Siklus

Kita hidup di dunia yang sangat kompleks. Di mana semenjak dulu kala manusia hidup dan menata diri untuk sebuah kemudahan. Mereka pun mencipta berbagai hal yang tampak dan tak kasat mata, hanya demi membahagiakan hidupnya. Lalu, apakah egoisme telah tumbuh pada manusia di awal zaman kita? Makin banyak pula hal yang kini kita tahu. Beriring dengan makin rendahnya pemahaman, waktu, atau entah apapun itu. Semua merasa kita telah berubah. Namun adanya kita tak beranjak. Bergerak dalam sebuah siklus. Bernama keadilan dan keseimbangan.

September 20th, 2011, 10.30 a.m.

Few hours ago, after meeting my second supervisor in a frozen room on the third floor of a building in my campus, I accidentally met my old pal. We had a lotta talk bout our life, specifically that in the past. I rarely met this man in these years. Recently, I found that he had a break on his study for a year. He studied English Literature in my faculty, so we somehow shared the same experience in having beautiful life with this.

For the start up, I asked him about some of other pals I had been missing these days. Just like he was. It began to develop into the more serious one, when he told me those experiences when he missed the study here. He tried to develop a business, with his friends. Fortunately, we had the same excitement in it. He said that he had ever had a bankrupt and those stuffs you can suffer in the thing called entrepreneurship. But that's just the way it was. You learn it by experiencing it.  

Karya Terbaik

Ada banyak bentuk seni yang kita kenal saat ini, sepertipuisi, lukisan, musik, tari, dan beragam lainnya. Sebagai seseorang yang sangatmencintai seni dan bagaimana ia membawa kita pada  pemahaman dan dimensikehidupan yang lebih dalam, saya pun sangat suka mengamati bagaimana masing-masing jenis seni tersebut bekerja dan menyampaikan maksud mereka kepadamanusia. Dan dari sekian banyak daftar karya manusia tersebut, saya beranggapanbahwa sebuah video musik adalah yang terbaik.

Kesempurnaan ada di dalam keterbatasan.

Kita mesti mengerti bahwa kelimpahan tidak selalu sejajar dengan kebahagiaan. Begitu punyang terjadi dalam hal ini. Banyak orang beranggapan bahwa seni paling rumitadalah yang terbaik. Tapi lagi-lagi hanya perspektif diri yang berperan dalam hal ini. Itu sebabnya mengapa banyak orang yang mencintai karya seni abstrak.Sebab hati merasa yang menilai ketika itu. Memori mereka memberikan kontribusipada makna yang terbentuk.

Banyak orang beranggapan bahwa seni lukis adalah seni paling sederhana. Sebab hanyaada sedikit elemen dan dimensi di sana. Saya pun beranggapan demikian, maafjika tak berkenan. Kemudian ada musik, dengan elemen suaranya. Mungkin sedikitlebih baik. Dan film yang menggabungkannya menjadi satu. Dan menambahinyadengan durasi yang lebih serta rangkaian cerita yang kompleks. Lalu, mengapa bukan film yang terbaik?

Seniterbaik ada untuk memberikan makna pada lebih banyak orang.

Karena itulah film menjadi terlalu spesifik bagi saya karena unsur cerita yang terlalu detil untuk memberikan efek besar pada para penikmatnya, yang memilikipengalaman beragam dan pemmikiran yang juga rumit.

Untuk itulah, sebuah video musik dapat memiliki segalanya, dalam keterbatasannya.Musik indah meskipun sederhana akan dikenang sepanjang masa. Tampilan visualpun dapat mewakilkan keadaan dengan berbagai cara yang kreatif. Namun bagi sayapribadi keterlibatan gambaran alam dapat lebih membawa makna universal bagi manusia. Karena tidak bisa dipungkiri, kita terikat dengan alam, tidak langsung.Mungkin itulah mengapa banyak orang memilih ketenangan pemandangan alam untukwalpaper gadget mereka.

Dan lirik mungkin adalah unsur terkuat dari sebuah video musik sebagai satu karya manusia. Mengapa? Karena di sinilah kecerdasan seorang manusia tercermin. Lirikyang terlalu gamblang justru memperlihatkan ketidakmampuan penciptanya untukmenciptakan sesuatu yang lebih puitis. Atau ia juga tidak terlalu memikirkan keadaan para pendengar yang berbeda. Atau ia juga hanya egois mementingkan dirinya sendiri. Ia bodoh. Ia berpikir bahwa para pendengar musik juga adalah orang bodoh.

Lirik yangbaik adalah yang sempurna, yang membatasi dirinya sendiri, sehingga ia mampumenjadi begitu berarti untuk lebih banyak orang. Ada banyak kisah hanya dalamsatu petak rumahmu, dan apakah sebuah lagu dapat memberikan arti yang samadalam dengan kata-kata yang gamblang ?

Itulah sebabnya banyak seniman besar dihargai dengan karyanya yang mungkin sulit dimengerti. Sebab hanya orang bodoh atau tak peduli yang tidak mengerti arti dari karya tersebut. Mereka telah berpuas dengan hidup yang apa adanya. Mereka hidup bukan untuk esensi.

Karya seni harus membangkitkan pemikiran danemosi kita sebagai manusia.

Ia harusmembantu kita menemukan sesuatu lain yang berarti.

15.07, Sei Kambang.

Some Notes

These are some notes I compiled from some of my fellow’s tweets and texts I consider great to share. J

@rwnabd: Dan menurut saya, budaya agama yg bersifat pemborosan tidak perlu dilestarikan. E.g. : Apa hubungannya berebut gunungan dgn mengingat Muhammad SAW?

@agusetia: udan ngene enake kemulan karo roso cemburumu dik, anget lan rodo panas.

@premanGank: 2013 kurang2in lah geng pacaran di timeline dan di pinggir flyover.

@DENNYCLEAR: Indonesia adalah tempat di mana kekerasan dalam film kena censor, tapi disturbing picture dipake untuk pengajaran tertib lalu lintas.

@autocorrects: Rules for texting a girl: don’t take 40 minutes to reply, use good grammar, ask questions, use the J face.

@BeHappyWoman: Kita kerja sbg job jika kejar uang, sebagai karir jika kejar promosi, tapi sbg calling jika anggap it punya makna yang berarti.

@yayasvespa: Alcohol doesn’t answer the questions, but at least it forgets the answer.

@damnitstrue: She comes off as strong, but maybe she fell asleep crying. She acts like nothing is wrong, but maybe she’s just really good at lying.

@pandji: AS ngaku mau bantu perdamaian Israel-Palestina itu kayak perusahaan rokok mau bantu yayasan kanker.

@philo_quotes: Plant and your spouse plants with you. Weed and you weed alone. –Rousseau

@philo_quotes: The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time. –Nietzche

@sneaking_jeans: Universe owes me much. Very much indeed. One day it’ll pay me back fully. I’m calculating the bill.

@mautirtsalbert: always remember, don’t make decisions when you’re angry and don’t make promises when you’re happy.

@ComedyTruth: Student+Dying: Studying

@KeajaibanHidup: Cinta bukan ttg berapa lama kamu telah mengenal seseorang, tapi ttg seseorang yang buat kamu tersenyum sejak kamu mengenalnya.

@philo_quotes: The hottest love has the coldest end. –Socrates

@JogjakartaKeras: Dolanan temon ngenteke duwit. Mending dolanan duwit nekake temon.

@sneaking_jeans: Seharusnya sih dengan letting go kita attracting. Tapi easier said than done, pemirsa. Been there done that.

@AwkwardMoment: That awkward moment when sarcasm doesn’t work in a text.

@minicilik: Datang tampak muka, pulang tampak punggung, ga kreatip banget masak nyetatus sama muluk. Makana, belajar sama penulis.

@FactsOfSchool: Dear human, you get mad at me if I wake you, you get mad at me if I don’t. Sincerely, confused alarm clock.

@firstworldfacts: Multiple studies have shown that homework has almost no impact on academic achievement until high school.

@chawangsa: Kasih nama anak “Bangsa Indonesia” kalau pas reservasi ditanya atas nama siapa. Jawabannya atas nama Bangsa Indonesia :D

@girlsposts: Sometimes the people you think don’t want to talk to you are the ones waiting for you to talk to them.

@firstworldfacts: Seeing a horror movie on a date can cause both partners to be more interested in each other. Heart racing replicates attraction.

@ItsLifeFact: Don’t confuse my personality with my attitude. My personality is who I am. My attitude depends on who you are.

@MenHumor: Whoever snuck the s in fast food is a clever bastard.

@firstworldfacts: You can extend the length of a free trial by pushing back the date on your computer.

@GoogleCrazyFact: By peeing in the shower, you can save 1,157 gallons of water a year.

@TheFunnyTeens: A lion will never cheat on his wife, but a Tiger Wood.

@firstworldfacts: The wedding ring goes on the left ring finger, because it is the only finger with a vein that connects to a heart.

@ohlovequotes: I am single because I haven’t found someone who deserves ME.

@ohlovequotes: Don’t make a girl fall for you if you have no intention of catching her.

@firstworldfacts: Women who have more men as friends than women, go through less depression and anxiety.

@firstworldfacts: Studies show homophobia is more common among people with an unannounced attraction to others of the same sex.

@reIatable: A smile is the best make-up any girl can wear.

@firstworldfacts: A hot shower can unblock a stuffy nose and help relieve cold symptoms.

@comedyortruth: My relationship is like an iPad. I don’t have an iPad.

@yayasvespa: Cewe tuh terkadang kaya manekin. Cantik tapi palsu :/

@theRealKiyosaki: Money is sticky. Don’t touch it! BEFORE you get it, know where you are moving it to, or it will stop, get comfortable and buy you a doodad.

@theRealKiyosaki: Would you rather have an unfair advantage or equality. If equality, go work at the post office. That’s equality, also known as socialism.

@damarwidiseta: Kecenderungan kita buat kritis bikin kita sedikit terbelenggu, gak bisa menikmati sesuatu dengan bebas. – frater #randomtuit

Weekly parikan shared by friend Kennissa:

Mesti dhemen ndelok sing ayu, ben ngilangke gawan. Every moment with u, is the sweetest one.

Njawil ben ngguyu, jarne utek ra ruwet. I will follow u, until the end of the world.

Godhong tales godhong jambu, awak nggreges yen ra nyawang sliramu.

Esuk nyuling sore nyuling, sing nyuling arek suroboyo. Esuk eling sore yo eling, sing dieling2 ra rumongso.

Adol rugos, sing tuku ayu. I am lost without you.

Nggolek mbathi karo adol kayu. Theres a gravity, that always makes me fall for you.

Tuku tiket gawe mudik, mergo ana sing ngejak kawin. There’s an electromagnetic, that always attracts us in.

Jangan bayem jangan asem, kakean nggenjot sikil njarem. Saben dino aku kesengsem, marang cahyamu sing mbikin ayem.

Mlaku2 karo ngombe susu, klambi biru, aimisyu.

Esuk nembang sore nembang, tembange asmaradana, esuk ngadhang sore ngadhang, sing diadhang ra teka2.

Masang klakson ning njobin ngisor wit waru, how can I move on when im still in love with you.

 Jirolupatnemtu, wak kaji mangan kupat telu. Kangen marang sliramu, ngawe ndasku iki ngelu.

Tuku dawet gulo jawa ngarep stadion, when we met I know u’re my final destination.

Tuku senar njaluk sing dowo, nganti modiar  aku ora bakal lilo.

Tuku sarimi malah kejepit, don’t say you love me unless you really mean it.

Enek beling rupane kencling, to be in love is something, to be loved is everything.

Ngombe jamu jamune bratawali, esemmu cen nggawe awakku lupa diri.

Philately with HappYness

Berikut ini adalah contoh perangko yang tersedia, 

dan kami menjualnya untuk Anda yang hobi filateli.

Tentunya dengan harga yang membahagiakan.

Tersedia dalam jumlah yang banyak, dan perangko ini termasuk perangko lama, yaitu tahun 1990an.

HappYness Paper Arts

                                                         Mahatma Gandhi

                                                

                                                       Chairil Anwar



HAPPYNESS PAPER ART merupakan sebuah usaha kecil yang bergerak di bidang seni terutama lukisan yang terbuat dari bahan kertas koran. Beberapa hasil karya lukisan tersebut dapat anda lihat di atas. Semuanya menggunakan kertas koran, ditambah cat untuk pewarna dan spidol untuk memberi line pada bagian pinggir lukisan.

HAPPYNESS PAPER ART juga menerima pesanan lukis wajah, karikatur, dan lukisan koran seperti yang telah disebutkan.

Bagi anda yang tertarik, dapat mengirimkan pesan di blog ini, atau hubungi:
085729765680 (Hengky)


With much love and happyness,

My Personal Arts

And the pictures below are my own journals and arts...

Personal Writing of a French Learner

Okay, this has been a month since I have been learning French again. I mean the language, of course. Yea, this is not my first hit in this kind of study. Senior high school was the earliest moment I engaged in studying the language.

There are actually some reason why I desirably take a course in this concern. I consider French as an  easy language to acquire and learn, since the structure and the sentence construction is not badly distinct with the Indonesian. Tough there are some specific feature you have to master here.

This language is the second foreign I try to master. The first one, indeed is the language I use here. And there are some differences to mention between the two languages. Here in French, we have the gender, I mean the masculine and the feminine, for all stuffs, not only for the human being. As other languages have, French also has a conjugation for the verbs. There are 4 major ones here if I'm not mistaken. Ya, you name the others.

I been missing one meeting up to now. There are still 2 hours left for the nest meeting. Here I also am doing an assignment on expression ecrit given by the tutor. Yesterday I did the tutorials only with the man. It's like, let's say, a private one. I was quite happy since I can address so many questions to him.

Well, suddenly I need to stop. Thanks.  

Personal Writing of an Educator Wannabe

Damn, this could be a great day cause this is the day of me! Well, i don't really wanna exaggerate this one out, but yea, I sumthing like love this life aspect. I been doing this observation for a long time to comprehend the essence of education,as compared to the experience of my involvement here in this nation's education, as a participant. You know, this is May the second, and this is the National Education day, here in Indonesia.

What you think bout it?

Alright, prolly I'm a bit confusing in this case. Let me tell you something important about the education. yea, the ed applied in here is prolly growing into a misunderstood one. There are so many educators out there losing the true meaning of education. They misspell it with the act of teaching. Ann nowadays, I been also thinking about the word scholarship. Oh, don't bother ourselves.

I contrast to what I have mentioned above, there are also so many true and meaningful educators who address the education in its real term itself, with the meaningful practice of teaching as well, indeed. I should mention the people out there in Qariyyah Thayyibah, Kanisius, the people who strive for an education focusing on the quality of the process, and many more. Sorry to say, but most of us, the educators, I mean the teachers here are not in line with this. The focus on the result, the numbers, the shhit.

This is the major mistake we have been through all this generation. I remember when  my father used to say that in the past, in his youth, education was a means of building people's character. Though there has been people focusing on the materials, but there wasn't any kind of threatening exam or test. That's the distinct stuff about this.

Well, now, that's all.

Personal Writing of a Rapper

Yea, it's a bit confusing since I gotta tell you sumthin I been left long time ago. It's bout my being a rapper. True say, I was an amateur one, though I eventually still learn how to manage this skill to gain in certain way. I do hope I can do a freestyle.

This was actually one of my dream to stand in front of hundreds people, spitting my thoughts out to the floor, to those ears of angry and disagreeing ones before me. This is not an easy task, since I been involved in this game since 5 years ago, and I still cannot do that well!

Instead, I moved on to a more specific thing I been studying at: education. This is quite contrast with the thing I mentioned above. Ya, a lotta things happened to me in this period of life. I know I changed so bad because of my major of study. But I keep that obsession tight in my heart. I just cannot imagine how can my students see their teacher rap sumthin out, talking shitty stuff all the way he performs, spittin some curses. Ah, that is me! I throw out my thoughts of life insuch way, and I absolutely know what is right. This is just a game.

This is anymore not a right moment to dress in a hippie style, though I really love that. This is just a piece of memory, but don't think I pass this ideology out of my mind. I been living in this area of minority. Hip hop taught me a lot about it. I won't keep this away from me. I gotta be the soldier of it.

Let me introduce myself, I am a hiphop soldier.

Personal Writing of Someone Owing a Writing

I reckon I have to write more since in the last few days I was absent because of many things to do (as if I were a very busy one, talk to my hand!) So this is what I need to elaborate: my empty thought and the absence of idea. Aha! High five!

It is cloudy outside there, I think I need to pick my helmet up here, but there is something burdening that weightens my foot. Alright, it's been days since we got new partners here, in the place I always call as "Base Up the Sky." Somethin like that.

I am here typing word by word through a computer available in the corner of the room. I am happy now, though I don't really have something to be proud of. Yea, this is life. This simple life. As I include the warmth and a lil bit ignorance of a certain burden, I can be sure I can be happy all along the way to dreams. You know I been thinking and saying a lot about dreams. Some may say that I'm a day-dreamer, but this keeps me alive! Nou daut about it. Go get your middle finger on their faces! High five!

It is so poor for some people out there, when they have had their dreams come true, then they fell into an emptiness. I believe this is hard for me to suffer such a feeling, because I have so many things to be interested to. I am good enough for this life. I deserve something good. I love this life. Well. how about you?

Let's say you're a specialist.
Let's say I'm a generalist.

You got one.
I got thousands!

Personal Writing of a Personality Observer

I would like to refer back to a conversation I had some days ago, no, in the last week with one of my college mate, about an event we held about cross-cultural understanding. She tried to elaborate and describe two different persons in their own way of behaviour and attitude. The people came from Moldova and Uzbekistan. They were actually the guests of that kind of talkshow.

First of all, she focused on the appearance of them, including how they react to the peooke around. The Moldovan said that she hadn't been quite familiar with the custom in Indonesia to greet and give a smile to anyone around. This is relatively different with the reaction of the Uzbekistan lady who looked as if she smiles all the way she goes on.

But then my friend said something interesting about the personality. The moldovan is actually more honest than the later. It was proven since she helped another friend of mine in recording some materials, though the woman was busy enough and she had something to do right after that occasion. Both of the ladies are close friends to each other, but they had certainly a distinct character. It is not really weird since they have a different background, too.

Well, I missed that event in the first day, but I am grateful as I gain something from this indirect experience addressed through a deep conversation.

Personal Writing of a Losing Son

I think this is the right moment to reminisce the moments I had with my mom. This morning I been to her grave wif my living life MacGyver, having a look at the tombstone. It surely gave me some chill I couldn’t explain. It’s been years since the last time I saw her. She gave an empty look, tough I believed there were so many things she wanted to say.

Look at me now. I am simply a losing son. Who is in a sudden lost of you. Though I been used to face this kind of condition, no doubt it still gives me such a feeling that suffers so much here inside. There have been so many lines of lyrics where I included you, there were so many pictures I draw bout you. At all, it couldn’t replace the past existence of you.

I remember when you used to take me to the playground, kindergarten, or a small clinic where you had something to do inside. You told me to stay calm since I was not in such a comfortable place. Well, this kind of kiddy naughty I was so familiar with. I remember when you called a food seller who usually came across our house there in Jalan Pramuka. I really loved the way that old woman sold her things. She brought a container made from stainless steel or what, I dunno. She made it into levels. The top one was for the donuts, the second was for the bakpao, and the bottom one was for the cakes. Mama loved these cakes, since she was so skillful in making ones.

This has been 2012. Almost three years since she passed out. Ten years of struggle in getting this facking illness out of her. It taught me so much about life, and regret, and love.

*written two days earlier.

Personal Writing of a Library Visitor

Recently I am at a local library located in Kota Baru, Yogyakarta, after having a tutorial of English to the man I have mentioned in the earlier post. There are some junior high school students right beside me, having a chit chat in this afternoon. Cloudy and comfortable afternoon after school. They are in the scout uniform, I dunno if this is true enough, since I do know that this is Saturday, and this is Kartini day. I saw some youngsters out there on the way I got here, wearing some traditional dresses in a place called Mandala Bakti Wanitatama, the place of an expo few days ago. Here I was in a shock as I met my college friend who’s usually called as Bundo. Now those students has gone.

Well, let me try to elaborate my personal experience in dealing with a library (a young woman is now sitting across my seat. Dunno why if this is so embarrassing for someone unknown to sit next to someone wif a different gender. Come on, I won’t bite you for anything!). Check this out. The first library I visited was probably that of my junior high school. In the first year of my study there. Even it was only because of the task the teacher gave for us, the students. We had to read a book, thin one, that interested us. I chose, if im nok mistaken, that about Si Doel. Ya, that dusty book I remember so well. That small library was established on the second floor, right next to my classroom of 1A. Ouch that class always reminds me of the pinch of my class mistress, that annoying and emotional teacher of Math.

I didn’t grow familiar at all in senior high school, since the library was also not facilitated well. I remember that when Mrs Nuning ordered us to read or find sum materials there, we used to have a look at the encyclopedias, looking at some interesting pictures of the world, in that corner of the room. Fortunately the library got some new tables from a Japan foundation though it didn’t suit the small room.

Well, I think I need not explain my recent intercourse wif that in my college. It doesn’t really necessary since it reminds me of you-know-it. Thanks. 

Personal Writing of a Temporarily Busy One

Yesterday I hadn't written anything because of many things I don't really consider as important. Teaching was probably the first significant activity I did, since it worth doing. You know how much money I can earn from this. I feel so relieved for that. Then I went back to the campus, having some reading, conversation with my fellows there. The newcomers fortunately came in the right moment. I like it since there are some new people to understand, to explore. I ended the day by unconsciously making a song based on my feeling of something fake. I gotta tell you that it's for sure a fake friendship one. I called this song "Engkau Sacilad". A simple but deep song.

Now let's move to my schedule today. It's rather complex to accomplish since the events are quite necessary to do. Let's say. teaching, helping the crews for a CCU event, and lastly, having a Francais lesson at four. I planned to fix my glasses but an unexpected thing happened as my moto's tire was off. You know. I should spend more than one hundred and forty thousand rupiahs for that. I lost all the money I eared these three days. Look how I am now. Hungry, helpless.

Believe somethin better would come to ya. Amen.

Personal Writing of an English Tutor

Alright, let me tell you sumthin, though. It's not necessarily important but I simply consider this one as the not-so-bad one to write down. Okay, though I been involved in education, especially in term of English, I consider myself not so rich in experience about teaching. Some people say 'm good at teaching cause they had a look at my micro teaching performance. But it aint the reality. That was a planned practice applied mostly the same way as you planned. That's all. You can't find this condition in the schools!

I been inexperienced to in being tutor of English, cause once I got a student, she fired me with no any words to say. That's fine. Really fine. And at this moment, I have one that I should thank God for him. He's not a junior or senior high school student actually. He's been working for years in an oil well company. He has a very happy family though God hasn't given them such a bless, I.... You know it. Let's not elaborate this in sake of them.

Well i think that's all for today. I gotta run to Pak Mul, for having a lunch wif ma bros now. See you. 

Personal Writing of a Translator

Today was probably the busiest day for me in the past months, cause I started that by having  an unexpected project to be done on the afternoon, which is translating about fifteen pages of a text related to psychology. I thought this project would be easy to do, since the costumer said there were only five pages to be done. But please imagine when the pages consist of two columns, and the space between the lines was close enough. Yea, it counts fifteen in my statistical effort in having it finished.

Accompanied with some songs like Foster the People's Call It What You Want et cetera, I began the process at ten if im nok mistaken. It ended at three in the afternoon. I learnt a bit about the types of psychology through this translation. Though it was the basic of this field, there were still some terms hard to comprehend. I simply hope that by this evening I can earn 50 thousand IDR in the form of phone credit. That was no problem at all since I nowadays have to frequently use my phone, in case of a lil business.

One embarassing thing about this is that I totally forgot my you-know-it. No problem, at least you did sumthin good today. You earn something. Though there were some of colleagues having an exam today, you have been good in focusing yourself on doing what you intended to do. Go fucck the world, this is your life. Your own distinct success!

Well, sorry to someone, I had to cancel our meeting.

Personal Writing of an Expo Attender

It's been my second writing in the last three days and it happens to me that I owe one to be written right after this. Alright, now let me say something.

I have just finished attending an expo held in Mandala Bhakti Wanitatama related to education, as you can see in an ad on the side. I have to say that i'm so grateful that a friend of mine yesterday posted this ad. I dunno what happened cause there were not so many participants there, though it may be one interesting exhibition to join for me.

I began looking for an exciting stand when a woman, younger one, offered me a brochure about a method in learning English. I was simply interested in that, cause I have a dream that someday I'll make one under my own brand. Happy brand. Haha, forget that.

Acting as a curious man, with no doubt i have a seat to give some questions about the course. One thing that should be noted about this 'Quali-international' was their focus on the internal aspect of the person. Somehow for me it sounds too simple though I also thought that was the most important thing in learning. "We want the learners to focus on how they learn first, excitingly, not to give the attention on the scores on anything in line with that. So, we'll teach them how to learn English in general term."

It went good, before this woman asked me where I study and in what semester I am now. I easily gave an answer, "UNCOUNTABLE ONE".

I went to a stand of Sadhar, asking some questions about 'MOLEC' et cetera. The presentation of German study followed, delivered by a very pretty woman who has a very brief experience about the nation and the education. I hope someday I could have a job which bridges the Indonesian students and the univs there, just like what this madam does for her career.

Personal Writing of a Generalist

I used to be an active writer sometime ago... No, I mean, years go, when I was in a sudden addiction to an activity called writing. I learnt literature a lot, by reading so many books, novels, poems, and other works. I should thank God for this, cause this is one of the moments that changed the way i think. It gave the a different perspective in viewing the life.

But life keeps on turning. There were so many events occurred, exciting me, turning my mood upside down, enhancing my desire on vary things. Somehow, I just was lost into a realistic world, where I have to be. But i feel grateful for that too.

I started being a generalist.

Being a generalist means being a good human being, being a good person, for the sake of the God. I don't mean to exaggerate this one, but that was i felt, even up to this time. I believe that God created us all to comprehend this world, this life as well. Though some people may think that we have a different mission in this life, I do believe that it doesn't also mean that people need to be a specialist.

People need to explore. That's what will give you an understanding of this world, including the others. No matter who you are, you deserve this whole life, this whole knowledge of life.

There are a lot of things to do in sharing such a knowledge of life. This is what i am doing now. I am in a return for this.

Keep writing, guys.

4 Maret 2012

 4 Maret 2012. Saya tak tahu bahwa pada hari itu, saya akan mendapat pencerahan begitu besar hingga lewat tengah hari. terbangun karena sebuah pesan singkat seorang kawan yang mengajak untuk menghadiri sebuah pameran pendidikan China di salah satu hotel terbesar di Yogyakarta, saya hampir belum mempunyai tujuan pasti ketika itu. Karena kesimpangsiuran waktu, saya terpaksa harus menunggu di lobi hotel sekitar satu jam, sambil membaca majalah Forbes Asia yang jarang saya baca. Ditemani alunan music yang tidak saya begitu kenal, saya merasa di saat yang begitu tepat. Apa yang saya baca di majalah itu, tercermin dengan begitu nyata di depan saya: Sebuah kolam renang di luar sana, dihiasi banyak pohon indah, patung kerbau yang memamah rerumputan, dan gazebo-gazebo kecil. Seorang pelayan mengantarkan makanan ringan dan juga minuman segar pada seorang tamu yang sedang berjemur. Saya kemudian melihat sekitar, di mana ada sekelompok bapak-bapak yang mengadakan reuni di lobi ini. Semua bercelana tiga perempat, dan mereka seakan begitu bahagia saat itu. Tamu hotel lain pun lalu lalang, disapa dengan begitu hangat oleh pegawai hotel yang berpakaian jas tanpa lipatan kusut sedikit pun. Saya mulai bertanya-tanya pada diri saya. Hei, apa kau bisa menikmati kemewahan ini hanya dengan menjadi seorang pengajar? Pikirkan itu!

Walau tak seperti yang diharapkan, pameran pendidikan berlangsung baik. Saya pun melanjutkan perjalanan ke beberapa tempat, sebelum menghampiri salah satu kawan saya yang bermukim di wilayah utara Yogyakarta.

Ketika saya datang, ia tampak sedang berbicara dengan salah satu rekan bisnisnya. Saya pun hanya mendengarkan pembicaraan mereka karena memang saya tidak berurusan dalam hal tersebut. Setelah rekannya itu pulang, kawanku itu bercerita pada saya, “Semalam saya ada rapat dengan kawan-kawan. Dan saya merasa apa yang ia katakana sangat benar sekali.” Saya mulai merasakan perbedaan dari cara bicaranya yang tampak serius, karena biasanya kami berbincang dengan bahasa Inggris yang cenderung slengean.

Ia bertanya-tanya mengapa banyak masyarakat saat ini, termasuk kalangan akademis yang membenci, bahkan cenderung menghindari politik. “Sebenarnya ada banyak orang-orang berpotensi untuk meningkatkan pendidikan kita. Namun mengapa mereka lebih memilih untuk ndekem di kampus?” ia kemudian menceritakan beberapa keadaan yang cukup miris dalam pendidikan kita, di mana posisi-posisi penting tidaklah ditempati oleh orang yang tepat. Contohnya di salah satu tempat di Kalimantan, ketua bidang Pendidikan di satu provinsi provinsi adalah seorang mantan preman. Ia memenangkan posisi itu, hanya karena dia memiliki massa. Di tempat lain yang tidak jauh dari Yogya, bupatinya dalam berpidato, membaca ‘bapak2 dan ibu2’ dengan “Bapak dua dan ibu dua.”

Itulah barangkali permasalahan besar selama ini.

Mereka yang seharusnya mewakili rakyat, ternyata terpilih hanya karena mereka memiliki kekuatan massa, bukan kemampuan. Karena itulah, banyak pihak di ‘bawah’ menjadi menderita dikarenakan keputusan-keputusan yang tak didasari solusi. Salah satunya adalah keputusan yang mewajibkan membuat jurnal kemarin. Mereka tak tahu bagaimana keadaan lapangan, walau niat mereka baik. Ia kemudian menyebutkan di sebuah sekolah, pernah terjadi ujian bahasa Indonesia dari jam 7 hingga 12 siang tanpa rehat sedikitpun. Dan para guru hanya menyebut ‘Itu sudah keputusan dari pusat/atasan’. Bayangkan betapa lelahnya siswa-siswa itu, dikarenakan keputusan orang yang ada di atas. Dan dalam hal ini guru barangkali hanya sedikit memiliki wewenang, meski mereka tahu penderitaan yang terjadi.

Ia kemudian berkata, “Saya dan kawan-kawan sebenarnya menunggu lo, kaun-kaum muda dengan kemampuan akademis tinggi, dan pemahaman tentang pendidikan, untuk bersama kami memperbaiki kesalahan itu.” Saya terdiam, “Sekarang saya Tanya sama kamu, mengapa kamu tidak mengambil langkah yang sama seperti saya? Mohon maaf ya, percuma nanti kalau seseorang dapat cumlaude, tapi tidak bisa mengubah keadaan. Dan kalau kamu begitu, maaf, tapi ya aku bakal... (ia mengacungkan ibu jarinya ke bawah) You know…”

Saya makin terdiam. Benar sekali apa yang ia katakan. Saya belum menemukan jawaban, ia pun menambahi, “Begini lo… Kalau semua orang bisanya mencemooh dan meragukan. Bahkan membenci politik, terus siapa yang akan maju? Ya orang-oranng yang berani, nekad, punya massa lah yang bakal maju. Bukan orang yang tepat pada bidangnya.” Ia kemudian menjelaskan masalah artis yang menjadi pejabat di negeri ini. semua adalah demi kepentingan kelompok tertentu, untuk mengumpulkan massa, untuk mendapatkan tempat. Jadi pertimbangannya bukanlah pada dedikasi, dan kemampuan yang tepat.

Saya saat itu hanya menyebutkan bahwa saya masih belum siap untuk hal tersebut, dengan alasan yang juga tak dapat dimengerti, terkait dengan ketakutan-ketakutan yang terlalu jauh, dan belum saya mengerti akan bagaimana. Bagaimana pendapat masyarakat akan hal itu. Tapi kemudian saya berpikir, bahwa ini kembali pada diri kita. Di mana pun, bidang apapun, musuh selalu ada. Semua kembali pada niat awal kita. Setidaknya, dengan niat baik, niat untuk memperbaiki bangsa, dengan cara memecahkan permasalahan yang sudah jelas di awal tadi, kita telah memiliki lebih sedikit musuh, dibanding ketika kita benar-benar berbuat jahat.

Ia kemudian menanyakan hal yang sama, “Coba dipikirkan sekali lagi. Apa yang kamu takutkan?”