Bawang

Sabtu siang ini saya sekeluarga diam di rumah. Kami memasak sama2. Saya giliran menyiapkan tumis buncis, sambil diarahkan windi yang gerakannya dibatasi permintaan sara untuk tetap ada di dekatnya—sara lagi sakit. Ketika bawang merah selapis demi selapis saya iris, rasa pedih di mata mulai terasa.

“Ini respon bawang menyesuaikan diri,” saya bilang dengan nada bicara sok tau.

Windi tergelak. Saya sekali lagi meyakinkan dia. 

“Lho beneran. Sebenarnya ini mekanisme dia buat berevolusi. Sama kayak tumbuhan lain, mereka menyesuaikan diri,” saya mulai membangun fondasi argumen.

“Tau nggak, kenapa strawberry merah dan manis? Agar warnanya mencolok lalu diambil hewan atau manusia biar bijinya yang udah matang siap menyebar dan tumbuh di tempat lain,” kali ini saya mengutip analogi dari sebuah buku.

“Terus kenapa strawberry mentah nggak enak? Karena bijinya belum siap disebar,” 

“Itu aku tau dari buku tebel yang biasa aku baca itu,” saya membeberkan sumber informasi. Windi masih terlihat senyum tipis.

“Selama ini kan kita taunya manusia yang berkuasa atas semua makhluk lain, padahal semuanya hasil interaksi. Jadi saling memanfaatkan,” saya nggak mau kalah.

“Kenapa nasi jadi makanan pokok? Itu cara mereka (tanaman padi) biar nggak punah. Jadi menyesuaikan diri dengan aktivitas manusia. Tentu saja mereka nggak mikir kayak manusia,” 

“Aku lagi suka pola pikir kayak gitu,” pembicaraan menuju babak akhir.

“Kalo di agama kan manusia pemimpin alam semesta. Nah kalo menurut biologi, kita ini sama aja sama yang lain, saling mempengaruhi,” Windi terlihat enggan mendebat. Penjelasannya sebenarnya bisa lebih panjang. Ada di buku Guns, Germs and Steel buatan Jared Diamond.[]

Bandung

Menyusuri sore kota bandung

Mampir di lobi tobucil

Potong arah ke saparua 

Mampir toko buku gramedia

Sore ini kelihatannya biasa

Bisa gabung sparko sehatkan raga

Tapi memang sebenarnya berbeda

Besok bandung sudah tak ada

Belok ke jalan trunojoyo 

Cari toko otong koil kongko

Malah masuk pots meets pop

Batal beli celana cino

Tanjakan tipis di kabar kampus

Hajar gigi tiga sepeda

Muncul di jalur kawasan dago

Niat sikat diskonan di jongko

Lintas gempol pelajar mengobrol

Ingat pernah ajak windi-aksara

Cari hunian sementara

Buat satu tahun hidup bersama

Decision

Have you ever watched Moneyball? I have just did. The movie is about a baseball manager who applied a new style of putting a player based on statistical performances to win the match. His name was Billy Beane. Brad Pitt acted as him as a cold attitude kind of person. He was also a stubborn 40 years old ex-baseball player. One moment showed it when he asked his baseball team owner, to give more funding to buy players. The reason is surely to win the league. Unfortunately, his owner said that Oakland Athletics (A’s) was not have a huge budget. To be survived in the main league, is even more, too good to be true.

Billy Beane once have been a baseball player. It all started in his upcoming high school graduation in early 1980s. He was offered to two options of his future career: to be a baseball athlete, or go to prestigious college. He chose number one. A flashback of his past was showed along, with the moment when he struggled to save A’s. With his facial expression and gesture, we’ve got to known that he was regret to choose those path. Until one “eureka” moment came along.

He met Peter Brand, a data analyst that helped Billy to use a technique called sabermetrics. By using this way of managing player, he put a lot of statistical numbers as consideration to choose to buy or sell baseball player(s). The result was satisfying, A’s won the game for 20 times in a row. 

Actually sabermetrics was first ackowledged in the early of 19th century. Even so, Billy and Peter was fully use it in that first decade of 20th century. Oakland Athletic’s didn’t came as a winner for the tournament. Nevertheless, under Billy Beane’s managerial tactic, there was one magical moment that he (always) missed—Billy was never watched their team played. Peter showed him at the end of their 20nd victory on a recorded video. There was a fat player dying to run to the base after he beat the ball. Unbeknownst, he pointed a home run—his ball thrown highly so that their enemy cannot interupt the batter to run over the circle to make a point. So, actually he hasn’t need to did so because afterall, his statistical record proved that he could did it. And Beane gave him that chance. You ought to watch it by your own to see this serenical climactic moment.

At the end of the film, Beane was offered a job as GM on another team: Red Sox. Reffering to his experience on leaving college scholarship for baseball (and money), he took one crucial choice: decline the offer that would make him “the highest-paid GM in the history of sports.” Beane said, “I made one decision in my life based on money and I swore I’d never do it again.” []