Every day has its own story

Benarkah argumentasi dengan orang tua itu salah satu milestone kedewasaan juga? Begitu kata my dear friend ... My dad and my mom are two very different persons. My dad is very quiet, rarely discuss serious stuff directly to me. Maybe it's a cultural thing because he was raised in Javanese tradition. Although he is not perfect, he is one of the nicest men that I know. My mom ~ on the other hand ~ is very outspoken, maybe because she is not Javanese. She is very argumentative. The combination of those two personality inherits in me ~ I was born stubborn, yet tend to avoid conflict as much as possible. But sometimes, there is no other way than to face the different opinions ... I can't say anything more than this ...

Mau pulang! Gak peduli dengan debugging yang tidak berujung! Grasping a lil bit of summer sunshine ... Sejenak melarikan diri :)

Butterflies in the stomach are back. Will it last?

When Iis asked whether I'd like to join a traditional Indonesian dancing ~ Balinese, I was hesitated. Last time I did Balinese dance was in Nyoman Gunarsa's Sanggar Dewata around 1989. I started dancing Balinese at age 4 when I saw my older cousins dancing, so I told my mom that I wanted to dance. Wrong decision :p! My mom enjoyed bringing me to the dance club, more than I enjoy dancing, and I was stuck for more than 6 years :p I knew that I wasn't talented, but she just didn't let me quit no matter how much I begged, hahaha. I finally quit because I needed to study more to prepare for Ebtanas (I know, I know it's such a lame excuse, hehehe) . Never crossed my mind that I would dance again. First because I didn't enjoy it, second because I am not talented. When finally I say yes, I'll come, I thought it would be the first and last time :) But I was wrong. It's fun and I enjoy it. This time is different because my mom doesn't tell me to do the dancing...

Author : Allison Winn Scotch Publisher : Shaye Areheart Books, NY. Year : 2008 What if we could go back to back to a previous period of your life? Would you see things differently thus made different decisions ? What today would be, if we did make a different decision? Though a friend of mine said that only today matters, sometimes I couldn't help thinking of it. Apparently, I am not the only person :) Jillian has a perfect husband, lives in a nice suburb, and spends her days to be a good house-wife and a good mother. But who knows that she felt empty inside? As her husband's rising career demands him to travel a lot, their marriage is getting dry. She starts wondering a lot of "what if" that might happen if she had chosen a very different path. Would she have a good career instead of doing the laundry and trying to make her house spotless? Would she end up with Henry if she didn't leave Jack ~ her ex ? She finally got a chance to answer those questions when she s...

Pernah kuberharap akan menemukanmu kembali di masa depan. Ketika kenangan masa muda menjadi kembang gula yang manis rasanya, dan kita tertawa bersama menikmatinya. Namun apa yang kutemukan kini sungguh berbeda. Album tentang kita kutemukan di dasar kotak lamaku, tersimpan berdebu, terlihat usang dan begitu tua. Dan harapan itu hanya menjadi kenangan bahwa aku pernah berharap. Karena seperti dunia, kita pun semakin tua, dan jalan kita menjadi semakin berbeda. Entah untuk apa dan kepada siapa kutuliskan kalimat-kalimat tak berkesudahan ini. Mungkin untuk sepotong bayang sempurnamu. Ya, aku melukiskan mu dengan sempurna. Tentu saja tak nyata, tapi tak apa. Ah, lagi-lagi aku mengigau.

Welcome to the world Mikaela Theona Christabel! I wish I can visit you very soon :)

When we were not even ten years old, we looked at the world with amazement. Grown up people looked weird and whatever they did seemed strange for us. We had our joyful and playful world. There was a small room behind my grandpa's room. It was full of old books, newspapers, and magazines. For them it's just trash, for me it's hidden treasure, and I spent the whole day there reading. When we were teens, we were confused with all the changing. Our body changed, they way we think changed, the world seemed so confusing. We tried to deal with that, but failed a lot. We weren't a kid anymore, but not yet an adult. So many times I argued with my mom. She didn't like my friends, she didn't like the boy who had crush on me. I just couldn't understand why only school matters for her. When we were twenties, we stood up bravely. We wanted to conquer the world. Everything looked perfect, or would be perfect. People come and go, friends, boyfriends, co-workers. But did it ...

There's nothing special about this photo. I took it while I jogged/walked around Valley Forge Park. As summer already passed, I miss the park so much :|

Thanks to Albert, Fina, Teka, Tata, & Andy to help me moving to Collegeville two weeks ago. It's not a luxury apartment, not even have my own garage or washer n dryer, but it's more than enough for me :) Finally, I have my own place. Not renting a room in somebody's house or living with a friend anymore ...

Twilight Stephenie Meyer Little, Brown, and Company Paperback, 2006. 498 pages Fork was a small town with the most rainy days where Bella Swan lived with his dad after her mother was remarried. The Cullens was a strange family in the town, with strangely beautiful pale faces, whom people gossiping as a family of vampires. Yet Bella couldn’t resist to fall into Edward, the youngest of the Cullens. As written at the back cover of the page, she was insanely in love with this gorgeous vampire. About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. Her love affair reminds me of insane naive puppy love belongs to every teenager. Where nothing matters but today, and when love requires nothing but itself. While I didn’t find strong plot and characters as in Harry Potter, yet something keeps ...

In my conversation today with one of my female co-worker, she told me how hard it is to be a female engineer and a mother at the same time. I admit it whole-heartedly. She is just two year older than me, has been working in this company for more than four years as an automation engineer, and also a mother of one and a half years old daughter. Not like in Indonesia where we can afford maid to do household work, families in US do not usually have that kind of luxuries. So becoming a working mother really means a double job, that a woman has to work at least 8 to 5 everyday, then rushing to take her daughter from day-care (who charge a late fee of $10/minutes if parents pickup their kids later than 6 pm), preparing dinner for whole family, etc, etc. Even worse, the 8 to 5 schedule is sometimes just not enough. Like today, we have to work on weekend to get jobs done on time. The nature of our industry also requires traveling to customer sites within US, from West Coast to East Coast. Even ...

Tadi siang temen gw tiba2 nanya gini, "Do you miss Indonesia ? Or you just miss your family ?" Gw sempet diem sebelum njawab. Bukannya gw nggak kangen Indonesia, tapi gw nggak bisa ngedeskripsiin apa yang benernya gw kangenin.

Last week everything turned out alright :) Jumat siang, dengan restu teman2 kantor :p gw cabut dari kantor, walaupun area leader gw ngajakin meeting buat next recipe, tapi dia bilang "Go ahead and don't worry about the meeting, you better get your license today :p" . Jam 12.30an, gw dijemput sama orang dari driving school, dan ngebutlah kita ke DMV Norristown ngejar ujian jam 2 siang. Gw deg2an banget, apalagi karena udah gagal 1x. Kalau gw fail lagi, means that I screw everything up. Karena in the next four weeks para tebengan bakalan cabut ke site di Oregon (gak mungkin kan gw jalan 2 mile ke kantor), kontrak apartment gw habis akhir September dan gw harus cari apartment baru, dan ada chance gw bakalan dikirim ke Oregon juga (walaupun bukan shift pertama). Tapi above it all, hidup tergantung sama orang lain itu sucks. Gw gak bisa bebas ke mana-mana, gak bisa cari kegiatan dan temen2 sendiri (temennya ya cuman temen dari temen gw), gak ada social life sama sekali. Nyampe...

I am trying to tell myself that I am going to be OK . That I won't fail again, yes, I am going to pass the driving license test this Friday. I will make it. I will make it. I just need to take a deep breath, and no need to worry about little stuffs. Yep, I am going to get my license this Friday, so this weekend will be a perfect time to buy a car! Remember Mita, just think about the car you've always wanted. Just think that you'll be able to drive to countryside, don't let anything bother you. You know that you can do that, you only need to be a lil bit calmer.

When I was a little girl, I heard a lot of stories about far-away lands from my mother. She told me stories that she got from my father's letters when he was away. Our family was apart for four years. My father went to school to Montpelier, France while my Mom raised my brother and me in Yogyakarta. Every other year Dad visited us, brought a lot of books and pictures home. Pictures of Versailles, Lourdes, Marseilles, Spain, and a lot more. He told us many stories, brought me from our little home to those countries, although only in imagination. Since that day, I convinced myself that someday, when I grow up, I will see those places with my own eyes :) About twenty some years later, my turn came. I stand here, a few thousand miles away from home. About once a week I call home, talked to my parents about this place. About the harsh winter in Pittsburgh, about my new town near Philadelphia, about my new job. I might not be here if my father never brought me those pictures, told me st...

Belakangan banyak orang nanya ke gw, benernya kerjaanmu itu ngapain sih :D ? Yang nanya mulai dari orang yang cuman kenal online, sampe Shirley, my best female friend in Austin :D, hahaha. Shirley aja nanya, gimana yang laen :p Taruhan bokap nyokap gw gak tau gw kerja di perusahaan apa, hihihi :p Most of the time I can not explain it clearly :p, sampai tadi pun pas harus ngirim resume buat apply permanent position, hiring managernya telpon gw nyuruh gw benerin section job desc gw yang sekarang, hahaha. *Yes, finally they say that they're willing to hire me permanently :)* So, what am I actually working on? They call me "recipe writer/recipe author" Too bad it's not food recipe as you might have in mind. Stuff that so called recipe here is manufacturing work-flow in pharmaceutical / life science industry. Imagine that in order to make a drug there are a lot of highly-regulated processes involved, like: preparing equipments, making sure equipments are clean and sterile...

Selamat ulang tahun Sofi , maaf telat :D. Kemaren tante sibuk sih, sibuk jalan-jalan ke Pittsburgh, hahaha. Pake acara ketinggalan bis dan ketiduran di kereta pula (almost missed the station :p ) Anyway, semoga Sofi cepet gede, tambah pinter, tambah centil seperti mama, dan sehat selalu. Jangan nakal ya, hmmm, I am wondering kalau mamanya bandel begitu apa mungkin Sofi tar gedenya jadi anak manis, hehehe. Tar kalo udah gede, moga2 mamanya Sofi nggak galak-galak, hihihi. *wink-wink* Peluk cium, Tante Mita, yang belum pernah nengokin Sofi.

This is my numero-uno weakness. Once I am nervous, I am falling apart :) There's been many occasion where nervousness has brought me to failure or at least uncomfortable situations ... Long long time ago, when I was still in Jakarta, there were countless interviews that I couldn't get through because I was nervous and thus being less confident :|, takes me five years to finally can face interviews with nothing to loose mentality, get a potential descent job (I didn't take the offer finally). This nervousness and low confident made some people took advantages of me, including some random people like the one who rent my Cibinong home and my previous landlord. About three weeks ago, my company had an internal audit. As a newest team member - plus the fact that I am only a contractor, obviously I am the target of the auditors. Oh well, I was being picked up to get audited, could not answer some questions straight-forwardly, and finally became the "celebrity of the day...

Masihkah tajam dan pahitkah humormu? Seperti asap rokok dan teman kopi kentalmu? Masih sayukah matamu? Menyimpan bentang tak terduga yang tak pernah bisa kutebak. Masih pula kah kau menyisakan waktu untuk buku-buku, atau hanya debu kamarmu sajalah yang menemani lembar-lembar kertas itu? Aku rindu pada cerita yang ada di tumpukan bukumu. Aku rindu pada pahitnya humormu, sepahit caramu memandang dunia. Tapi sudah, cukup di situ saja rinduku. Sudah cukup seribu satu rindu kukatakan tempo hari. Maka hari ini, rindu ku cukup berhenti pada kenangan saja lah.

Dear sobat lama, Sekarang semuanya terasa lebih ringan. Jalan di depanku masih saja tampak tak berujung, tapi kujalani saja, tanpa mencoba menyusuri jejak langkah di belakangku. Menengok ke belakang sih masih, tapi hanya satu dua detik, dan setelah napas panjang, kulanjutkan kembali perjalananku. Kunikmati setuntasnya perjalanan ini, hal-hal remeh temeh yang ada sehari-hari. Ada sahabat lama yang selalu mensupport-ku, teman-teman sekerja yang membuatku tertawa, teman-teman baru yang banyak membantuku akhir2 ini. Ada pula hiburan-hiburan kecil dan liburan-liburan singkat, yang semuanya membuat hidup terasa lebih ringan. Tentu saja aku tak luput dari masalah. Belum sempat kuceritakan tentang landlord brengsek dan keputusan mendadakku untuk pindah apartment, $$$ yang melayang karena aku kurang hati-hati, rencana ke depan yang tampaknya harus diubah total, dan daftar panjang yang harus kulakukan dalam tiga bulan ke depan : kursus menyetir, mengurus sim, mencari apartment baru (lagi!), pack...

Dear sahabat, Masihkah ingat pondok di tebing bukit tempat kita bertualang di masa muda kita dulu? Bukit cantik dengan birunya laut yang terbentang di hadapan kita. Bukit yang nyaris membuatku menyerah. Kau tahu sendiri betapa buruknya kakiku + keseimbangan badanku, dan berapa banyak ledekan yang kuterima dari mantan pacarmu ketika ia melihatku jatuh terguling-guling di Tangkuban Perahu. Sialan :) Seminggu yang lalu, kenangan itu tiba-tiba menyeruak ketika aku mendaki bukit tandus yang garang dan sombong ini. Enchanted rock , begitu orang menyebutnya. Awalnya aku tak mengerti, apa pula yang menawan dari bukit ini. Hanya seonggok batu jelek, jauh sekali dibandingkan bukit cantik di tepi pantai itu. Dengan nafas yang hampir putus karena berbulan-bulan tak olahraga, dan gengsi yang tak bisa di-diskon karena teman-teman sudah jauh di depanku, akhirnya kupanjat juga si batu yang sombong itu :) Dan terbayarlah rasa lelah yang kurasakan seperti sembilan tahun yang lalu ... Lihat, anggap saja ...

Sometimes we're too busy with our problems, making them look bigger and harder than what they're supposed to be. Check out this link and I bet we will appreciate every little thing better :)

Malam-malam. Kami berkumpul di rumah Albert di Gempol, menyiapkan LPD 98. Televisi menayangkan kerusuhan di Jakarta, kebakaran, penjarahan di mana-mana. Kami semua tercekam, cemas kerusuhan akan menjalar ke Bandung. Tengah malam, karena kuatir dengan keadaan yang makin tidak aman, teman-teman memaksa mengantar saya pulang ke Cisitu. It's been 10 years ...

Juno (Movies, DVD). This movie is hilarious. Not only it's unique and slightly different than typical Hollywood movie, it's also an eye-opener of what happen in our society. Sex among minors, unexpected pregnancy, and how society react to those issues. This movie elegantly wraps sensitive issues in an easy-to-watch form. How I met your mother (TV Series) . This is my current addict. This TV-series so much reminds me to Friends that always knock me off, no matter how many times I watch the series. I just finished streaming one of the episodes, and can't wait to watch the whole season in DVD. California Tortilla (Food, Mexican) is my fave lunch time menu. I am not a big fan of Mexican food, but since this one is not so spicy and kinda Americanize, I really like it. If you're a fan of Chipotle, you definitely need to check this one out. US presidential campaign. Once I followed the news day to day, now I am sick of it :p It's just another dirty politic, not much di...

My daily music is so cheesy lately :p I turn my radio to "Love Song with Delilah" every night after work. Anyhow, the songs are not that bad. Most of them considered "classic" love songs, soft rocks, and a little amount of today's hit. However, my mood is not that cheesy though :p

I don't see tulips in this area as much as in Pittsburgh, however, I manage to get some since my landlord has them in the front yard, beautiful eh :) ? Spring blossom ...

Considering that I lived in Pittsburgh until early 2008, shame on me that I just watched this lecture yesterday :). Randy Pausch is a 47 years old computer science professor in Carnegie Mellon University who is diagnosed with a terminal pancreatic cancer. Last year (September 2007 if I am not mistaken) doctors predict that he would have three to six months healthy live, and after that everything can't be predicted. He is also a father of three kids, with the eldest is 5 years old. He gave a lecture called "The Last Lecture" to say goodbye to his fellows and friends. The video was put in the internet at the first time just to share among those who can't attend that lecture, but since then, it's been downloaded more than 1 million times! What's so special about his lecture? No, it's not about dying as you might think. It's far from being the second of "Tuesdays with Morrie" . Instead, it's about his childhood dreams and about enabling othe...

Mantra ini sedang saya ucapkan berulang-ulang kepada diri saya sendiri :) Be humble, be thankful, and be happy. Jangan bitter, jangan sinis, jangan pesimis. Mari merapal mantra, hehehe ...

Sekedar update saja :) Besok Selasa hari pertama filing H1B visa (visa buat specialty worker). 65,000 visa, yang quotanya tahun lalu habis di hari pertama plus 20,000 extended quota untuk graduate degree from US universities, yang tahun lalu habis dalam 29 hari. Kabarnya tahun ini 65,000 visa tersebut akan diundi (duh!) kalau quotanya habis dalam 5 hari pertama. Saya sendiri setengah berharap dapat visa setengah berharap ditolak :) Supaya lebih mudah mengatur langkah pulang, hehehe.

A friend said, "I always asked, how do I know that someone is the one or not?" A few days ago she said, "Now I know, when you meet him/her, you just know." As someone retarded and always failed in "Relationship-101" :p, I have one question: What if you feel that you already met him/her, but somehow you've missed the chance? Was it just your heart/brain/whatever misinterprets something and so call it love? Oh well, love is never be as simple as that - for me :).

I didn't manage to go to church today. When Josefina called at 7 pm, I was still at my desk, discussing a functional spec with my supervisor :( Even more, tomorrow is not a holiday for Emerson, so it's less likely I can go to church for Good Friday. Although I am not a religious person, I do miss to attend holy-mass, especially around Easter time. This time is usually when my mind wanders thousand miles away, thinking about loved ones back home. What are they doing right now? Maybe they just went back from attending station of cross. Or maybe my mother is preparing vegie-lunch for today, yes, everybody in the family usually do not eat meat on Good Friday.

I don't want something blue nor mellow yellow today, all I need is everything in red.

Ah, dasar gila. Bagaimana mungkin kereta api bisa kebablasan dan salah jalan :p? Aneh dan bin ajaib, tapi itulah yang terjadi kemarin sore. Bukan di Indonesia, atau di negara lain yang mis-managed, tapi di United States yang konon negara adidaya itu :D Sebenarnya kemarin adalah Sabtu yang menyenangkan. Pergi ke downtown Philadelphia, makan siang dan shopping bersama ibu dosen dan teman-temannya. Sekitar jam 5, saya buru2 pamitan karena harus mengejar kereta jam 5.25 di Suburban station, Philadelphia. Lupakan ide2 tentang dinner atau Saturday night hang-out. Perjalanan 2 jam dari downtown Phily ke Royersford dengan transportasi yang minim dan mahal menjadi kendala utama. Tiba di stasiun sekitar jam 5 lebih dikit, saya punya cukup waktu sebelum kereta tiba. Lima menit, sepuluh menit, mulai muncul gelagat yang tidak menyenangkan. Departure status yang tadinya ontime mulai berubah menjadi 2 minutes late, 5 minutes late, dan akhirnya 8 minutes late. Ah, harusnya saya memperhitungkan faktor...

Dear sahabat, Tiba2 aku kangen dan ingat padamu. Ingin curhat tentang keinginan-keinginan setinggi awan, tentang hal-hal yang paling muluk dan ideal, yang mungkin aneh di mata orang. Mana undanganmu? Pasti lagi sibuk dengan persiapan ini itu untuk perayaan besar di akhir bulan ya, semoga semua lancar :) ... Ingat tidak dua setengah tahun yang lalu ? Saat aku berjuang beradaptasi di negeri yang baru ini, kau malah 'bertualang' ke Girisonta sebagai penanda tahun ke-30 dalam hidupmu. Mau mencari panggilanku , katamu waktu itu. Kau tetap berangkat walaupun banyak orang berkata kamu tak punya potongan jadi pastor. Dan mereka ternyata benar, hehehe. 'Petualangan'-mu itu malah membuatmu makin yakin bahwa itu bukan jalanmu. Lalu beberapa bulan kemudian dengan penuh keceriaan dan kekonyolan kau bercerita bahwa kau telah menemukan tambatan hatimu. Kami bertemu di sebuah acara muda mudi gereja , demikian katamu. Dan dia memintaku untuk tetap menjadi pasanganku dalam sebuah permain...

Konon, kata tua-tua, seorang muda harus meninggalkan kampung halamannya. Ada gunung di ujung cakrawala. Puncaknya tertutup awan, supaya tak seorangpun tahu ada apa di puncak sang gunung. Konon kata mereka, lelaki muda harus pergi ke sana, untuk membuktikan dirinya. Tapi perempuan itu berkata: Kalau mereka bisa, kenapa aku tidak. Aku akan pergi ke puncak gunung itu, dan aku akan melihat cakrawala yang luas. Aku akan pergi seperti bunga rumput yang tertiup angin. Aku akan bersahabat dengan angin dan pergi ke tempat ia bertiup. Ah, perempuan muda pemimpi. Ia hanya berbekal selembar peta dan bekal secukupnya di ransel bututnya. Hanya itu, ditambah sebongkah doa dari orang-orang yang dicintainya, yang mendoakannya untuk menemukan tujuannya. Sisanya, ia percaya ia harus mengikuti sang Angin. Dua musim. Ia melewati desa-desa kecil nan cantik, pengelana-pengelana yang ramah. Saat melalui kota kecil, ia berhenti sejenak untuk menghirup kopi di kedai-kedai pinggir kota. Semua tampak indah, tapi...

Teman: Di Indo mah nggak ada yang applicable, kecuali korupsi, jalan2 studi banding ... Saya: *Deg* Kamu keterlaluan ih :) ... Ya, memang Indonesia porak poranda. Sampai saya mati pun, rasanya saya nggak akan mati dalam keadaan melihat Indonesia yang jauh lebih baik dari sekarang. Mungkin generasi cucu saya pun akan mati dalam keadaan melihat Indonesia yang masih begini-begini saja. Tapi masih ada setitik rasa *tsah* untuk tempat yang porak poranda itu. Serius, saya masih berharap bahwa suatu hari saya, kamu, dan teman-teman yang lain, bisa membuat keadaan menjadi lebih baik. Tentu saja tidak seperti tongkat ibu peri yang menyelesaikan masalah dalam sekejab. Mungkin saja tingkat kegagalannya 95%. Tapi toh masih ada 5% probability? Kenapa saya tiba2 posting begini? Karena saya capek, capek melihat keadaan yang tidak kunjung membaik. Capek dengan ketakutan dan kepengecutan saya sendiri, yang menghalangi saya untuk langsung pulang ke tanah kelahiran saya. Duh, emang bisa apa saya kalau ...

Nada pilu di tengah amukan badai salju di luar sana ... Salju yang meleleh, dingin menusuk tulang ... Air yang menggenang, perlahan membeku dan licin ... Hanyut di tengah musim dingin yang tak berujung ... Bermimpi terbangun di cerahnya musim semi ...

Love this pic so much! Thanks to Joek the photographer. I really miss Pittsburgh crowd.

# Masak apa Mit hari ini? * Terong balado sama nggoreng teri. # Lhaaa ... katanya hidup di Amerika ???? Setiap kali chating sama teman dan ngomongin soal makanan, sering ujung-ujungnya di situ. Ya gimana ya sodara2, sekolah boleh jauh-jauh ke ujung dunia, tapi perut saya tetep perut Indonesia :D, yang sering kali nggak mantep kalo belum makan nasi. Pembicaraan biasanya berlanjut begini. # Bawa dari Kalasan ya terinya :p ? *Nuduh mode on * * Huahaha. Gak lah, kemaren beli di toko Korea # Ada ya? * Ada, tempe aja ada kok, ya nggak gampang nyarinya, tapi ada yang jual. Untuuuuung, untung, sekolah ke sini, bukan ke Jerman atau Prancis, atau Italia. Konon di sana tidak segampang di sini untuk mencari bahan2 makanan Asia, apalagi bumbu2 Indonesia. Syukurlah di sini masih ada bumbu instant munik (kayak indofood gitu, tapi lebih uenak), tahu tempe bisa dicari, kalo mau sarapan indomi pun bisa, hehehe. Tapi, gara2 itu pula, ketrampilan saya memasak American food (btw, sebenarnya apa sih America...

All right, what's up after three weeks being in Royersford? My first week was horrible. I got sick and could not go to work at my second day because the centralized heater could not warm my room up. All I had for eat was just tasteless microwaveable foods like instant pasta, so out of desperation I almost asked my friend to send me rice from Pittsburgh, hahaha. I was also suffered from the weather, which somehow felt colder than Pittsburgh (it's not true :p). After that painful week, life is getting better and easier. It's not perfect, but I am hanging in there, cross my finger :) As I mentioned to some of you, this such a small town is way smaller and quieter than Pittsburgh, which I considered so quiet when I just moved from Jakarta - "the waterworld" :p. Royersford is just a typical American suburb near the highway, with friendly neighborhood, spacious environment, and almost no public transport. This town is located north-west of Philadelphia, about fifty minu...

Do you know how it feels when the winter seems would never end? When bitter-cold enters your bones, and the winter wind slap your face? Feels like dying ... This little town feels colder than Pittsburgh, although it is in fact the other way around.

If I often say "Let it be to me according to Your words" , I guess now is time when I should proof that I really mean it. That my part is to seek and to do my best, but it is His part to decide what is the best for me. It is indeed so hard. What I know so far is how to do my best according to my capacity. But I do not know how to let Him do his invisible part. I never understand the way it works. So I guess it is time to learn :)

I've been hurt but I am healed. I've been through the worst and I survived. So there is no regret for whatsoever, because I know it for sure.

Dear Mita and Wawan Gak trasa akhir tahun telah tiba. Banyak ya yg sudah terjadi di th yang lalu. Entah itu kesulitan atau justru berkat Tuhan telah kita alami bersama. Betapa banyak permohonan kita yang sudah dikabulkan oleh Tuhan. Jangan kita lupakan apa yang sudah terkabul. Dan itu tantangan ke depan yg harus kita laksanakan. Berkat yang Tuhan berikan kepada kita meminta kita yg melaksanakan dengan baik di bawah kontrol Dia tentunya. Jangan2 ntar gak dikasih lagi ama Tuhan klo kita gak lakukan dengan baik. Papa n mama makin "tua" tapi gak mau bersemangat tua. Banyak yg harus dilakukan ke depan. Refleksi juga perlu apa yg kurang pada diri kita masing-masing. Be your best my dears. Kamu berdua punya kesibukan yang masing-masing berbeda dalam hal jenis maupun kadarnya. Yang pasti kita harus bertanggung jawab atas pekerjaan dan kehidupan kita. Jangan menyerah akan hal-hal yang seharusnya masih bisa kita kerjakan. Love, Mama

It's Wednesday morning in the Burgh. The sun shines a little, yet it is quite cold outside. It was flurries for a while this morning, the temperature drops since two days ago, bitter cold. A typical January for Pittsburghers. I am moving out from this city soon. This place has become my shelter for the last two years, and now it is time to pack my bags. My next destination will be Royersford, a small town sub-urb of Philadelphia, still in the state of Pennsylvania. Excited? Well to be honest I am grateful for this job, but not 100% excited to move. Moving is always stressful. You have to pack your stuffs, find an apartment or a room, adjust to new people, environment, and new jobs. Not that I don't enjoy meeting new people and make new friends. It is indeed always exciting, but right now I am just as lazy as a cat to move from my comfortable couch :) Mainly because I plan this next stop is just for a while, to be exact just one year, then going home for good. So another year in...