photosharesession

I don't even want to call it a hobby. Taking photos is just something I do when I'm out of things to do. But the other day, my boss told me about this facebook page about how common people sent their photos to be judge by others by typing OK in the comment box.

So I decided to send my photo to photosharesession and I got 3 OKs! So it's bad, isn't it? Although most people got no less than 10 OKs, but I'm very happy with my own photos. 

It's a pretty cool page and if you like to take photos, hey join the group, you might actually learn something here. 

petualangan borneo

BALADA HUJAN
Hari Rabu, 22 Desember 2010, sekitar pukul 08:00 WITA, ketika saya bersiap-siap untuk kembali ke pusat kota, langit menurunkan hujan. Seolah-olah mengingatkan saya betapa beruntungnya saya, bukan hanya karena saya diberikan kesempatan untuk mengunjungi Kalimantan Selatan, tetapi saya diberikan kesempatan untuk mengambil bagian memberikan pelatihan kepada guru-guru di kecamatan Jorong, Kalimatan Selatan.

Saya terharu dengan teman-teman baru yang saya kenal, baik di Jorong maupun teman-teman yang berangkat bersama-sama dari Jakarta. Walau dalam kunjungan yang lumayan singkat, saya belajar begitu banyak hal. Saya merasa sangat beruntung.

KOTA INTAN
Setibanya saya menginjak pulau Kalimantan, saya dibawa menikmati itik goreng, itik bakar dan udang bakar ala Banjar di salah satu rumah makan popular di Banjarbaru, Swarga. Begitu mobil yang kami tumpangi berhenti di depan rumah makan Swarga, saya melihat panggangan besar di depan rumah makan tersebut yang mana di atasnya potongan-potongan itik dipanggang dengan begitu indahnya. Saya  begitu bersemangat.

Setelah itu, kami mengunjungi Kecamatan Martapura, di mana area ini terkenal dengan pasar batu-batu perhiasannya. Saya bukan orang yang menyukai batu-batuan dan apalagi belanja di tempat di mana saya diharuskan untuk menawar. Jadi saya memilih untuk mengobservasi dan melihat-lihat seperti apa pasar Martapura.

Martapura adalah kota dengan pengaruh Islam yang kuat. Monumen-monumen dengan ukiran huruf Arab dengan mudah dapat ditemukan di mana-mana. Ada referensi yang menyebutkan bahwa Martapura disebut sebagai kota santri.

Pasar penjualan perhiasannya sendiri tidak jauh berbeda dengan pasar Tanah Abang atau pasar Senen, mungkin tidak sepadat kedua pasar di Jakarta tersebut, namun selayaknya pasar homogen, di mana mata memandang, perhiasan bergantungan di mana-mana. Saya menyempatkan diri untuk membeli beberapa gelang dan bros untuk oleh-oleh ibu saya.

TAKE ME TO THE BEACH
Saya menghabiskan malam-malam saya dengan tinggal di sebuah bungalow di tepi pantai, di mana kami masing-masing diberikan satu flat. Malam pertama saya membayangkan betapa mengerikannya saya harus tidur sendiri. Namun begitu saya tinggal sendiri di flat tersebut, tanpa TV, tanpa internet, tanpa musik, hanya bunyi ombak yang berdeburan. Rasa takut (tanpa alasan jelas) beserta rasa capai setiap malam diseimbangkan dengan rasa nyaman.

Saya selalu mencintai pantai. Duduk di tepi pantai di malam hari dengan menikmati kudapan hangat dan teh panas adalah salah satu hal yang paling menyenangkan. Suara deburan ombak yang tak henti-hentinya memberikan ketenangan.

DEHIDRASI
Saya sadar ketika diberikan informasi mengenai tempat pelaksanaan pelatihan, saya tidak akan berharap tempat yang mewah. Bahkan di hari pertama, kami harus turun membersihkan kurang lebih 100buah kursi dari debu yang tebal dengan tisu basah. Hanya dengan dua kipas angin, kami juga mengadakan pelatihan tersebut dari pagi hingga sore.

Hari pertama adalah hari yang terberat. Setelah sore menjelang, saya nyaris pingsan. Dari sore jam 4 hingga malam jam 7, saya hanya ingat kepala saya rasanya seperti mau meledak. Walau semuanya berangsur-angsur membaik setelah saya tidur beberapa jam dan minum air seperti kuda nil.

Namun begitu saya membaca kertas isian kesan dan saran, saya menjadi sangat terharu. Pelatihan yang sederhana dan cuma sesaat tersebut memberikan banyak masukan kepada pesertanya. Bahkan hingga saat ini saya berharap perjalanan itu tidak sia-sia dan dari semua pihak, kecamatan Jorong yang paling diuntungkan.


KULINERAN
Walau dalam kunjungan yang singkat (3 malam), saya sempat juga menyicipi beberapa kudapan dan masakan khas Kalimantan, seperti Soto Banjar, Ketupat Kandangan dan berbagai kudapan yang saya temukan di pasar tradisional Martapura.

Di sini, kudapan atau kue-kue itu disebut wadai. Saya mencobai beberapa wadai seperti wadai kunci, wadai wajik dan satu kue yang terbuat dari singkong. Satu hal yang menarik perhatian saya adalah udang-udang besar di mana-mana, bahkan di warung makan di tepi jalan, sangat biasa menjual udang-udang besar ala lobster.

Saya sempat beberapa kali mengingatkan diri untuk berhati-hati dan ingat usia sudah tidak muda lagi. HEHEHE.

URBANISASI DAN TRANSMIGRASI
Akhirnya saya harus balik ke Jakarta juga. Oyah, sebelum saya berangkat ke Kalimantan, saya iseng-iseng cerita kepada teman saya mengenai perjalanan saya ini. Spontan teman saya berkomentar bahwa tidak ada apa-apa yang bisa dilihat di Kalsel, karena pendapat dia semua pemuda Kalsel memilih untuk berurbanisasi ke pulau Jawa daripada membangun tanah kelahirnya.

Pendapat teman saya itu tidak sepenuhnya benar, walau saya menemukan kota Banjar sedikit sepi di waktu malam dan penduduk lokal tampaknya lebih sedikit dibandingkan pendatang (penduduk yang bertransmigrasi). Kalimantan Selatan di luar kekayaan tambangnya, memiliki potensi yang begitu besar. Untuk parawisata misalnya, dibutuhkan sedikit polesan dan saya yakin bisa mengimbangi situs-situs wisata popular lainnya di Indonesia. 

movies in year 2010

I don't think I watched movies this year as many as last year. I don't think I have too many favorite this year. I remember how the year's summer blockbusters was a disappointment, although there are some good ones. The Golden Globes nominations announce is the proof. Kidding, those two have no relation whatsoever.  Anyway, my favorite movies in the year of 2010 are:

Toy Story 3
Undeniable that it is the best animated movie Pixar ever made so far.  It's funny, it's dramatic and seriously entertaining.

Inception
It's the Matrix thing all over again. Once rumored Nolan is a snob, with Inception, I say he's earned the right to be one. This mind-bending science fiction has turned my world upside down .. and the beautiful talented Miss Cotillard, will you just marry me?

Micmacs
Jean Pierre Jeunet is a genius and Micmacs is FUNNY! FUNNY! It successfully plays with that slapstick comedy Hollywood has been trying so hard to produce but failed at many times.  

The Kids Are All Right
There was a scene where Annette Bening's character just found out that her partner cheated on her and she looked lost and yet tried to keep everything together. It was a good scene and Benning just nailed it. Actually everyone looks good in this movie.  

Easy A
Haven't I told you that Emma Stone is a star? Easy A is hell-yeah funny! 

Social Network
Who would've thought that David Fincher once directed a music video for Madonna? He did, but now with Social Network, he's a strong force to be reckoned. 

Shutter Island 
The twisted story plot, the you-said, he-said, she-said, I think conclusion is enough to make this one a classic. I guess Marty is taking it the Hitchcock way! 

Tangled
After Tangled, Disney announced they're not going to make any animated movie about princess. With how Tangled came out, I said go ahead make as many as you want! Tangled is funny, sweet but yet I don't feel embarrassed watching it. 

Monster
Seriously we need a good movie about massive creatures. Monster is not really about huge aliens, but it satisfied the thirst. In a more serious note, I think Monster is a metaphor for many things in many screw-ups men conducted.  

How to Train Your Dragon / Despicable Me / Megamind
They're all come in one because I have difficulties to pick only one last favorite. I think this year, animation rules and I'm happy! I just wish that I could watch the Illusionist next year.

Yeah, my favorites are mine alone. We might have similarity in taste, but hey, being different is okay. Leave in my comment box what your favorite are. 

flashback of 2010

Honestly, I haven't written anything here. I've been quite busy with work and the other blog. HEHEHE. However, since we're coming to the end of 2010, I would like to say a few words. One of the highlights in the news must be the disaster that have continuously occurred in our country, from natural disasters like volcano eruption, flood, quakes to how the weakness of Indonesia law was exposed (Remember Gayus?).

Anyway, personally I was truly blessed this year. My workload was insane throughout the year, but I must admit at some points, I enjoyed the travels required that came with the responsibilities. I visited Yogyakarta in May, Solo in September and South of Kalimantan in December. I made a lot of new acquaintances. 

I passed my French examination in November with a fair score, I must say. I'm pretty content how much I have learned and truly, I know a few of them by heart. Contrary to many believes, I'm just not that dumb. HAHAHA. 

But when it comes to blogging, I hardly have time to blog here, but my other blog, which is about culinary, I impressively submitted around 45 posts, which means I almost dined out every week. No wonder I'm always broke. KIDDING! HEHEHE.

Although it has been an awesome year, I also need to confess that I haven't read many books this year. Let's just say I didn't read much this year, which is very unfortunate because one of my resolutions is to read at least 2 books a month. That one just didn't go well. 

I'm not planning to drown myself in sorrow. I failed to succeed, true? Hopefully next year is my year to read. Talking about drowning myself, I have found many cases where I viewed things in a very harmful manner. I'm not proud of myself. I settled many of my own battles a few weeks ago. 

Last, but not least, I'm super-glad, super-happy that I have a very strong support system. My family (who is not only there to help me, but to bother me as well. HAHAHA. Kidding again!), my friends and my love (you know who you are, I'm so sorry you're down with fever and cold. Be well, soon!).

In short, 2010 is a very colorful year and I appreciate all the good things (and bad) that happened. Blessings to all of you. 

the dance within 2: beyond the dream

It's not easy to make a sequel. Even in the most superstitious town of Hollywood, sequels often failed to follow its predecessor's glory. Remember Speed 2: Cruise Control, anyone? However, the rule doesn't apply for the Dance Within. When the Dance Within 2: Beyond the Dream was announced, one (without faith) must've thought what else they could've done, other than krumping and shimmering?

On that rainy Saturday, 27 November 2010, the dancers of the Dance Within completely burned down the house. Somehow it's no longer a dance recital, it's more of an art installation. It broadened its dance genres and knitted them all together in one neat almost-perfectly-told story line. Although there's a possibility if that you're not reading the playbill, you might not get the story line, which is a shame. Still, you can enjoy the colorful exquisite well-choreographed movements.

This year, the Dancewave went far beyond the limit with the wide range of dance types. The beautiful traditional dances of Java, the martial art - wushu (the dancer reminds me of the graceful miss Michelle Yeoh), the extravagant Bollywood-theme dance and the capoeira (I have no words for this amazing art/sport/something form) are a few of the highlights.

Although I must admit I can never tell what makes a dance a good dance, but surely I can tell you that I have one heck of a good time! 

Unfortunately this sold-out show annually perform one night only. (The only downside of this spectacle is) many artsies (not sure it's a word) were left outside the restoration-needed historical Gedung Kesenian Jakarta learning the hard way of the advantage of pre-sale.

Check their website: www.dancewavecenter.com

Note: Copyright photo courtesy of Yuska Lutfi Tuanakotta.