Survival Instinct

It's amazing what people can do when they are pushed to the limit and survival instinct kicks in.

Last week I had a long weekend getaway to Medan (3rd biggest city in Indonesia). I've never been there, and I have a friend who offered me a place to stay... so, why not? I just board the plane with absolutely zero knowledge about the place, and I had no plans on what to do there whatsoever. So I didn't really pack a lot of things, just necessities like condoms, undies, sandals, t-shirts, and shorts.

I'll blog about my overall impression of Medan when I'm not lazy, but for this post I will be focusing on a particular experience....

On the 2nd day I was there, my friends took me to a small nearby city called Brastagi, which is about 2 hours drive from Medan. It is a popular weekend getaway place for Medan people because it is located higher up in the mountains, and the weather is cooling and nice.





You can also drive another hour to Simalem, and from there you can get a glimpse of Lake Toba, which is the biggest lake in South East Asia.

Between Medan and Brastagi, there is a small village called Sibolangit. There is a boyscout camp there, and recently the local people discovered a waterfall in the jungle called the "two-colored waterfall". I have been warned that the journey will take 3 hours in and 3 hours out trekking through the jungle. I'm not sure what I was thinking back then (hmmm.... must be something in the water in Brastagi :P), but I said OK when my friends asked me if we should go there.

We reached the start point at about 9.30 in the morning, and it was blazing hot, so we decided to take our jacket with us to avoid sunburn (I didn't pack my sunblock as I was not expecting trekking to be part of the itinerary). BIG mistake..... because once you go into the forest the trees will provide shadows and the jacket just becomes a burden that we have to carry.

The first half an hour was OK... there were proper tracks, we pass through some small streams.... very enjoyable..... until the tracks kind of disappear and it becomes really muddy. At this point of time sandals are completely useless and there was no choice other than to go barefoot. Let me make it clear that I am a big city boy and not exactly an outdoor / nature loving kind of guy. When my friend told me to go barefoot, I was thinking to myself "WHAT??? ARE YOU NUTS??". But then I see a lot of other people (girls and old people) who are also taking off their sandals and keep going on. So ego kicks in and I thought.... oh what the heck.... let's do this!



Well, turns out that it was not that bad.... Yes, I walked much slower than everybody else, and I did curse and swear to myself during the whole journey, but I made it. All the way in and all the way out. Totally barefoot. I was very proud of myself after I get out from there. But if you ask me if I'll ever do it again...? The answer is "Weeeellll...... not really, no, thank you" :P

So here are some thoughts and things I learned based on the whole experience :
1. Havaianas sandals are NOT made for walking in the forest.
2. When barefooted, rocks and tree branches are slippery, and the best track is pure soil.
3. Proper planning is necessary, so you can pack the right stuff in your luggage (fortunately I forgot to bring my new LV sunglasses..... can you imagine me wearing that in the forest? :P)
4. Never underestimate fat or old people. I was so amazed by the people whom we met along the way..... gives me strength and stamina..... If they can do it, so can I!



Thanks to all my friends in Medan who have been very accomodating and making the trip a memorable one! :)

Cottage Chic?

Apparently, my interior design style is
57% cottage chic
29% contemporary
14% zen
(http://www.sproost.com/)
--> thanks to unacandela :)

Cottage Chic

Who says that cottages can't be modern and chic? Who says that they have to be floral and cheesy? Not you! You love the carefree spirit that the cottage interior inspires, but you are also serious about your appreciation for modern art and hip treasures. You love old and new alike, and love to highlight them all to expose the uniqueness of each. What better way to show off these treasures than with a light background?

Sounds like a type of cheese to me :P

What's YOUR style?

Strangers in the night

Something funny (and a little bit creepy) happened to a friend of mine a couple of days ago.... I will not be using real names to protect the identity, but her name rhymes with cinta :P

It was around 8.30, and she decided to pop by the neighbourhood supermarket before meeting her friend at a nearby kopitiam. The minute she steps in the supermarket, a man came up to her and said :

Creepy man (CM) : "Can I be your friend?"
Friend (F) : (shocked in disbelief) "W...hy?"
CM : "Well, I just want to get to know more female. I have been working in a male dominated environment for the past 19 years."
F : (speechless.......)
CM : "Can I buy you a soya bean milk drink?"
F : "Errr.... I have to go meet my friend now. Bye."

And then she went to meet her friend, and you know what? The guy is stalking her!! Standing in a corner watching them!!! Creeeeeeeeeepyyyy with a capital C to the max!!!!

The Italian Man Who Went To Malta

An old post..... but for the benefit of those who have never seen this, here you go... :)

The Virtue of Not Knowing

I'm going to start this post with a reference to the bible. Don't worry..... I'm not trying to convert anyone here, nor am I trying to preach about anything...... if you know me well enough, you should know how "religious" I am. I'm just expressing how I feel about this topic.

OK so here we go. You can read the reference to the bible passage here 

Basically, there was a worker who agreed to a certain amount of money for the work that he did, but when he found out that other people who are doing less work are being paid more, he got mad and complained to the master. But then the master say "Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?"

My initial reaction to this passage is "WTF??? That's not right! This is against the very foundation of fairness and equality!". I even asked my dad what he thinks about it, and he couldn't give me a satisfactory answer as well. The more I think about it, the more furious I get, because this particular passage is exactly happening in my work. Am I just suppose to be cool about it and accept any unfair treatment that comes my way???

After that, I tried not to think too much into it, and I have actually forgotten about it for quite a while.

Then, it suddenly dawned on me, what if I'm not supposed to interpret it that way? Perhaps there is a hidden message behind the passage? Again, I'm not trying to preach here.... I don't even know if I am right, but at least it doesn't make me lose faith in my religion just because of one passage.

I think that the passage is trying to say that you should be contented with what you have and you shouldn't compare yourself with other people. My parents have been teaching this to me all my life (even though I think they are not doing a very good job of applying it to their own lives, but nonetheless.....). I also think that it would be easier to not compare yourself if you do not know about certain things. For example, in the passage above, if the worker doesn't know how much the other worker is getting, then he would not be mad. So, moral of the story is : "Don't be so kepo lah!"

However, I'm not sure if it can be applied in this modern world. With the advancement of technology, information is much much easier to be obtained now compared to when the bible was written. Also, we believe that people who are knowledgeable are superior to people who are less knowledgeable. So, in a way, it is contradicting. Does this mean that the smarter we get, the more unhappy we will be??? Are we supposed to be ignorant and only cares about our own life???

Aiyooo..... so cheem one!!!

Gossip Boy

Gossip Boy here, your one and only source into the scandalous (well, not really) life of....... me!

OK, so obviously I have been watching too much Gossip Girl. I actually finished watching the whole season 1 (18 episodes) in 1 week, thanks to the long Good Friday weekend.... (which turns out not to be a really "good" friday, but that's a whole different story).

I didn't really like it when I first saw 1 episode on the plane last year, but turns out it can be addictive :P

So let's talk gossip. Spotted at YouTube, a new post from KevJumba, whom I follow from time to time.....

After seeing the video (and based on personal experiences), I kinda agree with him to some extent. I'm sorry to say this, but as the song in Avenue Q musical says... "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist". When I was young, I didn't really think too much about this. My parents lived in Indonesia their whole lives, and did not interact much with people from other countries. But now, as the world shrinks (thanks to the internet and other advancements in technology), we all have to deal with many people from various countries and cultures. Especially now that I'm working in the regional office (where I have to deal with ang-moh bosses), I personally experience incidents that sometimes makes me wonder "AM I INVISIBLE?". I'm not generalizing by saying that all angmohs are racist, but there are some that are just plain rude and disrespectful, and unfortunately I have to deal with them.

But don't fret.... if there is one thing I learn from watching gossip girl.... I'm the queen bitch king of passive aggressive around here, and I'm not backing down. 

Till next time....
xoxo
Gossip Boy

Typical workday

7.10am : Hoahmmm..... open my eyes a little bit.... Most of the time I will be conscious 5 minutes before my alarm sets off, except if I'm really really tired, or when it's weekend. My body is weird like that.

7.15am : My handphone alarm goes off. Hit the snooze button, go back to sleep.

7.30am : Last sign that I need to get up... hear my flatmate opening his curtain and going off to work. Finally get up and take a shower.

8.00am : Go to work.

8.30am : Arrive at the office. Turn on my laptop and wait 10 minutes for it to "wake up" before I can start working.

WORK [wurk] : exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor (dictionary.com)
So what have I produce/accomplish during my work? Hmm.... good question.

5.30pm : Official working hours are over. From here onwards there are many options..... typically my after work activities will either be :
- Go to the gym
- Have dinner with friends
- Go back home and do nothing/watch tv
- Watch movie at the cinema
- Go shopping

Lately I feel like my days have become too predictable.... sometimes I'm thinking about taking up some after-work courses, but I think I'm too lazy for that haha.
Any suggestion to spice things up?