the importance of learning musical instruments

One of my biggest regrets ever is that I quit my piano courses when I was in junior high. Although my parents had already pushed me to continue, my sense of boredom defeated me and I used school's assignments and exams as excuses. Now, I can only lament the consequences.

Besides it makes you happy, healthy and feel young, I have an example of the consequences that I realized recently. It was when I got home and heard my brother playing some instrumental pieces. I said to him I felt so good hearing them and I felt like in heaven. No kidding. A thought crossed my mind, my brother could make a fortune from this. He could get millions only from teaching piano (His piano courses cost 700k rupiahs per month, with only 30 minutes face-to-face with his piano teacher per week), performing in events or maybe as hotels regular pianist. And he won't be needing any other job. Then I looked to myself, I got 600k rupiahs per moth from teaching a high school student, while he could get 2 millions rupiahs in just 2 hours from playing piano. He could get to play in a comfy hall with air conditioners, while I had to drive my motorbike through rain to get to my students house. And sometimes when I got to their house, they didn't even there.
I wish I didn't quit learning piano, but what can I say... From now on, I will always try to never quit on something. I will finish everything I start. I'm not a quitter.

I've been jealous with my brother lately, add to everything above, he has been joining saxophone courses for about 6 moths and had already performed in my mother's office christmas event last year. I have to admit, he has such a big talent in music and I'm far away behind.

Road to Pekalen

In a few months, we, "Geng Orad" STAPALA, will hold a trip to Pekalen River in Probolinggo, East Java. This  trip is restricted for STAPALA members (all divisions, not only rafters).

About Pekalen River:

Pekalen River is located in between Ranu Gendang Village and Condong Village, Probolinggo, East Java. It takes approximately 3 hours from Surabaya City. This river is famous for its crystal clear water and also its magnificent sceneries. 


Pekalen River's divided into three parts. Pekalen Atas, which is 12-km trip, Pekalen Tengah, 7-km trip, and Pekalen Bawah, 10-km trip. Pekalen Bawah has 32 rapids. And every rapid has its own name. The famous one is Indosat rapid. That name was given because there was an Indosat high-official who fell into the rapid. Pekalen Atas is very special to me personally. It has 55 rapids such as "Welcome", "Batu Jenggot", "Pandawa", "Rajawali", "Xtravaganza", "Triple Ace", "The Fly Matador", "Hiu", "Cucak Rowo", and "Goodbye". Also, we can see the beauty of 10 waterfalls there. And we'll pass below  the waterfalls.  Another great thing about Pekalen is that we can see a breath-taking scenery of caves with thousands of bats.

For STAPALA members, who are interested in joining our trip to Pekalen River, here are the terms and conditions: 

1. You MUST join our exercises before going to Pekalen. The first exercise will be held on Sunday, 27th May 2012. The location will be announced on this site later. 
2. You MUST join our trip to "Cisadane Atas" River, which will be held on 1st - 3rd June 2012. This trip is a simulation trip for Pekalen River. 
3. You MUST confirm your participation to the contact person below. 

Contact Person:
MACUT 945/SPA/2011 - +6287852710050

Get the feeling you won't ever forget here! The sensation is SUPERB!!!

The Jakarta Game Show 2011

Game lovers, brace yourselves for the biggest game show in the country. The Jakarta Game Show 2011 will take place in Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) from November 2 to 6, featuring various local and international game publishers and developers who will be boasting about their latest innovations. The game publishers include Wave Game, Paveo, Prodigy, and IAH Game. Expect to see World Soccer Winning Eleven 2012, The Kings of Fighter XIII, Tekken Hybrid, Three Kingdoms and Heroes of Three Kingdoms. For more information visit www.ameshow.com So, who wants to join the fun?! :)

grand indonesia shopping town

I must admit that I used to be a shopaholic, but now I have changed (not fully changed, though). In Jakarta, the temptation to spend money is far greater than in Surabaya. It's so difficult for me to make savings here. The large number of shopping centers in Jakarta isn't helping either. Based on a survey in late 2010, Jakarta is the city with the world's largest amount of shopping malls, about 170 malls.

I've been to some of the biggest malls in Jakarta, such as Grand Indonesia, Senayan City, Central Park, and Pacific Place, and I have to say, Grand Indonesia's my favorite. Grand Indonesia Shopping Town is one of the largest upscale shopping centres in Southeast Asia with over 130,000 m² (1,400,000 sq ft) of high end retail space. It's located on the Hotel Indonesia Circle in Jakarta. It has 8 floors and divided into two, namely West Mall and East Mall. It's no joke if it's called one stop entertainment. An eleven screen cineplex, Blitzmegaplex opened in March 2007 while Seibu, a Japanese department store opened in May 2007 in the West Mall. Grand Indonesia Shopping Town also hosts Chanel and Prada boutiques in the East Mall. Harvey Nichols was located in the mall but was closed down September in 2010. Grand Indonesia has luxury stores such as: Chanel, Massimo Dutti, Burberry, Gucci, Raoul, etc. 

Grand Indonesia West Mall

Grand Indonesia interior

What I love about Grand Indonesia is that it has everything, I mean it has so many stores and a wide range of a selection of items. It also divided into some districts, which every district has it's own theme like medieval, modern, etc. What makes Grand Indonesia is different from other shopping center is that it has a beautiful dancing fountain. The dancing-fountain is not as spectacular as in Vegas, but it's still fun to watch. So if you gonna visit Jakarta, Grand Indonesia is the place to visit besides Monas. 

the dancing fountain

i'm not a pussy

On a crowded night somewhere in the middle of Jakarta, I and four of my buddies were having a really good time. We joked, we laughed, and we shared some stories together. One of my friends, whom I just met, offered me a cigarette and a lighter. "It's really good, you should try it", he said. "No, thanks, I'm good", I replied. I could see the look on his face that he was unhappy to hear my response, and blurted What the fuck! Since when did you become a sissy?! Is it now the time for you to work, eh?

Since junior high school, I can't remember how many times I was offered cigarettes and being ridiculed if I rejected the bids. Even a couple of my girlfriends said that I wasn't manly enough if I didn't smoke. Well, it didn't always happen, some of my friends could understand and respect my decision, but some others couldn't accept that. Is it wrong if I don't want to smoke?! The same treatment happened if I refused to drink (alcohol) or when I didn't want to do free sex. They always called me such a pussy, what a goody-goody boy or such a mama's boy. 

krakatoa and stung by a jellyfish

One of the most beautiful places I've been to is Mount Krakatoa Child. It's located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. I went there with my fellow STAPALA mates and some participants for the event general mountain hiking that was held by STAPALA in July 2011. STAPALA held this event in order to earned more money for Mount Elbrus Expedition in Russia. 

There were 34 participants joined this event. We gathered some of the participants at STAN (my campus) and the other participants at Kampung Rambutan Terminal. The participants were from many universities, not only from STAN. Some of them were from Bandung and Bogor. After participants gathered in Kampung Rambutan, We took the last bus from Kampung Rambutan to Merak Port in Banten. From Merak Port we took a boat to Lampung. We were on the boat for approximately 3 hours. The view from the boat when we were about to arrive at Lampung was breath-taking! The islands were magnificent! We perpetuated the view by taking photos as many as possible. Everybody was very excited!

batak tribe couple

Yesterday my old friend, Athalia, chatted me on Facebook. She asked me about Batak indigenous. She told me that she had to broke up with his boyfriend because his mother told him to be with Batak tribe girl, although he was still in love with her. 

It's sad but true, most Batak parents want their children to have a pair of Batak tribe. There are many reasons why this is happening. As for myself, my parents do not force me to have a Batak partner. But as the oldest son and the oldest grandchildren in my big family, I feel I just have to find a Batak tribe girl.

I have to say the first reason why this is happening is that Batak parents still want to preserve the indigenous Batak to their offspring. Like the customary, the clothes, the language, and other things. It is known that the bonding among fellow Batak tribal is very strong. It can be seen from a Batak wedding. All the family from near to far, various Batak clans (marga) would come, even just to one Batak wedding. I think the parents want to keep that tradition. 

Other reason maybe because the parents are afraid if their children married to non-Batak, their big family might excommunicate the couple. The family wouldn't say it, but now it's a common knowledge. There's a way to prevent this excommunicate thing. If