winner

a lot of times in my life, if not all the time, i feel like such a loser. an unlucky loser. like, when it just so happens that i decided to take the bus because the train was late, and just when i was already waiting at the bus stop for the bus to come, i saw the train coming and it was too late for me to run back to the train station. like, trying to sew the something really nice and cool but still didn’t get featured in a certain sewing community or even any comment from anyone (except from my mum–thanks, Mum!), though i don’t know if that one has anything to do with luck or just plain unpopularity. also, like entering contests and competitions where everyone has the same chance of winning, and never winning anything.

once in a while, i do feel that the wheels turned and i was on top of things. and this time, i want to share one winning experience, because this is supposed to be a positive blog after all.

a while ago, Indonesia In My Pocket celebrated their 3rd anniversary. i swear, the writer behind this blog is just the nicest person i’ve ever known, and the blog is full of interesting things, places, & facts about anything, not just Indonesia. so to celebrate their 3rd anniversary, of course they had a giveaway. when the winner was announced (chosen by a random winner generator), i nearly couldn’t believe that i was the one.

but the package arrived and i knew i wasn’t dreaming.

when i was entering the giveaway, it said that the prize would be a package full of things from UK and the writer’s travels. since i’ve been following the blog for a while, i have known that her taste in things are quite similar with mine. so it doesn’t even matter what she would give me, i was pretty sure i would love it!

so, slowly and gently, i opened the package…

my thoughts up to this point was: aaaaaaah, i already fell in love with these wrappings! must i really open them?? noooo!

but of course i did. i already promised her that i would post them. 😀

half of the gifts were not wrapped. the chicken stickers are SO CUTE!!

the other half of the gifts. i was ready to die from too much awesomeness.

the C.R. Mackintosh book made me squeal in delight, for just a while ago there was a blog post in Indonesia In My Pocket about him & his work. the pocket notebook, made by London-based company Pygmy Cloud, i thought was perfect for me aka Silverain because of the design. clouds & raindrops? yes, please! the super cool geometric necklace (that triangular thing) is handmade by Mica, a British designer of the Mica Peet.

after unwrapping these lovelies i was a bit amazed. i mean, i knew that we have similar taste, but how could it be that i felt that the items in this package were so ME, when i won by random? i mean, what if the winner was someone else?

and that was when i suddenly noticed a note tucked under the lid of the package.

it turned out that she handpicked them for me! (after the winner was decided, of course.) how thoughtful! that really touched me and made me feel like a complete winner. ❤

ps. this thank-you card’s design is a map, and it conveniently features “Finland” in the center of the card. 😀

HUUUUUUUUGE thank you to A from Indonesia In My Pocket! sorry for the crappy pics, but please know that i love every little thing in the package & am so grateful for our friendship! thanks for making me really & truly feel like a winner. 🙂

on July 2015, i…

1. did 3 sewing projects and 1 remake project. this is all thanks to the rainy summer days right when i was having my summer holiday. summer? what summer? :p

2. turned 34. this time i let it slip on my other social media account exactly when my birthday was, and people actually congratulated me. wow. i mean, even those whom i hadn’t talked to for years. it felt weird, in a nice way. since i just had a slight mental breakdown some months ago, this made me appreciate my life, and myself, a little bit more. so thank you, those who cared to drop me a line & wished me happy birthday. 🙂

birthday dinner: sushi!

3. went to the family’s summer place & spent quality time with my siblings-in-law, and baby A! he was just so cute & i’ll never forget how he smiled at me when i “danced” with him. during the same stay, i got to have my very first sighting of a wild deer. it just came stampeding in the middle of our summer place one morning, stopped in its track when it noticed me (i was alone, we were about 20 m apart), and then continued to stampede away. unfortunately i didn’t even have my phone to take any picture, but it happened. i felt so lucky to be the only one who experienced that.

babysitting & relaxing at the same time

4. lost an aunt. she was one of my dad’s older sister, whom my husband had fortunately also met almost a decade ago. she once invited us to her house just so that she could also get to know my husband (then-boyfriend) and took us out to eat. there are countless times when my family and i spent times with her during the Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha celebrations, going on trips to Bandung, and other family gatherings. she was somehow always there, it’s hard to imagine that now she won’t be anymore. but i hope she has found peace now. you will be missed, Bude. ❤

5. was again reminded that i do have friends. so they may not be the same kind as the ones i had once in my life a long time ago, but it felt nice when i met them at a party, after a long time that i had not met them, and the first thing they wanted to do was hug me, and take pictures with me. when i was having my breakdown, i ‘complained’ about the fact that i never have any pictures of myself & (a) friend(s). i felt like i had no one, except for my husband and family (well, they’re always there for me, so they don’t count. sorry!). so imagine my surprise when this happened. i would walk around in the party, and all the time somebody would call me and say, “i want to get a picture of us together!” and ask somebody else to take the pic. maybe to them i will just be in one of their 1000 pics uploaded to FB or Instagram, but to me it actually meant a lot more than that. thank you, for whatever your reason was to get that picture of us together, you made me realize that i am not alone.

i ❤ these people. 😀

6. had my first experience of singing karaoke in front of everybody… outside of my own home town. this happened on the same party as number 5. for those who don’t know, karaoke in Jakarta is just like in Japan, done in private rooms, only to be shared with your close friends/family. well… this is Europe! karaoke = singing and embarrassing yourself in front of the whole bar. or a party. but i did it! HA! though i did it with 2 of my friends, not completely alone. people danced to our song, so i don’t think it was that bad! 😉

7. went to Copenhagen for a day. it was fun!

8. got contacted for a possibility to become a model for a world known brand/company. it was the same agency as the one in this blog post. what surprised me was that they actually contacted me (!!! after all these years!), and the brand/company is THAT famous. this was another reminder of everything i wrote there on my old blog post, that i should be happy with the way i am. though i knew that since it was still a pre-production election, and they only ‘judged’ it solely by our looks, i wouldn’t stand a chance among the other candidates–this is because i never, ever, won for anything based on my looks–but still i felt good about myself. the agency cared enough to contact me & give me a chance, so that was nice. i didn’t end up getting it (just found that out yesterday), which is a bummer since i could really use some extra money (who wouldn’t), but it’s okay. i think maybe the whole thing happened only to remind myself about the fact that i am good enough to even be considered. 🙂

yay, i got through another month! welcome August!

PS. for safety & privacy reason, i heavily edited the pics. obviously most of the pics were taken by other people, and the credits go to them, not me.

warming up

oh my, 2 weeks had gone by since the last time i wrote here, eeek! and actually, it’s almost been that long too that i haven’t had the chance to read anyone else’s blog or stay that long on the internet….

right after the independence day holiday here, we went to my mum-in-law’s to make ginger bread cookies. yes, you read me right. this is the second time in my whole life that i participated in making these cookies (the first time was last year, LOL), and this time we decided to step it up a bit and make a complete ginger bread house, yay!!

isn’t it cute?? not bad for a first timer (=me)! 😀 my mum-in-law made the pieces of the house, and i decorated all of them except for the roof parts (they’re done by my mum-in-law). too bad my husband only took a picture of it from this side, i actually like the other side of the house better. :p oh, and the trees were made & decorated by my husband. 😀 i love how the house reminds me of the witch’s house in Hansel & Gretel’s story (or how i’ve always pictured it in my mind, at least). now this house is in our house (um… that doesn’t sound right, but that’s how it is!), and after Christmas we’re gonna eat it all, hnyuck hnyuck hnyuck!

at the same time that weekend, i was offered a project by one of my ex-colleagues from a women’s magazine i used to work at when i was in my home country. it was to make 12 illustrations for that magazine (both print version and online), and the deadline was in 7 days. at first i actually said no, since i didn’t think i’d have the time to finish it, what with my full time job and all. but she kept pushing me to please try to at least send them one example of my drawings, and they were going to decide the following Monday which illustrator would finally get to do the project. so i did it, right after we went home from making the ginger bread house, and finished colouring it by that night. just as a bonus, i decided to send in my old illustrations too, ones that were never published anywhere (and i actually only printed them to decorate our own house).

i was surprised when they sent me an email the next morning that they chose me, based on those old illustrations i sent them as a bonus. 😀 after negotiating the deadline (which was finally expanded to 10 days instead of 7), i finally said yes.

and that’s when the race with time began. apparently my nightmare before Christmas this year didn’t have to do with the Christmas itself at all, it was this project. so last week, every day after work, i would go work on these illustrations and since i only had Sunday as a day off last week, i really had to push myself to do most of the work that day. in the end, i managed to finish everything on time, and (at least they said) they’re really pleased with the results. now i’m just waiting for them to be published! double yay! (and i will surely post them here too when they’re out, LOL.)

it was last night that i sent them the final files of my illustrations, and it pleased me this morning to read an email from them saying that they really liked them. it set me off to a very good mood, especially since something else was coming tonight.

or actually, it was “someone” else.

she was one of my closest high school mates, and we haven’t seen each other ever since we graduated from high school. we actually lost contact for so many years, and were reunited thanks to Facebook (yeah, Facebook has some good side after all). she came to Finland for a personal reason, and i was so happy that she made time to meet me! it really put the cherry on top of every tiredness i went through for the past few weeks. 🙂

tomorrow will be my last day of work in 2012, and then my 2 week holiday starts! yippee!! all our Christmas presents are wrapped and put under our mini Christmas tree, so yes, i would say we’ve done our warming up for Christmas this year. though i personally won’t mind warming up some more, since it’s already -10C here (and the snow is as high as my tummy. yikes!).

in case i won’t be able to write again until after Christmas: HAVE A MERRY, JOLLY CHRISTMAS!! this goes  to all of you, even if you don’t celebrate Christmas… have a good one, anyway! 😀

photo credits: ginger bread house picture was taken by my husband, and the picture of me & my friend was taken by my friend’s boyfriend.

neighbours

back in my home town, it’s almost a sin (or at least people would think you’re incredibly rude) if you don’t know your neighbours. by neighbours, i mean, at least the people who live next door to you, though in reality, you practically have to know everyone living in your street.

i guess i was incredibly rude (or very sinful) for not knowing them. when i was a little kid, since i went to a kindergarten nearby, it was only natural that i got to know a few other kids who happened to live at the same street as i did. or maybe it was the fact that back in those days, my mum was active in our street’s ‘arisan’, which is basically a gathering for housewives, in which they would… swap recipes? stories of their kids? their spouses? tips on how to make marriages last? who knew (as you can probably tell, i’ve never been to one myself). anyway, maybe, because she did that, she also got to know a few of our neighbours who had kids my age, and that’s how i got to know a few of them myself. sure, i knew who lived across our street, and i used to know the man who owned a small traditional market (‘warung’) next door. but people moved away, and many more moved in, and after a while, i couldn’t keep up anymore. whenever i walked to and from the nearest bus stop there on the street where i used to live, some unknown stranger (to me) would greet me with my nickname, and all i could do was give a small nod and smile as i thought in my head, who the hell are you??? (see? very rude of me, indeed.)

i know, i guess knowing your neighbours have their own benefits. like… maybe, if you lost your house key, and your mobile phone’s battery’s dead, all you have to do is ring the next door neighbour’s door and ask for help? or… if you’re dead bored on a Sunday morning, you can just look up over the fence and gossip with them? … right. i’m pretty sure neighbours are more useful than that, except that i don’t know what the other ‘uses’ are.

anyhow, then i moved out of town. or actually, out of the country. away from those people who think it’s rude or sinful to not know your neighbours. in here, where i live now, there’s no unwritten rule about ‘knowing your neighbours’. no one would suddenly call my nickname on the street, and thank God for that.

if i lost my house key, all i have to do is call the apartment’s service number, and they‘ll help me, not my neighbours. (though don’t ask what would happen if my mobile phone’s battery’s also dead at the same time, since there’s no fricken payphone here! luckily this whole scenario has never happened to me *knocks wood*.) i’m not a gossiping person to begin with, so no matter how bored i’d get on a Sunday morning, i’d never crave to talk to my neighbour about how the upstairs tenant likes to throw noisy parties on Thursday nights aka workday nights. so no, i still don’t know what’s the real use of ‘knowing your neighbours’ is.

i do get used to people i see everyday in or around our apartment building. sometimes i would meet other tenants in the laundry room, and exchange a few small chit chats now and then. and when i happen to remember these people’s faces enough that i would recognize them even when we’re not in or around our apartment building, of course i would greet them, or at least give a little nod and smile (some things never change). i still never properly shake hands with our neighbours here to introduce myself, and i never know their names (neither do they know mine). people keep to themselves, and respect other people’s privacies. i like it like that.

i’ve lived in the same apartment now for 6 years, and for 6 years, other tenants on the same floor as our apartment had come and went, except for one. a family of four, living right next door to ours.

when i first moved here, their kids were in their teenage years. i would sometimes meet the mother in the laundry room, but she must’ve known back then that i didn’t speak Finnish yet, so we only said hellos and byes. back then when i didn’t have anything to do (no work, no language courses), i would get depressed a lot of times, but then i could hear the piano playing from their apartment, and suddenly i’d feel not so lonely anymore. i got reminded of my sister, who used to play the piano in our parent’s house, while i danced to it (this was when i was small).

and then, when i finally could talk Finnish, my conversation with this neighbour of mine became a bit more than just hellos and byes. one time, they even gave us fresh tomatoes from the mother’s father’s own garden. they had two dogs (i don’t know what the breed is called… long & very thin legs, brown, super short hair? anyone??), and the other one was always so curious, she’d come to me whenever we’re out of our apartment’s doors at the same time. then the mother explained to me that the (curious) dog felt that i was a part of the family, which was why sometimes she’d come to me. 😀

around summer this year, i noticed that their daughters have moved out. after a while, i also noticed that they no longer have two, but only one dog. and then i remember our neighbour once said that the other dog was old, and was already a bit blind, too. i’m guessing it passed away around the same time as Romppu did.

and then finally, some months ago, the mother told me they’re looking for another place to stay. a smaller apartment, since their daughters have moved out. for months they kept looking, and i secretly hoped that they wouldn’t move that far away, because even though i never got too close to them, they’re a nice family that never causes any loud noises. even the dogs were quiet (like Romppu. snick).

but then one day my husband said he saw the men from a moving service company came to their apartment and started taking out their things. and yesterday, before i came home from work, my husband saw a truck from the same moving service company, and our neighbours were getting in there. it figures, of course, yesterday was the last day of October, so i guess it was the last day for them to move out from their old apartment. so they did find a new place to stay, and unfortunately, it’s nowhere nearby.

so that was that. no more ‘neighbour of 6 years’, no more short talks in the laundry room, and no more listening to the piano playing (not that i have the time lately to hear it, anyway, since i’d be at work almost every day). no more curious dog coming towards me.

now all that’s left is the suspense (for us, me & my husband) on who’s going to move next door. would they have little kids? would they have dog(s)? would they have noisy parties every Thursday nights? (hope not.)

farewell, old neighbours. you were one of our best neighbours, ever. wherever you are now, we hope all is well with you.

friends come and go, family lasts forever

masih berkaitan (dikit) dengan pulang kampung pertama kalinya kmaren ituh..

bbrp minggu menjelang cuti, di tempat kerja temen2 gue udh gantian nanya2, gimana rasanya mo pulkam…pasti seneng banget ya…pasti temen2mu udh ga sabar mo ketemu…

dalem hati gue mikir, hmm…iya gitu temen2 gue udh ga sabar mo ketemu?

waktu gue baruuuu aja mo berangkat untuk pindah ke Finlandia, rasanya beraaat banget buat gue, mikirin gimana nasib gue nanti di negeri antah berantah tanpa temen. rasanya begitu pindah ke sini udh ga sabar mikirin gimana caranya biar bisa sering2 pulkam (yg akhirnya baru tercapai setelah 3,5 taun tinggal di sini), dan bisa ketemuan mereka lagi.

tapi ternyata seiring berjalannya waktu, gue semakin disibukkan dengan misi “mencari duit”, cari kerja sana-sini, dan setelah dapet kerja jadi konsen ke situuu terus…

dan lama2 gue malah jadi nyaris ga pernah sempet lagi berkomunikasi sama “temen2” gue dulu itu.

iya, gue nyadar kok, gue jarang bisa ditemui secara online..emg gue suka males nyalain YM dan sejenisnya, kecuali klo emg lagi bosen & butuh ngobrol (yg tidak sering terjadi, ternyata).

trus, jadinya gue merasa & ngeliat sendiri, bahwa, hey, ternyata gue nggak segitu tergantungnya sama “temen2” gue. dan, hey hey, ternyata “temen2” gue juga move on with their lives (ya iyalah!) dan ga segitu tergantungnya sama gue.

there is life after friendship, and then you’ll find friends elsewhere.

jujur, setelah hidup di Finlandia, gue ga punya temen “deket”, yg bener2 bisa gue ceritain segala macem soal hidup gue. mungkin gue nggak ngerasa butuh seseorang seperti itu, atau mungkin gue cuma belom menemukan orang yg tepat (selain suami, tentunya).

tentulah gue punya temen, ada yg dari Indonesia juga, ada yg dari waktu les bahasa Suomi, dan ada yg dari tempat kerja..tapi yah, gitu deh, semuanya menurut gue ga bisa dibilang deket. kadang2 gue ngerasa sedih karna ga bisa nelpon salah satu dari mereka, cuma untuk ngobrol aja..atau untuk ngajak nemenin window-shoppping (berhubung untuk yg terakhir itu suami pasti ga sudi).

tapi trus masa2 itu lewat dengan sendirinya, terobati dengan gue yg mencari2 proyek menjahit baru, dan seterusnya…

anyway, denger temen2 kerja gue yg bertanya2 gitu ke gue membuat gue merenung dikit. setelah dipikir2, kok kyaknya ga ada temen gue yg segitu girangnya dengan ke-pulkam-an gue ya? yg kegirangan paling2 keluarga gue, plus sodara gue.

oh, dan yg aneh lagi, ada juga yg kegirangan padahal tadinya pas gue di Jakarta aja nyaris ga pernah ketemu, atau ya ga deket2 banget deh.

setelah sampe di Jakarta, ya gue maklum lah sama mereka2 yg bekerja, jadi gue juga ga langsung nelponin mereka untuk ngajakin ketemuan. udh gitu, yg namanya bawa suami & mertua itu memang bikin repot klo buat pulkam, apalagi pulkam pertama kalinya.

dari yg ga mau bikin rencana lah (besok ke mana? ngga tau. nanti malem ke mana makan malemnya? ah males keluar2, delivery aja. buset dah), sampe yg ga mau berubah rencana (bingung kan? padahal awalnya aja ga ada rencana, gimana mau nggak berubah rencananya????).

alhasil orang2 yg sukses gue temui cuma segelintir dari yg sebenernya gue pengen temuin.

batch pertama adalah temen2 ex-kantor kakak gue. walopun sebenernya ketemuannya karna ada agenda tersembunyi di baliknya, tapi malam itu menyenangkan kok buat gue.

batch kedua adalah temen2 yg tadinya malah adalah temen2 kakak gue, tapi akhirnya jadi temen gue juga. yg ini bisa sukses juga karna ada kakak gue sebagai “manager”, yg ngundangin mereka smua & mesenin tempat dll. it was so much fun! dan gue bisa ngerasain bahwa mereka juga dateng ke situ bukan karna “terpaksa”, dalam arti bukan karna mereka adalah dulunya “temen2 deket” gue, tapi ya karna memang mau ketemu sama gue .

selanjutnya, ga pake batch2an lagi karna gue akhirnya cuma ketemu temen gue satu per satu di setiap harinya.

hmm, mereka ini adalah yg tadinya, sewaktu gue tinggal di Jakarta, justru temen2 terdekat gue. ga ada yg salah sih, pas ketemuan juga asik2 aja ngobrolnya, gue juga masih tetep ngerasa nyaman ngobrol dgn mereka. cuma mungkin gue ngeliat fakta itu tadi, bahwa mereka baik2 aja, meneruskan hidup mereka, seperti gue juga merasa baik2 aja, meneruskan hidup gue sndiri. mungkin gue merasa bahwa gue bukan lagi orang penting di hidup mereka, dan mungkin mereka juga merasa begitu terhadap gue, berhubung gue juga jarang banget nongol di YM dsb..

trus gue merasa sedikit aneh..karna klo dipikir2, awalnya gue memutuskan untuk lebih sering nulis di MP & bukan di jurnal online gue yg jaman dahulu kala adalah demi mereka sebetulnya.

supaya gue ga usah repot2 kirim email satu2, gue putusin untuk bercerita ke mereka lewat MP.

ternyata, setelah gue pulkam dari 3,5 tahun di Finlandia, gue denger dari mulut mereka sendiri bahwa selama itu mereka jarang banget buka MP gue. buka MP orang lain sih iya .

yaaa, gpp sih, masa’ gue mo maksain orang baca MP gue? hihihi…ga mungkin juga lah. klo emg isi MP gue ga menarik buat mereka, ya ga usah dibaca kali. but you get the irony, right?

pas balik ke Finlandia, yg gue tangisi adalah karna gue ga bisa lagi main2 sama Freya, jalan2 ke mall manaaa gitu sama kakak gue & nyokap. gue sedih tiap kali ngeliat pengunjung toko tempat gue kerja, yg adalah seorang ibu dan anak perempuannya (atau dua anak perempuannya) atau kakak adik perempuan, karna gue susah mengalami itu lagi: jalan2 sama keluarga, belanja ini itu..

gue ngga lagi menangisi bahwa gue ga bisa nelpon2 temen2 gue untuk curhat2an, dll..

jadi akhirnya gue sadar, bahwa temen2 pun bisa datang dan pergi di kehidupan kita (ga cuma pacar). saat kita udh berjalan di jalan hidup masing2, ya emg mungkin aja jalan itu udh ga searah dengan mereka yg tadinya adalah temen2 deket kita.

kalau mereka yg merasa dulunya adalah temen deket gue itu tiba2 membaca MP gue ini, semoga kalian ga tersinggung ya..gue ga marah loh, bener deh. dan gue harap kalian juga ngga marah . we can still go on different paths and still be friends, no matter what.

all in one day

toinen pikku koe
hari ini hari tes kecil kedua sekolah gue. hmm..out of 10 points, i’d say i managed to get 5 at least kali ini subyeknya grammar (klo di bahasa Inggris mungkin sebangsa in, at, on, into, to, dll) yg AMIT-AMIT SUSAHNYA BIKIN NANGIS TUJUH TURUNAN!!! *garuk2 tanah*

but well, i’m over it now, so yeah..whatever .

abis skolah, pulang bentar ke rumah untuk makan siang, trus lgs cabut lagi ke Hakaniemi, karna hari ini janjian ketemuan Rita, temennya Anne. selama ini walopun udh tinggal di satu negara, kita baru email2an doang, akhirnya hari ini ketemuan juga .

H&M loves crowd
pertama nyampe di Helsinki, masih ada waktu skitar 15an menit sbelom waktu janjian gue ketemu si Rita. akhirnya gue memutuskan untuk keliling2 Forum sbentar, particularly ke H&M..pengen liat koleksi Kylie Minogue-inspired yg baru (walopun ga punya duit). begitu masuk ke dalem tokonya, BUSET DAHHHH, ini H&M apa Pasar Senen pindah ke Helsinki yak? bener2 baju2 berhamburan di lantai, org2 sekota pada numplek di sana smua, tabrak sini dorong sana… ganas amat wanita2 ini klo lagi ada koleksi baru di H&M, especially koleksi para selebriti/desainer bangsanya koleksi Viktor & Rolf waktu itu, trus Madonna, and now Kylie Minogue.

alhasil gue cuma ngeliat barang2nya dari jauh (ada sih camisole smock yg lutu–non kylie collection, mind you—cuma tetep, ga punya duit..apalagi pas lagi baru mo liat, udh didorong sana sini sama cewe2 abege…), and gue pun telat nyampe Hakaniemi gara2 susah keluar dari H&M itu (saking ramenya!!)..ckckckck…next time i’m going shopping at H&M, i’ll do it in Sello instead.

es teler Helsingissä!
stelah ketemu Rita, mulailah kita berburu bahan makanan di toko2 Asia sekitar Hakaniemi. tadinya gue cuma mo beli sambal abc sama mie goreng (iya iya gue tau ga sehat, cuma it’s a good option to eat when we don’t really have that much money..lagian ditambah telor, sawi sama cabe juga lumayan kok)..ternyata pas sampe di Vii Voan, whuaaa…barang2nya menyenangkan dan mengundang smuaaa…

pertama kita nemu paket es teler instan!! satu lagi, paket es cendol instan! hihihi, tadinya si Rita kalap mo beli dua2nya, tapi berhubung agak mahal (1 pak buat 2 porsi..eh, apa 4 porsi ya, lupa..harganya 3 euro aja gitu) akhirnya dia beli es cendol..dan gue beli es teler! lalala..abis itu, geser dikit..nemu susu kental manis!! whua, gue lgs ambil tu kaleng, and Rita nanya, gue bisa pake buat apa..gue critalah buat makan puding ato ager2 (jadi flanya), ato buat bikin soda gembira…lgs dia ambil juga tu kaleng susu kental manis! hihihi..

jalan lebih jauh lagi ke dalem, tau2 nemu permen asem! huwaaaa…sangat tergiur untuk beli (1 euro 1 pak isi…brapa ya..30an butir kali), tapi akhirnya gue harus menahan diri..eeh, taunya gara2 denger gue suka, si Rita lgs ambil juga tuh permen asem LOL..katanya, klo tnyata dia ga suka, at least dia bisa kasih ke gue karna gue udh pasti suka permen asem, hihi..
abis itu, kita juga nemu bumbu2 instan masakan Indonesia (keluaran merk Belanda kyaknya), seperti: ajam rietja rietja (dari sinilah gue menebak bahwa ini adalah keluaran Belanda, abis bahasanya bahasa Indo tempoh doeloe gitu!), sambal pepes, ajam paniki (!!! patut dicoba buat kami penggemar masakan Manado!), dan sebagainya..saking paniknya sampe lupa apaan lagi ya? pokonya banyak deh..but since uang gue terbatas, jadi harus ditahan lagi deh niat kalap gue.

it’s a small Finland afterall
abis puas belanja di toko2 surgawi, akhirnya sudah waktunya kami kembali ke dunia nyata . pas lagi dalam perjalanan ke Rautatieasema, tau2 kok kyaknya ada yg manggil2 nama gue dgn panik…pas gue nengok, tnyata ada Rini sama bang Alip!! hahaha..ampun deh, kyaknya sering banget gue ketemuan seseorang yg gue kenal di Helsinki, klo ga Rini, ya Dian gitu..sayangnya karna gue udh dalam keadaan terburu2 ketemuan suami, dan gue & Rita udh kburu nginjek eskalator ke bawah (sedangkan Rini baru sampe di lantai atas) jadi ga sempet ngenalin Rita ke Rini deh..
gue & Rita pun berpisah di Rautatieasema, dan pastinya berjanji harusss ketemuan lagi buat blanja bahan2 makanan bareng2 lagi next time, and klo perlu masak bareng skalian, hahaha…

senengnya denger bhs Indonesia keluar dari mulut org asing
skarang gue tau knapa org Finland kyaknya menghargai bgt org2 asing yg berusaha ngomong bhs Finland..selain karna bhs Finland sndiri emg susah (makanya mereka sangat menghargai upaya org2 asing yg mau mencoba make bahasanya gituh!) juga karna emg saat kita mendengar org asing mencoba ngomong pake bahasa kita rasanya menyenangkan sekali .

si Rita emg bisa berbahasa Indonesia, karna dia pernah tinggal di Bandung slama setahun. i knew this fact already, but when i actually heard her speaking Indonesian, waaaa…rasanya antara bangga dan geli (loh kok??)..hihi, abis lucu aja, pertama2 kita ngobrol pake bhs Inggris dulu, abis itu gue nyoba2 pake bhs Finland dikit..eeh, akhirnya dia pun pake bhs Indonesia!

well, needless to say, i think Rita is a very nice person and i’m glad i can meet yet another Finn who’s nice & friendly . thanks bgt buat Anne yg udh memperkenalkan diriku dgnnya!!

ps. hari ini Espoo & Helsinki udh sampe 20 derajat loh!!! AKHIRNYA! KESÄ TULEE!!

banjir, beku, mie ayam, resepsi kawin, & tongseng (lagi)

Hari Jumat pagi, lagi enak2 pupi di kamar mandi, kudengar suara SMS dari HP-ku yg berada di meja komputer. Setelah menyelesaikan hak & kewajiban di kamar mandi, kuhampiri HP-ku..dan dikejutkan oleh berita dari suami: Jakarta banjir hebattt!!

Panik, gue lgs nyalain internet & ngecek berita dari berbagai sumber..beneran loh, banjirnya lebih mengerikan dari waktu taun 2002, waktu tape-cd player gue kerendem itu tuhhhh
Jangan2 skarang dia kerendem lagi deh..hix hix..bye bye tape-cd player-ku sayang..
Ahem. Anyway, enough about tape-cd player..what about my family?!?! Lgs gue sms nyokap gue..untungnya mreka baik2 aja, walopun selama Kamis-Jumat sempet ngalamin 2 kali airnya banjir masuk rumah mereka, but at least they’re all okay, the house is still standing, & electricity & clean water are still on. Fiuh. (Untuk cerita lengkapnya, kita tunggu blog entries dari para saksi hidupnya yah..klo ga nyokap, ya kakak gue gitu.)

Sehari sebelumnya, not knowing what will happen the next day (or the night), gue & suami asik2 nyari tempat yg tepat buat resepsi kawin kita yg akan diadakan di bulan … (belom tau tepatnya )..let’s just say, it’ll be sometime in Summer.

Dulu, sebelom tau bahwa bakal kawin ma org Finland, gue selalu berangan2 melangsungkan pernikahan di suatu tempat di Yogya, yg namanya Ulen Sentalu. Ya ya..itu emg tempatnya Katon Bagaskara nikah, tapi sumpah gue bukannya mo ngikutin seleb yak Seneng aja ngeliat halaman terbukanya, rerumputan, and in my mind i’ll be walking barefeet there, hawhawhawh..
Nah, pas gue bilang gitu ke keluarga/temen2 gue, mereka udh protes, kok jauh amat sih..knapa ga di …(masukkan nama2 taman/halaman terbuka di Jakarta)??
Bwahahaha..skarang rasanya gue pengen ktawa, mengingat resepsi kawinan gue bakal lebih jauh lagi, di Finland skalian!!! Hayo..mo bilang apa kalian?
But anyway, bukannya gue mo bilang “rasain” ke mereka kok..cuma ya, namanya juga resepsi kawinan gue ya..terserah gue mo di mana, bukan? Yg penting buat gue, namanya juga resepsi kawin, which will only happen once in my current lifetime, tempatnya ya udh pasti harus yg kerasa cocok buat gue & suami.
We’re not talking about some big fancy hall, with chandeliers, draperies hanging on the walls here and there, marble floors, 1000 invitees walking around in their best dresses & suits..
We’re talking about a nice atmospheric space, preferrably outdoor (cuma susahnya, di sini ga ada pawang ujan bo, klo tau2 ujan kan ga lucu), no stages for us (alias smua sama rata tingginya, hohoho), and the most important thing is that only our closest families-friends will be there.
Well, so far we’ve found the perfect place When we found it, we just know that it’s the right place for our wedding reception to be. Afterall, bukankah begitu juga yg kita alami pas ketemu “calon pasangan hidup kita” sebelum nikah? We just feel “this is it…it’s him/her i’m gonna spend the rest of my life with”.
Now, all we need to do is to go there, do our own survey on the spot, and if all goes well, book it (yg pasti, tempat ini udh ga bisa di-booking on all Sundays throughout Summer. Damn.)
Dan satu lagi yg bikin kepala gue puyeng: kapankah tepatnya ortu gue bakal dateng ke sini?? Gara2 banjir Jakarta, this one shall remain a mystery until ..God knows when .

Untuk menghibur diri, hari Minggu kemaren kita mencoba membuat tongseng ayam (ngga deng, ga ada hubungannya kali ). Minggu lalunya kita berhasil bikin tongseng sapi, makanya skarang kita sepakat untuk melakukan eksperimen terakhir ini.
Well, hasilnya, klo gue bilang sih..kurang sukses Ga tau apa harusnya tu ayam pas ditumis udh mesti pake kecap ato bumbu2 lainnya, yg pasti pas udh jadi..well, tongsengnya kurang beraroma. Ayamnya enak, empuk, kuah tongsengnya juga enak (walopun kurang pedes karna cabe yg gue dapet kali ini udh ketuaan..), cuma mereka ga kerasa seperti satu kesatuan aja gitu loh..
But still, suami gue nambah 3 kali (buset dah…doyan dia), and it remains a good option klo kita lagi pengen makan tongseng tapi ga punya cukup duit buat beli daging kambing/sapi.

Malemnya, tau2 si Dian sms..ngajakin ke rumahnya Rini hari Selasa (kmaren)..Hmm, tugas strikaan bakal slesai hari Senen, jadi Selasa gue ngga ngapa2in. So, gue stuju ikutan ke rumah Rini…
Ternyata, pas Senen malem gue nonton prakiraan cuaca buat hari Selasa..ga tanggung2, -18 derajat aja gituh!!

Akhirnya, Selasa pun tiba..pas keluar dari gedung apartemen, ternyata rasanya ga bgitu dingin (walopun termometer outdoor di rumah gue bilang -14 derajat)..begitu nginjek salju di jalan..kok kyaknya ada yg aneh…ternyata sodara2, salju yg biasanya lembut dan lucu itu telah membeku (iya, salju membeku! Gimana tuh coba), dan alhasil gue nyaris kepleset 5 kali (belom sempet kepleset sampe jatoh beneran kok, hehehe)..Licin bo!!
Begitu ketemu Dian di stasiun, dia pun menceritakan kejadian lucu versi dia di suhu segini: rambutnya yg baru dicuci sbelom dia pergi keluar rumah telah membeku .
Catatan: jangan coba2 keluar rumah dgn rambut basah di suhu -14 derajat.

Turun dari bis di depan mall deket rumah Rini, mulailah kita berjalan kaki ke rumah dia…Anehnya, rasanya kok dinginnya amit2 bujubuneng ya? Pipi gue rasanya beku, ujung2 jari kaki gue sampe mati rasa (padahal dibungkus kaoskaki & boots gue yg terbuat dari ..kulit buatan, spertinya..pokonya mestinya dia 80% kedap air & cuaca!). Pas ngeliat muka kita di cermin yg ada di dinding lift apartemennya Rini, rasanya aku tak percaya…pipi gue merahnya udh kyak ditampar Arnold Schwarzeneger (bodo amat deh gimana ngejanya)…belom pernah gue punya “semu pipi” sesegar ini tanpa bantuan make up!!
Stelah masuk ke apartemen Rini & ngeliat termometer outdoor dia, barulah misteri itu terpecahkan..ternyata pas kita lagi jalan ke rumah dia, suhu di luar udh sampe -19 derajat. Hore ga sih? (Nggak.)

To defrost ourselves, dgn baik hati si Rini nyuguhin teh panas, kue2 kering..dan:
Yes, it’s MIE AYAM!! Nyam nyam nyam..dia bikin sndiri loh..duh, ngeliat fotonya gue jadi laper lagi T__T

Yes, i did manage to get the recipe for this from her, tapi secara lisan, ga tertulis..dan bayangin/menginspeksi bahan2nya aja gue udh nyaris pingsan (karna pasti bakal MUAHALLLL di sini).
Coba gue bisa mengimport tukang mie ayam sama tahu gejrot ke sini T__T

Well, i’d better sign out now, udh waktunya makan sarapan (sarapan kedua, maksutnya)..Hari ini rencananya kita mo ke Helsinki, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to go to an Asian store there..aku mau beli terasiiiii!!! Klo uang ga cukup..yah, beli Indomie rebus rasa soto ayam kali, biar bisa mereplikasi soto ayam Indonesia (tinggal ditambah ayam, toge, daun bawang..trus makan pake nasi dehhhh) –> Catatan: belom pernah dicoba, jadi jangan diikutin yah..Ntar klo terjadi apa2, gue ga tanggung jawab .