All right, first things first: I lost yet another ring. Yup, surprise, surprise. This time on my walk home from work, I suspect when I was fishing for my cell. What is it with me and rings? They just seem to get bigger. Granted, this one was rubber. And it wasn't even a real ring, just a small rubber band I found while sweeping the floor -- yup, contrary to popular belief, I do clean my apartment, albeit once a year or so -- last year. Oh well, I guess it was an omen, telling me to put that broom to work once more.

And now every 5 mins or so I find myself rubbing my lil finger. Something just doesn't feel right. Interesting how a tiny bit like that can become such a major annoyance. Oh, all right, this ring business was not even close to become any annoyance. I just thought it would make a good prolog. Hmm, Prolog... Interesting language.

Back to tiny bits. I admit I'm a big fan of this newspaper column called Vocal. Two reasons. One, the newspaper is free. Two, it always amuses me to read those letters from readers. Snowball, sorry, I'm picking on this, but I find how lame some of those letters sound. True, once in a while really important issues come up. But these don't interest me as much as those petty ones do.

Once, someone complained about a fast food restaurant whose manager told him the set meal on promo was sold out and asked him to choose something else. Another time someone complained about having to wait too long for a bus. How long? Twenty-something minutes IIRC. Then there was this someone who complained about wasting a few precious dollars to watch a movie at a cinema where someone snore oh-so loudly. One more example, someone who complained that his cellphone bills went sky high after he made use of the roaming service while in US for a few weeks. Complaints, complaints, complaints.

Admittedly, that I used to live in Jakarta makes me biased to a degree. Many things that we the Jakartans -- I made it up, but it sounds rather cool, don't you think -- have to pray for are readily available here. Payphones in this country work. It doesn't take people here an hour to wait for a bus -- and they certainly don't have to cross fingers for the bus to actually stop for them. And still some complain about having to share their jogging tracks with bicycles and dogs. Try finding a jogging track in Jakarta without having to drive there for an hour. And when you do, pray that noone mugs your sneakers.

Don't you just love cultural differences? Then again, maybe not that different. After all, I have just received a forwarded email about how our presidential candidates seem to fancy big rocks on their fingers and how we should be careful because of that. Oh, come friggin' on! What next? Should we be wary because a candidate enjoys watching Happy Tree Friends?

That reminds me. A while back a "fact" was made known, how one candidate was so "poor" compared to the rest. Well, to me, if a leading politician is "poor" he is either a) a very bad businessman -- which is so not good for a country ridden with debts, or b) a very smooth and slick manipulator -- which is great if put to good use.

I always find it amusing when someone implies a "good" politician must not be rich. They're politicians, OK, not priests -- although some priests are richer than some politicians. So, what, because a minister's job is to serve people, he cannot be a board member of some big-name company? Politicians are kinda like recording artists. A singer's job is to sing, so must we loathe her for making money elsewhere, like commercials or movie cameos? The money comes with the job, live with it. Besides, it takes more than having less money -- huh, more than less, what am I talking about -- to be my perfect Indonesian President.

All right, all right, enough. Now I am complaining too much. Bad for my health. Luckily that Sharapova-Hantuchova match is still fresh in memory. So now whenever I feel annoyed, I just replay that match in my head. Hmm... And all's good. If only all hantus were as pretty. Actually, that shows Russians and Slovakians are worse than us Indonesians. Look, they have these two around and yet they elected Putin and Schuster their presidents. And they say, "Ils sont fous ces Romains!" Then again, they elected Ciampi when they have Monica Bellucci *shrugs*.

Current music: Nelly Furtado - One-Trick Pony
Current mood: happy