Day 41: Big Fail (Formerly Known as "Solidarity with Fundraisers")

May 13, 2011

Days Left to Journey: 10 Days

Google... What?
I don't know what happened Google, but that was an utter fail. The blog went down for about an entire day, then some posts and changes were lost. I'm still in shock, because... it's GOOGLE! At least it's up and running again. Fortunately, I have this habit of writing some of my posts with my cell phone and sending it to my e-mail for a quick update.

Day 39:
"I love explaining BikeJava to people. It's always interesting to see which part people connect to, cycling or philanthropy, and how I am learning to keep people interested. I've never had a long history of story telling or persuasion. My upbringing tended to emphasize, 'just do the work and the attention and rewards will follow' or 'quiet confidence'. So usually keeping people interested in what I say is a difficult task because I'm extra sensitive to signs of boredom or rejection of my ideas.

BikeJava has kept me excited and motivated enough to constantly work on my pitch for the cause. Instead of getting disheartened by a yawn or a sign of disinterest, I push through and improve for the next person I talk to. I haven't gone from dud to world-class fundraiser, but I've learned. Asking ANYONE for money is tough. I speak to warm-hearted people everyday. Maybe my cause isn't what they want to support financially, or they're in a bind for cash, or they're against all forms of human-powered mobility. I don't hold it against them; if you express interest I will follow up though.

Klinik Anak Bangsa
We will adopt a hernia case which seems to be a pretty common but severe condition. I used to think hernias were only connected to older men attempting feats of strength beyond their abilities. I've learned that it has to do with any organ or fascia protruding from its cavity wall. Sounds painful. It affects the young as well as the old. I would love to provide greater details of the case BikeJava will adopt, but there are patient-doctor confidentiality rules. We will discuss with the clinic further. For the time being, just know your donations will help someone immensely! The cost of the surgery is around $375 - $475 USD which is about 1/7 of the average yearly earnings per capita."

Day 41:
It's been a late night. I got some detailed and uplifting information about the community empowerment and conservation group in Sukabumi, recently. I will post the information tomorrow.

Fundraising, Again.
I love getting donations from people I never directly solicited. I love the fact that my family donated so much. The feeling of support is wondrous. In other exciting news, there's a slight possibility that Gramedia may sponsor us with supplies and a contribution to the BikeJava non-profits. From my light research, Gramedia has several arms, but what most of us know them for are their ubiquitous bookshops. If they do sponsor us, we may be required to write an account of our experience to "sell" them the story. I've always loved writing, mix it in with some cycling and volunteering - wow!

So, in my ill-thought out response, I decided to buy a netbook in preparation for the potential sponsorship. My old computer is slowly dying anyways. I'm hoping that I can sell the hardware to a computer shop out here in Indonesia - they can fix anything here. I went for a used Lenovo Ideapad S10-3. Why used? It's just so much cheaper and so far it's been good; 1 day down and 25 days to go to see if it makes it through the journey. If all our sponsors come through, we'll be writing for 3 different groups; this netbook will be essential. If not, I have a new (used) netbook that I've always wanted.

Too much text. Pictures and a motivating post tomorrow.

Team + Cycling Friend Meetup; When we found out Mas Wang would join us.