“Elephants never forget.”

As you may have heard, #ripyongki is not a trending topic we can be proud of. As an Indonesian (and, a Sumatran), I am heart broken and embarrassed. And I am sure you all know me long enough to understand why I am taking this personally. And, quite hardly. I thought I would never be as mad as when I hear about Cecil, but boy was I wrong...

Please read here:

Rest In Peace, Yongki (Images can be very disturbing, if not making you question humanity over and over again) 

True, we cannot join the rangers out in the wilderness to get the poachers, but I believe you can find it in your heart to care enough to sign for the petition.

If you want to support further, I will give you the information on how you can “adopt” these beautiful beautiful creature.

Petition:

Justice for Yongki

Should there be another petition to be sent over to RI President so this cause will be brought up to his attention, I will re share. There’s a gigantic monster out there behind this illegal trading business. An elephant ivory is worth USD3,000 /kg… and, that's just the down payment. The real payment: Our children later in the future only being able to see them in pictures. We have to let the authorities know how much we need them to get into the roots of this evil. Greed, that is.

Thank you, friends… I would really appreciate your time. 

“Elephants never forget.” they say.

So why should we?

ps: I am grieving. I am sorry, Yongki... I am so so sorry for what we have done to you and your families.

Not Yongki. This is just a picture I got from Pinterest. It broke me to pieces.

Californication

Remember this little buddy Diogo?
Apparently, like yours truly, he's a big fan of RHCP too.

That head-banging, baby!

Here Comes The Sun

My idea of "walking-down-the-altar" song.

Questioning my unfaithfulness

People keep asking me; Why animal welfare? And for years I tried being diplomatic hiding my real answers: I have a close to zero faith in humanity. 
But today, I am glad to finally question my unfaithfulness when I joined a visit to this school for  children with disability as part of my company's CSR program. Not my very first CSR for sure but you'll see why this made a significant impact. Just from the smallest "incident".

After doing some painting and general cleaning work, I escaped to the classroom with these little fellas; Bayu, Nesi, Fito, and Putu to do some drawings. Them and many more that are not in the frame taught me a lot about overcoming disabilities (Down syndrome, deaf, blind). We think their life is hard but to them, the world is a safe place, people are kind, and God is amazing. I am swelled with the way they told me about their school, the games they love and even crush!

After almost an hour chatting leisurely, Putu (boy on my right) looked me in the eyes and asked the most important question "What color do you think I should use for this roof of the house I am drawing?" As a boring adult, I told him most house roofs are brown. 
I think he was a bit disappointed because he paused before asking me again 
"But, some can be red, right?" He stuttered in all his limitations in speaking. 
"Yes, Putu... Some can be red." I smiled. Trying hard to hide my trembling voice. 

And just at that very moment, I can hear my heart whispering " Yes, Tressabel, some can be kind."
God speed.

ps: If you want to be part of their inspiring journey by sponsoring them, please contact: +62 361 771718

L.O.V.E

Oh, woofs with me?

Pinterest

Things my divorce taught me.

A dear friend is going through a divorce at this moment. So, based on her request, I am re-posting this piece from a year ago.

This post is not a mellow one. It is a written assurance of how thankful I am now. For my divorce (4 years ago)- now 5, has taught me a lot that I am willing to share here, with no intention at all to pry.
One thing for sure, divorce taught you a lot about life, love, your friendship, family, and your vision about relationship(s). 
But foremost, it taught you a lot about yourself. 

Here goes.

1. It is okay to change your mind. Obviously. Tho in my case, it may seem like I have registered for a swimming club to just then finding out that I am allergic to chlorine... But, really... why would you risk getting all those skin rashes anyway?

• You will have this super power to listen to your heart more attentively. You will finally understand that you are not that much of a coward anyway, because you are not afraid to take chances and embrace changes. Even though it hurts you to the bone.
• Bitter truth lesson: Love, apparently, in a contrary of what The Beatles keep telling us in "All you need is Love" is, not the only thing you need. 
• Prioritizing battles is one skill I never thought I have. Now I know that I can do that. It may seems like an act of ignorance, but there are things that does not deserve a glance of a headache and there are things that deserve my blood-shed battle. My divorce taught me to differentiate those. 
• Some people can give you "that look" when you tell them you are divorced. That "Oh, sorry, you will find a better one someday" look (As if they think they know that's all that you are looking forward to in life!). Some sad people will be suspicious that you would want to eat every available-not available man that is breathing (including theirs!) Neither of those ideas that I care about.
• There are also people who think they know what's best for you and aren't afraid to make pointy judgment to hurt you and make you feel guilty. Do they mean it? I do not know. But  lucky for me, it is my very own family that once told me this at the beginning of my divorce trials: "You can't worry about what everyone else thinks."
• You will learn to understand that healing may take time. And trust... no surprise here; takes longer to re-build. And no need to rush. But admitting this is half the battle. I am getting there, in my timid baby steps.
• The continuous self-discovery after divorce roams in and around all aspects of my life, including sex. You will feel more empowered and confident since you started to see it as more of a need and can be separated from emotional attachments, if you like. Or, there can be some in it, there can be a lot. It is up to you. BUT Get to know your body and do things the healthy way! Self love is recommended. Vibrator, ladies, is a healthy option too!
• It makes you less judgmental. It folds you to be super critical towards men. Again, do not feel guilty about ditching someone just because he did not open the door for you (or because he does not read a lot of books, or has no health insurance, or not wearing nice shoes, does not like dogs!) 
• On a heavier note, it did change how I see religion. But it does not change the way God loves me and it makes me love Him even more. 
• Wolfing dinner by the sink is not a sin. So does gulping over a bottle of red (alone!) when you feel like casual dating is just a "meh" idea.
• You will be struck in an awe realizing that you can forgive. I did that. And it is very liberating.
• There will be skills and passions of you that are suddenly blooming. Simply because you have time to care more about yourself, your career, your potential. You will wake up one day feeling thankful for the roof upon your head that you actually built, or for that designer label hand bag you bought for yourself, or even maybe... for that handsome man next to you that you do not know his name of. 
• If you really ask yourself, and really-really answer, you know, that you still believe in falling in love again. And last one...
• You will burn, destroy, erase the things that are not you.

Ps: You asked me what to do first? This below:

Conqueror

The series itself, is not my cup of tea.

But I am falling for this song.

I dedicate this to each and everyone of you out there who's been through hell and back... or who is still crawling their way through life. 
Do not ever give up...

"I am a conqueror, I won't accept defeat."