Wednesday 4 December 2013

My November Concert Parade: Ash at 280 Fest

So, Ash was my 1st November Concert. I found out the news on their official Twitter that they would be performing in a fest called 280 Fest.

Ash's first MV I watched was Candy. I remember MTV aired it when I was chillin' at home. I liked the MV and the song also. So, Free All Angels was my first Ash's album. The album was a hit. Like seriously the whole songs........ coolness! I didn't attend their 2001's concert in Jakarta. In fact, the only concert I attended was L'Arc~en~Ciel (last year) since I lived in Jogjakarta. Then I began to find out about their previous albums and singles. I was into them that easy, no surprise, this Irish teenage punk slash pop band really pulled me in.

When I arrived at the venue (Lapangan D Senayan Jakarta), I was quite shocked. First and foremost, there were no such thing like banners, flags, or any promotion related to the fest. Plus, the taxi driver admitted that he had no clue about where Lapangan D Senayan was (like seriously?). Pretty frustrating.

The second shocking thing was the audience. Man, for a fest and for a band like Ash, too too too few people there. I was worried and kept mumbling together with my friend about the band members' feelings when they finally saw them from the stage. I was thinking about their feelings a lot. Frankly, I was sad for a few moments.

But Ash were professional (of course they were). I thought they knew about the amount of people there but they performed like thousands people were watching them. Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton, and Rick McMurray were stunning. They aged like rock stars. Wait, they ARE rock stars! X)
Tim with his favorite guitar amazed me as I didn't realise that he was no longer young as he was before. His voice didn't change much, Tim got his mojo :)
Mark also enjoyed the stage. Too much. He did some moves up there. He did make me a teenager again hahaha. Rick at the back didn't lose the beat. They didn't age! :D

A day before their show, there was this setlist I found on Twitter. Actually there were 2. One of them was signed by the whole members. Idk, some kinda souvenir?
And yes, the setlist was right. Ash opened the show with Meltdown (Meltdown, 2004). Then, a single which also a movie soundtrack from a movie with the same title, A Life Less Ordinary played. 


The next song made us audience cheered and shouted. Yes, it's Girl From Mars (1977, 1996), one of Ash's best songs. Mark was so energetic during this song. They brought the good ol' times on the stage. We sang along with Tim, not to mention the jumps also. We were all young!
Hehe.
Ash played 6 songs from 1977; Girl From Mars, Oh Yeah, Goldfinger, Kung Fu. They played Lose Control and Angel Interceptor for the encore. I must say that the setlist was pretty OK. They knew how to play with our expectation, hahaha. I was disappointed that my fave songs Candy and Carnal Love were not on the list.
sobs, sobs.


This concert was more like reminiscing the good times with Ash. It's kinda a time machine where I could see myself back then, young, so careless and free! Or I may use the Indonesian words "Konser Tembang Kenangan Ash" hahahaha...
I guess most of the audience would agree with me. :)


19 songs in total, 5 albums (if I'm not mistaken): 1977, Free All Angels, Meltdown, Twilight of the Innocents, and A-Z (Singles Collection).
4 songs as encore were pretty interesting. As I thought they'd only play one song only, once the setlist leaked I was like, "4? encore? really?" and yep, 4 songs that night.
I already knew that Burn Baby Burn (Free All Angels, 2001) would be the last encore so I wasn't surprised. Too bad I found the setlist earlier :(
I must highlight these songs: Walking Barefoot, Shining Light, and Return of White Rabbit. Most importantly, the last song. The longest one and the most attractive performance. I LOVE IT!
See the picture on the left, this was Return of White Rabbit. There was this break in the middle of the song and Tim suddenly appeared so so stunning. I didn't know how or why but it happened just like that.
We did sing along with him as he led us by giving hands gestures.
Pleasure was all mine, Tim.


Despite the number of audience that night, I was satisfied with Ash. Happy that I could see them live (like finally! it's better late than never, right?) The sound system was good, esp. when Return of White Rabbit played, (hehehe, Idk after that night, I began to like it more. Mark made it even cooler! bass! bass!) I cheered so loud at Mark. It was worth more than the price I paid. Thank you, Tim, Mark, and Rick. Hope I'd see you again! Rock on, Ash!

Monday 2 December 2013

My November Recap

Hello, everyone!
It's been a while since my last post. Well, I've been busy lately. Too many things to do in a very tight schedule. And finally I'm here again cause I've got truckloads of stuff to share. Mostly happy stuff :)

Okay, so I'm gonna sum up my November, uhm, okay maybe I'll include a October also. These two months were my ultra busy time during 2013 (I think so). Well, here are the points:

October:
Received some great news about Japs and other musicians' concerts in Jakarta. I also happened to experience the next level of MoFA's enrollment phases. These got me nerves as F!

November:
I may say this is MY MONTH. Well, I was beyond happy on this month. Many good things happened and most of them involved my emo side hahahah. I rode a roller coaster on this month. But I was happy tho' :)

I also knew some cool people, musicians, Japs musicians to be exact (well, don't blame me for my extra interest in that country, I loved it since I was a kid!), I have met a few and some of them I'm gonna meet soon this December. Heheh.

More or less, that was my November recap, but.............................I will share you my highlights. My November Concert Parade! on the next post of course. I'm gonna post them one by one since there were more than just one concert hehehe.

Alright then, see ya at the next post!

x

Monday 7 October 2013

LOKA

Ohayou gozaimaaasu~

How's weekend? Mine was awesome! My beloved Liverpool FC won in Anfield and before the match, I went to a concert.

Ok, where to begin? I went to Cikini Gold Center to watch a concert. Yep, a concert, a band. A rock band. Well, it's been a while since I went to L'Arc~en~Ciel concert last year... so I was a little bit excited this time cause I didn't know about the band at first.

WHAT'S THE NAME AGAIN?
Well... the band I watched on Youtube last month named LOKA. I didn't remember how I ended up on their channel but I was glad I got lost in CrossTheLimitRecords'. I watched their video Naked To My Soul and my eyes couldn't stop staring at the drummer. You know, first impression is the thing. This man got me at the first hit. Actually, Japanese music is not a new thing to me. I grew up with L'Arc~en~Ciel songs and Doraemon (I wonder when Nobita will actually grow up, ok, nevermind. Neeext~) but this band doesn't sound Japanese at all. Probably if I closed my eyes I wouldn't think that they're Japanese like seriously even the front man sings in fluent English! He's kinda remind me of One OK Rock's Taka who sings in fluent English as well but their music is a little bit different from OOR. It's heavy yet sexy. I don't know... sort of.

RAPING THE REPLAY BUTTON
I was lost in their channel for about an hour or so. That's more than enough to give my opinion about this band. Here's the video I watched, Naked To My Soul, 
you see, they're pretty much intimidating as Kihiro (the vocalist) shouted "I just wanna FUCK you!" (well, Kihiro... THAT's intimidating) anyway, I was headbanging on my desk (at the office, yes), didn't realise that til the end of the video. If you think that Naked To My Soul wasn't intimidating much, Kihiro still got more to come. Slick is another song with tantalize lyrics. I wonder, Kihiro, who's the girl that made you wanna get laid and turn you round and round? And oh, I love the way they add some synthesizer sound in this song... PLUS Kenichi's drumming skill is beyond god-like! 

as if it wasn't enough... I clicked on the next video called From Yesterday which apparently their latest single.
Dang! Second hook. This time the guitar player took my attention. Man, I love the way he played those distortions. Oh, the noises... precious sound to my ears. I raped the replay button literally LOL. 

An hour later, I was surprised by their Indonesia Tour Comment video (that's what happened when you're on Youtube, a video after a video after a video...). Indonesia Tour? Honto ne? and YES, it's real. The video was amusing! Each of them spoke in Bahasa Indonesia, not the formal one... the casual one or I may say 'bahasa gaul' cause Kenichi said, "ciyuuus? miapaaah?" like an alay LOL. I browsed their website just to make sure about the tour and yes it's official. Not to mention that big picture of Kenichi the drummer was quite a distraction, hahaha you better see them here. Last time I checked, I emailed the promoter and registered myself for the meet and greet session with them XD.

SONGS TO EVERY MOMENT
I had a week or so to get to know them more before the concert. So I got their previous discography on my tablet. 

I started to get intimate with them since I listened to their songs almost everyday LOL. I have to admit that they sound more American rather than Japanese, regardless the English lyrics. LOKA is rich in beats and distortions. Not only the raging-intriguing-intimidating lyrics that made their songs 'alive', I must admit that LOKA's musicality is somewhat brill. Apart from my admiration to Kenichi (ahem...), each LOKA's member is beast. I don't know about you but I think Oblivion Heart is the most LOKA one among the other songs. From the intro to the last hit, a perf combo. I fell asleep when I was listening to this song (WTF?). 



To those of you who don't want to look too weak for love thingy, I suggest you to sing one of these songs from the top of your lungs: Yellow Cherry and of course Oblivion Heart. If you're into those bad things then Naked To My Soul and Python will do good for you. 

Uhm... what else? In a bad mood or feeling down? Kihiro knows how to lift you up again. Left of Me, Hey God, Alive, and From Yesterday would do the magic.  

They also got some deep songs. Hey, rock stars are human too (aren't you, LOKA?). Well, I prefer deep as I try to avoid the word 'mellow' though I was quite mellow after that. I love Don't Ever Leave Me Out right from the first tune. You know, some rock stars are actually deep thinkers. They could make sad songs without looking broken or shattered. I actually love the lyrics. Thanks to you, Kihiro... the "so many reasons why I say so you know my everything" part was very moving. :')

And so I went to Cikini Gold Center that afternoon. It turned out that the concert was held on the rooftop! Coolness. I was alone. Yep, alone. All by myseeelf... don't wanna be all by myseeelf... (enough with the drama, Ran. Jeez...)
I joined those who wanted to meet LOKA as well. I noticed a fan girl on her cool wheelchair behind me. We had a little chit chat when the door finally opened......... there were four rock stars sitting on the couch. LOKA.

I was literally smiling from ear to ear. Last month I watched them on Youtube and now they're sitting right in front of me. A little glance to Kihiro the front man, a little glance to Katsumi the bass player whose hair resembled Sonic The Hedgehog, a little glance to Sin the guitar hero who seemed a bit shy, and... A COMPLETE EXAMINATION OF A MAN WITH THE LONG HAIR WHO GOT ME AT THE FIRST HAIR FLIP, KENICHI. I got the 2nd turn so I began to approach them...

FANGIRLING TIME!
I brought my tablet with me so that I could take some selfies with the boys. I asked them to do so and they said OK. So here's my selfies hahaha. Roc stars? what rock stars? they looked CUTE! :D



As if selfies weren't enough, I asked them to make ugly faces and stupid pose with me. And again, they're OK with that. Hahaha.

Done with the fangirling thing (though I thought it was too short, bleh...) and now I'm about to tell you their ripping performance. They're already great on the videos but watching them live is another story. It's worth every rupiah you spent on the ticket. There was this sudden hard rain like an hour before their performance. Everyone went down to the 4th floor, me included. I was waiting til the rain stopped. Luckily, this time I wasn't alone. I got my friend with me :D I told her if the the rain didn't stop then we're outta here cause we had Liverpool match to catch up.

The rain stopped and we walked to the rooftop again. Yadayadayada blahblahblah from the MCs and in a few minutes later LOKA appeared on the stage. Like FINALLY!


I haven't seen them live so I can say that my experience last Saturday was exceptional.
Kihiro's stage act was powerful, he talked the us the audience pretty often. I didn't say, "what?" or "huh?" every time he asked us something cause he's got the Cali tongue. Unlike Hyde-sama, he made me confused with his English, hahaha... 
Sin whom I thought was a shy guy turned into a beast on stage. He was energetically restless (WHAT?), well stage is definitely your playground, Sin... you knew how to play. I enjoyed his descants and yes I could stand there all night long to watch him strumming the green guitar.
Katsumi's bass guitar. Red. Fierce. He's another member whom I never thought could be so lively appealing. You did look so great, Katsumi. Yes, you did. I don't know what's with him and the green top but he seems keen on it very much. I don't know maybe he got many?
So... last but not least was the one who got me at the first hit. What's his name again? Kenichi. Holy Mother of God, he was topless (let me breathe for a second)... and holy cow, he's a badass drummer! No, there's no double bass drum like the ones I saw on the video. Actually, People, I have no words for Kenichi's drumming skill. Seriously, lost words. Thanks for posing before I left, Gorg!

I had to leave earlier to see my other love, Liverpool FC. If I had one word to sum up LOKA, that would be: SICK. I was more than please to be there, watched them nailed the stage and a little bit wet because Kihiro threw a water bottle, errrrrr... I also met Ilma whom I mentioned earlier above. She got a crush on Katsumi and looked too happy. We're both happy and still buzzing about LOKA til now. I feel you, Ilma... ;)
and that would be the end of my astonishing weekend. I do hope LOKA would come back here again for another tour. Sure thing they'd be big in the future.

Monday 2 September 2013

Jinx? What Jinx?

Good morning, Mother Earth!

Still buzzing about last night winning against manyoo... woohoo~
I went to the Rolling Stone Cafe which some BIGREDS members believed that it's got some jinx because every time they held LFC live match, the result would be either lose or draw... pokoknya menurut para Sesepuh, aura tempat itu kurang bagus buat pertandingan LFC.

Anfield, September 1st, 2013.
Commemorating Bill Shankly's legacy and his 100th birthday, also, Daniel Sturridge's birthday. Anfield was beyond awesome. The supporters were making Bill's famous hand gestures mosaic. I got goosebumps when they did it during the YNWA song. Bill must be so happy up there. I know you were, Bill. :')


It was the Skipper's corner kick. Daniel Agger got up to head the corner kick toward goal and the other Daniel, Sturridge, reacted quickest to Agger's headed flick off a corner kick in the 4th minute (whaaa...t? yes, exactly. 4th minute!). Provided the final touch with a glancing header from inside... my heart skipped a beat for a few seconds. Selewat, gol semata wayang LFC itu seperti diciptakan oleh Agger, tapi setelah dilihat lagi melalui slowmo... it was Sturridge who sealed it ke gawang Sun Go Kong. Eat that donut, De Gea! I mean, ball.

Saya nggak akan menganalisa pertandingan sedetil seorang pandit sepakbola since I am not one. I would rather stick to my sotoy opinions and keep doing so :)
Daniel Sturridge is a natural goalscorer as Rodgers said after the match. He's got all the talent in the world and not to mention, he's still young. Di chelski, Daniel kurang banyak diturunkan dalam pertandingan. Di LFC, Rodgers memberikan kepercayaan penuh padanya (bukan selama absennya Suarez saja) to show what he's got on the pitch. Kepercayaan itu dibayar Sturridge dengan performa yang selama ini bisa kita lihat. Saya pikir dulu Sturridge itu tengilnya minta ampun, like "will he fit us here in LFC?" or "bisa cepet mingle sama team nggak nih bocah?" But then again, semua kekhawatiran saya ternyata terbukti salah pake banget. I don't know about you but I think it's the Liverpool Way kayaknya yang bikin Sturridge jadi versi baru begini. Selain itu, Daniel juga mengakui bahwa fans, pendukung, apalah sebutannya itu, adalah salah satu alasan 'payback' dia ke klub. Dia bermain bukan hanya untuk dirinya sendiri dan klub, akan tetapi untuk para pemain ke-12 yang tanpa lelah mengumandangkan chants, meneriakkan namanya di setiap pertandingan. Daniel Sturridge sadar Liverpool FC itu bukan sekedar klub. Liverpool FC itu keluarga. Keluarga yang besar, besaaar sekali. :')

Begitu tandukan Sturridge merangsek ke jaring Sun Go Kong, sontak Ia berlari dengan ekspresi muka khasnya yang supeeeeeeeer tengil! Di belakangnya ada Skrtel yang berusaha mengejar dan memeluk but Sturridge ran and raaan to the bench. He stopped for a while to give a little glance to the supporters then the whole lads (except Mignolet, of course) hugged him like mad!

 
Oh, those happy faces... I would love to repeat that moment over and over again. What made my eyes bergelas-gelas-kaca-katakan-padaku-siapa-diriku was the moment when Sturridge approached Rodgers and hugged him. Oh, Danny Boy... :')
Seriously though, siapa yang nggak moved lihat scene seperti ini? Setelah foto Daniel berpelukan sama Coutinho minggu lalu, sepertinya ini another best photo deh... chemistrynya kuat banget. Rodgers is a very influential man, indeed... :')
 

HACEP!
Rolling Stone Cafe pecah seketika kalo anak gaul sekarang bilang. Jama'ah Liverpooliyah yang nonton sambil duduk bersila langsung berdiri sorak-sorak bergembira. Screamed! Shouted! Screamed! Shouted! HUGS! Yeah, Man... we're THAT happy. Buat saya, kami pendukung LFC, match ini bukan sekedar match biasa. Ya entah ini sudah menjadi tradisi yang diturunkan oleh Tetua kami sebelumnya atau memang otomatis mendarah daging di hari pertama kami ditahbiskan menjadi Merah... this match was THAT significant.

Prestige, dignity, pride, reputation, honor, you name it... semuanya seolah dipertaruhkan di match ini. I myself couldn't stop crossing my fingers during the 90+ mins. That was intense. I really mean THAT intense since it's in Anfield, our shrine, our home. We lost both games against manyoo last season so this home winning was a good start. I do hope we could keep the positive trend til the end of this season. Nggak muluk-muluk sih harapannya, semoga winning formula semakin solid dan sedikit sentuhan keberuntungan menyertai LFC. Amen to that.

The whole team work was paid. Iya sih 'cuma' 1-0. Tapi 1-0 semalam merupakan kado terbaik yang bisa diberikan LFC kepada Bill Shankly, dan yang ngasih kado si Birthday Boy pula. What a pleasant feeling! I think the 2nd half itu babak yang menguras emosi, energi, dan kinerja jantung sekaligus. Lost count of how many times I shouted, "OH MY GOD!" or "NOOO!" and "MIGNOLET!!!" Yep, our Belgian Goalie. He was stunning. Sempat dibuat ketar ketir dengan aksi a la Pepe Reinanya, tapi Mignolet melakukan beberapa penyelamatan yang sekaligus menyelamatkan jantung saya... TIMING DIA SELALU TEPAT! OK, saya memang berniat beli jersey goalkeeper untuk yang pertama kalinya. Awalnya sih simpel aja karena warnanya ungu, warna favorit saya. Dan sekarang saya punya alasan lain untuk membelinya sekaligus menambahkan nameset Mignolet plus angka 22 di punggung. Hehehe.

At first, I believe most of us didn't trust Rodgers that much. You know... sukses di Swansea belum tentu sukses juga di LFC. But Rome wasn't built in a day. Last season we only finished at 7th and decided to choose fans over the Europa League (which made me love LFC even more). I was one of those. Bitching and nagging about Rodgers' tactical plans, yada yada blah blah blah. Emang orang kayak kita-kita ini bisanya apa lagi sih selain concern sama keadaan klub? Ya okay maybe we could do something more, much more than that, tapi dalam skala dan kapasitasnya, nggak semua dari kita capable untuk itu kan? So, the closest one was to worry about the club. Y'all should check what Rodgers said after the match. :)


Oh well, let's leave it all behind and support Rodgers instead. Away match di Old Trafford kalo mau nonton bareng lagi di Rolling Stone Cafe, I don't mind. Jinx? What jinx? :)

YNWA.







Sunday 18 August 2013

Run, Rani, RUN!

First ever morning run since I moved to Jakarta. I'd regain my fitness again because I lost it to some serious surgeries in the past years. Time to start all over again.
Easy pace this morning. Minus the Kang Ojek who ruined my pulse counting. I hate it when someone interrupt me. My new running shoes felt good on my feet. Light but not as light as the 2mio ones (still don't get it why ppl spend 2mio cash on running shoes, me can't afford it also), anyway... I emphasize on its basic function so yeah...
Besides, I bought it on a very reasonable price... very reasonable one. I bought another pair for my sister as well. Best offer. Smart shopper. It's not that I'm gonna use it everyday. That's why. Function.

I might end up in my office's gym tomorrow. Hahaha...
Have a great Sunday everyone!

Friday 16 August 2013

The Desert and The Deserted

Berat rasanya mengenang Afrika Utara lagi. Setelah Mohamed Bouazizi, rasanya nggak ada lagi hal indah yang meninggalkan kesan tentang kawasan tersebut. Okay, Maroko dengan Casablancanya mungkin. Selebihnya?

I've been reading news about Egypt since last month. Tepatnya saat Mursi dikudeta (padahal, Mursi itu Presiden Mesir pertama yang dipilih melalui proses demokrasi) militer Mesir (SCAF). Ya, lagi-lagi kudeta. Nggak habis pikir kenapa Mesir selalu bernuansa kudeta. Masih jelas sekali dalam ingatan saat saya membaca buku sejarah kepemimpinan militer di Mesir. Ah... tesis. Kok jadi kangen sama studi pustaka... menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam di bilik perpustakaan untuk sekedar kembali ke masa lalu... melewati lorong waktu dan melihat kembali kronologi monumental sebuah bangsa.

I don't know why I'm so into MENA (Middle East and North Africa), probably it's caused by Mohamed Bouazizi, at first, but then every single thing about it pulls me in. Like finally I have something in IR that interests me so much. Sejarah, bangsa, dan struktur politiknya yang saklek dan begitu-begitu aja mungkin buat sebagian orang terlihat membosankan. Namun sejak Arab Spring mulai menggema di akhir 2011 sampai sekarang, I keep my eyes on MENA.

What happened in Egypt today is not a new thing. Mesir ini bisa dibilang mesra banget sama yang namanya kudeta. Hmmm... kalo dilihat lagi ke belakang, waktu masih dipimpin King Farouk, pernah terjadi kudeta. Gamal Abdul Nasser yang waktu itu berpangkat Kolonel memimpin kudeta di tahun 1952. Saya masih bisa memaklumi alasan kudetanya. King Farouk memang nggak bisa disebut Raja yang baik. He's greedy, menimbun harta kekayaan, dan disebutkan juga nggak pernah ada di sana untuk rakyat saat masa-masa sulit Perang Dunia ke-2. Rumor has it, he stole some stuff during his visit. Jam saku milik Winston Churcill dan pedang milik Shah Iran adalah beberapa benda yang katanya dibawa pulang oleh King Farouk. *smh*

And so long King Farouk. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Mayor Jenderal atasan Kolonel Gamal Abdul Nasser yang akhirnya didapuk menjadi pemimpin interim. 18 Juni 1953, Republik Mesir dibentuk dengan Mohamed Naguib sebagai presiden pertamanya. What happened next? yep, another coup d'etat. Guess who's behind this one? yep, Gamal Abdel Nasser again, people. Yep, of course he was the President after 2 yrs became the only candidate for it.

Nasser ini gimana ya... disegani rakyat iya, dibenci dunia juga iya. Soalnya di pemerintahannya, Pan Arabisme dibangkitkan kembali, Nasionalisme Arab jadi kekuatan baru. Di sisi lain, Nasser menasionalisasikan Terusan Suez yang berakibat terjadinya krisis. Mesir harus berhadapan dengan Inggris, Prancis, dan Israel yang notabene sama-sama punya kepentingan di situ. Pada akhirnya dunia internasional memutuskan bahwa Terusan Suez masuk kedaulatan Mesir. Nasser juga punya proyek besar di segi infrastruktur, yang terkenal adalah Bendungan Aswan, dibangun atas bantuan pemerintah Uni Soviet. Sebenarnya Nasser sempat mengumumkan pengen mengundurkan diri tapi nggak boleh sama rakyat. Baru di tahun 1970 digantikan oleh Anwar Sadat (this time, no coup d'etat) sejak menjabat sebagai Presiden di tahun 1954. Nasser meninggal di tahun tersebut karena serangan jantung, tepatnya 2 minggu setelah Perang Mesir-Israel selanjutnya (War of Atrition) yang dipimpinnya.

Anwar Sadat. Pengagum Hitler, Gandhi, dan Attaturk ini kurang lebih sama dengan Nasser. Penggebrak. Sadat juga disukai sekaligus dibenci rakyat. Selama pemerintahannya, Sadat pelan-pelan membawa Mesir menuju era liberal-kapitalisme. Terusan Suez yang tadinya privat, Ia buka untuk kepentingan ekonomi dengan metode perdagangan bebas. Aksi Sadat yang paling kontroversial adalah sikapnya terhadap Israel. Well, Arab and Israel will never ever be in peace like ever... but Sadat did some dramatic act during his reign. He was Egypt's first ever man to sign what so called peace treaty, Camp David 1979. Dunno if Billy Corgan wrote 1979 because of this historical moment, nevermind, he wouldn't bother this. Anyway, Sadat dianugerahi Nobel Perdamaian karena tindakannya ini. International recognition? jelas. Pan Arabism bagaimana? Well, Sadat dianggap egois dan nggak mikirin saudara-saudara Arabnya yang lain gara-gara ini. Dibenci dong? ya iyalah :D Khadaffi dan Assad terutama, geram banget sama Sadat.

Next coup d'etat in Egypt happened on October 6th, 1981. Exactly at the day when Sadat held his annual military parade. Sadat memang mengagendakan parade militer tiap tahun, ya semacam peringatan angkatan bersenjata gitu kalau di negara kita, mirip seperti itulah. Kudeta berdarah ini dipimpin oleh Letnan Khaled Islambouli. Skenarionya begini, saat beberapa perwira mendekat ke stage tempat Sadat duduk untuk bersalaman satu-persatu, mereka sebelumnya udah bawa granat tangan. Lupa tepatnya berapa jumlah granat yang dilempar, kira-kira 3 buah. Once I read that Sadat's wife already warned him to wear a bulletproof vest like the usual but he refused. So the first grenade thrown, memantul dari dinding ke tribun penonton. Semua panik, belum sempat menyelamatkan diri, granat ke-2 dilempar diikuti yang ke-3. Sadat, Mubarak (wakilnya), dan beberapa pejabat pemerintahan penting termasuk duta besar terluka parah. Sadat sempat dilarikan ke rumah sakit namun nyawanya nggak tertolong. So that's the end of his reign.

Hosni Mubarak, wakil presiden era Anwar Sadat secara konstitusional kemudian menempati posisi sebagai kepala negara. Ahem... ini dia diktator Mesir yang sesungguhnya. Kalau ngomongin Mubarak rasanya kok makin berat saja deh nafas ini. Hosni Mubarak dan Zein el-Abidine ben Ali, yang masih tetangga dan sempat jadi subjek penelitian tesis saya, 11-11.5 aja dalam hal kemiripan pemerintahan. Kontrol yang absolut. Vodka aja kalah. Saya nggak ngerti apa yang ada dalam pikiran Mubarak sampai bisa menjelma jadi Fir'aun abad 20 begitu. Teman kuliah saya yang pernah bersekolah di Mesir sempat merasakan masa emas Mubarak. Mendingan mana Mubarak atau Soeharto? keduanya nggak bisa dibandingkan begitu aja karena menurut saya, pemerintahan Soeharto masih ada sisi baiknya, yaaa walaupun gitu deh...

Okay, menjabarkan kejahatan Mubarak tidak semudah menjabarkan perasaan saya kepada dirimu... karena ini terlalu sistemik dan terorganisir. Saya highlight kejahatan Mubarak yang penting, tak terlupakan, dan terlanjur nyantol di kepala. Mubarak memilih untuk menutup pintu perbatasan yang mana adalah jalan teraman satu-satunya menuju Gaza saat Israel kembali menginvasi Palestina beberapa waktu lalu. Siapa yang nggak marah? mungkin cuma Israel dan aliansinya. Masih ingat kejadian kapal Mavi Marmara? begitulah. Di era Mubarak, mahasiswa (nggg... nggak cuma mahasiswa sih, oke, rakyat) nggak boleh yang namanya berkumpul setelah jam belajar/kerja. Kegiatan berkumpul itu dianggap mencurigakan, like puhlease... teman saya yang mengadakan kajian Al-Qur'an bareng mahasiswa lain sempat diperingatkan keras oleh pihak universitas. Saya lupa detentionnya berupa apa yang jelas cukup berat. And oh, not to mention harga roti di sana alamak... 

Mesir ini nggak jauh beda sama Indonesia dari segi pemerintahannya. Penguasa mana sih yang nggak pengen langgeng di atas? apa aja dilakukan untuk tetap bisa mengontrol sumber daya alam dan manusia. Mubarak yang orang militer tahu betul masalah ini. Mubarak mengharamkan partai yang berlandaskan Islam. Whatever the name is, forbidden. Ikhwanul Muslimin itu haram. Whoever criticizes his government, get ready to be jailed (yang ini mirip era Soeharto ya... semoga Allah menerimamu, Wiji Thukul... amin). Saya rasa setelah Sadat, Mubaraklah Presiden Mesir yang akrab dengan negara Barat. Well, thanks to Israel, BFF! So sweet :') NOT!

Tibalah hari dimana pada suatu pagi seorang penjual buah dengan gelar sarjana asal Tunisia bernama Mohamed Bouazizi melakukan aksi bakar diri, self-immolation. Bouazizi ini sosok yang bikin jantung saya skipped a beat waktu dengar podcastnya. This Arab Spring Icon had me at "enough is enough..." before he showered himself with gasoline and burned himself right in front of the town hall. May Allah put you in one of the Paradises, amin. Bouazizi cuma 1 dari sekian puluh juta rakyat yang hidupnya memprihatinkan kalau kata Presiden kita. Bouazizi nggak cuma ada di Tunisia. Puluhan juta Bouazizi hidup setiap harinya di MENA dengan persoalan yang kurang lebih sama.

aaand BOOM!
Bouazizi triggered Tunisians to overthrow their President who's been ruling the country for 23 yrs. Yep, another dictator. What happened in Tunisia then widespread to the rest of MENA, tak terkecuali Mesir. Kalau proses penggulingan Zine el-Abidine ben Ali di Tunisia tergolong cepat, di Mesir memakan waktu lebih lama. Maklum, di Mesir tentaranya jauh lebih banyak daripada di Tunisia yang justru lebih banyak polisinya. 1 Februari 2011, Mubarak mengumumkan pengunduran dirinya. Rakyat puas? Enggak. Banyak yang bilang kalau pidato Mubarak itu seadanya, nggak tulus, nggak ada penyesalan dan rasa bersalah sama sekali. Ya, sama aja sih dengan speech Ben Ali yang bilang dengan meyakinkan nggak akan nembakin demonstran... in the end ditembak juga segitu banyak manusia. Lagu lama, album baru, pita kusut...

Sebenarnya setelah penggulingan Mubarak, Mesir memang belum benar-benar stabil. Walaupun Mohamed Morsi dipilih secara demokratis tapi tetap saja digulingkan. Morsi ini siapa sih? Ikhwanul Muslimin adalah partai yang membesarkan Morsi. Partai Islam ini bisa dibilang seperti duri dalam daging di pemerintahan Mesir selama ini. Pokoknya pro-kontra mengenai eksistensi partai ini nggak akan ada habisnya kalau dibahas. 

Militer Mesir dan Ikhwanul Muslimin nggak pernah akur dari dulu dan memang nggak akan pernah bisa akur. Mungkin hanya setahun saja, waktu Morsi terpilih jadi Presiden. In the end, dikudeta juga kan oleh militer? This never ending cycle sebenarnya membosankan. Rakyat Mesir, atau MENA secara keseluruhan, kalau ditanya mengenai hal ini (militer dan partai Islam) pasti bosan menjawabnya. Hal yang sering terjadi di sebagian besar negara MENA: partai Islam (yang posisinya selalu menjadi oposisi) dianggap berbahaya sehingga dalam prakteknya tidak jarang para pemimpin dan aktivisnya ditahan selama bertahun-tahun. Di Tunisia, ada yang ditahan dan diasingkan selama Ben Ali berkuasa. Sakit.

Morsi sendiri, sejak dikudeta bulan Juli lalu, sampai sekarang masih ditahan oleh pihak militer. Ikhwanul Muslimin juga dituduh sebagai otak di belakang demonstrasi yang berujung dengan kerusuhan di Kairo. Massa pendukung Morsi yang menuntut pemulihan kekuasaan bentrok dengan militer Mesir yang kepalanya pada keras banget melebihi kerasnya hatimu... alah. As a result, they even made some fortress in their base camp in order to deal with the Egypt Military Forces. It's been weeks since the first chaos and reportedly more than 200 died and more than 3000 seriously injured. What I don't understand about Egypt Military Forces is that they burned a hospital. This is not chaotic mass. This is massacre.

Permasalahan ini nggak akan selesai karena memang sudah mengakar dari jaman Mesir masih berbentuk monarki. Saya setuju sama Michael C. Hudson (dia pakar dan peneliti MENA yang bukunya saya jadikan landasan teori tesis) bahwa legitimasi adalah problem utama yang jadi penyebab kenapa negara-negara MENA ini terus aja begini nggak berubah-berubah juga. Struktur politik lokal yang masih mempertahankan Pan Arabism (walaupun sekarang agak sedikit keliberalan, tapi sedikiiiiiiiit banget) makes it hard to accommodate the people's need: freedom. Freedom disini dimaknai sebagai kebebasan yang bertanggung jawab, terutama pemenuhan hak asasi manusia dulu aja deh yang paling basic. Itu saja masih diabaikan dan banyak sekali violation (forget about Human Rights Watch, organisasi semacam itu habis di MENA) terhadapnya.

Dari segi political community bangsa mereka juga belum bisa berkompromi, bisa jadi sih soalnya struktur bangsa Arab ini kompleks banget. Ruwet. Demokrasi nggak bisa diterapkan begitu saja di MENA karena ini bisa berpengaruh ke legitimasi pemimpinnya. Legitimasi itu diperoleh dari bawah ke atas, pengakuan dari rakyat ke pemimpinnya. Selama ini legitimasi para pemimpin MENA itu sudah ada karena ya... it's kinda tradition seperti di negara-negara Arab yang masih monarki dan atau seperti di Mesir, Libya, dan Tunisia itu... rakyat nggak diberi kesempatan untuk mengenal calon pemimpinnya seperti di negara kita (ada kampanye sebelum pemilu), et voila kudeta lalu Presiden baru. These leaders automatically got the legitimacy since people got no choice also. Legitimasi yang semacam ini bisa diibaratkan stalaktit. Semakin ke bawah semakin berkurang. 

Those Rulers thought that their people were afraid of them and wouldn't do such thing to counter. The fact that Egypt never learn from what happened to Tunisia is one silly thing. Walaupun pemerintah Tunisia sekarang masih berusaha memulihkan keadaan negara, tapi paling tidak pemerintahnya tahu bahwa restrukturisasi dan reformasi sistem itu harus. Bouazizi itu boiling pointnya rakyat Tunisia. Enough is enough. And when enough is enough, the people power take over... that's when the government must be afraid. Beberapa pemimpin MENA sudah melek dan dengan sukarela akhirnya melepaskan jabatannya, ada juga yang keukeuh pengen di atas oleh karenanya merubah UU dan peraturan-peraturan jadi sedikit lebih manusiawi (UEA nih paling bisa deh). Nah, Militer Mesir ini yang saya paling nggak ngerti jalan pikirannya. Sejak dulu nggak melek-melek juga. Orang udah eneg banget sama mereka tapi masih aja belagak gila (agak kesel juga nih... huh). 

Lucu itu melabeli aksi demonstrasi sebagai ancaman nasional sedangkan yang ngomong sendiri bertekad menghentikan aksi dengan kekerasan (go figure siapa orang pemerintah Mesir yang rada-rada ini). Mediasi internasional yang katanya gagal lalu seperti dijadikan justifikasi atas tindakan represif Militer Mesir terhadap para aktivis dan demonstran. LOL. I just don't get it, really. The fact that orang pemerintah sendiri sangat ignorant tentang negaranya... *smh* Saya yakin mereka nggak tahu bahwa para demonstran itu bukan hanya pendukung Morsi. I repeat, bukan semuanya pendukung Morsi. Told ya that Egypt is getting more and more complicated since the Arab Spring. So here's the situation, there are: Pro Morsi, Pro Revolution, Pro SCAF (The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces aka Dewan Tertinggi Angkatan Bersenjata Mesir), Anti Morsi, Anti Revolution, Anti SCAF, and......... commoners diantara para demonstran itu. Bagaimana media dan publicists pemerintah sengaja mengemas konflik ini sehingga yang orang awam ketahui hanya ada Pro Militer dan Pro Morsi sedang gontok-gontokan, hmmm... y'all people should know this thing.

Ada yang lebih lucu lagi dari ini, yaitu opini yang sengaja dibuat untuk menggiring masyarakat untuk menyudutkan Islam. I was like, "what the fork are these geniuses bluff about?" Some, malah ada yang terang-terangan jadi conflict entrepreneur spesialis subjek agama dengan menyebutkan bahwa beberapa anggota Militer Mesir yang menembaki demonstran dan menghancurkan rumah sakit itu beragama Christian. LMAO. Get a life, Men. Those are humans. This is a serious case about human race. Probably this is the right time for me to sing, "don't they know... it's the end of the world?" no?

Tidak ada teman yang abadi, yang abadi hanyalah kepentingan. Kira-kira begitulah esensi politik. Like please, nothing compares to it, unless there's anarchy. Jadi selama masih ada konflik kepentingan di Mesir, nggak akan selesai. Bisa-bisa satu per satu rakyatnya minta suaka politik hanya untuk menyelamatkan diri. Amit-amit. Egypt that got so many deserts has deserted its people... what an irony.

I hope my sotoy words could give you all info selewat tentang apa yang terjadi di Mesir. Harap maklum karena ini cuma sekedar sotoy-sotoyan jadi jangan dimasukin ke dalam hati... mendingan terus berdoa aja dari hati yang paling dalam semoga saudara kita sesama manusia ciptaan Tuhan di Mesir sana nggak ada lagi yang mati sia-sia. You'll Never Walk Alone, Egypt. May Allah be with you... amin.



Wednesday 31 July 2013

See You, One OK Rock!

Though I didn't get the pre-sale ticket, I finally made it with the regular one.



Taka, I'm ready to rock!


See you on November 24th.

Ja, ne~

Monday 29 July 2013

Late LFC Tour Journal Day 3 (part 2): No Rain, Let's Train!

After I rode the roller coaster of emotion, I got back to the business. Task: tickets distribution. At the same day, LFC's open training was about to begin. Unfortunately, we ran out of tour scarfs that were complimentary given to BIGREDS members :( apologies all the way. Some people got angry because of this so we did the best we could to calm them down.

Task done. Off to the stadium. I was with Hanifa again. Honestly, I haven't seen other players or the whole team squad to be exact. Sad, of course, but hey... I just met the Man of my dream. Bittersweet. Besides, having LFC in Jakarta alone is already a blessing.

So we walked to GBK. We met Paul Cumming, accidentally. If you don't have any idea about him then what a pity. He's a great man. I'll let you find out about him here or go to his Twitter account @papuansoccer. When I saw him walked with some people (which I believed they're from Detiksport), I immediately noticed him. Paul was wearing LFC 2008 home kit (possibly yes) and a hat. His hair was almost gray. When I approached him, he was a bit surprised because I was a little too excited :D


"OH MY GOD, IT'S PAUL CUMMING!"
half-screamed I shook his hand, and said,
"Oh my God, you made it here. I adore you so much!"

trust me, my friend, I tried so hard not to cry at that moment.

Paul gave me his warmest smile and answered me in Indonesian,
"Thank you...yes, still alive and able to watch Liverpool."

right now, I'm feeling this spine-tingling and almost drop a tear. 
"please stay healthy, Paul."
I said my wish to him as I looked into his eyes.

"Thank you..."
he smiled and we shook hands as we split up.

"see you tomorrow, Paul."

I'm glad I met Paul Cumming. I followed his series of unfortunate events and couldn't believe that this Old Man finally made it. His wildest dream to watch LFC on the pitch came true on July 20th 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia, the country where he experienced so many poignant occurrence. Oh, Paul... I wish you well. 

When I got into GBK and sit, I realised that I forgot to take a pic with Paul. Damn. I didn't make it with Stevie G. it's kinda ok but with Paul? Hmmm, ok maybe tomorrow I could do that.

And so we watched the Red Men trained. All of us BIGREDS members sang YNWA passionately. It was only a training session but still, YNWA never failed in making me goosebumps. I wonder what would it like on matchday. :o

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Late LFC Tour Journal. Day 3 (part 1): an Emotional Roller Coaster

Boss finally granted my wish to dismiss office today. Couldn't be happier than that. So, first thing to do that morning was... texting my senior, Nana to go to Mulia together. We planned to give cookies to Gerrard, Lucas, and me, of course, to Martin Kelly. She made the cookies a day before. It was my idea to give such presents to the players. I mean, normally they got pre-season diet, yes. But a bite or two wouldn't be a problem. Heheh.

So... we got a cab, off to Mulia at 10-ish am. When we arrived, there were groups of people waiting for the whole players. It's like watching a band, there was this fence about a meter or so that the hotel put there to make us moved back. NOT GOOD. LFC closed training were scheduled 2 times a day, 10 am and 6 pm. It's getting crowd as a larger group also waited outside where the bus parked. Suddenly an Official told the hotel security that there wouldn't be any training that morning and the players wouldn't go anywhere too. SOBS.

I went up to a room of Nana's friends, apparently they booked one. Couldn't bear with their stories about coincidences! if you know what I mean, THAT coincidences: accidentally met random LFC players IN THE ELEVATOR and took some pics with them. YES. THAT COINCIDENCES. It's day 3 and I didn't get ANYTHING! Frustrated!

It was until someone checked the timeline when another someone updated a pic of him with MARTIN KELLY. Martin Kelly was downstairs at the reception! with John Flanagan. I didn't know what they did down there but I was MORE THAN JUST FRUSTRATED. I WAS ULTRA FRUSTRATED! So I went down.

Nothing left about Martin Kelly and John Flano existence. Just a bunch of people talked about it. 
MY GOD... 
"where the fuck is Martin Kelly!?"
I met Wafina again, this time she was with her friends, waiting for rooms to book. Phew... 
I told her about the hunting plan. Once she finished the business with the reception, we started to hunt. I came up with the idea to play the elevator. As Wafina's room was on the 29th floor so logically we could stalk the 23rd and 24th floor where the team stayed. Ok, so 24th floor. Door opened, SECURITY. Ok, closed. Then 23rd, we saw Jordon Ibe walked away. Oh kay... last destination: 5th floor, the lounge, the gym, the pool. Door opened. MARTIN SKRTEL, Mother Father!!! Couldn't help but addressed him spontaneously.
"Martin..."
He turned his sight to me.
Just when I took my camera off my bag, these girls ruined everything. They mobbed him like maniacs. I, on the contrary, didn't get anything but a pic of Skrtel's head. Yes, his head. ONLY.

Not only Martin Skrtel, there was Raheem Sterling, whom some people called snob. He's not. He stopped to give autographs and some pics. I never fancy him so... skipped. The last player there was Iago Aspas, the new lad. He was super nice. I got a pic with him, a close-up one. And oh, he's got gorgeous eyes and smile also. FINALLY, a pic on day 3!

Done with Iago, I went to the lobby and had a chit chat with Andhika Suksmana. He told me that the 4 players who'd be at FX for meet and greet... *drum roll* MARTIN KELLY, Jordan Henderson, and the ink brothers, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. YES. IT'S HIM. I didn't want to go to FX at first. I knew the crowd would go crazy. Until David texted me, convinced me to go there. Ok, FX, coming through!

As predicted. THE CROWD WAS INSANE. Too many fans there. I hurried, joined Dan and Jason. They told me about the mystery guest, which I knew earlier. Hahaha. I showed them my cookies. Dan took a pic of me holding the box and immediately posted it on Liverpool Echo's Twitter. Jeez... my hair!

I couldn't stop jumping and squeezing Dan's arm. Jason was there to calm me down, and I was like "HOW COULD?" Martin Kelly! it's Martin Kelly! My Man! Don't tell me to calm down because I can't. As we waited anxiously outside (well, Dan and Jase weren't anxious, it's just me), FALSE ALARM, again! The lads were already inside. Probably they took the same way like God last night. Jeez!


Dan, Jase, and I ran inside the mall. Thanks to Jase, I came inside as his working partner. Heehee! When I got there, Skrtel-Agger-Hendo-AND MARTIN KELLY were already sit on the stage. 
MY KNEES WERE NO LONGER BONES, THEY TURNED INTO JELLY. MOMMY, HELP ME! IT'S MARTIN KELLY AND RIGHT NOW I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF HIM. HELP. HELP.

Okay, so here's the situation: I LOST MY MIND. Didn't know what to do, like totally blank. Seriously last time I got this syndrome was when Hyde sang Forbidden Lover on stage. I swear to God I needed my Mom so much. Jase was busy photographing while Dan was recording some videos with his iPad. Nobody's there to catch me if I fainted!

I made it to the front line, so I could make sure that Martin Kelly noticed me. My to-do list: 
1. Look at him, don't lose sight, maintain eye contact.
2. When he notice, tell him "I love you" as many as I could. Don't stop til he react.
3. Give him the cookies
4. Ask him to sign the jersey.
5. Take a pic.

I looked at Martin Kelly. I smiled from ear to ear, I was like looking at my future husband :D When Kelly noticed me, I started to say this nonstop line of
 "I love you, Kelly. I love you. I love you so much!" 
lost count on how many times I said that but his reaction was beyond godlike! HE NODDED, THEN SMILED, AND OUR EYES WERE LOCKED FOR A FEW SECONDS. My Fowler, that was intense!!!


I type this with smile on my face fyi, hahahaha. I think my cheeks are red now. Liverpool red, yes. Okay, where were we? Oh, yeah. That I love you thingy. Actually I jumped to the number 4 first. I took my jersey out of my bag and showed it to him. I said, 
"Kelly, please sign this for me. Please, please." 
The fact that I didn't bring any marker made me borrowed one from someone who's got his turn first. Thanks to you, Man in Glasses! ☺

Typical Indonesian security, annoyed me with his insignificant warning. "No autograph, just photo." Unfortunately, Martin Kelly disagreed. He's angry at the security and told him, 
"no, I want to sign hers. Let me." 
I got the picture showed how angry he was. Most romantic scene ever! :')

I was warned at the 1st day that Martin acted snob. Well, it was all wrong! He was sweet, indeed... :')

Next thing to do, handed him the cookies. At the photo session, I jumped on the stage together with BIGREDS members hahaha. I was probably the only one who didn't wear any LFC related outfit. So I made it to the stage... NEVER BEEN THAT CLOSE TO MARTIN KELLY. MY HEART SKIPPED A BEAT FOR A SEC. I adore this man so much you could tell by the way I look on this picture (I found it on Propaganda-Photo, thanks Jase!), hahaha, I'm a total hopeless romantic!


As you can see, he got the cookies already. That, my friend, was the box. Inside it, my friend, the cookies. :') I made Martin Kelly brought a cookie box with him. HAPPINESS! When I handed him the box, I told him 
"this is for you..." 
he said, 
"thank you" 
in a husky voice then looked at it quickly. MY GOD... could you please look at me instead??? (Well, it's true that he's a shy guy. Ah, my Taurean... ♥) I must thank Dan for recording a short yet priceless video of me gave Martin Kelly cookies, he even uploaded it on Youtube. Thanks, Dan! 

I made it. I made all the to-do list. I'm happy that although my legs were turned into jelly that moment, I could manage myself not to faint. Phewww... You know, I learned a lot from day 3. Don't stop, don't lose hope cause the beginning is always the hardest. I thought I'd never met Martin Kelly but I made it. I made all the to-do list. Thank God!

THIS. IS. PROBABLY. MY. MOST. PRECIOUS. TREASURE.


I LOVE YOU, MARTIN RONALD KELLY. I HOPE YOU STAY IN LIVERPOOL IN A VERY LOOONG LOOONG TIME. YOU MUST. ♥

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Late LFC Tour Journal. Day 2: No Martin Kelly, More of The Legendary.

I had a great week. Ever. Like the best week. Wasn't able to blog since I got busy with few things regarding the LFC Tour in Jakarta. So, I'm gonna sum up what I've been doing recently.

Thursday, July 18 2013.
I was working at my office, no focus at all. Like AT ALL. I mean, how could I? I was in the same city with Liverpool FC ffs and I haven't seen them. Not even their bus! Frustrating!

12:00pm.
I left my office to pick Hanifa up at Sarinah. We went to my dorm first to get ready for Supporters Club Night. It was raining a bit and we're getting prepared. As the TJ took us to FX, we're sooo excited. We talked about what should we do to get autographs and photos, it's a fangirling thing. But the fact that we weren't able to come to Mulia and rushed to FX instead, made us even more frustrated. Well, FX was so Liverpool as I could see the Shankly's gate at the main entrance as well as the gigantic LFC team billboard.


3:00pm.
This Supporters Club Night we had was organized by BIGREDS. We invited the members to meet the 3 Legendary Players: Ian Rush, Robbie 'God' Fowler, and Didi Hamann. I personally have met Ian Rush in KL 2 years ago. This was my first time to see God and Didi. I like Didi. :)
The night before, I was at Goedkoop for a final meeting about this event (which never happened actually, I was waiting for more than 2 hrs there when the rest were at Mulia with the LFC team. OH!). So the preparation was not that smooth tbh.

4:30pm
Things gone manic. Members started to fill The Cone. I myself helped Hanifa and Wafina on the merchs booth. People deffo shopped! Well, this LFC Tour was the 1st time ever so I didn't surprise at all. So... while we were waiting for God and his lads, I met David, Jason, and later, Dan. They worked for Liverpool Echo and Propaganda Photo. On the first session, we had Jane Kavanagh from LFC to explain about the Tour and tonight's agenda. She's a bit confused with our wacko MCs. :D


06:00pm
Went down to grab myself a cup of iced peach tea then Jason and David came along so we had a chit chat. We were talking for a few moments then we realised that God and his lads weren't coming through the main entrance. I rang Andre at the Cone just to make sure that they're already upstairs and YES, THEY WERE. I brought my DSLR camera to photograph them when they're coming BUT they didn't appear. So up to the Cone we rushed! I apologized to David, Jason, and Dan. I didn't know, at all. Fortunately, I was forgiven. Thanks, Guys.

07:00pm
the 4 of us ran like crazy to the crowd at The Cone. Luckily we didn't lost the best moments. When we arrived, God led all members to sing YNWA. Oh my Fowler, that was intense. 

I took every picture I as quick as I could. Goosebumps all around. This was just a small gathering but still, it's YNWA they were singing.
The night was almost over as Iyan (@fagan1892) the designer of LFC Batik and The Kopiah were getting ready to present them to God and the lads. I must say that these Legendary Players were TOO CUTE in batik shirts. Like seriously, have you ever seen them put some shirts on plus the kopiah in front of you? NO. And this was the first time. Me likey!

My favorite, I must say, again, was Didi Hamann. Oh my Fowler he's TOO CUTE! I took some pic of him struggled to wear the shirt. Hahaha.


Look at his tummy. Hahaha, Didiii you're just too cute! He's got the same smile just like the old days. Pity I couldn't take a pic with him. :(

8:00pm.
After the whole crowded hours, God and Rush moved to the next room where they had meet and greet session with few listed members. I didn't see Didi around (where was he actually?) I was gonna ask him to take a pic or two but in vain. Didi's gone already.

9:00pm.
The meet and greet session turned out to be a little quicker than the original plan. God and Rush didn't want any photo session with fans, didn't know why. I looked at some people and they were disappointed a little bit. Anyway, it went well as God and Rush were in the good mood.

Jane handed me and friends LFC membership vouchers. WE WERE HAPPY TO RECEIVE THEM. Thanks a bunch, Jane!

and Jane's surprise presents were the end of LFC Tour Day 2. HAPPY. :)