Showing posts with label ramblings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ramblings. Show all posts

Jan 14, 2007

Menerabas "tembok api" di Cina

Urusan jaringan internet yang sempet keganggu karena gempa di Taiwan sudah selesai harusnya. Tapi blog gw masih aja terblokir. Yang tadinya dengan nyaman bisa dibuka dengan browser Firefox tapi bermasalah dengan Internet Explorer, sekarang malah nggak bisa dua-duanya. Seperti umumnya orang yang lagi 'nyandu' gue dengan semangat cari jalan gimana caranya supaya tetep bisa update postingan-postingan baru. Tanpa sengaja, gw ketemu beberapa site yang menganjurkan untuk ngecheck apakah blokiran disebabkan dari proxy di tempat gw. Dasar iseng, gw check juga sambil penasaran mana mungkin sih. Hasilnya positif. Nggak ngerti sebabnya apa. Yang jelas kalau browsing lewat p.s tersebut pasti loadingnya lama dan berakhir dengan "404 Page Error". Setelah dicoba lewat p.s. lain kok malah lancar2 aja? Oke, berarti gue harus ambil jalan alternatif.

Yang jelas gw yang tadinya nggak tau banyak soal aliran alternatif ini mendadak jadi belajar banyak banget - sampai akhirnya nemu program 'shapeshifter' yang menurut gue bener2 ultimate discovery. Pinter banget yang bikin! Halah. Dengan program ini gw berhasil bolak-balik masuk site2 yang terlarang disini.... biasanya berhubungan dengan media & politik. Hmmm, lagi2 masalah sensitif. Gue masih heran sensitif apaan ya, hari gini masih pake acara filter2an gitu loh. Nggak jaman banget! H*ck3r skarang udah pinter2 kok. Selalu ada jalan alternatif.

Anyways, filter2an gw bahas karena ternyata emang beneran ada disini. Fakta? Google ngelisting smua site yang ngebahas ini - berikut bypassnya. Ah, indahnya dunia h*ck3ring. So, kalau internet di kantor atau sekolah dipasangin filter, jawabannya ada di google. Carilah cgiproxy sebagai jalan alternatif. Beres! **hmmm, berapa lama ya postingan ini bisa bertahan sebelum nantinya kena 'dor' lagi??? hehehehhe


Si Kitkat - nyobain kamera Nikon coolpix yang baru. Ternyata detailnya oke banget!!

Jan 13, 2007

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil


Just something I need to share

Blind criticism is crap. Anonymous and cowards leave this sort of criticism.

The point is, generally people don't like being criticized. This may be different if it's meant to be a constructive comment. Some people may consider it but would prefer not to make it public. Book authors never include negative reviews or critics on the front cover of their books. There's never been any negative writings about painting in the art exhibition catalog.
There's simply a different forum to channel these sort of things.

I just don't understand that there're people who think picking on others is the best way to learn about differences. I think it's a selfish statement that does nobody any good but ego boosting. Try turning the mirror around for once. Yes, I object negative comments because there're people whose lives are miserable enough to spend time and energy throwing negative comments at others, seeing the world from the half empty glass.... instead of half full.

Jan 12, 2007

Out of place


While the rest of the world is moving forward, I feel like I'm just standing still, half conscious or perhaps pretend not to see what's going on around me. Hybernating? Or simply ignoring. I don't care, honestly. Deep down I feel like I still have a lot of exploring to do in this place, weekend adventures and a few days off to another part of the country. But when? How? Don't have the energy to plan all of this. Mike would've said something like "I'm all booked up until the next couple of weeks.... Try next century"

One thing I noticed recently was how much frustration I've had about this place. Didn't even know I had so much bitterness until yesterday. Was surprised myself but quickly thought, what the hell, they don't understand me anyway. Maybe this is also what has kept me from coming back to check up on the girls at the hotel. Enough of this please. Let me have something else on the shelves. Difficult to say, probably a mix of rock-bottom frustation, anger, bitterness, mental suffocation and inability to change the problem at hand because I AM NOT THE FREAKIN' DRIVER ANYMORE!!!! I have no control over these things and I have VERY LITTLE tolerance level at this point. Not now. Not today. Ask me some other time. Thank you.

The man is gone now.
Funny how we see things from different perspective, I mean Mike and me. He saw a broken man walking out of here. They'll never be able to see eye to eye. I, on the other hand, see a man with visions who strives hard to achieve them. Along the way, he's made a couple of others to see it too.

I still think it's important to have him walk out of here proud, of what he's created along with all of the significant impacts brought to the city, as he promised long time ago. Some people may not have the ability to look up with the intention to be better, instead they look down comparing themselves with those down below and thought "This can't be right". It's light-years-ahead concept that we have in hand and now you're telling us you want the stone age simplicity??? I really don't understand.....

Jan 11, 2007

Update dari kantor, bikin runyam


Udah hampir sebulan gw berenti dan tutup mata dari kerunyaman dunia perhotelan di sini. Tapi tetep mau nggak mau input2 dan gosip hangat terus aja mengalir nggak berenti. Mau gimana lagi, Mike yang tiap hari cerita kebete'annya ngadepin boss nya yang lepas tangan & gak perduli dengan operasional hotel, karena merasa kedudukannya diutik-utik owner dan akhirnya resmi dipindah tugaskan ke negara lain oleh HO, anak F&B yang selalu bikin kasus dengan anak HR yang asli alesan sebenernya nggak penting banget..... cuma gara2 waktu Fire Drill minggu lalu, HR yang udah dibriefing bolak-balik sebagai penanggung jawab lantai dasar; termasuk kantin dan seisinya, storage room, butcher room, pastry kitchen dan HSKP department berikut Laundry Room yang rata-rata staffnya agak terganggu pendengarannya stlh training selama seminggu... HAH??? APA??? BARUSAN NGOMONG SAMA SAYA YAH??? *katanya sih karena suara mesin cuci & dryer raksasa disitu*

Hasil Fire Drill, semua tamu di kamar berhasil dievakuasi, prosedur evakuasi yang dinilai efisien oleh Fire Bureau China, seluruh staff berhasil dievakuasi - kecuali seluruh staff pastry kitchen berikut David, dept headnya, yang masih sibuk ngadonin croissant di dapur. Fire alarm di dapur mereka mati, dan HR lupa mengevakuasi staff kitchen. Jadilah mereka skarang berantem dari minggu lalu. Halah!!! Tapi emang HR di hotel kita antik banget. Sukur deh training mgr nya bulan lalu baru ambil sertifikat training di Shanghai, jadi sekarang udah bisa training orang. *Ini gw masih gak ngerti kenapa bisa di-hire yak?*

Boss gw juga lagi tebar pesona kata anak2. Biasanya kalo morning briefing galaknya kaya singa. Gw yang saat itu kantornya masih sebelahan sama ruang briefing, bisa denger kalo briefing udah mulai - dahsyatnya berasa dari cuma megang tembok aja.... Dan dia gak malu-malu ngeluarin segala kata mutiara penghuni kebon binatang. Yaah, itu sih masih belom ada apa2nya. Kalo udah dipanggil khusus ke ruangannya... itu yang seru, biasanya nggak lama pasti ada surat resignation dari orang yang dipanggil. Anak-anak sehotel udah pada tau semua. Tapi akhir2 ini dia berubah banyak katanya, ada acara morning briefing sambil breakfast, gak pernah ngeluarin warning letter lagi, briefing juga katanya udah agak manusiawi. Ooooh, ternyata lagi direview performancenya sama HO. Hahhahaha......

Sementara spa gw apa kabarnya? Agak gimanaaa gitu rasanya, gw gak tega mampir. Pasti anak2 gw pada berkaca-kaca gitu, mukanya polos kalo ngomong "I miss you..." padahal bahasa Inggrisnya belum tentu bisa bikin satu kalimat penuh. Ngomongnya pake hati, gw pasti ikutan nangis deh. Halaaahhh!!! Nggak nyesel gw ngedidik anak2 ini, yang penting mereka kerja pake hati dan udah ngerti service lah at least. Padahal mindset & kebudayaan mereka beda banget, yang penting kuantitas - bukan kualitas.... jadilah kerja a la McDonald, nggak pake feeling, yang penting cepet.

Customer relations sama dengan lemparan pertanyaan2 basi yang sudah dihafal luar kepala ke tamu dan minta isi formulir komen. Gak responsive sama sekali dengan kebutuhan tamu.

Guest contact sama dengan "Good morning, how are you" dan pasang senyum. "Plek" titik. Kalau tamunya cerewet dan malah ngobrol, gelagepan lah dia, karena di buku gak ada contekannya dan emang supervisornya belom ngajarin sampe situ.

"Beneran loh, gw pernah nguping briefing gaya militer yang umum banget di restoran2 lokal sini. Pegawainya dibarisin berjejer, trus didikte pertanyaan2 dalam bahasa Inggris serentak nge-beo "Good morning, how are you?" "Fine thank you, how are you" "This way, please" Kaku banget!

Common sense juga agak susah diterapin disini tadinya. Biasa dilatih gaya tentara mungkin ya, apa2 harus ada komando dari atasannya, tamu yang minta gak akan digubris.

Di restoran:
"Mas, laksanya tolong jangan pake udang ya. Saya alergi udang"
Laksa dateng lengkap dengan udang dan kulit2nya berikut kumisnya.
"Tadi kan saya bilang gak pake udang......?"
"Tapi di menu ada udangnya kok!" sambil nunjukkin tulisan di menu

Di Spa:
"Maaf pak, kami tutup sebentar lagi"
"Iya, tapi saya belum selesai, baru dipijet kaki sebelah kiri nih"
"Kami tutup jam 10 tepat. Kalau mau booking besok lagi silakan"
** ini hasil training roleplay yang salah tempat, karena seharusnya buat tamu yang datangnya pas mau tutup
"Emang gak bisa tunggu 15 menit aja sampai saya selesai?"
"Maaf, tapi manager saya bilang jam 10 harus tutup"

Di lobby:
" Minumannya udah dingin nih. Bisa ganti dengan yang baru nggak?"
" Boleh, tapi kena charge tambahan ya"
" Belum saya minum kok ini, saya cuma minta ganti dengan yang panas"
" Iya, tapi kena charge double pak"
" Bisa saya ngomong sama manager kamu?"

Jan 2, 2007

Fast-forward that please.....


A brief online chat with an old time friend from Jakarta has been a real inspiration. I may do something about taking up this hobby thing into something serious. She has, as always, been a busy girl doing a lot of travelling for her work, even busier now writing her own book, contributing to a couple of lifestyle magazines in Jakarta, co-authoring for a curator, part time teaching in university, developing website concept and online class on web designing. Wooo-hooo!!! You go, gurl!!! Life is speeding fast. Hang on and enjoy the ride....

As she asked me how I was doing, lemme tell ya, life moves on a much slower pace in this part of the world. Life is just impacting you in a different way, sort of naggingly slooooow and you have that sensation as if you're trapped in a box. But then she said the wisest thing "Sometimes life is meant to be enjoyed in a slo-mo"

Sometimes I miss that crazy hours of work in Jakarta, endless meetings & sales calls, and promo planning - with a little help of 'inside info' from the media friends, hehehe, thanks guys, for whatever I was involved in at that time. Waaaaah, I really miss this frantic pace. And the coffee talk with Nyoman, Indah, Sil.... just connecting with REAL people. Well, will be back in Jakarta by early Feb, hope will be able to catch up with them.

This evening we happened to watch a dvd, Adam Sandler about him having enough of putting up with loads of ridiculous things in his life and found a magic answer to end it all - a 'universal' remote control. He thought he's in full control of his life by skipping parts of his life, until finally he realized that there was nothing at the end of the rainbow.... I just noticed the title afterwards, it's called "Click"

Dec 4, 2006

20 Things about Me




1.) Favorite seat in classroom: last row, corner, where total privacy is guaranteed

2.) Dream in colors; although sometimes involve flying and time travelling

3.) Comfort zone means books, coffee, writing/drawing tools within reach and lots of colorful cushions around

4.) Hate celery, reminds me of my grandma's kiss

5.) Best shopping day is sitting in the largest bookstore with endless rows of my favorite topics, thumbing through the pages for hours

6.) Images, feelings and words have distinct tastes and textures to me

7.) Reconnecting with nature means breathing in the nature around me and melting within it, total silence, listening within.... or swimming with the waves - feel the power when they crash me to the ocean floor & lift me up immediately to the surface.

8.) A mushrooms and tofu freak. Give me more of those......!

9.) Recently adopting an expensive habit - champagne orange in the afternoon.

10.) Have a mortal fear of going broke (yeah and point no. 9 is not really helping at all) and a claustrophobic.

11.) Have an affinity with Native American culture & history

12.) Convince that I met my husband in a dream 4 years before I actually met him in person

13.) ....... also met the three children (boy, girl, boy) in that same dream

14.) Have a secret promise to somebody that I haven't been able to keep up to this day

15.) Name stuffed toys and diaries. Eugene, Navajo, Bob & Klover, Vino Pesca, Kittekat

16) Think that chilies are main course, not condiments

17.) Don't laugh, but giggle. No photos please, I got bad teeth

18.) Look up to those people with principles, doing things for the right reasons with passion. (* I love you heaps, baby!*)

19.) Listening to Linkin Park now. Double thumbs up!

20.) Final truth, mind is a powerful thing, but can be deceitful. Think what you want yourself to be. But somewhere inside, you'll always know it's only a "stage act".