above him.

He started to play with his hands. He pointed the sky and tried to trace the shining clouds, making any imaginable figures that his imagination allowed. A horse here, a dog there, maybe a car behind the horse, a woman a little bit to the left and maybe a flower just above the woman. Oh, so many things you could do with those shapes.

But he had to stop for now.

Because eventhough he was quite happy, he could only sing when the traffic light turned red.

Hedovolution...

A hedonist is someone who is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure, to be more specific, the pleasure of senses. His life will always be dictated by that very reason, thus, he doesn't really consider the consequences of what he's doing as long as he has fun. *note to readers, the "he" in this article does NOT refer to anyone particular, I just want to make my life easier*.

He's the ultimate carpediemist, the absolute partygoer, the supreme ruler of festivities... he's the sole definition of pleasure.

But as the time goes on and the culture changes, we could see some new sub-species of homo hedonistus. You could find them in their habitats such as Clubs, Cafes or Bars. For some unknown reasons, the social pressure modifies the evolution of the species into few different kinds.

The Timidus Hedonistus: This kind is always standing in the dim parts of the habitat. He quitely sips his drink, watching other people and even talks a bit. You might think he's harmless, but after few moments, you realize that you have to buy a new bottle, since the guy is already gulping the last drop of it. Then as the alcohol starts to flow inside his veins, he becomes calm and relaxed, smiling because he quitely achieves his goal; to seek pleasure in the bottom of the glass.

The Pretendus Hedonistus: The laughable kind. He is the self-proclaimed king of the party, he tries hard to surpass anyone in everything whether it is drinking, flirting and even dancing. He always says that he's the ultimate player. BUT when someone else, most probably from another species, tries to pull him into the game, he will probably back off by mumbling some inane nonsense. And he will become the object of silly joke for the next millenia.

The Maximus Hedonistus: The Creme de la Creme. The Top of the Heap. The Cherry on Top. This guy will make sure that his presence is noticed by everyone. He plays the game as he writes the rules. When he enters the habitat, his sole goal is to play hard. Harder than before. Harder than anyone else. He cares about the surrounding in the sense that he will make sure that everyone is at least having half the fun he's having. He's the man without fear, the daredevil in person and sometimes... the devil.

So far, I only encountered those three species... maybe I didn't have the chance to meet the others. So, if you happen to know more than me, feel free to enlight me.

As for me, I am the Oneofthekindus Hedonistus...

By the way, which species are you?

Pages... my friends.

I love books... they are my sources of inspiration, my emergency exit to escape the sometimes harsh reality, my window to admire places I've never been, my companions wherever I am... my unconditional bestfriends.

I befriend hundreds of them. But the thing is, uh, I don't really take care of them. I don't have any assigned library for them nor a place to put them neatly. I just let them reside everywhere they want, whether it is under my bed, behind the table or the floor in my room.

They're living their own life.

I like the feeling when I find one of my lost books somewhere inside that mountain of bric-a-brac in my room. It's like finding an old friend. First thing I do is to embrace the scent of old book that I love so much, then I start to caress the cover amorously. Finally begins the intimate dialogue between the story and I, so much like an internal conversation in a language that we both only know. I am often surprised to find new things between the lines as the words flood my mind gently. And as I turn the pages, it's like palpating one's soul, renewing the long lost relationship and remembering the almost forgotten discussion we've had once.

Yes, for me, books are alive. That is something I found out ever since i started to comprehend them. They all have their own character, they breath between the pages, they sing you lullabies, they tell you stories and sometimes, they even teach you how to become the person you always want to be. They reflect our personality and before you know it, you all become one.

I feel sorry for those who don't like to read. To live without books it's like having a beautiful house without a single window.

And it's hard to truly appreciate life in a confined place.

La mort est un processus rectiligne...

Found that in a french novel. It means "death is a straight process". Somehow, it made me wonder about the way life goes because at first, it seems absurd, isn't it? The two adjectives are contradictary at the very least.

Process implies series of actions that will produce a result. Since there are so many actions you could choose during the course of your life, so many turns you could take in that path, it doesn't make a real sense that a process could be straight, right?

Or does it?

Something straight is direct. It goes to one direction and it goes fast, like a bullet from the barrel to the point of impact. It doesn't turn, it doesn't make any choices, it doesn't think... it goes straight.

So how you correlate those two together?

In life, we make choices indeed, we think about any possibilities, we balance the pros and cons. In short, we try to live our life according to our desire. We build a house, create an environment that we believe is good for us, to put it bluntly, we try to build our own world. Everything necessary to make you believe that you live your own life...

But then again, there is death. Ahhhh, the surest thing in life is that you will die someday, somewhen. In 50 years, 5 years, 5 weeks, 5 days, 5 hours, 5 minutes and even 5 seconds from now. This is where the two adjectives make sense.

Your whole life is an accumulation of choices, turns and thoughts. you could always choose your path, that is what make us differ from animal... the knowledge that you can choose your life the way you want it to be. But in the end, you will face death no matter what.

"Death is a straight process". Do whatever you want in life, fill your mind with fireworks of joy, see the world from different angles.

So you won't regret it.

"Quand la fin est devant moi, donnez-moi la meilleure place pour la regarder dans les yeux et lui dire, 'tu es la seule chose que je n'ai pas vue'".

Finally...

Yeah.... finally. After few weeks... or is it months... that I didn't post anything in my blog, there are many things that happened in my simpleton life. I was nominated for Daun Muda Award. It's a competition for young creatives in advertising from which the winner would compete next year in Pattaya, Thailand.

Well, I guess I got to go to that place next year.

Because I won it.

I can't tell you how good I felt when they announced my name on stage. It felt like thousands thunders drumming between every single heart beat. Yeah, it felt good. It was a dream came true. And it was real. Very real. And scary at the same time. Because from now on, I have to work much harder and I must not dissapoint everyone who put their trust on me. Especially my new employer.

Yes, I have found a new job too. I am now an art director in EuroRSCG/Adwork. Funny how things work when you expect them the least.

But really, recognition and glory notwithstanding, somehow I think I have found a lot of things from this award. First of all, I am very glad that I made friends with some of the most talented young people in advertising. And this I say to my fellow finalists, "You guys rock!!". We are all the winners, and yeah, I hope I wouldn't lose contact with any of you, because once again, "You guys rock!!". We had fun, right guys? The after party was a blast, if only I could remember more of it. Arrrgh, Derry, you're the devil in person. Stop choking me with that Cuervo.

Anyway, the experience was grandiose at the very least. Once again, I thank all of you who made it possible to me to step up in my path. Especially my soulmate, I know you always support me, even when you are miles away from me. And last but not least, my partner in crime, Mr. Dhany Virdian. You rule, brother. Hope I could work with you again, and accumulate any existing award in this freaking world.

It's good to be back in the track. Finally.

Let's rock...