Our Independence Day Celebration

We had something unusual to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day this year. Last year we wore red-white costumes except for men who wore old ’45 freedom fighter costumes. Since we couldn’t bring phone in workplace there’s not much picture taken. Even the pics from supervisors didn’t give much because they blurred all over. So on August 17th this year our store superiors came up with the idea to wear Ethnic clothes. I firstly planned to use Balinese clothes, but I kinda run out of budget so it’s cancelled. I went with kebaya and Balinese sarung, borrowed form workmate and dorm neighbor. I did an updo hair with white rose clip for formal look and overdid my eye makeup. I even bought a hairspray to tame my hair, which resulted unending itchiness for my head. 😆

We’re surprisingly allowed to bring our phones for documentation. I think I got almost a hundred photos that day, hahaha.

Do I look good with kebaya? Honestly it’s such a great pain to work with formal clothes and corset squeezing my torso. Nonetheless our celebration was truly fun, it’s not something we experienced everyday after all. I hope next year we could have a parade like this again in August 17th. 🙂

Happy 70th Independence Day for our lovely Indonesia. *sings Indonesia Raya*

August 16th, This Year

Yesterday as a celebration on upcoming Indonesian Independece Day we had themed costumes and used for whole work time. My area got fishermen costumes, and since there’re mostly women we were stuck with old grandma’s kebaya and sarung. I used beach pareo because I thought it’d fit for my Balinese trait. Some commented it right away when they saw my costume, throwing jokes here and there. Still it was a fun day you wouldn’t see everyday. Especially when Ladies formal area and men’s wear appeared with their Dutch ladies-themed costumes, it felt like we’re having a parade here while working. lol.

Honestly it would look real enough if we used some properties like fish pole or net, but all of us were so lazy to search anything since the costume itself was difficult to find. Mine was borrowed from one of workmates who luckily still had some spares to use. No button in the kebaya made me use pins as subtitute. And We’re not that enthusiasted in the morning until people from second shift who got Dutch-ladies theme came with their extravagant costumes. Very beautiful and classy but I didn’t have the luck of taking pictures since we’re not allowed to bring any cellphone inside our workplace. Whoever came to all Chandra Dept. Store Lampung that day must have seen our costume parade, right? Lol.

If we’re having this again next year I’d make sure to make it hillarious as possible, if I could still be there of course. :p

Beli vs Minta

Setiap shift pagi adalah minggu bersama sekotak tisu, soalnya pasti selalu kena serangan flu. Kadang suka kesel sendiri kok ga pernah absen tiap masuk shift pagi pasti bawaannya flu. Dan akhirnya sekotak tisu jadi hal penting untuk disiapkan di kosan maupun tempat kerja. Akhir-akhir ini aku baru sadar kalau sepertinya aku kebanyakan beli tisu. ada satu box tisu dan segulung tisu di kosan, lalu ada box tisu kecil yang baru kubeli juga minggu kemarin. Minggu ini aku shift siang dan sekotak tisu itu pun akhirnya terbengkalai. Itu sih kalau ga ada yang tau ada sekotak tisu masih utuh di konter. Begitu ketauan, alhamdulilah pasti habis. Terutama kalau pas off, besoknya jangan harap masih utuh seperti waktu ditinggal. Kayaknya aku jadi kebanyakan beli tisu bukan karena banyak uang, tapi setiap mau make selalu kehabisan duluan!

Baru-baru ini juga aku jadi punya item tambahan kalau kena serangan flu pagi, yaitu sebotol kecil freshcare. Fungsinya ga cuma buat flu aja, tapi juga efektif banget kalo lagi lembur atau pas haid. Terkadang ga lagi perlu masih dibawa kemana-mana, soalnya ada aja yang bakal dateng ke konter minta minyak angin. Ada juga yang make bentar buat kerokan, dan di tempat kerjaku yang namanya kerokan itu adalah rutinitas harian. Walaupun suka kesel kok ga beli sendiri ( Helooo, masa sebiji buat searea seeehhh????!!!), tapi kasian juga ngeliat ada teman yang lagi sakit dan kita punya obat yang tersedia sebagai pertolongan pertama. Untungnya freshcareku nasibnya masih beruntung dibanding albothyl yang sudah habis dipake orang searea padahal aku sendiri baru pake dua kali. Sekotak tisu yang dipake sendiri bisa awet sebulan aja tau-tau ludes dalam dua minggu.

Memang setiap orang punya sifat yang beda-beda kalo perkaranya soal beginian. Ada yang prinsipnya ‘kalau yang lain ada ngapain beli?’ sedangkan ada pula yang punya prinsip ‘lebih baik beli daripada minjam atau minta.’ Ga tau kenapa, sepertinya di tempat kerjaku orang cenderung bersifat lebih suka menggunakan milik orang lain atau minta kepunyaannya dibanding membeli. Padahal kalau aku pribadi hal kayak gitu sama sekali ga nyaman. Mereka juga kalau kepunyaannya diminta atau pinjam belum tentu ga merasa risih. Terkadang suka kesal, padahal ga mau juga perhitungan sama teman tapi kok ya kebangetan tiap hari minta ini itu. Kalau memang perlunya tiap hari kan ada ide untuk beli. Mau sedikit ‘mengingatkan’ takutnya malah dianggap pelit. Sayangnya, kata pelit itu dijadiin senjata supaya dikasih ini itu dengan enaknya. Heran, tapi gitu deh kebiasaan di tempat kerja. Jadi mau ga mau harus maklum. Sekedar penghapus pun bisa jadi benda masal searea kalau perlu.

Yah, ini pengalaman kerja yang cukup unik. Jadi pelajaran supaya lebih baik menyimpan rapat barang milik dari pada dijadiin hak milik masal. Hahaha.

New Year

I forgot to make a special post about new year and it’s already 4th of January. Last Thursday I got double shift started from 7 AM – 9.30 PM and I had to wake up pretty early for that. It’s actually a very exhausting work day and I never imagined that my new year day was celebrated by working double shift a half hour earlier than usual starting time. Friends who’re off that day posted pics of their small party and statuses of new year wishes, both Facebook and BBM. I on the other hand didn’t have the time for that because I couldn’t make it to my dorm in break time. We only got half an hour for break so it’d be a waste if I insist to go home. Good thing I could sell two tops, though. But to be honest, I really regret taking double shift that day. The next day I also got morning shift, so it felt like I didn’t go back to my rent room for two days. My room smelt really bad because with its cramped size all unwashed dishes I put on the corner gave off really strong odours. Puls after work I’d always be much lazier than usual, so it’s no help for that.

For those who think that we must have loved our job too much that we still open in New Year, let me tell you that it’s a hell lot of sacrifices for my time, health and my life. Hmph.

But aside of that, Let’s hope for this year to be one of our best year. Few friends in my workplace have held some wedding and party in this month hoping for good luck in New Year. Though I barely felt my body with all the sores, At least I know I got paid really good for my double shift and holiday shift, as good as I could hope. Plus I never really do special things in New Year’s Eve and Day, so I guess it’s so much productive this way. Hope you’re blessed by Allah. Amen. Happy New Year 2015!

Wedding Season?

It’s a normal thing to get a wedding invitation card from someone you only know at work; whether you often talk to them or not. Sometimes we declare a month to be “wedding season” month whenever those cards are given to you in close dates. It means coming to the party or pass the gifts through people who plan to came to the party. Also means money to spend and with whom you would share the money for gift buying. I’ve been all too familiar with these things for over a year.

Talking about the bride and groom’s wannabes are most common after cards are recieved. I could almost memorize some of them, oh they’re so fitting in the picture, the girl doesn’t look that different in pre-wed photos, is that the groom? He is blah blah blah. I feel like being surrounded in some contest and wonder if they would do the same thing with my invitation card. This year I’m going to be 24 and most girls my age already got one or two children in that age. Indonesians are also too much about age, especially girls. Talking about in what age you’re going to marry is never old. So at every wedding season I’d be one to example in their discussion. Somehow I knew I don’t need to wonder what kind of discussion would be made over my wedding invitation card. LOL.

Then there’s a talk about how an ethnicity will hold a wedding ceremony and the process of its ritual. I realized that Indonesians all about everything when it comes to marriage; we hold such principle that marriage is only once for life so it must be celebrated as big as possible. You won’t want to go through those tiring ritual processes anyway, so why having it more than once? Lampung society for example, at least in our knowledge is popular with its wedding ritual. There’s a saying that if you want to marry a Lampung girl, you need a hella big amount of “wedding budget”. It’s mostly mistaken as “buying bride” act, which for me is kind of uncomfortable to talk. Non-Lampung people tend to ask about it to me that I even had to make a whole presentation when I was in college to explain the actual purpose and reason behind Lampung wedding ceremony and ritual. If asked, I never think highly about how I should hold a wedding ceremony. Of course I would be happy to have a big party, but why bother to get one if you’d be in high debt after that. I would prefer having a small, private, intimate wedding party than a big, money-wasting and tiring one. Paying the debt is the last thing in my mind to worry in my should be happy days. I don’t mean to disrespect their way of, ahem, spoiling their children for the last time before they step into the new marriage life, but it’s not like parents are forced by children. For me, personally, it’s not that important at all. I never have an imagination about big wedding party, or tiring Lampung marriage ritual which will make me exhausted for days and never-ending worries about the money spent for just one-two days wedding party. I have a lot of Lampung friends and only few of them agreed with my view of wedding ceremony, as they actually have been waiting to experience such practice. It might be because of they way they’re raised in Lampung society. If some girl got big wedding ceremony, then they also have to get it too. Regadless if their parents are up for that or not. Both of my parents rarely talk about it and it’s not like I’m comfortable with the topic. Discusing about marriage with parents is really different than with friends; everything goes quite awkward and sad. With their usual wisdoms of finding the good man, saving for future and others I never really expect much from them. Dad once said I wouldn’t need to go with all those traditional rituals, which I assumed it because he and Mom never went through one. I feel grateful of that, because if they intend to do that then I would cancel my marriage. I’m the one who’s gonna marry, so it all my choices. I don’t want to be indebted in my marriage.

This month is one of those wedding season. But to be honest, kinda interesting to find some workmate will be facing one of the biggest experience in her life in counted days. Never hard to be happy for her. I just wish the cards didn’t come that much in the same week, though.

Helping Foreigners at Work

I just remembered about this after blogwalking on some English blog that I had had a conversation with a backpacker woman from Czech Republic who visited Chandra Dept. Store Teluk Betung (Lampung) with her friends. She was troubled in deciding to buy Novel Mice’s jacket or not. It costed almost three hundred thousands rupiahs with fifty percent discount, but eventually she decided to buy it. I said to her that it fitted her body well, but she seemed to feel that the sleeves were a bit shorter to her liking (from what I could manage to understand). I was glad to help her deciding and translating what she wanted to say to Novel Mice SPG. She paid with her master card, which I think the safest idea for payment transaction because you can’t honestly entrust your belongings’ safety in some country. In Indonesia, don’t just rely on your guide to pay everything you buy. If you don’t have any guide to accompany you, master card will be very useful. At least if you visit stores like Chandra.

I made a small talk with her while we’re waiting for the receipt (every product has to be paid to the cashier by a receipt, and the product will be delivered by its SPG to the cashier). She praised me for my good English even though I was a local here. I told them that I used to take English in college and it helped me improve my skills, but I had to drop to help my family’s financial by working in Chandra. She was kind to wish for me to get back at college in the future, something I appreciated from a foreign stranger. Hahaha. But I felt happy to help foreigners buying things at my work place, and it’s the third time I did that. I hope next time I could meet and help as many foreigners as I can whenever they come to buy here. 🙂

By any chance, if you happen to visit Chandra Dept. Store Teluk Betung, Lampung, please visit my counter (Missty). Hehehe