WHAT A WEEKEND! (^o^)

So many things happen during the weekend… nice things & annoying things…
Last Friday morning suddenly I had to arrange a meeting in Singapore for my boss, his clients & some people in Bangkok & Washington. I did nothing the whole day but arranging that, spending almost 70% of my time on the line with any of them & the travel agent. Tickets, hotel, conference room, all set up before 5pm. Then Saturday morning I got an email from Washington, saying that the meeting has to be delayed due World Bank’s ban to visit Singapore until at least April 7th. (BTW, Ano: "How's things so far? Better or worse?) So I called up everyone and the travel agent to cancel the trip. In the afternoon came another call that I should maintain the schedule as planned. So I called up everybody again (yang menjawab dengan nada-nada BT!) to confirm this. And guess what? I got another SMS at midnight (yes, midnight... 00.37 am!) saying that Washington has confirmed (again!) that the meeting has to be delayed!! And this morning I have to re-open the tickets, cancelled the hotel & conference room reservation and… there’s a possibility of the meeting beng moved to Bali or Bangkok… I have to be ready to change the schedule any time… (“_“ #) Gila banget deh….

Last Saturday I worked only half day with the accountant… continuing the annual tax report thing. Then suddenly I came up with this idea to call up My Idol Shop at Gajah Mada Plaza, cheking whether they have Z-Chen’s latest CD (called 3.00 am). They have it! So I ordered one and said that maybe I’ll get it next week with Jay’s The One Live CD & 8th Dimension MV. Then I called up my mom to check if she would want to go to Kota next Wed. She’s not sure cause she’s been a bit sick since a few days ago (ketularan flu gue kayaknya…) then suggested why not go there bymyself since it’s not that far from my office. So I did!!! I went there by taxi & got it all!!! Huah… Ada bonus MV dari May I Love You!! Ibu ini malah nitip Edison Chan’s TRANSITION CD yang package keren banget tapi ternyata nggak ada MVnya sama sekali! (^_^) So, I stopped by at Ette’s house to give her the Edison CD. Sampe dirumah, bela-belain nonton MVnya Z-Chen & Jay t’rus buru-buru mandi untuk kebaktian gabungan di Pemandangan. Ended the day at night by listening to Z-Chen… over and over and over again until I fell asleep.. (o^_^o)

Sunday was as normal as it could be… Before I went to church I recorded Z-Chen’s into a blank tape so I could listen to it on my way to church. Oh, and also some other songs in the other side of the tape…. Like Energy, Comic Boys, 5566, Van.. pokoknya yang slow-slow deh… lagi mudah terharu nih! He he he.. (^_^) But really… I felt a bit melancholic lately, dunno why. But it’s definitely not because of the rain! Mudah terharu & tersentuh dengan hal-hal kecil… napa ya?

BTW, I’m so glad today. Another good friend called me and informed that she finally got a permanent job after being unemployed for a few years. I knew it so well that she’s been struggling in prayers for this job. Life has not been easy for her and her family, but now at least she could help her mom financially. Her faith amazed me… May God Bless her and her family abundantly from now on.

~ Let us pray not for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs.

I LOVE JAY!!

Woohoo!! I know this is what someone has been waiting for the whole day… to see what I got to say about the very JAY CHOU… Man, he rocks my world!!! Hua ha ha…

K, lemme tell u from the beginning… Me and this sweet gal have been searching for Jay’s The One Concert VCD for sometime -- both ‘official’ & ‘unofficial’ version -- with no luck! And suddenly yesterday she SMS me while shopping in Mangga Dua, something like: “OMG! You’re gonna love this gal, I got Jay Chou’s The One Concert VCD!” And I was like: “WHAT? Get me one, please, please, please…” So she did. I couldn’t wait till the next day to see if it’s as spectacular as being told by the media. So I sent my OB as soon as she got home to get it for me. When he got in the office, luckily all the boss are gone. So I watched the 1st CD and… It was love at the 100th sight! HUA HA HA HA… (^3^) I meant, I always love his music, not his looks… I didn’t even think that he’s good-looking, really… But when I saw his performance, I think HE’S THE SEXIEST male I’ve ever seen for the last 5 years!!! (o^_^o) he he he… His performance was superb… And the most important thing is HE CAN REALLY SING! And dance to… mmmh, I think he’s not really dancing, just moved his body around with the dancers… whatever, he still looks good doing it!! He got it all…. Beautiful music, meaningful lyrics and excellent performance… what else do I need?

Lemme take a deep breath before I continue…

When I got home I took a very quick shower and hit the 2nd CD… while doing all this, this gal & I kept SMS-ing each other of what we think about the concert. His best look was when he wore that white suit with a black tee inside… and playing the piano… I could always fall for a guy who plays the piano!! I repeated the part when he sang TORNADO (my most fav) a coupla times before I went on to the next part…*sigh*…. Dunno when will we ever see his performance here… Though I have to admit that he changed his clothes for too many times, still, he looked good in each clothes and at least the stylist had a better taste than F4’s… (^_^) Oh, I almost forgot… yes, he did sing one of David Tao’s song and he sang it very well (at least for me, cause I didn’t really know how David sing it! He he).

I’m leaving now… hope this very person is satisfied with this writing… JAY ROCKS!! BTW, for those of you who doesn’t believe in what I’m saying about JAY, try to download some of his songs here… you can also see how meaningful his lyrics are (in English!) by clicking here... There you go… See for yourself… prove it! Ciao! (^o^)/~~

Wandering like a leaf upon the wind
I have been searching for someone
Holding out for a love to shake my soul...
Light of my life
You're the fire in my heart
When I am lost
I know I'll feel you burning in the dark
You're the light of my life
Every star in the sky
Shines more brightly when you're at my side
You're the light of my life
Dreaming, I feel you next to me
No, I'm not, I'm not dreaming...
And when I hear you call my name
Baby, it's like I'm born again

A part of one of my fav songs... He he he... sometimes I'm wondering if I finally meet this someone, will he really shake my soul just like this song says? Hope so... (^_^) Huh, 2 cousins are (hopefully) getting married this year.. and more inevitable family gatherings are coming up... Geesh, help me, Lord! f('_' ) I mean... help me to get away from all of the "so when's your turn to get married like your cousin?" questions... *sigh*... How irritating...

I’M BACK!!

Really… I love those words: “I’M BACK” Kinda give me a homey feeling… (^_^) Probably because at home we always have to say “I’M GOING” when we’re getting out of the house and “I’M BACK” when we return. So those words really make me feel like I’m returning home safe & sound.

But now I’m back to work. Yesterday I came in for just like 2 hours, checking mails & following up on something and returned home. When I got home, it was full of some uncles & aunts who were going to see my dad’s aunt in the hospital. But before they left my mom managed to boil some Chinese medicine for me. It’s black & bitter, aargh! (>_<) But I slept like a baby after drinking the whole cup. Really… Yeah, I woke up a couple of times just to eat, shower & took another medicine… So when I woke up this morning I felt very fresh. Not that I fully recovered, but at least I don’t feel so cold anymore. Still, I went to work with long sleeve shirt and doubled it with a vest. Oh, my dad drove me to work, btw… (^_^)

You know, from any kind of light illness I have suffered, I always fear Flu & Cough. My history shows that Flu & Cough always took me at least 2 weeks to recover (the shortest record!) and could last for a month. Not nice, really… I hate it. The boss knows it. That is why when someone catch cold & start to cough in our office, the boss always warn me: “Watch out Tres! Watch out! Have more Vitamin C… “ And so on… The longest absent was last year… not only the flu & cough, but bronchitis really put me out of work for 2 whole weeks!! But the good side was… I got to know this F4 stuff and all… He he he…

I didn’t go anywhere too during the weekend… well, except for church, of course. So I watched some VCDs & re-read some books & mags.. how bored I was!! (@_@) I didn’t listen much CD too… Only Park Yong-Ha, Gospeller’s A-CAPELLA & Michael W. Smith’s Worship. That’s that. But I really want to hear some Jay Chou today, though… (^_^) I missed his music…

Some of the VCDs I watched were Korean movie: “Successful Story of A Bright Girl” or something like that.. (you know, they always have several versions of the English title) and found it quiet an interesting movie. Starred by Jang Na Ra & Jang Hyuk. I really like Jang Hyuk… he’s not that good looking, mind you but there’s something about him that really HIT me.. he he he… Know what, when it comes to liking someone, I always hate the main stars! (^_^) I mean, I prefer the most ordinary looking guys in the group... He he.. Maybe I just hate to have more rivals! Selfish me.... So, HOW ARE YOU TODAY, EVERYONE?

Besok (beneran) libur!!!

Senangnya!!! Setelah memohon-mohon dan mengejar berbagai macam koreksi selama 3 hari penuh, termasuk keliling Jakarta dari satu kantor pajak ke kantor pajak yang laen (disebabkan oleh peraturan pajak baru yang mengharuskan setiap karyawan berpenghasilan di atas 600 ribu perak harus punya NPWP pribadi -- including my office boy! -- dan menyebabkan SPT Tahunan PPh 21 gue ditolak kantor pajak)... serta bela-belain mampir ke kantornya jam 4 sore dengan keadaan flu dan batuk... akhirnya orang itu bilang : "Yo wis lah Mbak Tres, kalo memang lagi sakit besok ndak usah masuk, nanti malah tambah stress. Istirahat aja di rumah biar Senin kita bisa meeting lagi mengenai angka yang terakhir kita hitung."

YUHU!!! Akhirnya untuk pertama kalinya dalam 2,5 bulan ini gue bisa bangun siang di hari Sabtu!! v(^o^)v Apalagi bokap gue udah mulai ngomel-ngomel melihat gue "memaksakan" diri untuk pergi ke kantor 2 hari belakangan ini. Bahagia sekali sodara-sodara!! Belum lagi besok malam sepupu gue mau datang memperkenalkan calon suaminya yang katanya "sepertinya" cocok untuk ngobrol dengan gue (mudah2an nggak "terlalu" cocok... jadi nggak enak nantinya.. (^_^)). Jadi dia agak2 setengah "maksa" gue untuk langsung pulang ke rumah (dan tidak ngobrol2 dengan yang teman) setelah kebaktian... Gue bilang boleh-boleh aja nyurun gue pulang asal ada yang dibawa aja ke rumah! He he he... sepupu gue yang satu ini memang paling gampang dikerjain kalo soal bawa-bawa makanan.

Speaking of calon suami... (cie, balik nih ke kebiasaan lama..) Sepupu cowok gue juga punya rencana untuk married akhir tahun ini dengan teman gereja gue. Lalu teman gue ini curhat lah sama bahwa dia sebenernya nggak mau pesta-pesta tapi berhubung sepupu gue anak pertama cowok dan dia juga anak pertama, sepupu gue maksa harus ada resepsi... Dan mereka maunya pesta kebun. Bukan karena alasan yang unik atau apapun tapi karena : "It's not good to have saints & devils in one room." Kenapa begitu? Dan siapa saint nya siapa devil nya? Saintnya of course keluarga gue (kebetulan adik bokap gue 2 orang adalah pendeta dan lainnya adalah majelis di gereja masing-masing) dan devilnya teman2 kerja sepupu gue! Karena doi bekerja sebagai sound-engineer & stage manager untuk beberapa artis seperti Dewa, Ari Lasso, Potret, Lilo, dll... Dan menurut sepupu gue mereka itu... yah... bisa dibilang cukup "ancur" deh becandaannya. Kalo sampe seruangan ama pendeta-pendeta, bisa didoa'in di tempat kali ye!!! (^_^) Makanya dia ngotot mencari "tempat yang cukup luas sehingga orang-orang yang berbeda itu tidak harus berdiri berdekatan" sepanjang resepsi berlangsung! Hua ha ha... inilah reaksi pertama gue waktu mendengar curhatan ceweknya sepupu gue ini... Antik juga ternyata cara berpikir sepupu gue ini... Nggak heran sih, seumur-umur, dia ini satu-satunya orang yang pernah memberikan kaset "Open Up and Say Ahh" nya Poison dan "Kill 'Em All" nya Metallica sebagai hadiah ultah gue waktu kelas 2 SMP! Dia juga yang "memaksa" gue untuk belajar drum sampe dapet stick warisan segala...

Berhubung sudah hampir waktunya saya untuk meninggalkan kantor dan les, saya mohon pamit dan maaf kalu tidak ada gambar-gambar yang lucu atau menarik... Nggak sempet!! Have a nice weekend everyone!! Ciao!!!

Hello everyone…
So nice to be able to write something for this blog of mine after a tiring week… Like this good friend of mine said, I should write something about the wedding I was involved in (no, I wasn’t the one who got married, believe me! I was just helping my very good friend..) on my weekend.

I knew that my weekend would be ‘disastrous’ the moment the bride to be called me and said that she didn’t know who’s going to take her mom & siblings to the hairdresser on Saturday morning. So I went to the apartment where they’re staying, a bit ‘basa-basi’ (maklum, baru kenal, mereka semua dari luar kota), then I started planning who’s going to get whom to where and when. So after the ‘gladi resik’ that night (which started late and ended at about 10pm) I went home, talked with mom while having a late dinner at 10.30pm and went to bed. Woke up very early on Saturday morning with a heavy head, went to the apartment… the earlier plan was swimming with my friend’s nephew before taking the women to the hairdresser, but guess what… I caught cold! So I took my friend’s other nephew, a 4 month old baby, for sunbathing at the pool side instead with a tuna sandwich for breakfast… It felt so good for a moment! Then the chaos begun…

I returned them from the hairdresser for make up at the apt. then I found out that I had to take the wedding ring and guests book with me! And my clothes’ still at home! So I rushed home, took a quick shower, put on my kebaya (yah, kebaya modern sih, polos & Sabrina, bawahnya pun rok hitam panjang yang lipit-lipit… gimana ya, susah neranginnya ^_^), a little make up and asked my mom to drive me back to the apt before going to the holy matrimony (my parents are invited to the wedding). When we got the apt the make-up girl was still there and she offered to “fix” my make-up (atau lebih tepat disebut “menambahkan”) which turned out very good. But still I refused her offer to put on lipstick on my lips. I’m allergic to lipsticks!! Really… Only 2 brands that’s lip-friendly to me, YSL & Bodyshop. The allergy usually takes about 2 days to react and 1 week to finally recover… That’s why I only have 1 kind of lipstick for every occasion. Kalo yang satu itu abis, baru beli lagi. Biasanya nyokap suka nambah-nambahin tapi akhirnya dipake sendiri karena gue nggak pernah pake. Yang pasti lipstick gue selalu berwarna coklat/natural dan gue anti warna pink!

OK, sekarang gue pengen pake bahasa Indonesia biar adil… (sebenernya sih lagi agak “error” aja, tapi nggak mau ngaku! kalo di pala gue ada keyboardnya, I'll press F1 for help.. he he) Singkat kata, ditengah-tengah kemacetan lalu lintas Sudirman hari Sabtu siang dan hanya setengah jam sebelum acara pemberkatan dimulai, gue mulai nervous karena wedding ringnya udah mulai dicariin, udah gitu ibu ini sms lagi di BP pula! Makin emosi jiwa deh gue… Jadi begitu sampe gereja, langsung ngasih cincinnya ke yang berwenang, pemanasan suara sebentar dan langsung bersiap-siap untuk lagu pertama bersama Paduan Suara. Setelah lagu pertama gue keluar untuk menunggu giliran nyanyi duet (kebetulan di dalem gereja penuh, gue gerah banget), ternyata anaknya temen gue yang paginya gue ajak sunbathing itu nangis karena kepanasan,eh, pas gue gendong langsung diem! Ya sudah, gue gendong lah beberapa lama dan membuat bagian atas kebaya gue berlumuran iler anak bayi!! (^_^) Untung bahannya brokat dan berwatna abu-abu tua, jadi tidak kelihatan oleh penonton… he he he…

Setelah pemberkatan ternyata gue diminta untuk jadi kamerawati dadakan di acara dinnernya di Le Meridien Hotel. Kebayang dong, gue berkebaya (modern) dan berhak tinggi monda-mandir pake handycam…. Akhirnya malam itu gue sampe rumah jam 10-an deh, tidak bisa tidur karena pusing dan keesokan harinya terkapar di rumah.

Dan sejak Senin gue memaksa diri untuk menyelesaikan paper work SPT Tahunan yang beribu-ribu lembar itu sampe gue nggak sempet makan siang di luar kantor dan harus ikut mondar-mandir ke beberapa kantor pajak. Sebagai akibatnya, sambil menulis blog hari ini gue terus menyedot hidung karena flu… Sepertinya gue musti langsung balik ke rumah neh kalo nggak mau lebih parah lagi! So… maafkan kalau tulisan saya hari ini sangat membosankan dan mengecewakan dan mungkin akan begitu terus beberapa hari ini kalau dipaksa menulis… (@_@) Tapi sampai tiba saatnya saya bersemangat lagi, giatlah membaca blog orang lain yang mulai rajin, seperti bapak ini atau ibu ini, dijamin akan lebih menghibur sodara!! Ciao!!

Hullo everybody!

Demi menulis sesuatu untuk blog ini daku makan siang di kantor, ngebut makan sampe hampir keselek dan selesai dalam waktu 7 menit! So now.... let the story begin....

Davira, setelah gue mencari-cari (dan penasaran abis loe telp gue) akhirnya daku menemukan sitenya Z-Chen tersayang... tapi dalam kanji!! (>_<) Sebel banget, karena gue tidak mengerti segaris pun hal-hal yang ada didalem situ. Tapi gue klik-klik aja.. eh ternyata bisa liat MVnya yang baru lho.. So, dia memang lebih keren disitu and yes, love can be so beautiful! Lalu berita sekitar koko Jay (jijay nggak sih!) belum ada yang baru dan masih tentang konser The One yang terakhir di Singapore. Oh iya, gue juga udah ketemu tuh situsnya My Idol, tapi kok nggak bisa dibuka semua ya? Dan tidak lengkap pula, so akhirnya gue e-mail aja. Dakupun akhirnya mendengarkan Chemistry sambil memeriksa PPh 21, walopun akhirnya malah jadi nggak konsen sama pajaknya, lebih konsen dengerin Chemistry! Yah, memang lagu-lagu mereka enak kok... Gaya musiknya sih agak-agak Toshinobu Kubota ya, tapi lebih ringan. Eeeh... gue juga akhirnya nemu teks nya La La La La Love Song... in roman spelling lho! Senang sekali...

Oh iya... diriku akan mulai les bahasa Mandarin hari Jumat minggu depan! He he he... mengikuti arus? Terserah mau bilang aja... Lumayan nambah ilmu, toh cuma seminggu sekali 1 jam, nggak ngabisin waktu. Sebenernya gue udah daftar les-les lainnya, seperti gitar, tapi ternyata waktunya nggak ada yang sesuai. Kalo nggak siang ya hari Sabtu... Kalo Sabtu pun gue les, kapan bangun siangnya! (^_^) Lagian kalo udah bisa kan lumayan, gue bisa mengalihkan sendiri itu teks lagu-lagu yang suka ke dalam pinyin, nggak ngerepotin orang toh! (dan nggak ngeluarin duit ekstra!)

Apalagi ya.... Mmmmh, oh iya, sudah 3 hari gue makan pop-corn melulu! Tiba-tiba aja gue pingin makan pop-corn (yang manis tapi ya... nggak terlalu suka yang asin) dan nemu di ITC Ambasador. Ternyata nggak seberapa enak (tapi abis juga sih) dan gue pun bela-belain ke Hero untuk beli pop-corn rasa Cherry yang plastiknya lumayan gede itu. Makan pop-corn sampe batuk! Trus kemaren siang abis dari dari bank melewati AM/PM dan yang kelihatan jelas dari luar adalah CHACHA peanut chocolate. Mampirlah dan beli (jajan melulu ya gue seminggu ini..). Baru aja gue buka dan makan beberapa butir, tiba-tiba bos gue keluar dari ruang rapat (kebetulan emang meja gue disebelah ruang rapat) dan meraup beberapa butir... setelah itu kembali lagi ke dalem ruang rapat. Nggak sampe 10 detik doi udah keluar lagi dan bertanya sambil memegang seplastik CHACHA gue:
"Punya siapa sih nih?"
"Punya saya Pak" kata gue.
"Boleh minta nggak."
"Boleh aja..." (dengan harapan dia nggak ngambil banyak-banyak)
Ternyata sodara-sodara, itu seplastik diangkut semua ke ruang rapat dan tidak pernah kembali ke meja gue!! (T_T) Hiks... akhirnya siang itu gue bertahan dengan setengah plastik Chitato rasa ayam panggang (karena setengahnya udah dimakan office boy gue!) Salah gue juga sih cuma beli satu (namanya juga iseng!) padahal doi kan emang seneng coklat.

Ngomongin soal coklat, ada kejadian lucu beberapa tahun yang lalu. Bos gue itu suka sekali coklat TWIX dan selalu menyimpan stock di lemari es kantor. Sedangkan gue juga memang suka menyimpan coklat di laci atau lemari es kantor dan siapa aja boleh makan. Suatu hari bos gue ini meninggalkan sebatang TWIX di lemari es, kebetulan malam itu gue dan beberapa supervisor sedang lembur untuk memeriksa hasil stock take. Saking lapernya kita tergoda sekali untuk ngabisin sebatang TWIX yang ada di kulkas. Tapi karena tinggal satu, kita nggak berani, pasrah aja dengan goreng-gorengan yang dibeli si OB. Tiba-tiba keesokan harinya bos gue teriak dari dapur: "Lho, mana TWIX saya nih? Kemaren masih ada satu kok disini?" Akhirnya semua diinterogasi dan gue jadi prime suspect karena gue memang suka makan coklat. Beberapa jam kemudian dia masih yakin kalo gue yang makan coklatnya. Lalu waktu si OB masuk untuk bawain kopi, isenglah bos gue tanya:
"Wan, kamu kemarin ngeliat coklat di lemari es?"
"Iya Pak. Tinggal satu."
"Kok ilang ya, kira-kira siapa yang makan ya, nggak ada yang ngaku"
"Lho itu punya Bapak ya? Saya yang makan Pak waktu nungguin orang lembur. Saya kira punya Mbak Tres!"
Akhirnya ketauan juga siapa yang makan! Bos gue juga akhirnya nyengir dan membebaskan gue dari tuduhan... Sejak itu setiap ada coklat ilang dari kulkas nggak ada yang berani nuduh gue!

Gue emang agak picky soal makanan dan minuman, karena perut gue yang agak-agak tulalit. Yang pasti gue tidak boleh minum coke & kopi, pasti muntah (sorry!), coba bayangkan! Makanan/kue yang mengandung kopi pun tidak bisa banyak2, hasilnya sama aja, 10menit kemudian gue akan berlari menuju kamar mandi untuk... muntah! (sorry lagi!) Jadi gue amat terbiasa dan membiasakan diri dengan teh. O ya, gue juga tidak bisa minum minuman yang terlalu dingin, gampang batuk dan radang tenggorokan. Jadilah gue selalu minum teh panas atau Lemon Tea dingin ("Tapi esnya jangan banyak-banyak ya!" pesan sponsor gue sama waiter/waitress). Lantas beberapa tahun yang lalu gue suka ke HRC sama ibu ini, karena temen kita ada yang kerja disana, sekalian request MV (norak banget ya, mo liat MV aja ampe nongkrongin Happy Hour!). Rupanya ibu ini memperhatikan sekali kalau setiap nongkrong di bar, gue selalu pesen secangkir teh panas sementara orang-orang disekitar gue pesennya paling nggak coke. Rupaya suatu hari dia sudah tidak tahan dan bilang: "Coba ya Tre, ini di Hard Rock masa loe minumnya Teh Panas melulu! Mendingan gue bikinin deh di rumah gue. Ayo, pesen yang laen!" Akhirnya gue pesen... Coke yang esnya banyak! Dan keesokan harinya gue.. batuk berat! (dan ibu ini tidak pernah tau kalo gue akhirnya batuk) (^_^) He he he... Selain itu gue juga jadi kebiasaan suka bawa sebotol Aqua di dalam tas supaya tidak "terpaksa" meminum minuman yang merugikan kesehatan gue. Emang susah kalo punya perut kacau!!

Sebenernya gak ada waktu untuk nulis, tapi berhubung gue suntuk berat di kantor, gue luangkan sedikit waktu lah untuk mencurahkan isi hati gue (sapa juga yang mau baca!!). Ceritanya udah 2 hari nih the big boss returned from his holiday. Dan mulailah hari-hari yang bikin stress berat. Emang sih, kata-kata wasiatnya belon keluar, tapi gejala-gejalanya sudah mulai tampak (Deuuu..emang sakit!). Mau tau kata-kata magicnya? “Don’t give me that blank look of yours! You look like an idiot when you do that you know! And it worries me because it means there’s nothing that you understand about what we’re talking about right now!!” Asik nggak tuh… Sudah tidak terbayang berapa sekertaris dan perempuan lainnya yang menangis dan minta keluar karena perkataan ini. Rekor tercepat adalah 4 hari by Nadine (yang ngilang & menangis di kamar mandi selama 30 menit), entah apa kabarnya anak itu sekarang… Padahal gue menatap dia seperti itu bukan karena gue nggak ngerti, tapi gue takjub melihat kemampuan dia untuk berkata-kata nonstop selama beberapa menit tanpa menarik nafas!! Walopun dalem hati gue berkata: “Pak, sabar dulu bisa nggak sih, dengerin dulu penjelasan orang…” Tapi emang dia nggak bisa begitu. Yang lebih seru lagi, kalo emosi dia gak bisa ngomel pake bahasa Indonesia… Pernah ada kejadian temen gue nggak bisa bahasa Inggris… dia udah ngomel-ngomel temen gue nggak ngerti2 yang dia omongin, jadilah gue yang dipanggil untuk “menterjemahkan” omelannya ke dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Bisa bayangin gak sih, temen gue itu bengong menunggu terjemahan yang akan keluar dari mulut gue sementara dia ngomong: “Tres, can you explain to her why am I angry at her? Because bla bla bla bla… That is very stupid you know! Tell her!“ Dan saat itu juga gue harus ngomong ke temen gue: “Maksudnya Bapak nih Nin, kalo eloe begini begitu dst itu tuh goblok banget tau nggak.” Gue ngomong dengan terbata-bata bukan karena takut, tapi nahan ketawa ngeliat muka temen gue yang “polos” itu. Gila deh boss gue itu… bener-bener udah kayak drama aja tau nggak!!

Dan kerja yang begini bener-bener bikin gue tambah pingin berlibur… Misalnya aja ke tempat yang seperti gambar disebelah ini. Asik kali ya lari-larian, tidur-tiduran di atas rumput, trus berenang di danau… (MIMPI!!) Emangnya film Little House on The Prairie!!! Yah, namanya juga ngayal, boleh kan… (^_^) Soal kesampean apa kagak kan urusan belakangan. Tapi so far rencana memang berbelok menuju BALI… Wehe.. gue udah bisa ngebayangin muka nyengirnya Ibu ini yang sudah berulang kali memaksa gue untuk berlibur bareng-bareng… Eh, Mrs. Tao, gue masih punya foto loe di Bali waktu acara liburan ama sekolah kita dulu itu lho! Sayang ya waktu itu gue nggak ikut, gue malah jalan-jalan ke Jogja & Semarang… dan apesnya, ditinggal Niken pacaran ke Surabaya pula! Jadilah keliling Jogja sendirian, padahal waktu itu gue masih kelas 2 SMU dan ortu gue taunya gue sama temen gue. Begitu duit abis, langsung deh cabut ke rumah Oom gue di Semarang, dan noraknya 2 hari kemudian dia ada acara lamar-melamar calon istrinya disana. Jadilah gue ikut-ikutan Oom dan Tante gue yang laen ngelamar pake jeans dan sepatu boot! Tapi asik juga sih, karena setelah mereka nikah gue jadi ponakan kesayangan...

Dan sejak minggu kemaren gue mulai mencicil nonton film Starry Starry Night. Ceritanya lumayan juga menurut gue dan nggak niruin Winter Sonata ah! Emang sih ada salju-saljunya juga, tapi jalan ceritanya beda banget. Walaupun alurnya agak lambat tapi nggak bikin capek kaya WS lah… Selain Qiu Zhe yang memang lucu (walopun disitu dia agak2 ngeselin!), Peter Ho keren juga lho… Gue suka banget ngeliat cowok yang bisa keliatan keren pake kemeja putih dan celana panjang! Kayaknya gimana gitu… Ette, disitu mereka pake nama asli lho.... Kayak Qiu Zhe, Che Yi Rong, Peter Ho Li Tung, Wang Jian Long (akhirnya gue tau nama asli si A Tung di Lavender ini!)... Mmmh, gue juga suka OSTnya... pembukaannya dinyanyiin Qiu Zhe tapi ending songnya duet Peter Ho & gak tau siapa. Eh, jadi inget kalo malem ini gue musti latian lagi untuk weddingnya temen gue. Aduh, tapi minggu kemarin itu norak sekali... ceritanya gue sudah bersenang-senang nih bisa langsung pulang hari Jumat lalu.. Jalan-jalan lah gue ke Ambasador (jam 7-an deh) sekalian mau cari kado ultah buat Sweetie... Tiba-tiba dari jauh ada Satpam teriak ama gue: "Woy, bolos latian ya loe! Udah jam 7 nih, bukannya langsung ke gereja malah jalan-jalan dulu!" Ternyata... temen gereja gue yang jadi Satpam di Ambasador... Gue asli lupa kalo ada latian, akhirnya kita pergi bareng (pas dia juga selesai shift) dan terlambat bareng!! Dimarahin bareng juga!! Apes....

Eh, kayaknya jadi panjang ya... tapi isinya nggak karuan gini. Padahal gue berniat menulis sesuatu yang agak serius lho (*_^) seperti yang kukatan pada Mrs. Tao... tapi kok jadi begini. PUSING!

Yes!!! One nightmare down, another 100 to go!! Udah 2 minggu-an gue ‘ribut’ sama orang Telkom karena mereka tidak mau mengeluarkan Faktur Pajak, mereka bilang cukup dengan Invoice asli aja. Sampe the hired accountant musti bawa-bawa itu contoh invoice ke kantor pajak, katanya masih nggak bisa dikreditkan juga. Sampe tadi siang air mata gue udah mau tumpah waktu orang Telkom bilang dia cuma bisa kasih bukti pembayaran aja… Dan begitu beliau datang dan menunjukkan bukti pembayaran, gue bengong, disitu tertulis: "FAKTUR PAJAK SEDERHANA” lengkap dengan nomor NPWPnya. Langsung deh gue kirim OB ke kantor Pajak untuk mengecek apakah FPS itu sudah cukup valid. 1 hour later the news came: “Mbak Tresia, itu namanya Faktur Pajak Khusus, jadi bisa dikreditkan.” AMIN! Gue udah pusing mikirin bagaimana mau membiayakan PPN yang hampir 100 juta itu? I’m saved, thank YOU, Lord! Jadi walopun gue besok tetep masuk, walopun gue masih harus lembur sampe akhir bulan, walopun gue makan siang di kantor terus sampe nggak tau kalo ada komik baru, at least saat ini gue bergembira!! Tidak banyak termenung lagi. Sangat bergembira… v(^_^)v Dan malam ini gue bisa tidur “sedikit” lebih nyenyak.

“THIS IS THE DAY THAT LORD HAS MADE; YOU SHALL REJOICE & BE GLAD IN IT.” (Psalm 118:24)

These are the Words that I have to keep repeating to myself yesterday and today. There were so many things that could make me feel ungrateful, so many reasons to call it “NOT MY DAY” but once again the Scripture reminds me -- despite of moaning & groaning for something I don’t have, I should be thankful what I DO have. Though the company rejected our proposal, though I still have to work overtime for another month, though I was stranded at 9pm in the middle of a traffic jam with a car that wouldn’t start… I have to be thankful. As hard as it may be… I have learned that once you feel sorry for yourself, my friend, another good thing will pass you by without you even realizing it.

Last night I was so down and helpless but then I received an SMS from this very good friend of mine… she had made my day! Thanks, buddy, I really appreciate that SMS. Too bad now it’s your turn to be sick. Take care and have a rest will you. I love you.

And why am I writing my blog everyday now when this girl is sick, this guy seems very busy and this one is… eerrr, doing whatever she’s doing but has nothing to do with me... and they all have no time to take a peep at all? Because I’m deadly bored!! Not that I’m running out of work, absolutely not!! (I even begin to think that this work would never end until next year!) But as bored as I can be, I need a media to pour out my heart & my thoughts… to getaway from the tax papers for awhile while lunching in front of my computer (Gosh, I don’t have even have time to have lunch in the Mall!!) and there you go…. Another writing in the blog… Not impressive eh? Whatever....

Taking up the challenge of Irini.. here goes some part of what TIME wrote about my fave Mando singer, JAY CHOU.

For nearly two years Chou worked as a $600-a-song contract composer and rarely left that seventh-floor soundproof chamber where he cranked out melodies for less-talented, better-looking singers. He would write out the verses, the chorus, scratch the lyrics down on the back of a takeaway menu and then, exhausted by the work, by the unburdening of his musical subconscious, he would go back to sleep among the dust bunnies to conjure up another hit. Subsisting on ramen and fried chicken, he dreamed not of becoming a popstar but of making music. He saw that what made a performer memorable--what could make him, Jay Chou, special—were the songs themselves.

Since the release of his debut album, Jay, in November 2000 – 10 brooding, soulful, surprisingly sensual ballads and quiet pop tunes delivered with a poise that would make Craig David stand up and take notice – Jay Chou’s music has ruled, and may be transforming, the Asian pop universe.

Jacky Wu was swayed by his music. He had seen dozens of sneering pretty boys with slicked-back hair who could barely read a high C, and here was this shy, awkward pianist who seemed like he could scrawl a symphony in his sleep.

It’s not as if Chou introduced R & B to the region – David Tao and Wang Lee Hom have both been around for a while – but it wasn’t until Chous’s debut that waves of Mando-rappers and crooning R & B singers took over MTV Taiwan. “Chou is definitely setting musical trends,” says Hong Kong-based Ming Pao Weekly music critic Fung Lai-chi.

On CD’s like Jay, Fantasy, Life & Eight Dimensions, you’re listening to a man who believes in the musical choices he is making, who knows he is right. He is not singing what some manager in an office somewhere has told him will be a hit; he is singing his heart out, right now, for you.

Taken from TIME Asia. March 3, 2003 edition.
For complete article, click here.

There you go....
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Now it's personal...
Dan kenapa juga kebanyakan orang berpikir bahwa gue itu penyanyi sopran?? Emang sih kadang-kadang bisa ‘dipaksakan’ masuk ke sopran 2 tapi kok bisa-bisanya Alex yang selalu ngasih gue suara 2 ngotot banget untuk nyanyi “Be Strong & Take Courage” dgn nada dasar A tadi malem?? Padahal gue pikir gue udah cukup ngotot kalo waktu wedding-nya Wawan – Audrey itu nada dasarnya diturunin ke G. Masih kurang ngotot gak sih gue kalo begini:

Me: Lex, kayaknya dulu Mas Andy maen lagu itu di G deh. Soalnya gue nggak sampe.
Alex: Nggak ah! Soalnya Bas-nya kerendahan. Loe bisa kok!
Me: Lex, masalahnya bukan Cuma karena gue nggak nyampe, itu si Hendry tenor solonya juga nggak nyampe karena ditengah lagu dia musti ngambil suara 3! (*gue mulai kesel*)
Hendry: Iya Lex, aku ndak nyampe nih kalau ndak diturunin. (*orang Jawa… lebih sabar*)
Alex: Nyampe ah, nyampe.. kemaren udah dicoba kok sama Xandra, nyampe! (*ikut ngotot*) Loe coba aja!
Me: Ya udah, kita lita aja nanti. Kalo emang Xandra nyampe, dia aja yang nyanyi ama Hendry, jangan gue! (*mulai naik darah*) Gue sih udah pasti nggak bisa!
Hendry: Jangan gitu dong Tin! (*panik/sambil ngelus punggung gue*) K’ Nenen coba dulu deh, dia sampe nggak.

Sampe sini si Alex itu mulai diem, tapi mukanya udah cemberut. Trus K’ Nenen (yang ngelatih PS remajanya) dateng… Dan Alex pun meminta dia coba menyanyi dengan nada dasar A (karena dia sopran)… Tiba-tiba:

K’ Nenen: Gila loe Lex! Ini sih nyiksa namanya… Gue aja udah mau kecekek gini, gimana Kristin (ini nama panggilan gue di gereja)?
Alex: Masa sih Nen… (*mulai nggak enak ati*) Kayaknya kemaren dicoba pas disitu?
K’ Nenen: Nggak mungkin Lex, ini maennya di G kok, kan ada overtone-nya 4 kali. Dulu gue juga kok yang ngelatih anak-anak lagu ini. (*anak ini emang sabar banget*)
Alex: Iya ya? Ya udah… maen di G aja… (*sambil ngeloyor pergi*)

Sebenernya saat itu gue udah berhasrat sekale pengen nimpuk anak ini… Tapi ya sudahlah... akhirnya latihan dilanjutkan dengan sedikit rasa kesal, capek dan … sukses karena nada dasarnya nggak ketinggian!! Dan yang pasti gue berhasil menahan diri untuk tidak mengatakan: “Tuh kan, gue bilang juga apa… di G kan!! Makanya jangan ngotot!!”

So... I dedicated this very first picture in this blog for Okke... Why is she so special? Because I'm very sure if I don't upload anything in a few more days I'm going to get killed on her next trip to Jakarta!! (^_^) OK Ke, OK? And why this picture? Cause I really need to believe in those words right now. And I believe that some of you too... God Bless!!
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Akhirnya gue tumbang!

Abis gereja & ke Warnet untuk cek apakah ada e-mail dari IK atau tidak, gue pulang dan terkapar sampe pagi! Bahkan Senin pagi pun sedikit telat bangun untuk Seminar di gereja. Untung aja hampir semua peserta pada ngaret jadi gue nggak merasa terlalu bersalah (^_^) Acaranya bagus banget dan disitu Oom Stephen juga ngasih kuesioner yang harus kita isi untuk mengetahui tipe orang seperti apakah kita. The result? Of all 30 people in the seminar, I was the only CREATOR-ADVANCER. Or in another words I am a conceptual & spontaneous minded person. There were actually 4 types, but I tend to be on those 2 sides. Kak Carol was the only CREATOR-REFINER or conceptual & methodological minded. The most was REFINER-EXECUTOR or methodical & normative minded.

The seminar ended at 5.30pm then K’ Carol, Tari , Hendry & I went to Aquarius Mahakam. I finally bought “STOMP OUT LOUD” Vcd and…. RSD cassette. He he he sebenernya gue tiba2 aja pengen beli kaset Indonesia tapi bingung mau beli yang mana karena gue (terus terang) nggak terlalu mengikuti perkembangan musik Indonesia. Sambil gue menggumam: “Beli kaset apa yah? Apa ya kaset Indonesia yang terakhir gue beli? Ada nggak sih sebenernya yang pernah gue beli?” Dan Tari pun nyeletuk dengan nyolot: “Loe kan punya kaset Dewa! Inget gak sih loe?” Oh iya, akhirnya gue inget punya kaset Dewa… Tadinya mau beli Cokelat… kata Ina (another still in High School cousin) bagus.. tapi Sweetie & K’ Carol bilang nggak bagus-bagus amat. Trus K’ Carol mengusulkan RSD. Ya sudah, akhirnya gue beli itu kaset The Best-nya RSD.. lagipula gue tau lah sebagian besar lagu-lagunya walaupun nggak hapal & I think they’re okay. Abis dari Aquarius tadinya mau makan-makan dulu dimana gitu… Namun buyarlah rencana tersebut karena Sweetie musti ke ultah temennya di PIM.. K’ Carol udah janji mau nganterin, jadi nggak bisa ngotot pergi makan ama gue. Akhirnya gue nganterin Tari pulang dan pulang juga! Nyetir pulang dengan sedikit mengantuk, jadi agak pelan-pelan. O iya, yang gue sebut Sweetie itu si Hendry, my faithful duet partner for almost 3 years. Kenapa dipanggil Sweetie? Bukan panggilan mesra atau panggilan sayang… tapi karena anak itu sok manis!! (^_^) Terlalu sibuk sama penampilan & rambut keritingnya itu. Julukan itu yang ngasih gue, JC, Alfrits & Sonny waktu latihan nyanyi dirumahnya dan anak itu dandan lama banget abis mandi, padahal cuma mau kebaktian pemuda doang! Tapi emang gue musti akuin anak itu bodynya ok juga dan paling tinggi diantara kita ber-5. Saking sibuknya dia sama rambut, gue dan Erina (his niece) suka ngeledekin dia: “Ada masalah dengan gusi? (Iklan pasta gigi, masih inget nggak?) Oh tidak, saya punya masalah dengan rambut!” Dan akhirnya kita berdua memanggil dia “Si Masalah Dengan Rambut.” BTW, anak itu akan ultah yang ke-23 tgl 8 nanti dan gue mulai pusing lagi mau kasih apa. Beginilah kalau tiap taun dapet kado dari orang, giliran orang itu yang harus dikasih kado, bingung. Erina juga sudah meng-SMS gue bahwa tgl 8 itu mau kasih surprise party buat dia dan gue harus bantuin tapi nggak boleh bilang-bilang sama dia. Ini yang berat, karena sepanjang minggu ini gue latihan nyanyi melulu sama dia untuk wedding-nya Mas Andy-Ocha.

Aih, minggu ini bakalan jadi minggu yang super sibuk buat gue. Dari Senin sampe Jumat penuh dengan latihan & kegiatan rutin lainnya yang sudah 2 bulan kutinggalkan dan tidak bisa ditinggalkan lebih lama lagi. Sedangkan Sabtu siang mungkin ke Bintaro untuk bantuin Auntie Hanna siapin Sweetie’s surprise party. Aduh… kapan bisa tidur dengan puas??

I still had a fever last night & sweating so much that I have to wake up a couple of times to change my shirt. And this morning when I woke up, my eyes were swollen!! Dunno why.. maybe because of the fever n’ the lack of sleep. Terpaksa deh kekantor agak siangan, ngompres mata dulu! Kalo nggak ntar disangka abis digebukin orang lagi!!

Despite my slight fever & the plan to have a rest before the youth service, I couldn’t said no to myself not to go to Ace Hardware when I passed Pasaraya with Pak Wahono. So there I was, almost 1.5 hour going through every stack & aisle… Bought rubber matts for the bathroom, a funny clown shaped bed lamp & a bottle of ‘multi surface cleaner’. I haven’t been there for like… what, a year? My friends always say: “What are you doing in there? There isn’t much interesting stuff for girls, just tools and such!” And my answer was always: “Well, I think there are many interesting & useful things in there… like this glass repair kit in my pencil case?And… well, you wouldn’t understand if I explain it to you anyway”. Hmm, yes, maybe not many people could understand this unusual habit of mine. Probably because of my dad. When I was a kid, I love watching him fixing & making things in our house… And I was always trying to be helpful that I even hit my thumb with the hammer while trying to make my own stool! (^_^) It went purple and swollen for like a week or so, but I forgot about the pain when I sat on it… I felt so satisfied and so proud of it that I even asked my mom to use it when she’s washing the clothes. I think I was in 4th grade at that time and there’s this soldering-iron incident… Wa ha ha… I was so curious watching the tin melted at the tip of the solder and it didn’t look hot at all. So when my dad wasn’t watching, I held its tip and a second later: “WAAAA!!!” I burnt my thumb, index & middle fingers! My dad was so mad for a while but then he showed me how to use it and let me help him. This kinda thing my father taught me made me like to work with my hands… In my previous job, the only guy in the management was… how to say it? Girlie. And the other 2 women were moms. So who else but me who had to fix a stuck drawer, replaced a missing bolt, and so on. When everyone’s desk was full with papers & ‘cemilan’, mine was a place to find cutters, nails in several sizes (cause sometimes I have to hang picture samples), double tapes, screwdrivers & fishers.

This have made me dubbed as a ‘tomboy’ though I don’t feel like one. I consider myself as a girl who knows how to work with my hands (“capable hands” and old friend called it) and feel comfortable with it. I don’t always know how to fix things, but I learned to understand how it works, its mechanism so at least I understand what’s the problem. This, is also what my father taught me. I wanted so much to be like him that I learned all of that… and I never regret one single minute that spent working with him. Never. But the only thing he wouldn’t let me do with him was…. Fishing! Yes, fishing. His way of fishing was spending 3 days in the sea on a boat with his friends. He loves fishing so much that he had his own fishing net. You know, the real one, the very big one that the fisherman use! So he took me to Tanjung Priok Port instead. Especially when I was down or had a quarrel with my mom. He would drive me there, took me to the farthest place and left me there crying and screaming my heart out at the rocks & fishes! After that I usually felt much better and he would take me for a big glass of Kelapa Muda.

Dad… he’s the one who has made me who & what I am today. And my favorite childhood with him was… he would let me choose my own dress & clothes while shopping with him!! Dad… I love him so much. And no…. until now he couldn’t make me learn how to change tires or what to do when the car suddenly stop in the middle of somewhere!! I still have to call home when this happen to me! I’m not a Wonder Woman you know!!!

And again, here I am after my lil' cousin's birthday... ignoring my mom's plea to go straight home because she's afraid I might get sick if I don't have enough rest: "Udah tiap hari ke kantor bukannya tidur dirumah! Kamu juga kan musti Paduan Suara nanti sore, Kalo sakit malah nggak bisa kerja hari Selasa!" But I really have to check my mail because my boss asked me to, said that he has something important to be forwarded to his friend. Ah... getting sleepy... better go now... Ciao!!