(Another) Guru at Your Service

One day when I went to buy a memory card, I saw a big picture of an Indian couple. I recognize them from some spiritual commune; somebody named ‘Bhagwan…..’ (sorry I forgot). I remember because somebody from that commune came to the office once, quite long time ago. I just couldn’t help to ask the shop assistant about the man on the photo (I just want to make sure that my memory doing well..). And he point to somebody sitting at the corner, who own the photo. I never meant to convey a message that I was being POSITIVE about the photo.. because I’m not! And when I look at the man who own this photo, suddenly I was regretting my asking about that photo to the shop-assistant! This man at the corner have some snobbish look on his face, and a bit cynical (?)..I don’t know the right word, I just regretting that I even BOTHER to comment.

Wahyu Tuhan untuk Capres

Ada banyak cara yang dipakai orang untuk menunjukkan dukungan terhadap capres/ cawapres pilihannya. Status-status di facebook, attachment ke berbagai link, notes, blog pribadi, dsb. Itu baru di dunia maya. Di keseharian juga masih banyak cara lain untuk menunjukkan dukungan. Tapi hari ini ada satu yang sangat menarik, lumayan untuk refreshment di jam kerja yang sibuk.

A Man Who Once Become Part of My Fantasy

Yes you can guess it by now, it’s him. Michael Jackson. I heard the shocking news early in the morning, a friend told me. Felt my heart break, something wrong with my throat, seemed hard to swallow. Loads of status updates in facebook are about him. With each of their own way, people expressing their feelings towards him. Nobody knew him personally. He’s a superstar, a legend, and lives long way from here, but yet all these people show their last respect. Even just in status updates.

Miss-identified Self

Buat yang suka shopping, atau sekedar window shopping, kejadian berikut pasti pernah dialami: masuk ke sebuah toko, branded, harga barangnya ratusan hingga jutaan rupiah, tapi disambut oleh pegawai toko yang tampangnya ‘blank’, melayani setengah hati dan sibuk stengah mati terlihat se-level dengan barang jualannya yang branded. Sound familiar? Tidak hanya untuk barang yang branded, bahkan ketika window shopping atau menyelesaikan transaksi di kasir sebuah supermarket –yang sangat biasa- pun, hal ini kadang-kadang terjadi.

Finally Got it!

Left early from office for the ’special day’-which finally arrived- to pick up my new passport. Along the way I was pretty sure that I won’t have to wait anymore.

All counters were closed, but I just ask a lady who was behind her computer to take my note of payment. I asked this woman because another younger woman who actually behind the counter herself, seems too busy or too deaf to hear what I said. Or simply because she couldn’t move because of those heavy make-ups all over her face.

Anyway, the older woman- surprisingly- was actually quite helpful, AND with a SMILE on her face. Not a wide smile but enough. Well well..a change of attitude, maybe start to happening here? She asked whether I still want to keep my old passport. I said yes, and she told me that I will need to fulfill a form and a copy of both my old and new passport.

Ok, no problem. Done it, paid another 8000 rupiahs and I finally got it! Felt so relieved, I done it by my own, ‘following THEIR procedures’, although with all the hustle bustle inside the office. For some it maybe just another day-just another-not-so-important piece of paper, for God’s sake- but I felt great anyway. I congratulated my self and thanked him who always willing to spare his time to stand by my side along those boring process Thanks a lot dear..

Lemot Akut Bureaucracy (part 4)

Untuk kesekian kalinya, kembali mengunjungi kantor imigrasi yang sudah berhasil menginspirasi saya menulis hingga menjadi 3 bagian. Hari ini seharusnya waktu untuk mengambil paspor yang-seharusnya- sudah jadi. Saya membayangkan hari ini tidak akan perlu banyak membuang waktu dengan menunggu. Instruksi yang saya ingat ketika wawancara 4 hari yang lalu adalah, “..silahkan kembali 4 hari lagi untuk mengambil paspor baru, cukup serahkan bukti pembayaran (warna putih) di loket.”

Lemot Akut Bureaucracy (part 3)

Arrived at 8 am something.Write my name,got number 5 in the list (not bad..or so I thought). Half an hour later got a call to pay at the cashier.No exact amount was written on the form,hopefully still the same,270.000 rupiahs.Another small card to queue,number 14.Hm.How long this will last..Then we wait again,what a boring chairs and view surrounds me…Lucky me,he’s by my side,so I wasn’t that dead bored. A woman beside me complaining about how slow these people are in handling things.I said the same thing to her,these people are to slow,didn’t understand what make them this slow!Haven’t they eat breakfast yet or what?I remember this woman beside me well,she’s the the same woman I saw last week.She was standing by my side at the counter that time,tried to explain that her name is the real one,never been changed before..Quite a dialogue,that’s why I remember her today. Wait about 15 minutes or so,the cashier called my number.What a surprise,before me was number 8!How come the order changed,from 8 to 14?Didn’t get it.So it’s still 270.000 rupiahs.Ok.Next step was to return the yellow sheet back to the counter,and of course,they told me to wait.This time got no queue number.It made me upset,how then I know when will be my exact turn to be called up?They can easily switched my turn to somebody else’s,right?Almost an hour in vain,finnaly I called up to take my pic.I was so upset,it turned out I looked like a ghost in the pic.So be it..Then another seat at the waiting room,then finnaly the interview..About my name,birthday,address,where will I planned to go..where’s my last visit abroad,etc.Some signatures,and then the guy told me it’s done,told me to be back 4 days later to take my new passport.FOUR days?Another days?OMG.What to do,this is all you got with the slow work system,uneffective flow of bureaucracy..

Lemot Akut Bureaucracy (part two)

Surat rekomendasi asli sudah ditangan, hasil dari berpacu dengan waktu mengejar tandatangan direktur SDM. Kejadian konyol sehari sebelumnya nyars terlupakan, berkat olah visualisasi kreatif di malam hari. Harapan untuk menyelesaikan segala urusan di hari ini pun terbangkitkan dan perjalanan ke lokasi terasa ringan..

Lemot Akut Birokrasi (part one)

Libur di hari kerja memang sering dimanfaatkan untuk mengurus samsat, SIM, bayar membayar tagihan, dan lain-lain. Libur di hari kerja kali ini saya manfaatkan untuk mengurus perpanjangan passport yang sudah habis masa berlakunya beberapa hari lalu. Setelah bertanya kanan kiri -sampai browsing segala untuk mengingat yang perlu dipersiapkan dan dilakukan—saya merasa cukup percaya diri mengurus semuanya sendiri. Itu berarti mengikuti prosedur normal tanpa short cut, baik lewat calo maupun lewat ‘surat sakti’.

Mozaik Pesta Demokrasi 2009

Indonesia sedang ‘sibuk’. Sibuk berpolitik, sibuk melakukan banyak hal tidak penting diantara sekian banyak hal penting yang harus diprioritaskan untuk mengelola Negara ini dengan lebih baik. Tentu saja Presiden tidak bisa dituding sebagai satu-satunya akar permasalahan, karena Negara terbentuk berdasarkan kesepakatan individu-individu yang tergabung di dalamnya. Individu-individu inilah- yang kemudian disebut sebagai warganegara- yang sebenarnya memiliki peran menjaga terwujudnya good governance di Negara ini.