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Friday, January 12, 2018
A Life Less Ordinary (Part 2) When I was a second grader in elementary school, a friend once said to me, "don't sit with a girl. You will be stung by the girl." But it turned out that I was sitting with a girl, so I pulled a sudden stunt that eventually scared her. It was an awful day, but certainly a day to remember. And how time flew so quickly. I remember when I was a six grader, I farted in the class right before we ended the last lesson of the day. What a shameful thing to do! I thought I could resist the feeling triggered by my stomachache until I reached home, but I just couldn't help it and it came out as a puff. The teacher gave me the awkward look as he smelled it, haha.
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Another highlight of my childhood is, you know that aside from playing arcade, we also ate as well as played kranji (or better known as velvet tamarind in English). Kranji fruit was black in color and had a shell that could be cracked open easily using our thumbnail. But instead of doing that, we had a game with it. Basically each of us would push our kranji against our opponent's and the one that didn't crack won the game and was allowed to take the loser's kranji. I got a lucky kranji fruit that won me many games. I thought I would be busy eating by then, but there I was, busy defeating the challengers instead. Suddenly there was a competitor who cheated and broke my fruit. I was heart broken, too, and my rewards were gone like the wind. I was speechless on my way home and very determined to grow my own kranji so I could harvest more. But it didn't grow and the kranji season slowly passed...
Posted by parno bong at 5:52 PM
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Thursday, January 11, 2018
Between "Want" And Commitment It is just the 12 th day of New Year. I am sure numbers of us have resolutions. And I am pretty sure although it is a new year resolution, the resolution itself might not be new. My resolution is to get fit, something that I didn't achieve last year because of my busy schedules. My resolution is travelling to Japan, which I couldn't make it due to budget constraint. Those are few samples of the repeated resolutions. Now, I’m not here to share about resolutions. You can name it anything, your objective, target, goal, wish or whatever name you like. Don’t tell me you don’t have one, because every sober minded person will definitely have at least one. Don’t bury them, get your goals back. A friend just shared that this year she wants to make her parents and parents-in-law happy. What does it take to make them happy? Does she WANT to make them happy or is she COMMITTED to make them happy? If she is committed, has she already started planning? For example, if she wants them to travel together, has she decided where to go and when to go? By the way, on this happy parents thingy, just a piece of advice: what you think will make them happy might not make them happy, do discuss with them about your plan. So back to the commitment and want. They are two different things. If you just want it, you will do it only when it is convenient. However, if you are committed, you accept no excuses, only result. I can have many excuses, ranging from lack of resources, time, money, right people and so forth. Whatever it is, the truth is none of them matters. You do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. But then again, they are a lot of talking about commitment, saying about right things, but yet the behavior doesn’t align. What happen if you are just repeatedly saying right things but your attitude shows otherwise? People around you might say, "yeah, great, good job," but deep inside, they would think, "argh, not a chance." Be honest to yourself, if you really want that shit to happen, hold yourself accountable for it. There should be some consequences when you fail, so you'll try your best to get it right. For example, when you commit to wake up at 5am in the morning but fail to do so, find some friends, treat them a good dinner. Write down what you'd like to do and really focus on getting it.
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So what I want to share from this:
A Life Less Ordinary (Part 2)
1. When the decision is made, you are doing it.
Between "Want" And Commitment
2. You turn up everyday despite the obstacles
The Zebra Crossing
3. No excuses, only result.
Friendship In Our Thirties: Chapter 2 Travelling...
4. Don’t feel eager just because you have read this but;
What Dreamers Do
5. Shut up and do the job, show the world the right attitude.
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The Zebra Crossing I always said that the only reason why I wanted to go to London was because I'd like to cross the zebra crossing. While it might sound hilarious to many, I wasn't kidding. If you only knew which zebra crossing I was talking about. Hint: it was the one that inspired many, including that teenager from Pontianak who sat on his bed and stared at Abbey Road album 22 years ago. Yes, the zebra crossing in question was the one on that album! It was this very reason that brought me to a land far far away from Pontianak. Ridiculous? Not really. This is the Beatles we're talking about. The greatest rock and roll band in the world! To the fans, the thrill of being able to visit that zebra crossing is a big deal and I was no exception. So I made my way through the cold and gloomy morning in London. After exiting St. John's Wood tube station, my wife and I had a slow walk to Abbey Road. I remember feeling very nervous. Every step brought me nearer to the legendary studio where the brilliant music came from. I just watched Paul McCartney the year before and that alone was a larger than life experience, but it still paled in comparison!
Crossing Abbey Road!
When I reached that junction, the road was smaller than what I expected, but I recognised it immediately. Across the road, there was this family of three looking left and right, the typical thing you'd do before you cross the street. One of them had a camera and when the husband saw me, I nodded and we grinned gleefully. From one Beatles fan to another, we understood how it was going to be. Of course we had to imitate the Abbey Road cover! Once he had done his, I crossed over and for the first time ever, I saw the Abbey Road studios. It was a predominantly white building and it looked almost normal, except for fact that the fence was filled up with graffiti by the fans from all over the world. Then I turned back and faced the zebra crossing at the right direction. More than forty years ago that day, John and his bandmates walked past this zebra crossing. It was so simple, but yet it became so iconic and the world would never be the same since then. It was my turn. I did the crossing twice. Once for me, once for that kid who sat on his bed, looking at the cover of Abbey Road some twenty years ago...
The album that inspires us all!
Kisah Sebuah Zebra Cross Saya selalu berujar bahwa satu-satunya alasan kenapa saya ingin ke London adalah karena saya ingin menyeberang jalan. Walau kedengarannya konyol, saya tidak sedang bercanda, sebetulnya. Zebra cross yang ingin saya seberangi itu adalah zebra cross yang telah menginspirasi banyak orang di dunia, termasuk seorang remaja yang duduk di kamarnya sambil memandangi album Abbey Road 22 tahun silam. Ya, zebra cross yang saya maksud adalah yang di sampul album tersebut! Alasan inilah yang membawa saya ke negeri nun jauh di sana. Tidak masuk akal? Tidak juga. Yang kita bicarakan ini the Beatles, grup rock and roll terbaik di dunia. Bagi para penggemarnya, bisa ke Abbey Road bukanlah perkara yang kecil dan remeh. Justru sebaliknya! Saya sendiri juga merasakan hal yang sama, jadi di sanalah saya berada, di pagi yang dingin dan mendung di London. Setelah keluar dari stasiun kereta St. John's Wood, saya berjalan perlahan-lahan ke Abbey Road. Saya ingat betapa saya merasa gugup. Setiap langkah membawa saya mendekati studio legendaris dimana lagu-lagu favorit yang mendunia itu berasal. Saya baru saja menonton Paul McCartney di Jepang setahun sebelumnya, tapi pengalaman yang tidak terlupakan itu pun masih kalah emosional bila dibandingkan dengan yang satu ini.
Nuryani juga mencoba menyeberangi jalan, haha.
Ketika saya sampai di pertigaan jalan, Abbey Road ternyata tidak selebar yang selama ini saya bayangkan, namun saya langsung mengenalinya. Di seberang jalan, ada satu keluarga yang melihat ke kiri dan ke kanan, persis seperti yang biasanya kita lakukan saat hendak menyeberang. Salah satu di antara mereka membawa kamera dan ketika sang kepala keluarga melihat saya, saya mengangguk dan kita pun tersenyum. Sesama penggemar the Beatles tahu apa yang akan terjadi setelah ini. Tentu saja kita akan meniru John dan kawankawan menyeberang zebra cross ini, persis seperti albumnya! Setelah dia melakukan ritual tersebut, saya menyeberang ke arah studio Abbey Road. Bangunan putih tersebut hampir terlihat normal jika bukan karena dinding pagarnya yang penuh dengan coretan para penggemar dari berbagai belahan dunia. Kemudian saya berbalik dan menatap zebra cross dari arah di mana the Beatles menyeberang. Sudah lebih dari 40 tahun lamanya ketika mereka melakukan hal tersebut. Apa yang mereka perbuat itu sebenarnya sangat sederhana, tapi karena mereka adalah the Beatles, hasilnya dikenang dan ditiru sepanjang masa. Ketika tiba giliran saya, saya menyeberang dua kali. Sekali untuk diri saya, seorang turis berusia 36 yang sedang mengunjungi Inggris, sekali lagi untuk remaja yang terinspirasi sehingga berani bermimpi untuk mengubah hidupnya ketika dia duduk di atas tempat tidurnya sambil memandangi gambar sampul Abbey Road, lebih dari dua dekade yang lalu...
Di depan studio rekaman Abbey Road.
Posted by Anthony Robinson at 9:27 AM
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Labels: Life, Music, Travel
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Friendship In Our Thirties: Chapter 2 - Travelling Here, Travelling There Chapter 1 was rather heavy, but I do hope you picked up a thing or two that could be useful to you. Now, let's switch to a lighter topic, something that I really enjoy: travelling. Why travelling? Well, as much as I hate (or scared of, to be precise) flying, travelling is fun. It brings us to places unknown to us before and it opens our horizons that makes us realize we came from a small town and that the world is a big place with so much to learn. Ain't that very much a humbling experience? Splendid! Looking back now while writing this, I just realized that I've been fortunate enough to start travelling by myself since our high school days (circa June '96) all the way to our twenties and thirties. I've had voyages, road trips and long haul flights. I've travelled together with high school friends, housemates, colleagues, my best man, parents, my wife and daughters. If I had to rank them, business trip is the worst, I never like it at all due to its nature (business trip means working) and not much of a holiday. Family trip is, of course, endearing. What about travelling with a bunch of high school friends, then? It's worth doing it for an apparent reason, if you asked me. I tend to think that in life, we are many things to others: a parent, a child, a spouse, a supervisor or a subordinate and so forth. Each come with its own set of responsibilities. Only when you travel with high school friends, whom knew you since God knows how long, that you can put down all the attributes, free from all those roles and just be the person you are. The result is a different kind of relax and joy. It's rejuvenating, really, and it gives you perspectives afterwards. Now, should you ever have a guilty feeling for doing this, I wish to tell you that this is not being selfish. Hey, we're only human, aren't we? As much as we try very hard for others, it's alright to live our lives the way we want it, too. I remember back in the school days, when I travelled to Jakarta and Temajoh. I was so poor that the trips were literally funded by whatever pocket money that I managed to save. I don't even think if budget trip is a correct choice of phrase to describe it, but they were so memorable that they live on. We still talk about those trips these days. It's a pity that we don't have any photos to preserve the memories. I remember the trips I had during my twenties. Definitely better than school days as we already started working and making money, haha. Life had less to worry about back then. Those trips were filled with laughter, so full of life and it was there and then I realized it is the journey with friends that counts, regardless where the destination is. I hope you can feel it, too, by looking at the picture that I shared here. I remember the trips I have in my thirties. Many of us have families now, but for the fact that we made time and we made it happen, the last trip to Karawang does feel good, doesn't it? Does it mean that we're neglecting our families for doing so? I believe the answer is no, but I'll save that for the last chapter. Eventually, if friendship is a a lifelong journey, shouldn't we live a life well-travelled to celebrate it? You may want to think about it. Cheers!
When all things are said and done, all you have are memories, hence create the good ones!
Posted by Anthony Robinson at 5:45 PM
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Labels: Life
Friday, January 5, 2018
What Dreamers Do I told you about the bucket list recently. Now let's get into the specific. There is this thing called dreams and some, they can be so dreamy that they are taken for granted as only dreams. It's like you are so sure that they'll stay as dreams, until you start toying with them and you begin to realize, perhaps there's a slightest chance that they may happen. This is the story about such dreams. It's no secret that I am heavily influenced by the Beatles. They've been part of who I am since I was that high school student in Pontianak who sat on his bed, listening to Abbey Road while staring at the album cover. This was right after I saw the Beatles Anthology in early 1996. As years went by, I gradually accepted the fact that the band was something that I only saw on the news or other media. Such belief subconsciously led to this perception that they were so otherworldly and untouchable. There was simply nothing I could do about it and that was the reality of life.
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It lasted that way for longest time until the unthinkable happened. When Paul announced his Japan concerts in November 2013, I glanced at the news and wished, if only I could go there and watch. But when I gave it a thought again, it dawned on me that it might possible. Excited by the possibility, I started doing what I could. But the ticket was sold in Japan, where the website was in Japanese and came with all the selling system that only the Japanese could understand. Even with the help of my Japanese speaking colleague, I couldn't do much about it. I failed to get the ticket and it was kind of disappointing. The idea faded away, but it never really disappear. And the idea was revisited again in 2014, when Paul returned to Japan. I was well prepared this time. By engaging the service provided by Personal Shopper Japan (the Facebook name is Ryu Matsuda, not sure if it's a real name or a pseudonym), I managed to get the ticket this time. Visa, flight and accommodation were immediately secured right after that. For a while, it looked like the plan was going smoothly. Before I departed from Singapore, I saw the news that Paul had landed in Japan. The excitement was all time high as it was going to be a dream come true. But then it went awfully wrong. Paul was struck down by the virus. I was alarmed when the first concert was cancelled, but knowing how much he loved performing live in front of the audience, I still hoped that he would be fit enough to carry on the remaining concerts.
On the way to the National Stadium.
It wasn't meant to be. The one I was supposed to attend was the second concert, so there I was, alighting at Sendagaya Station. Accompanied by my wife, I walked towards the National Stadium. I was grinning like a child, never knowing if my wife would understand why, but I just couldn't help it. Then she took the photo above before she went back to the hotel, leaving me behind to find my way to the entrance. That's when I sensed something wasn't right. The Japanese people were known to be so orderly, but it was rather chaotic that day. I had a bad feeling when I saw people holding sign boards and announcing something in Japanese, but I didn't understand what it was all about. I checked Facebook, hoping to see an update, but no luck. Eventually I managed to get an answer after asking around in simple English, "Paul, concert, no?"
Upon returning from a cancelled concert.
And the answer was no. What a hard truth to swallow! All of a sudden, it was as though I came all the way to Tokyo for nothing. I headed back to hotel, feeling confused, not really sure how to react to this. Only when I sat on the floor of my hotel room that the reality sank in. I was very upset, but then I looked at my wife and daughter. It'd be unfair to them if I sulked throughout the holiday, so I put on my brave face and shouldered on. But Paul didn't disappoint. A year later, in 2015, he rescheduled his Asian tour. I repeated the same set of actions and off I went to Tokyo, this time with my Dad. I did a preliminary site survey to ensure I knew how to get there from Kanda. The sight of the truck below sent a chill down my spine. Something great was going to happen!
Paul McCartney was Out there!
On the day itself, I went back to the Tokyo Dome for the concert and saw the lines of queue, arranged with the efficiency only the Japanese could achieve, something that reminded me that even the Beatles were impressed by this when they did the concerts back in 1966. I was there quite early and, as I sat on my seat, I noticed that there were a lot of empty seats around. I thought it wasn't going to be a full house, but I was proven to be wrong later on, when the show began! While waiting for the show to start, there was this Japanese guy on my left, trying his best to have a conversation in English. He struggled with words and I replied as simple as possible, saying that I was from Indonesia. Upon hearing that, he just walked away. I was wondering why, but not long after that, he came back with a keychain as a gift for me. That was a nice and unexpected gesture, really. When it came to politeness and hospitality, Japan surely topped the bill as the most welcoming country! But the surprise didn't end there. What's more puzzling was, the moment the concert began, the same Japanese guy stood up and was suddenly able to sing all the songs in fluent English. I thought I was good, but there he was, singing even obscure songs such as Hope for the Future.
That keychain from the concert, two years later!
It was definitely the best concert I ever attended. At the age of 72, Sir Paul McCartney was still capable of rocking the stage for almost three hours (yes, it was that long! Let's not forget that he already wrote hit songs since the 60s). Even the larynx-tearing songs such as Maybe I'm Amazed were not a problem for him. Ever a performer, he was in a jolly mood, very eager to have some fun entertaining us. Paul did great, but two particular moments were engraved forever in my heart. In Here Today, it was as if he was having a conversation with his fallen bandmate, John Lennon. When he sang the lines such as, "but as for me, I still remember how it was before," I couldn't help wondering how true it must be for him, that he was there with John back then. Then of course there was Something. It was often shown how Paul and George didn't get along, but those pictures displayed while he was singing were such a rare collection that even I, a long time fan, never saw before. Those photos showing the two of them smiling were so genuine and beautiful. Once upon a time, they were brothers, really. And when the concert was over, I walked out slowly from the stadium, still in the state of shock. That was Paul McCartney just now, no? We were supposed to be worlds apart. He was from Liverpool, I was from Pontianak. He was that rock and roller that was featured on the news, I was the fan who read the news. I always thought that it was going to stay that way, but there we were that night, the rock star and the fan, in the same building, breathing the same air. It felt incredible. Nothing ever felt impossible again since then. Life is, apparently, just like what John and Paul once wrote: if you want it, here it is, come and get it...
Sir Paul, reading Japanese from the teleprompter.
Kisah Seorang Pemimpi Saya bercerita tentang daftar keinginan baru-baru ini. Untuk kesempatan ini, mari kita masuk ke topik yang lebih spesifik. Di dalam hidup ini, ada yang namanya impian dan beberapa di antaranya benar-benar seperti mimpi sehingga mungkin selamanya tidak akan pernah menjadi kenyataan. Impian seperti itu seringkali dirasakan mustahil sampai anda mulai memikirkannya lagi dan tiba-tiba menyadari bahwa setidaknya ada sedikit kemungkinan bahwa impian tersebut sebenarnya bisa terwujud. Ini adalah kisah tentang sebuah impian seperti yang dijabarkan di atas. Sudah bukan rahasia lagi bahwa pengaruh the Beatles sangat besar dalam diri saya. Grup ini sudah menjadi bagian dari saya, mulai dari saat saya adalah seorang remaja SMA yang duduk di atas tempat tidur, mendengarkan lagu-lagu Abbey Road sambil memandang sampul albumnya. Ini terjadi tidak lama setelah saya menyaksikan the Beatles Anthology di RCTI pada awal tahun 1996. Tahun berganti tahun dan tanpa sadar saya mulai menerima kenyataan bahwa the Beatles adalah sesuatu yang jauh dari kenyataan dan hanya saya temukan di berita dan televisi. Saya lantas percaya bahwa ini adalah sebuah fakta absolut yang tidak terbantahkan. Kemudian tiba harinya dimana semua ini berubah. Sewaktu Paul mengumumkan bahwa dia akan mengadakan konser di Jepang pada bulan November 2013, saya menatap judul berita tersebut secara sekilas dan berkhayal, seandainya saja saya bisa menyaksikan pertunjukannya. Setelah itu, mendadak sebuah pertanyaan terlintas di benak saya: kenapa tidak? Terbawa oleh suasana, saya menjadi sangat bersemangat untuk mencari tahu, apa sebenarnya yang bisa saya lakukan. Tiket konser tersebut ternyata dijual di Jepang melalui situs berbahasa Jepang dengan sistem pembelian yang hanya dimengerti oleh orang Jepang. Bahkan dengan bantuan kolega saya yang bisa berbahasa Jepang pun saya tidak berhasil membelinya. Setelah pengalaman yang mengecewakan itu, ide ini pun pudar, tapi tidak pernah sirna.
Tiket konser tahun 2014.
Dan ide tersebut kembali lagi di tahun 2014, ketika Paul kembali ke Jepang. Saya siap kali ini. Dengan menggunakan jasa Personal Shopper Japan (akun Facebook-nya bernama Ryu Matsuda, namun saya tidak tahu apakah ini nama asli atau samaran), saya berhasil mendapatkan tiketnya kali ini. Visa, tiket pesawat dan penginapan selama di Jepang pun segera saya bereskan setelah itu. Untuk sementara, semuanya terlihat lancar. Sebelum saya meninggalkan Singapura, saya sempat membaca berita bahwa Paul sudah mendarat di Jepang. Saya sangat antusias karena apa yang selama ini hanya saya anggap sebagai sekedar mimpi akhirnya akan menjadi kenyataan. Akan tetapi, siapa yang mengira masih saja ada rintangan yang menghadang? Paul ternyata sakit setelah terserang oleh semacam virus penyakit di Jepang. Saya menjadi cemas ketika konser pertamanya dibatalkan. Meskipun demikian, saya tahu betapa dia sangat senang tampil di hadapan penggemarnya, jadi saya masih berharap bahwa kesehatannya membaik dan dia akan cukup prima untuk tampil di hari berikutnya.
Antrian ke arah gerbang National Stadium.
Ternyata harapan hanya tinggal harapan, tapi saya tidak tahu itu. Di sore itu saya turun di stasiun kereta Sendagaya dan berjalan menuju National Stadium. Sepanjang perjalanan, saya tersenyum girang seperti seorang bocah. Saat mendekati gerbang arena olahraga, tiba-tiba saya merasakan kejanggalan di sekitar. Orang Jepang biasanya sangat teratur, tapi suasana yang saya rasakan saat itu agak kacau. Saya melihat beberapa orang memegang papan bertulisan dan mengumumkan sesuatu, tapi saya tidak mengerti karena tidak memahami bahasa Jepang. Pada akhirnya saya berhasil mendapatkan jawaban setelah bertanya sesederhana mungkin dalam bahasa Inggris, "Paul, concert, no?" Jawabannya adalah tidak. Saya langsung tercengang. Tiba-tiba saja, kunjungan saya ke Jepang seperti tiada artinya. Saya pulang ke hotel dalam kebingungan, tidak sepenuhnya paham bagaimana saya harus menyikapi berita buruk ini. Ketika saya duduk di lantai kamar, barulah saya sepenuhnya menerima bahwa konser yang saya tunggu-tunggu ini telah dibatalkan. Saya sungguh kecewa, namun kemudian saya pandang istri dan putri saya. Tidak adil bagi mereka bila saya cemberut saja sepanjang liburan yang tersisa, jadi saya mencoba untuk menjalaninya sebisa saya.
Antrian masuk di gerbang yang tertera di tiket.
Setahun berikutnya, tahun 2015, Paul menjadwalkan kunjungan ke Asia lagi. Saya kembali mengulangi hal yang sama, mulai dari pembelian tiket konser dan lain-lain, lalu kembali ke Tokyo, kali ini bersama ayah saya. Ketika tiba harinya, saya menuju Tokyo Dome dan melihat barisan-barisan yang tertata secara efisien, suatu hal yang mengingatkan saya tentang bagaimana the Beatles juga terkesan oleh efisiensi orang Jepang ketika mereka konser di sini pada tahun 1966. Tatkala saya duduk di bangku, saya melihat masih banyak tempat yang kosong. Saya sempat berpikir bahwa mungkin konser hari ini tidak penuh karena Paul mengadakan konser tiga malam berturut-turut di Tokyo, namun saya salah besar. Menjelang konser, stadion baseball itu dipadati penonton! Saat saya menunggu konser dimulai, di sebelah saya duduk seorang warga Jepang yang mencoba untuk berkomunikasi saya dengan bahasa Inggris yang terbata-bata. Ketika dia bertanya dari mana saya berasal, saya jawab bahwa saya datang dari Indonesia. Mendadak dia bangkit dan berjalan pergi begitu saja sehingga saya terheran-heran, namun tidak lama setelah itu, dia kembali lagi dengan gantungan kunci. Hadiah, katanya. Saya sungguh tertegun. Bicara soal sopan-santun, Jepang ini memang nomor satu! Kendati begitu, cerita tentang orang Jepang ini tidak berakhir sampai di situ. Yang lebih mencengangkan lagi, mulai dari sejak lagu pertama melantun, si Jepang ini berdiri dan tiba-tiba bernyanyi dalam bahasa Inggris yang fasih. Saya kira saya sudah pakarnya, tapi dia bahkan bisa menyanyikan lagu Paul yang jarang terdengar seperti Hope for the Future!
Panorama view dari tempat duduk saya, sebelum konser dimulai.
Itu adalah konser terbaik yang pernah saya tonton. Di usianya yang ke-72, Paul McCartney masih sanggup mengguncang panggung hampir tiga jam lamanya (oh ya, memang selama itu. Jangan lupa bahwa dia sudah menulis lagu-lagu terkenal sejak tahun 60an). Bahkan lagu yang melengking tinggi dan menyiksa pita suara seperti Maybe I'm Amazed pun tidak masalah untuknya. Seorang musisi sejati yang senang tampil dan menghibur, Paul terlihat riang dan menikmati interaksi dengan penonton. Secara keseluruhan, konsernya fantastis, namun jika ada yang senantiasa saya kenang, maka ini adalah saat ketika dia memainkan dua lagu berikut ini. Dalam Here Today, Paul seakan-akan sedang berbincang dengan teman karibnya, John Lennon. Ketika dia menyanyikan lirik seperti, "but as for me, I still remember how it was before," saya bisa merasakan emosinya, sebab dia adalah satu dari segelintir orang yang benar-benar dekat dengan John dulu. Lagu yang satunya lagi adalah Something. Ketidakakuran Paul dan George sering diliput dan dibahas di media, tapi koleksi foto yang ditampilkan saat Paul membawakan lagu George ini menunjukkan realita yang berbeda. Koleksi langka yang bahkan belum pernah saya lihat ini menunjukkan betapa dekatnya hubungan mereka. Hanya ada empat orang di dunia ini yang melewati suka-duka sebagai anggota the Beatles. Setelah perjalanan yang begitu panjang, tidak bisa dipungkiri bahwa mereka sungguh bagaikan saudara. Ketika konser berakhir, saya berjalan keluar dari stadion, masih sulit untuk percaya dengan apa yang baru saja saya lalui. Tadi itu benar-benar Paul McCartney, bukan? Seharusnya kita berada di dunia yang berbeda. Dia dari Liverpool, saya dari Pontianak. Dia adalah bintang rock and roll yang selalu diberitakan di media dan saya adalah penggemar yang selalu membaca beritanya. Saya kira kita tidak akan pernah bertemu, tapi di malam itu, kita berada di gedung yang sama. Di tengah-tengah lautan manusia, seorang penggemar dari Pontianak itu berada di sana. Rasanya luar biasa. Setelah pengalaman tersebut, banyak impian yang dulunya dirasakan mustahil itu kini tidak lagi terasa tidak mungkin. Hidup itu ternyata seperti apa yang John dan Paul tulis dulu: ini sesuatu yang anda inginkan, coba datang dan raih...
Tiket konser tahun 2015.
Posted by Anthony Robinson at 12:35 PM
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Labels: Life, Music, Travel
Monday, January 1, 2018
The Reunion We graduated exactly two decades ago this year. While it is definitely a milestone that is worth celebrating, I'm not entirely sure if we will ever have a reunion party because no committee is even formed yet thus far. Compared with other schools, I'm afraid we are certainly lagging behind, haha. This got me thinking about the day I organized Reunion 2014. I know the year I chose to hold such event was rather odd (who on earth held a reunion 16 years after graduation, anyway? Wouldn't a 15 years anniversary sound better?), but it was not without a reason. My motivation was rather straightforward. Prior to that, when I was browsing the news feed on Facebook, I saw this ex-housemate of mine having his school reunion. This guy, for some strange reason, seemed to find it funny when he cursed my flights to crash, so upon seeing him, I was like, "oh my, even a lame guy like this can attend a reunion."
The site visit and briefing, one day before the event.
Then the next question immediately came to my mind: if he could, why couldn't we? We certainly could! Someone just needed to do it. Perhaps it was me? While the idea was hot, I bounced it off Endrico. He was game, so we discussed further about it. We talked about how, what, where, when and who. If the reunion was just a quick and dirty gathering of school friends over dinner or lunch, it certainly could be done. However, an event without programmes would be very dry. We'd end up having friends hanging out only with their own groups. The togetherness would be sorely lacking.
The music performance by Hardy and Muliady.
That was something I'd like to avoid, so we should have something that came from us for us. Of course it had to feature some of us singing stuff that we did back in high school, so I definitely got to get Hardy and Muliady The. When I asked around, Parno was willing to participate and Alvin was keen to demonstrate some basic kung fu fighting. Now that was interesting!
Everybody watched the kung fu fighting!
For video montage that showed our school days, Endrico and I had a rather comprehensive collection of photos, so it was the easiest part for me to complete. We also adopted Denny's idea of having our high school backdrop for photo taking purpose. Apart from that, I had this idea of doing a talkshow, simply because I thought it was good to hear the stories from successful friends (it was too bad that I miscalculated the time we had and eventually failed to execute it). As a closure, I came up with a quiz game about things that happened back when we were in school and boy, was I glad that San San was able to lead the game. She was so lively that she really nailed it!
The hilarious and animated situation during the quiz game. Watch out for the shoe!
When it came to the location, I never had a doubt that it had to be in Jakarta. Not only it'd be easier for those who stayed overseas, but you could be sure that those who were willing to attend would go the extra mile to go to Jakarta, too. The problem was, where should the venue be? Susan had the solution for this, so she proposed her workplace, Sun City. We quickly took up the offer. Now that things were shaping up, we had to choose the date. We had several options and school holidays were surely considered, but we eventually decided that Sunday, 30/03/2014, would be good, because the guests could come on Saturday and go back on Monday, which was a public holiday.
The invaders! We weren't originally from the school, but we definitely graduated from there!
By then, the committee members were pretty much confirmed, too. Endrico was there as the sounding board and photographer. Surianto was there, too, as a backup photographer. Susan was the hostess and she took care of the food and the venue. Anni was our trusted treasurer. San San, Hardy, Alvin, Muliady and Parno were there as well, playing the roles they were supposed to play. Then there were a couple of investors, too, but perhaps they should remain anonymous for the sake of their privacy, haha. While we were on this subject, I probably should share a bit about the expenses. The reunion wasn't meant to be a profitable project. It was the other way around. The fee per person was heavily subsidised so that it was affordable. It was envisioned to be a happy event and thanks to our dear investors, it was made possible. The rest, as they said, was history. I didn't think it was perfect. There were minor glitches here and there, but from one friends to another, they didn't feel like mistakes. In fact, it'd been too long since we ever gathered like this that we refused to part ways. When the reunion ended, we shifted to a coffee shop to carry on talking. We left high school 16 years ago so we definitely had a lot to talk about!
And we hung out here until late in the evening!
Reuni Tahun ini adalah dua dekade lulusnya saya dan teman-teman dari SMA. Saya rasa ini adalah sesuatu yang pantas dirayakan di dalam hidup ini, tapi saya tidak sepenuhnya yakin jika tahun ini ada reuni sebab sampai sekarang panitianya bahkan belum terbentuk. Dibandingkan dengan sekolah lain, saya rasa kita jauh tertinggal dalam segi persiapan, haha. Saya jadi teringat lagi tentang saat-saat dimana saya mengorganisir Reuni 2014. Ya, tahun yang saya pilih memang agak janggal (mana ada orang yang mengadakan reuni 16 tahun setelah kelulusan? Bukankah 15 tahun terdengar lebih standar?), namun ini bukannya tanpa alasan. Saya mendadak termotivasi tatkala melihat melalui Facebook bahwa mantan teman serumah saya sedang menghadiri reuni sekolahnya. Teman yang satu ini punya kebiasaan mengucapkan selamat jalan dan berharap semoga pesawat yang saya tumpangi tidak jatuh, seakan-akan ini adalah hal yang lucu dan enak didengar. Oleh karena itu, ketika saya melihat fotonya, saya langsung bergumam sendiri, "wah, bahkan teman yang seperti ini pun bisa menghadiri reuni."
Dan tamu mulai berdatangan!
Kemudian terpikir oleh saya, kalau dia bisa menghadiri reuni, kenapa kita tidak? Tentu saja kita bisa! Salah satu dari kita, mungkin saya sendiri, tinggal mengorganisir acara serupa! Ketika ide ini masih hangat, saya lantas berbincang dengan Endrico untuk mendengar pendapatnya. Dia setuju, jadi kita berdiskusi lebih jauh lagi tentang bagaimana, apa, di mana, kapan dan siapa. Jadi bagaimana reuni itu seharusnya? Jika acaranya hanya sekedar kumpul-kumpul sambil makan siang atau makan malam, ini tentu saja tidak sulit untuk diselenggarakan. Namun masalahnya adalah, karena tiadanya rangkaian acara yang bisa disaksikan bersama, reuni ini bisa jadi terasa hampa karena semua menjadi sibuk sendiri.
Santap siang.
Ini adalah sesuatu yang ingin saya hindari, oleh karena itu saya menginginkan sesuatu yang berasal dari kita untuk kita. Tentu saja harus ada acara pertunjukan musik seperti yang kita lakukan sewaktu sekolah dulu, jadi saya harus menggaet Hardy dan Muliady untuk turut serta. Ketika saya bertanya sana-sini, ternyata Parno juga tidak keberatan untuk tampil dan Alvin juga bersedia untuk mempertunjukkan seni bela diri! Untuk video klip yang berisi foto-foto kita di bangku sekolah, saya dan Endrico memiliki koleksi yang cukup ekstensif, jadi tidak sulit untuk dikerjakan. Kita juga mengadopsi usul Denny untuk menyewa photo booth dengan latar belakang sekolah kita. Selain itu, saya juga terpikir untuk menyelenggarakan talkshow karena tentunya menarik bagi kita untuk mendengarkan kisah teman yang lebih sukses, namun acara ini terpaksa dibatalkan karena tidak cukupnya waktu. Sebagai penutup, saya juga merancang kuis yang bertema kisah-kisah sekolah. Saya beruntung karena San San bersedia membawa acara. Dia benar-benar luar biasa dan suasana menjadi lebih hidup dan heboh karenanya.
Ketika kuis berlangsung.
Berbicara tentang lokasi, saya tidak pernah ragu bahwa reuni harus diadakan di Jakarta. Ini akan memudahkan mereka yang tinggal di luar negeri. Selain itu, mereka yang berminat tapi tinggal di luar daerah sudah pasti tidak akan keberatan untuk berangkat ke Jakarta juga. Masalahnya adalah, di mana tempatnya? Susan mempunyai solusi dan dia menawarkan tempat kerjanya, Sun City. Idenya pun segera disetujui. Ketika rencana kian terwujud, kita pun harus menentukan tanggalnya. Saat itu kita memiliki beberapa pilihan, termasuk liburan sekolah di bulan Juni, akan tetapi kita akhirnya memutuskan untuk mengadakan acara pada hari minggu, tanggal 30/03/2014. Para tamu bisa datang di hari Sabtu dan pulang di hari Senin karena bertepatan dengan hari libur Nyepi.
Para tamu menikmati acara.
Para panitia pun kurang-lebih sudah terbentuk ketika itu. Endrico bergabung sebagai seksi sibuk dan fotografer. Surianto juga menjadi fotografer. Susan adalah tuan rumah yang menangani makanan dan tempat acara. Anni adalah bendahara yang terpercaya. San San, Alvin, Hardy, Muliady juga hadir dan memainkan peran masingmasing. Bersama-sama kita menyebarkan undangan. Selain itu, ada para investor juga, tapi demi privasi mereka, maka nama mereka tidak perlu disebutkan di sini, haha. Selagi kita membahas topik ini, mungkin ada baiknya saya berbagi sedikit tentang masalah biaya. Reuni ini tidak dimaksudkan sebagai ajang cari untung. Justru sebaliknya. Biaya registrasi tiap orang sebenarnya sudah disubsidi sehingga terjangkau. Reuni ini dimaksudkan sebagai acara kumpul-kumpul yang penuh kegembiraan dan tidak terbebani dengan masalah uang. Semua ini akhirnya bisa terwujud berkat bantuan dana dari para donatur. Acara reuninya sendiri, saya kira tidaklah sempurna. Ada kesalahan di sana-sini, tapi ini adalah acara yang diselenggarakan secara sukarela dari satu teman ke teman lainnya, jadi hal yang keliru pun tidak dipermasalahkan lagi. Sudah lama kita tidak berkumpul seperti ini sehingga ketika acara selesai pun kita tidak langsung berpisah. Banyak di antara kita yang berpindah ke warung kopi di dekat Sun City. Setelah 16 tahun meninggalkan sekolah, kita memiliki banyak hal yang musti diperbincangkan!
Para hadirin berkumpul melihat hasil cetakan foto bersama.
Posted by Anthony Robinson at 12:50 PM
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Labels: General, Life
Friday, December 29, 2017
Malaysia Boleh: Malacca Of all the places in Malaysia, Malacca is always my favorite destination for short getaway. A weekend trip, arriving on Saturday and departing on Sunday will be just nice. While Malaysia was used to be well-known for the inconvenient public transport (this is now changing thanks to Uber and Grab), Malacca is the one place that is pedestrian friendly. Well, at least the city center is best explored on foot! I had a couple of visits since a decade ago. The first trip was with a Malaysian ex-colleague, Swee Hin, my travel buddy during this period. The beauty of travelling with a local was we could do it the Malaysian way, so we headed to Larkin Sentral, the bus terminal located in Johor Bahru, and took a bus from there. The journey to Malacca was roughly around three hours ride. Once we reached there, as this visit was before the rise of Agoda.com, we did a walk-in to book our hotel room.
The riverside, when the evening came. Photo by Evelyn Nuryani.
So what to do in Malacca? The two days, one night routine pretty much involved a walk around the city center, visiting various tourist spots ranging from the museum (that's where I refreshed my history lesson about Hang Tuah and Admiral Zheng He), the big Portuguese ship that also happened to be another museum, to Jonker Walk that was famous for its night market. However, as this was a trip with a Malaysian, we had this unlikely chance to visit the Malacca Zoo. It was alright, quite decent, but not exactly memorable, haha. The next trip to Malacca happened to be from Kuala Lumpur. Together with a bunch of friends, I departed from Puduraya to Melaka Sentral, the main bus station. Oh yeah, if we took bus, be it from Singapore, Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur, we always alighted at this bus station. It was from here that we should take a cab to reach the city centre, where the main attractions were. The visit itself was a basically a repetition of the routine, described in the previous paragraph, minus the zoo, haha.
Eko and Suresh, when we stopped for a short break.
The third one was rather interesting because we drove from Singapore to Malacca. Chia was on the driver's seat while Suresh, Eko and I took turn on the front seat, if I remember correctly. Apart from the city center, we managed to explore some other places, but the most memorable one was the A'Famosa resort. We stayed at the apartment and we visited the theme park and the Old West, a rather charming Red Indians and cowboys show. Too bad that the one above was the only picture I could find. This is when we had our breakfast at the resting area, when we were on our way to Malacca. The last time I went there was like a big, extended family trip. It was their first visit, so I did spend quite a fair bit of time with my daughter in our hotel room (we were staying at Hatten hotel, one of the newer hotels in town) in order to allow my wife, her sisters and mum to roam the city centre freely. A quality time well-deserved by the best wife ever! Later that night, I joined them for dinner where we had Korean food instead of the local peranakan cuisine or chicken rice ball, haha. Overall, Malacca is a nice city with enough entertainment and eateries for all ages. The city center, the main tourist attraction, has this relaxed ambience, especially when it is not too hot. Here's one place that's great for us to walk around and yet it is neither confining nor restrictive like resorts. Highly recommended and satisfaction guaranteed for first timers!
Family time in Melacca.
Malaysia Boleh: Melaka Dari berbagai tempat di Malaysia, Melaka adalah tempat tujuan favorit saya. Melaka sangat cocok untuk kunjungan singkat di akhir pekan, dimana kita datang pada Sabtu siang dan pulang pada Minggu sore. Transportasi di Malaysia biasanya tidak praktis (walau ini mulai berubah sejak adanya Uber dan Grab), tapi Melaka tidak terlalu terganggu oleh ketidaknyamanan ini karena pusat kotanya tergolong ramah pejalan kaki. Saya mengunjungi Melaka berulang kali terhitung sejak 10 tahun yang lalu. Swee Hin, teman sekantor yang menjadi teman seperjalanan saya dalam kunjungan perdana ini. Karena dia adalah orang Malaysia, maka saya berkesempatan untuk bertualang dengan gaya lokal. Saat itu kita berangkat dari Larkin Sentral, stasiun bis yang terletak di Johor Bahru. Lamanya perjalanan berkisar tiga jam. Begitu sampai di sana, karena ini adalah perjalanan sebelum populernya Agoda.com, kita masuk dan memesan kamar hotel secara langsung di meja resepsionis.
Swee Hin, lagi antri buat pesan kamar. Foto dari Sony Ericsson K630, sebelum era BlackBerry, haha.
Jadi apa saja yang bisa dilakukan di Melaka? Rutinitas dua hari satu malam ini biasanya mencakup kunjungan ke berbagai daerah turis, misalnya museum (di sini saya diingatkan kembali tentang Hang Tuah dan Laksamana Cheng Ho), kapal Portugis yang juga merupakan sebuah museum dan juga pasar malam di Jonker Walk. Yang sedikit berbeda di kali pertama ini adalah kesempatan untuk mampir di kebun binatang Melaka. Tidak terlalu buruk, tapi juga tidak terlalu berkesan, haha. Saya bertolak dari Kuala Lumpur saat mengunjungi Melaka untuk kali kedua. Bersama beberapa teman, saya naik bis dari Puduraya ke Melaka Sentral, stasiun bis utama di Melaka. Oh ya, kalau kita naik bis, baik dari Singapura, Johor Bahru maupun Kuala Lumpur, bis yang kita tumpangi akan merapat di stasiun Melaka Sentral. Dari sini barulah kita naik taksi ke pusat kota, dimana atraksi turis berada. Kunjungan kali ini mirip dengan rutinitas yang dideskripsikan di atas, akan tetapi kebun binatang tidak lagi termasuk dalam rangkaian acara.
Dari kiri: Anthony, Sudarto, Markus, Tommy dan Setia.
Di kali ketiga, kita berangkat dari Singapura menggunakan mobil. Chia mengemudikan mobilnya sementara saya, Suresh dan Eko silih berganti tempat duduk di sepanjang perjalanan. Selain pusat kota, kita juga pergi ke berbagai tempat lain yang biasanya hanya bisa dituju dengan mobil. Yang paling mengagumkan adalah A'Famosa. Kita bermalam di apartemen dan di sore hari, kita pergi ke taman bermain dan menyaksikan pertunjukan koboi dan Indian Amerika. Terakhir kali saya ke sana adalah sebagai peserta dari rombongan keluarga besar. Karena ini adalah kunjungan pertama mereka, saya menjaga anak di kamar hotel (kita tinggal di Hatten yang masih tergolong di tahun 2013) supaya istri saya lebih leluasa menjelajah pusat kota bersama saudari-saudari dan ibunya. Saya bergabung dengan mereka untuk makan malam, dimana kita justru menyantap makanan Korea, bukannya makanan peranakan lokal atau nasi bola ayam Hainan yang terkenal di Melaka, haha. Dari beberapa kunjungan bersama berbagai teman seperjalanan ini, saya rasa bisa disimpulkan bahwa Melaka adalah kota yang nyaman dan lengkap dengan hiburan untuk berbagai usia. Pusat kotanya, daerah atraksi selalu dipadati oleh turis, memiliki suasana yang santai, terutama saat cuaca tidak terlalu panas. Sangat direkomendasikan dan dijamin merupakan pengalaman yang memuaskan, terutama bagi mereka yang pertama kali berkunjung!
Yani di depan benteng A Famosa.
Posted by Anthony Robinson at 8:38 AM
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