A Big Value In A Small Thing

In this program, we are required to have 100 hours minimum of volunteer. I have no idea at all about this thing before. I was like how can people want to do a hundred hours doing something to someone else without being paid? 1 or 2 hours will still make sense to me.

But here comes this moment, after a hard time of doing it I realize the good value of volunteer. The moment when I feel like a thunder strikes me or someone slap me. The moment when snapping fingers really mean something. I know why we want to do this. I know why I want to do this. It's because of the leader.  A good role model and example, and that is something that has been spreading to almost of the people here. That what makes volunteering sounds easy and fun.

We were cleaning the Chinatown campus not so long ago. And there I got my thunder strike and a hand slap that woke me up and made me see. We were cleaning with the real leader - our program coordinator, Kenneth Lee and the Dean of International Student, Dr. Minh-Hoa Ta. These wonderful people didn't even have to bother clean the campus building. They could've been sitting in their house and enjoy the sunny Sunday. That's not their job anyway, but they did that. Man, here you can see a Dean cleaning a building. She could've just ask someone to come and clean the building, or just us the ones who clean it to fulfill our volunteering hour. But no! she didn't do that. We cleaned together. And that's the real leader - be the first person in line and show how volunteer can be such a great thing to do. And don't forget to praise what your man has done, just like almost all people do here. They like to praise and sometimes I feel like too much :)

I hope this volunteer spirit lingers in me. The spirit to serve your community and become a good leader, so everyone can see a great value inside a small thing.

These are some documentations from our volunteer. I don't have Dr. Ta's picture :(

The man in this pic is our program coordinator Ken Lee

Damn! I didn't watch The Superbowl

Sementara orang-orang Amerika Serikat dan yang tinggal disini pada heboh dengan adanya event "Superbowl" (What is Superbowl) gue anteng-anteng aja disini. Padahal siang tadi merupakan hari yang sangat bersejarah bagi warga San Francisco karena tim football San Francisco 49'ers bertanding melawan Baltimore Ravens di ajang puncak kejuaraan football yang ke XLVII. Aura Superbowl sudah terasa mungin sejak 2 minggu sebelumnya. Seluruh San Franciscan tenggelam dalam gairah untuk mendukung penuh tim kesayangan mereka. Kota pun bersiap-siap untuk kebanjiran para pendukung yang turun ke jalan. Muni pun tidak mau menjadi korban keganasan fans yang bisa bertindak vandal, mereka langsung menutup beberapa jalur bus yang melewati pusat kota dan mengalihkan jalur tersebut melewati daerah lain. Yah bisa dibilang situasi menjelang perhelatan olah raga besar yang sama saja seperti di Jakarta. Tapi kenapa gue anteng-anteng aja yah. Mestinya kan heboh seperti kemarin saat tim Baseball San Francisco Giants memenangkan kejuaraan. Nah ini alasan saya tidak terlalu menghiraukan "Football"

1. "Football" menurut bahasa artinya adalah bola kaki. Cocok! Karena Football yang gue kenal dari jaman kecil masih main bola plastik dengan bertelanjang kaki dan gawang seadanya di tengah jalan ya memang pakai kaki mainnya. Nah begitu sampe Amrik, saya bingung karena orang sini main football nya pake tangan, dan football yang telah lama saya tau diganti namanya dengan soccer.What the hell is soccer?! I'm not gonna say soccer. it's football! Ini masalah nilai kehidupan yang seenaknya saja diabaikan hanya karena mereka adalah negara adidaya.

2. "Ball" Setelah melakukan pencarian kata kunci "ball" di Google, 99% ball berbentuk bulat. Nah ini American Football bolanya bentuk ga jelas begitu. Tidak bulat, tapi lonjong. Ini adalah satu-satunya "ball" yang tidak berbentuk bulat. What does it try to say to us? tryin' impress us, or wanna be special by being the only ball with an oval looks?

3. Look at these people. Barbar semua. ini mau main bola apa main gulat. Kok yang diincar orang bukan bolanya. Itu mah gampang semua orang juga bisa. Hanya diisi oleh orang-orang berbadan kekar yang bisa menjatuhkan. Kalau ada orang berbadan kecil menjadi pemain Football Amerika pasti sudah mati di pertandingan pertama. Coba kita bandingkan dengan sepak bola atau bola basket. Jika kedua olah raga ini sebarbar Football Amerika, mungkin Diego Maradona, Roberto Carlos, Lionel Messi, Ludovic Giuly, dan banyak pemain hebat lainnya tidak akan ada karena mereka sudah keburu remuk dihajar habis-habisan. Mungkin juga Nate Robinson, Anthony "Spud" Webb, Earl Boykins, atau Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues tidak akan pernah ada. Karena kedua olah raga ini adalah olah raga yang sebenarnya. Mereka tidak mengincar badan, tapi bola, dan disitulah letak perbedaannya. Mending pada main gulat aja kalo begitu, lebih keliatan kontak fisiknya.

Jadi begitulah kurang lebih kenapa saya tidak heboh sama Superbowl. Because it's not emphasize in the beauty and the skill, but it's emphasize in the brutality and they say it's a man sport. It's not a man sport to me. It's a stupid sport.

Check these links:

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-shortest-nba-players.php

And this is so frickin' funny. Don't play it if you are an "American Football" fans :D