Simply Magic

Picture this.

Two leaves changed into a butterfly at the snap of fingers. Ten colorful threads turned into a bracelet as they passed through the magician's bare fist. A bowl of rice and chicken turned into steaming laksa under the cover of, again, bare hands.

No fuss, no frills, no drama. No black cloths, stage lights or screens. Just the magician and ordinary objects.

Oh well, there is some drama as Cyril strikes a pose and says his signature line, "Watch this." LOL. But that's about it. You can tell he's enjoying himself and doing it almost unconsciously.

I first watched Cyril on AXN's exclusive, Simply Magic. They got him to do the show in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan - and I'll be forever grateful to AXN for bringing Mr Takayama here.

Watching him is like having the color splashed back into magic. Previously jaded and paled by theatrical magicians, drama and I Scared You, Didn't I illusionists, my imagination come back to live.

Some people argue that magician this is more creative, magician that is more original but they're proving to be small in numbers. I care about creativity and originality and I say Cyril has them in abundance. But what makes him people's favorite is not that. It is the fact that he's not out to frighten you or challenge your ability to figure things out or trick you with his skills.

He does his stuff to deliver magic. The one we knew when we were six years old and watched a man in tuxedo pull out a white fluffy rabbit out of an empty top hat. The one that fills you with awe and wonderment; the speechlessness you thought had been kicked out of you.

It is an ambitious goal for a magician but by God, he does it.

I mean how else do you feel after you see something like this?

Working with Robots

Good mood ruined by thinking people turning into robots.

OK., I know direct staff is combined with outsource staff. OK., I know the room is not available next Monday. OK., I know meeting room is not available either.

So, surely you can come up with another date, another day, right?

My question is, how is that my problem? And how come there was no direct vs outsource staff problem this Monday?

Another Superb Taxi Driver :)

Rain, rain, rain.

I needed to run a few errands but couldn't because of the rain.

Nearing 3 pm though, it let up a little bit and I even went out without a jacket. Took a bus to Senayan and decided to stop for a while to eat. (No breakfast or lunch on Sunday - too lazy!)
As I settled down to gobble things, in came these five young ladies dressed up... well, like anime characters. I tried not to goggle but then more came in. I laughed at myself as I looked out of the glass wall and saw this super big poster screaming about the cosplay.

Then it was a taxi ride to Grand Hyatt to pick up a package a friend had left me. My early Christmas present, folks!
We had this code names and everything for this whole charade and I laughed as the concierge told me I didn't need to sign anything as soon as I provided the code names for both my friend and I.

Going back, I thought about taking a taxi as far as Senayan only and then catching another bus home. (One can't be too cheap these days!)
The weight of the package made me change my mind though half way through the ride. I told the driver to keep on going, telling him to go all the way to Gandaria.

We started chatting, just a little bit of this and that, mostly about the rain. And then thunders started to rumble and we both were going, "Ouch."
By the time we got to Pakubuwono, it was raining cats and dogs.

Closer to my place, we could barely see the road ahead. Rain was heavy and the streets, my lovely, never-flooded south Jakarta streets were covered with about an inch of water.
The driver pulled up as close as he could to my gate and asked if I had an umbrella. Lucky for me, I did today. He waited patiently as I scrambled for all my things and waited still to see me open the gate and come inside.

:)

It is this kind of people that makes me feel I'm not wasting money on tips.

Oh Bapak Taksi...

Dukuh Atas, menjelang Malam Natal.

Niat hati sih, janjian di PIM. Apa daya Jakarta macet gara-gara banyak yang pulang pergi (pulang kantor; pergi ke gereja) akhirnya jadi gw mutusin untuk pulang ajah..

Yang tadinya gw mupeng liat Kopaja P19 jadi berubah. Jadi nunggu yang biru-biru dan lampunya nyala.

Gw lambai-lambai tangan, berhentilah sepotong taksi. "Pak, ke Gandaria ya."

"Baik, Bu."

Gw tutup pintu, dia belok kanan trus ngomong gini, "Bu, nanti kasi tau jalannya ya, saya kurang tau."

Huh? Gw yang lagi nyari-nyari seat belt jadi setop. "Oh, iya Pak."

Biasanya kalo dah capek gw jarang ngobrol-ngobrol ama sopir taksi tapi abis gw kasi tau jalannya, tau-tau aja gw ngomong gini, "Bapak jarang ke Gandaria atau memang gak tau...?"

"Saya memang gak tau, Bu. Saya masi baru, baru dua minggu..."

"Oh..."

"Saya pikir mending saya bilang dari awal ya Bu, daripada nanti saya nyasar trus saya dikira muter-muter mau nipu penumpang - saya gak mau, Bu..."

Gw manggut-manggut. Trus jadi penasaran, "Jadi dua mingguan ini Bapak gini terus, nanya ama penumpang?"

"Iya Bu," si Bapak ngejawab, masi dengan polosnya (lucu sekali ini Bapak...)

"Penumpangnya gimana Pak?"

"Gak papa kok, Bu, pada baik-baik semua. Mereka bantuin saya."

Terus mulailah dia cerita soal tamunya yang dijemput dari sebuah hotel di Jakarta Barat. "Orangnya kayanya sering di Jakarta Bu, cuma dia gak tinggal di sini. Kalo dilihat-lihat sih, orang Flores mungkin ya Bu... Dia minta dianter ke Kemayoran."

"Hah, jauh dong Pak?"

"Iya, dan saya gak terlalu ngerti jalan ke sana. Untung dia baik, mw kasi tau jalannya."

Gw iya-iya aja, walopun dalem ati gw meragukan. Sebagai sesama orang timur Indonesia, gw gak yakin ceritanya bakal seindah ini untuk waktu yang lama. (Asal tau aja ya, gw orangnya gak sabaran dan gw ngerasa itu udah trait orang-orang yang asalnya dari bagian timur Indonesia.)

Si bapak taksi mungkin merasa, gw gak tau deh. Pokoknya abis tu dia ngomong gini, "Iya Bu, orangnya baik banget, saya ampe gak enak, soalnya dia tau-tau bilang begini, 'Pak, pindah ke belakang aja, biar saya yang nyetir'."

Hwahahahaha. Bener kan?

"Iya Pak?" Gw mulai ketawa-ketawa.

"Iya Bu... Aduh, saya gak enak banget... trus dia ngomong gini, 'Eh, Pak, bajunya buka aja, biar saya nyetir pake seragam Bapak!'"

Huahahahahahaha.

Gw berharap itu Bapak-bapak taksi punya blog.. Karena gw yakin tiap hari pasti ada something to tell about his life. Cuma kayanya dia lagi sibuk ngapalin jalan-jalan di Jakarta. Jadi ya, gitu deh...