>> SUMMERTIME

finally!! summer hits new york city.. and it hits big time with the heat wave. gilaa deh, beberapa hari ini panasnya gila²an sampe gue kalo lagi jalan pulang dan pergi ke kantor yang gerah banget gitu. mana disini kan kemana² musti jalan, jadi yaa ketemu lah gue dengan matahari tiap hari. hehhehe.. dan biasanya kalo udah panas begini, semua orang udah pada siap dengan attire summernya.. which usually the sexy outfits the girls wear.. the point is not for being sexy, i don't think.. but it's to get as comfortable as possible without getting hot. and believe you me, if you have spent almost six months in cold weather.. having a slightest bit of a sunny day means to enjoy it as much as you can.. apalagi cewek² bule yang pastinya pengen ngilangin kepucatan kulit mereka yang gak kena matahari selama winter.

tapi sayang yaa.. make baju yang kebuka² gini biasanya hanya ngundang cowok² untuk berbuat 'nakal' dan taking advantage of the situation. i remember when there were still plenty of boys i hung out with in this city, they would tell me that their favorite season of the year would be summer time. and no, not because they can enjoy the sun, but because they have an excuse to see more skin. they usually just sit around in the park watching the girls in sexy outfits passing by. and i admit, i totally understand the boys are coming from, i don't blame them. abisan emang pada seksi² banget nih cewek² kalo udah summer. and being a girl, gue juga ngerti banget kenapa mereka pada begitu.. kalo udah panas emang enaknya pake tank top ama shorts lah kalo lagi jalan².

untungnya cowok² disini gak se'nakal' cowok² di jakarta. at least that's how i feel from my personal experience. most guys would just have a longer look at girls who happens to pass by and look good in their sexy outfits. they would sometime say hi or nicely greet the girls. tapi gak sampe maksa. soalnya seinget gue, kalo gue balik ke jakarta, pasti deh.. cuman pake jeans ama kaos aja pasti ada yang manggil dan maksa² supaya kita nengok. malah kadang² suka komen yang aneh² bikin telinga panas. i wonder why they do that. and every summer in new york, i would always get a new experience about all this, or at least heard something that's out of the ordinary. well, the fact that summer is the only time that i maximize my time outdoors could be one of the reasons why i got to experience them.

one of the most outrageous thing was a couple of summers ago when the girls were mobbed and harassed by a bunch of guys during puerto rican day parade. cowok² pada brutal ngelemparin air ke cewek² yang lewat akibatnya mereka bisa ngeliat bodi cewek² itu yang ngejeplak karena bajunya udah basah. bahkan sampe parah banget ada yang narik baju² mereka dan akibatnya pada topless. kasian banget deh! sempet jadi the 'hot story' that summer, sampe² banyak cowok² itu ditangkep dan diadili karena tindakan senonoh mereka yang tidak menghargai wanita itu. degrading sekali pokoknya.

the issue from this unfortunate event came up. who's to blame? waktu itu sih banyak yang blame polisi soalnya mereka bukannya melerai tapi malah berdiri aja. mungkin karena mereka gak percaya kejadian kayak gitu jaman segini masih ada.. jaman dimana orang² fully aware what 'sexual harrassment' means. tapi if we really go back to basic... is it the girls' fault? or the boys'? shouldn't the girls be less of a tease and not wearing such daring outfits? or should the boys behave themselves and respect the girsl? well, in my point of view, emang harusnya cewek² juga musti liat kalo mau make baju yang daring banget gitu. liat suasananya juga.. misalnya mau pake bikini ya kalo di pantai lah.. jangan pergi ke park pake bikini. tapi kalo ditelusuri lagi.. kadang² gue mikir ini semua salah media. kenapa sih iklan² musti ngeliatin cewek² dengan pakain yang kayak udah kehabisan bahan? ato malah ada yang bener² telanjang? trus kenapa sih para designer pada seneng bikin baju yang materialnya cuman nutupin bagian vital aja? they say cuz they're celebrating women's body.. celebrating, my ass.. *pardon my french*!

women's body is a beautiful thing, in any different shapes. i don't think we should show it just because that's how the media shows us. i admit, i like wearing tank tops and shorts in the summer.. but as long as the occassion permits it and it's not provocative to invite any wrongdoings. it's human nature that men will have that 'animal instinct' and desire for women's body, no matter how much they tried to control it.. tapi kalo di 'tease' yaaa bisa kebobolan juga..

anyways, talking about summer, as always it means outdoor activities. gue udah bikin plan macem² to maximize my activities this summer. concerts, amusement parks, movies in the park, museums, zoos, semuanya udah gue pikirin walopun gak tau kapan mau perginya, paling gak udah ada di to-do list gue lah. and my first concert this summer.. was last night to watch miss norah jones. the concert was great, the venue was great.. and she sang so many new songs that i think was beautiful too. her voice is beautiful, the stage, everything. the most exciting part was that i actually saw her in the side door of the beacon theater when we were looking for a parking spot. she was talking to the bodyguards. tapi sayang nya pas kita udah dapet parkir, gue coba lewat pintu itu lagi.. she was already gone. ah tau gitu kan gue turun minta fotoan ama dia.. dang!!

update:





more pictures uploaded in my album or you can just click the picture above.


:: sLesTa

>> posted on 6/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | [ ]

>> WEST vs. EAST

when i was growing up in indonesia, i always wondered what it will be like to live in a foreign country, particularly in america. i was infatuated with the lifestyles of the westerners and their cultures. i know i was not the only one. when i was still in high school, i remember how my friends and i were hyped up with the boy bands like new kids on the block and we thought how cool it was to dress up like alyssa milano or madonna or whoever the stars were... or how fancy it was to be able to taste hamburgers or pizza or tried anything american and could adapt to the taste. i don't see that any much difference since then, it's still the same picture on how the things were when i was growing up.... except that now I am already living my dreams and looking back, i know how embarrassing that was.

i've been living in america for quite some times now. quite a long time that i have somewhat adjusted and accepted my 'new' culture, language, food, and lifestyle. the so-called western lifestyle that many people back home are so amazed with. recently i had quite an interesting chat with a fellow blogger who asked me to post about the differences of the lifestyles and cultures between the west and the east, especially that i've experienced both. i never thought about it at first but after a long storytelling, he kinda pointed out how the youngsters in indonesia today do not have a single idea how to appreciate our own culture. well i know i can't generalized them all, but i have to admit, everytime i go back home to jakarta, i'd see kids at the malls dressed exactly alike and adore the same bands and i kinda get the feeling that they'd prefer to have a slice of pizza for a snack rather than a plate of batagor, for example. well.. at least for those who don't see money as an object, but that's not very realistics considering how many people are living under the line of poverty or at least within the lower class. but i admit i do get the feeling that they'd feel how cool it is to taste the western culture, the western food, the western lifestyle from that bite of a pizza or a burger or so on.

there is actually nothing wrong with that picture, except that the way i see it, they are so obsessed with the so-called modern-and-always-cool western lifestyle that they purposely subject to their own, our own culture. i am lucky enough to see the both worlds so i can pick out the good sides of the two. living in america, the lifestyle and the culture may look so nice on tv or movies, but that doesn't necessarily true. being a superior and a developed country, america provides its citizens with tons of facilities that gives out an ease for people to live in. the residents are protected by the laws which are orderly uphold by the people. something that we don't have back home (no.. not the law, the order). but this does not come in an instant. hundreds of years ago, americans experienced the living situation just how indonesians are right now. i just read several months ago that the first time the 'public littering' law was passed, it created so much scenes. people used to throw garbages anywhere on the streets of new york city, just how it is now back home. until the police started handing out tickets for everyone who littered, and they actually did practice this law to everyone, no matter what.... and guess what? 100 years later, people are fully aware not to throw garbages on the streets, hence, the clean streets they have on every block.

take new york city for example. it is a metropolitan city just like jakarta. but the difference between new york city and jakarta is that the people who live in new york city are fully aware of the law and they have a high understanding to uphold them. let's make a comparison. in new york city, it is known that you would see a lot of parks in the middle of the city, central park being one of them. i know there are also many parks in jakarta, but i don't see people hang around them unless those maids who are taking the kids for a late afternoon snacks (at least that's how i remember it). here, in the parks, there are benches that are usually occupied during lunch time, especially when then weather's nice. the lawns are well-preserved that i don't mind sitting on it and lay my back with a book in my hand and just sleep there and feel relaxed while enjoying the sun. yeah well.. maybe we wouldn't see that as much back home as we'd see the sun all year around anyways.. heck, people are so afraid of the sun cuz it'd darkened their skin.. but my point is that new yorkers (and americans in general) really takes care or preserved the natural living, at least now. there is a special place for dogs to be walked around in, special place in the park to watch concerts or live shows, to just relax and eat.. and guess what? they're always clean all the time. when my parents were here, my mom always pointed this out.. she's so amazed on how americans, well in this case the new yorkers, always keep their park clean. "rasa kesadaran mereka tinggi", mom said. which is true!! they are aware that the public place are meant for public so they clean up after themsevels so everyone can enjoy a clean park. it's as simple as that. now just imagine if everyone in indonesia are fully aware of this.. maybe.. jusstt maybe.. jakarta wouldn't be so filled with garbage and maybe not in the high-risk for flood... this is a good thing to learn from americans.

how about food? growing up, american food was the cool thing to taste in indonesia. lunch at mcdonald's, snack at pizza hut, and a steak dinner. it was so cool, i know people who turn their lifestyle around on just eating american food and hate indonesian food *heck i know an indonesian girl who doesn't like tahu and tempe, how wrong is that?*. now this is the bad adaptation. cuz believe you me.. ask everyone who had lived or still live in a foreign country.. indonesian food is the best food in the world. there's no doubt about that. i can proudly say i'm a cook. i know many recipes, indonesian or western *including italian, american, etc.* and indonesian cookings is always the toughest. why? cuz it's so rich with spices and it's so tasty when it's done. american cooking is quite simple to make and everything seems to be done in an instant (except for the soul food). people love indonesian food cuz its spiciness and tastiness.

how about literature? this is the one thing that really pissed me off so much. when i was growing up, we were still under the suharto's regime, when books are censored and free of speech were not granted. after he stepped down, we saw so many books from people with views of politics, history, etc. pram toer is one of them. i read his books ... in english!! cuz at that time, his books were still banned. and i fell in love with his writings right away. i feel like i learned so much about my country from his writings.. about what's going on with our culture, our country before our independence. and what pisses me off was that... why in the world didn't i read it when i was still in school?.. i would've probably interested more in studying history or literature. in fact, i didn't get to know our best writers until now.. my dad told me that before suharto became a president, it was a must for kids to go to the library and read indonesian literatures, books from the known indonesian writers then. and i never experienced it. i don't know if my school sucked or the curriculum was. the other day.. my pakistani co-worker came over to my desk and saw an umar kayam's book that i've borrowed from dian pras. and he asked me.. "is that the original copy of umar kayam's book?" i stopped and looked at him.. "yeah it is.. but.. do you know him?" and his answer surprised me.. "of course, he's like the famous poet we know. his books were a must-read in our curriculum and it's always in our syllabus" .. and i'm like.. oh my.. i'm really proud to hear that.. but i was so surprise that if students in other country would read and learn about our writer.. WHY IN THE WORLD WE DIDN'T?. wah gue kesel banget deh dengernyaa.. but of course i'm really proud.

just like when i was talking to my brother after we watched the world's famous fable that's being transformed to the box-office movie.. the lord of the rings. originally it's a british fable that was rewritten and put in a script and become a great movies. the story is, i admit, very good and i'm a big fan of the movie and books. but are we so consumed with other people's fables that we don't look at ourselves to have one? heck.. indonesia has tons of fables that are probably more interesting that theirs. can you imagine if hollywood start making a movie about tangkuban perahu, for example? man.. that was a one great story. i think the problem is.. as indonesians, we always look up to other countries, countries that are 'better' than us.. but we do not appreciate what we have.. how rich we are.

i'm not trying to be a hypocrite here. i do enjoy living in america, but i love my country. i do speak english most of the times, but i love indonesian literatures. it's part of the globalization, but doesn't mean that we have to scraped off our identity in the name of 'globalization'. look at japan. no matter how globalized they are, they know how to preserved their culture. they still sit down on the floor to enjoy their sushi, bend down to greet others, and still can be one of the powerful countries in the world.

so why can't we?

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 6/19/2003 09:59:00 AM | [ ]

>> THE SEASONS OF LOVE



it is well known that spring has always been the season of love. the season when people starts to come out of their 'shell' after long wintery cold and look forward to the rest of the year with new activities... spring is the time when we feel the fresh air, when the sun comes out, when people stay out and enjoy the breeze of air against their pale skin and love is in the air...

apparently, this doesn't happen in countries with 4 seasons only. back home, in the tropical country, love is blossomming in the air.. well, maybe because it's the rainy season.. oh wait, maybe because of the coldness on top of the hills when the so-called blogbuggers is having its anniversary a couple of weeks ago. hahha.. now you see where i'm going to talk about. honestly, i don't like to discuss about love, although it is a subject that people always wonder about. but i make an exception on this one from my own experience *and know that you wouldn't hear anymore about it ever!*, because it just amazes me how many 'couples' have formed after the gathering. congratulations to the three lovebugs couples.. and may it last!

i can't help but wonder how people view relationships differently. when i was still in high school, i remember how innocent we are to start the relationship with someone. being an innocent girl then *ha!*, sometimes just the thought of someone had an eye on me was good enough to start having butterflies in my stomach when i see that person, apalagi kalo tu orang cakep. heheh.. i don't deny it that i had a high school romance with someone i barely knew but his name and looks. although we did manage to be together for over a year and a half .. now that i looked back, i think that it was a sweet thing but i still didn't know what love really means, or what relationship should be, even after the first several years i moved to this country.

then i got introduced to the game of dating. this is not the kind of dating game i usually have when i was still back home. not the kinda game when you saw someone you like when you hangout with a bunch of people then started having a conversation between the two of you, then the late-night endless phone calls talking about god-knows-what, then so on and so forth. but mostly, the relationship evolved around friends. malah kadang² gara² dipanas²in ama temen akhirnya jadian. dan ini juga terus kebawa sampe gue disini. mungkin itu memang tipikal anak indonesia yang selalu revolve around their friends, apalagi yang tinggal jauh dari negara sendiri. and i still see this happening around my friends, even me.

until... i met lucas almost 4 years ago. it was a different kind of dating game. i didn't know him, he didn't know me, we just happened to be in the same place at the same time. we didn't have one of those endless phone calls or similar hangout friends. but he managed to get my number and asked me if i would go out to grab a cup of coffee or tea with him. coming from a different kind of culture and understanding how this should work, i was kinda defensive at first. cuz i'm thinking.. i know shit about this guy, and nobody i know, knew about him. they only know his name and that he was in the band.. that's it! so when he asked me on a date, i told him just as that.. but i don't know who you are. and his answer really hit the spot..

"then how could you know me if you don't hangout with me?"

hmm.. good point! so we did. the first date. and it was just a click. we ended up having a 3-hour conversation over a moroccan tea in one of the tea shops in the village. although.. being an indonesian girl that i am, i told my girlfriends to keep an eye on me and call me up every hour. and they did! hahah.. we ended up saying goodbye on the train, cuz my girlfriends met up with us and followed us everywhere.. hihihi..

he didn't call me up until the next week *literally* and we had a second date to the met *the metropolitan museum of art*. it took us quite some times until we finally found ourselves couldn't be away from each other and become a girlfriend and boyfriend, and we are still ever since. back on the subject when i brought up my girlfriends on our first date, lucas did make a comment about this.. how i always have my friends around our relationship without giving a quality time between the two of us. it was a rough first year, but we got through it, especially now that we're quite comfortable with each other and each other's friends.

i find that love is not something that you should take for granted. lust and love is two different things. from lucas, i learned that love is not something that you should come out of your mouth so easily, unless you really mean to. love grows over time. i'm not a big believer of love at first sight, i believe that it's more of lust at first sight. lust that leads to love. when you love someone, it's not important to hear them to say it all the time, it's the little things you do for love ... although it's always nice to hear it from time to time.

i'm not an expert in the love subject .. and i know i still have a LOT to learn, but i know one thing... you should say love with all your heart, not because it was the right thing to do. i'm not a romantic, and i don't like having my guy to say those three little words to me everyday ... cuz when he says it once in a while *and at the right moment* that's when it means the most.

ok, that's it! i better publish this before i change my mind..

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 6/14/2003 04:04:00 AM | [ ]

>> IT'S BEEN A YEAR, AND WE STILL MISS YOU

a year ago yesterday, i heard the most horrifying news i would never think can happen. a good friend of mine, luki hidayat had passed away, his body was found dead floating in the hudson river. i remembered it so clearly that a week before i heard the news i was thinking about him. i was wondering how he was doing, how i haven't heard from him for a while. he was a good friend, someone i dear and the news of his death struck us all.

the news of his death brough out so many things in me. things that i wanna share but couldn't say.. so i went on to writing them. i had my blog page six months earlier, but never really use it as much, but after the sad news, it was there when i want to share my feelings, my sadness, how unfaif life was, but then i grow out of it and enjoyed its presence in my life. and so i reach for more..

luki's tragic death reminds most of us (me and some other friends who are close to him) that sometimes you take life for granted. sometimes you think that the person you care about, or the person who live next to you, or the person who's always there, will always be there, no matter what. until you heard the horrifying news and you realize how much you have missed spending time with your friends, your family, your parents, your loved ones.. how little we are.. how fragile we are.

since then, i dedicate my blog to communicate with friends, with people.. i tried to always keep in touch with them, making sure i know what they are up to. cuz you'll never know what's gonna happen today, tomorrow, in two months.. or in ten years.

all i know i wanna be there as much as i can. luki, it's been a year that you're gone.. and we still miss you.. !! may your soul rest in peace in His side..

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 6/10/2003 11:23:00 PM | [ ]

>> THE NEW FACE OF sLesTa.com

here it is folks.. the new face of sLesTa.com
not that much different, isn't it? well, except for the color. it's the summer color.. :)

also now i include frames in here.. i'm new at this, so you may find some flaws.. forgive me for that.. but please do let me know so i can play around with it.

another feature:
pikofdawik has its own page now.. also i have set up a new album without password to enter. as you may see, there aren't that many faces in it.. just me and those i don't mind to share with..

the 'move' is not yet completed.. i'm still working on it.. so i'll be right back...

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 6/10/2003 02:00:00 AM | [ ]

>> ... AND THIS IS THE END ...

so i have decided that i need to discontinue doing this..
why? cuz i can..










PSYCHE!!!..
do you really think i would give up that easily?? ha! not in a million years.

sorry i haven't been updating and abandoning my blog for a while.. not that i want to but i'm on another project right now. it's not done yet, considering that my parents are still here and so little time i have to spend in front of the computer these days. so, before all of you decide to leave this place altogether.. i tot i should give out a peep.

i may not be updating my blog again for a while.. not until everything's completed for once and for all. i will using this page at its maximum capacity, so for those who are linking me using http://www.slesta.com/blog or http://blog.slesta.com, please change yer link to http://www.slesta.com. i won't start updating anything, at least not until i see that all of you have done so, ... hihihi.. *brasa de aw*..

in the meantime, please leave me a beep on my taggie.. i will check them everyday so if you're really looking for me *lirik dwi ama hanzky*, just make a peep, yo!!

thanks much..

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 6/03/2003 10:27:00 AM | [ ]