The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

A humble campus

Started from last week I'm officially a...lecturer :). A temporary lecturer, to be exact. This is the place where I'm doing my job. Honestly, I've never even once thought that I'm going to do a similar job like my father. Yeah, I always consider myself as a shy woman who hates being the center of attention, allergic to stand in front of so many people who keep staring at me, listening to what I'm saying, demanding more explanations and such. But well, I guess now I know what my father meant as "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree". I can't refuse the fact that I inherited my father's knacks. My father even told me that I'm 100% his characters' copy/duplicate. Too bad he passed down his look only to my dear brother #tongue. If he passed down his look to me too, I think we would very much like twins who have 30 years age gap. #grin

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Maher Zain 'Forgive Me' Concert 2012: The Good and The Bad

Coming earlier always gives you advantage

Last week, I happened to watch Maher Zain concert in Istora Senayan, Jakarta. I've been rooting to watch this concert since I love Maher's Forgive Me album. A lot :). Hence, I didn't think twice to buy the ticket. Moreover, I already got myself ready to watch it alone. Such a loner Walker, Texas Ranger :D! But then, Milena (~my cousin's wife) tagged along (without knowing who Maher Zain was. Ha~ XD! To make it "worse" she even thought Zayn Malik was Maher! #ROFL). Regardless, I ended up watching it with her. 

The Good

Who doesn't agree that getting a "buy one get one ticket for free" is awesome? Haha :D. Yeah, that's what I got. I was lucky to get that fantastic deal because I bought the last bargain "ticket box" just a few hours before the concert started. I bought "GOLD" seating ticket which originally costs IDR1.200.000 each. Because it's "buy one get one for free" deal, thus I paid the same price but got two tickets, one for me and another one for Milena. We've divided it and paid IDR600.000 each. 好棒, 對不對 :D?

Abi, Miku, Shokhi

After arrived back to Indonesia on August 17 and been staying in Jakarta for more than a month, I finally came back home to Yogyakarta. Safe and sound. Alhamdulillah :). 

"Shokhi" in her new kaftan

Home is...my everything. And, the most 'attractive object' that simply lured me to come back home is this little girl, my niece. She is ADORABLE! I guarantee, you'll falling in love with her at the first sight and you'll fall for her head over heels after you see her 'entertaining skills'. She's now into learning new words and can directly parroting your sayings. Well, not enunciating your words clearly, but she'll pronounce them in her cute-enchanting way. Ha...lovely XD! Better be careful to say any word in front of her. As for now, she still couldn't pronounce her name well. Instead of saying 'Shofi", she always says 'Shokhi'. #ROFL

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I can always see a glitter of happiness in my brother and sis in-law's eyes whenever they hear their daughter says 'Abiku' or 'Ummiku' (abbr. 'Abi' and 'Miku' #ROFL). That's what I understand as a bless of having a child. Even the aunt's feeling can be this AMAZING, thus I  couldn't imagine a word beyond it that can describe parents' feelings. Subhanallah. I'm the luckies aunt on planet earth :)!

Ketika Logika Haram Dimainkan, Ketika Hidup Tak Berhenti di Titik Kegagalan

 “Aku tuh udah ngelakuin semua yang aku mampu untuk bisa lulus. Aku udah membuang seluruh ego dan pride-ku untuk memohon-mohon kepada advisor-ku agar dia tuntas mendukung penelitian tesisku. Sampai panas kuping dan sakit hati tiap kali mendengar caci-maki ketidakpuasannya pun tabah kuterima. Tapi kenapa akhirnya aku gagal juga? Kenapa Allah me-.....”
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Protes itu benar-benar pernah kudengar dari mulut seorang teman yang mengalami ‘nasib’ setali tiga uang denganku; kandas lulus dari studi pascasarjana setelah jauh-jauh merantau ke negeri orang. Protes atas ‘ketidakadilan’ takdir yang digariskan oleh-Nya. Unjuk rasa atas taburan garam di luka menganga. Aku tahu, protes temanku itu lazim dilontarkan siapapun ketika kekecewaan bertunas, tentunya dalam konteks kehidupan masing-masing. Ketika usaha gila-gilaan yang dilakukan tak linear dengan hasil (yang didapatkan), saat anak panah yang dilepaskan tak akurat dan tak pula presisi tertancap pada area papan bidik, maka tak ayal, berbagai pertanyaan pun berloncatan di benak, mempertanyakan ketentuan-Nya.

Ada poin penting yang dapat kusimpulkan dari curcol temanku itu. ‘Logika tidak layak diperturutkan’. Kenapa? Karena tak semua hal/peristiwa dapat kita tarik logika keberhasilan/ketidakberhasilannya. Kehidupan seorang Muslim banyak beririsan dengan hal bernuansa metafisika-supernatural, kasat mata, dan tak dapat diindera, sehingga ketika ia memperturutkan logika, pasti pula sesatnya.

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