Ramadhan

A very good read.

Tentang rasa tomat..

Sebuah percakapan di pagi yang sangat cerah di musim (yang sering terlalu) panas ini dengan seorang kenalan.

Ia adalah seorang ibu separuh baya dari Romania yg telah berpuluh tahun hidup disini. Jadwal bus yg sama tiap pagi mengawali perkenalan kami. Pada jam yg sama ia harus mengawali kerjanya di rumah sakit panti jompo beberapa meter dari kampusku. Dan semenjak ritual pertukaran senyum kami setiap pagi kuakhiri dengan sebuah perkenalan nekat dengan bahasa itali seadanya, pagi kami, ketika kami beruntung dapat bertemu, selalu dihiasi dengan percakapan pendek pengisi waktu.

Pagi ini topik kami adalah mengenai liburan musim panas.

Setelah 4 tahun lamanya tak pulang, tahun ini ia akan mengambil 2 minggu libur untuk menjenguk ibunya, dan tinggal di rumah putrinya yg sudah berkeluarga di Romania.

Komentarku mengenai kawan apartemen lamaku dulu dari Romania yg selalu berbekal daging awetan khas Romania membuatnya bercerita mengenai kecintaannya pada makanan Romania. Ia bercerita tentang betapa semua jauh lebih bercitarasa, segar, dan lebih segala-galanya dibanding Italia; suatu hal yang mengejutkan bagiku yg sangat terbiasa mendengar betapa orang menyanjung-nyanjung semua hasil bumi dan makanan Italia. Ia bercerita tentang rasa tomat yg segar, yang tidak dipanen pada malam hari sebagaimana di Italia. Tentang makanannya yang jauh lebih bercita rasa dan membuatnya amat sulit beradaptasi pada masa awal ia memulai hidup di Italia. Tentang semua hal yg lebih baik kecuali nomimal pendapatan dari pekerjaan disana... hal yang membuat ia sekeluarga memutuskan berpindah ke Italia.

Dan aku terkenang pada tanah airku, yang dalam hal kuliner sangat kubanggakan tiada tara. Akan tetapi menurutku adalah lumrah kuliner Indonesia kuanggap juara dibanding Italia. Dengan segala kekayaan rempah dan hasil bumi Indonesia, yg juga membuat kita terjajah, adalah sewajarnya kita memiliki budaya kuliner yang jauh lebih beragam dibanding negara-negara Eropa.

Oleh karena itu klaim ibu itu mengenai superioritas kuliner Romania, yg notabene negara Eropa juga, kuiyakan dengan skeptisme...

Akan tetapi kemudian kusadari...
Tanah air, bagi setiap orang memiliki romantisme tersendiri.
Rasa tomat Romania mungkin tidak sebanding dengan rasa tomat Roma bila diujikan pada panel internasional. Mengingat tomat Italia, khususnya San Marzano sering sekali disebut-sebut sebagai tomat terbaik di dunia.
Walaupun, boleh jadi, tomat Romania memang benar jauh lebih enak, hanya belum banyak yg mengetahuinya.

Apapun itu... rasa adalah hal yang subjektif.
Dan rasa tomat Romania bagi ibu itu telah dibalut dengan semua nostalgia dan kenangan mengenai tanah airnya, tentu saja tak mungkin ditandingi tomat terbaik dari Roma pun.

Bagiku pun... tidak ada makanan Itali yang bisa kukatakan paling enak. Bahkan juga makanan Indonesia. Karena yg paling enak adalah makanan (buatan) ibuku, apalagi yg langsung disuapkan langsung dari tangannya ketika anak-anaknya yg sudah besar ini dengan manja menginterupsi sesi makan beliau. Rasanya... tak tertandingi :)

화이팅! Hwaiting!*

I've been in a slump the past weeks (even months...)
now that I realize it, I have even rather abandoned this blog.
That says something about the indicator of my level of happiness I guess?

I'm supposed to complete my research soon, and I've been very much expecting to finally conclude this phase of my life and moving on.

Yet, every approach I made in any directions seems to just again and again hit the wall.

Stuck, stuck and stuck, repeat that in a recursion without any base case, and that's what I've been experiencing with my research.
Such is the life of a researcher I guess, just as my Prof. said, if it isn't hard there's no need for a research for it anyway *cue for a sad laugh*

Few days ago my friend talked about "The Secret". Self-help book and movie that motivates people to envision their dreams and goals, and proclaims that that's the secret to achieving anything that you want.

To be brutally honest, I don't believe in any self-help methods.

I think they all are there to state the obvious: that everything is inside you, and if you believe it and do your best, you can do it!

After all, it's in my religion.
It's sunnatullah, when you want something very much and work very hard for it, you'll achieve it.
Man jadda wa jadda as conveyed by the novel "Lima Menara"
It's the alchemist secret as written by Paulo Coelho.

And such is my view to this self-help method that my friend explained to me.
She motivated me to use this method to envision my PhD completion.

I just smiled,
but I did my thinking...
when I take a look at myself,
..before I realize it apparently I've already lost my view of my goal...
Deep down I somehow already held no belief and hope with the future of this research..

While that's not the reason I'm stuck...
that's the reason I'm in a slump.

Before I realized it I've lost my trust in myself to be able to do well, to stay positive and keep on fighting.

And... just as a final concluding scene usually accompanied by a memorable sound track,
somehow today I found myself checking kpop news and stumbled into news of Super Junior's new music video for it's new album, Mr.Simple(I really love the jazzy beginning. Was somehow hoping that the song would continue like that, it would be awesome!).
And here's Mr.Simple lyrics translated.

Unlike the usual kpop lyrics that I found not making any sense sometimes, this one just hits close to home in more than one way.

It’s just that my personality goes good then bad, so what! There must be times when my performance goes up then down too
It’s okay, it’s also good to rest then keep going, because everything has its time

it's okay, dear myself, it's okay!

Let’s go, let’s go, let’s hurry and go, let’s go back when we are blocked. If it’s too troublesome you feel like dying, just for today let’s play first
Anyway when this harsh world runs like hell, I’m the only one that is worn out. Just wait, just save it, because your day will come soon

Yesh, my time and day will come soon! When I can finally graduate! *crossing fingers*

We are living in this world where annoying things aren’t just one or two, know that too
What is so hard about this? We just have to eat well, sleep well and do well too, that will do

yeah... after all it's just that simple... what else can I do anyway?

If you’re mad, go meet your friend and release it by talking behind their backs (Alright!) Alright
If you’re distressed, sing a song, scream out loud and blow it away (Alright!) Alright, Alright

Well... talking behind their backs, not okay... good for me it's not people that I'm mad of :D
But, hell yeah, I sure always and will scream it out loud when I sing to release my stress!
(Unfortunately, not with Super Junior songs though, rage screams don't seem to fit well with dance and ballad songs I think? xD)

So yeah, I'll keep it simple! What is so hard about this? I'll just have to eat well, sleep well and do well too, that will do!

I pride myself in taking KPOP like a grown up: level headed, objective, and appreciative yet not anywhere near any KPOP dedicated fangirl .
But for this one:
Kyaaaaaaa, SuJu!!!!!! xD
Thank you so much for the perfect timed release of this song!

Hwaitinggggg!

*Hwaiting is Korean-English way to say fighting, to cheer up and motivate people :D

edit : ok, after some more thoughts and the euphoria has passed :
- the lyrics of that songs indeed are still weird at certain points,
- the song itself isn't as catchy as bonamana or sorry sorry,
- the moves aren't very much new, the signature move from sorry sorry is repeated (as a tribute I suppose?)
I still love the lyrics though, that's all my criticism to make the song review balanced I guess :D