Rindu

Aku rindu..
Siang penuh jelajah ke kota seribu cerita, taman rahasia dan gang-gang tua,
Percakapan panjang tanpa akhir di tempatmu menghabiskan waktu sendiri dulunya,
Bergelas-gelas kopi dan teh yang menemani menyatukan mimpi kita,
Sentuhan ringan di lengan  setiap waktu bersama,
Usapan sayang di punggung yang tak akan terlupa,
Dekapan hangat di malam-malam panjang hingga pagi datang,
Bahkan pertengkaran di saat aku dan kamu memanjakan ego kita,
Sedari tadi, aku sudah rindu..

Mystery

some stories are better left untold
some actions are better left undone
some truth are better left unexposed
some words are better left unspoken
some wounds are better left unhealed
some question are better left unanswered
some emotions are better left unexpressed

Blinded

Aku hanya berdiri

Karena kau minta menanti

Perlahan melepas mimpi

What do you want me to be?

Another shape that is not me

Finally you’re down on your knee

Maybe i’m the one who can not see

Setidaknya sekarang aku adalah  diriku sendiri

Hati

Aku terus berlari

Entah kapan berhenti

Bimbang tak bertepi

Apa yang kucari?

Aku pun tak mengerti

Hanya bisa menari

Hidup tanpa matahari

Mengingat tautan jemari

Sekarang tak ada lagi

Year End Hideaway: Togian Islands

a small piece of the hidden paradise

So last year was not exactly the best year of my life. A lot of heartbreaking and emotionally exhausting events occurred, that eventually by Christmas Holiday I decided to go home to Makassar, then go for a a remedy in a very secluded place. I needed to get away from everything and give myself a time alone, give the heart a time to take a rest and give the head a time to sort out so many tangled thoughts. The decision was not exactly instant, I spent 1-2 days thinking whether to go to Togian Islands or Wakatobi. When I was finally done with the time calculation,  I bought the tickets impulsively and up to now I never regret my decision.

 

the entrance of the shack is the only place with signal reception

Yes, I went to Togian Islands, the paradise that lies in the Gulf of Tomini. These islands are ironically more famous to foreigner rather than to us, Indonesians. The place was so remote that everyone was a bit panic looking for me. In my defence, the island where I stayed has only one spot where the cellphone signal worked, and it was in front of other cottage that was a bit far from my place so its inevitable, solid enough right?

Kasiguncu Airport-Poso. Yes, that's the plane i flew in

 Now lets talk about Togian Islands, my solo trip there to be exact. I went there via Ampana, a small harbour town which is around 4 hours ride away from Poso. Getting there is relatively easy since there's always minivans with Poso-Ampana or Palu-Ampana route. Booking in advanced is necessary to ensure you'll get the seat. I was lucky to have friends even as far as Poso, they picked me up from the airport in Poso and helped me arrange the travel to Ampana. 

the black stone beach, ampana

When i arrived in Ampana, it was already dark, luckily I had a room reserved already, it was in a cottage by the beach named Marina Cottage. It was named after the beach, Marina Beach, a beach with long beach line and black stones instead of sands.

The next day I went to the Island with the fishermen boat, not the ferry. It took longer than I expected but it still fun. They took me directly to the cottage I've booked before, its called Uni Sunset Beach. It is named for the stunning view of sunset from the private beach that belong to the cottage. In the other side of the island, there's a fishermen village called Tobir Village.

The next day I moved to Kadidiri island and stopped for a snorkel or two in several small islands, mostly uninhabited. In some of the small island however, there are fishermen villages. It was a true bliss, crystal clear water, beautiful coral reefs and fish, secluded beaches, powder-soft white sands, all the things you can imagine from a secret beach/sea hideaway is there. Being there was a whole new experience: staying in a wooden shack, no electricity during the day (electricity available from 6-10 pm in most places, but in the place I stayed its still available until 12).
 

In Kadidiri, there are 3 cottages, Kadidiri Paradise, Black Marlin and Lestari Kadidiri, I stayed in the latest. Its a family-owned simple cottage that belong to the fisherman family. Everyday we were served warm delicious home cooking for lunch and supper, and sweet bread or traditional pancakes with fruits for breakfast, coffee and tea are available all time. All these only for IDR 100k! For me, that was a whole new experience: relaxing by the beach, reading or taking nap in the hammock underneath the coconut trees (you can even ask them to put hammock in front of your room), sunbathing on the beach just in front of your very cottage, kayaking and snorkelling to the other side of the island (where the lovely Barracuda Beach lies) or even fishing with Aka or Pudding. Choosing where to stay is a relative and depend on what you need/expect from a cottage, but if any of you want to go there and need contact for Lestari Kadidiri, just ring me and I will pass the contact. Personally, I like the place for being like a family to the guests, rather than only running business. 

In earlier post,  I've told the story about my first time swimming in the jellyfish lake in Kakaban Island. When i was in Togian, i was given another rare opportunity to experience it again. Yes, that was my second time swimming with jellyfish that don't sting. Its actually nothing big to brag about, except that there are only 3 places in the world with these unique creatures, and i have been to 2 of them *big grin*. The thing that i am proud of is that these 2 places are within our beautiful country, Indonesia. The lake is located in an island a bit far from Kadidiri, close to Katupat. There's no pier so we have to climb a bit to get to on to the island, The lake is named Mariona Lake. It was named in honour of Marion Bazin, who is doing a lot for the Togians. You can see her work here. Apparently before early last year there's no tourist ever visited the place. The locals know about the existence, but it was never became a tourist spot, not yet. There's also this beautiful beach located nearby in the corner of an island called Karina Beach which is a perfect place to chill. We spent some time here to relax on the way back from the trip to Mariona Lake, too bad I don't have any photo of the beach.

Mariona Lake (photo from Farchan Noor Rachman)

Back from Togian Islands, I still have to face another 4 hours by ferry from Wakai to Ampana (did I mention that they will take you to the Wakai harbour where you can get the ferry to Ampana or Gorontalo) then 12 hours on minivan to Palu (I would less likely recommend this, unless you are looking for adventure). Bottom line is that the things that I got there totally worth all the efforts. It worth every mile and hour I spent on the minivan, boat and ferry. Huge thanks for Abin, Rika and Deni for helping me sorting things out there. I really wish I will have another chance to visit the Islands again. I haven't seen enough, and I wont have enough of it.

Life after You

You..
The one asking me to walk together
Want me to go stay with you forever.
I was the one walking to you instead,
You're not moving from where you stand.

Devastated, broken and lost
All i see was black and grey.
So far from what I was known most
So close to fade away.

I tried making peace with the heart
Collecting shattered pieces only God knows where.
But everyone knows its just like pulling dart
There are always holes left everywhere.

It might take all years long
To be back to the shape i know
To finally get along
To forget the wound and sorrow
To go after what i long
To achieve the dreams i grow

Now i stand on my own again
Free from all the pain
Because nothing will stay the same
Especially my life, after you..

Short Getaway to Derawan

welcome to the exotic islands

Writing this in the middle of being a university student is such an irony, since i don't have as much days off and economic power as i had when i was still a full time employee. The bright side is i (might) have more spare time within a week, which means i am supposedly able to finish the stories I've been meaning to post in this blog.

shine like diamonds

The story happened mid-November last year when we had a longer weekend, i and some friends went to the Exotic Derawan Islands of East Borneo. The islands consist of Derawan, Sangalaki, Maratua, Kakaban, Nabucco, Raburabu, Panjang, Samama and some other small islands. at that time we were joining a tour package that made us visit Derawan, Maratua, Sangalaki, Kakaban and Nabucco.

 

storm is coming

To begin with, the weather at that time was not exactly perfect for a beach slash island hopping activities, i remember there were only one sunny day with bright blue sky during the getaway.

a glimpse of The Sea God anger

 

 The rest? well, stormy sky, dark clouds and crazy waves, it was as if Poseidon got furious and the sea became really unfriendly.  

No matter how horrible i describe the weather, that doesn't mean that i didn't enjoy my getaway there. It was still very nice, and i can say proudly that Indonesia does have amazing beaches and sea beauty. Colorful fish and coral reefs, white sand, clear sea water, rows of coconut trees, turtles and the hatchlings and on top of all, jellyfish lake!

 

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that was the first time i swim with the jellyfish that don't sting. Wait, the first time? There's another time? Yes of course! I will tell the story later (bragging mode on). The jellyfish lake is located in Kakaban island, where we had to go along the the wooden bridge that cut the forest and ended up in the lake. To swim with the jellyfish here, we should not use the fins/flippers to avoid harming them. 

the spotted jellyfish, the really don't sting!

To wrap it up, Derawan Islands has so much beauty and magnificence to offer. The only thing that people need to keep in mind is to always keep the area clean and unspoiled. These are the priceless inheritance for the next generation, so let's be humble and let them also enjoy the beauty in the future.

Pulang

Ketika mata tak lagi saling pandang
Dan rasa sakit tertutupi luapan sayang
Pertengkaran pun tak menemukan titik terang
Sampai kapan kita bertahan dalam bimbang
Semua yang ada seolah jadi penghalang
Haruskah kita menerima nasib malang
Meratapi mimpi yang akan segera hilang
Atau merelakan hati kembali berpetualang
Ah, aku cuma ingin pulang

Till We Meet Again Mommy Riadany

Free scrapbook design made with Smilebox

This is for you mbakyu Riadany Tyas Hapsari we hope you like it, don't cry yet when you watch it, save it for later okay..
We will say goodbye with smile on our faces (this is a lie though), get your  pack of tissue ready when you say goodbye to us.. *teary eyes* 


hugs and kisses,
we who love you

Ragu

Teruntuk kamu
yang mencuri cium di bibirku
Aku tak menyesal malam itu

Teruntuk kamu
yang membuatku terpaku
Aku yakin itu tak semu

Teruntuk kamu
yang memacu degup jantungku
Aku masih merindu

Teruntuk kamu
yang larut dalam duniamu
Aku ingin bertemu

Teruntuk kamu

yang menyusupi hatiku
Aku mulai meragu

Teruntuk kamu
yang terpaut jarak dan waktu
Aku mungkin menunggu

Think! Then Write..

When in doubt, write!
That is what i always tell myself. To be true there are so many things that bother me at this current time that its become too complicated to put it in writings (I know I know, another excuse).

Why write? because you have to separate things that haywire in your mind into a tidy structure, story after story should be segmented so you could find which one distract you the most, for me its plenty. These are some of them:

Getting my Bachelor
In the end of 2011 I failed the D IV entrance test, now I'm not really sure if I should give it another try or just apply to another university here. I'm also still not sure what major to take: management or accounting. Accounting would be applicable later, but management sounds interesting, especially because I will meet accounting subject less >.<

Moving out

Earlier last month, we moved to the new office building, which is a bit further from my boarding house compared to the previous one. So far, the additional distance had already made me late twice. I'm starting to think to move out and find a boarding house which is closer to the office. The thing is, I'm happy enough with my current room, it's spacious, comfortable, clean and cheap, not to mention i had it painted violet! I'm not sure there's another place that offer a room with the same facilities at the same bargain. Maybe i need to search from now..


Confrontation
Lately there are some people that are really disturbing, the way they behave and talk are not pleasant. Its just really amazing how such person can make someone feel uncomfortable or even worse, hurt without realizing it, and i mean amazingly disturbing. Well, as one of those who are affected, i actually have the willing to confront and tell directly what i (or we) have in mind, but then again i thought the person might take that as an offensive gesture, and it can get worse when it is taken as a way to create conflict, i don't want that. The problem is, the unpleasant feelings remain..

There are other things that I'm not really sure of, but let me worry about that.. Its too much to share though, for now.. ^o^

Anyway, at this particular time, i really miss most of my friends..

Home

Being a devoted writer (blogger to be precise) is not easy my friend!

I lost my mojo to write for the last several months, causing my blog in a state of vacuum for quite a while. I know when starting this blog, responsibilities will come with it. This blog is not only a place to express my mind, it is also a work that I have to continuously maintain. Sadly things are easier said than done. Things after things, events after events passed by or sometimes just wander inside my head without me having a chance to put them in writings. Yes it is always easy to find excuses for what we’re doing, in the end of the day I could see myself as a big procrastinator.

But not today, not starting today..

This maybe just a little, but I’ll start writing again!

Let me share the latest thing happened in my life. Last long-weekend I went home to Makassar. For me going home is always a joy and a burden at the same time. Joy for meeting my mom, dad, siblings and friends. Burden for continuous demand from my dad to get married soon. Its not that I don't wanna get married, just not soon.. I don't think I'm ready for such responsibilities, yet everyone else around seem to take that as a minor thing.

Anyway, lets just forget that for a while and focus on the joy. Every time I come home, my youngest sister always lingers by my side. When I'm out with my friends she would come along, when she needs to buy things, she would ask me to accompany her, she even sleep with me. My mom said every time I left home she'd be very sad but she's growing now, she can manage her emotion better. She loves to eat yet a bit picky on foods.

-my baby sister and i-

Another thing about going home is meeting up with friends, its fun since I don't meet them on everyday-basis any longer, even a short meeting would mean a lot of fun. Last holiday I just met several friends back home, I catch up a lot with Hilda, the successful entrepreneur and bride-to-be, and Ryan, a busy interior designer, we spent time updating each other stories at a coffee shop.

-this time just the three of us-

Another meet up was with Uthar, Nunu and Angga, all of them are seniors back then in campus. We went for a late-lunch, hunting traditional snacks, wandering around Somba Opu, watching sunset and eating pisang epe at Losari Beach, then rushing back to my house to get prepared for Wira's wedding reception. That day i had kapurung, one of the traditional food from Palopo. It's served with grilled fish and raw chilli-tomato sauce. Actually I've been craving for this food for quite a while before i finally had it, thanks to Uthar. If any of you happen to visit Makassar please stop by at RM Tiga Putra, they offer various traditional foods, you should try!

-party of four-

In short, its a nice holiday, very short though. I love being surrounded by my sisters and parents (minus the fuss about marriage), i love shopping with my mom and sisters, i love hanging out with my friends, i love the weather, i love the foods too . I wish i could spend more time at home, away from the office routine, away from burdening thoughts, away from everything.

-sunset at Losari Beach, will be missing this for a while-

p.s: to Wira, if you read this, sorry for not putting the group photo at your wedding, couldn't find one with good quality ^^v

Let's Start Now!

Today is the World Anti-Corruption Day, let's keep in mind and heart to stay away from corruption in any form. Hopefully we can be free from corruption, maybe not now but sure we can!

Sounds too good to be true eh? Well, if it is too good to be true then maybe it is not true. Yes, when we're speaking of the truth then we need to see the reality now. Are we already living in an a corruption free society? I'd say no, because the corruption is obviously there. Sad right? But then, those who say yes are most certainly in denial.

Despite all the ugly truth we're facing, let's be optimistic, let us not kill our hopes. If everyone keep that in mind and heart, a "corruption free" society is not impossible anyway. The major concern for now is that many people are already pessimistic about such idea. Thinking that "corruption-free" condition is never possible to happen, especially here in our country. For me it is not impossible at all, i believe someday it will happen, and i believe there are a lot of people like me out there. Not only believing, but also trying to make it real. The question remains is: are we ready to be the ones who make it happen?

Start from small things.
Start from ourselves.
Start from now.

Bitter or Sweet?

Recently i stumbled upon this old saying:

"Make your words soft and sweet for you may have to eat them later"

We are social creatures, we interact with other people through communication, most of it orally. We sometimes can not control what we say to others, there are good things and bad things as well. Good things we say, whether we really mean it or not, always bring a good responses and make people who hear it fell good. in the other hand, when we say bad things, intentionally or not, we make people feel awful and sometimes hurt.

It makes me realize that the way i speak to people isn't always in a good manner, i also speak bad things to others, what worse is sometimes i speak bad about other people too. Eventually i - want it or not- have to deal with the consequences: i have to accept when people speak bad about me, or they say rude things to me. It hurts, i know.. But then again we always need to experience the pain to know that we don't want it, and others don't either.

I'm not saying that we have to sugar-coat everything we say, at least it would be a lot better if we say everything politely and think about what we're gonna say before we say it. But what about this, when a friend really need an awakening slap in the face? Well, easy.. Just tell the truth, but please don't be rude. (haha, it rhymes ^o^)

Yeah, i know that we are all human, and human make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we're allowed to make every single word that come out of our mouth as poisonous as the viper's venom.


I guess the moral is that we really have to watch our tongue. Well let me put it this way: if i have to eat my words, i want it as sweet as chocolate cake..

let's eat 'em up!!! ^o^

I Accept The Challenge

"Good morning, people! Who's up for a challenge? Let's be original for a day! Can you handle a day without RT-ing other users' tweets? :D"

That is kak mahir's twit that inspired me to challenge myself, yes i want to be original..

Anyway, it is actually fun to tweet anything that comes up in your mind without RT-ing others, though it is very understandable to re-tweet other people's twit especially when we're having the same thought or opinion. Sometimes we feel like: "this is exactly what i wanna say", then we just re-tweet it. Actually there is nothing wrong with that, having the same thought/opinion with anybody else is not a crime right?

Okay, talking about originality in the context of tweeting may sound lame, but lets bring it to the wider context, the case of plagiarism is no different with re-tweeting. The only thing that makes difference is the intention. Those who re-tweet just wanna show that they have the same thought with the one whose twit they re-tweet. In plagiarism, the plagiarists definitely want other people who read it to think that it is their original idea.

See, it comes to me that even if people have the same thing in their mind, the way its is being expressed will be vary, depending on the people's characteristic. Everyone is free to express what's in mind. I'm starting to think that the issue this time is no longer the freedom of speech/expression, it is the originality. So why don't we try to express whatever it is in our mind, with our own way.

Life will be more beautiful with lots of colors no?

The Man Who Sweep The Patio

In some fiction, the stories, usually start with people who haven’t known each other but in some point start to notice that the other person have a particular habit, or signature outfit, or certain personality, or anything else that attract his/her attention. Now, this story is nothing like that. I know this particular person for almost 5 years now. At the beginning of our friendship the first thing that caught my attention is not the fact that he's a good basketball player in campus (to be true, i didn't even know he was), it was the missing connection between his full-name and nickname. It took me some times to realize that "Dhani" is the way others call him, Badia Ahmad Burhani. From the beginning we shared a lot of stories, but then again lately something tickles me. I started to notice this habit let say around 10 months ago. He’s doing it every Sunday morning or afternoon while having me on our weekend calls.

He always says, “I don’t like to see it dirty, full with dry leaves ”, then i will ask him to do it later. Then he will start telling me how fast those dry leaves cover up the patio while only 2-3 days ago the maid clean it up, and he doesn't like it. Its all up to you my dear, but for me you’re always a man who loves to tidy up almost everything, including the patio Yes, I really have to admit for this particular habit, he’s way up there on level 9-10 while I’m only on level 6-7. Oh come on, who would think to paint his own room only to get the sense of satisfaction, or cleaning the bathroom while no one else in the house want to do it. Not many man would do this, maybe not even women. Well at least i have less thing to worry on my future, hopefully i will always have someone i can rely on (especially on tidy up everything).\^o^/

So ladies and gentlemen, here i present you: The Man who Sweep the Patio.

My beloved man..

and he's still looking good while doing it