Among most western nations, although they vote for equality and say no for racism, some of them think that we are "stupid Asians".

Even among the Asian nations, although we have the same hair colour and (slightly) similar culture, some of them call us "barbarian monkeys" and "bloody stinky Indon".

Astaghfirullahal’adziiim…

Are we that low…???

Dear, My Lord…

Even if we are that low in their perspectives, please never let us drown, and guide us to the place where we believe that nothing is really matter but being special in Your perspective…

Amin…

- Dedicated to my beloved nation: the Indonesian -

The scene reminded me of something I watched on TV recently, an investigation of the DC 10 American Airline airplane crash in Illinois (1979), which left its 271 passengers and 2 people on the ground died just within 30 seconds after they took off. It was investigated that the plane crashed the ground (a Trailer Park) after its left engine fell off because of misconduct in its maintenance procedure.

If only the maintenance crew of the American Airline saw those smiles that I saw…

If only they realized how their works were closely related to million lives of their passengers…

If only all flight companies really saw the happiness that I saw…

There would not be a single crash…ever…

On the streets, in the parks, in the malls, on the trams, in all public places, here, there, everywhere, you can always find people hugging, kissing, carressing, even making out without worrying too much that they "exhibit" their way of expressing their love - affection might sound quite right, though.

Nothing’s wrong with that…it’s just…it does make me feel a little bit jealous…hihihihihi…

Aaaaaargh…it’s still 3 months to go to my husband’s visit…*sigh*… ;p

Some of them do it for some reasons — I do apologize if it is bothering you for being just who I am.

Some of them do it for no reasons at all — I do hope that there would be a chance for you to know me better.

And I can only say Alhamdulillah…

I felt it was last night that we talked through the night and sang our songs…

I guess it was this morning that we laughed for silly things we’ve done and cried for precious moments we’ve shared…

But here we are, in this 2008, when I should realize that we’ve been this far in filling up our story book pages…

To my dearest friends:

Dini - Fifi - Arina - Menik - Mirza - Septy - Anggun

I’m sorry for not being there when you start the new beginning within the next few seconds…

I’m thousand miles away to wish you a very happy journey…

My prayer will always be with you and your (soon) marriages…

And hope that our story book has not met its last page yet…

Love you all…

=Septi=

When you feel as if it’s enough, S T O P.

Take a rest before taking another step forward.

It won’t make you failed, anyway.

The biggest failure is when you stop, turn around, and go backward.

===========================================

Quoted from my beloved husband,

-Dicky Jatnika-

In this movie, Janet Jackson plays the key role as a nobled writer who observed her own bestfriends’ marriages, and even her own marriage, to discover the sensible reasons for people to survive in their marriages.

Nothing really special with the plot. Many bumps, fights, and disagreements between husbands and wives were shown up in most scenes. Not to mention that they were caused by a very simple little thing, but the interesting fact is that this is what most likely to happen in the real life. Many couples have to face problems caused by their children, the wives’ big mouth, the husbands’ behaviours, their own unwillingness to accept their partners as the way they are, even the existence of the tempter or temptress. (Hmm…now I thank God for granting me such a good, wise, and loyal husband…hehehe…)

What I learnt from those scenes is very simple, actually: that there will never be enough reasons for us to hold on to our marriages if there is no willingness to understand when the right times to take and when the right times to give. We should also remember that sometimes love should be supported by trust and respect. Sounds cliche, huh…? But that is how it works.

Another interesting thing in this movie was that one thing called 80:20 rule in every marriage life. This rule states that in every marriage, people must have given 20% of their hearts to another person besides their partners. However, uniquely, in most cases no one can ever replace the partner, the 80%, no matter how tempting the 20% is. Hmm…is it true…?

Well…if that happens to my marriage life, I can only hope and pray that God would lead the way so that my husband and I would never be blind to determine who the real 80% is…hehehe…*sigh*…

I got the idea when I looked at one of my friend’s Friendster profile. Not necessarily discussing who he is, where he is, what he’s doing or blah…blah…blah…, what has bothered me the most is his statement about his own life.

I know he’s been through so many bad times, even the worst, ever. He’s been involved in an undesired job, unexpected surroundings, inconvenient environment, until he feels like he’s been trapped in what so called "unwanted journey".

Then suddenly I really want to look back at my own journey. I’ve been through so many ups and downs, too. Being public enemy, got fired, brokenhearted so many times, had to work in Papua, living separated from my beloved husband, family, and friends, even being an unwanted household in my own uncle’s house, I’ve been through all of these. But then, hey, there must be a reason why I should experience those things…Have you ever thought that you are meant to be like that…? ‘Cause I think so…

I know sometimes it’s difficult to see the best part of something unwanted. But we should remember one thing, that our lives are in God’s hand actually…Sometimes we think that we really know what’s best for us, that we’re good at this, we’re meant to be like that, we’re supposed to have this, and blah…blah…blah…but hey, something we think the best sometimes is not that best in God’s perspective…

Just like what I’ve said before, there must be a reason why we’re experiencing these A-Z phases of life. For me, despite the fact that I could be stronger, at least I could learn to be grateful…

Thanks, God…

Let me ask you one thing…Happiness, excitements, fears, enjoyments, amusements, and even tears, have you ever felt that you’re the one who should bear all of these…? Cause I have…and it sucks…Knowing that I have those feelings but I don’t even know whether I should have them or not…

This is about me, myself and I. I’ve been a bit pathetic lately…playing around…messing up in the same old games…and don’t care what will happen to my own life…and even worse, don’t even think about others’ lives…But now I should start to think what’s best for me…and for those people who love me…

I start to feel that I should quit…but don’t know how…even it seems too late to realize that it’s wrong…cause I’ve been drowned…so deep that I can’t even help myself…

Oh my dear Lord…please show me the way…

Public Transportation System

Melbourne has been known for its effective mass transportation system which links all parts of the city. There are trams, trains, and buses as means of transportation, and interestingly, we only need one card to use them all! The card is called ‘Metcard’, and we can choose whether we want to buy daily, weekly, or monthly card. It really depends on our needs. And here everything is scheduled. We can see the public transportation’s schedule online by visiting the ‘Metlink’ website, so that we can make a plan for our journey and arrive on time. From those 3 means of transportation, I think trams are the most favorite one. These trams are run by electricity, that’s why they don’t emit pollution. Besides, people in this city really like to use this public facility effectively. We can see people from different social class groups prefer to use these trams rather than driving their own cars. It’s really different from Jakarta, where the ‘car image’ still exists, where people are showing off that they can afford a car…In fact, they’re just stealing our rights to breathe fresh air! What a shame…

Multicultural Society

Another interesting thing is that Melbourne is a place where people from more than 20 different cultural backgrounds mixed and mingled in harmony. If we are on a tram, we shouldn’t be surprised if there are 5 groups of people talking in 5 different languages. That’s Melbourne! Very multicultural. And if you are an Asian, you shouldn’t be lonely because there are lots of Asians here. So, you don’t have to worry, you can find Asian food restaurants everywhere, they’re just right in the corners. However, the most interesting part of this multicultural society is that people respect each other. They live in harmony and just accept others as the way they are…One thing that should be learnt by many Indonesians nowadays…

Public Facilities for Disabled People

In Melbourne, most public facilities provide spaces for disabled people. On public transportations, on pedestrian walks, in the malls, even in public toilets, disabled people are given priority to have spesial designed facilities that may suit them. They don’t have to worry to go anywhere they want, or to have any difficulty, because the government has given a lot of attentions to facilitate them.

Do-It-Yourself Things

Another new culture that I’ve experienced is these do-it-yourself things. For me, as an Indonesian who sometimes relies on collaboration, cooperation, and helps from others, it’s quite surprising that in here I should be able to manage all the things by myself. Even when I bought furnitures, there’s a self-service furniture store where I should lift all the stuffs up by myself! Luckily I went there with several friends so that they can help me to lift the stuffs up, hehehe…But, one thing is for sure, most people here are task-oriented. They interact with others only to complete their tasks. It’s very rare to see people who spend hours only to chitchat with somebody they’ve just met. But, it doesn’t mean that they don’t want to help others. If we ask for help nicely, of course they wouldn’t mind.

Informally Formal

The last thing I want to share is about the way people act and communicate with their colleagues. In Indonesia, it’s usual to call people who are older or have higher position than us with several respectful salutations, e.g: Pak, Bu, etc. But in here, there’s a culture called ‘informally formal’, where people may call others only by their first name, even they are older or have higher position than us. However, it doesn’t mean that we can act as normally as when we communicate with our friends. Still, there’s a rule: respect. So, it would be better if we call people that we’ve just met with salutations, e.g: Miss, Mr, Prof, etc. But, if they tell you to call them by their first name, they really mean it. Also, in the way people communicate, most people talk in a friendly way, they don’t want to make it too formal so that we can chat as if we’re friends. But still, we have to put our feet on the right place. Don’t be too informal and make impression as if we’re rude or disrespecting others. Besides salutations and the way people communicate, this ‘informally formal’ culture is also related to the way people dress. I’m really glad to find that I can even wear tanktop to Uni No…kidding…I never do that. But it’s true, if we really want to, we can go studying with only wearing short pants and tanktop. As long as we feel comfortable with that, it’s just okay. And of course, there would be extreme temptations for you, guys, especially when you visit Melbourne in summer

So…enough for my new discovery for today…Hope that it would be useful for opening a window to a new world…One day when I’ve found out more, I’d be glad to share with you again, okay?!