Absurd Astronaut

When journey put you between dark and bright, make it as beautiful as your heart. Love is real, real is love. -John Lennon-

Ceritanya pas kapan itu saya lagi stress. Terus yang namanya cewek biasanya kalau stres pengen belanja gitu tapi saya bingung. Mau belanja baju nggak suka. Beli sepatu? Saya termasuk picky urusan sepatu dan males aja kalau beli hanya karena lapar mata dan malah dibuang. Tas? Masih punya banyak tas yang jarang dipake. Hp? Yang sekarang masih berfungsi. Laptop? Masih fit banget. Makanan? Udah keseringan jajan dan berat badan saya malah ngedrop 6 kilo dalam waktu kurang dari 2 bulan (satu hal yang saya suka dari stress). Ribet banget sih Rhein mau belanja doang.  Terus akhirnya ujug-ujug beli kamera (bye tabungan). Meski rada telat karena sekarang saya lagi cuti traveling (gaya lo, orang-orang mah cuti kerja buat traveling). Sebagai manusia dengan kemampuan fotografi sekadar selfie, Fuji Film X-A3 ini agak terlalu mewah sih. Karena kebanyakan saya pakai buat iseng jepret tanpa teknik, rekam video ge-je, sok-sokan bikin vlog yang isinya ketawa-ketawa doang, bikin ala-ala unboxing ...

You're such a lame with that question, Rhein. Lame. Lame. Laaammmee. Well, I am. I searched for love in my journey. And it turned out that I always said, "Love just exist in movies and my novels." One year later, I met them... Europe, April 2017. Celebrated Mom's birthday, Dad's birthday, and their wedding anniversary. For 31 years old marriage. I got the answer. Yes, love does exist. It took time and just rare. As long as they're happy & healthy, that's all enough for me. I wish I could be as wise as my Mom and as patient as my Dad. Love is real, real is love. -John Lennon-

It could be pleasure or danger. As a girl who come from Indonesia and grew up in moslem family, sex still become taboo to discuss in any communities, even friendly chit-chat. I didn’t get enough sex education (yes, I attended biology class, but I hate biology, so I didn’t learn that much) and my parents were very strict about any media we consumed especially about violence and sexuality (I watched Titanic after I reached 19 years old because my Mom said there’s inappropriate scenes and I allowed to watch it after my age pass 17 years old. Titanic released when I was in elementary school). When I came to Australia and my friend asked what forbidden in Islam and I mentioned we can’t have sex before married, she just surprised. “But you can kiss, right?” she asked. I replied, “ If you want to strict to the rule, not even shakehands.” Since I got friends from different countries and learn about their culture, then I knew that sex is something usual; common thing, human need b...

One thing money can't buy: Manners. Pekerjaan sebagai waitress di Australia memberi saya kesempatan untuk bertemu banyak manusia dengan beragam latar belakang. Teman sesama pegawai, pemilik restoran, dan pengunjung menjadi objek menarik untuk diobservasi. Saya bekerja di empat restoran berbeda (kita sebut saja: Mawar, Melati, Anggrek, dan Cempaka) dengan karakteristik pegawai, pemilik, dan pengunjung yang berbeda.  Restoran Mawar Terletak di dalam gedung perkantoran, restoran mungil ini hanya memiliki 2 pegawai; saya dan seorang barista. Fungsi utama restoran ini memfasilitasi semua pegawai yang bekerja di kantor tersebut. Tidak hanya melayani pengunjung yang datang untuk mengisi perut, tiap hari restoran juga memfasilitasi pesanan katering untuk beragam macam rapat, pertemuan, bahkan training pegawai baru. Karena barista tidak bisa meninggalkan mesin kopi, sudah menjadi tugas saya wara-wiri melakukan pekerjaan lain mulai dari cuci piring sampai naik turun lift melayani ...

A moment of silence between after subuh pray until I get up to have my coffee. It took an hour or two. A moment when I had myself alone. A moment when I turned off my phone. A moment when I opened the door to balcony and sit on my bed. A moment when I needed to control my breath. Another moment of silence when I had my coffee. Sat in dining room and saw the sky through the window. Sometimes I was lucky and saw the mountain. Most of the time there’s only rain. I loved the warm when I hold my cup. Took a sip and enjoyed the caffein’s effect to my heart. Long black. Bitter. Everyday. One day my Mom interupted and suddenly said, "You have moments to get closer with God, Teteh.“ I smiled. I think she knew. If one day I become a mother, will I have that sixth sense too? Or maybe not. Moment of silence. To build the wall. That had been broken. Love is real, real is love. -John Lennon-

"Never be ashamed." he said. "Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle." "How will I know which is which?" "By the taste. You can only know a good wine if you have first tasted a bad one." Paulo Coelho, Brida. Di negeri Koala, minuman ber-alkohol termasuk murah dengan varian rasa beragam. Suatu hal yang tidak mengejutkan karena Australia berada di peringkat ke-4 sebagai eksportir wine di seluruh dunia. Saya yang di Indonesia hanya mengenal bir bintang, cukup terpana saat datang ke Liquorland (supermarket yang khusus menjual minuman beralkohol) yang menyajikan banyak pilihan. Bergaul dengan banyak teman dari beragam negara tentu membuat saya mengetahui tiap negara memiliki minuman beralkohol yang khas. Jepang dengan sake, Cina dengan arak, Korea dengan soju, Eropa yang lebih populer dengan bir, dan Australia memiliki berag...