Malam itu hujan mengguyur. Udara dingin menusuk tulang. Di ujung Desa Kemiren, Banyuwangi, tersua panggung gandrung terop lengkap dengan panjak dan niyaga pengiring pengantin. Tata panggungnya sederhana. Pencahayaan seadanya. Dari belakang muncul gandrung Temu melenggok, mengibaskan sampur, dan menggoyang pinggulnya yang sintal diiringi dua gandrung muda.
Untuk Anda penggemar olahraga surfing yang menginginkan sebuah pengalaman yang menguras adrenalin, bersiaplah untuk berkunjung ke sebuah pantai di Jawa Timur.
Terhampar di wilayah seluas 5.800 km persegi, Banyuwangi memiliki topografi yang lumayan komplit -mulai dari dataran rendah hingga pegunungan- untuk ditanami berbagai tanaman industri. Tidak hanya tanahnya yang subur, Kabupaten Banyuwangi juga memiliki potensi yang sangat besar dalam sektor pariwisata.
“Sing koyo ring Banyuwangi rujak akeh macemme…..” (Tidak seperti di Banyuwangi rujak banyak macamnya), demikianlah syair sebuah lagu Banyuwangian yang populer pada awal tahun tujuh puluhan. Lagu tersebut menggambarkan betapa banyaknya ragam makanan di Banyuwangi, khususnya makanan rujak.Ada rujak janganan, rujak cingur, rujak ramonan, rujak kecut dlsb.
KafeGama76 2008-09-21 08:20:18 Kalau kita sebut istilah "Kafe" pastilah pikiran kita akan lari pada pengertian warung, depot, restoran dan sejenisnya. Namun, Kafe yang kita bincangkan ini beda. Kafe kita ini adalah istilah kependekan dari Keluarga Alumni Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Gadjah Mada. Angka "76" menunjukkan tahun masuk kuliah.Berbeda dengan komunitas seperti AKABRI, pada umumnya disebut "Angkatan" adalah tahun kelulusan, Alumni FE UGM ini berpatokan pada tahun masuk... More
I have just published 2 books in the past 2 months, they are Cerita Sahabat &Â Rahasia Penulis Hebat Menciptakan karakter tokoh. Both of the books are published at Gramedia Pustaka Utama (GPU), they’re one of the biggest publishers in Indonesia, and I’m excited to partner with a lot of great writers in those books.
But the thing is, in 2011, I only published 1 book that I write entirely, it was Easy Biz, a business book.
I said once, the only thing that can stop us being professional is personal problem. By personal problem means problems with your family and loved ones. And when I was having major personal problem, I can’t write at all for months.
When now, things are pretty ‘stable’, of course I need to write again. One whole tens of pages book, at least.
Problem is, I forgot the feeling of  ’marathon’ pace in writing books and I have to adapt all over again. Sometimes I feel like I’m blocked. People say it’s writer’s block. I simply call it: confusion.
I have this 50 pages something non-fiction script that is pretty much undone and need more revisions and writing to complete. My editor giving me a proper deadline for it. For days, I can only stare at the notes he made. I was overwhelmed. Then I try to loosen up. I treat the article I wrote for the book, as a simple blog post. I even write it in my blog’s new post section just to get the feeling. That way, because I don’t get overwhelmed by the size of my writing, I can calmly dig within myself, write with no burden. And I manage to write nice piece to add to my upcoming book.
On a long holiday last week, my parents ask me to go to the beach with them, I said no. I want to write. I intend to finish my book. Surprisingly, it only needs a day to do revisions and write more articles for the book. And one more day to get my friend to read and edit it, and me writing the new revision, then send it to my editor. Day 3, I can snack and watch dvds. The book is pretty much done very fast, when I focus.
For fiction, I should write a new novel but I have no idea what should I write. I tried to compose an outline but the plot is not that catchy. I continue searching for the inspiration.
Meanwhile, I keep writing whatever on my mind everyday on my Tumblr. It’s ‘uncensored’ and very personal. It’s my journal of reaction. And by writing regularly, I can keep my fingers unrusty. One day, I read an interesting article on other people’s blog  about old books, and my mind wander, in romantic dreamy way. What if… what ifs… and then I start writing the what ifs. And it’s become a lovely story outline. Now it’s time to write it and I think I’ll have no problem because it’s something that I love and passionate about.
Don’t forget to always open your eyes, heart, mind, soul… write when inspired, write to inspire.
On today’s article of Jakarta Post, they write about me and mention about how I make my dreams come true. Yes there are ways to do that, and it’s possible. It’s not a rocket science.
Jakarta Post also mention about me being a fashion designer. Yes, it’s been a long time dream, a childhood dream that finally find its way. I am so excited to announce that I’ll have my own fashion line called: Salsabeela ;)
I can’t give much details about Salsabeela yet, just follow us on twitter @salsabeelashop  and sign your email at our website http://salsabeelashop.com to get information when we’re ready to launch.
And like Selena Gomez says: who says you can’t be the best?
Last night we welcome Mark Wang, Executive Director of GEPI (Global Entrepreneurship Program Indonesia) to Jakarta. I like him a lot. His body language is very open, vibrant and energetic. He’s enthusiast and clearly passionate on what he’s doing. He’d listen carefully for everything I said and give positive feedbacks the whole time. This is how people should be. And I am very optimistic for GEPI to make a greater change with him onboard.
Phil said to me, “His English is very good.” – It’s clear to me that Mark’s an American. How come Phil didn’t know that. He’s American, he should’ve sense it :)) I finally asked Mark, and he said he’s from Canada but spend a long while in New York before doing  social entrepreneurship in Thailand.
“This is exactly why I joined GEPI. My passion is in social entrepreneurship, and what entrepreneur like you usually do, is to fix problems. And I want to involve in it.”
Good luck, Mark. We definitely have more to discuss about #StartupLokal community. Welcome to Jakarta!
Those of you that has been watching my updates on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook & Flickr must have known that I went to Belitung for the New Year’s holiday with the whole family. I think this is the first time after a long while we go together in a vacation.
I’ve been recommending Belitung as one of the best places to visit in Indonesia, a heaven for photographers. It has some of the best beach, scenery, pretty sunsets and it’s the home of Laskar Pelangi. Most Indonesian know Laskar Pelangi. It’s a mega best selling book by Andrea Hirata, telling stories about his childhood in Belitung. It was so inspiring because a little kid from small island in Indonesia could ended up studying in France, with the power of love from teacher and power of dreams.
Laskar Pelangi then brought into movie theater and create a huge success too. Since the movie, the local government paid more attention and brand the city as “Negeri Laskar Pelangi” or “Laskar Pelangi city”. They also mark places of Laskar Pelangi movie sites.
I am amazed, now Belitung has more tourists, more new hotels  like Bahamas, Grand Hatika & Billiton to complement the existing Lor In Tanjung Tinggi. A local book indeed can stimulate the economy. Now why don’t you start using your own city in your writing? Local government, please support your local writers too!
How to Get There
Ever since I post beautiful pics of Belitung, many friends asking how to get there. Here’s how:
Best time to visit Belitung is in June or July; due to the wind, the wave will be friendlier and the water will have more beautiful colors
From Jakarta find flight to Tanjung Pandan using Sriwijaya Air (cost around $100 return, Jakarta – Tanjung Pandan)
Transportation you can get a car + driver. I don’t have any recommendation for this though. It will cost you around $60 per day.
Hotel you can choose to stay near the Tanjung Tinggi beach, around 1 hour from Tanjung Pandan (Lor In from $100 per night) or in Tanjung Pandan (there’s various options like Bahamas Belitung, Grand Hatika, Billiton, etc from $70)
The boat for islands hopping, a regular boat will cost around $40 – the main destination is Lengkuas island, famous with its lighthouse. Make sure you climb all the way to the 22 floor. It’s beautiful up there! From there you can request to go islands hopping to small islands nearby. If you’re lucky you can go to a sand islands where there’s only little space of white sand in the ocean. I don’t dive nor snorkel but you can also ask the best spots for that too.
Unique features of the Belitung Beaches are the granite rocks. Make sure you took pics of them while on islands hopping
Belitung is not only about beach but also has beautiful mountain side in Manggar, 2 hours from Tanjung Pandan. On your way there, you can stop and have a look at SD Muhammadiyah Gantong, the school of Laskar Pelangi.
For food, you can ask to have Belitung’s Noodle (Mie Rebus Belitung), they have the best seafood too, and try their local coffee ($0.3 per glass)
Belitung has their own traditional house that you can visit. You can wear the traditional costume of Belitung people too and take picture for your FB profile, like tante Kanti (our host in Belitung, she’s a ‘Harbor Master’ :D)
Thank you tante Kanti for your hospitality and VIP treatment we get while we’re there
As we walk to the plane that will fly us back to reality, I look back to the mountains near the airport and I feel the sun instantly greet me on the tip of my sun glasses. I’ll be back.
You have to communicate the goals of your enterprise and rally your employees around them, and the most effective way to that is still the spoken word. -Â @EricSchurenberg[click to tweet]
Last week I have lunch with @Sumartok , he’s the founder of @Presentonomics , a company that helps people with their presentation.
I see a lot of people have great ideas in their mind but they’re not able to communicate it in the best way. Maybe the way their presentation look (too much bullets and information in 1 slide) or maybe the way they speak and present themselves. And I really afraid that I could be one of them.
So I asked Sumartok what’s the most important tips for presenting our ideas. And here are some of his answers (it’s tweetable tips so you can click to tweet any tips you like):
Understand your audience first before you create your presentation [click to tweet]
Put sample of your audience’s daily life in your presentation [click to tweet]
Keep the presentation simple. Picture speaks thousand words [click to tweet]
There are 2 styles in presenting: with story or logic/facts. Choose the right style [click to tweet]
Open your presentation with quotes/story/statistics [click to tweet]
Presentation goals: answer what people need & know what’s most important of it [click to tweet]
Don’t be over-present. Choose your angle/perspective [click to tweet]
Ideally for 15 mins presentation, you’ll need 20 slides [click to tweet]
For 1 hour presentation, allocate time to share your stage with audiences [click to tweet]
Structure of a presentation: start with problems & end with solutions [click to tweet]
I also asked him about how to present in front of foreign audiences. He suggest the content should bring local insights, take from unique angle, learn local habits in the place you do the presentation and you can compare with your own country’s situation.
We’re also updating each other’s latest news. He’s growing from a ‘regular’ employee working for companies to entrepreneur with several businesses at once. All because his ability to communicate his ideas (to people/boss/investors) thru presentations. You can check more presentation tips from Presentonomics here:
Bengkel Facebook, Membuat Aplikasi Facebook bagi Pemula
Ollie Twitter
My Hobbies
Bandeng Master
Mancing ikan dapat dilakukan di laut maupun di darat dan masing-masing memerlukan seni tersendiri untuk menekuninya.Jika kita hendak mancing di laut tentu harus menyiapkan berbagai perlengkapan mulai dari perahu, pancing yang sesuai, umpan maupun perbekalan yang cukup. Jika kita hendak mancing dengan tidak terlalu ”repot” persiapannya, dapat dilakukan di darat atau di sungai.
Banyuwangi dengan pantainya sepanjang 175 KM yang berbatasan dengan selat Bali mempunyai puluhan potensi obyek wisata bahari. Potensi wisata ini dapat menarik turis domestik maupun Internasional yang berkunjung ke Bali.Obyek wisata bahari yang sudah banyak dikunjungi turis pada saat ini adalah pantai-pantai Bangsring, Watudodol, Bulusan, Pakem, Blimbingsari, BOOM Banyuwangi, Pelabuhan Ikan Muncar, Grajagan, Pantai Plengkung yang terkenal sebagai tempat kegiatan selancar dan pantai Sukomade sebagai habitat dan pengembangan penyu. Di samping itu juga terdapat pulau Tabuhan yang indah berpasir putih, pulau Merah dsb.
