Cikelin Chronicle

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...

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

A perfect birthday morning: 1. a birthday kiss from him 2. a hot cuppa 3. homemade (w/ instant spices) nasi kuning 4. a perfect gift from my wish lists (sure I had to give him a clue, or I'll get another book, hehehe...) A.K.

My daughter, Nindipong, turned five yesterday. I've just realized that a daughter's birthday means a giving birth's anniversary for the mom. My min d went back to 5 years ago at PKU Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta when I struggled to deliver this baby. Paintful but sweet memory. We arranged a birthday party at our apartment. We invited Nindi's friends around Marrickville area, which were all Indonesian. Nindi was very excited for her party. It made me worried that she would cry at the day because she's too excited. She did at her fourth birthday party a year ago. She cried aloud when all the attention went to her, when everybody sang a birthday song. But I was wrong. She was happy and bright. She even performed to entertain the guests. She did some circuss on the sofa. Well done, Darling. Happy Birthday to you, keep shining, keep becoming our qurrata a'yun. A.K.

  Who is not happy with a surprise? A good one, I mean. Of course not me. I always dream that somebody will give me a (nice) surprise, especially at my birthday. Nino is different. I mean, he doesn't care about his birthday(that he often forget), he doesn't care when nobody sms him a birthday message. And he doesn't expect a single birthday present. But I, duh, I couldn't pass my birthday without a gift. Two weeks before the day, I reminded him to think about my birthday present. And please, no more book as my birthday gift (fyi, I always get a book from him, on my B'day). Not that I don't like a book. I, I mean we, love it so much that we consider a book as our daily meal. Beside, it's so predictable. I will get (another) book at my B'day. Helo? Where is the surprise? Unfortunately, a week before my day, he asked me, "What do you want for your B'day gift?" Oh, no! Couldn't he just guest what I want? Didn't he get the clue from our...

Happy birthday to you... You were born at the zoo... You look like a monkey... And smell like one too... Hehehe... I love this song, from Madagascar Cartoon. Huah, 27 now. get ready to: 1. publish my fourth book 2. get a job here 3. have my second child (not a second husband, hehehe) insyaallah, this year. A.K.

As a birthday gift, I gave him a virtual card that I set as a background in our laptop. Well, I wanted to surprise him in the morning, w/ a birthday wake up call, but since I couldn't manage to wake up earlier than him, I just set the virtual card. As soon as he woke up and did his morning works, he would realize it. But then I just couldn't pass his birthday w/o any present. I manage to give him a starbucks card. It's a bit tricky, actually. When I bought him that card, meaned that I want him to invite me to that coffee shop. But, argh, sometime man just need a push, right? Hehehe... We celebrated Nino's birthday by having a picnic in a sydney-bridge and harbour view park, which was awesome. It's Irene's idea that we (om dion, irine, adiel, nino, nindi and I) had lunch at that day. We had roasted chicken sandwiches, philadelphia cheese in chilli, salads, strawberries, potato chips, orange and passionfruit juices and cokes. Irene gave him a coffee plunger (...