Karma Photograph

There were some certain things you would never see me doing.
Wearing a pair of leather pants, or coloring my finger and toe nails black (just like rock-stars), riding any motorcycle (because I can’t!), nor kissing my boss(-es) ass(-es), for instances.
There is a bigger chance for you to see me picking my nose on public places, or walking around naked in a room, than doing those things mentioned above.
Ha! Ha!

The list of Things I Wouldn’t Do grew longer each year because I added some new prohibited acts while I was still studying at the university. Included in it: confessing private stuffs to any member of my family (because he/she would use it against me while we argued, just like the one on scary nightmares prior to Christine’s death), lending any personal property to new friends I just knew (because that was how I lost my Dangerous Liaisons video and Great Expectations novel), and taking pictures with (any) actors, artists and celebrities.

Until I got my first job on a national TV station.
Friends and relatives often asked me why I didn't take pictures with the celebrities I’ve met, simply because I was working in show-business industry, which means there was a bigger chance to meet those so-called-artists (but-I-prefer-to-call-them-celebrities) regularly. Which was true, it happened on daily basis. In which I replied shortly, “I just don’t want to.”
The same questions popped up again these past weeks because they saw me on another national TV channel – broadcasted live weekly – sitting with some celebrities in this year Indonesian Idol contest.

Well, to tell you the truth, there was a personal reason for me to not doing so.
It’s because I was not really into the idea of idolatry, especially if those persons in concern were only working in show-business as performers.
I always keep in mind that: "Artis juga manusia!"
They become *special* only because people see them on television or movie screen. The ones you must give more respect are those who worked behind the scenes.
And the certain kind of celebrities I despised most are those who only showed up in gossip-shows and tabloids supporting scandalous shameful things I consider as personal stuffs you normally never want to disclose to others and would always fear other people find them out.

But here is a confession: the more personal reason that refrained me from taking pictures together with celebrities-cum-performers was the one that involved Tora Sudiro and Nadya Hutagalung, back in the time when I was still struggling to keep my first big job on that particular TV station.
The one I still remember as a bittersweet memory until today.

It was the first time ever I broke the 'anti-idolatry' belief I firmly hold on to before, in which during the course of events happened that particular week I ended up losing that first big job, even though the belief-crossing and job-losing actually had no positive correlation at all.
I just thought that that was my karma for crossing the said belief. Though I didn't (really) regret (much) the lost job (“it surely has other meaning which I didn’t realized back then”), but the one thing I kind of regret until now was the fact that I never had that “karma photograph” in my possession, the one in which we hugged so close acted as if we were both lovers, taken during breaks of shooting comedic sketches when I also acted as an extra talent in one segment.
One hilariously funny experience I will never forget.

As for now, I chose to take a more moderate position into the anti-idolatry issue.
And whenever there was any chance available, I would definitely seized it and took pictures together with certain famous people like Pramoedya Ananta Toer or Kylie Minogue or Cameron Crowe or Audrey Tatou.

Or Dian Sastrowardoyo. Not because I adore her that much, but simply because I just want to make my friends, and especially my brother, Matt, jealous and envy my luck.

Oh jolly cupcakes, on a second thought, will I ever call it luck?!



{ Original version of Karma Photograph was posted online under the title Karma Celebrities on my now defunct Friendster’s blog on June 22nd, 2005. Explanatory statement: at the moment of the original writing, Pramoedya Ananta Toer was still alive }