city lite

Since I've moved in to my new office, (a bit deeper into the heart of Sudirman compare to my previous one) I feel more weirdly attach with the city I work in. Surely, Jakarta is no Sydney, nor is it New York or London. Not even HongKong or Singapore. *Note that I NEVER work more than 3 month in those cities cumulatively~

But I guess Jakarta is a home, despite all of its wackiness. The unbelievable bus. Questionable bus-way. And the pillars that are supposed to be monorail (what's up with that?!). The ever annoying motorcycle (will I ever move on from this topic? I don’t think I ever will). Crazy car drivers. Then there is traffic jam which usually due to some stupid excuses.

Last Monday, while I was stuck in my car for five minutes in front of my office I couldn’t help to laugh. Everything just seemed to stop as far as my eyes could see, even motorcycles were struggling at the pedestrian walk. It was just like a scene out of those ‘Armageddon’-like movie where the citizen is rushing out of the city to get away from meteor/zombie/disease of your choice. It was so surreal.

(Then I found out it is because of this high-profile occasion in Semanggi that polices are stopping traffic coming from ‘Old Town’ (a.ka Kota).)

Do I hate it? Oh, do I sometime can’t help but wanting to cuss! But my cursing will have no positive impact, will it?

Traffic problem is just one way to picture it, but life in Jakarta is just too unpredictable in every aspect. There’s simply no historical pattern that technical analyst would cry themselves to sleep. Life is just so unpredictable that I could not help to embrace it. If you thrive for manageability/predictability that developed countries are offering, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Some of us may have the choice to work outside the country, which I say, lucky you. But nothing will remain the same after you work down herein Jakarta. Really, on a bright side you’ll appreciate much more of what you currently have. On the brighter side, maybe you will, like me, try to embrace every second pass and make the most of it :). Happy working.

[ Do you know: during the day (in the working day surely), Jakarta population is typically double or even triple its population during the night? ]

kring kring goes goes..* (am I the only creep knowing this bicycle song?)

The "Bike to Work" idea is, in my opinion, very very enticing. The program itself was actually initiated back in 2004 by a community calling for a less pollution in our lovely Jakarta.

It seems like five years on the community still sticks to their mission. On a typical morning on my way to the office, I usually could see a couple man with full bicycle equipment in the morning roaming smaller street in the CBD area (haven’t seen any woman just yet, though).

Skeptics, oh yeah, lots of them. Here’re my two cents:

Pros:
1. A bike is the least pollution contributor vehicle around.
2. Way cheaper than spending on fuel or public transport and parking (since it is free except the initial investment on a good bike. And the cycling equipment, if you insisted.)
3. It is a healthy cardio exercise, considering you go early enough to avoid the unfiltered Metromini’s exhaust

Cons:
1. If you stay far enough from the office, it is possible that over time your calves will re-emerge to be Becak paddlers. It may be OK for guys, but girls?
2. You need to bring another set of clothes and the appropriate equipments. Imagine having an important meeting later in the day.
3. Weather in Jakarta is unpredictable. And during rainy season you could just only pray for no floods on your way.

I could find more contrary position on this matter actually (haha, high maintenance me). But most importantly, this pros and cons are only practical if you can ride a bike and has a good motoric sense. Which in my case is non-existence.

dance with the wolves

characteristic of the herd:

a predator
they are infuriating during rainy season (and the rest of the year, the next year, and the next decades)
they could duplicate within second (or so it seems)
their movement is limber
their pace is unpredictable
their steps are uncoordinated
they howl hard if you caught their tails
but easily slipped away when they caught yours

location: any streets, lane, pedestrian walk, bus way skywalker, anything that has soil on

comments: people, embrace it. You just have to LOVE to hate them and the millions other sold (only) last year in Indonesia soil