1:35 Thought

Hi.

It’s 1:35 AM as I’m writing this on my phone. So I recently reunited with one of my closest friends (hi Echa) after A WHOLE YEAR of just staying in touch online. I had an eye-opening conversation with her. We talked about everything, literally EVERYTHING. About our jobs, our families, our love lives (more like her love life nsnasjjssj, anyways..) our current struggles, and our five-year plan for the future. I also got a new perspective on how to be an ‘adult’ at this weird age. Cause I’m not even sure if 23 is considered an ‘adult’ or am I still a ‘child’. Because I may be an ‘adult’, but not to my parents. It’s crazy how a year could change someone because reflecting to myself back in 2018, I was a whole different person. 

Many things happened in a span of one year and I learned from every single one of it. I learned that 1) things aren’t always the way I want them to be, and it’s okay. I also learned to 2) always have a backup plan, in case the first lesson happened. I’m mantaining my circle and keeping it as small as possible because having few friends is actually a great thing.

I’m just very happy with the way things are right now. I’m mentally stable, thriving at work, keeping my circle small, drinking enough water (yes this is a personal achievement), and just- content. And happy.

I never get to say this enough but I’m happy & thankful for all my friends surrounding me. Those who are literally there for me every second, who keeps me sane and brings out the ‘alay’-ness in me lol (if you take my ‘alay’-ness seriously, please move out of my face) and those who aren’t always with me all the time but once we meet for a catch up, a long ass conversation happens and I don’t even get to touch my phone and get distracted by it. I’m happy with how balanced the friendships I made. I have someone I can go to when I’m happy/sad to be my ‘cheerleader’, I have someone I can go to when I’m confused with how my life is treating me and in need of advice, I have someone I can go to when I need to have deep conversations with. And what amazes me is that all these someones are totally different people with entirely different backgrounds. I’m happy I stepped out of my comfort zone and got to meet all these different people under different circumstances. Honestly, I’m just happy with how small my circle is. 

So if you ever think about how my friends are “orangnya itu-itu aja”, I take it as a compliment and I thank you. The smaller your circle of friendship, the more real it is.

Thank you for taking your time to read my blog.

Sincerely,
Linkan xx

u g h

ok first of all

Justin did THAT.

don't get me started.

now onto the real 'U G H'

parents need to know that they can't force two different people to be friends in instant.

Perpanjang Paspor Hilang (RELIABLE)

Woi.

Passport gue ilang. (Padahal udah kadaluarsa) BUT STILL.

(kalau mau baca curhatan gue silakan lanjut. Kalau mau skip untuk baca langkah-langkah urus paspor hilang, scroll sampai garis putus-putus.) :)

Awalnya gue kira passport kadaluarsa itu engga penting-penting amat. Tapi setelah gue cek sana-sini di Google, ternyata passport itu sangat penting untuk selalu disimpan walaupun udah kadaluarsa. Passport adalah dokumen negara resmi yang kita jadikan identitas di luar negeri. Jadi emang berabe kalo ilang, even kalau udah kadaluarsa.

Ceritanya gini.

Gue mau nonton konser Coldplay tanggal 31 Maret nanti di Singapura. Tapi rencananya berangkat tanggal 30 Maret. Beli tiketnya udah dari November 2016 lalu, tapi saat itu gue mikir kalo passport gue engga hilang. Jadi sempet mikir buat perpanjang passport bulan Desember 2016. Eh... gue baru sadar passport gue ilang pas lagi beres-beres rumah sehari sebelum natalan. Tapi, me being me, mikir 'yaudahlah udah kadaluarsa ini kan...' guys jangan tiru ignorance gue ya.

Akhirnya niat perpanjang passport ketunda sampai awal Februari 2017. Iya, selama itu. Gue sampe ditanyain orang tua & temen-temen gue yang rencananya mau pergi bareng. "Lo jadi pergi ga sih? Passport lo perpanjang woi, udah mepet." denger kata 'udah mepet' akhirnya gue langsung buka langkah-langkah perpanjang paspor hilang.

Guys.

Paspor hilang gabisa diperpanjang.

Gue seketika itu juga panik dan udah mikirin harga buat jual tiket Coldplay gue ke orang lain. Tapi paniknya ilang pas gue baca blog orang-orang tentang perkara yang sama. Tapi dari semua blog yang gue baca, semuanya nakutin. Asli. Soalnya mereka-mereka yang curhat ini bilang kalau urus passpor hilang itu bisa sebulan lebih dan dipersulit.

Lalu gue panik lagi.

Sampai akhirnya, gue bertekad untuk ngurus paspor gue yang hilang diawali tanggal 10 Februari 2017.

-   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - 

BERKAS-BERKAS PENTING YANG WAJIB DIBAWA UNTUK URUS PASPOR HILANG:

- KTP ( + fotocopy A4 - JANGAN DI CROP/POTONG WALAUPUN HASIL FOTOCOPY NYA CUMA SEUPRIT TAPI HVS NYA KEGEDEAN. Kantor Imigrasi butuh semua fotocopy dokumen lo dalam ukuran A4)

- Kartu Keluarga ( + fotocopy A4)

- Akte Kelahiran ( + fotocopy A4)

- Fotocopy/Scan Paspor lama yang hilang (dalam ukuran A4) (PS: Kalau ngga punya, bisa minta di bagian informasi kantor imigrasi tempat lo bikin paspornya. Berhubung gue bikin di Kanim Kelas I JakSel juga, jadi informasi paspor lama gue masih ada dan di print sama petugasnya. Bless him.)

- Surat Keterangan dari Polisi

- Berkas tambahan sebagai penguat BAP (contohnya; tujuan gue perpanjang paspor karena gue mau nonton konser Coldplay di Singapura, nah tiket konsernya di print untuk dijadikan barang bukti. Tenang aja, gabakal diambil. Lol.)

Semua data di KTP, KK, dan Akte Kelahiran harus sama yaa (Nama Lengkap, Tempat/Tgl. Lahir, dan alamat rumah) Soalnya kalau beda, ribet lagi urusnya.

Jumat, 10 Februari 2017

Gue ke Pos Polisi terdekat untuk minta tolong dibuatkan Surat Keterangan Polisi. Gue cuma bawa KTP sebagai identitas gue. Nah di Pos Polisi gue dimintai keterangan dan kronologi lengkap gimana paspor gue bisa hilang. Jawabnya harus detail sedetail mungkin. 

Jangan "saya lupa pak" atau "perasaan saya, saya taro di..." atau "wah saya ngga sengaja tinggalin di..." bisa berabe kalau lo diwawancara di imigrasi nantinya. Kalau emang engga sengaja, lo harus bisa 'merancang kata' supaya alasan lo kedengeran logis. Tapi jangan bohong juga. Tenang aja, pak Polisinya bakal bantuin lo untuk inget-inget lagi.

Pembuatan surat keterangan cepet kok. Kira-kira cuma 15 menit. Setelah itu, surat di print (kalau bisa, minta print dua kali just in case) dan ditanda-tangani pak Polisi dan gue. Oh iya, sebenernya jasa pembuatan surat keterangan itu gratis lho. Waktu gue tanya beliau berapa yang harus gue bayar, beliau jawab "terserah mbak saja." Akhirnya gue kasih 20.000 sebagai rasa apresiasi, karena most people yang gue baca di blog bayarnya segitu. Bedanya mereka dimintain, kalo gue, gue yang menawarkan. Ngasih lebih juga ngga masalah. Ingat etika yaa.

Rabu, 8 Maret 2017

Gila, jauh banget ya skip nya. Soalnya gue udah mulai magang tanggal 13 Februari, jadi gue ngga berani izin-izin dulu. Gue anak baru, masa minggu pertama kerja langsung izin? Hahaha. Tanggal 8 Maret akhirnya gue memberanikan diri untuk izin dan gue langsung ke Kanim Kelas I Jakarta Selatan yang di Warung Buncit. Patokannya halte bus Transjakarta. Pas di depannya.

Anyway.

Gue dateng jam 6 pagi ke Kanim dengan semua berkas penting dalam satu map. Ternyata orang-orang udah banyak yang antri. Udah macem mau nonton konser. Kanim bukanya jam 7 pagi ya btw. Pas gue dateng, gue langsung disamperin satpam, gue bilang gue mau bikin BAP (Berita Acara Pemeriksaan - kalo gasalah). Nah ini langkah awal untuk urus paspor hilang. Kanim JakSel cuma kasih batas 12 orang aja lho! Jadi harus dateng dari pagi-pagi buta. Bahkan ada ibu-ibu yang udah ngantri BAP dari jam 5 subuh dan beliau langsung jadi urutan pertama. Jangan dikira pemohon BAP itu dikit ya. Ternyata banyak juga lho. Bahkan pas antrian BAP habis, masih banyak orang yang datang telat dan engga dapet antrian. :(

Gue nunggu sampe kantor imigrasi buka jam 7 dan akhirnya 12 orang yang mau bikin BAP dipanggil dan dikasih map yang isinya sama kayak orang pemohon perpanjang paspor biasa. Bedanya, yang dilingkari tulisan 'Hilang' bukan 'Perpanjang' hahaha. Pake pulpen hitam ya! Kalau ngga ada, beli di koperasi, harganya 4 ribu. (Iya gue tau soalnya gue beli. Hee.)

Akhirnya nomor urut gue dipanggil dan gue langsung ke counter 11 khusus BAP. Semua berkas penting langsung gue serahin ke mbak-mbak Wasdakim. Oiya, gue sempet panik karena technically surat keterangan polisi gue udah habis masa berlaku (2 minggu) tapi engga diprotes/ditanyain sama mbak-mbak nya sih... But just in case diprotes/ditanyain, mendingan kalau udah lewat dua minggu dan belum urus paspor hilang, langsung bikin ulang surat keterangan-nya di pos/kantor polisi terdekat.

Mbak-mbak dari pihak Wasdakim yang wawancara gue lumayan santai kok, tapi tetep serius. Gue ditanyain lagi pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang sama kayak waktu di Pos Polisi. Tapi kali ini lebih lengkap, bahkan gue sempet ditanyain "Kamu yakin?" wah kaco. penggoyah iman. Tapi ya namanya juga orang jujur, jadi kalo ditanyain pertanyaan-pertanyaan menjebak kayak gitu ya gue tetep kekeuh sama jawaban gue.

Again,

Jangan jawab "saya ngga sengaja tinggalin di..." atau "perasaan saya, saya taro di..." dan sebagainya. Mungkin ini salah satu faktor yang bisa mempersulit pembuatan BAP. Inget, kalau sampai ada faktor kelalaian, pembuatan paspor bisa ditunda 6 bulan sampe 2 tahun loh. Terus kalau ketahuan bohong, bisa kena hukum pidana dan denda ratusan juta.

Setelah diwawancara, surat BAP gue diprint dan ditanda-tangani setelah gue baca ulang semua kronologinya. Gue disuruh dateng lagi minggu depannya untuk ambil hasil BAP, untuk tau kalo gue dizinin sama Kepala Kantor Imigrasi atau engga diizinin buat bikin paspor baru.

Rabu, 15 Maret 2017

Seminggu kemudian, gue dateng lagi ke Kanim JakSel jam 8 pagi dan langsung ambil nomor antrian. Tapi bilangnya "Antrian ambil hasil BAP", nanti dikasih map angket biodata persis kayak yang dikasih waktu gue urus BAP minggu lalu. Oh iya, nomor antrian yang dikasih juga antrian pemohon paspor, jadi otomatis gue udah bisa langsung foto paspor baru. Tapi sebelum itu, gue langsung ke counter BAP tanpa antri dan satpam yang jaga disitu langsung ambil map BAP gue. Nomor antrian dari map baru, dituker ke map BAP gue, karena semua berkas gue ada di situ. Plus surat keterangan dari Kepala Kanim yang menyatakan kalau gue diperbolehkan untuk bikin paspor baru. Thank God.

Oiya.

Nomor antrian gue 291. Sedangkan di layar masih 20-an. Akhirnya gue memutuskan untuk ke kantor dan ngerjain dulu semua kerjaan gue. Engga perlu khawatir kalau takut kelewatan antrian, soalnya antrian imigrasi bisa diakses di Google.

Google Search: Antrian Imigrasi

Nanti langsung keluar website resmi imigrasi, klik, liat deh disitu udah sampe nomor berapa. Akhirnya jam 1 gue balik ke Kanim dan pas gue liat nomor di layar, masih antrian 230-an. Gue tinggal makan deh. Jam 4 gue balik dan nomornya udah 270-an. Lumayan sambil nunggu gue main HP aja. Ternyata udah sampe jam 5 dan antriannya masih banyak. Ada 400-an orang! Akhirnya sistem antrian otomatisnya diabisin dan kembali ke antrian manual, alias dipanggilin (read: teriak) sama petugasnya. Kita langsung dibagi ke counter-counter yang ada. Nomor gue dapet counter 5. Di counter kebetulan ada orang lain, jadi gue kasih berkas gue ke ibu-ibu di counter 5 dan nunggu lagi di luar.

Gue dipanggil dan kembali diwawancarai secara singkat. Ternyata satu counter yang jaga dua orang. Ada ibu-ibu sama mas-mas yang nanti fotoin gue.

Gue ditanyain lagi kenapa paspornya bisa ilang dan gue jawab dengan jawaban yang sama untuk yang kesekian kalinya. Lalu ditanyain mau bikin paspor yang berapa halaman, e-passport apa bukan, dll. Berhubung gue udah mepet banget, jadi e-passport udah engga mungkin. Gue difoto dan dikasih 'bon' nya gitulah. Disitu ada barcode nya, jadi nanti harus dibawa lagi kalau mau ambil paspor.

Di 'bon' itu ada petunjuk pembayaran paspor. Berhubung gue perpanjang paspor biasa, gue bayar Rp 355.000,00 (gue kurang tau kalau e-pass berapa. Pokoknya sekitar 600rb-an)


Rabu, 22 Maret 2017 

Sebenernya minggu lalu waktu gue selesai foto, mas-mas yang fotoin bilang kalau proses pembuatan paspor (biasa, bukan electric) itu 5 hari. Harusnya tanggal 20 udah bisa gue ambil, tapi I had this feeling kalau it would take longer than that, so I decided to go a week later.

Sesuai dengan pengalaman teman gue, dia bilang kalau ambil paspor itu baru bisa jam 1 siang. Jadi, gue masuk kantor dulu, pas jam makan siang gue langsung ke Kanim Kelas I JakSel. Mumpung deket. 

Gue sampai jam 2 dan gue udah mikir kalau antriannya bakal panjang.

Oh iya, yang gue bawa cuma KTP, 'Bon' dari minggu lalu, dan bukti transfer ATM. Di tempat ambil nomor antrian, gue bilang kalau gue mau ambil dan yang diminta cuma 'bon' itu untuk di scan. Bukti transfernya engga perlu. Setelah di scan, nama gue muncul di layar dan nomor antrian gue keluar.

Astaga, gue dua urutan lagi. Ternyata secepet itu!
Gue cuma duduk bentar dan nomor gue dipanggil ke salah satu loket.

Paspor gue langsung ada, data diri dalam paspor gue ditanya udah bener apa belum, terus gue disuruh isi buku tanda pengambilan paspor.

Selesai deh.



Jadi kalau disingkat, proses perpanjang paspor yang udah hilang sebenernya engga serumit yang ditulis di blog-blog yang gue baca. Prosesnya selama dua minggu, terhitung dari hari gue dateng ke kantor imigrasi untuk urus BAP.

Kuncinya niat aja sih. Niat ke Kanim, niat ngantri, niat dll. hahaha.

Semoga artikel ini bermanfaat ya! 

Thanks, Jojo!

Hey!

I'm gonna make this quick.

I haven't had any 'fangirling moments' in years and surprisingly this morning, I did.
You may or may not know that I'm a crazy Twitter user. Although most of my friends have quit this site, I didn't and that pretty much proves how loyal I am. *smirks*

So.

I'm a huge HUGE fan of Victoria's Secrets and one of my most favorite angels is Josephine Skriver. She's a cute and charming Danish model and became an angel in February 2016. I've been expressing how much I love and adore her, especially her relationship with Alexander DeLeon. I just love those two love birds.

Anyway.

I was on Twitter as always and I saw Jojo's tweet about going across the globe. One girl replied assuming she was heading to India, which she replied 'Close by'. Before that, I saw her recent tweets using a bunch of tropical emojis and that's when I became 'sotoy' af. I instantly replied saying, 'Maldives????' I tweeted that early in the morning and after that I closed my Twitter app, knowing she wouldn't read it.

BOY I THOUGHT WRONG.

Just when I reached my office, I headed to my desk and did what I have to do. Then, I became pretty bored so I opened my Twitter app again to see if there's any news or gossip happening right now. I was pretty shocked to see that I had 3 new notifications and that's when I became nervous, thinking 'what if Jojo replied?!'

She did lmao.

Here's the whole receipt. (oh my god I'm literally smiling all day)

(My name was on her Twitter page holy shoot)

(You know. Casually having a Twitter convo with Jojo. No big deal)

'Sense of Humanism'

whatever you say.

It's Me!

The Passport Situation

There’s this story that still lingers in my head for almost five years and I still remember every second of it. The story of two people: a father and his daughter. Of course it’s about my dad and I.

It all happened on September 2010.

I was on a trip to Israel with my dad and many other people from our group. It was probably the longest father-daughter quality time I’ve ever had with my dad because mostly we do it with my sister.

We were queuing at the border of Egypt and Israel. The system worked pretty strange to me. We got down from the bus, carried our own luggage all the way from the parking lot to the Israel’s Immigration Office to take care of our passports and stuff.

Long story short, it was finally my turn to get my passport checked by the officer. My dad was currently having his passport checked on the counter next to mine. The guy opened my passport and took a little glance at my face, making sure if I was the owner of my own passport. (Obviously)

“Are you here alone?” He finally spoke up.

“No, I’m here with my dad.” I answered truthfully.

“Where is he?” He tried to look behind my shoulder to find the man but of course he didn’t see him because my dad was standing next to me.

The same thing probably happened to my dad. The woman behind the counter asked him the same question and his answer was that he wasn’t alone.

Sadly, what he said was “I’m here with a group.” Completely leaving the ‘Daughter’ word.

Now back to the guy behind the counter in front of me. “I don’t see your father. Where is he?” Sighing, I pointed to my dad’s counter. “There.”

With a different language, he called the woman who was checking my dad’s passport. They started saying things I couldn’t understand, but from what I saw, they were talking about my father and I. The guy kept pointing at my passport, specifically my photo. My no-expression-passport-photo.

Dad came to my side with a face full of concern.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, but I just shrugged.

What made me confused was that they looked like they were comparing our passports and laughed –more like snickered. I was annoyed. Scratch that. Pissed. That was offensive! You should never have had done such thing.

“What’s your full name?” he suddenly asked after what seemed like ages.

“Linkan Rinynda Tesalonika Letlora.” I answered instantly, not missing any beat. I have to admit, I was hella proud of myself.

“Why is there no ‘Letlora’ on your passport?”

Oops.

“Some birth certificate problem when I was a baby. They forgot to put Letlora as my last name. So…” I drifted, not knowing what to answer.

He just nodded and kept staring at me with a raised eyebrow. Why wasn’t this guy convinced? I raised an eyebrow back at him. In your face, grandpa, I thought.

What’s worse was the guy asked me the most unbelievable question.

“Are you sure he is your father?”

Shocked with the question, I glared at him, and answered. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“What’s his full name?”

Are you kidding me right now?

“Alexius Letlora. No middle name” I mumbled.

He glanced down at my dad’s passport and the woman next to him was staring coldly at my face. What was your problem, woman?

“When and where was he born?” He continued, without looking away from the passport in his *shudders* hairy hand.

“Surabaya, Indonesia, April 7^th 1964.”

“Alright that’s all. Both of you may go.”

I looked up to my dad and found him smiling down at me and I couldn’t do anything else other than to smile back at him. I was glad I got through that stupid situation with him. Because if I wasn’t I would have mocked the daylights out of that guy.

Because of our little situation, the line got full and they had to open two counters on my left. I know right?

What I’m trying to say from this story is that I’m glad I know my father very well and I’m lucky to have a special bond with him. (You too mom.) But I have to say that I’m more of a daddy’s girl. I’m really close with my dad.

I’m also glad that God has blessed me with an amazing father like him. He is definitely a great father and has the best father figure. He’s always with me through the ups and downs. He’s always there for me and he’s got my back.

Although sometimes (I’m sorry, dad) I can be quite mad at him because of his rules, I know he does everything for our best and that what makes my ‘anger’ vanished.

I’m grateful to have my dad and to know that other people see me as a reverend’s daughter. Honestly, just because I’m a reverend’s daughter I can’t do things normal teenagers do. I can, but I set my own limits and boundaries on what can I do and what can’t I do.

My dad has his own teenaged life too in his young age. He wasn’t ashamed to tell me about all the pranks he pulled to his college friends. He was the master of pranks back then in his university and that confused me. How did he end up being a reverend?

He even told me that one of his teachers told him that he would never be a reverend. Well voila! Look at him now.

All in all, I want to say Happy Birthday, dad.

You’re my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Because let’s face it, not all heroes wear capes.

Thanks for everything you taught and your efforts to be a great dad. I appreciate everything you do and I’m sorry if I ever let you down. I promise I’ll try to be better.

Also thank you for not giving up on me when I was at my lowest point of life. I wouldn’t be able to face the world if it wasn’t for you and because of you.

I hope our bond gets stronger and stronger each day and I’m wishing you all the best of luck in your job. Never stop spreading the story of God and never give up because as what you always tell me, I got your back. We got your back, dad.

I love you.

Sincerely, your eldest daughter,

Linkan Rinynda Tesalonika………..Letlora :p

Happy 23rd Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad

Sunday, February 16 2014

Dear mom and dad,

It's been 23 years since "I do" was said from the both of you in GPIB Bukit Zaitun, Makassar. Remembering your stories back then on your wedding day, I remember how skinny dad was! And how beautiful and young mom looked back then. (Don't worry mom, you're still looking beautiful... but no longer young. Hehe.) 

For 23 years, you stick together as a happy wedded couple. You've been going through the ups and downs together. You never gave up on each other -unlike other couples out there, who gave up easily after God gave a one tiny simple test for them. I look up to the both of you. A lot.

Honestly, your relationship inspires me.

I want to have someone as amazing as dad to be my wedded husband in future. But dad always told me to wait for the right one to come and that is what I'm doing. 

I'm happy to have the both of you in my life. I could never ask for any better parents. I am trying (and always will) to be the best child for the both of you. I'm sorry for all the wrong and unthinkable things I did, whether on purpose or not, that broke your hearts.

I will forever be thankful for the both of you in my life.

There's one thing I want the both of you to always remember...

"A wedding lasts for a day, but a marriage is forever."

God bless the both of you. I love you.

-Linkan Letlora

Childhood Memories

Well hello there!

I know it's been quite a while since I posted my last article but *sigh* here I am now! It's 1am here in Indonesia and I honestly don't know what to do. Yes, I have a class tomorrow morning so... screw you insomnia.

As usual, I'm going to share a short story about my life. But before I start, I just want to warn you that this article is pretty long (I know I said 'a short story' but I can't guarantee you all to expect a legit (lol did i just say legit.) short story cause I type a little too much. What can I say? I love typing. Hush.)

With an empty Starbucks cup by my side, let us begin the story.

Hahahahaha sorry I was being a typical white girl up there but oh well. But yeah, you read the caption, let's begin the story. For real.

Once upon a time in 1996 . .

Nah, that sounded so... Fairytale-ish. Too mainstream. Too unoriginal. Blah. Let's start it the right way.

I was born on Sunday, May 12 1996 at 5:55a.m. Even on the day I was born, there was a little story in it. My mom was about to give birth (to me, duh.) and my dad was also there. Since it was Sunday and my dad was (and still is) a reverend, he had a job for the morning service in our church at 7a.m. But of course, being an amazing husband and soon-to-be-dad he was, he didn't want to miss this incredible event. 

I'm going to be honest with you. It took five years for my parents to have a baby. They got married in 1991 and I was born in 1996. FIVE freakin YEARS. The struggles were real back then. 

It was nearly six as he became to be very anxious because he was stuck between to important events. His wife giving birth and his morning service job. I'm not gonna lie, my dad LOVES his job as much as he loves my mom so it's like... he has two wives... you know, my mom and his job... and... yeah that's how I see it though... BUT ANWYAY.

He didn't want to come late for this morning service in our church so he told the doctors and I quote, 

"If my wife didn't give birth by six, I really had to go."

Sad thing is, I don't know how my dad told the doctors about it. Like, did he tell them right in front of my mom's room or even in the room while listening to the nurse to keep pushing and stuff... No seriously, I don't know. After my dad quoted that line while telling me this story, he just jumped into the outline of the story.

"And guess what? It was five to six when you were born." and by that he finished. Finished. Done. The end. 

ahaha not really. Using these long spaces is so fun! I think I'm addicted to it. Well by the way, I didn't know how my mom got so motivated to give birth to me before six. She probably heard my dad say it or maybe one of the doctors told my mom, i don't know. But voila! I was born 5 minutes before 6 and my dad walked up to my mom and saw me for the first time in my mom's embrace.

It was one of the most beautiful moments my dad had ever experienced. My dad bent down to my face and whispered the most powerful prayer; The Lord's Prayer in my ear. His reason was simple, because my dad wanted me to hear the prayer before I got to hear the whole world around me. He also did that to my sister and brother. I got shivers when he told me this.

When I was 3, we moved to a small rented house in Tomang, West Jakarta. Before that, we lived in a manse nearby our church, but dad was transferred to another church, so my parents rented a small house. Living there was pretty awesome. I had new friends for the first time, which happened in my neighborhood and I was like 'went out of my shell' because I was a total shy girl back then.

I also had my very first day in school. Again, dad had a little story about this. I went to school with him and according to my dad, I held his hand so tight, too tight for a 3-year-old little girl. I assumed I was really scared to face the real world without my parents or everyone I knew around me. First day of school terrified 97% kids around the world... I guess. When we arrived, I held my dad's hand even tighter. I was scared of these strangers around me. I didn't recognize their faces, I didn't know them at all.

Dad understood immediately that I was terrified. So he crouched down to my level and hugged me before he said, "Don't be afraid, I'm right here."

And by that, I slowly let go of my dad's hand and let the teacher grabbed it slowly as she led me to my class. I hesitated at first so I kept looking at my dad behind me with a worried look. My dad gave me a nice but stern look and nodded his head slowly, as if to say "I'm still here." I believed him immediately and I got the courage to walk into class and began my very first lesson on my first day at school.

It's getting pretty late here. I'm gonna continue this story sooner or later. Promise. Don't believe me? I'LL MAKE YOU BELIEVE. ahahaha. no seriously i will. 

Pinky promise. Believe me now? :)

Rumah Bapaku Orphanage

Hello! It's been a while since I posted my last entry and now that I'm in a crazy mood to write a blog, so here you go! Haha

In this entry, I want to share what I've learned from my little visit to an orphanage called 'Rumah Bapaku' in Bali. It was an honor to do a little charity there. My friends and I had so much fun playing with the kids, they were all so happy, eager, and excited to see us, which makes me even happier to meet them. There were around 60 students (including me) from Tunas Indonesia High School that were divided into groups of five until eight. 

Each group had to pick three kids from the orphanage so that we could interact and play with them. I was looking for three kids but they were all already got groups. By the help from our group's mentor, Miss Linda, we finally found three little girls named Desy, Joly, and Sari. They were all still in elementary school (around ten to eleven years old.) I had an incredible time with them. They were very sweet, funny, and inspiring.

It was dinner time and when I finished my food, Sari took a hold of my hand and showed me a beautiful drawing of a girl, it was anime and she did pretty amazing. I thanked her and she just smiled sweetly yet innocently. Then came Joly with a piece of paper in her hand and she gave it to me shyly. It was a painting of a room, with pink walls and it was so pretty. The owner of the orphanage, Natasha, called all of us to the living room to watch a short film of how did she decide to build the orphanage. I watched closely as I kept recording the whole movie on my mind. 

Apparently, it all started from Natasha's father who cared so much about her and used to take her out from a village to another so that they could interact with other people and spread the words of God for them. Natasha grew up in a religious family because her father was a reverend. As a child, she told her father that one day, she wanted to make a big house so that other children that didn't have any place to stay could stay in her big house. She grew up into a very successful lady but despite all the wealthy and success she's got, that didn't make her break her promise to her father, which had passed away. 

She even came back from where she worked in Los Angeles and made an orphanage in 2009 and had thirty-six children lived (and still are living) in there. Her husband, Bram, was a very generous man and he helps her through everything. These husband and wife seriously inspire me. 

Until now, there are still thirty-six children in the orphanage and they live happily there. I made friends with Desy, Joly, and Sari. When it was time to play, i took them outside to give them something. Bit before that, I told them that i had a story and they were actually listening to me.

The story was basically about my life. I told them I was a failure because of a stupid mistake I had and I thought my life would be ended *snap* just like that. But no. Instead, God had other greater plans for me. I got accepted in Tunas Indonesia Senior High School and my principal, Mr. Charles, offered me to join the accelleration study program, and guess what? I made it. Yesterday, I got an announcment saying that I passed my national final exams and graduated. How cool was that. Graduating at such young age (seventeen).

Back to the story. I told them to never stop dreaming, they nodded their heads understandingly. This was actually my first time ever to tell people about my life story, not that I'm complaining though. I asked each one of them, "What's your dream?" Desy and Joly wanted to be a reverend, Sari wanted to be a doctor. I told the kids that my dad is a reverend and they were actually quiet surprised. "No wonder why you can tell us such inspiring stories, just like other reverends out there." Joly said. I literally just laughed.

I also told them to never give up. This one is pretty mainstream I know. But they seemed hopeless back there, they wanted to have a perfect life. They even envied me for being in a family. "You will have one too, soon. Don't worry." I reassured them. I told them to be grateful and thankful for Ayah (the way they call Bram) and Bunda (how they call Natasha) for accepting them there in Rumah Bapaku Orphanage, i made them promise not to disappoint their guardians, because Bram and Natasha were the only parents they had.

They were getting really interested in our conversation because they kept scooting closer and closer to me like I was their older sister. It was a great feeling having three sweet girls around me, two of them were hugging my sides, and laid their heads on my shoulders as I kept telling them my stories. 

I made them promise not only to never give up, but also never be afraid to imagine extraordinary things. They were just kids and it wasn't illegal to imagine crazy things like... I don't know... Have a private yacht? Buy an insland? Go to the tallest building on earth and watch every view around it? Have an enormous house? It was all their decisions in which to imagine.

I gave them bracelets as a promise to never break our promisses. They gladly accept them and hugged me saying a sweet thank you. I cried, I couldn't hold it anymore. Knowing that maybe I'm not going to see them again hurts. 

Maybe, just maybe, one day I would see them again in different situations... being popular, success, and wealthy. Who knows?

Strong Love

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for stopping by. I found out that my mom's friend read my previous post about my dad and she told my mom that it was inspiring and I should write more. Well, thank you for the feedback, miss! Really do appreciate it :) But anyway, this time, I wanna tell you a story of a couple, which is no ordinary couple.

Let's just get started...

There are so many amazing and enjoyable experiences in relationships, but not all of them are amazing and enjoyable. In some times, people had to face their struggles and problems, not knowing how to end them and don't know what to do to stay strong for each other in their relationships. Every people had their own experiences in their relationships. Some of them were delightful, some of them were stressful, and some of them just... let's just say didn't end up well.

But this one couple had their own experience...

It all happened on a rainy Christmas Eve in somewhere deep in South Sulawesi, Indonesia where there was a young man and his wife were about to go back home, which was miles away from their church, to celebrate Christmas together. They weren't a rich couple, so they had to borrow an old motorcycle to go home.  Despite the windy and rainy weather, they kept their smiles on their faces.

Darkness filled their journey as they kept protecting themselves from any danger. The rain got heavier, the wind blew harder, and the road was muddy, which was unnecessary for the motorcycle to keep going on. In fact, the poor vehicle had to stop because of the muddy road

and this is the beginning of the real story...

The man decided to hide the borrowed motorcycle underneath a palm tree. Don't get me wrong, but they were in the middle of a hood. Trees and bushes were at their surroundings, so it was quiet impossible to look for help.

The young couple decided to walk together, hand in hand. You have no idea how tough they were that time because they had to protect each other and stay strong for each other. It was dark, very dark, and it was still raining. They kept walking together, hoping to arrive safely at their home. After a few minutes of walking in the heavy rain, they stopped because apparently they had to climb up a hill. Seeing the journey got tougher, the wife started to whimper, complain, not accepting the situation that was going on right then.

"When are we going to get home?" "Are we there yet?" "Why is the rain so heavy?" those were the most said words from the wife's trembled mouth. The husband couldn't say anything to answer all of his dearest wife's questions, even though it was quiet easy to answer them, but he couldn't guarantee anything in a dreadful moment like that. He looked up to the sky and the rain just got heavier and heavier each time...

As if the night terrifying sky was mocking them, saying "Just give up. You'll never get home."

As you all may know, a gentleman wouldn't want to see his wife cries, and being a gentleman the husband is, he faced his wife and offered himself to carry her. The husband didn't say anything to answer all of his wife's questions, instead he did something unexpected and not every guy was brave enough to do this daring action, especially in a dreadful situation like that.

The young man moved his backpack and hung it against his chest, while having his wife on his back. Slowly but surely, he climbed up the hill, worrying that something might happen to him and his wife, turned out, nothing bad happened and they reached the top successfully. He let go his wife and held her hand tight, not letting her go. They started walking again and for once in awhile, the husband spoke up, "Don't look back. You might would end up being a pillar of salt, like Lot's wife." (If you don't know the story of Lot and His Wife, you can read it on Genesis chapter 19, verse 1 and ends on verse 26) followed by a soft chuckle, so he would light up the situation.

Slowly walking together, they finally arrived to their cozy home and their friends were there, waiting for them to celebrate Christmas together with them but most importantly, with the darkness of the day and the steep hill, they could pass them all together, because their love was strong and nothing could stop them.

Since then, December 25th 1992 was an unforgettable day for this couple and they would never be bored to share their experience to other people, especially couples.

You see, the young man is actually my dad and his wife is... of course my mom. Hahaha. I want to share this amazing story to you all because I found this inspiring, very very inspiring. You have no idea how much I wanted to tear up when I read the article for the first time (it's written in Indonesian / Bahasa Indonesia and it's available on my dad's website: www.alexletlora.com - also check out my dad's other inspiring stories there!)

I get inspired easily and I want to inspire people's lives with my own stories. I will tell you my stories one day, not just my parents'. ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I'm truly sorry if there is any grammar mistake. English isn't my main language so... yeah. But, please leave a feedback if you'd like. Thank you once again and God bless!

My Superdad

So basically I just want to share my story to you guys about my dad. How do I even start this... My dad's name is Alex. Well, his full name is Alexius Letlora. He has no middle name by the way. I'm still wondering how did my grandma find that heroic name of my dad. How she decided to name him 'Alexius'. It's an awesome to be honest and it's very unique. One day, when I grow up, I'm naming my son after my dad. Yep, that's a vow.

Anyway, about my dad... He was born in Surabaya on the 7th of April 1964 (yeah, go count by yourself about his age.) My dad's mom, aka my grandma raised him in a small house in Surabaya. My dad's dad, aka my grandpa was a policeman and it somehow excites me to see how dad is very proud of grandpa whenever he tells us stories about him. Point is, my dad wasn't raised in a rich family.

As a teenager, dad didn't have so many friends. In high school, he only had a few friends and sometimes he even had nobody to kept him company. Once he was graduated, he wanted to be a part of an army, but my grandma foreboded him so soon enough, he decided to be a student of a Theology University and learned everything to be a priest or minister or reverend or- you name it. Haha. Well, as a senior, he admitted himself that he was nothing but a troublemaker. He had so many funny stories back when he was in college. Like for example, he even bullied his juniors for some odd reason. Lol, don't you dare try this in college.

Well, that was my dad when he was still young.

Now let me just tell you my dad once he grew up as a man. He graduated from college in 1980s (I forgot the specific year, but it was in 80's.) He soon became a vicar and had to do his duty as a vicar in Makassar. He got a duty in a church in Makassar and he had to live in a house that was already determined. It was my mom's house. Well, shortly dad met mom and bam, love at first sight. How cute was that?

They started dating for at least a year and a half (or only a year? but yeah I guess a year, but something tells me they dated for a year and a half... OKAY WHATEVER. LET'S CARRY ON.) And the day finally came when dad proposed my mom, which I don't know how he did it. Right on the 16th of February 1991, they happily got married in GPIB Bukit Zaitun Makassar.

I found out that once my dad did this kind of ritual before the wedding, he threw his fist in the air and shouted "YES!!!" because he was finally be able to call my mom his wife. I found it very cute and sweet. I wonder if my future husband would do such thing in the future hahaha. Well, he sure had his own happy ending, but that didn't last long.

You see, my parents got married and my mom had a miscarriage... TWICE. Which got my parents very upset. But hey, they didn't give up. In fact, they kept praying and they tried out to have a child and WOWZA HERE I AM AS THE FIRST DAUGHTER. I was born in 1996. My parents have waited for five years for a child and I was happy that they have been expecting me. God is always good, isn't He?

Not just me. A year later in 1997, my sister Kezia was born healthy and perfectly fine. Of course my parents were very thankful to have two children in the family. AND two years later in 1999, my lil brother Andrew was born. Our presence in the world had been waited by our parents and when my mom told me everything about the miscarriages, I was encouraged to do anything to make my parents proud of me. I knew my parents had a breakdown about the miscarriages- I mean, DUDE my mom had a miscarriage twice and it sure left a painful pang in her heart. But once I was born, along with my siblings, I knew my parents had been expecting us, so that was why I had the need to make my parents happy and proud of me, well not just me, but us (me and my siblings. lol)

Okay, so let's go back focussing on my dad. Once he finally had a family, he felt proud of himself. He would do anything to stick up together with all of us as a family. He's a very protective figure of a father. He raised his children very VERY well. He taught us manners and how to be a good reverend's kids. Yeah, I soon realized that I was a reverend's daughter when I was ten. Being a reverend's daughter is... Well, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's kind of unpleasant. (Sorry dad, I'm just trying to be honest.)

The good side is, everyone knows you because of your dad. That's the fact. For example, I was in Church with my mom and siblings because apparently dad was on his duty to preach. When it was finished, a woman suddenly pulled me into a hug and she was like "Oh my goodness! Look at you now! You've grown up!" and I honestly had no idea who she was, but i got along with and just nodded and mumbled some polite words, agreeing on what she said. Well, yeah that's how Linkan Letlora reacts to someone who knows her but she doesn't even know them. People also see me as a good two shoes little girl. They see me as a one innocent birdie. Truth is, I'm kind of innocent.

The unpleasant side? I can't do anything, I mean anything any teenaged girl would like to do. I mean, sure I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I don't go around and find boys and date them immediately. I'm not a cheap girl. I can't do anything, as in I can't hang out as much as I can with my friends. I can't go to a party like a legit party with my friends (except if my dad knows which friend held the party, other than that, it was a big no for me to go.) Yeah, my dad is a one protective guy.

He also had his own dating rules for me. "You have to date a Christian boy and I don't want you to date some troublemaker, smoker, and all that kind of boy. Make sure he does the first move, not you. Also, you have to tell me right away once you have a boyfriend, because I don't like it if my daughter hides her own relationship behind her parents. Got it?" he once said sternly, making me scared. I nodded, understanding what he said. Yep, that's my dad people, that's my dad.

My dad is the best priest or reverend or minister or- okay fine you name it. He earned his money just by preaching and spreading good things about Jesus Christ. I actually love his job and I even thought about being a priest, but you see... I'm bad in my religion class. -_- Sorry daddy. He met various of famous people because of his job. Who said being a priest is only about talking and preaching and talking? No. Being a priest is harder than you thought. My dad had to stay up late every night to prepare everything for his preach. He once got sick because he didn't sleep all day long. I really do appreciate his hard work only for us, his family.

Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm crying right now.

His success as a priest got some people jealous of him. Some people actually tried to get on his way and my dad, being a patient man himself, didn't do anything to hurt them. "Let them do what they do. We'll see how will they end up soon." he kept saying that with a slight smirk on his face. Yep, that Reverend Alexius Letlora to you bad people. Don't you dare try to get into my dad's way because you will see soon what will karma do to you. You'll just have to wait and see.

Until now, thankfully nothing bad had happened to our family. I will never let bad things happen to the Letloras. All I need to do right now is focus on how to make my parents happy and proud, that's my life goal (of course meeting Justin Bieber is too, but that's number two on my list.) Especially my dad, because he had sacrificed so many things to us, his family. He had done a lot of things only to make us happy. I have to do something in return, by making him proud. I look up to him, a lot. He's an inspiration to me and I'm proud to call him my dad. OKAY THESE TEARS NEED TO BE WIPED LIKE SERIOUSLY.

Le Youtube

HI! hahahaha udah lama banget ngga ngeblog. Apa kabar readers? (gue jamin gue disangka orang gila nanya2 sendiri gaada yang respon. Bodoamat dah haha) oiya, MAKASIH BANGETBANGETBANGET buat 685 VIEWS video Signing Session With Greyson Chance nyaa. Makasihmakasih. Ngga nyangka bakal sebanyak itu yang nonton. Emang sih untuk seorang youtube superstar, 600an masih dibilang cupu. Tapi not for me. So, thank you all so much! Gue memutuskan buat sering-sering bikin video iseng dan diunggah ke Youtube. Engga bermaksud buat nyari eksis sih, tapi cuma pengen di share aja secara worldwide. Mau kalian suka apa engga, i don't care. As long as you watch the vid, that makes me happy. Yea. Ngomong-ngomong soal Youtube, situs yang satu ini demen banget bikin orang jadi salah paham satu sama lain. Kalo ada orang mau upload video ke Youtube, pasti temennya langsung ngira orang itu nyari eksis. Biar dikira Justin Bieber atau Shinta Jojo gitu... Yaelah, seseorang yang upload video ke Youtube ngga ada efek sampingnya buat lo juga kan? YAUDAH. -_- Ngapain dipusingin coba? Hahaha. No offense sih ya. Kalo ngerasa tersindir, ya sadar diri aja... Jujur, gue punya Youtube account. (Subscribe yak. Yea.) Gue udah seneng upload-upload video dari tahun 2011. Jaman-jaman belum banyak anak-anak gawl yang punya Youtube. Gue sering banget upload video-video gila gue di situ, cuman gue hapus karna ngga ada yang nonton. Emang kasian banget sih nasib gue jadi seorang Youtuber. Hahaha sudahlah. Masa lalu ini... By the way, gue baru-baru ini upload video lip sync bareng salah satu sahabat gue, Naje, yaitu video Call Me Maybe. Emang sih ngga sekece versi nya Justin Bieber dkk, tapi kan bikin video itu cuma buat menghilangkan rasa bosan. Makasih loh udah 200an yang nonton. Makasih udah ada yang like dan makasih udah ada yang dislike juga. Gapapa sih, kami menghargai setiap tindakan yang dilakukan. Asalkan masih tau diri aja. :') Pokoknya, jangan pernah takut untuk mengekspresikan keceriaan/kegilaan/kegaulan/dll melalui video yang di upload di Youtube. Namanya juga Youtube, pasti ada yang suka, pasti ada yang ngga suka. Diemin aja, stay cool. Setidaknya orang-orang yang Dislike video kalian udah nonton video kalian, iya kan? ;;) Haha Akhir kata, Youtube adalah situs dimana lo bisa mengekspresikan feelings lo melalui video. Ngga peduli orang-orang suka apa engga. Hargain aja tindakan mereka atas video kalian. ;) Okay? Okay. BYE! xo

SIGNING SESSION WITH GREYSON CHANCE - April 20th, 2012

Okay, seperti yang udah kita tau akhirnya saat-saat yang paling ditunggu pun tiba. Mbak-mbak yang megang toa langsung nyuruh kita (pemenang signing session) buat ikutin mas-mas yang pake baju item. Dengan cepat, gue sama Ibin langsung ke belakang mas-mas tersebut, disusul oleh pemenang lainnya. Awalnya beberapa enchancers bingung kenapa ada crew Marygops yang diikutin kami (pemenang signing session), mereka pun langsung maksa buat ikut karena mereka akhirnya tau kita mau ke backstage. Namun sayangnya mereka ngga bisa ikut, i feel bad for them, honestly. :(

Selama berjalan ke arah backstage, gue sama Ibin bikin video detik-detik sebelum ketemu Greyson (nanti secepetnya gue upload ke youtube), dalam video itu kalian bisa liat gue masih pake kalung panjang warna item yang ada salib kecil menggantung di tengah-tengahnya. Hati gue dagdigdug banget, gemeteran, dan nervous. Kita ngelewatin parkiran JITEC, yes, parkiran. Engga nyangka kan ke backstage lewat parkiran? Sama gue juga kok. Di situ udah ada pagar pemisah dan disana juga udah ada pemenang signing session lainnya yang udah nungguin kita. "Yang namanya dipanggil langsung masuk ya!" kata seorang cowo tinggi yang megang daftar nama kami semua. Tangan Ibin gue remes, engga nyangka banget woy. Gilaaak. Nama kita dipanggil satu-satu dan tiba-tiba, "Linkan Letlora!" oke, cowo itu manggil nama gue. Tangan Ibin gue lepas dan gue lari kecil masuk ke dalam. "Jangan lari ya," kata security guard nya. Gue ngangguk pelan dan jalan pelan masuk ke ruangan arah yang udah ditentuin sama security guard nya. Setelah masuk ke ruangan yang udah ditunjuk, gue kira si Greyson udah nungguin gue dengan senyumannya yang amat unyu itu dan merentangkan kedua tangannya yang udah siap buat meluk gue. (apasih-_-) Ternyata kenyataan berkata lain. I hate reality.

Ternyata kita masih disuruh duduk dulu di suatu ruangan, yang ada pembatasnya. Ternyata Greyson ada di ruangan sebelah dan kita masih belum bisa liat dia saat itu. Crew-crew yang bertugas ngga pernah stop buat tease kita semua. "Pasti nanti gabisa tidur." "Greyson nya disuruh pulang aja kali ya?" dan seterusnya yang bikin kita gemes, ketawa, bahkan kadang-kadang jengkel. "Nanti kalian engga usah repot ya sama barang-barang kalian. Karena yang di tandatanganin Greyson cuma poster gratis dari kita. Jadi barang-barangnya ditaruh di tas semua ya. No camera allowed, kecuali kamera promotor. Oke?" tau gitu ngapain gue bawa banyak barang -_- gemes ih busetdeh. "Yaudah, per lima orang masuk ya. Mulai dari kamu." kata om-om nya sambil nunjuk cewek yang duduk di pojok belakang, diikutin 4 orang lainnya. Blablabla, akhirnya GILIRAN GUE!

Saat memasuki ruangan di mana Greyson berada (ciaelah) gue makin degdegan. "Linnn itu Greyson, Linnn" kata Ibin sambil pegang tangan gue. Gila gue gemeteran liatin dia yang lagi siap-siap buat tanda tangan poster gratisan kita. Gue dan Ibin berada di urutan kedua terakhir. Tiba-tiba... I GOT AN IDEA. Gue mau bikin mini video selama gue ketemu Greyson. Yep, lumayan tuh. Gue langsung ambil HP gue dan tiba-tiba...

"Ketik namanya di HP ya, ketik namanya di HP. Biar nanti Greyson nya ngga susah nulis nama kalian." kata seorang mas-mas. Yah.... kalo HP gue dipake buat ngasih liat nama gue, gimana caranya gue bisa rek- OIYA! GUE BAWA IPOD! Baru inget gue bawa iPod, sebenernya udah lama sih tapi tiba-tiba lupa aja gitu kalo gue bawa iPod. Oke, gue nulis nama gue di HP gue dan nyalain iPod gue, langsung deh gue rekam semuanya. Yang mau liat video nya SILAHKAN:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9e4Gc29txU

LANJUTANNYA BESOOOOK ;)

Konser Greyson Chance - April 20th, 2012 (Part 2)

Selama gue di dalam lift ke lantai 2, gue dan Ibin dikeruminin abang-abang yang tampangnya serem banget. Bau pula badan mereka. Hidih. Akhirnya sampai di lantai 2, kita langsung jalan mengikuti orang-orang yang hendak nuker tiket. Setelah sampai ke tempat yang dituju, mata kita sempat nyebar kemana-mana. Banyak banget barang-barang Greyson Chance yang dijual, murah-murah pula. Giliiiiing bisa abis nih duit gue, jangan beli deh. Yang penting nanti ketemu Greyson pas signing session, hahaha.

Gue nuker tiket gue dengan gelang warna pink, sedangkan Ibin gelang warna ungu. Setelah itu, kita langsung lari ke lift dan naik ke lantai 3 dan dilanjutkan dengan menaiki eskalator 5 kali sampai lantai 8. Sadis. Selama menaiki eskalator, ada bapak-bapak bertampang arab, tinggi banget coy. "Sorry, ini saya nuker tiket anak saya. Anak saya masih di jalan mau kesini, tapi tiketnya ada di saya dan udah saya tuker jadi gelang," katanya ke seorang mas-mas dari pihak promotor. "Oh iya, tunggu sebentar di sini ya, Pak," katanya. Alhasil, bapak-bapak Arab itu harus nunggu dan gue langsung nyelonong ngelewatin dia.

Sesampainya di lantai 8, gue terpaksa harus misah sama Ibin karna gue duduk di kelas pink dan Ibin di kelas ungu. "Daaaah! Nanti kalo udah selesai langsung BBM gue ya, Lin! Ping!" kata Ibin sambil berjalan ke arah yang lain. "Sip! Daaah! Nanti gue bbm!" kata gue sambil melambai-lambai. Wah, telat beneran ini. Venue nya udah kosong semua, cuma ada security guards jagain pintu. Gue menunjukkan gelang gue sebelum diperbolehkan masuk ke dalam ruangan konser. Terdengar suara teriakan histeris Enchancers Indonesia yang bikin bulu kuduk berdiri.

Eh, ternyata gue kelewatan konsernya Camryn! Yah... sedih. "Gapapalah, yang penting signing session engga kelewatan" batin gue. Sampai di dalem, gue disamperin mbak-mbak cantik yang bawa senter kecil. Udeh kayak di bioskop ajedah. "Duduknya dimana?" tanya dia. "G-34, mbak." kata gue sambil menunjukkan tiket. "Oh, nanti jalan lewatin barisan A terus sampe barisan ke 30an, belok kanan, cari barisan G ya." jelasnya sambil memainkan senter kecilnya. "Okay, makasih ya, mbak." kata gue dibalas dengan senyuman ramahnya yang terilihat di remangnya ruangan (eaa). "excuse me, sorry." itulah kata-kata yang bisa gue keluarin. Bukan bermaksud buat sok bule, tapi orang-orang yang gue lewatin adalah orang India dan gue ngga yakin kalau mereka ngerti bahasa Indonesia. Setelah mengikuti apa yang dikatakan mbak-mbak tadi, akhirnya kursi gue ketemu. Duduk di antara enchancers yang engga gue kenal emang agak awkward. "GREYSOOOOOOON!" teriak mereka, gue cuma bisa nengok ke arah mereka sambil membuka mata gue lebar-lebar. Ini baru konser Greyson, gimana konser Bieber ya....

Selama nungguin Greyson, gue twitteran, dikit-dikit teriak, terus dikit-dikit senyumin kamera-kamera media yang ada di depan kursi VIP. Norak ya. Hahaha gapapa, toh juga orang-orang di sekitar gue engga kenal gue siapa. 30 menit berlalu, sesekali lampu dimatikan dan penonton jadi histeris, dikira Greyson udah keluar, ternyata cuma buat di tease. -__- KAPAN NIH GREYSON NYAAAA D: eh, tiba-tiba lampu beneran mati dan layar besar di panggung mulai menyala. Ada gambar-gambar keren gitu persis kayak album covernya Greyson. Band nya mulai memainkan alat musik masing-masing, penonton semakin menggila. Lebih gila dari sebelumnya. "GREYSOOOON!" "GREYSON CHANCEEEE!" "ABANG ECENNN!!!" oke teriakan anak terakhir tadi bikin gue ling-lung nyari sumber suaranya. Nekad nih orang teriak begituan, wakakakak.

AKHIRNYA GREYSON BERLARI KE TENGAH PANGGUNG DAN LANGSUNG BERDIRI MEMBELAKANGI PENONTON, MEMAMERKAN BENDERA INDONESIA YANG TERJAHIT RAPI DI JAKETNYA. Uoooooo kecenyaaa~ Enchancers teriak histeris bahkan ada yang nangis. "OH MY GOSH! GREYSOOOOOON! WOOOOOO" itulah teriakan pertama gue setelah melihat Greyson di atas panggung. Konser dibuka dengan lagu UNFRIEND YOU. Kita semua nyanyi bareng dan oke bulu kuduk gue berdiri semua, gila engga nyangka bisa ngeliat cowo ini lagi secara live. Putih banget kulitnya astagaaa :O

Selama konser berlangsung, sesekali Greyson menyapa kita, "Apa kabar Indonesia!" haduh senengnya selangit (apaansih-_-). Oh ya, sebelum Greyson nyanyi HOME IS IN YOUR EYES, dia sempet galau masa._. dia ngomong "So I'm kinda miss this girl back home..." spontan seluruh Enchancers teriak "LAUREEEEEN" oops. Frontal sekali mereka. Terus waktu nyanyi PAPARAZZI dia sempet cerita asal-usulnya dia bisa jadi terkenal. Langsung terharu loh, engga nyangka dia bisa seterkenal ini dibanding yang dulu. Dia nyanyi lagu ROLLING IN THE DEEP nya Adele dan di aransemen jadi akustik. Terus juga aransemen lagu PUMPED UP KICKS nya Foster The People. Dia nari gitudeeeh pas nyanyi, gemeter gimanaa gitu nontonnya... Urutan lagu yang dinyanyiin selama konser: UNFRIEND YOU, HEART LIKE STONE, LITTLE LONDON GIRL, LIGHT UP THE DARK, PAPARAZZI, FIRE, RUNNING AWAY, HOME IS IN YOUR EYES, ROLLING IN THE DEEP, PURPLE SKY, SUMMER TRAIN, CHEYENNE, PUMPED UP KICKS, WAITING OUTSIDE THE LINES, HOLD ON TIL THE NIGHT, dan ditutup dengan lagu TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW sambil melambai kepada Enchancers Indonesia. "I'll see you soon!" katanya. Aww, sedih banget konsernya harus berakhir dalam waktu yang cepat. :(

Oh iya, gue langsung cek batre HP gue, oke masih cukup buat signing session. Eh, Ibin udah nge-PING berkali-kali! Mampus gue, harus bener-bener keluar nih. Bisa dibilang, gue yang paling pertama keluar dari ruangan konser, kemudian disusul oleh lautan manusia-manusia lainnya. Ibin manaaaa D: hadooh, bbm nya pending. Akhirnya gue ngecheck bbm dan di recent updates, Ibin ganti pm, "LINKAN DIMANAAAAA" langsung deh gue ganti pm saat itu juga, "DI ESKALATOR TEMPAT KITA PISAH BINNN" semoga Ibin ngga kemana-mana. Selama nunggu, gue disamperin 2 orang temen dari group Enchancers di bbm, Icha dan Meuthia. "Kak linkaaan" kata Meuthia, eh ada Icha juga. Kita sempet ngobrol bentar selama konser, tapi pikiran gue tetep fokus ke Ibin. Haduh mana lagi nih anak -_- "LIN!" akhirnyaaaa! "BIN!!!" gue lari ke Ibin dan kita pelukan. Iya, pelukan. Kayak gapernah ketemu 10 tahun. "Oh iya, Icha, Meuthia, ini temen aku, Priskila." kata gue sambil memperkenalkan mereka bertiga satu sama lain. Eh, tiba-tiba gue disamperin mbak-mbak pake baju kece nuansa gelap sambil bawa kamera. "Hai, aku dari majalah kawanku, boleh foto bentar?" tanyanya ke gue dan Ibin. "Oh, iya boleh." kata gue sambil benerin rambut gue yang saat itu sedang dicepol. DICEPOL. Yah jelek deh nih masuk majalah. "Nama kamu siapa?" "Linkan." "Sekolahnya dimana?" "SMAK Penabur Bintaro Jaya" dia nanya hal yang sama ke Ibin. "Okedeh, nanti aku telfon ya buat wawancara soal konser Greyson. Soalnya kalo sekarang ngga memungkinkan." katanya sambil senyum. "Oh gitu... Yaudah." kata gue sama Ibin secara unison. Akhirnya cewek itu pergi menghilang di tengah kerumunan Enchancers. "GREYSOOOOON!" tiba-tiba satu orang teriak dan berlari ke arah pintu yang ditutupin kain. Katanya sih ada Greyson di situ mau say hi, akhirnya banyak banget deh tuh yang lari buat ketemu Greyson. Gapapa Linnn, lo nanti ketemy Greyson langsung!

Gue dikelilingin oleh banyak pihak media yang sibuk nyari keberadaan artis-artis yang nonton Greyson. Eh bener, ada si cowboy junior, Fay, Brandon (kalo gasalah liat), dan lain sebagainya. Gue memutuskan untuk nelfon pihak universal indo, setelah gue tanya buat signing session, gue disuruh pergi ke pojokan deket gift corner. Gue, Ibin, Meuthia, Icha, dan (kalo gasalah) Papanya Meuthia jalan ke pojokan. Ternyata bener, ada cewe berdiri di kursi megang toa "ayo ngumpul di sini yang signing session!" tapi suara toanya gamungkin kedengeran sama Enchancers yang sibuk buat nyari Greyson, karna suara mereka lebih gede daripada toa nya mbak-mbak itu. Gue jalan ke arah dia sambil ngomong kalo gue menang signing session. Dia liat daftar nama bentar dan setelah nama gue ketemu, gue disuruh nunggu di pojok deket tembok. Gue, Ibin, dan Meuthia nunggu bertiga disitu, sedangkan Icha dan (sekali lagi, kalo gasalah) papanya Meuthia nunggu di depan kita tapi ngga barengan. Akhirnya beberapa pemenang signing session berkumpul semua dan masa-masa penantian itupun dimulai.............

LANJUTANNYA BESOK YAAAAA ;D BIAR KEPOOO :P

Konser Greyson Chance - April 20th, 2012 (Part 1)

Gue mau share kebahagiaan gue nih :) Semuanya terjadi pada hari Jumat, 20 April 2012. Gue pergi ke sekolah dengan sangat antusias, mengingat bahwa hari itu adalah hari yang paling gue tunggu-tunggu sejak 9 Februari 2012. Kenapa? Karena 20 April 2012 adalah hari di mana konser brondong gue digelar di JITEC Mangga Dua, Jakarta jam stengah 8 malam. Sedangkan tanggal 9 Februari 2012 adalah tanggal waktu gue pre-order tiketnya. Gila, masih diinget aja tuh tanggal pre-order tiket. Hahaha Langsung skip aja ya. Pas bel pulang sekolah bunyi, dengan sangat antusias gue lari keluar kelas. Ehh, ada si Made tiba-tiba minta tolong dianter pulang, siplaaah gue iyaiyain aja. Wkwk. Akhirnya gue dan made berlari kecil menuruni tangga dari lantai 4 sampai lantai 1. Pas banget, gue ketemu temen seperjuangan gue, Priskila Abigail atau biasa dipanggil Ibin. Long story lah gimana gue dan temen-temen lain manggil dia Ibin. Okay, gue ketemu sama Ibin yang rupanya sudah menunggu gue. Tanpa basa-basi, gue, Made, sama Ibin langsung jalan cepet ke mobil gue. Waktu saat itu menunjukkan pukul 3 kurang 15. Sampai di mobil, kok... BARANG-BARANG GUE (TERMASUK TIKET KONSER) NGGA ADA DI MOBIL?! Mampus gue. "IBIN! MADE! TIKETNYA GAADAAA, SEMUANYA GUE MASUKIN TAS TAPI TERNYATA DITURUNIN PEMBANTU GUEE" mau nangis rasanya. Supir gue yang polos dan ngga tau apa-apa engga mungkin gue marahin dong. Akhirnya gue menenangkan diri sejenak. "Anter Made dulu ya, pak." supir gue mengiyakan dan beliau langsung menyetir mobil ke arah rumah Made. Sepanjang perjalanan gue bawaannya emosi, tapi engga mungkin gue keluarin dong. Gaenak sama temen-temen wey. Mereka juga udah cukup nenagin gue. Sampai di rumah Made, Ibin minta isi instax dari Made, karena rupanya isi instax dia abis. Wahaha. "Sekarang ke mana, kak?" supir gue nanya. "Oiya, bin. Tiket lo! Mau ambil dulu?" gue tanya Ibin. "Iya, lin. Gapapa ya? Soalnya jam 4 paling lambat nihh." I can tell that she was kind of panicked at that time. "Oke, pak. Ke arah cawang ya!" supir gue kaget tapi ngikut-ngikut aja. Lo tau sendiri jarak Bintaro-Cawang jauhnya naujubileh. Selama di perjalanan, Ibin ditelfon terus dari pihak majalah yang bersangkutan karena Ibin menang kuis konser Greyson dari majalah tersebut. Gila nih anak hoki banget. Udah menang tiket konser, singing session pun juga dapet. Ke konser Greyson ngga ngeluarin diut sepeser pun woy! Nah, kalian tau sendiri Jakarta itu kota metropolitan. Pastinya engga jauh dari satu hal yang namanya MACET. Belum lagi setelah melewati kemelut macet, baik gue maupun Ibin gaada yang tau kantor majalahnya! Mau pingsan woy. Pingsan di tempat. Setelah muter-muter dan nanya abang-abang di pinggir jalan, AKHIRNYA KETEMU KANTOR MAJALAHNYA! Ternyata, pergumulan engga hanya sampai disitu aja. Pak Mul (supir gue) mau ngopi bentar sementara gue dan Ibin nungguin tiketnya Ibin. "Fotokopi kartu pelajarnya mana, dek?" tanya bapak-bapak yang kerja di kantornya. "Oh iya! Di mobil!" kata Ibin. Gue sama Ibin langsung lari keluar dan ngejar Pak Mul. "Pak Mul! Kunci mobil dong!!" kita teriak dari pinggir jalan, diliatin banyak orang. Rada malu sih. Oh well. Untung aja masih sempet kepanggil, Pak Mul kasih kunci mobilnya dan kita langsung lari ke mobil ambil dompetnya Ibin. Setelah balik lagi ke dalam, Ibin pun berhasil ngasih fotokopi kartu pelajarnya dan ngurusin banyak hal buat ambil tiket yang udah dimenangkan. Alhasil, TIKET IBIN SUDAH DI TANGAN! Oke, sekarang saatnya gue pulang untuk ambil tiket dll lalu cabut ke JITEC. Ternyata oh ternyata, penderitaan kita belum berakhir juga. Setelah melewati tol lingkar luar Jakarta, MACETNYA NGGA NYANTAIIII. Waktu sudah menunjukkan pukul 6 dan mobil gue masih stuck di jalan tol yang macetnya parah banget. Akhirnya, gue sampai di rumah jam stengah 7an dan kita langsung ganti baju dan bawa perlengakapan yang mau dibawa ke konser Greyson. Termasuk hadiah yang bakal gue kasih pas signing session :3 Setelah berpamitan sama orang tua, gue dan Ibin langsung berangkat ke JITEC. Kali ini yang anterin om gue, supir gue udah pulang. Di perjalanan, kita ngga berhenti ngomongin konsernya Greyson. "Aduh gimana nih kalau telat?" gue nanya itu ke Ibin. Sedangkan gue sendiri udah tahu kalo kita emang telat sampe sana. Gue udah di bbm temen-temen enchancers gue yang udah lama nungguin gue. Aduh, guilty banget udah bikin mereka nunggu lama. "Udah gapapa, lin. Yang penting kita tetep kebagian signing session. Terserah deh mau konsernya lama apa cepet, yang penting signing session nyaa. Soalnya kan kita juga udah liat Greyson perform secara live." hm, bener juga si Ibin. Setelah menempuh kira-kira 45 menit perjalanan, akhirnya kita sampai di JITEC, Mangga Dua. Banyak banget pengorbanan yang harus dilakukan demi sampai di konsernya Greyson. Tapi gapapalah, pengorbanan nya worth it lahhh. Jadi engga merugikan kita sama sekali. Setelah di drop om gue di lobby JITEC, kita langsung masuk lift ke lantai 2 buat nuker tiket. BACA KELANJUTANNYA BESOK YAAA ;)