Three Women, One Man, and a Camera

The above title just to describe another kopdar (meeting offline) moment today at the Four Season's hotel. I had the privilege of meeting Anita and Ecky for the second time. Anita looks flawless as usual with her color-coordinated outfit match perfectly with her shoes and accessories. Ecky, the sexy gal from the blogosphere looks so fresh in orange color sundress . Toni, the photographer, armed with his camera and clear sky is having fun taking many great close up pics of Anita, we're joking that soon she'll be modelling for Gap Indonesia!

We chatted by the pool about camera, food, and current events. One of them is Anita shocking experience with an arrogant motorist who was so furious when the taxi that Anita and Stuart took, cut into the lane of the idiot's car (it is common here in Indonesia). Soon when the taxi reached at certain point, the snob motorist pulled out the gun to scare the taxi driver off. But thanked God the taxi driver chose to ignore the provocation. This story reminded me with a similar incident that created a headline just a couple of weeks ago where a certain idiot from govt. institution threatened another motorist with a gun on a busy road. Now gun possession is not a status symbol for criminals only but a number of irresponsible people misuse and abuse them too.

About an hour later Ecky showed up and soon Toni was busy with his camera again. All-natural girl Ecky is a natural in front of the camera. And Toni is a wizard behind it.

Toni si Toekang Potret

For the second time in a month I had the great pleasure of meeting Toni, a bloggy friend from Toni Wahid's Blog. The plan was Toni and I would head to the camera store (again!). Right, I was looking to buy a Canon 50mm/f1.4 lens for my EOS 450D, and at the same time would like to return the lens that he lent me. Toni knows a great deal about photography and can recommend shops where the staffs are helpful and knowledgeable, able answering both basic and advanced questions.

I've known Toni for a good while from blog-hopping several months ago. His passion for design and photography, combined with his love for the outdoors allows him a unique capacity for visual adventure storytelling. I’ve read dozens of his blog entries talking about gender equality and human development, traveling tips, his passion for photography and sharing his experiences. Aside from photography his other passions include coffee, wine and cooking.

Toni works at the American clothing chains. He is currently manages and develops the company’s community affairs and corporate social responsibility strategy (CSR). He has traveled extensively throughout Asia and North America, with a special interest in Women and Children issues and to help communities deal with the crisis. I once read, success can change people, so can money. With all of the achievement he has had today, he would have every reason to think highly of himself, but he remains humble and grounded. He is the same in person as he is on his blog. The best example of humility,professionalism and integrity. Being success did not change anything in his personality and life style, and this is what makes him so special.

Right from the start we found each other talked easily like an old friends. I don’t know if it is the fact that we’re both talkers, or just that we had a lot to say, but the conversation was constant and really fun. We discussed a lot about women issues, Indonesian literatures, street foods and old buildings in Bandung, I just kept hoping that I wouldn’t make a complete fool of myself, or spill the coffee on my shirt, LOL! I also learned a lot of tips and tricks about photography, although am a bit on the slow side when it comes to practice it. But thanks to Toni, my camera really feels like a part of me now. Everything is becoming second nature and I couldn't be happier! It’s so nice to be acquainted with someone who is so humble and down to earth but it’s even better having him as a friend. If you want to talk and learn about photography, Toni is where you go. Thanks for your friendship, Toni.

**The building sketch was drawn by Toni's daughter as you can see on Toni's flickr.

Meeting a blogger friend (Part 2)

Another fellow blogger who I had the pleasure of meeting is Therry from Therrysays. We decided to meet at the mall near my area. She doesn’t live in Jakarta, but she was kind enough to drive and beat the traffic to visit me. Eventually she made it to the Mall and there I found a cheerful young lady who always has a smile on her face! Once you meet Therry, she will catch your heart! I always thought that she was a lot taller than me, but she's just slightly taller than my niece, L. Therry is a sweet and shy girl, and will open up once she feels comfortable. I must admit that I was quite apprehensive about meeting this witty, a bit explosive (sometimes), very outspoken girl in the blogosphere who can move from laugh-out-loud humor to frank emotion and astute observation without skipping a beat. She wasn’t always politically correct, just being honest. But in flesh, Therry is a sweet lively young woman who is very easy to get along with.

We had a nice lunch, with lots of good conversation, and plenty of laughter. The most interesting part is, of course, our pets!! It was so much more fun to talk and laugh in person. I think blogging is a cool thing. You have done all the introductions, post entries etc. online, so face to face you can get into more interesting conversations straight away, rather than small talk. Isn't it amazing how so many of us feel like friends even though we've never met in person? We moved to the coffee shop, where the talking, the laughter, the understanding, continued and strolled the mall a bit for window shopping. We each got so carried away with our ramblings, we kind of forgot the time! The conversation eventually took off after I mentioned to Therry about the printed handbags I've been seen in one of the shop at the second floor. You might ask “what’s all the fuss about”... but to Therry and me, these bags we're eyeing is really cute. Therry chose the Dachsund's print design and I chose the one with kitty prints. We are like two grown women who can't get enough of hello Kitty or Snoopy and looked for an excuse for clinging to our juvenile...LOL! My kitty bag is large and roomy enough to easily hold everything, from camera, cellphone, wallet, tissues paper etc. Our last stop before we headed home was to the pet shop where Therry bought some food supply for her four legged baby, Micah. And I got a new collar for my cat, Suneo.

Thank you Therry, it was like we have known each other for ages. Thanks for your time , it was great meeting you and hope we can meet again in our next rendez-vous!

Meeting a blogger friend (Part 1)

Two weekends ago, for the first time I got to meet a buddy blogger , Sima, from Cancer Sucks. Through reading and commenting each other's blogs over the last few months, Sima invited me to have a meet up at her house. Sima is a breast cancer survivor who lives one day at a time and also a regular contributor in one of English-language newspaper in Indonesia. Survivor is indeed a weird word when applied to cancer, because there's no guarantee you can outlive the disease. You merely survive another day. Sima's blog tells about her cancer medical treatment in a straight-forward, yet easy to understand language that I found endearing. Even though I don't have a cancer, through her writing I learned that you can keep enjoying life in the midst of difficult challenges.

Sima and I didn't spend too much time on our first rendez-vous. I was caught by the heavy traffic and by the time I reached her place it was already 3pm. We only spent about two hours talking (in between a delicious lunch) about our families, our lives and our pets (Sima has a cute kitty cat named Lulu). I was comfortable talking to her, this blogging thing is really quite special. We all make choices of what to reveal about ourselves, our problems through our writing. Sima is a one brave, inspiring little woman, a joyful, sweet woman with a great sense of humour. She is still battling her cancer right now and she is a two year Survivor. Her attitude toward life is exuberant and contagious! Thank you Sima, for being such a great influence.