The Government of Indonesia

If you see the news, Indonesia seems like a fucked up country. With all the bombings, corruption, and poverty, no wonder Indonesia receives so much publicity. Bad ones.
And then, people start to blame the government. The government of Indonesia has a very bad image. But are they actually that bad? Do they actually take care of this country? Let me tell you this:

My father is part of the government.

Objectively speaking, I think this country is in good hands.
My father graduated from the best engineering school in Indonesia. A couple of years after he graduated, he decided to be a government official. He received a scholarship from his office and pursued a master's degree and PhD in one of the best universities in the mid west, U.S.A, and graduated cum laude.
There are many Indonesians who received scholarships from the government of Indonesia to study abroad but decided not to go back to Indonesia. I can understand them, since living abroad offers more chances to have a better living and optimize their knowledge.
But this is not the case with my father. He came back to build this country.

Now, my father is in his 50's, and he's pretty much in the peak of his career. He's also a workaholic. That should be the reason why he's not around much.
Most of the days, he leaves around 08.00 and comes home around 22.30. He sometimes work in the weekends. He manages one ninth of his office, so his staff works as hard as he does.
Thanks to his needy boss, it's very difficult for him to have a day off. If I go for a family vacation, he's only around in the last few days or in the weekend. Our last family vacation was in 2007. It was a pilgrimage journey, and we had to reschedule three times to get a slot at his hectic schedule.

My father and I once had this conversation,

Me : Dad, why do you have to come home so late at night? Is there so much work to be done?
Dad: Yes, there is. I'm constantly tired now. I'm even too tired to take a shower when I get home.
Me : ...
Dad: Do you remember our road trip when you were little?
Me : Yes.
Dad : That road trip is a reminder for me. At least when I had the time and energy, I was with my family a lot. That should be a reminder for you too.
Me: ...
Dad: I feel guilty you know, for being away from you, your sisters, and your mother a lot.
Me: ...(Starting to get teary eyed)..

Maybe some of the government officials are busy making themselves rich, but some of them are actually doing an excellent job. My father is sacrificing his family to take care of this country, but this will never be enough for those Indonesians who keep criticizing the government.
Go ask yourself, what have you done for the good of this country?

It's 23.00 right now, and my father is still not home.

The road trip when I was little.
The time when my father had the time and energy.

I love you, Ayah.

Obligation as an Undergrad: Done

So here is what happened afterward:

1. Went to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with Cheela, Danar, and Arum.
There were cheap tickets, so we decided to execute our plan to travel together. We made it happen, though some of my closest friends didn't join us.




Singapore was fun, and KL was OK. The best thing I like about this trip is the late night talks. It's kind of funny how close you are with your friends, yet know so little about them. Too bad, I had to reschedule my flight home and leave earlier to...

2. Celebrate my one year anniversary with M.S.
When I planned my vacation, I completely forgot about my anniversary. My flight home was the day after my anniversary, so I had to buy another ticket so I can celebrate. It's very ignorant of me, I know.
The day after my anniversary, I had to catch a 05.00 A.M. flight to...

3. Tokyo
This was my first time to Japan. My sister was going to Japan for her summer holiday and I decided to meet her and tag along, the way I always did since I was little. At first, I wasn't very excited because I was too tired to travel. This never happened before, since I love traveling and Japan is on my top list of new travel destinations. But my holiday ended really fun. My sister is THE best traveling partner.



There were my sister's friends living in Japan, Bintang, Figi, and Sasti who accompanied us around Japan. My sister and I ended up traveling like a local. I didn't even go to Disneyland, but I did go to Summer Sonic festival and watched Lady Gaga, The Ting-Tings, the Klaxons, and this really cool 4 DJ performance called Birdie Numnum.
Everything in Japan is extremely expensive, I bought almost nothing for myself. Thank God we rescheduled our flight (again) and went home earlier.

4. Graduation day
After 4 years of hardwork, my journey in University of Indonesia has come to an end. It was both happy and sad.
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I'm already missing my campus days...

Two Months of Tears and Joy

I experienced lots of things in the past two months, both happy and sad:

- Got back from Den Haag
- Did my thesis defense
- Crowned None Jakarta Selatan 2009
- Almost cried listening the governor's speech about Abang None
- Crowned two None's at Abang None DKI Jakarta
- Went to Singapore for my last None duty


- Jakarta bombings..

I will write about the last one in this post, since I really need to get it out of my system.
I had just finished checking in at the airport to go to Singapore when I first heard about the news. It said that there was an explosion at Ritz-Carlton. There were still limited information so I was not sure how bad it was. I even hoped that it was only a gas explosion from the restaurant and no one was killed.

I was wrong.

It was a bombing, at the most secured hotel in Jakarta. Also the hotel where MU was going to stay. Thanks to being a none, I have become emotionally attached to this city. I was sad, angry, worried, and confused at the same time.
I was sad because people died for nothing. I was also sad because something like this can happen again in Jakarta.
I was angry to whoever people who did it.
I was worried about the impact to Jakarta. Jakarta's tourism, image, and investment will certainly be wounded.
I was confused because I don't know what to explain to potential tourists at Singapore. For the time being, I think it's pointless to promote Jakarta.

This incident really breaks my heart..
May the victims rest in peace, and may the people who are responsible for it rot in hell.
Amin.

Back from Den Haag

Hello...!!
I just got back from Den Haag on the 26th of May.
It was super fun. Details and pictures: soon.


I'm currently busy finishing my thesis and organizing Abang None Jakarta Selatan 2009.
The finalists are already chosen. Hope they're the best. *Fingers crossed*

My thesis defense is on 11th of June, so I have to finish it by 4th.
And here I am, having the time to revise my thesis, which is rare, but writing on my blog instead.

This girl needs to learn about prioritize.


*Special thanks to Abimantra for the lovely pictures

Abang None = Priceless...

I had doubts when I decided to apply for Abang None.
I was shorter than the minimum height for the none, I don't have a model-esque figure, my hair was short, I walk like a guy, I have almost zero knowledge about grooming and the likes, and my face is tres Indonesian.
Conclusion: I don't qualify for a typical beautiful woman (fair skinned, tall, slender, long hair, etc, etc)...

...yet I applied, and am having one of the best year of my life.
Abang None opens so many doors, some of them are:
1. I became the MC for Gado-Gado Jakarta. It was performed at the gala dinner of JakJazz 2008 at Istora Senayan. I did it in English, watched by DKI Jakarta's high government officials and international musicians from around the world.
2. I became the MC of WWF's Earth Hour main event at Balai Kota. Again, there were DKI Jakarta's high government officials, including the governer, national and international media, ambassadors, and representatives of the national and multinational companies that supported the event.


3. I get to be the tour guide for US Marine corps. Spending the whole Sunday with 40-ish Americans and explaining what Jakarta has to offer.


4. I get to travel to places I've never been before.
5. I was offered jobs, plenty of times. Some of the job offers were from the biggest government-owned bank in this country, TV's (plural), and government department.

Other advantages:
1. I get to be on a super cool stage, and perform, at Jakarta Convention Center. The stage is even better than Putri Indonesia's stage, no offense.


2. I won cash money (lots of it), a laptop, tickets to Hong Kong and Yogyakarta, vouchers, and products from the sponsors.
3. I get to save an 8 digit amount of Rupiahs from prize money and from duties as a None.
4. I have a new family, Abang None family, which is amazing.


5. I get to know many government officials, which is great for my network.


6. I made Bunda and Ayah proud.
7. I personally think I became a better person. I now know about grooming, I became more hard-working, It became easier for me when I meet new people, and the list goes on and on...
8. I got a boyfriend. A great one. = )

One more thing, I'm going to Den Haag on the 19th of May to promote Jakarta, and get paid for it.
How 'bout that??

Those are only some of the advantages of being a None, and I only won 4th place at the province level. Of course there are some downsides of being a None. But really, it doesn't matter when you have more reasons to be happy.
Never in a million years I thought I would experience all of the above. It's priceless.
With all my flaws, I managed to go this far.
Stop assuming, we never know what kind of girl, or guy, the judges are looking for to be an Abang and a none.

So, what are you waiting for?
Don't hesitate to apply. So many doors are waiting to be opened.
You can e-mail me at deasy_748@yahoo.com for more info.
Or check out http://abnonselatan09.multiply.com
Or add our facebook at abnonselatan_09@hotmail.com

Just give it a try, there's nothing to lose..
Looking forward to seeing you, future Abang's and None's..

Cheers!

My Perfect Birthday Part Quatre

Birthday lunch with the kidnappers, plus M.S.
We had a buffet lunch. Most of us had 4 plates of meal.
One of my kidnappers had to loosen her belt.

.




We also went to the karaoke..

My Perfect Birthady Part Trois

My Birthday Dinner with the people who love me most...