Who Am I? Not Spiderman

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Jakarta Pusat, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia
Rizky Novrianto is just an ordinary human being who try to live his life as extraordinary as it can be. I like to be different. You maybe able to find someone better than me, but You may never find someone like me. I hope common courtesy hasn't die yet. Treat people the way you want to be treated and even more, treat other people the way they want to be treated.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Leading Dangerously

Every time I watch a heroic themed movie, I always pissed off if the main actor were captured and interrogated with his beloved one under the threat. Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 3 where he cry over the rabbit's foot, and even til the end, I don't know what the heck rabbit foot is. Then in the movie Olympus Has Fallen, The president was worried sick about the safety of his son. Heartlessly pragmatic side of me directly thinking that, is love a weakness??

Why does the hero always threat with his beloved one?

Where in Naruto, they always told us that "Being in love with somebody is always make you stronger because you want to protect them so much."
But in the reality, sometimes we're not that strong and in the end we make our beloved one falls in danger because they got involved in our line of duty.

Being a leader is a dangerous thing. One module learns me that it has several dimensions of danger where attack is included. Why? Basically because leading means that you're going to have to move a certain people from their comfort zone in order to make a better place for all, and guess what?? they won't be happy about it and they will try as hard as they could to take you down and reclaim their so-called comfort zone with you out of the picture.


It hits me so hard, I always thought that if you have a good heart and lead with honesty, you'll be safe along the way. In life, to please a lot of people is almost impossible. If you want to erase a gang from its existence in order to make peace, you can bet that the gang won't go down without a fight. 


The problem in this fight is that it's no longer about you. It's about your family and your beloved ones. Well, you can take my life but please don't take the life of my beloved one. Not that I'm not appreciating my life, but there's a possibility that I put a price a bit lower on my life compare to the greater good. 


If there's a question that, "If I die, the world will certainly become a better place, will you die?"

I will gladly say yes.

But I think the world doesn't work in that simple way, I wish it did. 

Well, threat can come from anywhere and to everyone that we dear most. I ask myself, If I ever find someone that I care most, while I still pursuing my dream of become a leader and I can sure you that what I'm going to do is gonna make all the bad guys try to kill me, I think if I truly love someone, would I ever put that person in the line of danger with me?

I ask my self that question several times and I always think that I might not be strong enough and I might give my "cerberus" code to the bad guy and the world will be in a nuclear war. Ok, the reference that I made might not be generally understandable. hahaha...


I am strong, but If the life of a person I care the most is in danger, I might be weak and give the whole world in order to keep them save. 

Should a leader spent their life in solitary, alone like a lone wolf ??

Well, It's kinda sad....

But instead of loving just one or two people, once we are a leader, we are loving and be love by the whole nation.

So, this is not a caveat or in Indonesian term, "Ngeles", If one time in the future, I run for president candidacy as a solo, single, alone. This is the reason!!!!

Unless I'm sure that I'm strong enough to protect the one I love.
Instead of loving just one person, I choose to put that aside and love all my people instead....

If one time I got captured, yes, you can kill all my minister and me, but I will put the happiness of my people before me. You will never get my "CERBERUS" code....!!!!!!


Damn!! I watch too many action movies these days.



Image Source:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPgspcJ0C69OqO_nid0OI2vtKUYq8ZzsdaTJEh69tGX9C3bmFao9bV3UW7fdTpplippL5HEp8-ljO5qZDhyPCX_d3zRt7E2R48AZ8uRBJzNWYQt-qlSdd2hfXKZL5MDp08IdbxlOjbBGl/s1600/danger-wallpapers_29840_1600x1200.jpg

Financial Management for the Shopaholic

Well, I should be an expert on this area because a part, like 1/6, of my bachelor degree is in this area, hahaha... but don't trust me with all your heart and soul in this, because basically it's just a sharing story that might be useful or at least you can take lessons out of it.
#Disclaimer

In a dialogue with a friend, named Ririn, we talk about how much is our saving. Surprisingly, all this years I thought that I had a poor financial management, but I managed to save more than her. Though when she reads this, she'll argue about her Europe and Japan Trip... hahaha...

Well, I'm an impulsive person. I sometimes wonder why I had all the stuff I have now. I had a keyboard (not for the computer) a musical keyboard back home and I can't play a keyboard. I had a Canon EOD 650D and I don't even take shoots on a daily basis. I had a 3D television but I don't watch it on a daily basis. I had a bike but I don't ride it. I bought a Violin and said that I want to learn how to play it, but I constantly feel that I have no time. The recent one is I bought a Whey Protein Milk and since I bought it, I haven't put my foot in the gym.

That's my consumption level, it's like crazy. So to deal with that, my financial management system is using the "FORCED" basis, not the dark force. I force myself to deposit part of my incomes to my saving account, so on a cash basis, I'm poor. As an asset, yes I'm not liquid because big chuck of my money is saved in the form of similar to time deposit. I keep deposit the money on a monthly basis, but I can't easily take the money from the account at any moment I like.

and my second basis is "FORGET IT". I treat my saving as my expense. Maybe that's why I love this saving process. I don't feel like I save my money, but I feel like I spent it and suddenly out of nowhere I have this amount of money after a certain time period. Maybe this is part of the psychological thing that called, alter the way you think. Instead of being a Shopaholic, I can be a Saving-holic... hahaha....

They said that with the increasing of the income, your expense will increase as well, for me, with the increase in income, my saving will increase as well. Because to keep myself from impulsively shopping, I keep adding up more and more 'forced' saving account and then I 'forget' about it. At some point, I really do surprise myself with the thing that I managed to do.

But the thing about financial management is that you have to find one that suits you very well. Some people can just easily put aside a certain part of their income and manage not to use it without any hassle. One financial manager whom I forget her name was, once said that you had to have an emergency funds four times of your monthly income and it had to be in a liquid forms, meaning that it's not in a long-term deposit form. So once you had an emergency, you'll be able to access it easily. 

The thing about saving is that it acts as a guarantee because you'll never know what the future brings. Well, at this time, my focus is in the shape of money savings, maybe if I had enough money I'll move to the savings in form of gold or stocks. but the thing about that kind of savings is that they need a big start.

So for a good start, instead of become a shopaholic, start to be a Saving-holic and make your saving system as fun as shopping. Let's think of every time you put some part of your money to savings, don't think of it's a saving as in you keep your money away, instead think of it as a shopping activity, which you love most. Think of it as you buy your future. 

Force yourself then Forget it!!!!
Happy saving....
:)


Image Source:
http://timobrienhomesblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/istock_000006007654medium.jpg

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Loopholes in Movies

Few months back, I found Youtube channel named HISHE or How It Should Have Ended. It's a super funny channel because it kinda confirmed all the doubts in your mind after watching a movie. the best one of their work in my opinion is their version of How Lord of the Ring Should Have Ended, where they actually could do that and it can save them from the journey that takes three three-hours-long-movies by riding the great eagle and take frodo and then throw the ring in the volcano and it's over. Or the one about Harry Potter where they can actually use hermione's time travel necklace thingy and travel back in time, kill voldermort and they will save 7 book worth of adventure.

Not far from that, I found another channel named Screen Junkies which one of their creation titled Honest Trailers amazed me, where basically they give an honest trailer of past movies.

So, to those who already press ctrl+T for new tab and ready to google those two channels, I highly recommended, "NO... DON'T DO IT, YOU'LL REGRET IT LIKE SO F***ING MUCH!"

From now on, I will talk spoilers from the movie Godzilla, X-Men Days of Future Past and the series Tomorrow People season 1. Those who haven't watched the movie and planned to watch it, stop reading!!!

So, it start with God-f***ing-Zilla!!!
This is one of my highly anticipated movie. I know this movie because I read about it too much in The Detective Conan Manga and they sometimes told story about watching a Godzilla movie and the y consider Godzilla as the Hero.

Okay, the title is Godzilla, but the movie is hardly portraying a full frame of Godzilla. It's always tails, fins and the Godzilla swimming. Oh come on!!! the enemy can fly and the Godzilla is f***ing swimming???? and like super slow...!!!!

Watching this movie, I feel pity for humanity. I watched Transformer before and see how the army is so coordinated and sophisticated. But the army in this movie is so lame!!! That's why I hate this movie, because the human is weak, but they try so hard to make as if the human can defend themselves againts the monsters. This is imagination movie, so why don't you imagine a stronger army???

I almost bite my finger.

Then X-Men. Oh God!!! this is the one movie that I wait, because I thought after the last one, it will be over because Jane dead, Cyclops dead, Prof X dead, Magneto loose power. There's nothing more to tell, just one failed Wolverine spin-off.

But suddenly the movie begins with Prof. X is alive, Magneto had his power back, Kitty suddenly can send people's consciousness back in time, Human torch (not Chris Evans) appear, some leader with super gun and absorbing other people's power, some purple chick with amazing power but STUPID.

Okay, I am able to make gateway to another dimension, why don't you just transfer all those sentinels to hell or on top of mount everest? oooooorr.... make a dimensional gateway in the middle of their bodies so they will split in two?? but she just use her power to move here and there. I love nightcrawler's power better, thanks... no need to add new cast.

At first I thought this movie is going to cancel all the other X-Men movies before this, that's why prof X is still alive, but in Wolverine's imagination, suddenly they refer to The Last Stand where Wolverine kills Jane.

In the movie they also find the mutant who can moves so fast. but why in the world they let him go in the middle??? if he's still with them, he can simply stop Raven from what she's about to do, without the Logan's drama of how suddenly he became unstable and scratch Kitty.

And then again, after prof X in the past meet prof X in the future brainstorming, why in the world Kitty is still holding Wolverine in the past???
Oh God!!!!

I pulled my hair so hard....

Tonight I finished the season 1 of the series Tomorrow People. Story about the next evolution in human race where people can have Three Ts, Telekinesis, Telepathy and Teleportation. This is another sample, why people with power can be so f***ing STUPID.

What my friend will always said, "That's where God is fair"
I would love to go deeper about the story, but I'm not sure a lot of people watch this series.

You know what, 3T reminds me of 3P, Prue-Piper-Phoebe and later, Paige.
Telekinesis?? Prue and Paige Alert....
Suddenly James can stop time, hellooo Piper alert...
It's like they're gathering the charmed one's power into one body.
The next is they can predict the future as Phobe can.

Long story short....
After like 16 episode of the Founder being the bad guy, and suddenly Stephen trust him and take his side, bring back his father back to live just to loose him again in the end. The Uncle Jedekiah who's always confused about being evil or being good, suddenly take John and John willingly to trust him again after all he had done to him in the past.

Another thing is, they have the thing called as "Primal Barrier" where the tomorrow people can't kill. When they do try to kill, they'll pass out due to the ringing in their head. But in the beginning, Cara crack a man's head open without having to go through the Annex Project.
You can't kill, but who say you can't knock out a people then teleport them to a top of a building and just kamehame them with the telekinesis power so they will fall from the top of the building or just teleport them to top of mount Everest and let them freeze to death.

Dang it.... I'm a good script-writer...!!!

Oh, damn it HISHE and Honest Trailer.
You guys have ruined all my movie experiences. No I can't sit back and just enjoy the movie without thinking about it too much.
Though sometimes I think that Imagination movies are just not think the plot through. They just looking for good effects and good story, but if we really think about it, so many loopholes in it and so many things that will keep us questioning why they chose this path where there's other path that is easier?

People are just willingly be stupid for the sake of good plot.
Oh God, I'm badly want to watch Maleficent this Monday... please make me able to enjoy the movie fully after so much movies disappointing me. I have so much list of movies I want to watch and I write them in a post-it note and stick them in my wall, but till today, I just haven't got the will to watch them for I keep guessing the end and the logic behind the storyline....

Aaaaaarggghhh......
Maybe I should write some scripts and make a movie.....

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Is This the Taste of Rejection?

In this life, I think I've been blessed with an easy life. Well, I don't actually know whether it's really easy or I just hijacked my mind to think it that way. I can never think of the thing that make my life uneasy. In my memory, I can't remember the times that I have ever feel super-mad or super-sad. I do laugh and cry, but I think I can't remember that I ever cry in the last two years. 

Maybe I live way too long in my comfortable side of life that I don't want to get out. The story of my life before fifth grade is long gone because I can't remember the whole story of it, so if you ever came from that part of the memory, I hope you can introduce yourself once again to me, because I hardly remember, unless you've met me again after my fifth grade. 


I've asked about this issue to a psychologist, but he told me that as long as I'm happy in my present life, it might be normal though it may be a sign that there was a trauma that block my mind from remembering a bad thing.


I live my life quite easy after that. I've graduated from my high-school and entering the State-College of Accountancy on my first try. The school-fee is paid by the government and after that, I don't have the hard time of looking for a job because I directly join the Ministry of Finance of Republic of Indonesia and became a civil servant. 


In that time, I remember I had one rejection, but not actually a rejection because I did actually manage to through the qualification to continue my education through a scholarship back to the State-College of Accountancy to get a degree equal to Bachelor degree. But the policy at that time won't allow me to do so and based on the restriction at that time, I fail to continue my education. But a year after that, I tried again to join the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta and guess what, this time no rejection and I smoothly pass through the qualification, get a scholarship and I get my bachelor degree after two years.


The next is I apply for the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore after the office-policy allowed me to apply. Again, on the first try I pass the qualification and here I am without to many hassle and dazzle of life, no drama no tears. The story that keeps coming to me is about how hard is getting job these days, how hard is getting a scholarship especially an overseas one. 


Well, I never did go through the hardship of looking for a job, and I never knew how to handle a rejection very well because in my life, I barely got rejected. That's why I always believe in first try and I might never want to try for the second time. After graduating, I not only guaranteed having a job, but I was obligated to come back to my job because of the bound that bind me due to the scholarship. 


That take me back to the last message of the Leadership class regarding "Putting yourself out there and keep challenging your safe zone" as that is what "life" is all about. 


But if you really ask about what's in my mind, everyone that know me well will tell you that I'm empty in my head, like for real. I don't even know the name of my Minister two months after he's in position. So, No I'm not a super smart person and I hate math like very much!


During one session in the Leadership class, we did a meditation and we're imagining a story of travelling in a beach and hiking to a hill. During the session we were asked t o imagine a bag full of stones and every stone is representing the weight that weight us down in this life. Either I'm not concentrating enough or else, I don't know, but when I open my "imaginary bag", there's nothing in there, no stones. It's empty.


I feel like an empty headed person for real. 


So, back to the topic. Few weeks ago I apply two internship for the Institute of Water Policy and an Research Assistant job. I think, that's the first two job application I ever sent in my life. I experience a job interview for the IWP and I realize that it didn't going very well as I expected. Maybe the nerve finally get to me. 


a week later (approximately) I got my first ever Job-Application-Rejection, the IWP rejected me. The day after that, I got the second rejection from my Research Assistant application even before an interview process. DARN IT... two in a row for like ever in my life... hahaha...


But hey, it doesn't feel bad... and the world didn't collapsing over me. It does give me a lesson of life though, maybe life is not as easy as what I had in my mind and finding a job might be really hard out there. I am just so lucky to ever had a secure job in my hand.


It might feel like an in-denial person, but I do love my job and I can't see my self working in a hostile environment where it full of competition among the employee. One of the suggestion that I keep hearing is, "I'm not cunning enough"


But rather than seeing the world that way, I would prefer to see the world in my own way. In this moment, my career movement is might be slow and my salary might not be as big as those who worked in the private sector. My job is might not as challenging as those in private sector and the thing is, I'm not that hungry for that either. I have seen my light in the end of a tunnel and I decided to walk through that direction, as it is now. It might be slow, but I think I look that as building my foundation rather than keep complaining about it. 


So, I will keep pursuing my dream through the path that I've decided to go through long time ago and will adapting towards the evolving of the time. I might not ever applying for another job. But during my time here, I would love to taste a whole lot of another rejections from various organizations, so I can learn better to cope with rejection in life. Well, who knows among all those rejection I will find one job that will give me extra money during my time here.. hahaha...


But one thing I know for sure, Challenging your safe zone is always comforting to know that you had a cushion when you fall. Though this might be still not in the category of 'challenging your safe zone' but hey... life is for fun and don't make everything is about an effort to reach it, at some time we should just sit down, enjoy what we have at the moment and to actually thanking God for it...


Good things will happen to good people. So rather than keep pursuing the good things in life, I just focusing all my energy to be "The Good Guy" and surely good things will come to me... somehow, I choose to believe that....

:)


Image Source:

http://thelanternofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/11866617_rejected_without_review_1.jpg

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

3 Stories of Life In the Office

Darn it, I should've study for tomorrow's exam, but my mind keep thinking about writing a blog. so be it....
(I might really be an ADHD.....)
 
Few years back, at several occasion I was trusted to be a speaker for a certain topic related to my work, especially financial and treasurer report. So, my main issue during the session must be lack of participation from the audience, so at several times, I always ran out things to talk about and to fill that gap, I tell them some stories, and these three stories are my favorite.

First story is the story of AN EAGLE AND A CHICKEN.

There's an eagle who always stay on top of a tree and he looks around, here and there he always there. There's a chicken who are coming from the nearest farm passing the same tree that the eagle stay. The chicken always wondering, "Ah, my life is full of hard work here and there looking for food, while the eagle is just standing there, looking around."

So he decided to talk to the eagle, "Hi Eagle, I always look at you and you look like have a good life, can I just sit around all day just like you??" ask the chicken.

"Sure, you may do as you please" said by the Eagle.
So the chicken decided to sit around all day enjoying the view under the tree and just relaxing all day just like the Eagle.

Then came along a fox and looking at the sleeping chicken under the tree, he run swiftly and ate the chicken.

What lesson can you derive from this story?
"If you want to look lazy all day and have relaxing job without having to work hard all day and all night, MAKE SURE YOU'RE IN A HIGH POSITION"
You may jealous looking at your boss, sitting in a room with a comfy chair and looks like doing nothing at all and you're the one busting your ass to do all the work. Yes you can at some point act like the boss, but make sure you're already in the position to do so. In life, there are roles that we suppose to play at a certain time and place. Not everyone can be the boss. 

 The second story is about A BULL AND A CHICKEN.

One day a chicken say to the bull, "I want to be strong like you and be able to climb that tree and reach the top position."

"Sure you can" The Bull said, "You can just eat my shit and gain all the nutrition from it to make your body strong so you can flip your wings harder and jump higher"

Hearing what the Bull said, the Chicken eat his shit right away and he suddenly feels the flow of energy going through his body and by an easy jump and one flap of wings, he can reach the first branch. So every day he eats the shit and jump even higher. One faithful day, he finally reach the top of the tree and scream so happily. From a far, a farmer sees that there's a chicken on top of the tree and he thinks that the chicken is about to runaway from the farm, the farmer took his gun and shot the chicken to death.

What lesson can you derive from the story?
"BULL SHIT CAN TAKE YOU FAR, but it can't keep you there long"
 Well, the lines might have explain it all. In both life and in your work, you might get some hints here and there to make your career path goes faster and easier, but nothing beats the real efforts. If you get too fast and too far, especially if you kick and punch the people around you, you won't stay long in your position, something or someone will eventually bring you back down to earth, possibly not in a nice way.

 The third story is about A BIRD.

 On a winter, one bird and his flock try to make his way to the warmer place. In the middle of the way, the bird feel cold by the breeze of winds and his wings frozen. He fell to the ground covered in snow. He feel even colder and he thinks that he's going to die. 

Then a bull coming, the bird cries for help, "Oh Bull, please save me from this snow, I'm freezing to death..."
The bull then turn his back and throw his shit upon this bird.

"What the f*ck is this, I ask for help and you give me shit?" yell the bird angry as the bull walk away.
But as the time goes, the bird feel the warmth of the shit and it actually helps him in the cold of the snow. He sings so happily.

Then a cat listen sound of a bird singing, he came and he ate the bird.

What lesson can you derive from this story?
"Something you see as shit SOMETIMES might actually HELP YOU and while you're in a trouble and not yet get out of it, don't sing it out loud"
In our life, countless time we get shit from all around us, but wait a minute... take time to analyze it further, because the problem that you get in life might actually make you stronger and make you learn more about your life. With problems, you can learn solution and make you ready for the next problem that will eventually come to you.
And then, once you in a trouble, don't sing it out loud. Don't spread some gossip, don't tell everybody about it. Because those people can actually use that against you. Only talk to the people that actually can help you get through it.

Okay, there the stories go...
I hope you can learn something from them too and might actually help you in your life or in any problems you're facing in your life...
Change your view of shit or problem, because at some point in time, it might actually help you... but don't eat shit to get to the top... all right!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Bell-Curve: Compete or Co-exist

I suddenly remember what my marketing professor in my university once said, "Human beings in this world should try to co-exist in this world rather than to compete all the time."
and it also brought back a quote once posted by a friend of mine that said, "If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together."

In my life I always hate group work because I realize that I cannot move fast inside a group, well it depends on who the group members are. By being in a group, I always believe that there's no longer "I" or "Me" there will be only "we" or "us". I don't like the most when in a group, people keep saying, "I" or "My opinion". And that also the very reason why I don't like group work, because if there're differences in opinions, then as a group, we have to sit together in order to reach a common perspective towards that certain things.


This is where the strongest part and the weakest part or a team work lies. As person, we can't be expected to know all the things in the world. We can only know so much and when we form an opinion, it will be limited to what we know. But on the opposite side, if we want to take a fast action, this will be a good measure to do it. But in a group, we are a collection of several people with different background and knowledge, and as a group we can complete each other, that's where with a group, we can reach a deeper level of understanding and it will make us even a better person because we learn to listen to other people's opinion.


There's a catch to it though, we need a group of open minded person who are willing to open their ear and mind to listen to what others has to say. If we imagine that we all have wall behind us, that is our knowledge, but there are a lot of holes in that wall. How can we perfected our wall if we prevented others to put a brick on that hole in the wall? Well, the thing is, firstly we have to realize that no wall including our wall is perfect. Each of us has a certain brick that can fill the holes that we have in our wall.


But in Singapore, there's a term named Kiasu.

Well, I don't know the exact meaning but the wikipedia said, it means "Fear of losing" so we try everything at our capability to win. Now, the thing about winning is that there can only be one winner. Now if someone said this to you, "There can only be one winner", my question to you would be, "Are you willing to help others???"

The question apply on the bell-curve system, "This year, only 20% of you will going to get A..."


Are you willing to help the other 80% to excel together?

In my point of view, Bell-curve system is good for a stupid-teacher-type-kind-of-thing. So if the teacher teach badly, it will only be fair to the student if the grade is distributed fairly among the students, because it's not fully the student's fault.

On a first sight, Bell curve will foster competition rather than co-existence. 

If we took this to the real world, bell-curve is actually similar to what happen in the real world. All of us are going to compete towards a certain position in an office, because there can be no two bosses on one place. 

I would like to offer you an alternative point of view. Well, basically it's based on my personality of a non-high-achiever. I found it super-weird for myself who aims to be a President. 


If we try so hard to be on top where we kick, punch and push other people that stand in our way, the top position will be a very lonely place to be. What for a high grade and/or high position if we only ended up alone up there? 


From a modern leadership point of view, "Leader nowadays not always have to be the one who stand in front of everybody. Now it more like a rafting in a rapid water where leaders are leading from the back."

All that matters now is working together and people that are willing to listen to you. If you stand in front as a leader but no one wants to listen to you, then it has no meaning at all. Or if you get an A in class but no one wants to be friend with you, it also means nothing. Pure competition will only bring loneliness to our life, but it doesn't mean that we can't be competitive in this life. We can compete with one another but one thing to remember in this life is that we can't exist without the existence of others, so try to have a peaceful co-existence with other people in this life.

If we find others are having difficulties in his/her life why don't we just lend a hand and help them out of their misery. Rather than we just walk pass by them and happy for their misery because we know we can excel on their cost. Instead of we walk that gate of success alone, why don't we walk out of that gate of success hand in hand together? There's no harm in that. If there's such a bell curve, and everyone has the similar score, perhaps... just perhaps, we all can get an A.


Together we can make a narrower distribution of score rather than a very wide of score distribution. Rather than the score range from 100 to 10, Together we can make the score range from 100 to 80 or 90. 


I really hate how the bell-curve applied and the education system who put ban on working together. Because individualism and the bell-curve are not supposed to exist one another. They can foster a highly competitive people who are "Kiasu" (pardon my term). bell-curve is suppose to value on the co-existence instead of competition. 


Well, that's just my opinion. I can't see the wrong in working together as long as the ultimate goal is achieved. No matter it's an individual assignment or more over if it's a group assignment. Now, if the thing that we want to measure is an individual ability, then the correct way is trough exam where we are contained in a room and working together is really prohibited. But as long as there's no contained room, why ban the 'working together' element...?

Well, my favorite is Individual Assignments, but working it together. So we share our knowledge but at the same time, it's an individual thing and if we are disagree at some point, we are still free to be an individual who holds dear to our own idealism.


But one more thing about idealism, always try to keep an open mind because our idealism has to evolved along with the change that happened outside of our own little universe.

So, instead of win alone, Let's WIN TOGETHER....!!!


Image source: 

http://dailytattoo.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/wrist-365-coexist.jpg

Sunday, January 19, 2014

What is Happiness?

A rather deep and meaningful chit chat tonight was talking about HAPPINESS.
It began with a question, Which one do you prefer? A so-so living but with the one you love or a good living without the one you love? tough choice eh?

Now which one do you choose?
My answer was, since I'm an egoistic person, I would say the second option. I prefer a good living without the one I love. The problem lies in me, in my happiness level. I need to feel happy first before I can make other people happy and I need to live my life a good life before I can make someone's live better. So I can't do that if I live in a so-so condition. 

Well, it then moved to the question what defines happiness?
I'm not a man of short word. I can't make my point in 160 characters, so I need to write a whole blog to make my point, hahaha...

Long story short, I just think in the cab on my way back, "Happiness is, if you can see yourself in the mirror and smile... even though the whole world has every reason to bring you down..."

Just like a wise professor once said, "Success doesn't lead to happiness, but with a happy heart, you can create a success of your own."

All this time I always think, "Why if the gas mask fall in the airplane, we have to put the mask on our face first before helping others?"
I always thought of that maybe I should put it to other first before I put it on my self, because I thought that it is the most selfless act. But then I think again, "How can I help others if I ran out of air?"

So actually, by helping myself, I actually make myself capable of helping other and that is not a selfish act. It is the right thing to do. So If I'm not happy, how can I make other people happy?

But everything that happen in this life always finds a way to make our lips frown and out forehead wrinkle-y. The thought of study, the thought of financial issue, the thought of living in another country, the thought of others can easily bring us down. just smile, even though it's a fake one. Smile you bastard smile... 

Worry is one thing that can take happiness away from you. A wise man once said that, "Worry is actually do nothing but take away your smile and make you over-think problems, because it doesn't lessen the problem that you're facing, worry is making it even worse..."

Live in the present. Because you can't change what's happened in the past and you're not an oracle, you can't see the future. Live in the now, there's a reason why they call it present. It makes me remember, back a couple days ago, a professor ask the class to write their goal in the next 5 years time. I wrote, "My personal goal would be live happily on a daily basis"

Now the next question should be, HOW? How can we be happy?
My tips would be, Live in the Positivity.
You can also define happiness as "the ability to see a silver lining through every storm." As dark as a storm may be, but there's always a silver lining to that. As bad as our daily life can be, there must be a silver lining to that. The happiest person on earth would be a person who can see the silver lining and actually take lessons from that. 

Well it is not an easy thing to do, because we sometimes choose to see the negativity, because it's the reality that surrounds the silver lining and we chose to bury our self in the cloud of negativity. Singapore once said to be the unhappiest country in the world, despite the living condition that we can see. If you can really go to the island of Java in Indonesia and see some grandma and grandpa who lives there. They don't have fancy house, fancy food and even fancy beds. But they can live a happy life.

I always think that Happiness is a luxury thing. It's the next step after you gain a financial stability. I always thinks that how can you happy when you have no money? Money can't buy happiness, but believe me when I said that it sure does buy everything else. So every human has to fulfill their basic needs in order to reach happiness. When the basic needs are not even achieved, they will never be happy.

The problem is, the level of the basic needs of every person can differ one to another. One person can feel adequate with riding a bus to the office, but other may feel adequate if they can ride a car to their office. Now the happiness is actually lies in your hands. Where you can see yourself has ENOUGH basic needs?

On the other aspect, as a human being, we have a need in our social life, a self expression and a self fulfillment. We have to assess how our self in the environment where we stay, can you properly be yourself in the place that you wan to be or should you wear several different mask to several different group of people?

Don't get me wrong, some people can wear a mask and still be happy, but it is a fragile state of happiness. There's nothing wrong in getting help from others. Homo Homini Lupus, I hope I state the correct Latin terms of, "Human is a Social Being". So it is important to surround yourself with people who can let you be who you really are. 

But there's a catch to that, hey... don't be selfish and push other to accept us as who we are. Some people are really struggling on that and that's natural. So like a motivational word that I read at Fitness First, "Be Yourself, only better".

You don't have to be someone else. Just be yourself, only better. We human are given with a great tool of adaptation. If you are an introvert working in an extrovert world, hey... it wouldn't hurt to go out there and explore the world once in a while. You don't have to be someone else, You can still be yourself, only better. 
As one HRD master once said, "There's no bad personalities, just bad placement"

When we can express our self the way we want to be in the world that may or may not reject us, hey you can cast away the "worry" that stays in your heart and can actually living your life to its fullest and simply smile and be happy. 


So tonight I look in a mirror... Though most of my day was spent alone, but I had a nice walk this morning with a friend and a nice conversation tonight with another friend which I am proud to call them Friends. I look at my reflection in my mirror and hey, that man is smiling. A soft upward curve on his lips. So I can conclude that today I am having a wonderful day and I am happy...

I wish I can sleep with that smile on my face tonight.
I have no worries of what happen tomorrow, because tomorrow is going to be my PRESENT in a few hours and I can't wait to see what the world has in store for me. 
I close my eyes tonight on positivity, a silver lining that I found through a dark storm. A reason that I can draw a smile upon my face, a reason that I can claim happiness as my own for the day.

Wish you all can find your ow path to pursue your happiness.
And I wish I can live a happy live on a daily basis.
:)


image source:
http://s4.cdn.happinessxing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/happyball.jpg

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Dubbing Dillemma

Selama libur kali ini, di televisi QQ sangat dimanjakan dengan banyaknya hiburan berupa film-film animasi box office yang ditayangkan di televisi lokal. Tapi yang bikin QQ merasa ngenes tuh adalah kadang dubbing-nya itu menyedihkan. Oke kadang pengisi suaranya sih nggak ancur-ancur banget, yang ancur itu adalah proses penerjemahan dari bahasa Inggris ke bahasa Indonesia-nya.

Kalo kita memperhatikan dialog-dialog yang terjadi, kadang yang sering terjadi adalah kita mengerenyitkan dahi karena bingung, "itu maksudnya apa?" atau "Kayanya ga nyambung deh." Apalagi yang mungkin udah pernah nonton film aslinya dalam bahasa Inggris dan mengerti, tiba-tiba kok merasa jadi nggak ngerti ama jalan cerita film ketika diterjemahkan ke bahasa Indonesia.

Sebenernya QQ juga heran, kenapa film harus di-dubbing? demografi mana yang disasar oleh dubbing ini?
Kalo misalkan bahasa Cina atau Jepang, okelah di-dubbing karena memang untuk bahasa itu nggak terlalu banyak yang memahaminya. Tapi kalo bahasa Inggris, malah bagusan pake bahasa Inggris dengan subtitle bahasa Indonesia. Jadi biar anak-anak lebih terbiasa mendengar bahasa Inggris dan bisa sambil belajar.

Tapi kadang QQ mikir, apa sasaran film ini tuh anak-anak 5 tahun kebawah? yang belum bisa membaca? sehingga film harus di-dubbing?

Masalahnya adalah, menurut QQ, film animasi tuh malah seharusnya tidak boleh ditonton oleh anak dibawah 5 tahun. Karena, contoh aja Spongebob, menurut QQ itu adalah kartun remaja, bukan kartun anak-anak. Apalagi bangsa-bangsa The Simpson dan Family Guy... bisa aja itu film kartun, tapi itu tidak pantas ditonton anak kecil. 

Satu lagi, film animasi biasanya lebih ekstrim karena tidak menggunakan aktor manusia, jadi lompat, terbang, jatuh semuanya lebih ekstrim. Tanpa pengawasan dan bimbingan yang cukup, anak kecil akan dengan mudah meniru perilaku dalam film itu dengan sangat mudah. Jadi anak kecil yang nonton film animasi haruslah disertai orang tua atau sudah cukup memahami mana yang seharusnya tidak ditiru.

Jadi seharusnya memang film-film ya dibiarkan saja sebagaimana adanya, gunakan saja bahasa Inggris, namun dengan subtitle bahasa Indonesia. Tapi seperti yang QQ kemukakan sebelumnya, masalah dengan dubbing adalah di penerjemahan bahasa Inggris-nya. Bukannya bilang QQ ahli banget yaaa... tapi contohnya aja nih pagi ini QQ nonton Hoodwinked, kenapa? Karena QQ suka banget film ini. Meskipun animasinya nggak sebagus Pixar, tapi film ini punya pesan dan parodi yang lucu dari cerita Red Riding Hood.

Pagi ini QQ nonton dalam dubbing bahasa Indonesia dan dalam beberapa dialognya ada yang aneh, btw, iya, QQ hapal beberap dialognya dalam bahasa Inggrisnya.... hahaha...

Ini pas Serigala ama si Tupai Kecil terjebak oleh arahan si Kelinci dan mereka masuk kedalam sungai di dalam sebuah gua. kemudian si Serigala bilang ke Tupai, "We're in a pickle" yang kalo dalam bahasa Indonesia, artinya tuh kurang lebih, "Kita dalam masalah" tapi melalui proses penerjemahan ke bahasa Indonesia, dubbing Indonesia bilangnya, "Kita berada di dalam acar"

Whaaaaaaaaaat?????
Kita berada di dalam acar???
Apa pula itu maksudnya?

We're in a pickle dalam bahasa Inggris adalah sebuah istilah, yang artinya ya tadi, kita berada dalam sebuah masalah.

Oke, mari kita lanjut ke contoh kedua. Dalam sebuah interogasi ketika Nick Flipper menginterogasi Serigala dan si Serigala bercerita bahwa dia dihajar oleh Red Riding Hood karena sebuah salah paham, Nick berkata, "So you took a beat out of a girl?" dan ketika diterjemahkan ke dubbing Indonesia menjadi, "Jadi kamu mengambil sebuah pemukul dari anak perempuan?"

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat???
Mengambil sebuah pemukul dari seorang anak perempuan???
"Took a beat out" tuh kalo ga salah sebuah istilah yang kurang lebih artinya adalah "dihajar" Jadi penerjemahan yang tepat adalah, "Jadi kamu dihajar anak perempuan?" bukannya mengambil sebuah pemukul.

Masalah dalam terjemahan-terjemahan barusan adalah proses penerjemahannya terlalu literally alias terlalu harfiah. Jadi penterjemahannya tuh terlalu kata per kata, padahal ada kata-kata yang ketika digabungkan, jadi membentuk idiom atau istilah tertentu yang artinya kadang sangat berbeda dari penterjemahannya secara harfiah.

Contoh lain:
Hit the ceiling : marah karena habis kesabaran.
Jadi misalkan kita menjelaskan sama seseorang, udah pelan-pelan dan penuh kesabaran... tapi tuh orang ga ngerti juga. Ceiling disini adalah "batas kesabaran" jadi kalo udah sampe hit alias nabrak batasa kesabaran itu, jadilah kita marah atau kesal.
Artinya adalah itu dan bukannya, "Menabrak langit-langit"

Kadang sebuah film yang seharusnya komedi, ketika diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Indonesia dengan penerjemahan yang harfiah, film itu malah menjadi aneh dan ga lucu blas. 

Hal-hal kaya inilah yang membuat QQ kalo nonton televisi Indonesia malah jadinya makin stress... hahaha...
Pilihan-pilihannya tuh begitu dilematis. Berita yang isinya berita buruk semua, Infotaiment yang isinya bullshit semua, sinetron yang isinya orang-orang ngomong sendiri dalam pikirannya, dan film animasi yang di-dubbing, malah kadang film barat yang bertema anak-anak juga di-dubbing juga. 

Kalo tiap kali QQ garuk kepala, sehelai rambut jatuh... udah botak licin kali sekarang. hahaha...
Indonesia memerlukan professional di bidang penerjemahan agar penerjemahan dari bahasa asing lebih tepat dan sesuai dengan maksudnya. 

Bayangkan kalo ini terjadi di text-book. Betapa menyesatkannya penerjemahan ini bagi orang-orang yang menggunakan text-book tersebut. Sebenernya emang lebih mudah jika kita semua bisa langsung mengerti dalam bahasa aslinya karena kita akan lebih bisa menangkap apa makna yang sebenarnya ingin disampaikan si penulis atau sebuah film. Namun memang tidak semua orang bisa merasakan keistimewaan seperti itu (terjemahan dari, not everybody have the luxury of it, moga aja sesuai... hahaha...) 

Faktanya adalah pendidikan bahasa asing di Indonesia masih bersifat terbatas. boro-boro mau Bahasa Cina, bahasa Jepang, bahasa Perancis.... Bahasa Inggris aja masih sulit.... eh malah jangan-jangan, Bahasa Indonesia saja masih sulit... hahahaha...
Maka itulah, professional di bidang penerjemahan ini sangat dibutuhkan.

Hmm.... tapi kadang QQ berpikir... ini yang masalahnya di dubbing-nya atau masalahnya karena QQ udah 29 tahun dan masih aja nonton film-film kartun? hahahaha....
#LanjutNonton


image source:
http://99translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/tranas.jpg

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Year of 2014

I really would like to think that December 31, 2013 moved to January 1, 2014 is just another day changing. Another 24 hour just passed and a new day has come, but so many people are making a great deal of it and celebrate it. Well, I think I'll just go with the flow. Well, it is special, like any other day because I'm so grateful that I'm still breathing even though I woke up with a heavy headache on the first day of 2014. 

Look back on what I want to do last year, I want to have a great body that's one, and look at me now, almost 90 kg and no extra height. So the growth is not going up, but going wide. Well, I kinda forget all my other so-called resolution, hahaha... That's the only one I remember because it really the one that I really want to achieve, but look at me now. Eh, wait a minute... No, Don't look at me now... hmmm, maybe look at me in another year, who know that in 2015 I'll be having a great body. So hold your eyes for another year... hahaha...

Well, that's what I want to do. In regards of wishes, I always wishes for the same thing every year, Facial Hair and Chest Hair... Why won't it grow on me... aaargggh...!!!

Yeah, my new year resolutions are sucks. Hahaha.....
Maybe it's because part of me thinks that it really is impossible, just like growing a good hair on my chest. As I remember the reason that I wrote on the gym application a few years back on "Why I want to have a great body?" Well, my answer is quite simple, "To make my friend jealous." Yeah, it's singular not plural... hahaha...

 Oh right, there is actually a plan that really come true during 2013. To continue my master degree on a scholarship. Well, at that time I actually think to continue my master degree in Indonesia because I always think that it's going to be hard to write my theses in English. Man, I had to work hard in finishing my bachelor degree's theses in Bahasa Indonesia and If I had to do that in English, it's going to be like 10 times harder. Even if I had to do my master degree outside of Indonesia, I was thinking maybe it would be Australia or Japan... Hey, but look at me now... I'm in Singapore. Hahahaha... It is an accident that I'm super glad that it happened. 

There's a saying that I once saw on some bus at Jakarta, in English it says almost like, "Man Propose, God Dispose." In this life, we may have a lot of thing that we want. But the thing is there's a very significance difference between what we want and what we need. Now what we should have is what we need and what we need is sometimes always not what we want. I would like to give the judgement to God. The Almighty and All-Knowing God. 

So if until now my facial hair and chest hair won't grow, maybe it's because God says that it's not what I need up until now, hahaha... Though I really want it.

So, making a new year resolution is not my thing, because I would never taking it seriously. My thing is not to live on a yearly basis, maybe that's why I can never think of new year as something special. I live on a daily basis. Every new day is a new experience and learning and most of all is that I live every day to its fullest. OMG, maybe that's why it's so hard to make me reach a long-term goal.

The end of 2013 was marked with two B. Yeah, my grade for the two modules for the first semester. If you ask me if I'm satisfy of it, my answer would be OH F*CKING NO, but darn it, I'm GRATEFUL for it. I want to believe that I could be better than that, but I gave my all for that double B. Well I don't want to be a grade-oriented person, because I don't want my life to be boring, but darn it, I can't afford to be cheerful and smart, hahaha... in other word, yeah I'm kinda not smart enough.

The thing is that I think, it's not that easy here in Singapore. Well, regardless about the cursed bell-curve grading system, maybe I just have to face the fact that I haven't give my all, well... it's easier that accepting that I'm not smart enough for this campus. hahaha... I just have to try even harder than before ever in my life. 

Well, it could be my resolution... To study harder...
Oh I really wish I can make that happen. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but when I step my foot back to Singapore, my old jargon will coming back... "Part-time student and full-time tourist" hahaha.... I just simply want to have fun every time and I don't think study is one of them... 

Aaaaargh... I really should turn my point of view like 180 degrees at least. I should love study. Maybe I should went to a therapist and having him hypnotherapy me so I can love study as much as I love everything else.... hahaha....

Oooh God, to think that I have to study hard in 2014 is already depressed me. Maybe I should really stand in front of a mirror and questioning my priority in life. why mirror?? Nah, I just love to look at my self. hahaha...

Oh God... I still cannot take this seriously....

Yeah, rather than taking everything seriously and setting some target, I would prefer just give my best (even though I don't know if it really is my best) on a daily basis and just hope for the best result. Rather than obsessed for some goals and forget to enjoy the process. 

New year always means new hopes, but my hope will always be the same... Great Body, Facial Hair and Chest Hair... hahahaha....

Well a wise man once said, "Success is not the key to happiness, but Happiness is the key to success" Well I really wish that he's darn right because that's what I'm trying to do. Live a happy life and I hope with a happy heart, I can lead to a successful life.  

Well I can't wait to see the surprises that 2014 holds for me, I hope they are all good things. If I can live everyday with a smile on my face and less wrinkles on my forehead, I think that will be good enough for me.


image source:
http://wallpaperich.com/new-year-2014-4352-hd-wallpapers.html