Every day has its own story

Saya kangen martabak mie di tovas. Makanan itu sungguh sederhana dan tidak bergizi, hanya telor dadar yang dicampur dengan mie instan. Tapi saya sungguh kangen menikmatinya. Makanan itu mengingatkan keramahan Aak penjual Indomie, ramainya celoteh anak-anak kost, dan potongan banyak cerita dalam hidup saya. Maka jadilah kemarin sore, sepulang dari kampus, saya cepat-cepat membuatnya. Itung2 menghabiskan persediaan mie sedap rasa soto dan karie (saya cuma suka mie goreng). Cepat-cepat saya mengiris daun bawang, menyiapkan dua butir telur, dan sebungkus mie instan. Hmmm, baunya begitu menggoda. Dengan tergesa saya menggigit potongan pertama, auw panass. Potongan pertama, kedua, saya makan dengan lahap. Sampai kira-kira tinggal 1/4 sisanya. Oh well, saya tidak akan bisa menghabiskannya. Saya letakkan di meja makan, dan saya langsung tidur. Untuk sarapan besok. Pagi-pagi, menjelang berangkat ke kampus, saya berniat memanaskan martabak sisa semalam. Tapi ternyata martabak mie itu tidak hanya...

Aku menyerah sayang, aku tidak bisa membuatmu mencintaiku. Maafkan bila kata-kata ini menusukmu, menurutku seharusnya kau berusaha lebih keras untuk melupakannya. Dan sekarang giliranku untuk berusaha lebih keras melupakanmu, tidak seperti yang sudah-sudah.

Badly missing you ... Oh well :) ... * Tarik napasss, hembuskan .... *

Today was a mess. It was completely my fault, and really stupid, I messed everything up for the sake of 15 more minutes sleeping :p When I woke up this morning, I was really really sleepy. I looked at the window, it was raining outside. Imagine : a pillow, a warm blanket, raining outside :D I couldn't help myself to tolerate for 15 minutes sleeping. Instead of woke up and prepared to go to campus, I just turned my laptop on and send an e-mail to a colleague who had appointment with me : I will be there at 10, then I continued my sleep. Yeah, it was silly me. When finally I made to wake up, I was really in a rush. I should have one minute to dry my laundry, but it took several minutes. All of a sudden my laundry card couldn't be read :( . Oh well, I even couldn't finish my coffee because I want to catch a bus at 9.35, but I missed it by 1 or 2 minutes. Then I walked to another bus stop to catch another route - a campus shuttle bus. When finally I managed to arrive at the shu...

Tadi siang advisor saya mengeluhkan salah satu bimbingannya, seorang mahasiswa dari negara kaya minyak, yang menurutnya lebih memprioritaskan pulang kampung daripada mengerjakan research PhDnya. Well, if you already have everything, can you still expect the spirit to fight :) ? In some cases yes, but mostly no ... Selain demi prestise, ngapain juga dia susah-susah mengerjakan research :D? Tidak seperti saya dan beberapa mahasiswa lain dari negeri 'susah' yang memang harus berjuang buat kehidupan yang lebih baik :p *cieeee ...* Lain ladang memang lain belalang. Beda negara, beda pula karakter orang-orangnya. Well, mungkin itu salah satu keuntungan belajar di US, kita bertemu orang-orang dari berbagai belahan dunia. Selama bekerja di Jakarta, saya hanya memiliki sedikit kesempatan untuk berinteraksi dengan orang dari negara lain, itu pun mostly Asia - Singapore, Hongkong, dan Malaysia. Baru ketika di Pittsburgh, saya benar-benar bertemu dengan berbagai bangsa. Asik juga mendengar...

Beberapa hari terakhir ini, berita tentang PKI marak kembali. Saya membacanya di Detik.Com . Membaca statement-statement tentang indikasi kebangkitan PKI, timbul kegelisahan yang tidak jelas dalam pikiran saya. Untuk saya dan teman2 segenerasi, siapa sih yang lupa dengan film G30SPKI yang selalu diputar setiap tahun ketika Soeharto masih berkuasa? Saya tidak pernah berani menonton film ini sampai selesai (paling2 lima menit pertama, lalu saya cepat2 kabur ke kamar ;)) karena mengeksploitasi kekerasan secara vulgar. Tak hanya film itu, propaganda tentang PKI sebagai partai komunis yang melakukan pemberontakan harus kami hafalkan berulang-ulang untuk sekian banyak mata pelajaran yang menyebalkan itu (PSPB, IPS, mungkin juga PMP). Pengetahuan formal saya hanya sebatas tulisan di buku-buku itu. Sekilas saya ingat cerita alm. nenek saya tentang truk-truk bermuatan penuh orang yang lewat di depan rumah nenek saya di masa-masa pemberontakan G30SPKI. Entah ke mana truk-truk itu pergi, tapi ko...

I just received an e-mail from my old best friend, Susan, who is now adventuring somewhere in France. Reading her e-mail, I couldn't help myself to smile and remember the fool things we did and many thoughts we shared. Susan is a braver risk taker than me, who is never afraid to try something new. The most foolish thing we did together is watching a badminton tournament in Senayan then going back to her place in Depok in the middle of the night with "omprengan". Buset dah, I am sure that I don't have any guts to try that again :D She is one of my closest friends that really support me to fight for whatever I believe and whatever I want, even by doing the weirdest things in the world if needed. In reply to my feelings about life in Pittsburgh - which I describe as "not as challenging as my life in Jakarta", she quoted some sentences from Paulo Coelho's novel ... If we stop to give challenge to our life, then our life will stop challenge us. (Aduh San, to ...

Click the title to download or here to play . He's always on my mind From the time I wake up Till I close my eyes He's everywhere I go He's all I know And though he's so far away It just keeps getting stronger everyday And even now he's gone I'm still holdin' on So tell me where do I start 'Cause it's breakin my heart Don't wanna let him go Maybe my love will come back someday Only heaven knows And maybe our hearts will find a way Only heaven knows And all I can do is hope and pray 'Cause heaven knows My friends keep telling me That if you really love him You've gotta set him free And if he returns in time I'll know he's mine So tell me where do I start 'Cause it's breaking my heart Don't wanna let him go Maybe my love will come back someday Only heaven knows And maybe our hearts will find a way Only heaven knows And all I can do is hope and pray 'Cause heaven knows Why I live in despair 'Cause wide awake or dr...

Arrrghh, I got bored with all daily routines. Works, class, homeworks. Better to take a break I guess :D Last Sunday I had lunch with a few friends in my advisor's home, who has a 6 years old son called Darma. No different from other kids, Darma seemed quiet and shy when we first met, then changed into an energic boy with many funny stories to tell us. One of the interesting story he told us is about his school project to grow a pet from an egg. He showed us his pets, a couple of frogs placed inside a glass box similar to aquarium. With great enthusiasm, he also told us about the other pet that he had for his project: the project to grow bugs. "The bug's egg consists of two parts, orange and black. Those two parts always come together. I don't know why, but probably the one is female and the other is male." Amazed, I couldn't take my eyes off Darma. I remember my uncle's grand-son backhome in Jakarta. His name is Rezon, but I usually call him Adek. Darma a...

Picture taken from gudeg.net Dear Mita, Gempa bumi beberapa hari yang lalu bikin ciut nyali warga Yogya. Bayangkan, bumi berguncang-guncang selama kira-kira 1 menit. Aku bersama-sama Bu Nanik, Bu Lastri, Bu Heni, dan Intan baru habis dandan untuk nikahannya Ilud. Baru saja pake konde. Lha kok grag grug grag grug. Bu Lastri teriak-teriak manggil Tuhan Yesus :D, Bu Heni lari cincing. Aku langsung sms kamu. Tuhan melindungi kita. Pemberkatan nikahnya Ilud akhirnya di pelataran rumah saja. Kasihan banget Ilud dan Yoyok, tapi gimana lagi, gereja Kalasan agak miring karena gempa. Pengantin yang cantik nyaris gak tersenyum. Selesai misa aku dan Om Didik ambil sate, tiba-tiba banyak orang lari-lari naik truk, naik motor, lampu hidup, smua dari barat lari ke timur dan ke utara. Lha ada apa ? "Air, air, sudah sampai IAIN". Hah, tsunami? Masak? Kan Jogja 113 m di atas permukaan air laut? Semua orang lari ke arah Cangkringan, padahal kan itu daerah 'Awas Merapi'. Emak dan Tante T...