garuda and badminton

on a short notice, i had to fly to jakarta to attend national workshop on sumatran tiger. the invitation was forwarded to me around noon. when i was having my lunch, my supervisor told me that i might be going to jakarta for that one day workshop. around 2 pm, i spoke to the program manager and he said i should go to that workshop because neither he or my supervisor could go because they already had another agenda. so then i rushed to office receptionist to book me a flight this evening. i was not sure though there'll be one seat left for this sudden need because normally pekanbaru-jakarta route quite busy. i could also fly tomorrow morning but i don't wanna be late as the workhsop will start at 9 a.m. moreover, i don't fancy flying in the morning coz it usually gives me headache. but she got me the ticket for that evening flight. so that's good news. don't have to worry bout headache and morning flight.

i left the office around 3 so i could have some time to pack my stuffs. yeah, it was only one day, surely there isn't many things to bring. again, i was just trying to play with time. don't want to left anything important behind (such as deodorant maybe, hehe) and i don't want to get late to the airport. i had a bad experience of being late to check in at airport. i just don't want it to happen ever more.

so, eka took me to sultan syarif qasim II airport with his brand new green motorcycle. it is TVS brand. one of the reasons he chose it because it has MP3 player among many bonuses he got (nokia handphone, etc). arrived at the airport, i still got plenty of time so i used it to write an email and facebooking.

there were three flight at around the same time. so everybody eagerly lined up to get into the plane. seeing the crowd makes me think that the stairs won't be able to hold for such big capacity any longer. but it appeared they split the line into two. one for other airline and garuda. well, guess that was one of the advantages of flying garuda because the extra money (garuda promo ticket = above other airline normal ticket) you paid, make you have extra room. no need to be in the crowd because garuda passengers are the priority.

another difference between garuda and other airlines is the stairs to get into the aircraft way bigger. so i felt like in first class although my boarding pass showed me that i will be seated in the economy class. they also have more space between each rows. very nice. totally more comfortable then budget airlines. and now with its brand new aircraft, each seat has its personal tv! yeaaahhhh... entertainment on air. so long the green creature show just for laughs candid video.

after a smooth take off and the personal tv was on for entertainment, i quickly moved my right hand looking for the remote control. but couldn't find it! what.., how am I gonna enjoy my own tv??! i was almost give up when i saw the beautiful lady seat next two seats from me touch the screen with her finger and the screen changed. woaaww... this one is a touch screen tv, way to go garuda! so then my index finger playing around the screen. touch this and that. i was so excited. i don't know if SQ or MAS airlines have moved to touch screen tv too. i don't care at all. what i care that now Garuda Airline is so cool.

based on entertainment on air magazine i found in my seat pocket, i know that it will not worth watching movie. besides, only few movies are available for domestic route. so i decided to see badminton video. it was from All England 2009 where Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) play againts Peter Gade (Denmark). i haven't seen this one. i don't think any local tv stations in indonesia broadcasting the tournament. it turned out that i am so happy with my choice. it was a world class! brilliant game! superb! fantastic! a very worth to see game! both Hidayat and Gade showed how wonderful badminton game can be. this make me think that badminton tournament should has big prize for its winners, just like the tennis.

i got so into the game. i hope i did not bother anyone in the plane with my excitement because sometime when i see badminton game i would cheering the players without knowing how loud it is., hahaha..

Hidayat won the first game with 21-18. woww, it was close, very tight points. entering the 2nd game, i wished that Hidayat will win the game too so he would get into next round. the game on, with more fabulous point to point play. ooh i feel like i can't wait to see the end of the game. i hope it will be Taufik Hidayat. reaching the points 17, the plane was about to land at jakarta, so they were shutting down all tv, dim the lights and getting ready for landing. it was so close to end of the game. ohh, that makes me so frustrated. i wanna know who finally won the game.

surely if i was so desperately curious with that game, i would go to mbah google looking for it. but i just didn't do it during my 3 days stay in jakarta. i don't know why. perhaps the beauty and the sorrow of jakarta attracts me more.

back to pekanbaru, i still flew with garuda, but this time with the old aircraft, so no entertainment on air. that was ok. i use it to sleep coz i was so sleepy.

on the first day of the week, i remember again about the badminton game. so, i looked for it in youtube and there they are! yess. it was nice to see the whole game. before that game, Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade has met 11 times with the record 5-6. so the game at the All England tournament made the record same for both players. nobody is stronger than the other. both of them just know how to play the game beautifully. thanks guys.

obama, where is the 'change' you promised?

i was as happy as many americans when obama won the US presidential election last year. so many hopes-expectations raised to him. and now, a year after the celebration, he received a nobel peace prize. a precious and highly meaningful award and it happened just right after he sends thousands of troops to afganistan. where is the change he promised??? well, i guess it is no wonder his attandance to copenhagen didn't resulted in something significant. and now i have to admit, once again, we were fooled by politician.

the worse is my country just build obama statue as the expression to admire his success from ordinary kids into a top president.

anyone can be a president, but only few is capable of being leader.

quote

pertama kali membacanya, rasanya langsung klik. trims tante imelda untuk barisan kata-kata yang menambah semangat.

Saya percaya, jika manusia keluar dari “sarang”nya bukan hanya bisa melihat pemandangan indah di luar, dan terlebih dapat melihat ke dalam sarangnya sendiri dengan lebih obyektif dan bahkan mendalaminya. Meskipun kadang saya –sebagai manusia tak bersuku– merasa gamang dalam menentukan dimanakah sebetulnya sarangku itu. Yang saya tahu, hutanku adalah Indonesia!


http://imelda.coutrier.com/2009/01/07/how-jawa-are-you/

Going Around

Dec 30, 2009

Today I feel so much better after taking proper eat in the last few days. Yup, eating properly at the regular schedule is best for your health and that’s the answer for every health problems. I don’t know how much I should be grateful for every meal given to me and to my family; perhaps I just have to be thankful every day just to be sure that I am thankful enough. I know some people are not fortunate as I am. It is hard for them to make sure that they will have enough food for today. And tomorrow is still mystery.

My mom and I went to take a walk. She wants to show me the Karebosi link, an underground mall which the first one in the eastern part Indonesia. Other than that, she needs inspiration to work on her customers clothes. She got stuck so she needs to see clothes in the stores just to get an idea.

But first we went to have lunch in our family long time favorite meatball warung.  We called it buleng, because the owner who’s also the chef, the servant has fair skin. He is always reminds us to our beloved grandpa: his posture, his grayish white hair, his wrinkle skin with black dots here and there, ahh.. they are so much alike. We have been their customers since I was in elementary school. In their menu they have meatball soup, cassava soup (sup ubi), which can only be found in sulawesi. It is a mix of noodle and bean sprouts with fried peanuts, slices of beef and fried cassava. Both meatball and the cassava soup sometimes accompanied by lontong (food consisting of rice steamed in a banana leaf), available on request. The amazing things are, the taste of their menu never changes and the place, the way the tables arranged is never change too. It all the same. One difference is now they have big freezer for cold drinks.

On the last couple of years, nor my mom and dad ever see that old man. He has been replacing by someone younger, which we believed it’s his son. We think that the old man probably has passed away and now his son continues the family business. My last visit on Idul Fitri holiday, we did not see the old man too. Considering how old he could be, we were somehow convinced that the old man has passed away. I don’t know why none of us ever ask about the old man to his son..

So, my mom and I ordered cassava soup with meatball. We also had lontong and raviolis. At first I was not sure that we are going to finish them all. But we did! Wow..  while enjoying the meal, I caught the sight of the old man. He is still alive! He is wearing white t-shirt and short pants. I saw him going out from the kitchen and coming into the house. His hair is all white now and he moves slowly and carefully. Oh wow.. I never know that I could be so lucky to see the glance of that old man again. Then I remember my grandpa. I guess if he is still alive, he will be no different with that old man: fragile but lovable.

Then we went to Makassar Trade Center of MTC for short. It is similar with the ones in Jakarta. So it is packs with sellers with various stuffs. Before we took pete-pete to get us home, we bought fried cassava and eat them on the way home. It was so delicious.

After maghrib, my Uncle Julis and his wife came to home. While we exploring the programs in my laptop, the tv broadcast a news that the 4^th president of Indonesia has passed away. The current president, SBY, declared national mourning week. Goodbye Gus Dur, we thank you for all the goodness you have done for plurality and for this nation. Hope your spirit remains and your struggle be continued by the young.

sick day

Dec 29, 2009

I drank a pack of yakult and a glass of cold milk before went to bed last night. At 3.30 in the morning, I woke up and rushed to the toilet. That was exactly what I wanted because I have not drink milk for over a week. My digesting was fine though, but I want to go the toilet every morning and not in the middle of the day when I was still in office or when I take evening shower before go to bed. I don’t like the schedule is change, that’s all. When I went back to bed, my stomach hurts. But I tried to sleep coz I am so sleepy. At 6.30 I woke up again and my stomach still hurts. I went to toilet; thought that pain will stop after I went for the second time. But I was wrong coz the pain remained the whole day.

So here I am, stumble on bed with one hand over my tummy. Too sick to do something else. Then I remember, a week before I flew to Makassar, I totally forgot to have dinner for a whole week. I just went straight to bed every time I got back home in the night. I did not realize it till the Thursday night I feel my tummy hurts. And that’s when I remember the last dinner I had in Friday last week.

Two Controversies: Gurita Book & Toyota Crown

Dec 28, 2009

The morning was interesting with the news of Gurita Cikeas book written by George Aditjonro all over media. It is not officially published yet, but some of the exemplars have been distributed to Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Only within few days those first exemplars are gone. A big portion of it was purchased by anonym buyer and the rest just disappear very quick. It is now a very rare and its price climbed up to five hundred thousand rupiahs per book. Wowww.. but how can a new book just disappear like that? It turned out that book is a controversy due to its content which discredit the current president, its family, people around him and the winner party of 2009 election, Democrat. The book said that there are several foundations which function as money maker for SBY and democrat’s campaign. That’s including giving people some money so they will vote for SBY and his party. And that’s why there were debates over this book in the morning, noon and evening news. Some of the TV channels even had a special discussion on this controversy book. SBY and people in his circle said it just the rubbish, none of it was based in fact. They said this book is trying to bring SBY’s reputation down. However, they denied that it was due to their request this book is suddenly disappearing and few book stores refused to sell it. The author of the book, George Adi Tjonro, who obtained his Doctor at Cornell University, seems not bothered by the responds of his book. He is openly accepting discussions, answering questions and criticisms. But he was asking back why his book is blocked in the country where democracy served as its soul? “If my book is a spam, then please SBY and Democrat Party write ‘white book’ to counter the whole false information I wrote”, says Aditjonro challenging those who said his book is nothing but spam.

The controversy is not only from the government side but also from civil society. Some support this book as it provide tunnels for people to watch their government, some said that government is reacting over and some said they support the blockade of the book as it potentially misleading the truth that will harm innocent people.

Surely this is something that adds sensation of the Century Bank case that has been a country’s concern since the new SBY cabinet appointed last October.

Well, that’s all about in the morning. Tukang sayur langganan mom is coming and my mom bought petai to make sambel goreng teri petai! Yuhuu… petai is my family favorite. We did not get tempe as we planned to have for lunch because the tukang sayur did not bring it. That’s fine, we could always get tempe on the other day.

After lunch, the weather looked fine, not too sunny but a little bit cloudy. Me, my mom&dad decided to go to the mall of panakukang so I could pay my laptop, send the report and buy some logistics.

In the evening when returned back to home, my dad went straight away to turn the tv on. It was evening news on Global TV where the presenter said that the ministers and high level officer such as chair of Indonesia court are going to receive brand new official luxury car Toyota Royal Crown that cost 1.3 billion rupiahs per unit. This new car is way way more expensive than previous car Toyota Car which cost only 300 million rupiahs. The second I hear the news, I just could not believe it. This is crazy. How on earth government could spend its people money to buy those super expensive cars when the ministers have not done anything? Last time they asked for salary rise now luxury car. Ck.. ck.. ck.. what a rat! I am so sick to hear about it. All the promises, all the things they say for Indonesian people are BIG LIE! They never stop lying. From the first time till now, nothing but lie. It feels that I want to throw out, remembering all the taxes I and others pay only to give wealth to those rats. I am very angry to the all those people in the government. And I hate them so so much.