Recent Updates

Oh hello! Hehe, I know it’s been a while since the last time I wrote something in this blog. I’m sorrrrryyyy. I’ve been meaning to update my blog but I just couldn’t find the right time to do so. But now things are a lot easier in my part, so I start writing again. Well, this post is gonna be really random. Basically, about things that just recently happened in my life. So here it goes!

Recent Activities:

Mainly, finishing my undergraduate thesis! Hey, I told you I really want to graduate on February. So I’ve been trying my best to make it happen. So I worked my ass off. Just about three days ago, the professor who has been supervising my thesis just gave his “OK” for me. Or should we call it “ACC”? yeah, those three letters that determine whether or not my thesis ready to be tested, in front of three lecturers, including him (the professor that supervises my undergraduate thesis). I don’t even know what “ACC” means or stands for. Anyone knows? The most important thing is, I’m just a few steps to go out of UGM’s gate with a diploma in my hand. Hope everything goes well so I can really graduate on February. Wish me luck, people!

see the words in the red circle? it says "ACC". I'm soooo excited!

Recent events attended:

There were two pretty big events I just attended recently. Both happened to be family events. One was from the family on my mother’s side. It was the wedding of my cousin, whom I call Kak Tara. It held in Palembang on December the 5th. So me and my brother flew to Palembang from Jogja two days before, and met up with my mother and the rest of the family from her side there. It was very touchy and all. Because I’ve never really been into a wedding before. Well, I’ve been to some wedding receptions, of course. But not when they actually stated the vows, or what we usually called “akad nikah”. And Kak Tara is my first cousin who got married. The rest are still single. I even cried a bit when I hugged and kissed her cheek and said, “congratulations, newlywed.” she said, “pray for me…”, and heck yeah I will pray for her and the happiness of her newly-built family.

Kak Tara and Mas Heru, the husband. This photo taken right after "akad nikah"

The second event I recently attended was held in Bengkulu, my very own hometown, on December 25th. It was the 50th wedding anniversary of my grandparents (from my father’s side). And since five of their grandchildren are studying in Jogja (me, my brother, and my other three cousins), and the other one is in Jakarta, we were demanded to go back home for a little while, yet the other three are still in Bengkulu. Oh and it was holidays anyway. The golden wedding anniversary turned out to be a surprise for my grandparents. Because a lot of relatives and extended families were also invited to come to celebrate. Oh, and it was held in a hall of some hotel. For this elderly yet lovely couple I also pray for their happiness. Love you, Nenek and Datuk. :*

they still got it even after 50 years of marriage!

Recent Gifts

Well, maybe the “s” after the word “gift” isn’t really needed because there was really one meaningful gift I recently got. It was from “him”, that certain person, who is sooo faaar faaar away from me. He sent a bouquet of flowers, consist of 9 roses, representing our 9 months being together. Well, because he was (and, still is) not here, so he asked someone to deliver it to me. I happen to know this someone, so I actually laughed when I saw him in front of my place, and asked “what are you doing here?”, and I was amazed when he handed me the flowers, and say “this is from him…” and I’m simply flattered. I know he cares, and he still managed to show that he cares even if he’s away. A few moments after that I couldn’t help to think, how many roses will I get after 50 years together?

the "9 red roses"

Recent Books I read

Well, I don’t usually share about books I read in my blog. Then again, I’m not that kind of people who read serious books. I’m more of a person who goes for light readings. I prefer novels: romance, mysteries, fantasies, or adventures. It simply depends on my mood. Well, bottom line: fictions. My favorites of all times is Harry Potter. I thought J. K. Rowling is a genius. But another author that is also my favorite is Meg Cabot. I specifically collect her books. I like her because, first of all, her stories are light (hehe). And second of all, I like her ideas. One time she wrote a story about teenage girl who can see and actually mediate ghosts. The other time it’s about an adult in her twenties who solves murder mysteries. But there’s always romance in her stories no matter how weird the lives of her characters are. And that’s what I love about her. I recently read two of her books. One is called “Queen of Babble”, about a big mouth girl who accidentally got herself lost in Europe. And the other one is “the Mediator”. Well, the Mediator is actually two books in one. So, technically I’ve just read three books. But, in physical form, there are only two. The Mediator is the story about the teenage girl who can see ghosts, just the one that I’ve mentioned before. Well, to be honest, I think these books are more for girls, because of the characters who are also girls. And also about the romance things, that is usually hated by boys. Anywho, I enjoy reading both of these books. You can check out some of Meg Cabot’s books as well if you like reading romance novels.

"Queen of Babble" and "the Mediator: Mean Spirits & Young Blood"

Soooo, I guess that is all my updates. I really hope to write some more. And I also really want to do some blogwalking again. I hope everything is going right with my academic life so I can have more fun while accessing the internet. (instead of only finding some readings related to my thesis)

DBD!

Pagi hari Selasa kemarin, aku dan teman-teman KKN yang lain berkumpul di Puskesmas Randusari untuk mendampingi orang-orang Puskesmas, untuk melakukan pemeriksaan jentik di sekeliling desa. Lokasinya lebih kepada beberapa RT yang emang pernah ada kasus DBD. Dan beberapa rumah memang positif memiliki jentik di bak kamar mandinya, atau di tempat penampungan air lainnya.

Sorenya, aku menerima sms dari Deza, adekku, yang mengabarkan bahwa Eky, adek sepupuku, masuk rumah sakit karena DBD. Adalah sebuah ironi, menurutku, ketika aku melakukan KKN sekian puluh kilometer dari Jogja, dan melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan yang mendukung kesehatan untuk masyarakat yang hidup sederhana, bahkan tergolong miskin, di desa lokasi KKN-ku. Sementara, adik sepupuku sendiri, yang tinggalnya hanya beberapa ratus meter dari tempat tinggalku di Jogja, membiarkan jentik berkembang di kamarnya sehingga ia harus jatuh sakit bahkan sampai harus dirawat, karena DBD.

Buat yang baca, ayo rame-rame cek kamar dan kamar mandi sendiri. Jangan biarkan jentik berkembang biak di dekat kita. Dispenser, gelas yang airnya masih tersisa, dan benda-benda lain yang nggak langsung menyentuh tanah dan bisa menampung air cepat diperiksa dan dibersihkan.

Dan buat Eky, cepat sembuh ya dek. Jangan sampe kejadian seperti Deza lagi, yang bikin satu keluarga trauma dan sampe mengeluarkan tenaga, materi, dan air mata yang tidak sedikit. Semoga kita semua selalu diberi kesehatan dan dijauhkan dari penyakit. Aamiin…

My Lovely Siblings

I am the first child in my family, and I have two siblings. A brother and a sister. But when I was younger, I always secretly hoped that I’m not the eldest in the family. I always hoped that I could have a big brother or sister because I just didn’t like to be one. But now, I’m just so grateful that I have those two crazy kids as my siblings, and this post is dedicated to them. So here we go…

Me and Deza when it was just the two of us

Radeza Oktaziela, usually called Deza. Born in Bengkulu, October 8, 1991. On his first years of life, so far what I can remember is we never stopped fighting. We always tried to push each other’s nerves. Big fights caused us changing maids all the time because they couldn’t stand us. But as we grow up, we don’t fight that often anymore, although some things are still so debatable for both of us, but things are great now. It’s even getting better since he came to Jogja to continue his school. Things we share brought us closer although it also can be the source of fighting. But we just stop hitting each other since highschool I guess. Hehe, yeah we actually did hit each other, or throw things, or say bad words just for the sake of the fights. Not anymore now. And I’m glad because of that. Instead, I can share a lot of things, like stories, even only the light ones. And I actually get along with his girlfriend, and also his ex-girlfriendS. (notice the capital S ).

I love this photo so much cos it makes me laugh everytime I see it.

Zofirah Nikmalia, or Zofi, also born in Bengkulu, November 19, 1996. 8 years age differences may be the reason that we don’t fight that much. Because she was so little when I already understand what “fights” really are for. Although we don’t really fight, I often lose my patience on dealing with her if she doesn’t understand things I explain. Or if she does something and it comes out wrong. I keep reminding myself that she’s not old like me, of course she doesn’t understand things that I do (or Deza does, for that matter). But she’s the best sister one can ever have, since she never says no to anything we ask. She might protest, but never really reject. And she always laughs on my jokes.

Picture taken when I was about to leave Bengkulu for college, August 2006

There they are. The only siblings I have. I might not be the best big sister ever. I might lose temper all the time. I might be annoying to them. But they should know deep down I love them to death! And we should unite! Because nothing can keep us apart, no matter how far we’re seperated to each other. And, the last, I pray for them to lead the most beautiful life, walk in the right path, and never get lost. Love you both, you crazy brother and sister!

idola ciliiikk…

Haaaaa… telah lama tidak menulis di sini. Berbagai hal telah berhasil dilalui pasca indonesia channel. Bahagia juga banyak yang kasih komen. Hihi, mungkin karena alamat blog ini disebar di fs dan facebook gitu deh. Terima kasih terima kasih bagi yang telah menyempatkan diri berkomentar tentang apapun itu. Baik karena iri padaku yang berhasil foto bareng Dikta, ataupun yang iri pada Dikta karena memperoleh kesempatan berfoto denganku. Heheh… Anyway…

Hari ini aku pengen cerita sedikit soal salah satu tayangan di televisi swasta kita yang berjudul “idola cilik”. Beberapa orang ada yang berpendapat acara itu merupakan sebuah eksploitasi terhadap anak-anak. “itu harusnya sekolah kog malah siang-siang begini nyanyi-nyanyi di panggung?”. Ada yang bahkan ga tau idola cilik itu acara apa dan dimana. “kamu kog hapal sih Rin pesertanya? Aku aja ga tau ada acara ini”. Aku sendiri? Personally, aku suka banget nonton acara ini. Ya soal eksploitasi dan anak-anak yang jadi ga bisa sekolah sih sedikit banyak aku setuju. Tapi tidak menyurutkan kesukaanku menonton acara ini.

Hmm, ada dua alasan kenapa aku suka. Pertama, aku suka liat bocah yang nyanyi. Apalagi kalo nyanyinya bagus. Seperti Kiki si pemenang idola cilik season 1 (keliatan banget kan yak ngefans idola cilik-nya?), kalo dia nyanyi aku sering merinding-rinding gitu… hiiii. Soalnya bagus banget. Alasan kedua, nonton idola cilik itu reminds me of family. Seperti yang aku tonton hari ini. Ada Rahmi, peserta dari Aceh. Nyanyi lagu “Yang Terbaik Bagimu” punya Ada Band bareng ayahnya. Terus tiba-tiba aku nangis aja gitu… Haha, cengeng banget yak? Soalnya setengah jam sebelum Rahmi nyanyi itu ayahku telepon. Cuma ngobrol-ngobrol biasa sih. Tapi hari ini yang ga biasa. Ini lagi Idul Adha, dan ya aku sih ikut Andin pulang ke rumahnya di Semarang. Tapi tetep aja, kangen keluarga di rumah. Makanya tadi waktu liat si Rahmi nyanyi sama bapaknya bikin aku nangis. Hihi… Mengingatkanku pada orangtua dan adik-adik nun jauh di sana. Udah 3 tahun nih ga idul Adha di rumah. Huahuaa…

Weh jadi cerita idul adha ini? ya intinya aku suka idola cilik dan sebisa mungkin akan tetep nonton kalo kebetulan tidak ada kuliah atau pekerjaan lain ketika acara ini tayang. btw,

Selamat Idul Adha semuaa…

penyakit yang menyertai perayaan

Saat ini, aku sedang ada di rumah, di kampung halaman, di kota Bengkulu, untuk merayakan liburan Lebaran yang dengan baik hati diberikan oleh jurusan HI UGM selama kurang lebih dua minggu. Seperti anak rantauan yang tidak punya uang lainnya, aku dengan bahagia menikmati semua yang bisa dinikmati di rumah. Makanan enak, tontonan yang beragam, kamar yang luas dan nyaman, dan kebebasan dari bersih-bersih dan cuci-cuci. Semuanya dengan gratis-tis-tis-tis.

Sayangnya kepulanganku ke kampung halaman tidak melulu disertai dengan kebahagiaan. Rupanya di Bengkulu lagi mewabah penyakit jahanam, dan penyakit itu disebut muntaber. Bodohnya, aku ga hati-hati dan ketika aku berbuka puasa sambil reuni dengan teman-teman lama, tanpa sengaja aku telah menelan makanan yang membawa penyakit itu ke dalam tubuhku. Alhasil, malam takbiran kuhabiskan dengan bolak-balik kamar mandi, buang hajat dari bok*ng, dan buang isi perut dari mulut. Bolos puasa terakhir, dan bolos solat ied. Sedihnya…

Tapi untungnya aku bisa cepat sembuh berkat tubuhku yang bertulang baja dan berotot besi (hm kayanya itu gatotkaca deh, bukan aku…). Dua hari setelah Lebaran aku sudah bisa lompat-lompat lagi dan bermalas-malasan lagi. Hanya saja penyakit yang tidak mengenakkan itu bikin aku jadi hati-hati kalo makan. Mumpung masih di rumah, sebisa mungkin aku selalu makan di rumah. Ibuku yang setia memasak sesuatu yang enak di rumah pun selalu mengingatkan anak-anaknya (aku dan adik-adikku) untuk ga sering-sering jajan apalagi yang kotor. Meskipun beberapa kali makan siang di luar bersama dua sahabat berkepala bulatku (hehe), tapi aku selalu mencoba mencari tempat makan yang bersih.

Nah, sembuhnya aku, tidak berarti akhir dari cerita tragis yang menyedihkan ini. Hari ini, 8 Oktober, adik laki-lakiku yang bernama Deza berulangtahun ke 17. dan coba tebak, dengan apakah dia merayakan itu?? yap, tepat sekali, MUNTABER!!! Dua hari sebelum ulangtahunnya, Deza menjual jiwa dan kesehatannya dengan makan mie ayam pangsit yang memang enak, namun tidak terlalu higienis. Pulangnya, si bocah bandel itu B.A.B. berkali-kali, dan puncaknya, pada malam sebelum ultah, dia mengeluarkan semua isi perutnya dengan indah, disertai dengan omelan ibuku yang kemudian mondar-mandir dengan panik mencari obat. Well, muntaber, terima kasih telah mewarnai beberapa perayaan di keluarga kami akhir-akhir ini.

aku yang selalu ceria, dan deza yang lemas kehabisan cairan

Anyway, selamat ulang tahun yang ketujuh belas untuk si dogol!! (itu juga kalo dia baca blog ini)

Bye bye for now…