To vote or to abstain

Following the latest official advice from a certain religious organization here, and in anticipation of the upcoming national election for Indonesian House of Representative, there's a talk that the same organization would launch a new advice regarding the increasing tendency of abstention. One of my contact in another website has launched a pooling to see how people would react to the possibility.

I'm against the would-be-advice, but I also don't approve the abstention act.

I understand that one of the reasons why many people choose to be passive in an election is that none of the options available is in their favor. But then, we should choose any lesser of two devils, right? Like my motivation in registering as legal taxpayer, I think by voting we also gain some legal rights in criticizing the elected government. If one choose to abstain, the person shouldn't feel it's his right to also eat and enjoy some fruit of increasing prosperity. Nor it's his right to protest any of government's mismanagement causing him suffered. When one choose to abstain, the person also give up the right and responsibility in making sure the government run within his approval.

Then, why am I against any religious interference in this matter? Simple, because it is every one's right to vote or abstain. Even God give us each a free will to choose our own way, either go to Heaven or Hell or just follow any road in sight. The main thing is every option has its own consequences, and we each have to accept and deal with that.
For your information, none of my votes win any elections. Furthermore, lately I lacked information about who or what I should choose. But it doesn't lessen my enthusiasm in participating in the upcoming national election. Hmmm....I think I would give my vote to the same side as before. Curious? No way would you know.....it's strictly confidential...hahaha!

I'm legally a registered taxpayer!!!!

Okay, I should have shouted that days before now. Preferably at the beginning of this January. But due to my too deeply-immersed-reading the TWILIGHT SAGA, I put the idea to the dark corner of my mind. Oh well, it's not the only idea I neglected nowadays....

The SUNSET POLICY launched by the Government to double-up registered taxpayers last year had made me thinking and re-thinking every other day whether I should register or not. The tax value I should pay each year is definitely not much. And there's a possibility that I would be free from paying the annual tax next year, according to the new tax rules. What advantage or benefit would I gain from this small-yet-contains-a-risk step?

My motivation is quite simple. By taking this step, I would have a legal right to criticize the government, especially in its finance management. After all, it's our tax money they use for the operational. It's like saying, "Hey, you couldn't ignore my opinion! I have a legal proof that I had donated a part of my income for your convenience, no matter how little its value but I had had to work hard to earn it. You have received it, use it well within my approval!"

So, in the next two months I would be facing the complicated works of filling in the annual tax report. Not only for the company where I'm working, but also for myself. Hopefully, it would be quite as simple as I think.

Summary of Year 2008

Okay, I cheated on the date and time posting! I had so much things to do since Christmas's Eve, that I didn't have time to be online. Whenever I had time to open my computer, all I wanted to do was reading the e-book of Twilight Saga. So far, I had re-read them more than five times only in a month-time....and there were four books of them!

Back to the main subject.... In the final week of this year, after accomplished my choir duty for Christmas's Eve Mass, I surprised myself with how fast this year actually had moved. It seemed barely in last month that I lighted up fireworks with my sister and nephew on New Year's Eve. This unreal thought almost made me forgot to buy some fireworks. I just bought it on my way home this afternoon, a little early than usual, since my sister and I had a lot of things to buy for my Dad's birthday party tomorrow.
Seeing how fast this year going on, I just thought that there was nothing good I had done during it, but let's see....

Fiction hero:
I started this year with buying the latest series of Harry Potter (the seventh book) despite my usual carefully budget planning. I just couldn't resist it any longer. The series became one of my favourites, no matter it's actually a children literature.
I made a high leap at the end of this year by falling in love with The Twilight Saga. And I did that deeply considering I read all of the four books in less than a month! Thanks to my friend, Starlight, who eagerly advised me to read it and loaned the books. A very cute love story, unfortunately it had made quite an impact in my eyes in regarding the almost-relationship I consciously let it built lately.

Career:
After so much years trying to hold on and placate myself that maybe stay-put was the safest and best way for all despite my restless mind, once again I reached the edge of desperation. I just had to get out from this suffocating environment. How? I don't know. I sincerely hope I would get the new job I was interviewed just before Christmas Eve. The big leap I just did was registering myself as a taxpayer! Maybe the tax value I'd pay isn't much, but listed as a registered taxpayer would give me a right to give my opinion on how my money should be spent by The Government.

Relationship:
I had so much should-be-good relationships during this year. But, sadly, one way or the other I finally could see a fatal flaw in any of them. During several lately months, I let myself drifted into a relationship that principally far, far away from my ideals. But, just like my friend said....who knows? Maybe it was me who wishes and dreams too high that almost unreal. And when all of it almost reached a beach...bammmm......Edward Cullen of Twilight came into my imagination! Everything back to stalled status. Hah! Now I have to find someone that could over him!

Okay, that's all I could think of now. I already have so much plan to do next year.
I need to set up a online group for my church choir. My sister wants me to set up a special blog dedicated for the progress of Indonesian women of today and she will co-host it with me.

And how can I do that all? In my working hour? hahaha......

TWILIGHT: Edward Cullen, Prince Charming and Reality

At the beginning, I never considered to take my friend's offer for loan and read the book. The reason is quite simple. The book is written in the first person style, it would make me as though reading some one's diary....yuck, a violence of private boundaries! Hahaha....!

When the movie is launched, the bombastic review won me over. So, I decided to watch the movie first, so it wouldn't ruin the imagination I usually build myself in reading the book/source. And yes, it is very good in my opinion. Furthermore, the book is five star, so I wouldn't mind to save some money and add it into my library. The catch in my present live and dreams is the love story which once again started to shake and push me into the boundary between dreams and reality.

Every woman in this world has their own of Prince Charming, so do I. And the characteristic of my Prince is so close to the stereotype of Edward Cullen. Mind me....not the Actor, but the Book's Hero! Not necessarily thin, but strong and tall, eagle's eyes, mature, dependable and wise, humorist, too....and many things I couldn't find the exact word to describe it. Like a fiction hero, doesn't it? Yep....I think the same whenever I begin to list everything my-Mr. Right-Guy should have. An acquaintance once said that I set up a too-high-standard to achieve it. So, what? I'm an idealist after all when it comes to give my heart...hahaha...!

Somehow, for sometime now I tried to be more realistic and more or less lessen up my standard, give a chance for someone who is really far-far-away-from-my-ideal and let him build a spider web around us (hilarious? horror? I myself don't know for sure....hahaha!) I even gave him a permission to meet me in the upcoming holiday, although I am also sort of hoping he couldn't get any accommodation since I only told him recently.

And then I saw this movie. Read the book. Hunting some pics of it for my computer's wallpaper. Whereas the man bombarded me with sms and night-calls. And I can feel a panic, restless feeling rise in me. Why should I waste my time and his, when I still couldn't feel any attraction to him. All I had done is fencing around any of his moves. Waiting for a better person, but also still clutch him in my sight. The idealism in me wake up and try to make me hold any move forward before everything go wrong.

So much things going around in my mind at nights for sometime now. As though it isn't enough with so much long and tiring practices for Christmas Choir, added to the more and more ill-feeling I have in my workplace situation. Now, all I want is that the holiday come soon, that I would get that job I was interviewed yesterday, and that I could really find a good reason to end this un-settled-relationship one way or other. Nope, I don't want to see that far into future. All I want now is the day get over soon, so I could go home, read the second book of Stephanie Meyer and go back into my romantic dreams....THANK GOD, IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!

Long Weekend Holiday

Yay!!! I got the permission to take an additional holiday and make it quite a long, long weekend! It would be happened after Christmas, between the Christmas Day and the Moslem's New Year. I've been eyeing this double holiday, because normally my workplace never close down on Christmas-new year season. It usually makes me a little awkward, since all of my family has an end of year holiday but me. Even my sister always take a leave from her job out of our town and come home. My being keep working make me couldn't take her sightseeing other than browsing and shopping at malls, and only in the afternoons after I get home from work.

This special long weekend holiday will be spent at Yogyakarta, my beloved city for holiday. Actually, it's a spur of moment. The idea had come suddenly only two weeks ago. And what a hard work we - my sister and I - had to endure to find an hotel fit in our budget! Many of them have been already full booked!!! Originally, I wanted so much to stay at this particular homestay caught my eyes when searched for accommodation for my colleagues during their assignment there. Oh, well, maybe another time! But, still, it is a beautiful place...at least, what they advertise in website...hahaha...!