Partying in Couchsurfing Indonesia Festival 2017 on Yogyakarta

There are only two real life of communities that I am really interested right now, one is where you can play augmented reality game that involves many players abroad and have monthly events competition, its called Ingress where I attended big event months ago in Surabaya. The other one is where I can connect life learners who travel and being hosted or surfed in the biggest hospitality exchange called Couchsurfing which I am rarely active to participate in real life aside  geting in touch with other members on chat room app.

This months I decided to spend my monthly salary to participate three days of Indonesia Couchsurfing members which was held in Yogyakarta. I was interested the concept and some events that cater the participants to choose for the second day such as Temple Hunting, Instagenix, and Gallery Hopping where I took to join. The event itself was organized from local Couchsurfing members as voluntary activity to gather around 150 travelers across SEA and international as well that were currently being in Yogyakarta at the time. To participate, there were little bit cost to pay for accommodation where participants to stay for two nights.

So, I took direct flight and arrived early one day before the event started. Luckily enough, I met some Indonesian members who come from Jakarta and Bandung where later we decide to spend half day to visit one of most public spot that I have been there before but gladly ti really enjoy this travel as part of vacation and also connecting link to new travelers. 

> Nemenin ibu ibu rombongan

The first day event for opening the festival was actually get started at night where we might to rest in a public room before with another members who just came by and signed up the registration. I feel honored when DJ (actually his name is Djamaluddin), one of event comittee told me that I can give a speech about Couchsurfing on the opening of event representing Indonesia or Borneo participants.

So I took my gut to speech in front of public anxiously talking about what is the "difference" (the topic that came out) and how relates in Couchsurfing. The opening might sounds like this "Imagine that we are colored pen, there is not only white and black, there are bunch of color. A canvas where we live right now and we as the colored pen must decide to create something on canvas. It could be chaotic drawing or simply can be beautiful piece of art." 

This is me speakin

This is the audience

My speech that I had said actually was sudden idea but relates what I want to do for the second day of event, its called Gallery hopping that would be attended with some of participants that has similar interest like me. After giving speech, participants are showed some Pencak Silat acts and also a movie screening which ends around 10.00 pm. 

Later in the morning, I contacted gallery hopping what I was supposed to do with approximately other ten participants how to drive around the city visiting some art painting museum. First was Affandi museum, a legendary painting that scared out shit of me back in elementary school when I found a book with spooky and creepy painting. Later I found out that Affandi is experimentalist painter (a term I created my own), so we spent some times enjoying all of his paintings in his museum. After visiting the museum, I lost some interest to get focused enjoying painting on another museum instead I took some picture of participants and wander around till its finished in the afternoon where we gathered in a cafe, the rest museum I remember were about Indonesian politic painting situation and absurdism gallery about mundane things, too bad I got exhausted so I cant focus to notice.

Hello Mr Affandi

Bunch of hipster group

On the second day, we had a little competition called "Relung Yogya" which was not actual race, but the participants that were randomly selected must find some clues about some "interesting" parts of Yogyakarta and must take a picture and later presented tonight in the partying event. So, together with new participants we took a stroll on the spot where the comitee had referred. One of couchsurfing member who comes from Australia named Jason suggested us to make something different in taking a bit of photograph concept where later leads us into winning the competition. 

Actually... there are more.. but this is okay.

After Relung Yogya event was finished around the afternoon, we move away into a beach where we were going to spend the night there and also.... THE PARTYYYYYYY! Its not regular party with electronic music, but with dangdut music. After arriving, before the sun went down and event get started... I took a stroll across the beach, being in my own world, listening an spcae ambient album with sound waves as the natural background, looking back to my life, what I have been going through, what was future would look like. That was sure hell of comfy.

Back to the party event, at first I act just like on normal mode being not interested to engage instead talking with new friends and relaxing to watch another members presenting "Relung Yogya" pictures they got. Apparently and suddenly, when the dangdut get started... my mood turned change into chaotic and uncontrollable mode where I dance to the song [I am chuckling right now] and being hysterically enthusiast and later I wander around talking more with people. There was little contest where participants must wear sarong both male and female, DJ asked me to choose who was going to win the contest for female participants. There was a girl I must chose to be the winner, and it went to Aiko, to the Japanese girl who appears there. When the MC asked why I chose her, i said hysterically "I like Anime!" Haha... and I bowed to her, I had little bit conversation with her on the loudest music background where I talk random shit like drunken people even though I was not event drunk, just being hysterical and cringy at the same time, and Aiko was like... wass this guy mentally retarded look?  

A weird background with people do dangdut behind.

DJ, Achu, Aiko, and a new friend who likes anime too

So, the dangdut was over in the midnight and some participants turned on some electronic music with drunk influence, I was exhausted and couldnt sleep. Tomorrow, the event just finished and participants got back to the city and some of them went back to their home town or simply continue their journey while I had to back working back to the kitchen and continue my cake selling and must pay my debt for the rest of PC build i owed from my dad. Before we left, we took a picture that I want to put here: 

A big fam!

I am so relieved to join this event and being part of Community where in the local, there were no members that eager to continue making events because years back ago. I like creating meet-up events and interesting activities around Banjarmasin city. So, after this events... I have to spread the great idea of being on hospitality exchange. 

P.s : A book prize where we won the competition for Relung Yogya

Destiny?

Review : Spec Ops: The Line - Redefining Military Shooter

The only I remember about Spec Ops franchise back when my childhood days, its on Playstation X where the game play resembles and looks like Army Men franchise but with real soldiers as character you play in the realistic setting, after long years forgotten I found this game recommended as a game that every shooters and military genre fans should try.  I played and finished this game twice when for the first time, I played it curiously because of the unconventional plot and great story line about how bad the outcome of being in combat and military environment to question your morality as in the process to finish the game. 

And secondly, I re-played for fun and also make little bit different choices on the game play where SO:TL is basically third person shooter with linear plot but still give choices to its player to see what will we choose for better decisions on combat that later affects how we see the characters we play (that basically the player themselves) about the deed we have done every each chapter. One thing for war : Kill or be killed, or you don't have to?

Here is my review: 

PLOT :

You are Martin, an idealistic soldier with high rank as captain. Along with your two partner and subordinate. You are deployed into a post-natural disaster state on Dubai, a city that was wiped by the standstorms. And here is your task, a simple task: Find survivors and mysterious radio signal that presumed as evacuation from inner city with civilian survivors and armies that you have to face in combat and later leads you into a journey of our main character mental state of mind choices where your partner question a lot about your decision into deep rabbit hole with the intense of inside city battles which you dont fight your enemy but also your sanity. 

As a military shooter game, the plot will drag you into philosophical questions about choices and your realization (as player) to continue fighting and also SO:TL will deconstruct the whole thing of being what is right and what is wrong in military combat with realitic touch how are you the hero of this story when you have to fight what you tought is right as your duty.

CONTROL :

Grab your controller or simply use mouse+keyboard, the control is pretty responsive with stunning graphic and dynamic camera movement that shows third person perspective which makes this game easy to enjoy and not really hard when you are in combat, I personally use normal mode and found its challenging because as in combat you have to think on every single move you have to do.  As main character, you can bring two type of guns and explosives where you can find along the gameplay or you can simply grab your enemy weapons after being taken down. As a captain, you can order your two partners (as AI) to use their skills in order to solve the thightness in some combats where they can shoot specific enemies or doing distractions to move forward. 

The gameplay set some realitic tone when it comes to your health system, you wont see any healtbar or indicator, just avoid massive of gunfires from enemy or you instantly being killed, your character can survive if your partners maintain their distance in order to save you if you are taken down. Probably, the annoying side of control system is when the cover system in combat have false detection in deciding to take cover or moving forward. 

VISUAL :

Enjoy stunning visual of post-disaster state of Dubai where sky scrappers are being torn and crushed buried among desert hills, walk and explore straight into miserable places of war casualties and what left that you will experience. Some parts are athmospheric and you may find some disturbing scenes (that involves with the plot) This game visual will touch your minds (literally) and your character mind when they face some odd strange situations where leads you into questioning, are you enjoying this kind of game, or you just feel something else. 

Moreover, this game have to offer interesting side of how music really influences how you perceive this game as serious but sometimes (in the early parts of games) it have the fun part of musical cues that can be enjoyed while you shoot everyone. The voice acting are top-notch and convincing that the characters you are playing have the situation as in the game.

FUN : 

SO : TL have good tier storyline where I assumed eventhough the plot sounds cliche at the first time (about a soldier being a hero and typical American shooters where glorifies its greatness and you act like another Rambo in this game, eventually, I was wrong. This games have no fun when you really think of how it projects what is great being American soldier or simple being a soldier when facing the outcome what you did on the entire gameplay. Yes, you do mass killing people and blow some shits to progress, its fun on video game medium. But when SO : TL approaches of realistic tone of this kind of genre. It has the plus point where I stated this game deconstructs what is kind of type shooter genre looks like mostly, and this game prove us wrong. 

If you like playing shooter game with great storyline and message, grab this game and experience your state of thought will be filled the consequences of various feeling on your main character decision and choice by the hand of yourself as the player in the challenging of combat system but still rewards you an thought-provolong experience.

Rating : 8/10

Difficulty : Normal
Finished : 8 August 2017