What Christine Brown Should Do to Avoid Being Dragged to Hell

Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she's going to hell.

Unless, of course, if she put her coat – including the removed button – for sale in eBay for a mere dollar the morning after being attacked by Mrs. Sylvia Ganush, that old and vicious gypsy woman (so it will sell in less than 3 days). But even if she can’t auction her old coat in the internet, she can still sell it to a thrift shop right away after being attacked the night before.

You see, just like the story itself reveals only tens of minutes afterwards, Christine offers the supposedly-enveloped-button to his conniving coworker Stu Rubin in order to divert the curse of Lamia to him. When this didn’t work because in the very last minute she decided to back off of the evil plan, all she has to do next is to sell her brown coat to any thrift shop together with her jewelries and ice-skating shoes, and make sure – verbally and, if needed, in writings – that she hands over the rights of ownership to the shop-owner (to which he/she has to express agreement upon) or to the subsequent unsuspicious buyer.

And then, voila!

As fast as snapping your fingers, Christine will be freed of the curse of Lamia.

Such a devilish plan, you said?

What the heck! Who wants to get burned in hell for eternity anyway?

His Pair of Angelic Eyes

We were taking a walk along the pond in the park
David and William and Michael and me
It was such a cloudy Sunday afternoon
The leaves on the trees moved and fell with the breezing wind
The birds were busy chirping on the branches of the trees
Yet we still filled the time with our cheerful chatter
When suddenly my gaze struck upon these two people
Standing face to face across the pond away from us

The moment I saw him again,
The one I used to know too well
I couldn’t stop my mind from the memories flowing back
How they hurt just to remember all the good times
Made me wonder whether he felt the same
Will the memories bring back the pain?

And that afternoon I clearly saw him
Holding hands together with this beautiful young girl
And the way he looked at her ...
Boy, it gave me shiver
Because he used to look at me that way

Probably I should walk right up to them and interrupt their conversation
And tell her, “Be careful, girl. It’s a game he likes to play.”

It was Michael who held my arm
Warned me by saying,
“Just don’t. Please.”
While David imbued,
“You have to get him out of your mind.”
And Michael added to it,
“You have to forget everything.”

I knew they had their point
Because once you set eyes upon his pair of angelic eyes
Just one look and you’re hypnotized
You will think you’re in paradise
But one day when you already went deep and it was all too late
You’ll find out for all those times he wears a very good disguise
While his only intention is to take your heart
In the end it’s you who have to pay the price

Still I managed to whisper to the wind
Hoping the breeze will carry it across the pond and drop it to her ear
And right in time she could hear
What I sincerely hope she would never do

“Girl, for whatever reason, just don’t look too deep into his pair of angelic eyes.”

The Curious Case of Coincidence

One of my very best and closest friend broke up with his boyfriend.
It happened last night.

I just found out less than ten minutes ago. And it was accidentally, when I discovered that he's not listed in my Facebook. So I asked him what's wrong with his account. And that's when he dropped the unpleasantly surprising news.

Now I guess that explained my nightmare, which troubled me so much when I woke up this morning.
In that dream, my upper lip are bleeding and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I felt a wave of panic rising from my abdomen, I woke up. Abruptly.

I completely forgot about that incubus because I was so busy catching up with deadlines and two meetings today. After all have set and finished, I logged in into my Facebook to read my friends newsfeed. I did this daily not only to keep up with my friends' updates, but also because I am now a (self-confessed) Facebook addict.

However, some unexplainable feeling made me checked on my best friend's account, of which I failed to find. Curiousity made me texted him for inquiries.

But I was not prepared for that kind of answer from him.

He texted me back, telling me that he deleted his Facebook account. Because he broke up last night. And that (supposedly hard ?) break-up made him feel uneasy towards the outside world. And now he just wants to retract himself from reality. Hopefully, for a very short time.

Guilty - eventhough only for a bit - is what I feel right now.

Because it was me who talked him out to end his rocky relationship with this guy, whom I also know. But I remember I told him that he should do it only in one condition, when he has come to the culmination point of uncertainty on where their relationship is heading.
This happened last Sunday.

Whether he really took my suggestion or not,
Whether I also am the one to blame here,
Whether his decision to call it off had anything to do with my nightmare,
... I really don't know.

My best friend promised he'd tell me the whole story tonight.

Now what I would hear from him, I can promise you, I won't reveal here.

Because I am not the type who kiss and tell.

By the Power of Schopenhauer

First thing first, I don't really know whether I spell the name mentioned above in the title of this writing correctly or not, or whether the name really does exist in psychology.
Noticed the name while watching the impressive La Vita é Bella, when Ferruccio explained to Guido about the power of one’s will of mind, by referring to a state of mind when a certain person can make other person do what the first person tell the other one to do (hopefully you won’t be confused with this statement, eh?).
At first I just thought Roberto Benigni made that up for his movie, but somehow it looks fun if I have the ability to do so, just like what he told his friend in such a believable way, therefore the Schopenhauer method somehow successfully clung in my mind for so long.

And so that was how I tested it by applying the so-called Schopenhauer method to the course of events that occurred over this month of June.

About a couple of weekends ago, somehow I kept thinking of my loverboy Marc Miguel Morales. He's not a real loverboy as you think he is (or was). He's just someone I befriended with for almost four years now, virtually. Oh, not the four years that's been virtual, but the friendship is.
Marc and I, we shared secrets and thoughts, even the forbidden ones. He kind of helped me with good advices on my relations with girls back then at university's years, and I helped him with problems with the guys he fell in love with. We talked about sex much, but of course with different preferences and point of interest. Or views. That depends.
Anyway, our communications were so intense but suddenly cut out the moment I started working at a TV station earlier last year. He still dropped messages once in a while but I just don't have time to reply as much as I usually did, so it made sense that the last time I heard from him was in April 2004.
Back to this story and to the early point of my writing, couple of weekends ago he suddenly burst into my mind again, and somehow it made me feel sick. Of myself by ignoring him back then. Missed him so much I decided the first thing I want to do at the office next Monday morning was to drop him a line or two.
So, it's the Monday morning and I arrived early for that matter, around 8 a.m., an hour earlier than the usual office-hours. Prepared a cup of hot chocolate and a strawberry toast beside my computer. Logged in.
And there I found in my mailbox, the sweetest name that came up into my mind the day before, Marc. My loverboy. It's like a coincidence. Smiled sheepishly and happily, suddenly I realized that it was this much how I missed him.
Boy, he desperately needs updates on my life, since he asked me whether I still meet Tora Sudiro on regular basis. He must've been thinking that I still worked in that TV station, hahaha ... Kinda feel guilt, though.
So I replied his e-mail and promised him that I'll send him a very long one that will keep him updated with my current situation.
In which I haven't done up until this moment. Maybe later.
But I feel thankful to find my loverboy again. Told me he has graduated from uni earlier this year and now searching for a job. Said he visits gym regularly and now he's starting to have six-packs. Said he's now looking for a boyfriend. Well, if he stands in front of me now, I would really like to say to him, "I'm your boyfriend! You have me all this time!" (oh, I know this kind of statement will shocked some of my friends, but I believe a few of them won't *wink!*)

Almost the same thing happened with Kiki.
While vacationing over the long weekend in Bandung which I extended until Tuesday, I suddenly thought about her and regretted myself by accidentally erased her cell number. Decided that coming Wednesday, I will launch an e-mail calling every HIlander98 to search and find any news about friends that we haven't heard of over the year before.
And there the Schopenhauer effect happened again !
While watching Mr. & Mrs. Smith at CiWalk 21 together with my nephew, suddenly my cell vibrated in my pocket. A missed-call.
I hate it when people do that. It's bugging me.
But about five minutes later my cell vibrated again and this one was a text message. Didn't recognize the number but surprised to read the sender's name. It's from Kiki !
She asked me how I am doing and where I worked now. Yes, I do miss her, because she was a friend I got quite close with back in university's years.
She was one of the Las Mujeres de Los Bordillos (free translation : the carefree girls of Los Bordillos :-D) I have mentioned in my Friendster's profile that I would like to meet, again. Glad to know that she's doing fine in Palembang.

Now, what I regretted from the Schopenhauer method is that it doesn't happened over me and Greg (with a little significant similarities with the one in Dharma & Greg), eventhough I missed the first night spent with him, talking almost about everything (well, I'm not into his admiration of Punjabi's soap operas' stars and his unfinished grumbling on how I ruined his diet by making him drink a glass of iced chocolate after 9 p.m.), looking eagerly forward for repetitions.
Nor with "the SexxxY BeasT" (I have to drop a message before he give me a call, that selfish prick!) who can easily make my heart (and meat :-D) throbbed.
Nor with Charlie whom reminds me of a Chinese version of Jason Tedjasukmana. What is he doing Down Under while he has many guys who love him so much back here in J-town ?
Was it because somehow in which I did not really understand the rationale, the nature – and therefore, my will of mind – forbid me in getting in touch again with those guys?

Or perhaps, I must try harder to concentrate on the Schopenhauer thing ...

Come again, what was Guido's friend advised him to do to Schopenhauer-ing easier?
Was it by flapping fingers? Or mumbling the name? Hmm ...

Let me try : Schopenhauer, Schopenhauer, Schopenhauer, ...

Note from writer:
The original version of By The Power of Schopenhauer was posted online in my first blog, LoveHateDreamsLifeWorkPlayFriendshipSex, on June 22nd, 2005.
Hardly I had known back then that Arthur Schopenhauer and his metaphysical theory really did exist in history as a critique to Immanuel Kant’s theory.
This version you just finished reading is mostly based on the original version with some minor alterations, notably dictions and inter-paragraphs fragmentations.