Menginjakkan Kaki di Ujung Selatan Sumatra

If I had a scarlet letter, I think it would be a "T" for "travelling". Well, it's undeniably true, that whenever I had the chance to, I would not say no to a travelling invitation. And three weeks ago I had a chance to finally set foot on the Sumatra island *although only to the tip of it*. I had been making plans to visit Sumatra for ages. Starting from nagging a best friend of mine to free up her weekend just to take me around Lampung up to nagging my parents to once in a while make holiday trip to Padang instead of Jogja *again!!*. And each plan just went blah, because something more important always came up.

But three weeks ago, the plan to visit Lampung finally executed. Although I almost missed the bus due to excessive traffic jam on the road from Bandung to Jakarta, and I did not see dolphin's tail on the way from Merak to Bakauheni or Bakauheni to Merak *forget about even going to the dock, I'm too sleepy to even notice that the boat is sailing already*, but I really enjoyed the picnic on the beach.

I found Lampung pretty easy to reach. It's a 7 hours road trip *without traffic jam and long queuing line at port* from Jakarta. You only have to spend IDR 109.000 for a business class DAMRI ticket (leaving&arriving from Gambir) or a minimum of IDR 165.000 using door to door shuttle bus. And when you come at the right season, you'll find cheap and perfectly ripe from the tree Durian. Unfortunately, this time I only had a chance to visit Lampung for a day. Therefore I only got to enjoy the scenery of Merak Blantung *via Krakatoa Nirwana Resort, entrance fee IDR 25.000*, enhance culinary experience by eating at Bakso Soni, and buy some typically Lampung snack and coffee. But it is dully noted that I'll visit Lampung again someday, spend longer time, and actually go to every interesting places they got.

Experimenting the One Stop Motion

I had fun killing Sunday by making this movie. Hopefully you had fun watching it as well. Lighten up people!!

warning: you may find some scenes really alay-ic. Then again maybe we all have that little alay in us, screaming to get out. hahahaha..
Background song, courtesy of The Islands' Don't call me Whitney, Bobby.

Why I'm (so damn) in Love with Jason

I always believe that music is a way to express feelings. For me, great musics are the one that can create moods. Just by listening to the intro you'll find that the air around you suddenly change. There's some addicting harmony that suffocates you. Yes.. suffocating, yet.. exhilarating.
I also believe, music with a good concept will come not only with great arrangements but great lyrics. Words and words that melt like chocolate in your mouth. Not only it rhymes, but kinda poetic and sarcastic. Sometimes it's like listening to a tall tale. And music should be telling stories, with or without words.
Why I'm so damn in love with Jason. Because he got the full package. Addicting harmony and striking lyrics. So don't blame me if I end up filling this post with quotation from JM musics. hahaha..gotcha..

It takes a thought to make a word
And it takes some words to make an action
It takes some work to make it work
It takes some good to make it hurt
It takes some bad for satisfaction
It takes a night to make it dawn
And it takes some old to make you young
It takes some cold to know the sun
It takes the one to have the other
And it takes no time to fall in love
But it takes you years to know what love is
It takes some fears to make you trust
It takes those tears to make it rust
It takes the dust to have it polished
~Life is Wonderful

I used to think I could sit and wait for the times
but they won't come until I meet them halfway
~Halfway Home

and it's okay if you have go away
just remember the telephone works both ways
and if I never ever hear it ring
if nothing else I'll think the bells inside
have finally found you someone else and that's okay
cause I'll remember everything you sang
~You and I Both

When I fall in love, I take my time
There's no need to hurry when I'm making up my mind
You can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
And I'll tell you why
Because
The remedy is the experience
This is the dangerous liaison I says
The comedy is that it's serious
This is a strange enough new play on words
I say the tragedy is how you're gonna spend
the rest of your nights with the light on
So shine the light on all of your friends
Well it all amounts to nothing in the end
I won't worry my life away
~The Remedy

We're so worried about saving our souls
Afraid that God will take His toll
That we forget to begin
Who will save your soul when it comes to the flower
Who will save your soul after all the lies that you told, boy
Who will save your soul if you won't save your own?
~Who will Save Your Soul (okay.. this is actually a Jewel song *also my favorite singer* but the hell, she sings a duet version of this song with JM. Live!)

If it's a broken part, replace it
But, if it's a broken heart then brace it
If it's a broken heart then face it
~Details in the Fabric

What a beautiful mess, this is
It's like taking a guess when the only answer is "Yes"
~A Beautiful Mess

This Week's Movie Marathon

It's been a while since my last superb cineplex movie marathon. Then again, I never had a great cineplex movie marathon until yesterday. Okay, I don't if it's because the movies I picked really live up to my expectation, or that I was just in a really good hedonic mood that I don't care how the movies go as long as I had a night out. Anyway, got a chance to watch three movies yesterday using my Yaris "buy one get one ticket" promo. And the cineplex movie marathon is so on.

1. Alice in Wonderland


It's not a secret anymore. One of my favorite director would be.. Tim Burton. yes!! So when I heard that he'll be doing an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland (which happens to be my stereotypically Disney favorite story), you'd guess the first thing I do when the movie played on the theater. Off to cineplex we go..
And it was as I expected. Big line of the story still about Alice having an identity crisis. Dreaming of so much yet expected to be so little. Running away to the Underland (Wonderland) while being proposed by a snobbish geek and being watched by hundreds of guests waiting for her to say yes, just to find that she's expected to kill the horrible Jabberwocky and ends the era of the Red Queen reign. I remembered what the White Queen said to Alice when the time has come, "you don't have to please anybody, do what you think is right" (okay.. i actually forget word by word but it sounds something like that. hehe..). Although I find the White Queen a bit fake (seriously I think she's meant to be portrayed that way), but she got a point there. We, out of all things in this world, has the freedom to chose.
And I guess although not featured in the movie, the infamous conversation of Alice and the cheshire cat still relate to it.



Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.
The Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.




2. Up In The Air


What's in your backpack?
Well that's a question you never think you have to worry about. Apparently to Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) what's in his backpack is his way of life. When you put what matters most in your life to the backpack, not only it will be filled with a lot of stuff but it will also weigh more. To Bingham this filled backpack is carrying him down, just an agony to his shoulder, and it needs to be burned down. Being a high mobile exec (he kinda has a job that made him flew around the world, but he's not a pilot, okay..), he got no strings attached, basically dead to his sisters, and his life mission is to hit 10million miles. When a new system is being implemented to the company where he worked. Bingham is about to be grounded for good. And that irritates him.
What I found ironic about the movie is Bingham itself. He's a typical egocentric kind of guy (I guess no wonder, because his job is to fired people). His relationship is with his job, because having a relationship with human is just so unbearable. The twist is, when he finds out that he's been living an empty life this past few years, and ready to settle, he's thrown back into the hole.



3. My Name Is Khan


Post the 9/11 tragedy, we've seen a lot of movies (which felt like propaganda to me) fighting the middle east, bringing up the heroism of the troopers, digging holes to find Osama, and all the yadda-yadda that goes around it. Well, MNIK *abbr. My Name Is Khan*, is a movie that brought another side of it (FYI it is so out of the Indian movie stereotype). A story about guy with asperger's syndrom, going across USA just to find the president and tell him "My name is Khan, I'm not a terrorist".
Personally, this is a recommended movie by me. What will move you, is the story behind the action. Why should Khan tell this to the president? Believe me, the story itself will dry out your tears (yup..it happens to everybody).
At the beginning of the movie, Khan's mother told him that there is only two kind of people in this world, the good guy and the bad guy, and this is shown by his deeds. And in this world constantly filled with assumptions, hate, and differences. Sometimes we just got to remember, that there's actually only two kinds of people in this world. We really don't have the right to judge.

Bravo for the movies!! Hopefully many more good movies to come!!

Resep Untuk Sukses

Disclaimer: Resep berikut di ambil dari resensi blogger tentang buku Man Jadda Wa Jadda

Resep untuk sukses:

1. Man Shabara Zhafira

Siapa yang bersabar akan beruntung. Jangan risaukan penderitaan hari ini, jalani saja dan lihatlah apa yang akan terjadi di depan. Karena yang kita tuju bukan sekarang, tapi ada yang lebih besar dan prinsipiil, yaitu menjadi manusia yang telah menemukan misinya dalam hidup.


2. Going the extra miles

Tidak menyerah dengan rata-2. Kalau orang lain belajar 1 jam, dia akan belajar 5 jam.


3. Jangan pernah mengizinkan unsure luar mempengaruhi diri kita

Siapa pun, apa pun, dan suasana bagaimana pun. Artinya jangan mau sedih, marah, kecewa dan takut karena ada faktor luar. Kalian lah yang berkuasa atas diri sendiri, jangan serahkan kekuasaan pada orang lain. Orang boleh menodongs enapan, tapi kita punya pilihan, untuk takut atau tetap tegar (berpikir). Kita punya pilihan di lapisan diri paling dalam dan itu (hati) tidak ada hubungannya dengan pengaruh luar.


4. Berikanlah yang terbaik yang kita bisa untuk lingkungan di sekitar

Seperti kata hadist terkenal, “Bila kamu melihat kemungkaran, ubahlah dengan tanganmu, kalau tidak mampu, ubahlah dengan kata-2, kalau tidak mampu juga, ubahlah dengan hatimu.”
Jangan berharap akan ada perubahan, kalau diri kita sendiri belum berubah (menjadi yang lebih baik).


5. Selalu berbakti kepada orangtuamu, terutama kepada ibumu yang melahirkan, menyusuimu dan membesarkan dengan penuh hati. Seperti hadist lainnya, ridha ibu adalah surga untuk kita semua



6. Jangan putus asa dengan segala ujian yang datang

Ingatlah bahwa dengan prinsip ‘imtihan nihai’ ujian di atas ujian. Ujian ini bukan hanya membuktikan seberapa banyak ilmu yang telah diserap otak, tapi juga membuktikan seberapa kuat kita melawan tekanan waktu, kebosanan, psikologis dan fisik. Niscaya, siapa yang bisa mengatasi semua faktor ‘sakti’ itu maka dia akan menjadi pemenang dalam hidup yang sesungguhnya.

Membaca resep di atas saya jadi ingat apa yang dikatakan seseorang dengan niat untuk light up the spark. Satu pesan yang singkat namun sarat makna "Don't take things for granted". Kadang kita berhenti bertanya ketika seseorang berkata "memang begitu adanya". Kadang kita juga berhenti mencoba ketika seseorang berkata "we've tried that idea five years ago". Tapi kata2 tersebut memang bukan alasan untuk berhenti. Kesempatan tidak datang dua kali. Never quit on the first hurdle. Even if you stumble, there's still a chance for you to win the race.

Unperfect

We are not a perfect company, but we realize we're not perfect. If you're looking for perfection then you'll be disappointed with us. ~My Boss

Ini dia yang boss saya bilang, di hari pertama secara official saya bergabung di timnya. Saya jadi ingat juga apa yang dibilang kakak kelas saya di salah satu iklan kampus, yang intinya adalah belajar untuk mengetahui plus minus diri sendiri kita sendiri. Dari situ, kita akan tau apa yang cocok untuk kita, bagaimana membawa diri kita, dan menghilangkan ketergantungan. Menyadari kekurangan kita, berarti mengetahui apa yang ingin kita kembangkan, dengan begitu menambah tujuan kita dalam melakukan segala aktivitas.
Seperti kata produk kecantikan "Nobody's perfect".. but the absence of perfection makes room for improvement.

Selamat menjalani hari yang lebih produktif.