life is a journey…expect the unexpected !!! ;)

Just feels like I wanna write here…About job…I am sure, most of us must have it right?  Jobs to do, responsibilities to fulfil, wether we like it or not…Do you all like your job?  I am sure some don’t…It is like a really luxurious thing that you can have a job that you love and at the same time pays you well too…Most of the time, it is the job is suck but the payment is great, or you love the job but the payment is suck, or the worst, you hate the job and the payment…

As for me?  Hmmmm…let’s not talk about my job ;p 

I do believe that we can all learn something from our environment.  From the job we do (again, whether we like it or not… ;)), from the people around you.  Not just those ‘white-collar’ type of people, but I do believe that I can learn even more from ’street people’.  Orang-orang yang kadangan kita lupa, tapi malah justru dari mereka kita bisa dapat banyak pelajaran hidup.

Dan saya selalu senang mendengarkan cerita-cerita tentang mereka.  Ada satu yang selalu saya ingat kalau saya udah mulai BT dengan kerjaan saya (atau tepatnya seseorang dalam kerjaan saya ;p)…Dari sebuah forward email tentang seorang bapak tua penjual kue rangi (itu kue dari sagu, dikasih kelapa, terus dikasih gula merah kental…nyaaammmm…I love jajan pasar!).  Beliau sudah berpuluh-puluh tahun berjualan kue ini, dan hebatnya beliau menjajakannya berkeliling.  Ketika ditanya kenapa nggak mangkal aja, jadi nggak capek, beliau bilang beliau hanya berusaha mencari rezeki, yang kita nggak akan pernah tahu dimana Tuhan akan menurunkannya.  Saya pikir, bener juga…Rezeki nggak kayak pizza, yang kita bisa delivery, langsung bisa nyampe di depan pintu rumah kita, still hot from the oven.  Kitalah yang harus berusaha menjemput dan mencari rezeki itu. 

Ada satu hal lagi yang bapak itu bilang…tulus dari hatinya…Dia bilang, setiap langkah kita dalam mencari rezeki pasti ada yang menghitungnya.  Jika kita ikhlas dalam setiap langkah yang kadang (seperti) tidak menghasilkan apapun itu, maka ada dua kemungkinan.  Kalau Tuhan tidak memberikan kita rezeki yang kita inginkan di depan nanti, maka biarlah itu semua menjadi tabungan kita semua di akhirat nanti…

Itu cerita hiburan buat saya…Hiburan kalau saya udah mulai suntuk dengan sesuatu (atau tepatnya seseorang hehehe ;p) dalam kerjaan saya…Hiburan untuk saya tetap bertahan walaupun kadangan saya bingung sendiri…Do I have to?  Does it worth?  Tapi mungkin emang harus begini…Sometimes, you gotta catch up with the rain in order to see the rainbow, right? ;)  I just hope that there is no thunderstorm during the rain hehehe…

Enjoy your weekend now

Got an email from Mrs. Buri this morning…She is a really nice person, venezuelan lady, married to Mr. Buri, a Malaysian.  I used to work for her when I was in Den Haag, helped her ironing (funny story how I ended up ironing, ask me if you wanna know ;)).  She is really really nice, kind-hearted, even I remember she gave me 100 euros when I asked her permission for not working that week cause I am going to Austria and Budapest.  Sometimes I didnt work, just chatting with her and got paid for that…What a work !!! Thanks mam

Here is her email…I like it…enjoy

As we grow up, we learn that

   even the one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let us down probably will…

  we will have our heart broken, probably more than once and it’s harder every time.

   we will break other hearts too, so remember how it felt when ours were broken.

   we’ll fight with our best friend.

   we’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and we’ll eventually lose someone we love.

   So take too many pictures, have too much laugh, and love like you’ve never been hurt

   because

   every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you’ll never get back… 

Have u ever heard that name?  She is the daughter of Irish’s prime minister…But, so what???  Yeah, right, I wanna write about her here in my blog cause I love her writings.  When I was just returned from Holland, I found many new books that my family bought for the last couple of years (thanks to my father, he makes my family loves reading so much…).  One of them is this book by Cecelia Ahern, titled ‘PS, I Love You’

I like the book.  It’s that kind of romantic-funny-light-easytoread book.  It is a story about Holly and Gerry.  Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other’s sentences and even when they fought, they laughed. No one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other.  Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not for Holly and Gerry.

Until the unthinkable happens. Gerry’s death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He’s left her a bundle of notes, gently guiding Holly into her new life without him, each note signed "P.S. I Love You."

As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows her better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing - and being braver than ever before.  Life is for a living, she realises - but it always helps if there’s an angel watching over you.

I enjoy that book so much (as much as I enjoy Dan Brown, Roald Dahl, JK Rowling, and many others).  I just can’ wait to see the movie (the right is already bought by Warner Bross).

I write about Cecelia Ahern just now because last week when I went to aksara, I found another book of her, titled ‘Rosie Dunne‘ or published in UK as ‘Where Rainbows End’.  It is another romantic-funny-light-easytoread book. 

About Rosie and Alex who has been best friend since they were 5 years old.  From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as they’re seeing each other through romance perspective, they’re separated. Alex’s family move from Dublin to America - and Alex goes with them. For good.

Rosie’s lost without him. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever - and keep her at home in Ireland.

Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each others lives, but neither of them knows whether their friendship can survive the years and miles - or new relationships. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart, but seems like fate is not done with them yet.  The rest?  You read it…hehehe…

That’s all for today…ENJOY MONDAY

PS:  I got one new niece and nephew recently.  First, my oldest sister, Cika, gave birth to a really beautiful baby girl last Friday.  Another girl in the family and this morning I got a news that one of my best friend, Ratih, just delivered a baby boy…CONGRATZZZZ !!!  Selamet begadang, bapak Aryo ! :) 

Looks like I am quite productive in updating my blog recently, huh?  It’s just that when I am in the mood to write, I can write about almost anything, for like ages, even past midnight, forget to sleep, forget to eat (hhmmm…after second thought, I dont think so hehhee…).  I like to write on my diaries (I burnt one actually hehehe ;p), my travelling journals (but there are still some travellings that I haven’t wrote about, seems like my speed to update my journal is slower than my speed to travel itself ;)), or just scribble on a piece of paper, on a note, receipt, anywhere…

I really want to have my writings publish someday.  But my problem is sometimes when I am in the middle in writing something (the one I think possible to be published, it’s most probably that I will not finish it…Mostly because my mood to write suddenly vanished, and I am in the mood to do something else…I guess that’s just one (of many) weakness I have, it’s so hard for me to focus to one thing…I enjoy doing many things at the same time, rather than focusing on doing and finishing one thing only.  That’s why, I have many unfinished projects:  writings scattered all over my fave room (the mezzanine part in ny home), my handicraft projects (I love making things, u know…), and many others.  Unless commitment involved, the list can go on and on…

I had my writings published once, though…It was for a ‘gado-gado’ article in Femina, in 2000 (or 2001, I forgot…).  I got Rp 200,000 for it, minus 10% tax, I got Rp 180,000, which I spent it all at once to treat my family.

Here, you can see it below.  I scanned it once, with an intention to compose my own potfolio…Someday, don’t know when, though hehehe ;p

Cuman mau cerita dikit…malem rabu kemaren saya ditangkep polisi…hiksss… Gara-garanya gue nerobos lampu merah…gue udah tau sih udah merah, tapi gue nggak liat ada polisi…Lho??? Not a good reason ya?

Jadi kan kemaren malem tuh, gue lagi iseng-iseng aja, pengen nyobain pulang lewat Fatmawati, biasanya kan gue lewat Antasari. Nah, ternyata Fatmawati tuh macet beratsssss, jadilah gue sekitar 2 jam gitu baru sampe Margonda. Gue udah BT aja kan, biasa juga lewat Antasari 1 jam 10 menit gue udah sampe rumah. Jadilah pas di lampu merah Margonda, yang pas pertigaan mau ke Jalan Raya Bogor, gue udah pengen cepet-cepet nyampe rumah aja, dan gue teroboslah itu lampu merah. Ternyata ada polisi. Gue udah pasang tampang memelas aja, “Maaf Pak…saya lagi sakit perut bangeut…lagi dapet, pengen cepet-cepet sampe rumah…” Terus gue nyerocos aja soal gimana sakit perutnya kalo lagi dapet (padahal sih sejujurnya gue nggak pernah sakit perut kalo dapet…paling sakit perut kalo diare aja, kebanyakan makan yang aneh-aneh)…Si Pak Polisinya untung baek, cuman meriksa STNK dan SIM gue, terus bilang lain kali kalo udah merah, walopun sakit perut atau apapun, berhenti ya…soalnya bahaya…Terus dibalikin deh surat-surat gue, dan gue bilang makasih, langsung cabut…Nggak bayar sepeser pun hehehe…Abisan gue juga lagi bokek, tgl segini kok belom gajian juga ya

Ngomong-ngomong soal tilang-mentilang, gue pernah ditilang di Den Haag. Gara-garanya lampu sepeda gue mati…Dan itu cuman beberapa hari sebelom gue pulang ke Jakarta…Heran deh, setaon lebih lolos-lolos aja, kok ya pas mau pulang kena… Jadi waktu itu ada makan-makan di rumahnya Pak Muhadjir, atase Debdikbudnya Kedutaan RI di Belanda. Rumahnya lumayan jauh deh, lewat lagi dari rumah sakit yang waktu itu gue nganterin Mbak Icut. Udah mau ke arah Kijkduin gitu…Kita berangkat rame-rame naek sepeda, ada Bang Qori, Mas Sabiq, Mbak Rika, Mbak Risa, pokoknya rame lah, sekitar 6-7 sepeda kalo nggak salah. Waktu mau ke sananya, sepeda Mbak Rika kan juga nggak ada lampunya, jadi gue sama dia di tengah rombongan, sempet ngelewatin polisi, tapi karena belom gitu gelap (masih rada-rada terang gitu, masih ada matahari) jadi nggak ketauan kalo lampunya mati. Pas pulang, udah gelap, kita mencar. Gue dianterin pulang sama Mas Sabiq, sekalian dia mboncengin Hastin. Pas mau nyampe rumah gue, di Java Straat tuh (duhhhh…btw, I still remember clearly every detail of that street…), udah lewat ABN Amro bank, kan ada lampu merah tuh, yang udah mau belok ke Nassauplein…Tau-tau ada polisi gitu muncul di balik kegelapan malam…Polisi dimana-mana sama aja ya, demennya ngumpet di tempat-tempat gelap…Gue kan duluan, mas sabiq di belakang gue…Pas tuh polisi udah bilang ‘fietsen lichting-fietsen lichting’ udah deh I know kena gue…Gue bilang aja yang sebenernya…lampunya emang bener ada kok…cuman kabelnya yang nyambung ke roda (jadi kan kalo rodanya muter, tuh lampu nyala) putus, dan belom gue benerin…Udah sebulanan gitu sih benernya putus, tapi so far baik-baik saja, jadi nggak gue bener-benerin hehehe… Gue kena denda 23 Euro kalo nggak salah…Harusnya more than that, tapi karena lampu gue benernya masih ada, cuman kabelnya rusak aja, jadi dikurangin…Cuman kan sistem tilangnya di sana tuh kita cuman ditanya alamatnya, sama dikasih kayak resi tilang gitu. Nanti surat tilangnya dikirim ke alamat kita, kita bawa surat itu ke bank, dan bayar. Tapi sampe gue pulang, belom ada tuh surat tilang yang dateng, jadi piye yo? Jangan-jangan gue ntar kalo mau masuk Eropa (atau Belanda) lagi udah ada criminal record gitu, nggak bayar tilang sepeda hehehe 

My other ‘criminal record’ di sana adalah pas gue mau ke Yunani.  Kan kita berangkat dari Brussel International Airport tuh (naik virgin express, biasalah kere…), gue lupa bangeut masukin pisau lipat victorinox gue ke dalam tas yang masuk bagasi, dan instead malah gue masukin ke tas yang gue bawa masuk ke cabin.  Jadilah pas di pemeriksaan gitu ketauan deh…dibawa ke counter gitu, suruh ngisi form isi identitas diri…Sebenernya bisa diambil lagi sih pas pulangnya, bayar 50 euro kalo nggak salah…Gue udah niat mau ngambil lagi pas pulangnya, tapi apa daya, uangnya abis beratsssssssss di Yunani (Wah, soal abis-abis duit pas lagi jalan-jalan, yang terparah emang yang pas ke Yunani…I’ll tell you later the story ya…).  Ya sudahlah, bye bye pisau lipatku…sampe sekarang gue belom beli lagi nih…Nabung ah…

Tadi saya iseng, buka-buka lagi blog saya yang dulu, ini nih…

Duuuhhh, saya nyesel kenapa ya saya nggak rajin-rajin amat mengupdatenya…Padahal pas dibaca-baca gini, asik juga ternyata…Padahal masih banyak lagi yang harusnya bisa saya tulis, tapi karena penyakit m.a.l.a.s akut yang saya derita sejak kecil, jadinya ya cuman gitu deh isinya…

Tapi beneran deh saya kangen…

Kangen naik sepeda…

Kangen kerjaan jadi mbok dedek (saya kan kerja bersihin rumah orang dan nyetrika lho di Denhaag)

Kangen begadang-begadang ngerjain semua tugas yang bejibun itu…

Kangen ngukur jalan-jalan di Denhaag…

Kangen anginnya Belanda yang nggak kira-kira gedenya…

Kangen dinner bareng-bareng…

Kangen repot-repot masak kalo mau ngundang anak-anak ke rumah…

Kangen centrum…

Kangen ah-pengen-travelling-pergi-ah…

Kangen dimasakin J

Pokoknya banyak deh…kangen semua…

Mana sekarang pas udah kerja (di sini) bener-bener kayak nggak sempet gitu lagi jalan-jalan…hikssss…Kemaren aja nih, weekend akhir Juni, saya kan ke Singapore.

Niatnya sih emang pengen jalan-jalan, sekalian cari itulah yaangkuidamidamkandarijamandahulukala…Saya pergi sendirian, cida-ciwi-tante udah berangkat duluan dari hari Jumat subuh.  Saya nyusul, Jumat malem karena harus ngeberesin kerjaan dulu.

Ehhhhh …pas udah jam setengah 4-an gitu, tiba-tiba ada tugas dari Ann donk…

Dan she wants it ASAP !!!
Tadinya udah jiper aja, mana dia secara kata orang2 kan galak pisan, hampir aja gue udah mau batal aja tuh (OH, NOOOO !!!).  Tapi kata Mbak Nia gue suruh bilang terus terang sama dia, jadilah gue bilang gitu…Dia bilang sih ya udah imel aja dia kalo gue udah kelar…Tapi tetep aja, yang ada gue sampe Singapore jam setengah 1 pagi, kerja sampe jam setengah 2 gitu…Besok sabtuny, pagi-paginya gue bangun, kerja lagi sampe jam setengah 4 sore !!!  Itu juga karena gue udah BT, gue imel aja apa adanya kerjaan gue…Bodo’ deh…Gue balik kan minggu sorenya…lumayan sih masih sempet liat-liat dikit…(dikit??? Vinccy 17 pasang gitu lho dek !!!)

Tapi ku tak berhasil mendapatkanyangkuidamidamkan itu…

Next time, I’ll tell you about my job ya…Speechless for now J 

One day a father of a very wealthy
family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing him how poor people lived.  They spent a couple of days and nights on
the farm, of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father
asked his son,
"How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people
live?" asked the father.

The son answered:
"I saw that we have
one dog and they have four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle
of our garden;
    they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden;

    they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard;
     they
have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on;

    they have fields that go beyond their sight.
We have servants to serve us;
     but they
serve others.
We buy our food;
     but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to
protect us;
    they have friends to protect them."

The father was SPEECHLESS.
Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for
showing me how poor we are!"

Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing? Just imagine, what would happen if we all give thanks for everything we
have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.

Count your blessings, NOT your trouble…

Carpe diem!

Hiiiiiiiiiiii…

This is my first posting in this blog…YEYYY !!!
Actually this is my second blog…If you don’t have anthing to do, bored browsing or waiting for something (read:  the clock to finally reach 5 p.m ;)), feel free to read my other blog:  here.

I don’t know why I change to this friendster blog now…But, if you ask me, and I have to answer, I guess it’s all back to what I wrote as the title of this blog:  LIFE IS A JOURNEY.  A journey with destination to reach, and on our way to reach it, there are many challenges, many lessons to be learned, transit here and there, and we have to face some (if not many) forces that drive us where to go.  Like a journey also, there are stages in our life that make us closer or farther to our destination.

The previous blog I wrote is for one stage in my life.  But life (or should I say ‘the journey’?) goes on…And here I am now, writing another stage of my life…

So, here I am…try to do something useful while waiting the clock strikes 5 p.m.  Time to go!!! hehehe…And that ’something useful’ is filling up these questions below that I got from Friendster’s Bulletin Board…

3 favorite things to do:
-  reading
-  travelling

-  eating

3 dream jobs:
-  have my own business
-  writer
-  housewife

3 dream places to go:
-  explore asia
-  visit africa, at least the cape town…
-  europe again

3 favorite books to read:
-  travelling books
-  chicklit
-  I read almost anything…

3 things I treasure:
-  God
-  Family
-  Friends

3 favorite food:
-  Asia Food (especially Indonesia, Thai, Chinese, Japanese)

-  Seafood
-  Dimsum dan teman-temannya yang sejenis…

That’s for today…I have another useful thing to do
Check here, I have many things to do now…

Catch u later…