Oranges And Olives

I have some blogger friends from Palestine. I never met them face to face, but I knew them from their words. Their hopes, their fears, their angers, their pains, their courages, can be found in their stories.
Two of them are Ned in Ramallah and alajnabiya ( I think she's in West Bank). They haven't write for some times now, and I miss their posts.

Alajnabiya, she posted great pictures from her yard.
Like this one, from her last post on March 31.



While Ned, his last post was on March 27.
Here is his first post on July 2006.

Well, well, well... finally I got my blogspot. It has indeed been a tiresome journey- Like all journeys in this country, Palestine.
So I try every single blog name I could think of, first the traditionals country name, city name etc... it kills me that people have used up names I would have liked to use, when they have not posted a word since 3 years ago.
I liked one of the spots, which had an entry labelled first post, but apparently it was also the last.
so all the names are taken, it amazes me how many Israelis are out there on cyber space. They have taken up even arabic names like Al-Quds.
So I want on to try metaphorical names. I try milk and honey... that's taken too... but anyway I would not take a biblical name.
So this was it, Oranges and (O)lives... very Palestinian... Since we are mainly farmers.. and Since everyone out there knows that Jaffas are the best oranges in the world- oranges that you should not buy, of course. First because they are stolen, second because they help the celptocrats* steal more.
It is turning out that I am jumping from one topic to the next. So I will end now by mentioning what I intend to do. Basically, I am a Palestinian, a very concerned one. I see things happening around me, and I keep thinking that everyday there is something about Palestine that I wish to shout out to the whole world.
So here I shout.

I'm waiting for his newest shouts :)

I hope they're alright there. God bless them all.

Reminiscing (warning : for mellow minds only)

Balikpapan mendung pagi ini.
Sambil menunggu listrik yang pagi-pagi masih dangdutan berkat maintenance genset aku merapikan tumpukan di bawah meja komputer. Dan menemukan organizer hitam lusuh jaman kuliah.

Di halaman pertama ada catatan kuliah Etika Bisnis Pak Raka "You don't have to cheat to win" dan "There is no right way to do a wrong thing". Atau "If you always confronted with easy choices you don't build a character".
Catatan ini kutulis di balik skrap PTI dengan tabel berisi 'Prefabrikasi', 'Fabrikasi' dan 'Assembly'lengkap dengan CO Saw, Circ. saw, Planner, Jointer, Disc Sand, dan Drill Press-nya... :)

Di halaman-halaman selanjutnya ada beberapa coret-coretan tentang
"asistensi SISPROD-12.30"
"tenis bareng mas ganthang!!"
"PR MI chapt 9-10"
"PR Mankua (2 biji!)->tighten"
"tanding bola 97 vs 98, nonton?"
"April, 30, 2001..HAPPY B'DAY DEAR POEJI...asik, makan-makan!!!"
"May, 7, 2001...a half year!!"

Ah, aku mellow kronis sekarang ^^

Lalu beberapa lirik lagu :
'Dan' SO7, di bagian bawah kertas tertulis July 20, 1999 dan sebuah tempelan kulit kerang yang entah dari mana. Apa dari meru betiri ya?
'With You' Boyzz Bario, July 27 1999. Midnite song ketika belajar di Ciheulang.
'Meniti Pelangi' Andhien, 'Sendiri' Coklat, 'Nada Indah' Glenn, 'Kosong' Pure Saturday, 'We fly so close' Genesis, lagu-lagu KLA..

No wonder i was so messed up back then :)

Sebuah puisi yang kusalin dari buku puisi yang kubaca di perpustakaan British Council di ITB, my comfort zone selain meja-meja di lantai bawah Perpus, lapangan tenis depan SC Timur dan jogging track Sabuga.

Judulnya Night Physician.

I love the moon
sometimes as much as I love the sun.
The moon offers a place to hide-
the night rider who comforts me
when the sun has done with me.

Not always but more often than not
I am not quite sure
if the moon is friend or enenmy;
true, it does offer protection
from the public glare,
but it also locks me in myself,
makes me aware of how unimportant I am
and destroys all those high ideals I had.

That perhaps is where the moon becomes a true friend
for it reminds me of man's equality,
it breaks down fears and prejudices
and restores a man's belief in himself
and in his fellow man.
Night is the healer of the summer wounds
that patches up the sky
in readiness for the day.

Di halaman berikutnya sebuah puisi sisa-sisa patah hati yang kutulis di Jogja, Juni 2000.

Angin menerbangkanku sampai kesana
Alun-alun Suryakencana yang beku
semak-semak edelweiss yang tertidur
jejak setapak yang mengabur

Masih kudengar langkah-langkah kaki kita
berlari, melompati batu demi batu
menempuh satu tanjakan lagi
mencoba mengejar matahari
Lelah kaki, deru detak jantung,
kalah oleh inginku melihat keindahan Tuhan
yang selalu kelihat sambil mengenangmu.

Kita telah disana, sahabat tercinta.
Sungguh, Puncak Gede tak akan pernah seindah itu,
langitnya tak akan berwarna sebening itu,
matahari tak akan kurasakan sehangat pagi itu, 1 Agustus 1999.
Dan dirimu sahabat, tidak akan pernah lagi ada disampingku
seperti saat itu.

Perjalanan yang tidak ada akhirnya.
Dan ketika kita tidak lagi menolah ke belakang
yang kulakukan hanyalah mencoba mencapai puncak-puncak lainnya
menyelesaikan pendakian demi pendakian selanjutnya
dengan hanya berpijak di bumiku sendiri,
tanpa uluran tanganmu.

Dan angin kembali meniup wajah lelahku
menerbangkanku kesana
alun-alun suryakencana yang beku
semak-semak edelweiss yang tertidur
dan jejak setapak yang mengabur.

Geez..As cheesy as one two three ^^

Di bagian Address kubaca nama-nama familiar. Nomor telepon yang kalau ku-dial hampir pasti tidak akan diangkat oleh nama yang sama.

Artanti 022 -2516453
Cristin 022 -2501353
Deddy Wijaya 0274-864131
Erdhani 0274-868833
Estiworo Tyas 022 -2512737
Elis 021 -4714144
Gamet 022 -2509747
Ganthang 022 -2513407
Jupri 022 -6006328
May Sari 022 -6648168
Trisasi 0274-882639
Trisa 022 -2504366
Taryanto 022 -2503102
Wedha 022 -2515842

Di bagian finance, kutemukan post it kuning kecil dengan tulisan :

Kopi Papah 33.000
Makan makan 4.500
nelpon 600

Waktu itu tiap pulang ke Jogja aku selalu menelpon rumah dan nanya apa kopi papah masih ada. Biasanya aku membelikan kopi Arabica kesukaan Papah di sebuah toko kopi tua di daerah ABC. Bapak penjualnya pernah mengijinkan aku dan Papah masuk ke gudang penyimpanan dan pengolahan kopi yang remang dan harum.

Suatu hari kalau ke Bandung aku harus membeli kopi Arabika lagi..

Dan sekarang awan gelap di langit Balikpapan telah berubah menjadi hujan.

My best friend's wedding

I have a friend.
I've known him for 13 years now.

One of the nicest and kindest persons i've ever known.
A great leader, a good friend, a helpful brother...

Lawu, Semeru, Merbabu, Sumbing...berapa gunung yang pernah kami jelajahi bersama ya?
Terutama Sumbing! ^_^
Karena dia terjebak bersamaku yang terkilir disana, dan kami semua sampai di Jogja sehari lebih lambat.

We love the mountain so much...

A smiling face.
Someone you can share your laughter and your worries.
A warm heart.
Someone with strong morale and caring heart.
Tertawanya akan membuat orang lain ikut tersenyum.
Semangatnya akan membantu orang lain terus berjalan.
Dia adalah salah satu dari sedikit orang yang bisa menyimpan rahasia.

I used to call him Indian when we were at high school.
Don't know whether he knew that or not :P

Ketika aku mulai menyukai gunung, almarhum Papah memberiku sebuah kompas. Kompas tua yang beliau pakai sejak masih sering bertugas di pedalaman Kalimantan.
Beberapa tahun yang lalu di Bandung, sahabatku meminjam kompas itu. Dan menghilangkannya.
It broke my heart, and i think he knew it really well.
But years went by, and i forget about it.

Like vitamin C in Graduation song said :
So if we get the big jobs and we make the big money,
When we look back now will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school,
Still be trying to break every single rule?
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us round,
Or will these memories fade when I leave this town?
I keep, keep thinking that its not goodbye,
Keep on thinking its our time to fly

Maret 2006, dia meninggalkan sebuah kotak kepada adikku Mala di Jogja. Waktu itu aku masih di Balikpapan. Isinya adalah sebuah kompas, dengan sebuah kartu kecil berwarna hijau.

So, my friend, like what you wrote on that card
"Kagem sahabatku, bahagiaku untukmu..."

Kapan-kapan kita naik gunung lagi ya ^_^

from bandung with...

pulang dari bandung, a different bandung.

gak seperti yang kuingat. melewati jalan-jalan yang gak kukenal.

ada beberapa yang sama, seperti RM Padang saiyo di depan Borma Sadang Serang.

tempat favoritku makan nasi padang (sayang masih tutup),

mie akung (ini dewo yang ngidam) yang gak seistimewa dulu...

Yang lain? FO dan FO dan FO....

rasanya nyaman sampai ke Bintaro lagi.

gak nyangka aku bakal bilang ini, hehehe...

acara reuni siang di kampus? asik!

krucil gak terlalu rewel karena dah tidur di mobil dari jkt-bdg.

di opulence?

well, rada telat mulai dan akhirnya dimas ngamuk minta jatah.

akhirnya dianterin staf opulence ke ruang di belakang nan spooky.

Untung bareng Ratna n Sasya...

sementara si bapak dewo malah nge-band (plak!!!!)

ketemu dede dan rahman, yang masih bikin aku ketawa.

ketemu yuli, yang selalu nanya kapan aku nulis buku (hahahaha...).

ketemu 'om' jujuk, yang disayang pisan sama damar.

ketemu setengah dari orang-orang yang sempat 5 tahun yang bagian dari keseharianku di bandung...

the most touching moment...

don't know why,

tapi waktu ngeliat slide foto-foto oldies dan soundtracknya mentari 'ospek'!

that's all from bandung!

see you 5 years from now my friends...