perks of reading a book

I just merely writing from a page in Michael Crichton's book: Congo. Always the brilliant in making a storyline (you all seen Jurassic Park), he always struck in the best of way.

Over the years, scientists had evolved a standard defense acceptable to the courts. Researches claimed that their experiments had the goal of bettering the health and welfare of mankind, a higher priority than animal welfare. They pointed out that no one objected to animals being used as beasts of burden or for agricultural work--a life of drudgery to which animals had been subjected for thousands of years. Using animals in scientific experiments simply extended the idea that animals were the servants of human enterprises.

In addition, animals were literally brutes. They had no self-awareness, no recognition of their existence in nature. This meant, in the words of philosopher George H. Mead, that "animals have no rights. We are at liberty to cut off their lives, there is no wrong committed when an animal's life is taken away. He has not lost anything..."

Many people were troubled by these views, but attempts to establish guidelines quickly ran into logical problems. The most obvious concerned the perceptions of animals further down the phylogenetic scale. Few researchers operated on dogs, cats, and other mammals without anesthesia, but what about annelid worms, crayfish, leeches, and squid? Ignoring these creatures was a form of "taxonomic discrimination". Yet if these animals deserved consideration, shouldn't it also be illegal to throw a live lobster into a pot of boiling water?

Doesn't it makes you wonder? Over the years, what change? Why do people started to care about animals? What else do you have in mind about this paragraph?

what traveling do to you

tahap awal persiapan packing

setelah lama berkutat pergi kesono kemari dalam maupun luar negeri (and i'm grateful every minute of my life because of that), gw nyadar kalo seorang traveler itu berevolusi, berkembang, atau apa lah itu bahasanya, sejalan dengan setiap perjalanan yang mereka lakukan. yaa.. contohnya gw aja lah ya. dulu gw inget pas masih SMP gw orangnya suka gampang marah2 (kalo bahasa bagusnya mah short temper lah ya). selalu disegani sama temen2 gw karena mereka bilang gw 'galak'. kalo sekarang, ya masih sih ada yang bilang gw galak, tapi gw sendiri udah merasa kegalakan gw itu udah berkurang drastis. gw udah bisa mengedalikan emosi gw walaupun padahal gw udah pengen meledak-ledak. this happens because i met so many different kind of people from my traveling. temen2 traveling gw itu pasti wataknya ajaib2. ada yang suka pundungan tanpa sebab, ada yang suka jalan sendiri, ada juga yang suka ngeluh. nah, kalo gw pribadi, kalo salah satu temen gw ada yang kayak gitu, gw harus bertindak sebaliknya. kalo dia udah marah duluan, gw harus tenang. kalo dia udah panik duluan, gw yang harus tenang. bayangin kalo misalnya lo berdua ilang ditengah2 kota terus dua2nya panik. ga bakalan ketemu2 jalan yang bener kan? kalo ada yang berpikir dengan jernih kan lebih bagus.

kedua, i think some people knows that i'm organized and neat. yang ga percaya well mungkin karena gw tidak menunjukannya (hehe). entah dari kapan itu mulainya, gw sekarang kayaknya mengidap OCD tingkat paling rendah. apa2 harus bersih dan tertata. gw nata buku dikosan aja harus setengah jam. nata baju biar rapih dan lucu dijadiin gradasi warna. bisa jadi ini terbentuk karena gw selalu thinking ahead dan ngelist perlu bawa apa aja (dari yang sangat butuh sampe embel2 ga penting) untuk dibawa selama traveling. alhamdulillah most of the time ga pernah ada barang yang ketinggalan.

ketiga, you'll appreciate every little things you have. apalagi udah pernah backpacking ekstrim atau ke daerah2 terpencil. yang kamar mandinya ga ada pintu lah, yang mandinya harus di sumur lah, yang atap rumahnya belum jadi lah, bermacam macam lah. kalo udah merasakan kayak gitu pasti gw jamin kalo dirumah atau dikosan lo mati lampu dikit aja pasti mikir dua kali untuk ngeluh. kalo mau ngeluh dalam hal apapun itu, just remember that if you have a problem, there's a bunch of people out there have bigger problems than you do.

on my final words of the subject, kalo lo seneng traveling, coba pikir2 lagi. pasti ada sesuatu dalam diri lo yang berubah. kalo gw kan contohnya 3 diatas ini (dari banyak lagi yang berubah). yang belum (karena ga mungkin orang ga suka traveling) suka traveling, try it. you'll never regret the decision you made the moment you step out of your house and your comfort zone.

crisis?

i got a great SLR. i got a great mentor, and yes, in this case it's my dad. i always got a great opportunity to take gorgeous pictures in all of this gorgeous places. but somehow my passion for landscape and nature photography is fading. i know it's actually not a great deal because hey! people always do that. on their way to find their passion, they will leave and found new ones. and maybe this is one of mine. i just kinda feel disappointed with myself. or maybe just i don't want to disappoint my father for giving me an incredible SLR and now.. a tripod also. but then i thought, i could use it for a different purpose. i mean i have a blog. i like to share my stories with lots of pictures on it, so why don't i use it for that? 

but then again, because i love fashion, especially on the street, i started to think about street style photography like Tommy Ton and Scott Schuman. i don't know, maybe it's just a temporary thought. but then again, look at the first picture above that i took three years ago. it was my pride (well because lots of people like it on Flickr). it was such a beautiful shot and i didn't work that hard to capture it. i guess when my mind is on the right place, i could produce something like this more often. the question is, when will my mind will be in the exact right place again? 

i think the problem is that i asked myself too many questions that i couldn't answer by myself. so what i have to do now is just let it all sunk in, just use the SLR whenever and wherever i want it, and who knows? maybe i'll find other passion along the way.

get friendly with the locals

you read the title correctly. yes, when you're having a solo trip or group trip to any small cities, better get friendly with locals there. when i was in Cappadoccia, Turkey with Gaby, we're not just lucky to have found a cheap hotel (for 20 lira a night!), but we felt blessed when the staff there, Cihan and Mehmet befriended us. we were treated dinner (when we actually only get breakfast with the 20 lira we spent for a night). and because we were staying in a room for 10 people (5 bunks and 1 bathroom that is), we found more new friends, which is Zeb and Ansel from US, Ben a.k.a uncle Ben from England and Ella from Prague. we had a great time playing cards and guessing some ridiculously hard riddle (thanks to Ansel) until 2 am. and the next day we all got treated lunch at Cihan's uncle house.as to break the ice, we have tons of games to play there, and after that we talk a bit about religion and culture in our societies. i love how they are all open minded. i guess that's what traveling (a lot) do to you. when you meet a lot of people from different countries, culture and religion, you get to here their stories and their point of view.
my luck didn't stop there. when Gaby and I went to buy dinner in a local restaurant, we found out that the owner's wife is Indonesian! such a small world eh? he treated us with not some traditional Turkey tea, but with Sariwangi!! i am so happy to finally tasted some Indonesian products ;p and he gave us a postcards to write, and he said he will send it to Indonesia (yes, back to us). although it still didn't come to me (yet), i'm still excited to receive it :)
see? there's no negative side getting friendly with some locals. at least that what i think.

choose to be sustainable

tahun kemaren gw berkesempatan ikutan seminar yang diadain sama humas fikom. menurut gw seminarnya sangat menarik, didatengin sama orang Indonesia Travel, Traveller Kaskus, National Geographic Traveler dan mba Marischka Prudence. what caught my attention the most adalah pas mba vega (dari NatGeo Traveler) bahas tentang sustainable traveler. dan gw ingin berbagi kepada anda2 yang senang travelling like i do. here is the list how to be a sustainable traveler:
- pack lightly. ga usah bawa baju terlalu banyak (lagipula siapa tau di destinasi yang lo pinginin ada baju lucu dan bisa langsung lo pake ;p)
- kalo mau travel manja, mending pake bantuan travel agent. trust me, they knows best
- usahakan bawa tumblr (tempat minum) sendiri. so that way lo ga perlu beli aqua botol
- save energy. this is really really important. keluar dari hotel matiin semua elektronik dan listrik, dan pilih gadget untuk lo bawa jalan2 yang hemat energi. jangan kayak bb yang tiap hari harus di charger
- choose local food! :)
- jangan beli/ makan produk yang berasal dari endangered species!! (tak jitak kalo lo ngelakuin itu)
- coba jalan2 sebagai volunteer. traveling dengan niatan baik. genius!
- sekali2 pilih jalan2 ke historical site. karena kalau banyak turis, pemasukan mereka bertambah banyak untuk mantain dan up keep historical site tersebut
- beramah tamahlah dengan orang lokal
- kalo ke pedalaman dan bertemu orang asli sana, pakai pakaian yang sopan

soo.. happy holiday guys! remember yang gw tulis diatas ya :)

alone? no problemo

do's and dont's when you're traveling alone in Malaysia:

DO

- ask directions to anyone who looked local to you

- bring just the things that you think you might need in your backpack (don't bring everything 'cause it will be pretty heavy and you won't be comfortable)

- wear light clothes

- don't be ashamed or even hesitate to ask people to took your photo. it's the only way if you want a little bit of you in your camera

- start a conversation with strangers. people will surprise you ;)

- bring enough money and a watch

DON'T

- looking lost (this is the most important of all!)

- looking like a tourist when you're face and Malaysian people are exactly the same

- took a taxi. this is the very last option! if you're lost, trains, buses or walking will just do

- think you know everything. believe me, it will just make you exhausted

but the most important of all, just enjoy! never feel lonely. you will meet many interesting people in your journey :)

have you read today?

 

it's no secret anymore that technology right now sky rocketed in a minute. i mean, have you ever think that you would ever played in an iPad? or maybe you text someone with only your bare finger and only at a single touch? well i don't. when i was still a little girl, i thought Star Wars is the best thing and the coolest thing in the world because of all the props. but maybe someday and i don't know when would it be, the saber sword will exist (well not the toy one though). 

but i'm getting ahead of myself. okay, my point is that technology makes us lazy even though it blow my mind and makes our life a lot easier. don't believe me? are you going to deny it? don't. just think about it. with the internet roam in our world, we make our assignments based on 'copy paste' methods. whereas in the old days, they will read lots and lots of books to answer a single question. but by reading all those books, the information will get to their brain rather than to 'copy paste'. the information won't get to us because we wouldn't even bother to read it. just think the job were done, and voila! good grades in your hand.

it's really rare for me to find a person that would actually read a book. not a magazine or a comic, but a book. it will always appear in my mind that why wouldn't people read a book? book could bring you to different places, makes you a different peoples by following the main characters in the book, makes you have adventures that you probably won't get in reality. i mean why would anyone says no to escaping the reality for a couple of pages in a book? that's just plain ridiculous. ;)

hidup sehat nyook!

sehat itu bener2 anugerah buat kita. ga enak kan kalo sakit? ga bisa apa2. apalagi kalo lo ngekos, jauh dari orang tua. jadi ga bisa kuliah, bersosialisasi (halah! ngegaul lah bahasa anak remajanya), dll. nah, gw punya beberapa tips biar kesehatan ada di tangan kita terus :)
satu. jangan tidur lebih dari jam 10! yaah.. ngaret dikit jam 11 lah.. ini penting banget! kecuali emang lo ada kegiatan yang ngeharusin lo pulang lebih dari jam segitu. ga ada alesan begadang buat ngerjain tugas. lah siapa suruh tugas ditumpuk dan dikerjain pas akhir2? banyak penelitian yang udh ngebuktiin kalo tidur kemaleman itu ga bagus apalagi buat cewek. lama kelamaan tuh kantong mata punya kantong mata lho.
dua. jangan lupa makan sayur. well, gw emang ngakuin kalo rada susah buat makan sayur kalo ngekos. tapi kan pasti ada beberapa penjual makanan yang ngejual sayur yang udah dimasak. aand.. kalo bisa (dan punya duit) beli buah. ya kalo enggak jus laah.. tapi jangan pake gula lagi.
tiga. olahraga. sukur2 kalo lo emang ikut organisasi olahraga kampus. tapi kalo enggak? waah.. lemaknya tambah numpuk deh. kalo mau, jogging2 ringan aja ngelilingin kampus pagi2 ato ga sore. kan sekalian cuci mata tuh. (haha tu mah gw). kalo yang males keluar kosan untuk olahraga, bisa olahraga ringan di dalem kosan. sekedar push up, sit up, ato gerakan2 aerobik yang lo sering liat di tv2.
empat. have fun! this is the most important thing. mungkin lo mikir apa hubungannya have fun sama sehat. tapi ini nyambung banget. soalnya liat aja deh, kalo terlalu stres, rambut lo rontoknya makin banyak yang malah bikin tambah stres! dan bisa bikin lo ga bisa tidur karena di pikiran lo tuh adanya tugaaas.. bebaaan.. mulu. just take a minute to escape from the world and take a deep fresh breath.
lima. bersih2 kosan. emang sih males, apalagi nyikat kamar mandi. beuh! but eits! itu penting banget lho. nyapu, ngepel, nyikat wc, nyikat kamar mandi, bersihin debu2 yang udah numpuk di barang2 dalem kosan.

soo.. mari kita jaga kesehatan kita! mulai lakuin hal2 diatas yang mungkin keliatannya sepele, tapi sangat berguna bagi kesehatan kita.

because if there's health, there's happiness.

who to blame?

i made this post when i saw my little sister sitting in front of the computer all day. and the worst, when it was time my mom to use that computer, she yelled (can you believe it? she yelled at my mom!) to her complaining that my mom already had enough playing in the computer and it was her turn. heck, she's been in front of the computer all day!
i can't picture how my mom feels that moment. but i know my mom. i know she'll be fine about it. but i don't want to discuss about respect to your mom (not that it isn't important), but i want to discuss how technology affect our lives. well yes, our lives become more and more easy. but you know what they say, "too much is not good". i think that's what happen with my little sister. electronic things at my home suddenly exploded such as TV, computer, etc. everyone at my home is happy about it, but sometimes i hate to see my sister always using them. she forgetting about things, like her world is on the computer.
don't you remember how fun it is to play hide and seek with your neighbor? cycling around your neighborhood? sadly now there's only a few children still want to do that. they prefer to play Play Station, computer, watch TV.
so who to blame? technology? i don't think so. i think parents should limit their children to those things, or maybe their siblings. they have to be educated about using electronics.

peduli lingkungan ala anak kosan

1. jangan buang majalah atau apapun yang berbentuk kertas dan tipis. jadiin a work of art aja. terus, kemasan body lotion (apa aja bisa botol juga) or in my case bisa nampung sesuatu, juga jangan dibuang dulu. mereka bisa jadi tempat naro perhiasan atau semacamnya lhoo..

2. selalu bawa tas kecil (yag cukup buat taro barang belanjaan) atau plastik bekas yang di dapet dari supermarket. jangan terima plastik lagi kalo belanja di supermarket. tapi kalo emang lupa dan terpaksa, gpp. ntar plastiknya bisa dikumpulin dan dijadiin plastik buat taro sampah.

3. kertas2 dari semester2 lalu atau bekas proposal atau apapun itu yag berbentuk kertas A4, kalo dirasa udah ga diperluin, jangan dibuag dulu. jadiin buat catetan semester baru. daripada beli isi folder atau beli buku lagi, mending kertas2 yang udh ga kepake dijadiin buku. pake bagian kosongnya buat nyatet. tinggal dijilid doang, voila! you got a stylish and green note book. :D

love yourself

lately i've been really inspired with this song sang by the most unique person in the whole wide world, Lady Gaga. really made you confident when you heard this song and i guarantee you, will made your day a lot better. :) so here's just some of the lyrics that i thought is the most brilliant. 

"don't be a drag just be a queen
whether you broke or evergreen
you're black, white, beige, chola descent
you're lebanese, you're orient
whether life's dissabilities
left you outcast, bullied, or teased
rejoice and love yourself today
'cause baby you were born this way
no matter gay, straight or bi
lesbian, transgendered life
i'm on the right track baby
i was born to survive
no matter black, white, or beige
chola or orient made
i'm on the right track baby
i was born to be brave"

cewek seorang diri

 

well, pertama-tama, foto diatas bukan berarti gw PKL bareng segerombolan cowok ini ya. foto diatas ini cuman perumpamaan doang. hehe,

okay. sekarang ke cerita. dari awal juli kemaren sampe tgl 20 Agustus, gw PKL alias praktek kerja lapang (kalo bahasa bagusnya mah kayak magang gitu lah) di Wakatobi. emang kayaknya kalo denger kata 'Wakatobi' lagsung wuiih! gile enak banget PKL di Wakatobi. emang enak siih.. ga bisa gw pungkiri karena emang bukan cuman tuh pulau jauh dan butuh duit banyak buat kesana, tapi juga surga bawah lautnya yg emg terkenal banget di kalangan diver Indonesia maupun luar negeri.

tapiii.. ada tapinya nih. beda cerita kalo gw kesana CEWEK SEORANG DIRI. temen pkl gw ada 4, cowok semua. trus gw ditempatin di Pulau Kaledupa, Taman Nasional Wakatobi dan disana ga ada cewek sama sekali. emang awal2nya butuh adaptasi sih ya buat hidup selama sebulan lebih sama cowok semua dan pertama gw dateng mikirnya juga bakal nightmare ga punya temen cewek buat ngobrol, ngegosip ala cewek dll. tapi seiring berjalannya waktu, ternyata sama sekali ga kerasa kesepiannya jadi cewek sendiri diantara para lelaki. justru asik banget karena mungkin pas disana gw ketemu orang2 yang bersahabat dan sering ketawa (literally, mereka ketawa terus kalo udh kumpul bareng). trus karena gw cewek satu2nya disana, pastinya gw diperlakukan lebih spesial dibandingin yang lain. mereka semua (bapak2 staf TNW) udah berasa kayak bokap gw sendiri aja. kita semua kayak keluarga. mungkin juga karena mereka jauh dari keluarga mereka jadi kita kayak pengganti keluarga mereka yang jauh entah dimana. kita masak bareng, nonton tv bareng, yang mungkin suatu saat nanti bakal gw kangenin masa2 itu.

yaah.. ga semuanya nyenengin juga siih.. pasti selama sebulan lebih itu ada lah masa2 sedih. ada kalanya gw juga kangen ngobrol sama cewek seumuran gw (adanya ibu2 disana). dan ada kalanya gw kesel karena gw selalu dianggap remeh sama mereka. mereka pikir karena gw cewek dan baru mahasiswa semester 5 gw belom bisa apa2 dan gatau apa2. kesel juga coy digituin. 

intinya sih gw cerita gini, kan masih banyak dari para cewek2 yang masih rada ga mau (mungkin takut ato males) kalo jalan maupun pkl kayak gw sendiri. jadi pastinya cari temen dan 'kesannya ikut2an' dan bukan dari kemauan mereka sendiri. well, kalo emang orang tua udah ngijinin, menurut gw jalanin aja. pasti ada kenangan2 yang bakal lo dapet deh yang jauh lebih seru kalo sama cowok semua (dalam jangka waktu lumayan lama ya). tapi gw ga nyaranin ada cinlok lho yah. just stay as friends and your adventure will be unforgettable. lagipula, kalo menurut gw, adventure bareng cowok tuh lebih asik lho. try it. :)

secercah cahaya dan harapan

as you all know, gw udah agak lama ga ngepost disini. well.. bukannya gw mo sombong atau apapun, tapi ALHAMDULILLAH BANGET.... beberapa minggu yang lalu gw keterima international student festival di Ilmenau, German. gilaaaaaaaaa! pertama kali gw liat email dari mereka bener2 ga percaya. gw literally guling2 sambil sesungukan kayak bocah kagak dibeliin permen sama emaknya. (well, pertama gw sujud syukur dulu)

akhirnya perjuangan gw selama satu tahun nyari2 student festival maupun beasiswa keluar negeri kebayar juga. satu tahun di depan laptop sampe mata kayak ga tidur 2 hari, bolak balik ke kampus gara2 surat rekomendasi kagak bener2, ngejar2 dosen yang lagi nyidang, nunggu hampir 3 jam buat dosen yang lagi rapat hanya untuk mendapatkan sebuah tanda tangan, berlembar2 kertas print yang bikin nambah global warming (personal sorry for me to the earth ;)) akhirnyaaaa.. gw bisa mencicipi kejayaan. sadiis..

well.. yang mo gw garis bawahin adalaah.. jangan pernah menyerah! YEAH! walopun kayaknya harus berkali2 lo berusaha dan sesekali pasti pengen nyerah (gw juga pernah stres ditolak terus), jangan pernah coy! karena pas waktu itu dateng, semua perjuangan yang melelahkan itupun rasanya ilang begitu aja dan ga kerasa. yang lo rasain cuman kejayaan, keinginan untuk teriak2, guling2 dan garuk2 aspal. ooh.. itu terlalu berlebihan. tapi remember! walopun kejayaan itu udah dateng, PLEASE still be down to earth. jangan tiba2 lo besar kepala dan ngerasa lebih hebat dari temen2 lo semua. at some point, tanpa bantuan mereka lo ga bisa dapet kejayaan tersebut. 

Allah SWT emang adil.  :D

And Soon The Darkness

 

this movie is really represent one of many global issues on the world, woman trafficking. in this story, the girls are having a vacation in Argentina, one of the most beautiful and exotic places in this world. but when they got into a fight and got separated, one of them was kidnapped by some local guy. maybe for some of the people that watched this movie, it's only just a regular thriller movie. but for me, it has a lot more meaning than just a scary thriller. 'cause in the real world, it really IS happening. lots of women reported disappear (or actually kidnapped). the kidnapper will sell them to someone who has a lot of money. some of them will become prostitute or maid or just gonna be sold to another man again.

the more horrible thing again, that it's only happen to women. nobody want to kidnapped or sell men! i mean.. this generation didn't even think about woman emancipation. they only think woman is only for men's satisfier! 

anyway.. for you girls safety, if you ever travel to foreign country (anywhere!) never ever go alone! at least find some companion. don't easily trust someone you meet a couple of minutes.

time to sleep

3 days ago, i had a very loong.. meeting for OSEANIK. it wasn't boring, 'cause even the clock point to 1, we're still laughing and joking (i don't know how. haha!)
buut.. what i didn't like is, that i don't have time to sleep. well, i did rest my eyes. but it's only for a few minutes. i didn't sleep for 24 hours! my eyes are really sore! maybe it was okay for other people, but it is not okay with me. 'cause losing sleep is not good for our health. you get drowsy, maybe a headache or even a fever. losing sleep is not an option. i suggest you guys to sleep for a minimum of 8 hours. but if you have something important like the one i mentioned (like meeting), at least you sleep for 6 hours. if less than that, your brain and body won't work at a maximum capability. so pleasee.. especially for the boys, sleep well. and guys, working on assignment until the middle of the night is not an excuse. 'cause it was your own fault. if you got an assignment (especially if it's many), you have to do it as soon as you can. treat your body good. if you don't, they will treat (bad) you back.

for all single girls out there

gw bikin nih posting bukan berarti gw single. nope! i have a boyfriend. tapi... i dedicated this post for all the single girls out there. satu hari, pas gw lagi jalan bareng temen2 gw (include cowok gw), temen gw yang belum pernah pacaran seumur hidupnya (yep! masih ada org yang kayak gitu. saluut!), mukanya langsung berubah mupeng. dan setelah gw misah dari yang lainnya dan menuju ke kosan dia, gw, dia dan beberapa temen gw yang lain mulai gosip ga karuan.
tiba2, pas lagi ngomongin gebetannya, dia nangis! kita semua pada bingung. katanya dia sedih banget karena ga ada yang suka sama dia. trus, parahnya lagi, dia nyalahin diri sendiri! woooo.. gw sama temen2 yang lain langsung nyetopin dia. girls, jodoh itu semuanya ada di tangan Allah SWT.  dan ga mungkin! i repeat.. ga mungkin! ga ada yang ga suka sama lo. pasti ada! kita semua tuh cantik, mau dari luar ataupun dalam. cantik itu relatif. ga semua cowok sama, ga semuanya ngeliat dari fisik. masih ada kok cowok yang ngeliat lo apa adanya. who knows, mungkin seseorang selama ini merhatiin lo, suka lo diem2? you just have to be open to it. kalo gebetan lo ga suka sama lo (walaupun lo udh berusaha segigih mungkin), maybe it isn't meant to be.
lagipula, being single itu ga berarti lo 'sendirian' kok. trust me, kalo lo udh pernah pacaran, pasti ada saatnya lo kangen pada waktu 'single' lo itu. ada temen2 lo kok yang selalu ngebantu lo, cheer up lo. you just have to believe there IS someone out there for you. :)