Pulang Kampung yuk....

Setiap tahun menjelang Idul Fitri tiba penduduk Jakarta yang berasal dari daerah lain berbondong-bondong untuk pulang ke kampung halamannya masing-masing untuk bersilaturahmi dengan sanak keluarga. Kemacetan yang biasanya terjadi di jalan-jalan ibukota sekarang berpindah ke jalan-jalan luar kota. Masa-masa ini adalah masa yang paling menyenangkan untuk mereka yang tetap tinggal di ibukota selama libur Lebaran karena tidak ada kemacetan dan Jakarta sangat lengang tidak seperti yang biasa kita lihat sehar-hari.

Saya dan keluarga besar adalah satu dari sekian ribu orang yang melaksanakan tradisi mudik setiap tahun. Suatu keharusan yang sudah dijalankan sejak kakek saya masih hidup, tapi sekarang kami menjalaninya sebagai salah satu bagian dari ritual Lebaran. Kami rela berjam-jam kena macet demi melaksanan Lebaran di kota kelahiran tercinta, walaupun semua cucu lahir di Jakarta (termasuk saya) kita para cucu sudah terbiasa dengan ritual ini dan juga menjalaninya dengan senang hati. Tahun lalu perjalanan yang ditempuh dari Jakarta ke Tasik adalah 12 jam by driving... yup... 12 long hours, berangkat dari Jakarta jam 5 sore dan sampai di Tasik jam 5 pagi.. perjalanan yang sangat melelahkan. But all the fatigues was washed away with warm welcome from my grandma and some of my family who were there before us.

Di umur saya yang sudah tidak muda lagi tapi juga belum terlalu tua ini, baru 2 kali saya merayakan Lebaran di Jakarta dan rasanya tidak sama dengan merayakan Lebaran di Tasikmalaya. Pada malam takbir (malam terakhir sebelum Idul Fitri) terdengar suara takbir berkumandang di mesjid-mesjid sekitar rumah dan juga suara perang petasan antar kampung, hal yang tidak bisa dialami di Jakarta.

My grandma lives in the village called Cisayong, yup.. that's explain my blog name: Cisayong-girl... :D
Ayah dan ibu saya berasal dari desa yang sama, uhm.. menurut kabar adalah kakek saya membawa ayah saya kehadapan ibu untuk diperkenalkan.. well sekedar kenal tapi ternyata cinta bersemi dan voila... inilah saya...
Saya tidak malu mengakui bahwa orang tua saya berasal dari kota kecil, saya bangga bahwa walaupun kami sudah tinggal di Jakarta bertahun-tahun tapi masih tetap ingat akan tanah asal usul.

Ritual pulang kampung ini juga dimanfaatkan sebagai liburan sejenak dari kepenatan dan kemacetan Jakarta, senang sekali rasanya bisa menghirup udara pegunungan yang segar dan bebas dari polusi, memandangi hijaunya sawah, memancing ikan di kolam sendiri self service.. mancing ikan bakar ikan dan makan ikan.. kegiatan yang sangat menyenangkan bukan :).. Berkumpul dengan keluarga besar dan bertukar cerita juga kegiatan yang menyenangkan, tapi juga sekaligus menyeramkan dan sedikit menyebalkan.. terutama buat saya yang masih belum bisa membawa pulang seorang lelaki dengan status pasangan seumur hidup, pertanyaan yang bertubi-tubi pasti datang dan harus siap-siap dengan mental baja untuk tidak terpancing memperkeruh situasi..

Ah well... what the hell with what people say about me, saya yang paling tahu diri saya sendiri dan ini hidup saya tidak ada orang lain yang berhak mengatur saya. Jadi saya tidak akan menjadikannya sebagai beban tapi saya mencoba berfikir positif bahwa keluarga care pada saya walaupun cara yang ditunjukan sedikit menyebalkan.

Untuk tahun ini saya berdoa semoga tidak semacet tahun lalu, mudah-mudahan jarak tempuh Jakarta - Tasik bisa ditempuh dalam waktu normal 5 - 6 jam driving not 12 long hours like last year. If you happen to see arus mudik news on TV, please wave cos I might be down there stuck for hours in traffic jam :))

These photos taken on last year Idul Fitri, view from my grandma's house...

TAINTED BABY FORMULA

China's toxic milk scare widens

1,250 infants stricken with kidney stones; New Zealand says it warned Beijing
Sep 16, 2008 04:30 AM

BEIJING–China was bracing for more bad news today amid mounting fears that the death toll from the country's contaminated baby formula scandal is about to climb.

China's deputy health minister said yesterday a second death had been confirmed and more than 1,250 babies now suffer from kidney stones after drinking the formula laced with melamine sold by Chinese dairy company Sanlu.

Melamine is a chemical used in making plastics. It is banned in food production.

Deputy minister Ma Xiaowei told reporters that of the 1,250 babies affected, more than 350 are hospitalized – and 53 of them are in "serious" condition.

"Emergency medical care for the affected infants must become our top priority," Ma said. "We must do everything in our power to protect their health and safety ... and prevent further deaths."

But as he spoke the scandal appeared to broaden and deepen.

Police have questioned nearly 80 people, detained 19, and charged two men – brothers who ran a milk collection business – with "producing and selling toxic and hazardous food."

State news agency Xinhua said it is believed the pair added melamine to the milk to boost nitrogen levels, which would falsely increase protein readings to pass tests.

The agency also reported there is now evidence that the melamine might have been present in Sanlu's formula since late 2007.

And in New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark embarrassingly revealed that it was her government – not China's – that "blew the whistle" on the deadly scandal, alerting Beijing.

Clark learned of the contamination from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, a minority shareholder in Sanlu.

Fonterra had been trying since early August, when the presence of melamine was confirmed, to persuade Sanlu to halt production of the formula in China and announce an immediate recall. But the provincial government in Hebei, south of Beijing, where Sanlu is headquartered was dragging is feet.

Clark convened her senior ministers within 72 hours, then ordered them to leapfrog the Chinese provincial authorities – and deal directly with the more powerful central government in Beijing.

A recall was announced in China the next day, Sept. 11.

"We were the whistle-blowers and they leapt in and ensured that there was action on the ground," Clark told TV New Zealand. "At a (Chinese) local level ... I think the first inclination was to try to put a towel over it and deal with it without an official recall."

She commended China's central government for moving swiftly.

But troubling – and potentially explosive – is the timing of Fonterra's blocked efforts.

Fonterra said it had learned of the contamination problem in early August – less than one week before Beijing's prestigious Olympic Games – and immediately pushed Sanlu to announce a recall.

"We as a minority shareholder had to continue to push Sanlu," Fonterra chief Andrew Ferrier explained to reporters in New Zealand on a video-conference call from Singapore. "Sanlu had to work with its own government to follow the procedures that they were given.

"We, together with Sanlu, have done everything that we possibly could to get the product off the shelf," Ferrier said.

But they were blocked.

Whether provincial regulators feared the central government would not brook a high-profile food scare on the brink of the Olympic Games is a legitimate question.

Last year China was rocked by successive health scares involving toothpaste, tires, toys – even medicines – and the Chinese government took extraordinary steps to improve oversight and inspection to assure the world's athletes that coming to Beijing would not involve a food-safety hazard.

But a health scare involving infant formula just days before the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies would have had a chilling effect on spectators and athletes – and would not have been welcomed by China's central government.

A news report in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post during the Games said senior editors at mainland Chinese news media had been handed "a 21-point directive" on how to report the Olympics from the central government's Propaganda Department – to which all Chinese media are accountable. On that list, the report said, No. 8 cautioned against reporting "all food safety issues."

Beijing Olympic Committee officials denied the existence of such a document.

Last night – a week after it publicly denied any wrongdoing – Sanlu apologized to the Chinese public.

At the company's headquarters, Sanlu vice-president Zhang Zhenling said: "The serious accident of the Sanlu formula milk powder for infants has caused severe harm to many sickened babies and their families. We feel really sad about this.

"Sanlu Group expresses its most sincere apology to you."

State media said the two confirmed dead were from Lanzhou in Gansu province.

Another news from CNN. September 18, 2008 -- Updated 1010 GMT (1810 HKT China: Fourth baby dies from tainted formula

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Chinese officials in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region reported the death of a fourth baby Thursday in the country's expanding contaminated infant formula case. The tainted milk powder has already sickened more than 6,200 babies.

Earlier in the day, authorities announced the arrest of 12 more suspects in the investigation, provincial police said.

The arrests bring to 18 the number of people detained, according to the Hebei Public Security Bureau.

Twelve of those arrested are involved in the collection of milk and the production of milk products, authorities said. Authorities accuse the other six of illegally selling the chemical added to the milk.

More than 1,300 infants are hospitalized, said Li Changjiang, China's director of quarantine and inspection, on Wednesday. Their conditions include malnutrition, kidney stones and acute renal failure.

Read here for full article.

These are just 2 from many articles you can find in internet, I just can't believe that there are people who actually willing to harm innocent baby for the sake or profit and money.

And Sanlu Group think they will get away with this just with sincere apology!! How about you think again before you decide to do such thing people!!!

I feel sorry for those babies :(

What is marketing?

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and say:

"I am very rich. Marry me!"

- That's Direct Marketing -



2. You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl.

One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says:

"He's very rich. Marry him!"

- That's Advertising -



3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and get her telephone number.

The next day, you call and say:

"Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me!"

- That's Telemarketing -



4. You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.

You get up and straighten your tie,

you walk up to her and pour her a drink,

you open the door (of the car) for her,

pick up her bag after she drops it,

offer her ride and then say:

"By the way, I'm rich. Will you Marry Me?"

- That's Public Relations -



5. You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.

She walks up to you and says:

"You are very rich! Can you marry Me?"

- That's Brand Recognition -



6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and say:

"I am very rich. Marry me!"

She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.

- That's Customer Feedback -



7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and say:

"I am very rich. Marry me!"

And she introduces you to her husband.

- That's demand and supply gap -



8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and before you say anything,

another person come and tell her:

"I'm rich. Will you marry me?"

And she goes with him.

- That's competition entering into your market share -



9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and before you say:

"I'm rich, Marry me!"

your wife arrives.

- That's restriction for entering new markets -



10. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.

You go up to her and ask:

"What type of guy do you like?"

"Do you prefer rich guy or not?"

"What about a guy like me? Do you have any interest?"
- That's marketing research -

Jakarta to implement "car free day" every week

The Jakarta Post Thu, 09/11/2008 9:10 PM Jakarta

The Jakarta car free day will be held every Sunday instead of once a month as previously implemented, according to the City Administration.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo on Thursday told reporters that cleaner air was essential for creating healthy living, which should be in line with the city's growth in prosperity.
"(The car free day) will be implemented once a week soon," he said.

Fauzi also hinted that the no car day, which spans from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m., may be implemented at other routes besides the Sudirman-Thamrin road.

"Only this way we can get more appreciation from the world while creating a healthier Jakarta," he said.

According to an official figure from the city administration, on Sept. 22, 2007, the car free day initiative reduced dust pollution by 36.85 percent and carbon monoxide by 50.3 percent.

However, recently some analysts said traffic congestion caused by the initiative was producing more pollution from idle cars compared to normal traffic conditions.

Typical of Jakarta Governor's decision to solve problem with creating another problem. The "car free day" will only create traffic jam like hell outside the chosen routes because the police didn't put any signage to choose alternative route around the chosen "car free" routes, so people who didn't know about it will stuck somewhere near the chosen "car free" route and forced to choose alternative route, the result? Traffic jam bumper to bumper, stuck for hours.

To my opinion, the car free day won't help to make Jakarta's air healtier, it just moves the polution concentration to other outter area.

What Governor/government could do is to increase the private vehicle tax so it will minimize private cars on the road and people are going to take public transportation. Second task is to build comprehensive public transportation, so we are willing to use public transportation. We can learn from Singapore, Thailand & Malaysia on how they built a reliable, comfortable & affordable public transport.

Submissions Sought for: Young, Indonesian, and Female

The Lontar Foundation has scheduled for release, in 2009, two volumes of literary translations with the theme “Young, Indonesian and Female.” The first volume will be published, in association with Words Without Borders, as an issue of the on-line literary that goes by the same name. Volume editors are Dedi Feldman of WWB and John McGlynn of Lontar. The second volume will be released in print, both in Indonesia and abroad, as the eighth installment of Lontar’s Menagerie series. Volume editors are John McGlynn and Dorothea Herliany.

Both volumes will contain a mixture of literary genres: short stories, poetry, essays, and (possibly) drama. As is indicated by the theme, however, editors are primarily seeking works produced by younger Indonesian women writers. Their work may relate to the theme of the volumes, tackling issues of interest to younger women, but they may also be unrelated to the theme as well and be simply of pure literary merit. Male writers are also invited to contribute but their work must relate to the theme of the volumes in order to (possibly) counterpoint issues that the women writers raise.

Other guidelines governing submissions include the following:
• The work must have been written in Indonesian;
• The work may have been previously published in Indonesian but must never before have been published in English;
• The work should not have been published before 1998;
• Copyright for translation of the work is held by the author;
• Prose works—short stories and essays—should be no longer than 3,500 words;
• Unless a poem is very long, submissions of single poems are not encouraged; poets are requested to submit between 5 and 10 works.

All written contributions should be submitted to Lontar in digital form, either via email or on CD via post. Please send them by post to Dewi Andahlia, Editorial Assistant, Jl. Danau Laut Tawar No. 53, Pejompongan, Jakarta 10210 or by email to dewi_andahlia@lontar.org.

Potential contributors are requested to submit their work before 30 September 2008.
As with previous volumes in the Menagerie series, Menagerie 8: Young, Female, and Indonesian, will also contain at least one photographic essay. Both male and female photographers are invited to submit photographic essays dealing with the theme of the volume—but only one essay per photographer. A photographic essay should contain approximately 15 to 20 black and white photographs along with a story or captions describing the action that is taking place in the photographs. Photographers should submit their work in the form of a CD containing medium-resolution jpeg files. If the essay is chosen for inclusion, editors will then request high resolution scans.

For the publication of prose works contributors will be paid Rp. 1,000,000 per thousand words, capped at Rp. 1,500,000; for poetry, the same, with a minimum of Rp. 150,000 per poem. Translators will be paid the same. Photographers will receive Rp. 150,000 per photograph with a cap of Rp. 2,500,000.

About the Project Partners
Literature is one of the primary avenues for encounter with other cultures and both Words Without Borders and The Lontar Foundation were established to promote the translation of literary works into English.

Words Without Borders (WWB), a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, does this primarily through the on-line publication of its literary journal by the same name. This online magazine registers 200,000 page views a month and has an emailing list of nearly 6,000 subscribers. More information about WWB can be found at www.wordswithoutborders.org.

The Lontar Foundation, established in 1987, has, since its founding published more than one hundred books pertaining to Indonesian literature and culture. In the coming year, the Foundation plans to establish an on-line magazine to further promote its goal of enhancing international knowledge of Indonesian literature and culture.

Closing Party aka Closing Ceremony

Closing party or closing ceremony is one famous event right before fasting month begins.

Muslim party goers think it is necessary to conduct one last party right before they start to fast. But now, not only muslim party goers but whoever claim themselves as party goers will When I was younger, I was one of those people. Had a last blast party before fasting. But as I grow older, I start to think that closing party or closing ceremony is such a silly thing to do.

I mean, we can have party for the rest of year but how come we can not hold back the urge to party for just one month, and we need justification with that closing party. If we have strong will to be good in this holy month, we won't need that closing party.

Probably I'm just getting old and envy those young party goers cos I can't stand to party till dawn anymore, I'll be drained and tired for days afterwards.

Well, it's just my two cents.

Single vs Istri Kedua

I'm in the mood to write in bahasa Indonesia, so sorry for my readers who can not understand Indonesian language.

Kehidupan berpoligami bukanlah hal yang baru di dalam keluarga saya, kakek saya mempunyai 3 orang istri, iya 3. Nenek saya adalah istri pertama yang dinikahi pada umur 15thn dan memberikan 4 orang anak (2 perempuan dan 2 lelaki), lalu ada istri kedua yang memberikan 1 orang anak lelaki, dan istri ketiga yang memberikan 2 anak perempuan. Sampai akhir hayat kakek saya hanya ada 2 istri yang menemani karena istri kedua sudah diceraikan long time ago, saya juga tidak mengenal nenek nomer 2 ini, saya hanya tahu ada 1 oom yang selalu berlebaran bersama nenek saya tapi bukan anak nenek saya. Iya, anak dari istri kedua kakek saya selalu berlebaran bersama nenek saya, entah kenapa tapi dia selalu bilang bahwa ibunya adalah nenek saya. Mungkin karena nenek saya menerima keadaan dan tidak menolak kondisi tsb.

Itu adalah cerita tentang orang tua yang hidup dijaman dahulu. Tapi ternyata keadaan itu masih tetap terjadi dijaman yang sudah modern ini, banyak cerita selebritis yang nikah siri dengan pejabat anu atau tetangga si itu menjadi istri kedua dari si B. Saya tidak pernah menghakimi wanita-wanita yang memilih untuk menjadi istri kedua karena saya bukanlah Tuhan yang bisa menghakimi orang, saya hanya manusia biasa yang tidak sempurna.


Dua sepupu saya memutuskan untuk menjadi istri kedua, satu sudah menghasilkan seorang anak perempuan yang lucu dan satu lagi menikah siri sekitar satu bulan yang lalu. Kedua sepupu saya ini adalah kakak dan adik, alasan si adik untuk menikah siri karena nasihat si kakak yang ternyata menurut ibu saya (yeah saya tahu gosip keluarga dari ibu) menyesal menjadi istri kedua karena tidak seindah yang dibayangkan dan sedang memikirkan perceraian, nasihat si kakak kepada adiknya adalah lebih baik menikah siri karena lebih mudah untuk keluar dari pernikahan itu dibandingkan dengan menikah secara sah dimata agama dan negara... errr... ok.. saya tidak mengerti jalan pikiran si kakak tapi sudahlah itu pilihan mereka dan saya tidak merasa terganggu oleh pilihan itu.

Saya mulai merasa terganggu ketika si kakak mulai mempertanyakan hubungan saya dengan si pacar yang menurutnya sudah cukup lama dan sudah waktunya untuk dilanjutkan ke jenjang berikutnya mengingat usia saya yang sudah cukup untuk membina keluarga, hanya tinggal saya yang belum menikah didalam keluarga besar, jadi sebaiknya saya minta si pacar untuk menikahi saya..WTF... Who the hell is she yang berhak untuk mengatakan apa yang baik untuk saya dan apa yang tidak, menikah bukanlah keputusan yang mudah, menikah butuh perencanaan yang matang dan juga kematangan mental. Sepupu bilang saya harus mencontoh dia yang sudah mempunyai anak di usia yang tidak berbeda jauh dengan saya, errr... yeah... tapi menjadi istri kedua bukanlah pilihan hidup saya.

Menjadi single bukanlah suatu kejahatan, single adalah pilihan hidup, situasi hidup, mungkin memang wanita-wanita yang masih single itu tidak menjadikan single sebagai pilihan hidup tapi suatu keadaan yang harus diterima karena jodoh yang tak kunjung datang.

Lalu haruskah wanita-wanita single yang sudah berumur cukup itu dikucilkan dari lingkungan dan dipandang sebelah mata karena dianggap tidak mampu mendapatkan pendamping hidup?

Berhak kah para wanita yang sudah berkeluarga dan mempunyai anak merasa lebih baik dari para wanita single tsb hanya karena mereka sudah mempunyai jabatan baru yaitu menjadi seorang istri dan bahkan menjadi ibu? Tidak perduli walaupun jabatan baru tsb didapatkan dengan menjadi istri kedua, membagi suaminya dengan wanita lain.

Saya orang yang egois, ketika saya akhirnya menikah nanti, dengan siapapun jodoh saya nantinya, saya menginginkan suami hanya untuk saya seorang, saya tidak rela membaginya dengan wanita lain yang lebih berhak dari saya. Karena saya percaya karma, dan saya juga percaya bahwa kebahagiaan tidaklah utuh kalau dibangun diatas kehancuran hati pihak lain.

Apa arti sebuah maaf?

Maaf....

Maaf bukanlah kata yang mudah untuk diucapkan, kalaupun kita mengucap maaf mungkin hanya maaf dibibir saja, bukan maaf dari hati.

Maaf hanya sekedar maaf sangatlah mudah diucapkan karena tidak ada tanggung jawab didalamnya, tanggung jawab seperti apa yang ada di dalam sebuah kata maaf? Tanggung jawab untuk mengucapkan dari dalam hati, tanggung jawab untuk mengakui sebuah kesalahan, tanggung jawab untuk menerima konsekuensi dari kesalahan tersebut dan juga tanggung jawab untuk memperbaiki.

Benarkah kalau seseorang sudah memaafkan berarti dia juga sudah melupakan?

Tidak benar, karena bisa memaafkan belum tentu bisa melupakan. Mungkin luka yang ditinggalkan sangat membekas dan sulit untuk disembuhkan, mungkin juga maaf saja tidak cukup tapi diperlukan juga usaha yang keras untuk memperbaiki kesalahan dan menyembuhkan luka yang sudah terlanjur membekas dan terkuak lebar.

Bagaimana caranya? Dengan tidak mengulangi kesalahan yang sama? itu pasti. Dengan mencoba untuk menjadi orang yang lebih baik? itu harus.

Tapi apa yang harus dilakukan apabila satu pihak dengan niat baik sudah meminta maaf dari dalam hati dan mau memperbaiki kesalahannya tapi pihak yang satunya walaupun sudah memaafkan tetapi masih terus mengungkit-ungkit kesalahan tsb setiap saat?

Mendengarkan kesalahannya selalu diungkit-ungkit sangatlah tidak mengenakkan, tapi mungkin itu harga yang harus dibayar olehnya karena sebuah kesalahan. Maaf saja tidak cukup. Harus ada usaha lain-lainnya, mungkin harus memulai dari awal lagi, memulai lembaran baru dan menutup halaman tersebut, tidak ada salahnya untuk menjadi manusia yang berhati besar, tidak ada salahnya untuk memulai persahabatan dan pernikahan dari awal lagi kalau memang itu yang diperlukan untuk memperbaiki kesalahan dan bisa menumbuhkan kepercayaan yang pernah hancur.

Tetapi berhak kah si peminta maaf untuk meminta kepada pihak itu untuk tidak mengungkit-ungkit lagi kesalahan yang pernah dia buat? Dan setiap kali mendengar kesalahannya diungkit-ungkit dia seolah-olah mendapat tamparan di pipi.

Manusia tidaklah luput dari salah dan khilaf, tidak ada manusia yang sempurna, tapi ternyata maaf yang tulus dari hati pun tidak cukup.

Apakah lebih baik memaafkan tapi tidak bisa melupakan atau melupakan tapi tidak bisa memaafkan?

Interview with the Arabian

I have no idea to write lately, so I post whatever I found interesting..

Here goes... hope it will bring your smile :)

Consul : What is your name?
Arab : Abdul Aziz
Consul : Sex?
Arab : Six to ten times a week
Consul : I mean, male or female?
Arab : both male and female and sometimes even camels
Consul : Holy cow!
Arab : Yes, cows and dogs too!!!!
Consul : Man,.. isn't it hostile?
Arab : Horse style, dog style, any style
Consul : Oh.......... dear!
Arab : Deer? No deer, they run too fast!

No offense people, it's just a joke

Happy Monday...