Another Victoria's Secrets

This actually happened more than two weeks ago (Mar 3-5, 2016) but I hadn't have time to write about it so I will now. The company I work for, Brilio.net, bought me a ticket to Yogyakarta so I went there by 7 a.m. AirAsia flight. I was told to wait for the Jakarta group but apparently someone from the tour & travel company picked me up and drove me to the hotel.

nobody was there so I had free breakfast alone

So I got in the Neo+ Awana Hotel by around 9 a.m. and nobody from the company was there. But at around 11.00 the groups from both Yogyakarta and Jakarta came. I knew only Ivana at first, my colleague in Bali. Then I got to know more of the English team and then a lot more. For the first day we stayed mostly in the hotel's meeting room, listening to presentations and had group discussion.

Mang Engking castle restaurant

At dinner time we went by bus to Mang Engking restaurant in Jl. Soragan, Godean. It is a Sundanese restaurant but what made it special was the old castle in the complex. The dinner was served as the band played music for us, then one by one stepped on the stage to do karaoke for ice breaking. After that most of the people went back to hotel rooms, but I went to Alun-Alun Kidul with 3 others.

Maria, Aldio, two guys from next table, Ivana and me at Alun-Alun Kidul

It was Aldio's idea at first and Maria, Ivana and I came along. Our goal was to pass the blind-walking through the twin trees from north to south, but none of us made it. Ivana and Maria turned to the east while Aldio and I to the west. Apparently none of us had such peaceful mind that we all failed. After that we had some hot drinks by lesehan at the east part of the field.

Slili beach

The next day we all woke up early and by 7.30 two buses departed to Gunung Kidul (South Mountains), in Bantul area in the south. I was again in the Jakarta bus because the Yogya bus was all packed. We headed first to Slili beach, next to Krakal, in line with Baron beach, east of Parangtritis. I went to Krakal in 2011 with my cousin Anna and her Dutch friends, and this time I had more time to explore the two beaches (read here for the story and here for some tips while in Yogyakarta).

Krakal beach

We had lunch at Goa Pindul tour by Wirawisata and had some outdoor fun activity before we went to the Pindul Cave by small trucks. The cave has a river flowing underneath and we could float through it using tire tubes the tour company provides, complete with life vest and rubber shoes. We had to hold hands to keep the flow in line and the guys next to me were Aldio and Yoshi. At the end of the cave the guide made us get off the tubes so we got all wet there.

via traveleastjogja.xyz

The trip wasn't over though. We had to walk a little bit and had another truck brought us to a bigger brown-water river where we could continue floating on tubes. It is a bit like rafting but we don't have to row--just lie relaxed on the tube and enjoy the scenery around--it was splendid when you face backwards. There are some 5-7 meters high cliffs people can jump off and a short waterfall we could feel the water bumps on our heads and shoulders. The tubing wasn't far but it was nice already. Read more about Pindul Cave here.

they got me duet singing with Yoshi

Sekar Kedhaton

  
We headed back to the city that took about 2 hours drive and had a stop at Tugu Chocolate shop at Kotagede area before the Javanese gala dinner at Sekar Kedhaton just across the street. It was another karaoke night and they got me sing for 2 songs (I hope they could bear the torture). We called it a day earlier and headed back to the hotel because we still had some group task for the next day.

the presentation on last day

gudeg tahu at Yu Djum

The last day went quickly because after breakfast and photo session we were back to the meeting room and had each group presenting the task given. I had to leave early at around 12.30 p.m. and went to the airport with the same driver who picked me on first day. We had a quick gudeg lunch at Gudeg Yu Djum on the way and got in the airport in time.

the souvenir I placed on my TV cabinet now

I flew back to Bali by myself but brought back a lot of nice memories with new friends home. I think this is the best company I've ever work for, because we share the same vision--which is important for efficient work between employer and employees. Well, I hope to stay long here!

my prayer for the day went with an offering to the sea

Guess I was still in the mood of Nyepi (Hindu's Silence Day that happened last week on Mar 9th) so I decided to spend my 32nd birthday just by myself. I turned my birthday notification in Facebook private and started the date by midnight in silence. It was surprising to see who really remembers and without any notification. Some of the close family forgot but unexpected friends remembered. It just so random it's fun to know. Ironically, none of the people that I meet daily here knows/remembers my birthday. Well, it's okay tho.

to have someone who looks up to you like this is the most precious birthday gift ever

I also just figured out that I share the same birth date with two new friends: Ratna whom I met casually few months back and Dhea Seto, the young artist. The latter one I found pretty hilarious, because I think we are admiring each other. Dhea said that I inspired her and I think she's an amazing talented young person herself. She's just 18 while I'm 32.

another lovely & touching birthday greeting that I got from my cousin <3 i=""> <3 br="">

I woke up earlier than usual to enjoy the 'silence' and as the day went by I had fun having unexpected people greeted me. But at around 2-3 p.m. people started to broke the silence and posted on my timeline, on Whatsapp groups and suddenly messages were coming in. After working at home like usual, at 4 p.m. I decided to go to the beach and so I went.

Sanur beach

I went to Sanur beach instead of my favorite sunset spot, Petitenget. Sanur has its own beauty and magical force that I picked it as I really needed the magic back then. The calm beach really made my day, and I spent my grateful moment there for another 30 minutes enjoying the bluish scenery before I had to go back home.


The rest of my birthday was just like any ordinary day, only that I got some surprises as the day was ending. An old friend came unexpectedly and he brought a lot of laughter to brightened up my night. The next day, an ex told me that "awesome people celebrate birthday in one week" so therefore I extended the celebration for the next day, which made my last 3 birthdays really blessed and complete.

wonderful birthday dinner by the beach at Mano<3 i="">

So for everyone who greeted me a happy birthday, I thank thee. For someone who took part in celebrating my day and complemented it, I am forever grateful, loved and naz*. And for everyone who's reading this, I wish you the happiness that I feel now--may the odds be ever in your favor!

Thank you!<3 i="">
<3 i="">

<3 i="">

<3 i="">*) Naz (n.) means the pride that comes from knowing that you are loved no matter what you do.

 
It's been a while for me to write stuff for my own pleasure. I'm now writing articles daily for Brilio.net and just found the pattern that works for me as I am working remotely. Last night, a scriptwriter friend invited me to his friend's place (where he stayed for Nyepi) and we chatted from 11 p.m. until almost 4 a.m.--the time when he had to be heading to the airport and go back to Jakarta.

I think among all of the character studies, the most interesting one is when someone is giving their perspective on you. You will always hear something new about yourself, the sides you didn't see before. And last night, along with 2 cans of Bintang beer, I got myself zapped back to the literary world. We discussed a lot about life and its many perspectives.

Last night Ipang (famous with his real name M. Irfan Ramli) said some interesting stuff about me, exactly the same thing an Uber driver said to me just about a week earlier. It's just interesting to find two different people say about the same thing, isn't it? He said that I am a structured person, both from my gestures and words. I guess that also makes me a quite conservative person, which he also said. And that I was a very calm person, which made me wonder how restless the people he'd met.

I don't really like to labeling something, especially to describe myself--the thing I often have trouble with. People say you can trust people you can have conversation with until 3 a.m. because they will talk the truth. And you just got to trust your gut in trusting a person. Your radar will warn you if it's the otherwise.

Anyway, it's not that I'm taking all that people said about me, and neither should you. I'm just saying that it's interesting to hear how people see you from their perspective. Sometimes new adjectives are given, making you wonder if your character/personality is really like that. But most of all, the discussion really intrigued me to write about something other than the Nuswantara trilogy and articles for Brilio. So I guess I should thank him for the time and worth discussion!