Ma Vie..

What is happiness?

Is it working in a place seemed like playground, surrounded by people look like your friends, or being with your family?

None of them.

Happiness is about finding yourself, taking chances, and listening to your heart.

As a human, we often made a stupid decision, regret about every mistakes happened in the past, but everything lead us to one conclusion: learning.

Life is a series of continuous learning, yet no human can make perfect decision and never looked back.

It is normal to follow your heart or your head, but then stop to think that it’s not a smart decision after all. But what is life without taking chances and challenges? It will just be another role play, musical drama, or a bird in a golden cage.

I am fully aware that after making some major decisions in life, I did not satisfied with the result and crawling.. yelling.. crying.. wishing that I could come back to the point where I made the decision. But, no, even though I looked back.. I will never change my decision. Moving to marketing, moving to Singapore, moving to France..

everything is a part of my life journey..

and now, I need to take another major decision in life.. Working or start my own business?

I still remember exactly how it feels to be a sandwich, how it feels to be right but everyone just blaming on you.. feels like a trash..

But I don’t want anyone to make me feel like that again.

I wanna proof to everyone who believes in me.. or doubt me.. that I can be success by my own hand.. let it be.. let it be..

Europe..

The main reason I want to study in Europe (and not just travelling) is because I want to know about their culture, way of thinking, and habit.. blending with the people.

After 6 months living here, although I am not blending a lot because of language barrier, but I know approximately upside down about Europe.

1. Quality of Life

Because Europe is the most advanced area in the past (during Roman and Greek empire until World War I), then they are the most advanced as well in quality of life. Compare to other developed Asian countries, such as Hong Kong, Japan, or Singapore, with the same economics level, all of their citizens must work their ass off working 50 hours a week. I’ve been working in Singapore, so I know how Singaporean looooves working overtime..

In here, you can get same level of salary with less working hours.. yet this won’t happened for a long time, they will need to change in order to cope up with Asian empire..

2. Economy

Okay, we all know that Europe is a sinking ship. Low population growth, unbalanced pyramid of age (numbers of old people more than youngsters), and the fact that almost all European companies nearly have growth less than 10% every year..

No wonder all European companies spread their wings to developing countries where the market is huge, growing, with abundant of workforces.

No wonder European loves Indonesia! LOL..

3. Cleanliness, Manner..

This one, I think they are only a bit higher than us.. Okay, let’s not compare European city inhabitant with most Indonesian which live in a village. But, compare Parisien with Jakartans. Lot of french people, esp the youngsters also likes to make graffiti, littering, smoking in a public place, and bad toilet cleanliness.. for the later, I think Japanese is the greatest one 🙂

So, overall.. this experience really open my eyes that my country is not that bad! We can catch up our gap if we want to work hard and be responsible! Ayeee..

6 weeks study time left.. :)

I remember why did I insist on having this post grad degree, yes at first it was because of the pride I’d be getting for staying and studying overseas. But, furthermore is because I want to have a career gap. I was so sick and nausea with the office politics, so I decided to getaway from the craziness and thinking of a career as a lecturer.

Well, here I am, I’ve passed 4 months in 2012 in bitter and sweet moments, where I got sick and also tried to save my relationship. I was blaming myself because if I didn’t decided to go here, then my BF wouldn’t feel that sad.. but after I met him and having a nice holiday in Italy, I started to see everything in the brightest side.. Hence, I still really wanna go home.

I hope my mother able to go here, at least she can gives me a hint of a home taste.. I know I will go through fights with her.. but as long as it’s not forever, it’s OK, LOL…

Anyway, I’ve count our schedule.. we only have 6 weeks left to study, after that we’ll have few days to do exam. I’m surely gonna miss my friends when they’re leaving one by one.. And me myself, when it is time for me to leave, I’m gonna miss this place.. my ugly room, yet I really love the city.. it’s cheap and convenient to travel anywhere 🙂

Bisous Rennes..

And not to mention when I came home with pride, taking MBA degree at the back of my name 🙂

Life in France after 6 months :D

Me and my college friends! 😀

Yeaayy.. I made here almost 6 months!

To be precise, 5 and half months I guess 🙂

Lots of troubles, lots of losses, lots of tears.. but also lots of laugh, lots of cherish  and gain a lot of life knowledges..

Met a lot of people from all over the world, from Asia to North America, From Africa to Latin America. Share thoughts, not always align, but we understand each others..

I love this city, the size that it’s not too small, but not as big as Paris or even Lille, when I always worried someone will steal my wallet on the road. France is not perfect, as other countries are. Wherever we live, we always take it for granted.

Indonesia, Singapore, France.. wherever it is.. we always come with “awe” comes our from our mouth, but after sometimes it becomes dull and tiring..

There will always be something that is lacking.. lacking of efficient bureaucracy is the most critical and annoying thing living in France. Of course my ultimate benchmark will be Singapore, where everything is so efficient and simple.. But I always remember the Singapore complaint choir which I laughed together with my BF at that moment. Singaporean were so ungrateful, we wish they live in Jakarta and feel the traffic hell, I wish they will immediately swim to Singapore, LOL!

The only pull factor for me in here is my relationship. Of course, whoever said LDR is piece of cake is crazy.. It is damn hard and can be heartbreaking sometimes. But, this is actually the best test for your love.. How can you know that you really love someone, not only blissful lust or due to location?

How can you keep faithful to one person that is not being there for you? When you cried, he’s not there. When you’re sick, she’s away thousand miles. When you need someone to hug, all you got is a bear or a giraffe doll.. But that’s it.

All the answers of those questions will lead to one thing, it is the power of love.

If you can go through this, your relationship will goes stronger..

And actually LDR can also be somehow romantic, because the only thing you’ll always remember is the good memories, not the bad one. And every time you remember it, all those butterflies will fill in your tummy and create that za-za-zu feeling (Carrie’s terms for those butterflies. Have you watched sex and the city, yet? ;))

Or even simple things when your waking up your BF despite the time difference of 6 hours, but you still remember what time is it in Indonesia.. therefore he feels that you’re always there, even though not physically.

Maybe even a couple who lives together missed these romanticism, because as the country rules, it’s also applied to all the things in life.. when you have something, you always take it for granted.

I’m gonna miss these moments for sure.. All the romanticism, even our Italy trip which feels challenging yet interesting 🙂

Back to the France thingy..

When I go back to Indonesia (which might be around April to June), I will surely miss these moments when I just need 10-15 minutes to go to college.. Yeah, I got the same timing when I was in Bandung, by foot. But, I surely won’t get that time luxury anymore when I got back to Bogor or Jakarta 😉

Everything in here seemed so developed, from the road, transportation, metro.. even somehow the habit is not. To be honest, all of my image about western people kinda change in here.. but I’ve achieved my goals, a life changing experience 😉

Change in the way of thinking, not to be shallow anymore and seeing the fact rather than what we saw in the television or books.

Either 2, 3, or 4 months again in here.. I still appreciate the great chance that God has given to me.. to taste the Napoleon country.. to see what makes it became the fifth greatest economy in the world.. to become smarter in life and live by choice.

Not every people has the luxury to live by choice.. and indeed the more developed country the lived in, the more options they have. I just wish many Indonesian will get more chances, and they don’t need to work their ass off just like me.. I got so many bumpy road to be in this point. All those blood, tears, time, and disappointment now has paid off..

This is the taste of a dream comes true.. sometimes it can be bitter and sweet 🙂

Education VS Entrepreneurship

Recently I really love to watch Shark Tank, a reality show from the US about 5 venture capitalists who like to invests in good products. They’re all self-made billionaire who climbed their way up to the trees of money..

It’s so funny because when I saw all of their backgrounds, almost all of them grew their business from sense of entrepreneurship.. Many rich people in the US has started to sell things since they were children, and college only contribute small small portion of their success.

It’s funny because I were raised by a mom who’s sick being entrepreneur and she always mentioned to me over and over again the importance of education.. she always said, by being smart people, educated, having a MBA.. those will save your life from poverty.

Ah well.. it is funny.. now I know why I kept pacing myself in education area, because my mom always whispered it to me since I was a baby, I think. Ah well, Mom.. you’re not wrong, but you just don’t realize that you also has the right to be rich, whether you have education or not. The key is to work smart, not work hard..

Rennes’ Sky

when came back home tonight, I was suddenly saw towards the sky and amazed because the sky looks awesomely beautiful!

I think this is the 1st time I see stars on the night sky after so many years, something that we often forget to enjoy..