'So, how is it like being a mother?'

Hmm..

Despite the occasional post-natal blues, the feeling that I'm physically stuck and professionally doomed, the realization that none of my old clothes fits except for some over-sized pajamas and nighties...and, you DON'T want to see what's underneath it, ...it's great thanks :)

(Words in italics means I only said them inside my head :p)

Now i understand why some new mothers obsessively taking pictures of their babies, because it's the only thing in their world that seems right *sigh*

In the spirit of procrastination..

Today's supposed to be my day off but I have to finish a story if I want to have our Sunday getaway to KeukenBdg. However halfway through,  I managed to convince myself to take a break and start a mess in the kitchen.

A quick browse later I decided to try a stir-fry veggie + salami recipe I saw in Epicurious and a lovely smoothie from a recipe featured in Gojee.

So what I wanted was something that can be served over rice, easy to make, and yea, salami..? why not? The picture looks pretty too! And of course something lovely and sweet in case the food fails :))

But if there's a lesson learned today, is that I am once again reminded that cooking is something that you have to learn and practice over and over again.. For instance: I didn't know iceberg lettuce has a bitter aftertaste and you cannot expect to make a proper smoothie using a fruit juice extractor.....!

So, without further ado, here goes...

1. Stir-Fried Lettuces and Fried Shallots (or in Indonesian: tumis sayur + bawang goreng)
Fry the shallots first. I used about 2 tbsp oil for 1/2 cup of finely sliced shallots over low heat. When color changed to golden brown, toss them over a plate/bowl lined with kitchen towel.

Over medium heat, add 1/4 cup beef salami (about 80 grams), 3-4 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger, and 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Stir until garlic turned brown-ish (about 2 minutes) then add 1/2 head of coarsely chopped iceberg lettuce and 2 cups of ..well I used this Chinese vegetable thing I found at the supermarket. I believe variations of pak choi/bok choi will do. Sprinkle about 2 cubes of broth and pepper. Keep 'em stirring until the veggies are all wilted, turn the heat off. Serve with the fried shallots sprinkled on top

Well mine wasn't as pretty as the picture. But it tasted okay.

2. Banana Strawberry Smoothie
The original recipe calls for peaches and vanilla extract. It's not easy to find peaches here so I just used more bananas instead. I also used vanilla soy milk, so no need to add the extract, PLUS soy milk sounds healthier :))

Pop all of the ingredients below to your blender/smoothie-maker:
4 bananas
12 strawberries
2 cups of vanilla soy milk
1-2 tablespoons of honey

Blend!
And then leave it to cool in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.. Yumm!

Howeverrrr..Since I used a 'fruit juice extractor' (and just in case you had also forgotten that what you have at home is a fruit juice extractor not a blender/smoothie maker but you already bought all of the ingredients) this is what you should do:
- Chop all of the bananas and strawberries into manageable pieces before pushing it through the 'juicer hole'.
- Wait for all of the gooey juice to drip down to the juice container before transferring them to a tumbler.
- Scrape clean all what's left of the bananas and strawberries on the 'waste' compartment. Don't forget to check under the blade as well. I lost a good gunk of banana-strawberry mesh left between the gaps :-(
- Pour in the milk and honey
- Make sure that the tumbler's cap is closed tight
- SHAKE IT

And yup, it does look something like that :)

Corruption and Me

This post is some sort of a prequel to this piece I wrote in JG back in November.

I had to renew my passport, so i asked a fellow reporter where to go if she wants to renew hers. She gave me a number of an official at one of the immigration offices in Jakarta and said that the man was "assigned" by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry to take care of passports for reporters.

"Interesting," I thought. I wasn't aware that reporters have a special window at Indonesian immigration offices.

The next day i called this person and told him that I need to renew my passport, he then told me to go to another person, Bobby (not his real name), because turned out that he had been recently transferred to an island outside Java.

So i went to the Immigration office to see Bobby. I passed through the door that has a "Staff Only" sign on top of it. I asked around for Bobby, a young man in his 30s sitting quite in the middle of the room. From that brief glimpse I assume Bobby is the guy the others go to for signatures.

I told him that I am a reporter and the previous immigration guy told me to see him. Bobby nodded, told me to fill in some forms, ordered me to give him copies of my IDs, including my press card.

Afterwards he told me to come back an hour later to get my photo taken and pay for administration.

One hour passed, I came back and Bobby gave me a piece of paper that shows me how much I have to pay. What struck me is this handwriting (presumably Bobby's) on that piece of paper: "Press, please help".

At that point I felt something nudging my conscience. The last time I heard the phrase "Please help" was during the hearing of Southeast Asian Games graft scandal. Witnesses from local government testified that the Secretary of the Sports and Youth Ministry, who has already been convicted, told them, "Please help this company." Referring to a certain private contractor.

I seek console to the fact that even with the supposedly "powerful phrase" I still have to wait for several hours before my passport interview and photograph. Sitting in the waiting room I thought to myself, "Hey I'm just like anybody else here."

When that's done I asked the official who took my photo when my passport would be ready.

He said, "Oh, that you have to ask the person who helped you. There must be a person downstairs that assisted you, right?"

So I went to see Bobby again and he told me to come back a couple of days later.

To me, this whole "help" and "assistance" thing could only lead to one logical response, that I have to "give back".

So I frantically asked a number of reporters from different media. From the most distinguished one I got the reply: "We do give gifts to the officials who helped us. Not money, mind you. Gifts, like toys for his kid, or cakes."

I also recently knew that this distinguished media also bribe officials in order to get their hands on certain "classified" documents :D

Anyways, on the supposed day that my passport is ready, I decided to get Bobby (and his friends) some "gifts". So I went to a supermarket near my house and bought two bottles of sweet syrup and a big tin of assorted crackers coz hey, it was almost Lebaran. A glass of sweet drink and crackers for Lebaran is a perfect companion!

Once again I went through the doors that said "Staff Only" and found Bobby. He told another officer to get my passport from a stash of others belonging to fellow reporters, police officers and of course, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials.

After I signed a proof of receipt and Bobby handed me my passport, I gestured him to the plastic bag I've been carrying around. The one filled with sweet stuffs for lebaran.

What I didn't expect was his response:

"Hey, you know that we're not allowed to receive anything."

In just that split-second I see myself in the defendant's chair, admitting to the honorable panel of judges that I have given Bobby two bottles of sweet syrup and a tin of assorted crackers for helping me get my new passport :s

So yeah, there I stand in the middle of the Immigration office's bustle and occasional curious glances from visitors, extending my hand awkwardly towards this public servant who is looking up at me from behind his desk and stacks of documents.

I gasped for words and could only muttered something that sounds like, "It's for Lebaran".

Bobby accepted the bag, I smiled lopsidedly, shook his hands, and walked away, promising myself that I would use the regular person's way next time. Please remind me in 2016.

on recent issues and such..

I'm going to use the idle hours on my first day at the Corruption Eradication Commission (aka KPK) to blog. Yay me!

so i'm waiting for this meeting between KPK and seven NGOs including Transparency International Indonesia and the Indonesia Corruption Watch, who are going to push the Commission to investigate graft allegations regarding the construction plan of a new office building for the House of Representative. (yes i'll be covering KPK and anti-corruption courts after more than a year at the Jakarta desk).

Two days ago the House opened the tender but it was quickly followed by criticisms since apparently, the winner, a state-owned company, was already chosen.

The tender was advertised in a local newspaper on Sunday, inviting contractors to bid on individual packets in the Rp 1.2 trillion ($136.8 million) project.

And even though members of the House were supposed to be representatives of the public, they made little discretion on the details of the new office and the process of the planning itself.

In the meantime I entertain myself by pointing out the grammar mistakes in Tomy Winata's response to the Sydney Morning Herald on WikiLeaks' allegations that he had been channeling funds to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

By the way some thirsty-for-fame lawyer, Habibburahman, is attempting to sue the papers $1 million for ruining "the pride of a nation because what they have done has given [Indonesia] a reputation of a corrupt country", the same guy also planning to submit a judicial review request of a gubernatorial decree banning in-door smoking in Jakarta to the Supreme Court.

They are also holding a press conference today alleging the government for ignoring the welfare of clove-cigarette workers over public health. (!!)

This year I celebrate my birthday a day earlier..

It was 11.30 p.m., we were having pillow talks and about to go to bed. He asked me where do we keep our flashlight, I told him that I had put it on the shelf above the kitchen sink.

After a while I asked him if he wanted me to turn off the lights. He said yes.
So we lied on the bedding sheet and bamboo mat that we called 'bed'. We were still talking, and then he got up, "I want to go to the bathroom."

There were the sound of a light switch turned on, followed by the kind of sound that men made when they pee, running water, a flush, another click from the light switch, the sound of a fridge being opened, and the rustle of plastic bag.

And then..

He opened the door, he was holding the flashlight on his left hand, on his right hand a mini oreo cheese cake, and he sang, "Happy birthday to you.."

I sat upright! Surprised! I was astounded..that I can't control the words that rolled just like that from the neurons of my brain, the muscle of my tongue, and mouth, as I said to him, softly, "but honey..my birthday is tomorrow.."

(True story).

We had a good laugh afterwards while we finish the cake xD

And still laughed whenever that night crossed our minds..

But it's true, it made me feel that my birthday was actually on Jan 31 :p so the night before my birthday I slept early, knowing that the birthday surprise was done and over with xD

This birthday I would like to thank God, for His endless blessings, for a healthy mind to think about His work, for a loving husband, for family near and far, for friends old and new, and to thank all of them above for spending a few seconds, minutes to call/sms/send a fb message/tweet/came to my desk/give a handshake/hug/kiss. God bless you all :)

The trip pt. 1

Night train

It was my first time aboard a local train after 8 years.

I ws from Malang heading to Jakarta. Just graduated high school and about to leave the city where I spent my forlorn senior high.

On Monday me and my husband decided to have a trip by train.

A couple of hours later we were at the train station purchasing tickets and I felt a bit nervous. Perhaps because I wasn't used to going on a trip w/out making an itinerary list (our last Bali trip had it's own excel sheet w/ budget&trip details).

And maybe I didn't hv that much trust with our PT Kereta Api. Especially when we get to the tellers we had to fill in a form, gave it to the cashier, and we had to use cash.

Me personally dislike carrying a lot of cash. So, was a bit annoyed that we had to go to an ATM first and then went back to lady teller. And what's with the form? To avoid misunderstanding? Or weird accent? Indecisive customers maybe? Or everything was still done manually that the forms are used to confirm each transaction? Such a waste of trees!

Anyways, we left the station, went home to pack, and came back an hour bfore our scheduled 8.45 pm train, the vibe was different.

There were more people, more restaurant/eat-house waiters offering us their menu AND free internet!

But we already decided to eat japanese fast food bfore we arrived, so...

The compartment was clean, smells like disinfectant (which is good), plenty of space between chairs, there's even a blanket&pillow ..and in train magazine :D guess they're trying to keep up w the airlines tht offer more/less same fares.

The train moved at exactly 8.44 pm. Now that's impressive :D

Too bad we left at night. Can't see much outside. Oh and we finally finished our itinerary list for the next 5 days! Yay!

(almost) end-of-year thoughts

Tonight me and iko are leaving for Jogja, we are going to have a week spent in C. Java. This is going to be a last minute vacation because we just decided a couple of hours ago.

We're planning to visit Borobudur temple (the last time we visited the place was in the 1990s), and probably head to Wonosobo, or Solo, or stay in Jogja. Haven't decided :p

On the morning of the 31st we're planning to take this "mountain railway tour" using an old train in Ambarawa, before heading back to the Big Durian via Jogja.

Wish us luck :p

Secondly, I've been questioning myself lately on whether or not I'd continue my work in journalism or go back to doing projects with NGOs.

It's been more than a year since I started working as a reporter.

There is the need to learn skills tips and tricks. I missed training sessions at the office but I've registerd myself for a training at PPMN (Indonesian Association for Media Development). And I read a book. Two days ago I bought Andreas Harsono's new book "'A9ama' Saya Adalah Jurnalisme". Very inspirational.

With no basic education in journalism made me clueless about the "root" of journalism. Andreas' book was structured in a way that I can grasp the soul of journalism: the 9 elements of journalism, he then later described a few techniques and cases, and then as the book draws to the end, the topic climaxed to conflicts within journalism and reporting, investigative journalism, and ended with his view on the lack of media coverage in Papua.

That was a very very rough review. I have to shower because we still need to pack and get the train tickets :p

cheers!

quiet sunday

we're entering the 5th day of Ramadhan..and today has been the kind of fasting-day that I'm familiar with: l a z y :p

i want to end the do-nothing-ness by trying to write a blog post.
no ideas though :s

when at other days my head would be so full of ideas, but no time for writing a proper blog post. today i have so much time in my hand yet clueless..well, picky.. on what to write.

im trying to search my head for issues that got me so wound-up lately. but today i somehow found them less interesting. being in a cozy room at my parent's house has managed to isolate me from the outside world.
plus the hunger keeps distracting me from any form of deep-thinking :p

(time lapse: 45 minutes to read online comics)

hmm..still none..

well, i'm going to wrap it up by saying congrats to blogger.com with its nice addition on themes and background images and its very very easy-to-use layout tools.

i would temporarily use this one until the next spark of inspiration :p :p

oh, i need to read a good book. not the heavy type. any ideas?

Birthday Reflection: Welcoming 25

My 25th birthday, was pretty normal. The night before I had dinner with my dad, mum, my sisters, my bro (minus Bil) and Iko. Nothing fancy, it's really near my office, one of the perks of having your office in a mall I guess. So we went to the 10th floor where the sky dining is, food was not bad, and the view was quite pretty.

Went to sleep by 10, Iko woke me up at 12, gave a birthday hug, and we're back to sleep.

Got hundreds of birthday wishes, which was the highlight of the day actually. Went to work as usual, Iko went home late.. as usual.

As the hours rolled by, my happines started to crumble. When I went home it was raining quite hard, my taxi driver was clueless of which road to take to avoid traffic jam (either that or he's just trying to rip me off), and there's this headache that came out of nowhere.. I arrived at our place crying -_-

And of course Iko was still in a meeting, so as I forced myself to sleep (tears still rolling), I started to recount all the nice things that happened to me this year.
I does suck to know that there's one day that reminds you that you're getting old, but it kinda sucks more for me when that day was spent just like that.

So call me immature or childish but I've decided that I refused to have a horrible birthday in the future!! xD

ahum, so...my point is..i'm pretty grateful of where I am right now. it's one of those moments when u think that some parts of your life starts to make sense. Could be an ugly trick that life's playing on me but..i've decided to savour the moment anyway.

so..i am truly convinced now that you really CAN get anything you want. i belive that happiness is really in your hands, to control, to achieve.. to borrow from coelho: "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

so, cheesiness aside. i'd still have to thank this guy:


even if he's so annoying most of the time :)

the fifth respectable short story club weekly meeting minutes

January 17, 2010

Attendance list
Elvin Priyadi
Laurentia Dhanio (Riri)
Ulma Nurriva Haryanto

On this fifth meeting, the club had to read a short story by Nathan Nolan, Memento Mori. The story inspired the movie Memento, directed by the author's brother, Christopher Nolan. For those who haven't seen the movie, you should!! (yes yes i've been relentingly promoting the movie to the girls.. i just cant help it :p)

The meeting actually started off with us discussing the culture of bribing and corrupt police system in Indonesia, this was following a recent inspection by a judicial taskforce in Jakarta which found luxurious cells in a penitentiary in East Jakarta.

Then we talked a bit about the situation in Asia's prison.. Elvin referred to a show on National Geographic called 'Locked Up Abroad', which had an episode with Indonesian prisons in Malang and Bali.

We moved on to this video in YouTube in which Riri expressed a very evident dislike :p the video was the one showing a canadian (?) tourist riding a motorbike, without proper license, was stopped by a police, then the police asked for a payment in order to let him pass.. Sure, as an Indonesian u'd b ashamed of the police's behaviour.. and concerened about the world's opinion of our beloved country after seeing that video. It's not a way of educating the people, that video, but the guy who made it never meant to educate anyway.. It was made to flaunt the country's embarassing reality to youtube viewers..

so...we believe that the problem might lie on the institution that spawns these policemen. it's an open secret that to enter the academy you're gonna need money, and/or related or know someone important. there's the need for total reform.. of mindset, of the institution itself.. we also sometimes enable the behavior because we are impatient, we want things to be instant, or a misplaced sympathy.. "Poor low-paid policeman/civil servants, here.. have some extra"

Before we could finally focus on the story, elvin pointed out that those in Holland had to be more careful when downloading movies with copyrighted content. things hv gone more strict.

So, the short story..

riri loved the theme, since it resonates with the thing she feared the most: memory-loss. The character was told to have a malfunctioned brain, he suffered from backwards amnesia or anterograde amnesia. his memory only spans for 10 minutes, before it goes blank and he had to start all-over again.

he filled his room, his body with instructions. a bell was inside his backpocket all the time. Two dates were engraved, one was his birth date, and one he eventually forgot (we suspect its either his wedding/the death of his wife, which he repeatedly include in his notes to make sure he would not forget).

so in every 10-minutes earl (the guy) read the instructions he made before, try to remember, n then in 'moments of clarity' write instructions of what he's supposed to do next before his medial temporal lobe refreshed itself again.

So what is this 'moments of clarity'? Quoting from the story:

...for a few minutes of every day, every man becomes a genius. Moments of clarity, insight, whatever you want to call them...everything becomes obvious...For a few moments, the secrets of the universe are opened to us.

But the problem is, we are not always that 'smart'.

But then the genius, the savant, has to hand over the controls to the next guy down the pike, most likely the guy who just wants to eat potato chips, and insight and brilliance and salvation are all entrusted to a moron or a hedonist or a narcoleptic.

And so, the only way out of this mess, according to the story, "is to take steps to ensure that you control the idiots that you become. To take your chain gang, hand in hand, and lead them. The best way to do this is with a list."

of course! how genius!

The other things in our lives made us failed to graps these moments of clarity: other priorities/constrains, moodswings. moments of clarity can take many forms, one of it is desperation..
elvin believed that desperation can be a way to solve a problem, especially when it involves whining. Because by whining you wish for someone to come and rescue the day :p

and so.. the meeting was concluded with blocking creeps and weirdos from our contact list :)))

Until the next meeting.. adieu!

p.s. for previous meeting minutes do click here and here . oh and Riri, don't be surprised by the precision of this minute, coz there is this feature in Yahoo! Messenger called 'Message Archive' ;))

so this is the new year...

this morning i received an email from a good friend, that her boyfriend proposed to her in a most romantic way.. just like in those movies.. n then i read elvin's blog, so i was thinking to write something about last year's resolution..

but then bad news struck n left me disoriented.

the newspaper has laid off some people.. one's a friend of mine.. ive just known her for a while.. less than 3 months.. feel terribly sorry for her and other people who got laid off.. as far as i know some has taken it well, im not doubting either that my friend is already running n sending out her CVs by now..

now i'm wondering if i should watch for my head too.. too bad.. maybe my old office would take me back :D *start updating CV*

the non-bookclub meeting minutes that is 3 days late..well make it one week AND 3 days

Jakarta, 27 December 2009

Attendance list:
Elvin Priyadi
Laurentia Dhanio (Riri)
Ulma Nurriva Haryanto

This week's short story was 'In The South' by Salman Rushdie.

Summary:
It's about two elderly Indian men understanding death and life. Senior and Junior, two 81-year-old neighbors, spent their days bickering and going at each other. It's quite lengthy. 5494 words, approximately 6 pages. Senior was portrayed to be the one with ambition during his younger years. But as he outlived most of his relatives and felt more and more confined by his old age, he became the bitter one. While Junior, unmarried, retired as a 'respected' clerk, had never had any ambitions in his life, and so, the easygoing one.

Discussion points (non-story related):
- Elvin's almost-frozen fingers. She had lost her gloves and hadn't found the time to buy new ones
- Riri just finished an acrylic painting and now it's being displayed in fedi's work room.
- Ulma just had dinner with her whole family celebrating her mum's birthday
- Elvin pointed out that we tend to pick stories that carry the theme of loneliness and bitterness.

Discussing the story.
Ulma thinks that googling is necessary for this story in order to really "get" certain vibes and impressions. Riri also said that she has to google a couple of words.

And so, everybody's favourite parts from the story was when Junior and Senior cashed up their pension slips, in which readers were given another twist on both characters. As Junior had always been depicted as the easy going one, he, in fact was quite bitter when it comes to the idea of retirement. My favourite part was when Senior talked about his relatives, especially the part: "The babies-in-law rattled their rattles and giggled their giggles and screamed their baby scream".

Riri's favourite part was when Senior said, “...The south is a fiction, existing only because men have agreed to call it that...The universe does not understand up and down...In this regard, the points of the compass are like money, which has value only because men say that it does."
Riri also pointed out that the same goes to the concept of time: hours, minutes, seconds, year - there is no such thing as how old you are, your body is just wearing out.

The story also made us think, as we get old, would we be the bitter one? or the satisfied mediocre one? are we going to ask God for death everyday? It also tells us about how sometimes achievement and satisfaction does not relate to each other. How many achievemnt one's had, does not correlate to one's satisfaction. When Junior died (sorry, spoiler alert -- Junior died at the end of the story), Senior asked, "Why not me?", but Riri pointed out, even if Senior died, he would had asked, "Why me?"

And Salman, like other middle-eastern/west-asian authors has a 'rich' story-telling style, very descriptive, very warm, perhaps their cultural background contributed to their writing style.

Respectable Book-Worming Club (and some updates)

Amsterdam, December 13th, 2009.

Welcome to the Book-Worming club. We are here to bitch about life and discussing short story.

A short introduction to the committee (alphabetically ordered),
Ms. Elvin Priyadi (geek by day, cook by night)
Ms. Laurentia Dhanio (temporary housewife)
Mrs. Ulma Nurriva Haryanto-Putera (high-flying journalist-slash-wife)

With today’s short story: Grace Paley’s A Man Told Me the Story of His Life. A very short story, as Mrs. Ulma pointed out. Counting around 300 words, I have to agree with her (:p). The theme centers on talents and wishes. With a message of, as Ms.Laurentia pointed out, “talents will never be wasted”.

At the first glance, it seems like the division of a beginning, climax and resolution in Grace Paley’s story is clearly defined (although got me confused in the climax part)
As we are reading and discussing it, we suddenly see there is a connecting string at the end to the beginning of the story. A loop.

mmm. interesting, in’it?

But what is more interesting, is what you can find in the committee bags :D Take Mrs. Ulma, she has 3 cellphones. Three, people. Why? One for the messenger, one for making phone calls, and one for sms-ing. Ms. Laurentia, in the other hand, has one of those rare moments to have a tissue in her bag.

And me? I have toilet paper in my bag (long story)

Thus, The Respectable Book-Worming Club bid you all farewell for now. We will be back with a new short story.

temporary archiver,

.e

P.S. Book-Worming Club, the name is temporary. The committee shall discuss the official name during next meeting (including the weekly meeting thing :p)

from elvnprya

Now.. I just realized she wrote my name with a 'Mrs.' .. my my, i'm a married woman..
As 2009 is drawing to a close, and i'm enjoying the 1st day as a lazy bum since after being employed, elvin had this idea to start a well.. not really a book club, but rather, a short-story club.. we busy women have no time for reading books lately xD
well it's an exercise.. so we start with short stories

today will mark my 2nd month of working at the jakarta globe. i have to say.. it's tough :p
there were times that i hv to write 3 stories a day... there were times that i've got nothing to write, read most of new items on my google reader feed, and it's 6 p.m.

the working schedule is quite un-ordinary. sometimes i hv to work on sundays, sometimes i hv another day off on one of the work days.. so i hv to leave iko at home on sundays.. and vice versa.. well i used to come to my old office, still got some work left there. but a couple of weeks ago i stopped going there cause it costed time+money to travel :p plus it's hot out there.. so i just stayed at home n do my thing..

annd there's also the matter of writing journalism technique that I, as a communication management student with NGO background have to work more on -_-

anyways, the job certainly has its perks. The goody-bags, the freebies :D the free buffet.. I went to places, I met people.. people that I usually only see on TV.. some whom I had never thought I would even speak to.. bearing the title 'news reporter/journalist' gave me the privilege to ask about anything to anyone, to those who respect that right anyway.. but this also comes with me the responsibility of having whatever I write to be the subject of people's opinion.. plus the newspaper's credibility is also on my shoulder..

hum. anyways.

looking forward to spend the long weekend with family. ah ya i'm off from wed-sun :p myb gonna write one / two more posts during the weekend.. maybe......

ta-ta for now. xoxo.

No Change for Change

I wrote this as an assignment for the jakarta globe when i first applied there.. Had wanted to post this sooner but alas, i'm too busy :P Pics will come soon..
Sanggar Anak Akar is a children's foundation for alternative education. It started as children's rights advocacy group that also provides shelter and alternative education for street children. Alternative here means that they focus more on informal education and skills such as art, music, and dance. The foundation holds regular performances, if you live around Jakarta and/or would like to visit the school and see the children practice, their address is at:
Jl. Inspeksi Saluran Jatiluhur No. 30, RT 07/RW 01 Cipinang Melayu RT 07/RW 01 Kalimalang - Jakarta Timur 13620
During my visit they were practicing for a performance in Goethe, it was just amazing to see the children perform.
KKS Melati is a volunteer group that provides open library for, especially, street children. They provide books as well in a number of children shelter across Jakarta, and circulate amongst them every couple of months. So if you have too much books on your shelf, or need to get rid of those from your childhood, you can visit their "central" library and i'm sure there are lots of children who will love to read them. KKS Melati's address:
Jl. Ampera II No. 17A RT 005/009
Jakarta Selatan 12550

No Change for Change

Having to face something everyday might create apathy, taking it for granted. Jakarta’s street children is one of the phenomenon that is slowly, and unrightfully slips away from the society’s concern. But is the condition all too hopeless to expect for any change? Does giving out small change to buskers can help change their condition?

Tika (16) and Yuni (15) are regular buskers at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal. Together with their younger siblings and other kids they would sing along the rhythmic clappings of their hands or the strums of their small guitar. Tika refused to state how much money she got from busking but according to ojek drivers on that area child buskers could get as much as Rp 90,000 a day.

When one asked why they are busking on the streets instead of going to school, most of their answers were surprisingly because they liked it there. Except for Irma (7) who had to be there since her mother had been ill and her father had ran off with another woman. Tika admitted that she never wanted to go to school. None of her four siblings went as far as having basic formal education. Parents like Tika’s might not be abusive, but it’s their way of thinking that entrapped their children. It is better to have their children close-by or at a neighborhood they are familiar with, than at some alien institution. Not to forget that it is also cheaper and it brings in extra money. To the children, both formal and informal institution means restriction to their freedom. Ijul (30), one of the inhabitants of Yayasan Anak Akar (“Akar” Foundation for Children), to be free was everything that he wanted when he was young.

So Tika and her friends chose to stay on the street, and the bus terminal is their second home and their playground. Take a closer look and you could see their happy faces between the bustles of people and Metromini daredevils. They might try to look sad so that you gave them money, but sometimes you can actually tell that it’s just make-pretend. Such an irony, but they are having fun.

4km south-east of Kampung Melayu is the Yayasan Anak Akar, a compound in East Jakarta with a spacious gazebo for an open classroom, or theatre, dance, and music workshop. It started as a foundation for the advocacy of street children’s rights 15 years ago before focusing more on the practical and hands-on actions as educators of children. Today it is what 40 ex-street children called home.

The compound is a living and learning area for street children who used to live as far as Tanjung Priuk (Northern Jakarta, 20km away). Hatta (15) ran away from home with a friend when he was only 10 years old. Susilo Adinegoro (44) aka pakde (uncle) aka the rector, an ex-journalist and one of the founder of The Foundation stated that these children [who came to the house on their own initiatives] are indeed very special. They are the rare ones who consciously stepped out of the vicious poverty circle in search of a better way of living. Susilo himself saw Yayasan Akar “graduates” become professional musicians, employees, and teachers/tutors/instructors.

Further down in southern Jakarta in the Ampera area is the community-rooted Kelompok Kerja Sosial Melati (“Melati” Community of Humanitarian Worker). Since its initiation in 2001, KKS-Melati consists of volunteers of all ages working towards a better Jakarta. Targeting at under-privileged youth around the neighborhood, KKS Melati provides mini library and an afterschool learning group where children are being taught creative writing, drawing, handcrafts and by request, school subjects such as math and English. The community is also responsible for the facilitation of books and stationeries of 15 children shelters across Jakarta.

Yayasan Anak Akar and KKS Melati are both supported by a strong network of people and volunteers contributing their time, skill and knowledge. Their years of work brought positive reaction from local communities and parents that, in the long run, share their vision that children have the right for protection and education.

The life in Jakarta’s streets is mean and harsh but it is not possible to foresee a better ending for these children. Foundations such as Yayasan Anak Akar and SAJA (Sekolah Anak Jalanan or the School for Street Children) are trying to find alternative ways to educate and empower children, and grass-root communities such as KKS Melati consorts people to co-create sustainable learning environment for disadvantaged children. Governments and their official bodies may be facilitators and enforcers of law, but communities and individuals are the real initiators of change. Active participation from the society is needed, and giving out small change to child buskers does not change anything.

hiatus.. schmiatus...

wow.. this has been a long hiatus :p
and it has not end yet xD
still can not make the time to sit and blog
but i updated my twitter quite regularly :p
and my facebook...
twitter being the most often.
gonna do another blog make-over after this..

until then.. ciao ciao ;)

so you want to be a gypsy?

sometimes i thought that i want too little out of life, or too general, not specific: happiness in this world and of course the hereafter. I tried to make it more specific, did self-searching, focus more on myself.. did things that make me happy.. it didnt work. i turned out to be super-selfish.
so i concluded that maybe i can never be like those people with high dreams and aspirations, have specific objectives and goals, what to pursue in their life. well, i know i could if i want to, but all these times i found out that i cant really focus on myself :p people told me that you have to know what you want in this life. what if im just one of those ppl who dont want a lot of things..or am i the only one? :P Like.. why go to Holland? honestly the only thing that passed my mind was 'the adventure' :p
why work in NGO? coz its adventurous, you never knew when you get the money, and you can travel.. plus you get to help other ppl, and even got paid!
of course i like money, all the nice things you could buy with it. and i like working, do/create stuffs.. so i can never see myself as an investor who just put money somewhere and let it grow (yet) xp and definitely, i dont want to be a burden to anyone. i dont know, im 24 so myb its already to late to change my mind-set.
i know i did a lot of bad/irresponsible things in the past. some of them came out of arrogance when i got too comfortable with my life. so maybe i am not allowed to be too comfy coz then i'd forget about othr ppl.. and Him.
....
myb ppl will say 'you wont say the same thing when ure rich&successful'. umm yea.. im still doubting if i will ever reach that stage...
i dont know.. myb i had a too happy childhood xD no worries and carefree..
or myb its the weather..
oh living up to parents' expectations? my parents are pretty laid-back.. the kind of parents who'd love you just the way you are..
so tell me, should i be worried? xD
*sigh

--an extended version of my text msg to DaD

Ulm's Vegetarian Strogatelle

when i do something n its fun, i dont want to get too serious about it. (lately just realised that its not a good idea to apply it on a relationship). one of those things that i considered as 'fun' is cooking. for me cooking is leisure, apart from doing it to fulfil basic necessity of feeding. im still learning, try out recipes as much as i can..

so today i made a "Vegetarian Strogatelle" (click for original recipe). The original name was Beef Strogataki, it's spposed to be a cross-breed of beef stroganoff and shirataki fettucine noodles the recipe called for. N mine's vegegetarian strogatelle coz i modified the beef to vegetarian meatballs, n used tagliatelle instead of fettuccine :p its simple n easy.. nyahaha.. wntd to try it out coz i nvr used the gravy mix+yoghurt+cheese wedges combination bfore..

Ingredients:
250 gr of vegetarian meatballs
400 gr of tagliatelle
1.5 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup thinly sliced onion
2 wedges The Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, room temperature (also yummy as snacks ^^)
2 tsp. dry au jus gravy mix (vlees jus)
2 tsp. plain yogurt
salt and black pepper, to taste
olive oil

Directions:
Cook tagliatelle. Here's how my uncle taught me do it: mix salt, (olive) oil when boiling the pasta. normally they take 6 mins. to cook (check the packaging), make sure u stir 'em occasionally, check the texture, cooked pasta should be all tender n smooth (u can taste it if u want). n then drain the water, splash shortly with cold running water. Set aside.

Pour some olive oil on a pan to medium-high heat on the stove. Cook meat in the pan until fully cooked. Set aside.

Combine gravy mix with 1 cup water and stir until dissolved. Carefully pour mixture into the pan (over medium-high heat on the stove). Add mushrooms and onion, and cook until veggies are tender and sauce has thickened, about 7 - 10 minutes.

Add cheese wedge and stir until melted. Add yogurt and stir well, until sauce appears uniform and ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Add noodles and meatballs to the pan, and mix until completely coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and eat up!

---

other stuffs that i like to do:
going to the beach! (thanks elvin for the trip to the edge of the world :p)
lie there under the big blue blue sky, the warmth of the sun, the smell of seawater, the rush of waves.. perfect <3
exploring! go jungle trekking n stuff.
doodle :3
and one day i want to go canoeing again!

rehab day 3 or where am i?

i usually dont really care about what other ppl say/think.. dont care about 'credibility'.. following my own weird drumbeats.. but lately what ive done was messing with my own life and other ppl's..
myb locking myself away from the society is better xp
i guess im gonna stick with this 'lifestyle' for awhile..

meh.. okay okay.. not locking myself away.. that's too dramatized...

rehab day 2 or sticky chicken day

ze ingrédients:
chicken (obviously)
lemon
pepper
thyme
parsley
honey (or any other substance to make it sticky.. but prefrably honey..)
soy sauce
olive oil
(sherry) vinegar
a head of garlic (or yours.. doesnt matter, but it gotta be sliced)

ze opération
heat oil, chop chicken to pieces, fry until chicken changes colour.
sprinkle in pepper, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce, vinegar, n 3-4 tbsp oil
slice lemon, spread evenly on top of chicken.. wait 4-5 minutes
add garlic, some water, cook some more until chicken gets brownish/caramel colour
add 3 tbsp honey then sprinkle in the thyme
chop parsley, sprinkle over chicken..
stir em a bit..
and done :D

via mr. Kunto via youtube

...
and now for the less happy note..

i hate you.. for no reason
cause actually i hate myself..
maybe i hate you for making me hate myself..
but in the end i just hate myself more for hating you for making me hate myself..
i hate this world -_-

btw, reached sura 9. At-Taubah (Repentance) or Al Bara'ah (Ultimatum).. I dont know why one prefer one name than the other.. It's the only sura in Koran that does not start with Basmallah. RK convinced that it's related to the mathematical pattern of Koran that makes it safe from tampering. ...and, he concluded that this Sura ends at verse 127. The last two verses, verse 128 and 129 are.. fake.

rehab day 1

after.. the whole post-break up mess thing. (includes: asked mr. ex to come back, sent frantic emails, texts to him, his mum, my parents, bugging my bestfriends for hours.. bitching complaining.. whining.. *sigh the whole roller-coaster of "i want him back" "no i dont" "i miss him" "im just gonna torture that poor guy")

lemme see its been.. 10 days? i kept a "manual" journal. means its not digital.. old fashioned pen and paper-diary =D

i promised myself (well also encouraged by mr. ex) to.. fix my life. be stronger. the whole package. and since i dont really have anything to do =p no need to go outside or socialize or have any activity like any normal ppl do xp basically sentencing myself to the lifestyle of a hermit =p (Uhm wait.. i hv always been... kinda.. sorta......)

so i decided to go back to God. Challenge myself kind of thing. I just passed one day of doing the 5 contact prayers.. it's TOUGH. i havent done it for a long time. and i didnt want it to be just prayers, i wanted it to be where i really concentrated on the dua's that i cited,their meanings, tasbih afterwards, read verses from the Koran and their meaning, think about it,use it in my closing dua, and end the "ritual" with a 'gratitude sujud'. afterwards i checkd the indonesian translation with the one from rashad kalifa (there are a lot of controversies on him, but i like his works.. and my Dad likes him, so.. =p but umm yea i know i shouldnt follow him 'blindly'. but this is by far what i got.).. i mean those indonesian translation sometimes sounds confusing. No wonder ppl lost interest in reading them and concentrate more on tajwid and how to make beautiful noises out of it. Dad installed RK's 'Quran- The Final Testament' (he got it from a friend of his.. there r some programmes available here, but none of them is what i have) when he was here and its really handy. Complete with footnotes and appendices.

And try to.. let's say.. be "pure" again. Like, try to completely surrender my soul to God. Which actually requires me to trust my own "soul" and believe in it. And its hard. Im used to being sceptic and not believing. especially towards myself.

and so.. i decided to "rehab" myself.. for at least 3 days xD well, i want to see if i can go through the 3 days and continue it.. for a week... i mean.. its hard.. i think.. especially umm if im done 'rehab'-ing, and want to live 'righteous'ly, understand Koran and try to apply it in daily life.. geez.. i dunno when that day would come or will i even reach that stage. this has only been one day, 5 prayers, and 104 verses.. it's already felt heavy =p especially when u read those verses and realised ure not living your life the way you're spposed to be. *sigh and yea, a lot to remember.. a lot of things need to be applied..

The real test is the "world out there". For example, "When the devil whispers to you any whisper, seek refuge in God; He is Hearer, Omniscient. Those who are righteous, whenever the devil approaches them with an idea, they remember (God), whereupon they become seers" (Indonesian translation version: they can see that its the devil) - The Purgatory/Al A'Raaf 200-201.

Seems pretty simple but .. u bet know that its hard xD u cant always.. remember. even if i stay at home, i still have this urge to b*tch n moan.. and when i go outside.. i meet people.. see stuffs.. and people here dont care about God.. and they're fine.. of course the Koran said they wouldnt be fine in the Hereafter, but they dont even believe in the Hereafter. They're enjoying the moment! Whats not a bigger temptation than that? =p

And I just finished the 8th Sura 'Spoils of War' (Al Anfaal).. it really got interesting stuffs. And and i think moslems should read their Koran everyday, not only citing madly to those arabic letters, but also its meanings. Also I know in Indonesia, people are a bit discouraged from learning the Koran cause they have to learn to read this whole new language with its weird symbols and rules... My dad was one of them =p but thank God he awesomely overcame it and after that he always showered us with the beauty and wonder of our religion (love you, Dad)..

when i was a kid i was pretty proud of myself who could do all 5 prayers in a day (still remember that Dad only obliged me to do the Subuh and the Maghrib ones), read the Koran,... and i thought my life would be fine.. but NOOOOOO.. its not that easy... =p And i know, here, its hard to do all 5 prayers (my excuse at least). . I skipped once or twice and then decided to 'go easy' on myself and ended up never really doing it =p and i started to do other, many unrighteous things as well.. (pls dont ask about it =p)

umm yea.. so we'll see.. am i gonna disappoint myself as usual.. or .. not.. uhm 2 days to go.. haha..

And let me close the post with this:

Thus, you should not grieve over anything you miss, nor be proud of anything He has bestowed upon you. God does not love those who are boastful, proud. (Iron/Al-Hadeed:57)

Ahum.. God bless you all =]