Buying JKT48's New Single, RIVER

May 10th, 2013, JKT48 announced that they would begin selling their new single, RIVER, the next day, May 11th. The first day, the sale would be handled by the members of JKT48 themselves. This excited a lot of their fans, especially because it was unveiled that there would be individual handshake tickets to be sold to those who attended the event.

Before I move on, I want to confess that I am probably the most NOT loyal fan (haha) because up to that point I had never set foot in JKT48 Theater. I don't know if it's bad luck or I'm just not allowed to watch them in the Theater, I never get e-mail confirmation. Either way, I had never crossed the threshold of JKT48 Theater until that moment.

Anyway, the morning of May 11th, I was having an exam (yeah, I know, sucks haha). I was able to finish early and I made my way to FX where JKT48 Theater is located. Time was, I believe, 9:30 AM when I arrived. And I was astounded. There were already at least 50 people lining up. And since I am a nice guy, I waited for my friends instead of lining up (which would have had
me among the front lines)

As time passes, more and more people came and line up, and before I knew it, there were approximately 600 people in line and more are still coming since the event had not started yet.

Of course, since we were in Indonesia, I had expected that there would have been a delay. I didn't really expect the event to start on time anyway (That is how much faith I had in the punctuality of Indonesians haha). Therefore, me and my friends decided to stroll around and got a bite to eat at Plaza Senayan. By the time we returned, the line was already moving little by litte ( I believe, 50 people per 6 minutes? hahaha), so we finally lined up and wait patiently. I think we wasted 4-5 hours of waiting.

After we got into the hallway of the theater, we were given form of how much Disc/Handshake event's ticket we plan to buy. I had no problem choosing the I'd like to meet on June 1st. Rena Nozawa because she is my favorite member, and Ghaida Farisya. For the second member, it is because my girlfriend suddenly asked me to get a second ticket for any member, just in case she was interested in going. I chose Ghaida because she is my statistic classmate. I wanted to choose Akicha (Aki Takajo) for her but the tickets was sold out. Another choice would be Nabilah or Haruka, but that will have us home late. I don't think her parents will appreciate me having 'kidnapped' her daughter until that late. 

So after we got inside, we wasted another 90 minutes waiting. After all that, we finally came face to face with the Members. I met with Kinai, the captain, and Shania. I thought I was the weird one for buying 2 CDs, but apparantly, that is not the case. The table besides mine handed out 10 (that's right, TEN) CDs, so I was feeling better about myself haha.

One thing I noticed and learned from this experience is that JKT48 fans are very well mannered, as cliche as that sounds. There were a couple of times when members passed through our line of people and no such thing as asking for autographs, pictures etc. The worst was probably cheering for them, and it's even not the kind of "KYAAAAAA" cheers. More like an applause after a show. Also, given the number of people lining up, it amazes me that no real chaos ensued. I mean, we were not given numbers, classes, or anything. We were just told to line up. To have no shoving, that is unbelievable.

If there is any valid comparison to JKT48 fans, it's their kryptonite, the K-POP, or should I say, K-POOP (haha) fans.  I can't imagine Super Junior walks by in a mall without being swarmed by their fans or being asked for a photo.

To put it simply, JKT48 fans humanized their idol. They know that regardless of their popularity, JKT48 are human and not god.

I can't wait for the Individual handshake event on June 1st!

-Radit-

We want "New Jakarta"! Or do we?

Mass Rapid Transit, or the one we, Indonesian, call MRT, is one of Joko Widodo mega-projects. It is projected to be the solution of the never ending problem of Jakarta: Traffic Jam. On May 2nd, 2013, Jokowi finally gave the green light to start the construction of MRT. It will run through the City from Lebak Bulus to Al-Azhar University (elevated) to one of Jakarta hottest spot, Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (underground). 15,7 kilometers in length, it is estimated that it will spend approximately 125 Billion Yen. Based on other countries like Japan, Singapore, etc, it is hoped that people will switch to MRT so that there will be less traffic on the road.

However, being Indonesians, people have decided to go against this system, particularly, the elevated part that runs from Lebak Bulus to Al-Azhar University. Some of the reasoning are reasonable. Like trees have to be cut down to start building, but I'm sure Jokowi has thought of that. Also, the argument of crime increasing below the elevated rail is pretty strong, but again, I do not think the contractors are stupid enough not to equip some lighting under the rail. If I remember correctly, every goddamn flyovers in Jakarta has lighting under them. Also, if we build a tunnel, is that not where homeless will hide should there be a sweeping? Therefore, as strong as the two arguments said above are, I think adjustments will be made during and after the building.

That being said, there are arguments that I find extremely silly. One is that elevated MRT is going to make the area dirty and shabby. When I read this, I was like "huh?" And just when I thought Indonesians cannot be anymore stupid than that, I read another reasoning connected from the previous argument from them which is the pillars for the rail will be places to throw garbage. They completely missed the fact that the pillars are f**cking (forgive my french) inanimate objects that cannot do anything but support the rail above, but of course, being as dumb as they are, they cannot differentiate who's fault it is if the area became shabby.

Personally, I agree to the elevated type. Not that I'm claustrophobic or anything, but I like to be able to see where I am when I am traveling. I also like the view from above looking down. Additionally, I do not think we will be flood free by the time MRT starts its operation if it goes according to schedule. Even though Jokowi said that the underground part will be made flood-proof, I am kind of skeptical about that. That's why I support elevated because it will ensure people mobility even when a flooding occurs.

Unfortunately, I am only one of a few that actually want the "New Jakarta". The rest are too stupid to make a little sacrifice for progress.

-Radit-