Sunday, May 20, 2012

Follow Your Dream? Cliche or truth?

Pencarian jati diri memang melelahkan, tapi lebih buruk tidak mengetahui cara melakukannya..

Sudah hampir sebulan sejak milestone kehidupan saya mencapai 17 tahun... mungkin waktunya kurang tepat untuk mengaku bahwa saya mempertimbangkan hal-hal yang sudah terjadi dalam kehidupan saya. Lazimnya lebih pas untuk mengatakan "saat usiaku beranjak 17, aku mulai memikirkan ulang hidupku" ketimbang "27 hari setelah ulangtahunku yang ke-17, aku mulai berpikir akan hidupku", tapi... Begitulah hidup.

Pencarian jati diri mungkin bukan hal yang saya kuasai. Orang bilang "be yourself", "follow your dream", dan berbagai kutipan klise lainnya yang notabene terdengar valid dan ingin saya klarifikasi keabsahannya.. tapi ternyata tidak semudah itu.


"Follow your dream". Kutipan ini benar-benar mempengaruhi saya pada detik saya memulai obsesi saya terhadap anime One Piece. Odacchi menggambarkan petualangan Luffy dan kawan-kawannya dengan gaya yang sangat menyentuh... Apapun yang mereka lakukan, mereka tetap stick pada ambisi mereka, pada mimpi mereka, dan kendati mereka dihadapkan pada pilihan antara meraih mimpi mereka dan hal lain yang mereka terpaksa harus terima, ambisi mereka yang sudah tertanam dalam hati membantu mereka mengambil keputusan yang tepat.
Moralnya adalah untuk mengikuti mimpi. Apa mimpi saya? ..bahkan saya tidak tahu.

Setiap orang pastinya punya mimpi. Bahkan orang-orang ambisius, motivator, penasihat pembelajaran, semua mengatakan kepada kita untuk meraih mimpi kita. Dengan sikap seolah-olah orang yang tidak punya mimpi itu orang yang tidak akan sukses. Sikap ini malah membuat saya skeptis terhadap orang dengan profesi macam mereka. Saya hanya akan menaikkan alis dan membatin, "I beg to differ...". Yeah, saya tidak punya mimpi, tidak memiliki ambisi yang konkret. Tapi saya sangat ingin punya satu.

How do you expect someone to find something everyone already has since they were born?

Dulu memilih cita-cita waktu saya kecil sangat gampang... Dokter, astronot, pilot, polisi, suster, pramugari, penyanyi, artis, guru, you name it... Sekarang? Definisi cita-cita makin sempit, tapi bidang makin luas. Saya saja baru tahu kalau ada profesi sebagai auditor bagi perusahaan untuk mengetahui apakah usaha mereka memenuhi standar yang environment-friendly atau semacamnya... dan profesi itu ayah saya yang pegang.

Setahun lagi lulus SMA, dan saya bahkan tidak tahu harus memilih fakultas apa. Berdasarkan kualifikasi saya selama SMA ini, paling ideal memang memilih fisika. Hanya saja, saya baru sadar bahwa saya tidak begitu menyukai fisika. Bisa dibilang kalau nilai fisika saya relatif bagus, ada lomba-lomba fisika yang saya menangkan, penganalisaan soal-soal fisika cukup baik, tapi ternyata saya tidak begitu menyukai fisika... Apa saya harus memaksakan diri menyukainya? Atau apa ini bukan jalan saya? Data not found.

Kalaupun saya ingin memilih "fisika" ini sebagai jalan ke depannya, saya baru sadar bahwa ada BANYAK sekali fakultas berkenaan fisika.. tapi yang pakai embel-embel fisika belum tentu perlu ilmu fisika sesuai yang dipelajari di sekolah menengah atas... Fisika teknik? Fisika murni? Astrofisika? *menghela nafas* Yang mana, saya tidak tahu... tapi waktu terus berjalan dan saya tidak bisa menunda memutuskan lagi. Begitu orang yang baru bertemu saya tahu saya SMA kelas 2, hal pertama yang menjadi pertanyaan berikutnya spontan adalah: "Nanti kuliah mau ke mana?"

Well, I still don't know.

So I guess it's still a cliche quote.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

About TOFINA

Kalau yang sudah nyimak blog ini (entah ngerti atau enggak, abisan bahasanya labil) tentu sedikit-sedikit menemukan kata "physics quarantine" atau apalah yang saya tulis di masa lalu... (sudah lupa, dasar pikun)


Intinya, saya memang sudah mengikuti masa karantina selama kurang lebih delapan bulan di daerah Tangerang sekitar dua tahun lalu, dimulai dari Bulan September 2009 hingga Agustus 2010 (minus dua bulan pulang dulu)... dan mungkin kalian cukup menyimak (walau kemungkinannya kecil) kalau saya banyak mengeluh di blog ini selama menjalani pelatihan tersebut. Sekarang saya ingin sedikit berbagi tentang TOFINA... Karena saya bukan memperkenalkan atau mempresentasikan sistem ini secara formal, saya akan menceritakan berdasarkan apa yang saya ketahui.


Tim yang saya ikuti dinamai TOFINA, kepanjangan dari Tim Olimpiade Fisika Pertamina. Pada dasarnya, Tofina ini adalah sebuah tim olimpiade fisika (duh) yang anggotanya berasal dari daerah-daerah yang terdapat kilang minyak Pertamina. Kenapa Pertamina? Sebab, tim olimpiade ini diatur untuk dibimbing oleh Yohannes Surya Institute yang notabene pembiayaan akomodasi dan bimbingannya tidak sedikit. Khusus Tofina, hal-hal materi semacam ini ditangani oleh pihak Pertamina, karena itu tim ini menyandang embel-embel "Pertamina".


Daerah-daerah "berkilang" yang menjadi target pencarian bibit-bibit unggul di bidang yang telah banyak berkontribusi dalam mempermudah kehidupan manusia ini (tsahhh) antara lain Balikpapan, Sorong, Palembang, Bontang, Bekasi, Merauke, Cilacap, dan Indramayu. Yups. Ada 8 daerah, otomatis menghasilkan 8 hasil pencarian, seperti yang sebelum-sebelumnya pernah saya singgung di blog ini.


Tim Tofina ini pada awalnya 'didesain' untuk dibimbing secara intensif selama setahun itu untuk langsung mewakili Indonesia mengikuti APhO tahun 2010. Normalnya yang akan mewakili Indonesia adalah mereka yang memenangkan Olimpiade Sains Nasional dan terpilih masuk TOFI (Tim Olimpiade Fisika Indonesia), tim yang lebih 'resmi' hehe. Tetapi setelah beberapa bulan pelatihan Tofina dimulai, ternyata karena beberapa sebab, diputuskan bahwa kami harus juga mengikuti OSK, OSP, dan OSN berturut-turut sebelum akhirnya lulus seleksi untuk mewakili Indonesia menuju APhO 2010.


Jadi, singkatnya, Tofina ini Tim Olimpiade Fisika yang dibiayai oleh Pertamina seluruhnya. Jadi akomodasi kami di Tangerang, duit makan, honor tutornya, serta biaya institusinya semuanya ditanggung oleh perusahaan minyak ini (aseeeek). Tim kami belajar di semacam "sekolah" setiap hari Senin-Jumat mulai dari jam 8 pagi hingga jam 4 sore (dengan istirahat 1 jam dan dua sesi snack time :D) dan kami juga harus belajar malam mulai pukul 7 hingga 10 di semacam "asrama".

Sebenarnya dibilang asrama juga kurang tepat, karena sistemnya lebih seperti kos-kosan, hanya saja lebih luxury hehe. Makan pagi, siang dan malam katering, laundry juga dikerjakan orang, kamar mandinya pake air hangat, kamarnya ber-AC... Wuidih pokok'e mantep (promosi tempat wisata apa? -__-)


Sedangkan di setiap hari Sabtu diadakan tes di rumah, lembar soal dipegang oleh koordinator kami Kak Novi. Sabtu selalu menjadi nervous breakdown bagi kami. Keseluruhan perkembangan hasil tes itu menjadi evaluasi apakah program ini berhasil dan perlu dilanjutkan. Yah, Tofina ini adalah tim pertama... dan (sepertinya) terakhir yang dibuat dengan mengadakan kerjasama antara Yohannes Surya Institute dengan Pertamina.

----

Sekian sekilas info tentang Tofina. Tiba-tiba saja saya jadi kangen masa-masa pelatihan di sana, karena itu saya menulis mengenai ini. Mungkin nanti juga saya akan berbagi cerita lebih banyak, lebih ke pengalamannya :)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Furs and Tale

There. I stood still, staring through the window glass with full focus, capturing every motion of that creature again. It just sat down there on the front yard of my house, backing me with vision locked to the direction of the tree branches. Sometimes it gracefully turned his head to its sides, almost exchanged glimpse with me. I wanted those pair of eyes to meet mine. I wished for it to happen, but that was just silly. I could watch its motion forever, if it doesn't leave me first.

Yes. There was nothing more weird and exciting at the same time than staring silently at a cat. I love cats more than you could imagine. No exceptions. I don't pick my favorite cat, because generally I love them all. Whether it's Tabby Cat, Persian, Maine Coon, or whatever, I don't care. I like seeing their silly attitude and adorableness, even when they could be terribly annoying. There's always this inside feeling to hug every of them I meet, directly or just visually.

Cats are everywhere. They are in my school, house neighborhood, across the street, even in mall parking lots. I once lived in a neighborhood full of wild dogs, but I was still able to meet lots of cats. Their survival skill is high. They salvage your outside garbage can to search for organic trash we don't need, steal some fresh meat or fish from your sloppily opened kitchen, or fight each other to snatch food from.

They are amazing individualistic animals. They don't spend time in groups even when they sometimes need company. They don't give a damn about each other. If they don't like a certain one, they fight. They're no hypocrites.

Cats don't give a damn about their owner. They will come when they need food and leave after business finished. They receive your hugs and pets just to kill the time. They thank us in selfish ways. When they're not eating, they will play... alone or by another cat. They scratch your sofa, rip off your curtain, aim the TV cable, or attack your ballpoint through their fantasy adventure. They do actions we'd love to take moments to watch.

Cats mate with whichever partner they want and won't care about it. Mother cats don't whine for having so much children and she would raise them well until her kids have to live on their own. There are so much love and ignorance from the parents, but they survive anyway.

Cats live in total freedom. They do what they want, they do what they need and nothing changes their minds. Cats spend 1/6 of their lifetime to clean up by licking their body with tongue. They are useless for humans, pet or not. Cats annoy you, disturb you, break your stuffs, make you clean their mess but bring you charm at the same time.

To me, my love to cats is like a blind love. I love them despite all things they are capable to do to torture my sanity. Their manner inspires me and their beauty attracts me. They have a pair of eyes that could pierce sharply to you when annoyed, or blankly stare at you in fear and curiosity. Their face expresses fondness toward your kind but nevertheless scared that you might shove it away. They gaze upon you with a begging look and also represent a mind that says "If you don't want to, I can take better care of myself" at the exact moment.

I want to be like cats. I want to be able to care about nothing I don't want to. I want to ignore how someone left me alone and meet them again as if nothing happened. I want to survive every place like they do. I adore their irresistible cuteness. I like that expression on their faces when they climb a tree or receive meal from their owner.

I can't understand people who dislike cats. Sure, they're annoying, but to me cats just represent our ideal, ignorant lifestyle. We are now being demanded by career, aspiration to be wealthy and needs of unimportant things. In fact, what we basically need are just like cats: food to survive, and clothes - when it's furs to them, and a place, or several places, to stay. We would just do what we need to... just like cats.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Play Days Are Over

#nowplaying Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over

Okay, so I changed the title from the song a little bit... just to fit my mood tonight. I'm getting serious with my mind at this very moment.

I've been thinking of my future lately. As a freshman in High School, it may be quite too early to consider about what style I have to die with. However, I realize that my sloppy and lazy habit got my daily routines move seemingly faster than ever, then days to days passes quickly.

During times, I could not think of anything worthy to escape boring daily activities like going to school. Well, I actually could, but things will turn out messy. I always try to play some guitar when I get home, sketch artworks from scratch, make music videos, or similar things expressed through art and productive. To show the world I can really DO something for them.

I have no talents. Wise quotes often say that everybody has talent. I think I'm the only exception. The only things I can do are totally selfish. I read comics, not heavy literature, and most times I don't understand the storyline or plot or whatsoever so I would not make a decent writer. I listen to music, just to waste the time. Sure, I can be a hardcore Linkin Park fan like I always say, but there are people who love them more than I could ever do. I rarely study for I underestimate academic stuffs. I'm socially awkward, and nobody ever needs me hang around. I say lots of lame things, and stupidly think people will like me for that. I have religion, but not truly a believer from heart. I’m not nice, either. I’m a jerk, a hypocrite.

I don’t have a certain dream. The worst thing ever happens to human’s soul is inside of me. I’m empty. I live chasing nothing. I want to excel in everything. That is nearly my ambition, but I’m an untalented perfectionist. It’s like the universe is trying to stop my attempts of being worthy. I’m holding on to what I haven’t got.

I’ve stuck to what is in front of me. I don’t think far ahead. But now I’m wondering of what I will be. I see that every second someone is achieving what they want, what they’re destined to be. Am I going to be one of those dirty moolah-oriented politicians or green environmental activist? Am I going to work in mailroom or write movie scripts? I don’t know.

On some comics I read, there are protagonists who chase their dream since childhood even if it risks their lives. That’s it. I’ve wanted to be that person who dares to lose my life for something, to die with honor. Except what is that thing? Pride, religion, dream, football club, country, favorite band? Doesn’t matter which one, I’m still a messed-up teen for this moment. I’m gonna die for something one day. Yes.

I want to invent something that will change the world and blow human sanity. I want to make that Sci-Fi movie beyond-reach society real. I want to build a time machine or create a teletransporter.

Yes, I want to be a lot of things, I want to expertise every thing, but that’s not quite my dream. I’m still looking for that passion to keep me alive. I’m searching for myself. Oh, yes. That is my current aspiration.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Of Comics and Reading Talent

Thinking of some earcatching titles for this post but end up failing miserably as usual...

Today is the last day of Early Semester Holiday, and I have done nothing special except for Wednesday, when I went to a non-tourism river and rented a boat with my family to cruise along and catch a glimpse of this surprisingly cute primata called "Bekantan" or under scientific name Nasalis larvatus which is, FYI, an endangered species. We traveled at exact noon or 12 p.m, making the hot journey not a very comfortable one, especially because those animals aren't coming out around that time. We did manage to see some, though. :D

Any
way, despite of that occassion, my holiday went disappointingly boring. Luckily a new episode of LPTV aired yesterday and it was a fun one. So besides living on internet, I eat and breathe, I pray and play (music), listening to music as usual, I mostly read books and... comics.

A-ha. We're getting into comics. I want to review some things about two of my most-read comics on these day-offs, which are released just recently.


THIS is the first one: Komik KambingJantan 2
If you're youth and you're Indonesian, you would totally be familiar with this title. Yep, the briliant and famous Raditya Dika is now back with some concept which artwork is done by once again Dio Rudiman.
Like the first one, this comic contains his story as a college student in Australia. Still with his comical actions, it spits jokes through the art, narration, and storyline. A difference with the first edition I noticed is the "Nicole" character was drew nicer in the comic 1. And this new release focuses on the motion actions, but the drawing is kinda rough for such thing, I should say. There are lot more jest and joke, and some subliminal gag in the artworks.

I like 8th chapter the most. It has light drawings, more humorous storyline than others -- though slightly tragic.
And the last chapter is awesome. It represents the author's character the most and clean gags.

The second (un)fortunate comic to review is....

ShonenMAGZ 1 year 2011. A compilation of shonen (male) manga (Japanese comic) I've been subscribing for months. I start collecting it since volume 56 and found it interesting.
However, this first 2011 edition is kind of... disappointing.
This kind of comic contains at least two chapter of each manga series it provides. When a manga is finished on a ShonenMAGZ edition, the next one will have a new manga to fill the finished one.
A new serie, which replaced the old one, is called 'Blazers Drive'.
To me, it's not a really good manga. I mean, the storyline is like has been ever: A gifted protagonist boy in a fantasy world, met some enemy, lost his family and then would win against anything in his way. It has too much too-pushing jokes.
I like the idea of a different situation of skill-power. It puts a thing named Mysticker as an individual's power. The mysticker can give the four basic-elements power they can use to fight. But that's not a reason to love this manga. Among the whole series, this one still stands as my least favorite.
My problem is not only with Blazers Drive, but also with BECK and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
When I read BECK, my first impression was "this one is cool". It tells about a fictional rock band (I love rock music), their struggle through the world of music business and the dark side of it, an idea hard to find. BUT, the twist in the plots is kind of confusing nowadays. Talking about an unfinished song that fires a conflict is still a big question mark for me. Stiff jokes and artwork too.
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle? It's been in ShonenMAGZ from the start so before Blazers Drive released, this one is the least favorite. I don't get the story because I don't follow the serie from the beginning. It has advancing plots and twist. It's actually good and the artwork is amazing, but I just don't know what happens to this and that person. It has too much character I don't know.

So folks, because my holiday and your weekend ends in... *stares at clock* an hour, I wish you and myself luck for a good starter Monday tomorrow! :D Good night.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Worse Weekend Than Being Quarantined

Whassssssssssupppppppp worrlddddd....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nah, that's not a nice intro. I failed once again.

Today's weekend, as even every desperate protozoa knows.... but truth spoken, it's not a good one for me. Weekend is supposed to be the time we students or non-students have fun or at least kicking back and enjoying the days, right? Who disagrees with me please raise your salary (?).

Anywayy, I'm having a slightly bad mood because of the overloaded homework the teachers gave to my class, and they don't even give a damn that until the next Wednesday the whole school is having final-term exam. I think teachers are just
KINDA lazy to give us tasks on the early days before this exam period catches up, and WE have to pay for them. If not, it's a fail for all of us.

The tasks I'm talking about is the real deal. By 'real deal' I mean not that they're important but it's one hell of job for something not really important. They require handy skills and teamwork, which is not the stuff we can do in a rush like this -- studying for exam as well as doing handicrafts. Wanna know what they are???

I don't seriously think any of normal people wants, so I'll just shorten this up. Maybe my wandering classmate found this blog and saw this post and then squeal in their mind "Oh darn! I totally forgot about
this homework!"
First homework to be announced was a subject to Cultural Study. We were grouped into six people at each group and what we need to do is performing the
Cha-Cha dance on next Saturday. This task is actually pretty considering, because we got a month and two weeks to rehearse the basics and developing dancing styles.... but my lazy group haven't even practiced the basic steps yet. -______-

Next work I haven't done is... Geography articles!!! I need to search for earthquake-prone areas on earth, and it would be a piece of cake because know what? My country could be considered as one of the most earthquake-prone area (if it is spelled right). I supposed to collect it last week but I haven't printed all the articles yet and the necessary device is unfortunately broken. Hell yeah.

Another one to add the list? I'll give ya two: handicraft work and robot-programming task. The handicraft task was given after the teacher came back from a town in Java and bought some ethnical handicrafts, and then we have to make their copy by ourselves. This usually is a team job, but now she wants us to do one for each person... and the deadline is Monday.

About the robot-programming task, it could be the most annoying one ever. The teacher gave us that task last Saturday, and today is the last day we could collect it. Guess what? Nobody had done it yet. I've worked about it with my group (yes, it's group work) but apparently due to lack of time, we only managed to do the programming. The teacher wants us to make a presentation and paperwork and video-recording out of it... so
only the program wouldn't work. -____-

That's my annoying sharing for the day. I'm sure it's not a pleasant stuff to be written in a blog or to be seen by people, but I just can't help it. My weekend's a mess!

Despite mine, I want everyone else to have a nice weekend! :) Happy weekend, guys!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Bitter Taste

Alright, so today I wanna babble about friendship. I ain't gonna whine by telling nonsense like 'real friends should...' or 'I need friends like...'. Nobody's perfect, and perfection is boring. It's totally better to go with unexpected things through life.

Anyway, I don't know exactly where to start, but I just feel like writing today. Isn't it better than me posting Deftones' "7 Words" lyrics here? It would be a darned full page of explicit content.

I've always been the kind of jerk who acts immature to my friends and classmates. I would be the last in the class to notice someone's brand new shoes, though he/she is one of my closest friends, and if it's not because of Facebook, I'd totally forget my pal's birthday. Despite so, I still expected them to remember my birthday and pay attention to my new shirt. See? This is my problem.

I'm naive and sincere. Not bragging by implying so, what I meant by sincere is that I can't fake a smile, can't fake a frown, can't fake a cry. I can't pretend to be interested in a chat when I'm actually not. I can't laugh if I don't find a joke funny. That sure seems like something every people would do, but it's not that simple. I figured there are things we need to pretend to make our social life runs smoothly. Perhaps laugh at a new acquaintance's joke so we can be friends...? Even that I'm not laughing, I would smile and tell the person I'm amused. You know, making a sophisticate impression? *can't believe I just wrote that.

Next problem, I'm not a fun person unless I really know you. I'm objective to any kinds of conversation, but there's this mental power that keeps me barried with my own thoughts until I get to know you better. This is caused by my appearance that I look like a total nerd. I'm not. I'm a lazybone. I don't study everyday. I rarely face my studying desk other than opening my laptop to play games or browsing internet. I can listen to Linkin Park or Metallica all day long without feeling dizzy but can't bear a single 500-page novel in the same day. I have dirty mind. I draw, I paint, I play sports, and I do things to my heart's content without considering others. Shortly, I have the characteristics I need to be a typical boy. But I'm on opposite gender. So my problem now is with fate.

I'm quite annoyed that in my high school days I'm treated like a nerd. Not that I'm bullied or ignored. Everyone is nice, but they don't see me as a friend. They see me as an information agent. Sure, I'm above average regarding academic stuffs, but that doesn't mean you can walk away after I finished answering your physics questions! *cries* I don't have a friend I can share stories with, or someone who could accompany me to school cafeteria... Well, that kinda sucks. I can survive that and make friends out of ALL of you!! Muhaahahahh.
I never have whined about it, though. When people leave me alone, there I am, alone enjoying the banging music on my earphone. When they come for me (ha pun intended), I'll be there for them. I'm okay being used, as long as you still humanize me.

I'm insensitive. That's because my life runs smoothly :) I don't have sad or agony stories to tell to my friends, so I couldn't feel anything when they talk to me about their problems. Mostly about their teen love life. Eh? That is so not my topic. I'll try to understand it and give logical solutions anyway. Yeah, logical. So don't blame me if my advice doesn't work. Problems involving compassions and romance are not logical =P