Time Flies (6 years have passed)

Six years have passed, so many things happen without recorded here, only recorded in my mind, and also recorded in my social media. Updating status in social media has been so much fun that makes my mood to update this journey in blogs ruined :lol:

Last time I posted here, it was 2009, when I was in Bali -the perfect place for running away- and wounded. Now, I live in Bandung -one of cities that I dream to live in- since November 2012, along with some changes in my life.

I finally gained my master degree after taking opportunity in the end of 2009, and having a bloody way to finish it in middle of 2013. I had wonderful time in Bali, but along with the great lost of my big brother who passed away in November 2010. This year, there was another great lost, my father passed away while I haven't got a chance to make him proud of my life.

Why did I move to Bandung if I had wonderful life there? Well, these are some reasons of moving here, that I have never shared publicly before:

• I need a new fresh atmosphere. Three wonderful years of living in Bali was never enough, but it was sufficient to try a new place. Besides that, I had opportunity to live in one of cities that I dream to live in, so I won't let the opportunity gone for nothing :-)
• I can more often visit my family in Cibubur, because normally it only takes 3-5 hours trip. The trip itself is also cheaper rather than Bali-Jakarta trip. I can use train, bus, shuttle car (travel), etc. so it will be easier for me to visit them.
• I can easier reach my campus -University of Indonesia- either in Jakarta or Depok, so I can finish my study easier than I was still in Bali. Indeed, I have graduated in 2013.
• There was someone who I would like to meet here (not a guy of course) :-) However, things didn't happen as I wished.

Now, it is almost three years I stay here, almost three years I stay in one city. Maybe, it is time to continue the journey, as most of the reasons for moving here have already accomplished or no longer valid. Well, we'll see, I still want to live here longer, and now I still look for the reason for stay.

Sebuah Renungan Tentang Korupsi

Mengikuti (walaupun tidak utuh) cerita negeri ini masa-masa sekarang, yang kelak mungkin akan menjadi dongeng dan legenda buat cicit-cicit kita, akhirnya membawaku pada sebuah renungan, atau lebih tepatnya refleksi dan introspeksi diri.

Kita semua pasti sudah sangat muak dengan permainan korupsi dan manipulasi hukum sampai kita pun dibuat bingung tentang siapa yang benar dan siapa yang salah. Terkadang muncul sumpah serapah kita terhadap orang/pihak yang tidak kita percaya, pihak manapun itu.

Tapi, mungkin kita perlu merenung sejenak tentang diri kita sendiri... Apakah kita sendiri sudah pernah melakukan korupsi? ahh, semoga saja belum dan jangan sampai

• Sudah pernahkah kita.... memalsukan data tahun (atau malah tanggal) kelahiran kita supaya bisa dapat mengurus SIM pertama kita? Kalau sudah gimana caranya memalsukan data itu, kok dulu itu bisa ya?
• Apakah kita dahulu ketika mendapatkan SIM mengikuti prosedur yang lengkap termasuk membayar biaya administrasi? Kita membayar pas atau lebih ketika itu?
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... melanggar aturan lalu lintas (atau ada polisi gebleg yang menyetop kita) dan kita memberikan uang "damai" kepadanya?
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... memiliki KTP ganda? Kalau sudah, dulu gimana caranya ya? Bukannya dari dulu aturan KTP adalah hanya 1 dan kalaupun pindah tempat berarti ada surat pindah?
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... melaporkan ongkos taksi atau bensin kepada kantor dengan angka yang tidak tepat? (bayar 43 ribu lapor 50 ribu misalnya, atau isi bensin 9 ribu dilaporkan 10 ribu)
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... menggunakan telp kantor untuk menelpon orang tua, saudara, pacar, istri/suami, anak kita ketika kita berada di kantor yang tidak memiliki kebijakan pemakaian telp untuk pribadi?
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... memakai internet kantor untuk kepentingan pribadi? Bahkan karena restricted, kita sampai mencari proxy-proxy untuk jalan kita bisa internetan?
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... membeli tanah 'sawah' di daerah lain, padahal daerah tersebut memberi syarat bahwa si pembeli harus memiliki KTP setempat? Padahal kita tetap memegang KTP tempat asal?
• Sudah pernahkah kita.... nitip absen ketika kuliah dulu, saat kita tidak masuk sehingga secara administratif kita tercatat hadir?
• ... de el el ...
  

Kalau belum, alhamdulillah. .. saya pribadi akan mendukung penuh person yang seperti itu jika suatu saat nanti ikut 'audisi' sebagai pimpinan KPK, andaikata KPK masih ada (Catatan: KPK memang bisa dibubarkan apabila memang sudah tidak diperlukan lagi)

Selamat merenung

**artikel diambil dari posting di mailing list Volta98 tanggal 7 November 2009, dengan beberapa penyesuaian, termasuk judul artikel

Earthquake (again).. This Time: Padang

At the end of September 2009, Indonesia was shaken again. An earthquake of 7.6 (in Richter Magnitude Scale) hit Sumatera Barat province (or well-known as West Sumatra), and made huge damages on Padang, Pariaman and places nearby. It was not the first time West Sumatra hit by earthquake. Solok District for example, were hit several times before, and also made damages to that district. However, this earthquake was very terrible because so many people dies, hurt, and losing their family. There were more than 1.100 people counted die in this disaster so far (until this article were published, and it might increase). -according to Kompas.Com-

Why do I make a note for this earthquake? Well, there are several (emotional) reasons behind this writing. Firstly, it reminds me to the earthquake that hit my hometown -Yogyakarta- on the "wonderful" Saturday, 27 May 2006 at around 05:57 in the morning. I still can feel it now... the shaking, the panic, the desperation, felt that I would be losing my parents (who lived with me) at once, felt like facing the death, etc. And after that, I still can remember the feeling of being isolated, no electricity, no news, no phone network, low-bat cellphone battery without electricity to charge it, no fuel and not know where to find, sleeping outside because the house were not safe although it were not so damage. I felt that I had some money, but they were useless :-) After all, I didn't know for how long we have to face that condition. At that time, I remembered the news of tsunami in Aceh, remembered the victims. I just felt like them that time. hufff... That vision is still so obvious until today. Although finally now I know that I still have my parents (because all of us were safe in that disaster), we could find the solution to charge our cellphone's batteries and can contact our family/relatives, few the gas stations operated normally, and some other solutions, but who knew those "blessing" conditions before :-) When I looked around after the earthquake, then I knew that the overall damage was so.. so... so terrible and horrible. So many people died (around 5000 people), many houses and buildings are collapsed. Hospitals were so full of patients and corpses. There were so many funerals, that only attended by the family because their neighbours were also holding funeral for their own families.

The other reason why I wrote this note is because somehow Padang has a special place in my heart. First time I went there because I was assigned by my company at that time to handle some projects. Several times I came to Padang, I found that Padang and also the cities nearby have an exotic landscape, culture and culinary. I even thought and imagined that someday I will have a honeymoon around Padang and Bukittinggi ^_^ ... And there are several reasons that I cannot describe it in words why I feel so close to this city (and the province)

Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raaji'un (Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return). May Allah bless people there in this disaster, I hope that they will recover soon. I pray for people who dies in this disaster will be die as a syahid and their families who still live will be given strength to face and continue this hard life.

**Laa yukallifullaahu nafsan illaa wus'ahaa - Allah will not give any burden unless (He know) we are able to handle it (Al Qur'an 02:286)

**Innallaaha ma 'ash-shaabiriin - Surely Allah is along with patient people (Al Qur'an 02:153)

* My condolence also for victims in earthquake (again) of 7.0 magnitude that hit Sungai Penuh District in Jambi province (1 October 2009 at 08:52)

Between Cyber and Reality

Today I read an article from Kompas.Com "Ibu Saya Bukan Teman Facebook Saya", suddenly I realize that cyber world and real world are different. I don't have any problem in accepting/rejecting my mother or my father to become my friend at Facebook or other social network website (such as Friendster, Twitter, Plurk, etc) because they never use the internet. ::LoL::

After I think about the article again, I found that the main difference between those two world is that real world has limitations because it has dimensions (time, space, distance, etc), while the cyber world those dimensions blur and every relation is flat, no hierarchies, no boundaries. We can avoid our parents while we are with our friends in the real world, for example. But in the cyber world, as long as we both are online (in the same social network in particular) you cannot avoid me hahaha

One more thing about the difference between those worlds, you are appear as you are in the real world while in the cyber world you are covered by a mask called "device" that can be computer, handphone, etc. That makes we often find some people seems have a multiple personality, because they are covered by the mask and comfort with it.

However, --a little bit out of topic-- the cyber world makes room for many introvert people to show up themselves, something that is not easy to be done in the real world. How about the extrovert people? Well, they never have difficulties to show up their existence every where, every way :-)

Makna Cinta? (Again... Oh No...)

Kemarin tiba-tiba ada (lagi) teman mempertanyakan apa itu arti cinta. Waduw... a little bit strange honestly, karena beliau adalah seorang yang harusnya udah beberapa kali merasakan cinta. Harusnya sih, mana kutahu yang sebenarnya hehehe. Jawaban (dari teman-temannya) pun bermacam-macam. Biasalah... cinta selalu memiliki banyak definisi :D

Pertanyaan itu muncul sih biasanya dari orang yang sedang jatuh cinta, dan telah merasakan beberapa cinta yang kandas dengan berbagai alasan dan peristiwa. Hehehe, bener gak sih? Kalau salah ya mohon maaf, mumpung masi di Bulan Syawal :p Daku pun ikut menanggapi, kasih definisi dari Wikipedia, silakan dibaca sendiri pada link ini ya, lagi males copy-paste.

Dan ternyata, jawaban itu belum memuaskan, daku masih ditanyai tentang pendapatku sendiri. Waduh, kalau ditanya dan udah menemukan jawaban dari Wikipedia, pasti itulah yang kupakai haha. Tapi akhirnya aku buat jawaban yang agak berbeda juga

cinta adalah suatu rasa yg unik dimana kita akan merasa rindu padanya ketika jauh, nyaman dengannya ketika dekat, cemburu ketika ada sosok lain yang mendekat padanya

Apakah benar begitu? Well, silakan berdefinisi sendiri. Kata-kata itupun baru kudapat setelah berpikir keras kok :D

Selamat menikmati makna dan rasa cinta

Syawal 1430 H, Sebuah Semangat Baru

Lama sekali tidak menulis, rasanya pikiran dan jari pun sudah terasa kaku. Banyak hal yang terjadi yang tidak sempat tertuang di sini, semua terpendam di otak dan di hati, untuk kemudian hilang ataupun tersimpan rapi di dalam arsip :-)

Baru saja melewati Idul Fitri, dan baru saja melampaui usia 30 dalam hitungan kalender Hijriyah pada 3 Syawal 1430 kemarin. Banyak hal di kepala dan hati, namun terasa terlalu penuh untuk bisa terungkap dengan kata-kata.

Satu tahun berlalu, membuat diri ini semakin menyadari akan sebuah perjalanan hidup. Bahwa kita tidak pernah memiliki apapun, semua datang dan pergi begitu saja, kadang jauh di luar rencana dan harapan. Memang semua adalah milik Allah, pemilik alam semesta ini. Walau bukan berarti lantas kita berhenti berharap dan berencana, dan berusaha tentunya. Di tahun ini pula, merasakan 'semaraknya' Ramadhan di suatu tempat, di mana puasa bukanlah hal utama yang menghiasi denyut nadi tempat ini. Namun itu justru semakin membuatku tersadar, bahwa segala macam ibadah yang dilakukan memang hanya untuk yang membuat kehidupan, bukan untuk dipamerkan ataupun dibanggakan. Di tahun ini pula aku disadarkan untuk ikhlas, ikhlas "kehilangan" beberapa 'pegangan penting', termasuk cita dan cinta, bahkan (hampir) kehilangan harap. - kehilangan dalam tanda kutip, karena sebenarnya tidak ada yang hilang, karena tidak ada yang dimiliki :-)

Apapun itu, kini saatnya untuk bangkit kembali, menata asa dan rencana dengan sesuatu yang baru, sebuah semangat baru, sebuah peningkatan baru, sesuai dengan makna Syawal yang berarti peningkatan.

Selamat merayakan Idul Fitri 1430 H, minal aidin wal faidzin

Kuta, 4 Syawal 1430

**mohon maaf atas segala salah ucap dan laku, segala keputusan dan pilihan yang salah dan segala ragu yang pernah ada

-- no title --

Long time no see... very long time...

For awhile, I don't have spirit to fulfill this blog. So many stories to tell, so many happiness and sadness, so many lessons I've got for almost a year in my journey.

But after this post, I won't to tell about what has happened in the past, but tell about the journey after this, and also launch a category, named "coretan hati" for providing something I feel, although it can be so abstract when it's written.

Just a little information, now I live in Jakarta, moved from Jogja and my old company, with thousands of smiles and tears when I left. Now, here I am, an ordinary person who still find the meaning of life, in my journey... of life