Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Love You More.

We have two guitars at home. I named my own 'David' and the other one that I've handed over to Ibit is 'Jasmine'. I let Ibit to play with either one, at home. Every one can feel that David is more comfortable to hold and play with. But any time Ibit needed to bring a guitar to school, I told her to just bring Jasmine. David has far better quality, and is much (yes much) more expensive than Jasmine. 

This morning she said she needed to bring her guitar.

"Use the bag," I said.
"Wich bag?"
 
We only have one guitar bag, and I usually use it to cover David.

"That, bag."
"David's inside. I'll just carry Jasmine."
"Get David out. Or... Just bring David."
"Really? I can bring David?"

Her eyes was shining bright, she looked so happy to be allowed to.

"Don't leave him at school.."
"No I won't. I promise! I will never leave David at school!"



I love David much. I take care of him as how any musician takes care of their instrument. I do my best to protect him from scratch, bump, water, humidity. I have protected him from my worries of all those harms by not letting Ibit bring him to school. Not because I don't trust Ibit. But because I don't know how her friends would treat him, they might not understand the bond I and David have.

Ibit understands this. And she was okay with that.

But I love Ibit more. It felt so good, so great, to see her all cheered up.

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Trio

June 10th was a special day, when I and 9 other writer friends launched our book, an anthology of ten stories for children. This book is a media literacy project by LESPI and Tifa Foundation.

As I wrote a story in it, I also wrote a song based upon my story, with the same title 'Mumpung Tak Ada Ibu' (When Mom Was not at Home). It tells about a girl who secretly watched an adults program on tivi, while her mom was not home. In the end she regret it, for the ghost she watched on TV haunted her around, even into her dream.

The cool thing about this is, Ar and Ir asked me to join Ibit to sing the song and performed at the launch, just because they thought the song was cool. This is fun. I didn't think it was that cool. But my kids loved it. And they who usually refuse to perform, wanted to.

Here is their performance... :D


There was an error with the sound system but the show must go on, and there they go.

Oh and you can see Dek Ai' running here and there. He looked so excited watching his siblings performing :D

Saturday, June 2, 2012

the hitting sticks


Tiga minggu terakhir ini, setiap sabtu sore ada keriuhan baru di rumah. Ar Ir Ibit dan anak-anak di blok berkumpul dan berlatih bermain perkusi. Ada juga beberapa anak dari luar blok, yang kebetulan sering main bersama.

Ideku mengumpulkan mereka berawal dari hari-hari ketika aku sakit dan harus istirahat di rumah beberapa hari. Aku melihat anak-anak ini bermain sepakbola, petak umpet, kejar-kejaran. Kadang berkumpul di rumah salah satu dari mereka, merubung play station atau main game online di komputer.

Aku melihat energi berlimpah pada mereka. Dan alangkah asiknya jika energi mereka itu disalurkan untuk sesuatu yang terarah. Aku bukan mau bilang, aktivitas bermain yang selama ini mereka lakukan tidak ada gunanya. Tentu saja ada. Semua itu adalah olahraga alami buat anak-anak. Jadi aku tetap membiarkan mereka melakukannya, bahkan kadang aku ikut bergabung main petak umpet bersama mereka.

Orang tua anak-anak ini sepenuhnya mendukung kegiatan yang kuusulkan ini. Hanya saja, kemarin ada satu ibu yang menyarankan untuk tidak mengajak salah satu anak dari luar blok, yang menurut dia nakal dan tidak sopan.

Terus terang aku agak heran. Anak yang dibilang nakal dan tidak sopan ini, sejauh yang kulihat ya biasa saja. Bahkan setiap mau masuk ke rumahku dan mencari Ar Ir, selalu mengetuk pintu dan mengucap salam. Aku melihat sih, dia punya potensi berlaku negatif dan cenderung mendominasi. Mungkin karena dia yang paling tua di 'gerombolan' bermainnya.

Lalu kupikir, mungkin aku yang tertipu dengan sopan santunnya. Sambil lalu (dengan sungguh-sungguh) aku bertanya kepada sekitaran tentang tingkah laku anak ini. Aneh, hampir semua mengatakan hal yang sama. Anak ini nakal dan suka berbohong.

Entah ya. Antara percaya (karena banyak yang ngomong) dan tidak percaya (karena belum lihat sendiri). Kalaupun benar, mungkin ada sebab dia berperilaku begitu, entah apa. Yang jelas sebenarnya dia masih bisa diajak beraktivitas positif, dan harapanku, itu membuat lupa pada kebiasaan buruknya (seperti kata orang-orang).

Pagi ini anak-anak berkumpul. Main badminton. Nonton tivi. Jalan-jalan keliling blok. Sesekali dari mulut mereka keluar suara ketukan yang diajarkan guru perkusinya kemarin sore.

Biar deh apa prasangka orang atas anak-anak ini. Atau mungkin atas aku. Aku sendiri punya masa kecil yang penuh energi dan banyak mimpi. Taman bermainku adalah kebun, tanah lapang, hutan. Perangkat mainku adalah kayu, pepohonan, tanah, batu, pasir.

Jaman dan lingkungan mungkin sudah berbeda. Tapi setidaknya anak-anak ini punya energi dan gairah yang sama besarnya. Mereka bersemangat sekali belajar main perkusi. Selalu datang sebelum gurunya tiba. Dan terus bertanya kapan mereka akan tampil.

Ha. Aku sendiri masih bingung mereka mau kutampilkan kapan dan di mana. Nanti juga ketemu. Bukan soal sulit. Jadi kujawab aja, mereka akan segera tampil, kalau latihan mereka rajin dan selesai berlatih satu komposisi.

Aku juga tidak sabar ingin melihat mereka beraksi.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

my little pianist

this was taken on 30 January 2011, 7 months old and he wasn't even able to sit.



this one was taken on 25 February 2011. 20 months old and by the time he's already been walking for about two months. I have no worries at all letting him sit on the chair alone. 


a wonderful progress of development, to me. and I am waiting for more to catch up.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

the street singer

when I was a little girl I had a dream to perform singing on street. yet I haven't had it come true.
until this morning.
waktu kecil aku punya mimpi untuk ngamen di jalanan. mimpi itu belum jadi kenyataan
sampai tadi pagi.

I don't know what I would call it, a coincidence or what. but Ibit had the same desire. she said it's not about getting money but to have experience. Ibit and I planned this about few weeks ago. we've chosen some songs and practiced. yes we needed to coz I am not an expert who can instantly play to any song. I always need to find the chords and practice. some songs have complicated chords and when I meet those songs I usually give up and choose the simple one.
ga tau namanya kebetulan atau apa. Ibit juga punya keinginan yang sama. katanya sih bukan soal cari uang, tapi lebih tentang cari pengalaman. jadi kami merencanakan untuk melakukannya sejak beberapa minggu yang lalu. memilih lagu, lalu latihan. soalnya aku bukan pemain yang ahli, yang bisa langsung main begitu denger lagu. harus cari-cari dulu chordnya. banyak lagu chordnya rumit. kalau ketemu lagu-lagu yang begitu biasanya aku nyerah dan cari lagu lain yang sederhana.

so.
every sunday morning is car free day on Pemuda Road from 06.00 to 09.00 AM. we decided to perform there. people do many activities during the car free hours. biking. skateboarding. skate-lining. playing futsal. or just walking. some photographers find this as a field of objects to shoot. but no one did what we were about to do: singing.
jadi.
minggu padi adalah car free day di Jalan Pemuda, dari jam 6 sampai jam 9 pagi. kami memutuskan untuk main di sana. banyak yang dilakukan orang selama car free hours. bersepeda, main skateborad, inline skate. main futsal. atau sekedar jalan-jalan. pecinta fotografi menjadikan semua ini lahan untuk mencari obyek menarik. tapi sepertinya belum ada yang melakukan apa yang akan kami lakukan: ngamen.

early before we went, I asked the children to prepare. Ar and Ir seemed so lazy and I heard conversations...
 Ir: let's just stay at home and play video games. I don't want to sing on the street...
Ar: but we will get money...

pagi sebelum berangkat, aku suruh anak-anak untuk siap-siap.Ar dan Ir ogah-ogahan. aku sempat dengar percakapan:
Ir: kita di rumah aja yuk, main game. aku ngga mau ngamen...
Ar: tapi nanti bisa dapat uang...

however they came along with us. I brought Aik too. off course Dan should be in charge while I was  performing. only Ibit would sing while I played my guitar. Ar and Ir, ah... I just let them go and have some fun.
toh akhirnya mereka ikut juga. aku bahkan ngajak Aik. tentu saja Dan yang harus momong sementara aku dan Ibit ngamen. Ar Ir beneran ga mau, jadi aku biarkan saja mereka bersenang-senang...

it wasn't easy to start. Ibit got a stomachache, just like any time before she performs on stage. nervous. I was okay and tried to build up Ibit's confidence.
ternyata susah mau mulai. Ibit sempat mules, seperti biasa kalau gugup sebelum manggung. aku sih baik-baik saja dan coba menyemangati Ibit.

one song, and there came a girl put two coins of 500. Ibit sat down and whispered, "a thousand for a song? I'm not doing this"
setelah dapat satu lagu, seorang gadis mendekat dan menjatuhkan dua koin 500an. Ibit duduk lalu berbisik, "satu lagu seribu? aku ngga mau lagi..."

I reminded her that we this wasn't about money so she stood up and sang again.
"what if people think we are just practicing, or sing for nothing?"
"no problem. but I believe they will understand what we are doing"
kuingatkan lagi tekadnya bahwa ini bukan tentang uang, akhirnya dia berdiri lagi
"bagaimana kalo orang-orang pikir kita cuma latihan atau main-main aja?"
"biarin. tapi nanti lama-lama pasti mereka tahu kita sedang apa"  


another song and a man with a camera came. he took Ibit's picture, and I believe she realized that. taa daa. here comes the spirit. people are watching and they know we were performing. more camera shots and more money dropped...
dapat satu lagu lagi dan seorang pria datang dengan kameranya. Ibit difoto. aku yakin dia sadar. taa daa. semangat. orang-orang mulai memperhatikan. lebih banyak kamera memotret -- dan lebih banyak uang dijatuhkan...

we performed for about one hour and gained 42.000 rupiahs. I think that was awsome.
kami ngamen sekitar satu jam dan dapat 42.000 rupiah. menurutku sih keren.

on our way home Ar asked Ibit how much money we got. and this is what he said, "great. twenty for me and twenty for Ir. right?"
di jalan pulang Ar bertanya Ibit dapat uang berapa. katanya setelah tahu, "berarti dua puluh buat aku dan dua puluh buat Ir. ya kan?"

hahaha... no way.  I think Ibit deserves all the money for what she has done. I told her to give Ar and Ir 2000 each. they protested. but Dan told them to join their sister singing if they want more...
hahaha... enak aja. menurutku Ibit berhak dapat semuanya. aku minta dia untuk bagi ke Ar dan Ir masing-masing 2000 aja. mereka protes sih. tapi Dan bilang, kalau mau dapat lebih banyak harus mau ikut nyanyi...

that was a great experience, even for me. I asked Ibit if she wants to perform there again one day, or in some other crowded. but she said it was enough for now. she's done what she wanted to.but maybe, some other time, some other place. no problem.
seru seru seru. bahkan buat aku. aku tanya apa Ibit mau ngamen lagi minggu depan, cari tempat yang lebih rame. tapi katanya cukup buat kali ini. yang penting sudah pernah. kapan-kapan lagi kalo pengen...

be there when we do, and drop much money for us, okay. don't only take pictures! :D
pastikan kalian di sana kalo kami ngamen lagi. dan kasih uang yang banyak, jangan motret doang ;)

Saturday, December 11, 2010

the performance



ibit performed Blue Danube and sang Ibu Pertiwi
at Jo Music Youth Concert

Friday, December 10, 2010

the artist

did I say I didn't want my children to be artists?

look at my girl.
for the last five or six months she's been practicing rebana with her groups. once a week to get prepared for a competition in the district. now as they succeeded and took #1 place, they have to prepare for the province level.

as a part of the preparation, last night they perform at the book fair. 
imagine how hard the day the kids went thru, 
went to school (and have exam) at 07.00AM. got home at 12.00PM. back to school to practice at 03.00PM. stayed at school and off to the fair at 07.00 PM. then performed 8 songs until 09.00 PM.




she got home at 10.00PM, dying.
this morning she woke up late, having headache and whining, 'I haven't read a sentence for the exam today...'


not only that. she will be performing tonight, playing piano and sing.
well I guess she has to learn to manage herself....


I didn't want my children to be artist. but what if they do?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

what a day

last Sunday there was an event in my children's school. it was an Open House in order to celebrate Kartini Day. Kartini is one of our female national hero.

Ibit performed 3 times that day.


First: drumband




Second: sang with her rebana group




Third: sang 5 songs with her band group

I'm not a good one in dress and fashion. but I think I dressed her good. she refused to wear the costume I chose - at the beginning. she wanted just to wear a t-shirt and jean pants. but then she found that her friends loved it, so finally she likes it.



And as a bonus (or the most important thing to her?) was, she took 2nd place for story telling contest.





I will not forget to put the picture of these biggest fans of Ibit, who sat right on the stage side to watch and support her.


and I want to share one of the performance. it is a duo with Al, the keyboardist of the band, singing "Bunda" (mother)








PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecilyand Pam

Friday, December 11, 2009

from the launch of 'suicide' - my book.


Alhamdulillah, it was finally launched.
My first book, a collection of 13 short stories I've been writing in the last couple of years.


Alhamdulillah, akhirnya diluncurkan.
Buku pertamaku yang berisi 13 cerpen yang kutulis dalam dua tahun terakhir.



The event was held in Gedung Ki Narto Sabdo, Raden Saleh Cultural Park, Semarang.
Acaranya digelar di Gedung Ki Narto Sabdo, Taman Budaya Raden Saleh, Semarang.

I handed the books to my parents, a friend from Loenpia (a blogger community I joined) and a friend from government office, as a symbol of the launching of the book.
Aku menyerahkan buku kepada kedua orang tuaku, seorang teman dari komunitas Loenpia dan seorang teman dari Pemerintah Provinsi, sebagai simbol diluncurkannya bukuku.


We had two theatrical performances as responses to my stories 'Kondom' and 'Alarm 07.30'.
Ada dua penampilan teatrikal sebagai respon terhadap cerpenku yang berjudul 'Kondom' dan 'Alarm 07.30'




I also played piano and sang the song I wrote, with the same tittle as the book's, 'Suicide'
Aku juga bermain piano (asal-asalan) membawakan lagu yang kutulis sendiri, berjudul sama dengan judul bukunya, 'Suicide'



And a discussion about my book with Triyanto Triwikromo and Aulia A Muhammad, and Agunghima as the Moderator. They all are senior authors from Semarang. What an honor to have them in my event...
Dan sebuah diskusi bersana Triyanto Triwikromo dan Aulia A Muhammad, yang dipandu oleh Agunghima sebagai moderator. Ketiganya adalah penulis senior di Semarang. Sebuah kegormatan bagiku mereka berkenan hadir di acaraku...


I definitely thank everyone who has supported me during the process of building the book, and the launching. Hopefully this would be a start to my journey, as a new born author.
Aku berterima kasih kepada semua pihak yang telah membantuku dalam penyusunan buku, dan peluncurannya. Semoga ini bisa menjadi langkah awal bagi perjalananku, sebagai penulis baru.

*******************************************
this post is for Photo Story Friday

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Rachael


and also for this week's Tuesday Toot. I think this was a BIG TOOT :D


Sunday, November 22, 2009

I may not be a pianist

but I am a good actor



Ar turned on a recorded song in the piano and pretended playing it. well, that wasn't good enough, boy. you should slide a little to the right for hi-tones :D

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Phideo Story Friday: Mutiara dan Bayu

okay, I cheated again. this is not a photo, it's a video.

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Carissa



just a practice, I and Ibit, before our real performance on 2 november. my friend will be launching her first book. I was asked to perform reading one of her poet. I never read a poet and don't think I can. so I chose to bring her poet to a song and will sing it in a duet with Ibit.

baru latihan... buat tampil nanti tanggal 2 nopember. seorang teman akan meluncurkan buku pertamanya. aku diminta membacakan salah satu puisinya. aku tuh ngga pernah baca puisi. dan rasanya memang ngga bisa. jadi aku memilih menggubah puisinya ke lagu, dan nanti akan kubawakan berduet dengan Ibit.

what do you think?
bagus ngga?




a little mistake would be okay, I think. we'll be good at the time...
salah dikit ngga papa kan. nanti kalau tampil beneran bagus deh...

err... sorry for a blur and dark video. it was taken with a cell phone in the night. not a good scene I know

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

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...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

my bass drums hitters



my kids are small, compared to the kids of their ages. especially Ibit.
anak-anakku kecil, jika dibandingkan dengan teman-teman sebayanya.

when I knew that Ar and Ir had to hold the bass drums in their drum band group at school, I protested the teacher:
"my boys are small, maam. basses are way too heavy for them"
waktu aku tahu bahwa Ar dan Ir memegang drum bass di grup drum band sekolah, aku protes ke bu guru:
"anak-anak saya itu kecil bu guru. bass itu kan besar, berat"

but this was what they said:
"bass is unique. it has it own beat, not the same with other small drums. it requires a kid with special abilities to play it. and your boys have it"
tapi ini jawabnya:
"bass itu beda. dia punya beat khusus, tidak sama dengan drum-drum kecil. butuh anak dengan ketrampilan khusus untuk bisa memainkannya. Ar Ir yang bisa"

wow.
wow.
wow.





so I totally understood when, at the middle of their show, Ir refused to continue playing.
"I'm tired. this is heavy"
jadi aku maklum banget waktu di tengah pentas Ir mogok main.
"aku capek, berat"

at home, I tried to cheer him up and keep him enthusiast. as what I heard from the teachers, some kids couldn't join the group and their parents complained. I told Ir about that, and how lucky he was to be able to join the band. but this is what he had to say:
"let them hit the bass. I quit"
di rumah, aku mencoba menyemangati dia lagi. seperti kata bu guru, beberapa anak tidak bisa ikut bergabung di grup, dan orang tua mereka sempat protes. aku ceritakan itu ke Ir, dan betapa beruntungnya dia karena bisa ikut kelompok drum band. tapi ini jawabnya:
"ya suruh mereka aja yang mukul bassnya. aku ngga mau lagi"

wow.
wow.
wow.



PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Sunday, February 15, 2009

we will not go down (gaza tonight)



composed by michael hart

A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right

But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

aku ngga ingin anakku jadi artis

I don't want my kids to be celebrities

tapi ini komentar mbakku: kamu boleh ngga ingin. gimana kalau anaknya yang ingin?
but this is what my sister said: may be you don't but what if they do?

aku selalu dukung Ibit ikut lomba-lomba di Ungaran-Semarang. tapi ikut audisi Idola Cilik?
audisinya aja di yogya. belum lagi kalau lolos (ya ampun pede-nya!) apa ngga harus bolak-balik Semarang Jakarta?
I always supported Ibit to join any singing contest in our city. but joining Idola Cilik? (it's like Indonesian Idol for kids). the audition would be held in Yogya. and if she make it (ugh, like if she would!), means I would have to travel Semarang - Jakarta every weekend.

'aku ingin tau, menurut mereka aku bagus ngga nyanyinya', katanya
'I only want to know, how good they think I sing', she said

ya sudah, masak mau ngga dibolehin? paling-paling juga ngga lolos audisi. (duh, doa yang jelek karena males ngebayangin ribetnya kalau lolos....)
well, would I say 'NO'? I think she wouldn't make it (what a bad prayer of a mom who can not imagine how hard it would be if she does make it)


sudah sering lihat yang beginian di tivi, tapi ngalami sendiri?
as seen on TV, but being a part of it?







capeknya ngantri tiga jam lebih
tired being in three hours waiting in line





dalam jenuh kami mulai gila-gilaan....
and we started going crazy...







dan ibit senang dapat teman baru
and she was glad to have a new friend




pengumumannya masih besok, lewat telepon bagi yang berhasil. berdebar-debar. bingung musti berharap lolos atau tidak....
they will let us know if she made it or not tomorrow, by phone. I don't know what to wish better, should she make it or not...




Wednesday, August 27, 2008

aku gemeteran....

I was trembling...

terpaku pada jari-jariku yang berlompatan seperti tak terkontrol. aku tak mendengar dia, aku tak mendengar yang lainnya. han, ceritakan padaku…
stucked to my almost uncontrolled jumping fingers. I didn't hear her, I didn't hear anyone else. Dan, tell me what happened...

sunyi. semua terdiam. terhipnotis. aku bahkan gemetaran mengambil gambarnya.
it was so quite. every one stayed in silence, hypnotized. I was trembling also taking her picture
terangnya hidup di dunia
karena sinar kasihmu papa
biar duka menyelimuti kita
kau selalu hadirkan bahagia
the brightness of my life
because you shine your love on me
no matter how sadness surrounding us
you always bring happiness

apapun keadaanmu
bagiku kau bagaikan raja
pelindungku dari semua badai
siang malam kau hangatkan aku
how ever you are
to me you are a king
who protects me through all storms
day and night you keep me warm

bila Tuhan ijinkan aku bicara
kubersaksi tak akan pernah menyesal
punya dia yang terhebat
hanyalah dia
if God allow me to speak
I promise I'll never regret
to have him, the greatest one
only him

bila Tuhan ijinkan aku meminta
hanya ada satu pintaku yang suci
ku bernafas hanya untuk dia bahagia
oh… papa
if God allow me to ask
I have only one request
I breathe just to see him happy
oh papa

papa.jpg

kau lihat mereka yang melihatmu?
did you see them watching you?

tidak, aku hanya bernyanyi, 'papa'.
no I didn't, I just sang 'papa'.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

kartinian

celebrating 'kartini' day
(I've linked the traditional stuffs to some resources, in case you want to learn or just know about them)


hari ini sekolah Ar Ir merayakan Hari Kartini. Jadi murid-murid pake pakaian adat.
today in Ar Ir's school they celebrate Kartini Day. so the students have to wear traditional clothes
aku bilang juga apa, aku ini mami dodol. aku inget tanggal 19 ada sesuatu di sekolah Ar Ir. tapi lupa apa. dari hari kamis udah diinget-inget. cuma berhasil inget bahwa hari ini kelas A dan B masuk pagi semua.
I told you what. I'm a stupid mom. I remembered I had to do something in 19 for Ar Ir's school. but couldn't remember what. I've tried so hard to remember it since Thursday. all I can remember is that in 19 class A and B started at 07.30.

kalo hari sabtu udah ritual antar dan jemput anak sekolah. pas sampai di sekolahan aku bengong. loh, kok pada pake kostum pakaian adat? spontan Ar-Or aku giring masuk mobil lagi, aku nelpon salon deket rumah, "Budhe... ada kostum ngga buat kembar?". Jawab budhe-ku yang centil itu. "ada sayang... udah dhe nur siapin. dari kemaren dhe nur tunggu-tunggu langganan yang satu ini, mau kartinian kok belum pesen kostum"
I'm off on Saturday so I could take the boys to the school this morning. when I got there, I was kinda dazed. hey, everybody ia wearing a traditional clothes. I was spontaniously turn Ar Ir back to the car, and called a beauty house next door, "budhe, do you still have costumes for my twin?". this coquettish Budhe of mine answered, "I have prepared two pairs for them. I've been waiting for you to come and take it, I know their school is doing it today"

alhamdulillah!
budhe nur nyiapin dua pilihan. beskap solo, dua-duanya warna merah; atau beskap lurik yogya. Ar Ir suka yang kedua.
budhe nur prepared two choices. beskap solo, both are red; or beskap lurik yogya. Ar Ir chose the second

dan inilah hasilnya, dua wayang golekku....
and these are the results, my twin wayang goleks.....

this is Ar


and this is Ir


tahun ini sekolah Ibit ngga kartinian, mungkin karena tahun lalu sudah. ini gambar ibit kartinian dari tahun lalu. seingatku mereka memang kartinian setiap dua tahun sekali
this year, Ibit's school don't do the celebration. may be because they already did last year. this is Ibit's picture from last year. what I know is they do it every other year.


dan ibit juga ikut nyinden dengan rombongan gamelan teman-temannya
and ibit also joined the sindens (javanese singers) along with the gamelan (javanese band/orchestra)






Tuesday, March 25, 2008

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...

Saturday, March 8, 2008

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!