Exploring Aceh (5) – From Zero to Hero..

Aceh nowadays is different from so many years ago. Thanks to Tsunami perhaps.. Well, you could guarantee that a disaster sometimes bring you some good influences. After Tsunami (around December 2004), the situation in Aceh went back to normal again, one step at a time. It used to be ‘under military services’ and a lot of robbing and criminals activity after 19.00 o’clock (they blamed it on GAM – Party of Independence for Aceh, but I think I couldn’t blame them since it was hard to define accurately about such an accusation). But now, I’ve seen a lot of city activity that never sleeps here..

Tsunami brought so many NGO (Non-Governmental Organization comes here. On a plane, I felt that I would have gone to.. NEW YORK! Hehehehe… Many foreigners in Aceh, speaking in so many languages that was difficult to be understood. The foreigners (indirectly) demand a modern city situation. Therefore you could see that this city is alive now! Trading is all everywhere, but of course, along with the Moslem spirit (which encouraged most in this city), you couldn’t find some entertainment places (such as cinema, discotheque or live music show around here) like in a big city as Medan, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta or Surabaya.

So many development activities are going on around here. National Reconstruction Agency (NRA) helps Aceh to build itself into a modern city again. Houses, buildings, public facilities are build everywhere. Not to mention that they intend to build a Museum of Tsunami, which will be completed around next year (poor alas, that I come here before it has been finished). I think, this city will grow bigger more than we imagined before.

And do not playing with the price! Hehehehe.. The standard of living costs could be relatively expensive. Sometimes I was shocked for its cost of dining (lunch and dinner), since frequently it could result the bigger expense compare to Jakarta, my hometown. Mas X (here we go again.. hehehe), the one who has so many relatives in this city told me, “Mas Adhi, my relative said that they rented a room for Rp10 millions a month. The room was normal according to my opinion. Not such a luxurious place I think..” What? 10 millions a month? In Jakarta, you could rent a very luxurious place for just Rp20-30 millions a year!

It is glad to see Aceh raises itself up nowadays.. and I hope that it won’t stop to grow. If it is so, then the city stands for nothing..

Except for a history..

Exploring Aceh (4) – From Hero to Zero

When I was in kindergarten, I always sang ‘Dari Sabang sampe Meroke.. berjajar pulau-pulau’ (From Sabang until Meroke, there are a lot of islands..). That song taught us that Indonesia has so many islands, and you could count it from Sabang (the beginning point) until Meroke (the ending point).

When I had a chance to go to Aceh, I swore to myself to visit Pulau Weh (the island of Weh) too. Well, in that island lies the city of Sabang (as mentioned by the song above), and from such Island, the beginning point of Indonesian area was counted. Pulau Weh is not far from Aceh (Aceh was situated in the land of Sumatra, and the other hand, Pulau Weh is a separated island from Sumatra, but under the authority of Aceh’s government).

It took 45 minutes from Aceh to go to Pulau Weh by machine boat, across the sea, and when I landed on Pulau Weh, we took a car to visit.. zero km! Yeah, I thought, I really don’t know what will happen next to my life, so should there be any chance for me to conquer something, at least I had to make it!

When I saw the hiker who wanted to conquer the mountain (for example, the Himalaya), they faced a lot of danger just to do that. And, I always said, “That crazy persons, what the hell do they think to have many very risky situation just to conquer the mountain?! Don’t they have anything else to do? Shopping in exclusive malls for example?”

As soon as I landed on Pulau Weh, I felt the same sensation like the hiker.. to conquer the zero KM! Some kind of curse for me, but unlike the hiker.. of course an aristocrat boy like me should have a car with full of AC to conquer that.. hehehehe..

It took about 50 km from the harbor of Pulau Weh to get the zero km area. I could say that Pulau Weh is very wonderful in the terms of panorama. It was very natural and the beach is beautiful, naturally. The mountains lie here, there and everywhere, and bring a nice warm feeling to us. 10 km from the Zero KM area, I saw forests in the left and right side of the road..

When we crossed such road, the driver said, “Sir, it is safe here. You don’t have to be afraid that some bad peoples will harm you..” Then I look the forest around us while asked, “Engg.. are there any wild animals around here?” And the driver answered, “Sure, some kind like Python (the big snake), Biawak (big lizard) and tiger..” I looked straightly to the driver, “Then, YOU WANNA SAY THAT I SHOULD BE MORE COMFORTABLE TO BE LEFT HERE WITH THEM COMPARE TO THE BAD PEOPLES?” He just laughed along the way by hearing my question..

At last, after 1 hour journey, we landed on the area of Zero KM! This is the point when Indonesia counts its area. I took some pictures (you could see in the folder of ‘From Hero to Zero’) here. There was nothing special to be seen, but at last, like the hiker, you could say the whole world, “Well! I made it here!”

After the Zero KM, the beginning in Indonesia, I just wish that someday I’ll have a chance to visit the ending of Indonesia in Meroke.. of course.. by business trip only, of course..

Since, should there be any money that I have to spend for the trip, I’ll choose New York instead of Meroke.. without any hesitation.. hehehehe..

Exploring Aceh (3) – Menginap di Bintang Lima, Makan dan Mencuci Baju? Di Kaki Lima..

Inilah balada dari pekerjaan saya.. yakni menginap di bintang lima, makan dan mencuci baju di kaki lima.. ;P

Pekerjaan saya terkadang membutuhkan dinas luar kota. Tapi, frekuensi dinas luar kota saya masih terbilang wajar menurut saya, bahkan cenderung minus. Soalnya, saya mungkin bukan pekerja favorit, dan juga mungkin kualitas pekerjaan saya meragukan, sehingga saya jarang dibajak oleh manajer-manajer lain untuk dinas keluar kota, yang jelas banyak memakan biaya per personil pegawainya.. Takutnya mungkin gak balik modal dengan mengajak saya.. hehehehe..

Nah, dinas luar kota saya ini selalu membutuhkan long stay. Minimal 2 minggu. Kantor saya menanggung biaya pesawat dan hotel yang relatif eksklusif. Tapi, untuk makan dan cucian baju? Itu lah yang harus diatur dari uang saku kami yang tidak begitu besar.

Mungkin bukan uang sakunya yang salah, tetapi tarif makan dan cuci yang ditetapkan oleh hotel-hotel top tersebut. Seperti di hotel H (Aceh) ini misalnya, tarif cuci pakaiannya per potong hampir sama dengan membeli 1 pakaian baru keluaran produksi lokal! Hehehe. Belum room service menu-nya, yang harga seporsi pisang goreng itu hampir sama dengan 2 paket standar KFC!

Maka, pintar-pintar-lah kami untuk mengatur makan dan cucian. Saya yang terbiasa hidup manja dan tidak mau susah, lebih baik menyerahkan laundry ke luar, walau pun untuk deg-deg-an dalam hal waktu penyelesaian dan kualitas kerjanya (ada yang hancur gak ya?). Tapi untuk beberapa rekan kerja saya (seperti Mas X misalnya, sorry, dia lagi.. dia lagi.. hehehe), lebih memilih untuk mencuci baju di kamar. Saya sempat bingung..

“Emang digantung dan dijemur dimana ya, Mas?” tanya saya..
“Di gantungan korden kamar mandi aja Mas Adhi, ato bisa juga ditaro di atas TV atau lampu-lampu..”

Wah, kamar hotel bintang lima kok jadi hampir mirip seperti Rumah Susun Tipe Sangat Sangat Sederhana Sekali yak? Baju-baju bertebaran dari 8 arah penjuru mata angin.. hehehe. Yah, tapi namanya juga usaha.. Dan ini juga menyebabkan besoknya beberapa orang mengeluh mengantuk dan pegal-pegal pas makan pagi, dengan alasan, “Setrikaan saya banyak tadi malam..” atau, “Kok saya tadi malam sempat mimpi memeras dan membilas pakaian ya?”

Tapi pernah ketika tidak ada cucian untuk hari itu, Mas X malah berkomentar, “Kok sepertinya ada yang hilang ya dalam hidup saya? Mungkin ada baiknya saya cuci seprai kamar hotelnya untuk keseimbangan jiwa saya ya?” Hihihihihi..

Untuk makan pun, kami juga menyiasatinya dengan mengandalkan.. POP MIE DAN INDOMIE! Makanan penyelamat kami yang walau pun secara kualitas gizi masih diragukan keandalannya. Dan juga beberapa stok biskuit serta buah-buahan, kalau-kalau mendadak kelaparan di tengah malam dan tidak ingin terjebak dalam jeratan harga makanan room-service yang jelas-jelas jauh lebih berbahaya dari jeratan cewek posesif! ;P

Well, menurut saya, pekerjaan saya ini memberikan dua manfaat. Sebagai verifikator, Anda terbiasa jeli untuk melihat sesuatu, dan sebagai ‘traveler dengan allowance yang ala kadarnya’, Anda akan terbiasa untuk mengatur anggaran Anda dengan sebaik mungkin..

Cocok nih sepertinya kalau kita-kita ini di-hire untuk menyusun APBN di tahun-tahun yang akan datang! Hehehehe..

Exploring Aceh (2) – To Protect but Not To Serve..

Pekerjaan saya sebagai verifikator (kata-kata ini lebih senang saya gunakan karena maknanya lebih halus dan tidak mendatangkan kebencian.. hehehehe), membuat saya selalu memulai hasil analisis saya dengan kata-kata, “Berdasarkan sampling, diketahui bahwa..” Well, untuk bercerita kali ini, saya pun juga berupaya untuk memulai dengan kata-kata, berdasarkan sampling, saya ingin mengatakan bahwa di Kota Aceh ini Anda akan mendapatkan kepastian yang cukup untuk beberapa fasilitas (you are protected well). Bank, ATM, toko-toko, makanan, dll., semuanya ada disini. Bahkan branded makanan junkies dari luar seperti KFC, A&W, Texas pun bisa ditemukan disini walau masing-masing hanya memiliki 1 outlet.

Tapi soal being served? Eits! Nanti doeloe.. ;P

Berdasarkan sampling looohh.. hehehehe..

Pelayanan beberapa fasilitas yang lama dan membingungkan. .

Misalnya, di daerah pusat kota, ada traditional food court yang bernama CB (sorry, inisial, saya takut di-somasi.. ;P). Di CB ini ada stand Martabak Telor. Sebagai seorang penggemar makanan tersebut, saya selalu berupaya untuk mencobanya di setiap kali kesempatan berkunjung ke satu daerah, untuk membandingkan ciri khas Martabak dari tempat yang satu ke tempat yang lain. Waktu itu masih pukul 18.00, dan saya menuju ke penjual yang sedang sibuk memotong-motong bahan-bahan baku Martabak tersebut, “Mas, pesen satu yaa..” Anda tahu apa jawabnya? Dengan menggunakan bahasa Indonesia campur bahasa Aceh yang saya tidak mengerti, kira-kira begini jawabnya, “Maaf Mas, bisa menunggu satu jam? Soalnya saya sedang menyiapkan bahan-bahannya..”

Aje gile! Satu jam? Lo kata lo mo check-sound buat maen band di panggung?!! Saya batal memesan martabak dan langsung memesan Mie Aceh yang sebenarnya gak terlalu saya sukai. Yah, tapi daripada gak makan sama sekali..

Kemudian, keesokan harinya, kami makan di Restoran Mie Aceh ‘R’. Tempatnya penuh sesak! Wah, pasti ini enak banget. Kalo gak, gak mungkin yang datang sebanyak ini. Saya bersama rekan kerja saya memesan mie dengan beragam rasa, ada yang mie rebus, ada yang mie goreng, ada yang mie goreng telor.. dsb. Setelah menunggu hampir 30 menit (lama sekali) untuk pesanan kami, tiba-tiba datanglah ke meja kami.. SEMUANYA MIE GORENG POLOS! Jadi, pesanan-pesanan dengan beragam variasi yang kami tulis di kwitansi tadi, batal demi hukum! Berhubung semuanya sudah terkontaminasi dengan emosi seperti pejuang GAM, Mie Goreng polos pun disikat juga sampai tandas! Gilanya lagi, waktu saya mau melakukan pembayaran, di bon masih tertulis pesanan kami dengan variasi-variasi mie yang harganya lebih mahal daripada mie goreng polos yang kami makan. Walhasil saya langsung mengultimatum mas-mas kasir untuk mengeluarkan jurnal akuntansi koreksi atas harga-harga tersebut!

Bukan hanya di restoran, tapi ini terjadi di Laundry. Mungkin saya yang salah memilih tempat laundry ‘A’, tapi cukup membingungkan bahwa untuk 3 kemeja dan 3 celana panjang, lengkap dengan 3 pasang pakaian dalam (kaus dan celana).. Anda diharuskan menunggu sebanyak.. 5 hari! Tapi, karena saya tidak mau ambil pusing, saya iyakan, hari Sabtu laundry saya ‘cek-in’, dan dijanjikan hari Rabu-nya ‘cek-out’. Kemudian, pada hari Rabu jam 15.00, saya datang ke tempat laundry untuk mengambil pakaian-pakaian saya. Tahu apa hasilnya? “Mas, belum selesai.. jadinya baru jam 17.00. Karena batas akhir toko tutup kan jam 17.00!” Yang tadinya saya hampir ngamuk-ngamuk habis-habisan, tapi begitu mengingat bahwa mungkin ini karma saya karena saya sering sekali melakukan sholat di waktu-waktu perbatasan (misalnya lohor yang 5 menit selisih dengan ashar, ato ashar yang selisih 5 menit dengan magrib, dan seterusnya.. hehehe), saya urungkan.. Saya pasrah, dan menunggu saja.. hik.. hik.. hik..

Atau, kealpaan mengerjakan orderan Anda..

Hotel yang saya diami ini berbintang lima. Pokoknya keren banget dah! Maklum, kan ada corporate rate. Jadi, harus dimanfaatkan dengan maksimal.. hehehe. Tapi, di hari Minggu ketika saya biasa bangun siang, mas-mas cleaning service mengetuk kamar saya jam 9 pagi, “Mas, mau dibersihkan?” Saya bilang ke dia, “Bisa jam 12? Nanti jam segitu saya keluar.” Dia mengiyakan, dan jam 12 saya pergi mencari makan siang serta belanja oleh-oleh. Sebelum pergi, saya gantung tulisan ‘please clean up the room’ di depan pintu kamar. Pulang dari berpergian, saya tiba di hotel jam 16.30. OK, sekitar 4 jam lebih saya meninggalkan hotel. And, guess what? MY ROOM WAS STILL NOT CLEAN! Persis seperti keadaan waktu saya meninggalkannya. Seumur-umur saya menginap di hotel berbintang lima, baru sekali ini saya mengalami hal seperti ini. Maka dengan emosi yang ditahan sampai ke titik maksimal, saya telpon resepsionis untuk mengirimkan cleaning service ke kamar, yang baru datang sekitar 15 menit kemudian.. Haduuuuuhhhhhh..

Yang lebih parah lagi.. inkonsistensi dalam menetapkan harga!

Atas dasar promosi orang-orang di kantor cabang kami di Aceh, kami mencoba ikan bakar di AA. Katanya enak, walau agak mahal. Kebetulan saya dinas dengan Mas X juga (Mas X, the one who were mentioned in my note of “Beauty, Brain & Behavior, suatu studi komparatif”). Mas X yang asli orang Aceh tapi berdomisili di Jakarta ini muncul sebagai juru runding harga. Harga ikan yang ditetapkan Rp35 ribu, yang menurut kami terbilang mahal. Tapi setelah sang penjual berbincang-bincang menggunakan bahasa Aceh dengan Mas X, Mas X menginformasikan kepada kami, “Kata dia, gampang lah, makan aja dulu, 35rb itu bisa kurang kok, kan yang makan banyak, gak mungkin lah saya bohong, kalau saya bohong, manalah ada yang mo kemari lagi?”

Berbekal kepercayaan kepada negosiasi tersebut, kami setuju untuk menyantap hidangan ikan bakar.. yang menurut saya sih.. rasanya biasa-biasa aja (jauh lebih enak yang ada di depan kantor saya.. tapi saya lupa.. namanya apa ya?). Setelah selesai menyantap ikan-ikan tersebut, saya selaku bendahara menuju ke meja kasir, dan bengong setelah melihat ikan-ikan tersebut bukannya di-charge lebih murah dari Rp35 ribu, malahan di-charge Rp40 ribu per ekor! Alasan mas-mas kasir-nya, “Ikannya besar-besar.. saboh ampo puloh lah..” Kalo gak salah dengar sih begitu. Buru-buru saya panggil Mas X, dan Mas X pun jadi bengong-bengong melihat final result harga seperti itu. Muka Mas X penuh dengan emosi. Tapi saya buru-buru membayar dan langsung menyeret Mas X pergi dari tempat itu, “Mas, udah deh, cuman Rp40rb doang selisih semuanya, mending dibayar aja, daripada entar digorok rencong! Lagian kan juga udah kemakan ini Ikannya…”

Tahu apa jawaban Mas X? “Soalnya Mas Adhi, saya jadi mulai gak percaya diri sama Bahasa Aceh saya. Kok setelah saya nego, harganya lebih tinggi ya?” Saya ngakak! Hehehehe.. Sejak itu sepertinya Mas X bener-bener ogah untuk jadi juru runding harga-harga di Aceh lagi.. gak percaya diri niyeeee.. ;P

Begitulah, mungkin ini hanya sampling yang salah.. tapi, tanpa bermaksud untuk menyinggung pihak-pihak tertentu, melihat kualitas pelayanan ‘rata-rata’ seperti itu, saya jadi sempat bertanya-tanya dalam hati, “Berani benar ya mereka minta merdeka dari Indonesia? Yakin sanggup mengatur negara sendiri? Mengatur pesanan makanan aja gak becus..” Hehehehe.. sorry..

But once again.. perhaps, it was my sampling which was not right.. ;)

Exploring Aceh (1): I Left my Heart in Masjid Baiturrahman

Saya ini termasuk orang yang paling malas ke masjid. Meskipun masjid di kompleks perumahan saya terletak 100m dari depan rumah orang tua saya (I’m still staying with them), kunjungan saya ke masjid tersebut bisa dikatakan tidak lebih dari 5 kali setahun. Itu pun kebanyakan untuk sholat Jumat di hari-hari libur nasional. Tarawih? Nope, better done it by myself at home, sehingga sehabis itu bisa langsung cepat tidur atau bersantai-santai.. he..he.. Juga, meskipun kantor saya memiliki masjid yang cukup megah (walau tidak terlalu besar), kunjungan saya ke masjid tersebut hanya sebatas sholat Jumat saja.

Namun, ketika berada di Aceh ini, pertama kali melintasi jalan di pusat kota, Masjid Baiturrahman sudah menarik hati saya dari jauh. Baik di pagi hari ketika saya hendak pergi ke kantor cabang tempat saya bertugas, mau pun malam hari ketika saya pulang menuju hotel. Akhirnya, ketika hari Jum’at tiba, berbekal kamera yang ala kadarnya, saya menuju ke masjid raya tersebut untuk melakukan photo session sambil beribadah sholat Jum’at.. eh.. maksudnya beribadah sholat Jum’at sambil melakukan photo session.. he..he..

Memasuki halaman masjid, nuansa historis bangunan ini mulai terasa. Walau pun telah berulang kali mengalami renovasi, sentuhan klasik dari arsitektur bangunan ini tetap terasa (renovasi terakhir dilakukan untuk memperbaiki kerusakan minor akibat bencana Tsunami, satu hal yang ajaib bahwa masjid ini tetap berdiri dengan tegak sementara bangunan-bangunan disekitarnya luluh lantak). Arsitektur masjid ini merupakan gabungan berbagai unsur dan model terbaik dari berbagai negeri, terutama sekali unsur-unsur Moorish, yang banyak terdapat di masjid-masjid Afrika Utara dan Spanyol. Di bagian dalam masjid, antara kolom satu dengan lainnya dihubungkan dengan plengkung patah model Persia bercorak Arabesque, juga dengan hiasan kaca mozaik pada beberapa dinding dan atapnya.

Mesjid ini berumur cukup tua, dibangun semasa Sultan Iskandar Muda berkuasa (Abad 16). Di abad 18 & 19, mesjid ini juga menjadi benteng pertahanan pasukan Aceh yang berperang melawan Belanda. Dalam hal ini, betapa pun kita mengutuk aksi Belanda yang sangat kurang ajar dan tak tahu adat pada saat itu, kita juga harus berterima kasih kepada mereka. Belanda lah yang melakukan pembakaran masjid ini hingga luluh lantak agar pejuang Aceh tidak mendapatkan tempat berlindung lagi, namun Belanda juga yang membangun masjid ini kembali untuk menarik simpati rakyat Aceh (setelah berkonsultasi dengan Snouck Hurgronje, pakar antropologis yang ahli dalam filsafat dan kultural keagamaan, yang juga menjadi dalang untuk mengadu domba ulama-ulama di Aceh). Bangunan terakhir dari Belanda di abad 19 inilah yang dipertahankan hingga saat ini.

Entah sugestif atau tidak, saya benar-benar betah berada di masjid tersebut (walau tetap, pada saat pak usztad melayangkan kotbahnya sebelum Jum’at-an dimulai, saya tetap tidur dengan suksesnya.. he..he). Banyak masjid-masjid mewah dan megah yang saya pernah kunjungi di kota-kota besar di Indonesia, namun hati saya hanya terpaut pada masjid ini (walau saya tetap lebih cinta Jakarta.. jadi, bagaimana kalau mesjidnya kita pindah saja ke Jakarta? He..he..). Rasa kagum, iklas, tawakal dan mistis, seluruhnya bercampur jadi satu ketika sedang berada di dalam masjid ini.

So, if you have a chance to visit Aceh someday, sedapat mungkin jangan Anda lewatkan kesempatan untuk mengunjungi Masjid Baiturrahman, the one that could possibly make you left your heart sincerely..

DRIVING MISS DAISY OR DRIVING MISS "CRAZY"?

For those who know my parents and my grandparents very well.. please don’t tell them about this article.. ;P

Driving Miss Daisy adalah film keluaran tahun 1989, yang memenangkan Oscar sebagai Film Terbaik, dan memberikan Oscar untuk Jessica Tandy (in the age of 80, waktu itu) sebagai aktris terbaik. Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) adalah seorang janda yang tinggal sendiri di rumah miliknya. Menurut anaknya, kelakuan Miss Daisy ini semakin super sensitif ketika usianya bertambah tua. Maka, untuk mengatasi hal ini, anaknya memperkerjakan supir pribadi untuk Miss Daisy (diperankan dengan brilian oleh Morgan Freeman), yang selain berfungsi sebagai sarana transportasi juga dapat menjadi teman yang ‘sangat memahami’ kerewelan orang-orang tua seumurnya. Film itu menceritakan hubungan persahabatan yang manis antara Miss Daisy dengan Pak Supir yang berkulit hitam, termasuk kepasrahan Pak Supir menerima kebawelan Miss Daisy.

Melihat film itu, saya langsung berpikir.. apa iya sih, orang kalau makin tua, makin jadi bawel dan super sensitif serta berkelakuan aneh-aneh?

Ya pengamatan terdekat pastinya.. dari keluarga sendiri dong.. he..he..

Tengok nenek saya (dari pihak Ibu). Perasaan sih sekitar 10-15 tahun yang lalu nenek saya ini biasa-biasa aja sifatnya. Tapi begitu menginjak usia ke-80, hingga sekarang diusianya yang ke-86, super sensitifnya muncul entah dari arah mata angin yang mana. Misalnya, pernah suatu hari saya begitu sibuk membaca materi pekerjaan di rumah pada akhir pekan, sehingga tidak menyadari beliau berada di dekat saya saat itu. Sekitar 10 menit kemudian, tiba-tiba beliau balik ke kamar dan terdengar suara isak tertahan tak beberapa lama. Saya pun buru-buru masuk ke kamarnya karena panik. Tahu apa yang dia katakan? “Saya salah apa? Kenapa saya tidak disapa tadi pada saat saya di dekat kamu?” Alamakjaaann.. lah wong orang lagi gak nyadar jeh. Ya mbok saya dicolek kek gitu, diinjek kek, apa kek, biar nyadar.. gak perlu lah pake terisak-isak dan membuat saya sampe filing gilti ke langit ketujuh..

Ya.. tapi itulah orang yang sudah tua.. he..he..

Juga tengok lagi nenek saya (dari pihak Bapak), yang pada suatu hari tanpa pemberitahuan muncul di rumah saya dengan membawa oleh-oleh dari Surabaya (beliau habis pergi dari sana). Dulunya sih nenek saya ini orangnya gak pernah ributan, tapi menginjak usia ke-80, hingga sekarang diusianya yang ke-83, ternyata sifat ributnya mulai tampak. Tante saya yang nganter nenek saya ke rumah saya ini berkilah, “Haduh, ini ributnya tiap hari minta dianter kesini. Udah deh, mendingan sekarang aja saya anter, daripada berabe!” Bapak saya yang ngliat oleh-oleh yang dibawa mak-nya itu malah berujar, “Ini kok kayaknya antara oleh-oleh dan ongkos perginya (sekitar 100 Km pulang pergi dari rumah saya ke rumah) agak-agak gak imbang ya?” Saya langsung ngakak.. Aduh Beh.. Beh.. ya tolong dong.. nenek-nenek gitu loh, manalah keburu make analisis cost-benefit segala?

Tapi Bapak saya juga tidak luput dari ‘sindroma’ ini..

Dulu beliau juga kayaknya santai-santai aja dalam berurusan dengan yang namanya ‘energi’. Tapi begitu menginjak usia yang ke-60, tiba-tiba beliau langsung jadi over-acting. Pemakaian listrik harus hemat! Kalau coba-coba meninggalkan kamar dalam keadaan lampu dan AC nyala, walau hanya sebentar (karena ke WC atau lain hal), tiba-tiba langsung dimatikan! Membuat saya jadi il-fil dan pengen pindah ke Finlandia (biar jauh banget maksudnya dari Jakarta.. he..he..)! Belum lagi kalau ada petirbergemuruh, tanpa basa-basi langsung seluruh listrik rumah dimatikan! Dan, saya berasa jadi hidup di jaman The Flintstones! Aduh, Beh, ini kalau sampeyan udah umur 70-an ke atas, saya harus setabah apa lagi ya? He..he..

Suatu hari, saya liat di artikel majalah yang membahas tentang kehidupan di rumah jompo. Salah satu orang di rumah jompo itu diwawancara. Kata orang itu, dia masuk ke rumah jompo karena murni keinginannya. Anak-anaknya melarang. Tapi dia tahu, bahwa orang tua seperti dia pasti jadi super sensitif dan dapat menjadi beban bagi anak-anaknya. Selain itu, berkumpul bersama sesama jompo yang juga sama-sama super sensitif, juga menjadi hiburan tersendiri bagi lingkup pergaulan sosialnya. Anak-anaknya pun memberi syarat, boleh tinggal di rumah jompo, tapi setiap akhir pekan harus bergiliran menginap di rumah anak-anaknya.

Saya sih gak kebayang menitipkan orang tua di rumah jompo. Rasanya kok ‘gimana gitu’ ya? Apalagi saya anak 1-1-nya. Tapi, saya bisa ngerti juga, bahwa rumah jompo itu bukan selamanya ‘solusi buruk’. Makanya, waktu itu saya sempet berujar ke Ibu saya yang sedang duduk di dekat saya ketika saya sedang membaca artikel tersebut, “Kadang-kadang, mungkin ada benarnya juga kali ya kalau orang tua itu tinggal di rumah jompo..”

Mendengar kata-kata saya itu, Ibu saya langsung mendelik, “Jadi, maksud lo, lo mau naro gue di panti jompo kalo udah tua?! Lo tuh anak durhaka banget sih?!!”

Loh.. loh.. emang saya ngomong apaan sih? Kok jadi kesitu-situ tanggepannya?

God.. my ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ show has just begun.. But it’s OK, as long as I don’t have to get a show of ‘Driving Miss Crazy’..

;P

ONE FACTOR YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE ACCEPTING THE JOB IS..

TOILET!

He..he..

Yes! Toilet! Ruangan yang dapat berukuran relatif kecil mau pun besar tersebut, menurut saya memegang peranan penting dalam sendi-sendi kehidupan di mana pun. Anda bisa bayangkan kan? Bila Anda berada di dalam kantor sekitar 8 jam sehari, setidaknya Anda pasti akan menggunakan toilet tersebut minimal sekitar 2-3 kali dalam sehari.

Dalam kasus saya.. malahan frekuensinya bisa melebihi sholat lima waktu! He..he..

I remember, dulu saya tidak terlalu perduli tentang hal yang satu ini. Namanya juga baru lulus S1, dan punya prinsip “Yang penting dapet kerjaan, deh.” Maka, dalam setiap sesi job test atau interview di mana pun, toilet di kantor yang bersangkutan tersebut luput dari pertimbangan saya.

When I was accepted company X, I felt irritated with its toilet. Agak susah untuk melukiskannya. Tidak terlalu kotor, namun tidak juga bersih. But aromanya agak-agak unpleasant, dan kebetulan model keramik dan tools lainnya (WC, keran, hanging pispot) juga tidak sesuai dengan hati saya. Selama ini saya baru mampu untuk menggunakan toilet di company X itu untuk cuci tangan dan buang air kecil. Lebih dari itu? Gak kebayang! Ngerti dong maksudnya.. he..he..

So, untuk yang berikutnya, sebelum saya memutuskan untuk mengatakan YES ke company Y, saya buru-buru memeriksa toilet-nya terlebih dahulu. Well, it’s not bad. Kebetulan juga company Y itu adalah tenant di salah satu bangunan terjangkung di Jakarta. Jadi, bisa dipastikan kualitas toilet-nya ya harus representatif punya dong. Dan di Company Y itulah saya baru dapat melakukan ‘lebih dari sekedar buang air kecil’ dengan nyaman.. he..he..

Toilet sih boleh cocok, tapi sayangnya gaji dan fasilitas gak cocok.. ;P Jadi, pada saat company Z menawarkan job yang lebih prospektif menurut saya, buru-buru saya ambil, sialnya tanpa mempertimbangkan faktor toilet tadi, yang kemudian saya baru tahu ternyata toilet company Z itu mirip-mirip dengan company X, tapi sedikit lebih baik. Hmm.. jangan-jangan mesti pindah kantor lagi nih.. he..he..

Entah Company Z itu bisa membaca pikiran saya atau tidak, ternyata 3 bulan kemudian Company Z memutuskan untuk pindah kantor ke salah satu gedung di Jl. Sudirman. Sumpe, toilet-nya sih OK banget. Kran wastafel-nya memakai sistem scan tangan, sehingga gak memubazirkan penggunaan air, keramiknya juga ciamik punya. Tappiiii, kok di WC-nya hanya ada.. tissue? Tanpa shower?!! Jadi, kalau hendak ‘lebih dari sekedar buang air kecil’, saya terpaksa harus mencari-cari cara untuk menadahkan air di keran untuk dibawa ke dalam bilik WC entah dengan menggunakan gelas atau botol bekas aqua, dan yang terakhir saya malah beli ember dengan gayung pribadi, yang emang saya bawa kalau saya hendak ‘begitu’. Untungnya di lantai tersebut seluruhnya disewa oleh Company Z, jadi setidaknya saya gak akan dianggap cleaning service berdasi dengan bawa-bawa ember dan gayung segala oleh pegawai dari kantor lain. Kalau teman-teman di Company Z sih udah apal dengan kelakuan saya ;P

Jangan-jangan, karena Company Z tidak dapat menyediakan toilet yang adequate untuk kebutuhan saya, makanya saya akhirnya terdampar hingga sekarang (setelah melewati proses tes rekrutmen selama 1 tahun!) di kantor ini. Toiletnya? Di bagian saya sih OK BANGET! Tidak mewah, namun cukup comfy, aromanya juga good, dan persediaan air berlimpah ruah. Rutinitas pagi hari pun terasa berjalan sangat lancaaarr.. He..he.. Waduh, jangan-jangan emang disinilah perhentian saya karena toilet-nya udah pas banget nih!

But, masalah mulai timbul kalau saya sedang mengadakan perjalanan dinas ke cabang-cabang di kantor saya yang sekarang. Biasanya 1 kali perjalanan dinas minimal memerlukan waktu 10 hari untuk berdiam di satu kota tersebut. Misalnya seperti di kantor cabang kota ‘B’, begitu ‘serangan alam’ mulai menunjukkan tandanya.. saya buru-buru lari ke hotel (yang terletak di sebelah kantor cab. ‘B’) dengan upaya ‘penahanan’ yang maksimal! Soalnya saya yakin gak bakalan ‘konsen’ dengan toilet di kantor itu. Jadi, lebih baik agak jauh sedikit tapi ‘aman’. Hanya saja, kalau seperti ke kantor cabang ‘M’, ‘L’, ‘S’, ‘J’ dan ‘Y’ yang toilet-nya rada-rada tidak memenuhi spesifikasi saya dan letaknya jauh dari hotel, terpaksalah saya ‘menyesuaikan’ diri dengan ‘toleransi maksimal mode on’. Biasanya sih memejamkan mata dikit, atau mengalihkan ke hal-hal lain, atau mempercepat proses supaya jangan terlalu lama ada di dalam toilet! He..he..

So, should there be any chance for me to be the top management of one enterprise/institution someday, you’ll bet I’ll locate a proper budget to maintain nice restrooms for all employees.

It’s a promise..

;P

BETWEEN EAST & WEST, DOES MOM REALLY KNOW THE BEST?

When I was in High School, my mom and I sat in front of the teacher. She took my 2nd semester’s study result. At that time, I had to decide about the subject that I would have taken in the 2nd and 3rd year. Based on my result, the teacher gave me two options, Biology Science (A2) and Social Studies (A3).

I really wanted to continue my study to A3, but before I had a chance to say it, my mom said it out loudly to my teacher, “He will take A2!” I was shocked, I starred at her with the face of “Please, this is my life, and you have to let me choose it by myself”. She starred back at me with the face of “Just be silent, since I’m paying for this, and I have bigger authority to decide!”

The money must be funny in the rich man's world, but later I’ve found it was more than that. She has just done something that she felt it will be the best thing for me..

Here I am right now.. and.. well.. yeah.. I could say that her decision was some kind of a right thing to do.. ;)

I always fall in love with the Indian Literatures. They always tell us their own stories with the unique ways surrounded by their ancient cultures which still last till nowadays. So, this ‘Hindi Bindi Club’ from Monica Pradhan really touched me. The fiction is operated by 6 roles of women. They are mothers and daughter, and they are all Indians and Hindus and live in USA. 3 daughters (around 30s) and 3 mothers (around 60s) all (6 of them) know each other and have a closely relationship. Well, sometimes they had an argument about something, but it was not the significant issues that could break their friendship.

Meet Kiran. She was a medical doctor, and a divorcee from a husband of amateur ‘non-Indian’ rock star. Her mother suggested trying luck by marrying a nice Indian boy. In fact, when Kiran felt that she has found his soul mate, an American Man around 40s and could speak Bengali and familiar with Indian cultures, what should the mother do? Should she approve of her daughter’s choice? Hey, the boy is not Indian, although he could act like one..

In the other hand, Preity remembered about her love story when she was 15. She met a nice guy, Indian, which happened to be a Moslem. When her mother found out about it, she was furious. She instructed Preity to cancel all the relationship with the Moslem boy. She still remembered about the bitterness from the “Partition” (1947), the time when Indian Moslems decided to form a country called ‘Pakistan’, and Indian Hindus still stood for a country of ‘India’. Preity argued her mother that “Mahatma Gandhi” has told them to make a peace with Moslem, but her mother stood still. Therefore Preity just thought, “Since the Great Gandhi couldn’t change her mind, then what could I do instead?”

Meanwhile, Rani was an MSc in rocket science. At the 1st time she had a nice career in NASA, the prestigious institution in USA, but later she decided to give up her career and pursue her dream to be a painter. Her mother was shocked, but praised to the Sarasvati (goddess of Art, in Hindu’s way) when she looked at Rani’s painting exhibition which full of success. Then, suddenly Rani told her mother, she felt lost. She felt that painting was not fun anymore since it was a job for her, not a thing to fill the leisure time. She wondered about going back to NASA and give up her career in painting. She asked her mother’s opinion. It brought the confusion to her for the right suggestion to Rani’s career.

Monica Pradhan told us the stories with a lightly and funny way. The stories also told us about the dealing with cancer things, preparing the nice Indian dishes, mixed nation weddings (when Indian married non-Indians) and sensing the ancient Indian Cultural in their western 'USA' lifestyle . Even I don’t like to classify about the reading materials, I could say that she was not too hardly like Jumpha Lahiri, and not too chicky like Kavita Dashwani. The book could entertain us all in so many ways..

So, between east and west, does mom really know the best?

Sometimes they could take the wrong choices for us.. but I’m sure they are always trying to love us in the best way they can do..

BEAUTY, BRAIN & BEHAVIOUR (Suatu Studi Komparatif :P)

Mungkin ini yang namanya kualat! He..he..

Soalnya, everytime kalo ngliat pemilihan Putri Indonesia, Miss Universe, ato Miskomunikasi sekali pun.. ;P, biasanya MC-nya selalu nyebut2, "Mereka yang menjadi juara, sudah dinilai melalui seleksi ketat terhadap penampilan, wawasan, dan juga perilaku mereka.." Dan.. jeng-jeng.. pemenang yang beruntung langsung disebut namanya, dan bertenggerlah mahkota sebesar dan seberat bola bowling di kepalanya..

Saya kira tadinya yg namanya Beauty, Brain & Behavior (B3) hanya ada di pemilihan putri-putrian itu.. tapi ternyata.. itu juga BERLAKU DI KANTOR! Cibiran saya terhadap B3 itu harus saya koreksi ulang sepertinya..

Well.. rasanya pendapat ini mewakili seluruh pendapat orang-orang yang ada di departemen saya. Tapi berhubung 'ybs' ini orangnya sangat transparan kalau memuji orang (mungkin a bit exaggerating for some people), jadi komentar 'ybs' ini cukup bisa jadi patokan yang valid, sevalid hasil penelitian para peraih nobel.. ;)

Saya punya supervisor baru. Dia pindahan dari tim yg lain. Sepertinya 'ybs' saya ini 'get into' sekali kepadanya, sampai-sampai dia bujuk 'Diatasnya ybs' untuk memindahkan supervisor itu ke tempatnya (dan menimbulkan protes dari 80% penduduk kantor di departemen saya yg berjumlah 150 orang-an), dan langsung jadi atasan saya. Kenapa 'ybs' itu begitu 'get into' kepada dia? Ya gak laen gak bukan karena B3 itu tadi..

Iseng-iseng, saya sekalian membuat komparasi dengan apa yang saya miliki.. Namanya juga studi komparasi untuk membuktikan hipotesis.. he..he..

Beauty..

Salah seorang teman saya pernah bilang bahwa, "Cakep itu relatif, jelek itu absolut!" Well, kalo melihat supervisor saya yang satu ini (cowok), rasa2nya baik cowok mau pun cewek sama-sama berpendapat bahwa dia ini keren sekali. Anda tahu Sakhruh Khan? (nulisnya bener gak ya?) Nah, orang ini versi kerennya Sakhruh Khan itu. Porsi tubuhnya juga proportional, dan kulitnya tanned..

Sementara saya? Wajah saya bener-bener pas-pas-an, dilihat dari 8 arah mata angin pun tetap gak akan ada perubahan yang berarti.. he..he.. Porsi tubuh saya juga rada-rada hancur lebur, dan kulit saya ini seperti kekurangan pigmen.. Niat mo jadi tanned dengan berjemur, malahan jadi merah terbakar dan terkelupas.. jadi seperti korban radiasi nuklir instead of being tanned.. :P

Brain..

'Ybs' didepan semua orang di tim saya langsung berkomentar, "Menurut saya, Mas X itu (supervisor saya) bisa bekerja untuk field apa pun. Hasilnya bagus. Tinggal butuh kebiasaan untuk meningkatkan kualitasnya saja." Sepertinya 'ybs' ini pernah mencoba Mas X itu di berbagai field, dan hasilnya memuaskan. Sementara tim yg lain pun (bukan 'ybs' saja) juga berpendapat yang sama. Mas X itu juga selalu diminta untuk membantu tim-tim lain. Singkat kata, pasaran penggunaannya tinggi..

Saya? Waduh.. penguasaan saya terhadap field utama saja masih megap-megap. Pernah dikasih field lain, dan selanjutnya saya malah minta pola tentang pengerjaan field itu serta mereplika ulang pekerjaannya karena gak ngerti! :P Lebih parah lagi, ada 2 field yang saya hindari, dan tiap kali mau ditunjuk untuk mengerjakan 2 field itu, saya buru2 beralesan mejikuhibiniu serta mengalihkannya ke pegawai lain. Gak heran kalo 'Ybs' sempat gave a note to me, "Kamu itu harus banyak belajar lagi, penguasaanmu masih banyak yang kurang." Walaupun saya akui hal itu benar adanya, tapi instead of menambah waktu untuk mempelajari pengetahuan teknis field utama, saya malahan lebih tertarik untuk baca novel dan buku2 non-fiksi populer.. he..he..

Behavior..

Mas X ini benar-benar santun. Perilakunya sopan tingkat advanced! Gak heran kalo 'Ybs' (yg notabene cewek, middle age something..) juga mengimbangi rate of politeness kalau berbicara dengannya, dan langsung jadi topik utama edan-edanan dari semua teman-teman saya 1 tim ini yang emang 'rada-rada jengkel' sama hal tersebut.. Dan, gak ada orang yang benci kepadanya.. sepertinya loh yaa..

Saya? Wuehehehe! Public Enemy! Banyak orang bilang saya ini cuek, sombong! Bahkan perilaku saya yang kurang senyum dan kurang ramah juga banyak diprotes orang. Pekerjaan saya ini emang membutuhkan komunikasi tinggi dengan orang lain, tapi biasanya itu menjengkelkan orang yang kita mintai keterangan. Mas X itu selalu senyum kalau ada orang lain yang menjawab dengan ketus dan ribet. Sementara saya? Pernah ada orang yang ketus dalam menjawab lewat telpon, dan setengah marah-marah.. saya hanya diam, dan setelah dia selesai, saya langsung balas dengan nada suara yang sedatar-datarnya persis kayak Frankenstein, "Udah? Gak ada tambahan keterangan lagi? Ya udah kalo gitu.." Brak! Saya banting telponnya, sampai teman disebelah saya 'Step-by-Step' seperti New Kids on The Block! :P

Uraian saya ini maksudnya bukan untuk menggambarkan bahwa saya kepengen jadi seperti Mas X. Saya percaya bahwa orang itu emang diciptakan sesuai dengan karakter-nya masing-masing. Dari jaman Adam & Eve pun, saya yakin kombinasi DNA yang dimiliki Tuhan di awang-awang sono emang udah berlainan antara yg satu dengan yang lain.. he..he.. Uraian saya ini lebih bermaksud untuk review terhadap diri saya sendiri, untuk lebih meyakini bahwa B3 itu emang syarat mutlak untuk sukses dimana-mana..

So, apakah saya sendiri juga sebenarnya memiliki B3 tersebut, tetapi saya tidak menyadarinya?

Only God knows!

:)

THE SOUND OF (LEARNING) MUSIC

I was an Electone Instructor at that time in Bandung. Electone is a musical instrument with two layer keyboards and bass pedals (please, don’t mistake that with PSR or keyboard.. widening your vision anybody.. helloooo.. ;P). I remember I had one student, who couldn’t play the electone so well, after so many times of our sessions (perhaps, around 3 months). There was no significant progression at all. Actually, I just could be silent as long as the payment still existed for me, but I couldn’t stand it instead (dumb of me! ;P). It rose my boiling mad, and I said it out loud,

“Do you practice at home?” I asked.
“No!” he answered truthfully.
My degree of boiling mad was increasing, “So, WHY DO YOU STILL COME HERE?!”
“My parents ordered me to!” he answered very clearly..

The next 7 years after that, my cousin (in the age of 7) started to learn classical piano. Her parents were so inspired by me. They said, it would have been good should they have a kid who could play the song through the piano in a proper way. After 3 years of attending classical piano lesson, I saw there was no significant progression in her piano skill. She could play.. um.. fair (I’m a bit exaggerating here.. he..he.. sorry..), but lack in rhythmic and dynamic. In another word, she has no musical sense.. Playing piano for her was just like.. finishing her obligation in a military services training.. perhaps ;P

It raised my curiousity to ask her, “Do you like to play piano exactly?” She said, “No!” (exactly like I expected, and it doesn’t take a genious to read between the lines.. like Lea Salonga said.. ;P). She continued, “I’m stressed if I have to play piano. My parents order me to do that! Actually, I like to swim.. much better than.. this!” She answered it emotionally like the US presidential candidate on the campaign arena, and by appointing her finger to my piano! At that time, her mom asked me a help to give her a tips in playing the composition for a junior competition that she wanted to participate.. um.. correction.. that her mom wanted her to participate.. he..he..

I remembered about myself. Actually, I didn’t like to have a musical lesson at the 1st time. It was my father’s idea to buy Electone when I was 7 years old. He said, he just wanted to have it for himself (he could play it, poor skill.. he..he.. but he was good at guitar and musical sense). Then, when there was no sign that I attracted to that musical instrument after 3 months from the date of purchasing, without any permission he instructed me to attend the musical lesson for Electone! My fright to him was the biggest motivation in attending the musical lesson!

But, I don’t know, after that, I think I have to believe in “talent”. I begin to like it after 6 months of attending the musical lesson. I felt that I “needed” to play music. I practiced because I wanted to, not like my cousin that practiced becaused her mother ordered her to. And the journey of my music exploration goes from electone, to jazz piano, and playing in a musical group. I have experienced in so many music performances, and got a chance to know so many good music tutors in raising my musical skill.. It’s all becaused of I want to.. and I need to..

So, before instructing your kids to have a musical lesson.. please.. consider their “sound” of learning music. Do they really have a talent for that? Do they consider playing musical as their needs? Do they really want to do that?

But, of course.. I will instruct my kids (should I have one or two later) to learn music as well, without any hesitations!

It’s an order! ;P

THE RIGHT TIME TO TELL YOUR KIDS ABOUT S_X

Although that I’m still single (repeated: s-i-n-g-l-e.. God, that word recently always comes to my mind and begin to familiar with myself ;P), it doesn’t mean that I don’t have any family man conversations. Since most of my friends in my audit team have their own family (wife/husband and kids), so I feel that I’ve got a lot of informations about the knowledge regarding the family business..

Well, someone should need to be tutored before they enter the battle field, right? ;P

So one of the things that really made Mr. B (one of my supervisor) worried that his kid (a boy in the age of 15, who studies in the 1st year of high school) was detected to have.. a girl friend. Actually that was a very & really normal thing. But, Mr. B was afraid that his boy will do something dangerous.. you know.. regarding s_x’s matter. That’s why he advised his kid about that, “Hey, please becareful, do you understand that should you try to explore ‘that thing’ with her it will be a dangerous step of your life!” And you know what his kid said? “Aahh, relax Sir. I know what I’m doing. I’m not a kid anymore. I’ll be careful with that. I have known about s_x! Better than you thought!”

It left kind of shocked feeling to Mr. B, for accepting that his kid has grown up so fast. And then, suddenly, we all went to our own experience in the past. Right now we are in the age of 30s & 40s, and we wondered of how we knew the information about s_x for the 1st time. Mr. B said that he knew about it in the age of 13, from his friend. And I confirmed that I had that experience too. I knew from my friend when I was 11 years old. We were in elementary school, we were gossiping about our teacher who at last being pregnant after her marriage of 5 years. It was kind of horror feeling to me to accept the reality that baby was made (like my friend said, connecting men's 'thing' with women's 'thing', you know.. I think I shouldn't be obvious to tell exactly what the 'thing' is..), not just given incidentally from God!

And at that time suddenly I felt connected with those kissing, huggings, and some kind of romantic activities between men and women, which I’ve seen from television or movies, and of course made them felt panick and tried to cover my eyes with their hands in order not to see that. My friend named the terms for such activity as f_ck_ng! He also emphasized that no baby will be delivered in the world without those f_ck_ng activities!

Of course it was too young for us to understand about surrogate mothers and so on.. ;P

S_x education was given to us in elementary school and junior high. But, so far, we felt that they didn’t give enough information. So far, we just got it from ourself curiousity. Therefore, to avoid some misunderstandings among their kids, my friends and supervisor discussed the matters about when the right time for us to tell our kid about s_x. Mr. B said that he prepared to talk about it as soon as his boy (he has 2nd son, who is in the age of 12) steps his age into 14. Mr. I, who has a son of 11 years old agreed with that, then he also suggested that the study is introduced by inviting kid to take a bath with their parents (e.g. son with dad, and daughter with mom). Also in that activity, mom and dad each give explanation about s_xual organ, and about the change of it when we are grown up..

In this section, Mrs. L gave a laugh a little, she said, “You know what? My husband didn’t want to do that anymore.” It left my curiousity to ask further, why? “Because, after doing that activity with our son, the next morning when we were having a breakfast together, also with the nanny, our son told the nanny in front of my husband about that experience. Also, he told his nanny about how big and hairy his daddy’s 'thing' was! Of course it left an awkward situation between the nanny, my husband and I!” And we all bursted our tears for laughing about it..

So, it doesn’t matter about your decision in teaching your little kids about s_x, as long as you give a note to them not to spread your teaching matters about it to CNN, VOA or any other mass media as well.. ;P

8 HOURS OR NOT 8 HOURS, IS THAT A QUESTION?

Obviously, Shakespeare didn’t live in the era when the office has a tradition to set 8 working hours. Should there be like that, I’m sure Shakespeare would have replaced his famous tag on Hamlet (“To be or not to be, that is the question..”) with the title as above.. ;P

The statement really trigs me, when my dearest friend told me that some member of my team doesn’t like me. One of them (let’s just say, ‘the angel’ ;P), stabbed me at my behind. She gossiped me not to be efficient in working. She told my dearest friend that I almost did nothing during my work. I couldn’t give ‘the best finding’ with her statement, “He is nothing! His finding in audit result was not SATISFIED!” And, the worst was, “During his working time, he almost browsed the internet all the time!” Not mention she added, “By his quality like that, our manager still give him good grades on his personal annually appraisal!”

How 'angelic' she was! ;P

I almost said to her, “Well, why didn’t you accuse me to sleep with our manager (she is a woman) to have that high grades? Please be my guess!” But let us just store it in here (and I don’t think that she will read this notes.. he..he..)

But, later I thought nothing about ‘the finding’. I don’t care with that, as long as I could guarantee that my work has been completed well. One thing that worried me was her accusation to me for not using the working time efficiently. I have to admit that during my working time, of course I spare a time to browse the internet (not all the time, but poor alas that ‘the angel’ always seen my screen posed on the internet while she stood up and saw my laptop). It means that I didn’t use 8 hours working time efficiently. And I’ve ever heard that one of my boards (she is really so muslimah) said, “I’ve been messaged by my uzstad since the 1st time I started working here, ‘Allah has given you a chance to have a working for 8 hours in the office. So, if you are working less than 8 hours, it means you commit a sin..’”..

Hmmm.. 8 hours.. Let’s see. Besides browsing on the net during my working time, I also spared my time to ‘visit the toilet (long or short.. hey.. it depends! ;P)’, to talk with my friend through the phone or lively conversation (of course, not a business purposes ;P).. and do my praying. Well, to tell you the truth, everyday I just spent maybe only 6 hours net to work in the office!

Wow, that 'angel' really knew how to make me introspect myself.. ;P

When I compared with my other friends who still works in a foreign company (as I said, I’m working in a governmental institution), they really have a flexible time to enter and leave the office, doesn’t have any proper presence machine. So, they usually start to work at 9.00, although it was ‘instructed’ you should come on 8.00. But, they always leave after 18.00 or 19.00. But they say, the important thing is not about the presence matter, but it is about your work. The management just care about the completed assignment. They don’t care about your entering and leaving time, while in the governmental institution, the image of your entering and leaving time is still important to be considered.

After a while, I think, I really don’t care about that 'angel’s statement. Okay, I really used a time to browse a web in the office, okay I don’t come on time (they usually come at 7.00, while I come at 7.30), but my mind always employ the working matters whenever I could. In Jakarta, where a traffic jam is always be a routine menu for us, you really could use that event to.. at least think about working matters, sketch the memo, sketch the note, designing a program, think about the report concept, and so many other working matters as well. And you can also do those when you were in Bathroom (take a batch or etc.), or in a hotel (while we are on our business trip), or in a lousy date (to distract your mind from possessive girlfriend perhaps? He..he..)

And obviously it will be more than 8 hours a day..

Whether you give 8 hours or not, it’s not a big matter I guess. But, you should give your heart to the working matters. And it’s not about 8 hours or not 8 hours anymore, but it’s all about exactly like Shakespeare said in Hamlet, “To be or not to be, that is the question..”

Or If I could complete that, “To be or not to be professional employee, that is the question..”

30s, SUCCESS and BEING SINGLE, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?

It was situated on the month of Ramadhan. My friend invited me to the Break Fasting in her residence. There were around 15 persons of them, fitted on one unit apartment in Rasuna Residence Area..

It was very merry! ;)

And, the discussion was not far from the old song.. which is.. “When Would You End Your Bachelor Status?”. If it would be composed to a song, I’m sure that Grammy at least would nominate us as ‘The Best Evergreen and Forever Last Song sang by the Singles and the Parents of the Singles’ ;P

Then, coincidentally, we all have been already in 30s, and still being single! I didn’t mean to say that we are happy with that, but since I think it is not only me who is in that ‘status’, I felt safe.. he..he.. it was wrong I guess.. but, still.. I felt safe.. I’m not alone.. he..he..

They had a brilliant mind and career; averagely they are in the mid managerial level. Some of them have finished their master studies, and one of them still battling with PhD final dissertation in Italy. Then, it was not a chick-lit story, or Sex & The City style.. which I felt at the previous time would be a fully fiction by telling a story of 30s, success and being single.. This time it was real! Real indeed! We are in the stage of being 30s, have a nice career (excluding me, please, I’m still a cleaning service staff compare to them.. ;P), and.. still single!

Most people said that we are too picky and choosy in finding our soul-mate for our future marriage. By looking at our status right now, they believe that it is us who have a big problem, not the situation, not anyone’s else situation.. Sometimes I hope that in the future, the persons who said such a thing like that to us will have the same problem like us.. or at least have children that get a situation exactly like us.. Hey, it is not like Charlotte who said, “I cursed you on the day that you were born!” but it was just a reminding spell.. which I guess it will not work at all since we are not witch and don’t have enough talent to be a professional witch! ;P

So, 30s and being single.. what’s wrong with that?

It is not all wrong, indeed. The wrong thing is, when you are 30s, success, being single, and stop looking for your forever soul mate to be your spouse.. Yes, it is all wrong. Indiana Jones doesn’t stop hunting the treasure, since Harrison Ford was still 30s (but still handsome though he is already 65s now) through Indiana Jones I, II, III & IV.. So why do we have to stop instead? Doesn’t matter to be so picky or choosy, the important thing is, find your own happiness, not the other person’s happiness, but please consider the complaint from our own parents since (Damned! I don’t want to admit it, but I have to) their happiness is the part of our happiness too..

So, to all 30s, success and being single, I just want to say to you all (and myself of course), “Don’t stop to hunt until you finally found someone..

Or until the world stop turn around.. ;P

IT'S NOT CHASING A MOVIE STAR

Lately, I’ve heard so much news (from my friends, cousins, relatives, etc.) about their struggle to make the final assignments. You know, they are already in the last stage of their study, and the university instructed them to make final assignments (mini thesis, thesis, or whatever you want to call it). Of course, the university provided the students with one or two lecturers to give a guidance for them in makin such final assignments..

And here the story goes..

It’s about.. chasing the lecturers! Yeah, they told me stories about that. Maybe they just wanted to have a shoulder to cry on. But, I felt that it was likely to be complain that should be addressed to the lecturers themselves instead to myself. They said that it was so hard for them to meet the lecturer, to have their time in giving them the guidance of how to make a proper final assigments. Sometimes they have to wait the lecturers so long, or everytime they phoned the lecturers there were no answer or failed in connection (the phone was in off-mode perhaps), or the lecturers was flying here, there and everywhere. Sometimes they given the chance to students to contact them through the e-mail, but, in returns, the lecturer didn’t reply the e-mail.. ‘sigh’.. The lecturers still demanded to meet the students directly to discuss about their final assignment, but it was hard for the students to chase and meet the lecturers!

They said, the final assignment is more stressfull than facing the global economy crisis.. ;P

I remember the time when I made such final assignments. It was the time of my study to get the B.A. degree in Bandung. First of all, you had to propose the title and explanative proposal of your mini thesis to the secretary of department, and waiting for her approval that such proposal could be developed into one particular mini thesis. OK, it was really.. a.. BIG EFFORT! You had to get up so early in the morning, arrived in Campus at 7.00! And, looked happy if you were the 1st student who came there to meet the secretary, and looked sad if you were the 2nd, 3rd, and….th student. Not to mention, the secretay was just arrived in her office (after done so many business) at.. 11.00! So, you have to wait for 4 hours or more! You weren’t allowed in making any appointment at all before that (in order to make sure the exact time and turn of your appointment)! You had to understand if she had just for.. 1 hour to accept us in one session of consultancy! I mean, 1 hour to be divided with so many students who have queued for 3-4 hours. I often noticed that after 1 hour (available consultancy time), she just went off, and ignoring the rest of the students who didn’t came earlier to queue and couldn’t meet her in having the consultancy at all.

For 4 hours in waiting for the secretary to come, usually I chatted with my friends that I know. If I didn’t know any of students who queued with me at that time, I spent the time to read newspaper, novels, or.. sleep! I really didn’t want to re-read along my proposal to be argumentative prepared during my waiting hour, since it was so exhausting and could raise my bad mood as well!

Once, my senior who had worked (but not graduated yet, since he hadn’t done his mini thesis) came very early in the morning. He said, he took a leave for one day in order to meet the secretary for his mini thesis proposal. You know what happened? Sadly, the secretary had another business to do. She just accepted 1-2 students, and my senior hasn’t got the chance. My senior was furious, and said to the secretary, “I took a leave from my office today, just for this! This university really was not professional!” Of course, the secretary was so furious too, “Hey! I always spare a time for you all! It should be you who have to adjust your business with us!” I don’t know what happened in a details with my senior, but I’ve heard that he graduated 1 year after me.. hahahahah..

It was just a proposal.. and for the mini thesis itself, I had to face the same problem! The lecturer didn’t want to give the exact time to meet me, therefore I couldn’t make any appointment with him before that. He just said, “The working time starts from 7.00.” I always came to his office at 7.00, in result I met him around 10.00-11.00, and sometimes I couldn’t meet him since he had another business to do without any notification. But, luckily, he really had a great intention to help me, and he was humble and kind, and I forgave him for all the f**cking waiting problem! ;P

But.. too bad.. to bad.. I continued my Master Degree in Jakarta.. And, I repeated that thing again! I had to wait the lecturer for so many hours. Also, I couldn’t make any appointment with him, since he was so busy, and couldn’t give the exact time to meet me. I came to his office at 10.00 (he said, he usually was in his office around that time), but in result I met him mostly at 12.00. For two hours of waiting, the novels really could be my good endearment.. ;)

Sometimes it will be a problem for those who have a steady job (while taking a study in university) that requires the exact time to meet the lecturer. They really couldn’t spend so many hours waiting in vain like that, or else they have to sacrifice their job. I really have no idea, perhaps it just happened to me and some of my friends or perhaps it just happens mostly in my country, since I don’t know about the experience of completing the final assignment when you are studying abroad.

One day my friend asked me, “When are you gonna pursue your PhD (Doctoral) Degree?” Well, that question raised a kind of horror feeling for waiting and chasing the lecturer in the past time! It was not a movie star that I chased about! It was a lecturer! So, I think, I will vote Sandra Dewi or Dian Sastro to be my lecturer for my PhD dissertation then!

Therefore, chasing the lecturer and the movie star is not different after all.. ;)

THE ADVERTISING WHICH KNOCKED MY HEART.. (1)

I have to admit that I forgot about the product which made such advertising..
But the point is, the advertising on the TV told us about ‘possessive girl’. On the scene, it was situated that a man was avoiding the phone call from his girl. It has been described that the girl was phoning him over and over again (obviously, more than 1 times in a one day), and the man was so furious, until he made a record of his voice in an answering machine, "Sleep, at my house, alone.." To be easily visualized, here is the scene of the conversation by phone:

1st Scene
The girl:
(while dying her hair after taken a bath) "Honey, what are you doing, and who are you with now?"
The man:
(answering machine, but seems that the girl didn’t know that it was an answering machine.. yeah, it was silly, but hey, it’s an advertising.. you will not be punished for being silly all the time) "Sleep, at my house, alone.."
(the man was playing guitar at the room)

2nd Scene
The girl:
(while having lunch) "Honey, what are you doing, and who are you with now?"
The man:
"Sleep, at my house, alone.."
(the man was fixing the bike in the garage, manly activity)

3rd Scene
The girl:
(on the beach, and sounded furious) "Honey, don’t you miss me? Why don’t you call me?"
The man:
(the man was playing the video game), "Sleep, at my house, alone.."

4rd Scene
The girl looked so furious, and she went to the apartment of his guy, knocked hard the door, looked at the Cockatoo near the door saying, "Sleep, at my house, alone.."
And the guy opened the door with the face of 'Caught in the act-style', and the girl just silent while throwing her angry face.. and then appeared the letter on the TV, "Do you have any possessive girl?"

Maybe.. the right question is, "Did you ever have any possessive girl?"
Yeah, that’s meeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;P

Since I have had a comfortable situation with my previous girl (around 6-7 years of our relationship), who could be driven by me (I'm a bad guy.. he..he..), I have been shocked with the two next girls that I had after that. My previous girl didn’t dare to demand nor ask me to phone her or see her often. Enough just by SMS.. not more than 10-15 times a day, and seeing her just once a week, every Friday night, so I could spent my entire weekend by myself.. OK, you could say that it was wrong and very stupid thing to do.. it was my dumb perhaps, but I’m kind of enjoy it well (I'm bad again.. he..he..)..

The circumstance has forced me to leave her (long story).. and I had to find another girl..

The 1st another girl:

My friend has introduced me with her. She was nice (the 1st impression), and rather pretty. Wearing veil (v), rather plump, looked smart. Even that it was not the kind of girl that I dreamt about..
I think I have to tell you my own reason, because a lot of people said that, "Hey, don't wait to long to end your bachelor status, nobody's perfect, please, you will never get anything you want.."
So, when the time brought someone who was 50% closely to my will (later on I thought, I have to increase the level of tolerance until 70-80%.. he..he.. ABSOLUTELY!), I thought, that was the time for me to accept it without any hesitation..
I still want to try to have a relationship with her.. I thought, perhaps God has shown me the way..
To eliminate 'the bad sounding and gossiping' from other people (especially in my 'f***ing' office and 'f***ing' big family.. he..he..),
To make my parents happy (in a wide terms, my oh my..)..
To end my loneliness..

Yeah.. you could tell me that, I’ve been eaten by my own wish.. it was a kind of boomerang. I was afraid of being lonely, and then even that I was not sure 100% about this girl to be my pair, I forced myself to be with her. And, it was really kind of rather miserable for me. Let’s point it out:

1st:
She really likes to phone and hates SMS! She said that SMS could be emotionless. She likes voices. Yeah, well, I didn’t mind at the 1st time. But when the call has been touched my ear for about twice a day at least (could be more, of course, and always).. and each call at least spent 15 minutes at the 1st (and 2nd, and 3rd.. and so on) one, and the last one spent about 1 hour (and I really couldn’t reject it nor end it, it was hard, she forced me, and I really didn’t have any stand position to throw it back), I started to be VERY-VERY FURIOUS! I really had to skip so many other things to do since I have to accept her calls.. at car, at bookstore, at supermarket, at office, and each calls tended to be 15 – 60 minutes! ARRRGGGGHHH!!!! And, by so many calls, I felt the increasing of possibility from me to say something wrong to her, even I didn’t mean to..

2nd:
She really wanted to have me in her way. For example, she has ever said to me that she didn’t like the kind of metro sexual guy. Hey, I don’t feel that I’m one of them, but she accused me to. And when she remembered that I could play piano, she asked, "Why do you play piano? Why not guitar? I thought that it was common for a man to play guitar but not a piano." I was shocked. I defended myself, "Hey, a lot of great pianists are men! Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt!" You know what she said? "Are they normal? Are they married?" I was double shocked! Did she accuse me to be abnormal?! She really wanted to create ‘another version of soul’ in my body! Did she like me as the way I am? Or she just wanted to catch me 1st and then ‘revised’ me later? What am I? Some kind of BOOKS?!!

3rd:
She demanded that I have to.. I repeat.. HAVE TO.. put her in my mind always, wherever and whenever I go. When I was in Bandung, I just dated her for 2 weeks. I always sent SMS to her everyday, but she felt it wasn’t enough. Instead of phoning me (at the time I haven’t got CDMA, which I could tell to be big problem for me considering her madness of phoning in a scale of hourly everday.. noted.. HOURLY EVERYDAY! He..he..), she just sent SMS, "I have to be ALONE for A WHILE!" As a guy who was panic to be left by a girl, I called her via my GSM celular from Bandung, even I was so tired, wanted to sleep, and spent so much money to call her. And, of course, something like that repeated again.. and again.. until.. I broke up with her..

I really couldn’t define well about ‘possessive girl’, but by looking at the advertising regarding to that matter, and remembering my case with v-girl, maybe we could say that she was the one like that. I couldn’t stand being under her position always (you know what I mean), understood her always more than she understood me, forced her willingness, and always tried to trig my dignity with her statement such as, "Should you not want to follow me, it would be better for us to break up.."

First, I could tolerate..
Second, I could tolerate..
Third, hhhhgggghhhhh.. I could tolerate it as well (be patient guy, be patient..)

Fourth?

JUST GO TO HELL WITH THAT!

;P

PS: It’s not that she’s not the right person for me, but perhaps, I’m not the right guy for her..

LEISURE TIME IN JAKARTA (1): AROUND THE MALL IN 80 MINUTES..

My head was so full of things and 'things'!
He..he.. well, it was hard to explain in detail..

So, one day, after office hours.. I decided to go to Gramedia 'Great Sale' in Grand Indonesia (one of the biggest malls in Jakarta, relax.. we have so many big malls around here.. he..he..), I decided to come there..
First, books is and will always be my second lover besides my girl and future wife, of course..
He..he.. nothing could replace that..
Second, I just want to eliminate this resentment feeling by shopping..
And, books or CDs will be a great subject to manifest bloody shopping that I wanted to do..

Then I went to Grand Indonesia..
I’ve seen the Gramedia Great Sale is held on the East Wing of the mall..

East wing?
Where the hell was it?

I’ve never seen East Wing before..
I’ve just visited West Wing so many times when I went to that mall..

So, when I went to the East Wing.. I was.. kind of.. yeah.. rather shocked!

In the 3rd level, There was a nice Japanesse Garden, surrounded with a big rock decoration, a nice fountain, nice trees and flowers,
and companied by the tune from traditional Koto playing Japanesse tune..
The light was so soft, neither too bright nor dark.. gave us a very warm and cold sensation..
The pavement was composed from the stone also.. I felt that.. I wasn’t in the mall.. but..
I’m ready to meet Oshin there (so 80s! He..he..)

And also,
In that 3rd level..
Besides Japanesse garden.. comes.. Chinesse style.. near to Fun Zone area..
So many Chinesse lamps, ball and red shiny, hanging on the the ceiling.. the high ceiling if I could say..
And It was also combined with the nuance of Dutch Style, not far from the Chinesse area..

Then, moved to the 4th level, it took me to.. New York in the mid 40-50s, completed with the decoration of old cinema theater..
Described by the posters from old motion picture starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Clark Gable..
While you were walking along the pavement, the old tune of jazz style entertained you, and brought you to the times you’ve never imagined before..
Thus by seeing an old mini electric train (tram) as the additional ornament, stood along the way..
The street light, the stone pavement was so natural to build the nuance of New York in 40-50s..
It’s like traveling by time machine, and saw America in the golden days after the world war was over..

Still wanna have another?

Take a look at the 5th level. The level which Gramedia held the Great Sale..
The floor took you to the land of 1001 Nights. Middle East moved here, I thought!
The Arabic tune was surrounding the environment. I was ready to meet Aladin or Abunawas,
But instead.. I met so many restaurant employees who offered me to drop by in their restaurants..
But I was not in a good mood to taste neither food nor drink. I just wanted to use the time to walk as much as I could..

In a result.. I didn’t buy any book in Gramedia Great Sale..
Yeah, you could tell that! He..he..
Since I was not so much attracted to the offering (just 10%)..
And I bought English Classics in return at Kinokinuniya of West Wing..

But,
I really felt like Mr. Fogg in Around The World in 80 Days, when touring around Grand Indonesia..
Even that It couldn’t eliminate my resentment feeling 100%.. absolutely indeed..
At least.. Jules Verne could make another version of his novel..

By looking at my experience of 80 minutes there..

THE REVIEW (2): LANDED ON EARTH WITH SEX & THE CITY..

I have to say.. I don't like New York..
The truth is.. I LOVE NEW YORK!

;P

So, that's why, when the 1st time I've heard that Sex & The City was adapted to the big screen, I couldn't wait to see it through..
And.. wallaa.. I've watched it three times.. Once in another country.. please noted that, and twice in Jakarta. And I'm still eager to buy the DVD version (piracy from the original files of course.. he..he..) as soon as it will be issued to the market..

From every movie that I've seen regarding New York City, Sex & The City is the best! I mean, that's the best movie which could describe 'The Big Apple' in the whole. I've never been coming to New York. But by watching the serials, and also the big screen version, I felt that I was involved in the rhythm of the city.

New York.. my oh my.. when will you take me there? ;P

Anyhow..
Even though I was flying to New York by the movie, indeed the movie told us that we have to stay on earth. There was no 'Fairy Tale' like Cinderella that could happen in your life, thus you have to give the big effort in order to achieve something..

Look at Carrie Bradshaw, the centre of the topic. She had a dream to get a big wedding with Mr. Big, but Mr. Big didn't come to answer Carrie regarding that matter, and the big that she has imagined before wasn't 'big' anymore. Looks like that the small (even the tiniest) one that happened in your life could be big incidentally..

And how about Miranda? The ambitious lawyer? Who has a husband, whom working as a Bartender? She had to face the reality, that everything should be made, not coincidentally happened. She had to work hard, to save her marriage, since her husband cheated behind her..

Charlotte, the rich girl who really wanted to have a child.. After so many years trying with her husband. She got pregnant. Looks like that the tale came true at last. But, she really kept her big effort to guard her pregnancy..

Samantha, the woman of 50, who dated a hunkie Hollywood movie star.. felt that she lost her spirit.. getting fat.. and also.. not knowing herself. She really wanted to left his hunkie boyfriend.. but she remembered that the hunkie always guarded her when she had a chemotherapy during her cancer elimination process..

Carrie noted to Samantha, "Are you happy? Hey, remember.. you just compared your relationship with Chemo.."
Carrie noted to Miranda, "You have to forgive your husband.. it's the matter of forgiveness.."
Carrie noted to Charlotte, "You run everyday (Charlotte was afraid to jog since she had pregnancy which she has waited so long).. that's what you do.."

The point is.. Carrie invited us to land on earth. This is not a fairy tale.. this is life that you have to live on by. And she also invited us that we have to look for our life, bitter or sweet, to be tasted, whenever it passed us by.

The movie was too chicky perhaps for some persons who defined to have a high artistic taste. But, hey, don't care about chicky or beefy, as long as it could take me to New York and safely landing on Earth..

Of course.. I could not refuse that..

VACATION (8): TERNYATA UNTUK HAL ITU PUN.. KITA MASIH.. KALAH?

According to the opinion of my friend who has ever been in a lot of countries to perform his music, Indonesia has a great talent in music, compare to some of the countries around the world. Since I really love this field (i.e. music), and I’ve ever performed as a pianist in some local jazz concerts, or involved in an electone competition when I was in Bandung and Jakarta, I really wanted to make a comparison regarding this matter with that country..

Waktu malem minggu, karena sudah keok berjalan-jalan dari satu mall ke mall yang lain, maka saya memutuskan untuk duduk disebuah bangku di pinggir trotoar, dibawah pohon yang rindang. Walau pun waktu sudah menunjukkan pukul 23.30, saya masih belum mo beranjak menuju ke penginapan. Terlebih juga masih banyak orang-orang yang duduk-duduk di pinggir trotoar tersebut. Ternyata, didekat situ ada live performance, tepatnya suatu grup band yang memainkan lagu jazz standar. All the performers were male. Ditilik dari usianya, mungkin sekitar 25-40 tahunan.. dan formatnya seluruhnya elektrik (kecuali drum dan perkusi), yakni piano, bass, gitar dan seorang vokalis.

Aha! Waktu yang tepat nih. Coba, sebagus apa sih band ini? Kalo dibandingin sama band saya atau band temen-temen saya yang di Bandung, kira-kira hebatan mana ya? Maka saya dengarkan baik-baik permainan mereka. Lagu-lagu seperti ”I Love You for A Sentimental Reasons”, ”One Note Samba”, ”Taking A Chance of Love” pun mereka mainkan dengan rapih. Saya sampai takjub mendengarkannya. Waduh, udah bisa nyaingin Indonesia neh, sama-sama ‘halus n berbakat’ sekali maennya (lebih bagus sih gak, gak iklas lah saya.. he..he..). Ato, jangan-jangan, sebenernya mereka ini udah ng-top? Kelas professional? Cuman sayanya aja kali yang gak tau..

Sekedar alesan untuk membela diri.. he..he..

Hal ini masih berlanjut keesokan harinya. Saya jalan-jalan ke salah satu mall yang berada di ujung pelabuhan kapal. Konsep mall-nya asik juga, karena disertai hawa angin laut yang segar. Tiba-tiba mata saya tertuju pada amphitheater terbuka yang ada di mall tersebut. They had a show.. orchestral performance. Saya buru-buru mengambil tempat duduk di amphitheater tersebut, dan langsung menikmati suguhan orkestra yang membawakan lagu-lagu instrumental cina. Jadi rupanya konsepnya adalah orkestra dengan alat musik gesek, tiup, dan xylofon (semacem marimba dan vibraphone) tradisional china.. dipadu dengan bass betot (contra bass) dan timpani, serta juga harpa..

Walhasil suara yang dihasilkan benar-benar mistis.. saya sampai terbengong-bengong dan takjub. Waduh, di Indonesia jarang nih ada yang beginian. Kalo pun ada, paling mendekati sepertinya cuman Nusantara Orchestra. Tapi itu pun juga cuman 1-2 pieces aja yang berbau tradisional Indonesia (terutama lagu-lagu aransemen dari alm. Yazeed Djamin). Sisanya ya nomor-nomor klasik barat yang udah biasa beredar di pasaran. Walah, mosok Indonesia yang jelas-jelas lebih banyak budaya tradisionalnya jadi kalah dalam hal beginian? Saya jadi emosi neh.. he..he..

Berhubung di negara itu pas lagi saya dateng ada program yang namanya ”Art Festival”, makanya saya coba untuk melihat skedul event-nya.. event yang mungkin saya tidak bisa menikmatinya karena sudah keburu pulang ke Jakarta.. kan duit udah menipis dan untuk mencegah dibunuh oleh rekan-rekan kantor yang ketimpa pekerjaan saya.. he..he.. Skedul event-nya pun unik. Ada penampilan orkestra untuk lagu-lagu ”Lord of The Rings”, melibatkan paduan suara anak-anak dan orkestra yang besar. Juga banyak pertunjukkan balet, opera (bahkan katanya Turandot karya dari Puccini bakalan dipentaskan disitu juga) dan juga teater-teater musikal atau realis..

Indonesia, tepatnya Jakarta, sebenernya juga gak kalah. Kita punya pagelaran Jazz.. 2 kali setaon malah, kelas internasional, terus pertunjukkan-pertunjukkan seni di TIM pun juga cukup banyak, mulai dari teater, musik, bahkan tari-tarian (style barat ato style tradisional). Hanya saja, kenapa kita gak bisa seperti negara itu? Yang mengiklankan ”Art Festival”-nya sampe ke luar negaranya? Bahkan sepupu saya aja yang saya ajak nonton orkestra Cina itu sempet ngomong, ”Di Indonesia mana ada yang beginian?” Saya jadi bengong.. weleh-weleh, dia tau gak sih bahwa kita punya Nusantara ato Twilite Orkestra? Yang juga suka memaenkan nomor-nomor unik (walo gak banyak) yang bernuansa musik lokal Indonesia?

So I guess, it’s not the matter of talents.. but it’s the matter of how you do the marketing of the talents..

VACATION (7): SEBENARNYA INDONESIA LEBIH BAGUS, TAPI KOK KENAPA..

When we’ve decided to tour around the city (of that country) on our vacation, we have defined some amusement places or heritages to be visited. Diantaranya adalah kawasan-kawasan etnis, gedung-gedung bersejarah, dan tempat duduk-duduk yang asik untuk melihat pemandangan di kawasan kota. Sebenarnya saya ingin menambahkan museum dalam daftar. Cuman, karena sepupu saya yang hobi dugem dan Ibu saya yang anti ilmiah itu menolak untuk ikutan dalam visit museum, maka saya pun dengan rela hati meng-out-kan-nya dari list saya..

Tapi, setelah saya liat-liat.. ah.. kayaknya masih bagusan Indonesia deh..

Misalnya nih ya.. kawasan pecinannya. Ya, sama aja kayak daerah Hayam Wuruk sampe ke Mangga Dua. Malah sepertinya gak ada yang bisa ngalahin keindahan klenteng di Petak 9 yang kalo pas imlek berwarna ng-jreng itu. Pasar Glodok juga rasanya gak bisa disaingin sama pasar kawasan pecinan di negara itu. Tapi, kalo boleh menambahkan, yang hebatnya negara itu bisa menjaga keindahan gedung-gedung tua di kawasan pecinan dengan sangat baik. Gak ada cat-cat yang terkelupas, atau suasana kotor dan kumal.. and when I thought about Glodok, kalo ingat-ingat bangunan tua-nya.. sepertinya malah cocok untuk syuting-syuting film Horror.. saking kumalnya.. he..he..

Diujung kawasan pecinan, terdapat Kuil Hindu-nya orang-orang Tamil. Rame-rame para turis berfoto disitu dan masuk ke dalam. Yang paling menarik dari kuil itu adalah, gapura-nya terdapat atap yang dihiasi patung-patung dewa-dewa Hindu ratusan buah, kecil-kecil, sehingga terbentuk seperti pohon cemara dalam ukuran besar. Yang menyedihkan adalah.. di Medan (Oh, Medan, hopefully my manager has a good intention to send me again for a business trip there on this year, he..he..). Di Medan, ada juga kuil Hindu di Kampung Keling.. dan.. juauh lebih buagus dan besar! But, saya sadar, dibandingkan ke Medan, turis-turis asing itu jelas lebih rela untuk mengeluarkan duit dateng ke negara tersebut dong..

Tapi mungkin kalo untuk kawasan India-nya.. wah.. rasanya belum ada yang bisa mengalahkan negara itu. Soalnya bandingan saya cuman Pasar Baru dan Mayestik aja sih. Dikedua kawasan itu banyak orang India-nya. Selebihnya, saya gak tau. Jadi, buat mereka yang tau ada Kawasan India di Jakarta selain 2 tempat itu, please inform me. Di negara itu, kawasan India-nya punya department store yang buka 24 jam. Dan jual segala macem barang! Saya sampe takjub. Coklat-coklat yang gak ada di Indonesia, bahkan DVD-DVD film-film klasik Hollywood (taon 40-50-an) dan 2 novel klasik (karangan Henry Fielding dan George Elliot) juga saya dapatkan disitu dengan harga murah..

Juga ketika ada slogan dari suatu wahana, ”Come and see the wonderful city light of this country from here..,” saya jadi mo tertawa. Soalnya, kalo dibandingin sama Sudirman, city light di negara itu jelas gak ada apa-apanya. Jauh lebih metropolis Jakarta.. itu pun juga belum digabung sama Kuningan, Thamrin.. wah.. kalah deh.. Tapi jangan tanya soal kerapihan taman dan tata kota-nya ya. Kalo itu Jakarta terpaksa mesti gigit jari, since that I feel there are no enough trees to cover the street of Jakarta nowadays. Beda banget sama di sono yang pohonnya masih rimbun-rimbun, tertata rapih, padahal di daerah Metropolis pula..

Juga pas saya diajak oleh sepupu saya untuk makan di kawasan yg namanya Si-Ke (disingkat). Konsepnya di tepi sungai, dan romantis. Memang bener sih, pas dilihat, it was so wonderful. Dan tiba-tiba saya teringat kepada Batavia Gading City di kawasan Kelapa Gading. Hmm.. sepertinya (lagi-lagi) kawasan ini masih kalah deh. Apalagi kalo ke Bandar Jakarta di Ancol sono, wah, udah makin gak ada apa-apa-nya yang namanya Si-Ke ini. Cuman, kalo di Jakarta, mikir ke Batavia Gading ato Bandar Jakarta, udah keok duluan, mbayangin transport-nya udah capek duluan (yang paling easy cuman pake mobil pribadi, kalo pake umum.. waduh.. no commento).

Gedung-gedung bersejarah di negara itu juga terawat rapih sekali. Saya sampai takjub. Ada satu kawasan, yang jembatannya bener-bener antik, kuno, dan juga gedung-gedung-nya (diantaranya hotel dan kafe) yang bersih, rapih, seperti sudah dipugar, tapi masih tidak meninggalkan kesan kuno-nya. Sementara di Jakarta? Cuman bisa dihitung 1-2 aja. Seperti di kawasan kota, gedung-gedung tua di pelosok-pelosok jalan kecil (muat 2 mobil) sudah hancur lebur. Di negara itu? Gak ada yang seperti yang saya lukiskan. Apalagi kalo inget Semarang, tambah mo nangis lagi. Banyak gedung-gedung antik tidak terawat. Mungkin Medan dalam hal ini masih sedikit lebih baik dari Jakarta, walaupun gedung antiknya tidak sebanyak Jakarta..

Terus terang, saya sangat betah di negara itu, karena keteraturan, kebersihan dan kerapihannya. Saya baru menyadari hal itu setelah sering berjalan-jalan dengan subway (yang kadang-kadang melintas di atas Jembatan karena bumi ini kan bulat) atau bus. Saya langsung jatuh cinta melihat suasana pemandangan tata kota di negara itu.. mungkin karena saya BT dengan Jakarta yang gak rapih, pohon-pohon banyak ditebang, jalanan banyak yang berlubang, belum lagi cat-cat grafitti (ulah pemuda yang tidak bertanggung jawab) yang sering mengotori dinding pagar gedung publik..

Maybe Jakarta still has a lot of things to be taken care of (e.g. criminal and economical problems), therefore they don’t have enough time to maintain its city scenery, heritages and cultural things..

VACATION (6): BIAR BANYAK YANG GAK MINAT JADI MILITER, TAPI KOK AMAN-AMAN AJA YA NEGARANYA?

Bukan rahasia lagi kalo misalnya di negara tersebut banyak yang gak minat jadi militer.. makanya ada peraturan wajib militer (saya sering ngliat anak-anak muda sekitar SMP or SMA gitu yang pake baju loreng-loreng ijo naek bus or subway di negara itu). Dari informasi yang saya dapatkan dari salah seorang penumpang bus yang saya ajak omong, personil militer di negara itu emang kurang. Dia bertanya, kalo di Indonesia bagaimana, waduh dengan bangganya saya ngomong, ”To enter the military department in my country, is like to enter the Harvard University in America perhaps!” Rasain lu! Lu kira cuman negara lo doang yang OK?!!

Tapi pas dibales, ”So, if you have so many military personnel in your country, why did my relatives (dia punya sodara yang tinggal di Surabaya) say to me that the security condition in Indonesia is unpleasant? Like rebellion, anarchies, murdering, robbing, stealing, pick pocketing?” Gantian saya yang bengong, dan langsung mengalihkan pembicaraan kepada topik laen dong.. he..he..

Saya pun jadi penasaran, hampir setiap hari saya coba baca di koran-koran yang ada di negara itu. Emang sih, jarang-jarang ada berita pembantaian, pencurian, ato kriminal-kriminal seperti yang ada di Jakarta. Tadinya saya sempet curiga, apakah ini jangan-jangan juga ’suara paksa’ dari pemerintah negara itu yang melarang adanya pemberitaan mengenai kondisi yang sesungguhnya? Terlebih lagi saya liat toh rumah-rumah penduduk dan apartemen-apartemen yang ada di situ juga full teralis! Sementara apartemen-apartemen yang saya liat di Jakarta, pada cuek-cuek aja tuh gak ada yang pasang teralis..

But at last, I saw it by myself..

Sebelum-sebelumnya saya biasa nginap di hotel kalo ke negara itu. Baru kali ini I’ve decided to rent an apartement. Soalnya biasanya kantor Bapak saya emang make apartemen ini untuk dinas bisnis-nya. Berhubung sehabis 2 hari urusan bisnis itu belum ada yang nyewa lagi, jadinya saya teruskan menyewa untuk hari-hari berikutnya. Dan tinggal di kawasan yang ’merakyat’ seperti itu, bisa membuat saya memahami kehidupan sehari-hari orang-orang yang tinggal di negara itu.

Sekitar jam 23, sehabis kalap belanja sana-sini.. saya berjalan kaki menuju apartemen penginapan saya. Sepi, gelap-gelap banget juga gak sih, tapi pokoknya kalo saya dirampok ato dicopet pun disitu sepertinya bakalan gak ada yang tau (tapi katanya sih di negara itu udah full CCTV dari setiap sudut.. jadi bakalan ketauan). Tiba-tiba aja ada pengendara motor yang bagus banget.. menghentikan motornya di pinggir trotoar situ, dan cuman mengunci motornya.. meletakkan helm-nya di atas sadel, tanpa mengunci dengan pengaman apa pun, dan melenggang kangkung meninggalkan motornya terparkir disitu.. Saya hampir aja berteriak, ”Eh, Mas, Mas.. kayaknya ada yang kelupaan deh..” he..he..

And it explained a lot, seperti misalnya sepupu saya kehilangan jinjingan belanjaan di salah 1 mall di negara itu, dia tersadar setelah 1 jam. Dia buru-buru balik ke mall itu, dan bertanya ke security. Ajaibnya.. jinjingan belanjaannya masih utuh! Berarti memang yang namanya keamanan di negara itu rasanya sudah mendarah daging ‘by philoposhy’ untuk semua penduduknya.

So, aman atau tidak, rasanya kita tetap mesti berbangga, bahwa untuk masuk menjadi Army di negara ini you have to be the best dalam hal fisik dan otak..