the illiterate

gaptek

that's me.
technology some times drives me crazy.
iya, aku.
teknologi kadang bikin bete.

I like my old Sony Ericsson C510 cell-phone with it's built in camera. it is simple as a camera but I think so cool for a camera-phone. it is auto focus, can take macro photos, and the best part is, I can simply send every picture I took to Face Book and to 'Stupidshots' - my photo blog on Blogger. Sony Ericsson has prepared it for me.
aku suka henponku yang dulu, SE C510 dengan kamera. kalo mau dibilang kamera memang terlalu sederhana, tapi lumayan keren untuk ukuran camera-phone. bisa auto-focus, moto makro, dan yang paling aku suka adalah, bisa langsung kirim foto ke FB dan ke blog foto-ku di blogger, Stupidshots. Sony Ericsson sudah menyiapkan fasilitas itu buatku.

today, everyone around holds qwerty cell phone, cell-phones with computer-keyboard-alike key pad. first was Black Berry, and now every name has this kind of phone. I, my self, never thought it was cool. I think qwerty-keypad is weird and touch screen like i-Phone is way cool.
sekarang, hampir semua orang pegang henpon qwerty, yang kwypadnya mirip keyboard komputer. dulu mulai dengan BlackBerry, sekarang semua merk bikin henpon model begini. menurutku sih henpon qwerty itu ngga keren, aneh malah. yang keren itu yang touch screen macam i-Phone itu.

but, i-Phone is not affordable, for me. so as an i-Phone wannabe I bought Samsung Monte. it was beautiful and looked just as cool as I wanted it to be. the problems is, you need to be some one so soft to do touching. I can't be. I don't touch, I hit. so it didn't work. I was frustrated using it, especially when it came to typing. after a week stressed, I sold it.
tapi i-Phone itu ga terjangkau olehku. jadi aku beli Samsung Monte yang mirip-mirip. keren sih. masalahnya, kalo mau make henpon touchscreen itu kudu orang lembut. aku ngga bisa. karena aku ngga bisa sekedar 'menyentuh', aku cenderung mengetuk. jadi ga klop. frustrasi makenya, apalagi kalo nulis. makanya setelah stress seminggu, akhirnya kujual lagi

I should have been thankful and just held on to my Sony Ericsson, but I didn't. I bought this.
harusnya aku cukup bersyukur sudah punya SE itu, tapi aku malah beli ini.

Nokia E71

it is a qwerty I know. and I am not ashamed to finally confess, although it looks weird, it is easier for me to type texts. so I lived with the qwerty thing. it also has a 3,2 mpx autofocus camera. but, this phone doesn't have that simple feature to send pictures to FB and Blogger. for a while I thought, maybe I just haven't found it. but after some exploring I found that Blogger is not included in the webs this phone supports for sending picture directly. I need to set up a mobile blogging for my phone.
iya, itu qwerty. tapi aku ngga malu mengakui bahwa walaupun tampangnya aneh, tapi enak buat ngetik. jadi aku terima hidup dengan si qwerty. dia juga dilengkapi dengan kamera autofokus 3,2 mpx. tapi, henpon ini ga punya fitur simple buat ngirim foto langsung ke FB atau Blogger. tadinya kupikir karena belum nemu aja. tapi setelah aku pelajari, Blogger memang tidak termasuk di web yang disupport untuk kirim foto langsung. harus set up mobile blogging dulu.

this morning I spent hours learning how to start blogger-on-the-go, and it's not as simple as sending a text message, as told in the Blogger help center, because I don't live in US. so I did other way, set up my mobile blogging via email.
tadi sepagian aku mempelajari bagaimana memulai blogger-on-the-go. tapi ternyata ga semudah kirim sms seperti yang ada di help-centernya Blogger, soalnya aku tidak pake nomor US. jadi harus set up mobile blogging via email.

here, I got confuse, whether I had to make a new email account right from my cell-phone, or I could just use my old account but access it through phone. what I did was, I set the Nokia email wizard using my old account - I had to install it. well it worked. I did a test and I succeeded posting a picture. but then, like in every second my phone beeped. a notification of an incoming email. GOD. the email I put in my phone was an email I use to join a crazy mail-list, which sends me over one hundred emails in a day. this really drove me crazy.
di sini aku bingungnya. apa aku harus bikin akun email baru langsung dari henpon, atau cukup akses email lama dari henpon. akhirnya aku aktifkan Nokia email wizard dan memakai akun email yang sudah ada. berhasil sih, aku bisa uplod foto langsung ke Blogger. tapi kemudian henponku tulat tulit terus, ada notifikasi email masuk. GOD. email yang aku pasang itu adalah email yang aku pakai untuk join milis yang seharinya bisa kemasukan seratusan email lebih. bener-bener sinting.

I said to my phone crazily: ' I know you are beautiful but stupid!'
kataku kepada henponku: kamu cantik tapi oon.

I immediately open the manual book to find out how to turn off the notification but again I was frustrated. the manual book was in Bahasa Indonesia while I set my phone language in English. may be I am weird but I feel technical language translated to Bahasa Indonesia IS weird and confusing... after some hard working (well not that hard actually...) I gave up. more over, lately I found that I was charged for every incoming email notification. NOWAY. that is such a waste, unless I buy an unlimited data-content package. but why should I do that, it is not that urgent, for me.
lekas aku cari buku manualnya, gimana caranya matiin email notifikasi, tapi yang ada aku malah tambah bete. buku manualnya cuma tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia, padahal henponku aku set berbahasa Inggris. mungkin aku aneh, tapi menurutku bahasa teknis yang diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Indonesia itu yang aneh dan membingungkan. setelah bekerja keras (ngga terlalu keras sih...) aku menyerah. apalagi kemudian ketauan bahwa setiap ada notifikasi pulsaku berkurang. enak aja. mubadzir itu namanya. kecuali aku beli paket data unlimited. tapi buat apa, ga terlalu penting buatku.

so I un-installed my Nokia emailing instead of just turning off the email notification. I know I have to find some other way to be able to send pictures right from my phone, and some how I will. 'coz I know this phone is smart, only I am illiterate and need to learn A LOT more. wish me luck.
jadi email wizardnya aku un install. aku tahu aku harus cari cara lain supaya bisa kirim foto langsung dari henpon, nanti juga ketemu. karena aku tahu henpon ini sebenernya pinter, akunya yang gaptek dan harus banyak belajar. wish me luck.

good bye, nowy...

Nowy is (was) one of Sasa's babies. after Chacha and Chichi were gone, she had three other babies: Nowa - Nowy and Kiki.
Nowy adalah salah satu anak Sasa. setelah Chacha dan Chichi hilang, dia punya tiga bayi lagi: Nowa - Nowy dan Kiki.

this afternoon, we were about to go to the barber shop, Ar and Ir needed some hair cut. the kids were there at the terrace while I was still inside preparing some thing. Dan drove the car out of the car port, and seconds after I heard the kids screaming. I ran out and screamed -I thought- even louder than the kids did.
siang ini, kami sedang siap-siap mau ke tukang cukur, Ar Ir sudah perlu potong rambut. anak-anak menunggu di teras sedang aku masih bersiap-siap di dalam. Dan mengeluarkan mobil dari carport, dan beberapa detik kemudian aku dengar anak-anak menjerit. aku lari keluar dan menjerit (kurasa) lebih keras dari mereka.

Nowy was there lying down. blood came out her mouth and she sounded " eek... eek..." her body was convulsing. I immediately got back in. I couldn't stand seeing that little soft frail body suffering. I knew just what happened.
Nowy terbaring. darah keluar dari mulutnya dan dia bersuara "eek... eek..." badannya kejang-kejang. aku buru-buru masuk lagi, ga tahan melihat tubuh lemah kecil itu menderita. aku tahu apa yang baru saja terjadi

Dan has run the car over her. I guess she was sleeping under the tire, like she and her sisters usually do at noon. it was a terrible accident.
Dan melindasnya. mungkin dia sedang tidur di dekat ban, seperti yang dia dan suadara-suadaranya biasa lakukan kalau siang. kecelakaan yang mengerikan.

later when the convulsion stopped - means she's already dead, I got out and lift up her body. Dan buried our little kitten in the garden near our house. a neighbor couldn't understand how we, the whole family, could cry over a cat's dead body. I wouldn't explain anything. those who understand don't need any explanation, at all.
beberapa saat kemudian ketika kejangnya berhenti - yang berarti dia sudah mati, aku keluar dan mengangkat tubuhnya. Dan mengubur mayat kucing kecil kami di kebun dekat rumah. seorang tetangga keheranan bagaimana bisa kami seisi ruman menangisi kucing yang mati. aku tidak akan menjelaskan apa pun. orang yang mengerti tidak butuh penjelasan, sama sekali

this video is, a memory I caught, of our poor Nowy.
video ini, kenangan yang sempat kutangkap, akan Nowy kami yang malang.



good bye, Nowy
selamat jalan, Nowy

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

the empty tea cups

Hosted by Cecilyand Caitlin

last night when I got home from work, I accompany my children to study. then I let them watch an anime movie a friend lent me.
semalam sepulang kerja, aku menemani anak-anak belajar sebentar. lalu mereka nonton film yang kupinjam dari seorang teman
in the middle of the movie Ibit said she wanted some tea and asked if I would made some for her. I said I would. after I took a bathe and prayed I made the tea and served it for the kids and Dan.
di tengah film Ibit minta dibuatkan teh. aku minta dia menunggu aku mandi dan sholat isya. lalu aku bikin teh untuk anak-anak dan Dan.

it was 9 PM, Ibit asked if they were allowed to sleep over the night time, to finish the movie. I said it was okay, 'but don't forget to do the prayer before bed'.
I was darn too sleepy to join them watch the movie, so I just laid down on the mattress and shut my eyes. I think I fell asleep just view minutes later.
jam 9, ibit minta diperbolehkan tidur lebih malam dari jam tidur biasanya, karena ingin menyelesaikan nonton filmnya. kataku boleh, 'tapi jangan lupa sholat isya sebelum tidur'.
aku ngantuk banget, jadi aku tidak menemani mereka nonton filmnya. aku tiduran di kasur dekat dengan mereka. kayanya aku langsung jatuh tidur.

about 10 and a quarter they turned off the media and ready for bed. faintly I heard 'gluk.. gluk.. gluk..' the sound of Ibit drinking her tea. then...
Ibit: 'Ar, Ir, aren't you going to finish drinking your tea?'
not sure Ar or Ir: 'it's not warm anymore, not good. I don't want it anymore...'
Ibit: 'drink it. Ibu was so tired but still made it for us, you should respect her. poor Ibu if you don't drink it'
sekitar jam sepuluh seperempat aku dengar tivi dimatikan. sayup terdengar suara 'gluk.. gluk.. gluk..' Ibit meminum tehnya. lalu...
Ibit: 'Ar, Ir, kalian ga habisin tehnya?'
entah Ar atau Ir: 'udah ngga anget, ngga enak. aku ngga mau lagi'
Ibit: ' minum, dik. Ibu tadi udah capek-capek bikinin, kasihan kalau nga diminum..."

and both Ar and Ir drank it.
'it still taste good though it's not warm...' one of the twin said.
Ar dan Ir meminumnya.
'eh, masih enak ya walaupun udah ngga anget lagi...' kata salah satu kembarku.

and off they went down stairs, to bed.
dan mereka pergi tidur.

***

this morning I woke up and found those three empty little cups.
oh yes they are empty, but my heart is filled. what the kid did was such a simple thing. but I found it so touching...
pagi ini aku bangun menemukan tiga cangkir kosong di meja.
cangkirnya kosong, tapi hatiku penuh. apa yang dilakukan anak-anak itu sederhana, tapi bikin aku terharu...

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)

Hosted by Cecilyand Pam

books beside beds

I know this isn't my best shots, or best story. it's just a story with some shots :D



If it is besides Ibit's bed, it's not a special thing. Ibit has been in love with books since she was able to read at grade 1. She can not go to sleep without reading before. She often re-reads her old books when she has no new books to read. She even has finished reading some books I bought, that I haven't even read a page.




But this morning I found books on Ar and Ir's bed. I asked them what were those books doing there. They said they read them before sleeping.

It's a good news.







Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

studying is [not] my hobby

Hosted by Cecily and Life With Kaishon

studying, never was my hobby. all my time being a student. this is 180 degrees opposites my husband, who has always been studying and been a diligent student. well, until he met me in college, that's when I contaminated his habit with mine :P
so I totally understand when some kids don't like studying. now I understand that's just because they don't find studying is interesting.

aku ngga hobi belajar, seumur aku menjadi murid. ini berlawanan 180 derajat dengan suamiku yang selalu rajin belajar selama sekolah. well, tentu saja itu sebelum dia ketemu aku di kuliahan, aku mengkontaminasi kebiasaannya dengan kebiasaanku :P
jadi aku ngerti banget kalau ada anak yang ngga suka belajar. sekarang sih aku ngerti, bahwa itu karena buat mereka belajar itu ngga menarik


it was a little bit hard to pull my twin to sit before desk and concentrate for a while to their books. seemed like they really are my children :D. but this isn't some thing I just can let go on. so I tried to make it interesting for them do math exercises.

beda dengan Ibit, agak susah ngajak Ar Ir duduk dan konsentrasi sebentar ngadep buku pelajaran. bener-bener anakku mereka itu :D. tapi tentu saja ini bukan hal yang boleh aku biarkan terus-terusan. karenanya aku mencoba membuat belajar matematika menarik buat mereka.

I made them their own exercise book.
aku buatkan mereka buku latihan sendiri.

on every page I drew some stuffs for them to color. they are interested to do the coloring instead of doing the real exercises but that's fine.
di setiap halaman aku beri gambar untuk diwarnai. mereka memang lebih tertarik mewarnai gambarnya ketimbang mengerjakan latihan yang sesungguhnya.

they'd do it any way, because if they do all the exercises correctly, they can cut this little part lower on the page.
tapi mereka pasti mentgerjakannya, karena jika betul semua, mereka boleh memotong bagian kecil di ujung kiri bawah setiap halaman latihan.

every page is worth Rp.100 and if they collect at least ten coupon from ten pages, they can buy themselves some treat :D
setiap halaman bernilai Rp. 100 dan bila mereka mengumpulkan kupon dari 10 halaman, mereka bisa beli jajan yang lumayan.

Ibit said I was too stingy. Rp. 100 for ten to twenty numbers each page. but I don't think so. I never had to pay any single rupiah for all numbers of exercises Ibit has done. it's not about how much they've got, but how fun it was to get it.
kata Ibit aku pelit, Rp.100 untuk 10 - 20 nomor per halaman. tapi ga juga. aku malah ga pernah bayar serupiah pun untuk semua latihan yang dikerjakan Ibit. ini bukan soal berapa jumlahnya, tapi pasti senang memperolehnya.

beside, if I put Rp. 1000 in every coupon, I'll soon be broken!
lagian kalau tiap halaman bernilai Rp.1000, aku bisa cepet bangkrut!


note: $1,00 = Rp. 9700,00 (approximately)

it's that simple

I could say they are trouble maker
(which they some times are)

but I'd rather say they are my life brightener

happy birthday Ar and Ir

I didn't make the cake beautiful so you will believe if I said I made it by my self. I swear I did.

*a classic excuse*