Cerita Nazila

Karena saya perempuan, maka saya sangat senang shopping sana sini. Saya mudah lapar mata lihat barang yang lucu-lucu. Perempuan mana yang tak gemes kalau lihat benda-benda favorit yang tak terbeli padahal punya uang? Perempuan mana yang tak tergiur saat intip-intip online-shop menawarkan barang-barang imut yang sedang diskon s/d 90%+++? Perempuan itu ada dimana-mana termasuk saya:). Saya bukan type orang yang thrifty alias ekonomis. Saya sangat konsumtif dan impulsif dalam mengeluarkan uang. Dapat dikatakan saya cukup boros selama ini. Untungnya saya dapat mengendalikan diri berkat suami yang selalu mengingatkan saya untuk berbelanja sesuai kebutuhan. Beliau yang berlatar belakang ekonomi ibarat alarm agar saya on the track saat berbelanja. Tapi namanya pengendalian diri itu butuh perjuangan ya. Mengendalikan diri dari hasrat berbelanja itu ibarat Jihad Fi Sabilillah:) Menyadari bahwa roda kehidupan terus berputar, nampaknya saya cukup tergugah pasca saya melahirkan 4 tahun l...

Beberapa waktu yang lalu saya sempat membaca tema Fixed Mindset dan Growth Mindset hasil riset seorang pakar psikologi Carol Dweck dari Stanford University. Topik ini cukup menarik bagi saya yang memang menggemari psikologi sejak dulu meskipun saya bukan psikolog. Kedua term ini membuka pikiran dan otak saya tatkala mempelajarinya secara sepintas. Kedengarannya rumit untuk dipahami tapi penjelasannya sangat sederhana dan menurut saya tepat untuk diartikulasikan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Saya kira buku ini dapat digunakan sebagai Self-Help Book atau pemantik semangat. Dalam hasil penelitian Carol, dijelaskan secara sederhana bahwa mindset sangat mempengaruhi usaha seseorang. Keberhasilan seseorang sebenarnya tidak bersumber dari kecerdasan kognitif atau tingginya IQ tapi dipengaruhi oleh dua jenis mindset yaitu Fixed Mindset dan Growth Mindset. Carol menyimpulkan bahwa Fixed Mindset adalah suatu pandangan bahwa inteligensi itu statis, sementara Growth Mindset berpandangan bahwa ...

Pada hari Selasa sore sepulang dari kantor anak saya sibuk bertanya, 'Ibu, besok Abang sekolah?, Besoknya sekolah juga?, Besoknya lagi?, Terus besoknya lagi??? Diiringi deruan seruan motor suaranya makin kencang bertanya menanti jawaban kapan dia libur. Dengan nada lelah namun berusaha sabar, saya jawab pertanyaan sang bocah satu per satu. 'Ok, besok abang sekolah, besoknya sekolah, besoknya lagi sekolah. Lalu, hari Sabtu - Minggu jadwal abang libur. Pertanyaan ternyata tak berhenti sampai di situ. Kalau Ibu besok ke kantor? Besoknya dan besoknya lagi? Yupp, jawaban yang sama tentunya. 'Iya, besok Ibu ngantor, besoknya juga, dan besoknya lagi. Lalu, Sabtu - Minggu Ibu juga libur, Bang.  Spontan, sang anak berteriak kencang,'Yeaaaaaah, horeeeee, asyiiiik, senangnya bisa sama Ibu lagiiiii....Abang rindu sama ibu. Asyiiik kita libur. Ooooh tahukah apa yang berkecamuk dalam dada saya saat sang anak berteriak senang dan bahagia betapa libur bersama ibunya itu surga. Bat...

Sejak kecil saya jarang terlibat aktif di dapur. Ibu saya juga tidak memaksa saya untuk segera belajar memasak. Saya hanya gemar makan dan bermain saat itu. Kini setelah menikah, keadaan memaksa saya untuk bisa memasak. Maklum suami saya orang Minang. Lidahnya tak akrab dengan makanan warteg apalagi umumnya makanan yang dijual adalah menu masakan Jawa. Menu warung Padang pun lebih banyak tidak sesuai dengan seleranya. Katanya warung Padang yang ada di Jakarta hanya cocok untuk lidah orang Jakarta yang belum fasih pada makanan asli khas Minang. Rumah makan Padang yang ditemui di Jakarta masih rasa yang belum Minang banget:). Intinya selera suami saya agak 'berat' lah:-). #ampun dulu sebelum suami saya baca blog ini;) Dapat saya simpulkan bahwa dengan menikah membuat saya harus mahir memasak ala Minang:). Sayangnya, saya masih kategori amatir tapi namanya juga usaha membuat saya belajar. Belajar dari yang berat karena umumnya masakan Minang dianggap lebih ribet. Ribet karen...

https://hbr.org/2015/08/research-shows-how-anxiety-and-technology-are-affecting-our-sleep?utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet

Tepat hari ini 5 Ramadan. Teriring doa dan harap semoga tahun ini menjadi Ramadan yang lebih indah, lebih syahdu, dan bermakna untuk saya dan keluarga. Tepat hari ini juga adalah 5 tahun ayah saya wafat. Nyaris lupa saat kakak saya upload foto ayahanda di facebook. Mengingat beliau tentu saja mengingat segala petuah di detik-detik hembusan nafas terakhirnya. Tak ada warisan materi yang tertinggal, hanya pengingat pada pelaksanaan ibadah dan menjaga kualitas ibadah. Saya masih ingat bagaimana raut wajahnya saat menekankan pada sholat. 'Jaga sholat kalian terucap dengan nada terbata-bata dan diiringi sesenggukan dan derai air mata kami di ruang ICU kala itu. Ramadan kali ini membawa saya pada cita-cita, harap dan asa agar ibadah saya lebih baik lagi. Kali ini target-target ibadah tak ingin saya lewatkan, semoga janji hati ini bisa tertunaikan hingga Ramadan ini berakhir. Amiin. Ramadan harus saya maknai lebih dalam lagi. Saya telusuri berbagai bacaan yang bisa membangkitkan nal...

This week's challenge will review my childhood memories. I am not really addicted to one character. There are some character I still memorize until today.   Candy- Candy http://en.wikipedia.org Candy -candy         I am trying to remember when I was in elementary school I never wanted to miss a candy-candy series at TV every Sunday. Instead of  playing out, I sat on front of my TV and waited of the show. Candy-candy story was quite melancholic and full of sadness. Well, it was too girly for me:)       2.  Doraemon Doraemon (stuffpoint.com)             Doraemon is still a legend until today. When I was in elementary until university I was still watching its series, but now I am little bit bored. In my opinion, the story had many repetition and almost the series have the same clues. Now, the story is being dramatized. I prefer to watch the older series to the latest one:) 3....

This EF 13 Challenge's topic is about favorite sports. Actually I am quite late to write this topic but I have a principle 'better late than never to write:)'. Truly to say that I rarely to have a serious or extreme sports such as aerobics or other sports. I love Yoga but probably I have did it for only for three times. The effect of doing Yoga was quite nice but wow after doing this stuff, I could not move around because of feeling pain on all my body:(. The other reason I rarely do Yoga because it is need serious intention to go to particular place to do. As a working mom, I have no plenty time to work out as my house chores and my family need more special attention:) Simply to say, I do physical activities by  walking and cycling. Why? I do not need a special time to do it. I can do it  accidentally. First, walking is free of charge. You walk daily and when you walk on purpose, you have got the greatest benefit. The experts said that walking in your daily routines ...

Last Friday I have been challenged by  https://englishfriday.wordpress.com/  to write about  https://englishfriday.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/ef12-weekly-challenge-your-means-of-transport/ . Yeah, on my daily basis, I go to work by Commuter Line (local train around Jabodetabek Area).  Being a commuter for almost fifteen years encourage me to describe the saddest and the happiest moment to be a loyal passenger. For the saddest moment actually I have been written many experiences of mine on my other social media in Bahasa. Here the link  https://www.facebook.com/notes/nazila-ibu-morteza/pegangan-donk-mbak/10152732672724582 I have chosen a commuter line as a daily transportation because it is much affordable and faster to avoid the morning rush and traffic jam in Jakarta. Commuter line is still the best choice to get office earlier, but sometimes it could be bad when its machine or its electrical signal is broken down or some trains are taking in line to get i...

A traditional food is one of my favourite. Let's say 'food for farmers' such as fried teri (a small fish but highly contained calcium), with sambalado and cooked cassava leaves. When those parts are ready, I bet you are keep eating and you never feel full. Lucky me, in front of my house there are some cassava leaves which have been planted by my mom. There are many things you can do with cassava leaves. You may make them as gulai, lalapan or other kind of vegetables. For me I like to simplify. I only need to boil them and ready to eat. Here I cooked my own for lunch. It is a real happiness for me.

Since my mom at Makassar, Morteza's daily life is in Hikmah Daycare, Depok. We board out him there for almost 3 months already:). Finally he could enjoy the daycare activities there. Thanks so much to Mrs Siti for sending me these cute pictures. Staring at my boy  who is wearing black T- Shirt is an endless happiness:) Fresh Kangkung  Wow the leaves are so fresh and crunchy. I miss to cook:) Look at them. They really seize the day

This morning Mrs Siti Sent me some pictures about Morteza's activities at the daycare. The kids are so awesome. I think they are so great to post. Here are they:

Beberapa hari yang lalu kami sekeluarga makan di sebuah rumah makan khas Aceh. Seperti biasa, setiap kali kami memesan menu baik makanan dan minuman, semuanya pasti akan dihabiskan. Kalau pun tak habis, kami akan bungkus untuk dihabiskan di rumah saja. Sebelum meninggalkan meja makan, tiba-tiba anak saya melihat di meja sebelah tampak minuman masih tersisa di gelas. Dia komentar dan bertanya, 'kok orang itu tidak menghabiskan minumnya?' Saya dengan entengnya hanya sekadar menjawab, 'Oh, barangkali orang itu sudah kenyang.' Tapi entah kenapa sepanjang jalan pulang, saya agak menyesal, hanya menjawab pertanyaan sang anak sekenanya. Seadanya malah. Seharusnya ada jawaban yang lebih bijak untuk menjelaskan mengapa ada orang yang tega tak menghabiskan makanan padahal nilai itu tak patut untuk diajarkan pada anak. Tapi harus bagaimana menjelaskan fenomena ini sementara setiap orang punya pemahaman nilai yang berbeda. Terus terang saya masih agak galau dalam mengemas pr...

Akibat tiap hari menggunakan ojeg dari stasiun Manggarai ke kantor, saya sampai hafal wajah-wajah tukang ojeg dan mulai mengenal mereka hingga punya langganan pada satu-dua tukang ojeg yang saya anggap ramah dan nyaman saat mengemudikan motor. Di lain sisi, ada satu tukang ojeg yang saya amati sering agak bawel dan tukang jablak saat saya memilih mau naik ojeg yang mana. Dia yang berperawakan tinggi, kurus dan mukanya tirus itu memang sering membuat saya agak senewen saat saya sudah menetapkan tukang ojeg yang mau saya tumpangi. Mungkin dia agak cemburu karena bukan dia yang terpilih:) akhirnya dia hanya bisa meracau saja. Belum lama ini saya sering tak menjumpai langganan ojeg yang saya kenal baik itu. Suatu hari dia memang pernah bilang kalau dia hanya ngojeg sampai jam 07.30 pagi karena jadi karyawan di tempat lain jam berikutnya. Karena saya pun sering telat sampai stasiun, maka saya menumpangi ojeg yang lain. Sayang sekali sejak kemarin saya ternyata tak ada pilihan ojeg, mak...

Sudah lama saya tak mendengar istilah ini. Pulang kantor naik angkot 04 menuju Salemba lalu berjalan sekian meter untuk menanti bemo 'angkutan imoet jadul' tapi tak lekang oleh waktu itu.  Bemo adalah moda transport favorit dari dan ke Manggarai- Salemba. Ia menjadi rebutan para pegawai, karyawan area Salemba dan sekitarnya. Ongkos murah meski agak berisik. Cukup bayar Rp 4000 (pasca kenaikan BBM).  Ya, tak apa lah dibandingkan harus naik ojeg dengan ongkos 20rb. Toh, saya selama ini memang sering tekor karena dimanjakan oleh ojeg agar dapat cepat sampai untuk cap jempol elektronik presensi di kantor.  Seorang ibu yang sama-sama menanti si bemo, berbalik dan bertanya 'ibu mau ke Stasiun Manggarai juga?'. Seadanya saya jawab saja 'iya'. Si ibu lanjut 'patungan aja yuk naik bajaj'. Saya sambil mikir, sambil ngintip juga ke dompet 'semoga cukup jika naik bajaj'. Asumsi saya sebelum naik angkot adalah hanya menghabiskan 8000 saja untuk bisa sam...

Saya selalu terkenang dengan kue khas Bugis terutama masterpiece dari almarhumah nenek saya. Ya, salah satunya adalah Pasau utti. Sejak kecil saya selalu disuguhkan dengan penganan tradisional ini dan jadilah kue ini favorit saya. Kenapa jadi favorit? Karena ia terbuat dari pisang dan apa pun penganan dari pisang akan selalu jadi candu bagi saya. Pokoknya pisang:). Hidup pisang! Kebetulan mood saya memasak sedang on di hari Minggu ini, dan ada pisang 'unyil' di meja makan saya yang tak kunjung habis. Akhirnya sebagian menghitam dan sayang jika terbuang. Pisang kecil dan imut-imut ini juga konon katanya sangat mujarab untuk obat maag. Meskipun saya punya maag tapi belum pernah juga mencoba untuk terapi pisang ini. Agar tak mubazir dan berakhir di tempat sampah, mungkin akan lebih baik jika ia berakhir di mulut saya. Nah, tadinya saya mau buat 'kambing-kambing' istilah di bahasa Bugis atau 'godog' di ranah Minang. Bisa jadi ini juga yang membuat saya be...

Last Saturday was a special moment for me to meet with all members of BEC Blogger who lives in Jabodetabek area. It was so great to meet all passionate blogger or writer who are never give up to write in English. I was so amazed to meet Mbak Ollie because I know her prestigious achievements as an active blogger are so inspiring. Unfortunately I came late because of the traffic jam. When I arrived to the meeting, I thought I had been missed some important noted points. I wish I could get the saved video from the admins so I could replay the missed memory:) I also asked my kid and my best friend, Meilinda to accompany me so I could share this great events to them. My kid, Morteza was so active in the room and never stop to ask meanwhile the keynote speaker was talking. I felt it was little bit annoying but I hope the other participants were not distracted. Meilinda was so enthusiatic to join even she has no blog. Even so, I know she has passion to write. She promised me...

Dear Ila in 2005, I know you are strong but why you did many foolishness at that time. Unfortunately, you could not change the past. Let it be. I would like to tell you that every wrong decision and bad experience had their own consequences. What should you do now? Focus on your present and future. There are many things to do now. First, think about your family. Your family need you so much. Remember that nothing in the world could make human life happier than to greatly increase the number of strong families. Second, increase your values as social community and individual by doing these following lists: Being respectful and courteous in your interactions Being generous with what you have Being open minded to new things Continually learning and growing both spiritually and intellectually Being modest in relations with others Last but not least, I would like to remind you that life is not easier but by doing anything in full passion, you make it easier. Lov...

Being critical, passionate and conclusive made me always feel alive.Those were the real me.   The alter ego of mine should give me lesson learnt how to kick the bad side out: Critical and passionate Vs Trivial Then, since 2010 my life was changing.  The mundane routines now had influenced me a lot. I am being so hectic and exhausted. In the past, it was easily to get friends who have the similar path or thought. I could be so frank and never feel hesitated to talk out my own opinion. I had no barrier to say whatever I feel or think. I could argue with my colleagues but on other side we were best friends on other moment.  Now, the more I question about something, the more I confused. When I would like to share my opinions, I am asking on myself so hard, is it appropriate place to say so? Is it a good question to ask? Is it right to do this? What other people say if I do this? There are so many deep and long considerations before doing this and this. The decision ...

Since I left my career as an English Teacher, I became a passive user of English. My TOEFL score was dropped and my capability at four skills of an English teaching and learning were poor. Then, few weeks ago when I googled somewhere, I found BEC blog and I was so amazed of the vision and mission of the founders. I was so happy because I thought this blog will make me discipline and committed to write in English. Writing as routines in English will improve my English skills and my personal skills. I am so grateful to find this blog as an inspiring place to learn and interract with smart people even I don't know them. I think nowadays life is so borderless so I can learn freely from any kind of people around. BEC should be maintained as a focal point in learning English. I would be happy if this blog keep its idealism to inspire people writing their personal lives, dreams or experiences as wisdom or lesson learnt. Four Thumbs UP for BEC. Stay alive...

As a working mom, it's so hard for me to have a 'me time' for reading any kind of favorite books I had. There were some new books I haven't read because of my busy and hectic time. I work full time on Monday to Friday. In daily basis, I work at 07.30 am to 4.30 pm. As a commuter from Depok to Jakarta, every day I leave home at 6 am and I arrive home at 7 pm. As soon as I get home, I start to do my household chores, raising my kid and preparing all stuffs for the next day. Whole days, I have no time to touch my lovely books or even books I borrowed from my friends:). Sometimes I imagine having a reader machine who can read any books when I swap my floor or cook some meals for my family's dinner. Having this magic machine can make me feel relaxed and relieved. So anytime the machine is reading the books meanwhile I am listening on it and also doing my house's chores. The machine is doing its job as I am doing my tasks perfectly. It is really going...

Since 2001, when I was in second semester in university, that was the first time I had a gadget. Nokia 3310 was quite popular for the students. At that time, it was so sophisticated for us to have it. Even so, the mobile phone had only two main functions. They were applied for Short Message System (SMS) and Phone Call. Life connection were easier and comfortable. The family and friends connection were quite closer too as we intensely communicated by mobile phone or SMS. Now the technology is rapidly changing. Today gadgets are multipurpose. When Blackberry (BB) was so popular, I was not really impressed. I remain used my LG QWERTY mobile phone. Until my boss told me to buy Blackberry for the shake of work.  Yes, my boss had me a favor to have blackberry in order to make me easily connected with each colleagues when we were out of the office. Again for the sake of work, I had my own BB. Its popular name was an Apollo series.  At first, I was thinking it was fun. I could use...