tribute to my Dad

Not in a million years have I ever thought that I will be back in Bandung so soon. For I have planned not to come home for one full year -after all the opportunity to travel around Japan is rare, I'd like to benefit from it as much as possible -. But here I am, in front of my mothers notebook, writing a current post to explain what happened, not just to you but mostly to myself.


Monday night my boyfriend contacted me about something urgent, I had no clue what so ever of what was happening, so I was extremely puzzled when he told me to come home –it is so unlikely for him to ask of such thing-.


He said my father was in the emergency room. He was in a critical condition, and I should come home as soon as possible.

My boyfriends description about my Dads condition was unclear so I conveniently concluded that his condition was not serious and that I still had time to go home –I thought I had 1 or 2 more days-. That night after having no further information from my boyfriend I decided to sleep it off, because I knew that no matter what happens, I will need every strength for the day after.

Then I woke up early in the morning and I checked my cell phone and there it was –written in one of the text messages I received while I was sleeping-: my dad was gone –he died about two  hours earlier-.

So there it is, he died.

My dad is a good person. I cant explain it in any other word. He is unbelievably dramatic and loves to exaggerate; which somehow I find to be both his curse and his charm. He is eccentric and wise, funny but also cruel, polite but sometimes so real and harsh it hurts. He was everything; for me he was my world, someone I looked up to but hated both the same. I guess in one word; I love him. I always will.

All the way back to Indonesia I could not help but think of him and everything he gave to me. He gave me his point of view, his knowledge, his experience, his love, he gave me everything I never asked for. I was his life, he always said to me, his best accomplishment.


I felt so alone that day, for every time something bad happened to me I always knew that he was there for me, in thick and thin; although sometimes he can be so very harsh but he always stood by me. And now he was gone.

When I arrived at Jakarta I was greeted by my friends at the airport, they all came to pick me up and to accompany me back home to Bandung, and I instantly felt so lucky I had them. I have no brothers and no sisters, now I only have my Mom and the family I made for my self-my friends- and it felt comforting that I really did have friends, that they were not imaginary and that they were there when I needed them –right there at the airport-. My father would be so proud of me and he would be so happy to know I have them.

As soon as I got home I noticed that everything back home reminds me of him, and I miss him so badly.


My dad always said to me to not be afraid because there is never a need to be. He said to me that I will always have God with me. People can disappoint me, and people can die, nothing ever lasts forever, but I will always have God, he said; so don't be afraid. So I am not afraid Daddy, I know that I should not be.

But although I am not afraid I still love you Dad, for every moment I had you with me, I am grateful. And I have no regrets. Thank you for everything. Hopefully I will meet you again when the time is right. Love you.


(My Dad: November 8, 1956- November 16, 2010)

"Bond strengthens every time a problem arises. Nurturing the relation among souls who cares. Whether solved or forgotten, the healing itself is a bless"

 

by my Dad (November 8, 1956 -November 16, 2010) 

my new inspiration

by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988)

tokyo tower

tokyo

I have delayed this post because I haven't found the words for Tokyo. In simple word, I fell in love with the city. I may not been around the world, but I have my share of traveling, and although every place have their own special thing going on, there's just something about Tokyo that makes me want to live there. Tokyo has everything going on just in the right amount, its a huge city -you can see it in the New York like ambitious people walking around- but yet these people are so friendly and warm. They still have that eastern charm with them -a charm that makes you feel welcomed and respected-.

How ever I do have some complains about the city, the architectural landscape is dull and it makes it almost impossible to enjoy it during the day -also very difficult to take picture of-, although I find that at night with all the funny lights and funny Japanese letters, everything is incredibly beautiful. but I am not one of those who judge a city by its architecture, I judge it by its people, so for me Tokyo is breath taking.

A friend of mine once said to me while I was crying because I didn't want to leave Delhi -because I loved it there very much and I was so sad of going back home to Indonesia-, he said;

"Don't say that you don't want to go home, say that you always want to come back "

these words soothed me so much and these same words I think goes for Tokyo. I love my own home and my own city, but I can say this loudly and full of assurance that I want to go back to Tokyo -numerously-. Just wait and see.

little girl in the temple of Tsukiji Honganji

asakusa, tokyo

no country for fat girls part 2

As I opened my twitter account -which I haven't opened for a long time- I found out that a friend of mine gave me the link to this page,  which  was meant to give some answers to my previous post no country for fat girls. the post says that there is in fact a law against becoming fat in Japan. The rule says that women can not have a waist size of more than 35,4 inches, and men can't have a waist size more than 33,5 inches.

If someone exceeds these numbers then that someone must consult a doctor, go to the gym, and use a pedometer until the weight of that person is under or even the given number.


Besides that, your boss will be fined for your fatness and he will pay for your gym.

Apparently this rule is made because the lesser they are fat people, the lesser the country must pay for its health insurance. Isn't this interesting?

PS: I found another link on this matter, please visit this one.  Amazing isn't it?

when dreams come true

A friend of mine has had her mind set on becoming a reporter. Despite her educational background in Civil Engineering, she feels that her true calling is to be a reporter. Of course there is a subtle unlikeliness in that dream that she also realizes but she went for it anyway. In Indonesia things like that happen, it is because our third world status that work is hard in Indonesia, so parents have learned to push their children to pursue their education in the fields that actually have work in them and that have good payment -which are usually in the Engineering department-.

This is why I was so happy to hear that she got herself an almost-real job in a real paper -that gets printed and uploaded- . Its a super achievement form my super friend so I'd like to share the link for her first ever official report. And while you are reading it, I want you guys to remember that sometimes dreams come true.