Pregnancy: The Unpredictable First Semester

Pregnancy: The Unpredictable First Semester

claradevi handriatmadja
PREGNANCY

Hallo 2019! Sesuai janji, pelan-pelan saya akan menceritakan tentang apa aja yang saya alami dan pelajari semasa hamil ini ya, sekaligus menepati request postingan di Instagram. Nggak mudah sih berusaha “sharing” soal kehamilan, mungkin karena masih kehamilan pertama, tentu lebih banyak diisi dengan perasaan was-was dan segambreng pertanyaan yang nggak habis-habis hahaha. Tapi sepertinya banyak temen-temen yang lagi hamil juga dan kadang pengen tahu pengalaman masing-masing. Jadi di post ini, saya pengen berbagi tentang pengalaman melewati trisemester pertama yang dimulai dari awal kehamilan sampai minggu ke-13 yah. Ada yang kamu alami juga, nggak? 🌻

Four Days in Luang Prabang: A First-Timer Guide (Bahasa)

Four Days in Luang Prabang: A First-Timer Guide (Bahasa)

claradevi handriatmadja
TRAVEL

"Luang Prabang" — sungguh nama yang begitu cantik, pikir saya. Sejak akhir Desember 2017 lalu Pak Gege udah sering menyebut nama kota kecil di dataran tinggi Laos itu. Kebetulan dia ada sebuah project yang sedikit banyak memerlukan survey ke beberapa tempat di Asia Tenggara, dan alasan itu membuat kami berdua punya ide untuk sekalian pergi berdua. Waktu itu kami sempet ragu mau berangkat, secara musti titipin Jonah sama Joni, trus ngosongin kerjaan dan ninggalin kantor semingguan. Nah, tapi, pas kami coba buka Google, segambreng foto dan informasi mengenai Luang Prabang nongol tuh secara komprehensif. Nggak perlu survey lama, dalam beberapa detik aja foto dan artikel tentang Luang Prabang sudah berhasil menghapus segala keraguan di hati. Yang kepikir cuma: BERANGKAT!! Nah, di post kali ini (yang cukup panjang) saya akan menceritakan detail perjalanan dan menjawab yang selama ini sering ditanyakan di Instagram ya.

A Pause, A Break —A New Beginning

A Pause, A Break —A New Beginning

claradevi handriatmadja
LIFE, PREGNANCY

Akhirnya! Setelah lima bulan menghilang dari blog ini, saya kembali dengan keberanian untuk menulis post berbahasa Indonesia… dan menyampaikan sebuah kabar gembira. I’m going to be a mother. (Percayalah, kalimat barusan itu masih terasa sungguh ajaib di telinga saya.) Kabar kehamilan saya datang di bulan Agustus, dimana saat itu saya dan Pak Gege lagi lumayan riweuh ngurusin opening TUJUAN, cafe and function space baru yang kami bangun bersama (lebih banyak dia tentunya, saya cuma bantu-bantu dikit aja). Dalam post ini, saya akan menceritakan detailnya.

What Happened in : May. A lot, and Alone.

What Happened in : May. A lot, and Alone.

claradevi handriatmadja
LIFE

May 2018. The month of re-assessing the reality. My April was crowded and full of other people, something that I enjoyed and, at the same time, feeling very conscious about. The month was started by me boarding on a group trip and ended with my birthday celebration with friends and family— indeed, a month-long fiesta. And I loved it. All the flights, the new experiences, the travel, the social life. I also love the fact that my birth date is the last day of April, which make my symbol-centric mind all excited about always having a great way to "close" the month. Birthday party! I love parties!  I love being around people! I also love, equally, the opposite of all that —I love being alone. And quite romantically, my May this year was about many things that relate to the state of aloneness. Do you want to know why?

Alright, Where Were We? (Being A Wife, Building a House, Another Puppy, New Haircut —and More!)

Alright, Where Were We? (Being A Wife, Building a House, Another Puppy, New Haircut —and More!)

claradevi handriatmadja
WEDDING, LIFE

The first month of 2018 has recently passed and by the time I write this post, the Lunar New Year is exactly just a day away. What a wonderful period to witness. Going a little backward, the year 2017 will be one of the years that I found incredibly remarkable: it is an eternal reminder of when the world around me redefined itself in a whole new shape, like getting a facelift made out of its own bone and flesh. More in a great way, though. Not in a way that I will usually be scared of (Taurean and Their Phobia of The Happening Changes In Life™), but in a surprising little perspective turn that made me feel like I started to ENJOY the changes. Here is a story about those changes.

An Opening to 2018: The Joy of Disappearing

An Opening to 2018: The Joy of Disappearing

claradevi handriatmadja
LIFE

Upon waiting for my Moka pot to finish brewing this morning, I opened my Instagram and found an interesting DM from a friend, asking: "Yoo, where have you been?? Taking a break from Instagram???" (I'm not making this seemed dramatic in purpose — she does write in multiple question marks, always.) I replied to her, telling that I don't have any purpose for not posting updates. I've been doing things around the house and meeting people a lot, I said. Then I checked on my feed, and apparently, it's been five days since I last "launched" a picture to the stream. Suddenly it stroke me right away: the slight relief sense in my heart. Why relief, I asked myself?

So I Said Yes - Now What?

So I Said Yes - Now What?

claradevi handriatmadja
WEDDING

There's a question that came up very persistently during the first few days after I got proposed. "What now?" — a mix of not-yet-over excitement and lowkey anxiety in two simple words. After I got proposed, obviously I went completely drown-in-love mode; not being functional for quite sometime and naturally soaked myself within the pure joy of my relationship. Spending time together with G have been always a favorite thing to do during my daily basis, and it seems normal to really enjoy my every second of being engaged to the man I truly love. So I guess it's acceptable to be relaxed and not wanting to think about practical matters. *dreamy dreamy chant* But here's the thing that put me on a different perspective: G asked me if it's okay to get married this year — if possible, before the end of year. So that gives us less than 8 months to prepare the whole wedding. Since both of our father are Javanese, based on the cultural custom, we have to settle our engagement publicly by having an engagement ceremony with both families before we can head into the main wedding event. That means we might only have less months to do the actual wedding preparation. So I keep asking myself, "What do I do now? What's the first thing to do? How should I start?"

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