The Initial Post

Hiya there! What’s up? 

This year life is running even faster than before! Lots of things happened since the last time I posted an entry on this space, and for the sake of giving a background, I'm going to disclose some information before posting other contents.

First and foremost, I’m now unemployed. I ended my 3.5 tenure at the World Agroforestry Centre on October 30^th. Approximately I’ve been without job for 3 months and so far, I’m [still] enjoying it. I’ve been pretty much busy during my recess, specifically because I got a wedding to prepare! Yes, I got married last November, and I intentionally resigned from my post a month before the big day so I can take care of it. 

The Mayo Experience

Mayo diet is perhaps one of the most happening subject since last year. Thanks to social media, the exposure on the issue has been very intense that everybody’s trying it. Everyone’s also buzzing about how it can help you to lose weight in only 13 days. At the same time, people praise it as an effective way to do detoxification, as the diet minimizes carbo and salt intake, whereas requires the person who does it to drink lots of water.

In the past months I’ve seen friends posted their healthy lunch and dinner menu on social media and put #mayodiet hashtag on it. I’ve also noticed specially that there’s been exponential growth of caterers that specialized in healthy meals, including serving the mayo diet. Being a curious person, I have to admit that all those things got me. Besides, I’ve got one fundamental thing that eventually made me give the diet a go: my snacking habit.

First Day in the Netherlands

One grey morning

 So last year I applied for an NFP scholarship to attend a course at RNTC, Hilversum, The Netherlands.

Long story short, my scholarship application was accepted, and here I am, just went through the first week of my stay.

I arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday, May 8th. My flight was set on the previous day with a transit to Kuala Lumpur, before heading to the capital of the Netherlands. 

It was the longest flight I’ve had and it was my first journey to Europe.  I feel ecstatic despite the fact that I know it’s going to be exhausting.

Tentang Kembali ke Sekolah (Bagian 3 - Selesai)

Wawancara (lagi)

Sebulan setelahnya, sebuah email dari Australia Award meniupkan nafas baru untuk kantung harapan saya. Saya, bersama 911 kandidat lainnya, diundang untuk menghadiri wawancara guna memperebutkan 440 beasiswa dari pemerintah Australia. Tidak hanya itu saja, kami juga diundang untuk…. tes IELTS.

Ya Tuhan, not again pleaseeee. Jujur saya agak keder untuk tes IELTS lagi, karena susahnya itu lho T_T.  Anyway, wawancara dan tes IELTS akan dilakukan di awal Januari 2015, dan saya mendapat jatah interview di Makassar.

Tentang Kembali ke Sekolah (Bagian 2)

Akhirnya setelah berpikir sana dan sini, di awal 2013 saya memutuskan: bahwa saya mau sekolah lagi dan ambil jurusan komunikasi atau development practice, di luar negeri, dan harus dengan beasiswa. Harus dengan beasiswa. Sekali lagi, harus dengan beasiswa. Because I can’t afford it if I have to pay it myself and neither my parents.

Ok. langkah pertama adalah punya sertifikasi kemampuan bahasa Inggris. Jujur, saya ngga pernah tes TOEFL atau IELTS sebelumnya, jadi saya bener-bener ngga ngerti prosesnya. However, setelah cari-cari info, akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk ambil tes IELTS, karena diterima di mana saja, walaupun harganya mahal. Selain itu, sedari SMA dulu, saya sudah lebih familiar dengan sistem English kiblat Inggris daripada Amerika.

Sebelum tes, walau sudah punya buku IELTS,  saya tetap memutuskan untuk les intensif di IDP dulu. Ngga pede nih ceritanya, soalnya denger-denger, tesnya tuh susye bener. Juga, investasi biaya tes 2.2 juta akan terasa sia-sia jika hasilnya jelek. Rugi bandar dong.

Tentang Kembali ke Sekolah (Bagian 1)

Dari jaman saya masih kerja di advertising, bapak saya selalu mendorong saya untuk sekolah lagi. Kalau dia kepengennya saya sekolah bisnis, lalu kerja di client side, supaya ilmunya terpakai

 dengan baik. Akan tetapi saya selalu berkeras dan menolak ide tersebut. Bukannya apa-apa, saya ngga merasa fit di bidang advertising, terlebih bisnis. Entah kenapa feeling saya menolaknya, walau memang secara logis, kuliah bisnis akan bermanfaat kalau saya mau berkarir di bidang advertising dan marketing.

Tapi masa sih saya kuliah ambil program yang ngga diapproved oleh hati saya? Itu mah mengkhianati diri dong. Di saat itu, saya lagi santer-santernya bertanya ke diri sendiri tentang karir: Apakah bidang yang saya pilih sudah benar? Apakah advertising memang jalan hidup saya? Apakah saya mau kerja di advertising sampai tua nanti? Semakin saya bertanya, semakin saya galau.

Clean Eating Diet

I'm committing myself to a ten-day clean eating program starting a week from now.

Currently, I'm reading an email about the menu details my purveyor just sent me and I gotta  tell ya that I'm drooling already! I'm feeling very excited too, that I really cannot wait to start the diet!

Frankly speaking, I don't expect to lose weight. However, I hope the diet will help me to better manage my meal consumption in the future.

I will keep you posted on how my body and mood react to the dramatic change :)

All for now.

Chapter Thirty One

Ola! I turned 31 today.
Spent my day mostly in the village where phone signal is non-existent that I only received abundant of wonderful wishes as soon I reached the city this afternoon. Those wishes and prayers made me feel so special and I am blessed to have you guys in my life. Thank you :)

Last night I got an early wish from my nephew who congratulated me for having a birthday the next day. I smiled ear to ear reading the text because it is cute yet so kind.

Earlier today I also received a birthday wish from Mas Jujur Prananto, whom I only met once but ended up communicate pretty constantly until now. It amazes me still, how an instant encounter would lead to years of friendship.

If I may say, being 31 is a blessing, that the Almighty is kind enough to allow me to breathe the air. Yet it is also an alert, to take a better care of myself, to be more focus, and to live more responsibly, as my lifespan is now has shortened a year.

There is no candle blowing ritual, nor festive celebration, nor birthday dinner tonight, just a simple frozen yoghurt and a cup of latte treat for myself. 

Just me and myself. Thinking and thanking.

Happy birthday to me.

A Rough Start

It's a challenging start for 2015 for me, as I am now lying in my bed with a giant-hammer-being-smashed-onto-my-head-like headache. I have also been experiencing fluctuating fever for 3 days in a row. Last night it got worse because I woke up with a severe headache and muscle pain. Before things get even worse, I rushed myself to the ER this morning and got my blood tested.

I Am Going to the Netherlands!

Received this good news a couple of days ago, and until now I still can’t believe it.

A two-week fellowship next year at the world-famous training centre, in a beautiful media city of Hilversum in the Netherlands, gee am I dreaming or what? 

Totally beyond happy.

Thank you Lord for your blessings. 

Alhamdulillah. 

Nine Things I love About Makassar

 

Desember ini genap sudah 26 bulan saya menetap di Makassar. 

Buat saya, Makassar itu spesial, karena selain merupakan tempat ibu saya dibesarkan, di sinilah saya pertama kalinya tinggal sendiri selama lebih dari setahun dan merasa ‘kerasan’.

Makassar memang bukan kota perantauan saya yang pertama. Tahun 2011 saya pindah dari Jakarta ke Jayapura, Papua untuk bekerja di sebuah NGO di sana. Di Jayapura, saya merasa betah, karena walau fasilitas kotanya sederhana, tapi di sana saya di kelilingi teman-teman yang seperti saudara sendiri. Sayangnya, saya hanya berkesempatan tinggal di Jayapura selama 9 bulan dikarenakan daur project yang telah usai.

Getting Ready for the Magical Voyage: Japan Trip Preps

Last year, my best bud Rizki Yogaswara  and I made a crazy plan to visit our best friend, Hari Wicaksono (Pengki) who were at that time resided in Osaka, Japan. The idea just occurred and we thought that it would be great to pay him a visit before his official duty ends and he returns to Jakarta. What we have in mind was, by having our pal in Osaka, we would be able to experience the city in a local resident way!

At the beginning I thought the plan was just going to be another ‘soon to be forgotten’, yet apparently Yogas and I took this seriously and put it in our priority.

Home at Last...

Guess what? Besok saya akan ke Gorontalo!

Well well, akhirnya kesampaian juga pulang ke kampung ibu saya, walau judulnya untuk didera pekerjaan.

Sungguhan selama 30 tahun ini saya belum pernah menginjakkan kaki di daerah asal keluarga si mama. Dari dulu selalu berangan-angan agar suatu saat bisa berkunjung ke sana. Dan besok Insya Allah mimpi saya akan terwujud.

My job has brought me to many unfamiliar, foreign places. Yet it also brings me back home.

Alhamdulillah.

Tentang Memilih

Hari ini 9 April 2014, seluruh rakyat Indonesia melaksanakan pemilihan umum legislatif.  

Saya ucapkan selamat kepada teman-teman semua dan juga selamat menukar si jari kelingking bertinta dengan kopi gratis, makanan gratis, berbagai discount, dan segala promo yang melimpah!

Rasa-rasanya baru tahun ini saya ngerasain 'milih' menjadi sesuatu yang penting. Dulu setahu saya hanya Starbucks yang menawarkan kopi gratis bagi yang milih. Tapi tahun ini, asli banyak banget promo yang diberikan buat yang milih, jadi kayaknya hari ini bisa dijadikan hari khusus untuk redeem promo ya. Kalau pintar-pintar, bisa dapat banyak gratisan dan discount banget nih :)

Personally saya seneng karena secara ngga langsung promo-promo ini jadi mempromote orang untuk 'milih' atau 'nyoblos', mengappreciate orang yang milih,  bikin milih jadi trend, dan memicu munculnya persepsi 'kalau ngga milih ngga keren' di kalangan anak muda, which for me, is very good. 

Happy CNY

 

Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Makassar by visiting a colleague's house and had a bowl of delicious mie panjang umur with a touch of pink-colored egg.

And yes, I received my first ever angpao!

So without further ado, let me wish you a very happy Chinese new year!

Let's ride, thrive and be prosper in the year of the horse!

Turning Thirty

I turned thirty today.

For me, thirty equals with more responsibilities. It also insinuates that I am a decade closer to retirement, which means it is time to evaluate not only my saving and investment plan, but also my life plan. But hmm, do I have one?

However, we live in the cruel world that is obsessed with youth and beauty. Women get tremendous pressure as they age. For the singleton and the-married-without-kids, we are constantly being reminded that when we hit thirty, the likelihood to get pregnant decreases evidently. You are not as fertile as you are in the 20s although you might be better in bed.

Aloha Tanjung Bira

 

My best friend Fachril has never been to Eastern Indonesia. As a beach lover, he realizes most of beautiful beaches that would make him go crazy are located in the eastern part of the country. He also understands very well that he needs a getaway to freshen up from his demanding job.

One day he decided to book  a return ticket to Makassar. His intention was clear: to visit  Tanjung Bira beach. He made the call after I lured him with pictures of the clear blue water and pristine sandy beach of Bira.

***

2014

The best is yet to come.

Happy new year 2014!

Visiting the Headquarter

Three years ago, while strolling down the corniche in the beautiful city of Alexandria during an office treat, I silently whispered a prayer, to be given chance to set my feet in Africa again. Never crossed in mind that the dream would eventually come true. 

***

It was a usual busy day at the office when I received news that I, along with tens of my colleagues, will be going to Nairobi to attend the office’s annual Science Week.

I pinched myself and realized this wasn’t a dream.

Documenting a Project: An Experience in Sulawesi

The pretty landscape of Bantaeng

 Something I wrote for the project's blog. 

The project that I'm currently involved in, operates  in South and Southeast Sulawesi provinces in Indonesia. A few months ago, I was given the chance to revisit the project areas in both provinces. The objective of my trip was to document the accomplishments the project have made. In order to fulfill the task, I was accompanied by two videographers from Jakarta. Together, we drove from Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi for three hours to  Bantaeng, passing through the flat lands of Gowa and Jeneponto districts, traditional stilt houses, shrimp farmings and hectares of paddy fields. The plan was simple: to go to districts and interview first-hand sources such as farmers, representative of government agency and partner organization. Yet apparently, the simple mission may not be as simple as it seemed in the first place.