Food and Hang Out Place

Aglio Olio Spaghetti in Popsteak & Pasta

"It's hard to be a hero with an empty stomach." ―Sanosuke Sagara (Rurouni Kenshin). 

It has been three years for me to live in Surakarta as I have to finish up my college study. My only first impressions of this city were two: one is humid with hot weather (and rarely rain poured), two is this city lacked of urban life. That's not all, because the aggravation of those was I stayed in environment of study-holic.

They were the reasons why it wasn't easy for me to adjust myself being a Surakartan. I'm originally from Bogor and right before I came to this city, I had just finished 3 years of high school in Jakarta. Either the weather or the culture of Bogor and Jakarta are pretty much similar. It's easy to adapt from one to another. Moreover, I loved to hang out in Mall when I used to be a citizen of those two cities. That's only until I arrived in Surakarta that I couldn't live my urban lifestyle anymore.

Surakarta, or famed as Solo (its traditional name) is located in Central Java. This makes the language used in daily amongst the citizens is Javanese. Well, my father's family is Javanese, so it only took some months for me to settle my ears. But my way of living had never been Javanese because of my original address and the way I'd been raised before my living in Solo. The only escapism I could take were being alone, surfing the internet, and going to mall.

Another Dream and The Power of Wish

When I first time entered AMSA about 2.5 years ago, all I expected was to participate in its enjoyable & cool events and to expand my networking of fellow medical students in Indonesia. I thought it would be splendid to travel around attending some events or meetings then got to know many new people and be friends with them. However, as I went on walking my journey, I realized that AMSA was bigger than that; it offered not only fun and excitement, but a whole new horizon and experience.

AMSA has 3 philosophies as its base of activities: Knowledge, Action, Friendship. It provides many kinds of activities as the space for its members to develop in accordance with the authenticity of each person. Peer tutorials, lectures in every event (either national or international), social services, charity, leadership training, organizational experiences, and many more of ways to develop oneself according to the philosophies I've undergone. They all have enriched me as a person in terms of academic knowledge, compassion and conscience as a future medical doctor, and also personality as I've shared good & bad moments with many other members that I consider them as friends.

Sacrificial Day: Dogma v.s. Individual Principles

Is a Muslim automatically a sinner (or even an infidel) if he/she doesn't believe in sacrificial day? That he/she believes the day is only about animals slaughtering, charity for people who're not even in urgent need of meat, and is merely about a tradition without rational reasoning.

I remember when I was a child, once a year my parents told me to see and attend the moment when the animals were to be slaughtered, to be killed as the celebration of Abraham's story. Not enough with the bloody event, I should further see when the dead cows and goats were to be skinned. Sometimes my dad assigned me to get some of the meat for home.

Aside than those, I still vividly remember one of those days when there was a goat which roared deeply and it sounded sadly for me as a small kid when it was herded to the place and got prepared for the slaughtering. When the people started to chant prayers, the voice of the goat sounded deeper and sadder. I then shouted to them "Poor goat. It cries.", and then my little brother said he saw tears falling from one of the goat's eyes. Seeing the slaughtering happened, the other goat not far from where we stood, started to get anxious, but then it stopped moving as if it had surrendered helplessly. As the same fate came upon this other goat, the same deep sad roar came out.

Wherever Those Dreams May Lead: Passion

Lately I've been reading a lot of articles. Articles about passion, articles about moving on and letting go, articles about being true to oneself, and of course some articles about life enlightenment. This all happened exactly at the same time of when I realized that I had lost myself.

No, it's not that I was wandering around in the middle of forest while reading them and then I couldn't return to my place. I'm not that reckless (or perhaps am I?).

I still remember when in High School the institution taught its all students about Igantian Spirits, which one of is Magis, getting better and better as a person through daily reflection made into a journal. I didn't understand how I would be a better person by per se, in fact, all students and I tried our best to ditch the obligation.

But now I do. And I also have to laugh at and give a bit of cynical smile to that teenager from few years ago that underestimated the valuable teaching from his notable beloved Canisius College High School.

Letting Go

"Because at the end of the day, life is but a fleeting moment, a series of events that come and go, emotions that arise and disappear, feelings that develop and wane, moments that spark and fade.  It is not a never-ending situation, a game without match point or the blowing of a whistle nor a perpetual film without the credit titles.

As such, life could only be about letting go, for in doing so we create the space for new things, new experiences, new people and new emotions to enter into our lives.  Thus we are enriched.  For when we hold on to old things, to stale emotions, to habitual thoughts and ageing beliefs, we allow ourselves to be in a constant state of death, of arrested development and of not living a fulfilled life.

As I grew up, I would enjoy the feeling of going away, leaving home to distant shores and delight in being under different skies and bask in unfamiliar surroundings.  I would take these new experiences and store them as sweet memories, grateful for the opportunity to appreciate them.  And I had long learned not to be sad on the way home, nor feel a sense of loss or regret that the moment has ended.
Instead, I cherish the feeling of wonder and excitement that allow me to develop a sense of anticipation for future journeys and more adventures.  This way, life is not about endings, but about new beginnings.  Death is not to be mourned or feared, but to be embraced as a necessary part of our constant rebirth."

―Desi Anwar

source courtesy: http://www.desianwar.com/writings/journal/113-letting-go.html 

When All Things in Life Are About Loss

Winning any competition is a different matter. Because losing there doesn't mean the end, not to mention we can always register for another tourney and prepare ourselves for the next battle. That way, we have nothing to lose because in fact we keep improving and climbing the hill of achievement. We don't lose by that way, we triumph and we keep gaining the perishable pleasure.

However, I'm talking about another definition of loss. I'm talking about when finally we realize all of those victories over marvelous titles labelled on us becoming meaningless and then we turn from worshiping into hating them. Being cool or popular no longer feels nice, which on the contrary, we regret it. That moment we are aware of what we truly are fond of, is the moment we finally wake up knowing we've always been losing, no win at all. Glory is bullshit.

In this world of uncertainty, I tend to look for fake and delusional joys than to

One by One, Dreams Come True

I wished hard for it, I gave shots in some opportunities, until one day my prayer would be answered. And now that one of the dreams come true, self-pride and gratitude and faith get stronger through. Why is it still I cannot believe in the power of belief? Perhaps someday soon by more life lessons, I will.