Your Dollar Is A Tight Collar

Many Jakartans invest their money in foreign exchange, keeping up with the conversion rates and economy news that might affect one sort of currency compared to another. There are stories where forex investors made it big - the story of the Indonesian who became a billionaire because of investing in the Iraqi dinar pre-invasion - but many times, there are so many factors that affect the value of a currency that it can't be measured. Hence, investing in forex is often like gambling - you know what the safe bets are, but you might get a bigger windfall if you invest in the more exotic bets. Even more comparisons to gambling arise when results of a day's work are almost the same, whether you did painstaking research or just threw some money in and sat back while the market rolls.

These guys are no doubt making good money with the US dollar rising and rising compared to the rupiah - at our expense - while the economy slows due to various businesses tying themselves up to the US dollar value, which is surprisingly still considered a stable standard (which it isn't anymore). Businesses the country over are expecting lower sales of their products, i.e. electronics which are usually based on the market's US dollar value. In the meantime, it is becoming more expensive to export products overseas, as rates for shipping, handling and customs are pegged to the US dollar as well.

The current scarcity of the US dollar - and thus partly the reason for its rising price - is also indirectly caused by the US economic recession; where individuals and companies are scrambling to get any dollar they can get to revive the economy. It's strange when the people in the US financial institutions screw up, the rest of the world ultimately winds up paying the price. The perceived stability of the US dollar - and the seemingly endless supply of it - was a big lie, proven by the fact that the US banks seemed to lose billions of dollars, just like that. So now they want their real dollars back.

So instead of us strangling ourselves worrying about somebody else's currency, why don't we just worry about our own Rupiah? Here are simple things you can do:

• always buy domestic products. Your money spent should go back to Indonesians, not some overseas investor
• stop forex trading - it just makes matters worse. Start investing in local stock or a local company. Yep, you heard me.
• try to avoid buying stuff that is pegged to the US dollar. I know that sometimes it can't be avoided, but try to limit it all the same. The stores/companies that put dollar prices on their products transfer the risk of exchange rate differences to the customer.
• take a holiday - in Indonesia. Spend your well-earned Rupiah on local hotels, restaurants and so on. Don't spend all your money overseas unless you don't have a choice.
• Save money. If you save money in the bank, the banks stay healthy and keep the Rupiah flowing properly.
  

Saving the country means you have to do something as well, and these are a few things that are very simple and can be done by anybody. Let's forget about the politicians battling it out for votes and make the change ourselves

The Day Indonesia Changed

Earlier today, the Parliement finally passed the controversial and much-hyped Antipornography Bill. Apparently the government thinks that this is an important step compared to fixing the economy or improving education.

Today our country changed - for the worse. And this is just the first step.

For those already playing with thoughts of going off to another, perhaps more reasonable country, let me urge you this - we must not let them win. We must fight, not with weapons or armies, but words, thoughts, knowledge, and communities. The fight for our nation is here.

Belated Post: Why This Darn Blog Is Still Around After 4 Years

So the friends at @jtug urged me to write about why blogging is important - to me, to anyone else for that matter, who knows.

I started this blog on the first day of my 'new' life - new job, recently single, totally new outlook in life, and ready to take on the various rituals that lead to maturity. Don't know if I have reached maturity yet, but it sure has been a hell of a ride for the past 4 years.

The title of the blog was once appropriately named 'A New Leaf', but in the process it changed to 'Positivity' to get rid of my depressive vibes. From this fact alone, you can see that blogging for me is a form of therapy - what I write is something in my mind at that moment (and in the mood of writing it), and sharing it with everybody without being too detailed on personal issues. The focus was to express the ambient feelings in my head and heart without burdening everybody with depressive or boring details on what I had for lunch or something.

Writing regularly has surely had its share of changes to my life - because it is a good moment to reflect. Not just what I have done (or not done), but what apparently is OK for public domain to devour and what isn't. Ultimately, it's what you don't say that says a lot about yourself also.

During my writing I found that I write much better in English - not gloating, just a fact - so the dominant language remained that. And through the blog, I have found many friends, and rediscovered old friends also... and I have also found my passion for writing! Some people talk about themselves, some people talk about others, some people talk about their hobbies... but I talk about whatever comes to mind - which apparently is more to social commentary, and how we can make the world a better place. I'm not saying I know better, but I do like to share my thoughts and see how the world sees it.

Plis Deh Jakarta! is a collaborative blog with a friend to look at Jakarta's lighter side, while also getting the social commentaries into readers in a way that isn't force-fed (like the government-sponsored TV ads) or pretentious (like the tobacco-supported PSAs); but just by encouraging people to look at something from a different perspective. This is where I write (or picture blog) more often lately - my therapy writing days are [almost] over.

But I will stay blogging, as it is the easiest way for me to share thoughts in the long form (and not bore people at the dinner table), in conjunction with sporadic use of Twitter and Plurk (and Facebook, of course). Who cares if blogging is so 2004.

4 Years And Still Going Strong... Sort Of

I sort of missed this blog's anniversary, as it came on October 1st, which this year is Lebaran. Usually I write some sort of flashback or imaginary future post... but for the first part of this post, let's see what went right and what went wrong:

I am writing this while I am waiting for my plane to take me back home. I always try to get to the airport early, but the airline I'm taking always manages to delay their flight by an hour at least. At least the airport has free wifi, so I've been browsing and chatting the hour away (and of course, writing this post), stuff I wouldn't be able to do on an average working day.

Well I definitely didn't do any travelling this month. And I don't think I ever have time to lounge around at the airport and do some blogging.

I really want to get back home soon because my wife is coming close to her delivery date; it's such a strange feeling! I can't describe it; a mix of anticipation and anxiety, excitement with a tad of fear that I'll screw things up. Oh well, I guess that's how all fathers-to-be would feel. Looking forward, I just hope I'm not too old to play basketball or something with my son when he's older (and I start greying hair). But something tells me that it's a girl; I've always wanted a daugther, being a man who loves women, hehe... but my wife insists that it's a boy. Well, whether it will be a boy or a girl, I'm pretty sure my enamour with gadgets will definitely pass on :D. God knows, the house is filled with stuff to play with...

My wife isn't even pregnant yet, unless she isn't telling me something :P

But the house is definitely filled with various gadgets, although never as many as I'd like :D

Work is terrible, as always, but terrible in a sort of good way. The workloads and deadlines never end, but that's always good for a small company. Growth has levelled off a bit in Indonesia, but we're anticipating that with a few more tricks up our sleeve, and my parent company has asked us to assist forming similar companies in the other territories. Consulting comes with a price, of course, and it's a bit ironic that my own parent company is now my client in other countries. So... I think we have some comfortable targets to reach for 2009.

These days, what job isn't terrible? But the context seems to insinuate that I am not working at my current company, or work on a consulting basis for my current company. Well... no such luck. This is my 4th year with this company, with huge targets to reach in 2009.

It's unfortunate that I had to cut my Lebaran holiday short for this trip, although it was only for a few days, but business is business, and not everything can be done on weekdays. We hammered most of the details over the weekend (over good food, of course) and this morning we spat out all the emails and communications needed to get the ball rolling, so the local guys can run it from there. I just miss my wife a lot; and as trying as the days have been during her pregnancy, at the end of the day I swallow my pride and hold her hand; and when she smiles back and holds my hand tighter, all becomes right with the world. I had time to shop here but I refrained myself from buying unecessary baby stuff, as the accumulation of whim purchases is already overwhelming, haha... but I'm sure I can justify some of the purchases to my wife :D.

These days I never, ever, cut my holiday short for work. :D

Oh, there's the call for the plane. I'll SMS my wife on the plane and call the office driver to confirm picking me up at the airport...

Well, you still can't make calls or send SMSes on a plane right now... although it may become reality some time in the future...

So second part of this post is for a bit of reflection...

For every year we grow, we change into something, which could be the same, but could also be a little different. Over the years I have learnt that work isn't everything, but if you want to fill your life with work, make sure it's something you love. There is never enough money so make do - at some point you'd have to let go of worldly belongings anyway. Compromise is your greatest negotiation asset. And... patience really is a virtue.

So here's to the 4th year of this blog, and the 4th year at a company that never gets boring.

Maybe Because Watching Porn Makes People Too Lazy To Do Anything Else

While the controversy around the proposed pornography bill still burns fires in the MPR/DPR building, the esteemed representative body said that they will make allowances for tourists to wear bikinis at certain resorts; to make sure the tourism industry 'is not affected'.

A few things come to mind:

• The government will be willing to discriminate between foreign and domestic tourists in the name of anti-pornography. It's ok for Sue to wear a bikini but totally wrong for Jamilah.
• Why are the buggers talking about bikinis on bule when they should be talking about the law's relevance?
• How do they expect to control foreign vs. local tourists? Maybe the public can help since they are allowed to 'directly involve' themselves in the bill's enforcement.
• It's also OK, apparently, for Sue to wear provocative clothing and do acts that incite sexual lust, but totally wrong for Jamilah. I guess this provision is here so the government can legally import Russian prostitutes.
• I really don't know why the DPR is going over and over about this when there are many, many more dire problems at hand.

Throw the bill in the trash and do something useful guys, like work on how to raise the level of welfare? I don't see any colleration between the abolishment of porn to common welfare.

PT Bis Ugal-ugalan

Did you know?

Ada beberapa fakta yang mungkin semua orang tau, tapi belum tentu tau bahwa berhubungan:

- Koperasi adalah sebuah badan usaha berbadan hukum, yang terdiri dari kumpulan orang-orang yang bekerja sama demi kesejahteraan bersama (definisi yang detil baca di sini)

- semua anggota wajib membayar iuran anggota koperasi

- pengambilan keputusan terbesar dilakukan pada rapat anggota tahunan

- hampir semua badan usaha yang menaungi perusahaan-perusahaan angkutan umum swasta, berbentuk koperasi

- semua perusahaan angkutan umum swasta yang berbentuk koperasi, beranggotakan individu atau kelompok yang memiliki modal berbentuk kendaraan

- supir angkutan umum adalah pegawai yang bertugas mengumpulkan setoran pada pemilik kendaraan, yang nantinya akan menyetorkan iuran anggota kepada koperasi

- izin penggunaan trayek didapatkan dari pemerintah setempat dengan antara lain memenuhi syarat dan menyetor sejumlah uang (syaratnya tidak jelas apa)

Hasil dari perpaduan fakta ini adalah:

- tidak ada pertanggungjawaban (accountability) atas tindakan supir karena mereka bukan anggota koperasi

- perusahaan koperasi tidak bertanggung jawab atas pemeliharaan kendaraan-kendaraannya (ini tapi tergantung juga ke AD/ART koperasi, tapi kita lihat aja kenyataannya)

- tidak ada service level assurance untuk penumpang, bahkan penumpang tidak diperlakukan secara layak, karena memang dalam struktur perusahaan tidak ada tuntutan untuk pelayanan yang baik pada penumpang

- tujuan perusahaan adalah memastikan setoran dari masing-masing anggota sesuai target supaya pembelian trayek periode berikutnya dapat dilakukan

Maka dari itu, para supir-supir angkutan umum kerjaannya ngebut, tidak menghiraukan peraturan lalu lintas, tidak menghiraukan keselamatan, karena satu-satunya cara dia tetap bekerja besok adalah mencapai setoran.

Mungkinkah akan lebih baik kalau perusahaan berbidang usaha angkutan umum diberi syarat 1)harus berbentuk PT, bukan koperasi dan 2)harus menyetujui sebuah service level assurance?

Katanya sih kalau Jakarta mau lebih baik, dan nggak macet melulu, kuncinya di pembangunan jaringan angkutan umum yang lebih baik. Ketimbang bikin-bikin yang baru lagi, benerin yang udah aja, gimana?

Aktifkan RBT Krayola!

Untuk pengguna Indosat:

Ketik SET[spasi]0612637 kirim ke 808 untuk berlangganan bulanan

Biaya Rp 7000/lagu, biaya berlangganan Rp 5500/bulan, belum termasuk PPN

Ketik MG[spasi]0612637 kirim ke 808 untuk berlangganan mingguan

Biaya Rp 2500/lagu/7 hari, belum termasuk biaya SMS Rp 400 + PPN

Untuk pengguna XL:

Ketik 10504424 kirim ke 1818

Biaya Rp 7000/lagu, biaya berlangganan Rp 5500/bulan, belum termasuk PPN

Kunjungi website kami di http://www.krayola.info

Jangan lupa dengerin terus Nubuzz di Prambors FM kota Anda!

original post: http://tinyurl.com/5pfbtx

Vote For Krayola!

Guys, kita minta dukungan dong, supaya lagu kita 'Langkah' bisa masuk ke kompilasi Nubuzz 1.2!

Caranya gampang:

Ketik 

NBKode Kota[spasi]LANGKAH[spasi]Nama Kamu[spasi]Umur Kamu

kirim ke 9123

Contoh:

Ketik NB1[spasi]LANGKAH[spasi]ERIZ[spasi]15 kirim ke 9123

Ini list kode kotanya:

NB1 - JAKARTA
NB2 - SEMARANG
NB3 - YOGYA
NB4 - MAKASSAR
NB5 - SOLO
NB6 - MEDAN
NB7 - BANDUNG
NB8 - SURABAYA

Ayo bantu dukung ya! Krayola bukan apa2 tanpa fans dan pendukungnya!

original post: http://tinyurl.com/6essav

The Unending Bitterness And Continuous Entropy

Something's not right - some things are never right, and yet they remain the way they are. Again and again, the claim to enforce democracy just does the opposite - the needs and interests of the few outweigh the needs and interests of the masses.

Jakarta floods and thousands are displaced as an indirect result of a real estate dispute.

Employees are pushed to the limit to bring results for the company for the same paycheck every month, for shareholders who need their stock price stable or rising.

The development of alternative energy resources is hindered by people who are addicted to the petrodollar - even though everybody knows that oil supplies are quickly diminishing.

Global companies push for constant growth and profit regardless if it is sustainable or not - at the expense of gullible consumers and overworked, underpaid employees.

Today, a pay TV company arubtly cut its broadcasts indefinitely, without prior notice to their subscribers.

Politics take center stage, instead of welfare.

Strike that - money making takes center stage, instead of welfare.

People are not happy anymore. Today, the average guy - Joe The Plumber, so to speak - thinks about surviving until the end of the month, when he hopefully gets his next paycheck. Happiness is sold, with fries on the side, a new dress, a pair of sneakers, some sort of electronic device, or 2 hours in a dark room with many others watching pictures on a big screen. And as it is sold, the happiness quickly runs out once the perceived value spent diminishes.

I'm not suprised that many people choose to find spiritual means to grab that happiness - unfortunately, happiness by that avenue is sold as well (not all, though). Every one has a different set of expectations, though, so it is not the answer for everybody. 

That guy beside you in the traffic jam with horns blaring thinks he is not happy, although he does not realize it. 

The fast food cashier who snubs you when you are ordering doesn't hate you, she hates herself.

The boss yelling at you for unacheived targets doesn't hate you, he's thinking his bosses hate him and is letting off steam.

The street urchin singing at the roadside is frustated that he doesn't have anything to eat today.

The mother of 3 ramming in to you at the mall is simply overwhelmed by her kids' continuous demands for ... everything.

The motorcycle driver cutting lanes actually hates riding a motorcycle but can't afford a car and takes out his envy and frustration on the road.

and so on...

One of the strongest drives inside a human is the urge to better him/herself, to want more...

More is not necessarily better, mind you - and the most important question is more WHAT? 

I think the answer is 'more appreciation' and 'more tolerance' and definitely not 'more money' ... what about you?

Auto 2000 - Lack Of Service And Courtesy

So, as you might know, the Avanza has sustained some injuries over the months since we acquired it. There was the small crash with a gold Innova, and then there was the 'invisible' bench that I ran over. The left rear view mirror has been hit by motorcycles several times, to the point where part of the cover kept falling off and finally strategically fell under the wheels (thankfully the mirror has not received any abuse so far). And to top that off, last night when preparing to pay for parking when leaving from Soulnation, the power window button broke when it was in auto, thus rolling the window all the way down, leaving myself exposed to the elements. The drive home left me breathing exhaust fumes, and I had to avoid the dodgier intersections of Jakarta. It was definitely time for a visit to the repairman.

Like a good Astra customer, I looked up the nearest Auto 2000 garage and settled on the one at T.B Simatupang. We arrived there at 3 pm, a good hour before closing time. There was supposedly a queue number machine, but it could not be seen anywhere, and after watching some other people, apparently the machine was outside. Yes, logical.
So we went back in and sat down, and there was only one CS guy making inane chatter with a customer, and a few other guys doing God knows what, carrying bundles of documents with them, seemingly waiting for another CS. When finally we got a chance to talk to this one CS guy - the only one there out of the 10 CS consoles - and after 15 minutes of waiting, the guy simply said 'we're about to be closed soon, so we can't accept any new customers today'. All said with a stupid smirk.
Flashback to May this year - we went to the same Auto 2000 office to ask about a new Avanza, where the sales rep said that the price and the interest are subject to change even after we made our downpayment, and the new car will only be available in October. Somehow this didn't strike me as a good deal, although I'm guessing this is standard in the auto industry - and the sales rep had this 'I don't need you, you need me' snobbish air about him - probably thinking that he doesn't need to waste time with customers since they come anyway. I might be overreacting, but there are a million ways to treat people, and that guy chose to be snobbish.

Back to this afternoon - we left Auto 2000 without a problem solved and another bad impression - and trundled on to Dutamas Fatmawati where we got the rear view mirrors and power window fixed in 30 minutes.

Seriously, what is wrong ya? My Dad also had a bad experience with Auto 2000. Back when he was still using the Corona, there was trouble starting the engine, but not so much, so Dad took the Corona there with the expectation that service will be good, the parts complete, the repairmen knowledgeable. The Corona came out having even more trouble starting up and having a certain component removed - Dad became angry. Why would the car run worse after servicing? So he told the Auto 2000 guys that he's not paying one cent and he wants the Corona returned to its original state.

So Auto 2000 - better appreciate your customers better. Today's Avanza owners might become tomorrow's Camry owners, if they stay loyal to the Toyota brand, that is.

Souled Out

Last night I went to Soulnation festival, because the office opened a booth and the main sponsor was a client. Watched some shows, and even caught Akon's first song on his show, which I didn't watch further as it was already approaching midnight and I was already too damn sleepy to care.

My thoughts on the festival? JFP have done it again; although the crowd wasn't as packed as you would see at Java Jazz Festival - the other big event run by JFP, if you don't know - I think that for a first-of-its-kind event, the turnout was good, the lineup of booth partners was interesting (there was only 1 empty booth), the sponsors got strong branding, and the music was good. There was even a small tent/room where kids could come and DJ or breakdance - something very interesting to put in the show's program. And yes, I mean kids - I think 80% of the visitors were high school students, complete with hip hop attire. The rest of the people there were either media, part of the commitee, sponsors, or simply a client who got free tickets.

It got me feeling old. Oh well.

The complete ripoff was not the show itself - it was the parking! The kids guarding cars outside the venue - and inside the Senayan sports area - asked for IDR 20.000!!! That's on top of the IDR 3.000 per car that is paid at the entrance of the complex. And if you go there by taxi, good luck finding one going home, which will probably cost you more.

Why You Should Care Who Becomes The Next US President

Well.. .actually, you shouldn't. I don't. The US Presidential race, including the debates, has become a fascination equal to watching a soccer game or anticipating who gets kicked out of American Idol. Yes folks, the US Presidential race is the ultimate reality show!

Why is this? Let's say right now you're rooting for Barack Obama, who knows how nice it is to drink a Teh Botol Sosro in the day's searing heat. Let's also say he wins the election in November. Then what? We go back to our daily lives and nothing ever changes, because what we should care about is who runs our country. 

Then again, the majority of people who run this country don't care about us, so why should we?

Anyway. The networks airing the US Presidential debate received record ratings - as to be expected for a semi or grand final soccer match. And that's probably the only way it touches us. I'd still buy a jersey from my favorite soccer team (not that I like soccer, but this is conjecture...), but would I buy an Obama t-shirt? probably, but not because I support, but more because he just seems way cooler than McCain, who resorted to truth-twisting TVCs to attack Obama, whereas the geek in me liked the comprehensive yet inspirational TVCs put out by Obama. Again, those of my knowledge.

By election time, people will be talking about the electoral vote count and so on just like people tracking the wins and losses of a basketball team. And that's as far as we care about it.

Who Would Joe The Plumber Be In Indonesia?

Asep si tukang tempe bacem

Ferri si tukang tambel ban

Jujuk si tukang jamu

Enci nyang jaga toko kelontong

Bob tukang jual pulsa elektronik

Minah penjual ayam pecel

Meymey tukang nyewain baju pengantin

Odoy si supir taksi

Gatot si tukang DVD bajakan

Arif si tukang mebel

Robert si makelar paspor/SIM

Joni si pelukis gagal yang sekarang nulis puisi

Kalo Joe The Plumber disebut-sebut melulu di kampanye presiden AS, mereka di atas disebut-sebut di kampanye presiden Indonesia gak ya?

I'll Send You My Portfolio

Apple just announced their new series of Macbooks and Macbook Pros. I'm not too inclined to the MBP as I most likely will not use one for professional work... but damn, I want the new Macbook. The looks are a matter of taste, but the features are awesome... and I really want one.

So, anyone need any translation or design work? I'll definitely find the time to do it... on the weekends. I figure if I do simple design work every weekend for Rp 1 million per project, I'd have enough money to buy it in... hm, 4 months. 

So I'd have no life and no rest but have a brand new MacBook! So, interested in helping me with my quest? :D

Are You Annoyed By The Ambiquity Of 'Thing' In This Post? :D

So... the thing that has been taking up a lot of my spare time for the past month or so, is finally finished. Done. Over with. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't need revising.

This morning after SMSing the person I did the thing for... taking care of what she owes back to me because of this thing. A few minutes later, she called, saying she miscalculated in what she owes, and needs to get back to me.

Ah well. Worst case scenario, the thing done will not be returned with an equal favor. But not everything's about taking and giving equally, is it? I can't even be upset about it, because there's nothing I can do...

Krayola on Prambors!

I was in a long meeting just now, but Eriz kept calling, and I finally picked up the phone. She said "HEY LISTEN NOW TO PRAMBORS! THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG!!" (yes, she yelled a bit but she's always loud).

So I left the room for a bit, turned on the radio and managed to hear the final licks of Krayola's song titled 'Langkah'. 

I'm smiling and I don't care about work today... I'll care about it tomorrow, haha :D

The Older You Get...

Time is such a relative thing, as Einstein once postulated. To keep things short, he explained that time for a person standing still and time for a person on a moving object is different, relative to the speed the person moving is. The faster he is, the bigger the difference.

Somehow, the older we get, the less time we have. Not in the way if you are a certain age, then you only have a certain number of years left to live... but well..

Let's put it this way. On this day, 4 years ago, I had time to blog every day, perhaps because this blog was new (which I will discuss in another post). On this day, 10 years ago, I was still a clueless freshman convincing himself he can draw properly (and utterly failing), but still spending the entire day drawing, then fooling around afterwards with friends.

Fast forward to today. I have to plan my weekends in advance, the job takes more than 8 hours a day (not including travel time), and my spare time is divided between additional projects, family time, cleaning up the house and all its related chores, and so on. Some people say I'm very organized, but how wrong they are - my work schedules are always a mess, especially with the varying activities and meetings (and thus my dependency on a scheduling device like the Blackberry).

I'm not complaining, but somehow my time is being sucked up somewhere - I used to have all the time in the world...

It's Not That We're Not Grateful, But...

I happened to get some parcels from some clients, as is the tradition in Idul Fitri, which are usually filled with food, tableware or anything else under the sun presentable as a gift in line with the festivities.

One parcel was filled with food, and a good 45 minutes was spent with Pitty in taking it apart (as it was addressed to both of us) - all the food packages were either tied together with multiple layers of sticky tape, or with generous amounts of glue; the kind used with a glue gun and effectively becomes plastic when dry. Kind of OK.

I brought home the second parcel as it was tableware - and the geniuses that put together the parcel used a glue gun to stick the plates together. Yes. A glue gun. Saski spent a good hour taking apart the parcel last night and praised the intelligence of the parcel maker for using a glue gun for tableware, especially for a couple of plates we still can't seperate.

The other parcel I got was also afflicted the same way, so the CD that came with it still has the blobs of glue attached to it. Luckily the other objects were easier to seperate from the blobs of glue.

I am very grateful that some clients thought of me enough to send me parcels, wherever they got the parcels - but I am seriously questioning the parcel makers, are you thinking with your head? After the incidents some years ago with parcels containing expired food products, you'd think they'd pay a little more attention to the contents. I know what I'm bitching about is non-essential, but seriously, if people put more thought in what they do, the world would be a much, much better place, and I'd have less to bitch about.