soon, the sun will smile

I wish I could just say it's only water. The flood has caused so much loss, so much pain and definitely leaves a big scar. I'm truly glad that it's over for now and I'm truly grateful for people who have been working so hard to help, to look after us and to pray for us.

Many blessings.

the flood, day 1: the north side of the city

Photo from epaper.kompas.com - Friday, 18 January 2013

So I live in the north side of Jakarta, which had not been flooded since as long as I could remember. But unfortunately this year, we could not avoid the tragedy. Half of the city has been flooded when I was about to leave to work that morning. I was warned not to. Too risky, the said. But I decided that it was an important day at work and I thought it couldn't be that bad.

I did arrive at work a bit late. I tried to get things done, but somehow I didn't feel like wanting to be there. I felt that my mind is wandering off somewhere else. I remember a breakfast where I made this joke about Jakarta being flooded and a birthday lunch among friends where I'm not sure whether I did something or even nothing.

So I'm sure you understand when one of the heads decided to leave and asked whether I wanted to go with her or not. Without any hesitation, I said yes.

I was dropped at Cawang, where I decided to continue to Muara Karang taking a cab. And instead taking the usual route, I went with the driver's suggestion taking the highway through Ancol. He was absolutely right, no flood. But I was trapped in the traffic jam for almost two hours. Half of Pluit was drowned. My cab fare nearly doubled the normal fare I paid, due to traffic and circling around Pantai Indah Kapuk just to figure a way home.

But then I was home. Never I be so happy to be home, although I was pretty sure it was the end of it.

But still, I'm home!

Continue to day 2.

the flood, day 2: no way out

Photos from many sources - a big thanks to my sister.

I'm sure if you are (were) a Blackberry Messenger user, you must have received at least one or two broadcast messages. I must say they can be terribly annoying. So on the night before, I received a BM saying that a bigger flood headed to Pluit due to the inability of the Pluit barrier to hold the water and as usual, I deleted them immediately with a big smirk. Friday morning, I thought maybe everything's getting better by now and maybe I could peacefully go to work. Oh boy, didn't I just get it all wrong?!

The two main exits from Pluit was flooded and literally I was (we were all) trapped. Hundreds of people waiting alongside big trucks, ambulance, fire department trucks exactly on the bridge separated Pluit from Muara Karang. Some of them were waiting for their family (in Pluit) to be rescued, some of them were just there sightseeing and I'm sure some of them were like me, thinking, "how am I going to get out of here?"

As I stood there looking a bit lost, not having any clue how to resolve the problem, random thoughts flashed by and they are: 

1. My boss' face the last time I saw her - she was asking this rhetoric question of that I shall be at work this morning. Oh no!
2. I might not be able to watch Les Miserables in the cinema. Oh double no!
3. Why is nobody freaking out? The flood's going to take forever to dry out.

Then I snapped back to reality. I decided to go back home. Although it's very unfortunate, but the truest truth is I'm truly very blessed. There are some parts of Pluit that suffered thousands times worse than me and to think I just moved to Muara Karang (read: the dry land) like just 6 months ago gave me chills.

And these kind heart people who have been helping people to evacuate, I applaud you. I guess if we're looking for today's super heroes, you guys must be it.

It rains again as I'm about to publish this post. God helps us all.

bowler hat's new home

Finally, I settled in to a new home. Well, I don't want to say much about it since I don't actually have to change my zip code. So pretty much I still live here in the north side. We of course, hired this cool mover company (not sure how if that's what they are), which helped a lot during the process.

But to get things going, to reorganize and rearrange the whole house is simply not an easy task. Not only that it's not easy, but it's also time-consuming. Let me be very honest, I'm not a fan of moving, or change for that matter. I'm the kind of person that needs time to adjust, although I must admit I enjoy exploring new things, I also want to be secured. To plan is the keyword here, people.

So Yesterday, at around 3pm, where everything's pretty much at where they should be, a friend texted me and asked how the moving's gone. I simply replied, "My wi-fi is working, so I'm pretty much home." HAHAHA. Yes, I'm the victim of the vicious cyber world.

Anyway, that's a joke. I'm just glad that everything's going to be okay (soon). This is my first post from the new headquarter, and (fingers-crossed) many more to come.

Happy Sunday!

9 things about inafff and 10 things to learn from the movies

Today was the last day of the 2011 INAFFF and I am officially not a INAFFF virgin anymore. For the last two weeks, I had a pretty good time. I enjoyed my own selection, which even I must admit it's not bad for a first-timer. Overall, the movies this year are not disappointed. Some of them are exceptional, some of them are okay and yes, some of them are not even supposed in this festival. 

However, to appreciate how awesome these two weeks were, I decided to point out things either they're related to the movies, events occurred during the festival or almost unrelated, but worth mentioned. HAHAHA.

1. Immortals might not be a good film, but it's a perfect way to commence a film festival. It's grand, it's graphically gory and it involves Greek mythology. 
2. Audience of each movie are expected to participate in choosing their favorite movies. We received this very effective card which was collected by the end of the movie according to our taste. If you like it, rip off the one side that expressed your likeness. 
3. Most of the movies I chose unfortunately were not as gory as I thought they would be. I totally couldn't believe that Livid was actually from Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo who basically grossed us out with Inside.
4. Thumbs up for the committee who was working so hard to please their die-hard fans. The gifts during each screening, some of the committee were so friendly enough to personally greet me in some occasions anyway are just proofs how committed they are. So I must mention that they did a very good job.
5. The surprise movie, A Lonely Place to Die was not what I had in mind. I mean it's a good movie (well, half of it anyway), but it doesn't really represent the core of the festival. I was hoping for something extremely sick or gory.
6. Age restriction. I was surprised to see probably a 12 years old kid who watched one of the movies. 
7. Although Breaking Dawn premiered in the second week of INAFFF, but I don't think it was affected in any way, so I must say INAFFF owns tons of die hard fans.
8. Our local movies got a lot of attention this year. The Raid was definitely one of them and those short movies are quite a hit. So I'm pretty happy and pretty ashamed to admit that I didn't watch any of those. HAHAHA. I know, I'm a total loser!
9. In my very humble personal opinion, Fanta Merah is the perfect option of beverage for this event and I was excited that they actually served this specific drink at the cinema snack counter. So, I'm happy!

You can always learn something from a movie, no matter what kind of movies they are. From watching more-less 10 movies at the festival, I learned these important 10 lessons which I will carry for the rest of my life.

1. Take a plane, no road trips unless it's less than 8 hours ride. You never know some psychopaths might stop you by dressing as the authorities (Territories), which leads us to number 2.
2. Always ask for a validation if some authorities stop your vehicle in the middle of nowhere. 
3. Always make sure you know exactly what you're digesting when you're dining out. Even if it's good, I don't think I want to consume literally well-cooked men, even they're jackasses (The Claypot Curry Killers).
4. Say NO to a risky job and go for that Burger King waiter even it pays less. Being a hit-man for a certain satanic cult which you're going to be the leader is one terrible thing. I'd rather be poor. (The Kill List).
5. Combination of a bad sport: mountain-hiking, a remote quiet place, less than 5 persons to do the sport with. If you're really for a mountain-hiking, make sure they have a Starbucks nearby and you're going with at least 3 dozens people. (A Lonely Place to Die).
6. If you must work in an asylum for extreme-mentally ill people, make sure they have a back-up generator. If you do work in a such place and you read this, I salute you! (The Incident).
7. Don't judge, even the saints can be sinners. (Le Moine)
8. There's a reason why absinthe is illegal. (Sennentuntschi)
9. Don't steal from an old woman in coma who rests in a very old house. (Livid).
10. Last but not least, do not mess with Iko Uwais. That man can kick ass. (You know which movie, don't you?).

HAHAHA.

So, like I said before, I had a good time this year and I'm so looking forward to having more terrifying - grossing me out kind of experiences next year. I thank some cool people I did get a chance to talk to for these two weeks and also you, the girl who sat next to me during the surprise movie, next time less talking while watching a movie, okay? 

ready to scream at the iNAFFF 2011

So finally the Indonesia International Fantastic Film Festival 2011 (or iNAFFF) is here and if you have no idea what iNAFFF is, don't worry, this is my first time to attend the film festival too. So yes, I'm a iNAFFF virgin. In the past, I wasn't interested enough to attend the festival mostly because the films are mostly gory and violent. Okay, I admit it, I was afraid I'm going to scream like a little girl in public. Not a pretty scene.

This year,  iNAFFF 2011 will be in Blitz - Grand Indonesia from 11 - 20 November 2011. But I think the ticket sale will be available a week before the 11. I don't know much about the festival, they have this website, if you want to know more about them. 

However, since my last film festival (the French Film Festival), I assume it's time for me to attend another one. I decided to google all the movies and filtered a few that I really want to see. Since I love sharing, so here they are, movies that I think worth watching (or simply because I have a weird taste):

1. Immortals - a Hollywood Blockbuster-esque with myths and Greek Gods. It might hurt my eyes and ears, but hell, I'm so watching this one
2. The Disappeared - UK has produced many good sci-fi/horror movies lately, remember Attack the Block. Hopefully this one won't DISappoint (get the DIS joke?).
3. The Claypot Curry Killers - it's about food and mystery. Good enough to watch!
4. Territories - a made-by-French movie, it's a bit Hostel-esque, but we'll see.
5. Kill List - everyone keeps saying how good this movie is. I'm hoping to be able to see this one.
6. Angels and Airwaves present LOVE - the only sci-fi movie, I think. A bit disappointed that not too many sci-fi movies this year.
7. Le Moine - a french movie which deals with Christianity, so I assume this one would be quite dark
8. Sennentuntschi - at first, I wasn't sure about this one, but I decided to give it a shot, since it was in the same day with the movie I really want to watch
9. Livid - another french movie which I cannot find the trailer, but I found the comments from other people who have seen the movie. They all said it's super-gory and super good.

Other movies that I really wish I could watch but due to my busy schedule (halah!), I might just have to wait for the DVDs: The Bell Flower, Super and Retreat.

Hey, if you happen to be in the iNAFFF, make sure you say hello. 

the dance within

Last Saturday, I went to the RRI Auditorium to see a friend's dance recital. A belly-dancer. I was amazed. Yes, there were some troubles with the sound-systems and the light coordinator was a bit confusing. But the main course of the event was served just right!

I have to admit watching those hip-hop dancers made me a bit glad that I have given up my dancing days at the clubs. They're so good. And belly dancing has always been a mystery for me since the first time my friend, Yuska said he was interested to learn the dance. Why a mystery? The dance looks seductive, sensual yet it's not and never be erotic.

Years after that and now, I got to watch him perform, I cannot help myself but be very proud of what he has achieved. Well done, Yuska!

kotaku, jakarta

Semua orang yang kenal gue tahu banget kalo gue cinta banget ama kota Jakarta. Memang ada beberapa kota di dunia yang pengen gue kunjungi (Ayo ke Barcelona tahun 2012! *Keburu kiamat kali yah menurut suku Maya*), tetapi Jakarta akan selalu ada di hati gue.

Tapi akhir-akhir ini, gue merasa ada sesuatu yang nge-ganjal antara gue dan kota Jakarta. Terutama kejahatan yang semakin mengerikan dan menjadi-jadi. Kalo pada suka baca koran Pos Kota atau Warta Kota, masih ingat gak, beberapa minggu yang lalu, ada pembunuhan di Pacific Place? Seorang gadis dibunuh di tangga darurat dengan cara yang begitu mengerikan. Lalu ada penembakan seorang direktur berselang semingguan. Kalau mau mundur lagi, masih banyak kasus pembunuhan yang gak jelas peruntungannya. Kasus mutilasi, aborsi dan berbagai si-si lainnya yang membuat bulu kuduk bergidik.

Rasa-rasanya semua orang berlomba-lomba menjadi kriminal. Kalo pada nonton acara infotaiment, hal yang sama terjadi dengan selebritis kita. Yah, dari penculikan, aniaya sampai ke acara saling hina-hinaan *penting banget yah?*. HEHEHHEE. Benar-benar sadis. Sebenarnya sih, kejahatan di kota Jakarta itu sudah berlangsung lama. Mungkin akhir-akhir ini gue agak-agak terekspos dengan berita-berita tersebut, sehingga membuat gue sedikit was-was.

Belum lagi, bencana yang terjadi sekitar 2 hari yang lalu di Situ Gintung. Tadi pagi, dalam perjalanan gue pulang ke rumah dari sarapan pagi. Salah satu koran ibukota memaparkan headline yang benar-benar bikin hati miris: 100 Mayat Hanyut ke Kali.

Selain berharap agar pemerintahan daerah DKI makin bijaksana dalam mengatur kota Jakarta, mungkin ada baiknya, kita mulai melakukan sesuatu untuk kota tercinta ini. Dari yang paling kecil, doain semua penduduknya biar makin ramah dan kita sendiri berlaku ramah. Buang sampah pada tempatnya. Jangan kencing sembarangan. Jangan menebang pohon sembarangan (NB: Terima kasih kepada developer Pluit Village, yang membangun taman kecil di depan mall-nya. Pluit makin hijau deh!) .. dan semoga, Jakarta menjadi kota yang lebih baik. Amin.

NB: Turut berduka cita atas bencana di Situ Gintung. Biarlah keluarga yang kehilangan terus diberikan kekuatan oleh Tuhan.

balada pejalan kaki

Fiuh, gue pulang gereja Minggu malam kemarin dengan berjalan kaki. IYA! Benaran! Berjalan kaki! Kalo diitung jarak sih, lumayan yah! Lumayan dekat! HEHEHE. Tapi jujur saja, berjalan kaki di Jakarta itu sama menantangnya dengan berburu hiu di lautan biru, karena sama-sama mempertaruhkan nyawa! BAYANGKAN!

Kenapa? Pertama, trotoar di Jakarta itu gak layak jalan banget! Beberapa tahun yang lalu, gue sempat tinggal di Philadelphia (belagu dikit!), dan tuh kota enak banget buat jalan. Tiap Sabtu atau Minggu, gue bisa berjalan sekitar 20 - 25 blok, alhasil biar kaki gue bengkak kayak melon, tetap aja gue menikmati acara berjalan-jalan gue itu.

Sedangkan di Jakarta, boro-boro mau jalan, tempat buat jalannya saja gak tersedia. Alhasilnya, gue malah sedikit berakrobat di tepian pemisah jalan dengan bikini bottom-nya Pluit (alias got).

Kedua, gue mulai mempercayai kalo populasi motor di Jakarta itu melebihi populasi manusia. Kalo benaran, kisah film Matrix (tentang manusia versus mesin, man!) jadi kenyataan, rasanya motor akan jadi musuh manusia yang paling mengerikan (di samping oven dan toaster!). Iya, gini ceritanya, gue kan mau nyebrang dan sebagai penduduk Indonesia yang bertanggung jawab, gue memilih untuk menyebrang di zebra cross (dulu ada iklannya loh!).

Pas gue mau nyebrang, ada segerombolan motor yang mau lewat dan mereka bukannya memperlambat (itu zebra cross gitu!), yang ada malah mempercepat belalang tempur mereka dan alhasilnya gue melompat kaget dan gue dikasih umpatan pula! Benar-benar liar!

Ketiga, polusi udara di Jakarta (baca: Pluit) kayaknya sudah sangat mengerikan. Lama-lama gue mungkin bisa bermutasi menjadi penyu! Dulu waktu gue masih SMP (masih culun-culunnya), gue percaya kalo gambaran Alien di film-film Hollywood (mata gede, hidung dan mulut yang kecil) itu sebenarnya hasil evolusi manusia karena tingkat polusi yang semakin tinggi. Serem kan? Serem banget!

Orang atau kucing?

Yah, eniwei, melalui isi blog yang gue gak yakin ada yang baca, gue memohon kepada semua calon DPR, hayo dong bikin kota Jakarta kota yang layak buat pejalan kaki. Yah, gak usah kayak Phily deh, yang mana di jalan-jalan broadway tertentu, trotoar-nya gak kalah lebar ama jalan raya-nya. Hayo, kamu bisa!!

Salam dari pejalan kaki. :D