The Man of My Dreams

Prof. W.A.F.J Tumbelaka

(24 April 1920 - Present)

My dearest Grandfather

Barusan aku search nama Opa di Google. Ga nyangka banyak banget site yang nongol isinya tentang Opa semua. Aku ketemu Profil nya di Tempo, trus ada juga buku-buku yang ditulisnya masuk Australia National Library. I can see it clearly that he is a very dedicated doctor.

Opa adalah seorang guru besar kedokteran, belajar di Amsterdam (1955), Kanada (1962), Sri Lanka (1975), dekan FKUI (1970-77), Presiden ASEAN Pedriatic Federation, dan Ketua Majelis Kehormatan Etik Kedokteran IDI (1981). He was a role model dan terdaftar sebagai salah satu Pahlawan Sulawesi Utara di bidang Pendidikan. That's how good he was.

A picture of him I found at the internet

Tapi sewaktu kecil aku ga pernah melihatnya lebih dari seorang Opa yang baik, lembut.. and a very gentleman. I remember walking into the dining room one night. Dopey, anjing Opa & Oma, datang trus langsung loncatin aku! Back then I was still scared of big dogs, apalagi anjing-anjing di rumah Opa-Oma suka gong2 smua. Then Opa dengan tegas berseru ke Dopey "Dopey! Turun!" and he would talk to Dopey as if he understood him. He told Dopey that he might scare me. Dan Dopey langsung menunduk seakan menyesal.

"Wanda kaget ya?"

Aku mengangguk.

"Dopey ga maksud apa-apa kok. Dia loncat karena dia sayang pa Wanda."

And when I heard his voice, a warmth feeling occurs him. There's something in the way he talks.. That gives me comfort.

Tiap malam, aku seringkali terbangun karena mendengar suara anak-anak di ruang praktek Opa. Padahal udah lewat tengah malam, tapi Opa tetap aja buka praktek. It's like a 24/7 clinic. He wouldn't close it until there were no patients left. Biaya pengobatan pun murah meriah. Kalau misalnya pasiennya itu ga bawa duit, he would give it up for free. But I'm sure a nice patient would come the next day to pay him right? No one would ever have the heart to do such a mean thing to my dearest Opa!

In fact, I am one of his patient! Opa kan dokter anak, so it really does come in handy. Satu kali dada kiri ku serasa sakit sekali. Back then I was still a little girl, I didn't have what people refer to as boobs these days. Aku pasti selalu ngadu ke Mama kalau sakit, and Mom will tell me to go to Opa. So he checked me and then he said to me, "Ini baru mau tumbuh Wanda. Hati-hati aja kalau jalan. Jangan sampe ketabrak barang-barang ya."

Sayangnya, karena aku masih kecil, aku belum terbiasa hati-hati. Sepanjang hari yang kurasakan tabrakan. Ntah dari pintu, meja, lemari.. semua benda keras menghantamku. O how cruel.

I love the way he talked. So warm and gentle. Tapi ga cuma Opa, aku juga senang kalau bicara soal Oma. I guess the best thing about having grandparents is that they will always tell you stories about their life, and they would always give the best advice.

And guess what? 4 hari lagi Opa genap 90 tahun. Tanggal 29 ini aku berangkat ke Jakarta buat ikut merayakan ultahnya dan ultah Eyang Uti juga.

Right now, Opa is living in my aunt's house. While Oma passed away years ago. It was a very sorrowful day for the whole Tumbelaka and Mononoetoe fam.

And although it's almost impossible, seeing his condition this day, aku berharap aku masih sempat mengambil waktu berdua dengan Opa. Just the two of us. Cause I really wanna tell him my stories. They say the elders need company. and that's all I can really offer.

I hope someday.

Please grant me that day, Lord.

Video Geng SMP : Food Family

(Fettucini, Toge, Spaghetti, Dim Sum)

Yes, that's me with the gloomy face. We were trying to copy the poster behind us.

Beberapa hari yang lalu, aku minta semua foto dan video masa kelas 3 SMP dari Vebry. And I just remember I used to have the coolest gang in Junior High. Meet the Food Family.

Honestly, I don't remember how we came up to those "food" ideas, and how we got those nicknames. Dulu ada sejarahnya. Tapi yang bisa kuingat cuma Toge sebagai Nenek, Fettucini & Dim Sum anak kembar siam si Toge, Spaghetti anak dari Fettucini.

Aaah those days were beautiful... and stupid. Prasidina kemarin Vebry a.k.a Toge baru ngirim video aku nyanyi lagu Fergalicious trus Vebry & Yana nari-nari, sementara Ghali jadi camera man.

And I honestly don't remember the purpose of this video also.

Yana laugh the hardest, Vebry was a devoted dancer (can't you see the fire in her when she dance?) Dan di bagian akhir-akhirnya aku baru nyadar liriknya diganti jadi "Togelicious".

Oh how we love our grandma Toge.

Prasidina 11 April & The Fact About Farewell

Minggu malam kemarin, diadain Prasidina di RCC pukul 19.00 - 23.00. Prasidina itu acara perpisahan kelas 3 yang juga dihadiri oleh orang tua, guru, dan beberapa orang Yayasan juga diramaikan oleh paduan suara (though Duri's choir is much more amusing, kata Siska paduan suaranya diiringi sama Sax, Piano, Trompet.. such a wow). It's like a tradition. There's always a Prasidina every year in Cendana.

Susunan acaranya? Kata sambutan, Paduan suara, pidato, paduan suara, pidato, paduan suara, akustik, pengumuman siswa berprestasi akademis & non-akademis, paduan suara, pidato, paduan suara.. aku bener udah ga ingat brapa kali pidato dan paduan suara, so I'm just writing it dramatically. Pretty boring huh? Except if you're one of those smart and lucky students going up on the stage to get some achievements from the school.

1. instead of paying attention to the preacher,

we took pictures on our seats

2. sampe orang blakang-blakang pun sadar kamera

But the last part, was kinda entertaining. In fact, I find it exciting rather than... sad. Setelah salam-salaman sama guru, us students get to hug each other, wishing for luck, bid farewell... and yeah most of them cried. I feel a bit bad laughing loudly in those sorrowful crowd, but I didn't feel the smallest will to cry. No, it's not like I'm heartless and I'd totally be happy leaving than to stay here in this school with the same faces I've seen for 12 years of education. Maybe, it's because I'm ready to face this way before they did.

What?

All of my best friends went to Java. Well, one went to Duri, but mostly Java. 1 in Solo, 2 in Jogja, 1 in Jakarta (and I don't really know if she's still there or not). I'm really used to farewell, and although I miss them.. A LOT.. there's no more point of crying over their departure anymore. Being apart is only a test. A test whether or not our friendship has a strong bond. Whether or not we are worth to be called as "true friends".

In fact, I still contact my friends. Every once in a while. We're still sharing, we're still on the track with each other.

Though crying in farewells are a common thing. But truth is, some people cried because they weren't ready to face it, so fast and sudden. Overall people cried in farewell cause they were surprised. It's the whole High School thing they didn't want to end. They don't really cry cause they won't be seeing each other anymore. Cause fact is, they could still keep in touch with each other. Like DUH that's what I've been doing with my closest friends. Being apart isn't so hard after all when there are social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc. Guess that's what technologies are for.

Hahaha.. It's funny that I actually wrote these stuff when last night I cried also. Not at the farewell, AFTER the farewell. I don't know, I'm still not too ready to leave my loved one here. But I know I have to face it.

After all it's just a test. Whether or not we have the same strong feeling.

True friends don't come easily, so is true love.