Kota Tua, Model Version (Vol 1)

Kota Tua, Journalistic & Candid Vesion (Vol2)

Kota Tua, Journalistic & Candid Version (Vol 1)

Social House, is it really social??

I'm gonna start this topic with an assumption that not everyone that reads this post realize what Social House is? It's a nice (well, depends on your individual interpretation of what "nice" is) cozy (this word is also very subjective) place where the middle up class socialites of Jakarta hang out after their long and tiring (another assumption...) day filled with activities. It serves wine, beer, alcoholic beverages, and also various kind of coffee mix whatever. Right next to the lounge is a dining place, serving the guests with top of the line meat and exquisite selections of food, that will (if you have the taste and believe their ads) give you a touch of exclusive experience while eating, well... whatever that you order (and no, they don't provide pisang goreng or indomie).

It's located in Grand Indonesia, right inside Harvey Nichols. Well, the location its self talks a lot about the people that go to Social House. Don't be confused, but if you go there on Friday night, say around 7.00 PM, consider yourself lucky if you can find a place to sit. That fact alone makes me wonder, are we really in the middle of a global crisis?? Never mind that, what I found interesting is the people inside it. You can easily find those young and middle aged executives enjoying their time drinking wine, and still talks about the meeting they had hours ago and discussed it with their partners. The way they talk, the way they act, and most importantly, their eyes, define how they got into the way they are now. Some of them are lucky enough to be brought to the earth and became rich the second they were borned. Some of them, earned their way to the top even when it costed them more than just money. However, most of the people there were youngsters, freshmen, with an extensive amount of money at their disposal. I noticed them one by one, and tried to see who they really were. On the outside, they're all stylish with top of the line brands they wore. That had good taste for wine, and a lot of them didn't even bother asking the somelier for reference. They memorized it at heart.

While I was in the middle of observing the people there, my friend suddenly, and casually said "I never knew that the word 'social' has a very limited definition in Jakarta.". At first I was laughing, but that only lasted for a few seconds when I saw his straight face. He was serious. But he had a point.. I never realized that this place puts a very limited meaning to the word "social". What came to my mind afterwards was, do they consider Social House as an interpretation of their

identity? Some of them attached their self with Social House, as if a big neon sign was attached to their bodies saying "I'm a Social House person".

I pitty them. Their whole identities are defined by the place they hang out and the kind of things they buy or wear. They bought their "identities" and incorporated it inside their hearts (or so they thought). I wonder who these people really are inside. But I stopped trying when my friend gave a pat in the shoulder and said "time to take out your camera". I'm not that kind of people, and knowing that is good enough for me. Social House will always be Social House, nothing more than just a place for me to take a good picture of Bundaran HI, and of course taking candid shots of the fine and lovely girls there. In the end, the people there had their own reasons why they ended up at Social House that night. What about me? Well, my reason was simple. I wanted to take these pictures below... Click it to see the full version :)

The First 2 Weeks in the New Office

March 2nd, 2009 was my first day in the new office. By the way, in case I forgot (in which I'm quite certain of it) to tell you all, I have decided to join with PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk (BLT) instead of PT Samudera Indonesia Tbk. Both are fine shipping companies but somehow I was just following my guts that said I would enrich myself better in BLT. The position is in the Investor Relations dept and the job description is, well, I prefer to define it as a combination/mixture of finance, PR, Corporate Secretary, and event organizer. Interesting? Hell yes for me... Although it means that I have to open and read a significant pile of regulations from IDX, SGX, Bapepam, KSEI, and others alike.

But my posting today will not talk about my job. Not that it isn't interesting, but this blog is designed to publish my 2 cents of thoughts about what happened in my life, not my daily activities. Well, let's get it started then...

The first week was filled with uncertainty. What I meant here is uncertainty regarding who I'm going to have lunch with, who I should liase regarding my job, and of course, the status of the fine looking cute girls in the 10th and 11th floor. The office atmosphere is so different with TAFS. By 8:30 everybody starts to shackle their hands to the keyboard any start typing... well, just about everything from job related tasks to Yahoo Messenger. It was quiet (accept for every 3 PM where our lovely neighbour, Paspampres, starts to play the kind of songs you normally hear once a year on Independence Day, daily) for no one even play their MP3 files to raise the beat a knot or two. No one goes wondering around chatting or even looking for snacks from other departments (very much the contrary of my routine activities in TAFS, which is looking for snacks from other departments). And of course, no one is singing "dangdut" like my previous particular comrade from TAFS marketing division. By lunch time everybody goes out and on 17:30, around 80% of them leave their desks accordingly and head to the exit door. Suddenly I was in the middle of cultural shock. It took a few days for me to sink it in, but then I realized that I'm no longer a TAFS employee. The way I act, the way I work, and the way I respon to this new community have to change completely. These are not the same people, and I'm also expected to be someone different than I was in TAFS. I have my responsibilities and I really shouldn't spend majority of my time trying to find out the similarity between this office and TAFS. It's a different office, the people are not the same, and most important of all, this is a new page in my life and I'm the one who pulled the card. I have to admit, there were days where I felt that I have made the wrong decision, that TAFS and my previous dept was where I belong, and I just can't get the feel of this new environment. But I prayed to the Lord and wished that He would always walk along side, and I said to myself "You have made the decision and you believed that this is the path for your future wannabe, live with it!". Now, 2 weeks have passed and I'm glad to say that I have nothing to regret. The people here are fine people, friendly, and helpful. And the girls, well... still don't know how to approach them anyway, so might as well put that thought aside for now.

Photos of Focus Expo...

Well, my first attempt in taking pics of models. All taken during free photo model sessions in Focus Expo recently... Comments please!!!!