THE SOUTHERN MRANGGEN: HILLY VILLAGE

Weekend is perfect time to do our hobbies.

In the last week of September, it was Sunday, My friend and I cycled around Mranggen (Mranggen is the village where I am living in). This was the second time we cycled together, after previously we had ever cycled together to follow a fun-bike event in Semarang.

On the day before, my friend sent me a message on Whatsapp. The message was he invited me to cycle to the Marina beach in Semarang, but I recommended him another place nearer to go: “How about Banyumeneng?”. For your information, Banyumeneng is a village which is situated in the southern Mranggen district (perhaps the southernmost). 

My friend agreed and said he would follow me because he had never gone there. We started from house at around 05:15 AM, the traffic was still quiet and the air was still fresh to breathe. But on the road we had to go alongside the dump trucks (mining trucks) that forced us to be more careful and inevitably had to look back because the road was narrow and a little bit slippery due to spilled sand falling from the trucks. On the way, we also met some cyclists and greeted each other by ringing our bell. For me, that is one of the most interesting parts from cycling. 

After around 15 minutes, we finally arrived in Banyumeneng. My first impression on people in this village (on Sunday) was that people here were more active than people in Mranggen. Many people invaded the road to walk together or to jog with their peers, which is something hardly found in my village. Another interesting thing from this village was a Sunday market was there every Sunday morning, opened above a bridge, although the sellers were not too many. 

This village was surrounded by hills and portrayed the countryside scene. Full of trees and fields grew on the sides of the road. There were both uphill and flat road yet in a good condition despite far from the downtown. At the end of the uphill road, we would see a gate which was the border between Demak Regency and Semarang Regency. We decided to only stop before the border gate as the road after the gate becoming steeper ahead.

On our way home, we also stopped at a place, I was not quite sure with the name of the place and which city it belonged to. But, clearly, it was an alternative way to Semarang where you will be in Rowosari after going through the place. This place offered us a scenic route, it was surrounded by terraces, plus still rarely houses around. We could also enjoy the view of mount Ungaran and hill with a neglected unique structure like “Egyptian pyramid” on its top from that place. Ironically, the area behind the terraces was a mining, well known as "Brown Canyon"- it was where the aforementioned trucks getting their dump filled. 

After being tired of cycling in adequate distances. I invited my friend to eat Pecel Lodeh. It is a native food from our village. As far as I know, It only exists in my village and is difficult to find such a food in another city, even in other villages around Mranggen. I prefer to call it the daily breakfast menu for Mranggen people since they often eat it for breakfast and it is mostly found merely in the morning. 

We went home happily, safely and fully

The scenic route

Uphill road

SOCMED

Hi. How is your day? awesome today?

May happiness always surround you and sadness go away from you 

In this opportunity, I will discuss about social media. I admit this is so "mainstream" topic, but, please understand me, I just want to keep this blog alive. I strongly believe that almost people; whatever their age, their sex, their religion, their profession, use social media. Let's mention: friendster, instagram, twitter, facebook, path, and blah blah blah. They use social media for many purposes:

- a single man might use to find their couple

- a businessman might use to promote their business

- a public figure might use to share their daily activities

- a musician might use to inform their stage schedule

- and with all due respect, a you exactly use it only to stalk. Aren't you?

Talking about social media, it is not fair if the owner doesn't have a chance at all to tell a few of his experience about it. Among those of I mentioned, by far I only used three social media.

1. Friendster

This is to be said as the old and the legend of social media. Friendster was a social media that pioneered me the Blue Nowhere (Cyberspace or Dunia Maya). One thing I can't forget from this social media is the features, it enabled us to insert graphics and animations into our own profile and it gave such a real freedom to us to customize our page. Friendster's currently not social media anymore, it's turned into an online game web.

2. Facebook

I'd say that I was so late to become a facebook member, perhaps around a year after it was launched in Indonesia. To be honest, I could not move on from friendster at that time because I am still interested with the features. By the way, I was entirely helped by an online friend to create my facebook account, he made me  an email and also registered me into facebook. I still remember him, his name was Chan, he is a Chinese who lived in Surabaya. By the way, thank you bro, I owe and learn a lot from you. To help someone knows no bound. 

3. Twitter

This is simply the best source of information. However I do not remember any specific things of how I started it, I started tweeting near before my schooltrip to Bali, it's on the same schedule with the event of AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. The first one I followed is Irfan Bachdim, he was very booming at that time because he became the first naturalized player in Indonesia and my first favorite tweet is Ryan Babel's. His hashtag tweet showed a support to Indonesia Senior National Team which was playing in AFF Suzuki Cup 2010.

However I am really tired of the living in social media nowadays. It really sucks, it has lost the essence of social media itself, which is to build our social life. The attitudes of social media users currently are annoying and so wild, especially attitudes toward others. Social media is such a place of freedom. There you can speak out as you want. Unfortunately when there's a freedom, the freedom itself is wrongly interpreted and misused by a lot of people. They become over and over with it. Insult and bullying have become our daily consumption in  social media. Attacking others verbally is something common, even though they do not know and never meet each other. I would not say that all users are like what I said, but this is crazy to let it happen here uncontrollable. We are the East people, we live in the place in which respect is the highest value among the society, so we must respect each other.

I hope that you can become the man of wisdom in the social media. If not you, then who else?

SLEEP AT ONCE IS NOT AN EASY THING

Well, back here again after long time hehe

I'm still awake to this late night, eh no it has been a morning in another day. I had tried and laid myself on the bed to sleep some hours ago, but you see, it didn't succeed at all, all my efforts seem going useless, I couldn't reach my dream at once.

I was now sitting in front of my laptop and of course writing this, I really wonder why it's difficult for my eyes to shut up earlier than in the normal sleep hours. Perhaps, my daily routine affects it all, Just suppose, especially the phone. Yep, it has been one two, three, and so forth, uncountable how many times I had to stare my phone to connect to the internet before going to sleep. If my eyes had been tired enough, then I could sleep, always so and so. Though hardly realizing it was my sleeping pills, but should I do it more and more? I terribly risked my health for it. 

I have something to share. Learning a lot from my experience, I usually could sleep earlier if I spent a whole day having the group work with my college mates, once again group work. Not doing it in "my" rent house of course, it should be everywhere else to finish it. The question is to whom will I ask group work for everyweek? 

Maybe, I need to be pretty tired to put me to sleep. 

INTERESTED IN WRITING

If anyone of you asks to me whether I am a good writer or not. I will firmly say no to you. Yes, I am actually not a good writer, I am not quite good at the content, organization, mechanics, and vocabulary, except for grammar, which those five are the indicators of writing skills. It means by mastering the five indicators, then you can be said as the expert. Unfortunately, I am only capable of the single indicator only, I do not care. I must write.  

One of problems encountered as a newbie writer is having no idea for writing, confused of topic what should I discuss. Although I am not good at writing. However writing is one of my interests, I think by writing we can express what is in our thought and this is also part of our making history.  

There are several reasons why I want to write here. Of course, the first is for fun. Life is fun, so writing is. I do not know but I am feeling happy after I read again my old post. Note it: this life is too short not to write something. Besides, I also write for improving my vocabulary. I believe that writing is good to improve my vocabulary mastery. Perhaps, this is my way of learning, I memorize something by writing. During the test in my senior high school, I used to rewrite what I have learned on the paper then I memorized it.  I  found it really helpful during I did my test. There are still many other reasons remain that I will not mention it all here

Come on guys, start writing right now. Make your own history! 

WE DID IT ALL

(Picture by: Puspa)

Sunday, 26th may 2012

The story began with possibilities could happen to us, there are two possibilities whether we were 'lulus' or 'tidak lulus' for the final exam, all of the students were in the same boat, they were also waiting while praying all the best, The word 'lulus' was all of the Indonesian students hope to see at that time. 

my eyes did not stop to look at the clock in the wall, waiting the hand stopped at 02.00 P.M.. Well shuddered.  Probably this is what we called as between the life and the death
A day before, I had read info from twitter, the tweets said that all of the 11 SHS (my school) students were confirmed successfully for a hundred percent graduation. "This is really a news" I said. At least I felt relieved and tried to trust it as right, however I was still worried for those possibilities. After the long wait. the hand of clock passed the time and soon I logged in into the website, the answer for me is 

'lulus'

I was at home that day, my mother did not permit me to join my friends at school for the graduation celebration. but no regret at all, because I did not like to mess my white uniform with paints.
I do not know but this time graduation I was not as happy as when the junior high school's time, because to be honest, I could not be a honest person. But happiness stays happiness, my sweetheart cannot lie.

HOWEVER WE DID IT ALL, YES, WE DID. We had passed our final exam, we had gone through the school time. I don't know how we should express our gratittude to all of our teachers, they help us a lot, they are our pride, they deserve a longer life in the world. 
We will also miss each other, we shared  a room for two years together.  
Yet sad to inform, we will not see again such these men on our daily: 
- The o feet (Adi) 
- The real sportman (Alvin) 
- The anti-narcism man (Agung)
- The point man (Me)
- The cutbray style (Ardhan)
- The sleepyhead (Arif) 
- The absurd (Busro) 
- The mailbox (Adib), 
- The storyteller (Andhika) 
- The king of darkness (Taufik) 
- The Vino wannabe (Naufal)
- The 3gp boss (Rendi)   
No more playing a ball in the classroom, no more Mr. Jacky batik book, no more shivering for Mrs. Susi's turn, no more doing the homework together in the morning, no more having a day out together.  

Thank you my teachers and t-save friends!

You all are simply the best!