Ini Saja Sudah Cukup

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Hari terakhir di Lagos yang sedang dibasahi hujan, saya menyempatkan melaju ke salah satu mall untuk membawa pulang dua kain Ankara untuk ibu saya dan ibu rekan saya. Tahun ini, tak seperti biasanya, oleh-oleh kerajinan lokal tak memenuhi koper. Saya hanya membawa beberapa untuk orang-orang yang sudah saya janjikan. Karena selain sudah empat kali kembali ke Indonesia, saya menekan pengeluaran sebisanya karena pasti esok saat saya transit di Abu Dhabi, godaan membawa oleh-oleh sudah bergema di seantero bandara. Sesampainya di apartemen, saya mulai menyiapkan menu buka puasa terakhir disela packing yang selalu saja menyenangkan.

Rintik hujan sore itu tak berhenti hingga lepas pukul delapan. Isya’ disana dimulai sekitar pukul 8.15. Biasanya, bila jarum jam mendekati angka delapan, saya menjemput pak Tono untuk sholat Isya dan tarawih bersama selama Ramadhan. Beliau adalah florist berpengalaman yang bekerja sama dengan saya dan tiga orang Indonesia lainnya di perusahaan. Hampir setiap malam kami berdua menyempatkan sholat Isya’ dan tarawih berjamaah dengan sekumpulan warga lokal bersuku Hausa. Hausa adalah salah satu suku besar yang mayoritas (mungkin hampir semuanya) beragama Islam.

Jangan bayangkan kami sholat di masjid atau surau kecil seperti di Indonesia. Tempat kami sholat hanyalah halaman yang cukup lapang seperti foto di atas. Halaman yang dipenuhi trailer-trailer itu adalah komplek gudang gula yang berada di lingkungan apartemen ekspatriat India. Kami hanya perlu berjalan sekitar seperempat kilo dari apartemen sendiri, melewati jalanan yang kadang masih gelap karena pasokan listrik yang belum merata. Sekumpulan warga Hausa yang notabene bekerja sebagai sopir trailer dan sekuriti itulah yang menjadi teman-teman kami selama Ramadhan. Dulu, sebelum pak Tono menemukan mereka, saya menjalankan sholat tarawih sebisanya di kamar. Di luar Ramadhan, beliau sering menghabiskan waktu untuk sholat Subuh dan Isya’ berjamaah bersama mereka sedang saya hanya sempat jika Ramadhan tiba. Itupun, hanya sholat Isya’ dan tarawih.

 

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Tarawih bersama pak Tono dan mereka di komplek gudang gula itu memang jauh dari apa yang biasa saya temukan di Indonesia. Tanpa kipas angin atau ac yang sejuk, sajadah beraneka corak, gema adzan dimana-mana, bunch of people yang hilir-mudik dengan baju koko, sarung, dan mukena yang nampak meriah saat Ramadhan. Tapi justru, di komplek gudang itu saya menemukan nikmat tarawih yang tak biasa. Tiga gulung tikar seadanya yang selalu siap bahkan sebelum kami berdua datang, angin sepoi-sepoi yang nikmatnya masyaallah, pendaran bulan yang kadang muncul saat langit sedang cerah-cerahnya, sampai cerita-cerita renyah masa muda pak Tono yang kadang beliau ceritakan disela menunggu mereka selesai wudhu, somehow, those are the real invisible luxury.

Malam itu gerimis kembali turun sesaat sebelum kami tarawih. Karena tak memungkinkan untuk sholat di halaman terbuka, kami pindah ke dalam sebuah kontainer bekas. Mungkin hanya puji syukur yang membuat kami menemukan kenikmatan tarawih di dalam sana. Di dalam kontainer bekas yang hanya beralaskan beberapa tikar apa adanya, tanpa kesejukan dan tanpa penerangan. Mungkin benar adanya, kenikmatan kadang lebih dihargai saat kita justru tak berada di dalam kenikmatan.

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Ijinkan saya menyematkan rasa syukur karena tahun ini berkesempatan menghabiskan sisa Ramadhan lagi bersama keluarga dan sahabat-sahabat di Indonesia. I cant’ ask for more. Semoga tahun depan, saya beserta keluarga, sahabat-sahabat, anda juga, berkesempatan bertemu kembali dengan Ramadhan. Amin YRA.

Cheers,

-A-

Surabaya, 11 Juli 2015. 

Ditulis saat saya terbangun kembali setelah terlelap tepat usai tarawih. Dan oh, lima hari sudah saya di sini, di Indonesia :).

Fifth Of July

Here we are, July!. I’m so pleased I can start counting hours to fly home (in fact, I’m so sleepy right now!). It’s always exciting wondering what should I do there, who will I spend my quality time with, what will I eat (oh Indonesian food, I can’t wait!) and where will I go this year.

Alright, before I fall sleep and wake up again for my last suhoor in the next four hours in this apartment, I would like to share some shots I did today. I can’t argue if you think these pictures would be so cheesy (since I’m not stylish enough to start sharing ‘fashion-stylist’ post kind of, sigh!). Hope you guys can take it as ‘photography-practice’ via iPhone ;).

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Comfortable outfit is a must if I travel for almost 20 hours (oh 22 hours to be exact if I have to count my transit time). I choose super comfortable basic tee by Zara for top and loose harem by Giordano for under (super comfy and who need belt in the airport? I wore the same thing last year). Just because a blanket can’t warm me enough inside the airplane, I take two-sided jacket by Zara (dunno, I always feel international flight is much chiller). Shoes with shoelaces is big no no when I have to travel with an airplane, basic jute shoes by Zara is big yes. A watch is substantial as well (it’s Fossil). Oh, I bring some of my cooking books along with other stuffs home.

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I have to make sure that my stuffs are neatly arranged inside my medium suitcase. First, because I love to see them arranged tidily, second (and I think it’s the real reason why) is the check-in officer in the airport will always ask the passenger to open their suitcase. By arranging your stuffs neatly, it means you don’t need to waste your time with them (cause sometimes it’s a bit annoying when they start asking you a, b, c, d). Picture above is the only one taken with mirror-less.

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What I put inside my mini Herschel backpack are my iPad, important files, portable charger, earphones of course, my travel wallet from Fossil, light chips and chocolates. I keep it as light as possible cause I put my MacBook and all those chargers, portable hard drives inside the smaller suitcase. My mirror-less is going with me as well just in case I find interesting moment/objects later.

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This year I have to be reasonable in so many ways, including how I spend for souvenirs. Tight budget is never be my friend yet I have to be more discipline for it. This noon I went to get two Ankara, one for my Mom and for the other one, I know who will I give to. I should bring more for my sisters but I think I’ll get something in Abu Dhabi. The rest of those souvenirs are already booked by the owner-will-be.

Well, I thanked God for another year I spent in this country. Challenges, tension, and obstacles I face for past eleven months made me stronger and stronger. Now, time to rest a bit and find big smile on my face when I wake up (gosh, it’s almost mid night!).

Indonesia, I’ll see you soon :).

Cheers,

-A-

A Simply Way To Be Grateful

“Azis, your work is slow, very slow. It’s not like you before, I’m not happy.”.

Kemudian, sontak saya merasa ada yang tak mengenakkan.

***

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Kalimat pertama di atas itu terucap dua kali, Senin kemarin dan hari ini. Bos saya nampak tak puas dengan apa yang saya kerjakan akhir-akhir ini. Beliau bilang speed saya teramat lambat. Bahkan sangat lambat. Tak seperti Azis yang beliau kenal, yang cekatan dan tak pernah terlambat menyelesaikan tugas. Saya tak menyangka beliau mengatakan “your work is very slow” untuk kedua kalinya. Saya pribadi tak setuju jika apa yang saya kerjakan lambat adanya. Hanya saja, harus saya akui I jumped from one to another, dan membuat apa yang saya kerjakan nampak lambat. Satu tak selesai, kemudian lompat ke yang lain. In the end, semua tak selesai tepat waktu.

Bohong jika tak mengakui apa yang terjadi tadi sore adalah sesuatu yang cukup memalukan (I shouldn’t say that it happened in front of few people, gah). Ada rasa yang tak mengenakkan yang bahkan detik ini, detik saya menulis postingan ini, masih terasa. Saya bukan orang yang super super sensitif, hanya sedikit melankolis. Rasa tak enak ini hanya saya anggap bagian dari “well, I’m a human anyway. Bukan patung atau boneka”. Kadang yang membuat rasa tak enak itu merambat menjadi kesedihan saat sadar saya sedang berjuang jauh dari negeri sendiri. Meskipun begitu, ada satu hal yang terus menerus saya pupuk jika saya mendapati kejadian seperti hari ini ; learn and never stop learning. I really took it as a lesson and stay positive.

Tadi, sepanjang perjalanan kembali dari sholat tarawih, mata saya menerawang ke arah langit. Kebetulan langit cukup cerah hingga saya mendapati bulan berpendar. Sambil terus berjalan, saya bergumam dalam hati, “bukankah orang-orang hebat itu tak lahir secara tiba-tiba. Ada yang namanya tempaan, yang membuat mereka tumbuh kuat dan berbeda”. Kemudian saya berkaca pada apa yang saya alami, bahwa tempaan-tempaan yang tak kentara macam rasa kesal Bos saya tadi yang akan membuat mental saya kuat. Tempaan-tempaan itu justru saya perlukan untuk melatih diri agar lebih giat bekerja. Tempaan-tempaan itu yang akan membuat saya memaknai lebih pada apa yang disebut kerja keras. Sebentar, bukannya kerja keras adalah salah satu kunci untuk membangunkan mimpi-mimpi saya selanjutnya? :). Masih ingin ke Paris kan?, masih suka makan enak kan?, Sony a7r?, the lastest MacBook yang space grey itu lho biar matching sama iPhone 6-nya?, nanti pulang mampir Abu Dhabi ingin belanja pernak-pernik dan coklat buat oleh-oleh kan? iya semua, hahaha. So, mari terus kerja keras dan jangan mudah putus asa ;).

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Tadi saat melihat langit, saya sembari bernapas dalam-dalam kemudian menghembuskannya pelan-pelan. Rasanya damai sekali. Menenangkan. Apalagi, angin semilir menyederhanakan makna syukur yang ingin saya pelajari hari ini. Rasa syukur pada kesempatan untuk belajar lagi. So Zis, wake up and keep learning, tomorrow you must do it better. I’m thankful for today, and I hope tomorrow there is another chance to stay alive and keep learning for many things. Jika saja anda mendapati kejadian yang sama seperti saya hari ini, barangkali It’s a Beautiful World ini bisa sedikit melepas penat (use your headphones!) :).

Good night!

Cheers,

-A-

P.S. iPhone picture above was taken when I stood in front of a huge tree on one day last year. I saw someting beautiful about those leaves, I could even feel how serene it was when the wind blew. Such a simply way to feel happy and grateful.

Flashback And Echoes

I gotta say that living abroad is an opportunity. An opportunity to grow, to stand tall, to learn, to open mind, to see the other part of the world, and to miss home. I still remember how it felt when I landed in Jakarta on my first year. Something I couldn’t describe into words until now. It was beyond, beyond beautiful. I’m praying that this year I can go home on schedule. It is always exciting every time I stand close with my annual leave even this year, I feel something different. I feel I’m so easy for every single unpredictable things (who knows for tomorrow?). On this post I’d like to share 9 random things I always love and miss when I go home. Flashback1 1 | There is nothing better than window seat. It’s always special when I have a chance to close my eyes and feel the magical feeling, flying for almost 20 hours from nowhere to where my heart is. Picture above was taken somewhere above Egypt, when I flew to Qatar. I’ll transit to Abu Dhabi this year.

 

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2 |  Friendship and sunset. iPhone picture above was taken when I and Ruli spent an hour to catch sunset. The wind, the call prayer in the air, sitting down on the ground, friend’s talk, I could still remember how serene it was.

 

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3 |  I have to admit that living in Indonesia where spices can be easily found is heaven. I do miss Indonesian food right now that has very authentic and rich taste, Rawon, Soto Banjar, Pecel, uh I should stop mention them before I start starving in my dream.

 

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4 |  Tempeh. When I found tofu for the first time here, I was screamed beyond happy. But Tempeh? Just salted, simply fried, and serve with sweet soy sauce or traditional sambal along with fried tofu?, I can say that’s my favourite food ever.

 

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5 |  Living in this country for almost four years made me realise that somehow, there is nothing better like mosque/musholla in Indonesia. I can easily find somewhere clean and comfortable to pray everywhere. iPhone pictures above were taken inside one mall when I met with my best friends last year. I shouldn’t compare how I have to find water tap and narrow space at parking land cause it is impossible to find musholla inside mall here.

 

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6 |  Indonesian sweet martabak aka terang bulan. Probably one of Indonesian snack that always dancing in my head. Even nowadays there is so many over improvisation for the topping, chocolate and cheese will always be my favorite for ages.

 

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7 |  Spending an afternoon to pick new outfits is such an annual ritual of mine. And also, sitting down comfortably for movies with best friends is such a precious moment. If I come back home, I think I should spend a ‘father and son’ time in the cinema.

 

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8 |  Cafe hopping. Just order a cup of cortado (and cakes maybe?), sharing stories with friends, and some inspirations from eye-candy interiors.

 

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9 |  Wake up each day with no deadlines but lively feeling to explore somewhere new with a thick wallet. As I wish I could do it forever.

 

Since it’s Ramadhan month right now, there is one thing I miss a ton from Indonesia. The echo of breakfasting time, the call prayer, the moment when people come to the mosque for tarawih, the seasonal food of course, everything there is truly beautiful in Ramadhan.

Ramadhan kareem everyone!

Cheers!

 

-A-

Sweets Again

One of my fav moment a day is when the sun goes down. It is peaceful every time I stare up to the sky when it calmly turns orange, pinkies, and other beautiful colors. As much as I love golden hour, I do love sunrise either. Something magical comes when the sun shines in the beginning of the day. Lately, the sun rarely smiles behind the clouds. As I’m writing this post, it’s raining outside. I have no complain for morning rain as I enjoy it (I shouldn’t say stay longer on my bed is what I love) yet it’s a bit challenging to do my morning ritual (read : capturing breakfast) on a cloudy day.

Though I realised when I photographed those berries (on my previous post), I found that I fell in love with the bright light on a cloudy day. And this was happened again last week Sunday. When I woke up with some deadlines on my head (yikes for deadlines on Sunday, sigh), I spoke to myself to try as much as I could to enjoy the day. Even I had to do some jobs in the afternoon while everybody rested, I didn’t complain for that cause enjoying pretty breakfast was one of the best thing I had.

Here was round one. A cute mini chocolate croissant with extra dark chocolate on top, a mini cinnamon bun, mango and berries, and sure, a cup of coffee (click for a bigger picture!).

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An hour flew by, then I had the second round. Still on my bed with crunchy cereal from Eat Natural with yogurt and berries (the cherries make the picture so interesting ;)). I had to admit that my second breakfast was quite too sweet. I just realised that there is juicy raisins inside the toasted whole oat and flakes (I think my eyes had shiny sparkles when I read Brazil nuts on the package). I’m not a fan of raisins yet the pumpkin seeds is yum.

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Pictures above were taken with my mirrorless. I learned one thing that using macro setting makes the pictures more natural. And again, it was a surprise for me that natural light on cloudy day made me happy.

Now, time to prepare myself for work, I’m hoping I can pass this week with a smile on my face.

 

Cheers,

-A-

 

P.S. The scene above wasn’t styled for the photography purpose, haha! I was actually working on my bed (the earphones was there after I did karaoke on my iPhone :D), and I just like, oh, messy bed could actually be interesting for breakfast scene. No, it’s still raining and just put of my table lamp and the ambiance of my room is just, um, I think my bed is calling me :(.

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If you ask me one thing I will spend my money with no compromise for, is berries. After I squeezed myself to not to spend my short allowance for pricey food and managed what I had last week, I finally gave up. I know myself worked so hard lately so I thought I deserved for something sweets and pardon, how could I close my eyes to these pretties?

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I took these pictures on a cloudy Sunday noon right after I came back from groceries shopping last week. I wasn’t sure enough that natural light that day would make me happy with the result. For notes, I used standard lenses on my mirrorless and yikes for ‘the-same-and-still-the-same’ props.

I was so exhausted today yet before I close my eyes I have two other sweets for you guys, one is for your eyes and another one is for your ears. This one is so so good for your eyes esp if you are baby in photography just like me :) (if you are visiting this blog for the first time, fyi I’m Alice’s die hard fan. It sounds cliché for you guys who knew it since ;)). And this one is brilliantly written by one of my fav singer, Ed Sheeran (Ed, you are a genius indeed). I guarantee you will fly to the sky with that song. What you need to do is take your earphones, darken your room, lighten a scented candles and enjoy every words and the melody on it.

 

Good night!

-A-

Today’s Inspirations

Sometimes, inspirations come instantly at nowhere.

I came back to my apartment this afternoon after I spent one night at other Indonesian expatriates’s flats. I rarely spend my Saturday night outside esp when I have no events on the weekend. I pretty happier when I spend it inside my room, chilling and watching movies from my MacBook, snacks of course, and wake up late on Sunday morning. But yesterday, when my two other flatmates asked me to spend there, I said yes to myself. I just wanted to spend my Saturday night quite different.

It was quite fun when I could meet with some familiar faces and some ‘just-met’ yesterday. Having conversation with Indonesian woman who has been living in this country for almost twelve years, I cooked with others, and ate (I should repeat this word three times, ate and ate and ate). Yes, too-much hi-cholesterol food there!. One wasn’t finished, another one came.

My fav moment from my stay was a chance to go to Sunday market with them this morning. Sunday market opens very early only on Sunday at somewhere near their apartment. We went there to shop local fruits & veggies, fresh fishes, butchery, chinese tofu of course, and some other things. I always enjoy traditional market vibes where I can see people doing their activities, selling, bargaining, offering their things to costumer and other simply things. From our visit I went home with fresh prawns, fishes, and tofu. And bonus for me, when I could capture these ‘texture-play’ photos via iPhone 6.

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I always love a moment when I find something interesting around me, take my iPhone and feel happy for clear pictures then. So many interesting objects at the market as I wish people here could me more humble. Well, I think I shouldn’t talk longer, will enjoy my rest of Sunday with my new scented candle. It’s lavender.

 

Cheers,

-A-

Oh, I thought tomorrow is still Sunday, uh.

This Wool

If you a reader of this blog you will know that I’m not a colorful person. Especially if I talk about outfits or interior I love. I always feel dark color has more character and classier. I definitely in love with black, shades of grey such as charcoal, dark grey, or gunmetal. White? definitely. I’m more on monochrome if you ask me.

Everytime I’m going home for my annual leave, I always have a budget for outfits. The reason why I prefer to shop in Indonesia is one, I can find easily design and size that fits me. Zara and Topman still my favs. Second, if I compare about the price for outfits between here and in Indonesia, with so so price at Zara or Topman shops but the quality is lower, I don’t even think twice to close my eyes to spend money here, except for this one.

First time I saw it at the store I just said to myself ‘hold on until you come home’. Looking at the price made me like ‘yikes, I had to hold on’ (fyi, I once asked when I bought this guy why the price was higher than what I found in Indonesia, she said because it came straight from Paris, well). When I got a text from the store that they were doing sale for some items, I brought one home (even though the price was still high for me, pfft). The fact that it made from pure new wool makes this sweater super comfy and the soft greyish blue seems like, I should experiment more with other neutral colors in my wardrobe.

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Last year when I came back home I found that my eyes sparkled into another dark color for my outfits. I took mostly shirts in dark blue along with black jackets. As I said, I feel dark color is just me.

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You know one funny thing about me is when I realised that I’ll be going home soon, I can’t help myself to not to browse some items from Zara and Topman. There are some items that took my attention for this year ;

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I’ll see if I can afford to bring them home this year :). Hopefully.

Cheers,

-A-

So Tasteful

Just want to share some iPhone shots from my breakfast this morning. I cooked meat balls in thick tomato and oyster sauce last night and the idea enjoying it with butter basmati rice came out when I woke up this morning. Fresh carrots with lemon juice and mint was so so good!

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My flatmate is going for his annual leave back to Indonesia this noon and I’m gonna miss him (can’t wait for my turn!).

Cheers,

-A-

Just A Little Gift

Ada dua alasan mengapa tanggal sebelas bulan Mei cukup istimewa. Pertama, itu hari lahir saya. Secondly, tanggal sebelas Mei tahun lalu dua sahabat baik saya, Ayos dan Winda resmi menikah. Ayos dan Winda sama-sama lahir di bulan Mei. Tanggal enam Ayos lahir, sedang Winda lahir tanggal tiga belas. Tak hanya mereka berdua, sahabat saya yang lain, mbak Ika lahir di tanggal yang sama dengan Rifda, tanggal empat. Dan terakhir, Sohib, lahir tanggal lima. So, we are bunch of cool Mayers exactly.

Tanggal sebelas kemarin, saya tak merayakan apa-apa. Selain memang bukan tradisi, kali ini saya memilih untuk mensyukuri lebih pada nikmat-nikmat yang tak kentara. Tak ada satu hadiah pun yang saya beli untuk diri sendiri macam ini. Hadiah dari sahabat-sahabat saya? Ada, meski bukan berupa sebuah benda. Melainkan hadiah sederhana yang mampu membuat saya terharu. Yup! ucapan selamat ulang tahun.

Saya selalu menaruh iPhone on airplane mode setiap akan tidur dan menyalakannya kembali saat bangun. Sebelum pergantian hari, saya sengaja mengatur alarm pukul sepuluh, setengah sebelas, dan pukul dua belas kurang lima belas menit. Jaga-jaga saja agar saya bisa bangun tepat setelah pukul dua belas malam. Saya hanya ingin memanjatkan doa sederhana berisi rasa syukur pada Allah yang telah melimpahkan banyak berkah dan kesempatan hidup. Panjatan rasa syukur karena Allah memberkahi orang tua, keluarga, sahabat, dan guru-guru dengan kesehatan. Pun doa-doa singkat berisi permintaan pada hal-hal yang belum saya capai dalam hidup. Bertemu jodoh kemudian menikah, melanjutkan pendidikan, hingga meminta petunjuk untuk dipermudahkan jalan menuju Eropa. Benua yang saya yakin akan menjadi tempat berpijak setelah Afrika. Lima belas menit setelah bangun tengah malam, saya kembali tidur.

Saat saya bangun dan mengaktifkan kembali iPhone, notifikasi di Line saya menumpuk. Ucapan selamat dari Winda, Ruli dan Maya yang tergabung dalam satu grup (baca : grup Sogeh) memenuhi layar. Saya membalas mereka dengan ucapan terima kasih pun menyempatkan mengucap selamat pada Winda yang telah melewati satu tahun pernikahan. Ucapan dari sahabat-sahabat saya yang lain, mbak Ika, Rifda, Fahmi, Sohib, Ayos, Edwin, Yuriko, Tomo, Dimas, juga memenuhi notifikasi di iPhone. I was like I had spring of joy because their wishes was so touchy, and I felt blessed when my bestfriends remembered the day I was born.

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Saya memiliki ide sederhana untuk hadiah first wedding anniversary si Winda dan Ayos yang indah sekali diterjemahkan lewat goresan tangan flatmate saya di sini, mas Danang. It was an impromptu idea actually saat saya melihat mas Danang sedang bosan di kantor dan mulai mencoret-coret kertas gambar. Saat melihat tangannya gatal menggambar sebuah karikatur, saya langsung menyodorkan buku sketsa dan mentrasfer ide yang ada di benak saya. I know he is so so good in drawing. “Mas, yang ada di pikiran saya, Ayos memeluk Winda. Sedang saya, Ruli dan Maya ikut berbahagia melihat mereka berdua bahagia”, kira-kira itu yang saya ucapkan pertama kali. Mas Danang langsung meminta saya menunjukkan foto kami berlima. Saya mulai bersemangat setelah ia menggoreskan goresan pertama dan menggambar Winda. Ia hanya butuh sekian menit kemudian mengganti goresan pensilnya dan mulai menggambar wajah Ayos. Saya bertambah semangat saat mas Danang menangkap wajah Ayos dengan sempurna lengkap dengan kacamatanya. Kemudian, ia mulai menggambar Ruli.

Ia menangkap karakter wajah Ruli begitu sempurna lengkap dengan alis tebal dan bagian jenggotnya. Ide saya kemudian berkembang liar. Saya meminta mas Danang untuk melengkapi Ruli dengan odong-odong. Saya tertawa membayangkan Ruli mengayuh odong-odong mengingat badannya yang cukup tambun. Saat mas Danang mulai menggambar wajah saya, saya berpesan untuk melengkapi tangan saya dengan tumpukan dolar dan beberapa koin-koin emas berceceran. Please don’t judge me I’m a greedy person yang materialistik :). Konsep dolar dan emas hanyalah konsep yang datang tiba-tiba saat saya ingat obrolan saya dan Maya di Line yang selalu membuat kami berdua tertawa terbahak-bahak. Candaan saya dengan Maya kadang dibumbui candaan-candaan macam orang stress. Maya selalu menuduh saya mendewa-dewakan uang, hehe, sedang saya selalu menggoda Maya bahwa ia akan bahagia jika memiliki banyak uang. Karena dengan uang, Maya bisa membeli lipstik merah yang ia idamkan, membayar uang pendaftaran Ranu, ke salon hanya untuk creambath, atau sekedar duduk-duduk ‘ha-ha-hi-hi’ dengan teman-teman sosialitanya ditemani teh dan cakes cantik-cantik di kedai teh seharga lima ratus ribu. Dan, dengan dompet tebal, Maya bisa membawa pulang Skippy.

Ini lucu, ide saya berkembang lagi saat mas Danang menggambar wajah Maya. Saya meminta ia menggambar kaleng-kaleng Skippy di depan Maya yang sedang duduk dengan kalung emas tebal di lehernya. Kenapa tiba-tiba saya berpikir Skippy?. Malam itu saya dibuat kembung dengan cerita Maya yang tak kuasa menahan air liurnya pada Skippy. Maya berdiri di depan tumpukan Skippy dan Nutella saat ia berbelanja di sebuah supermarket dan tak mampu membawa pulang sekaleng Skippy. Kata Maya begini, “Sayang duitnya Jis, kalo gw beli, gw mikir. Anak gw makan enak ga ya di Batam?.”. Saya setengah terharu tapi tak mampu menahan tawa di dalam kamar. Saya membayangkan wajah Maya di depan rak dengan Skippy yang memanggil-manggil untuk dibawa pulang. Tawa saya semakin kencang saat saya membalas Line-nya dengan stiker si Brown yang menabur uang dan sebuah bebek kecil yang mencoba menangkap uang-uang yang ditabur. Maya membalas, “Jis, itu si bebek kayak gw, sedang elu yang nabur-nabur duit.”. Bagaimana saya bisa menahan tawa dengan obrolan gila macam itu :).

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Melihat sketsa mas Danang ini membuat saya tak sabar bertemu mereka tahun ini. Saya memiliki ide untuk makan siang bersama merayakan cool Mayers nanti saat saya pulang. Dan tentu, saya berharap Maya bisa ke Surabaya lagi seperti tahun lalu saat kami merayakan persahabatan seperti ini. Di suatu siang yang hangat, dengan makanan-makanan yang menggugah selera, melepas rindu dengan cerita dan canda tawa. Oh, saya pun akan mencetak sketsa ini di kertas foto dan membingkainya sebanyak empat buah. Untuk saya sendiri, Winda, Ruli dan Maya macam simply gift untuk wedding anniversary Ayos&Winda dan untuk perayaan persahabatan kami berlima. I’m blessed I have them and our friendship and I feel happy as well that soon, Ayos Jr will come to this world! :).

Friendship2

This iPhone picture below was taken on 11th of May when I shared some pizzas with my colleagues at our office. Please dont judge my messy hair that day :).

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Oh, Maya, sketsa dan tulisan ini adalah kejutan yang saya tutup-tutupi dari hari kemarin. Semoga kamu tersenyum dan bahagia like I do :).

Cheers,

-A-