thirty eight y.o. indonesian female. wife of a computer geek who is the best cook in the world. mother of two wonderful children. daughter. sister. aunt. crooked teeth *under construction with braces right now* straight teeth, but had eight taken out. medical receptionist. iowa, usa. goofball. photo enthusiast. corrective/contact lenses. traveler. ex smoker. started exercising every day in august 2011. cardio kick boxing and resistance training. dengue haemorrhagic fever (dhf) survivor. computer game addict. agnostic. blood fear. dislike narrow-mindedness. ex journalist. need 12 oz of coffee on weekdays. a bit of a clean freak. like sleeping too much. gutless flip-flopper. like the smell of new paper/stationery. seasonal depression (winter). always miss jakarta. fast learner. multitasker. can’t stand the sound of pots/pans rubbing together. mom’s side of family: dutch and north sumatra (batak/mandailing/harahap), dad’s side of family: malay and south sumatra (palembang/komring/syarifuddin). fond of horror/thriller movies. a believer of spongebob squarepants. studied industrial engineering for five years in indonesia, ended up working as a journalist. learned early childhood/elementary education for a while in the u.s., is now working in health industry. life’s so contradicting.
Saya
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D,
I love your blog – found it through IowaBlogNet. Your journals remind me not to look to far away from my own home for hapiness. The world out there is beating people up pretty bad.
I think it would be great if your Mom could come here. I am trying to get my stepmom to come live in IA with my brother and me. She only lives in PA, but she is still having a hard time wrapping her mind around it. My bro came out four years ago and it really saved his life. If nothing else, Iowa lets you get on with the business of having a good life. Thanks for a great blog.
If you get a chance, check out my blog. My goal is to help parents stay in touch with kid-friendly activities in DSM-area. If you have any tips, please send them. If you like it, please share it with your friends.
Christi
high quality ex-journalist.
christi: thanks for the info 🙂
danny: thanks for the compliments 🙂
hey, u’re an agnostic ex-journalist?? never know…. which tabloid/newspaper did u work for?
And um… No offence here, but from what I observed, Indonesians outside Indonesia who used to embrace their religion (whatever it is among the big 5: Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism) usually leave them for atheism or just be a free-thinker in their new country, am I right?
I dare bet that u were either a Muslim or a Christian during your old days in Indonesia, hehe… ^^
Yes, I was born and raised as a Moslem. Always been a lazy one and continued to be a skeptical one as also am to Christianity. I worked for Otomotif tabloid for about a year, then moved on to MOTOR magazine for four years.
dintje, IM ada gaaaa?? eh, emailku kan pasti dapet tokh dari data reply yang ini. santika itu, aku waktu itu pake GFF, Garuda Frequent Fyler, tapi kayaknya selama WNI, masih bisa kok dapet diskon
Blogwalking. Nice blog. 🙂
I think i’ll start to read your blog regularly from now on… love to read it.
Why don’t you write a book, too?? I’ll buy 😀
thank you for dropping my blog and showing me the way to get into this wonderful blog. and you’re such a cool creature… ex journalist and agnostic 🙂 and even better, you’re also a coffee and sleep addict!!!
Hi .. nice to know you. Ex journalist ? LOL, I used to be a stringer journalist when I was in college, but fate bring me to my current profession now, while I was waiting Kompas open his vacancy).
Will come and visit you often now .. have a nice day ..
Wish we have the energy of a child (I wish .. I wish .. like I wish a day have more than 24 hours)
Din … do you know Anto Beding or Boy Beding ? Ouch .. can’t stand to ask 🙂
Hello, found your blog from blog-indo. Wonder if it’s ok to put your blog in the exat blog list at Indonesian Expatriates Forum. You are more than welcome to share your stories of living in a foreign country too there. Also if you know people who have the similar experience as ours, please let them know too. Cheers!
@anita: sure thing 🙂
Din, Anto Beding, anaknya Marcel Beding. Adiknya Boy, juga pernah di Otomotif.
UI 81 atau 82, forgotten already ….
Anto + Boy Beding? Yah tau bangeth!
Hi diny,
thanks for visiting my blog.
Yes, being an agnostic is nothing to be ashamed of, but unfortunately, people in our country do not think that way. We might as well be lepers, because they see us that way.
Your blog is very interesting, do you mind me adding you to my blogroll?
Hey Rima… sure thing 🙂
I wasn’t sure that you’re in Indonesia or elsewhere; now I symphatize more for you 😉
No, I’m not in Indonesia but nevertheless, I interact with Indonesians daily. Even those who are not in Indonesia feels the same way. Not all of them, of course, but enough to sadden me.
din, lo dah gue link yah.. you are welcome to link me as well. gue juga baru ngecek indonesians expats forum, it seems interesting enough, would probably contribute to the forum.. hope u’ll do the same.. trade stories lah gimana idup di beda2 negara..
🙂
Thanks for surfing my blog and commenting my famz picture.
Are u an ex journalist? … It makes your blog pretty good and readable.
-expat ni?… –
cool
wow, fellow ex-journalist 🙂
halloooo!
gue ngeliat2 fotonya, trus kok ada jeng Bril, dan trus, kok ada Otomotif dan Motor? jangan2 ini diny yang pernah jadi tetangga kos-ku pas di lapangan bola dulu? (tiba2 gue jadi inget si Aong di Motor…)
ini aku fitri eks Nova, Din! dulu ngekos sebelahan persisss di sebelah kamar dikau. depan kamar gue tuh si jeng bril. pasti dirimu lupa, karena abis itu trus dirimu pergi dari kos2an itu, heheheh.
tapi pasti dikau takkan melupakan maknyak, mbak cicik, dan mbak ika kan? * wink wink *
moga2 bener ini elu. jangan2 gue ngomong begini salah lagi. hehehehe. kalo salah, maap yaa.
😀
Ahhh, very interesting to know you mbak diny… thanks for stopping by and leave a comment. That lead me to this wonderful blog.
Pasti bakalan sering main kesini. Langsung subsribe for RSS ahhh, hehehehe..
Makasih ya, salam kenal lagi ahhh…
Silly
Silly, sama-samaaaaaa…
Btw, boleh yah, nge-link blognya 🙂
aku juga lagi ngelink blog mbak nich… btw… ini dimana toh jeung???
Hi Dinny,
May I place a link to this blog at mine? I love your style of writing & want to read your posts on regular basis.
cheers,
Lorraine
Hi Lorraine, of course it’s OK. Thanks.
Heard about the flood in Iowa. Hope you’re ok!
halo halo mba dini ….salam kenal juga …tulisannya bagos-bagos euy….kapan pulang ke indo? wuiihhh makin banyak loh sate2 yg yahutttt…mau??? hehehhe
hi maya… we’re going home to indonesia december this year. ngemeng2, tempat makan sate kambing yang tof of the pof di jakarta sekarang di mana yah?
hai….salam kenal juga. ma kasih udah mampir ke tempatku 🙂
kembali kasih yati… sama2 terusin acara mampirnya yah!
baru baca baik2 postingan2nya. pernah jadi jurnalis ternyata, pantes ajaaaa….! grup yg itu2 juga ya mbak? :d hehehe…
jadi tahun ini pulang ke indo?
hi mbak, nice blog 😀
salam kenal,
sarah
*nerusin baca2*
Hai mbak Diny… blognya keren…
*buru-buru di add ke gugel rider*
aduh dik ira bisa aja. makasih buat pujiannya. come sering-sering main yah… 🙂
Din, will you be so kind to re-link me to my new address. Thanks!
Done, ‘va 🙂 Thanks for the update.
Dintje,
Ex-smoker? Bagus bu, tetep semangat!
Hello D,
It is nice to meet you. Thank you for your first special comment at my Blog.
Have great autumn!
Hallo mbak D, nice to found your blog. Most of them are good post. Thanks and I wish you don’t mind if I will visit your blog more often.
your blog..a nice content
An Indonesian in Iowa … talk about a fish out of water! 🙂
Din .. elo lahir tgl dan bulan apa ya? just curious.
san, ini ade ape petugas sensus nyasar di mari :p
Hi…ho…ito!!!
Cuma mau kasih tau kalo emang belom tau…
Robin dah ga ada 17 Januari’09 lalu
seriously? how did he die?
Tabrak Lari…5 hari di rumah sakit Husada, meninggal sabtu subuh jam 3.47 AM/subuh. Padahal dia tuh dah sukses jadi anak metal sejati (Terakhir main di Finland, bareng Slayer, kreator etc)…kalo ada wakt search aja di google…Robin hutagaol, Indonesia berduka duta besar metal indonesia sudah pergi (Rolling Stones magz, Gatra, Tempo, Detik dan semua blog di indonesia) sampai ada charity shownya…
Tapi yakin sekarng dia dah bikin komunitas baru disana dan mulai ngeband lagi…Biarpun skrg agnostic, tp gw tetap minta doanya buat dia..
OMG…
My Mom was at the Husada ICU room at that time.
When I was waiting at the ICU waiting lounge, I saw some people with rocker-like attribute, and there were western people too amongst them. I was wondering about them.
My bro told me that they’re there for a friend who was a victim of hit-and -run accident.
My bro also said that he’s Batak, but I forgot what his surname.
But when I was there on Saturday, my bro told us that the person has died. Then when I came to see my Mom, she told me that the person on the bed next to hers has just died.
The next day after he died, there were still 2 friends of him came around (both were foreigners -a man and a woman), and I think the security guy informed them that he’s passed away on Friday night…? (I heard him mentioned Friday).
It feels strange that I came across about it here and could finally find out a bit more about the person.
May he rest in peace and may his loved ones live proudly with the memory of him.
@Ori: Robin and I went to the same university but he’s a year younger. We hung out a lot. He’s a very popular guy because of his involvement in music. He’s also down to earth, funny, and friendly. What a great loss. Is your Mom OK now?
She’s better, but she’s still at the hospital (Husada)…almost 3 months. She suffers diabetes, and in January she got one of her toe amputated (that’s how she stayed at ICU room for 2 days), got healed for a while and went back home late Feb, but 2 weeks later had to be admitted back into hospital. Well..you know how hospitals in our country (talking about generalisation)…we (Mom, my family and I) can only pray and hope that she’ll get her health back soon. Thank you for asking Din 🙂
i think i fall in love with your blog..
nice to know you… 🙂
what a great life
i do wish a life like yours
a wife and a mother of two child 🙂
@yessigreena: thank you for your kind comment. salam kenal juga 🙂
Hi D,
I am N, and accidentally I stumble upon your blog, it is an interesting view. You said you hate narrow mindedness… so do I , that is why I wrote my blog in Indonesian Language just to make it easier for the Indonesian to read my musing; which mainly aim as an eye opener for the Indonesian on what is going on at the other end of the globe.
I’d like to link your blog to mine, and hopping you link mine as well and who know….
@NSuwarno: Halo N, terima kasih sudah mampir di blog saya. Sering-sering mampir ya… Silakan di-link dan saya link balik blog situ.
Hi sist, gw lg di puncak, biasa, msh dg kesibukan shtng..
Ada temen ksh tau suruh buka ur blog.. Baca crita kita..
Didinginnya tengah mlm puncak, can u imagine how I feel ?
Tears falling down instantly.. Gosshhh.. Miss u so much !
Miss our friendship, miss everything about us..
Thanks for trying to find me..
Milaaaaaaa… OMG! Akhirnya nyampe juga suara hatiku -ceile- menyebrangi lautan. Selanjutnya gue email elo aja yah. Miss you, sis!
Hmm, stumbled upon this from a fellow blogger. Nice writings. I’ll be back.. 😀
Nice blog! I found it during blog-walking from blog-indonesia.com . Nice to see another ‘indonesian’ blogging about life outside Indonesia. I live in Spore. Can’t complain, life is nice here, only 1 hr away from Jakarta. Here’s a link to my blog
http://turike-diva.blogspot.com.
Still a newbie compare to you :p
Keep on blogging.
@Turike: Hi there and thanks for stopping by. I envy you, being just an hour away… living in a place where the foood isn’t so different with Indonesia. I’ll check out your blog as soon as possible 🙂
Dinyfitha, – you are truly living your dreams to the fullest! I am so happy for you. Davi and Dante sound absolutely wonderful, and I bet you are the best medical receptionist in Iowa. I wish you all the happiness that can be had in the future. Great job on the blog writing, keep it up!
Hi Din,
Mampir lagi nih, just to let you know that I moved my blog to a new address, this time my own domain: http://ninstravelog.net. It’s up and running now. Blog situ juga dah saya link dengan blog yang baru, dan saya harap link saya di blog ini juga di divert ke alamat baru ya…
Saya akan tetep sering mampir sini….
N.
@nins: mbak’e, sampun diedit link blog-mu. matur nuwun sanget 🙂
Dhi…I think we’ve met before many years ago if you still remember in Jakarta (remember Hard Rock Cafe? *hint…hint*) Let me know if you remember. So happy to stumble on your blog, girl!
hi maureen… long time no hear. sure, i remember you. also the hint-hint for you :p how’s life? i will check out your blog. gosh i saw a picture of your son… he had grown so big! ttyl.
Life is good Di, how bout you? Gosh Dante and Devi had grown so much too. Need to add you on my blogroll if you don’t mind since I love how you write! Am a fan now 😉 Take care, lady!
Sometimes I wondered what the source of the magic of your blog is. But I just should have read ” Saya” earlier. Because now I know: there is a Dutch connection here.
I also love this by the way: job in a hospital and suffering from blood fear. It’s like being a sailor and suffering from seasickness.
if only i paid more attention to ‘oma suzy’ -my grandmother-
when she’s spreken deutche; i would be able to speak trilingually. the only one that stuck in my mind was her “godverdomme!” while her blue/grey eyes gotten so big whenever she heard/saw me playing in the flood. ahh… good times… good times…
@maureen: iya, sok aja atuh… di link. gue link balik yah?
Dear Ibu Diny, bisa tolong hapus bagian: begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting in the article of Dony Tanuwijaya? Dony sudah bilang sebelumnya sama ibu.
Dan tolong jangan dipublikasikan email saya. Terima kasih sebelumnya.
Dear Shirley,
No problem. Email-mu akan dihapus 🙂
Dear Ibu Diny, bisa minta tolong sekali lagi untuk menghapus email saya dan bagian ini di artikelnya doni: begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Terima kasih banyak sebelumnya dari saya dan Doni. Sherly
Hello! found your blog while looking up why would people call ‘bangs’ sassy… I don’t get it. The search took me to your bad hair cut story, I have fine hair and I decided to always cut my own bangs.
Great blog!
Halo mbak, apa kabar, saya siswi pertukaran pelajar YES di Cedar Rapids, Iowa, jarang banget nemu orang Indonesia di Iowa, hehehe. Saya mau tanya, masih ada restoran Indonesia nggak ya di Iowa? Terima kasih
Hi there. Came across your blog by accident (i think it was the bangs post, coz I always wear one) and found funny similarities. I have never come across another person who loves horror movies and spongebob in the same breath. I’ve been to Indonesia in 1995, so I only speak a few Bahasa words. And I am a photojournalist. Other than that, it’s crazy to find you here. Have a good life too!
Terima kasih!
Halo Jojie, apa kabar? Thank you for stopping and leaving your comment. I’m so glad you found me (this blog). It’s mind boggling to see that you too like the horror movie and Spongebob as well. Where do you live?
I live in Davao, Philippines. Haha, and my bedroom is filled with Spongebob! 🙂