The assignment

Inspired by Prof. Rhenald Khasali, I assigned my students last semester to write a post in their own blogs about their holiday.

Because of that, I feel obliged to write my own post too.  As usual, I had this plan for quite a while, but never really take any action to do it. So I would write this post as a draft and complete it from time to time.

I had the chance recently to go to Taiwan with my father to attend my brother's graduation ceremony. If there hadn't been any graduation ceremony, I wouldn't have traveled there too. I have always thought that if I have to travel to some country far away, it should be for a more permanent immigration purposes. That I would find a job there, not just a temporary holiday.

Taiwan was the furthest country from Jakarta that I have ever visited in my life. For me, I knew that it would be a new and exciting experience. And it was.

 The biggest canteen that I have ever seen. Possibly the biggest monastery canteen in the world.  

Supposedly the most beautiful MRT station in Taiwan.  But the locals are quite skeptic about it. 

Besides Taiwan, we had the chance to visit Hongkong too. It was a great country too. Lots of tourists. And great landscape. And similar with Taipei, they have a really great subway system.  All of my life I have thought that subway system in KL/S'pore was really good. And now I get to experience something even better. Maybe one day if I get to visit the Tokyo subway, I would say different thing again.

We visited the Big Buddha, the biggest Buddha statue (sitting position) in the world. Although I am not a Buddhist, I have always wanted to visit this statue. Saw it from a scene in the Amazing Race TV series. It's amazing. The stairs are like those in the temple in Kungfu Panda movie.  It's really great.

Next statue should be the Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, or the Garuda Wisnu Kencana in Bali, once it is completed, it will be the biggest statue in the world. Just search in Google that there is a Spring Temple in China with the current biggest statue in the world.

If there is no wind, row.

Christmas is coming

2015 is about to end. I am still struggling to think the good things that I've done this year. I was given the honor this year to proofread a really popular book "A million dollar dream", a true story of a great motivator, Merry Riana. I think this is the honorable thing that I've done this year.   

I am also planning to continue my postgraduate study.  Planning to exercise more. Planning to get a scholarship. And many other plans. All just plans. As usual.  

I tend to lose focus easily on a certain task/plan. And now I am also losing the focus to continue writing this blog. 

There is this figurative term to remind people about a coming deadline, by saying "christmas is coming". https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Christmas_is_coming

And christmas is really coming now. 

The Comfort Zone

According to Wikipedia, the comfort zone is a psychological state in which a person feels familiar, at ease, in control and experiences low anxiety and stress. I am prone to stuck in the comfort zone. Although minus the low level of anxiety and stress.

I started teaching in 2013, and before that, I've spent almost eight years in a logistic company, doing a variety of works. It was a comfort zone then, and it took so many years for me to realize that I had to try other things. I once watched in Youtube the late Steve Jobs' speech in a graduation ceremony, titled "How to live before you die."  It was a great speech, many good quotes in that speech. One of the quotes, he said, "Stay hungry, stay foolish." And I guess that quote have inspired me to try to explore on new possibilities.  

Better place

Which city/country that you would like to spend the rest of your life in? Why?

I like to ask this question to many people and learn from their answers.  I always think that most living creatures, including human, would like to search and find a better place to survive and live. A better environment for their children/family.  A better place that provide a higher quality of life.  

I am always amazed by the migratory birds that travel for thousands of miles in search of better environment, in search for food.  These birds have to migrate, otherwise they won't survive.  For people living in conflict areas/ war zones, they have to migrate for the sake of survival too.  Luckily, most of us are living in a peaceful country.  Then, our search might be to find a place that can provide us a better quality of life. 

If we look at the surveys done to cities measured only by its quality of living, we will find that most of the cities that top the list are from developed country.  And some of the factors measured include health, education, safety, political, environment, and so on.  
Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercer_Quality_of_Living_Survey  

Aside from the survey, my preference for a city would be a city located in a country which I could enter or migrate easily.  Even though most of the countries in the world have strict immigration policies, there are some countries that are still "open" for immigrants.  And you can find the countries in the site below. 
http://www.immigroup.com/news/top-10-immigration-friendly-countries

My pick would be Toronto, Canada.  

The following text is copied from a message I wrote to my friend. Since kid, I have always thought that I have to migrate to a place with a better standard of living. It was based on these reasons: My grandparents had made a big effort to migrate from China to Indonesia in an attempt to find a better place. Indonesia is far better than China at that time. And my parents had made the effort to migrate from Bagan to Jakarta to find a better place. Jakarta is better than Bagan. Their decisions were right. So I thought that I have the responsibility to also migrate to a better place. Yes, no place in this world will be absolutely ideal, but deep down I know there must be places that are better than here. Usually such thought more likely to happen during flood/bad traffic jams :D
I have been participating in the US green card lottery for about 15 years now. But I never win :) I guess it's not my "destiny". My uncle, who is now a Taiwanese, used to participate too, and he never won. He said jokingly that maybe it took three generations of good deeds to win that lottery. However, if I migrate to another country, I have to spend my time working with other people again. Becoming an employee for the rest of my life. Actually, I don't mind being an employee, as long as the work and pay is worthwhile. My father is still working as an employee until now. I really admire his dedication and perseverance. But I also agree that having own successful business will make a meaningful and great impact too. Another interesting question would be this: If there is a war/big chaos/crisis and you have to move to another state or country, where would you move and why? (all your family and close relatives will move too, and there is no such thing called visa in this world)

A person that has made a difference

As part of my current duty in a writing class, I am compelled to write a short article, in fact it’s quite short (forgive my last minute tendency), on a person that has made a difference.  A person who has inspired me, who has made me rethink and re-evaluate the value or purpose of my life. Along life’s journey, I believe everyone has their own person to learn from, maybe even more than one person.

In this article, I would like to write some inspiring facts that I know about Steve Jobs. Most people would know this person. He is well known to be the creator of Apple Macintosh, known for its operating system that competes tightly with Microsoft.  Apple is also known worldwide for its creative and stylish products and gadgets.  Although I am not a fan of Apple products (mostly because of its price), I always find Apple products unique and different. That’s why one of its slogan that I remember is “Think Different”.

I am really inspired by Steve Jobs’ speech in a graduation ceremony in a very famous university in the US. I forgot who told me to watch his recorded speech in a Youtube link, but I remembered I really liked that clip, and it has inspired me ever since. In case you want to find it out yourself, the title of the speech is “How to live before you die”. He explained clearly his life’s journey, his battle with cancer, and his passion in work and life. 

“Stay hungry, stay foolish” is one of the most famous quotes that he has had. You need to look or listen to his speech by yourself, and by then you will know why it had become such a famous speech.  The fact that he wasn't a college graduate and he was able to deliver a speech in front of hundreds, or even thousands of graduates in one of the most famous universities in the world, and received a standing ovation at the end, is just, well, inspiring.        

Time goes by

It’s been years since I updated this blog. Before I tell you the reason why I have to update this blog, let’s rewind back.  It was the early August 2013.  There was a long holiday from the Eid. This person is feeling lost, as usual. Between two choices, he has to make a decision. There were sleepless nights filled with anxiety and uncertainty. But decision has to be made.

Leaving the comfort zone is a very hard thing to do for this person. Maybe for many other people too. It’s a daunting decision to make. The world ahead seemed so uncertain. In metaphor, this ship is about to leave the safe harbor, to sail for the unknown seas. Many storms can be seen in the way. And still, It felt better to stay at the harbor, to enjoy the nice view and calmness. But, taken from a famous quote, ship wasn't meant to stay at the harbor. After all, one of my friends told me, there were more fishes out there in the ocean.  Yes, bigger and more dangerous fish indeed, I thought.

Skeptics questioned my decision a lot. Are you sure about this?  But again, I have to take the risk and be certain that I will not have any regret for not taking this decision. And so I quit my job. After almost eight years of office work. I had decided to leave my comfort zone. And I thanked God that I did. 

And so here I am. Still wondering why I had the courage to do this. But it happens. So why do I need to update this blog. I had recently agreed to teach “Writing for Journalism” class. This class is comprised of Journalists, who worked for a prominent media company here. It is an honor to assign me this class, as although I do have a journalism background, I have never worked as a journalist. I had recently asked the class to write an English post in their own blog; and as an instructor, I felt that I must update my own blog too. They could comment my blog and I could give inputs on their blog too. So I hope that I could update this blog more often then.  

Finding Happiness

"Better forget this idea of seeking happiness at any cost and look for more interesting things like unknown seas, strangers, provocative thoughts, risky experiences."  

http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2013/07/17/forget-this-idea-of-seeking-happiness/

I get to read a good article from Paulo Coelho on the internet after some unrelated researches.  Then I shared this link with my friend.  Out of the blue, my friend asked if I wanted a free ticket to a Shaolin Circus that is currently performing here.  I am happy for sharing a link about happiness.  Maybe a proper quote for this would be "Sharing happiness would bring another back."

Beachy Head

Beachy Head - A chalk headland in Southern England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters.

Quotes, Cartoons, Pictures

The Impossible Dream

Few months ago,  I was given the opportunity to work as a part time English lecturer for working students at a local university.  I had always been admiring a job as lecturer long time ago, back from my times at university. I realize that becoming a lecturer is a miracle. Academically, I had no qualification to be an English lecturer.  I had never even worked as an English teacher before.  Being a translator is perhaps the only experience that was somewhat related (in a very different way).

Last year I applied to several local English institutions to become an English teacher without hoping too much of being accepted.  And out of the blue, God gave me something better, something that I once only dare to dream about.

The Cliff

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go.  Only one of two things will happen: either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly!

I find a good quote.  Have read this long time ago, but always forget the exact words in the quote.  

Figure of Speech

I was chatting with a friend, and i think we were using lots of 'Majas', a figurative terms of speech, which has many styles, commonly used formally in Indonesia.  

Throughout our chat that was filled with this nostalgic theory of Indonesian language, i was pretty strucked by the 'majas' my friend pointed out, "Perjalanan hidup manusia seperti sungai yang mengalir menyusuri tebing-tebing, yang kadang-kadang sulit ditebak kedalamannya, yang rela menerima segala sampah, dan yang pada akhirnya berhenti ketika bertemu dengan laut", which in short tell about one's life journey like a flowing river that are filled with so many troubles, uncertainties and difficulties, which at the end will finally end in the sea.  The 'sea' is kind of the destination that everyone is going to.  

I think if i have to sum up my journey, it has been a wild ride, with all the ups and downs. At times i think i've been trapped for too long in my comfort zone, which subsconciously i refuse to let go. A quote to describe this could be something like 'a bird that forgot how to fly'.
In retrospect with the reason i wrote this blog, i think i have lost further, and could not figure out how and where this journey is gonna lead me into.  

Rio

After the opening, I got the chance to watch the Olympic closing on TV.  It was very inspiring.  Many great songs with great performance.  The fireworks are also wonderful.  The coming Olympic will be held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  I have seen in the Amazing Race TV show the view of Rio before.  Few days ago I searched the web for pictures of Rio. It was amazing.

Challenges

2012 is one of the hardest time that I have to go through.  All of my life experiences before this can't help me to cope with what is going through this time.  I have been angry for so many times with so many things. I think the biggest problem lies within me, and yet I felt that I can't get out from it.  I felt that life journey is getting tougher now. And more challenges appear.