why does it feel like january all over again???..gloomy and rainy the whole day..and it's cold too, the heater inside the house and in the car is turned back on..padahal seminggu lalu udah enak banget cuaca nya. anyway...we just got back from running errands a few minutes ago, went to the bank to get a few documents notarized, and then to kinkos to make some copies and then went to fedex to overnight the documents..had lunch at the provisions with Jibran, it was chicken parmesan and he loveesss it. abis itu kita pergi ke the little gym. i just wanted to know what kind of programs that they offer for jibran's age, maybe we'll go to the free trial class sometimes next week.
i will have my very last class next wednesday..(last class = final exam + project deadline)..i'm going to be so exhausted by then, mentally and physically. this class has drained so much of my energy..i have to pull an all nighter a few times a week just to do the freaking homework. graduation day is may 7, i don't know if i want to come or not..males sihh sebenernya..i have done that for my undergrad degree..palingan kurang lebih sama kan processnya, nothing special..lagian there's this plan to go to chicago..a trip out of town would be nice, i'll take it as my graduation gift..tapi kalo nggak ikutan wisuda nanti takut akhirnya nyesel..cause it's such a kodak moment aja kayanya..lucu aja buat di liat liat nanti nya, me with my graduation cap and gown holding my diploma and jibran..=)
belakangan ini sempet sibuk bolak balik nelfonin konjen dan kbri..dan beneran deh konjen chicago itu amat sangat mengecewakan cara kerjanya, di telfon nggak pernah di angkat, masuk ke voice mail dan itu pun nggak bisa ninggalin msg karena udah kepenuhan voice mailnya katanya...ketauan kan msg nya nggak pernah di check!!...di tanya soal terjemahin dokumen, katanya gue suruh terjemahin sendiri trus kirim ke dia lewat pos untuk di revise kalo ada yang salah trus dia bakalan kirimin lagi lewat pos untuk gue check dan benerin trus abis itu gue suruh kirim lagi lewat pos dan begitu begitu aja sampe final draftnya...aduh pak, apa nggak ada yang lebih efektif dan efisien gitu??..gimana kalo lewat email aja?.."wah saya nggak sempet deh nge check email"...ya ampuun..that left me speechless, literally...ya udah forget it aja deh.
yang perlu di terjemahin itu akte kelahiran sama surat nikah, akhirnya terjemahin sendiri deh dan bikin language affidafit yang di notarized sama notary di bank, mudah2an bisa di terima deh sama imigrasi sini. soalnya itu salah satu syarat buat ganti visa gue dari F1 (student) ke H4 (dependent)..dan dokumen ini harus udah di file sebelum hari rabu depan..makanya sempet bikin pusing deh ngurusin ini..emang sih salah gue juga yang selalu nunggu till the last minute...tadi nya mikir kalo nggak sempet H4 ya udah apply OPT aja dulu..tapi setelah telfon dan email sana sini akhirnya di putusin untuk H4 aja dehh..mudah2an lancar2 aja processnya.
what is it with me with immigration sih..kayanya di mana aja gue berada selalu bermasalah sama imigrasi..hii..i make myself sounds like a wanted criminal..tapi beneran deh kayanya gue selalu kena masalah yang berhubungan dengan keimigrasian..waktu pertama kali mau sekolah disini..visa gue di tolak 2 kali..karena pake I-20 dari sekolah bahasa dan menurut mereka gue nggak perlu belajar inggris lagi jadi ngapain ke amerika belajar bahasa inggris..akhirnya pas dapet I-20 dari community college untuk langsung ambil associate degree baru deh dapet visa nya. dari community college transfer ke SIU..nggak ada masalah sih, tapi pas mau nerusin masternya di maryville baru ketauan kalo SIU ini nggak pernah ngedaftarin transferan gue dari community college ke INS..jadi gue di anggep out of status selama 2 taun terakhir..wahh njelimet banget deh waktu itu processnya, apalagi maryville nggak mau nerima out of status student..trus akhirnya setelah dua sekolah itu saling telfon telfonan, fax ini itu berhari hari..baru deh akhirnya maryville mau nerima gue tanpa gue perlu minta reinstatement..entah gimana tuh caranya. Trus semester lalu juga ada masalah..i thought i had only one class left..jadi gue cuma ngambil 1 kelas pas fall kemaren dan pihak sekolah juga nggak double check and when i wanted to apply for OPT..baru deh mereka nyadar kalo gue ternyata masih ada 1 kelas lagi yang harus di ambil..and the problem was..as an international student kita tuh nggak boleh ngambil kurang dari 3 kelas..kecuali kalo semester terakhir..yang lagi gue jalanin fall kemaren...lah trus jadinya gimana doong..ntar sama imigrasi nya gimana...akhirnya nggak ngerti deh mereka kasih alesan apa ke imigrasi..yang jelas gue jadi di bolehin untuk ngambil 1 kelas aja semester ini, tadinya di harusin ngambil 3 boww..males banget..orang nggak ada yang perlu di ambil lagi.
Trus waktu itu juga pernah di imigrasi di new jersey pas abis balik dari liburan ada masalah sama I-20 nya sama I-94 nya..jadi ada nomernya yang berbeda gitu..ya udah akhirnya gue disuruh nunggu di satu ruangan trus di tanya tanya macem2..baru akhirnya di bolehin keluar sambil di kasih tau nomer yang harus di pake tuh yang mana. waahhh macem2 deh, kayanya itu aja yang gue inget selama di US. waktu di singapore juga ada masalah di imigrasi..gue overstay gitu disana..dan sekolahnya belum ngurusin student visa gue. di perth juga nggak ketinggalan...there were times when i had to go back and forth to the immigration office..gara garanya apa gue lupa...tapi yang jelas lumayan bikin deg2an deh.. duh kenapa nih ya gue..emang sih some were happened because of me being a proscrastinate but some were also happened beyond my control dan guenya bener2 clueless. Yah mudah2an aja deh yang ini yang terakhir..amiiinn..
Click on the image above to see pictures from the event.
Seneng deh pas weekend itu (2 minggu lalu). Downtown st. louis berubah jadi rame dan meriah sekali..entah berapa puluh ribu orang tuh yang dateng ke sini untuk nonton final four, baik nonton langsung di edward jones dome nya atau yang nonton rame rame di bar. Banyaak banget calo2 ticket berkeliaran di downtown...pingin sih sebenernya nonton..but not for $600..:P, we should've registered our name in the lottery last year, siapa tau bisa dapet ticketnya..walaupun lumayan mahal juga ($150)..but the experience will be priceless...apalagi taun ini for the first time in so many years that the number 1 seats meet in the final, everybody has been imagining this match up since the season started. Oh well..
Tapi tetep seru juga sih weekend itu walopun nggak nonton langsung, banyak acara2 lain yang bisa di ikutin. Hari kamis malemnya ada slam dunk and three point contest di washington university..tadinya pingin kesana..tapi entah kenapa nggak jadi..yang ada nonton dari rumah aja. Hari jum'at nya ada team practice...went to downtown with Jibran..pas udah sampe sana baru ngeh kalo gue pake jacket ijo, jadi banyak yang mikir kalo gue fansnya michigan kali yaa..pantesan dari tadi kalo ketemu orang2 pake baju ijo2 gue di senyumin trus kalo ada mobil plat michigan lewat gue juga di klakson2..hehehe. Pas nyampe edward jones...antriannya panjang banget..pas lagi ngantri trus di samperin petugasnya lagi..katanya gue nggak boleh masuk bawa stroller..soalnya udah kebanyakan yang nitip stroller di kantor guest service nya..kecuali kalo gue bisa nunjukin metro ticket (bukti kalo gue ke downtown naik kereta..jadi mau nggak mau strollernya emang harus di bawa)...tapi kan kita nyetir..and i parked the car like 6 or so freaking blocks from there..erghh..nyebelin nih peraturannya...bisa aja sih minta ke orang yang punya metro ticket ..tapi males banget harus nanyain semuanya satu2. Trus akhirnya gue samperin aja petugas yang lain yang cewe dan dengan masang muka memelas gue bilang kalo gue tuh dateng all the way from out of town to see the practice..masa udah sampe sana tau2 nggak di bolehin siihhh..hihi..akhirnya dia kasian kali..trus dia bilang ya udah strollernya tinggalin disitu aja deh, tapi dia nggak tanggung sih kalo ilang..ya udah lah coba aja..daripada gue nggak nonton sama sekali mendingan stroller ilang..hihihi..lagian tuh illinois udah mau selesai practicenya..jadinya gue nggak mau mikir lama2.
Pas udah di dalem, wahh kaget juga liat orang segitu banyaknya..40 something thousands gitu..padahal kan ini practice aja..but almost the entire seats was filled. Gue kira gue bisa jalan2 di courtside nya and take pictures of the players up close...boohoo salah besar ternyata...hehe..gue kemaren duduk pas di sebelah CBS broadcast sectionnya, jadi lumayan lah at least bisa ngeliat broadcasternya kaya craig gumbell, clark kellog and seth davis..hehe. Kalo ESPN nggak di dalem edward jones dome nya, tapi di Union Station..padahal pingin juga liat Dicky V, Digger and Jay Bilas...*pingin nimpuk maksudnya*..haha...! Setelah illinois selesai, giliran UNC yang main...there were coach williams, sean may and co...kalo pas ini yang nonton nggak sebanyak Illinoi so we can move closer to the floor...seru juga sih practice nya apalagi pas dunk sessionnya. Anywayy....abis itu rencananya kita mau nonton NBC all star game Vs. Globetrotters (sp?) di savvis center...tapi malah jadi pada males gitu...akhirnya makan di King n I and browsed west county mall.
Sabtu nya cuma lewatin downtown aja ngeliat2 keramean, tapi nggak turun. Pas hari minggu nya baru kesana, ada taste of st. louis, ada concert (kelly clarkson, better than ezra to name a few)..dan banyak atraksi2 lain...ada concert nelly sih walaupun nggak berhubungan dengan final four..kebetulan pas aja waktunya. Dari situ kita jalan kaki ke union station and on the way there i saw this guy..
di depan Hyatt..not sure of who he was sih..tadinya kirain chingy ato siapa gitu..but i knew he was somebody famous soalnya orang pada minta tanda tangan dan ada bodyguards nya di sekelilingnya, his flashy cadillac escapade was waiting for him and there was this very coutured girl who looks like one of the girls in the hiphop video carrying her L'Ingénieux PM Suhali. Turned out it was T.I, the rapper from atlanta..I did take his picture...you can see it in the PEOPLE album in my photo gallery.
Anywayy..kita main2 aja di union station, liat2 merchandise nya final four, jibran got an NCAA 2005 ball from Bude Dien...trus kita makan di KC Masterpiece....my first time there and it was the worst dining experience i have ever encountered deh..will.never.go to.kc.masterpiece.ever.again!!!..no it's not the food..we didn't even get the chance to taste it...it was something else. But it was a good weekend nonetheless..jibran had so much fun running around everywhere.
Hari senennya championship game...and hiks.... illinois picked a bad night to have their poor shooting..but in the end, they only lose by 5 despite their inability to get the ball in the basket..I don't think Coach weber was outcoached as they did get open looks, but they just couldn't get it done. Too bad..but congrats for UNC though.
And with all that being said..it's been a fun season...and i miss my salukis already...i've been trying to compose all the pictures i have (taken and stolen..:p) and upload it in my album, belum selesai sih..but you can view it in my photo gallery under SALUKIS...gotta love the human side of basketball...for me there's more to basketball than basketball yang kalo pun gue jelasin disini juga mungkin nggak bakal ada yang ngerti..hehe...Have a nice weekend all..=)
we went to this small playground in front of our apt complex this afternoon...baru sekali tuh kesana jalan kaki..cape juga dorong strollernya Jibran soalnya nanjak jalannya..hehe. Jibran seperti biasa lah seneng banget kalo di ajak ke play area gitu. Baru liat playgroundnya dari jauh aja udah teriak2 kesenengan..
Jibran is one year and three months old today. We didn't do anything...ya abisnya mau ngapain coba?..hehe..It seems just last week when he was 3 months old and just sitting pretty in his bouncer mesmerizing the imaginary fishes floating around the screen. ..so helpless, so immobile and so fragile. Now one year later I can't even make him sit still for more than a minute..except when he is strapped in his high chair or car seat or stroller but other than that...my attempt has never been successful. I even have to chase him around the house to put his diaper on, and most of the time I failed to put it on him before he peed on the carpet!!. Akhir2 ini kelakuannya dia yang selalu bikin ketawa tuh kalo dia di tanya where his fat belly is, he will pull his shirt up over his tummy and patting his belly button...hehe..
Speaking of birthday, I just realized that I haven't wrote anything about Jibran first birthday party in here..i know i have a looot to tell but haven't got the time to write, either because i'm busy or just plain lazy. But I'll give it a try this time. His birthday was on wednesday, three days before we went back to the states. We didn't plan a party with a clown and a room decorated with balloons and confetti..soalnya memang nggak sempet arrange yang ribet2 gitu dan kayanya percuma juga Jibran belum ngerti, nanti aja lah ulang taun yang ke 2 ato ke 3...instead we went to my dad's pesantren in parung. We were planning to go there in the afternoon to have lunch together with the kids (30 of them yang semuanya yatim piatu) and the teacher, but two days prior to his birthday the principal told us that they were gonna be fasting on that day..soalnya kan 2 hari sebelum Idul Adha. Jadi daripada kesana trus cuma nge drop in makanan kan mendingan malemnya aja, pas mereka buka puasa. 
Yang ikut kesana itu gue, dendre, nyokap, bokap, my sister and brother, dendre's mom, dika, alvin dan mbak2nya. Kita sampe sana menjelang maghrib...pertamanya kenalan dan ngobrol2 dulu sama santri2 nya trus mereka semua pada ngaji dan pas waktu buka puasa kita hidangin kue2 yang udah di siapin...abis itu sholat maghrib bareng..berdoa..dan nggak lupa minta Jibran di doain juga..hehe..abis itu makan makanan yang udah di siapin di box2..pesen di cateringnya sodara gue, menunya nasi kuning, ayam goreng, perkedel, tempe kering, sambel goreng hati, lalapannya dan kerupuk. Tadinya mau pesen Mac Donald aja..tapi setelah di pikir karena acaranya selamatan kayanya lebih afdol nasi kuning yah. Mereka semua makan dengan lahap...trus abis itu tiup liliin..tapi nggak pake acara nyanyi happy birthday siih..trus potong kuenya dan di bagi bagiin deh..nggak lupa juga bagiin goody bag untuk semuanya, isinya snack2 kaya cheetos, bengbeng, permen2, minuman juice, ada juga alat2 tulis, baju koko buat lebaran, peci dan kerudungan sama ada angpao juga sedikit. 
Ya walaupun dengan ulang taun begini juga tetep aja Jibran juga nggak ngerti apa apa tapi mudah mudahan kalo dia udah besar nanti dan liat foto2 ulang taun pertamanya dia tau kalo we put emphasize on teaching him to share with the unfortunate from early on. Btw, kemaren itu juga pertama kali nya gue ke pesantren itu..jauuhh aja lokasi nya, tapi tempatnya enak sih..it's huge..halamannya luas banget, it has a swimming pool, its own petting zoo dan ada banyak pohon duren sama rambutan. There are 3 small houses, untuk yang santri cewe, cowo sama untuk ustadnya dan satu aula untuk kegiatan belajar sehari hari. Memang pesantren ini khusus untuk belajar agama aja sih...he owns another school yang sekolah umum SD-SMA nggak jauh 
dari situ..kurikulumnya pake yang di keluarin pemerintah but he only charges a very minimum monthly fee. My dad really takes his giving-back-to -the world mission seriously and has set a high standard for his children that's just seem impossible to surpass, or to even come halfway close to what he has done. He builds mosques both in and out of the country, sponsors a few HopeChild in Kenya, donates here and there and is now working on the permit to adopt 10 aceh children..and soo many other things..he is definetely the most generous man in the planet that i know..and i'm so proud of him for that. God bless his heart.
Pas udah mau pulang dari pesantrennya..we got a phone call from my auntie..telling us that grandma is in the hospital..waahhh..memang sih sakitnya bukan sakit parah..cuma mau operasi bisul aja..hehehe..but still kasian aja kan. But it was late so I didn't go to the hospital right away, besoknya baru deh kesana. Hari 
Jum'atnya Idul Adha..trus malemnya ada makan2 di rumah, sekalian farewell dan makan2 Jibran ulang taun. Everybody was there, practically the whole family deh, my mom's side, my dad's side..dari nenek (udah keluar dari rumah sakit), buyut, tante, tante, saudara ipar semuanya ada...plenty of foods..and good thing we found the cake we were looking for..it was huge..it was like 30 inches by 16" or something...everybody got a piece of it. .dan kali ini dinyanyiin selamatulangtaun dong sebelum tiup lilinnya...hehe..dan ada juga goodie bag buat anak2 kecilnya. Jam 10 malem mulai pada pulang deh...kayanya yang terakhir sekitar jam 11 an. Asli capee..tapi seru juga sih, cuma panik juga karena packingnya belum selesai..padahal pesawatnya jam 2 siang besoknya. Tapi bener deh nggak kerasa udah setaun aja umur Jibran yah..and he survived his first year with me as his mother!!!..wow..that is something to celebrate...:p
We just got back from new york trip yesterday (saturday-wednesday, from albany new york to tarrytown and weschester area to new york city) and still too tired to type. Too bad we didn't take lost of pictures..the trip alone (although so much fun) was exhausting so I didn't bother to take my camera out of my purse most of the time. I was planning to call baby dylan and baby toby to meet up and was looking forward to it..but i didn't realize that it would be so 'ribet' there..soalnya rame2 sih disananya, there were my Dad, my sister Nabila who came to study there and also Jibran's cousin Indy, Mbak Nanda and Jason who live there. Dendre didn't go with us, so it was my first trip out of town with Jibran...and i think it was my first time to miss a flight too..haha..story to come later..and oh Jibran fell of from the bed for the first time since he was born..and I bought my very first flat shoes in a looong time...I guess there's always a first time for everything.