Ababil Me vs Older & (hopefully) Wiser Me

Sambil nunggu car free nite di kamar hotel, nggak sengaja ngubek-ngubek file lama dan ... voila....gue menemukan blog ini yang udah luaaamaa banget gue lupakan. Even password nya aja gue udah nggak inget. But thanks to Mas/Mbak Google, bisa di unlock dengan password email. 

My first post was in 2004 and my last post was in 2007. I read few entries and..OMG..its like reading your old diary.  Hai ababil version of me...I miss you so much!!

Maroon 5 - This Love (Number 4 Billboard Top 100 Song of 2004)

From my first entry on Oct 2004, something that shock me was this part...

well, finally i have my own blog....:), my sis blog inspired me to have one also..you can visit her blog at ayikrisda@blogspot.com, i am not really like to write actually, but who knows??? hehehehe 

Well...8 years ago, I said that I didn't like to write...and can you guess what I do for living now? Yup, I am a writer now. Mostly I write screenplay for sinetron that your mom and mbak di rumah watch religiously at home. 

Yup and yup..I wrote scripts for "perusak mental bangsa" dan "tontonan nggak bermutu" ituh *calmly smile*udah biasa dicela* 

8 years ago, I build my career in one of the oldest and biggest advertising agency in Jakarta. As a copywriter? Creative? Nope. I was an account executive. I deal with client and not create a Citra Pariwara winning TVC or print ads. I managed the brands. I baby sit the client and the creative, take care the bill and ensure that the campaign was well delivered with expected result. It was not a "creative job" more into management type. 

I learnt to negotiate, present the idea, fight with client as well as the internal team and supervise every creative process. Basically took all the shit before everyone else in the agency. 

But I love my job. I had the time of my life. 

Great clients where I learnt so so much since I don't have any degree in advertising, communication or marketing. 

Great great bosses, friends and office environment. We literally work hard and play hard. I expanded my networking, added many new friends beyond I can't imagine. 

Despite shit happened sometimes. Despite you have to work long hours-weekends. Travelling in insane schedules. So so incomes. Still I love it because I was doing it with all my heart and soul. 

Whatever I achieved today, I owe it to my 10 years advertising jobs. 

It was my comfort zone, my auto-pilot job desk. 

Til my mom passed away. Then I lost a purpose in my life. Everything become so dull, boring, not challenging enough. My comfort zone made me dying inside. I need changes. 

Then I started to curhat  to my best friend who worked  with a very successful writer - in the peak of his time in sinetron world. My beastie got tired, sick and "muak dengan segala tekanan sinetron Indonesia". She offered me to try her world and I gave her tips on "kerjaan yang lebih kantoran". 

And my first question to her is...I can't write! I even forget that I have this stupid blog. I never write any notes in Facebook.  I was not a sinetron watcher and you ask me to write a screenplay? What the hell is screenplay? All I know are creative brief, storyboard, invoice and notulen meeting etc etc aka I was an advertising bitch not a bloody writer. 

She still forced me to meet The  Boss. "You like to watch movies, telenovelas, K-dramas, J-dramas and that's enough". And I think "Oh, so everyone who basically likes to watch movies can be a sinetron writer? No wonder there was a lot of "similarity" with sinetron negara lain"

So I met the Boss. And he asked me to watch a Korean drama and "give input" to his sinetron story. I watched the drama already and what the hell..I will did it to "add spices in my dully day"

Plus, I can write suka-suka in my own language and sent the material by email at nite so I can work as usual. 

But 3 weeks after that, The Boss asked me to come to his office/home/asrama penulisnya :). 

He put a paper in front of me and draw a family tree of his masterpiece sinetron that will start the new session. 

Me. Speechless. I never watched the previous sessions. And he said "no problems, it's not that complicated. My head hurt. So many characters. A total bitch, a rural girl, a rich boy, slap here and there, fake pregnancy, psycho brother in law? Welcome to sinetron world bebihhhh!!

Three months later, I quit my comfort zone and took the new challenge as a freelancer. Join the boss's team. It was January, 2008. 

My Plan B, if this is not working, I"ll back to my old office dengan menunduk malu hehehee.

Mid 2009, I sailed in fancy cruise with all the casts and crews to celebrate the huge success of that program. 

Around March 2011, I finished the last season of that sinetron without The Boss, but with my own team. 

I survive as a freelancer and a writer. That's the gift from the older me to the younger me. 

Enable to work from home, do something that you love, are the luxury of 21st century. 

Especially when you live in third world country with the worst traffic jam in the world. 

Nothing beat work from the comfort of your home with daster and make up free. 

Sometime I still can believe that I can have this luxury, when I started it with zero knowledge and skills.

I only have my experiences in advertising industry and somehow I maximize use it to survive in this crazy world called "dunia sinetron"

Same with my old cellphone number that I still keep even though I rarely use it, i will keep this blog even I will write only once a while.  

So when the world drives me crazy, I lose again purpose in life or simply i change to be someone that I am not, I can read this blog and see tiny bit pieces of my life there....

...and reminds myself to be a better me

Bonne et Heureuse Année 2013

Welcome 2013!

Give me 365 days of summer, love, laughter, tears, success, fail and make me a better person, citizen, auntie, daughter, friend, girlfriend and Jesus's disciple. 

Sepanjang tahun 06, ini adalah situs favorit gue..Ditunjang oleh koneksi internet di kantor ku yang dashyat banget..gue bener bener termanjakan dengan streaming streaming dari youtube ini...you can find everyhthing here..mau lagu, film, sport..sama favorit gue ...drama drama korea terbaru....para relawan subtitles mengupdate dengan cukup cepat sehingga gue ngga pernah ketinggalan banyak...beda dikit dengan real tayang di korea...love you all guys there...

Makanya waktu internet sempet mati karena earthquake di Taiwan kematin, gue bener bener sedih..lebih sedih lagi kalau ngebanyangin penetrasi internet di Indonesia yang kecil banget..kapan yah kita bisa semaju negara lain? Karena kalo kecepatan internet kita ngga ok, percuma ada situs sekeren youtube, yang baru diakusisi mahal banget ama google.

Tapi semenjak di akusisi, muncul masalah baru yaitu mengenai copyright..Banyak banget account yang di banned karena mengupload material yang kemudian bermasalah...Kejadian ini mengingatkan gue sama salah satu situs fav gue juga yaitu www.perezhilton.com. situs ini situs terbaik untuk updates gossip gossip celebrities di hollywood lengkap dnegan comment comentc judes Mr Perez (yup, ladies..Peres is he and he is so gay juga ) Basically, perezhilton adalah blog dari Mr Perez, tapi karena isi nya gossip abis..jadi terkenal lah si Mr perez ini..sekarang he is already a celebrity of his own..Lately, dia baru di sue oleh beberapa agen foto & paparazzi yang fotonya bertebaran di blog probadinya ituh..Karena menurut mereka, dia kan ngga pernah bayar royalti and gain popularity....Tapi, kalau dia di sue, abis lah para blogger sedunia ini...Dan menurut blog nya, Perez akan maju ke sidang untuk memperjuangkan hak nya dan para blogger lainnya ...Go, Perez...!!! You have my support darling.....

Kalau mau liat versi Indonesia yg mirip mirip bisa buka http://whodoyouthinkheare.blogspot.com/, ini mirip kaya fashion police yang dipersembahkan oleh Mpok Jane dan Neng Sarah..Walaupun ngga sejutex Mr Perez, tapi blog mereka ini sangat menghibur deh dengan celaan celaan mereka terhadap dandanan para celebrities lokal.

Btw, nama blog ini adalah quote dari seorang artis terkenal di Indonesia dengan inisial SA, yang dulu dengan jutexnya marah marah sambil bilang...who do you think he are......oh my my my.....

(Nanink, thanks for introduce me to this blog, girl..)

amazing race asia

This is my favorite TV show at this moment..Jujur, gue bukan penggemar berat Amazing Race. Sekali kali nonton lah kalau sempet. Jadi B aja pas tau ada versi Asia nya. Kebetulan banget waktu mau mulai, gue liat terus pre show nya, yang lagi ngenalin para kontestan nya..Dan secara ada orang Indo nya, semangat kebangsaan langsung muncul deh..Dan ternyata emang seru banget..Pertama, karena kaya nonton Sea Games, nasionalisme langsung tinggi ngelihat sesama bangsa Indonesia berlaga hehehehehe...Kedua, kita familiar banget dengan tas task yang kudu dilakukan karena shooting nya kan gantian .. ada malaysia, singapura, jakarta, bali, sidney, aucland dan kemaren 2 epsode di thailand..

dari Indonesia diwakili oleh 2 orang pemuda, tepatnya sih 2 om om deh..Mardi dan Marsio aka M& M (nick name ini dikasih ama andrew yang dari Malaysia) Marsio ini yg gue tahu adalah fotographer, soalnya gue pernah lihat hasil jepretannya di majalah Bazaar Indonesia. Selain bahasa Inggris mereka yang lumayan bagus dan lancar...sebenarnya mereka kurang cocok deh ikutan TARA (The Amazing Race Asia) ..soalnya badannya kegedean banget, sementara TARA kan gabungan antara fisik dan juga otak, tapi fisiknya lebih banyak porsinya...Kalau kata Mardi, "our body is not designed for this race, these bodies only design for eat and sleep.." hehehehehehe

but despite their physical disadvantage, they turn out to be a very fun team, smart and loveable..I am so proud of them..I want to hug them :p

Lucu banget deh mereka, kalau lagi nunggu di bandara tuh kerjaan nya pijet kaki dulu, soalnya kayanya mereka gampang pegel..dan di ep 8 kemarin, gue sampai ketawa tawa terus pas Mardi marahin Marsio..."Marsio, stop eating and get the ticket first.." Sumpeee, lucu banget liat ekspresinya Marsio yang makan meluluuuuuu

TARA memang ngga cuma ngandalin fisik ajah..tapi harus mix antara smart dan juga lucky. Kaya 2 peserta Philipinne, yang ter eliminasi di babak awal..Dua duanya oke banget keliahatannya, terutama pasangan Ernie dan . pas pertama kali lihat ajah, gue pikir mereka yg paling fit..Tapi karena kurang beruntung pas pilih task, malah pulang duluan deh mereka. Pasangan pinoy ke dua itu adalah model, jadi kaya Barbie gitu, kerjanya dandan dan bedakan melulu...Juga udah pulang kampung. Yang juga udah ter eliminasi ada 2 pemuda India yang juga model di negaranya (yg ini gue ngga demen banget, abis gayanya selangit), pasangan Singapore ama sebenarnya favorit gue Howard dan Syahran dari Pakistan..They are so drama queen...Syahran tub kerjaan nya nangis melulu..tapi bikin seru deh..

Yang tertinggal ada pasangan Hongkong (diwakili 2 bule, Sandy dan Francesca), dari Thai juga 2 bule (Andy dan Laura). This couple ini yang jadi "bad cop" deh di TARA. Abis kadang kadang suka culas sih..but, kalau liat Amazing Race yang lain, masih kalah sih jahatnyaTerus ada 2 pasangan Malaysia; Joe Jer dan Sabrina ama Andrew & Syeon.

Dan gue ngga bisa milih, kira kira siapa sih yang bakalan menang di TARA...Andrew ama Syeon kandindat kuat soalnya mereka lincah dan kuah staminanya..cuman kadang kadang suka ngga lucky..sama kaya sandy dan francesca...M&M kurang di fissik nya, tapi pinter..Andy ama Laura juga kuat banget di 4 legs terakhir...Kalau Joe Jer & Sabrina, kompak banget ]

Host TARA ini adalah Allan wu, model dan aktor dari Hongkong kalau ngga salah..Kalau baca di forum nya, banyak banget yang ngga suka ama gayanya..Katanya si allan ini kaku banget dan trying so hard meng copy gayanya host TAR yang asli..Kalau buat gue, dia sih baek baek ajah..cukup ganteng dan atletis......

Yang sayang cuman satu, ngga ada TV Indonesia yg nyiarin TARA selain kabel. Jadinya ngga terlalu ramai di sini. Padahal kalau lihat di forumnya, asyik banget..soalnya di negara nya masing masing disiarin sih..Kaya gue aja, susah banget nemuin orang buat ngobrolin ini...ihikkk:(

Info lengkap: http://amazing-race-asia.axn-asia.com/race/

Why we should go home on time

Great reading I got from email today...

Mr. Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous persons from Karnataka(India). He is known not just for building the biggest IT Empire in India but also for his simplicity. Almost every important dignitary visits InfoSys campus. He delivered an interesting speech during an employee session with another IT company in India. He is incidentally, one of the top 50 influential people of Asia according to an Asiaweek publication and also the new IT Advisor to the Thailand Prime Minister.

Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session:
I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I do not know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace. Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit.

Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors.
My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday. Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company.

They often complain about other people (who are not working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another. As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday. Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:
1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the books/comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc.
5) Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2. Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are hard for some of us because that requires 'personal change'. They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them. In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son. When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit was, and no matter what time of day it was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss some thing. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.

Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they do not want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you are asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Hence,
"LOVE YOUR JOB, BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY BECAUSE YOU
NEVER KNOW WHEN THE COMPANY STOPS LOVING YOU" - Narayana Murthy

KAFKA ON THE SHORE

By: Haruki Murakami

The Story:
15-year-old Kafka Tamura runs away from home, both to escape his father's oedipal prophecy and to find his long-lost mother and sister.
As Kafka flees, so too does Nakata, an elderly simpleton whose quiet life has been upset by a gruesome murder. (A wonderfully endearing character, Nakata has never recovered from the effects of a mysterious World War II incident that left him unable to read or comprehend much, but did give him the power to speak with cats.)

What follows is a kind of double odyssey, as Kafka and Nakata are drawn inexorably along their separate but somehow linked paths, groping to understand the roles fate has in store for them. Murakami likes to blur the boundary between the real and the surreal—we are treated to such oddities as fish raining from the sky; a forest-dwelling pair of Imperial Army soldiers who haven't aged since WWII; and a hilarious cameo by fried chicken king Colonel Sanders—but he also writes touchingly about love, loneliness and friendship.

Biasanya aku ngga baca buku terjemahan dari pengarang Jepang, karena bahasa nya ribet banget dan suka ngebosenin. Cuma karena aku suka banget sama judulnya, jadi aku baca juga. Ini adalah buku pertama Haruki Murakami yang ku baca. Walaupun banyak yang bilang, ini bukan masterpiece nya Murakami, but this book is really amazing. It's absurd, seperti kita terseret dalam mimpi indah penuh hal hal magic, time traveller, musik klasik and philosophis world of Murakami. Walaupun storynya mudah ketebak, dan di bagian akhir agak dragging, but absolutely will read another Murakami's

Freakonomics

FREAKONOMICS

By: Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Kalau ada yang pernah nonton, ada serial TV "Number", di mana di serial ini matematika dipergunakan untuk memecahkan berbagai jenis kejahatan. Nah, di buku ini ekonom, Steven D. Levitt mempergunakan matematika untuk menganalisa berbagai sosial problem yang ada di masyarakat saat ini. Sedang untuk penulisannya dibantu oleh wartawan, Stephen J. Dubner.

Sebagai bukan penggemar buku ekonomi dan matematika tentunya, i really have fun with this book. Pertama karena issue diangkat adalah mengenai kehidupan sehari hari, kemudian dianalisa dengan cara & bahasa yang singkat jadi mudah dipahami dan - surprise - entertaining.Although mungkin buat yang "advance", buku ini akan menjadi terlalu sederhana.

Topik yang diangkat juga menarik banget. Misalnya: tahukah bahwa guru dan atlet sumo itu ternyata sama sama suka cheating. Why drug dealers are still living with their moms. Do you know that swimming pool is more dangerous than gun for children, how to make a good parents. Ada juga yang analisa yang mungkin menimbulkan kontroversi (apalagi kalau Levitt orang Indonesia nih). Jadi Levit menganalisa apa sih yang menyebabkan tingkat kejahatan itu turun. Ternyata bukan karena polisi tambah cekatan or tambah banyak, bukan pula karena ada innovative strategies yang diterapkan tapi the most significant factor adalah legalisasi aborsi di US. Nahhhhh...

a wedding

..'love is in the air" kayanya tema yang pas untuk tahun ini. 2 temen baik ku di kantor akan menikah bulan Oktober & Desember ini. And the most important, my lovely brother - si bujang lapuk hehehehe - give a sweet surprise this month, that he will get married ...guess when??? in September...Aaaaahhh, it's only 2 months away :)

Jangan heran, aku jadi kaya ikutan mau nikah. Ikut ikutan pilih pilih gedung, pilih undangan, makanan, baju sampai tempat honeymoon. Sekarang hobby baca majalah wedding, kalau ke malll ngelihatin model cincin kawin terbaru sampai cari tahu jenis jenis kain batik or songket buat D-day nya.

Paling seru, ikutan rajin luluran ke salon bersama ibu ibu berdua ituh. Malah rajinan gue kali dibanding calo pengantinnya. Ngebawelin Tiki buat ke dokter kulit itu hobby terbaru gue :p

Walaupun ikutan repot ini itu, but I am so exciting..Ngelihat artikel tentang perkawinan si A or si B, rasanya ikut bahagia banget. Malah sempet kepikiran kalau resign ajah kerja di advertising terus jadi wedding organiser seru juga kayanya :)

Then something bother me, do I feel exciting about the wedding ? Yes.
Do I want my own wedding now? Ternyata jawaban aku adalah no, i dont want to get married now..I realize, what I like is a "wedding" but well I guess I am not ready to "married" yet..

Sekarang menikah & mempertahankan nya sampai akhir is a very tough job. Godaan nya luar biasa banyak nya. Bukan aku merasa takut, hanya aku merasa tidak mau hanya karena dikejar deadline umur atau males diomelin nyokap aku jadi merasa harus buru buru. Bon Jovi ajah pernah bilang, marriage is not a bed of roses but the beginning of battlefield. Nah, menemukan the right man untuk berjuang bersama, I guess is not that easy..

Then aku jadi berpikir...Apakah kita menemukan dulu orang yang tepat baru kita memutuskan untuk menikah atau karena kita menyadari sebaiknya orang itu menikah baru kita berusaha mencari orang yang tepat untuk membangun rumah tangga bersama?

Damn, ternyata aku memang a complicated person :)

if you could describe a sagitarius, what would you say?

Find something interesting in YahooAsk :)

" if you could describe a sagitarius, what would you say? "

Some say..

- Nice ppl, willing to what they can to help you out but they are also great BS artists & they get easily upset/offeneded

- They are entertainers at heart, active imaginations, love to be the center of attention, very in touch with their emotions and have great compassion for others, great sense of humor. Love a challenge. Are very restless, so travel is often high on their agenda. Love to find out about things,very curious. I personally have two sagi's in my family, love them so much, never a dull moment when they are around.

- Strong willed, will love to be in control, very loving and caring

Me say ....

- egois, lazy, stubborn sometimes, not good with money, can't stand any sale in any mall, easy to get bored with things, love to travel, make peace not war, loyal, laugh or cry easily and hopelessly romantic at heart...hehehehehe

Pasar Asemka - Kota

Di suatu siang when i am totally not in the mood buat kerja - damn bmp :( - sukses lah aku diculik oleh teman sebelah ku untuk jalan jalan lagi ke kota. Yah, mumpung lagi libur anak sekolah, jalan kan rada sepi pas lunch time. Ternyata ngga sesepi yang diperkirakan, karena di Monas sedang ada demo, kurang jelas demo apa but it's more lagi family picnic dibanding demo tampaknya.

First, kita lunch dulu di Mangga Besar, ada warung kecil ngejual mie a la Medan, namanya Mie Tjong Sim. Wawa - my boss - explained that Tjong sim adalah tipe mie yang digunakan. Ini versi tidak halal yah, jadi mie nya diberi pork cutlet (yang merah & putih) dan ayam, dihidangkan dengan pangsit rebus dan kuahnya. Rasanya leker sekali. Mie tjong sim ini rasanya 'light' dan kenyangnya juga ngga yang "full" banget. Selain nie tjong sim juga ada nasi campur, cuman rasanya B banget.

Setelah itu kita lanjut lagi naik taxi ke Pasar Asemka. Pasar ini ada di belakang Harco Plaza (depan Glodok). Jadi kalau dari Thamrin, Harco Plaza ini ada di sebelah kanan. Persis di sebelah Harco, ada jalan, namanya Jl. Pancoran. Dulu sepanjang jalan ini, banyak PKL nya, yang sekarang sudah bersih habis ditertibkan. Nah masuk saja terus ke Jl. Pancoran, setelah lewat jembatan, di sebelah kiri ada gedung toko tua yang jelek. Itu adalah Pasar Asemka.

Pas pertama aku lihat, langsung exciting banget. di depan pasar banyak yang jual es tebu Medan. Sumpee, seger banget di minum di siang hari bolong gini. Terus ada Liang Tea Medan (teh Medan), pisang goreng, kue ape, kue rangi pokoknya jajanan tempo doloe deh. Masuk dikit langsung disambut bau....durian. Ahhhhhh, langsung ngga kuat iman :) walau ngga nyoba, duriannya gendut gendut dan ngga mahal. Definitely will come back to try !

Ternyata Pasar Asemka adalah pusat grosir untuk stationery, kalung dan aksesoris cewek serta suvenir buat kawinan. Sakit hati banget ngelihat harganya, karena super duper murahhhhh. temen aku yang jago banget nawar di Blok M ajah langsung ngamuk ngelihat harganya. "sialan, gue diboongin nih ama abang abang Melawai " hehehehehe.

Cuman namanya juga pusat grosir, jadi belinya juga harus banyak. Untuk illustrasi, jepit rambut warna warni selusin cuman 5000, buku tulis yang bagus cuman seribu satu buahnya kalu beli banyak, suvenir kawinan juga dahsyat banget harganya, mutu sudah bagus, jatuhnya cuman 2000 an ke atas.

Kalau suka aksesoris kaya kalung, anting bisa kalap tuh, apalagi yang punya jiwa jualan tinggi. It's really a perfect place :p. Cuman saking banyaknya pilihan, bisa seharian kali milihnya. Di sini juga ada tempat kalo hobby bikin kalung sendiri, lengkap buangett

Pulang pulang, badan bau matahari dan kantong bolong, tapi hati puasssss banget
And it's true, kerja jadi semangat abis :)

How to get there:
- Busway : berhenti di halte Glodok, setelah halte Mangga Besar. Nyeberang jalan, jalan kaki dari situ ke Asemka agak jauh, jadi jangan ngomel :p
- Taxi: kalau naik Blue Bird, dari Blok M sekitar 40 ribuan dengan catatan ngga macet lho