Penyayang Binatang

Rabu, 6 Januari, 2016

Baru-baru ini gue dikirimin link sama sepupu gue, tentang penyiksaan manusia terhadap beruang kutub. Aduh, kasian banget! Padahal beruangnya udah jinak dan percaya sama manusia. Beneran sadis! Kalo bisa lo jangan baca deh. Kalo ada yang ngirimin link-nya, langsung sign petition aja. Terlalu sadis!

Gue itu penyayang binatang. Saking sayangnya sama binatang, nyamuk aja gue ajak tos. Nyamuk, kecoa, lalet, suka gue ajak tos. Kadang-kadang pake raket listrik, biar lebih cetar.

Nggak lah, gue bukan penyayang binatang sama sekali. Gue cuma suka sama binatang yang bentuknya bagus.

Sebenernya, kalo lo mau dibilang penyayang binatang, lo nggak boleh pilih-pilih. Gampang buat sayang sama anjing, kucing, marmut, kelinci. Tapi lo bisa nggak sayang sama kecoa? Pernah nggak lo bantuin kecoa melahirkan, terus lo gendong-gendong anaknya?

Nggak usah seekstrim itu juga sih. Tapi contoh yang paling sering gue liat itu orang yang suka anjing, tapi nggak suka kucing. Atau sebaliknya, suka kucing, tapi nggak suka anjing. Atau suka binatang tertentu, tapi sama binatang lain bisa sadis.

Tapi gue paling terganggu sih sama orang yang suka kucing dan benci anjing dengan alasan agama.

Lo suka kucing, karena ceritanya binatang kesayangan nabi, tapi lo benci anjing, karena miara anjing dosa. Heh! Apanya sih yang dosa? Liur anjing najis? Cuci! Kelar! Mau tau yang dosa apa, kalo lo mau bener-bener ngikutin agama lo, yang dosa tuh pacaran! Pegangan tangan aja udah dosa itungannya. Nah ini…

Gue bingung banget tiap ada cowok pedekate, terus tiba-tiba nanya, “Kamu kok miara anjing sih? Kan orang islam nggak boleh miara anjing?”

Lah lo ngapain pedekate sama gue? Ta’aruf sana!

Eh gue bukan mau ngehina agama apapun ya. Nggak ada ajaran yang gue salahin. Tapi lo jangan double standard lah jadi orang. Kalo lo berani nasehatin orang buat nggak miara anjing atas ‘dalil agama’ (yang gue nggak pernah denger ada ayatnya), setidaknya lo liat lah diri lo sendiri udah bener apa belom? Ngajakin anak orang jalan berduaan, tapi sok-sok suci ngomongin soal agama. Please deh!

Lagian, anjing kan mahluk ciptaan Tuhan juga. Masa iya, Tuhan ngelarang manusia untuk berbuat baik sama sesama ciptaan-Nya? Bunuh anjing, nyiksa anjing, nimpuk anjing, nelantarin anjing, dapet pahala gitu? Yakin lo? Belajar agama lagi deh.

Masih soal pecinta binatang, dulu gue pernah mau dicomblangin sama cowok. Temen gue ini promosiin temennya. “Lo kan pecinta binatang. Lo pasti cocok deh sama dia! Dia tuh juga pecinta binatang. Di rumahnya tuh isinya binatang-binatang langka yang diawetin.”

What?

Oke. Gue speechless.

Bingung kan lo? Sama, gue juga.

Happy New Year 2016!!

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Happy new year 2016!!

Yeah I just got a chance to finally write my blog. I was supposed to write this yesterday, obviously. But damn! Everything didn’t go as planned. I started the new year unproductively.

Okay, before being all complaining, I think I should have mentioned my new year resolution first. Or maybe some little review of my 2015 before that.

How was 2015 for me?

Well, it’s quite satisfying. There was a very big change in the very beginning of the year, and it costs me some loss. But that’s just because I haven’t done things effectively. And there was some big, bad, awful incident with that Karina bitch. Yeah she stole my money. Big amount of money. And you know, I have a group of girlfriends. Something happened. I think it was because of me. And we didn’t hang out as much as the previous years. Also because each of us is getting busier with our own life. My boyfriend in 2014, I broke up with him in 2015. We’re still friends tho’, and we both agreed that it was best for us, no drama.

But, overall, 2015 was my best year so far. And to remind that before 2015 happened, 2014 was my best year, I can say, it’s a success already, because it means the year is always better than the previous year. In 2015, I’ve spent more times with people I love the most. It started with a little adventure in the very first day of 2015. I remember on January 1, 2015, I took the commuter line to the very end of the line, together with my parents and siblings. The trip wasn’t going well as we planned, but it was fun because we were together, and it was a very new thing for us. Yeah, a lot of new things happened to me last year.

A lot of new things happened in my business community. We had a new, so much better vendor, we moved to the new, so much better office, and we have a new, so much better system. There are some new things in the business and all were very good. I also made more than I did in 2014. Thank God!

And also, my business community introduced me to this so called ‘Escape Room’ thingy. Wow! It was really, really fun! I love it! It’s one of the best new things I’ve tried, not just last year, but for my whole life. Seriously! I love it! I played it 3 times last year. First on early May with my community, second with my lovely siblings and their lovers, and the last time was with my community again.

Another new thing is a visit to Greece! OMG! It was like a dream! Greece was the second country I want to visit the most after Italy. I’ve visited Italy twice and I haven’t been satisfied. I mean, I was very happy every time I visited Italy, but there are still so many place in Italy that I still need to visit. But I’ve visited Italy as I’ve always wanted. And in 2015, finally I’ve visited Greece as I’ve always wanted! The goals were visiting Japan and Greece. But well, of course I wanted to go to Greece more than Japan. No offense. It’s just personal taste. I love anything European more than anything American or Asian.

I went there with my family. I haven’t been to Europe in 2 years. So I was very happy when after all the dramas and the nightmare, we still went to Greece anyway. I went there with my parents and my sister. We went to Delphi, Athens, and Santorini. Both are very different places, both are great! The view in Delphi and Santorini were awesome! The temples and museums in Athens were awesome! The foods were great! The people were very, very nice, friendly, and helpful! The language… oh! Lovely! But, the best part is seeing my family happy. They look very, very happy. It was the best family trip I’ve ever had so far. I wish my brother was there tho’.

About my brother, and also my sister, great new things also happened to them in 2015. Finally my sister got a better job with better income, environment, and new experience in the job. So proud of you, sister! And my brother, finally he finished his own house! He started to live there in June or July 2015 I think. And the second great thing for him is, finally my parents gave him their permission to get married with his lovely girlfriend! We are all very happy! I mean, my brother really has a great taste in women. His girlfriend is totally a perfect wife-material! And we are already like a family. So I’m happy with them that finally they can get married. I don’t wanna talk too much about it tho’. I just wish everything goes well.

Speaking of getting married, one of my closest cousin also got married last year! OMG I’m so happy! They live in their own house, so, with their house and my brother’s house, we are now able to hang out till really, really drop! Yeah, before there were houses, we always hang out in café, and it’s either too far from our home town or in our home town but closed before 11 pm. Sucks, I know. With the houses, yeay! We could party all night!

Seriously! Last year was full of celebrations and happy moments with my family and friends! We had a perfect little Halloween party at my brother’s house, sleep over at my cousin’s house, BBQ party at my cousin’s house, Christmas party at my brother’s house, lots of birthday surprises and birthday celebrations, lots of sweet escapes, new places to visit, and the last one was the new year’s eve! I was very upset because I thought I wouldn’t celebrate with my family. My parents were still in Jogja since before Christmas. But it turned out that we celebrated together! My parents weren’t there, but I was with the Halloween team minus my BFF. Damn! 2015 was crazy! Especially with my family and my business community.

Now, what I want to achieve in 2016 are:

1) Finish writing a book and at least 5 short stories. I meant to make a short stories collection with the Great War as the setting. I was obsessed with the Great War because it has became very underrated since the Second World War started. Look at all those movie about world war. Almost all of them are about the Second World War. There are even more movies about the third world war than the Great War. So, yeah, gonna need lots and lots of Rudyard Kipling’s. And the book I wanna write, it’s still secret. I’ve told the big idea to some people since two years ago, but haven’t really start to write it.

2) I wanna paint something: something that means a lot to me, something that will make me feel totally satisfied when I finish it. I already have some ideas in mind.

3) I wanna have income 12 times higher than what I have now. I wanna pay for everything in the house, be the backbone of my family, taking care of my family.

4) I wanna visit Italy again. This time I wanna go to La Spezia, Firenze, Siena, Roma, and… that incredibly awesome Matera!! Oh God! Just to write this down my heart already pounding! I also wanna visit some other cities in other countries. But the main agenda is visiting Italy again after all these years. I friggin’ miss Italy, my favorite country ever! I speak better Italian then I did on my last visit, so…, yeah, it will be great! And hopefully, I could go with my family again. Actually, I just wanna go together, full team: me, Mom, Dad, my sister, her boyfriend, my brother, and his soon-to-be fiancé. It doesn’t have to be Italy, but I still have to go to Italy, with or without my family.

5) And…, still I wanna speak Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Dutch fluently! Is it possible? Yes it is! Come on! Be optimistic!

There! Those are my new year’s resolutions. Now let’s ride!

Inside Out

Rabu, 19 Agustus 2015

Film terakhir yang kutonton sebelum menulis ini, membuatku berpikir, siapakah di antara kelima emosi, yang paling dominan dalam mengendalikan pikiranku? Kurasa itu si Marah. Kadang aku merasa itu si Takut. Si Jijik juga bisa menjadi sangat kuat. Si Bahagia sangat lemah. Dan ada si Sedih. Si Sedih sangat kuat, namun begitu dibenci oleh keempat temannya.

Si Sedih adalah yang paling jahat. Si Sedih sangat membenci si Bahagia, dan terus membuatnya lemah. Padahal si Bahagia adalah yang paling disukai oleh yang lainnya, si Marah, si Takut, dan si Jijik.

Si Jijik paling merasa jijik terhadap si Sedih. Si Marah paling merasa marah terhadap si Sedih. Si Takut paling takut terhadap si Sedih. Dan si Bahagia, yang tetap bahagia walau terlalu lemah untuk menonjolkan dirinya, tahu bahwa dirinya akan sangat bahagia ketika bisa menyingkirkan si Sedih, jauh ke jurang yang dalam, gelap, dan terlupakan, menghilang bersama memori-memori yang tidak dibutuhkan.

Lalu ada menara-menara. Menara-menara apa saja yang ada di dalam pikiranku, yang membangun kepribadian dan karakter dasarku?

Selama duapuluhsembilan tahun, Menara Keluarga tetap berdiri kokoh, walaupun terus menghadapi gempa bumi dan badai yang sangat dahsyat. Teman-teman dan persahabatan bergabung di dalamnya selama 13 – 14 tahun terakhir.

Menara hobi berdiri tidak kalah kokohnya. Walaupun kokoh, populasi di menara ini sudah terlalu jauh melebihi kapasitas, sehingga hobi-hobi yang berada di dalamnya tidak pernah berhenti berperang untuk mempertahankan diri masing-masing. Pemimpinnya adalah hobi menulis, yang tidak tergeserkan dari tahta selama 24 tahun. Hobi menggambar, walaupun sudah lebih dulu berada di sana, tidak sekuat hobi menulis, karena kadang ia kehilangan tempatnya. Hobi-hobi lainnya memenuhi menara bagaikan penumpang commuter line menuju pusat kota di tengah-tengah jam berangkat kerja.

Para hobi itu saling rebut, saling dorong, saling desak, saling menjatuhkan. Namun hanya sedikit dari mereka yang benar-benar jatuh ke jurang. Kebanyakan hobi yang terlempar dari menara mencengkram dinding jurang dengan begitu kuat, dan segera memanjat naik, kembali ke menara. Kalaupun mereka jatuh sampai ke dasar jurang, beberapa hobi memiliki ukuran yang cukup besar untuk memanjat dinding kembali ke menara dengan mudah. Ketika sedang berusaha memanjat, seringkali hobi-hobi itu menggoyahkan menara-menara lainnya.

Dan akhirnya, karena satu menara tidak cukup lagi untuk menampung populasi hobi, para hobi itu keluar dan menaklukkan menara-menara lainnya, hingga akhirnya, dari kelima menara, para hobi menempati empat menara, bercokol dengan gagahnya mengepung menara Keluarga dan Teman.

Penghuni ketiga menara yang telah direbut sudah dijatuhkan ke dasar jurang untuk dilupakan selama-lamanya, sehingga aku tidak ingat lagi, apa dan siapa sajakah mereka.

Kereta-kereta yang mengantarkan pemikiran datang dari berbagai stasiun, tanpa aturan, saling bertabrakan, dan menyebabkan kekacauan di ruang kendali, sementara para pengendali sedang berkomplot untuk membunuh si Sedih. Keadaan begitu kacau. Bohlam ide yang berbeda-beda dipasang dan dicopot dengan begitu cepat, bahkan sebelum satupun dari ide-ide itu terlaksana.

Bahagia itu Sederhana: Sebuah Kondisi Ideal untuk Menulis

Rabu, 19 Agustus 2015

Kondisi yang sangat ideal bagiku adalah, saat aku memiliki uang, waktu, dan tenaga yang tidak ada habisnya. Aku akan duduk di balkon rumahku yang menghadap ke laut, atau danau, atau sawah, apapun. Pemandangan alam apapun yang indah. Tidak penting apakah rumahku besar atau kecil, mewah atau sederhana, selama pemandangan di sekitarnya begitu asri, alami, tenang, jauh dari kebisingan kota, jauh dari manusia.

Di mejaku terdapat sebuah notebook dalam kondisi yang sangat bagus, dengan memory tidak terbatas, dan koneksi internet tercepat tanpa batas. Di sebelah meja, sebuah lemari pendingin berisi kaleng-kaleng minuman kopi bersoda, rootbeer, dan bir manis tanpa alkohol. Berbagai macam cemilan juga sudah tersedia, kalau sewaktu-waktu aku merasa lapar di tengah-tengah keasyikan menulis. Aneka keju, zaitun hitam dari italia dan yunani, salmon mentah, agar-agar bening dan kenyal rasa buah-buahan, rumput laut kering, semua makanan enak yang kusuka dalam jumlah persediaan yang seolah tiada habisnya. Dan tentu saja botol-botol berisi air mineral di atas lemari pendingin, karena aku tidak pernah suka air mineral dingin. Semua itu ada dalam jangkauanku, sehingga aku tidak perlu berdiri untuk meraih mereka kapanpun aku mau.

Di kolong kursi dan meja yang kududuki, seekor anjing menemaniku, tertidur dengan bahagia, menempel di kakiku. Anjing itu besar, kuat, dan lincah. Namun, di siang hari yang cerah dan berangin seperti itu, anjing paling lincah sekalipun akan memilih untuk tertidur manis di kaki tuannya. Ya, anjing, satu atau lebih. Tidak seperti anak kecil, semakin banyak anjing, aku akan semakin senang. Yah, selama ada pengurus anjing tentunya.

Di dalam kondisi yang sangat ideal itu, aku mungkin justru akan kesulitan untuk fokus pada kegiatanku menulis, karena kegiatanku terus berganti dari makan, minum, melihat pemandangan, dan menjatuhkan diri ke kolong meja untuk berbaring malas di samping si anjing, atau anjing-anjing. Tapi itu tidak akan jadi masalah, karena aku punya seluruh waktu di dunia untuk menyelesaikan tulisanku.

I Just Wanna Thank God

My condition today

The negative side of me is really, really, really upset and angry.

I was supposed to still be happy about my vacation, writing about it, telling everyone about my story, but I have to deal with the police instead. I was supposed to plan my next vacation trip to Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, anywhere good, but now I don’t know if I would be able to go, because I had to pay my father back. My father was supposed to fill his apartment, but the money has been used for our vacation instead, because the money for our vacation has been stolen.

And after a beautiful days in paradise, now I have to be back in this shit hole, full of shitty people. Only shit people everywhere. And guess what! Now I don’t have a maid! She’s gone!

But you know, I’m so lucky. The reason I’ve been unhappy is actually because I’ve refused to accept that I’m lucky and my life is so much better than most people. I mean, look at my family, look at my life, look at me. I have a wonderful family.

My mom and dad are still here, and they are the best parents in the world. They raise their children very well, with love and responsibility. How many people out there have lost their parents? How many people out there, even have never met their parents? How many people out there are coming from broken home family? How many parents out there got divorce?

I have a sister and a brother, so I know how it feels to have both female and male sibling. They are the best brother and sister. My family is always happy and we love each other. All we ever have to deal is just a little ridiculous family drama. And we have a dog, also the best dog anyone can have. He’s so funny, smart, loyal, and of course love us very much.

I live in a more than proper house. We have a very comfortable and homey house with friendly neighborhood. We live in a peaceful environment.

Me and my siblings finished our school and get a good jobs with good income, and we start to enjoy our life as a real adult. We’re healthy, young, and happy. We can go anywhere we want, do anything we want, because we have the money, the health, and the time.

Maybe our money has been stolen. But we’ve been to Italy, France, Greece, Netherlands, Switzerland, and so much more beautiful countries. Most people don’t have that opportunity.

And I haven’t mentioned my friends. I have so many close friends, and I love them all. They love me, they care about me, they enjoy my companion as I enjoy theirs. I’m so lucky to have everything in this world. So, I just want to thank God for giving me this perfect life. I have nothing to complain about.

I just need to do something with all I have, and do something to share my happiness with the ones don’t have the same opportunity as I do.

So, I will work very hard, with joy and happiness, and positive attitude. And when it’s time, I’ll make my family and friends happy. I’ll help people. I’ll protect the animals and environment. I’ve been spending most of my life thinking about myself. It’s time to think about other people too.

Oh and of course... when it's time... I'll leave Indonesia and go to live in Italy for good!

Las Chillin' Morning in This Very Balcony

Friday, May 22, 2015

This would be my last chillin' morning here.

I start to get used to this kinda morning. This is what I've been doing for the last three days. Waking up at 6, which can only happens because that means 10 am in Jakarta and I'm still having jetlag. So yeah, jetlag is good for me.

Mom, dad, and my sister are always still sleeping. So I can really enjoy a brief moment of silent and calmness. I just get out of our bedroom and go to the balcony. The air is really fresh, the view is really nice, and the sky is showing beautiful sunrise.

So I just sit here, watching the sunrise, looking around. Each minute the city below is getting busier and busier. Cars and motorbikes passing, people walking, some of them are running. I'm clearly not staying in the best part of this city, but this is still a nice scene. This is what a "good morning" literally means.

So I just sit and watch. And write my blog while I can think clearly. If I smoke, I might have been enjoying a cigar or two here. But I don't.

This morning the sky looks kinda pale. I think it's going to rain soon. Yesterday and the day before, the sun was shining really bright. The air was warm. But this one I'm enjoying now, is still a nice morning.

So this would be our last day in Athens before we go to the famous Santorini. Thing about european city is, it is really easy to get used to live in the city. Just like when I visited Holland and Milan,  at the very first time of course everything still confuses me. But the second time and after, I already feel like home. I know exactly where the nearest station is, I know how to reach the place I want to visit, I know where to buy food and water, I just get used to my routine. And I'm gonna miss it so much when I leave.

Okay, it's 7.20 now, Greece time. The other days, it was really sunny at this time. But I won't say this is not my day. Because I'm gonna make the best of my last day in Athens. And by last day, I mean last day before Santorini. Because after that I'll be back to Athens to catch my flight back to Jakarta. And I really wish I could visit Athens again and again in the years ahead.

Kalimera!

Kalimera!

Monday, May 18, 2015

So here I am, finally in Greece, after all the dramas.

On Sunday, May 17, my sister and I left home at 4 pm, her boyfriend took us to the airport. Our plane took off at 8.30 West Indo Time. It was our first time going to Europe in economy class. I thought it would be unpleasant, but it turned out to be a really fine experience. Everyone was so nice to us. The check-in counter guy gave us seats in an empty row near the business class. There were four seats in the row, but the other two were empty, so we had an entire row for us. We could sleep almost properly. The food was nice too. So many cheeses, salmon, and olives: my three most favorite foods!

After a twelve hours flight, we landed in Istanbul, Turkey. My sister got transferred to Athens real soon. Her plane left Istanbul right away. But mine was still 6 hours after. So for 5 hours I gotta wait there.

It was an interesting five hours btw.

I brought a book to read while waiting. It was a classic lit, "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens. I finished it in no time, so the next few hours I just sat there and watched people.

I really love being in an international airport. I really enjoy watching those people. I just sit there and watch them, observe them, their look, the characters of their faces, their colors, the way they dress.

Most Turkish women have strong mediteran faces: big, deep eyes, very thin eyebrows, long eye lashes, sharp chin, full lips, and the noses are thin, sharp, rather big compared to indonesian, but smaller than most european people. They have fair skin, but some have darker skin. Some have dark hair, some are blond or very light brown. They're very beautiful.

The men are rather attractive, maybe for the Indonesian eye, Indonesian taste: tall, white, deep eyes, thick eyebrows, long eyelashes up and under their big eyes, sharp nose, and they all have nice smiles. Most of them have lots of facial hair.

I also tried to guess where the other beautiful people come from. There's a group of asian tourists. Of course it's easy to tell that they are asians. They have asian eyes, asian skin, asian hair, and dress the asian way. Japanese people have softer faces, proper noses, small lips, and are very cute-looking. Their style is simple yet effortlessly fashionable. I saw that Japanese girl with a long black skirt, t-shirt, cardigan, and unique kinda keds with big ribbon.

Anyway, there is too much to tell you in words. I'll post some pictures later, when I get my laptop. Point is, they're all beautiful. They're all very good looking and fashionable. I feel like I was browsing Pinterest.

It's all beautiful to see. I sat and made sketches of some of them. Then my phone was outta battery, so I needed to recharge. I looked for a stop contact to connect with my charger. I could recharge my battery in Starbucks. But it meant I had to sit and buy something. So I ordered some drinks. I was about to pay with a sheet of 50 euro.

Be continued

Very nice starbucks guy, very nice old man from cape town, he's traveling, to israel. Very nice young man, samir from egypt, leaving for manchester, works and lives at leeds. Very beautiful young girl, mazzeo daiana, from argentina, she went to visit myconos with her mom. She's very smart and n

The Istanbul airport experience.Most interesting seven hours of waiting.Arrived at Athens at 1 pm.Bought mineral water and some snack, the cashier guy seemed so surprised when I said, “Eucharisto!”First he looked so surprised, and then he looked so happy, and with a big smile, put his hand on his chest and said loudly, “Paragalo!”He seemed surprised that I said thank you in his language. I was really surprised to see him surprised. And later I learned that everytime I said “Eucharisto” to the Greeks I met, they all have the same reaction: surprised, happy, say “paragalo” with all their hearts. Oh I really love the Greeks!I didn’t know how impressing saying “Eucharisto” was. It was just thank you. I know that in most European countries, or maybe in most countries, when a tourist said “Thank you” in the country’s language, it was nothing special. Everybody, I’m sure, every tourist, can say standard phrases like “Thank you”, “Excuse me”, “Good morning” in the language spoken by the country they’re visiting.When I traveled to Milan, Venice, Genoa, Pisa, they didn’t look so surprised when I said “Grazie mille” or “Buongiorno” or “Scusi” or “Buona notte” or any standard phrases. They didn’t seemed surprised either when I could have some daily conversation. I’m pretty fluent in Italian.But the Greeks… oh my God. They’re so humble and adorable.