“We must plan for freedom, and not only for security, if for no other reason than only freedom can make security more secure.” (Karl Popper)

It’s been a while I didn’t visit the page. Well, I’ve just uploaded some pics taken at Kota Tua (the Old Town), Jakarta. I took these pics (with my friends’ cameras) like several weeks ago, but I’ve just had time to share with you now. So, enjoy it

PS. how to get there?

• by public transport: – by bus: take TransJakarta and stop at Stasiun Kota shelter. if you live in SCBD, you just need to heading north and get off on the final stop. – by train: stop at Stasiun Kota. (better for you to depart early in the morning to avoid the crowd)
• by private vehicle: head to Jl. Thamrin and follow ‘Museum Fatahillah/Kota Tua’ public sign.

choose one that fits your mood of the day!

teen gangsta, they don't do crime though

the real museum cafe is across this site

It's not 'that bar'. It's just the name of the building..lol

“Buka diri kalian untuk Roma, dan Roma akan membuka dirinya untuk kalian” (Anthony Capella, The Food of Love 2008)

WARNING: just for curcol, urutan nama tempat dan/ atau perusahaan semata-mata berdasar pendapat pribadi penulis…haha

Ga terasa sudah hampir 3 minggu aku memulai perantauanku di Jakarta. Nah sebagai warga baru Jakarta, waktu yang paling tidak kusukai adalah weekend. Kenapa?

Karena biasanya aku lebih sering menghabiskan weekend ku sendirian. Kenapa?

Karena: 1) kebanyakan teman-teman kantor rumahnya jauh; 2) beberapa teman yang ada di jakarta seringkali sibuk dengan pekerjaan masing-masing atau kembali ke rumahnya di wil. jadebotabek; 3) teman-teman kos pada ke rumah saudaranya, sibuk nyuci baju, ato sibuk mengunjungi pacarnya haha……

Alhasil, biasanya aku sering menghabiskan weekend dengan mengunjungi beberapa tempat yang menurutku cukup membantu just to kill the time. Nah, tempat-tempat favoritku untuk dikunjungi saat sedang luang dan sendirian adalah:

1) Gramedia

Gramedia adalah tempat yang seringkali terlintas dalam pikiranku saat ga ada kerjaan. How come? Well, I love books!! Mengunjungi Gramedia seakan-akan merasa di suatu tempat yang penuh dengan harta melimpah ruah. Apalagi kebanyakan Gramedia di sini ada sample-books nya yang bisa dibaca. Di samping itu juga disediakan tempat duduk yang bisa digunakan relax sambil baca-baca. Para Satpam dan SPG Gramedia di sini juga ga sebawel satpam dan SPG Gramedia di Jogja. Di sini, mereka paling cuma bilang “ada yang bisa dibantu, Pak?” atau “mari Pak, silakan”. Simply aku biasanya jawab “Iya, mau lihat-lihat dulu”. Pernah aku menghabiskan waktu lebih dari 2 jam di Gramedia menjelajahi dari satu lantai ke lantai lainnya untuk memuaskan keinginan membaca buku-buku berkualitas secara gratis. hehe…

2) Blok M [pagi/siang hari]

If I may say, Blok M merupakan kawasan plaza dan pasar untuk kalangan menengah dan/ atau menengah ke bawah di Jakarta karena barang-barang yang ditawarkan relatif jauh lebih murah dibanding di plasa-plasa besar. Mungkin beberapa beranggapan bahwa jalan-jalan sendirian di tengah keramaian Blok M adalah hal yang “nggak banget”. Memang bagiku pribadi jalan-jalan bersama teman lebih menyenangkan, tetapi for the sake of killing the time (as I said) jalan-jalan sendiri pun ternyata merupakan aktivitas yang tidak kalah menyenangkan. Sama halnya dengan di Gramedia, biasanya aku juga hanya window-shopping malah seringkali aku menjadi responden untuk survey shampoo, sabun dan segala macam. Dan ternyata setelah survei selesai mereka memberiku suvenir…haha…lumayan.

3) Ratu Plaza Lotte Mart

Tempat ini memang sangat dekat di mata maupun di hati. Tanpa bermaksud berlebihan, untuk menuju ke ratu Plaza dari kantorku tinggal ‘ngesot’ saja…haha…..Kadang setelah jam pulang kantor hari Jumat aku ke Ratu Plaza, tepatnya di Lotte Mart-nya. Ke sana sudah beberapa kali tetapi benar-benar membeli barang di sana baru sekali Lebih sering aku ke Lotte Mart hanya untuk survey harga dan ternyata survey membuktikan bahwa harga barang di Lotte Mart lebih mahal dibanding di Carrefour…Kalau pas lagi dapat rejeki lebih, aku mampir ke salah satu rumah makan di tempat ini, yang tidak lain dan tidak bukan bernama Solaria. Harganya berkisar antara 17.000-40.000 an ribu. Pertama makan di Solaria aku pilih menu ‘Nasi Tahu Sapo Seafood’ dan ternyata benar-benar mak nyyuuusss……so, cateeet!!

4) Trans Jakarta

Mungkin sebenarnya agak aneh memasukkan Trans Jakarta dalam daftar tempat, tapi bagiku bus adalah ‘tempat’ yang cukup sejuk dan bisa diduduki, terlepas dari banyaknya hujatan dan kritikan dari warga ibukota maupun pendatang terhadap bus ini. Kadang kalau tidak ada kerjaan pas weekend, aku naik Trans Jakarta and dunno where to go, yang penting naek, duduk, baca buku dan tahu-tahu sudah kembali ke shelter awal…wua ha..ha…what a freak!!

5) Plaza Semanggi

Berbeda dengan Blok M dan Ratu Plaza yang secara bebas biasa kukunjungi, biasanya aku melihat isi dompet terlebih dahulu sebelum mengunjungi Plaza Semanggi. Sebenarnya Plaza Semanggi termasuk lebih murah dibanding Plaza Senayan atau Senayan City, tapi sangat ‘nggak banget’ window-shopping di Plaza Semanggi karena para SPG-nya ‘terlalu proaktif’ untuk membantu customers Yang paling aku sukai di Plaza Semanggi adalah sky dining di lantai paling atas….so sweeeet, karena kita bisa melihat kawasan Sudirman secara keseluruhan dari atas. Makanannya pun juga so yummy, tapi hati-hati karena bisa bikin kantong kering…hehe…

6) Blok M [malam hari]

Mulai sekitar pukul 20.00 ke atas, emperan di belakang Blok M Square telah berubah menjadi wisata kuliner dengan aneka menu. Beberapa pedagang juga menyediakan tempat lesehan. Memang lebih asyik kalau makan di sini bareng dengan teman sambil ngobrol ini itu sampai larut malam. Bus Trans Jakarta di shelter Blok M buka hingga pukul 23.00 sedangkan bus KOPAJA dan sebagainya kalau tidak salah hingga dini hari, so tidak perlu khawatir bagi yang ingin dugem dulu..haha…

7) Facebook

So, this is my least favorite place. Mengunjungi www.facebook.com merupakan alternatif terakhir to kill the time saat sedang free and alone. Biasanya aku memanfaatkan aplikasi chatting untuk menyapa teman-teman nan jauh di sana atau ngewall di tempat orang lain.haha….

Ok, those are my fav. places when I’m free yet alone here in Jkt……what about you?

My supervisor has once told me “it’s time for you to go outside, to show off and introduce yourself to people.”

I do really love her statement because it means that I will have many more visit duties. Frankly, sometimes I feel bored working in front of computer for 6 hours/day.

That’s why I was so excited when I got to attend a discussion as the representative of my institution this afternoon. By the office car, I and my supervisor arrived early at the hotel where the discussion would take place. The hotel is nice and the room for the discussion is quite comfy.

Minute after minute, many more representatives from various institutions came. I was bit surprised because all representatives came to the discussion are mid-level and top-level professionals in their institutions, of course except me, a newbie in this city as well as in my institution. Anyway, I was still capable of handling my nervousness but not in the discussion forum especially when my supervisor had gone. …:(

The discussion was about ‘democracy in Indonesia’, something which was actually discussed many times during my term at the uni. But, the discussion was completely different from the one at the uni since all the participants are well-experienced on the issue of Indonesian democracy. Some are having democracy-related projects in Indonesia and others are professional analysts in several foreign embassies in Indonesia. Me….??

I could relate to the discussion but didn’t find any appropriate comments or questions to raise. I was really very quiet listening to other participants that presented their projects or gave some comments to other institutions’ projects. So, is it embarrassment, good or bad?! Well, personally I would say that it’s good for me. It was kinda warming up for my brain that didn’t ‘work for democracy’ for quite long time (at least since my graduation). For my institution? Yes, it’s good for it. At least I could meet up directly with Ford representative for Indonesia and started making connection with all attendees

……..simply say osakini shitsurei shimasu…………

It’s been almost two weeks I’ve started working in one of Japan’s institutions in Indonesia with both Japanese and local staffs. So far, I’ve been still adapting with many things around especially in dealing with my Japanese seniors. Anyway, here are some rules that you might need to follow when you’re working with Japanese:

1) Arriving at the office, greet all staffs by saying ohayou gozaimasu (which means good morning) completely unless you’ll be considered impolite.

2) Be proactive! According to Edward T. Hall, the way of Japanese people communicate is categorized as ‘high context’ communication style. The society included in this category usually rarely speak what they want directly. Many of them expect that their counterparts have understood what they want without saying. So, it’s better for you to communicate all necessary things before start doing your task.

3) Different from many western companies and/or institutions which urge their staffs to take initiatives independently, in case you have an initiative, you should communicate with your supervisor first or you’ll be considered disrespectful.

4) When you’re talking to your supervisor or other seniors, use formal language only. Japanese believe that kohai (junior) should respect his/her senpai (senior) anywhere.

5) When you’re about to leave the office, simply say osakini shitsurei shimasu (which means I’m out/going). They will usually answer otsukaresama deshita (which means thanks for the hardwork)

6) Be yourself! Even though you’re working with Japanese, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be totally like them. Just be genuine as what you are.

That’s all…..easy isn’t it?

Friday night, 28 January 2011 was a special night to me, not because I had a date, but because I got a new spirit from my two wonderful new friends named Anjas and Margareth. Actually I met them both just like a month ago, but we’ve been close that we shared many things about life despite the differences amongst us.

Anjas is a nice, smart and calm guy. Like many other Javanese, he is very decent and tender. He has enjoyed wonderful work experience in one of Japanese companies in Indonesia. In contrast, Margareth is an independent, tough and spoken woman. She is a book-freak and a dreamer. Not only does she spend her days with Paulo Coelho’s books, she imagines to meet Prince William. She has just been accepted as reporter in one of the most leading media in Indonesia, a profession which fits her most I think. That night was actually a farewell dinner for her as she was about to start working at Jakarta on Monday.

Our dinner, my dinner actually (since Margareth and Anjas didn’t eat as much as I did), started with sweet and tasty chocolate and ended up with a glass of guava juice. As the main course, I ate pepes tuna which was so yummy! During the dinner, we talked about many things, from the waitresses in the restaurant to Margareth’s boss.

Anjas actually became an active listener than active speaker whilst I and Margareth dominated the discussion. However, Anjas told us a bit about his family and expressed his point of view about the issues we were discussing about. Margareth told many about her live experiences in eastern parts of Indonesia. She also told us about how so prideful her boss is that makes her bit worry to having a career with him. I became kind of the host since I asked many questions about their work, life and love experiences whilst sharing my recent experiences with them. From all of the stories told, I was most inspired by Margareth’s story about her messy life before.

And here we go………..

Margareth was dropped out from her graduate school, not because she was not smart enough but because she challenged the assessment method that the school had at that time. Margareth couldn’t stand on the assessment method which merely focused on final papers whilst the discussions and presentations were assessed for not more than 20%. For instance, she didn’t submit her papers many times that she was finally dropped out. She was also exiled from the list of full scholarship awardees. Another sad story of her was about her career and love life. Given those situation, Margareth had committed suicide. But then, what had happened to her close friends turned her decision forever.

Two of her best friends died at her age in two months. Her good friend working at the Indonesian Embassy in USA died due to heart attack two months ago. Another friend of her, a professional doctor, died at Papua because of Malaria last month. She felt a big loss that she even didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to them. Since then, she realized that a good job, love life, doesn’t guarantee a long-lasting and happy life. She started thinking that everyday might be her last day, so suicide would give no advantage. She said to herself that.

Everyday is the last day.  So fill it with its fullest.

She then told us that since the deaths of her friends, she promised herself to do as best as she can everyday no matter what others say. She is also being more thankful for everything she has.

Having listened to her story, I couldn’t say a word for some times until then I promised my self as Margareth promised herself. I might have listened to many preachings about doing the best every day because we will never know when our time will come, but Margareth’s story is the one that could really move me.

Finally, I would say that inspiration can be found out everywhere. You may find it at campus, office or career center. It may also come from your lecturer, your boss or your friend. So be more sensitive and get the most of your daily experiences!