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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Anger Management

Anu: Ibuuw, lu ga pernah marah ya?
Via: heh? Marah? Ya pernah lah.. gelo kali kalo gua ga pernah marah. Mang robot? :P
Anu: Sumpeh lo bu? kayak apa? gua ga pernah liat lu marah2x
Via: Ga lah, jarang-jarang kok kalo gua marah, itupun kalo uda keterlaluan banget. Dulu malah gua ga bisa marah sama sekali. Hahaha sekarang uda mendingan loh! Uda bisa marah :P
Anu: Mank siapa yang pernah lu marahin?
...
...
.. and so on.. and so on..

Itulah pembicaraan soreku dengan seorang teman lama, beberapa waktu lalu. Topic of the day, "Anger Management".

Entah mengapa dia tiba-tiba melontarkan pertanyaan yang satu itu, tapi itu membuatku berpikir.. Iya, memang.. kalau dibandingkan dengan 5 tahun lalu, aku sedikit banyak telah berubah. Dulu aku tidak pernah bisa, bahkan berpikir marah pun tak sanggup. Tapi sekarang, kalau ada yang menyerobot mobil, atau ada hal yang tidak "benar", aku bisa ngedumel sendiri.. Untung ngedumelnya sendiri, kalo didepan orang-orang.. bisa dikira gila kali hehehe

Aku pikir, marah itu wajar kok. Marah merupakan sebuah bagian dari emosi manusia, dan mengeluarkan amarah -seperti kata para ahli- juga baik untuk kita, daripada dipendam di dalam hati. Hanya saja, marah yang baik itu juga terkontrol. Kadang, kalau amarah itu tak terkontrol, pada akhirnya terjadi penyesalan, kita bisa mengeluarkan kalimat yang semestinya tidak kita keluarkan atau melakukan hal yang tidak semestinya kita lakukan.

Melalui pengalaman, aku mulai belajar mengontrol amarah. Bukan memendamnya.. tidak, tapi mengontrolnya.

Hidup ini saja sudah cukup complicated, ditambah lagi dengan tanggung jawab kita yang semakin lama semakin besar, setiap hari kita akan selalu diuji dan dipancing secara emosional. Nah, dari situ juga kematangan kita diuji.

Kemarin aku baca tulisan Samuel Mulia di koran Kompas yang berjudul "Mati". Walaupun seluruh bagian dari parodi itu menarik, ada 1 bagian yang menarik perhatianku:

Kritik membangun? Saya tak percaya itu. Kritik itu negatif sifatnya dan belum lagi mengutarakannya dengan cara yang membuat jantung deg-degan. Sementara membangun itu positif, bagaimana keduanya bisa dijadikan satu? Bukankah sama saja sia-sianya menyatukan siang dan malam?

Mungkin karena saya takut dikritik, penjelasan di atas itu hanya bisa-bisanya saya saja. Saya takut karena membangun itu kemungkinan juga berarti menjatuhkan dengan cara mulia. Itu pengalaman saya. Saya pernah mengkritik yang tampaknya membangun, tetapi di baliknya hanya punya niat satu, menjatuhkan.

Setelah membaca bagian itu, saya langsung berkata dalam hati, "hahaha.. hebat ini orang, pikirannya ga kayak orang biasa."

Nah, apa hubungannya penggalan itu dengan topikku ini? Ada. Tentu saja ada.

Kemarahan. Bisa jadi positive, bisa jadi negative. Jangan biarkan orang lain memancing amarahmu dan menjadikannya negative. Aku sendiri sedang belajar untuk mengubah amarah itu menjadi sesuatu yang positive. Sulit memang, tapi tidak ada salahnya mencoba. Percayalah, di dunia ini.. sebaik apapun kamu, pasti selalu ada orang yang akan mengkritikmu dan berusaha membuatmu marah. Seperti kata Samuel, mungkin saja di balik kata-kata "kritik membangun" itu ada sebagiannya yang sebetulnya ingin menjatuhkan. Who knows? So, just believe in yourself and don't easily get emotionally triggered.

Dan di sisi lain, kita harus selalu mengingatkan diri kita sebelum kita mencoba mengkritik orang lain. Apakah impactnya? Apakah memang betul diperlukan? Karena, mencoba memancing amarah orang lain hanya untuk menarik perhatiannya, bukanlah sesuatu yang mulia, masih banyak cara lain untuk menarik perhatian orang lain.

Dan ketika antrian kita diserobot orang lain, atau mobil kita dipotong oleh mobil lain, atau ketika orang lain melakukan kesalahan kecil, pikirlah ini.. "apakah kita tidak pernah menyerobot juga? apakah kita tidak pernah melakukan kesalahan juga? apakah memang kita lebih baik daripada dia?". Mungkin dengan begitu, kita bisa lebih mengontrol kemarahan kita.

Good luck in your anger management!

07.07.09 ~ via, trying to change anger to positive energy

PS: bagi yang ingin membaca tulisan Samuel Mulia yang saya maksud, silakan click disini

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

I Learn.. (Part II)

Sudah 3 tahun berlalu sejak si bocah polos itu melanglang buana di dunia lesbian, dan hampir 2 tahun berlalu sejak dia berbagi pengalamannya di tulisan I Learn..

Sekarang, si bocah sudah beranjak dewasa. Banyak hal yang telah ia lalui, sedih, kesal, sesal, haru, senang, bahagia.. semua menambah pengalaman hidupnya. Bukan hanya sekali dia ingin lari dan menyerah, dan bukan hanya sekali dia berjuang kembali. Pada akhirnya, dia bisa meraih impiannya.

Seperti cerita dalam buku The Alchemyst karangan Paulo Coelho.. di cerita itu si bocah gembala berhasil menemukan hartanya setelah perjuangannya meraih impian dan melanglang buana ke negeri yang tidak pernah ia datangi sebelumnya. Dalam perjalanannya itu pun, dia berjumpa dengan orang-orang baik yang membantunya dan orang-orang jahat yang menipunya. Di akhir cerita, dia menemukan hartanya, menemukan sahabat dan menemukan seorang wanita istimewa yang menjadi pasangan hidupnya.

"Kisah yang indah", pikir si bocah ketika selesai membaca halaman terakhir dari buku itu. Kemudian dia memikirkan hidupnya dan kisah perjalannya melanglang buana di komunitas yang tidak pernah ia datangi sebelumnya.

Ya, mungkin tidak jauh berbeda. Dan tanpa dia sadari, mungkin si bocah telah menemukan harta yang selama ini dia cari. pengalaman yang berharga dan orang-orang yang berarti.

Dan beberapa pelajaran yang dapat dipetiknya:
6. Alam mempunyai kekuatan yang luar biasa, selalu lihat pertanda yang mereka berikan.
7. Ketika kamu percaya dan yakin, segenap alam semesta akan membantumu meraih impianmu.
8. Dengarkan kata hatimu, terkadang dia berbisik pelan.. tapi coba dengarkan.
9. Cinta bisa datang begitu saja, kapan saja dan kepada siapa saja.
10. Jangan berhenti meraih impianmu, karena mungkin suatu saat kamu akan melihat kembali hidupmu dan menyesal karena tidak pernah melakukannya.

(poin 1-5 ada di I Learn Part I :D)

16.06.09 ~ via, still just a kid

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

2.5 Years of Satupelangi.com

"I will help you as long as you need me."

Gosh! That one sentence really makes it all worthwhile. No matter how hard it has been, no matter how much time and effort that we have put in to make, built and maintain this website.. that simple sentence just makes it all worthwhile. It surely brightens up the long and hard day. Thank you for the continuous support.

You see, when I first decided to make this website, I have this thought in my mind.. that how simple things can change somebody's life. And how people always need a friend at the end of the day. Thus, I believe that a simple website can also change somebody's life (to be better, I hope).

I believe in this virtual world, you can meet all kinds of people. If you are lucky, you can meet those that might -even just a little- be your BFF (Best Friends Forever). Well, we'll never know.. But, I also believe that everyone have the right to feel peace and respect others the way they want to be respected.

Somebody PM'd me a few weeks ago, she told me that she met someone nice from the forum, and she said thank you. Mm, that kinda made me smile a bit. Why? Not because I'm becoming a successful matchmaker. Nope. But because, I am happy that in this forum, a good person can meet a good person. Ha! What can be better than that? Well, like I said.. sometimes, at the end of the day, all we need is a good friend and a good story to share, to laugh, and to remember..

People may come and go, and the memories they bring with them varies. But one thing I know, we will always be there.. always learning and trying to be better, time after time.

I know, no matter how hard we try, things will not always go smoothly. That's the process of learning. But I also believe that when people put their faith on you, you'll have the power to do things beyond what you ever imagined.

And today, we're changing to be better!

After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over. ~Alfred Edward Perlman, New York Times, 3 July 1958

12.04.09 ~ satupelangi.com, keep moving forward.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Friendship and Music

Someone once said to me, "i like the way you talk about friendships". Come to look at it, well yeah.. Most of the topic in this blog is about friendship.

If you ask me, I would say.. friendship is like music. There are music that we can instantly like, even if we only hear the first 3 seconds of it. There are some that we halt after hearing the first few seconds. There also the kinds that we have to listen for quite some time, over and over again, til we realize the meaning, and we starts to like it.

In certain times, we stop listening to our favorite musics and safely store it in our CD boxes or hard disks. And maybe some time in the future, we'll browse our collections and bump in to this song, the song that we used to like very much. And we'll put it in our music player and starts listening to it.. the melodies, the lyrics.. indulge us in reminiscence.

Some music can lift our spirit, make us feel energized, and some make us feel comfortable and relaxed, some other have melodramatic melodies, and it can make us feel sad and blue.

But, we can't live without music, like we can't live without friends..

21.03.09 ~ via, listening to my favorite music

Monday, December 29, 2008

Thank You

Secret Garden - THANK YOU
(lyrics by Brendan Graham)

If I lived to be a thousand years,
If I ruled the word – it’s hemispheres,
I could not repay the love you brought my way,
So, I want to say it now
To thank you for each day you gave me.

Chorus:
Thank you for the Mondays,
Saturdays and Sundays,
Everyday, the whole year through;
Thank you for the fun days,
All those number-one days,
Battles-to-be-won days, too;
I just want to say it,
Thank you for each day with…you.

We have just one life to seize the day,
We only have what time there is to say…
‘n’do what we must do, express our gratitude,
So, I want to say it and sing it now to you.

[Chorus]

At the close of every day,
When I close my eyes to pray,
All I need to do, is just to think of you…
Then, all I need to say…is…

[Chorus]

Sebelum tahun ini akhirnya berakhir, aku ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada malaikat-malaikat pelindungku yang tanpa kusadari, selama ini selalu berada di sana dan melihatku. Terima kasih karena selalu menjagaku, terima kasih karena selalu menjadi tempat aku berkeluh kesah, terima kasih karena selalu mengajari aku menjadi orang yang lebih baik, terima kasih karena selalu memberi aku kekuatan untuk tidak menyerah.

Dan kepada satu malaikatku yang paling spesial, terima kasih untuk setiap hari yang kau ceriakan. Terima kasih untuk setiap hari kita berbagi. Terima kasih untuk setiap hari ... bersamamu.

I know this smile is here, because of you..

29.12.08 ~ via, thanks to you

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Wishes

"I wish I can be slimmer"
"I wish she knew how I feel"
"I wish there will be no traffic jam"
"I wish it's not gonna rain today"

Does all that sounds familiar to you? Well, each of us has something that we wished for; every second, every minute and every hour of our lives. Big or small. Every wishes that we make are all in favor for a better, easier, and happier life.

Me myself too, made some wishes.. which I wanna share with you:
- Before I discover this marvellous L world, I kept on wishing I can find this special place where I belong, I kept on dreaming that someday I can meet people who is just like me. who is..
special.

- When I entered this world, I wish I can give back something to the community.. I wish I can help those people who have the same questions and confusions as much as I did. Those, who are looking for answers but can't find the way to it.

- When I finally have something that I can give, I wish that it can be helpful for everyone. I wish they can feel comfortable and happy. Thus, it will make me happy too.

- When I'm feeling hopeless and confused, I wish that I can get through the hard times and become a better person afterwards.

- When I fell in love with a girl, I wish she could just see what's inside of me, and she could've loved me the way that I loved her. I wish... she could be mine.

But things doesn't always happen exactly like what I'd wished for. Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse. No matter what, the wishes are always there.. giving me hope for a better life.

There's one story from a good friend of mine, which inspires me to write about "wishes":

It's about a 7 year old boy who found a magical necklace that can grant any wishes of the beholder. However, the wishes is like a time machine, it can only be done towards the future.

The first wish he made is, to become a teenager so that he can go anywhere and everywhere he wants without getting scold by his parents. *cring!*

He got it.. he is a free young man now. However, he is not satisfied. He wants to be an adult who has a stable job and making his own money. then again, *cring!* he got what he wished for. Now, he is a 30ish man and is married to a beautiful wife..

One day he was walking around the park and he sees a rich and successful man. He then thinks, "It's gonna be fun to be like that!" So, he made another wish. *cring!*

There, he became a 45 year old successful and rich man, and he had one grandchild. He enjoyed living in that life for a while. Until, he sees a much richer man who has many companies and doesn't even need to work anymore.

U guess? Yep! He made another wish to be a billionaire. *cring!*

In a blink of an eye, he became a 70 years old billionaire who owns many companies, a yacht and a private jet. He is happy at that time, and one day, he is travelling around the world in his yacht.

Suddenly, he feels so tired.. the body won't compromise. Most of his friends are old and dying. His parents and in-laws had passed away, so did his wife. His children are busy with their own lives. At that very moment, he realized he is alone and how lonely this world is. While, everything goes so fast, without him ever experiencing any ups and downs of his life. He got his wishes to easily and he took it for granted.


The moral of the story is: Life is a journey and it's not just a sudden loop from one dot to another.

---

Well, every step in our life, every wishes we made, every hope that we have inside our heart.
Everything! makes our life worthwhile. Life is a journey, and every journey isn't always gonna be flawless, sometimes we have to get through an ugly and winding road to get to our destination. Sometimes it even feels scary, but hey.. you gotta make it somehow, cos there's no turning back. Time will never wait.

Oh, and yeah.. wishes do sometimes come true. So, becareful what you wished for! ;)

04.12.08 ~ via, wishing all the best for all of you

Friday, September 26, 2008

BFF (Best Friends Forever)

"gua thanks God banget gua punya lu dan rosie"

Nyess.. Mendengar kata-kata itu, jantungku berhenti berdegup selama beberapa detik. Membuatku jadi teringat disaat kita pernah bertengkar keras untuk pertama kalinya. Disaat kusangka persahabatan kita akan berakhir, tetapi ternyata persahabatan kita semakin erat dan mantap. Berkali-kali mungkin ada batu kerikil yang menggoyangkan persahabatan kita. Tapi teman, sudah banyak yg kita lewati dan kamu masih disini untukku.

Sahabat, sudah berapa banyak teman yang kutemui selama ini.. berapa persahabatan yang kujalin.. dan berapa banyak dari mereka yang masih ada untukku sekarang?

Sahabat, kau yang memarahi aku disaat otakku sedang linglung dan kau yang selalu ada disana ketika aku sedang membutuhkan pundak untuk menyandar

Sahabat, kau yang selalu percaya padaku dan mendukungku untuk semua keputusan yang aku pilih dikala orang-orang lain meragukan aku

Sahabat, kau yang selalu mengingatkan aku agar tidak melewati garis itu dan yang selalu mengulurkan tanganmu untuk aku kembali setiap kali aku lusuh dan terluka karena melanggar peringatanmu

Hmm..

Aku, seorang Via.. sungguh sangat beruntung karena memiliki sahabat yang setia dan mereka sungguh luar biasa. 2 sahabat yang masih ada sampai sekarang dari kuliah. dan sahabat-sahabat baru di dunia "spesial" ku ini. dan kelihatannya akan datang sahabat-sahabat baru lagi. U know who u are.. :)

---

To Miss Zhen,

Thanks a lot for sticking with me through all this time. You are always there for me, lending your warm hands and giving your trust in me. Nobody knows me better than u :) inside and out.

To Miss Tjong,

I still remember you once said, "duh, gua jadi takut sekarang kalo mo ngomong sama lu. takut salah omong" do you still remember? :) and now we're good as ever.

You are one of the first person I knew in this "special" world and you've given me a lot. You've been my guiding star and you never leave me stray. Thanks a lot

To Miss Sun,

Thanks for accompanying me late at night in the middle of crisis. I still remember, in that second time you were saying "Vi, kok gua ngerasa kayak deja vu ya?" hahaha.. it surely is.

It's been nice to know you. From the first time we chat, I always knew you're one good person to be with. Welcome to our circle of friends :)

To Miss Ong,

Thanks for always thinking of me, believing in me and caring for me all this time. You know I always wanted the best for you too and I always believe that you'll make the best for urself.

To Miss R,

It's been a while since our last chat. :) I also missed the time when we can chat on the phone for more than 4 hours talking from A-Z. You're always a good discussion partner, with your broad and great knowledge

To Miss E,

Thanks for everything. You've always been the first person to come and rescue in my hard times. Be there to pick me up and send me home every saturday we went for Yoga :) I always remembered the time we screamed hard and loud in the street. hahaha

To Miss V,

It's been sometime since we went out together, eh? I missed cooking instant noodle together in your house in the middle of the nite. Do u still remember? I also missed how my message window always popped out whenever something interesting happened to you.

To Miss S,

You are like a little sister to me. Thanks for always making me smile when I'm down.

To Miss MW,

There's nothing to say but thanks. You've been a great teacher to me even if I had to learn it the hard way. You once said that someday I will be thankful to you, and now that day has come. Thank you. :)

To Miss I,

Thanks for always being there for me, to listen to all my whine and cry. Thanks for giving me a warm shoulder to lean on whenever I feel tired and weak. Thanks and thanks and thanks again..

To Miss J (who complained 2 days ago cos her name wasn't here),

I accidentally
knew you. But it has always been a pleasant to know you. Maybe someday I can hear you sing those mellow romantic songs while eating fried rice again hahaha.. Thanks for being my discussion partner and one that can make me feel relaxed.

To other misses,

You know i cannot mention your name one by one, but please do remember that I remembered all of you. Thanks for all the great memories you've given me. These memories changed my life better each and every day.

---

I don't know when friendship starts and I also don't know when it will end. All I know is just to make the best of it. And when the time comes, let's just remember all the great memories. And be thankful, 'cos you are blessed, you are loved and someone out there cares for you.

26.09.08 ~ via, thank God I met all of you too

Friday, September 19, 2008

Kemarin

Setahun kemarin ..
Ada yang pergi dan ada yang datang

Setahun kemarin ..
Sebuah sms menghancurkan sebongkah hati ini

Setahun kemarin ..
Pikiran ini jungkir balik tak menentu

Setahun kemarin ..
Kesalahan terbesar di dalam 24 tahun hidupku

Setahun kemarin ..
Tak disangka, Engkau datang mengisi keheningan ini


Enam bulan kemarin ..
Kita saling menyakiti dan menghancurkan kepercayaan yang ada

Enam bulan kemarin ..
Kedamaian terusik dan segalanya pun berubah

Enam bulan kemarin ..
Hal lain terjadi. Lucutan senjata menyeruak di tengah keheningan

Enam bulan kemarin ..
Kita memenangkan perang itu, tapi semua pihak hancur dan terluka. Unrepairable damaged caused.

Enam bulan kemarin ..
Di kala hati ini terluka dan hangus, Engkau membubuhkan garam di atasnya

Enam bulan kemarin ..
Aku memilih diam


Tiga bulan kemarin ..
Fitnah dari mulut-mulut beracun itu menyebar demi mempertahankan ego dan gengsi mereka sendiri

Tiga bulan kemarin ..
Aku memilih diam. Biarlah racun itu tetap disana. Biarlah mereka merasa bangga dengan ego mereka sendiri. Aku diam.

Tiga bulan kemarin ..
Engkau masih menyalahkan aku. Tidakkah pernah kau berkaca pada cermin disana?

Tiga bulan kemarin ..
Segalanya menjadi beku dan tak berasa, hati ini biru dan mengeras

Tiga bulan kemarin ..
Hampa

Tiga bulan kemarin ..
...



Sekarang ..
Aku masih memilih diam

Sekarang ..
Aku memilih tenang

Sekarang ..
Aku mendapatkan kebahagiaanku. Terima kasih wahai engkau, malaikat dari surga.


19.09.08 ~ via, to be continued..

---

"For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8