A Sunday Full of Stories

-


Still in the afterglow of Saturday’s “meeting myself” at the Alphasmart Training Session, Sunday morning I was back on my porcelain throne (yes, the toilet). Experimenting with Meta Business Suite to schedule some content, when my husband surprised me with a full brunch spread for the whole family. Especially  crispy chicken nuggets, golden and glorious. How wisdom may feed the soul, but food feeds the mood :D 

After filling our stomachs, we headed to church for Sunday service and Holy Communion. For me, worshipping in person hits differently compared to online. When the praise songs started, I got chills more than once, and yes, I cried. It’s like the difference between watching a live concert and watching the recording. You just can’t bottle that energy. 

After service, my husband and I joined “Cobain Date Yuk!”, a trial program for our church’s small group communities. The idea is to get us rooted in smaller circles, so we have a solid support system. We got grouped with two other couples, all parents too. For an hour and a half, we introduced ourselves, shared about our families and God’s word, and prayed for each other. With everyone’s own struggles, we found strength together. This is the kind of community I’ve been longing for. For years I’d invited my husband to join a Date group, and there was always some reason to skip. This time, no escaping, my dear.

From church, we dropped our eldest at home and drove our youngest to her classmate's sweet 17th birthday party, in the lavish 5 star hotel, Fairmont Senayan Jakarta. Kids these days… makes me wonder, where will they celebrate their weddings? :) While waiting for her, I’d booked a table at Motion Blue for some live jazz. But as soon as we got there, ouch! The cigarette smoke was unbearable. Last time we went, it wasn’t this bad. Oh, if only Indonesia had Canada-style no-smoking rules inside clubs! 

So we bailed and strolled through the connecting tunnel to Plaza Senayan. After wandering aimlessly, we ended up at the food court. And here’s the kicker: that’s the very place my husband and I first met 23 years ago. It was July 25, 2002, at a Blogbugs Gathering I organized, and he came… with his girlfriend at the time. LOL. 

Over food, I told him about my first-ever visit to this mall back in 1996, when I was still in high school. My cousin, who worked as a Sales Promotion Girl (SPG) at Sogo, brought me here. The moment I walked in, I felt so small. Everyone seemed so polished, stylish, well-dressed, and flawless. Meanwhile, I was scrawny, messy-haired, and very much not mall-chic.

But over the years, with a little glow-up and self-upgrade, I started to feel like I belonged here. In fact, Plaza Senayan became my basecamp with my MIRC and blogger friends in the early 2000s. Every week we’d hang out here, and my days of feeling out of place were long gone.

Mid-meal, my husband noticed a guy at the next table. Turned out it was our friend, Mas Goenrock, happily devouring nasi padang from Sari Ratu. We had a quick catch-up before parting ways again.

Before heading back to Fairmont to pick up our daughter, we stopped by Kinokuniya. I browsed through so many tempting books, but resisted. My “to be read” pile at home is still towering, and I’ve just subscribed to Headway. So I just took photos for later.

Once the party was over, did we go straight home? Nope. We pick up my mom, who flew back from Bangka as soon as she heard I was going to have surgery. We finally reached home around 11 PM, a little bit exhausted. No blogging last night. So here I am, Monday morning, publishing this post dateback while, well… back on my porcelain throne.

And that’s how my weekend wrapped up. Saturday was about meeting myself, Sunday was about meeting others, and both days reminded me that connection (whether inward or outward) is what makes life rich.

Love,

Nuniek



Other stories worth noting

Grit Behind Glory

-
Image
Being the co-initiator of StartupLokal Community since April 2010, I’ve had the honor of witnessing the unpredictable rhythm of startup life up close. I’ve personally seen how startup founders dream, build, soar, crash, recover, and reinvent.  It’s never linear, it’s rarely easy. But it’s always inspiring. I didn’t just watch from the sidelines; I helped connect them, and I carry these founders’ journeys like pages of a living book. If conventional businesses age like humans, startups age like cats. What takes a traditional business 30 years to mature, a startup might live through in just five. For context: a one-year-old cat is roughly equivalent to a 15-year-old human. By the time a cat turns 10, it’s considered a senior, like a human in their 60s. Similarly, startups that make it to 10 years are practically legends. Many don’t even survive past year three. So when I see a startup hit a decade milestone, I know it’s nothing short of miraculous. That’s why I was grateful to join ...
Read more

The Joy of Missing Out

-
Image
I’ve been seriously considering deleting all social media apps from my phone. Lately, I feel like I’m consuming too many “snacks” (i.e. mindless scrolling through feeds) instead of enjoying “real food” like reading in‑depth articles or engaging in deep thinking. Social media has become a buffet of bite‑sized distractions that leave me feeling hungry for something more substantial. Back in 2000, when I first embraced the internet through mIRC chat rooms and blog posts, the online world felt like a safe haven. Only a few could afford to use it, mostly educated and curious people who valued thoughtful discussion. The barrier to entry was high, and that created a community of like‑minded individuals who were genuinely interested in ideas and exchange. Today, that barrier has collapsed. Everyone uses the internet, but rarely with conscience, and while smartphones are smarter than ever, genuine curiosity seems in short supply. The viral nature of social media is both mesmerizing and terrifyi...
Read more

Daftar Pertanyaan Sebelum Membeli Properti

-
Image
Saat ini aku dan suami memiliki beberapa properti yang tersebar di Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Jatinangor, dan sebentar lagi Bali (doakan lancar!). Aset properti yang kami miliki berupa gedung kost, rumah tinggal, dan unit apartemen. Ada yang dibeli secara tunai keras, nyicil developer, nyicil KPR bank. Beberapa properti kami gunakan sendiri, baik sebagai rumah tinggal atau tempat peristirahatan. Beberapa lagi kami sewakan dan dijadikan pendapatan pasif, seperti gedung kost dan unit apartemen. Kalau mau lihat apa aja yang bisa disewa, cek2 instagramnya @mnv.house ya :) Dari puluhan kali pengalaman transaksi jual beli properti, baik yang berhasil maupun yang gagal, kami mendapatkan banyak sekali pengalaman berharga (baca: mahal! huhu). Beberapa pengalaman itu aku bahas di instagram story, bisa dibaca di highlight instagramku  Why KPR? Di postingan ini aku khusus membahas tentang daftar pertanyaan yang sebaiknya ditanyakan kepada penjual / agen sebelum membeli properti. ...
Read more

Let’s Walk and Talk

-
Image
What started as a simple invite: “let’s go for a walk near my place”, turned into a small, happy gathering. Rhein jumped on board, said it’s one of the nicest parks around, and invited Vio, Jo, Steph, and Hendra.  So there we were, walking and chatting like it was the most natural way to start a Saturday. It wasn’t about steps or fitness goals, just a chance to be present together and talk about life while moving our feet.  We began from private botanic garden, and made our way to a public city park. The air wasn’t exactly fresh, but the company made it easy to ignore that. Somewhere in the middle, we stopped by a café owned by a fellow founder. Ordered drinks, sat around, and just talked. No agenda. No fancy brunch. Just coffee and beer, conversations, and the kind of back-and-forth that fills you up more than food ever could.  Our topics jumped everywhere: startup pains, parenting stories, school choices, house repairs, health hacks. Nothing was off limits, nothing was ...
Read more

What I Learned from Timothy Tiah - Founder of Nuffnang

-
Image
Last Sunday when I entered VIP room at JWEF , I was introduced to this guy with his mini version boy on his lap, and his pretty wife with white top and red skirt. We had chit chat and he told me he’d be in Jakarta this Tuesday, and I told him that we’d have 57th #Startuplokal Monthly Meetup on Tuesday night.  To be really honest, only a very few did I know about him until he shared his amazing story on JWEF stage a few minutes later, and get inspired that I took note and now share this with you all.  Timothy Tiah founded Nuffnang with Cheo Ming Shen at 2006 when he was 22 years old, with 150k RM startup capital, partly borrowed from his father. He simply founded it because there’s nobody built it before, while the demand was actually there. The site was launched in February 2007. Sales ≠ cashflow On earlier years, although Nuffnang sales highrocketed, the cashflow was poor. At one point he only has 5k left in bank, while there were invoices need to be paid out urgently. He came to Hon...
Read more