HANZKY

By Andre Jordan

It was on Wednesday, they were still terribly jetlagged. I think Jibran slept at two and had to wake up at 6. But they were so excited that they didnt complain :)

I took Jibran to his school that day, went back home and took Jehan to school and stayed with her in class.

Jibran was dismissed eaely from school so he picked up Jehan at his old school and met his former teachers.

I still cant believed that Jibran is now a first grader, he was just a baby not too long ago.

I wish for them to have an enjoyable days at school, to have fun learning and absorping the knowledge at school. I wish them to go to the highest degree, to be able to study and live abroad, to exceed their parents achievement. My job is to give them a solid foundation for them to soar and become independent individuals. I might never buy them the latest toys or expensive clothes. But i'll try my best to give them my all when it comes to education and a trip around the world.

I love you munchkins!!

Sent from my iPhone.

Mitch asked Morrie if he is ever afraid to grow old. Then Morrie said, "Mitch, I embrace aging. It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."
But if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, "Oh if I were young again." You never hear people say, "Oh if I were sixty-five."
Then Morrie smiled and said, "You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven't found meaning. Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can't wait until sixty-five."
- p.118

For buying my own domain again :D. This morning, out of the blue I checked hanzky.com from my iphone and surprised to find that it's available. I'm pretty sure I had checked it before and it was taken, although I don't remember anymore if I have ever owned that domain. Maybe I have at some point in the past. I bought too many domains, from azalia.org, cold-static.com, and maybe hanzky.com, klikmarketing.com, lava-design.net, awfullyrandom.com and God knows what else..:p
So with the help from Thomas (the go to guy...hihihi), hanzky.com is now mine mine mine. Now if only I can take over the @hanzky so I can use it instead of @hanzkyy...and if only I can find more time to write here..
As cliche as it sounds, I do have a lot and I mean a lot to write. I just got back from a memorable two weeks vacation to Europe so of course I am excited to write about my experiences. Not just story about the places that I have visited but also my thought on the things I have pondering about. I've made promises and sorted out my priorities...so hopefully I'm back from vacation as a better person and clearer vision of what I'm going to do and where I'm going next. At least until I can get this jet lag out of my system.......ZzZzzzzz

I learned that I can live with a lot less. Such as with limited clothes, with one body lotion for the whole family and with the same bag over and over again.

I learned that I look just fine without eyeshadow on and without a fresh from the salon blow dried hair and overly done makeup.

I learned that it's really the American who started this fast food business and Americanized everyone with it.

I learned that the 'American' culture is growing much faster in Asia than in Europe.

I learned that Parissiane is a very environmentally friendly people. Most don't have air conditioner in their apartments and the office. Even the stores don;t feel significantly colder than outside temperatures. Fruit stalls are everywhere and they munch on cherries and strawberry while walking.

I also learned that in Italy and French, you can take your dogs inside a store.

I learned that I didn't miss my Blackberry. I haven't even bothered to reconnect the service since I've been back.

I learned that it's the park and the privilege to breath a fresh air while letting the kids run free that I miss the most about living overseas.

I learned that the African American in London look and behave differently than their friends in the States.

I learned that compare to the countries in Europe, the USA looks so plain and ordinary :D. But I still heart Chicago and San Francisco nonetheless.

I learned that after experiencing Dubai heat I've come to appreciate Jakarta weather.

I learned that sale is soldes, rebajas and saldi in French, Spanish and Italian.

I learned that even in Italy there's clothesline.

I learned that as I grow older I enjoy less busier cities than the tourist-packed ones.

I learned that kids really don't need anything beside food, basic clothes and their family when they can enjoy what nature has given them.

I learned that it's not only Jakarta that has traffic jam, pick pockets, litters and street vendors.

I learned that even in foreign countries I never feel like a foreigner.

I learned that I enjoy getting lost eventhough I had to drag a heavy suitcase all over Venice. I guess I was just happy to be there. Plus, it made me see the less touristy places and a more interesting day to day places for the locals.

I learned that products made in China are invading the world.

I learned that my ginseng coffee has once again proved that it boost up my stamina and fit level. I'm still okay eventhough I'm super tired and get only three hour of sleep and eating sporadically, while everybody else is down with flu. Now if only the coffee doesn't mess with my memory brain cell. *sigh*

I still have more but I guess this would do for now.

Sent from my iPhone.

..getting out of the shower right before you wash your hair because you just remember you haven't removed your nail polishes to get you ready for the big shower ablution at the end of your menstrual period (Gosh such a long sentence).

I was out of the shower, all wet and cold just to take off my nail polish and then went straight back in. I need to be in the state of purity today because I'm planning to do Rajab fasting tomorrow. Oh..and I did Dhuha prayer today...:).

I'm grateful that I'm longing to improve my relationship with my master. There's nothing like faith that can make you content with whatever life is throwing at you...:)

I just learned about this term today from Vanya. A hoarder is someone who likes to keep everything. And by everything I mean clothes that don't fit anymore, brochures from a product that you think you might need in the future, souvenirs from someone's wedding that don't serve any purpose in your house/desk or broken things that you plan to fix 'later'. Basically, a hoarder is a junk collector :D. My friend's mom is a compulsive hoarder that she keeps empty pizza boxes and styrofoam from takeout orders :). My mom is a hoarder too although thankfully she is not that severe.
We were talking about this mental disorder when we were organizing our office and preparing it for the TV crew today. Turned out, a few people in the office find it hard to get rid of old stuff too (ayo ngaku siapa! :p ).
I am far from a hoarder. I don't like to keep stuff unless their presence can bring value to my life. I have always do a regular spring cleaning on my closet and my kids closet. That's why I am never one of those people who would find a treasure at the back of her closet because I know exactly what I have. So yea it's an old habit and I especially even more adamant about keeping less stuff since I learned about feng shui and how those junks can complicate your life.
Like other things in life, our upbringing contribute a lot to our preference. I didn't have a lot of stuff growing up, be it clothes or toys..so I'm used to have empty spaces around my house, or in my drawer. I moved house MANY times. For the 31 year I have been living, I have moved house about 26 times, believe it or not. I've been to 12 different schools and live in four different countries.That is enough to contribute to why I don't like to hang on to things because packing and unpacking them is not fun. That also contributes to why I don't get attach easily. How could I get attach if I don't spend enough time with my surrounding? Or maybe I just learned to build a wall because I know I will have to leave them soon anyway...:(
But there will be times where we have to settle, at least for a few years. And as long as we still live in Jakarta, this house is where we're going to live. I'm still longing to go back to living overseas with my little family though, but not now and not in the next few years. This is where I meant to be living for the time being..:)
Alright, let's go back to throwing all these junks in the office...:D
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I turned 31 a month ago..and honestly don't make a fuss about it. It's so different from when I turned 30 from 29. THAT my friend, was a big deal. I was in denial for close to a month before I have finally accepted it wholeheartedly.

Everyone in the office surprised me by coming out from the back room, bringing cake (with candles that were smartly switched to 13..hihi). Of course, it was a lovely surprise (although I kind of 'smelled' something before..hehehe that was the nosy and the detective me talking), it was still surprising nonetheless. They also brought Affi's aunt famous lasagna for our lunch...(and I got to keep the leftover and ate it everyday for the whole week...yummy!).

I received many tweets and messages on my Facebook wall that day. So many that I don't even get a chance to reply them one by one, especially the ones on Facebook. It amazes me that people are willing to take the a minute of their times to click on my profile and leave wishes for me. Something that I don't do often enough :(.

Obviously every single wishes is truly appreciated, I keep them all in my heart...but there were a few tweets and messages that brought me to tears. The ones that emphasize more on who I am than what I have done. It's nice to know that some people notice that there are more to me than things that I have achieved.

I just realized that I can learn more about me and found out what I projected myself to be from people's birthday message to me. Interesting...:)

I seriously dont know how this book landed on my shelf because i never remember buying it. All i know is it's been there for a while and eventhough i was close to throwing it a few times, a voice inside my heart always tellimg me to keep it, just in case.

I guess that little voice is called hope. One of my biggest desires is to travel the world and paris is in my must visit city. I cant be thankful enough that in less than a month i will ride the eurostar from london to paris :)

I really didnt expect this trip to come this soon. I was content to wait for another two or three years, but a pit stop at the exhibition speed up the plan. Thank You :))

Sent from my iPhone.

Not me, obviously, but my brother in law. I'm attending his dissertation defense presentation at IPB. If he can tackle this, he will come out as the 7th graduates from Program Pascasarjana Manajemen dan Bisnis Institut Pertanian Bogor. He did his master's in Saitama University, Japan and also an ITB graduate.

I'm not surprise if he is going to pursue another degree right after this :D

I have a great deal of interest on education too, I LOVE school, believe it or not. But getting phd title just never interest me. I guess I'm just not into academic field. But I do love being in a classroom and being intellectually challenged. I think I will go back to school someday!

Now that I think of education. My family from Oki's side has a long history of scholar. Oki got his master, and so did bh of his sisters. His dad has an MBA from SIU Carbondale. Even Oki's grandpa holds an MBA degree from Virginia Tech University. Wow..I don't even think my grandpa even graduates from elementary school..:D. My side of the family is heavy on the entrepreneurial background. None of them is a corporate slave as opposed to Oki's side. Interesting to see that we both now are a representation of our side of family :). With the exception that I'm also a believer in the importance of academic degree. When I was in high school, all I ever desired was to study abroad and get my master. It was not easy to convince my dad to let me go. He offered me a brand new car instead if I wanted to go to college here..but then he realized that putting up with my everyday nagging was too much to handle. So off I flew on that plane. One of the best decisions I've ever made.

By the way, Oki is about to have interview with Google, the greatest company on earth, in a few minutes. Just like I wrote on my Twitter. Google receives about 30000 resumes per week!. So to be selected for an interview is already an achievement in itself and shows how above the rank you are. Nothing but ProuD! ♥ ♥ ♥. Best of luck dear nduti.

Alright, enough bragging for today!
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It's Sunday and we're staying home. I've spent the last two hours looking through my printed photo albums, sorting the pictures I want to frame while going down memory lane.

I am a happy snapper, always take pictures. So we do have a lot of them. They are my most treasured possession.

And then I came across this pictures of Oki and I. I forgot the exact date, but I remember it was taken on my first few months of living in Carbondale. I think it was Spring time of 1999, maybe in March. It was almost a year since we've dated each other.

By the way, the picture was taken in Rafi & Lin's house. They had gone back to Malaysia a few years before us, have two kids..but now they have separated :(. Something I didn't see coming. I remember that shiny nylon jacket was from Express, I got the blue one for Aan, bought in upstate New York just before we were about to meet up. Underneath the Mossimo Jacket. Oki was wearing the Hawaian shirt I got him for Valentine's day. It was from Structure.

It's nice to know that eleven years have passed and I have never stopped blessing the day I found him..:)

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Kayanya mandek di hari ketiga deh..:D. Yang hari kedua pun belum sempet di foto. Oh well..yang penting NIAT nya kaaan?..hihihi, padahal gue baru bilang tadi di acara Universitas Sebelas Maret Blog Fest. Kalo mau ngeblog ya langsung jalanin aja. Capcus. Nggak pake nunggu nunggu. Jangan cuma diniatin aja, tapi dijalanin juga. Untuk kehidupan beragama mungkin niat aja udah ada nilai plusnya. Tapi kalo untuk kehidupan duniawi..niat is not gonna get us anywhere. It's all about excecution.

Anyway, sekarang lagi di Airport Adi Sumarmo, pesawatnya delay 25 menit..jadi terpaksalah buka laptop daripada mati gaya..:p. Hari ini judulnya day trip ke Solo. Berangkat jam 4.30 pagi dari rumah. Kasian tadi pas Jehan nangis pula..memang jam segini ini jamnya dia mimik cucuuuu!. Tapi disusuin sebentar trus gue langsung bilang "Udah yaaa Mommy mau kerja dulu yaa..."..

Katanya sih dia sempet nangis beberapa menit trus abis itu ngomong sendiri.."Mommy kerja yaaa?"...

Huhuhu...kasiaan. Jadi mikir lagi sanggupkah gue ninggalin 3 hari untuk ke Singapore akhir bulan ini? :(

Tadi acaranya seru...I think they like the Video that Thomas made. I was a bit nervous obviously but I think I did better than the last time I spoke on public..:). But still have to register at Talk. Inc.
Mahasiswa di Solo sama di Jakarta itu beda banget yaah...I'm not trying to generalizing things but that's what I saw today. Kayanya mahasiswa UNS jauh lebih polos-polos dan lebih santun..:)

Ohh here comes boarding time. Gotta go now!

We're about to enter the third month of the year tomorrow. Crazy how everything seem to move in fast forward mode. Everyone is getting busier each day and it's getting harder to chill back and enjoy the moment.
In this project, I'm trying to take a few minutes off each day, to absorb everything and pay more attention to my surrounding by capturing a moment or a piece of something out of my daily life.
It would be fun..I need to get more mileage from the lumix and/or the 500D. Ohh I'm excited already :))
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