The Apartment: Meet the New Occupants!

Aside from school and ReadingWalk, two things that occupy my mind the most lately are the wedding (as I've already mentioned several times before) and.... the new apartment.

It is not exactly my apartment, it's my Bf's. We decided to divide responsibilities (read: debts): he takes care of the place we're going to live in once we get married while I find a way to get us a car (in which I'm not doing very well so far).

About a couple months ago a unit in Kalibata City was finally bought. The former owner sold it unfurnished except for one air-con and a misplaced two-seat sofa. Nice.
Since then I've been developing this excitement to make over the place.

I must say that some time ago I still couldn't accept the idea of living in an apartment. I've always been dreaming to live in a real house, the one that touches the ground. But well, the price in Jakarta is unbelievably insane! Of course you can get cheaper houses if you are willing to shift a little to somewhere almost Jakarta, there are lots of nice suburban neighborhoods. However, oh dear Lord, I couldn't bear the thought of fighting the legendary Jakarta's traffic everyday. Then after some considerations (including the fact that we might not stay very long in Jakarta), I sacrificed touching the ground over the traffic.

The apartment might not be located in the most strategic location. However, it is right across the train station! And I've been a regular user of our beloved commuter line since several months ago. So, I'm very excited about this new apartment.

Back to the topic, despite of our excitement, it took us a while before we finally added some things to (hopefully) our future home, which have just arrived today! :D

Meet the new occupants of the apartment:

1. Standing-cooker
At first, we were thinking to buy a simple cooker that can easily placed on the kitchen set table. But, since I have this weird interest in baking, I asked Bf if we would have some extra space for an oven which I planned to purchase some time in the future. He said we can managed that.

Then long after that, he gave me a link to a product in an online electronic shop. It was a Modena's standing-cooker. You want oven, rite? This one is compact enough for the apartment. We can have this one, he said (gee, even I have forgotten about my wish for an oven at that time). So we do (but we didn't buy it from the online store).

The apartment is not huge, so we need to carefully pick each of everything that we want to put inside. This standing-cooker is about 50x50x88 cm, if I'm not mistaken. Cute and compact, it matches the apartment very well. ;)

It cost 5,9 million including a cooker-hood as bonus. Too bad I don't have any picture of it.


2. Refrigerator
Obviously, refrigerator is a must. We considered a Toshiba and a Samsung. The Samsung looks more elegant and it has a little more space than the Toshiba. But, Toshiba is a Toshiba. On paper, the quality should be over Samsung. But in the end, look and space won. Check it out. :)

This is my favorite part: twisting icemaker!! Can't wait to freeze some water there!

It cost 2,9 million after some discounts. Not bad, isn't it?


3. Washing machine
Many people who live in apartments choose to take their clothes to laundry services, which is understandable. It might not seem very practical to have a washing machine (which considerably needs some space) in a tiny apartment. However, I must say I am a bit old fashioned about this matter. I am sure it's because I see my mom always do the family's laundry by herself that made me believe doing laundry is somewhat a sacred task that you can't easily pass to someone else. Don't get me wrong, when I lived by myself in Bandung, I used laundry service million times. But at that time I was a single. I still am a single now, but when I live in the apartment, I'm pretty sure I'm already married by then. And because I will be married at that time, then I will need to do the laundry by myself. It's not very logical, I know, so never mind.

Anyway, so we got this Electrolux washing machine. Oh, and we got 1 kg of Rinso as a bonus.

The problem was we wanted (and needed, due to space) to put this machine in the balcony. There was no problem with the balcony, I knew for sure it would fit there. The real problem was the door to the balcony. We were not sure if the machine could pass through that.

After some struggling and tricks, we finally managed to get the machine to the balcony! Phew!

This Electrolux machine cost 4,9 million.

After the hard work, we celebrated it with grape juice. :D

**

As I've mentioned, the apartment is not huge. It is a 30 sq meters 2 bed-rooms apartment. We know it would be a challenge to decorate this apartment. Luckily, we have a friend who is an interior designer. He also designed this Never Been Better restaurant in Kemang (whose owner also happens to be our friends too).

Anyway, after some talks and visits, here's the initial design for the apartment. *fingers-crossed*

Let's see how it's going to be in the next several months. :D

Time

Back on my overwhelming office days, I used to think that once I get out of the routine and start my master I would be able to manage my time better. I was sure that I would have all the time I need to restructure my business, update my blog with things worth to read, spend valuable time with my brother, etc. A hopeful thought.

I thought every thing will be sorted out by themselves. Little did I know that nothing gets better by itself. 

I thought I would've had a peaceful rhythm. Instead, I am still racing with time as I always am. Taking master is no joke, plus I am now teaching 2 - 3 days in a week. On top of that, I have a wedding to be prepared. However, the real problem here is the procrastinator that lives in me. 

People shouldn't wait for the right time to do things. It never comes. They should make time to do those things. I should.

Anyway, it's almost 3 in the morning. And I have an early class tomorrow. So, adios!

Color Festival

I'm not trying to persuade anything. Just wanna share the feeling of how grateful we should be for all the colors we can see. My heart sank knowing that I had taken all the blessings for granted by sulking and complaining over trivial matters.

We are lucky. Thank God.

Twenty years

Few days ago my Dad told me a story.

There was a young couple who had been dating since they entered university. They were very close that their friends had no doubt that the couple would ended up marrying each other. Then they graduated and their friends were wrong. They married to other people.


Twenty years went by. Both of them were not happy with their marriages. They got divorce from their spouses. Then somehow, as always, history repeated itself. Once again they got tangled to each other. This time they finally got married.

I don't know why am I re-telling this story. Right after I heard it, I got mixed feelings. I am not sure whether this is a happy or sad story. Of course it is nice how they finally got married after 20 years. But I was kinda hurt because of the two divorces of 20-years-marriages.

And it's a true story, by the way.

Alternative Cities

Pertama kali saya pindah ke Jakarta itu tahun 1993. Waktu itu saya kelas 2 SD. Kalau dihitung-hitung berarti sudah hampir 20 tahun saya di kota ini (yaiks, I am old!). Sejak kecil saya selalu berpikir bahwa nantinya ketika saya sudah dewasa dan mulai membangun karir serta keluarga, ya saya akan tetap di kota ini. Dan kenapa tidak, ya kan?

Pertama, Jakarta ini pusatnya perputaran uang. Peluang karir disini jauh lebih banyak daripada di kota lain. Kedua, apapun ada di Jakarta ini. Mal dimana-mana, tempat makan enak di setiap sudut kota, pokoknya segala macam fasilitas ada disini. Ketiga, kualitas pendidikan disini cenderung lebih baik daripada kota lain. Setidaknya pilihan sekolah dari A sampai Z ada. Keempat, orang tua saya disini. Saya bahkan beberapa kali bercerita tentang bagaimana cintanya saya dengan kota ini disini dan disini.

Intinya, tinggal di Jakarta adalah sebuah kepastian dan tidak perlu lagi saya pertanyakan.

...Sampai dua tahun terakhir ini.

Seperti yang pernah saya ceritakan disini, untuk mencapai kantor di Senayan saya butuh menyisihkan waktu kira-kira dua jam di jalan. Lalu dua jam lagi untuk pulang dari Senayan ke rumah. Mungkin karena saya pernah merasakan empat tahun di Bandung, rasanya agak sulit buat saya menerima keadaan ini. Empat jam mameeeeen!!

Sementara orang-orang lain meskipun kesal tapi tampaknya bisa menerima. Suatu kali saya terpikir untuk ngekos saya dekat kantor. Akan tetapi, pertama, harga kosan yang decent di pusat Jakarta itu mahal bo. Kedua, sedih amat sih sampai ngekos. Nanti pulang kantor ga ketemu adik-adik saya dong. Maka pikiran ngekos itu saya bubarkan.

Nah itu weekdays nya. Tapi siksaan kemacetan yang sesungguhnya adalah pada akhir minggu terutama Jumat malam dan Sabtu malam. Catat!
Di Jumat malam, waktu perjalanan bisa sampai tiga sampai tiga setengah jam.

Semakin saya pikirkan rasanya semakin tidak mungkin buat saya untuk tetap tinggal disini. Entahlah bagaimana orang-orang lain yang bisa bertahan hidup di Jakarta dengan pola hidup seperti itu. Ibu saya termasuk orang yang senang bertahan di Jakarta, tapi itu karena tempat kerjanya ke arah Bekasi dan Halim paling pol juga satu setengah jam. Kalau normal kurang dari satu jam.

Pada orang-orang yang seperti saya dulu, saya bertanya-tanya apakah Anda yakin yang Anda jalani sekarang ini adalah hidup yang baik? Apa iya tidak ada alternatif yang lebih baik di kota lain?

Saya sih sudah menyerah. Tak mau saya selamanya terjebak di kota ini. Dan ketika saya memutuskan ini, saya menemukan ada kota-kota lain di luar Jakarta yang sebenarnya potensial.

Solo, misalnya. Ini adalah kota asal Ibu saya maka saya sudah cukup familiar dengan kota ini. Paling tidak setahun sekali saya mudik kesana. Solo beberapa tahun terakhir ini semakin menjanjikan. Kotanya masih kultural, tapi kalau Anda jalan-jalan bisa dilihat ada banyak usaha-usaha kecil dan besar yang berkembang. Kotanya pun cukup tertib dengan jalan utama yang cukup besar. Terakhir saya kesana lebaran tahun lalu, saya jadi makin jatuh cinta.

Persis di seberang hotel tempat saya menginap, Best Western, ada yang namanya PGS (mungkin kepanjangan dari Pusat Grosir Solo). Di PGS ini isinya mirip ITC tapi yang dijual batik. Dari hasil bertanya-tanya, sebagian batik-batik ini dibuat di workshop-workshop yang ada di sekitar Solo. PGS hanya buka sampai sore, karena malamnya, di bagian luarnya dijadikan semacam pusat lesehan, dimana berbagai macam masakan khas bisa ditemukan.
Oh ya, Solo juga punya bandara international, yang artinya kota ini terbuka dari mancanegara.

Lalu ada juga Yogya. Saya menghabiskan 7 tahun pertama hidup saya di kota ini. Dulu sih seingat saya kotanya dingin sekali, apalagi saya tinggal di Kaliurang km 6,6. Sekarang sudah tidak sedingin dulu dan sudah lebih ramai oleh, terutama, motor. Bagusnya kota ini juga punya bandara international dan sudah lebih berkembang kalau dibandingkan Solo. Di kota ini juga ada UGM yang menyediakan fasilitas pendidikan yang baik.

Dan tentu ada Bandung. Tidak ada bandara international disini, tapi untungnya dia tidak jauh dari Jakarta. Biaya hidup di Bandung ini sayangnya lebih tinggi daripada di Solo atau Yogya tapi untuk tempat-tempat hiburan modern memang lebih banyak disini. Lalu ada ITB dan Unpad untuk alternatif tempat pendidikan. Yang saya khawatirkan hanya kepadatannya. Akhir-akhir ini sepertinya tingkat kepadatan di Bandung makin meninggi. Saya tidak yakin 25 tahun dari sekarang Bandung tidak akan menjadi seperti Jakarta.

Selain tiga kota tadi, rasanya masih banyak yang lain yang belum saya tilik. Intinya, kehidupan tidak hanya berputar di Jakarta. Mungkin tinggal di Jakarta berarti penghasilan lebih besar, tapi toh pengeluaran juga lebih besar, dan yang paling penting, waktu yang terbuang di jalan juga lebih besar. Uang bisa dicari tapi kalau waktu dimana bisa dibeli?


Ralat. 
Bandara di Bandung itu international juga ternyata. Thanks to Bat untuk ralatnya :)

School

It's been two weeks since I started my master study. Even though I had known for long that one day I would take my master, still it was quite a long way to go for me.

For starter, my parents always push me to go for master. Even before I started my undergraduate study, I had already known that I wouldn't stop at bachelor degree. For me it was just simply something that I had to do. I didn't put much thought into it. Although, as time went by I could feel that I truly wanted it. Part of it maybe because I am not very satisfied with my previous study. I feel like I am not excel at anything yet and I want to be an expert of something.

After I graduated, as I had already planned, I gained some work experiences first before going back to school. I desired to continue my study overseas so I applied for several scholarships, but didn't get any. I was in Erasmus Mundus' reserves list but in the end I couldn't get through, though they offered me a regular spot but it was very expensive. Still I couldn't help to consider that I might should just take the chance anyway.

At that time a friend of mine asked me, why do you insist to study overseas?

Because they have great programs, I replied.

What do you want to study anyway? You can't find a good school that has the program that you want here?

I was thinking to take either Supply Chain or Marketing and I was offered Innovation Management, which is equally interesting. But I couldn't ignore what my friend said because he got a point there. I didn't intend to study nuclear power or whatever things that haven't been developed here anyway. Surely money was the biggest issue but it was not only that. Surely if I had got the scholarship I would've not even blinked before I packed my things. But then that was not what happened. Finally, after some sleepless nights, I decided to take my master here, in Jakarta.

Now I've been a master student for two weeks and am enjoying it. I am grateful that I insisted to take Marketing Management instead of Finance. The latter of course a very important thing to be learned and some people advised me to take that major and I did consider it for some time. But what can I say, I guess it's like dating with a guy. When there's no chemistry, even though he is one high qualified gentleman, you can't feel the excitement.

Right on my first day, I was convinced that I have made the right decision. I do like this stuffs of getting into people heads and pursue them to think or act certain things. I've been busier since then but I'm hanging here. :)

Cupcakes at Cupcakes Company

You know I've been craving for cupcakes for like... 3 weeks, I think.. I blame DC Cupcakes reality show for this. The show is not that good but the cupcakes surely look yum.
At one point I dragged my sister and cousins to Holycow Steak in Senopati so we can have steaks and.. cupcakes. I was unlucky, when we got our table (after waited for about an hour), they had already run out of cupcakes. I swear I almost got it, I saw the last cupcake in the refrigerator right before I ordered. And right when I told the waiter that I wanted the cupcake, another waiter came to the refrigerator, took out that cute cupcake and delivered it to other table. Shoot!

So I did what I usually do when I don't get what I want: obsess even more about it.
I found out that the cupcakes are provided by Cupcakes Company. I was excited!
Unfortunately, the minimum order is one dozen. 12 cupcakes. Who's gonna eat 12 cupcakes??
You need a good reason to order a dozen cupcakes. Like birthday or bachelorette party. Ha, it crossed my mind to hold a bachelorette party just so I can have one good reason to order 12 cupcakes. I must have been insane.

I was disappointed. But then, AHA! They have pre-special order!
So they accept small order (at least 2 cupcakes) that should be ready every Tuesday and Thursday. However the flavor choices is limited. As for today's special order, the available flavors are Moonwalker, Charlie Brown, and Greenie Camelia. The cupcakes can be delivered (which of course costs more) or picked up at their office in Pondok Indah.
I, of course, chose the second option. The bright side of studying in Depok campus (suck it Salemba!).

I ordered 4 cupcakes: 2 Charlie Browns, 1 Greenie Camelia, and 1 Moonwalker. Each costs Rp 15.000. Quite pricey.
This afternoon, after class I headed to Pondok Indah. I had the address but the the house numbering in Metro Pondok Indah street is messed up. After some time I finally found the right house. Yes, it is a house and I litterally had to ring the bell because the gate was closed. You won't find any "Cupcakes Company" writing whatsoever outside the wall (and probably inside too). I picked my 4 nice-looking cupcakes and took off.

I tried Charlie Brown first. This one is my favorite. The cake is stuffed with choco chips while the topping is peanut butter. It really tastes like Skippy.
Greenie Camelia is sweet with green-tea scent which is nice. But it's a bit too sweet for me.
Moonwalker is the my least favorite. It's good, but compared with the other two I am not very impressed with this one. It has oreo on top of it.

I don't finish them all. I only finished one Charlie Brown, and got one bit of the others.

Ripping Off a Bandage

"On Monday we'll get rid of the small comics", I decided and told the assistant last Friday. Small comics means the Japanese comics (or Korean, whatever). We will only keep special comics, I was so sure. Special comics means comics like Tintin, etc.

Frankly, ReadingWalk is running out of space. I need to make sure we use it as efficient as possible. Small comics take quite much space and for now is not as profitable as the other categories. So I was certain, they all have to go (at least for now).

Then Monday came. As the assistant was preparing the boxes, I was frozen between the shelfs. I looked at the comics and surprised that it was a somewhat emotional moment for me. Most of them were our first collections. I remember my partner and I walked around dusty book shops, tried to find some comics that were still in good condition. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. We picked some then we discussed, debated, argued, which ones should we bought. After we agreed then we begged for discounts. After some fake tears, we dragged the 10 kg comics to the car. And it's always a very hot day. I always felt like I was dried to the bones.

So this morning I felt the urge to keep them there. For old time sake!

But I need space, I told myself.

Well you can get rid some and keep some, myself replied back.

That's a good idea, I agreed.

So I started to divide them: STAY and LEAVE. But then it got harder. I couldn't keep some and throw the others. What are the criteria to make a comic stays or leaves? What makes one better than the other? I was shattered.

I took a deep breath and retold myself the decision I had made last week: they all have to go.

Quickly I took them all out. Quick quick quick, before I changed my mind. Luckily I only needed to take them out. The assistant did the rest. Now they're all packed in boxes. Happily. I hope.

Sometimes, it's not difficult to decide. The tricky part is in the execution. I knew the decision was right yet I was reluctant to execute. I tried to re-decide. In this case I think the best way to do it is to do it as quickly as possible and don't give emotion a chance to response. Like ripping off a bandage.

Working Life

Back when I was a college student, I thought I had got the picture of how working life would be. After I graduated, I spent some time to establish ReadingWalk first. Then after some time I started sending my resumes to some companies. Ready to experience being a part of a multinational industry.

My first office job after I graduated was in food and beverage industry. I was posted in the Corporate Planning department. It didn't go very well for me. I don't know how to explain it without making you confuse, but shortly short, I wasn't challenged. I was a fresh grad fully motivated to show the world how good I was but, at that time, I didn't think my job could get me there. When I imagined myself in the next 5 years, I didn't like the picture. I decided to move.

I joined steel industry. Again, Planning department. The first two months I did nothing except read my e-learning materials. Sure I got bored at some point, but because I knew what was waiting for me next, I hung on. Then gradually I started to do the real work. My need of challenge was fulfilled and I kinda like the picture of me in the next 5 years. Though, I had known that I wouldn't be there for so long. I still need to do my master and I wanted to do some business on my own. However, that nice picture of me could get me motivated enough to do my work.

Though I was eager to live the corporate life I was still taken by surprise of how things were going and how strong my job affected my life. I'm not talking about the work itself, but this:

The official working hour was 9 AM - 6 PM. To get there by 9 AM, I had to leave home at least at 7.15. Considering I took 15 minutes to have breakfast and another 60 minutes to take shower, pick the outfit, and put on some light make up, so I have to wake up at 6 AM.

Then I finished at 6 PM. I had to pray first so I left the building at 6.15. Considering that I had to walk a little and wait for the bus or omprengan to arrived, I arrived at home at around 8.15 PM. After I cleaned myself and had dinner, I watched TV. Because I was exhausted, 30 minutes later I was fallen asleep in front of the TV. That would be around 10 PM.

The next morning I woke up and the routine started all over again.

That was the good scenario. Often I had to leave the office after 7 PM. If you think the traffic is nicer at night, think again. There was also the very good scenario, when I could reach home before 7.30 PM. Not very often, though.

At first I refused to leave home before 7.30 AM. I insisted that I need to do something beside working in my life and the only time I had was in the morning. But the traffic was (and is) bloody awful. I would stuck longer in the traffic if I left later.

Then I registered myself to a gym so I could do some work out before I went home. Something for myself.

What amazed me is how people are okay with this. While I felt awful dedicating my life to make a company survives (the one that is not mine). I had 24 hours everyday and I gave at least 12 hours (including travel time) to the company. If I live for another 40 years, it means I only have 20 years to sleep and do whatever other things I want to do. It kinda hurt when I thought about it.

Don't get me wrong, I liked my job. It was often stressful but I still liked it. However, I just didn't feel that was enough. Doing the job that I like did not compensate the 12 hours, half of my lifetime. I felt I need to have greater reason for doing it.

A very close friend of mine, he is working for a state-owned company, from 7 AM to 4 PM. Once in a while he has to work 24 hours for several days, in some remote area. He is transfered from one location to another every couples years. But he has faith in himself that what he does is for the benefit of the people. He believes that the company he works for could provide better life for others.

I thought, I need to have that kind of reason. It had to be larger than paying my bills, shopping some shoes, or proofing to others whatever I need to prove. I felt I miss that reason. And I couldn't force myself to grow a faith within me that what I was doing was for greater good. So I resigned.

I might be too naive or dumb or cocky, but if I have 40 more years to live I wish to make it meaningful. I know myself quite well and how my ego can drives me to do something I am not going to be proud of in the future. What scares me is that if my ego leads me living a life that I choose only because other people choose it.

Rivalry

I have been wondering something for a while: do human have tendency to set someone to be rivals for themselves?

I had a conversation about this with my girls. Of course, because we are girls so the context at that time was setting a rival in your relationship. Here are what I got:

a. When we're in a relationship we often, if not always, unconsciously pick someone to be the object of rivalry.

b. The objects could be anyone. 'Normal' choices are our partners' best friends, exes, co-workers, team mates. 'Less normal' choices: our partners' moms, sisters.

However, when the question was asked: "do you feel that this rival has the potential to steal away your significant other?", the answer is not always a "yes". It seems that we only look for the thrill of competing with other people. I know, it really sounds like we love drama. Frankly, I think we do.

Maybe it's not a sign of insecurity but only the need to fight for something. Though I must admit that I probably didn't do a good job at picking my samples. My girls are type A people. By nature they enjoy struggling for higher aims and making their lives harder than most people. Me, I am just trapped at the wrong place wrong time with these people.

Shortly, this is a non-random sampling.

So back to rivalry. Do you think we really have tendency to pick someone, anyone, to be our rivals?

Do you know how much I like you?

I bought your Hong Kong version and took a photo of it so that I will remember that I have once had this version.

That much!

Self Control

Waktu main ke rumah Eyang saya di Tegal 2 minggu kemarin, saya menemukan sebuah buku yang sudah agak tertutup debu. Judulnya, 7 Kesalahan Terbesar Orang Tua. Buku terjemahan, sayang saya tidak ingat siapa penulisnya atau apa judul aslinya. Ya, kira-kira Parents 7 Biggest Mistakes (?).

Mengingat dan menimbang bahwa:

a. Saya punya adik yang masih 9 tahun.

b. Teman-teman saya sudah mulai banyak yang beranak.

c. Saya juga bercita-cita punya anak.

Maka saya bacalah buku tersebut.

Satu bagian yang menarik ada di bagian dimana buku tersebut mengatakan bahwa salah satu kesalahan terbesar orang tua adalah terlalu sigap setiap kali anaknya bermasalah. Setiap anak jatuh langsung buru-buru digendong. Ketika anak lapar langsung segera diberi makan.

Menurut buku itu, sikap seperti ini akan membuat anak menjadi tidak punya toleransi dan kesabaran. Contohnya, seorang anak usia 5 tahun yang sehat secara emotional harus mampu menahan keinginannya selama beberapa menit tanpa menangis. Artinya ia harus bisa bersabar ketika misalnya ia ingin diambilkan biskuit di atas lemari. Ketika ia meminta diambilkan, dan orang tuanya berkata 'oke, sebentar ya. Mama selesaikan cuci piring dulu', ia semestinya dapat mengerti dan tidak menangis.

Yang menarik buat saya, ternyata kemampuan menahan diri itu salah satu tanda kematangan emosional ya..

Mungkin juga itu alasannya umat muslim diwajibkan berpuasa. Tidak hanya sekedar agar dapat merasakan lapar dan haus seperti orang-orang tidak berpunya. Tapi juga agar dapat melatih kontrol diri.

Kontrol diri menurut saya bukan hanya perkara makan dan minum. Yang lain misalnya belanja. Berapa kali saya membeli sesuatu yang sebenarnya tidak terlalu saya butuhkan dan tidak pula saya budgetkan tapi saya tidak mampu mengontrol diri untuk membelinya?

Atau mengontrol diri atas kemarahan, kesombongan, perbuatan curang. Yah, banyak lagi lah.

Kalau dipikir-pikir, di dunia ini tidak ada lagi hal yang lebih dapat kita kontrol selain tindakan kita sendiri. Dari cuaca sampai bunga cicilan, semuanya di luar kuasa kita.

Tentu ada masa-masa dimana godaan dari luar sangat kuat, sehingga seolah-olah kita kehilangan kontrol atas diri sendiri. Tapi sebenarnya tidak pernah demikian. Setiap kali menerima aksi dari luar, manusia diberi keutamaan untuk dapat selalu mengontrol apa yang akan dia lakukan sebagai reaksinya.

Jadi saya kira mungkin saja salah satu alasan mengapa umat muslim diwajibkan berpuasa adalah untuk merayakan kemuliaannya sebagai makhluk yang memiliki kontrol diri. Use it wisely. :)

Diet TV Commercial

First time I saw above TV commercial, I thought something was off but I just couldn't tell. Not until a couple of times later I realized, these girls choose diet drinks over pizza! And I am supposed to envy them??

First, most of the time I eat not because I am hungry but because I want to. Because I am lured to those sweet cute muffins. Because that pizza smells so good. Because this cupcake has beautiful bright color.

Therefore, second, my dream diet is when I can eat whatever I want while my body shape stays the same. I don't want my appetite dies for it is one of the luxuries in life.

So what does this commercial really want to say? It tells us that a good life is the one when you can happily refuse a slice of pizza and keep yourself full with diet meals. Maybe some people want that kind of life, I obviously don't.

I am not on diet at this moment. But if I was, I am not sure whether I want people to know about it.

Another TV commercial from the same brand shows the opposite side.

Get the tea and you can have your full meal portion back. This is what I want!

Shadow of the Pomegranate Tree

Sebagian orang mengaku malas membaca buku terjemahan. Alasan utamanya, katanya, alurnya jadi tidak lancar, pemilihan katanya tidak enak, intinya seakan-akan mendegradasi mutu asli dari buku tersebut. Harus saya akui, saya juga sih seringkali gemas membaca buku terjemahan. Terutama kalau saya habis membaca buku dalam bahasa Inggris, lalu membaca terjemahan. Rasanya sembari membaca saya terus membayangkan kata-kata aslinya dalam bahasa Inggris.

Tapi menerjemahkan itu memang sulit. Di kantor yang dulu, karena managernya kebanyakan expat, kadang-kadang saya harus menerjemahkan potongan berita yang tersaji dalam bahasa Indonesia. Masalahnya adalah menemukan kata yang sesuai dengan konteks. Berita-berita yang penting mostly related to energy or government policy. And using Google Translator is a big no no. Google Translator translates the words, not the context. As an online dictionary it is great, but it is an awful translation program. My friend used it once and no one understood what was the information about. Seringkali saya benar-benar mengubah struktur kalimatnya. Dua tiga kalimat saya gabungkan jadi satu. Habis, bahasa Indonesia yang terutama digunakan di media Internet ini sungguh seringkali redundan. Pokoknya, menerjemahkan artikel saja sulit, apalagi menerjemahkan buku. Benar-benar harus hapal cover to cover itu buku isi dan maksudnya apa. Makanya kalau ada buku terjemahan yang bagus, penerjemahnya patut dipuji.

Salah satu buku terjemahan yang baru-baru ini saya baca adalah Shadows of The Pomegranate Tree, diterjemahkan menjadi Iman dan Cinta di Bawah Bayang-Bayang Pohon Delima. Buku ini adalah bagian pertama dari pentalogi yang ditulis Tariq Ali, meskipun menurut orang yang sudah membaca buku-buku lainnya, ceritanya tidak bersambung. Hanya saja latarnya memang tentang sejarah Islam.Diterjemahkan oleh Julkifli Marbun, menurut saya hasilnya cukup memuaskan. Mengikuti gaya penulisan Ali, terjemahannya pun menggunakan kata-kata yang sedikit kuno, klasik, dan somewhat poetic. I mean, bukan kata-kata yang biasa digunakan sehari-hari.

Tariq Ali sendiri, menurut saya, berhasil membangun cerita dan karakter yang kuat. Ceritanya disetting di Andalusia di abad 15 dengan sebuah keluarga muslim bangsawan sebagai sentral cerita.

Kisahnya dimulai di suatu malam yang dingin dimana seorang rahib Kristen memerintahkan para ksatrianya untuk membakar buku-buku umat Islam di Gharnata. Peristiwa ini kemudian menandai mulainya pergolakan di Andalusia yang pada saat itu sudah dikuasai Roma. Biarpun sudah dikuasai Roma atau Kristen sejak beberapa tahun sebelumnya, hingga momen pembakaran buku tersebut, umat Islam masih hidup dengan tenang dan damai di bawah perjanjian yang telah disepakati sebelumnya. Pembakaran buku tersebut yang kemudian menjadi titik baliknya.Cerita lalu bergulir tentang keluarga muslim di sebuah desa yang tak jauh dari Gharnata. Pada dasarnya buku ini menggambarkan pergolakan yang terjadi di masa tersebut.

Islam maupun para pemeluknya tidak digambarkan sebagai kesempurnaan. Kebiasaan-kebiasaan para muslim yang menyimpang di masa lalu pun digambarkan, demikian juga dengan teguhnya niat mereka untuk bertahan pada agama. Buku ini menceritakan sejarah dari sebuah sudut pandang namun tidak berat sebelah, which is good.

Buku-buku sejarah seperti ini yang membuat saya bertanya-tanya, berapa banyak waktu yang diperlukan penulisnya untuk melakukan riset? Sehingga bisa digambarkan kebiasaan yang berkembang masa itu, gaya bicara dan kata-kata yang lazim digunakan, hingga mengilustrasikan lokasinya hingga detail dinding bangunannya. Sepertinya menuliskan kata-kata hanyalah secuil dari rangkaian perkerjaan membuat buku. Sebagian besar adalah untuk riset. Thus I truly appreciate any writer who writes such book with a very deep research. Thanks to the hard work, I got to see a glimpse of another era in another world I had never seen before. I believe that great writers work just like great architects, they design every detail and plan a lot. Execution (in this case, writing) is only the last part of everything else. They must be very organized, if not very smart, people.

Harry Potter

Layaknya anak gaol ibukota yang ogah dicap ketinggalan jaman, beberapa hari setelah premiere nya di Jakarta, saya nonton potongan terakhir dari serial Harry Potter. Seperti ketika akan menonton film-film Harry Potter sebelumnya, ketika akan menonton yang terakhir ini pun saya sudah agak-agak lupa bagaimana ceritanya. Satu, sudah lama sejak saya selesai baca bukunya. Dua, makin lama cerita Harry Potter ini semakin complicated, saya sudah tak lagi hapal semua nama tokohnya. Namun seiring dengan berputarnya film, sedikit-sedikit ingatan saya akan buku tersebut tergali kembali.

Saya suka potongan terakhir film Harry Potter ini. Entahlah mengapa beberapa orang mengatakan filmnya mengecewakan. Mungkin karena tidak terlalu sesuai dengan buku? Berhubung saya lupa lupa ingat bagaimana kisah di bukunya, saya jadi tidak punya ekspektasi itu. Lagipula, sejak kunjungan saya di studio sound effect Stephen Spielberg di Universal Studio (apa ya namanya?), saya jadi lebih menghargai proses pembuatan film. Jadi menurut saya membuat film fantasi seperti Harry Potter adalah pekerjaan yang sangat sulit, maka saya apresiasi apa yang ada sekarang.

Biarpun demikian, ketika akhirnya film selesai, bukan para film makers nya yang pada akhirnya membuat saya kagum. Justru si penulis buku, JK Rowling. Harry Potter is a bunch of words written on papers. Yet she built a new world through her words. The imagination is crazy. Everyone who has read Harry Potter would have experienced holding their breath during the Quidditch match, imagining themselves in a train to Hogwarts, picturing some weird dragons illustrated in the books. Jadi pertama, imajinasi cerita Harry Potter sungguh tinggi sekali.

Tapi bukan imajinasi yang paling membuat buku ini spesial. What amazed me the most is how the writer built the story from the beginning to the very end with every detail related to each other. Saya tidak bisa membayangkan JK Rowling menulis buku pertama dan hanya membiarkan ceritanya mengalir begitu saja. Lebih mungkin kalau cerita Harry Potter ini sudah didesain dari awal sampai akhir, lalu koneksi antar detailnya dibuat dengan teliti, replicating life with its 'everything happens for a reason' concept.

Yang saya bayangkan juga adalah si penulis mempetakan setiap karakter dalam bukunya dengan sangat baik. Karakter-karakter ini pun tidak hanya konsisten tapi juga berkembang seiring dengan bertambahnya usia mereka di dalam cerita.

She created the universe, the people, the story, the rules, the possibles and impossibles. She's kinda like God in that universe.

The Couple

The appointment was 7.30 PM and I was ready, but the other party was late. At 7.50 PM finally a text arrived: Saya sudah di lobi bawah.

I went down with my sister, ready to meet a prospective buyer for my Mom's apartment. Turned out the woman brought along her husband. As we were climbing up to 25th floor, they told me that they were looking for a place to live as currently they are still renting a room in a kos-kosan.

25th floor. I took them to our unit and showed around every corner of it. I didn't have to do much since they actively checked everything and took pictures. I was sitting on the bar chair and watching the young couple (they are probably 2-3 years older than me) when it crossed my mind: I am going to be like them, they are us in the future.

One day I am going to visit a house or an apartment, take many pictures of it, imagine myself and my future family living there. I will be thinking: I am going to make breakfast in this kitchen, sleep in this bedroom, watch TV in this living room, put a photo on that wall, I am going to come home here. Then I will try to picture myself living that life, does it fit me?

The couple finally finished taking all the pictures that they needed. The wife told me she would contact me again, then we said goodbye. I wish them the best. I hope they can picture themselves in the apartment. Because when my time comes, I hope I will find a nice place owned by people who wish me the best.

Work. Study. Plans. Life lately

So I officially quited my work per June 15th 2011. It was a good closure. My bosses and colleagues from Singapore were here and I got farewell lunch and dinner.

Here's a photo of me and my colleagues.

So that was TS Marketing SEA (minus my boss and one person). The interesting thing about my former department is that the people come from various countries. We had 1 American, 1 Argentinian, 1 Vietnamese, 1 Malaysian, 1 Thai, and 2 Indonesians. Oh, and there's a new guy from India whom I've never met. No Singaporean though the regional office is in Singapore.

One chapter in my life is now closed.

Now that my master study will start in September, I'm enjoying my "free" time. I have to admit that at first I was worried about how things were going to be. When I ask someone who just got back from a holiday, the common answer is: "holiday is nice but always too short". I was worried if my holiday is too long.

Not that I don't like holiday, but from past experiences when I got too much free time, I tended to do nothing useful and at the end of each day I felt like I had been wasting my time and them I'd feel bad about myself.

Fortunately, I do have several things to be done in this so-called-holiday. I still wake up early as usual, still take shower before 9 AM, and fill up my to-do notes. Different 'kind of to-dos. I no longer have any bullet with "finish rig count report" or "call state govt" or "arrange a meeting with commercial". My bullets are now mostly dominated with ReadingWalk's stuffs, family thingy, and apartment research (I am offering my Mom's apartments for rent and sell, btw).

It's not as intense as working at the office because now I set my own pace. I don't know yet whether this is good or bad. When I meet my collage friends sometimes I envy them for still having that working routine, knowing that they will be paid every 25th in each month; the consistency that I no longer have now. However, I realize that at this moment I am in the point of no return. I won't call off my study and go back to corporate life. That phase has passed and, according to my plan now, I've left it for good.

Every once in a while I ask myself, am I doing the right thing? Life's running so fast sometimes it scares me. Or maybe it's just about time. I am now in a period of time when many big decisions need to be taken and I doubt myself countless times.

I have dreams for myself and people that I dearly care about. I feel like I have opened the door to those dreams but I am afraid to take the next step. What if I mess up? I've messed up so many times in my life, I should have got an award for that. What if anything that I do now will cost me my dreams in the future? What if I'm not happy in the next 5, 10 or 20 years? At the same time, I know that I'm going nowhere if I don't do anything.

This morning I read a quote about happiness:

"Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared, then you’re not doing it right."

It is taken from a book titled The Peach Keeper, I haven't read that book anyway. Maybe it's true. Maybe it's normal to be scared and doubtful and shaky. I am risking something. The thought that I may risk it for nothing scares me. However, hmm.. I think, I'm going to try my best to not let that happen.

The Precious Hot Chocolate Delight

Years ago, when I just moved to Bandung, a friend of mine took me to a place in Jl. Lombok, named Blend. It was a nice place just right at the corner of the street. They got cozy sofas where you could sink your body while playing Uno or congklak. Since then, the place was one of my favorite places.

But actually what I liked the most was a dessert dish named Hot Chocolate Delight. I don't have the picture, but it was more or less like this.

Well, minus the ice cream and that sick-looking strawberry on top. But it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I remember that the first time I bought, it costed me Rp 21000, which is pretty expensive for my standard at that time. I kept coming back several time, not often because I didn't have that much money, until one day I went to the place and I found that they have new design for their menu. But that was not just it, they also raised the prices.

My precious Hot Chocolate Delight was then Rp 25000. Sh*t!, I thought at that time. But I still could help myself from bought it, regardless. Then I came several times after that.

One day, I went there and they gave me a menu with new design. Oh, I had bad feeling when the waitress handed me the menu. And my feeling was right. Again, they raised the prices, though they also added some new dishes which tasted great. Hot Chocolate Delight then costed me Rp 28000. I silently cursed the manager or whoever made the brilliant decision to rise the price but still paid for it. And I still came several times after that.

I really really loved the dish. I still do, actually. But one day (after several more "new design on the menu"), I reached my limit. I think it was when the price was Rp 35000. On that day, I went in the place, looked at the menu, found that they once again increased the price, and I walked out. I didn't even bother to choose other menu. I was so pissed I thought how arrogant this restaurant they keep increasing their prices and expect that they won't lose any customer. Well, you just lost one!

So, the price went from Rp 21000 to Rp 35000 in 2 years. Okay, it was only Rp 14000, what's the big deal? Hey, it was 67% growth.

It might not only about the money, at that time I felt like someone had to show them that it was not that good (though when I think about it now, it might be that good). Maybe I was just fed up with the presumption.

I never come back to the place. Last time I passed at it, it was already closed permanently. I don't know the reason, though.

**

I do understand that price increase is inevitable, for any kind of product or service. In the end, every business always wants a greater profit. However, money is a sensitive issue and to know where is the customers's limit is one tough job to do. People will not complain when you sell your product too cheap. But they will absolutely complain or even worse leave when you sell too expensive. The big home work is to find somewhere safe in the middle where people will not complain and you get good money.

I truly don't know the reason behind my hot chocolate delight's price increase but as a customer I had bad thought that the seller was just going too greedy and wanted to get as much profit as possible by rising the price. And at that time I thought I don't want to be used like that.

I don't know if I had guessed it right or not, but it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day I had left and decided that I was not going to buy from them anymore.

It doesn't matter how noble your intention is if at the end of the day customers are leaving because you have failed to share the idea. It's a lost-lost situation between the seller and the buyer.

Now, let's say you have a good product which you honestly believe is better than other products in the market. Say, it's a toothpaste that can make the teeth glow in the dark. You think, hey glow in the dark teeth could be a cool thing in the dance floor. You genuinely believe that.

Of course, you have to add some ingredients which other products don't have to make it glow. This particular ingredient pushes your production cost above the others. In the end, to get at least as good profit as the other competitors (who really wants that anyway? Don't we want to get higher profit than the others? But let's assume that way), you have sell it with higher price.

Now you have to struggle to convince people that this special thing you have for your product is worth they money. That even though they pay you more, but they get better price per value. It's like people go to Starbucks instead of make an instant coffee (which I don't get, by the way). The price different is huuuugeeee, my friend. Yet, people go to Starbucks. Why? Because they believe that whatever Starbucks has and the instant coffee doesn't have is worth some more money.

The next question is, of course, how to be a Starbucks?

Resigning (2)

I think there are two kinds of breaking-up. One is the one when you are full of rage, devastation, disappointment, there’s nothing else to say but to shout (loudly) “WE’RE DONE!!!” (yes, with capital letters and 3 exclamations). There might be not much thought put into this kind of breaking-up, it’s more like a spontaneous act. Sometimes, spontaneous act is the best thing you’ve ever done in your life.

The second one is a calm, very comporsed breaking-up. For this one, usually you’ve already thought about it for some time. You already have the list of pros and cons. You even have prepared little speech (at least in your head). You’ve thought some different reactions and prepared some scenarios to counter it. This one usually started with “I’ve been thinking about it for some time...” before you actually drop the bomb. Yet, this one is harder than the other one.

Well, actually there’s another kind of breaking-up, it’s when you don’t care at all about the other person so you don’t find the breaking-up hard at all. However, I’m excluding this case in this discussion.

So, anyway, the second type of breaking-up. I think the reason why we prepare so much is because we actually really care about the other person. You know, somehow, that this will be hard for the other person or/and you. While you’re reading your speech, not only you are trying to convince the other person, you are also convincing yourself that the decision is the best for all.

The good scenario is that the other person agrees with you or at least accepts your argument and not (much) fighting back. He/she might even says that they’ve also thought about the same thing. In this case, you smile, give a little hug, and promise to each other that both of you will remains as friends.

The worst scenario, is when the other person not only can’t accept your argument but he is angry about it and starts to throw things to you. Let’s forget about this scenario since it is unlikely to be happen. But just in case, keep in mind to do your breaking-up in public place so someone can call the police if this scenario happens.

The not-so-good scenario is when the other person is not angry, but he/she is devastated. Remember that since you’re using the second type of breaking-up, it means that you really care about the other person, and you hate to make the other person down. It’s getting worse when the other person offering something very good, which you’ve never thought the other person would ever offer anyway, make it harder for you to convince yourself that this is the best decision, if not for all at least for you.

Sigh.

I just got into breaking-up situation type 2. Not with my bf, but with my bosses. I’m leaving the company.

And unfortunately, I was in the not-so-good scenario.

I have two bosses. My direct supervisor is an Argentinian, whom I told first. He was easier, after a quite long pause when told him that I was leaving (over the phone, since he’s not based in Jakarta), finally he said he understood the master degree reason. Yes, he said that his life would be more complicated without me around but he congratulated me for the decision and he was happy for me. So this is more like type 2 breaking up with good scenario, though there was one point when the typical breaking-up thing happened: the good memories were rushing in my mind and I could feel my heart sunk.

My other boss, is an American, who is the boss of my Argentinian boss. He is, unfortunately, a good negotiator. And he started the conversation with, “I came late because I was crying in my hotel over your decision”. Haha. He’s funny, one of the things which make me like him. I know he was joking, but still.

Then he went on questioning my reason, am i sure about this, do my parents support this, etc. After this part, came the harder one: the offerings. What if we transfer you to..., what if you we send you to... what if we let you go home earlier...

Then he went on his reasoning: opportunities I’m going to miss out.

At one point I became shaky and unsure. Am I making the right decision? Because some parts were not in the scenarios that I predicted before. Think about it for two days and we’ll talk again, he said.

So I thought about it. Over and over. If only this had happened like 2 years ago, I might have jumped into accepting the offer right away, but at this point of my life, I need to consider some other things. 2 years ago I didn’t realy think what will happen in the next following years. Geez, I miss those time.

But this is also what usually happens in every breaking-up. Am I doing the right thing? Will I ever regret this decision? Is there anything better than this in the future? Am i just being weak?

Everytime it comes to my mind, I remind myself again that there is a reason why I am now in a breaking-up situation in the first place. Go back to that fundamental reason. Is it truly important? Can I live without it? Is it the part of who I am that I can’t compromise?

Of course, for a job, the questions are slightly different. But I came to conclusion that I’m resigning anyway.

My heart broke a little. Even though there were times when I was so close to walked out the door and never came back, even though there was a period of time when I litterally crossed my calendar everyday marking each day passed, even though there were moments I felt i couldn’t handle the pressure anymore to the point I almost cry in the toilet, and I did complain frequently in my twitter about the work. So, the work is not easy and I hate it sometimes.

Despite of those facts, I am still grateful that I’ve experienced the work. I hate the fact that the work is not easy and stressful and how it deals with never ending urgency. But the work itself, I like it. I don’t believe that if you do something that you really love, it doesn’t even feel like working. Or at least, it doesn’t happen to me. For me, if it doesn’t feel like working that means it is not challenging enough. Having a not challenging work is as bad as having a very stressful one. Maybe even worse (been there!). Because at the end of the day you don’t have this satisfaction of accomplishment and you miss out moments of saying to yourself, ‘God, I am good!’. Though, if you can’t accomplish it, you will feel like a damned loser.

I can tell that I have learnt so much in the past year. If in the future I look back, I am not going to wondering why the hell I was wasting my time. No.. I am not wasting my time, for sure. They say working can give you experiences that school never can. They are right. Not only the substance of the work itself, but witnessing how people manage and with a multinational business everyday is also a valueable experience. I am glad I’ve taken the opportunity to work before I go back to school.

I am lucky that I have bosses who are not only incredibly smart but also very nice.

Most of the time I dealt only with my Argentinian boss (the American one is already busy with tons of other things). The best thing of my Argentinian boss is that he never turns his back on me. Yes, I messed up sometimes and yes he yelled at me (through emails), but in front of other people, he would take the fall instead of blame me. And if I did something right, he would mention it to other people that it was me who had done that. And when he taught me about something, he started from the very basic concept so I can understand the whole idea.

So, yeah, it broke my heart a little. And for some moments I had my doubts about my decision because not every day someone offers me “whatever you want, whatever you want”. But I know deep down that I’m making the right decision.

As I stated in my resignation letter “Thank you for the opportunity. I have learnt so much. I do hope our path cross in the future. Wish you and the team the best luck.". I mean every word in that letter.

Honeymoon by Amy Jenkins

Have you ever met someone whom you are instantly clicked with the first time you see him/her? Whenever you say something, no matter how weird or random the words are (even if you don’t fully finish the sentence), he never fail to understand you. And you, never fail to understand him too. You both like the same weird movie, band, or song which no one else like. And when you see him, you get this little pinch in your heart and it starts to beat faster. Call it chemistry, call it soulmate, name it whatever you want.

Then, have you ever met someone who maybe not fully understand you as your soulmate but he’s willing to be with you all the way no matter how hard it is. He is nothing but always be nice and patient and giving you so much love you think no one else can ever give more. Okay, so you might not feel that little pinch and your heart keeps its normal pace when you see him but you feel this secure feeling that you will never be alone. He might not your other half but he is definitely your guardian.

Meet Honey, a thirty years old woman who has doubts about her nice suitable man, Ed, while still carries torch for the man she spent one night with, 7 years ago, Alex. After the night the accidentally met and spent together with, altough they exchanged emails and phone numbers, somehow Honey didn’t get the letter that Alex sent, and Alex wasn’t around when Honey called. The fact that Honey lives in UK while Alex is in US didn’t make situation better.

So the story of that night stayed at the back of their minds and it became some sort of legend.

7 years on and Honey was proposed by her nice suitable so nice and kind man there’s nothing for it but to say “yes”. Just before the wedding, Honey’s sister, Ven, told her that she accidentally met Alex.

Now, if you don’t want further spoiler, please stop reading.

Still reading? Don’t tell me I've never warned you...

So finally, after 7 years the presence of Alex gets closer to reality. He’s no more just a fantasy man who only lives in Honey’s head. But she decided to not pursue that and walked down the aisle with Ed instead. And they went on honeymoon. Destination Mexico.

Can you guess?

By some incident they missed the plane to Mexico and went to L.A. instead. Oh, can you guess?

They stayed in a hotel there and turned up, Alex and his wife whom he just got married with, were in the next room. Suprise, surprise for both of them. Ed and Alex’s wife of course never heard about the story between them.

And the feeling between Honey and Alex started to blossom again.

“I haven’t felt like that for – I don’t know how long. I can’t even describe it. I felt – I felt that kind of oh-okay-now-I-get-it feeling”, Honey.

I’m not going to reveal the whole story to you. The story is interesting because it’s like the battle between passion and comfort. Like Honey said:

“I always knew and what I forgot – that I never felt passion for Ed. I never felt he was a dream come true, I never had that over-the-rainbow feeling they sell in the fairytales. And I’d thought that that was a good thing. I thought it was grown-up to give up on princes in shining armour – I scoffed at friends who rode the roller-coaster of joy and despair with their gloriously difficult boyfriends. But now I’d had taste of the magic again and I knew with certainty that I had been wrong to give up passion.”

The problem with Ed is this cliche thing: he is too nice and predictable and leaves no room for Honey to feel any bit of insecurity. “With Ed... I never, never didn’t know the answer, I always had something to say. It bored me! I bored myself... knowing it all. I hated always knowing it all”

“With Ed though, like I said, jealousy was never much of an issue. Ed always had this sweety crazy idea that he’d got lucky with me, like he couldn’t do any better. He’d still get furious with me, obviously, but his fundamental position was one of... well, dare I say of... gratiture. So I never thought about Ed looking at anyone else. I felt totally secure. Oh dear. Big sigh. No wonder it hadn’t worked out”

But you know, that passionate feeling can be deceiving. Personally, I don’t think with passion alone you can make the relationship works. You should mix some amount of logic in it somehow. And sometimes, we desperately want something simply because we don’t have it.

It’s like what Honey said about one day when she was 9 years old and her dad took her out to buy a new coat. There were two coats: a shaggy camel colour and a startling black and white ponyskin.

“I could tell my dad preffered the camel but I wanted the ponyskin. Wanted, wanted, wanted. The more my dad explained to me why the camel was the sensible choice, the more I wanted the ponyskin. Then, out of the blue, he capitulated – i could have the ponyskin. It was when he was paying for it that the first doubts set in. Now I’d got it, did I really want it? Would it be hard to wear? What would my friends say? It was like, now it was mine there was something wrong with it”

Summarizing, the book is nicely written by Amy Jenkins. It took me quite long to read the first half. This is typical chicklit which explains too many details of the character’s life to the point it’s almost boring. But the second half is very good. I flipped over the pages in no time.

One of my favorite lines is when Honey said, “It’s like I’m driving along and I have to make a detour – but the road still brings me back to you”

Can you guess who is the detour and who is the final destination?

Trivial Messages

I heard the incoming text tone. I thought that was my bf, but no. It was a text from an old friend which was supposedly a reply to my text FIVE days ago. Why does she even bother to reply this, I wondered.

Just then I remembered, I got the same critique about how ignorant I was to any text, bbm, or any kind of people's attempt to reach me. Who criticized me? Hmm... my family, friends, bf.. basically everyone. *sigh*

It's just, you know, I didn't mean to ignore those messages, but when I read them I was usually in hectic situations (considering the office I'm working at now, we're rarely not in a hectic situation). I just wanted to delay it, I promised myself that I'd answer them after I finish with anything I was doing at that time. But when the time came, I've already forgotten.

I honestly truly genuinely thought that other people do the same. So I was honestly truly genuinely surprised to find that almost everyone protested.

Then I got scared a little, geez, am I a kind of ignorant apathetic person who lives in her own world? Or am I becoming a workaholic who doesn't really care about her friends and family? Or I'm just simply having a severe self-center syndrome? None of those is good.

Whatever. I'm fixing myself now. I try to reply any message right after I get them. I mean, I'm really trying. I even asked my boss to wait, when I got a call. Work is important, but friends and family are what matter the most. Sometimes, the calls or messages are just asking where am i, when I am going to go home, and so on. I thought those are just trivial unimportant questions, but you never know how anxious your loved ones waiting to get your reply, to know that you're fine. They're not trivial.

Online Shopping!

I have to admit that I'm not a very sophisticated person. I'm more like a conventional one. A kind of person who eats similar dishes every time she goes to any restaurant.

As any conventional girl, I only shopped at offline shops (despite the fact that I own an online book rental). I just found it hard to trust a quality of product just based on a photo and a brief description. Until a friend of mine opened her online store. I didn't pay much attention at first, but one day I visited her in Bogor and she showed me her products. They were nice! I left the town with 2 new cardigans.

I like the patterns so much! I think I didn't buy it for 155k and 170k. Not sure how much they were though.

Not long after that I came back visiting the FB page several times (btw, the store is Wink-A-Winkel, but you can also find it in FB) and bought other items.

Ho ho ho. They are cute, aren't they? I like the loose shape, especially the turquoise one. It is one of my fave clothes.

OK, so I started to buy clothes online. But that's because my friend owns it, I can complain if the product doesn't fit my expectation (which luckily never happens).

Then a couple months ago, my sister introduced me to another FB online store named Melonmint. That time I bought a bag, which is at reasonable price and very nice.

I am now officially an online shopper. Though it's not easy to see which one really offers good produts, but sometimes you can tell if you see a store who sells poor quality products. Sometimes it is shown very obviously just by looking at the pictures.

I wonder if there's any place (in the Internet, I mean) who has honest reviews of these online stores.

I'm now counting on my luck and ordering an item from a new store. By "new" I mean that I never shop there before. The name is Classe shop. I found it on FB at Melonmint's page (this Classe tagged Melonmint in one of their photos so that photo appears on Melonmint's profile page). They're tagging Melonmint on this photo:

Unfortunately, the item already sold out.

And here's what I'm ordering:

I'll let you know how is it going and how's the quality of the dress. I also found a cute dress, but I think this one is more for people who doesn't wear hijab.

I hope I don't sound like a shopaholic.