Cikelin Chronicle

Menulis resolusi tahun baru selalu membuat saya bersemangat sekaligus stres. Bersemangat karena saya hobi mengkhayalkan mimpi-mimpi yang akan saya capai. Stres kalau mendapati apa yang saya targetkan tahun lalu meleset. Dua target saya tahun lalu BELUM terwujud. Namun - Tuhan Maha Adil - tahun ini saya mendapat limpahan berkah yang luar biasa. Nino dan saya diamanati bayi cantik nan lucu: Ayesha Leilani. Sekarang ini saya diberi kesempatan untuk menjadi ibu fulltime. Saya gembira sekali kalau melihat hasil "hanya ASI" yang saya berikan ke Ayesha selama enam bulan ini. Ayesha tumbuh sehat, montok dan jabrik (yang terakhir ini, apa ada hubungannya dengan ASI? ). Saya tidak mengatakan bahwa menjadi ibu menjadi penghalang untuk cita-cita saya yang lain. Malahan saya diberi kesempatan untuk belajar menjadi lebih dewasa, lebih sabar, lebih ikhlas dan lebih rendah hati. Mungkin, umpamanya, menjadi ibu itu bagai kepompong, mengubah ulat menjadi kupu-kupu ... Tahun depan, kami s...

Saya pertama kali 'mengenalnya' ketika Dewi Lestari alias Dee datang ke Jogja mempromosikan buku pertamanya: Supernova. Terbitnya buku ini membuat heboh dunia perbukuan Indonesia. Salah satunya karena penulisnya adalah penyanyi. Artis kok berani-beraninya nulis buku, begitulah kira-kira komentar orang. Tapi saya langsung jatuh hati pada kenekatannya. Maklum, waktu itu tidak ada karya sastra lain selain dari penulis angkatan tua. Zaman booming penulis-penulis muda masih jauh sekali. Buku Dee yang nekat dia edarkan sendiri memberi warna sekaligus mendobrak bahwa semua juga boleh berkarya. Ternyata ada yang lebih nge-fans sama Dee daripada saya. Waktu itu, dia masih menjadi calon pacar saya. Orangnya melankolis perfeksionis, jarang nge-fans sama seseorang, apalagi artis. Serta merta saya cemburu. Dia mengagumi Dee yang berani menerbitkan buku pada usia sangat muda waktu itu (usianya 24). Waktu itu tahun 2000, usia saya 20 tahun. Kami termasuk dalam panitia salah satu diskus...

Menjelang kepulangan kami ke Indonesia, kami banyak berpamitan ke teman dan saudara yang ada di Sydney. Ada pengalaman menarik berkaitan dengan acara pamitan ini. Saya mengamati perilaku peluk cium berpamitan yang berbeda dari masing-masing komunitas. Dari sini saya bisa memilah teman-teman kami menjadi tiga kategori. Teman-teman "bule" kami memberi satu kecupan di pipi. Yang termasuk kategori ini adalah teman yang saya kenal dari orangtua murid Anindya di Marrcikville West Public School, juga guru dan kepala sekolahnya, teman kuliah Nino di Sydney University, dan teman kerja saya di Harris Farm Market. Bule di sini bukan hanya orang Aussie saja, karena di sini banyak sekali imigran yang datang dari Asia. Salah satu teman akrab saya adalah orang Cambodia dan bos langsung saya adalah orang Vietnam. Sementara itu, salah satu sepupu Nino adalah orang blasteran Indonesia dan Australia, tapi dia sudah termasuk 'bule' dengan satu kecupan. Dua kecupan diberikan oleh o...

We were home, at last. It was not a long flight, Sydney-Denpasar only took 6 and half hours. But it was three thousand dollars away. That's way we never gone home for these last two years. We're welcomed by the heat in Denpasar. The air conditioner in Ngurah Rai airport was not working, really bad for an international airport. It was 30 celcius degrees out there and inside. Ayesha threw up and I had to change her clothes and her nappy just beside the baggage claim, as we didn't have a baby change table in the toilet. The 15 celcius degrees differences between Sydney and Denpasar/Surabaya was shocking us. But as soon as we met our family at Juanda, it didn't really matter anymore. Everbody was there, my mom, my dad and mom in-law, my brother and sister. We had a long hugging and kissing session, but this time there was no tear, only big smile. From Surabaya, we drove to Malang. Along the way, my six-year-old daughter, Anindya, was really confused to see so many people. T...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPAPONG ! Please grow old with me... Lots of hugs and kisses from Mamapong.

Aussie has special day for almost everything. Here we have Father's Day, Library Lover's Day, Red Nose Day, National Tree Day, Daffodil Day, Sorry Day, etc. Today is a Jeans Day . You are expected to wear jeans to school or work and gives small donation, say $1. The money goes to charity. Unfortunately, I can't fit in my old jeans, yet. *sigh* A.K. Me in my jeans, 2006  

I don't know how she does it. Aussie Mom I mean, juggling between the baby and household chores, all by herself (no pembantu, no granny and no 'busybody' neighbours). In the first two weeks having Ayesha, I felt helpless. It's like I threw all my energy for her and nothing left for myself and the house. It's more looked like a shipwreck than a house. Yes, I have a wonderful husband, he's so helpful, changing nappies and all, but still... Not that Ayesha cried all the time, but we needed to carry her if she started crying. She didn't like to be left alone in the cot, even when she just finished her milk and had a dry, clean bottom. Sometime Nino put her on his lap while he worked on his laptop. Sometime I carried her with "Jarik". That's how my Mom would do to settle the baby. It seemed normal to be tired carrying the baby. But I thought, if only there was a way... I found the answer when I paid a visit to my neighbour. She's a Balinese who...

It's been 40 days since that heart stopping moment, but I can still recount it. Although we were alone here, no Mom, relatives and other "busy bodies", I felt super confident that I could do just right with my second pregnancy. I thought been there, done that. Besides, everyone (and the book) said that delivering the second child would be easier that the first one. Unfortunately, in my case, it wasn't that easy. I started having my real contraction early Friday morning. I thought the time has came. So I packed my bag and got ready to the hospital. I rang the hospital between my every-five-minute contraction, but the midwife said that I had to wait until I had the strong, painful one. I waited the whole day. I managed to eat, sleep and have shower between that. Nino stayed beside me and was very helpful. At 8 pm, I could wait no more. Nino rang the hospital and they let me come. We requested an ambulance. It sound dramatic, but it's only because we didn't own a...

Meet AYESHA LEILANI... Born: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, 14 June 2008, 1.23 am (Sydney local time). Weight: 3130 grams Height: 48 cms A.K.

Today is my last day working at this supermarket . I will take a maternity leave for... uhm, maybe forever? Cause I don't know whether I'll come back. I've been working there for a whole year. I remember my first day, I was so nervous that I made a lot of mistakes. I didn't understand most of what people said. I thought those NOT English (at least not clear English as I learnt from school). But I learnt many things from working at a store, especially learnt how to handle a very demanding customer. Aussie people, especially the grumpy old man and woman likes to complain, almost on anything. Sometimes it's annoying but sometimes it's sooo silly. Now I am a more confident person and can handle the most difficult customers. I was promoted to be a supervisor on January. Writing a ticket (price tag) was one of my job as a supervisor. Some friends said I had a beautiful handwriting. Oh really? I told them that back home I'm an author. It's nothing to do with h...

I had my first baby ultrasound yesterday. It was amazing to see a tiny human lives inside me. We could see clearly her head, tiny feet, tiny hands, her heart beating rapidly, and even took a look inside her brain. When we watched her, she was lazily sucking her thumb. Alhamdulillah, so far so good. Everything seemed normal, nothing to worry. And... she is a girl! Insyaallah. A.K.

I am longing for "real" Indonesian food, not the one with instant bumbu. Especially these: 1. My Mom's soto kentang 2. Soto Pak Sholeh 3. Soto Mang Udi 4. Soto Kudus Simanjuntak 5. Ayam bakar and telur coklat Yu Yem 6. Hot Cui Mie Gloria Malang 7. Bubur ayam Muntilan 8. Gudeg Yu Djum 9. Bakso Kota Malang 10. Es krim Tip Top Jogja 11. Sate Ayam Madura deket rumah 12. Kupat Tahu Blabak Glurp! I am writing this to ease my pain. Here, I can only find one food that satisfy my tastebud, which is: Turkish Gozleme. It's kind of martabak, with chicken mince, cheese and spinach inside, served with chilli sauce and lemon wedge. We have plenty Indo restaurant here but they are far far away from home, need one hour journey to reach Kingsford aka kampung Indo. Actually, 5 minutes from my place, there is a small Indo resto, but the taste is far far away from our expectation. But since whinning is not good for the baby, better to think positive. At least here, I can easily find a ...

This shopping season, I couldn't help myself. I bought my first MANGO (and the second, and the third and the fourth and the fifth). And I'm not talking about fruits. A.K. shopaholic in training