INACRAFT 2018

Hello, lovelies!

Did you went to INACRAFT 2018, Indonesia's largest exhibition on small medium enterprises' handicraft products? INACRAFT 2018 used Plennary Hall, Assembly Hall, Hall A and Hall B, and the lower ground area. Including the corridors. This year's participants reached 1,700, which occupied around 1,400 booths in the exhibition area. 

I went with former colleague and we had great time perusing the wonderful items of clothes, home decors, other miscellaneous stuffs showcased by top vendors across Indonesia. We spent around eight hours in Jakarta Convention Center, hahaha. 

Bank BNI is the main sponsor of the event, so it's no wonder that the ticket to the exhibition area uses BNI TapCash, its electronic money card. Visitors could use their own card and top up the credit (if they don't have enough credit for the ticket), or buy the cards offered at the ticket counter. I already have a card, but then I saw the lovely design that featured the Bataknese Gorga motif and decided to buy it just because. Argh, good design is my weak spot.

As I'm not exactly a fashion person, I didn't really pay attention to the clothes exhibitors. I think  I can find most clothes I like in Thamrin City. So what I really look for in the event was random things that I seldom find. Here are some photos of such stuffs in no particular order.   

We stumbled upon a booth that sold vintage stuffs, including this first day covers on the 4th Asian Games held in Jakarta in 1962. This year's Asian Games will take place in Jakarta and also Palembang, so these items made good memory on how much Jakarta and Asian Games had been in touch all these years.

This booth brought wicker products from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and I just fell in love with the stuffs. 

This ceramic tile is in the size of a doormat, and it has batik patterns. Be still my heart. And I forgot to ask for the namecard of this vendor, ouch.

Sometimes INACRAFT has random exhibitors, such as this booth that featured fossils and other geological-related items. 

Hello, Batgirl! Would you dare wearing this eyeglasses frame? Hahaha.

I did buy some stuffs from the event: two headscarves, a wooden spoon and fork (because I often bring lunchbox), a small leather-weaving pouch (the weaving is of Sumba pattern) and the first day covers I put above.

Big Bad Wolf 2018

I've been wanting to visit Big Bad Wolf book sale event for years, but there was never really a free time to do this. As I have just been released from the Sumba project and had yet to have any regular activities, I decided to go to the event.

The event was held in BSD's International Convention Center (ICE), so I took the Commuter Line train, hopped off at Rawabuntu train station and ordered Go-Jek to reach ICE.

I did recite prayers before entering this entryway.

A complete package of books by Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss, very tempting. But the price was a turn off...

Comic books galore

And another temptation, a complete package of books by Roald Dahl

Definitely for those in need of challenges in life.

I totally don't get the idea. I would never fold the pages of my books. Why would anyone even suggest this crime?

Conclusion: the books in BBW are mostly children books in English language, which in my opinion is a bit missed target. I mean, how many Indonesian children in Indonesia that actually read English books? As an Indonesian child, I read books in my mother tongue. And I intend to instill Indonesian to my future children before teaching them a foreign language. 

I didn't exactly find the books I liked. But it felt a waste of time to not buy something. So I really looked hard and...

...here were the books I got from BBW 2018:)

On Working For Not-For-Profit Organization

When I decided to leave journalism (and permanent employment) and switch to not-for-profit organization (and annually-renewed work contract), my parents were not happy with the decision. They worked at their offices for decades (M for 27 years and D for around 25 years) before they retired. Both had toyed with the idea of changing workplaces, but in the end they stayed faithfully.

D told me that he had been accepted at several other offices, but decided to stay at the office because the would-be-office was too far away. He was not happy with the office, though, and he struggled with episodes of asthma throughout his tenure. When he retired, his asthma was gone, never to return. 

Unlike M&D, I never try to settle in one workplace. If I no longer felt comfortable working in that office, I would search another job. I'm not going to say this is a perfect arrangement for everybody, but so far it's working for me. Also, please note that I'm writing this post after working in this not-for-profit sector for about 4.5 years (Wow!). Perhaps I haven't covered all sides, so there is a possibility of post updates in the future.

Work Experiences Matter More Than Degree/Almamater

I studied Engineering, had work experiences as a journalist and then decided to work as a communications person. If I apply for a job in the ministries or the profit sector, it would have been a problem. But in the non-profit organizations, work experiences speak louder than the degree. For some technical positions, such as specialist, having the right degree would help. But I have also met specialists who had degrees that did not correlate with their roles.

I do want to have a degree in communications, especially in development/environment/community engagement. I still struggle to get the scholarship because it's the kind of degree one will only find abroad.

An Excuse To Have A Career Break (For Me)

One project usually lasts for five years, so after five years we have to find another ship to sail on. Some people would cringe at the thought of being jobless after five years of work, but I embrace the idea of a career break. It keeps me charged, excited and on my toes.

Actually, I haven't been able to take a real career break. I have been working on freelance works and other projects since the last project concluded in March. I had only 10 days between end of June and July 10, 2017 before starting at current workplace. The previous career break was three months, between January and March 2015, but I took freelance works during that time.

Mutual Relationship

The HR is usually the most powerful department in a profit-oriented organization when it comes to employment. But here in not-for-profit, it's more about mutual agreement. There is still more power in HR, but we can also file a report if there is a breach of ethics.

Having been working since 2004, I usually work in one office for 1-2 years before I moved on. The longest tenure (6.5 years) was with an office that bound me in a three-year contract. The contract said I had to take a one-year training-probation, and if I passed the probation I had to stay for another two years, or pay a fine of Rp 60 million. It was not a fair work contract, but I really wanted to work for that office at that moment.

Now that I've worked for not-for-profit organizations/projects, I would usually receive one-year work contract, which is renewed annually based on mutual agreement. So if I decide to leave after one year (or before the contract ends), then just do it according to the terms and conditions agreed in the beginning (usually one month notice). No penalty ever.

More Holidays

Another wonderful thing about working with such organizations, beside following Indonesian national holidays, they also apply the national holiday of the country of origin. For example, if it's an American organization, then a day off on July 4 is a normalcy. The number of days of leave is also generous. In my previous workplace I got 24 days of leave in one year, exclude the national holidays. In another workplace, I got 20 days, but I could carry over five days of leave for the next year. In my current workplace, I get only 12 days, though, but it will end in March 2018, so I guess it's okay.

Also, if there is any demonstration or threats to our safety (such as natural disaster/flood/demonstration), the office will usually declare a work-from-home policy.

More Time For Personal Activities/Hobbies

Weekends and national holidays mean I'm free to whatever at home. But I also get to do some 'extracurricular' activity with colleagues after the office hour, such as running in Gelora Bung Karno Sport Complex, attending events at cultural center, sampling delicious foods at local restaurants.

Less Office Politics

With only five years to work together, we will spend the first year to discuss programs and conduct baseline monitoring&evaluation, second year to start programs, third year to hold midline monitoring&evaluation and see if we need new programs, fourth year to do compile data for the final year, and the fifth year to either write report and start looking for a new job :D. 

The beauty of this five-year work plan is that it leaves no room for office politics! We would be too busy to make sure everything runs well that we no longer care if one colleague is annoying, as long as the job is done. It's more about hard work, competency and merit, instead of like-dislike. I didn't say there is no office politics in this sector, but at least it's kept at the minimum.

On Age Requirement

I started the career switch at the age of 33. In other sectors, I may not pass the paper selection. But in the development sector and non profit organizations, there is no age limit. You can start on any age, and stop anytime.

In Indonesia, the usual retirement age is 55 years old. But in this line of work, there is no exact retirement age, you can still work even though you are in your 60s or 70s. Both CEO and M&E manager in the project I've worked on were 70 years old. As long as you can do the job and are willing to do it, then there is no age limit. 

Casual Work Attire On Most Days

A friend, who was transitioning from journalism to this sector, specifically asked me what kind of work hour and work attire were expected in this sector. I just had to laugh. The work hour is fair, eight hours per day, or when the work is done you can go home. I can wear Crocs flats or boots with jeans and chambray shirt, as long as I don't have a meeting with government officials/the headquarters on that day.

Third Visit to Sumba, And Hopefully Not The Last

Hello everyone, hope everything is good with you.

Last month, I fell on the Manggarai station train platform as I tried to catch the train to Bekasi. It was quite a hard fall, my trousers were broken apart on the knee area and my right knee was scraped. I had to work from home for the remaining week. 

Then the next week after the fall I got an assignment had to leave for Sumba island. I could barely walk, but it was an assignment. I phoned the team in East Sumba, discussed the schedule and told them about my condition. Kris, the field assistant, gave the most reassuring sentence ever,"Bibi (Auntie), no need to worry, just come to Sumba, everything will be okay."

And everything was indeed okay.

So here's a quick recap on my activities there:

There was a meeting of five villages on a Saturday morning. I was in charge for the report, as usual.

Then I visited each village to discuss the progress of the trainings with the beneficiaries. Fortunately, my visit coincided with the visit of the marketing team, which rented a 4x4 double cabin pick up truck (they have bigger budget). So I asked if I could come with them, and set up a schedule that would not clash with theirs. They had been very kind and helped me to get around. This had been a great help because my knee was still hurting.

The schedule for the FGD was to invite representatives of each group that had received trainings from my organization, asked their responses and expectation on future training, if there would be any on the pipeline. The people had been very accommodating.

FGD in Tawui

FGD in Lailunggi

FGD in Tandula Jangga

The FGD in Praimadita was not documented, because it was only held for less than 30 minutes. It had been very challenging to work with that particular village.

During the visit, I made quick jaunts to the beach, just to unwind. I bought a big fish in Kakaha beach, caught a lovely sunset in Lailunggi beach and chill at Londa Lima beach.

Big fish!

Lailunggi beach, again

Londa Lima beach

I also went to the market to shop for weaving. I have visited Sumba island for the third time, and I just wanted to have a souvenir from the island in East Nusa Tenggara that I had visited for more than two times. Other islands in the province that I had visited were Flores island (two visits) and Timor island (one visit).

Oh Sumba weaving, why are you so expensive? Left pic (around one million, including the scarf on my shoulder) and right pic (2 million)

I haven't really explored the whole island, because every time I came to Sumba I always had a tight schedule. I tried to give my best during the time I spent there, instead of hunting beautiful pictures to be posted in Instagram. Ok, stop right here before I become even more sarcastic, hahaha.

Here are some videos I took while I was on the road:

Sumba island is predominantly Christian Protestant, and there are Catholic parochial churches too, while  Islam is a minority. But there are mosques along the coast line, as the Muslims from East Java and Madura, Sumbawa island, Lombok island, the Bugis people, and the Muslim Moluccans came years ago and made Sumba their home. To hear this call before adzan where Islam is a minority feels like going home.

See you again one day, Sumba! Insya Allah.

Which Position Suits You Best According To MBTI Personality Types?

Source

You can read details on each personality type here. Which one is yours?

P.S. I posted a similar post a few years ago.

Tattooed Indonesian Men Appreciation Post

There is a significantly rising number of tattooed Indonesian men on screen, either on TV or the big screen. So I thought I'd do a compilation of them, just for fun. 

Rio Dewanto. Source: DAMAN

Rio Dewanto

Actor Rio Dewanto had been working in television films for years and gained public recognition after he starred in Joko Anwar's The Forbidden Door in 2009. He worked again with Joko Anwar in Modus Anomali in 2011. He dated actress Atiqah Hasiholan, who is five years his senior, before tying the knot in 2013. I think, any man who dates and marries older woman deserves an honorable mention because the common norm that applies here is men usually marry younger women.

Chef Juna Rorimpandey. Source.

Juna Rorimpandey
The heavily tattooed chef rose to prominence after becoming one of the panel for cooking competition TV show MasterChef (2011-2012) and Hell's Kitchen Indonesia (2015-2016).

Marshall Sastra. Source: DAMAN (left) and Instarix (right)

Marshall Sastra

Marshall Sastra studied interior design in college and worked as a model, but he sort of caught public eye after becoming TV host for travel show My Trip My Adventure. He married model Dominique A. Diyose in 2014, but they separated one year later.

P.S. My previous appreciation post on Indonesian men is here, if you'd like to see.

A Hidden Message In One Of Work Interview Questions

Applying for a job nowadays is a world's apart compared to 15 years ago, or the year I graduated university and started job hunting. Yes, I'm old. Moving on.

In the past, we typed the application letters, put them and the required documents into an envelope and mailed them through the post offices. Nowadays, we simply log on to our emails, type in a courtesy email, attach related documents and send them off. I can do this during lunch time.

One thing that remains the same in the recruitment process is the work interview part. No matter how good our CV looks, the HR will need to see us in person and decide if we can fit the bill. And it's the other way around. There are many ways we can tell about a workplace from the work interview, the panel and the questions asked during the interview.

A few years ago, I went to a work interview, with the panel consisting of the HR manager, the supervisor and the person whose position was to be filled. There was a question from the HR manager that sounded a bit innocent, but in reality it carried a hidden message: what would you do to solve conflict at the work place?

When that question was dropped, I noticed that the other two panelists dropped their eyes onto the desk. I had forgotten the exact answer, I just said something that crossed my mind at that time about conflict resolution. Long story short, I got the job. And the first thing my new colleagues told me was to be careful and stay out of trouble because my supervisor and the previous person in my position had a conflict. Me being me, I managed to survive the regime, alhamdulillah.

I heard the same question a few weeks ago on a work interview. With my current project to conclude in March 2018, I've been sending job applications since the end of November 2017. I figured that the HR departments would start sorting the applications after New Year. My calculation proved to be quite correct. This January, I got five invitations to job interviews, with one was done over Skype, which was a first time for me. There was also one job interview that I did on Monday afternoon after I sent the application letter on Saturday afternoon. And I went to the interview wearing knee-length hooded dress and white sneakers!

But I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, the conflict resolution question.

Needless to say, my ears perked up while my heart sank. The position was a new role that I'd never done before, so I was certain I would need lots of time to catch up and I was not ready yet to face possible conflicts at the new workplace. I was still excited about the position, though.

After the interview, I checked the fact with an HR colleague, whether that office had a conflict and who was the culprit. The good thing about HR people is they have good network and lots of information on vacancies and people. The HR colleague confirmed my intuition, but she told me not to worry much as she had seen me handling my former supervisor.

Anyway, back to the work interviews. I am still waiting for the results with baited breath. All positions were in the  communications field. The job vacancies on communications are not as much as the operation positions (admin/finance/procurement), so I was a bit worried that I might not secure any job until April.

If everything runs well and with Allah's blessings, I would have a new job before March. But even if it did not happen (me not landing any job until April), then I could always take the time to have a break and explore my interests in other fields. Wish me luck, people.

In the mean time, if you're in a recruitment process and hear that question, brace yourself. I'm not saying that you should turn down the job if it's offered to you. But you need to be more careful.

Which question in a work interview that makes you learn something about the workplace? I'd love to hear.

Just for fun, this was the outfit I wore to one of the work interviews this month. I read the invitation email at 9 a.m., while the interview was scheduled at 3.30 p.m. on the same day. This is the kind of outfit I would wear to office if I work on reports and not scheduled for meetings outside of office.