Pandemic and stupidity.

Gw hampir ga pernah dengerin atau baca berita nasional sejak entah berapa lama. Bukannya ga peduli dengan apa yang terjadi di sekitar, tapi untuk menjaga kesehatan mental. Karena setiap lihat berita nasional bawaannya emosi. There's too many stupidity in there. Hal - hal yang seharusnya bisa dicegah atau ditangani dengan lebih baik jika saja kita punya common sense, gagal untuk diatasi. Jadi lebih sering baca berita dari channel internasional.

Music Habit

 Do you like to listen to the music? I do. A lot. I did it while working or just relaxing. I used to to do it while studying too so that some music are corelated to exam atmosphere for me. The genres I listened to are mostly pop, alternative, slow rock, country, and others, it really depends on my current mood and what objective I want to achieve. For me, music is a tool that can instantly transport me to a whole different ambience. It almost like an escape.    

June

 Assalamualaikum.

Good morning! So much for trying to be consistent in writing blog posts huh? He he he. Work and other issues are just excuses, really. If I really mean it, I will write a post or two. But I didn't. So I guess I'm not  that keen.

2021!

 Assalamualaikum.

    Can you believe it's 2021 already? Many people hope this year to be better than 2020. which, lets admit, has been a wreck. The main cause is of course the pandemic. It was started in March in Indonesia and continued through out the year. It's still happening now, but it seems like most of people forget about it or they just don't care. They said, "I'm tired of this pandemic. I want to be free. I'm bored staying at home." Do they realize that the virus doesn't care? The virus is not bored. It's still here. But the good news is the vaccine is on the way. I heard the government has started to give vaccine to some categories. 

    During the pandemic last year, one thing I'm feeling grateful the most were I can work from home. I'm still working from home now. Going to the office only once or twice in a week. This WFH trend should make people realize that as long as the job done, it can be done from anywhere. You don't need to be physically present in the office or in the meeting. And I love it! Ha ha ha. I admit the first few weeks were hard, I missed the solitary of my desk in the office.  But, after finding the routine, it was relatively smooth sailing. It's even hard for me now imagining going to the office every day. I mean, what's the point? If I can get the job done from home, why should I waste money and time for the trip? 

    Some agencies have done surveys about WFH effectivity and I really hope that this can change working culture. For some works, time spent doing the job is not relevant to the result. Working more hours does not always mean better result. Some times, working more hours means they don't have good system and good time management. 

    So yeah, I hope I can keep doing my job remotely even after this pandemic ends. Wish you have a good day and being in good health.

October Update

This is year has been a wreck this far. That's what people said. With the pandemic going around, everything seems like to descend into madness. But I think people are starting to get used to it, some even take it too far as if nothing is happened. Indonesia is way behind the world in this case. Number is going down in other countries, but here it is still going strong. And it is no wonder. A lot of people here are not taking thing seriously. They neglect the safety protocol, even mocking others who obey it. To me, it shows the lack of empathy. This virus affects people differently, in most case it has light to mild symptoms. But it can be severe to the immunocompromised community member, such as elder people and people with pre existing condition. I can't imagine the nightmare these people experienced and it must be hurt watching other people ignore the safety protocol and any precaution because it also means they don't care about other people's live and well being.

The silver lining of this pandemic is, working from home is a thing now. People finally (forced) realized that you can still get work done even without going to the office. I've been working from home for around 9 months, with occasional visit to the office. And honestly, things are going well. I can do as much work as I did in the office, with the benefit conformity of my home. It's not always like that though. The first few months were the hardest. Especially, when my daughter did not know boundary yet. I often miss the solitary of my desk in the office. Alhamdulillah things are better now. We establish routine pretty well and my daughter is starting to understand that for a certain period, I can't accompany her.  

But things are different for D. He did work from home for some times, but he is starting to go to the office again. Working from home for him means work has no office hour. He worked from dusk till dawn and more. And I was surprised seeing how much meeting he should attend in a day. Sometimes it was all day meeting. I hope he can find something challenging and enjoyable in that crazy hours.

That's all for now. Hope I can catch up soon. Be safe, people.

 

Grow Thicker Skin

I stumbled upon a post on IG about wanting only 1 kid today. And the real punch is when the caption said, "I don't know why I have to justified my reasons to a stranger." That is something that I feel very often, but I guess I've never really comprehend. I just now that it didn't feel right every time I have conversation about not wanting another kid, I feel obliged to give valid reason why I don't want it for now. I don't have to. I don't have to tell them my reasons. It's my life, my body, my decision.

Try to be Content

Can you you believe it's March already? Yet I still haven't got any salary, cheers to bureaucracy. But frankly, I'm not surpsrised. The previous almost same process took around 6 month to finished, so I kinda estimate it will be the same. Eventhogh I still hope it will be faster this time since it affects my other affairs. 

Enjoy Your Day

The wet season is really delivered. I haven't seen sun light since a couple of days till this morning. But it also went quickly, covered by the cloud, again. The view from my office window is the same with yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and the day before: cloudy with fat chance of rain. It's dark and it's cold. Such a perfect day to stay indoor with headphone on your ears. My husband called my headphone 'your anti social device' which is true, eventhough it's not really needed considering there's only 5 people top in this huge room. 

About Child

Hello, long time no update. I plan to do some things today but I'm defeated by the flu. So I just slumped in my chair. Na got the flu first, after days of clogged nose. We went to doctor twice, different doctor. And it seems like her clogged nose was caused by an allergy, eventhough we're still not sure what triggers it. Today she has been back to the daycare, with tears. She refused to come out from the car, and cried when I left her there. 

Mixed of Everything

Felt like crap this morning. Which is my own fault staying up a bit late last night. So I get my morning coffee at not even 8.30 yet. Why is coffee so good? I actually don't think I have a good palate. Same for coffee, I can't really taste which one is the better quality. But I do, have preference. My favorite is long black, with a little sugar. But I don't like coffee that has acidic taste in it. My mother once told me what kind of coffe that is, but I forgot. Ha ha. I just need to remember what brand that I like the most. Lately, my favorit is Robert Tim's Italian Espresso, which I bought tons of it in Melbourne. Sadly, that can't be found here. So I'm gonna need replacement once my stash runs out.

Letter for you #1

Having a daughter in this patriacal community is such a challenge. There is so many things I want to tell her, to prepare her, for how this world will treat her. Let's start with the basic. As a women, you should be independent. Never ever ever depend on a man for your happiness. You don't need a man to be happy. You don't need anyone else to make your life complete. You are your own pupil and you are perfect already.

Make Up Routine

Good morning! I skipped writing for 2 days and the reason is I'm too exhausted to write. I've been doing my delayed work and boy it takes time. It still hasn't finished yet. So I'm gonna do update real quick in this morning before I'm back to that exhausting and energy draining task. 

Some By Mi

Yeay, I finally got my new work laptop. It's not practically new (the screen is cracked, and it's a bit slow), but it's new to me. It's smaller than my old work laptop so I guess it will be easier to brought around. Eventhough I'm moved to another team, I still sit at my old team room because there's only a few people here and the room is vast. You can literally has a row for yourself. This is not a problem for now, and I hope it won't be for next time.

Awaysick.

Hello there. I'm trying to keep my promise, so I'm back. After being away from work for a year, a lot has changed. A lot. I'm still working in the same office building, but the people is almost entirely new. My old team is breaking apart. Some of them moved to new places, some of them stay. I thought I was one of the left behind, but it turned out I was being moved too. Still at the same office though, just with different team and consequently different job. In a way, it's an opportunity. To learn new things, to escape from fatigue and boredom. But, it's also a challenge. To test my ability. 

Enough about work. Now, it's been 2 weeks since I'm back in this country. Honestly, I don't miss this place. Just some of the people, like my family and friends, and my job (my ability to generate my own income, frankly). I already miss the evening I spent strolling around to restaurant, or park. A simple thing that's impossible to do here. 

My first reaction when D told me that he got accepted to study abroad was I was glad. Glad for him, and for me too. To be able to escape for a while from the routine that's starting to wear me out. Once I read that one of the reason we like to venture to a new place is the anonymity. It is true, I think. There, I was just another face. No one really knows who I am. So they don't have any expectation from me. And I never really comprehend this before, but being free from other's expectation can really be liberating. It drives me to be good, for the sake of myself. 

One thing that I really love about people there is they mind their own business, but they are ready to help others in need. You can dress all you want, speak all you like, as long as you don't disturb other, you are good. Even moslem is minority there, I was lucky I never got any bad experience about being a moslem (other sister there has different story). In fact, I was mostly treated very well. Fellow moslem said salam when we meet, people ready to help with pram, they smile to my daughter and me. That's definitely things I miss.

Now being back here, facade is needed. To be included, to look as though I'm belong. 

Greeting

Hello world. So, it turns out I've been leaving this blog for quite some time. What has happened? A lot and nothing, maybe. The one big event happened in 2019 was actually my husband's, not mine. He got a chance to study abroad, which he took starting in 2018. Then our daughter and me follow him abroad starting from last year. We lived together in Melbourne for almost a year. And that's the main event for last year.

Another Skincare Update

Haloo, selamat pagi! Lanjut lagi postingan kemarin tentang skincare dulu yuk. Jadi, seperti yang sudah saya sebutkan di postingan sebelumnya, setelah punya anak, saya berusaha mencari skncare yang praktis tapi memberikan hasil optimal. Nah, ada satu produk yang benar - benar penyelamat bagi saya saat kulit bermasalah, yaitu Clarins Face Oil Lotus. Saya mengenal produk ini dari penjual skincare langganan saya. Saat saya menggunakan produk SKII dulu, saya selalu membeli ke Mba Nuning karena harganya terjangkau dan barangnya terjamin. Bagi yang tertarik bisa cari di FB namanya "Chic Rose Corner".

Skincare and Make Up After Kid

Assalamualaikum. Selamat pagi, ibu - ibu satu anak di sini, he he he. Salah satu alasan vakum sekian lama dari blog adalah karena hadirnya anak kecil di dunia saya. Dan iya, dia menjadi prioritas nomor satu bagi saya. Setelah masa cuti melahirkan habis, saya mengusahakan setiap istirahat untuk pulang. Ketika dia bayi, tujuan utama pulang sian hari ini untuk menyusui, semakin dia besar, tujuan pulang bergeser ke bonding dengan anak. Saya menyadari dalam satu minggu, waktu saya untuknya harus terbagi dengan waktu untuk bekerja. Karena itu, setiap ada kesempatan untuk menghabiskan waktu bersama saya berusaha untuk memanfaatkannya seoptimal mungkin. Ini berarti ada hal - hal lain yang harus dikorbankan untuk memberikan waktu yang lebih banyak bersamanya.

Mengurus Perpanjangan SIM

Selamat pagii. Hari Selasa kemarin saya izin masuk siang untuk melakukan perpanjangan dan mutasi SIM A. Sebenarnya saya sangat malas melakukan hal - hal administratif semacam ini. Tapi karena memang untuk kepentingan saya sendiri ya sudahlah harus jalan. Mau pake calo kok sayang uangnya ya, ha ha. Akhirnya hari Selasa pagi setelah absen dulu ke kantor saya ke polres diantar suami.

Kami tiba sekitar pukul 8.45, tapi tempat parkir polres, yaitu GOR, sudah sangat ramai. Abis ujan pula, jadi lahan parkirnya penuh dengan genangan - genangan air. Setelah menyerahkan identitas untuk ditukar dengan visitor card di pintu masuk, saya mengikuti papan petunjuk perpanjangan SIM. Jam segitu sudah cukup ramai di polres. Dengan mengikuti papan petunjuk, akhirnya ketemu bapak - bapak polisi di tempat yang terlihat seperti pos registrasi. Ternyata, sebelum masuk ke tempat perpanjangan SIM, harus membuat surat keterangan sehat dulu. Bapak polisi memberitahukan lokasi dokter praktek di belakang masjid. Akhirnya saya dan D pun berjalan ke sana.

Listen

Halo, it's been over a year. Welcome back, me! Let's get another random thought here.

Tahun 2018 sudah memasuki bulan Desember. Wew. Ketika sekolah dulu, akhir tahun menjadi waktu yang menyenangkan. Selain karena sudah pasti ada dua tanggal merah (Natal dan Tahun Baru), akhir tahun biasanya bersamaan dengan libur sekolah. Menyenangkan sekali bisa membaca buku - buku cerita tanpa kepikiran tugas - tugas sekolah dan pelajaran, meskipun saya tidak rutin belajar, he he he.

Ketika sekolah dulu, saya tidak rutin mengulang pelajaran di rumah. Belajar di rumah hanya untuk mengerjakan tugas atau ketika ujian. Ibu saya pun tidak pernah cerewet menyuruh saya belajar karena dengan metode yang seperti itu pun nilai- nilai saya memuaskan. Saya rasa tiap orang pasti punya cara berbeda untuk belajar. Saya dulu mengutamakan untuk memperhatikan ketika guru menerangkan di kelas. Untuk itu, saya suka memilih bangku di bagian depan kelas karena dengan begitu saya 'harus' memperhatikan guru.

Digital vs Fisik

Jaman sekarang namanya buku atau bahan bacaan apapun udah bisa diakses secara digital ya. Apalagi ada yang namanya Kindle tuh, D sering membujuk saya untuk beli gadget itu. Tapi saya belum tertarik. I'm a book lover. Believe me, I am. Sejak kecil saya lebih senang membelanjakan uang tabungan untuk membeli buku daripada mainan. Hasilnya, koleksi buku saya sangat banyak. Saat ini sebagian besar tersimpan rapi di rumah ibu.