question of the day in angkot

mama,
kalo di angkot ada ngga orang yang ngomongnya “kanan kanan”

i don't know much...

mama, penguin minumnya air laut atau air tawar?
kalo jentik nyamuk jadi kepompong dulu ga sebelum jadi nyamuk?
penggesek biola bahasa inggrisnya apa?

if we ever notice, much of the question from little mouths are not quite readily answerable for us adults... parents... grown-ups... teachers... even professors
sometimes we just don't care, or consider things too trivial, or too lazy to search for the answer...
on the other side, isn't it a challange to the limitation of our decayed memories, our ignorance, or our prudence?
let the children seek the truth and let's find enjoyment in accompanying that, rather than expect them to forget that we don't know and don't even care to help them know...

softly clinging on my ears part of linda ronstadt's lyrics (feat. aaron neville) "i don't know much... but i know i love you..." may god bless you with a neverending curiosity and endless eagerness to learn for life.

Impeach the People!

Remember about the impeachment case ...

Then ..
Remember the paralysis we have once every five years ...
Remember the blackout that comes with it ...
Remember the water that was there for us when we don't need it that much ...

We always blame the government for not taking care of us.
We talked about impeaching the government (governor, mayor, etc.) for that matter.
But you know what?
I think we should impeach the people for the flood!
Why?

Last month I went back home to Bandung one afternoon. It was raining heavily, but not that heavy.
I mean it was not enough to flood Bandung.
Buy you know what happen? I saw spots in Bandung that was flooded.
Surprised? hmm .. you shouldn't be!
I saw garbage all over the street. I saw the water in the sewer that was blocked by garbage.
Whose fault is that?
The government? THe people?
I think both!
The government is definitely wrong for not cleaning the city from garbage. I mean surely they have a department for that, right?
But the people is also wrong for littering.

It's the mindset of the people we need to fix.
Why the people?
Because if people are not littering, there wouldn't be garbage where it's not supposed to be.
If that's so, then there wouldn't be a problem with garbage and flood when it's raining.
If there's no problem with garbage when it's raining, then Bandung won't be flooded.
Right?
Dunno about other cities, but I think it's pretty similar.
We have problems with garbage everywhere.
Of course in Jakarta they another problem with the city plan management.

But if you think about it .. it is us who should introspect ourselves, because we are the people and the government!

So let's impeach the people instead!



Balikpapan, 27 nov 2K7
hye

[hye] Off-peak Virus

You might be wondering what off-peak virus is… We have computer viruses, we have viruses in the air, but what is an off-peak virus?

That, my friend, only happens in Indonesia. So there’s a phone operator who gives 6 off-peak text messages (22.00-07.00) to people who send 6 messages during peak hours (07.00-23.00). Text message is inevitable, correct? Well, at least in Indonesia it is. We’re so used to messaging that we have the so called “thumb generation”. Still, that doesn’t explain what off-peak virus is.

The other day I checked my phone and discovered that I have almost 500 free off-peak SMSes. That was when I was in the train on my way to Jakarta at around 4 a.m. Since I had nothing to do, I decided to say hello to my fellow Telkomsel (phone operator) user. I sent about 50 messages, and what happened next? I received a response from almost half of the messages I sent. Some replied right away, some later that night. One of my friends who replied told me that she’s getting married. The other said that she just return from dropping off her mom and decided to spend her off-peak SMS by doing the same thing as I did earlier. You see something? Yup, we were using our free SMS, but that’s not the point.

I see a new phenomenon has emerged. Off-peak virus, where people start messaging their friends and beloved ones in the middle of the night. Where people on the other side read the message in the morning and decided to reply either instantly or later at night. Some seriously, some in the corny way! :p You should try spreading the virus sometime … :)

discussion with a hairdresser

life is a matter of choices
and the consequences that follow

Aceh Journal: Au Revoir

Dear friends,
I have come to a time when I have to say goodbye to Aceh.
I have ended my service here and next week I will be flying back home.
I think one and a half year is enough for me to stay here and do what I can do, although I think that is still too short.

Before I go back, let me just update you all with what's going on here in Aceh.

Rehabilitation is still on the way. Slowly but sure NGOs are still building houses. Revitalization is also on the way. Business is getting better, small and middle class business are re-opening. "civilization" is also facing its head towards Aceh. We now have an international hotel and restaurants serving good foods *and junk foods! hehe ... :)*

Reintegration process between Government of Indonesian Republic (GoIR) and GAM is going slow. We still have a few issues we need to solve, but it's going great. It's been a year since the Helsinki MoU, and the conflict has stopped. We now have LoGA (Law on the Government of Aceh .. I think), the law that can accomodate both sides. Not perfectly, but I think it's good enough.

I'm gonna stop writing Aceh Journal *since I won't be here anymore*. It's been 2 fun years, and I'm just grateful I have known you all.
Thank you for all the good and bad times.

Gonna miss you all...
God bless!

see ya' when I see ya'! :)
hye
31 August 2006

die Ehe

die Ehe
ich hab gedacht,
es war Liebe, Liebe, Liebe
aber mein Papa hat gesagt,
es war die groesste volle lebenslange Verantwortung
damals war ich 20er
und er 50er
jetzt weiss ich
er hat recht aber ich habe mich auch nicht geirrt