Biskuit

Obrolan di sebuah chat room, sedikit lewat jam pulang kerja waktu Indonesia bagian barat.

A: Enak banget Lemonia. Tipis gitu kan biskuitnya, jadi gak enek. Trus kombinasi rasa lemon dan gula pasir itu enak banget.

F: Iya, terus biar udah makan banyak gak abis-abis. Jadi pengen Lemonia. Atau Coffee Joy, yang tipis tapi versi kopi.

A: Beli gih. Haha. Enak kan emang.

F: Iya enak. Makasih loh sugestinya.

A: Biskuit favoritku, Lemonia, Oreo, AIM biskuit. Tau ga AIM biskuit yang kecil2 trus ada rasa keju sama rasa jagung.

F: OREOOOO. Da best. AIM yg mana ya. Yang plastiknya transparan?

A: (gugling, nemu gambar di gugel images, save as, attach di chat room) 

F: Woiyaa. 

A: Kalo makan itu gabisa berenti.

F: Rekomen biskuit Korea dong.

A: Ah. The snacks here taste like bad jokes.

F: AIM mecinnya banyak tapi.

A: Justru itu yang bikin enak.

F: Iya sih. Tapi habis itu harus banyak minum.

A: Oh satu lagi. Biskuit Nissin yang rasa ayam.

F: Bentar gugling dulu ga inget itu yang mana.

A: Eh aku gugling kok ga ada yah. Jangan2 bukan Nissin mereknya. Kemasannya kuning. Biskuitnya mayan tipis, bentuknya segi enam memanjang.

F: Iya ga ada. Oh. Eh tapi lupa apa mereknya. Tapi tau bentuknya.

A: Pokoknya itu. Haha. Enak juga itu. Jadi biskuitnya ada bercak2 merahnya.

F: Iya itu enak. Berkat mecin. Thanks mecin.

A: I love you mecin.

F: Mecin is da real MVP.

A: Trus ada lagi yg enak tapi bukan biskuit, agak beda genre. Genji pie. Baik yang stroberi, raisin, maupun yg orijinal yg bentuk hati. I grew up eating those.

F: Genji hati. Terus makannya selapis2. Kalo dulu aku suka biskuit Trakinas. Pernah makan ga.

A: Pernah deh. Happening juga kan dulu itu. Sekarang udah ga ada.

F: Iya yg bentuk muka. Kenapa ya. Padahal mayan. 

A: Tapi buat aku itu enek. Biskuit yg ada tengahnya yg ga enek cuma Oreo.

F: Kalo aku sebenernya tertarik sama bentuknya. Judge a biscuit by its shape. 

A: Nggg baiklah.

F: Makanya biskuit kesukaan sepanjang masa itu... Tini Wini Biti!

A: Itu juga enak. Tapi aku lebih peduli sama bentuknya sih.

F: Tini Wini Biti is love. Tini Wini Biti is life.

A: Haha. Kalo dapet yg bentuk kura2, aku makan cangkangnya dulu, baru bawahnya.

F: Haha sama. Makan nya per bagian. Cuma yg gajah yg makannya ga asik. Udah jarang ya, belinya harus ke supermarket.

A: Iya udah ga usum. Ada lagi yg enak dan udah ga ada. Canasta.

F: Namanya akrab. Bentar gugling dulu.

A: Ga ada dong di gugel. Enak banget itu parah. Tipis gitu. Trus paling seneng kalo nemu yg bumbunya tebel.

F: Mungkin ketika hilang belum zaman internet. Aku ga inget pisan bentuknya kek apa. Walau namanya kenal.

A: Bentuknya segitiga. 

F: Haha kenapa kita jadi ngomongin biskuit jadul.

Kenapa coba. Hahaha.

F is an old friend of mine. We met in Junior High. We were in the same class for a certain period of time. Not long, but enough to find out that we have several similarities. And by 'several' I mean 'at least more than one'.

Similarity #1:

We loved Josh Groban. Probably we still do. Well I still do.

Similarity #2:

We love to write. Well, though I don't do it much, recently. But I do write facebook status almost regularly, so that still counts.

Similarity #3:

Panghegar-Dipati Ukur. Actually I could take Antapani-Ciroyom directly, but sometimes taking the scenic route instead of the express way wouldn't hurt(?).

We actually never really met in person or hang out together for a very long time, but we can still, occassionally, talk about random things or even sometimes about serious matters, with zero awkwardness.

It's like riding a bike. Once you can do it, you can do it for the rest of your life. No matter how long is your hiatus.

Hey F, if you're reading this, thanks for being there! And thanks for the very stimulating conversation about biscuits!

Stuffs

Ada hal-hal yang memang sulit berubah. Contohnya, tiga benda yang dari dulu setia menghiasi jendela kamar saya: frame foto, semprotan air, botol beling isi air dan tanaman sirih-sirihan. 

Percaya ngga percaya, tanaman sirih-sirihan di botol beling itu masih tanaman yang sama yang pertama saya piara di kamar asrama sejak Agustus dua tahun lalu. Dia bertahan bukan karena saya telaten merawat, tapi memang sudah dari sananya robust. Semprotan airnya, itu saya beli dengan tujuan untuk nyemprot daun tanaman, daily. Walau realisasinya mungkin cuma saya lakukan sekali dua kali dalam satu semester. 

Frame foto itu seingat saya hasil tukar kado. Walau ingatan saya agak blur tapi kayaknya tukar kadonya sama anak-anak sekelompok waktu INKM, semacam orientasi di awal masuk kuliah, tujuh tahun yang lalu. Saya bawa ke sini dengan tujuan mau diisi foto, mungkin foto keluarga atau teman, terus dipajang, buat penyemangat. Realisasinya nol. Kenapa nol? Karena saya males ngeprint fotonya. Selain itu, saya ngga punya obeng buat buka sekrup di belakang frame nya. Sesederhana itu.

Intinya, walau hampir ngga ada fungsinya, tetap tiga benda itu yang pertama saya tata di jendela setiap pindahan kamar. I get used to see them there. Sebenarnya kalau saya buang tanamannya, toh ngga menarik dan udah tinggal dikit daunnya, atau frame nya saya simpan saja di lemari, toh ngga guna dipajang kan ngga ada fotonya, mestinya ngga masalah. Mestinya. Teorinya. 

Tapi kok ngga bisa ya. Saya sudah terbiasa. Kalau pulang ke kamar lihat jendela ngga ada mereka bertiga nangkring di situ, rasanya kok hampa. Lebay? Mungkin. Tapi manusiawi. Clingy itu manusiawi. Haha. 

Sometimes some things or some people are being part of your routine, part of your life, for so long, that not seeing them creates a noticable gap that makes your day incomplete. People will question, or even you will question yourself, why. Why keep them? Padahal sadar kalau mungkin dari awal ngga terlalu ada manfaatnya. Atau ada manfaatnya tapi transient, makin lama makin discharging. Atau dari awal bermanfaat, tetap bermanfaat, tapi makin kesini makin banyak prioritas lain yang lebih penting buat diurus.

So, again, why keep them? 

Well, to keep that gap filled. :D   

I guess, as long as it's harmless. Both for you and others around you. If it's harmful, of course, screw your feelings, use your brain, throw them away as soon as you can.

So... I guess I'm keeping my window decorations.

And maybe some other stuffs.

I know we all do, we keep stuffs. But it's okay.

It's okay. 

Hello Again

So I guess this is the proper time to start writing again in English. Almost a full month spent for holiday break, back at home with family and friends, no need to speak English at all, made me dull. I realized this few days ago, when I was on a meeting with the big guy. It felt like I had it all gathered in my mind, but damn, the struggle was real when it came to expressing it in sentences. Yeah, so, here goes, English blog post. Way to start getting used to thinking in English again.

***

 

I don't even remember what did I write the last time I posted anything here.

Wait, let's take a peek.

Ah, right. I wrote things, research related. Nah, I'm not gonna do that now. Kinda rough days in lab, these days. Therefore, I decided not to bring any research related stuff during my time off.

So, how are things? Set aside the research thingy which is getting more complicated now that I'm in my fourth semester, things are good. I mean it. Good, as in 'finally I feel motivated enough to start being a man of habit'.

Or in my case, woman of habit.

Nah, man of habit sounds better.

What kind of habit are we talking about here? Well, for starter, eating habit. Have I told anyone that I gained 10 kilos already, compared to when I first came here to study? Probably I have. And now I told you all as well, beloved readers. So, yeah, as you might have expected, I'm getting a little plump here. Or a lot.

Back at home, I went to the gym nearby, the one where the two brothers of mine already became regulars. Did I exercise? Nope, just did some health check, and the conclusion is that, yeah, I definitely need to grow a better habit. Both in eating and exercising.

I was planning to go to nutrition specialist, but then stuffs going on, and finally I just didn't have time for it. However, when there's a will, there's a way! One day while taking a dump, I found and read this one book written by a doctor, Hiromi Shinya. Title was, the miracle of enzyme, or some sort. I found most of the contents interesting, and make sense for me to implement them.

 

Some points I noted:

• Drink water around 1 hour before any meal. Eat fruit 30 minutes after that. Then have your meal. Usually people think that fruit is for dessert. Nope, it's the other way around.
• Reduce your consumption of dairy products, or, just cut it all out.
• Try to consume raw food, or, cooked but with shorter cooking time.

And etcetera. You will need to read the book yourself to know more. And no, I'm not paid to promote the book, haha. Plus, my dear mother added some more advices of hers: cut the carb, and eat fruit when you need snacking. Well, I need the carb, so I won't just cut it completely. I'm just going to cut it in a half. Also, fixed meal time is important. When should you have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And even morning snack and afternoon snack time should be fixed. 
 

How is it going on until now? Well, fine, I guess. I'm getting used to it, and I kinda feel better. I try to wake up at the same time every morning as well. Go to lab at the same time and go back home at the same time. All these, the routine, slowly makes me more comfortable. Organized. The only thing left is the exercise part. It's still freaking cold these days, but I'm hopeful for warmer upcoming weeks, so I can start my regular jogging.

 

True, that defining how long one's gonna live is the privilege of God and God only. But what's so wrong about trying to live longer by having a more orderly and healthy life?

***

That's all, folks. Nice to finally get to greet you again. :)