Sunday, June 19, 2011

By the way...Anyway...Busway


Me : two please (shoves 7000IDR through the tiny hole)
The woman : (shoves back 2 tickets)
Me : (silently walk pass a man and gives the tickets to him)
The man : *kreeeeekkk* (that was supposed to be the sound of paper ripping)


If that wasn't too obvious, that was one of the many repeated conversations I've had before settling my feet on one of the most (supposedly) reliable bus service in Jakarta: the Transjakarta or you can simply call it the busway. Oh busway how I have so many controversial feelings for you! But let's talk about those feelings later shall we?

On to the main topic. I was just thinking as I was on the busway, Blok M route, when I looked at the tickets. I don't know if this applies to all routes but it does to the Blok M and Lebak Bulus routes. As we know almost all ticket machines are now disfunctioned (surprise surprise), which is a complete shame and waste of money by the way, and all tickets have been replaced to "paper tickets". Here's a preview, just incase you haven't seen one.



This is only HALF of the original size, since half of it has been ripped. I was curious at how the busway industry in Jakarta has contributed to global warming, a lot I presume.
I mean if you're gonna rip out the paper in half and THROW it in the bin straight away then there's no need to print out such huge tickets! At the end we're also gonna throw the other half anyway, and this usually happens even before we enter the busway. What a waste of ink and paper! And not to mention, hel-lo we already have ticket machines, why not fix it???!? Again, waste of money!

When I was in Penang, Malaysia for a holiday, I took their buses called Rapid Penang. They also had bus tickets, trust me they also contribute to global warming, but at least their bus tickets were wayyyyy smaller than what we have in Jakarta, about one tenth to what we have with smaller prints. Not that I'm comparing (I know how sensitive we are about it).

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A Trophy...for getting married

When my parents found out that I received a scholarship, they were ecstatic. I don't see it as my accomplishment alone as the whole family has always helped and encouraged me even when I was at the bottom.
However, that's not the point of this whole post. My parents told some of their close friends at church. The response of one them is still stuck in my head. Why? Maybe it's because I hated how uncreatively he responded to the news. I will call him Mr. B


Mr. B : When are you going?
Me : (answered the man)
Mr. B : You should get married first! (excitedly)
Me : (WHAT?!?!?!!) *smiles*
Mr. B : ...and give your father grandchildren
Me : Well, let's find out if my dad wants grandchildren shall we? (turns to my dad) Dad, is grandchildren your priority?
Dad : Nope!


I love my dad! He is the best in the world for having the most genius answer.
Another reaction to this news was a friend. I will call him Y.

Y : So what's your plan in the next few years?
Me : Get a Masters degree.
(then we had a little chat and he finally found out about my scholarship)
Y : hmmm....don't forget your age. You're gonna be 24 this year.
Me : (so?!)
Y : Remember you're a girl and you need to get married soon!
Me : *smiles*


This is why I am blessed to have my parents as my parents! They don't think like these people. No offence, they can have their opinion but to me their response is utterly weird. Why must I (a girl) should think about marriage and giving my parents grandchildren when I have just received a scholarship?

This is the problem with the society in which I live in. They have this stereotype that when girls come to a certain age, like mid 20s, they should be fixing a wedding gown and not be off in some strange land getting their masters degree. My parents however, have never taught me this stereotype nonsense. This is why I am always left confused by people who make such comments.

My parents have never taught me something just for the reason "because you're a girl" like for example:
You need to be able to cook : not because I'm a girl but because someday I might live by myself and have to cook for myself
You need to learn how to wash your clothes : not because I'm a girl but because someday I'm gonna leave my parents and have to do my own washing
You need to tidy up your room : not because I'm a girl but because neat room = nice room = more comfortabe to live in

Their reasons were logic and not simply because I'm a girl.