Day 3: this is it!

Pheeewww...finally I got to reach the final day!

If I could slightly take it easy in the first two days, it was a whole different story on the third day, which was luckily the last and final day! Yeaaay..!! :-)

I practically couldn't do anything yesterday. My head was truly spinning around, my body was extremely weak, but I didn't feel any stomachache at all, which I initially thought I would. It was just the total weakness that got me so badly. I tried to drink more water, eat more fruits. It worked, for a while but then I felt week again. I spent most of the day laying down in bed or in front of TV.

That was one of the reasons why I didn't update this blog last night like in the previous two days.

This morning, I took two glass of waters and a slice of wheat breath with mixed-fruits jam. All the dreams of eating nasi padang, mie goreng, pempek, etc... have gone in astray! Hmm...temporarily? :-)

So from that 3-day refraining from one of the world's greatest gifts (food!), what am I gonna get? Well, today I feel a way much lighter in my body weight. My belly becomes flatter (oops! there you go, I just revealed one secret). But unfortunately, I just got the fact from Internet: In the initial period of eating fruit, weight loss can be drastic, but this will only happen for a while for once the body has done nature’s work, it will naturally gain weight... oh, poor me...!

However, I believed that the benefits that I would get from this detox would not happen in the short term but it would be an investment in the long run. 20 years of McDonald can not be cleansed in just 3 days! Oh I wish it could be that easy! It would take times and investments, which at least I have just made one. I just need to monitor and maintain "my investment" so that I one day I could reap the benefit with multiple value....keep my finger tightly crossed! :-)

Thanks to my friend, Ricky who have introduced me to this cleansing method.
This afternoon, let's wish that my weakness will go away so that I could go hanging out with Nitto and the rest gank.

Day 2: the battle is not yet over...

This is the second day of my detox.

It was getting so much harder. I started to think, would it be easier to do it during working days, not in a holiday like now? So I would have so many things to distract my attention. Then I realized perhaps it was just one of so many perfect reason to call it a day!

Let's talk about the temptation that I have to fight today. It was begun with a dream last night. Yes, it was true when people said if you want something badly, you would even sleep and dream on it. In my case, I wish I would never have that dream. What was my dream? I dreamed that I was in the middle of great party with friends all around and, unfortunately, with the food showering around. You name it: a crunchy pempek palembang with that black sour sauce, Chinese mie goreng with that delicious smell, a pack of nasi padang with rendang and creamy vegetable and green chili.... hahaha...kindda confuse what was the party I was at... the food didn't really represent a party!

Then I woke up (with growling stomach) and the fresh memory of that dream, just to start my day. I went to check Facebooks (FB) and found some funny and silly comments from friends over some photos (really fun) and I gladly joined the troops. It was fun! I also run through some of my friends FB status who were 90% talked about 'Lebaran' traditional showering food! Ketupat, opor, rendang, sambal goreng ati, kaastengels... did they really have to put all those stuffs in their status, so I thought? Of course, they did! Well, I certainly would! It was a true happiness, it was a living...!

I decided to turn on the TV. I hope to see some entertaining show or great movies to keep my mind busy. But you know what? I forgot that it's Saturday! Most of TV stations put up the cooking show in most of their morning show! So I had no choice but watching Chef Farah demonstrated the recipe of (again) lebaran typical food with all the details of creamy look, the ingredients to tell audience what the taste would like. Not only that, she also shared how to cook the lovely milky pudding...Whoaaa! Pudding! It was mostly the first thing to grab when I was in any wedding reception or office function! That's it. I walked away from TV.

Then I went joining my brother in the back terrace, thinking to have a light chat with him and distract my attention. I felt hungry and grabbed some melon in fridge as my breakfast. While we were chatting, he too had a breakfast. A real one! Nasi goreng with hot omelet, smoked beef sausage and some kerupuk. Hmmm... I could hold my breath but that smell was reeaaaaaallyy good! Soon he finished it up, he started to have a steamed noodle, an overcooked one which was my favorite. That's it! I couldn't take it anymore. I went to shower.

In the afternoon, my brother went out to see some old friends. I could have joined him since he'd go to some shopping malls and perhaps make a call to meet some of my friends too, but that would be a way much bigger risk failing to refuse the temptation, with all those food stalls like KFC, the salty french fries, chicken floss from Bread Talk, tuna crepes, hot coffee... no! I decided to stay at home.

If TV couldn't help me, then why not playing some DVDs? As all the morning stuffs didn't enough to 'torture' me, why all the sudden the SATC and Glee movies series should also join the troops? Sigh.... It was about the girls hanging out in a cafe for coffee, a guy ordering a biig portion of burger or simply the act of eating and chewing some foods really dragged me to even a greater hunger.

It was heavily raining outside, so I turned off the un-supportive TV and took a nap. But... damn! Again! I had those dreams! Over and over again. I woke up at 4 pm, had some water and slept again, hoping that this time it would not be about food dreaming again. But I was so damn wrong.
I went to FB again, thinking that the euphoria of lebaran food festive was now over. Yes, the lebaran food party is over, but don't get it wrong... it just changed to others! They who have got enough with milky meals and all ketupat things, turned to some light soup like hot meal balls soup, dim sum with the hot chili or sup iga sapi. They were all loud and clear about that!

Poor me... the whole universe didn't seem to support me, but I would not give up. It's only one day left...Strongly hope that I would not end up with revenge at the end and eat like crazy... counting on what Ricky said, that it would make my appetite re-set again....fingers crossed!

Day 1: An apple a day? Think again...

For some years I have never considered my health into account. I ate whatever tasted great, drank anything that satisfied my thirst (or simply wanted to have a try on the mixed ingredients), ate any kind of meals without having so much worry in timing - I could ate a full basket of nasi goreng by midnight and then went straight to bed. Not a single worry hit me...

Until that one moment. It was when my brother was sent to ER at 11pm for an extreme pain in his chest, his heart. I was totally dumbstruck! We have a rather similar health history - a never-on-normal-level of cholesterol. I guess it goes in the gene, but blame it to anything. It got me scared and brought me to go check to lab of my blood chemical...voilaaaa.... it's 240! Fyi, normal level is 200 and I have never been below that level.

So here I am now, deciding to take full advice of a friend, Ricky Atmaja, who has spent almost an hour of his Friday morning to preach me about the importance of health and introduced me to detoxification (or detox, for short) as one of so many ways to cleanse my body.

He challenged me to take a full three day of consuming nothing but fruits and water, and really nothing but those stuffs. "What is so difficult about that? It's a piece of cake for me....veerrry easy!". But those words just successfully ate me back!

I compared this Detox program was like cleaning up my workstation. Challenging! Those of you who really knew me at work (or simply by looking at my working desk) would certainly understand what I meant about this analogy... hehe..

Today was just my first day. I started my day with two glasses of water then had a lunch and dinner with papaya. Only those stuffs went through my stomach. Nothing else. Did you think it was easy? Have a try then... Not only it got your appetite of (any) food become extremely (yes, extremely!) bigger that you see some 'peyek teri' was like looking at a biiiig cheesy and fully-fruity cheese cake, but also it got your tamper. I became easily to get annoyed for a very small stuff....you could ask my brother about this.

During my afternoon lay-down, in order to keep my mind occupied (rather than thinking about how nice those kastengels cookies, smokey 'bandeng', a slice of choco cake in fridge, a yummy chitato cheese, etc), I have this rather frightening realization that our body can really absorb everything we drink, eat, and breathe. So every cup of coffee, every spoon of creamy corn soup, every sip of cappuccino, every bite of a sirloin steak, every portion of spaghetti carbonara (best one!), or very breath of air, polluted or otherwise is pulled into our body and processed by our liver. The good taste actually reached only until your throat, the rest your body who will suffer. But that short route was the one that gave us a satisfaction, happiness, great mood...you name it everything as a good effect of having great food (great friends is a bonus)

So the battle is even far to finish. I still have two more days to go.... *sigh...* Tomorrow my menu will be melon and apple. Hopefully by doing it during the Lebaran holiday, it is the right decision.

An apple a day? think again....

I miss rice... and anything that comes with it...hahaha...

a little bit about me...

Person you have feelings for shows up at your house, you..? yang pasti ya disuruh masuk sambil hati dag did dug duerrr... :-)

Did you sleep alone last night? setahu gue sih iya, ngga tahu deh kalau ada yg ngga keliatan ikutan di nangkring kamar *oh no!”

Ever loved someone who wasn’t good for you? I believe everyone deserves to be loved, but when they can’t get along, it just simply doesn’t work, not because they are not good *jadiiii….kesimpulannya apa yah?? Hehe…*

Whose bed did you sleep in last night? Mine dong...

What was the last thing someone said to you? "lagi ngapain, nek….sepi amat ga ada suaranya? Lagi dimana?”

Interested in anyone? Always! There are always interesting thing to see in everyone..

Has anyone tried making you look bad in the past week? hmm...ada! kondektur bus yang udah teriak berkali2 ke semua penumpang "uang pas yaa!!" tapi gue asyik bbm-an sm Elisa dan ga denger. Alhasil, pas gue kasih uang 50rb-an, dia melototin gue dan gue dengan tampang bego ngeliatin balik sambil mikir "kenapa ya ini orang, galak amat ngeliatin gue...". Baru nyadar lama sesudahnya pas doi teriak2 lagi...

Have you ever held hands with the opposite sex? Yeap!

Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Tergantung kali ya…tp yg namanya kepercayaan susye pastinya utk dibangun kembali once it was broken

Are you a jealous person? hmmm… got motivated mungkin iya, tapi jealous? hmmm…

Is there anyone that hates you right now? Jiaah..meneketehe! Mungkin… tp yang benci gue apalagi kalau tanpa alasan pasti rugi sendiri, karena gue ga peduli…hehehe…

Want someone back in your life? Absolutely! My dad and my mom!

Who would you allow to read your thoughts for one day? No body… ngga seru hidup ini nantinya :)

Did you kiss anyone last night? Nope…

How long did it take for you to fall asleep last night? Hmmm..let me see… less than 5 mins! Ngantuk gila semalem tuh…langsung tepar begitu nempel bantal.

Your opinion on drugs? Not good tapi beberapa kasus katanya bisa menyembuhkan asal ngga kecanduan aja!

Do you find smoking unattractive? Biasa aja..tp sebel kalo ada yg ngerokok di ruang tertutup dan AC pula...

Do you do drugs? Never and don’t have intention to…

Have you ever gotten alcohol poisoning? Luckily no..

Do you believe love lasts forever? Kata orang sih, cinta Tuhan ke umatnya, cinta orang tua ke anak-anaknya dan sinetron Cinta Fitri….yg terakhir ngga bangetttt…!! ;p

Do you have any tattoos? Sekarang sih ngga tapi berpikir seru juga kayaknya

Does anyone know your password besides you? ngga tuh…pernah sekali dan orang itu ketawa ngakak begitu tahu betapa noraknya password gue… ;)

Are there things in your life that you’ll never be able to get over? When it happened, felt like my world was tearing apart but it taught me to be strong and stronger…yeah!! Prikitiieew…!

Do you let your animals sleep in the house? Ngga ah, walaupun pingin banget punya anjing tapi ga mau repot ngerawatnya….*jadi maunya apa ya?*

Do you wish you had someone’s girlfriend/boyfriend? Only George Clooney… gosh! He is so gorgeous! Look at those eyes and his smile! *wake up, Astrid!*

Anything annoying you right now? Now? Laper aja sih… tapi males makan… *orang yg aneh*

Where is your biological mother right now? Mudah2an sih lagi kencan sama bokap di surga :)

Do you believe there are circumstances where cheating is okay? Probably, still not sure about white lie though…

Is your best friend a slut? hohoho…no! The sweetest one, in fact, walaupun kadang bawelnya kadang bikin pengeng kuping! :-)

Do you want something to change in the next month? Pingin punya meja kerja di kantor yang rapi, ngga berantakan…. Ada yang bilang “mission impossible” tuh! hiks... :)

What’s the last thing you put in your mouth? Chitato - supreme cheese flavor…best one ever!

Have you ever kissed anyone named Matthew? Nope… the one and only Matthew I know is my good friend’s 6 years old son.. hmm.. why Matthew? not other names...

Is the person you last texted single? Udah married… to my sister in law :)

How often do you straighten your hair? Never! It’s straight already.

Describe how you feel right now in one word? Laper! (konsisten...)

What color shirt are you wearing? Now? White... with the little ghost Casper picture

What was the first thing to make you smile today? A status of my friend in his FB. It was about his ex boss’ driver who misunderstood what his driver was saying. “my sound death” to “my son is dead”…. then imagining his face.... A whole big bucket of laughter!

Connection between you and the last person who text messaged you? My big brother

Plans for the weekend? ngumpul sama tim organizing committee-nya toasmaster convention terus janjian jalan sama my dear cousin... dan seneng krn my big brother will be home this weekend...yaayy!! hmmm....ngapain ya...minta dia benerin lampu belakang, benerin kran kamar mandi, ngecek atap teras belakang yg ngerembes kalo ujan...ahh! ga penting amat yah...

Do you miss anyone? Yes, always! My dad…

How’s your hair right now? baik-baik saja, udah gerah pengen potong sebenernya, tapi belum sempet

What do you currently hear right now? Nothing in particular…

Do you know anyone that smokes weed? No..

Do you curse in front of your parents? Never as far as I recall, but I did share with my dad about all the things in my life, including the frustrating one, but never cursing! He wouldn’t let me anyway.

Do you like calling or texting better? Tergantung sama siapa dan keperluannya apa, hehehe… *sama kayak Inez*

When was the last time you cried really hard? Why? The one which was eally hard? last year, missing my dad to the bone! tapi lately nangis lagi (cengengnyaa...), karena nahan akumulasi marah dan frustrasi karena ngga bisa juga ngertiin orang yang gue pikir ngga masuk akal, jadinya gue yang frustrasi sendiri… rugi amat yah… :p

Where is your biological father right now? Hopefully with my mom in heaven :)

Was yesterday better than today? ngga juga, bahkan hari ini menu makan pagi, siang sampai malam pun lebih enak dari kemarin *kenapa makanan mulu yaaa…*

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Never regret of what happened as it has all worked to bring me to this very moment… taelaaaa…. cuiiit..cuiit..

What items could you not go without during the day? duit dan hp… *sama kayak Inez*

If we were to look in your inbox, what would we find? sms2 mulai dari yg penting ampe ga penting *lagiii…. sama kayak Inez*

Can you easily tell if someones fake? tergantung orgnya. klo gue dah kenal baik sih biasanya bisa.. *sama lagi kayak Inez....elo aja deh yg nulis, Nez...hehe..*

How’s your heart? In a good shape, beating nicely…

Smile... and the world will smile at you.. :)

Setiap pagi dalam perjalananku ke kantor, aku melihat sosok Bapak ini. Ia rutin hadir dalam gerbong kereta Bekasi Ekspress yang aku naiki setiap hari.

Bapak ini bukanlah masinis atau kondektur yang memeriksa karcis penumpang di tiap gerbong. Ia juga bukanlah penjual koran yang berkeliling menawarkan berita-berita baru setiap harinya. Dan ia juga bukan salah satu penumpang yang berlari-lari demi mendapatkan satu tempat duduk dan bisa tidur dengan nyaman.

Bapak ini memiliki kekurangan fisik sehingga ia tidak dapat berjalan dan terpaksa menggantungkan hidupnya dari belas kasihan orang lain. Ia menggerakkan badannya dengan menggeserkan dan mengangkat badannya dengan kekuatan dua tangannya. Namun, satu hal yang aku lihat sosoknya begitu berbeda dari wajah-wajah yang kutemui dalam setiap gerbong adalah ia selalu tersenyum. Ia tersenyum dengan ketulusan hatinya dan menyapa setiap orang, tanpa peduli apakah ia kenal atau tidak, tanpa ia peduli apakah kemudian mereka membuang muka atau pura-pura tidur supaya tidak harus memberikan uang.

Ia tidak pernah menadahkan tangannya. Ia hanya tersenyum dan menyapa "Assalamualaikum...pagi, neng...". Kemudian ia tertatih menyeret tubuhnya dengan kedua tangannya. Suatu kondisi yang cukup sulit, namun ia tetap tersenyum. Belum pernah aku lihat wajahnya cemberut atau muram, walaupun aku bisa bayangkan hidup pastilah tidak mudah baginya. Mungkin ia memiliki keluarga yang harus ia nafkahi, anak-anak yang sekolah dan beban hidup seperti orang lain namun dengan kondisi yang sungguh jauh berbeda dengan orang pada umumnya.

Aku menjadi malu sendiri. Senyumnya seakan menyindirku. Dengan semua bebannya itu, ia masih bisa tersenyum untuk orang lain setiap harinya. Bagaimana dengan aku? Aku memiliki fisik yang cukup sehat, pekerjaan yang aku nikmati, penghasilan yang cukup, namun sering aku mudah untuk menggerutu, memasang wajah yang muram dan cemberut untuk hal-hal yang sepele.

Tersenyum adalah satu hal yang begitu sederhana dan dapat dilakukan semua orang secara gratis, namun siapa yang sangka senyum memiliki efek yang cukup besar dan merupakan "penyakit" yang mudah menular.

Dengan tersenyum dengan office boy di kantorku ketika datang di kantor, mungkin ia akan tersenyum dengan rekan kerjaku yang lain, kemudian rekan kerjaku tersenyum kepada atasannya atau kepada keluarga atau orang-orang disayanginya.

Ketika kita tersenyum pada seseorang yang sedang patah hati, maka ia dapat merasakan bahwa dunia tidak sedang runtuh dan masih ada orang lain yang menyayanginya. Ketika kita tersenyum pada mereka yang sedang sakit, senyum membuat mereka merasakan kepedulian dari orang lain. Ketika kita tersenyum kepada mereka yang sedang putus asa, senyum memberikan harapan dan kekuatan untuk bangkit. Namun jangan coba-coba tersenyum pada atasan kita yang sedang meledak-ledak marah kepada kita. Itu namanya bunuh diri :-)

Senyum dapat dirasakan, walaupun orang tidak melihat wajah kita. Coba buktikan. Tersenyumlah ketika anda menelepon pasangan atau sahabat anda, mereka pasti dapat merasakan senyuman anda itu dari suara yang tercipta. Kehangatan jiwa yang terpancar dapat dirasakan.

Aku berterima kasih kepada Bapak itu untuk mengajariku satu hal sederhana, senyum dengan ketulusan hati. Senyum pula akan memberikan suatu napas segar bagi jiwa kita.

Tersenyumlah maka dunia pun akan tersenyum padamu.

Beijing 5: be careful with your wish!

Sejak awal saya dan teman saya merencanakan perjalanan ke Beijing dan Hanoi ini, kami tidak begitu tertarik dengan ide mengikuti paket tour yang bertebaran disediakan travel agent, yang tentunya akan sangat membuat hidup menjadi lebih mudah!

Kami tertarik untuk menikmati setiap pengalaman dari perjalanan tersebut walaupun sering mesti “berakrobat” dengan urusan transportasi, komunikasi dengan penduduk lokat, tersesat, dan lain-lain. Namun justru hal-hal tersebutlah yang kami percaya menambah kaya pengalaman kami. Menikmati bagaimana adrenalin terpompa saat tersesat dan tidak ada orang-orang yang mengerti bahasa Inggris, tertawa sendiri saat menyadari bahwa kami salah naik kereta atau salah mengambil pilihan makanan yang kurang enak.

Be careful with your wish. Itulah terjadi dengan kami di hari terakhir kami di Beijing. Mengharapkan suatu liburan yang ‘kaya akan pengalaman’ dengan perjuangan sendiri, kami menghadapi satu kejadian yang sangat….sangat… menguras emosi dan juga fisik tubuh kami. Kejadian ini terjadi tepat di hari kepulangan kami dari Beijing menuju Kuala Lumpur.

Tepat jam 1 siang, dengan subway kami menuju ke South Beijing Railway Station untuk kemudian menuju Tianjin dengan bullet train. Rupanya proses kepulangan tidak semudah seperti kedatangan. Dengan stasiun sebesar itu dan terbatasnya papan petunjuk dengan huruf latin maupun orang-orang yang dapat berbahasa Inggris, kami cukup kelimpungan juga. Namun hal ini belum seberapa.

Modal kami selama di Beijing adalah tidak tahu malu, dalam arti kami tidak segan-segan untuk mencolek orang yang kelihatan bisa berbahasa Inggris untuk bertanya. Kami dengan pe-de nya mencolek seorang wanita yang (thanks God) bisa berbahasa Inggris. Ia membantu menanyakan ke petugas loket dimana tempat membeli tiket bullet train ke Tianjin (bayangkan, penduduk lokal nya pun tidak hapal isi dari stasiun tersebut, gimana kami)

Setelah mendapatkan tiket, kami bergegas mencari gate dari kereta tersebut. Perjalanan sekitar 30 menit itu kami isi dengan tidur! Kondisi fisik kami sudah lumayan lelah. Namun the nightmare is about to start!

Setibanya di stasiun Tianjin, kami harusnya menggunakan bus ke airport, namun setelah mencoba mengikuti arah papan petunjuk “Bus”, kami semakin bingung. Lorong tersebut berujung pada suatu terminal bis yang sangat kontras kondisinya dengan stasiun yang cukup mewah. Kami berjalan dan bertanya kepada penduduk sekitar “Excuse me, do you know where is the bus to the airport?”. Namun sekitar 40 orang yang kami tanyakan (masing-masing dari kami bertanya ke sekitar 20 orang), tidak ada satupun yang mengerti bahasa Inggris. Dengan backpack dan koper kami menyusuri terminal tersebut, bahkan sampai ke pelosok gudang kargo. Rasa panik, lelah dan kesal cukup menguasai emosi kami saat itu. Namun kami sadar, bagaimanapun caranya kami harus ketemu dengan bis airport tersebut.

Kemudian kami mencoba masuk ke dalam satu gedung yang cukup "manusiawi" dengan tulisan “Entrance”. Kondisi di pintu masuk cukup padat dan semerawut dengan orang-orang yang berjejal ingin masuk melalui pintu masuk yang kecil. Kami melihat beberapa turis bule mengantri. Seperti biasa, di setiap pintu masuk selalu ada mesin pemeriksa x-ray. Saya sepakat dengan teman saya bahwa saya yang akan memasukkan tas ke dalam mesin tersebut, dan teman saya yang akan menjaga di sisi sebaliknya. Kondisi cukup kacau. Ketika saya mengantri, saya melihat seorang ibu di depan saya hendak memasukkan handbag ke dalam mesin dan sang suami menarik sambil memarahi. Namun telat untuk saya menyadari bahwa saya tidak seharusnya memasukkan tas kecil saya yang berisi passport dan tiket dan satu lagi tas kecil kamera. Saya langsung panik dan berteriak ke teman saya untuk segera menarik semua tas. Hal pertama yang saya cari adalah tas merah saya yang berisi paspor dan setelah itu tas kamera saya. Namun tas kamera saya sudah raib!!

Saya panik dan bertanya pada petugas yang berjaga di depan monitor, namun ia hanya menggelengkan kepala, cuek. Saya dan teman saya mencari hingga ke kolong mesin dan belt namun tidak juga ketemu. Di tengah semua itu, kami cukup menjadi bahan tontonan orang-orang karena adegan "mengolong" dan panik tersebut. Kami tidak peduli.

Bukan kamera yang saya sayangkan, namun semua foto-foto yang ada didalamnya. Tambah kesal lagi ketika tahu dari petugas bahwa kami memasuki gedung yang salah! Dengan perasaan gemas, marah, panik bercampur lelah, teman saya setengah berteriak dengan nada tinggi, yang mengundang perhatiaan beberapa orang. Tapi kami sekali lagi masa bodoh.

Kami kembali ke dalam stasiun dan bertanya kembali ke satu petugas yang lumayan bisa bahasa Inggris. Ia menunjukkan gedung yang sama! Kami harus masuk ke gedung tersebut dan naik ke lantai dua. Saya langsung lemas! Not again!!

Beberapa penduduk lokal mendatangi kami dan dari terjemahan petugas tersebut, mereka bersedia mengantar dengan bayaran. Petugas tersebut juga mengajari saya beberapa kalimat dalam mandarin untuk bertanya, namun teman saya langsung menarik tangan saya. “Elo diajarin cara nanya, emangnya elo ngerti ntar kalo orang ngejawab pertanyaan lo?” Hmm.. bener juga! Akhirnya dengan memberanikan diri, kami masuk lagi ke dalam gedung tersebut dan langsung menuju lantai dua. Namun tetap kami tidak menemukan tempat bus tersebut. Kami bertambah panik ketika jam terus bergerak dan jika tidak segera berangkat, maka kami sudah pasti akan ketinggalan pesawat.

Kami berjalan ke luar stasiun dan menemukan titik dimana kami turun dari bis pada saat kedatangan. Aha, bis nya ada!! Namun dengan supir yang sedang tidur! Aduh! Kalau dia bangun aja, pasti sudah cukup sulit untuk berkomunikasi, gimana ini kalau dia tidur?!

Saya memutuskan bertanya kepada sekelompok pria yang merupakan supir taksi yang sedang mangkal. Cukup alot percakapan saya karena kami berbicara dengan bahasa tarsan yang sangat sempurna. Ya! Karena untuk menggambarkan airport saya harus memperagakan dengan telapak tangan pesawat yang sedang terbang. Di tengah keputusasaan, saya melihat seorang pria yang hendak naik bus tersebut. ”Excuse me, do you speak English?” dan ketika orang itu menjawab ”Yes!”. Saya langsung bertanya ”does this bus go to the airport” dan dia menjawab ”Yes, exactly this one”. Saya sampai mengulang pertanyaan “are you sure?” hingga tiga kali, tidak peduli apakah orang itu menganggap saya tuli. Namun akhirnya "mas-mas" ini sangat baik. Ia menawarkan untuk sharing taksi karena jika menunggu bus berangkat maka saya dan teman saya dipastikan akan ketinggalan pesawat.

Di dalam perjalanan, ia bercerita kalau ia akan ke Guangzhou karena punya usaha di sana namun karena keluarganya tinggal di Beijing maka ia harus bolak balik setiap dua minggu. Ia juga bercerita pernah kuliah dan tinggal di Amerika. Hmmm..pantesan! Bahasa Inggrisnya lancar jali..

Setiba di airport, ia mengantarkan kami ke gerbang International Departure. Baiknyaaa… Setelah check-in dan memasukkan bagasi, kami duduk lemas selonjoran di kursi sambil menunggu gerbang imigrasi buka. Kami bersyukur sekali karena bisa sampai di airport tepat waktu, sembari merasa lemas kalau mengingat nasib kamera saya.

Pesawat menuju Kuala Lumpur tidak terlalu rame sehingga saya dan teman saya masing-masing bisa ”menguasai” tiga baris tempat duduk dan tidur terlentang. Namun 6 jam perjalanan tersebut dan suasana malam dan gelap dalam kabin tidak mampu membuat saya dan teman saya tertidur. Mungkin kami terlalu lelah dan masih cukup terhenyak dengan pengalaman yang baru saja terjadi.

Selamat tinggal, Beijing....sampai bertemu dua minggu lagi. (What??) Yeap! Saya harus kembali ke Beijing untuk urusan kantor kira-kira 10 hari dari tanggal kepulangan tersebut.

Beijing 2: Great Wall

Hari ke dua di Beijing adalah giliran saya dan teman saya untuk menyambangi Great Wall, salah satu icon keajaiban dunia yang membentang sepanjang lebih dari 8000 km di utara kota Beijing. Great Wall atau yang lebih dikenal dengan Tembok Cina ini dibangun pada saat pemerintahan dinasti Ming untuk melindungi China dari serbuan tentara Mongol.

Ada beberapa titik di sepanjang Great Wall yang menjadi starting point. Kami memilih Mutianyu dengan pertimbangan titik tersebut tidak seramai Badaling, yang lebih akrab di kalangan turis dan medannya pun sudah lebih ‘manusiawi’ untuk dilalui – sangat jauh berbeda dari titik lain, Jinshanling yang saya kunjungi dua minggu kemudian (cerita menyusul). Mutianyu di tempuh dalam waktu sekitar tiga jam-an dari Beijing, namun sebelumnya kami mengunjungi Ming Tomb atau makam 13raja dari dinasti Ming. Buat saya pribadi yang buta tentang arsitektur atau tidak terlalu tertarik dengan sejarah, tempat akhirnya mendapat nilai “good to visit”, bukan “must visit”.

Setelah menyantap makan siang di suatu restaurant tepat di kaki bukit Mutianyu, dimulailah perjalanan menuju ke atas. Great Wall ini berada di atas bukit (atau gunung ya?) yang bisa ditempuh dua cara: trekking alias jalan kaki atau menggunakan cable car. Tentu saja saya memilih yang kedua. Lebih baik menyelamatkan energi untuk “trekking” di sepanjang tembok cina daripada kehabisan napas sebelum tiba di puncak. Dengan membayar RMB 55 (sekitar Rp 60,000), saya naik cable car dengan perasaan yang agak deg-deg an melihat ketinggian yang cukup curam.

Setiba di atas, angin dingin menerpa wajah namun dengan segera tidak dirasakan melihat pemandangan yang luar biasa cantiknya. Tembok Cina yang membentang bak ular naga tanpa terlihat ujung kepala dan ekornya, merambat di titian bukit dengan gagahnya. Saya bersyukur juga karena angin yang dingin dan sejuk. Tak terbayangkan berjalan di ketinggian seperti itu dengan sinar matahari yang terik.

Pemandangan musim semi masih tersisa dengan hijaunya pohon-pohon menyatu dengan warna tembok menghasilkan perpaduan yang cantik: hijau daun segar dan natural stone.

Saya menyusuri 2.2 km dengan beberapa kali berhenti untuk berfoto atau sekedar menatap pemandangan yang luar biasa indahnya, disertai dengan hawa yang begitu sejuknya, tidak panas namun juga tidak dingin menggigit, walaupun sempat gerimis kecil namun untungnya hanya sesaat.

Perjalanan turun menawarkan dua alternatif, yaitu dengan toboggan atau lift chair (mirip kereta gantung yang sering digunakan para pemain ski waktu mendaki ke atas gunung). Keduanya merupakan pilihan yang sulit, tapi saya harus memilih. Akhirnya saya memilih toboggan dan membayar sekitar RMB55 (Rp 60,000). Toboggan adalah kereta luncur dengan jalur khusus dan memiliki satu tuas untuk mengeram atau memacu kecepatan. Jalur yang berliku dan terlihat mengerikan ternyata sangat mengasyikkan. Beberapa petugas ditempatkan di beberapa titik sepanjang rute turun untuk memastikan keamanan. Saya meluncur dengan disertai teriakan-teriakan girang ketika rute sangat curam atau melewati jembatan dengan jurang yang cukup curam.

Setibanya kembali di Beijing, sekitar jam 7 malam dan cuaca masih sangat terang (matahari seperti jam 4 sore di Jakarta) saya dan teman saya memutuskan untuk mampir ke Tiananment Square. Dari titik pemberhentian bus, kami berjalan sekitar 15-20 menit (dengan sedikit kesasar dan bertanya-tanya dengan orang sekitar, tentunya). Walaupun sudah tutup, di gerbang lapangan yang cukup terkenal karena sejarahnya tersebut, masih sangat banyak orang yang berkumpul, entah sekedar berfoto atau mengobrol.

Ada satu pengalaman yang cukup menegangkan di sini. Begitu kami tiba di depan gerbang, kami didatangi 3 orang gadis lokal yang mengaku sebagai mahasiswa yang sedang menghabiskan liburan. Mereka sangat fasih sekali berbahasa Inggris (sesuatu yang jarang sekali ditemui sepanjang saya di Beijing) dan sangat ramah. Mereka mengajak berkenalan dan menawarkan diri untuk membantu saya dan teman saya berfoto. Ketika kami mengajak mereka untuk berfoto bersama, mereka menolak karena kepercayaan dalam agama mereka yang melarang untuk berfoto. Kejanggalan pertama yang saya rasakan. Dua dari mereka mengajak saya ngobrol dan satu lagi menyertai teman saya. Mereka mengajak kami untuk bersama-sama ’nongkrong’ sambil minum kopi di daerah Hutong (daerah yang memang saya rencanakan untuk kunjungi). Kami pikir ”why not”.

Namun perasaan saya sudah sangat tidak enak. Di tengah perjalanan, saya putuskan untuk membatalkan rencana untuk ’kongkow’ bareng tersebut dan mengajak teman saya untuk kembali ke hotel. Ajakan yang langsung disetujui oleh teman saya karena ia pun merasakan perasaan tidak enak. Untungnya mereka tidak memaksa. Kami berpisah dan saya dan teman saya menuju ke daerah Wangfuijing untuk cari makan malam sekalian mencari souvenir, sambil memastikan bahwa mereka tidak mengikuti. Setelah kenyang makan di salah satu restauran khusus untuk muslim di Wangfuijing dan membeli beberapa souvenir, sekitar jam 10.30 malam kami kembali ke hotel di daerah Jianguomen dengan subway.

Setibanya di hotel dan baca-baca Lonely Planets, kami cukup kaget. Ternyata kegiatan para "mahasiswa" tersebut sangat umum dan diorganisir oleh satu sindikat yang bertujuan menipu para kaum turis dengan cara mengajak ke kedai kopi atau galeri senin untuk kemudian memeras mereka dengan sekian ribu Yuan. Kami langsung merasa lega, pheewww... emang kalau insting itu jangan pernah di remehkan :-)

Beating with one heart...

Organizing a company event was none of a new thing for me. Cooking on the concept, and then planning, budgeting and organizing, etc - whether it was one time shot or sometimes I would have to re-do again and again for each phase - was a normal process that anyone dealing with event organization would have to go through.

But, for me, one thing that would make a difference was the team, the people that you work with to make the event successful. And this year, I was truly blessed to have the privilege to work together with these great colleagues as the organizing committee (OC). The team consisted of colleagues who came from different walk of life but made the same commitment, to do whatever it takes (hmmm...sound a bit scary) to make the 2010 Employee Day hit a success.

Back from left: Annisa, Oveldo, Elisa, pak Lim, Erna, Lia, Ray

Front from left: Verra, Randy, Maria Astrid, Camelia, Yudhi and me

Virtually: Inez (kemana dirimuuuu?)

They definately were not the people who did not have anything to do or less busy than the others, nor were they would like to achieve praise and compliments over what they would have done. Together we tried to comprehend and recognize the diverse strengths and abilities in our group setting and then applying them to one final solution.

Meetings, discussions, exercising, sharing frustration and confusion were among the things that we did during the preparation and in between of all the routine work commitment that we still need to do. However, in all of those, we'd never lose the apetitite to have fun, throw some jokes and teasing one another especially when the stress reached the high level.

So here is a tribute to all my mates and colleagues who have shown a strong commitment and dedication until we finally presented a beautiful moment in Ayer Island. So proud to work with you and an honor to be part of this great team!

Yudhi, my partner in crime, whose "kegalakannya" was always reliable (peace yo, Pak...). That was truly shown that during the event, he was one of the most 'galak' person who would without any doubt bite anyone that would distract the event. We mostly played 'bad cop' and 'good cop' when dealing with several parties :-)

Oveldo and Ray, the transportation coordinators who dealt with boat arrangement, one among other crucial areas that really required high attention. I remembered when the whole scenario was suddenly changed at pier and people were queuing (all at once!), but they both managed it very well with close coordination to one another. The same case for the return route (island - pier)

People said that leave all the F&B things to women. They're the best! Well, that was really true. Camelia and Erna were two of the experts in this area. They selected and formulated the menu to ensure that everybody would have the energy throughout the day.

People love appearance! That have had inspired Verra to do her best in designing the tshirts and caps. Dealing with every details (color, materials, images, suppliers etc) was all she has gone through to produce beautiful outfits that would be the identity of this event, a common uniform.

Group performance competition! I love this idea since the beginning it was brought up in our first OC meeting. Over weeks, this idea continued to be developed to a strong concept and ready for selling to all employees. Oveldo, Inez and Elisa were the backbone of this session as well as the committee performance which successfully got a roaring applause from employees. I must say that it was not easy to encourage people in several divisions and office location to work together and come out with a team-work performance, but you made it, guys! Miss all the nite times together at studio! (and still missing 'pisang ijo', Mo'e?)

She might be a new comer in the organization, but her ability to stay focus among all the bustles and huzzles was something that amazed me at all times. Dealing with the every-minutes-changing registration was quite challenging, but Maria Astrid (someone called her "Astrid muda"... Oh, I really hate Oveldoooo, huhuuu!!) managed it very well. She also supported in dealing with suppliers to ensure all delivered on time.

Randy - the bayi sehat, was one who could stay calm and was very helpful. He dealt with all the supporting equipment and relinquished his Friday night to be in the island one day before the event to ensure everything was in place, the way it was planned. Hope you had a wonderful stay together with the boys, Ran... sure that Pepenk and Dicxon were not harmful having you with them :-)

Oh by the way, a very nice performance and outfit during the cabaret! hahaha....!

Annisa and Lia, who regretfully couldn't fit the costume of Barney and Chiki, stood bravely at the entrance gate, being the first power to welcome the people and among the first troops who arrived at site when it was still dawn!

Pak Pras, despite all the shocking of last minute incident, had provided a great support being the speaking partner and coordinator for Cibitung team. It must be quite challenging to coordinate around 150 staffs all in your hands! Bravo!

And so many other colleagues who have worked day and night: The ABB band, Pepenk and Dicxon, Puri - the singing girl, Hepy who had helped in organizing the tshirt distribution, Mbak Najah who had been nicely involved in cabaret and being the escort in the island - really loved when you say "welcome to the island"... yaaay! Really felt as it was indeed our island!

Like everything in life, this event too had two sides of a coin. The success came also with some minor setbacks, but one thing for sure, my mind stays the same, being so glad to have the opportunity to work with all of you and sincerely convey my gratitude for all support you have given me tremendously and... for beating with one heart!

Hats off to you all!

I'm looking forward to working with all of you again in the future in more exciting projects. Family Day 2011?? :)) Early birds for commitee application is opened...now..! :))

The past..

What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” (unknown)

I'm perfectly aware that holding onto the past is like living without tomorrows. But at this moment, let me hold onto it just for a few breath, a few blink, a few heart beat…. I just want to freeze this moment. I will move on, I will… because I still want that “tomorrows”!

Mbok Suminah – a picture of simplicity

My trip to my mom’s hometown and my parents’ resting place, Solo, every year has always brought met to meet this lady. Her name is Mbok Suminah. She is the second generation of a family who looks after the grave yard that belongs to my big family (from my mom’s side). It is located in a small and serene village, Mandungan, 15-20 minutes from the city center. There lies my parents, my grandparents, aunties and some distant relatives that I hardly know for their live some years back.

If you are imagining someone in mid fifty in a traditional suit and always speak in local language, well...you get that right! She is in every thing you would imagine of a traditional Javanese lady. She hardly speaks Bahasa Indonesia but I guess communicating has gone through far from only language barrier.

Early this year, I went to Solo by myself, something that I’ve never done before. I always went there with the whole troops of the big family. But that time, I thought I wanted to be alone with my (late) dad. So I went there.

When I first got the entrance of the cemetery, my sight was caught on a lady who suddenly got up from her sleep under a tree. Yeap! She was sleeping in the mid of the very quite cemetery. Although it was not as spooky as any public cemetery would be, but the idea of taking a nap there, was never even on my wildest dream.

She warmly welcomed me, as usual, and escorted me to come inside. I tried to speak with her with my very broken Javanese language. Then there came her report of who have recently visited. When I “talked” to my dad, she just sat quietly few meters from me. That lasted for about an hour. She just sat there without any distracting moves, she simply accompanied me.

When I finished, she told me not to cry about my dad anymore, instead I should be happy that he’s now resting in peace. That I should always pray for him, for it was one of the important thing that can help my dad up there. If I were in any problem or being in an unease life phase, my dad would always be there. He wouldn’t leave me alone. That is the thing I should remember. I heard all those advice so many times from so many people who cared about me, but having them from someone like her, I felt differently. I didn’t know why. Perhaps it was her sincerity that has touched my heart in her own way or perhaps because I was in a very sentimental situation (being with my dad in my own time without all people around me).

My second visit fell two days after the first one. She was cleaning the cemetery when I got there. She smiled and greeted me, saying she had been waiting for me. I went directly to my dad and spent there for next one hour. She continued of cleaning. When I finished my “chat”, she came and sat next to me. She said that it was OK to cry but don’t let your tears fall on my dad’s grave. The conversation continued to her sharing of her life. She said that she just had unfortunate incidents that her son-in-law got accident with her motorcycle but things were now better. She also shared how she lost her mother and then 2 months later, her father.

My curiosity forced me to shoot her questions. How did she feel being attached to a cemetery? Wasn’t she afraid? Was her life affected?

She answered me with stories, a rather-spooky one. She told me that seeing some ‘unrest souls’ come to her house and wandering around or one afternoon when she saw one Japanese troops complete with all the weapons and uniforms worn during their invasion to Indonesia in 1940s, were nothing that came to a surprise anymore! Gee..! I would have been dumbstrucked and passed out immediately!!

Her dreams were to see her children live happily in their own way, to see her grandchildren grow every single day, to serve her commitment to her work (being the gatekeeper of a cemetery). The cleaning thing was her routine activity, then cooking afterward or playing with her grand kids, day after day. She was happy and fulfilled. She just wanted to live her life as what she has understood from her religion, so that by the end of the day, she wish to face God gracefully.

For few seconds, I envied what she has in her life – certainly not the looking ghost part! How life can be so calm, how days can go without having so much worries or strong pressure from the people, or high expectation that you would have to fulfill, how things are easily manageable without too much disruption, how she could see life as beautiful as God has granted her for and for it will stay like that forever

What is it like, living in simplicity?

I don’t think having no obsession in live would count; neither living in poverty will support you better to live simply; or probably the personal taste of frugality contributes something to a simple life. Is it living with simple job with less stress, having less friends and no social activities, reflect to less problems and thus create a simpler life?

What is simplicity? It is probably like happiness which teaches us of the joy seeing life as beautiful as it was meant to be, to overcome problems as natural part in life that would come and go, to relieve the ultimate possession over things. It is also probably like happiness. It is a game in our mind. And by all things happened to our life, it teaches to be grateful! Be grateful as in the gratitude, it lies a strength, that help you to see life as the greatest gift. Think simple and live simply.