Farewell

It's been three years, give or take, since I first started this blog. Along the way, it recorded a journey, though 41 articles spanning 3 years is quite unimpressive. Now, there will not be any more post here, as a new blog has been constructed to carry on its mantel, feel free to visit at http://atghifari.wordpress.com .

In Defense of Gea

The obituaries have been written, the inquisition has started. After two matches in a Manchester United jersey, questions, no, labels are already being handed out to the young Spaniard between the sticks, David De Gea. I admit, the way he lets those two goals in, against City and WBA was unimpressive. But we must remember, we are dealing with a 20 year old guy here. A guy who is still learning English, still acclimatizing to the Premier League. A guy who is still getting to grips with his back four and the fact that in England, bumping and jostling a goalkeeper is considered normal. Added to the mix is the expectation of replacing one of the best goalkeeper in the world, at the biggest club in the world. After reviewing all of that, then isn’t normal for him to make a few mistakes early in his career?

I can understand the jeers and sticks coming from the other fans. They would love the chance to undermine United at the slightest hint of weakness. Fans will remember Alan Hansen’s famous saying “You can’t win anything with kids” directed at United’s “Class of ’92”. Or the notion that Ronaldo is a one trick pony. Or “Park was signed to sell shirts”. Or one of my favorite “Come back when you’ve won 18”. I could go on and on and on here. Time and time again, we have proven them wrong, the class of 92 was a success, Ronaldo, well, need I say more? Park has come through for us time and time again.Wwe have came back to Anfield, bringing our 19th title. They, we don’t have to worry about. What I don’t get is how a Manchester United fan could go for a knee jerk reaction and say that he’s a bad goalkeeper. For me personally, you need at least 3-4 season to determine if a goalkeeper (‘cough’ Almunia’) is bad (‘cough’ crap). These times, it seems like fans have adopted a City like view to transfers and signings. All demand instant success, sparkling debuts, the works. If a goalkeeper wanted to be called a success, he has to make an “Aussie Rules” style save in his debut and hangs suspended in the air in a classic camera pose. Other than that he’s shite. Well, he is 20, he has the class, he is acclimatizing, he is bound to make mistakes, give him time, he will come good. I need not remind the United faithfuls that Evra was terrible in his debut against City, prompting Ferguson to haul him off after 45 minutes and saying the famous words “Mr Evra, now just watch and see what is English football. And learn”. He did alright in the coming years didn’t he?

Some have accepted the need for him to get used to his new surroundings, but pointed out that it’ll probably cost us points. Well, so far, he hasn’t cost us any point (or trophy). And for me, he looks decent enough. I mean, c’mon now, we are Manchester United, we always score, that is embedded in our DNA. Some people goes so far as too muddle his name with a certain Masimo Taibi. All I can say about that is wtf? De Gea has a much better pedigree and potential than Taibi. And remember, Taibi had a man of the match performance in his first league game, against Liverpool. Look what happened? A sparkling debut does not ensure one’s success in the game. What United fans need to do now is to persevere with him, give him the time he needs to get used to his surroundings. Yes, it might not be pretty in the short term, but we will reap the benefits in the long term. Let us turn a deaf ear upon those who castrate him. We all know he has got what it takes to be a success. We do not know what will happen in the future but he has won acclaims from too many people to not come good. Iker Casillas once said that this guy will “put us all out of our job” for Spain. He has three major trophies and one minor trophies already under his belt for God’s sake, and he’s still 20. I mean, other so called “top” clubs (‘cough’) has a (first team) squad that has only ever won one major trophy (City) or no major trophy (Arsenal) at all. What I find hilarious is people claiming they could’ve done a better job in goal. Have they won those trophies? We all know the answer to THAT particular question.

From A Bookworm's Point Of View. . .

I remembered, I was seven at the time my uncle took me to Gramedia at TP. We went there to look for The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton (or more popularly known here as Lima Sekawan). I remembered, the buzz I got from seeing so many books in one place. I thought it to be a castle of some sorts. A place where tales are recorded for people to enjoy. The bookstore was truly a magnificent place to be for a little kid like me.

We didn’t have a lot of time that day, so me and my uncle went straight to the kids novels. I remembered I was a bit unhappy at that time, cause the novel that I wanted, The Famous Five : The Ghost Train was not available. As I trudged out to the entrance, my uncle stopped me. He told me to examined a pile of novels on a table. I did so half heartedly, still put out that the castle didn’t have the book I wanted. I grabbed the novel. What I saw first intrigued me. A kid wearing glasses flying on a broomstick through a gate while in the distance, loomed a three headed dog and some dark pine trees. I read the title “Harry Potter dan Batu Petuah” and skimmed the description on the back. My uncle, seeing that I was intrigued, promised to buy me the first and second book when I was eight. Citing that my mom wouldn’t have approved of me reading a novel that is “berat” in his own words. Well you can imagine what effects those words have on a little kid. I wanted the book right then and there! It took a bit of persuading to get me out of the bookstore without the book.

So I waited and waited, until finally, my birthday arrived. I knew beforehand that the book I wanted was gifted to me. I was itching to turn it’s pages, to interact with it’s words. But my mother, worried that the book might be unsuitable for me, or perhaps (and I strongly suspect this was the reason) wanted to find out why people were so hyped up about it, decided that she would read it first and then pass the judgment. I remembered, I was angry at the time, it was like someone had promised me a candy, and hadn’t given it to me. After two days of simmering anger, I finally got the book. Poof, all that anger melted away, replaced by the irrepressible sense of excitement.

And it lived up to it’s hype. After I finished the first one, I couldn’t wait to read the second one. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Harry, Ron and Hermione, I immediately cajoled my mother into buying me the second one. She didn’t buy into my act and I was forced to work my charms with my uncle and aunties. Fortunately, I succeeded in my quest and a few months later, accompanied Harry and Ron in their own quest to save Hermione and vanquish the dreaded Basilisk.

I must admit, now that I’ve thought about it, I don’t recall how I managed to obtain the third book. My best guess is that my parents bought that for me after another round of coaxing and pleading. And so I feared for Harry’s life as he faced The Prisoner of Azkaban, only to find a mouse was behind all this. And as with the previous books, I wanted to know what happened next, and I wanted to know right away. My parents, realizing the importance of Harry Potter in my eyes, reveled in their strong bargaining position and made a deal with me for the fourth book. I went through with the deal and experienced some pain (the shitty anesthesia didn’t work) and got my justly reward. I remembered ripping out it’s plastic container and turning it’s sweet, brown pages, one by one. I started at 2 in the afternoon and wouldn’t put it down until 9, when I turned the last page. The fourth one was a roller coaster ride for me, especially the hanging ending I hate the most. Lord Voldemort was back and he has Harry’s blood, he can now touch him without feeling the pain! And Fudge is ignoring the warnings, the magical world is doomed! I yearned for the next one, but it was not to be, for it hasn’t been released yet. So I had to be content with rereading those four books.

Then, right after my ninth birthday, I went to the states. . .

I remembered it clearly, The dark blue rectangle adorning banners everywhere. The image of Harry holding his wand aloft while looking back and the grayish, wispy smoke that formed the words “The Order Of The Phoenix”. I remembered wanting to camp in Borders, waiting until midnight to “be the first to get the new books”. We didn’t wait until midnight, but I played some games the Borders staff had designed for people who waited and won a pair of Harry Potter glasses. I remember I was very proud of my trophy, wearing it everywhere for the next couple days. The hardcover version was too expensive for my family to purchase, so I decided to be clever and borrow one from the city library. Sadly, I wasn’t the only one being clever. Other people had reserved those copies weeks in advance. So I had to wait a few days until my turn came. Because it was a new book, and it was very popular, I had a limit of two days to read and return it to the library. So I dug into my bed-cum-sofa and started reading. I remembered I managed to cram in four re-reads during the two days. Simply because I thought that the time afforded to me was too valuable to lose. I returned the book and finally bought a paperback copy for myself a few months later for the princely sum of $9.99.

Then I went back to Indonesia

The sixth book is without a doubt, the one with the coolest cover. The dark green, the eerie light is just fantastic. Which is why I was upset about the fact that my mother bought me the UK cover and not the US one. The UK cover, in my opinion (and there’s no way to deny it) sucks. It’s a picture of Harry and Dumbledore circled in flames ( I later connected those flames tho the Inferi scene). Anyway, before it came out, I was super excited. I heard that a major character was going to die. I had my guesses, but never in a million year would I suspect that Dumbledore was going to die. It was simply unreal. Dumbledore was supposed to protect Harry, he was supposed to be there when Harry needs him. And the fact that Slytherin’s locket was not there added insult to injury (thought I guessed it was Regulus who took it). And the ending was a sober one indeed.

A few years later. . .

At last, The Seventh One takes centre stage. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. I knew I had to have it. This was the final battle, this was the end. I bought the book as soon as it came out (pricey too, yikes). And my word, what a grand finale it was. Thought the Hallows plot feels a bit forced, it manages to dovetail nicely with the horcrux plot and provided readers with yet more mysteries to unravel. This book was the perfect way to end a Masterpiece. A masterpiece spanning two decades and 7 books. The genius behind the work, J.K Rowling’s name was spoken in the same breath as Tolkien’s and many other genius before her.

Which saddened me somewhat when I see people obsessed with their movies. When Indonesia had problems importing foreign movies, people took a stand, as one, and cried out for Harry Potter to be shown. They rushed it through the censoring process and gave the people what they want, which is good, it shows that if the public voice unite, we can change things. As for the movies, I for one, do not feel any love for Harry Potter movies. I feel that J.K Rowling’s words are what made the novels great, how she sculpted those characters is what gave power to her stories. And the way she lets us picture those characters uniquely, to create those scenes in our mind. That is what makes Harry Potter stand taller above the others. I feel that Hollywood has stripped us of that ability, of that freedom. Even now, when we picture Harry, our thoughts instantly turn to Daniel Radcliffe. Can we ever imagine Harry to be someone else? I’m not sure. I was neutral about the movies once, but I have disliked for their movies since the fourth one, since they cocked it up. I’m not sure if I’ll ever managed to love their movies, even after they split it up (which feels more like a marketing strategy). Maybe I am the last of a dying breed. But right now, while people here are delightfully, maybe even pompously proclaiming to the world that they have watched the last battle, I choose to stay at home and reread those treasured words. Do not misunderstand me, I am a fan, maybe to some extension, a hardcore fan. But I am a hardcore fan who values artistic beauty above all else, and for me, those artistic beauty are embodied in J.K Rowling’s books, and not the Screenwriter’s script. For me, the masterpiece will always be those seven books, the seven books that accompanied me from a scrawny kid, to a young adult. And for that, I thank you, J.K. Rowling

Motivasi Tersembunyi

Saya ingat, sewaktu smp, pernah berbincang bincang dengan salah satu sahabat karib saya. Kami berbincang bincang soal pekerjaan. Yah, biasa lah, pembicaraan anak smp, sering terfokus pada hal hal materiil. Waktu itu, ia berkata pada saya “ Ghif, apapun yang kamu pilih, jangan masuk Studi Pembangunan, temannya bapakku ada yang masuk situ, sampai sekarang duitnya dikit terus, ga prospektif lowongan kerjanya”. Wah, sudah diultimatum gitu, mau tidak mau tertarik juga untuk mencari tau, apa sih Studi Pembangunan itu.

Setelah itu, saya bertanya kepada orang tua saya tentang Studi Pembangunan. Maklum, saya waktu itu SMP, belum mahir menggunakan internet dan semacamnya. Akhirnya setelah bertanya ke orangtua saya, saya mendapat gambaran yang lebih jelas tentang Studi Pembangunan. Wah, ternyata tidak buruk buruk amat. Malah ilmunya sangat menarik bagi saya. Dari pembicaraan singkat itu, muncul keinginan untuk mempelajari ilmu itu lebih dalam. Dan lucunya, akhirnya saya benar benar akan mempelajarinya bulan depan.

Saya juga ingat, ketika waktu itu bertanya kepada bapak saya “Pak, jurusan apa sih yang prospektif, buat dapat kerja”. Beliau menjawab “Wah, sebenarnya kerja itu ada dimana mana Ghif, ketika kita memikirkan orang lain, disitu ada kerjaan. Acapkali kita hanya memikirkan diri sendiri, sehingga tidak melihat peluang peluang tersebut. Serta, saat ini paradigma orang ketika melihat kerjaan itu dari berapa besar gajinya, padahal, seharusnya kerja itu kan ibadah, rezeki itu yang nanti datang sendiri, berapa jumlahnya ya terserah Allah memberinya ke kita berapa”. Setelah mendapat pesan tersebut, saya akhirnya berfikir, benar juga ya! Selama ini sepertinya berfikir, aku bisa kerja dimana, bisa dapet uang berapa nanti, sedangkan seharusnya sudah mulai berfikir, aku bisa mengajak orang buat kerja di sektor apa. Wah, setelah berfikir seperti ini, rasanya peluang kerja terbuka lebar di depan mata.
Namun, sampai saat ini masih banyak yang memilih jurusan berdasarkan prospek kerja. Sewaktu berbincang bincang dengan teman teman mengenai pilihan jurusan, saya sering mendengar kata kata “wah, ga prospektif disitu, disitu duitnya dikit, atau prospek kerja nya apa”

Yah, tidak salah sih memikirkan prospek kerja sebuah jurusan, toh dari jalur jalur itulah kita akan berkarya. Namun, saya ingat kata kata sepupu saya yang sedang kuliah di Bandung, ia pernah berkata “Kamu kuliah mau menuntut Ilmu atau kerja? Kalau kerja ya ga perlu masuk universitas yang bagus. Mencari uang disela kuliah itu boleh, seperti yang sekarang abang lakukan, buat bisnis sama teman teman. Tapi pada dasarnya, yang kita kejar sewaktu kuliah itu ya Ilmu, bukan prospek kerja”. Kata kata ini benar sekali. Ilmu itulah yang memanusiakan manusia, yang bisa memicu terjadinya mobilisasi vertical. Saat ini, mencari Ilmu lah yang paling penting.
Maka dari itu, yang saya kejar dari pengalaman kuliah ini hanya satu, saya jauh jauh pergi dari rumah untuk belajar di Jogja hanya untuk menuntut Ilmu. Dan saya yakin, bahwa rezeki dari Allah pasti akan terus datang, di bidang apapun saya berkarya.

Masihkah Ada Pendidikan Bagi si Miskin?

Ada dua cerita menarik. . .

Pada tanggal 17 Mei, banyak dari teman teman saya yang sedang senang senangnya. Betapa tidak, pengumuman SNMPTN Jalur Undangan telah keluar, mereka yang selama tiga tahun telah berupaya keras belajar untuk mendapatkan nilai bagus akhirnya mendapatkan hasilnya. Gerbang Perguruan Tinggi Negeri terbuka lebar di depan mereka. Namun, tidak semua yang diterima bersenang hati.

Alkisah ada seorang siswa, dari sebuah pulau yang terletak di lepas pantai kota Surabaya. Siswa ini, Siswa salah satu SMA Negeri di Pamekasan ini telah berhasil lulus SNMPTN Undangan, diterima di Universitas Gadjah Mada jurusan Teknik Nuklir. Walaupun lulus, ia tidak senang. Malah ia sedih, sedih sekali. Ternyata, orang tuanya tidak dapat membayar uang spma yang diperlukan untuk masuk. Bayangkan, betapa sedih hati, jika Universitas yang diinginkan, yang didambakan, gagal diraih karena masalah uang. Bagaimana rasanya ketika uang menjadi penghalang untuk mewujudkan impian menjadi salah satu ahli nuklir di negeri ini.

Jadi, selama beberapa hari kedepan, bersedih lah siswa itu. Ketika mahasiswa mahasiswa baru UGM tengah mempersiapkan data data yang harus dipakai untuk daftar ulang, ia mengurungkan diri di kamarnya. Ia tahu, ia tidak punya uang untuk mendaftar, jadi untuk apa bersiap siap pergi kesana. Akhirnya, 31 Mei datang, seharusnya ia sudah berada di depan Grha Sabha Pramana, melihat puncak Gunung Merapi yang megah di kelilingi awan. Nyatanya, ia masih berada di pulau, mencoba melupakan mimpi untuk masuk Universitas yang diidamkan.

31 Mei, 1 Juni, 2 Juni, 3 Juni, 4 Juni, 6 Juni, 7 Juni. . .

Sudah genap seminggu berlalu sejak waktu pendaftaran ulang. Ia masih sedih dan murung, ia tidak mengikuti snmptn tulis karena sudah patah semangat. Orangtuanya pun tak sedih, mereka meminta tolong gurunya untuk datang membantu. Ketika gurunya melihat dia, wah, mengenaskan sekali keadaanya, layaknya orang yang sudah hilang semangat. Akhirnya, gurunya memberanikan diri untuk menghubungi pihak universitas, untuk mencari tahu apakah ada yang bisa mereka lakukan. Sang siswa pun diberitahukan bahwa gurunya akan berupaya menghubungi pihak UGM.

Yah, siapapun bakal pesimist pada saat itu, pendaftaran sudah ditutup seminggu yang lalu. Uang untuk mendaftar tidak punya, padahal, uang itu kan syarat? Bagaimana mungkin ia bisa masuk ke UGM? Ia pun tidak terlalu berharap dengan upaya gurunya.
Namun betapa salahnya dia, ternyata, permohonan gurunya didengar, UGM membuka pintu daftar ulang buat dia, dalam sms singkat dari Rektor UGM, dikatakan bahwa "Setiap mahasiswa yang diterima di UGM berbasiskan akademik, kalau di berasal dari keluarga miskin/tidak mampu. UGM akan mencarikan biaya kuliah dari berbagai sumber". Betapa fantastisnya efek pesan tersebut. Impian yang seolah olah sudah sirna dari pandangan kini muncul lagi. Ia pun diminta oleh pihak UGM untuk menyiapkan data data yang diperlukan untuk pendaftaran ulang. Setelah semua siap, ia pun berangkat ke Jogjakarta, seminggu setelah teman temannya, dan mendaftar ulang, seminggu setelah temannya. Saat ini, permohonan dia untuk penghapusan biaya kuliah sedang di review oleh Rektor, namun, ia sudah berstatus MABA Teknik Nuklir 2011. Dan ia tidak membayar sepeser pun untuk masuk ke sana.

Nah, cerita yang kedua ini saya alami ketika sedang berjalan kaki mengelilingi UGM. . .

Hari senin, 4 Juli 2011, saya dan bapak saya berjalan kaki mengitari UGM. Saya karena lagi ingin mengeksplorasi UGM, dan bapak saya karena sedang bernostalgia. Jadwal daftar ulang saya adalah 5 Juli 2011, sehingga saat itu, saya tenang tenang saja. Sampailah kami di gedung Direktorat Administrasi Akademis (DAA). Di gedung ini, nampak banyak orang yang sibuk keluar masuk. Karena penasaran, saya dekati kerumunan tersebut. Ternyata, kerumunan tersebut adalah orangtua mahasiswa yang sedang mendaftar-ulangkan anaknya. Akhirnya, saya masuk kedalam karena ingin tahu bagaimana proses daftar ulang itu berlangsung.

Sesampainya di counter, saya melihat ada seorang ibu yang sedang berbicara dengan nada panik ke panitia pendaftaran. Ternyata, ibu tersebut mempunyai anak yang sekolah di sebuah pondok pesantren. Anak tersebut diterima di UGM dan diharuskan membayar 5 juta. Ibu ini, sambil terisak isak, menceritakan keluh kesahnya. Ternyata, anak dia tidak mengetahui berapa penghasilannya yang sebenarnya. Sehingga ketika mengisi, asal saja memilih nominal. Ibu ini mengeluarkan surat miskin, surat penghasilan, serta surat kematian suaminya untuk mendukung permohonannya. Tidak lupa juga dikeluarkan surat keluarga yang menyatakan bahwa ia ibu 5 anak. Setelah diproses oleh panitia, akhirnya ditentukan, Ibu ini tidak perlu membayar untuk memasukkan anak nya ke UGM, bayangkan betapa senangnya Ibu ini mendengar hal itu. 5 juta yang tadinya terasa sangat berat bagi dia terhapus begitu saja. Saya pun ikut senang mendengar hal itu. Sambil melihat sekeliling, saya menyadari bahwa ibu itu bukanlah satu satunya orang yang meminta keringanan atau penghapusan, ada ratusan orang yang mengantre untuk mengurus itu. Melihat hal ini dengan mata kepala saya, dan melihat bagaimana UGM melayani merekalah yang meyakinkan saya bahwa UGM, sebagai salah satu PTN terbaik di negeri ini, memiliki commitment yang kuat untuk mencerdaskan bangsa, terlebih lagi jika mereka berasal dari keluarga yang tidak mampu. Jika mereka tidak peduli, tidak melihat dari sisi akademis, tidaklah mungkin anak yang telat seminggu dan tidak punya uang untuk mendaftar dapat belajar di UGM. Tidaklah mungkin teman teman yang saya temui di Gedung DAA itu bisa mendaftar ketika mereka tidak punya uang. Nyatanya, kami bersama sama mengerjakan tes TOEFL pada hari Rabu, 6 Juli 2011. Itulah bukti yang sangat nyata bahwa mereka telah diterima di Universitas Gadjah Mada. Mana mungkin mereka dapat tes jika belum diterima?

Saya yakin, UGM bukan satu satunya perguruan tinggi negeri yang peduli dengan siswa pintar yang kurang mampu. Saya yakin tidak mungkin calon mahasiswa yang sudah diterima di perguruan tinggi negeri ditolak hanya karena masalah keuangan. Sebagaimana yang telah dijamin oleh konstitusi kita, negara berkewajiban memberikan pendidikan kepada rakyat (kita berhak mendapatkannya). Namun, harus diingat, bahwa dimanapun kita berada, hak itu harus kita perjuangkan. UGM, ITB, UI dan PTN lainnya tidak dapat memerhatikan kita satu demi satu. Sebagai calon mahasiswa, kitalah yang harus memperjuangkan hak kita.

Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah.

Akhirnya dapat juga menembus UGM, setelah kecewa di seleksi pbs, akhirnya berkat kerja keras, bantuan teman teman dan doa, saya diterima di kampus kerakyatan, kampus tertua di negeri ini, dan arguably, kampus terbaik di negeri ini . Meski tidak diterima di pilihan pertama, entah kenapa, rasanya hati ini senang. Mungkin karena dari awal pilihan pertama sayayang sebenarnya adalah jurusan ini, meski saya terlambat menyadarinya. Alhamdulillah, dengan ini, mata saya dibukakan oleh Allah swt. Dan saya telah diberikan yang terbaik.

Senang? Tentu saja, Puas? Belum dong, masih belum berkarya.

Saya senang dapat mengikuti jejak orang tua saya di UGM, tapi tentu itu tidak cukup. Saya harus keluar dari bayang bayang mereka dan mulai aktif berkontribusi untuk negara ini.

Cemas, Was was? Wajar, mengingat minimnya pengalaman tinggal di luar kota tanpa orang tua. Namun, saya menyadari bahwa ini adalah fase yang harus saya lalui untuk berkembang, untuk bertambah dewasa. Sama seperti kupu kupu yang meninggalkan cocoon-nya untuk menjelajahi dunia, saya pergi, meninggalkan kehangatan dan kenyamanan rumah, untuk maju terus di dunia ini. This is my butterfly moment! (okay that sounded gay)


Perjalan baru saja dimulai, dan seperti perjalanan perjalanan besar lainnya, perjalanan ini dimulai dari nol. Kota baru, suasana baru, teman teman baru. We'll see what happens on the road.

Muhammad Alif Timur Ghifari
Mahasiswa UGM Jurusan Ilmu Ekonomi 2011

About A Bike

Lately, there’s been a craze in Surabaya. A craze in bikes. The craze was, in my opinion, fueled by two things. First, The City of Surabaya’s program, Car Free Day, which cleared a major road from cars for six hours on Sunday morning for public use. This makes it possible for people to come with their families on bikes, senior citizens to jog around, and people to generally have fun roaming around the road. Second is the Fixie craze, an economical bike which you can modify to your heart’s content to express yourself through the bike. Obviously, the freedom of expression is a big hit among the public. Who doesn’t want to express themselves? The funny thing is, if you scrutinized them a bit, you’ll be surprised at what those bikes can tell you about their riders.

Why would anyone want this ?

As an avid biker since I was a wee lad, I’ve always enjoyed biking. I remember one time, when I was seven, my dad and I went to the city hall on our bikes to participate in a biking event. At some point during the race, we dropped out, due to exhaustion, my exhaustion to be exact. But that experience has always given me great pleasure, because it made me believe in myself, and my ability to get through challenges. When we started out at home that day, I have to admit I was reluctant to go through with it. I felt intimidated by the length of the journey, and for a little kid, those road seemed immense. I felt like we would never get to the starting point, that we would lose before the event starts. But, looking back, I guess it’s normal for people to have fears. What’s important is to break through those fears, conquer them, and never look back from then on.

These last few years, I haven’t been biking a lot. Some of that were due to lack of time, me being a good and diligent student (phoey). And some were due to laziness, on my part. These last couple days though, I haven’t really had anything to do at home. So instead of rotting in my couch watching reruns of Masterchef, I decided, on my own, to go biking again. That’s what I would like to say, but the truth is that at first, my dad had the initiatives. He was in town, so we decided to go in the afternoon, when the sun cooled down a bit.

Our means of ride weren’t flashy, we kind of shun that part of biking actually. We believe that for means of transportation, it’s not important what get’s you there, is that you get there that’s important. So we don’t do no flashy bikey stuff. Instead, my dad has a vintage bike. Those 1960’s bike you see on reruns of old movies, you know, the old ones that’s supposed to go with big brown helmets and googles. That kind of stuff

I on the other hand, is the proud owner of a sleek, doff black polygon. It’s in good shape, only had it for two years. It’s a hands-me-down from my dad, who won it in a raffles ticket, at a Kagama reunion. Kagama stands for Keluarga Alumni Gadjah Mada. Which made the situation ironic on so many different levels. But I'm not going into that today.

Ready for The Ride

So, we set off, and the thing about us, you see, is while we like the landmarks and the popular places as much as the next guy, we embrace the not so popular side even more. I love roaming around, without a destination, soaking up the surroundings while seeing the world. By roaming around, I remind myself of how lucky I am to be able to fulfill my needs, those basic ones, like good education, proper housing and food -which is the basic rights of a human being in my opinion- while other people may not be so lucky. In this materialistic driven environment, even the best of us gets carried away by the waves. That’s why it’s important to always keep two feet firmly on the ground. And I can’t think of many simpler ways to do so than bike around.

Magnificent, no?

Now, how many people have been here. Quite a lot, by my reckoning. And why wouldn’t i be. It’s the biggest mosque in this city, in the province even. It’s magnificently built, and it is simply jaw dropping. Going inside, makes you feel very small, makes us feel insignificant. Which is exactly what we are, insignificant. It’s a fantastic structure indeed, and it accomplishes its mission superbly

Up close and personal

But wait, how many people have been here? It’s not very far from the first place, I mean, you can see the roof of the mosque from here, it’s a couple minutes away from the mosque, and yet, I’m willing to bet none of the readers have been here. Yesterday was my first time going there as well, and I really enjoyed it. It may not be as magnificent as the great mosque, but this place is special in its own way. You can see boys playing their kites on the track here, and little girls wearing hijab, about six years old pushing her bike through the track to get home after her Qur’an lesson. It’s sights like these that are real eye openers. These kids, they don’t have much to smile about, so they take pleasure from the simplest stuff, and these are kids living in the rural areas, what about kids living in remote areas. What became of them?

Of course, exploring new places is not always a sobering experience, you can play around too. You can have fun. See sights you would never notice before. Feel the hustle and bustle of a city road. Listen to your wheels rotating over and over again in a secluded path. See the city life in all of its glories and shambles. You can trespass boundaries, jaywalk, park across a railroad track, you know, that kinds of stuff. With a bike, anything is possible :).

Are you kidding me?

You ain't the boss of me

And then, it was time to go home. But going home isn’t the end of the adventure, there are more paths to be explored, nooks and crannies to wander through, rare sights to be captured. Going home simply means preparing for another day of travel. Another day of adventures.