DID YOU KNOW?

• Indonesia has the world's longest coastline at nearly 85,5000km.

• Indonesia is home to more volcanoes than any other country.

• Jakarta, Indonesia capital, is the city's fourth name after Sunda Kelapa, Jayakarta, Batavia.

• In 1962 when Senayan Stadium hosted the Asian Games, it was the largest stadium in Asia, holding over 100,000 people.

• Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world.

• When the Dutch arrived, they planned Jakarta to serve as a tropical Amsterdam, which is how many people regarded the city during the 18th cemtury.

• The Wisma BNI 46, measuring 262 meters tall, is one of the tallest buildings in the southern hemisphere.

(Source: Jakarta Java Kini: Expat Directory)

JAM SEKOLAH DIMAJUKAN

Kebijakan majunya jam sekolah di Jakarta yang baru berlangsung kurang dari 10 hari ini tentu masih perlu penyesuaian dari tiap individu. Ini mungkin bukan suatu issue lagi. Tapi benarkah mekanisme politis ini benar bertujuan untuk mengurangi kemacetan? Walaupun bersyukur sekolah tempatku bekerja tidak/belum mengikuti majunya jam sekolah ini, aku risih dengan peraturan ini. Aku rasa tidak cocok ini dinamakan KEBIJAKAN, karena ini tidak bijak. Mungkin ini subjektif, tapi memang sejak hari pertama diberlakukannya anak sekolah masuk jam 6.30, aku merasa dirugikan karena perjalananku menuju tempat kerja bertambah macet dan bukan berkurang.

Sekarang aku tidak bisa lagi berangkat jam 6 pagi dengan harapan sampai di sekolah jam 6.45 seperti biasa. Kemacetan bertambah ketika aku harus menerobos kepadatan kendaraan dari mereka yang mau berangkat sekolah, terutama ketika melintasi wilayah sekolah mereka. Waktuku diperjalanan tepat ketika mereka terburu-buru mengejar waktu masuk sekolah.

Musim hujanpun sudah datang. Jelas ini akan menambah semarak kemacetan kota. Semoga tidak terjadi hambatan yang cukup berarti untuk semua pengguna jalan. (walah...kayak polisi lalin aja).

BE EXIST IN WHERE YOU BELONG

This Sunday is so special. With many of young people in my church, I have a teawalk with Sunday mass in an open field at Gunung Mas Tea Plantation. The theme of this event is "Vianney Christmas Youth Day". The word Vianney refers to Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, a saint from Ars, and the patron saint of our church. We adapted his name into Indonesian to become Santo Yohanes Maria Vianney.

It's a surprise to know that my church has so many young people. My priest said the young participants who are gathered here number 500. Wow...what a big number! Being in charge as one of the committee members in Youth Parish, I am surprised by this fact. One thing that concerns me is that these so many people do not appear when the church needs them. Many of them love to join fun things but many of them seem lazy or too busy to be bothered. Service and commitment are something that young people need to build.

In the homily, the priest said, "Have you looked around? I hope you will find 'someone' through this event". My priest had a hidden motive then. Yes, he is concerned about many young people who have mix marriages. We always have option to build something wonderful more than just to feel the passions of falling in love. Is it not wonderful to walk the same path together, with shared dreams and goals?

So, do you think it is a personal option to be passive? I think I need to be accountable for fostering the development of faith in young people. I need to be accountable for what I do here, now.

MY JOY LIST

( http://bosanchez.ph/what-is-your-joy-list/)

I agree with Bo Sanchez, so I listed the things that give me joy in life. I believe by being responsible for what make me happy, my life will be more meaningful and content. Here they are:

1. Wake up earlier in the morning
2. Thank God for all the blessings in life
3. Pray Novena
4. Spend some time to watch the sky and breathe the fresh morning air before bathe and do routine
5. Save some part of the monthly salary into my dead account
6. Be intelligent in managing money
7. Share what I have to others in need
8. Spend some time with family
9. Help mama doing the house works
   
10. Tell my boyfriend “I love you” everyday
11. Have regular exercise
12. Choose good food to eat
13. Play with Dhanika (my niece) often
14. Keep in touch with old friends
15. Hang out with friends
16. Spend time to read book everyday
17. Be friendly and make others happy
18. Have clean and neat room
19. Share ideas, life problems and solutions with others

They are only some of my simple and common joy list and I want to make them happen. So, these are my New Year Resolutions. By living that lists consistently, I know my life would be more blissful.