The Legend of Rawa Pening

Once upon a time there were a village with many arrogant people lived in there. At one time they were about to hold a feast. All the people were busy preparing all the needed stuffs.
When they feast came, all people were so happy enjoying each time they have. People were dancing, singing, eating and drinking. In an unexpected time, a little boy came to join the feast. The boy were so dirty and having such a disgusting skin disease. All the people rejected him. They even mocked and forsook him. The begged them for food as he had not eaten for nearly 3 days. But the people did not care about it and kept kicking him in order to make him away from that place.
The boy went away sadly. In front of a small house, an old woman called him. The boy was shocked because he could still find a kind person in that village.The old woman gave him some food and provided some cleaner clothes for him. She was so kind to him.
After finishing his meal, the dirty little boy told the old woman to ride onto the"lesung", something used to grind rice grain.Then the little boy returned to the feast. There, he called all the people to surround him because he wanted hold a game. He then put a small wood in to the ground. He asked if there's someone who could take the small wood out of the ground, he would give whatever he wanted.
Many people despised the boy. Not long after, people were trying to take the wood out of the ground but none of them were able to. The little boy then took it out of the ground. Surprisingly, water came out of the little hole made by the little wood. The water was getting greater and turned into flood. All the people drowned except the kind old woman. She was safe because she followed what the boy said. The boy turned into a big snake and dwelled in the water. That place then famous with what is so called as Rawa Pening.



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Dipusingkan Hal Sepele

Namanya Liu Ximei. Pekerjaannya sehari-hari melakukan tugas rumah
tangga, sesekali bekerja di sawah atau di lahan pertanian di Desa
Xinhu, Guangdong, Cina. Wanita ini juga mencuci pakaiannya sendiri
dan aktif melakukan kegiatan harian. Yang membuat Liu Ximei istimewa
adalah ia melakukan semua aktivitasnya itu dalam usianya yang telah
mencapai 102 tahun! Apa resepnya? Sangat sederhana: tidak minum
alkohol, menjaga kebersihan diri, dan yang terpenting, katanya, ia
tidak mau terlalu dipusingkan oleh keadaan sekitarnya.

Tidak sedikit masalah yang timbul karena kita terlalu dipusingkan
oleh keadaan di sekitar kita. Iri hati dengan keberhasilan orang
lain, kecewa dengan perlakuan orang lain, tertekan dengan pandangan
dan penilaian orang lain. Akibatnya fisik dan mental kita terganggu.
Kita pun jadi tidak percaya diri, stres, cepat marah, gampang
curiga, tidak bisa menikmati hari-hari kita, terus dilanda
kegelisahan dan kegalauan. Ujung-ujungnya aktivitas kita, relasi
kita dengan Tuhan dan sesama, bahkan juga kesehatan kita, jadi
terganggu pula.




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My Trip to Bali

Yeaahh !!! at last I could satisfy my desire of adventure.
Mmm…but too late I reckon to have it posted now, for indeed I had the trip on last three weeks. Who cares, I simply want to share you about it anyway.
As stated above I had the trip on about last three weeks, right one day before the Idul Fitri came. I went to Bali by bus because I was not able to afford air plane ticket, hehehehe.. But actually, I’d rather take bus for whatsoever trip than air plane since I’m a bit worry of flying. Moreover, I can enjoy

the trip better on bus than on plane I reckon.
I left for Bali from the bus station on my home town, Salatiga. Departed at around 4pm, the traffic was quite busy at that time because of the people flow to their own home town to celebrate the Idul Fitri from their work cities. I was lucky as the person sat beside me was a girl, quite pretty, but unfortunately she wasn’t really pleasant, oooo…no…Well, at least I could still enjoy seeing her pretty face, heheeehe..
At around 9 pm, we stopped at a restaurant in Situbondo, East Java for dinner; this is what I like to have a trip on a bus. We’d have more than enough time to enjoy the trip itself than to rush in reaching the exact destination.
We arrived at the harbor, when the dawn came. We were waiting for the ferry to cross from Java to Bali when suddenly I felt the bus I was in shaking. I was thinking that it was because one of the crew fixing or filling the tank. I just realized that this was caused by the earthquake when one of the passengers got a call telling that earthquake had just happened in Bali. Epicenter (the center of the happening earthquake) was said to be in Nusa Dua, southern part of Bali. Right after that my brother assured me that nothing to worry since no serious impacts suffered, especially in my brothers’ place, Denpasar.
Not long after that, I continued my trip on a ferry. Felt so exciting to be on board. Enjoying the sea wind and the sun rise behind my Ray Ban, hmmmmm…so relaxing. It took around one hour to get to Bali(Gilimanuk, name of the harbor in Bali)from Java(Ketapang, harbor in east Java to Bali).
Reaching Bali, I had to show my I.D card to be able to really get in to Bali. This was done in the purpose of avoiding terrorist to enter Bali (I think). It was sunny day when I had to catch up the bus again after stepping my feet in Bali to get to my actual destination, Denpasar, the capital of Bali where my brothers’ stay. I t still took 3.5 hours to get to Denpasar from Gilimanuk by bus. When I arrived at Ubung(bus station in Denpasar), my brother picked me up, hmmm…at last I met him and soon I’d meet my other brothers and sister together with my nieces and nephew, also my parents. Yay !! we were all in Bali !
But as usual, like my other previous vacation I had in Bali, I was too lazy to hang out around. I spent most of my time idling home. Forgot not to play with my nieces and nephews, I love it !!
The place I visited were Ulu Watu, Kuta (a most visited place in Bali), Sanur and some other interesting spots.
Time always runs fast when we enjoy every second of it. Yes, I stayed a week in Bali, but felt like just two days. I had to return home on Saturday 26, 2009 since I’d have to work on Monday 28, 2009. Again, I took bus home. Enjoyed the trip but not the seat on the bus as I got the seat at the back which I thought wasn’t comfortable to sit on. I arrived in Salatiga quite early, around 6.30am. Finally, I had to sleep on my bed to get the energy.
Read More..
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What a Bad Day

5.46 P.M, September 15, 2009 I left for home from my work place after having a short chit chat and smoked a cigarette after the busy working hours. Hmmm..that was quite relaxing. I didn’t think at all that in the next two hours I would be a moron donkey.

I rode my bike confidently, not really speeding indeed, but ya…you know we can’t ride it slowly in the highway.

Everything was running well, until I reached my own hometown Salatiga. It started to rain when I entered this small city. I was thinking to stop and find a dwell just

keep me from getting soaked in the rain. But I didn’t know, perhaps I was thinking about my home because there was no one home as my parents were on their holiday in Bali. I could’t really remember what was in my mind. But suddenly in one turning, once again, I wasn’t speeding, I skidded. I didn’t know whether there was oil on the road or what. Fortunately, I got no serious injury but just twisted my ankle (worsen the condition as actually I had suffered from it for quite some time). Well, I was confused of what happened at that time, I couldn’t figure out how this could happen. But I am grateful to those who helped me. One of them said that I was the third one who fell down in that place. Ooooppss….!!

I took my bike again, and I found it was okay, I carried on riding it just to get home. On my way after that small incident, I was still thinking about what was happening. All of sudden, when I overtook another motor bike, I skidded again, DAMN!!!!

What’s wrong with me??? I was really a donkey!!!(I don’t want it) but what to call me if I experienced those two stupid accidents in just about an hour. I was not day dreaming, it was night, can I say night dreaming?? No way!! I was completely awake!!

Up to know, this morning, I’m still confused of what happened with me last night. Was that a warning? Perhaps. But warning about what? (stupid me asking to you all guys, whereas I myself can’t figure it out) I do believe in GOD but not such superstition.

But Anyway, I’m still thankful to GOD for still guiding and protecting me. I got no serious injury.



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Another Money Spring

That night was so cold, the dogs roamed, the wind blew so strongly and the water was so cold (wasis, is that true? isn’t that too hyperbolic?) Hehehehe…the situation was not that dramatic in fact, but some condition was true, the cold, the night, the dogs’ bark (as I have a little dog at home, hehehe..)

Well, let’s go directly to the point. Still remember about the last post in my diary about the new prospect students I would have? Hey..hey..hey…this will be about that new student.

I was having a chit chat (an old school words, ha??) with my mother and watching TV when suddenly I heard a cracking noise from my bed room ( Wasis, come on…do not be too much in dramatizing this post!). Ooops !! okay ! Not a real cracking noise indeed, but my mobile’s ring tone. I was too lazy to open it, but I did open the message and saw a new unnamed number as the sender. I thought that this message was just from another random person who often annoyed me during my sleep by making a call but closed it when I picked it up. What an annoying habit, right?

As I opened he message, I saw that it wasn’t from any random guy (or may be girl, I don’t really know) but from the new prospect student I told you in my previous post.

Below I quote his message:

From : 62856XXXXX

Slmt sore Mas Wasis..

Sory br SMS.

Aku jd les Mas..

Adinya b2, tp mulai bln dpn.

Gmn?Gpp kan Mas?

-Nico-

Do you understand the above quotation? Okay ! I’ll translate it into English. Because above is in Indonesian and also in an SMS slang language.

Below is the English version:

From : 62856XXXXX

Hello..

Sorry for making you waiting..

I will take the course..

There will be me and one other friend joining

But what about starting the class next month?

Is it okay?

-Nico-

I believe that you all understand now, don’t you? I was quite happy as I found another money spring, hhehehee.. Ya..I will need to reduce some of my free time just to earn this amount of money but that’s not a problem, I guess. Yay !! money comes…hobbies done !! But I think I will have to erase one of my hobbies from my weekend activities list. Huffth..a bit disappointing, but I am still grateful. Thanks GOD.


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Kecil, Muda dan Uang atau Kesenangan?

Malang Jawa Timur

SISI namanya. Berusia 19 tahun. Anak seorang pengusaha terkenal di Malang dan pengurus salah satu cabang olahraga. Hampir setiap hari nama ayahnya muncul di surat kabar.

Gadis cantik, yang namanya minta dituliskan persis seperti yang tertera di KTP-nya, adalah salah satu ABG 'papan atas' di Malang. Bila 'turun' ke jalan, ia biasa disapa dengan nama Sisi.

Apa yang kau cari Sisi? "Biar ayah tahu kalau saya sekarang memilih profesi ini. Jual diri," katanya.

Secara sadar Sisi menyatakan harus melacur untuk membalas perlakuan ayahnya yang amat jarang pulang ke rumah saking sibuknya. Namun dia tidak akan mengobral pengakuan kepada sembarang orang, alasannya biar ayahnya tahu secara alamiah dari mulut ke mulut.

Karena itu pula, dia tidak canggung sedikit pun tatkala kepergok wartawan yang juga amat dikenalnya karena kerap datang ke rumahnya di kawasan elite di Malang. Setelah ibunya meninggal pada 1995 lalu, praktis di rumah sudah tidak ada figur panutan lagi. Jawaban Sisi terbilang klasik: korban broken home atau kekisruhan rumah tangga seperti halnya ratusan pelacur ABG lainnya. Sisi merasa tidak ada satu pun orang di rumahnya yang bisa dijadikan tempat berlindung. Ia malah merasa terlindung di dalam dekapan banyak pria yang menyukainya.

Kendati sebagai gadis muda belia yang cantik, Sisi lebih suka berdandan ala kadarnya. Akan tetapi wajah cantiknya tak bisa disembunyikan.

Sebagai pelacur ABG, Sisi semula tergolong laris, namun kemudian banyak ditinggalkan pelanggannya karena dinilai terlalu rewel.

Seorang pria yang cukup terpandang di Malang yang pernah beberapa kali membawa Sisi, mengatakan, "Dia selalu minta cepat pulang. Setelah di-booking pukul 12.00 WIB, pukul 17.00 sudah minta selesai dan cepat-cepat memanggil taksi untuk mengantarkan ke rumahnya."

Pria berusia 45 tahun itu sengaja memilih Sisi karena gadis tersebut datang dari keluarga terpandang, dan sudah menjadi pembicaraan kalangan atas di Malang.

"Saya sengaja memilih Sisi karena alasan prestise. Ternyata setelah saya rasakan, dia banyak permintaan. Soal duit sih, dia tidak banyak tanya," katanya. Disebutkan tarif rata-rata pelacur sekelas Sisi --sebelum dipotong honorarium GM-nya-- Rp 500.000 sekali pakai. Sisi mengaku masih kuliah, "Silakan cek kalau tak percaya," ujarnya sembari menunjukkan KTM (kartu tanda mahasiswa) sebuah perguruan tinggi kesohor di Malang. Teman-temannya di kampus sudah banyak yang mengetahui Sisi menjadi pelacur, "Mereka tidak terlalu peduli. Tidak sedikit teman saya yang seperti saya. Kami saling tahu kelakuan masing-masing," katanya.

Di Malang belakangan ini, memang banyak pelacur ABG yang datang dari kalangan 'atas'. Sedikitnya, saat ini ada 25 ABG dari kalangan etnis Cina. Seorang gadis bermata sipit menceritakan tentang teman-temannya yang terjun ke dunia 'hitam', yang semuanya berasal dari keluarga mampu. "Sebelum ini, ayah saya pengusaha cukup sukses. Entah kenapa tiba-tiba bangkrut," cerita Lani, ketika ditemui di Dieng Plaza. Ia anak seorang pengusaha di Kediri.

Lani mengaku, sejak bisnis ayahnya bangkrut itulah kiriman uang kuliah di PTN terkenal di Malang tersendat-sendat. Terpaksa, Lani harus melayani pria hidung belang. Rupanya, resesi ekonomi yang mendera Indonesia dua tahun terakhir ikut menggelontor kelompok etnis yang selama ini dikenal paling mapan ekonominya. Bagi Lani, profesi inilah yang mampu menyambung napas hidup kuliahnya. Lani mengaku sekali dipakai dia mendapat bagian Rp 250.000. "Yang Rp 50.000 untuk Mami," ungkapnya seraya menunjuk perempuan 40-an tahun yang duduk agak berjauhan.

Tapi tidak gampang menemui ABG di Kota Apel itu. Mereka bergerak secara rapi. Lokasi mangkal ABG --di Malang kerap disebut ayam abu-abu (bagi yang terlihat berseragam SMU) atau ayam kampus (khusus bagi pelacur ABG dari kalangan mahasiswi)-- bisa ditemui di Plaza Dieng, food court Plaza Sarinah, di samping diskotek My Place, Laguna, dan Djoko Tarub Discoteque di kawasan wisata Batu. "Ada pula yang terang-terangan membuka praktek. Mereka bisa ditemui setiap saat di Hotel Royal Inn," ujar seorang GM seraya menyebut beberapa nama hotel. Sisanya, di Hotel Garuda atau penginapan kelas bawah lain, merupakan pelacur profesional berusia 25 hingga 30 tahun. Berbeda dengan ABG di Surabaya yang berani menjajakan diri di tempat terbuka seperti di pinggir jalan --para 'pemakai' menyebutnya sebagai pelacur embongan (jalanan)-- di Malang hanya bisa dijumpai di tempat-tempat keramaian seperti pertokoan atau kawasan tempat nongkrong anak muda. Mereka juga bisa ditemui di karaoke, diskotek, atau kafe.

Mereka memanfaatkan radio panggil (pager) bahkan ponsel (handphone) untuk mempermudah transaksi. Mereka rata-rata bergabung dalam induk semang/mami atau germo (GM). Tempat yang paling terkenal adalah kawasan Tlogomas dan Jl Tirtonadi. Ada satu yang tidak beroperasi lagi yakni yang di Jl Bandung 14.

Di kawasan wisata Batu, mereka bisa ditemui di Jaka Tarub Discoteque di Hotel Purnama. Masyarakat setempat juga mengenali ABG muka lama atau pendatang baru.

Masih di Batu, ada satu lagi Diskotek Fantasia yang pada Jumat, Sabtu, dan Minggu dijejali ABG. Di sekitar dua diskotek tersebut terdapat ratusan vila yang bisa disewa per jam. Bahkan, harga sewa bisa terbilang sangat murah, kecuali Sabtu dan Minggu. Pada hari biasa harga sewa dalam kisaran Rp 25.000 hingga Rp 100.000 per paro hari. Tidak usah ragu-ragu, karena para penjaga vila senantiasa bersikap proaktif. Mereka juga tak jarang berperan ganda sebagai broker (pialang) atau perantara atas permintaan para ABG. "Kalau akhir pekan mahal. Sebab kita sampai menolak permintaan," kata seorang penjaja vila di kawasan Songgoriti Batu. Maklum, mereka kebanjiran 'wisatawan' dari Surabaya dan Jakarta. Dari mana mereka berasal? Pengakuannya bisa macam-macam. Kebanyakan mengaku dari Blitar, Kediri, Surabaya, atau daerah lain di Jatim. Tidak sedikit pula yang berasal dari Kalimantan, Sulawesi, dan belahan Indonesia timur lainnya. Tapi jumlahnya tidak bisa mengalahkan yang berasal dari Malang sendiri. Selengkapnya...

New Student, Will You Come To Me

Saturday night and here I am, again in this shelter in this "warnet"(internet cafe). Huff...ya..ya..have nothing to do, I would rather post this piece of writing here.

Well, I wanna share another thing about something I actually really like.
The other day, a friend of mine texted(read:send me an SMS) me. A friend from my workplace indeed. He told me that there're new prospect of English learners. He offered me about it and asked whether I could give the private lesson. I said"Yes".

This morning i met with these new prospect students. We discussed the day, meeting, how much they have to pay me later on(this is the most important thing, hihihihih...). Well, no decision made yet. I understand that they need to discuss it, perhaps I made too much tariff for these two new students, I don't know. Actually, I care only on how I can still use my English outside my work place area(don't trust it 100% as I am also need the money). Ya, I can also learn while i am teaching, right?
To be honest, I really don't want to lose my English just because I never use it.

Anyway, hopefully these two new prospect students click with my teaching style if they happen take my class later.

Hmmmm..waiting for their text to come...saying"Mas, kami jadi les. Mulai hari minggu nanti y"("Can we start the lesson this weekend?" Selengkapnya...

Give Me A Hint

In this freezing night again your face comes
Been quite some time since my first time seeing you
I glanced you in one easter dawn
Couldn't figure out whether this feelings stabbed you through
I was clueless of what to get into you

Once I tried to escape
But that time kept haunt me as before
Tried to erase but the scene stays clear
I did try to for I had no more idea to be near

Why have you been running away?
When I am about able to get these away, and again you come
Please give me a hint whether to carry on or give in
If you have to hurt me, do so
Time will heal the pain

Or am I that unworthy for you that you can't even give me a chance? Selengkapnya...

To Worry Is So Human

When I was a little kid, I used to be worry whenever I was alone. Being left alone by my parents and siblings was a worrying thing. As I grew up, it didn't stay the same.
The older and maturer I grew the more complex things comes to be worrying.
Now, I sometime worry about my future. Yes, I realize that none knows what God has instore(as if I am a religious person, not that much indeed). But I do believe, God never sleeps(He must have drunk too much coffee, hehehehe..). I reckon that it's always natural to worry as we are human. It is a basic characteristic I guess. Let me ask you a question, Is there any of you who have never worry??? I can guarantee that none of you will answer"Me!!". Basically, we worry because we are thinking. We use our brain, therefore we feel worry.
But the point I wanna share is not the feeling of worry itself, but how we can overcome and make it as a motivation to do better in our life.There's no point to only worry about the future without doing something to, at least, reduce this feeling of worry.Do best in the present time will help to erase this feeling little by little.
We worry about the future, so just do what can be done now while trying to avoid the bad things might happen in our future life. We'll never know what we will be, but at least we'll not regret in the future since we do not waste our present for the sort of useless things, just enjoy your today but never forget to plan the tomorrow. You can only regret and recall the yesterday, but you can always plan the tomorrow. So, don't worry to worry for we are all HUMAN. Selengkapnya...

When I Get What I Actually Didn't Expect

Hey...What's up Mate? I do hope that you guys are just fine. Anyway, as usual I'm now in "warnet" shelter surfing in the webs, hehehe...
Guys, I just wnt to share you another experience I just got. Indeed,I just finished doing my hobby (teaching, sounds silly, but I considers it as a hobby anyway). I started to give private lesson around a month ago, the first student I got after my return to my hometown, Salatiga. Actually, it was a coincidence, this student ( I don't like to consider him as a student and I don't like to be called as a teacher indeed, but learning partner i better) is a friend of mine's sibling. He is 2nd grader in a senior high school in Salatiga. At that time my friend called me that he wanted me to teach his little brother English just to enrich his ability and raise his achievement at school. I was only thinking that I wanted to do that in order for me to learn as well because you know, I'm now not really working in an English area, not really in accordance with my major. I don't want to lose my English for not using it. Therefore, I accepted this offer. I DID NOT THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH I WOULD GET FROM IT AT ALL.
But just now, when I finished teaching (again this word burdens me sometime, hehehehe..)my student's (oops !! this word again...)mom gave an envelope. I know that there's some money in it, based on our culture this is how we give in order to be polite. I refused it, because I do that merely to do my hobby and just want to keep using my skill ( I'm not that skillful but she kept putting it in my bag. I could not do nothing but accept it as I don't think that it's polite to refuse a gift. And in this shelter, I opened the envelope. I found it Rp......( I don't need to mention it) ya...enough to buy some of my need, may be if I have 10 students with the same tariff, it is more than the amount I get from my current wok place, hehehehehe.... Well guys, I do learn that if we do things the best we can and enjoy it, we will get the UNEXPECTED REWARD, may this can motivate us all a lot more.

Cheers...

(correct me for any error, diction, grammar, etc) Selengkapnya...