For Better Or Worse (part 1)

Source : http://tinyurl.com/m7gwo7s

From the very beginning, I knew that marriage life is not only going to be filled with joy and happiness. When someone agrees to marry his/her precious one, there's a sacred vow behind that agreement to bear everything together. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. 

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Allah will test every human being HE created with HIS own way. Human never knows when, where or what kind of test HE will give. The only thing that human can do is preparing him/herself for any kind of test. The better he/she prepares himself/herself, the easier he/she can accept the fact that he/she is now being tested, then move on and figure things out. 

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40 Days

Outer 

Inner

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I recall me and my fuhus met for the first time at the end of February 2013, talked about marriage at the end of March 2013, met each other's parents on earlier April 2013, and he proposed me to my father on April 21, 2013. Everything turned out to be fast, smooth and easy....as I wished to Allah it would be. I hope we can "patiently" wait for 40 more days and "taking care" of each other in terms of not doing anything foolish or dangerously silly. 

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet". 

(Jean-Jacques Rousseau) 

P.S : Now I know why when two opposite sexes are attracted to each other and felt "lock and key" as in "destined or meant to be together", the only answer to "make everything right and blessed" is the MARRIAGE. Only MARRIAGE....not elses. #pengalamanpribadi

The Speedy Runner

Source : http://tinyurl.com/c753dov

Around a month ago, when I went back home to attend my late grandfather's funeral, I took my very limited time to go to some nostalgic places. One of them was my senior high school. Don't ask why this so randomish wanderer ended up visiting her previous school. At that very moment, I just felt I have to pay a visit. That's it.

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Honestly, when I arrived at my senior high school's front gate, I soon felt super oldie old #grin #nodoubt. After parked my motorcycle across the school and scanned through things in front of my eyes, I found scenes that somehow linked me to the past. My past...when I was studying there. I saw my old self in some neatly-dressed-and-veiled students who were standing in front of the school for a bus that would safely take them home. I saw my old self in a group of rowdy young girls, chattering while ordering sets of meatballs and noodles at the nearby street vendor. And, the most memorable one, I saw my old self in a tracksuit-wearing young students who were playing football at Lapangan Karang, a football field just 3-minute walk from the school. Nostalgic. 

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A Very Sok-Belum-Kenal Marriage Proposal

The original version of this marriage proposal

Someone clearly believe this expression, "The most romantic place on planet earth to propose a woman you like is at the library". Guess that "someone" is no other than my future husband.

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Eight days after his official khitbah, he proposed me again at his very favorite contemplation place, Diknas Library. Please don't ask me how did it feel to get proposed by someone you adore in a very serene place like library. Don't ask me either the feeling of getting proposed TWICE in eight days. On that second proposal, I could only remember covering my overly blushing face with his book, -the book where he wrote his marriage proposal. 

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Let me tell you a no-longer secret: I'm going to marry a romanticist.

April 21 ~ Makhtubah

Source : http://tinyurl.com/azhqdtu

April 21 is R.A. Kartini's birth date. And according to some references, it is also Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) date of birth. As for me, April 21 is the day when my journey to the marriage is started. April 21, 2013. Now, I'm a "makhtubah"*.

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I can say that my khitbah** story is rather unique. Why is that? Well, because it wasn't really planned. I mean, my fuhus*** didn't really plan to khitbah-ing me on April 21, 2013. Today, he and his family was only intended to meet my parents, strengthened silaturrahim, and chose the marriage date (for us). But then, a night before that date (read : yesterday), my genius father offered a change of plan. My father told me to tell my fuhus to sort of modify the visit into khitbah mode. This is what he said:

"Sekalian aja deh bilang ke Mas-mu untuk melamarmu besok, Nak. Walaupun tidak lengkap, keluarga kita banyak yang bisa hadir dan mengingat mengumpulkan mereka itu tidak mudah, ya jadi sekalian saja. Lagipula kan sudah jelas arahan kalian menuju ke pernikahan. Buat apa lagi "basa-basi" silaturrahim?!".

Rest in Peace, Kung...

Dramaga. Cibubur. Brunch. Text (from my little sister). Call (from my father). Re-scheduling (my English and Biochem classes). Reserving (any late plane ticket). Ririt. Luggage. Taxi. Damri.

In the blink of an eye, this feverish-red-nosed-watery-eyes-extremely-dizzy-very-sick woman was half-consciously sitting on her seat in the giant iron bird that flied her home. To Yogyakarta. Then Magelang. Eventually to her grandfather's cemetery. 

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I couldn't manage to attend grandpa's funeral ceremony because of my late flight. I couldn't see grandpa for the last time. I only found his wet, dark, and rose-scented burial ground. Serene.

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I couldn't believe that I finally went back home for an obituary. My grandfather has passed away. My heart felt the sudden grief, but also a relief. He fought his life-threatening severe disease for quite a while. Everyone sent him without dramatic tears. Stand tall. Strong. Rest in peace, Kung :'(

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"Sesungguhnya kami milik Allah dan kepadaNya kami kembali dan kepada Tuhan kami semua akan kembali. Ya Allah! Tulislah dia (yang meninggal dunia) termasuk golongan orang-orang yang berbuat kebaikan di sisi Engkau dan jadikanlah tulisan itu dalam tingkatan yang tinggi serta gantilah ahlinya dengan golongan orang-orang yang pergi dengan ketaatan kepadaMu".

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Grammar Nazi

Source: http://tinyurl.com/bgqf92o

I won't deny that I can sometimes become a grammar nazi. There are times that being a grammar nazi is a glorious act, as in when you're doing a proofreading or editing a manuscript. But contrarily, chances are you'll turn out to be a supercilious-egotistic human being because you're acting almighty-a-know-it-all about language.

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Well, being a grammar nazi doesn't always make you a jerk, but constantly correcting people's grammar (or typo) can be considered as harsh and insulting. Hence, a grammar nazi who feels the NEEDS of correcting people's grammar should learn how to do that in a correct manner, politely.

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Get Obsessed!

"Cinta adalah anak dari kecocokan jiwa. Maka jika kecocokan jiwa itu tiada, jangan harapkan cinta itu hadir dalam hitungan tahun bahkan milenia". (Khalil Gibran)

Section akhwat S.E.L.A.L.U penuh :D

Okay, that is just so WOW-ing! Honestly, my heart was fluttering at the moment I heard Ust. Salim A. F. reciting that sentences a few weeks ago when I attended his kajian at 4th Bogor's IBF. Well, it's true that I haven't met my "soulmate" yet (maybe he's just right before my eyes and still preparing himself or maybe he's dunno-out-there and still looking for me), but after listening to this kajian I feel like getting more patient waiting for him. #tapipleasejanganlama2,ya XD

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Being single or married is actually has its own "advantages". And most cases, one another always envying each other in such a ridiculous way. The single wants to get married because she/he thinks that getting married is super fun, whereas the married one wants to be single again for a freedom of doing anything's reason. Well, that's just "so human" :). As for my case, the single, the most important thing is preparing oneself before taking a responsibility as a wife or husband. Ust. Salim pinpointed one critical thing as a preparation before the marriage (for the single) : GET OBSESSED instead of EXPECTING.

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Tenanting

My boarding house in Balio

Three weeks have gone by and I almost couldn't believe  to see how fast I'm adapting myself to Bogor and IPB. I guess I have to give thanks to my "dramatic" and "agonizing" experiences in Taiwan for that #tongue! Seriously, Bogor is nothing to be compared to Chiayi. I would like to say, "If you have exposed yourself to the worst situation unimaginable, other situations will be sensed just alright". Yeah, kinda like that :).

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During my 3.5-year stay in Taiwan, I lived in a four-people shared room. I couldn't help it because my campus only provided that kind of facility on its dormitory. Well, actually,  NCYU also provided two-people shared room. But the problem is, it's in a boys-girls dormitory. HELL NO...I'd rather die than have to share the same living space with boys #seriusan! As for now, I'm living in a 11-room boarding house with other woman tenants. Eight of them are students at IPB, while two of them are high school's graduates. Of course living in your own room (or I would rather call it "cubicle" for its small size :D) is way more delighted than in the four-shared dormitory's room. Alhamdulillah...everyone here is very nice. I can easily make friends with all of them. 

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Motivation Matters

Source: http://tinyurl.com/a8qgkoj

A few days ago, I have a LINE chat with my old friend who is still struggling in Taiwan to pursue her degree. She told me that she is currently feel bored with her routines as a PhD student. Futur riset. Oh well, I couldn't blame her for that. Imagine you're keep on studying from your compulsory education (elementary school until junior high school; 9-year compulsory education is being implemented in Indonesia), to senior high school, university, and directly proceed to Master's degree then PhD degree. Without any break. You just keep climbing the stairs of educational degree until the "dead end", -PhD. Bummer.

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As for my friend's case, she was being honest about lacking of motivation in completing her last stage of academic degree. She doesn't know yet where should she heads to or what kind of job that she's actually want to do in the future. Moreover, she's currently not engaged with any institution/university, as in being a lecturer, an employee, a researcher or such. Hence, things are quite blurry in her eyes. 

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Greetings from Dramaga!

Dramaga's district sign

Oh yeah...this post is typed by a full-time student who is enjoying her first week of campus routines :D! So, after battling with the whole entrance procedures, I have finally started again my academic life as a master's degree student. Alhamdulillah :). やっぱり, studying is SUPER FUN!

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However, since Bogor is not Yogyakarta nor Jakarta (nor Chiayi :D), I have to adapt to this city. Well, Dramaga is not a hectic area, though. It's a little bit hectic ONLY because two ANGKOT terminals (= Laladon and Bubulak) are located side by side, hence the vehicles that going around Dramaga are jam-packed on its narrow-and-badly-perforated road #grin. Nevertheless, because I had proved to survive well in Taiwan, I think I'm going to be just fine staying in Bogor. 

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Setu Babakan = Bir Pletok

Street sign

Have you ever been to Setu Babakan? Or maybe I should narrow the question down to, "Have you even ever heard about a place named Setu Babakan"? Never mind if you're the latter one, because I ain't no different #grin. If it wasn't because of this article, I wouldn't know that Setu Babakan is even exist in Jakarta. #superlame

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Curiosity naturally drove me to "Lake Babakan" which is located in Southern Jakarta; not too far from Depok. Just exactly as I imagined, Setu Babakan is an interesting place. What's so special about it? Well, if a place known as "Betawi Cultural Village" (Perkampungan Budaya Betawi) is not interesting enough to be considered as INTERESTING, then a four legged cat is interesting #tongue. 

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Realistically Speaking?

Source: http://tinyurl.com/axhv4lw

A week ago, one of my friends Whatsapp-ed me to vent her current state of 'anxiety'. For a normal Indonesian bachelorette who is in their late 20s of age, the anxiety only means one matter; MARRIAGE :). Yep, that typical anxiety-slash-galau is beyond normal to be described as N.O.R.M.A.L. 

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As for akhwat tarbiyah, the anxiety can be particularly categorized as follows :

1. Being a 'mujahidah' just like Khadijah r.a or keeps waiting a-hurrah-news from the murabbi
2. Pestering the relatives or other ikhwah to find your Mr. Right
3. Tying a knot to ikhwan from another harakah or marrying non-ikhwah who made a move on the akhwat

Let's get back to my friend's story. She told me that a Salafi was ready to make a speedy move on her, thus she was kind of flustered to make a right decision. IMHO, "right decision" can be completely mixed up with the longing of a marriage, a rush to do that before you're turning 30, or a pressure from external factors (~such as parents or society).  When you're almost 30, you've gone through a countless failed ta'aruf, and finally gets tired waiting ikhwan tarbiyah to propose and marry you...a Salafi can finally be seen as "well, not bad". It's rather complicated, isn't it?

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This Is How Ukhuwah Works

These past three weeks, I've been insanely going back and forth from Jakarta to Bogor. And let me tell you that it was VERY TIRING to do that by motorcycling XD! Breaking news, now I'm officially one of the millions of capital city's motorcycle rider. Ha~...adios, angkot! Yeah, I must do that for the sake of fulfilling my IPB's registration procedures. We are all know that the university entrance registration procedures are always VERY COMPLICATED. But surprisingly, I HAD A FUN completing every single step of it. Seriously :). 

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So, last week, when I was in the middle of getting a recommendation letter from the dean of IPB's Graduate School, I bumped into these people:

Bapake SBI (fourth from right) and Mr. Kom (third from right) :D

Taiwan's Tea Shops in Indonesia

Chatime's Pearl Milk Tea

Once, maybe around a year ago, I had a conversation with my Indonesian comrades when we were still studying in Taiwan. All of us agreed that Taiwan's indigenous PEARL MILK TEA was going to be missed later after we were back to Indonesia. Some of us even jokingly confessed would die without drinking pearl milk tea #includingme..ha~!. Others also considering to establish a similar tea shop in Indonesia #tapiiniomongdoang :p.

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Now, a year later, I can see that tea products, especially pearl milk tea, are getting popular among Indonesian. But the problem is, Indonesia-based tea shops are only opened in the malls and exclusive places whereas Taiwan-based tea shops are so ubiquitous that you can find their shops built individually every 500 meters. That's why the crave of getting a gulp of tea products can be quite hard to be fulfilled here. #kudupergikemalldulu XD

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Two Taiwan's tea chains that now available in Indonesia are CHATIME and SHARE TEA. The first one is my personal favorite. Besides a palate satisfactory reason, CHATIME also provides a member card, as in its original Taiwan-based store. Thus, you can collect a stamp for each purchase and after you've collected 10 stamps you'll get one free drink. Cool, eh? The oh-not-so-cool thing is...the price. Yeah, it's quite pricey for a budget customer. A regular and large cup usually differ around IDR2000, with the cheapest price at IDR20.000-something. The cup size and toppings you choose will set the price you have to pay.

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Oh, btw, I figured out from @ChatimeIndo's Twitter account that it's currently working on the halal certification from MUI. Here is the detail:

"ChatimeIndo sdg dalam proses sertifikasi halal. Dan kami memakai bhn yg sama dgn Chatime Malaysia yg sdh bersertifikat halal".

Handling Elderly Parents

Have you ever heard that once you've turned old you're actually starting over your life phase, again as a kid?

My aunt (66), her husband (66),
and her mother-in-law (95)

   Since I'm currently living at my aunt's home, I've started to experience things her family is facing. That's the reality I can't resist; I have to involve myself. And honestly, even though sometimes I feel like "he*k, this family is a complete opposite to mine!", I do learn a lot of things  here, including about "parenthood". 

    So, my aunt and her husband are currently taking over the biggest responsibility in their own nuclear families. Means, both of them are kindheartedly taking care of their remaining parents at home; their mothers (~thus one of them is my grandmother from my father's side). "Huh, what is so special about son/daughter taking care of their own parents ?", probably you would ask that. My answer would be, "Very special".  

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