Skiing: learning to fall (and be OK with it!)

So, finally, two days before the ski resort is closed for the Spring to come, I went skiing. It's not that I'm that enthusiastic about sports. Or that I'm crazy about snow. It's just that I face the grim fact that I might not be able to touch or smell or experience snow again after August. Since my motto is "experience everything at least once", skiing is definitely one of the activities that I want to experience while I'm in the US (those include, in the past: going to American football game; thanksgiving; watching ballets, theaters, and classical music recitals; going to farm).

I was lucky because the place where I visited to go skiing, the Mount Kato Ski Resort, in Mankato, Minnesota, was still open until Saturday. My initial plan was to go to the Seven Oaks Ski Resort, in Boone, Iowa, which is located only about 10 miles from Ames. Alas, when I decided to go, I found out that they were already closed for the season. Gina Hertz, who had been very kind to be willing to drive me and accompany me skiing, suggested to go to Mankato instead, which is located near the border of Iowa and Minnesota. Off we go, almost three hours drive, to Mankato, Minnesota.

The map: Ames, IA-Mankato, MN

Gina Hertz, my patient skiing teacher and a talented skier!

me and Gina in the car, ready to go skiing!

After we paid the fee for entrance, lift pass (the lift to get us to the top of the hill), and ski equipment rental at the gate, we went to the rental shop to get a pair of skis and boots. No poles? Yup, no poles for beginners. Poles are used for speeding your skis, and since beginners are not supposed to speed until they master the flow of the skis, then no poles for me!

The entrance tag to the ski resort. We had to hang this tag on our jacket so that the workers could see it when we're skiing and they knew that we didn't sneak into the resort without paying ;)

They assigned the right skis for me based on my weight (don't ask!) & my level of skill (probably idiot level ;)

If you think skiing is fun, think twice! First, the boots were very rigid and hard. My feet were like being put in a plaster cast (no kidding!). The boots were especially made with hooks at the bottom to make sure that the skis are securely fastened to the boots. And it's not easy to get on the skis in the slippery ice and to put them on tight. Otherwise, you may fall easily! Of course, due to the rigidness and the shape of the skis, it was very hard for me to walk to the lift station with those equipments. If you could see me, I was walking like an ugly duckling :P My thighs were so much in pain after the we're done skiing. It took me three days to recover from the soreness of my thighs. Secondly, the snow was very slippery! I needed to know how and where I should put my skis in order to avoid being slipped and falling on snow. And, the law of gravitation does exist, fellas! Everything, and that includes me and my skis, will fall to the lower part of the slopes (not to the top part of the hill, got it? *wink*) And of course, the skis were designed to make the skier able to ski on the ice (duh!) so once they hit the slope on the right angle (which is facing toward the foot or the top of the hill), they will carry you fast and furious down the slope! (I hope I made myself clear) Gina taught me that the secret of not slipping the ice and not going downhill unprepared was to position the skis *and of course the body on top of them* across the hill, not facing the top/foot of the hill. If you place your skis along the hill, you will surely fall.

The painful boots Getting on the skis is tricky! You need to know the tricks and Sir Isaac Newton :)

The other lesson was how to control and stop the skis. It was damn hard! To control the skis to turn left, the secret is to move the body weight to the right foot. To stop the skis, the skis need to be in triangular-like position, so the tip of the skis almost meet. Also, it is very important to stand with the back straight, and bend both legs. The standard position of skiing is like squatting but only half way.

Enough? Nooooo....I have to be ready to fall, not for once nor twice, but for at least a dozen times! And of course, falling sucks! In my first attempt, I fell seven times: once when I got off the lift, and six other times along the hill (which means once every two meters). Second time was better, three times only! Still, the lift was my enemy. I fell off everytime I got off. But I learned how to shift my balance from left to right to make a zigzag along the hill. Third time is a charm. No fall at all! The results of the fall? Quite obvious: the back of my ski pants was completely wet and my butt was killing me! Is that all? No! The most important aspect of falling is that I lose my dignity as an adult who was a complete idiot in learning to ski! The kids around me (yes, kids, under 16) were considered a pro and I could see what's in their mind seeing this goofy adult falling heaps of times on ice! Of course, I would fall and stumble. That was my first time. I think the reason of why I fell so many times on my first attempt is because I underestimated the skill required to ski. Once I changed my set of mind and be serious about it, I didn't fall as many as the first time.

This is the ski pants that I borrowed from Gina. Do you notice that my butt is wet from falling too often?

And, once I overcame all the obstacles, I was feeling estatic! Skiing is fun! It's like flying! Spread your wings and feel the wind on your face while you're skiing downhill...

Uh oh, wait a minute...just when I got comfortable zigzagging along the hill, changing from easy terrain to more difficult one, it got scarier... First attempt to the blue terrain (more difficult terrain) was flawless. I did it flying color. Second attempt: bad! I fell hard and stuck in the middle of the terrain. The foot of the hill was half way down, and I felt soooooo scared! Gina assured me to go down in the skis, but I preferred on foot. No question asked, but I knew Gina was thinking that I was a chicken! And I return to the bunny slopes....

Ready to hit the more difficult slope *looking optimistic, but watch your steps man! See the next picture!*

The fall! And the foot of the hill seemed so faarrrrrr faaarrrrrr awaaaayyyyy I want my mommy! :P

Three hours had passed. The weather was terribly wonderful. Not too hot so that the snow would not melt. Not too cold so that I didn't have to put my heavy jacket. After a dozen more skiing downhill, I was ready to go home.


In front of the ski slopes:
the two left ones are the green/bunny slopes (easy ones),
the right one is the blue one (more difficult one)

Wonderful, unforgettable experience. Thanks God for letting me experience this. Thanks Gina for driving me up to Minnesota and teaching me how to ski.

Enough said.

A day in Gregory's Coffee House

This is how a typical day of Neny in Gregory's Coffee House of Ames...


Going to Gregory's during the day...

Then arrive in Gregory's... 

Ready to work! 

with my laptop, my cellphone, and a mug of hot coffee 

Now, I'm set to work.. 

But, the cinnamon cappucino coffee with whipped cream and 3 packs of raw sugar is inviting...hmm, what to do?

Start working or coffee first? *tough choice* 

Oh well, let's start working, have coffee, and take pictures at the same time! 

A few hours later...going home from Gregory's

Iowa Corn Song?

*Narcistic Mode ON*


Last night, I had a very rare and pleasant opportunities to sing in front of the dignitaries of Iowa politics and business in The Second Annual Hoover-Wallace Dinner at Des Moines Marriott Downtown Hotel (coverage in Des Moines Register here and here, RadioIowa here). The Dinner was organized by The World Food Prize, Rotary Clubs of Iowa and the Greater Des Moines Partnership, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Life-Saving work of Iowa SHARES in Southeast Asia. The event was also for raising funds for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship Program for Iowa highschoolers.

The dinner was very delicious. The invitees were A-list politicians and big companies in Iowa (to name a few: former US Vice President Walter Mondale, Former Iowa Governor Robert Ray, US Senator Tom Harkin, US Senator Chuck Grassley, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack). And the price of the seat was crazy: minimum $100 per seat or $ 1,000 per table if you want to dine! Even Tom Hertz, who came as my guest that evening, said that although he may be able to pay, he will never get the invitation! It is one of the biggest fund-raising event in Iowa and it's very hard to get invited.

Now, how a girl from Indonesia, with mediocre singing quality, and virtually unknown to the prominent figures of Iowa, got invited to sing in such a huge event? Call it luck! :P The reason of why I could sing in that event is because of word of mouth. Kevin Geik, one of the organizing staff, happened to hear me singing quite a while ago in Ames Boys and Girls Scout event to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr birthday, and he suggested my name to be the performer of that evening. How I got invited to sing in that small event of the Scout? It was because Judy Dolphin, the director of YWCA Ames where I volunteered in IFF program, suggested my name. So, it was one thing leads to another.

I was only singing the Iowa Corn Song for less than 5 minutes, but the opportunity to sing in such a prestigious event and to shake hand with some famous politicians is priceless....

We're from Ioway, Ioway State of all the land Joy on every hand We're from Ioway, Ioway That's where the tall corn grows... Words by George Hamilton and Ray W. Lockard Original music by Edward Riley

Balik ndeso...pulang kampung..

Yah, sodara-sodara, tampaknya warung saya ini akan segera tutup di bulan Agustus karena saya akan selama-lamanya balik ndeso alias pulang kampung ke Indonesa (catet, bukan Indone-sya). Nggak mungkin dong saya terus-menerus ngeblog di nenydiamrik, wong sayanya nggak di Amrik. Tapi saya janji bakal ngeblog terus di sini (tunggu launchingnya di bulan Agustus ya?).

Ceritanya, kemarin saya dapat email penolakan cinta yang menyakitkan (lhah?). Iya, Na (dan teman-teman yang lain), saya dengan resmi tidak diterima untuk terus sekolah di ladang jagung Iowa ini. Setelah menjelaskan bahwa ada sekian banyak pelamar dan bahwa ini adalah pengambilan keputusan yang paling berat, bla bla bla, ketua jurusan saya ini menyampaikan bahwa dengan berat hati Anda belum bisa diterima di program PhD ini. Bah! Pakai basa-basi segala, Pak, singkat padat saja, Anda tidak diterima! Titik!

Ini gambar gedung Ross Hall tempat kuliah PhD itu, terambil dari web ini

Di kanan itu temen saya yang hebat itu

Sedih? Iya. Sakit hati? Iya. Nangis? Enggak lah. Ngapain? Lha wong saya nggak tau persis kriteria-nya para bapak dan ibu ini dalam menentukan diterima tidaknya para pelamar. Teman saya ini saja, yang menurut saya resumenya sungguh sangat bikin ciut nyali, ternyata juga mengalami nasib yang sama dengan saya. Ditolak dengan sukses! Bayangkan saja, dia yang bener-bener berkualitas nomor satu, pekerja keras, tulisannya udah diterbitkan dimana-mana, udah presentasi di tingkat internasional, ehhhh...nggak diterima. Kalo gitu pantas sajalah kalau saya yang cuma gini-gini aja ini nggak diterima.

Eh, saya sempat sih nangis dikit, pas teman Russia saya menanyakan. Tapi cuma dikit dan langsung bisa senyum-senyum jahil begitu dia menawari saya pergi makan siang bareng. Hehehe, makasih ya, Kamerad, udah dibayari makan buffet! (hahaah, maruk ya, bener2 nggak mau rugi!) Mungkin dia tahu saya sedih berat dan mencoba menenangkan galau pikir dan hati saya karena nggak diterima dengan membayari makan siang saya kemarin.

Jadi? Ya saya akan pulang kampung. Ketemu dua lelaki tercinta saya lagi. Mengajar murid-murid bandel saya lagi di sini. Makan soto ayam Esto lagi *grin*. Terus terang, mulai kemarin saya mulai melihat segala sesuatu di Ames ini dengan kacamata berbeda. Saya pasti kangen Ames dan orang-orang saya temui di sini. Mata saya sekarang membasah menatap langit Ames yang tengah mendung. Mungkin saya malah tak akan pernah bisa kembali ke sini. Tapi banyak kenangan yang akan saya simpan di hati saya.

Saya bersyukur. Atas segala pengalaman. Atas segala pertemanan. Atas segala penerimaan. Atas segala penolakan. Terima kasih, Tuhan!

Keranjingan selera

gambar (dan cara masaknya) dicomot dari situs orang Norwegia.	Pernah nggak merasa bahwa di seluruh dunia ini tidak ada soto ayam yang bisa mengalahkan soto ayam Esto? (Hehehe, sori buat yang bukan dari Salatiga. Soto ayam ini dinamai soto Esto karena letak tendanya di teras garasi/bengkel Esto.Tanyalah om ini kalau mau tau persis tempatnya dimana). Atau tidak ada gudeg yang senyamleng gudegnya Bu Tjitro yg bener-bener di Yogya dan bukannya di Jakarta? (soal benar tidaknya ini silakan tanya mas ini atau mas ini atau teman-teman ngangkring yang domisilinya di Ngayojokarto Hadiningrat. Monggo dipunkomentari lho, Mas-mas!)

Atau tidak ada bakso yang sekenyal Bakso Warung Jarot (katanya mas ini sih... kalau saya sih tetep aja suka sama Bakso Planet di Jalan Sukowati di Salatiga). Kalau saat ini, saya merasa tidak ada kopi cappucinno cinnamon plus whipped cream sesedap yang di Gregory's cafe di Ames (Sayang saya gak bawa kamera saat saya nulis ini. Kalau saya bawa pasti sudah saya jepret mug cappucinno di meja saya!). Menurut saya, kopinya Gregory's itu tidak bisa dibandingkan dengan kopi di Stomping Ground (ini di Ames juga) atau bahkan Starbuck Coffee sekalipun!

gambar diambil dari situsnya mbak ini.

Setiap orang punya selera masing-masing tentang makanan/minuman tertentu di tempat tertentu pula. Makanya ada situs internet yang dibikin untuk bagi-bagi info dan pendapat soal tempat-tempat jajan di kota-kota di Indonesia (hayo, kota kamu tersangkut enggak?). Dan yang namanya selera itu sangat subyektif sifatnya. Misalnya, yang menurut saya enak, belum tentu menurut ibu ini enak. Atau malahan, karena kita sama-sama gede di Salatiga, kita sama-sama merasa bahwa lotek monginsidi adalah lotek ternyam-nyam di seluruh jagat raya (bener nggak, Na?). Makanya walaupun memakai bumbu, bahan dan cara masak yang sama, dua resto/warung/tenda belum tentu menghasilkan efek rasa yang sama plek!

Satu lagi yang saya amati dari diri saya sendiri. Yang namanya lidah itu punya ingatan yang kuat akan rasa. Maksudnya begini, kadang-kadang pas kita pertama kali diperkenalkan dengan satu makanan/minuman tertentu di restoran/tenda/warung tertentu, rasa itu pula yang kita jadikan standar rasa untuk jenis makanan yang sama di tempat lain. Contohnya nih, saya pertama kali makan coto makassar di Timika, Papua sono, dan menurut saya cuma coto Makassar jalan Freeport yang paling mantap sedunia. Padahal berulang kali saya diberitahu oleh teman, sodara, kerabat, sahabat, mertua, ipar, bahwa coto makasar paling enak itu yang asli di Makassar alias di Pulau Sulawesi. Mana ada coto Makassar enak kok dari Pulau Papua?

gambar warung Padang di Jalan Kramat Raya Jakarta ini diambil dari sini.

Sama kasusnya dengan makanan Padang. Standar makanan Padang saya adalah yang deket Pasar Timika di Papua nun jauh di sana. Pasalnya saya pertama kali mengenal makanan Padang karena diajak temen-temen saya di Timika buat menjajal resto makanan padang di deket pasar itu. Makanya waktu makan masakan Padang di Jakarta, saya terus saya berpikir-pikir, kok rasanya ada yang nggak pas ya dengan sambel ijo di piring saya? (Adhi, Mas Tugi, Jaha, Atta dan Sava *yg domisili di Jakarta * boleh protes)

Hal lain lagi soal selera, selera itu menurut saya juga bisa diajarkan dan dibiasakan. Misalnya, Jalu anak saya, yang walaupun baru umur 4 tahun lebih dikit, tapi sudah demen dengan segala makanan yang pedes-pedes. Pasalnya, di keluarga saya seleranya masakan pedes-pedesan. Belum lengkap rasanya makan ketupat, opor ayam, dan sambal goreng di hari raya kalau belum ditambahi sambal ulekan Ibu saya yang naudzubillah pedesnya! Sementara itu Yudi suami saya, yang dulu-dulunya paling anti pedes-pedes, semenjak menikah dengan saya yang demen pedes-pedes, lama-lama jadi tahan pedes juga. Bahkan dia akan protes kalau saya menyajikan makanan tanpa ada sambal ulek bikinin saya (yang katanya anak-anak di Ames emang t.o.p b.g.t *promosi diri sendiri hehehe*). Selera ini pula yang mungkin membuat bapak ini membuat standar tertentu atas kadar kemanisan teh manis yang dibuatnya. Buat dia kurang manis, buat orang lain kemanisan!

Nah, menurut Anda bagaimana? Kalau ada tempat-tempat jajan yang enak, bagi-bagi infonya ke saya!

He's Coming!

Remember that I have this huggggeeeeeeeeee crush on this boy from Mechanicsville, Virginia and wrote 10 reasons why I like him soooooo muchhhhhhh? I even wrote in my friendster profile of persons that I want to meet and I wrote "Jason Mraz (Kapan manggung di Iowa?????? *When you have a performance in Iowa?????*)". Pam Pearson, upon entering the computer lab this Saturday morning, knowing that I'm a huge fan of him, brought me a very exciting news that Jason Mraz is coming to Des Moines on April 13!!!!! Oh my God! I can't help jumping around the computer lab since then! I will see him, I will see him, I will see him, I will see him! Definitely, before I leave the US! See you, Jasonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn..................