Every day has its own story

Teringat tulisan seorang teman tentang Natal, saya jadi tergelitik untuk bertanya - masihkah kita merayakan Natal untuk merayakan hadirnya Tuhan di tengah manusia? Atau perayaan Natal sudah bergeser dari esensi semula? Tumpukan hadiah menanti di bawah pohon Natal. Ada kah satu bungkusan tersisa untuk Nya? Atau kita begitu sibuk sehingga melupakan Ia, yang seharusnya menjadi pusat perayaan ini? Anyway, whatever it means to you and me, I just want to say Merry Christmas to all of you.

Well, it's not really wise to waste your time posting on a blog while you have a finance exam tomorrow. But people, I am bored. So here I am, typing this litle nonsense, hehehe ... I just read a blog, asking 7 places you'd rather be right now, then suddenly my mind flies to a place, the most wanted place I would go now. My home, in Jogja. Please forgive my weakness, but this is December, and everywhere I go, every place sings "I'll be home for Christmas" ... :) Unfortunatelly I won't be home this Christmas. Hopefully I'll be home sometime next year, either summer or Christmas. And for now, I just keep my wishfull thinking, that "I'll be home for Christmas" will be real for me someday, hehehe.

Do you like shopping? If someone asks me that question, usually I answer that generally I don't really like shopping. Not that I hate hate shopping, but I don't have any taste for branded stuff, I tend to shop for things that I need, and I don't have that much of money to make shopping as my hobby, hahaha. When I was a little kid, I never know what Nike is, how it feels when you wear Adidas, and never have some luxurious stuffs. When I wanted to buy a pair of expensive nice shoes (I thought it was expensive, but now I know it is not even a real branded stuff), my mom always told me - can you imagine other people that need to spend the same amount of money of your shoes' price for the whole month to live? Things changed a bit when I was in college, having many friends who taste branded stuffs ;) After I graduated and earned my own money, sometimes I spent my money to buy good stuffs. Not a lot, but when I really needed it, or really wanted it, I bought the good stuffs if...

Awalnya karena ngelihat photoblognya Widhi , saya jadi tertarik untuk membuat photoblog. Apa bedanya dengan my multiply photo album ? My multiply berisi hampir semua koleksi foto2 saya, sementara kalau photoblog cuma foto-foto tertentu yang momentnya berkesan, atau saya suka banget dengan fotonya. Nah, silakan berkunjung ke my photoblog . Posting pertama adalah terbengong-bengong nya saya ketika melihat atraksi fireworks super cantik waktu Light Up The Night minggu lalu.

Aku, dirimu, dirinya tak akan pernah mengeri tentang suratan ... - Kahitna -

It's not about alter-ego of me. Like other people, I also have many sides bundled in my personality. On one side I can be really sweet, caring, full of smile. Another time I can be very tough, stubborn, and very hard to people. Many times I said to a friend, "Don't get me wrong. I am not a sweetheart as you might think, it's just the matter of time before you see the other side of me." . Actually I forget whether I really said it or only saved those words for myself. And time flew, it showed the truth. Not only the sweetness, but it also showed all the bitter, the anger, the frustration, the wonder. The real me. Then the same friend wondering, "Why do you change a lot?" "I don't change," I reply, "That's all the truth about me." I am only human, far from a perfect figure. I always see myself as a silly girl, trying to develop herself to be a mature woman. I can love, but I also can hate. I can be a good friend, but I can als...

Pittsburgh tadi malam cukup dingin, sekitar 30an F. Untunglah perbekalan saya cukup lengkap. Heavy coat, scarf, sarung tangan, dan kupluk menemani saya untuk melihat "Light Up The Night", event tahunan di kota ini, ketika lampu-lampu natal di downtown mulai dinyalakan. Downtown Pittsburgh yang biasanya suram dan berkesan tidak terlalu aman di malam hari tadi malam berubah total. Lampu-lampu natal menghangatkan suasana. Orang-orang berseliweran. Kulit putih, hitam, dan tak ketinggalan wajah-wajah Asia berbaur menyemarakkan suasana yang meriah karena terang lampu-lampu yang mempercantik kota. Kami telat satu jam dari rencana semula (ngaret, lagi-lagi ngaret). Jam 7.30, kami baru sampai di Golden Palace Buffet untuk mengisi perut sebelum berjalan-jalan mengitari Downtown. Padahal rencananya pukul 9 kami sudah harus sampai di Point Park untuk menikmati fireworks. Untunglah, tak seperti biasanya makanan segera tersaji. Setelah berputar-putar menikmati keramaian yang tidak biasa in...

Kalau kamu doyan mencoba makanan dari berbagai negara, tinggal di US adalah kesempatan untuk icip makanan dari sana-sini. Selama 10 bulan tinggal di Pittsburgh, kamus makanan saya bertambah dengan makanan dari berbagai negara yang jarang/belum pernah saya icipi. Gimana kalau saya tinggal di kota besar macam New York yaa, pasti lebih seru lagi! OK, sebagai orang Indonesia yang gak kenyang kalau belum makan nasi, kali ini kita bahas makanan-makanan Asia. Nggak di Jakarta, nggak di Pittsburgh, yang pertama kali saya cari tentu saja Chinese food. Bedanya, Chinese food di US memiliki lebih banyak varian daripada Chinese food di Jakarta. Kalau di Jakarta Chinese food biasanya didominasi dengan bakmi goreng, capcay, dan fuyunghai, di sini banyak makanan baru yang belum pernah saya coba sebelumnya. Beberapa yang saya suka antara lain : orange beef (make it extra crispy plissss), dan general tso chicken (benernya ini cuman ayam boneless goreng tepung, dimakan pake saos kayak saos fuyunghai). Oh...

Hari ini tumben-tumbenan saya pulang rada malam dari kantor, jam 9.30. Seperti biasanya saya nungguin bus di bus-stop depan Starbucks. Well, untungnya Pittsburgh hari ini rada bersahabat, gak dingin-dingin amat. Waktu lagi bengong-bengong nungguin bis, tiba-tiba ada segerombolan anak muda berpakaian aneh lewat. What the heck? Oh iya, lupa hehehe, hari ini kan Halloween. Omong-omong tentang Halloween, boleh dibilang saya rada-rada anti merayakannya, hahaha. Bukan karena alasan religius ato anti-kemapanan *hihihi, apa coba :p*, tapi basically gw anti apa aja yang berbau-bau horror. Hiy, sereeeem. Mulai dari film horor, haunted house, cerita-cerita sereeemm, thanks but no thanks deeeh. Makanya buat saya, there is no special thing about Halloween. Tapi itu kan cuma saya doang. Orang-orang Amrik ini kayaknya emang seneng banget semua-semua yang berbau festival. Sekitar semingguan yll, waktu pergi meeting ke Technology Drive, saya terbengong-bengong melihat hiasan meja salah satu staff kant...

Never under-value something/someone because people tend not to realize how valuable what they have 'till they lose it. Never over-value something/someone because you might get dissapointed when you don't meet your expectation.

Another writing from my mom ... Dear Mita, Tadi malam tilpunnya sering error. Nah 'Ta ini cerita hobi. Sekarang sih kamu hobinya jalan-jalan, tapi klo sudah agak tua mo jalan2 ya masih seneng, tapi dananya gak ada. Jadi klo ada hobi bisa dikerjakan lagi untuk weekend-an. Lha mau masak semua diet, mau jalan males n BBM mahal, jadi di rumah merawat anggrek n tanaman hias lain untuk persiapan pensiun he he. Ini cerita tentang hobi mama untuk menyulam. Sebetulnya itu bukan hobi, tapi menggali kemampuan yang lama terpendam. Untuk kegiatan di weekend. Mama belajar nyulam sejak kelas 3 SD. Kata emak (nenek gw) siapa tahu kalau berguna. Lha paling gak aku kan bisa ngajari kamu nyulam n merenda waktu SMA dulu. Kali ini nyulamnya pakai pita Jepang. Nah ini sedang trend, sampai di Gramedia ada lomba nyulam pita. Aku sih gak ikutan, cuma seneng aja. Jadi mama buat taplak meja tamu, berhiaskan bunga mawar he he. Hiasan dinding bergambar Cinderella (mita: gubrakks, nyokap gw ada2 aje :p) dan...

Like a bulletin board, but I don't care, hahaha. Me and my family 1. I am really proud of my parents. 2. I have a younger brother, but I look younger than him :p 3. I hate being the first daughter - I wish I had an older brother 4. If I have my own family, I do hope to have a boy as my first child. 5. Being half Chinese - Javanese made me confuse when I was a little kid 6. Though I consider myself Javanese and live in Jogja, I can't speak Javanese fluently 7. I can't imagine if I am being my mom, having a stubborn daughter like me :p 8. I didn't have much luxury in my childhood, but I am happy. 9. I miss my family so much. Me and physical appearance 10. Most of the times I am being the shortest person :) --> 153 cm 11. I hate my thick-unruly hair, what can I do about it? 12. I barely use make-up. 13. My favorite costume is blue jeans and t-shirt. 14. I had a bad balance, I fall all the time with no reason 15. I don't understand why people say that having big boop...

Tonight is so quiet that the only sound I hear is my fingers typing on my computer. Here I am, sitting alone in my personal space, trying to blend my self in this solitude. I hate this silence. It's not a friendly silence that I like, but a hurting silence that stab me. It's a silence that I want to break, yet I should not do that. It's not about lying to myself - like my friend asked me. This is about doing the right thing. And now I am screaming to heaven, hoping that the angels will sing for me, accompany me through the nights, and I will never feel alone. I have made a promise, so I will keep it. Let me keep the rest of it in my heart.

Temans, saya lega. Beberapa bulan belakangan kepala saya pening. Bertambah pening beberapa hari yang lalu. Well, masalahnya ada di saya, bukan di orang lain. Saya nggak komunikatif terhadap orang lain. Seorang teman pernah mengingatkan saya beberapa tahun yang lalu. Thank you :) Tapi saya tak bisa segera mengubah kebiasaan itu. Saya cenderung menjauhi masalah, tidak pernah langsung menghadapinya. Selama ini hal itu cenderung tidak berpengaruh besar karena saya bergaul dalam lingkungan yang 'cair' bukan closed community yang setiap kali ketemu dan hang out bareng. So saya dengan enak bisa menghindar dari orang tertentu kalau saya bermasalah dengannya. Akhirnya biasanya masalah selesai sejalan dengan waktu, bukan dengan usaha dan keterbukaan. Tapi tidak sekarang. Saya ada dalam sebuah closed community. Akrab, selalu hang out bareng, akibatnya saya pening ketika saya tidak bisa menghindar dari masalah. Saya tidak punya tempat untuk melarikan diri. Hari ini saya senang sekali. Dal...

Daun2 mulai berubah warna di Pittburgh :). Me and Sasa @ Southside, pic taken by Yos.

Sahabat saya bilang, hari ini saya happy sekali. Tertawa-tawa, nyela sana nyela sini, cerewet setengah mati.

Tadi di ruang kerja saya terjadi diskusi seru yang sama sekali tidak penting antara saya, Gede (rekan kerja saya yang sama2 anak Indonesia), Stephanie (Pittsburgher), dan Dai Hua. Mereka mulai membahas nama-nama orang Indonesia yang menurut mereka aneh bin ajaib - panjang tidak karuan, hahaha. Mulailah dibahas satu-satu. Kalau dulu, saya lebih sering menyebut nama saya M.V. Asih Paramita. Begitu di Pittsburgh, karena bule-bule itu susah mengucapkan 'Asih' saya lebih suka mencomot first dan last word, jadilah nama beken saya Maria Paramita, huehehehe. Orang-orang yang sering berinteraksi dengan saya tetap memanggil saya Mita, tapi sebagian orang yang cuma kenal sambil lalu memanggil saya Maria. Maka bingunglah Stephanie ketika Patty - pegawai administrasi di kantor kami - selalu menyebut Maria, Maria, and Maria. Who's Maria? Berkali-kali dia bertanya sebelum nyadar kalau Maria is Mita, huehehehe. Lalu pembahasan beralih ke Gede. Well, sebelum Gede dan saya, ada seorang reka...

When I am sad, I am trying to smile because it makes me feel better. When I am happy, I am smiling to share my happiness. When I am so afraid and trembling - like now , I am smiling to encourage myself. Keep smiling, someone said, and I answer it with a smile. And now, I am smiling, just for that someone, for no reason.

Arrrgh, I don't have any mood to write. So, let me just list down what happened lately 1. Wonderful weekend : starts with karaoke in Friday nite, basketball Saturday morning, barbeque after that, dinner and dessert, then closed by going to PNC Park (well, officially it was purposed to watch baseball, but I enjoyed the stadium more than the game :p) 2. Bunch of homeworks and projects, and I don't have any spirit to do those things. I delay to do that till last minutes :( 3. A cool book : "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hoseinni. Using Afghanistan pre-war background, this novel smoothly tells a beautiful story of friendship, betrayal, and regretful. 4. Hmm, what else? Anyone wants shrimp and fish ball? I've just finished cooking for dinner (and also for a couple of my next meals :p) Hmm, ok lah, I got really bored, and now I should finish my laundry :|

I know that I am being evil, but oh well, I can not be good.