JOE IS DYING

sebentar lagi saya akan pergi ke bogor untuk menjenguk seorang opung yang sedang sakit (opung-nya itu mama-nya tanteku. tanteku itu istrinya omku. omku itu yang tinggal di london, adik-nya mamiku). Opung ku ini, yang sering kami sebut Opung Boru Tambunan (opung boru karena dia perempuan, dan tambunan karena marga-nya atau nama keluarganya Tambunan), sekarat karena penyakit kanker paru-paru. kata ibu saya, kanker paru-paru bisa mengambil nyawa orang dengan begitu cepat. sedari hari vonis, kemungkinan hanya 3 bulan seseorang tersebut bisa hidup. it took a miracle for her to live longer than that. and there's been lots of miracles in her life, keeping her alive with all the medicines and stuff. last time i saw her she was so thin and pale. she only eats vegies. not that vegies are bad for your health, vegies are good (remember daniel and his three friends who ate nothing but vegies and remained healthier and smarter than the other men that ate from the king's menu?), but the cance...

hey, i just arrived from three hours of late night get-away with my parents. the three of us just picked up Jovi, my youngest sister, from her friend's father's birthday. You might think, "hmm, that's pretty weird? how close can a 10 year old girl get with a 40 year old man with three daughters?". well, the thing is, he's having a birthday party at a well known italian restaurant; Puro in Wisma Mulia, just one meter away from the entrance door of Blowfish (yeah, that little club where some students found a real hip drama teacher dancing the night away, just a little tipsy. but no names mentioned - though you might know who i am talking about). can you believe it? my little sister is having a party in a lounge where people dine, drink and lounge away for hours till the morning light hits the beginning of the weekend. wawawiwa, i never had that kind of chance. anyway, as soon as my sister got inside the car (then fall asleep right that instant) and me and my par...

karena tidak sekolah, dan tidak ada pemaksaan waktu bangun pagi, saya jadi terlalu sering meng-"indulge" sifat-sifat khas sapi saya; tukang molor. sebelum hari-hari java jazz, saya terbiasa tidur jam 10-12pm dan bangun jam 10-12am, bener2 pas 12 jam tidur(padahal dulu cuma butuh 10jam *itu masih lama juga, jo!*). Semakin lama saya mengembangkan ke-sapian saya, semakin lemes rasanya tubuh ini. bukannya makin seger, tapi makin males ngapa-ngapin, terus jadi nggak bisa banyak melakukan aktivitas juga. belum apa2 udah kelewatan sarapan, belum apa-apa harus pergi les, belum apa-apa udah besok-nya lagi. beruntunglah saya, sekarang saya bisa bangun jam 9 atau jam 10 lagi! Setelah pulang dari medan kemarin dan memulai anter2 adik ke sekolah pagi2, saya jadi sering bangun jam 6.30 lagi. Sedihnya, saya jadi jarang berenang karena dokter saya yang galak itu mengharuskan saya istirahat tanpa berenang sampai minggu depan. btw2, tubuh saya sudah BEBAS dari virus salmonella yang bau pantat ...

I am interrupting myself here. i was thinking "why did Cornish sent me a v. short reply to a question of my utmost important value?".... but never mind, you don't need to know about what happened with my too sensitive head. it's just that, ugh, i guess i have to tell you and let you know that the problem is nothing problematic. johanna's e-mail: "...i dont know how to send the $250 deposit because indonesian checks aren't valid in the states." the reply (no names mentioned): "...*dalam bhs indo sebagai alat sensorship* harus pake cek, minta aja sama bank-mu..." johanna berpikir, hmmm... kenapa mereka begitu dingin ttg cara mengirim uang? gimana cara kirim uang kalau nggak boleh transfer? bahkan klo pake western union... but, anyway, now you know the slight problem i'm having. but i'm still coming to cornish, and i just applied for a scholarship, they've received it, and let's see if i'll get money helpings. *is there s...

i'm not accepted in washington u. YESSSS ! it happened so fast. as fast as my internet conection (real slow). but it does happened fast. see here: hanna: *sambil baca surat di internet* mam, aku nggak diterima di washington u mami: *sambil telepon tersenyum* *hanna kembali mengetik, mami selesai telepon* mami: han, mandi hanna: mami dulu lah biar cepet aku masih buka e-mail mami: hanna... hanna: mami mami: hanna *seperti tukang roti* hanna: mami *mengikuti tone mama-nya* mami: hanna hanna: mamiiii mami: hanaaaaa hanna: mami emmyyyy mami: *tertawa* ah, kamu mah. *ngomong ke papi* pap, hanna nggak diterima di washington u. papi: *terbangun dari tidurnya* mami: ok, han, proceed ! papi: *bangun dan pergi menuju laptop* apa kata suratnya? *setelah membaca surat dan bertanya beberapa pertanyaan* ok, jadi kita seriusin cornish. senin, kirim deposit $ 250 and we'll get the 35,000. hanna: *dalam hati* THANK YOU LORD ! UUUUGGGHHHH !!!! YESSSS !!!!!

i am a semi-student in my mother's English tutor class, that is the fact that you need to know before you read this post. I help my mother's assistant by handling the little kids when i have time. So, one day when i was wearing an over sized t-shirt and a pj pants, i did not shower and did not brush my hair, a little boy named "rayhan" an Aceh borned pre-schooler came to my seat as usual. He saw me doing my work and tried to make a conversation as usual (today he said, "ini kotak pensil baru" or "this is my new pencil case". The pencil case was that transparent Faber Castle, the one that was so popular way back when we did the 9th grade national test in 2005), he looked at my literature excerpt and said "ini harus diapain?" or "what should i do with this?" while innocently taking my pencil from my hand and wait for my answer. I told him that all i should do is underline my answer (and then paraphrased it to match the analytical ...

1. perut muter, idung meler, tenggorokan sakit, mata panas dan gatal, kepala nyut-nyutan. yah, itulah yang gue rasakan sekarang. maaf post ini mungkin akan pendek. dan dalam bahasa indonesia. coz i dont really care about verbs and nouns right now. 2. tips of the day: jangan pernah masuk ke dalam bed cover's cover yang dibeli di IKEA spore. walaupun sudah dicuci tapi kemungkinan debu masih ada. jadi kalau alergi, mending gak usah sok2 adventurous masuk ke sana untuk benerin bed cover yang terlipat di tengah malam. akibatnya, keesokan hari-nya gejala menstruasi dini akan terjadi. 3. got the package from cornish through fed ex (that's sweet investment. you'd pay $30 for the package. and you'd do it for this little international student. i absolutely adore the college :)). still a question though whether i'd take cornish or wait and then take WUSTL. god, help me to make the right choice. 4. i made my very first professional brochure! my dad's IT company is gonna use...

another part of my not-so-ordinary 2008 highlights, is the car-taxis-container truck collision in Jakarta's high way. About approximately one hour ago, i was on my way to the Jakarta International Airport Soekarno Hatta, catching a flight to Medan, when the most funny traffic jam happens (well, i usually think of everything as funny, as another spark of color to my oh-so-wonderful life). here's the minute-to-minute: 17.25 : Johanna and her family is in front of the Pizza Man statue (the one with naked chest and just a cloth covering his crotch, lifting a burning pan of pizza, located in front of the superbly fantastic ribs restaurant; Tonny Romas, near Senayan City). She's thinking "man, we got thirty minutes to get to the airport. need a miracle here, God" but she's still laughing silently anyway) 17.45 : The beige colored "Panther" Car finally went into the Hotel Hilton's high way - Pak Marno (her driver) drove away so fast, johanna was clutchi...

my dad is still asking whether cornish is the best art school. i was like "whhattt??" he still wants me to go to WUSTL and i appreciate him thinking so. here is what our last conversation on uni sounds like: papi : "han, cornish itu college?" hanna : *sigh* "iya, S1." papi : "berarti kamu masih bisa transfer kan?" hanna : "iya, tapi aku nggak berniat" papi : *ketus* "ya, jangan gitu juga. dimana-mana orang lebih respect kalau kamu keluaran uni" hanna : "tapi nggak semua uni punya kualitas art department yang bagus. Uni itu bukan ukuran untuk art apalagi design." anyways, i still love my dad. isn't the way he thinks so cute? I know you love me too, dad. It's just a pain in the ass trying to tell you again and again that Cornish is where i want to be. Even if i'll transfer, i'd go to Pratt in NY. That's another college fyi. (but, hey, who am i to yell on my dad's ears.) I know ...

Dear Father"Jesus"Above, Lord thank you for making Cornish accepting me! thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You, thank YOU! Oh, my, god, lord, sweet Jesus, my father and holy spirit, there is absolutely nothing else that i could say to you but how much you mean to me. Lord, i LOVE you. Hear me Lord, i love, Love with a capital L, I LOVE YOU! i trust that your grace would fill my life even more, Lord. and that you're promise to "never stop working in me until the day of Jesus Christ came" will always grow in me. Lord, you are the owner of the universe. You and the spirit within me is way bigger than everything in this world. Then i believe that you'll open every door to Cornish, including the door to that $35,000 financial statement. Thank you Lord. Thank You. Dear All, Impossible is nothing for our Lord. To quote from Casting Crowns Jesus' "love is extravagant and his friendship is intimate". That intimate that when you call out ...

From the very first moment i bought a new diary (it's small, yellow and non-gridded), i thought the book might not be enough. 2008 is gonna be THICK with adventures. from the first time going to uni, first time leading the youth worship, first time living without my little brother, first time not going to school, first time being interested with mutual funds... lots of other first times. hahaha. Anyway, Cornish had contacted me on the 28th that my portfolio has been accepted ! oh my LORD! my portfolio... i was extremely excited and relieved, i jumped around the room and i felt like crying. My mother prayed instantly with trembling voice. We were so happy. It's just my father who is not as thrilled as i was. He wanted me to go to WUSTL. i do too, but i wanted cornish more than any other schools. Dad's pretty much bummed since WUSTL didn't contacted me after my application. They said they are going to contact me again on April. so wustl is pretty much giving a straight si...