Marriage

I've never been married so I don't know how it feels. I just have a decent hope about it. But again, I found cues that cause my fairytale image of marriage fallen apart and crushed to pieces.

In high school a friend of mine told me that marriage is just a formality. It's useful only to bear legal children. I thought it's an obscure thinking as a result of bad experience.

During college years, I met a girl who said that she would marry only to meet social expectation. It doesn't matter to live separately with her husband after that. She wants to raise a child in accordance to her idealism but she doesn't want anything to do with a husband. I thought it's because she never really fall in love.

But, some family movies/dramas, e.g. "Why Did I Get Married?", "Salaam Namaste", "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna", "Ohlala Spouses", etc. give me a real dark view about marriage. Love ends after the vow, or it may not end but divided with the other party, what if you meet your soulmate after you get married? Yea, the snowball keeps on spinning. There will be a lot more problems that turn marriage into some kind of trap.

We might argue that the filmmakers just dramatize the conflict. But how can we explain the divorces we see everyday in real life?

Just now a public figure bluntly talked in national television that the reason of his divorce was because of boredom. Well, he didn't exactly said the word "bored". He used some parables, i.e.:

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Etasia Tlatar

I visited Ekowisata Taman Air Tlatar yesterday. It is located in Kebonbimo Village - Boyolali, approximately 4 km northward from downtown. Tlatar for me is all about childhood memories. When I was a kid, I went there almost every weekend with my fam. At that time, my uncle officiated as Head of The Department of Fisheries in Boyolali and he was one of the founder of Tlatar itself. Hence, it’s easy for us to get in and out for free. We’re even allowed to go inside the fishpond owned by government, where not just anybody can enter. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, we swam with fish there while the elders were enjoying meal in a hut. Who cares if we smell fishy. :p

The water is so clear and it’s fun to jump from one pond to another. Different pond might contain different kinds of fish. The most precious fish is koi, no doubt. Though we swam freely but we never once brought any fish home. That would be considered as stealing, right?

I also remember my uncle let me feed giant fish in indoor ponds. We hand the food right into their mouth. The way their mouth twitched our hands was so tickling. But it wouldn't stop us to do so.

Yesterday I was amazed by how much Tlatar has changed. There's so much improvement, both in quality and quantity of facilities. Initially, Tlatar became famous for its artesian springs. Now, there are additional attractions that gives it extra points. Some of them are pakecehan (water playground), restaurants, fishing pond, swimming pool, fish spa, woodball venue,  entrepreneurship and outbond facilities, natural laboratory and hidrological garden, etc. You can go around the 7-ha-area on foot or you can choose to ride horse. Therefore you can enjoy the fresh view of the surrounding.

Interesting, isn't it? So, why don't you give it a try?

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Oh, My Small Town...

I just had an interesting conversation with my friend. She is now learning to build a business in an industrial city of  East Java. She came home few days ago and shared me this story.

She said that the citizens there have a great enthusiasm into entrepreneurship. Along the highway in the city, you can find many independent businesses. Even in small alleys there will be a lot more home industries. If there are people who works as an employees, there's a big chance that they are from outside the region.

She compares it with social circumstances in our small town. We lack the interest to found our own business. Civil servant is still being a favorite occupation. That's why our economy is going nowhere. My town is as dull as a dead city. There's nothing big here, this town sleeps at 9 pm. Well, thanks to the certification for educators which have enlivened this town a little bit. People can spend more money after receiving additional revenue from government.

Still, there is distinct mindset between citizen of that industrial city and this small town. People there wouldn't mind to pay more for quality and prestige. But, here people will choose the cheapest goods they can find. There will be a fierce barganing over what's look a little expensive until the price gets as low as it can get. So, how do you expect there will be a signifcant growth of entrepreneurship if the market is not prospective?

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