Fitness Independence

It’s the second day after Lebaran[1] and a few days after Indonesia’s National Day, I just finished TRX Suspension Training session at home. Yesterday I did a Short Circuit Gym Free Cardiovascular Training session using a Men’s Health article as a reference,[2] also at home. Suddenly I realized that I have achieved fitness independence.

 

What is fitness independence? In my personal term, it is a state when we can do fitness virtually anywhere. A state incorporated as a core value and name by the company which invented TRX training. To stay healthy is a lifetime priority and exercising regularly to implement such priority.  Fitness independence is the only way to maintain regular exercises despite any change of circumstances.

 

In the age of functioning portable fitness equipment (not that TV shopping craps), we—urban people—should not limit our exercises within the gym. No, I am not advocating anti-gym attitude. I just think we should stop making excuses for not exercising due to unavailability of access to gym and/or fitness equipment. Sure, the TRX Suspension Trainers are, in my opinion, the best fitness equipment/training system ever invented so far. It is one of the major tools in achieving fitness independence for me, like Indonesia gained her independence due to revolutionary technology of the atomic bomb. But of course, my struggle for fitness independence started when I decided to take regular exercises seriously in 2009, long before I was introduced to TRX Suspension Trainers.

 

I wanted to exercise regularly and seriously ever since I was in junior high school. Later in high school I joined a local small gym. I didn’t get the result so I quit. In retrospect, I failed to maintain regular exercise because: (i) I was a feeble minded teenager who wanted result but lacked discipline and motivation; and (ii) limited information and education on proper fitness training but lacked the resourcefulness to acquire them.

 

It took a couple of years since I entered productive age (a fancy way to say having a job) to decide and try committing myself to regular exercise again. I joined an international chain gym and hired a personal trainer Alvin. This time I was successful in maintaining my schedule discipline and motivation. However I was attached to the gym and the PT. It is not a bad thing to be attached to things that make we healthier, but there are times when we just can’t go to the gym and/or the PT is absent. And they are not free, not even cheap.

 

In 2010, I managed—or more likely, forced—to detach myself from PT as I was assigned abroad. I could use my international membership to access gyms under the same franchise, nevertheless PT sessions cost much more in Singapore. So I had to exercise by myself, armed with knowledge to execute correct moves and programs from Alvin. And I was one step closer to fitness independence.

 

When I returned to Jakarta, I can manage my exercise without PT. I just need to be provided with the training programs. First I rely on Alvin to help me supplying the programs, then I began to do the research myself (thanks to Google, it is not hard to find free information on fitness programs. Or, if we want to pay up a bit, many good publications on fitness are available in bookstores and magazine stands). Yet still, I was attached to the gym.

 

One day in 2011, Alvin asked me to try Master Boot Camp (MBC)—his side gig with some fellow trainers.[3] No membership fee, no strings attached. We only pay as we train, Rp. 100.000,- per session. During and after  the training, we can ask anything about fitness. Gratis. The fitness information overflowing in MBC is updated and helpful. When we mix certified professional trainers and a community of fitness enthusiasts, it is natural that after session discussions topic always develop around health and fitness. Fitness programs, movements, method of training, diets, equipment, clothing, shoes etc.[4] MBC is a good place to educate myself in the field of fitness. And to be independent, we have to educate ourselves. After almost a year regularly attending MBC sessions, I achieved fitness independence.

 

Does MBC is the only way to achieve independence? Of course not, it will be contrary to the basic concept of fitness independence itself, which is the freedom to do fitness regardless of the unavailability of certain venue or training methods. In an MBC session I met Wulan who believes that going to the gym is a waste of time and money. She also doesn’t want to spend too much on fitness equipment. Therefore, she regularly exercises by herself at home. At that time she was employing Insanity training regiments (an intense body weight training program—just  Google it for more information). Nevertheless, MBC can provide us with two of the most important factors in achieving fitness independence: education and motivation (as for self-discipline and resourcefulness, we’ve got to acquire it ourselves).

 

We can purchase the TRX Suspension Trainer, Rip Trainer, ViPR or any other fitness equipment, but without knowing how to properly use them we will not achieve result, even counterproductively injure ourselves. The certified professional trainers/instructors of MBC will provide instructions on proper execution of fitness movements in every session. Prior to the exercise, they will ask for our medical history to know past injuries and certain medical conditions that need special attention during exercise. We will not be instructed to train harder than we can. They are also open for consultations, even outside MBC sessions.

 

The training menus are variable. There has been no repetition of exercise menu in MBC sessions. Each session is always different to make training boring-proof. Funny friendly participants will support and compete with we keep we motivated.

 

In my closing words, MBC is a way to achieve fitness independence. I educate and motivate myself by attending MBC sessions. Ultimately, the foundations of fitness independence are our own self-discipline, motivation and resourcefulness. The more disciplined we are, the less we’ll make excuses to skip exercises and the more we will find ways to motivate and educate ourselves. I can’t say I’ve committed myself to fitness magazines’ male models level of self-discipline, but I’m improving my standards and expanding my limits. Therefore, I’d like to testify:

 

“Dulu saya tidak bisa latihan sendiri di luar gym, setelah berlatih di Master Boot Camp saya bisa berlatih sendiri di manapun. Terima kasih Master Boot Camp….” (imagine me saying this like in a Tong Fang commercial)

 

Post workout note, 21 August 2012.

[1] Ied.

[2] Short Circuit Gym Free Cardiovascular Training is a fat burning circuit program which consists of (i) press-up to burpees; (ii) the plank; (iii) box jump; (iv) static squat; and (v) chin-ups. Each move is performed for 1 minute. Do 3 sets with no rest.

[3] Master Boot Camp is now organized under Moving Body Culture. Still with same schedule since its first session 2011: Saturday, 0600. The venue has moved to Kementrian Pemuda dan Olahraga (Kemenpora) ’s basketball court and there has been adjustment to the fees.

[4] The discussions also extend beyond fitness. Many members develop genuine close friendships and even gained business opportunities from this community.

July 23, 2018

On Minimalism

 

Hoarder’s Gene

 

I came from a family of hoarders. My parents’ house are filled with things: dilapidated second hand furniture, stacks of old newspapers and magazines, scattered books, cardboard boxes, computer scraps, etc. It’s always messy, ugly and dirty, and full of mosquitos. I never took my friends home because I felt embarrassed.

 

Ibu (mother) always told me it’s because we are poor. We can’t afford to buy beautiful things to decorate our home. I believed her. I spent most of my life believing that life’s problems can be solved by money. I fell in to the consumerist adage: more is better.

 

When I started working in my early twenties, I suddenly have disposable income. My salary was not bad for an entry level job, but I lived from paycheck to paycheck. I was in a phase of experimental consumptions. Trying to buy my happiness with things.

 

Fortunately, I did not have a credit card at that time and I have a relatively expensive hobby: airsoft. These two prevented me to be tangled in a debt. I only spent the money I have, albeit not always wisely, and I focused my major spending on things that related to the hobby I actually love. Many of my peers spent most their money on superfluous items: brand new cellphones, new car, or branded clothing which are often purchased with loans. The relatively wise entered into home ownership mortgage. Therefore, I never got into financial difficulties despite the experimental consumptions years.

 

Nevertheless, I realised that I accumulated so much items to the extent I was sleeping in piles of things that I never use. I knew I have to create and apply a rule to stop the creeping expropriation to my physical space by the things I own. So I made a mental image that I am ripping money bills when I buy things and failed to use it for reasonable period of time. This helped me to be wiser when acquiring new things because of the potential guilt in the future. The rule is particularly effective against compulsive consumptions on cheap trinkets.

 

However, I still find my space cluttered. I often buy things on the pretext of ‘I may need it in the future.’ When I realised that I never used or only used once the just-in-case items, I could not let them go. The mental image of ripping money bills daunted me. I justified the reluctance to let go of the items by clinging to the idea that one day I will use it or, at least, sell it to remedy my error in purchase.

 

It came to me then, I am a hoarder just like my parent. Hoarding is a scarcity mentality. Instead of focusing your resources to have items that really matters,  you take in anything on the pretext of  anticipated future use. I thought it is the opposite of the compulsive consumerist mentality, the ‘I-want-that’ mentality. It is not. It’s just the other side of the coin. The ‘I may need it in the future’ mentality accumulates material things based on the illusion of need. Similar with the wanting that masks as needing.

 

Enter Minimalism

 

I read the term  ‘minimalist living’ as a philosophy for the first time in a Men’s Health article ‘Why Guys with Less Stuff are Happier.’ Before, I thought that ‘minimalism’ or ‘minimalist’ is a term limited for architecture or interior design.

 

In the said article, one of the most memorable stories is about Mark Divine, an author and a Navy SEALS Commander. He lived for months in a mission deployment only with things inside his rucksack. He never felt so clear of purpose.

 

I understand the point: that compulsive consumption and hoarding of material possessions distract us. That there are hidden costs of owning things such as storage space and mental clutters.

 

I can relate to the story despite I never served in the military.

 

I have made travelling my hobby, even borderline life’s purpose. When we travel, we will be forced to minimise. We can’t carry everything we want. Therefore, we must consciously take the effort to sort our things: what we need and what we don’t.  I do not believe in delegating when packing since what we need is often a very personal choice. If we do the packing right and left with items that are just right for us, we can focus on the experience.

 

I was happy with less in London. Yes, the city is much nicer than Jakarta. But I had much less disposable income. I had to think a lot when buying things, not just because of financial constraints but also of space and time. Our flat was only a studio and obviously we needed to make time exploring and living the greatest city in the world.

 

Divine gave a tip to how to reduce consumptions: the two weeks test. Whenever you want to buy a thing, withhold the purchase. If you forget about it or can live without it for two weeks, then you don’t buy it. It is a good rule. Now I have a methodical approach in making a purchase. The rule significantly reduces my ineffective consumption. I slowed down the accumulation of things.

 

However, I missed  Divine’s most important point: to view material possessions based on their utilitarian value, i.e. as mere tools. When they serve no purpose, get rid of them. I did not comprehend the importance of letting go.

 

Then I remember one of my closest friends mentioned that she’s organising her closet with the KonMari method. I read the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo[1]

and learned that the method is not limited to organising closet, but the individual’s entire living space. Marie Kondo’s principle in tidying-up is only keep things that you need and spark joy to your life. She elaborates the step by step instructions on minimising in that book.

 

The first step is always discarding. Kondo’s simple explanation on the not-so-hidden costs of storage directly addresses my inability to let go. I realised that the ripping money bill cannot stand alone as it only focuses on the acquisition costs.

 

Subsequently, I learned to let go the I-may-need-it-in-the-future items and to accept the fact that I have made mistakes of making bad purchases. In a way, it is like forgiving myself. I got rid of unused things and useless items: donated clothes and books, discarded cables and miscellaneous trinkets.

 

I felt freer.

 

How much is too much?

 

Kondo and Divine are consistent in the benefits of having less things. However, does Divine suggest that we can only keep things that have practical value? How about mementos or a comfortable sofa? We can survive without them, but they are nice. Does minimalist is essentially a pauper by choice?

 

I believe the answer is ‘it depends.’ While Divine insist on a ‘practical value’, from what I read, Frogmen do not travel light. They carry what they need, but their battle gears are pretty heavy. Many of them bring mementos or trinkets to keep their morale up. In that sense, those mementos serve a practical value despite they have no direct utility value to the mission. This is the equivalent to Kondo’s spark joy principle. The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, also came up with equivalent terms: things that add value to your life.

 

Millburn and Nicodemus further provides useful categorisation of things: essentials, non-essentials, and junk. Essentials are things we need that we cannot live without. Non-essentials are things we can live without, but can augment our life experience. Junk items are the one we need to discard. It’s relatively easy to determine which of our items are essentials, the trickier part is to classify non-essentials and junk. It is a personal choice. The key is experimenting how much is too much for you.[2]

 

If one is content living in as a homeless by choice, then yes that pauper is a minimalist. However, if one owns a sports car because he truly enjoys driving it and can afford it—with no intention to impress—he is a minimalist (although I believe it would be difficult to satisfy the last criterion).

 

This is the minimalism I understand and subscribe to.

 

Minimalism as an ‘-ism’

 

While minimalism in a way is a counter consumerist philosophy, I do not believe it can address the systemic inequality in capitalist-consumerist societies. It is a personal development/self-help/spirituality kind of ‘-ism.’ The modern secular version of asceticism spirituality such as the Ancient Greek’s Stoicism, Buddhism’s Zen, Hinduism’s Samana, Islam’s Zuhud, and Christianity’s Jesuit.

 

Consumerism always finds a way to commercialise anything that has become a popular culture. Like Yoga or even Che Guevara, minimalism is no exception. Consequently, there are minimalists—people who are genuinely trying to live a better life by having less—and there are…hipsters with minimalists style—people who are simply obsessed with minimalist design (those simple, sleek, light and often expensive things). If one thinks that definition, label and/or look represent the exact actual matter, it may be difficult to see which one is which.

 

Maybe minimalism is reactionary and nothing revolutionary. But I won’t call it so far as ‘a quasi-religious anti-poor bullshit’.

 

I am applying minimalism to my life simply because they seem to be working for me.[3] I have less clutter, zero debt. I can walk away from a job that I hate. And there is a power in it. When I shun over people who lost their civility in Black Friday, that does not mean I am anti-poor. I am just distressed to see how consumerism can effectively nudge us as individuals. And we need a counter measure—even it is only reactionary and works at individual level.

 

YWCA Colombo: Jesuit minimalism architecture and interior design.

[1] Marie Kondo, ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing’ (Ten Speed Press: 2014).

[2] I found the Konmari method provides the most structured guidelines to ‘decluttering and organizing’, such as sorting by category not location, to discard instead adding storages, how to decide what items to discard (and how to discard with no hesitation), how to arrange our items, how to fold our clothes, etc. However, the Minimalists’ blog and podcasts are great source for many life hacks.

[3] Despite my conscious effort to minimise, I am reluctant to call myself a ‘minimalist’. The term is often misunderstood because of the close association of the word ‘minimalist’ with ‘austerity’. This gross labelling give rise to many criticisms against minimalism which are based on the misunderstood premise that minimalism prohibits you to own things other than the essentials.

July 16, 2018

Meet Your Common Scholar

When my scholarship application was successful, Bapak (dad) gave me a book: ‘Pengalaman Belajar di Amerika Serikat’ by Arief Budiman. The book was first published in 1991. It’s the author’s memoir of his struggles when studying in the Harvard University as a scholarship student.

 

The book is inspiring and moving. The typical feel good story of the happiness of pursuit, against all odds and of the underdog. A story of scholar from a less developed country overcoming not just academic challenges and financial limitations, but also language barrier and cultural shock, in pursuing education in a Western more developed country.

 

Then Bapak told me that I should write a book on my studies in London. Well, not that I don’t want to. I have so much stories from my London year, but they do not have the dramatic flair of Arief Budiman’s stories (or Andrea Hirata’s, if you prefer the newer version of struggling Indonesian scholar). While  I had to be smart with money, we never had to huddle together in bulky winter clothes to keep ourselves warm to save on heating during winter time.

 

The ‘study abroad’ narratives that ‘sell’ to Indonesians fall within these two ‘extremes’: the struggling scholar or the trust fund baby. The stereotype of struggling scholars are diligent students with stellar academic performance from their elementary school, devoted to his/her parents who invested a lot on their child’s education despite their poverty, and religious. The trust fund babies are represented by members of a tycoon family or political dynasty and ideally religious too e.g. Mas Boy of Catatan Si Boy or (god forbid) London Love Story.[1] The struggling scholars must live in a cheap suburban accommodations, the trust fund babies live in luxury house or condo in a prime area (purchased, not rented) with luxury cars at their disposal. However, both seem to hang out exclusively or mostly with fellow Indonesians due to cultural and economic gaps. The struggling scholars tend to shun and cannot afford ‘hedonistic’ (I prefer the term, epicurean) lifestyle of common Western students. While the trust fund babies find themselves unable to relate with other students who are (mostly) proletarians.

 

Now, I do not fit in to both stereotypes. I am a scholarship recipient, but I am not a struggling scholar. My LPDP scholarships award was generous, not excessive but sufficient. They covered at cost visa application and return tickets, full tuition fee, fixed living costs and book allowance, capped dissertation allowance and partial dependent support. I got additional stipends from Lubis, Santosa & Maramis, the law firm I worked for. I could afford to live in a private studio flat in WC1 area with my partner, travelled to some parts of Britain and Continental Europe as well as Morocco, eat out, socialising and engaging in epicurean lifestyle and even got a tattoo from London’s premium parlour. But of course I could not bask in luxury. I bought my clothes at charity shops (tip: browse the charity shops in rich area).[2] When my smartphone broke, I did not buy the newest iPhone but a Nokia.

 

I was far from diligent student profile. I flunked in mathematics, physics, chemistry (the “Mafia” subjects—matematika, fisika, kimia— dreaded by most students during high school who are weak with numbers) in high school. Joined the school’s gang. I was an okay undergraduate student. I compensated my academic performance with professional experience to get the scholarship. Spiritually, I am deeply irreligious. Socially, most of my friends in London are not Indonesians.[3]

 

But perhaps that exactly I need to take my part in filling the narratives gap for the common scholars. I think most Indonesian scholars of my generation are like me. After all, we live in an age of smartphones where the entire human knowledge is accessible one click away, international university applications are submitted online, and cheap air travels. Of course, I am not inferring that inequality has been addressed. To the contrary, inequality is the main reason why international students typically come from rich or middle class family. One of my fellow LPDP scholars is from a remote village with no electricity, and it has been an almost insurmountable handicap for him to study abroad.

 

Maybe some people find that the trust fund babies narratives are too superficial. While the struggling scholars narratives tend to entertain the Jesus Complex mentality—the notion that the more one suffers, the more virtuous one must be.[4] But the common scholar (i.e. my) narratives will be like this:

 

  • I have to take the Underground and the Routemaster bus to get around London (last time I check, even Kit Harrington also uses them so hardly count as a struggle—except the Central Line during summer);[5]
  • I have to do farmers’ walk i.e. lugging the baskets of groceries from Waitrose Brunswick (yes, I am a supermarket snob who shops at Waitrose);[6]
  • We also need to shop for our monthly meat, poultry and fish supplies at Brixton Market—which is lovely and so full of life, we always share pleasantries with the shopkeepers who are as diverse as London can get: English butchers, Afghani fishmongers, Caribbean grocers.
  • I learned to become a handyman to fix the wall tiles from YouTube and some tips from a local hardware supplies store owner; and
  • I studied hard—hardest in my entire life, battling anxiety, minor depression, infatuation, sense of inadequacy, the dread of returning to Jakarta, relationship strains, and many other form of insecurities. All of them are common human experience. But they are mine.

 

 

Well, are they inspiring enough?

 

Our flat building in spring

[1] I did not watch the movie. My snap judgment on the trailer tells me that it would ruin my London memories.

[2] It’s not just about the saving money. I can get good value items compared to cheap retailers, reduce environmental footprints and contribute to good causes.

[3] Just to be clear, I do have Indonesian friends in London. We were even adopted by our host family who are Indonesian-Italian. However, I did make the conscious effort to make friends with people from all around the world simply because I was in London. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to sample the diversity and multiculturality just because I’m afraid of cultural gaps and minor language barrier (last time I check, we all need to achieve certain level of fluency in English to be admitted). This is a chance to shrug off the ‘inlader’ mentality that is so pervasive in my Indonesian psyche.

[4] Alain de Botton, Essays in Love (Picador: 2015).

[5] In fact, not having to drive everywhere was extremely convenient for someone who grew up in the seventh hell of traffic: Jakarta.

[6] My motto was ‘In reduced, we trust’. In fact, Waitrose is the most frequented place by us in London. We went there at least once a day.

July 10, 2018

Superman: Red Son

An alternative history fiction. This is the heaviest superhero theme graphic novel I ever read. It took more than one and half hours to finish.

 

The plot does not just blur the distinction between superheroes and super villains. It is a story of a clash between ideologies, with a touch of quantum physics’ concept of time, told masterfully. None of the DC universe characters who make appearance in this graphic novels serve as mere accessories. They each has a vital role to connect the dots in the plot. Each represents a popular school of thought: Superman the communist, Batman the anarchist, Wonder Woman the feminist, Lex Luther the utilitarian capitalist, Green Lantern the Stoic, Brainiac the Dataist.

 

However, despite the main character is a Homo Deus who created a centralised communist utopia, the grand theme is still humanism and liberal democracy: that Homo Sapiens can unlock their potential if given free choice, and [Lex Luthor’s] self-serving ambition [to defeat Superman] can serve the common good and advance the human race.

 

Originally posted on Goodreads on 29 May 2018.

 

 

June 30, 2018

Glastonbury Festival 2015

Melalui tulisan ini, saya berusaha berbagi pengalaman pertama kami menghadiri festival. Kami bukan orang Indonesia pertama, apalagi satu-satunya, yang menghadiri Glastonbury Festival. Kami bukan ahli menikmati festival (sebagaimana telah kami ungkapkan, Glastonbury 2015 bahkan merupakan festival pertama kami), kami bukan penggila konser maupun seseorang dengan rasa musikalitas yang kuat. Namun, kami adalah pelancong dan berusaha membuka diri dengan mencoba hal-hal baru.

Saya menulis pengalaman ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Saat melakukan pencarian Google untuk riset, saya belum menemukan satu pun tulisan tentang pengalaman Glastonbury Festival dalam Bahasa Indonesia yang ditulis oleh orang Indonesia. Mengingat Glastonbury adalah salah satu festival terbesar di dunia dengan semangat komunitas dan inklusivisme, kami berharap dapat menambah nilai multikulturalitas dan transnasionalisme festival tersebut dengan memberikan perspektif [dua] orang Indonesia.

 

Miskonsepsi Glastonbury

Saat kami membeli tiket, kami mempunyai satu miskonsepsi terhadap Glastonbury: bahwa acara tersebut adalah festival musik. Miskonsepsi tersebut tentu berpengaruh terhadap ekspektasi kami. Kami berpikir bahwa Glastonbury adalah konser musik massal di mana band-band kelas dunia tampil dan berbagi panggung. Kami berharap Coldplay akan tampil kembali pada 2015 dan amat sangat kecewa saat line-up diumumkan (terlebih melihat Kanye West dalam daftar utama (headline)).

Kami sempat kehilangan gairah untuk datang, mengingat menghadiri Glastonbury memerlukan persiapan yang tidak sedikit dan mengharuskan kami meninggalkan kenyamanan toilet bersih selama 5 hari.

Namun, setelah melakukan riset lebih lanjut, kami menyadari bahwa Glastonbury bukan sekedar festival musik. Glastonbury adalah festival seni panggung kontemporer (Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts). Aktivitas yang dihidangkan tidak terbatas pada menonton konser musik, melainkan juga tarian, komedi, burlesque, sirkus dan lain-lain. Pengunjung bisa menikmati Festival tanpa menonton panggung utama.

Glastonbury Festival 2015.

Mendapatkan tiket

Penjualan tiket untuk Glastonbury Festival 2015 dimulai pada 5 Oktober 2014 pukul 0900 waktu setempat (GMT 0). Seluruh tiket dijual secara online. Untuk dapat membeli tiket, kami harus mendaftarkan diri dengan mengisi informasi pribadi dan mengirimkan pas foto sebelum tenggat waktu registrasi terlampaui.

Pada saat penjualan, kami berusaha masuk dengan menggunakan 3 komputer. Beruntung teman kami berhasil masuk setelah beberapa kali me-refresh/reload situs penjualan. Seluruh tiket terjual dalam waktu 27 menit saja.

Harga tiket £220, plus biaya admin £5. Pembayaran dilakukan secara bertahap: deposit £50 pada 5 Oktober 2014 dan pelunasan sisanya pada April 2015. Apabila membatalkan pembelian, maka deposit akan dikembalikan sebagian (£35) setelah dipotong biaya admin £15.

Setiap tiket akan dicetak dengan pas foto pembeli untuk menghindari percatutan. Oleh karena itu, jangan membeli tiket dan berpikir dapat menjualnya kembali. Bagi yang gagal mendapatkan tiket pada penjualan gelombang pertama, terdapat dua jalan untuk tetap dapat menghadiri Festival: (i) membeli tiket pada penjualan gelombang kedua pada April 2015 atau (ii) melamar menjadi sukarelawan.

 

Persiapan

Setelah memperoleh tiket, tentu kami memasuki tahap persiapan.Langkah pertama persiapan tentunya membaca informasi yang terdapat di situs resmi. Selanjutnya, kami mencari informasi tambahan melalui pencarian Google. Menurut kami terdapat dua situs yang sangat berguna: Vicky Flip Flop Travel dan Glastoearth. Berdasarkan informasi yang sudah terkumpul, persiapan selanjutnya hanya tinggal menentukan moda transportasi yang digunakan untuk mencapai festival dan barang-barang apa saja yang perlu dibawa.

 

Barang bawaan

Panduan berupa daftar barang bawaan juga dicantumkan di situs resmi Festival. Banyak juga situs-situs yang merekomendasikan barang-barang bawaan tambahan apa saja yang sebaiknya dibawa. Pada akhirnya, setiap orang harus menentukan barang bawaan sesuai kebutuhan dan keinginan pribadi masing-masing. Berikut daftar barang bawaan kami:

  1. Tiket Festival (tentunya!)
  2. Botol minum
  3. Tenda
  4. Kantong tidur
  5. Kacamata hitam
  6. Matras gulung
  7. Selimut
  8. Sepatu boots karet (disebut ‘Wellington boots’ atau ‘Wellies’)
  9. Kaos kaki panjang
  10. Kaos kaki termal
  11. Tisu toilet
  12. Baju hangat
  13. Jaket
  14. Sunblock
  15. Perlengkapan mandi: pasta gigi, sikat gigi, sampo dan sabun
  16. Handuk
  17. Baju
  18. Obat-obatan
  19. Senter dan/atau headlamp
  20. Kartu identitas
  21. Uang tunai (kami membawa £300 untuk 2 orang, masih tersisa banyak pada akhir Festival)
  22. Topi
  23. Kantong plastik sampah
  24. Kamera
  25. Jas hujan
  26. Payung
  27. Pispot (saya menggunakan botol susu bekas)
  28. Tisu basah
  29. Karet gelang
  30. Lakban (untuk perbaikan darurat)
  31. Multi-toolkit
  32. Kursi lipat
  33. Ponsel
  34. Notes dan alat tulis
  35. Cable wire
  36. Sandal
  37. Korek api
  38. Box wine
  39. Gelas plastik
  40. Coklat Mars

Salah satu penyesalan kami adalah tidak mempersiapkan dan membawa bendera yang unik. Glastonbury juga dikenal sebagai ‘Festival Bendera’, di mana para pengunjung mengibarkan bendera pada saat menonton konser. Biasanya bendera (atau panji-panji) yang berkibar bermacam-macam, mulai dari yang paling dasar berupa bendera negara sampai kreasi unik berupa kepala manekin yang ditancapkan di tiang. Kami sendiri sebenarnya ingin membawa bendera Slank karena ingin memberikan nuansa konser Indonesia (apapun konsernya, tetap Slank benderanya!). Namun, kami kesulitan memperoleh bendera Slank di London. Selain untuk seseruan, bendera juga bisa berfungsi sebagai penanda lokasi tenda dan mempermudah menemukan kelompok kita di kerumunan.

Hal terpenting yang perlu dicamkan: bawa barang seperlunya dan bawa kembali seluruh barang bawaan (kecuali sampah). Glastonbury selalu mengkampanyekan ‘Love the Farm. Leave no trace’. Festival ini menimbulkan dampak lingkungan hidup yang besar, terutama dari sampah yang ditinggalkan para pengunjung. Memang tidak mungkin untuk tidak menghasilkan sampah sama sekali, namun kita bisa meminimalisir jejak karbon kita. Banyak pengunjung Festival yang meninggalkan barang-barang bawaan yang masih bisa dipakai namun merepotkan untuk membawanya pulang (karena murah), misalnya tenda, matras udara, kursi lipat, kantong tidur dan lain-lain. Barang-barang yang masih dapat digunakan ini akan menambah jumlah sampah yang tidak perlu apabila ditinggalkan. Kalaupun memang sudah tidak membutuhkan barang tersebut, alangkah baiknya apabila dibawa kembali untuk disumbangkan sehingga bermanfaat bagi yang membutuhkan.

Glastonbury menyumbangkan wellies yang tidak terpakai kepada pengungsi Suriah. Dengan demikian, sebaiknya wellies yang hendak dibuang dikumpulkan di tempat pengumpulan yang disiapkan panitia. Akan tetapi, Glastonbury tidak dapat menyumbangkan tenda-tenda yang tidak terpakai. Oleh karena itu, bawa pulang selalu tenda kalian! Kami membawa pulang tenda kami dan menyumbangkannya kepada pengungsi Calais melalui Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat Calaid.

A salvaged Royal Ascot folding chair and milk jug for makeshift disposable urinal to give me that gypsy-bohemian feeling.

Jadwal acara

Sekali lagi, Glastonbury bukan sekedar festival musik. Ada banyak hal disajikan selain musik seperti sirkus, komedi, tarian dan seni panggung lainnya. Bahkan, Glastonbury juga menyediakan forum-forum diskusi tentang isu-isu sosial terkini. Sebagaimana telah kami tekankan sebelumnya: pengunjung tetap dapat menikmat festival meskipun tidak menonton konser headline di panggung-panggung utama.

Mengingat banyaknya penampilan yang disuguhkan, kami sarankan untuk melihat jadwal acara dan merencanakan penampilan mana saja yang hendak dinikmati. Situs resmi Festival menyediakan jadwal acara secara lengkap, hanya saja tidak dalam bentuk yang ringkas. Oleh karena itu, kami menggunakan situs pihak ketiga Clashfinder yang dapat menampilkan jadwal acara festival-festival (termasuk Glastonbury, tentunya) dalam bentuk spreadsheet. Spreadsheet tersebut mempermudah perencanaan karena memperlihatkan jadwal acara dalam bentuk tabulasi linimasa.

Salah satu prinsip terpenting dalam menghadiri Glastonbury adalah ‘membuka pikiran dan wawasan.’ Usahakan mencoba hal-hal baru selama Festival. Jangan hanya terpaku pada penampil yang sudah terkenal atau kita ketahui. Selain itu, lokasi Festival sangat luas. Kita memerlukan waktu untuk berjalan dari satu panggung ke yang lain. Kadang, saat menuju satu tempat, terdapat penampilan atau hal menarik (entah berupa band yang belum kita kenal, pendongeng, penyair, cosplayer, permainan masa kecil maupun tempat yang menarik untuk duduk diam bersantai). Amat sangat disayangkan apabila kita tidak berhenti dan mencoba melihatnya. Pada intinya, jangan terlalu kaku dan terlalu banyak berencana. Cukup rencanakan 2 atau 3 penampil yang ingin dilihat dalam sehari. Selalu luangkan waktu yang cukup untuk bereksplorasi dan bereksperimen.

Kami sendiri hanya mengejar headline Suede di John Peel Stage. Sisanya kami berkelana dan mengeksplorasi festival. Mengingat sulit untuk mendeskripsikan suatu pengalamanan yang memenuhi seluruh indra perasa dengan kata-kata, silahkan melihat video yang kami unggah di Youtube.

Suede, the Beautiful Ones.

 

Anggaran

Layaknya daftar barang bawaan, besarnya biaya yang diperlukan akan kembali ke selera dan kemampuan anggaran pribadi masing-masing. Pos-pos pengeluaran yang wajib disiapkan adalah tiket, transportasi, barang-barang bawaan, makan dan minum.

Pengeluaran kami yang terbesar adalah tiket (£550 (2 @ £225)). Kedua, transportasi (£104), ditambah denda karena lupa membawa railcard (£ 78.80). Ketiga, membeli barang-barang perlengkapan berkemah (sebagian besar dibeli secara online di Amazon). Terakhir, kami menjatahkan biaya makan dan minum sejumlah £60 sehari untuk berdua. Kami sendiri hanya belanja baju bekas di Oxfam Charity Shop (kami memperoleh 3 baju bagus beremerek seharga £16).[1]

Glastonbury memperbolehkan pengunjung membawa minuman beralkohol sendiri. Namun, kita tidak diperbolehkan membawa botol kaca. Hal ini dikarenakan pecahan beling yang tertinggal di tanah dapat dimakan oleh ternak (lokasi Festival adalah lahan peternakan dan pertanian). Kita dapat menghemat biaya minum secara signifikan dengan membawa minuman beralkohol yang tidak dalam botol kaca. Kami sendiri membawa box wine dan gelas plastik karena mudah dibawa (wine adalah minuman beralkohol pilihan kami). Alternatif lain adalah membeli cider dari petani lokal saat di tiba di Stasiun Castle Cary (dijual dalam kontainer plastik/jerry can). Somerset terkenal sebagai daerah penghasil cider di Inggris. Membawa minuman kalengan juga salah satu opsi, namun sulit mengangkutnya. Spirit dalam botol besi (hip flask) juga salah satu pilihan, namun kuantitasnya terbatas.

 

Transportasi

Situs Glastonbury memberikan berbagai informasi mengenai moda transportasi, mulai dari mobil, bus, kereta sampai sepeda. Moda transportasi yang paling disarankan adalah kereta dan sepeda, karena meninggalkan jejak karbon paling minim. Untuk para pengendara sepeda, terdapat forum yang mengkoordinir perjalanan bersama. Sedangkan, pengendara mobil disarankan untuk memberikan tumpangan sehingga dapat membagi biaya dan, sekali lagi, mengurangi jejak karbon. Panitia menyarankan situs Gocarshare.com sebagai forum untuk menawarkan dan mencari tumpangan.

Pada awalnya, kami bermaksud mencari tumpangan mobil karena paling murah. Namun, setiap kali menghubungi pengemudi yang menawarkan tumpangan, respon mereka sangat lambat. Kami khawatir sulit mengatur jadwal keberangkatan atau bahkan pengemudi tidak muncul di hari-H.

Pada akhirnya kami memutuskan menggunakan moda transportasi kereta. Keunggulan lain moda transportasi ini adalah terhindar dari kemacetan. Stasiun terdekat dari Festival adalah Castle Cary, di mana tersedia shuttle bus gratis menuju lokasi festival. Kami memesan tiket online dari situs First Great Western untuk mendapatkan harga terbaik. Kami juga menggunakan kartu diskon (railcard) Two Togerther sehingga harga tiketnya hampir sama dengan bus.

Tantangan menggunakan moda transportasi kereta adalah membawa seluruh perlengkapan dari apartemen kami di bilangan Bloomsbury. Dengan kata lain, kami harus berjalan kaki menuju stasiun Euston Square, menggunakan Tube (Underground) menuju Stasiun Paddington untuk naik kereta kemudian pindah ke shuttle bus dengan membawa beban yang cukup berat. Namun, karena kami terbiasa berolahraga rutin, hal tersebut bukan masalah.

‘Kendala’ pertama yang kami hadapi adalah lupa membawa kartu diskon Two Together! Akibatnya, pada saat inspeksi tiket saat tiba di Stasiun Castle Cary, kami diharuskan membeli tiket kembali dengan harga penuh £78.80 sebagai denda (mahal)! Kendala tersebut sungguh merusak mood. Kami terus berpikir uang tersebut bisa digunakan untuk membiayai makan dan minum selama 5 hari di Festival, seandainya kami tidak lupa membawa kartu diskon.

Saat mengendarai shuttle bus (berupa double decker tua yang dihias), kami tidak bisa mengikuti atmosfir ceria penumpang lain. Namun, kami sadar, layaknya setiap perjalanan (dan hidup pada umumnya), kadang kita kehilangan sesuatu. Apabila kami terus bermuram durja dan tidak menikmati Festival, niscaya kami semakin merugi. Untungnya, begitu melihat gerbang masuk Festival, mood kami langsung membaik.

 

Komunikasi

Kita hidup di abad 21di mana konektivitas internet adalah kebutuhan dasar. Glastonbury diadakan di salah satu negara paling maju di dunia, dengan demikian akses internet 4G dapat dipastikan tersedia.

Rekanan provider telekomunikasi Glastonbury adalah EE. Mereka menyediakan power bank bagi pelanggannya. Apabila power bank kehabisan daya, pelanggan EE dapat datang ke salah satu gerai EE dan menukar dengan power bank yang sudah terisi penuh (power bank swap). Pelanggan juga dapat mengisi daya secara konvensional di gerai tersebut, gratis (terdapat juga gerai-gerai yang menyediakan fasilitas pengisian daya berbayar yang cukup mahal).

Kami sendiri bukan pelanggan EE, sehingga tidak memperoleh ‘kemewahan’ berupa fasilitas power bank swap ataupun pengisian daya secara cuma-cuma dari EE. Namun, kami dapat bertahan hidup (dan menikmati Festival) tanpa kemewahan tersebut. Triknya: kami hanya menyalakan ponsel pintar pada saat berada dalam tenda (saat bangun pagi dan sebelum tidur). Di luar waktu tersebut, kami hanya menyalakan ponsel pintar saat keadaan darurat yang membutuhkan koneksi internet. Terbukti, baterai Samsung Galaxy Note II dan iPhone 4 dapat bertahan untuk 5 hari.

Saran kami, jangan terlalu mengandalkan fasilitas power swap ataupun pengisian daya. Antrian untuk menggunakan fasilitas tersebut selalu panjang. Lebih baik waktu antri digunakan untuk mengeksplorasi Festival. Tahanlah godaan memamerkan foto-foto dan video-video di media sosial untuk menunjukkan betapa beruntungnya anda dapat menghadiri Festival terbesar di dunia (paling tidak sampai kembali ke tenda). Gunakan kamera sungguhan, bukan kamera ponsel, untuk mengabadikan pengalaman tak terlupakan ini. Selain mengurangi konsumsi baterai ponsel, niscaya gambar yang diabadikan jauh lebih baik.

Kalau memang bepergian dalam grup lebih dari 2 orang dan perlu menggunakan perangkat komunikasi untuk janjian, gunakanlah ponsel 2G dengan fitur yang terbatas telepon dan SMS saja. Baterai ponsel 2G tersebut dapat bertahan berhari-hari meski terus menyala. Lebih baik lagi, beli dan gunakan walkie talkie murah untuk komunikasi lapangan. Tetapi ingat, Festival adalah waktu di mana kita bisa bertemu teman baru (bahkan calon jodoh) atau sekedar berinteraksi dengan orang asing tanpa perlu terlalu waspada. Jangan menutup diri dan terlalu terikat dengan kelompok.

 

Akomodasi

Sebagian besar pengunjung biasanya menginap di dalam lahan Festival. Teman kami ada yang memutuskan untuk pulang pergi setiap hari dari Exeter menggunakan kereta (dia menginap di hotel). Hal mana tidak disarankan karena 2 alasan yang sangat sederhana: waktu dan biaya. Bayangkan waktu dan biaya yang terbuang. Glastonbury Festival berlangsung 24 jam selama 5 hari. Kita sudah membayar tiket terusan yang cukup mahal. Sayang sekali kalau kita tidak memaksimalkan waktu yang ada. Belum lagi harga tiket kereta dari Castle Cary ke stasiun terdekat hotel. Harga tiket kereta api UK National Rail fluktuatif layaknya tiket pesawat. Saat tingkat permintaan naik, misalnya saat ada festival, niscaya perusahaan kereta akan menaikkan harga.

Pada dasarnya terdapat 3 pilihan akomodasi: perkemahan umum, perkemahan yang sudah disediakan panitia (Tipis dan Worthy View Camping) dan mobil karavan (campervan). Perkemahan umum tidak dikenakan biaya tambahan, pengunjung cukup membawa perlatan berkemah sendiri. Sedangkan, Tipis dan Worthy View Camping dikenakan biaya tambahan. Pengunjung yang membawa mobil karavan juga hanya dapat memarkir mobilnya di wilayah perkemaan campervan, yang dikenakan biaya tentunya. Kami sendiri memilih perkemahan umum karena paling ekonomis dan bernuansa akar rumput. Oleh karena itu, kami hanya akan membahas perkemahan umum.

Setelah melewati gerbang masuk, kami langsung menghampiri para panitia yang berada di depan peta. Mereka secara ramah mengarahkan pengunjung yang baru tiba ke situs-situs perkemahan yang tersedia dengan memberikan informasi kepadatan. Apabila mereka memberitahukan bahwa satu situs sudah penuh, jangan memaksakan berkemah di tempat tersebut. Kami sendiri memilih situs berkemah Pylon Ground karena cukup jauh dari panggung-panggung utama (sehingga tidak terlalu berisik), jauh dari sungai (mewaspadai banjir bandang apabila hujan), dekat namun tidak terlalu dekat dengan toilet kompos, dan mudah menemukan lokasinya (terdapat menara sutet sebagai penanda arah). Kelemahan lokasi ini adalah jauh dari pusat keriaan.

Berdasarkan pengamatan kami, pemilihan situs berkemah juga sesuai dengan preferensi menikmati Festival. Kami melihat banyak juga yang berkemah di depan Pyramid Stage. Kelebihan memilih situs ini adalah berada di pusat Festival. Namun, kami membayangkan akan sulit tidur dengan segala keramaian dan keributan yang tentunya terpusat di lokasi tersebut. Belum lagi, banyaknya orang yang lalu lalang membuat ladang rumput menjadi lahan berlumpur.

Di manapun situs perkemahan yang anda pilih, kami menyarankan agar tidak berkemah terlalu dekat dengan toilet, sumber air dan jalan utama. Alasan untuk tidak berkemah terlalu dekat dengan toilet tentu sangat jelas: menghindari aroma tidak sedap. Lokasi yang terlalu dekat dengan sumber air rawan banjir. Sedangkan, apabila kemah kita terlalu dekat dengan jalan utama, niscaya akan ramai dan ribut karena banyak orang lalu lalang. Selain itu, tanah rumput yang terlalu sering dilewati kerumunan akan menjadi ladang lumpur.

Bonfire music.

Sanitasi

Permasalahan utama kehidupan: toilet! Dengan ratusan ribu manusia tumplek blek di lokasi yang sama, permasalahan sanitasi tentu dapat menjadi mimpi buruk bagi semua orang. Namun jangan khawatir! Glastonbury Festival mempekerjakan ilmuwan lingkungan hidup untuk mengembangkan toilet kompos (compost toilet). Berbeda dengan portaloo (bilik toilet portabel plastik), toilet kompos tidak menggunakan air dan bahan kimia sehingga ramah lingkungan. Jamban ini hanya menggunakan serbuk kayu (sawdust) untuk menutup ekskremen kita. Jadi kurang lebih cara pakainya begini:

  1. Ambil serbuk kayu dengan menggunakan gelas kertas yang disediakan di tempat;
  2. Antri dengan sabar (terutama pada pagi hari saat semua orang perlu ‘setoran pagi’);
  3. Pastikan untuk membawa tisu toilet dan tisu basah;
  4. Disarankan jongkok saat buang air (meskipun memungkinkan untuk duduk). Selesai buang air, silahkan bersihkan diri menggunakan tisu toilet dan tisu basah. Khusus tisu basah, jangan dibuang ke dalam kloset karena kemungkinan tidak dapat terurai dan mengandung bahan kimia. Seluruh benda yang berada dalam kloset akan diolah menjadi pupuk kompos. Oleh karena itu, hanya masukkan benda-benda yang dapat terurai dan tidak mengandung bahan kimia.
  5. Tutupi kotoran dengan serbuk kayu (layaknya kucing atau anjing); dan
  6. Bersihkan tangan anda dengan hand-sanitiser yang disediakan di depan toilet.

Selain compost toilet, tersedia juga longdrop toilet. Prinsipnya hampir sama, menggunakan gravitasi sebagai pengganti air: lubang toilet dibuat cukup dalam sehingga ekskremen yang dikeluarkan tidak perlu disiram.

Long drop toilets.

Bagaimana dengan buang air kecil? Meskipun lokasi Glastonbury Festival adalah ladang hijau, pengunjung dilarang buang air kecil di rerumputan, semak-semak maupun sungai. Urin memang biodegradable, namun urin dari ratusan ribu peserta dapat menyebabkan tingkat keasaman yang terlalu tinggi pada tanah atau sungai. Oleh karena itu, selalu buang air kecil di toilet. Bagi pengunjung pria, biasanya selalu tersedia bilik urinal di dekat longdrop atau compost toilet.

Selain urinal biasa, terdapat juga Pee-power Urinal. Pada dasarnya urinal tersebut adalah pembangkit listrik tenaga kencing yang menggunakan teknologi microbial fuel cell, di mana bakteri dalam fuel cell mengkonsumsi urin dan menghasilkan listrik yang cukup untuk menyalakan lampu jalan. Pee-power Urinal ini dikembangkan oleh University of theWest England (UWE) dan cocok digunakan untuk penampungan pengungsi karena dapat mengatasi permasalahan sanitasi dan ketersediaan listrik secara sekaligus.[2]

Pengunjung wanita juga dapat mencoba menggunakan She-wee, suatu alat yang didesain agar wanita dapat buang air kecil berdiri.[3] Pasangan saya mencoba menggunakan ini dan gagal, seluruh celananya basah terkena urin sendiri sehingga harus mandi dan kembali ke tenda.

 

Kesehatan

Kami sendiri sehat dan bugar sepanjang festival selalu sehingga dapat sepenuhnya menikmatinya tanpa memerlukan bantuan medis apapun. Namun, apabila memerlukan bantuan medis, Glastonbury Festival memiliki staf medis profesional lengkap dengan ambulans. Pos-pos kesehatan juga menyediakan kondom gratis bagi pengunjung sebagai bagian dari promosi kampanye safe sex. Suasana festival dapat membuat kita berkenalan dengan orang baru dan memulai hubungan intim. Apabila demikian, selalu gunakan kondom demi kemaslahatan kita semua (mencegah penyakit menular seksual dan kehamilan yang tidak diinginkan). Perlu diingat juga bahwa selama Festival kita akan sulit mandi maupun ke toilet. Kita ataupun pasangan kita bukan dalam kondisi terbersih dan terwangi. Dengan demikian, mungkin lebih baik menunda hubungan seks sampai bertemu kembali di lain waktu.

Keamanan

Glastonbury Festival memiliki tingkat kriminalitas yang sangat rendah. Namun, sebagaimana pesan Bang Napi: ‘Kejahatan bisa terjadi bukan saja karena ada niat si pelaku, tapi kejahatan juga bisa terjadi karena ada kesempatan! Waspadalah!
Waspadalah! Waspadalah!’ Kita tetap perlu waspada agar terhindar dari hal-hal yang tidak diinginkan.

Beberapa tips waspada:

  1. Hindari melewati jalan gelap sendirian (tentunya);
  2. Bawa barang berharga seperlunya. Apabila perlu menitipkan barang berharga, gunakan fasilitas Property Lock-up yang tersedia;
  3. Jangan gembok tenda karena hal tersebut memberikan sinyal bahwa terdapat barang berharga di dalamnya (tenda dapat dengan mudah dirobek dengan pisau meskipun digembok).;
  4. Bongkar seluruh isi tas dan sebar dalam tenda. Apabila ada pencuri yang mengambil kesempatan mengambil tas, paling tidak hanya tas yang hilang.
  5. Berkenalan dengan tetangga dan saling menjaga; dan
  6. Masukkan barang berharga dalam kantong tidur saat tidur.

 

Penutup

Pada hari terakhir kami di Festival, saat selesai membereskan tenda dan perlengkapan berkemah, kami merasa lega dan bahagia. Bukan karena tidak menikmati festival sehingga lega bisa pulang, melainkan karena berhasil kembali melampaui zona nyaman. Glastonbury memang suatu perwujudan idealisme liberal dan hedonisme, namun untuk dapat menikmatinya perlu pikiran terbuka, melepaskan kenyamanan rumah, dan tingkat kebugaran yang tinggi. Festival ini tidak bisa dinikmati hanya dengan modal uang saja.

Selain itu, Glastonbury juga memperluas wawasan kami dalam hal seni, budaya maupun teknologi dan kesadaran lingkungan hidup. Melalui Festival ini kami diajarkan bahwa kesenangan dan kepedulian terhadap isu-isu sosial dapat berjalan beriringan serta diwujudkan secara bersamaan. Sebagaimana setiap perjalanan yang kami jalani, kami kembali diingatkan bahwa terdapat banyak cara untuk menjalani kehidupan.

 

 

 

[1] Selama kuliah di London, penulis memenuhi kebutuhan akan baju di charity shop. Mereka menawarkan baju beremerek bekas dalam kondisi yang baik dengan harga murah. Selain bisa memenuhi kebutuhan untuk tampil bergaya, menggunakan baju bekas mengurangi sampah dan jejak karbon. Apabila dibandingkan dengan baju baru dari ritel murah, kualitas baju bekas dari charity shop jauh lebih superior (dengan harga yang sama).

[2] UWE, ‘UWE Bristol Showcases “Pee Power” at Glastonbury Festival’ (University of the West England, 24 June 2015) <https://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/news.aspx?id=3120> diakses pada 21 September 2015. John Elmes, ‘Researchers Go Potty for Pee at Glastonbury’ (Times Higher Education, 27 June 2015) <https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/researchers-go-potty-pee-glastonbury> diakses pada 21 September 2015.

[3] Shewee, ‘About Us’ (Shewee) <http://www.shewee.com/about-us/> diakses pada 21 September 2015.

June 30, 2018

Arbitrator’s Conduct on Social Media

My LLM dissertation “Arbitrator’s Conduct on Social Media” has been published in Journal of International Dispute Settlement (JIDS). The target audience is academic and practitioners in the field of arbitration. However, I tried to write it to be understood by general public to the extent an academic article could possibly be written in layman terms.

 

I did not record how many hours I spent working in this article. As an LLM student, there was no requirement for me to fill in timesheet. In retrospect, maybe I should have recorded the time spent ‘working’ on LLM my studies. That way I could have quantified (albeit not exact or perfect) the amount of hours converted to money I am investing in my academic and professional development.

 

I remember the hardest part of writing was finding the topic. One winter early morning (that’s 3am), I woke up and started writing a concept for dissertation topic. It was about comparative private international laws in South East Asia. I worked on that concept for hours. However, in the end, I jettisoned the concept when I found that nobody has ever written about Arbitrator’s Conduct on Social Media.

 

When writing the article, I tried to make it as regular as work. I started coming to the library at 10am and finished at 5pm, no matter how little I wrote that day. Of course, there are “overtimes” when I got the inspiration. I even worked to 3am, missing the only morning London was covered in snow during my LLM year, before a meeting with my supervisor to ensure it will be an effective one.

 

I got a distinction for the dissertation. However, when I sent it to JIDS, they request “major” revision. The request was given with comments and suggestions from high calibre academics that did not sugarcoat anything, pointing every deficiency in my writing. I admit my heart sank and I was distressed that the distinction grade does not guarantee publication. Nevertheless, those comments and suggestions are the constructive criticisms I needed.

 

I submitted the first draft manuscript on October 2015, after much revisions I finally got the unconditional offer of publication on December 2016. Therefore, I spent more than two years on this article.

 

I would like to say that this is another gift from London. However, I realised it is not. It is a reward, but I earned it. I paid for it in full.

 

You can read the full text article here. Alternatively, you can download the pdf copy JIDS-2017-Sanubari-idw026

 

Your comments and criticisms are highly appreciated.

 

I am happy that I contributed something to the development of law. I received so much and it feels good to give back something. To create something that will be a precedent. I stood on the shoulders of giants. And it feels good knowing someone will stand on my shoulders.

 

P.S. I still regret that I did not wake up to see the snow (see picture, taken by @adindaaditha). Come to think of it, I should have been okay if I was sleep deprived for one day.

Snow in Tavistock Court

Originally posted on Instagram on 19 January 2017.

January 19, 2017