Look at the News Today!
I posted this and this at the beginning of the month, but they all chose to shrug it off. Well THIS is just in the news today. Since it’s rude to say “I told you so”, please give me some space to laugh out loud please. LMFAO ROFL PMSL
They said they’d give them a ballroom and booth? They’d better keep their words.
The Littlest Things That Take Me There
I have to admit that I’m afraid of my supervisor, my boss. She’s this very clever, stern, and strict woman, well, everything about her intimidates me. She’s the kind of woman I’m afraid to ask questions to, because I don’t want her to think I’m stupid. She’s just that scary to me LOL I find myself having a hard time to even just relax and chat with her.
The other day, I woke up to a lot of text and questions in the morning. As usual, I answered them all in my staccato style. Only answer what needs to be answered. I’m not a morning person and I get very cranky when I just wake up, so you can imagine how short my answers were that morning. A few hours later when I was more refreshed, I looked back at my text and wondered if I sounded too harsh. My friends are used to it, but you’ll never know.
That’s when I know that I don’t have that much of a difference with my boss in terms of attitude.
The next funny thing is, a junior of mine from law school has just released her first novel. She wrote about feminism and law, a combination of topic that I often avoid, but since it’s her writing, I got a little bit intrigued. So I checked out a little bit of the book and this is what I found in the description:
Passionku adalah bekerja di lembaga bantuan hukum. Kalau aku bekerja di lawfirm, lalu siapa yang membela kaum marginal seperti aku? Kaum perempuan korban laki-laki biadab yang hanya menggunakan perempuan sebagai alat pemuas seks belaka- Mutiara.
“Aku nggak butuh jutaan koloni perempuan di sana, aku butuh perempuan yang mandiri, keras, dan memperjuangkan anaknya seperti kamu, Mutiara Tama Diningrat dan aku mau Flara jadi anak aku” - Naufal.
“Mimpi lo terlalu common buat ukuran anak perempuan! Terlalu sederhana Mut!” Aku tahu sekali Ganie. The amazing capitalist lawyer! - Ganie
(Full text can be found here)
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I feel like life really loves to make a joke on me sometimes.
Himbauan Untuk Seluruh Fans SMTOWN Indonesia
Teman-teman, di bawah ini saya paste email yang saya kirim ke fanbase-fanbase SMTOWN se-Indonesia.
Dear teman-teman fans SMTown se-Indonesia,
Perkenalkan, saya Uti, salah satu pendiri TwELFs, sebuah fansite internasional untuk Super Junior. Saya sudah pernah bekerjasama dengan W Productions dan Showmaxx Entertainment dalam mendistribusikan tiket konser, yang mana kedua konser tersebut sama-sama mengundang Super Junior. Saya mengirim email ini kepada teman-teman sekalian untuk berbagi pengalaman, karena saya peduli.
Saya tahu promotor SMTown telah menghubungi sejumlah fanbase SMTown Indonesia dan menawarkan penjualan tiket pre-sale sebelum public sale. Saya sudah punya pengalaman dalam hal concert promotion, dan kalian perlu tahu bahwa menjual tiket diam-diam seperti ini sebelum public sale itu tidak diperbolehkan apabila tidak ada persetujuan dari manajemen artis. Saya harap teman-teman berpikir panjang terlebih dahulu sebelum mengiyakan penawaran dari promotor. Apabila teman-teman akan menerima tawaran promotor, berikut adalah beberapa hal yang ingin saya bagi:
1. Jangan mau kerja gratis
Saya tahu kita sesama fans bekerja untuk idola kesayangan dengan sepenuh hati. Tapi kita sebagai manusia tetap harus punya akal sehat. Kemarin TwELFs dan Sujunesia berurusan dengan lebih dari 3.000 tiket yang melibatkan milyaran rupiah. Banyak uang yang kami keluarkan untuk ongkos pulsa, makan, transportasi, logistik, pelaksanaan penjualan tiket, dan lain-lain. Bayangkan seberapa banyak pengeluaran kalian nanti untuk meng-handle ribuan tiket SMTown yang skala konsernya beberapa kali lipat lebih besar dari Super Show 4. Sebagai fans, jangan mau dimanfaatkan oleh promotor, karena sesungguhnya pada dasarnya itu promotor tidak akan memberi apa-apa. Kita harus ingat bahwa sebagai fans, posisi kita itu sangat krusial dan penting, karena kalau bukan kita, siapa lagi yang akan beli tiket yang dijual oleh promotor? Kalau kita menerima penawaran promotor untuk distribusi tiket, kita berhak untuk meminta komisi 0,5%-1%. Mereka jelas lebih memilih minta fans untuk mendistribusikan tiket oleh karena fans adalah tenaga kerja gratis, dibandingkan dengan agen tiket resmi yang komisinya bisa mencapai 3%-5%. Sekali lagi, kita berhak untuk minta komisi. Persenan komisi ini mungkin tidak besar, tapi akan cukup untuk membiayai proyek-proyek fanbase kita selama setahun. Dari pengalaman saya yang sudah-sudah, bahkan tiket gratis saja tidak diberi, padahal itu hak.2. Tanda tangani perjanjian kerjasama
Sesederhana apapun perjanjiannya, harus ada nota kesepahaman antara promotor dan fanbase yang diajak kerjasama, supaya jelas hak, kewajiban, dan pertanggungjawabannya. Kalau perjanjian ini tidak ada, saat terjadi apa-apa, fanbase yang jualan tiket (kita) yang akan disalahkan orang.3. Minta promotor untuk mengumumkan kerjasama ini secara resmi kepada calon pembeli tiket
Dari pengalaman saya bekerjasama dengan dua promotor yang sudah saya sebut, salah satu promotor dulu tidak mengumumkan bahwa ia bekerjasama dengan fanbase dalam penjualan tiket ini, sehingga banyak yang menuduh bahwa fanbase menipu dan menjual tiket palsu. Apabila terjadi apa-apa, promotornya juga tidak akan tanggung jawab, karena dia sudah lepas tangan duluan sejak awal. Promotor yang satunya bahkan diam saja saat saya adu mulut dengan seorang pembeli tiket ketika dia protes karena tiket yang dia dapatkan berbeda dengan yang dia bayar, padahal penukaran tiket itu karena kesalahan promotor, bukan fanbase.4. Minta prioritas tiket
Minta kepada promotor bahwa tiket yang kita pesan harus diprioritaskan supaya dapat lebih dahulu, karena toh kita juga bayar lebih dulu (diam-diam pula, tanpa promotor announce apa-apa). Jangan mau tiket kita diurus belakangan dan tiba-tiba tiket kita tidak ada. Ini betul-betul pernah terjadi. Yang paling parah, karena tiketnya tidak ada, tiketnya diubah ke kelas lain. Akibatnya, banyak pembeli yang protes, sedangkan promotor sok-sok tidak tahu. Tiket kita harus diprioritaskan.5. Minta fasilitas
Menjual ribuan tiket itu tidak mudah. SMTown ini skalanya besar, pasti akan melibatkan ribuan tiket. Sudah sewajarnya promotor menyediakan fasilitas media dan/atau tempat untuk melakukan distribusi tiket dengan lancar. Ini sangat penting. Yang datang ke Super Show 4 Indonesia pasti mengerti maksud saya.6. Jangan mau tidak dianggap
Promotor wajib mengumumkan secara resmi kerjasama mereka dengan fanbase untuk menghindari penipuan dan hal-hal lain yang tidak diinginkan. Kalau perlu mereka umumkan fanbase apa saja yang diajak kerjasama. Ini harga mati.Saya berbagi pengalaman ini, karena saya juga fans. Saya juga tahu banyak dari kita yang kemampuannya terbatas dalam berbagai aspek. Saya harap teman-teman berpikir dahulu sebelum mengiyakan penawaran promotor. Kalau teman-teman langsung mengiyakan saja penawaran dari promotor, nanti teman-teman sendiri yang rugi. Ini hak fanbase kok, apalagi kalau promotor yang ajak kerjasama. Kalau teman-teman akhirnya memilih untuk menerima penawaran promotor, teman-teman harus siap mental dan fisik, karena tekanannya banyak. Teman-teman harus sabar dalam mendistribusikan tiket. Saya himbau teman-teman agar membantu fans di daerah yang kesulitan membeli tiket di Jakarta. Saya juga mohon supaya teman-teman jangan menaikkan harga tiket dari harga asli, bahkan untuk uang capek sekalipun. Kita sama-sama fans. Kita sama-sama tahu banyak yang masih sekolah. Kalau memang teman-teman ingin mendapatkan untung dari penjualan tiket tersebut, wajar. Tapi mintakanlah keuntungan itu dari promotor, jangan dari fans yang kemampuan finansialnya masih terbatas.
Email ini juga saya kirimkan ke promotor SMTown Indonesia supaya kita bisa sama-sama belajar.
Terima kasih atas perhatiannya.
Menurut saya hal ini penting, itulah mengapa saya mengumumkan himbauan ini untuk seluruh fans SMTOWN di Indonesia. Bagi teman-teman yang hendak membeli tiket, saya juga menghimbau bahwa kalian berhak untuk membeli tiket dengan harga asli. Kalau sampai ada dari teman-teman yang ditawarkan harga tiket lebih mahal dari harga asli oleh sebuah fanbase, teman-teman berhak untuk melaporkan hal tersebut kepada promotor.
Saya harap seluruh informasi ini dapat diketahui oleh semua fans SMTOWN di Indonesia.
Terima kasih.
I’m Tired
I’m tired. My neck’s been hurting a lot for the past couple of weeks. Sometimes the pain would go as far as my back. I’m always in front of the laptop. If I’m not with my laptop, then I’m sleeping. I can’t wake up in the morning feeling fresh anymore. I keep procrastinating at work, cos I’m afraid I’m not able to meet everyone’s expectation, which results in me being behind deadline and it only causes more stress. I feel like standing in the middle of Harmoni intersection sometimes and just scream for help.
The Trouble With Me Is
I have to admit that my top motivation to have a job is to pile up wealth, not to do what I want to do. And it’s quite hard when your office has a claim system in order for them to pay you. It’s even harder when they have these thick layers of bureaucracy to process your claim before they can pay you. The bottom line is, I’m always paid late. My income arrives at irregular interval of times, and what’s worse, usually it takes more than a month until the money is in my bank account. Not to mention the amount of paperwork I have to deal with to claim my salary. It’s already the 25th of July and my salary is nowhere in sight. On the other hand, I have bills to pay. I gotta pay the rent, the phone bill, the health insurance, and so on, and so on. I fear that they will pay me next week. Thank God I don’t subscribe to a credit card.
Next problem is August. A major religious holiday is coming next month, we’re all taking more than a week off in the third week of August. That means, I have to deal with tons of paperwork in advance in the first two weeks of August if I want to be paid next month. Even if I’m done with the paperwork before the holiday, I’m afraid they’ll pay me after the holiday anyway. I’m the younger working class okay. I barely have enough to spare some cents for savings. The office seriously needs to do something about this.
It’s stuff like this that makes me miss the law firm. My old law firm has crazy working hours, but at least I only have to focus on my work. I don’t have to worry over the monthly bills because the money will be there in my bank account. Seriously, UN isn’t all they say it is.
Describing What I Do
Since many have asked, in this opportunity, I’d like to share with you what it is I really do for a living.
In short words, I’m a research assistant in one of the many, many, many sub-units of United Nations Development Programme Indonesia. My work is related to the development of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), which is a new concept the parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has introduced in order to reduce emissions by protecting the forest and peat land. Indonesia has a lot of forest and peat land, they are-among other natural resource-our biggest asset (not to mention our biggest national income), and we’re trying to protect them by forbidding people to utilize them commercially. So you can imagine how difficult it can be.
I’m assisting research in the legal review and law enforcement working group of this REDD+ body I mentioned above. I’ve been here since April 2012, and so far it’s…. frustrating LOL There are practically only six people in this working group. One is an administrator, one is a map assessor, one handles cases for law enforcement, and three are on research (including me). Substantially, only four of us are in charge to handle the tons of national forestry issues we have to deal with every day. We have divided our workload and I’m handling licenses review, climate change laws, and forestry zone establishment.
For licenses review, I have to develop possible mechanisms that people can use to review the validity of plantation, mining, and forestry licenses in certain forbidden zones. For climate change laws, I research the possibility of Indonesia to have its own laws related to climate change (like Mexico), because right now, we don’t have any. As for forestry zone establishment, this country has a lot of tenure conflicts and they all come from the lack of certainty in the boundaries of forestry zones. We have land titles and commercial permits overlapping everywhere. These three issues that I’m responsible for are only some of the many issues our working group has to solve. We only have until the end of 2012 to settle everything, because that is when our project is planned to end. If we extend it to next year, then it means we have failed.
My desk. Not really. More like a workspace. Everyone dumps everything on my desk cos it’s the nearest to the door.
Mostly, the stress happens because I feel very under-qualified to do this job. I’m a fresh graduate from the biggest national public university, but that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to do whatever it is I’m doing now. I feel so lost, often I just want to drop everything and cry. I had no idea what I was doing and what changes I could make with it. To push everything this working group’s doing to success, we have to deal with government officers, technical experts, and lawyers on a daily basis. It gets irritating. It feels so hard to change a system that is a century old and I just despair over the prospect of having to change everything. Even if it is for the better. I don’t even know how this country works anymore, cos everyone just does whatever it is they want to do. Laws aren’t there to rule how they behave, but to give them justification over their behaviour.
It is only recently that I’ve finally gotten the hang of what I do and managed to keep up with the issues. I only hope it’s not too late, because we only have less than six months left. I know this job frustrates me a lot, but I do love what I do. I think I can make it until the end of the year. Besides, I have a lot of non-work stuff to distract me of the stress.
Outside work, I have Thunder-Voice.Net, which unexpectedly has a therapeutic effect on me. It’s just fun to hunt stuff related to Kim Jongdae and collect them all in this one big bank of him. I’ve also just started this monthly writing club, which I believe is going somewhere. I need it to motivate me to finish my stories. I have tons of fiction projects that I haven’t been able to finish. Last but not least, I’ve resumed my Mandarin lesson :D I started from the very beginning again. It’s been almost a month and now I can introduce myself in Mandarin. Shortly. LOL
你们好！我是 Uti! xD
The New Motivation
Last week I was so stressed over the piling high workload I had on my desk. All of them had tight deadlines, they still do, and I had no way to finish them in time. I felt like crying. I wanted to just drop everything and never having to work again. It’s the thought that I was alone that kept me going, kept me waking up in the morning and go to work. No one else will feed me except me.
However, Friday afternoon, we started this new topic regarding forestry zone that we’d try to finish by the end of the year. It’s entirely new and I’ve just started to read the material. Strange thing occurred as I was studying the subject. I understood it. Is this the result of having been working here for the past three months? I paid attention to the meeting and for once, finally, I could understand a single word they were uttering. I could keep up. I even participated in the discussion. Somehow it gave me new found strength that I had what it took to be in this place. I’ve always felt like I’m underqualified, but while it is true, I’ve also started to feel that I can catch up. I will catch up.
At the moment, I’m dealing with forestry zone, climate change laws, and license reviews, and I finally got the hang of everything. I think I can hold on until the end of the year. I know I can. Besides, I need to work my ass off and save to the very last cent for this future trips I have planned.
Fasting and What I Don’t Like About It
It’s here again. My most dreaded time of the year: Ramadhan. It’s not about the fasting, really. It’s more about all of the local traditions that come with it. I despise them. I myself enjoy fasting. But the nitbits and everything. Ugh. Living in Indonesia means there’s a thousand religious customs that people don’t even know anymore if it’s a custom as ordered by the religion, or if it’s a custom made by men in the past. Most of the time, I don’t like how Indonesians can be so hypocritical over how others (and themselves) act out their religions. If you don’t fast, they’ll make you feel like it’s the biggest sin in the world. If you don’t pray the taraweh in the evenings, they’ll make you feel even worse. Then there’s all the tradition of apologizing and forgiving each other before and after Ramadhan. In the beginning, they look fascinating. Now that I’ve had more than a decade of Ramadhans, I honestly have lost its meaning. People apologize once a year during Eid Fitri, only to repeat the same mistakes all over again on the fifth of Syawal. What’s the point? Often I feel like Eid Fitri is an excuse for people to be permissive. Then of course, the family gathering tradition. During Ramadhan, suddenly it’s a must that you eat with your family at dawn and dusk. During Syawal, suddenly it’s a must that you spend the whole week with your big, big, big family, and if you don’t, you’re the most ungrateful child of the universe. People tend to overreact during Ramadhan and Eid Fitri. They don’t remember that a week after Eid Fitri, all of those events will be reduced to a lost memory of the year anyway. I like fasting. I know why we must fast and what kind of great things it will bring us. But the traditions, I don’t get them anymore.
But of course, this is all just my opinion. I’m the girl with the filial issues, and I’m sure that most of you want to go home so bad and spend the whole Ramadhan with your family. To be honest, I’m jealous. I envy those who still have feelings of wanting to go home. You are the luckiest persons alive and I hope you know that. Nothing is worse than spending special days alone. Unfortunately for me, being at home is worse than spending special days alone.
Pre-Order: EXO Accessories (Replica)
PRE-ORDER IS CLOSED
Pre-order will be closed at 11.59PM SG time. After that, order emails will not be accepted.
English description is below.
Teman-teman, ini adalah ketiga kalinya gue pesen replika aksesoris EXO ke Cina, dan sejauh ini hasilnya memuaskan.
Sekarang gue mau pesen lagi, karena tokonya ngeluarin aksesoris-aksesoris baru. Gue ajak kalian untuk ikut mesen demi hemat ongkos bank dan ongkos shipping. Gue ga cari untung. Harga-harga yang tertera di bawah ini sesuai dengan harga asli dari barangnya. Pada penutupan order, gue akan hubungin kalian lagi lewat email dengan harga yang harus kalian bayar yang sudah ditambah dengan ongkos bank dan ongkos shipping. Di bawah ini, tiap barang gue kasih kode supaya mudah nanti pemesanannya.
Barang-barangnya:
1. BHA1 - Gelang elemen Baekhyun - 34 RMB (5.5 USD) - Gambar
2. BCF2 - Cincin elemen Baekhyun - 28 RMB (4.5 USD) - Gambar
3. ECG1 - Cincin gemoteris EXO - 25 RMB (4 USD) - Hitam-bling hitam; hitam-bling putih; putih-bling putih; putih-bling hitam; emas-bling hitam - Gambar 1, gambar 2
4. SKK1 - Kalung exo Sehun - 25 RMB (4 USD) - Gambar
5. ECE2 - Cincin exo nama - 24 RMB (4 USD) - Putih-bling hitam; putih-bling putih - Gambar
6. EKG1 - Kalung geometris EXO (besar) - 24 RMB (4 USD) - Putih-bling putih; putih-strip hitam; hitam-bling putih - Gambar - Catatan: bandul berukuran lebih kurang 2-3 cm
7. EKG2 - Kalung geometris EXO (kecil) - 22 RMB (3.5 USD) - Polos; putih-bling hitam; hitam-bling putih; putih-bling putih - Gambar - Catatan: bandul berukuran lebih kurang 1 cm
8. EBG1 - Bros geometris EXO - 20 RMB (3.5 USD) - Putih-bling hitam; emas-bling hitam; putih-bling putih; emas-bling putih - Gambar 1, gambar 2
9. CCF1 - Cincin elemen Chanyeol - 25 RMB (4 USD) - Gambar
Sekali lagi, harga di atas belum termasuk ongkos bank dan ongkos shipping. Terakhir gue pesan 32 item untuk 13 orang, dan masing-masing kepala nambahnya cuma sekitar 30.000-40.000 IDR. Kalo pada order kali ini yang mesen lebih banyak, mudah-mudahan ongkosnya bisa jadi lebih murah. Umumnya lebih kurang sebulan sampai barang di tangan.
Bagi yang berminat, tolong kirim email ke utiuts@thunder-voice.net dengan format berikut:
JUDUL EMAIL: Pesan Aksesoris EXO
ISI EMAIL:
Nama lengkap:
Alamat lengkap:
Nomor telepon:
Pemesanan:
1. Kode barang - warna barang (apabila ada) - jumlah barang
2. Kode barang - warna barang (apabila ada) - jumlah barang
3. dst
CONTOH:
1. BHA1 - 2
2. ECG1 - Hitam-bling hitam - 1
3. ECG1 - Hitam-bling putih - 2
4. SKK1 - 1
5. ECE2 - Putih-bling hitam - 3
6. dst.
Nanti email akan gue balas dengan total harga yang harus dibayar dan rekening pembayaran. Pre-order akan dibuka selama 4 hari, 17 - 21 Juli 2012. Masa pre-order akan diperpanjang kalau jumlah item yang dipesan tidak sesuai target. Pre-order hanya berlaku untuk Indonesia, Singapura, dan Thailand.
Dear friends, this is my third time ordering replicas of EXO accessories from China, and so far, the result is satisfactory.
Now I’m going to order more, cos the shop has just released new stuff. I’m asking all of you to order this with me in order to save bank charges and shipping fees. I’m not looking for any profit. The prices stated below are the real prices. After the closing of the pre-order, I’ll contact you through emails of the total price you have to transfer, bank charges and shipping fees included. Below, I’ve given codes to all items to make the order easier.
The items:
1. BHA1 - Baekhyun’s element bracelet - 34 RMB (5.5 USD) - Pic
2. BCF2 - Baekhyun’s element ring - 28 RMB (4.5 USD) - Pic
3. ECG1 - EXO geometric ring - 25 RMB (4 USD) - Black-black bling; black-white bling; white-white bling; white-black bling; gold-black bling - Pic 1, pic 2
4. SKK1 - Sehun’s EXO necklace - 25 RMB (4 USD) - Pic
5. ECE2 - EXO name ring - 24 RMB (4 USD) - White-black bling; white-white bling - Pic
6. EKG1 - EXO geometric necklace (large) - 24 RMB (4 USD) - White-white bling; white-black strip; black-white bling - Pic - Note: the pendant’s diameter is app. 2-3 cm
7. EKG2 - EXO geometric necklace (small) - 22 RMB (3.5 USD) - Nude; white-black bling; black-white bling; white-white bling - Pic - Note: the pendant’s diameter is app. 1 cm
8. EBG1 - EXO geometric pin - 20 RMB (3.5 USD) - White-black bling; gold-black bling; white-white bling; gold-white bling - Pic 1, pic 2
9. CCF1 - Chanyeol’s element ring - 25 RMB (4 USD) - Pic
Once again, the prices above aren’t added with bank charges and shipping fees yet. Generally, it takes a month after order until the items arrive.
Anyone interested, please send an email to utiuts@thunder-voice.net with the following format:
EMAIL SUBJECT: EXO Accessories Order
EMAIL BODY:
Full name:
Full address:
Phone number:
Order:
1. Item code - item color (if any) - item amount
2. Item code - item color (if any) - item amount
3. etc.
EXAMPLE:
1. BHA1 - 2
2. ECG1 - Black-black bling - 1
3. ECG1 - Black-white bling - 2
4. SKK1 - 1
5. ECE2 - White-black bling - 3
6. etc.
I will reply your email with the grand total of your order and my bank account details. Pre-order will be opened for 4 days, July 17-21, 2012. Pre-order period might be extended if I don’t reach the target amount of order. Pre-order is only available for Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.
You Are Mine
“Everyone has their obsession
Consuming thoughts, consuming time
They hold high their prized possession
It defines the meaning of their life
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine, all mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine, all mine.
You are mine.
There are objects of affection that can mesmerise the soul
There’s always one addiction that just cannot be controlled
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine, all mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine, all mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine, all mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine.
You are mine, all mine.
You are mine.
YOU ARE MINE.
YOU ARE MINE.
YOU ARE MINE.
YOU ARE MINE.
You are.
You are.
You are.”
-You Are Mine by Mutemath
