Friends, what are they for you?

As a girl raised in a closed-knit family ties, I value togetherness and sense of belonging more than anything...Through the elementary years and my adolescence years I have several close friends who are still in contacts until we are grown ups now...Of course, as time goes by, we dont have much opportunities to meet that often...our jobs, our life, our families seem to separate us far and further...But still, we are friends until today...

With my friends, I experience many moments--nice, sad, funny, hillarious, devastating--everything comes to pieces...I always value friendship, as I always consider my friends, are, my friends...like those written on huggable teddy bears that once very famous in Jakarta--forever friends--I can always count on them, laugh with them, cry with them, and tell them everything.....I can be who I am with them, and I always try not to dissapoint them, not to let them down, not to...turn away from them...I never knew such phrase called `old friends` as my hubby struck me this evening when I told him about one of my friends whom I consider nowadays as distant and far-reached...As my hubby told me`Well, maybe she considers you as an old friend...she has found a new one which is more interesting and share common things, maybe she feels that you are no longer that important to her...as for her, you are just an old friend...a friend in the past...`

A friend in the past? Of course, I didnt agree with this term...but as I think about it thoroughly, well....it could be....But why? My hubby then told me again `Dont ask why...you just decide, is she your friend or not?` Well, yes, but she`s my friend, not my old friend...Well, maybe my hubby is right, maybe there are categories in friends....maybe there is a term an `old friend` for some people....friend who are in the past...friend who are no longer that important to you...

And as my hubby told me again, `Do not ask people to understand you....but always try to understand people, and your life will be much better...`So, I inhale deeply, and decide, well, maybe I have to move on...Maybe I have to believe the term `old friend` as they exist...and, maybe I just learn a new lesson in making friends...and maybe the term `friends forever` is too naive and too idealistic...

As I feel sad.....there is a message from my high school friend in Friendster, she said, she missed me, she asked me where I am now...and she said she met one of our closest friends in a hospital (she is a doctor now), just like that, the message is just out of the blue....and I realize...there are friends out there who still cares for you....and of course, they are not....old friends....

One lazy sunday morning in Dear State Minami Magome #503

Sunday is the most likeable, no. lovable day of the week...! We can just get lazy around the apartment, doing nothing, eating many, and watching telly...:). We`ve done our home chores on Saturday morning, so, I think we deserve to be this lazy on bright Sunday morning...Though it is 34 degrees outside, we put our AC at its lowest temp, hehehehe.....Well, its actually against Japanese govt policy of no high-energy consumption during summer....:)

Today, thx to my husband, we ate suteeki (steak) as our breakfast, he made it for us, and its his one of specialities...:), Steak, made of wagyu (Japanese beef that melt in your mouth), frozen veggies, and fried potatoes while listening to jazzy Misia and Mika Nakashima`s songs from the computer.........thank God its Sunday...:)!

In the middle of eating, my hubby told me....`Happy Anniversary`...! Hehehe....he reminded me of our 2nd wed anniversary that we were supposed to celebrate on 13 Aug 2007...! Well, Happy Anniversary too, I said to my dear sun-burned hubby (he got sunburn yesterday because of the long exposure in Asakusa during taking Asakusa Samba Festival...hehehe!)...I hope that we stay the same, ol` couple that love each other, for many years to come....

So, this is our way of celebrating the anniversary, no candle-light dinner, no romantic poems, no nitty gritty things that supposed to be romantic...just a simple breakfast together with a wagyu beef, jazzy songs from Japanese singers, and just now....my tired husband who sleep on carpet beside me mumbling `aishiteru` from the song we hear...;)

Well, I think I will take a shower now and get ready to go to Harajuku to see another festival in Meiji Jingu Shrine..

Housewarming party

Be thankful for what you have today

Gue selalu menikmati saat-saat pulang kantor, driving the car all the way from the embassy in Meguro until Minami Magome...My everyday ritual, always change the CD before going home, and choose which is one I want to hear this evening..

Malem ini, gue pilih CD-nya Michael Buble yg lagu2 christmas...coz its soothing n adem aja dengernya...So, I am ready to go home...

On the way home, waktu lagi nunggu lampu merah deket jembatan tol Togoshi, tiba2 gue liat orang homeless, lagi tiduran di bawah jembatan....hanya beralaskan kantong entah apa isinya, he looks so peaceful, sama sekali gak peduli dengan lingkungan sekitarnya...Hmm...I wonder how many homeless people here in Tokyo...Such a megapolitan city, yet it has the same urban`s problems...

Setelah itu, in the next red light, tiba2 ada mobil ambulans di belakang mobil gue...Mobil gue di jalur tengah, dan sesuai dengan aturan yang seharusnya berlaku universal (termasuk di Jakarta), mobil2 di jalur kanan berjalan perlahan dan memberi jalan kepada ambulans tersebut...that is how the Tokyo people behave, and I think the people around the world should behave (which, gue yakin di Jakarta, biar kata gak macet juga pasti gak dikasih jalan tuh ambulans..!)

Melihat orang homeless, melihat ambulans yang berjalan cepat...gue jadi tersadar...apakah gue sudah cukup bersyukur dengan apa yang gue miliki selama ini dan saat ini? Apakah gue sudah cukup bersyukur, that I am healthy, have a wonderful and supportive husband, surrounded by good friends and wonderful families, have a lovely place called home, have a sometimes unexpected kind-of-job yet challenging? Have I already thankful for all of that...?

Being in this state of realization, jadi membuat gue tersadar....who I am now is because of those who support me, always...Dan seiring dengan lagu Michael Buble `I`ll Be Home for Christmas`, having seen these unfortunate people around, gue jadi terisak...jadi inget keluarga tercinta, especially those who have left me forever....my dad, my uncle, my grandpas and grandma...sedih, inget bagaimana dulu mereka selalu support gue (my dad with the Snoopy brown bag (which was costly at that time) as a present for me for being number one in elementary school..my uncle with his encouragement of saying that I have to continue my study in Japan, even until his last breath...my grandpa with his-then-annoying English conversation that push me to speak English everyday with him during watching `Dunia dalam Berita` program...my grandma with her special chicken dishes that she cooked from the backyard poultry which she owned due to my fondness of chicken....my other grandpa with his soothing smile and wisdom that he took away with him on the last day we met at the Pertamina hospital in Jakarta...

Hontou ni....I am nothing with them....Sudahkah gue bersyukur hari ini? Sudahkah gue menengadahkan tangan sebelum tidur dan memberi doa bagi mereka?

For all the things that I have ever done....I am truly truly sorry...and for all the supports that you have given me....I bow deeply and say...hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita...

Dear God....I thank you for everything...

Thank you for reminding me to always be thankful for what I have.....

Summer and Lunchtime at Meguro

There were several reasons why I hated this particular day of Monday;

1. I had to rush to the office because I was kind of forget that I had a lesson today with my private nihon go teacher, Akiko-sensei

2. Well, since today is the first day after a long weekend (because of Independence Day`s holiday on 17 August), I was so lazy to get up early in the morning..
3. As soon as I took Route 1 (the longest route in Japan that I have to go through every morning to my office), there has already a rassha--rush hour--bad traffic jam in front of Nishi Magome eki...damn...It took me almost 45 minutes to the office from the usual time of 30 minutes...
4. The cause of this bad traffic was that, Japanese people just finished their obon holiday--I`ll explain later bout this kind of holiday--so, everyone goes back to the office!
5. After finishing my lesson, I`ve got so many reply sheet for the Diplomatic Reception on 5 Sept 2007--I`ll explain it later too--aside from that, my boss asked me to do this, that, finish it today, that I can barely breath! Not to mention that I got many phone calls asking bout the invitation of that particular reception....with nihon go, sometimes I could not understand what theyre trying to say, so I have to ask them to speak slower...yukkuri hanashite moraemasen ka? Or, if I was desperate, I connected them with Yamamoto san, the local staff in Politic section (my section, later I`ll explain bout it).
5. The most important thing....the AC in my room was not working that well...! U know with 33 degrees outside...its burning! Gosh....really hate summer at this point...I hate my boss for not letting us to put another AC split in my room (he said that it wil ruin the `beauty` of the room...goddd!)

Lunchtime was coming! I called my friends, no one`s there...So, I thought I just go to the nearest convenient store (AM PM), and grab some onigiri...Ok, then...!

So, I went outside, wearing my sunglasses, n walked to the AM PM...But, wait..., suddenly I felt like I want to eat tempura at Atre Meguro (a shopping mall in Meguro Station)...I walked fast while imagining the yummy taste of my tempura...mmm.....

When I arrived there...wait....why the Soup Stock Tokyo, located in front of Atre Meguro was closed? Why those signs were shut out??? Omg....it turned out that today....out of the other day, Atre Meguro was closed....!! Damnn! Why God, whhhyyy...??!!

I was beginning to get burn, standing there in front of Atre, cursing myself (and Atre) of how dare was I decided to go all the way up to here in a hot summer day....! But not for long, I spotted that the kaiten sushi in front of Atre was not that crowded...So, I ran to kaiten sushi, and finally....ate 6 plates of my favorite sushi....hotate, chu toro, onion salmon, yaki salmon....mmm....It turned out that it was so refreshing eating sushi in the middle of the day....

So, I recommend you, kaiten sushi is the best way to ease yourself from the hot sunny day...:)

Akihabara and `Densha Otoko`

Have you ever been to Akihabara? It is one of the most famous tourist spots in Tokyo, in which you can find zillion kind of electronic goods, any brand (u name it) and at any price...Its kind of Glodok in Jakarta, electronic center...If you have a chance to visit Japan, dont miss this place..! Aside from being famous for electronic goods mecca, Akihabara is also famously known as the Japanese anime center....In every corner you can find stores selling costumes for cosplays (I read in some news that cosplay nowadays is very famous among teenagers in Indonesia), manga (Japanese comic books-ordinary manga or hentai-not so `ordinary` one, hehe), comic figures, and Akihabara is also a nice place to hang out with your friends to just looking around people with great costumes and some girls promoting `Maid Cafes (coffee shop which all the shopgirls wear French maid-style uniforms--strange though, but I still dont understand, why maid becomes the theme of most cafes there...)

On 2005, Akihabara became more famous, thanks to the Japanese dorama titled `Densha Otoko`, in which it told a nerdy guy--in Japan its called Otaku, an anime freak who loves to visit Akihabara with his friends, otakus...:) One day, he met a beautiful girl in the train, and saved her from a pervert...They became friends, and later on, couple....What so funny bout the story is that, he is soooo nerdy and never dated a girl before, and suddenly he fell in love with this beautiful girl who was soo beyond his wildest imagination, rich--she was nicknamed Hermes, stunningly beautiful, and very kind, and what made this dorama enjoyable was that his efforts to show how much he really liked her without looking so nerdy and nervous all the time....So, in order to overcome his nervousness, he asked advises from his online friends through an MIRC look a like chatting forum...! And thanks to his Internet friends support, who always with him every step of the way, he finally could win Hermes..;)! The story line was original (coz its based on True Story in Japan), I laughed a lot (until it hurt), soo refreshing and so, so funny!

So, today I went to Akihabara with my hubby, before I never noticed these otakus, but now, when I came to Yodobashi Akiba, I spotted few of them, the otakus-shirts tucked in, high pants, always carry big backpack and one more thing...the most hilllarious one...carry a paper bag containing stuffs from their most lovable animes!!

Cant wait to have another adventure in Akihabara, thx to the Densha Otoko...;)!

Hajimemasho....

Hmm...

I dont know how to start to write in another blog...I once had one blog during my college years, never actually be written everyday (as I thought at the first time that it would be..:), and as time goes by...I thought that my life has becoming too busy and too tiring to pour my little notes on another blog...

But wait...! As we drove home, my husband and I, from a second housewarming party at my friend`s apartment in Shibaura...we chatted, and I blurted out all my thoughts bout Japan...bla...bla...bla...and how I really wanted to write something bout my daily life here....My husband then said, `well, stop talking, start writing..`, hehehe...he got the point though...:)

So, as soon as we came home, I logged in the Internet, and started....this blog...

It is just an ordinary one, just my thoughts of the day, no harm done, and...just another means to pour every imagination, every unek-unek (annoying thoughts), everyday`s news, and every hopes and dreams..:)

Ok, here we go....!

Oopss...btw, forgot to introduce myself....Well, I am living in Japan now, to be exact, in Tokyo, thats right, the megapolitan city that never sleeps (actually, almost all shops close around 8 o`clock here, well, except for the bars. restaurants, and of course, Roppongi n Kabukicho, hehe), I am happily married, but my husband will soon leave me alone here, coz he`s got accepted at a daigakuin, to study again in different city (still in Japan though...), no children, yet, still trying, hehe...!

My job, hmm...is one of the oldest job in the world (as they say)...It goes back to the time during the post signing of Westphalia Treaty, in which it formed what we called a `country`, and created the term international relations between countries in the world...So, in order to make that relations run smoothly, countries sent their envoys, their trusted people to each of the countries...so, here I am in Japan...trying to make the relations between Indonesia and Japan run smoothly...well, at first that is how I thought my job will be....however, it turned out to be another story, I`ll tell u later...:)

Ok, since the time is running out (by means its getting late), nemui ne...so sleepy...
Jya ne, thats all for now....douzo, yoroshiku onegai itashimasu...:)

Oyasuminasai....