Getting know My Love | Laurensia
Greetings, Dear Readers
Young architect and Restless Spirits,
Her name is Laurensia, She has the same age of me. She went to the same elementary school with me, the same senior high school with me, but we went to different university. She went to university in Jakarta while I went for my bachelor degree in Bandung. Bandung and Jakarta is 2 different cities, has different life style, different climate, but same solstice as the location approximately in same latitude. I had not much time to know her, since that time. 8 years after that, she is a Dentist and I am an Architect.
My life was so fast at that time, “a lonely ranger”, I would say. After I graduated, I worked in Bandung, Singapore, London, while sometime fly to Banjarmasin to help my brother’s business. It had been a wicked time for work alcoholic time with almost 40 design competitions and design built works across South East Asia, Middle East and China. I spent a year in one place and another year in another place.
Getting Know My Love | Laurensia
Surabaya – In Father’s Workshop
Looking back, I was born in Surabaya, near the poor slum area where there were crazy people, prostitutes, and the gap between rich and poor. Our family lived on Jalan Dukuh Kupang Timur gang 13 no. 75. I grew up and played in several alleys adjacent to Dolly’s Gang, which signifies the gap between a paradoxical iceberg phenomenon related to the necessities of life and the city’s identity. I met one kid named Hamid every day, and he is a crazy toddler. Every time I pass him, I look at his genuine behavior such as running while showing arm-pit, laughing…
Laurensia
June 11 2009, Sydney “Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit”- Khalil Gibran Do you believe in faith ? Love? Good will? I don’t know if you do, but I really do. Today is Thursday. The day almost ends today’s scenario. It’s winter time in the middle of the night. I was wondering about what love might be in people opinion, how about you? Sometimes I have seen the sincerity between people eyes in between strangers and friends in relationship, how would you determine love? I will tell story about my experience of love and sincerity.…
I Love You
When I came back for a holiday to Jakarta, we had dinner several times, until a week before I went back to London. I felt that I wanted to spend time with her as a couple, not a friend anymore. Because my time is limited, only a week before going back to England. I love her because I can see my life in the future with her. I love her because of how she appreciates her family, her friends, her staff, her colleagues. I love her because she has passion and care for her job and spending time with me,…
Meeting Old Geek High School Friend
London, January 2009 Every time I went home from Overseas, I always send a text to Laurensia, called her. I did that because I like to share things with her. She was an indifferent world to me, and I had been friends since I was ten years old. We were friends because I knew that she had a boyfriend. But in London, I was single, and I did not care about relations, one thing that I am sure that I am pretty lonely. One time I got the reply email from Laurensia that I sent years before. We conversed by…
Welcome to England – Working at Foster and Partners
I worked under my senior partners in Foster and Partners London, and his name is Gerard Evenden. I never imagined that I was accepted to work in London. At that time, I prepared my portfolio. I sent the portfolio to several studios. Many of them got rejected. I was anxious at that moment because I spent so much time preparing the portfolio. It’s six months in total. I printed 10 Copies in the Geylang area. It’s the place when there is one printing company that can print double-sided paper in outstanding quality. So far, I was proud of the portfolio…
Di Gunadharma Awal Titik Pertama
“Pak, si *** susah diatur, anaknya keras kepala, kordinasi pekerjaan tidak jalan ditangan dia, bapak tidak tau sih bagaimana kerja bersama dia.” Celoteh satu mahasiswa tempat diri ini mengajar kepada satu dosennya, teman sejawat saya. Diri ini tersenyum sesembari menimpali celotehan anak tersebut. Seraya menarik nafas panjang, pikiran ini terbawa dan teringat celotehan yang sama mungkin 10 tahun yang lalu di saat saya masih menjadi mahasiswa, celotehan yang selalu sama, setiap tahun berulang selama 5 tahun diri ini ada di kampus gajah. Ya, pada waktu itu diri ini sangat menikmati berkerja bersama demi sebuah idealisme komunal yang kadang kala diri…
Kumpulan Manusia Absurd
18 Agustus 2000, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Dunia di ITB itu berbeda dengan dunia SMA saya yang homogen. Dunia SMA saya dimana saya dibesarkan di lingkungan gereja katolik, dan daerah Jakarta Barat. Sebagian kawan – kawan saya tinggal di daerah yang sama, dengan radius sampai 5 kilometer. Saya suka duduk – duduk di sepulang sekolah di tukang gorengan yang kurang populer. Ada dua tukang gorengan, yang satu kurang populer karena tempatnya di dekat SMP yang lebih populer lokasinya lebih strategis, dengan dengan toko minuman. Saya menghabiskan waktu setengah jam setiap pulang sekolah untuk bertegur sapa, menanyakan keseharian tukang gorengan tersebut. Sampai…
Geek | Non Mainstream High School Group
2004, Sekolah Menengah Umum Katolik Sang Timur – Jakarta Waktu saya masih belajar di sekolah menengah atas saya memiliki guru les fisika yang sama dengan Laurensia, namanya pak Harry. Saya ingat pada waktu saya suka sekali bermain tenis meja setiap dua minggu satu kali saya menghabiskan waktu untuk pulang lebih sore. Terkadang, saya terlambat mengikuti les tersebut ataupun malah saya absen mengikuti kelas tersebut. Akibatnya Laurensia harus mengikuti tes tersebut selama hampir empat jam. Ia masih terkadang mengingat hal tersebut. Meski demikian, saya tidak terlalu ambil pusing dengan les tersebut asal saya masih bisa bermain tennis meja sampai – sampai…
Long Distance Relationship | Love Birds
Loving Years | Love Birds
Every time I went home from Overseas, I always send a text to Laurensia, called her. I did that because I like to share things with her. She was an indifferent world to me, and I had been friends since I was ten years old. We were friends because I knew that she had a boyfriend. But in London, I was single, and I did not care about relations, one thing that I am sure that I am pretty lonely. One time I got the reply email from Laurensia that I sent years before.
We conversed by email, and I knew that she was single, she broke up with her boyfriend. We shared life around us, and I knew that she worked so hard. She went to the rural areas in the mountain to practice, serving the government every day. In Indonesia, to obtain a license, a young dentist needs to fulfill the service to the government. It took three years for her to do things like that. It took hours to travel, and the need to change transport several times, from cars, mini can, and motorcycles. Her life was tough, and she was consistent in fulfilling her service to the government.
We conversed by emails and texts several times, noting that when I went back to Jakarta, I wanted to ask her for dinner. I wanted to see her in person. My curiosity grew because She lived in two routines, in the morning, she did service to the government in the rural area, and in the evening, she worked in her dental clinic. She worked so hard, and I can see that I am in love with her hard work. I did my hard work as well as an architect, working overtime and living morning and evening work. I saw her hard work as reflection of my life, how we are different but her story fill my heart.
Moments | with Laurensia before Marriage
Berbuat dengan Hati dan Etika
Michael kamu, anak muda jaman sekarang, berbisnis, tanpa etika, tanpa nilai … Kalimat ini terlontar dari nada bicara diri ini yang meninggi di suatu malam jam 11 di minggu pertama di bulan agustus tahun ini. Klinik gigi laurensia sedang ada masalah. Ibaratnya… ada seorang tukang mie, ia merintis dari awal, di daerah yang kosong tanpa ada tukang mie sedikitpun. Ia mengurus ijin dengan preman setempat kemudian meracik mie khas buatannya sendiri. Resep diolahnya dari pengalaman bertahun – tahun dengan keringat dan resiko. Setelah beberapa tahun, lapak mie itu menuntut untuk diperbesar ia pun menambah orang dan menambah stok bahan dasar…
Resolusi Tahun baru 2010
Keinginan dan kenyataan, 08 January 2010, Bali Di akhir tahun ini aku berpikir mengenai apa yang sudah terjadi di tahun 2009 dan apa yang ingin diraih di 2010. Ada orang – orang yang punya mimpi , cita – cita, dan resolusi tahun baru, ada juga yang menganggap ini hal yang biasa – biasa saja, dan berjuang sehari – harinya. Namun kita semua selalu mengharapkan hidup yang lebih baik di tahun yang baru ini, tahun 2010. Apa arti 2010 ini ? Apa mimpimu ? Kehidupan Pikiran ini melayang ke rencana di bulan Maret tahun depan, sekolahku akan berakhir, gelar akan diraih.…
Kerja Keras
170909, Sydney.. 4 am ” Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard. Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919) Mata ini terasa sakit, ingin untuk menutup, lidah ini terasa kelu, mungkin aku hanya butuh memejamkan mata sejenak. Tanganku kembali menulis satu paragraf demi satu paragraf. Sekarang sudah jam 4 pagi, baru saja satu pekerjaan dari Indonesia selesai dikerjakan, di antara pekerjaan – pekerjaan yang masih menunggu dan artikel – artikel tugas kuliah yang tertumpuk di kasur. Aku bergumam, besok mungkin aku harus ke perpustakaan dan…
Why Carrying Flower for Your Loved One is so Strange ?
Finally, my waiting day is over. I can meet my lovely Laurensia. She was in tour to Europe and ended in London. She traveled to Netherland before, before joining the Europe tour. So the plan was, her coming to London and coming back to Netherlands to do her tour. I prepare flower for her, I bought the flower at the battersea road, where I usually eat vietnamese food there. The stall was very beautiful, and so is the flower. My co-workers surprised when I brought the flower to the office. I asked my senior for 1/2 day off, because I…
Loving Years | Finally I met my love
My Mayonnaise Jar 