2016 Year in Review: Fall Deeper, Rise Even Higher

At first I thought that I won’t make a year recap, as I have been crying so much ‘til I think my soul has been drained. This year is definitely another rollercoaster year, I remember 2013 was the last peaceful year for me, I only think about work. So boring. 2014 gave me a lot of suprises, especially when I have to resign to join World Muslimah Award 2014. I have worried A LOT since then. I have nightmares, I keep arguing with my beloved, I constantly reminding myself to take a deep breath and telling that everything will be okay. 

However, if I may pull a red line (menarik benang merah itu apa ya bahasa Inggrisnya...), this year is another year that taught me that Allah is Great. He is the only thing I may count on to. I learned to not expecting to human, as expectation leads to disappointment. It’s not that I don’t believe to my best friends, but even my closest person let me down. I also learn to just accept whatever He gives me, when one day someone who is considered my boss said, “you pray because you trust Allah. If you don’t like what He brings to your life, why still pray?” Then it recalled MY OWN RESPONSE to an atheist Korean professor when he asked why I pray, “I believe The Highest Creator will always protect me whatever happen in my life, He will not leave me alone, He will guide me. The feeling of knowing ‘something’ out there keep His eyes on me, it gives me peace.”

I also learn to learn more. I mean when I got a problem, I go out and seek for help, not keeping it for myself. Sometimes it’s hard because I am the first child, and I have been so independent. But then, when I talk to someone and finally get a clear solution, I believe it’s Allah’s way to help me. When I can help myself, I can help others with the knowledge. That’s the cycle of life. To help and to be helped. 

Before I bring you to my month-by-month recap, with everything that collapses, I got so many blessings until I had a thought to change my blog name into ‘An Amazing Life’. I felt like ‘A Blessed Life’ isn’t good enough to represent my life. I grow so much this year (termasuk tumbuh ke samping...). Then my friend said that ‘A Blessed Life’ is not just a brand of Primadita Rahma, it is also a reminder to stay humble. That’s why I stick with the name and hopefully it will bless anyone who reads :) So, below were my recap, please enjoy!

January
This year opened with a lot of good things. I finished my classes and spent holiday in my hometown(s).

February
At first it was great. I started working freelance, I joined an event in Masjid Kampus UGM as a committee and got a lot of new sisters/brothers, then created a new passport (although I had no travel plan that time). But then, something happened and I was crashed. Devastated was an underrated word. I hide the feeling, but couldn’t think clearly. I daydream a lot because I feel something were missing and I couldn’t connect the dots. I felt betrayed. At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore and made an appointment with a psychologist which make me so relieved. Thank you so much, Mbak Dina!

March-May
In the same time when I got crashed, I went to Jakarta in the end of February and got myself a full time job. Alhamdulillah. Exactly what I needed to keep busy and regain my positive energy. These months, I was still struggling with my problems and just tried to live my life day by day. As you can see, I didn’t write any blog post in March. I even created happiness project in May because I need to remind myself why I should be happy and grateful. That’s how gloomy my life was.  
In the other side, during these months, I joined Korean course again and zumba class. Haven’t done both of them in so many years! Wew. With the same purpose ‘to regain my positive energy’, I met lovely new friends and took back my strength. These two activities reminded me that I am worthy.

June
No matter what I felt before, Ramadhan was another beginning for me. I felt a lot happier and somehow my sadness were distracted by hunger (ugh, what time is the maghrib today? :p). Because there was preach after every tarawih prayer, and we recited Qur’an more, I felt much better. Not that I didn’t recite Qur’an in the last three months, but you know Ramadhan IS the moment of improvement.

July
If Ramadhan was another beginning, Idul Fitri finally restored my smile. One of the biggest reason was because I joined my uncle in a caesarean birth surgery. He is an ob-gyn so he gave me permission to be in the surgery room. What an experience. When I came home, I hugged my mom and thanked her for enduring the pain when she gave birth on me 28 years ago.  
I also traveled to Bali by car with my dad’s family and get more understanding that my dad and I have a lot things in common. We both are rebellious and stubborn yet adventurous and very social. After the trip, I gained so much confidence knowing my dad has been always proud of me all of these times.
This month was definitely a very big breakthrough for my on-and-off relationship with my parents.

August-September
If I can draw my life in a line chart, my line is starting to climb. Alhamdulillah.

October
My birthday month and my busiest month! Started with being a speaker for a writing workshop in Surabaya; held Born to be Loved giveaway; joined EATOF as Liaison Officer for Vice Governor of Luang Prabang, Laos; and became one of the participants of ACMC. Yet I still organized #LifeGoals. I have to miss UWRF but I know this is for something bigger. Life was sooooo good I even think any prayer will not be sufficient to thank Allah :) :) :)

November
Another best friend’s wedding, and I traveled to three cities to share my life stories in a radio talkshow and workshops. I also joined Kelas Inspirasi V Malang! I lost my voice due to exhaustion but only then I looked back and eventually understand what doesn’t kill me only make me stronger (and it can be a great blog post :p). Spent less than a week in Jogja, then flew again to BALI for annual meeting. Couldn’t believe my luck!

December
In contrary with my main goal for 2016, I haven’t finished my thesis but I invested in many bigger things. This month I also found something else. I start to believe in a thing call..... YOU KNOW. I won’t reveal it here today, just please please please pray for me so that I can announce THE BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT IN LIFE in 2017. Does it mean that I will create a new business line? Gotcha, you are disappointed. HAHAHA. I don’t know, may it be His secret for now, I am still clueless though.

In summarize, this year is 50% pain, 50% joy. The biggest lesson this year is to accept and move forward. Delete unimportant things in your mind so you can focus on more important things. Love more, understand others even more.

Last but not least, 2016 making me realize that, “life is like a coin. Pleasure and pain are the two sides. Only one side is visible at a time. But remember other side is waiting for its turn.” ~ Anonymous

Cheers for a greater year,
Prima 

Shout out to my girls Ayu Meutia and Claudya Tio Elleossa who have inspired me to write such a post. Love ya!

Liburan Akhir Tahun di Bali? Pertimbangkan Ulang Kalau Mau ke Bali Zoo

 

Alkisah saya mau kasih judul “engga usah ke Bali Zoo daripada buang-buang uang” tapi kok terlalu provokatif ya. Lagipula pada dasarnya saya tetap menikmati Bali Zoo kok. Cuma.....begini ceritanya. 

Hari Jum’at tanggal 25 November, penerbangan saya dari Bali ke Yogyakarta dijadwalkan pukul 18.00, jadi saya masih punya waktu untuk mengunjungi satu tempat di pagi hari. Tadinya saya pingin kerja di Little Talks Ubud, punya Kak Erma dan Bli Gustra. Tapi yaaa, masa Ubud lagi, Ubud lagi. No I will not feel bored to visit Ubud for million times, masalahnya agak bingung kalau ngojek ke Ubud itu lumayan jauh ye kan. Galau antara mau kemana, masa udah sampai Bali engga kemana-mana (((engga kemana-mana))). Malamnya saya browsing dan tanya ke teman-teman orang Bali tentang Bali Safari Marine Park. Saya juga sempat mempertimbangkan Bali Bird Park tapi kok kayaknya isinya cuma burung (oh ya, ada reptil juga), sementara saya sendiri memang suka banget mengunjungi kebun binatang #guiltypleasure  

Kebanyakan teman bilang mendingan ke Bali Safari, hanya saja masalah berikutnya ada di keterbatasan waktu. Takutnya keasyikan di Bali Safari terus lupa pulang, hehehe. Kemudian saya melihat di Twitter Bali Zoo lagi ada promo mahasiswa/pelajar Rp 98ribu untuk berdua, wow murah anet. Saya telepon ke Customer Service untuk menanyakan apa harus mahasiswa/pelajar Bali, katanya sih engga, mahasiswa mana aja boleh. Ternyata saya lihat lagi belakangan, sudah ada tulisannya hanya berlaku untuk mahasiswa/pelajar Bali. Sayangnya adik saya yang sedang kuliah di Politeknik STAN Denpasar engga bisa pergi karena ada kelas (“dik, mbok bolos aja... mosok tega kamu sama mbakmu...”). Alhamdulillah Andina Titra, salah satu penulis Trivia yang juga tim saya, sedang luang. Jadilah saya ngajakin dia, sekalian berkenalan lebih jauh dan mengevaluasi pekerjaan kami #ujungujungnyakerja

Sebelum masuk ke pengalaman saya, dibawah ini saya sadur beberapa review dari para blogger yang sudah pernah ke Bali Zoo. 

We loved Bali Zoo so much and would recommend this place to be listed on your Bali with Kids itinerary. – Tesyas Blog [November, 2012]

Di Bali Zoo, kita akan disuguhi beragam hewan yang sebetulnya sama saja dengan Kebun Binatang Ragunan atau Kebun Binatang Bandung. – The Alvianto [Mei, 2015] 

Kalo dari kami sih, untuk yang budgetnya terbatas, boleh lah ke Bali Zoo tapi bawa lunch sendiri aja. Itu kan areanya ga gitu besar, jadi bisa keluar dulu, makan di mobil terus masuk lagi kalo mau — walaupun kyy sih setengah hari juga udah selesai. – Smell Like Home [Maret, 2016]

Ada kesamaan dari ketiga blogger diatas, yaitu semuanya ibu-ibu beranak, yang mungkin review-nya itu sangat bergantung pada pengalaman anak-anak mereka. Sementara saya, jangankan anak, partner beranak aja belum ada. Terpaksa deh ngajak coworker. Hadeh, miris amat yak. *lalu pelukan sama Andin*

The Last Five Years: Is This Relationship Worth Fighting For?

Thanks to limited choices of movie in Premiere/Celestial/Red by HBO/Warner Bros TV, I keep watching same movies again and again. I won’t complain for Slumdog Millionaire and Harry Potter though, as I keep crying for those movies. Both of the movies taught me that there might be a huge secret purpose of why we were sent to this world. If you think that the life of Harry Potter are sequences of miserable events, who could have assumed that he will be one of the biggest wizard? He lost his parents, his aunt/uncle/cousin treated him like rubbish, yet he is not the brightest student. But J.K. Rowling trusted him to be ‘the man’. Same with Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire. He never give up after everything that happened to his life until he won Rs20million. So prima, don’t lose hope. 'Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.' – John Lennon

Why am I so mellow in the morning??? 

Is it because I dream about Dian Pelangi last night and wishing to give her marriage tips? (While I am not married yet...)

I guess it must have related to The Last Five Years, a musical romance movie starred by Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. I watched the movie start in the middle somewhere last week but I couldn’t understand the story. Turned out, Wikipedia said,

“..., it does not take place in chronological order: all of Cathy's songs begin after they have separated and move backwards in time to the beginning of their courtship, while Jamie's songs start when they have first met and proceeds through their crumbling marriage.”

So then I wait if Premiere will air it again. Lucky me, I got the chance to watch it from the beginning on Saturday night. I am in love-and-hate with musical movie. Last time I watched musical movie, it was Indonesian ‘Ini Kisah Tiga Dara’, kamu bisa baca review saya disini.

Cerita Kelas Inspirasi V Malang: SDN Sumberbening V

 

Photo credit: Arfi Keling

“Mana bisa kamu tinggal di desa, secara kamu mah orangnya kudu blow dry rambut tiap hari.”
(Tapi saya kan kerudungan, ngapain saya blow dry rambut, pikir saya)

Seorang teman tiba-tiba menantang saya untuk kembali ke desa. Menjadi sukarelawan, atau apapun itu...secara dia berpikir saya adalah seorang perempuan yang high maintenance. Tapi aslinya saya ini orang desa. Nenek saya yang berasal dari Trenggalek (saat ini sih, sudah bukan desa lagi, tapi dulu...) babat alas buat jadi kepala sekolah di satu-satunya sekolah dasar di Desa Kebobang, Gunung Kawi. Masa saya tidak bisa tinggal di desa?

Nasib memang, saya tidak merasakan KKN saat mahasiswa, jadi saya tidak tahu rasanya tinggal di desa untuk waktu yang cukup lama. Kalaupun ke rumah nenek saat Idul Fitri atau liburan, paling lama hanya seminggu. Itupun sudah angot-angotan karena tidak ada sinyal internet.

Saya baru mendapat kesempatan untuk menantang balik teman saya itu saat terpilih menjadi pengajar Kelas Inspirasi V Malang. Saya sudah beberapa kali mendengar cerita teman-teman saya tentang Kelas Inspirasi. Kayaknya seru aja gitu, bisa ngajar murid SD tentang profesi. Iya, profesi. Soalnya sebagai anak milenium (...), saya pun tidak terekspos dengan beragam profesi. Waktu saya kecil, cita-cita saya tuh standar banget, kalau engga jadi dokter, polwan, atau pendakwah. Antara terpengaruh sama ayah yang dokter hewan, senang lihat polwan cantik, dan yang terakhir karena bersekolah di sekolah Islam. That's why, pengajar Kelas Inspirasi diharapkan mampu membuka cakrawala anak Indonesia yang tinggal di daerah pedesaan tentang profesi diluar petani dan guru.

Kelas Inspirasi mensyaratkan pengajar untuk memiliki pengalaman kerja minimal dua tahun. Memang tahun 2014 saya sudah memenuhi syarat ini, tapi saya sibuk sekali tahun itu (ah elah). Tahun lalu saya juga rempong sama kuliah, dan ketika tahun ini jadwal Kelas Inspirasi Malang berdekatan dengan pernikahan sahabat saya, Mayu, saya tidak pikir panjang untuk mendaftar.

Pengalaman Menginap di Hotel 'Angker' di Bali

 

 

 

Allahu akbar, sudah Desember!!!
November kemarin saya hanya menulis.....1 post. Keterlaluan sekaleee, padahal di sisi lain, saya juga tidak menulis satupun post di ZettaMedia. Tesis? Jangan tanya! :(((

Kadang saya merasa, “sebenarnya seharian aku tuh ngapain aja?” Banyak sih yang dikerjakan, tiba-tiba saja sudah malam dan kelelahan. Secara spesifik, dua minggu yang lalu, saya berjibaku dengan evaluasi pekerjaan – tanpa terasa saya sudah 10 bulan kembali bekerja full time. Woohoo. Lalu saya (dan seantero staf kantor) mengadakan annual meeting di Bali. Woohoo kedua.

Luar biasa ya, zaman sekarang ini namanya pekerjaan bisa remote dan tidak harus dilakukan di kantor yang sama. Saya dari Jogja, manajemen dari Jakarta, dan divisi IT/Teknologi dari Surabaya bertemu di bandara. Saya tiba pertama kali, sambil celingukan karena di antara semua orang itu, hanya Gita, project manager, yang pernah saya temui. Sementara Kak Ollie sudah di Ubud. Untungnya saya tidak perlu pegang kertas bertuliskan “Zetta Media” karena mengenali mereka (atau mereka mengenali saya) cukup mudah. Cari saja yang berkaos ZettaMedia. #yaelah #pleasedeh

Anyway, even though every memory in Bali was really meaningful, tapi ada satu yang tidak akan terlupa. Yaitu...saya nginep di kamar bekas tempat kejadian orang bunuh diri.

Begini ceritanya.