Friday, October 30, 2009

I Took The Wrong Bag – We All Make Mistakes

samsonite

Yesterday my friend and I flew from Solo to Jakarta. We brought four luggage with us, one of them was the samsonite bag pictured above. While we were waiting for our luggage to come out, we were discussing about passengers who turned on their mobile phones on the plane. Then we saw our bags coming out, so we quickly took them and put them on the trolley. I prepared my luggage tags just in case they asked to see them before leaving the airport. As it happened, no one was there to check the luggage tag, so we just went out to get a taxi. I loaded the bags to the trunk of the taxi and we left the airport.

About 10 minutes after we left the airport by taxi, I received a call from an airport ground staff. He asked me whether I arrived by GA 221 from Solo this morning. I said yes. Then he asked whether I got all my bags because he found my samsonite bag. I confidently said that I’d got everything, I’d taken all my four bags. He asked me to stop and check because I might have taken somebody’s else bag by mistake. I insisted that I couldn’t have mistakenly taken the wrong bag but I asked the driver to stop and check anyway. When I opened the trunk and saw the bag…Aaah the samsonite bag in the trunk was definitely not blue, it was black!! It was not mine! I took the wrong bag!

I told the taxi driver to drive back to the airport to return the bag and get my own bag. This mistake cost me more than Rp.100,000 in taxi fare because we had to exit the highway, turn back and re-enter the highway to the airport.

It was the first time it ever happened to me and hopefully there won’t be a second time.

It was quite amazing how two set of eyes could get it wrong, then by chance there was no one to check the tags as we went out. One other thing, that bag also had the same broken wheels. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I do not believe in coincidence. Thinking positively about this incident, perhaps the taxi driver needed more money and we had helped him out. There were so many possibilities and I’d rather see this as a part of a master plan and something good has come out of it.

Lessons to learn:

  • Do not be arrogant. Mistakes can happen to anyone. We all make mistakes one time or another.
  • As we go through life, from one experience to the next, there is always a first time for everything. It is just part of life.
  • Next time, ALWAYS check twice that I get the right bag hahaha

Learn and Grow!

Inge Santoso, B.Com

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Blog Action Day – Climate Change

 

This year Blog Action Day is about climate change.

I live in Solo, Indonesia. I definitely can feel the climate change. In the last few months, the weather was unusually hot. The sun is so bright so that whenever I am outside for too long, I get migraines. The heat of the sun stings my skin. The hot and humid air makes breathing uncomfortable. The effect of global warming can really be felt for real here.

In Indonesia, we used to have a saying that any months ending with “ber” such as September, October, November and December means wet weather with a lot of rain. This year, September has passed without even one drop of rain. This October, I only witnessed three or four days of light rain.  

I try to do my part to reduce my carbon emission and global warming by doing a few things such as:

  • Conserving water by taking quicker shower, turning off tap while brushing my teeth.
  • Becoming a vegetarian (today is my 18th day). I am not a pure vegetarian yet, but I am on my way there.
  • Raising awareness about global warming and climate change in classes that I teach
  • Reducing the usage of air-con. Instead of using air-con, I use a fan to improve air-circulation and cool the room
  • and other things

From the things that I try to do, the hardest thing is becoming a vegetarian. There are a lot of challenges such as overcoming temptations, adjusting social activities with my friends and getting used to other people’s reaction when I tell them that I don’t eat meat anymore. The last time I went vegan, it was in 2005. It lasted only for 54 days and it was really a struggle for me. This time around, I find it easier to overcome temptations because I’ve been practicing my mind through meditation.

I am only one person. I may not be able to do much, but I hope this Blog Action Day post may raise the awareness about climate change.

My dear readers, I hope not only you are aware of this climate change but you will take action – no matter how small, so that together we can make a difference and save our planet.

IMG_4577

Learn and Grow!

Inge Santoso