Of Recap and Roundup

A dear friend asked me last week about the apparent lack of update in my blog. I jest and said that, apparently, my life is not ‘that’ interesting. We both laughed.

Come to think of it, my life is indeed so ordinary. There is not much going on, which is something that I’m always thankful for. Changes usually throw me out of balance and I’ve always been slow in adapting to any major transformation. If my life is a movie, it will be one without sub plot, action and twist. Mind you, I’d welcome any sub plot if it happens to be a rendezvous with Jessica Alba, or something of that sort.

Speaking of changes, several colleagues in the office will be leaving to pastures new, looking for different challenges. I applaud and am happy for them all. I may have been here for far too long. It’s been four years to be exact. The fact that the people are extra nice and there’s no malicious office politics is something that will be difficult to replicate anywhere else.

Feeling curious, I recap things that have been happening around in these past weeks.

First, the company announced that I’m one of two people in Jakarta branch with the 'best performance' for this quarter. I got an iPod for it with my name engraved in behind (that means I could not sell it). Twice already, they have been handing out iPods for the winner. However, I feel there are other people deserve this more for their hard work and dedication. I certainly hope that someday everybody will be getting one.

Maybe this was some sort of reward for my ‘loyalty’. Actually, I’m the second oldest person in this branch, which is an alarming fact in itself. There was a photo of my wide grinning mug circulating in Petrolink International email. It was mildly embarrassing because I look so much fatter than my boss who was handing out the prize.

Second, I was so happy to reclaim back the domain name Rishardana.com. I had it from 2000 to 2004, but due to being out of town, I was late to transfer the extension fee. Some domain trawler held it until recently. Now it’s back in my hand and I’m psyched! I will put some of my portfolios in there.

For some bonus, the hosting company also included a free domain name, and I chose Negeriku-Indonesia.com. This will be a website of all things Indonesia, from travel accounts, places to go, articles about art and culture of Nusantara, and some other touristy stuffs. Finger crossed it will be useful for people who wants to visit this country.

Third, last week, we went to Senen flea market to buy some second hand books. We ended up with four large plastics full of books, mostly architecture and visual art stuffs. The place evidently has been in huge decline, plenty of stalls are closing. There’s not many people enjoy reading second hand book these days. Admittedly, it is far more pleasurable to buy books from large luxurious shopping malls where there's no danger of pickpockets and harsh store keepers.

Fourth was food wise. We ate at Ta Wan Restaurant twice these two weeks. Once at MM Bekasi branch and the other week in Setiabudi Building one. The porridge was divine and at good price too. Eleven thousands rupiah for a large delicious extra yummy three-flavored porridge bowl is definitely a bargain.

Fifth was about the movie. Three weeks ago, we went to watch The Dark Knight with colleagues and their family from the office. My wife had just arrived from Malang by train when we rushed to the theater; with large suitcases and bags full of crispy crackers, we struggled to find our seat. We missed a good thirty minutes from the opening sequences, so we decided to watch it again the following week.

This time in Bekasi’s very own XXI. Alas it was choc'a'bloc full of children and families, which was surprising because TDK is a very dark, violent, and disturbing production. Perhaps people misinterpreted the image of comical Batman from previous sequels.

It was good fun, very much different compared to watching movies in Jakarta. They closed the XXI lobby so hundreds of people trapped in between the gate and the escalator. When they did open the door, people were kicking and screaming towards the ticket box. It reminds me much of my days in Bandung. Lot of babies crying midway through the movie, teenagers taking pictures and chatting about, and twice the studio stopped to change reels. Splendid!

Well, there it is folks, round up events for the last two weeks. Have a nice weekend to you all.

Of Mosquitoes

Rewind back six months ago, we were living in this small rent studio in Pejompongan. For around seven years there’s hardly any mosquito manage to sip our blood.

Almost every night we could sleep soundly bar isolated events where the neighboring couple was fighting and throwing some dishes or some teenagers decided to play guitar loudly in the hallway.

Those were some simpler times.

A couple of months after moving to the current home, it was actually not bad. We managed to suppress the little suckers and hold the fort with some anti-mosquito sprays. These skeeters were just a mild nuisance easily thwarted with simple claps and flick of hands.

We did not know who made the order but some guy from the county then fog the area, we presume this was to prevent the dengue fever that has been spreading around lately. However, apparently, this measure barely drove those pesky insects away for a while, and then somehow back with a vengeance while inviting their families with them.

Conspiracy theorists would claim that this scenario was set in motion by those huge insect repellent industries. Spreading the baby insect all over the place. Alternatively, it could be that the dry season has arrived and it is in fact a mating season for these annoying bloodsuckers.

My wife is the one who suffers the most. She could hardly get any sleep in recent weeks fighting a losing battle against the sneaky invaders. Small drop of blood spattered all over the walls and floor are proves of how fierce the skirmish went.

I, on the other hand, could sleep anywhere as long as there is a pillow around. However, with a sense of camaraderie I also woke up sometimes to spray pesticide around the house. This in turn would make me all drowsy and lethargic at the office during the day.

If malaria or dengue fever did not kill us, I reckon these poisonous fumes from the many brands of pesticides would do the job later down the years. Besides, all these sprays in the end would create mutant and super breed of mosquitoes running amok impervious against all insect killers in the market. What a scary thought.

So we scourge around the shopping centers to find better and safer ways to deal with the pest.

We inspect some ultraviolet light specially designed to attract and electrocute mosquitoes. We also bought some high frequency emitting apparatus that claimed it could repel bugs away in a 25 m square area. There is that racket thingie, which some friends assure us it could be deadly to any flying insects.

We tried them all at once.

Now things are getting better, we are back to our normal resting cycle and snoozing peacefully at night.

You Snooze, You Lose

Tiredness crept in mercilessly the other night; I slept in a taxi on my way home. The cab driver already missed two toll exits when I woke up. I had shut eye for merely five minutes and by then we were so far away heading for Bandung.

Grouchily, I asked the cabbie to find the nearest exit and look for a return way home. I felt I’ve explained it clear enough about our destination. Alas, he claimed he is new. That is like the joker card in the Taxi world, what more can I say. It was also partly my fault to fell asleep at the wrong time.

I ended up paying four times the usual fare. I couldn’t stop kicking my self later that night.

I remember when we’re just arriving from Paris in Milan. It was three in the morning due to Easyjet excellent service; we arrived at the airport and used a bus for Central station. For a city as big as Milan, the Central was peculiarly dead at that early hour.

Some random Albanian refugees wandered aimlessly from bench to bench. We briefly chatted with a few of them. They seem harmless yet we were alarmed. My wife and I found a bright enough spot and sat there for a while, waiting for the Metro to start operating.

We had three suitcases packed full of the gifts we bought from our previous trip. There were several other passengers sitting around us.

Suddenly someone screamed something in Italian, and as if out of nowhere, three cops came barging in towards our location, and grab a suspicious looking young Albanian. They took him into custody in handcuffs. People were pointing angrily towards the thief and some chosen Italian words were flying towards the man.

I remember thinking in Jakarta he’d be beaten to pulp, or he would not get caught at all (no disrespect to Police here).

We felt safe afterwards. Amazed by the quick reaction of those cops and were pretty sure no one would be dim-witted enough to try anything funny. Lulled by that false sense of security my eyes were getting heavier by the minutes.

I am so sure I was dozed for no longer than one minute, when suddenly I realized one of the suitcases was gone. Anxiously I scrambled towards the exits looking for any sign of the perpetrator but they have disappeared.

With a lot of difficulty, I talked to one of the cops explaining our situations. He shrugged his shoulder in that famous Italian way and believed there’s no hope at all for us to find that bag. He was full of empathy assisting us en route for the Metro when it’s opened.

What a pity really, that bag was full with goodies. Although, in retrospect, we are still thankful that it was not the other bags, which held our laptop and personal data.

It was an annoying blip of an otherwise wonderful trip. Note to self: be careful where and when you’re sleeping.

Crown Jewel of The Equator

I'd really appreciate any comment, suggestion, critique and feedback on this entry. It is a work in progress and I'm hoping to replace all the photos and the articles inside with my own once I get to visit every spot, finger crossed.

Testing Comment System

Hi, Sorry for this. I'm testing the new comment system from Disqus. I think it's kinda cool, you might want to try it on your blog too.

It may be a hassle in the earlier comments, but the system will remember your and visitors' previous data, so we won't have to type our credential anymore. The good thing about this comment system is the direct reply to each post in a threaded manner. It's more user friendly if I may add.

I haven't been able to post anything lately, things are a little hectic at the office front.

I think I'm losing my hearing a little bit due to constant loud music from iPod. Recently, the world seems to be slightly muted. This can be pretty convenient in Jakarta's horn blaring madness. However, during the last office meeting I have to ask a colleague to repeat his question twice, which was embarrassing.

With this progression I'll be losing it completely in near future. Maybe I should put this on my 2009 new years resolution.

I've got a casual comment from a friend the other day about me posting one too many personal stuff in recent journals. I am inclined to agree with him. I'll write some more about Sulawesi and Indonesia in the coming days.

Feel free to leave your comment in here, and thanks for stopping by. In the mean time let me leave you with another personal stuff while we're at it, picture of me and my workstation.

Sight of a Woman

I barely escaped an accident this fine morning. Apparently, my ojek driver was totally distracted by sight of a woman in her translucent nightgown sweeping near the roadside. The driver likes what he saw too much, he missed an oncoming sedan from the opposite corner.

Our bike kissed the sedan face to face. I have to admit both drivers were pretty quick with their reflex. By chance, we all escaped with hardly a scratch. The only thing left was the exchange of angry words from both party. I can laugh at it now, but I’m guessing things won’t be this funny when we break a bone or two.

Now that's what we can call a defined beauty, if one could cause a traffic accident while performing house chores.

A while back, in my omprengan commute, a gorgeous woman in her twenty something sat by my left side. It’s very common to sleep during the whole trip, so did this young lady. Probably because she was still too tired, she slept like a baby and used my shoulder as some short of cushion to her pretty head.

Being a gentleman that I am (cough), I did not shrug her off. However, the temptation was killing me, as her hair was this nice smelling coconut-y. Moreover, you know that high percentage of women’s pheromone coming from the top of their head right? Therefore, you can guess that I was stuck between a rock and a hard place (no pun intended).

I touched my finger in search of the wedding ring to remind myself that I am married. Alas, the ring wasn’t there. I forgot that we had to take it off due to my swelling fat fingers.

So, anyway, I started to occupy my mind with more important and worldly topics. Starvation in Sudan, difficult physics formula, which I scarcely remember any, deadlines looming in the office, and finally I take solace in my favorite subject, footballs and gadgets. I lingered with those thoughts for a while and suddenly we almost arrived in our destination. One hour flew by that quickly.

The young woman and I exchanged polite smile as she departed off the omprengan. I wonder if she did that on purpose. Argh no way, I scolded my self; I am way past that glory days.

Speaking of sight of a woman, we have this consultant guest comes to our office every once a while. She’s a foreigner in her mid forty. She always wears this very low cut see-through dress and has been the talk of the office for sometime now. We can tell that she seldom wears any bra, but I can’t tell you how.

Whenever she speaks to me, I had to look a little bit higher than her eyebrows. I set my eyes just about the top of her forehead. As you know that, our cone of vision spanned approximately around 45 degrees right? That’s how I managed to slalom my way out of staring at her cleavage. She probably thinks I’m a geek, a prude or something.

Apologize for this rather lewd post, my friends. [tongue=in cheek] I’ve just found new respect of life from this near accident in the morning [/tongue].

PS:

• Ojek is a motorcycle taxi used in Indonesia for short distance travel
• Omprengan generally is a mini van type of car, like Suzuki Carry or Daihatsu Zebra. Two sit in front with the driver, four in the middle, and six in the back. It's not a formal mode of transportation, just like ojek.
  

Of Crossroads

Someone who shall remain nameless (pssst, unless you click on this link) tagged me the other day. The title in question is ‘What age do I wish to get back to, and why?’. Friendly word of caution, this entry will be very personal. I might bore you to death; quickly skip it while you still can.

Well, I haven’t heard anyone actually invented the time machine as of late, but if some one did, I would love it if they beam me back to 1994, when I was merely a skinny naïve 17 years old teenager.

In a classic Twilite Zone style, I’d like to correct a couple of choices I made on that particular year. 1994 was a major crossroad in my life, time of big changes and frequent soul searching. I might have wound up in a completely different place altogether in my parallel universe and here’s why.

Right after high school, frantic tests and college applications came thick and fast. I managed to complete the whole Military Academy tests and barely passed. I was already inside their camp and munching those horribly brittle rice and sandal like meat.

Two weeks have gone when I received the news that I got in STT Telkom’s list for Information Technology faculty.

Frankly, it was never my intention to become military personnel. It served plainly as an alternative just in case I didn’t get through anywhere. I was already disillusioned of living inside a dormitory for three years. Another four years would definitely drive me insane.

Therefore, I made up my mind and plead to flee out of the camp. Got me a good slap in return from a two star general no less. Darn it, I toughened my heart; even with a bruised cheek at least I got out.

Just to let you know, I was all alone during this period. My family was hundreds of miles away and communication was minimum at best due to pricey long distance call. I took a bus from Magelang to Bandung for the first time and process the administration to enter STT Telkom. There’s a horrific tale involving some transvestites when I stepped my foot in Bandung soil, but that’s another story.

I rented a room near the campus. It was so cheap I had to sleep on top of the praying mat. To take a bath one needs to sweat first, drawing bucket of water out of a well. Because the fee to STT Telkom was rather expensive, I needed to cut some cost in other places. Those were some rough days.

Several weeks later, the newspaper listed names of people who got through the UMPTN. My name was among the fortunate ones. This was very dilemmatic for me, Architecture Engineering of ITB; a government-subsidized institution was a lot cheaper than STT Telkom. It’s not too shabby either way.

I was inclined to stay at Telkom knowing IT and Communication would be a hot property in the future. However, I sincerely doubt I’d enjoy sleeping on that dingy floor and showering with some dodgy water, as the well mostly covered with mildew and some sort of fungus.

Once again, I made a decision to take my money uptown and gamble towards the elephant campus of ITB. Found me a decent enough room and immediately meeting my soon to be best friends from class of 94. There, for six long years, I was succumbed by landscape sketches, rendering, and building designs. Truth be told, I was not very good at it.

As you probably have known, currently I am not working in the Architecture field at all. During the last nine years, IT has been my bread and butter.

Now what if and this is a big if, back then, I stick to military academy, or the IT Faculty of STT Telkom, where would I end up.

With the time machine given to me by this tag, I’d be able to go back and capture a glimpse of things that may have come to pass, shall I chose the other paths, the road not taken.

Perhaps, looking back to our past might encourage us to be thankful, for our own ‘here and now’.

PS:

• Told you it’s very personal, hope I didn’t put you off and you’ll still be visiting this site next time.
• As with the custom of tagging, I’ll pass this flaming torch to five other bloggers. Their name and address shall be posted in here in coming days. First, I need to confirm that they wouldn’t mind being tagged.
• UMPTN is a test to enter state-owned universities in Indonesia. A lot of luck involved in getting pass that.
  
• Here is the link of the page where I was tagged, if time permits please read it also, good stuff.