23.11.17

Those Who Can't Do, Teach (?)

WRONG. Totally wrong. Here's why.

I must say, having a teaching experience is always something else for me. Considering my forever-felt-anxiety strikes every time I take courage to raise my hand, volunteering myself to speak or just having people recognize me, like "hey, I'm exist!" (kind of), well it was just something. And maybe because I'm getting used to this, I now have a good time and starting to enjoy.

Salah satu pemateri di Training for Trainers pra pendidikan BPS; tinta di atas kertas biasa. Original picture by me.
Karena beda loh, maju ke depan, present something, dengan mengajar. Hmm ada persamaannya siih. Misalnya, sama-sama siap pasang badan dihakimi, sama-sama ada ekspektasi dari penontonnya, juga sama-sama butuh persiapan hehe. Kalau ditanya "susah mana", hmm saya pribadi sih menganggap "ngajar" itu lebih susah.

Gini, lho. Ketika presentasi - taro lah, memaparkan topik tertentu pada saat rapat kerja, kita tuh sudah tahu kalau audiens itu tahu apa yang kita paparkan. Maksudnya gini, tidak ada orang yang datang ke sebuah rapat tanpa tahu minimal judul dan garis besar topik rapatnya. Maka tugas si presenter akan lebih mudah dalam mengarahkan dan menyamakan persepsi dengan audiens. Istilahnya tuh kadang mereka datang ke rapat hanya untuk re-konfirmasi atau menanyakan hal-hal yang kurang jelas saja. Apalagi kalau audiens-nya bos-bos, bisa-bisa kamu presentasi hanya untuk dihakimi hehe. Mereka expect kamu tahu dan bisa jawab semua re-konfirmasi yang mereka ajukan. Itu saja!

9.5.17

01.04.17 Urban Sketching Report

At first it's quite a long tough thought to report this event (because it was happened more than a month ago lol), but then I decide to challenge myself to recall the memory because yeah, I LOVE THIS EVENT SO VERY MUCH - I think I can remember a lot of detail.

So let's begin with how I discover this event.

I've been following a lot of artsy Instagram accounts lately. If you look closely to my following list on my Ig (self-endorse detected lol) you can find them easily. And I don't follow only one kind of arts style, I follow a lot of them from comics to doodle, from fashion to children illustration, etc. and today I found out that urban sketching is also a thing! I was into architectural kind of drawing (did I tell you that I once wanted to be an architect? Too bad, I was really bad at mathematics and similar engineering-starter-pack stuff lol) for so long only I never knew that we can actually draw ones without: ruler!

Lol.

To be honest ruler and eraser are not my favorite drawing tools.

Long story short, I found that event on Indonesia Sketcher's instagram and at first I didn't interested because it was in Jakarta - too far from my place. Luckily, my boss asked me to attend a business meeting in Bogor two days before that event so I finally could join (yeayy!).

Dari sini gue pake Bahasa Indonesia ajalah lagi pusing kebanyakan kerja (pfft). Btw ini bakalan panjangg banget!

First time urban sketching at Pasar Palmerah.

18.3.17

Ketika Semangat Berliterasi Pergi - dan Kembali

Ada dua alasan utama mengapa kita pada umumnya mengenal lalu mencintai dia. Satu, KMGP - Ketika Mas Gagah Pergi; dan dua, Annida. Kebanyakan orang memilih yang pertama daripada yang ke dua. Tetapi yang ke dua tidak bisa terlepas dari yang pertama karena genre baru (baru, pada waktu itu) yang dilahirkannya muncul subur pada yang ke dua. Sementara saya, waktu yang pertama muncul saya mungkin masih SD. Dunia saya masih sangat sempit sesempit majalah Bobo dan Donald hehe. Makanya, ketika saya SMP (sekitar 2002), saya pernah les bahasa Inggris dimana sang pemilik mempunyai sebuah perpustakaan kecil yang sering saya sambangi - dengan koleksi buku yang saya belum pernah temukan sebelumnya bernama "fiksi Islami"; maka di situlah akhirnya saya diperkenalkan dengan yang ke dua. Ya. Berkat alasan tersebut saya jadi jatuh cinta dengan beliau: Helvy Tiana Rosa.

HTR as seen on IG, as drawn by me.
Membicarakan Bunda Helvy, sebagaimana beliau biasa disapa oleh penggemarnya, memang selalu bikin saya terharu dan excited sendiri. Bagaimana tidak, bisa dibilang, kesukaan saya menulis, walaupun tidak benar-benar berawal darinya akan tetapi banyak sekali dipengaruhi oleh beliau. Ah, sebenarnya Annida secara umum sih. Tapi sebagai salah satu pendiri Annida (dan FLP), bagaimana kamu bisa tidak kagum dengan beliau yang tetap teguh menulis sambil berdakwah lewat karya-karyanya yang demikian indah nan menggugah?

Ketika SMP saya menemukan banyak majalah Annida edisi lama di tempat les tersebut - Oxford Course namanya, saya seringkali meminjam majalah tersebut ke rumah. Tidak jarang juga saya bawa ke sekolah dan ditunjukkan ke teman saya yang juga senang membaca - sebut saja Risma. Sampe hapal waktu itu, siapa saja yang sering nulis di situ dan cerpennya seperti apa. Biasanya setelahnya kita akan membahas cerpen-cerpen di dalamnya terutama cerpen karya Bunda Helvy. Kita memang sama sekali bukan apresiator yang baik apalagi kritikus hehe. Tapi kita sebagai anak SMP saja tahu kalau cerpennya beliau itu tidak hanya keren secara bahasa akan tetapi juga cerita. Kalau sekarang kita perhatikan ya, beberapa penulis (fiksi, terutama yang genre-nya Islami) banyak yang terjebak pakem berlebih-lebihan dalam mempuitisasi tulisan. Padahal ceritanya biasa aja (imho looohh) terus gak tau kenapa, dia best seller zzzz. Hmm saya berani bilang, karyanya Bunda Helvy itu tidak demikian. Semuanya serba pas dan tidak berlebihan. Termasuk, kandungan dakwah di dalamnya.

12.3.17

Weird Habit(s) on How I Read Book(s)

Remember that I once ranted about how much my interests in reading keep lower and lower these days and I feel sad about it. I mean, reading is one of my proudly bragged hobby (lol) and if I don't read, what will I be? Last year I possibly only succeed to read one book or two (Lame, no?). Think about it, I might have a lot of spare time and those time I mostly overuse it for (sigh), yeah, fixated on my cell phone - while I could have a lot of stuff added into my brain by reading my piling books. Well, most of them are fiction but I always believe that every book has its lesson and the worst thing in life in my opinion is when you fail to use the most of your resources - mubazir-ism heheh. So, not reading your purchased books is one deed of mubazir-ism and we don't want that to be happened again, do we?

So fortunately my reading-passion (forgive my bad naming for this lol) is actually increasing since early this month. Until today I've finished reading 6 books (yayyy): Jodoh Monica by Alberthiene Endah; 19+ by Boim Lebon; Wanita Muda Di Sebuah Hotel Mewah - Kumpulan Cerpen by Hamsad Rangkuti; Klub Solidaritas Suami Hilang - Kumpulan Cerpen Kompas 2013; Kau Sudah Mati by Jack Lance; The Ghost by Robert Harris. Not to mention about those half-read books piling beside my pillow on my bed. Yes, my copy of Pulang by Leila S. Chudori that has not finished yet, along with Kamu by Sabda Armandio that I've been lost interest to since I don't remember when. Such an achievement if you remember my laziness of reading last year.

My books are beside me.
Told you my hobbies are seasonal. I even haven't made drawing again since February :( And before my reading-hobby decided to dormant again, let me tell you about my reading habit and how it is difficult for me to pick where I left of when reading discontinuously. Oh, I forget to tell you that I need extra focus when I read and when I stop more than a week, I probably forget what I've been reading. Here's why.

First

I have to pick which book I have to read. This depends on my mood, tho. Like last week I want to read short story so I picked one (that Hamsad Rangkuti book). And this week I've been craving for thriller - darker, better - so I chose Jack Lance's. Etc.

4.2.17

That Just-In-Case Stuff and Where You Put Them

This is very embarrassing but after all these years of denial, I finally need to agree with them easy-going-don't-care-for-style girls and have to reconsider my choice of: BAG. Yes, bag is an essential part of women (hehe) like we cannot going around without carrying our bags. For a woman who works like me, choosing a bag is one factor because I walk about 300 meters from my place to the office everyday carrying my bag (full of my 'just-in-case' stuff). I don't really carry a lot of stuff, tho. But still, the right bag is necessary.

And why do I suddenly think this way? I don't really have problems with my daily bag before today. Yeah. Another clumsiness kills so I have this aching right shoulder for two weeks (tears).
My daily bag.
Yaaa jadi ceritanya dua minggu lalu saya jatuh terperosok ke dalam lubang yang dalam (jirr bahasa apa ini). Saya lupa yaa waktu itu memang 'gak seberapa sakit sih tapi malunya lebih nyakitin karena diliatin orang-orang haha. Pas nyampe kosan, saya baru sadar kaki saya lebam binti lecet dengan tangan kanan yang tiba-tiba pegel kayak mau copot.

Sehingga saya 'gak bisa pake tas kerja saya yang biasanya: that brown Mayonette handbag I adore so much (huhu). Ini juga menyadarkan sih bahwa sebelum saya jatuh itu saya memang kadang sakit bahu yang kemungkinan besar disebabkan oleh pilihan tas yang kurang ergonomis.

Barang bawaan saya cukup banyak sih. Orang bilang, isi tas kita itu isinya barang-barang just-in-case semua. Siapa tau butuh gitu. Tapi gak benar-benar selalu diperlukan. Kayak saya, selain dompet dan hand phone, isi tas saya itu ya benda-benda untuk aktivitas "menunggu". Hand phone, headset, pulpen, sketch book, note book, just book, hehe. Makanya karena isi tas saya gak bisa diringkas lagi, akhirnya saya memutuskan pake tas punggung. :(

Buat saya ini tuh lumayan big deal sih.

29.1.17

Swatch Switch (My Smart Phone Screed)

As you know, my Nexus 5 was broken several days before 2017. I know, it's like an ugly ending for him (I called my phone as "him" lol) and I was sad because he's been with me for almost 2 years. I haven't use the same mobile phone for more than 2 years until him. Not a bragging but nowadays people got bored with smart phone like 5 seconds after they purchased it, considering there are a lot of new type of smart phone offered in the market in a year. Me? My problem with smart phone is not that "boring" thing, it was simply because I couldn't use it anymore (broken stuff). Like, I purchased Samsung three times and they are running out of battery too soon (talking about defect battery life). My Blackberry track pad is also broken I couldn't use it anymore. Lately my Nexus was broken because I dropped him like too often and finally I couldn't turn him on until now. Clumsy me :(
My Broken Nexus 5 :(
Me and my Nexus 5 has a special relationship. After I got him, I never have the urge to buy another phone. I'm a regular Android user, tho. I don't build programs whatsoever so probably I like him very much because of his looks, his interface (slightly different from regular Android phones, the "back" button is on the left - I'm not a lefty tho), and his 'hipster'-ish feeling because he's so rare now. He's so nice to hold on my tiny hand, and I used to tired holding my mobile phone all the time until him. So, having him broken was a great loss for me.

Greater loss when I remember that I only have it backed up on October, so the data after that is erased. Including my parents' photos taken in Bali (have another photos on my Sony Cyber-shot DSC TX20 but not too many left there). I once left my Nexus 5 on a cab while arriving at the airport. Lucky me, the man in the information center lend me his phone so I could call my own phone and the cab's driver picked it. He was kindly return to the airport and handed me back my phone alhamdulillah. I was like, should I have a back up phone? Nowadays people have more than one phone. But NO. I always bring my laptop everywhere and my number is connected to my emails (mostly connected every way, including my social medias - security risks talking) so I'll stay with only one number - one only way to reach me (and I rarely pick up any phone-call lol sorry).

14.1.17

Formula Anti Gila

I am actually in the middle of working - cie, kerja teross. Gak sih, soalnya kemarin sempat bolos satu setengah hari gara-gara HxNx - oke, kita biasa menyebutnya "flu" - sehingga saya merasa sudah terlalu lama libur tanpa cuti dan harus mengganti gap kosong yang kemarin saya tinggalin (still, "cie, kerja teross").

Baiklah. Saya ada deadline. Dia menunggu di pojok sana. Sendiri. Menatap sambil mengancam akan mematikan lampu. Mengingatkan bahwa listrik adalah sesuatu yang memberi nyawa pada apa yang sedang saya kerjakan. Dan saya malah menggambar, menggunakan listrik untuk sesuatu yang lain seperti main-main dengan Photoshop dan bahkan sekarang sedang menulis entry blog di sini. Oke. Dia menatap saya tambah tajam sekarang.

Haruskah saya lari sekarang? Soalnya untuk memenuhi si deadline ini, saya butuh energi. Energi saya lagi kurang banget. Flu dan beberapa hal gak penting sedang menguras energi saya. OMG makin dibiarkan, makin mau gila.

Inspired by Nala Cat. Colored pencil and water color on plain paper. With ink and a help of Photoshop CC.
Analoginya begitu sih. Dan ini gak terjadi sekali aja. Sudah berkali-kali. Agaknya tiap tahun begini banget deh. Di saat inspirasi sangat dibutuhkan dan harus dieksekusi, eh yang terjadi macam-macam: sakit flu, malas, futur, bengong, gak fokus, malas. Hehe. Termasuk, ada pengaruh dari perasaan kehilangan akibat ditinggalkan beberapa orang (atau hal) sekaligus. Yah, saya agak sensitif terhadap 'ditinggalkan'. Dalam beberapa kasus ini sangat merugikan sih, misalnya kita jadi melakukan banyak tugas sementara menunggu pengganti manusia-manusia (atau hal-hal) yang pergi.
It seems that the whole world is against me now. - January 6, 2017.
Oleh karena itu saya menjadi manic! Mmm gak tau deh apa istilah ini tepat. Pokoknya ada saat di mana kamu lagi banyak ide yang pengen diungkapkan tapi yang terjadi adalah, kamu mandeg. Kemudian cemas 'gak jelas, waswas dan sebagainya. Juga ada rasa g'ak percaya sama orang (atau hal), takut 'gak sejalan dan sebagainya. Mendengarkan musik pun jadi nyakitin kuping gitu. Entah karena sulit ngaturin prioritas ataukah kamu memang bukan eksekutor yang baik. Dan saat itu terjadi, kadar antusiasme yang kamu dapat dari sekitarmu ternyata kurang banyak! Gak heran si manic ini semakin menjadi-jadi.