Today is April 1.
A nice day to…
including this hilarious video.
celebrate 50 years of the Beatles. Cost only about IDR 55.000, worth every penny.
find out the newest truth about Titanic.
And to just have fun.
On Fuel Price Hike
Do you ever think why Jakarta got jammed every day? Got counts on the number of personal vehicle dancing towards town? Or do you already lost count, like mine? For people already experiencing Jakarta for years, it is a need to own a personal vehicle because the public transportation that supposed to help us doesn’t give any hope. The high number of criminalities and the heat got the most of it, I do realize that having a personal vehicle to facilitate your activities would make the travel more convenience. You don’t have to deal with the insanity of angkot driver who will do, basically, anything to achieve his wants. Stop his vehicle everywhere he wants, or driving like there is no tomorrow. You don’t have to deal with the impossible queue at TransJakarta or what sorcery that made people who stand behind us already got the bus ahead.
The vast growing technology supposed to help us to have a better life, but along the way, got mixed up with consumerism. The price of having a personal vehicle increased each and every day, yet the demand got higher. The city planner/developer/government (or whoever I don’t know) see the chances even clearer. They support this act by building more highways. Hiding behind the reason ‘the solution to traffic is to build more roads’, they gave more tangled problems by encouraging people to buy more vehicle. The result? Look around for yourself.
By April 1, 2012 Indonesian government planned to raise the price of petrol fuel prices. Thus they said that subsidiary of fuel prices will be diverted to build more infrastructure and fund the education/health projects. Or so they said. The demonstration to prevent the act risen up. In fact, the debate and pro-cons have been happen all month. One of the infamous debates took place on Metro TV. Some might say, it just political matters. Some say, it is time to bring down the president that he doesn’t take side with the citizen anymore.
In my opinion, I support the raise of petrol fuel prices. The mean fact is, if you can’t afford it, just don’t buy it. Many personal vehicle use subsidized fuel to accommodate their fuel needs, while subsidized fuel basically aimed for low income communities. But it is a core problem also to provide fuel with different prices (subsidized and non-subsidized) in same place without running any authority. Indonesia is the country where chances are being dug and slipped. It is just a common instinct to buy cheaper stuff where no one telling us the rule. Admit it, Indonesia is not ready to be a country to run by such morale and awareness. (For more interesting information, you can read the timeline of @MuhammadAssad and @gm_gm with hashtag #BBM)
dive in
The thing about learning how to dive, is trying to understand the breath of the sea. And how deep you want to be swallowed by darkness.
Thank you, for staying.
Manis
In fact, I never wrote anything about my year of being Fungsionaris LFM 2009/2010 here. I wrote some draft, which becomes unfinished, until now. I guess it’s hard to describe something that you don’t know what the name of the feeling is. This is just me, being speechless. As today, I write new piece that successfully drove my tears (again).
My year becoming Fungsionaris had a rocky start to begin with. I became resistant to anyone. So as a year passing by, many tears flew down and I remember yelling at people. But it all paid off in the end, as another tears shed, I remember hugging and holding hands with each other. I remember the How I Met Your Mother-esque video. I remember being happy.
About being Manajer Pendidikan, more than indescribable (is that even a word?). Mixed feelings, some mostly about being happy. Having people to care about is always such a wonderful feeling. Not to mention I had a marvelous teammates of Tim Pendidikan 09/10 ♥ (dearest Dinoy, Sabar, Farin, Keni, Nana, and Icha). I can hardly forget our daily laugh was, and our regular meeting. I remember giving them chocolates). I remember eating sushi and the laugh on the night talk after that. I remember hugging you back then at Kongres, the feeling still giving me chills by remembering it.
After that, I got songs for my graduation. A Sheila on 7, my favorite one. From dearest Cakru 2009 ♥. I warn you, the feeling becoming a Manajer Pendidikan as a fungsionaris is hardly compare to anything, it is too wonderful. I got more than 6 dozens of children, who I will remember as a product of dreams. And mostly, my dreams. I poured so much love to them that as seeing them right now is such a pride, that they’re grow up too great to be true.
About being a Fungsionaris, I used to see the miniature of the world. Being a fungsionaris is never about being a leader nor the manager, not about being able to be multi tasking. It is way above those things. It is about learning and giving, about growing up, about being a bigger person. I did learn my lesson back there. To stay true to yourself, to trust people, to laugh about bad days, to let loose.
Then, I happened to have another eleven people to enter my life. Eleven partner in crime, which turns out today being “people who I always missed”. You know, I’m not the type of person who likes to bluff about friendship. I don’t like calling people “my second family”, calling sweet names, having dress-code, or being overrated about the stereotypes of friendship. I think each and every friendship doesn’t need to be defined, because there will be no name for it. It just simply a group of people who comfortable with each other and risking their trust to share some feeling. And if you feel like not sharing, then it is fine. There is no exact rule about it, there is no “Bro Code” of it. It’s like the kind of thing I’ve been searching all my life.
sehabis Kongres, ketika mata merah, perut belum buncit, dan rambut masih gondrong
So, I’m glad to meet you all. The kind and caring Mangasi, the extremely cool and brainy Insan, the sweetheart hipster Sella, the awesome tough girl Ayu, the adoring high achiever Vina, the oddly surprising guy Ijul, the marvelously funny (and the one who-you-definitely-want-to-call-first-if-emergency-occurs) Alvin, the stylish mood-maker Angga, the wise and pluffy (soon-to-be-president) Lukman, the amazing hyperactive Bravo, and the brilliant muscle Praba. It was and always be an honor to have you all filling my days.
sehabis wisuda, ketika cantik-cantik dan ganteng-ganteng
This story is just another ordinary one when you compared to Puty’s or Kevin’s that I just read a while ago. But that was that, I could never have written all of my feelings because there was too much of it. It took me years to write such ‘short’ passages, because, like I said, it is hard to write something that doesn’t have a name. Now that I will finish this passage, I want to say thank you (to everyone and everything) for leaving warmth in my heart.
PS: For dearest Fungsionaris 2012/2013 ♥, enjoy the ride and feel that rhythms, you won’t understand the feelings until you get to the end. And I assure you, it is marvelous ;)
Special congratulation goes to Angga and Praba, who will be graduated this April. Gentlemen, you’ve done a great job.
Extra special love goes to Ayu ♥. This too shall pass, dear. I know you can do it. Do give us an awesome amazing closing ceremony :)
late night radio broadcast #2
This is still a late-night radio broadcast.
It’s still past midnight, and we’re still here to make you feel better.
How do you describe pain, one of you had asked through our inbox.
Oh, this is a funny one.
Pain is the ultimate proof that we are alive.
It is hard to see one suffer, especially in a traumatic one.
I’m not sure if pain can be shared.
It won’t be, in every single way.
It can be ease in such a hard way, but I don’t think it can be shared.
It is a journey and a battle against time and mind, that one should pass.
To hate is such a terrible act of parting, such a terrible way of beating the pain.
This is such a pity, to leave everyone brokenhearted.
I once experienced it, you might too.
And probably someone over the roof miles away from us too.
That is why we’re here, on the same wavelength.
Crying the same song we’ve known so long.
So, here’s one for you.
This is the first song and after this, we’ll be calling someone.
You might know him and all of his belongs.
He feels the pain, more or the same with us.
It might be you, so don’t put your phone on hold.
We caused so much agony.
We can’t seem to move ahead.
This is such a pity.
We should give all our love to each other.
Not this hate that destroys us.
This is such a pity.