Showing posts with label Daily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily. Show all posts

Jan 8, 2014

Penipuan Sore Ini

Baru beberapa hari lalu saya dan Nadya ngobrol tentang terima/tidak kalau ada telepon dari nomor tak dikenal, sore tadi saya sudah kena batunya. Sebagian orang, termasuk suami saya, memilih untuk tidak akan mengangkat telepon kalau nomornya tidak dikenal. Suami saya itu, mau ditelepon 10 kali pun kalau dia nggak kenal dengan nomornya ya nggak akan diangkat. Mana tahu penting?, saya pernah berucap. Dijawabnya, kalau penting juga nanti SMS. Hmm, ya iya juga sih ya.

Kalau suami saya saklek tidak akan angkat telepon, Nadya lebih lunak. Dia bilang ada kalanya dia akan mengangkat ada kalanya tidak. Apa faktor yang mempengaruhi tidak saya tanya lebih jauh.

Nah, kalau saya, karena saya orangnya baik (mwahahahah), biasanya semua telepon pasti saya angkat. Kenal ataupun tidak kenal dengan nomornya. Memang sih kadang jadi terjebak dengan perangkap telemarketing, tapi saya tetap beranggapan seperti tadi itu: mana tahu penting? Iya, kalau pentingnya untuk si penelepon, kalau pentingnya untuk saya, gimana? Misalnya saya menang undian apa gitu seperti waktu beberapa tahun lalu saya menang lucky draw dan dapat kursus IELTS gratis senilai 3.5 juta rupiah. Hahaha.

Maka ketika sore tadi ada nomor tak dikenal menelepon, tanpa pikir panjang saya angkat saja. Kira-kira percakapannya seperti ini:

Yasmin (Y): Halo

Penelepon (P): Halo, selamat sore. Kami dari Bank Indonesia ingin menyampaikan bahwa Ibu telah terpilih secara acak sebagai penerima hadiah.

Y: Hmmm.... *Busyet, sekarang orang nipu udah berani via telepon ya, bukan SMS lagi

P: Sebelumnya, mohon maaf betul ini nomor 0821XXXXXXX?

Y: Iya *lha, situ kan yang nelpon (entah kenapa saya penasaran bagaimana caranya mereka mau menipu orang, jadi saya teruskan pembicaraannya)

P: Iya Bu, alhamdulillah rekening Ibu sudah terpilih sebagai salah satu orang yang menerima hadiah senilai 8 juta dari Bank Indonesia. *mau nipu aja pake bawa-bawa alhamdulillah. Moga-moga kepalanya tiba-tiba ketiban kelapa.

Y: Hah? Bank Indonesia emang ada rekeningnya?

P: Nomor GSM Ibu yang terpilih. Untuk pengambilan hadiah Ibu tidak akan dikenakan biaya apapun, Ibu juga tidak perlu memberikan pin ATM. Kami hanya membutuhkan data rekening yang Ibu miliki ada di bank apa dan nomornya berapa.

Y: Hmm, nggak usah deh Mas. Saya nggak tertarik yang begini-begini.

P: Ibu cukup memberi tahu rekening bank Ibu saja kok.

Y: Nggak ah *ealah, maksa amat

P: Ibu saat ini tempat tinggal di provinsi mana Bu?

Y: Ah, masa Bank Indonesia nggak ada datanya sih.

P: Ibu saat ini di provinsi apa Bu tempat tinggalnya?

Y: *ini maksudnya dia mau ngehipnotis apa gimana sih kok pertanyaannya diulang-ulang?

P: Di mana? Di mana? Di mana? (ya nggak gitu sih ngomongnya, tapi intinya orang ini nanya berulang-ulang tentang tempat tinggal saya)

Y: Saya nggak tertarik Mas. Makasih ya. (tutup telepon).


Bapak yang saat itu sedang ada di sebelah saya kemudian bertanya siapa yang menelepon. Saya ceritakanlah. Eh, ternyata si Penelepon ini setelah ditutup belum menyerah juga lho. Dia telepon lagi dan lagi dan lagi, yang tentunya langsung saya reject. Akhirnya Bapak ambil ponsel saya dan mengangkat teleponnya. Intinya sih Bapak bilang, kamu siapa nanya-nanya dsb dsb. Lalu ditutuplah teleponnya.

Belum ada 10 detik, ditelepon lagi sama si Penelepon ini. Bapak bilang tadi memang orangnya mengancam kalau dia akan gangguin sampai malam. Wah, ternyata niat bener dia gangguin.

Lantaran ditelepon-telepon terus begitu saya jadi tidak bisa pakai ponselnya. Mau cari fungsi untuk memblokir nomor saja tidak sempat karena setiap saya reject, tidak sampai 5 detik kemudian dia menelepon lagi. Untungnya saat itu saya sedang tersambung dengan wi-fi, jadilah saya aktifkan Flight Mode atau Modus Pesawat dan menggunakan wi-fi untuk browsing caranya memblokir penelepon. Ternyata tidak semua ponsel atau android dilengkapi dengan fitur built-in pemblokiran, tapi worry not karena ada banyaaakkk aplikasi gratis yang bisa dengan mudah diunduh dan digunakan untuk memblokir nomor.

Awalnya saya coba unduh dan instal aplikasi Mr. Number. Aplikasi ini sebenarnya bagus karena kita bisa memilih apakah nomor yang kita blok itu mau di-reject atau mau langsung diteruskan ke voicemail. Sayangnya, aplikasi ini kurang tepat dengan situasi saya saat ini karena ketika telepon masuk akan muncul dulu di layar baru di-reject secara otomatis. Ya, kalau orangnya menelepon satu jam sekali sih tidak masalah. Cuma karena tukang tipu ini menelepon terus tanpa jeda jadinya sebentar-sebentar di layar saya muncul panggilan itu (biarpun sedetik kemudian langsung otomatis ter-reject).

Saya pun coba cari-cari aplikasi lain hingga akhirnya saya menemukan yang namanya Calls Blacklist. Aplikasi ini tampaknya lebih sederhana karena tidak ada pilihan mau reject atau teruskan ke voicemail, cuma dalam kasus saya cara kerja aplikasi ini lebih tepat manfaatnya karena ketika panggilan dari nomor yang di-blacklist masuk tidak akan tampil di layar melainkan hanya muncul di bagian notifikasi yang ada di bagian paling atas. Fungsi notifikasi itupun bisa dinonaktifkan sehingga saya benar-benar tidak akan sadar kalau nomor tersebut menelepon atau SMS (yap, bisa ngeblok SMS juga!). Tapi kalau penasaran, masih bisa kok buka di bagian "Log" dari aplikasi ini maka akan muncul daftar panggilan dan SMS yang telah ter-blok. Juara deh! Begitu pakai saya langsung kasih rating bintang 5. Hahahaha. Padahal jumlah apllikasi yang pernah saya rating bisa lho dihitung dengan sebelah tangan. Biasanya saya terlalu ignorant dan malas untuk menyempatkan memberi rating.

Balik ke tukang tipu tadi, saya setengah kagum juga dengan kegigihan dan komitmennya untuk mengganggu. Kalau lihat dari daftar log di Calls Blacklist, dia sudah mulai setidaknya sejak jam 6 sore. Padahal aplikasi Calls Blacklist itu sendiri baru saya aktifkan kira-kira setengah jam setelah dia pertama kali mulai teror menelepon.


Bahkan di tengah-tengah panggilan dia sempat-sempatnya mengirim SMS.



Dan akhirnya baru menyerah menjelang jam 8 malam.

Saya sempat berniat mengirim SMS "Lho Mas, kok udah berhenti nelponnya? Capek yaa...?". Tapi on second thought, tidak sudi ah menurunkan derajat saya untuk menanggapi orang seperti ini.

Anyhow, menurut saya orang seperti ini bisa berbahaya. Kalau yang ditelepon pas lagi butuh uang misalnya, atau tidak cukup paham dengan modus-modus penipuan, bisa jadi kena tipu betulan. Semoga dengan saya posting ini ada manfaatnya, baik untuk yang sedang diteror telepon oleh seseorang ataupun orang-orang yang akan jadi incaran penipu kelas teri seperti ini.

Nomor yang digunakan tukang tipu ini adalah 083220007400. Nomor ini bisa dengan mudah diganti sih.

Oya, dan kalau ada yang tahu kemana (bila ada) saya bisa melaporkan penipuan-penipuan seperti ini, mohon infonya ya. Kalau kita dengar atau mengalami sendiri dijadikan target penipuan kacangan begini, mungkin reaksi kita adalah, masa iya sih  ada orang yang tertipu dengan cara seperti ini? Saya juga dulu berpikir begitu. Tapi ternyata ada, lho! Seseorang yang saya kenal pernah hampir termakan tipuan SMS berhadiah yang sebenarnya kalau saya baca SMS-nya sangat-sangat tidak meyakinkan dan dikirim dari nomor yang tidak kalah meyakinkan pula. Tapi nyatanya ada saja orang yang tertipu.

Makanya, penting itu untuk bisa menindaklanjuti si penipu-penipu kelas teri yang sengaja memanfaatkan kelemahan orang lain demi kepentingan sendiri.


Dec 24, 2013

Moving Out, Moving In!

Akhirnya! Setelah sekitar satu bulan apartemen kami resmi on sale, ketemu juga dengan pembeli yang cocok.
Huge and big THANKS to Rangga for referring us to his in-laws who ended up to be the buyer! 

Proses balik nama memang belum beres lantaran pihak developer yang akan menjadi perantara transaksi mendadak cuti bersama dari tanggal 23 Desember sampai 6 Januari (grrr...). Tapi pembayaran sudah dilakukan 50% dan kunci sudah diserahkan, jadi insyaallah Januari nanti tinggal pelunasan dan penandatanganan dokumen saja. Amin!

Karena kami belum juga menemukan rumah yang cocok untuk dibeli, sementara ini kami putuskan untuk menyewa unit lain di Kalibata City juga sembari menunggu kelahiran (which is due in 3 weeks!) dan meneruskan proses pencarian rumah dengan tenang. Bertekad membereskan segala urusan sebelum lahiran, jadilah minggu kemarin ini saya sibuk pindahan dan beres-beres apartemen baru. Canggihnya, minggu lalu suami ada kerjaan di Bandung yang berarti proses cari tempat baru dan pindahan sebagian besar saya lakukan sendiri. Well, nggak sendiri juga sih soalnya dibantu sama si Mbak Karti dari tempat Mama dan adik-adik saya. Hihihi.

Ternyata ya sodara-sodara, pindahan saat lagi hamil besar itu dapat mengakibatkan pegal-pegal akut dan linu-linu badan! Dulu waktu kandungan sama masih di trimester kedua, saya suka meremehkan gerakan-gerakan yang dilakukan di kelas senam hamil, seperti buka tutup telapak tangan. Apa sih efeknya gerakan seperti ini? Ternyataaaa, di saat-saat ini gerakan-gerakan sederhana seperti itulah yang membantu saya survive rasa sakit otot-otot di sekujur tubuh setiap bangun pagi.

Apartemen yang baru ini memang kami sewa dalam kondisi full furnished sih. Jadi saya benar-benar cuma meletakkan barang-barang di tempatnya saja. Biarpun apartemen kami dulu kecil (yang sekarang juga sama), tapi ternyata banyak banget barang-barangnya. Butuh waktu dua hari untuk memindahkan barang-barang dari apartemen lama ke yang baru. Padahal sebagian barang-barang juga sudah kami ungsikan ke rumah orang tua masing-masing beberapa hari sebelum pindahan.

Here's how our new apartment looked like before everything is put in order.



Udah macam kapal pecah! Pening rasanya berada di dalamnya.

And this is how it is now.







I like our old apartment (way) better, but it's not bad either. Semoga menjadi rumah yang menyenangkan selama 6 bulan ke depan! :)


Sep 13, 2012

Super Cook!

Needless to say that being married has brought several, if not many, new things into my life. One of the major new things is now I have to cook prepare meals think about what we're gonna have for dinner every day.

When you live alone you only think about yourself. For example, I don't mind skipping dinner once or twice a week just so I can linger in front of TV longer. Or I have no problem having eggs for 7 straight days for dinner. I can even leave vegetables out of my menu for weeks.Yeah, I happen to have a quite low standard for my daily meals. 

Now that I live with someone else, the husband, things get hmm... more complicated, if I may say. Because he happens to have higher standard for his meals. Luckily, he likes to cook too. More than I do, at least.

However, in my attempt to be a better wife, I started to learn to cook. You know, apparently, cooking is not as difficult as I thought it would be. Of course I'm not talking about any complicated dish, I'm referring to food that taste good enough and make you happy enough to go through the day. 

The problem, or at least my problem, is I don't know what to cook. I've lived 26 years and I only know about 20 dishes. I believe I've tried at least 50 dishes during my lifetime, but for some reason I weirdly understand (because it's so me) I can't recall those other 30ish dishes when I need them. To say I'm not knowledgeable about food is probably correct.

When I have eggs, onion, olive oil, and potato, I can only think of omelet or sunny side egg with potato. I have zero creativity in cooking.

I've been hoping for some application or program to help me and people like me, where I can easily input all the ingredients that I have and the program will tell me what fancy dish I can make with them.

Wishful thinking, isn't?
Except it's not.

Few days ago, out of desperation I tweeted if someone knew certain application. And one of the responses direct me to www.supercook.com, which is exactly what I mean!

I tried it yesterday, I input eggs, onion, olive oil, and potato and I got more than 20 recipes that I  work with! The husband and I ended up having Italian potato soup for dinner yesterday. :D

I think the website is basically only matching your ingredients with the recipes in other cooking sites. Because once I clicked on the recipe I got redirected to another site.

If you have the same problem as mine, you really should try this supercook.com. Great stuff!


Jun 4, 2012

Escalation of Commitment


When a decision maker discovers that a previously selected course of action is failing, she is faced with a dilemma: Should she pull out her remaining resources and invest in a more promising  alternative, or should she stick with her initial decision and hope that persistence will eventually pay off?  Management scholars have documented a tendency of decision makers to escalate commitment to previously selected courses of action when objective evidence suggests that staying the course is unwise.  In these situations, decision makers often feel they have invested too much to quit and make the errant decision to “stick to their guns”.
(Kelly & Milkman)

**

Lecturer: Escalation of Commitment happens when the company’s in a bad shape, despite of the huge investment it’s already put in there, and the management reacts to the circumstances by putting more investment in hope that it’ll help the company to perform better.... It’s like a bad relationship.

Me: [laughing softly]

Lecturer: Yasmin, do you understand? Can you explain it to the class?

Me: Err, no. It’s okay.

Lecturer: No, please. Because it seems that you pick up my idea. Can you explain it to your friends?

Me: Well, it’s like when you’re in a relationship for so long, 5 years, and it doesn’t go well, but you think you’ve already put too much effort in it that you don’t want to end it.

Lecturer: And instead you get married, escalating your commitment, hoping that the problem will be solved by the escalated commitment. Exactly!


How could I pick the idea so easily? Obviously, because I’ve witnessed some of my friends do or did that to some extent. I just didn’t know there’s a term for it. And how do we know if we are in the circumstances?


Me: And how do we know if we are in the circumstances? That we shouldn’t put more investment?

Lecturer: That’s why people go to MBA, to answer that kind of question.


Isn’t making the right decision expensive?

Mar 25, 2012

The Last Date

Time flies and suddenly I'm two weeks away from my wedding day. Everything seems so intense lately, not only the wedding preparation and furnishing the apartment, but also the study. I'm having the mid-term test in the same week as my wedding by the way. No time to waste.

However, I am grateful that the bf and I finally got our great last date yesterday. We decided that we are not going to see each other anymore until the wedding day. For one reason, I think it will escalate the excitement. For other reason, we just simply have no time (remember that my mid-term test is coming up soon).

And what could be a better place to go for our last date unless the place where everything once began two years ago: Sushi Tei Plasa Senayan! And that, ladies & gentlemen, was his idea. That's by far the most romantic thing he has ever done, considering he doesn't like sushi and the traffic was a killer. :)))

So we ended our dating period nicely. Hopefully there'll be much more happiness and excitement in the next stage.

See you on our wedding day, love! ;)

Feb 13, 2012

Doa Pernikahan

Pagi ini, bangun-bangun saya sudah disambut instruksi dari Bos Besar a.ka yts. Mama. Bikin kata-kata untuk undangan, katanya. Dan yang dimaksud dengan "kata-kata" memiliki dua makna: redaksi dan font.

Dengan turunnya perintah tersebut, nyemplunglah saya ke tiga tas besar penuh contoh undangan yang dengan baik hatinya disumbangkan oleh salah seorang Tante. Bohong deng.
Benar bahwa Tante saya telah mendonasikan segunung undangan. Tapi pagi ini tiga tas besar itu entah ada dimana. Alhasil saya hanya berbekal sekitar setengah lusin contoh undangan saja.

Seumur-umur belum pernah saya baca undangan pernikahan dari awal sampai akhir. Pertama, saya jarang dapat undangan fisik, biasanya juga via SMS, BBM atau Facebook. Kedua, ketika saya mendapat undangan yang biasanya saya baca hanya nama mempelai dan waktu serta tempat acara. Saya ngeh sih bahwa di undangan pernikahan umumnya dikutip ayat Ar-Rum: 21 di halaman depan. Tapi saya hanya membaca sekilas satu dua kali lalu selanjutnya bagian itu selalu saya lewatkan.

Maka untuk pertama kalinya pagi ini saya baca baik-baik setengah lusin undangan pernikahan. Ternyata undangan (orang Islam) itu umumnya memiliki komposisi berikut:

  1. Halaman pertama, kutipan Al-Qu'an (biasanya Ar-Rum:21)
  2. Halaman kedua, keterangan bahwa kedua keluarga akan menikahkan si Fulan dan si Amir pada tanggal sekian di tempat anu.
  3. Halaman ketiga, undangan untuk menghadiri resepsi yang akan diadakan pada tanggal sekian di tempat anu.
  4. Halaman keempat, doa pengantin.
  5. Halaman kelima, peta lokasi.
Diantara kelima hal di atas, poin keempat adalah hal yang 99% selalu luput dari perhatian saya. Bahkan baru pagi ini saya ngeh ada bagian seperti itu di undangan pernikahan.


Aaaak.

Langsunglah saya google, "doa pernikahan" dan "doa pengantin". Hasilnya, saya menemukan beberapa doa yang indah-indah seperti berikut:


Ya Allah, andai Engkau berkenan, limpahkan kepada kami,

cinta yang menjadikan pengikat rindu antara Rasulullah dan Khadijah Al-Qubro,
yang Engkau jadikan mata air kasih sayang antara Ali, RA dan Fatimah Az-Zahra,

Ya Allah, andai hal itu layak bagi kami, maka cukuplah doa kami dengan ridho-Mu

untuk jadikan kami sebagai suami istri yang saling mencintai dikala dekat,
saling menjaga kehormatan dikala jauh,
saling mengingatkan dikala senang,
saling menyempurnakan dalam ibadah,
saling mendoakan dalam kebaikan dan ketaqwaan

ya Allah sempurnakanlah kebahagiaan kami dengan menjadikan pernikahan ini
sebagai ibadah kepada-Mu dan bukti cinta kami kepada sunah Rasul-Mu


Sayangnya, doa diatas tidak akan masuk dalam undangan lantaran karena satu dan lain hal undangan pernikahan yang akan dicetak hanya akan terdiri dari dua halaman. Poin 2 dan 3 dalam satu halaman, dan poin 5 di halaman lain. Ya sudahlah, saya masukkan ke blog saja. :P


Dec 18, 2011

The Apartment: Meet the New Occupants!

Aside from school and ReadingWalk, two things that occupy my mind the most lately are the wedding (as I've already mentioned several times before) and.... the new apartment.

It is not exactly my apartment, it's my Bf's. We decided to divide responsibilities (read: debts): he takes care of the place we're going to live in once we get married while I find a way to get us a car (in which I'm not doing very well so far).

About a couple months ago a unit in Kalibata City was finally bought. The former owner sold it unfurnished except for one air-con and a misplaced two-seat sofa. Nice.
Since then I've been developing this excitement to make over the place.

I must say that some time ago I still couldn't accept the idea of living in an apartment. I've always been dreaming to live in a real house, the one that touches the ground. But well, the price in Jakarta is unbelievably insane! Of course you can get cheaper houses if you are willing to shift a little to somewhere almost Jakarta, there are lots of nice suburban neighborhoods. However, oh dear Lord, I couldn't bear the thought of fighting the legendary Jakarta's traffic everyday. Then after some considerations (including the fact that we might not stay very long in Jakarta), I sacrificed touching the ground over the traffic.

The apartment might not be located in the most strategic location. However, it is right across the train station! And I've been a regular user of our beloved commuter line since several months ago. So, I'm very excited about this new apartment.

Back to the topic, despite of our excitement, it took us a while before we finally added some things to (hopefully) our future home, which have just arrived today! :D

Meet the new occupants of the apartment:

1. Standing-cooker
At first, we were thinking to buy a simple cooker that can easily placed on the kitchen set table. But, since I have this weird interest in baking, I asked Bf if we would have some extra space for an oven which I planned to purchase some time in the future. He said we can managed that.

Then long after that, he gave me a link to a product in an online electronic shop. It was a Modena's standing-cooker. You want oven, rite? This one is compact enough for the apartment. We can have this one, he said (gee, even I have forgotten about my wish for an oven at that time). So we do (but we didn't buy it from the online store).


The apartment is not huge, so we need to carefully pick each of everything that we want to put inside. This standing-cooker is about 50x50x88 cm, if I'm not mistaken. Cute and compact, it matches the apartment very well. ;)

It cost 5,9 million including a cooker-hood as bonus. Too bad I don't have any picture of it.


2. Refrigerator
Obviously, refrigerator is a must. We considered a Toshiba and a Samsung. The Samsung looks more elegant and it has a little more space than the Toshiba. But, Toshiba is a Toshiba. On paper, the quality should be over Samsung. But in the end, look and space won. Check it out. :)


This is my favorite part: twisting icemaker!! Can't wait to freeze some water there!


It cost 2,9 million after some discounts. Not bad, isn't it?


3. Washing machine
Many people who live in apartments choose to take their clothes to laundry services, which is understandable. It might not seem very practical to have a washing machine (which considerably needs some space) in a tiny apartment. However, I must say I am a bit old fashioned about this matter. I am sure it's because I see my mom always do the family's laundry by herself that made me believe doing laundry is somewhat a sacred task that you can't easily pass to someone else. Don't get me wrong, when I lived by myself in Bandung, I used laundry service million times. But at that time I was a single. I still am a single now, but when I live in the apartment, I'm pretty sure I'm already married by then. And because I will be married at that time, then I will need to do the laundry by myself. It's not very logical, I know, so never mind.

Anyway, so we got this Electrolux washing machine. Oh, and we got 1 kg of Rinso as a bonus.


The problem was we wanted (and needed, due to space) to put this machine in the balcony. There was no problem with the balcony, I knew for sure it would fit there. The real problem was the door to the balcony. We were not sure if the machine could pass through that.

After some struggling and tricks, we finally managed to get the machine to the balcony! Phew!


This Electrolux machine cost 4,9 million.

After the hard work, we celebrated it with grape juice. :D



**

As I've mentioned, the apartment is not huge. It is a 30 sq meters 2 bed-rooms apartment. We know it would be a challenge to decorate this apartment. Luckily, we have a friend who is an interior designer. He also designed this Never Been Better restaurant in Kemang (whose owner also happens to be our friends too).

Anyway, after some talks and visits, here's the initial design for the apartment. *fingers-crossed*


Let's see how it's going to be in the next several months. :D

Dec 5, 2011

Time

Back on my overwhelming office days, I used to think that once I get out of the routine and start my master I would be able to manage my time better. I was sure that I would have all the time I need to restructure my business, update my blog with things worth to read, spend valuable time with my brother, etc. A hopeful thought.

I thought every thing will be sorted out by themselves. Little did I know that nothing gets better by itself. 

I thought I would've had a peaceful rhythm. Instead, I am still racing with time as I always am. Taking master is no joke, plus I am now teaching 2 - 3 days in a week. On top of that, I have a wedding to be prepared. However, the real problem here is the procrastinator that lives in me. 

People shouldn't wait for the right time to do things. It never comes. They should make time to do those things. I should.

Anyway, it's almost 3 in the morning. And I have an early class tomorrow. So, adios!


Sep 24, 2011

School

It's been two weeks since I started my master study. Even though I had known for long that one day I would take my master, still it was quite a long way to go for me.

For starter, my parents always push me to go for master. Even before I started my undergraduate study, I had already known that I wouldn't stop at bachelor degree. For me it was just simply something that I had to do. I didn't put much thought into it. Although, as time went by I could feel that I truly wanted it. Part of it maybe because I am not very satisfied with my previous study. I feel like I am not excel at anything yet and I want to be an expert of something.

After I graduated, as I had already planned, I gained some work experiences first before going back to school. I desired to continue my study overseas so I applied for several scholarships, but didn't get any. I was in Erasmus Mundus' reserves list but in the end I couldn't get through, though they offered me a regular spot but it was very expensive. Still I couldn't help to consider that I might should just take the chance anyway.

At that time a friend of mine asked me, why do you insist to study overseas?
Because they have great programs, I replied.
What do you want to study anyway? You can't find a good school that has the program that you want here?

I was thinking to take either Supply Chain or Marketing and I was offered Innovation Management, which is equally interesting. But I couldn't ignore what my friend said because he got a point there. I didn't intend to study nuclear power or whatever things that haven't been developed here anyway. Surely money was the biggest issue but it was not only that. Surely if I had got the scholarship I would've not even blinked before I packed my things. But then that was not what happened. Finally, after some sleepless nights, I decided to take my master here, in Jakarta.

Now I've been a master student for two weeks and am enjoying it. I am grateful that I insisted to take Marketing Management instead of Finance. The latter of course a very important thing to be learned and some people advised me to take that major and I did consider it for some time. But what can I say, I guess it's like dating with a guy. When there's no chemistry, even though he is one high qualified gentleman, you can't feel the excitement.

Right on my first day, I was convinced that I have made the right decision. I do like this stuffs of getting into people heads and pursue them to think or act certain things. I've been busier since then but I'm hanging here. :)

Sep 12, 2011

Ripping Off a Bandage


"On Monday we'll get rid of the small comics", I decided and told the assistant last Friday. Small comics means the Japanese comics (or Korean, whatever). We will only keep special comics, I was so sure. Special comics means comics like Tintin, etc.

Frankly, ReadingWalk is running out of space. I need to make sure we use it as efficient as possible. Small comics take quite much space and for now is not as profitable as the other categories. So I was certain, they all have to go (at least for now).

Then Monday came. As the assistant was preparing the boxes, I was frozen between the shelfs. I looked at the comics and surprised that it was a somewhat emotional moment for me. Most of them were our first collections. I remember my partner and I walked around dusty book shops, tried to find some comics that were still in good condition. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. We picked some then we discussed, debated, argued, which ones should we bought. After we agreed then we begged for discounts. After some fake tears, we dragged the 10 kg comics to the car. And it's always a very hot day. I always felt like I was dried to the bones.

So this morning I felt the urge to keep them there. For old time sake!
But I need space, I told myself.
Well you can get rid some and keep some, myself replied back.
That's a good idea, I agreed.

So I started to divide them: STAY and LEAVE. But then it got harder. I couldn't keep some and throw the others. What are the criteria to make a comic stays or leaves? What makes one better than the other? I was shattered.

I took a deep breath and retold myself the decision I had made last week: they all have to go.
Quickly I took them all out. Quick quick quick, before I changed my mind. Luckily I only needed to take them out. The assistant did the rest. Now they're all packed in boxes. Happily. I hope.

Sometimes, it's not difficult to decide. The tricky part is in the execution. I knew the decision was right yet I was reluctant to execute. I tried to re-decide. In this case I think the best way to do it is to do it as quickly as possible and don't give emotion a chance to response. Like ripping off a bandage.



Jul 29, 2011

The Couple

The appointment was 7.30 PM and I was ready, but the other party was late. At 7.50 PM finally a text arrived: Saya sudah di lobi bawah.

I went down with my sister, ready to meet a prospective buyer for my Mom's apartment. Turned out the woman brought along her husband. As we were climbing up to 25th floor, they told me that they were looking for a place to live as currently they are still renting a room in a kos-kosan.

25th floor. I took them to our unit and showed around every corner of it. I didn't have to do much since they actively checked everything and took pictures. I was sitting on the bar chair and watching the young couple (they are probably 2-3 years older than me) when it crossed my mind: I am going to be like them, they are us in the future.

One day I am going to visit a house or an apartment, take many pictures of it, imagine myself and my future family living there. I will be thinking: I am going to make breakfast in this kitchen, sleep in this bedroom, watch TV in this living room, put a photo on that wall, I am going to come home here. Then I will try to picture myself living that life, does it fit me?

The couple finally finished taking all the pictures that they needed. The wife told me she would contact me again, then we said goodbye. I wish them the best. I hope they can picture themselves in the apartment. Because when my time comes, I hope I will find a nice place owned by people who wish me the best.

May 14, 2011

Resigning (2)

I think there are two kinds of breaking-up. One is the one when you are full of rage, devastation, disappointment, there’s nothing else to say but to shout (loudly) “WE’RE DONE!!!” (yes, with capital letters and 3 exclamations). There might be not much thought put into this kind of breaking-up, it’s more like a spontaneous act. Sometimes, spontaneous act is the best thing you’ve ever done in your life.

The second one is a calm, very comporsed breaking-up. For this one, usually you’ve already thought about it for some time. You already have the list of pros and cons. You even have prepared little speech (at least in your head). You’ve thought some different reactions and prepared some scenarios to counter it. This one usually started with “I’ve been thinking about it for some time...” before you actually drop the bomb. Yet, this one is harder than the other one.

Well, actually there’s another kind of breaking-up, it’s when you don’t care at all about the other person so you don’t find the breaking-up hard at all. However, I’m excluding this case in this discussion.

So, anyway, the second type of breaking-up. I think the reason why we prepare so much is because we actually really care about the other person. You know, somehow, that this will be hard for the other person or/and you. While you’re reading your speech, not only you are trying to convince the other person, you are also convincing yourself that the decision is the best for all.

The good scenario is that the other person agrees with you or at least accepts your argument and not (much) fighting back. He/she might even says that they’ve also thought about the same thing. In this case, you smile, give a little hug, and promise to each other that both of you will remains as friends.

The worst scenario, is when the other person not only can’t accept your argument but he is angry about it and starts to throw things to you. Let’s forget about this scenario since it is unlikely to be happen. But just in case, keep in mind to do your breaking-up in public place so someone can call the police if this scenario happens.

The not-so-good scenario is when the other person is not angry, but he/she is devastated. Remember that since you’re using the second type of breaking-up, it means that you really care about the other person, and you hate to make the other person down. It’s getting worse when the other person offering something very good, which you’ve never thought the other person would ever offer anyway, make it harder for you to convince yourself that this is the best decision, if not for all at least for you.

Sigh.

I just got into breaking-up situation type 2. Not with my bf, but with my bosses. I’m leaving the company.
And unfortunately, I was in the not-so-good scenario.

I have two bosses. My direct supervisor is an Argentinian, whom I told first. He was easier, after a quite long pause when told him that I was leaving (over the phone, since he’s not based in Jakarta), finally he said he understood the master degree reason. Yes, he said that his life would be more complicated without me around but he congratulated me for the decision and he was happy for me. So this is more like type 2 breaking up with good scenario, though there was one point when the typical breaking-up thing happened: the good memories were rushing in my mind and I could feel my heart sunk.

My other boss, is an American, who is the boss of my Argentinian boss. He is, unfortunately, a good negotiator. And he started the conversation with, “I came late because I was crying in my hotel over your decision”. Haha. He’s funny, one of the things which make me like him. I know he was joking, but still.

Then he went on questioning my reason, am i sure about this, do my parents support this, etc. After this part, came the harder one: the offerings. What if we transfer you to..., what if you we send you to... what if we let you go home earlier...
Then he went on his reasoning: opportunities I’m going to miss out.
At one point I became shaky and unsure. Am I making the right decision? Because some parts were not in the scenarios that I predicted before. Think about it for two days and we’ll talk again, he said.

So I thought about it. Over and over. If only this had happened like 2 years ago, I might have jumped into accepting the offer right away, but at this point of my life, I need to consider some other things. 2 years ago I didn’t realy think what will happen in the next following years. Geez, I miss those time.

But this is also what usually happens in every breaking-up. Am I doing the right thing? Will I ever regret this decision? Is there anything better than this in the future? Am i just being weak?

Everytime it comes to my mind, I remind myself again that there is a reason why I am now in a breaking-up situation in the first place. Go back to that fundamental reason. Is it truly important? Can I live without it? Is it the part of who I am that I can’t compromise?
Of course, for a job, the questions are slightly different. But I came to conclusion that I’m resigning anyway.

My heart broke a little. Even though there were times when I was so close to walked out the door and never came back, even though there was a period of time when I litterally crossed my calendar everyday marking each day passed, even though there were moments I felt i couldn’t handle the pressure anymore to the point I almost cry in the toilet, and I did complain frequently in my twitter about the work. So, the work is not easy and I hate it sometimes.

Despite of those facts, I am still grateful that I’ve experienced the work. I hate the fact that the work is not easy and stressful and how it deals with never ending urgency. But the work itself, I like it. I don’t believe that if you do something that you really love, it doesn’t even feel like working. Or at least, it doesn’t happen to me. For me, if it doesn’t feel like working that means it is not challenging enough. Having a not challenging work is as bad as having a very stressful one. Maybe even worse (been there!). Because at the end of the day you don’t have this satisfaction of accomplishment and you miss out moments of saying to yourself, ‘God, I am good!’. Though, if you can’t accomplish it, you will feel like a damned loser.

I can tell that I have learnt so much in the past year. If in the future I look back, I am not going to wondering why the hell I was wasting my time. No.. I am not wasting my time, for sure. They say working can give you experiences that school never can. They are right. Not only the substance of the work itself, but witnessing how people manage and with a multinational business everyday is also a valueable experience. I am glad I’ve taken the opportunity to work before I go back to school.

I am lucky that I have bosses who are not only incredibly smart but also very nice.
Most of the time I dealt only with my Argentinian boss (the American one is already busy with tons of other things). The best thing of my Argentinian boss is that he never turns his back on me. Yes, I messed up sometimes and yes he yelled at me (through emails), but in front of other people, he would take the fall instead of blame me. And if I did something right, he would mention it to other people that it was me who had done that. And when he taught me about something, he started from the very basic concept so I can understand the whole idea.

So, yeah, it broke my heart a little. And for some moments I had my doubts about my decision because not every day someone offers me “whatever you want, whatever you want”. But I know deep down that I’m making the right decision.

As I stated in my resignation letter “Thank you for the opportunity. I have learnt so much. I do hope our path cross in the future. Wish you and the team the best luck.". I mean every word in that letter.

Apr 18, 2011

Friendster

Tweeting, or mostly tweet-reading, has been my default of killing time while going back from the office (basically from ANYWHERE since the city where I live in now happens to be a close friend of traffic jam).

So, this evening I was reading a friend's tweet, @jonathanend, where he mentioned Friendster several time. Yeah baby, Friendster. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to my Friendster now?

Then when I got home, I prayed, had dinner, watched TV, read some gossips about KD's pregnancy, watched a video of a shark in a golf club's lake in Australia, checked my FB.... well, I didn't really think about the Friendster thing actually. Only when it was almost midnight and tv programs were getting lame, the thing came up again.

So, I search "Friendster Floresiana Yasmin". Hmm... not good. My FB, blog, and some posts appeared instead.

Okay, maybe I should go to Friendster, hoping that my memory somehow works well this time so I can remember the email and password. But can you guess what I found in www.friendster.com??
WHAT THE HELL IS THAAAAAAT??

Why gaming, oh dear, why GAMING???

And my memory is sucks as always, I can't recall my email or password.
To be honest, I don't even remember what I've done to my Friendster accound. Did I finally delete it? Did I make it private? Did I just leave it at some point?

Oh, no.

I want my Friendster back. Give me my Friendster back!
I had tons of photos there, and testimonials, and some messages, and... I really want to know how was I doing 5 years ago.
Though, let's be honest, Friendster complicated our lives. Or at least mine.
Ah, well, I was teenage at that time, everything seemed to be very complicated anyway.

But but but but... I still want my Friendster back. So I can save it somewhere safe in my own hardisk and delete it for good from the Internet. You know, to save my future-self from humiliation.

Mar 17, 2011

Half-Day

I woke up very late this morning, like at 7.30 or so. And yet I was still reluctant to get off my bed. On usual days, I wake up at 5.30 or 6 and leave home around 7.30. After some workout last night, I thought I deserve to be lazier.

But then when I checked my BB, some messages were waiting. A friend said that her boss just called her and told her to not go to the office because of some bomb threat. On twitter, other collegue said the same thing. And then when the country manager's secretary sent BBM, it was clear to me that the office was temporarily closed.
Yeay!

So I started doing things I had been longing to do: marathon tv series!
I've forgotten how nice it was to be at home at this hours when everyone else is working! Heaven! :))

But not for long, about a couple hours later a collegue in Singapore called me and, well, apparently I will have to go to the office in the afternoon. Or whenever the police finish the searching.
Well, it's okay. At least I only work half-day today. -___________-

Feb 20, 2011

For Free!

Last Saturday, as usual, I spent the day with bf. After had (very late) lunch at Pizza e Birra and shopped some groceries at Menteng Huis, we went to Glodok Elektronik (GE) in Sarinah because he wanted to buy some lamp.
I had never been to this place before but bf mentioned this place several times and he told me that he could find almost everything there. As I walked into the place, I knew what he meant. I found televisions, stereos, digital frames, kid's toys, kid's school bags, mosquito rackets, cute paper bags, etc. And at the back of the store I even found a popcorn machine.

But this is not the "wow" thing.

As I starred at the machine, bf casually said, "you can have the popcorn if you want. It's for free". I cracked a smile. Bf is a funny man and he likes to make jokes. "Seriously", he added. Oh, he insisted, which made me chuckle.
But apparently this time he was no joking.

Read this.


I can felt my jaw dropped.
And not just the popcorn, the store also provide free pastries and sausages, and some drinks. Lime, lemon tea, they even have a Nestle machine (what is the name for this thing, actually??)!!


Is it really working?, I was wondering when I looked at the Nestle machine. Maybe this is only for display, who knows?
So I took one plastic cup, put it in the machine and pushed "Milo". And it worked!!



I got my hot Milo for free!!
The only thing you should remember is that you may not take more than one plastic cup. I think it doesn't matter if you reuse your cup for different drinks.

As these were not fascinating enough, bf put a cherry on top, "sometimes they even put some things in the corner for the customers to bring home, for free".

Seriously, who the hell gives away things for free in Jakarta??

It's a "wow", right?

Feb 14, 2011

Shape up!

Di living room rumah saya, Mama memasang kaca di belakang samping kiri dan kanan TV. Lebarnya masing-masing sekitar satu meter kurang sedikit dan tingginya sampai langit-langit. Jadi sembari menonton TV, kalau saya duduk agak menyamping, saya bisa nyambi ngaca-ngaca.

Suatu malam minggu lalu, sambil menonton TV saya bisa menangkap bayangan saya di kaca. Iseng-iseng saya menggoyang-goyangkan kaki saya.
AAAAAAA.... saya menyaksikan pergerakan daging saya menggelonyor-gelonyor seperti agar-agar.

Baiklah, mungkin ini benar-benar saatnya saya berkomitmen pada olahraga rutin dan mendaftar di gym. Niatan yang sudah tertunda dari tahun lalu, atau bahkan beberapa tahun lalu kalau dihitung sejak pertama kali ide tersebut terlintas di pikiran saya.

Saya pun browsing-browsing di Internet. Mencari gym yang lokasinya dekat dengan kantor saya. Ada dua yang saya temukan: Fitness First di Sency dan Celebrity Fitness di fX.
Dua-duanya VIP club! Sial. Sial. The downside of working in an elite area.

Adik dan Mama saya sudah lebih dulu bergabung dengan Celebrity Fitness yang di Metropolitan Mall Bekasi. Aduh, tapi kayaknya nggak mungkin deh saya menyempatkan datang kesana kecuali weekend. Jadi kalau saya memang mau ikutan gym, memang seharusnya saya cari yang dekat kantor.

Tapi saya putuskan tak apalah melihat-lihat saja. Mana tahu darisitu saya bisa tahu kalau ada alternatif tempat lain yang juga tak jauh dari kantor. Maka saya datanglah ke Celebrity Fitness hari ini, dengan niatnya.

Seperti biasa, saya disambut seorang sales yang menjelaskan soal fasilitas yang ada, diberikan tur meliahat-lihat ke dalam gym, dan bahkan dites kondisi fisik (ternyata saya underweight, dan harus menaikkan 4 kg lagi supaya bisa normal). Usai lihat-lihat masuklah ke penawaran harga.

Ahak.
Sudah saya duga, harganya selangit. Kekekekekek.
Registration fee-nya saja 2 juta. Plus biaya administrasi 231 ribu. Plus tiap bulanan ada fee yang uhuy mahalnya.
Mulailah saya mengeluarkan jurus-jurus untuk kabur darisana. Saya pikir-pikir dulu ya Mas... Saya pengennya yang regular aja sebenernyaaa.... Saya cuma lihat-lihat aja kok hari ini...

Lalu si Mas ini memanggil orang lain yang tampaknya dari bagian finance atau apalah. Si Kokoh finance ini pun menjanjikan akan memberikan diskon menarik blablablablabla. Haduh, saya masih ingin kabur....
Sampai si Kokoh menjabarkan soal diskon-diskonnya.
Registration fee jadi hanya 50 ribu (where the hell the other 1.95 mios goes?). Biaya administrasi gratis. Dan potongan 50% untuk fee bulanan selama 13 bulan.

Next time I know, I handed them my card and I officially join to the club.

Di jalan pulang saya pikir-pikir sinting juga ya saya tiba-tiba ikutan gym di saat kerjaan dan ReadingWalk lagi sibuk-sibuknya. But, this is important, right?? (mencari dukungan)
Being healthy and have a goop shape are important. (menyemangati diri).
This is definitely a primary need. (masih menyemangati diri)

Go me.


Feb 6, 2011

Planning

Hey!

Duh, kelamaan nggak nge-blog. Masih ada yang baca blog saya ga ya? Hihi.

Belakangan ini waktu terasa sempit sekali. Nge-tweet pun sudah jarang sekali. Sebagian besar waktu sadar saya digunakan untuk kerja kerja dan kerja.
Yea, kerjaan di kantor sedang lumayan menggila beberapa bulan terakhir ini. Membuat saya mesti menatap laptop hingga larut malam, kadang pagi (yang mana tampaknya membuat mata saya minus lagi. I blame you for this, TS!!).

Di waktu-waktu senggang, saya tak sanggup lagi memacu pikiran untuk drop some lines di blog. Biasanya saya habiskan dengan nonton TV (AMTM, Law & Order, HIMYM, etc.). Atau pacaran! Yak, pacaran itu sehat tau! Ihihihi.
Kalau saya sedang lebih bersemangat, saya browsing-browsing beasiswa S2 di Internet. Sudah saatnya urusan sekolah ini dibereskan. Kalau terlalu lama digantung, bisa-bisa malah nggak akan kejadian.

Jadi yang saya kerjakan sekarang, kalau tidak sedang menjadi budak perusahaan, nonton TV, atau pacaran, adalah merenung (kesannya mikir sambil duduk di toilet...).
Merenungkan nantinya rencana ke depan bagaimana. Saya sudah putuskan, insyaAllah, saya akan mulai kuliah lagi tahun ini. Kalau tidak dapat beasiswa penuh ke luar negeri, saya mau ambil di UI saja. For each scenario I should prepare a plan. So, now I'm making some good plans. (Ihiy, now I do sound like a Planning Analyst. Kekekekek.)

Skenario terbaiknya adalah full scholarship to study abroad. Oh, that would be great. Travelling, master degree, experiences, all on someone else's nickels. Hahah.

Pun, skenario kuliah di UI is not less exciting. Karena dengan berada disini, saya tak perlu jauh-jauh dari my loved ones, dan saya bisa mencari pekerjaan yang fleksibel with less pressure (than what I have now).

In general, mempertimbangkan semua untung rugi dari implikasinya, keduanya sama baiknya dan sama excitingnya. The best thing is that any of these plans will take me to a new chapter in my life. I'm (finally) going to start getting my master degree. Sebuah target atau milestone akan segera saya (proses untuk di-) capai.

I will keep you posted. Promise. :)

Dec 1, 2010

Hemat, Titik!

Setelah menggelimangi diri dengan berbagai kemewahan, termasuk sesi jalan-jalan ke Singapore serta belanja belanjinya bulan lalu, juga bela-beli berbagai pernak pernik hidup, tibalah saat saya menuai apa yang telah saya tebar. Miris sekali rasanya melihat balance pada tabungan saya Jumat lalu. Rasanya ingin nangis sambil ndodok di pantai.

Untunglaaah, Jumat sorenya gaji saya masuk berikut reimbursement dari kantor. Pun, tetap saja the damage was too serious, it couldn't be fixed.

Mulailah masa mengencangkan ikat pinggang.
Masalahnya, I'm not good at following the budget. Sudah rapi-rapi budget bulanan saya susun sejak sekian waktu yang lalu. Entah mengapa tiap bulannya saya selalu menemukan alasan untuk melanggar beberapa rambu.

"Ah, ini kan pengeluaran sekali dalam setahun. Gakpapa lah ya"
Herannya kalimat ini keluar tiap bulan.

"Eh, kemarin kan sudah hemat sekian, berarti sekarang bisa pakai lebih sekian"
Ujung-ujungnya yang saya hemat tetap lebih rendah dari yang saya lebihkan.

So, I'm not good at following my budget.
Cara berhemat yang selama ini sukses buat saya adalah berhemat, titik.
Saya tidak memikirkan tinggal sisa berapa uang bulan ini, atau sudah berapa yang saya habiskan. Pokoknya di setiap kesempatan saya harus ekonomis, pilih alternatif paling hemat.
Karena kalau saya sih, ketika saya mulai menghitung jumlah penghematan saya, akan muncul keinginan untuk menghadiahi diri. Yang manaaa, ujung-ujungnya si hadiah ini lebih besar dari nilai penghematan.

It's kinda ironic, I think. I mean, I am paid for being Planning Analyst while in my actual personal life, I am not very much a good planner. Well, I don't know if I am a good planner or not, but I am not a good executor. :P


Sep 19, 2010

Until you have it

You don't know what you have until it's gone.
Begitu katanya. Kata-kata bijak klasik yang telah berjuta-juta kali disampaikan antar manusia. Dari ibu ke anaknya, dari kakak ke adiknya, dari sahabat ke sahabat, dari para pesohor kepada para pemirsanya. Berjuta-juta kali pula, mungkin, selama sejarah kehidupan manusia, kata-kata tersebut terbukti kebenarannya.

Saya tak meragukan kebenaran dari kata-kata itu. Mengalaminya pun beberapa kali sudah. Tapi saya juga meyakini sesuatu yang lain, you don't know what you're missing until you have it.

**

Jakarta, kawan, adalah tempat saya tinggal dan bekerja. Saya hidup di kota ini. Sungguh pun kota ini dikecam berbagai pihak untuk beragam alasan, toh buat sekian juta penduduknya, Jakarta tetap opsi terbaik. Terbukti mereka, atau kami, masih bertahan berada di kota ini.

Lama sudah saya berhenti mengeluh berat tentang kota ini. Ibarat menikah, saya sudah terima for better for worse, baik buruknya saya telan saja. Saya tinggal di pinggiran Jakarta Timur sementara kantor saya berlokasi di Jakarta Pusat. Lelahkah tiap hari bolak-balik rumah-kantor dengan kondisi jalanan macet? Lelah sedikit. Tapi sudahlah, hal itu sudah menjadi bagian hidup saya yang saya anggap wajar.

Berkat efek lebaran, Rabu minggu lalu untuk pertama kalinya saya hanya hanya menghabiskan 45 menit dari rumah ke kantor. Itu pun masih mampir dulu ke Halim mengantar Mama. Jadi kalau saya tidak pakai ke Halim, ya kira-kira 30 menit lah. Sampai di kantor masih jam 8 padahal jam masuk kantor seharusnya jam 9.
Esoknya, saya baru berangkat dari rumah jam 8 lewat. Lagi-lagi, tidak sampai satu jam, pukul 9 kurang 10 saya sudah ongkang-ongkang kaki di kantor.

Saya tak bermaksud hiperbolis, tapi sungguh ini seperti mimpi saja. Saya bahkan tidak tahu hal seperti ini mungkin terjadi di hidup saya di Jakarta. Ternyata rumah saya tidak jauh kok. Ternyata cukup 30 menit saja.
Sore hari pun jalanan sangat bersahabat. Mobil, bis, motor melaju lancar. Sampai di rumah dengan hati yang ringan (bukannya selama ini saya pulang dengan hati berat, tapi saya tidak tahu bahwa hati saya bisa seringan ini setelah menembus jalanan Jakarta).

Betapa jauh lebih ringannya, jauh lebih mudahnya hidup ini tanpa macet di jalan. Seperti ada di kehidupan yang lain.
Then I got terrified when I realized: God, what have I been missing this whole time??

Aug 14, 2010

Blora

Boss (B): "Wow, he was born in Blora"
Ia menunjuk pada data seseorang.

Me (M): "Sorry?"

B: "Blora. He was born in Blora. Do you know Blora?"

Blora yang ga jauh dari Jalan Imam Bonjol itukah maksudnya? Blora yang ada XTrans-nya?
M: "Uh... No.."

B: "Really? It's a famous place in Indonesia. Pramoedya (Ananta Toer) was born there"

M: "Uhm... Do you mean Blitar?"

B: "No. No. Blora. It's very famous. One of Pramoedya's book is about this town: Gadis Pantai"

M: "Hmm, I haven't read that one"

B: "It's about his grandmother who came from Blora. And Pramoedya was born there same like this person"

M: "Oh, okay.."


Rasanya pengen gali lubang dan mengubur diri di tempat.

Bos saya bukan orang Indonesia, ia adalah orang Amerika.
I wish I could say that he has been living in Indonesia for a long time, but I couldn't. Ia tidak pernah tinggal di Indonesia. Saat ini ia tinggal di Singapore dan hanya beberapa hari dalam sebulan ia ke Indonesia.
I wish I could say that his wife is an Indonesian, but I couldn't. Istrinya bukan orang Indonesia.

Ah, saya malu sekali. Bagaimana ia bisa tahu tentang sebuah kota di negara saya, yang saya tidak tahu. Bagaimana ia bisa lebih fasih bercerita tentang Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

Malam itu begitu sampai rumah saya langsung mengambil salah satu buku Pramoedya dan membaca biografi singkatnya.

The Other Blog

Dear all, This blog is not going to be updated often as I have created another one at www.floresianay.wordpress.com which will be focusi...