Exodus

Every year, a few days before and after the Iedul Fitri holiday, tens of millions of Indonesians travel far and wide in this huge archipelago to meet their parents and relatives. This collective annual pilgrimage is amazing in its scale and speed. 8 millions of Jakartans, for example, leave Jakarta within a week before and after the Iedul Fitri (also called Lebaran in Indonesia) which this year occurs on 30-31 August.

The pull to go home during Lebaran is very strong. It is the only opportunity in a year to meet relatives at the same time. It is in fact a rational decision due to several reasons.

Indonesians do not have a month-long summer holiday. Contrary to what you might think, Indonesians are hard workers. I see myself they have to wake up at 5 in the morning, take sometimes a 2-hour commute to work, spend 9 hours of work, and then take the long commute heading home everyday. They only get a 12-day holiday per year and they often decide to take them during Lebaran.

University students do not have a 4-month long summer holiday either. They get at most a 2-month holiday per year. Since Muslim calendar is lunar, the 2-month holiday often does not coincide with it. Students who are not from Jawa island might as well decide to wait for Lebaran to travel home.

This annual exodus creates a massive traffic jam of tens of kilometers long along the intercity roads and highways in Jawa. Airports are congested as well for people leaving Jawa for other islands - Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda islands, Papua and other islands numbering in thousands. Train stations are brimming with people to the platform edges as trains are the cheapest means to travel intercity within Jawa.

The logistics associated with this mass exodus must be staggering. Gas stations need to have enough gasoline for 2 weeks for those traveling on road. Hotels are fully booked everywhere, except Jakarta. (Jakarta will in fact be empty during the 2-week time as 50% of its inhabitants are gone that long.)

The 8 millions of Jakartans gone in 2 weeks show how the money circulation in Indonesia is still concentrated in Jakarta. It is a bad policy since Indonesia is as large as the US.

This exodus - or called affectionately "mudik" which literally means going home - is a labour of love. It costs a lot of money to take the trip but Indonesians still do it dutifully every year. They renew their hope for their children and ensure they do not lose contact with their grandparents and relatives.

It is a cultural tradition we inherit and rhapsodize. Right around this time Indonesians - who are extreme foodies - crave for all traditional food we eat along the road trip and back home. Lebaran is euphoric since most Indonesians fast for a month before the holiday. I understand why Indonesians abroad always romanticize the Lebaran food. I understand why Mudik remains a romantic affair we Indonesians would keep doing year after year.

Sogok

Pertama kali menerima sogokan (kickback) bisa terjadi secara tidak sengaja. Tiba-tiba pelaksana proyek meminta nomor rekening anda lewat sms karena dia merasa dibantu. Terus anda mau gimana?

Jika anda tidak mau memberi nomor rekening, rekan anda bisa berujar tidak baik itu, menolak rejeki. Atau dia bisa bilang ini sekedar ucapan terima kasih karena anda sudah sangat membantu dia selama ini. Atau dia bilang tidak usah takut, ini kan wajar. Atau ketiga-tiganya.

Kenapa tidak? Toh proyeknya sudah selesai, pasti anda berpikir demikian. "Jika saya menerima hadiah ini, maka ini tidak berpengaruh buruk kok ke kualitas proyek," pikir anda untuk meluruskan langkah menerima hadiah yang ditawarkan.

Kenapa tidak? Berarti keuntungan pelaksana proyek sangat besar sampai bisa menawarkan memberi hadiah. "Bagi bagi lah, saya kan juga perlu uang," pikir anda sambil mungkin menyitir pikiran Milton Friedman tentang perilaku individu untuk memaksimumkan kegunaan atau melihat kebutuhan sebelum Lebaran.

Kenapa tidak? Sudah waktunya anda menikmati jerih payah kerja. Bos anda baik orangnya tapi kurang memberi gaji. Anda sudah sekolah berlama-lama dan merasa kurang mendapat apresiasi selama ini. Anda melihat teman-teman sekolah sukses dan ingin seperti mereka. Anda pasti juga berpikir: enak juga dapat uang tanpa kerja seperti ini.

Kenapa tidak? Anda berpikir rekan anda ini sudah menjadi teman baik. Tawaran dia sekedar datang dari teman untuk teman. Teman itu berbagi keuntungan jika dapat. Teman semestinya berbaik hati dan tawaran ini akan merekatkan pertemanan kita.

Yang hanya membuat anda untuk bilang "Tidak" ke rekan anda adalah keinginan untuk merdeka. Merdeka untuk menilai pekerjaan dia. Merdeka untuk tetap tidak dipengaruhi oleh siapa pun dalam membuat keputusan. Tinggal sekarang berapa harga yang anda pasang untuk kemerdekaan ini. Dan harga anda adalah uang sogokan yang anda dapat pertama kali.

Teaching

By this time I would usually be busy preparing for Fall term courses. Creating a course outline. Revisiting my lecture notes. Meeting with a lab technician. Determining the teaching assistants assigned for my courses.

But I am not doing that this year. I am preparing instead for a workshop to be constructed. Determining a new pay structure. Reviewing draft agreements. Calculating manufacturing costs.

My work has changed and I find both offer meaningful work. Both are sufficiently complex to not bore me. But I have to say that industry job offers a faster reward and punishment feedback, which is thus more exciting.

Teaching a course at a school or university can be repetitive. If the course is right up my alley, then I am excited the first two years I teach it. I cannot hide this enthusiasm from my students and they see it. When I teach it the third time, I am very familiar with it and would be able to teach it well. Beyond the fourth time I teach it, it usually becomes less interesting since it will have become a chore.

I thus marvel at a high school teacher who can have a stamina to teach the same course over many years. He can perfect his course material and delivery style, but both aspects have limits.

I miss teaching though and starting next month I will be volunteering to train math and physics high school teachers. It gives me time to teach and opportunity to give back to people who have been very generous to me.

I have been dreaming of blending industry job and teaching job for a while. Maybe this opportunity can give me a fertile ground to make it happen.

Car

Cars sold in Indonesia are very expensive. It costs about 50% of the price of a nice house. (In Canada, a car costs about 7% of a nice house.) When I have engine oil changed yesterday, I learned a new Isuzu Panther costs about Rp 270 million. That's almost USD 32,000! With that money one could get a nicer VW Jetta with a turbo diesel engine.

Prices of same cars in Indonesia and Canada are identical, yet the cost of living is a lot cheaper in Indonesia. I can only conclude that the government of Indonesia taxes too much for each imported car and motorcyclists are the smart people on the road. (Where does that tax money go, by the way?)

We use a beat-up 1999 Isuzu Panther. It has a great fuel economy (13 km for 1 liter). It is great during traffic jam since nicer cars don't have the guts to tangle and lock horns against it. Toyota cars, in comparison, have a really bad fuel economy (8 km for 1 liter). I don't know why Indonesians still buy Toyota despite this poor fuel economy. I'd rather buy a Hyundai since it is cheaper and has a better fuel economy.

Buying a new car is a losing proposition. The only strong reason I have heard for doing such is that a new car is new: there is no hidden mechanical problems or other problems. But that is bullshit. I bought a new car back in 2002 and I was afraid of exactly these potential problems. I then bought a used 1998 car. Both cars never gave me serious problems. The only difference is that the new one cost me CAD 15,000 more. It all depends on how I select the used car I want to buy. I can pay a mechanics I trust to check. I can run through the car thoroughly to see if it's been flooded in or its chassis had been welded after crash.

Indonesians worry about depreciated values of their cars. That's why Toyotas and Hondas still dominate the market. Personally though, if I feel I might have to sell a car in 3 years after I buy it, then I cannot afford it. A car is worth buying if I can use it for at least 15 years. Otherwise, it is not worth buying at all.

Dull

Last year when I was in Indonesia for my sabbatical leave, I made suggestions in academic conferences and workshops that Indonesian academics focus on practical applications of their science and knowledge. Bringing clean water to poor people at very cheap cost. Creating microhydro electrical generation unit, or solar thermal, or anything else that can provide cheap electricity. I should have said to make my message clearer: "Forget our academic pretensions that we do research that matters since we don't; and let's not (fucking) kid ourselves." But I didn't. I was too polite, sadly.

We become inactive although we live in a society that rapidly changes. This can happen to me now as well. My brain can become dull if I do not remind myself constantly that time will pass me silently if I remain as usual. I moved to Indonesia to shake my life a bit. To start a mission: to practice what I have been teaching in an engineering school, to learn the ropes of business, to start a business with friends I trust, to create real positive impacts to people I lead.

Once in a while, I forget my life mission. I am lulled by routines. By the easy convenience of modern life. Caught up with mortgage, loans, cars, family, brothers, sisters, and high school reunions. Fuck - I said to myself - let's not fucking forget why I am here for. (I often swear. My sons know me well; God bless them!)

It is thus funny that I got married young. I am barely older than 40 years old, but my older son is going to university next year. I am still saddled with heavy financial burden of raising growing kids, but I feel better now since by the time I am 50 I should be free to pursue whatever I wanna do in life. I didn't plan it, nor was I aware about it when I got married, but it works out so far.

Having said that, family remains a constant source of stress. Time commitment I have to make and money we have to pay to raise kids. It is a long term investment I make, such as life itself. It is a precious thing and on practical level serves as a fallback position if my personal life mission fails along the way.

Too much focus on family, however, can sideline me from pursuing my life's dream. People who love their families too much don't have activities outside their families' routines.

Besides family, a regular job can dull my mission. When job becomes routine, it is time to move on. It's been 3 months in Indonesia and so far my job is more interesting than being a university professor. I get to interact with all kinds of people - from pipe fitters to managers to expat skilled workers. I get to deal with different types of business in oil and gas industry.

What satisfies me is not material goods. I honestly couldn't care less about them. That's why we moved to Indonesia since I did not feel any satisfaction from owning faster cars and bigger houses. It is the freedom and life's challenges that I want.

Tropis

Iklim tropis itu enak. Tidur di luar bisa; tidak butuh ongkos mahal untuk pemanas ruangan seperti di Canada. Rumah bisa didisain asri dan terbuka. Tidak ada angin dingin menusuk dan salju menimbun. Di kantor, saya mematikan alat pendingin ruangan (AC) karena udara hangat sebenarnya nikmat sangat. Kenapa harus didinginkan? Bahkan tidur pun saya sudah terbiasa tidak memakai AC.

Negara tropis seperti Indonesia lebih enak lagi. Punya banyak gunung berapi dan tanahnya subur minta ampun. Tinggal petik daun ketela dan sawi di kebun, dan goreng ikan asin, serta tomat dan lombok untuk sambal, jadilah makanan yang lezat. Kemudahan ini ada di hampir semua desa di Jawa dan Bali. Di Canada, kemudahan sumber makanan lokal ada di Quebec dan Ontario, tapi hilang sekitar musim dingin dari Oktober sampai April.

Keseharian di Indonesia - terutama di desa - bisa berjalan santai. Ini saya rasakan setiap kali berkunjung ke desa. Tapi begitu sampai di Jakarta, otak seperti berubah pikiran dan jiwa seperti dipacu untuk kerja, kerja, dan kerja. Mungkin melihat ribuan sepeda motor menyemut lalu lalang, ribuan deretan orang di pinggir jalan terlihat rapi di sela asap hitam mikrolet rongsokan, saya termotivasi untuk aktif seperti mereka. Energi kota besar - seperti Jakarta - memang luar biasa, mengingatkan saya akan energi kekal yang tampak di Toronto, Vancouver, dan New York.

Udara tropis ditambah dengan kesuburan tanah luar biasa membelai lembut orang Indonesia. Gaya hidup rileks sebenarnya bukan masalah asal kita semua tetap kreatif dan produktif. Kerja tidak perlu terburu-buru tapi kualitas kerja mestinya bisa sangat bagus. Udara tropis yang konstan mestinya mengajarkan kita untuk tekun dan tidak terburu-buru. 

Puasa

Cukup kaget aku tadi bisa berpuasa penuh di hari pertama bulan puasa. Hari pertama puasa berlalu dengan biasa. Tanpa letih lapar dahaga. Bahkan masih di tempat kerja sampai jam 17:30.

Beberapa hari lalu aku keluar kantor jam 10:30 dan ditanya, "Pak, mau kemana?" "Perut saya lapeerrr. Repotnya kalo gini, saya gak bisa mikir." Tawa berderai memancar dari raut muka ibu-ibu yang selalu ramah ke saya. Ya itu takut saya jika berpuasa: saya gak bisa mikir kalau lapar. Dan ini sudah berkali-kali merusak niat puasa saya.

Saat bergulir ke arah Bogor siang tadi saya sempat terbersit, "Boleh juga tuh, berhenti sebentar, makan di tempat peristirahatan Jagorawi." Tapi saya urungkan karena sudah jam 14:00. Hampir sore. Sayang jika saya tidak bisa tepati janji kali ini.

Jujur saja, jam 08:00 tadi saya makan permen tidak sadar. Tiga perempat habis Ricola saya untuk menahan batuk, baru saya sadar saya puasa. Saya ikhlas kok. Gak berpahala juga gak apa-apa. Saya sudah senang bisa merasakan bulan puasa di tanah air setelah lebih 20 tahun di tanah rantau.

Price

It is not easy to determine a fair price. Fair here means the price I charge is equal to the price I am willing to pay. Usually I know what I want to charge: as high as possible (LOL!), but it is more difficult to imagine the price I am willing to pay. In my current job I have to approve a lot of purchasing, need to know their fair prices fast, and to teach my pricing strategy to staff.

Let me share my pricing strategy. The easiest pricing strategy is by comparison. This strategy works well when comparing two competing price bids.

Allow me to give one example. My teenage son bought $40 shoes at Zara in Calgary. It took him 3 months to outlast the shoes as one sole was torn apart. When I protested him for being not caring enough about his shoes, he replied that my Asics running shoes cost 3.5 times more expensive. What to do? I told him that my Asics shoes lasted for 3+ years, so even though I paid $150 for the shoes, per month I only pay $3.75, while for his shoes $13 per month. Zara shoes ended up 3.5 more expensive than Asics shoes because the latter last a lot longer. We can make the calculation more complicated by applying a constant depreciation rate, but it is clear that the Zara shoes' depreciation rate is ridicuously much higher than Asics'. This means the Asics price is actually cheaper than Zara price.

A more complicated price comparison example is the Equipment Rental Rates published by State of California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. This list could be converted into a good estimate of a rental price for any country if I at least know the cost-of-living index ratio (using say, the Big Mac index). There are a lot of price information available in North America, but I have to convert this information to a relatively fair Indonesian prices using this approach.

One very important variable in business decision is time. (It's a pity that the time variable is often ignored in most engineering courses, except in applied mechanics and engineering economics.) A good business decision made today may be a bad decision if made 4 months later. One main reason is cash flow. So, Asics price is better than Zara price if the time horizon is > 3 years. Most business decisions need on average a 3-years horizon.

Another pricing strategy is by determining its components. This computation is good for estimating labour cost. What I usually do is to come up with the price for a unit task. For example, if I want to estimate the labour cost of building a warehouse, I would then break down this construction project to a sequence of tasks: from digging the construction site to installing the wall cladding. Each task requires a number of workers and I build the price using estimated labour cost per hour by including efficiency factor based on the number of shifts required per day and the speed of the workers based on the construction site's geometrical information.

I have previously used this component-wise pricing calculation to determine the profit margin of a contractor. I was able to get a good discount, as a result, when this information was communicated nicely. One reason I cannot just brag to the contractor that he takes too much margin above a fair price is that the pricing has to accommodate delays due to unexpected fluctuations like weather, work interruptions, and sickness. This random factor, for a competitive sector, could very well be what makes or breaks a profit margin. If I am willing to assume this random risk, then the price would be lower. It is like paying insurance premium. (That is, if I am entrepreneurial, this "random" margin is a business opportunity.)

Impact

I used to think research impact should be equivalent to the journal impact factor of a research journal, which indicates the extent the journal is cited. I believed then that my research had a significant impact when it was published in a high-impact-factor journal. It is a convenient association - really - but I have to admit a lazy one.

It is a lazy association because most researchers - as most workers - follow what their pioneers have done. University research is no different and has become an industry, complete with its leaders and followers. Researchers who founded new areas become leaders and they define research areas. 90%-plus of all researchers are followers and they naturally worry about the impact factor.

To be a research leader is a lonely road and one has to often fight a conventional wisdom. There are many examples. From Albert Eistein's theory of relativity, which was done while he was a patent officer, to Theodore Maiman's ruby laser invention, to Andrew Wiles' proof of last Fermat's theorem. It is not a stroke of luck, since Feynman has always been genius from the get-go, as it requires years of deliberate preparation and determination.

A lot of areas in physical sciences have been researched to great details. From astronomical length scale to atomic length scale. From attosecond to geological time scale. This type of research is analytical: to find the mathematical laws that govern how things behave. It is very rewarding, but once it is completed and proven by experimental data, it is really d-o-n-e.

Physical science researchers can still do applied research. One can do applied research by first knowing a problem and then working on a solution. A lot of academic research, however, work for a long time on specific areas without caring whether there are problems to be solved. Applied researchers who do their research based on working on the same area for decades usually say, "Well, we have a solution, but we are waiting for a problem." Now, that's funny and might as well be a memorable line from a Jerry Seinfeld episode. More and more I feel though that a better applied research is problem-driven, not area-driven.

Now, there are a lot of problems in developing world. Most have to do with structural poverty, where someone becomes poor - not because he does not work hard - because he is trapped in a conspiracy of low wage, low skills, and low opportunity. A question worth-solving is how do we solve this structural poverty. I don't care whether efforts to answer this question can be published in a high-impact-factor journal, but it is definitely a question worth-solving.

These developing-world problems may look at first glance like mostly social or economic problems, but a lot of them have strong physical-science components. Basically, the economic problems - in my opinion - have the same underpinning: how to increase purchasing power of the poor. It means manufacturing costs need to still go lower to reach the poor billions without sacrificing the environment.

The social problems also have another common underpinning: how to empower the poor through education and civil actions. Internet technologies can help solve these social problems if done at low or no cost. A school system that is faster than 12 years to complete will help young generation to acquire practical skills and thinking frame that will help them adapt continually as they work.

When I think about these developing world problems, I face a dilemma whether to plow ahead with doing research by following my curiosity. "Am I not wasting my time?", I often ask myself. It was one the reasons that made me decide to take a leave from doing research and to spend time living in Indonesia.

Doaku

Aku rasakan kemurahanMu

Semua untuk keluargaku

Aku cuma ingin sendiri

Buktikan langkahku benar

Anugrahi yang kucinta

Tak perlu tunggu surga

Beri kita kekuatan sepadan
Biar yang benar menang
Saat musuh menerjangku

Jangan biarkan aku sakit

Berbaring lama tanpa ajal

Sudahi cepat waktuku tiba

USD 2.35

I have been in Jakarta for 2 months and have eaten out at least one meal each day out of convenience. I have tried prices from Rp. 5,000 to 100,000 per meal. Here in Jakarta, food quality is not proportional to price. I can squeeze food expense if I have ample food quality information, which means I have to be adventurous.

My equilibrium meal price that balances wallet, health, and taste seems to sit at Rp. 20,000 (USD 2.35) per meal in Jakarta.

I had bought breakfast and lunch meals for Rp. 7,000 from roadside food stalls in Jakarta. I accumulated a 50:50 record of upset stomach for that price but haven't gotten bad diarrhea yet (thankfully). The food was not bad or rancid, but I suspect there are food stuff used that are "too strong" for my stomach; they could be overused frying oils, food coloring agents, unsanitary water, fly infestation.

My observation was proven again today. I had vegetable-salad rice combo lunch (aka nasi pecel + tempe) for Rp. 10,000 in Denpasar (located in Bali island) and I felt nauseous 1 hour after that. (It was almost likely due to stale vegetable or peanut sauce.) Luckily I took Pepto Bismol from our Balinese friend whom we visited in Legian. I drank a lot of tea and it seemed to have helped. The symptom went away after 5 hours.

Denpasar's living cost is similar to Jakarta's. In other cities the equilibrium price could be lower due to cheaper cost of living. In Bandung, for example, I won't hesitate to eat a Rp. 15,000 meal. In Solo, I can safely eat out for Rp. 10,000.

If I approach the equilibrium price from the upper bound, there is no need to spend a Rp. 50,000 meal or above, unless in a business meeting.

I am clearly ripped off if I pay more than Rp. 20,000 in a roadside food stall. Furthermore, I feel I am being ripped off if I pay above Rp. 20,000 even if still below Rp. 50,000 at most restaurants. I usually pick the cheapest food at a fancy restaurant, and I can always find a Rp. 20,000 meal there.

The USD 2.35 equilibrium price is what Jakartans pay when they eat out including ice cold sweetened tea. I usually ask for hot unsweetened tea (at no cost) if the price is rather steep to stay at my equilibrium price target.

Overtime I could train my stomach to meet the chemico-physical demands of lower than USD 2.35, but I am reluctant to risking it now (having had two bad food poisoning cases last year).

Having said all of these, if you are ever stuck with little options and are hungry, pick a roadside food stall with the most costumers. The food there is likely more fresh. Pick also a safe bet: steamed rice and fried or BBQ chicken. Don't try hot chilli paste (sambal pedas) unless you have a death wish (LOL!).

Cinta

Kemarin mataku basah dua kali

Tak kuasa, begitu saja mengalir

Lewati desa pura sekitar Ubud

Lihat tari Bali elok menggoda

Aku bersyukur bertemu

Cinta yang telah lama hilang

Wajah perempuan berberas tiga

Kaki lelaki bersarung kotak

Pekat hijau daun bertebaran

Aku bisa tinggal di pulau ini

Mereka tahu nikmati hidup

Berbaju putih memuja dewa

Gelak hangat tawa senyum

Kokok ayam di pagi hari

Airport

Airports in Indonesia have a lax security system. When I saw this the first time a couple of years ago I was worried. But I now understand why it is much more casual than in North America. 

Indonesians do not appear worried at all individually with this lax security system and regard airports no differently from other transportation terminals. They arrive with their big grins in their faces and tease each other - so much so that even my teenage son cannot fathom. The airline counter staff are much more relaxed as well. I was never asked to show my ID by most domestic airlines so long as I bring the e-ticket. That's all they care about: that I paid my ticket and show my willingness to fly.

At one of my domestic flights, my plane was 1-hour delayed and I could walk back past the security system to buy dinner. When I asked whether I could pass the security gate and come back later, the guard smiled at me and said "of course, you can." He understood there are delays - a lot of them - and allowed us to pass for meal. 

North Americans would be upset if they see that the airport security personnel act in a relaxed manner like that. Although they would complain with too much security, but in the end they obey the tighter security rules. Such tighter security rules will never stand in Indonesia. Indonesians here are just more trusting to each other.

Trusting each other does seem naive since Indonesia has had terrorist bomb attacks before, but Indonesians accept fate with more forbearance. I used to see this as ignorance, but I am not sure anymore since victims of such attacks are by definition randomly targeted. Wouldn't it be wiser to accept such fate with forgiving hearts? 

Bottom line: I am not worried with the lax security system in Indonesia. Because frankly Indonesia does not have international security concerns; it never has aggresive foreign policy. 

It is a valuable lesson when I understood the difference and it shows that the developing world has a different mentality and a set of ideas different from developed world.

Sederhana

Saya cuma iri orang yang lebih merdeka dari saya. Karena mereka sebenarnya lebih tahu arti hidup. Saat saya ditanya teman baik baru saya apa itu sukses. Dan saya jawab seperti itu: jika saya merdeka maka saya sukses.

Makanya saya bingung dengan pemimpin politik yang haus terus kekuasaan. Jadi pemimpin seperti itu tidak merdeka: kemana mana diikuti, dikawal, dan diteropong. Apa gunanya hidup seperti itu? Disanjung orang tapi sebenarnya semua ada maunya. Hanya maunya si pemimpin yang tidak kesampaian. Maka, jadi pemimpin haruslah berani, biar urusan cepat selesai. Biar cepat merdeka. Tapi banyak yang tidak seperti ini. Mungkin pikiran sederhana saya tidak mampu mencerna pikiran canggih pemimpin-pemimpin politik kita.

Merdeka buat saya jalurnya dua. Yang pertama adalah kemerdekaan finansial. Ini yang hampir semua orang upayakan dengan bekerja keras. Semakin kaya semakin merdeka. Ini benar. Tapi ini bukan jalur satu satunya. Karena pada akhirnya, kesenangan yang kaya tidak ada bedanya dengan kesenangan yang miskin. Tidak percaya? Coba anda pikirkan lagi.

Jalur kedua yang lebih mantap - dan sederhana akhirnya - adalah melatih jiwa untuk tidak tergantung ke apa pun. Ini yang diajarkan oleh Buddhism: no attachment. Ini juga diajarkan Islam, menurut teman baru saya, walau saya lupa istilah Islamnya. Dasar pemikiran tingkat kemerdekaan ini adalah tidak ada yang kekal di hidup ini. Semua berubah: umur, rupa, otak, harta, teman, istri, anak, semuanya.

Apa kemudian kita tidak mencintai anak istri kita? Ya tentu tidak, karena anak hasil buah cinta saya dan istri saya. Anak itu saya yang membuat, jadi saya yang bertanggung jawab mendidiknya. Istri saya juga dulu saya yang melamar, jadi saya yang bertanggung jawab mencintainya. Tapi apa yang saya harapkan dari mereka tidak melebihi apa yang bisa mereka berikan. Jadi tidak ada sedih jika saya ditinggal mereka. Atau saya meninggalkan mereka.

Merdeka memakai jalur kedua pasti langgeng karena tidak tergantung saya kaya atau miskin. Merdeka itu akhirnya disederhanakan menjadi denyut jantung dan desah nafas tiap detik.

Quality of Service

My son - having only arrived from Calgary last week - is astounded. In a positive way. He was amazed by the courtesy and quality of service he got when having meals at restaurants in Jakarta. He said, "I never have to pick up food; the waiter always brings it to me." He was even more floored by the strength and math ability of Padang restaurant waiter who has to bring 6-12 dishes on his arm to the table and later tallies up the food we ate by looking at the colors of the curry dishes. The girls serving us at KFC or Pizza Hut always appear happy, courteous, and infinitely patient, even after we spilled water on the floor. She would smile back at us and made me embarassed at our clumsiness.

Indonesians are trained at giving great services. At school we were brought up to follow orders and be obedient. It pains me, therefore, to know that our menial workers sent to Saudi Arabia are not treated well and, even worse, abused. Our courtesy and politeness are taken for a ride. I only wish the next government of Indonesia would have more backbone and 'cojones' when dealing with its counterparts.

Regardless, I think the quality of service we have been getting is an indication of a - dare I say - absolute advantage that other countries lack. Indonesia should focus on bringing out this exquisite level of service to the front to lure more foreign tourists and visitors. Indonesia should use this advantage as a huge leverage to promote tourism, eco-adventure travels, and exchange study programs.

What still lacks is the website gateway for tourism information on Indonesia. I have been in Indonesia for 2 months and have still little idea on how to get good accomodation and travel tips to Krakatau, Karimun Jawa, Bali. It is sad to say that I am still thinking of buying the Lonely Planet's Indonesia guide to show me where to go and what to do, given that I am here already.

Things have got to change. For the better. And hopefully sooner than later.

Korupsi

Sudahlah, lupakan aja usaha keras memberantas budaya 'korupsi' di tanah air. Terkadang saya berpikir seperti itu. Bukannya saya mendukung korupsi merajalela, tapi korupsi itu ada karena aturan kerja/interaksi dan tingkat ketrampilan yang ada di tanah air mendukung hal ini berkembang biak.

Korupsi timbul karena ini adalah jalan untuk memuluskan transaksi berbagai urusan dan akhirnya menjadi keharusan agar berbagai urusan ini berjalan baik.

Dari pengamatan sebulan ini, saya berpendapat budaya ini datang karena memang ada kebutuhan nyata. Pada saat saya hampir ditilang sebulan lalu karena masuk ke lajur busway, saya memutuskan untuk 'berdamai' saja karena diberitahu urusannya akan repot: SIM ditahan dan harus diambil di kantor pengadilan. Peraturan pengambilan SIM dibuat berbelit. Saya merasa naas; banyak sekali mobil yang nyerobot di lajur busway, tapi kok ya saya yang kena? Kalkulasi di otak saya langsung bilang: "Udah deh, damai aja, toh hampir sama ngeluarin uangnya." Bahkan lebih murah sedikit jika 'berdamai', belum lagi keuntungan waktu.

Contoh sederhana ini bilang korupsi itu memang diadakan oleh aturan kerja/interaksi yang njelimet (baca: birokratis) bukan main. Sementara saya melihat orang Indonesia itu gak mau dibuat sulit. Ringkasnya, orang Indonesia itu sering maunya sendiri. Kemacetan di Jakarta mengingatkan saya akan karakter kita ini. Orang Indonesia itu ingin seefisien seperti semua orang di semua negara lain.

Kembali ke contoh sederhana saya tadi, terlintas di benak saya saat alat 'perdamaian' berganti tangan: gak apa lah, dia kerja keras mengatur lalu lintas; mendingan saya beri langsung ke dia daripada ke meja administrasi pengadilan yang saya tidak tahu kemana uangnya pergi setelah itu. Ini bisa jadi pembenaran di kepala saya agar saya tidak terlalu merasa bersalah.

Faktor tingkat ketrampilan juga berpengaruh ke merajalelanya korupsi. Saya ambil contoh proyek tender pengadaan barang. Perusahaan-perusahaan yang ikut tender berlomba untuk menang tender dengan memasang harga bersaing dan faktor konten teknik memadai. Tapi karena tingkat ketrampilan kita rendah, tidak ada faktor menguntungkan lain yang bisa perusahaan-perusahaan ini tawarkan agar menang tender. Jika tingkat ketrampilan kita tinggi, kita bisa menawarkan inovasi produk buatan sendiri yang berpotensi mengalahkan perusahaan-perusahaan saingan dengan telak. Ini jarang terjadi.

Harga-harga yang ditawarkan perusahaan-perusahaan akhirnya tidak berbeda jauh. Tidak juga beda jauh konten teknik mereka karena inovasi-inovasi yang ada di alat-alat yang akan dipakai untuk berlomba tender tidak berbeda. Persaingan harga ini membuka kesempatan korupsi yang sebenarnya merugikan perusahaan pemenang: profit margin turun karena harus bagi-bagi. Korupsi di sini berupa uang imbalan yang dibayarkan pemenang tender ke yang bisa 'membantu' memenangkan tender.

Perusahaan-perusahaan ini jelas tidak mau melakukan korupsi, tapi mereka butuh hidup dan membayar gaji karyawan. Mereka butuh menang tender dan mereka diberikan jalan untuk menang tender. Jelas buat saya korupsi ini dibutuhkan dan perlu ada karena aturan kerja/interaksi/peraturan pemerintah yang njelimet dan kemampuan inovasi produk dan tingkat ketrampilan kita yang rendah.

Lari

Sudah sebulan aku tinggal di Jakarta. Dimanapun kita mudah terperangkap kegiatan sehari-hari. Apalagi jika jadwal kerja sibuk. Sampai di kerja sebelum jam 8 pagi dan balik ke rumah setelah jam 6 malam. Sebelum itu tidur dan mandi. Sesudah itu, makan dan tidur lagi. Kapan aku bisa merasa segar dan jiwa ini terisi harapan dan perasaan terkoneksi dengan alam dan sekeliling?

Lari buatku memberi waktu dan energi untuk membangun koneksi dengan alam dan sekeliling, yang mungkin pudar karena sibuknya hari-hari kerja. Lari buatku me-recharge baterai yang pudar dan membugarkan badan yang letih.

Aku lari mulai jam 6:30 pagi kemarin, dari pucuk Jalan Otista di bilangan Cawang dan terus merangkak ke arah utara. Melewati Kampung Melayu - yang masih sepi angkot - dan pasar Jatinegara - yang sudah ramai dengan kerumunan penjual dan pembeli mengadu nasib.

Aku selalu diingatkan waktu lari kalau aku anak semesta. Aku selalu diingatkan untuk membuka mataku ke sekelilingku. Bapak tua yang termangu di sisi gerobaknya. Lima anak kecil berlari. Ibu dan nenek yang belanja di pagi hari. Tukang parkir yang menunggu mobil pertama. Sapa ramah mbak penjaga toko tempat aku beli air. Aku bisa merasakan kerasnya hidup mereka karena aku merasakan letihnya lari ini. Polusi udara Jakarta yang berbau harum hitam pekat. Trotoar jalan yang tidak ramah buat orang tua karena sangat tinggi letaknya.

Melewati Salemba aku berhenti sejenak untuk beli teh botol. Udara tropik sangat menyengat dan sebenarnya lebih keras dari udara dingin sejuk Canada untuk berlari. Tubuh mengeluarkan banyak uap air dan aku haus letih cepat sekali. Di Calgary aku bisa lari 90 menit tanpa minum air. Di Jakarta maksimum 60 menit. Belum lagi dengan riak di tenggorokan yang menggumpal karena polusi udara.

Aku sebenarnya mau terus ke Ancol sepanjang Jalan Gunung Sahari. Tapi aku tidak kuat lagi. Sudah 80 menit aku lari. Keramaian pasar Senen dibelakangku. Pasar Baru di sisiku. Aku teruskan, lari sedikit lagi, mendekati Mangga Besar. Waktunya berhenti. Badanku terasa sangat segar dan aku siap menyongsong hari.

Drivers as Insurance Policy

I have been in Jakarta for a week. I enjoy the experience, although I learn the true meaning of traffic jam in Jakarta. All the traffic jams I experienced in New York, Boston, or Toronto are pale in comparison. Traffic jams in Jakarta are chaotic and at the same time fun to watch.

I used to think Jakartans wasted their money by hiring drivers. But no more. I had suspected that these drivers must have filled an important role. I found that role yesterday when I discussed the madness of Jakartan traffic jam yesterday with my junior high school reunion.

Basically drivers in Jakarta serve two roles: (i) time saver and (ii) liability protection. It is not unusual to spend 3-4 hours per day in traffic, so drivers are huge time savers. One can work in the car, make phone calls, and coordinate work activities.

The chaotic mixture of motorcycles, trucks, carts, and cars of all sizes creates a high-risk situation for car drivers. If a car is involved in an accident with a motorcycle, the car driver is by default on the wrong side. Having a driver removes the risk of personal liability for the owner of the car.

Anak Kampung

Anakku bilang aku akan rindu steak Alberta
Lantas aku bilang kamu akan suka nasi Padang

Walau aku tahu harga daging memang mahal
Aku sudah putuskan waktu pulang kampung

Aku dulu pamit cari kehidupan lebih baik
Sekarang aku cari kehidupan lebih berarti

Kalau aku tak pernah berani melangkah
Aku tak akan tahu kemana aku berakhir

Sudah aku susuri jalan sepi Rocky Mountains
Sekarang waktunya aku lalui jalan ramai tanah airku

Walau aku sudah lama terasing tapi aku tak bisa lupa
Aku anak kampung dan rindu juga sapa ramahmu

Penultimate

We met again after a long while. He hugged me tight and wished me well. We have been good friends and could be best friends. We caught up on our life stories – well, mostly work stories. My decisions and his ventures. It worked and didn't work last time. It might work again in the future. Always keep the door open, but never overdo it since both parties have to come to the table.

A 10 K run after that. It was cloudy and drizzling a bit, but the sun showed up in the last 2 km. Never worry too much, I said to myself. The clouds are what make life interesting and the sun will show up eventually. Yesterday I was drenched though, but funny thing is I ran a lot better. Cool weather helps soothe aching muscles. I hope much warmer weather will still be good to me. I will find out soon.

The day is not over yet. I had to do a quick bike. Storing this and that. Last minute stuff. Always like that. Life; my life. It was coincidence I ended up here, I remind myself. Though what I did helped that happen. My life is full of that. Coincidence after coincidence. If I tried too hard, it always never worked.

If I tried too hard, it always never worked. I am reminded of that when I read around-the-world bike adventure books tonight. That's what I want to do, I said to myself. I know what I want. I just have to make sure I never try it too hard.