Not trying to justify the splurge :p, but I've been a happy snapper for as long as I remember. My first digital camera was when I still a senior in college, somewhere in 2002. I remember I dropped that inside a bus in Washington DC when my dad wanted to hand me the camera, then he gave me money to get a new one :D. I also remember a camera we lost somewhere in Santa Monica Beach, we went to Target that night to get another one since we couldn't imagine going on a vacation without a camera.
Since I first got a digital camera, I don't think I have ever left house without it. Really, I never care how heavy it makes my bag. I'd rather lug it around than having to miss moments I wanted to capture dearly. I don't remember how many pocket cameras I've owned since my first encounter with one. I also don't remember the model names at all. I think I've gone pretty much all makers :D. Last camera I bought was a Lumix LX3 and the first rather serious camera was a canon G3. I, together with Oki even had a photo blog and we went photo hunting all the time and bought fun filters to create different effects. Ohh and we also own a Lomo that we still keep until now. Not sure if it's still working or not.
I'm not good at photography but I know I want to be good at it. When we bought a digital SLR for the office, a Canon 500D, I fell in love with it. There were times when I could take it home and played around with it but with the events that we're invited nowadays, it's rare that the camera is available in the office.
When we went to New York City in 2005, Oki spotted some street vendors selling Broadway poster frames and brought home quite a few of them. I think they were priced at $5 each. In our St. Louis home, they were neatly hang in our study room. Now, we don't have many space to hang wall decors so Oki hang them in the kids bathroom. Not a perfect place to hang these pieces, no matter how awesome they are. Sometimes, I feel they are kind of creepy.
So sometimes during the lebaran holiday when Oki wasn't home, I got an idea to change the picture into something more bathroom friendly. I bought some scrapbook paper at Heritage factory outlet in Pejaten Village, choose the ones that match with the bathroom theme, cut the paper and replaced the poster.
Last week on November 26 the Muslims celebrated Islamic New Year, a month in advance of the Gregorian calendar. Enough to give me a double take on my 2011 resolution and realize just how far behind I am :D.
I heard it's good to pray before the year closed down and the new one rolls up, well anytime is always a good time to pray, but the moment seemed to be perfect to turn a new chapter. Too bad I was having my period so I didn't do the five times and pray. Well, come to think of it, I rarely take my time to pray after sholat. It's almost always Assalamualaikum and up I went to fold my mukena. But I do pray everyday, everywhere, anytime of the day. Could be when I send my kids and husband to work, on the road, when I kiss my loved ones, when I take a shower, when I'm about to sleep and I could only hear my own breathing, anywhere. I found that most of my deepest, intense & sincerest prayer happened when I'm in the car. I like to look at the sky when I do that, it's like looking for the superpower up there. When I say pray, I don't always ask, mostly just saying thank you wholeheartedly for everything he has given me.
Anyway, I read one quote from Surah Ar-Rahman that hit me and sent me all shivering that day, "Maka nikmat Tuhan yang manakah yang kamu dustakan?" :((. Whoaa! I was immediately seeking for forgiveness after that. This quote shall be my guide in life from now on.
Happy Islamic New Year, may we build a firmer roots of Iman in our hearts :')
I heard it's good to pray before the year closed down and the new one rolls up, well anytime is always a good time to pray, but the moment seemed to be perfect to turn a new chapter. Too bad I was having my period so I didn't do the five times and pray. Well, come to think of it, I rarely take my time to pray after sholat. It's almost always Assalamualaikum and up I went to fold my mukena. But I do pray everyday, everywhere, anytime of the day. Could be when I send my kids and husband to work, on the road, when I kiss my loved ones, when I take a shower, when I'm about to sleep and I could only hear my own breathing, anywhere. I found that most of my deepest, intense & sincerest prayer happened when I'm in the car. I like to look at the sky when I do that, it's like looking for the superpower up there. When I say pray, I don't always ask, mostly just saying thank you wholeheartedly for everything he has given me.
Anyway, I read one quote from Surah Ar-Rahman that hit me and sent me all shivering that day, "Maka nikmat Tuhan yang manakah yang kamu dustakan?" :((. Whoaa! I was immediately seeking for forgiveness after that. This quote shall be my guide in life from now on.
Happy Islamic New Year, may we build a firmer roots of Iman in our hearts :')
Azzura Malika, born on November 10 2011 :). This picture was taken about 12 hours after her arrival to this world. Such a beautiful baby, isn't she? I could just sit next to her all day and stare at her :).
I'm proud of my sister too for her uneventful pregnancy. Quite surprised that she went through everything effortlessly, from the sudden water broke when she was in Ancol to the painful induction process without epidural. I cannot believe my baby sister is now a mom!
I'm proud of my sister too for her uneventful pregnancy. Quite surprised that she went through everything effortlessly, from the sudden water broke when she was in Ancol to the painful induction process without epidural. I cannot believe my baby sister is now a mom!
Oh wow..a little more than a month into the new year. Where did the time go?
So many things happened during these last two months. Be it in business, family or personal issue. It's been one emotional ride. At times it was exciting, encouraging, the next day it was frustrating, time consuming and energy draining. So many party involved, so many meetings and emails being exchanged, so many documents need to be verified.
Last week was quite a turning point. I experienced 24 hours of hell!! But hey, I always believe that nothing is coincidence. Things always happen for a reason and that relates to a bigger scheme of things. So yes, I tried to see it as an expensive lesson because sometimes we just have to learn the hard way. I used the moment as a tool to reevaluate everything, to examine why things happen the way they did, to have a moment to reflect which eventually lead to self development and improvement.
It was definitely a reality check, made me even more realize with what I have been blessed to have and experience. It really is unfair if I don't give it my all and strive to like like it's my last day. I've always thought I'm one grateful individual. Turned out, I too have moment where I lose my balance. At least it's humbling to know that I'm only human after all, need to stay alert and make sure my guard is always on.
Cannot be even more thankful now. Let's go back to basic and move on!
So many things happened during these last two months. Be it in business, family or personal issue. It's been one emotional ride. At times it was exciting, encouraging, the next day it was frustrating, time consuming and energy draining. So many party involved, so many meetings and emails being exchanged, so many documents need to be verified.
Last week was quite a turning point. I experienced 24 hours of hell!! But hey, I always believe that nothing is coincidence. Things always happen for a reason and that relates to a bigger scheme of things. So yes, I tried to see it as an expensive lesson because sometimes we just have to learn the hard way. I used the moment as a tool to reevaluate everything, to examine why things happen the way they did, to have a moment to reflect which eventually lead to self development and improvement.
It was definitely a reality check, made me even more realize with what I have been blessed to have and experience. It really is unfair if I don't give it my all and strive to like like it's my last day. I've always thought I'm one grateful individual. Turned out, I too have moment where I lose my balance. At least it's humbling to know that I'm only human after all, need to stay alert and make sure my guard is always on.
Cannot be even more thankful now. Let's go back to basic and move on!
I dreamt about you last night. It was probably the third time you appeared in my dream since you've been gone. I remember I was ordering a cup of coffee at Monolog when you just magically popped up. I screamed in delight, couldn't believe what I saw before my eyes. I think I hugged you and immediately thought of the questions I had been meaning to ask. I took a seat and waited for you ordering your coffee and then you dissapeared :'(.
HighScope Futsal Cup 2011. First Round. Sekolah Cikal vs Sekolah Pilar
Jibran has school break for a week starting today. Since Oki and I can't leave work so we cannot take him anywhere out of Jakarta nor anywhere around the city during weekdays (although I think I'll take Wednesday off so I can take him somewhere).
This morning during breakfast, I asked him to write down the list of things he can do whenever he feels bored, in anticipation of him calling me every 15 minutes to ask me what time I'll be home. So he comes up with this list...
I know, his handwriting is very impressive. Hey, maybe he is destined to be a doctor :D. I'm not proud with the fact that the first two list consists of electronic, but it's not everyday he gets to do those things. He added number 9 in the back, that is to play soccer.
Well it's only the first day of school break today and turned out, my sister took him and Jehan to watch Smurf, so he spent most of the afternoon at Pejaten Village.
This morning during breakfast, I asked him to write down the list of things he can do whenever he feels bored, in anticipation of him calling me every 15 minutes to ask me what time I'll be home. So he comes up with this list...
I know, his handwriting is very impressive. Hey, maybe he is destined to be a doctor :D. I'm not proud with the fact that the first two list consists of electronic, but it's not everyday he gets to do those things. He added number 9 in the back, that is to play soccer.
Well it's only the first day of school break today and turned out, my sister took him and Jehan to watch Smurf, so he spent most of the afternoon at Pejaten Village.
"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control".
There are a few list of things that we always do everyday such as eating, breathing, taking a shower and all other everyday routine. In my case, another thing that I effortlessly and subconsciously do every single day is daydreaming and imagining about visiting other countries and new places. Not a day gone by without me vividly picturing the family taking a trip somewhere new. I think this rubs on to Jibran too, as he always talk about going or living in other country like every other day.
The other day, I found a booklet in my sister's car. I guess she went to a travel exhibition with my mom and took home a few flyers. I cannot help but wandering around and wishing I'm on my way to the airport to see...
..the canals in Amsterdam, the historical Brussels, the magnificent of Mt Titles in Switzerland, the ancient Rome and the romantic Florence, breathtaking ocean view of Nice and Monte Carlo, peaceful Provence, quirky Berlin, remote Finland, amazing Prague, architectural Budapest, superlatives Moscow and St Petersburg, Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen. Madrid, Portugal and surreal Santorini.
Of course there's more, what about Capetown? and everything in South America, Buenos Aires and Patagonia glaciers, Rio de Janiero. And then there's Egypt, the whole Middle East, Morocco, Montreal Canada, Melbourne, Sydney, Christchurch, Auckland, the great wall, Taj mahal and Jaipur
*sigh*..there's so many I want to see!
The other day, I found a booklet in my sister's car. I guess she went to a travel exhibition with my mom and took home a few flyers. I cannot help but wandering around and wishing I'm on my way to the airport to see...
..the canals in Amsterdam, the historical Brussels, the magnificent of Mt Titles in Switzerland, the ancient Rome and the romantic Florence, breathtaking ocean view of Nice and Monte Carlo, peaceful Provence, quirky Berlin, remote Finland, amazing Prague, architectural Budapest, superlatives Moscow and St Petersburg, Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen. Madrid, Portugal and surreal Santorini.
Of course there's more, what about Capetown? and everything in South America, Buenos Aires and Patagonia glaciers, Rio de Janiero. And then there's Egypt, the whole Middle East, Morocco, Montreal Canada, Melbourne, Sydney, Christchurch, Auckland, the great wall, Taj mahal and Jaipur
*sigh*..there's so many I want to see!
Like taking me to Anomali Kemang so I could get my favorite latte even though he hates the parking lot there. And then, in turn, I accompanied him to eat at Ah Mei so he can get a piece of Roti Prata that he claimed the best he ever tasted even though there's no food I like at Ah Mei.
Just like what we did yesterday :)
Just like what we did yesterday :)
I didn't know that a three year old can become a coffee addict!. There has been a few times that you asked me to stop by to a coffee shop on the way to our destination. 'Mommy, nanti sebelum ke rumah temen mommy kita beli kopi dulu yah' :). That's exactly what you said when I asked you to come with me to my friend's baby akekahan. You have even started to ask for your own cup at Starbucks. And I'm trying to hold it for as long as I can to buy you your very own latte :D.
This morning was no exception. Right before breakfast, you specifically asked you wanted a cup of coffee. I usually just share you some of mine but now that I rarely drink coffee in the morning, I didn't make one for myself. And of course, I didn't want to make a cup just for yourself because that would be too much. So I made you a cup of hot Milo instead. And you, being a coffee lover that you are, can tasted that it's not a real coffee. 'Bukan yang rasanya kaya gini, Mommy...'. Then you went to the kitchen, opened up the cabinet and took Bunda's Indocafe Coffeemix and said 'Yang ini lhoo yang Jehan mau'...:o). So I made you half a cup and then we sit at the back porch and eat our breakfast. Such a simple moment that make life worth living :)
*taken on September 13. Written today because I miss her so much since she is on a weekend trip to Bandung with her grandma :')
On the left is a picture of an empty cup of Starbucks Double Shot Ice Shaken Espresso. It's mine. Drank at 7 at night on a Saturday night so I could stay awake until the witching hour to do some power point presentation work, while everyone has comfortably tucked inside their blankets, or laying low catching up with the latest movies on their DVD. Cause the single shot just doesn't do it anymore. Cause the regular work hour on weekdays is not enough anymore to do all the work. Cause I don't have the heart to leave the kids any more than I have left them for the sake of completing all the works.This reminds me of what Shaherose, founder of Women 2.0 said at StartupLokal meet up: "Being an entrepreneur is a lonely journey".
It is indeed can be a long and lonely journey. One that doesn't come with a set destination. One that doesn't come with a manual. One that you just can't share the burdens to everyone. What it takes is perseverance for no one can survive without it.
....and keep your feet on the ground. Try to do this on a day-to-day basis, and in a very normal way. You don't need to be aggressive towards others. The secret is to believe in a dream and follow it - day by day, hour by hour.
Don't forget that the most important thing in life is not be the number one or the biggest, but to do what you like to do. The most important thing is to have a very strong balance in life and in relationships. Don't ever push people to meet your dream. That will destroy your character. This is a society that prefers winners, but whether you're a winner or not, you win in life when you do as you like.- Diego Della Valle, founder & CEO of Tod's Group. Taken from an interview in Prestige magazine.
Don't forget that the most important thing in life is not be the number one or the biggest, but to do what you like to do. The most important thing is to have a very strong balance in life and in relationships. Don't ever push people to meet your dream. That will destroy your character. This is a society that prefers winners, but whether you're a winner or not, you win in life when you do as you like.- Diego Della Valle, founder & CEO of Tod's Group. Taken from an interview in Prestige magazine.
One of my new year resolutions is to get fit, toned and live a healthier lifestyle. Of course I fail. I did the first attempt of trying to be healthier, that was to get my general health check up. Surprisingly I turned out to be healthy...and then after that I forgot all about the plan. In total, I stepped on the treadmill about three times for the last 6 months :(. My weight skyrocketed! I gained about 5 kilos :((. I definitely look chubbier and if I met relatives, they would ask the same thing, "Lagi isi ya Han?". My clothes don't fit me anymore, and I have a lot of clothes but nothing seem to fit just right. I'm tired of spending money and getting new clothes :((. I knew I had to do something but laziness took the best of me :(.This morning, Mommies Daily published an article about Keluarga Nugraha, who are a household name for mommies bloggers as Astri, the mom is always been sort of an inspiration for all mommies. I took a peek to her blog and learned that she is on a mission to have a smaller waist and belly line. I mean, if you look at her, most women would kill to have a body like her yet she is still very determined to have a fat free figure. Despite living with 4 kids in Australia with no help of nanny, running a very busy, one women show catering business, some design projects, a garden to attend and gazillion activities, she still manages to spare 30 minutes every single day to step on the treadmill. It's a hard slap on my face that I always have 'How could I find the time to do it' excuse to justify my laziness. I guess I just didn't want it bad enough :(. If I wanted it that bad, I would find a way.
...what causes people to feed into their ego? Is it that gratifying to always be at the mercy of others' praise and admiration?
Or are they actually insecure that they need those as validation of their self worth?
And Twitter seems to be just the place for people wear their pride on their sleeves, people who would easily succumb into their ego faster than you can say RETWEEET!
Or are they actually insecure that they need those as validation of their self worth?
And Twitter seems to be just the place for people wear their pride on their sleeves, people who would easily succumb into their ego faster than you can say RETWEEET!
Already? That means we're moving into the second half of the year next week? Wheww..where did all those time go? I don't even dare to look up to my 2011 resolution right now, afraid there's too many lists I haven't crossed :(.
'Summer' break is here. The kids are out of school and Jibran is enjoying his soccer camp. Jibran and Jehan are supposed to fly out to Solo on Monday morning...but there could be a slight change and I might go with them for the whole week. I have a few hours to decide.
Btw the layout is new :) and I like this one a lot. Changing the blog template reminds me about my college days where I could just spend the whole day trying to figure out the HTML code.
Workload is getting better, I'm still learning on not spreading myself too thin, because I don't want to experience the level of stress that hit me last month. I ended up eating too much and worried that I would never get everything done. I blamed myself for not being able to be there for the kids and cook healthy food for my husband. I had digestive problem and couldn't even stand a cup of coffee because it made me nauseated and gassy. My stomach tightened every time someone reminded me about work deadlines and I couldn't sleep properly, and I didn't even drink coffee!. I think that was the first time I experience what is called: stress. Of course, I shed a few tears too when it was dark and quiet. The moment where I miss my simple life back in St. Louis :'(
But I'm getting there, trying to sort out my priorities and try to live in the moment. I've touched base with the SLR camera and started taking pictures. I've splurged on an L lense and don't regret it all. It captures the moments I want to hold dear in my heart perfectly.
So what do I look forward to for the next month? Hopefully we can manage a short getaway because we desperately need a vacation. Oki is moving to a new company next month, totally unplanned and unexpected as he has everything going on at KG, but it's an opportunity he can't say no. What I love the most about this new company is the fact that it's located not too far for home and hopefully no more going home at 9 :). So that's why we need to squeeze time for a getaway before he starts his new journey because as a new employee, he needs to wait after six months to claim his leave.
I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow is Jibran end of year performance and we need to be there at 7 AM!!...ZzzzZzzz
'Summer' break is here. The kids are out of school and Jibran is enjoying his soccer camp. Jibran and Jehan are supposed to fly out to Solo on Monday morning...but there could be a slight change and I might go with them for the whole week. I have a few hours to decide.
Btw the layout is new :) and I like this one a lot. Changing the blog template reminds me about my college days where I could just spend the whole day trying to figure out the HTML code.
Workload is getting better, I'm still learning on not spreading myself too thin, because I don't want to experience the level of stress that hit me last month. I ended up eating too much and worried that I would never get everything done. I blamed myself for not being able to be there for the kids and cook healthy food for my husband. I had digestive problem and couldn't even stand a cup of coffee because it made me nauseated and gassy. My stomach tightened every time someone reminded me about work deadlines and I couldn't sleep properly, and I didn't even drink coffee!. I think that was the first time I experience what is called: stress. Of course, I shed a few tears too when it was dark and quiet. The moment where I miss my simple life back in St. Louis :'(
But I'm getting there, trying to sort out my priorities and try to live in the moment. I've touched base with the SLR camera and started taking pictures. I've splurged on an L lense and don't regret it all. It captures the moments I want to hold dear in my heart perfectly.
So what do I look forward to for the next month? Hopefully we can manage a short getaway because we desperately need a vacation. Oki is moving to a new company next month, totally unplanned and unexpected as he has everything going on at KG, but it's an opportunity he can't say no. What I love the most about this new company is the fact that it's located not too far for home and hopefully no more going home at 9 :). So that's why we need to squeeze time for a getaway before he starts his new journey because as a new employee, he needs to wait after six months to claim his leave.
I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow is Jibran end of year performance and we need to be there at 7 AM!!...ZzzzZzzz
*this was written on Sunday June 12 2011
I hope you had a good day today Jib. You've started off the day off with swimming (or more like splashing) at the insulated pool with Jehan and Nadira and ate fried rice for brunch at the backyard. Later on in the afternoon, we went to Pondok Indah Mall to get you the duck feet swim fins and to buy a few t-shirts for Jehan as she has outgrown most of her clothes. You wondered why Jehan clothes always become too small. I told you it's because at her age, Jehan is growing rapidly, just like you when you were her age.
I hope you had a good day today Jib. You've started off the day off with swimming (or more like splashing) at the insulated pool with Jehan and Nadira and ate fried rice for brunch at the backyard. Later on in the afternoon, we went to Pondok Indah Mall to get you the duck feet swim fins and to buy a few t-shirts for Jehan as she has outgrown most of her clothes. You wondered why Jehan clothes always become too small. I told you it's because at her age, Jehan is growing rapidly, just like you when you were her age.
Today is Oki's 32nd bday, too bad he has an office outing somewhere in south of Bogor so we couldn't celebrate it with a dinner or something. But I managed to surprise him with a present. The kids didn't have school today so we lingered around in bed after we woke up. Oki had to go to work so he took a shower, and that's when I prepared the bday present (as in wrapping it nicely, etc). Then when he was about to step out of the bathroom, the kids were already waiting in front of the door, holding the present and singing happy birthday :)).
After that, we went downstairs to have regular breakfast and went about our daily activities.
So happy birthday nduutt....hopefully when the kids think about integrity, honesty and dignity, they'll think of you :). I love you to the moon and back!!
Despite being the first day of my period. In the end, I feel that today is a good day. I now feel relax and content. Today's formula of a good day is:
- I had time with my kids where I wasn't in a hurry or had to check my phone every now and then
- I had eye to eye conversation with them and listened to their story
- I cooked a meal for Oki
- I had dinner together with the kids
- Jehan, the relatively picky eater tried new food!. She ate a lot since I got home at 5: 30. A small chunk of banana bread I made last night, lots of mangoes, rice & chicken curry (most of the sauce was washed away first since it was kinda spicy), and she tried a piece of tofu I made for Oki and finished off with cup of chocolate milk.
- Jibran started to write in his little journal and we read together.
- Jehan read me her favorite Dora goes to the doctor story for 5 minutes. It was the cutest thing. I recorded it but she pressed the delete button accidentally. I was actually planning to let the girls at the office listen to it tomorrow *emang orang tua nggak boleh pamerin anaknya :D*
- Before she dozed off, she asked for a hug a few times and felt asleep in my arms :')
So in the end, it's all about whether I was there for my family or not and as long as I'm making memories with them, all is well with the world.
- I had time with my kids where I wasn't in a hurry or had to check my phone every now and then
- I had eye to eye conversation with them and listened to their story
- I cooked a meal for Oki
- I had dinner together with the kids
- Jehan, the relatively picky eater tried new food!. She ate a lot since I got home at 5: 30. A small chunk of banana bread I made last night, lots of mangoes, rice & chicken curry (most of the sauce was washed away first since it was kinda spicy), and she tried a piece of tofu I made for Oki and finished off with cup of chocolate milk.
- Jibran started to write in his little journal and we read together.
- Jehan read me her favorite Dora goes to the doctor story for 5 minutes. It was the cutest thing. I recorded it but she pressed the delete button accidentally. I was actually planning to let the girls at the office listen to it tomorrow *emang orang tua nggak boleh pamerin anaknya :D*
- Before she dozed off, she asked for a hug a few times and felt asleep in my arms :')
So in the end, it's all about whether I was there for my family or not and as long as I'm making memories with them, all is well with the world.
First day of period today so yea I was a bit cranky. In fact, I've been pretty cranky for the last two weeks. Something is definitely wrong with my stomach as I could feel nothing but gas!. Pair it with the flu that I've just been infected since Monday. I feel worse that I've ever felt in a long time :(. I haven't been very productive as I would like in the work department too. and the workload has been crazy. I'm overseeing a few projects that I have very little controls of, so it's stressing me out :(. In fact, I'm suspicious that it's actually stress that contributes to my stomach problem.
So I decided to leave the office at 4:30 today. I missed the kids. I missed being at home when the sun is still up. I missed lounging around the house and taking pictures of the kids. That's why I took the camera home with me, hoping to chase the light so I could take nice pictures.. But I had to stop at the grocery store first and came home before dusk, just in time to see this
So I decided to leave the office at 4:30 today. I missed the kids. I missed being at home when the sun is still up. I missed lounging around the house and taking pictures of the kids. That's why I took the camera home with me, hoping to chase the light so I could take nice pictures.. But I had to stop at the grocery store first and came home before dusk, just in time to see this
I hated the transparent glass on my pantry cabinet because everyone can see the mess inside. It stores everything from empty containers, cereal boxes, ketchup and everything else. I've been planning to change the glass or put stickers on it but couldn't get myself around it somehow. One day I had a brilliant idea to get everything out and put other stuff that'll at least look more organized. So now this mess has turned into...
...an outgrowth of articulating your values and living them - Psychology Today
I know I haven't been taking care of myself as religiously I should have been. The culprit is what else other than time?. If I could have it my way, I will regularly visit beauty salon to receive my facial or microdermabrasion or have my skin checked and treated at the dermatologist. But I don't have an hour to spend on waiting in line at the dermatologist waiting room, two hours to spend on the road and half hour to spend inside the dermatologist office. Oh, plus another 15 minutes or so to wait for the prescription. Almost four hours? Thanks but no thanks!
That's why I was delighted when I learned about Artistry 8 minutes beauty.I love anything that takes less than ten minutes to do or anything with three-in-one formula along with reversible jacket and multifunction cardigan *lho, jadi panjang :p*. Anyway,
Kalau ada cerita seperti ini..
Reaksi kebanyakan orang mungkin."Oh yaa..enak banget sih, gue mau dong jadi temen sahabatnya"
Yes, wishing that we would be that A person, wishing to be on the receiving end while instead we should be wishing we were the best friend, who is on the giving end (and probably more financially secure that she can afford the nice watch for a present).
To give, no matter how we look at it, is always better than to receive.
And why would we want to be the one who receive while we can be the one who share happiness and who give other people something they would treasure forever?
Ehh..si A kan kemaren ulang tahun ..trus dia dikasih jam Rolex lho sama
sahabatnya
Reaksi kebanyakan orang mungkin."Oh yaa..enak banget sih, gue mau dong jadi temen sahabatnya"
Yes, wishing that we would be that A person, wishing to be on the receiving end while instead we should be wishing we were the best friend, who is on the giving end (and probably more financially secure that she can afford the nice watch for a present).
To give, no matter how we look at it, is always better than to receive.
And why would we want to be the one who receive while we can be the one who share happiness and who give other people something they would treasure forever?
Last Thursday morning, I found a series of pictures showing people pray in the most extreme places such as in a war zone, in the streets filled with snow, in the jungle somewhere, in between the building construction and other places that we don't normally go, let alone pray in there. Of course that kind of put me to shame because there are times when I missed my prayer, even when I was in my most comfiest zone :(.
Here's the Big Ben, not far from Westminster Abbey. (I know I should've posted the one in Buckingham Palace instead). 
I don't know what it is, but I feel like there's a pouring positive energy come my way this past few days. Which is of course a good thing :). I guess that's what happen when you meet with many nice and inspiring people intensively.
I went too two full day seminars last week, first was about Marketing to Women while the other one was about Fashion Forecasting. Two very different topics but both were very similar in terms of the key note speakers and audience. Both were filled with great people, people who are passionate in their fields, people who are smart yet love to share their knowledge and still yearn to be learn more. Those are people who have bigger missions in their life and not only think for themselves.
In addition to the seminars, there was also one event hold by AIMI-ASI to celebrate their four years anniversary. I don't know much about them but it doesn't seem like they have a big team nor they are profitable, but they have gained so much in such a short time and limited resources.
I went too two full day seminars last week, first was about Marketing to Women while the other one was about Fashion Forecasting. Two very different topics but both were very similar in terms of the key note speakers and audience. Both were filled with great people, people who are passionate in their fields, people who are smart yet love to share their knowledge and still yearn to be learn more. Those are people who have bigger missions in their life and not only think for themselves.
In addition to the seminars, there was also one event hold by AIMI-ASI to celebrate their four years anniversary. I don't know much about them but it doesn't seem like they have a big team nor they are profitable, but they have gained so much in such a short time and limited resources.
I posted on my Twitter that I was looking for Jibran's passport that I misplaced somewhere (A very important announcement, indeed). Then a friend BBMed me, asking me if I was planning to go overseas..then she went 'Enak lo yaa jalan-jalan terus'..which I answered..I wish..:D. We're not planning on going anywhere (well there's the Umrah plan, which we still haven't finalized) but our passports are about to be expired soon so it's better to renew them before passing the expiration date. I heard it's cheaper that way.
Anyway, that got me thinking about family, particularly spending for the kids. Yes we've had a few luxuries such as taking a trip to Singapore and Europe in the last 2 years but we skimp on a few other areas in order to support it such as:
- Jehan doesn't drink formula milk (and Jibran only consumed a little bit). I don't know how much is a can of formula milk but that amount times one or two year? Man that's A LOT!
- We don't have certified nanny. Just a regular mbak who helps out. How much is a nanny salary? Maybe double than regular mbak? If that's an extra 600 thousands, that equals to an extra Rp 7,200,000 a year. That's about the same price of return ticket we got to London last year.
..of course in addition to my family :). (Ita, too bad you were not here when we had the photo session)
Last Thursday, I went to Koi with Linda and Astrid for a little bit of catching up. The last time the three of us met was seven months ago!! The topic of the night was the relocation of Rama, Linda's husband to Switzerland. Linda wants to tag along, but afraid of leaving everything they've built behind, afterall, Rama's move is only going to be temporary!. I've encouraged her before to just drop everything and go. At least that's what I would do!. Sure she has an awesome thing going on here, but a year in the same old place and a year in a place she has never been before is going to be completely different. Here, she'll face the same old thing she's been facing everyday but in Switzerland it's gonna be a completely different game! And at best, she's just maintaining her life here, but there, she can learn new culture, live like the locals, discover the unknown, roam around Europe, have a new perspective, learn more about herself, feel more alive and basically experiences awesome things that she will never get to experience if she stays here.
If it were me, I wouldn't even think twice :).
Anyway, I told her that living overseas was one of my best experiences.
If it were me, I wouldn't even think twice :).
Anyway, I told her that living overseas was one of my best experiences.
Money is most often just a means to an end. Aim on attracting the end goal, rather than the means - unknown
You can’t ignore your conscience because that is the place where God stays in each of us - Daoed Joesoef
Taken from one of my favorite articles http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/daoed-a-voice-of-conscience/392843
He was nine months old :)
I took a day off from the office, and since a few people were on leave too, we decided to let everyone worked from home.
- Started the day with dropping Jehan at school. It's always a pleasant thing to do. Walking hand in hand towards her class, meeting her teacher, listening to them with updates about Jehan progress, kissing and wave goodbye :)
- Marched my way to Alfon's Panglima Polim to chop off my hair. And guess who I met? It was the legendary Bambang Pamungkas who was waiting for his wife to get her hair and nails done. I wanted to say hii but I figured I better waited until my hair was done. Too bad he left before my hair was close to being decent :D
- Received a compliment from a stranger in the salon who sat next to me. It was from an older bule lady who walked down to me when she saw Roberto was giving his final touch to my hair..'Isn't that lovely?' that was her exact words..and I couldn't smiled wider. It's always nice to receive compliments from stranger..something that I don't hear often enough in here (either to me or to other people). I guess it's not something that Indonesian like to do..
- Listened to Roberto Italian action. It took me back to Venice and Milan :)
- Picked up Jehan and shopped for small knick knacks at Chic Mart
- Lunch date with Jehan at Secret Recipe. We talked, sang and laughed during the whole meal.
- Started the day with dropping Jehan at school. It's always a pleasant thing to do. Walking hand in hand towards her class, meeting her teacher, listening to them with updates about Jehan progress, kissing and wave goodbye :)
- Marched my way to Alfon's Panglima Polim to chop off my hair. And guess who I met? It was the legendary Bambang Pamungkas who was waiting for his wife to get her hair and nails done. I wanted to say hii but I figured I better waited until my hair was done. Too bad he left before my hair was close to being decent :D
- Received a compliment from a stranger in the salon who sat next to me. It was from an older bule lady who walked down to me when she saw Roberto was giving his final touch to my hair..'Isn't that lovely?' that was her exact words..and I couldn't smiled wider. It's always nice to receive compliments from stranger..something that I don't hear often enough in here (either to me or to other people). I guess it's not something that Indonesian like to do..
- Listened to Roberto Italian action. It took me back to Venice and Milan :)
- Picked up Jehan and shopped for small knick knacks at Chic Mart
- Lunch date with Jehan at Secret Recipe. We talked, sang and laughed during the whole meal.
One of my hobbies is..beberes! Asli, setiap weekend pasti adaa aja projectnya. Weekend ini beres-beres kamar mandi, weekend lalu kamar Jibran, weekend kapan itu kamar sendiri, trus ada saatnya beresin gudang, dapur dan lain-lain. Beneran deh, I found it theurapeutic :D.
Nah weekend lalu beresin kabinet kamar mandi, decluttering, throwing stuff and rearranging. Kalo mau cari sesuatu agak susah karena barang-barangnya udah kecampur. Belum lagi bagian top cabinetnya yang penuh dengan botol-botol.
Before picture
Nah weekend lalu beresin kabinet kamar mandi, decluttering, throwing stuff and rearranging. Kalo mau cari sesuatu agak susah karena barang-barangnya udah kecampur. Belum lagi bagian top cabinetnya yang penuh dengan botol-botol.
Before picture
One of my new year resolutions is to wake up early! But I have been a failure on that area so far. Like today for example, I woke up at 6:10 because I kept on pressing the snooze button even though I set up the alarm at 5: 45!. Jibran is supposed to leave for school at that time. So I quickly woke him up and ushered him to the bathroom. I did Subuh prayer and fell back to sleep until he woke me up 10 minutes later. I then prepped him to school, helped him dressing up, toasted his bread and took him to the car. It was already 6:45.
I then went back to the room, three flight upstair, did the usual 'morning routine' :p, this is where I try to slowly regain my soul :D. After that, I prepared my clothes and took a shower. I think I was out of the shower by 7:25, already got my makeup done and changed my bag. Jehan just woke up so we went downstair. I wanted to bath her right away but being a 3 year old with her own mind and schedule, she wanted to eat her cereal first. So I prepared my morning coffee while waiting for her to finish her breakfast. I didn't make the instant coffee anymore where all I have to do is pouring the water and I'm still getting used to the routine, so it was a bit messy. At 7:45 I bathed Jehan and then clothed her (this takes a while! because she wanted to wear short to school where she was supposed to wear muslim clothes for today). So we settled with short over legging :D.
I then went back to the room, three flight upstair, did the usual 'morning routine' :p, this is where I try to slowly regain my soul :D. After that, I prepared my clothes and took a shower. I think I was out of the shower by 7:25, already got my makeup done and changed my bag. Jehan just woke up so we went downstair. I wanted to bath her right away but being a 3 year old with her own mind and schedule, she wanted to eat her cereal first. So I prepared my morning coffee while waiting for her to finish her breakfast. I didn't make the instant coffee anymore where all I have to do is pouring the water and I'm still getting used to the routine, so it was a bit messy. At 7:45 I bathed Jehan and then clothed her (this takes a while! because she wanted to wear short to school where she was supposed to wear muslim clothes for today). So we settled with short over legging :D.
A range of its damage therapy shampoo to mend my broken hair shaft. My hair and I have never been in good terms, unless for the times I just stepped out of the hair salon. So I'm always happy to try new products & regimes for my hair. Anything to make it look representable without giving in too much efforts. The package has solutions for every hair problems imaginable, from Daily Shine, Dryness Care, Intense Care, Hairfall Treatment and Dandruff Care. I think I'm gonna try the Dryness Care first to lock in some moisture into my hair. Thank you, Dove :)
..if you could call them arts & crafts that is :p
Tumpukan buku yang kemaren diposting itu jadinya bertambah lagi, karena baru dikirimin komik parenting Baby Blues sama Buah Hati Books..yayy. Ini bakalan jadi komik pertama yang gue baca deh..yaa pernah sih baca majalah Donal Bebek waktu kecil sesekali, tapi ya gitu aja :D. Komik ini kayanya hits banget karena udah keluar 40 buku, ada comic stripnya di New York Times sampe ada TV Shownya segala. Isinya cerita tentang hal-hal bodoh seputar parenting/motherhood yang dikemas dengan sangat menghibur. Nggak sabar pengen cepet-cepet baca :)
Waktu Gong Xi Fa Cai kemaren, kita sekeluarga ke PIM (jarang-jarang lhoo sekeluarga ke mall gini). Truus gue iseng nyatetin uang yang keluar hari itu. Ini dia listnya:
- Lunch, GM = Rp 125,000. Ini termasuk murah lah ya, kalo makannya di Duck King, Bakerz Inn pasti udah 200an lebih
- Yogen Fruz = Rp 20,000. Bagus cuma beli satu untuk rame-rame..hehehehe
- Mango Dress = Rp 314,000. Untuk ibunya...I've been eyeing on this one since I saw Rani wearing it, and it was on sale from more than 1 million..so it's a good deal :P.
- Gramedia = Rp 523,860. My weakness (out of my many weaknesses..sigh)...dan parah kalo buku karena nggak ngerasa terlalu bersalah. Padahal nggak sempet juga baca semuanya.
- Popcorn = Rp 15,000.
- Timezone = Rp 40,000. Kayanya ini tergolong lumayan murah karena anak-anak kalo main bisa sampe Rp 100,00an.
- Food Hall = Rp 400,000. Ini niihh mestinya di Superindo aja. Tapi tanggung dong udah di sana, lagian kan (niatnya) cuma beli peanut butter aja
I found this book last night at Periplus Ranch Market, so itching to get it but I know I won't have time to read it. Plus it would be ironic to read this particular book, when it means I buy more stuff, while I still have a pile of books I need to read because the essence of the book is to suggest the opposite (live with less, consume less).Anyway, I need to be more discipline in using less plastic and do the three R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).
- Sometimes i forget to unload the stuff in my green bag and put it back in my purse. Maybe I need to put 2 or 3 inside...and a few in the car.
- Whenever we go for monthly grocery shopping, I always ask them to put the stuff in the box instead of plastic. But they still put the frozen ones in plastic to hold the water..maybe I need to get the insulated bag?
- We have separated the trash in the office, so that's a good thing.
- I'm finally back with the habit of separating the trash at home. I did this when we live in the old house, turned out my mom had been doing it too, not for environmental purposes but out of mercy to the scavenger. But since we live in the new house, I didn't have much discipline because it takes effort to gather all the dry waste in one place, sometimes I forgot to bring it downstairs and didn't have the energy to walk back to the third level to get that empty bottle of shampoo.
You know what, it's 10:36 PM...and I just got home at 10:00 PM. I wish I didn't have to have a date with my laptop and just lay down, finish of Eat, Pray, Love movie or read one of the books I just got this week (there are six!!). Honestly, I'm getting sick of my laptop :D. I know I want to write more this year, but at the same time, I'm planning not to touch my laptop once I get home from work. How is that possible? :D
By the way, since I'm dead tired (been out and about since 8AM), I cannot think and produce elaborate thinking. But I do want to write a few homework from the parenting seminar I attended this morning.
- Many kids right now (even us, the parents), don't have a good sense of self, they don't really know who they are, their strength and weaknesses and it's all because we live in a busy world that we don't even take the time to sit down and assess ourselves, to get to know more about ourselves. And that's sad because a healthy and successful person has a strong sense of self. Of course, this is a big homework that can be achieved from the little things we do/say/treat our kids everyday. For myself, I may need to write down a paragraph about myself, because when I asked to explain three things about me, I kinda have a hard time and just said the general/obvious things. Jibran needs to know about his strength and weaknesses too.
- I will involve Jibran in planning his menu for the whole week. I'm going to start with breakfast first. I'll ask him what he wants to have from Monday - Sunday, tell him to check if we have it in the kitchen. If not, then we need to go grocery shopping together and make sure he gets what he needs. I know it would be much simpler to exclude him from the planning but he needs to learn about his needs. Kerempongan itu nggak seberapa dibandingkan dengan pembelajaran yang dia dapatkan. Bisa belajar tentang harga, brand, nutrisi and even math. It's the learning process that counts. I agree that it takes a well planned individual to succeed. It goes to other areas to as big as developing a country, the government don't have a solid plan on how to build this country so this is what we have now...:(
- Kids live in a world full of threat (contoh kecil yang kita nggak sadar...lagu nina bobo aja sudah merupakan ancaman lho). There are many parents (or grandmas/nannys) who always threaten the kids that they are going to call the police/doctor/etc if the kids don't want to do things they told them to do. And little did we know that those are going to stick on their mind that they will grow up into a coward, because their childhood were full of threats. Thank goodness, I'm not one who use threat as a weapon to discipline my kids and i'm always happy to slap anyone who do that to my kids :D. But I do let them know about consequences if they don't do certain things. I just need to make sure the way I say it doesn't make it sound like a threat. Ibu Elly Risman showed us 12 style of talking that parents always do to their kids such as 'Ordering, blaming, belittling, comparing, threatening, lying, critizing, etc'..and that makes me cringe..some kids really do have to endure verbal abuse :(. I hope to never hurt my kids feeling.
- Distinguishing between my problem and the kids problem. Mbak Elaa discussed this yesterday too. When they forgot to bring their homework to school, don't help them by asking the driver to bring the book. It's their fault and let them deal with it and learn from it. I totally agree with it and fortunately it only happened one time and it was the lunch box that he forgot and I really don't have the heart to let him go hungry :D. Oh..and there was another time..and the teacher smsed me and somehow I didn't want the teacher to have an impression that I didn't care about it so yea..I asked the driver to go back and bring the book...-__-
I think that's all for now...digangguin Jehan niihh..arghhh....
By the way, since I'm dead tired (been out and about since 8AM), I cannot think and produce elaborate thinking. But I do want to write a few homework from the parenting seminar I attended this morning.
- Many kids right now (even us, the parents), don't have a good sense of self, they don't really know who they are, their strength and weaknesses and it's all because we live in a busy world that we don't even take the time to sit down and assess ourselves, to get to know more about ourselves. And that's sad because a healthy and successful person has a strong sense of self. Of course, this is a big homework that can be achieved from the little things we do/say/treat our kids everyday. For myself, I may need to write down a paragraph about myself, because when I asked to explain three things about me, I kinda have a hard time and just said the general/obvious things. Jibran needs to know about his strength and weaknesses too.
- I will involve Jibran in planning his menu for the whole week. I'm going to start with breakfast first. I'll ask him what he wants to have from Monday - Sunday, tell him to check if we have it in the kitchen. If not, then we need to go grocery shopping together and make sure he gets what he needs. I know it would be much simpler to exclude him from the planning but he needs to learn about his needs. Kerempongan itu nggak seberapa dibandingkan dengan pembelajaran yang dia dapatkan. Bisa belajar tentang harga, brand, nutrisi and even math. It's the learning process that counts. I agree that it takes a well planned individual to succeed. It goes to other areas to as big as developing a country, the government don't have a solid plan on how to build this country so this is what we have now...:(
- Kids live in a world full of threat (contoh kecil yang kita nggak sadar...lagu nina bobo aja sudah merupakan ancaman lho). There are many parents (or grandmas/nannys) who always threaten the kids that they are going to call the police/doctor/etc if the kids don't want to do things they told them to do. And little did we know that those are going to stick on their mind that they will grow up into a coward, because their childhood were full of threats. Thank goodness, I'm not one who use threat as a weapon to discipline my kids and i'm always happy to slap anyone who do that to my kids :D. But I do let them know about consequences if they don't do certain things. I just need to make sure the way I say it doesn't make it sound like a threat. Ibu Elly Risman showed us 12 style of talking that parents always do to their kids such as 'Ordering, blaming, belittling, comparing, threatening, lying, critizing, etc'..and that makes me cringe..some kids really do have to endure verbal abuse :(. I hope to never hurt my kids feeling.
- Distinguishing between my problem and the kids problem. Mbak Elaa discussed this yesterday too. When they forgot to bring their homework to school, don't help them by asking the driver to bring the book. It's their fault and let them deal with it and learn from it. I totally agree with it and fortunately it only happened one time and it was the lunch box that he forgot and I really don't have the heart to let him go hungry :D. Oh..and there was another time..and the teacher smsed me and somehow I didn't want the teacher to have an impression that I didn't care about it so yea..I asked the driver to go back and bring the book...-__-
I think that's all for now...digangguin Jehan niihh..arghhh....
It's 11:21 PM...so I'm gonna be very random on this post. If it wasn't for #7hari challenge, I would've gone ZzzZzz
I went to a parenting seminar today, followed by a little bit of work at Black Canyon, picked up Jibran in school and then took him to his first swimming lesson. Jehan came along too. After they were done, we went to get coffee and donut at Citos and then went home. My aunties and cousins were at our house when we got home, one of my cousins (9 yo) just had a birthday so I took her (and 4 other little kids) to a nearby mall so she can pick her present. After she got the present she wanted (a pair of shoes), we went to buy some books at Gramedia and finished of with a dinner at Dominos. We got home at 9:30, but they didn't leave until 10:45. After that, I quickly prepped the kids for bed and now here I am..about to pass out!
Even though today is tiring, there are many things that I'm so grateful for. This morning, I went to the place that I fell in love since the first time I knocked on its door. I remember being in awe with it and wished I could change my decision in a heart beat, but it was just impossible. I didn't dismiss the idea right away though, I still kept it in my heart and prayed that we'll find a way..and we did find a way (or it found us?) and then another good news came along that made it even more possible. At that time, I truly believed what Paulo Coelho said in his book, when you really want something, the universe conspires to make it happen. For me, it's gotta be something that I desire with all my heart, that I visualize all the time and can shed a tear whenever I think about it.
I received an sms right before I took a shower this morning. It's about the event that we're arranging for next month. We didn't plan to monetize the event, we just wanted to help some people and facilitate what they're asking for. Money was not in our mind at all whenever we think about that event. Out of the blue, came that sms that said they will give us a portion of the money they received. Wheww, reallyy? I was happy..and proud at the same time with the fact that we would do it anyway even if we don't get benefits in terms of money. It's true...just do what you love, and the money will follow :)
I went to Toastmaster trial last night and plan to register as members so I can work on my shortcomings and face my fear. Same thing with Jibran swimming lesson where he will learn new skill and face his fear of being drown and basically just learn to trust himself. I guess I'm just pleased that we're always looking for ways to challenge ourselves and not just be complacent with current situation. There are always room to improve
You know what...I still have more to share about today...but I can barely open my eyes and I need to wake up at 7 AM tomorrow for another parenting seminar! So, see you!
The AFF Suzuki Cup last December was one of the highlights of 2010 for me. And I thought I didn’t like soccer? :D. Well, the world cup a few months before sprinkled a few interests in me, not just because of some good looking athletes :p but because it just felt good to see a festivity and to be supporting something, although I didn’t have the emotional connection with the team I was supporting. Everywhere we turned, everyone was always talking about it, either on TV or on the Internet or offline. I was even more excited when I happened to be in La Ramba, Barcelona when the Spanish team was playing in the semifinal and got to celebrate it with the Spaniard. I thought that was the closest I could feel to the excitement I felt towards college basketball back in the days.
Turned out, I was wrong. The AFF Suzuki Cup experience was even more intense on the emotional level because I was supporting the country’s national team and this is where it was happening!. Oki had been talking about the AFF Suzuki Cup before because he planned to take me and Jibran there. Little did we know that we would be involved with it even further because next thing we knew, The Daily Media were the one who handled AFF Suzuki Cup digital campaign and managed their Facebook and Twitter account.
So I and the rest of team, in order to understand more about hype, had to watch every game (And I did…I went to nine games…except for the final..sigh).
It was truly an amazing experience for me, both job wise as well as on the personal level. I was happy I could cheer for the country and support the national team till the very end. I was happy that Indonesia did well except for the one we played at Bukit Jalil. True the national team didn’t win the cup, but they did win and stole our hearts, united us, gained our utmost respect and succeeded in reminding everyone that there are still things to love about this country. I was also happy that the campaign we handled exceeded the target and expectation. I was also happy to get that feeling of enthusiasm about sports back and witnessed so many positivity. It was nice to see sea of reds everywhere. To be in GBK along with 80,000 other people who relentlessly sang the national anthem was quite an awesome you can’t get anywhere else. I was also happy that I was able to connect some people to their passion and gave them a new unforgettable experiences ☺.
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By the way, here are some clueless conversations between me and Vanya in GBK that I still remember. This took place on the first day where no one else was with us.
Vanya: Han, Laos yang mana Thailand yang mana yah? :D. Me: Cengar cengir (nggak ngerti juga soalnya):D
Me: Ehh Van, ternyata Malaysia udah score lho, kok kita nggak tau sih? (Gantian Vanya yang cengengesan)
Waktu Indonesia gol, kan ada petasan-petasan tuh. Kita yang terkagum-kagum karena mikir ‘wahh panitianya well prepared sekali ya’. Tapi trus kita mikir sendiri dan nanya ke orang sebelah, ‘Mas-mas, itu petasannya dari panitia apa pada penonton pawa sendiri ya?’. ‘Bawa sendiri’, kata si mas. Dan kita langsung ciut takut ada yang salah arah.
Vanya: Ya ampun han, tau nggak sih..gawangnya udah pindah ya?..Butuh 5 menit buat gue nyadar kalo gawangnya udah pindah :D.
Vanya: Han kalo wasit dikasih kartu merah gimana ya? . Me: Hah? Wasit kok dikasih kartu merah? Siapa yang ngasih? Vanya: Ehh maksud gue keepernya. Me: Ohh ganti cadangan kali (sok ngerti). Vanya: Lah kan kartu merah nggak boleh diganti? Me: Oh iya yaa? :p
See you again in 2012, AFF Suzuki Cup!
Turned out, I was wrong. The AFF Suzuki Cup experience was even more intense on the emotional level because I was supporting the country’s national team and this is where it was happening!. Oki had been talking about the AFF Suzuki Cup before because he planned to take me and Jibran there. Little did we know that we would be involved with it even further because next thing we knew, The Daily Media were the one who handled AFF Suzuki Cup digital campaign and managed their Facebook and Twitter account.
So I and the rest of team, in order to understand more about hype, had to watch every game (And I did…I went to nine games…except for the final..sigh).
It was truly an amazing experience for me, both job wise as well as on the personal level. I was happy I could cheer for the country and support the national team till the very end. I was happy that Indonesia did well except for the one we played at Bukit Jalil. True the national team didn’t win the cup, but they did win and stole our hearts, united us, gained our utmost respect and succeeded in reminding everyone that there are still things to love about this country. I was also happy that the campaign we handled exceeded the target and expectation. I was also happy to get that feeling of enthusiasm about sports back and witnessed so many positivity. It was nice to see sea of reds everywhere. To be in GBK along with 80,000 other people who relentlessly sang the national anthem was quite an awesome you can’t get anywhere else. I was also happy that I was able to connect some people to their passion and gave them a new unforgettable experiences ☺.
-----------------
By the way, here are some clueless conversations between me and Vanya in GBK that I still remember. This took place on the first day where no one else was with us.
Vanya: Han, Laos yang mana Thailand yang mana yah? :D. Me: Cengar cengir (nggak ngerti juga soalnya):D
Me: Ehh Van, ternyata Malaysia udah score lho, kok kita nggak tau sih? (Gantian Vanya yang cengengesan)
Waktu Indonesia gol, kan ada petasan-petasan tuh. Kita yang terkagum-kagum karena mikir ‘wahh panitianya well prepared sekali ya’. Tapi trus kita mikir sendiri dan nanya ke orang sebelah, ‘Mas-mas, itu petasannya dari panitia apa pada penonton pawa sendiri ya?’. ‘Bawa sendiri’, kata si mas. Dan kita langsung ciut takut ada yang salah arah.
Vanya: Ya ampun han, tau nggak sih..gawangnya udah pindah ya?..Butuh 5 menit buat gue nyadar kalo gawangnya udah pindah :D.
Vanya: Han kalo wasit dikasih kartu merah gimana ya? . Me: Hah? Wasit kok dikasih kartu merah? Siapa yang ngasih? Vanya: Ehh maksud gue keepernya. Me: Ohh ganti cadangan kali (sok ngerti). Vanya: Lah kan kartu merah nggak boleh diganti? Me: Oh iya yaa? :p
See you again in 2012, AFF Suzuki Cup!
Last Saturday, I got to moderate #PeekAbook talkshow, a regular event held by Buah Hati and Mommies Daily. The topic was about Father & Kids, so unlike any other parenting seminar I've been to, half of the attendee was the dads, including Oki (and the kids who were playing at Giggle). Najelaa Shihab was the speaker (along with Trias and Sogi as the representative of Dads), so of course we went home with practical tips that could be implemented right away. But I'll leave that for report on Mommies Daily :D
Mbak Elaa talked about the roles of a father (there are four: player, teacher, protector and partner), some admitted that they looked back to how they were parented in determining their own parenting style. Some were inspired by how they were raised while some were totally the opposite. They didn't like the way their father raised them so they try their best to do what they wished their dads had done to them growing up.
..and I can't help but to look back to as far as I could, to remember every detail I can recall about my childhood. Sadly, there wasn't many childhood moment I have with my dad that's still in my memories. I don't even have pictures together with him when I was little, which makes me pondering if he had ever hold me when I was a baby. I think one of the first pictures of me and him was when I was already in high-school, or was it college years?.
Mbak Elaa talked about the roles of a father (there are four: player, teacher, protector and partner), some admitted that they looked back to how they were parented in determining their own parenting style. Some were inspired by how they were raised while some were totally the opposite. They didn't like the way their father raised them so they try their best to do what they wished their dads had done to them growing up.
..and I can't help but to look back to as far as I could, to remember every detail I can recall about my childhood. Sadly, there wasn't many childhood moment I have with my dad that's still in my memories. I don't even have pictures together with him when I was little, which makes me pondering if he had ever hold me when I was a baby. I think one of the first pictures of me and him was when I was already in high-school, or was it college years?.
Jibran just before he left for school, proudly showing the iPad replica we made last night :)
Jehan with her 'pillow face', she was waiting for me to take a shower in the bathroom :)
Jehan with her 'pillow face', she was waiting for me to take a shower in the bathroom :)
6:52 PM and stuck in Kemang Utara on the way home. I usually won’t bother to open my laptop in the car and just read my Twitter timeline from my iPhone..but not this time because this is where the #7hari challenge starts!. And my challenge is to update this blog everyday. I know it sounds like a walk in the park..but it’s not. If it is, I would’ve been able to update this every single day since a long time ago. The thing that makes it hard is of course..finding the time to write. It’s hard to squeeze in a 30 minutes to put my thoughts into writing. When I write, I like to allocate certain length of time so I can finish it in one sitting, because I believe I write better that way. But it seems like impossible for today, that's why I decided to open up my laptop and see if I can get two or three paragraphs done. When I get home, I have to help Jibran with his science project. Something that I just found out this morning (my bad). He needs to make a replica of an electric thing. Maybe we can make an iPad out of cardboard or something.
Anyway, so what’s a #7hari, you ask? It’s a challenge to do something different in your daily routine. I did it a few times recently. I try to cook but failed after day 4. I tried to cut off my Ginseng coffee intake completely and boy was I relieved when I passed the challenge. Again, it might seems like an easy thing to do, but I’ve been an addict of that particular cofffee for a long time. I first consumed it when I was pregnant with Jibran and that was 8 years ago!!. I used to drink it twice..even thrice a day at around the same time, morning and late afternoon. There were times when my head turned dizzy after a few minutes upon missing the intake . I was that addicted, it was crazy. I thought to myself that this addiction is not healthy at all. I felr insulted that I didn’t have control over my own body. Since I didn’t want to depend on it for the rest of my life, I tried to cut down by taking it only once a day and substituted the other one with other coffee. The first few days was hard but then it became easier. Last week, I decided that it was time to try to go about my days without it so when I ran out of it, I didn’t buy anymore. It was easy because I got Starbucks a few times and Anomali coffee for two times as substitutes :D…
For next time I’m going to try to not consume/buy anything that comes in plastic. I’ve sorted my trash at home and in the office so I thought why don’t I stretch it a little bit further?. I can also run for the whole week or walk somewhere (this is hard). I’m also going to try dressing up to work like I would going to a fashion show or important event because sometimes I feel like I dress too casually when I don't have meetings to go. Or I might call my long lost friend for the whole week.
So what’s this challenge all about? I believe any kind of challenge can teach us many things. For example we can learn about self control, about detachment. We’re also leaving our comfort zone, incorporating new activity into our life that hopefully will add excitement on our days. It also forces us to stretch ourselves, to push ourselves just a little bit harder because when we thought we’ve tried our best, we can still beat our best record.
By the way it’s 7:11 PM…and I've reached home.
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Now it’s 10:15 PM..the kids are sleeping, the husband is on the way home. I’ve changed to my pajamas but haven’t washed my face off. Taking a shower? That is asking too much. I didn’t even get a chance to have dinner. But I helped Jibran created his iPad..out of my Mango shoebox -__-
Anyway..so now everyone in the office is doing their own #7hari challenge. Vanya is going to arrive in the office at 9 (fine by me :D). Affi will exercise for 30 minutes a day while Amal is kissing goodbye to her coffee intake. Syita & Farah decides to do something with the food. Syita won’t consume anything prepared by frying while Farah won’t be eating any meat/chicken. Rizka & Lita will do something with their look. Since Lita has always been wearing black hijab, she will start wearing different color while Rizka will apply a full make up everyday. Itha has always been a heel/wedge kind of girl but she will learn to live with flats for the next 7 days.
Sounds like fun, isn’t it? We talked about it in the office and brought it up in Twitter and suddenly, many people wanted to join us. I created a thread in the forum to update on the progress.
Back to speaking about the benefits of doing this kind of challenge, I believe once you've passed, it'll boost your self esteem, knowing that you are able to do what you once thought impossible. Doing this takes courage too..especially for something extreme. To me, the most extreme thing the team is doing at the office got to be Amal challenge. May the force be with her!
Anyway, so what’s a #7hari, you ask? It’s a challenge to do something different in your daily routine. I did it a few times recently. I try to cook but failed after day 4. I tried to cut off my Ginseng coffee intake completely and boy was I relieved when I passed the challenge. Again, it might seems like an easy thing to do, but I’ve been an addict of that particular cofffee for a long time. I first consumed it when I was pregnant with Jibran and that was 8 years ago!!. I used to drink it twice..even thrice a day at around the same time, morning and late afternoon. There were times when my head turned dizzy after a few minutes upon missing the intake . I was that addicted, it was crazy. I thought to myself that this addiction is not healthy at all. I felr insulted that I didn’t have control over my own body. Since I didn’t want to depend on it for the rest of my life, I tried to cut down by taking it only once a day and substituted the other one with other coffee. The first few days was hard but then it became easier. Last week, I decided that it was time to try to go about my days without it so when I ran out of it, I didn’t buy anymore. It was easy because I got Starbucks a few times and Anomali coffee for two times as substitutes :D…
For next time I’m going to try to not consume/buy anything that comes in plastic. I’ve sorted my trash at home and in the office so I thought why don’t I stretch it a little bit further?. I can also run for the whole week or walk somewhere (this is hard). I’m also going to try dressing up to work like I would going to a fashion show or important event because sometimes I feel like I dress too casually when I don't have meetings to go. Or I might call my long lost friend for the whole week.
So what’s this challenge all about? I believe any kind of challenge can teach us many things. For example we can learn about self control, about detachment. We’re also leaving our comfort zone, incorporating new activity into our life that hopefully will add excitement on our days. It also forces us to stretch ourselves, to push ourselves just a little bit harder because when we thought we’ve tried our best, we can still beat our best record.
By the way it’s 7:11 PM…and I've reached home.
--------
Now it’s 10:15 PM..the kids are sleeping, the husband is on the way home. I’ve changed to my pajamas but haven’t washed my face off. Taking a shower? That is asking too much. I didn’t even get a chance to have dinner. But I helped Jibran created his iPad..out of my Mango shoebox -__-
Anyway..so now everyone in the office is doing their own #7hari challenge. Vanya is going to arrive in the office at 9 (fine by me :D). Affi will exercise for 30 minutes a day while Amal is kissing goodbye to her coffee intake. Syita & Farah decides to do something with the food. Syita won’t consume anything prepared by frying while Farah won’t be eating any meat/chicken. Rizka & Lita will do something with their look. Since Lita has always been wearing black hijab, she will start wearing different color while Rizka will apply a full make up everyday. Itha has always been a heel/wedge kind of girl but she will learn to live with flats for the next 7 days.
Sounds like fun, isn’t it? We talked about it in the office and brought it up in Twitter and suddenly, many people wanted to join us. I created a thread in the forum to update on the progress.
Back to speaking about the benefits of doing this kind of challenge, I believe once you've passed, it'll boost your self esteem, knowing that you are able to do what you once thought impossible. Doing this takes courage too..especially for something extreme. To me, the most extreme thing the team is doing at the office got to be Amal challenge. May the force be with her!
I love walking..I really do. I mean if Jakarta is pedestrian friendly I would walk everywhere my short feet could take me :D. I used to walk a lot when I lived in Singapore, Perth & Carbondale (where I easily lose 20 kgs in a year due because of it). Not so much in St. Louis because it's just impossible to walk where you have to take the highway to your destination. The public transportation system is kind of suck too, unless you live along the metro line. That's why I loved it a lot whenever we visited Chicago because I could walk and walk and walk. Hey, I didn't even complain when we had to walk for hours in Venice, dragging those heavy suitcases because besides of the view, I enjoyed the walking experience I couldn't have in here.
I walked a lot when I was little too because my kindergarten, elementary and junior high school were located within walking distance. Add the fact that we didn't have car back then..so it was either walking or taking the becak ride :). I still walked a lot in high school too, because I took public transportation and it was quite a distance from the main road to my house. I also always liked the walk to a nearby supermarket, or to the famous Taman Solo Bakso establishment, or just to a friend's house. I was either on my foot or riding my bike. Again, we didn't have car at that time.
When I came back home for good and have a car....and two kids..:D, it's just more convenient and faster to take the car, even if we only have go to somewhere within the same zip code, or just to the next clusters or even if I just have to go by myself. I notice the ARTs at home rarely walked too because they always took the motorcycle and even became uninterested with bicycle. I understand that it just seems to be more efficient, but it creates another problem; the motorcycle gets broken down easily, more traffic jam, more accidents (it's more dangerous if it's a short ride because they usually don't wear helmet and pay attention to the proper traffic rules), more money spent for gas, parking and maintenance and most of all, it adds pollution to this already badly contaminated city.
So yes, obviously being spoiled with the availability of a car and the fact that it's just unthinkable to walk in Jakarta stopped me from having the slightest thought about walking. Until a few weeks ago when I read Najelaa Shihab Twitter that said she's been trying to walk anywhere she can, and I was like..whoa..really? Is it even possible to walk on this unorganized street of Jakarta? But then I quickly realized that many people are actually doing it. Whenever I get stuck inside my car, there are always people walking by on the side of the street, or trying to cross the street. It's just a matter if we're willing to do it or not when the possibility (walking distance destination, no rain, etc) is emerged. That's when I started to entertain the idea. I know there's not many places I can go if I have to depend solely on my feet, but at least knowing that I have the option to walk is already an intriguing concept for me. I then promised to myself that I would look for a chance to walk and do it in a heart beat if it seems feasible.
My mom was in the hospital for almost a week and since the hospital is just close by, I decided that it's time for me to walk! Sadly, I could only walked once because most of the time I went home at night and had to stop by somewhere else before going to the hospital in the morning. It was really refreshing to walk with my aunt and cousin in that late Tuesday afternoon. A little bit of bonding time, a chance to see what I wouldn't see if I was in the car (because my eyes are usually on the cell phone), an opportunity to clear the mind and process my thought, a moment to take pictures and basically just live in the moment. Nothing but a lovely experience.
I wish I could walk more.....but where?
note: a few photos that lead all the way to my house have been deleted. Thank you Depe for the reminder :)
I walked a lot when I was little too because my kindergarten, elementary and junior high school were located within walking distance. Add the fact that we didn't have car back then..so it was either walking or taking the becak ride :). I still walked a lot in high school too, because I took public transportation and it was quite a distance from the main road to my house. I also always liked the walk to a nearby supermarket, or to the famous Taman Solo Bakso establishment, or just to a friend's house. I was either on my foot or riding my bike. Again, we didn't have car at that time.
When I came back home for good and have a car....and two kids..:D, it's just more convenient and faster to take the car, even if we only have go to somewhere within the same zip code, or just to the next clusters or even if I just have to go by myself. I notice the ARTs at home rarely walked too because they always took the motorcycle and even became uninterested with bicycle. I understand that it just seems to be more efficient, but it creates another problem; the motorcycle gets broken down easily, more traffic jam, more accidents (it's more dangerous if it's a short ride because they usually don't wear helmet and pay attention to the proper traffic rules), more money spent for gas, parking and maintenance and most of all, it adds pollution to this already badly contaminated city.
So yes, obviously being spoiled with the availability of a car and the fact that it's just unthinkable to walk in Jakarta stopped me from having the slightest thought about walking. Until a few weeks ago when I read Najelaa Shihab Twitter that said she's been trying to walk anywhere she can, and I was like..whoa..really? Is it even possible to walk on this unorganized street of Jakarta? But then I quickly realized that many people are actually doing it. Whenever I get stuck inside my car, there are always people walking by on the side of the street, or trying to cross the street. It's just a matter if we're willing to do it or not when the possibility (walking distance destination, no rain, etc) is emerged. That's when I started to entertain the idea. I know there's not many places I can go if I have to depend solely on my feet, but at least knowing that I have the option to walk is already an intriguing concept for me. I then promised to myself that I would look for a chance to walk and do it in a heart beat if it seems feasible.
My mom was in the hospital for almost a week and since the hospital is just close by, I decided that it's time for me to walk! Sadly, I could only walked once because most of the time I went home at night and had to stop by somewhere else before going to the hospital in the morning. It was really refreshing to walk with my aunt and cousin in that late Tuesday afternoon. A little bit of bonding time, a chance to see what I wouldn't see if I was in the car (because my eyes are usually on the cell phone), an opportunity to clear the mind and process my thought, a moment to take pictures and basically just live in the moment. Nothing but a lovely experience.
I wish I could walk more.....but where?
note: a few photos that lead all the way to my house have been deleted. Thank you Depe for the reminder :)
The window is open and i can feel the fresh morning breeze. One of the things that I'm thankful for this morning is this green trees that surround the hospital area. The hospital is located just near my house and when i left from home this morning i too noticed the serenity brought by the green trees that lined up on the street all the way to the hospital. Yellowish leaves were falling down covering the streers, it's the closest thing to autumn in Jakarta. We're so lucky to have found home in this secluded green space right behind the busy roads of Mampang.
note: that one is not our house though, it just happened to be standing a click away from the top floor of this hospitalMinggu lalu kita ngadain financial seminar bersama Ligwina Hananto, pesertanya ada 100 orang dan baru dibuka beberapa hari aja pendaftarannya udah penuh. Kita udah tau sih pasti bakalan rame deh seminar ini karena memang semua orang kayanya lagi pada antusias untuk beres-beres kondisi keuangannya, di Female Daily forum aja threadnya selalu rame. Udah banyak yang tau kalo menabung aja nggak cukup, udah banyak yang nyadar kalo mereka nggak sehat kondisi keuangannya tapi clueless harus gimana, ada yang sadar harus investasi tapi ngerasa nggak ada yang bisa diinvestasikan, ada juga yang udah siap untuk investasi tapi nggak tau apa langkah pertamanya.
Intinya...tau harus berbuat sesuatu tapi setelah itu actionnya nggak ada :D
Emang nggak semudah ngebalik telapak tangan sih bikin financial plan, that's why there is a profession called financial planner. Jangankan bikin financial plan ya, untuk bikin kita sadar to get up and do it aja nggak gampang, gue merasakannya sendiri. Bener-bener butuh tekat dan keinginan yang luar biasa. Kalo yang belum melakukan apa-apa yaa..they just don't want it bad enough. I guess I wanted it bad enough pada akhirnya makanya bener2 belajar sendiri supaya ngerti. Kalo mau gampang sih tinggal serahin aja sama financial planner tapii..selain sayang uangnya..haha..gue juga pengen tau sendiri seluk beluknya so I was willing to invest my energy to learn every bit of it. Hidayah untuk bikin financial plan ini juga nggak dateng dengan sendirinya lho...itu terbentuk setelah gue bacain semua artikel di QM Financial, yupe each one of them, beli bukunya Aidil Akbar, dateng ke talkshownya Ligwina 3 kali, dengerin Cosmopolitan FM Financial survival dan kadang-kadang Hard Rock FM Financial Clinic..and read just about any financial article I could find including reading every post about investment in Female Daily. Trus sahabat gue juga ikutan jadi clientnya QM Financial yang bikin gue jadi ngerasa, ihh kok gue irresponsible banget sih nggak bergerak cepat. Gongnya sih setelah jalan-jalan dari Eropa kemaren walaupun sebelumnya udah mulai beli reksadana. I guess realizing bahwa baru sedikit banget yaa belahan dunia yang pernah gue datengin and then seeing how happy the kids are to be together and exploring something they've never seen before bikin gue jadi takut nggak bisa jalan-jalan lagi..huhuhu.
So it took me 6 months to finish our family financial plan. Kalo mau fokus sih sebenernya sebulan juga selesai kok :D, gue aja yang ngerjainnya sambil lalu makanya lana..cuma ngerjain satu jam..trus 1 minggu kemudian lanjutin lagi, begitu seterusnya. Kalo sama financial planner juga kira-kira butuh 2-3 kali meeting sampe plannya jadi, kurang lebih sebulan kali ya?
Nah karena jadi banyak yang tanya, gimana sih bikin plan, apa sih step-stepnya, ntar gue coba tulis deh di sini, daripada jelasin satu-satu bok. Tapi ini cara gue yaa..yang bisa jadi sama atau bisa jadi beda sama financial planner beneran, yang penting alirannya sama..:p. Apalagi kalo mereka pasti detil banget tuh ngitung plannya, sampe subscription fee dan redemption fee reksadananya diitung. Kalo gue kan dibuletin aja..:D
Happiness & peacefulness is...listening to Jibran and Jehan happily praying or singing any Islamic songs :). Really, those are like music to my ears and heart. I especially love it when they sing the asmaul husna. Too bad they don't sing it as much as they did a year ago so I have yet to have the video, only the audio in Blackberry.
Jehan juga udah hafal surat al-fatihah, baca doa mau makan, mau tidur sama doa untuk orang tua (hiks..mewek dengernya). Kalo Jibran lebih canggih lagi, udah hafal surat-surat pendek yang bahkan gue sendiri nggak hafal lhoo.. emang masih terbatas nih hafalan surat pendek gue. Trus surprisingly Jibran juga udah hafal semua bacaan sholat lengkap. I'm amazed! Padahal gue nggak pernah ngajarin, yah kalo mau tidur atau mau makan ya berdoa sama-sama, tapi nggak pernah menyuruh mereka untuk menghafal. Kalo sisanya sih pada belajar di sekolah dan kalo lagu-lagu ya dari dengerin di rumah atau di mobil. Gue seneng karena mereka keliatannya happy happy dan sukarela aja baca dan nyanyiinnya..:)
Jehan juga udah hafal surat al-fatihah, baca doa mau makan, mau tidur sama doa untuk orang tua (hiks..mewek dengernya). Kalo Jibran lebih canggih lagi, udah hafal surat-surat pendek yang bahkan gue sendiri nggak hafal lhoo.. emang masih terbatas nih hafalan surat pendek gue. Trus surprisingly Jibran juga udah hafal semua bacaan sholat lengkap. I'm amazed! Padahal gue nggak pernah ngajarin, yah kalo mau tidur atau mau makan ya berdoa sama-sama, tapi nggak pernah menyuruh mereka untuk menghafal. Kalo sisanya sih pada belajar di sekolah dan kalo lagu-lagu ya dari dengerin di rumah atau di mobil. Gue seneng karena mereka keliatannya happy happy dan sukarela aja baca dan nyanyiinnya..:)
Well, at least in my pasta cooking history..:D. But seriously though, it tastes like heaven!!. Creamy, with the right amount of cheese and the perfect texture (chewiness?) of the fusili.
Too bad the picture is so crappy. I always cook at night and didn't have the camera handy so I just snapped it with my iPhone.
Ingredients: Cooking cream, cheddar cheese, garlic, olive oil, butter, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper!
Minced garlic (dicacah? ditumbuk?), saute with olive oil/butter, pour the cooking cream and cheddar cheese for 20 minutes until the texture changes to creamy. Add the parmesan cheese, stir a little bit and pour it into the pasta. Oh..and I chopped off some broccoli too. Yummy!
Too bad the picture is so crappy. I always cook at night and didn't have the camera handy so I just snapped it with my iPhone.
Ingredients: Cooking cream, cheddar cheese, garlic, olive oil, butter, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper!
Minced garlic (dicacah? ditumbuk?), saute with olive oil/butter, pour the cooking cream and cheddar cheese for 20 minutes until the texture changes to creamy. Add the parmesan cheese, stir a little bit and pour it into the pasta. Oh..and I chopped off some broccoli too. Yummy!
This was one of the corners in my bedroom, there was only a small rattan hmm..what do you call it? bench? ottoman? storage? Well you get the idea. I first bought it to store Jibran & Jehan toys in the play area but since they have gotten new boxes, I then use it to put towels and linens and place it in my bedroom :D. But since we're running out of space..we need to replace this with a bigger one.
And this is what we found last weekend in Index Artha Gading, for 50% off...:D. Not bad at all for Rp 800,000. The color goes well with our bedroom furniture. But I didn't realize in the store that the stuff inside was going to be that visible :D. It'd look nice if the inside is neat and consists of the same color, maybe I'm going to cover it with black paper or something. But for now, I like it much better than the previous one, which looked really lonely :D. And finally I put up our wedding picture. First time we put it up after 8 years or marriage..hehehe. There's also a small basket for remote and stuff as well as oil burners.
And this is what we found last weekend in Index Artha Gading, for 50% off...:D. Not bad at all for Rp 800,000. The color goes well with our bedroom furniture. But I didn't realize in the store that the stuff inside was going to be that visible :D. It'd look nice if the inside is neat and consists of the same color, maybe I'm going to cover it with black paper or something. But for now, I like it much better than the previous one, which looked really lonely :D. And finally I put up our wedding picture. First time we put it up after 8 years or marriage..hehehe. There's also a small basket for remote and stuff as well as oil burners.
I have decided to start on a 7 Days Challenge where I give my self a different challenge every week..Duh gaya yeuuh kaya bisa konsisten aja :D. Udah beberapa tahun terakhir di dunia perinternetan banyak yang bikin semacam ini, ada yang untuk 30 hari sampe setahun. Baru-baru ini di Twitter juga ada #Misi21 yang digerakkan oleh career coach Rene Suhardono. Dan gue tertohok ngikutin #Misi21nya Ligwina Hananto yang ingin menyempatkan diri masak untuk keluarganya selama 21 hari. Memang kedengerannya simple yaa, tapi when you have a schedule like her, it's amazing she manages to spare time to step foot in the kitchen. Kadang sampe rumah jam 11 malem dan jam 6 udah harus pergi lagi! Nah jadi malu kan gue yang ja 7-8 udah sampe rumah dan pergi jam 9. Makanya..7 days challenge ini dimulai dengan memasak dulu deh, biar in line dengan resolusi taun baru :D.
Untuk pertama, pilih yang gampang lah yaw (padahal sih seterusnya juga udah pasti yang gampang-gampang..). Pulang kantor mampir dulu ke toko buah, beli spaghetti, cabe dan tuna. Iyaa maap tunanya pake tuna kaleng, next time beli yang fresh deh :p. Sampe rumah langsung minta tolong si mbak untuk iris-iris bawang putih (tuh udah ada yang bantuin padahal kalo emang niat sih). Walaupun suasana dapur nggak senyaman dapur di rumah dulu dengan alat-alat yang nggak familiar tapi kebayar lah sama bantuan yang ada, nggak perlu beres-beres pula setelahnya. Ditambah ditemenin si neng juga niihh..(sambil gadoin ikan asin!!)
Penampakannya sih standard ya...rasanyaa...ya standard juga..hahahaha..yang penting Jehan nambah 2 kali. Jibran cuma beberapa suap karena udah makan sebelumnya, buat bawa sekolah aja besok katanya dan bapake pun doyan!. Siplahh..jadi besok masak apa kita....
Untuk pertama, pilih yang gampang lah yaw (padahal sih seterusnya juga udah pasti yang gampang-gampang..). Pulang kantor mampir dulu ke toko buah, beli spaghetti, cabe dan tuna. Iyaa maap tunanya pake tuna kaleng, next time beli yang fresh deh :p. Sampe rumah langsung minta tolong si mbak untuk iris-iris bawang putih (tuh udah ada yang bantuin padahal kalo emang niat sih). Walaupun suasana dapur nggak senyaman dapur di rumah dulu dengan alat-alat yang nggak familiar tapi kebayar lah sama bantuan yang ada, nggak perlu beres-beres pula setelahnya. Ditambah ditemenin si neng juga niihh..(sambil gadoin ikan asin!!)
Penampakannya sih standard ya...rasanyaa...ya standard juga..hahahaha..yang penting Jehan nambah 2 kali. Jibran cuma beberapa suap karena udah makan sebelumnya, buat bawa sekolah aja besok katanya dan bapake pun doyan!. Siplahh..jadi besok masak apa kita....
Lagi nungguin Ira & Darina dimakeover di Shunji Matsuo..jadi iseng-iseng upload videonya Jehan lagi nyanyi waktu bulan Oktober kemaren :D
I got a phone call from TVone on Tuesday evening, asking me to appear on its Coffee Break program the next morning where they will talk about social media and online business. I asked a few questions first before I said yes. Of course, I was excited :D but I just didn't think much after the phone calls because I had a lot to do.
The next morning, when I arrived at Epicentrum Walk, saw the set and received quite a few BBM, Twitter mention and phone calls from family congratulating me, wishing me luck and telling me how proud they are of me, that's when it finally hit me that..wow this is something big. I will be appearing live on a major national TV for something I've been pouring my heart out for the last few years. My eyes began to feel moist..but then the make up artist distracted me :D
So there...I did it :D. Thanks to my sister who captured it for me so at least I have an idea on how it looks from the other side :).
As usual, every time something extraordinary happens I always wish my dad was here. I hope they set you up with a plasma TV up there, Dad..and I sure hope you're proud of me!
The next morning, when I arrived at Epicentrum Walk, saw the set and received quite a few BBM, Twitter mention and phone calls from family congratulating me, wishing me luck and telling me how proud they are of me, that's when it finally hit me that..wow this is something big. I will be appearing live on a major national TV for something I've been pouring my heart out for the last few years. My eyes began to feel moist..but then the make up artist distracted me :D
As usual, every time something extraordinary happens I always wish my dad was here. I hope they set you up with a plasma TV up there, Dad..and I sure hope you're proud of me!
This post is written due to the recent antic made by one of our ministers :D. Oki was actually one of the candidates to be on that team. That being the company that's been terrorized by our minister. I think he's had three phone interviews with the people from the regional headquarter and landed a face to face interview with the country manager for Indonesia. Everything looked good, they always said that things were positive but the thing was, hubby couldn't wait any longer because he had an offer that he had to answer. It was a week full of contemplation because ... well it was a tough choice. Both positions obviously have their own plus sides and down sides. But being a graduate of a business school whose dream is to climb up the corporate MNC ladder, you can't just dismiss a chance to work in such company. Especially when the position has country manager title in front of it and you will be supervised by a high caliber individual who has a long list of awe-inspiring experiences.
But anyway, as we grew older (and wiser :D), we realized that it's not just about the big name, the fancy title and the prestige anymore. There were many things that we put into consideration that made him emailed that company and drew himself out of the candidacy. Now fast forward to two months later, there's a possibility that that company operation will be suspended over some stupid regulations. We couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
So far, we seemed to make the right decision, including by crossing Singapore off the list (this is about another company that he had wrapped all of the hiring process). Working with the world most admired company doesn't seem that appealing when you can't bring your whole life there. We were both excited for the first few interviews but the excitement wore down towards the end. It's just not worth it. Now I'm happy that he is happy in his current company (still big, albeit local company). And the fact that we're in the same industry gives it an added bonus. We can update, help and learn from each other :).
But anyway, as we grew older (and wiser :D), we realized that it's not just about the big name, the fancy title and the prestige anymore. There were many things that we put into consideration that made him emailed that company and drew himself out of the candidacy. Now fast forward to two months later, there's a possibility that that company operation will be suspended over some stupid regulations. We couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
So far, we seemed to make the right decision, including by crossing Singapore off the list (this is about another company that he had wrapped all of the hiring process). Working with the world most admired company doesn't seem that appealing when you can't bring your whole life there. We were both excited for the first few interviews but the excitement wore down towards the end. It's just not worth it. Now I'm happy that he is happy in his current company (still big, albeit local company). And the fact that we're in the same industry gives it an added bonus. We can update, help and learn from each other :).
I know it's only been a week, but I'm planning to evaluate all of them, at least once a month because what's the purpose of having goals if we don't keep them on track, right?
On living a healthier life!
I brought Oki lunch for three times, that's not bad at all although I have to admit that the meal wasn't prepared by me. Two were from his mom while one was especially prepared by Mbak Nur :D. We went grocery shopping today and bought some veggies and fruits for making yummy and healthy smoothies. I haven't prepared the weekly meal, but I did cook today for the family. It was Mac & Cheese for them and sardines with cutup chillies and shallots for me. I even made a homemade spring roll and rolled more than 50 of them. Oki & Jehan love it and I couldn't be happier :D. For dinner, Oki made us spaghetti bolognaise and I made the garlic bread. I think we should do this more often :).
On spending more and save less
Hmm..I've brought home 3 Zara pants (they were on sale and I have no pants aside from jeans), a Tod's bag (again, on sale too and something I'm gonna treasure forever). A pair of Seychelles shoes from Rococo Rack (yes, another sale haul and I swear I need low heeled shoes for everyday wear). I think that's it...it's not too bad if you don't take the Tod's bag into consideration. But hey, I only buy bag every four months or so and this wasn't an impulse..so I think I'm doing Ok..I just need to cut down on my Starbucks visit :D.
Oh and I did hit the treadmill yesterday and ran for 20 minutes. That's like the longest I have ever been on a treadmill :D. I played around with the speed by changing it to high speed for two minutes and then slowed it down for two minutes and then back on a sprint. It suits me more than the regular/steady speed.
On spending more time with the family
Today was quite an accomplishment that we were able to stay at home for the whole day and cooked for everyone :D. I'm going to spend the first half of Tuesday with my mom going to Connex to look up some schools for Ibnu. I had lunch with my friends (in Central Park, no less :D) and went to Startuplocal and dinner with Ella. Need to visit my grandma and arrange something for Jibran's birthday so the whole family can gather together. I'm helping my uncle who lives in Florida by writing him a hardship letter. I also had a quick meeting with my sister and my aunt to talk about the project they are planning. I've been waking up earlier too and I set up an Adzan apps on my phone so I can always be reminded to do the five times everywhere I go.
On exploring new hobby
Sadly I haven't taken pictures at all. I'm planning to get a Lensbaby though to have some fun with the camera. And I'm writing now :)
Overall, it's not too shabby for the first nine days...
On living a healthier life!
I brought Oki lunch for three times, that's not bad at all although I have to admit that the meal wasn't prepared by me. Two were from his mom while one was especially prepared by Mbak Nur :D. We went grocery shopping today and bought some veggies and fruits for making yummy and healthy smoothies. I haven't prepared the weekly meal, but I did cook today for the family. It was Mac & Cheese for them and sardines with cutup chillies and shallots for me. I even made a homemade spring roll and rolled more than 50 of them. Oki & Jehan love it and I couldn't be happier :D. For dinner, Oki made us spaghetti bolognaise and I made the garlic bread. I think we should do this more often :).
On spending more and save less
Hmm..I've brought home 3 Zara pants (they were on sale and I have no pants aside from jeans), a Tod's bag (again, on sale too and something I'm gonna treasure forever). A pair of Seychelles shoes from Rococo Rack (yes, another sale haul and I swear I need low heeled shoes for everyday wear). I think that's it...it's not too bad if you don't take the Tod's bag into consideration. But hey, I only buy bag every four months or so and this wasn't an impulse..so I think I'm doing Ok..I just need to cut down on my Starbucks visit :D.
Oh and I did hit the treadmill yesterday and ran for 20 minutes. That's like the longest I have ever been on a treadmill :D. I played around with the speed by changing it to high speed for two minutes and then slowed it down for two minutes and then back on a sprint. It suits me more than the regular/steady speed.
On spending more time with the family
Today was quite an accomplishment that we were able to stay at home for the whole day and cooked for everyone :D. I'm going to spend the first half of Tuesday with my mom going to Connex to look up some schools for Ibnu. I had lunch with my friends (in Central Park, no less :D) and went to Startuplocal and dinner with Ella. Need to visit my grandma and arrange something for Jibran's birthday so the whole family can gather together. I'm helping my uncle who lives in Florida by writing him a hardship letter. I also had a quick meeting with my sister and my aunt to talk about the project they are planning. I've been waking up earlier too and I set up an Adzan apps on my phone so I can always be reminded to do the five times everywhere I go.
On exploring new hobby
Sadly I haven't taken pictures at all. I'm planning to get a Lensbaby though to have some fun with the camera. And I'm writing now :)
Overall, it's not too shabby for the first nine days...
I bet new year resolution is the most popular topic in blogging world these past few days as 2011 has just arrived. I don't think I made one last year, although I did have some kind of plans sporadically. I've been thinking about my plan and what I want to achieve this year and thought it'll be good to list them down (it's the first step toward making it happens, right?) even though now that I'm making a mental note..it seems that all my plans is pretty generic, like to lead a healthier life, to spend more times with the family, to spend less and save more. Standard banget deh seperti sejuta orang lainnya.
Ya memang sih semua orang pasti cita-citanya kurang lebih sama, pengen hidupnya lebih berkwalitas. Hanya aja cara untuk mencapainya berbeda untuk setiap orang, tergantung kemampuan, keingingan dan kapasitasnya. Jadi daripada menulis rencana-rencana besar, kayanya saya juga harus menuliskan langkah apa aja yang akan dijalankan untuk mencapai rencana besar itu. Kalo perlu sekalian tentukan deadlinenya juga. Afterall, it's not just a dream, right? It's a goal. A goal is a dream with a deadline. Jadi bukan hanya angan-angan kosong aja.
1. Hidup lebih sehat!
Nah tuh kan standard..hehe. Ini berlaku bukan untuk gue aja tapi juga sekeluarga. Pokoknya mesti melakukan hal-hal di bawah ini:
- Cek kesehatan lengkap sama oki juga (kolesterol, jantung, dll) di laboratorium Pramita dekat rumah: Januari
- Pap smear!. Padahal dekat rumah ada Rumah Sakit Asri. Bagus, dokter-dokternya oke dan nggak pake ngantri parah. Januari harus ya!! Di push sampe minggu ke empat juga nggak pa-pa kok.
- Imunisasi. Jelas bukan buat gue...tapi buat Jehan sama Jibran. I think I kinda lost track on their recent immunizations. Mesti ke Markas Sehat bulan Januari minggu kedua.
- Harus lebih rajin lagi siapin lunch box buat Oki. Tiga kali seminggu lah. Jangan lupa juicenya juga ya.
- Bikin menu khusus untuk anak-anak dan buat Oki juga sekalian. Jadi setiap weekend udah tau minggu ke depannya mau bikin apa aja, sekalian disiapin juga bahan-bahannya. Termasuk juga menu breakfastnya Jibran. Jangan turutin roti + Nutella aja setiap hari.
- Treadmill!! ya ampun beli treadmill itu kapan ya, taun lalu kayanya? dan saya udah pake berapa kali ya? Five times at the most :(. Haruuss dimulai minggu ini, seminggu dua kali!
- Kurangin makan nasi, apalagi kalo malem. Kurangin gorengan (susah!). Tadi pagi aja udah disediain pisang goreng, trus siang ada tempe goreng tepung dan malemnya ada tahu goreng tepung!. Tapi udah mendingan sih konsumsi gorengannya dibanding waktu masih berkantor di Bangka Raya.
- Udah itu aja kayanya. Gosh, that's a lot and that's only for the health section!!
2. Spend more save less!
Ehh kebalik ya? :p. I was good at curbing my spending for quite a while and but then everything went downhill came November and December. I started a #livewithless project when I came back from vacation. Throw a lot of my makeup stash and clothes and shoes. Now I only have a small box of makeup, three blushes instead of thirteen blushes. The only makeup I bought since July was a Lancome eye kohl. I didn't buy any clothes for almost two months but then I started to loosen up a little bit and still gave myself a restriction such as: buy only local brands, buy used, etc. But towards the end of November and December was the worst, I shopped and spent quite a lot :(. So, what's the plan?
- Finish of the remaining of family financial plan. First week of January
- Recalculate the monthly budget and give myself an exact amount for shopping allowance
- Set up an automatic credit/debit for cable, Internet, etc.
- Get a life insurance for Oki.
- The first fashion item I bought in 2011 has got to be special. I have to ask myself 'Will I like it by next year? The next two year? Can it be passed on to Jehan?'. Chances are, I will bump into many mediocre items. That way I can wait and save until I can get the one I truly desire.
3. Spend more time with the family!
- I think I need to take a day off every two weeks so I can do anything I have to do on personal level (going to the bank, pampering, grocery shopping, visit grandmas & relatives, lunch with mom and sister, bake something with Jehan, pick up Jibran at school, lunch with bestfriends, clean up the house, anything!). It's for anything that I seem to never have time to do and don't want to sacrifice weekend. I hope it's not too much to ask if I start this day off this month.
- Quality time with husband :D. When was the last time we went to watch movie together? Right, it was for Slumdog Millionaire. We need to allocate at least once a month to go see movie or have dinner together. January 5 is a perfect date to pick, but it falls on Wednesday, I'm afraid it's not doable :(. Maybe this weekend?
- Wake up at 5 (and not just for Subuh and back on the bed afterward). I need to start and take care of myself early so then I have more times to prep for my three babies and avoid the morning rush we always seem to have in the house. January 5
- Project time with the kids. Maybe doing a craft together? Cook or bake? Or I can take Jibran to Starbucks and accompanying him study there and then we can chit-chat for a little bit. It's anything that we start together and then accomplish it as a team. I'm still thinking about the kind of projects we can do together.
- Get moving. Like swimming together? Riding a bike in BSD? (Pe ernya mesti beli sepeda dulu sih bapak ibunya). Hmm..what else?
- Take time to visit families, relatives, friends. I haven't visited one of my best friends to see her daughter (and she is one year old now), I haven't visited my cousins new house even though they have been coming over my house a few times. It seems like I've always too busy for those things and too occupied to be thoughtful. I hated this :(
4. Explore new hobbies.
- I picked up sewing as my new hobby a few months back. I liked it a lot and planned to do and learned more but as expected, I didn't have the time, so I haven't touched the sewing machine again for the last two months. Not sure if I'm able to resume it this month. But hopefully, come February I can sew something for the kids or for myself.
- Take pictures! I'm always a happy snapper and one of my long term goals is actually to learn photography and get that full frame camera. For now, I have to try to maximize my Lumix, iPhone and sometimes the 500D. I'll try to take at least one picture a day starting January 2. And finish reorganizing all of my pictures since 2003 and upload them to Flickr. Can I get it done at the end of February?
- Dance class? Maybe starting in July
- What about the public speaking class? The time has never seem right and I'm still on and off about it. But it's a skill I need to develop. Plus I kind of miss being a classroom student again :). We'll see what happen in March/April
- My sister has been asking me to make a small business along with my aunties. It's something that I can't say No because one of the reasons why I'm here is to help out my families in anyway I can. And the good thing is, it's something that I have huge interest. So yea maybe we'll start something and can talk about it seriously in the beginning of February, after I can set up the online version of Closet Quickies in January
- Write more!
My goodness, that's a lot and I'm not even done writing it down *inhale & exhale*...but I am overwhelmed already..so I will leave it at that for now. Will report back in a month on the progress of my so called new year resolution
Happy new year everyone...wishing you a blessed year ahead :).
Ya memang sih semua orang pasti cita-citanya kurang lebih sama, pengen hidupnya lebih berkwalitas. Hanya aja cara untuk mencapainya berbeda untuk setiap orang, tergantung kemampuan, keingingan dan kapasitasnya. Jadi daripada menulis rencana-rencana besar, kayanya saya juga harus menuliskan langkah apa aja yang akan dijalankan untuk mencapai rencana besar itu. Kalo perlu sekalian tentukan deadlinenya juga. Afterall, it's not just a dream, right? It's a goal. A goal is a dream with a deadline. Jadi bukan hanya angan-angan kosong aja.
1. Hidup lebih sehat!
Nah tuh kan standard..hehe. Ini berlaku bukan untuk gue aja tapi juga sekeluarga. Pokoknya mesti melakukan hal-hal di bawah ini:
- Cek kesehatan lengkap sama oki juga (kolesterol, jantung, dll) di laboratorium Pramita dekat rumah: Januari
- Pap smear!. Padahal dekat rumah ada Rumah Sakit Asri. Bagus, dokter-dokternya oke dan nggak pake ngantri parah. Januari harus ya!! Di push sampe minggu ke empat juga nggak pa-pa kok.
- Imunisasi. Jelas bukan buat gue...tapi buat Jehan sama Jibran. I think I kinda lost track on their recent immunizations. Mesti ke Markas Sehat bulan Januari minggu kedua.
- Harus lebih rajin lagi siapin lunch box buat Oki. Tiga kali seminggu lah. Jangan lupa juicenya juga ya.
- Bikin menu khusus untuk anak-anak dan buat Oki juga sekalian. Jadi setiap weekend udah tau minggu ke depannya mau bikin apa aja, sekalian disiapin juga bahan-bahannya. Termasuk juga menu breakfastnya Jibran. Jangan turutin roti + Nutella aja setiap hari.
- Treadmill!! ya ampun beli treadmill itu kapan ya, taun lalu kayanya? dan saya udah pake berapa kali ya? Five times at the most :(. Haruuss dimulai minggu ini, seminggu dua kali!
- Kurangin makan nasi, apalagi kalo malem. Kurangin gorengan (susah!). Tadi pagi aja udah disediain pisang goreng, trus siang ada tempe goreng tepung dan malemnya ada tahu goreng tepung!. Tapi udah mendingan sih konsumsi gorengannya dibanding waktu masih berkantor di Bangka Raya.
- Udah itu aja kayanya. Gosh, that's a lot and that's only for the health section!!
2. Spend more save less!
Ehh kebalik ya? :p. I was good at curbing my spending for quite a while and but then everything went downhill came November and December. I started a #livewithless project when I came back from vacation. Throw a lot of my makeup stash and clothes and shoes. Now I only have a small box of makeup, three blushes instead of thirteen blushes. The only makeup I bought since July was a Lancome eye kohl. I didn't buy any clothes for almost two months but then I started to loosen up a little bit and still gave myself a restriction such as: buy only local brands, buy used, etc. But towards the end of November and December was the worst, I shopped and spent quite a lot :(. So, what's the plan?
- Finish of the remaining of family financial plan. First week of January
- Recalculate the monthly budget and give myself an exact amount for shopping allowance
- Set up an automatic credit/debit for cable, Internet, etc.
- Get a life insurance for Oki.
- The first fashion item I bought in 2011 has got to be special. I have to ask myself 'Will I like it by next year? The next two year? Can it be passed on to Jehan?'. Chances are, I will bump into many mediocre items. That way I can wait and save until I can get the one I truly desire.
3. Spend more time with the family!
- I think I need to take a day off every two weeks so I can do anything I have to do on personal level (going to the bank, pampering, grocery shopping, visit grandmas & relatives, lunch with mom and sister, bake something with Jehan, pick up Jibran at school, lunch with bestfriends, clean up the house, anything!). It's for anything that I seem to never have time to do and don't want to sacrifice weekend. I hope it's not too much to ask if I start this day off this month.
- Quality time with husband :D. When was the last time we went to watch movie together? Right, it was for Slumdog Millionaire. We need to allocate at least once a month to go see movie or have dinner together. January 5 is a perfect date to pick, but it falls on Wednesday, I'm afraid it's not doable :(. Maybe this weekend?
- Wake up at 5 (and not just for Subuh and back on the bed afterward). I need to start and take care of myself early so then I have more times to prep for my three babies and avoid the morning rush we always seem to have in the house. January 5
- Project time with the kids. Maybe doing a craft together? Cook or bake? Or I can take Jibran to Starbucks and accompanying him study there and then we can chit-chat for a little bit. It's anything that we start together and then accomplish it as a team. I'm still thinking about the kind of projects we can do together.
- Get moving. Like swimming together? Riding a bike in BSD? (Pe ernya mesti beli sepeda dulu sih bapak ibunya). Hmm..what else?
- Take time to visit families, relatives, friends. I haven't visited one of my best friends to see her daughter (and she is one year old now), I haven't visited my cousins new house even though they have been coming over my house a few times. It seems like I've always too busy for those things and too occupied to be thoughtful. I hated this :(
4. Explore new hobbies.
- I picked up sewing as my new hobby a few months back. I liked it a lot and planned to do and learned more but as expected, I didn't have the time, so I haven't touched the sewing machine again for the last two months. Not sure if I'm able to resume it this month. But hopefully, come February I can sew something for the kids or for myself.
- Take pictures! I'm always a happy snapper and one of my long term goals is actually to learn photography and get that full frame camera. For now, I have to try to maximize my Lumix, iPhone and sometimes the 500D. I'll try to take at least one picture a day starting January 2. And finish reorganizing all of my pictures since 2003 and upload them to Flickr. Can I get it done at the end of February?
- Dance class? Maybe starting in July
- What about the public speaking class? The time has never seem right and I'm still on and off about it. But it's a skill I need to develop. Plus I kind of miss being a classroom student again :). We'll see what happen in March/April
- My sister has been asking me to make a small business along with my aunties. It's something that I can't say No because one of the reasons why I'm here is to help out my families in anyway I can. And the good thing is, it's something that I have huge interest. So yea maybe we'll start something and can talk about it seriously in the beginning of February, after I can set up the online version of Closet Quickies in January
- Write more!
My goodness, that's a lot and I'm not even done writing it down *inhale & exhale*...but I am overwhelmed already..so I will leave it at that for now. Will report back in a month on the progress of my so called new year resolution
Happy new year everyone...wishing you a blessed year ahead :).