The Diary of a CEO's Wife

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Agak Laen! and Garage Sale

I didn’t expect this Saturday to turn into a full-day adventure with my family. It began innocently enough with lunch at Subway , simply because we had a voucher for four that would expire the next day. Nothing dramatic, nothing planned. Just one of those small domestic moments where you say, let’s just use it. And off we went. After eating, we watch Agak Laen 2: Menyala Pantiku! A nd oh my goodness, my stomach still hurts from laughing. I honestly think it’s funnier than the first one, which already drew nine million people to the cinemas. This sequel feels wilder, sharper, and even more chaotic in the best way. Even my eldest who rarely agrees to go to the cinema, laughing the loudest in the entire theater. After the movie, we were ready to head home. But life had other ideas. As we passed a bus stop, a little electric shuttle rolled by. My eldest suddenly shouted, “ I’ve been wanting to ride that bus for so long! ” Without thinking, I said, “Let’s go then!” And ju...

Full Tummy Full Heart

I spent the late afternoon soaking in a quiet corner at The Breeze, enjoying a little slice of me-time. It felt rare and luxurious, sitting there with Okki Sutanto’s Yang Tak Terkatakan Tentang Menuju Dewasa in my hands. The breeze carried a soft hum of the evening crowd, but somehow my world stayed still with every page I turned. A moment to breathe, to exist, to be gently reminded of the things we learn on our way to becoming an adult, again and again. I headed home when Maghrib approached, just as my husband wrapped up his four-hour office webinar. We exchanged that familiar tired-but-happy smile, the kind that says “long day, ya?” without needing words. I lay down for a quick thirty-minute rest, letting my body soften into the bed before the next thing on the schedule called me back. And then we went downstairs for our biweekly DATE komsel gathering in the apartment’s function room. I thought it would be the usual small circle, but as soon as the door opened, I froze f...

A Circle That Comes Back to Life

I didn’t expect this Thursday to feel like a soft circle closing, but that’s exactly what happened when I followed my husband to Jakarta and got dropped off at JW Marriott Kuningan . I wasn’t there for lunch or a meeting of my own. I was there to see two people who have quietly shaped so much of the way I understand myself and others: my MBTI mentor, Mr. Robbins , and his colleague, Cally , from The Myers-Briggs Company Singapore . It was my first time meeting Cally in person. Until today, she only existed as an email signature and a WhatsApp profile picture, the friendly voice who processed all my MBTI indicator orders . But with Mr. Robbins, it felt like an old movie warming up again. He trained me back in Bali in August 2018. Seven years ago. A different version of me. A different chapter of my life. He greeted me with exactly the kind of scolding you’d expect from someone who knows you well enough to be annoyed. Where have you been. Why don’t you ever contact me. And why, in the...

A Day That Rose Higher Than the City

This Thursday was one of those days that felt like three days folded into one. Full, warm, surprising, exhausting, and in the most unexpected way, deeply meaningful. The morning started with something mundane yet necessary. My husband and I squeezed in a quick visit to CIMB Niaga , the kind of errand you hope goes smoothly. And it did. Everything was taken care of without any drama. Let’s just say that after today, I probably won’t need to queue anymore if I ever go back there. A small victory, but a satisfying one. Time was tight, so we drove straight to Agora Mall for lunch at Su Wah . We didn’t expect much, but the food turned out to be genuinely good. A comforting meal for two at a reasonable price, the kind of lunch that makes you pause and think, Oh, this is nice. Simple joys. Right as we were about to enter the restaurant, we ran into Mba Lurus Ledyati , Director of Arkbase , who had invited us to the Business Network International event that day. After we finished our lunch, ...

What Our Lives Might Look Like Without Each Other

Today I spent the whole day at Bintaro Xchange , and somehow it turned into one of those quiet, unexpected days that end up teaching you something about yourself… and about love. It started with lunch at The People’s Cafe . Just me and my husband, sitting side by side with warm food and even warmer conversations. We found ourselves talking about a question that sounds dramatic but wasn’t meant to be: what would my life look like without you, and what would your life look like without me? It wasn’t a " bucin " moment. It was simply the topic of our #pacaranmingguini, slipped casually between sips of iced tea before he headed off to his mini work meeting. And somehow, without either of us feeling awkward or jealous, the conversation flowed into imagining the alternate versions of our lives. What if he had married his ex. What if I had married mine. What kind of people would we have become. There was no tension. Just curiosity. Just honesty. From that, we drifted into a quieter,...

The Quiet Joys of an Ordinary Monday

Monday felt familiar in the way Mondays always do. My husband disappeared into his marathon meetings, and I faced my own mountain of work that had quietly grown over the weekend. Neither of us had the energy to cook. And with our eldest away in Lampung , the house felt both lighter and a little too quiet. So we surrendered to the simplest decision of the day: let’s eat out. For lunch we tried Omah Mbah Wie , a little place that serves homestyle dishes that taste like they were cooked by someone’s loving grandmother. The moment we stepped inside, it felt like being transported to a village far from the polished streets of BSD . The wooden chairs, the gentle clatter, the warm aroma of spices... all of it wrapped around us like a memory. The food was comforting in a way only home cooking can be. We ate until we were full, sipped our drinks slowly, and somehow the bill was only seventy-two thousand rupiah. I even had leftovers to take home. It made me smile, that simple abundance. By dinne...

Refreshing Sunday

I woke up later than I planned, the kind of late that only happens after a night of absolute exhaustion. Eight in the morning felt like a small luxury in my Jakarta home. I dragged myself out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom, still half-dreaming, still feeling the weight of yesterday clinging to my shoulders. By nine, I slipped next door to pick up the bread I had ordered. I’m not even a bread person, really, but the auntie next door makes the kind that somehow tastes like comfort. Of course, I couldn’t just grab the bread and sprint home. Neighborly life doesn’t work like that. There were stories to exchange, warm laughter to share, the kind of long, winding conversations that make you forget the minutes passing. It was already ten when I finally walked home, arms full of bread, heart a little lighter. Breakfast was waiting. My husband had bought chicken porridge with cheese, and it tasted so good. A little before noon, our guests arrived straight from the airport. They had ...

Saturday That Refused to Slow Down

Today I woke up already feeling like I was running, and by the time the clock struck six, my husband and I were on the road to the airport. Our eldest was flying to Lampung for a campus field trip for 4 days that morning. From the airport, we drove straight to the dorm to pick up our youngest. Just like that, the three of us were complete again, even if only until the next errand called us away. We went home for a short breather, that kind of pause where your body feels still but your mind is already planning the next thing. By eleven, we were back on the move, heading to one of our properties in South Jakarta . The main agenda of the day was simple on paper. Key handover from an outgoing tenant, then supervising Cleansheet rangers to prepare the house for the next person moving in tomorrow. In reality, of course, nothing ever stays simple. We arrived at noon and immediately ordered our favorite sate to be delivered, because cleaning days deserve good food. The rain arrived rig...

A Quiet Friday Full of Small Stories

This Friday felt ordinary on the surface yet carried a string of small stories that lingered long after the day ended. I started the afternoon with my husband, slipping away for a simple lunch at Subway. We paid with a BCA credit card and caught the 50 percent promo for all items except the sets. Two sandwiches for around eighty thousand felt like a tiny victory, the kind that makes you smile because life still surprises you with little pockets of savings. After lunch we moved to Starbucks, where I had promised to meet Mbak Natalia Lukita. She had first reached out through my Instagram DMs, curious about my experience with hysterectomy because she might need the same procedure. I could sense the mix of fear and hope in her questions. I told her what I always tell women who ask. I feel relieved, truly relieved. The risk of uterine cancer, gone completely. The pre-menopause symptoms that once hovered around my days, gone too. And of course, the freedom from monthly periods. That one stil...

Full Minds and Tummy on Thursday

Today was one of those days that felt like life pressed fast forward. Three meetings in a row already made my head spin, yet my husband somehow survived five without collapsing. I still wonder how he does it. Maybe love for the work truly fuels a different kind of stamina. The day began softly, with morning coffee at Bartisserie Ashta with Troy. Between sips of warm coffee and the quiet buzz of the mall waking up, we talked about ideas and possibilities. It felt like peeking through a small window into new collaborations waiting to happen. I’m grateful to Ollz for making that connection, because serendipity often arrives through people who believe in us. Lunch came quickly after. We rushed to Senggol Canteen at the MSIG Building Sudirman . My husband’s angel investor joined, and even in the brief hour we had, conversations moved fast. He asked my thoughts on a few things, and I appreciated the way he values my perspective. Sometimes the quickest lunches carry the weight of bigger dec...

A Day Inside the Buzz of Cekat Innov 2025

I didn’t expect to spend an entire day at Smesco Hall, from ten in the morning to seven in the evening, but that’s exactly what happened. My husband and I walked in expecting a typical tech event. Instead, we found ourselves swept into a crowd so huge and so alive that it felt more like a reunion festival than a conference. Everywhere I turned, there were familiar faces. Some I knew from the early days of StartupLokal in 2010, others were people I’d only recently met through newer circles. It was surreal, really, to feel time folding into itself like that. More than a decade of community, innovation, friendships and projects, all met in one buzzing venue. What also impressed me was how the hall stayed full the entire day. Morning, afternoon, evening, still full. At first I thought it was just the early hype, but no. By the end of the event it was still packed and later I understood why. The closing was a mini-concert by Tulus, and honestly, who wouldn’t stay for that? As for the talks,...

Little Moments That Make a Rainy Day Warm

Today was one of those super gloomy, dark, rainy days where the sky feels like it’s about to fall on you. But honestly, I kinda loved it. I spent the whole day at home with my husband. Cozy, calm, nothing fancy… and somehow it felt romantic. We even accidentally fell asleep, and when I woke up, boom: five missed calls from my eldest. She wanted a ride home. By the time we called her back, she was already home on her own, casually hanging out at Lawson for late lunch. So I asked her to bring me Chiki Balls . She came back with the huge one. And then my husband opened it and fed me using chopsticks. It was such a silly kind of romantic, but that’s exactly the kind I love. At 7pm, after dinner, I delivered an MBTI workshop for the Wondermoms community by Nobu . The theme was building better connections with MBTI , and it was honestly so fun. The participants were excited, throwing questions, participating, sharing stories. I loved the energy. There were so many questions we ...

Just another ordinary Monday

Monday started with hubby busy for serial meetings and I catch up some paperworks. At 11am I had a final check point for my MBTI webinar with Wondermoms powered by Nobu . Everything’s ready. And then me and my husband dropped our eldest off at campus. On the way home we stopped by a warteg to buy stock for the week. And guess what, with only 52k we brought home nine full packets of lauk . Nine. I don’t know why that made me so disproportionately happy, but it did. Maybe because it feels like winning at adulthood in the simplest way possible. Back home, the cleansheet ranger came for the apartment. Fresh sheets, clean air, tidy corners, empty laundry. I swear that alone can reset my mood by 80 percent. The afternoon was my favorite slice of the day. I curled up on the sofa by the window with Okki’s new book . The breeze was soft, the kind that brushes your face like it knows you need it. I read a few chapters, then slowly drifted off into a heavenly, unplanned nap. Honestl...

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Book

This morning started with my husband driving our eldest to Comifuro again. By lunchtime the three of us, minus the eldest, went to Warung Guling Pak Made . It's ur very first visit. I didn’t expect much, but the food was genuinely good for me. Non-halal, of course, but totally worth it. The place is small but totally decent, and the best part was how friendly the staff were. Like, friendlier than BCA security guards, if you can imagine that. I mean it in the best way. We were meeting Okki Sutanto there with his wife and child. He came all the way just to hand-deliver his newest book: Yang Tak Terkatakan tentang Menuju Dewasa . Super thoughtful. And honestly we feel so privileged, getting to read it before it’s even officially released. Congrats once again, Okki! After lunch we slipped over to Cotti Coffee for a bit, then dropped the youngest back at her dorm. On the way home we of course made our signature stop: the gorengan stall in front of the Amaris Hotel. Some rituals just...