Friday, February 13, 2009

A Friendship

Just got back from Jakarta...

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, after a heavy cleaning of my room, I started to think that I have to write something on `friendship`, as I learnt a lot from it within past few months. So, here I am, sitting in front of my computer, while listening to old songs from Michael Buble, and sipping a cup of coffee, I start to write about something (or someone?) that inspires me a lot..:)

I, or to be exact, we have new friend. He is a (very) junior diplomat from my office, just finished his diplomatic training, and got an internship at our embassy in Tokyo for 3 (three) months. Before coming, he has contacted me through emails, asking about this and that, advices and suggestions. On the day of his arrival, I was the one who picked him up at the airport. At first, nothing special, just another of my junior (I thought..:)). I noticed that he is tall and well built, and the first thing that came up to my mind...hmm...boleh juga buat ngangkut-ngangkut kalo ada acara di wisma or di lobi...:)! Well, dont blame me, we all girls at the embassy, the only guy among the `kesets` is only Yudho, and he has already so many works to do. The first impression about him, nice kid and...quite (which turns out to be totally wrong...)

So, we arrived at the embassy, and I introduced him to Yudho, since I thought, well, it is a time for a man-to-man bonding between him and Yudho:). At that time, I was still very occupied with many guests that come and go every week, and I have to even spent the weekend to take care of those `rombengan`. I did not really pay attention to the new guy, until one day I realized that I have not treated him to some place to eat. It is a kind of tradition that you treat the juniors to go somewhere to eat. So, I asked Rima when will be the good time to treat the new guy.

The four of us-me, RIma, Yudho and Kiki (the new guy) went to a restaurant near our office to have a dinner together, we chatted and chatted, and shared many stories. Like I said, he was nice, and fun to talk to. He can always come up with any topics, so there were no silent moment among us. After that day, if we had chance, we went dinner together, or lunch together, usually with other girls, or with Yudho, and we became friends. I introduced him to my husband and my sister in-law, and in instant time, he also became close with them.

As time goes by, he turned out to be very talkactive, funny, laugh a lot, talk a lot. Some people at the embassy even considered him as a comedian, not as a diplomat. He is funny, nice to everyone and never differentiate people. He even made friend with a person at the embassy that I have never wanted to be acquinted..:) That is such a rare quality, considering that many staffs think that we, diplomats, always consider ourselves higher than them. By seeing him, I could not stop thinking, how come he can be that nice to everyone..:)? But I began to learn something from him, that it is no harm in saying `hi` to everyone, that it is no harm in doing good things to everyone.

Another thing that I learn from him, he is always helpful to everyone, and always doing his job properly and as fast as he could. When I had guests that I have to taken care of, I asked him to accompany me to Asakusa, and to have dinner with them. He accompanied me and helped me a lot in taking care of those guests, and that I really appreciated it. Other time, he accompanied me to the airport to take care of the family of Mbak Tika. I did not ask for that, but he voluntarily accompanied me, and that I really appreciated it. He took care of us, the girls, without any reservations, and that is something.

He is also the one who can be with everyone, he is a good listener, he listened to everyone, and he paid attention to what we are trying to say..There is a time that we just need to be listened to, and there is other time that we really need an advice, and he can be at those time..He opened up to some of us, and in return, I finally can open up to him, to tell him my past that I hide from my other friends (even from my longtime bestfriends). I did not know what made me put so much faith on him, but I just know that I could always share my thoughts, my fears and my happiness to him as my bestfriend.

We went together to many places, and we enjoyed each and every moment of it. Many sleepovers, my place, Rima`s place, the girls sometime joined the sleepovers, spent the nights talking, gossiping, laughing, and sometimes eating..:). I have never experienced that kind of thing ever since my graduate time at Niigata. It was so much fun and so memorable, that reminds me of how close we are and how I could not forget such wonderful times together.

Our bonds became much closer when we had to take care one of our friend who is hospitalized due to some illness. At that time, we were the ones who found her in real pain, I could not forget how worried he was when he was asked to buy some medicine for her...how worried we were when we forced her to go to hospital with us... So many nights that I ended up worrying, so many nights that I ended up crying...During that hard times, he is always beside me, giving me a shoulder to cry on, helping me to take care many things...I know I could not ask my friends as they had already many things to do, but he is always there to lend me any assistance, to give me helps more than I could ever ask for.... I could never forget how I was so stressed out, how I cried so much in the car, he was beside me, trying to calm me...I could never forget how he dragged Rima to my apartment late at night, just because he was worried about me after coming back from the hospital...I truly, truly cause him so much trouble...but I really, really touched by that...and for that, I could never say enough thanks..I have found my bestfriend...

I learned a lot from this. Yes, friendship can be made overnight...Yes, a true and long-lasting friendship can be made within 3 months...I now believe that..:). He came with no reservations, he is nice and sincere, and maybe that helps a lot to create such bond, such friendship which I always treasure...It is funny how life can lead us to this...yet, it is remarkable how life can give us such wonderful friends..

I have never told this to everyone, but you know, within those couple months I actually felt that I have lost my longtime bestffriend, my friend since college. She has become distant and has changed into another person which I barely know...On that couple months, she has done something that hurt me, and made me sad...But within that months also, God has given me another bestfriend who has helped me through one of my hardest time in life, whom I can count on...so that I could stay strong, stay as who I am now...

Thank you for coming into my life, Dek...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Count what you have now, dont count what you dont have..:)

I wasnt relly paying attention to that title of the song...

Until

Monday, September 29, 2008

Beautiful movies

Sigh....

I spent these two days watching romantic movies, chick flick romances, such as `The Jane Austen Book Club`, `Only You`, `Serendipity`...among many....I really, really do love those movies, with happy endings and a little bit unrealistic...but can happen in real life..:)!

I guess mine is also like those in chick flick movies, of course, the story of how I met my husband...Well, its like in those kind of stories, in which the girl (in this case, me), never expects to meet someone in a strange, unique way, and to fall in love with that person....just like that, just like a snap of a finger....Never realized that he is the one, until you feel something inside you that makes you realize you want to be with him, forever...

I met my husband through the internet, we chatted, chatted, talked over the phone, so many times...never saw each other until, well 3 months afterwards, in Tokyo.......Its not a romantic city, but yet, to me at that time, Tokyo in the heat of the summertime can be the most romantic city in the world...:)

The first time I met him, I was like....wow....laughed inside my heart (in a nice way of course)...I was laughing at myself, of course not at him, cause he turned out as the way I expected...I was laughing at how I can be in this state of madness, madly enough to meet a stranger in the middle of the busy life of Tokyo....

But then, when we held hands, at that moment I realized that...he is the one....If someone asked me, how come I be so sure? Well, there is no answer for that, to tell the truth...I myself didnt understand what force can put me in such situation....I just happened to know that, he is the one, he is the one that I choose to spend my life with....On that day, in the front of Akihabara station, he held my hand, and asked me `will you be my wife?`....just like that...:) It was, of course, beyond the real proposal, like months after that, but to me, that one in Akihabara certainly expressed how his feeling for me...

4 years after we meet, we still together, still the same me and my husband, still share the love that we have.....

So, if you ask me, is he your perfect one? My answer is, he is not perfect (like me), but he surely is the ONE....:)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Another farewell

...I hate saying goodbye...

This morning, I and my husband and our friend Kik, drove our best friend, Miguel to the Narita Airport. He will go back to Mexico after studying in E-biz IUJ with my hubby. Before leaving, he stays in our place for like, 2 weeks, he is such a funny guy, warm, kind and easy to get close to everyone. That is why when he's leaving, everyone wanted to bid farewell to him to the airport, but since there are only 5 people can fit into our car, so, just the three of us, and Miguel.

Miguel has become a close friend to my hubby, and in these past weeks, to me. That is why, it feels so sad when saying goodbye to him, he almost couldnt keep himself from crying. In these moments I suddenly remembered how it reminds me when I had to say goodbye to my dear friends from IUJ.

Yup, life in IUJ is something that is very precious to us.

IUJ has given us a bond of friendship, which we cant find in any other places in big cities in Japan. Its so precious that our friends can truly be our family, that shares laughs, happiness, sadness and tears. Its so precious that no classes can give any lesson on how to make good friends, on how to form a bond of friendship.

That is why, I hate the moment like this, the moment that you have to really say "sayonara", "goodbye", to your dear friend, that you know there is little chances to meet again, somewhere, somehow. However, to knowing that your friend can say to you " You always have a home in Mexico" or any other parts of the world, makes you so happy, and so grateful that you can be so blessed with friends, in any parts of the world. It makes you realize that, no matter what, you are having true friends, in good and bad times, in needs and indeed..

Bye Miguel, have a safe trip, and please noted that you also have a home, here in Japan and in Indonesia..

Monday, March 24, 2008

Merenung sejenak

While sitting in front of my computer, at home, I suddenly feel so....blessed...
Listening to the voice of Andrea Brocelli singing `Amapola` brings an overwhelming feeling inside me...

Today, just now, I feel so, very lucky....

I have a great husband, great family, surrounded by great friends, great bosses...I live in one of the biggest city in the world with a very low criminal rate....What you couldve asked for

Friday, March 14, 2008

Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you`ll gonna get...

22 Februari 2008
09.30 pagi - Narita Airport

Lagi sibuk mendorong2 koper Louis Vuitton Monogram cabin size kepunyaannya Aa Gyn (red. Ginanjar Kartasasmita) kesana kesini, tiba2 hape gue berdering beberapa kali. G liat, ternyata Atri yang telp. Gak gue angkat, karena g juga musti konsen ngeliatin Pak Dubes n Ibu yg lagi jalan2 diseputaran kawasan omiyage nemenin Aa Gyn n istrinya.

Hape g berdering lagi...sampe bbrp kali lagi, g liat lagi, Atori.., haduh...g langsung feeling gak enak, karena si Atri gak mungkin telepon pagi2, di hari kerja, kalo gak ada apa2...Yaudah, sambil nggeret2 koper, g cari tempat agak pojokan (yg bisa sambil ngeliatin pergerakan dubes n okyakusama), g angkat telpon

Me : Tri, ada apa, g lagi di Narita nganter Aa Gyn ma babe

Atri : Me, alhamdullilah, g lulus interview n diterima kerja di AEON Corporation as Management Trainee (MT) (red. AEON Co. adalah salah satu perusahaan retail Jepang terbesar yg salah satu cabangnya itu JUSCO Dept Store)

Me : Oh yaahh? Alhamdulillah....aduuh aku seneng banget dengernya...! Jadi gimana, kamu kapan mulai kerja?

Atri : Abis lulus kuliah ntar, mungkin sekitar bulan September 2008, tp aku musti ganti paspor diplomatik dulu dsb, dan ada kemungkinan aku ditempatin gak di Tokyo, tp ntar bisa diliat lagi kok, karena mereka tau kamu kerja di Tokyo.

Atri : Me, gimana, aku ambil gak kerjaan ini? Mereka kasih aku wkt sebulan utk jawab...Kamu gimana? Karir kamu gimana ntar kalo aku ambil? Berarti kan aku di Jepang jadinya...

Me : Tri, udah, ambil aja, soal karir aku, hehehe...liat ntar aja lah. Kan aku bisa ambil S-3 ato gimana, udah jgn pikirin aku, pokoknya ini kesempatan kamu, just take it! Kan gantian, kamu dulu udah give up kerjaan kamu buat aku, mgkn skrg giliran aku. Kedepannya, kita liat aja nanti yah, as always.....

Atri : Gitu ya Me, hmm...yaudah ntar kita bicarain lagi yah...Thanx for giving me the chance...Lop u , udah tuh urusin si Aa Gyn n Pa Dubes, ntar mereka cari2 kamu lagi, hehehehe!

Me : Lop u too, hehe, ok de, kebetulan si babe dah ngelirik2 ke arah gue neh, eh, dah melotot2, bukan ngelirik2 lagi, hehehe! Daaaahh! ati2...


Seraya mendorong2 koper dan mendekati Pa Dubes n Aa Gyn, gue gak henti2nya mengucap syukur....alhamdulillah...G seneng Atri mendapat kesempatan yang lebih baik lagi, dan g seneng, kerja keras Atri finally paid off...:)

Hmm...I guess this will be another step of my life...Kaidan wa Atori to issho ni mou hitotsu noborimasu...

Indeed, when you `open` it, life is like a box of chocolate, elo gak akan pernah tau `flavour` apa yang akan elo makan, but it`s interesting, and to be sure, full of challenges..!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

New Year`s Resolution

Its 2008

Another year to be spent in Japan....Kalo diitung2, gue udah 4 taun spent NY`s Eve di Jepang...hmmm....gak kerasa yah....!

However, gue gak pernah bikin NY`s resolution...so, I think I might be making some wishes for this year...to remind me for what I have not done, and for what I want to accomplish...

My New Year`s Resolutions:

1. To love and to take care of my hubby much much more
2. To care bout my family much much more
3. To go on with the baby program
4. To learn about Japan (and its politics) much much more
5. To seriously work for my country
6. To study harder for the preparation for taking Ph.D after the posting
7. To stop my bad habit (excessive shopping, bad mood)
8. To improve myself in any aspects
9. To enjoy Japan much much more (develop my photography skill, watch Japanese drama and music, learn Japanese culture, go around Tokyo in weekends and discover many aspects of Tokyo that I love)
10. To study Japanese much much much more (motto motto benkyou suru yoooo!)

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasuuu...! Happy New Year 2008!

Happy New Year 2008!!!

May this year brings lots and lots of happiness to us all!

Tahun ini gue n temen2 (of course plus hubby) celebrated the NY`s Eve at Zoujoji Temple near Tokyo Tower...! Tanoshikattan desu....We met at Gotanda station coz my friends just finished their NY`s Eve party at Wisma Duta with my ambassador and other embassy`s staffs...Apparently, si babe gak jadi pergi ke luar negeri to spend NY`s Eve, so si babe urged (or forced?) everyone to make a NY`s Eve Celebration party.....which everyone protested (well, at least We, the krocos, protested it, coz it meant we have to.....work hard to make it a successful event!). Not to mention, kita2 kan juga mo malem taun baru-an gitu loooh....hehehe....thank God gue lagi cuti, so, gue gak ada obligation untuk nongol di Wisma....hihihi!

So, gue, hubby, Diaz, Ratih, Mbak Tika and Yudho met at Gotanda Sta., and off we went to Zoujoji Temple...! As you know, NY`s Eve in Japan is never celebrated with fireworks. Instead the Japanese people go to temples, and at the stroke of midnight, they pray in the temple. There is no exception for Zoujoji Temple...Jadi, pada malem itu, pelataran Zoujoji dipenuhi oleh deretan food stalls which sell Japanese dishes, dan ada panggung kecil, dimana ada gong yg akan dibunyikan 108 kali oleh ketua pendeta Zoujoji Temple. Gue gak ngerti maksudnya bunyiin gong 108 kali itu apa yah...

but anyway, kalo di Zoujoji Temple, sebenernya kita bisa antri buat dapet balon dari jam 8 malem, dan pas antri, kita bisa tulis wish kita (NYs resolutions nya) apa, dan nanti wish kita didoain sama pendeta n ditaro di dalem balon....At the stroke of midnight, kita lepasin semua balon2 itu, and wish that our dreams will come true this year...

Tp berhubung its winter time, ogah deh gue ngantri jam 8 malem, dingin2, n abis gitu nungguin sampe taun baruan...hi...males bgt, hehhehe! Yang ada, pas pergantian taun, kita cuma bisa ngeliatin orang2 ngelepas balon2nya, hahahha!

After the NYs eve, kita langsung cbt, n otw home, sambil nunggu kereta sepi, kita makan2 dulu, n went home to save some energy for going after fukubukuro the next day!

Happy New Year....!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Last Day at the Office (for now..)

Hari ini, Senin tanggal 17 Desember 2007 adalah hari terakhir gue di kantor, mulai besok gue udah ambil cuti, sampe dengan tanggal....7 Januari 2008! Yaaay!

I really long for this long vacation....coz selama satu setengah taun gue kerja di embassy, gue gak pernah ambil cuti!Therefore, tanoshimi na.....gue bener2 menanti2kan saat2 gue bisa leyeh2 di rumah, do nothing, n ngobrol buanyaaakkk sm hubby yg kebetulan juga lagi libur sekolah!

My initial plan was going to London to visit my cousin, however, since my hubby caught a chicken pox, we cant go to London! Emang dasar yah, bad timing banget dah! Tp gak pa2, emang belon rejeki aja kali yah jalan2 ke London....Sepertinya gue akan spend the days here, travelling keliling Jepang ato mungkin ke Korea or HK, lets just see...!

Mungkin juga, my next post will be somewhere in Europe, hahaha, I wish deh.....but up to now, gak adalah yg bisa ngalahin Jepang! Japan will be number one forever, in my heart.....Terlalu banyak kenangan gue di Jepang....dari mulai gue bisa mewujudkan mimpi gue untuk sekolah di Jepang, ketemu hubby di Jepang, learn how to drive and how to live by myself di Jepang, posted in Jepang, hubby bisa sekolah lagi di Jepang....see? Nihon no koto wa zutto kokoro ni aru da yo.....Gak akan pernah bisa lupa deh ttg Jepang....

Monday, December 10, 2007

Narita--3 Days in A Row

Geez...

Weekend kemaren gue totally....tsukaretaaa!

Dimulai dari kunjungan MPR yg ujug2 pengen sosialisasi ttg UUD 45 dan Tap MPR ke Tokyo, pada hari Kamis, gue dan bos gue jemput mereka ke Narita jam 7 pagi. Jam 7 pagi dari kantor means that I hv to get up at 5.30 in the morning...

Udah gitu, malemnya kan ada acara sosialisasi di lobi KBRI, presentasinya puanjang bener (bener kata Hastin, serasa dapet penataran P-4 100 jam deh...!), dan memaksa gue untuk pulang jam 11 malem...! Nyampe rumah jam 11.30, istirahat, dan gak bisa langsung tidur kan, terpaksa gue liat2 internet biar ngantuk, dan dengan suksesnya gue baru tidur jam 1 malem...

Abis gitu, pagi2 gue udah harus ke kantor lagi, coz rombongan DPR itu mo balik hari Jumat itu, pesawat mereka jam 9.20, so, at 6 o'clock, we have to pick them up at the hotel....Dan itu berarti, gue jam 5.30 udah musti ada di kantor, which means, I have to get up at 4.15 in the morning!

Udah nih...sepanjang jalan ke Narita gue kan gak bisa tidur, dan abis nganterin mereka, asli loh, begitu masuk mobil sampe balik lagi ke Tokyo, gue tidur pules, les, gak mimpi apa2, gak kerasa apa2! Tau2, gue kebangun pas mobil udah turun dari tol, udah 5 menit lagi nyampe kantor...gile...itu badan serasa kayak abis ditonjokin deh....

Nyampe kantor, rasanya cuapeeekkk bgt....Padahal kan ya ke Narita itu hanya tinggal naik dan turun mobil, cuma emang perjalanannya itu jauh, sekitar 1 jam-an dari Tokyo. Dan bener, waktu perjalanan sama ngurus ini itu ketika nganter or jemput tamu, udh menghabiskan waktu at least setengah hari deh...Dan ketika elo sampe di kantor, elo tuh udah gak fresh lagi deh...

Pas nyampe kantor, bos gue bilang, 'meid, besok masih ada satu tamu lagi...' Dengan mengangguk lemes, gue jawab ok....gile deh, Sabtu2, musti ke Narita jam 5.30 pagi, terpaksalah untuk sekali lagi gue bangun jam 4 pagi, on Saturday!!!

Ke Narita jam 5.30, pesawatnya ternyata kecepetan, jam 6.45 udah nyampe, ngurus ini itu, sampailah kita ke Tokyo lagi jam 8.45....alhamdulillah....3 days in a row gue udah selesai hari Sabtu kemaren....tinggal badan aja rasanya pegel2 dan serasa mo copot semua...

Kalo kayak gini, gue jadi salut bgt sm orang2 yg kerja di bandara...!

Monday, December 3, 2007

It is a home to me

Gue baru aja balik dari Hokkaido kemaren malem, masih capek, but tetep musti masuk kantor hari ini....Just then, I opened some omiyage that I bought from Hokkaido, salah satunya adalah kristal berbentuk pohon dgn burung hantu kecil2 (lambangnya Hokkaido).

Gue pasang satu-satu, dan gue seneng bgt karena ternyata hiasan ini lucu bgt, kecil, dan so kawaii...:)! It inspired me to write something bout my first home, rumah pertama gue, yang kebetulan berada di Tokyo...

Rumah gue di Tokyo adalah sebuah apartemen yg berukuran + 76 m2, not that big, but it surely is big enough for an apartment in Tokyo (oh iyah, bukan apartemen, tp mansion, coz buat orang Tokyo, apartemen - atau apato, identik dengan bentuk2 yg lama2, while mansion adalah versi modern dr sebuah apartemen).

Apato gue terletak di daerah Minami Magome, sebuah daerah yg kata orang2 kantor disebut `Tokyo coret` karena letaknya yg nyaris ke arah Kawasaki yg udah hampir diluar kota. The first time I saw this apato, I and my hubby was immediately falling in love..:). Walopun terletak di pinggir, namun akses ke kota sangat dekat. My apato is just above the Nishi magome Station, the last stop of Asakusa Line. So, if I am in a rush, I just run to the station and it takes around 5 minutes running, hehe! Not only that, apato gue dikelilingi oleh berbagai fasilitas, seperti, laundry shop, supermarket, kombini (convenient store), Jonathan (24 hour chain restaurant), bakery shop, kusuri ya (toko obat dan kosmetik), just a walking distance from my house. Jadi kalo gue lagi bete, gue tinggal kebawah, n liat2 the newest cosmetic products di kusuri ya, hehehe...!

Satu hal lagi yang gue senengin dari apato gue, we have a quite large porch yang sebenernya bisa dipake buat ngupi2 and nge-teh2 dikala musim semi atau musim panas (cuma saking malesnya gue, dan gak ada waktu, jadinya gue jarang nongkrong di teras). Padahal, teras menjadi sangat penting ketika gue dan suami gue tergirang-girang melihat hanabi (kembang api) yang berdentuman dari kuil di seberang teras kami dan menghiasi malam dengan warna-warni yang sangat, sangat indah di kala musim panas...

Memiliki rumah sendiri membuat gue dan suami gue jadi keranjingan menghias rumah. Rumah gue didominasi warna....oranye! Dari mulai sofa, dining room, sampe pernak pernik kecil (seperti asbak dan keset buat tempat duduk piano) berwarna oranye. Entah kenapa, ketika mulai menghias rumah, gue dan Atri seperti ngidam kalo liat warna oranye, hehehe!

Rumah gue juga dipenuhi dengan pernak pernik favorit kita berdua, gue dengan koleksi handphone strap Hello Kitty gue yang entah udah berapa jumlahnya, dan Atri dengan koleksi Gundam-nya. Instead of memenuhi rumah dengan barang pernak pernik khas Jepang, kita berdua malah punya segudang pernak pernik hobi kita, plus boneka2 gratisan yg kita dapet kalo lagi iseng maen dan menang di game center..:). Tapi, tiap gue dinas ke tempat2 tertentu, gue gak akan pernah lupa untuk membawa omiyage. Terakhir adalah kristal dari Hokkaido, dan gelas keramik khas Jepang yang dibuat khusus untuk pasangan suami istri dari Edomura Nikko.

Oh ya, satu hal lagi yang menghiasi rumah gue....bantal2 yg bertebaran dimana2! Gue emang suka dengan bantal, makanya gue isi living room gue dengan berbagai bantal kursi, dari yg besar sampai yg kecil...karena buat gue, coziness identik dengan banyak bantal...hehehe!

Up to this moment, I feel so lucky to have this kind of opportunity to have my own house, which I can call a home...It may not be an ideal one, but who would ever thought that I will have the chance to be in this apartment? Hontou ni, its not even in my wildest dream to have this kind of chance....I could only think that I was this little girl who cried a river when we had to move to my grandparents house after my dad passed away 20 years ago.....

Truly, what I could think of now is to cherish the moment that I have , before it passes by...

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Many Things I Learn in Tokyo

Tokyo

One of the busiest city in the world, a city that never sleeps and fully packed by 12 million people. So crowded, so busy, so lively, and yet...so clean that it is also named as one of the cleanest city

Tokyo

A megapolitan city that doesnt fo

Yattaaaa!

Aduuuh...

Gue lagi senengggg banget!

Akhirnyaaaa....permohonan cuti gue dikabulkan! And it was soooo easy and as simple as that! Gilee...gue yg udah deg-deg plus pas minta ijin cuti serasa jadi unbelievable gini! Gue jadi mikir...hmm....bos gue kesambet apa yah, sampe ngijinin gue cuti dengan begitu simple dan mudahnya? Gue gak perlu nerangin apa2, just simply ask "can I take a leave on December?" dan bos gue dengan simple-nya ngomong "Sure, why not?"...Heee??? Gue jadi bener2 amazed...! Hahaha....sumpe norak banget dah gue!

Rasanya beban gue udah diangkat abis dgn ijin cuti ini! Dan perjuangan selanjutnya....get a visa to London!

Jya....ganbarimasu!!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Remembrance

Hmm...

Emang yah, setiap kali lo lagi iseng2, pasti ada aja yang teringat...

Kayak malem ini, gue iseng2 buka2 album foto lama (yg sebagian gue bawa ke Tokyo), tadinya sih pengen cari2 foto yg bagus buat ditaro di frame, tapi jadinya...hmm...jadi liat2 semua foto2 yg gue punya, dan jadi keinget semua...

Emang bener kata orang, `picture can speak thousand words...`

By looking at only one picture, I suddenly remember what was the story behind that pic...

For instance, gue liat foto wkt gue lagi mo sidang skripsi. Di foto itu, gue liat hampir semua temen deket gue ada, kecuali 1 orang. Well, it turned out that she, on that day, missed my presentation and came up later cause she was too occupied with her bf, hehehe...

Atau foto lainnya, hmm...foto wkt gue lagi pendidikan diplomat, disitu gue liat tampang anak2 yg super culun dan polos tanpa dosa, hahaha! Maklum, rata2 wkt itu kita baru aja lulus kuliah, blon punya duit, dan hanya bermodalkan pinjeman Rp 250 ribu dari kantor per bulan (yang harus kita ganti begitu gaji CPNS kita turun!)...Liat foto itu, jadi inget, sekarang anak2 udah pada posting, dan udah pada makmur, ada peningkatan, baik dari segi perbaikan penampilan maupun perbaikan gizi...:)!

Di antara foto2 itu juga ada foto gue bertiga sama 2 sahabat gue dari kelas 1 SMA lagi duduk diatas bagasi mobil...Gue jadi teringat, gimana sahabat cewek gue nangis bombay di telepon gara2 gue memutuskan untuk kuliah di Bandung...Kata dia wkt itu `Me`, jangan kuliah di Bandung dong...gue ntar sama siapa..?` I could only cry when she said that ..well, wkt itu gue dengan berbagai masalah yg gue hadapi, gue memang memutuskan utk `kabur` dr Jakarta untuk sementara dan `menyepi` di Bandung, at that time I was so tired with Jakarta...

And when I looked at my other bestfriend`s pic, gue jadi teringat, well, he never failed to call me at 12 o`clock at night, on every b`day that I had ...He`s always the first person that say happy b`day every year, and... he`s also my crush, hehehe! Sono toki, kare no koto ippai kangaeta, demo ne, demo, sometimes gue gak bisa bedain, apakah gue memang suka sama dia, or gue cuma suka dia sebagai big brother aja (considering I was so close with him at that time)...Eventhough on many occasions gue merasa dia jg felt the same way (gak bisa bedain antara crush or little sister), at the end gue memutuskan, nope, I was too scared to losing him forever...Dan memang, gue dan dia stay as bestfriend forever...:)

Gue buka2 lagi foto2 itu...dan, uupss..! Ada banyak foto gue dan mantan gue, hmm....omoidasu...jadi teringat banyak hal ttg mantan gue, on one hand, gue jadi wondering dia sekarang kayak gimana, on the other hand, gue jg wondering, gimana ya kalo wkt itu gue beneran merit sm dia, hehehe....! So many nice memories, and yet, so many sad memories too...Dan setelah gue liat2 lagi, hmm..ternyata dia terlihat lebih dewasa dari gue (padahal dia lebih muda 1 i/2 taun loooh, hihi!)..

Foto lainnya, foto2 gue dengan temen2 kuliah gue, banyak bgt...dan foto2 itu reminds me of how good friends we were at that time...Foto kita wisuda, foto kita jalan2, foto kita ketemuan lagi pas udah kerja..hmm...truly miss them...Walopun gue sering bete, sering sebel, yet I feel so lucky to have them as friends, ...they always be there for me, through good and bad times...

Liat foto lagi, foto2 gue dgn temen2 kuliah IUJ, mostly dgn mereka yg gak pernah ketemu lagi...how I wish time and place will never separate us...Temen2 gue yg tersebar di berbagai kontinen di dunia...yang gue gak pernah tau kapan bisa ketemu lagi...

Akhirnya sampai gue pada foto2 yg terakhir, foto2 gue dan temen2 di Tokyo...Foto2 gue dengan temen2 kantor, on many occasions...Foto2 gue dengan temen2 ex-IUJ yg kebetulan kerja di Tokyo.....Foto2 gue dgn temen2 yg mengisi lembaran hidup gue at this stage, for another 2 years ahead...Foto2 yang menandai another stage of my life...

So many pictures, yet so many stages of my life that I have to go through, that I have to climb every day, in every step of the way....that reminds me that there will be more pictures to come, to colour my days...:)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Choices


Malem ini gue tersadar akan satu hal...

Choices...

Malem ini, sepanjang perjalanan antara Fuchu-Tokyo, memandang langit malam Tokyo yang disesaki oleh ratusan (mungkin ribuan) gedung tinggi pencakar langit, seraya mengagumi indahnya malam di Tokyo yang bertaburan bintang dan lampu gedung, dari kaca Mercedes Benz bernomor plat GAI 4003, gue tertegun memikirkan pertemuan gue malem ini dengan salah seorang sahabat Aji, mantan gue, yang skrg sedang mengikuti pelatihan corruption on criminal law di training center UNAFEI, Fuchu. Gue sebagai wakil dari kedutaan diminta datang mewakili Dubes utk acara farewell reception peserta training ini.

`Mbak Meidy dulu temen Aji dimana?`, gue ditanya oleh sahabatnya Aji ini. Well, dgn setengah tersipu2 ya gue bilang kalo gue mantannya Aji. Langsung dia senyum2 sendiri penuh arti, hehe. dan menyambung `Aji udah punya anak loh, perempuan`. Langsung gue skrg yg surprise abis..Well, benernya sih gak surprise2 bgt, considering dia merit gak lama setelah gue, 2 tahun yang lalu.

2 taun yang lalu...

2 taun yang lalu, taun 2005, gue memutuskan untuk merit dengan Atri, setelah dating selama kurang lebih 1 taun.

Taun 2004, ketika gue sekolah di Niigata, gue memutuskan untuk `berhenti` mencintai Aji, yg sedang menunggu gue di Jakarta. Gue mengambil keputusan ini setelah berpikir penuh dan berpikir panjang tentang masa depan gue. Gue tidak siap untuk berhenti dari Deplu (seperti yang Aji minta, pls quit Deplu and marry me, and become a housewife..). Gue gak bisa dan gue gak akan sanggup...Saat itu, entah itu rasional atau tidak, I chose career over a love...

Saat itu, gue berpikir, jika gue berhenti disini, gue akan menyesali suatu keputusan yang gue ambil, mungkin akan menjadi penyesalan seumur hidup.

Saat itu, gue berpikir, he deserved to have someone much better than me...Aji deserved to have someone yang akan memberikan semuanya, without any reservation. Aji deserved to have someone yang tidak akan memiliki penyesalan apa2...

Dan saat itu gue berpikir, gue akan lebih menyakiti Aji apabila gue tetap bersama dia, tetapi my mind will be somewhere else. Gue berpikir, gue akan lebih siap untuk `sakit` saat ini, daripada di kemudian hari...

Saat itu, we both deeply hurt by my decision. Aji couldnt stop me from doing so..We cried and cried and he even tried to stop me from making this decision...Tapi keputusan gue sudah bulat. I had to stop loving him. I had to give up on our love...

Saat itu, Aji bilang, `I couldnt afford to losing you. You`re the only one that I love. You`re my only one, my partner, my friend. I pick you because you`re smart, therefore you can become my compatible partner. Kamu akan terus bisa keep up sama aku. Kamu akan terus bisa mengerti aku.`

But one thing for sure, our career lead toward different paths...and to tell you the truth, I cant live the way he wants to be...Therefore, on that day, I chose career over love...

Masih memandangi berbagai gedung pencakar langit dari mobil yang membawa gue kembali ke kantor, gue teringat semuanya...Jika pada wkt itu gue mengambil keputusan untuk memilih cinta diatas karir, mungkin saat ini gue akan berada di Jakarta seraya menimang bayi cantik, mungkin saat ini gue akan berada di Jakarta, menunggu Aji kembali ke rumah dari kantor...mungkin saat ini gue sedang bingung menyiapkan makan malam untuk Aji...

Jika saat itu gue memilih cinta diatas pekerjaan..

Mungkin saat ini gue tidak berada didalam mobil Mercedes Benz bernomor plat GAI 4003, kendaraan dinas fungsi Politik, yang meluncur kencang dibawah langit Tokyo yang bertaburan bintang dan cahaya gedung.

Mungkin saat ini gue tidak akan menghadiri suatu resepsi (again), farewell party, atau entah apa namanya, dimana di acara tersebut, gue bersama beberapa diplomat dari berbagai kedubes di Tokyo, di-address oleh MC dan berbagai speaker sebagai `The Honourable Member of Diplomatic Corps`.

Mungkin saat ini gue tidak sedang merasa sendiri karena suami gue sedang sibuk menghadapi berbagai kuliah di luar kota, dan ketika elo menelpon dia, elo merasa telah mengganggu dia yang sedang belajar dengan kerasnya di study room kampus nun jauh disana.

Mungkin semua itu tidak akan terjadi pada gue...

But, sekali lagi, that is choices, either itu rasional atau tidak, entah itu benar atau tidak...Hanya diri elo yang tau, hanya elo yang bisa memutuskan, what is best for you...

At one point of my life, I have taken a decision to choose career over love.

At another point of my life, I still dont know which one will I choose.

However, at least I dont have regrets whatsoever...

Thank God we both (Aji and I) dont have regrets whatsoever....

We remain bestfriend until today...:)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

What is in a love?


Malem ini utk kesekian kalinya gue nonton dorama `Last Christmas`, hehe, norak banget emang, tp somehow, gak tau kenapa, gue suka bgt sama dorama itu, terutama sm akting 2 pemeran utama-nya ya, Oda Yuji (he`s Kanji in the phenomenal dorama `Tokyo Love Story`), dan Akiko Yada, hmmm...chemistry mereka berdua bener2 `kena` banget deh...

Ceritanya sebenernya simple, dan cenderung gampang ketebak. It begins wkt Kenji Haruki (Oda Yuji), salah seorang manager di bagian winter sport perusahaan Heart Sport harus tetangga-an sm seorang cewek, Aoi Yuki (Akiko Yada) yang baru aja pindah disebelah apartemennya. Ternyata Kenji dan Yuki tuh temen sekantor. Dan ternyata, sebenernya apartemen mereka berdua itu dulunya 1 apartemen, tp jadi dibagi 2, dan dipisah sm sebuah pintu yg terkunci. Nah...masalahnya si Kenji dulunya sebel bgt sm Yuki, karena nih cewek, udahlah ganti2 cowok melulu, trus rusuh bgt (numpang mandi krn air panasnya rusak, bikin cair es `abadi` yg dibawa Kenji dr Kanada, heboh minta tolong usirin gokiburi, mabok berat n salah masuk kamar), pokoknya nyebelin bgt deh...!

Sampai suatu hari, Kenji gak sengaja nemuin sebuah tape, yang isinya rekaman Yuki-chan yg ngomong di kamera, bahwa dirinya sakit berat, dan kemungkinan bisa meninggal. Kaget donk si Kenji, dia gak nyangka Yuki yg rusuh dan genki bgt tnyt punya penyakit (I think its a cancer) yang membahayakan... Dari situ Kenji baru memperhatikan kalo Yuki sebenarnya seperti itu (cuek, gonta ganti cowok, heboh) ya karena Yuki menyadari kalo dirinya sangat mungkin cepet `pergi`...

Setelah itu Kenji jadi perhatian bgt sm Yuki. Dari mulai wkt Yuki seneng sm seorang cowok (dan tuh cowok gak suka sm dia), sampai wkt Yuki tiba2 jatuh dan pingsan di kamarnya. Kenji, yang pada dasarnya emang cowok baek2 bgt (tipe cowok ideal yg gak macem2, caring sama temen2nya n of course, ke Yuki, jago maen ski, pinter), menjadi temen baik, menjadi tetangga Yuki yang selalu jadi `a shoulder to cry on`nya Yuki.

Oh iya, mereka berdua juga akhirnya taruhan. Karena Kenji hobi bgt main ski, dia bilang ke Yuki kalo ada suatu tempat yang sangat indah, namanya Yellow Knife, di Kanada, dimana elo bisa melihat sinar `aurora` di langit, di tengah padang salju yang putih...Yuki yang tertarik denger cerita ini, langsung bikin taruhan. Barang siapa yg jatuh cinta duluan sm orang, dia bakal menang dan ditraktir sama yang kalah ke Yellow Knife. Kenji setuju, dan sejak itu mereka sama2 `finding love`.

Tapi mereka gak sadar, kalo mereka berdua akhirnya `fall for each other`. Kenji, yg tadinya suka sm Sachiko, temen masa kecilnya, langsung broken heart pas tau Sachiko udah merit. Dan Yuki, of course dia suka sm Higaki yg suka sm cewek lain (Yuki akhirnya broken heart juga). Tp dibalik perjuangan mereka mencari cinta (ceilah, hehe), ya mereka sebenernya saling suka satu sama lain (cause Kenji sangat memperhatikan Yuki, dan Yuki jg simpati sm Kenji yg selalu melindungi temen2nya dan be a good working partner for all).

Akhirnya suatu hari, Kenji menyatakan suka ke Yuki. Kenji bilang `ore ga mamoru! (I will protect you!)`, waktu Yuki baru aja sedih dan pengen berhenti kerja gara2 dia digosipin yg nggak2 di kantor...Waktu itu Yuki gak gitu aja nerima Kenji pas `nembak` dia, coz Yuki gak mau Kenji kecewa sm dia. Tp ketika ternyata Kenji jg mengajukan surat pengunduran dirinya ke bosnya, dan bilang kalo Yuki berhenti dr kantor, Kenji juga akan berhenti. Disitu barulah Yuki nyadar kalo `he`s the one`. Akhirnya Yuki mengejar Kenji sampai ke suatu tempat di luar kota, karena wkt itu kebetulan Kenji lg ditugasin diluar kota utk satu proyek. Dan disitulah mereka akhirnya saling nyatain, dan made a promise to see aurora in Yellow Knife together...Hmm...indah bgt deh, they share a kiss under a tree that has been decorated with small lamps....How romantic....:)

Dari situ barulah drama ini bercerita ttg kisah Yuki dan Kenji yg berdua berjuang utk mengatasi penyakit Yuki, dimana Kenji selalu ada disamping Yuki, give her support all the time, gimana Yuki yang `ganbatte!`, yang terus berjuang, gak pernah ngeluh, gak pernah nangis...Penyakit Yuki ini (gue curiganya sih kyknya kanker, even gak disebutin di dorama ini) diprediksi akan bisa sembuh, jika dalam wkt 5 tahun Yuki gak kambuh lagi..Dan 5 tahun itu tepat sebelum hari Natal...Dan ternyata, penyakit Yuki muncul lagi pada saat pemeriksaan terakhir (dimana dia seharusnya dinyatakan bebas penyakit itu..)

Yuki udah hampir putus asa, tp Kenji selalu ngasih dia semangat (even sebenernya Kenji sedih bgt...). Sampai pada suatu hari, Yuki gak kuat lagi dan dia nangis di pelukan Kenji dan bilang `Kenji no sei da yo (Ini semua salah kamu Kenji)` Kenji ni deatte, inakunakatta da yo (karena saya ketemu kamu, saya gak mau mati!)...Asli, sedih....banget...Kenji cuma bisa meluk Yuki erat2 tanpa bisa berkata apa2...

Sampai pada suatu hari, Yuki kambuh lagi dan harus dirawat di ICU. Saat itu Kenji sedih bgt, dan nangis sambil memandangi foto mereka berdua yg diambil wkt mereka di pantai ketika pulang ke kotanya Yuki. Gue bener2 terharu liat adegan itu...Gue jadi ngebayangin....Is it a love? Gimana ya kalo si Atri berada di posisi itu....? Once, Atri pernah bilang ke gue..`Mei, kalo bisa aku mo `duluan` aja dari kamu...Aku gak mau kamu `duluan` dari aku, coz aku gak bisa ngebayangin hidup tanpa kamu` Saat itu gue cuma bisa ngomong `Apa2an sih, aneh deh kamu..`

Tapi pas ngeliat adegan itu, gue jadi mikir...`Apa bakal seperti ini rasanya yah, ngebayangin orang yang elo cintai bakal `meninggalkan` elo?` Jadi mikir `Apa dulu pas bokap mau `pergi`, ketika di taksi di pangkuan nyokap, nyokap sempet mikir seperti itu?` Karena dulu wkt bokap mau `pergi`, yang membawa bokap ke RS hanya nyokap seorang...gue dan adek gue stay di rumah (it was a real panic at that time...)

So, what is in a love then?

Apakah memang seperti itu? Berani mencintai seseorang, berarti elo jg berani untuk kehilangan seseorang?

Apakah memang seperti itu? Berani mencintai seseorang, berarti elo juga harus siap menghadapi semuanya, for better or for worse, til death do us part?

Love is a real mystery...Ketika elo memutuskan untuk mencintai seseorang, dan elo pengen terus berada disisinya, zutto soba ni iru, elo juga harus siap jika suatu hari orang yang elo cintai harus `pergi`....

A question maybe....Apakah elo akan siap? Apakah elo akan terus berada disisinya, for better or for worse, til death do us part? Apakah elo akan terus mendukungnya, eventhough it hurts you so much to see him in pain? Apakah dengan seperti itu, berarti elo harus `merelakannya`, karena elo mencintainya?

So many questions indeed....

Dan ketika gue melihat episode dimana Kenji menangis karena dia tidak mampu berbuat apa2 melihat Yuki yg terbaring bersama berbagai alat bantu, disitulah gue menyadari, that is the power of love....The power of love that can put you in a situation, in which you can not deny yourself to always be with someone that you truly care...The power of love that made you realize that you are not alone, it is always the two of you, and no matter what, for better or for worse, til death do us part, you will always be there for him...

Thank god the story ends well....

Yuki akhirnya sembuh setelah mengalami major operation, dan dia harus menunggu 1 tahun untuk masa pemulihan, dimana dia dan Kenji akhirnya married dan pergi ke Yellow Knife to see the aurora together...;)

It might be due to the power of love, that everything ends well...:), sou kamo shirenai na....

Friday, November 16, 2007

Yappari...ie ga ichibaann!

Aahhh...nikmatnya leyeh2 di rumah...

Jarum jam udah hampir menunjukkan pukul 12 siang. Gue masih asik di depan TV dan komputer, masih dengan piyama pink polkadot, muka bangun tidur, ngunyah roti dan segelas cafe mocha, dengerin OST Last Christmas.......

Its weekend....senengnya....!

Pagi gue bangun telat, well, benernya jam 7 juga udah bangun, tp berhubung langit masih gelap, yasutra, narik selimut, nyalain heater yang sempet dimatiin, dan mendengkur lagi sampai jam...9.30! Waaksss! Gue blon pernah bangun sesiang ini...!

Begitu bangun, langsung keluar kamar, liat ruang tamu....mak...berantakan abis! Langsung ambil ikat kepala a la samurai Jepang (buat nahan debu maksudnya), ambil vacuum, bersih2, yooossshhh!!!

Angkut lemari, sort semua majalah, koran, brosur2 delivery dsb, semua bon2 yg udah dari jaman baheula, beres2in berbagai perkabel-an (kabel TV, komputer, PS 3, dsb) punya si Atri yg tersebar di mana2, dengan semangat penuh gue clean up living room yang super duper messy.

Sekarang, well, hehe...dah lumayan rapih lah, ya tapi excess-nya berkantong2 sampah combustible dan non-combustible ngejogrog di deket dapur. Which is gue musti dua kali bolak balik ke bawah ngangkutinnya...Halah...Yaa...gak pa2 lah....At least my house is clean now....;)

Diluar masih mendung, I have to muster my courage to take a bath, hmm....ofuro ii to omoun da...Rasanya malesss bgt utk beranjak, even sejengkal langkah, dari ruang tamu tempat gue leyeh2 ini....:)

Well, I think, for a moment, I want to enjoy this day...just to leyeh2 around and doing nothing..
Yappari...ie ga ichiban daisukiii!
Home sweet home.....

Season of Joy, Season of Love




Its Winter Time!

Hari ini suhu di kota Tokyo tiba-tiba drop!

Kemaren suhu udara masih sekitar 21 derajat, tiba2 skrg jadi sekitar 15 derajat. Karena itu, pagi ini gue ngerasa saltum banget....! Dengan pedenya keluar rumah cuma pake selembar jas musim gugur plus daleman kaos panjang, thats it, gak pake baju thermal, gak pake overcoat.

Keluar rumah dengan pede, begitu pintu kebuka, langsung angin dingin winter menyambut gue dengan kencangnya....wuzzzz! Waduuuh....langsung menggigil abis!...Tapi berhubung udah agak telat dan musti nunggu kereta 5 menit lagi (5 menit disini amat sangat berharga, hehe!), yasudahlah, dgn setengah berlari gue langsung ke stasiun bawah tanah.

Sampe kantor gue pikir, ah, ntar siangan juga cuaca pasti bakal agak lebih hangat...

Tunggu punya tunggu, ternyata tidak!....Damn....Terpaksalah hari ini lunch dgn setengah lari2 supaya tetep anget, hehehe!

Pulang ke rumah jam 10 malem, abis diajakin nonton jazz di Cotton Club Lounge, Marunouchi, ternyata cuaca tambah2 aja dingin...

Nyampe apato, nyalain heater, nyalain musik, gue langsung puter OST Last Christmas, J-Dorama terakhir yang gue baru selesai tonton...Truly, selain suka banget sama dorama ini, gue jg suka bgt sama soundtrack-nya dengan lagu2 yang sangat beirama winter yang riang dan full of joy...

Buka2 tenki yoho (ramalan cuaca), ternyata bener, besok bakal tambah dingin lagi....
However, I love winter...Mungkin karena gue sempet merasakan tinggal di daerah Niigata, `yuki guni`, snow country-nya Jepang selama 2 taun wkt sekolah dulu, jadinya gue sangat menanti-nantikan tibanya musim dingin...

Doushite fuyu ga daisuki?

Karena, musim dingin di Niigata sangat amat indah....Musim dingin di Niigata bak winter wonderland...Untuk mencapai Niigata dari Tokyo, kita harus melewati satu tunnel sepanjang 10 km (the longest one in Japan) yang menembus pegunungan, dimana ketika elo keluar dari tunnel itu, di musim dingin, sejauh mata memandang, lo hanya melihat putih, dan putih...Its a real winter wonderland!

Niigata adalah suatu tempat dimana salju disana bisa mencapai sekitar 2-3 meter setiap musimnya...Dimana mau gak mau elo musti pake boot karet (yg gak ada cantik2nya) ke sekolah dan kemana2...Dimana elo bisa terjebak di dalam badai salju yang kencang di suatu tempat antah-berantah, diantara sawah dan pegunungan...Dimana elo bisa menikmati asiknya main ski sampe berpuluh-puluh kali tanpa harus mengeluarkan uang untuk menyewa peralatan ski...Dimana, di suatu hari yang indah dan cerah, tanpa adanya setitik salju yang turun, dan dilatarbelakangi dengan langit biru serta pohon berembun salju, elo bisa berpose dengan latar belakang yg luar biasa cantik (langit biru dan pohon salju)...Dimana pada suatu hari, tanpa disadari, ketika elo ngeliat ke jendela, ada butiran2 kapas putih jatuh dari langit yang memaksa elo berteriak gembira dan membuka jendela, serta memegang butiran salju pertama yang jatuh.....!

Terbayang semua itu, gue sangat menantikan turunnya salju tahun ini di Tokyo..Taun kemarin salju nggak mampir di Tokyo, gue harus ke Niigata untuk merasakan kesekian ratus drops of snow, dan taun ini gue sangat ingin bisa berada di tepi jendela rumah gue dan gembira melihat turunnya salju pertama....

Dan ketika gue liat ramalan cuaca, ternyata di daerah Niigata udah ada gambar boneka salju besar pada hari Senin depan...! It means...winter udah dateng...! Salju akan mampir di Niigata...How I really wish to feel the snow this year....

Kisetsu ga kawarun desu yo...Fuyu mou kimashita...

Winter has come...! Tanoshimi ni...!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

J-Dorama Lover



Waaa....

1 bulan terakhir ini gue sudah menjadi seorang J-Dorama Lover....! Semuanya berawal wkt gue iseng2 browsing YouTube, dan nemuin serial (baru) judulnya `Hotaru no Hikari`.... Gue click dan tnyt..hmm...it looked interesting...! Without realizing it, gue abisin the 1st episode...

Penasaran, gue cari di d-addicts, dapet, dan gue download, dan ternyata it turned out to be hillarious! Sampe skrg gue udah ngulang `Hotaru` 2 kali! This is the first drama yg gue tonton 2 kali, hehehe!

Dari sini, gue jadi keranjingan cari drama2nya Fujiki Naohito--damn kakkoi! (he played Takano Bucchou in `Hotaru`-very entertaining and well-presented!), gue download semua, mulai dari `Love Revolution`, `Slow Dance`, sampe `Itoshi Kimi E`

Sampe saat ini, hampir semua dorama Nao-san gue tonton penuh! Pulang kantor, mandi, makan dan langsung ngejogrog didepan komputer cari dorama yang pengen ditonton, langsung dipindahin ke panel layar TV 37 inch (biar puas nontonnya, hehehe!)..Gitu terus kerjaan gue tiap hari di rumah, kadang hampir jam 2 malem gue baru tidur, hahaha!


Weekend,....almost the same...!
Bangun tidur, beres2 rumah (dikit), masukkin pakaian ke washing machine, masak2 (dikit), baru ngejogrog lagi cari dorama yg pengen ditonton! Abis nonton 2-3 episode, liat jam, walaaah...! Udah jam 2 siang! Langsung buru2 mandi, n rapi2 sambil ambil kunci kamar, cabut deh ke Shinjuku/Shibuya/Harajuku/Yurakucho/Jiyugaoka...!Hampir lupa janjian sama si Rima and temen2 gue!

Halaah....hari2 gue sekarang udah diisi sama dorama Jepang! Gak tau, gue jadi cinta bgt nih sama dorama Jepang! Well, of course kalo ceritanya bagus gue suka bgt, tp kalo jelek, ya di-skip aja, hehehe! And mostly yg udah gue download sampe skrg ceritanya bagus2, dan of course, gue baca dulu donk review and sinopsisnya sblm download! Pokoknya fully prepared deh!

Tapi gak tau kenapa, gue cuma demen sama dorama Jepang. Gue gak terlalu suka sama dorama Taiwan (berisik menurut gue), or Korea (terlalu sedih, pasti endingnya ada yang meninggal deh..!)..Udah gitu,...kelamaan! Kalo dorama Jepang, at most cuma 12 episode, tp kalo Taiwan or Korea, bujubune...bisa smp 20-an episode! Cape gue nontonnya, considering gue tuh orangnya bosenan...

Lagian, gak tau yah, menurut gue dorama Jepang tuh lebih bervariasi, dan lebih anime/manga, kalo drama komedi, kocak dan konyolnya tuh pol (kyk misalnya Nodame Cantabile yang animated bgt!)...Tp kalo dorama yg sedih (Itoshi Kimi E, or Sekai no chuusin), jangan maen2, bisa tiap episode lo nangis bombay...! Minggu kemaren gue sampe depressed nangis bombay 2 hari 2 malem gara2 nonton Itoshi Kimi E...! Emang norak gue....hehehehe! Makanya gue paling demen sama `Hotaru no Hikari` soalnya, kocak iya, tp romantis juga iyah...seru lah pokoknya!

Btw, minggu ini gue iseng2 search, n nemuin dorama judulnya `Last Christmas`, yang maen si Oda Yuji, yg dulu maen di `Tokyo Love Story` yang beken bgt jaman gue SMA..! Ceritanya ternyata romantis abis, tp kocak juga, serulah pokoknya...Dan liat si Kenji (Oda Yuji) disitu..ihiks...cowok ideal bgt...! Drama ini cocok bgt ditonton pas mo winter, coz tema-nya tentang cewek yg fighting for her illness, n janji mo liat aurora di daerah Yellow Knife, Kanada sama cowoknya (si Kenji)..


Dan ternyata, nonton dorama Jepang buat gue sangat amat bermanfaat melatih pendengaran gue ttg percakapan bahasa Jepang sehari2..! Since gue tinggal di Tokyo sekarang, well, tiap hari kan gue dikelilingi oleh bhs Jepang which can be damn frustrating eventhough I sometimes can understand them quite well...

Tp tetep aja, its not ur mother tongue, its still tough to understand and to use it...Makanya, setiap gue nonton dorama, gue berusaha gak baca teksnya (yg versi download-an dari internet ada teks inggrisnya loooh), dan kalo gue denger istilah2 yg gak ngerti, gue pasti rewind lagi, dan coba mengerti konteks percakapannya...coz inti dari bhs Jepang sebenernya adalah `kimochi (feeling)`...Orang Jepang banyak sekali menggunakan bhs `kimochi` didalam percakapan mereka. Mungkin karena mereka bukan orang yg pandai berterus terang menyatakan perasaannya, jadi mereka menyelipkan `kimochi` mereka dibalik bahasa mereka..Terus terang, ketika gue sekolah dulu, gue gak terlalu mengerti gimana menggunakan `kimochi` didalam percakapan bhs Jepang gue, tetapi sekarang, gue sudah cukup mengerti (dan masih belajar mengerti) untuk menyelipkan `kimochi` gue didalam setiap komunikasi gue dengan orang Jepang...coz they can easily understand ur feeling if u use that `kimochi` in ur conversation.

So, skrg gue ngerti deh kenapa si Nini (nenek gue) di rumah tergila2 sama sinetron Indonesia dan telenovela! Pas si Nini ke Tokyo, musim semi kemaren, begitu nyampe apartemen gue, pertanyaan pertama adalah : `Mei, disini ada SCTV ato RCTI gak? Nini mo nonton sinetron!` Halaaaahhh....jauh2 dateng ke Jepang gitu loooh....masih aja sinetron dicari...:)!

Skrg gue juga ngerti deh, kenapa si Anny nangis2 bombay (sampe matanya bengkak dan tidur jam 3 pagi!) nonton drama Korea wkt dia liburan di Tokyo...Si ibu satu itu sampe bela2in gak ke Tokyo Tower looh hari itu...hahahaha!

Ternyata, sekarang gue juga sama aja kayak si Nini dan Anny....!

Well, from now on I can proudly say that I am a Dorama Lover ...:)!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

A Woman Diplomat

Ada satu pelajaran berharga yang gue bisa ambil minggu ini.

Selama 3 hari dalam satu minggu ini, gue berkesempatan untuk mendampingi seorang pejabat eselon I setingkat dirjen yang kebetulan adalah mantan Dubes, dan wanita...First impression, seperti pejabat lainnya, gue merasa harus menjaga jarak dan sehormat mungkin, dan kagum karena beliau adalah seorang ambassadres, jabatan yang terus melekat pada diri beliau walaupun tidak lagi menjabat. Namun, berbeda dengan ambassadres yang pernah gue temui di waktu-waktu lalu, beliau sangat ramah dan menghargai junior-nya (sangat junior-nya) ini...

Ada 2 hal yang beliau utarakan mengenai tujuannya ke Tokyo kepada kami pada saat perjalanan dari bandara ke Tokyo. Pertama, menghadiri sidang dan bertemu dengan salah satu dirjen di Kemlu Jepang (kehadiran beliau sgt dinantikan oleh pejabat tsb), dan yang kedua, menengok temen, sahabat gue (sama2 diplomat muda), yang saat ini tengah berada di rumah sakit menanti `big operation` yg akan datang pada Senin mendatang. Ternyata sahabat gue ini adalah mantan anak buah beliau pada saat sebelum diposting ke Tokyo. Beliau sangat khawatir dengan kondisi sahabat gue ini...dan sangat ingin bertemu dengannya karena walaupun mereka cukup intens berkomunikasi, sahabatku tidak sekalipun mau bercerita tentang kondisinya (khas, tipikal sifat sahabatku yang tidak pernah mau menyusahkan orang).

3 hari bersama Ibu Dubes, aku mendapatkan banyak hal, dan belajar banyak hal. Beliau adalah tipe ambassadres yang sukses, in love, life and career...Ibu Dubes selalu mendapat dukungan penuh dari suami dan anaknya yang beranjak remaja, dan untuk itu beliau selalu berusaha untuk melakukan semuanya dengan sepenuh hati...Menurut beliau, beliau tidak akan bisa seperti ini tanpa ada ijin dari suami, beliau selalu `look up to my husband`, dan beliau selalu berjalan bersama-sama, tidak di depan, apalagi di belakang....For that, shes truly grateful...

Of course, beliau juga mengalami masa2 dimana beliau ingin menyerah, ingin kabur, dan ingin meninggalkan semuanya...Tetapi, lagi2, dengan dukungan penuh, beliau dipaksa untuk tidak menyerah, tidak berhenti begitu saja...`Remember, they never think that we are (women diplomat) good enough`....! Betul, that statement is so true...`Kita harus selalu put our efforts twice hard...`Yup, lagi2 betul....Dan, sometimes, its indeed tiring...sometimes gue pengen quit, gue pengen cabut, gue lagi2 bilang (sambil pengen nangis), `mou...yadaaa (udahlah...berhenti aja...)`...

Beliau saat ini tengah berada di puncak karirnya, Geneve, Brussel, Ottawa, dan puncaknya Dubes di Hanoi telah dilaluinya dengan perjuangan, dengan airmata, dengan tawa canda....dengan kebahagiaan dan kesedihan...Semakin aku berbincang panjang lebar dengan beliau, semakin aku kagum at how she is...at how smart, open, passionate, brave, strong, yet gentle woman she is... Satu hal lain yang gue kagumi dari beliau, how she treats everyone equally tanpa melihat status dan jabatan....Its rare quality indeed...

How can I say that? Beliau dengan semangatnya bercerita tentang meeting-nya, tentang berbagai isu substansi di departemen yg beliau pimpin, and yet, beliau menjadi sangat gentle ketika menanyakan kepada gue mengenai kondisi sahabat gue saat ini....dan bagaimana beliau sangat ingin bertemu dia....Through her eyes, I can see the pain...

As I promised, aku mengajak beliau melihat sahabatku di rumah sakit...Ketika eskalator berhenti di Lt. 9, dan pintu terbuka, beliau segera keluar dan tertegun melihat sahabatku yg kebetulan sedang berada di koridor eskalator...Segera beliau memeluk sahabatku erat, and gue hampir tidak bisa menahan tangis...

Kami bercengkrama di kamar tempat sahabatku dirawat...`Why you didnt tell me about your condition?`, beliau bertanya pada sahabatku...`I was going to tell you bu...I was...remember that we had a long conversation over the phone before Lebaran? At that time, I was going to tell you, but I cant...`Tipikal sahabatku, tidak mau nyusahin orang...

Kami ngobrol panjang...dan ternyata, sahabatku bisa kami `culik` for a day dari rumah sakit, before her big day...Langsung aku datang ke suster jaga, dan meminta ijin. Keesokan harinya, kami datang kembali dan menjemput sahabatku...Ibu Dubes and I were so happy...dan begitu juga sahabatku...

`Cheers for you gals, as both of you still have long way to go`, demikian perkataan beliau ketika kami toast-kan gelas ume-shu kami (the three of us ordered the same drink, ume-shu, on rocks, with soda, with water)...Malam itu Ibu Dubes dan aku memaksa sahabatku menghabiskan shabu-shabu-nya, dan memesan bnyk makanan, till we had more than enough...Aku sangat senang bisa melihat sahabatku enjoying one night outside before her `big` day....Sangat senang bisa melihat Ibu dubes tertawa dan enjoying her company....her former staff yet her `daughter`...

Malam itu kita slumber party...the three of us slept in the same room, gue dengan menggelar futon dibawah...As if there is no other day, kita ngobrol lagi dan lupa bahwa jarum jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 1 malam, padahal Ibu dubes harus brkt ke Narita jam 8 pagi utk kembali ke Jakarta keesokan harinya...

The moment has come for us to say goodbye....Pagi itu, aku dan sahabatku (before she goes to be hospitalized again) mengantar Ibu Dubes sampai pemeriksaan imigrasi...Before leaving, she hugged me tight, wish me good luck, dan berpesan...`Meidy, please jagain Tika yah...please take care of her...` Dan sembari menahan tangis, she hugged my bestfriend, and wished her good luck for the operation, and for everything...`Be brave...`she whispered that...

We waved our hands and said goodbye....The two of us....aku dengan segala ketidakpastian aku tentang masa depan, aku dengan segala ketakutan dan kesedihan aku, aku dengan segala pengharapan aku untuk bisa mempunyai seorang anak, aku dengan segala kepenatan aku yang terkadang datang tiba2....dan sahabatku, dengan segala kepasrahannya menghadapi operasi yang bisa berujung pada pengangkatan rahimnya....dengan segala kekuatannya menghadapi serangan kanker, dengan segala ketabahannya menghadapi hari esok...

Hari itu, kita berdua mendapatkan pelajaran berharga dari seorang Ibu Dubes, how to be brave and how to always have faith in you....No matter what, hidup adalah perjuangan, dan hidup adalah berusaha....Always perform your best...dont give up....dan insya allah semuanya akan terlewati....

Hari itu, aku berjanji untuk ikut menjaga sahabatku...as Ibu asked me to...

Hari itu, aku menemukan seorang teman baru yang amat berarti bagiku...