Which one do you choose?
1. Arrive two hours late but safely or
2. Arrive 15 minutes earlier but in emergency room


Well I choose:
3. Arrive 15 minutes earlier safely.


Think out of the box!

"Kopi atau teh?"
"Susu"
"..."

Dibanding kopi atau teh saya memang lebih menyukai susu. Dua yang pertama memang common choice tapi toh tetap terasa kurang sreg. Saya tidak begitu menyukai teh, kopi apalagi. Minum kopi satu cangkir walaupun masih pagi sudah cukup membuat saya begadang menonton acara dewasa di tv tengah malam. Bersyukurlah saya bukan tipe morning person. I never let a cup of something decide the color of my day.


Anehnya setiap kali mengutarakan pilihan utama saya itu entah kenapa si penanya selalu cengengesan. Lho, memang kenapa dengan susu? Sehat dan banyak gizi. Cuma sepertinya kata susu selalu diasosiasikan dengan "wadahnya". Iya itu juga saya suka koq *polos*, sudah berprotein penuh vitamin A lagi. Rupa-rupa bentuknya tapi tetap indah


Sampai saat ini satu-satunya reaksi normal yang saya dapatkan setiap kali saya pilih susu cuma adalah ketika saya utarakan di ketinggian 33.000 kaki pukul setengah delapan pagi untuk menemani omlet jamur, sosis panggang dan tumis paprika sebagai menu sarapan hari itu.

I like to keep the system clean, neat and simple. They are all mean one thing: easy to maintain, no duplicate entry and less effort. If you have two similar system then when you update A you must reflect the changes on B as well. If for some reasons, management change their policy that affect system, the system must adapt it as well. In this case you need to apply the change on A then B. They mean nothing but double work.


So if you don't get the idea I suggest you to think it again, change the way you think and learn to see the big picture. Think two steps ahead instead of one. Do not see one piece of puzzle, but look at the whole puzzle and you'll know what I mean.


One thing you must know for sure, do not expect me to clean up the mess later.

And So Those Pics Speak

Iya menginapnya di sini. Standard room untuk tiga malam. Hotelnya sudah veteran dan beberapa bagian patutnya direnovasi biar tetap muda dan segar. Lantai kamar koq cuma keramik biasa tanpa karpet, kalah dengan hotel di Jakarta yang sekelas di bawahnya. Sambungan antar tegel sudah ada yang menghitam, pintu kamar mandi mulai keropos, dan untuk ukuran hotel bintang empat menu sarapannya ngebosenin dan kurang variasi. Koq enggak ada menu khas Bali di situ padahal umumnya hotel selalu menyediakan menu khas daerah setempat.


Itu minusnya, plusnya lokasi kamar yang super strategis, dekat coffe shop tempat sarapan, menghadap kebun, kolam renang dan pantai, cuma selemparan kolor dari kolam renang dan cuma dua lemparan kolor alias 20 detik jalan kaki ke pantai Kuta. Kita bisa ke pantai tanpa harus menyeberangi jalan raya Kuta karena lokasi hotel yang berhadapan langsung dengan bibir pantai. Jadwal rutin: jam enam pagi usai subuh jjp (jalan-jalan pagi) ke pantai sekedar cuci kaki dengan air selat Bali (di Jakarta mana bisa!), setengah delapan balik ke hotel buat sarapan lalu berendam di kolam renang yang sepiiiiiiiiiii, paling banyak cuma ada satu-dua bule di situ dan itu juga hanya berjemur. Pokoknya this is my pool and belongs to no one but me, me and me!






Ini danau yang letaknya di dataran tinggi di kawasan Bedugul. Cukup dingin di situ. Danaunya luas, bisa dikitari dengan boat. Boat disewa per unit Rp 120.000,- kapasitas enam orang termasuk supir. Naik boat bikin dinginnya angin lebih terasa lagi. Pada kondisi kabut tebal, danau tidak bisa dijelajahi karena jarak pandang yang hampir nol. Kalau malas naik boat, bisa juga mancing di pinggiran danau. Alat pancing disewakan.





Berseberangan dengan terminal air ada jejeran vila yang bisa disewa Rp 500.000,- semalam sudah termasuk transport dari/ke terminal. Tapi apa enaknya nginap di tempat terpencil seperti itu, tidak ada akses ke public area kecuali naik perahu. Itu pun dengan catatan cuaca cerah. Sayang di sana tidak sempat main-main ke kebun strawberrynya yang tersohor itu. Mungkin lain kali.









Danau Beratan punya pura yang diabadikan dalam pecahan uang Rp 50.000,-. Kalau ada uang lima puluh ribu, coba iseng-iseng teliti tulisan di samping gambar pura di situ, kalau cermat akan terbaca "Danau Beratan, Bedugul". Gambar di samping walaupun masih bagian dari pura di Danau Beratan tapi bukan bangunan yang ada di lembaran uang. Maklum perahunya goyang dombret terus dan terlanjur:
1. salah posisi buat memotret bangunan yang benar.
2. hati-hati menjaga kamera biar tidak mandi basah
3. extra hati-hati jaga diri biar tidak ikut-ikutan mandi basah.

















Dari Bedugul kita naik ke Kintamani. Jalannya menanjak dan berkelok-kelok seperti ular, kiri-kanan kalau tidak hutan ya jurang dan dari semula melihat kabut di atas akhirnya malah berada di tengah-tengah kabut itu. Begitu sampai di Kintamani, huah dinginnya! Dari pantai yang panas cerah tahu-tahu ke gunung yang dingin berkabut, mantap. Apalagi saat itu sudah mulai sore, jadi makin nendang dinginnya. Dibanding dulu Kintamani sekarang sepi sunyi sendiri. Restoran di sepanjang jalan tidak ada yang buka, semuanya tutup dan kosong. Pedagang di sana membuat kita merasa jadi selebitri yang dikejar-kejar infotainment. Nawarin dagangannya seperti besok bakal kiamat. Sudah ditolak masih saja ngeyel. Kalo dibeli satu, kawan-kawan segank-nya jadi lebih hebat lagi memaksa kita membeli. Enough is enough. Sampai mereka berubah saya tidak akan kembali lagi ke Kintamani. Biar saja mereka mampus kalo cara berdagangnya masih seperti itu.





Kita juga sempat main-main ke patung setengah badan yang belum jadi ini. Dari hasil jalan-jalan ke sini saya jadi tahu kalau bawa Karimun jangan sekali-sekali nekat nanjak dengan ac terpasang kecuali ada yang mau turun dan membantu dorong. Mesin Suzuki Carry 1.0 yang dipasang sepertinya tidak didesain untuk pakai ac, sudah digas habis-habisan tapi mobil bukannya maju malah mundur dan diklakson motor di belakang.


Peta penunjuk arah ke kawasan GWK tidak ada dan akibatnya hampir saja kebablasan, apalagi papan namanya senada dengan background, sulit dilihat dalam terpaan sinar matahari. Masuk kompleks GWK dengan pelataran luas dan gunung yang dipotong-potong rasanya seperti berada di dalam game horror Doom atau Hexen. Apalagi langit mendung dan angin kencang, semakin klop jadinya. All I need now is my cheat code. Dari ketinggian kita bisa melihat kawasan Jimbaran, Kuta dan airpot Ngurah Rai.

















Dari GWK kita turun ke Jimbaran, menghabiskan sunset terakhir di Bali ditemani satu porsi King Prawn bakar, ikan bakar, sate cumi bumbu bali dan kerang saus padang. Jimbaran sepi, sebagian karena musim liburan belum tiba, sebagian lagi karena jumlah turis asing memang turun tapi justru karena itu suasana pantai jadi lebih bisa dinikmati. Suara ombak jadi dominan dan tidak diganggu pedagang. Dibanding Kuta pantai di sini lebih kotor, dunno why, memang setting default-nya begitu atau kebetulan saja.











Pagi sebelum ke airport kita sempatin juga mampir ke pantai Sanur. Memang benar kata orang, dibanding Kuta Sanur lebih sepi tapi juga lebih panas. Tidak seperti Kuta yang landai, pantai Sanur lebih terjal tapi pasirnya terlihat lebih bersih. Pedagang di sana juga lebih ramah *baca: mau ditawar* dibanding Kuta. Mudah-mudahan ramahnya bukan cuma karena lagi mengharapkan pembeli lantaran sepi. Buat yang doyan explore area sambil jalan kaki, Kuta lebih cocok daripada Sanur. Kuta punya Kuta Square dan tidak jauh dari situ ada Legian. Jalan kaki di sekitar Kuta lebih enak karena banyak yang bisa dilihat. Tapi soal harga, heh, Kuta cuma ramah kalau kita punya uang.


Sebenarnya banyak yang belum dilihat. Ubud, Dreamland, Nusa Dua, Tanah Lot, Tampak Siring, juga belum sempat mencoba water adventure. Iya dua setengah hari efektif memang kurang. Maybe some other time. So Bali, I shall return.

Do you recognize the following image?



If you are unfamiliar then it's ok because it is a snapshot from Milon's Secret Castle, an arcade game for Nintendo which is released around 1986. In this game you are Milon, the character with that blue pants. You are about to enter the castle which somehow rules by alien creatures. Of course in this games they have tiny-little-cute shape.


Your only weapon is bubble gun. Yes, you are capable to fire bubble but don't worry this bubble is deadly enough to your enemy. Your task is simple, explore the castle, find the boss and eliminate him once and for all. Sounds simple but in fact it's not that simple.


The castle has 3 level, 2 towers and an old dark-mildews well. Each level has 2-3 doors and windows. In order to go to level 2, you need to collect some items first in level 1. To collect those items, you have to enter door 1, pick up item A then go to door 2, pick up item B using item A. After you get item B, go to other door and so on. There's puzzle here, you have to collect item in order otherwise you'll never get the key to the second level.


I love this game. It rocks. After all this time I though this game has lost forever, fortunately I find its online java version *and it's free!!* after doing some googling. The drawback is the screen is pretty small.

I guess for the next trip, it'll be better if we leave mr. grumpy alone. He can go on by train, bus, travel agent or even foot, I don't care. Without him on board, I am quite sure we will have a much moooooooooooooooooooore fun! Time for him to learn how to show some respect to others.


By the way, if by coincidence your seat is next to his, I suggest you to bring ear plug or your mp3 player with you. Trust me, it will make your day!

After watched Pirates of Carribean: At World's End I end up with the following points:
* Get in the line as early as you can or you'll get the front seat
* Avoid visit toilet during movie or you'll lose the amazing battle scene and worse, by the time you return you have no idea what the hell had had going on and why does Will suddenly stand side by side with Jones, consider just a moment ago they two almost kill each other.


About the movie itself?
* Sparrow remains pathetic
* I don't see the use of Calypso
* What the hell had happened to Kraken? Did it sink and die?
* Pirates have no honor. The only thing matter is me, me and me. Else is nothing.

If you do not know then learn.
If you are blank then ask.


We will always glad to teach but if you have all what you need and still come to us then I have nothing to say but how pathetic you are.


You are provided with all those tools in purpose so you can do it all by yourself, and you don't have to waste your time asking for our help, and you won't bother us anymore. If you still haven't get the idea then I suggest you to remove your brain and replace it with a better, highly sophisticated one.


Some users are definitely extremely lazy.

I just back from book store with a novel for me and three children books for Kayla plus two Detective Conan comics *for me, of course*. No need to say that they cost me a lot of money. Yeah it ends me up with one question: why are books here so expensive? If only they are less I might buy more. There were some about European war, also biography about several people those I like to bring them home but reality stopped me.


I was thinking about making a pre-order for the upcoming Harry Potter but think and think again, it'll be better if I wait. Just "Potter" after all (say that "Potter" in Snape's way, you'll get the idea). And I am waiting for the fifth Brown's novel. Something about the free mason.


I guess while the only thing the goverment care about is tax and more tax and even more tax, we can shop at the book store only once in two-three months. By the way now I need a bookshelf. A wooden-light colour with security key so there's no chance for Kayla to sneak into and turn them into pieces will be just fine.

I like to say happy belated birthday to my sister. May your life are blessed all the time and all good things come to you. *Ameeeen* I like to say the same to you K, I know you had come to this tiny little spot and read a little piece of my though that I share.

I watch the video about Jakarta riot, May 1998. You can search for them in youtube. Use "Jakarta riot may 1998" as keyword. How nice and kindly people we have, huh? I just can't stop thinking how stupid they were. I surely like to see their face when they meet Izrail for by that time they'll regret what they did but there's no second chance. Perhaps the idea about Borg's assimilation on Indo people is not bad after all.

Become a problem solver sure it's great. I know my jobs desc does not hold that title but somehow I feel like that is what I am to be day by day. I don't mind to help if I can but I can't stand if I have to tell the same thing again and again.


The exhausting part is not to listen, not trying to figure out a solution but to apply the solution. First time you teach them they rarely pay attention. They will mostly ignore you because they think it's not that important, because they think there's still tomorrow, because they believe you are always available whenever they need you.


So the next week you have to tell them again and so for the third week and fourth just because they are way toooooooooooooooo dumb to understand how important it is for THEY THEMSELVES. Not you.


It is not worth to waste time for such kind of people but somehow you can't afford it. And I hate it.

I arrived at the office at precisely 06:15 am. The plus is I have the room for about at least the next an hour. First I did was examine the room. Some things have changed some remains. Second, turn the speaker on and start my mp3 playlist. Not Beyonce, not Christina Aguilera, not P Daddy, not any hip hop today. I miss my morning angel so Angel of the Morning (Abba) would be perfect. Next is All at Once (Whitney Houston), Through the Fire (Chaka Kan)and the rest is just following.


I need to keep my spirit high anyway.

just call me angel of the morning, angel
just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby
just call me angel of the morning, angel
then slowly turn away
I won't beg you to say with me


Abba - Angel of the Morning

A really good way to start the day. Damn.

Now here comes my dark side. The light has gone and darkness has come. I am combat ready and eager to fight so do not debate me, do not argue me and do not question me or I will crush you like hell. If you value your life then take my advice: be somewhere else!