Friday, May 31, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 24: Airborn

It's almost June, and you know what that means?

The new class of Airborn is about to start!

What's an Airborn you ask?

Well, it's this guy's public speaking class.

This guy. FYI, he's an artist.
I'd love to write all the details about the class, but it's probably better if you just head over here.

Instead, I'll just point out several reasons why you might not want to join this class:

- It'll cost you a lot of money! Paying IDR 1.500.000 to develop a skill that probably can help you career? Pfft.. Who needs help anyway?

- Takes away your precious 4 hours every weekends. Time is everything, especially during short-lived weekends. All those movies and games are not gonna playing themselves, rite? Why waste it for studying?

- You are forced to be opinionated! Wait a minute, nobody likes an opinionated men. It'll make you stand out too much! Better hide and blend in with the crowds.

If I haven't managed to convince you NOT to join the class, I give up. By all means, just go there, hurry! You're beyond redemption. 





Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 23: Distraction

I can get so easily distracted.

Here I am, 10 o'clock at night, sitting in front of my laptop, trying to find ideas to write for today's post. As I sit here, I suddenly remember.. I have some money that I need to transfer. I took my bank token from my drawer and put it on my laptop.

That's when I saw my inbox. Hey, my friend sent me a soft copy of magazine in which she work as a journalist. I almost forgot to download it. Better download it now before I forget again. #click #click

Then I noticed a facebook notification on my browser. I opened the tab and click the icon. Oh, my cousin replied my comment on his post. He's studying in Canada now, I hope he's ok there.

Wait wait, what were I doing before? Ah yes, I need to transfer some money! Okay, to the e-banking website. Hmm, bye bye my money.

That's when I realized I had opened too many browser tabs. Must close the unused ones. #click #click 


I've seen worse.

Wait a minute, I initially opened my laptop to write! Aaargh... 
.
.
.
Then I write this whole story.

Distractions are generally bad, but as you can see from this post, sometimes it can be useful. One less post to write for me, at least. Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!

P.S:
If you like some challenge (or have nothing better to do), try to guess what websites I was having on my browser :) 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 22: Challenge Accepted!

Today I finally registered myself  for Halo Fit Run!




This running event is organized by Telkomsel and will be held on 9th of June along Sudirman road. Considering it's my first running event and I'm not much of a runner myself, I pick the 5K category. I would've invited you guys to participate with me but unfortunately, as for today, the registration had been officially closed.

Map for 5Km Run

Starting last week, I've been running on treadmill as part of my preparation for the event. So far, the longest distance I could cover was 3.22 km in 35 minutes (I got it in today session, actually). We'll see how far I can go next time.

Until then, see ya!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 21: Indonesian Problems in 1 Picture

Indonesian Problems in 1 Picture




  1. Broken system: people are supposed to queue in the terminal / bus stop
  2. Authorities are there but they're doing nothing
  3. Concerned people are busy taking pictures :p







Breaking My Habit, Day 20: Halfway There

Day 20!

Wow, time sure flies fast. One day you start a 40-days project and next thing you know, you're halfway there.

Yesterday my friends and I were having a small farewell party with one of my friends who'd study to Australia. We had so many farewell parties, I began to think it's just our justification for meet up and having fun, lol. Well, we had lots of fun yesterday, so it's time well spent indeed.

By the way, I'm actually going to study to Australia, too, starting Q1 next year (schedule TBC). Will write about that later.


What's this kangaroo doing, laying on the beach?

Until then, see you next time :)











Sunday, May 26, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 19: FEAR

FEAR

This 4-letter word is the reason why we humans don't live up to our full potential. I don't know about you, but it is true for me.

I  have a lot things that I fear in my life. I didn't really admit it before, but it's true.


Fear of rejection made me nervous when I had to meet new people. Fear of uncertainty made me paralyzed whenever I stand under the spotlight. Fear of failure demotivated me from trying new things. Fear of getting hurt discouraged me from playing sports. I've become a frog in the shell, indeed.

My mom already said that to me a long time ago, but it takes some time for me realize it myself. I wasn't being honest with myself these whole time. My ego was too big to admit that I was full of fear.

And no, I don't think there's an easy cure for this. It's easy to say "face your fear" or any kind of motivational pep talk, but like always, doing it is always the hardest part. 

But fear isn't always bad, at least for me. It has its uses. Sometimes it can make me see things more clearly.

I have a new fear now. I fear that one day I will wake up wake up and hate myself for being too scared of everything. I'm scared of being a plain old person stuck in his plain old job, complaining about life. Doesn't it sound too familiar? Reminds me of Mr. Incredible before he quits his insurance job, or the main character in wanted before he become an assassin.


"Oh, if only I could get another job."

So this new fear drives me whenever I've had a choice to make.  Which choice that I'd normally not take simply because I was too afraid (even though it's a good choice)? Then just like that, I know which option to choose. 

Ok, see you later people, and (I know it's late) happy Vesak Day for those who celebrate it! 




Saturday, May 25, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 18: Lazy Day

Weekend is finally here! I already have plans for today which is... doing nothing.

It has been a busy week for me, and sleeping as well as playing games / watching tv series / reading have become rare treats. I'm gonna claim all of those today! Mwahaha..

I'm taking a day off

I will feel guilty if I just publish lazy post like this, so.. Here's some of my friend's blog to read in the meantime:



Until then, see you next time! I'll post something more meaningful later this day!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 17: Fire Fghting

I extinguished flame twice today!


Imagine something like this, times 2
Well, before you get any wrong ideas, perhaps I should tell you that it was all part of our fire training. Wooho, 2 hours of no work! 


The fire department staff that trained us, Mr. Cholid, explained that there are 2 ways to putting off a fire: using everyday object or small fire extinguisher. 

Because we don't have much time, the only everyday object that we use to extinguish fire was wet sack. This method requires you to move very close to the fire while protecting your face then carefully covering the flame using the sack. If done correctly, it will block oxygen from getting to the flame, thus make it go off.


It's really a cool technique, because it's basically analogues to a melee attack: instead of shooting at the fire from afar, you have to get really close to the fire source. Small mistakes and you could get yourself burned!

After wet sack, Mr. Cholid demonstrated how to use the small fire extinguisher apparatus. He explained that there are several types of fire extinguisher based on their content: water, foam, chemical powder, and carbon dioxide. Turns out each type of fire extinguisher has its own plus and minus. For example, Carbon dioxide tank was heavier than others, but it packs a strong punch in short range. Chemical powder is generally good (and the tank's lighter), but it will leave residues on the surfaces. And so on and so on.

We only tried chemical powder and carbon dioxide today, as they are the ones we have in our lab. It was a rare experience, getting to extinguish fire yourself. It's an important skill to have, I just hope I won't need to use it on real life situation.

See you tomorrow!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 16: Mr. Bean

My brother broadcasted this message in my Blackberry Messenger:

"Imagine you are asleep when suddenly your old friend came knocking on your door. He wanted to have breakfast with you. You have butter, chocolate, and strawberry jam. What do you open first?

If you answer wrongly, please change your profile picture with this Mr. Bean picture on my profile picture. "

This was his profile picture
Me, being confident in myself, quickly replied to his message. "Door," I wrote. "No, you open your eyes first. Change your profile picture." Crap, I fell for my brother's trap :/

After I changed my profile picture, I broadcast the same question to all of my friends. Hey, misery loves company. And hell yeah, around 50% of my friends who contacted me after that gave me wrong answers, hahaha.. In no time, a lot of people in my contact list changed their pictures to Mr. Bean.

The question reminds me of one of the fallacy that I know, the red herring. To put it simply, red herring is the kind of clue that was deliberately put by the author / writer to mislead the reader. The jams in the story fits to this criteria. Some people was too focused on the jams, they miss the correct answer.

But wait, even if you recognize the jams as red herring, it still doesn't guarantee that you'll get the correct answer. 

I quickly dismiss the jams as viable answer, but then I got reckless and automatically assume the door as the only possible answer. I was lazy and did not re-read the whole question carefully. Door was a second layer of the trap, because it captures those who were sharp enough to escape from the red herring, but not keen enough to realize the word 'asleep' in the first sentence. 

Why do I discuss this small joke so seriously? It's just a joke, after 
all, right?

I don't know, but I think life works in the same way as the joke. There are so many things you can get in this world. Money, fame, fortune, power, food, glory, anything.

I consider all of those as red herrings. We work our asses off to get money, then we spend the money to buy the things that we like, 
cars, houses, etc. After that, we are hungry for more money. After money has not become a problem anymore, we began looking for power, for fame. Our hunger is limitless. The more that we get, the more we feel hungry.

At that point, perhaps we are already loosing the big picture. Perhaps we should ask this to ourselves:


What is it that I'm really looking for? 



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 15: The Puzzle

Ah, what a tiring day!

This morning I solved my friend's wood puzzle. I tried to take step-by-step pictures of it, but this is what happened.. Well, at least the puzzle's solved (my friend hadn't solved it since she received it 5 years ago).







After work, I went to the gym for some exercises. I managed to run / walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill, reaching 2.8 km. I hope I could reach 5 km so I can join this event.

Finally, after gym I went to Kedai Sari for dinner and open mic! Yep, it's my second open mic. If you're interested on how it went, the response was nowhere near good, but I'm glad that I could forced myself to it and performed today.

Okay, see you tomorrow, people!



Monday, May 20, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 14: Got the Ticket!

I just bought a 2 day-pass to Indonesia Stand Up Festival, the first Indonesian festival for stand up comedy!

Tips for reserving a ticket: Raja Karcis provides payment via Klik BCA, Mandiri KlikPay, and credit card, but they'll charge you an extra IDR 7,500. If you have problems paying extra small cash for nothing (like me), book your tickets through Ibu Dibyo. They don't provide integrated online banking payment but will accept online transfer (either to Mandiri / BCA). 

You can read the poster below or go to StandUpIndo Blog for more info. If any of you would like to go there, too, drop an email or let me know via comment section so we can meet up :) Allrighty then, see you at the show. Viva La Komtung!





Sunday, May 19, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 13: Productive Sunday

Ah, what a relaxing day.

This morning I can still feel the spirit boost I got from watching PPStandUp Night 2 yesterday. I read "Nasional.is.me" today, and it was Great (big g). Really opens my eyes about our nation's potential as well as our responsibility as this era's young generation. I have several ideas in my mind right now about this, but let's wait and see.

Also today, after reading doctor Ryu Hasan's timeline about cancer, I created my very first kultwit (kuliah tweet). The topic is about targeted therapy, a cancer treatment which targets cancer cells specifically, unlike chemotherapy. You can find the summary here :)

See you tomorrow, people!


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 12: Provocative Proactive Stand Up Night 2!

An interesting political talk show would be the one that is served raw: no censor, no political bullshit, spiced up with name calling or even trash talking. So far, it's quite hard to find such event that can accomodate all that.

Today I went to Soehanna Hall, SCBD, to watch Provocative Proactive Stand Up Night 2: Apa Adanya. The tagline perfectly captures what today show is about:  'Apa Adanya' or 'As it is'. FYI, Provocative Proactive is the title of Pandji Pragiwaksono's first album as well as radio and TV show that talk about politics in Indonesia.


It mimics Indonesian Proclamation Day  

The stand up show central theme revolves around political and religious issues in our country, such as blatant corruption that still happens to this day, celebrity who went on to became political figure, religious fanaticism, or even the upcoming candidate for presidency which come from 'shady' military background (crazy, huh? :p).

The show features 6 comics. In their order of appearance: Andi Wijaya, Kukuh Adi, Insan Nur Akbar, Pangeran Siahaan, Adriano Qalbi, and Sam D. Putra. Pandji Pragiwaksono acts as their MC, bridging after each of the performers (he did more than that, actually).

For those of you who did not watch the show, you're missing a lot. Here's some pointers about today's performances:

  • Andi: He mostly talks about his hometown Bekasi and FPI. His opener really melts the ice in the crowd. Not so heavy material, but seriously funny from the start till the end.
  • Kukuh: He points out our ignorance towards corruption in Indonesia, and that this kind of attitude make corruption thrives til now. A funny but bitter truth.
  • Akbar: Still with his style, Akbar talks about the problem with our president and his policies. 
  • Pangeran: Hard to swallow bits, but thankfully still funny. Talks about analogy of Indonesia as a rainbow cake, psycho analysis of Twilight, Prabowo, and even necrophilia.
  • Adriano: Opens with bits about relationship and moves toward more serious problems. His performance is amazingly good. He use notes in his performance (and openly said about it) but managed to make it flow smoothly.
  • Sammy: A very powerful orator, Sammy delivers like a tiger. From the start till the end, his bits was very heavy with political satire. 'Government Logic' and 'Everything has a price' were his catchphrases for the night. 

In all, the show delivers what delivers what it promised: 'Apa Adanya'. I got a lot of new knowledge as well as spirit boost after this show. Like Adriano said, our political system might be broken, but the people is broken, too. We cannot expect the system to change as long as we could not fix ourselves first.

I'm glad I could watch today's show, and I kinda regret I missed the first one last year. Thanks to all the organizers and sponsors of the show, see you next time Provocative Proactive Stand Up Night!



Aaaa..

P.S:
Before the show started, a short documentary movie about anti corruption was shown. The film talks about Dermawan Bakri, a high school student that led his friends to unmask the corruption in SMUN 3 Solo. You can watch the movie here.

Breaking My Habit, Day 11: Just be Yourself?

Just be yourself

This old advice is normally given when you're about to do something important and are supposed to impress the spectator.
 From proposing to your crush, nailing job interviews, or even pitching your ideas to potential investors. 

The advice had always been puzzling for me, especially the 'yourself' part. Which side of me can be considered 'myself'? Is there one, true form of 'myself'?


I am basically lazy. If you ask me to do something that I deem pointless, don't bet on me doing that task. I also tend to self-doubt and over-think about my every action: did I make any mistake, did I say anything wrong, was there an error with my work? I'm also very shy at times, even in simple things like asking for direction to random people.

But that is not all there is to me. I can be very hardworking when I have a sense of purpose. I can be very confident when I'm working on something that I'm already used to doing. And don't ever count on me being shy when my goal depends on me being bold.

All of the things that I listed above are part of my self: all of the good stuffs, and yes, even the bad stuffs. But I must be honest here,  if there is no external motivation, no reward or punishment in any way, I would most likely revert to my lazy, shy, introverted self (it happens every weekends). Being optimistic, bold, confident, and hardworking is not easy, it takes a lot of energy and will power.

So no, I don't think 'just be yourself' will work on me. Instead, I believe in "becoming the best of yourself that you can be", because I believe that everyone has a great potential inside him / her. It is a matter of choice: would you choose the easy way being just yourself or the hard way being the best of yourself?

I believe that being great is not something that comes naturally to every person, it is the result of choosing to be great, each and every single day.




Friday, May 17, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 10: Blogger App

Today I'm trying my new Blogger app to publish this post.

This new android phone gave me way better experience compared to my old Blackberry (BB). I now know how smartphone feels like: smooth interface, no more stuck in loading screen, touch screen.. I love it!

The only thing I'm missing from the BB is its keyboard. As I'm writing this post, I'm still adapting myself to writing with a touchscreen. Hopefully I'll get better soon.


Ok, see you next time, people!


P.S:
There's a reason for my lateness of posting this: I was overslept in front of my laptop when I was still editing the post! Ah, what a shame. I'll try to be more careful next time. 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 9: New Smartphone

Short post for today!

Remember my previous post on #HangoutSUCI3?

In there I mentioned something about chance of getting a cell phone for the funniest one liner.. Well, something like this..



Tada!

Yes, turns out my entry got picked for the prize! Woohoo!
The package was just delivered this morning, so my mood was glowing for the rest of the day, haha. 

Thanks a lot +Kompas TV & +Kompastv inspirasi!
I really appreciate the gesture.. as well as the cell phone and T-shirt of course :p

Okay, cause I'm too busy playing with my new toy, let's wrap it up and see you tomorrow!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 8: Credit Card

Today I went to a bank to put my money on CoD (Credit of Deposit). Because I didn't have a saving account in that particular bank (I have savings account on another bank, one with lower CoD interest rate), I would need to open one first.

Customer Service (CS): may I see your ID card?
Me: (hand my ID)
CS: Oh, you're from East Jakarta?
Me: Yes.
CS: Do you work around here?
Me: No, I work near Pulomas, East Jakarta.
CS: Ah, sorry sir, you'll need to open your savings account in the same area as your residencial or your workplace. If you want to open an account here (the bank was around Sudirman), you'll need to bring a letter from the your company.
Me: Hmm.. If I use my passport as an ID, can I open the account here?

CS: No, sir.
Me: O..okay. 

Oh why..

I forgot to ask her what's the reason behind this rules, but it seems so trivial to me (correct me if I'm wrong, please). At least, I don't see any benefit from the customer's point of view. From the bank point of view, I'm not so sure. Perhaps it would help with their database, I don't know. But the bank that I visited today clearly lost a potential customer, because after that I just decided to put my CoD on the bank in which I already have saving account there (rate difference wasn't very big and I realize I'm too lazy going to another branch just to open a new account).

I'm comparing this with another kind of experience you'll always encounter every time you go to the mall.




"Boleh kartu kreditnya, Kak?"

Yes, credit card salesman.

You cannot miss these people. A group of 4 - 6 person, handing out brochures, politely (but sometimes annoying) offering their credit card products. You can apply on the spot, the salesman will help you with the application (they even bring printer) and bingo! Your application is done, just wait 1-2 weeks and the card will be sent to your house.

It really is easier to get a credit card than to open a bank account!

The banks went through with all these troubles just so you can get a credit card, a tool which can be deadly held by the uneducated hands (and give a lot of profits for the bank, I'm sure). Unpaid credit card debt turns ugly real quick, as it has really big interest rate. The bank normally put around 3% interest rate on its brochure or flyer. What they sometimes 'forgot' to tell is that this is a monthly percentage, unlike the yearly percentage they put for the savings account! Another dirty move, in my opinion. This could lead people to think that the credit card's interest rate is somewhat similar to the savings account (around 3%), while actually they are very different. In a year, the interest from a credit card could amount to around ~35%!

The message is clear. In this era where every company is trying to make you spend more and more, you really can't afford to just follow your impulses and be swayed by their offers. You'll need to stay educated and outsmart these guys. Stay sharp, people! 

See you tomorrow!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 7: Lesson from Football

Today, I'm going to talk about Football.


Football, Japanese national sport

My friends would know that I'm not a fan of football (or any other sports, actually). The only football match I'd watch is when Indonesia playing against Malaysia (it's my nationalism talking) and when there's a world cup (wouldn't want to miss the euphoria).

I always envy the passion that every football fans share: the raw, aggressive, uncontained spirit to support their team, no matter how strong the opposing team is. People, who in normal situation could not walk hand in hand, suddenly become brother in arms. They become one big family during the football match. It's during these times that our country slogan, Bhinneke Tunggal Ika, can really manifest itself.

But, no, that's not the side of football I wanted to talk about. Today I wanted to talk about the financial management of a football team, especially like the one mentioned here.

In a perfect (or simpler) world, sport would be just sport. Football would mean 11 vs 11 on the field. Every team would be more or less equal, and winning would be determined by the sum of hard work, intelligence, strength, and determination of the 11 players (well, plus their coach) in the team.


It is a world that no longer exist in the modern football. Money is now the language that everybody speaks. Want a better team? Transfer better player: money! Want a healthier team? Hire a dietician: money! Want a stronger team? Buy the latest sports equipment: money! It's hard to play without a strong economic support, especially when the other team are so flamboyant with their spending.


Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Normally, the better your game is, the bigger income you'll get (from advertising, product endorsement, etc). But, just like in real life, financial success is not determined by the income alone. A good financial management is more likely to be the key.

A team that lavishly spend its money to buy overpriced star player is analogues to a man who spend all of his money to buy a new Ferrari. Perhaps the team's performance will be boosted for awhile (just like you'll get happiness from buying a ferrari), but eventually your winning could not keep up with your spending. The player's salary will slowly but surely drain the team's cash (as in the fuel consumption of a Ferrari will drain yours), while you winning is inadequate to cover it (sadly you cannot buy fuel with your happiness). You'll eventually get a negative cash flow. 

Even if you have a LOT of money, it's just a matter of time before you ran out of it. After that, say goodbye to your trophy (or Ferrari, whichever you choose).

Bottom line is, even in sport, financial management is still one of the key factor to determine  a success. Of course you're not trying to manage your football team to become financial success but never won any trophy. But I guess winning the trophy would be very much easier when you have a positive cashflow, and not just a sudden burst of financial boost (Chelsea, City, the clocks are ticking).

You know what would be a nice twist here? If I provide a link to a financial management consultant, and reveal that this post was actually a sponsored article! 

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Nah, I'm not gonna do such a thing, you're saved for tonight 
*wink wink*
See you tomorrow, folks!

P.S: 
Today marks the 7th day of my habit-breaking program. Woohoo, first week brothers and sisters (sodara sodara, I mean). Let's hope I can continue on not snacking / flash gaming until the 40th day!


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 6: Trisakti

May 12th 1998.

It's a special date in the bloody history of our country.

I was 10 at that time, still on elementary school, and know nothing about the politic in this country.

On that day, thousands of college students were gathered in Universitas Trisakti. What started as a peace oration turned into a heated mass, as the crowd started its march towards the Legislative Building. 

The crowd insisted to meet with member of House of Representative, while the police denied them of such access.
The crowd agreed to slowly march to the campus, while police forces guard the whole process.


One personnel of the march, Mashud (claimed to be an alumni but actually a Trisakti dropout) provoked the masses by yelling dirty words at them. The masses chased him, thinking that he was part of undercover intelligence. Mashud run towards the police forces, and the situation become heated. Trisakti security staff managed to control the crowd and they returned their march back to campus.

Suddenly, the police released tear gasses and several warning shots. The crowd panicked and ran inside Trisakti campus. Dozens of students who got stuck in the chaose were beaten, while 4 Trisakti students were shot to death. 

Elang Mulya, Hafidin Royan, Hendriawan Sie, Hery Hartanto.

The next several days, Indonesia was having a catastrophic event which now known as "Kerusuhan Mei 1998". Shops were robbed, buildings and cars were burnt, girls were raped, and people were killed.  



Fast forward to now, 15 years after the tragedy.

The reformation movement had achieved its main goal: the resignation of Soeharto. The people are having more freedom of expression than ever. Critiques can be easily thrown via 140-character messages. Our president have twitter account.

The blood of these students have already dried, and yet the justice still hasn't been served. If we cannot help with the investigation, let's honor these heroes by not forgetting their sacrifices.


Compiled from these sources:
http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedi_Trisakti
http://benhan8.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/mei-98-kelahiran-kembali-kebanggaan-bangsa/
http://blog.imanbrotoseno.com/?p=229

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 5: Writing and Writing

Writing everyday is not easy.

It's hard to do during the weekdays (work) and not that easy to do either during weekends (movies, games, sleep all day, food, etc). You have all these ideas to write in your head, but you feel too lazy to put in the effort and convert the ideas into writings. Ugh!

I realize this even more, because today is the fifth day of my consecutive writing and posting to this blog (damn you, 5-days ago me!). I had no previous habit of writing in a diary (except if you count the kind of diary that you had during elementary school, the one which you pass to your friends to write on. "AUDI, A: Audi namanya U: Unik anaknya" lol). Writing is a new discipline for me, something that I still need to force myself to do.

Ah, wait a second. I do have 1-time experience where I got paid for my writings. Hahaha, quite neat, huh? It's not nearly that good when I submit my draft to my editor, that's for sure. It was all thanks to my brilliant editor, mind you.

But still, back to my previous statement, even though I knew writing is not easy, I still think it's an important skill to have. Check this article from Leo Babauta at the Zen Habits about the benefit of writing daily. Pretty nice, huh? 

Anybody wants to join me in this chalenge?

Friday, May 10, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 4: Work Motivation

This wretched week is finally over.

I don't know why, but I'm really demotivated at work this week. My productivity level hits its lowest point in over 1.5 years I've been working on this company.

I'm lagging behind deadlines, and as a result, I had to work at the office yesterday (it was a public holiday). My experiment didn't went all that well, and it demotivate me even further.

My mentor at my previous lab always remind me to separate things at work and outside. "You are not your job", he often said to me. It is during these times that I'm really thankful for having him as a mentor. +Wishva Bandara Herath, thanks!

Oh well, hopefully I can get back on my feet next week. I will be fully at home these weekends, so plenty of time to recharge myself.

See you tomorrow!

...
...
...
...

I almost finished this post with just that, but then I thought, it wouldn't be fair to you readers if you only read my ramblings and got nothing in return. So here, to give more meaning to this post, I'll share this amazing post from Eric Barker at Bakadesuyo about motivation. 

If you aren't that curious (or just lazy), here's my summary of the article in 1 paragraph.

Lack of motivation is not caused by lack of monetary reward. If you want to get motivated at doing something, you need to find a strong emotional connection with the subject. When there's no connection between you and that subject, you'll need to make a better story (even as far as forging it) that can connect the two. Progress, however small they be, in most cases is what motivates us more than anything else.

That would be all. I'll definitely try this advice next week. Until then, see you later, people!



Breaking My Habit, Day 3: Non Stop Education

For today's post, I'd like to share my thoughts about education.

Every time the word 'education' is mentioned, more often than not the word 'school' will pop up inside our head. Yes, it's true that the two are highly related; school is an institution where formal education takes place. People often mistaken this kind of education as the only kind of education.

The word 'education' is derived from the Latin word ēducātiō, which means "a breeding, a bringing up, a rearing". From this, we can say that education does not just talk about the transfer of knowledge from 1 person to another, but also about transformation of a person into a better person, to attain his / her full potential. 

Although we spent a great deal of our time at school (1 year kindergarten, 6 years elementary school, 3 years junior high school, 3 years high school, 4 years university), not in our wildest dream we can think of achieving our fullest potential just from those. There are so many things to learn in this world, and our potential are virtually limitless*. 

So, basically what I'm trying to say is, never give up on education, even after you've finished school. Take a course, read a book, attend a seminar, talk to your friends, find yourself a mentor, travel to places you've never even heard of, the list goes on and on. The moment you think you've had enough of education, is the moment you've stopped growing as a human being. Do not be afraid, we are on this journey together.

Until next time, cheers!


*limited only by yourself and certain laws of nature (gravity, thermodynamics, etc)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 2: Cupcake!

Had some sudden craving for snacks last night, damn :/ fret not people, my will power was still strong, so I managed to go to sleep without breaking my oath! Huh hah!

On to the second day.. You know what, the universe has a funny way dealing with people. Today, out of the blue, one of my friends at the office gave me a pack of Fitbar. Another friend, still from the office, gave away cupcakes to celebrate our finished project! What are you trying to say, universe..

Anyway, I plan to eat the cupcake as a dessert for the dinner. Hey hey, before you complain, it is not technically a snack if you consume it during dinner! My typical snacking habit was to grab either cake / chocolate / cookies / etc when I'm bored, so this one doesn't count. Besides, what do you expect me to do? Wasting food is not my style, definitely.

Well then, see you on the next post! Stay sane!

Update: Yes, I've eaten the cupcake for desserts. Yum!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Breaking My Habit, Day 1: A New Project!

Today I found this nice article in Quora Blog, featured in Slate. By the way, for those of you who never visit Quora, you should give it a try. Users can post and answer all kinds of questions as well as up-vote or down-vote the answers. Whole spectrum of topics are covered, from the most serious (about business, startups, etc) to the most absurd (such as this).

So, back to the article, it basically talks about the nature of our habits. I'll try to summarize the article here, but please read the original ones if you have the time, it's really amazing.

Our habit, be it good or bad, came from our repetitious action. Each of our action is connected to a specific neuropeptide (neuro = nerve, peptide = protein). Whenever we do one specific action, the corresponding neuropeptides are released from the brain throughout our body. These neuropeptides will then be captured by specific receptors  on human cells, which will basically makes our bodies "remember" which action gave us which feeling. The more we perform this specific action, more neuropeptides are released, more receptors are synthesized in our cells. Eventually, you'll need to perform more of this action to feel "high".


Fig 1. Opioid Receptors throughout our body

For example, you are feeling sad. You have nobody to talk to, so to cheer yourself up, you grab a bar of chocolate. The sweet taste of chocolate, yum! The neuropeptides are released from the brain, flooded your entire body, makes you feel happy. Your body now connects "chocolate" with the feeling of "happiness", so whenever you're sad and in need of happiness, you will seek a bar of chocolate. Next thing you know, you'll grab a chocolate whenever you're feeling uneasy (exchange chocolate with cigarette / biting finger nails / etc). This is how your habits are formed.

To break free from this vicious cycle, you have to let your receptors count in your cell to its native state. The article suggest giving your body 45-56 days of habit detox to achieve this. By that time, the cells in your body would've been cleansed of their neuropeptide addiction, releasing you from the bad habit.

After reading the article, somehow I got motivated to get rid of my own bad habits. I also wanted to proof the 45-56 days claim of the article (every claim must be tested, said my old statistics teacher). So,  today I made a personal oath:


I, Audi Tri Harsono, for 40 consecutive days starting on May 7th will stop eating snacks and playing flash games.


It starts today. I'll post an update each day so that my progress can be tracked (and as a filler for my newfound extra spare time I guess). Just watch me, people!


Sunday, May 5, 2013

Grand Final SUCI3

I started writing this as soon as I finished watching the grand final for Stand Up Comedy Indonesia season 3 (SUCI3). Yes, due to certain circumstances, I got myself 2 tickets to the live show at Balai Kartini.

Overall, the show was really nice. I won't tell who's the winner, but there are several highlisghts worth mentioning here:

*Spoiler Alert*
  • Cool performances from the 3rd winners of SUCI 1, 2, and 3: Ernest Prakasa, Kemal Pahlevi, and Ari Kriting. Ge Pamungkas called them the almosts: almost grand finalists and almost got the prize money! The trio proved that they are worthy of their title, and are actually on the same level as the grand finalists.

  • The voice of female comics: Jessica SUCI2, Allison SUCI3, and Chandra SUCI3. It started with an 'eerie' performance from Jessica. It felt really awkward, I really got cold sweat from watching her performance. I still laugh, but it was an awkward laugh, not 'lol' but more like 'ha..ha..ha..why am I the only one laughing?' The biggest bomb of the night.Performing after her was Allison, and her topic was a bit frustrating. She talks about the difference between Indonesian and English girls. I can understand how it should've been funny, but I think her style made us felt like she was just mocking us. It could've been delivered better.Thankfully, Chandra closes the set with her excellent performance. Easy to relate material, finally the hall can be filled with laughter again.

  • Project Pop performances! They performed 'Metal vs Dugem' and 'Gara-gara Kahitna'. For those of you who doesn't know, Kahitna is a big band in Indonesia (they've been around for more than 25 years! Even older than me). This is my first time hearing the song, but I think it's really nice of Project Pop to make a tribute for one of the biggest name in Indonesian love-songs specialist.

  • The chemistry between Pandji Pragiwaksono and Ge Pamungkas, the MCs! during the whole show, Ge made a number of mistakes in his speeches ('Ngomongnya belibet'). Pandji really took advantage of this fact and he consistently mocks Ge until the end of the show. It's really nice seeing the duo.For me, the funniest part is when they both compete in ad-libbing Cincau Cap Panda to get endorsement from the brand. Even Tora Sudiro, one of the judges, participate in their silly competition! Too bad most of their acts were performed during the breaks between shots, so I guess you guys won't see it on TV :)

  • Powerful and stable performances from the winner. Throughout the show he performed flawlessly. Definitely a must-see!



For all of you unfortunate enough to watch the show live, you can watch it on Sunday, 5th of May, 8PM on Kompas TV. It would be a special 3-hour show, the longest standup comedy show in Indonesian telly! Bravo +Kompas TV ! 








Friday, May 3, 2013

#HangoutSUCI3

KompasTV was having a small quiz. 8 people who can come up with a good one-liner about "juara" (champion / winner) will get invited to their #HangoutSUCI3 event. FYI, SUCI3 stands for Stand Up Comedy Indonesia season 3, a Kompas TV show featuring an Idol-esque show for comics in Indonesia. 

Just for fun, I posted these 3 entries:



Audi Tri HarsonoApr 28, 2013
Juara itu kaya Kapten Tsubasa, lagi mau nendang bola di udara aja bisa pake diselingin ngobrol plus iklan +Kompas TV  #HangoutSUCI3  

Audi Tri HarsonoApr 28, 2013
Juara itu kaya Krilin. Hidup mati hidup mati hidup mati udah entah berapa kali. +Kompas TV  #HangoutSUCI3  

Audi Tri HarsonoApr 28, 2013
Juara itu kaya Donal Bebek, sehari-hari ga pake celana tapi kalo mandi handuknya dipake nutupin pinggang ke bawah +Kompas TV #HangoutSUCI3  


I got lucky, my entry was picked by +Kompas TV team (I'm not sure which one, but probably not the one about Krilin). They contacted  me, gave me the details, and long story short, I participated in yesterday's Hangout session.



The Hangout session was so much fun! It's really nice seeing the friendly atmosphere over there. They mostly mocked and heckled each other throughout the session, lol. I even managed to make fun of Lionky Tan, one of the finalist who got eliminated quite early in the competition :D

Speaking with several people through video chat tend to get messy, but our MC managed to control the flow of the show quite nicely (considering she had to "contain" the wackiness of all 17 finalists). My internet was also a bit slow, but thankfully it didn't gave too much of a problem. 

If you see the video closely, there was a point where my face is facing outside the webcam, talking to someone else. That was my boss, calling me from across the room! 
Imagine what would've happened if he were to show up suddenly behind my back! Phew, lucky me.

I really appreciate Kompas TV's initiative to use this kind of technology to promote their show. As far as I know, this is the first time a TV show in Indonesia use Google Hangout for such promotional event. I hope other show could copy this kind of move, as it gives more ways for us viewers to interact with the show.

Ah, almost forgot. Turns out each participant in the Hangout session would get 2 tickets to watch grand final of SUCI3! There's also a chance to win a handphone for 1 person with the funniest one-liner. Yaay! Check out my next post for the update :)