yes, we do!

Have you ever felt like really tired and sick of hearing the bad news aired on TV, featured on the papers? I have. Why bad news is good news for the media?

Because I'm so tired of hearing the heart-breaking news about violent, injustice, corrupt government and so on and so forth, I started to think that there's no use of updating myself with the current issues. I thought that the only effect I obtain after hearing or watching the news is either sad, mad, disappointed, paranoid or the combination of them. Thus, I began to stop following the news.

I quitted reading paper since couple of years ago. I used to read the long-established paper in our country, the one with the K initial. I quitted reading it because first, when I took the "Critical Study on Popular Culture" on my last semester in college, I realized that there are certain powers and the interests' of the people behind that power that control the media. I used to think that this K paper is different with MI paper that is clearly conveyed certain politic message for it is owned by a politician/media mogul, SP. But, turned out that this K paper is just the same. I don't know who own(s) this paper but sure it sometimes conveys message that is in accordance with certain people's interests. And the second reason is simply because I'm tired of hearing the bad news.

I also quitted watching the news on TV. Especially after that TV On* (censored intended) channel broadcasted nation wide. I hate that channel. Anyway, I was pretty contented with the fact that I don't have to be overwhelmed by that heart-breaking news. I only occasionally opened some news websites, and I selectively chose the news that I really want to read. I was pretty contented with that because I knew by using the internet I have the power to choose which news I'd like to read. I was pretty contented until recently.

We all of course know about what has recently happened in Egypt (and Tunisia). We all know how those protesters tirelessly protested and demanded the overthrow of the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak. And they succeeded. And this event is the first wake-up call for my ignorance toward current issues in our country. It is not their protest that actually opens my eyes. Instead, it is the fact that the Egypt government decided to impose the curfew and shut down the electricity and internet that really opened my eyes. Why? Because, in my opinion, it is clear that the Egypt government was afraid that the protesters (especially the young people) would gather at night and plan to overthrow Hosni Mubarak and maybe plan a coup d'état. That is why, I suppose, the Egypt government imposed the curfew. A friend of mine told me that it actually happened in our country during the 1998 reformation era when the students 'were not allowed' to gather especially at night because the government believed they would spread the protest movement. And actually they were right.

The Egypt government also shut down the electricity and internet. I believe this is also because the government was afraid that the people (again, especially the young people since they are the ones who use the internet the most) would use the internet (through social networking sites such as blogspot, facebook and twitter) as the means to spread their protests and to inform the world about what's going on in their country. And as I write this part, I've just found out that the Libya government has imposed the same 'policy'. As many have predicted, the protests toward the authoritarian leaders has spread all across the countries in Middle East and North Africa. The most recent one is the one in Libya. And the Libya government has shut down the electricity and internet, and they even have banned google, facebook and twitter. But, thanks to the advanced technology and those techo-users who concern about this kinda issue, there is now information spread about the public IP address that can be used by the Libyan people to access those banned sites. See? The social media really gives us, the young generation, power.

My second wake-up call was the #supportalanda issue, as I like to name it. Two weeks ago, her blog link (http://alandakariza.com/) was spread all over twitter before her story was eventually covered by the media. Basically, Alanda just shared her opinion in her blog. She thought her mother is being treated unjustly by the court regarding the Century bank bailout case in which she is considered to be involved in the illegal loan disbursement. Because I don't really understand about the case and the law, I can't really decide whether I agree or disagree with Alanda's opinion. But, I do really understand her feeling. I myself can't imagine if I were in her shoes, facing the fact that my mother must be prisoned for 10 years and pay a 10-million rupiah fine. So, I do support Alanda. The fact that a simple post in a blog can create a discourse and draw many people’s attention, and not just people, but also law experts’ and human right organizations’ attentions, really amazed me. It is again another proof that social media does give the young people power.

My point is I think we really should use any means we can use to state our opinion. I believe every little thing we do with good intention to make our country a better country will count. It is us the young generation that can make the change. I personally have decided to be more concerned about the current issues in our country. And I also begin to try to state opinion about those current issues using the social media. It could be as simple as tweeting my opinion about the "the disappearance of foreign movies in cinema" or writing my opinion in a blog just like what I'm doing right now. It is good for us because it makes our mind and thoughts become more critical. And it is good for the government. They should know that people watch them. And I believe it eventually is good for our country. Yes, we do have the power!

why didn't you tell me?

Seorang teman bilang sama gue kalau dia "males ngadepin orang yang ngambek mulu." Dan maksud dia, orang itu adalah gue. Dan gue yakin dia bilang begitu karena sebelumnya gue bilang dia "heartless". Dan gue bilang begitu karena gue kecewa sama dia dan sikapnya. Gue akuin, suka mengambek memang salah satu sifat gue yang tidak gue banggakan. Tapi, gue sedang berusaha memperbaiki sifat itu bahkan sebelum dia bilang begitu.

Jujur, gue oke-oke aja dengan perkataannya dia. Maksud gue, itu hak dia untuk berpendapat apa pun tentang gue dan hak dia juga untuk merasa malas atau tidak malas untuk menghadapi orang dengan sifat-sifat tertentu. Yang gue tidak terima adalah momen yang dia pilih untuk mengatakan itu. Gue udah lama engga ngobrol dengan teman gue itu. Kira-kira udah sebulan lebih. Sebelumnya, gue memang cukup dekat sama dia dan gue memang pernah beberapa kali ngambek sama dia. Tapi, bilang kalau dia males sama sifat ambekan gue setelah gue mengungkapkan kekecewaan gue sama dia jelas tidak lebih dari sikap egois dan defensif yang berlebihan. Dia cuma pengen menunjukkan kesalahan gue karena gue nunjukkin kesalahannya dia.

Alasan kedua kenapa gue tidak suka dengan momen yang dia pilih untuk mengungkapkan pendapatnya tentang gue adalah bagaimana dengan cerdasnya dia menggunakan hal itu untuk menyerang gue dan mengubah topik pembicaraan. Jadi, sebelumnya gue dan dia lagi ngomongin sikap dia yang engga bisa gue terima. Terus dia meminta maaf. Gue tidak merespon permintaan maafnya dan gue berhak untuk itu karena gue rasa gue belum selesai menyampaikan apa yang ingin gue sampaikan. Gue rasa dia belum benar-benar mengerti alasan kenapa gue sangat kecewa. Dan keluarlah kata "heartless" itu dari mulut gue. Dan dia bilang hak gue untuk marah atau engga sama dia, yang penting dia sudah minta maaf dan keluarlah kalimat "males ngadepin orang yang ngambek mulu." Gue kaget. Gue ga nyangka dia bakal bilang itu. Gue tahu, selama ini dia menganggap gue kekanak-kanakan dan emosional. Tapi, ternyata dia sama kekanak-kanakan dan emosionalnya dengan gue. Dia menggunakan kalimat itu untuk menyerang gue dan mengganti topik pembicaraan yang belum selesai. Dan dia berhasil. Gue memang jadi terbawa sama alur pembicaraannya dia. Tapi, gue emang ngelakuinnya dengan sengaja biar dia ga perlu memendam perasaannya lagi.

Akhirnya, gue memutuskan untuk minta maaf sama dia dan tahu dia bilang apa "engga apa-apa kok, asal jangan sering-sering aja." WTH?! Dia benar-benar menggunakan pernyataan itu untuk menyerang dan membuat gue kesal dan sakit hati. Benar-benar dewasa dan rasional.

Gue ga habis pikir kenapa selama ini dia ga berani bilang langsung sama gue kalau dia ga tahan sama sifat gue itu. Selama ini, gue selalu blak-blakan sama dia kalau ada hal yang ga gue suka tentang dia. Dan selama ini dia ga pernah menunjukkan keberatan sama sifat gue itu. Bahkan kalau gue minta maaf, dia tetap bersikap baik dan memaklumi sifat gue itu.

Dan lucunya, dia bilang kaya gitu seolah-olah gue baru aja ngambek dengan seringnya sama dia. Padahal kita engga pernah ngobrol selama sebulan lebih. Sekarang siapa yang kekanak-kanakan dan emosional?

slurp

Hobi gue selain membaca dan menulis adalah: MAKAN! Gue sangat suka makan. Menurut gue, cuma ada dua jenis makanan yaitu makanan yang enak dan yang enak banget. Tapi jujur, pengalaman kuliner gue belum begitu banyak. Makanan yang sudah pernah gue coba sejauh ini adalah makanan Indonesia (ya iyalah ya), makanan Cina, Jepang, Thailand, Amerika (kebanyakan dalam jenis junk food) dan Eropa (berupa salad biasanya). Dan, sejauh ini, favorit gue adalah makanan Thailand karena rasanya, selain mendekati lidah orang Indonesia, juga gue banget! Gue paling suka makanan yang rasanya asam, pedas dan manis. Favorit gue adalah tom yam dan kwetiau goreng (lupa nama Thailandnya). Dan restoran Thailand favorit gue sejauh ini adalah Thai Express. Harga makanan di sana sangat sepadan dengan rasa yang kita dapatkan.

Anyway, selain makan, gue juga suka banget browsing tentang makanan. Gue suka banget lihat gambar-gambar makanan, baik dari google image atau dari blog-blog tentang makanan. Blog yang paling sering gue buka adalah thedeliciouslife karena gambar makanan yang ditampilkan benar-benar bagus. Nah, di post ini gue mau mengunggah beberapa foto makanan hasil wisata kuliner gue pas akhir pekan beberapa minggu belakangan ini. Yah, gambarnya engga bagus-bagus banget karena cuma diambil pakai kamera ponsel gue dan juga karena gue emang engga ngerti apa-apa soal food photography hehe. Tapi, gue pengen aja ada foto-foto makanan di blog ini.

hot and sour soup - little asia

rootbeer & ice cream waffle - A&W

beef curry udon, green paradise salad, special o'day sushi - ichiban sushi

vegetarian lamien - golden century

sapo tahu seafood, fish and phitan porridge - ta wan

california roll, spicy tuna - sushi rock & roll

kadang jatuh cinta, cukup diam-diam

Post ini terinspirasi dari Bab I Marmut Merah Jambu-nya Raditya Dika, "Orang Yang Jatuh Cinta Diam-diam" yang baru aja gue baca belakangan ini. Jujur, gue ga ngikutin buku-bukunya dia. Tapi, gue follow akun twitternya (@radityadika) dan gue pernah beberapa kali baca blognya dan menurut gue dia sangat jenius. Dia berani dan mau terlihat bodoh dan mempermalukan diri sendiri dalam tulisan-tulisannya. For me, it takes a genius to make someone who is actually smart looks stupid and ridiculous. Dan tulisan-tulisannya dia sendiri sangat lucu dan kreatif. Okay, I think it's obvious that I admire this guy. But, I don't wanna talk about him in this post. Instead, I wanna beg to differ his implied idea on secretly falling in love with someone as he wrote on the first chapter of his latest book.

Dari kecil, gue sudah mencuci otak gue sendiri dengan kisah-kisah romantis lewat film, novel, komik dan lagu yang gue tonton, baca dan dengar. Dan ada dua kesimpulan atau pelajaran atau nilai kehidupan atau apa yang gue suka sebut dengan love-life lesson yang gue dapet setelah penelitian pribadi selama bertahun-tahun itu. 

Love-life lesson #1, kita (khususnya perempuan) harus berani menyatakan perasaan kita dan memperjuangkan apa yang menurut hati kita benar. Di satu sisi, gue senang dengan pemikiran seperti ini karena ada sedikit nuansa feminisme di dalamnya. Tahu kan, stereotipe yang tertanam kuat di masyarakat adalah cowok adalah the do-er dalam suatu hubungan. They make the first move, and women must do nothing but wait. Tapi di beberapa film romantis yang gue tonton, ada "ide menyenangkan" tentang bagaimana cewek sah-sah aja untuk bersikap lebih agresif. Misalnya di film Notting Hill, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging atau He's Just Not That Into You di mana para cewek pemeran utama dalam film-film itu berani bikin first move ke cowok yang dia taksir. Tapi, di sisi lain, menurut gue chick flick juga membawa pesan terselubung yang sayangnya mengukuhkan sistem patriarki yang sangat merugikan kaum perempuan tentunya, yaitu: cewek 'harus' menganggap cewek lain sebagai saingannya, entah itu dalam percintaan, pekerjaan, fashion style dll. Misalnya ya, tokoh Rachel di serial Glee yang menganggap Quinn sebagai saingannya dalam mendapatkan Finn. Secara umum, sebenarnya gue setuju aja sama love-life lesson #1 ini. Tapi, gue ngeliatnya lebih ke lingkup yang lebih luas, bukan soal perasaan cinta aja. Menurut gue, kita (perempuan) memang harus lebih berani mengekspresikan pendapat kita dalam tiap aspek kehidupan.

Love-life lesson #2 yang gue dapat adalah nyatakan perasaan kita sebelum terlambat. Adegan seorang cewek/cowok menyatakan perasaannya sebelum orang yang dia taksir pergi ke luar negeri atau menikah dengan orang lain adalah adegan klasik dalam film romantis. Dan ini adalah pesan tersirat yang gue dapat dari bab "Orang Yang Jatuh Cinta Diam-diam." Intinya, dari yang gue baca, Raditya Dika menyesali kenyataan bahwa dia dulu ga berani menyatakan perasaannya ke cewek yang dia taksir waktu SMP. Biasanya, gue bakal jadi galau sendiri sehabis baca bacaan kaya gini. Tapi sekarang engga lagi. Gue bahkan berpendapat berbeda dengan Raditya. Kadang, menurut gue, jatuh cinta memang cuma perlu diam-diam.

Sebentar, sebelum ngebahas lebih jauh, gue mau memberikan definisi 'cinta' menurut gue. Cinta di sini maksud gue adalah perasaan suka, perasaan pengen dekat dan memiliki orang yang kita suka. Yah walau sebenernya 'suka' dan 'pengen memiliki' adalah dua hal yang berbeda, tapi biasanya perasaan itu datengnya satu paket, kan? Kenapa gue mempersempit istilah cinta ini. Karena menurut gue, cinta (yang seperti di film-film romantis itu) itu engga ada. Cinta itu perlu proses. Jadi, perasaan tertarik kita sama lawan jenis adalah suka. Kita suka, jadi deket, pacaran whatsoever, menikah. Dan cinta hadir selama proses itu. Cinta ga dateng saat kita pertama kali ngeliat seseorang. Karena itu, sebuah hubungan, menurut gue, ga bakal berhasil kalau cuma mengandalkan cinta (karena cinta itu muncul dalam prosesnya, perasaan yang kita punya adalah perasaan suka. Dan perasaan suka itu ga bakal kuat buat jadi dasar sebuah hubungan). Hubungan itu butuh komitmen. Komitmenlah yang membuat sebuah hubungan bisa bertahan. Karena itu, menurut gue, hubungan itu harus diusahakan dan dijaga dan butuh kerja keras.

Baiklah, kembali ke soal mencintai dengan diam-diam. Menurut gue, kadang emang jatuh cinta cukup hanya dengan diam-diam. Karena kadang, kalau kita terlalu mengikuti perasaan kita, kita akan berakhir dengan menyesali kebodohan diri sendiri karena melakukan hal-hal yang engga masuk akal demi apa yang namanya cinta itu. Fakta kalau perempuan lebih banyak mengandalkan perasaan dan pria mengandalkan logika memang sudah tak terbantahkan. Karena itu, tindakan perempuan banyak yang emosional dan tindakan pria cenderung rasional. Begitu pula, kalau jatuh cinta. Perempuan cenderung melakukan hal yang emosional dan kadang irasional kalau jatuh cinta. Sementara pria, karena mereka sangat mengandalkan otak mereka, mereka tetap bisa bersikap rasional bahkan saat jatuh cinta. Jadi, maksud gue adalah kalau kita ga bisa menahan perasaan dan menggunakan logika, ada baiknya kita cukup jatuh cinta dengan diam-diam daripada menyesal nantinya.

hello, 2011!

Hello, online journal! It's been a long time, huh? First of all, let me write: belated happy new year! I only have 2 resolutions this year, and one of them is to have a settled job. And I'm really looking forward to make it come true. Amen.

I have like a lot to say. But, I just don't know where to start. Mmmm, I think I'll start with my were-not-so-nice christmas and new year eve. I was sick on christmas eve. What could be worse than that? Oh, I know: the fact that my parents were going back to their hometown. So, I didn't go to church, I didn't have a christmas eve dinner and there was no christmas cookies whatsoever in the house. It was so sad. Pretty similar thing happened on the NYE for I was still sick (to be honest, I am still not feeling well as I write this post, and it's already January 28th, for heaven's sake! So, I've been sick for a year, eh?). So, again I didn't go to the church. But the saddest part is I think the fact that I missed the chance to spend NYE with my friends. You know, it's a tradition in my family (I happened to be raised in a Batak-Christian family) to spend NYE with our extended family. We talk, we sing, we pray before we eventually together do the count down. So, for 22 years, I have always spent NYE with my family. And, this year (or last year?), when I finally got the chance to spend it with my friends, my body demanded to just stay in bed. So I spent my NYE in my bed, sleeping.

And, nah! Those aren't the only reasons why I think December was the lowest point in my life in 2010. I failed to get my so-called dream job. I was so sad. So sad I even can't describe how sad I was. People said nice things to me, but they didn't work. I was so sad because I could feel that I was so close to get it, but turned out I was wrong. When the result was announced on the internet and I saw my name wasn't on the list, I was devastated. I cried. In silence. I decided not to tell anyone about how I truly felt about my failure because it wouldn't make me feel any better. I knew it. But, mmmmm actually I also felt at that moment that I didn't really have someone to talk to. I didn't wanna make my family worried about me. And I didn't tell my friend that I was trying to get this so-called dream job, so I couldn't talk to them either.

But, I didn't let myself drown in self pity for more than a week, you know. I already felt much better couple of days later. I pulled myself together and convinced myself that He has a master plan, which is of course true. And that's the only reason I'm capable of facing this failure. Well, I guess what I'm just trying to say is that you should never rely on anybody else to motivate yourself. I mean, of course sometimes you wanna do something because you wanna make your family and friends proud, but it's our own motivation that can help us getting through all the failures that we have to face before we eventually see the silver lining. So, let's rock with me, 2011!