In Solo

...That title starts to feel like a darn template.

Last Sunday I traveled to Solo, along with the rest of the usual FN gank. And even though everyone brought cameras with them, we all already knew that everytime we gather up, it's mostly not about taking pictures but more about having a good time. And a good time it was. Well, aside from the weariness. Ten kilometers walk was definitely not fun for the legs.



















I am actually quite pleased about this one.



























I also brought my parents' old point and shoot film camera, the puny Fuji DL-80 which had collected dust, to shoot some test rolls. But the shutter got fucking jammed at the end of the journey so that camera might not see another light of the day anymore after all. Thinking of going to the flea market to get another cheap one...

In Jakarta, Part II

Some leftovers from my last trip, taken around Jakarta Fair 2008. The event reminds me of Sekaten Fair in Jogja, only with a more modern setting and a bigger crowd. But that's probably an over generalization.


























Jakarta is a strange place, at least to me. Though I lived there for about 4 years (circa 1997-2000), the city still looks somewhat alien to me. Even the places I used to know no longer look familiar. It's almost like the city itself doesn't want to be recognized, to be identified. Frankly, I don't like the general atmosphere of Jakarta. But that's probably because I've come to enjoy living in Jogja, a small city with a much slower pace than Jakarta. Here, you can feel like you really belong to the place... while in Jakarta it feels like you just sort of being dragged around here and there by the daily rush. I really can't see Jakarta as a place for "living", it just looks like one gigantic workplace to me. You wake up at, what, 5 AM in the morning to prepare to go to work before the traffic gets jammed, then work your ass off through the day, and finally arrive back at home at 8 or 9 PM (if you get lucky), only to repeat it all over again the next day and the day after.

The sad thing is I might have to "live" in there as well in near future, at least for some time, cause all the good career opportunity is practically still centralized in that god forsaken place...

As long as I don't need to stay there until 2025 I guess, heh.