My Mom is a Super Mom

Kurang lebih sebulan sudah kami pindah ke rumah sendiri. Farid, maminya dan baknya beserta tantenya resmi menghuni rumah baru kami.
Bagaimana perasaan Mami Farid?

Aaaaakkkk, I'm nothing like my mom. :( Ibu saya yang dulu beranak 4, susun paku, bekerja full-time sebagai guru dan di rumah tidak ada asisten rumah tangga hands-down merupakan seorang super mom. Beliau mampu mengurus keluarga besarnya itu sendiri tanpa pernah terlambat datang ke sekolah setiap harinya.

Ibu saya benar-benar sendiri lho. Mertua jauh di desa. Ibunya apalagi, lebih jauh lagi di propinsi yang berbeda. Tidak ada pengasuh. Baby-wearing jadi andalan tentunya. Ibu bercerita betapa saya (dan saudara saya juga pastinya) "dipakai" di punggung beliau dengan kain gendong. Bagaimana tidak. Pekerjaan rumah harus dikerjakan. "Tidak ada ceritanya ibu seperti kamu, yang menghabiskan waktunya dengan bermain dengan Farid. Mana ada waktu". Huhuhuhuhuhu... Ibuuu, I love you.

Sedangkan saya? Ahhhhh, maluuuuuuuuuu.... :'( Saya sekarang masih beruntung ada tante Farid yang bisa membantu mengasuh. Itupun saya masih keteteran untuk bisa datang tidak terlambat setiap pagi dan pekerjaan masak memasak beres. :((

Kacau banget, ya? Harus diperbaiki manajemen waktunya, nih. Baiklah, bulan kedua harus lebih baik. Apalagi tante Farid akan segera merantau sesudah lebaran. Pengasuh, pengasuh, dikau harus kucari kemana? TPA kah alternatifnya? Hiks...

Dealing with Unrequited Crush :drafted

It is 2015 and i am reviewing my posts, deleting the unclear and too personal rants. Then i found this old post  in draft and i thought i want to cherish this post. This determination. So here it is. oh, Fyi, i totally got over him.



Again, this is another diary entry. I wrote this so that one day I can reread and smile remembering my feelings at this moment. If Blogger doesn't ever suddenly delete this blog, that is. :)
----
Sad but yeah, recently I just have experienced having my first serious unrequited crush. Why serious? This time the feeling developed within my three weeks of being in the same space with him was quite deep and i've been having a hard time to get over it.

I even considered confessing to him so that I would get an outright rejection. Surely direct rejection will make me get over him, I thought.
One friend gave green light to this idea. Another friend not so much, because girls don't confess, you know. Boys do that, not girls. Some boys hate aggressive girls. When i explained that the purpose is as above, i.e. to get over him, she said reluctantly i could try. He he
Truth is, although i believe there is nothing wrong with girls confessing, I did not have enough courage to do it. Ha! I could not muster the strength to face a rejection. :D
Boys are much much better at coping with rejection than girls, I assume. That's why they're the ones who mostly do the confessing. He he.

Finally, after some three weeks from the last meeting with him, I posted this on my FB:
'will forget him tomorrow. I'm 90% over my unrequited crush so i think tomorrow my heart will be free.'
Or something like that. I don't really remember anymore the exact words and the post was deleted on the said tomorrow after serving its purpose.

I posted it to seal my promise to my self. If I tell people, i won't back down from the plan.

It worked. I am over him 99,9% now.
I'll just let the 0,1 % of the crush die through time. Time heals all wounds, right?
And he, my crush, had never shown any interest in me at all. No secretly-staring-at-me. No effort to talk to me. So my crush is a lost cause and I'm not that stubborn to hang on to a lost cause. :D
It'll die in no time. ;)

Kan Sudah Bayar

Ini cerita yang saya rasa banyak terjadi tapi masih perlu usaha terorganisir dan konsisten untuk bisa memperbaikinya.

Siang ini, Dian mampir ke salah satu mobil penjual buah.
Dian : Jeruknya berapaan, pak?
Pedagang jeruk pun sigap mempromosikan kemanisan jeruk itu dan memberikan satu buah sbg sampel. Ternyata memang manis dan Dian pun memutuskan membeli. Memilih jeruk sambil memegang sampah dr sampel jeruk tadi merepotkan jadi saya tanya ke penjual, ada tempat sampah nggak.
Pak : Buang disini aja. (menunjuk ke jalan)
Dian : Lha, ya jangan.
Pak : Buang aja, gak papa. Kan sudah bayar.
Dian : Iya ya? (tapi bahasa tubuh Dian jelas-jelas menunjukkan ketidaksetujuan akan praktek buang sampah di jalan jadi akhirnya si bapak memberikan kantong plastik kecil yg sepertinya memang sdh diisi sedikit sampah)

Dian ingin berujar, "Nah, kan, bisa di kantong plastik aja. Walaupun sudah bayar, bukankah jalan akan dibersihkan di sore hari nanti saat semua orang pergi? Lantas apa sepanjang hari kita harus rela melihat pemandangan tidak sedap: sampah berserakan di jalan?"
Tapi yang namanya Dian, msh harus belajar utk menjadi assertif. Ujaran di atas hanya terucap dalam hati, tapi who knows, mungkin si bapak bisa sedikit mengerti. :)

Wahai saudara sebangsaku, begitu beratkah bertanggung jawab atas sampah sendiri? Beratkah menahan utk menyimpan sementara sampah permen dll dlm tas, bukan dibuang lewat jendela angkot?
Nggak kan, yaaa. We are responsible people! Eh, iya kan? ;)

Tentang 'dianbetul'

Saya sering dapat komentar atau pertanyaan tentang nama 'dianbetul'. Bahkan pernah dapat email yang menyapa saya dengan: "Dear Mrs. Betul".
How amusing! LOL.
Cerita sebenarnya begini.

Nama 'dianbetul' muncul disebabkan oleh dua faktor.
1. sifat pelupa saya
2. komentar temen kuliah S1 saya, LN.

Saya punya nama julukan, katakanlah Namajul, yang dulu saya pakai untuk ID email saya. [Namajul ini cuma dipakai oleh keluarga dari pihak Bapak saya saja]. Ada temen kuliah LN yang bertanya, Namajul itu artinya apa. Saya jawab, saya tidak tahu juga. Kurang jelas asal muasalnya. Muncul dari masa kecil saya. Lantas dia berujar, Namajul itu artinya dian betul. Dian yang betul (atau semacamnya lah, saya lupa persisnya). Ha ha.. saya (kami) tertawa saja saat itu.

Eh, suatu ketika saya yang pelupa lupa password email saya. Terpaksa cari nama ID baru, dong. Berhubung saya suka nama julukan saya itu, teringatlah saya dengan komentar LN dan jadilah 'dianbetul' ID saya untuk hampir semua akun online saya, termasuk alamat blog ini.

There. Sederhana, kan? :)

Most Received Comment

After being more or less two weeks home, let’s check out some comments I received the most.

The most received comment is “Ouw, you’ve gained some weight (a.k.a. become fatter)”.
My response has always been a “yes” plus a smile since I do know my cheeks have become so round.
I also DO want to get rid of few kilos but come on, people! :P I am not that fat…;)

I wonder now. It is still one and a half month to go, here at home, where all those missed foods are available easily.
Imagine, I will receive the same comment when I’m back in Amsterdam! LOL. :D

Well, well, at least when I’m back I will get the opposite of my third most received comment, “You’re fairer (skin color) now”.

He he he..

________________________
By Fatter Fairer Dian

I have a bird!

One day, I went to Ooster Park with the intention to feed some birds. I brought several slices of bread and when I got there I looked around for some nice spot with some "nice" birds. I didn't want to go to the bird-crowded area. You know what I mean, the one you see when you enter the park from tram 9 stop.

After a while, I decided a location. There was a fat bird near the water so at first I threw away several bits of bread. After some bits of breads I wanted to see if the birds (there were two now since his/her friend came along) would take bits of bread directly from my hand.
The friend (slimmer) was too afraid but the first bird after some hesitation and my encouragement did it.
He/she took the bread directly from my hand! Yay!

To make the story short, today I didn't feel like going home so I bought some chocolate bread and zalm salade and ate it in the Ooster park. My fave chair was taken so I took the nearest one to my fave and started eating.
Huaa!
A bird came to me, the same fat bird was walking towards me! Close to my feet!
After recovering from my happy shock, I took some bits of my bread and fed him/her from my hand.
S/he took it without slightest fear or hesitation.

SO, I declare now that s/he is MY bird.
Ha! :D
I don't have a cat, but I have a bird. I cannot touch it (yet, i hope :D ) but that's fine.

I have a bird. Oh, wow! :)
Have to think of his/her name. Oh, and whether it's a she or a he. :D

My bird! I like the sound. Here's the pic.

P.S. You might say it might not be the same bird. Nooo, I am sure it is. It's unusually fat and I have two other proofs. First, the second visit was in the same place and second, his/her friend (yes, that slimmer friend) also came along after some time and was still too afraid to take bread from my hand. Yup, the same bird indeed.

Cats Care

My tom cat, Tommy, died last year.
I took him to the vet but I wish I had read the article in this link.

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/how-to-treat-a-cat-that-has-an-abscess.htm

I think he survived this abscess but then he got ill again and I wasn't there to take him to the vet.
I was out of town and so..
How I still blame some people and myself for this!

"Cycling Dinner" at Sarphati

We had a "cycling" dinner last night.
No, it has nothing to do with bikes.
The title refers to your having starter, main course, and dessert at different rooms.

I prepared two desserts : klepon (Ha!) and banana pudding. Here's how it went.

It's always nice if people like what you have made and klepon (my second time serving it to non-Indonesians) never fails me. :)
I put too much water in the dough though, so the result was too soft. Fortunately, the weather here (is it?) solved the problem. By the time the klepon has to be served, it has hardened a bit to almost perfect hardness (not too soft, not too hard).

The banana pudding was not bad, but it wasn't really good. I don't really like it. I think the taste depends much on the quality of the thick cream and finding the cream was not too easy. I looked at Albert Heijn and found slagroom without 471 but I decided to see if I could find the cream in a Turkish shop.
I did finally bought the cream in the Turkish shop (more expensive than AH's cream) but I think it didn't taste good. Maybe it's not the thick cream I was supposed to look for. I don't know, I can't understand what's written on it. Maybe I should've used the slagroom from AH, it might make the pudding taste better.
Here's the link to the recipe (in Bahasa Indonesia), if anyone is interested.

http://www.resepnugraha.net/resep/detail/?no=290

This recipe was not my first choice. I am not used to food with creams. I am a humble Indonesian from a simple family. Our cookies don't use thick cream.

I do want to make a fruit pudding but actually I prefer Pumpkin pudding :
http://gudangresepku.blogspot.com/2007/12/puding-labu-parang.html

However, this recipe needs a steamer, which I don't have.

I should've just made it as a usual pudding though. You know, boil it with many other things. :)
The thought crossed my mind but..........

Well, I'll make it for myself. I already have the pumpkin like a week ago. :)

Anyway, upon reflecting (What a word! :D),
why do I bother cooking for such an (sorry) unimportant thing?
Well, meeting your neighbours through a dinner is nice. I like this way of meeting friends.
We can eat (He he) and TALK peacefully and decently.
I don't like parties here (There is a party after the cycling dinner which I didn't attend) because it involves much drinking and just because I'm not into that kind of thing.

One more thing, I just like to try out recipes. Just like Lebaran day, this dinner gives me an occasion and reason to try out recipes.
I'll definitely make a pumpkin pudding. :)

Lend me your wings, Birds. I want to Fly home!

Ah, aku ingin pulang.
Kakakku satu-satunya insyaAllah menikah dalam hitungan jam dan aku tidak bisa datang.

Ah, aku ingin terbang pulang.
Tak bisa mendarat pun tak mengapa, cukup melayang di luar jendela dan memandang.

Ah, aku tak bisa pulang.
Sedihnya tak kepalang tapi do'aku semoga datang.

Belajar Mengambil Keputusan

Mengambil keputusan selalu saja merupakan masalah yang tidak ringan bagiku.
Takut salah, ragu-ragu, bolak-balik, plin-plan, sangat tergantung pada pendapat orang lain, sampai akhirnya meminta orang lain untuk mengambilkan keputusan buatku sering kali kualami.
Kadang aku benar-benar benci pada diri sendiri. Sudah setua ini, tapi masih juga belum dewasa.
[Halah, benci pada diri sendiri, my another issue. :) ]

Jadi, aku putuskan untuk ... well..., just do it. Make a decision and then learn to cope with whatever results I will get.

So I did.

I decided to take the 200 euros Dutch-course at INTT-UvA, even though I just heard that there is a free Dutch course provided by a foundation and the municipality.
Even though I will need to use that 200 euros to save for a ticket home.
Aku sudah bolak-balik memikirkan hal ini.
Ada pro dan kontra yang tentu udah masuk pertimbangan. (I won't tell it here)
Apa keputusan ini tepat? I don't know.
I have decided and I'll bear the consequences.
Kalo ternyata tidak tepat, aku putuskan untuk yah... menjadikan kesalahan ini sebagai pembelajaran.

I decided to not take the Applied Statistics course that I'm interested in.
Lagi, aku jungkir balik hanya untuk memutuskan hal ini. (Can you believe it?)
I really want it. I do!
But then I decided I don't need it. So I let it go.
Lagi, ada pro dan kontra yang aku pertimbangkan.
Lagi, apa keputusan ini tepat? I don't know.
Aku masih kecewa akan keputusan ini. (Yes, I am dissappointed, even though it was my decision)
But again, I have decided and I'll bear the consequences. And I'll learn from whatever comes out of this decision.

Hmm, mengambil keputusan selalu saja menjadi masalah yang tidak ringan bagiku.

So I decided to just... do it. Decide things for myself. For my life. Not depend too much on others.

Okay now, to end this not-so-useful-writing, here is a nice quote.

“A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion”

Chinese Proverbs quotes

My Winter Break Starts Today

Finally, my long awaited holiday starts today.
First impact of it is the changes of this blog. Aha!
I added some gadgets here, including wikipedia and youtube search.
I also added my profile. Ehm.. Ehm..

Talking about holiday, one thing I notice immediately is that my fellow Stuneders start traveling all around Europe. It is too big an opportunity to miss maybe.
And I could only envy them.
This winter break holiday, I will only explore Amsterdam and its free attractions. Ha! :)

Still about holiday, I definitely agree with the idea of traveling around the world as much as you can.
I remember one memorable time during my process coming here.
I came across a national newspaper while waiting in a high local government official's office and found this phrase - a quote from a famous person I don't remember now-
" Dream. Explore. Conquer."
The newspaper that day actually had a traveling around the world-including Europe- feature! It felt like a sign that it was my destiny to come here.

Exaggerating, isn't it?
Nevertheles, "Dream. Explore. Conquer." still sounds as beautiful as it was in my ears.

Statistics dan English

Kok di kelas statistik, bahasa Inggrisku hancur lebur ya?
Bingung.
Memang kemampuan speaking-ku jauh dari sempurna, tapi di kelas statistik, bahasa ingrisku bener2 ancur.

Bikin ga pede aja ngomong dalam English.

I like Amsterdam ?

Gak tau apa karena lagi simply happy or whatever, aku sekarang sampai ke titik dimana aku tdk lagi banyak mengeluh atau memprotes dinginnya cuaca di sini.

Bayangkan, hari Minggu kemaren, suhu mungkin 7 derajat atau kurang, aku bersepeda menyusuri sungai Amstel 3 jam!
Can you believe it?
Aku, yang selalu bilang ke temen2 disini, "I'm so slow. I should go now unless I'm gonna be late.", yang selalu mengeluh Belanda terlalu dingin, bisa tahan bersepeda 3 jam di cuaca yg dingin bgt....

Sejak senin lalu, Amsterdam mulai berkabut.
Dan kemaren parah banget. Seharian berkabut.
Dan aku masih kuat make sepeda (dgn kecepatan yg masih slow, lagi).

Wow,so, Amsterdam is not too bad anymore, huh? ... (Bisa dilihat di shot-out friendster ^_^)

I can say I'm starting to like it.

he he, atau mungkin komentar barusan kepagian, karena musim dingin yg resmi dimulai bentar lagi bisa memutar balikkan komentar barusan. Ha!

Caffeine & Bladder

Yesterday, I drank one cup of coffie met melk and 2 cups of cappuccino at AMSTEL institute around 11 a.m. before my multimedia class.
It really wasn't coffie, since it contained milk and I put 2 packs of sugar and one pack of cream in each cups. It's more like eating sugar. (which is as bad :p)
Anyway, the result was I had to go to the toilet 3 times during 1 and 3/4 hours multimedia class and of course, sleepiness just refused to come last night.
Though it was kind of good 'coz I haven't finished my homework that is due today, still, being awake until 2 a.m. is not good for your health.

I finally managed to force myself to sleep after lying on my bed for I-don't-know-how-many minutes.

Summary:
- Just stuck to chocolate milk.
- Drink lots of coffie if you haven't finished your tomorow-due homework.
- Don't drink coffie if drinking coffie is not your habit.
- Here's a link to wikipedia for bad effects of caffeine in coffie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

ENGLISH BLUNDER

" And how do you find this course?"
"....Internet, searching"

Gubrak..
Beberapa detik setelahnya dan setelah melihat ekspresi si dosen, aku tersadar.
Oops, I did it again. (English blunder)

Pelajaran nih, buat kalian yang membaca tulisan ini, bahwa pertanyaan di atas beda dengan yang berikut ini :

"How do you find out about this course?"

Ah, sudahlah. Herannya si dosen kok gak mengulangi pertanyaannya.
Menyerahkah dengan bahasa Inggrisku yang payah?

He he he..........

Sebagai catatan, dari 9 orang siswa, 2 mahasiswa Indonesia lah yang paling kacau Inggrisnya..
Siswa India? Afrika? Their English is great!

Ayo dong, semua yang berkecimpung di pendidikan bahasa Inggris, belajar dari India dan Afrika.