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Akhirnya selesai juga membaca sebuah novel yang boleh dibilang topiknya agak jauh dari normal untuk dibaca oleh seseorang yang belum pernah mencicipi dan mengerti bagaimana menghadapi bahtera rumah tangga. Bahteranya mungkin sudah siap, tapi nahkodanya masih ragu-ragu. Saya juga baru sadar ketika ada teman yang mengomentari tentang novel yang saya review dalam acara Kutu Buku di radio, judulnya Eat, Pray, Love -One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia-. “Kenapa kok beli buku tentang Janda?”

Melihat dari judul buku dan sub-judulnya, maka yang ada dalam pikiran saya ketika kira-kira setahun yang lalu menemukan buku ini, ini adalah buku tentang jalan-jalan. Bagaimana si penulis menikmati hidup dan menikmati makanan-makanan di berbagai negara disertai pengalaman-pengalaman menarik di dalamnya. Yup, sebagian memang benar. Di dalamnya memang diceritakan bagaimana si Liz Gilbert menghabiskan waktunya di Itali dengan makan, makan, dan makan. Kemudian di India, Liz menghabiskan waktunya dengan bermeditasi dan mencari sesuatu yang dia sebut Tuhan.

Namun, sebagian yang lain menceritakan tentang keluh kesah dia dalam menghadapi hancurnya perkawinan yang baru seumur jagung. Ditambah curhat-curhat dia yang kadang-kadang saya anggap konyol dan bertanya-tanya, serumit itu kah persoalan cinta? Berkali-kali Liz terlihat seperti bimbang dalam menentukan. Ketika dia bercerai dengan suaminya, ketika dia bersama David, dan ketika dia bertemu Felipe yang akhirnya menjadi cintanya di akhir novel ini, semua diiringi kebimbangan. Dua kebimbangan pertama diatasi dengan bertanya kepada Tuhan, sedangkan kebimbangan ketiga diatasi oleh waktu.

Salah satu poin menarik dalam cerita ini, adalah bagaimana Liz merasakan pertemuan dengan Sang Pencipta. Yaitu ketika dia ditunjukkan sebuah tempat rahasia di Ashram oleh temannya si tukang pipa. Di tempat itu lah Liz berdoa agar masalah-masalah yang menjadi pikirannya selama ini dapat diselesaikan. Saat itu muncul suara-suara bisikan hati kecilnya, yang berduel dengan suara-suara ego dalam pikiran. Suara hati dan pikiran bertarung, suara hati dia lambangkan dengan suara malaikat, sedangkan suara pikiran digambarkan dengan suara setan. Dua suara dalam satu jiwa.

Di saat lain dalam meditasinya, imajinasi Liz akan Tuhan mungkin akan sulit untuk dibayangkan. Dia bertemu dengan Tuhan ketika bermeditasi, ketika ruh-nya meninggalkan tubuhnya, terbang melintasi angkasa dan tiba pada suatu ruang hampa. “The void was God, which means that I was inside God. But not in a gross, physical way-not like I was Liz Gilbert stuck inside a chunk of God’s thigh muscle. I just was part of God.” Begitu lah kira-kira Liz Gilbert mendeskripsikan pertemuannya dengan Tuhan.

Sesekali saya merasa, apa yang dilakukan Liz ketika bermeditasi mirip ketika saya berdoa dan merasa khusyuk. Berada dalam sebuah ruang kosong, hampa, gelap (karena merem), merasakan kesendirian di tengah keramaian, dan berdialog dengan sosok yang tak berwujud. Merasakan kedekatan dengan-Nya, merasakan segala curahan hati didengarkan oleh-Nya. Pengalaman rohani memang unik, karena berhubungan dengan hal yang tidak kasat mata. Perasaan dan pikiran kita lah yang merasakannya.

Poin menarik lainnya dari buku ini adalah cerita tentang Indonesia. Dan ya, ini lah salah satu alasan saya mencomot buku ini dari tumpukan buku yang dipajang. Selain memperkenalkan adat Bali yang patriarki dan budaya serta tradisi Bali, Liz juga sedikit menyoroti tentang sejarah Bali dan juga kebobrokan moral orang Indonesia, yang ternyata korupsi di Indonesia sudah begitu terasa oleh para wisatawan.

All in all, this is a good book, though not so awesome.

In the opening chapter of Malcolm Gladwell’s book which is titled Outliers -the story of success-, there is a story about the Rosetans (people of Roseto, Pennsylvania). Malcolm tried to lead the readers to understand more about the meaning of Outliers by using the story of Roseto. There is a reason behind, it is because uncommon things were happened with the people which were living in there. Which was, the Rosetans were dying because of old age. That’s it.

Maybe now you can say that the people dying of old age is a common thing, but looking back to 1950s when the statistical fact said that most American were dying because of heart attack. And it was rare to find the Rosetan dying because of it. It was also hard to find an old people (above 55) in Roseto which had signs and indications of heart disease. Stewart Wolf, a physician, had tried many predictions and any kind of possibilities to find the answer about why this anomaly was happened. His research found a dead end when gene, food and and any other theories could not explain this Rosetan’s phenomenon. Until he realized that the magical things is the Roseto itself. So, what were they doing?

In a short saying, they were living their life. Compared to modern life style, their life is kind of unique. From grandparent to grandchild living under one roof. They would stop and chat while they met each other. Cooking together and sharing each other in their backyards. Visiting their neighbors and relatives. And many activities that could strengthen their bond. Nobody feels that they live for their own. Muslim have known this as silaturahim, or ukhuwah.

After read that book, I felt lucky when I did not have any freedom to cook in my room anymore. Thus, I can visit my friend place to spend my weekend for certain times. And for certain purposes. We’re cooking together (we cooked siomay last week, and gado2 three weeks ago), talked about anything, made jokes, learned how to play bridge, and so on that could aside us from our daily routines. Or, took a short vacation or a trip with some friends which was covered by “hunting” purpose. So, do not feel curious if, lately, my posts contain of “jalan-jalan” report (although in some reports I did it alone).

Another book which gave influence to me is Dale Carnegie’s book, as I reviewed before. Do not know why, after read that book I’d like to rethink what I have written when I chat with someone, either when I wrote an email. Sometimes I tried to place myself into his/her position. I imagined whether this word or sentence will suit to him/her or not. I am just trying not to do the wrong things to anyone I interact with. Even maybe I could be careless, I was not meant to do that. Another side of this book that I ever read its comment said, it guides you to be another person. But in my opinion, as long it guides us to become better and better, why not?

I’d like to analyze and guessing the character of the people around me as a result of reading Personality Plus. And what I could learned from this book is, we can be somebody else by imitating the personality which is not belong to us. Even somehow it is hard to be done. Another lesson that I absorbed, we can treat people in a proper way when we know their personality.

The Google Success Story book also has influence on me. Since the founding fathers of Google studied in Stanford University, even though it seems almost impossible for me to reach the university, my desire to follow their steps are becoming stronger and stronger. Do not see the result right? See the process (self-defense statement). Actually the trigger why I want to go there is not that book and the story inside, it was my grandteacher, the Maha Guru Berkemeja Putih.

Last but not least, Kelik Pelipurlara’s book which is titled Plesetan Republik Indonesia. Kelik is the master of plesetan (help me find the proper English for this word), and I was honored to become his apprentice by studying his book. Children love plesetan, I also did (or do?). Climb its 4 or 5 tiny ladder-step, take a sit position while straighten two legs, take a deep breath, then… mleset! (krik… krik… krik… I wonder you know what I mean).

Well, that is a few books of mine which somewhat has given a little impact into my life. How about you?

Hassan : What’s the story about?

Amir : It’s about a man who finds a magic cup. And he learns that if he weeps into the cup, his tears turn to pearls. He’s very poor, you know? And, at the end of the story, he’s sitting on a mountain of pearls with a bloody knife in his hand and his dead wife in his arms.

Hassan : So he killed her?

Amir : Yes, Hassan.

Hassa : So that he’d cry and get rich.

Amir : Yes, you’re very quick. What?

Hassan : Nothing, Amir agha. Are you done with breakfast?

Amir : What?

Hassan : Well, will you permit me to ask a question about the story?

Amir : Of course.

Hassan : Why did the man have to kill his wife?

Amir : Because each of his tears becomes a pearl.

Hassan : Yes, but why couldn’t he just smell an onion?

*****

Hassan kecil, anak yang baik, walaupun dia bukan orang yang jujur. Setia, yang karena kesetiaannya kepada sahabatnya sekaligus saudaranya (Amir) menjadikan dia tidak jujur. Bodoh, tapi justru karena kebodohannya itu membuatnya lebih lapang hati. Amir kecil adalah storyteller yang genius, begitu kata Pamannya. Dia banyak membaca buku dan membuat cerita. Namun dari dialog di atas, saya pikir Hassan menang telak dari Amir. Tingginya tumpukan ide di kepala Amir dikalahkan oleh rendahnya hati Hassan.

Setelah Hassan diusir dari rumah Baba, saya jadi kehilangan selera tuk melanjutkan nonton. Tapi sudah kadung penasaran dengan pesan Pamannya Amir (Rahim Khan) di telepon, “There is a way to be good again, Amir.” Setelah selesai nonton, kok rasanya ingin protes ke Khaled Hosseini. Protes karena membuat karakter Hassan terlalu lemah hingga tidak bisa melawan Assef dan dua kawannya yang menjijikkan. Protes karena membuat karakter yang begitu polos dan berhati malaikat seperti Hassan. Dan protes karena telah membunuh karakter Hassan di bagian akhir novelnya dengan cara yang sangat tragis. Aaaaarrgh, kenapa orang baik harus berakhir seperti itu???

Gara-gara film ini, saya jadi harus merelakan uang 234 NT untuk sebuah novel yang saya beli kemarin.

It’s been long time since Bang Imad told us (me and some friends) to read a book of Dale Carnegie, with the title as you can see at the top of this post, without question mark. Pretty old book indeed, but I just found it at Gramedia Matraman one or two years ago. Not the original one, it was Indonesian version. You can own it for about 45,000 IDR, its price at that time. And I think, the title becomes little bit does not really match after the translation, it says “Bagaimana Mencari Kawan dan Mempengaruhi Orang Lain”. I do more like if they put the words “Memenangkan Hati” rather than “Mencari”, feel the word “Win” still on to it.

It is kind of a tips book, according to the way he wrote, it is also easy to be understood. You will even know the inside only by reading the page of contents. He divided it into 4 big chapters. The first one is “Teknik-Teknik Dasar Dalam Menangani Manusia”. “Enam Cara Untuk Membuat Orang Lain Menyukai Anda” is the next chapter, and it is followed by “Bagaimana Memikat Orang Lain Mengkuti Cara Berpikir Anda”, and the last one is “Jadilah Pemimpin: Bagaimana Mengubah Orang Lain Tanpa Menyinggung atau Membangkitkan Kemarahan”. Sorry for not changed it into English, I am just afraid to ruin the ori version.

Plenty stories which were written there were based on his class experiences, as he told. Other stories came from his research about some well-known people at his era. No wonder, some of stories leaving its good impressions in my mind. It gives some points that we could believe if the tips are really working in our daily life, and seems its work forever just like the way he convinced it to the reader. Even somehow, I felt boring with it’s monotony plot. He depicted problems, giving some succeeded samples to overcome the problems, and ended it with a conclusion. That is the right plot for sure, and that is how an article should be written, perhaps. I mean, it will be more interesting -at least for me- if he could plays with the plot. Or, maybe it because of me who is quick to get bored of anything.

Overall, this book is great. It helps to realize if we, human beings, need to get appreciation, love to have attention from others, selfish, conceited, arrogant, and so on. He said those matters as basic human behavior. The tips he gave are about how to handle those behavior whenever we meet to treat people. The easiest way, from which I concluded, is to treat them as the way you treat yourself. What will suit you, probably, suit them either. What you dislike, perhaps, they do also.

Now, let’s take break from serious stuffs. This book is one of my reason to watch a movie about its pun, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. The story was adapted from British writer, Toby Young. Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox, Gillian Anderson, are in the film, so I think it would be worth movie to watch. After watched it… Yes, it does. It really really does. Really funny at some scenes, made my stomach shocking. Simon Peg was doing a great job. I like his acting in this movie. After all, it is a good movie to spend your time in the weekend.

Last but not least, let me know if some you have the sequel of this book : How to Win a Girlfriend and Influence Her Parent…

I was wondering, live in a country which has time zone GMT might be suitable for me. Instead of Taiwan which is 8 hours earlier. I talk about time to sleep. I thought it was the side effect of Ramadhan which made my sleeping time disorganized. Afraid of could not wake up at sahur, I kept my self awake all the night. Then started dreaming on the Kapok island (Pulau Kapuk alias bed) at about 5-6, till mid day. If I live in, let says England, then 6 in the morning is same as 10 at night. Hence, my sleeping time will be better. Good for health, following sunnah and Quran (Sura : An Naba, aya : 9-11); “(9) And have appointed your sleep for repose, (10) And have appointed the night as a cloak, (11) And have appointed the day for livelihood.”

Even it is not often anymore at recent days, but it still can be happened anytime. And sometimes, it happened not at the right time. Just like today. Friday, the only day which I have to attend a morning class. And the definition of morning class in my campus is about 9.10 am. It is not like when I was trapped in elephant’s cage for 4,5 years, several years ago. At that time, morning class definitely means morning, i.e. 7 am. Or another flashback around 9 years (which seems not really long time) ago, when I was still innocent boy wearing white-and-gray uniform. The school starts at 7 am.

Today, I was late enter the class about 25 minutes. Was left 4-5 slides of material course. Yu-Xuan Guo , is the name of Professor who taught the class this morning. Still young, I predict his age is around early 30 or late 20. Graduated 2 years ago from the university which I adore very much and really wish to be there someday, Stanford University. The side effect of slept at morning was working in the middle of the class. Closing my eyes little bit, and I came to another world. My soul like was living in two worlds. I tried to concentrate, but when my eyes adhered each other, I wrapped into another world. Sometimes, Professor’s voice woke me up, he talked with microphone. But still, I could not really follow the class as well.

I hope it was not because of the movie I watched at night before. The movie  which is based from a book, which more popular to be called as chicklit. Okay, you can laugh after I tell you the title. Cintapuccino. I have read the book and own it, so that is the reason behind why I watched the movie. Nope, that was not exact reason actually. I just did not know why I wanna watched it. Beautiful actress? Do you mean Sissy and Nadia? Hmmm… short of. About the story, very girly indeed. But guys, you also need to know their world in order to conquer their heart. Even after saw it, nothing I can get from it except, everything has been written on Lauhul Mahfudz by The Creator of the universe, Allah SWT. I mean, we already know that who your spouse will be, is about fate.

Another suspect, the curse of the book titled Sliding Pig alias Babi Ngesot written by Raditya Dika. Actually I want to read the latest episode of Andrea Hirata’s tetralogy, instead of the latest Dika’s book. Unfortunately I can not afford it here. But it’s okay, at least Dika’s book can make me sleepy by reading it. Before sleep I like to read light reading, to relaxing brain so that can make sleep easier. The reading which does not require the reader to think, just enter it from right hole of your nose, drop by a few second in your brain, and turn it out through your mouth.