Three Things Your Boss Will Tell You About Aiming For Success

If you have 30 minutes to talk with your CEO at fireside, what topics will you bring up? I bet the questions would be about his success path. How did he make his way to the top? What differences he have made to achieve target? What driven him the most?

I once had the opportunity to ask such questions. The man in power sure has a lot of experience to share. Stories were told, lessons were learned, and traits were shared. Hearing his speech was like reading a motivation book. He gave three key points he feels affected him along the road to his success.

1. Focus on your goal. What should be the goal here is what really matters to you. Something that cannot get out of your head, something that you feel is the most important to you. No matter how distractive your surroundings, your mind will always get back to it. No matter how difficult it might seem, you will always try to succeed it.
2. Be competent in your work. Be irreplaceable. Go extra mile to learn different approach to make things more efficient. Be acknowledged for your expertise. Learn third language, take new project, travel to new places, grab the challenge, anything to expand your experience and shape your skills.
3. Execute your plan. You will never know how good a plan is until you start carrying it out. You never know how good a dream is until you make it a reality. Start immediately and you will feel the urge to finish it immediately as well. One tip to remember: always listen to your guts. Spontaneous decision is usually the best decision.

Yang Cepat, Yang Lebih Produktif

Sadarkah kamu bahwa video-video yang kamu tonton di Facebook ataupun Youtube seringkali dikemas dalam format cepat (hyperlapse)? Selain agar lebih ngirit space, juga agar lebih menarik. Nonton lima menit video tutorial saja kita sudah bisa tau sepuluh macam DIY. Jika suka videonya, tinggal klik like, share, atau save buat jaga-jaga siapa tau nanti kepengen bikin yang seperti itu (walaupun pada kenyataannya terlupakan). Awalnya memang hanya iseng buka satu video, kita pikir ah paling sebentar ini gak nyampe lima menit. Gak taunya setelah satu video selesai, muncul video berikutnya yang mirip-mirip tapi judulnya menarik. Gak terasa dua jam habis cuma untuk nonton video. Setelah itu, kita kembali ke rutinitas.

Tanpa kita sadari, keputusan kita untuk menonton video-video tersebut dilakukan tanpa berpikir panjang. Walaupun terkadang kita senang melihat proses, tapi sebenarnya kita lebih penasaran dengan hasil akhir. Bahkan jika video itu panjang atau kelamaan prosesnya, tanpa ragu kita klik fast-forward hingga ke tampilan akhir. "Oh...ternyata kaya gitu...", adalah kalimat yang sering kita ucapkan di dalam pikiran. Jarang kita mengulang video yang sudah ditonton. Ibarat buka puasa dengan sop buah porsi besar. Awalnya terlihat sangat menggiurkan. Disantap langsung dalam sekejap habis tak bersisa. Begitu disuruh sebutin buah apa aja tadi yang dimakan hanya mampu ingat empat atau lima buah saja, selebihnya lupa. Kalau disuruh ngulang makan sop buah lagi, ogah karena sudah kenyang. Tapi kalau ditawari gorengan, mau juga deh nyomot barang dua biji. Padahal belum sepuluh menit tapi perut udah begah kekenyangan.

Kembali lagi ke video. Video yang dipercepat terlihat lebih menarik daripada yang biasa. Berkat mudahnya teknologi, kita bisa melakukan banyak hal dalam waktu yang singkat. Yang kita lihat di layar, semua memang serba cepat. Namun demikian, rutinitas yang kita jalankan bergerak dengan kecepatan biasa (biasa disini maksudnya biasa lambat). Misalnya, kita bekerja 8 jam sehari. Mulai dari hari Senin saja kita sudah agak malas karena terpikir kemacetan yang bakal membuat pergerakan kita jadi lambat. Sampai di kantor kita lambat mengingat-ingat apa saja yang terakhir dikerjakan dan apa yang belum. Lambat-lambat kita mulai bekerja, walaupun mata sering melirik ke jam menghitung sisa waktu menuju makan siang. Cara bekerja seperti ini sangat membosankan. Mungkin saking bosannya, kita sengaja menunda. Sampai ketika pekerjaan sudah menumpuk atau mendekati deadline, baru kita sibuk dan stress. Baru deh kita mulai bergerak cepat, kita fast-forward cara bekerja kita. Mata yang tadinya ngantuk jadi terpaksa melek. Disinilah mulai terasa semangat energi. Kita tau bahwa kita mesti mempercepat proses agar sampai ke hasil akhir, persis seperti video yang dipercepat.

Bekerja lebih cepat terasa lebih bersemangat. Sebenernya kita tidak hanya bisa mempercepat video yang kita lihat di dunia maya, tapi kita juga bisa mempercepat "video kita" di dunia nyata. Misalnya, mulai dari pekerjaan kecil, seperti mengelap meja, bisa kita lakukan dalam waktu 1 menit. Tidak perlu berlama-lama yang penting goal-nya tercapai. Jika sudah dimulai, energi yang muncul akan semakin besar. Kita jadi tambah semangat untuk mengerjakan hal-hal lainnya. Trik ini membuat pekerjaan kita lebih efisien, lebih produktif, mengurangi galau dan baper, yang pasti kita lebih puas dan pede sama diri sendiri.

Jadi, jangan berpikir terlalu lama. Lakukan apa yang menurutmu penting untuk dilakukan...dan lakukan itu dengan cepat! Hap hap hap! :-)

Tambahan: Dua artikel berikut mungkin bisa jadi inspirasi kamu:

Artikel 1 -> 35 Tips Tokcer Agar Kamu Produktif, Serta Bisa Kerja Dengan Cepat dan Efisien

Artikel 2 -> Cara Membedakan Pekerjaan Penting, Kerjaan Mendesak, dan Kerjaan Nggak Penting

Spiritless Situation

A friend of mine has just reminded me that I haven't updated my blog for quite a while. This was due to several reasons. I got some new tasks in the office which require me to spend more energy working all day long. Arriving home, I already got too exhausted to do anything other than sleeping. Three years ago, I could do many things before going home. I could go to Toastmasters club, or going to the gym, or taking dance class, even jogging in the evening. But now, I could do nothing of them. The spirit has gone. I have been trying to find out why it is gone and how should I do to get it back. So I think by getting back to blog writing, I could find again my strength and passion in writing.

Melawan Kanker dengan Virus

Semalam saya menonton tayangan dokumentasi di kanal FOX HD tentang penemuan dalam dunia kedokteran: mengobati kanker dengan virus. Tayangan berjudul "VICE Special Report: Killing Cancer" tersebut menampilkan hasil riset di berbagai institusi ilmu kedokteran yang melakukan uji klinis pengobatan berbagai macam kanker dengan merekayasa sel punca dari virus. Jenis virus yang dipakai bervariasi, mulai dari virus flu, virus campak hingga HIV.

Abramson Cancer Center di Universitas Pennsylvania merupakan salah satu lembaga riset yang mengembangkan uji coba pengobatan sel punca dari sistem imun untuk melawan sel kanker. Sistem kekebalan tubuh manusia sangat berperan penting dalam melindungi badan dari penyakit. Sistem imun bekerja dengan mengandalkan "T-cells" yang merupakan pertahanan terdepan dalam mencari dan menghancurkan sel-sel penyakit. Sayangnya T-cells ini tidak cukup efektif melawan penyakit kanker. Kemudian dilakukan riset modifikasi sel punca agar menjadi T-cells yang lebih kuat dan pintar melawan kanker. Pasien penderita kanker diuji coba dengan terapi Chimeric Antigen Receptor dimana sel darah putih diambil dari pasien untuk dimodifikasi menjadi lebih agresif terhadap sel kanker. Setelah direkayasa, sel darah putih tersebut dikembalikan dalam tubuh pasien dan dibiarkan bekerja. Efek yang dialami pasien bervariasi tergantung dari seberapa besar dan ganasnya kanker yang diderita. Emily Whitehead merupakan salah satu anak penderita leukemia yang menjalani terapi ini di tahun 2012. Darah putih diambil dan dikumpulkan dari tubuhnya untuk kemudian "diprogram ulang" dalam proses yang menggunakan HIV non-aktif. T-cells dari darah putih dimodifikasi secara genetis dengan sedemikian rupa agar bisa mendeteksi dan meyerang sel-sel kanker. Setelah darah putih dikembalikan dalam tubuh Emily, selama beberapa minggu Emily berbaring dalam ruang rawat intensif. Beberapa hari setelahnya Emily berangsur pulih. Dokter yang memeriksanya sudah tidak lagi menemukan satupun sel kanker dalam tubuhnya. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa terapi T-cells bekerja dengan sangat baik melawan kanker. Saat ini Emily sudah empat tahun terbebas dari kanker dan hidup sehat seperti anak-anak seumurnya.

Penemuan ini sangat menjanjikan di masa depan. Pasien penderita kanker bisa diselamatkan dengan terapi modifikasi sel punca dari virus. Semoga penelitian kanker di Indonesia bisa ikut mengembangkan dan menerapkan terapi ini. Dengan demikian, penderita kanker bisa terbebas dari efek buruk kemoterapi dan bisa seterusnya menjalani hidup dengan sehat.

Murphy's Law

The first time I heard the word of Murphy's Law was when I watched Interstellar movie. At that time I didn't understand the meaning of it. But after watching final show Miss Universe 2015, in which the host mistakenly announced winner's name, I now understand. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. It reminds me of several unfortunate events I had. I hate it when something went wrong but I couldn't help to avoid nor to fix it. No matter how hard I try to make it good, it eventually goes wrong. It stressed me when events that I didn't expect to happen occur, even worse when this happens at the least ideal time.

It happens anytime in any day, like when I missed important calls, when I tried to explain things to someone but failed, or when I thought something will happen but it didn't. I came to realize that there's always something beyond my reach, things that unlikely to happen but it happens anyway. For example, I thought by buying a piano would motivate me to start learning piano. But it didn't. I thought by watching Youtube would make me learn faster. But it didn't. Whenever I tried to start playing, there's always something else must be done first. Nothing as easy as it looks. But when my niece and nephew come over, the piano turns out to be a great entertainment for them. And I feel enjoyed learning piano when they were around.

So the question "when?" is still mystery. It could be coincidental but it doesn't mean we can't control it. The only way to to get in control of Murphy's Law: Law of Attraction. Murphy’s Law is manifestation of negative thoughts. By always keeping positive thoughts, one could manage bad things to occur. This is how to do it (source):

1. Recognize it. Be aware of your thoughts. Awareness is key to preventing the negatives.

2. Choose to stop it. Your thoughts are YOUR choice. Only you can change the course of Murphy’s Law.

3. Do positive affirmations. Affirmations can take the place of negative expectations. Say this to yourself: “Good things are happening for me.” “I have very good luck.”

4. Break negative chain with a declaration. When one thing after another goes wrong, take the energy from anger and declare, “That’s it! No more negatives! I choose to have things go positively from here on.”

That way, we can get back in control of Murphy's Law. By recognizing Murphy's Law, I learn to expect the unexpected. The most unexpected usually turns out the best one (if not, then the worst one). And by turning energy from the stress into positive thoughts, good things will eventually coming to us. It's all depend on our thoughts.

Inside Out - Revelations from The Movie

I've recently watched the movie "Inside Out", a great movie with simple story but rich of psychological information about human emotions. The main characters are Joy, Disgust, Fear, Anger, and Sadness, which playing big roles in controlling human's reaction to everything one could experience in one's life. Each emotion expressed in any event then stored inside brain memory which could either develop or even destroy personality traits. After watching the movie, I understand that it's okay to be sad. It's just a natural process of being human. By experiencing sadness, we naturally contemplate the unfortunate event and learn from it. Though it hurts, but only with sadness, we could learn to let go and move on our life. It's also okay to feel angry. It's the reaction we get when we are unsatisfied, failed, or betrayed. From it we could learn to find solution for problem or another way for compromise. Meanwhile we feel disgust or fear when we are threatened. It protects us from uncertain and harmful condition. It seems all of these work automatically, but I think it could be managed. Remember when we were brokenhearted, all at once we felt sadness, anger, fear, and disgust but not joy? Those emotion help us to go through healing process. Then we are told by friends to believe that the best one is yet to come, that joy will come back to life. But the absence of joy for a long time could lead us to depression and might as well to suicide attempt. I find it important to manage good emotion, to have joy as the leader of our reaction control. It might be quite a challenge to keep positive mind. Things happened in our life and some were painful shits. People wrote books about the "key of success", so telling people not to make the same mistakes and to reach happiness as fast as possible. But one's life journey is never the same with the others. We are chasing for our own success, it's the real pursuit of happiness on our own. However, the books are written for good, they have the same idea: to always be positive-minded person, to give joy more control in our life, to balance the presence of sadness, anger, fear, and disgust. I suppose it's how we should be able to continue living as human beings. It's simply the beauty of life.

Joy - Anger - Sadness - Fear - Disgust

Mount Rinjani (3726 m.a.s.l.)

The perks of living in Indonesia are the exquisite volcanic mountains. Rinjani is exceptionally one of them. It is written on my bucket list as one of dream places I had to visit before I die. It was begun by a single photo I saw on Instagram last year that sparked my desire to hike Rinjani. Something bloomed inside me, calling me that I should go there, no matter what or how I suppose to do that. When MRU (Mount Rinjani Ultra) registration was opened in early February, I immediately signed up for RAR (Rinjani Altitude Run), a 21 km run course that covers the mountain terrain with elevation gain 1950 meters and cut off time 7 hours. I did not know how extreme the track would be, I didn't care though. All I wanted was to get those epic views of Segara Anak from the summit. Soon I learned that RAR course did not cover the summit, it started from Senaru village, looping at Senaru slope, ended back to the village again. I cancelled my race and was about to obliterate my dream of Mount Rinjani until I found an open trip broadcast in WhatsApp group chat. It was provided by Indonesia Expeditions, an organizer specialized in Seven Summits hiking and mountaineering. The open trip cost me three million rupiahs, a bit cheaper if compared to other local trekking organizers. I decided to give it a try. I circled my calendar, off from work from August 19-23, excited yet restless as the day came closer. Since it's an open trip, I didn't get to know the other hikers. We had just met on scheduled day at Lombok International Airport. There were supposed to be four hikers, but one was unfortunately ill and cancelled his trip, leaving only three of us accompanied with one guide and three porters.

I never did hiking before. Never. I thought I had enough preparations but I was mistaken. We spent the first night at home-stay where the guide rummaged my backpacks, sorted my belongings, and instructed me to leave unnecessary things behind, such as jacket that is not suitable for hiking and clean clothes for the last day trip. I didn't even have any trekking pants, neither hiking boots. I wore trail running shoes in lieau of boots. I didn't have much time for preparation yet any knowledge of hiking equipment. This gonna be a nightmare. Fortunately, my hiking buddies were nice and kind, one of them gave me her extra trekking pant and gaiters, the guide also brought me his additional windbreaker jacket. My backpack was a 45-liter Berghaus, it has sturdy frame but minimalist pockets, exactly what I wanted and needed. I put my 1-liter Hydrapak inside of it, setting the hose through H2O slot which came in handy whenever I felt thirsty and needed a sip of water. There is a tiny orange whistle equipped on one of the shoulder straps, dangling and serving as emergency signal in case I get lost. I worked my way through piles of my load, wedging and cramming and forcing them into every available space of my pack until nothing more could possibly fit. When I was done, I stared at my pack, it was more like a giant boulder, I might have looked like Obelix carrying menhir stone around. I weaved my arms through the shoulder straps, clipped the sternum strap across my chest, buckled the waist belt, and tried giving it a lift. To my surprise, it felt pretty good. It weighed around 7 kg to my guess. I stood for a while, roaming and swaying around the room, trying to find my balance. Perhaps this was how it felt to be a backpacker. This is just the beginning. I took my pack down and went to sleep.

First day of trail started from Sembalun village at 8 AM, we went to the entry point by hitchhiking a pickup truck. It was a fine day. The cool morning breeze gently stroked my hair. The road is rough trail, covered with reddish sand and dirt. When it rains, then it's impossible to drive through the trail. Mount Rinjani standing gracefully before my eyes. In a few days I would embrace the summit. We were told a joke by our driver that the crest is close to the eyes but far to the feet. I hate to say this was true.

Welcome to Mount Rinjani National Park

We walked through the infinite meadows. The landscape was arid, interspersed with range of blondes and browns grasses. The trail was a single winding path, ascending up to the mountain ramps. Our porters walked so fast, bearing our three days logistics, each weighing 20 kg load. My pack was 7 kg only but still I suffered. There are three rest stations, we stopped by at each one for a little break. There were many foreign hikers, they walked swiftly, not even bothered by the scorching heat. I dressed in sports attire, long sleeve quick-dry shirt and long trekking pant whilst they wore only short pants and tank tops or sleeveless shirts. I envied them, they looked real sporty, it seemed like they could reach the ramp in less than three hours. Then we had lunch at station number two, where our porters cooked us meals. I was amazed by those local porters, they are agile, quick-witted, they could speak English, and they cook appetizing meals. They know exactly how to serve and entertain their guests, they told us myths about Rinjani and stories of how they live and make money from hiking tours.

From the third station, we commenced walking through a range of hills that is called Seven Ridges of Regret. I ascended with slow steps. I hiked in heat of that the day with sweating and panting. I wondered why it's given the name Seven Ridges of Regret. I thought the landscape was extraordinarily beautiful that one might regret for not hiking through it. I had not expected that it was actually a living hell. My shoes crunched the sandy and gravelly trail. I could feel the warm sand seeping through my shoes and swamping my toes. It was noon, my body was shimmering into a cold sweat. I rested under the shade, laid my backpack down, and leaned my body against a tree at the top of fourth ridge. I looked up, three ridges to go. So that's how the ridges got its name, the uphills are precipitous and made anyone regretting of walking through it. At my position then it was too late to go back and likely too far to go on. I continued walking and pondered my situation. Back when my Rinjani hike had been nothing but an idea, I thought I'd reached the top with ease. I had been doing sports regularly, running and swimming, it never occurred to me that hiking was totally different. Mountains are inexplicable and complex and consist of layers. When I thought I was at the top of one, there was still more up to go, even if it was alternated by descending slope. Moreover I hadn't factored in my lack of capability, neither the harshness of the trail, until I was on it.

We reached the ramp at 4 PM, it took seven hours included several breaks, I relieved that I eventually made it. The sight of Segara Anak Lake lifted my spirits enormously. The clouds were hovering down below. I like the sensation of standing higher than the clouds. The lake is basically a caldera, naturally filled with water for hundreds of year, circled and bounded by the mountain itself, making it looked like a giant soup bowl. Amidst the lake, stand the cone of former Rinjani, namely Mount Barujari. There is a belief in Indonesia that when a volcanic mountain erupts, it bears baby mountain so called 'anak'. For example, Anak Krakatau, people don't say it Krakatau as it already erupted in 1883, 40 years later its 'baby' appeared and is called Anak Krakatau instead. In Rinjani case, the lake of Segara Anak means the ocean that surrounds Mount Barujari or the new Rinjani.

I was only thankful that I'd made it this far. I was at an elevation of 2600 meters. The weather was warm and the sun intensely shone. I browsed the landscape. Plawangan Sembalun is called the gateway to the summit, I could see it clearly from below, 1100 meters elevation gain to obtain before sunrise and I'd be at the top of it.

There were dozens of tent pitched in groups. I walked through the campground searching for my tent location. I didn't know that Rinjani is quite popular among foreigners, I didn't expect to see such crowd on mountain. Hikers-slash-tourists from all around the world were relaxed enjoying the sun while their porters preparing them dinner. The mood was more like in the feast, as if I was in barbecue party. The smell of Indomie were waving in the air, reminding me that I hadn't had my dinner though I was not hungry. I noticed some porters built small stalls and tried selling sodas and beers for tremendous price. The sodas might be probably too warm to drink due to the heat.

The campground

When I arrived at the tent, everything was ready. Our tent is The North Face Summit Series VE 25 and has enough space for three people to sleep in. It was firmly pinched and was quite distinct from the others as the only The North Face tent in the whole campground. Our porters had their own triangular tent made from tarpaulin. They set the stove and served us fried bananas in a flash. The regular question coming from them day-to-day was: "What would you like to drink?"

After having dinner, I strolled around the campground. The sun already set, the sky was clear and the temperature had turned from warm to chill. I looked up and astounded by millions of star stretched across the sky. The moon was in half-crescent shape, so bright it lightened the whole sky. I reclined down on unoccupied spot and gazed the Milky Way. After a while, I rose finally and went creeping into my sleeping bag as I had to wake up early at dawn and brace myself for the trail up to the summit.

At 2 AM we commenced summit attack. It was dark night but the sky was bright. I turned on my headlamp and saw dozens of hiker lined up while ascending. The trail mostly cramped by rocks and boulders that made it difficult to take precedence, we had to queue along the trail. My steps were hampered by deep volcanic sands. Each step forward seemed taking me another two steps backward. We stopped once in a while to catch breath and see how the other hikers embracing the same difficulties. Two hours later, we were not even reached quarter of the trail but I was already in fatigue and drowsiness. I thought I could reach the summit before sunrise, but by five o'clock it was still there, near in sight but distant in course.

We were halfway to go but felt very sleepy. We then decided to take a break. I was told not to sleep as it will drain my energy out. I laid leaning against a flat rock. The sand felt warm beneath my back. I gazed up the sky, the stars were still there, reminded me of a quote in German: "Freunde sind wie Sterne: du siehst nicht immer, aber sie sind immer da." Though we were reminded not to sleep, but we slumbered anyway. I slept for fifteen minutes, felt like having a dream in my sleep but forgot it instantly. I woke up feeling refreshed. At that very moment, the sun rose before my eyes. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Sunrise

I was grateful for the morning weather that the wind blew gently and the sun warmly shone, but two hours later my gratitude was gone. It was sweltering hot. It was one hell of a hot morning to hike the summit. I limped ascending the trail and often didn't look up. My eyes were fixed on the sandy trail but my feet frequently tumbling beneath me as I climbed up and switched back. Many other hikers who had reached the summit were descending down the trail and letting the sand blown the air. I covered my mouth and nose with Buff and waited until the sand haze was gone. As I hiked, I moaned again and again, as if that would remedy my misery, but nothing changed. I was already behind from my hiking buddies, but I couldn't force myself to push forward. My face and hands were swollen, resulted from acclimation and physical distress. It took all I had to reach at that far. My head was dizzy and my legs trembled, I thought I was about to collapse. The summit seemed taking me forever to conquer. That was it. I wanted off.

I was told that climbing is more about mental building. I knew it but I had mental breakdown already. All I wanted was to rest my body in the shade. As the notion of quitting settled in, I came to realize that this whole Rinjani hike had been an outrageously absurd idea. I thought within this journey I could reflect upon my life, to prove myself that I can and could overcome any obstacles, to make myself bold again. But the truth was, at least so far, I was consumed only with my physical suffering. The thoughts of the struggles of my life had fluttered through my mind, worsen my despair, ended up with self-pity. Why have my life gotten miserable like this?!

A kind of living hell

Then my guide, a well-seasoned hiker, handed me a five-meter bungee strap, I gripped at one end as he walked farther away from me and pulled me up from the other end. That way, I was supported to ascend. It was 8 AM when I finally reached the trail's summit. This is it. I was ultimately on 3726 meters elevation. I gazed across the expanse. The surface of the water lake sat 1700 meters below where I stood. The water lake spread out in deep blue color. This was once a mountain that approximately 6000 meters tall and had its core detached, leaving a vast bowl that took hundreds of year to fill. This was once a wasteland of frozen lava and dry soil, but now its beauty attracts people from all around the world to come and admire. From afar, the top of Mount Agung in Bali island could be seen. On the other side to the east, Mount Tambora in Nusa Tenggara island could also be seen. It seemed to be a gift to me, for I had eventually walked my way up to the summit. I took a few photographs and rested my feet.

with hiking buddies and guide

Having satisfied the view, we walked back to the campground. The sandy trail that used to be hellfire when I was ascending now felt like heaven to me. I descended swiftly, my heart was rejoicing. If I had a plank or a board, I could do sandboarding as well. How awesome down was for those first minutes! Down, down, down I went that I wished for the trail to go back up. The view below was spectacular, I could see the straits and the tip of neighboring islands: Bali and Sulawesi. The horizon stretched in thick blue and white line. The clouds dispersed all over below horizon. I enjoyed the view so much that I slipped and fell flat onto my butt. It didn't hurt though, the surface of the trail were almost entirely sands. I continued gliding with my eyes fixed on the trail in front of me, anxious I'd lose my footing again and fall. But then, I fell and landed on the butt again like several times along the trail.

Sandy and dusty

Though we were a bit lost in the trail, we safely arrived at the campground just before noon. I immediately drank half liter of water due to scorching heat. At noon the heat was so relentless and the campground so exposed to the sun that we decided to move our tents into the shades of trees. Our porters had already prepared lunch for us. I was not hungry but I had to eat. In two hours we were supposed to advance our trip to the lake and camped there, but my two buddies were too exhausted to hike again so the trip was postponed until the next day. I took intermission and tried to get myself cleaned though water was limited. My feet and hands were streaked with dirt. I rubbed it with water but the stains stayed there. Though I covered my face with Buff, my nostrils and ears were grubby with dusts. I shook my socks out and examined my toes. Even particles of dust had gotten into my toenails, made it seem impossible to retrieve. One of my toenails had blackened resulted from tedious descending. I pulled off my drenched shirt and changed to new dry clothes. I crawled into the tent and took a nap.

When I woke up, it was nearly dinner time. The porters told us that the weather on last dawn was unusually good. We were lucky to hike that day. If there was mountain wind, it would be impossible for us to reach the summit. The wind, rumor has it, is quite strong, it could blow a man away! That night I heard the hissing of mountain wind. It was creepy, I never heard that kind of sound before. As the night falls, the mountain wind blew stronger. The wind had awakened me repeatedly throughout the night, smacking against our tent in great bursts. Thank God I had already peed before going to bed.

I woke at morning but couldn't bring myself up, lingering instead in my warm sleeping bag, half reluctant to leave the tent, still drowsy though I'd slept for eight hours. I stood out of the tent slowly, my muscles stiff from yesterday's hike. The sun rose so bright, blinding me with glistening orange rays. The porters were cooking breakfast, they made triple sandwiches with salad, smoke beef, cheese, and omelette inside. American style breakfast. While waiting for the breakfast ready, I went searching for a good spot to do my business. I scanned the landscape. I almost stepped over a pile of scat. In fact, there were many of them! I learned that anyone could just squat anywhere and enjoy the open-air toilet with a view. It's a pity that the beauty of the mountain was disturbed by heaps of trashes and craps. Used toilet papers and tissues scattered everywhere. The porters and local people seemed not to care about environment at all, they are more pleased to believe in myths and ghost stories.

Our porters and how they cook

I was ready for the trip to the lake. However, my two buddies had no interest visiting the lake, so I went there accompanied only with the guide and one porter. I walked with ease as I had no backpack on. My stuffs were packed and carried by the porter. The lake is quite far from the campground, it takes approximately two hours to get there. I walked through the meadows. The trail is different from the one to the summit, it's mostly sandwiched by weeds and shrubs. It was a fine day to wander, the weather was not too hot, neither too cold. There were many other hikers and porters passing by. We were like little ants, greeted one another, walking towards the giant soup bowl and then back.

A porter with 20 kg load. No shoes, just sandals!

Up, up, up to the lake

Segara Anak and Mount Barujari

When I arrived at the lake, I was amazed by the sight of Mount Barujari. I walked along the edge of the lake and saw many people fishing. How could fish live in crater lake?! I was even more surprised to see dozens of fish were salted and dried in the heat of sun. My porter was supposed to cook lunch for me. However, there was a group of campers cooking. When they saw me, they invited me to join them lunch. There were six guys of them, I couldn't recall any of their names. They were around their 40s, nice and friendly. We ate fish curry and talked about yesterday's hike. They apparently witnessed my struggles in the hike. They had seen I was aided with bungee straps and they envied. They wanted to be aided with bungee straps too! I laughed and told them one must be desperate enough while hiking to get such luxury.

After having lunch, I continued walking to the hot spring. I hadn't had a proper bath for two days, my hair was dense with dust and dried sweat, I wanted to soak myself in the water. It took 10 minutes to walk there. When I arrived, the place was crowded by foreigners. There's a waterfall surrounded by giant rocks and boulders. The clouds of steam rising up from the warm water. I changed my clothes and bathed into the spring. It looked like a kind of sulfuric spring because the water was quite yellowish. I rubbed my hands and legs and soaked my hair. Though it felt pretty good but I couldn't stay there for long, I had to return to the campground. Tomorrow was my last day, it was nearly the time to fly back to Jakarta.

The hot spring

I walked back to the lake, said goodbye to the guys, and headed back to Plawangan Sembalun. The trip back to the campground took three hours. I like the meadows but I was sick with the rocks. I had seen too many rocks on the trail. I really had to exert my energy to climb them. My porter was left behind, he seemed like talking to foreigners, he stopped once in a while to greet ones and cheered them. I thought he might come later after me. But when I arrived at the tent, how startled I was seeing him sitting in the tent! "How could you possibly arrive earlier than me?" I asked him, but he only nodded and started cooking for dinner.

Last day of the trail. I prepared my backpack, loading it with dirty clothes and stuffs. Its weight still tremendous to me. I waved goodbye to the sight of summit and the lake and started walking back to Sembalun village. We walked on the same route as we had on the first day of trail. I walked and walked and walked, it seemed like never ending walk. My toenails felt hurt bearing the weight of my body while descending the trail. It was scorching day too. I forgot to put on sunscreen. For the first time in forever, my face got sunburn. I passed a small herd of brown cows eating grass freely in the prairie. When I walked passing them, they stopped eating and stood still in line, lifted their heads up and watched me pass. I looked over my shoulder and once again saw the crest of Rinjani. It's done. It's over. I had gone through days walking the way up and down the trail, visiting one of the most beautiful mountains on Earth, and I eventually checked my bucket list. The cows seemed bidding farewell to me. Bye bye, cows. Bye bye, Rinjani.

Conquering Third Language

A friend of mine once asked me, "Why are you so determined in learning German?"

I promptly answered, "Because I want to understand the people."

She was startled by this statement. I couldn't find better answer, as much true and straightforward as it is.

I stayed in Germany for a short period, I could just use English anyway. I was told by some colleagues for not to put much efforts in learning language. Take it easy, they said. You're already good enough speaking English. Nevertheless, I took beginners course in Goethe-Institut within three months before leaving Jakarta. It was A.1.1 level, the starting point for absolute beginners. Well, at least I could learn how to order pizza, I reassured myself.

First week in Germany, I ended up buying ready-to-made pizza and made myself one instead of eating in restaurant. In the first attempt going to restaurant, I was completely ignored, because the waitress couldn't speak English. I eventually made my order by gesturing what I wanted, pointing to the menus and indicating my desired meal. Even more that I couldn't read the menus, I took only good looking food, presuming and praying that it would fit my taste and appetite. Who said it would be easy.

Everywhere I go, I tried to make friends, to communicate with neighbors and colleagues. Not everybody could speak English which was hardly taken for granted initially. In addition, cultural distinctions bewildered me. What seemed normal in my native land is not the same in this country, and it applies the other way around. It occurred to me that I was like an alien, a total stranger. I need to adapt, but the language barrier hold my self-esteem down low. How was I supposed to settle if I couldn't understand what people said and couldn't handle a single conversation?

As social being, I wish to be regarded by others, to be accepted as meaningful member in the circle. I want to contribute to the community as well. However, I was too illiterate to even read bus schedules, too hesitant to ask information at the ticket counter, too slow in the line paying groceries at the customers checkout, I was so sick with my inabilities that the urge to learn language became a dire need. I want to know what story in that drama television is about. I want to be able to talk without having to search for my words. I want to read books without needing to look for dictionary every minute.

I looked for language courses and thankfully I found one in Volkshochschule. I took the placement test, and to my surprise, my score put me in Module 4, I was considered no longer a beginner. I took the evening class twice per week, four hours long in each lessons. First day in class, I didn't understand any of what the teacher had said. My mind was flooded with new unfamiliar words. I was too overwhelmed to look for Google Translate, so I noted it all down and studied the definition later. The teacher was a young, PhD title holder, blond hair lady, whom I thought was a German but apparently is a Polish. I never missed her class, I actually liked it. I looked forward for Tuesday and Thursday to come. There were individual tasks and also group works, in which I had to learn together with my classmates. They come from several different countries. It's interesting to hear their stories about their homelands and their hopes and dreams in Germany.

At the workplace, I absorbed everything I heard and overheard: chit-chats, greetings, meetings, and phone conversations. I mimicked every common expressions my colleagues used to show pleasure, regret, surprise, exhilaration, exhaustion, dissatisfaction, confusion, embarrassment, and many other emotions. Just like a baby learns to talk, I copied and digested words by words, devoured all I could. Besides, there are lots of learning material in the internet. One site I always access is germanpod101.com, they provide great audio lessons which helped improving my German.

Though I did well in the course, it seemed like it's never enough. I came to realize that it takes time to be a fluent speaker. I've learned English since I was in elementary school, that made 15 years learning to truly understand the context and to articulate it in everyday use. Funny how I don't really remember having any struggles learning English, I just....learned it. On the other hand, learning German is my conscious decision. I know for sure how difficult it is, because thinking in German is totally different from thinking in English. To understand the context requires frequent studying and practicing. Determination and hard work will always pay off, I believe it so.

Six months passed by quickly. I finished my course as well my training. I returned to Indonesia with more determination. I took proficiency test in Goethe-Institut which placed me in B.1.2 level. I have advanced six levels from the previous A.1.1 course. My current learning goal is to reach minimum C.1 level and to acquire Goethe-Zertifikat C1 for my next year's Masters study. I continued learning in Goethe-Institut, I tried writing E-mails in German, and mingling with German colleagues just to keep myself surrounded by the language and make progress step by step.

Though it sounds weird, but the struggles I've been encountering so far are boredom and embarrassment. There were times I was so bored that I questioned myself, "Why the am I bothering to learn this language?!" When the motivation goes down, I would narrow down my expectation for a while, from expecting that I want to be fluent someday to at least I could understand what the weather report says. Keeping the motivation high is like having battle against myself. There were also many embarrassing moments when I wanted to say something but ended up humiliating myself with funny grammar and strange accent that native people would laugh. I even once couldn't differentiate how to pronounce schon and schön, it sounded just the same to me until I knew the difference. It's stupid, but at least I am trying. Instead of keeping my mouth shut, I learned better when I made mistakes.

I'm glad I learned a lot during my time in Germany. I met many new people I could connect with easily. We spent good times, they're even expecting my return back to Germany, as if I'd gone for a while and will come back soon. I could feel the pressure on my shoulders, aiming to achieve my goals as quickly as possible. Back to the question, "Why would I learn German?" I would add, "I want to understand people and I want to know how to make them understand me."

Okay, dann halte ich die Ohren steif!

Diaries

It's been fifteen days since I returned home from Germany. It took me four days to recover from jet lag. It was difficult, indeed. I was miserably in transitions of lifestyle, an odd in-between state of expectation and reality, of two different languages and cultures. As much foolish as it may seem, the first thing I did when arrived home was re-arranging my bedroom. I love simplicity and neatness. I like my surroundings to be tidy and organized. Perhaps that's one reason why I love staying in Germany, the quality of orderliness is excellent, everything is carefully done and arranged.

My room was left uninhabited in the past 6 months, though the housemaid cleans it everyday, but the old stuffs remained there and it was just too much for me. I unloaded my wardrobe, selected only practical and long lasting fashion wear. I found that I had too many jerseys from fun-run and marathon race I attended. I don't need all of them, I picked only my favorites and threw the remaining away. I put all of my no-longer-wear clothes into a box that will be sent for charity.

Finished with wardrobe, I shifted re-arranging the bookshelves. I was surprised looking at how many unfinished readings I have from my collections. So many good books but so little time to read. I need to learn speed reading again. At the bottom of bookshelves, there laid half a dozen of my personal diaries. My hand was trembling as I reached them out of shelves. Those are memories of my school and college year. I skimmed over the pages, reading each lines. God, how stupid I was at that time. There were many stories written, it used to be funny but now it becomes embarassing. How could it be so unintelligent! What piles of crap I wrote there!! I wanted to quickly burn them away in flames. 

Then I realized my past also contributed to what I have become today. Without it, I would have been a different person. It's inexplicable why I love writing. It's not always about the content, but I like the sheer of joy in writing itself. My diaries represent what I used to be and to think in some timeframe in my life, they are my history. When I look back, I could see how far I have gone and how much I have evolved. So I decided to keep them. No matter how ridiculous, they are my treasures.

In addition, I'm trying to keep this blog updated. This blog is also my diary, but I'm still figuring out how to make it more useful to the readers. I have many interests, I like writing about my travel experience, cooking experiments, sports rehearsal, and still more. I thought about separating topics of interest into several blogs. I used to have three or more different blogs (one was in Wordpress, another one in Tumblr) but I couldn't manage them all. I deleted most of them eventually and leave this only blog. To distinguish points of interest, I put labels in each posts. In this post, it's labeled as Random Thoughts as I don't have clear purpose for dear readers, just want to share what's in my mind. If you find it boring, then click another post label, unfollow, or just simply close this tab! Please don't mind me :) In this blog I write mostly in English, sometimes could also be in Bahasa, but later I do hope I can write in German. Who knows, perhaps someday I'll become a good writer! :)

Random Thoughts

Why People Change

Today (June 16) is the last day of my internship. I'm glad that I finished my final presentation. I did it in German language and the audience seemed enjoyed it very much which means they could understand what I was talking about. When it comes to 'Fragen aus Publikum' session, there was a question coming from the audience: "Tell us your bad experience in Germany?" I automatically responded, "Language", then it followed by other answers from other trainees. I didn't have the chance to explain it more, well to be precise, my brain didn't perform properly to arrange words to say but I feel like I have reasons why my lips said that. However, looking back at the past 6 months, it's amazing how far I have changed now.

When I arrived in Germany, I was the minority. I came with the old-traditional-Eastern mindset. Being minority is difficult because, as a human, I need to build social interaction. To interact with people, I need to understand what they're thinking and saying. But there's a huge boulder in between which called 'Language'. How could I communicate with people if cannot understand their language? Though I could just use English, but not all people here could speak English well. Moreover, thinking in English and thinking in German are totally different things. There are many words in German that cannot be easily translated into English. To think in German, I had to understand the context. To get the context, I need examples, elaboration, perception and repetition, and it takes time. So, learning the language was my primary concerns since the first day I arrived here.

Then I went to Volkshochschule for German course. I liked it very much because I get to know my classmates who come from many different countries. They come from Poland, Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Iran, USA, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ecuador, China, and Thailand. Even the teacher also come from Poland, so there's no German people at all in the class but we had to speak German! We spent good times together, like having dinner at restaurant and BBQ-ing in springtime. From them I learned that they also had difficulties in perceiving German way of thinking. Not all of European people could understand German people! I once met a couple, the husband is from England and the wife from Romanian, and we had interesting discussions about the Germans, like why Germans love drinking beers and what makes it different from the British, French, and Italian. Although they are 'Western', they also need time to think like Germans.

While struggling in learning the language, I'm slowly learning the Germans habit from daily life experience. For example like giving greetings every morning, lunch, and after-office-hours time, holding the doors for other people, paying attention when people talk, being punctual and always value the time. These new habits gradually replacing the old ones. It was hard at the beginning because old habits die hard. But then I realized it doesn't make sense to keep it as I'm the minority here. I need to be accepted by the society. There are always mixed feelings in setting new behavior. I often ask myself, "Did I do it right? Have I done something wrong? Do people around me like me?" Then I came up to conclusion that these are parts of learning. It's always started with disbelief, like questioning "Why would people do that?" then followed by reasoning, accepting, and eventually forming the new mindset.

I am not the same person as I used to be six months ago. I'm grateful that now I have broader and richer perspectives and I'm still learning. I realize when it's time to return to Indonesia, I would become the minority as well as I'm no longer having the same way of thinking. People might notice and say, "Hey, you've changed!" and I would answer, "Yes, I've learned along the way to what I've become now!"

Mengenal Driving Pleasure

Selama tinggal di Indonesia, jarang banget nyetir mobil. Aku lebih prefer naik angkot, ojek, bus, atau kereta kalau pergi-pergi. Apalagi mobil yang kupunya jenis Toyota Cressida tahun 1986, tanpa AC, tanpa CD/radio, tanpa kaca film, dan suara mesinnya yang berisik. Mobil yang gak pernah bisa dibawa ngebut lebih dari 75 km/jam. Kalau pindah gigi lima, mesinnya meraung keras tapi tenaganya malah turun. Oleh karena itu mobilnya hanya dipakai di dalam kota, sekedar untuk jemput ponakan dari sekolah, untuk kondangan, atau untuk mengantar anggota keluarga yang sakit. Cressida malang, dibuang sayang karena masih butuh, tapi dipakai juga jarang karena boros bensin, mesin tua, dan panas kabinnya.

Ketika datang kesempatan mencicipi hidup di Jerman, mau gak mau aku harus belajar setir mobil lagi. Selain mesti belajar setir kiri, aku mesti belajar mengendarai Mercedes-Benz (MB), mobil yang tidak pernah kubayangkan akan bisa kukendarai. Mobil yang dulu kuanggap sama saja dengan mobil-mobil lain, hanya sebagai alat transportasi orang dari satu tempat ke tempat lain.

Setelah dua kali latihan setir, aku langsung diserahi kunci mobil tipe B 200 sebagai modal transportasiku selama di Jerman. Inget banget waktu itu sore-sore turun salju mau pulang dari kantor, masuk ke dalam mobil badan menggigil saking dinginnya. Kuputar kunci mobil untuk menyalakan heater sambil mencoba-coba tombol Navigation. Lalu aku coba menyalakan mesin....tapi kenapa gak mau nyala ya?! Padahal kuncinya udah sampai mentok kuputar ke kanan. Aku keluarkan kunci dan kumasukkan lagi, kuputar tapi tetap tidak mau menyala. Kucoba berkali-kali tetap nihil. Bingung dan gak habis pikir kenapa mobil sekelas MB sulit sekali menyalakannya. Badan semakin menggigil karena panas dari heater tidak cukup hangat jika mesinnya belum nyala dan salju yang turun semakin lebat. Akhirnya aku minta tolong teman untuk menjemput. Beruntung ada banyak teman baik yang membantu, mereka bilang bisa jadi mesin tidak mau nyala karena masalah aki. Mobil ditinggal di kantor dan aku pulang nebeng mobil teman. Esok paginya teman-teman pada bantu mengecek, dah ternyata oh ternyata, pedal kopling dan rem harus diinjak full waktu memutar kunci, baru mesinnya bisa nyala! Duh maklum ya orang kampung, gak ngerti cara nyalain mobil MB. Kenorakan berlanjut karena aku belum mengerti fungsi tombol-tombol di kokpit supir. Setelah membaca buku manual dan diajari teman-teman, akhirnya aku paham fungsi dan kegunaannya.

Selama dua minggu pertama, aku gak berani nyetir jauh-jauh, sebatas pulang-pergi rumah-kantor atau supermarket terdekat. Aku masih sangat gugup nyetir MB, belum bisa atur perpindahan gigi dengan mulus, belum bisa pegang stir yang relax. Setiap weekend, kalau ada acara jalan-jalan aku selalu duduk manis jadi penumpang sambil memperhatikan cara menyetir teman-temanku. Sampai suatu hari ada satu acara dimana aku sendiri yang harus menyetir. Lokasi acaranya 60 kilometer jauhnya dari rumah, mau gak mau harus memasuki jalan Autobahn. Aku mencoba rileks sebisa mungkin. Estimasi waktu perjalanan 35 menit menurut Navigation. Kupikir dengan waktu segitu jaraknya tentu tidak terlalu jauh. Tidak terpikirkan olehku bahwa sebenarnya aku mesti ngebut pada kecepatan tertentu untuk mencapai target 35 menit tersebut. Dalam Autobahn, setelah memasukkan gigi terbesar (ke-6), aku mencoba mengaktifkan fitur Cruise Control, program yang mengatur sendiri akselerasi kecepatan mobil pada speed yang kuinginkan sehingga aku bisa melepaskan kaki dari pedal kopling & gas, dan bisa fokus pada kendali setir. Awalnya terasa canggung dan was-was, khawatir mesin mati jika lepas kopling dan gas. Ternyata yang kukhawatirkan tidak terjadi, kecepatan mobil bertambah secara bertahap tanpa perlu menginjak apapun. Selanjutnya tinggal mengendalikan setir dan main kecepatan, jika dirasa terlalu cepat tinggal menurunkan speed, mobil akan melaju pelan dengan sendirinya, dan jika rem diinjak fitur Cruise Control non-aktif dengan sendirinya.

Kuberanikan diri setel kecepatan hingga 150 km/jam, ternyata suara mesin mobil tetap mulus, suara kabin tetap senyap, dan kendali setir tetap stabil. Walaupun ngebut tapi terasa aman. Jika jarak mobil dengan mobil lain terlalu dekat, program dalam mobil akan memberi peringatan. Juga kalau ada rambu batas maksimum kecepatan, display Navigation akan memunculkan peringatan speed limit. Untuk pertama kalinya aku merasakan nikmatnya menyetir mobil. Sekarang paham mengapa orang bela-belain beli mobil bagus, salah satu alasannya demi menikmati driving pleasure. Nikmatnya menyetir dengan cepat dan aman. Ditambah lagi dengan berbagai pemandagan cantik di sepanjang dataran Jerman yang relatif datar. Jalanannya tidak banyak kelokan dan ada banyak terowongan panjang yang menembus gunung. Jika suasana jalan gelap, lampu mobil secara otomatis nyala/mati sesuai keadaan, spektrum luas dan tingkat terangnya lampu juga diatur otomatis.

Front look

Driver's cockpit

7-gear shift

Cruise control

Automatic beam

Display Navigation sekaligus Audio & Bluetooth Telephone

Tiap mengendarai mobil ini selalu teringat kembali pada Cressida tua dan kondisi jalanan di Indonesia yang macet, banyak lubang dan kepungan motor. Memang tidak bisa dibandingkan, tapi dengan pengalaman mengenal driving pleasure ini jadi tambah semangat menabung agar benar-benar bisa memiliki mobil layak berpergian jauh suatu hari nanti. Amin! :)

Berkendara di Jerman

Kali ini aku ingin berbagi catatan singkat tentang pengalaman hidup di Jerman, terutama tentang bagaimana kebiasaan dan aturan berkendara dengan mobil yang berlaku di negara ini. Terdapat sepuluh hal menarik yang kuperhatikan sangat berbeda dengan kebiasaan berkendara di Indonesia.

1) Hand-drive. Di Indonesia, kursi supir berada di sebelah kanan dan mendahului dari sebelah kanan, sementara di Jerman adalah sebaliknya.

2) No black window. Hampir tidak ada mobil yang kacanya gelap, bahkan mobil sport mahal sekalipun kacanya bening hingga terlihat jelas siapa yang sedang berkendara. Lain cerita di Indonesia yang kaca mobilnya begitu gelap hingga sulit dikenali.

3) License plate. Di Jerman setiap kendaraan memiliki nomor polisi yang terdiri dari: singkatan nama kota - singkatan nama pemilik - 4 digit nomor registrasi.

4) Sticker. Jarang sekali pemilik mobil yang memasang sticker di mobil, kecuali sticker parkir. Tidak seperti Indonesia yang sedang trend menempel sticker anggota keluarga di kaca mobil.

5) Electric pump. Di beberapa kota besar sudah tersedia titik-titik pengisian mobil listrik di pinggir jalan. Hal ini sangat menarik karena di Indonesia belum pernah ada.

6) Fuel price. Harga bensin di Jerman relatif mahal, sekitar Rp 18.000- 25.000/liter. Aku belum tahu persis apakah harga tersebut sudah termasuk pajak bahan bakar atau belum. Di Jerman, jenis Premium merupakan yang paling mahal, diikuti oleh jenis Super, dan Diesel yang termurah. 

7) Fine tickets. Kamera dimana-mana, misalnya jika ketahuan melanggar speed limit, kamera di beberapa titik jalan akan secara otomatis memotret wajah pengendara dan mencatat nomor mobil. Tiket denda akan dikirim ke alamat rumah/kantor dan pembayarannya otomatis langsung didebet dari rekening bank pemilik mobil. Besaran dendanya cukup mahal, bahkan bagi orang Jerman sekalipun.

8) Highway (Autobahn). Berbeda dengan jalan toll di Indonesia dimana tiap mobil harus membayar uang toll, di Jerman tidak ada gerbang toll sehingga benar-benar bebas keluar-masuk toll tanpa perlu repot membuka dompet. Selain itu di jalanan ini, selama tidak ada rambu speed limit, pengendara bebas melaju sekencang-kencangnya.

9) Parking permission. Tidak boleh parkir di sembarang tempat, ada aturan jam-jam tertentu kapan boleh parkir, dan jam-jam kapan harus bayar parkir dan kapan gratis. Setiap lokasi memiliki aturan masing-masing, tergantung apakah lokasinya berada di pusat kota, di perumahan, di kawasan wisata, dan lain sebagainya.

10) Road constructions. Di Jerman perbaikan jalan berlangsung pada malam hari. Walaupun begitu penanda jalan selalu dipasang pada siang harinya. Jika menemukan tanda perbaikan jalan seperti ini maka harus pengendara harus melambatkan laju dan tetap berhati-hati.

Achtung!

Banyak sekali rambu dan aturan lalu lintas yang mesti dipatuhi jika tidak ingin berurusan dengan polisi. Tidak boleh lalai, bahkan sebagai penumpang yang duduk di kursi belakang pun harus memperhatikan aturan, misalnya harus selalu ingat untuk memakai sabuk pengaman.

Demikian sekelumit catatan tentang berkendara di Jerman, semoga berguna. Ciao!

Shocktober

September was nice and full of blessings. I am truly grateful for beautiful moments and adventures I had with family and friends. I wish October would be nice too. However, a man may plan his way, but God directs his steps. I have plans and personal goals and hopes until the end of year 2014, but what really happened took my dreams further away. Once there was a clear aim, but in one mistake, I screwed it. Once there was a good chance, but in a blink of eyes, I couldn't make it. It was all due to unfortunate events I couldn't help but to cry. The Coldplay "Fix You" song now makes sense to me.

(x) I'm pursuing a virtual running challenge to be on the top 3, to put the most kilometer efforts, but then my health dropped into illness I had to take rest for at least one full week. It feels pathetic to restrain the desire of running while seeing my friends were running freely.

(x) I'm applying scholarships for master's degree, but then the company offered me training that I have to follow next year. Only few months left to prepare, I'm not sure if I am ready for this.

(x) I'm looking for a life partner, a good man that is into me, a man that I can envision settling down with. But after meeting one after another, still zero relationship is built. I couldn't get into man's mind until I found Steve Harvey's book. The book is so amazing, it poked my eyes out, but thankfully it casts me towards enlightenment. I realized I've been doing wrong the whole way, now I had to figure out how to fix it and change my life.

October might become a turning point in my life. It's Shocktober!! There's this turbulence I have to go through. And there's this crossroads I have no idea which way to choose. Getting in-and-out-again of the comfort zone. Planning my dreams, minding my goals, and evaluating my mistakes. And I believe there's always be blessings in disguise. Fallen sick and cannot run for a week, but I find spare time to read more books so I got that going for me, which is nice.

Hence, though it's Shocktober, I am grateful to actually say I've learned a lot :)

Blessings in Disguise Trip: Bromo

Tiket pesawat sudah di tangan, booking hotel sudah siap, perlengkapan lari juga sudah ready, tinggal packing dan aku siap berangkat ke Bromo. Gunung Bromo, awalnya terdengar begitu asing di benakku, nggak pernah terbayang sebelumnya aku bakal keluyuran di tempat ini, demi race 21 km pertamaku, Bromo Marathon.

Petualangan dimulai begitu tiba di terminal bus Damri, aku berangkat bareng mbak Ratna & mbak Wulan, duo travel buddy yang selalu sukses bikin aku ngakak guling-guling berkat celotehan mereka. Flight berangkat menjelang makan siang. Walaupun satu pesawat tapi nomor kursiku terpisah dari duo ladies tersebut karena kita berbeda nomor booking. Untungnya di sebelahku duduk mbak Dessy, sesama runner yang ternyata juga berangkat untuk Bromo Marathon. Walaupun baru kenal tapi kita langsung klik cerita ngalor-ngidul tentang dunia pelarian. Nggak terasa jam 1 siang pesawat sudah landing di Surabaya, kita bersiap langsung berangkat ke Bromo dengan mobil sewa. Mbak Dessy yang tadinya berencana menunggu shuttle bus jam 6 sore akhirnya ikut kita. Isi mobil pun heboh dengan 4 ladies dan 1 driver yang ramah sekali berbagi info tempat-tempat makan enak di sepanjang perjalanan.

Begitu memasuki Sidoarjo, kita pingin mampir melihat lumpur Porong yang terkenal itu. Mobil pun berhenti di dekat kawasan lumpur. Papan besar bertuliskan 'Wisata Lumpur' terlihat aneh bagiku, apalagi ada banyak laki-laki berbadan gempal yang menjaga kawasan itu. Perasaanku mulai tak enak. Benar saja begitu keluar dari mobil kita langsung ditodong dua orang lelaki bertampang semrawut yang meminta uang parkir Rp 20,000. Kita menawar tapi mereka memaksa, setengah hati kita pun membayar dan melangkah menuju bukit lumpur, tapi di tengah jalan kita dicegat lagi sama preman-preman berkumis pelintir, tanpa basa-basi mereka minta duit Rp 80,000 sebagai karcis masuk! Kita coba tawar tapi mereka malah mengepung kita depan-belakang, bak kawanan burung bangkai bersiap menyantap mangsanya. Daripada kepala benjol kita pun mundur perlahan sambil menahan hati dongkol. Kembali ke mobil ternyata driver kita tidak putus asa membawa kita ke bagian lain dari kawasan lumpur yang lebih longgar penjagaannya. Dikatakan juga jika ada penjaga yang bertanya, bilang saja 'mahasiswa ITS'. Setelah celingak-celinguk nggak terlihat ada yang jaga, kita pun masuk kawasan voorboden. Baru sekian meter berjalan, dari kejauhan terlihat gerombolan motor menghampiri kita. Kita sudah bersiap lahir-batin kalau ditanya macem-macem nanti jawabnya sedang ada penelitian dari ITS. Ternyata alibi itu ampuh membuat bapak-bapak kuncen mengurungkan niat minta duit. Kita pun pura-pura sibuk memfoto kawasan tersebut, sumber lumpurnya jauh dipandang mata jadi yang terlihat hanya seperti telaga besar saja dikelilingi padang rumput luas.

Wisata Lumpur

Kita melanjutkan perjalanan, mampir sebentar beli klepon dan krupuk upil. Enak banget kleponnya baru diangkat dari kompor jadi masi anget, taburan kelapanya juga gurih, isian gulanya juga nggak terlalu manis, pokoknya yummy! Kalau krupuk upil itu wujudnya semacam krupuk pasir, yang gorengnya nggak pake minyak tapi disangrai dengan pasir, entah kenapa orang sana nyebutnya krupuk upil, jadilah kita ramai-ramai ngupil (=nyemil krupuk upil) di mobil.

Fresh klepon dari panci

Perjalanan ke hotel masih sangat jauuhhh, rencananya kita mau bermalam di Hotel Cemara Indah yang katanya view-nya ciamik langsung menghadap ke Gunung Bromo. Driver pun menyetir mobil ke arah Probolinggo tempat hotel tersebut berada. Lalu kita teringat mesti ngambil racepack dulu di Wonokitri sehingga driver putar balik padahal posisi sudah setengah jalan ke hotel. Yang kita nggak pahami adalah lokasi race letaknya di Desa Wonokitri Pasuruan sementara hotel berada di Desa Ngadisari Probolinggo. Jarak kedua tempat tersebut sekitar 40 km karena mesti ngitarin gunung, ada jalan pintas tapi hanya mobil jeep yang boleh masuk karena jalurnya melewati padang pasir. 

Enam jam kita berkendara melewati desa pemukiman orang-orang bersarung, serta jalan-jalan hutan yang gelap dan sepiiiii...akhirnya kita sampai juga di Wonokitri jam 10 malam. Setelah mengambil racepack, kita bingung mau bermalam dimana karena hotel yang sudah kita bayar full itu masih sangat jauh, nggak mungkin kita balik lagi ke Probolinggo. Untungnya mbak Dessy yang ikut mobil kita sudah booking homestay di Wonokitri bersama temannya. Untungnya lagi mereka berbaik hati mau sharing homestay dengan kita. Akhirnya kita pun numpang bermalam di Wonokitri, langsung membersihkan badan, nyobain mandi dengan air yang alamak dinginnya luar biasa! 

Esoknya jam 3 pagi kita mulai tour keliling Bromo, dimulai dari melihat sunrise, padang savanna, pasir berbisik, diakhiri dengan mendaki kawah gunung. Pemandangannya udah nggak bisa dideskripsikan dengan kata-kata, semuanya terlihat cantik dan menakjubkan. Rasanya ingin berlama-lama di sana tapi matahari semakin tinggi dan debu pasir beterbangan membuat sulit bernafas. Jam 10 pagi kita udah balik lagi ke homestay dan beristirahat. Tips: sebelum melihat sunrise di Pananjakan, jangan lupa cobain pisang gorengnya, pisangnya panjang-panjang dan licin, langsung digoreng begitu dipesan, top banget apalagi kalau sambil minum teh/kopi hangat.

Di homestay kita tinggal ber-6, selain kita bertiga dan mbak Dessy, ada mbak Reti dan Ajeng. Kita semua sama-sama ngambil race Half Marathon (HM). Senang rasanya bisa kenalan banyak teman baru, banyak cerita dan sharing pengalaman. Nggak nyangka di balik musibah kemarin gagal nginap di hotel, hikmahnya bisa ketemu orang-orang baik hati yang walaupun baru kenal tapi terasa sudah seperti saudara sendiri. Kita menikmati waktu sore dengan jalan-jalan santai di Wonokitri, makan bakso yang cepet banget dinginnya karena udara gunung, kemudian lekas tidur menghadapi race day besok.

Yeay, race day! Beruntung karena lokasi homestay yang dekat dari garis start, kita nggak terburu-buru menyiapkan diri, masih sempat sarapan dan memasang printilan running gears. Race HM dimulai jam 07.30, masih banyak waktu buat foto-foto.

Para ladies IR Bogor :)

Nggak lama setelah gun time untuk Full Marathon ditembakkan, HM runners mulai berlari. Karena nggak ngejar target personal di event ini, aku berlari super santai. Baru masuk kilometer 2 jalanan mulai menanjak sementara nafas udah ngos-ngosan karena tubuh masih berusaha menyesuaikan diri. Walau baru beberapa kilometer tapi pemandangannya cukup bikin wow. Track yang tadinya beraspal mulai masuk ke track berpasir. Pasirnya berganti-ganti mulai dari pasir coklat, pasir abu-abu, pasir merah, pasir hitam, pasir abu-abu lagi, begitu seterusnya sampai kira-kira kilometer 14. Udah mana tanjakannya gak abis-abis, berpasir pula, benar-benar menguji iman. Tiap kali melangkah, kaki langsung blesek masuk pasir jadi berat dibawa lari, belum lagi debu pasir halus yang beterbangan bikin sesak nafas dan mata perih. Kepalaku sempat pusing di tanjakan maut (entah kilometer berapa), untung aku bawa kurma dan hydropack, sambil minum+ngunyah sambil jalan cepat, efeknya langsung terasa badan jadi seger lagi.

Paling heboh itu di kilometer berapa ya (lupa) yang ngelewatin kampung, lari disambut para penduduk, high-five sama anak-anak kecil, seru banget! Sayang karena keasyikan berlari, aku malah lupa minta foto bareng sama mereka. Paling wow waktu lari menyusuri punggung gunung dan bisa melihat summit Gunung Semeru dari jauh, berkat cuaca cerah & langit yang jernih pemandangannya jadi terlihat sempurna.

Puncak Gunung Semeru di kejauhan

View yang selalu bikin kangen

Nggak terasa udah kilometer 17 aja

Kurang dari 5 kilometer lagi menuju finish, kondisi track berganti menjadi aspal teduh yang dinaungi pohon-pohon rindang sepanjang jalan. Elevasi yang tadinya nanjak tak berkesudahan sekarang berganti menjadi turunan curam. Hasrat lari ngebut begitu menggebu tapi mesti menahan diri karena kalau tidak dengkul bisa-bisa copot. Menjelang garis finish, aku nggak menyangka ternyata ada banyak sekali orang yang menyambut. Para volunteer bule dengan sangat antusias berteriak menyemangati para pelari. Begitu finish, medali langsung dikalungkan ke leherku. Setengah tak percaya aku berhasil melampaui keraguan dan bisa finish strong & happy di race HM perdanaku.

My first HM medal

My timing record

Usai race, kita pun membersihkan diri dan bersiap check out dari homestay. Satu lagi blessings bertemu dengan orang baik seperti mbak Reti adalah kita boleh ikut mobilnya balik ke Surabaya. Beruntung sekali sekaligus merasa sangat berutang budi sama mbak Reti yang sudah banyak menolong kita (terimakasih J). Bermalam di Surabaya, akhirnya kita nggak perlu takut lagi mandi sama air. Trauma mandi di Bromo yang dinginnya sedingin es, perlu mental baja buat nyiramin air ke badan apalagi ke bagian kepala. 

Esoknya kita berangkat jalan-jalan ke Madura, melintasi jembatan Suramadu dan makan bebek Sinjay. Setelah itu balik lagi ke Surabaya dan makan lagi di restoran Bu Rudy. Gimana pipi nggak gembil kita selama naik gunung makan terus, pas turun gunung juga makan melulu. Beres mencari oleh-oleh, kita makan lagi di warung tahu campur dan tahu tek, hehe...

Foodism

Benar-benar puas liburan kali ini, acaranya lengkap mulai dari lari, foto-foto, hingga wisata kuliner. Merasa bersyukur punya teman-teman baik, ketemu dengan orang-orang yang baik juga, sehingga berbagai hambatan dapat dimudahkan jalannya. Flight jam 5 sore, pulang ke Bogor pun jalanan lancar nggak begitu macet. Semoga petualangan berikutnya bisa lebih asyik lagi. Bye, Bromo~