My Homecoming Day

Last Friday (December 24, 2010, to be exact) I went back to my previous office. It felt like a homecoming, actually. I was so excited. We caught up lots of things, had our coffee at our favorite coffee house, grab our afternoon snacks and took lots of pictures.

Everybody asked pretty much the same questions like "how are you?", "do you like working in the new place?", "what kind of coworkers do you work with?" and.. "are you happier now?". But no one beats Cak Wier's question.

"Annisa! Now you're working in the agency. And why, oh why, are you still wearing that darn sneakers? I wasn't expecting high heels, really. At least, not that ones."

I laughed, so did everyone.

I also got the weird 'stares' from some people that I said 'hi'. Their faces ware like, "what? why do you said 'hi' to me as if we haven't met for a long time."and then in split second they realized that I am no longer their coworker. HA!

One thing I regret from the 'homecoming day' is... the absence of uncle. Yes, he took his leave whereas I really had to ask his advices for surviving the industry.

Frankly saying, I was very happy that day. But when I realized that I wasn't part of the hip 'class' anymore and that the place that I'm working at right now is kinda lame, brought me almost in tears. But, well... What else can I do except to live my work life as good as possible and to treasure our friendship.

And I'm glad we took lots of pictures! Had I mention it? Nyahahahahaha..

Those pictures are the sweetest token. Whaddayatink? :D

Girls to work and spend the days with

Okay, I've been here at the new office for a week and, well, obviously, I feel totally not excited yet. Not because of the thing that I have to do here. No. That's the reason why I left my first office. I love that I get to write, not only to translate or to copy-paste to make it worst. Here, I write. I use my mind to create lines originally. But, the fact that I'm not happy (yet) here is kind of disturbing.

You know how I love my first office. I work with bunch of crazy friends. We shared laughter too much. I always said back then, "I might have a crappy job but I got world's most great co-workers to work with" and it's true.

Here... there are only 7 creative persons. Three of them are the directors, my bosses to be exactly said. One copy writer and the rest are the art directors. Among the 7 of us, two are females: me and the CD lady.

Don't let me start to talk about the account executives. They're all females but, yeah.. you know, heee..heee..

All I wanted to say waaaaas...

Not only I miss my previous co-workers, but I also totally miss my girl friends back there!

I miss girly-girl talks

*sigh

No matter how 'boyish' I am, now I realize that having girl friends at work is important.


Photo credit: Yanuar Ishak

...and another goodbye

I hate goodbye.

I hate to say it, I hate to be left behind, I hate to see someone's leaving. I even hate it when he or she was a super nice person. I handled so many goodbyes so well. I put my best smile, laughed along with him or her, and only said the good words. But I always had myself hurt at least for the rest of the day. Like something stuck in my throat, my stomach feels unwell, and my heart is so heavy that I couldn't breathe easily.

And the feeling of knowing that tomorrow is never gonna be the same due to his or her absence is the worst feeling and yeah it hurts.

Huh.

When he met her and when everyone is happy

This was my mission: to get her out of the agony, to introduce her to the real life, her life that is supposed to be awesome, to stop her from being teary and wounded. Although it wasn't an easy mission, I get it done through a simple lunch.

I set up a lunch with her and him. We met at the pizza place. I introduced him to her. Introducing him wasn't all I wanted to do at the first place. But through the introduction, I wanted her to know that if I could get better, then she could get better too. I wanted her to know that happiness is simple and it's everywhere, and it's everyone's rights.

I never introduced my special ones to her. It's funny, she knows everything about me but never got a single chance to met one of them. Only this time, she finally got to. And as I expected, they got along so well.

With Happy Partner #1

With Happy Partner #2

Well, she looked and sounded better than the past few weeks. But one thing for sure, she finally said that she's trying to live her life back. I'm pretty happy with that :)

Cheesy Saturday

Although it wasn't as smooth as I wished it would be, but well.. I, I meant, we made it to the festival. It's Kraft Serbu! Serba Kejumooo which was held in Senayan, Jakarta.

This was Kraft's third year and my second times. The event was bigger and noisier and they got more stalls than last year.

Hungry People

I came with Fina, Mba Jen and Sasa (Mba Jen's little sister). I also met up with Heidy and Rara. When the sun was going to set, mom and dad arrived. They took one good lap and bought foods then we went home.

It was a little bit, well.. bored.. and.. uhm.. cheesier than the last time. I don't know why, maybe it's because well.. I lost the excitement. I got my mind distracted, I guess :(

But hey, I still got pictures that I took.

I was starving when I arrived and this cheesy fried cassava was a good remedy

Japanese Pizzas caught my eyes

But then, I chose this goowy humble cireng

Takoyaki :)

Heidy and stuff from Cheese Fountain

Too cheesy to be true

Mom & Dad went hunting

Full, huh, Fin?

And yes, this is my favorite picture. I've been waiting a year for this. Finally, hahahaha...

Say "mooooo"!!

Well.. that's all.

I am hoping for a better Saturday next week, hihihi..

Mission accomplished!

Been whining for weeks...

Finally, I got the chance to watch Toy Story 3... in 3D by the way!! hahahahahahahaha...

I've told you before, I made a promise I'd watch it no matter how. I'd still watch it with or without companion, in sickness or in health.

Oyeah~ ^^v

Mission accomplished.

The movie was great. I love it. I moved too by the last scenes.. Oh how sweet Andy and Bonnie played together with the toys.. Luckily, I didn't shed a tear.. hahahahaha...I bit my lip extra hard and that's enough to hold the tear from falling.

Though I'm still having this bad cold (meant that I watched it in sickness -___-'), I didn't watch alone. A very good companion accompanied me. I felt sorry for him because I wasn't in a good shape, I sneezed and coughed a lot. I shivered too. And I have this kind of big voice that I kept telling him, my so sexy voice, hahahaa...

The silliest thing was, uhm.. the 3D glasses. I should've been aware of the fact that I'm gonna wear two pair of glasses.. I should've worn lenses, instead of glasses. So, can you imagine how silly I looked? Oh, by the way, he did the same silliness too.. We're just beyond silly by wearing two pair of glasses at once, hahahahahaha...

Being very kind to me, I'd like 'pay' his favor by accompany him to grab a meal. We were walking toward the food court and suddenly he pushed my back and directed me to go downward through the escalator.

"You're still sick. Let's go home. You should go home, now."

Then he sent me off.

I came home safe and sound, but the influenza viruses keep getting worst.

So tonight, I'll be resting up, hoping I can go back to work in health.

Slippers + Blanket = Rest Up!

Or maybe I should do what Itchie told me to.. "Get your day off on Monday. Tell you're feeling worst after watching the movie.."

Okay, blog has written, and I'm off to bed now.

Thank you, Uchil for being such a good company today. Next up, how about the most hillarious animated movie, refer to Cella, Despicable Me. Huh?

My broken time frame refer to Travis' albums

Office, 15.30

I heard Travis' 3 Times and You Lose from Uchil's computer while I was rephrasing words for the darn green leaflet.

"Wow, you finally downloaded Travis' latest album!"

He grinned.

"Have you listened to track 12? It has a hidden song, which is a great song."

Then we talked about it for a moment. We shared our similar experience of being surprised by the sudden 'appearance' of the hidden track.

Then the last song from the album ended. After that, I heard a not-so-familiar song, but I knew exactly the voice of the singer.

"Sounds like Fran Healy..." I mention Travis' vocalist.

"It's still Travis," he answered.

"Really? What's the title of the song?"

"Ode to J Smith."

I had my moment to recall. "Never heard that before."

He said, "It's on their last album. You know, the last last one, before Fran decided to go solo."

I was surprised. "What?"

"Yeah, that's why I was pretty much confused when you told me to download their last album, The Boy With No Name. Their last album is titled Ode to J Smith."

"What?" I repeated my surprise line.

He didn't say a word.

I grabbed my mouse and started to Google.

"Ode to J Smith is released on September 2008 and I thought The Boy With No Name was their last one!"

"That's what I knew," he mumbled.

"Where have I been? It's been two years! Oh good God, I missed it!"

I kept reading the articles.

"I exactly remember that The Boy With No Name was released in 2007 because that time, I was finishing my final project with Dania and she kept singing the Closer's line of 'lean on me now' with 'mino mina'. But, I really really wasn't aware of their next album! Oh, what kind of fan I am?!"

He did nothing but giggled.

I think my time frame has broken. I should be more aware of time now. Or, I may miss something more important than Travis' album and Fran Healy's solo album.

I may miss my life, don't you think?

Enlighten Yours, Enlighten Mine

I love surprises.

A surprise could be anything...

A smile from stranger, a gift, a small package of snack, a phone call, or even.. a message in the Facebook inbox like this...

I'm feeling so glad.

It feels so good to be able to enlighten someone's day though I really didn't mean to. I'm enlightened too anyway!

And yeah, she's a sweetheart by sending me such a message.

Thank you, Tiwi..

Have a great day!!

Dania Rari Pratiwi, S.Sos

So, Dania is now officially a fresh graduate. She is recently earned her bachelor degree and I was very proud of her.

I attended her thesis presentation, or the judgment day.

She actually did great. A little bit nervous but still kept everything under control. The judges were relaxed too, so the feeling of that cold room was rather different than mine. Mine was super intense. I remember I couldn't breathe easily. Watching her being asked about this and that reminded me a lot with my own judgment day. Almost exactly a year ago.

So, these are for you, my darling Dania..

Before entering the Room

Nervous?

You didn't make notes, the secretary didn't either. Here's our idea to...help you out.

Alma was too happy, I guess, hahaha

Supporter #1

Supporter #2

Proud Mom and Dad

Congratulations!!

Party at Sentosa? or Party at Neverland? :D

From Ramen to Coffee and Donuts to Baby

Oh finally!

We finally met! Yes. My best friend and I finally met after months of separation. Well... we're not separated that much, but.. you know.. We failed to manage the meet-up.

Today, I rushed from campus to meet her. I had to attend Dania's thesis presentation first in the morning. I had to face the usual Saturday traffic jam all the way from UI Depok to Lenteng Agung.

Anyway, I finally made to Citos safe and sound.

We were starving that time and decided to had our lunch at Ramen 38. It's our first time. We ordered the Jigoku Ramen. Level 3 for me, level 4 for her. She was kinda disappointed but I am truly amazed with that. I love it. I will order the milder version (maybe level 2) next time.

Nomm..nomm...

Piping Hot Ramen

After that, we moved to J.Co. We needed to talk, and we needed a less-crowded place to talk. So, J.Co it was.

I gave her late birthday present (a month late). As I expected, she was very happy with that The Body Shop White Musk Body Mist.

"How did you know I love the scent?! This is my most favorite scent but I never had it. Now I have one bottle to pamper myself!" She was ecstatic, I was glad.

Happy and smell musky

"I've known you for years, Neng. Though you never told me your favorite scent, I think I have the talent to predict the most suitable scent for you. It's a talent, remember that, hahahaha"

I was happy I finally got to meet her and told her bunch of stories of my life that I kept away from her. She did the same thing too. She spilled many things. We talked about future and how are we going to make it.

She gave a strong statement too that day. She said, "you need someone older and wiser. You know.. you're maybe young and bubbly like a kiddo, but you're very mature. "Average" man can never understand your thoughts and feeling. Only certain man, brave and mature one, can grab your hand and walk towards the future with you."

*Sigh.

Then we had silent moment. I kept thinking while enjoying the Cappuccino Tiramisu while she kept thumb-typing her BlackBerry.

Eyes on whipped cream

Eyes on BlackBerry

My eyes then catch a very cute little boy with his daddy, I guess. They sat in the back seats. Suddenly, that little boy called us and shook our hands. With the help from his dad, he introduced himself. The name is Fabian, and he's such a cutie!

I grabbed my camera and made it on a stand-by position. I asked his dad's permission and he allowed me to take his pictures.

Well.. it seemed like he enjoyed our company and enjoyed being photographed with us.

Fabian, can I keep you?

I love his eyes, and his smile, and his squishy baby fat allover his body, and his curly hair. OH MY! I fell for him too fast!

"I want him. I want a baby like him," I mumbled.

"I love my boyfriend. I want to marry him," she followed.

We laughed.

I love that Saturday afternoon with her. I love that she's still the same, the one I can share my hope with, the one who can give me the most honest statement. No matter how hard it is to meet her, I will always be waiting for our next meet-up.

Sambel over conversation and overdose of fro-yo

It's Sunday and I love Sunday when I have things I love to do. Get that?

So, my old hi-school classmates and I got together on this monthly meet-up, or should I say, arisan. Everyone showed up except Ijha, the one who married with 2 toddlers.

Left to Right: Na, Huma, Elza

Left to Right: Sashe, Ami, Ika

We sat down and ate our spicy lunch at Tekko.

Finished Sambel

We talked about uhmm.. work and life. Sounds boring? No. I got my camera and I asked them nicely to strike their best poses.



The food was okay. I had nasi goreng iga that tasted like home-cooked nasi goreng. Nothing special. The iga was a bit chewy and not really succulent. But I love the sambel. Pretty hot, with a hint taste of sweet and savory.

I need to highlight one interesting drink they got there. It's the kedondong juice. Ika ordered it and I could tell that she's not very satisfied. Well.. it's kedondong anyway, Ika... It supposed to be on a plate of rujak with other fruits and dipped into sambel, not blended and poured into the big glass. You should be more aware with that fact of.. well.. the kedondong! hahahaha...

Big Glass of Darn Juice

Anyway, we're pretty much amused with Elza's expression when she gave a sip of that darn juice.

Wahahahaha...

After a couple of hours, we had frozen yogurt before we finally ended the meet-up.

Paid for Small Got Medium Size + 1 Free Topping = :D

Then, the whole gang (except Abang and Mba Jen) pick me up and off to PIM. Ari bought a new pair of futsal shoes and then we spent half an hour at another fro-yo shop. We're forcing dad to try fro-yo because it's healthy and he needs to eat more healthy food, but it didn't work out very well. He hates fro-yo, enough said. Hahahaha...

Ari with his super sour choice of toppings and quite happy Fina

Super happy Mom and fro-yo hater Dad

Well, even though I didn't bought a cup for myself, I got several spoons of it.

Oh so good too...

Sunday ended with football match with the whole gang at home.

I love this Sunday.

Monday will come soon and I am ready.