Minggu lalu saya bermimpi dan bertanya dalam hati
Salah siapa jika gunung di utara Yogyakarta mulai bangun dari tidurnya
Mengepulkan awan panas yang menerjang apapun yang berada pada jalurnya

Tiga hari yang lalu saya bermimpi dan bertanya dalam hati
Salah siapa jika saat semua orang mengawasi gunung di utara Yogyakarta
Gempa dari arah selatan memporak-porandakan Yogyakarta dan sekitarnya

Dua hari yang lalu saya bermimpi dan bertanya dalam hati
Salah siapa jika korban yang selamat dari gempa harus tidur di udara terbuka
Dibawah turunnya hujan yang menambah penderitaan mereka

Kemarin saya bermimpi dan bertanya dalam hati
Salah siapa jika seorang ayah menggali reruntuhan rumahnya untuk menyelamatkan anaknya
Hanya untuk melihat anaknya meninggalkannya untuk selamanya di rumah sakit

Hari ini saya terjaga dari tidur saya
dan menyadari bahwa semua yang terjadi bukanlah mimpi
dan bukanlah salah siapa-siapa

Sekarang kalau saya berpikir bahwa hidup ini terlalu singkat
dan penting untuk melaluinya bersama orang-orang yang kita cintai
Itu bukanlah pula salah siapa-siapa

Doa saya untuk semua orang yang menjadi korban gempa bumi di daerah Yogyakarta dan Jawa Tengah, khususnya untuk kel Bude Sus dan Oom Kentung, Mbak Nungki dan keluarga, Mbak Lissa dan keluarga, Mas Wawi’ dan keluarga, Mbak Tyas dan keluarga serta Kholid dan keluarga .
Tuhan tidak akan memberikan cobaan di luar kekuatan kita.

Thousands of pairs of eyes around the world were glued to the television on Saturday, May 27 2006, as the news of the earthquake(s) that struck the city of Yogyakarta and its surrounding areas was broadcasted all day long. Some were just watching in horror, while some others were desperately trying to get a hold of their relatives who live in the hit areas to find out what had happened to them.

The magnitude 5.9 earthquake (BMG version, but other institutions such as UGM and USGS said it was a 6.3 on richter scale earthquake. Kenapa ya beda?) struck at 5.50 am while many people were still sleeping, causing a large number of casualties, with most of them being entombed under rubbles or buildings. At the time I am writing this post, it is reported that the death toll has reached 4000 people, and the wounded has reached 6000 people. This number would surely rise as many victims are still trapped under debris of buildings, waiting for rescue.

I was actually in the city of Yogyakarta when the quake struck. I was on a trekking trip with a group of friends. We had been in Yogya since Thursday afternoon and Saturday was our last day in Yogya. Myself and four other friends had agreed to wake up early on Saturday morning to take pictures of some old buildings around the Malioboro area, where we were staying. So off we went at 5 am in the morning, to walk around the area, snapping pictures at Pasar Beringharjo, the Sebelas Maret monument, the Post Office building, and the Bank Indonesia building.

At around 5.47 am, an old friend of mine who lives in Yogyakarta called me on my cell. We had agreed the day before to meet up to have an early breakfast. I told him where I was, and he said he was on his way, and would get to where I was in 10 minutes. Suddenly we got disconnected, and I then heard a rumbling sound that got louder and louder. I could feel the earth was moving below my feet and I saw the lamp poles were shaking wildly. People were screaming, and I could see the rooftops of some buildings were collapsing. I followed the people that were running towards the street, to avoid being close to buildings. We just stood there, holding each other’s hands while trying to maintain our balance as the earth was still shaking below us. Finally, after what felt like forever, it was over. We were really in shock after that, as none of us knew what to do. I tried calling back my friend, but I only got busy signals. After calming down a bit, we decided to go back to the hotel to check if the rest of the group was okay. Along the Malioboro street, we saw more of collapsed buildings, but fortunately our hotel was still okay. It got some cracks here and there but it was still holding up. The rest of the group was okay, though most of them were still sleeping when the quake happened, so it was more shocking for them than it was for us, as they were inside a building, as opposed to us who were out at an open space. I tried again to call my friend and got through this time, and he said he was on his way back home to see if his family was okay. Okay, at least I knew he was fine. Up to that point, we thought the quake was a volcanic one because Merapi has been rumbling for weeks, but later we found out to our surprise that it was a tectonic earthquake, with the epicenter deep in the Indian Ocean, south to Java island.

As scary as the quake was, it was less scarier than what was happening next: the false rumor of tsunami. I was inside the hotel when suddenly there were hundreds of people fleeing on the street, screaming and sobbing in tears. Motorcyclist and car drivers were honking their horns trying to get their way around fleeing people. People were yelling, “Air…air…Lari…..tsunami, mbak….lari…..ke utara…..”. (I didn’t even know where north or south was). Some others were yelling, “Get to the rooftop…..get to the rooftop…don’t run!”. If you ever saw the TV scenes from December 2004 where thousands of people were fleeing for higher ground to escape from tsunami in Aceh, it was kinda like that. I was so scared, and so confused of what to do, and I really thought it would be the end of me. Fortunately, a friend who had been monitoring the news through radio on his cell, managed to get a sense of what was happening. He assured us that we were okay. We were about 30 km from the coast, and it was already more than an hour after the quake struck, so it was very unlikely for a tsunami to happen and reach where we were. So, we calmed down again. Still for me, it was one of the scariest moments in my life.

In the meantime, we were still feeling some aftershocks. We then decided to check out of the hotel and leave the city. So we went to our room to pack our stuff (at that time, packing to me meant frantically throwing things into my bag). I was on my way down carrying my bag without zipping it (Zipping my bag takes time, and I didn’t want to stay very long inside the hotel), when an aftershock shook again. I ran outside the building, and dropped some of my stuff. It turned out to be a small aftershock, so nothing really happened after that. But then, some unknown woman approached me and helped me picking up my stuff, while saying to me, “Mbak, kalo saya boleh saran, mendingan bawa barang-barang yang berharga aja, kaya dompet sama hp. Yang lainnya ditinggal aja”. Haaah??? Malu gue…..dalam hati gue bilang, “Syalaan, I am not crazy over my things, you know..it just happened that I was bringing down my bag when the aftershock happened”. Hiks….So, to her I was ‘mentingin harta daripada nyawa’. Yeah, right…..and my ‘harta’ consisted of a pair of worn jeans covered in mud, a couple of filthy and sweaty t-shirts, and a pair of dirty socks. Not true….not true……:(

After that, we gathered and put our stuff in the bus, and then headed back to Jakarta. Along the way we saw more of collapsed buildings. Ambulances were rushing their ways to get the victims to the hospitals. There were obviously not enough ambulances, as we also saw lots of victims being carried by pick-up trucks or big trucks. We also saw people anxiously sitting and waiting outside their homes, afraid to go back inside, in fear that another big aftershock would strike.

Below are some pictures a friend of mine, Rico Ferajab, managed to snap after the earthquake that would perhaps better depict the situation.











I still had not comprehend the extent of the damage resulted from the earthquake until later that day, when I found out that the quake did not only strike the city of Yogya, but also other districts in the province and also in Jawa Tengah, and it was feared that the death toll could be thousands in numbers (which has been proven to be true). Only then I realized I was probably lucky that the quake did not happen a day earlier, as at 5.50 am on Friday, I was standing at the peak of Bukit Tugel, a small mountain nearby Merapi, and if the quake were to struck at that time, I would have fallen off the hill and I would not be here today. I was also lucky that I was not inside a building, and trapped underneath it after the quake.

I am really grateful that I survived the earthquake, but at the same time I mourn those who did not, and I am sad for those who did but lost everything to the quake. I could not even imagine being at their place. My deepest condolence goes out to the family of the deaths. I could only pray for them and to offer help with little that I have. It is also touching to see how people reacted to the tragedy. Within the country, many groups of people got together to collect money and to provide medical and food aids to the victims. Many volunteers and relief workers arrived at the scenes only hours after the quake struck. Words of help have also been coming from countries around the world.

Apart from the criticisms that have been addressed to the government with regards to the ineffectiveness of the after-disaster-management program, which has an impact on the length of time the emergency aid actually reach the survivors (I personally could not understand why the government doesn't want to declare the tragedy as a national disaster, and I am cursing the government for being slow in helping the survivors), it is still somehow comforting to know that people still care for each other and they are willing to put aside all differences to work together with one goal, which is to help the victims of the earthquake. Then I could only daydream that a situation like this did not only happen when a tragedy strikes. In the meantime, I am crying for Jogja.....

PS: I thank my dear friends and family members who spared lots of their time to try contacting me to find out if I was okay on Saturday. It meant a lot to me to know that you guys care.

Although I consider myself being good at 'tebak-tebakan garing', I am never good at reading between the lines. I am terrible at guessing what someone's real thoughts or feelings are, from only hearing what they say (bahasa indo-nya kali membaca yang tersirat dari yang tersurat. :) uhuy..).

Call me oblivious if you will, but it already takes a great enough effort from my side just to stay focus in a 'straightforward' conversation, in which my conversation partner(s) would explicitly say what they really feel or think (My mind constantly travels around, even when I am involved in a serious conversation, and at times I would find myself looking blankly at someone's face not knowing what to say because I have not been listening or paying attention).
So, it really really frustrates me when I am involved in a conversation that is dominated with implications. It is almost too much for me having to stay focus in the conversation, while at the same time having to 'intelligently' guess the true meaning of what others are saying . Hieeks..too much task for my little brain....
To cover up my inability to read between the lines, I have been practicing to put on my 'i-understand-what-you-are-talking-about' facial expression, although that does not always work, and the fact that I often say 'smart' things like, 'Huh?' (sadly , it is my favorite), or 'say what?' does not help at all. It only makes it clearer to my conversation partner that being a diplomat would not exactly be the best career choice for me.

Why can't people just say what they want to say, instead of saying other things and then expect others to infer something from the conversation. Knapa siiih??? Perhaps I am not a good observer, or perhaps I am oblivious of the obvious, or perhaps I am an un-basa-basi person....nggak tau deh..

I just think life would be easier if we do not need to read between the lines.

....

And look who's talking.....:) Bear with me yah, people!!

Apakah kamu sudah pernah mencoba makan seafood di Muara Karang?

Sampai Sabtu minggu kemarin, jawaban saya untuk pertanyaan di atas adalah ‘belum’.
Ada dua alasan dibalik jawaban saya yang ‘belum’ tadi.
Alasan pertama adalah karena jauhnya Muara Karang dari lokasi-lokasi dimana saya biasanya beredar. Saya tinggal di daerah Pondok Kelapa dan berkantor di daerah Kuningan, sebenarnya sama dengan Muara Karang, masih dalam wilayah Jakarta juga, tapi I mean, Muara Karang is really..really…jauh….
Alasan kedua adalah saya bukan fans berat seafood. Bukan berarti saya tidak suka seafood, tapi bila saya masih mempunyai pilihan, saya lebih cenderung untuk memilih makanan lain. Saya bisa mengkonsumsi ikan, baik itu dibakar, digoreng, digulai, atau bahkan mentah seperti pada sushi atau sashimi,….tapi saya agak picky untuk jenis makanan udang, cumi-cumi dan keluarga mollusca yang lain, karena saya kurang suka teksturnya yang kenyal.

Tapi berawal dari pertemuan yang tidak direncanakan bersama sejumlah orang yang hampir semua saya belum kenal, Sabtu malam kemarin saya ‘terdampar’ di Muara Karang. Cerita dimulai saat seorang teman (demi efisiensi, mari kita sebut dia A) yang tinggal di kota lain, Sabtu kemarin berada di Jakarta untuk bertemu dengan temannya, sebut saja B. A dan B adalah teman baik yang sudah lama tidak bertemu, karena selama ini B tinggal di luar Indonesia. Saya, A, B, dan satu orang lagi sudah berencana untuk menonton konser TOTO pada hari Minggu. A pun mengajak saya untuk bertemu dengan B, sekaligus untuk mengambil tiket konser yang sudah dipesan sebelumnya. Saat saya tiba di tempat pertemuan, ternyata selain A dan B sudah ada satu orang lagi yang hadir, sebut saja C, yang ternyata juga adalah salah satu teman dari B. Sebelum pertemuan ini, A dan C ternyata belum saling mengenal. Tak lama setelah itu bergabung lagi empat orang bersama kami, masing-masing D, E, F dan G. D ternyata juga adalah teman dari B, namun B belum mengenal E, F dan G. D pun ternyata belum mengenal A maupun C, apalagi saya. Di luar dugaan, D mengajak B untuk makan malam di daerah Muara Karang. B mengiyakan dan mengajak kami semua untuk ikut bersama mereka. ‘Terjebak’ oleh momen yang tak terduga itu, saya pun akhirnya mengiyakan. Hehe….Jadilah rombongan ondel-ondel kami berangkat menuju Muara Karang.

Makan seafood di Muara Karang ternyata cukup penuh dengan perjuangan. Saat rombongan sampai di daerah Muara Karang, kami harus melewati pasar basah (yang benar-benar basah karena tergenang banjir). Jalan masuk ke pasar yang sempit (Did I mention jalannya tergenang?) sekaligus menjadi tempat bongkar muat truk yang mengangkut gentong-gentong berisi ikan dan teman-temannya. Ketika kami lewat, sedang ada kegiatan bongkar muat produk laut dari sebuah truk, sehingga kami pun harus menunggu sampai bongkar muat tadi selesai. Kios-kios yang menjual produk laut berada di sisi kiri dan kanan jalan. Di sepanjang jalan itu pula tampak berjejer gentong-gentong dan container (bedanya gentong sama container apa ya?) yang berisi produk-produk laut yang siap dibeli.

Setelah menyusuri jalanan pasar tadi, akhirnya kami tiba di area Pusat Jajanan Serba Ikan (Pujaseri? Hehe..), tempat yang kami tuju untuk menikmati Seafood. Saat harus mengambil karcis parkir, saya pun menurunkan jendela Flazz lalu mengulurkan tangan serta tak lupa melempar senyum manis pada si penjaga booth parkir, tapi…hmpff…..bau ikan yang sangat menusuk langsung memenuhi hidung saya. Karena hidung saya termasuk sensitive terhadap bau-bau-an, saya pun gelagapan dan segera menaikkan jendela untuk menghindari bau tadi. Sebenarnya sih it had no effects at all, karena setelah parkir pun saya harus turun dari Flazz and I had to deal with the smell. Hiks..

Rombongan kami pun berjalan menuju area Pujaseri, dan segera disambut oleh kepulan asap, persis seperti rombongan penyanyi dangdut yang akan manggung. Kami pun mendatangi salah satu tempat makan yang ada di area tadi. Asap yang berasal dari tempat bakaran ikan ini termasuk pekat dan kebetulan arah angin saat itu membuat asap bertiup ke arah kami. Saya pun terpaksa memicingkan mata karena asap tadi membuat mata saya menjadi perih dan nafas saya pun sedikit sesak (sesaknya karena bantuan asap yang lain juga sih. Hehe…). Saya pun membatin, sekarang saya tahu bagaimana perasaan nyamuk apabila sedang di fogging. (ga nyambung, ih..!). Karena saya, A, B dan C tidak familiar dengan daerah pasar di Muara Karang, akhirnya kami ‘ditugaskan’ untuk menjaga meja sementara D, E, F dan G pergi untuk berburu ikan dan keluarga mollusca yang akan disantap. Tak lama kemudian mereka kembali dengan membawa berkantong-kantong plastik penuh produk laut. Mereka kemudian menyerahkan hasil belanja mereka pada tukang masak di tempat makan tadi dan memesan agar hasil belanjaan tadi dimasak dengan macam-macam cara. Sambil menunggu masakan siap, kami pun mengobrol ngalor ngidul sembari menyantap otak-otak ikan yang masih hangat, masih dalam kepulan asap . Saya sempat berfikir bahwa saya takut bakalan tidak ingat wajah-wajah yang baru saya kenal ini, karena selama mengobrol, most of the time saya terpaksa memicingkan mata saya. Meskipun demikian obrolan tetap berlangsung dengan seru, apalagi saat topik obrolan beranjak ke film Korea. Ternyata A dan C adalah penggemar berat film-film Korea. Hehe…Freak abiiizz….

Tapi untungnya ketika makanan sudah datang, arah angin berganti dan asap pun bertiup ke arah lain. Kami pun bisa makan dan mengobrol dengan nikmat tanpa harus memicingkan mata. Pffewh… Akhirnya……. Makanan yang dihidangkan cukup heboh baik dalam segi jumlah maupun penyajiannya, at least bagi saya yang memang jarang makan seafood. Ada cumi-cumi goreng tepung, udang goreng tepung, udang asam manis, udang saus mentega (bener ga sih?), cumi-cumi saus tiram, dan ikan bakar. Semua dalam porsi yang berlimpah. Cumi-cumi goreng tepung-nya memang enak, demikian juga dengan ikan bakarnya (cuma dua jenis itu yang saya makan. Hehe..) yang dimakan dengan sambal kecap dengan irisan cabai, bawang dan tomat. Mmm…Menurut teman-teman yang lain, makanan lainnya pun tidak kalah enak. Yah, at least perjalanan kami ke Muara Karang lumayan worth it lah.

Setelah perut kenyang, dengan masih diiringi asap kami pun beranjak pulang. Saya sudah mulai terbiasa dengan bau yang menusuk karena saat itu kami sendiri pun sudah menyebarkan bau ikan dan asap. Hehe…Meskipun badan saya dan Flazz menjadi bau ikan, saya pun pulang ke rumah dengan perasaan senang karena mendapatkan pengalaman baru dan teman-teman baru. What a Night.

Jadi kalau sekarang saya ditanya, “Apakah kamu sudah pernah mencoba makan seafood di Muara Karang?”, tahu kan jawaban saya apa……:)