Migrating

As far as I can remember, there was only that one time when I decided to move my blog. It was back in 2009, when a social media platform called Friendster was still around. Did a quick google research for you, Friendster is a... social gaming site now.

I know, doesn’t make sense. Apparently it still is, in a way, a social networking site though. Of some sort.

That being said, after writing for some years on Friendster, I decided to stop and deactivated my account altogether. I wrote Prologue after that on August 13th, 2009. It was my first  post in Allegre, seven years ago. Allegre has been with me ever since, watching me grow and served as my sanctuary. It represents my long saga of emerging from childhood, entering pre-teens and teenagers stage until now where I’m standing (half running-half limping, I might say) in early adulthood zone.

Looking back and reading Allegre, I can't stand reading what my teenager-self posted. Hahaha
but I also realized that I have been growing up, rather clumsily, but staggering forward nonetheless. With that in mind, I decided to migrate the whole blog one more time to its new home, araramse. I think of this as a momentum, symbolising me parting with certain stages of my life while still taking bits of them with me to where I am right now.

Yours truly has, indeed, changed a lot in the past seven years. I hope that araramse will continue to serve its function as a sanctuary, a place where premature hypotheses, subjective point of view, chunks of ideas and idealism, dreams, passion, observation, one sided assumption, doubts and thoughts are poured in a long narrative sentences, finding their way to you and to remind you, and ultimately yours truly, on what is important.


Please do love and support araramse as you've done for so many years for Allegre. See you there!


Disney CRP Application 101: That Bloody Email...

December 11th, 2014

I will never forget this date for the rest of my life.

It was Thursday, sunny, and I woke up early at around 05.00 am. Rolling in my bed, I pictured that morning as a perfect morning because:

1) Waking up early means I can hear the birds singing and breathe fresh cold air, both vanished within an hour from 05.00 am. Thanks, huh, Bekasi?
2) A very important person to me was around to celebrate Christmas here in Jakarta. I still cant believe that person was there. But he was.
3) I will climb Mt. Papandayan with 5 of my friends that night, so far everything seems perfect.

and then there was this.
Dear Candidate, thank you for your interest in representing your country at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park in 2015. I am very excited to inform you that you have been selected, from a large number of applicants, to join a Program Overview and an interview for this program. The event will be held on January 6th, 2015 at 7am EST in the USA. Since there are many different time zones in Indonesia, please ensure you know exactly what time this will be in your city. You will need access to a computer with internet capability and a web cam and microphone for this event. Please make sure you have tested your connectivity prior to the event. Very soon you will receive an invitation to select your interview time (will show EST in USA) in a separate email as well as in your dashboard. Please be sure to check your email dan dashboard often for updates. You will only have 6 days to schedule yourself for this event. You may wish to prepare a 2-minute speech talking about  some unique cultural or traditional aspect of Indonesia. Telling a short story is always good! Please ensure it is not longer than 2 minutes. In addition, you may wish to visit our website at disneyworld.com to learn all about your program and about various areas and events at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. I am looking forward to speaking with you on January 6th, 2015.
That email took the definition of a "perfect day" to a whole different level. My first reaction was to laugh, are you freaking kidding me?, followed by a prolonged silence, and then BOOM! I exploded, stormed out of my room, running down through the stairs, found my mom downstairs and started talking gibberish.

When finally able to compose myself and regain my ability to speak in a comprehensible language, I told her that I was invited for an interview with Walt Disney World. I'm pretty sure she was teary but she denied that. But I felt her. For the past month I've been struggling choosing between two amazing jobs that were offered to me. I ended up choosing the one I know I love more, but can't help feeling I'm missing something by rejecting the other one, the bigger one. The deal breaker was because they asked me to hand over my Diploma as a guarantee that I will stay with them for at least three years (which is an illegal practice by Indonesia law, by the way. Why on earth would they do that?).

That morning I sat there in our living room with my mom and she reminded me that had I accepted the bigger company's offer then I wouldn't be able to take Disney's offer. I went straight back to my room and prayed.  It is amazing how God set the universe in motion and present us with things bigger than we can imagine if only we have a little faith.

That day before I climbed Mount Papandayan, I met up with that very important person and told him the news. I think he was excited too, but he did ask me if it was a legit email since there are a lot of scams using big companies name like Disney. Honestly, I kind of think it was a scam. But there were other emails following the first email, asking me to schedule my interview in the available time slot. So what they did was to send me a link, and I opened it and choose my interview schedule. The date was already set, January 6th 2015, all I had to do was to choose the time for my interview.


I chose 09:45AM-10:05AM EST, which was 08:45PM-09:05PM in Jakarta. I thought it will be the perfect timing, I wont be the first to go into the interview (which hopefully gives me time to do something in case my internet connection, or Abby -- my laptop, in that matter decided to ruin the day) and will not be the last either. I assumed I will be home by that time, perfectly calm and ready for the interview.

So I submitted my chosen time slot and I wait, for what feels like a ten thousand times over and over again, I wait.


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 15 - First Movie You Saw

Day 15: First Movie You Saw

That would be long, long, long time ago. It was The Moose Hunt (1931). It wasn't really a movie, more like a Disney short, but it did leave a very fine impression.


I cant remember why I was so attached to this black-and-white short. Maybe it was because:
(1) Pluto was in it
(2) He speaks. Three times!
(3) He flies. Magically flap his ears as Mickey stands on his back.


I think this short is also where Pluto was officially recognized as Mickey's, since in the previous short/movie, he was Minnie's little pup. Pluto has all this weird history being Minnie's pup and also Goofy's at one time, but eventually he belongs to Mickey as we know it right now.

I can't believe how old this movie is! I probably should go and re-watch it again now. See you around guys!




30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 12 - Favorite Villain Song

Day 12: Favorite Villain Song

I know it has been forever, and not exactly the real 12th days. The past months have been crazy and I am hoping I would be able to write everything down neatly and in order. In the meantime I decided to keep going with the 30 Days Challenge anyway, because it is still fun and it is even more meaningful now that I've been working for the mouse for a month.

Favorite villain song, without a doubt, the very song by one of Disney's best villain, Ursula the Sea Witch; "Poor Unfortunate Soul".
Picture from here
"If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again."
"But you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?"

Tell me all about it, Ursula.


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 11 - Favorite Love Song

Day 11: Your Favorite Love Song

Have you seen Disney's Enchanted? I watched it mainly because of Patrick Dempsey, and Patrick Dempsey is the exact definition of hot.

Who can say no to that smile? And his hair is a cloud of perfection. 

Right, we're not here to discuss how gorgeous Patrick Dempsey is. Or how cute he was in Enchanted, playing a divorce lawyer who was too sweet to let a "seriously confused lady dressed in a princess dress" lost her way in New York City. We're here to discuss a love song, okay, copy that. (...*still staring at Dempsey's smile*).

There's a reason why I put his picture here. My favorite Disney's love song is from the Enchanted movie, a song called "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin. Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) danced to this song at the King's and Queen's ball.


The song was composed by Alan Menken, the very man who composed Beauty and the Beast (my other favorite song) and the lyric was written by Stephen Schwartz, who previously worked on the music for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I think the deadly duo of Menken-Schwartz is the main reason why this song has so much feelings in it. Coupled that with McLaughlin's voice and hello mellow mood.

"You're in my arms, and all the world is gone.."



30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 10 - Favorite Song

Day 10: Your Favorite Song


This is really hard. It is almost impossible to just pick one of Disney's song as a favorite one. But there is this one song that stand out and played instantly in my head when someone asks me what my favorite song is from the Disney movies.

"There are things in life you learning,
and in time you'll see
It's out there somewhere, it's all waiting, 
if you keep believing.
So don't run, don't hide, it will be alright.
You'll see, trust me, I'll be there watching over you.
Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes, everything changes, you'll be amazed what you'll find
There's a better place if you look through my eyes"

Brother Bear's "Look Through My Eyes", written by Phil Collins. The lyrics just make sense to me. There are times when I wish, I do wish, that some people can look at themselves through my eyes. I bet they will be amazed with what they will find.


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 9 - Favorite Original Character

Day 9: Your Favorite Original Character


Pluto, for being just a dog: loyal, eager to please, very expressive, funny and always bringing laughters and in turn, happiness. I've been always attracted to Pluto ever since I saw Mickey Mouse: The Moose Hunt, which was the first Mickey Mouse movie I've ever seen and Bone Trouble (1940).

Now to think about it, maybe my love for dogs originated from my love for Pluto. Pluto is a bloodhound mix-breed, naturally an adventurous dog and a unique character because he doesn't speak (except for that one time in The Moose Hunt when he asked Mickey to kiss him), walk upright, or dressed in human clothes. His exaggerated expression and gesture is what I love the most about this little fella.


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 8 - Favorite Villain

Day 8: Your Favorite Villain
It is a little strange and kind of cute at the same time that during binge-watching all those Disney movies, we could fall in love, impressed, touched and learned not only from the heroes and heroines, beautiful princesses and charming princes, but also with the villain.


Not sure if after watching the movie we could still call her a villain. She is almost a heroine, or a victim.  The untold story of Maleficent gives the idea that maybe no one was born evil anyway. People just lost their way at some point in their life and haven't yet found the light to guide them back home.

Anyway, whichever version you are referring to (the original antagonist, or the one in the untold story), I love her most for her use of sarcasm ("Why, no, your Majesty, I am not offended at all. In fact I'll bestow the princess with a gift." *calmly curse Aurora*) and for her dragon form. You know what, you gotta admit she has some style.


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 7 - Favorite Sidekick

Day 7: Your Favorite Sidekick



I was torn between Olaf (Frozen) and Dory (Finding Nemo). But if I have to choose only one, then my pick would be Olaf. Because anyone who loves summer and warm hugs are my sworn brothers and sisters. Or snowman.

Beside, that moment when he finally understands that fire melt ice, and still stayed with Anna because some people are worth melting for, he almost instantly became my favorite sidekick. And let us remember that Olaf was also made from love, from the memories of happy times Elsa shared with Anna. I think that is why he could came up with "love is putting someone else's need before yours." That, and also because you can write his name as O-love.

See you around!



30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 5 - Favorite Hero

Day 5: Your Favorite Hero

Without further delay, I present you:

Simba by Melodys300
King Simba. Because he's handsome, cool, knows how to have fun, loves Nala and their children so much and did I say handsome?
I think the fact that Timon and Pumbaa raised him outside of the Pride Lands and not as the king of the jungle had major roles in shaping the Simba we know today. I fell in love with him after watching The Lion King II (I skipped Lion King I, watched Lion King II and after that realized I need to watch Lion King I -- I'm so weird, I know). I think for me Simba pictures a heroic father figure. He wants what's best for his children, and stubbornly believes he is always right. But in the end he realized that Kiara was right all along and admit that her daughter has grown wiser and that he too could learn from her. That, and also the epic story in which he reclaimed his kingdom.

King Simba by jaeon009
Told you he's handsome!


Disney CRP 101: While You Wait

I AM FREAKING OUT!!

Can I be excused for freaking out?? My check-in date is May 5th, which is still around 20 days or so from now, but since I'll leave Indonesia early, then it is just two weeks away before I left. Crazy how time flies! I feel like I haven't done anything significant to prepare for my departure.


Sensing this will happen, a best friend made this ground breaking innovation and bring order to my rather chaotic universe. He set up a platform for me to list everything down to the smallest detail. Thanks to this, I've been able to track what I've done and what I still have to do.

Which is good, really. Except that it also sets me on an auto pilot mode in preparing everything. I'll look at the list and then do my best to complete it one by one, without really feeling it. I guess it is not that I'm not feeling things -- I'm a jar of emotion, I feel all sort of unexplainable emotion -- I think what I'm doing is suppressing those feelings and put all my mind and effort in completing the epic list because I know once I open that jar and let myself "feeling", there will be a massive emotion explosion.

Or I probably should do that anyway since suppressing feeling is exhausting.

Ahem, thank you for allowing me to letting that out, feel better now. Okay, so as promised, I will list some of the blogs I've been reading while preparing my application. When applying to Walt Disney World, I think almost everyone had to go through certain period of waiting time. So instead of worrying and obsessively refreshing e-mail or checking your Dashboard three times a day (which I totally did), you'll find reading others' blog or websites as a much more rewarding activities. Of course as always, I know it is easier said than done. I'm pretty sure everyone who applied to WDW developed an obsessive-compulsive behavior at some point.

I sent my application back on early May 2015, and although I knew there was no chance they would get back to me within a month, I did very frequently checking Dashboard and opening emails in a rather obsessive manner for two months or so. Then I got really tired and tried to read these wonderful blogs and website instead. Proven very useful and can significantly distract me from obsessing over nothing.

This was once the biggest hub for everyone to get in touch with practically everyone. There are accepted applicants, candidates, current participants, alumni, you name it. The forum is a bit outdated now, and people are less active, but you can still find all kind of information there. You can also meet new friends, kind souls who will help you or just listen to your worries and complaints, you can befriended people across the world who probably much like you, are struggling with their application. You can always ask around to get advices for housing, transportation, immigration, or if you are interested to learn about previous Cast Member's experiences.

Dan is one of the best Disney bloggers out there. He has done the program before, and totally understand the excitement, the confusion, the wait, everything. He wrote down his experience in detail, add some very useful tips and invited his friends to share their experiences on his blog. By reading his blog, I got a big picture on what it would be like to stay and work as WDW's international program participant.

Meet Adam, my new crush. He put a lot of effort into his blogs and videos and I am so grateful that he did! He compiled most of the important information, told stories of his previous program, kindly shared helpful videos of housing, Wishes, day off and pretty much everything. He explained the application process, interviews, packing, moving-in day, compared the housing and wrote about transportation and so much more. I am somewhere between I'm-so-excited-to-have-a-chance-to-enjoy-a-job-at-WDW-like-that and oh-you-lucky-boy-I'm-so-jealous state every time I read his blog. I've heard that he has been offered a permanent job with Walt Disney Company (congrats, Adam!!) but that also means he could not help us future CRP answering questions regarding application or what should we do to get in. But his previous posts and videos are always accessible and I found all of them very helpful and enjoyable to read/watch.

So Courtney wasn't a CRP. She did another program called Disney College Program (DCP), I think it is quite similar since they also do the same process of applying, attend Tradition, trapped in the hustle bustle of  check in and moving in day and all that. Following her journey, I learn more about different roles for Cast Member in Walt Disney World, housing events and all sort of fun things you can do on your day off. She also talked about some of the classes offered at the Disney University.

Kira was also a DCP participant and although she had stopped updating her blog since June 2014, I found her posts as quite helpful to provide details on how it would be like to spend part of your life in Walt Disney World. I'm such a visual person, I need to read a lot of blogs to build a vivid picture of what's generally going on in a Cast Member's life.

This is especially for applicants from Indonesia. Here's kak Bonita's blog and she records her journey from applying to flying to Orlando here. She writes mostly in Indonesian. As I mentioned before, it is quite hard to find South East Asia's CRP blogs, and kak Bonita's Oatbin Stories has helped me to understand the application procedure, the interview, visa and basically the post-offer stage better.

There are a lot of other lovely, helpful and useful blogs the program participants have made out there, not to mention tons of vlogs on Youtube. You can always do some research through the Internet and this is my only advise: read, read, and read. Gather as many information as you could before you apply. Convince yourself that this is what you really want to do, and that you can also benefit from the program. Because you ain't going there for free (yes there are of course expenses associated with the program. The biggest one would probably be the airplane ticket) and just to have fun. It is not that you can't be spontaneous, because being spontaneous is almost always good. But I think you'll miss a lot of good things Disney can offer if you just go without preparation and without knowing at least what you want to do, what you want to give and what you want to get.

So, start reading. I'll see you around!


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 4 - Favorite Prince

Day 4: Your Favorite Prince

"genie, you're free", is the most touching line I've ever heard from a Disney Prince.


And it has nothing to do with Robin Williams. Suicide is not a liberation, please contact your local crisis line if you are feeling suicidal. You are worth it, you are here for a reason.

And back to my favorite prince. I think the line Aladdin said was touching because, it proves that Prince Al is wicked awesome. He knows he already has it all, other people never had enough of everything. He chose to gave Genie his freedom, the one thing the blue guy has been wishing for himself for a thousand years. How awesome is it, to grant somebody's wish as your last wish?


He is not perfect, he was a thief. But Al is a person who knows what it means to be poor and to be rich, and someone who still has a good heart through it all. His flaw makes it easier for people to relate to him. And, there is something romantic about his persistence to win Jasmine's heart. 

See you tomorrow!


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 3 - Favorite Heroine

Painted by AdrianeSM
Day 3: Your Favorite Heroine

Jane Porter is definitely my favorite heroine who is not a Disney Princess. All right, she is not exactly a heroine. She's a deuteragonist of Tarzan, his love interest. But she is the closest figure that instantly popped into my mind when I think of a non-princess-heroine.

She's a highly educated British, so she's naturally (or probably because people expected her to) graceful and proper, too proper at a first glance. But she is smart, curious and eager for new adventures. She is everything a young lady should look up to: educated, because that is important ladies, adventurous, respects tradition and has very good manners but smart enough to remember that this is her life and she is free to decide what she wants to do with it. She is patient, into arts and books, and doesn't start as the bravest person in Disney Universe, but she is willing to conquer her fears.

Also, she is probably the great great grandmother of Princess Belle.

Read the theory here
Also, she is beautiful!

Amazing art by Jirkavanse
Her decision not to reduce Tarzan into someone else (a normal human being living outside of the jungle like any other boring, normal human being) for love is admirable. Instead, she decided to start living the life she imagined, and own that decision by adapting to her new home, friends and family.

Please tell me you agree now that she's not a mere deuteragonist, she's a heroine!


30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 2 - Favorite Princess

Day 2: Your Favorite Princess

Picture taken from here
The badass Fa Mulan.
She is the only Disney Princess who does not hold a formal Princess title. She is not born noble and her later marriage to General Li Shang doesn't change her title whatsoever. I could relate so much to her story and understand that in certain culture, it is hard to be yourself and the honor of family, tradition, heritage, custom comes first. Your family identity is your identity, and you are to protect that no matter what.
Digital art by JowieL
The fact that you are a girl doesn't help much either. I was raised in a culture where girls are supposed to learn how to cook and take care of the house, behave gently and move gracefully (which is totally impossible for me. I'm Tigger, remember?), seriously prohibited from climbing anything, and also apparently, less valuable than men. Although thankfully my parents don't imply all and every rules above, I am still expected at certain times to follow through tradition however absurd they may seem.

I think I love Mulan the most for her courage. Also for her willingness to sacrifice, her quick thinking and quirkiness. If you look closely and watch Mulan II you can also see that as badass as she is, she is also still a soft and gentle flower her father had always spoken of. But once she made a decision, she follow through like a rock.

Mulan's Decision by Alicexz
For most people this scene depicted how Mulan decided to go in her father's place. If you came from the same place as Mulan, you'll realize that cutting your long black shiny hair symbolize something deeper. You gave everything away, you sacrifice yourself, your honor and break the tradition. 

Imagine if you lived in a culture where honor and tradition is everything.




30 Days Disney Challenge: Day 1 - Favorite Character




Happy Easter! Today is April 5th, which is special because it's Easter, and because it marks exactly 30 days before checking in with Disney! I don't know where time goes, really. It feels like just yesterday I was disturbing my best friends, kind of forcing them to sit there over Skype and listening to me rehearsing my speech for the CRP interview. Now May 5th is suddenly just around the corner. I am feeling a lot of emotion, I am happy, excited, nervous, happy again, jumpy, excited again, sad, confused, excited, I'm feeling... all right.

I know moving to another country is a big step. It will bring changes. Things will be different. But I will embrace it, because that is how we deal with life. We embrace life. I'll have faith that good things will happen. Besides, I'll spend my first two weeks in a strange land with someone who is not only a familiar face, but also happen to be a very important person.

God will make sure I'm fine, and protected as always. I will be okay.

Meanwhile, I found this list of 30 Days Disney Challenge and thought it will be fun to do it starting from today. I will also post this to my Instagram account, feel free to check out the gallery later.


Day 1: Your Favorite Character

Without a doubt, this guy.

Tigger's face from here

T-I-Double Guh-Er, Tigger!
A very bouncy fella, with his springy tail he'd express his love of life, enthusiasm, and his willingness to jump tail first whenever his friends are in trouble. Very cheerful, always looking to have some fun, confident and have a good portion of love for himself. He could be annoying sometimes, always well-meaning but more often does harm than good hahaha. He reminds me of how important it is to bounce through life, no matter what happened.

Few years ago some people came up with this idea that each of Winnie the Pooh characters actually represent mental illness and that Hundred Acre Wood is basically a mental institution, all started with Christopher Robin's schizophrenia. Eeyore is depressed, Pooh has serious eating disorder, Rabbit has OCD and anger management issue, Piglet has an anxiety disorder and Tigger is suffering from ADHD. I really could care less.

Well then, that's all for Day 1 of 30. TTFN - Ta Ta For Now!

See you around guys~


Disney CRP Application 101: Dashboard

Most people I talked to expressed their surprise over the fact that Walt Disney World actually offers job opportunities for Indonesian citizen and so many other countries. While out there a lot of lovely program participants from UK, Germany, Norway, and Canada actively recording their journey through their blogs, indeed it is quite hard to find South East Asia's representatives (Indonesia, India and Thailand) blogs. I wonder if the limited number of SEA's representatives is also due to the fact that not so many people have heard about this amazing opportunity.

I sincerely hope that you come to this blog and find useful information or that you gain something new about Disney CRP (or that you go "oh-there's-a-program-like-that?", yes, yes, there's a program like that. Go on, apply now) and eventually decided to try your hands on it. Right now I don't know that much either about the program and frankly, I still have many questions too in my head about how things are going to work, but I'll try my best to write about all the coming epic adventures.

Walt Disney World
Might as well start with Walt Disney World. Known also as WDW, or simply Disney World, the 11.031 hectares amusement park affectionately called "the happiest place on earth" opened its doors for Guests for the first time on October 1st, 1971. This is not Walt Disney's first amusement park. The first one was Disneyland Park, located in Anaheim, California. Disney envisioned WDW to be the greatest attraction in the history of Florida, emphasizing the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) as a futuristic city within the amusement park. There are four parks, The Magic Kingdom, where you can see the Cinderella castle, EPCOT, with its famous world pavilions, Disney Hollywood Studio, where you can see the glamourous world of movies and movie making, and of course Disney Animal Kingdom, where you can see exotic animals, do safari ride and experience Asia and Africa culture.

I have never been to Disney World before, but I did go to Disneyland Japan once and it was amazing. Rini and I was too busy admiring the place and plotting how we would explore the park with FastPass and everything so although we did see some characters like Pluto and Mickey, the interaction was minimum. I'd say that Guests should maximize interaction with characters and Cast Members because that's where the magic is. By the way Cast Member (CM) is the term used to refer to Walt Disney company's employee.

Now, about the CRP.

Cultural Representative Program
So you’ve read all about the Disney Cultural Representative Program here, you’re sure you are eligible for the program by double checking the requirements. You’ve proven your fandom by scoring 100/100 on various Disney knowledge quiz, like this one and that one too. You actually found the questions are way too easy. You’re dying to experience the current and previous cast member’s typical day (and their day off when they play in the park) like you’ve read here and you’re drooling and obsessively watching the videos from Disney’s Youtube feed here.

You also, ahem, realized that if selected to participate in the program you will be away from home for a year. I’m talking to you, Indonesian, because we are literally going to cross half the globe to get to Orlando. It’s frikkin faraway. You’re cool with that and have already put this face on

Sorry. Can't help. I'm also on LOTR / The Hobbit Fandom. Haha

Dashboard
Okay what’s next?
Luckily, your next step is as simple as it can be. When applying for any job with Disney, applicants are required to set up an account on a portal called Dashboard. All you have to do is to access http://ip.disneycareers.com/ and you'll see Disney International Program homepage.

Here you choose Cultural Representative Program, read all the description and if you feel this is the right program for you, apply by clicking the Apply Now button. The page will direct you to Disney's jobs and careers listing. Think of it as an international-and-specific-to-one-company Jobstreet or Jobsdb page. Proceed by clicking the Cultural Representative Program, and then you will have to set up a Dashboard account. Create your login information, my advise is to use your email address as your user name, it helps a lot to avoid confusion especially if you have more than one primary email as there will be at least two other portals you have to signed up to later if you proceed to the next stage.

You will basically need to provide your personal information, education background, work experience upload a CV and also a cover letter. Save yourself time and energy and don't even think to upload a fancy CV with pictures, borders or beautiful template. Because I've tried that and then realized Dashboard will eliminate any design element (including tabs) and retrieve only texts from your CV and cover letter. So stick with the basic KISS (keep it short and simple) and shoot Disney your most direct, straight-forward, no non-sense CV. I was kind of frustrated because of that so decided to just went ahead telling them I'm half Merida/Mulan and half the bouncy Tigger, and that is a legit reason to consider me as a Cast Member hahaha. Of course then you add your skill and motivation but really, just stay true to yourself and let your personality seen through your CV. They can easily tell whether you are truly excited or not. After you'd done this, proceed with the questions (lots of it) Disney ask you and then when you're ready, submit your application.

Then we wait.
.
.
.
.
.
.
to eternity.
I’m kidding! But it does feel that way. Applying to Walt Disney World involving a lot of waiting game. It’s uncomfortable, because, well, human being’s psyche is not built to tolerate uncertainty. Uncertainty raises anxiety and our default mode is to perceive anxiety as a threat. But really, there is not much you can do at this point beside waiting. Your Dashboard is your best friend. It allows you to keep track with your application status, and any communication sent to you through e-mail will also be available on your Dashboard.


You probably seeing a lot of e-mails on my Dashboard right now, but believe me, for a long looong looooooooong time, it stubbornly displays just one email and the progress blue bar sat at the second bar (Application in Process) for what feels like forever. This marks the first phase of CRP application. In the meantime we can really use our time by learning more about the program. I'll list some of the fabulous blogs and useful resources on the next post.

See you around~


Mendaki Papandayan

Pada dasarnya, gue ini emang anak alam. Gunung, pantai, danau -- apapun yang judulnya bertualang di alam bebas umumnya membuat gue bersemangat dan tertarik. Rasanya seperti di rumah sendiri kalau berada di alam, dan banyak hal yang bisa ditemukan dalam perjalanan menjelajah alam.


Entah sejak kapan, gue merasa ada sesuatu yang lebih selain sekedar menikmati siluet hangat matahari terbenam, atau sensasi geli karena pasir dan ombak yang bermain di kaki, atau bau rumput dan daun basah di gunung. Dibalik semuanya itu selalu ada momen gue bisa mensyukuri apa yang ada, merasa disapa Tuhan lewat pemandangan-pemandangan itu dan selalu ada refleksi ke dalam diri sendiri yang bisa dilakukan, setiap kali gue hiking, naik gunung, atau berenang di pantai. Gue rasa setiap orang memang butuh channel sendiri untuk berefleksi, meditasi atau merenungkan ulang kehidupan, dengan caranya masing-masing. Karena tanpa itu, ribuan momen dan hal-hal yang terjadi dalam hidup akan lewat begitu saja, tanpa kita bertumbuh melaluinya. Sibuk sih, setiap hari. Jadi nggak ada waktu untuk berpikir mendalam tentang hidup. Bertualang di alam memaksa gue untuk hening sejenak, dan belajar mendengar. Menutup mata dan mencoba mendengar suara detak jantung sendiri setelah susah payah mendaki gunung. Menghirup nafas dalam-dalam dan mencoba mendengar suara sebenarnya dari ombak yang pecah di pantai, mencoba tekan tombol mute untuk suara-suara lain, baik itu suara pikiran sendiri, suara pedagang yang menjajakan jajanan, atau suara teman-teman yang riuh bermain air. Momen-momen seperti itu biasanya jadi saat-saat gue bisa kembali membulatkan tekad, balik lagi, ke track yang bener kalau selama ini ternyata sudah melenceng jauh. Momen-momen yang gue harap bisa terjadi lebih sering.

Perjalanan alam yang jadi highlight tahun lalu adalah mendaki Papandayan. Gue suka dihina-hina kalau menyebut Papandayan sebagai gunung. Kata banyak orang, "Papandayan mah bukit!". Tapi berhubung Papandayan itu tingginya 2.665 meter, pernah meletus dan menghancurkan 40 desa juga menewaskan 2.957 orang di tahun 1772, dan dinyatakan masih aktif dengan kawah dan lubang magma yang dapat dengan mudah terlihat -- yak, Papandayan sangat memenuhi syarat untuk disebut sebagai gunung. Maaf saudara-saudari di luar sana yang kukuh dengan pendirian bahwa Papandayan itu bukit, tapi bukit nggak meletus, percayalah.

yang begini dibilang bukit? Bercanda ya?
Setelah berunding dengan Cinday dan Pingi, akhirnya diputuskan Desember 2014 lalu kami akan mendaki Gunung Papandayan. Ini pendakian Papandayan yang pertama kalinya buat gue dan mungkin yang ke-entah-berapa-belas-kalinya bagi Cinday dan Pingi. Menganut agama the more the merrier, kami menyeret Pilip, JD (bacanya Jeydih), dan Herman untuk meramaikan pendakian (baca: memaksa pria-pria ini jadi porter. Ha-ha).

Gue inget hari itu, 11 Desember 2014, ada banyak hal yang terjadi sekaligus. Ada seseorang yang penting yang lagi liburan di Jakarta dan sebisa mungkin gue pengen menghabiskan waktu bersama anak ini. Maklum ya bapak-ibu, kalau lagi nggak di Jakarta, orangnya jauh dan secara fisik nggak bisa dijangkau. Jadi gue mengiyakan ajakannya untuk melewati siang bersama sebelum sore nanti meluncur ke Semanggi untuk bertemu Cinday cs, naik bus ke Kampung Rambutan, tidur di perjalanan dan bangun-bangun sudah di Garut. Itu rencana sempurna gue. Tapi namanya juga hidup. Hal yang tidak terduga bisa terjadi kapan saja.

Singkat cerita, rencana melewati siang merembet jadi melewati sore juga, dan gue sukses dicerca oleh Cinday. Waktu akhirnya menyusul ke Kampung Rambutan, Cinday dan Pilip sih kelihatan banget capeknya, dengan JD berusaha tetap menceriakan semua orang, padahal dia yang paling capek karena menunggu gue yang nggak tau diri ini di Semanggi dari jam 4 sore (JD, besar upahmu di surga nak. Maafkan saya yang khilaf ini). Pingi dan Herman juga belum sampai, karena stuck dengan kisah ban motor bocor dan bus yang tidak kunjung datang. Setelah menunggu yang rasanya berabad-abad, berusaha menceriakan Cinday dan Pilip, dipelototin Pilip karena berani-beraninya nge-charge HP di counter pulsa di terminal, beli cemilan bersama JD di Indomaret dan terheran-heran kenapa di terminal nggak ada ATM, Pingi dan Herman akhirnya sampai. Setelah merapikan tas dan memastikan tidak ada yang tertinggal kami akhirnya naik bus menuju Garut dan resmi memulai perjalanan.

Gue kasih tau ya, bus Garut berhenti di beberapa titik dan pedagang-pedagang tahu, jeruk, tissue dan lain sebagainya melompat ke dalam bus, berteriak dengan sangat keras dan bahkan menyalakan senter supaya para penumpang bangun. Gue butuh waktu beberapa saat untuk mencerna apa maksudnya orang-orang ini bawa-bawa senter dan menyorotkannya ke wajah orang-orang yang tidur. JD yang duduk di sebelah gue malah lebih terganggu karena bau rokok dari smoking room (iya, busnya punya smoking room) di belakang bus. Dia memutuskan untuk beli jeruk demi meng-counter bau rokok. 'Jey, meskipun elu nggak nyium bau rokoknya, efek untuk perokok pasif yang elu benci itu kan nggak hilang.............' begitu pikir gue saat itu, tapi berhubung tampang JD udah senewen, gue memutuskan untuk mendukung saja semangat berapi-apinya untuk mengupas jeruk. Daripada ditimpuk jeruk kan.

Pukul 2 pagi kami sampai di Garut. Bergabung dengan para pendaki lainnya, kami menyewa angkot. Selanjutnya harus menyewa mobil pick-up bak terbuka dan gue menikmati angin subuh yang dingin dan langit yang sedikit mendung hari itu. Sempat terpikir, kalau ibunda melihat putrinya naik mobil model begini di bak-nya, dijamin langsung didaulat untuk turun. Si mami bakal dengan segera mengkategorikan duduk-duduk di pick-up bak terbuka sebagai kegiatan radikal yang meneriakkan kata "pemberontakan" dan "berandal" dengan keras. Tapi sungguh, tidak seburuk itu. Lebih banyak sisi lucu dan serunya. Lagipula, untuk melawan dingin memang perlu banyak-banyak tertawa.

selamat pagi dari kaki Papandayan
Hujan mengawali pagi kami dan sambil menyeruput kopi dan teh, kami memandangi awan tebal di atas gunung, awan yang membawa hujan. Di dekat kami ada kelompok partai politik yang dengan bersemangat mengadakan apel di tengah-tengah hujan. Semakin keras komandan upacara berpidato, semakin deras hujannya. Karena tidak tahan, para peserta membubarkan diri. Kalau di Paskibra, itu namanya bunuh diri. Anggota pasukan hanya dapat bergerak dengan mematuhi perintah komandan. Jadi kalau hujan dan komandan tidak memerintahkan untuk bubar, yasudah nikmati saja guyuran hujan. dan benar saja, si komandan yang ditinggal di lapangan langsung ngamuk, memerintahkan dengan segera supaya semua peserta kembali ke lapangan. Gue dan yang lain kontan ngakak. Kasihan juga sih, sebagian dari mereka berdiri sampai gemetaran.

Gue lupa siapa yang ngomong. Mungkin Pingi, mungkin juga Herman. Mereka menyusun teori bahwa kelompok parpol ini adalah pembawa hujan. Kemanapun mereka pergi, awan hujan akan mengikuti mereka dan ada baiknya kami menghindari bepergian bersama kelompok ini. Awalnya gue menganggap teori itu bercandaan di pagi hari. Tapi betulan, setelah kelompok parpol itu akhirnya menyelesaikan upacara, matahari mulai menampakkan diri dan langit perlahan-lahan jadi cerah. Kami mempersiapkan diri, mengangkut tas, mengambil foto-foto, menyeruput sedikit minuman hangat lagi dan mulai mendaki. Pingi dan Cinday sudah cerita, Gunung Papandayan itu bisa didaki dengan cukup cepat, berbeda dengan Gunung Gede. Tapi pendakian bisa lebih lama karena Papandayan menawarkan pemandangan cantik kawah-kawah, hutan-hutan hijau, hutan-hutan mati dan pemandangan menarik lainnya. Beberapa menit berjalan saja gue udah langsung paham maksud Cinday dan Pingi.

Janji teman seperjalanan untuk melibatkan sebanyak mungkin tawa dan keceriaan
Pemandangan awal yang disuguhkan oleh Gunung Papandayan adalah batu-batu besar. Jalannya dipenuhi dengan bebatuan, semuanya warnanya kuning-cokelat dibingkai campuran kabut dan asap dari kawah-kawah di bawah kami. Jalannya belum terlalu menanjak.


Gue memang baru dua kali mendaki gunung. Pendakian pertama dilakukan di Gunung Gede, untuk merayakan ulang tahun ke-23. Saat itu tim pendakian hanya beranggotakan tiga orang. Ternyata, memang lebih seru mendakai berama-ramai seperti ini. Gue selalu berpikir kalau mendaki gunung itu betul-betul seperti melihat hidup. Perjalanannya tetap sendiri-sendiri, masing-masing membawa beban sendiri-sendiri, tapi seperti yang Cinday bilang, "gunung itu tetap harus didaki dalam kelompok." Seperti halnya hidup, yang tidak bisa dijalani sendirian. Manusia itu makhluk ringkih sih, kita mah apa dibanding segala kekuatan besar lainnya yang mengelilingi kita.

Herman dan Pingi percaya gue bisa akrobat cium lutut sambil iket sepatu.
Mereka juga percaya kami cocok jadi model untuk poster film.
Yang gue syukuri adalah karena perjalanan ini dilakukan bersama teman-teman yang stok energi dan keceriaannya luar biasa banyaknya. Nggak ada yang bilang mendaki gunung itu mudah, bahkan gunung dengan medan cenderung "rata" seperti Papandayan sekalipun. Jadi kalau mendaki gunung dengan geng yang grumpy dan mudah terusik dengan hal-hal yang membuat tidak nyaman (keringat, bawaan yang berat, jalan yang menanjak, matahari yang terlalu menyengat dan lain sebagainya), perjalanan akan sulit dinikmati. Kalau gue ingat-ingat lagi sekarang, banyak hal-hal konyol yang kami lakukan selagi menanjak. Mendiskusikan kemungkinan kami dikejar oleh si parpol pembawa hujan, mendiskusikan kehidupan percintaan selagi terengah-engah menanjaki jalan berbatu,  berdebat apakah yang warnanya putih-putih itu asap, kabut atau awan (??) sampai menggoda pasangan dalam tim kami yang tampaknya lagi latihan pose foto pre-wedding.

Adalah Pingi, yang sekali dalam setahun bisa ambil pose merenung dengan serius macam ini
Setelah berjalan hampir satu jam, kami tiba di kawasan kawah yang mengeluarkan bau sulfur yang menyengat. Awalnya gue pikir itu bau telur rebus, lalu "mungkin telurnya kelamaan direbus ya. Baunya jadi aneh.", lalu "sebentar, ini macam bau telur busuk." Lalu Herman dengan kalemnya menjelaskan, "Ini bau belerang. Ga enak kan baunya? Itu pertanda nggak bagus buat badan. Marilah bergegas menyeberangi area ini." *pasang muka cool*

.....Ngomongnya dari tadi bisa kali Man.

Setelah melewati kawah-kawah belerang, kami mulai disuguhi pemandangan hijau. Gue udah mulai bertanya-tanya, ini gunung apa tumpukan batu? Daritadi yang kelihatan hanya batu-batu berbagai jenis, bentuk dan ukuran. Maka ketika mata menangkap barisan pepohonan, kami berhenti lagi untuk mengambil foto. Gue rasa, perjalanan pendakian Papandayan ini lebih cocok disebut hunting foto daripada mountain climbing.

Lama-lama encok si Herman
JD udah siap guyur orang pake air. Dia lupa nggak ada yang lagi ulang tahun.
Hal unik yang nggak gue temukan dalam perjalanan sebelumnya adalah bagaimana semua orang menikmati kegiatan masing-masing sambil tetap berada di dalam kelompok. Pingi dan Herman berbagi musik, Cinday dan Pilip berbagi cinta *eh*, entahlah mungkin mereka mendiskusikan prospek Gunung Papandayan sebagai tempat untuk prewedding photoshoot mereka, dan JD si ahli biologi sibuk mengamati segala jenis hewan dan tumbuhan yang ditemuinya (kalau nggak dilarang gue rasa dia akan ngantongin semua sampel tanah, batu, daun dan lain sebagainya).

Gue? Menghirup rakus udara segar pegunungan dan memikirkan tentang hal-hal yang terjadi sepanjang tahun 2014. 2014 banyak memberi ruang buat gue mengeksplor diri sendiri, mempertanyakan hal-hal yang selama ini gue terima aja, memberanikan diri melihat lebih dalam dan mengakui bahwa banyak hal yang selama ini gue take for granted. Persahabatan, salah satunya. Saking terbiasanya dengan manusia-manusia luar biasa di sekitar gue, gue suka lupa kalau mereka mungkin nggak akan ada di sini selamanya. Saking terbiasanya dengan kehadiran seseorang, gue lupa untuk memberitahu mereka kalau dunia gue nggak akan sama kalau mereka nggak ada.


Karena gunung selalu menarik keluar refleksi macam begini, persiapan mental jadi lebih diperlukan dibanding ketika pergi main ke pantai. Gue inget waktu pendakian pertama kali ke Gede, salah satu ranger di sana ngomong begini ketika tahu itu perjalanan pendakian pertama, "If you do it right, in front of the mountain you will lay open like a book. An open book for yourself."


Mungkin itu sihirnya gunung buat gue ya. Belum tentu juga sih yang lain merasakan hal yang sama. Sementara itu, perjalanan semakin menanjak. Batu-batuan dan kawah sekarang sudah digantikan dengan pemandangan hijau, tanah yang gue injak bukan lagi tanah yang kering kecokelatan, tapi sudah rumput-rumput hijau. Rasanya seperti sedang menembus pedesaan. Gw spot JD bertampang seperti ini dan langsung tertawa. JD memang cocoknya berada dikelilingi alam seperti ini ya.


Gue inget di satu titik di pendakian Papandayan Desember lalu, gue bertanya-tanya dalam hati apakah jalur kami ini adalah jalur yang benar. Tanjakannya mulai terasa berat, semuanya sudah berhenti haha-hihi sana-sini, kaki JD sudah kram beberapa kali dan pada dasarnya semua orang sudah lelah. Gue beberapa kali menangkap ekspresi wajah ragu dari Herman, yang memimpin jalan hari itu, tapi dia mencoba stay cool aja dan memutarkan lagu Dust in the Wind nya Kansas.


Karena udah capek banget, biar nggak menjadi-jadi gue mencoba memusatkan konsenterasi dengan mendengarkan lirik lagu yang diputar Herman keras-keras dari hapenya. "I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment's gone. All my dreams, pass before my eyes a curiosity." Lalu mendadak disuguhin pemandangan ini.


Gue berhenti sebentar, menutup mata, mendengarkan bunyi jantung yang berdebar keras karena habis menaiki tanjakan panjang, mendengarkan suara-suara di sekitar gue dan tiba-tiba merasa memahami lirik lagunya si Kansas itu. "close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment's gone." Gue mencoba mengingat, momen apa ya, di 2014 yang rasanya lewat begitu saja saat gw menutup mata? Lalu yang terpikir malah, rasa-rasanya 2014 lewat begitu saja. Saking cepetnya waktu berlalu. Gue membuka mata dan mikir, oke cukup perenungannya. Malah jadi depresi. Hahahaha.

Ketika akhirnya sampai di Pondok Seladah, kami mendirikan tenda dan mulai memasak. Pondok Seladah ini daerah lembahan, dan dinginnya ampun-ampunan. Bisa gemetar sampai ke tulang. Suhunya sih berkisar 15-17 celcius, tapi ketika angin bertiup... mak. Pilihan paling logis jelas adalah meringkuk dalam sleeping bag yang hangat di tenda. Tapi ini gunung, di malam hari. Ada satu pemandangan yang demi apapun nggak akan gue lewatkan: bintang. Jika cuaca cerah, berada di ketinggian seperti ini, jauh dari lampu-lampu kota dan polusi, langit akan memamerkan starry night show yang tidak ditemukan di tempat lain. Gue bergabung dengan Pingi dan Herman yang merapatkan diri di dekat api kecil parafin, sambil membawa sebungkus marshmallow untuk dicemil ramai-ramai.

Baru tau kalau marshmallow dan malam berbintang adalah pasangan yang romantis
Ketika mendongak, gue bisa melihat ribuan bintang. Ribuan bintang memenuhi langit seperti berdesak-desakan. Dan gue nggak pernah nggak terpesona dengan langit berbintang. Langit berbintang adalah lukisan alam yang paling gue suka, nomor satu, diikuti pemandangan sunset dan hujan. Sayangnya kamera hape nggak cukup canggih untuk menangkap masterpiece di langit Papandayan malam itu, dari ketinggian 2.400 mdpl. Herman berbisik pelan, "bersyukurlah karena kita disuguhi pemandangan ini, padahal dari pagi tadi langitnya mendung."

Tiruan pemandangan ini, dua malam sebelumnya gue saksikan di langit-langit Planetarium Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta. Ketika menyaksikan pemandangan aslinya, nggak ada yang lain yang gue harapkan selain bisa teleport orang-orang yang gue sayang untuk berdiri di samping gue malam itu (selain yang udah ada di sana) dan menunjukkan pemandangan itu. Dan untuk berterimakasih kepada mereka karena mereka membuat gue merasa seperti pemandangan ribuan bintang itu: beautiful, precious and loved. Bisa dibilang diantara semua pemandangan indah yang disuguhkan Papandayan, pemandangan langit malamnya adalah pemandangan favorit gue. Setelah menemukan Orion dan Sagitarius (dengan bantuan JD), gue menyerah dengan udara dingin dan kembali ke tenda.

Paginya, kami kembali mendaki, melewati hutan mati dan menuju Tegal Alun, padang Edelweiss di Gunung Papandayan. Pagi ini, karena sudah beristirahat dan sarapan enak, semuanya sedikit lebih bersemangat.

Three musketeers
Gue nggak tahu harus merasa apa soal hutan mati. Di satu sisi, gue bisa bilang itu hutan memang punya pemandangan yang bisa bikin terdiam sesaat. Kesannya misterius dan sunyi. Gue juga paham kenapa hutan mati Papandayan disebut-sebut sebagai "Alpine" nya Indonesia.


Masalahnya, Alpine itu ya meranggas karena musim dingin, yang ini kan karena pohonnya benar-benar sudah mati. Pohon-pohon ini menjadi pohon mati ketika Gunung Papandayan meletus ratusan tahun lalu. Kalau dipikir-pikir, mendadak gue merasa kecil sekali ketika berada dikelilingi pepohonan itu. Mereka sudah ada disana ratusan tahun lalu. Ratusan tahun lalu, seperti apa tanah di tempat ini? Dunia ternyata sudah tua sekali ya.

Happiness is contagious, believe me.
Yang langsung terasa di hutan mati adalah betapa panasnya tempat itu. Gue selalu mengasosiasikan daerah tinggi dengan udara yang bersih dan sejuk, dengan panas matahari yang ditahan oleh rimbunan pohon-pohon. Berhubung pohon disini memang tingal batang, ya apa mau dikata. Setelah puas foto-foto di hutan mati, kami melanjutkan perjalanan. Tujuan akhir dari pendakian Papandayan adalah mencapai Tegal Alun, hamparan Edelweiss seluas 35 hektar. Waktu mendaki Gede dulu, gue nggak mampir ke Surya Kencana, jadi belom sempat melihat seperti apa sih bunga yang disebut-sebut sebagai bunga abadi itu. Jalan menuju Tegal Alun ternyata masih didominasi oleh tanjakan-tanjakan kejam. Di sebagian besar tanjakan itu sudah disediakan tali untuk membantu pendaki, sesuatu yang oleh Pingi disadari sebagai sesuatu yang baru.

Diberkatilah siapapun itu yang menaruh tali disana
Ngomong-ngomong soal pendakian, nyokap adalah orang yang paling nggak rela setiap kali anaknya menggendong ransel. Padahal dia juga mantan MAPALA, dan tahu betul bahwa naik gunung itu nagih, untuk keteduhannya, untuk refleksi yang diberikannya, untuk sensasi nyut-nyutan di kaki, untuk suara detak jantung yang terdengar jelas di telinga, untuk pemandangan awan, bintang, matahari terbit dan untuk persahabatan yang terjalin di antara para pendaki. Tapi pada akhirnya doi selalu mengizinkan sih, karena gue rasa nyokap juga tahu kalau pemandangan seperti ini bukan pemandangan reguler harian, dan kenyataan bahwa kita perlu berjuang untuk melihatnya membuat pemandangan itu berkali-kali lipat lebih worth it untuk dinikmati.


Gue nggak begitu ingat berapa waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk mendaki dari Pondok Seladah - Hutan Mati - Tegal Alun. Yang gue ingat hanya Herman yang mengingatkan kami untuk menambah kecepatan, karena mendadak mendung lagi. Pingi menyebutkan sesuatu tentang "mungkin kelompok partai politik itu udah berkemah di daerah Pondok Seladah. Jadi, naturally, mereka manggil hujan." Gue kok ya antara mau ngakak dan nelangsa juga mendengarnya. Berjalan di medan yang cukup datar, gue tahu Tegal Alun sudah di depan mata ketika Cinday dan Pingi memanggil-manggil gue dengan riang.

Tegal Alun. Edelweiss. Akhirnya.

I felt like running with my arms stretched in here
Bunga Edelweiss ini bunga original pegunungan-pegunungan tinggi seperti Himalaya dan Alpen. Namanya berasal dari bahasa Jerman yang artinya "noble" dan "pure". Mereka disebut-sebut sebagai the star of the snow, karena warnanya yang putih bersih. Di banyak negara, Edelweiss termasuk tanaman yang dilindungi, artinya nggak boleh dipetik dan dibawa turun dari gunung. Katanya, dulu Edelweiss hanya tumbuh di tempat-tempat yang sulit dijangkau oleh manusia.

Star of the Snow
Kami menghabiskan cukup banyak waktu di padang Tegal Alun. Banyak merenung, banyak tertawa, merenung lagi, bahkan Pingi dan Herman sempat-sempatnya photoshoot dengan toga wisuda. Gue baru sadar kalau mereka bawa-bawa toga sampai ke atas. Sungguh berdedikasi.

"Laughter will always be the best medicine"
Ceritanya terharu melihat Pingi dengan toga
Gue mendaki gunung bukan karena ingin dunia -- orang lain melihat gue sebagai pendaki gunung. Gue mendaki gunung justru supaya gue bisa melihat dunia, dari perspektif yang berbeda. Hari itu gue berdiri di depan hamparan Edelweiss, menarik nafas dalam-dalam dan berjanji pada diri sendiri untuk jadi seseorang yang lebih baik lagi begitu turun gunung. Jadi seperti Edelweiss yang bertahan dalam situasi keras, tetap pure  dan jujur pada diri sendiri. Pendakian ini jadi perjalanan penutup 2014 dan saat itu gue merasa 2015 akan jadi tahun yang banyak membawa perubahan, banyak tantangan dan petualangan-petualangan besar. Gugup? Nggak usah ditanya. Perubahan bukan hal yang mudah, tapi gue percaya bahwa ketika diletakkan dalam satu path , God provides you with wings.



 Ketika berjalan turun, tim yang isinya enam orang super ribut mendadak hening. Mungkin itu juga ya salah satu "mantra" nya gunung. Atau mungkin juga semua orang mulai lelah, atau mungkin karena kabut turun perlahan, semuanya mendadak gloomy. Kami kembali dalam keheningan yang tidak biasa, menuju Pondok Seladah, memasak sebentar, menanti hujan berhenti dan berjalan menuruni Gunung Papandayan.

Dan selalu, gue bersyukur.

Can you hear the woods calling?