Who Would Have Thought?

A friend of mine called the other day. He's working for Jakarta Post and currently working on an article about DAU (Dana Alokasi Umum-General Allocation Fund). Since it is the core business of my department he thought he'd see me and get a rough picture before he interviewed a higher ranking officer.

So i made a copy of the material and on the appointed time we met and go through it over lunch, which consisted of an excellent portion of fried rice and chicken in sesame oil. He's one hardworking son of a bitch, i got to hand it to him. He worked his way up from various pulp-newspapers before finally landed a lucrative job at the Post.

During the course of the discussion, he suddenly stopped, looked around, we were eating at a cafeteria in BUMN building by the way, and muttered," You know, back then at the university, who would have thought that one day you and me will be sitting here discussing economics..." He's got a point there. We both hated economics. I used to shudder with disgust everytime i had to translate economic texts. I did it anyway, though. I needed the money.

During the days in jogja, aeons ago, our topic of conversation, drunk or sober, was limited to movies, games, lectures, girls and ways to cheat during exams. We spent sleepless nights watching pirated movies (back then we couldnt even afford to rent original VCDs) or trying to find ways to defeat Zerg Armies in Starcraft. I proofread his graduating paper making sure he didnt make too many grammatical errors. He lent me his motorcycle so i could go out on dates. There were so many financial exchange between us i forgot who owes who..and how much.. We went on road trips and planned class outings. He arranged every detail of my Student Association Chairman campaign...My other friend and i went to Jakarta to calm him down when his 6-year girlfriend dumped him..

Yet, who would have thought? Who would have thought he and i would end up where we are now? I have always thought that i would end up being a teacher and live peacefully in Jogja. And he..god knows what he wanted to be..he kept changing his mind every two seconds..one day he wanted to work for the UN and the the next day he announced that he wanted to start an internet business. Who would have thought?

Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you gonna get, said Ol' Forrest gump.

Life is a roller coaster..or in my case, maybe a merry-go-round..

Anyway, whatever life is..a hair-raising rollercoaster or a peaceful merry-go-round..i'm old enough to learn that you better enjoy the ride..