[Photography] Same old brand new Jakarta

Assalamu'alaikum,

From 35th floor, a hello comes from a girl with thick hijab, black narcissistic-pic sweater, black pants, black socks & a cup of hot black coffee, wishing you guys to have a nice - if possible - warmer morning, at least warmer than her morning, lol.

Hijab by Zirraa. Follow their Twitter: @ZirraaOlshop

Btw, she would like to post some pics she took last week when flood attacked Jakarta. Same old same old, eh? Only God knows when that curse will stop 'visiting' the city every year. Anyway, better still see things in positive side. At least I could still sharpening my photography skill through this natural phenomena with 50mm f/1.8 and 135mm f/2.8 sears lenses of mine ~B/W style.

Let's have a look, shall we?

Bye :)
G.

PS:
- All the pics are my own artwork. DO NOT COPY THEM WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. Thanks 
- If you want to see other pics I have taken with my SLR cam, you can visit my flickr account, and add me if you have one too. Thanks

Looks like enjoying the ride :D

Hardworker

Rayyan and daddy

In front of my housing

After accompanying mom & dad hunting pictures in the flooded area, Rayyan watched The Lone Ranger with Papa :p

This is what I call "economy tactics" :p

This is the road to my brother's house. His house is on the right side. The flood reached until the adult thighs.

He wanted to have fun with what the flood could offer him.

Spontaneous pool, lol.

[Writing] What is up?

Assalamu'alaikum,

Writing again in here feels like coming back to a place called "home" and finding out there are thousands of things need to be cleaned up. This place has been abandoned for quite a time. Having my own real life with family, work & others makes me... well, forget this place I once always laid my teen-type of emotions with all those lame chaotic love and hate stories of my life. It is true, they say... That people can be so creative when they get hurt / wounded by those they care about. But once they're happy (Let's say in my case of happiness - get married, have a son & run a small warm family), the creativity just blows away like a candle that's been blown off by the wind. It seriously is, if you haven't married yet you might not feel what I just wrote.

But anyway, I feel nothing but a huge missing to this lovely page of mine so I decided to write a bit in here. Nothing to write, perhaps just some updates of my life,

Starting from my pregnancy.

In my previous blog post, I proudly informed you readers that I was positively pregnant. Yep! This is my second pregnancy, can't be more excited fo-sho and now it's entering 21st week. Actually the obgyn already has a huge hint on what sex my future child will have, but let's not so keen about it just yet. What matters now is that this womb is always safe and sound, healthy & well-protected. But I must say the truth... My first child is a "he". So, it's not so hard for you to guess what sex I'm hoping my second child to have? LOL. Yes, that's it. Let's pray to Allah, shall we?

AAMIIN...!! :D

Me & Hubby @ Pekan Produk Kreatif Indonesia - Epicentrum Walk, Dec 1st 2013

So what about it, what about my second pregnancy? I believe in the saying that every pregnancy that every mother has is unique. They have their own stories about their pregnancy stages. It is why many mothers sometimes miss the feeling of being pregnant - incl. me. I must say my second pregnancy has been... if I can't say harder, I'd say say chaotic! Hehehe... Yes, chaotic is the best word to describe it. Starting the first week I found out that I was preggo from the pregnancy test, I was quite sure that my mind impulsion to feel the nausea took part a bit. The nausea attacked me almost all day long & I felt this stomach-ache like I wanted to poop more than 3 times per/day. Wow! Never felt this in my first pregnancy, so I got shocked a bit. Always got rest on weekend. Almost had no time socializing or doing my tasks in several movements I'm joining in or even taking my family out just to have dinner / play at the play park. Always played dead on Sat and Sun. I even had this symptom called a "heart burn", a burning sensation from my throat down to my heart then to my gastric every time I drink or eat. It happened due to the high frequency of vomiting so the gastric acid came out along with the vomits. Ladies and gents, it happened until the week 16 and it felt like shit. Period.

Okay now, let's continue with other things.

Work runs well, friendship runs normal - No psychopath attack so far, LOL. What was interesting is probably about my handsome lil Ville Valo-ish son named Rayyan :D He has been circumcised! Yeaaay, finally! Alhamdulillah it ran well from the medical action till the recovery time. He was circumcised on Dec 16th after his final semester test in his school. Actually I was worried to death about how he could face the circumcision - which is undoubtedly very painful after the anesthetic effect has gone. But he once again surprised us - the parents - about how well he could manage his fear over circumcision and the pain. I didn't expect an understandable & pain-proof kinda son either. Moreover, he's still 3. But he managed it pretty well. Being spoiled for a week after the medical action, but then he got back pretty fast when the klamp has been removed from his penis 5 days post-circumcision. Anyway, after in-depth research about the best method, I & hubby decided that he would be circumcised with a smart klamp method. It's a new method that is popular recently, because it doesn't produce much blood and for me the process looked pretty humane! LOL... Well, don't blame a mother for being too worried about their treasure named kids, just don't! :D

Rayyan post-circumcision. Langsung pake celana & memang disarankan begitu. Congrats kiddo :-*

Why did Rayyan circumcised in such a very young age? Yes, we do have reasons for what we've done. It's because Rayyan's penis was having a 'situation' called Phimosis. You might wanna check out what it means on Wiki / Google. But in short, phimosis is a congenital narrowing of the opening of the foreskin so that it cannot be retracted. The effect of ignoring a Phimosis'd penis is an inflammation inside it coz the impurities from the urine settle in and can't be taken out due to the congenital narrowing. So circumcision is the only way out. Thank Allah it's over now. And as much as how funny it might sound to you, now my son has the cutest well-shaped penis ever! Hahahahahaha... Good job anyway, kiddo. Momma's proud of ya ;)

How about the 2 movements I'm joining in since 2 years ago, which are #IndonesiaTanpaJIL and @MariBerhijab?

Still running, Alhamdulillah. Both movements are doing internal committee recasting recently. Due to my pregnancy, my work load, my duty in family & my band - which is now on process of making our 3rd album - I decided to not to be too actively involved in movement programs that require field works. I'll let the tasks to the younger, more vibrant troops to handle it. Working behind the scene is prolly better now, I know my limit ;) The last program that I did with #IndonesiaTanpaJIL was a talkshow about gender & equality in Islam by @HijaberTanpaJIL - a muslimah movement under the name of ITJ. Hopefully those 2 movements can maintain a long lasting existence among the muslim people. More muslims are enlightened by Islam, that's still be our goal. Bismillah :)

 

Committee of Gender Talk Event held by @HijaberTanpaJIL with Mahdavi - Novelist. Coffee Inst, Dec 15th

What else? Oh yeah, about 3 weeks ago I received an award for my 5 years of service to the company I'm working in, Bakrie & Brothers. Alhamdulillah... Actually I should've received the award on January 2012 but there was no award event held last year, so I just received it this year. This month, January 7th, will be my 7th year of working here. Wow, time flies isn't it? Is now the right time for me to "get out of the nest and spread my wings wider"? We'll see ^___^

Me with the award (Pregnancy: 18 weeks)

The last exciting thing I want to share is that me & hubby have our own new "hobby" now, hopefully a profitable hobby (Aamiin...). His new hobby is photography. I'm so proud to see how fast he learns it. It's been his desire deep down inside, I knew it. He's gifted to that. Though I was the one who bought the SLR camera, but he's the one who learns it seriously and takes care of the camera, LOL. Me? Well, my new hobby is still related to the photography world too - a bit. Just wait, prolly will post it in here someday if I have the gut, hehehe...

Some of his works :)

Gotta back to work. You have a nice day aight? I'm out!

Wassalam,
G.

[A story] Another blessing is about to come...

Assalaamu'alaikum blog readers,

Pheww... It feels like forever since the last time I wrote a blog. I'm sorry. I don't know, I feel like my writing ability doesn't come in handy when I sit on my chair, facing pile of documents to do. Sounds like a cheap excuse, huh? Yeea well, couldn't think of any cheesier pick-up line, heheh...

So anyway,

It began about 3 weeks ago, around Sept 3. I've prepared a softex in my bag just in case my period was coming. My period comes in orderly. I have around 23 - 25 days of fertile period. So usually my period always comes earlier every month, can be 5 - 7 days earlier since to the last period in the last month. On August, I had my period on the date 10th, so I should have had another period on Sept 3.

I should have had it.

But I didn't.

That monthly guest didn't come till the date showed at 10th. I started to consider whether I should buy a test pack or just wait for another week. Just be patient for 7 more days, the period might come... or not.

SAYA GALAU.

Considering I still wore those pair of wedges, hi-heels and whatever those varices-inducement footwears named, it scared the hell outta me if I really was pregnant. Could harm the fetus. So I decided to buy the test pack that night on the way home from work. This not-having-period-when-i-should-have-had-it-a-week-ago was quite stressing me out. I wasn't on a baby program because I & husband hadn't talked seriously in a short term about having another baby, although I have stopped my KB monthly injection since a year ago. No, it doesn't mean that we don't wanna add more screeching sound from a baby's mouth in our house anymore, it's just that... No serious talk before, means no plan has made regarding this baby program thing (Though actually I am ready enough to have another baby bump in my tummy ^^).

The night before I tested my urine to a test pack, I dreamt of a two-stripe result on it after plunging it to my urine. Then I woke up in the morning, Sept 11th. Feeling nervous I went to a bathroom, put my morning urine on a little plastic bottle and plunged the test pack into it.

10 seconds... 20, 30...

Oh gosh, it's coming...

40, 50...

If it shows two stripes, I'm gonna run & hug my hubby. If it's not...

60 seconds!

Here was the result...

Wednesday, Sept 11

Yes!! A wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide smile, ladies 'n gents.

Alhamdulillah.... Alhamdulillah wa syukurillaah...

Went back to the bedroom, woke up my husband & showed the test pack result.

Bismillah, Rayyan is going to have a sibling..... ^^

Be good there, nak. This nauseous phase is not pretty. But mommy's sure she can handle it. You'll see, pumpkin ^^

The fetus, 6 weeks (Sept 19th)

Btw, I'm trying to regularly check the fetus up in RSIA Tambak, Manggarai. According to many mommies in many motherhood mailing list, this hospital has good reputation in some important things for me:

1. Apply the Early latch-on

2. Breastfeed millitant obgyns, pediatricians, midwives & nurses

3. Apply the R.U.M

4. Apply the rooming-in

5. Does not promote any formula milk to newly moms

6. Affordable cost

Just like what I'm looking for. I hope this hospital is as good as what those moms talk about.

Wassalam,

G.

ILY.

Miracle does happen. I realized that I've found my miracle when I held your tiny little body for the first time, watching you cry. I know you're not mine for absolute, I just hope I could be there for you as long as I live. To hear you call "Mommy" every time you feel happy, moreover when you're down. Allah bless you, kiddo

G.

[Trip] Deathlust goes to Tidung Island!

Salam 'alaikum happy people!

Wooh! It feels so good to be back & write in here again. Sorry for I have not posted anything again lately, even just for an Outfit / Hijab of The Day posts. I am now online-ly reading series of manga comics, LOL. Just reminiscing old fave comics I have read several years ago. Now I'm reading "Topeng Kaca", do you like that comic?

Anyway, with my new tanned skin (Strapped skin to be exact, because honestly the tanning went.. well, not that perfect) I wanna share a new experience with my lovely little Deathlust family. We went to Tidung Island, located in Kepulauan Seribu - north side of Jakarta. We went there using little passenger boat (we usually called it 'kapal fery') and it took around 2 - 2,5 hours to get there, depends on the weather & the wind. To get to Tidung Island by the passenger boat, you must arrive at Muara Angke port before 7am, because the boat departs at 7 am and usually there will be no other departure after that time. The boat can pick the passengers up to 100 + luggage. And during the trip, you will pass through several little islands too like Bidadari Island, Rambut Island, Untung Jawa Island, Pari Island & Lancang Island.

Waiting for the boat to come

Ckckck... Anak sape sih nih?

Taken from here

What was special is, this was the first time for my son Rayyan to go on vacation with a boat. If there is something I worried about, it'd be that he wouldn't enjoy the 2-hour long trip using the boat. He's a type of a person that gets bored so easily. Fortunately we woke him up at 4:30 am so when in the boat, he fell asleep again, and alhamdulillah he didn't feel any seasick at all (that's my boy!). We arrived at Tidung Island safe and sound at 10 am, then headed directly to our hostel near the port (only 5-minute walk). DO NOT expect any luxurious type of hotel / resort. If you're not a backpacker soul, don't cry like a baby there. People will die laughing at you.

Rayyan inside the boat

Muara Angke port

A boat to Tidung Island

Inside the boat (there's me in red jacket!) :D

It was a wrong decision to sit in the lowest floor of the boat because it was damn hot there

The example of the hostel there. Taken from here

The example of the hostel there. Taken from here

Because this was a trip that had been fully set by the travel guide (thank you, mas Abra!), so all we had to do was just follow all the instructions from them. Me & my family shared a little lodgement with another family (whose the father is a boss of my husband). There's only one bedroom with an air conditioner which I barely could enjoy its use (Because well... It couldn't defeat the real weather in Tidung; which is frikkin hot!), a bathroom, a living room with a TV set & a mineral water dispenser. The best we could get and we couldn't be more thankful for that!

Let's go back to Saturday, May 4th 2013 from 1 pm - night a.k.a First Day!

After putting down all luggage in the hostel, praying Dzuhur (and in my case, Ashar too because I did "Jama' Qhasar") & having lunch, we directly go to the port again and got inside a little dory to go to our first destination; Payung Island. Yes, folks... We wanted to go snorkeling!! Well, except me. I didn't do snorkeling. No, unless I want to see my baby boy jumped out from the boat to follow me. Besides, I can't swim. Yes I can't. Don't ask why, I'm not proud of that -____-"

Jembatan Cinta from afar

Perahu tetangga yg mau snorkeling juga

This lil girl cried out loud to her parents for wanting to go swimming too :D

Cieee yang kakinya kebentur karang :))

Pak Bambang & his 6-year-old son, Nouval

It's time to enjoy Allah's creation below the water!

I am her fans! She's still around 10 years old but has able to swim inside & hold her breath quite long. She's dope!

When hubby was doing snorkeling, his toes hit a coral and they started to bleed. Not severely bled though, but I strongly believed it hurt, because he kept squawking, "Sshhh, that hurts!", "Aww, aww.. Okay, not cool", hahaha... LOL. But he couldn't do snorkeling long because he got tired easily he hasn't swim for a long time. The thing I remember when he said, "Gara-gara ngerokok nih gue ngga bisa tahan nafas lama, jadi cepet capek. Tapi enakan ngerokok ah daripada snorkeling" and all people there laughed over his joke. Sheees, I felt like tapping his forehead for saying it :D

How about Rayyan? What did he do during the snorkeling activity others were doing? No worries, Rayyan had his own way to entertain himself :D He kept munching and munching snacks I brought him & threw the snack to the sea so the fishes could eat it. He enjoyed staring at the coral from the dory. Yeps, the water was sooo clean we could see the coral & the fishes clearly without having to jump down to the water. Subhanallah, Allah has the most creative 'hands' that no one could compete! If you have had been there you'd know what I mean :')

After we were satisfied with the snorkeling thing, we pulled over the dory to the Payung Island beach to relax a bit. Payung island is a little island near Tidung Island. The citizen there are not more that 50 people. So quiet, almost uninhabited. I wonder why there are people who want to live there? Why don't just move to Tidung Island which has bigger population? Nobody knows why. At 5pm we went back to our hostel to take a bath & to get ready to pray Maghrib. The one thing I like in this island is that I could hear adzan clearly, because Islam is the major religion among them. The residents there are so kind & friendly too.

I feel like a pufferfish when wearing this life jacket, LOL

Die at Payung Island

Deathlust fam at Payung Island. Ready to go back to Tidung Island

Playing tiime!

Chillin out

Rayyan's & Nouval's creation :D

My beach boy! :-*

The night came, it's time for barbeque! Thought I didn't come to the barbeque but I still could enjoy the grilled squid (which tasted damn good!). I couldn't come because I accompanied Rayyan who had fallen asleep in the living room (we decided to sleep in the living room, not in the bedroom because Rayyan never can sleep without the whispering sound of the TV, LOL).

 

The barbeque began

Second day! (May 5th, 2013)

Telat Bangun. Oke deh, gudbay sunrise!

Please do not follow this negative example of us. Being too exhausted could cause you to wake up with a dumb face & realize you're just a minute away from the Shuruq time. Hurriedly took wudhu & prayed Subuh. O Merciful Allah please forgive us... *smacks own face*

Knowing positively that we lost the change to take pictures of sunrise, we still went to the edge of the island (a.k.a Jembatan Cinta), having breakfast. Now we wanted to have a walk in the Jembatan Cinta that connects the Big Tidung Island to the Small Tidung Island. Since I brought Rayyan with me, automatically I knew I wouldn't be able to go screaming in Banana Boat. Rayyan is so bound to his mom, and I don't mind that. My son's happiness is above mine :-*

People say, you should jump from above the bridge first to find your true love. Errr, owwkaaayy

Don't you think it's a bit too young for him to want to find his true love & jump now? LOL

At 9 am we went back to the hostel & packed our bags, ready to go home. We gathered in the port precisely at 11 am. This is another thing you might wanna take a note if you're planning to go to this island. The boat from and to Jakarta / Tidung only departs everyday at 7 am, if you're late.. You're out. But a special case on Friday & Sunday, the boat departs twice; 7 am & 11 am. So we took the 11 am departure, but the boat departed at 11:30. The weather in Java Sea was quite windy that day, I felt a little bit dizzy though I wasn't seasick. Rayyan directly fell asleep when the boat departed. Thank God, so at least I could try to rest my eyes for a while. We arrived in Muara Angke at 02:15. Almost 3 hours huh? Yes, like what I wrote before, it depends on the weather, moreover if your boat heading to a direction that's colliding with the wind/wave direction... It's going to take longer than usual.

Alhamdulillah, though I had a bit concern about how my son would enjoy the trip... We had through it smoothly. I was once again surprised about how strong my son is. He basically enjoyed every trip we did, as long as it called "a vacation", hehehe...

What a tiring yet a very nice experience last weekend was. I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend too! I'm off now, enjoy the pics I & my hubby took in Tidung Island. Oh, I do have one message for you, beach lovers, backpackers, mountain lovers, mountain hikers & travel-addicts... Please please pleeeeaaasee throw all of your trashes in the trash bin. If there are no bins, try to collect them all in one paper/plastic bag & throw them soon as you see any trash bin. I almost cried my tears out when seeing trashes everywhere along the beach-walk area. Seriously you guys, just DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE. It hurts my heart all the hearts that love clean environment for a better place to live.

Don't you too? :(

Wassalam,

G.