What is your Pleasure?

I went to my colleague Djoni's wedding dinner last night at Restoran Angke, close to Jalan Gajah Mada. As I expected it was a very efficient affair: I arrived at ten minutes past seven; the ceremony was just starting then and the subsequent buffet dinner ended within an hour.

I managed to take a taxi back to Sarinah immediately, purchased a bottle of red wine and plunged right back into my work. There's a certain perverse pleasure in being alone in my room sipping wine, doing some reading and writing on a Saturday night.

I suppose to most people that's not a very healthy thing to do on a weekend. Jakarta has great nightlife. One night in Jakarta can make a hard man crumble too.

But I've had enough of clubbing. After a while one club looks like another. Unless I have good friends for company, just going out to booze and ogle the opposite sex is a rather pointless affair. Life is too short to be "wasted" that way.

I have friends who hold a completely opposite view. Life is short, so we must enjoy it as much as we can. I suppose if spending six hours in a dark and smoky place having your ear-drums pounded by mindless music is enjoyment, then by all means, enjoy!

The ethical hedonists believe that it is even our moral obligation to maximise pleasure in life. What's the purpose of living if one doesn't know how to enjoy life?

I fully subscribe to that. But one man's pleasure is another man's pain. Waking up on Sunday at noon with a massive hangover is pain to me. Staying at home on a Saturday night is an unthinkable pain to others.

One of my favourite horror movies is Hellraiser (which has spawned countless sequels). The first Hellraiser movie was written and directed by famous horror writer Clive Barker himself. It is cheap and gory horror but it is also great fun. It made the Pinhead character a cult hero.

The characters in the movie were driven by their quest for the Ultimate Pleasure. Through solving a puzzle box called the Lamont Configuration, the ultimate pleasure is unleased. But they soon find out that there's a fine line separating pain and pleasure.

Now, what is your pleasure sir? The Cenobites are waiting to deliver them...