25072010

Today was a lovely but really really tiring day for me. It was the day when iB Kompasiana Blogshop was held. And I could hardly wait for the D-day. There're Kompasianers with a lot of profile pictures that, if you scrutinize, convey different auras as you get to know them offline. I felt like I was going to go to a blind date. Seriously? A blind date? It's the thrill that keeps pushing us to think and guess, "Are those Komapsianers as cool as their online personas??" I held that thought for days, and today was the day when I could finally unfold the mystery. On Friday (July 23rd, 2010), I started to feel the thrill, anxiously trying to find out who was going to be there, at the event. The thrill was so huge that I forgot I got flu. The runny nose and a slight fever came to torture. The following day (Saturday), I was getting better. I went to bed early so as to be as fit as I can on Sunday (today). But by saying "getting better", it didn't truly mean I fully recover. The runny nose was still as annoying as before and I shivered a bit that day. No significant advancement, but I was OK. Then came the D-day. I got up earlier (at 5.25 am, which is VERY early for my standard). My flu wasn't away, still. But I was quite sure it was OK to take a cold bath (a decision I regretted badly now as I'm sneezing more often). [caption id="attachment_208479" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Jakartans are celebrating car-free day."][/caption] Around 7.10 am, I got ready and dashed out of my cramped rent room. I was ready to go. As I made a few steps from the house, it dawned on me that my laptop was sort of hefty. It was like 4-5 tons for my tiny, fragile spine. I started to see the CAR FREE DAY commotion near Sampoerna Strategic skyscraper. Lots of people were rejoicing the fresh morning air, enjoying the cloudy Sunday with no cars or buses (except TransJakarta buses of course). That was the first time I saw this celebration, when Jakartans leave their cars and motorbikes at home and kick the pedals of their bicycles. And as I looked at them, I was stunned by a middle-aged man, blowing his dear cigarette while taking a break from his brisk walk. I couldn't figure out what was going through his head. I mean, is there anything crazier than having an abundant amount of healthy things to do but refuse them only to succumb to that devilish smoke? ? I take pity on such people, I do. So I stepped my feet on Stasiun Beos, Jakarta Kota. I was clueless what to take to lead me to the venue: PRJ Fair Ground. I asked a man for a hope he would provide me a satisfactory answer. But he calmly said, "Sorry, I'm confused myself. I have no idea." I soon found out the answer from an old guy leaning on his old vintage bike. So I crossed the street as he advised and took a bajaj to the place. Finding a hardly-ever-visited place in Jakarta is quite an adventure, just like Tarzan and his lost city. Frustrating and painful, but definitely worth the frustration and pain combined. In the Desperate Search of Gate J As getting off the vibrating and deafening bajaj and stepping my feet on the fair ground, I realized the venue was like hundreds steps away. And I had to walk, alone, in the morning. "This ought to be healthy," I said by heart.  With 3-kilogram luggage on my back pack, I kept walking. Sure, I struggled to walk upright. My torso wasn't particularly prepared for this kind of exercise. As I started perspiring profusely and gasping for fresh air, I reached the gate where two security officers seated themselves. I asked them where was the venue. So I was told it was Gate J. It wasn't far but I was already dying dehydrated. I found Gate K on the direction board, but Gate J was nowhere to be found. Like an utter moron, I walked and cast my eyes around me a thousand times. "God damn, Gate J.., Gate Jerk!" I cursed, again, by heart. I gave up and resolved to ask a security officer. He asked me where I'd go and what I was going in for. I said I was about to attend Kompasiana Blogshop. "What? Come again? Kompas? Any invitation?" that man requested. I said no invitation could be shown. It actually made me like a fool. So next time I hope Kompasiana may have a better idea, like allowing the registered participants of Blogshop to print a proof of registration. I felt like I was an intruder, though I totally wasn't. I was there for a cause. A good, noble cause. Hmm, not really noble actually, it was free and why couldn't I use this to get some "free lunch"? Oh, that's too blatant. At the entrance, a young man came after me. He was Rangga, another Kompasianer looking enthusiastic to meet up with other Kompasianers. We chatted for a while as we were in the elevator. To be honest, I do hate elevator. And what is more, this elevator has transparent side facing toward 6-storey height. I'm an acrophobic, so taking a transparent elevator seems to be the least favorite thing to start my day. As I hopped out of it, I couldn't contain my joy and relief! I'm safe and intact. In Lawu Ball Room It's a ball room or not, I don't really care. But if any of you wants to hold a ball, it seems it can hold a hundred of people in it. The first sensation was of course, the temperature. I got an advanced stadium of flu that day and as I found out how frigid the room temp was, I decided to always wear my jacket. Though I did, I still kept sneezing, and my runny nose was worsening. Really, it was more like a simulation of the worst Alaskan winter in Indonesia. Later I learned I wasn't the only participant got frozen by the inhumanely cold AC temperature. We all complained! [caption id="attachment_208485" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The room is awaiting participants."][/caption] I chose the front-most seat. Thank you for guessing I'm a fervent participant but I was simply there to find a power socket- the energy source for my dying laptop with a battery that runs only 5 minutes. I sat there and jumped for relief as I spotted a power socket there. I thanked God for this. I already brought this heavy laptop all the way long and it wasn't particularly funny not to be able to use it here, right when I needed it most. I met with Dian Kelana, a grey-haired Kompasianer with his bulging bag which I thought weighed at least five kilograms. He had a huge camera with him, and he took pictures more than a hundred times throughout the events, I guess. Indeed, he was a gifted photographer. Props to him for the lovely pics in his live report! Another Kompasianer I met was Fathoni Arif. At first, I thought he was pretty strong with his thin black t-shirt, "Wow, I'm cold and he looks fine without jacket!" A moment later, I knew I was wrong. He started to bend his torso and hold both of his arms. Ok, he may not look as strong as I thought before. And a few minutes later, he grumbled and rubbing his arms. Then I knew he was just like me. Slow but sure, we were cold to death. Other Kompasianers I'm already quite familiar with were Zulfikar Akbar and Babeh Helmi. They sat somewhere in the middle. Well, it was the first time I saw them in person. I got surprised a bit as I know they look very much different from the profile pictures. Profile pictures are often misleading but I never thought that misleading. Babeh Helmi doesn't use his own picture there so it was understandable he looked different. But as for Zulfikar Akbar, I thought he was wearing his glasses, but he wasn't. [caption id="attachment_208474" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Janu is in action."][/caption] The Kompasiana Bloshop Celebrities Pepih Nugraha is no doubt the star, although he appeared last. The first speaker was Iskandar Zulkarnaen, the second was a veteran photographer named Gunadi Haryanto, and the next was Janu Dewandaru, who was eloquently presented his material on iB (stands for "Islamic Banking" if I'm not mistaken) Sharia Banking. The first session was presented by Iskandar Zulkarnaen. He explicated the essence of Citizen Journalism. He repeatedly referred to Citizen Journalism as CG /si: ji:/ instead of CJ /si: jei/. It was a slight ignorance of English pronunciation which was later corrected indirectly by someone I forgot. The later was Gunadi Haryanto's turn to perform on stage. He confidently presented the materials by simply explaining a bunch of photo slides he took in various spots in Indonesia.  Awesomely cool (and the picture of almost-nude Papuan man with his long black koteka succeeded to make me drop my jaw to the floor)! It was an introductory lesson for those who never learn photography like me. He was mentioning about composition, the rule of third, and a lot of other photography things I'm clueless about. After that, Janu Dewandaru came to sight. The young man presented topics on Sharia Banking. There were some sharia banking terms I never encountered before, and thanks to his detailed expalanation, I now know. I myself am a customer of sharia banking already. I couldn't agree more as he spoke, "Sharia banking is aimed at everyone, regardless of their faiths, races, or anything. It's not a religious but a business entity." And it was a bit startling to find Susi Susanti - the gold medal winner of badminton- as one of sharia bank customers. She launched a shop somewhere in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta, and she apparently asked sharia bank for financial assistance. So I thought, "Everyone is entitled to enjoying the benefits of sharia banking." [caption id="attachment_208537" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Pepih Nugraha is a practical joker who successfully makes us laugh to tears."][/caption] The last was another seasoned journalism figure, Pepih Nugraha. He started to lecture on stage about how to become a great citizen journalist. This high-foreheaded journalist masterfully captured everyone's attention with his crispy jokes. He's a practical joker, according to my observation. He innocently showed several pictures full of gore, corpse of a miserable man hit by train, and the horror face of the deceased. And it was in fact lunch time but seeing the whole pictures managed to drive my appetite away, far away.