Nuniek.com

Sunday, 14 September 2025 I don’t know if this happens to you too, but sometimes my days feel like a long grocery receipt filled with random items that don’t seem to belong together. Like today: I went to church, had communion, heard a sermon about distinguishing hurt from harm (profound, right?), then later found myself eating pork knuckle while listening to live saxophone in a food court. By evening, I was hunting down half-cooked kue cubit on ShopeeFood, and because that wasn’t enough, I threw in a 50% off Sate Padang for good measure. Somewhere in between all that, I also watched a hilariously awkward Filipino movie called   Kontrabida Academy . See what I mean? Grocery receipt. But out of all those bits, what stuck with me wasn’t the pork belly or the kue cubit (though trust me, they were memorable). It was the sermon by Pastor Sidney Mohede :   the difference between hurt and harm . I think many of us confuse the two. I know sometimes I still do.  When something hu...

Saturday, 13 September 2025 I first learned about MBTI back in 2014 during one of my postgraduate counseling classes. My lecturer told us we could bring our partners to sit in because, according to him, MBTI wasn’t just useful for clients; it worked wonders for couples too. Out of all the students, guess who was the only partner who showed up? My husband. Not only did he come, he sat right in the front row and took meticulous notes like a model student.  That day gave us a lot of   aha   moments. For instance, we finally understood why our fights often escalated into mini soap operas. It turned out I was very   Judging;  my motto being “if it can be done now, why wait?”. On contrary, my husband was peak   Perceiving , living by the philosophy “if it can be done later, why rush now?” Naturally, the collision was inevitable. MBTI helped us laugh at these differences instead of weaponizing them. It also explained why I often felt “too emotional” (hello, Feelin...

Friday, 12 September 2025 “ Aku suka nih yg kayak gini, banyak insightsnya ,” my husband said when he read my post the other day, the one titled   Living Light Without Decision Fatigue . I grinned, because honestly, I liked that piece too. It felt like my brain finally had the space to stretch and walk around barefoot. Writing something that goes beyond daily events, something with depth, with meaning, always feels nourishing for me. But here’s the thing: the everyday stories matter too. Without them, I’d forget so many details. Like how I remember exactly that my surgery was on August 15, simply because I wrote it down here. But now, when I’m trying to recall when the itchy spots on my hands and feet first appeared, my memory fails me. Why? Because I didn’t write it. That’s the price of not documenting. So maybe my new strategy is to keep writing my deeper reflections   and   sprinkle in some bullet points or short lists of daily happenings. Just little markers, like bre...

Thursday, 11 September 2025 At 01:30 am, I was shuffling my way to the toilet, when I suddenly realized something was wrong: my inner thigh had swollen into this soft, hand-sized lump. Not firm like muscle, but squishy like water under the skin. Exactly like what I saw when I first came home from the hospital. Naturally, the one I asked for help was... guess who? Doctor GPT. Because really, who wants to text their real doctor at almost 2 am in the morning? The answer popped up instantly: most likely caused by a massage that was too strong. And bingo! Just the day before at 10 a.m., I had endured the world’s most painful massage. Imagine lying there, promising yourself you’d breathe through it calmly, only to end up screaming and lifting your leg because it hurt so much. I had told the therapist to go easy on me. But apparently, “gentle” was translated into “press as if kneading bread dough.” That same day, I had actually shortened my massage package from 15 days to 7. My excuse was “to...

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 Today I finally picked up the last of my things from Vintage Vibes, while also dropping off some items my daughter entrusted me with. A bit of an errand run, but with a nice twist: I got to sneak in another “date” with my husband over a bowl of soto tangkar in The Broadway. Yes, we still call it dating, even after all these years. Don’t take that away from me; it’s one of the secrets to keeping marriage alive. Last night’s “date” was mostly us focusing on the food. Today, though, since only I was eating, we ended up talking more. Somewhere between spoonfuls, I told him something that even surprised me: ever since we stopped having a house helper and an admin, my life actually feels   lighter .  Not lighter because we’re spending less money on salaries. Lighter because I’m no longer drowning in the endless stream of small, repetitive decisions that used to flood my days. For the first time in years, I feel free from decision fatigue. Here’s the thin...

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 I’ll be honest with you. The past few days I’ve been doubting my decision to write long reflections and publish them only here on the blog. A part of me kept asking: does it even matter? Does anyone get something from it? Am I being selfish, writing just for myself instead of sharing with the 24,000 followers I still have on Instagram? Wouldn’t it be better to show up there, where the attention is, where the “numbers” live? These questions have been running circles in my head like kids after too much sugar. But then... life has a funny way of answering doubts at the exact moment you need it. Last weekend, my youngest daughter casually told me a story. “Mom, remember Vibi? My friend who’s a Sunday school teacher?” “Yeah, why?” “She said reading your blog really helped her during her recovery after her appendectomy.” I blinked. “Wait, she reads my blog?” “Yes. I didn’t even know she did.” “How did she find it?” “No idea. Maybe she follows you on Instagram.” And...

Monday, 08 September 2025 This morning, work pile stares at me with judgmental eyes, but my kitchen insists on being part of the narrative. Leftover yellow rice from my birthday was sitting there in the refrigerator, looking too precious to waste. So I threw in some   kecombrang   and tongkol . Voilà, brunch was born. The side dish: stir-fried green beans with pork slices, sautéed with white wine. Yes, wine. And yes, I shamelessly asked ChatGPT for the recipe just by sending a photo. Technology, my friends, has gone from solving equations to fixing dinner. And it turned out delicious. A little fancy, a little rustic. Exactly like how I want life to taste. By noon, I decided to spoil myself. Birthday gift, self-issued. A two-hour body treatment at home. The package was originally designed for post-partum care, but I had it tweaked for my own post-hysterectomy healing journey. The difference is, of course, nobody’s massaging my belly, no steaming herbs, no breast massage (serio...

Sunday, 07 September 2025 Today was the first day at home without my mom after my surgery. The house felt a little emptier without her presence in the kitchen, so naturally, I had to take over again. Back to my apron, knives, and pot. Though let’s be honest, “takeover” makes it sound like I’m leading a military operation, while in reality I was just heating the leftover foods she made 😂  Still, there was a strange comfort in being in charge again: tidying up, preparing meals, letting the familiar rhythm of domestic chores settle my heart. To keep myself company, I turned on one of my favorite podcasts, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson .  What I love most is hearing Michelle and her brother Craig swap stories. Half sibling banter, half life wisdom. That remind me how family roots quietly shape who we become.  And my mind wander... maybe one day, if she ever has plan to visit Jakarta again, her PA will drop me email and say, “Hey Nuniek, Michelle Obama has been s...

Saturday, 6 September 2025 Today was a long story, but the kind worth telling. My 45th birthday turned into one of the liveliest, funniest, and most heartwarming family gatherings I’ve ever had. No beach trip , no fancy dinner, no Instagrammable flowers. Just family, food, laughter, and a whole lot of games in my little corner of the world. 😍 Since dawn, my mom was already in the kitchen.  The menu looked like this: Nasi kuning (easy peasy using this ready-to-use seasoning mix !) Rendang hati kentang (also practical using t his ready-to-cook seasoning paste ) Bakwan jagung (again, using this seasoned-flour ) Telur rebus (boiled in this ridiculously efficient gadget ) Oven-baked tongkol fish (bless this appliance that made it so easy ) Tempe bacem (sweetened with palm sugar ) Ayam kecap (with the family’s favorite soy sauce ) And because we never believe in “enough food,” there were snacks: steamed edamame  and  pandan cassava  (both using this digital electric slow...