Archive for April, 2009

Challenge’s sometimes never easy

Thea April 29th, 2009

Thing, sometimes, never goes easy when it comes to target and working under pressure. You are targeted, pushed to achieve certain goal, and assessed by quantity you compile within certain time line. It usually occurs in private sector, like in my company.

I feel it’s pretty much harder for me and my team when the goal is set by the high level management without compromising the condition in the “grass root”. In the name of company’s image, and many times bench marked with the competitor in other countries, we are forced to work harder. It should be dependent on how we see that target, as a challenge or as a barrier. Even week by week we should report to our management how the progress goes far. They always say that more than half of our roaming business is highly reliant on what our team achieve. Okay, we accept that challenge.

It’s never been this tough before, before my director was replaced by the new one and she said” I don’t wanna business as usual”. Then, the target that was set in early of this year is rectified. Our target is doubled.

Sometimes, challenge is never easy for me when I reach the boredom in my pursuant of target. I can’t just work as usual as I have to push my effort even harder. Every time I get to the office, all things I am thinking are related how to achieve the target and make creativity to reach it. I just can’t work in conventional way. It indeed requires out-of-box thinking. In our first quarter this year, we’re failed to achieve the targeted additional roaming partner. The second quarter started this April, and I never want to miss chance that I can make it and say to my boss ” I did it my way”.

Let’s Join the Speaking Club

Thea April 17th, 2009

Another thing, besides the detox, I wish I can accomplish this year is joining an English speaking club. Those two were actually targeted last year in my resolution, but failed to be done. This year I start to gather some people who are willing to practice their English speaking capability through a speaking club.

The concept was discussed profoundly with Mas Chandra and Mas Apri, both are instructors of an English institution in Jakarta. They were very enthusiastic with my idea as the club that they founded is decayed. From them I know that it’s not easy to build a speaking club in conventional way. I mean you just can’t gather them up in a venue like in class, especially when the participants are working. Weekend is also a bad choice of time as they will prefer going to mall or entertainment center rather than gathering with pals practicing their English.

Departing from their shared experience, we came up with a concept that this speaking club will be held after hour, when people choose it’s better to stay somewhere while waiting for the traffic jam.  The day picked is Wednesday and the time is 7 PM. Afterward, the place is tentative but definitely in a place situated in mall or entertainment place. It can be cafe or something else.

With that concept, hopefully we can, at least, gather 15 participants who will continue committing their presence every Wednesday night. The topic can be anything interesting as long as it can “provoke”  participants to speak up. And though a relax ambiance of cafe, instead of confined-class room, hopefully people will feel relax.

Anyone would join? It starts this May 6.

Cooking; Passion that’s Shared

Thea April 8th, 2009

I love cooking. That passion has been growing since I was a little girl and continues clinging to my heart until now. During my teenage, my mum always asked my hand on the kitchen. In the process of assisting my mum, I learned step by step the basic skill of cooking. Slicing, frying, peeling etc.
My mum loves cooking, which skill she inherits from my granny. Because of her wide networking, she knows many people form different backgrounds. Then she sharpens her cooking skill and develops her knowledge on recipes from other provinces. That’s why since I was a child, I have been used to eat food which is relatively different from other friends. My mum is an expert on cooking bubur manado, ayam rica, botok, pepes aceh, rendang, rawon, ayam bakar bumbu rujak and many others food I can’t list.

Besides learning from my mum, now I love googling to find unique recipes. I enjoy preparing the menu for my hubby and cooking her fave dishes, such as bebek goreng, ayam penyet, tuna fettucine, shabu-shabu, tahu telur, or pecel. Technology is undoubtedly very helpful in this case. It takes no time to find recipe of green tea frappucino, my hubby’s fave beverage. From googling, I know how to make strawberry mousse that I will be cooking in the near time. However, what my mum has taught to me is the principal thing as that’s why I can cook and apply all recipes I take from google.

My mum keeps dreaming to run a restaurant where she can pour her passion on cooking fully. I know that she never has that chance unless she resigns from her current job. Mum is a very hard-working woman that she won’t feel enough of retiring her self after her tenure.Because of that, I guess she will seize her dream and make it true.

What about me? Now I start compiling all recipes which have been practiced so that in the future I have a capital to start my own business. My hubby supports my idea a lot. He wishes that we could manage a unique food place at Jogja. Both of us have worked on the concept of the restaurant. Just wait for the right time to launch it.

I see the similarity of interest between me and my mum. We both love cooking and dream to have our own restaurant. Maybe next, I will share this passion as well to my children:)

The Shining Alin

Thea April 7th, 2009

Not many people whom I meet who dare to dream and seize it until they get what they really want. Alin is the one, a big dreamer and a hard worker. I never doubt that she obtains what she dreams as she consistently improves her self quality.

I know her since I was in a senior high school. We were from a same senior high school, but she is two years younger than me. Then we also went to the similar college, with a same concentration, International Relations. I never thought that she had a passion in journalism until I heard that she was the runner up of Liputan 6 goes to Campus. From a best friend of her, I knew that Alin had prepared all of her plans, including becoming a professional journalist. She kept practicing reading news in front of mirror, ensuring she would be delivering good intonation in front of camera.

Once graduating form college, she started her career as a journalist in the metropolis city. Despite her achievement, she started all from the very beginning, until she joined a tv station which broadcasts a qualified news program. I often found her reading the news. Little bit surprised as she looked different on the screen.

Now she’s in USA attending VOA fellowship for six months. “Wish me a good job, mbak, because if so they will extend my fellowship for another six months”, she said when we had lunch at City Plaza. I encourage her to apply for a scholarship in journalism because I conceive that she’s more than deserved to get that for she’s smart and hard worker. Her best friend, Mya, said that Alin is a big dreamer and a hard worker. I couldn’t agree more about that as it’s clearly obvious from her.

Good luck Alin. I am looking forward to hearing another achievement from you:)

Ups…if you’re one of Liputan 6 viewers, you must be familiar with the anchor Juanita Wiratmaja, It’s her anyway