i was tagged by
rani in
facebook. didn't want to start writing in facebook, so i figured i'd post it here.
and i'm tagging whoever's reading this... yep, that's
YOU!!
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1.
i have a typical javanese name and 100% minangkabau blood. 2.
my parents gave me 4 names and no surname - a common thing in indonesia (the no-surname part) but it's quite troubling when you are not living in indonesia. to make it short i use my last name (literally) as my surname, leaving the two middle names as letters only. damn confusing! this is also one of the reasons that i'm still contemplating of adding my hubby's name to mine.
3.
i consider myself a self-learner. most of my skills are self-learned, including driving and cooking.
4.
i spent most of my childhood in borneo island (mostly in east borneo). i moved to jakarta when i started my junior high school.
5.
i learned finance hands on. my parents had to move back to borneo when i was in the second year of high school. they left me and my younger brother in jakarta by ourselves, guarded by my aunt. but practically, i was already living by myself cuz i had to take care of my younger brother (had to drive him to school everyday) and took care of financials while mom was away, usually a month at a time.
6.
that experience (no. 5) prepared me to live by myself in foreign country after high school. 7.
i purposely flunked my UMPTN test. i saw no point of passing it when i knew that i already decided to have my education abroad.
8.
i took care all the preparation by myself to be able to study abroad. i only asked 1 major help from my parents, to finance my education and accommodation while i was there (obviously!). mom refused cuz she didn't want me to live so far away. thank God she finally came to her senses.
9.
i went to utah state university in logan, utah during my first year of college. majoring in accounting. that was the first time i step foot in US soil. i went alone (with some friends i know who would go to the same university), my parents didn't come with me. in fact, they never visited logan to this date.
10.
i changed my major to finance after the first year of college, along with the university and the city i live in. i moved to providece, rhode island because i thought i would have more working opportunity if i lived closer to big city. i added a second major in marketing on my third year of college.
11.
i lived on and off in new york city during 1997 to 1999. fell in love with the city and that led me to move there permanently after i graduated from college.
12.
new york city is the city i live in the most years in my entire life .. for now.
13.
it took me a week to decide that i'm leaving new york city. quite a short period, but i thought if i kept on thinking, the outcome will change again. 3 months later i was on my way back to indonesia, a week before that, i almost had a change of heart and didn't want to leave. but i already gave up my apartment, my job, everything. i only have 2 suitcases with me, so i just HAD to leave.
14.
i went on a road trip with a dear friend before i left USA. visited the southern states. in total, i have visited 27 states.
15.
i have 3 driver's licences from 3 different countries. they are all valid.
16.
i arrived in jakarta at 27 years old, single and unemployed.17.
i truly believe that God 'made me' go home to meet my husband. you see, i once interviewed by a subdiary of the company that i'm working now. didn't get the job because i only held a student visa then and the company could not sponsor me for a worker's visa in the US. from that day on, i swear that i would try and join that company one day. before i went back to indonesia, i thought of moving to singapore instead. i even looked for a way to become a PR without landing a job yet, so i can avoid jakarta in the first place. at the end, i finally moved to jakarta, had my first job interview at the company i'm working now, but ended up working for another place where i met my husband. a year later, i moved to the company i'm working now to a better position than the first one offered. less than two years, i fufilled all i wanted in the first place - working for "this" company and live in singapore.
18.
i never been to europe aside from the transit period in frankfurt on my way back and from indonesia, but i love to travel. nor have i been to africa. although i want to visit different places with my family, at least one new place every year. i got to travel to many different places before i got married. but now that i have a baby, it may be on pause a little.
19.
i can't stand being in a crowd. it makes me dizzy and out of breath, even passed out. it happened once when i was in the traditional market when i was young and several times during subway ride in NYC. that's probably why i don't really like to be in a mall, especially in a crowded one.
20.
i had 7 stitches on my chin when i was in 6th grade. i passed out in the middle of the asphalt school yard, while standing tall during
pramuka ceremony. fell flat on my chin. the marks are still there, of course, but it's not the one under my lips. that one was just a scratch i got when i rode a motorbike. no stitches were done.
21.
i never ski-ed ever. i went straight to snowboarding and never wanted to try how to ski.
22.
i went to woodstock in 1999. camped out with my friends and brother for 3 days, no shower. listened to music under the stars and stood all day watching live concerts. one of the best experience i had.
23.
i am more of a nature girl than a city girl. i'd rather do outdoor activities than going to malls. after all, i did grow up in borneo island where my backyard was filled with trees.
24.
i don't like window shopping. i only shop what i need.
25.
i paid my way through graduate school. it took me 3 years to finish, because i was working full time to pay off the tuition and my living expenses. that was a tough period, but i'm glad i went through it, though now i think that grad school is sooo overrated.
Labels: 2009, me
