Oh wow, I cannot believe that I didn’t have the slightest chance to write anything throughout 2022. Plis salahin Tiktok! They consume a loooot of my spare time just watching funny and educational short videos. Hahaha.
Tahun 2022 has been the best one yet so far. It will forever be embed in my mind as the year that I got married to my soulmate!! After 10 years of knowing and becoming each other’s best friend, finally we made it to the Chapter II: A Life of Us.
Tapi ya tentu saja, namanya hidup pasti banyak ups and downsnya selama satu tahun. Kalau tahun lalu judulnya adalah: The Year of Living Anywhere, kayaknya tahun ini paling pas kalau disebut: The Year of Wedding Planning. Iya, sebagai orang yang selalu bercita-cita untuk punya Wedding Organizer, aku tentu punya segudang ide dan rencana tentang mau seperti apa nikahan aku nanti. And I could gladly say: it was exactly as I wanted it to be.
So without further ado, let’s hear it, the 2022 caleidoscope brought to you by me:
1. Taking care of my dad
My dad has a long uncontrolled diabetes, so as a result, there are many complications that he’s facing now, like chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetic retinopathic, and he was also battling gangrene foot with a very large open wound. It took more than 6 months of intense treatment to heal it properly.
Ngurus orang tua yang sakit tuh, as it turns out, nggak segampang itu. Karena selain harus keluar masuk rumah sakit, konsultasi sama dokter sana sini, tapi ada juga hal-hal lain yang memperumit, misalnya kalau mereka bandel atau nggak dengerin omongan kita. Kan heran yak? Padahal kita tuh mau mereka cepetan sembuh, tapi malah merekanya suka keras kepala. Bahkan aku sempat marah besar sama papa karena kepala batu. But well, at the end of the day, I could only do my best to make him feel better.
Kalau sekarang sih untungnya udah lumayan stabil semua, kakinya juga udah sembuh, cuma memang kondisi ginjal papaku udah lumayan parah, jadi lagi hati-hati banget menjaga biar nggak sampe memburuk dan harus cuci darah.
2. Introducing my partner to my family – May 2022
Akhirnya ya, setelah perjuangan yang berat (lots of tears, lots of fights), we could get together with all of our parents to formally begin the talk of getting married. Gimana rasanya? Like seeing everything that you work for paid off at the end. I am really grateful.
3. Persiapan wedding
Well sebenernya persiapan wedding tuh udah dicicil pelan-pelan dari akhir tahun 2021 sih, tapi tahun 2022 ini bener-bener hectic banget nyiapin semuanya. Sebagai anak PR yang apa-apa harus based on plan, aku sampe bikin banyak banget dokumen, checklist, perhitungan budget, sampe timeline biar nggak kewalahan sendiri dan make sure semuanya on track. But, I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
Nothing like preparing your own wedding to get you that excited. Mungkin karena pada dasarnya emang I LOVE wedding industry dan udah pernah kerja di WO juga, jadi I enjoy every bits and piecesnya, bahkan koordinasi sama semua vendor aku atur sendiri, gak pake WO sama sekali kecuali buat bantuin hari H-nya :”) Terus karena segitu rempongnya persiapan, jadi aku harus bolak-balik antara Jakarta, Bandung (tempat nikah), Pontianak, dan Malang. HAHAHA seru banget. But the whole wedding-planning thingy made me realize: I would totally keep my dream of becoming a wedding organizer. I love doing this stuff for living, helping others make their dreams come true.
Dan dari awal aku udah bertekad: ini nikahan nggak boleh pake duit orangtua samsek, harus bener-bener dari kocek sendiri. Jadilah akhirnya aku & partner aku kerja keras lembur bagai kuda biar bisa nabung bareng ehehe.. Lumayan banget itung-itung latian nanti ngatur keuangan bersama setelah nikah.
4. Pre-wedding! – May 2022
I’ve never been such a huge fan of pre-wedding. Rasanya awkward aja ada orang mengabadikan momen-momen ketika lagi berduaan. Hahahaha. But anyways, we did it…. and we hated it! :”))
Bukan, bukan karena salah pilih vendor atau apa. Tapi karena kita berdua LAGI GENDUT BANGET. Ya astaga, aku ngeliat foto-fotonya aja langsung mules. Tapi beneran, habis pre-wedding itu aku bener-bener ngerasa gendut banget dan udah nggak sehat lagi. And that’s where I began calorie-deficit-ing. Kira-kira 3 bulanan sebelum nikah aku udah berhenti snacking dan mulai aware sama kalori dari setiap makanan. Terus jadinya sekarang nggak bisa lepas dari itu deh, udah kebiasaan aware sama kalori dan nggak over-eating.
5. Tried wall-climbing for the first time – May 2022
One of the best question ever asked: when was the last time you did something for the first time?
Suatu hari sok ide mau cobain wall-climbing di Bandung. Dan ternyataaa.. SERU ABIS!! Nggak nyangka di percobaan pertama udah bisa naik wall yang tingginya 10 meter langsung. Tapi yah lumayan, lututnya baret-baret dan alhasil waktu pre-wedding jadi ada hansaplast di lutut yang harus di-Photoshop terus (WKWKWK maafkan editor fotoku…).
6. Bachelorette Party ala-ala – June 2022
Bachelorette party ala-ala alamak sih ini judulnya. Ngumpul bareng sama ciwik-ciwik tukang ghibah di kantor (ada juga yang udah jadi alumni), dan ngomongin hal-hal random di Cork & Screw. Sejak itu terus punya ritual buat selalu ngumpul tiap beberapa bulan buat “makan fancy” ceritanya. Aku mah sungguh terkejut sih sama harga-harga makanan di kafe mevvah Jakarta. Sungguh bukan aku target marketnya :”) Aku mah biasanya beli di warung nasi deket kos yang harganya cuma Rp15 rebu, lauknya bisa buat siang malem.
7. Berkelana di Bandung (as always) – Jul 2022
Aku anaknya gampang bahagia, tinggal diturunin Jackal Holidays di Dipati Ukur aja aku mah udah seneng :’) Karena artinya bisa main-main di Bandung lagi! Seneng banget bisa tinggal beberapa minggu di Bandung, jalan-jalan sesuka hati, bisa masak sendiri, kalau weekend baca buku atau bengong di kafe — sambil tidak lupa trial make-up dan survei venue wedding tipis-tipis juga. Hihihi. Makin sering ke Bandung bukannya makin bosen malah makin betah.
8. THE WEDDING – August 2022
I’ve always wanted to have a destination wedding. Dan dulu inget banget pas baru jadi maba di Bandung, aku pernah dateng ke garden restaurant di Ciumbuleuit dan aku pernah mikir, “Ah kalau nikah di sini aja deh, dingin & tempatnya bagus kayak garden party gitu.”
And well, the universe conspired to make it happen. I finally tied the knot with the man of my dreams, surrounded by all my loved ones, in my favorite city.
Semuanya bener-bener berjalan sesuai bayangan: aku bisa pake dress yang ada kantongnya (yes, I brought my phone all night), dan bisa pake sneakers di nikahan sendiri. Bisa garden party yang kasual, ngumpulin temen-temen dan keluarga dari berbagai daerah di satu tempat, bisa di-makeup yang bikin cakep tanpa bikin pangling/gak kenal, bisa ditemenin bridesmaids dari temen-temen terdekat, bisa desain sendiri semua hal-hal kecil mulai dari tiket souvenir sampe wedding cake dan dekor yang sangat-sangat ME.
Fun fact: sebelum acaranya mulai, sepanjang sore tuh udah hujan lebat gak berhenti-berhenti. Bahkan sampe susah dapet sesi foto dan dekornya harus ditutupin plastik semua. Aku udah worry banget nih semua rencana kacau balau. But I remembered saying to myself: you know what, if the universe wants you together, the rain would stop. And what do you know, exactly 15 minutes before walking down the aisle, the rain already stopped :”’) So thank you, universe, for making my dream wedding even more perfect. It was a night to remember, indeed.
I think I would write another story of the wedding, since I couldn’t fit it all in here.
9. The cancer
It’s not really a kaleidoscope if I didn’t tell you about the bad part of the year, too, right? Waktu lagi sibuk-sibuknya ngurusin nikahan, it turned out we need to jump through another hoop. My (soon-to-be) father in law (at that time) was diagnosed with a brain cancer. Hence began the back and forth of treatment, surgery, and medication. Everything happened too fast, too soon. It’s a long story indeed, but at the end of the day, I was just really glad that he could see his oldest son getting married at last. And now I have 2 sets of very supportive, loving parents — couldn’t be more grateful for it <3
10. The Script Concert (Again) – Oct 2022
The Script tuh udah jadi musisi kesayangan banget deh, jadi super happy ketika tau akhirnya The Script akan singgah lagi ke Indonesia. Terus kan yah, aku udah siap-siap nih war ticket konser, tapi nggak kedapetan terus anjay. Awalnya udah ikhlas kan tuh. “Ah yaudahlah, emang udah gak jodoh ini mah…”
Eh malah tahu-tahunya, mereka ngumumin bakal dateng ke Bandung!! Wah gila sih. I know it’s gonna sound weird but I feel like receiving a very special surprise from the universe — a wedding gift, for my partner and I — for everything that we’ve been through to make it happen. Dulu nonton masih jaman pacaran, sekarang udah resmi (waaa!). Udah gitu beli tiketnya pun nggak perlu senggol bacok kayak di Jakarta. Bener-bener smooth deh dari awal sampe akhir.
This time it’s even more special because my best friend and her boyfriend also watched the concert. Ahhh, it felt truly magical! Nyanyi sekeras-kerasnya, nggak peduli disenggolin, diliatin orang sekitar, ah bodo amat. I was enjoying every minute of it. Untungnya kita udah booking hotel di sekitar venue konser, jadi ya literally pergi-pulang tuh jalan kaki aja menikmati dinginnya kota Lembang. And what better way to wrap up a memorable night than semangkuk Indomie kuah rasa ayam bawang? It was: perfect.
11. Impromptu date to Aquarium – Oct 2022
Udah lama banget merencanakan pengen ke Jakarta Aquarium tapi adaaa aja alasannya nggak jadi-jadi. Akhirnya ya udah, mumpung lagi nginep di apartemen deket CP, sore-sore kita pergi ke Jakarta Aquarium and had a nice little outing. Seru banget! Dan the best partnya adalah: HP aku lowbat parah waktu di akuarium, jadi bener-bener nggak bisa dipake buat foto, balesin whatsapp, dsb. I turned on the Airplane Mode and just had the time of my life.
Ini nggak tahu sih apakah sugesti doang, tapi emang rasanya kalau kita pergi ke suatu tempat dan nggak kebanyakan main hape, rasanya kita jadi lebih banyak inget sama hal-hal yang terjadi di sana. I could remember every little detail until now — or maybe it’s just because it happened more recently. I don’t know, but I’m planning to go to more places without phone interruption #2023 resolution.
12. Christmas & New Year at home sweet home – Dec 2022
I would revise my title. The year of 2022 is actually “The Year of Knowing What Matters“. Family, friends, relationships. It’s all that matters, right? And so that’s what I’m prioritizing the most this year: to spend as much time as I can with my loved ones. To make memories, to have joyous conversations, to laugh together, to cherish each other’s presence — while we all still can, because tomorrow’s not promised.
I used to dream that my partner would accompany me at my childhood home, and it actually came true. He could spend time with my family, join the annual tradition of talking until midnight, witnessing the fireworks around the neighborhood — and be ready for a whole new adventure in 2023.
