Terakhir 2015

Sabtu kemaren ketika saya sedang pergi bersama teman, saya menunjukkan posting-an Path di timeline saya ke temen saya. "Eh coba liat deh ini", kata saya sambil setengah tertawa dan menunjukkan layar telepon genggam saya (ja elah telepon genggem.. bahasalu mak)

Dear Path dan para pengguna-nya, kadang kalian suka post hal-hal menggelitik yang ga kepikiran, plus kreatif dan penuh curhat colongan. 

Saya mencoba menelaah kalimat di atas dengan (sok) bijaksana. Segala sesuatu sudah direncanakan dari atas dan sudah ada jalannya masing-masing. Tidak ada orang yang 'salah', yang ada hanya momentum yang tepat. Semua orang yang ada di kehidupan kita pasti mengajarkan sesuatu untuk kita bukan? Pahit, manis, asem, asin, but eventually you learn anyway.

Menjelang akhir tahun ini, sekalian deh saya menuliskan catatan akhir tahun. In a scale 1 to 10, how do you rate this year for you?
Saya jawab ya. (Si mbak yang satu ini emang suka nanya dan jawab sendiri)
Buat saya, tahun 2015 ini saya kasih nilai 9. Kenapa ga 10? Karena satu poinnya mau saya tambahkan untuk pertanyaan: In a scale 1 to 10, how do hopeful you are for the upcoming years? - Sebelas mbak!

Mungkin ketika saya bilang, skor tahun ini untuk saya ialah 9, orang-orang akan bertanya, apa yang kamu capai tahun ini? Kayanya ga ada yang 'kelihatan' di mata orang-orang. Yang kelihatan kayanya cuma si mbak yg tambah gemukan deh. *Oke makasih loh, walopun bener tapi tetep pait juga ya ngedengernya.

Buat saya tahun ini saya belajar kalau kesehatan nomor satu.

Belajar untuk menerima keadaan bahwa kadang situasi yang kita hadapin ga sesusai dengan situasi yang kita harapkan, dan kamu berhak untuk memilih hal yang lebih bikin hati tenang ditengah badai opini orang lain di sekitar.

Belajar memahami value dari lingkungan kerja dan nilai-nilai positif yang bisa diambil. Saya bersyukur tahun ini bisa belajar dari dua perusahaan dengan karakteristik masing-masing, dan bertemu dengan orang-orang yang membukakan mata dan peluang. Berat memang bahasanya. Agak sulit diungkapkan dengan kata-kata tanpa terdengar menye-menye.

Belajar tentang relationship, antara keluarga, teman, pasangan. Dengan banyak ngobrol dengan orang lain, pola pikir kita jadi lebih terbuka dan membuat kita jadi bisa berpikir lebih jauh ke depannya. Makasih banyak dengan orang-orang di sekitar dengan perhatiannya, nasihatnya, nagging-nya, celaannya, encouragementnya dan lain-lainnya. Couldn't be any lucky to have you guys in my life.

Belajar banyak juga dari pengalaman orang-orang di sekitar. Apalagi pengalaman pahit, itu obat yang paling manjur buat belajar.

Belajar kalau if something is meant for you, it will. But if it's not, you just have to let it go and cherish the moment you once had with them. You were lucky enough to have it in the first place anyway. (ini berlaku untuk semua hal! ga cuma hape :p)

Last but not least. Ini paling kece marice hey hey: belajar ngebentuk alis. hahahaha. Pada saat proses pembelajaran, gagal itu hal biasa bukan? Termasuk ketipisan/ kebotakan nyukur alis. Ini proses pembelajarannya paling cepat akibat kepepet.

Jadi dalam kalimat yang lebih singkat: I am happy and very thankful for this wonderful 2015- and I believe you are too!
Jadi saudara-saudara terkasih. Selamat menikmati beberapa hari terakhir di tahun 2015 ini. Jangan lupa siap-siap resolusi 2016 yah!

A Note from Unhappy Customer

Sebenarnya saya bukan tipe orang yang suka komplain. Saya cenderung 'memaklumi' dan tidak mau memperpanjang masalah dan menghindari konflik. Namun kejadian satu ini membuat saya agak bete (dilatar belakangi dengan habis kehilangan hape juga) dan membuat saya ingin ngoceh-ngoceh. Kenapa ujung-ujungnya nulis di blog, ya karena sepertinya saya ga menemukan alamat email yang bisa ditujukan untuk menulis uneg-uneg saya ini. Contact email customer service hanya ditujukan buat nanya-nanya mengenai product mereka, dan saya rasa email komplain saya bakal kepanjangan dan ga ada yang peduli.

Apa sih sebenarnya yang pengen saya ceritain? Simple banget. Tentang service dari sebuah toko.
Pada tanggal 5 September saya pergi ke toko Urban Icon di Mall Kelapa Gading. Tujuan saya ialah untuk mengganti strap dari jam tangan saya dengan tipe NY8410 dan mengganti satu batu yang hilang. Setelah diberikan tanda terima oleh sang karyawan. Sang karyawan berkata bahwa nanti ketika servis sudah selesai, saya akan dihubungi. Untuk servis ini akan memakan waktu sekitar 3 bulan, sehingga tertulislah di tanda terima bahwa pada tanggal 5 Desember servis akan selesai.

Setelah lewat dari tiga bulan, tepatnya tanggal 11 Desember, saya menelpon nomor service center yang tertera pada tanda terima. Alamat service center tersebut di Sudirman, dan menurut jawaban dari petugas, jam tangan saya sudah kembali ke toko di Kelapa Gading.

Saya baru sempat pergi untuk mengambil jam tangan saya di toko tersebut pada tanggal 24 Desember. Memang suasana hati sedang kurang baik pada saat itu. Jadi percakapan saya dengan karyawan toko tersebut kurang lebih seperti ini:

Saya (S): Mas, mau ambil jam tangan. Ini bon-nya
Karyawan (K): Oke sebentar mbak. *dia buka logbook manual dia.
S: Udah selesai mas jam-nya?
K: Udah nih mbak. *sambil liat catatan di logbooknya
S: Dari tanggal berapa mas? Kok saya ga dihubungin? *mulai cranky
K: Ini dari tanggal 23 November mbak. Udah ditelponin tapi ga diangkat. Ini notesnya *sambil nunjukin remarks
S: Masa mas? Saya ga ada record nomor telepon ga diangkat tuh di hape saya. Emang ga bisa sms ato ninggalin pesan?
K: Di sini semua emang kalo ditelpon satu kali doang sih mbak. Tapi berkali-kali. Ini ya mbak jamnya *sambil ngeluarin jam dari bungkusnya
S: *ngambil jam tangan dan ngecek hasil servisan. Kok ini kacanya butek dan kotor sih mas?
K: Oh iya sebentar mbak. Mbak duduk aja dulu *si mas membawa jam ke belakang

Ini titik di mana Saya pengen jadi tamu gila ngamuk-ngamuk semacem di hotel tempat dulu saya kerja - tapi itu cuma dalam angan-angan, belum kesampean bisa ngamuk gila gitu

K: Mbak ini udah jamnya
(jadi itu jam cuma dilap pake tissue basah sih, cuma ya plis deh. kesel banget. pas terima barang dari service centernya emang ga dia cek sama sekali? kotor banget itu mah kacanya)
S: Ya udah ini bayar. Makasih ya. *ini versi basa basi singkat tapi tetep bete ke mas-nya

Kenapa saya ga memperpanjang amukan ke si mas? Karena saya merasa dari respon si mas, dia juga ga tau apa-apa. Percuma ngomel-ngomel ke orang yang juga sepertinya ga tau bagaimana sistem yang benar. Mungkin saja dia juga dapat 'sampahan' dari karyawan yang harusnya in-charge untuk ngurusin barang-barang yang udah diservis.
Saya lebih pengen bertanya ke managementnya (nanya ke mana? email ke siapa?), bagaimana sebenarnya sistem dan standarisasi after service dari toko tersebut. Apakah barang yang sudah satu bulan selesai diservis tanpa diambil oleh customer akan dibiarkan begitu saja? Apa memang benar standar mereka hanya menelpon satu kali?
Sebagai toko yang menyediakan servis, harusnya sih bisa ada yg diperbaiki dari sistem mereka ya.
I am one unhappy customer :(

Dear "Tidak diangkat", coba deh kenalan sama "Coba Lagi"

Hape Hilang

There's always the first time for everything, hopefully there won't be the second for this. *amit-amit

Jadi Iphone 6 saya hilang. Hiks. Sedihnya pake banget. Words cannot describe the sadness inside of me. Oke memang terdengar drama, tapi kalau namanya kehilangan sesuatu yang menurut kita penting pasti ada rasa sedih. Se-plegmatis akutnya Anda, pasti rasa kehilangan itu ada.

Kalau ditanya: "kok bisa (ilang)?", ya sodara-darah, saya juga maunya tu hape ga bisa ilang :D

Kemarin (23 Dec) merupakan hari terakhir saya kerja. Udah seneng pake banget mau pulang. Seperti biasa antrilah saya naek bus Transjakarta yang terkenal padat dengan penumpang itu. Saya masih ingat terakhir saya membaca message Whatsapp di hape, lalu hape mulai agak hang. Ga lama satu bus Transjakarta merapat ke halte dan saya bersiap-siap naik. Hape sudah saya dimasukan di dalam tas. Mungkin karena panik dan sudah mulai merapat mau naik bus, (mungkin) saya lupa menutup resleting di tas, tp saya selalu menyimpan tas saya di depan saya. Selama melewati beberapa halte, saya tidak mengecek tas ataupun hape saya, lalu barulah di tengah2 perjalanan, saya mulai mencari hape saya. Mulainya merogoh-rogoh isi dalam tas, tp ga bisa menemukan sesosok henpon yang langsing itu. Saya mencoba tenang, karena ini bukan pertama kalinya hape saya itu nyelip di tas. Lalu saya mencoba menelpon hape tercinta dengan menggunakan hape kantor saya- dan langsung terdengar jawaban operator "nomor telepon sedang dialihkan". Okay, pada saat itu saya tahu bahwa ini bukanlah sekedar hape nyelip di dalam tas. saya mencoba mengecek history saya. Terakhir Whatsapp saya aktif pukul 5.52, dan saya mencoba menelpon hape pada pukul 6.06. 

Sudah mencoba untuk lock handphone juga dengan program 'Find my Iphone', namun status terakhir hape tersebut sudah offline. Oh mai gat hape saya udah diperdagangkan bebas, semoga dia ga ikut organisasi-organisasi yang ga bener. Cape mikirin 'what if', 'should've', 'could've', ato pengandai-andaian kalo saja lebih hati-hati dsb. Cuma bisa direlain aja sekarang. 

In life sh*t happens and life goes on. Hape memang bukan sesuatu yang tidak bisa digantikan, namun ikatan antara saya dengan henpon saya tidak bisa digantikan begitu saja dengan barang baru. Ada kebersamaan selama delapan bulan terakhir ini, bahkan bisa dikategorikan kecanduan. *oke ini teguran buat diri sendiri

Kalo kembali diingat-ingat, momen ketika kepengen banget beli henpon ini, dengan berbagai pertimbangannya (harga, harga dan harga), sampai pinjem kartu kredit orang. Jadi keinget moment first time unboxing the phone, and the cupu moment adjusting from Android to IOs. Duh jadi mellow. Udah ah ke mo ke mol aja urusin kartu sim sama beli yang rose gold aja (ini ngetiknya sambil setengah ngigo).

Sebagai penutup, marilah kita bersiul ala Mockingjay dan mengacungkan tiga jari kita, sebagai tanda pemberontakan terhadap sindikat copet di kendaraan umum. *lagi kepaitan banget

What does a phone case mean without its phone? *sob

You're Welcome!

Because everyone is welcoming December on their social media such as path and instagram, I'm gonna join the crowd by celebrating the last month of the year: Welcome December!

Woohoo!!!

This is the moment when you start to count on how many days left this year. For me personally, I like to play montage in my head about what happened so far this year. In short, this year a the year full of blessings (with the tears and laughter on it). I also happened to think more deeply about life and relationship. As a growing human being, I started to accept that sometimes sh*t happens and you just got to hold your head up and continue with your life. Be SETRONG cyin!

Anywaaaay, once again let's welcome the month full of joy and festivity - I mean, you've seen the christmas decoration at those malls rite? :p

The Fever

Oh no. It's the Bieber fever all over again. 😂

I am not a fan of Justin Bieber, because I know that people around my age *cough* shouldn't be fangirling anymore. But there is just something about his songs that's really catchy and makes you want to see his performance. Not over and over again- but you wouldn't mind to hear his album on repeat. 

So last night I was randomly watching Youtube videos and I ended watching Justin Bieber performing on Ellen Show for his latest album promo 😂

Anyway, all I can say that, music is universal, and it happens that JB songs from his new album are now the ones on repeat on my music library.

And btw have you seen his new video "I'll Show You" which was shot in Iceland? 😱😱😱😱😱 Beautiful beyond words! The scenery of course -not the little tattoed boy running around with trousers that about to fall off 😄

Link below guys:

http://youtu.be/PfGaX8G0f2E

Be the Change!

We can't always change the situation, but we can always change ourselves whether we want to stay in the current situation or not. The video above uploaded is one of the vocal voice saying on how she doesn't like living in Jakarta with the pros and cons until one point she feels depressed. 

Then how to deal with it? You cannot change Jakarta with millions people on it, so it's either you want to adapt with the situation (you know that you are unhappy with it) or you can find a solution for yourself.

Same goes to whatever problems you are having right now. Maybe you are stuck in a job that has no future development for yourself, or in a relationship that you know it is going nowhere. The bottom line is, it's you. You're the one who should be in charge instead of complaining and whining about things that you don't like.

And please, do not wait until you get depressed to make a change in your life. I am being very serious about this :)

Color Therapy

It is very easy to find adult coloring book in your nearest book store now. They say colors is a form of relaxation and can reduce stress. I got this one adult coloring book from a friend and she sugested to use watercolour pencils for a better color result. So viola! Here is the result below, the water gives a smoother finishing effect for the picture. Nice right!

As for whether coloring can make me less stressful? Well, I think if your coloring nicely finish, it can. But for me eating chocolate is still more effective and less time consuming 😆😆😆

Feels like 32

It says 28 degrees, but it feels like 32 degrees out here. I know that I'm not the only one who's feeling the heat but this morning was sooo hot that I couldn't even put my foundation on my face to cover those zits - because I knew it would melt away on my face just seconds after I apply it. 

I even consider to chop my hair again like last year.

Dear heat, you are giving me a lot of thoughts this morning. 

Btw, next week's forecast said that it's gonna rain the whole week. Dear Jakarta traffic, I know you won't be easy on us on rainy days. So bring it on!!! 🤘

Hello

Have you seen Adele's new music video "Hello"?
Hellowww... if you haven't then you have to see it.
For some people, they might be focusing on how beautiful the song is, or questioning about the flip phone used in that video. As for me, my focus would be on how flawless her make up is! Ah... look at those precise eye liner and the contouring on face. To d i e for!

All in One

Bought this oil on the very last minute before the store's about to close.

I was looking for the moringa scent that time, but they only had satsuma, chocolate, and strawberry scent.

Back then I thought: 

chocolate- It smells too sweet, I dont want it all over my hair and body

Strawberry- too mainstream (yea right my brain works that way)

Satsuma- wow this smells nice and refreshing, I'm gonna buy this one!

Then, just like a kid who just bought a new toy and cant wait to play with it at home, I went back home and applied the beautifying oil on my dry hair.

Few minutes after the application, I was like: "I smell like car perfume"

Then my mom came into my room and said: "Ini bau baygon dari mana? Kamu abis nyemprot kamar?"

Okay great, I have a beautifying oil and mosquite repellent, plus I smell like a fresh can of car perfume. All in one!

xxxxxxx

Please be informed that this is a 'G' rated blog. Hahaha... The 'xxxxx' title is referred to the cross stitch pattern, and if you didnt know what cross stitch is, you are not alone. I didnt know about it either until my year college when a friend of mine introduced me to it. 

At first it I bought a simple pattern, a small one with rabbit pattern on it -my chinese zodiac. Yea you sure gotta put yourself first 😜

Later on I started on a bigger pattern, and I have to admit that it was a form of stress relieve activities. Right now there are probably no space on my parents' house to hang all of it (lebay yes), but no worries my masterpieces, when I'm moving out I'm gonna bring you all and hang you on to the wall (I guess?)

Okay so anywaaay I was cleaning up my drawers and I found two cross stitch patterns that I haven't finished yet. I think that it was more that three years since I've been working on the monochrome pattern but then, I found a receipt dated in 2009 when I first bought the wool for this pattern. 

In short, this is a one pattern I've been working since 2009, then I stopped doing it in 2012. Then with a random destined search on my drawer, it takes only one day for me to finish this pattern.

O dear God this is freaking me out. I could've finished it three years ago 😐

And it started to make me wonder whether there are other things in my life that I have given up, that it was so close destined to be mine.

What a creepy thought I had there. Maybe I should have focus on the second pattern that haven't finished yet 😄

The cross stitch pattern that made me think deeply 

Dance shake shake shake!

Hal yang selalu saya percaya: setiap orang bisa menyanyi dan menari. Tapi tentang seberapa enak dilihat dan didengarnya, levelnya berbeda2 :D

Saya sendiri, kalau disuruh nari, masih bisa ikut irama lah. Kalau soal menyanyi? Suara saya lbh terdengar kaya orang sedih dan lagi tersiksa. Hahaha. But hey, singing is supposed to be fun. Jadi walaupun suara segitu-gitu aj, nyanyilah dengan suka cita. 

Belakangan ini di social media, sering saya lihat video karoke di aplikasi Smule antara Jessie J dan user Smule menyanyikan lagu "Flashlight". Dari postingan video tersebut, ada banyak versi suara bagus. Tapi yang lebih menarik lagi ialah suara yang kacau banget, tapi tetep diupload sama usernya. Haha. Itu lah yang paling kece dan patut diacungkan jempol. Life isn't always have to be perfect. You just need to believe on what you have and enjoy every moment of it. 

Kita mungkin ga punya suara sebagus Jessie J. Tapi toh kita masih bisa nyanyi. Mungkin badan selentur penari profesional, tapi masih bisa goyang kanan kiri sok ngerti irama buat joget hepi2 kan? -tapi jangan sampe malu2in diri sendiri dan orang sekitar ya.... 

Seperti kalimat kece: 

"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt,

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth."

Just be happy on what you have and believe that you have enough of what it takes to enjoy this world! *goyang bang!*

Cheers,

Abeth

Heart <3

Because your heart will grow bigger and greater joy will come and color your life :)

New is Always Better

Okeh blog title yang menjebak.

Hari ini, shuttle bus yang saya biasa tumpangi dark Kelapa Gading menuju Sudirman punya bus yang baru. Bisnis looks great untuk usaha anter jemput ini sepertinya *komen sok paham

Lalu naiklah saya ke minibus berkapasitas 15 penumpang itu. Busnya dari luar terlihat mulus dan bersinar. Bodynya seperti menatap kita dan berkata," Ya, ini saya, cobalah saya!"

Ketika menaiki tangga dan masuk ke dalam bus kita bisa merasakan wangi aromatherapy tercium dari dalam - okeh, di sini saya melebih2kan. Tidak tercium aroma apapun, untungnya. 

Hal pertama yang menarik perhatian saya ialah jok sofa motif jadul berwarna coklat muda yang modelnya jadul banget. Serasa duduk di sofa2 di sinetron taun 90-an dengan bahan beludru. Lantas di dekat jendela kita bs melihat rel hordeng terpasang dengan hordeng berwarna kuning pucat. Jadi kalau restoran padang ketika bulan puasa menutup display makanan yg ada dengan hordeng, saya sebagai penumpang bus ini merasa seperti berada di restoran padang berjalan. 

Kalau boleh saya namakan, restoran padang berjalan ini akan saya beri nama: Tidak Sesederhana Itu. 

BKK Trip

It's almost 15 years since my first visit to Bangkok and I've always wondered what does Bangkok looks like now.

So after resigning from my last job (oh yes, you can ask me about it and a lot of wisdom will come out from my mouth :D), I had around 10 days before starting in the new company. I took the chance to go to Bangkok with my mom. 

One of the main reason why I choose Bangkok was because I believe that the public transportation is still reliable for us to go everywhere without guide needed. So with the power of internet, I started to browse and looking for things to do in Bangkok. Well the first things first is of course you need the airplane ticket to Bangkok. 

You know how people use to buy affordable ticket price from like a year ahead and really managed to get a cheap price ticket? Well, I am not that kind of person who can plan a year ahead trip. If I want to go, okay, I'll go and I'll buy the ticket, - but of course still on my 'affordable and make sense' range. 

I bought the the round-way ticket and hotel for three nights from airasiago.com because I thought that it is always cheaper when you bought a bundled package (it is right? no, it's not? WHAT?) And a friend suggests us to stay at Siam area which was more like Orchard in Singapore.

It was a 4 days 3 nights trip and the main activities we did there was shopping hahaha. Here's the recap of what we did back then:
Day 1 : Arrival + MBK
Day 2 : Chatuchak Market + Siam (Yep! Malls again)

Day 3 : Madame Tussauds + Grand Palace + Wat Pho + Asiatique
Day 4 : Platinum + Departure

So after four days, what did I bring back from Bangkok besides additional weight on our baggage and sunburn? A travelling experience and a curiosity to explore another new place. Where should I go next? :D

One Fine Fri Nite

Kadang hidup itu kaya nunggu taxi di pinggir jalan, pas lagi rush hour, di jam berbuka puasa.

Taxinya banyak yg lewat tapi ga available- atau dia cuma kedip2 ga jelas pehape yg setia nunggu di pinggir jalan. 

Tapi pastikan kalau kamu tahu apa yg kamu mau. Taxi. Merk tertentu. Dan ketika taxi itu berhenti di depan kamu, pastikan kamu ga membiarkan dia lewat gitu ajah. 

Mungkin sama dengan kehidupan, kesempatan, percintaan dll. Pastikan kamu tahu apa yg kamu mau, dan bersabar. Kalau udah dapet taxi yg dinanti2kan itu pasti nikmat banget, apalagi supirnya sopan: manggil saya 'adek' (oke makin melenceng) Penantiannya ga sia2. 

*ditulis di taxi sepanjang perjalanan Sudirman menuju Kelapa Gading.

cheers!

Cantaloupe

I thought cantaloupe was some kind of animal

#somethingswrongwithmybrain #andthathowitworks #sogodpleasehelpme

A Little Reminder

Once in a while, we grew tired of routines and the problems we face everyday during our work. At some moment there are times that we want to say: "okay, i've had enough and I don't want to give a s#it about it anymore."

You needed a break. Just to clear up your mind and hopefully you'll be ready to perform after the break. If not, maybe you needed to find another job? (Hahaha) But hey, job is just a job, problem will always there, just not let it get inside your head. Know your limits and don't forget to have fun! 

Life is Full of Surprise - Part 2

Read the first part of the story here >>>>*click me*

Monday January 12^th, 2015

I made an appointment with Dr. Hong Ga Sze at Mount Elizabeth Hospital at 9.30 a.m. You can google his name and find his website there, he is a general surgeon specialized in breast and head & neck. So in general, the consultation itself was almost the same with what I had before in Jakarta. The doctor asked me on why I came there. I told him about the lump then he asked me to lie down on the examination bed and do the manual examination, then he asked me to do an ultrasound scan and mammogram at the building next door. Well the ultrasound scan I did before in Jakarta, so I knew what was gonna happened during the scan. As for the mammogram… hmm… mammogram is supposedly done to a 40-ish year old woman or something right? (CMIIW) so there it goes, I had my first mammogram at 27 y.o. I’m way ahead many girls then. I tell you what,, it was painful to have your breast pushed into that thing (whatever the name is haha). You can google yourself to know the details about mammogram.

Tuesday January 13^th, 2015

The doctor received my tests results and they discovered that the size of my lump is approximately 4.3 cm. (Wow it grew 0.3 cm after flying across the country haha). In order to know exactly on what type of lump it is, he gave two options, one is to do a biopsy by taking a tissue of the lump to know on whether it is cancerous or not without removing the lump, or two, we take out the lump and do a biopsy from the lump which we already taken. And the doctor suggested to might as well just take it out lar. And of course I am so well prepared to say ‘yes’ to the surgery.

We agreed to have a surgery on the next day. Before that, they needed to take some medical information from me regarding my medical condition, whether I had drug allergies or on other medication. Later on the nurse took blood pressure and this is where another problem coming (woohoo!!!). Turned out that I had a high blood pressure and it was not safe to perform an operation with that high number of blood pressure. The doctor then suggested me to see a cardiologist first.

After lunch I went to Dr. Eric Hong’s office and I took ECG and echo test before I met him. Again, since I am not a doctor, kindly refer to google for your better understanding of these tests. So based on my result, I do have a high blood pressure, and it needs to be treated. Meanwhile as for tomorrow’s surgery, I was given a medicine to lower my blood pressure and it is safe for me to continue with the surgery. The cardiologist itself gave me an explanation about how my heart works based on my test and he also suggested me to take a full blood test and get back to him for the blood test result and my high blood pressure medication after my surgery. Oh boy, I didn’t think that I would end up in a cardiologist office and hearing so much health term in one day.

In the mean time, I just needed to be focused on the surgery for the next day.

Wednesday, January 14^th, 2015

Say hello to one of the biggest day of my life! This is the first time I had a surgery and I don’t plan to have another one, trust me :D

I went to the registration desk and make sure that I completed all the administration needed and the day before they informed me not to eat or drink anything after 7 a.m.  My breast lump removal is a minor surgery and they said that it would only take around one – two hours for the team to perform the surgery and I did not need to stay overnight.  Around 11 a.m. the nurse called me in and I get to stay in my ward. I shared my ward with two other patients whom had different cases, on my right; the patient was going to have eye surgery, while the patient on my left, I didn’t know what he was going through :p

I changed my clothes into the hospital gown and waited to be called to the operation room. I was lying on my bed when the first nurse came in; she greeted me and asked how I am doing. Then she asked about my data such as name and what surgery am I going to have. Then around fifteen minutes, another nurse came in and asked the same question. The waiting was starting to make me a little nervous. Then comes the man whose about to cut me open: my surgeon! Haha. His face was very calm. He greeted me and explained that we’re about to have the surgery in a while and told me not to worry because it was only a small procedure (with big cost *cough*). Then he left me and said: see you in the theatre. Oh man, as far as I know ‘theatre’ is a place to watch a movie, now my knowledge has broadened, thanks to my lumpy lump!

Around twelve p.m. the nurse came and she said that we were ready to go to the operating room. I took of my glasses and gave it to my mom. I have high degree myopia so everything was a blur from the moment I took the nurses pushed me to the operating room until the operation finished.

After I entered the operation room, they put me into the waiting room first; guess the traffic is quite high inside the operating room huh? Then some people started to come and introduced themselves to me, from the nurse that will be helping my procedure, until the anesthetist. The anesthetist was quite friendly and he started to make small talks with me by asking where I am come from etc. I told him that I’m from Jakarta but I previously worked here for almost two years. Not that he needed to know that, but I know he’s trying to comfort me by keep talking to me (or pretended that he’s interested with my story hehe). He also said that later I will be on general anesthesia so I will be in a deep sleep and won’t feel anything, and once I’m awake I might be having some nausea because of the anesthesia. Deep down inside I was encouraging myself by saying: “Bring it on, Doc!” But the all I can say to him was: “okay” *in slow whisper*.

The anesthetist said that we were almost ready to go to the operating theater and just needed to wait for a while. He told me to relax and watch the TV, but since everything was a blur I decided to comfort myself by thinking happy thoughts such as counting how many unread emails by the time I get back to my office (why are you so serious?)

Then the nurse came and she said that we’re ready to enter the operating theatre. She also said that it can be a little chilly there, so if I needed anything I can ask for her assistance. Is it too late to ask for a hot green tea latte?

You know the scene in movies when someone is entering the hospital and the camera started to shoot the face of the nurse and paramedics who’s helping to push the bed into the ICU? That is how awesome I felt before entering the theatre. I am a star in my own movie haha. Okay I think I get too carried away writing this surgery part. Please forgive my lack of focus.

When I got inside, my surgeon was there and he said that we are going to make a cut on my breast to take out the lump. Then using a marker, he drew a line on where the cut was gonna be. Deep down I was like, okay this is funny. He makes scribble on my body part? Haha. He said that once the lump is removed, it’s gonna go to the lab for further examination. Then he said we’re about to start the operation.

The anesthetist then came and greeted me again. He said he’s going to inject the anesthesia and he said that I was going to have a deep sleep. He counted to three, injected something and he said to me to just dream about shopping at Orchard, Gucci, Ferragamo….

Moments later, I was awake, I felt slightly dizzy and the anesthetist asked: “Did you buy the Ferragamo?” Oh my.. I should have told him that I already put all my SGD on the operating table and what is it with him and Ferragamo? I think I get cranky too since I was hungry and thirsty haha.

 My head was heavy and I felt a slight pain on my left chest. The surgeon said that the surgery went well for almost two hours. Everything was okay and I can go back to my ward. The sting on my left chest was all I can remember, so I decided to get some sleep again at my ward.

Around 4 p.m. the nurse came to my ward to check my condition. She said that if I’m feeling better, I can leave the hospital already. She also gave me some antibiotics and pain killer and told me that the follow up consultation will be at Saturday morning. At 4.30 p.m. I was discharged from the hospital.

I took the antibiotics but decide not to eat the painkiller since I didn’t feel pain after I was discharged, or the nausea from the anesthesia. It was so relieving to know that the lump has been taken out of my body.

Saturday, January 17^th, 2015

It’s follow up consultation day. First I had a follow up consultation with the cardiologist. From my full blood test and cardio tests he suggested some medication to treat my high blood pressure. I hate to admit that I had a high blood pressure, since on my last medical checkup four months ago the doctor didn’t mention anything about my blood pressure. I believe that I had a high blood pressure because of this lump-y thingy and some work thing that got into my head, but hey, medically speaking I need those medications L The cardiologist also said to maintain a healthy lifestyle such as exercise and eat less salt. Okay Doc!

Now it’s time to meet my surgeon regarding the follow up consultation. He said: good news! The lab report came out and the lump is not cancerous. The lump is what they called infarcted fibroadenoma.  I don’t know on how to put this term into a simpler word, in my understanding, the blood supply to the lump was cut off and makes the lump bigger than its original size. (Oh please correct me if I’m wrong).  The doctor said he didn’t know on how I got the lump on the first place and on how it could’ve gotten that big. Maybe not all questions need to be answered. He said that I will need to have a check up in the next six months just to make sure that everything will be okay. When I asked him whether there’s any food to avoid, he said: “We don’t believe in those kinds of things. If you wanted to eat anything, just eat, but not in front of your mom.” He knows my mom too well! Haha. He also said that I will need to do an ultrasound scan in another six months to monitor my health. Will do Doc!

So that was the end of my exciting and surprising two weeks. I am so grateful that even though I have to face a difficult situation, God opens many door for me. I am also grateful that I am surrounded by lots of people who genuinely care about me.

I believe that life will take you to unexpected places, meet unpredictable people which will change our lives forever. No matter how hard your situation it is right now, just be grateful and believe that you have a bigger God than all of your problems. He always has the perfect timing for all of us and He makes everything beautiful in its time J

Life is Full of Surprise - Part 1

We always know that time flies, especially when unexpected thing happened in our lives.

In January, I think I had my life in fast forward. Life is fragile, yet it is beautiful with its ups and downs. In two weeks time, I discovered that I had a lump on my left breast, had my first mammography, and went to a cardiologist and being cut open to remove the lump.

This post might be a bit blunt, but sharing about my personal experience hopefully will help some people who are in the same situation.

Friday, January 2^nd, 2015

I was really tired after work on New Year. So that evening I decided to pamper myself at a spa nearby. I had a scrub and massage service then. During the scrubbing process, the masseuse (a.k.a mbak lulur) said to me that she found something irregular on the top of my left breast.  She said that there are a lump on my breast (you know how the masseuse worked, trying to remove every dirt from your skin). Then I touched the lump by myself. ‘Holy crap’, I told myself.  I never checked myself thoroughly like this before. The masseuse said that I should go and check it to the doctor, because we, as women, we never know on what could’ve changed in our body with the hormones and all that stuff.  It could’ve been because I was going to have my period, but I know this is different and my head started to think about all the possibilities on what could’ve gone wrong. I couldn’t even bath or sleep properly since I realized that there’s a lump on my left breast. That’s the thing about your brain. Once it started to get into your head, you need to hypnotize yourself that everything will be fine.

When I went home, I told my mum about the lump and we decided not to discuss about it further more that time, because it was already late - which we all know that it means that we will not have a good night sleep until we surely know on what that lump is.

Saturday, January 3^rd, 2015

At this time my mum and I was also on our second out of three cervical cancer vaccine shots from a doctor. So that morning my dad drove us to get the shots. My dad was curiously asked whether there’s a chance of side effect from the vaccine shots to my body. The doctor said that the vaccine is completely safe. Then when we asked about the doctor’s opinion regarding the lump on breast. He said that we need to test it to make sure if the lump is cancerous or not. And he said in a very casual way. As if it was not a big deal – errr... Then he added about a story on his younger year about a young nurse who was still single and had a breast cancer and she had to remove some parts of her breast. Doc, errr…  You didn’t give me any enlightenment either.

Then I remembered one of my friends had similar case few years ago. She had a lump on her breast and had it removed. Then I started to ask about things to her - the symptoms and the doctors she went to, plus the procedure that she been through.  At that time I was almost sure that what I had isn’t cancerous, but then, I am not a doctor. Even google said: you should go and see the doctor. Do not let Google decide it for you.

Monday, January 5^th, 2015

That morning I decided to go to a General Practitioner whom my friend went to for her first examination. This is the first time I met this doctor. The doctor is quite famous if you are lived in Kelapa Gading (hoho). Then when I met her, she asked about my concern. I told her about the lump and how I (oh, I mean mbak2 tukang lulur) just realized it was there. Then she asked me to lie down on the examination bed, took of my shirts and bra, and she started to examine both of my breast manually (using hands). When it comes to my left breast, she examined it more thoroughly and tried to ‘move’ the lump and to make sure that moves around easily. The Doctor said that my lump is quite big, it is around 4cm and she suggested me to take and ultrasound test at the hospital. She said not to be worry because most probably the lump is not serious, and she also recommended a doctor in Singapore.

So I had my first USG test at Gading Pluit Hospital. During the test, the doctor explains regarding the ultra sound procedure. I always thought that USG is always related to pregnancy, never thought that I had it first for my breast examination. Life is full of surprise!  So from the USG screening we can see that the lump was there on my upper left breast, and yeah, my feeling is a hundred and eight degrees the opposite of a mom seeing her baby on the USG test for the first time. It was tears of sadness instead of joy, and the horror becomes real, seeing that lump, there, staring back at me. *horror music plays*  Same as manual examination from the General Practitioner, the doctor who did my test said that I need to see a specialist or surgeon to make sure about my lump.

We asked some people regarding the best doctor and specialist for this matter, and with certain considerations, we (me and my parents) decided to have a consultation and perform the surgery (if needed) in Singapore.

To be continue in part 2 *click here* :)

Lombok Vacay

Actually it can be considered as a super late blog post since I had this vacation on the end of May 2014. But... there again suddenly I'm in a mood of writing. I can only share with you some highlights and the price range that I can remember (barely haha). So here it goes!

Why Lombok?
Because Bali is too mainstream.

What did I know about Lombok before going on the trip?
The famous Gilis (small island)

Okay, here's day by day recap:

Day one:
 - Flight to from Jakarta to Lombok International Airport - Ticket price approx IDR1,700,000 per person. It is around to hours flight. Don't forget that you have to pay the airport tax

O clear blue sky.

-After arriving safely at Lombok International Airport, we (I went with five other friends) we are renting a minibus with a driver (the bus can fit to 10++ ppl) for approx IDR 750,000 per car for eight-ten hours use. There aren't much public transportation here. So renting a car is the most convenient, or you can rent a motorcycle. Imagine six people on one motorcycle, it's circus everyone!

- It was one a half hour drive (I think haha) to Senggigi from the Airport. Later on we checked in at the Hotel Puri Senggigi. How do we know about this Hotel? Agoda is the answer. We booked our hotels through Agoda. There are a lot of Hotel in Lombok and you can whatever the one that suitable with your budget. For our three nights in Lombok, it was less that IDR 600,000 per person in three different hotels and so far it was okay.
For Hotel Puri Senggigi, it was an old hotel it think, but it was still nice and okay for the price you pay. You get an air conditioned room with a breakfast.

- After we checked in, in the noon we stroll around the Senggigi Beach and watch the sunset. The beach it self is not as amazing as I thought it would. They say that Senggigi Beach is like Kuta Beach in Bali, where there are a lot of clubs and it's getting crowded and lively in the night. But we aren't the party people type haha.. At night we had dinner at Menega Seafood, just like Menega in Bali. The food was nice with average price of IDR 100,000 per person

Hei there sunset!

Day two:
- We continue our trip to Gili Trawangan. The speed boat from Bangsal Harbour to Gili Trawangan is only IDR 13,000 one way. It's an affordable ride, but there are no public transportation from Senggigi to Bangsal Harbour. So the tricky part is to find a drop off service to Bangsal. There are a lot of service offered there, just make sure that you can bargain in a good price.

Clear blue water of Gili Trawangan. 

- We stayed at Trawangan Oasis Hotel for one night. I like the ambiance of the hotel very much that I even wrote a nice review for them on Trip Advisor. hahaha. Here is the review

“A relaxing stay at Gili Trawangan”

It was a very pleasant and relaxing stay there. It took some time for us to find the Hotel from the harbour, but the friendly staffs of the Hotel are patiently guiding us, they even picked us up and guide us to the Hotel. There are not much rooms so it feels very intimate and relaxing. They also have a small pool in the center of the cottages. And it was only a few minutes away from the beach. In short, I would love to come back there again. 

The pool in front of our cottage. awe-some

I just want to put my selfie pic here. no special reason :p

For those of you who likes swimming or diving, or partying at night, the island is perfect for you. But don't worry, for those of you who likes to do nothing, you can relax by watching the blue sea and the sound of ocean. It's a very relaxing day at the beach.

Or you can spend the day by taking as much selfie as you can!

Day 3:

We are heading back to the main island and we continue our journey to Kuta Beach, Kuta beach itself is more famous for the surfers aaaand since we don't surf, we spent the day mostly at our cottage. Hahaha. I think that we already lost our energy and decided that it is legal to be lazy.

The view from Kuta Cabana Lodge, it's the Kuta beach behind that hill

And then it's time to say goodbye! Bye Lombok, thanks for the memories and hopefully we'll meet again ;)

Verdict about Lombok after the vacation?
Gili Trawangan is a heavenly place to die (okay, exaggerating). But seriously, it's a peaceful and beautiful beyond my imagination.

The moment when you say goodbye to the island from your plane :'(

Happy 2015!

Hey Y'all!!!

Happy new year 2015!

It's the forth day of 2015 and I'm not used to write or type year ‘2015’. Somehow I still recall that it’s still 2014. Well, we’ll get used to it later anyway.

So what’s up everyone? Excited for 2015? Hohoho… This year I’m not writing any NY resolution on a piece of paper. I tried it last year and it doesn’t turn out really good I guess – I believe most of us are facing the same problem too :p -

I can only say that 2014 has been a year full blessing and learning to me. I am fully blessed for everything that happened to me and for all the people who touched my life and teach me many valuable lessons. People don’t meet by chance, we discover ourselves more through the people we met.

So let’s keep the excitement through the year! Yippie!