This New Year, in Medan

So we made the deal before married, this year, we are spending the Chinese eve, and first few days in Medan.

Medan skyline

Like I always said, a dusty place :P

Some said, Indonesia is a food heaven, but Medan, is the center :) Might as well spend a good food tour back home later next week. The bad thing is, there is a need to burn belly fat fast after new year. Can’t deny, Sibu too, is a heavy of cheap food.

Sibu

So I’m going to spend the whole Chinese New Year with food-related town/city. What do you expect? I think… 5kg?

I’m a proud Malaysian

I am in luck on this trip to Medan. I manage to catch up with those students who are in examination period, like PMR, SPM, STPM and etc.

Medan city

The other day, while I was shopping for the best wrinkle cream in a mall namely Maxi Mart. I over heard some interesting conversation. I wasn’t aware that I was this “kepo” (busybody) until I notice I started to over heard some conversation.

What shocking was that these students, actually already has the leaked answers for their papers. Now, this is how they works. Due to the over whelming schools available in Indonesia, there will be a few set of papers targeting to different schools. So, getting (or buying) the right information is crucial, not only answers.

Now, I’m not finish yet. The next point is that, if you cannot get the right information and right answers, you can, of course bribe the examiner to pass you.

Medan Merdeka Walk

I must say, even Malaysia is corrupt, or even dropped a few point in the corruption index this year, it still cannot compare with that I know here. Why am I not proud to be Malaysian?

Freedom

The law will never make men free, it is men that have to make the law free.
Henry David Thoreau

Yes, time to accept how it was when I first accepted it.

Medan

I’m living a quite rebel life before, and because of that, I get so used to freedom I have had all the time. I started to sign my own result report when I was still Form1 and I am free to do so, even though my parent knows it.

Few years back, when I first stepped into Medan ground, I was, still a college boy. As a sign of respect, asking for permission is common. For some, like me, feel it is weird to “ask” for permission than “tell” the permission.

Ok, let’s check if you are still with me.

As an adult, like me. I would prefer to “tell” you that I am permitted to go out and I am going out now. Which, I did like that back in my rebel years. However, if I am to “ask” you to give me the permission of going out, it’s definitely weird and not so much of a freedom I’m looking for.

Especially when getting old enough to buy stuff. Why I would need anyone (beside, wife) permission to buy an item, if I am to get a new gadget, I need no permission. If I am to get testosterone creams, I need not ask.

Maybe I need to change my perspective or learn to adopt another kind of freedom. Come out from the comfort zone that I’ve been with all the while, and put just a little time onto something not comfortable…

It’s planned, not spontaneous

Coming here for the 3rd week. Still ok, at least getting used to the hot weather, and the… Almost no windows room :P

But somehow, there are still misunderstanding of our job, yes, we both, the job, as a web designer and a web developer?

We are here for a reason

Documents

First off, we did not came home on the Chinese New Year, so as a small replacement, we made it a full one month staying here in Medan. Bringing all our jobs here to make sure we follow up with what we did back in Sibu. At the same time, my wife is applying a 3 months social visa, so yes, its going to take some times, so it’s a month for us.

We have work to do at home

Work at home

Even though like you think how we work – At home or anywhere as long as a broadband. However, it doesn’t mean we can work in Starbucks like others. We are still prefer to work like ordinary working adult, a good working desk with a good chair on a good siting proposition.

Can come home anytime

Private Jet

No. We can’t, until we owe a private jet, but we don’t. Coming back home takes more time than we can imagine. From Sibu to Kuala Lumpur, then from Kuala Lumpur to Medan. The timing wasn’t good, so we have time on transition of airplane too, which, eventually wasted half a day on airport.

So yeah, we are basically like everyone else, working at our own territory and don’t like to move (location wise) too much. Coming back and forth, and I need time to get use to a lot of stuff which makes me needing natural colon cleanser more and more. Some times, it is hard to let those who is outdated to keep up with our situation. I can of course, give a hand, when the timing is correct (read: Correct, mean after business hour).

This is the mad style

Last few week, while my girlfriend’s father went to out station, he left the vehicle at home, for our convenient. Thanks to him, I got the chance to learn driving from the bottom up again. First, Toyota Innova is really powerful. It remind me a lot about the Toyota Unser (or Toyota Kijang for Indonesian) my father used to have.
Toyota Innova
Secondly, all the drivers here have… Patient. A very big one I mean. Driving with 20 – 30km all the way, and everybody squeezing into the little tinny space they could see. With my level of patient, I would definitely flipping my middle finger. Some how, I have no time to flip my finger. I need to take real close look at the car, because all of them squeezing too close to me, from front, behind, both left and right side :? And I have to be careful of those truck with all kind of truck accessories on them too.
Medan road
Did I mention about the traffic light? When the count down count to 3 (not even green light yet) everyone start honking. I’m sure it is to wake up the front row to make sure they remember to place their gear and go. Then when the green light is on, the front row drove only 10km, so I joined the honking-group too.

I seriously wonder what is the use of the road lane line here when nobody even bother to drive on their own lane…