As some of you might have known, I participated in a short-story writing competition organized by Jia Effendie, for she was to compile 12 short stories into a book which will be called "Singgah" (to stop by, to transit). As you can see from the title, the theme of the competition was to write a short story about stopping by. The setting must be in either of these places: bus station, train station, airport, or harbor/port.
My short story wasn't chosen :')
Well, since the start of the competition, I was already pessimistic, although I quite like the story I wrote. I also checked out the blogs of the winners, and my goodness they write beautifully!
And that kind of made me think of my writing style.
You see, most writers write in an exaggerated way to explain a certain place/character/situation/other things that need to be explained. Take, for example, "The night wind blew so soft as if it were caressing my skin, taking away my thoughts, my soul, and my memories" --> that is only to describe the night wind. Or, another example, "The piggy bank shone so bright under the rays of the sun, glistening as if diamonds were pasted onto it. It looked so beautiful, as if it was worth the treasure of [put a very famous pirate's name here], valuable and precious!" --> that is to describe a piggy bank.
Then again, those exaggerated ways of writing are beautiful, although it might be kind of stressing when put in battle or thrilling scenes. Professional/experienced writers write that way, in such language so beautiful that I..... am awed.
I write in a direct kind of way. When I exaggerate things, I can't do it to fill an A4 page. Which is why, when I write a chapter of my novel, it never exceeds 6 pages of A4 because I can't exaggerate my description both in Indonesian and in English. Some friends say that that is my style.
Well, I have to admit though that I speak neither excellent Indonesian nor excellent English, which becomes my weak point when writing. I write in Indonesian when I feel like it, but for the next chapter, I might write in English due to inspirational reasons or such
The point is that, I will keep on writing, as before! Effendie's competition opened my eyes to some of the best writers I've never known, so I might draw inspiration from those writers. As for changing my direct-style of writing, hmmm... I don't know, honestly. I am still incapable of it.

Summer is coming to Madrid. The temperature, recently, decided to stay between 25-35 degrees (celcius). Having been in Madrid in summer, I know the temperature will continue to rise until autumn comes. The maximum we'll get might be around 40 degrees, or more.

A few days ago, I watched The Pianist for the first time, and it made me shed tears. It was a beautiful film, as seen from its visuals, plot, and music (yes, of course the music must be beautiful, it's about Spilzman, the Polish composer!). The movie made a very great impact on me upon the scenes where Spilzman met captain Hosenfeld. It was just heartwarming to see the captain made Spilzman play instead of killing him upon knowing him as a Jew. And yes, for the next scenes where Hosenfeld helped Spilzman, it haunted my mind. I really should read the book!

Hosenfeld's kindness made me think that kindness can be found in humans, even in those who you consider to be you worst enemy. However, we should not just depend upon human kindness, as not everyone has that kindness you expect. When you need it the most, kindness will find you.

I have this bad habit of stalking people through their online accounts when I have nothing to do on the internet (and when I've browsed hundreds of 9Gag posts). I confess that, I admit that.

Sometimes, when I find out their blog, I'd go straight to their blog, reading their posts. Some of these people I've stalked have interesting styles of writing that, when I remember (and only when I remember) I'd return to their blog. The same thing goes to Twitter (if their twitter accounts are public). I get an up-to-date glimpse of what they do in their life.

Some people don't set their photo albums and photos they're tagged in to private (Facebook account). These people I stalk are people who didn't move around (nationally or internationally), so it's safe to say that, somehow, these people are the ones that stay in the same house as their childhood house, go to school with people they've known for long, spend their high school in one high school, and the list goes on.

It kind of made me realize that when you decide to stay in a place, you will get chances to let yourself shine. These people shone, and sometimes I get jealous that they had the chance to shine with their friends. Then, I remind myself that they shine because I think they shine, and they have photos when they shine.

People who are active in organizations, or taking part in events, you name it. They shine because they stay, which makes them get the chances.

Quite funny, eh? I try to shine in my place, taking part in small events, trying as hard as possible to be the man behind the curtain, merely because I hate being in the spotlight. And I get jealous of this shining people, which is unreasonable. I'm laughing at myself now hahaha!

People envy me being able to move around the globe, able to experience living in different countries and communities (and cultures!), able to speak a few languages (although I only know the basic forms of some languages and understand simple written conversations), and yet I envy them for staying and being in the spotlight (which I always avoid).

I need to grow up, I guess. Or have I?

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO UNLESS YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT, THINK TWICE BEFORE READING.

I just finished watching Origin: Spirits of the Past, an anime movie which has gathered mostly good reviews (I did an internet research for saying that). It is basically a fantasy typical anime story about a boy who finds a girl from the past, who can't let go of her past so she decided to join the main antagonist (not the forest, but the human antagonist). She ends up regretting her decision and the boy, who fell in love with the girl, decided to become 'enhanced' (literally) and tries to save the girl.

Happy ending.

I might sound cynical, well, maybe I am. It is the fact that the opening of the movie impressed me! It played a sad song and tells you a bit about the background of the story. The contemplation part, where Agito became a tree and Toola (the girl) begged him to return, was also impressive! It played the same music as the opening, but it was sadder because it showed Agito talking to his father and his human-nemesis, Shunack. And also, the animation work was incredibly beautiful! I just can't help but let my eyes wander upon the forests, the landscapes, and the machines. As for the humans, well, they're your typical anime character.

Now why am I cynical again?

I was disappointed with the film. The storyline was great, but the characters weren't. Their personality weren't dug deeper, so when I finished watching it, I felt hollow. There was something missing. Take Agito, the main character, as an example. He goes out with his friend to steal some water, which he said was for his father. Then, he ran away from the forest-soldiers and ended up meeting Toola. He fell in love in her sight (I can't help but notice the blushes and gestures). So he took Toola and she lives with his friend's family.

When Toola was about to side with Shunack, Agito ran to her, asked why, and before that sequence, we saw so little of their friendship. Heck, their friendship was not even developed. They were still awkward strangers to begin with, only that one saved the life of the other. So to save Toola... wait. First of all, Toola wasn't even kidnapped, so it would be more of "to take her back because he doesn't want to lose her". So technically, to take her back, he went to the forest and asked for help. The forest deities, or entities, were two girls who you don't really know who they are, what power they have, how they came to be, and why did they easily grant powers to Agito. "We will trust your heart" --> unless you state that you can read minds, or you have been saved, no. You don't trust people that easily with great powers.

So the story goes with Agito trying desperately to save Toola, regardless of the circumstances, and he sacrificed his life, returned from the death, saved the world, and loved Toola. What happened to Agito's father? No idea. And people are paranoid, they just don't accept someone who almost killed them all easily back into their community.

But I'll try to understand that this is an anime movie, and its time is limited. But that does not limit the ways to actually describe the personality. What I got from the personalities were "typical haha-hihi ruckus-making boy meets a mysterious girl who holds the key to save and destroy the world". No depth.

I appreciate the creators of the animation and story, because I understand that making a story is hard. But I will not re-watch this movie. 2/5 stars, if ratings were necessary.

I had a talk with a friend once about my weird logic.

• I told her I don't like oxford shoes because I don't feel very confident wearing them. The next time we met, I wore my new oxford shoes, which was a gift from another friend.
• I told her I don't like loud decorations for interiors (strong colors, for example). However, for my interior of a boutique project, I decided to do the interior of a Kate Spade boutique. Kate Spade is known for their use of bold colors, including in their interiors.
• I don't like reggae music. I listened to them and tried to like it, but I just can't. However, I use "reggae" as my online alias (Reggae Littlemuscle), which contradicts to my taste.

I honestly don't know if the list will go on, but she told me that she's expecting the list to continue.

I think I have an explanation for that. I try to overcome my boundaries, I challenge things that I don't like. The reason is simple, I try not to let myself be in my own circle, doing only what I like, enjoying only what I like. I challenge myself to do things that I also don't like, out of curiousity, in case that thing I don't like might look good on me.

For example, the oxford shoes have proven to be formal and pretty for me, so I guess I'll keep on wearing them, although only on formal events. The Kate Spade project is that I want to see myself doing something I don't like for a client. Everyone has different taste, and I believe that later when I work, I'll face clients with clashing tastes with me, so I try to exercise myself before that comes. And reggae, hmmm... Honestly, I chose that name because it sounds the best. I've used Jazz and Waltz as the male characters in a story I'm making, so I though reggae sounds cool.

Pretty funny how my brain works. Hahaha!

PS: Madrid got quite some snow last night. Yes, I've seen lots of snow before, but no, I haven't seen even a single speck in the capital of Madrid.