..(once more) an amazing performance..

Although it’s his 3rd show in his 3rd night in Philippines, he really didn’t show any fatigue at all. He’s truly an artist who entertain his audiences with all his heart, very genuine.

On Market! Market!, 23rd Sept, the show was started a little bit early, at 6pm. We (Eliza, Chris & I) got there around 5pm. We were a bit relax this time as the seat was numbered, so we think there’s no point of us waiting in the line couple of hours before the show start. The activity center in Market! Market is a little bit bigger than Glorietta, as there were more stubs given to public. When we got there, few people already inside the area, but lotsa them were outside standing near the fence.

Unfortunately, me & Eliza sat separately with Chris. Yet thankfully he sat only 2 rows behind Yam, Belle & Meg who got in the 1st row. We were pleased knowing that we sat near the stage, so we could get the best shot of him. I was hoping that there’d be some check sound as he did on Glorietta, but apparently, there’s none. Later on, Angelo came and sat together in between me & Eliza.

The show started on time. He was wearing grey vest, the same cowboy hat (I guess..), black shirt, jeans and Converse sneaker. Like Glorietta’s show, he opened the show with “Find a way”. Before he continued to his next song “Train Wreck”, he greeted and waved at people who couldn’t get the stubs and spreaded in all floors just to see his show. I wonder why he didn’t introduce his band member with other song, as like yesterday, in the middle of this song, he introduced Russell, Aaron and Joonie to the audiences.

His third song for the nite was “Moving on” and people also helped him clapping their hands. At this point, I really wanted to stand up and danced but I was afraid that I got boo from the audiences behind me. Well, boo was fine, but got something thrown at me ? Hmmm, not good lah J J J

With no long introduction in each song, there he was singing “Free”, “I’m the man”, “In love with you forever”, “One word” and “Wait for you”. He kinda made people got crazy when he threw his black towel to the audiences while singing “Wait for you”. I wonder who the lucky girl got it, as if I was her, I might not wash it for couple of days until I show it to my friends. Yes, it was full of sweat, but the heck, it’s used by Elliott, huahahahaaa..

His last song for tonite is “A song for you”. It’s pretty funny as after “Wait for you”, they all went back stage and the crowds didn’t even scream his name to show up again. Perhaps only the Yaminoys who shout his name so loud and then there was silence for few minutes, just waiting for him to go back on stage. Finally, he showed up again and sang “A song for you”.

He really hypnotized me with this song. His voice is soooooo soothing and I don’t know, I’m just so speechless, couldn’t even think what’s the ultimate word to express my feeling..

The show was really ended and it’s shorter than in Glorietta. Perhaps, his tonite’s show only took 40 minutes or so. Yet the line for meet & greet and the CD signing was longer than in Glorietta. Me, Eliza, Chris & Meg got the M & G for photo session. My mind couldn’t focus at all, really excited waiting for the moment to hug him J Meg went first, followed by Chris & Eliza then I was the last person. When I walked towards him, I kept saying that I should behave, but when he’s so near, I just couldn’t behave anymore. I hugged him and even asked him if I could kiss him on the cheek (plus saying that it’s a request from my friend since I didn’t want him to think that’s it’s purely comes from me, huahahahahaaaaa…). When I was off the stage, I still could feel that my leg was shaking and couldn’t walk straight.

So pleased that I found Chris, Yam, Eliza, Bell & Meg there, then when Yam showed us the pix she took, we were jumping upside down. Really, we couldn’t believe that we finally got the pix with Elliott Yamin. DEAR LORD, WE TOOK A PIX WITH ELLIOTT !!!

We still hung around in the activity center and witnessed Patrick accomplished his mission. Woohooooo, way to go, pal. Hope it really brings you a good luck !!. Later on, we moved near the stage, so in case Elliott walked out, he would notice us right away. While waiting, we asked Monet to come out as Christian need to give souvenirs to the band member through her. She mentioned that all of them are already left. Yet we thought that they’re still on the backstage, waiting for the crowds to be gone soon.

While we were hanging around, Angelo came to me and asked me the tarp. All of the sudden, I couldn’t focus anymore and really felt guilty. I was the last person who had them before the show and I put it next to my chair so I could concentrate watching Elliott’s performance. And when the show was over, I completely forgot about the tarp. I’m very very very very sorry for losing it. I felt guilty as all of the idea & the hard work you’ve given to made the tarp looks beautiful is gone in one nite because of the irresponsible me L L

There were people we didn’t know took our pix when we were holding the tarp and had a group picture (this time no Elliott). It’s a good sign as now people are aware that Elliott has many die-hard fan in Philippines. And speaking of die-hard fans, I still laugh everytime I remember those 3 teenage girls, perhaps age 12 – 13 y/o, who were hysterically screaming when they noticed Angelo was wearing the I heart EY and knowing he’s the member of Yaminoys (they were the one who bought you donuts, huh ? J). Since they only had 1 CD, so one of them should have a CD too, otherwise the guard wouldn’t allow 2 people on the stage for 1 CD. Yam was being so nice by giving her the CD to them and when they were on stage, they was crying and almost lost their breath, especially the girl in the green shirt with the long hair. She just completely lost her mind.

We left the venue around 8pm as there’s no sign whatsoever that Elliott & the band were still there. Suddenly, I missed you guys already cause I’m not sure when I can meet you again, a bunch of nice-warm hearted-people which I had been together with for 2 days. I felt so welcome here and felt like an old time friends. Honestly, I didn’t wanna move at all, but I’ve made appointment with my ex-boss and his wife to have dinner with them at 8:30, so I really need to go.

Sigh, looks like the nite should be ended, but I said to myself, if there’s a chance, I surely will go back to Manila to see you guys..

..a vocal master class..

Back 1,5 year ago, Simon told Elliott Yamin when he sang “A song for you” on AI stage that he’s a vocal master class. What he said to him is completely true.

He prove to his audience in Glorietta mall on 22nd Sept, that he’s one of the great singer who absolutely will have a brighter music future. I’m so grateful that I had a chance to see him live. I was extremely amazed, touched, goosebumped everytime he opened his mouth and started to sing.

His show started at 7 pm, but the line was already started 3 hours before, as Elliott did some check sounds and sang couple of songs for the show. However, this also showed that people are so crazy for him. At 6 pm, the gate was open, and people were running to get the best seat. We didn’t get the nearest seat to the stage, but at least we were sitting on the aisle and in front of us were not a big guy so our view were okay, no blocking whatsoever.

When the announcer said the show would be started in few minutes and the band member were walking on the stage, people suddenly couldn’t sit still. I guess I know the reason why, they though Aaron (the percussionist) was Elliott. Well they do look alike, because of the beard and the cap, although he’s taller than Elliott J Not quite long, Elliott showed up, walked and sat on the stool.

In front of 300 audiences who got the stub and perhaps more than 300 people leaning on the rail in every Glorietta’s floor and sat outside the fence of activity centre, he made people screaming his name, saying “I love you” to him many many times, including me J J J

Wearing black & white shirt, black pants and grey cowboy hat, he opened the show with “Find a way” which he dedicated to the troops in Iraq. The next song he sang is “Train wreck”, and on the middle of the song, he introduced his band member, Russell (beside Elliott, people were screaming his name too), Aaron and Jooney. Without wasting any time and the moment, he continued to sing an up beat song, the one that I really love “Moving on”. People were helping him by clapping their hands, although I was thinking that it could be better if people were standing up and dancing along with him. I’m the man is his next song and as you all could guess, all of the women were screaming like a mad man whenever he touched the reffrain “I’m the man who holds my ground, I’m the man who sticks around, I’m the man to hold you tight, Cause I’m the man in love with you ooh”.. I bet all the women wishing that it’s not just a song, but he really said it to them personally J J

He really made a good introduction of his next song and amazingly, people knew what he’s gonna sing, just because he said “it’s gonna be my next single’. Yes, it’s “One word” and everytime he said one word, people are putting their pointing finger in the air, doing exactly the same as he did.

The next song was not on his CD, titled “In love with you forever”. It’s an upbeat song and like in Moving On, people were helping him by clapping their hands and when he said “I’m in love with you forever til I die, I am yours, you are mine”, as you might predict, women are screaming like crazy.

“Take my breath away” is his next song. After he ended the song, apparently he really lose his breath as he went behind the stage without saying any words and followed by the band’s member with their face looking at each other, not knowing what was happening. Thankfully, after couple of minutes, he went back on stage and sang his first single which was a big hit in Manila and he was hoping that there’ll be more hit single coming from his CD (AMEEEEENNN…)

Yes, people… It’s “Wait for you”, sung beautifully by him. People sang along with him throughout the song and almost the end of the song, he gave the microphone to the crowd and he just listen to our singing, but it only for few lines J Next song was “A song for you”. It’s his charmed song, as he sang it from his 1st to 4th audition and brought it on stage with Ricky Minor band and made Paula Abdul cried J When he sang it, I automatically got goosebumps. It was Perfect with the capital and bold “P”.

It’s the last song from him as him and the other member went back stage. But nobody from the audience would let him end the show just like that, so we all clapping our hands so hard and screaming his names out loud until he went on stage again.

He finally came out, although he only wore his under shirt and sang one more song to the crowds. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember his song L And yes, this is his last song for the shows regardless people still screaming for more.

After the show, people were lining up for the meet-and-greet where divided in two sessions, CD signing and photo shooting. I bought his CD the morning when I lined up for the stub so I’m so excited that he would sign it. And also, I’m wearing the T-shirt that I made in Jakarta and I really wish that he would sign it.

And my time eventually came. I was on the stage, got my CD on hand and when I came to him, I was like “my goodness, it’s real, it’s damn real..”. After he signed my CD, I asked him whether he wanted to sign my T-shirt and he did sign it. He was sooooo nice, very humble, genuine. Puuurrrrfectooo !!!

Everybody was off da stage, but still hanging around it. Got to talk to Monet and at first, she said that Elliott couldn’t make it to have a pix with the group. The group gave her the Yaminoys t-shirt which she wore it right away and we took a pix with her. When she went inside, we still didn’t move a thing, hoping that Elliott changed his mind. Monet came out and told us that Elliott would take a pix with us and “aaaaaaarrrggghhh…”, we were jumping upside down. But then she said, we should not draw any attention from other people, otherwise he wouldn’t do so. So we acted cool, but since we already screamed earlier and people notice it, few of them were coming towards us.

Elliott finally showed up with the Yaminoy’s t-shirt and we went so crazy, couldn’t behave anymore. We took couple of group picture with him holding the tarp and although it’s only for few minutes, he already made us putting a smiley face for the rest of the nite. And hopefully, he would put the pix on his myspace J J

..kantor yg sepi..

That’s why gue bisa menulis di blog gue lagi, secara kantor gue sepi ajah and gue udah nyaris mau mati gaya karena bingung mau kerja apa lagi. Ada enaknya siy, secara waktu gue itu terisi dg padat di hari senin sampe rabu jadi pas kamis – jumat itu tinggal santai2xnya ajah.

Gue sekarang lagi browsing youtube, liat2x elliott waktu tour konser AI th 2006. Dimana sebelum itu, gue browsing ttg Manila. Bingung niy, mesti browsing apa lagi, heheheheeeeee…

Btw, sekarang udah masuk puasa. Tepatnya, sekarang adl puasa hari 1. Cuma, berhubung ay is masih period, jadi gue masih belum puasa. Sebel and sedih juga siy, secara semalem orang2x udah mulai taraweh tapi gue masih yg belum bisa gitu, hiks..

Gue juga khawatir gak bisa ikut Shalat Ied, secara kan gak ikutan puasa hari pertama. Naga2xnya gue bakalan minum primolut seminggu sebelum shalat ied, biar gue bisa ikutan shalat. Biarin lah curang dikit, abis kan shalat Idul Fitri itu setaun cuma sekali, masak udah sekali trus gue gak bisa ngelaksanainnya ? Waaaaaaah, gak banget deh..

Anyway, sekarang baru jam 2 siang. Ntar gue mau ketemuan chika jam 4an, tapi sepertinya gue mau ngabur aja jam 4 kurang, hihihihihiiiii… Soale gue dah bosen gini di kantor.

– back to work dulu kali ya (or back to browse ??) –

..ELLIOTT YAMIN..

YESSSSS !!! I’m going to see Elliott Yamin next week and I’m so excited, so can not wait.. He’s gonna perform in Philippines for 5 times, whereby 4 times in Manila and 1 in Cebu. Thankfully that I could catch 2 of his show.

I’m gonna go on 21st and leaving on 24th. He will be performing in Glorietta Mall on 22nd and Market! Market! on 23rd. I’ll bring my complete gear, pocket digicam, my DSLR, viewcam, ipod, his CD, song lyrics and one of the crazy idea just crossed my mind yesterday, I’ll bring a T-shirt with this picture attached and have him signed it (if I get a chance to meet & greet with him though).

Anyway, the preparation I’ve made so far is by joining the mailing list of Elliott’s fans club in Philippines where all members are Pinoy and I’m the only Indonesian exist on that list, hahahahahaaaa…

I can imagine the excitement I’ll have when I watch his show LIVE in concert. Although it’ll take 1 hour long, but I’ll see him for 2 nights in a row, so eventhough it’s still not enough but at least I could see my Idol.. From all of the AI I’ve been watching, he’s the only finalist whom to me has the soulful voice and could move you, touch your heart. I fell in love with him the moment he sand Moody’s Mood for love on AI stage. Even Randy Jackson gave him standing applause after he sang that song. It’s just so rare seeing a great-soulful voice on the AI stage. He should’ve won the crown, but should he won it, he wouldn’t throw a concert in Manila. He would be very busy touring in US and God knows when he’s gonna have a show outside US, riiiiiiiiite ?
Original plan, I’m going to see the concert with Arlien & her family. Yet unfortunately, her daughter is sick and has to be bed rested for 2-3 months, so there’s no way for her to go to Manila. Basically I have triple excitement. First one is of course, going to see Elliott’s performance, second is meeting all the Yaminoy members which I just communicate by email and last one is touring in Manila.
With all the stuffs I’ve heard about Manila and the language which I couldn’t even understand somehow makes me a little bit freak out. But hey, if I could go travel Western Europe by myself, I should’ve been alright going to Manila alone, rite ? Besides, my friend Beck whom I met in friendster and also the one who introduced me to Yaminoys mailing list would accompany me on the first day. So I think it’ll be alrite.
Aaaaaaaaaargh, I really can’t wait to see my Elliott.

..napak tilas ke tanah kelahiran..

Akhirnya, setelah 24 tahun gue tinggalkan kota Palembang, gue balik kesana utk bernapak tilas. Gue bertiga ama nyokap and kakak gue yg selalu ditemui Dheva di BEJ, mbak Desy. Kita naek Air Asia penerbangan yg pertama. Satu hal yg gue senang dg naek Air Asia ini, sejauh ini pesawatnya tepat waktu dan kalopun delay, gak pernah lebih dari 30 menit. Ternyata, di pesawat gue itu cukup banyak orang2x Korea & Jepang yg mau ke Palembang. Ada yg official, dan ada juga yg cuma jadi supporter. Tinggal landas dari Jakarta jam 10:40, pesawat tiba di Palembang 1 jam kemudian.

Airport Palembang yg namanya Sultan Mahmoud Badaruddin II ini ternyata bandara internasional and lebih bersih dari Cengkareng, walopun memang ukurannya lebih kecil. Mungkin Palembang waktu itu berbenah banget menyambut PON th 2005 (ato 2004 ??) jadi semua fasilitas yg ada diperbaiki. Perasaan gue seneng banget waktu menjejakkan kaki pertama kalinya. Gue langsung pengen mengabadikan saat itu dg viewcam gue, eh ternyataaaaa, viewcam gue rusak. Asli bete berat, soalnya gue sempet pake utk ngerekam waktu di Cengkareng and kok pas sampe di Palembang tiba2x rusak gitu. Yah, apa daya. Gue gak mau terlalu pusing mikirin viewcam karena gue masih ada digicam (ampe bawa 2 segala krn 1 yg pocket and 1 yg DSLR, belum termasuk kamera handphone, heheheheeee…)

Karena kita gak ada yg naro tas di bagasi, jadi kita langsung cabut menuju hotel dan untungnya mobil hotel yg jemput udah ada. Selama perjalanan ke hotel, gue sibuk liat kiri kanan jalan, krn dulu itu gak sepadat sekarang, walo udara tetep bisa dibilang sama, panaaassss !!! Cuma, kalo dibandingin Surabaya & Makassar masih tetep juaraan mereka lah. Akhirnya nyampe di hotel, dan ternyata Novotel ini dipake jadi official hotel utk AFC utk official team, wasit & pengurus lainnya, sementara kalo pemain pada nginep di Aston. Novotel Palembang dulunya ini Patal (kayak Patal Senayan yg sekarang bertransformasi menjadi Apartemen Senayan), gede ajah and menyenangkan lah, gak berasa panasnya karena dikelilingi pepohonan. Nyampe kamar, abis beberes & shalat, langsung deh jalan cari makan, soalnya dari sejak meninggalkan Jakarta, gue pengen banget makan udang galah (yg dulu waktu gue di Palembang, nyaris tiap minggu gue makan udang & kepiting).

Berhubung emang niatnya napak tilas, jadilah instead of menyewa mobil yg harganya mahal banget, 600ribu per 12 jam, jadilah kita naek angkot yg Cuma 2000 per orang, jauh atopun dekat. Tempat makan yg kita tuju namanya Musi Rawas, and pernah masuk di wisata kuliner pak Bondan. Di benak gue, udang ungkep yg berwarna merah sepertinya sudah memanggil2x gue, siap untuk disantap. Tapi apa daya, pada saat sampe disana, satu restoran yg menurut gue Cuma memiliki kapasitas 50 orang, sudah full sama orang2x dari Kejati. Bahkan ada beberapa protokoler yg masih pada berdiri di luar, nunggu giliran makan. WADUH !! Gak mungkin dong gue harus mencari tempat makan yang lain dg kondisi yg sudah laper berats. Untungnya di pelataran restoran yg kecik itu, ada ayunan yg bisa buat duduk ibu & kakakkyuh, sembari kita menunggu mereka yg sudah selesai makan dan berharap semoga protokoler itu bisa makan dg duduk di tempat lain J Akhirnya orang2x itu selesai makan juga, tapi kasian ngeliat protokoler yg pada bediri di luar itu gak pada makan krn majikannya langsung bersiap2x utk pergi ke tempat lain.

Gak berapa lama pesanan datang. Gigitan pertama ke udang ungkep itu bener2x brings back my old memories. Wuenaaaaak bangetttt !! Isep2x bagian kepalanya, makan telurnya, yummy abissss… Selaen itu, gue juga makan ikan seluang goreng. Ikan ini ikan sungai, jadi sejauh ini gue belum pernah nemuin ada yg jual di restoran2x di Jakarta. Yah, secara Jakarta juga gak punya sungai yg ada ikannya, bukaaan ? (look at Kali Ciliwung yg wuirenge pol !!). Karena perut udah full, kita harus segera bergerak utk menurunkan lemak2x ini supaya tidak terlalu lama mengumpul di badan, heheheheeee.

Kita melanjutkan naek angkot ke Jembatan Ampera. Tepat di depan Benteng Kuto Besak, kita turun. Keliatan banget kalo gue, nyokap & kakak gue itu bukan orang yg tinggal di Palembang, secara pada sibuk foto2x sambil diliatin sama para tukang becak, mobil2x yg seliweran di depan Benteng and tukang jualan yg ada di pinggir sungai Musi. Di sebelah Benteng Kuto Besak sebenernya ada Museum Sultan Badaruddin II, tapi ternyata hari itu tutup, jadi kita cuma bisa liat dari luar ajah. Puas foto2x di Benteng Kuto Besak yg sekarang jadi markas militer (tapi gue gak tau pasti dari AD ato AL), kita jalan kaki ke arah Mesjid Agung yg cuma berjarak 5 menit ituh. Tepat di seberang Mesjid Agung, ada air mancur yg kayak di bunderan HI, tapi versi kecilnya ajah. Air mancur ini juga punya waktu2x tertentu utk memancurkan si air. Selain itu, ada juga kantor pos pusat. Mesjid Agung ini ada pengaruh Cinanya, terlihat dari bentuk atapnya yg seperti klenteng. Gak heran siy, karena Palembang ini dulu tempat berkuasanya kerajaan Sriwijaya yg keturunan dari China.

Dari Mesjid Agung, langsung menuju rumah gue jaman kecil pake bis. On the way ke Bombaru (ini daerah rumah gue), gue ngelewatin toko buku, toko roti and beberapa toko lainnya yg sekarang sudah bertransformasi menjadi toko lain. Jalanan yg gue lewatin itupun sekarang sudah jauh lebih lebar. Berhubung ada kejadian dg si bis ini, akhirnya kita turun and ganti naek angkot. Akhirnya, nyampe juga di Bombaru and perasaan gue yg terharu plus gak nyangka balik lagi kesana (asli, ini gak hiperbola). Gue mencoba mengais-ngais semua kenangan masa kecil gue. Agak sedikit susah, karena mungkin gue terlalu kecil waktu ninggalin Palembang, hanya berbentuk potongan2x kecil. Yang gue tau pasti, tempat gue maen ama tetangga gue sudah berubah jadi tempat naro container baik yg 20’ atopun yg 40’. On top of it, yg membuat gue mau nangis adalah tidak ada lagi sisa sejumput pun dari rumah gue. Rumah2x yg sederetan ama rumah gue udah rata sama tanah, komplek tangsi di seberang rumah gue juga udah abis, sama sekali gak ada bekas kalo dulu pernah ada orang tinggal disitu. Gue sempatin jalan ke dalam pelabuhan dan ternyata, gue menemukan makam yg dijadikan sebagai cagar budaya. Asil, waktu kecil gue gak tau kalo di pelabuhan ada makam itu. Setelah puas berfoto2x dan bernostalgia ama suasana rumah jaman dulu, kita melanjutkan perjalanan utk kembali ke arah Mesjid Agung. Tadinya mau ke SD gue, tapi berhubung udah sore juga, jadinya kita balik ajah.

Otw ke daerah Ampera, kita ngelewatin Pasar Kuto, yg ampe sekarang gak ada yg berubah sama sekali (at least that’s what my sister & mom said, secara gue gak inget). Pemberhentian terakhir angkot itu adl Pasar Burung. Abis itu, gue foto lagi di jembatan Ampera-nya, dg diliatin banyak pejalan kaki, mobil and terutama tukang becak & supir angkot yg lagi pada ngetem. Well, like I see them again tomorrow getoh J J Sebelum perjalanan pulang, kita mampir dulu ke PS utk beli aqua di carrefour. No no no, PS disini bukan Plaza Senayan, tapi Palembang Square. Selain itu, Palembang juga punya PIM, singkatan dari Palembang Indah Mall dan PTC = Palembang Trade Center, yg tempatnya tepat di sebelah Novotel. Tujuan utama siy Carrefour, tapi mampir dulu ke Popeye’s beli ice lemon tea, trus beli anting berbentuk kursi dari perak yg cuma 25 ribu trus baru deh ke carrefour J Abis dari situ, baru kita balik ke hotel utk mandi, istirahat bentar trus pergi lagi utk makan malam (WHAT ?!?).

Jam 7an, kita pergi ka arah walikota utk makan pempek di restoran Sudi Mampir (the name not so Palembang, ain’t it ?) Kantor walikota Palembang ini dulunya menara air yg menyalurkan air ke seluruh kota Palembang. Bangunannya kalo malem Karen banget, karena diterangi sama lampu2x yg kebetulan malam itu lagi bulan purnama, jadi it looked so beautiful. Kembali ke pempek di Sudi Mampir, ternyata enaaaakkk. Gue makan model, pempek tunu (orang2x selaen wong Plembang taunya pempek panggang), lenjer dan pempek telor yg kecil. Baru nyadar kalo ternyata ini malam minggu, no wonder kalo restoran ini rame banget dipenuhi sama rombongan keluarga yg memenuhi meja2x yg ada di restoran itu.

Puas makan pempek, kita gak buang waktu lagi utk kembali menuju hotel lagi dan mampir dulu di toko pempek Candy utk beli oleh2x. Eeeeh, ternyata pas nyampe di Candy, tokonya dah tutup, padahal baru jam 9.30 (sigh…). Ibu gue nelp salah satu mantan anak buahnya waktu di apotek dulu utk mampir ke hotel and ambil oleh2x dari Jakarta. Gak nyampe 5 menit, ternyata tante Fadillah (nama anak buah nyokap itu) udah nyampe di hotel ama suaminya. Ngobrol2x bentar, trus kita diajak ke rumahnya yg ada di belakang Novotel. Gue ama kakak gue sebenernya dah nguantuk banget, tapi apa daya, harus ikut menemani juga. Ternyata ada untungnya juga ketemu tante Fadillah malam itu, krn besok kita akan dianter pake mobilnya keliling2x J J Setelah hampir 1 jam, akhirnya ibu gue menangkap sinyal2x kengantukan gue & kakak gue. Sampe hotel, nyokap and kayak gue langsung menuju kamar, sementara gue mau menikmati suasana Novotel di waktu malam & jepret sana sini dulu. Waktu gue jalan ke daerah entertainment centre, bulu kuduk gue sempat berdiri karena emang Novotel di malam hari ini bisa dibilang lumayan serem. Tapi secara gue kan anaknya pemberani yah, jadi gue terusin jalan ajah. Nyampe di entertainment centre, cek2x ruangan karaokenya (not bad, tapi harganya yg selangit aja getoh, 900ribu ampe puas) trus bilyard-nya (ini juga 100ribu/jam, WHAT ??). Sebenernya mereka punya diskotik terbesar di Palembang, Center Stage, tapi ngapain juga situ ke diskotik sendirian. Jadilah gue balik ke kamar aja. Pada saat gue di dalam lift, gue gak mau liat kacanya sama sekali karena gue ngerasa banget kalo ada yg ngikutin (hiiiiii…). Untung kamar gue gak gitu jauh dari lift, jadi gue bisa cepet bergabung sama ibu & kakakkyuh J Abis ganti baju, cuci muka, shalat & siaplah gue utk tidur.. Hari 1 di Palembang diakhiri dg melelahkan walau puas.

Hari kedua dimulai jam 6.30 pagi. Abis mandi, trus langsung breakfast, yg menurut gue STD ajah utk ukuran Novotel, mungkin krn di Palembang kali yah.. Anyway, jam 7.30 kita jalan dari hotel dan tujuan pertama adl SD gue, SD Xaverius III di daerah Sekip. Pas nyampe sana, berhubung ini hari Minggu, jadi banyak orang yg lagi misa. Walo gue cuma 1,5 taun disini, tapi gue masih bisa inget sedikit ttg masa SD gue, terutama waktu pertama kalinya gue masuk gereja and ikutan misa yg diadain tiap hari Kamis, dimana gue duduk di belakang biar deket ama pintu keluar. Tiap pagi sebelum mulai pelajaran, gue baca doa Bunda Maria begitu pula kalo pulang, gue harus baca doa juga. SD gue gak banyak berubah. Bel sekolahnya masih sama, taman di depan ruang guru juga masih ada, tapi yg gue lupa malah dimana sebenernya kelas gue J J J Pas gue ama kakak gue lagi foto2x, ada bapak yg ngeliatin kita bedua. Karena gak enak, jadilah kita samperin dia. Namanya Fransiscus, pak guru yg mulai ngajar dari th 85, tapi sebelumnya dia dah kerja di bagian TU. Tiba2x terlintas ide utk mencari temen SD gue, yg gue tau nama panggilannya Yeyen. Nah, dia bilang kalo dia itu megang semua informasi mengenai anak2x SD Xaverius and setelah dapetin nomer handphonenya, gue ama kakak gue melanjutkan foto2x di seputaran SD. Puas foto2x di SD & gereja, kita melanjutkan perjalanan ke SMP Maria, bekas SMP kakak gue. Berhubung gue gak ada koneksi emosional dg tempat ini, jadi gue gak foto2x di tempat ini. Abis dari situ, baru kita ke pasar di seberang PIM. Gue beli kain Palembang. Tadinya mau beli songket, tapi harganya jutaan, jadilah beli kain Palembang biasa aja yg pake pernak pernik emas dan lagi trend saat ini (maksud ??). Sempet jajan pempek dulu di depan pasar sebelum melanjutkan perjalanan ke stadion tempat berlangsungnya final AFC.

On the way ke stadion, kita berenti sebentar di atas jembatan Ampera yg membelah sungai Musi dan foto2x disana. Karena memang tempat ini dijadikan objek foto2x, jadi orang2x pada gak heran liat mobil yg berenti di pinggir jalan dan ambil foto dg latar belakang Pasar 16 Ilir, Sungai Musi dan jembatan Ampera. Abis foto2x, baru deh perjalanan dilanjutkan. Ternyata stadion ini berada sudah agak jauh di luar kota Palembang, yg rencananya nanti pusat pemerintahan akan dipindah ke daerah sini. Karena males masuk ke dalam Stadion, jadi kita Cuma liat dari luar. Abis dari stadion, kita ke danau buatan yg letaknya gak jauh dari stadion itu. Ternyata danaunya cukup besar, banyak warung2x pinggir danau yg bukanya mulai dari sore ampe malem. Jadi pas pagi kita kesana, gak ada apa2x.

Abis dari danau, tadinya mau langsung ke tempat makan. Tapi pas liat jam, ternyata baru jam 10. Gak mungkin kan kalo makan siang jam segitu. Setelah mikir2x mau kemana, akhirnya kakak gue mencetuskan ide utk pergi ke TK gue, TK Barunawati. Nyampe sana, ternyata nyokap gue ketemu ama temen lamanya. Sembari mereka ngobrol2x, gue asik berfoto ria ama kakak gue, hihihihihiiiii… Puas foto & nyokap gue pun dah selesai bernostalgia, kita baru pergi ke tempat makan, namanya Sri Melayu dan berlokasi tepat di sebelah rumah Gubernur. Ternyata Sri Melayu ini punya cabang di Jakarta, tapi di Jakarta nama restorannya Wong Palembang. Kebetulan banget, gue dah pernah makan di Wong Palembang, secara tempatnya deket aja dari rumah gue, heheheheheeee.. Gue tetep dengan menu yg sama, udang galah, ikan seluang, cuma ada tambahan udang goreng tepung dan sup ikan patin. Walo udah kenyang, tapi gue masih menyisakan tempat utk makan dessert-nya, sarikaya. Sebenernya makan sarikaya ini enaknya pake ketan, tapi berhubung mereka gak ada, ya sudahlah.. Sarikaya ini terbuat dari santan, telor dan gula, jadi kebayang betapa manisnya kan and I looooove sweet food.

Dari Sri Melayu, kita balik menuju hotel. Tapi, sebelum back to hotel, kita mampir di Candy, secara semalem kan pas kita kesana tokonya dah tutup. Puas belanja pempek utk oleh2x, baru kita menuju hotel, say thanks & goodbye to tante Fadillah and Rustam, adiknya yg bersedia menjadi supir kita selama seharian. Berhubung masih jam 12, gue sempetin utk tidur bentar abis packing, lagian kita baru check out jam 2. Mayan tidur 30 menit, abis cuci muka and touch up a little, kita check out and pergi menuju airport. Setelah delay 30 menit, akhirnya gue meninggalkan Palembang and heading to Jakarta.

Agak sedih juga ninggalin kota ini, karena bagaimanapun this is the city where I was born to this earth. Sempet gak mau pindah ke Jakarta waktu dulu karena gue takut gak bisa ngomong bahasa Indonesia (this is according to my mom). Gimanapun juga, gue akan kembali ke kota ini..

..untitled in July..

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan, i ain’t realize that it’s been months i don’t write in my blog. 2 months ? 3 months ? Turns out that my works here occupied my time A LOT.. Yet, I’m still enjoying it as the environment is so much different compare to my old company.

Been here for 5 months, and a month ago, I’m officially become a permanent employee. After running the psychology test which questions were quite amazing & so tiring, I managed to become a permanent employee afterall.

2 weeks ago, I went out on a team building for 2 days in Sukabumi. It was so much fun altho I was running around as I became one of the committee which a mediator between the EO and the team. Since I didn’t put any sun block on, the result as you could predict, I was turning darker than before, while I have a dark skin already ( and Ryan said I’m better in dark skin ?? I guess he need to go to eye doctor)

Aaaaargh, gotta go back to work.

Liburan long wiken kemaren

Akhirnya gue pergi ke Medan juga long wiken kemaren. And as always, gue pergi sama ibu gue dong. Pergi naek Air Asia yg flight pertama yg jam 6 pagi, dan nyampe di Medan jam 8.15. Sampe disana, gue langsung dijemput ama driver rental car dan pergi menuju Danau Toba. Perjalanan kesana melewati Berastagi. Sedap banget pemandangannya, hijau dimana2x. Tapi berhubung jalanannya berkelok-kelok dan menanjak, daripada gue muntah di jalan, jadilah waktunya cukup banyak dihabiskan dg tidur

Makan siang di Berastagi di rumah makan padang sebelah restoran Asia. Pemandangan pertama waktu masuk restoran itu adl udang galah. Hmmm, berhubung di Jakarta udang galah itu mahal ajah, jadilah gue memesan udang itu and harganya cuma 50ribu utk 1 udang yg cukup besar. Puas makan, gue mampir ke pasar buahnya. Berhubung penjualnya agak kurang ramah, jadilah cuma beli 1 kilo markisa ajah. Dari situ, langsung melanjutkan perjalanan ke Parapat. Sampai di Parapat sekitar jam 3 kurang. Check in dulu di hotel Patra Parapat & gue hanya bisa bilang “untung cuma nginep 1 malam”. Justifikasi gue adl, mungkin krn udah gak banyak pengunjung & Pertamina udah terlalu banyak masalah, so hotel yg bukan major industry-nya agak ditelantarkan. Abis check in, gue pergi menuju Danau Toba. Tadinya mau nyebrang berikut mobilnya di Ajibata, tapi berhubung ferry-nya itu gak tiap jam, jadilah naik ferry yg utk penumpang aja and mobilnya di parkir di deket pelabuhan kecilnya ituh. Perjalanan ke pulau samosir makan waktu 45 menit and pas menepi disana, dismabut dg gerimis kecil. Sempet hujan deras pas di kuburan Raja Sidabutarnya. Untung hujannya cuma bentar, abis itu berkunjung ke Batak Museum and diajak ngobrol ama nenek yg tinggal di belakang Batak Museum itu. Lucu banget, secara gak ngerti bahasa Batak, tapi diajak ngobrol dg bahasa Batak yg lancar gitu. Untung aja ada cucunya, jadilah ada interpreter, otherwise lost in the jungle jadinya Gue balik ke Parapat jam 6.30, naek ferry yg terakhir. Oya, ferry ini harganya cuma 4000/orang. Sebelum balik ke hotel, gue cari makan malam dulu & kita makan di rumah makan padang Istana. Yg cukup mengherankan buat gue, ternyata ayam pop buat mereka itu ayam goreng. Jadi, sebenernya siapakah yg menginvent ayam pop ? Secara di Bukittinggi juga gak ada yg namanya ayam pop. Hmmm….

Keesokan paginya, berangkat dari Parapat menuju Medan jam 8 pagi via Pematang Siantar. Sampe di Siantar, ke toko Asli utk beli berbagai macam ting-ting dan kue2x lainnya. Next stop afterwards was toko roti Ganda. Emang bener, roti disini gendut2x banget. Secara gue cuma berdua nyokap & gak mungkin menghabiskan roti segendut itu, jadilah kita beli roti manis aja yg diisi dg meses & kaya. Kayanya emang enak banget, gak kayak selai kaya yg dijual di supermarket. Gue beli 1 selai kaya yg seukuran gelas aqua, krn kata orangnya bisa disimpen di lemari es.

Abis itu, langsung deh melanjutkan perjalanan menuju Tebing Tinggi. Tadinya mau mampir makan lemang, tapi berhubung masih kekenyangan makan roti ganda itu, jadilah cuma ngelewatin kotanya aja. Nyampe di Medan jam 1 siang, trus tanpa berpikir lebih lama lagi, kita langsung menuju soto medan sinar pagi yg penuh aja krn orang2x abis selesai shalat jumat. Sotonya bersantan sama kayak soto betawi, tapi gue lebih seneng soto medan ini, krn santannya lebih encer & gak buat leher kenceng or kepala pusing setelah makan (maap, sini kolesterol & darah tinggi, jadi langsung ngaruh kalo makan soto betawi). Abis itu, langsung belanja makanan bolu meranti di jl kriung and bika ambon Ati di jl Majapahit. Pemberhentian terakhir sebelum ke hotel adl pajak ikan. Oya, pajak dlm bahasa Indonesia itu artinya pasar. Disini mukena & jilbabnya buatan Tasik & Bukittinggi, jadi harap maklum kalo harganya jadi lebih mahal dari Jakarta. Well, secara gue ada di Medan, gue mesti beli sesuatu yg khas Sumatera Utara, which ulos yg gue beli dg harga 5ribu ajah tapi buatannya aluuuuuussss banget, plus kain tarutung (berikut selendang) yg cuma dijual dg harga 100ribu. Berhubung gue gak sempet makan lemang di Tebing Tinggi & untungnya ada yg jual di depan pajak ikan itu, jadilah gue beli utk dimakan di hotel.

Gue nginep di Garuda Plaza Hotel. It’s a minimalist yet complete hotel which located right in the heart of the city, deket ama Mesjid Raya Al Mansun and Istana Maemun. Berhubung udah sore, diputuskan utk jalan ke tempat itu besok pagi ajah, krn katanya bisa ditempuh dg jalan kaki. Malemnya kita makan malam di perumahan Cemara Asri, makan seafood. Tempatnya sendiri sih mirip Kelapa Gading Boulevard, harganya gue gak gitu ngerti apakah mahal ato gak. Gini deh, kalo 1 bawal putih disteam = Rp 49.000, menurut kalian mahal ato gak ?

Besok paginya, sembari menunggu keberangkatan pesawat pulang ke Jakarta, sesuai rencana, gue jalan ke Mesjid Raya Al Mansun yg bisa dibilang terurus gak terurus, krn mozaic glasses yg ada disana sebagian besar sudah pada pecah. Istana Maemun pun gak bisa dibilang lebih baik kondisinya, krn rumput di pelatarannya yang tinggi2x and agak sedikit malu krn display yg ada kurang tertata rapi. But well, what could we expect from our Tourism Department ? Don’t expect much from them I guess, especially have a high expectation from Pemda The last museum to see is Museum Rahmat. Gue menghabiskan 1,5 jam disini and I still think I need more time. Gue bener2x kagum ama usaha dia utk mengumpulkan berbagai macam binatang and menjadikannya suatu museum yg bisa dijadikan acuan sekolah / guru. Cukup banyak binatang yg belum pernah gue liat dan ada di museum itu. Siapapun yg pergi ke Medan, you gotta go to this museum, and you’ll find yourself spending hours in this museum without even knowing it. Biaya masuk museum ini 25ribu, tapi berhubung hari itu lagi ada perayaan (tapi gue lupa perayaan apa), jadi harganya didiskon jadi 20ribu.

Setelah dari museum ini, gue check out and langsung menuju bandara. Overall, perjalanan gue menyenangkan banget. Mata ini bener2x istirahat dari polusi krn selalu disuguhi pemandangan yg indah.

Gue mau terima kasih ama seluruh temen2x JS yg telah memberikan info ttg medan yg gak bisa gue sebutin satu per satu disini. This mailing list and you all guys are really helpful.

Gak sabar mau liburan lagi niy. Banjarmasin ? Palembang ? Manado ? Hmmm, tunggu long wiken lagi niiii

..untitled in April..

I think it’s been a month and I haven’t written anything in this blog and I just realized it 2 days ago.. Well, it’s true that I’m now back occupied with works, and I also busy replying emails from the mailing list. You know what, now I’m joining 6 mailing lists: bahtera, jalansutra, jalanjalan, Rezim70, HOAers94 & IKA STPB. Can you imagine how busy my day is ? Heheheheheeeeeee…

Anyway, time to get back to work now, so I’ll continue later..

..back in years behind..

Sooooo, udah 2-3 minggu ini milis HOAers94 kembali hidup setelah sekian lama vakum. Gue seneng banget denger cerita2x mereka lagi tapi masih kayak dulu, gak ada yg berubah. You know what, they are my second family when I studied in Bandung. Dari bangun tidur, kuliah, makan, jalan2x ampe mau tidur lagi, gue itu surrounded by them and I was really enjoying the time with them, eventhough sometimes i disagree with them in some points, sometimes dislike them in a way, but overall, I love them and we have a strong bond between us.

Sekarang, banyak dari mereka yg udah berkeluarga & punya, tapi gak sedikit juga yg masih single and mostly cewek yg masih single. Lemme count, gue, iting, pane, bebta, linda, yani, wiwit, dethy, pipit, sania sementara cowoknya tinggal doni, dodo, ronny & rudy. Whoaaaaaa, dari sekitar 50 orang, tinggal segitu yg mesih living a single life. Not to mention there are 2 friends which already got divorce, sigh..

Now I’m working on to gather their info from address, handphone, email, office address 9if they’re working), house phone, birthday, etc. Kalo mereka udah nikah, gue mau compile data anaknya juga, biar lebih lengkap. I don’t want this bond is loosen and we’re breaking apart.

Target gue, dalam 1-2 bulan ini, gue udah dapetin semua data2x mereka. Well, wish me luck and now I have to get back to work. Pak Jeff is here, heheheheeeeeee….

..my dream last week..

..jadi minggu lalu gue mimpi yang cukup aneh, seems real and ampe sekarang gue masih inget banget ama kejadiannya.. It’s about me & Ryan whose going to US together. We almost couldn’t make it krn dia yg ribet telp opy ngasi tau ttg kepergian ini, minta ijin and segala macem, sementara udah waktunya boarding & naek pesawat. Gue tuh udah yg gak sabar, tapi mau gimana lagi, gue harus nungguin dia tanpa bisa ngomel lebih panjang lagi. Akhirnya dia dateng juga dg gedebak gedebuk, trus kita bedua langsung lari ke pesawat and dapet duduk di tengah, dimana ryan duduk di tengah & gue duduk di deket gang. Gue inget, ryan pake kaos ijo ke coklat dg jaket biru plus ranselnya..

Gue gak ngerti, kenapa ampe sekarang gue masih inget dg mimpi gue ituh. Kata orang, kalo kita masih inget dg mimpi kita sampe lama, biasanya akan jadi kenyataan. Hmmm, apa itu tandanya gue akan ke Amrik ama Ryan ? Wallahualam.. Yang jelas, gue pengen suatu saat liburan lagi ke Amrik, go to Chicago once again because I fall in love with that windy city..

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