All pieces written by Wilfrid Wong ([email protected]).
Live From Jakarta January
17, 1998
One Simple Day May 17,
1997
WWWIS at Jakarta September
22, 1997
An
Extract from the Valkyries August 24, 1997
Time - A
Different View August 1, 1997
Interview with
Wilf May 21, 1997
Different Approach
April 18, 1997
Go to Wilfrid's eHome front page
Meanwhile, somewhere in Singapore
where our reporting team leader is still thinking that what has
happened in Indonesia last week was just some kind of "tumbled
up and down … in some small towns where supply is low".
Eating Singapore breakfast, watching Singapore TV, in peace.
Under his brilliant leadership, the whole reporting team actually
went downtown to shop for luxury goods taking advantage of the
historical low exchange rate (while everybody else is crazy
hunting for necessities - how ironic?!) when he was still around
in Jakarta.
That was then, this is now.
FeDee : Selamat malam. This is FM 107 and you
are listening to World Wide Wilf Radio Station. Time now is ten
pm and we are going to have a live broadcast all the way from
Jakarta.
FeDee : Hello, Wilf. Are you there?
*(%)#$(#*)#$*)$) // transmission problem
FeDee : Hello? Can you hear me?
Reply : // (*&)(*(*& // Yeah, I can hear
// )*&( // you clearly. Am I on air?
FeDee : Yes, Wilf. What's up in Jakarta? I heard
you guys have done some luxury shopping when Rupiah hit 10,000
against USD. Is that right?
Wilf : Damn right! Everybody here was crazy
shopping for luxury goods last week.
FeDee : How come?
Wilf : The goods were very cheap then. Imagine,
a CD just cost a mere 4 US dollar. Also, rumours said that the
Indonesia government would change 1,000 Rupiah into 1 Rupiah like
back in the 1960s.
FeDee : That's confusing. How's that going to
implement.
Wilf : Basically all your savings in Rupiah will
be divided by a thousand and they actually cut the bank notes
into halves before you could use them. Pretty scary. On that
particular night, we were warned to return home early and our
driver had deserted us.
FeDee : So, is it still very advisable to buy
luxury goods there anymore?
Wilf : Depends, like my colleague who wanted to
buy a pair of GUCCI shoes, the price went up double overnight.
Old stocks with new exchange rate. That is so crazy. And our
reporting team leader wanted to buy a "Kijang" (8
seated car) that cost only 45 million Rupiah. But the price went
up to 90 million overnight.
FeDee : But it is still very cheap right?
Wilf : GUCCI?
FeDee : No, the Kijang.
Wilf : Yeah. With an exchange rate of, say, 7500.
It is just merely USD 12,000. But few days ago, it was just USD 4,500.
FeDee : Tell us, do you feel any change on the
street. The atmosphere for instance.
Wilf : Well, the Marlboro girls dress in red and
white still out on the street promoting cigarette with free gift
and so on.
FeDee : Oh really?
Wilf : Yeah, I ain't joking.
FeDee : Come on. Seriously, what's on the
street?
Wilf : There are armies guarding in front of
malls. Those who are with real guns. We saw a couple of Marine
Troops last Thursday as well. Wonder why. We thought the army may
not be sufficient.
FeDee : Okay, Wilf. As time is running short
here, let's get to the most exciting question. Is there any
foreseeable riot over there?
// )(*)^&^&(*) //
FeDee : Hello, are you still there?
Wilf : What riot? // *&^*#@&%! // Where?
FeDee : Wilf? Can you hear me over there? What's
wrong with the phone?
Wilf : Tell me about it! This phone line is
pretty coc //&^$#(// up. I can't even make any decent
connection to the email server. Oh, back to riot. You see, there
are a lot of rumours around us. People say that the government is
trying to hold the price of the necessity during the fasting
month. But the prize of goods will go up double after that. The
unemployment rate is already high and if the people don't have
enough money to buy food, there is only one way for them.
FeDee : To riot?
Wilf : Damn right as they have virtually nothing
to lose.
FeDee : But surely there are police or even
army? Right?
Wilf : After some in depth research, I was told
that the army will mostly give way. After all, report says that
they will only protect those buildings which the owners have paid
them.
FeDee : Paying the army to protect the building?
Wilf : Yeah. That is the way it is done here.
FeDee : Have you done any research as in how
riot erupts?
Wilf : You bet. The general pattern is that
someone will hand out flyers bitching here and there. Common rage
is not difficult to provoke under this bad situation right now
right here. People hit down the street robbing everything they
can, attacking shops and most likely, end up killing the Chinese.
FeDee : This is pretty gross.
Wilf : That is right.
FeDee : Relating to Chinese I can imagine. Is
that always the case?
Wilf : Well, sometimes it relates to religion.
For once, the Muslim went up against the Christian attacking the
churches. And you know what the funny thing is?
FeDee : What?
Wilf : That day, they attacked the church and
when the time to pray came, which is five times a day, they
ceased the fight and pray. The attack continued after the prayer.
FeDee : Scary concept. Hey, Wilf, time is really
running out here. Is there anything you want to add on?
Wilf : Yeah, to my reporting team leader in
Singapore.
FeDee : What's that?
Wilf : The bank that we all put our saving in?
It is having some kind of unfavourable ranking from the
government. Those of us who are currently here has already taken
out what we can. Well, not the fixed deposit though. People are
rushing off to take out money. //^*@#@&// QUICKLY COME BACK.
//&^%&@//
FeDee : Oh, is that all?
Wilf : I guess.
FeDee : Thanks, Wilf. That will be the end of
the live report from Jakarta. Thank you for listening and there
may be more coming. Back the music, and the next song is brought
you by Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On", from the
love theme of "Titanic".
Note : Reporter Wilf is a specialist in riot and terrorism. Back
in the mid 90s - IRA terrorism in UK. Year 97, Algerian bombing
in Paris and year 98, Jakarta where riot is brewing every day.
Saturday is always a headache to
me. Time can really be both your best friend, as well as your
worst enemy. Planned something to do few days ago and never will
I be able to comply. Either I have lost the mood or something
unexpected come up. For me, no plan is the best plan.
Walking down the street unshaved under a warm sun. Lovers passing
by and ah, I remembered three distinct love stories. Love takes
different paths indeed. Not the time to tell them yet, just wait.
Entered a small café and ordered a cup of coffee. Sat down in
front of a Jackpot Machine and started to waste some time. Time
just flied by and indeed, I thought a Jackpot Machine is just
like a Happiness Machine. I will be surprised that someone can
actually derive happiness from keep on pouring the coins into the
machine without some great return. Or I shall say, one can derive
happiness from hopping that some great return will arrive. Just
like our day to day life. Ups and downs. You keep on suffering
from pain but to hope that some great reward will come right in
front of you. But who can really win from these machines?
Looking through the glass door, right in front of me was a square.
Nice little fountain and … look out! "Call the police
there is a madman around!", I thought loudly. Some people
was feeding the pigeons. The PIGEONS. They eat junks and spread
diseases. My friend called them, "The Flying Rats", in
which I totally agree with him. Funny that your emotion seems to
erupt so suddenly when you are on your own.
Oh, I have nearly forgotten to mention my three real life love
stories. Walked out of the café with no win and no loss. Kept on
walking along the river and thinking about the story of one to-be
divorced Frenchman and one Vietnamese girl. Quite a sad story as
the wife of the Frenchman walked out of him when she met with
another man few weeks after their marriage. On the other hand,
the Vietnamese girl's family strongly against her relationship
with another race. Lots of obstacles for them but I am sure they
will end up living happily with each other. They are so much in
love.
Musicians playing on the street and if they are good, I usually
put some loose change as some kind of appreciation. Walked over a
small bridge and in the middle sat a rugged dressed man holding a
signboard "Cheap joke for a cheap deposit".
"Good day," I greeted him, "Do you speak English?"
After all, I am not in an English speaking country.
"Are you an idiot? Can you read English?" replied the
man pointing at the signboard.
I smiled embarrassing and sat down next to him. I dug into my
pocket and pulled out a 5 franc coin. "What kind of joke
will I get for this much?" I spoke.
"Cheap joke," he replied. I tossed the coin into his
hat lying on the floor. He looked at me and asked, "What's
your profession?"
"Me? Hmm … a computer programmer," I replied.
He remained silence for a while and asked, "Okay, have you
heard of the joke about one businessman, one mechanic and one
programmer who were stuck in the car?"
"Don't think so. What about it?"
"Well, one day, while they were traveling in the car, it
broke down. The businessman suggested to call AA and got the car
fixed by either the AA guy or had it sent to the garage."
"Logical," I nodded my head.
"The mechanic suggested that he should take a look at the
engine and see if it could be fixed," the man continued.
"And?"
"And the programmer suggested that all three of them should
exit the car and enter the car again and see if it worked this
time," the man stopped and drew out a cigarette.
I laughed, stood up and said, "That's pretty good and it's
pretty cheap." I must have heard of it somewhere else but
could not remember. What the hell, just cheap jokes anyway and
they all sound the same.
That is one thing good about cheap jokes; to enlighten your day.
I took a look back and wondered what is the aim of that chap
siting there and selling cheap jokes. I was used to think that to
live is to play the script which has been written by (God). All
your fate is determined and you just have to act. But to act it
well or bad is entirely up to you. By saying that is just like
saying nothing. Therefore I have discarded that idea long ago.
Watching the beautiful scenery in front of me reminded me of my
Spanish-African mixed friend and his French girlfriend. Both of
them love outdoor activities. Each and every weekend, they
organize some outings with their friends or just the two of them.
Either skiing or caving out of France. Truly romantic with all
the beautiful scenery to feast upon. Of course, they are very
much in love and I am sure they will end up living happily with
each other.
Round the corner, there was one store called "Habitat".
Further down the road, there was one Burger King. Everywhere you
go, the same chain of stores lying in front of your eyes. Some
people think that Cyberspace or human unity will eventually
destroy human evolution (or advancement). They claim that human
beings advance faster if being placed in different isolated
islands as compare to putting them together in a big continent. I
cannot agree more to this as originality seems to diminish when
everyone of us is sharing with the same kind of news and
experience.
Lost count of how many miles I walked and magically, I returned
to the same bridge. Feeling tired and sat next to that man again.
I took out a one franc coin and asked, "What kind of joke
will I get for one franc?"
"An even cheaper joke," replied the man. As before, I
deposited the coin into his hat and he began.
"One day, one French and an American was driving in Africa.
The French stopped the car, took a picture of a lion from a
distance and could not start the car again."
"What? Again?" I interrupted.
"Just hold on. You wanted a cheaper one," said the man
impatiently.
"Five franc for three men and a car while one franc for two
men, a car and a lion," I thought.
The man continued, "The American suggested that they should
remain quiet in the car and wait for the lion to go away. The
French agreed and told him that it was indeed a good idea."
"Did the lion go away?" I asked.
"Of course not! Otherwise, it would have been a story
instead of a joke," he starred at me. The man cleared his
throat and spoke, "Half a day went by and the lion just
stayed where it was. This time, the French suggested that they
should wait until the lion went to sleep and walked away quietly."
"And the lion didn't sleep?"
The man shook his head, ignored me and said, "When the lion
finally went to sleep, they both got out of the car quietly and
walked towards the nearest town. Suddenly, they heard the lion
came running after them. The American put down his backpack and
searched for his pair of Reebok. The French was surprised and
asked, 'You are crazy! Do you think you can run faster than the
lion?'. The American looked at the French and replied, 'Of course
not! But I can run faster than you!'"
I laughed and said, "That's pretty good for one franc."
We sat quietly for a while and I tried to make conversation (rather
than paying again), "Do you know that I write poems? Want to
listen to some of them?"
He did not look at me and replied, "Really? But I won't even
pay a single cent for that."
Felt a little bit offended and stood up, "Maybe next time."
I felt quite hungry after a whole day's walk. Bought a sandwich
and a can of Coke. Sat down by the river and thought about the
last love story. A handsome Jewish with his beautiful French
girlfriend, both love at first sight. I was convinced that it
only happens in fairy tales but it does happen in real life. They
are getting married soon and I am sure they will end up living
happily with each other forever and ever.
Felt really tired and returned to my room at dusk. Turned on the
TV and watched some shows. TV is just like the best friend of man.
Why? As it can never switch off on you. Instead, you are the one
who switch it on and off anytime you prefer. It is meant to be
entertaining. Also, you don't really need a company to watch TV.
Violence in TV. Knives, guns and weapons. Why do mankind always
invent something to destroy? And surprisingly, man kill each
other according to their 'belief' while animal kill each other
for survival. (Guess where I quote this two ideas from.)
Oh, not a very nice way to wrap up the day. Took out my
literature and read my favorite lines again.
R: If I profane with my
unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this; my
lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough
touch with a tender kiss.
J: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly
devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims'
hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
R: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
J: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
R: O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray;
grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
J: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.
R: Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my
lips, by thine my sin is purged.
[Kisses her.]
J: Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
R: Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin
again.
[Kisses her.]
J: You kiss by th' book.
From dust till dawn, sweet
dream.
> connect WWWIS
Connecting to wwwis@jakarta ...
/* Welcome to World Wide Wilf Interactive System at Jakarta */
General broadcast :
Hi there. Long time no interact. First of all, welcome to all the
newcomers for I have made some amendment to my address list. To
those of you just joined in, this system has been running for
going to be one year and is where we all voice out our opinions
and interact with each other with no geographical boundary.
> list topics
> go topic 1
** Thinking about Y2K **
This is going to be another interactive question of the week.
Many people may have already planned for the 1999 New Year Eve
and 2000 New Year Day. Have you?
Hence the questions are :-
On the 1999 New Year Eve
1. Where would you like to spend?
2. Whom would you like to spend with?
3. And how?
Also, on the first day of Year 2000, the same set of questions
apply.
Just send in your remarks and I will compose a single newsletter
kind of stuff. If you wish your name to be omitted, just tell me
so.
In 1836 a New York preacher named William Miller predicted that
life on earth would end in 1843, but it never came true. The same
person announced later on that Christ will come sometime in 1844
but the trumpet never sounded.
Jehovah's Witnesses' founder, Charles T. Russell thought the
world would end in 1874 and subsequently predicted the battle of
Armageddon in 30 years' time. WW1 broke out on cue.
On and on, people predict when the end of the world should be and
we are about to reach the next millennium. Now, is it for better
or for worse?
Wonder what the first song and movie will be on the first day of
Y2K.
> send reply to topic 1
Please type : Sleep through the millennium on my own, in my own
bed.
^Z
Reply sent. Thank you for participating.
> go topic 2
** Talk about Diana and Mother Teresa **
A tribute to the loss of two important ladies of our time.
[computer will be silence for a few minutes]
^Z^X^D^Cfskafjlsafsafljfla
[please be patience, this is suppose to be serious!]
Maybe due to my lost in touch with the reality, I never know that
Diana actually walked the mine field and had close contact with
the AIDS victims. (Or that's what it seems.) Just like a piece of
artwork which will never get famous until the painter dies.
And the last words of Mother Teresa? "I can't breath anymore".
Thought she would say something like : May God bless you all.
Anyway, do you think that the moaning has been overdone? You will
know what I mean if you tuned into CNN during that period.
> go topic 3
** Solar car from Honda **
This really shocked me. I have seen an ad regarding on the solar
car from Honda. Man, it is finally gone commercial. And if you do
have a chance to look at the ad, the shape of this commercial
solar car is pretty much like an UFO.
Powered by nothing more than sunlight, the Honda "Dream"
drove through more than 3,000 km of Australian desert having an
average speed of just under 90 km/h.
Just been wondering how this kind of vehicle can be manufactured
if we do run out of petrol one day. And imagine what the world
would be if we have to rely on solar power.
Back to basic, perhaps.
> go topic 4
** Fork **
Sometimes, conversation can become quite misleading and this is a
true situation. Hope this topic is not getting too technical
though.
One day, I was grabbed by one client and she complaint that the
application did not work.
True enough, it did not. After some simple diagnose, I have found
out the problem.
Me : Ah, you've got a forking problem.
Client : Forking problem?
Me : Indeed, it is.
And I brought up the terminal and showed her the actual error
message.
Client : What is the forking error?
Me : It says - you cannot fork anymore.
Client : How about your computer? Do you have
the same problem?
Being very reluctant to walk all the way back to my working place
(which I did), I tuned into my own terminal. After showing her
that I have got the same problem, I turned to my fellow colleague.
Me : Yo brother, I can't fork no more, can you
fork?
Col : It's your problem man, let me try.
After a while ...
Col : S**t, it says - the system cannot fork any
processor.
Me : Yea, me too.
Col : What is forking? What the fork does that
mean?
Me : Hmmm, does the error message say very
clearly?
Col : Forking hell, can we solving this forking
problem?
Me : Hey ...
Col : Can someone look into my forking problem
<voice raised>
Me : Relax man ...
Col : Fork you. CAN SOMEBODY SOLVE MY FORKING
PROBLEM!!!
Me : Shit <in silence>
> go topic 5
** Of Human and Animals **
There is one Safari in Jakarta. Pretty huge and impressive. You
can actually drive in and feed the animals in the car with
bananas and carrots.
After feeding the animals for a few hours, we were very used to
throwing food out of the window or to attract the animals to our
car. The sheep like creatures are quite proactive and they
usually came and approached us. The tigers on the other hands
just kept on sleeping (even after got hit by my banana missile).
And imagine you have been doing this for over a few hours. We
have actually forgotten the existence of human species. At the
end of the journey, we finally did see some native locals lying
on the grass taking a nap. Having forgotten the difference
between human and animal, I actually had the tendency to throw
the bananas to them. How bizzare!
And I stopped myself at the last minute.
> disconnect
Thank you for using WWWIS. Please send in your response and it
will be fun.
World Wide Wilf Interactive System (WWWIS)
To those of you who may need some
soul nourishing stuff, here is one gem I have picked up lately.
"... One has only to accept a simple fact: Love ... shows us
the way. Our defects, our dangerous depths, our suppressed
hatreds, our moments of weakness and desperation - all are
unimportant. If what we want to do is heal ourselves first, so
that then we can go in search of our dreams, we will never reach
paradise. If, on the other hand, we accept all that is wrong
about us - and despite it, believe that we are deserving of a
happy life - then we will have thrown open an immense window that
will allow Love to enter. Little by little, our defects will
disappear, because one who is happy can look at the world only
with love - the force that regenerates everything that exists in
the Universe."
- an extract from The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho.
Little things in life you just
keep doing, without realising that it is the result of modern
society. Maybe, that is why we are all so stressed today.
Tick ... tick ... tick ...
What's that? That is the modern invention that you keep looking
at countless times a day. 2 pm appointment at Body Shop - you
finish your meal at Bugis first and it says one-fifteen - so you
go to the book store on the third floor, browse a few new novels,
1:32 already - queue up to buy a movie ticket but it takes longer
than you expect, 1:41 you are still waiting wondering why the
couple in front takes so long - your turn has finally arrived but
it is full house for movie A - take another 15 seconds to decide
to watch movie B instead - what? No decent seat? - 1:46 you rush
down the escalator and the train arrives at 1:54.
You don't expect you will be on time, do you?
So you consult your personal timer and keep hoping.
1:56 - 1:59 - 2:02 - 2:03 - 2:04 - 2:05
And you give up looking at the digits and try to relax. The
stress level, of course, depends on who you are seeing.
Two-thirteen you arrive at Body Shop and ...
You realised that he or she is late.
And you are probably stressed for nothing. Look at your time
again and instead, you may feel a bit frustrated. Another ten
minutes has gone and you start to wonder if your meeting point is
correct.
Occasion like this makes you think that if knowing time in such a
detail is such a necessity.
Think about this. Sometimes, time appears in a different form.
Jake the milkman will deliver my bottle of milk at my door at
around seven in the morning. I can hear my newspaper hits my
doorway at around seven-thirty. My neighbour, Auntie Mary, will
go to market at around nine (banging of the door). I know Pete
the postman will come before lunch time. Sitting by the window, a
blue jeep will leave the place at two and come back around nine (the
headlight is so bright!). The kids return from school at five to
six and start playing football just outside of where I live. I
can even tell Friday night from the loud music playing downstairs.
The pub gets really noisy between nine to eleven. Silence only
come after midnight.
Ah ... isn't that wonderful?
So next time, try this.
Me : Where and when shall we meet tomorrow?
You : Body Shop after lunch.
Life can be so much relaxing. Don't you think so?
Talk about asking question, I am sure at one point in time, one
must have faced this question.
- I've got one good news and one bad news, which one would you
like to hear first?
This really could have been another "Interactive Question of
the Week". The result I beg is half half.
But only recently do I realised that one should always listen to
the good news first. By listening to the good news first, the
chances that you may feel less depress over the bad one is pretty
high. Listening to the bad one first may make the good news less
wonderful. What do you think?
And of course, the assumption is that : given a chance to be
happy or not to be, the majority should choose to be, consciously.
Excuse me. Suddenly my bio-clock has told me that it is about
time to rest. So till the next time we interact, take care.
Wilf.numb@Jakarta
This is for those of you who have
briefly followed my messages and those of you who are interested
in how I feel from time to time. This is very likely the last
message composed in Paris and I hope you enjoy.
Wilf
[Music plays]
Narrator : Welcome to the best show in town, and
please welcome …
[Drum rolls]
Narrator : tonight's hostess - Fonsuea!
[Glamorous Fonsau walks in with cheer from the crowd]
Fonsuea : Thank you. Thank you very much.
Welcome to the show. We have a very special guest tonight and
please welcome the founder of World Wide Wilf Interactive System
- Wilf!
[More applause as Wilf walks in and exchanges a kiss with Fonsau]
Fonsuea : It's good to have you here with us
tonight. Tell us Wilf, why do you name it as WWWIS?
Wilf : Well, one of my colleague, Miranda, named
it for me. We thought it is quite cool to interpret WWW as World
Wide Wilf. Also later on, I really wish to interact with the
people around me, hence "Interactive System".
Fonsuea : Tell us more about WWWIS.
Wilf : Really, if you read the contents
carefully, every message has an important message that I would
like to put through to the ones I care. I am not good at aimless
jokes. To expand one's imagination remains one of my main goal.
[Applause]
Fonsuea : How nice! I bet a lot of people have
asked you where your ideas come from.
Wilf : You bet. Initially, it was from my
insanity as I was being so isolated. Eventually, I accepted and
even welcomed this isolation and later on, I was obsessed with
the philosophy of void or nothingness.
Fonsuea : And you've got a lot of people worried
about you, haven't you?
Wilf : Regretfully yes. But I am a very direct
kind of people and just can't stand to keep quiet all the time. I
love to share and hear what other people think.
Fonsuea : Back to your origin of idea …
Wilf : Ah, yes. Idea seems to evolve when you
isolate yourself with the people around you. You no longer share
the common news and experience but to experience your very own
adventure. And of course, many ideas keep popping out of my mind
and it is so hard to grab them all.
Fonsuea : We understand that once you said you
are addicted to broadcast message to all your dear friends. When
did it really begin?
Wilf : It all started with the new Prince album
and I just cannot hide my joy. Overjoyed indeed.
Fonsuea : And you just continue from then on?
Wilf : Indeed, you are right.
Fonsuea : And your debut is "Win 95
Insanity". Tell us where did you get this idea from.
Wilf : I must admit that a lot of people love
this message a lot. I was thinking of writing something original
and viola, why not write something about Window 95.
Fonsuea : Your early materials were focused on
your experience in restaurant. But why?
Wilf : The answer is very simple. I spent most
of my free time at restaurant and it is amazing on the people you
met.
Fonsuea : Like?
Wilf : Once I met a Dutch politician. And we had
a very interesting conversation. Talk about politics and you know
what I mean. Another time was like this. Most of the time, people
converse in French all around me and I am used to not being able
to understand what's going on. For once, I was in a Thai
restaurant and on one side, two ladies conversed in English and
one the other side, a couple conversed in Cantonese. Most bizarre
experience as these are the only two languages I know of.
Fonsuea : That must be. Okay, so far we talk
about all your success, have your encountered any failure?
Wilf : Certainly. Hmm … let me think. Ah,
the story about "Mad Cow - C'est Moi/Toi?" seems to be
a big flop.
Fonsuea : Oh, really? How come?
Wilf : People took it too literally and it was
not the message I was trying to convey. Of course, from the
replies, I know the group of people who is interested in animals.
Fonsuea : What does "C'est Moi" and
"C'est Toi" mean by the way.
Wilf : In French, it means "It's me",
"It's you".
Fonsuea : What were you trying to convey?
Wilf : Think of the living cow when you order
beef next time.
Fonsuea : Very inspiring thought!
[Applause and music plays]
Wilf : Indeed that was what I thought but some
of my audiences think that I have hallucination. Some of them
even asked me to return to Singapore and restore my sanity.
Fonsuea : Oh, how sad.
Wilf : Very sad but that's life.
Fonsuea : Were you really … you know …
Wilf : Yes?
Fonsuea : Insane?
Wilf : Up to a certain extend, yes. The worst
message I have ever composed is "Final : The UMM Crashed!!"
Guess I have taken it too far but I couldn't control myself at
that time. Believe me, I just couldn't.
Fonsuea : I heard that you've come back to Paris
the second time and soon, continued to compose messages. And that
was the time when WWWIS was created.
Wilf : That's right.
Fonsuea : Have you finally restored your
insanity when you were back to Singapore for 3 weeks?
Wilf : I think I've become more mature and more
stable.
Fonsuea : So there is a difference between the
messages from this two different periods of time.
Wilf : Very much. I want more "meat",
if you know what I mean. I want stronger messages.
Fonsuea : Tell us, out of all the messages you
have composed, which one is you most beloved one.
Wilf : Hmm a lot … Let me think … It
has to be "One Late Afternoon (at McDonald's)". I have
spent a lot a lot of time in creating the whole plot, with each
individual interacts with each other. Believe me, I still enjoy
reading it a lot. I guess it is kind of special and original as
I've seen nobody has done it before. I want to be original.
Fonsuea : And it was a big hit.
Wilf : Very much so. The response was so great.
At first, I thought no one will read such a long message but in
the end, they did. Believe me, the response was overwhelming and
it was least of my expect.
Fonsuea : And you are happy about it?
Wilf : More than thrilled.
Fonsuea : We understand that you've shut down
WWWIS for more than a month. Would you like to tell us exactly
what happened?
Wilf : That's very personal. It was at the
lowest point of my life and I just want to be isolated completely.
Sometime when you are in pain, you just want more pain. I know it
is hard to imagine but I do sometime enjoy pain.
Fonsuea : Oh, really?
Wilf : Yes. I just want to see how bad it can
get.
Fonsuea : And how bad was it?
Wilf : Very bad. Indeed one of the lesson I've
learnt is that - it can get a lot worse than what you would
imagine.
Fonsuea : Have you got over you so-called "lowest
point of life"?
Wilf : It's all relative.
Fonsuea : But you do come back.
Wilf : Very luckily, with the support from all
my friends.
Fonsuea : And you come back with a totally
different image.
Wilf : That's right. I fall in love with
literature and poems and I began to write some modern poems
myself. It took a lot of effect but I enjoyed it.
Fonsuea : That must be your so-called "Love
Album".
Wilf : Correct.
Fonsuea : What was the response?
Wilf : Very extreme. You either love it or hate
it. I met with some random people and they love it so much that
they asked me who is the author and what's the title and so on.
So I guess it isn't that bad after all.
Fonsuea : I read it and I love it.
Wilf : You do?
Fonsuea : Very much so.
[Applause]
Wilf : Thank you. Thank you very much indeed.
Fonsuea : And this message is about different
aspects of love, I suppose.
Wilf : Yes, you're right. And I'd like to image
love as an angel of her kind. Very angelic and takes into
different forms.
Fonsuea : Do you always look forward for a reply
or response?
Wilf : Initially, yes. But later on when I think
of it clearly, I shall not expect anything at all. Sometimes it
is just life and to the least, I have voiced out what I have to
say. Whether they listen to me is not important anymore.
Different people has different preferences and I just cannot
expect them to response all the time.
Fonsuea : No expectation?
Wilf : No, just hoping.
Fonsuea : Just hoping?
Wilf : That's correct. And it becomes a bonus in
life when they actually reply. But honestly, I do get quite a
satisfied number of response. That's what keep me to go on. Keep
trying and hoping that one day they will listen to me.
Fonsuea : And I guess you've put a lot of time
and effort to each and every messages.
Wilf : You bet. As Prince once described that
all of these are like all the little children waiting to be
adopted.
Fonsuea : He did say that?
Wilf : Well, not exactly but something like that.
Fonsuea : "Different Approach" was
composed just hours before you flight. Am I right?
Wilf : That's correct. And I haven't packed my
luggage at that time.
Fonsuea : You must be very devoted to WWWIS then.
Wilf : What do you think?
Fonsuea : Absolutely.
[Applause]
Wilf : Thank you.
Fonsuea : Tell us about one of your latest
release "One Simple Day". It seems to me that it
doesn't have a very clear core message.
Wilf : Interesting that you've pointed it out.
Indeed, by reading the quote, you should be able to figure out
that it is all about love. Love at first sight to be exact. And
actually, the three love stories are the core of the whole
message with a lot of add-ons from my own mind. And if you read
it carefully, what's around the love stories is the dark side of
me.
Fonsuea : The dark side of you?
Wilf : Yes, very much so. It was meant to be a
contrast but can easily be overlooked if you "scan" the
message instead of "read" the message.
Fonsuea : And that's what most people do.
Wilf : That's it. Guess they are too much
attached with their own work and forget about everything else.
Fonsuea : And how's the response so far?
Wilf : Response?
Fonsuea : The response to your new release.
Wilf : I've got three very good responses and
nothing else so far. But that's good enough for me. I am really
happy about it.
Fonsuea : I am sure that there will be more good
response coming. Right?
[Crowd shouts yes]
Wilf : Hope so.
Fonsuea : To tell you the truth, I just love it.
Wilf : Really? You are such a kind audience.
[Applause]
Fonsuea : How many messages have you composed so
far?
Wilf : Very difficult question as I've a lot of
other messages target to specific friends of mine.
Fonsuea : Give us a brief answer please.
Wilf : Well as for the common ones, 3 messages
under the category of music, 6 messages under the category of
news, another 11 for personal news, 32 messages under the
category random and 5 on story. That gives me a total of …
Fonsuea : That is … 57!
[Music plays]
Wilf : Wow, I am surprised!
Fonsuea : Maybe, you should tell us what's the
secret in writing so many messages.
Wilf : How much time do I have?
Fonsuea : [laughs]
Wilf : The atmosphere is important. Once I've
got an idea, I'll start with it immediately. The simple ones are
relatively easier to write. As for the complex ones, it usually
takes me few days to draft out what I am trying to convey. In any
case, I spend a few days to read it over and over again just to
make sure that they are perfect.
Fonsuea : That takes time!
Wilf : It does. And when I finally get down on
writing the messages, I will tune the surrounding to the nature
of the message. Either turn down all the light or set the room
bright. With the right kind of background music as well.
Fonsuea : I hope your effort has been well
rewarded.
Wilf : It does. I just cannot tell you the
feeling I have once I send one out to the net.
Fonsuea : One final question. Tell us, what do
you think the future of WWWIS will be.
Wilf : I will try my best to be original and as
long as I can connect to my mail server, this shall continue.
Fonsuea : And we wish you all the success and
once again, thank you for joining us tonight. Ladies and
gentleman, Wilf!
[Applause, Applause, Applause]
World Wide Wilf Interactive System (WWWIS)
[ready] connect WWWIS
connecting …
Welcome to World Wide Wilf Interactive System (WWWIS)
copyright 1997
[ready] list topics
[ready] read message 1
~ Different approach to happiness ~
Got to say, "Angels of the same kind fly together".
Surprisingly, I found someone here of the same kind of wavelength
as mine. Bizarre.
And my buddy slowly unfolded one of the saying he got from one of
his poetic friend. And it goes something like this.
"As one gets older, one gets happier. Why? Each day I wake
up, I smile. For I am one day closer to death."
[ready] read message 2
~ Could have been worse ~
We remained silence for a few minutes and indeed, I do respect
someone who can derive happiness that way.
He then resumed and unfolded the next one.
"Whenever we encounter unhappiness, we always think of the
'could have been better'. That way, we become more and more
depressed. Why not think of the 'could have been worse'? That
way, we can achieve the neutral point (ultimate void or
nothingness I guess)."
The way I think of it is that when our life is having its
downside, making ourselves feeling sad will just bring life to a
lower point. But if we can think of the 'could have been worse',
we are then 'looking up' and hence bring life to the - neutral
point.
This thinking has actually changed my buddy's life dramatically.
Whenever he is down, he thinks of what could have been worse.
This may as well change my life. Hope it changes yours as well.
[ready] read message 3
~ Inspiring French story #1 ~
Following to what my buddy has told me, he then shared some of
the French humor with me. It was kind of hard for me to
understand immediately but he explained patiently.
Maybe some of you have already heard this one or something
similar.
One day, a man (possibly French) was lying on his bed waiting for
his wife to return. When his wife returned, she spoke anxiously,
"You won't believe this. Today, when our neighbor returned
to his house, he found his wife sleeping with another man."
He relaxed and replied, "Could have been worse."
His wife then went on, "And his wife took the gun and shot
her husband."
The same reply, "Could have been worse."
"She then shot her boyfriend."
"Could have been worse."
"And she shot herself!" his wife exclaimed.
"Could have been worse."
"What could ever be worse?" his wife burst out.
"I was sleeping with her yesterday," the man replied.
When my buddy finished his story, the immediate answer was "So?".
Then I realized that I was wrong in interpreting the story as a
joke for it is not funny at all.
Two points well noted are (1) this man could have been dead if he
was sleep with her neighbor today instead; (2) this man was
honest to his wife.
[ready] read message 4
~ Inspiring French story #2 ~
My buddy then went on and I have to admit that you have to have a
little bit of French humor in order to understand this one.
One day, a wife (again, very likely French) was seeing her
therapist.
"Our relationship is getting worse!", said the wife.
"Would you like to tell me why?", asked the therapist.
"He always tells me that my cooking is no good. Not as good
as his mother," the wife replied.
"Go and take some cooking lesson then," suggested the
therapist.
One week later, the wife returned to the therapist and this time,
she told him that her husband complaint that her ironing skill
was never as good as his mother.
Again, the therapist suggested, "Go and take some ironing
class."
Another week went by and the wife returned feeling even more
depressed.
"My husband thinks that I can never dust the house as good
as his mother," said the wife.
The therapist stopped for a moment and suggested seriously,
"Tonight, dress in the sexiest black underwear with black
stocking. Sit in front of him with legs open wide. I am certain
that it will work."
So, the wife took her therapist's advise and when her husband saw
her in black, he exclaimed, "Is my mother dead?"
Well, hard to understand right? I had the same feeling as well.
First you must not take this as a joke. Secondly, you must know
that it is the French culture that they will dress in black
whenever there is a death in the family.
The moral of the story is that no matter how much this wife tries
to get better, she can never replace her mother-in-law's role.
Her husband is just obsess and in love with his mother. That
gives me some deep thoughts in the fact that sometimes in life,
no matter how much you try to be better in order to suit your
lover or your friends, you can never reach the 'best' for it may
not be reachable at all.
[ready] read message 5
~ Inspiring French story #3 ~
Like the English always make jokes out of the Irish. The French
do the same to the Belgian.
One day, a Belgian took his friend (definitely a French) for a
movie in which he has already watched four times.
Then came the exciting part about the duel between a Cowboy and
an Indian. The Belgian turned to his friend and challenged,
"I bet that the Cowboy will win this time." Not knowing
that the Belgian has already watched the movie four times, his
friend agreed to bet with him.
In the end, the Indian shot the Cowboy and the Belgian lost the
bet.
The Belgian walked out of the theater and sighed, "I thought
the Cowboy would have learnt this time."
Got this one? You can treat this a joke and laugh at the Belgian.
Another way of thinking is that in everyday life, we commit to
recurrent habits all the time and we just simply act upon
unconsciously.
[ready] read message 6
~ Break the pattern! ~
Breaking the recurrent habits and break the pattern. Everyday, we
are dominated by the flooding number of advertisements on air, on
TV and in every corner of the streets, every page of the
magazines. Our day to day work further enhances our life into
habits and patterns. What are you going to do about it?
Break the pattern!
I though I am a wired type of person. But I think I have met my
challenge. Two weeks ago, my buddy actually blindfolded himself
for a whole day just to experience the momentary lost of vision.
And he broke the pattern. In the end, he feels a lot better and
learns how to appreciate the gift of vision.
[ready] read message 7
~ Write something ~
After dinner, just before we stepped into the train station, my
buddy told me that once he was reading a book published by an
American poem writer who writes (or wrote) in French and English.
This American writer suggested that once in one's life, one has
got to write a novel. This is for one to read later on in one's
life.
And I have already started writing another novel one month ago.
Isn't that amazing?
[ready] disconnect
Thank you for using WWWIS.
Hope to see you in the future.
World Wide Wilf Interactive System (WWWIS)