unfortunately the stories must wait. it was heartbreaking to hear the news of "yogyakarta" while i was on vacation in a nice island. didn't expect the casualties would rise up to thousands of people, but it was indeed.
my deepest condolences to the people of yogyakarta. to the victims, the family of the victims, and generally to all indonesians who've been through so much from the natural disasters. it seems that every year we would be hearing the bad news due to the natural disaster, something we cannot control. i think indonesians need to look back and introspect to what we have done to ignite God's wrath upon our lands.
we should need to understand the concept of live side-by-side, among our differences. the anarchy, the fighting, and all things we have done may just triggers it. it's God's way of saying that we need to stop fighting over silly things for our selfish purpose.
indonesian bloggers have come together to create www.savejogja.org as a mean to help our friends in yogyakarta. please visit and help them if you can.
yogyakarta has been one of my favorite places. it is a city rich in culture and i had a wonderful time last time i visited. you can read the journal here.
god bless us all!
:: sLesTa
>> posted on 5/31/2006 10:53:00 AM | [
]
:: Wednesday, May 24 ::
>> VACATION STATE OF MIND
here's the scenario.
you have tons of deadlines due. work pressure has been quite a lot. there are reports to be sent to the regional office. there are emails to follow up. there are projects need to be finished.
but then.. the week is short.
your boss is currently away on business trip to hongkong for a whole week, on top of the flexible hours you currently have. you're taking one day leave at the end of the week. and a nice plan has been set up to spend 4 days at the beach with 3 of your closest girlfriends in an island somewhere east of the country. you keep looking at the resort pictures and imagining what you'll be doing by tomorrow afternoon.
well.. it sure needs a lot of concentration to get those reports done. but i can't help it if i'm on the vacation state of mind.
i'm off to the dream islands. i'll see you next week with pictures (hopefully.. stories).. and sunburn. :)
behave, kids!
:: sLesTa
>> posted on 5/24/2006 12:42:00 PM | [
]
:: Wednesday, May 17 ::
>> MULTI-TASKING
if you want anything said, ask a man. if you want something done, ask a woman. (margaret thatcher)
have you ever notice someone who's capable of doing so many things at the same time? maybe your girlfriend, your mom, your sister, your aunt, or even yourself? have you noticed that many of them who are capable of multitasking are girls? talking on the phone while typing in the computer, or talking on the phone while putting on make up? driving while putting on a lipstick? cooking while washing dishes? taking a shower while cleaning up the bathroom? well... you know what i mean.
i'm not saying that boys are not capable of doing it. i know some boys who could. but most of the time, girls seem to have branches of thoughts and capability to multitask. a working mom must be able to manage what to do with what's going on in the office and what's going on with her kid's homework or what her kids have for lunch, and so on and so forth. i guess it's just in their nature to be able to juggle different things at the same time.
i'm not saying that by multitasking in working place would make girls have better quality of work than man. maybe, maybe not.
it is a woman's nature to be able to manage different things at the same time, i guess. if i look how my mom takes care of things at home, i'm just amazed of how much she knows and how orderly she puts things together at home. she's a full-time housewive, but that does not mean that she only stays home and do houseworks. back then when i was still young, her full time activities were to take care of us, making sure we eat right, we clothe right and we study right. as my brother and i started to stand on our own, she focuses more on other things. building a side business, golfing, pengajian, and so on and so forth. it may sound like fun, but she sure is one busy woman. but she manages to make sure that she gets everything in order aside from her main role as a mother and a wife. she knows exactly when the car needs a tune up, or what to do when the water pump breaks down, or which tiles is better for the kitchen floors, or where to go when i need a facial, or what to give when my brother got sick, and so on and so forth.
as a working girl, i do feel that my multitasking ability is wayy beyond my guy friends. i've put it to the test back when i was in new york. juggling between my work, my master's program, and my daily life. it was hardwork, definitely.. but i managed. still, i'm not saying that a guy wouldn't be able to do the same.
and i'm not saying that this ability would make women superior. i just thought that this is the one main thing that separates us women to men. i sometimes envy guys who can really focus in one thing and get it right before moving to another thing. one small tiny example is how a boyfriend would really focus on his work and have no time to call during business hours. but it's understandable. it's just how us girls, would use our logic to understand that too.
they say.. men are from mars, and women are from venus.. they're the same human creatures, yet so awfully different. compromise is the bridging word.
:: sLesTa
>> posted on 5/17/2006 11:25:00 AM | [
]
:: Thursday, May 11 ::
>> FRESH FRUITS
"WHEN YOUDO MORETHAN YOU'RE PAID TO DO, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY BE PAID MORE FOR WHAT YOU DO."
such a nice line. i think young(er) people should understand this better. i just can't stand those people who thinks that they're such bigshots just because they graduated with the highest score from their so-called ivy league schools.
no respect whatsoever.
you may bring the freshest ideas. you may be the brightest person around. you may graduated on top of your class. but you're still as fresh as the green grass. just do what you are obliged to do, and learn the experience along the way. don't keep asking what you are entitled to have when you haven't done your obligations. it's as simple as that. it's the law of the jungle, baby!!
as for me... i have my blue mug with the exact words to remind me. i see it everyday. i went through it. and i truly believe it.
so why don't you, my fellow young friends?
:: sLesTa
>> posted on 5/11/2006 11:44:00 AM | [
]
:: Monday, May 8 ::
>> MY BLUE FRAME
since 7 years ago, there was always this hand painted blue frame sitting next to my work computer. in it, there's a picture of 6 girls, looking very happy, naive, young, and very pretty in their dresses. the picture was taken 7 years ago when we attended the wedding of our friend's brother. the sister is also pictured in the frame.
i remember that day quite clearly. i remember that we all prepared ourselves early that day, putting our best dress and make up. and as we walked to my parked car, i realized that my car has been broken into. someone had taken my car radio and my laundry (yes, my washed laundry!!). but i didn't have time to be sad. it was just another thing happen in new york city. so i just started the car, and we all hopped in and drove to the country club somewhere in long island where the wedding was. the weather was just perfect and we were having a good time.
that was the last time i remembered all of us ever in one same place.
the frame was handmade by us in attempt to sell frames & handmade cards in a bazaar held in an indonesian mosque that same year. behind the frame it said "isha design" which basically the initials of the four of us who created the frames & cards. the four of us, roommates.
it was one hell of a good time. one hell of a good year.
since then, we've been to many places, went to all over the place. new york, jakarta, bandung, london, tunisia, south africa, and dili. 7 years span of time. we're not so naive no more. we've tasted the walks of life. two are married, rest are still single, some are too busy with their professional career, some are busy with their children. but we never lose touch of each other. and we still have our smiles and the memories of our good times. and the friendship that will hold us together forever. a picture perfect of 6 girlfriends in a handmade blue frame.
i wonder what's gonna happen to us 5 years from now.
:: sLesTa
>> posted on 5/08/2006 10:45:00 AM | [
]
:: Wednesday, May 3 ::
>> DEMO? AGAIN??
i didn't know that the movie "minority report" had left such a big impact to the indonesian people. hell, i didn't even know if the movie was a box office when it came out in indonesia. well, considering tom cruise was in it, maybe it was. but i just never really liked the movie very much, though the story is quite original, i think. and that exact originality that keeps popping up in my head everytime i saw the news about what's been going on in indonesia.
i don't know what it is.. it seems that all the demonstrations that's been going on these days, the "sweeping" action, the "playboy" protest, FPI, FBR, and so on and so forth.. they are always protesting based on something that hasn't taken place yet, but based on that it might happen in the future.
"yeah, let's do another labor demo and crowd the streets of jakarta and create another total traffic jam on may 3rd, cuz government may just giving us the 'lip service' for not revising the labor law.. "
"let's all go down and protest to DPR so that they won't revise the labor law, even though the draft was not even sent to them yet!"
"oh, that playboy magazine is just full of bad image. they've known for the nude pictures they published in the magazine. so now they just published a magazine without any nudity in it, cuz it against the norms in indonesia. but still, we should throw rocks to their office and close them down now, cuz someday they may put nude pictures in it". (now i'm thinking, maybe they're protesting because there's no nude picture in it!)
"let's gather in front of inul's house and yell at her, maybe even throw her out of jakarta for saying she will pose nude if the pornography law passed."
it may happen. just in case it will happen. will, might, may. all future clauses. are indonesians are so good at predicting the future that they are acting now to stop the future misconducts? are indonesians are just so prejudiced that they will judge on people before they ever done anything yet? are we just too bored to take care of things that hasn't happened as an escape to the real problems that has been and still happening?
pasti pernah dong denger term "going dutch"? bukan, bukan pergi ke belanda, tapi gaya kita untuk membayar pengeluaran masing2 waktu keluar bareng2 ama temen2 atau sama pacar. buat yang masih pacaran, apalagi jaman2 waktu masih minta duit dari orang tua, kayaknya term "going dutch" ini biasa lah di kalangan anak muda. walopun banyak juga cowo2 yang berasa dapet jajan lebih gede (padahal gedean gengsi nya) jadi dia merasa harus ngebayarin semua expense kalo lagi pacaran. tapi kadang yaa.. karena cewe nya juga matre, yang ngegunain kesempatan untuk makan di tempat2 yang gak bisa dia datengin.. mumpung dibayarin pacar!
as for me, dari dulu gue selalu menjunjung tinggi gaya pacaran "go dutch" ini. karena ini adalah cara pacaran paling fair. mau nonton bareng, ya bayar masing2. mau makan bareng, juga bayar masing2. only on special occassions i would let him pay for me, and vice versa. bukannya ga pengen ya dibayarin ama pacar, tapi gue ngerasa kalo dia emang belom punya penghasilan sendiri, masih minta ama orang tua, kenapa mesti sok2an dia yang bayar semua nya? apa karena dia itu cowo? kok kayaknya sexist sekali? gue kan cewek modern yang menjunjung tinggi emansipasi wanita *tsaaa*... heheh.. and this is part of it.
nah tapi ternyata, even after i've earned my own money and goes out with someone who earns his own money too, gue masih ngerasa "go dutch" itu masih perlu kok. justru malah kayaknya emang harus begitu, apalagi kalo sama2 yang baru meniti karir. extra money to spend itu kayaknya mesti hati2 banget dikeluarin nya, better save up for the rainy days. dan gue juga selalu ngerasa gak fair aja buat si cowo untuk ngebayarin semua expenses kita while we're out on a date, kalo toh gue juga udah make a living to spend on times like this. duluuu, waktu gue masih di new york, where i have more expenses for rent, utilities, and all.. gue bener2 ngerasa going "dutch" is just the perfect way. karena pacar gue juga pastinya punya expenses yang berlipat ganda, boro2 harus bayarin gue, although he didn't mind sebenernya, cuma gue mikir itu gak fair aja. iya kalo misalnya dia emang punya extra money yaa.. kalo enggak, kan kasian.. and i know cowok itu gengsinya gede, kadang gak mau ngakuin kalo dia butuh duitnya itu untuk hal2 laen. dan gue, sebagai cewek, juga gak mau jadi "dependent" pas masa2 pacaran. for me, financial is a private thing. selama masa pacaran, no matter how long, gue gak pernah nanya and i have no idea how much my boyfriend is making. i can only guess, but never had an idea of what the exact amount is. kenapa? well, it's just not that important.
nah, lalu gimana kalo misalnya si cowok udah make more money and insist on paying? well.. hehe.. i insist that we still "go dutch". i know he makes more money than i do and he can pay all the expenses on our date without damaging his wallet, but i guess, as a girl.. i also have pride. gue gak mau jadi utang budi. semua2 dibayarin. toh gue juga kerja. i make my own money. i want to pay for what i buy. tapi biasanya gue punya cara jitu untuk ngatasinnya. for example, we're on a dinner & a movie date. i would let him pay for dinner, but i'll take care the movie tickets. or, i'll let him pay for everything, but the next time we go out again, i'll pay for everything, if not, for the biggest part. dan gue akan lebih respect ama cowo yang let me pay for my share too. i just thought that it means he respects what i do and the money i make.
tapi kayaknya kalo udah nikah gak bisa ya diterapin hal ini.. ? karena when you're married, your husband should be responsible for you. so they should pay for you.. in which case, i totally agree. although, i think i would still pay for my own stuff, if i were still working... so i can buy whatever i need for myself without feeling guilty on spending it.
does this a reflection of me in the idea of a modern woman? does this mean that we're so used to our independence that we don't want things like money to be hold against us in our relationship? well, i don't know the answer to that. and i'm not quite sure what guys think if they were to go out with a girl who has my views on "going dutch". maybe they like it so they don't have to worry on the extra money they have to spend on a date. or maybe they think sometimes it's inappropriate because they can pay for everything and it's an insult that they cannot. i don't know. guys, you tell me!
![picture taken from gettyimages[dot]com](http://www.slesta.com/uploaded_images/beach-729813.jpg)
have you ever notice someone who's capable of doing so many things at the same time? maybe your girlfriend, your mom, your sister, your aunt, or even yourself? have you noticed that many of them who are capable of multitasking are girls? talking on the phone while typing in the computer, or talking on the phone while putting on make up? driving while putting on a lipstick? cooking while washing dishes? taking a shower while cleaning up the bathroom? well... you know what i mean.
since 7 years ago, there was always this hand painted blue frame sitting next to my work computer. in it, there's a picture of 6 girls, looking very happy, naive, young, and very pretty in their dresses. the picture was taken 7 years ago when we attended the wedding of our friend's brother. the sister is also pictured in the frame.
i didn't know that the movie "minority report" had left such a big impact to the indonesian people. hell, i didn't even know if the movie was a box office when it came out in indonesia. well, considering tom cruise was in it, maybe it was. but i just never really liked the movie very much, though the story is quite original, i think. and that exact originality that keeps popping up in my head everytime i saw the news about what's been going on in indonesia. 
