Firasat?

Pertama-tama ya, gw ini bukan orang yang 'berkemampuan'.
Titik.
Nol besar.
Gw hanya manusia biasa, normal, tanpa indra keenam atau pun aneka embel-embel lain.

Tapi, itu semua bukan berarti gw ga bisa dapat firasat ya...

Awalnya kita mulai dari yang bikin senyam senyum dulu..
Entah mengapa, dari siang hari gw pingin banget jajan sesuatu... Tepatnya, kue cubit green tea setengah matang..
Si kue cubit ini, ga gampang lho nemunya (buat gw)..Tapi dari jam 5 sore tadi, gw bilang ke suami gw 'Kamu tau ga klo kadang ada tukang kue cubit green tea lewat depan rumah di jam pulang kantor kita?'
Percaya atau tidak, tadi pas benar-benar baru sampai di rumah, benaran tukang kue cubit lewat!

Sungguh, Tuhan Maha Mengetahui kalau ada hamba-Nya yang lapar :)
Suami gw sampai bilang 'Mestakung tukang kue cubit' ^^!

Beranjak ke cerita berikutnya yang lebih suram...
Sekitar 10 tahun yang lalu, gw pernah bermimpi jelek.
Tepatnya, gw memimpikan menaiki suatu pesawat dan ternyata pesawat itu jatuh.
Yang membuat gw stress sendiri ketika gw terbangun adalah gw masih bisa mengingat apa rutenya..
Semakin shock adalah ketika beberapa hari kemudian, ternyata hal itu memang kejadian, dengan rute yang sama persis.
Sulit dipercaya?

Bagaimana jika gw bilang hal itu terjadi lagi?
Beberapa hari kemarin, gw memimpikan 2 hal yang aneh.
Yang pertama berkaitan dengan nama seseorang yang bisa dikatakan cukup terkenal.
Yang kedua berkaitan dengan pesawat jatuh (lagi).

Yang pertama, tidak gw ceritakan ke suami gw, karena gw menganggap, itu mimpi yang aneh secara biarpun itu orang yang tersohor, tapi apa hubungannya coba.

Yang kedua, karena berkaitan dengan pesawat jatuh, pas kebangun tengah malam, gw langsung ngomong ke suami gw 'Aku mimpi ada pesawat jatuh'.
Ceritanya sih, gw berharap dengan gw mengatakan itu keras-keras, gw membuat hal itu terdengar konyol dan 'mematahkan' firasat.

Tapi, gw mulai merasa ada yang aneh pas kemarin gw baca berita dan ternyata malah mimpi pertama menunjukkan wujudnya.
Gw cuman berharap mimpi yang kedua tidak ikut-ikutan menjadi kenyataan.
Dan ternyata, sirnalah harapan itu...
Malam ini gw membaca berita, dan ternyata mimpi itu kembali menjadi kenyataan. :(

*sekali lagi, gw bukan cenayang...

Malam ini, gw akan sulit untuk tidur...
------------------------------------------------------------------

24 Maret 2015

posted from Bloggeroid

Hotel La Hasienda, Kupang

When I received the invitation of my friend's wedding in Kupang, the second thing that popped out in my head is "Where will I stay?" (Of course the first thing is the plane ticket).

I found La Hasienda in TripAdvisor.

me in the front of La Hasienda

My husband is a little picky about hotel cleanliness, so the reviews mentioned in TripAdvisor had been already a good point. For myself, I'm always try to look for a different atmosphere, so i usually try to avoid business hotel. La Hasienda could meet our expectation.

Michael, the owner himself picked up us from the airport. We even had a couple times for chit chat with him during our stay there.

this is the view from the balcony in the front of my room

We also like the decoration. It's not common to see mexican style here (hey, it's Kupang!) especially during this minimalist era (something that I always think as lack of personality). The bright orange color and the mozaic will surely attract you.
The bedroom and bathroom are very clean. Fluffy towels are available.
What do I also like is the strict non smoking policy in the room and at the public area like breakfast area. Since I was pregnant during my stay there, I felt very comfortable with this policy.

La Hasienda also has a rooftop area at the 4th floor. According to Michael, it would be a rooftop restaurant (not yet ready during our stay). You could see panoramic view of the hill and to the sea. The view is nice.

Rooftop area of La Hasienda, you could see the sea in the horizon

Power outage is still a problem at Kupang, and unfortunately they haven't had a generator yet, but it has been already on their list to be included in their service.
For the food, we tried macaroni goulash (40k IDR) and ikan goreng/ fried fish (20k). Delicious food and the price is quite reasonable.
Overall, if I have another opportunity to visit Kupang again in the future, I'll definitely stay here again.


disclaimer: I visited La Hasienda at October 2013, pardon me if something has been updated.

Blitar - Kota Putra Sang Fajar

Since elementary school, what I know about Blitar is only limited as the city where Soekarno, the first president of Indonesia, was born.
My father-in-law is from Blitar. So, like other Indonesian, I know that I have some obligation to visit Blitar for ziarah and visiting relatives.

As usual, before the trip I did some research for potential place to be visited.
This is very important since we were travelling with baby O (she's nearly 11 months old) and my parents-in-law.
My very short list consists of:
- Tugu Sri Lestari Hotel
- Kampung Coklat

That's all. I was very interested with Rambut Monte temple and Pantai Tambakrejo, but realizing that we have to travel in a very limited time, I thought that I had to keep everything as simple as possible to evade dissapointment. If we could visit other places, it would be as a nice bonus.

We departed from Singosari at Monday morning. My father-in-law suggested us to take the alternative road since it was still in the morning and the weather seemed nice.
If the weather is nice and you are not in a rush, the view is very beautiful to be enjoyed.
But if the weather isn't nice, I don't suggest you to take this road, since landslide could happen there.
The alternative road is via Batu-Pujon-Coban Rondo-Bendungan Selorejo-Krissik-Tulungredjo.

While in the journey, we passed Rambut Monte (!), but we couldn't stop there since it was raining.

It is approximately 40 km to Blitar.

Our first stop in Blitar is Warung Ayam Bakar Bu Mamik. 

It was under renovation, but they were still open.

You could order ayam bakar (grilled chicken), gurami bakar (grilled fish), etc.

The price is in the middle range for Jakarta's people. (we spent 175k IDR for 4 adults)

The second stop is of course Hotel Tugu Sri Lestari. For Hotel Tugu, I'll write in another post separately.

In the front fo Hotel Tugu Sri Lestari

Once in Blitar, you could see two common attributes used for decoration.

• Merah-Putih (Red-White)
• Blitar is known as the city where PETA (Pembela Tanah Air) under Soepriyadi's command did their first rebellion against Japanese on 14 February 1945. This rebellion inspired the other PETA's rebellion in other region. During this action, the Merah-Putih flag was raised for the first time in Indonesia. More detailed information could be found in this link (source: wisatadanbudaya.blogspot.com , in Bahasa)

Soepriyadi's statue in the frontyard of Pendapa Rangga Hadinegara (north side of Alun-alun)

• Ikan Koi
• Koi fish breeding is common to be found in Blitar, that's why Blitar is also known as The City of Koi. Koi fish is also the symbol of the ability to attain the highest goal.

Koi in Alun-Alun as Beringin tree pedestal

Koi as a decoration element at Blitar's pedestrian

Inside the city, Blitar's alun-alun is well maintained.

Around the grass area, the government provide fitness and gym facilities.

Fitness and gym facilities around the alun-alun

Playing football in the alun-alun

The area and the surrounding is very clean.

Jalan Merdeka area in the morning

If you like old styles bread, you could buy bread at Perusahan Roti Orion (Jl. Merdeka no 113). It is famous for its Roti Semir.

Orion

Roti Semir

After the morning breakfast, me and my family went to:

• Museum dan Perpustakaan Bung Karno (Museum and Library of Bung Karno): this is actually a complex area consisting of a museum, library and the Bung Karno and his parents's tomb. The area itself is well maintained, but sadly some "pedagang asongan" is sitting around. 

Bung Karno's Statue in the middle of alley

The way along to the tomb

Tombs area

• Tips: 
• there is no entrance fee, but if you signed the attendance list, the guarding will tell you to donate some money (the amount is up to you, it will be used for maintenance).
• If you don't want to "nyekar" (honoring Bung Karno and his parents), you don't need to buy flower. Flower's seller could be a little bit pushy in the surrounding area.
• parking fee (not official): 10000 IDR/car

• Candi Penataran

• located in countryside of Penataran, District Ngelegok, Sub Province Blitar, complex of Candi Penataran is first reported in History Java by Raffles. It is mentioned that in the year 1815 Dr Horsfield find a Hindu temple ruins in Penataran. From the remaining structure and artefact found in the temple area, it is found that the building development happen in several steps during a long period. The estimation is that the it was built during the 12th century until 15th century (since the Kediri's era, followed by the Singasari's era and finished in Majapahit's era). According to Prasasti Palah, this temple is used as ritual sites. Raja Srengga (one of Kediri's king) often did his ritual here. Candi Penataran (Palah) is also mentioned in Negarakertagama as Dharma Ipas (a site for Rsi Satwa-Sugata, built as holy ritual site).  

  

  Candi Penataran panoramic view from the main temple

  Tips: 
• Bring an umbrella! The sun is very bright and since there is no tree,you can feel the sun on the top on your head. Umbrella rental is available there, but I don't know exactly how much is the fee.
• The official entrance fee is 5000 IDR/car (the officer will ask you whether you are just passing through or going to Candi Penataran, so the fee will depend on the your honesty)
• Like in Museum and Perpustakaan Bung Karno, if you sign the attendance list, you will be asked to donate some money. The amount is up to you, and it will be used for maintenance. 

• Kampung Coklat: 



In the entrance area, you could see bag containing fermented cacao

• This is an educational recreation sites. The owner is the leader of Paguyuban Santoso (that's why their chocolate product's name is GusSant, an acronym from Paguyuban Santoso). Paguyuban Santoso is a fair trade organization for cacao plantation across Blitar area. This organization buy fermented cacao from the local farmers around Blitar. From my father-in-law's friend (he is a cacao farmer), we got information that this organization are willing to buy 1000-2000 IDR higher than the local average price. Of course, they follow the SNI (Standar Nasional Indonesia) for the acceptance. The standard of cacao grading mention about the humidity (max 8%), fungi (max 5%), number of cacao per 100 gr (110 cacao seeds/100 gr or minimal grade B), others material (max 4%). Kampung Coklat was built to promote knowledge about cacao plantation. In the area, you could see how to produce chocolate and of course you could also buy their product. Unfortunately, I couldn't meet the owner since he was out on business trip.

Cacao's nursery

Drying fermented Cacao

• If you are a dark chocolate's lover (like me), you could try dark chocolate ranging from 67%, 80%, 90%, even 100%. Milk chocolate is also available, but it's a little bit too sweet for me. When I paid, I was surprised that the cashier ask me if I'd already tried their sample since it is not common for local people to buy the 100% variant. 



Blitar's Chocolate Products: GuSant, LaChoco, Gloria, Pinonika, and fresh cacao from the plant



• Tips: 
• If you are interesting in cacao production, this place offers training. For further information please contact: 
• Entrance fee: 5000 IDR/person

For culinary info, you could refer to this post.

Other than those places, I also want to share you something for thought.

I haven't explained why Blitar is also known as Kota Putra Sang Fajar.
For Indonesian, Blitar is known as the city where Soekarno was born.
Based on a Javanese belief, a person who was born during the sunrise has a predefined future. Since Soekarno was born during sunrise in the beginning of a new century (he was born on 1901), people said that he was born as a people who will bring change.

Anywhere you go around Blitar, you could easily find the spirit of "Merah Putih". The spirit of Merah Putih in my own term is the spirit to fight for a better life, not only for your own, but maybe also for the people around you.

In Jakarta, I often see beggar in the street. Sometimes, they are still young, but they only want to beg for your money.
Looking at these old lady in Blitar makes me feel ashamed. She is definitely not young, but she is still willing to work.

Old lady in Jl Soekarno

The owner at Paguyuban Santoso is another example of a people who want to give something meaningful for his surrounding. I know how hard life could be for a farmer if there isn't any fair trade organization that support them. For cacao, there is another problem. Sometimes the farmer aren't well educated, so they didn't process their cacao well. The price is not good since it can't achieve certain grade.
They will have to sell their cacao with under market price via the "tengkulak". The tengkulak will enjoy the benefit, while the farmer has to work hard without any benefit. That's a well known story of farmer's life in Indonesia. A sad story but that's a fact.
Paguyuban Santoso is willing to buy cacao with higher price, but the farmer has to learn how to process the cacao to achieve certain grade (minimum grade B). I think that's something good, you encourage people to growing together.

Last, I want to share this picture.
My husband standing with my daughter at Taman Makam Pahlawan (Heroes Cemetery) Blitar. (His grandfather was buried there).

Life is so short. 

But it doesn't mean that you just let it slip away.

Your path is still a long journey for you my daughter.

Just don't forget that it will have to end someday, like the people lying here.

Remember the fallen, pray for them.

Taman Makam Pahlawan Blitar graveyard area

posted from Bloggeroid

I Ate Mollusk..... (so many times)

An idea suddenly popped up in my mind while I was writing a post about Blitar.

Why don't I dedicate one posting about mollusk as a culinary dish?

So, here we are.

Note: this post will be updated as long as I eat other type of mollusk. Just pray that I won't get too many rash during the process. (LOL).

Escargot

As a person who was born in French, of course I know that there is the famous escargot.

Fortunately, in Jakarta you could find escargot in several French restaurant or international restaurant.

I ate this one at Boka Buka ( twitter, instagram)

Escargot from Boka Buka

The price is 75k IDR for 6 escargots, or 140k IDR 12 escargot (include tax and service charge).

The escargot at Boka Buka were cooked with garlic butter and parsley. They also served fried rice with escargot.

The other place that served escargot is Loteng Cikini.

Unfortunately, when I came to this place last year, it was not during their open time. Maybe I'll try it in another opportunity.

O2 Satay

My husband told me that in Blitar, there is a culinary dish named O2 satay.

Why is it named O2?

In Indonesia, there is a famous gambling method called "togel".

I'm not familiar enough with togel, but my husband told me that O2 is the symbol represented by "bekicot" (=snail)  in togel. That's why snail satay is known as O2 satay.

*update...
my sister sent me a picture of togel that she found (source: link )

The satay is seasoned with honey . For the sauce, not like the usual satay which use peanut sauce, O2 satay is accompanied by petis sauce.

Since the bekicot and petis sauce are high in protein, the food stall that served O2 satay usually sell kelapa ijo (green coconut) or degan (young coconut) also. Kelapa ijo is known as the natural remedy for allergy.

In Blitar, O2 satay could be found in the warung (food stall) at the front of Taman Makam Pahlawan Blitar.

The price is 3k IDR for 10 tusuk (one plastic bag)

 

O2 Satay

O2 Satay with Petis Sauce and Cabe Rawit

Kupang Lontong

Another delicacy from East Java is Kupang Lontong.

Kupang isn't a snail like escargot and bekicot. It is actually more a shellfish.

Kupang Lontong is served in a plate with petis, kupang's broth, garlic cabay, salt, sugar, lentho (fried cassava) and of course lontong.

Depend on your preference, you could also add kerang satay. It is also common for the seller to provide degan and/or kelapa ijo since it's an allergen.

You could find it at Kupang Kraton in Malang city.

Or maybe you could find it from some local people who sell around.

My husband's long time favorite is buying from a seller who walk near his parent's house twice a week.

preparing the Kupang Lontong

Kupang Lontong

The price is only 7k IDR per portion (without the kerang satay)

Ốc

Another type of snail that I've ever eat is the Ốc (river snail) at Ho Chi Minh City during my trip in Vietnam. 

Unfortunately, I don't actually remember the taste and the price since it has been a long time ago.

I tried it at a little restaurant near Metropole Saigon hotel (near Tran Hung Dao Street, District 1, District 1 - Pham Ngu Lao / Tay Balo, Ho Chi Minh).

Ốc
courtesy of my sister

Just beware, my father got some rash after eating this snail. I'm not really sure if the place in Vietnam also sell coconut water or not. But if you are prone to allergy, be cautious.

Tutut

Tutut is another name of keong sawah in West Java.

This time, its my turn to got some rash T_T.

----to be continued-----

Demi Masa Depan yang Cerah di Timur Indonesia...

Sumba..

Apa sih yang terpikirkan ketika mendengar Sumba?

Sebagai seseorang yang mengaku suka menambah koleksi jejak kaki, Sumba adalah salah satu pulau yang ingin sekali saya datangi.
Awalnya sih mungkin karena saya sudah pernah ke Labuan Bajo dan Timor.
Rasanya seperti melihat Indonesia dengan nuansa alam dan orang-orang yang berbeda (yang anehnya adalah saya ini sering disangka sebagai orang dari kawasan Indonesia Timur).

Yang paling mencolok dari daerah NTT adalah matahari!
Matahari bersinar sangat terik (sunblock pun hanya mampu menahan biar kulit tak terbakar, dalam sekejap saya sudah berubah menjadi nona hitam manis :p kala berkunjung ke sono) dan mereka memiliki iklim yang sangat kering. Musim hujan hanya terjadi selama sekitar 2 bulan per tahun.
Jadi bayangkan tanaman seperti apa yang mesti kuat bertahan untuk ditanam di daerah sana, mengingat sulitnya mendapatkan air di sana.

Jujur saja, sebelum saya sampai ke NTT, saya tidak pernah membayangkan ada daerah di Indonesia yang sedemikian sulitnya memperoleh air.
Dari jaman sekolah, saya sudah terbiasa mendengar istilah Indonesia sebagai zamrud khatulistiwa. Untuk beberapa area, mungkin itu memang benar, tapi untuk beberapa area lain, itu tidak berlaku.
Hal itu baru saya sadari setelah saya bekerja dan sudah cukup banyak daerah di Indonesia yang sudah saya datangi. Namun sejauh ini, area paling kering yang pernah saya kunjungi memang berada di NTT.

Apa sih dampaknya kalau kita terpaksa tinggal di daerah yang mengalami kesulitan air?
Kalau yang terpikirkan oleh saya sih, kalau pun saya punya air bersih, akan saya prioritaskan untuk minum dan makan (misal sop?).
Setelah itu ya baru mandi, cuci, kakus alias MCK.
Bayangkan, sudah kering, berdebu, terus untuk bebersih pun susah. Kalau sudah kondisinya seperti itu, ancaman diare tentunya sudah di depan mata.

Diare merupakan penyebab kedua terbesar tingginya tingkat kematian anak balita di NTT.
Tingkat kematian anak balita di NTT saat ini mencapai 58 per 1000 kelahiran, sementara secara nasional saat ini tingkatannya adalah 40 per 1000 kelahiran. 

(sumber: http://nttprov.go.id/new/index.php/2014-03-13-05-54-55/informasi-kesehatan#angka-kematian-anak-balita-akaba)

Tentunya itu angka yang membuat miris bukan?
Bagaimana kehidupan di sana akan dapat berkembang jikalau generasi muda nya sakit, atau bahkan sampai ada yang meninggal karena masalah yang sebenarnya dapat diatasi dengan penyediaan air bersih dan pengetahuan sanitasi sederhana seperti mencuci tangan sebelum makan?
Anak-anak balita ini lah yang nantinya akan membangun area mereka, mengubah masa depan mereka menjadi lebih baik. Merekalah agen perubahan alias agent of change.

Tidak adakah sesuatu yang dapat kita lakukan bagi mereka?

Dari situlah saya merasa tertarik ketika mendapatkan kesempatan dari femaledaily.com untuk menghadiri acara campaign dari Unilever mengenai Project Sunlight.

Ada video yang sangat berkesan dan menurut saya sangat bernilai untuk disharing.

sumber: Youtube - Gagasan Anak Tentang Masa Depan Mengenai Sanitasi

Pembicara di video tersebut adalah Dira Noveriani, seorang siswi berusia 17 tahun.
Dia mengatakan "Tantangan terbesar kita adalah sifat apatis"
Apa sih sebenarnya yang dimaksud oleh Dira?

Dalam urusan kebersihan, ada contoh sederhana.
Sering bukan kita menyaksikan ada penumpang dari sebuah mobil mewah di depan kita yang tiba-tiba membuang sampah lewat jendela?
Tentunya sang penumpang itu sadar mengenai "Oh saya ingin mobil yang bersih", tapi dia tidak peduli itu sampah akan menghilang ke mana.

Atau yang juga selalu menggelitik saya adalah masalah kamar kecil di tempat umum.
Apa sih susahnya membuang tissue di tempat sampah yang sudah tersedia?
Atau menjaga kamar mandi tetap kering setelah kita pergunakan?
Atau apa susahnya membilas sisa BAK atau BAB?
Kadang di mall-mall mewah pun itu sering lho terjadi, di tempat yang sebenarnya tidak kesulitan air bersih. Hal ini terjadi di suatu tempat yang konsumennya kemungkinan besar dari orang-orang yang strata sosialnya cukup tinggi, dan bahkan kemungkinan besar berpendidikan tinggi.

Itulah contoh nyata sifat apatis.

Sebagai seorang ibu, saya sangat ingin bisa membesarkan seorang anak yang tidak apatis dengan lingkungan sekitarnya.
Karena saya percaya, kala saya bisa membesarkan seorang anak yang bisa peduli dengan sesamanya, maka akan ada seorang (atau lebih) anak di tempat dan waktu lain yang akan memperoleh manfaatnya ketika kelak anak saya dapat berbuat sesuatu. Apa yang saat ini baru menjadi gagasan seorang anak mengenai masa depan, tidak mustahil akan menjadi karya nyata buat anak lain.

Ada ga sih cara berpartisipasi yang mudah?
Tentunya ada dong, salah satunya dengan mendukung proyek yang sudah sempat saya singgung di atas, yaitu "Unilever Project Sunlight, Dukung Masa Depan Sehat".
Di situ disebutkan ada beberapa cara yang bisa kita ikuti:

1. View : lihat contoh film inspiration yang tersedia di situs Project Sunlight. Untuk setiap kali film itu disaksikan, Unilever akan menyisihkan Rp 100,00.
2. Act: 
1. tuliskan ide Anda mengenai #brightfuture: untuk setiap ide yang dituliskan, Unilever akan menyisihkan Rp 1000,00.
2. ajarkan kebiasaan sehat ke lingkungan sekitar, materi dapat didownload di situs Project Sunlight.
3. jadilah relawan #brightfuture: untuk setiap relawan yang bergabung dalam program edukasi di sekolah mengenai sanitasi, Unilever akan menyisihkan Rp 100.000,00
4. untuk setiap pembelian produk Unilever seperti Lifebuoy, Domestos atau Pepsodent di Lotte Mart, Unilever akan menyisihkan Rp 1000,00
3. Share: tidak ada hal yang lebih bernilai daripada jika suatu hal baik dilakukan oleh lebih banyak orang, jadi jangan lupa share 
4. Follow: ikuti terus kisah-kisah inspiratif yang dimuat di situs project Sunlight.

Semua dana yang disisihkan oleh Unilever akan disalurkan untuk program edukasi dan sanitasi di Sumba, NTT.

Info lebih detail mengenai bisa diakses melalui situs Project Sunlight atau pun Facebook Fan Page Unilever.

Sebagai penutup...
seorang kawan backpacker pernah mengatakan hal ini ketika kami sedang berada di area NTT.

Sev, gw sedih kalau pas lagi belanja di daerah sini (Kawasan Timur Indonesia). Kalau mereka ngasih kita uang kembalian, uang kertasnya itu lecek banget. Artinya perputaran uang di area ini dikit lho. Kalau ga ada orang-orang seperti kita yang datang untuk berwisata dan membelanjakan uang kita, bayangkan tingkat kesulitan hidup orang-orang ini.

Saya menitipkan sedikit harapan saya untuk menyambut masa depan yang lebih cerah di Timur Indonesia melalui project Sunlight ini.
Timur adalah tempat terbitnya mentari dan saya ingin ada secercah harapan yang terbit bagi masa depan anak-anak di sana.

70000 Langkah per Minggu? Harus Bisa!

Sekitar tahun 2010-2011, itu adalah masa kejayaan gw dalam urusan kebugaran.

Gw masih rajin ngegym di Celfit, ataupun rutin berenang 2-3 kali per minggu.

Memasuki tahun 2012, gw mulai memasuki periode kemalasan.

Puncaknya adalah 2013, ketika gw menikah dan hamil, itu bentuk badan gw sudah di luar kendali.

Bahkan setelah melahirkan, dari total 14 kg kenaikan, berat badan gw hanya turun 6 kg, alias gw masih berhutang 8 kg. Terasa lebih buruk lagi karena di luar 8 kg itu pun, sebenarnya gw masih berhutang 8 kg dibandingkan ketika sedang di masa kejayaan.

Mimpi buruk?

Tentunya lah ya..

Baju tidak muat itu cuman efek samping. Gw lebih ga demen ngeliat perubahan bentuk gw jadi seperti tumpukan lemak berjalan.

Semakin memperburuk keadaan adalah nafsu makan gw tidak terkendali ketika sekitar 4-5 bulan pasca melahirkan. Bukannya mengurus, gw malah semakin menggemuk, melebihi ketika hamil.

Sampai-sampai ya, gw pun malah dikira sedang hamil (lagi) T_T...

Itulah saatnya gw memutuskan, saatnya harus berubah.

Pergi ke gym atau ke kolam renang bukanlah hal yang mudah gw lakukan seperti dulu.

Jadinya opsi yang ada buat gw adalah berolahraga di rumah atau paling jauh di sekitar rumah.

Itu pun harus memikirkan bagaimana supaya tidak mengurangi waktu bersama anak.

Jadi, gw memilih untuk jalan pagi di sekitar rumah dan beryoga...
Kenapa jalan pagi? Soalnya biar sekalian memperkenalkan Oce ke kebiasaan berjalan kaki, sambil menjemur Oce biar kena matahari dan udara segar di pagi hari plus ya kapan lagi menikmati waktu sama anak secara 9 jam di kantor? (Sekali jalan, sekian tujuan tercapai, hidup multitasking!)

Good morning sunshine!

Soal yoga bakal gw bahas lain kali :P

Secara gw orang yang "rada-rada" demen mengukur sesuatu, tentunya mesti punya alat ukur dong...So, saatnya bongkar lemari untuk nyari Fitbit Ultra yang dibeli pas tahun 2012 dulu...
Oh ya, buat yang belum tau Fitbit itu apa, bisa dilihat di sini ya...
Ultra itu salah satu produk generasi pertamanya Fitbit (dan buatan Indonesia lho yang Ultra ini)..
Lumayan, masih nyala ternyata....
Tapi, 2 hari kemudian mati gitu... soft reset, hard reset, semua kagak ada yang mempan...

Terus iseng-iseng coba ngemail ke Fitbit Support, sapa tau masih ada cara untuk ngehidupin si Fitbit Ultra ini..
Apa daya, setelah melakukan semua step yang dijabarkan Fitbit Support, sang Ultra tetap tidak mau hidup... hiks hiks...
Surprise nya adalah ketika Fitbit Support meminta bukti pembelian Fitbit Ultra untuk kemudian menawarkan replacement unit dengan Fitbit One...

Gw surprise karena:

1. gw membeli Fitbit Ultra pada tahun 2012...artinya sudah lewat masa garansi yang hanya 1 tahun
2. Fitbit Ultra itu dibeli di ebay, alias tidak melalui dealer resmi, secara tidak ada dealer resmi Fitbit di Indonesia dan dealer resmi di negara lain tidak melayani pengiriman ke Indonesia

Singkat kata, setelah beberapa kali berkirim email dan menemukan orang yang bisa ditebengin alamat pengiriman di US (dan tentunya membawa ke Indonesia), akhirnya jreng jreng, inilah si Fitbit One di samping pendahulunya.

(left) Fitbit Ultra (right) Fitbit One

Fibit One punya 2 pilihan warna, Black dan Burgundy.

Secara Ultra dulu sudah yang Black-Blue, jadi kemarin gw mintanya yang Burgundy saja...

Secara alasan gw memakai Fitbit ini adalah untuk mengukur, mari coba kita lihat bagaimana hasil pengukurannya... Ini tampilan dari Fitbit dashboard yang ada bisa dilihat di desktop.

sebanyak apakah gw melangkah?

Yang dilingkari merah itu setelah gw memakai Fitbit selama hampir 24 jam tiap hari (tentunya pas mandi dilepas lah ya).

Pas gw belum make Fitbit, jumlah langkahnya hanya bisa diukur dari total lama aktivitas yang gw ukur dengan Runkeeper.

Kalau yang ada di aplikasi android, tampilannya seperti ini:

Fitbit Dashboard - Android

Setelah mengamati hasil pengukuran Fitbit selama hampir 2 minggu, gw berkesimpulan klo kerjaan gw cuma duduk di kantor, atau berhibernasi kala wiken, bisa dibilang pola pergerakan gw sekarang itu sangat sedentary. Ga usah heran kalau badan gw sampai ngegelembung gara-gara malas bergerak.

Soalnya dengan gw jalan pagi bersama Oce selama 50 menit saja, itu baru bisa nyampe target berjalan 10000 langkah per hari.

Saat ini sih, kalau secara progress, gw masih di batas terendah obesitas dalam skala BMI.. (yes, gw sampai jadi segendut itu).. tapi dibandingkan berat badan gw 5 bulan yang lalu, berat gw udah turun hampir 8 kg :D
perjalanan masih panjang, tapi gw yakin pasti bisa.. Semangat :D

Attending a Timor Wedding

(Two weeks ago) At October 2013, me and my husband got an opportunity to attend our friend's wedding at Kupang, NTT.
* sadly, I lost my pocket cam. This posting was delayed due to my maternity leave and my attempt to search my pocket cam. Unfortunately, until this day, my camera is still missing. :(
I found my camera! :D


The groom-to-be is Javanese and the bride-to-be is Timorese.
The tradition to be used is Timor tradition with a little bit touch of Javanese.

For your information, the process itself had begun since last year with a "Peminangan".
Unfortunately, I didn't attend this procession, so what I wrote in this post is what I saw during the procession in Kupang.

The groom-to-be is my husband's best friend. So we were included into the groom-to-be group.
The groom-to-be family has to prepared "Belis" to be given to the bride-to-be family.
The Belis consists of:

• Uang air susu: money given to the family as an exchange of raising the daughter from baby until now
• Uang AIUW (I forgot to ask how to write it) or Uang Kayu: money given to the family as a thank you for the family who help to organize the wedding
• Silver coins
• Toiletries
• Jenang

The groom-to-be group has to come to the bride-to-be's home at 5 PM. No more or less.
Someone from the bride-to-be family will welcome the group at the front door.
They said some greeting in Timor language and then the groom-to-be groups had to answer "Eeeee".
Then the groom-to-be groups were allowed to enter the house.

In the house,the bride-to-be group served the groom-to-be group with "Sirih-Pinang".
After that, they served "Air Hangat" alias hot tea.
The spoke person from the bride-to-be group will give an opening speech and asking about the "Penyelesaian Secara Adat" (traditional term of agreement) which has been agreed during the "Peminangan".
Until this time, no one from the groom-to-be group is allowed to speak.
The bride-to-be group will check the Belis brought up.
Three person have to check the Belis. One from the grandparent generation, one from the parent generation, and one from the bride-to-be generation.
If the contain of Belis match what have been agreed during the "Peminangan" then the spokeperson from the groom-to-be group will be allowed to talk.
If not, then the groom-to-be group have to go back and trying to fulfill the requirement.

The spoke person from the groom-to-be spoke about the gratitude of being welcomed by the bride-to-be family then the spoke person from the bride-to-be group replied the speech.
At this moment, the groom-to-be is welcomed as "anak-mantu" (son in law).
The bride-to-be group exchanged the Belis with two (2) sheets of fabric, one bag of rice and one pig (if the groom-to-be is Catholic or Christian, if moslem the pig could be swapped with a goat).

The next procession was "Searching the Bride".
The spoke person from the bride-to-be asked the groom-to-be to search the bride-to-be in the house.
During the process, a pantun was read by the spokeperson from the bride-to-be group:

Pelan-pelan, hati-hati.. (Slowly, be careful)

Jangan sampai tersandung (Don't slip away)

Itulah calon istrimu, jagalah dia kapan pun (That's your future wife, take care of her anytime)

Why do they have this pantun? Since if the groom-to-be choose the wrong girl, his family will be punished with a fee. It could be a long negotiation again to discuss the punishment.
After the searching process was over, the procession was followed by prayer.

Javanese vs Timor 

For the mass, it was an usual Roman Catholic's wedding mass.
What is unique is the entrance procession and the sitting position. The entrance procession used Timor music and dancer to accompany the bride and the groom.
For the sitting position, usually it is only the bride and the groom whom sit at the front of the altar.
In Timor, the witnesses also sat beside them.
It is a symbol that the witnesses also have a responsibility to be patron of the bride and the groom.

For the reception, wedding reception in Timor used seating dinner system.
The guest are seated in several tables. On each table, drinks, ice and cakes were prepared.
Then the reception began with opening speech followed by wedding cake's cutting.
After that the guess were allowed to take the dinner (buffet system), the sequence was arranged by usher.

After the dinner, it's dancing time!
The first dance is polonaise.
I was surprised to know that the polonaise's song is "Potong Bebek Angsa".
Do you know about this song?

Potong bebek angsa, angsa di kuali (Cut the duck and the swan, put the swan in the wok)
Nona minta dansa, dansa empat kali (The lady is asking for a dance, and dance four times)
Sorong ke kiri, sorong ke kanan, (move to the left, move to the right)
lalalalalalala (lalalalalala)

It's a famous children song in Indonesia. And honestly, I always think that the lyric of this song is a quite sadistic even the melody is cheerful. That's why I'm surprised.
But it didn't stop the people to enjoy the polonaise.

After the polonaise, it's the time for traditional Timor dance, known as tebe-tebe.
People are standing in a circle formation, then they grab each other arm. The dancing is following some pattern for the feet's movement.
Actually it's a very interesting dance. (I have the video, and I'll update this post later).

They would dance all night long.
But for me, it's the time to go back to the hotel. :)

I would like to thank you Victor and Putri for the opportunity to watch their wedding's procession.
Hope both you will enjoy marriage life and God bless you :)

*disclaimer: if there is any correction regarding the Timor's custom, I would gladly accept any comment