About

Hello! Welcome to my Blog!

 Please have a seat and make yourself at home.

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Would you like some coffee?

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I made this coffee with love for you. It’s Kopi Kapal Api, a special coffee from my beloved home country.

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And try Kue Putu Ayu as well.

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Did you like them?   OK, feel comfy now?

Great! Let’s have a chat then!

Let’s start with the nitty-gritty.  I was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 5 February 1983.  My father comes from Bima, West Nusa Tenggara and my mother comes from Tegal, Central Java. I love literary fiction, poetry, movies, any kinds of music, traveling, soccer, and international food (Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, to name a few). Besides English, I speak Indonesian, two local languages (Javanese with Tegal dialect and Betawi), some Arabic, and I am now learning both Italian and Spanish.

Hang on. Before you scroll down, let me make it clear that I have no slightest intention to bore you to death. So if you find it no longer interesting, you’re free as a bird.

Oh, you’re still here? Awesome!

What do I need to tell you? Oh yes, I’m a student. A passionate one.  A month after completing my master’s in TESOL at University of Canberra in July 2009, I continued with a PhD in Linguistics at the ANU (Australian National University) up to now.

Although I’ve learned much from formal education, I believe that I learn more from Life. So if you believe in the phrase “The University of Life”, then we stand in the same ground. I do too. I believe that learning from formal education may make you a good living, but self-education will make you a great life. Are you on board? Excellent!

Let’s talk about dreams now. When I published my first novel, Malula, in 2010, I was so happy with it! Yet I fully realize that I’m still a thousand of miles away from achieving one of my biggest dreams: publishing international best-selling books in English.

I know it must be extremely difficult. The challenges are innumerable. There are thousands of emerging writers out there who struggle to make ends meet,  much less make their book a best seller.

Besides, English is not my first language. Even though I’ve been teaching English at University of Canberra English Language Institute (UCELI), Australia for nearly four years, my vocation is no guarantee.  As a non-native speaker of English, I am error-prone. There’s a good chance that I will make errors every now and then, just like other non-native speakers. Now the real question is: How’s it going to be possible for me to achieve my dream?

Kahlil Gibran came to the rescue. The exotic handsome man on our left was a Lebanese; he spoke Arabic as his native language. He moved to the United States when he was 12 and published The Prophet in English when he was 38.  The book has now sold more than 120 million copies and has been translated into more than 40 languages. Awesome, hey?

Other authors? Well, on the list we’ve got Joseph Conrad (a Polish) and Khaled Hosseini (an Afghani), the best selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. So there you go.

The life of Gibran, Conrad, and Hosseini teaches me one thing: The beauty of life is to love and its purpose is to learn. Learning to love every bits and pieces of creative writing is a seemingly attainable skill I will need to practice. The truth is that HarperCollins and Bloomsbury are not going to offer me contracts if I’m happy the way things are. Success will not come if I stop learning. I have to spend more time on reading, despite my hectic schedule. One cannot become a great author unless they are an avid reader, I’m sure you all know that. Also, my writing should be in constant refinement. They will never reach perfection until they get published.

So here I am, a new man in a new episode of life. A once political activist and former president of various youth organizations  including PPIA (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia di Australia/The National Board of Indonesian Student Association in Australia), I am now a man who dreams of becoming an international author.

Like an ant who wishes to erect the castle of humanity, through writing I want to seize the unlimited opportunities to learn, fulfill my unquenchable thirst and everlasting passion for literature, and share my thoughts to international audience. Needless to say, through writing I want to  contribute to humanity the way Kahlil Gibran, Jalaluddin Rumi,  Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Paulo Coelho do. Clearly if life must have a mission, then mine is to serve humanity through the written word.

I joined the Blogosphere primarily because I believe that it is part of learning. Honing my writing skills can be so much fun when I could share what I write and connect with people who have penchant for literature and are passionate about life. In less than two months that I’m blogging, I am blessed by the wonderful supports and appreciations I’ve been getting from my  fellow bloggers and kind readers. Check out the ‘Awards’ page to see what blessings they’ve been pouring out onto me. I’m humbly thankful for these, and my sincere gratitude is due to these wonderful and lovely people.

Hey, it’s interesting that you can stand listening to me this long! Aren’t you bored? No? Great! Would you like to be my new friend?

If so, just imagine my right hand is reaching out to you for our first virtual handshake. Good, it’s official now.

Welcome again to my Blog, my friend! Please feel free to click any titles that interest you. Here I write Flash Fiction under “Reflection” Category, Poems under “Poetry”, and great quotes or inspirational stuff under “Motivation”. Feel free to have a look.

If you like what you read, following this Blog is not difficult. Either click “Follow” in the Header Bar or Enter your email address in the Follow Widget below. Then click “Confirm” when you receive an email from me and WordPress. No drama.

Have a joyful ride in my blog!

Canberra, 21 March 2012

Warm Regards,