underestimate

reading someone's blog remind me of this

suatu hari aku masuk toko sport, cari baju senam. tokonya lumayan besar dan komplit. kalau masuk toko, aku lebih suka dibiarkan melihat-lihat dan memilih sendiri. baru kalau perlu bantuan aku akan minta tolong pramuniaganya.
one day I went to a sport shop. it was quite big and complete. I usually prefer to be let alone to be able to see around and choose what I like. and I'll call the clerk when I need some help.

di toko ini, mungkin memang standarnya pelanggan harus dilayani sebaik-baiknya, yaitu dengan mendampingi si pelanggan saat sedang melihat-lihat atau memilih barang. jadi begitulah, seorang pramuniaga mendampingiku.
in this shop, may be, the standard is to give the best service to costumers, which means to accompany them when seeing around. so that was how it went. a clerk accompanied me.

'cari apa mbak?'
'what are you looking for, miss?'

'baju senam'
'ftiness suit'

tidak kuduga bantuan yang diberikannya.
'yang murah di sebelah sana', katanya sambil menunjuk ke deretan baju murah.
the help she gave was inscrutable.
'you can find the cheap ones over there', and she pointed to the cheap area.

bukannya aku tidak suka harga murah. aku akan cari yang diskon habis-habisan kalau perlu. tapi kata-kata si mbak ini menunjukkan dia underestimate pada pelanggan. menurutku itu tidak sopan. ingat julia roberts di 'pretty woman?'. dia ditolak belanja di suatu butik karena masih pakai kostum 'kerja'nya. padahal dia bawa kartu kredit tanpa limit punya richard gere...
it's not that I don't like cheap prices. I'd look for big sale if I need to. but what this girl said showed how she underestimated a customer. I think it's rude. remember julia roberts in 'pretty woman'? she was rejected in one boutique because she was still wearing her 'working' costume, whereas she was holding richards gere's unlimited credit card...

jadi aku berkata, 'saya cari yang bagus dan saya suka. bukan yang murah. dan saya rasa saya ngga perlu cari di sini', lalu aku pergi.
so I said, 'I'm looking for something good, that I like. not something cheap. and I don't think I will look for it here', and I left.

just another 'weird' tag

I was tagged by Carrie

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



I think I'm pretty weird. I have posted some on my old post. And here's some more:

1. I have SIX blogs and I tried to post on them regularly, but it doesn't work. This one is my favorite, and the only one I use english in all posts. The second one is all about me. The third is random things in community and i still post some times. Fourth is about 'what I eat today', but I could only hold on it for a month -- it's so boring doing it. Fifth, I made it and left it without any post. Last, has just been built few days ago.

3. I don't like to eat. And it explains why I'm so thin. I eat only to surfive, and to prevent my maag gets in trouble.

4. I don't like watching TV.

5. I don't wear make up. I mean I do, but only when I want to, and it's not everyday. And once I wear it, I never reapply, I don't care if it's rubbed or washed.

6. I'm dark, but I dyed my hair in light color. It's weird, but I like it.

7. I hate it when somebody calls me 'Bu' (maam). And happy when they call me 'mbak' (miss). O please...



I want to tag Tori :), Angie, Kelli, Burpclothbabe, Pasha, Janice, and Laura.

what's in your bag?

apa isi tasmu?

I was thinking about posting something like this, then I saw someone already did it (for any reason). but I'm gonna do this anyway.
aku sedang berpikir mau post sesuatu tentang ini, ketika aku lihat sesorang sudah melakukannya (apapun alasannya). tpi aku tetep akan post ini.

things that makes me feel secure and ready to go anywhere...
benda-benda yang membuat aku merasa nyaman dan siap pergi ke mana aja...








clock wise:
searah jarum jam:

* simple make up kit that I don't use much actually (body lotion, face moist, face powder, eyebrow pencil, lipstick, and cream blush on
* make up kit sederhana yang sebenernya juga ga banyak aku pake: body lotion, pelembab wajah, bedak, pensil alis, lipstick, dan cream blush on.

* wallet with all its contents (money, cards etc.)
* dompet dengan segala isinya.

* ugly note book
* buku catatan kecil yang usang

* pencil box (pens, pencil, eraser, a small ruler, small cutter, glue, flashdisk, card reader, highlighter, and my working id card)
* kotak pensil: pulpen, pensil, penghapus, garisan kecil, cutter kesil, lem, flashdisk, card reader, stabillo, dan id kerjaku.

* mukena (it's some kind of dress to cover my whole body when I pray)
* mukena

* and something I can't take the picture, is my handphone, which I'm taking all pictures with. but you can see it on my side bar, held by me.
* dan sesuatu yang tidak bisa aku ambil gambarnya, yaitu handphoneku, karena kupake untuk ambil semua gambarnya. tapi bisa dilihat kok, di sidebar, sedang kupegang.


and they're all in this back pack. yes this is what I bring anywhere I go. so not girly huh?

dan semuanya ada di ransel ini. yup, aku bawa ransel ke mana pergi. ga cewek banget ya?

rainbow interlude

by Mariah Carey

I know
there is a rainbow
for me to follow
to get beyond my sorrow

Thunder
precedes the sunlight
and I'll be alright
if I could find that rainbow's end

#2

my accomplishment for this week...

sukses minggu ini..

Ibit won another singing contest last friday.

Ibit menang lomba nyanyi lagi jumat kemaren.

Oh... I've told my self not to post about this. But how can I not? She got #2 and beaten one who was in the 2nd place in the former contest.

Oh... padahal aku sudah berjanji pada diriku sendiri nggak akan post tentang ini, tapi mana tahan? Dia dapat #2, dan mengungguli juara dua di lomba sebelumnya.

I chose her a song with hard tones (it was so fluctuative) and it was kinda gambling since Ibit was having flu then. But she succeeded.

Aku pilihkan dia lagu yang lumayan susah (Kupu-kupu-nya Melly Goeslaw) dan itu agak-agak gambling juga, soalnya Ibit lagi batuk pilek. Tapi dia Berhasil.

Not the best picture of her performance. I took it with my handphone from afar.

Gambarnya nggak begitu bagus, karena diambil pake HP, dari kejauhan pula.

That's Ibit at the second from right. She's changed her dress with those pink pants right after she finished performing. She can't stand wearing dresses for a long time coz she's like a bunny who jumped here and there all the time...

Itu Ibit no 2 dari kanan. Begitu turun panggung langsung roknya dilepas dan ganti celana panjang. Dia nggak tahan pake rok mekar begitu lama-lama, wong anaknya suka lompat ke sana kemari kaya kelinci...

and the batik goes to.....

thanks for all comments on my #100 post. they all mean a lot to me. all comments in all posts do. but I really have to pick one person to get my batik, and for one and another reason, I decided to send it to Carrie Keiser.
congratulations, and let me know how I could send it to you.
thanks for everyone.
I'll keep up blogging, just keep up commenting
:)

happy birthday

Ar Ir

They are now 5 years old...

May Allah always bless them, and let them be shalih children...

I made them this small birthday cake

Lie.

I never made a birthday cake and I don't think ever will.

I bought this in a cake shop.

Ar Ir got this hotwheel toys for the present from Ibit.

Dan and I planned to give something worthy, but not this birthday. It doesn't have to be on birthday. It will be someday when they make a huge accomplishment.

beautiful pain

if only I could turn back time
I'd go to when you first said your name and I said mine
and I'd choose not to talk to you
or even look at you
'coz what following it after
are things which make me suffer
...
beautiful pain.

Horses

this is something left from our trip to Gedong Songo temple. isn't this cute?

Candi Gedong Songo

Gedong Songo Temple

We visited this temple last week end.

Akhir pekan kemaren kami ke sana

Dan decided to let Ar Ir and Ibit ride the horses, because tha path was hill climbing and 4km (3miles) far. He told me to ride with Ibit and he wolud walk behind us. Thank God I decided to walk with him. He almost got fainted in the middle of the trip. He never walked this far, and on this hard track. Me? I joined aerobic class 3 times a week! But we did it to the last temple. (And didn't spend my energy half than if I work out)

Dan memutuskan untuk membiarkan Ar Ir dan Ibit naik kuda, karena jalurnya menanjak dan 4 km jauhnya. Dia juga menyuruh aku untuk naik kuda bareng Ibit dan dia akan jalan di belakang kami. Untunglah aku nggak mau. Di tengah perjalanan Dan hampir pingsan. Dia nggak pernah berjalan sejauh ini, apalagi medannya juga sulit. Aku? Aku ikut aerobic 3x seminggu. Tapi alhamdulillah kami bisa selesai sampai ke candi terakhir. (Dan capekku belum setengahnya kalau senam)

When I take pictures, I always have problems with angles and composition. In a simple word, I'm a bad photographer.

Kalau mengambil gambar aku selalu punya masalah dengan sudut pengambilan dan komposisi. Singkatnya, aku fotografer yang payah.

So while Dan was taking this picture with his camera,

Jadi ketika Dan mengmbil gambar ini dengan tustelnya,

I took this with my handphone.

aku ambil ini pake handphoneku.

Oh, and in the temple area there is a warm water pond (but I didn't take a picture) and sulfur gas spread out a crack.

O ya. Di area candi ini juga ada kolam air hangat (Tapi gak ambil gambarnya) dan semburan gas belerang.

Tired, but fun.

Capek, tapi seneng.

Ir is a loving boy...

Ir anak yang penuh kasih sayang.

I always see that Ar and Ir has a very special bond between them. Is it because they've been together since they were zygots?
Aku selalu melihat Ar dan Ir punya ikatan yang sangat istimewa di antara mereka. Mugnkinkah karena mereka sudah bersama sejak mereka sama-sama masih berbentuk zygot?

But they show their loving each other in different way, and sometime I think, different amount. Ar seems a litttle more careless while Ir does another way. Well they fight a lot about things but I think it's just a part of the game, how to make their days fun.
Tapi mereka menunjukkan kasih sayang dengan cara yang berbeda, dan dalam kadar yang berbeda pula. Ar kelihatannya agak-agak cuek. Mereka sering berantem tentang ini itu tapi kupikir itu hanya bagian dariermainan, untuk bikin hidup lebih seru.

One day I got tired hearing them fighting on things. So I said, 'I think I'm gonna send one of you to your granny, so you don't have to fight anymore'. They were awaiting for 'who would that be'.
Suatu hari aku capek banget dengerin mereka berantem. Lalu aku bilang, "Nanti salah satu akan IBu kirim ke Embah biar gak usah berantem terus'. Mereka menunggu siapa yang akan dikirim ke Embah.
'It's gonna be you, Ar'
'Kamu ya Ar'
They both said together, 'No!'
Bareng mereka menjawab, 'Nggak'
'Okay then it's Ir'
'Kalau begitu Ir'
Ir said: 'No', but Ar said: 'Yes'
Kata Ir: 'Tidak', tapi Ar bilang:'Ya'

Another day, Ar was very sick and couldn't get off his bed. His body was hot and red, and he cuddled up in blanket. Ir was outside the room sitting, bored. Then Ir got in the room brought many toys they usually fought of, and put it beside Ar. "You can play it all. Get well soon', he said.
Di hari lain, Ar sakit dan tidak bisa ke mana-mana. Badannya panas dan merah, dan dia meringkuk aja di dalam selimut. Ir duduk di luar, kelihatannya bosen banget. Lalu dia masuk ke kamr membawa banyak mainan yang biasanya mereka perebutkan dan meletakkannya di sebelah Ar. 'Ni, Ar, buat kamu semua. Cepet sembuh ya'


Few days ago, when Dan helped Ar pee and brush kids teeth before bed. I was lying on a mattras in front of our TV waiting for them to finish, I got diarhea and was feeling so weak. Ar suddenly cried out when Dan splashed water on his p**** (this is the way we clean up). Ar got hurt on it while he was biking the afternoon. He cried so loud and Ir who was waiting for his turn in my room got out and hug me, 'what's wrong with Ar?'. I told him what happened. He hugged me tight and I can see his eyes was watering.... And I saw this happened alot, every time Ar got hurt or cried, Ir would have his eyes watering like he suffered the same.
Beberapa hari yang lalu ketika Dan bantuin anak-anak gosok gigi dan pipis sebelum tidur. Aku tiduran di kasur di depan TV, aku sedang dapet diare dan lemes banget. Tiba-tiba Ar menjerit ketika Dan menyiramkan air ke p****nya. Rupanya lecet karena jatuh waktu main sepeda. Nangisnya keras banget. Ir yang lagi nunggu giliran di kamar keluar dan memeluk aku, 'Ar kenapa, bu?'. Lalu aku ceritakan kenapa. DIa memelukku lebih erat, dan aku bisa melihat matanya berkaca-kaca. AKu sering melihat kejadian yang begini. Setiap kali Ar menangis atau kesakitan, matanya akan berkaca-kaca dan kelihtannya dia ikut merasakan penderitaan Ar.

I'm not saying that Ar doesn't have empathy on others, but not as much as Ir shows. May be Ar just doesn't show it as much as he feels, who knows...
Aku tidak bilang Ar tidak punya empati ke orang lain, tapi tidak pernah sebesar yang kulihat pada Ir. Mungkin karena Ar tidak menunjukkan seberapa besar yang dia rasakan, diapa tahu...

Ir is so very special.
Ir memang istimewa.

#100: Batik giveaway

I've been thinking about how I make something different in this 100th post. Inspired by a touching collage, I wanted to make one of 100 pictures of my kids. But 100 is a big number. You won't be able to see what's in each picture.

aku sudah berpikir bagaimana caranya bikin post #1oo ini beda. terinspirasi oleh sebuah kolase yang menyentuh, aku pengin bikin kolase 100 foto anak-anak. tapi 100 itu banyak... dan gambarnya gak akan kelihatan satu-satu.

Then I thought of telling 100 facts about me. But it's a hard thing to do. Many people have done it before, I know. Great jobs. But I'm afraid you'll get bored reading mine, finding that's it's not interesting.

lalu aku berpikir tentang 'telling 100 facts of me'. tapi susah. banyak sih yang sudah bikin, hebat. tapi aku khawatir nanti malah pada bosen baca punyaku.

And I thought of making a list of my favorite post. But all those 99 I've posted before are my favorites. You can just click on the archives list.

dan aku berpikir tentang bikin daftar post favoritku. tapi 99 postku itu semuanya favoritku, jadi tinggal diklik di archives aja.

So I decided to do something that many have done also, but I hope this one is interesting. I'm giving away a piece of batik material. Batik is a traditional material and very beautiful. You who sew can make many stuffs of it; and you who don't, can have some one to do it.

akhirnya kuputuskan untuk melakukan yang sebenarnya juga sudah banyak dilakukan orang, tapi aku harap ini cukup menarik. aku akan memberikan selembar kain batik. yang bisa jahit bisa bikin apa aja dari ini. yang tidak, bisa minta tolong yang bisa...

If you are interested, all you have to do is read my post as many as you want (or as you can stand...) Then give me a comment about this blog globally (not only on a post). I want to hear good thing to keep up and bad thing to fix up. I'll choose one of commenters as a winner and send this material to her/him. Check out who will that be on 25 this month.

kalau anda berminat, anda hanya perlu membaca post di blog ini sebanyak anda mau (atau sebanyak anda tahan...) lalu berikan komentar tentang blog ini secara umum (bukan tentang suatu post). aku ingin mendengar hal baik untuk dilanjutkan dan hal buruk untuk diperbaiki. aku akan pilih satu komenter untuk jadi pemenang dan kirim batiknya kepadanya. check out siapa pemenangnya nanti tanggal 25 bulan ini.

Go tell your friends about this, I'm waiting!

Kasih tahu semua orang ya.... aku tunggu!

Enjoy! And thanks before :)

#99

WOW!
I'm about to go 100. I just looked back to my archives and found out that there is one old post is still remain a draft. It's from so long ago but I have published it just now. Some thing about circus girls.

Ibit's photopaintings

beberapa minggu belakangan Ibit banyak bereksperimen dengan photo paint

Ibit has been doing experiments on photo paint these last couple weeks

warna-warni di warna merah

colors on red

selang-seling indah

beautiful interspace

pantai

beach

love vamily

she meant love family

aku tanya Ibit kenapa judulnya begitu, aku ngga lihat gambar anggota keluarga. katanya warna-warni ini indah. begitu juga keluarga, indah karena ia berwarna-warni. ????
I asked her why she tittled it so. I didn't see any family members. She said these colors together are beautiful. And so is family, beautiful as it is colorful. ????

pemandangan di luar rumah

the view outside the house

masih ada beberapa lagi gambar yang dia bikin. tapi sementara ini rasanya udah cukup lumayan buat pameran di 'Dandelion'

she still has some more pictures. but I think these are enough for an exhibition in 'Dandelion' in the mean time.

Ibit bantuin masak

Ibit helped me cooking

Tadinya aku ngga berani ninggalin, takut kalau-kalau jarinya teriris. Tapi ternyata dia cukup trampil kok.

At the beginning, I couldn't take my eyes of her fingers, worried if she might cut it. But then I could see, she did it pretty good.

Aneh juga mengkhawatirkan Ibit pegang pisau di umurnya yang hampir 8 tahun. Dulu aku masih TK juga udah bawa pisau ke kebon, main pasar-pasaran, maska-masakan. Motong daun dan pelepah pisang, kates, apa aja. Teriris jarinya? Sering, dan ngga masalah. Langsung diobatin sendiri, kasih lendir bekicot atau getah pisang. Trus main lagi.

It's strange how I worried like that to see Ibit holding a knive in her age 8. When I was in kindergarden, I played with knive around garden. Cutting this leave and that, pretending cooking. Cut my own fingers? I did it some times, and no problem. I gave it a traditional medication: snail gag (I'm afraid I don't translate this one right) or banana tree gum. And go again.

Aku merasa terlalu overprotektif jadinya...

I feel so over protective....

CAPJAY

... andalan orang yang ngga suka (baca: ngga bisa) masak.

... what someone don't like to (read:can not) cook rely on.

potong: 10 butir baso, 3 sosis, 2 wortel diameter 2cm panjang 10cm, kembang kol, brokoli, daun bawang, sawi hijau.

cut: 10 meatballs, 3 sausage, 2 carrots of 2cm diameter and 10cm length, cawly flower, broccoli, green onion, chinese cabbage.

cincang: 1 bawang bombay, 3 bawang putih.

chop: 1 onion, 3 garlics

panaskan 3sdm minyak sayur, masukkan bawang bombay dan bawang putih, tunggu sampai harum (kata rudy choirudin). masukkan baso dan sosis. masukkan sayuran. tambahkan: garam, saos tiram, merica, gula. tambahkan air setengah gelas. jadi.

heat 3 spoon of veg oil, put in the onion and garlic until it smells good (this is what rudy choirudin, Indonesian famous cookie, said). put in meat ball and sausage. put in the vegetables. add: salt, oyster sauce, pepper, sugar. add half a cup of water. done.

parallel

Live in reality
stand your ground
take your destiny
realize where you belong

I can’t live a parallel life
coz it has a tunnel between
for me to pass through
from one to the other
and it connected both in anyway

Sandals and Milkshake

I bought Ar Ir new sandals.

Aku beliin Ar Ir sandal baru.

"Ar, look at it's bottom. It's very hard", said Ir.

"Ar, lihat, bawahnya keras banget", kata Ir.

Of course. That was the hardest out sole that I could find. Their sandals should have hard outsole or they'll end up like this

Tentu saja. Itu yang terkeras yang aku temukan. Sandal mereka harus yang solnya keras, kalau tidak, pasti akan jadi seperti ini

in few days.

dalam beberapa hari.

Tonight after dinner we made instant (as usual) milk shake.

Hari ini setelah makan malam kami bikin milk shake instant (seperti biasa)

'I want Mocca flavor', said Ibit.

'Aku mau rasa moka', kata Ibit.

'I want strawberry flavor', said Ar.

'Aku mau rasa stroberi', kata Ar.

'I want water flavor', said Ir.

'Aku mau rasa air', kata Ir.

This is what I meant with how he said surprising things.

Ini lho yang kumaksud, Ir selalu mengatakan hal-hal tak terduga.

Belajar Membaca

Learn to Read

ayat pertama turun.... "IQRO'..."
first verse... "read..."

bukannya ingin mencerabut masa bermain anak-anak dan memaksanya untuk belajar. tapi anak-anak harus belajar untuk belajar
not to grab children's play time and push them to study too hard. but children need to learn to study.

Ibit jaman seumuran Ar Ir sekarang udah bisa baca meskipun belum lancar amat. masih suka bingung antara p - d - b. sebelum baca musti dilihat dulu keseluruhan kata, baru bisa putuskan itu p - d atau b.
when Ibit was Ar Ir's age now, she could read even wasn't so fluent. she sometime still get confused between p - d - b. before saying the words she need to see the whole letters to decide is it p - d or b.

ya... waktu itu aku belum kerja. di rumah aja. waktu full buat anak-anak.
well... I didn't work that time. stay at home. full time for children.

waktu Ibit umur 3 tahun, sempet ngerekam dia nyanyi sampe dapat sekaset penuh. perlu waktu hampir sebulan, karena meskipun hafal banyak lagu, kalo lagi nggak mood ya nggak mau nyanyi... toddlers.
I remember when Ibit was 3, I recorded her singing and we got a cassette full. took almost a month, coz although she knew many songs, some time she didn't get the mood and refused to record.... toddlers.

waktu Ir umur 2 tahun belum apal warna, aku panik dan segera memberikan kursus intensif setiap hari. hari pertama aku pake metode 3 mangkok berwarna lego merah - kuning - biru, mengumpulkan lego berwarna yang sama di satu mangkok-- belum dengan menyebutkan warnanya. Ir bahkan ngga ngerti dia harus apa. sempat putus asa. lalu aku bikin robot dari warna-warna lego yang berbeda. tiba-tiba dia ambil lego yang belum dipasang dan memberikan lego dengan warna yang sama dengan robotnya. jadi begitulah: robot merah maem yang merah... alhamdulillah berhasil.
when Ir was 2 and didn't kno colors, I got panic and soon give him an intensif course everyday. first day I used the method of putting legos of same colors in a bowl -- without mentioning the colors. just put them in groups. Ir didn't understand what to do and I got frustrated. then I made robots of different coler. sudddenly he took a piece of lego and fed it to the robot of the same color. so it goes that way: red robot eat red lego... alhamdulillah we did it.

saat ini aku merasa bersalah banget. aku keasikan jadi orang kantoran. kalo di rumah ama anak-anak adanya main-main aja. ngajarin Ar Ir ini itu cuma kalo inget aja. habis anaknya juga ngga pernah minta, malah kadang di ajak belajar susah. beda ama Ibit dulu yang justru selalu minta diajarin karena pengin cepet bisa baca. hasilnya, di umur hampir 5 tahun, mereka baru sampai 'na'. ibu macam apa aku ini...
right now I feel so guilty. I was too busy working. when I am at home all we do is mostly play around. I teach Ar Ir this and that so rarely. they never asked for it too, they some times even refused to learn. unlike Ibit who always asked to learn because she wanted to be able to read. results: in age of 5 Ar Ir gone this far : 'na'. what kinda mother I am.

waktunya membayar kesalahan. aku mulai rutinkan nemenin Ar Ir mengenal membaca, setiap hari, hatta cuma 10 menit. alhamdulillah cepet. mereka sudah siap untuk mengenal huruf vokal selain 'a'.
time to pay. I started to accompany Ar Ir learn to read daily ten minutes a day. alhamdulillah they learn quickly. now they are ready to know other vocals than 'a'

bismillahirrahmaanirrahim,
ayo anak-anak, kita bisa!
come on boyz, we can do it!

I WENT HOME

AKU PULANG

It’s been over two months since the last time I visited my parents and Dan’s grandparents. So I did. Alhamdulillah they’re all OK, except that my dad still feel a little weak after getting chikungunya couple weeks ago.
Sudah lebih dua bulan sejak terakhir kali kami mengunjungi orang tuaku dan Mbahnya Dan. Alhamdulillah semua baik dan sehat, kecuali Bapak yang masih agak lemas karena sakit chikungunya beberapa waktu yang lalu.




Fun FRIDAY

My brother Bondan was there with his wife End and his son Imong. Ar + Ir + Imong = disaster. But I let them run around the house, yelled and scream – and cry. My parents don’t mind, for a day or two, so one of us should go before their blood tension rise…

Adikku Bondan juga ada, sama istrinya End, dan anaknya Imong. Ar + Ir + Imong = bencana. Tapi kubiarkan mereka berlarian keliling rumah sambil berteriak, menjerit, dan menangis. Bapak Ibu juga ngga keberatan kalau Cuma satu dua hari. Jadi salah satu harus pergi sebelum tekanan darah mereka naik….

So we decided to spend the evening in Bondan’s house. He has a new play station, some thing (so far) I never agree to have. I still think some games contains violence like that NARUTO that Ibit and Ar played (and other battle games…) though I knew some don’t. Bondan told me he had a game that would keep me stay in front of it. GUITAR HERO. What could I say, he was right.

Jadi aku putuskan sorenya kami ke rumah Bondan saja. Dia punya Play station baru, sesuatu yang sampai saat ini aku masih belum setuju untuk beli. Menurutku banyak gamenya yang mengandung kekerasan, termasuk game NARUTO yang dimainkan Ibit dan Ar (dan game-game tertarungan lainnya) meskipun aku tahu banyak juga game yang aman-aman saja. Bondan bilang dia punya sesuatu yang bakalan bikin aku betah duduk lama memainkannya. GUITAR HERO. Yo mesti….

So while I and Ibit were busy strumming our ‘guitar’,
Jadi selagi aku dan Ibit sibuk main gitar,

Ir was busy playing with Imong’s toy bus.

Ir sibuk main bis-bisannya Imong.

Ar was busy racing in the computer.

Ar sibuk ‘balapan di computer.

And Dan? He was busy taking our picture. You can see his foot on Ar’s pic…
Dan? Dia sibuk motret kami. Lihat aja gambar kakinya di fotonya Ar….

Slow SATURDAY

We planned to visit Dan’s grandparents in Terok this day. But I took a little time to take a look at my dam. And this is it’s latest condition.

Rencananya hari ini ke tempat Mbahnya Dan di Terok. Tapi aku sempetin mampir nengok wadukku. Dan ini keadaan terakhirnya.

And the river below.

Late afternoon I took my children to come closer to paddi field and learn that this, someday will be the rice we eat everyday. It was cloudy and the rain fell quite hard. And it was thundering too, I didn’t turn on the TV. So we spent the evening in the living room, talking, seeing old photos….

Agak sore aku ajak anak-anak lihat sawah, dan belajar bahwa ini, akan jadi nasi yang kita makan sehari-hari. Sayangnya hujan turun deras, dan berpeetir pula. Aku ngga berani nyetel TV. Jadi kami menghabiskan petang di ruang tengah ngobrol, lihat-lihat foto lama…

SUNDAY in Solo

Before we went back to Semarang, I stop for a while in Solo and met my sister and family in Manahan Stadium. We watched ‘Jaran Dor’ (Bang Horse) attractions that showed some acrobatic action, included by a 6 yrs old boy.

Sebelum balik ke Semarang aku mampir ke Solo, ketemu Mbakku di Manahan. Nonton atraksi ‘Jaran Dor’, pertunjukan acrobat, termasuk oleh anak umur 6 tahun.

Breakfast under the tree.

Sarapan di bawah pohon.

On the way back, we stop by in Kampung Kopi Banaran, and home.
Dan di perjalanan pulang mampir bentar di Kampung Kopi Banaran…


Whoah!

my accomplishment this week....

....is how I get along with my new baby.

I worked a l ittle hard but I finally did it. I played 'Little Serenade' by J Hayden.

Now I'm working on 'Mennuet in G' by Bach, and that'll be my next one.
:D

And Ibit is doing prettty well too. She plays better in chords than I do. Her fingers are so small but they dance beautifully....

These are our accomplishment together I guess...

A girl bus singing beggar

Yesterday in a bus, on my way home.

Kemaren di bus, dalam perjalanan pulang.
I wouldn’t care if only it was a boy or man. I mean I would; I would put a coin or two in their hand -- unless they sang awful, I wouldn’t pay attention or money....

Aku ngga akan peduli kalau saja itu laki-laki. Makusuku ya aku peduli; aku akan kasih sekeping dua keping -- kecuali nyanyinya bener-bener payah, aku ngga akan kasih perhatian ataupun uang...

But it’s a girl, and I can’t help myself not to pay more attention. I don’t really like the song, but she sang quite well. She was so strong she could hold the guitar without a hanger. I wouldn’t be able to strum if so.

Tapi ini perempuan, dan aku ngga bisa menahan diri untuk tidak memberi perhatian lebih. Aku ngga begitu suka lagunya, tapi suaranya lumayan. Dan menurutku dia kuat banget, pegang gitarnya tanpa gantungan. Kalau aku, aku ngga akan bisa genjreng.
Everybody has to struggle for their life, but some has to struggle harder than the others. She is one of those. And I sympathize to girls who choose to be a singing beggar.

Setiap orang harus berjuang untuk hidupnya, hanya saja sebagian harus berjuang lebih keras, Dia salah satunya. Dan aku bersimpati pada gadis-gadis yang mau jadi pengamen.
Unemployment has become a big issue in this province in the last few years. Many factories have to fire their workers because they loss more and more each day.

Pengangguran sudah jadi masalah besar di provinsi ini beberapa tahun terakhir. Banyak pabrik terpaksa memPHK karyawannya karena terus menerus merugi.
It needs tons of courage to stand there in a bus and sing. Not only because you have to stand in a shaking running bus, strumming guitar and sing. But you have to compete and deal with the boy ones.

Butuh kekuatan besar untuk jadi pengamen di bis bagi seorang gadis. Bukan cuma karena harus berdiri di bus yang ngebut dan berayun, memegang gitar dan bernyanyi. Tapi juga harus bersaing dengan pengamen-pengamen laki-laki.
Competition in street lives is sure so hard...

Persaingan hidup di jalan pasti sangat keras....

Settle down

I've been feeling so lazy to write anything these last few days. Many things happen, but mostly things I can't tell. Heart and head are full of thoughts. Confusion.Fidgetiness.
I just learned many things of how I should live alife. Things I never really cared.
To be patient.
To understand people, and not always ask people to understand us.
Not to rush.
To control our selves.
Not to determine a thing.
To flow like water in the river.

Happiness and sadness come to make our life colorful, and there's nothing to worry about.