It shouldn’t be regarded as an achievement, the fact that I had finally finished reading The Alchemist tonight.

Le blondie gave me that book on 16th of August 2011 when he was still in Jakarta. Why do I remember? Because he left a message on the front page and wrote the date as well.

All my life I have claimed myself as an avid reader. I remember those days I would religiously read comics, novels, magazines, anything, every single day. The morning when I got to school, I waited the bell to ring by reading.
During break time, I read. And if I have finished the book, I’d go to the library to look for a new one to read.

I think I was a big geek in that department.

College life? I read everything as well. Just as fast.

Today?
You do realize it took me almost a year to finish the book, right?
I was kind of moody in the beginning, I was looking for far more light and entertaining writers. So I kept this book in the shelf for so long. Sometimes I would read it, but only a few pages. I would leave it behind the next day. And in coming weeks I’d read some pages again, and so on and so forth. But still, not too much progress.

I realized one thing. It wasn’t originally about the mood. It’s because the goddamn thing that’s called “internet-at-hand-DISTRACTION.” Either it’s Blackberry, iPhone, Android, even Windows based Nokia Lumia. Heck, even CDMA phones can be connected to the net now, that offer endless channels of entertainments. It’s bloody distracting.

And if I don’t have the gadget at hand, I would open my laptop and browse the same thing -___-

I really miss those days when I can finish a book in one go, in not even a day.

I really miss the thrill of flipping the pages and feeling even more anxious towards the ending.

I miss those days when my head controls which things I should be focusing on, not my gadgets.

I miss that sense of control.

I know I’m a control freak by heart, and knowing that I give up so easily by the fun that twitter offers, for example, is not a good sign of me being the master of my own mind.

So tonight, on my way home to Bekasi, I decided that I will finish this book. More importantly, before blondie asks me if I have finished it or not, mwahaha… I turned on my mp3 player, put on the earphones, put my phone inside my bag, and opened pages by pages from the beginning part of The Alchemist.

I got home, ate and showered, tweeted a bit (yeah, still), and turned off my phone since 9pm to 12.37am.

And in those 3,5 hours, I have finally finished reading the book 😀

I feel like I’ve made a small achievement and never been more excited remembering that I still have TONS of books and magazines I constantly bought but never read. If I could apply this to one book tonight and finished the 177 pages of Paulo Coelho’s awesome writing, imagine all those treasures I have at my place!

It’d be piece of cake, just like the yesterdays.

I’m optimistic that I’ll soon regain the whole control of my head now, and not to be too goddamn attached to my gadgets.

As for the book itself, you have to read “The Alchemist.”

I know there are some people out there who would “judge” or “mock” you because you read Paulo Coelho’s book (For reasons I don’t understand why, but believe me these people exist. There’s a reason why this Paulo guy is an international best-selling author you know, and you’re here being no one, who apparently still have the arrogance to mock).

I so much could relate to the book. Like, really. I feel in a way, I was the shepherd, and also Fatima. I enjoyed every sensation I felt while reading the story. I know how it feels to jump into a journey for the sake of chasing dreams. I know how it feels seeing someone you really care about, one you didn’t expect you could meet after so much pain and desperation in the past, chasing his dreams. The happiness, the pride you feel seeing him goes closer and closer towards his life goals. And you, for that reason, would rather see him go far beyond his limit, for you believe that love will always lead both of you back, no matter what, if you’re meant to be with one another.

That’s from Fatima side. Waiting is not a new thing for her. And so is for me. My patience is built through it.

And as the shepherd, I can relate to every single thing! He sold his sheep, met a king who gave him two stones for him to take to his journey to see Pyramids in Egypt (one that he saw in his dream of finding a treasure there). How a thief took all of his money along the way, how he made it through the “poverty” stage and worked for the crystal merchant and gained enough money to continue the travel again. How he met and learned from the Englishman, the Caravan leader, the people he met along the way, the way he observed things and the things he observed. The way he learnt about life by embracing the life itself. How he overcome his fears. How he fell in love with Fatima. How he did not give up on his dream no matter what.

And how he finally made his dream come true and it was beautifully written by Coelho in the end, with a brilliant twist.

I highlighted so many good quotes and some vocabs I’ll find out the meaning later.

I closed the book feeling so content. I have just been inspired by a wonderful story. My eyes have just been opened once again. I was happy because I also got further knowledge in English structure and writing style.

And the ultimate thing the book has taught me: Your faith will bring you far, therefore you should never lose it.

Be optimistic, be strong, embrace life, and never ever stop dreaming, even if some people will laugh at you.

You’ll come out a winner. 🙂

Thank you for this present, Jerapah.
I miss you even more now, more than you can imagine. 🙂

X,

Teppy

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone