Count the blessings ~

2012 brings so many good news :)

2012-01-05T18:07:00.000+01:00

I received a good news while we're on holiday, the publisher contacted me and plan to publish my children books in 2012 (this year). I need to finish all books before March/April and sign the contract with them. Isn't it wonderful? .. hard work almost bring its fruit, and boy how it taste sweet ..

Actually I got a mixed emotion at the year end .. I didn't sleep well. I was still waiting for my biopsy result (I found a lump on my left neck) but I felt it's getting smaller .. doctor who performed the biopsy said I shouldn't worry, it might be just a simple viral virus that came as easy as it left .. but we need to know what it actually is and that got me a bit worried. The holiday was awesome, the kids loved Paris. I think the happy feeling got me forgot about my lump .. and when we're back from holiday, I felt it was gone .. when doctor did the scan he said it's true .. not gone but got smaller, before it was about 1 cm long, now only some millimeters, size of a tiny pea. Lets hope it's nothing serious ...

So yes, new year, new project, new contract, new job .. more than enough to get me excited and forget about the tiny lump. I feel okay, just a bit tired maybe .. but knowing that I'm healthy, it's the best news for me.

My Online Shop

2011-11-05T19:56:00.001+01:00

I remember husband always said: "Life starts from dreaming", but don't sleep too long though .. and one must work for it so that what was once only a dream someday may become real ... I believe him, as what he achieves right now was once only a dream .. and he worked hard for it.

I always put this in mind, nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm!, enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines .. If you enjoy and have passion for your work, then you're doing the right thing, whether you're succeed or not let the time reveals it and DON'T ever let anyone say "you can't" ..

Start with any little works you're able to do now and just see how it may lead ..

Okay, now back to reality .. I put another item in my online shop http://petits-pas.fait-maison.com/ a Batik Bag. I tried to make more and put more stuffs in my shop, hopefully it's about the right time people start buying presents for Christmas and new year ... so yup, more sewing and creating these days ... stop dreaming and start creating ;-)

My Creations, My Online Boutique.

Keinginan kuat itu Tekad, dan sedikit Nekat.

2011-08-20T13:08:00.003+02:00

Hhmm .. rasanya ingin istirahat sebentar dari semua tugas2 & pekerjaan, wiken gitu loh ... Ini hari ke 20 dibulan Ramadan, bulan yang penuh rahmat dan nikmat (setidaknya, begitu yang saya rasakan).

Tidak akan saya biarkan pikiran buruk ataupun kekesalan merusaknya, ya nikmat, hanya nikmat yg saya ingin rasakan .. duh, segitunyaaaa .. emang ada apaan siiiiyyy??? .. Ada cinta yang jelas sih. Booo ... puasa2 batal ngomongin cinta? engga layaw!! ini cinta dlm bentuk yg lain. Cinta pada buku, cinta pada anak2 dan kesungguhan mewujudkan cinta itu.

Sekitar dua tahun lalu, saya mulai memberanikan diri menggapai mimpi, mengejar angan2. Ya, dua tahun! waktu yang cukup lama bagi yang menanti sesuatu kepastian, tapi buat kebanyakan orang yg mengerti suatu perjuangan, dua tahun itu termasuk cepat.

Awalnya hanya sebuah konsep yang kemudian saya bawa ke sebuah seminar penulis yg diselenggarakan oleh sebuah penerbit ternama. Saya mendapat undangan dari sahabat saya dulu di SMA, yg kini sudah cukup terkenal sbg penulis buku2 fiksi dan chicklit. Saya datang membawa konsep saja, lalu entah bagaimana saya dipertemukan dengan Head Editor penerbit ternama itu secara tidak sengaja, ia lalu minta saya mengirim "dummy".

Dummy terkirim, dan ditolak. Biasa bukan? .. buat seseorang yg cuma bisa menulis secara pas-pasan, cuma biasa menulis untuk blog, untuk note atau untuk kawan2 .. hal ditolak itu lumrah saja. Tapi saya tidak menyerah, saya perbaiki mana yg kiranya bisa diperbaiki, dan terus menulis. Satu persatu penolakan saya terima .. ah, wajar saja, batin saya, melihat pasar yg ada ditanah air mungkin buku yg hendak saya wujudkan itu terlalu "keluar jalur" tren yg ada.

Saya tetap tidak menyerah. Ada pameran buku dan penerbit di Gelora Bung Karno, saya datangi .. ya, saya bersyukur suami saya sangat mengerti dan mendukung cita2 saya, sehingga saya diperbolehkan pergi ke tanah air kadang sendiri, kadang ditemani dua anak kami yg kecil2. Beruntung pula saya memiliki adik2 ipar yg selalu siap menjaga, membantu dan mendukung niat saya. Salah satu adik ipar saya pulalah yg mewujudkan ilustrasi buku2 cerita itu dan menjadikannya terlihat lebih menarik dan layak ditawarkan. Di pameran buku saya datangi penerbit2 buku anak2 dan meninggalkan "dummy" jika diperkenankan. Namun usaha tsb pun belum membuahkan hasil. Sampai akhirnya suatu hari dibulan Agustus 2010, tepat setahun lalu saya mendapat angin segar. Dummy yang saya kirim melalui email kesebuah penerbit dinilai "cukup menarik" .. dan mulailah saya melihat secercah cahaya dan harapan.

Bulan September 2010 saya mulai bekerja paruh waktu di Lycee Francais de Singapour (sekolah perancis di Singapur) mengapa? .. saya ingin menambah pengalaman bekerja dilingkungan orang asing yg terkenal "sulit" dan "menyebalkan" itu. Sebaliknya, ternyata pengalaman saya bekerja disana dinilai sangat baik dan efektif.

Tetapi konsekuensinya untuk impian saya jadi sedikit terbengkalai. Saya tidak sempat menghubungi penerbit ybs dan mengejar harapan. Baru setelah saya keluar kerja akhir tahun 2010, karena pekerjaan suami membawa kami kembali ke Geneva, Switzerland, saya punya keberanian menanyakan dan mem-follow up buku2 cerita saya. Saya katakan bahwa ada kemungkinan saya mengadakan perjalanan ke Asia bulan Agusutus 2011, dan jika memungkinkan untuk bertemu.

Penerbit meminta agar kami bertemu, kami men-set jadwal tgl 1 Agustus 2011 sebagai "meeting" pertama kami, kebetulan hari itu hari pertama puasa, sehingga pihak penerbit mengubah pertemuan menjadi tgl 3 Agustus jam 11 pagi.

Saya datang dan nampaknya "I won over them" saya merasa "clicked" dan pembicaraan pun mengalir lancar dengan bu Head Editor nya, dan buku2 yg saya bawa cukup mengesakannya, apalagi ditambah "ide2" yg tiba2 saja muncul hingga melancarkan urusan hingga sejauh ini. Penerbit minta waktu untuk melakukan "board meeting" dan akan mengabarkan hasilnya kemudian, sehari setelah board meeting saya belum mendapat khabar, saya kembali mengirim email dan menyatakan siap jika diminta datang kembali ... dan ternyata akhir pekan itu saya diminta datang lagi ke kantor mereka. Kali ini urusan menjadi lebih jelas, lebih terfokus dan hasilnya positive. Head Editor nya mengatakan 2 buku saya untuk di listing tahun ini, dan mengatakan buku2 lain menyusul dan ada permintaan seri-seri cerita yang lain untuk disiapkan selanjutnya.

Saya hampir melonjak saat itu, tapi berusaha terlihat tenang, stay cool. Jalan masih panjang, revisi2 masih dinanti, time-line baru akan disiapkan dan kontrak pun belum disodorkan .. tetapi saya merasa optimis dan percaya, mereka sungguh2. Head Editor nya berkata ia merasa "exciting" dengan project barunya ini, sayapun merasa exciting karena jerih payah yg nampaknya tak kunjung pasti, kini ada secercah titik terang ...

Belum, saya belum menerbitkan buku, saya masih dalam proses kearah itu namun arah itu kini sudah lebih jelas ... kemana? kembali pada cinta! .. cinta buku, cinta anak2 dan mencintai apa yg kita yakini, cinta pada apa yg kita lakukan, insya Allah ada jalan ...

Jadi, kalau menurut saya .. keinginan kuat itu adalah tekad yg juga disertai sedikit nekat.

Geneva dihari ke 20 bulan puasa.

Voyage à Milan

2011-07-20T18:11:00.005+02:00

We just had a short trip to Milan, Italy. It's my first time going there, to one of the world's fashion capital and I have to admit that people there were very chic, even to go to a park.

The trip was the first time for our daughters too. But for hubby it's just one of his many trips to Italy. The company office and his present boss were there in Agrate, a bit outside Milano. Although it's definitely not his first time trip, it was his first time stay inside Milano the city, and first time he brought his family.

We went there by a car, went through Mont Blanc the famous tunnel. Mont Blanc Tunnel is a road tunnel in the Alps under the Mont Blanc mountain, linking Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France and Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy.

The tunnel was closed after a Belgian transport truck carrying flour and margarine caught fire in the tunnel On 24 March 1999, 39 people died. Caused manslaughter trial in Grenoble, France, 16 people and companies were tried on 31 January 2005 for manslaughter. The tunnel was reopened in 2002.

Although it's only a short trip, this trip was very memorable for us, and mostly for the kids. They've learned another foreign country, saw another foreign culture and heard another foreign language. "Travel broaden one's mind" they said. That's also what we tried to teach and our children.

Do not lose your desire to walk ..

2011-07-10T13:49:00.003+02:00

I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness.

I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from ..

Genève, Acacias,
July 10th 2011

-- walked in a rainy morning.

Beware of Hypocrisy and Jealousy ..

2011-07-04T18:05:00.001+02:00

If you won the lottery today, would you change? I bet your first response is, “No!”, well, think again. Even if you don’t intend to, there are jealous people in your circle right now who will force you to change, and believe me, some of them are your so-called friends.

Forget about the lottery for a moment. Did you know that people can be jealous of you just because you dress nicely, because you are ambitious, because you got a promotion, because you do your job well, or even because your beaming smile makes you popular? ..

So, be aware there are some jealous people in your circle. Some are obvious, and others fake it well. Another thing you might want to consider is that there are people who will cheer you up as long you are at their level. The moment you start climbing the ladder of success, whether it be financially or professionally, they start resenting you.

Jealous people are sick. They are player haters. And many of them are fakers (oops! another F word!). In your face, they kiss you all over. But once you walk away, the back stabbing starts. That causes you to start watching what you say. As a result, you are not your natural self anymore. Yep, hypocrites and jealous people can have a devastating effect on you.

Some strategies to help deal with them effectively:

1) Keep Your Distance. The best way to deal with these people is with a “long stick.” When you see them, you should hold one end of the stick and have them hold the other. This expression would be very similar to the American term: “wouldn’t want to touch them with a ten-foot pole!”

2) Never Bad Mouth Them. You are above pettiness. Petty gossip is for the lazy and the losers. Whenever their names come up in conversation, either say something nice or say nothing at all.

3) Don’t Take It Personal. I know it may hurt when others behave jealously toward you. But don’t let a loser disturb your peace of mind. No matter how you look at it, a jerk is a jerk. You are not responsible for their behavior. However, you are responsible for the way you respond.

4) Prove Them Wrong. Yes, if you have the opportunity to do them a favor or open some doors for them, do it anyway. It will show that you are the bigger person; and you have no time to bang heads with little people. And it will put them to shame.

Okay, the above advice is not just about your friends. Family members can sometimes be worse. They know a lot about you and can easily pick you apart. You can get rid of your friends, but not family. You will always meet them at weddings, the hospital, or at funerals. Just ignore the gossip and be a diplomat. And stay true to yourself in spite of the critics.

I wish you incredible success,

By Rene G.

Inspiring people ..

2011-07-01T13:53:00.002+02:00

Membaca majalah menjahit yg baru saya beli beberapa hari lalu benar2 mengasyikkan. Penuh orang2 yg menginspirasi dan kaya ide. Secara tak sadar membangkitkan semangat, khayalan dan impian .. antara rasa kagum dan ingin menjadi seperti mereka ..

Mereka nampak bahagia dan bangga akan hasil upaya kerja keras mereka. Cinta dengan apa yang mereka kerjakan. Saya yakin jika kita cinta dengan apa yang kita lakukan, pekerjaan sesulit apapun itu akan terasa ringan dan mengasyikkan .. iya bukan? ..

Ingin sedikit saya berbagi dan terjemahkan profil Rika Komori, salah satu pribadi yang menginspirasi :

Rika mulai menjahit saat kelahiran keponakannya, saat itulah ia memulai kursus menjahit. Ia mulai membuat kreasi konfeksinya tahun 2004, pada tahun 2006 ia melanjutkan studi ketahap pembuatan pola dan semenjak itu karya2 polanya rajin mengisi majalah. Ia kini salah satu kontributor di perusahaan pembuatan pola pakaian "conori" http://smilelife.exblog.jp

"Hobi" nya ini mendapat dukungan penuh dari suaminya yg turut membuatkan rak-rak benang dan pita diruang kerjanya (atau ruang jahitnya), suaminya yang kreatif menyulap kotak2 kayu bekas kotak botol2 wine menjadi laci2 rak meja kerjanya.

Kini keponakannya yg menjadi sumber inspirasinya itu sudah masuk taman kanak2, dan Rika tidak bosan2nya membuatkan baju buat keponakannya yg lucu ini.

The Pleasure of Sewing by Rika Komori.
-- From "Coudre" magazine, Saxe Publisher.

Apa yg bisa saya petik darinya adalah, semua sukses sudah barang tentu dibarengi dengan kerja keras, keuletan dan tidak mudah berputus asa. Sekecil apapun usaha yang dilakukan tentu akan ada hasilnya. Tidak ada sukses yg tiba2, semua pasti ada prosesnya. Seperti matangnya buah2an, tentu tidak tiba2 ranum dan manis .. "Success is a slow-rippening fruit" begitu satu pepatah mengatakan ..

Mulai saja dgn melakukan hal2 yg kecil menuju apa yg kita inginkan dan bersabar. Jika bertemu kesulitan, usahakan melihat dari sisi baiknya saja .. "Problems are the price you pay for progress" .. jangan terlalu membayangkan hasilnya dulu, lihatlah bagaimana usahamu .. "If we just worry about the big picture, we are powerless, start right away doing whatever little work we can do."

Don't cross the line ..

2011-06-27T08:47:00.003+02:00

I think friendship is about respecting others principles.
Once you've crossed the line that means you're not respecting your friend.
Don't go too far or you'll risk loosing a friendship ...

uncontrollably messy day

2011-06-16T17:48:00.004+02:00

I had one of those uncontrollable kind of days, where everything seems uncontrollably messy .. you know you need to take control, but instead of doing that, you did any sort of irrational things ..

Morning seemed to be okay, I planned to try to sew another piece of clothes (a top), but instead of tracing the pattern, I went out and about, stopped by in a bookstore and got carried away .. after lunch time I nearly finished tracing out the top pattern when daughter said "mom, can you take us to school now" .. as they eat home for lunch and I should take them back to school. The school is only 5 minutes walk, close to where we live, but I still need to walk them there as I still have to make sure the little one walk safely on the streets.

Then, I wandered around again .. and it's time to pick them up from school at 4 pm. I managed to finish tracing the top pattern though, but I didn't do things that I planned to do today .. I'm out of control, doing uncontrollably unplanned things ..

Chemin du Bonheur ..

2011-06-04T20:56:00.002+02:00

I stumble upon a book today in our regular visit to a bookstore. I saw Jamie Cat Callan's new book on the shelf "Bonjour, Happiness" -- secret to finding your "joie de vivre". I flipped over and found out more about the book and the author. Jamie's grandma is French and as a young girl she was fascinated by her grandma's attitude towards life: though she had a little money, she ate well, dressed well and took joy in simple, everyday pleasure -- how inspiring.

As adult Jamie's journey through France gained more insight into the difference between French and American women. Some of them are:

-- buy and consume less, and enjoy more.

-- look like a million euros on a few francs

-- find time to be alone, rediscover your own mystery

They love food without overeating, work hard but not too much, to relish friends and family and still make time for themselves. They didn't invent happiness but know a thing or two about being alive to each moment. "Joie de vivre" and know the art of saying "enough" ...

Instead of being rushed and multitasking all the time your whole life, for example like drinking coffee on the go while talking on your cellphone, why don't you sit down for a while .. by sitting down, you're still doing something, your mind still thinking, you watch passerby .. and enjoy your coffee more, simple pleasure in everyday life will goes a long way ..

"Perfection isn't attainable, but happiness always is" ..

Holiday and Work

2011-05-23T11:17:00.006+02:00

I received an email from the publisher a couple of days ago, suggested that we actually need to meet to talk about many things. I emailed them before asking if we could arrange to meet during our summer holiday to Asia next August (well, around end of July husband need to attend his grad school's graduation in S'pore) so hopefully by August we could go to Jakarta and I could come to the meeting.

Here's their email:

Dear Ibu Candra,
Iya mungkin lebih enak kalau demikian. Saya juga menjelaskan program membaca kami, dan mungkin bukunya bisa mengikuti tujuan membantu membaca anak-anak berlevel. Saya juga jadi bisa menjelaskan tingkat-tingkatan kemampuan membaca anak, jadi bukunya bisa disesuaikan untuk bahasa anak-anak dengan level yang menjadi target kita.
Terima kasih.
Salam,
FR

So, once again ... wish me luck! :)

Give your best at what seemingly are small jobs ..

2011-05-03T08:03:00.004+02:00

Coucou ma petite wati,
Je suis très très contente d'avoir de tes nouvelles !
J'espère que ton installation se passe bien et que la réadaptation pour toi et les enfants n'a pas été trop difficile.
Ta présence et Ton sérieux nous manque beaucoup.
J'ai passé le bonjour aux filles et elles t'embrassent aussi.
Ici il fait toujours aussi chaud !
Je t'embrasse bien fort et à très bientôt
-- C.

I copied the email I received from my ex colleague last time, and thought that "small job" that I did for a very short period actually got appreciated by everyone. Then I remember this line that I saw somewhere and thought that it's so true ...

" Don't be afraid to give your best at what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you much stronger. If you do the little jobs well the big ones will tend to take care of themselves "

"If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"

2011-05-02T12:24:00.002+02:00

If I had my child to raise all over again,

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

~ Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"

Gotta Love Spring Time!

2011-04-25T20:38:00.007+02:00

How I love our spring:

A sense of warmth is tapping at the door,
A sun slipping into our room when the morning comes,
And hope, a feeling out from distant brushed into our shore, makes every little steps gets lighter in a better times.

I don't know how The Almighty had planned, that I always begin my journey in this continent during a spring time. A crisp clean air that I breath every time I step outside in the morning, slowly changed into a joyful warmth with the sun, enjoying the sights, the flowers that pushed out from every branches, leaves suddenly appears in every trees and then just feel blessed by the time the sunlight gradually disappear and the evening comes, then It's time when everyone came back from each places to their beloved ones, share their stories, their worries, their day, their hopes and their dreams .. yeah, you just gotta love spring time!

Courriel de là-bas ..

2011-04-17T10:13:00.006+02:00

Today I received an email from my ex-colleague in LFS. She told me that they missed me in school and that finally one of our colleague (the one with "the problem") resigned by this end of May. Wow .. I can't imagine how it got serious .. I mean, from my point of view, looking from any point of view for that matter, this person always got herself in trouble, every time.

She can't get along with her colleagues, she sometimes spread rumors, and I think she applied for the job in school for the wrong reason! .. she just wanted to "protect" her kids who got bullied. She thought that if she works inside the school, she can fight, she can challenge the system, the teachers, her colleagues ... how wrong she was ... that's not how it works. When your kids got bullied, first you need to talk to the teacher of your kid's class, see how it goes .. not go blowing up the problem or escalate things up. If it got more serious or worse, then maybe you can think of a more proper and serious steps.

I already gave her advice when she asked me, but she wouldn't listened .. and the last time she called me she's so mad and ended up yelling at me too then hung up the phone ... so, this is the ending of her story in the school, finally she gave up and quit.

Solitude ..

2011-04-16T20:58:00.007+02:00

Solitude

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow it's mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

poem by: Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I'm not afraid of being alone in a new place or with new people. In my head I always told my self: new place or new people maybe a little bit intimidating at first, but once you get to know the place/the people, you'll be okay.

And yes, I'm okay if I need to go to some place alone or having to meet new people alone. I guess there are many things that I'd like to do alone, I feel free, I feel relieved, I feel in charged for everything that I do, nobody tells me what to do or not do and no one can judge you like if you're with someone or in a group of people.

That's what I feel mostly after I came back to live in Geneva. Contrary to what people might think, I love being alone. I never felt lonely. I'm just enjoying it so much now. Maybe it's a contrast situation from where I came from where everyone loves to hang around and there's always someone around you, you never get the chance to be alone.

By being alone I can think more clearly, I can have a conversation with myself and I can have a more creative imagination .. and I can feel happier. That's a good thing of finally being alone with only my family now, I think ..

Somewhere only we know

2011-04-04T15:38:00.007+02:00

I walked across an empty land

I knew the pathway like the back of my hand

I felt the earth beneath my feet

Sat by the river and it made me complete

Oh simple thing where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

I came across a fallen tree

I felt the branches of it looking at me

Is this the place we used to love?

Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh simple thing where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don't we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go

Somewhere only we know?

Oh simple thing where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don't we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go

This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go

Somewhere only we know?

Somewhere only we know

This could be the end of everything,

So why don't we go,

Somewhere only we know,

Somewhere only we know ...

-- KEANE.

Finally we landed our feet again in Geneva 2 weeks ago. The long flight, the jet lag that we felt now has gone. Kids got back to school the first Monday after we've arrived and they loved it. Husband back to work in the HQ and enjoyed it, and I love to be back here .. One thing we realize, that after a while we lived here, how could we abandoned the feeling of how many things we took for granted, the thing that we had and we've missed all of these times ...

So the song from KEANE here corresponds perfectly of how I feel about coming back .. it feels like coming home ...

still having dreams about them ..

2011-03-13T12:48:00.004+01:00

It's almost 3 months since I quit my job in the french school, but I keep having dreams about my days in there or dreams about my colleagues .. it's weird, but it often made me think that maybe deep inside my heart I still missed them and missed the time I've spent there.

Like this morning when I woke up still fresh from my dream last night, I remembered one of my colleague face, we were just having a conversation about something (in a dream, of course ..) I didn't remember what it was all about, but I remembered we were having a good time ...

Suddenly I wanted to read their emails again .. suddenly I miss them, I don't understand why, I can't explain this feeling, I worked there not for a long period of time but it left a trace of something inside my heart .. something that maybe I've been longing for so long ...

Coucou Wati,

Très contente d'avoir de tes nouvelles,

Je garde un très bon souvenir de ton passage au Lycée et je te souhaite à toi ainsi qu'à ta famille une très bonne installation et une bonne continuation en Suisse.

Bien évidemment, je souhaite que nous gardions contact !!!

Gros bisous et à bientôt (le monde est petit)

- CA.

what you had to give up in order to get it ..

2011-03-10T11:14:00.007+01:00

This afternoon my cellphone was ringing ...

"Hello, may I speak to Mrs. Yusuf "
"Yes, speaking .."
"Hi Mrs. Yusuf, I'm S from the Swiss Embassy. I'd like to inform you that your visa is ready to collect tomorrow morning" ...
"Okay, thank you, do I have to collect my self?"
"You can also ask someone or your husband to collect"
"My husband is still in Jakarta, what should I bring tomorrow?"
"Only your ID and/or the visa collection receipt"
"I think my husband got the receipt, can I come with just my ID"
"Yes, ma'am .. you can"

Phheeewww .... okay, the waiting game is over. We have sacrificed our time, our energy, money and emotions for this, so tomorrow morning I better go and collect it.

junior school friends

2011-03-08T03:15:00.007+01:00

Yesterday I had lunch with my junior school friends .. so many things to catch up in a very short time, so we made a plan to extend our reunion on the top of Singapore, at the 57th floor Sky Park at Marina Bay Sands at night. It's been on my "things to do before you leave" list that I should at least once stepped my feet on that top floor that is so famous. Just to experience the heights, the view, the ambiance.

So, I went to my friends' hotel at Thomson around 8pm and met them at the nearby cafe, they're having dinner. Around 9 pm we all went to Marina Bay Sands and asked the guards if we could all went up to the 57th floor. The guards said yes if you're the hotel guests or the KuDeTa (club/bar) guests and at least buy a drink. We nodded and went up. It was fast! suddenly we're at the top.

My first impression was, why there were so many guards and barriers? ... there's some places we couldn't crossed that's reserved for the hotel guest only, like the pool side. I wasn't too impressed, It's not like what I've imagined. So we only stayed a while to wait for another friend that would joined us that night and went to Clarke Quay, the girls wanted to drink. So they pick one cafe and ordered drinks. Around midnight I got a call from hubby asking where I was :-D ..

I said to the girls I should go home .. hehe .. I queued for a taxi and went back home ;-)

Despair ..

2011-03-06T09:05:00.008+01:00

I get so tense these days. I know, more or less it's due to my period :-p .. but all these problems that keep coming my way now is starting to make me weak and I snapped at everyone who's asking the same question every time: "so when exactly you're leaving?" ... I'm sorry, but please understand that this is the hardest time for us ...

It's been months that I felt this ups & downs, to keep telling my self to hang on, to be extremely patience for everything, I'd almost broke down. I haven't got a good night sleep without nightmares or worries in weeks. I often woke up feeling despair, yes, Despair -- the feeling that there is no hope and that you can do nothing to improve a difficult or worrying situation -- Cambridge Dictionary.

I know that maybe I worried too much. I know that everyone's doing their best and I know it's just a matter of time .. but I can't imagine the worst thing, if husband and children have to leave without me first .. how long do we have to wait until everything is clear, how long we have to be here, when is exactly we can move on? ... husband keep telling me to calm down, that we're going to leave together around 14th ... but all these obstacles that we're experiencing makes me weak .. our flight should took off tonight, and yet we got this stupid problem impeded our way ..

We always try to see the bright side of things, we always did .. and this time again. We should always believe that everything happens for a reason ... but the hard part is trying to find out the reason! .. or maybe the reason is that finally I received my tax refund?! (yep, I received the money yesterday) :-p

hard decision for the sake of the future ..

2011-03-04T03:23:00.002+01:00

Last night I had a big discussion with husband. We decided, if the process of our married certificate legalization in Jakarta takes longer than we expected then husband and the kids will have to move and settle first in Geneva while I wait until it's all finished and get my visa.

It's a hard choice, but sooner or later we're all going to live together, we got all papers (permit de sejour) already, so it's just a matter of one stupid procedure of legalizing our married paperwork to get my visa. I got the news that finally the two embassies (in s'pore and Jkt) had talked about this matter, so certainly someone tried to get this problem solved quicker, something is moving ... hopefully soon everything is clear ...

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."

Obstacles ..

2011-03-01T13:36:00.006+01:00

“Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Husband & the kids' visas are ready today, but not mine .. The Swiss authority insisted that we should give a legalized married certificate (and it has to be done in Swiss Embassy in Jakarta, the city where we were got married) .. we already had the legalized version of our married certificate done by The French Embassy, but to be able to enter Switzerland the wife should also have the document legalized by Swiss Authority. So tonight hubby fly to Jakarta to meet an advocate appointed by Swiss Embassy in Jakarta to do the legalization of the document needed.

Hopefully everything will going smoothly and the legalization won't take too long to finish. The advocate said it'll take between 3-7 days .. *sigh* let's we all pray that it won't take more than that ... amen.

Good news! ..

2011-02-26T15:08:00.007+01:00

We went to the Swiss embassy yesterday with all documents, forms and all papers needed for our long sejour visa. Husband had called the day before to the embassy and the staff said it will only take one week to finish, so he proceed to give the travel request to his office and got the approval for our flight for Sunday 6 March around midnight.

So next week would be our final days in Singapore. I'm experiencing a different feeling from last time when we moved here from Geneva 3,5 years ago. This time I feel like we're coming home .. it's strange but it's true. Last time when me moved here I felt a bit lost .. I know Singapore is a more "glamorous" city compared to Geneva with its big shopping malls, busy town, crowded people. The first months I came here, instead of being excited .. I felt lost and lonelier than ever. This kind of life wasn't exactly what I was looking for. People were so competitive, so cold, I'd hardly seen a smile ... The only good thing was the foods! I can go to a wet market to find things that I've missed, I can find so many good Indonesian restaurant and stalls and friends who can cook delicious foods .. that explained why I could gain weight so fast! ;-p

But it's unfair to say that I didn't enjoy our stay here. I enjoyed it, at least I can say I've tried so hard to be able to finally enjoyed it. It's also so close to our home country, so if we're bored we just take an hour flight back home. It's unfair to say that I didn't have a good time .. I did. We've gone to places and seen new holiday getaways around Asia Pacific, I've met many good friends here, I've learned so many things from them .. I've learned to see who I am and what I really want .. and in the end it leads me to see what I really want is to go back to where we used to be .. and that's more or less what husband also feels.

Our old friend back in Geneva came to visit to Singapore for a week and last night we had dinner together. He got a proposal to be assigned as an expat here, after about 3 years as an expat in Luxembourg. I can see they're excited to move here, to the warm tropical weather, just like we did 3 years ago, they had enough with the cold weather. I wish them good luck and hope they get the good life experience here as well. For us, it's clear that in a long term this isn't the place that we're dreaming of raising our kids ...

counting the days to move ..

2011-02-24T02:50:00.006+01:00

Yesterday we got a confirmation that our entry permit to Switzerland has been granted by the Swiss authority. We got all the documents needed to proceed to get the visa from Swiss Embassy in Singapore. We need to wait for 5-15 days to get them. Hubby said first we have to get the TAR (travel documents) from his office then we can all go to the embassy to apply. So, meaning ... could be another week of waiting.

Monday night me & hubby talked, I managed to finally revealed all the burdens that I've been holding in for my self. My disappointment about things that had happened to me personally. I see there's no trouble from his side nor the kids side .. if there's any, their disappointment are not as big as I have been through ..

I quit my job for him many times .. even the smallest job that I managed to grab in only 4 months of working that caused me having to deal with the tax office here for the tax clearance, which the refund cheque I still need to wait "shortly" as how they emailed me lately. How short? dunno ..

If I knew that all these permit & visa has gone slowly because of some people in HR office and the process could take 3 months to complete, I wouldn't quit the job so quickly, and I got 7 months of working time (and according to tax clearance rules, working more that 6 months I don't need to pay tax and get into trouble getting back my money from the refund cheque like now!)

Sometimes I feel it's not fair that we women must give up many things to follow our husband's steps. It seems like our happiness were controlled by him, for me personally I fight for a little bit of freedom to decide my own happiness .. I managed to pull my self together everytime I fell apart and move on, step by step, even the littlest step I take is a painful struggle. How many times do we talk about this stuff? how many times should I write again in my blog, I guess everyone (me included) has gone bored.

I've learned that marriage takes a lot of efforts and patience to keep going .. I know people knew that we shouldn't too dependent to our husband, we never knew what going to happen if the husband passed away or run away ..

Women are forced to give up jobs to raise a family or forced to struggle if they want to keep their jobs by juggling work and family 24h/7 or forced to accept whatever job left for them if ever they want to re-enter a workforce or forced to be independent by working at home (if they have the skills and courage to start their own business) ... that's the choices we women have ...

in a couple of weeks ..

2011-02-14T15:21:00.002+01:00

Our departure date is nearly coming although we haven't got the confirmation about our "permit de sejour". Hubby said hopefully it will arrive within these weeks, so we proceed to give notice to our kids' school today. Husband said most probably we leave on the 4th of March.

I still have some things to settle here. The tax-refund cheque which I should've got from the tax office by now still hasn't arrive. When I emailed them they said they've already sent it on Jan 18th to Yishun address .. wtf ?!?! .. I never wrote that address!! in the form I clearly mentioned my husband's office as to where they should send the cheque!. They already sent 2 letters to this address correctly and no problem, but why they didn't send the cheque to the same address ?!?! .. I received their email this evening, so I can't do much about it but to reply and asked them to re-send to the same address they mailed me all these times. I felt very disappointed by how the tax authority here works .. and how they took our money by making such law. Maybe it's true when people said that there are two things that's certain in this life: DEATH and TAX! :-p

What she wants to be ..

2011-02-09T15:26:00.003+01:00

My girls' conversation this afternoon after school:

[Nis] : "Nad, qu'est-que tu voulais devenir quand tu es grande? .."
[Nad] : "quoi?"
[Nis] : "est ce que tu va etre une dentiste? une maitraise? quoi?"
[Nad] : "non, je veux devenir une maman" ...

translation :
[Nis] : "Nad, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
[Nad] : "what?"
[Nis] : "do you want to be a dentist? a teacher? what?"
[Nad] : "no, I want to be a mum" ...

:-D

Family Reunion

2011-02-07T15:43:00.001+01:00

Last week we had a long weekend due to CNY when all businesses were closed to welcoming the year of the rabbit. Office closed, school closed, supermarkets were also closed .. so why must we stay in this island? we decided to have a short holiday trip to our hometown.

We had to settle some things and we'd like to meet our families -- my brothers and my hubby's brothers together with their families (wife and kids). We heard some good news and some bad news too .. *sigh* still the same old story, my big bro is out of job again and I was sure it's because he didn't perform well on his job :-(

Every time we came to meet families, we often left with regrets .. why some things will never change .. like they say: families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts.

Only real friends tell you when your face is dirty ..

2011-01-14T11:15:00.005+01:00

.. but sometimes it's not that easy :-)

The beginning of this year I got news from my ex-colleagues that the school is hiring 2 new staffs to replace me. I personally think it's a bit too much, I mean, if the coordination of all the 'surveillantes' both full-time and part-time is clear and if the boss could organize her staff more efficiently, then they actually don't need to hire too many people. But well, that's what I think and off course I'm not the one who's making the decision.

So I think now with more surveillante, there would be less chaos, less trouble .. but I was wrong. My ex-colleague said that there are more chaos and problems are getting bigger .. my colleagues had a quarrel and each of them blaming each other's fault .. cat fight? jealousy? I don't know .. I had no idea .. and both of them talked to me about it in their own version of story, so when I listened to both side of the stories, I think it's only a misunderstanding .. and they should talk to clear things out, if they still want to work together in harmony and wanted to still be friends.

You know sometimes our most difficult task as a friend is to offer understanding when we don't understand. Why girlfriends sometimes make things more complicated than it was. Why can they just be more straight forward like men?. Why can they accept that they can grow separately without growing apart? they can have different opinion without arguing? .. after all, we're all different personalities and we can't completely understand what's going on in someone else's head. It's impossible to do it if we don't talk about it, is it too difficult to talk? ... gosh.

I begin to hesitate receiving calls or to meet them, they're both acting silly ... I said that what had happened between them it's their problems to solved, I can only listen and give my opinion when asked .. which now I think it's already too much and too annoying ..

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-06T15:12:00.006+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!!

We've been so busy weeks before new year. We've moved to a temporary accommodation, a 3 bedroom serviced apartment near hubby's office & kids' school. Actually it's located just in front of our old place where we're living during 2007-2009. So, it's kinda funny moving into the area again.

Our stuffs had been packed into boxes and the mover took them all to their warehouse until it's time to be shipped out to Geneva. Last couple of days before we moved I felt a bit .. sad. I have very fond memories of that place. I'm just too familiar with Ang Mo Kio neighborhood. I kept reminding my self to stop from becoming too melancholy, we still have loads of things to do, loads of courage to face every challenge, and we just have to keep moving forward and don't look back.

New Year 1-1-11 we've spent in Jakarta. We had to meet some people and talked about the house in Cianjur that we've sold but we're still waiting for the last settlement. We also met some good friends, it's like a reunion and a farewell at the same time ...

I guess, moving on is simple, what you leave behind that makes it difficult ... every time ;-)

My Last Day

2010-12-17T15:05:00.005+01:00

Today is my last day working at the school. I went up to the office to drop some document for HR then to hand over my name tag, my canteen card, my whistle :-). I also had some Swiss chocolates that I put in a gift box and gave it to one of the girls in the office.

After the bell rang, my colleague asked me to accompany her to a bookstore, we drove to Orchard and went to Wheelock's Borders. It was 10 minutes before the store was opened at 9 am. We wanted to have our breakfast there actually but since we had to wait then we headed to a coffee shop nearby to have breakfast and tea.

She's talking about many things. One thing I like about her is that she's honest and open but still have a decent way when talking about private matters that will make you feel easy to listen too and not feel embarrassed. I think I've missed womanly chit-chat that sometimes Asian women tend to secretly put in their closet. We're adult and I think sometimes we needed other woman's opinion about things in our life. Sometimes people took a glance on us when we're laughing on something, while my blond and dare friend here just didn't care.

11.15 am we're finished our trip to bookshops and cosmetic outlets, all I did was just to make sure she's not getting lost somewhere in the mall. Back to her car the valet parking guy pointed out that the car has a flat tire. Luckily we still got time to change the tire in a tire shop near the school.

After the school's finished I went up to attend an invitation from the primary headmaster, she said thanks for doing an "excellent job" during this trimester and that my work was "impeccable" .. oh wow!, thanks ma'am! .. but why you didn't mention it in the reference letter? .. :-)

Good thing comes for those who fight for their rights

2010-12-14T03:21:00.003+01:00

Just a fast and brief little note to let you know about the good news from tax office:

I can get a refund tax from the sum of money that my employer deducted from my last salary in Dec 2010. I just need to fill in a reassessment form and send it back together with copy of my passport to the tax clearance office and they'll send me a cheque within a month.

I felt relieved and grateful for all people who supported me during the difficult and confusing times. May God returns all your kindness and give all of you happiness ...

"A l'occasion du Nouvel An, je vous souhaite une bonne et heureuse année 2011, une excellente santé et le succès dans tous vos projets !"

sincelery,
xoxo.

You make my world so colorful ..

2010-12-10T16:13:00.011+01:00

You make my world so colorful, I've never had it so good, my friends I thank you for all the love you gave to me ..

I haven't wrote down anything about things that had happened to me this week. I had a very lousy week actually. I had no mood for almost anything. I didn't bother to cook meals for dinner because hubby was in Geneva until last Thursday, so I only cooked simple meals for the kids and I eat whatever left on the table. I still go to work, because I have to take the kids there anyway .. that's how it is when you're working in their school.

I wasn't in a good mood since I received a letter from the tax office and saw how much I have to pay for the tax clearance, and that the school will deduct the amount from my last salary! .. My salary is bellow SGD 22,000 a year, why they still need to file the tax to the tax office in the first place? ...

I feel like being robbed. They never gave us any information about taxes and that if a foreigner work more than 60 day but less than 183 days (calendar date) they'll pick 15% from your total salary within that period. So, if you work less than 60 days OR more than 183 days you don't need to pay tax clearance! there's a hole in the tax system here and nobody gave information about this. So I feel trapped in that hole! I fall into that hole in the system, because in my case, I worked 4 months (120 days). How could they're not looking from the total income first before looking into the working days?!

I felt so hopeless when I came back from my morning shift today .. I just took a bus to go home when my phone beeping, it's an SMS from my colleague, one of the girls that I wrote about previously, she said: "hi Wati, do you wanna go shopping with me? I'll pick you up at 10" .. and I said to my self, maybe I do need a break .. so I SMSed her back: "okay" ..

I told her the whole story that I talked to the head of accountant this morning and what's her response about the tax matter. We just talked and drove through the CTE to Paragon as she needed to exchange her son's jeans there. I bought a mag and just wait for her to finish her shopping then she said "I want to go to M&S" and I just followed her there .. then I saw some pretty nice boots that I couldn't afford to buy with my deducted salary, but I just tried them on anyway then I tried some scarfs and fell in love with the scarf, it cost SGD 33 and I asked my friend: "should I buy or not?" she smiled and said "just buy it my dear, it's a nice one and 33 dollar you can still afford, right? don't punish your self .. give your self a break" ... I bought the scarf in the end and I felt a bit lifted.

I wore the scarf in the evening when the three of us went bowling together. We had dinner with all of our kids, while my husband went to have a farewell party with his grad school friends. We went home around 10 pm, bathed the kids, gave them milk and sent them to bed. Then I wrote this entry.

It's easy to think what went "wrong" with a day, but I tried to think of what went "right". It's not about being positive all the time, it's about choosing what to focus on and knowing that you have friends who care for you and how to enjoy life's happy moments ;-) ..

Just between girls ;-)

2010-12-09T13:32:00.005+01:00

It's the three of us. Some said that it's not a good number to bind a friendship, because you could keep one feels left-out, but I don't think so. I think, It takes three to have a complete lunch together, so when one couldn't make it, there are always two. I never said it's a perfect friendship, it happened just by chance, because we happen to be in the same job although we don't have the same time slots. That's why the only time we could stay together is during lunches.

Maybe it's December, the time when most people here thinking about holidays, or having a party for xmas or new year .. and that's when my two friends have beside their hungry stomach that need to be fill in during lunch time, they have this shopping urge they need to fill in too .. So since last week we all went to those shopping malls around .. where? you guess!, yes where else: Orchard Rd. We have long lunch hour from 1pm to 2.30pm, so one of us who happened to drive the car will speed up through CTE, parked and we all grabbed something to eat and then ... swoosh! ... they're all gone and back with full shopping bags in their hands.

Let me tell you, Liesy she's loaded. She didn't care how much she have to pay for the things she likes. Lieny, a bit careful of what she gonna buy .. mostly she bought stuffs for her kids, scarfs from Pull and Bear for her teenage girl, T-shirts for the younger one, etc. While me? .. ahem, looking for bargain stuffs .. and collecting discount vouchers ;-D

"Hey, that looks good on you" -- that's the line we should all be aware of! .. I never trust it. "Why don't you buy now? .. you need those for winter time .." -- yeah, right .. they really sound like the sales assistant but worse. To me, it's clear: "I don't need those stuff now, I can buy it there when it's on winter sale in February .. beside you all know that I'm almost bankrupt because of the tax!" -- and they all would laughed .. and then swoosh!!! ... rushed back to our post, feeling content ;-D

Life just doesn't come with guarantees ..

2010-12-04T12:58:00.003+01:00

Hubby has gone to Geneva again. This trip actually for a "familiarization trip" and he should be traveling with family, but since the kids school is not on holiday which also means I also still have to work until Dec 17th, husband had to go on this trip alone.

He didn't expect winter is so harsh in Europe this time, winter snow came too early .. The day he arrived, there's a snow storm, the snow is very thick that the airport in Geneva had to be closed. He had to take a train from Zurich to Geneva, and when he arrived in the airport to take a rent car and drove, it got stuck in the middle of a road. Luckily there were some cars passed by and people were kind enough to help him out. Once the car could move, he parked it in the airport parking lot and took a cab to his hotel. What an adventure! and what a strange way that Europe is welcoming him .. it made me think, maybe this rough climate warned us to be tougher than ever :-(

Life is like riding a roller coaster ..

2010-11-29T15:02:00.003+01:00

.. you get jerked one way and another, and you never know what's around the corner, but you just got to enjoy the ride!.

That's how I felt these days .. and I can't complain. I wanted to shout out loud, actually .. but I couldn't. I just can't. I need to calm my self down, swallowed everything, digest all problems one by one, slowly sorting out and accept what should I do next, how to adapt in every awkward situations that I have to face lately.

Everything started when husband told us that we're going to move back to Geneva in the beginning of January, that means I had to resigned from work at least 2 months prior to the departure date, which I've already done.

Then came a news that the HR people in Geneva haven't done anything for our entry permit to Switzerland and it's already end of November. So our departure date must be pushed to February. Another problem arose: we can't stay in our recent address, the landlord have found a buyer so our tenancy must ended by the end of this year. Where to go? where to live? how about our belongings? packed and where to put them? ... those things haunted me for weeks .. but thank God, once again, if there's seem that we're headed to a cul-de-sac with no clue, and we believe in God's power above anything, He gives us a way ... and all of our problems solved one by one ...

We have a temporary accommodation for 2 months (during our waiting time) paid by the company. Our belongings will be packed before Christmas and will be placed in a warehouse in Singapore before it's time to move them out to Switzerland. Kids can still go to school until February holiday (vacances fevrier) and we'll also be moving back to Geneva during that time.

I keep on praying that everything will go smoothly according to the plan and schedule. Tomorrow at midnight husband will travel to Geneva until 8th December. He will look for an apartment, finalize his contract and starts working for his new role. Hopefully he'll have a safe and pleasant trip to Geneva and safely come back home to us ... Bismillahirohmanirohiim ...

Ayat Kursi

2010-11-20T15:56:00.003+01:00

[Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255]

اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاو ;َاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa, Al-Haiyul-Qaiyum La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm, lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-'ard Man dhal-ladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnihi Ya'lamu ma baina aidihim wa ma khalfahum, wa la yuhituna bi shai'im-min 'ilmihi illa bima sha'a Wasi'a kursiyuhus-samawati wal ard, wa la ya'uduhu hifdhuhuma Wa Huwal 'Aliyul-Adheem.

In the name of Allah the Most Merciful, and Compassionate

Allah
There is no god but He,
The Living, the Everlasting,
Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep,
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth.
Who is there that can intercede with His, except by His leave?
He knows what lies before them and what is after them,
And they comprehend not anything of His Knowledge save as He wills.
His throne comprises the heavens and the earth,
The preserving of them fatigues Him not,
And He is the All-High, All-Glorious.

[Al-Quran: Surat al-Baqarah, Ayah 255]

My highest reward ..

2010-11-18T10:32:00.002+01:00

After nearly 3 months working in this school, today I received the highest reward from my duty .. nothing fancy, nothing "material", not a sum of money either, but it's a little boy who approached me to say: "merci madame, pour me soigner ..." (thank you ma'am for taking care of me) .. and I said smiling: "je t'en prie .. merci" (you're welcome, thank you) .. I looked at my colleague who stand beside me with amazement .. then she said: "tu le mérites" (you deserves it) ...

I didn't remember what I did to this little boy, because many kids came to me today .. some only saying "can I go to the toilet?" silly. But I noticed some kids who has a good attitude towards others, well-behaved, polite and caring even with the little ones .. such a good character I give a praise to their parents who taught them about mutual respect and I believe mostly the good attitude came from a good example at home ...

God, I love this job .. You know I do *sob* ...

Janet Jackson "Woops Now" -- Celebrating Friday & weekend!

2010-11-11T14:30:00.003+01:00

Friday morning and all my work is done
I packed my bags I'm on the run
I got a feeling that I'm gonna have some fun
in the sun with my friends
and he's got me going

Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Sorry I can't, Sorry I can't go now

Friday noon and my boss is on the phone
He's telling me that I can't leave home
An extra hand at work is what he's called for
He said we need you here
To my friends I'm going

Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Whoops now, sorry I can't go
"I don't know why my job just called me in"

It makes no difference if you're off work or not
You dream your weekend hand on the doorknob
Out with your friends, hey, fun in the sun now
That's when the phone rings ..

Friday evening and I'm all alone at home
I know my friends are having fun
I'll plan my weekend, damn it, leave the machine on
Next time he calls he'll hear my voice saying loud and clear

Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Whoops now, sorry I can't go
Whoops now, sorry I can't go
"I'm out having fun in the sun with my friends"

With my friends
With my friends
With my friends
With my friends

With Ann and Rusty
Tina and Moody
Ken and Nancy
Lynette and Tony .. oh oh oh ...

Learning to take life one day at a time ..

2010-11-08T13:16:00.003+01:00

Have you ever feel like you're always thinking about the past, how great it was or how you could've changed something? or have you constantly thinking about the future? constantly coming up with routines, plans to follow, lists of tasks to do? .. when you know what you should do is to just focus on today?.

Today I feel like riding a roller coaster .. exciting yet exhausting. At some point I wanted the time to just wait and stop for a while and let me breathe ... but instead of letting me breathe, the time moves in a flash and leave me feeling numb, or is it because the anesthetic that the dentist gave me this morning? .. guess it works effectively to numb my pain and my feelings ...

This morning I told my boss and my colleagues that I'm leaving on January. I still need to tell the HR manager soon -- which I'm very reluctant to do so. The HR manager is a kind and sweet woman .. the perfect person for the post. She knew all of the employee and respect them regardless of what position they are in the office. I just afraid that I'm going to cry in front of her ...

Sneak peek into my bag? ..

2010-10-31T15:14:00.003+01:00

you'll most probably find:

- a book (which I usually carry along anywhere possible) ..
- a small bottle of mineral water (to keep me hydrated, s'pore could be very hot sometimes) ..
- a camera (to quickly snap anything interesting) ..
- a mobile phone (with a camera and a 3G service) ..
- a pen
- a wallet
- coins
- MRT EZ-Link cards
- keys
- lipsticks ;-D

Departure ..

2010-10-25T17:32:00.005+02:00

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."

Last week husband went on a trip to Europe, he went to Geneva and Milan. While he's away, I'm busy with my work, my kids, our house, my bro-in-law who's staying for 4 days to help the kids get downstairs and wait for their school bus in the morning while I went to work. My mind also occupied with some misunderstanding that got me very disappointed and upset .. so it's been a really tiring week for me ..

Our time in Singapore will come to an end by the end of this year, I've never imagined that it's also the end of something I thought was beautiful, perfect and decent. This small country had taught me some lessons that I should've known and learned to trust my instinct the more and more ...

The one thing that I should always feel grateful is that I have my family, my lovely husband and daughters and my lovely friends who I can count on in any weather, be it in happiness or sadness ..

His Birthday

2010-10-17T16:38:00.005+02:00

He turned 41 last Friday.
Since a week before I was thinking of making a "surprise dinner" for him, but I guess it didn't work out as planned. So I had to make plan B: bought some presents for him, from me it's a winter shawl and a hat (as he'll go on a trip to Geneva on Sunday night) and a new tie from the girls. I also bought a black forest cake then invited some good friends to have dinner with us in some restaurant as I thought he deserves a little celebration for the new job in Geneva, for the good grades at school, for our 13th anniversary and some other good things that had happened to us these couple of months.

And the most important thing is he's really happy, he had a great time eating, make jokes and laughing that night, it released all the tension he had from working and studying for his grad school's last term examination.

Friends Theme Song

2010-10-17T16:27:00.001+02:00

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D O A
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week
Your month or even your year, but ...

I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

You're still in bed at ten and work began at eight
You've burned your breakfast so far things are going great
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
But she didn't tell you when the world
Has brought you down to your knees that

I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me
Since you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst, I'm best with you, yeah

It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week
Your month, or even your year

I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)

I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too) ....

** from a good friend

Lace wedding anniversary

2010-09-28T17:09:00.002+02:00

With lace as the traditional and modern material, an obvious gift for the 13th anniversary is lace lingerie ;-D ... but no, no, no .. I wouldn't ask for a lingerie as a gift, I definitely don't want to make hubby go to a lingerie shop :-P

I just hope that, with times, our relationship is getting stronger and we get wiser and more compatible for each other. 13 years is still young, hopefully by learning each other hopes and dreams we could continue to sail any ocean, as long as we're together ...

Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be.

2010-09-19T15:20:00.010+02:00

Each of us has the power to give life a meaning, to make our time, our words and our self into instruments of hope and future .. and what would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? sometimes one must dare, if one really wants something.

My new colleague once asked me on the way to work, when we happened to be at the same bus in the morning: "ce travail ça te plait, Wati?" (you like this work, Wati?) .. I smiled and said: "Ouais, ce que je peux faire maintenant .." (yeah, this is what I could do right now. .) then she looked at me and smile, "oui, c'est vrai .." (yes, it's true ..). This is what I could do right now while our children are still young, divided my time, my energy as far as I could, and that's why I took this job.

It's my 3rd week working at the french school, I can say now I begin to get my own rhythm for the job and my body adapt with it, I don't feel as tired as the first week, in fact I've realized that something has improved: now I rarely feel headache I didn't take any paracetamol for almost a month, which I think is a good sign .. Maybe by walking up and down the whole day and being outdoor more actually good for me? :-)

Why I took this job maybe some people just can't understand. Some think why you must bother to work when you know you don't have a helper at home, you're just killing your self slowly .. but you know what? I'm not the only one who do this kind of life single-handedly. There are many people out there who can't have it all that easily, there are many moms out there that just couldn't afford to divide her salary to pay for a helper or they just simply don't want to have one because of their own judgement.

Well, we all have our own reasons. My reason is hope. We never know what the future will be like, and we know that we're not going to stay long in this country. If we move again, I need a good reference from a good institution and I wanted to upgrade my resume after so many years out of work to raise our family. Hopefully this experience could be put in good use ... oh! a little thing that give me strength, courage and happiness at the same time is when I heard my daughter happily and proudly say "that's my mom!" every time she saw me on duty ;-D

Eid 1431 Hijr

2010-09-10T17:07:00.004+02:00

Eid is a time of forgiveness, is a time of peace and a time to celebrate.

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”

When I see their smiles ..

2010-09-08T14:30:00.003+02:00

How do I feel after having endured 1 week of duty? TIRED. My leg hurts. But I have to be grateful having a loving husband and a helping hands.

Now everyday I must wake up early to prepare everything for the girls before go to work, while husband prepared the girls to school and wait for the school bus. I guess the only thing that keep me going and stay focus on this job is their smile .. when I saw my girls looked happy and proud to see me in school and that they know they're going to return home with mom everyday...

My husband's smile in the morning assures me that everything will be fine. His smile and kiss at night, even if he came home late from taking grad school classes and most of the times I already slept .. I felt the warmth and at a glance saw his smile .. I thank God for all the things He gave me.

I wouldn't be so strong without their support and their understanding and I specially thank my two wonderful daughters for making all these changes smooth and a lot easier .. I LOVE YOU, my precious babies..

vive la rentrée des classes!

2010-09-02T13:52:00.006+02:00

A note from school's website:

Rentrée scolaire 2010-2011... C'est parti !

Et voila c'est reparti pour une nouvelle année scolaire pour le LFS.

Les 255 nouvelles familles ont pu découvrir, le mardi 31 août lors de la réunion d'accueil, une nouvelle école et obtenir toutes les informations nécessaires pour la rentrée autour des stands d'informations qui leurs étaient proposés.

Pour l'ensemble des élèves de l'école primaire ce fut la découverte de nouveaux locaux. Nous nous retrouvons cette année sur un même campus suite aux 2 années de travaux qui ont permis à notre bel établissement de s'agrandir pour accueillir dans les meilleures conditions les 1780 élèves et 200 personnels qui faisaient leur rentrée le jeudi 2 septembre. Les effectifs du LFS en ce jeudi 2 septembre :

- à la Maternelle :360
- à l'élémentaire : 755
- au collège : 430 - au lycée : 235

Today is the first day at school, the first duty for me too. Many unprepared things and actions from all service. Foods in the canteen were not ready yet when the 1st group came in, the kids needed to wait for their foods causing delay, so they didn't get the ice cream for dessert because they simply didn't have enough time when the 2nd group came in.

During recess, I had to take two kids had to school nurse because they fell down, nothing serious but I thought I better put them in the right place and in the right hands.

School finished, I saw a sea of children and parents who pick them up from school, children who took a school bus must lined up according to the bus number they've been given through email from the bus company. They went into their buses and when the buses moved, I looked for my own children and took them home together.

What I feel, when I saw my little girl patiently waiting for me in her class with her teacher, I felt guilty but she looked happy once she saw me and her big sis came to pick her up. I know all we need is just getting used to new routines, and I really hope everything will be fine and in order for next couple of days ...

Finally ..

2010-09-01T11:58:00.006+02:00

Yep, finally I finalized and signed my part-time contract as a "surveillante" today, and the Letter of Consent (LOC) yesterday. Got my temporary badge and be ready for duty.

Actually I started last week on the 26th August. Only came down to office and got to know colleagues, they showed me and other surveillante the school and the new building. Where we're going to monitor each day. Yesterday we came in the afternoon to help the primary administration office preparing files for today's teacher's meeting.

Today all school staff and teacher gathered for a brief breakfast together served by school's cafeteria, but as I was fasting I just sit and talked with fellow surveillante. The "assemblee generale" started on 9 AM, presentation new "provisseur" and all new staff, me included. 10 AM all gathered to have a photo shot and that was it. We can go home. I fetched the kids at my friend's house and we went home.

Funny thing is, I saw in my contract it mentioned -- Disciplinarian, meaning we need to watch and discipline the primary children during their time out of classroom, which I imagine will be quite a challenge :-)

Last night before bed husband said, "now, finally you get back to work after so many years" .. I was so exhausted last night and replied "hm hm .." then I didn't remember anything else :-)) I know that he's happy and his point of view has changed now that our children are growing up.. I feel that with times, we finally could understand each other's life goals and dreams .. I might just need a little more patience and a gentle move on getting back to work little by little ... just like one teacher said to me today (she's Nadia's kindergarten assistant teacher last year) .. "it doesn't matter if you started as a part-timer, this school is keep on moving and people may come and go and I'm sure you'll get more opportunities, eventually .." I smiled and nodded, yes eventually ... but what if we have to move before I can taste that opportunities? .. well, the story keep repeating it self, every time ..

Adam Lambert - No Boundaries

2010-08-25T15:44:00.003+02:00

Seconds, hours, so many days
You know what you want but how long can you wait?
Every moment lasts forever
When you feel you've lost your way

And what if my chances were already gone?
I started believing that I could be wrong
But you give me one good reason
To fight and never walk away
So here I am still holding on ...

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You make it through the pain, weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing

Just when you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you almost gave up on your dreams
They take you by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries!
There are no boundaries!

I fought to the limit to stand on the edge
What if today is as good it gets?
Don't know where the future's headed
But nothing's gonna bring me down

I've jumped every bridge and I've run every line
I've risked being saved but I always knew why
I always knew why!

So here I am still holding on ..

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You make it through the pain, weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing

Just when you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you almost gave up on your dreams
They take you by the hand and show you that you can

You can go higher, you can go deeper
There are no boundaries above and beneath you
Break every rule 'cause there's nothing between you and your dreams

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe

Yeah! There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries!

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You make it through the pain, weather the hurricanes
There are no boundaries!
There are no boundaries!
There are no boundaries

Ramadhan gathering

2010-08-24T06:06:00.003+02:00

We got 2 invitation on the same day, same time. It was Sunday, August 22nd 2010 for breaking fast with groups of friends in Singapore. We couldn't make it at both places, so we decided to come to the nearest gathering.

Some friends we already knew for as long as we first came to Singapore, but most of the crowds who came there last Sunday were new to us. It happened to be the NSM gathering, all I knew is that N is for North, so meaning the people who live in North side of the island. Our home is actually in Central-North side, but we could come to the gathering as well. It's nice to share happy moments and delicious foods with them :-)

DELF B2 - Le Diplôme.

2010-08-24T04:43:00.004+02:00

Couple of weeks ago I came to Alliance Française to collect the DELF B2 Diploma. There are higher DELF diploma actually, it's the DALF (Diplôme approfondi de langue française) C1, C2.

The DELF/DALF is the French equivalent of the English proficiency test TOEFL, but the tests for these two languages are quite different. Rather than a score, DELF/DALF candidates work to obtain one of seven diplômes from the Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche. The diplomas are independent, meaning you do not need to take all seven - proficient speakers can start at whatever higher level they qualify for.

To allowing non-francophone to opt a French university's language entrance exam, having one of these French certificiations looks good on the CV. I don't mean that I'll go to pursue a french university degree, I took the test just in case ... "au cas où" ..

Simple pleasures ..

2010-08-16T16:25:00.002+02:00

Today I woke up with the rain pouring down outside our window. Husband has gone to work and the kids were enjoying their milk and breakfast.
I decided to cook our meals early for breaking the fast later and went out a bit with the kids when the rain stopped. We just went around the neighborhood and passed by a playground where we noticed has a new "toy" installed there. It's just 3 sets of mirror, but we decided to see how they reflect our selves, it's kinda funny though ..

Maybe I was just happy that the kids are back to their cheerful self again, especially the little one, as I see through her twinkled eyes and her smiles that she's fully recover now and her appetite is back to normal again.

We then spent the afternoon playing games at home, because the sky decided to pour some heavy rain again. Later in the afternoon husband sms-ed me to say that he's coming home for breaking fast and he wouldn't stay doing his study in the library like usual .. which I consider is a blessing and completed my happy day :-)

The Painting

2010-08-15T18:36:00.003+02:00

Thank you Enda for your email and painting. I wish I could go and see your exhibition my self :-)

Good things come to those who wait ..

2010-08-13T11:51:00.005+02:00

I've waited for some times that feels like ages, I almost give it up, I almost loose direction, don't know where else to go .. A friend who has published a book said it took him 17 years before a publisher finally interested on his book, he said one year is nothing compared to 17 years! ... *gulp* ... I said to my self, do I also need to wait that long? ... or do I have to work my butt off and save more to be able to self-published the books? ..

Then I got this email from the publisher today. It gave me hope, and I'm hopeful .. but I still need to wait for the result from their meeting next week ..

Dear Bu Wati,

Sepertinya tanggapan atas naskah Ibu cukup baik. Dia ternasuk salah satu naskah yang mendapat penilaian "lucu" dan "bagus".
Aku akan membicarakan lebih detail tentang naskah Ibu lagi pada hari Rabu depan (tanggal 18 Agustus 2010) dengan Marcomm untuk melihat kecocokannya dengan pasar.
Mohon maklum proses yang agak lama ya, Bu.

Saya kabari lagi setelah tanggal 18 Agustus 2010.

Terima kasih banyak.

Salam,
Manajer Redaksi

God, help me ....

Ramadhan 2010

2010-08-10T17:30:00.002+02:00

The holy month of Ramadan begins tomorrow, August 11th 2010.

Long week end

2010-08-08T09:00:00.005+02:00

Tomorrow, Monday August 9th is Singapore national day, so it's a long weekend for those who work in the office, for us (me and the girls), the holiday will continue until the end of this month before they're going back to school in September.

The kids aren't feeling well this week, there's a flu bug in the city, many people caught the symptoms with high fever, cough and runny nose, so we stay at home during the weekend while the kids are still recovering. The doctor gave them antibiotics because of persistent fever they're suffering .. oh well, this time I can't say it's "un bon weekend!", but to all of you who's in a good health, hope you're having a good time and enjoy the long weekend! ...

Happiness

2010-08-04T17:35:00.003+02:00

I have unwritten rules for myself: don't write a blog or anything when it's time approaching my period, it's usually heavily influenced by my mood swings and I ended up writing something I'll regret later.

But tonight I break the rule. I'm in the mood to blog and because I know not many people read this blog nowadays anyways, I feel free to write anything that has passed my mind.

Last month, just after I got my first job here in Singapore, my husband had an interview with someone from the old place and most likely we will move back to Geneva next year.

Next year .. gosh, it means 4 more months? how could I let my new employer know about this? or maybe I shouldn't let them know anything in a first place. We still don't know the exact date and we're still waiting for the written confirmation about the transfer.

I'm also waiting for a good news for my books, hopefully next week after their meeting with the marketing division. I'm full of hope. I can finally see my own path .. and the news about moving out again sounds irrelevant to me, to my own struggling dreams! but we must follow the captain, this boat must keep on sailing .. to the west we go, if we must.

I just have to .... go where the wind blows. I'll find something there to keep me busy and happy, like I always do. I'll create my own happiness, I don't need to depend on anyone or anything for that. I just need to struggle again that's all ....

New bike

2010-08-04T15:59:00.005+02:00

Since I sold my old bike to a friend back in Geneva before we moved to Singapore, I didn't have any vehicle for 3 years, yes THREE difficult years! ..

I've tried to persuade husband to buy another bike but he hesitated. His reason is safety and I have to agree, people here drive recklessly, they never put pedestrian as a priority. When we want to cross the street where there's no traffic lights, they just won't stop and give way to us, even there is a straight line on the street that according to "code de la route", all vehicle must STOP and give way to other vehicle/people.

This is only one example that we notice everyday. Another concern is there are not many bicycle path like we usually see in most of European countries. So his concerns are valid, until last month when I got a job that force me to be more mobile, going back and forth to school. I need to get there as early as 7.45 AM everyday, so I make a "proposal" again to him to buy a bike, and this time he said okay .. pheeww ..

You know .. I sometimes need a very good reason to ask for something. If my reason to buy a bike is only to go to a supermarket or hanging out, I'm very sure I'll never get what I want ;-)

Never lose hope!

2010-08-03T10:20:00.004+02:00

Do you have a dream? I do. A dream is one of the things that kept me going through the hard times. A desire to see something happen in my life, that at least on one occasion holding onto hope was very important.

Hope sets the goal for the future to come to happen. In the end, whether I make it, realize it or not, I still have the power to hope for something better. We need some kind of goal to set for ourselves. What do you like doing? Are you doing it? No? Why not? .. without the hope how can we ever get anywhere? ...

Hope also makes me feel good and builds optimism for the future ...

More than a year ago I began to hope, so I started writing a children storybook. I went from one publisher to another, from books exhibitions to the internet with no luck. I received rejection letter one by one, and my hopes went to a blur ... until yesterday, when I received a hopeful email from one of the publisher:

"Dear Ibu Wati,

Apa kabar, Bu? Aku mau mengabarkan bahwa redaksi sudah melihat contoh naskahnya. Dan kami merasa bukunya lucu dan menarik.

Tetapi, kami harus bicara dulu dengan bagian promosi dan penjualan sebelum membuat keputusan apa pun. Hari Senin depan (tanggal 9 Agustus 2010) kami akan meeting calon-calon naskah dengan divisi markomm. Setelah berlangsung meeting, aku akan mengabarkan lagi hasilnya kepada Ibu.

Terima kasih banyak.

Salam,

F F. A. R
Manajer Redaksi

I don't know, but I begin to have a hope again. Since I've sent 2 of my "dummy" to this publisher, I have a good feeling about them. Their correspondences are polite and friendly -- not like most of letters from other publishers that I've received, they either cruel, straight forward or be a know-it-all kind of letter .. that made me feel stupid or don't have what it takes to become a story-teller.

I felt since my first correspondence with them, they have a good attitude towards people so hopefully I'm not wrong and hopefully their meeting with marketing division is favorable and that luck is on my side this time so I can hope for more than a dream .. I hope for a dream becomes reality, wish me luck! :-)

Yogyakarta

2010-07-20T12:24:00.003+02:00

Me and the girls spent last week end in Yogyakarta (or Jogjakarta), central Java, Indonesia. We're there for my cousin's traditional wedding ceremony and celebration.

I used to live in Jogja at the end of 70s, I still remember the place where we lived although Jogjakarta has changed a lot since we've left. I can't hardly recognize the streets, it's much more crowded than in the 70s. Back then I loved cycling around our neighborhood.

After my cousin's "akad nikah" we had the chance to ride a "becak" and it was a new experience for the girls, it was fun and they keep telling their dad about it and the little one insisted to get on a similar vehicle here in Singapore :-D

Challenge

2010-07-14T06:08:00.005+02:00

It's the 2nd time I came to a night sewing class in a nearby community center. See? I take sewing seriously, I'm curious to learn the tips of how to make one piece of clothes neatly and correctly. "Always join the selvage at the wrong side of fabrics" the teacher said when we're about to cut our materials.

"Whoaa .. you use stripes pattern! that would be difficult for you to cut and sew!!" one classmate told me. " .. and how should I know 'bout that?!, we're in a beginner class right? so maybe they should put a sign: "DON'T USE STRIPES!" in our classroom" I told her .. "well, it's okay .. I'll take it as a challenge ..." I said again, more to myself.

Yes, it's a challenge ... for someone at my age, who's never sew anything her whole life! it's quite challenging ... but I like it!! ... I think we need to challenge our self once in a while, go out from our comfort zone sometimes and we could see a different point of view. Well, at least that's work for me.

I challenge my self to new things, just when I hit the four-oh digits: like sewing, taking a new job, new organization and time management in our little family. But all of that need a little bit of patience and passion! ... patience because I need to wait until the little one is comfortable enough at school and being separated from mom n dad for a little while, passion because I need to learn more new things, new rules, new people ...

The proposal

2010-07-01T18:24:00.006+02:00

I received "lettre d'intention" from the HR Manager last Friday before weekend and they gave me 48 hours (Saturday-Sunday excluded) to think before signing their proposal. My job range is in a table of Assistants Maternelles - Surveillants level 0, scale 3.

Monday morning I've signed, scanned it and sent back the letter through email. Tuesday morning I received their notice that they've received my signed letter and asked me to prepare some documents for recruitment and administration purposes like copy of my passport, id, bank account, diplomas, etc.

So this is it?, am I ready to go back to work? although I only took a part-time job, it's still going to change our daily routines and it's also challenging .. given thought that I can't depend to anyone except my husband if let say one of the kids has to stay home. That's my only concern right now, but I have to think positive that there will always be a way out, somehow ...

Sometimes I still have some doubts, I ask my self do I really need to do this? but when I think long-term, I think I do. I need to do this for me, for us, for the future ...

Work in the kids' school

2010-06-22T10:57:00.009+02:00

Last month before I posted an application to the school as a school monitor (surveillante), I asked my eldest daughter about it. I asked if it is okay for her. I also asked her if they accept me, then how could we organize things at home, like who's going to pick them up from school. To my surprise, she carefully thought about it for a minute and came out with a brilliant idea, she said " we could come home together ... I'll look for Nadia in her class then we'll wait for you, we don't need to take the school bus, we'll come home with you" ... I looked at her in amazement and almost forgot that she's only 8. I thought she's so clever and wise.

Later that night, I asked my husband if it is okay to apply for the job and also told him what daughter said .. and he said okay, go ahead. So I applied. And yesterday I came there for an interview with the school principal and the HR staff. They proposed a 10 hours/week work. My job is only to make sure everything is in order during the kids coming to/going from school also to supervise them during lunch time and recess -- which is fine with me and that was exactly what I have in mind when I sent the application.

They gave me the details about the job and the remuneration and asked me to wait until end of the week (Friday) when they'll send me the contract.

There. I'd started with a small step, but I have a big hope. I hope I can use more of my free time to something useful, got paid for what I do and I can be closer to my kids at the same time. To me, it gave something positive to look forward to and to be honest, sometimes I need some change of my everyday routines and what can be more perfect than to work at the kids' school when you will have the same place to share during the day, finish your day at the same time with your kids and will have the same holiday calendar? .... and later on we'll see where things are going to move from here ..

DELF B2

2010-06-07T11:20:00.005+02:00

I took a DELF ((Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française) level B2 (advanced) on May 27, 2010. I already got my DELF A1 (beginner) in Geneva 3 years ago.

This time it took me the whole day starting from 08.00 AM until 15.00 PM for all the tests in Alliance Francaise. Actually the written test finished around 11.00 AM but then I needed to wait for the oral test on 14.30 PM.

I wasn't sure if I did the written test correctly, but turned out the result was okay:
- listening comprehension I got 15/25
- written 14.50/25
- oral comprehension 14.50/25
- oral 16/25
Total result is 60/100

Meaning, I converse in French better than writing :-)
It doesn't surprise me, because when the oral test began and I had to choose the topic randomly on pieces of paper scattered on the table, I got 2 interesting topics: one is about working late and the consequences for the health and happiness on an employee, the other topic was about "Au Fourneaux ou au bureaux" -- about women's problem of choosing between being at home or in an office. That's a piece of cake, that's my real-life subject, so I can answer all the examiners questions without any doubt :-)

But, why must take the test? .. to have a prove of the level of proficiency in French language and who knows one day I might need it? I'd do what I can do, for we never know what the future will be like ...

Project run-A-way site

2010-06-02T15:02:00.005+02:00

It's been a month since I bought a sewing machine. I'm still learning and try to improve my sewing skill. I've been making skirts, sundresses, blouses and bags, all girl's stuff so far. I've been reading sewing books that I've found interesting from a nearby library. I also bought some "easy" sewing books I've found in bookstores and am thinking of joining the weekend dressmaking class in a community center in our neighborhood. So, yes, I think I fell in love with this activity, I'd never thought that it can be so much fun and relaxing ..

In one fine day, I can sew all day as soon as everyone's gone to school and office. I have stocks of lovely fabrics now, all below S$10 (mostly around S$ 3 to S$ 5 a meter/yard) that I've sourced in various textile centers here in Singapore. From Arab Street to Chinatown, from downtown mall to nearby market. While still in a beginner level, I opted mostly cotton fabrics for kids and I've chosen a simple pattern or an easy projects without pattern. So far, so good .. my kids are happy and I'm happy.

Today, as I was posting my newly finished project, an old blogger friend said that I should open a blog for this projects and I thought, yeah .. why not? .. so here it is, another blog dedicated to mark my big four-oh years .. Project run-A-way .. enjoy!

Learn to sew

2010-04-27T08:14:00.002+02:00

Since I hit the four-oh number there are certain things I'd like to do before I die (like those 100 places you wanna go before you die) - thing. One of them is learning how to sew or dressmaking.

In the beginning I've started with simple skirts for the kids and my self. I shared the joy of sewing with some friends and posted almost weekly sewing projects in FB and Flickr. I find it very encouraging and never thought that this activity between friends could be very exciting too and turned out to be contagious, more and more friends begins to sew and some of them are really good.

Well, for me, personally, it's a way to de-stress, to take my mind off some uncertain things in my life, to make a good use of my free time, to turn a creativity into something wearable.

Le Festin ~ Camille (Ratatouille Soundtrack)

2010-04-20T10:16:00.003+02:00

Les rêves des amoureux sont comme le bon vin
Ils donnent de la joie ou bien du chagrin
Affaibli par la faim je suis malheureux
Volant en chemin tout ce que je peux
Car rien n’est gratuit dans la vie.

Éspoire est un plât bien trop vite consommé
À sauter les repas je suis habitué
Un voleur, solitaire, est triste à nourrir
À nous, je suis amer, je veux réussir
Car rien n’est gratuit dans la vie.

Jamais on ne redira que la course aux étoiles, ça n’est pas pour moi
Laisser moi vous émerveillez, prendre mon envol

Nous allons enfin nous réga….(ler)
À la prête fin enfin nous (prends ce… / danse…..)

Et sortez les bouteilles, finis les ennuis
Je dresse la table, demain nouvelle vie
Je suis heureux a l’idée de ce nouveau destin
Une vie à me cacher, et puis libre enfin
Le festin est sur mon chemin
Une vie à me cacher et puis libre enfin
Le festin est sur mon chemin. . . .

@ 40

2010-04-18T15:27:00.001+02:00

@ 40 I've learned to trust my inner feelings.
I've been through tough roads and if I didn't listen to my heart I would've had lost and maybe I wouldn't be where I am right now. No one to guide me when I had my first child, and again trust only my feelings when I had my second. Have a lot of guts to raise my children and try to have faith when started a family. Hopefully God guide us through our journey down the road ..

@ 40 I've learned to trust my self and my judgement.
I should've known people from the start, from the first encounter. Those feelings often turned out to be true.

@ 40 I try to keep evolving and learn new things. I try not to let my mind idle.

.. and @ 40 I must think to book a yearly pap smear test.
Ladies, caring for your own health is a must. It shows how you care to those you love.

Fashionista on a budget -- How to look good for less.

2010-04-13T14:26:00.002+02:00

Perempuan mana yang tidak menyukai keindahan?, ya, mungkin saja ada tapi cobalah tengok jauh direlung hatinya, pasti ada setitik-dua titik kelemahannya (kalau itu dianggap kelemahan) terhadap keindahan.

Indah bukan berarti hanya terbatas pada barang-barang untuk mempercantik penampilan semata, karena keindahan yang dilihat dari kacamata si A belum tentu indah menurut si B, bukan?.

Si A, misalnya, gemar sekali dengan keindahan yg ia lihat melalui kameranya. Si B mudah terpesona dengan segala bentuk artistik suatu bangunan (contohnya seorang arsitek). Si C gemar mengoleksi sepatu, tas dan asesoris perempuan lainnya. Si D bisa tak mengerjapkan matanya jika melihat deretan kata-kata indah disuatu literatur yang dibacanya ... dan seterusnya. Seperti itu kira-kira yg saya maksud dengan "keindahan".

Saya pribadi, rasanya mulai senang dengan bentuk dan warna busana kira-kira saat saya duduk di sekolah dasar dan melihat baju-baju Cinderella di opera cerita anak arahan Maria Tansil diakhir 70-an. Akan tetapi baru bisa menghargai suatu karya busana saat sudah bekerja dan punya penghasilan sendiri. Sebelumnya ya pasrah dengan busana pilihan orangtua atau pilihan sendiri dengan budget terbatas dari orangtua.

Kelebihan dari keterbatasan dana membuat saya harus pandai memilih dan memilah busana yang mudah-mudahan cocok dengan selera saya dan syukur-syukur bisa kelihatan apik, trendi. Kenyataan ini kemudian menjadi kebiasaan. Saya gemar keluar-masuk toko-toko kecil, ditempat-tempat yang kurang dilirik orang, sepanjang rue de Passy disana ataupun di Far East Plaza disini, misalnya.

Akibatnya saya sering ditanya oleh teman, dimana sweater ini atau tshirt itu saya dapatkan. Sebetulnya saya sering merasa malu jika ditanya seperti itu, malu ketahuan dimana saya mendapatkannya, karena kalau saya katakan apa adanya reaksi teman tentu saja bisa beraneka ragam. Seoarang teman baik yang "se-aliran" dengan saya tentu saja senang, teman lain mungkin yang tidak terbiasa dengan toko "pinggiran" bisa tersenyum sinis, mencibir dan mencemooh bahkan mungkin alergi demi mendengar kenyataan pahit dimana saya membelinya.

Karena itulah kemudian saya memutuskan untuk menimba ilmu pada teman-teman yang sudah mahir menjahit baju, untuk dirinya sendiri atau untuk yang terkasih, anak-anaknya. Ternyata mengasyikkan juga, dan yg menjadi nilai lebih adalah pilihannya yang tidak ada duanya dimanapun, unik & eksklusif :-)

Une lettre pour sa maîtresse ..

2010-03-28T16:23:00.002+02:00

Singapour, Lundi le 29 Mars 2010.

Chère madame B,

Nous avons remarquée une bosse sur le front de Nadia en rentrant de l’école Mardi le 23 Mars 2010 passé. Elle nous a dit que c’était à cause d’une de ses copines (elle nous a dit que c’était Sofie) qui avait poussée la porte de la toilette pendant que Nadia était encore dedans.

Nous avons bien compris que c’était un accident, mais il nous a fait douter le règle de passer aux toilettes (il faut faire la queue et patienter avant d’utiliser des toilettes à son tour, etc.)

Nous avons aussi entendu que l’un de ses copains (il s’agit de Marc) qui avait souvent fait du mal a Nadia. Nous avons aussi remarquée quelques petits bobos à son doigt a cause de ça.

Nous vous seulement demander comment vous vous êtes réagies dans ces petits malheureux dans la vie de l’école, parce que nous pensons qu’il ne vaut pas rester en silence s’il y a un enfant fait des actions de la violence contre son/sa copain(e).

Merci.
Cordialement,

Les parents de Nadia.

Actions lead to consequences.

2010-03-16T03:09:00.001+01:00

I read an interesting article today about teaching a child that actions lead to consequences, or in other words: a child needs to know that there's a consequences of his/her own actions.

For example, if a boy who drove a family car carelessly bumped it into a tree, he may have to be banned from driving for some times.

Sheltering a child from the consequences of his/her own actions could raise an immature adult later. He/ she may become a grown-up adolescent constantly needing his parents or somebody else to bail him/her out of trouble.

A taste of bitter fruit that irresponsibility brings can teach them a valuable lessons that may be useful to them later on as an adult.

Bureaucracy and trip to homeland ..

2010-03-01T13:00:00.013+01:00

I just wanted to share our positive outlook about our trip to Jakarta recently. We wanted this trip to be packed with things we needed to settle, so we made plans in advance, we prepared all related documents, letters, emails and not to forget our Indonesian IDs and KK (kartu keluarga). We wanted our "to-do-list" to be successfully accomplished and settled.

First I wanted to take my pension fund from Jamsostek, as I'm no longer working as an employee and I already left the country for more than 10 years. The process was surprisingly fast and effective, only that the money haven't come yet until now .. I was told that the money will be in my account within a week time, but I guess it's more likely within a month! .. if not longer ..

Then, husband wanted to register for a tax payer in the tax office, and this process was also done rapidly, I didn't even need to get down from the car, just waited there about 15 minutes and it's done! bravo to those who work in Kantor Pajak Pejompongan!

After that, the bank business, I had to change "Key BCA" (a device for internet banking purposes) to a new one and husband wanted to open an account there too, this account was for our own convenience should there be anything we need to pay in Rupiah.

Other than those bureaucracies, I only made some appointment with friends and families. I scheduled to meet Feri my senior in high school, to talk about my children books as he said he wanted to see if he could help me find a publisher. He, himself, already got one book published and he gave me insights of how the editor team works and some practical inputs for me. He asked me to send him a biography, synopsis, vision, etc. together with one of my books via PDF files in an email. Let's hope this one is going to work ... all I know that I shouldn't give up and not tired of knocking on doors.

Last trip in the country was to see my friend's new house in Emerald Terrace, one of many new locations within Bintaro Jaya housing developments. We were thinking to buy a land, not a house (yet) as we don't know when we will be living there.

We decided to sell our house in Cianjur, that's for sure, and that's what we should do fast. Nobody lives there anymore after mom-in-law passed away in May 2009. We had to rely on hubby's brothers - who now all live out of Cianjur, and a kind neighbor to look after the house - which is slowly ruined by damp, long grasses and water leakage.

We bought the land back in 2004 and built the house from scratch so my in-laws could have some place to live and stopped moving from one rented house to another. We never intended to live there - out of nowhere. My late father-in-law who found the place and asked if we agreed to buy the land there .. not long after we bought it, he passed away, so mom-in-law had to continue the house development, we were living in Geneva back then, so we could only send money and trusted her to finish the house. The house was finished on time and my husband's family moved there right away. After 4 years living in the house, one by one left the house to continue the study and mom was left all alone with only a part-time maid who sometimes came by to help her. And after she died, no one live there anymore .. we understand how devastated everyone is about the fact that we will sell the house (and all the memories in it) .. I saw husband's crying while talking to our neighbor about our plan .. as he said, "this house is only a thing, if we wanted to continue the good deeds that father and mother had, we could still do it anywhere, anyplace ..."

'till death do us apart ..

2010-02-10T04:55:00.001+01:00

Recently I saw a wedding exhibitions in one of many malls here in S'pore. It got me thinking, modern marriages now become a BIG business for many wedding organizers. It makes sense as we all wanted one wedding in a lifetime, it should be the mark of the couple new life together and it worth to celebrate .. but .. thinking of how people nowadays tend to break up in a challenging times, when they hit a tough journey in their marriage life .. then I think the most important part of the wedding is NOT the ceremony, but the life they will go through after the ceremony is over, the real life. Do these couple ready to hold their vows, for richer or poorer?.

I heard a bad news last week that a relative has lost his job and he has a wife and two kids to care. We're all praying that whatever happened they will stay together through this rocky moment. I have a strong feeling that they will make it and I really hope that they grow stronger and grow closer during this tough time. He may lost his job, but what he need the most right now is a full support from his wife and his family, and I'm sure he'll get another job soon, hopefully better than before.

Live below your means

2010-02-08T06:30:00.006+01:00

A note to self,

Live below your means or, in other words: simply spending less than we earn. We all know that money can't buy happiness but debt always bring you grief!. You may think that's impossible, given thought to today's demands and prices, but take this as a challenge and we'll soon be creating ways to cut corners in everything we do.

Flashy advertisements, shop windows, we're too smart to fall for that. Designer labels?, who do we want to make rich, some fashion designer, or us? and who do we want to impress? having one or two designer labels aren't enough? .. it takes courage to resist the temptation or sometimes peer pressure. An occasional treat is okay, it energizes you sometimes ;-) .. but by taking charge of what to spend, having a self-control, the emotional and financial benefits are tremendous. Living beneath your means is a proven way to avoid debt and the stress that goes with it.

nite .. nite .. my precious child ..

2010-02-02T15:07:00.002+01:00

Peek into your room and see you, knowing I cannot keep you the way I see you now, as time slips through my fingers and you slip through my arms, so precious and so tiny, so innocent somehow .. sleep, my precious child, dream of life that's filled with charms ..

Tuberculosis lymphadenitis

2010-01-12T15:01:00.003+01:00

As husband got this type of TB for the 2nd time, and got op-ed in the hospital a couple of months back, I searched for what possibly caused the reactivation of this disease as to prevent them from coming back again, and here's some information I've got from the web -- as a note to self.

Tuberculosis is an infection caused by an organism called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This is an organism capable of causing infections throughout the body, but the most common location is the lungs. Tuberculosis is an organism found throughout the world.

Tuberculosis lymphadenitis -- involves M. tuberculosis infecting the lymph nodes, causing enlargement of the nodes and forming masses in the neck. This is known as scrofula, and may sometimes drain to the skin. It is the most common form of tuberculosis infection outside of the lung, in children.

In a few cases, reactivation of the disease occurs. This does not require any new infection. The organism, dormant and inactive for years, has become active again.The risk of reactivation increases if the immune system is weakened for any reason. On average, a normal person who has been infected with tuberculosis has about a 10% chance of developing a reactivation of the disease over the course of their lifetime.

In the past, it was thought that almost all adult cases of tuberculosis were due to reactivation. However, newer testing methods have revealed that a sizeable number of adult cases may actually be due to newly acquired infections, especially in areas where there are a large number of people with tuberculosis. People from certain parts of the world, such as the Philippines, China, Southeast Asia, Haiti, and India have a much higher risk of having resistant tuberculosis.

Resistant tuberculosis occurs when the organism is not sensitive to the usual anti-tuberculosis medicines.

Risk factors for developing tuberculosis include:

1. Being around someone with active tuberculosis
2. Having a chronic illness such as diabetes
3. Having a weakened immune system, either from HIV, chemotherapy, prolonged steroid use, etc.
4. Working in the health care field
5. Overcrowding: Living in a long-term care, or close-quarters, such as a nursery schools, child-care centers, elementary and high schools, churches, school buses, or sports teams.
6. Poor nutrition
7. Inadequate health care
8. Low socioeconomic status
9. Older people and children less than 2 years of age are at much higher risk to contract TB, if exposed.

Tuberculosis lymphadenitis is treated with surgery to remove all infected lymph nodes, after which the patient is placed on anti-TB medications. BCG vaccine (BCG stands for Bacille Calmette-Guerin) has been shown to reduce the risk of developing tuberculosis.

bawang merah-bawang bombay

2010-01-07T14:49:00.001+01:00

Ini bukan sequel cerita "Bawang Merah, Bawang Putih", kebetulan saja pas tadi sore saat menyiapkan makan malam buat keluarga kecil kami, saya teringat pada abang penjual bawang di kampung nun jauh di dekat pegunungan Alpen sana.

Didekat tempat tinggal kami di Annecy dulu, setiap hari2 tertentu ada semacam "day market", lokasi langganan saya ya yang terdekat dengan tempat tinggal kami saat itu di Avenue d'Albigny seberang danau Annecy yang luas. Karena cuaca yg hampir selalu dingin, saya sering menyiapkan makanan hangat berupa sup buat hidangan dirumah. Kadang kalau lagi ada yang jual buntut sapi, ya bikin sup buntut, yang sering sih sup ayam, masakan paling aman, mudah & cepat disiapkan.

Hari itu saya ingin membeli bawang merah, kebetulan saya lihat ada satu penjual yang memasang harga termurah untuk 1 kg bawang merah, mendekatlah saya dan saya katakan ingin membeli bawang merah darinya sebanyak 1 kg. Si penjual bawang memandang saya sedikit heran, "benar 1 kg? bawang merah? bukan onion?" katanya seraya menawarkan bawang bombay. Saya mengangguk pasti "iya, 1 kg échalote (bawang merah)" saya ulang kembali permintaan saya. "Ah, kamu ini aneh, bikin onion soup kok pake bawang merah .." katanya lagi sambil tertawa, meremehkan keahlian saya dalam hal masak-memasak. Dalam hati saya menggerutu, "reseh ni orang, ngga tau apa masakan indo kan selalu pake bawang merah-bawang putih! huh!! sok tau! emangnya gue mo bikin onion soup?! udeh deh, cepet bungkusin 1 kilo bawang merah!!" .. saya memaki-maki dalam hati ...

Saya mendapatkan juga akhirnya bawang merah yg saya inginkan sambil masih membatin kesal .. di kampung saya bang, namanya bikin sup mau pake bawang merah apa bawang bombay kagak ngaruh! .. kalo gue mah yg penting hasil akhir masakannya, malah kadang2 kita makan sup pake sambel bajak! ;-p

New Year’s Reality Check

2009-12-21T04:24:00.001+01:00

Another year, another chance,
We’ll take one little step,
And then we’ll take one more,
Our unlimited potential,
Still unexplored,
We’ll read and learn a lot,
Hope that all our goals will be accomplished.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

The Price of Motherhood

2009-11-29T04:10:00.004+01:00

Last night I read an article in a local paper and it got me thinking. My thoughts went to fellow mother out there, especially those who's taking care of their loved ones sans help from nannies, maids or family members. The column in TODAY paper "Point of View" written by Christopher Toh, it's a male point of view.

He said, "Someone commented I made it seem very easy to have kids. It's partly true. It's easy to have kids - just not so easy to be a parent. Especially a stay-at-home parent. And if you're doing this on your own sans help from nannies, maids or family members, you'd better make sure your significant other worship the ground you walk on. (The working half have it easy: They can always "escape" to work and got a decent pay).

He's talking about a study by Salary.com which calculated that stay-at-home mums should be paid at least US$ 117,000 (S$ 162,000) annually for what they do. They, especially breast feeding mums have been a milk bar-on-demand 24/7, they sometimes tired and feel low, they feel like cows, and they're not joking!. They're also the teacher, mentor, disciplinarian, a lady, a wife, a cook, a friend, a playmate, a cleaner, someone who's picking up after everybody .. all rolled into one. They've given up everything they used to hold dear, in order to hold their loved ones. They're doing all that single-handedly.

I pointed out the article to my husband who's busy watching "YouTube" last night and what he did just smile and said "hm, hm .." well, I personally didn't ask him to worship the ground I walk on, nor did I ask for a S$ 162,000 annual income. All we mums need after all what we have given up to raise our kids is just some respect, that mommies are just a human being who sometimes can get tired, fed-up, angry or lonely. The price that we have to pay could not be calculated by any top financial analyser. Some of them used to earn more than their husbands, nowadays they "earn" half of whatever's left after expenses.

So, don't look down on them, instead like the title of the book I've mentioned above, "The Price of Motherhood", it's the Most Important Job in the World.

*celebrating Ninit's Urban Mama Forum!
http://theurbanmama.com/forum/

Happy 8th Birthday, love ..

2009-11-25T02:21:00.001+01:00

Sweet and silent she steals along,
Far from the world's busy throng:
With gentle yet prevailing force,
Intent upon her destined course,
Graceful and useful all she does,
Blessing wherever she goes,
And Heaven reflected in her face ..

Happy 8th Birthday, love,
Mum.

Pace yourself ..

2009-11-11T04:40:00.002+01:00

Marathon is very different from sprint, you have to pace yourself if you're going to endure to finish the line, isn't that true of married life too? you have to set a pace that you can maintain through all the ups and downs of everyday living to let nothing knock you off the track ..

"Identity"

2009-11-10T16:02:00.003+01:00

Today, like every Tuesday in the last couple of months, we gathered and discussed about many things. We're brushing up our french. Mr. J, a "Parisien" and he talked about some things he saw in Asia.

At the beginning, we talked about the national identity. Then came to questioned about Singaporean and their national identity (which, our S'porean friends had struggled to describe). Some Singaporean friend's said that their "identity" is Mr. Lee (Kuan Yew), they're hardworking people -- but somehow they said, now the younger generation seem don't care, they're spoiled generation who know that everything is already taken care of (by their parents/ older generation), but still they demand more ..

We ended up talking about how people in Asia seem more "materialistic" than the people in the old continent. He added, even though luxury brands are mostly came from France or Italy or Spain .. you don't see many people flashing on a luxury items in a daily basis as much as in Asia. Are the people in Asia more wealthy than in Europe? .. or is it because there's no other places to get excited about than going to a mall (and buy those items).

Malls. Yes, we noticed. There are more of that over here than over there. Getting rich, own many beautiful things seemed to be a very important thing in some people lives, especially here. On the contrary, having a picnic in a park or feeding the lake's swans is something they might think as useless, meaningless, poor.

Well, let me tell you what I felt after he told us the facts. Those simple things we used to do to in the old place, they brought us pleasures and peaceful feelings, we could appreciate God's creation in this world and be grateful of what we have. I think, we couldn't compare them with how people use to live here.

Maybe it's the "image" that they want to show off to other people. For example, as Mr. J said while showing off your wealth is considered "rude" and "negative" there, here is considered "cool". So, like in a race, who get more and who get first.

Me & other friend who used to work for Vuitton, agreed that we saw more Asian clientelle than European, even inside LV boutique in Champs elysees, there were more Japanese/Chinese than French people them selves -- well, maybe there's some, like that old lady who came in -- not to buy though, but to mend her broken luggage.

There are many rich people in Paris but those luxury stuffs mainly sold like a candy to Asian or Eastern European people.

The question is, do we still have our identity if we are not rich?, the answer? yes, thankfully, there are still some people who see others based on their qualities, their personalities, their attitude ..

There is no failure except in no longer trying.

2009-10-26T15:10:00.006+01:00

There's this quote I read one day about not giving up on your dream, however small and unimportant your dream might be to anyone else but yourself, however small steps you make to reach your life goals, j u s t d o n ' t q u i t ...

Cut not the wings of your dreams, for they are the heartbeat and the freedom of your soul. ~ Flavia ~

On his birthday ..

2009-10-15T04:28:00.003+02:00

Birthday is a time for reflection.
About your life, and its future direction.
You see where you've been when you look at the past;
Most of it's great; you had quite a blast!

Remember, as you blow out the last candle;
Life holds no challenge that you cannot handle.

I wish you fine and simple pleasures.
I wish you all of life’s best treasures.

Just be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed ...

Happy "Big-Four-Oh" birthday, dear ..

Her very first school outings.

2009-10-09T07:56:00.004+02:00

Today was the very first school outings for Nadia. She's so excited to go to school today and so proud having her very own school sports uniform.

When she came back from school with her sister, and as soon as they got off the school bus, I asked Nadia how was the outings? .. was she enjoyed the trip? and she nodded, smiled at me and said that she saw many statues in the temple.

I asked if she's scared (she usually scared of statues) .. and she shook her head "non, je n'ai pas peur .." (no, I wasn't scared) then I asked her what kind of statue that she saw? .. "j'ai vu une statue d'éléphant" .. (she saw an elephant statue) .. and her sister added: "je sais ce que c'est la statue, c'est l'un de dieu dans la religion hindou s'appelait Ganesha" .. (I know what it is, it's one of the god from hindu religion called Ganesha) .. and I was like, wow, these kids know more than we thought ..

12th Anniversary

2009-09-28T02:47:00.002+02:00

Marriage is not a ritual or an end.
It is a long, intricate,
intimate dance together
and nothing matters more
than your own sense of balance
and your choice of partner.

- Amy Bloom -

Eid & Kid

2009-09-24T15:52:00.005+02:00

We're celebrating Eid this year like 2 years before. We're having a celebration gathering with fellow Indonesian in Singapore. It's the 3rd time we had this kind of gathering, thanks to our Yahoo mailing list - now move on to Facebook, Indo-Sing-Mums (ISM).

Eid 1430 H

2009-09-18T02:16:00.002+02:00

Eid is

E - Embrace with open heart
I - Inspire with forgiveness
D -Distribute warm greetings to all

~Eid Mubarak~

Note de la maîtresse de PS-2.

2009-09-14T03:21:00.006+02:00

SEMAINE du 2 au 4 septembre 2009

Les pleurs se sont vite calmés et dès vendredi, nous avons passé une matinée calme, une fois les quelques chagrins consolés.
Ces 2 premiers jours furent riches en decouvertes: La classe, ses coins-jeux, et les regles. La cour de l’ecole et les camarades des autres classes. La cantine et le repas collectif.
Nous avons aussi joué, chanté et ecouté des histoires lues et racontées.

SEMAINE du 7 au 11 septembre 2009
Pleine journée a l’école avec les repas et la sieste.
Devenir élève.

Now it's the 3rd week of school and Nadia happily adapts with her new activities there. I noticed many positive progress in her, she told me her friend's name (it's Sophie her classmate and Suzie her bus mate - the little girl who sit beside her in the return bus from school) she also said that "je n'aime pas des garçons" (I don't like boys) .. hehe .. of course not now sweetie .. later you'll see .. ;-)

Note from daughter's English teacher

2009-09-13T07:23:00.001+02:00

Dear Parents,

This year I have the pleasure of welcoming Annisa into Advanced English Class in CE2 in Lycée Français de Singapour. There are four class levels in english: Beginner, Lower Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced.

Advanced level concerns those children with native-speaker level proficiency or those children who express themselves confidently and fluently and can follow and conduct a conversation in English. These students must be able to follow the English National Curriculum Key Stage 2 satisfactorily.

I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming meeting in my classroom for explaining details about the English class.

Sincerely,
CS.

Honestly, when we moved to S'pore from Europe, we didn't expect Annisa to learn English this fast as she used to speak French. We took a small step by letting her attend a normal class in LFS instead of Bilingual class. I thank God for her progress and her ability to learn things fast, and not to worry about her ability to learn Bahasa Indonesia later on as I think children learn languages faster than we are, adult.

Premiere semaine à la maternelle

2009-09-07T03:25:00.003+02:00

Last Wednesday September 2nd was Nadia's first day in Kindergarten. She was all excited about it, she finally goes to school like her big sister. She said she's a big girl now .. and big girl doesn't cry! ;-)

The second day on Thursday, she went to school by a school bus with her sis around 7.45 am and I picked her up at 11.30 am. The teacher said she cried a lot!! .. and yes, I saw her eyes were a bit "puffy" .. poor little baby .. but once she saw me, all the clouds in her eyes were disappeared! she's back to her happy, cheery self again.

Third day on Wednesday, she went to school and came back with a school bus together with her big sister, when we picked her up at the side gate of our condo, she looked okay, she didn't cry. I thought it was a good sign and maybe the teachers were right, that we shouldn't "prolonged" this separation, the more you wait the harder it become ..

-- Weekend, we had a real good time. We had a friend came and stayed in our place and while husband's sitting in an exam as he continues his study in a Grad School, we're going around the city by MRT and accompanied my friend going on a shopping spree ;-D. We then went to see a movie at Vivo City and then had dinner at Tang Tea House, a halal chinese food and dim sum resto in Bedok, East of Singapore.

Monday was a hard day for all of us .. after the weekend we all had to continue doing what we should do - hubby goes to the office, kids go to school .. - and Nadia cried, she didn't want to go to school ... this was the hardest part. I can only pray for her well-being at school as Monday, Tuesday & Thursday are long days at school, kids stay until 3.15 pm ..

I really hope Nadia could passed these melancholy "separation" times as soon as possible and could starts enjoying her days in Kindergarten .. je t'aime trop fort Nad :-*

Behavioural "Red Flags"

2009-08-26T16:30:00.003+02:00

Children don't always tell us when something bothering them, they don't always share their problems, so it's important to let them know that it's safe to tell us when something or someone is bothering them .. talking through the struggle is often best way to fix it.

Any time a child's behaviour changes, it's a sign that something different is going on in their life, that's why it's important to watch for those little red flags. Have a heart-to-heart talk with our children and try to help them settle the problem.

I always try to be close and honest to my daughters, so far there are no problems, but when they grow up - say in their teens - when so many changes going on physically and emotionally, I hope I can still be there for them and be someone that they can trust for anything going on in their lives.

I didn't have this kind of emotionally-attached to both of my parents, as far as I know, no one from the four of us had been so open to our parents, because we're scared to upset them and we're simply trying to get away from being scolded by keeping our mouth shut, suffered and confused in silence and just wished the problem will soon go away ..

That's the root problem I think now has affected our lives, especially our younger brother who's always try to get away from problems, choose unrealistic choices and never bother to talk his problems out. If problems got worse, then he decided that he needs help from us, his sisters. If we try to talk to him, or trying to see if we could help by asking him questions, he got upset.

He got so many excuses to defend his opinion or his choices even though we thought he's wrong. He did this because he doesn't like arguments, he doesn't like us telling him what to do .. and that makes us, me and my eldest sis, thought about how our parents treated us when we're younger.

Our parents .. may they soul rest in peace, used to say: "no news means good news" .. it meant, they just wanted to hear the good news, bad news? you could bury them under the pillow .. if we ever came home with bad news, we just knew that we're in a big trouble ..

What we're trying to do now is moving on and looking back to see how we could improve our lives, our relationship with one another among us in the family. When our brother has a problem then it will definitely get to us. Mostly it's about financial situations, when we're trying to help our brother with advice they get upset, they just want us to lend them money. How we could help them to be independent and tell them that it's not right to ask for money all the time .. we're all have our own problems and borrowing money is not the answer .. they should get a better job or improve their skills and work harder, look harder for every opportunity .. that's how men should do especially when they have family to care ..

Childhood memory

2009-08-11T03:36:00.005+02:00

When I was a kid, me, my sister and brothers liked to play together for hours with dolls made from pieces of fabrics from mom's sewing projects, our nanny had made the dolls for us .. they weren't really looked like a doll actually, so our nanny called them "tuyul" ... haha ..

Tuyul (thuyul) is actually javanese language for "small, child-like ghost" .. well, I don't know why we were all agreed to have tuyuls as our toys then, but we loved them .. my sister even had her favorite tuyul called "Alexander" ... hahaha ... I don't know where she got the idea for that name, but Alexander was soon became our favorite doll too :-D

Now my kids love to play with similar toys, but this time they aren't tuyuls anymore .. they are cute dolls bought from a toy store .. well, maybe I'm not as "creative" as our nanny back then .. but I guess my kids are having as much fun as me when I was at their age ... :-)

Monday movie time

2009-08-11T02:49:00.003+02:00

Last Monday August 10 was a public holiday as the people of Singapore celebrate their National Day on August 9. We went to a movie to see UP and what I got from this movie was a message that this whole life IS an adventure ..

From the scrapbook that Ellie had made .. Carl knew that her real dream was actually just .. be with him .. and when she died, she wanted Carl to continue having his own adventure .. to move on. It's a nice family movie.

August 2009

2009-08-06T08:51:00.002+02:00

August, with its clouds of scented blooms,
August, with its great stacks of giant clouds,
August, and its lightening laced sky,
August, the bountiful, August the full,

August is that month of the year
when we reflect on what's happened since we last stood here
nothing is simple and nothing is clear
nothing that summertime offers can last
when September arrives, one's mistake be a piece of my past

~ August 06, 2009

The first (and sure will be our last) - HippoTour

2009-07-19T17:52:00.008+02:00

Setelah 2 tahun tinggal di S'pore akhirnya suami menuruti keinginan anak2 naik HippoTour (bis double dekker untuk para pelancong) .. Anak2 sih senang bukan kepalang, kita? ya, ikutan senang juga melihat mereka senang, bukan? ...

Anak2 ngotot ingin naik dibagian atas bis tingkat yang terbuka - jika panas kepanasan, jika hujan ya kehujanan .. untungnya hari tidak panas, juga tidak hujan .. hanya mendung sedikit .. tapi masya Allah, angin bertiup cukup kencang, sehingga saat bis mulai bergerak terasa sekali angin menerpa kencang wajah dan tubuh kami ..

Serasa bak turis lokal, jeprat-jepret, foto sana-sini .. kami sengaja memilih Hippo Heritage Tour, karena saya pikir lebih banyak tempat2 bersejarah yang akan kami saksikan, sedangkan kalau naik Hippo City Tour rute nya ya ke City alias Orchard, Great World City, Botanical Garden dan sekitarnya .. capeee deeee ...

Akan tetapi, baru beberapa tempat kita lalui, saya sudah merasa bosan .. lha, bagaimana tidak bosan .. lewat situ-situ doang! .. hingga satu tempat yang saya tidak tahan dan tidak segan-segan lagi berkomentar ...

Saat bis berhenti tepat didepan apartment block yang berwarna-warni .. sang tour guide menjelaskan pada para penumpang bahwa yang kita lihat tersebut adalah HDB apartment, yaitu apartemen subsidi pemerintah bagi rakyat Singapura-dijelaskan pula berapa kira2 harga satu unit apartemen tsb dan fasilitas didalamnya, termasuk dalam penjelasannya adalah jemuran yang melambai-lambai ... "that's how people dry their laundry, within about 3 or 4 hours all clothes will be dry ..." saya seraya berbisik pada suami "in 3 or 4 hours will be dry or will be gone by the wind" ... :-)

Saya tidak habis pikir, apakah HDB termasuk "Singapore Heritage" sehingga dalam tour harus diceritakan panjang lebar? .. saya mengharapkan tour guide lebih banyak bercerita tentang tempat2 bersejarah .. bukan mengenai gedung tertinggi di Singapura, atau rate menginap di Raffles Hotel yang semalamnya mahal bukan kepalang, atau condominium didekat Marina yang harganya selangit dan merupakan condo termahal diseantero Singapura ...

Mengapa bukan lebih banyak bercerita tentang Historical buildings, Cultural Heritage saat kami melalui Malay Heritage, Little India atau Chinatown .. atau saat kami melewati Asian Civilization Museum ... after all, it's a Heritage Tour, yes?, no? ....

Got news? ...

2009-07-14T12:45:00.005+02:00

I've tons to share but I really, really, really sorry .. all these moving out-settling in have drained all my energy and mood to update my blogs .. well, I wrote some, here and there .. but mostly a quick updates about my daily chaos.

So, what's new? .. we've moved into a new apartment in a new neighborhood at the end of June, then my bro-in-law visited and stayed for a week to help us sort out the piles of boxes .. and of course, I had to take care of yet another person, prepare meals more often, and went out dinner to entertain him a couple of times .. but the kids loved to have him at the house, he took them to the swimming pool or to the playground while I took a break at home -- or some other night he babysat the kids while I went out with hubby for a while ..

Then, there were some gatherings, presidential election, birthday party, play dates, etc .. so, there's so much to tell actually but mostly I've lost my energy by the end of the day and only wanted to hit the sack until the morning comes and when I woke up, another duties were there waiting to be done ...

School report

2009-06-19T15:16:00.005+02:00

I received daughter school report today and like before, she got good marks in almost every subjects at school. Here's what her class teacher, Anne wrote in her report:

Annisa a travaillé avec sérieux, régularité et autonomie durant toute cette année scolaire. Elle a enrichi son vocabulaire et maîtrise mieux la syntaxe de la langue à l’écrit. Toutes mes felicitations pour ton attitude toujours positive et ta participation active à la vie de la classe notamment dans nos projets de classe. ADMISE EN “CE2” – l’enseignante [Francais]

.. and her English teacher wrote:

Annisa has continued to work hard this trimester. She completes all set tasks well within the time and is working on some extension activities. She uses her initiative and is quick to understand what is required. – English teacher.

But what touched me the most is remarks I've got from her ulama (weekend madrasah) class I received during parents meeting session before the term break:

" I just want to congratulate you, Annisa is a very bright student -- in fact she's one of my favorite student. She can absorb so many things in so little time, so fast I almost can't believe it. She now begins the "arab sambung" .. way ahead from her peers. If she stopped it didn't mean that she can't take anymore, it's because she's tired, so I let her stop ... I thought, maybe next week she'll forget, but NO, everything is stuck in her head, like a computer, you know ..It's like Allah had given her lights and "terang hati" when she learns things" ...

Alhamdulillah Yaa Robilalamiin ... I wish she can continue the good work and most of all be a healthy, happy, smart and kind person .. and may Allah guards her through all her life, gives her light in every steps of her way ... amen.