The price and value of a land in Jakarta are indisputably expensive. That’s the fact I found having more than three years lived in this city. My hubby ever did a small research on the price of land along the warung buncit and mampang street. The average price there is 11 million per meter square. The same price applies for the land located in small street (a.k.a gang) in Kebon Sirih Area. No wonder the price of boarding house in that location is soaring, even with limited facility.
Maybe because the price is expensive, land owners in Jakarta maximize the usage of the their land. Therefore they just leave a little space for yard and big portion for house. Just like the house that I am currently renting. We don’t have any yard at all. Terrace and fence, and after that is street. With such condition, I can’t dream of having small garden in front of my house and do gardening just like my mom does every weekend or just simply talking to her orchids. For her it’s a a special time after five 8 to 5 working days.
My hubby and I share the similar dream. We want to have a big-wide yard, if possible as wide as yard of my ex house in Gejayan. We know it’s impossible to have such in Jakarta as it will require lotta money. I ever suggest why not buying at Bantul, Yogya where we can find wide land at affordable cost. I imagine of having rice field surrounding our small house and open kitchen and invite friends to taste my home-cooking meals. Isn’t it lovely?? My hubby considers my idea as well, but for sure not at the nearest time.
Still related with land. Several weeks a go, my friend Ika told me that she was also interested to buy a wide land in Yogya. She figured out that the land that she and her hubby wanted was quite expensive. Therefore she asked me a favor just in case I got any info about affordable land in Kaliurang, Jogja. Once I asked why she wanted the wide one, she replied ” I want to build a free play yard for children”. Oh Ika..it’s very kind of you. At least you already have a cute house with lovely yard now:)
Many times, I know I no need any particular reason for being happy. The feeling just pops up inside of me when I sit in from my desktop, starting my day with hectic business. It’s just felt when my hubby drops me at the office and picks me up when I’m done or when I call up my parents on phone. I don’t plan it. I never plan to be happy. It’s just inside of me, wiping away my sadness and other wasting-time mourning.
And this little tiny creature who will complete my life, just like my lovely hubby who’s been staring it since the first time we met. One of songs that I keep singing for my baby in the silent of the night, while feeling the subtle kick inside of my womb, is Somewhere over the rainbow”. The kick is just a divine sign for me as I know my petite miracle says, ” Hello Bunda, I’m already awake. Can’t wait to play with you”.
Indeed, I’m convinced that the joyful of my life is already in me. Thanks God.
Somewhere over the Rainbow
Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high.
There’s a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, Away above the chimney tops.
That’s where you’ll find me.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then – oh, why can’t I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,
Why, oh, why can’t I?
I love Jogja and so do my fellas who ever lived and stayed at that lovely city. Our love to the exotic city never and will never fade even though now we are living in Jakarta. Many times we dream and keep reminding each other what if we remain staying at Jogja. It’s kinda too-good-to-be-true dream.
However, we never regret that we leave Jogja for Jakarta. Even the hectic is so unfriendly. Even the pollution is getting worse. Even we should deal with the traffic everyday. Even it always takes more than hour to get to the office every morning. Even it’s hot. Even the food price is expensive.
Why? Because we learn and get many things here. If Wippie doesn’t stay at Jakarta, she will never enjoy her work at ASEAN secretariat. She will never go traveling around Asia countries.
If Norra and Yanti don’t stay at Jakarta, they would never be in Australia now.
If Fenny doesn’t stay at Jakarta, she will never know how to work in multinational company such as Toshiba and Ericcson and makes a big leap by jumping to AHA center, focusing her interest in Humanitarian Assistance. And so does Ririn, she would never get that huge amount of salary working in supranational body:D.
All my best friends print their own step in Jakarta. Like me, their feeling is still clinging to Jogja and we envy soooo much to those who are “dare” to stay at Jogja now, like Indie and Ajeng, for example.
Someday, may be we will:)
Many things indeed open my eyes that happiness can’t be bought by money. No matter how rich we are, at the end it’s nothing if we can’t give love and happiness to people around us.
Last night, again, I got an important lesson-learned from a movie I watched with my hubby. The title is The Nanny Diaries. It’s about a fresh graduate who happens to be a nanny of a rich little boy. The The Nanny named Annie and the boy is Grayer. Grayer is the only son of the wealthy couple who lives in upper east side of New York. He’s just the typical of upper east side clan boy, who goes to the best school and of course accompanied by a nanny. His life is so lonely, despite the nanny with him, because he never gets any attention from his parents. Slow but sure, he loves his nanny than his own parents. Sad..sad..sad!!
His parents want the best thing for him. They work until late and therefore rarely spend time only to take Grayer to the park or museum. To my sadness, the parents dispose what they want to Grayer. I can even figure out why Annie must read financial times or other scientific journal to Grayer, who’s only under five-age minor. When Grayer is sick with a very high temperature, Annie can’t reach his mother who is still at spa.
I wonder, if children like Grayer are scattered around us. From a sharing with a friend, she told me the similar thing experienced by her boss, a career woman and CEO of multinational company. At the end, she refused to be posted in other country and other kinda promotions and chose to quit and build her own company. Why? because she wanted to be focus taking care of her teenage-daughter, who’s in trouble. Although the daughter is already 17 years old, it’s never too late to be close to the daughter as she knows all of her career and wealth she’s been earning can’t compensate the happiness she gave to her daughter.
I notice several changes on myself during my three-month pregnancy. I find it’s so funny and silly one time.
Every body knows that I am not a sentimental person. Not easy to cry unless for some extraordinary occasions, such as when I married or seeing my best friends wedding. Other than that exceptional thing, I am not easy to to drop tear. However, it’s different when I am pregnant. I cry easily. I cried once seeing a comedy-family movie played in a channel in our TV cable. My hubby couldn’t believe that I cried on his arm at that time. But he then knew the emotional change happening on me. In usual condition, it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon cry:D. When reading the love story of Ralph Tampubolon and Melissa Karim, again I cried:D
I am not a person I used to be, in the way my hobby watching movie at cinema. Before pregnant, I went to cinema at almost weekend, watching movie with my hubby who’s also a movie freak. The condition is very different now. I prefer a lot staying at home, laying on bed, doing browsing and chatting and also cooking. If bored, I swift to books or mags.
I love a lot staying at home and being only with my hubby rather than going to mall or other place where crowds gather. Enjoying my time with him is priceless, moreover I spend a lot my time at the office during the working days. Therefore, at weekend I cook special food for him. I ask him the menu he wants to eat and I will cook for him.
While pregnant, you can believe how much time I spend only for sleeping in the day. I can sleep almost 3-4 hours in the day, to sum up. Luckily, my hubby does understand my condition. The progesterone hormone makes my body exhausted easily and drowsy, of course:D.
Then my care and love to my hubby is increasing day by day. I feel so much blessed to have a caring hubby like him. The problem with my pregnancy makes our bound is even tighter and opens my eyes how tremendous his love to me. Many times he said” Ayah loves Bunda. Never ever forget about that, Bun”. Remembering what he said and what he did to me, again makes me burst into tears. I love u too, Ayah:)
Idar is only a seventeen years old girl from Subang, West Java, who tries her luck in this capital city. Without proper educational background, she gets a job as an a helper in a young couple. Every day, she helps the host to clean the house, amange the kitchen and do the laundry. Working in a small new family doesn’t need to her to work hard and she receives a proper pay for that.
Once in her village at Subang, Idar was a jobless. She only helped her parents waiting house while they worked in the rice field. She’s the the second from two. Her brother also works as farmer, just like their father and mother. Sometimes, the brother is in project where employs him as a labor. Rarely he does it.
As for Idar, several times she receives order to sew. The payment is unpredictable. Averagely, she receives 50-500 rupiahs for every order that she finishes. Everyday, she can complete 10-20 orders per day, depending on the complexity of working.
Idar never completed her primary education. Only three months she attended the junior high school. She hesitantly quitted because her parents couldn’t afford the fee. In her class, there were other four students who had similar condition like her. And for people in her village, it’s very common that children not continue their education, even completing the primary level. The reason is classical, lack of money. The vicious circle of poverty is very obvious there. Many people are jobless and depend only to their rice field which doesn’t yearn any good result. They can’t improve their quality of life because they lack of skill and have no good education background. And it will continue over and over again.
Hei..our president-to-be!!! Pay attention to the real condition of your people. Don’t only talk about promise but never realizes it. Idar is not the only one. Many Indonesian are in the same condition with her. If you promise to weave the education fee, it should apply to all people regardless any condition. We wait you real work!!!
Salary and passion are two most considered once we involve in a job. There are those who disregard the passion as long as they are paid well. Meanwhile, sometimes people also prefer the passion they have in the job, even the salary is not as big as they expect. For the later, satisfaction on the profession they choose is priceless. The luckiest is they who do the job they love and paid well.
Love what you do and you will grow the passion on it!. That’s what’s suggested to people who choose their job because of the salary. It’s so pathetic once we do what we don’t love. Big salary even doesn’t compensate the satisfaction we get. On the other hand, economic reason often compels professional who get lower salary to search another job with higher salary, regardless the job is that they don’t like.
So how to deal with that? For me as long as the job is the one you really have passion to, you have to strive for that. I believe when we do what we love and like, we will perform to the highest limit and gives huge contribution to others. When we give the best performance to our company and institution, it definetely we have a capital to bargain with our manager to get higher position for higher salary. The career path for you will be smooth. What about for those who work for the big salary? Not many people as lucky as that group. At least they have what others don’t and they have to be grateful for that. How to be grateful? Love the job you do and try to nurture your passion on it. When you do that sincerely, everything will be light and easy.
I do grateful because I work on things that’s more or less related to my educational background, even I join in to Telco company. And for the salary, thanks God it’s more than enough. I love the job, I love to make friends with counterparts from other countries and the most important I can keep practicing my English, written or oral.
What about you? Do you love your job?
Reading this book, opens our insight that editing photos is very easy. My friend Angel, a co-founder of kutukutubuku.com elaborates all tips of editing photos “professionally” in her newest book.
The emergence of social networking like Facebook, Friendster, or FUPEI unconsciously awake our “narcissism” side. We want to publish the photos with unique appearance. Many people think that editing photos needs special skill with complicated software. But this book will give you how to do the trick.
In this book, Angel elaborates several free on-line softwares that are usually utillized to edit photos. You will know step by step of using the software and how to make the photo as unique as you want. Then you’ll find it’s easy. Moreover, Angel uses a non-formal language, makes us more enjoy reading it.
The book is simple, easy to understand, and the most important, the content is applicable.
My birthday this year will be remembered in my life time. Not only because this is the first birthday as a wife and with my hubby near me, but also because I got the most precious birthday gift in my life.
I could see my baby’s heartbeat in my birthday. The length now reaches 1.5 cm. It is so unbelievable for me as there’s a small tiny creature inside my tummy. I never mind dealing with mild vomiting every time I have my meal. Everything I would do as long as it is for the healthy of my baby. Amazing!!
Being a pregnant woman is one of the step of my life and I am so happy that it doesn’t take a long time for us to have a baby. By Allah permission, within 7 months ahead, I will deliver my child and nurture him/her. Growing and nurturing them are not an easy job. Children are the divine gifts from God. We take the responsiblity of taking care of them, teaching them good values and fulfilling their soul with good virtues. We are the one who will be the role model and we can’t just behave as we like. Children will grow their respect to us and we as parents should feed their soul.
I learn a lot from my friends at office. Most of them are young couple with one or two children. Listening to their story teaches me so much thing. I can get the lesson learned and I wish I can apply to my children later.
Having a baby inside my tummy makes me enthusiastic. This baby really completes my life. I love u my lil sweet angel, even when you’re not born yet:-*
What a husband can do for his pregnant woman? Many things. I remind husbands everywhere just in case you read this blog, any kind of courage and support for your wife during her pregnancy, even it’s small thing, indeed very matters.
The support can be in many kind of forms. My hubby for example, he never forgets warning me to have milk intake three times a day, paying attention to my menu or reminding me if I have had the folat acid or not. He takes me to he office and picks me up when it;s already after hour. If we pass the “wavy” road, he always slows down the speed to minimize the shocking to my lower tummy, where our baby sleeps in.
When we are on bed , he talks to our baby because we believe that the communication link between us and the baby has existed. That just makes me happy to have supportive husband like him. Then, he always updates me with any kind of information about the pregancy. Pregancy sites now become his fave.
Ever since we knew that we’re going to have a baby, his attention to me has been dwendling. And that makes me very happy for any support from him is very important.