Pagi (2).

Wow! Just wow!

Well, actually not just wow, after almost a year I have nothing posted here I won’t let you guys mock me as a dormant-lazy-bear just because I can only say wow and have a bigger tummy. No. *besides, bears don’t say wow* :p

Okay, here we go. This post would have an almost identical title with my post exactly one year ago. Except it has a numerical index 2. Maybe I will make this an annual habit Every morning (Pagi, Indonesia) on the first of January I will make one post (that may represent the whole post of the year before hehe..). Enough said, now WHY wow? Because wow is now my favorite expression and in 2009 I express it quite often. Wow! *see?*

Last year on the first of January, I woke up early. So did I this morning, except I fell asleep right away after my prayer hehe.. I listen to the whole album of The Corrs right now, not just two-repeated songs over and over until my ears get bored. I have green beans soup (bubur kacang ijo, Indonesia) as breakfast (yet). And the best part is, I have Kopi-susu (coffee with milk) in my bed brought by Via instead of having it in a warkop (coffee stall) like last year. And no, not yet, I only visit her parents home in Jember, I don’t live together with Via yet :p All in all, this morning is much better than last year, so is the post, it’s longer *wow*

So much things in 2009 that make me wow *wow*. Bad things, and good things. Luckily, the latter happens more. Almost all of my goals were achieved, and the rest WILL be achieved in a not-so-distant future. This year begins better, and I’m sure the whole year ahead will be better! *Amen!* SEMANGAT!!!

Peace. Out.

SEMANGAT!!!

Life is not getting any easier for me.

And it won’t be.

Sometimes it just pauses, temporarily. Sometimes it just runs or flies, too fast.

And yet, here I am, still challenging life, or sometimes death, boldly!

–
07.30 – 12.00 @ Goethe Institut
13.00 – 21.00 @ Office
*since Jan 09, everyday but weekend*

Peace. out.

Baby, Here I Come!

I’m on my way to Jember. A fresh morning air, in Surabaya Gubeng Station has given me a new breath after one night journey from Bandung.

Five hours to go. Yatta!

Peace. Out.

Do You Dare?

I know. God balances the whole universe with His own unique way.

I know. He created black and white, as well as man and woman. Positive and negative. {Macs & PCs }. Even particle, has anti-particle.

I know, if we go Newtonian, using the same weight in both sides would result in a balanced equation.

Null.

Does that mean every balancing effort should/would result in a zero equation to satisfy the law? How can we apply the law to our life? Or even before we asked ourself such question, does the law itself applicable to life? If it does, then what is life? I always believed that life is not only a bunch of cells interconnected by neurons with physics, life is way more complicated and more valuable than just mere definitions.

Happiness and Sadness.

If the Newtonian is applicable to life, I don’t think life would even exist. To my believe, life is balanced. Well, at least that’s how I see life. One simple argument is that happiness and sadness would never be balanced using this equation, no matter how we weighted the variable. The fact is, happiness does exist as a counterpart of sadness, and the balance of life is not created by opposing those values face to face. My point is, I don’t think a balanced life could be reached by using Newtonian on happiness and sadness. A balanced life is not created by subtracting happiness by sadness. Because if that so, then life would be meaningless from the start.

Happiness and sadness will always be there, where it belongs. No matter how you chase happiness, sadness will eventually come too. So, what’s more important is how we manage to perceive both in creating a balanced life.

…
…
…

Do you dare, losing away all your happy feeling but losing your sad feeling at the same time?

*I stop. I’m losing my mood. Yet, I still have so many things in my mind, running here and there, unwritten*

**I’m sorry, I wrote this at work, a don’t-try-this-at-work material**

Peace. Out.

We Will Not Go Down (Song For Gaza)

Composed by Michael Heart | website

{download mp3}

A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive

They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right

But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Peace. Out.

Pagi.

Wake up early. Çelik – Bu Kalp Seni Unutur Mu & Julian Cely ft. Terry – Tentang Kita. Kupat Sayur Padang. Kopi Susu @warkop. Ngobrol dengan kawan lama, first met in 2002.

Simply my morning. A quiet, enjoyable morning.

I have my BIG goals in 2009. And it begins deservedly well. SEMANGAT!!!

Update

Anyway, I won a new laptop because of this post: http://angga.gpratama.net/2008/08/augusts-digest/. And as usual, I’m simply too lazy to make a proper “post” about it. Just re-read the post, and you’ll know. The new laptop has become my primary machine now, directly replaced my old laptop

Peace. Out.

I Think I Have To Kill Some Time Because I Don’t Have My Laptop With Me Right Now

And it begins pretty well by typing the overly long title of this post above using my tiny mobile keypad, doh. And if you are just too curious about how I started my day, check my moblog.

So, where am I then? Good question. You know, some people said that a good question is a good question because it’s usually difficult to answer. But not with my case. (See, I’m doing good at killing time. Not only mine, but yours too.. :p). When I post this, I’m at citiwalk sudirman, Jakarta. Yeah I know, village kid coming to a big city. What am I doing here? (No, I won’t say that was a good question because I really don’t have to). Well generally, my being here is because I have to accompany my sister, she’s having a job test at a company here in Jakarta. It’s an all day test and I didn’t plan anything before about what am I gonna do this all day long, doh!

Long story short, I’ll do some window-shopping offline at jakartanotebook.com. I’m here already, and since I came too early, I thought having another breakfast won’t hurt at all.

Will update later, I have to stop typing at my tiny keypad before I develop CTS.

Peace. Out.

Indah Langit Senja, Segar Rintik Hujan Sore.

Aku iri kepada para penulis itu.

Ya, para penulis itu, mereka yang mampu merangkai kata dan rasa dengan indahnya. Mereka yang menulis tentang indahnya langit senja, segarnya rintik hujan di sore hari, harumnya bau tanah basah dan ilalang serta tenangnya batin mereka saat berada di hamparan pengharapan. Mereka yang sanggup mengurai indahnya warna kuning bunga matahari, mengulang rangkaian pelangi, menggapai birunya bintang di langit selatan dan hijaunya rumput di savana yang kuangan. Mereka yang menggambarkan eloknya suasana perbukitan, ngarai yang berkelok, lembutnya awan, dan kuatnya hembusan angin kehidupan.

Bahkan sepinya malam selalu menjadi inspirasi.

Kasih berpadu menjadi tema.

Cita-cita menjadi pembakar gerak jiwa.

Aku hanya terlarut nikmat dalam kisah dan karya mereka. Aku iri pada HAMKA, Chairil Anwar, Taufik Ismail. Aku iri pada ribuan penulis sebelum dan sesudah jaman mereka.

–
Percikan dari bagian kontemplasi yang kuputuskan untuk kutulis. Sisanya, biarlah mengendap pada gudang arsip pikiranku. (30 Ramadhan 1429H)

Eid Mubarak! Mohon Maaf Lahir dan Batin

Peace. Out.

Simple Night

I love a simple night,
a night when the moon feels like in my grasp,
when the sky feels like only inches away,
when the air is calm and fresh,
when the grass is green and cold,
when my sighting is clear,
and my hearing is so quiet..

I love a simple night,
but I love your simple love more,
a love without reason,
and without too much flattering words..

I simply love you..

August’s Digest

Trip To Mount Bromo (And Surabaya)

As you might know from my public calendar, early this month I went to Mt. Bromo (with transit in Surabaya first). I was very delighted to have holiday out of town, especially for having a trip back to nature. And indeed it was a very pleasant trip. I met 5 new friends, well actually, from those 7 persons who went there together with me, I only knew 2 persons before. Those guys really know how to make a trip enjoyable. Can’t wait for the next trip! Lombok maybe? Haha..

Anyway, some of the images below were already posted at my moblog directly from the scene, or so. I was quite amazed at how good the HSDPA signal from my provider there, although you really have to find the right spot to be connected. But being a big city though, it wasn’t as easy as I thought to find HSDPA signal in Surabaya when compared to Jakarta or Bandung. Moreover in Mt. Bromo, it WAS difficult. Well maybe that’s the fun from being mobile in Indonesia, you really have to make good use of your feet and hands when searching for signal. Giddy Up! :p

People said, a picture worth a thousand words. Many picture worth thousands of words.. (really?) Okay, stop blabbering. The point is, stop reading and click the two images above. It’ll tell you more than I can say. You gotta see it to believe it. You gotta go there to experience it, definitely!

Anyway, the journey started in Surabaya. I love this city for many reasons, but above all, it’s always because of the food. Surabaya is always able to indulge me with a lot of kinds of tasty food, but relatively cheap in price. And owh, most electronic stuffs are also relatively cheaper here compared to other big cities in Indonesia. But no, I’m not going to tell you about food or electronics in Surabaya, maybe next time. For now, may I present you with a brief field report of Mount Bromo.. *tada*

There are several popular paths to reach Mt. Bromo. One can go from Surabaya through Pasuruan or Malang for instance, and reach Mt. Bromo via Tosari. Or like we did, from Surabaya through Probolinggo and reach Mt. Bromo via Ngadisari. One way another, it’s just a matter of landscape view and transportation, trying every path will give you more fun! At Ngadisari, we spent two nights at Yoschi’s Hotel. It was a cozy place with some Balinese touch. There are actually some other nice places to stay, but we’re more like a bunch of backpacker with a car, so picking this relatively cheap but cozy place is the most appropriate decision.

We began our first night by playing Uno Cards! Man I didn’t know it could be so much fun playing cards. Despite the schedule, we played late until about midnight and we woke up at three to begin the real fun journey: get some sunrise! We rent two jeeps for the transportation and reach “Penanjakan” in about an hour later. It was quite a difficult track, but we definitely enjoy the bump and slides!

The sunrise was great. And from this location, we can see clearly the Mt. Bromo itself and other spectacular views. There were so many people there, local and international tourists attracted by its beauty. Sometimes it was difficult to have a good spot for your camera because of the crowd, and of course, other photographer. I really gathered my guts when I stood on some kind of monument (but it’s not, I swear) just to get an unblocked view of the early sunrise. That would be the third thumbnail on the first picture.

From “Penanjakan”, we continue the journey to reach Mt. Bromo. The base, (the foot of the mountain) largely consisted of sands. There we can find a lot of locals offering their horses to help us reach the top. But believe me, especially when you go there with some friends, it’s more fun just to walk on your own. When we reach the top, we all feel glad yet amazed with the view. It’s definitely not because we-can-see-it-on-national-geographic view, but because we’re there to experience it ourselves we feel overwhelmed.

Later at the afternoon, we went to some small waterfall (I forget what the name was), it’s about an hour journey using a car from the hotel. And as you may guessed, we were so tired and slept like babies on the second night (okay, maybe NOT like a baby, but absolutely sleep tight, safe and sound :p) We went back to Surabaya the next day and depart to our own destination from there. As for me, it was a hell great journey and will definitely miss you all guys! Really really can’t wait to explore Indonesia again!

Ow, a reader inspired me to explain this: the 1st four thumbnails on the second picture is NOT a view of an ocean or a lake. It’s a carpet of clouds. We can see that view since we’re at a higher elevation than clouds. Very, beautiful!

Update: This article has been submitted to Indonesia.Travel Blog Contest. Wish me luck guys!

Update (again): This article IS the Winner! Yay!

SOEDOE Exhibition @ Jakarta

Not much to say about this. It was an exhibition in Balai Kartini, Jakarta, held by the Indonesian Government for five days from 6th to 10th of August. It’s free, both for the exhibitors and the visitors. But you know, being a *FREE* government agenda, most of the times we have to get a good grip and high measures of patience when dealing with the people.

Also, there’s nothing special with the selling revenue. But that’s not the point from the first place. We really hope to get a good publication and a higher public awareness from the exhibition. I hope I can see the results soon.

We welcome you, Ramadhan

And last but not least, *eww, the language*, Mohon maaf lahir dan batin. Bener2 minta maaf seandainya ada salah2 kata ato perbuatan ato menjatuhkan harapan dan sebagainya, mohon dimaafin. I truly am. Mudah2an kita bisa belajar lebih baik lagi dalam Ramadhan besok.

Anyway, I was also delighted when I read the news that says this year, most likely there will be no difference among muslim organizations in Indonesia regarding the decision for the starting date of Ramadhan and Shawal. 1st of Ramadhan will be on the 1st of September, and the 1st of Shawal will be on the 1st of October. It’s just great.

Peace. Out.