Bapak's Day

I give up. I've been trying to write this in Bahasa, but my words turned out very dangdut. So, here goes the English version.

I didn't realise that 12 November is National Father's Day in Indonesia, around two months after Australia's one. No wonder today I found so many social media posts about fathers - someone's father or husbands who are already a father. Although this post may arrive late, at least I would like to participate in giving my testimonial for my dad.

There is nothing special with my relationship with Bapak (as I usually call him), or anyone in the family, really. I had difficulty in describing my relationship with him, but a friend of mine in Facebook was able to describe it precisely, pola komunikasi keluarga kami dari keluarga Jawa sederhana yang jarang mengungkapkan kata-kata manis. Bapak is not the type of person who can initiate a fun conversation.

Bapak is a very busy man. He's busy at the office on weekdays, and busy practising golf on the weekends. Perhaps because I am used to not seeing dad relaxing at home, it's very diffciult for me to imagine Bapak not having a job once he retires. After he retired from his post in one of the national banks, Bapak was allocated a post in one of the bank's subsidiary, working two to three days a week.  I was waiting for my visa approval in Indonesia at that time, so I was home almost everyday and I would see Bapak at home more often. Believe it or not, it's so odd seeing him at home doing nothing. But I can't really tell whether he is bored or not just staying at home doing nothing. Eventually, when I went for Hajj last year, I asked Allah to give him a full time job. Alhamdulillah Allah granted my prayer. Now that Bapak works full time, he couldn't take days off to accompany mum to visit me in Australia *oh dear...*.

Anyway, despite of his shortcomings, at the end of the day he's still my dad. And these are the reason why I still think he's a good great dad:

DOORS TO OPPORTUNITIES

When I was 10 years old, Bapak received scholarship to pursue MBA degree in the US. He brought the whole family along about a year after he completed his language school and ready to start the MBA course. When I arrived, I had zero English conversation skill. Two years later, I was talking fluently and I also had picked up the American accent. 

When we returned from the US, people knew me as a kid who's fluent in English. I would participate in various English competitions and often won. I also consider myself lucky because I never really had to worry about my TOEFL ITP score. I would always pass the minimum requirement to apply for a scholarship overseas. This definitely has opened doors of opportunities for me. When I interviewed for exchange to Tokyo Institute of Technology, I'm almost 100% confident that it is my English conversational skills that had won me the golden ticket. Sometimes I wonder, if I had not learnt English naturally from the natives, would I be this fluent?

SMART

I often hear from mum's stories that Bapak is very respected in the company, also dubbed the smartest in the company. However, he never made it to the board of directors - always very close on being one though. 

I never doubt that he is smart because he can help me with my Physics course in university. Can you believe it!? I mean, he has been out of the university for 30 years and perhaps hasn't touched that subject for decades since he started working in a bank! Also, he is the can-do-everything type of person. He can do various handyman jobs. I think these have influenced me to look for the same type of person as a husband. So, yes, if you're dad has excellent traits, there is a chance that you might look for a similar one in your future soulmate :).

HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

When mum was spending her time in Sydney, we had a catch up discussing everything from important issues to gossips. She was telling me about a couple of incidents which touches integrity issue at Bapak's office. Of course Bapak, being the very honest man, always criticises and questions data discrepancies and also refusing to sign a document which has false information. I just can't believe someone with very high rank at Bapak's office is actually doing dishonest acts. Well, I pray that Allah would give that person a lesson (looks like Allah had given him the lesson, but perhaps he just doesn't realise... poor man). Anyway, I'm very very proud of Bapak for sticking to the right path.

DON'T BUY IT IF YOU DON'T NEED IT
I guess my parents are the best at this, managing money. It looks like all of their three kids picked up the same traits, with my brother being the most stingy and me being the least. This financial advise has been really helpful for me and I live by it.

My parents are a big believer of "don't buy if you don't need it", but mum said Bapak is even more stingy. Bapak managed to stick to his old Honda Accord for years, I reckon that car is as old as I am. He finally retired that car after he received car facility from the office. He doesn't wear fancy watch, cufflinks, or other branded items; he doesn't eat at fancy restaurants or eat out very often. He would settle with anything as long as it is comfortable to wear and as long as it fills his tummy. He refused when I offered to purchase an iPad for him. So, I eventually got one for mum, but now he's the one using it most of the time hahaha.

Corn Dogs

I was transferring my  pictures from my camera when I found pretty pictures of corn dogs that I had made for the first time.

I have never really tried corn dog until this year when I spotted halal "Pluto Pup" (they call it) at a Gozleme booth in Flemington. If you have never tried corn dog, it is basically frankfurt sausage wrapped in bread dough and fried. Then top it off with a drizzle of BBQ or tomato sauce. Yum!

INGREDIENTS

• 8 hot dogs (frankfurter sausages)
• 1 1⁄4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 cup cornmeal (I used polenta)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• wooden skewers

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all the dry ingredients, then add eggs and milk.
2. Mix till lump free.
3. Skewer the dogs & dip into the batter to coat.
4. Deep fry in 350 degree oil. Remove when golden brown, about 5 minutes.

NOTES: 

• I used polenta as substitute for cornmeal as cornmeal is not widely available in Australia.
• You can find halal frankfurter sausages at halal butcher. I got used to get mine at a butcher in Guildford. Or you can also use chicken sausages available at selected halal Red Lea shops.

Recipe source: http://www.food.com/recipe/perfect-corn-dogs-345232

Quick Kitchen: Hearty Anchovy Porridge

I made up this recipe when I was having toothache. My wisdom tooth was trying to erupt from the gum. It hurts so badly that I wanted to cry and I was unable to do anything just to cope with the pain.

I was hungry, obviously. I wanted something warm and fulfilling, yet simple to make. My only option is porridge, but I've never made porridge other than bubur ayam where you have to cook the porridge and the toppings separately (more work!). I gathered all the ingredients that I thought would match each other and dunk it all into the pot. I let it boil until it softens. I also added more water if the porridge gets too dry.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of rice grains
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• Water
• Anchovies (ikan teri)
• Fried onions
• White pepper
• Salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash rice
2. Dunk all of the ingredients in the pot
3. Stir as it boils
4. Add more water if it hasn't reached the level of softness that you like
5. Add white pepper and salt towards the end. Be careful with the amount of salt that you put in, because usually anchovies are already salty (at least mine was)

Because I'm Proud of My Identity

Blog ini memang dari awal sengaja ingin dibuat dwi bahasa, suka-suka penulisnya lagi kepingin pakai bahasa apa :). Dan kali ini sepertinya lebih mudah mengutarakan cerita ini dengan bahasa Indonesia. So, here we go...

Identitasku sebagai seorang Muslim selalu aku bawa kemana-kemana. Orang akan mudah mengenali bahwa aku adalah seorang wanita Muslim. Ya, jilbabku yang selalu dengan indahnya menutupi auratku sejak kelas 1 SMA.

Akhir-akhir ini fenomena Islamophobia semakin menjadi-jadi di Australia. Mulai dari reaksi terhadap Lindt Cafe siege dan kemudian insiden penembakan di Parramatta. Selalu ada rasa was-was di hatiku setiap kali berjalan di area publik di suburb yang mayoritas penduduknya adalah non-Muslim karena tidak jarang juga Muslim (terutama wanita) mengalami tindakan rasis. Alhamdulillah, aku beruntung bekerja di perusahaan yang menjunjung tinggi perbedaan dan memiliki kolega yang memperlakukan aku sama seperti yang lain.

Hari Jumat lalu adalah salah suatu hari dimana aku sangat bangga pada diriku, terutama sebagai seorang Muslim. Aku mendapat sweet surprise dari manajerku. Rupanya, aku manajerku mempersembahkan sebuah penghargaan bagiku di dalam pertemuan business update di kantor di hadapan orang banyak yang mayoritas non-Muslim.

Saat beliau maju ke depan, sebetulnya aku sedikit takjub karena akhirnya SESEORANG dari tim kami akan ada yang mendapat penghargaan! Aku sudah ngedumel hampir setahun karena tidak ada penghargaan apapun yang diberikan ke tim kami. Aku pikir pemimpin-pemimpin kami sudah lupa caranya mengapresiasi kerja timnya. Sebagai gambaran, tahun lalu sebelum tim kami direstrukturisasi, selalu ada ajang pemberian apresiasi karyawan setidaknya tiga bulan sekali. Jadi memang sangat jelas terlihat perbedaannya.

Ketika slide mulai dimunculkan, aku melihat tulisan yang sangat familiar. Itu adalah tulisan yang kolegaku kirimkan bersama daftar pertanyaan untuk interview! "Jadi... rupanya? It's an award for me?!". Saat itu adalah saat dimana akhirnya aku bisa menunjukkan ke khalayak ramai bahwa orang Islam juga bisa berprestasi. Dan aku tidak perlu banyak bercuap-cuap, cukup aksiku saja yang membuktikannya. Because action is louder than words. 

Penghargaan itu aku dapatkan untuk kontribusiku selama hampir satu tahun terakhir. I've been juggling between three things: BAU, adhocs, and volunteering, and never dropping the ball (based on managers' testimonial). Sejujurnya aku merasa kerjaku kurang optimal dibandingkan tahun lalu, tetapi alhamdulillah for everything. Setidaknya aku dihargai lebih dari sekedar gaji. I love my job.

Sekarang piagam pernghargaan itu tepampang cantik di jendela dekat meja kerjaku sebagai pengingat bahwa kerja keras akan diapresiasi. By the way, I have a very beautiful window seat overlooking the beach building next door, hahaha. You just to keep going on and do your best, and let Allah do the rest.

My First Ever Interview

On Saturday morning, I was checking my office email for some reason (don't follow this!). I found an email from my colleague who is currently handling one of the initiative that was formerly mine. The initiative was employee profile, where an associate gets nominated by their managers to be interviewed. The result of the interview would then be published in company's Yammer group.

I scanned through the email's recipient list and said to myself, "why does she need to copy me on this?". I didn't realise until I read through the whole email that I was nominated to be interviewed this time! I read through the testimonial that my manager and her manager gave why I deserve to be featured. It's really sweet of them. I don't think I've done a better job compared to last year, but I'm definitely grateful to be appreciated for my efforts.

There were 7 questions in total that I needed to complete. Three questions were quite easy because it was only asking about my role and myself. Three questions were super difficult and one question I couldn't answer at all hahaha. The three difficult questions are as you see below. Despite of it's difficulty, I really do like the questions as I'm able to share my values and point of view through these questions.

30-day Minimalism Challenge - Day 1

Today I tackled challenge #23 Go bare-faced pretty easily. Until very recently when I figured out the correct way to apply make up, I used to never wear any make up at all. So, I have been bare-faced a lot in the past.

Yesterday I was feeling like I was about to get sick as my throat has been sending the signal from the morning. I took Codral tablets to minimise the symptoms so it wouldn't get even worse. Unfortunately, the phenilyphrine really got me in the afternoon and I immediately fell into deep sleep when I reached home without taking off my make up! There I was sleeping through the night with full make up on.

By morning I felt really sorry for my skin and decided to give my face a break. I cleaned my face and apply the usual serum and moisturiser, then off I go to the office bare-faced. Gotta love those freckles and acne scars!

I'm so grateful that my skin has never been better. Although I have those freckles and acne scars, I'm still loving my skin. I was never able to afford the skincare products that I'm using now, but to be honest it's what makes all the difference. I love the fact that they actually work on my skin!

4 Reasons Why I Keep My Wardrobe Minimal

MINIMALISM
noun | min·i·mal·ism | \ˈmi-nə-mə-ˌli-zəm\
A style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity

I have just found Joojoo Azad's blog recently about minimalism (minimalist wardrobe). I (sort of) jumped into the "minimalism" wagon several months ago after I realised my closet is getting too full. When I moved to the new house, the new closet was even more screaming "I can't fit any more clothes!". I just can't comprehend how I was able to accumulate so many clothes.

I haven't really done any closet clean-up, because I still love my old clothes. So, what I'm trying to do now is to SHOP LESS. I did challenge myself to "no clothes shopping" for a year, but only managed to commit for 6 months (those darn SALE!). Something important I learned along the way, tho, is to buy only something that you will wear over and over again.

This is my 4 MAIN REASONS why I like to keep my closet minimal:

NO MORE OVERLOADED WARDROBE
As I have mentioned, since moving to the new place, the new wardrobe seemed to be screaming "I can't fit any more clothes!" The rack is just full with clothes to the extent that I wasn't able to slide the clothes easily. It takes quite a lot of energy if you have to forcefully separate the clothes while browsing through the rack. I said to myself, "I'm not going to add more clothes into the closet." - which I have already disobeyed because I just purchased sleeveless blazer from David Lawrence.

SAVE MORE MONEY
Do you realise how much money you spent on purchasing clothes? If you normally budget $100-200 a month on purchasing clothes, that is a whooping $1200-2400 a year! After seeing my closet really stuffed up, I tried to limit my shopping spree. In the first half of 2015 I only purchased one David Lawrence cashmere cape, and that was heavily discounted. I went a bit overboard on my my birthday though, but I still purchase discounted items which included a very pretty black trench from Portmans. And my most recent purchase is a sleeveless blazer from David Lawrence outlet. I don't have a sleeveless blazer, so it's a perfectly sound reason to purchase! In summary, within the past year, I only spent my hard earned cash on 5 pieces of clothing, which I think it's pretty good. Chaching!

CHOOSING OUTFIT IS NOW A BREEZE

Choosing an outfit is now down from 15 minutes to just 5 minutes. I have been so frustrated with the time it takes for me to choose an outfit to work! Until I found an article about someone who wears the same thing everyday (it's not that she doesn't wash her clothes, she just had multiple quantity of the same item). I thought, "hey, why don't I do that?". So, I did. I chose my basics (cardigan, t-shirt, chino pants/jeans) and stick with it. 

MORE APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT I HAVE
I know it's very easy to get bored of your wardrobe, but perhaps it's also time for you to learn to appreciate of what you already have. I now try to be more appreciative of the clothes that I have in my wardrobe. I have purchased my clothes for two reasons: I REALLY REALLY REALLY like them and I'm gonna wear them (many many times); so I try my best to get the thought "I'm bored of that outfit" out of my head.

***

UPDATE: If you're looking for information on how to start minimalist wardrobe, I find this website very informative. So, please do check it out!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

I know by now that this product has been reviewed million times by beauty gurus, it is a cult favourite, and it is also one of Kiehl's 10 best selling products. But I just wanted to add in my two cents, because who knows if anyone out there would still benefit from my review :).

HOW I DISCOVERED THIS PRODUCT

Asking for free sample of a product was never in my dictionary (clueless!). I wanted to try both the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution and the Midnight Recovery Concentrate, but not sure how to get the samples. So I was looking at their online store and found a special offer where you will receive deluxe sample (of Midnight Recovery Concentrate) with any purchase. So I purchased the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution in full size and received the Midnight Recovery Concentrate in a mini size bottle for free.

HOW THIS PRODUCT FIT INTO MY ROUTINE

I usually use this product only at night after cleansing my face with face wash (La Roche Posay Effaclar) and exfoliate with Bioderma. Why? Because after the dead skin cells are stripped off of the skin, it will be much easier for the skin to absorb the serum. I don't wear any moisturiser after the Midnight Recovery Concentrate as it is already super hydrating. If I need to clear up some hyperpigmentation, I will apply the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution first before the Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

HOW I USE THIS PRODUCT

I usually dispense the product right onto my face rather than on the hand and rub it on their hand palms like everyone else (well, not really everyone). Three drops is the perfect amount for my skin. I would drop the oils on to my right cheek, left cheek, and forehead, then distribute the product around my face. Then, I massage my face with warm hand palms by rubbing the two hands together to help the serum to penetrate into the skin.

WHAT DO I THINK OF THE PRODUCT

+ Sinks into the skin immediately, so it doesn't leave your face too oily.

+ You will be surprised at how plump and soft your skin is when you wake up!

+ Keeps your skin hydrated without needing moisturiser.

+ When used in conjunction with Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution, it will help fade your acne scar faster!

+ It smells beautiful. You can smell the strong lavender scent, which is very calming and relaxing, so it's perfect to be used before bedtime.

+ The packaging is gorgeous! I love the midnight blue colour of the glass bottle, so chic! And it also comes with pipette which helps to dispense the right amount of product.

CONCLUSION

I think this product works wonders to help your skin recover overnight from stress. I will absolutely repurchase as I don't think I can live without this product.

One bottle lasts me a really long time. I don't use this religiously (I'm never diligent with skincare or makeup). I've used up only one fifth of the product (30ml bottle) in more than 4 months, therefore I think it is worth the money. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate currently retails for A$61.

My Hajj Miracle Story

I consider myself very lucky because I was able to go for hajj when I was still in my 20's and without my parents financial aid. Me and husband had the opportunity to practice hajj in 2014. In that year, Arafah day fell on a Friday, which is considered the best day of the week.

A lot of people asked me "what miracles did you encounter?" when I had just returned from hajj. I got confused because I don't think there were anything particular things that stood out. But when I went on to tell the story of how I even get to go for hajj in 2014, someone said "that's your miracle".

HANG YOUR DREAMS 5CM IN FRONT OF YOUR FOREHEAD
In the book "5 cm" by Donny Dhirgantoro, there is a quote "hang your dreams 5 cm in front of your forehead , so that you can remember and strive to reach it".

I'm a firm believer that one should always keep a written list of what he/she wants to achieve or have a visual reminder. It may sound silly, but I believe it plays a part in achieving your dream. So, when I was still a student in university, I created a list of things to achieve in life. One of the points in the list says, "go to hajj before 35 yrs old." I was a bit doubtful when I wrote "35 yrs old". But then I thought, "you know what, anything is possible for Allah."

Then, when I first started working in 2011, I setup a picture of Ka'bah as my desktop background. My colleague said, "wah, masang gambar ka'bah di laptop". I said, "Yes :) I'm going to go there someday". The Ka'bah desktop background was my visual reminder. I see it almost everyday. And even when I don't think about it, I believe the universe conspires to help me achieve it.




FROM A 10-YEAR PLAN, TO JUST 1-YEAR

After two years of marriage, our household income is still just enough to get us by and set aside some savings, alhamdulillah. I wasn't working at that time and was constantly in stress because I used to be so active. I was praying night and day, begging to Allah to give me a job. And in the previous Ramadan, we sort of did the unthinkable, we gave all of our savings to charity.

Just one month before I finally got a job, husband and I were having conversation about saving up for Hajj. We made a target of going for hajj in 10 years, calculated the cost and also took into account the inflation, and finally calculated the monthly amount that we needed to save. We then made a commitment to save our money x amount each month for the next 10 years for Hajj.

About three months after we gave up all of our savings, alhamdulillah, finally Allah answered my prayers. I secured a contract position within the company I used to work for in Indonesia. It was only a contract position, but I'm grateful for anything. A contract position will do just fine.

So, I received my contract and began calculating the salary that I will be earning during the contract. Miraculously, the amount is just enough to pay for two person to go for hajj. I didn't know what was going on in my head. I could have thought of buying other things, but I was thinking about going for hajj (?). I was so excited and asked my husband if he would like to go for hajj the next year. Of course, he would say "yes!".

ALLAH DOESN'T CALL ON THE WEALTHY, BUT ENABLES THOSE WHO HAVE THE CALLING

Alhamdulillah we will have sufficient amount of money to go for hajj, but the problem doesn't really stop there. The hajj service that we used is one of the popular one amongst Indonesians, so we had to book it fast. We inquired about the price around October 2013 and we were told that there are only few seats left. So, if we're interested we need to registered ASAP. Usually quotas won't be full until a couple of months before the month of hajj.

We were in panic because we haven't done our homework on comparing the price of different hajj travel services and were also told that we had to pay $2000 for deposit to secure a seat for next year's hajj. We didn't even have that kind of money in our savings. But alhamdulillah, with basmallah (and faith to Allah) we were able to scrape money from other budgets and pay the deposit. A month after that we were trying to get by with little money, but alhamdulillah we were able to manage and it was all well worth it.

IN CONCLUSION
Most people will wait until they achieve everything, especially finance independency before going for hajj. But I'm very grateful for the choice that we made. There are a lot of places in Makkah and Madinah where prayers will no-doubt will be granted (inshaaAllah). And alhamdulillah, since returning from hajj, Allah has made our life much easier. The homework now is to maintain our ibadah to show our gratitude to the Almighty.

Melbourne Trip - Pt.2

YARRA RIVER WALKS
We initially planned to go for the Yarra river walks in the afternoon of our first day in Melbourne. Unfortunately due to exhaustion, we ended up sleeping the whole afternoon. But since I was afraid that we wouldn't have any more time the next day, we then decided to go for the river walk at night.

What do I think? I love it! I think it was a good decision to take the walk at night because the night panorama around the Yarra river is just gorgeous.

BRIGHTON BEACH AND BIRTHDAY BITE
Early morning before we went to get my birthday bite at Toorak, we went further south to Brighton beach to have a look at *you know what* the iconic bath houses! I saw a friend of mine on Facebook posed in front of the bath houses several weeks before, and I just can't miss this one icon of Australia (or perhaps Melbourne to be exact).

We parked close to Brighton station, which I thought was pretty close to the bath houses - well, wrong! I had to walk around 500-700m to get to the beach where the bath houses were. We then only took few pictures and headed back to the car because we're almost running out of time for the parking meter.

SCIENCEWORKS MUSEUM
Because hubby loves museum, we decided to include a trip to one museum. I've had enough of general museum with ordinary exhibition, so we decided to go to Scienceworks museum. I thought it would be fun for hubby because he's an engineer afterall ;).

When we arrived, I was actually disappointed with how small the museum is. The general exhibition is small (and there were heaps of kids on the day we visited), but they have various shows throughout the day which you have to pay extra to watch. We really wanted to see the Planetarium show, but unfortunately time wasn't permitting so we decided to only watch one show which is the Lightning show. (After checking the website again, seems like they change their shows quite often).

Although I was disappointed with the general exhibition, I have to admit that the Lightning show was very entertaining! The host explained about colours, how to see different colours through chemical reaction (this is the basic of fireworks), what infrared/UV is, etc. They also showcased a machine generated lightning and the impact to various items if it struck.

DFO SOUTHWHARF
DFO Southwharf is one of the factory outlet centre in Melbourne located close to the city. I wanted to have a look at the shops which we don't have in Sydney e.g. Kate Spade. Unfortunaly I couldn't find anything that I liked, so we went around and around for two hours for nothing :(.