I usually pack up my activities on weekdays to have my weekends free from work. So, wherever I go, I have a bunch of “the essentials” — the things I must bring to be my company in going through a lot of stuff daily. Here they are:

Cath Kidston agenda
Unbranded wallet (bought it in a department store for less than $10!)
Colourful liners and pens
Maybelline VolumExpress Hypercurl mascara (Black)
Maybelline Fruity Jelly lipgloss (Creamy Guava)
NYX Concealer in a Jar (CJ03 Light)
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder (ECP05 Brunette)
Tresno Joyo Balsem Telon :P
Swatch watch
Samsung Galaxy Gio

And, of course, a bottle of mineral water! What things do you bring everyday? What are your essentials? :-)

P.S.: To those attending #PopWriting Seminar with me and Sitta Karina, see you tomorrow! I can’t wait to meet you and exchange our tales of writing.

It’s been awhile since the last time I wrote here. The last post on my WordPress page dated March 2011 – around 5 months ago. Some people have been asking why haven’t I been writing new stuff or why did they land on my About Me page instead of my writings if they go to my blog address. Well, I must say, I needed some space for myself. After all that happened after the breakout of my blog post into the mass media, I had not been wanting to write on my blog for some time. Most people who came to visit only asked about my mother’s case – some of them said bad things about it; and to be honest, it is always difficult when people who don’t know you, your family, and especially your mother, address their harsh judgments.

So, in the past 5 months, I have dealt with them all, and dealt with myself. I am now ready to write again here (although in the past few months I have also been writing on my Multiply page) and share my stories. The past 5 months have been full of blessings. I met new, awesome people; traveled to a few cities; involved with exciting projects; and held the Indonesian Youth Conference 2011. I really can’t wait to share about them.

Will definitely write again soon.

Because of Twitter, sometimes we forget the joy of being alone.
Because of Twitter, we rarely completely enjoy something since we are now too busy tweeting about that.
Because of Twitter, we lose the excitement of getting to know strangers.
Because of Twitter, we speculate too much over something.
Because of Twitter, it becomes too easy for us to believe in something though we have not proven that what we read is true.
Because of Twitter, we judge people only upon what they write.
Because of Twitter, our mask gets thicker, and thicker, yet it becomes easier for us to fake ourselves.
Because of Twitter, we think we know someone too much.
Because of Twitter, we stalk people, we want to know everything about them.
Because of Twitter, sometimes we don’t respect people’s privacy anymore.

Because of Twitter, we forget that we are human who have the ability to control our behaviour and blame a social networking website instead.

I was looking at the notes I’ve written in Facebook. I do want to write, but I am occupied with a lot of stuff, especially about Indonesian Youth Conference. I found this note, and I love it. I encourage you to write the same thing, and let me know when you’ve done it. Writing this makes us feel special, very very special. It reminds me of the fact that everybody is special. Yes, I am. Yes, you are. Yes, we are.

I was tagged by Cassey to write this. This is not about showing off. This is about loving yourself. And…

I am an amazing person because:

1. I make new friends easily. Maybe that’s because I am a very talkative person! I can’t stand sitting next to/in front someone without any kind of conversation. It turns out to be a very good thing because I think networking is one of the main keys of success. Never hesitate to say hi to anyone around you – give the to-die-for smile, people!
2. I am expressive. I can express my feelings verbally or even non-verbally. What’s even better is, I am expressive in positive things. I tend to keep my bad mood for myself, or only for the people that I am very closed to.
3. I am a good listener when it comes to other people’s problems. I am always welcome to listen to their problems, and when they ask for my advice, I am willing to share my experiences. Because, I am not a teacher or parents who can tell you to do things, I am only a friend.
4. Quoting Mr Dino, I am a proud nationalist and a passionate internationalist. I love reading things about Indonesia and telling them to other people so they can be in love with Indonesia as well. I am also open to other cultures. I can spend hours listening to Changemakers about their countries. I event spent one hour talking with Elsabe about Indonesia and Namibia, how do the houses look like, what do we eat for breakfast. You can start loving this country by reading Good News From Indonesia. Let’s fall in love!
5. I am curious. I love learning new things and I can absorb lessons easily. My IQ is not that great, maybe can only be labeled as “superior”. But I can learn any kind of lessons and can memorize it. I love you God.
6. I am a very optimistic person! A lot of people inspire me, from Bruce Lee to Andy Warhol, from Che Guevara to Walt Disney. All of them said that we all can make our dreams come true. So, why worry?
7. I rarely forget saying the three magical words: maaf, tolong, terima kasih. This is not that special but there are a lot of people who keep forgetting this kind of stuff. For me, it is very important.
8. I have always wanted to be different. Being different… some people might call us weird, but we always have the excuse to call ourselves “special”.
9. I am innovative and creative. Maybe it’s related to #8, I want to do something great and new, I want to do things in a different, creative way, whenever I can.
10. I am a loving person. I love my parents and even sisters so much, I love my boyfriend, I love my big family, I love my bestfriends, I love my schoolmates and especially classmates, I love my teman sebangkus (yes, I love you Sheila Citra Ervicaninda!), I love my colleagues… Though not all of them love me back. I don’t really care about that. Quoting Cassey, they are the ones who make me an amazing person.

So, if you read this, please do the same thing. At least for yourself. Let me know. Well… I know you guys are amazing already. I’ll just crosscheck the list you made with mine. Are we thinking about the same things?

Indonesia berduka.

Itu yang saya tangkap pagi ini, ketika saya tiba di kantor dan mendengar bahwa dua hotel internasional di kawasan Kuningan, yakni Ritz-Carlton dan JW Marriott, menjadi sasaran pengeboman oleh oknum yang tidak bertanggungjawab. Saya panik ketika itu. Mengapa? Bagaimana kepercayaan dunia internasional terhadap Indonesia? Saya, sebagai salah satu orang Indonesia yang berkesempatan untuk berinteraksi langsung dengan masyarakat internasional, mendengar langsung pandangan dari orang-orang di negara lain terhadap Indonesia yang semakin ke sini, semakin membaik. Kita telah bersusah-payah bertahun-tahun mengembalikan gambaran baik mengenai Indonesia kepada dunia internasional yang sempat punah, dan dengan beberapa ledakan, gambaran tersebut harus kembali rusak. Entah berapa lama waktu yang kita butuhkan untuk memperbaiki hal ini.

Pagi ini pula, saya login di Twitter dan menemukan ‘Jakarta’ dan ‘Ritz-Carlton’ menjadi dua dari trending topics yang ada Twitter.

Malam ini semuanya berubah. #indonesiaunite menjadi trending topic di peringkat teratas, mengalahkan pemutaran perdana Harry Potter, pembicaraan tentang Michael Jackson, dan bahkan #iranelection. Hari ini kita membuktikan pada dunia bahwa teroris tidak mengguncang Indonesia. Manchester United boleh jadi batal ke sini, begitu juga dengan beberapa band yang dijadwalkan untuk menyelenggarakan konser di Bulan Agustus, tapi warga Indonesia – khususnya pengguna Twitter – justru melakukan sesuatu bersama-sama, menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia tetap kuat dengan mengupdate banyak informasi berhubungan dengan #indonesiaunite dan mengganti avatar Twitter dengan warna merah-putih.

Hari ini, ada banyak pesan nasionalis yang muncul melalui status di Twitter. Pada awalnya, semua status di Twitter menunjukkan kebencian terhadap teroris, main tuding kepada capres-cawapres yang tidak menang dalam versi Quick Count, sampai mengutuk teroris hanya karena MU dan band-band favorit mereka batal datang ke Jakarta. Namun, semua itu berubah, menjadi kebanggaan sebagai orang Indonesia, menjadi keinginan agar Bangsa Indonesia bersatupadu melawan ancaman teroris.

Prestasi ini membawa kebahagiaan tersendiri untuk saya. Mengapa? Saya merasa bahwa nasionalisme masyarakat Indonesia sudah meningkat secara drastis. Pada peristiwa-peristiwa pengeboman sebelumnya, Indonesia hanya bisa berduka. Tapi hari ini, kita melakukan sesuatu. Sesuatu yang kecil, tetapi ternyata sangat berarti, dan membawa impact emosional yang besar.

Ada seseorang yang mengirimkan tweet:

Hal ini menyadarkan saya, bahwa mungkin hikmah dari kejadian ini adalah bersatupadunya pemuda-pemudi Indonesia untuk membuktikan pada dunia bahwa Indonesia akan berusaha semaksimal mungkin melawan terorisme. Hal ini juga menyadarkan saya bahwa nasionalisme belum mati. Bangsa Indonesia tidak mengutuk terorisme karena batal melihat Ryan Giggs secara langsung, mereka mengutuk terorisme yang telah merusak nama bangsa di mata dunia.

Mengutip Arsalan Iftikhar, international human rights lawyer dan pendiri TheMuslimGuy.com: As the 240 million wonderful people of Indonesia mourn this terrorist attack on their soil this evening; we want the people of Jakarta to know that the rest of the world mourns alongside with you.

Semoga nasionalisme Bangsa Indonesia tidak berhenti sampai di sini.

What’s the point of adding me if you don’t… err… actually know me? WHAT???

NAME AN INDONESIAN YOUTH THAT MAKES YOU PROUD OF BEING AN INDONESIAN. IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU. :)

I “released” that question about 5 days ago. The number of answers was not enormous. Well, it doesn’t matter though. These are my findings. Thank you, and enjoy, fellas!

1. Alexandra Asmasoebrata, 20, made Indonesia becomes the first country in Asia which has a woman driver.
2. Rio Haryanto, 17, Formula Asia 2.0 2008 Champion; 3rd place in the international category.
3. Zahir Ali, 21, Formula BMW Asia 2007 Champion.
4. Heaven Tanudiredja, 27, has worked for John Galliano and Christian Dior. Malcolm Pate, a Canadian-born film-maker, made a film which was inspired by his accessories collection.
5. “Madness” by Alun-alun Indonesia got an awesome review from Teen Vogue while “Sou Brette” got a great review from Nylon Magazine.
6. Indonesia is the first country which has won 4 prizes in International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) for 3 years in a row. Names? Yoris Sebastian (Music 2007), Wahyu Aditya (Screen 2007), Sakti Parentean (Screen 2008) and Oscar Lawalata (Fashion 2009).
7. Yoris Sebastian won the Most Promising Entrepreneur Award in Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Award 2008 with his business, Oh My Goodness! Creative Consulting. His projects often named as “the first in the world”, including his “Destination Nowhere” project for TRAX Magazine where Cokelat launched their album in the sky and BC Bar – a bar that only opens for 2 days every week and still profitable.
8. Joko Anwar‘s “Kala” won Best Film in Berlin Asian Hot Shots Film Festival 2008 while The Mo Brothers‘ “Dara” won International Short Winner in Horror and Science Fiction Film Festival (Arizona) 2007 and Audience Choice Award in NYC Horror Film Festival 2007.
9. 1st prize in 16th International Conference of Young Scientists (ICYS) in Pszczyna, Polandia.
10. Audrey Clarissa, who was a student of ITB’s School of Pharmacy, became the first woman president of International Pharmacy Students Federation (IPSF) since the federation was established in 1949. Wow, that’s 6 decades ago, man.
11. Irene Kharisma Sukandar, 17, got her International Woman Grand Master four months ago. She’s the first woman International Grand Master Indonesia ever has.
12. Janias Miagoni. I got nothing much about him, but he is the real version of “Denias” and he succesfully studied in Australia!
13. Us. All of us are special. This country is special. Don’t waste it.

Have you took the personality test from MyPersonality? A couple of years ago, when Facebook hadn’t even existed, I took it. The result was Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Judging (ENFJ). One minute ago, I retook the test. The result was:

When I was younger, I found it very hard to make a change in myself, especially in my personality. I have been through a lot of “self-introspecting” phases and I was like, “I can never change the way I am. This is what I am. Take it or leave it.” Seeing these badges together, I can finally exhilarate freely. I am now more perceiving than judging, I use my mind more often than I use my feelings, which I think is great. I think it’s a part of growing up, though I still believe that everyone must have both sides in their life: childish and all grown up. It depends on how you see it.

Dear my blog readers,

Welcome to my new home. This website is still “underconstruction”, but you can read my older posts here. I think my thoughts need a new, warmer home. Don’t hesitate to leave a hello, I will kindly reply it anytime.

Will update this blog as soon as I can, perhaps this weekend. Of course I’ll write something. I still owe you some stories and pictures from the UK, and I will definitely write my birthday wishes, because it’s coming: I’ll be 18 this month!

Well, see you, cool people. xoxo!

I know you guys must have read this hilarious blog! But, I sent my personal stories to the administrators and they put it on that blog.

29 October 2008

Tes Orang Enggak Faham Linguistik…

Teman #1: “X, lo mau ikut tes TOEFL nggak?”
Teman #2: “Hah? Bayarnya berapaan sih?”
Teman #1: “Murah kok. 25 ribu, soalnya kolektif sama sekolah.”
Teman #2: “Mau deh, mau. Tapi tes TOEFL-nya nggak Bahasa Inggris kan?”

Didengar oleh teman #1 yang mulai frustasi dan mempertanyakan eksistensi temannya sebagai manusia.

*I am Teman #1 lol*

09 October 2008

Dan orang bilang ngobrol di HP itu adiktif

Dua orang ibu-ibu yang tiba-tiba berjumpa di pusat perbelanjaan.
Jeung #1: “Jeung X! Halo!”
Jeung #2: “Ya ampun, Jeung Y!”
Jeung #1: “Apa kabar?”
Jeung #2: “Kabar baik. Lagi dimana?”

Plaza Senayan, didengar oleh anak salah satu jeung yang akan mencari tahu isi tagihan telepon seluler ibunya.

*I am anak salah satu jeung’s friend*

Sure, you can laugh. Leave comments right away, don’t even hesitate! :-D