Aug 07, 08 - Last few hours

Today is quite packed for me. But, overall, I'm happy.

It's last few hours I'm in Melbourne. It's not a sad day. I'm quite blessed to be back there.

I have a welcome family that wants me to be back there. I have a girlfriend that is excited that we can communicate more. I have plans to do back there.

And I believe also that God opens my way. I believe that something is already planned toward my journey in Indonesia. I hope that I can bless and be blessing for others. I hope that the thought that crossed my mind can be fulfilled in the future.

I know that the picture takes a lot of times to be accomplished. But I believe that I can do it.

Right now, the weather is raining. I don't know why suddenly it's raining. Yeah, I saw that some dark cloud is already hanging around this evening. And it could be because of that.

I know that there is no appropriate way to say good bye. But, I still will come to this city next December and some other time in the future.

It's not my city. I still have Indonesian blood and I'm proud of it. I believe that Indonesia can change. I believe that Indonesia can be one of the developed country in the world.

We just neec to persist and believe. And also we need to act. We act toward the good of Indonesia.

See you in the future, Melbourne.

Things Gonna be Missed: Trams (5 of 5)

Tram is one of public transport in Melbourne. Actually, it's one of the thing that I like from Melbourne.

Tram is usually in the middle of the road along with another vehicles. But, in some areas, there are separate road for tram that gives tram a better space.

People is quite appreciative on trams that they must give ways to tram and also the passengers. Whenever trams stop, the other vehicles must give some rooms for passengers to board or alight trams.

Not every city in the world has trams as the main of transport. I believe that trams is not something easy to be implemented. In the other end, trams is quite slow to travel for long distance, due to traffic and tram stops.

I will miss trams for sure. It's my main transport for past 1.5 years. It brings another level to my life to know about this. It's quite enjoyable to know and experience in a tram.

I hope that Indonesia could learn more from other country about how they manage public transportation. Each city in Indonesia has it's own public transportation. But, the thing that I don't like is that government do too little about public transportation. So that everyone goes for personal transportation.

Cars and motorcycles are quite popular for everyone there, since they don't bother about public transportation. And also getting into public transport means that you must be fully aware about the condition. There is few safety measurement there.

I will miss tram. But in the other end, I will get into a car or motorcycle there.
It will be an exciting changes for me.

Things Gonna be Missed: Vegetarian Meal (4 of 5)

I will miss the food that I can take here, in Melbourne. To be amazed, almost all restaurants in Melbourne has vegetarian menu and they are quite welcome to vegetarians.

Before I came to Melbourne, I'm quite stressed to think about what I could eat here. I think that I have to cook for almost every meal that I will eat or I will just eat bread each time. But the condition is more that I expect.

Restaurant is very accommodate all the customers. And restaurant atmosphere is really different. Most of the restaurants provide customers with drink. Hm.. To be true, I just visit the common restaurant. I never ever visit a fancy restaurant.

Back there, in Indonesia, I rarely see a special menu for vegetarian. Most of the menu is dominated by meat, such as: beef, chicken or seafood. There are no or very few menu which is just vegetables.

Yeah. It's a bit funny that you hardly find vegetarian meal in Indonesia. You can try to go to a food court and try to see how many vegetarian meal that you can spot. And how many stall that sells vegetarian meal.

I will miss the freedom to choose the food. It's my choice to be vegetarian and I hope everyone can accommodate it.

Thanks.

Things Gonna be Missed: Shopping Town (3 of 5)

Hm.. Shopping in Melbourne is a bit different with what you can see in Indonesia.

When you live in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, people go to Shopping Mall to do their shopping from buying food, accessories until doing groceries. But, here in Melbourne, the style is a bit different.

Yes, we have malls. But, it's not that much. And local government still give some space for traditional seller.

Melbourne host to Victoria Market, one of the most popular market in the world. It's still in traditional way and it does not open on Monday and Wednesday. It has few halls which separate based on the product sold.

It's quite tidy market and it's also one of the tourist attractions in Melbourne. When you do tour around Melbourne, the tour will take you to Victoria Market for sure.

Back there in Indonesia, people tend to go to shopping mall rather than traditional market. There are couple of reasons, such as: convenience and security. When you are in traditional market, the environment is not that nice. You'll get annoyed just after a while. Whether it's too hot/sunny or too squashy. Even when you go to a shopping-town like, the place is also not that nice.

The other reason is security. The security level in Indonesia is much lower than here in Melbourne. And there are gangs in every place in Indonesia. They rule the place and hardly can be touched.

Yeah.. so, living in Melbourne and Indonesia has two different lifestyle to shop. Here, people still respect and want to shop in traditional way. But, in Indonesia, people tend to go to shopping mall.

I really hope that Indonesia government can do something to make the traditional way still alive. It's more natural and better.

Hope that in the future, it's not just malls in Indonesia.

Things Gonna be Missed: Gardens (2 of 5)

This is the second blog of the series. This is the next thing that I'm gonna miss, Gardens.

Yes, Melbourne is a city of gardens. In each suburb, there is at least a small area of reserve, where the green is preserve and, sometimes, there is playground.

Melbourne is host of one of the best Botanical Garden in the world. It's called Royal Botanical Garden, lies along St Kilda road, next to Shrine of Remembrance and near Yarra River.

I've been there few times and it's the best garden that I've ever visited so far. It has an aura that can't be explained. It's like you come into peace within a crowded environment.

You still can see some Melbourne's skyscrapers from the garden, but the garden itself bring different aura to yourself. It's hard to explain, it's better that you experience it by yourself.

Beside Botanical Garden, there are lots of garden around Melbourne. Most of the garden is awesome. Some of the reserve is also OK, since it's even harder to find open place in Indonesia.

Back to Indonesia, I don't think that we can find the reserves or gardens that much. In Jakarta itself, I just know the one in National Monument. I don't know the others.

In my hometown, it's even worse. I don't think that Jambi has reserves or gardens that opens to public. I know about an orchid garden, but I don't think that it's accessible for public. There is another youth garden, but it's usually used by students for a date place. And it's to scary to be there.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna miss the gardens. It's hard to find in another city.

Things Gonna be Missed: Flowers (1 of 5)

Yeah, starting from today, I will write about things that I'm gonna miss when I back there in my hometown. This blogs is the first of the series. I think at least I will write 5 things.

When I back there, one thing that I gonna miss is flowers. This city is full of flowers, even though most of them are in store. But, it's something that you rarely find in Indonesia.

For example, when you go to a shopping town in Melbourne, most of the time you can spot a flower shop between the shop. And there are few shops running around the clock.

But, back there in Indonesia, it's hard to find flower shop in the shopping mall. I know that most probably the rent fee is too high to be covered just by selling flowers. I once bought flower from Carefour, one of supermarkets that sells flower.

I know that flowers are not Indonesian culture. We rarely bring flowers for friends. And we rarely decorate home with flowers. Yeah, as young people, sometimes we buy flowers for our mates. But, that's all.

I don't really know what people here buy flowers for. But, I just like to see flowers whenever I walk down the road. It's natural and it's life. If you just see building, building and building, then it's just a cold expression. It's not life.

Hope that I could have a small garden back there to plant with some flowers. I plan to plant some flowers. Hope that I have enough time to do that.

It's 10 days to go and I'm exciting to be back there.

Jul 24, 08 - 2 Weeks to Go

Yeah.. I think I just have two weeks left in Melbourne. It's so exciting.

Right now, I'm exciting about the day I go back. It will be in two weeks time. And I believe that it will be one of the greatest decisions that I've ever made in my life.

In this two weeks time, I hope to see some of my friends here and also to taste some food that I've tasted before. It's just for a remembrance of this nice city. I really want to be back here later in the future.

Yeah, true that I love this city, I love Melbourne. It's a nice city with a nice environment. But, after going through 1.5 years here, I don't think that I will live here forever. There's something missing that I can't experience here.

I'm exciting. And I plan few things with my girl when I reach Jakarta later. It's not really a big trip or anything. It's just simply a day off with both of us. Talking, cuddling, joking, discussing, etc. I hope that we can't have a good quality time back there.

I'm really looking forward to see here soon enough.

Jambi, here I come.

Jul 20, 08 - You Just Need to Believe

Yeah, that's the words from Master Oogway in Kungfu Panda movie, "You just need to believe".

During our life, how many time have you ever have a doubt? How many time have you think that you are inferior? How many time have you have grudge in your heart?

Even, in a simple occasion, we still could think that we are not good enough or have a drawback because of the past. But, in the movie, it's told that we just need to believe to make something happen.

Dragon Scroll has nothing in it. But, it has a surface like a mirror. The Dragon Warrior (or whoever see the Scroll) can see their face in the Scroll.

There is no secret ingredient. But, I believe the only secret ingredient lies on your mind. If you think that you're success, then you are. If you think that you're great, then you are. If you think that you can finish a complicated task, then you can.

Here I am right now. Bound with this city which doesn't mean to be my future. I know that I love this city so much. But, I also know that it's not my place at the moment.

I believe that wherever I am, I can survive, I can success, I can stand up. I believe that I just need to believe to fulfill my dreams, wishes and hopes, goals and objectives.

In the other end, I need to be persevere to pursue my life. To make my all come true. It's not an easy task. But, I believe.

In order to fulfill each single of those, I believe that I also need to take different measurement and approach. Everyone is different. And I need to watch the situation and condition, read more, take chances and opportunities, rely on someone and myself, and (most importantly) ACT.

I just need to BELIEVE.

Belajar dari Po, Kungfu Panda

Po , si Panda jantan, yang sehari-hari bekerja di toko mie ayahnya, memiliki impian untuk menjadi seorang pendekar Kung Fu.
Tak disangka, dalam pemilihan Pendekar Naga, Po dinobatkan sebagai Pendekar Naga yang dinanti- nantikan kehadirannya untuk melindungi desa dari balas dendam Tai Lung.

Saat menonton film animasi ini, kita seperti diingatkan tentang beberapa hal:

1. The secret to be special is you have to believe you're special.
Po hampir putus asa karena tidak mampu memecahkan rahasia Kitab Naga, yang hanya berupa lembaran kosong. Wejangan dari ayahnya-lah yang akhirnya membuatnya kembali bersemangat dan memandang positif dirinya sendiri. Kalau kita berpikir diri kita adalah spesial, unik, berharga kita pun akan punya daya dorong untuk melakukan hal-hal yang spesial.

Kita akan bisa, kalau kita berpikir kita bisa.

Seperti kata Master Oogway, You just need to believe

2. Teruslah kejar impianmu.
Po , panda gemuk yang untuk bergerak saja susah akhirnya bisa menguasai ilmu Kung Fu. Berapa banyak dari kita yang akhirnya menyerah, gagal mencapai impian karena terhalang oleh pikiran negatif diri kita sendiri? Seperti kata Master Oogway, kemarin adalah sejarah, esok adalah misteri, saat ini adalah anugerah, makanya disebut Present hadiah. Jangan biarkan diri kita dihalangi oleh kegagalan masa lalu dan ketakutan masa depan. Ayo berjuanglah di masa sekarang
yang telah dianugerahkan Tuhan padamu.

3. Kamu tidak akan bisa mengembangkan orang lain, sebelum kamu percaya dengan kemampuan orang itu, dan kemampuan dirimu sendiri.
Master ShiFu ogah-ogahan melatih Po. Ia memandang Po tidak berbakat. Kalaupun Po bisa, mana mungkin ia melatih Po dalam waktu sekejap. Kondisi ini berbalik seratus delapan puluh derajat, setelah ShiFu diyakinkan Master Oogway -gurunya- bahwa Po sungguh-sungguh adalah Pendekar Naga dan Shi Fu satu-satunya orang yang mampu melatihnya.

Sebagai guru atau orang tua, hal yang paling harus dihindari adalah memberi label bahwa anak ini tidak punya peluang untuk berubah. Sangatlah mudah bagi kita untuk menganggap orang lain tidak punya masa depan. Kesulitan juga acap kali membuat kita kehilangan percaya diri, bahwa kita masih mampu untuk membimbing mereka.

4.Tiap individu belajar dengan cara dan motivasinya sendiri.
Shi Fu akhirnya menemukan bahwa Po baru termotivasi dan bisa mengeluarkan semua kemampuannya, bila terkait dengan makanan. Po tidak bisa menjalani latihan seperti 5 murid jagoannya yang lain.

Demikian juga dengan setiap anak. Kita ingat ada 3 gaya belajar yang kombinasi ketiganya membuat setiap orang punya gaya belajar yang unik. Hal yang menjadi motivasi tiap orang juga berbeda-beda. Ketika kita memaksakan keseragaman proses belajar, dipastikan akan ada anak-anak yang dirugikan.

5. Kebanggaan berlebihan atas anak/murid/diri sendiri bisa membutakan mata kita tentang kondisi sebenarnya, bahkan bisa membawa mereka ke arah yang salah.
Master ShiFu sangat menyayangi Tai Lung, seekor macan tutul, murid pertamanya, yang ia asuh sejak bayi. Ia membentuk Tai Lung sedemikian rupa agar sesuai dengan harapannya. Memberikan impian bahwa Tai Lung akan menjadi Pendekar Naga yang mewarisi ilmu tertinggi. Sayangnya Shi Fu tidak melihat sisi jahat dari Tai Lung dan harus membayar mahal, bahkan nyaris kehilangan nyawanya.

6. Hidup memang penuh kepahitan, tapi jangan biarkan kepahitan tinggal dalam hatimu.
Setelah dikhianati oleh Tai Lung, Shi Fu tidak pernah lagi menunjukkan kebanggaan dan kasih sayang pada murid-muridnya. Sisi terburuk dari kepahitan adalah kita tidak bisa merasakan kasih sayang dan tidak bisa berbagi kasih sayang.

7. Keluarga sangatlah penting.
Di saat merasa terpuruk, Po disambut hangat oleh sang ayah. Berkat ayahnya pula Po dapat memecahkan rahasia Kitab Naga dan menjadi Pendekar nomor satu.
Sudahkah kita memberi dukungan pada anggota keluarga kita?

Jul 19, 08 - Death Penalty

Last night, there are 3 prisoners who is shot to death as their verdict in the court. It's such a pity that you must end your life in such a way.

I just know the story of mother and child, Sumiarsih and Sugeng. Yeah, I think they did a very evil plan toward a family and kill all member of the family. They planned and killed 4 people in total and tried to make it as if it's a road accident.

It's a bit debatable whether someone (law or government) could decide over someone's life and death. There are a lot of countries out there that already banned capital punishment. But, in some other cases, they have a lot of prisoners in prisons and the condition could be worse than here, in Indonesia.

I still recall some of Aussie's prisoners in Indonesia's jail that don't want to be moved to Australia's jail since they believe that the condition in Aussie can be much worse. It could be because they have a better condition in Indonesia because they bribe the officers or simply it's better.

The case of Sumiarsih and Sugeng is a bit different with other death penalty cases in Indonesia. They are already jailed for 20 years waiting for the execution. And before the execution, there are a lot of debate happened. Yeah, since it's been 20 years without any execution. And why suddenly they are executed in the same night with other (even though not in the same area).

I still believe that Indonesia needs capital punishment in law. Indonesia is the source of drugs (especially, the one in pills or tablet shape) and government needs to produce a shock therapy for the manufacturer, distributor, carrier, etc.

Users are just the victim of overall cycle. And it's wiser to send them to therapy center rather than jail.

Yeah, I just wonder about the special case of Sumiarsih and Sugeng, since they've been in vain for 20 years and they are still shot to dead. What a pity process.