“Why don’t I do what I know I should do?” - Ever asked
yourself that question?
Most of the time, we all know what we need to do things in
order to attain our goals. That’s not the issue. We know what needs to be done.
We just don’t do it. Why is it so hard to do what we must do to succeed, if we
really want to succeed?
Perhaps we don’t want it THAT BAD?
That’s probably the case. We may tell ourselves we want to
succeed, but if we cannot do whatever it may be to get there, then we don’t
really desire it. We are not “hungry” enough. We want it, just not bad enough.
So what causes this?
COMFORT
My mother always said, “Don’t be TOO comfortable, otherwise,
you stop advancing”. It’s true. When we are in a position where we are
comfortable & safe, it is extremely hard to get ourselves to move out of
this “zone”. After all, it is human nature to seek comfort. Even if we may be
looking at even more comfort with the added success, we are just not willing to
give some of that current comfort to get there.
I have a friend who was looking into starting her own
business. She had a great idea, good plans, and was pretty much ready to go.
However, she needed to go at it full time. Therefore, she had to leave her
current job, and she didn’t have a problem with that. The problem was, with the
lack of money she would find herself with for the next year or so. You see, for
her, she couldn’t give up her shopping, her nights out, her fancy suppers, etc.
to fund her business. She was not willing to give part of her comfort to
ultimately gain more later on. Yes, she wanted to do this business. She
understood that in the long run, owning your own business is more beneficial
than her current situation. However, she obviously did not want it bad enough.
Because if she would have, she wouldn’t have a problem giving up some of her
current perks to eventually gain much bigger ones.
Also, the fear of change & being stuck in a routine can
destroy our motivation to move ahead. It’s like stepping into the unknown, and
yes, we naturally do not like this. However, the quicker we understand that
evolving is necessary for success, the easier it will be for us to get
ourselves to do what we need to get done. Just know that we can adapt to any
new situation. Humans are made to be this way. This is why we can live in very
hot or very cold weather for example. We have a tremendous ability to adapt, so
keeping that in mind eases the perception of change.
25 years after my high school graduation, we are all invited to REUNI PERAK - SMAGA batch 1990 in Kediri, my hometown, last December. I and Kiki flew to Kediri and spent our Christmas and year end holidays, while I attended my high school reunion
We stayed at one of the hotels in the city, and I didn't visit my childhood house this time, just paid a visit to my parents grave
Well, whether we like it or not, we are all like to be connected to our teenage years in some way. High school friends bring that connection. When you reconnect with a high school friend it is like nothing has ever changed. It could be the “group” you belonged to, or that you saw each other literally for seven times a day, or the sports you played. With your high school friends you get back into the swing of things in a millisecond.
I wanna share our (what I called) flowery weekend escapade on the first week of December last year. It's a bit late post though but its too bad for not sharing the beauty of those flowers, or the beauty of us in these pictures, ha ha haaa just saying
It was happen when Kiki had her year end holiday and spent her time in Bandung and of course that this flower garden is so well known and become the hot topics of one of the sceneric photo spots, we have planned to go there
If life is a flower, then love is the beauty of that flower. Enjoy viewing and happy weekend!
Hasil berselancar di Youtube membawa saya kepada klip film
Shrek. (Just for your information, saya hanya suka nonton film yang realistic. Drama,
true story or whatever that is related to daily life, bukan film “khayal”. Science fiction atau film animasi atau film
tokoh – tokoh Marvel sama sekali bukan film favorite saya, apalagi Shrek,
kecuali Anda butuh teman menonton film film semacam itu, for the sake of
friendship, saya akan bersedia duduk (mungkin tertidur) disamping Anda selama
Anda nonton ha ha haaa …)
Klip tiba di bagian dimana putri Fiona
mengepas baju pengantin dengan ekspresi wajah tertekan. Adegan itu dilatari sebuah lagu yang dilantunkan
dengan gaya sendu diseret-seret. Kegetiran putri Fiona bertambah menusuk dengan
latar belakang lagu itu. Waktu itu saya ngga tahu liriknya. Bahasa Inggris saya
ngga kelewat jelek juga sih, tapi ketika lagu itu dibawakan secara setengah
menggumam, saya musti benar – benar pasang kuping dan menyimak, bahkan sempat
membayangkan, vokalisnya menyanyi dengan sebatang cerutu digigit di antara
geraham, yang saya tangkap hanya ada kata “Halleluya”
Naah, lagu inilah yang bikin saya “mendadak cinta” dan ingin saya
share pemikiran saya tentang itu. Biasalah, kalau lagi suka banget dengan
sesuatu saya pasti akan berusaha mencari tahu lebih dalam (alias kepo). Saya
bukan penulis lagu, bukan musician plus ngga pernah belajar musik, dan ngga
ngerti teori musik Saya hanya terbius oleh lagu ini dan menyanyikan-nya (mungkin) sudah ratusan kali (dikamar saya, tentunya)! Tapi jika Anda mau, saya akan dengan
senang hati alias girang banget menyanyikan lagu ini utk Anda. Percayalah, suara
saya ngga jelek jelek amat. Jadi, apa yang saya tulis disini adalah hasil
penelusuran saya plus penalaran a la kadarnya ditambah daya khayal saya yang kadang agak
kebablasan … ha ha haaaa
Saya terdorong untuk mencari si soundtrack dan informasinya
karena beberapa hari kemudian, lagu itu “mendadak dangdut” berdendang-dendang
sendiri di kepala saya. Dan seperti biasa, setelah menyimak (puluhan kali) di
Youtube, saya search di Wikipedia yang tentu saja “memuntahkan” informasi yang
cukup lengkap ditambah beberapa blog yang berkontribusi hingga saya mendapat
informasi (hampir lengkap) tentang lagu itu. Judul lagu itu adalah
”Hallelujah”. Penulisnya orang Kanada, Leonard Cohen, yang merilis lagu itu pada
tahun 1984. Lagu yang di film Shrek 1 merupakan cover version, dinyanyikan oleh
John Cale. Ternyata, sudah banyak artis yang membawakan lagu tersebut, baik untuk
rekaman maupun konser.
Melihat sepintas dari judulnya orang akan mengira ini lagu
rohani Kristen. Meskipun mengambil judul istilah religius, "Hallelujah" - terpujilah Tuhan - lagu ini tidak menyanyikan
tentang pujian bagi Tuhan melainkan bicara seputar hubungan percintaan antara
laki-laki dan perempuan, pengkhianatan, perselingkuhan dan perzinahan. Jadi
meskipun warna musiknya merupakan gabungan waltz dan gospel (lagu gereja pada
umumnya gereja protestant) lagu ini lebih sebagai lagu cinta ketimbang lagu
rohani.
Berbeda dengan “Hallelujah” karya George Frederic Handel (23
February 1685 – 14 April 1759) yang teramat agung, lagu Hallelujah karya Cohen
ini lebih merupakan karya satiris. Memang enak didengar, tapi sebenarnya isinya
agak-agak vulgar. Setelah membaca liriknya, alis saya kembali terangkat. Persis
seperti yang dituangkan dalam Wikipedia, lagu ini merujuk kepada kisah di Alkitab
- Perjanjian Lama untuk dijadikan simbolisasi ide lagu. Lagu ini berlandaskan
kisah raja Daud (David, in English). salah seorang penulis kitab Mazmur atau
puji-pujian untuk Allah.
Kisah lainnya yang kontroversial adalah keinginan Daud untuk –memperistri-
istri orang lain. Kalau pernah denger lagu ”Mad About You”nya Sting (”…It would
make a prison of my life, if you become another’s wife”… ). Nah, kurang lebih
seperti itulah kisah raja Daud dan kisah ini tertulis di Alkitab di 2 Samuel 11
- 12
Jadi ceritanya, pada suatu petang, raja Daud berjalan-jalan
di atap istananya. Entah bagaimana desain rumah saat itu dan berapa sih
jaraknya antara satu bangunan dengan bangunan lainnya, akan tetapi dari atap
itu, sang penguasa tersebut dapat mengintip ke rumah tetangga. Raja melihat
seorang perempuan yang sangat elok rupanya sedang mandi (jadi ingat kisah Jaka
Tarub? Ya, pelecehan semacam itu sudah ada dari dulu).
Tanpa takut dengan ancaman matanya bakal bintitan karena
ngintip, raja malah “kepo” dengan mengirim detektif untuk menginvestigasi
jatidiri perempuan itu. Singkat kata singkat cerita, didapatlah informasi bahwa
dia adalah Batsyeba dan dia adalah istri
Uriah orang Het. Tidak puas dengan info itu, Daud malah mengirim ajudan untuk
menjemput Batsyeba. Batsyeba datang ke tetangganya, yang tidak lain adalah
rumah raja, dan ”tidur” dengan si raja.
OK, stop sampai sini dulu! Saya ngga peduli apa penafsiran
orang lain, tapi dari perspektif saya, ini jelas sexual violence berbasis jenis
kelamin, berbasis kelas, berbasis minoritas, dan sangat jelas kekuasaan
memegang peranan besar. Kemudian Batsyeba pulang, dan beberapa waktu kemudian
menyadari bahwa dirinya hamil. Batsyeba,
melalui kurir, menyampaikan berita tsb kepada raja. Raja lalu dengan strategis
memerintahkan Yoab, ”Tempatkanlah Uria di barisan depan dalam pertempuran yang
paling hebat, kemudian kamu mengundurkan diri daripadanya, supaya ia terbunuh
mati.” (2 Samuel 11:15) Untuk selanjutnya silakan baca di Alkitab – Perjanjian Lama.
Intinya, ada kekerasan seksual, power over, kelicikan, dan pembunuhan.
Ini penafsiran bebas saya (once again, saya bukan ahli music
bahkan saya tidak belajar teori music)
Bait pertama lagu itu berbunyi demikian :
I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Lirik lagu ini mengingatkan saya akan lagu “Lupa-Lupa
Ingat”-nya Kuburan Band (yang sepertinya sudah benar – benar almarhum
sekarang). Kalau lagunya Kuburan, kan: “C, A minor, B minor, ke D, ke C lagi…”.
Nah kalau di lagu Hallelujah jadi “It
goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, and the major lift…” yang
selaras dengan chord-nya F – G – Am – F. Tapi, lebih dari itu, saya juga
menafsirkannya : yang submisif mengalah dan yang dominan menguasai.
Bait keduanya seperti ini :
Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.
Keindahan lirik yang disusun oleh Cohen tampil di baris
pertama dan kedua awal bait kedua ini. Saya
teringat dengan dua lagu Indonesia, Sabda Alam-nya Ismail Marzuki dan Kala
Cinta Menggoda-nya Chrisye. The fundamental question, was that love or
lust?
Nah, mengenai she cut your hair, itu bukan tentang salon yaa,
berhubung sebelumnya udah membahas tokoh di Alkitab Perjanjian Lama, maka mau
ngga mau saya mengkaitkannya dengan kisah Samson dan Delilah (tertulis di kitab
Hakim-hakim pasal 16). Memang agak ngga nyambung,
antara Daud-Batsyeba dengan Samson-Delilah. Nah, adegan gunting rambut (tanpa cuci-blow) itu, apa lagi kalau bukan sexual
attraction (also known as “lust”) yang membuat si lelaki (Samson) lengah hingga
rela membeberkan rahasia kekuatan dirinya kepada si jelita yang ternyata
mata-mata. Apakah itu ketidak-berdayaan sang penguasa menghadapi sang pujaan atau kelicikan sang
“penggoda”? Dan tokoh Matahari jaman
prasejarah itu pun tidak lain hanya korban manipulasi dan ke-submisif-an
posisinya, sebagai perempuan di masyarakat yang patriarkis. (Jiaaah, bahasa saya
…. sophisticated bangetzz yah? Ha ha haaaaa)
Bait-bait lagu selanjutnya menggambarkan kegetiran dan ironi
yang dideskripsikan sebagai “broken Hallelujah”. Selain bernafaskan erotisme
dan politis, beberapa penyanyi dan penulis menafsirkan lagu ini sebagai lagu
tentang relasi manusia, cinta, makna atau ketiadaan makna kehidupan,
keputusasaan, ketidakberdayaan, kerapuhan, kemarahan, penderitaan, dan kesia-siaan.
Dari berbagai versi lagu ini yang paling saya suka adalah yang dinyanyikan Alexandra
Burke. Ironinya tetap mengiris, namun terkesan kuat.
Jogja is always special to me and I always feel a unique sense
upon getting to Jogja. Its about friendship and love and feeling of peace. I
feel like having soul connection with this city. One of the reasons is that couple
of important turning points of my life was taking place here.
I was travelling to Jogja on this last week end for I have to
obtain some documents to the civil registrar related to my personal particular
papers. I was lived in Jogja for about 7 years and my daughter Kiki was born there
as well so her birth certificate (one of the document I was about to endorse)
was issued by civil registrar of Jogja.
Of course beside the main reason I also add some lovely excited
and sorely missed plan to do while in Jogja, which are meet up my friends, eat
local food, and visit some iconic photo spots
Kebun Buah Mangunan is one of the destination I was about to
go. Having breakfast of local and authentic food of Jogja at the Pelataran
Makam Seniman in traditional buffet style is also something interesting to do.
Bubur Gudeg, Mendoan and sip Wedang Uwuh I was feeling truly Jogja …..
I happened to have lunch at Mangut Lele Mbah Marto in Nggeneng
Village. What special about this eating place is that food served in the
kitchen (don’t think of modern kitchen), a very traditional villager’s kitchen
with firewood. Angkringan KR, in front of the head office of Kedaulatan Rakyat
newspaper was also unique eating place we visited. Angkringan is small food stall, which are located at the side of many
roads. The customers are various including street musicians.
So, here are our pictures and if you enjoy these beautiful
snapshot especially which were taken in Kebun Buah Mangunan, my hat's off to Ninik for
her amazing touch.
Jogja …..My feet may leave but not my heart.
Special note to Mas Rachman, Ninik and Fitri ..... I know
that 'thank you' is not enough to express my gratitude, from the bottom of my
heart, again terima kasih dari ku & Kiki.
If life is a journey, a part of the journey is with Starwood.
I was starting the journey in 2004 in PGFC Sheraton Surabaya and left the property in 2007, and back in 2013 in Sheraton Bandung. What I love most is the value we share in Starwood, "Bringing joy, care and excellence to associates, guests, and partners, always!"
I found passion, courage, people learn, change and grow. My role in Starwood has helped me to learn more about people and development, and to be agile, ready for changes. It is wonderful journey to learn & grow, where we treat mistakes as the opportunity to learn.
We packed our bags to a short getaway on last long weekend. We left for Balekambang Beach at the south of Malang at around 7 early morning, stopped by at "Nyamleng" to have breakfast and heading to Malang.
I have searched through the internet of how beautiful beaches along the south Java sea shore, and found out that Balekambang has the most easiest way to reach out. The Hindu pura Ismoyo on the Ismoyo Island is another fascinating thing to visit and of course a very picturesque spot.
Its Sunday! Everyone has a favorite place when it comes to relishing a spot of Sunday lunch (or brunch?). I choose to spend my time taking pictures, enjoy the live music and remarkable meals on Sunday brunch. In Sheraton Bandung the list of favorites is so varied you could treat yourself to a great & remarkable of Sunday brunch in some very unique settings.
Frankly speaking, I am not that satisfied with the results of my photo taking, not so happy with the colors, retouched here and there to have them vivid and "alive", angle (even that I struggling to really take just & good shots from the right angles), but somehow I certainly enjoy my food and a time well spent with my dear friend Roberto. Hope next week in a better mood I would take better pictures. Finger crossed :)
