Another art I learn nowadays: Cooking!

Yes, I am enjoying cooking recently. Actually I should say that I have been enjoying cooking since I was young (note: it doesn't mean that I am that old though hehehehee), just not very keen on the cleaning part after the action heheheee.. I have learned how to cook from my late mom. She always said that a woman should not be a "weeping widow"; there is no guarantee that your partner will always able to support you or live longer than you do. Therefore, a woman should have some basic skills i.e cooking, sewing, cleaning-all those simple household responsibilities to make things easier for us and our family. Cooking not only for woman, so she said, man should also need to learn to do it. For her, no one should be dependent to anyone; do it yourself! :)

Mom was the first person who taught me which one onion, garlic, ginger, galingale is and how to differentiate one to another. I recall that I learn to cook rice manually, not with the sophisticated tool called "rice cooker". First, boil the rice to make it softer-need to ensure that I stirred it well, other wise it will stick to its place; once it's done, move this soft version to a steamer. I certainly believe that not many people nowadays knows how to do that ;) 

Aside of "rice business", I also learn on how to cook different type of dishes; those are mainly Javanese one for instance tempe mendoan, perkedel kentang, tumis kangkung, sop ayam, rawon, tumis tahu tempe, etc-all ordinary food which we used to have at home. My mom did cook, at least during the weekend (when she's not busy with her patients and works). Still fresh in my mind, she cooked a special Nasi Goreng (fried rice); when you taste it, you might say it is nasi goreng kampung (traditional fried rice). The steps to make it is a pretty complicated; but I can say it is yummy! :) What I regret now, that I do not have her secret recipe on Pedesan (what I recall as a mix of liver, sausage, chicken and paprika-taste real good!).

After my Mom passed away, my aunt (my mom' youngest sister)-called her "Ibu Ira" was mom' successor as my mentor. She taught me to cook more dishes i.e sop jagung-corn soup with crab and egg (its her specialty though), sop merah-red soup, and other homey food. I might not an expert, but at least I have left my doubt at home, anywhere I go. Worst case scenario, I just simply cook for myself :)

The objective of cooking is not only about to feed ourselves; moreover, it is about our ability to mix several things to create satisfaction. It is an art! The audience, a.k.a our tongue will never lie. That is why I personally think, one who loves tasty food, should be able to create a good one too :)

On my recent assignment in Timor-Leste, I started to cook for myself. Bought a red rice (it contains higher fiber) and try different type of dishes. I am managing my food now; thus, less fried oily food or one with coconut milk (I am still lazy on doing those cleaning.. Thank God someone will surely help me with this hehehheheee..).
So I went to the local market to buy vegetables, chicken, fish, spices.. And I am ready to rumble! :)))

Fish Ball-Chicken Soup

A simple dish I prepared couple of days ago was a fish ball-chicken soup (yeah, the Libra took control; wasn't able to choose: fish ball or chicken?? I just decided to put both! Hhahahaa). I couldn't find any carrot, so it feels a bit funny though.. 

It just like an ordinary soup; the basic spices were fried onion, garlic, salt. To make it a bit different, I add fresh tomato and pepperr. As a finishing touch, I put a small amount of Oyster Sauce. hhmm.. Yuummm...

Spicy-Sour Chicken and Tofu Soup

Today, I try to cook different type of dishes. Although, again, this food management really limit me on picking up some food I used to cook back in the days. I need to elaborate more :) Then, after a continuous consultation with the expert (a.k.a Ibu Annis-Mamanya si Cican), I decided to cook Pindang Ayam Tahu (Spicy Chicken Tofu Pindang). This dish is so easy to make. Prepare the onion, garlic, salt, chili, salam leaves, kunyit (turmeric), belimbing wuluh (small starfruit), tomato. Slice all of those and boiled it together with the chicken. Tofu will be the last item to be added on this dish. Yummmyyyy.. :*

It might sounds silly, but for me, the additional skill like cooking, really makes me proud :)) And at some point, living far away from ones who usually give me a hand i.e my sister, mamanya Cican, my aunt, has given me a wider room to improve my self, in every aspect of life :)

Now, I should (read: pretend) cleaning up my pantry; whatta pretty mess I made back there! :))) Will share other interesting things tomorrow :) Oh, ya, I should write about my field trip. It was a very exciting moment I had just a week after I arrive in Timor-Leste :)

Boanoite

My cold cozy living room with Gacil
Dili, November 5th, 2012

Before I close my laptop..

Have you ever tried to put your name on Google/Bing and click search button? I did and I found it very amusing! The result of searching was slightly different; it depends on what name I wrote: Dewindra Widiamurti or dr.Dewindra Widiamurti. 

Under the "dr" name, I found: my profile in LinkedIn, the story where I was being featured as Rising Star on the 3rd edition of Balga Magazine, a short video recorded by Mira for my end of mission with previous organization, surprisingly-an article in Reliefweb on my work in 2005, during early recovery phase in Tsunami Aceh (wow!), an article I wrote in American Red Cross website and me on Twitter and Facebook. 

 The search under "Dewindra" gave result: cover version of my song "Tell Me Why" on Youtube (a good friend of mine, Asri made it! Thanks, Sweetie), a short video on my performance with "The colleagues and Harry Toledo" in Starbucks, me and Colleagues feat Harry Toledo in January Tour (Yogyakarta), an article in Jazzuality.com on my performance in Ramadhan Jazz Festival 2012, an article in lensaindonesia.com  on my performance in city tour (Surabaya), my profile in LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Coba deh, iseng aja gitu, taruh namamu di Google ato Bing :)

Btw, I have read somewhere, that nowadays a future employer will google your name before you attend an interview (ga tau bener ato nggaknya). And if it is really happen, I am wondering, what my future employer will think ya?? Jhane ki bocah kerjane opo to? Hehhehehhheee..

Udah ah, mau bobo. Udah hampir jam 1 pagi nih di Dili..
Hoaahhmm.. nite nite..

Dili, November 4th, 2012
on the way to my room..

Experience sharing: Job Interview :)

Just out of nowhere, when I played the guitar, this idea popped out. Suddenly remember those times sitting in the interview scenes. I just wanna share my previous experiences (biasanya yang interview orang dan sekarang jadi "pesakitannya" hehehhee).

Actually, during my break-relax time, I went for mmm.. 6 interviews; 1 on skype and the rest were face to face. Some important notes were taken and lessons have also being learned. What I wanna share here less than what the expert says; but these based on my own experiences.

Important Notes

1.    Knowledge

It is not about your IQ etc, but more on your knowledge of the company or organization of interviewer. What fields they are working on, where in this world their work is being carried out, vision and mission, achievements; also read some of their reports. Sometimes, it’s just silly questions like when you are in elementary school and should remember when Diponegoro War happened (1825-1830! Still have it in my memory! :D). You should understand all things relate to the owner; you could easily find it in the website.

2.   Punctual

Time is crucial. For me, better to wait for 1 hour then late for 5 seconds. It shows your commitment and professionalism. Btw, in contrary, I also expect that the interviewer to be punctual too, though (pengalaman si, kalo ama lokal, suka telat yak hehehhee-no offense).

3.   Outfit

To be safe, just wear semi-formal clothes. Jeans is BIG NO NO for sure. Wear shirt, simple jewelry (you may wear scarf too), natural make up (these for girls only hehehee) and shoes. Nice and clean. The key is: don’t overdo.

4.   Relax

Relax its one key action that should be maintained all the time. Deg-degan pastilah ya, cuman mesti diatur. The secret is: don’t think about it too much. While waiting the interviewer calls you, just think about your favorite things or something interesting for instance your date last nite or tonite, mikirin jalan2 ke Eropa, ato keliling Indonesia, punya kucing ato anjing. Anything that will take your mind away from that scary place :)

5.    Smile

Last but not least, smile will spread the positive energy in to the room; bisa ngebuat kamu and interview lebih santai. Smile is also one of your tools to engage with the panel. Give yourself 2 seconds after they give you the question; smile and then answer it without any doubt.

Lessons Learned

1.    Don’t Ask too Many Questions

I did and I totally blew it! Hahhhaaa.. In my defense, I will say I ask just to have a clear picture on what I am gonna do. I ask questions, not questioning their standard btw; but lately I realize things I asked might made them feel uncomfortable. Even a good friend of mine said “You’re supposed to be the one who is being interviewed but in contrary feels like you interview them!” (I was told her detail of today interview).

2.   Understand the structure in the organization/company and where your exact position among other staff member.

You might be one of senior staff in your division, but it depends on how big the company/ organization is; you might find that the position is actually considered to be a medium one in the hierarchy. Although I am not a fan of it, we need to have certain understanding in this particular area; apalagi kalo biasa jadi orang nomer 2 di small organization (international one) which allowed you to share your ideas or disagreement directly to your supervisor (who remain the top person in the organization) and in the new position you applied for you will report to the head of department which is positioned in medium level in the company/organization - lokal jarang yang bisa dikritik anak buah juga, jadi mesti bisa cepet observe yang interview kita modelnya gimana; strong one ato yang serba sungkanan hehehehe (again, no offense). 

3.   Understand the culture of the organization/company

Indeed, I find it a bit difficult to determine this part. How you are possibly know about the culture of organization or company that you just knew for one minute?? From my experience, you might observe the way interviewer talk or communicate each other, their body language and appearance. Use your intuition. I failed to do it, btw. The explanation will be shared together with the last point below.

4.   Be yourself

Nah.. honestly speaking, this part is a bit contradictive in my case. I always present myself as the real Dewindra, I have nothing to hide. Sometimes, for some people, the confidence I have and the way I enjoy myself considered as “too much” for their working culture. Feedback from one interview I attended earlier this year said “Dewindra is great on program design, implementation, M&E, networking. But she is too straight forward” (!!!!) Then, the lesson I have learned from this interview: I will continue bringing my confidence (reduce it just a bit) and not enjoying myself that much-it should be well managed! :)

When it still doesn’t work then I should say: it’s your bad, not mine :p

Anyway, it just a sharing. As I mentioned earlier, I blew all those interviews; God knows what did happened. Hahhahaa..
At the end, no such thing as the best candidate; is about one suit the most for the position as well as to the organization/company working culture. As simple as that :)

Dili, November 3^rd, 2012
Sitting lazily on my cozy chair..

A First Time

Whoa.. Its been a while since the last time I wrote here. Actually there were many times I was thinking about some topics I would like to share.. But somehow, either too lazy, too busy (hell yeah!) or just simply forgot ( you know me kan?) then I have not made it happen. My bad. :p So now, I decided to start to write again (before those deadlines haunted me again :)

Here we go..

There will always be a First Time for Everything

Life is about changes.. About up and down.. Happiness and Sadness.. Successful and un-successful.. and of course, those everything in between. We all had experienced it, although some might not even bother to think about it; but I did, I do. Having the luxury of being un-employed (defensive mode on) for the past 10 months has given me time to reflect my journey, the choices I have made and all things happened in these fruitful years.; it's finally brought my mind to the year of 2012. I recognize that this year is full of “a first time” for me..

First time I was formally un-employed.. (aside of those voluntary and consultation works)..

First time I went to several interviews (usually got a job offer without applying to the position).. and kampretely, I got rejected by all of them! (Oh, bummer! They don’t know what they have missed! Your bad, not mine! :))

First time worked as a consultant..

First time lived far away from the center of town..

First time I had a singing tour in 4 cities (6 stages and 4 radios of live performances)..

First time I performed and shared the stage with some well-known jazz musicians i.e Idang Rasyidi, Tompi, Endah-Resa, Barry Likumahua.. (on Ramadhan Jazz Festival 2012).. *It was something I have never dreamed of but hell yeah, it did happened! I should say: It's God' way!!

 


 First time went for an audition and became a finalist of a weight loss program which aired in national television.. (I need to get back on the program track immediately! Ayo masak!!)..
First time I went to the gym and do exercise with those sophisticated tools..
First time I continuously  eating boiled food (no fried, no coconut milk!) for more then 1 month..
First time I push myself to sleep before 12am.. 

First time I followed what my heart said, spontaneously met someone, picked him up at the airport and watched the starry starry nite with him.. *wink

First time got an offer and took a role as an international staff, a health delegate with all the working dynamic and managing the expectations..

First time living abroad and far away from my comfort zone.. (will create one for sure! :))

First time went to a field trip up to the hills and down to the sea shore, in bumpy-shaky roads, for a total of 3 days in a row.. (we made stops-i.e to sleep and in program areas though)

..and I am still counting on some “first times” for this year..

I believe those “first times” are being linked beautifully to each other by a red-thin string. Thing is happened for reasons. No need to question why this happen to me.. God has a bigger plan for you on top of anything. Sometimes the road we take is pretty rough, up and down,, shaky, bumpy.. Sometimes the sky is dark and you are feeling alone.. Sometimes in the middle of your way someone come and give you a sweet drink or offer you to eat a wonderful food.. You could never guess what next good things happen to you..

Enjoy those times, enjoy those moments! And one day, at some point, you will look back and remember all the roads you have taken and make a reflection on each of them.. “First time” is a start of the next step in your journey..

I remember all that and I smile. I know, He always been watching over me :)

Ok, now I should check my fish ball-chicken soup; it smells good though. Yuuumm.. :))

November 1, 2012

Dili, East Timor in my small and cozy new apartment..