Tadi pagi dateng kartu Natal dari simbok di Blitar. Dengan ejaan yang banyak salah, tulisan miring dan beda2, simbok menyampaikan doanya "semoga ibuk sekeluarga diberkati Tuhan yang pengasih dan simbok juga baik-baik aja sekarang sudah tenang sudah tinggal di rumah karena anak2 sudah punya rumah sendiri2" (yup, tanpa titik koma, begitulah!).

Mbok Wasinah memang selalu penuh perhatian. Sejak dia tidak bekerja lagi di rumah Surabaya, dia secara rutin mengirimkan surat atau kartu Natal. Waktu tau mama sudah lebih lama tinggal di Jakarta daripada di Surabaya, dia pun mencari alamat kami lewat saudara yg menempati rumah kami di sana.

Kemarin malam anak perempuan mbok Wasinah (aku lupa namanya) menelepon mama dari tempat kerjanya, international call straight from Singapore! Dan itu hanya untuk mengucapkan selamat Natal pada mama. Padahal sebagai seorang pembantu rumah tangga, mungkin dia harus menggunakan telepon umum untuk melakukan sambungan internasional itu ke rumah.

Mama jadi sentimentil dan mengulang2 cerita itu pada semua orang yang bersedia mendengarkan. (Dan berhubung di rumah cuma ada papa & aku, gampang ditebak toh siapa yang harus sediain telinga???). Kartu Natal simbok dipajang di ruang tengah.

Waktu aku cerita ke adikku, dia ketawa. "Coba pas di Surabaya, mama ngomel mulu karena simbok makannya suka banyak gak kira2". Keindahan memang lebih nyata lewat jarak. Karena itu juga mungkin kita kerap hanya bisa mengingat kebaikan-kebaikan orang yang sudah meninggal, hehehehe...

Liburan perayaan memang berefek jelek buat berat badan, apalagi berat badan-KU yang emang sudah bikin timbangan bete, hehehhee... Makanan di mana2, dan orang memaklumi kalau intake lebih besar dari outflow hehehe...

Mungkin tips dari MSN Fitness ini bisa berguna (iya kan, paling tidak gw udah berusaha mencari tips ini!).

Eating Tips

Good things come in small packages. Here's a trick for staying satisfied without consuming large portions: Chop high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces. It will seem like you're getting more than you actually are.
(Comment: This hardly worked. I felt less guilty eating more of them bcz I kept thinking that they were in smaller portions!)

Don't give up dips. If you love creamy dips and sauces, don't cut them out of your diet completely. Just use low-fat sour cream and mayo instead of the full-fat stuff.
(Comment: Definitely a "failer", because I don't like sour cream and mayo. I LOVEEEEEEEE cheese!)

Get water-wise. Make a habit of reaching for a glass of water instead of a high-calorie snack. It will help your overall health as well as your waistline. Add some zest with a twist of lemon or lime.
(Comment: iya, yang ada juga kembung!)

Herb it up. Stock up your spice rack, and start growing a small herb garden in your kitchen window. Spices and herbs add fantastic flavor to foods without adding fat or calories.
(Comment: yeah, but they increase the tendency of EATING more!)

Slim down your soup. Make a big batch of soup and refrigerate it before you eat it. As it cools, the fat will rise to the top. Skim it off the surface for reduced fat content.
(Comment: good idea. is it also applicable for cream soups?)

Doggie-bag that dinner. At restaurants, ask the server to put half your entrée in a doggie bag before bringing it to your table. Putting the food away before you start your meal will help you practice portion control.
(Comment: it's way easier here to ask for two plates, and we simply put half our entree on that other plate! but will it look impolite/etiquetteless?)

Listen to your cravings. If you're craving something sweet, eat something sweet - just opt for a healthier nosh, like fruit, instead of a high-calorie one. The same goes for crunchy cravings - for example, try air-popped popcorn with soy sauce instead of high-fat tortilla chips. It's just smart substitution!
Ease your way into produce. If you're new to eating lots of fruits and veggies, start slowly. Just add them to the foods you already enjoy. Pile veggies on top of your sandwiches, or add fruit to your cereal.
(Comment: adding veggies on top of ubi goreng doesnt sound right... cheese is a more perfect choice! hehehe...)

Look for high-fat hints. Want an easy way to identify high-calorie entrees? Keep an eye out for these words: au gratin, parmigiana, tempura, alfredo, creamy and carbonara, and enjoy them in moderation.
(Comment: what if these words were written in chinese alphabeticals????)

Don't multitask while you eat. If you're working, reading or watching TV while you eat, you won't be paying attention to what's going into your mouth - and you won't be enjoying every bite. Every time you sit down for a meal, sit down. Chew slowly and pay attention to flavors and textures. You'll enjoy your food more and eat less.
(Comment: chew slowly, pay attention to flavors... what flavor? the longer you chew, the worse it tastes, actually!)

Taste something new. Broaden your food repertoire - you may find you like more healthy foods than you knew. Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had jicama, plantain, bok choy, starfruit or papaya?).
(Comment: papaya is like fruit de la fruit in our family. I hate it. Other family members love it. Yuck.)

Leave something on your plate at every meal. One bite of bagel, half your sandwich, the bun from your burger. See if you feel satisfied eating just a bit less.
(Comment: no comment)

Get to know your portion sizes. It's easy to underestimate how much you're eating. Don't just estimate things - make sure. Ask how much is in a serving, read the fine print on labels, measure your food. And learn portion equivalents: One serving of pasta, for instance, should be around the size of a tennis ball.
(Comment: who would have time to make this long list????)

Make a healthy substitution. Learn to swap healthier foods for their less-healthful counterparts. Find a substitution that works for you: Use skim milk instead of whole milk; make up a batch of brownie mix with applesauce instead of oil; try a whole-grain bread instead of white.
(Comment: yeah, but the fattening ones taste better!)

Bring lunch to work. Packing lunch will help you control your portion sizes. It also provides a good alternative to restaurants and fast-food joints, where making healthy choices every day can be challenging (not to mention expensive).
(Comment: only if you pack healthy food)

Have some dessert. You don't have to deny yourself all the time. Have a treat that brings you pleasure, but this time enjoy it guilt-free - be sure you're practicing portion control, and compensate for your indulgence by exercising a little more or by skipping your afternoon snack.
(Comment: skipping afternoon snack? ... er... well...)

Ask for what you need. Tell your mother-in-law you don't want seconds. Ask your sweetie to stop bringing you chocolates. Speak up for the salad bar when your coworkers are picking a restaurant for lunch. Whatever you need to do to succeed at weight loss, ask for it. Make yourself a priority and assert yourself.
(Comment: does this mean we have to have a "sweetie"???)

Christmas time!!!!!

Sudah dua tahun belakangan ini, sejak peristiwa pemboman beberapa gereja di malam Natal tahun 2000, gereja-gereja dijaga ketat oleh polisi dan tentara. Who knows, mungkin di daerah-daerah tertentu (penduduk/pengunjung mayoritas keturunan China) bahkan dikawal panser.

Memang rasa "aman" relatif lebih besar, karena ada dukungan dari berbagai pihak terhadap hak kami untuk beribadah dan memuji Tuhan, termasuk dari teman-teman di Muhammadiyah dan NU (?)

Tapi di sisi lain ini menyedihkan, karena Natal seolah-olah tidak lagi menjadi milestone perdamaian dan pendamaian.

Oleh sekelompok orang, Natal dijadikan lambang ketakutan. Ketakutan masyarakat Kristen akan keselamatan badan jasmaniah mereka (manusiawi, tapi sebenarnya menunjukkan bahwa sekali lagi, kita lebih takut pada manusia yang bisa membunuh daging daripada takut kepada Tuhan yang dapat membinasakan roh).

Ketakutan yang lain, adalah ketakutan yang publikasinya dimanipulasi. Misalnya berbagai gembar-gembor kristenisasi dengan pembagian supermie, dsb.

Dari pengalamanku selama 31 tahun menjadi orang Kristen, kami tidak membagikan kasih SEMATA-MATA untuk mengkristenkan orang. Kalau begitu, justru akan merendahkan kekristenan itu sendiri, karena eksesnya adalah: ketika seseorang atau sekelompok orang sudah dikristenkan, maka tugas kami sudah selesai.

Berbagi kasih adalah perintah Tuhan. Mengkristenkan orang, atau tepatnya membuat orang percaya pada Kristus, adalah bagian dari kasih, karena kami percaya bahwa keselamatan itu hanya ada pada Kristus. Tapi seandainya yang bersangkutan tidak bisa percaya, maka kami juga TIDAK BERHAK untuk memaksakannya. Itu sudah yurisdiksi Tuhan. Tapi keengganan orang itu untuk percaya TIDAK menjadi justifikasi bagi kami untuk menghentikan pembagian kasih kami kepada orang (-orang) itu. Sama seperti kami juga tidak berhak untuk mengerasi orang-orang yang berpaling dari Tuhan untuk berpindah ke kepercayaan lain.

Hanya Tuhanlah yang berhak menjadi hakim.

Memang sudah banyak yang sepakat bahwa penekanan pada perbedaan agama bukan berangkat dari semata2 perbedaan itu sendiri, melainkan dari upaya-upaya kelompok tertentu untuk memperoleh kekuasaan. Tapi bila upaya tersebut berhasil, tentu ada sebabnya. Kecemburuan sosial? Mungkin sudah saatnya kepada mereka yang mayoritas diperlihatkan saudara-saudara kami yang hidup di bawah garis kemiskinan...

Kemarin malam ke acara halal bihalal sekaligus "reuni" ikatan alumni SMA gw (perhatikan, kalo masih menyebut sekolah menengahnya dengan "SMA" berarti sudah meninggalkan sekolah itu minimal 5 tahun!), bareng dengan 2 temen kantor yang alumni juga, Abel n Yomi.

Despite all kehebohan kita, udah sejak seminggu sebelumnya ngebicarain itu, belum lagi milis organisasi (atau forum?) yg rame banget, ternyata.... well, not really bad, actually, it was just kind of lame, bcz most of the attendees were OLD!!!! (duh, kasar ya istilah gw... di kantor aja pensiunan dipake nama "purnakarya"). class of '60... '65.... '81... u name it! udah gitu mereka udah pada saling kenal, dan langsung ngelompok. kalo gak salah sih orang2 ini emang cukup aktif di ikatan alumni sma gw cabang jakarta.

setelah keliling dan secara sepihak ngajak kenalan beberapa orang yang mukanya cukup "muda", atw nekat melototin name tag orang2 untuk cari tahu dia/mereka angkatan berapa, atw dikenalkan oleh mas eka yang jadi moderator milis (makasih loh mas!), beberapa alumni angkatan 90-an akhirnya membentuk kelompok sendiri. tadinya abel udah banggain diri jadi angkatan yg paling muda (dia '94, gw n yomi '91), tapi ternyata anak-anak "kecil" (cieeeee.... udah ngerasa tua nih!) yang lain malah angkatan '97-'98 gitu. wakakakakak.... :))))

sebenarnya bagus juga loh kegiatan ikatan alumni sma ku itu. selain kumpul-kumpul (yang terutama dilakukan para angkatan "purnakarya"), juga ada usaha yang dijalankan oleh yayasan. hehehehe.... tapi gitu2 waktu datang kita masih pada ditarikin duit.... cepek... jangan2 buat danain door prize nya????

kembali ke soal angkatan 90-an... selain ngumpul2, saling tukar kartu nama, kita juga rame2 pulang lebih cepet, hahahahaha...

besoknya di milis anak2 yg gak dateng pada ribut minta moderator upload kan foto2. moga2 foto2 kita yg lumayan banyak itu diupload juga, hehehehe... centilnya gak abis2... narsis pula (iya, kan seneng liat diri sendiri!).

apakah gw bakal aktif di organisasi itu? bisa iya, bisa enggak sih...

tapi target utama sekarang ini ya... posting! hehehehe....

Kalo ngeliat blog nya orang2 lain... wuih... keren2!!! Gimana caranya ya bisa bikin gitu? Yaa... harus belajar, hehehehe... males dehhhh...

Semalaman ini nyari partiturnya Havah Nagilah (untuk SATB), tapi gak dapet2! Susah euy!!! Mo minta lewat milis indonesian choral lovers, membership gw masih dipending! Bikin bete....

Gotta join a choir now!!! NOW!!!!

Kak Poppy ngirim message lewat MSN, dan akhirnya kita ngobrol berjam2 di cyberway, bertukar gosip2 kantor dan keluarga.. tapi terutama gosip kantor, hehehehe...

PART II

Saddam Hussein akhirnya tertangkap. Tertawa gembiralah Bush, Blair, Howard, dan konco2nya. Apalagi kanselir Jerman dan presiden Perancis juga memberi selamat.

Yang lucu, tidak ada perlawanan dari Saddam. Mungkin dia sudah capek, mungkin juga itu bukan Saddam. Soal test DNA? Gampang dipalsukan!

PART I

Sebagian besar hari ini dihabiskan buat pengucapan syukur untuk sidi salah seorang keponakan gw. Acaranya sendiri digelar di rumah seorang oom nya (keponakan gw ini anak dari sepupu gw yg cewek, oom nya ya berarti kakaknya ipar gw itu) di jalan cendana, yg kebetulan rumahnya guedhe sak arat2...

kita terkagum2 dan jadi norak di sekitar rumah yang cantik itu. maklum lah, mayoritas kami kan belom pernah muncul di "Indonesian Tatler"! sebelum kebaktian mulai, kebanyakan kita yg muda2 ngumpul di gazebo samping kolam renang, sementara yg rada tua2 lebih seneng dalam rumah yg pake ac. maklum, udaranya lagi panas!

kebetulan anak perempuan tunggal yg punya rumah baru saja membuat berita karena lagi hangat2nya berpacaran dengan seorang bintang sinetron muda ganteng. wah, heboh semua deh waktu si bintang ikut kebaktian di tempat itu. bapak2 melirik ingin tau, ibu-ibu dan cewek2 yang lebih muda melirik pengen berfoto bareng.. sayangnya sampe kebaktian selesai en mereka berdua harus pergi, cita2 foto bareng itu gak pernah kesampean, hehehehe....

Dalam perjalanan pulang dari Pekanbaru kemarin siang/sore, aku melihat gambar di Kompas dengan tulisan di bawahnya yang menerangkan mengenai satu event di mana Presiden Megawati dan Taufik Kiemas duduk semeja dengan Wakil Gubernur Propinsi ... di China (lupa nama propinsinya), Dubes China, pengusaha Tong Djoe, dan pengusaha The Nien King, yang oleh Kompas ditulis: debitur BPPN.

Gambar itu sungguh menggelitik, terutama buatku yang merasa heran mengapa orang nomor satu di negara ini ditempatkan bersama-sama dengan pejabat yg bila di Indonesia paling-paling setingkat eselon II. Kenapa bukan Menteri Ekonomi, atau bahkan Gubernur Propinsinya sendiri yang datang??? Atau kalaupun terpaksa kedua pejabat itu tidak bisa hadir, ya wagubnya jangan di meja presiden dong! Dubes ok lah, karena Dubes kan mewakili kepala negaranya.

Di samping itu, kesediaan Megawati untuk duduk dengan pengusaha "debitur BPPN", alias pengutang kelas kakap yang katanya gak bisa bayar utang tapi masih bisa beli Jaguar, lebih buat malu lagi.

Aku teringat perbincanganku dan teman2 dengan seorang pejabat Sekwilda Pekanbaru kemarin, mengenai ekspor pasir. Beberapa dari kami sempat mengemukakan sinyalemen sejumlah media massa mengenai keterlibatan Pemda Riau atas terus berlangsungnya akitifitas penjualan pasir ke Singapura. Bapak pejabat Sekwilda tersebut membantah tuduhan itu, dan menekankan bahwa peran para pengusaha besar ("PENGUSAHA BESAR") sangat dominan dalam upaya-upaya menggolkan kebijakan yang memperbolehkan ekspor pasir laut. Pemda Riau, menurut beliau, sangat menentang kegiatan ini untuk dua alasan: pertama, kerusakan lingkungan (abrasi) yang diakibatkannya; kedua, tidak ada keuntungan finansial yang mengalir ke Pemda Riau (kecuali mungkin untuk beberapa "oknum").

Kami sama2 memahami bahwa keterbatasan ruang gerak para pihak yang prihatin (dengan kepentingan yang berbeda2 tentunya) lebih banyak karena campur tangan dari "Teuku Umar".

Susah emang kalo yang jadi pemimpin gak punya kenegarawanan dan visi. Kira2 terpikir tidak ya oleh mereka bahwa ekspor pasir kita yang terus menerus ke Singapura akan berdampak pada pengurangan wilayah kita? Dalam beberapa tahun terakhir ini, garis pantai Singapura sudah maju kurang lebih 20 meter. Apa kasus Sipadan-Ligitan mau diulang? (walaupun Sipadan-Ligitan sih sebenarnya memang bukan wilayah kita dari dulu) Hm.. ini isu yang bisa diangkat buat Pemilu nih. Sayang sudah terlambat buat mendaftarkan partai baru, hehehehe...

Tadi gw n adek gw nonton acapella di Kafe Pisa (emang udah direncanain, kan tiap hari Minggu!). Biarpun bukan Jamaican Cafe, lumayanlah, hehehehe... gw lupa nama grupnya. Benernya mereka potensial banget, cuma kadang2 suka yg gak pas gitu nadanya, hihihi... sok musikal banget gw yeeee... padahal baca not "kecambah" aja gw gak bisa!

Ngomong2 soal nyanyi, gw udah rindu mo nyanyi lagi di paduan suara. Tapi mau gw ya paduan suara bener, kayak waktu kuliah dulu.. I really enjoyed it... lengkap dengan berbagai latihan yg waktu dulu sering ngebosenin!

Dulu waktu mo nikah sih udah siap2 mo ngumpulin anak2 ex PSM yg udah tinggal dan kerja di Jakarta, udah woro2 segala macem.. tapi gak kesampaian. Abis pas itu sibuk banget lah, mulai dari kerjaan kantor, nyelesaiin thesis, sampe tetek bengek proses lamar melamar yg akhirnya gagal itu, hehehehe...

My fave poem, excerpts of Elizabeth Browning's sonnet "The Portuguese", no. XLIII

How do I love thee ? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life !--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

The Fox and the Little Prince

it was then that the fox appeared.
"good morning" said the fox.

"good morning"
the little prince responded politely
altho when he turned around he saw nothing.

"I am right here" the voice said, "under the apple
tree."

"who are you?" asked the little prince, and added,

"You are very pretty to look at."

"I am a fox", the fox said.

"Come and play with me,"
proposed the little prince, "I am so unhappy."

"I cannot play with you," the fox said,
"I am not tamed."

"AH please excuse me,"said the little prince.
But after some thought, he added:
"what does that mean---'tame'?"

"you do not live here," said the fox,
"what is it you are looking for?"

"I am looking for men," said the little prince.
"What does that mean---tame?"

"Men,"said the fox,
"they have guns, and they hunt.
It is very disturbing.
They also raise chickens.
These are their only interests.
Are you looking for chickens?"

"No," said the little prince.
"I am looking for friends.
What does that mean---tame?"

"It is an act too often neglected,"
said the fox.
"It means to establish ties."

"To establish ties?"

"Just that," said the fox.
"to me, you are still nothing more than
a little boy who is just like
a hundred thousand other little boys.
And I have no need of you.
And you, on your part, have no need of me.
To you I am nothing more
than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique in all the world.
To you, I shall be unique in all the world. . ."

"I am beginning to understand,"
said the little prince.

"There is a flower. . .I think she has tamed me. . ."

"It is possible," said the fox.

"On earth one sees all sorts of things."

"Oh but this is not on the earth!"
said the little prince.

The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.
"On another planet?"

"Yes"

"Are there hunters on that planet?"

"No"

"Ah that's interesting! Are there chickens?"

"No"

"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
But he came back to his idea.
"My life is very monotonous," he said.
"I hunt chickens; men hunt me.
All chickens are just alike,
and all the men are just alike.
And in consequence, I am a little bored.
But if you tame me,
it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life.
I shall know the sound of a step that will be
different from all the others.
Other steps send me hurrying back
underneath the ground.
Yours will call me, like music out of my burrow.
And then look:
you see the grain-fields down yonder?
I do not eat bread.
Wheat is of no use to me.
The wheat fields have nothing to say to me.
And that is sad.
But you have hair that is the color of gold.
Think how wonderful that will be
when you have tamed me!
The grain, which is also golden,
will bring me back the thought of you.
And I shall love to listen
to the wind in the wheat. . ."

The fox gazed at the little prince,
for a long time.
"Please---tame me!" he said.

"I want to, very much," the little prince replied.
"But I have not much time.
I have friends to discover,
and a great many things to understand."

"One only understands the things that one tames,"
said the fox.
" Men have no more time to understand anything.
They buy things all ready made at the shops.
But there is no shop anywhere
where one can buy friendship,
and so men have no friends any more.
If you want a friend, tame me. . ."

"What must I do, to tame you?
asked the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox.
First you will sit down
at a little distance from me
-like that-in the grass.
I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye,
and you will say nothing.
Words are the source of misunderstandings.
But you will sit a little closer to me,
every day..."

The next day the little prince came back.

"It would have been better to come back
at the same hour," said the fox.
"If for example, you came at four o'clock
in the afternoon,
then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy.
I shall feel happier and happier
as the hour advances.
At four o'clock,
I shall be worrying and jumping about.
I shall show you how happy I am!
But if you come at just any time,
I shall never know at what hour
my heart is ready to greet you. . .
One must observe the proper rites. . ."

"What is a rite?" asked the little prince.

"Those also are actions too often neglected,"
said the fox.
"they are what make one day
different from other days,
one hour different from other hours.
There is a rite, for example, among my hunters.
Every Thursday they danse with the village girls.
So Thursday is a wonderful day for me!
I can take a walk as far as the vineyards.
But if the hunters danced at just any time,
every day would be like
every other day,
and I should never have any vacation at all."


So the little prince tamed the fox.
And when the hour of his departure drew near---

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince.
"I never wished you any sort of harm;
but you wanted me to tame you. . ."

"Yes that is so", said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!"
said the little prince.

"Yes that is so" said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox,
"because of the color of the wheat fields."
And then he added:
"go and look again at the roses.
You will understand now
that yours is unique in all the world.
Then come back to say goodbye to me,
and I will make you a present of a secret."

The little prince went away,
to look again at the roses.
"You are not at all like my rose," he said.
"As yet you are nothing.
No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one.
You are like my fox when I first knew him.
He was only a fox
like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But I have made a friend,
and now he is unique in all the world."
And the roses were very much embarrassed.
"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on.
"One could not die for you.
To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think
that my rose looked just like you
--the rose that belongs to me.
But in herself alone she is more important
than all the hundreds of you
other roses: because it is she that I have watered;
because it is she
that I have put under the glass globe;
because it is for her
that I have killed the caterpillars
(except the two or three we saved
to become butterflies);
because it is she that I have listened to,
when she grumbled,
or boasted,
or even sometimes when she said nothing.
Because she is MY rose."


And he went back to meet the fox.
"Goodbye" he said.

"Goodbye," said the fox.
"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye,"
the little prince repeated,
so that he would be sure to remember.

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose
that makes your rose so important.

"It is the time I have wasted for my rose--
"said the little prince
so he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox.
"But you must not forget it.
You become responsible, forever,
for what you have tamed.
You are responsible for your rose. . ."

"I am responsible for my rose,"
the little prince repeated,
so that he would be sure to remember.


From the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The fox and the little prince have become "amigos para siempre" since then... if only they could sing, they would've sung:

... when I look at you I wonder why
There has to be the time when we must say goodbye
I'm alive when we are together...

or they might've sung along with Gloria Estefan

... And despite the fact it’s hurting me,
I know the time has come to set you free...

The greatest love is the love that liberates...

Ngumpulin segala macam baju, tas, dan sepatu layak pakai buat disumbangin. Lucu deh, masak ada gereja yg bilang mereka lagi gak ada program untuk sumbangan barang gitu. Mungkin mereka prefer dalam bentuk uang. Ya logikanya sih kalo uang kan bisa dibuat macem2, sedangkan kalo barang kan rada terbatas pemanfaatannya. Tapi untung ada gereja lain yg bersedia. Telp Amanguda, katanya sih bisa disumbangin lewat penginjilannya Bram dan lewat zendingnya.

Mesen pembantu ama temen2. Dapet gak ya? Sekarang2 mereka lebih suka jadi TKW. Gak bisa disalahin sih, pendapatannya lebih gede (biarpun resikonya lebih gede juga). Nyokap juga kadang2 kalo denger rata2 gaji pembantu sekarang bawaannya udah gak mau aja punya pembantu. Kayaknya dalam alam pikiran bonyok, gaji pembantu sama dengan 10 th yg lalu... :P

Kalo dipikir2 ada yg gak adil juga. Gaji pegawai negeri nominalnya gak jauh beda dari beberapa th lalu, padahal gaji pembokat naik terus! (Isu supply and demand sih, terutama terkait dengan kesempatan jadi TKW itu...). Di samping itu, pegawai negeri enggak dapet THR! (Gw baru tau juga setelah 4 th kerja di sini!). Benernya kalo dipikir2, apa yg diperoleh oleh pegawai negeri, terutama gol. I & II yg gajinya pun di bawah UMR Jakarta, itu melanggar UU Ketenagakerjaan. Gw sempet diskusi re hal itu sama Mas B. Mas B cerita kalo beberapa tahun lalu isu serupa pernah diraise, tapi Dep PAN cuek, malah sempet nantang bahwa yg gak suka peraturan itu silakan enggak jadi pegawai negeri.

Wah, gw senep banget dengernya. Masalahnya kan bukan sekedar peraturan perusahaan yang spesifik seperti: cewek gak boleh pake celana panjang ke kantor, atw sesama karyawan jangan nikah (walopun sebenernya ini sih melanggar hak asasi juga!), tapi peraturan yang bertentangan! Hm... mungkin karena peg neg dianggep pelayan masyarakat ya, bukan tenaga kerja... jadi harus pengabdian... duile, hari gini dituntut pengabdian. Enggak heran juga kan kalo korupsi marak di berbagai instansi...

Kunjungan ke rumah Ai, dilanjutkan ke rumah Popay. Gosip lama banget (Ai ikut ke tempat Popay), sampe jam 11 malem. Kalo enggak ditelp nyokap jam 10.30, kayaknya kita bakal sampe pagi, hehehehe...

Nyokapnya Popay kurusan, tapi si Poi kok malah agak lebih molig ya...

Btw, katanya Aci gw rada kecilan. Asiiik!!! Tumben! Hehehehe... Tapi bener nih gw udah kurang banget makan buah & sayur, serta minum air putih. Tiap hari selalu gw buat "resolusi harian" supaya ngurangin lemak... tapi kebiasaan tarsok sih!

Hari ini aku nyuci kamar mandi bokap, nyapu rumah, dan nyuci, sementara "jedhing" depan dicuci Detong. Adekku itu juga ngelap2 rumah... baguslah... gw paling gak telaten buat ngelap2!!!! Mending disuruh nyuci piring setumpuk deh!!!

Tapi kayaknya Detong lagi mood nata2 rumah, soalnya dia sekaligus ngeganti taplak meja dan cushion. Tumben rajin, hehehehe...

Gak sabar nih mo ke rumah temen2 besok: Ai en Popay. Pengen makan rendang dan kaastengels!!! Kata nyokapnya Popay, kayaknya si Po'i juga masak nasi kebuli. Nasi kebulinya Po'i mah oke lah, gak berbau kare (hm, jangan2 kalo gitu malah dianggap gak sukses masaknya, hehehehe..) dan terakhir gw makan (which is tahun lalu!) ditaburi keju parut!

Gw d/l beberapa lagu dari Kazaa, tapi kok baru kira2 semenit udah kresek2 lagunya n gak enak lagi didenger? Apa disengaja sama record company ya? Somehow mereka bisa di tengah jalan ngerusak file nya.. biasalah! Mereka kan yg sok gak mo rugi banget, dan suka ribut2 soal hak cipta. Yah, bisa dimengerti sih, soalnya emang udah terjadi penurunan penjualan secara signifikan, sampe Sony dan ... (apa ya? Lupa!) aja kudu merge. Tapi benernya ya harus dibuktikan lebih lanjut apa emang reduksi penjualan terjadi karena maraknya peredaran lagu di cyberway melalui media-media seperti kazaa dll.

Lagian ya kan emang udah jamak manusia cari yg gratis2... apalagi manusia Indonesia, hihihhi...

Gw jadi inget waktu malam penganugerahan sebuah penghargaan tahun lalu (atw 2 th lalu ya?), Dewa dapet sebuah award. Dhani di mimbar dengan penuh percaya diri mengutuk piracy... dan dengan senang hati menginformasikan bahwa wkt itu Dewa mencapai penjualan sekian ratus ribu copy dan pendapatan sekian miliar... dan bahwa pendapatannya akan lebih kalo tidak ada pembajakan. Come on!!!! As if such claim or declaration or whatever you call it will make others be more sympathetic to these "victims" of piracy. Gw pribadi, yg gw bayangkan langsung diskrepansi antara penghasilan personil Dewa yang bermiliar2 dengan para penjual CD dan VCD bajakan yg tiap hari harus jualan di bawah tenda, kena angin dan hujan...

First time blog!

Gimana ya kira2 tampilannya? How would others see it?

Malam takbiran. Tapi herannya kok gak ada rame2 di luar. Kalo petasan, ok lah, emang udah dilarang pemerintah. Tapi bedug? Takbirnya?

Biarpun gw gak ngerayain Lebaran, rasanya aneh kalo malam takbiran sepi. Mmmm.. besok ke mana dulu ya? Ai apa Popay? Dua2nya suka nyediain kaastengels yang oke! Kalo Iyat.. udahlah... rumahnya di ujung dunia sana! Mending gw telp aja. Eh, tapi berapa ya no nya?

Btw, gw baru aja nyelesaiin versi Indonesia "Tiger Child" nya Torey Hayden (udah baca juga yg "One Child"). Kisah sedih Sheila, ditambah rangkaian bukunya David Pelzer, apalagi dengan ribut2 kasus tuduhan child molesting thd Michael Jackson (ah, dia mah emang sakit jiwa!), membuat kita berpikir dunia seperti apa yang menjadi milik anak2 kita.

Mungkin karena masa kecil gw menyenangkan, it's kinda difficult for me to relate with these abused youngsters. Gw juga ngalamin saat2 sulit, karena gw termasuk anak yg rendah diri, pemalu (bahkan sampai sekarang gw ngerasa bhw gw sukar untuk cepat akrab dengan orang lain, meskipun temen2 gw bilang sebaliknya!), but compared to these kids, I was in heaven!

Kalo lagi edan gini, gw biasanya terpikir untuk belajar counseling dan jadi sukarelawan untuk para anak teraniaya. Atw jadi guru Sekolah Minggu. Atw apalah. Tapi bisa gak ya? Yang pertama, dan terutama, gw orangnya angin2an. Beberapa waktu yg lalu gw beli benang kristik dan polanya karena lagi semangat pengen bikin kristik. Baru beberapa kotak, gw udah simpen tuh calon kristik di laci. Kedua, walopun gw suka dan sayang sama anak2, gw sering gak sabaran sama mereka. Gw suka gemes liat ponakan2 gw yg lari sana sini di acara keluarga. Atw ponakannya ex gw yg kalo lagi keluar angotnya suka teriak2 sendiri.

I wish I could have my own baby... Tapi musti cari bapaknya dulu nih, hehehehe...