Rob rockin’ out for reptiles and amphibians

Who are you and what do you do?

Rob Williams. I work for Froglife, a wildlife charity dedicated to conserving amphibians and reptiles, managing their conservation projects in Scotland.

What brings you to Glasgow Science Festival this year?

Froglife have been working hard over the past 4 years creating ponds in Glasgow as part of the ‘Living Water Project’. The Glasgow Science Festival is a great event to get people young and old, out and about and exploring the new ponds! It is amazing to teach a child to pond dip for the first time, or to see an adult instantly revert to a child as soon as they get a pond net in their hand

We are also raising awareness about a very important issue, the global amphibian decline. So many people are completely unaware of this mass decline amphibians are undergoing. That is why we called our event a ‘Festival of Frogs’ to help raise awareness of endangered amphibians through games and treasure hunts.

When you think of Glasgow, what are the first 3 words that come to mind?

Being honest, 1) Rain! 2) Ponds 3) Kelvingrove

If there was a zombie apocalypse, where would you hide?

Very likely in a pond, and I would fashion a breathing tube out of a hollow reed. I would at least die from hypothermia rather than a zombie attack.

What’s your favourite park or nature spot in Glasgow and why?

Cathkin Braes Country Park. The views are amazing both over Glasgow and southwards towards Whitelee Wind Farm and on a sunny day you can’t beat it.

Impress us with your favourite science fact

Unfortunately, this is my least favourite science fact but also one of the most important. As many as one third of the world’s 6,300 amphibian species are threatened with extinction and it is now regarded by many as our planet’s sixth mass extinction! That’s why amphibians need all the help they can get…..

Join Rob and other Frog Fantatics for a fun day out at the Festival of Frogs in Festival Park (are there enough letter ‘F’s in this sentence?) from 10:00-15:00 on Saturday 15th June. 

At about this time every year my Nearest and Dearest starts to get twitchy.  She keeps opening the door.  Her finely tuned nostrils begin to quiver.  Then one day she proclaims: ‘It’s time!  I can smell it in the air”. What smell? I ask.  Something about the air changes, apparently.

Sometime in March or early April all over Northern England (and well beyond) when the weather turns mild and damp, thousands of toads finally wake from their winter torpor, stretch, yawn (well, I would), and feel the urge.

Many local toads hibernate in dry stone walls, from which they emerge like proverbial toads-in-the-hole.  They seem to hang around a bit, like little camouflaged Buddhas, waking up and getting their bearings, before setting off on what can be quite a long trek (up to 2 0r 3 miles) to their ancestral breeding ponds.  Every year I’m aghast at how they manage to navigate the terrain.

The route to our nearest pond involves going down a lane, then climbing a steep hill through an intervening wood.  Toads will persist in going to the same pond even when it has dried up, or when a new road blocks the way, and often return to the same site after breeding.  Sadly many choose to migrate along or across roads, where large numbers are killed.  Over the past ten years or so my Other Half has researched migration patterns in the valley, and teams of dedicated volunteers now patrol about ten routes.  On one of these almost 1,000 toads share road space with buses and pub traffic!  According to Frog Life some 62,985 toads were rescued from the U.K’s roads last year.

‘A toad in the hand won’t get squashed by a van’ …. male toad taking a ride.

Male toads are much smaller and more numerous than females, and like to hitch a ride on a female’s back.  Males engage in protracted wrestling matches for the privilege.  The best part of this annual jamboree, for me, is seeing toads reach water.  There’s a palpable sense of joy as they transform from lumbering crawling land critters into fast graceful effortless swimmers.  And, of course, they’re here to mate.  Large numbers of males often form squirming clusters on and around the females, some of whom, sadly, drown in the process.

When you next meet a toad, bear in mind that he or she could live for up to 40 years, given the chance.

If you’re in the U.K and want to get involved in helping these remarkable little folk you can find your nearest Toad rescue site by contacting Froglife via:

www.froglife-frogbites.blogspot.co.uk

Source: ‘War Games and Sex Games in Britain’s Toads’, Gail Vines, New Scientist 15/7/82 ( online ).

Toads eat: insects, slugs, worms, and occasionally young amphibians (including toads!), and are predated by hedgehogs, foxes, otters, rats, herons, gulls, and crows.

The Common Toad Bufo Bufo is found across Europe, eastwards to Japan, in North Africa, and across northern and temperate Asia.

Froglife

Froglife is a national wildlife charity, since it started in 1989 it has been dedicated to the conservation of the UK’s amphibians and reptiles – frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards – and the habitats on which they depend. Froglife’s work falls into three strands: on the ground conservation, environmental education and communication.

 Throughout 2012, in celebration of the Chinese Year of the Dragon, FrogLife have composed 12 species profiles for each month. This month, Living Water Officer Iain Maclean has kindly let us in on a few sneaky secrets about an often misunderstood reptile, the slow-worm…

Slow-worm

“Having a look into the reputation of the Slow-worm in the past, it is surprising to learn that it was once considered a venomous and evil creature to be killed and cut up when encountered. Also called the blind worm, it pops up in Shakespeare’s Macbeth where the ‘blind worm’s sting’ is a potent ingredient of the witches cauldron. The name Slow-worm itself is also misleading, as they can move very fast when prompted. Some sources claim the name actually originates from the Anglo Saxon word slay (or slaw) as in a worm which kills (or perhaps a slayer of worms!) or as a slow ‘wrym’ (snake like creature) in comparison to snake species. However the origins of the name and of alternative names such as blind worm are far from clear.

In fact the Slow-worm is a benign and beautiful creature, and presents no real danger to humans. It is more closely related to lizards than snakes, having lost its legs in an example of convergent evolution. Its smooth body allows it to glide through vegetation and catch small soft bodied insects such as slugs; and it can therefore be a welcome predator of pests in the gardens it frequently inhabits. Although Slow-worms may try and sting with the horny tip of their tail when handled, the sting is not venomous and unable to pierce the skin, and in fact when frightened they are just as likely to shed their tail in order to escape.”

Slow Worm Anguis Worm

Factfile: Slow-worm (Anguis fragilis)

Did you know…

• The slow worm gives birth to live young (ovovivipary); eggs are hatched within the female’s body

• Slow-worms can live for decades; the record is a Slow-worm in Copenhagen zoo who lived for 54 years! Although they are expected to live for much less in the wild.

• Slow-worms are vulnerable to predation by cats. The level of predation can have an important effect on local distribution.

Identification

• Slow-worms range in colour from grey to brown to bronze

• Males are grey-brown, sometimes with blue flecks

• Females are golden brown with a darker underbelly and sides

• Females and juveniles often have a darker stripe along their back

• Slow-worms have unique head markings and, unlike snakes, they have eyelids

• They can be 4-45cm in length

Differences between Slow-worms and snakes

• Eyes which blink (snakes cannot blink)

• Broad flat tongue with notched tip (snakes have a flickering forked tongue)

• Blunt tail tip (snake tails taper to a fine point)

• Skin with smooth scales, skin appears shiny and polished (snakes have rougher, clearly defined scales).

Male Slow worm showing blue flecks Barnet, SS

  You can find out more information about Slow-worms on the Froglife website or to see more ‘Dragons of the Month’ visit the Froglife Blog.

With thanks to Iain Maclean at Living Water and Sivi Sivanesan & Froglife for their kind contributions.

www.froglife.org
www.facebook.com/froglife
www.twitter.com/froglifers

Ponds are also much loved by our resident herptiles (a posh word for reptiles and amphibians) and today we’ll be meeting them!

Day 10 – Reptiles and Amphibians

Meet the Species is pleased to say that all the reptiles and amphibians on our list have been spotted and recorded! All thanks to some hard work and eagle eyed spotters at our events. But since we just love them so much we couldn’t deny them a day in our final lap.

Adder – photo courtesy Stephen J Kennedy

In the UK we have 12 native species of reptiles and amphibians, this includes two species of frogs and toads. There are ways to help keep the UK frog-friendly. If you’ve got a garden, even a tiny one, you can do your bit. If there’s enough room, build a pond. It’ll need to be at least two feet deep and with sloping sides for the creatures to climb in and out easily. Smaller gardens just need a log pile or patch of long grass as a damp hiding place.

Smooth Newt – photo courtesy Ewan JP

Snakes like similar conditions to amphibians so in your garden what’s good for frogs is also good for our three species of snake and our native legless lizards (which confusingly looks like a snake – the slow worm).

So join us to hear more from wildlife expert Rhys Jones of BBC 1 Wales’ “Rhys to the Rescue”.

And through the day you’ll…

• Find out which species is top of Rhys’ favourites list and how he got bitten by the reptile bug
• Investigate invasives with ARG UK and help find these non-native herptiles
• Rock on for reptiles with heavy metal naturalist – The Blowfish
• Spot the difference – Newt or Lizard?
• Read about our finds from slow worm to grass snake
• Discover dragons! Courtesy of Froglife

With great thanks to Andy Ryder from the Avon Reptile & Amphibian Group for their great contribution. To find out more please visit ARAGs website

Are you a little bit crafty? Do you enjoy knitting, baking, sculpting or sewing? Well, during the Year of the Dragon (2012), Froglife is challenging the Great British public to ‘craft a cresty’ as part of a new competition!

Great crested newts are one of the UK’s rarest amphibians and here at Froglife we’re working hard to protect these amazing creatures. But we need some help… In order to raise some funds for our work we’re challenging anyone who enjoys any type of craft to:

•   Make a great crested newt.

•   Take up to five photos of it (including one of it in an interesting location!).

•   Send the photos to us for judging.

You then also have the option to send us your newt (if it’s possible!), sell/auction your newt and donate the money to Froglife or just keep it and show it off to your friends (maybe they’ll be inspired to enter the competition too!). We’re welcoming all sorts of crafters so whether you want to knit a newt, make a great crocheted newt or a baked crested newt, why not have a go?

There are five categories to enter and prizes will be awarded in three age groups for each category. There will also be some additional prizes awarded for most interesting photo, judges’ favourite and cutest newt.

How to Enter

•   Register for the competition (£3 per newt).

•   Receive your registration pack and entry number.

•   Make your newt.

•   Take photos of your newt.

•   Choose the best photos (up to five including one in an interesting location).

•   Submit your photos.

•   If possible, package up and post us your newt.

•   Sit back and cross your fingers! Judging will take place in October 2012.

Don’t forget to read The Rules!

Find out more about real newts…

•   Great crested newts.

•   The Great Crested Newt Conservation Handbook.

With thanks to Froglife for their contribution.

www.froglife.org
www.facebook.com/froglife
www.twitter.com/froglifers

The handbook is a comprehensive guide to amphibian and great crested newt habitats and includes a guide to help identify different species of newt.

Froglife have provided a link to the pdf of the document which is available as a free download. Hard copies are available but you do have to pay for them.

The guide gives advice on a number of amphibian and newt related subjects and is well worth a read, and could provide a valuable reference for amateur wildlife spotters and professionals alike. there is advice on great crested newt surveys and survey techniques as well and pond creation and pond restoration.

Click on the link below to download the guide.

http://www.froglife.org/advice/gcnch.htm

Waking at my usual early hour today, I lay in bed for several minutes, listening to the dawn chorus outside my bedroom window.  It was a wonderful time, and the birds inspired me to get out of bed and get moving.  As I type this, I can still hear them.

Going outside, I could see that our visiting wildlife have been busy again.  This time, they have been very crafty and dug huge and beautifully constructed holes behind a couple of bushes.  For me it’s an honour that they choose to come and feel safe in our garden.  Even if some of my plants do look as though someone’s been having a bit of a nibble.

This morning, I was reading about Froglife’s new campaign, Just Add Water.  Did you know that many of our ponds have vanished in the last century?  This makes it very difficult for frogs, toads and newts to reproduce.

Inspired by Froglife’s Just Add Water campaign, I made some tea, got typing – and you can hop over to see the fruits of my efforts on their campaign to encourage more of us to build wildlife ponds in our gardens and allotments.  These ponds don’t need to be big, and they certainly don’t need to cost much.  A great way to get wildlife heading over to your garden and to just find more excuses to chill and relax watching everyone in and around your pond.

Now I’m off to feed those birds….and put the kettle on.  Please do hop over to Take Action to help animals and find out more about Froglife’s campaign.  It just shows that each of us can make a difference to wildlife by taking individual actions.

Best wishes

Sally

Hal pertama yang bikin gw gak tenang..masalah kejelasan kerja..udah sebulan lebih setelah ada kepastian gw diterima, tapi sampe skarang surat kontrak lom ada..yang jadi pikiran gw “salah gak sih gw milih ini?” sementara di sisi laen gw sengaja “menyudahi” proses interview dan segala tetek bengeknya di tempat laen demi ambisi gw buat kerja di tempat yang skarang… Smoga ini bukan karma…

Hari jumat pagi calon istri telp..dia tanya knapa lebih milih nunggu kejelasan itu di bandung? bukan di semarang? begh..gada duit nduk..ehehehe..canda..gw sih mikirnya karna lebih gampang aja klo dari bandung tiba² ada panggilan trus ke jkt..cuman 2 jam ini..tapi itu gak juga bisa bikin dia ngerti..yeaaa..perang dunia deh, pakek acara ngambek pula dia..hehehe..cuekin ah, tar juga kangen ma gw yang ganteng ini

Capek..tiyap hari nunggu kabar sambil chatting..browsing..buka prenster, syapa tau ada cewe cakep minta add (LOL) akhirnya gw bosen juga..sabtu pagi ada temen mintak anterin cari bahan buat kebaya (dia mo wisudaaaa..gaya bet..). Gw pikir, wologh..mayan nih skalian menghirup suasana kota..ternyataaaaaa..nganerin cewe cari kaen setengah mampos..!!! 3 jam muter² akhirnya balik dengan tangan kosong n senyum kecut temen gw plus sedikit kata mutiara “mahal…” _’_

Balik dari pergi, onlen di students irc..gw liyat satu nick aneh bin katrok..vaughn..weleh, bakalan rusuh nih channel..ehiehiehiheiheiei…

Skedar info, vaughn a.k.a markov ini senior jaman jebot yang hampir kadaluarsa ijasahnya gara² terlalu cinta ma kampus But, diakui ato gak..he’s a great motivator for me..using his keyword “begok lu..!!!” he gain my spirit to learn more and more…

Akhirnya gw samperin lah tu bocah ke labnya..sampe sana ntah gimana (gw males nyritainnya) akhirnya satu channel chat itu ngumpul n mutusin buat jalan bareng..uyeaaa..madtari..madtari..Bareng² gw, vaughn, tunk, ai, jamsoy, aam, kichung, net, rei, nie, n cuit^cuit jalan ke dago pengen nongkrong di madtari..tempat makan andalan :p Disana ketemuan ma ‘mo, vindie, n sly..kumpul bareng anak² students pasti nyenengin..itu pikir gw…

Ternyatahh..smua di luar dugaan..banyak banget yang bikin gw bete disitu, pokoknya suasana jadi gak asik, lebih mirip kek acara api unggun n renungan malem daripada having fun..taeklah..mendingan gw tidor di lab (dah gapunyak kosan..LOL) Moga aja besok klo jalan² lagi gak keulang nih kejadian kek gini…

Gw kira itu akhir penderitaan gw..tapi, barusan gw di telp ama adek..dia bilang gak lulus UM UNDIP..gw berusaha besarin atinya, tapi suara di sebrang kek bergetar n bilang “yang bikin aku gak trima..aku kalah karna uang sumbangan yang tak isi jauh lebih kecil daripada temen²ku…”. Bah..!!! sekolah smakin mahal yak? Tambah sedih gw jadinya..berjuanglah dek..Allah pasti punya rencana laen..syapa tau bisa masuk UNDIP tanpa harus bayar minimal 75 juta kek temen²mu..eheheh..masmu bantu doa darisini…

Bener² weekend kelabu..moga² seuntai senyum bisa keluar dari wajah gw minggu depan..

Begh..prolognya sok keren :p xixixixix..sbnernya gw cuman pengen nulis tentang apa yang barusan gw denger. It’s all about my community, students, yeaaahh..sebelumnya, gw kasi tau tulisan ini bakalan panjang banget..jadi klo gak sanggup n gak tertarik, sok brenti aja disini

Balik makan, OL lagi di students chatroom, kick beberapa orang (tukang rusuh :p)..langsung ditodong ama pertanyaan “kak temon..bisa PV gak?” sama salah satu fans, LOL. Berbekal perasaan GeeR segudang, gw jawab “OK”. And just guess what I got from that private conversation? Kaget gw aseli kaget (ini juga hiperbolis), gw dapet pertanyaan “ada apa sih dengan students sekarang?”. Bah..meneketehe? gw dah lama gak ngeforum..gw juga barusan lagi jadi penguasa di #students channel..ditanyain hal yang cukup bikin penasaran kek gitu…

Gw tanya balik ke dia, apa sebenernya maksutnya? (cukup susah juga ngorek info, mungkin ni bocah pemalu -tukang palu-). Setelah mengeluarkan jurus rayuan maut dikombinasikan dengan jurus kodok menahan nafsu, akhirnya dia mau cerita klo ada satu (or dua?) orang yang bisa dibilang dedengkot students secara blak²an membandingkan students dulu dengan sekarang. Parahnya perbandingan ini gak diikuti dengan pemikiran yang cukup panjang yang hasilnya menunjuk satu orang sebagai pesakitan (kesian banget kan?) T_T. Students skarang dibilang UKM rapat yang lebih banyak konseptor, bukan eksekutor. Parahnya ini bener..cuman yang gw gak setuju, kenapa seolah² hanya satu orang yang berhak menanggung dosa ini? Banyak memang kegiatan yang pada akhirnya mentah ato bisa dibilang gak konkrit..but is this totally CEO’s faults?

Mari kita flashback dikit…

Salah satu produk amazing students adalah Film tentang students..percaya ato gak, dengan obrolan ringan di chatroom, alat seadanya, aktor n aktris amatiran dan waktu yang sangat² mepet (seminggu), kita bisa bikin semua orang tercengang dengan kualitas film yang luar biasa..next…

Kegiatan besar students diawali dengan adanya baksos..waktu itu kita cuman ketemu sekali, ada ide dari CEO yang skarang, kerja, beres, seneng²..DONE..!!! kliatan enak banget yak? gampang, gak ribet..but that’s it..!!!

Selanjutnya gathering II dengan tujuan mulia yang gabisa ditulis disini (tar gak jadi mulia lagi) disamping pengen ngumpulin anak² yang biasa nongkrong di students. Kita ngobrol di chat, bikin pengumuman, siyap², kerja, slese, seneng.. Lebih gampang? Iya emang gampang..tapi klo diliyat lagi, knapa lagi² yang ngumpul cuman itu² aja? Kemana temen² dan keluarga baru kita?

Kok gampang banget? gw cuman punya satu jawaban..penghuni students dulu tipe² kuli..kita kerja karna seneng, kita eksekusi karna kita fun bisa ngumpul bareng pas ngerjainnya..tanpa ada pamrih..yea klopun ada itu smua demi students..plus rasa memiliki students yang besar sebagai wadah/keluarga selama kuliah di kampus laknat ini..pokoknya mangan ra mangan asal ngumpul…

Ok, stop flashbacknya..klo kebanyakan tar malah gak baek…

Apa yang terjadi skarang? Katanya sih kebanyakan dedengkot students udah gak nyaman lagi di students..why? Ya katanya lagi karna alesan gak konkrit n ukm rapat itu tadi…

Pertanyaan gw..bener gak sih itu alesan?

Klo menurut gw kok masih agak prematur ya? Diakui ato gak, jarangnya dedengkot students nongkrong di students forum or chatroom karna gada waktu lagi..dan sebagian besar udah pada gawe, di sisi lain sisanya ngrasa lom bisa nemuin temen² kaya’ dulu lagi..wajar kan klo jadi males posting? Toh nyatanya klo ketemu di kantin jug masi bisa ngobrol n have fun dalam waktu yang super lama..knapa gak diakui aja suasana, kondisi, n situasinya dah beda? Slese gw rasa…

Tapiiiiiiiiiii…ada tapinya, bukannya sifat dasar manusia itu salah satunya adalah mencari kejelekan manusia laen dengan membandingkannya dengan sesuatu yang lebih baik (apalagi yang dinilai baik itu hasil kerjanya) ya? Itu yang gw liyat di students..sebuah proses compare yang sama skali gak relevan.

Sialnya buat CEO, dia memang orang pertama yang harus kenak semprot..kan lebih gampang misuh² ke pimpinan sebuah oraganisasi daripada nyambangin anggotanya satu² trus pisuhin mereka satu persatu pula..heiheheiheihei..tapi apa iya dia yang salah? Apa iya dia salah klo dinilai kebanyakan rapat tanpa kita berusaha memahami pertimbangan dia untuk gelar rapat segitu seringnya? Bandingin ama apa yang gw tulis di flashback yang semuanya kliatan gampang…

Hey, itu dulu..dan sekarang kondisinya beda banget..dari situasi, kualitas SDM, kesadaran, kebiasaan, dan masih banyak lagi..gak bisa dibandingin secara langsung. Dulu ada konsep, kita tau mau ngapain, tujuannya apa, tanpa dijelasin panjang lebar orang²nya tau kudu ngapain..tau jobdesk masing²..skarang knapa perlu sering rapat untuk hal kecil sekalipun? Dia butuh tindakan extra untuk bikin semuanya sukses..dan itu di realisasikan dengan pemantapan berulang kali (yang secara visual kliatan sebagai rapat) dan memang itu perlu dilakukan untuk mendapatkan hasil yang sama dengan kualitas SDM yang berbeda…

So, why don’t we just sit down in here and watch what would they do from here? Knapa kita harus menjatuhkan mereka sebelum sebuah kegiatan itu terealisasi dan selesai? Kenapa kita harus mempermasalahkan cara mereka? Toh kalo nantinya hasilnya gak sesuai harapan, kita juga sebenernya gak berhak ngatur mereka kan? Kecuali kita masih bisa melakukan sesuatu untuk mereka..we’re just supporter right now..we can’t do anything..remember, supporter..not comentators..klo emang mau bikin yang lebih baik ya just do and prove it..jangan harap hasil kerja orang laen bisa membuat kita puas 100% klo kita sama skali gak ikut campur di dalamnya

Fyuuuhhh..keknya panjang dan muter² nih..maklom, lagi blajar nulis..eheheu…

Jadiiii..yang gw liyat skarang, ada banyak yang musti diperbaiki dan kudu sama² memperbaiki diri..yang muda belajar dari kejadian ini, dan yang tua mencoba menahan diri untuk tidak selalu merasa benar dan tidak selalu mengatur adek²nya..let them grow up with their own way…

Yang pengen gw sorot disini, seperti udah gw tulis di prolog, kita musti bisa bedain sesuatu..berfikir lebih dalam dan panjang sebelum menarik sebuah kesimpulan..susah, tapi pasti bisa..demi sebuah kejayaan, bukan kehancuran (wedewww..bosoku sok²an rek…). Satu lagi..tempatin diri dengan sedikit berfikir pantes ato enggak..pantes gak ya gw ngomong kek gini? Pantes gak ya klo gw nglakuin ini? Yah seenggkanya ini bisa jaga perasaan orang laen dan “menjaga” kondisi yang ada…

Dah ah capek..moga² aja komunitas ini gak hancur cuman karena ego dan pendapat pribadi sebagian orang yang membuat seseorang yang pernah merasakan kenyamanan jadi gak lagi nyaman..gak lagi sterg…

Dah lama gak nge-blog nih..gara² liyat blognya mbah suro kok jadi kepengen bikin di wordpress. Sblomnya gw prefer pake Opera sih, karna satu alesan..free 300MB storage yang bisa dipake buat kepentingan pribadi..heu..maklom autis enough :p

Klo blog gw di Opera cenderung agak serius..disini gw pengen bner² bebas ah..kek kata seseorang.. hidup itu gak harus selalu teknis kan? masi banyak yang bisa dicari dalam hidup ^_^. Kapan gw bisa jadi orang bijak kek gitu yak? Xixixixix..keknya masi lama..LOL

Hummmm..3 hari terakhir, sembari menunggu kepastian gw ngabisin waktu bareng orang² gila di kampus laknat dengan tidak melakukan apapun (uyeah..release my brain again and once more store it to refrigerator) kecuali chatting..chating dan chatting..tapi daripada gw buang² duit di jakarta, disini gw masi bisa menghemat pengeluaran..hehehehehe..maklom kere (tapi tetep ganteng) *prettt*. Yah..semoga kepastian itu cepat datang dan ni otak bisa dipake lagi..dah 3 bulan beku..

Ada satu crita menarik..tadi sore, gw beres² rumah kontrakan karna udah abis masa sewanyah..abis itu pamitan ke bapak kos (yang punyak rumah, nice person at all..but bad cover outside..makes me screamed every meet him..hix..) sendirian coz udah pada gawe T_T. Begitu teken bel *ting-tong* si bapak bukain pintu n suruh gw nunggu bntar tanpa nunjukin mukanya..dah dag-dig-dug nih..begitu si bapak kluar (mungkin tadi dandan dulu takut kalah ganteng ma gw) astagfirullah..orang yang dulu kliatan gagah, tinggi, besar, penuh wibawa, tegas, dan punya sorot mata tajem (bolish dikit) beda banget ama apa yang ada di depan gw. Pak Rahman, nama si bapak kos, sekarang jauh berbeda dibandingakan masa kejayaannya dulu. Kurus, lamban, sayu, dan jauh lebih down to earth (nice-nya teuteup…) kek abis sakit..maklom walopun tetanggaan tapi gw emang jarang ke rumahnya kecuali butuh (mahasiswa banget).

Gw braniin tanya “kok kurusan Pak? sakit ato kecapekan bolak-balik Jkt-Bandung?”. Dengan sorot mata yang kosong dan berkaca-kaca (asli kali ini gw gak melebih-lebihkan) dia jawab “iya dek..saya memang agak kurang sehat”. Gw cuman mikir mungkin sakit karna capek..tapi ada satu hal yang gw liyat beda selama sejam gw ngobrol ma dia..dia sama skali gak nyentuh rokok kesayangannya itu..hummmmmm..padahal biasanya klo kita sowan dia gak pernah membiarkan paru²nya ada sedikit tempat buat oksigen. *degh*

Gw jadi takut nih..memang skarang mungkin lom krasa efeknya secara langsung, yeaaa..paling ngos²an doank klo maen bola or jogging, tapi begitu liyat orang di depan gw itu..argh..yang kepikiran cuman “kesian anak gw tar klo liyat bapaknya kurus, penyakitan, n gak bisa cari duit buat ngidupin kluarga gara² demen ngrokok” (padahal skarangpun kondisinya jauh lebih buruk..dah kurus, item, begok pula) . But..gw lom bisa klo harus brenti total kecuali gw berada di tempat yang bner² gak enak buat ngrokok..mari kita coba pelan² dulu dengan mengurangi intensitas…

Dah ah..keknya sekian dulu buat latihan postingnyah, berhubung kantuk tak tertahankan dan ada hal penting (komputer gw, komputer jamsoy dink, di flood ma heker T_T) jadinya musti buru² matiin komputer…

<kuntilanak> sepi bgt
<kuntilanak> ngelo ndas mu
<kuntilanak> Hackers haruslah dinilai berdasarkan kemampuan hackingnya – bukannya berdasar
<kuntilanak> kriteria seperti derajat, umur, ras, atau posisi. Kamu bisa berkarya seni dan
<kuntilanak> keindahan melalui komputer. Komputer dapat merubah hidupmu menuju kelebih baikan.
* Received a CTCP VERSION from kuntilanak
* Received a CTCP PING 1180294760 from kuntilanak
* Received a CTCP TIME from kuntilanak
You are being CTCP flooded from kuntilanak, ignoring *!*@10.14.209.30

>kuntilanak< CTCP VERSION
-kuntilanak- VERSION mIRC v6.16 Khaled Mardam-Bey

C:\Documents and Settings\Karl van Boements>ping 10.14.209.30

Pinging 10.14.209.30 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 10.14.209.30: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=127
Reply from 10.14.209.30: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=127
Reply from 10.14.209.30: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=127
Reply from 10.14.209.30: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=127

Ping statistics for 10.14.209.30:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 0ms

LOL..!!!

Doa gw malem ini…

• Semoga Allah memberikan kesembuhan buat orang yang udah baek banget bersedia menyewakan rumahnya buat gw n temen²..thank you so much Pak Rahman…

• Semoga gw bisa pelan² ninggalin kebiasaan buruk gw ini…

• Semoga cepet ada kepastian buat masa depan gw…

• Semoga orang yang grepe² komputer jamsoy diberi pencerahan…

• Semoga adek gw lulus UM UNDIP (hayoooo..kata bapak klo ndak arsitek suruh jualan pecel lho nduk..LOL)

• Last..semoga isi blog ini nantinya bakal berguna buat gw sendiri..sukur² buat orang laen…

Mintak doanya yak..