Month: March 2015

The Beauty of Falling in Love

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I don’t know why but people always get me wrong when I look bright and happy and smile a lot more than I usually do. They think I’m happy because:

  1. A promotion at work;
  2. Salary increase;
  3. I’m about to travel somewhere soon;
  4. Just had a new bag;
  5. And so on… except the fact than I’m currently falling in love.

I don’t understand why some people think I’m not interested to fall in love. A colleague once asked to my best friend, “Isn’t she interested to find a man? She’s very dedicated to her work.”

Oh well… of course I do. I really do. I want to find a way back into love but I don’t spend my times wasted just to figure out the things I should do to get a boyfriend anytime soon. I think it explains why people never guess my happiness as an effect of falling in love. Yes, I can be happy with my achievements at work, with my upcoming trips and so on, but sometimes, I’m happy because I’m just falling in love too.

Falling in love makes the hardest days become easier. Make the burdens on my back even lighter. Why? Because it distracts me from the sorrow I’ve got to face in life. It makes my heart feel warm, flutter, it gives me some more things to look forward to. Looking forward to meeting him, to his texts, to his calls… The heartbeat when I saw his name on my screen is just priceless!

When I fall in love, I cherish every little moment I have with him. Even a simple hello will always make my day. A joke will sound twice fun to me if it comes from him. I can’t help myself smiling alone just by remembering our stupid conversations. Call me stupid but I do reread our old conversations when he’s not around, and again, I’m giggling alone like a teenager.

Dressing up and putting some make-up on my face is never as fun as when I know that I will meet him soon. I usually dress up only for myself, but then, the thought of what he will think of me will also count. I will only smile and say thanks when some random guys say I look pretty, but if it’s being said by him, the world has never been as beautiful as that moment.

I have so many reasons to be happy and to be thankful in life, but I won’t deny that falling in love always makes my life even more remarkable than before. There’s nothing can beat the beauty of falling in love.

So guys, next time please make a better guess. If you see me stay calm in the situation that usually drives my rage, if you see my eyes sparkling when I talk, or if you catch me smiling alone when I walk, well… there’s a possibility that I’m in love. I’m not that cold anyway, hehehehe.

The Shopaholic Problems

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If you ask me about my hobbies, I will easily answer: “Shopping, reading, writing, traveling, shopping again.” It never fails to make me happy, it makes me so grateful for everything I have, and it encourages me to work even harder 😉

I know that being a shopaholic is not a good thing, but I simply think… as long as it doesn’t throw me to a financial problem, then why not? You know… Sophie Kinsella once said in her book, “I’m not a shopaholic, I’m helping the economy.” 😀

So thank God that I never have any financial issue just because of my shopping madness, BUT, I still do have a few shopping problems. Here is the list!

  1. Keep buying a lot of clothes (almost every week!) yet everyday in the morning, I look at my closet and say, “I have nothing to wear today.”
  2. Find a cute top or dress in store but the only size available is too big for me. I still buy it anyway because I think, “I will gain more weight and it will fit me perfectly.” But of course, I never gain more weight. No time to go to a tailor either;
  3. I tend to buy clothes and bags in almost the same model or the same color, over and over again. That’s why some types of items are known as “it’s so Riffa” among my friends;
  4. I love buying beautiful shoes but if they hurt me badly, they will end up in their boxes until I finally I give them away to someone else;
  5. I have read a lot of books and sometimes, I buy a book that I already read before. I will realize that I’ve ever read that book usually after a few chapters passed;
  6. I’m still a fan of Detective Conan comic book. Everytime I visit a book store, I get confused. “What was the latest number that I read?”
  7. I’m a book freak who keeps buying a new one even though I know that I still have some sealed books at home;
  8. Buy something cool at Ace Hardware but then I don’t know how to build that stuff;
  9. I often shop online but I never return my items even if they don’t fit me or disappoint me in any way. I consider that as the risk of online shopping, hehehehe;
  10. Tempted to buy new lipstick colors but then I only use them once or twice just because my lips get dry. I’ll still buy another one anyway, hoping that it won’t cause the same trouble, hehehe;
  11. When I travel, I buy so many cute stuffs for my families and friends. But sometimes, I will keep some of them for myself 😀 ;
  12. Buy something, then I forget about it, and when someday I find it somewhere in my room, I surprise myself, “I forget that I have a cool stuff like this!” It feels like finding a buried treasure, hehehehe;
  13. Need a pack of cotton but then I leave the store with three shopping bags with many random stuffs inside. Big sigh;
  14. Sometimes, I buy a fragrance just because the bottle is cute. What if it smells bad on me? It still looks good on my vanity table anyway; and
  15. I don’t really like kids but I enjoy shopping many random stuffs for my little nephew. If the item is for girls only, I will still buy it because I think, “It will be a gift to my – unborn – friends’ daughter.”

Cinderella, The Movie

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CinderellaHal pertama yang menarik perhatian gue dari film Cinderella adalah lokasi syutingnya. Rumah tempat tinggal Cinderella saja sudah sangat cantik dan mempesona, apalagi istana tempat tinggal sang pangeran! Kelihatan lebih real dan lebih indah daripada Maleficent yang released tahun lalu. Benar-benar tipikal film yang sangat memanjakan mata kalo menurut gue.

Lalu bagaimana dengan jalan ceritanya?

Well, Cinderella is Cinderella. We all know her life story from the beginning until the end. There’s not much of surprises, yet I like this movie a lot more than the cartoon version.

Hal selanjutnya yang gue sukai, film versi 2015 ini menceritakan sedikit lebih banyak hal tentang sosok ibu tiri. Tentang isi hati dan asal muasal kebencian dia kepada Cinderella. We can see her more as a human in this movie version.

Selanjutnya, gue juga suka dengan bagian ending di mana sang Pangeran (yang sudah naik tahta menjadi Raja) ternyata menyamar sebagai pengawal demi ikut mencari Cinderella ke seluruh penjuru negeri. The idea of a man trying so hard to get the woman he loves always works to make my heart feels warm 😉

Gue juga suka satu scene yang menceritakan Cinderella sudah pernah bertemu satu kali dengan sang Pangeran yang kemudian, pertemuan singkat itu pula yang mendorong the prince charming menggelar pesta dansa yang terbuka untuk seluruh gadis di kerajaannya. Setidaknya, ini masih sedikit lebih masuk akal ketimbang jatuh cinta dan tergila-gila hanya karena satu kali pertemuan di pesta dansa.

Yang terakhir, kepribadian Cinderella di film ini terlihat lebih hidup, lebih menarik, dan juga lebih menyentuh hati. I like it when she looked at her step mother and said, “I forgive you.” Percakapan Cinderella dengan ayah kandungnya, dan juga dengan sang Pangeran sudah memberi bumbu tersendiri untuk fairy tale ini.

Terlepas dari kelebihannya, ada pula beberapa hal yang mengusik gue sepanjang film. Yang pertama soal pinggang Cinderella yang kecil banget! Benar-benar mirip figur boneka Barbie kalo menurut gue. Lalu yang ke dua soal noraknya penampilan kedua saudara tiri Cinderella. Si Ibu tiri, meskipun nyentrik, setidaknya masih terlihat fashionable. Tapi kenapa dua puteri kesayangannya dia biarkan berdandan norak seperti itu?

Cinderella gimanapun tetap bukan the best movie of the year buat gue. Apalagi sebetulnya gue tipikal orang yang suka sinis dengan pola pikir ala fairy tale. Maksud gue, kenyataannya hidup tidak pernah semudah itu. Tapi tetap saja, nonton film ini terasa cukup menghibur buat gue. Lagipula, seperti yang pernah gue dengar di salah satu American TV show, “Everyone, no matter how cynical, wants a happy ending.”

Life as a Grown Up

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Life as a grown up has surprised me in so many ways. So many things have turned to be the things I never thought before. Things get hard, complicated, it’s never been as easy as a fairy tale.

It surprised me the first time I knew that people leave at the altar is truly happening in the real life. I never thought that someone could leave their loved one in their very big day. It also surprised me that this world has something known as ‘bridezilla’. I thought, all soon to be brides are bright and happy and just can’t wait for the day. I never took the confusions, the doubt, the hassle, the arguments, the family stuffs, and all of the bad things into account. I never thought that getting married could be that tough.

Also in fact, we don’t always fall for a prince charming. I thought, I would only fall in love with someone tall and cute, just like a prince coming with a white horse. I never thought that someone could attract me with only his attentions, his helping hands, and his jokes to make me laugh. Then the irony of reality is that we’re not always meant to be with the ones we love sincerely. Once in a lifetime, we fall in love with the one that we will never have.

When I was a kid, I thought being rich would solve all of my problems. It’s indeed solving a lot of it, but never all at once. The journey to be rich itself is full of pains. So many downfalls, sweats, tears, disappointments, even failures along the way. I never thought that in fact, it’s the tough time that made me unbreakable, better, and stronger until I finally reached the place that I wanted to be. Until I finally found that it’s not always the diamonds and gold that brings us joy, it’s the fight and struggle that makes it all totally worth having.

Deep in my heart, I used to hope that best friends forever would be as easy as seen in TV shows. They will stay with me forever no matter what. Somehow in reality, people do come and go. I don’t need to make mistakes just to lose them eventually. A friend who completely understood me might be the one who no longer sees this world the way I see it now, and  a kind of person who never existed in our past circle might be the one to share our life as a grown up. The weirdo, or the ones that everything we’re not might be all the best that we could ever have.

However finally, my life as a grown up, even though it hasn’t been completely like what I imagined by far, yet I still find myself thinking that I couldn’t be more grateful than this. I’ve even learned how the unexpected things have brought some more fun into my life. And even though my love story will never end like a fairy tale, yet each of it has brought me my fairy tale on its own way.

Being a grown up is never easy, yet in fact, this is the best time of my life. This is where I survived and won so many thing in life, it’s where I saw myself that dreams would do come true.

Note to Women

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Today is International Women’s Day. And today, I want to remind all of us, including myself, to embrace, honor, and respect ourselves as a woman.

Ladies, always remember to be the one that you want to become. Pursue your dreams. Fight hard. Do not let anyone stops you from being you. You only live once, but once is more than enough if you do it right.

Try to only do the things that makes you proud of being yourself. Do not waste your time to do the things that you know will never do you any good. Don’t make yourself look like a b****, unless you’re completely sure it has made you a better you.

Enjoy your privilege as a woman. Never say no to a gentle man giving up his seat for you. Enjoy it, but don’t let it spoils you in a wrong way. Give up your seat to another woman who needs it more than you. Be strong enough, be independent, and ask for help only if it’s necessary.

Marry your man only when you know that you have found your Mr. Right. Not because you’re old. Not either because you find yourself is lonely. You shouldn’t let yourself being a lonely one in the first place! Make some friends. Travel the world. Make your dreams come true. Let time gives you someone to accompany you in your wonderful life along the way.

Be with someone who brings out the best in you and in the same time accepting you for who you are. Someone who makes you feel good about yourself, respects you and loves you with all of your flaws.

Learn to forgive and let you ex go. You may cry but then you’ve got to move on. Do not curse. Do not revenge. Do not stalk. Do not be such a freak. Keep your dignity as a woman. Keep your head up and move forward.

Finally, please do be good to another woman. Do not envy. Do not make them feel anything less. Respect their choices. If it’s not kind to be said, then let it remains unsaid. Let their life becomes theirs and your life becomes yours.

Ladies, let’s make this as a note to ourselves. As a note to embrace, honor, and respect ourselves as a woman.

Happy international women’s day!

Surround Ourselves with Positive People

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I’m always a strong believer that we should surround ourselves with positive people.

Surround ourselves with the people who makes us feel worthy, not the one who constantly makes us feel bad about ourselves.

Surround ourselves with optimistic people, not the one who always says that whatever we plan for our future will never work and it will all eventually fail.

Surround ourselves with the people who encourages us, not the one who always tries to prove us wrong and brings us down.

Surround ourselves with the people who makes us feel forever young, not the one who always tries to make us feel like an old pathetic lady.

Surround ourselves with the people who tells us the truth, keep those people who only talks behind our back far away from our circle.

Surround ourselves with the people who are willing to stay, put them as our priorities, instead of the one who comes and goes whenever they want to.

And finally, surround ourselves with the people who brings us more happiness and joy instead of the one who keeps breaking our heart. Be with the one who puts more smiles and laughter rather than tears and pain inside.

Emotion is contagious. It’s much easier to be happy with our live when we are surrounded with the positive people. Not the bully one, the mean one, the big fat liar, the backstabber and so on…

And of course, we also need to learn how to be positive ourselves. Positive people attracts the positive ones. So if we want to be surrounded by the good people, then be a good one for our society too. Bring hopes, strength, courage, and positive energy at least to the closest people we know.

Have a great life!

Tidak Perlu Menjadi Kaya Raya Hanya Untuk Bisa Memberi

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Beberapa hari yang lalu, gue baca berita soal kakek pedagang tebu keliling di Kamboja yang menangis tersedu-sedu karena meski telah lelah berkeliling seharian, tidak ada satu orang pun yang berkenan membeli dagangannya. Foto si kakek yang sedang menangis itu entah bagaimana lalu beredar di social media, dan barulah setelah itu, para penduduk sekitar beramai-ramai membeli tebu dari si kakek dalam foto.

Kisah nyata si kakek penjual tebu mengingatkan gue dengan cerita nenek dari pihak Mami bertahun-tahun yang lalu. Sejak dahulu, Nenek selalu lebih memilih berbelanja pada pedagang yang tampak sepi. Menurut Nenek, dagangan mereka bisa jadi sama bagusnya dengan pedagang yang ramai dikunjungi pembeli, soal harga pun tidak jauh berbeda, hanya saja tempat berjualan mereka di pasar dinilai kurang strategis atau kurangnya variasi produk membuat dagangan mereka jadi cenderung sepi pembeli.

Saat itu, Nenek gue sama sekali bukan orang kaya. Nenek harus bisa menghidupi tujuh orang anaknya hanya berbekal gaji Kakek yang tidak seberapa. Meski demikian, Nenek bukan tipe orang yang suka menawar dengan sadis. Bahkan, Nenek juga suka merelakan sedikit uang kembaliannya kepada si penjual barang. Dari situlah pertama kali gue belajar, kita tidak perlu menjadi orang yang kaya raya hanya untuk bisa memberi kepada sesama.

Semakin ke sini, semakin sering gue mendengar begitu banyak alasan untuk tidak mengamalkan harta kekayaan, di antaranya:

  1. “Salah mereka sendiri yang malas bekerja sehingga hidupnya jadi serba susah,”
  2. “Kalo mereka kreatif dikit, atau jualan barang yang bagus dikit, enggak mungkin dagangannya sepi pembeli,”
  3. “Beramal itu tidak wajib hukumnya, coba lihat ayat bla bla bla…”
  4. Dan masih banyak lagi…

Beruntunglah, gue pribadi tidak pernah terpengaruh pola pikir seperti itu. Beberapa tahun yang lalu, gue sempat mengenal seorang teman yang justru menggenapkan hati gue untuk tetap memberi kepada sesama. Dia tipe orang yang rela membeli satu tandan pisang dari pedagang yang tampak putus asa meskipun sebetulnya, dia sama sekali tidak membutuhkan pisang sampai sebanyak itu. Satu dari sedikit orang yang bisa bikin gue berpikiran, “Gue kepingin jadi orang yang sama baiknya dengan dia.”

Teman gue itu terkadang justru kelewat baik hati kalo menurut gue. Dia tipikal orang yang masih suka memberi kepada tukang minta-minta. Suatu hari, gue pernah menegur dia… “Kenapa elo kasih? Gue rasa dia ngaku-ngaku belum makan dua hari hanya supaya dikasihani.”

Teman gue itu dengan tenang menjawab, “Ya itu sih urusan dia sama Tuhan… Tapi gimana kalo ternyata dia bener belum makan? Gimana kalo dia mati kelaparan?”

Teman gue itu, tanpa pernah dia sadari, sudah mengajari gue banyak hal tentang kebaikan hati. Kebaikan hatinya membuat dia disayangi oleh begitu banyak orang di sekitarnya. Dari situ pula gue menyadari… kebaikan hati, serta keikhlaskan untuk memberi kepada sesama, justru bisa mendatangkan banyak manfaat untuk diri kita sendiri.

Memberi telah membuat hati nurani gue tetap hidup. Mengajarkan gue tentang rasa ikhlas, rasa syukur, bahkan rasa damai dan bahagia saat tahu gue telah melakukan sesuatu yang berarti untuk hidup orang lain. Memberi tidak pernah membuat gue menjadi miskin dan kehabisan uang, justru sebaliknya, gue malah jadi mendapatkan begitu banyak kemudahan di kemudian harinya.

Mulailah belajar memberi, karena sesungguhnya, saat kita memberi kepada orang lain, kita juga sedang memberi begitu banyak berkah untuk hidup dan masa depan kita sendiri.