Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Magang di AIPA

Can you believe that 2018 is almost over? Ya Allah, udah membuat pencapaian apa aja ya tahun ini? Kok tau-tau udah hampir akhir November aja 😅

Hallo, apa kabar? Sudah lama nggak curhat disini, padahal dulu kalau ada apa-apa pasti larinya kesini. Semakin dewasa, semua semakin fokus dengan hidupnya sendiri. Bukan berarti itu hal yang negatif ya, justru semakin gue semakin memaklumi dan memahami orang-orang yang memutuskan fokus pada dirinya sendiri. Tingkat masalah, beban, depresi, dan stress kita semakin tinggi, dan yang menanggung semua itu adalah diri kita masing-masing dan kita nggak bisa selalu mengharapkan bantuan orang lain, apalagi kalau lo introvert akut kayak gue. Jangankan minta bantuan orang lain, menyapa "HAI" aja semakin tua semakin deg-degan rasanya, padahal muda dulu gue orangnya cukup agresif lho sampe bisa 3 tahun chatting sama stranger dan jatuh cinta, wkwk. Moonmaap ini kenapa jadi kesini sih, Den? Move on apa move on *efek nulis sambil dengerin OST Dilan 1990 💔  

Hmmm... pembukaannya jadi lebih panjang dan ngelantur dari yang gue rencanakan. Oke, kembali ke pencapaian 2018 yang hampir berakhir ini, selain keberhasilan gue mencapai wisuda setelah bertahun-tahun ngaret, akhirnya gue berhasil keluar dari zona nyaman gue dengan mengambil magang di AIPA Secretariat. Sejujurnya, sebelum di AIPA, gue beberapa kali nggak datang panggilan Interview kerja karena merasa takut ketemu orang. Seriusan. Di otak gue itu bayangannya seolah pas Interview, mereka akan menilai gue habis-habisan dan gue akan gagal karna nggak memenuhi syarat dll, padahal belum mencoba, udah overthinking duluan. Sedih 😢 

Gue apply magang di AIPA ini atas rekomendasi kakak gue yang bekerja di NGO (Non-Government Organisation) dan kebetulan persyaratannya sesuai dengan gue. Ya udah, iseng apply dan ternyata dipanggi Interview. Seperti biasa, penyakit overthinking nya muncul, tapi kali ini nggak bisa kabur karena diawasi kakak gue yang sepertinya sangat suportif (baca: maksa) dengan pilihan ini. Datanglah gue ke kantor AIPA yang ternyata letaknya satu wilayah dengan Gedung DPR-MPR RI. 


Gue cukup kaget dan merasa terintimidasi hanya dengan melihat lokasi gedungnya aja karena gue cuma baca kalau posisi kantor nya di Gedung Nusantara III. Ternyata Gedung Nusantara III itu bagian dari Gedung DPR-MPR RI. Tegang banget gue ketika masuk dari pintu gerbangnya dan menelusuri jalan masuk ke dalam yang lumayan jauh menuju AIPA, apalagi sistem keamanannya ketat. Tiap masuk pintu, ada security yang memeriksa tas mereka yang bukan pegawai. Makin deg-degan laaah...

Proses Interview nggak setegang yang gue bayangkan. Sejujurnya, gue merasa akan gagal sih karena ketika interview, gue entah sadar atau enggak memberitahu mereka kalau gue Introvert ketika mereka menanyakan kelemahan gue apa. Lalu mbak Ajeng, salah satu yang interview gue bilang, "Introvert itu bukan kelemahan kok." Gue paham sih, tapi gue ngerasa gue memberikan bad impression dengan jawaban itu. Ditambah lagi ketika test desain grafis, gue nggak bisa menyelesaikannya on time karena laptop pinjaman gue nggak berfungsi, dan gue terpaksa meminta mereka mengizinkan gue mengerjakannya di rumah dan mengirim hasilnya ke mereka. Setelah semua proses itu, gue udah nggak terlalu berharap akan diterima magang, tapi beberapa hari kemudian gue dapat email yang menyatakan gue diterima. Jadi sejak tanggal 5 November 2018 lalu, gue sudah mulai magang di AIPA Secretariat dan meninggalkan rutinitas bangun sesukanya di rumah. Alhamdulillah, jangan? 😆

AIPA itu adalah kepanjangan dari ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), organisasi parlemen yang berfungsi sebagai pusat komunikasi dan informasi di antara Anggota Parlemen, yaitu 10 negara ASEAN. Detailnya bisa dibaca di sini. Gue sendiri masuk ke Departemen ICT (Information, Communication, and Technology) dan bertanggung jawab membuat konten media sosial AIPA beserta desain grafis yang mewakilinya. Ada 3 orang lagi di Tim ICT, namanya mbak Ajeng, mas Reski, dan mas Efran. Konten yang kita buat adalah segala sesuatu tentang negara-negara ASEAN. Antara sulit dan nggak sulit, sih karena tema per-hari nya udah ada, tinggal research aja dan membuat tulisan singkat padat jelas mengenai tema itu. Tapi, dikarenakan udah lama banget nggak nulis, gue cukup banyak melakukan kesalahan di tugas-tugas awal gue. 😌

Bagian tersulitnya bagi gue adalah membuat desain grafis yang mewakili kontennya. Memang sih, gue sempat belajar ilmu desain grafis Adobe Photoshop, tapi itu 3 tahun lalu ketika gue masih bekerja di Zaskia Sungkar Jakarta, itupun otodidak dan masih banyak skill-skill yang belum gue kuasai, sedangkan sejak berhenti, jarang banget tangan ini melakukan desain-desain itu kecuali untuk bikin fanart anime yang gayanya beda jauh dengan standar desain grafis AIPA 😅 Gue juga jadi menyadari sifat-sifat dalam diri gue yang mungkin sudah gue ketahui, tapi baru gue sungguh sadari ketika gue mulai bekerja di AIPA. Ketika membuat desain grafis, otak gue sangat mudah terdistraksi dari satu ide ke ide berikutnya, dan gue bisa menghabiskan berjam-jam bergulat dengan ide-ide itu aja sambil kebingungan karena nggak paham teori membuatnya di Adobe Photoshop. Atau paham, tapi nggak sepenuhnya sehingga hasil yang gue buat masih jauh dari yang ada di bayangan gue. Tugas-tugas itu sempat membuat gue stress banget karena berbagai revisi dan kritik selalu membuat gue merasa, "I'm not good enough for this job", padahal nggak jarang juga mereka memuji, tapi yang terngiang-ngiang di telinga gue cuma revisinya dan kritiknya. Duh, kurang-kurangin napa, Den.

Hal lain yang gue sadari dan cukup membuat gue terkejut adalah ketika gue dengan mudah bisa mengobrol dengan ibu Nyoman di hari pertama kerja, salah satu pegawai AIPA Secretariat yang senior, usianya udah mendekati usia nyokab gue. Gue yang butuh 3 tahun mengingat wajah seluruh teman sekelas gue ini waktu kuliah 😅 Beliau sangat ekstrovert tapi juga lugu dan polos, suka sekali ngobrol dan berbagi makanan dan gue nggak merasakan kecanggungan berbicara dengan beliau. Yang cukup melegakan adalah karena Tim ICT berkomunikasi lewat group WhatsApp meski kita satu ruangan, meja depan-depanan, untuk mendiskusikan konten dan desain grafis, gue lebih mampu menuliskan isi otak gue lewat tulisan dibanding bicara lansung, so that's a relief. Gue juga jadi banyak belajar informasi baru tentang negara-negara ASEAN and some of these informations are actually fascinating to learn so that's good.

Gue masih butuh banyak adaptasi dengan lingkungan baru dan rutinitas baru ini, tapi tujuan gue dari awal adalah satu: ingin belajar. Ada beberapa kerabat yang menanyakan, "Umur segini, kok, baru mulai magang?" Hal yang juga gue tertawakan ke diri gue sendiri, tapi ya mungkin memang begini jalannya. Setiap pertemuan dan perpisahan dalam hidup kita itu pasti ada maksud dan tujuannya. Insha Allah gue akan menjalani magang ini hingga Februari 2019. Semoga kali ini gue bisa menyelesaikannya hingga akhir dengan baik dan mengucapkan perpisahan secara proper tanpa ada penyesalan :")

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Everything is Possible (and FUN) when You Do It with Style and Pretty Dreams - Jimi ni Sugoi (Jdrama)


Jimi ni Sugoi!
Pretty Proofreader

Whoaaa... I haven't written anything here since February, now it's almost the end of May already June. Yeah, I kept this in the draft for a while and wasn't able to bring myself to write but now I'm ready. But before we get to the review, Ramadhan Mubarak everyone!! We've reached a blissful month once again, Alhamdulillah. May our fast and deeds are accepted by Allah SWT 😉

This drama is titled Jimi ni Sugoi (Simplicity is Great) starring the always adorable Satomi Ishihara, Suda Masaki, and Tsubasa Honda. The official English title for this drama is Pretty Proofreader. It's also based on the novel "Koetsu Garu" by Ayako Miyagi. 

GIF by by shinees on Tumblr
This drama was released in 2016, and yes, I always late at picking up new dramas, I'm sorry for waiting for the subtitles to be finished instead of blindly watching it with zero Japanese knowledge 😋 But seriously, I'm really thankful that I decided to watch it. Satomi has always been one of my favorite Japanese actresses and I'm glad that the drama itself is really wonderful, it is the kind of story that a hopeless adult who's struggling to find meaning in her job like me needed now 😤

The Story
GIF by by banghae on Tumblr
Meet Etsuko Kono (Satomi Ishihara), a 28-year-old extrovert woman who loves fashion and aspired to become a fashion editor at Lassy Magazine, Keibonsha. For 7 years, Etsuko has been applying for the same position at Keibonsha without ever giving up until one day she finally got accepted, but instead of being assigned at Lassy, Etsuko was sent to work at Proofreading Department. Her job is to correct errors and inadequate parts of documents and copies. Etsuko determined to be transferred to Lassy and reach her goal to be a fashion editor, so she decided to do her job as Proofreader seriously in order to get promoted. Although Etsuko finds the job as a proofreader to be bland and dull at first, she learns to enjoy every second of her work by doing various things to make her job as a Proofreader interesting.

A Kind of Drama that I Needed
Screencap by babiesfortheroad on Tumblr
Honestly, I didn't expect that this drama would touch me that much when I first started it. Of course, I already know that Satomi Ishihara will perform brilliantly as always, but this drama is really something that I didn't know I needed until I watched it. Etsuko's character is the kind of person whom I can't relate because of how extrovert and honest she is in speaking her mind, but the way she handled her job and tried many ways to keep her job interesting made me realized that sometimes you don't need to have your dream job to be completely happy. Etsuko was surrounded by co-workers who are also at the state where they felt bored with their job and the repetitive routine, most of her co-workers only doing their job halfheartedly, even when they are doing their dream job. All because they forgot about what makes the job fun.

GIF by doramaticbites on Tumblr
There's Tomoko Morio (Tsubasa Honda), Etsuko's junior who's working at Lassy as one of the fashion editor's assistants, a job that Etsuko has been dreaming to have. Tomoko was a model and enjoyed fashion, but she hardly can enjoy her work, mostly because she felt inferior to others and decided to just go with the flow instead of trying her best to prove her worth. She was jealous of Etsuko's outgoing and honest personality that even when she didn't get the job that she wanted, Etsuko was still able to enjoy her job wholeheartedly.

GIF by  adachisyuto on Tumblr
Then there's Yukito Orihara (Suda Masaki), a talented masked writer who aspired to become a writer but didn't have enough courage to improve his writing and ended up making such boring stories. Etsuko fell in love with Yukito at first sight, didn't realized that she has been proofread one of Yukito's novels. After they get to know each other, Yukito learned that having talent isn't enough to be able to do your dream job, you need to have an open mind and willpower to improve yourself.

Actually, the other side characters are also really interesting and have such an amazing independent story, they have their own struggles in their job too. As a viewer, I can totally relate to all of these character's struggles. I've also been asking the same question. Is it worth it to spend my time doing a job I don't really like or should I try to pursue my dream job? The answer is easy and something I've already known, 'though I didn't like it before. Now I can totally see it from a whole different perspective: It is worth it to spend the day doing a job that you don't like because sadly, not everyone can have their dream job, but as humans, we must keep moving forward and try our best to live. Having your dream job doesn't always mean happiness, if you are not able to improvise and find the happiness in the job that you do, no matter what job you're doing, it would not be interesting. It is okay to keep pursuing your dream job and set a goal, but don't ever stop once you meet failure, don't ever think that life ends there just because you cannot get what you want. The least you can do is trying to do your best in everything to do, even when it is the kind of job that doesn't get acknowledgment from people or you don't get appreciated, just focus on what you're doing, not on what other people think. You never know, but maybe from all these efforts you did, the knowledge you gained will be useful and help you reach your dream. Just be proud of your current work.

GIF by manydramaslittletime on Tumblr
So, like I said before, I really need this drama in my life now, especially when I'm jobless and not sure where to apply for a job. I felt inferior and not confident and I had this strong stubbornness that I won't do anything that doesn't involve my passion. Gosh... How wrong I was. How could I forget that I spent 8 months delightful moments at Zaskia Sungkar Jakarta, doing a job I don't really like at first, but ended up liking it so much and managed to learn new skills like Graphic Design. I shouldn't be too afraid to take on new challenges, it would all be alright in the end as long as I keep learning. No knowledge will go to waste. After I watched this drama, I get this strong encouragement to apply for a job in more varied companies instead of just choosing the ones that I can do. Even if I have to learn from scratch, I won't be afraid anymore. Wish me tons of luck, and thank you for reading!

Monday, February 26, 2018

I Finally Graduated!

Alhamdulillah, last week I have officially graduated from UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta after 7 years of struggling with anxieties and kept questioning myself whether I should continue the study or just drop out. I'm so relieved and thankful that I was able to win those negative thoughts and graduate properly although it is late compared to normal students. With the help and support from my family and friends, I was able to push myself and believe in myself.


To be completely honest, I never expect that day would come since I thought I might not gonna make it to graduation. And there were so many obstacles along the way, it was almost impossible to register for graduation ceremony due to some financial problems and some errors from the college itself, so when that day finally approached me, I was like, is it happen for real? Am I really going to MY graduation ceremony?

Well, I couldn't help but felt overjoyed and excited, even when some people said it's too late for me to celebrate (due to my 7 years of study), I still wanted to celebrate it. I couldn't hide my happiness no matter how much I wanted to stay cool and calm, I kept grinning and smiling throughout the graduation day. That's how grateful I was and I still am. And apparently, my parents were just as excited as I did, I could see so much happiness in my mother's eyes, she's been angry a lot with me and said she doesn't care anymore about my graduation, but when the day finally came, she showed me how much she's proud and relieved that one of her children has managed to graduate college again. I'm so sorry for making you wait this long, mom, thank you for never give up on me (although you said you gave up, you never really did and always showered me with your love, I'm beyond grateful)...


Another chapter in the book has finished. It's time to write a new one. I know what I want to do, I know what my dream is, and I wish I could make it happen. Everything will come at the right time, and all I need to do is pray and work hard for it. Alhamdulillah, Ya Allah, I can never expressed how much I'm thankful for all the miracles You have given to my life. I'm not yet a good Muslimah and yet You never stopped showing me Your Mercy. I wish I could be someone who is beneficial for my surroundings and help them for Allah SWT sake. And thank you again to my family and friends who never give up on me no matter how messed up I was. You have no idea how much your help means to me. Once again, I'm beyond grateful. Alhamdulillah.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

2017 in Review

2017 ended in a blink of an eye. At least for me. Oh well, I was sleeping during the new year's eve and when I woke up, all the fireworks and new year's hype has been long gone 😂 2017 was ordinary, I wasn't sure what to feel about it. The thing that I realized is I'm getting bored with my life and I don't feel excited about anything anymore, which really is sad because I felt empty. When you felt this much emptiness, you began to lose yourself. Even so, there were quite big moments that made my long boring life became a little less boring too and I'd like to write about them here.

Maximphonia and National Folklore Festival 2017
Some of PSM UIN Jakarta Alumni decided to form an independent choir and we named it Maximphonia. We formed Maximphonia for those who are no longer able to join PSM UIN rehearsal due to their busy schedules at work and only have free time during weekends. So, the members who joined are those who have been absent from choir for a long time, which means we have to start from scratch and learn how to sing choir from the beginning again. We also decided to join the National Folklore Festival 2017 at the Faculty of Economy at the University of Indonesia in March and I was assigned as treasurer. We ranked 6th out of 18 choirs which are great since we actually prepared this competition by ourselves without a professional coach or professional arranger. We truly joined the competition to bring back all the good feelings about singing in the choir and I dare to say we accomplished our goals. We truly had fun throughout the process and we never felt that relaxed during the competition before ❤

I Passed My Undergraduate Thesis Defense
Well, after 7 years (yes, you read it correctly, 7 YEARS!) of college, I finally did my Undergraduate Thesis Defense in July. It was quite a hectic day, my lecturer gave me the wrong schedule so I ended up late and we had to rush preparing the foods and everything. Luckily, my examiners were willing to wait and didn't show any sign of annoyance (special treatment for final year students I guess 😂). The thesis defense went for only 45 minutes on my part and I was able to give them satisfying answers and results despite the fact that I was super nervous. Well, how can't I? After such miscommunication with the schedule, I thought they would have canceled my thesis defense and change it to another day 😅 Thanks to such kind examiners, I was able to enjoy it and get a good grade for it. Some of my friends also came to support me although I only informed them about the defense that very morning to ask for prayers. Julian, Putri (who brought me a really huge flowers bouquet ❤), Wicak (who brought me flowers and support from Bayu who couldn't come), Aulia (who brought me my favorite Good Day coffee with Iqbal's support as well), and Mella (who also brought me Good Day coffee 😃). And of course Diah, Amel, Wardah, who helped me a lot during the process. They are the biggest part of this process and without them, I might have given up college a long time ago. Thank you!

Additional Singer for Bianglala Voices
It was not the first time for me to be an additional singer for Bianglala Voices, a vocal group of adult singers whose members are also my seniors in PSM UIN Jakarta and my choir coach, Bu Tanti, and Om Freddy. Bu Tanti always gives me chances to experience new things in musical fields and most of the jobs I got were all from her. I can never thank her enough for always believe in me and entrust me with such responsibility. That kind of support made me truly grateful and gave me courage because I often don't feel good about myself. 

What made this event special was because I was assigned to sing a solo part during Endah 'n Rhesa's song, When You Love Someone, during Bianglala Voices' performance at Earhouse Cafe. Earhouse is Endah and Rhesa's cafe and we got to sing in front of them. For someone like me, it was truly an amazing experience and an honor to sing that song in front of the artists themselves. Om Bintang, the one who leads the performance was a strict person but he entrusted me with this solo part to surprise Endah and Rhesa, and it was successful 😂 They really didn't expect us to perform that song for them because Om Bintang introduced it as a K-Pop song. My parents were also present at that moment and Om Bintang introduced me to the audience with such kind words and even thanked my parents for letting me join them even if it means I had to stay until midnight for rehearsal. I swear I love the look in my mother's eyes that night. I haven't seen those many stars in her since I won Writing Competition at National Championship in 2010. I can never thank Bianglala Voices enough for this experience ❤

Bandung and Padang Trip


I was able to visit many places in Indonesia this year (thanks to mudik as always) but two places that left a really special impression in me were Bandung and Padang. I visited Padang for the first time for my cousin's wedding and we had a chance to sightseeing although for only one day. The best thing about Padang is food. I swear they taste much much tastier than in Jakarta 😂 And even now as I'm writing this, I can't help but craving for more of Padang cuisines. I got to see Jam Gadang Tower and got permission to climb to the rooftop with my cousins too. My cousin's father has quite huge influence and role in Padang and I'm grateful to get that special privilege because.... well, it's not every day you get the chance to get to the rooftop of Jam Gadang Tower, right?! 😂

Bandung Trip was special because for the first time in forever, I was able to go on a vacation with my friends, Iqbal and Erna, without my parents or seniors or any study/organisation event. It was purely for vacation. It was only a 2 days trip but it was still memorable to me. We didn't go to any expensive places because we didn't have time (or money lol), but thankfully, Mr. Ridwan Kamil has designed every spot in Bandung into a beautiful place for Instagram. So, we were able to enjoy every place we visited and went home satisfied and re-charged (and craved for more Bandung 😁)

Hmm... Now that I think back to the past, this year wasn't so bad. My two best friends also got married and I took a big part in their wedding, we also had some nice little celebrations and were able to meet up way more often than before. Those were such good memories, so why do I still feel empty? Why do I feel like it was a boring year? When did it go down? Is it the fact that our family had troubles with building our new house? Is it the fact that I was unable to help much that I felt worthless? Is it a part of becoming an adult? I miss being a part of something. Maybe the reason I felt this much emptiness is because I stopped singing choir. I didn't fall in love with anybody either. And I've kinda lost connection with some of my precious people. So, to find my happiness, I need to find or create a place where I belong. But what is it? I don't even know what I'm looking for but I truly wish I would find that thing that I lost. 

2018.... Please treat me kindly ❤