Hello readers! Jogja has nice weather and today is my second day of working in the office. The company I am working in divides us into 2 groups of people in which each group will have five days of working in the office and five days of working from home. This is applied for about a month and I just finished my first part of working from home.

I was so excited when getting to know that each of us would have a chance to work from home. My mother was so happy to have me as a companion at home.  For me, I do think it will help us doing social distancing better.

Within five days of working from home, I did manage well the term "working from home". My 10 to 5 was exactly the same as the office hour we have during the covid-19 pandemic. I even skip one of my favorite things to do at home, which is taking a siesta. Even though I fancy siestas, I didn't take any in those days. I thought I might get or take some tasks to be executed in my afternoons and my prediction was right!

I don't know if I would be this excited if I had to stay at home and work from home for a longer period of time. Spending time mostly at home somehow push us to be creative. Working at home after weeks maybe won't be enough for us. Watching Netflix for some hours non-stop maybe is fun at first but what about doing it every single day for a long period of time? Would it be enough to keep us contented?

Conversations keep going and people keep on talking about what they did while staying at home. Based on what I heard or listened to, people around me did one of these things:

I am sure millions of people have their own ways on how to seize their 24 hours of staying at home apart from working from home. I also believe that sometimes boredom and even loneliness creep in, moreover if you live alone. Yet, I am sure too that many of us have more time to spend with the family. Maybe this is our time to realize how much we love our family members and how precious our family is for us. Sometimes routines make us forget how good our life is.

Although many of us experience work from home, a lot of people in Jogja still have to go outside so that they can earn money. As an example, let's take a look at becak drivers. Becak or pedicab drivers have no choice but to continue working. If they don't get any passengers, they don't earn any money, the same as the online motorbike drivers. If these drivers don't take any orders from their clients, they will bring home no money. If they have some savings, they can use their savings for their daily needs. What if they have none?

Covid-19 pandemic maybe enforces us to stay at home. It might push us to think and rethink, to contemplate on what matters the most for us, how we live our lives, and how we are as human beings. Some people probably can stay at home for weeks and keep on working from home. Some others might have no choice but keep on working outside of their house to make a living. Whatever it is that we have to deal with, let's hope that we all are able to take care of ourselves well not just for us but for our beloved ones as well. I am sure those who love us expect us to remain good and healthy. 

I am curious about you. How you feel about staying at home and what points to ponder that you get from that. Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences in the comment section below. Who knows what you share will encourage or inspire someone out there.

Thank you for reading. Warm regard is sent to you from Jogja. Stay safe, readers!

It is 7 a.m. in the morning. My brother is already in Solo together with the birthday gift for the girlfriend.

I accompanied my brother hunting for a birthday gift once I was done with my things.  It was like a blind man led another blind man. I am bad at picking birthday gift. I am always clueless. I heard there's a rule of what-to-give and what-not-to-give when it comes to birthday gifts for our boyfriend or girlfriend. 

“Why don’t you buy her a tee?” I thought that was a practical idea.

“A tee is a bad idea. It’s like saying good bye,” my brother replied.

I am sure that’s a myth, right? Oh, what do I know?!

The only thing I was sure of on Monday evening was my English class. Yeah, I have an English class in which I am the teacher. Are you surprised? Well, it surprises me sometimes… This is the photo of my students; Ella, Anin and Lois (left to right)

I always make sure our class is fun but a fun class is not enough for me. I realized it last week. I want my class to be an inspiring fun class. I am not a motivational guru but I believe it’s a good thing to motivate and empower each other while learning English.

“People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar –

This Monday I picked a video from Thailand. It’s an ad actually—insurance ad—but I found it perfect for our discussion session.

After watching the above video, I asked my students what they can learn from it and I asked them, “If you were a super hero, what super hero would you be?”

Their answers were beyond my expectation. I thought they would imagine themselves as a super heroine such as Catwoman, Elektra, Sailor Moon, or Wonder Woman. I was totally wrong.

Lois said she wanted to be Indonesian Oprah Winfrey. If she were her, she would have created a program to save orangutans in Borneo. I can understand this. Lois is from Borneo.

Ella stated she would be a super heroine called Smiley Woman. Her mission would be spreading happiness wherever she goes. She believes there’s a power in a smile. A smile might change somebody’s day, which I totally agree.

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” – Mother Teresa –

Super Mother is a super heroine Anin chose to be. Being a mother, we need to be a powerful woman. We should be able to protect and take care of the children well and Anin saw the super heroine figure within her mom. Her mother is her inspiration.

That’s what I got from my Monday class. What do you think of the video I put here? What super hero are you? 

It’s weekend! Who doesn’t love weekends? Everybody loves it, as long as I know. Even my friends who have to work on Saturday also crown themselves as Weekend Lovers. Weekends are times in which we relax our mind, do our hobbies, hang out with buddies, visit our parents or do any other things that seem to be uneasy during the weekdays.

What do you like the most about weekends? No alarm clocks? More time with your family? Live your single life up?

My weekend is nice. No party, no girls’ night out. Nothing. It’s just me, myself, and I in pajamas. I am getting flu and stay at home is the best thing I can do for myself tonight. Besides, this is a good way to save people out there from my flu virus. Imagine how my virus will victimize anyone around me each time I sneeeeeze, sneeeze, and sneeze!! Hmmm…

Staying at home ain’t that bad. Decided to eat something hot and having a hot bakmi Jawa (Javanese noodles) in a bowl would be a perfect choice. Unfortunately I didn’t see Pak Lilik’s gerobak (lit. food cart) tonight—this guy sells yummy Javanese noodles—and I was too lazy going somewhere just to buy any bakmi Jawa and please note that I am sick *cough* *cough* So I chose cooking an instant noodle to searching for bakmi Jawa.

It took only about seven minutes to serve my instant noodles. I added an egg, green onions and crisp-fried onions.

Together with my noodles, I made a cup of  a big glass of jasmine tea with slices of lime. 

My running nose enjoyed the smell. It was lovely and relaxing (Jasmine is one of my favorite things, by the way). I had these all while watching Vin Rana on a live TV show dancing in Superman costume. Yep, even an ill chick liked eye candy!

That’s from my side of the world. How’s your weekend? Are you having fun? 

My bed didn’t let me go. Its comfort held me tight whenever I struggled opening my eyes. If only the night was longer, I would have given up and continued on sleeping. It was 4 AM in the morning and I heard my inner voice shouting, “wake up!” which followed by “doh!”. I took 15 minutes to be fully awake and forced myself to go to the bathroom. Yes, it was Good Friday and I had to join morning worship in the neighborhood at 4.30 AM.

Everything was dark and I covered my upper body with my mom’s handmade batik scarf since it was rather cold while holding a candle. Together with my parents I sat down on the corner waiting for other people to come. Sitting on the dark, I sought for frogs to pass the time. Fortunately I didn’t see any around.

After waiting for about 15 minutes – yeah many people were late – the worship began. We all lit the candles and their flame danced gracefully accentuating the dark. A hundred people worshiped together.

Our Good Friday tradition has been living amongst us for years. Each year you can see how people put efforts for this. We are asked to bring mat in case there’s no enough space for sitting. I don’t know if people take a shower before attending the worship but it’s nice to see how they bring themselves and make it work each year.

The sun rose and its warmth caressed our skin when the worship was finally finished. The tea was served together with marble cakes. 

While sipping tea, some teenagers brought us take-home-breakfast. The breakfast was semur telur. The word semur is derived from Dutch word “smoor” which means stewing. Telur is “egg”. This egg was combined with spicy bihun (rice vermicelli), stir-fried tempeh, and kerupuk.

Breakfast wasn’t the only thing we brought home. Each of us received an Easter egg as well. No decorative eggs this year but it doesn't mean we give thank less.

That’s my Good Friday. How was yours? Do you also have a tradition? What is it? That would be nice to know how other people from other culture live the Good Friday.

This is all for now. Thank you for your visit. Have a nice Sunday and Happy Easter!

What will move you as a person to be a better version of yourself? Is it a pat on the back or a kick on your butt? My injured knee got me to rethink how I am as a person. And oh well, since we are still in the beginning of 2015 and I have no resolutions to jot down, this will be a good reminder to live with for the rest of 2015.

My knee got injured when I was attempting to change my habit from living my life as a couch potato to be an exercise lover. Yeah, it took a pair of neon pink sport shoes (finally!)  for me to start running and after couple of times of being a runner (who walked a lot, still, btw) my knee decided to act up in one evening.

No compromise, my knee was hurt for walking. I had to enjoy my “ouch” moments each time I walked. I couldn't even wear my favorite classic pump!! It was really a disaster!! So I decided to go to a private hospital nearby. This was the time in which life stroke me with impressiveness.

Visiting the hospital, I met a relative that worked as a nurse there. She was at her late 40s or early 50s and she was so kind to me. Not only recommending me a doctor that suited well with my case of injury but she also assisted me to get medicine yet registered me to see the doctor on Saturday. My mom and I thanked her and as a replied she said it was her duty to be kind. She told me no matter what kind of job we have, it’s always good to put an extra mile for the sake of love and gratitude. “Don’t chase money, it would come to you,” she said, “don’t do it for money.” Oh wow!  This wasn’t the only WOW experience I had.

Saturday I visited the same hospital to see the doctor the nurse recommended to me. She said this doctor is nice and hey, doctors should be nice, right? I mean they are doctors!  But she was totally wrong…

After waiting for about 30 minutes, finally I could go into one of the rooms. I asked my mom to accompany me. We both heard the doctor talking to another patient in another room. His voice was clear and rather deep. This guy must be on his 40s or 50s – I assumed, based on his voice and the numbers of patients that were in line to see him.

Sitting on the only bed in the room, I could hear what the doctor said to the patient in the other room and my mom thought he was friendly based on her hearings. Couple of minutes passed, finally I got my turn and OH MY GOSH!!!! This doctor wasn’t at his 40s or 50s! He was much younger and he had a bright smile! No, no, not kind of toothpaste-ad-smile but it was rather a warm smile. Once he entered the room he greeted us and shook our hands! He was more than friendly! He was enthusiastic, emphatic and he listened to what we said. He listened not to comment but he was a truly listener. He checked my both legs to compare one to another and he explained each step he did; why it was important. Afterwards, knowing that we knew nothing about anatomy of a knee, he drew it  to explain what I had on my knee. His explanation was understandable and he was so patient with us though he got tons of questions.  WOW! He did the extra mile! I came to realize why the nurse said he was nice and why he had so many patients waiting for him to check them. The hospital was so lucky to have him! I hardly met such doctor!

How good are we at doing our job? Are we enthusiastic enough? Routine might kill sparks but it shouldn’t. If only everybody has the attitudes shown by the nurse and the doctor, this world would be a better place. Be good, do well. Make the extra mile. Not for the sake of money but love and kindness.

So readers, what about you? Have you done the extra mile?

Siapa yang suka begadang? Angkat jari!!! Yep, saya pasti angkat jari. Saya sering begadang. Bahkan saya sering mengasosiasikan diri dengan burung hantu. “Oh lihatlah burung hantu itu...that’s so me!!” begitu teriak saya dalam hati setiap melihat gambar burung hantu terpampang di depan mata.

Saya mulai gemar ide tidur telat sejak sebelum menginjak bangku SD. Saya ingat saat saya masih kecil, saya selalu penasaran dengan apa yang akan  terjadi setelah pukul  21.00 WIB. Setiap orang tua saya menyuruh saya tidur, pasti saya memberontak (kecuali saya jatuh terlelap karena kantuk). Menurut saya terjaga di saat anak-anak lain tidur rasanya asyik. Yep. Berulangkali saya mencoba untuk tetap terjaga hingga malam.

Suatu ketika saya melihat ada perempuan cantik bergaun seperti kurungan ayam di TV. Ya, kadang ada trailer film larut malam yang diputar di TV. Di salah satu tayangan itu, saya melihat gaun indah bertebaran di dalam sebuah film. Oh,  saya mendadak mau gaun itu!!! Tahu apa itu artinya? Artinya saya harus  terjaga hingga larut untuk menonton gaun ala kurungan ayam itu. Saya harus melihat detailnya: renda, pita, warna, dan kenapa gaun-gaun itu tidak seperti satupun milik saya.  Entah film apa kala itu yang saya tonton namun saya bisa pastikan itu film klasik. Film klasik itu memulai babak baru rengekan saya.  Ya, saya merengek-rengek minta ijin untuk menonton film klasik tersebut (dan semua film dengan gaun-gaun cantik mungkin kutipan yang keliru di dalamnya).Kapankah saya bisa menontonnya?

When there is a will, there is a way…

Hahahahaha… mungkin bukan kutipan yang tepat namun suatu hari saya terjaga di tengah malam dengan tayangan perempuan cantik bergaun seperti kurungan ayam.  “Oh cantiknya… “ saya menatap TV sedemikian rupa dengan antusiasme besar. Omelan ibu saya dengar dengan sebelah telinga. Mata saya menempel di layar kaca. Sejak saat itu, untuk waktu yang lama, ibu saya sering mendengar saya berujar, “…itu lho…aku mau baju persis seperti di TV.  Kapan aku dibikinin?!?!?! Kapan…?!?!?!?!” 

Hello dear! Last week I went out with few friends. The Girls I called them. Such nick keeps us staying young eh ;)  We had dinner at Taman Sari Ambarrukmo Plaza. That night we decided to see what Steam Boat had for us. I forgot the name but the taste was nice. There were vegetables, fish balls, slices of meats, meat balls, rice noodle, and few boiled chicken.

Steamy dinner which was perfect for my running nose :)

One of us, Arum, who is also my cousin, will be getting married on July 7. That night was our last dining out before her wedding day. Can’ wait to see her as a bride!

And we all have our favorite nurse, Nining!

Our group won't be complete without Dewi. 

I had my blue feather necklace that night. First time wore it. I felt like half gypsy someway hehehe...

Can't wait to see what The Girls and I will have next month! We so far hang out together once in a month only. 

It's around 2.30 AM. I need to sleep soon otherwise tomorrow I'll walk like zombie! Good night everyone!