Jakarta Update

Haven't written for so long!

About traffic, it's definitely got a lot worse. There were times when it took 3 hours from my office building in Sudirman CBD (SCBD) to Pondok Pinang. Big, ugly traffic jam happened many times where all people were stuck in traffic where it seemed as if cars were parked on the streets, except those were not parked cars...it was traffic jam.

My time and energy got scarce. I spend too much on traffic and have very little for my kid. Yes, I have a kid now :)  I haven't even gone to my yoga class anymore for the last couple of months or so, because I prefer to be home as soon as possible, and out of a kind of 'trauma' because once I chose to go yoga then I was stuck for 3 hours in traffic.

Being a Jakarta commuter is such a bad deal if you're looking for balance in work, family, and personal lives.  Especially being a mom, you're working 2 shifts everyday. You cannot take a rest once you got out of traffic and arrived home. You started to work your 2nd shift.

I've been complaining about the traffic in this blog since 7 years ago! But it's been my comfort zone; the zone I'm familiar with, every working parents are familiar with. That's why many people are scared to leave.  Old and familiar vs. new and scary.

But I'm so excited that I'm now leaving my comfort zone. After a couple of years of planning, I'm stepping into a new, unfamiliar zone. I'm excited. What could be waiting for me out there? How would I handle it? It's like stepping into an adventure. A new life.

Average Traffic Speed

Parents' house to my office is 11 km. Commute time is 1 hour. That means average speed is 11 km/hour (?!?).

I live about 13 km further, in the outskirt of the city. But I can use the toll road. Usually ride around 80-95 km/hour while in the toll road, which is about 13 km and takes about 25 mins. Then it's another 11 km to the office with average speed of 30-35 km/hour in the city. Commute time is about 1 hour. That makes total average speed 24 km/hour.

Whadd'ya think?

Going home after work: must leave the office as soon as possible, before the traffic gets even worse, before 5 pm.

Penyebab Air Mati

Lanjutan dari tulisan gw "Air + Listrik Mati"...

Hide, iparku di Jepang sana komentar, kejadian ini kok kayak lagi ada bencana alam aja. Belum lama ini ada gempa di suatu daerah di sana--air & listrik mati. Tapi, listrik udah nyala lagi dalam 1 jam; dan air udah mengalir lagi dalam 3 hari. Jadi, kalo air sampe mati 10 hari, kayak ada bencana alam gede aja. Itu komentar apa adanya dari negeri lain... Duh, malu gak sih?

Kemarin gw nulis komplain di Surat Pembaca di Kompas Online (kompas.com) soal matinya aliran air Palyja. Pagi ini tulisannya dimuat di sini: http://www.kompas.com/suratpembaca/read/1252

Tadi malam gw dapet 'laporan':

Kemarin Papa nelepon kenalannya yang pensiunan PAM/Palyja, cerita tentang air yang mati udah 10 hari. Akhirnya, ada petugas Palyja yang datang! Mereka ngasih excuse yang sangat laughable:

Palyja baru aja bikin saluran/pipa baru. Karena itu, cabang2 yg nyambung ke saluran lama ditutup. TAPI..... PALYJA LUPA NYAMBUNGIN KE PIPA YG BARU!

HALO?? Apa gw gak salah denger?? LUPA? 10 hari?? Mereka baru aja menceritakan ke-buwodoh-annya! Mereka bilang, "Besok airnya harusnya sudah nyala lagi. Malam ini sih sebenarnya bisa nyala..." MAKSUDNYA? Menurut si Mbok, mereka minta duit. Enak aja, kita udah dibikin susah sekian lama, masa' harus bayar pula. Harusnya malah kita dikasih gratis pake air selama sebulan, sebagai kompensasi parahnya service mereka. Gak ada SLA-nya, monopoli,...

Alhamdulillah, hari ini air udah mengalir kembali. Di tengah gembar-gembor "Go Green", kita malah 'dipaksa' untuk semakin meng-abuse planet Bumi ini. Karena servis PAM yang begitu jelek, banyak orang yang 'nyerah', capek, dan akhirnya ngebor sumur untuk nyedot air tanah pake jet pump. GO GREEN! Yeah, right!

AIR + LISTRIK MATI??

Di rumah Mama-Papa, sejak Jum'at minggu lalu (4 Juli 2008) aliran air PAM/Palyja mati. Selama lebih dari seminggu, 5 orang dewasa, 1 batita dan 1 bayi di rumah Mama-Papa harus mengandalkan kebaikan hati tetangga yang menggunakan jet pump. Air ditampung di ember2 dan bak mandi. Gak kebayang repotnya. Sampai2 mereka harus numpang nyuci baju di rumah gw. Untungnya rumah gw relatif mudah dicapai dari rumah Mama-Papa.

PAM (Perusahaan Air Mati), gimana sih pelayananmu. Masa' seminggu lebih aliran air mati. What do you expect?? Di tengah kampanye lingkungan hidup, orang2 malah makin dipaksa untuk pakai jet pump, nyedot air dari dalam tanah.

Lalu, dengan adanya pemadaman listrik bergilir karena krisis listrik PLN (Perusahaan Lilin Negara), kabarnya hari ini wilayah rumah Mama-Papa (dan katanya wilayah rumah gw juga) kena giliran. OMG. Kalo air PAM masih mati, ditambah listrik PLN mati pula, susah banget!! Bahkan orang2 yg pake jet pump gak bisa dapet air. Gimana nih, service companies di sini kok pelayanannya jelek banget?? Maunya monopoli, terus malah seenak udelnya. Enaknya dibuat persaingan bebas aja, biar mulai mikir kualitas.

Indonesia oh Indonesia... Udah hampir 63 tahun merdeka, masalahnya kok masih beginian ya? Kita masih pusing mikir apa besok ada air buat mandi dan masak... Masih banyak orang nggak tau apa nanti malem bisa makan... Sementara dari segi fisik komersial, di Jakarta mal2 dan apartemen2 yang mewahnya gak karuan dibangun, seakan-akan ekonomi masyarakat kita udah segitu hebatnya. Padahal... soal pangan, air, dan listrik aja masih susah...

Hari ini, entahlah gimana tuh kalo bener jadi kena pemadaman listrik bergilir, dan aliran air masih mati pula... Hebatnya tinggal di Jakarta (eh Indonesia)... Sementara di sini krisis listrik, begitu banyaknya pembangunan gedung2 mewah tengah berjalan... Berapa banyak listrik yang akan mereka habiskan nanti??? Asal bisa bayar mahal, listrik dan air mereka nggak akan mati, dan yang jadi korban adalah masyarakat kelas menengah ke bawah...

Common water shortage - extended

Hey...! The water's still not running! We've been filling our baks by using water hose from our neighbour's house! Horray to PAM! at least 48 hours of water shortage and counting!

Common water shortage

PAM Water Shortage

Yesterday when I got home from work, the water was "dead" (again). Fortunately we still have water in our bak (the water basin in the bath room). Even this morning it was still not working. Bak is like an oasis...

Water shortage from PAM (Perusahaan Air Minum) is common. It has happened before, and a lot of time. Once it happened for several days in a row -- what a nice service! We had to use water very carefully. There are the 7 of us with one big bak and two small ones. For a few days we could not wash our clothes, although after about 24 hours of the first water shortage we used our kind neighbour's water through a long water hose to our bak, which we only used for bath and dish washing.

Perusahaan Air Minum (PAM) literally means Drinking Water Company. It's a company owned by government, and the only company that runs water through pipes throughout the city, which people use in daily life for bath, washing, cooking and drinking (of course after boiled to 100 deg. Celcius). So when we depend on PAM and it disappoints us, we have no alternative -- they have no competitor. (It's the same story in electricity, and almost the same in home telephone.)

Fresh Water or Salt Water?

Why did the neighbour still have water running in their pipes when we didn't have it? Because they use water pump. They pump water from under the ground. We used to use that too, but a few years ago we switched to PAM (our water pump can't function anymore). We should still be using the water pump although it will contribute in draining the water from the ground, and soon salt water from the sea will reach our soil. It already reached North Jakarta soil for sure (I've seen and felt it for myself at my grandmother's house years ago). And perhaps it's reached Central Jakarta by now.


Anyway, hopefully when I get home this afternoon/evening, the water will be running well! So I can take a hot shower .

SPOF

Ha! They freaked out! After receiving my vacation request - a 19-workday vacation. (I've been saving my annual vacation for my travel plan this year. I've been waiting for this for a long time.)

I guess they consider me a SPOF. As in Single Point Of Failure. As in "If I'm gone, they're dead".

I never had a long vacation. One week vacation to a place pretty far away is just too short. I want to travel. Explore. Enjoy myself. Refresh. Recharge my batteries.

They've been keeping me in the same position for six years! They won't let me get a rotation. I am a SPOF. Their SPOF. If I'm gone, they're dead. But they won't let me grow. I need another soil and air to grow. They've been keeping me in the pot in a green house for six years, now I need to move out to the soil in the garden.

Updates from the developing city

Traffic is getting worse and worse. Not long ago, Saturday was known as having the worst traffic through the week, and Sunday was usually not so crowded on the street. But now, everyday is the same: crowded and traffic jams almost literally everywhere.

I spend at least one hour car ride to go home from work, when I had found out a while ago when traffic was fine on weekends that it should only take 20 minutes or so. So now it's 3 times longer.

The underpass at Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) intersection is now operational. And PIM 2 is open, although it's not yet 100% ready; shops and restaurants are still under construction, but the gym is ready and open since end of July.

They've been starting the construction of the monorail facility. Somehow it seems like the railway is going to collide some pedestrian overpass(?).

the failing organisation

Perhaps it's time for me to change my life a bit. I know this time what I need is not just a vacation but more, a change in my work life. It's getting a mess here. An organisation so ready to collapse - I'm not talking about the company but the unit I am in. Many people are not happy now, no one fits in here. It's been a failing team since the new organisation started. I've been 6 years - SIX years - doing this and all I need is a rotation and I think my boss is afraid to let me go. Who's gonna replace me? Who's gonna do the things I've been doing? I'm trying to be creative and stuck with the administration thing. On the other hand, the other department has 3 vacant positions which I am able to take and I have talked with the managers and VP. I think and heard that the department wants to take me but so far there is no formal request.

I've been keeping myself from taking a leave so far this year. Just had to take a day off when my mom was having an operation. I'm going to take a long vacation in November.

Just this late morning I saw for myself how bad the organisation inside... If I exaggerate it to myself I can throw up. It's so sickening. People are wearing masks. They're good in front of you, and mock you from your back. Mocking like a child! And they're grownups.

What a team!

life changes - a grumpy afternoon

I gained weight! Four kilos in 15 months. I hate my weight today. And my tummy,... oh! I hate it.

People do change when they are married. Sometime we have to do what we never did, and not do what we used to do. I used to go to the salon for hair treatment or to my favourite women-only spa for body treatment, almost every weekend (when there is no wedding invitation or family party) before I get married. Now every weekend I simply cannot go to a salon because my husband will be waiting for too long. (I need more time to finish my hair treatment. Men - with their short hair - only need a few minutes.) I also have a new weekend "ritual", that is accompany my husband visiting my parents in law who live far outside the city, and spend a night there. When we're there we simply don't go anywhere because it's just too far...

So I see that the "best" time I have is in weekdays. But I go to work, so it should be after work. But the traffic is too bad! It is getting worse and worse each year. And I'm not the only one who sees it. Lately after work I think about getting home ASAP.

Except for my yoga class. It feels good and is so relaxing. So far I manage to attend it. がんばってる。I have to fight the bad fat. And fatigue.

Riding home from work is tiring enough because traffic jam is something common in this f#&$^@! city. It takes at least 1 hour, whereas without traffic jam it should only take 30 minutes.

I should be going now.