what do blogs do to you?

about a week ago I (Ibit, Ar, and Ir -- actually) received a package from my Multiply friend Tary. it was three books for Ar Ir and Ibit. thank you very much, auntie Tary...
sekitar seminggu yang lalu aku (tepatnya Ibit dan Ar Ir) menerima paket dari Tary, teman Multiply-ku. ada tiga buku buat bertiga. terima kasih tante Tary...

Tary and I have found each other about 10 months ago. now as the world has turned to Facebook, I and Tary continued our friendship there.

Tary dan aku berkenalan sekitar 10 bulan yang lalu. karena sekarang dunia lagi asyik dengan Facebook, kami melanjutkan pertemanan di sana.

but not only there. because as you see, our friendship has grown more than just commenting on each other's posts. I feel like she is a friend in a 'real' world, although we never met physically. oh I hope that' day will come soon...
tapi sebenarnya bukan hanya di sana. karena ternyata, pertemanan kami tumbuh lebih dari sekedar saling mengomentari postingan masing-masing. aku merasa dia adalah teman di dunia 'nyata', meskipun secara fisik kami belum pernah bertemu

I asked her, for what occasion this pakcage was. it is not the birthday of any one. she said it was not for any specific occasion. she just thought my children are cute and she fell in love with them. she knows how Ibit lives to read, or how 'naughty' Ar and Ir are. she's been following this blog (but never commented, I wonder why?) and thought my kids are lovable. well off course, you know who their mother is :P
aku tanya ke Tary, dalam rangka apa dia mengirim buku itu. soalnya tidak ada yang sedang ulang tahun. katanya, bukan dalam rangka apa pun. dia pingin aja karena menurut dia anak-anakku nggemesin, dan bikin dia jatuh cinta. dia tahu kalo Ibit suka dan baca, dan Ar IR suka iseng. dia mengikuti blog ini (tapi ga pernah ninggalin komen, heran deh!) dan menurutnya anak-anakku menyenangkan. ya iya lah, siapa dulu ibunya... :P

no lie, I can relate to how she feels about my kids. I feel the same about my bloggie friends' kids also. reading all post about them like watching them grow in front of me. I mean, you know when Baby O has to go to a doctor, you witness Baby L is now six, you see Baby Z doing cute things with mom's lipstick...
then you feel sad when they get sick. and you can feel the happines when they do some thing great. and you laugh to die when they do funny things...
bukan isapan jempol. aku bisa kok merasakan yang dirasakan Tary. aku juga merasa begitu dengan anak-anak teman-teman bloggerku. membaca postingan tentang mereka dari hari ke hari membuatku rasanya melihat mereka tumbuh di hadapanku. kau tahu kapan Baby O harus pergi ke dokter. kau menyaksikan Baby L berulang tahun yang ke enam, kau melihat Baby Z berbuat hal lucu dengan lipstik mama...
lalu kau ikut sedih kalau mereka sakit, ikut bahagia kalau mereka melakukan hal yang luar biasa, dan ikut tertawa setengah mati kalau mereka melakukan hal lucu...

it is the power of blog. do you ever feel the same?
kekuatan blog. apakah kau merasakannya juga?


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

sharing smile with Loenpia.net

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

aku merasa sangat beruntung punya orang tua. anugrah. dan aku bahagia mereka berdua masih hidup dan sehat.
I’ve been so lucky to have parents. Blessed. And I’m happy they both are still alive, and healthy.

pun anak-anakku. kuharap itu pula yang mereka rasakan tentang aku dan Dan.
I hope that's also how my children feel about me and Dan.

aku membayangkan bagaimana rasanya tidak punya orang tua, jika kita masih anak-anak. kita pasti butuh tempat bernaung, tempat bergantung, yang akan melindungi dan menjaga kita. orang-orang yang terikat secara emosional maupun biologis.
I wonder how it fells not to have parents, while we are still children. We would need ones to hold on, to lean on, to protect us, to keep us secure. Ones emotionally tied, as well as biologically.

hari ini, aku bersama Loenpia.net, komunitas blogger Semarang, mengunjungi yatim piatu di panti asuhan Fatimatuzzahra. ini adalah salah satu bentuk aksi Loenpia peduli.
Today I joined Loenpia.net, Semarang blogger community, visited parentless children in a charitable institution, Fatimatuzzahra. This is one of Loenpia charity act, bloggers care.

aku mengajak anak-anak, agar mereka tahu ada orang-orang yang kurang beruntung, agar mereka lebh bisa berempathy. aku menjelaskan bagaimana keadaan anak-anak yang tak punya orang tua ini.
I took my children with us, to show them that some people are not as lucky as they are, and learn to have more empathy. I told them what parentless children are, and how they have to live harder life in the institution.

Ar: ke mana orang tua mereka?
Ar: “Where are their parents?”

aku: meninggal
Me: “Died”

Ar: mereka tinggal sama siapa?
Ar: “Who do they live with?”

aku: orang tua angkat mereka di sana
Me: “Their foster parents there”

Ir: aku jadi sedih
Ir: “This makes me sad”

Ibit: boleh aku berikan beberapa bukuku pada mereka?
Ibit: “May I give some of my books to them?”

aku tahu anak-anak ini butuh lebih dari sekedar baju bekas pantas pakai dan buku-buku. mungkin hal yang paling mereka rindukan di dunia, adalah kasih sayang orang tua. tapi setidaknya, apa yang kami lakukan adalah juga berbagi kasih sayang dengan mereka. semoga bisa membuat hari mereka sedikit lebh berbahagia.
I know they need more than just some used clothes and books. May be love and comfort from parents is the thing they miss most. But at least, this way we can share love and caress to them. Hopefully what we did to day could bring them a little happiness.

mudah-mudahan aku masih bisa mengikuti lagi kegiatan-kegiatan Loenpia.net di waktu yang akan datang. dan mengajak lebih banyak lagi orang di sekitar kita, tersenyum
I hope I can still join Loenpia.net in more activities in the future. and make more people around us, smile.

Point of View

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Me and my siblings went to Kediri last week end, accompanying my youngest brother Bot and his wife Lin, moved there from Jakarta.
Aku dan saudara-saudaraku pergi ke Kediri akhir pekan lalu, mengantar adik bungsuku Bot dan istrinya Lin pindahan.

It was such a great moment, you know, family time. Spending time with them is never boring. But we had only two days and a night. We spent the night walking around the city. And on Sunday we went up Kelud mount. Climbing? Walking? Nah… by car. We stopped in a parking yard and continued the trip with a little walk to get closer to the crater.
Saat yang menyenangkan, kumpul bersama keluarga. Bersama mereka tidak pernah membosankan. Tapi kami cuma punya dua hari satu malam. Kami menghabiskan malam jalan-jalan keliling kota. Minggunya kami naik Gunung Kelud. Mendaki jalan kaki? Ngga… naik mobil. Kami berhenti di lapangan parkir lalu melanjutkan dengan sedikit jalan kaki untuk melihat lebih dekat ke kawah.

There is a unique view up there, a lava dome has rose through the center of the crater. You can read about the process, here.
Ada pemandangan unik di atas sana. Sebuah kubah lava telah tumbuh di tengah kawah. Proses terjadinya kubah itu bisa dilihat di sini

This is a picture of the dome, in that foggy Sunday hi-noon. Dan took this picture with his camera.
Ini gambar kubah itu, dalam suasana Minggu siang yang berkabut. Dan mengambil gambarnya dengan kameranya.

Now, look at the picture closer. Do you see what I see? I see a silhouette of a man screaming bearing pain.
Sekarang perhatikan gambarnya lebih seksama. Bisa kau lihat yang kulihat? Aku melihat siluet orang yang sedang menjerit menahan kesakitan.

I’m talking about point of view. You see what you want to see. And that also for every thing happens in our life.
Aku bicara tentang sudut pandang. Kau melihat apa yang ingin kau lihat. Dan itu juga berlaku untuk banyak hal dalam hidup ini

Some times we find our selves in a deep sadness, or trouble, or we even call it disaster. So ‘turn’ it in an angle until you find goodness in it. And you’ll feel much better.
Kadang kita merasa tengah berkubang dalam kesedihan yang mendalam, atau permasalahan berat, atau malah kita menyebutnya bencana. Maka coba putar sedikit sudut pandang kita, sampai kita menemukan satu sisi baik dari kejadian itu. Dan kita akan merasa jauh lebih baik.

Just like Bot and Lin’s moving from Jakarta to Kediri. That made Lin has to live away from her parents. Indeed, but closer to Bot’s (my) parents who have become her parents in law.
Seperti kepindahan Bot dan Lin dari Jakarta ke Kediri. Ini membuat Lin jadi harus hidup jauh dari orang tuanya. Tapi menjadi lebih dekat ke orang tua Bot (orang tuaku juga) yang sekarang telah menjadi mertuanya.

And oh, this is a picture of us who joined the trip.
Ini mereka yang ikut naik gunung Kelud.

from left to right: Lin, Muy, Non, Ard, Nas, Shib, Ibit, me, Ar, Ir, Bot, Dan

Ngad, Ard’s husband was there too but we lost him. He walked some other direction and we met again on the way down. My #4 brother Bond didn’t stay for the night. He and my parents went home that Saturday evening, back to Wonogiri, because he could not leave her wife End with her 5 months baby at home alone for too long.
Suami Ard sebenarnya ikut, tapi dia jalan-jalan sendiri, ngilang. Baru ketemu lagi waktu jalan turun. Bond, saudara #4 tidak menginap. Sabtu sore dia langsung pulang ke Wonogiri, ngga bisa terlalu lama ninggalin istrinya sendirian di rumah bersama anaknya yang 5 bulan.

This is us: my parents and siblings.
Ini kami: orang tuaku dan kami bersaudara.

Bond, Bot, Mother, Father, Ard, me, Non

it was so beautiful...

don't they look great?
keren kan?

I knew she was going to perform
but I didn't know that she was the lead vocal
I didn't know he would wear this beautiful costume
until I was there and the teacher asked me to help them dressing up the kids
aku tahu Ibit akan tampil
tapi aku ngga tahu dia jadi lead vocal
aku ngga tahu dia bakalan pake seragam keren ini
sampai aku di sana dan bu guru minta aku membantu anak-anak berdandan

I heard her practicing
hearing Ibit singing is not some thing so special
so I thought it wouldn't be that special
aku dengar dia latihan
tapi mendengar Ibit menyanyi adalah hal yang biasa
jadi aku juga tidak menyangka ini akan jadi luar biasa





I stood stiff
aku terpaku

she sang so beautifully
and the tambourine players were so energetic and harmonious
they all did a fabulous job
I was trembling watching them
nyanyinya keren banget
dan rebananya energik dan harmonis
pokoknye mereka semua keren
aku sampai merinding dengernya


this was the best performance of Ibit that I have ever seen...
ini penampilan Ibit yang paling keren dalam sejarah manggungnya...