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@otacultjournal
Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah. Menulis adalah bekerja untuk keabadian. — Pramoedya Ananta Toer
And then I took a mental note to keep writing.
PS. Hello, I am Chika and this is my digital journal of my otaku-cultural trips and activities (wisata dan kegiatan berwibudaya in Bahasa Indonesia) ♡
Personal Log
It's been quite a long time since the last time I visited my Tumblr page.
When the last time I logged into my Substack and posted something? It was March; which it means 2 months ago.
What happened?
Nothing big, really.
These past years were quite hard for me (again) and I tried to keep up with anything that I could grasp in my hands. Last months of 2025, I started (kind of diligently) documenting and making contents for my hobbies—therefore, otacultjournal was born on so many platforms. I found small joy and endorphins from there; which I felt really grateful for.
But, somewhere along the way, I started to get wavered again.
So, again, I want to restart. Slowly, step by step, without being too hard on myself. Maybe I’ve done this for thousand times, and I will do it again for another thousand times.
Best regards,
Chika of otacultjournal
Otacult Playlist Vol.2: February 2026
I made you another playlist! Sooo many superb releases I discovered in February to the point I became afraid that I couldn't make the Vol.2 playlist in one post LOL.
In Otacult PLaylist Vol.2 we got:
Opening Night by Arctic Monkeys, War Child Records
Not a Goodbye by MISAMO
Catch My Eye by MISAMO
Aperture by Harry Styles
Baby Blue by Fiji Blue
Let me by Victoria Monet
All I Need by idntt
BANG BANG by IVE
8 by JANGWONYOUNG IVE
Force by ANYUJIN IVE
RUDE! by Hearts2Hearts
Stay on FIRE (feat. DEAN) by Sik-K
Modern Times by MIKA
Spinning Out by MIKA
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Aninemaries: Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill
Who else loves Mukohda and his gluttonous familiars?
Blooming Giant Corpse Flower
Finally I saw the blooming giant corpse flower at Bogor Botanical Gardens.
Giant Corpse Flower at Bogor Botanical Gardens
Amorphophallus titanum is also known as Titan Arum or giant corpse flower or THE LEGENDARY bunga bangkai raksasa.
Titan Arum is endemic to rainforests of Sumatra; one of the biggest island in the Indonesian Archipelago that consists of over 17,500 islands. International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN) has classified Titan Arum as Endangered and protected species.
The bloom is coming: Amorphophallus titanum (Becc.) at Bogor Botanical Gardens
Bogor Botanical Garden has 9 types of corpse flowers that were planted in 1992 and Titan Arum is one of them. Their existences is not the only rare aspect about the corpse flowers, but also their irregular blooming phase—even the researches are still observing and studying the patterns. So, when the blooming phase comes, it becomes very important to not only biodiversity enthusiasts, but also the general public.
The last time this Titan Arum bloomed was 2014. So when the giant corpse flower was finally expected to fully bloom in February 3rd 2026 after entering the initial phase in January 25th 2026, it instantly became a huge news for everyone and me included.
Since I live in Bogor myself, so I decided to visit Bogor Botanical Gardens to see the legendary giant corpse flower with my own eyes on Saturday, February 7th 2026.
The blooming Amorphophallus titanum at Bogor Botanical Gardens
After the raining in the morning and a long queue, I in the end could witness the legendary flower that I only saw on the media and learned throughout my school days. Even though it wasn’t fully blooming, but I was deeply moved that I was given the chance to see it myself. This is definitely one of historical moments in my life.
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Otacult Playlist Vol.1: January 2026
Found so many gems in January! So many artists were cooking and it encouraged me to make a new segment in my otacult journal named 🎧otacult playlist🎧; which will be my personal monthly playlist that consists of songs that I found and suited my cup of tea.
In Otacult Playlist Vol.1 we got: 1. Delulu by KiiiKiii 💖🌟🌌 2. Mono by i-dle ⚫⚪ 3. HYPNOTIZE by XG 🌀✨ 4. TAKE MY BREATH by XG 🌬️❤️🔥 5. Saucin' by LNGSHOT 🚨🤘 6. Moonwalkin' by LNGSHOT 🌙👣 7. Moon Burn by idntt 🌕🔥 8. Love Me More by Apink 🫶💗💘 9. EEEE A by dia 🗣️🔊🔊🔊🔊
They all also should be must-add songs to your playlist!
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Junk Journaling
In the end of 2025, I found a new hobby: junk journaling (or also famous as scarpbooking). It started after I saw so many Reels video on Instagram about junk journaling.
Actually people on the junk journaling videos I watched were using puncher to shape the "junk" before they were arranged. But, at that time, it was not only too expensive for my liking (in this economy), but also taking too much time to get pre-ordered.
Therefore, I decided to make my own DIY puncher, with the size of 2.5 x 2.5 cm. And I thought it was good enough? LOL. I also got my old notebooks that I have been hoarding in my dungeon to work. Finally, my junk journaling journey started!
The final result of my junk journaling for the first time!
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Otacult Trip: Onrust Island
God bless. For this otacult trip (otaku-cultural trip or I usually mentioned it as wisata berwibudaya — in Bahasa Indonesia), I got the (sudden) opportunity joining Jakarta Walking Tour Festival on October. There were three destinations for this tour and one of them were Onrust Island; which is part of Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), Jakarta.
The windmill; one of the icons of Onrust Island.
Onrust Island is also well known as Ship Island (Pulau Kapal). Onrust was originated from Dutch; means ‘never resting’ or in English it’s called unrest.
Onrust Island Cultural Heritage Building; part of the Onrust Archaeological Museum (Museum Arkeologi Onrust).
Onrust Island Archaeological Garden consisted of Onrust Island, Cipir Island, Bidadari Island, and Kelor Island—was declared by the governor of Jakarta (Ali Sadikin) in 2002. This area had recorded history and archaeological evidences from early 17 century to the mid 20 century. The management team has been planning to develop and expand Onrust archaeological site as an open air museum— a museum that could exhibit the landscape from the past.
The remaining ruins of the hospital.
Here the long historical records of Onrust Island.
Onrust Island was established as a dock and shipyard by Netherlands through VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or Dutch East India Company) in 1615.
A small fortress was built in 1658, and then it was expanded into a pentagon shaped fortress. In 1671, a warehouse, dock, and windmill were also built.
Around 1800-1810, the facilities on the island were destroyed by the British, but then the Dutch repaired and rebuilt them all.
The remaining of beds for Hajj quarantine station (1911)
The island became quarantine station for the returning pilgrims from the Hajj in 1911.
In 1933, Onrust Island was turned into prison for the arrested rebels and Germany's spies for Netherlands in 1933, during World Ward II.
The prison during the Japanese occupation.
Japan also used Onrust Island as prison for the criminals during their occupation in 1942.
In 1960, the Island became the sanatorium for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.
The cemetery area of Onrust Island.
In 1972, the governor of Jakarta— Ali Sadikin— established and declared Onrust Island as protected historical site (Suaka Taman Purbakala Kepulauan Seribu).
I was thrilled and grateful that I finally could touch down at Onrust Island, especially after getting a look of some of its documentations at Bahari Museum. Here, I could not only refresh and relearn the historical aspects; but also enjoy the breezy and calm ambience of the island. What a wholesome otacult trip!
Location: Onrust Island
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Otacult Trip: Lanzhou Lamian Glodok
When I first planned my otacult trip to Glodok-Jakarta, I searched for halal food places on Google. Why? First, Glodok is a Chinatown so there would be a lot of non-halal food places (such as pork, lard, or other non-halal ingredients). Second, my trip companions would be all my Muslim friends so I really wanted to to enjoy culinary places where everyone could eat and enjoy together.
And then I found a noodle restaurant named Lanzhou Lamian Glodok on Google. It serves Northwest Chinese foods (not only noodles) from Lanzhou, a city with large Muslim community in China. I looked at the reviews on Google —it seemed legit with a lot of good reviews, so it's decided that we would have lunch there when the time for our trip came.
The front gate of Lanzhou Lamian Glodok (with halal logo)
Finally the otacult trip day had come. During lunchtime, we visited the famous lamian place and ordered their most well-known menu: beef noodle (niurou lamian) and iced tea (it's so aromatic and free refill!).
While waiting for the foods to be served, we could also watch how the noodles were made by the kitchen staff (it's a open kitchen). Lamian itself means pulled noodles —it was made by Chinese wheat flour and the dough was twisted, stretched, and folded by hands to create long and thin strands.
The kitchen staff was preparing the noodles
The video version of Lamian noodle making process
It didn't took a long time for our foods to be served. We all thought the noodle was quite pricey, but turned out it's a BIG portion. The bowl was big and full—filled with thin noodles and broth, and then topped with tender beef pieces, radishes, chopped cilantro and chives. The clear both tasted so rich and savoury, and had aromatic scent because of the cilantro leaves. After a while, it would give you numbing sensation; I assumed it also had mala seasoning though it didn't taste spicy at all.
The famous beef noodle (niurou lamian), taken by camera and phone
Other than beef noodle, we also ordered boiled dumplings (shui jiao) for sharing because they looked good on the picture (LOL). Dimsum and places that sell them are currently happening in Indonesia, but I never found this kind of dumpling in the usual dimsum places, so we all decided to give it a try. One serving of boiled dumplings have 10 plump pieces of dumplings that tasted so good, especially when you ate them with the chilli oil.
Boiled dumplings (shui jiao) and chilli oil
Other than Indonesian local people, I also spotted a lot of Chinese customers who came to the restaurant. I was peeking at their tables and their orders were distinctive—definitely not the famous beef noodle that apparently is famous for Indonesian local people—and it made me wanted to try their menus on my next visit here.
So, if you want to have the experience of halal Northwest Chinese foods, Lanzhou Lamian Glodok will be a good choice. There are a lot of foods to try other than the famous beef noodle. It will be better and more wholesome if you come with your friends or family; you can pick many foods and share!
Location: Lanzhou Lamian Glodok
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Otacult Trip: Bahari Museum
Coming to Bahari Museum in Jakarta for my otacult trip (otaku-cultural trip or I usually mentioned it as wisata berwibudaya — in Bahasa Indonesia) because I wanted to visit my personal most wanted & must see exhibition named Ghost Nets: Awakening the Drifting Giants by Erub Arts.
Ghost Nets: Awakening the Drifting Giants exhibition
The exhibition showcased about 18 aquatic species shaped hand-woven sculptures made of ghost nets (discarded fishing nets waste) by Erub Arts; Eruban artist collective from Danley Island, Torres Strait. The exhibition is also a collaboration between Australian Embassy Indonesia and Erub Arts.
Through their artworks and large-scale installations from ghost nets, Erub Arts sends awareness regarding not only environmental issues across the Torres Strait, but also marine conservation efforts.
The colourful and eye-catching details of stingray hand-woven sculpture
I really took my sweet time here to admire and appreciate every single eye-catching and colorful detail of the hand-woven sculptures, which really left me in awe. Though, the room and lighting kinda didn't do justice.
Other hand-woven sculpture of aquatic species
Location: Maritime Museum Jakarta
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Otacult Trip: Candra Naya
Candra Naya Cultural Heritage Building had been part of my wishlist for my otacult trip (otaku-cultural trip or I usually mentioned it as wisata berwibudaya — in Indonesia) activities this year. I discovered this place on Instagram, from a random travelling account I accidentally found when I was doomed-scrolling Instagram’s reels.
I was definitely hooked by the view: it was fascinating that there’s a ‘small’ heritage building being surrounded by modern skyscrapers. So, I put Candra Naya on my wishlist. Months ago, in July, I came to Kota Tua and Glodok with my friends but with a heavy heart, I needed to skip my otacult trip to Candra Naya because I missed my timing — I had many other places to visit and I ran out of time (sadly). So, I rescheduled my Candra Naya trip to Kota Tua-Glodok part 2 next time. Finally, the time had come on October!
Candra Naya Cultural Heritage Building
I came here with my three best friends after having lunch at a lamian noodle place. We had high trust issue towards Gmaps because the walking distance felt so never-ending though the application said it would only take 9 minutes walking. But after a long journey we finally arrived. The view and ambience were worth every step we took.
Inside part of Candra Naya: Skylight and Dragon room
Interesting fact I found about Candra Naya: it was built in 18th century (1807) and became a home to the Khouw family of Tamboen, the last Majoor der Chinezen (major of the Chinese) of Batavia (1910–1942). After long dispute and compromise between many parties, the main building of Candra Naya was restored and became part of Green Central City superblock in February 2012.
Pool and fountain inside Candra Naya Building
Me and my best friends were lounging at the verandah area, so were other visitors. That day was really hot — it felt like five suns were only one meter above our heads — but it was so cool and breezy at the verandah area that we almost went asleep.
The verandah area of Candra Naya Building
The offering and prayer places
Views from other angles
Even though the weather was scorching hot and the walking journey was so hella long, but I was so satisfied. I was also glad that I finally could check one of my otacult trip’s wishlist!
Location: Candra Naya Heritage Building
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Short Escapade: Lapangan Banteng Park
So, for the Lebaran holiday, I—with my best friend—decided to meet up and had a short escapade to Lapangan Banteng Park before having lunch together afterwards at Grand Indonesia Mall on Thursday, April 3rd 2025.
We chose Lapangan Banteng Park because it was close to Juanda Station and we could reach there by walking for around 10 minutes. Besides that, the access for public transportation (Trans Jakarta for the win!) from Lapangan Banteng Park to Grand Indonesia Mall is also relatively easy.
The route from Juanda Station to Lapangan Banteng Park from Gmaps
Long story short, the day finally came. I started my journey from Bogor Station at 8.30 AM and met my friend at Manggarai Station at 9.40 AM (she would hop into the train I was in), then we would stop at Juanda Station together. Everything was nice until the Gmaps suddenly misguided us both, making us went astray, far far away.
Both of us were aware that the route that we were taking was further than what we saw on the Gmaps days ago and it's already more than 10 minutes (I remember I saw and took a picture of Pacenongan street). But it was funny that we both kind of ignored it and just went with the flow since the weather wasn't scorching hot (it was sunny yet cloudy), the sidewalk was wide, and the tea we had been spilling throughout the journey was too hot to be paused. We kept talking until we eventually spotted Juanda Station again—there we all got confused, five seconds later, we could only laugh at our own stupiditiy.
The Pacenongan Street picture I took in the midst of confusion but still hadn't come to the realization—what a fool.
So, in the end, we found the right route and reached Lapangan Banteng Park. To be honest, the route to Lapangan Banteng Park was the same with the route to The National Monument (Monas) and Istiqlal Mosque; which if we had been observant, we could've followed the crowd of local tourists that walked to Monas or Istiqlal from Juanda Station area.
Lapangan Banteng Park landmark
Here some spots that I found interesting and had captured:
After having fun, we went to the nearest Trans Jakarta bus stop (Istiqlal bus stop) and proceed to our next destination: Grand Indonesia Mall.
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
After 17 Years: Bumi Manusia Edition
Finally, I accomplished my personal mission to reread these two books that I bought 17 years ago, in 2008. Of course, with much better reading comprehension.
My personal Bumi Manusia book, published in 2007 and bought in 2008
Rereading this book in much mature age (even the situation in this country was getting dark, very much the same with the situation portrayed within the book), make me questioning myself: why my late father told me to read this book when I was still a teenager and even a minor (I wasn't 17 yet)? I even didn't graduate from reading Bumi Manusia at that time, to think that this book was more into romance book, compared to Anak Semua Bangsa.
I couldn't help but to make glossaries (though it's not alphabetical) throughout my journey reading these book. Looking back at the glossaries I made, I recalled how much a hassle to read those books at that time. I had no Google because the access for Internet wasn't as easy as today, I need to open up dictionary (too many 'ancient' vocabularies and spellings and I couldn't even find them either in dictionary), I need to ask to my parents (which sometimes they didn't know either), too many historical events that I had no idea about, etc etc. To sum up: it was hard as hell, that's why I gave up and just read Twilight Saga (LOL).
My handwritten glossary for Bumi Manusia
There are some things that I want to highlight after reading Bumi Manusia.
First, I eventually got it why the book was titled as Bumi Manusia. The book was started with Minke, the main character of the story, who was amazed with the modern knowledge invented and introduced by humankind or human race from Europe (or Netherlands, to be precise, because at that time Indonesia was still under Netherlands colonialism). Since Minke was part of the privileges: he was a Raden Mas, son of a Regent of B Regency (Blora), therefore he got the perk of getting access to European standard education—which was only for the Dutch people, half native-half Dutch people (known as Indo), and native people from noble family—and became part of educated class. Even though Minke was a descendant of Javanese royalty (or ningrat), but he despised the nobles's feudal customs and cultures.
But then, his thoughts started to get change after meeting Nyai Ontosoroh, the concubine of Herman Melema, a Dutch man and the owner of Boerderij Buitenzorg (Agriculture Company). Nyai Ontosoroh practically shattered the general perception and taboos of European men's mistresses that had been planted within Minke's brain. She was a modern woman: she was a vocal and independent woman, she managed the company, and she was proficient in Dutch. From her and the throughout of his life living in Wonokromo, Minke learned many things and his mind started to get opened: he wanted to be a free, independent human on earth—to be free not only from the feudal customs and cultures, but also colonialism.
Second, at some point, I found Minke's character, as a privileged student, relatable. He wanted to learn and know so many things outside his current bubble, but at the same time he didn't learn and know much his surroundings—in current terms, I would like to tell him to touch some grass. Yes, he got modern European education, but at the same time, ironically, it made him kind of out of touch with his surroundings, to the common people who was less privileged than him. I think this was a common experience and mindset shared by many educated people, even today—I had been in that situation as well. Educated people have the tendency to live in their own 'theoretically ideal' bubble without getting in touch with the reality, therefore they tend to assume people without the same knowledge as them are less from them. Such an ironic situation, isn't it?
Third, I remember a certain phrase I failed to understand when I first time read it: a pair of ancient beast (in Indonesia: sepasang binatang purba). When I reread this phrase in my more mature age, I could understand it in a second: ah, Minke and Annelies (Nyai Ontosoroh's Indo daughter and Minke's lover) were in a heated situation to the point they lost their rationality and had sexual intercourse—mating, like a pair of beast. I couldn't help but to laugh when I recalled the confusion back then when I read that phrase. Of course, on the later sentences and paragraphs it was implied that they had impulsive sexual intercourse (because they talked about virginity and stuffs), but I still didn't get it why they became 'a pair of ancient beast'. What is the correlation between ancient beast and having sexual intercourse?—that's my pure, naive thought when I was still 16 years old (LOL).
Fourth, of course shout out to my favourite character in Bumi Manusia: Nyai Ontosoroh (or Sanikem; her maiden name before she became mistress). Sanikem was sold by his father when she was still 14 years old to Herman Mellema for 25 gulden and his ambition to be a cashier. Despite of being a mistress, Sanikem was facilitated with proper education (reading, writing, and counting) by Herman Mellema. Only proficient in Javanese, Sanikem also learned reading and writing in Dutch and Melayu. The education she got from her 'husband' made her turn into a fine lady with European attitude and aristocracy (priyayi) appearance. She also managed the Boerderij Buitenzorg (Agriculture Company) owned by his husband and became a (practically) single mother for her children: Robert and Annelies. She was the icon of feminist, a powerful feminist.
Knowing her weak position in the Dutch colonialism society (a native and mistress—what a combo), she had been sharpening her skills and independence; preparing herself for the worse situation later on: her 'husband' died and everything she had (company, wealth, and children) would be taken away and inherited to the Herman Mellema's legitimate family. And when the dreaded situation eventually came, she fought back ad challenged the hypocrisy and atrocity that had been done by the Mellema's legitimate family and colonial legal system. Though, sadly, in the end, she lost.
"Kita telah melawan, Nak, Nyo, sebaik-baiknya, sehormat-hormatnya (we have fought back, Son, the best we could, with honour)." she said after getting lost in the fight.
Fifth, Bumi Manusia had been adapted into a movie with the same title in 2019. Directed by Hanung Bramantyo and starred by Iqbaal Ramadhan (as Minke), Mawar de Jongh (as Annelies), and Sha Ine Febriyanti (as Nyai Ontosoroh). At that time, I skipped the movie because simply I didn't think Iqbaal was the suitable actor to play Minke—yes, both Iqbaal and Minke were around the same age, but I didn't think Iqbaal had the depth to play a complex character like Minke yet.
Movie poster of Bumi Manusia (2019)
After I reread Bumi Manusia, I decided to watch the movie since it was on Netflix and I just couldn't help but to not continue watching it. The movie was too cringey and felt like a FTV (kind of telemovie). The tone was too bright and yellow-greenish, failed to capture and portray the energy and solemnity of the story; it felt so shallow and cheap. I didn't expect much from Iqbaal's acting as Minke in the first place, but even Sha Ine Febriyanti's presence and talented acting skill as Nyai Ontosoroh couldn't save the movie either due to bad directing, props, vibes, and basically everything. Too bad, the movie left me a bad taste in my tongue.
Sixth (and probably the last point), I had some favourite quotes that I found interesting from the book. I haven't read the English version of the book, so I didn't know if my translation were on point or not (hehe).
Dalam hidupku, baru seumur jagung, sudah dapat kurasai: ilmu pengetahuan telah memberikan suatu restu yang tiada terhingga indahnya (In my life, that's still young and brief, I already feel it: science has given me a wonderful blessing with no bound). — Minke (Chapter 2).
Seorang terpelajar harus juga belajar berlaku adil sudah sejak dalam pikiran, apalagi perbuatan (The educated has to learn to be just in thought, moreover in deed). — Jean Marais (Chapter 3).
Hidup bisa memberikan segala pada barang siapa tahu dan pandai menerima (Life can give you everything to everyone who knows and has the will to receive). — Nyai Ontosoroh (Chapter 4).
Dia mengimpikan keindahan yang tak ada di dunia ini. Barangkali karena tadinya terlalu cepat dipaksa bertanggung jawab. Dambaannya adalah suatu kelonggaran tanpa tanggung jawab (She dreams of beauty that has no existence in this world. Perhaps because she has to bear the responsibilities too early. She desires for leniency without responsibilities). — Dr. Martinet (Chapter 14).
So, this was my experience when I reread Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Humankind). I hope to come back later with my experience after reading the other three books (I had read Anak Semua Bangsa and Jejak Langkah, and I'm about to start reading Rumah Kaca).
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Substantial Intermezzo
After I reread Harry Potter series, I planned to read Buru Tetralogy. But, I found a book that I bought last year and I only had read several pages of it, then discontinued reading it. So, I decided to read this one first before grabbing Buru Tetralogy as intermezzo.
Who knows, this one became such a rich, substantial intermezzo.
Ada Serigala Betina dalam Diri Setiap Perempuan: Psikologi Feminis untuk Meretas Patriarki (There is a Female Wolf Within Every Woman: Feminist Psychology to Transcend Patriarchy) by Ester Lianawati. To be honest, there's no English title of the book, but I just translated it into the words that I found suitable to the Indonesian title. I hope the author would be okay with this (if she happened to find this out, hehe). The genre of this book is non-fiction, specifically unfolding the issue of feminist psychology—its historical journey in the psychology scene worldwide and then finally, its journey within ourselves, myself, as a woman.
Living in heavy patriarchal society, I have learned that women and men, even though we all live in the very same Earth, don't live with the same situation, system, spheres. Men have been living and operating with much more privileges, that leads to gender inequality and the subordination of women—and it's not given.
Those situation, system, and spheres were made and rule by men for hundreds, or maybe thousands years.
Women had been considered as second class human being, less valuable than men. And what made me resentful during my journey reading this book was: that mystifying situation was supported by the (so called) scientific studies in Psychology. There were so many studies regarding the behaviour differences between men and women conducted in the past, of course by male scientists as well, and the result of those studies just didn't make sense for me, plainly stupid even, and I couldn't imagine what if me, who's a woman, had lived in that horrendous era.
Those psychological studies and researches were biased, misogynistic, narcissistic, and as I stated before: plainly stupid. Until eventually, female psychology researchers and practitioners started to emerge in the psychology scene with their more objective and sensible studies and researches. Even so, their journey was (and I think it still is) not easy and very rocky: the preceding studies by the senior male scientists that contradicted the newer studies by the female scientists had been (and still are) embedded deep in our society.
After learning the (oppressive) historical journey of the feminist psychology and feminism situation worldwide, the topic started to issue to the feminism aspects in my personal life, as the reader. I reflected a lot during this topic; I read and aligned the words within the book with the situation I was and are in as a girl, as a woman.
Perempuan-Perempuan Penyihir (The Lady Witches) was my favourite chapter of the book, personally. This chapter told you why in the past there were some women who were branded as witch, and then were hunted and exterminated—literally. Those situations were (sadly) deep rooted and caused by patriarchy and internalized misogyny.
Also this chapter also including Mona Chollet's writing about three traits common to many women that suspected of witchcraft: independent women (without husband or man and single), childless women, and elderly women. Even in this age and day, these women are still hunted and exterminated—figuratively. It means our society are still deep in patriarchy and internalized misogyny.
This chapter really has touched me to my core because I am definitely a witch, based on her writing (and it is interesting for me, of course).
Perempuan-Perempuan Penyihir chapter has really strengthens my mindset and validated my feelings, that sometimes, no lies and no pretending, got wavered because of the pressure and demands from the society and the existing norms where women should do this and that when they have reached a certain age because that's their destiny; that's what define them as women.
This part has validated me:
Bahwa Anda tidak menyerah pada tuntutan normatif dengan asal menikah, dengan mengatakan "yang penting menikah", menunjukkan bahwa Anda memang punya kekuatan spesial dalam diri Anda. Trans: that you don't give up to the normative demands by getting married on a whim, by saying "as long as I get married", showed that you certainly have special power within yourself.
Another interesting experience while reading the book was, I couldn't help but to make my own notes (or glossary, though it's not alphabetical) because there were a lot of terms that I didn't understand or even just read for the first time. It's a given situation, sure, because this is a nonfiction (and almost scientific) book. Even so, I really enjoyed the whole process of reading, learning, and taking notes.
So, this was my experience when I read Ada Serigala Betina dalam Diri Setiap Perempuan: Psikologi Feminis untuk Meretas Patriarki as an intermezzo before reading Buru Tetralogy. I hope I could read Ester Lianawati's other books to learn more and enhance my knowledge in Feminism.
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Finally Completed My Buru Tetralogy Books
So, the thing is, when I was still in senior high school, my late father suggested me to read—according to him at that time—a famous book titled Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) written by Indonesian legendary famous writer and novelist named Pramoedya Ananta Toer, or Pram. He said it was an important book; but had been banned in the past during the previous regime (new order) and finally got permitted to get published and sold in the bookstore freely.
Probably he noticed that enjoyed and managed to read many novels such as Harry Potter series and other teenlit novels—I simply loved (and I still do) reading. Therefore, he tried training me to learn and read something more... you know, intense reads that were out of my usual comfort-zone-reads. So, I took his suggestion and bought the book from the bookstore.
I bought and read Bumi Manusia in 2008. To be honest, I had quite a hard time reading and comprehending the book. Pram was someone that was even older from baby boomer generation, so there were a lot of words, phrases, terms, or cultural aspects and issues that were hard to perceive for 16 years old me. In short, it was too heavy and tough for me. But I still finished the book regardless even though I couldn't fully comprehend the story within.
And then I found out that Bumi Manusia book was actually part of a tetralogy called Buru Tetralogy or Pulau Buru Tetralogy or Bumi Manusia Tetralogy. It was called Buru Tetralogy because the books were written by Pram when he was imprisoned by the government in Buru Island. So, besides Bumi Manusia, there are three more books: Anak Semua Bangsa (Child of All Nations), Jejak Langkah (Footsteps), and Rumah Kaca (House of Glass).
Even though I struggled to read Bumi Manusia, but I ended up buying the second book of the tetralogy: Anak Semua Bangsa, also in 2008, didn't know what I was thinking at that time. I only read some early chapters and I stopped because I shifted my focus on reading and collecting Twilight Saga books—the young girlie had 🎀𝓅𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓎🎀, okay. Not only I stopped reading Buru Tetralogy, but also stopped collecting the two remaining books. My budget from my small pocket money simply went to Twilight Saga books.
Long story short, after graduating from senior high school, my reading hobbies shifted (again) to reading fanfictions online. So, I hardly read physical books anymore and just stuffed my eyes onto fanfictions website. At that time, K-Pop fanfictions were on the peak; there were soooooooo many great stories and authors. To be frank, reading K-Pop fanfictions really improved and sharpened my reading comprehension and even writing skill in English. I love reading and writing, yes, but before I knew fanfictions, I only read and wrote in Bahasa Indonesia. Therefore, I completely forgot about Buru Tetralogy.
Until finally I graduated and started to work—meaning, I had income even though it's not much either. All of a sudden, I wanted to complete my Buru Tetralogy but none of the book was found on the bookstore. Again, I lost my desire to complete the book.
Years later, in 2025, I just found out that the Buru Tetralogy were nowhere found in the bookstore because they're not printed anymore. There were only second-hands were sold on the internet and marketplace and they're soooooooo freakin' expensive; the price was skyrocketed. Year of 2025 would mark a century of Pram (1925-2025), so the publisher wanted to republish the tetralogy with new covers (and higher price, of course, damn inflation).
There were a lot of debate comparing the old covers and the new covers. The new covers are in blue and it was said that the colour was Pram's favourite; and also that's the colour of resistance blue for Indonesia now. I am part of old covers team, of course, because they're more colourful, artistic, not boring and rigid—there's something more cultural in them, compared to the new ones.
But in the end, I still bought the book. The situation in the country right now wasn't that great and I am afraid that the government will ban these books again like they did in the past, during new order regime (because now it looks like we're going to dragged into neo new order regime; fckk the new oldie irrelevant president and his stupid-greedy-shameless minions). They were pricey, almost 4x more expensive than the price I paid in 2008, but since I got discount vouchers from a marketplace, so I could buy the remaining books with cheaper price.
So, finally I have completed my Buru Tetralogy books and it took me 17 years to make it happen LOL.
Because I'm currently on a mission to practice and increase my reading comprehension and reduce my screen time on gadgets, so I think I'm going to read these books. I hope my thirties adult brain could do the justice this time to comprehend everything that my 16 years old brain had—yeah, just say—failed doing so. Also, to tell my father that I finally could complete collection and reading the books later. Too bad you weren't here anymore, I could imagine myself yapping here and there to discuss the tetralogy with you.
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
New Experiences and Perspectives
In order to reduce my screen time on gadget and sharpen not only my concentration but also comprehension in reading books, I started with Harry Potter books.
If I am not mistaken, the last time I read the books was when I was still in my teens or early twenties. So, after finishing all seven books of Harry Potter series this week after months (I started on early January this year), I am fascinated that the experiences and perspectives that I got when I read them in my thirties are different to what I got in my twenties or even teenagers and kids (I started reading Harry Potter since I was in 4th grade LOL).
Especially when I read the third book: Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. Since I bought and read the Indonesian version, so the title was translated into: Harry Potter dan Tawanan Azkaban.
When I read the book during my teen days, of course I felt relatable to Harry and the gang or any character that was around his age or Hogwarts student—especially Harry. At that time, I could sense and feel his misery as an orphan, his frustration when he couldn't go to the Hogsmeade like his other friends because Uncle Vernon didn't sign the permission letter, his small excitement when he knew that Remus Lupin—his new Defence Against Dark Arts teacher—knew his parents from school, or his resentment when he found out that the most wanted criminal—Sirius Black—was actually his godfather and 'betrayed' his parents to Voldemort (though we all know that's a slander and the one who betrayed Harry's parents was Peter Pettigrew).
But in my thirties, the relatibility somehow shifted towards the older characters in the book; the characters from Harry's parents generation—let's call them as The Marauders—such as James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or even Severus Snape (I don't want to include Pettigrew, I loathe him). It just naturally happened without me trying; I genuinely became concerned with the thirteen years old Harry.
The shift became clearer after I did the math: my age this year is actually exactly the same age with The Marauders in the third book. I saw Harry and other characters that around his age as my… you know, nephews and nieces or something like that. I naturally put myself in the older characters' perspective instead of Harry and his friends. Therefore, I no more had the same relatability and experiences I used to have in the past.
When I read about Lupin, I started to think and imagine, what kind of thoughts he had when he first saw Harry in the train. Did it make him sad because Harry reminded him so much of James and Lily, his best friends? Did he want to tell Harry, revealing himself that he was actually his parents' best friends at school? Did he hate Sirius who'd been in Azkaban even more because—at that time he still believed that—Sirius betrayed them? Did he feel sorry for Pettigrew who—at that time he still believed—died in explosion to protect Potters from Voldemort? Because if I were Lupin, I might just cry and hug Harry.
When I read about Sirius, I started to think and imagine, what kind of thoughts he had when he first found out that James and Lily died because of Voldemort but their son was magically survived? He was Harry's godfather; it meant he would be the one who became Harry's parent and raised him as if he's his own son—would he be ready? How much guilt and frustration he felt when he was trapped in Azkaban, that he couldn't raise and care for his godson? Those thoughts and imaginations also made me questioning myself: would I be ready if I were in Sirius' position; my best friends died and left their child with me so I had to raise them like they're my own while I'm unmarried and childfree myself? Was I suitable for being a godparent for a child? Would I be able to prepare myself mentally and financially if I were in that situation? Etc, etc, etc.
I don't think I'm ready.
And also Snape. At first, I simply thought that he was an irritating character who just hated Harry's father, James, because they're coming from 'natural nemesis' houses: Slytherin and Gryffindor. But, when I reread the book (and I had known what kind of character Snape was) and knew that Snape was actually kind of bullied by The Marauders, so I could understand why Snape disliked The Marauders, especially James and then Harry, who was his father's look alike.
And it made me wondered, what did he think and feel when Lupin, one of The Marauders' members, came to Hogwarts as Defence Against Dark Arts teacher—the position he had been eyeing for long time? Not only that, under Dumbledore's instruction, he also had to prepare potion for Lupin once a month so he wouldn't go berserk during the full moon—wasn't that an annoying task to do for Snape, remembering that Lupin was the bystander of the bullying done by his friends? Besides that, he also had to protect Harry who loves to break the rules LOL. If I were Snape, I didn't think I could do the task given by Dumbledore.
When I compared the book and the movie, I should say that Alfonso Cuarón did a great job to direct and audio-visualize the story in the book into a movie. In addition to that, the actors who played Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), and also Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) added more depth and complexities of the characters and the situation they were in. No wonder, they're all great veteran actors. Although, when I found out their characters' age, to be honest they're all too old to play those characters BUT HEY, WHO CARES? It's just me myself and I who felt weird that people around my parents' age played characters my age today LOL. At that time—and I didn't do the math—I thought The Marauders and Snape were in their forties, but turned out they're still in their thirties (even hadn't reached mid-thirties yet in the third book LOL).
So, that's my new experiences and perspectives when I reread Harry Potter books; for this part I only wrote about the third book, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. As I said before, it was a very fascinating experience for me. Also, it kind of made me relieved that the shift and change in my relatibility have proved and showed me that as I age, I also have evolved as a human—my mindset and feelings. I am not the teenager from years ago and I am now a—just say—full-fledged adult.
I maybe will write about my other new experiences and perspectives when I reread other Harry Potter books and re-watched the movies, especially the fifth book—Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix—and the sixth movie—Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. I am going to brainstorm with my own self first.
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭
Listening to RESCENE
So, one day on 2024, I was scrolling on my Twitter (I refused to call it X to be honest, LOL) and stumbled on a random tweet promoting a music video titled Pinball by a relatively new girl group named RESCENE. I gave it a try and I was automatically in love with Pinball.
Pinball is such a pretty and dreamy track, especially the chorus part. The layered and harmonious voices are just chef's kiss—very addictive. I still don't get tired listening to Pinball. Please give Pinball a lot of love!! 𖹭
And then, this year they made a comeback with Glow Up (title track and album). Dang, every track in this album was so beautiful. I enjoy listening to the title track, but I think Cotton Candy and In My Lotion catered to my cup of tea more. But overall, I really love their new album Glow Up.
I really do hope that RESCENE would hit daebak in K-Pop scene with other gen 5 artists and be friends with Hearts2Hearts LOL. RESCENE Fighting!! 𖹭
Cheers,
𖹭chkmnpd𖹭