tiarakami.com: it’s real

The name “tiarakami” came up when I was in junior high school. My mom told me that it was the name that she prepared for me at first. But, one-word-name isn’t good for javanese people (they say). So, here I am. Indah Mutiara Kami and loving that name.

I use “tiarakami” as my username since I got to learn about internet. And I always joke about how I will use “tiarakami” as my nama panggung. Since I won’t be an actor or a singer, I always dream it as the name that will be printed on my book.

But…. because I have not written any book, I want to use it for my blog.

Having tiarakami.com is my plan since several years ago. It may sounds unnecessary because I’m not a famous people or someone who have a lot of project or anything. Hey, who knows? For now, tiarakami.com is for my sake of happiness. It will urge me to write more often and more useful post. It will remind me to never give up when it comes to chasing my dream so I can write down about my dream.

So, here I am! You can find me at http://tiarakami.com

I moved all my previous posts there. For now, you still can access my previous blog (https://tiarakami.wordpress.com) but I’m planning to redirect it there later.

One more announcement, I decide to separate my fiction writing from my main blog. Why? First, I want to write more and more fiction stories. Second, most of you who read all the “Fiction” category here assume that I’m in ‘galau’ mode hahaha. So, separating it will make a clear boundaries of my reality and my imagination in my head. You can access my short stories, poems, and other fiction writing in http://cerita.tiarakami.com

tiarakami.com will be home for my journeys, ideas, opinions, and others. I wish it could be useful for you too.

Thank you 🙂

“I love you” without a question mark

I love you.

Is that a statement, or a question?

Does that always come with a long pause, waiting for an answer?

****

Mine doesn’t.

I told her how I fell in love with her in the first place just minutes before her plane took off. I just blurted. Those words came out of my heart, while I knew that her boyfriend was waiting for her.

I gave her no pause, no time to express her shock, no chance to say anything.

I didn’t want an answer because I knew from the beginning that she wouldn’t be mine.

You can’t impose love. It arises unwittingly. You can’t withhold love. It will blight eventually.

It was an “I love you” without question mark.

you could only be happy when the person you choose to be with also chooses to be with you (alanda kariza)

it wasn’t a thanksgiving

…but we ate turkey anyway!

It started when my friends and I running out ideas for a place to eat in Bandung. Out of the blue, one of us mentioned “turkey!” and there we went. Turkey isn’t a normal dinner for Indonesian. I never eat that before. All I know about turkey is western people eat that kind of bird on thanksgiving.

There are a place to eat turkey (or “kalkun” in Bahasa) in Bandung. It is called Master Kalkun at Jl. Cihampelas no 78. We were looking for a restaurant and it turned out to be a “warung tenda.” They open at 6 p.m and here is the menu.

The Menu

I recommend you to order Kalkun Barberque. It’s turkey’s drumstick marinated in BBQ sauce. It’s worth the price. The “Kalkun Goreng Tepung” was disappointing because the portion’s too small. I ate there with three guys hahaha.

It’s big!!

Grilled

marinated

Fried

Here it is: Kalkun Barberque

it was delicious. The taste was not much different from chicken. But, it was a unique choice for dinner. You should try it 🙂

be grateful everyday

When I was a little, my dream was to work in Kuningan or other business district in Jakarta. Standing between those tall buildings and watching lights from those offices were my aims.

Again, I was a child. I didn’t know about the traffic, the workload, or the people.

Ten years later, here I am; living my childhood simple dream. It isn’t precisely the manifestation of my dream but there’s still many things to be grateful for.

It is only a internship, yet it still gives me income. It is also a gateway for me if I want to get serious in this business. They give me a big learning opportunity and it will be ungrateful if I waste it.

Have a chance to meet great people from various background is what I’m grateful for too. On my first week, my supervisor told me that I was too quite. Truth is: I’m feeling inferior among those people. But then, I will be one of them in a short time. My extreme background difference won’t be an obstacle, it will be a challenge.

Jakarta has know for its cruel traffic jam. I work in the central of the city and I live in in the side of city. Kostan will cost me more so I choose to face the traffic everyday. Using transjakarta, I try to believe that public transport is the best option. Radio & earphone are my best friends during my trip everyday.

Matter of fact, I can spend these 2 months to sit idle, enjoy my life and go to somewhere far. But again, this kind of opportunity is rare. Yes, it’s tiring. But, great things won’t come easy. I’m young and I have to had my own struggle, my own mistakes, and my own experience.

Enjoy the moment and don’t forget to be grateful everyday.

 

Akhirnya

Semua bermula pada bulan November 2011, lebih dari setahun yang lalu.

Saya sedang duduk duduk di himpunan (yeah, jaman masih anak himpunan banget) bareng Ary dan kemudian Dida datang. Dia habis diskusi dengan Ibu Indah tentang topik TA. Dida melemparkan isu tentang limbah batik dan berkata bahwa dari isu tersebut masih banyak yang bisa dibahas. Salah satunya adalah toksisitas.

Saat saat itu, semua orang memang lagi heboh hebohnya mencari dosen pembimbing, pilih pilih topik TA, galau sana sini. Saya termasuk salah satunya. Sempat terpikir memilih topik ini, dosen itu, tanya sana sini, tapi belum ada keberanian untuk ambil inisiatif. Entah kenapa, setelah ngobrol sama Dida dan Ary siang itu, saya langsung browsing tentang toksisitas dan datang ke Bu Indah keesokan harinya.

Dan cerita pun berlanjut.

Semangat, malas, jatuh, bangun, gagal, dibantu, ada teman, sendirian, ngelab sampai malam dan weekend, hilang dari lab, ngerjain TA di kosan lab siete student lounge TU kosan inad, ngejar ngejar jadwal seminar, habis seminar malah ninggalin TA, rusaknya hasil sampling kedua, ngejar ngejar jadwal sidang, takut gak bisa sidang gara gara masalah administrasi, latihan sidang, dan….

akhirnya tiba juga waktunya sidang sarjana.

setelah segala persyaratan sidang dan slide sidang beres, saya berusaha menanamkan pikiran bahwa hari sidang is just another day in my life. Saya membuatnya terasa mengalir begitu saya. Saya mencoba untuk membuat mood tetap bagus agar bisa sejauh mungkin dari perasaan deg degan.

Sejujurnya, rasa deg degan itu baru muncul sekitar 1-2 menit sebelum memulai sidang.

Satu jam empat puluh lima menit di dalam ruangan tersebut terasa sebentar namun lama. Sulit namun bisa dilalui. Mengalir namun ingin dipercepat. Hingga di menit menit terakhir, yang terkumpul di dalam dada saya adalah ketakutan yang terakumulasi sejak berbulan bulan sebelumnya. Berbagai “bagaimana” bermain di pikiran saya.

Saya tidak bisa ingat bagaimana perasaan saya saat pengumuman hasil sidang akan diberikan. Rasanya seperti mengawang awang hingga kalimat “Kamu dinyatakan lulus” terdengar di telinga saya.

Ada rasa ringan di pundak, lepasnya ketegangan di kaki, dan otot wajah secara reflek membentuk senyum.

Akhirnya…..