Ramadhan.

Tapi berita di TV sore ini di beberapa tempat terjadi vandalisme. Orang-orang ngamuk.
Kalo kedengeran sinetron "berkumandang", isinya orang marah-marah, teriak-teriak.
What's happening with Indonesian people? When I was a kid I thought (and was taught) that Indonesians are friendly and kind people. Gotong royong. Toleransi. Now it's as if all that were just b*llsh*t / e* kebo.

Banyak orang udah apatis sama pemerintah. Dan keliatan, percuma mengharapkan pemerintah turun tangan membantu rakyat--yang sudah memberikan mandat kepada mereka--untuk meringankan & mengatasi masalah yang dihadapi. Segala masalah akhirnya harus diatasi secara swadaya masyarakat maupun oleh lembaga2 swasta termasuk NGO.

Management panik/pemadam kebakaran (minjem istilah). Contoh masalah mudik lebaran. Setiap mendekati musim mudik, terjadi kehebohan bagaimana mengatasi arus mudik yang padat. Padahal itu terjadi setiap tahun, tapi kok puluhan tahun nggak pernah ada jalan keluarnya? Contoh lain masalah musim kemarau. Di beberapa tempat yang sering kekeringan sehingga sulit bagi penduduk untuk mendapatkan air. Pemerintah kok nggak berbuat apa2 ya? Pemerintah nggak bikin infrastruktur untuk mengatasi masalah itu, sehingga setiap kemarau selalu terjadi masalah kekeringan & kesulitan air. Rakyat harus jalan jauh panas2 untuk mendapatkan air, atau harus rebutan air...

Apa gunanya ya ada pemerintah? Kayaknya hanya untuk sugesti mental supaya keadaan relatif stabil. Yg penting organization chart terisi. Kalau kosong kan pasti terjadi riot.

Duh kok malem2 mikirin ginian. Get a life, Zee!

I didn't explore much in this visit. After the class I went mainly for dinner. Friday, we just walked around the area, to Raffles Hotel. One place of interest in Singapore. A very expensive hotel with British colonial architecture.

















But on weekends I went to places like the Bird Park, and last weekend the zoo. It's an interesting place. They have polar bears and also penguins. I saw kangaroos and lemurs. I touched and stroke a lemur, it was cute, and its fur was soft.

We spent the day there walking. Had lunch there and continued the walk because there were still animals we hadn't seen. I was surprised to see penguins in Singapore - first at Jurong Bird Park, and then at the zoo. I thought only the Japanese who brought and keep penguins in Osaka Aquarium are the crazy ones...

I wanted to go to WOMAD the evening, but we left the zoo tired and still had to move our bags to another hotel (yes, it was again on personal account). I might be crazy to be thinking of dragging our stuff and going by MRT. So maybe it was a good thing that the concierge who helped us with the bags just carried them outside to a taxi. He expected a tip, which I found unusual in Singapore.

So we checked in at Robertson Quay Hotel, a budget hotel just beside the Singapore River, not far from Clarke Quay. It was our second time staying there. The room is small and the shower room is too small but since the hotel rate is relatively cheap, that's what we got. (Sadly, if we convert the rate to our currency we could afford a 4- or 5-star hotel in Bandung.) We ended up not going to WOMAD. Since the ticket was not cheap for us, it was not worth going when we had only a little energy left. I'm not likely to go to night events in Jakarta. Traffic and safety/security issues if going home very late at night, especially by public transportation. Too bad, because I like arts events. &&@#^!@%*# In Singapore I feel free to go almost anywhere anytime with convenient public transport and safety/security in most places. Now back to real life with many limitations. We went back to Jakarta Sunday afternoon. And today I've been in a terrible traffic jam again, as if this city was saying "Welcome back!" to me. I don't smile nor swear - there's no use.

Our airplane arrived at Changi Airport at about 1am - so it was already Saturday, August 19. And as we had already booked in advance, which was really difficult to get a budget hotel for the 2 nights, we took a ride to the budget hotel in Geylang area. I know, it's a red light district. I wasn't so worried since I don't feel unsafe.

I was excited when were entering the street: first I saw a lady-boy, then a few women, all of them with distracting makeup and clothes that obviously showed everybody who or what they were. I felt like taking my camera right then to take some shots of them, but I was tired and I wasn't sure if it was OK for them. So when the car had stopped we just got our bags, paid for the ride, and went to the hotel's reception counter. It was Hotel 81 Geylang. We saw the no-smoking notification there saying that smoking was prohibited in the hotel premises. When we entered our room, it smelled smoke! I was too sleepy to complain and move to another room.

The weekend began. Went to Little India, ate at Tekka Center - we only had very little Singapore currency, and was surprised that we spent less than S$10 total for our meal for two. Out of curiosity I converted it with our currency and unfortunately it's still considered expensive IF we compare eating at the same kind of place/traditional market bldg in our city. We went to Mustafa Center to get something.

We visited Jurong Bird Park and watched the falcon show (wow, those birds were so great). We also saw flamingos, pelicans,...

We were so tired then, and we had an appointment for the dinner with D's boss (oh). So I didn't know until later that we missed the nocturnal birds area where they make the day dark as night so the birds are awake and we can see them flying, hunting for food, and hear them making sounds.

It was a relief that after 2 nights in the small hotel room in a red light district, and dragging our luggage to the MRT station, down and up the stairs, we finally arrived at a much better hotel. Spacious room with soft fragrance we smelled as we entered the room. Of course this is because starting Sunday I'm on company account so I'm staying at this hotel. What a relief.

Our room window faces Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, and we can also see the Merlion statue further away. It's especially nice at night. We always leave the curtains open. It's very beautiful when the curtains are open and we turn off all lights in the room.

Swissotel the Stamford. Direct access to Raffles City mall, and just above the City Hall MRT station - an interchange station so it's even a double convenience. The downside is, we have to pay extra S$20 per person per day to use the gym and spa. Silly. So we didn't use the gym/spa.

Monday (Aug 21)
Had dinner at Bugis Junction, then saw a movie, The Breakup, starting 9.20pm. Back at the hotel around 11.30pm, met up with my cousin from KL who was here just to pick up his sister in law at the airport then would ride back to KL.

Tuesday (Aug 22)
Dinner with D's ex-colleagues. They're now working in Singapore. There were 8 of us plus a 3-year-old boy. Had fun chit-chatting.

Wednesday (today - Aug 23)
Dinner with James & Elaine at Newton Circus/Food Centre. It's a place with many food counters with many seafood and some Malay, Indian, etc. It's an open place with many tables outside (not under the roof). Nice place, but so many people. Always difficult to find a place to sit at meal times in Singapore. Back from there we (me & D) just stopped by at Ben&Jerry's to enjoy a little ice cream while watching the water fountain...

Yesterday, August 17, was the commemoration of the independece day. In residential areas were fun games for everyone. It's our custom to hold fun games when August 17 approches, and the big event will be on the day of August 17. Schools and companies hold a flag-raising ceremony followed with fun games. Too bad I didn't have any pictures now.

Gue ngga kmana-mana kemaren. The international geosciences conference & exhibition finished 2 days ago, August 16, 2006. And as always, the last day was the busiest one, as we had to make sure all scores for the technical sessions were entered. Determening a winner is not that easy. We run a normalisation to see if any of the judges are too generous or too stingy.

The winners: Best Professional Oral Presentation: ConocoPhillips, Best Student Oral Presentation: ITB (Institut Teknologi Bandung), and Best Poster Presentation: ITB.

Is it the effect of staying & working late in the office 3 days in a row? I know I started to have lack of sleep. I couldn't hardly get up from the couch last night just to move in to my bed room. I didn't have enough energy to take a shower, not even to keep my eyes open. And this morning I didn't have the spirit to dress up quickly and go to work. And I said something that triggered my dad to anger--which I don't understand where I was wrong. It's been a mystery for years that me & my siblings never understand. And when he's mad, whatever we say is wrong. Saying anything is considered rude. And looking at him is considered rude. Whereas we think that looking at someone we talk to or talking to us means we respect him/her. Long ago when we are younger our parents said, theoritically, that we may express our opinions. But in practice we found that it's considered rude. So, what to do? We know they don't want us to express our opinion, that we must shut up and not say a word whatever we have in mind when we have an argument. So that shouldn't be called "argument" as we are not allowed to give an argument.

Actually this hasn't happened for a long while. For a long while our relationship is more or less peaceful. In process of moving out. In "peaceful" situation I'm not rushing it. But in situations like this (which used to happen now and then) I wish I lived far away from them so when we meet what we have is only the good things. But when we are "in peace" sometimes I don't want to leave them alone. The house would be empty. Well, my sister is still there but as soon as she finished school and get a job, she won't be home every day. My retired dad might feel lonely day to day, only late afternoon or early evening mom went back from work. But she has to leave for work again early in the morning.

I'm so sleepy and today after work I might stay late again for the conference. It will be on next weekdays, and the week after I will be on a business trip. Tomorrow is Saturday and I really, really hope that I can get some rest! And spa would be nice...

Nah ini foto waktu kita mo nyanyi di Petro Cup. Setelah sekian lama, akhirnya gw "terjun" lagi ke panggung (ta'ela...). Walopun kayaknya latiannya cu-mef (cukup mefets), kurang mateng. Sangat disayangkan, Juara Bertahan yang menang 2x berturut-turut ternyata tahun ini lolos babak penyisihan pun enggak. Yang jelas memang banyak yang heran. Walopun gw memang melihat ada "keanehan" pada sound system saat itu. Nggak sama dengan waktu test sound sebelum lomba dimulai. Kenapa tiba2 volume musiknya jadi keras sekali sehingga para vokalis harus bekerja extra mengerahkan powernya untuk mengimbangi kerasnya volume suara musik? Apakah ada kecurangan? God knows. Bahkan group lain yang biasanya dianggap potential competitor gak lolos juga.

Kalau memang ada kecurangan, itu memang 'biasa'. Dunia memang nggak adil. Itulah gunanya ada surga & neraka. Itu kata-kata dari temen gw Dewi, mengutip kata-kata Razi suaminya. Dan kalimat itu bener2 inspiring buat gw. Sangat membantu gw untuk berlapang dada di saat2 gw merasa dunia ini gak adil. Itu mengingatkan gw bahwa keadilan tetap akan ditegakkan.

Hayooo...ada yang naksir sama salah satu di foto ini? Hubungi gw aja buat mastiin yang mana yang masih available, yang mana "single and looking", "single and desperate", "married but desperate", dst. Ha ha ha...

Sebenernya gw pingin bikin quiz:
"Dari ke-10 orang di foto ini, berapa orang yang single, & yang mana aja?"
Kalo jawabannya bener DAN yang menjawab adalah orang single, gw kasih nama & no. telp dari orang2 yang single di foto itu. Penting banget gak seh? He he he...

Thinking about myself...
Am I a SPOF in this organization?
Maybe. Considering how paranoid they are when I'm not here.
Maybe not. Considering the way they've been treating me.

Been thinking for too long to go back to where I always want to be. But I'm so far behind, need to catch up. Pingin ngambil sekolah design yang bagus - yang aku liat di sini Lasalle. Tapi ternyata...mehi bengi - mahal banget! Bahkan dengan keadaan yang sekarang (udah punya uang sendiri, gak minta lagi sama ortu), belom mampu. Can't afford it. Too expensive.

Dulu waktu masih sekolah, I always reminded myself that I have to earn my own money. Nggak mau terus2an minta sama ortu, terutama kalo cuma buat kesenangan sendiri. Dulu kalo mau nonton aja uang dihemat supaya bisa pergi ke bioskop. Kalo minta lagi sih mestinya dikasih juga, tapi gw bukan tipe peminta-minta. Malu sama diri sendiri. Masa' me-manage uang bulanan gak bisa? Selama sekolah (SMP~kuliah: +/- 11 tahun), ada 2x keadaan di mana gw terpaksa minta uang saku lagi sama ortu sebelum abis bulan. Ugh, rasanya sebel banget. Ngga enak sama ortu & sebel sama diri sendiri. Itu berarti gw gagal me-manage uang. Waktu timbul ketertarikan untuk mengeksplor banyak hal seperti fotografi, jalan2, design,... gw tau perlu modal 'lebih' dari uang saku. Makanya gw bertekad harus bisa menghasilkan uang sehingga untuk pengeluaran2 "pribadi" itu gw bisa biayain diri sendiri.

Waktu kuliah sempet lah dapet tambahan dikit dari jualan tas & aksesori. Lumayan. Setelah dapet kerja, syukurlah gue bisa nabung. Dan gw udah bisa ikutan manga school yang mahal baik uang semester maupun peralatan gambarnya. Gw biayai diri gw sendiri. Seneng rasanya ngga minta sama ortu, malah bisa nraktir ortu :) Gw bisa ikut kegiatan2 di luar kantor kayak aikido, belajar bahasa Jepang, manga school, yoga, dll. Berbekal kamera lama bokap, Nikkormat, gw bisa mulai motret lagi (yang dulu gw urungkan sejak harga film & biaya cuci-cetak mahal). Gw bahkan berhasil nabung utk beli kamera digital SLR, dan jalan-jalan ke Jepang! Jalan2nya sih gaya "melarat", alias nginep di tempat murah2, makan gak jelas, hehehe... tapi gw seneng banget. (Liat entry gw sebelumnya tentang jalan2 ke Jepang.)

Sekarang blm kesampean belajar design. Itu padahal minat gw pas lulus kuliah. Skripsi gw itu bikin multimedia. Abis lulus gw belajar multimedia sendiri (maklum masih nganggur & banyak waktu). Tapi mungkin Tuhan menakdirkan gw ternyata nggak bekerja di bidang itu, melainkan di industri perminyakan. Gw melakukan apa yang harus dilakukan, gw senang dengan suasana kerja, sampai akhirnya sekarang....... am I a SPOF or not?

Should I try harder so I can get the skill I need in the expensive school and then I can start doing something new I really enjoy (while still earning money)? Kayaknya dari tadi gw UUD gitu ya? Memangnya dikira gw bertahan kerja buat apa? Jelas buat uang. Karir, enggak. Kenapa uang? Karena si benda kurangajar itulah yang bisa membantu gw: jalan2, motret, bantuin ortu & adiks gw, merawat diri dan memanjakan diri,... (walopun sekarang waktunya susah.) Apa itu salah?

Kemaren Jakarata ulang tahun.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JAKARTA.

Ternyata nggak seperti yang dicurigai. Jadi, despite my gaining weight within these last couple of weeks, gue nggak 'nggotong' calon bayi. Semuanya masuk ke badan gue! Ngek. Gue sebenernya bukan cemas pada beratnya, karena gue tipe orang yang udah membuktikan bahwa sehat dan tidak gemuk bukan berarti berat badan rendah -- walopun badan gak gede tapi kalo olah raga, daging jadi otot, pasti badan jadi lebih berat daripada orang yang gede badannya sama tapi nggak punya otot. Hehe... Have you touched/pinched someone and felt their muscles? Can you tell if they work out or not?

Akhir2 ini gue udah bolong2 olah raga. Selera makan lagi bagus. Pertanda gawat. Tapi 2 hari ini selera makan udah mulai menurun, mudah2an cepet balik jadi males makan lagi deh, hahaha... Cuma masalahnya ada maag seh, jadi kalo gak makan atau telat makan, sakit deh lambungnya.

Trus, gue makin males ngelakuin aktivitas pulang kerja 'gara-gara' si Taqi yang lutu itu! Kalo sehari gue pulang malem, besoknya gue beraaat banget untuk pulang malem lagi. Rasanya pingin ada di rumah masih sore, masih ada matahari, main sama Taqi, dan duduk2 di living room ngobrol sama bokap nyokap dan adik2 gue. Didi aja udah bilang ke Taqi bahwa dia ngerebut gue, hihihi... Gue lagi suka main sama cowok lain nih :)

Pernah ada yang bilang (entah nyokap atau.. yap, temen gue kali ya), "Bikin ndiri dong." Tapi gue bilang kalo anak ndiri pasti nggak seenak anak orang :) Maksudnya, kena repot2nya juga, hehe... Apalagi jadi emaknya kan paling repot (^3^). Rani aja sekarang mau makan & mandi aja susah banget dapet waktunya! Gile, itu cuma untuk kebutuhan pokok lho! Udah nyaris impossible ngerjain yang lain2. Boro2 ngurus diri sendiri deh... Untungnya di rumah banyak orang, jadi bisa titip2 gantian. Dan kadang2 nyokap minta gue untuk ngajak Rani jalan2, biar dia nggak suntuk, sementara Taqi ditemenin nyokap. Oh bayi, kamu begitu lutu tapi begitu ngerepotin. Pagi2 gue sering ngeliat Rani tidur dengan tampang letih, rambut berantakan, posisi duduk sambil mangku Taqi. Itu pasti semaleman dia nggak bisa tidur... Tapi emang bener sih, kalo pulang kerja capek2 gitu trus ngeliat Taqi rasanya lupa sama capeknya. Tapi mungkin karena gue ngga punya obligasi untuk mendedikasikan diri padanya ya... Ngga tau kalo anak sendiri. Begitu dia tiba-tiba ee', mungkin langsung, "Oh no!", dan inget lagi betapa capeknya diriku? Oh he's so cute, so adorable...

Jadi inget becandaan ini: Waktu bayi belum dilahirkan & jiwanya masih di Tuhan, bayi disuruh milih pasangan suami-istri yang akan dia jadiin "orang tua" a.k.a. "korban"! :-p oh sedihnya...

*

Sementara di kantor (gue gak mau ngomongin urusan kerjaan lho, ngingetnya aja udah cape') gue baru gabung ama anak2 VG (vocal group), biar nyanyi lagi. Lumayan buat ngilangin stress. Dalam rangka Petrocup, kita latian 3x seminggu, tapi gue selama ini baru 3x ikut latian. Tau sendiri lah, selain godaan Taqi, ada juga godaan males ngebayangin pulangnya kalo gak bawa mobil. Coba di Jakarta AMAN dan transportasi umum AMAN & NYAMAN. Ada MRT yang aman dan stasiun & sekitarnya juga gak ada yang nongkrong2 gak jelas. Betapa banyaknya orang nongkrong doing nothing di sini. Sebagai penduduk Jakarta gue gak ngerasa aman & nyaman.

Ya sudahlah. Mau protes tapi buat apa, masalahnya udah terlalu kompleks, menyangkut segala aspek. Mungkin negri ini udah nyaris hopeless? Bisa gak kita outsource untuk orang2 pemerintahan? Apa kalo kayak gitu artinya dijajah? Dari segi bisnis sih enggak, kan kita bayar. Tapi apa kita mampu bayar vendor yang berkualitas? Hehe... another problem.

Jadi, udah lah. Hopeless mungkin.

Beberapa hari terakhir ini bawaannya ngantuk & selera makan lagi cukup bagus. Apalagi setelah wiken yang cukup melelahkan kemaren.

Hmmm... cemas deh. Udah lama gak yoga. Terakhir yoga bisa jadi udah bulan lalu. Tapi selama gak yoga di rumahyoga sih gue yoga sendiri, & juga ke gym. Tapi jaraknya jauh & gak teratur. Tapi sekarang jadi gak berani shoulderstand, karena cemas (baca: curiga). Yang ngerti yoga walopun dikit, pasti tau maksud gue.

Happy Anniversary :)

2nd anniversary. Kita ngga ngadain perayaan khusus. Tapi pulang kerja, pulang ke rumah, abis menyegarkan diri, kita nyempetin makan malem di luar. Tempatnya pun nggak yang "aneh2", yang penting sama-sama. Nemu restoran mungil yang cukup "cute" dan rada romantis lah suasananya, walopun bukan fine dining. Toh kita berdua ke sana dalam "kostum" yang ngga "aneh2" juga. Restorannya kecil tapi dia pinter ngedekornya. Suasananya jadi lumayan enak buat orang beduaan. Tapi untuk tempat ngobrol ama temen (terutama buat curhat, hehe) juga enak. Jadi segmennya cukup flexible lah... Meja-mejanya melipir kaca besar dengan pemandangan ke luar, dan sepanjang kaca dihias lampu2 kecil berbentuk sulur2 yang "jatoh" dari atas. Bikin romantis suasana.

Malem itu setelah makan malem, kita dapet kado cake anniversary dari nyokap, bokap & adik gw. Taart kecil berbentuk hati :) hehehe... Thanks mom, dad, 'n sis :)

Mudah2an keluarga kami sakinah penuh ketentraman, cinta & kasih sayang, dianugrahi keturunan yang soleh & solehah, tali silaturahmi yang kuat dengan saudara2 & teman2, dianugrahi kesehatan lahir & batin, diberikan rizki yang banyak, berkah & halal, diberi usia yang berkah, kekuatan iman, kekuatan lahir & batin, kebahagiaan dan keselamatan di dunia & akhirat; dan dijauhkan dari segala malapetaka maupun marabahaya, sakit maupun penyakit, godaan maupun kejahatan baik dari dalam diri maupun dari luar; dijauhkan dari disakiti maupun menyakiti. Amin. Amin. Amin ya robbal'alamin.

My Favourite of My Favourite Vacation

I'm so thankful! I got the chance to experience a beautiful unforgettable vacation in Japan last November 2005. I was there for a month, seeing my sister and her family, making new friends, travelling to a few cities and places.

Saat-saat favorit gw adalah tgl. 7-8 November. Gue naik kereta meninggalkan Tokyo, sampe Ootsuki, kota kecil di arah barat dari Tokyo. Turun di stasiun langsung berasa beda banget. Dari stasiun Tokyo yang geda' dan ruamenya minta ampun, tau2 gw ada di stasiun kecil di kota kecil yang sepi. Pemandangan di sekitar adalah gunung2 dengan pohon2 b'daun ijo & warna-warni. Oh I love autumn!

Karena Rani & Hide blm nyampe, gw & Didi makan siang dulu di restoran di depan stasiun. Didi makan beef curry, gw makan beef stew (gw rada bosen juga cukup sering makan kare sejak cabut dari Utsunomiya ke Tokyo). Tumben juga hari itu daun2an saladnya gw makan dengan lahapnya. Apa emang enak (stewnya sih lumayan), atau gw lagi laper banget ya?

Pas gw & Didi selesai makan, Rani dan Hide udah sampe di Ootsuki. Mereka naik mobil dari Utsunomiya. Kita lanjutin perjalanan ber-4, Hide yang nyetir, menuju Yamanaka-ko di Fuji Five Lakes (Fujigoko) area. Pemandangan kota kecil, dg gunung2 di sekitar. So beautiful... made me feel happy. Alhamdulillah.

Kita jalan naik mobil Corolla-nya Okasan, dibantu GPS menuju hotel kita di Yamanaka-ko. Di tengah perjalanan, udah di Fuji Five Lakes Area, kita ngeliat ada rumah atap rumbia gitu deh, & di sekitarnya pohon2 dg daun2 merah! Kita ngga keburu2, ngga dikejar apa2, jadi kita mampir deh... Ternyata itu taman dari Fujiyoshida Museum of Local History. Tamannya bagus banget krn daun2 maple udah muerrraaahhh....!!! Subhanallah, it was so beautiful.

I took loads of pictures there. Never enough. The view was so beautiful. I really loved it. Rani & Hide jadi model favorit deh, hehehe...

Pas hari udah mulai menggelap, lampu2 di bawah di sepanjang jalan yg diapit pohon maple itu dinyalain. Indah!

Kita lanjutin perjalanan ke Yamanaka-ko. Akhirnya sampe lah di hotel kita, ファミリーロッジ・旅籠屋・山中湖 (Family Lodge Hatagoya, Yamanaka-ko). Tempat parkirnya aja udah di bawah pohon2 berdaun kuning. Autumn memang indah! Tempatnya bukan hotel sih, tipenya bed&breakfast lah. Suasana di lobby/lounge-nya hangat gitu, kayak di living room rumahan, ada teddy bearnya segala :) Kamarnya luas, ada TV, AC, meja rias, meja tambahan yg dilipat ke tembok, sofa bed buat extra bed gratis, pojok gantungan baju, shower room, ruang bertapa (alias tempat e*'). Teh panas gratis bisa diambil di lounge. Abis bersih2 kita keluar cari makan. Makin malem udara di luar makin dingin, waktu itu di luar udah 7 derajat Celcius. Kita naik mobil ngelilingin Danau Yamanaka cari tempat makan mur-mer, ngga dapet. Yg ada mahal2 (keliatan dari bentuk restorannya, ataupun papan menu yg ditaro di luar), ato tutup. Well, maklum we were on a tight budget, hehehe... Eh sempet nemu restoran kare (Japanese curry), gw & Didi turun utk ngecek (keluar dari mobil buru2 masuk resto...dingin bow) apa makanannya mengandung babi. Di sana mereka biasanya ngga berani main2, krn ada org yg alergi babi. Kalo terjadi apa2 sama org yg makan di sana, mereka bisa dituntut. Ternyata mereka dg jujur bilang makanannya mengandung babi. Ngga jadi deh kita makan di sana... Akhirnya kita ke Seven Eleven beli makanan jadi yg tinggal dipanasin pake microwave. Enaknya di Jepang, di supermarket maupun kombini (convenience store) pasti jualan makanan2 jadi yg tinggal dipanasin. Praktis.

Thank God malem itu kita tidur nyenyak. Kamarnya anget walopun di luar udara dingin buanget. Paginya kita sarapan di lounge, roti dkk dan teh/kopi. Trus kita beres, check out, dan langsung cabut ke Danau Yamanaka utk ngeliat pemandangan Gunung Fuji......

OH SO BEAUTIFUL..... Subhanallah.... Taun 2002 waktu gw ke Jepang, gw cuma liat Gn.Fuji dari Shinkansen dan dari jendela di apartemen Tomoko di Tokyo--kecil. Tapi di Yamanaka-ko inilah pertama kalinya gw ngeliat Gn.Fuji begitu gede di depan mata gw. Indah & mengerikan at the same time. Sementarai di sekitar Danau Yamanaka, daun2 berwarna-warni. Subhanallah, it was so very beautiful. And the fact that I was there with some of the people I love, it makes it even more beautiful. I was very happy then. Alhamdulillah... Segala puji bagi Allah. I wish mom, dad 'n Eggs had been there too.

Trus kita lanjut ke Danau Kawaguchi. Pemandangan G.Fuji dari sana nggak seindah di Danau Yamanaka. Di D.Kawaguchi, banyak gunung2 lainnya, jadi kurang OK gitu lho... Tapi pemandangan di sekitar danau sih tetep aja indaaaah.... :)

Abis itu kita makan siang. Udah mulai buru2 deh, krn perjalanan panjang--gw & Didi lanjut ke Kyoto, sedangkan Rani & Hide balik ke Utsunomiya. So, abis makan di resto di pinggir Danau Kawaguchi, Rani & Hide nge-drop gw & Didi di stasiun Ootsuki lagi. Gw & Didi naik kereta ke Shin Yokohama dulu, trus naik Shinkansen ke Kyoto. Rani & Hide kena macet pulang, baru sampe rumah jam 11 malem :( Sedangkan, gw & Didi nyampe Kyoto malem itu, capek, tapi... ada pengalaman tak terlupakan tentang penginapan. Kita menyusurin Kyoto di malam hari cari tempat nginep yg lain... hehehe.

Yah itu deh cerita pengalaman favorit gw di liburan kemarin. Alhamdulillah... :)

Semuanya keliatan udah berjalan dg mulus, dan gw selalu berdoa biar semuanya lancar.... tau2 hari ini gw dapet kabar tentang suatu masalah - ternyata jalannya ngga mulus, padahal waktunya udah mepet. Hmmm... apa ya yang salah dg gw?

Kalo' kata para 'ustadz(ah)'/'guru'/'sensei', ada 2 nih: bisa jadi ada kesalahan yg gw lakukan, which is gw harus inget2 dan cari tau dan make up for it; atau ini memang ujian buat kesabaran gw. Kalo kata salah satu 'guru', kalo idup kita ngga ada cobaan, jgn2 kita ngga 'terdaftar' sebagai hamba yang beriman kepada Tuhan...

God please help me. Jadikan segalanya kembali lancar. (Do'a2 terusannya & lainnya gak gw tulis, it's just between me and God. Gw gak nyaman org lain tau, walaupun isinya bukan sesuatu yg rahasia.)

Killed my old blog. Now a new one is born.