Kepleset

Ceritanya gua sekarang kerja jadi HR interviewer. Bukan untuk merekrut orang, tapi untuk melakukan background checks. You know, making sure crooks are not being hired...

I really enjoy doing this job because, hey, I get to talk all day long. That is so me, don't you think? Walaupun maap, blog ini jadi makin jarang di-update, terutama sejak 'krisis' sekitar dua minggu yang lalu yang ngga cuma menyurutkan nafsu makan, tapi juga nafsu nge-blog, dan nafsu-nafsu lainnya. Alhamdulilah semua nafsu tersebut sekarang sudah hampir pulih. *berdehem*

Sialnya, lidah gua tuh lumayan sering kepleset (keturunan dari nyokap). A jadi B dan B jadi A.

So far, here are my top three embarrassing tongue slips:

Original question: "So what was his reason for leaving?"
What came out: "So what was his reason for living?"

kenape sih bhs inggris mesti bunyinya mirip-mirip? ih rese deh...

Original question: "So how would you describe his temperament?"
What came out: "So how would you describe his temperature?"

pada saat itu gua pingin lari sekenceng-kencengnya menuju jendela dan terjun bebas ke lantai dasar...

Original line: "I'd really appreciate if if you could call me back on..."
What came out: "I'd really appreciate if if you could kill me..."

at least i was being polite about it...

To settle or to wrestle, that is the question

So it has been over a month since I touched down on this country with a working visa. And it has been three weeks since I started 'normal life' again. My whole existence is once again regulated by that cruel little bitch called time.

I don't know. Is it the job? Or is it the boyfriend? Or "boyfriend"? That term has been a little fuzzy lately.

Either way, that little voice inside me is starting to get noisy. It's starting to spread its arms and legs and rudely kick me in the gut, all the while screaming, "I want to get out!"

WHAT?

But I just got in!

Ok. I have to fight hard this time. Boredom is my biggest enemy and I shall fight it earnestly. I can't do nothing about the job - I need some money to live after all - but the rest can be negotiated.

Let me think about that this week.

Old St-Hubert

One of my favorite things to do is trying different routes to get to a place. It often makes a dull walk interesting.

So today I took Rue St-Hubert to walk home from the city. This has to be one of the best streets in Montreal for house-watching. You know, like people watching; only this time it's the houses that are watching you walk past.

The houses here, they're not mansions, and they're old as hell, but they have this aura around them that make your head brim with imagination about who live in them, what their bedrooms look like, whether they have clandestine lovers, and what they'll cook for dinner tonight.

The weather was premenstrual today, forlorn and all, but hopefully these pictures will make you understand what I meant.

And this, is what ruined my otherwise enjoyable house-watching. Don't you just hate it when people dress like that? The picture might suggest that I'm exaggerating - bitchy even - but trust me, this girl neeeeeeds a spoonful of good taste.

Doin' just fine

While wiping the ***hole after doing the number 2 this evening, I observed something rather strange.

There's a shred of carrot in my turd. Or something that resembles it anyway. I didn't go so far as picking it out and verifying its identity - 'cos that's just gross, alright?

Don't worry about me, though. I just thought I'd share that with you.

Boo!

This is my first official day of unvoluntary unemployment. Yup, I am no longer on holidays (although the visa I'm on is called Working Holiday Visa), and starting today I'll be throwing my resume around town.

On one side, I am looking forward to having a 'normal' life again where I can actually sound normal when people ask me, "So what do you do?". On the other, I am dreading the thought of having to subscribe to a schedule day after day, week after week, month after month, again. Oh humanity! Thinking about it makes me feel jittery, goosebumpy, and nauseous. Just awful, basically.

But I guess I can't live on my savings forever. I'm not that rich. Nor are the parents. Lol.

It is times like this that I wish the world operated a la Jacques Fresco. A moneyless economy. A society where people don't have to do jobs just to earn a living. A society where people live to learn and do things that interest them without having to worry that their wallets will get undernourished.

No, I'm not an idealist. I'm just lazy. And I'm trying to justify it.

Ensemble, c'est tout

Masih jetlagged. Buanget. Tipe kebangun jam 1.30 pagi dan nggak bisa tidur lagi sampai jem 10. Selera makan juga ikut-ikutan kacau. Tapi untung ke belakang masih lancar, kekekek, I'm sure you wanna know about that. Yah inilah efek samping pergi ke belahan dunia yang lain.

But that's just a minor matter; it's a (bad) habit of mine to start a blog entry with a whinge. Because right here, right now, I'm happy. All the things that were hanging over my head during the last six weeks are no longer. Separation is indeed the best medicine, sometimes.

"How long do you think before we get sick of each other?" I asked him while we were reading in bed last night.

"A couple of weeks," he said with that trademark serious look of his. "Love is fickle."

He's probably right. But I'm not worried about that. I'm still too busy playing this new game and enjoying being his 'petite poule'.

S is for Suspense

Dari kemarin gua deg-degan gak karuan. Kayak orang abis minum Red Bull tiga kaleng. Tidur gak nyenyak, bangun super cepat. Jadi inget waktu SD, sehari sebelum terima raport. Hihihi, ngomong-ngomong dulu tuh gua lugu banget, kalau udah mo deket-deket terima raport, pasti isi-isi doa sebelum (dan sesudah) tidur gua bunyinya begini, "Tuhan, saya mohon supaya dapet ranking 1." Kalau dipikir-pikir, mungkin itu akar dari ketidakpercayaan gua dengan doa-doaan, karena dalam 6 tahun doa itu hanya terkabul sekali saja!

So there you go my friends, yang penting adalah usaha, bukan doa. God is just an observer who'll laugh at you when you fall on your ass.

Hari ini Jumat. Besok Sabtu. Lusa Minggu. (Yeah I know, this paragraph is lame.)

Setiap menit yang berlalu,
membawa aku lebih dekat dengan kamu.
Sampai ketemu hari Rabu,
jangan lupa jemput aku!

Hari ini dan beres-beres

Ada yang bikin hati berbunga-bunga hari ini. Dia bilang,

La seule chose qui m'a nui c'était ton absence. Reviens-moi vite SVP.

Gak percaya gua bacanya tadi siang. Ternyata si nyolot itu bisa mewek juga.

Malam ini gua memasuki tahap packing yang terakhir. Koper gua udah penuh! Padahal tas toiletries yang gemuk itu belum masuk. Beha kolor belum masuk juga (tapi untung yang ini gak makan banyak tempat... if you know me you'll know what I mean). Dan ohhh buku french grammar (peninggalan French101 di Usyd) yang bobotnya dijamin ampuh untuk ngebocorin kepala anak orang. Pupuslah harapan untuk membawa beraneka ragam beads yang tadinya gua pikir bakal berguna sekali untuk dijadikan kado ultah teman-teman (cewek) disana.

Inilah alasan mengapa gua yakin gua bukan reinkarnasi Noah yang dari alkitab itu. Bocor kali kapalnya kalau gua yg mesti nge-pak!

Barang-barang yang terpaksa gua tinggal di Sydney:
- Raket tenis
- Sepatu bowling
- Jam weker
- Guling
- Novel-novel Haruki Murakami
- 2 x figurine Precious Moments yang gua sayang banget

Oh harta benda... mengapa engkau harus ada?

Aku ingin begini, aku ingin begitu

Oh susahnya naikin berat badan. Kenapa gua nggak diciptakan sempurna seperti Heidi Klum??? Pffft...

Hehehe... banyak maunya deh. Maklum, udah jem 1 malem, pikiran udah mulai jalan-jalan ke hutan rimba yang penuh mara bahaya.

Ceritanya gua lagi mulai rutin minum protein shake lagi, karena 7 kilo ekstra yang berhasil gua raih tahun lalu sudah lenyap selama dua minggu pertama gua di Montreal, dimana gua yang terlalu pelit untuk beli tiket bis bersedia berjalan kaki kemana-mana. Nyusut lagi deh gua kayak balon yang umurnya udah tiga hari, walaupun ada hikmahnya juga karena sekarang pengetahuan jalan gua gak kalah sama supir taksi disana. So listen up all you overweight people out there: walking everywhere will help you lose weight!

Pokoknya tahun ini gua banyak maunya. Mau ndutin badan. Mau lebih jujur pada diri sendiri. Mau lebih rajin latihan nulis. Mau cari temen yang banyak. Mau bersikap dewasa dalam hubungan cewek-cowok (hayo lho, maksudnya apa tuh?). Mau lebih giat belajar masak (biar hubungan cewek-cowok makin lancar, hahaha!). Mau memperlicin bahasa Prancis (biar bisa ngobrol sama cowok Prancis yang kece-kece, amin!). Dan lain-lain.

If you have known me for a long time, you'll notice that that list is so different from my previous 'To do' lists. Especially number 4, 5, and 6. KW, the arrogant, emotionally self-sufficient (or so she thinks), "I can live without other people" bitch wants to make more friends? Wtf?

I guess people really do change, huh?

Just reflecting

Hari-hari gua di Sydney hanya tinggal sesaat. Cieeee laganya kaya udah divonis kanker stadium 4. Hush ngaco.

Tapi gua emang ga bohong, bentar lagi gua bakal cabut lagi. Perasaan baru kemaren malem nyampe di airport. Keluar dari baggage claim, jalan ke bus stop (soalnya gak ada nyambut dengan karangan bunga beserta boneka teddy bear, dan gak ada pula yg nanya, "Eh ntar ada yang jemput gak?") dan nongkrong disono nungguin bis 400 sambil dengerin Organ Donor-nya DJ Shadow.

Terus terang, gua lumayan sedih juga bakal ninggalin tempat ini beserta isi-isinya (termasuk adik gua yang nyebelin). Karena gua merasa, walaupun so pasti gua bakal datang lagi ke Sydney, gua gak bakal balik lagi 'kesini'. Karena lembaran-lembaran hidup gua disini sudah habis. Sudah waktunya gua tutup buku - walaupun mohon jgn disamakan dengan gulung tikar.

Dan ortu gua pun semakin tua. (Rada-rada ga nyambung emang paragraf ke-4 ini, tapi ya semau gua dong.)

I guess all these things + the fact that I'm unemployed and using up my savings fast are making me a little bit melancholic right now.

Mood Update (because I want to)

After all those miserable (bordering on desperate) entries in the last couple of weeks - many of which have been taken offline since because they have the potential to ruin my cool chick reputation - I am pleased to announce that I'm no longer miserable (nor bordering on desperate).

Ternyata kita berdua tuh emang gengsinya segede gentong (walaupun gentong gua jauh lebih kecil dan imut).

Clean Up My Room Day

You don't really know yourself until you have to... pack your life.

In preparation for the move to Montréal next month, I have started to clear out my room, which will be occupied by a new person tomorrow. It's not a big room but it sure can hold a lot of things, a fact that I have been discovering minute by painful minute today. It's not the room's fault, of course, but I wish there had been a device that screamed, "Throw that out!" everytime somebody (mostly me) placed some innocent-looking potential junk in it.

The good thing about today's cleanup is that I haven't found it difficult to throw things out. Gone are those clothes that I have not worn for at least two years. Gone are those undies that don't look like undies anymore (don't ask). Gone are those piles of papers that told a story about my past life (among others outdated CV's, payslips from eight years ago, boarding passes, and greeting cards from the nearby video rental store - wow they remembered my birthday... I must've been special!).

I am still twiddling my thumb over my massive collection of accessories though. I have tons of earrings... awww my pretty little babies, but I think I have to let you go!

So the onslaught continues tonight. Who will go? Who will stay?

Pake bhs Indo biar tu org ga ngerti

Barusan ngeliat kalender. Ya ilah, baru tanggal 16 Februari.

Kangen bo, kangen.

Today...
the minutes seem like hours
the hours go so slowly
and still the sky is light...

Ceileh pake nge-quote2 dari West Side Story segala. Padahal cuman kangen geblek a la anak abg, there's nothing Broadway about my silly little fling. Yah begini deh nasib gua. Jauh-jauh ke Kanada untuk menemukan (dan mengukuhkan!) kebebasan, tau-taunya kecantol sama lebah lokal.

Ya sud sud... that's it for now... lagi ga ada bahan pembicaraan yg lebih menarik, cuma lagi pingin ngoceh2 aja somewhere, somehow.

Home is where... my junk is

As we were flying closer and closer to the ground, I spotted a very familiar-looking brown tower on the horizon. Though not legible from where I was sitting, I knew that the tower bore the letters U, N, S, W.

The longest holiday of my life has officially ended.

Everything at home was still where it was when I left it four months ago. Including that picture next to my bed. But that's so insignificant compared to what has changed. And I don't ever want to go back to where I was. The worst is over and I can only look forward to better times ahead. Better times, indeed! And no one... not even some wonderful, handsome, funny, tall, short-haired dude with glasses (and commitment issues), can ruin that. I will take care of myself this year very well.

I just wish these coming 3 weeks will disappear tonight while I'm asleep.

I don't care if I sound cheesy

I'm allowed to say anything I want on this blog, even if it does nothing to the embetterment of society. And this is what I want to say, and I'm going to say it because I have no one to talk to right now. Women have this constant need to express themselves, know what I mean?

My boy of the moment is pretty fucking awesome - though he makes me a little nervous sometimes. Wait, maybe that's why he's awesome. Anybody who can rattle my smug little comfort zone must have something special to bring to the table. Ooh and you know what else? He has beautiful eyes :)

I know I know, I am in deep, deep trouble.

Last day of being 27

There is a reason why I called this blog 27yo.

Nobody is young forever, that I know and accept, but I do want to carry the memories of this very special year forever. Afterall, 2007 is the year that I have finally gained control of my own life. It - whatever it is - no longer tells me what to do, what to say, what to think, and how to do them, though I admit sometimes it comes creeping back in tiny doses (but it's ok sometimes we all need a break from routine).

2007's been a year of shocking revelations. About the world, people, and mostly, about myself. The mind is a powerful thing, you know, and I guess this year I finally managed to turn it on the positive.

That includes, among other things, renouncing the things I have been raised to believe in since childhood. Going to church makes me miserable, so I just stopped. Lying to my mum about going to church makes me miserable, so I just told her so. Honesty is not always the best policy, but sometimes it's the only thing that can save you from going insane with guilt.

Last night while going down the ladder of my loft bed, my foot missed a step and I fell down. My head just nearly missed one of the wooden legs of the bed and the heater. In doing so, however, I have somehow twisted my left upper arm and its adjoining shoulder. In the following five minutes that followed I just sat there shaking, too shocked to move. I was convinced I had broken something, and that it definitely wasn't the bed, nor the floor.

After the pain had subsided to the point where I was finally able to move the poor arm to lift myself off the floor, I took a sip of water - the reason why I went down from the bed at the first place - and went back up. Tucked safely back in bed, I started thinking about those people whose arms had actually been broken. Then I thought about those people who had been in serious car accidents. And then I thought about my late aunt, who died after 30 days sustaining 99% of burns to her body.

At that moment I felt lucky, very lucky. Falling down the stairs is the best birthday present I have ever given to myself.