3-In-1 Project: Alunan Senja, by Anitya Wahdini

My gift is my song

And this one’s for  you...

Hari belum usai, namun sudah terasa begitu melelahkan. Kulirik arlojiku. Saat ini pukul 17.30 dan aku masih menyusuri lorong sekolah, dengan rambut ekor kuda acak-acakan, sepatu keds yang talinya tidak diikat dengan benar, dan kaos olah raga yang penuh keringat. Benar-benar bukan penampilan terbaikku.

Klub modern dance yang membuatku seperti ini. Setiap Jumat sore, Kak Joy, pelatih dance kami, memang agak sedikit lebih kejam dari biasanya. Mungkin dipikirnya, esok sudah weekend, sehingga ia seolah mendapat izin untuk memforsir kami hingga tetes keringat terakhir untuk menyelesaikan koreografi ciptaannya.

Dan hari ini, aku benar-benar merasa lebih lelah dari biasanya. Seribu kali lipat! Kak Joy memarahiku berulang-ulang karena aku membuat banyak kesalahan. Ia bahkan menghukumku merapikan studio tari setelah aku melakukan kesalahan fatal, terjatuh saat berada di puncak piramida.

The Boy Who Wants to Fly

He is listening to the radio as I enter his room with a tray of breakfast - two slices of toast, butter, and a glass of milk because he wouldn't take anything else. The annoyingly jovial breakfast show broadcasters are talking about some exotic holiday destinations. I doubt that he understands any word, but I know he really enjoys the sound the device makes. His eyes wander across the room, dark since the curtain hasn't been opened yet. Finally he acknowledges my presence and I smile at him.

"Good morning, Mr Evans," I say, putting the tray on a small table across where he's sitting. "Hungry yet? Fresh milk today, just the way you like it. And why is it so dark here?" I open the curtain and he squints.

I give him an apologetic look, and he takes his milk. He takes a sip, and then puts the glass back down without a word. I sigh.

Thank God I Have Parents, Not Sharents

Warning: Postingan ini berpotensi nyinyir.

Layaknya orang-orang yang berusia hampir 20 tahun, gue lengket sama internet. Ada dua kondisi di mana gue sering terlihat: dengan henpon di tangan atau laptop di pangkuan. Gue juga lumayan aktif di media sosial. Gue punya akun Twitter, Facebook, Path, Instagram, ask.fm, dan tentunya blog. Ketika gue nggak posting apapun di media sosial, gue jelalatan aja ngeliatin timeline. Di media sosial ada salah satu fenomena yang udah narik perhatian gue setahunan lebih. Fenomena sharenting.

Jadi sharent itu apa sih? Kata Wikipedia, sharent itu portmanteau (penggabungan kata) share dan parent. Jujur, istilah ini baru-baru ini aja gue temuin. Sebelumnya gue nggak pernah tau apa nama 'bener'-nya. Oke, kembali ke arti sharent. Share artinya berbagi, parent artinya orangtua. Berbagi yang dimaksud di sini adalah berbagi informasi tentang anak di media sosial. So, sharent adalah sebutan buat orangtua yang demen sebar informasi soal anaknya di media sosial - foto-foto di Facebook/Instagram/Path, postingan di blog, anekdot di Twitter, dan lain-lain.

Picture from State of Digital

Rasa

“Aku takkan mati.”

Kata-kata itu terus terngiang di benak Roy, meskipun tiga minggu telah berlalu. Ia masih hafal betul getaran setiap suku kata. Menusuk setiap jengkal pori-pori kulitnya seperti angin musim dingin. Roy bukan pria penakut. Ia telah menghadapi berbagai ancaman, ujian, dan pertempuran. Tak satu pun dapat melumpuhkannya. Tetapi tiga kata itu terus mengangkat bulu romanya. Roy memejamkan mata, tapi cepat-cepat ia membukanya lagi. Dalam gelap, kata-kata itu menggema dan terdengar makin keras. Fungsi otak dan telinganya jauh meningkat ketika matanya terpejam. Roy membenamkan kepalanya di tangannya yang kasar, dan telapak tangannya menyentuh rambut pirangnya yang basah penuh keringat.

The Loft

I can't stay outside
Standing is getting me exhausted
Try to find a reason
Try to find a way with none

Yesterday

Yesterday, days beckoning
I fell in love with you, but was it imagination only?
I sense no trace, I smell no grace
Of the love that we shared
But I feel it so deeply, I want you so badly
Were you the one dancing around in my fantasy?
I'd never seen you before
But I missed you as soon as you went
I never saw it, I never felt it
Any sign of romance
But your bright eyes are there in front of me
Reminding me of what so little I had yesterday
I fell in love with you
I fell in love with you

Perth, WA, Australia

22 January 2015

A Sunny Afternoon with Julia Gillard

DISCLAIMER: This blog post does not in any way endorse any political party nor does it reflect the author's political affiliations and opinions on Australian politics

All this time in Australia, I very rarely saw anyone famous other than tennis players during the Hopman Cup. In fact, up until last Wednesday (December 3, 2014) I could recall the only two occasions in which I saw celebrities of some sorts. The first one was when I went to see Michael Buble's concert, thanks to a friend of mine who got some extra tickets and asked me to go. The second one was when I saw Bill and Giuliana Rancic at Westfield Carousel (Western Australia's largest shopping centre), this time thanks to Anindya Intan who is a HUGE fan of the couple and their reality show on E! (after seeing them, I can understand why people admire those two!). Apart from that - well, until last Wednesday anyway - there was nothing else. Which should not be a surprise, seeing that Perth, bearing the pride of the most isolated capital city in the world, is tiny compared to those cities in the eastern states, e.g. Sydney and Melbourne.