One Month One Book Project, Entry #1. INKSPELL

koleksi pribadi

Urgh... SEpertinya pekerjaan bisa merubah kebiasaan seseorang. Dan sangat sulit mengembalikan diri kamu ke "sesuatu' yang kamu sering lakukan di masa lalu, membaca misalnya. Sewaktu remaja dulu, SMP atau SMA, saya bisa membaca 2 novel dalam 1 minggu dan itu ternyata prestasi besar yang agak kelihatan mustahil untuk sekarang. 

Masih ingat kan dengan sihir Harry Potter sekitar tahun 2000-an. Waktu itu saya duduk di bangku SMP-SMA. Seri kelima Harry Potter yang tebalnya sekitar 1200 halaman saya habiskan dalam waktu 4 hari saja! Wow.. Even I feel amazed with myself now. Dan Harry benar-benar membantu saya jadi orang yang cinta buku. Berakhirnya kisah Harry pun membuat intensitas baca buku saya menghilang. Don't get me wrong. Bagi saya, buku yang baik adalah buku yang bisa buat kamu jadi suka baca buku-buku lain dengan genre yang berbeda-beda, and Harry Potter has that. Dan, secara pribadi, saya lebih senang dengan orang yang bacaannya beragam dan gak "stuck" di satu jenis bacaan saja.

NAh.. Tau kan ya kita membicarakan apa. Yup.. kebiasaan membaca. Banyak hal yang dapat kamu kerjakan untuk meningkatkan minat baca, apalagi buat yang tidak suka baca (O_o). Salah satunya seperti poin yang saya sebutkan di atas.

1. Baca buku yang kamu senangi dan best seller. Ya.. ini mungkin kedengarannya cliche, but it works. REally.. Mulai lah membaca sesuatu yang kamu senangi. kalau kamu orang yang suka kritis dan science, mungkin bisa mulai dengan cerita-cerita detektif seperti Agatha Christie atau Sherlock Holmes mungkin. Jangan pernah salah memilih buku untuk meningkatkan minat baca. Ketertarikan akan membuat kamu mudah mencerna isi dan tentu saja menikmati isi cerita. Begitu buku tersebut selesai kamu baca, pasti kamu ketagihan mau baca buku lain. Sebaliknya, buku yang tidak menarik dan tidak sesuai minat kamu akan menghentikan keinginan kamu dalam membaca.
2. Enjoy the book. masih berkaitan dengan poin satu, kalau kamu tidak suka ceritanya, berhenti. Cari buku yang genrenya sesuai dengan kamu. Nikmatilah buku seperti kamu menikmati makanan. NIkmatnya akan kurang terasa kalau ada yang tersisa. So.. habiskanlah yang sudah kamu mulai.
3. Buku Pintar. Bagi yang masih juga belum dapat asiknya membaca bisa juga memulainya dengan baca buku pintar seperti ensiklopedia, almanak, atau majalah misalnya. Intinya Minimal sehari baca satu artikel aja.
4. Komunitas. Kalau dikaji ulang kenapa jaman saya kuliah saya keranjingan baca bisa jadi karena teman-teman saya suka baca. Yaah.. tidak terpungkiri lagi kan ya, manusia itu makhluk visual. Gampang banget buat ubah lingkungan di sekitar kamu buat suka baca. Di kantor misalnya; coba setiap jam istirahat atau waktu senggang kamu baca buku. Coba seminggu aja, pasti nantinya orang di sekitar kamu juga tertarik buat baca. Di sekolah dulu, saya dan teman-teman justru lomba-lombaan siapa duluan siap baca satu buku apa aja.

Jadi nih manteman.. bergantinya profesi dari siswa/ mahasiswa ke pekerja itu benar-benar bisa merubah karakter dan kebiasaan seseorang. Kerjaan yang menumpuk, waktu yang kok ya kaya gak cukup-cukup.. Belum kehidupan sosial yang juga harus dipenuhi dalam waktu yang bersamaan, persis memaksa kita jadi jauh dari bacaan yang monoton (tapi penting) seperti novel atau buku, artikel gak kehitung lho ya.

Jadi..2 Februari lalu, seorang adik mengajak saya bergabung ke komunitas baca yang bertajuk "One Month One Book". Bergabunglah saya dan saya pilih tanggal entry tulisan jadi tanggal 15. Dan sodara-sodaraaaa... Tanggal 15 itu kaya 4 hari yang lalu. dan buku yang saya pilih adalah INkspell setebal 674 halaman... Dan saya baru baca 25%.. Wadooooow...

BUt.. saya harus lakukan mesti belum selesai..

Berikut review INSPELL(buku kedua trilogi INKHEART) part.1

Meggie akhirnya berkumpul kembali dengan MO dan Resa. Keluarga kecil yang semulanya hidup nomaden ini akhirnya menetap di rumah besar Elinor, kakak kandung Resa. Kehidupa mereka seperti kembali normal sesudah kejadian-kejadian aneh yang mereka lalui.

Farid, si pemuda yang datang dari cerita 1001 malam pun ikut tinggal bersama mereka beserta Gwin, musang bertanduk peliharaan Staubfinger. Ah.. Staubfinger, pikir Farid dia bisa ikut dengannya ke dalam dunia Staubfinger yang indah itu. Di temapat para peri menari-nari dan manusia hidup dalam dinamika karya menyenangkan. Dimana hitam dan putih jelas tergaris. Tempat yang dapat menunjukkan si baik dan jahat secara jelas. Negri impianku ini, pikir Farid. Tapi apa kuasanya. Sewaktu Meggie membacakan secarik kertas yang berhasil ditulis ulang Orpheus, ternyata hanya Staubfinger saja yang masuk ke dunia itu. Sementara Farid dan Gwin tertinggal di dunia nyata. Dan kehidupan nya pun terasa hampar kecuali muunculnya ketertarikannya pada Meggie, ah.. Mereka sudah remaja ternyata.

Farid menyampaikan kekhawatirannya pada Meggie suatu waktu, bahwa Basta masih hidup dan nyaris membunuhnya sebelum Farid berhasil sampai ke rumah ELinor. Ketakutan Farid menjadi-jadi manakala Basta mengancam akan membunuh Staubfinger. Maka Farid pun meminta Meggie membaca untuknya agar ia bisa masuk ke Negeri Tinta tempat Staubfinger berada dan peringatan yang menggebu-gebu ini tersampaikan.

Meggie ternyata punya "ingin" yang sangat berbahaya. Dia merasa perlu ikut ke negeri itu. Cerita Resa, ibunya, tentang dunia itu membuatnya bermimpi bisa disana. Negeri ajaib yang indah.. Maka tanpa sepengetahuan MO dan Resa. Farid, Gwin dan Meggie pun pergi kesana. Ya... Meggie bahkan sampai tertegun sendiri pada kemampuan membacanya. Ternyata dia tidak hanya mampu menukar okoh dalam buku dan dunia nyata, tapi dia juga mampu membawa dirinya masuk kesana.

Tak dinyana.. Mo, ayah Meggie dan Resa berikut Elinor seperti kehilangan pijakan. Mereka ketakutan saat mendapati kamar Meggie kosong dan surat itu. Surat itu pesan Meggie bahwa semuanya akan baik-baik saja. Bahwa dia hanya penasaran dengan kehidupan orang-orang di dunia Tinta.

Sementara di Inkheart, Meggie, Farid dan Gwin terdampar di Hutan tak Berujung selama berhari-hari sampai akhirnya mereka selamat dan bertemu dengan Fenoglio, penulis buku INkheart yang dulunya dikirim Meggie saat ia membacakan satu halaman Inkheart dihadapan Fenoglio. "Akhirnya aku akan pulang", pikir Meggie ang ternyata tidak begitu senang dengan kehidupan disana, bagaimanapun dia rindu Mo dan Resa, orang tuanya.

to be continued...

Random Things; Random Thoughts

credit to http://splashurl.com/k8mjxpm

1. You know it's the Hand of God when you typed and sent a text to someone, and for some moment after that you realized that it was stupid words and waited for the reply in horror. But after 15 minutes you checked back.. It's never been sent.. Oh.. for the first time in my life, I love the INTERNET CONNECTION in INDONESIA..
2. People said that it's just that hard to forget person who has been there in your life and means something different. Try this then; Imagine him/ her in the most disgusting thing he/she can do like picking up his/her nose in public place. Here it goes... Yuck!! I think I can let him/ her go off my mind. Mission accomplished.
3. The first time I feel so strong in my life was this night. I went to the doctor to check my burnt wound which went worse, alone. In there, the nurse threated me by cleaning the wound, cutting, cleaning... It's hurt like hell and I've got noone on my side but only the nurses. It was raining outside, and I cried in silent. I was alone afterall. Victory!! I made it. I'm okay, but universe tested again by poured the rain from the night sky. It's cold...
4. What do you think of yourself when you start to like something you don't like before. I hate "kerupuk mulieng" before, but now I eat that. I never drink Pocari Sweat before, but now.. even the smell drives me mad... I want it bad...
5. I have like 4 handphones all of my life. The first one is Nokia 3310, and my brother sold it. The second one is MOtorola, while the third one is Samsung Star. I still keep them. No.. They're not working anymore. Too old, so they got retired. Haha
6. Once I look back at 2011, I come to realize I am at this point in my life because I wanted to run off "something". Now, life keeps me upside down, and I want to run from this point in my life to that "something". God is Great afterall. God makes me learn in the hardest way I never knew before. Wiser is word I define myself now... Maybe.
7. So many people come and leave in my life. Most of them teach me precious lessons, less that showed who they truly are. Afterall, I feel so alived, and grateful.
8. Decisions can't be made when you're mad, nor when you're sad. Be careful of yourself.
9. A rejection is always a rejection, no matter how great the first words are. If the last words mean No, then it's a BIG NO! Take that!
10. MOney is always used for trading. But Most of the time you can spend it for someone else happiness, or hope at its best. Be thrift!
11. Eat, drink, eat, drink... When you think fat is a burden, then it is so. 
12. Friends and Money! NO... Never mix it buddy! Trust me! For whatever the reason is, no.. No for mixing them both. Unless, you've got no other relatives or family to ask for.
13. Love comes in the time you never expect from personality you never expect. And Love.. love.. Come on dude, crush is for short term. Do we have the guts to love? For a way longer?
14. Family. Place to run for, even sometimes they want you run from them. For the sake of your future they said. Forget it! If they don't understand you, dont push them to do so. Let go.. Just forgive yourself, then them.. And live your life again, your own way.
15. Live your life.. Laugh as hard as you can. Smile often. Cry less. Appreciate more. Hurt less, and one thing for sure that I learn from my Co-teacher; "Dek, don't ever tried to find out the hurting words people said about you. NO... don't hear it. Close your ears if it hurts you". This Woman teach me something I never knew before. :))

Ketabrak (lagi) di tempat yang sama..

Sudah 3 Jumat berlalu sesudah kejadian tempo hari. Hari ini sah Jumat keempat. Dan tadi sekitar jam 7.30 malam saya dapat pesan dari seorang kakak saya yang terpisah dulu waktu di dalam kandungan (hehehehe... :p), bahwa dia mau jalan di mall yang tidak seberapa mana itu. Dia pun datang dan menjemput saya. Setelah seharian penuh saya habiskan di rumah, saya rasa I need to give some fun for myself, then I went.

Belanja belanja.. pilih-pilih.. what else can we do, it's a mall for God sake. (--")

Sampai waktunya pulang. Kakak gak bisa antar saya sampai rumah karena rumahnya jauh dan saya bisa naik becak juga. Di depan jalan keluar motor saya berhenti dan hampir saja naik ke becak yang sedang nge.tem di sana, samapai saya tiba-tiba berubah pikiran, and I don't know why. You can ask me, but I truly don't have any idea why I didn't go with that 'abang becak". Saya naik lagi ke motor si kakak dan kami mengarah ke tempat banyak becak ngetem lainnya. ada 4 becak disana, dan saya memeilih satu yang sedang terparkir jauh. Si Bapak becak sedang duduk termenung saat saya tanya apa itu becaknya atau bukan. Umurnya mungkin sudah sekitar 50 tahun. Rambutnya sudah hampir putih semua, perwakannya kecil. "kemana?", tanya bapak itu singkat. "Ulee Kareng pak", jawab saya. "15.000 aja", katanya, tanpa ditanya. Saya pun mengiyakan dan becak pun berjalan. Sebelum becaknya jalan si bapak sempat ngomong "Kawannya pulang lain arah ya?". Saya hanya menjawab iya singkat.

Becak melaju sekenanya, tidak ngebut sama sekali. Saya dan si bapak tidak terlibat percakapan apapun. It is so not-like me, you know. Atas namanya naik becak, taksi, atau apapun itu.. saya pasti ajak si pengemudi ngomong. But thattime, we both practically quite. weird.

Sampai di simpang tujuh si bapak tanya lagi, "belok kemana dek?". "Belok kanan habis pak", jawab saya. kecepatan bapak ini paling hanya berkisar sekitar 40-45 km/jam.

Begitu jalan itu saya lewati lagi. Saya teringat dengan kejadian 3 Jumat sebelumnya. Saya ditabrak dari belakang oleh seorang anak di bawah umur (14 tahun saja). Dan horor itu pun membuat saya menghela napas. Si bapak becak tiba-tiba tanya lagi, "kemana dek?". "Belok kanan ke lorong itu pak", kata saya. Dan si bapak pun memutar haluan. Dan sekonyong-konyong dari arah yang berlawanan sebuah motor melaju sangat cepat (saya perkirakan 60-70 km/jam..mungkin) tanpa lampu kendaraan, dan itu malam saudara-saudara. Entah memang sedang naas, entah si motor gak bisa mengelak. Yang jelas motor becak yang saya tumpangi ditabrak. Dan si pemudi motor jumpalitan dan berputar di tanah. Saya sempat teriak "Pak...pak...pak..."

Rabbiy... kejadian itu cepat sekali dan saya ketakutan setengah hidup, setengah lagi mau mati. Si engemudi motor langsung bangun padahal saya yakin lukanya parah. Dan kata yang pertama keluar dari mulutnya adalah "Maaf pak...salah saya pak...salah saya pak... saya gak hidupin lampu". And me!? I was there.. Standing like rock. I couldn't think. and Home is all that I could remember. Saya bayar bapak itu dan saya pun berjalan pulang. saya terlalu ketakutan, mengingat baru 3 minggu yang lalu kejadian yang sama terjadi dan saya jadi korban. malam ini kejadian itu terulang lagi, dan saya disana, hampir jadi korban (lagi), masih di tempat yang sama, di waktu yang sama. Jumat malam.

Saya pulang. Dan setibanya di rumah saya menceritakan kejadiannya, dan saya tidak enak hati teringat dengan Bapak becak dan si pengemudi motor. Saya dan sepupu dan 2 keponakan kembali ke tempat kejadian dengan secerek air dan 2 gelas. Setiba disana ketakutan dan trauma saya berubah jadi amarah.

si bapak becak disudutkan oleh orang-orang yang tadinya tidak ada di tempat kejadian, but.. dengan sekonyong-konyongnya "sok tau", and it's so annoying. and guess what!? Si pengendara motor itu ternyata anak sekolah SLB. dan dia difable saudara-saudara.

WHAT ON EARTH!!

Orang-orang yang ada disitu minta si bapak tidak memperpanjang urusan. Mereka bilang si bapak yang salah. BIG F. dan mereka bilang kasihan anak ini, dia anak yang "kurang akal". WHAT!!

Saya disana mendengar dan menyaksikan si bapak sendirian. Saya pun angkat bicara. dan menjelaskan kejadian sebenarnya. And you know what. Pasti aja ada orang sok tau dan sok pahlwan kan ya di setiap kecelakaan macam itu. Dia nantang saya dengan ngomong. "Gimana kalau saudara adek 'cacat' dan dia dapat kejadian kaya gini!?". and I said... What!? Dalam hati saya berujar, "Saya gak akan ijinin dia naik motor". Dan ternyata itu tidak dalam hati. KAta-kata itu meluncur saudara-saudara ditambah dengan "Saya gak akan ngijinin saudara saya itu berkendara karena akan membahayakan orang lain."

Guess what!? Si sok pahlawan merah padam dan ... saya pun merah padam. keponakan saya yang berumur 17 tahun disitu dan melerai, dia memerintahkan saya (ya... ) untuk pulang. Maaf pak becak. Seenggaknya saya sudah sarankan kalau masalah ini dibawa ke polsek saja. And ornag2 disitu semua bilang jangan.

Si pengendara motor ternyata patah tulang belikatnya. Sigh... Dan dia ternyata masih di bawah umur.

(--")

Kesimpulan cerita...

BERPENDIDIKANALAH SAUDARA-SAUDARA!!! DAN JANGAN BIARKAN ORANG-ORANG DIBAWAH INI MENGEMUDI!!
1. ANAK DIBAWAH 17 TAHUN
2. DIFABLE...
3. ORANG YANG MENTALNYA TERGANGGU
4. ORANG YANG EMOSINYA SEDANG TIDAK STABIL

If I die that day

Today, as 10 nights passed, I come up with some weird thoughts. How if, and how if.
I put on my helmet that night and I locked it. If I forgot it that day, just like things I tend to forget, often, this night could be hard night for my mom. She could be crying all night, and my dad could be in one room in a hospital. I can't even imagine that. Mom had ever told me that, she never wants to see one of her kids die before her. How about me? She also had ever said, "I can't imagine my life if you are not around", "How will your dad and me face the days ahead", she added.

I cried and screamed so hard that night, part of it is because the wound and burnt were so freaking painful, and the other part is because I was so scared to death to be dead! I can actually deny that there is part of myself that keep say "Alhamdulillah...Alhamdulillah...Alhamdulillah...", and on our way to hospital that night, I kept saying to myself "Alhamdulillah...Oh..dear God.. You still give me another shot", and all of my stupidities in all the years tracing on my head, and I was thinking, "You just forgive me...Please dear Lord", and I cried like a baby and my mom grab my hand so tight to comfort me.

Start from that day, I made up my mind. Dreams can never manipulate my life anymore, it's for me as a motivation, not a soul. I will chase my dream, and will never stop until I get it, I am B-type, and I mean it. But this time I do it different way.

Most of my close friends and family said that this accident gives something good for me, to have a break. To have some me-time is something, that as far as I can recall, I never have for almost a year straight. I was like a robot. Teaching from 8 in the morning until 9 pm. But, since I don't die yet..this 10 days straight were all for me and myself, getting a long break and do nothing but for myself. I love it, even the pain is...ugh... But there's nothing's free in this world, my long break this time has to be paid with blood, literally blood. haha

I love what I have now, and I am just that lucky...
Thanks Life... :)

16/12/2013

My Opening Remark on UN Day Celebration(LatePost)

For the sake of these kids, I protect the pic by closing the eyes

The last November 15 was a big day for our school since we celebrated UN DAY. We knew that it's a little late, but  we just couldn't make it at the right moment. We thought the concern was that we tried to celebrate it. 

It was different from last years celebration. This year celebration, we focused on the dance of the country we represented. My class got middle east and I chose the dance from southern part of Egypt I got after searching ones in YOUTUBE. 

And... I had that honour to deliver opening remark on the D-Day. Here is the short speech of mine.

"Peace and God blessing beyond you all.

First of all, I’d like to say thank you to the head of the school and the chairman who give this honorable chance to represent this school and to share a little bit about what we know about UN Day.

And we’d like to say welcome to our honorable guests and parents. And to our beloved team mates, the teachers and students, you did beautiful team work.

There are 196 countries in this world. All the people live in different culture, come from different races, practice different religions and beliefs, but we tend to forget that we have one purpose in this life, to live in peace and harmony.

We can’t actually deny that so many wars and tragedies we have today, in this world due to our incompetency in understanding those differences. We’ve come to realize that all those differences among us are beauty and bless, but at some point, in our daily lives we tend to act the other way around. We do labeling, judging, blaming people not because what they do, but from their race, countries, or religions.

Today, we want to lead our kids to a stage in their lives where they actually aware of these cross cultural facts. We want our kids to be wise in living life and face the differences, and later on when they grow up, to deal with conflicts that may be caused by the differences and solve it in healthy way. We want our kids to understand that we are all one. We are all family.

No matter where we are from, no matter what color our skin are, no matter what religion we practice and no matter what state we stand in believing something. We want these kids to believe that those have nothing to do with the way they treat people.

Today, these kids are going to representing the dance from different part of the world. Here, we can learn something that it is obviously not that hard to understand other people, just like it is not that hard for those kids to learn the dances from other cultures in less than two months. We all can live in harmony if only we can start to understand that we are all born different. Even ears on one head are different.

Last but not least... I’d like to quote a statement from a very remarkable man who is known for his wisdom and tolerance. He said these words for Round Square Campaign October 1996, in South Africa. “The challenge for each one of you is to take up these ideals of tolerance and respect for others and put them to practical use in your schools, your communities and throughout your lives” __Nelson Mandela

Though we come from different countries and practise different religions, WE ARE ALL ONE PEOPLE

Funny Parts of Teaching English as Foreign Language

credit to http://learningworksforkids.com

As English in Indonesia, especially in Aceh is still condidered hard subject along with Math, some people think that English is an "exclusive" language. So many Indonesian parents spend millions to make their kids able to speak English like a native. In fact, only a few of these parents who are able to speak English. at this point, all the responsibility are on teachers.

I teach in two places right know; an international school and a course. The first one mentioned is a school where international system is applied and aall students and teachers are expected to speak full English except in some subject like Bahasa Indonesia, Sosial Science, Citizenship, Arabic/ Mandarin. The kids are trained to acquintaance the language by speaking it not by teaching it as a language.

However, it causes the language to be in a mess structure you have ever heard nowhere. Since this kids speak Bahasa Indonesia in their homes and Bahasa grammar is so different compared to English, sometimes I find the kids speak english with Indonesian grammar or vice versa. Here are the examples:

If one can not do or say something they suppose to say: "I can't see it" or "I can't do it"

but in reality what I heard from most of the kids are: "me not can see" or "me not can do"

It takes about 2-3 months for me to fix this and always remind them if they say this.

In other case, they will read word in Bahasa Indonesia in English pronunciation. This one is never be disaster except for the one and only Bahasa Indonesia teaacher in the school.

At the very worst case, especially the kids who are "lucky" enough to have parents who can speak English with them all of the time find it's hard to speak in Bahasa Indonesia. In Bahasa Indonesia subject, one had ever asked me (when I was around), "do you know how to say 'market' in Bahasa?". At my very stupefied expression I asked back, "You really don't know it?". 

The funniest part is mostly happened in my course. They don't go to Bilingual school, so they speak a very good Bahasa Indonesia. Too good that it sometimes influences their English. 

There was a moment when I asked my students to translete 2 - 3 sentences. I rarely do this thou. But wwhen I do, I always find myself laughing so hard along with the kids of course.

That day I asked my students to translete "I will be at your house around 6" into Bahasa Indonesia.

One of my student, the most innocent look in the class, translete it to be "Saya akan kelilingi rumah kamu selama enam kali = I will surround your house 6 times". It was so hilarious.

credit to http://thefeedingdoctor.com

This language teaching obstacle never be a burden for me. Honestly, I like it to hear the kids trying so hard to deal with two languages at the same time, and I prouly say that most of them did it. At last, it's great to learn from your own mistakes, is it.

The Perks of Being Freelance Teacher #1

Yesterday, I was teaching in one course I am employed in the town. There were only three 12-year-old boys who came to the class. This is a small class of 5 actually. I was in kind of bad mood and not that excited in teaching that day. My bad..

I asked them too do the task in the workbook when they started asking questions of words and sentences they didn't understand. Once they finished, I asked one of them a question since this one always be the fastest and the brightest in this class. "How old are you now?" I asked this boy who drew his attention right away to me. "12 years old miss...", he said. I started to ask him "Imagine yourself 15 years from now.. What will you be? and where will you be?". He didn't take much time to think and answered me in a snap, "In campus, studying". And then I confirmed.. "No...27 you will suppose to finish your study.. You be graduating your study that time. 

He added  "I will be in a campus, finishing my master degree in Stanford University!". This answer slapped me on the face and at the same time I mesmerize this young boy motivationn and dream. He stated his drem proudly. He even know where to go at this very young age. Oh Boy... I was smiling so wide that time, and kept saying "Awesome" in a number I can't remember. It was sure that I got this goosebump. I was astonished. This boy somehow told me not to stop trying. I couldn't stop link that GOd shows His Mighty that time. Wuhuuuuuu.... 

That  gave me an idea how to continue the class. THese boys are active boys. They like to move around the class. Then I decided to ask them to write 5 questions on a piece of paper and have it rolled. I was involved in this actvity. Then I gave each of the papers to each of them randomly. Every kid had to ask each question to anyone they like. 

I didn't know that this activity could be that great. We stood and moved around the class while doing this activity. To my excitement, even I myself enjoy this activity.

Here are their questions, mine is included of course.

Question me questions!