It's December 30th, only two days left before year 2012. This year has been so great for me, many things happened, I couldn't just forget them since every little thing happened this year has made me become someone (I wish) better than before.

So, let's review this year, start from January 2011.

Not many special things happened in January, except that my class became the Ceremony Flag officers on the last day of January 2011. I was the protocol and was really glad that my voice wasn't heard like a baby--as my friends said.

February 2011, my Saman dance club had to perform for a school event where no one but school officials coming. I hated that time because it was a big struggle for me to practice for the performance (I almost had to skip this because my left foot got injured two weeks before the day.) but no one seemed that excited to watch us. It hurt so bad, honestly. But whatever, because a week later, I was so proud of my juniors that they showed a very good performance of Saman dance for another school event. That was their very first performance, btw.

Go on March 2011, Earth Hour 2011 was held on March 26th when I spent my dark night talking on the phone with my friends Lois. This blog was also closed for a day as I changed the layout onto a special one, thanks Kak Uchie for making the layout!

April 2011! I was finally 17 years old this month! Ahaha. Too many things happened here. Started from how I tried my best to keep on working for an event held by Rohis Metana. How I crashed a surprise plan for my birthday (I'm so sorry, but you guys don't have to be that mad at me, tho.), and how I finally had a gut to ask for permission to go to ARTTM's concert and, voila, I got it! 

Also I won't forget my observation trip to the embassy of The Kingdom of Belgium. That was the best one-day observation trip ever because, well, it's worth it to get the best thing after doing so much struggle. So much stress we got while preparing for this but finally, the score we got was excellent.

I could say that May 2011 was the most memorable month of 2011. My bestie, Amelia, gave a late birthday present for me and it's a The Downtown Fiction meet and greet! She got it from Rexona, the main sponsor for the concert and because she gave her ticket for me, I also got a chance to stay in a hotel for three days and meet some new friends who were also the winner of Rexona's contest. 

The meet and greet was UBER GREAT! TDF in persons are really nice and funny. I was so glad that they accepted my presents (and even their bassist used a necklace from me for several months). I actually also gave some presents to A Rocket To The Moon. If you watched their video update about Indonesia, there you'd find my batik fedora, the one that Andrew wore on the bus. Well, the concert itself was a big WOW for me. The bands that were playing were so great, I love them all, and the crowd were really crazy. I could just be dead now if I didn't get out from the crowd, the girls were too crazy if it happened to cool and gorgeous band dudes.

June 2011. Final exams, then Tafakur Alam, then holiday! I went to Bandung for a vacation with my close friends. We visited ITB and some more places. Those four days were a great memory for us that made us getting closer until now. 

July 2011 started with a new relationship with someone I met at TDF concert last May. A week later, my senior year begun. I almost got Mayday Parade as my last concert (Jakcloth, July 2011) but too bad my dad came to pick me right when the band almost played. Sad Vany was sad.

August 2011, my first time not joining flag ceremony on August 17th. Haha. August was also Ramadhan month, all Moslems had to fasting. Thanked Allah, my Ramadhan was full of blessings :)

September 2011 was really not my month! Panic! At The Disco came here for the second time but again, I couldn't go to their concert because I already made a commitment with my Dad about no concerts until graduation. My life sucks, I know. 

October 2011 was sad. The "demissioner" of OSIS Dhira Tasthiva Balavat Kama happened in this month. Marco Simoncelli was dead after a serious accident during Malaysian Grand Prix. Too much tears fell this month.

November 2011. I broke up. Okay that's not a good thing to share. Eid Al-Adha was held this month and I got my tummy fulled by so many foods--even though there's no difference on my weight. Okay.

December 2011. Well, so many events were held this month. BKUI, then final exams. I need to tell ya that even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I still got the best Christmas present ever this year! My Pioneer album arrived right on Christmas and I got a signed letter from The Maine which is lovely. 

That's all. Phew. This post need revision, I know. I'll do it next year, okay?

Happy new year everyone! See you again later!

Hi!

I just finished reading a novel last night. A very-berry good novel I'm sure I should recommend it to all of you (especially those Moslems out there). So now, I'm going to make a review in Bahasa Indonesia (since this book is in Bahasa Indonesia and--uhm--I am not sure I can write a good review in English eheh). Hope you enjoy this post! :)

Judul Buku: Hafalan Shalat Delisa

Pengarang: Tere Liye

Jumlah Halaman: vi+270 Halaman

Penerbit: Republika Penerbit

Tahun Terbit: Mei 2011 (Cetakan ke-XIV)

Diceritakan seorang gadis kecil berumur enam tahun yang aktif, polos, berhati tulus dan penuh keingintahuan. Namanya Delisa, bungsu dari pasangan Ummi Salamah dan Abi Usman. Anak itu sedang berusaha menghafalkan bacaan-bacaan shalat--selalu diulanginya setiap saat walaupun sulit, lupa lagi, lupa lagi. Namun ketiga kakaknya, Cut Fatimah, Cut Zahra dan Cut Aisyah ikut membantu dan menyemangati sang adik. 

Delisa dan keluarganya tinggal di Lhok Nga, Aceh. Ayahnya bekerja di kapal tanker, pulang setiap tiga bulan. Ibunya bekerja di rumah, menjahit atau menyulam pesanan tetangga. Setiap hari, para perempuan itu bangun pagi dan shalat subuh berjamaah. Aisyah membaca bacaan shalat dikeraskan agar Delisa dapat mengikuti. Lalu, mereka tadarus.

Delisa diimingi berbagai hadiah demi kesuksesannya menghafal bacaan shalat. Ia sudah dibelikan kalung oleh ibunya, dengan bandul D--D untuk Delisa. Ayahnya menjanjikan ia sepeda baru saat mereka bicara di telepon. Ustadnya, Ustad Rahman, memang sering memberi hadiah setiap Delisa melakukan sesuatu. Semua hadiah itu akan Delisa dapatkan bila ia lulus hafalan bacaan shalat dengan Ibu Guru Nur.

Tanggal 26 Desember 2004 memang bertepatan dengan kejadian Tsunami yang menghancurkan bagian utara Sumatera. Tapi hari itu juga adalah hari Delisa akan membuktikan bahwa ia sudah hafal semua bacaan shalat. Hari Minggu itu, Delisa pergi dengan Ummi ke sekolah seraya Aisyah dan Zahra menempelkan karton-karton biru penuh tulisan untuk Delisa--mungkin untuk penyemangat. Sementara, di benak Delisa terkadang muncul hadiah-hadiah yang ia akan dapatkan nantinya. Ia nervous, namun ia berusaha untuk tidak lupa dan mempresentasikan hasil hafalannya dengan baik.

Baru saja membaca doa iftitah, tiba-tiba bumi berguncang. Gempa besar terjadi. Namun Delisa tetap melanjutkan bacaannya. Ia ingin khusuk, ingin satu pikiran saat shalat, tidak memedulikan hal yang lain di luar shalat, seperti kata Ustad. Ummi sudah berteriak saat gempa, namun Delisa menghiraukannya. Ibu Guru Nur pun tak berpindah tempat melihat Delisa yang tetap diam melanjutkan bacaannya. 

Saat sampai membaca Surah Al-Fatihah, tsunami itu datang. Kencang sekali. Menghantam semua yang ada di depannya. Namun Delisa tidak bergeming. Bahkan saat ia hampir tenggelam, yang ada di pikirannya hanyalah bacaan shalat yang belum selesai. Namun Delisa keburu pingsan karena menelan banyak air. Kaki dan tangannya patah dan luka terhantam balok dan apapun itu. Sebelum Ibu Guru Nur pergi, beliau mengikatkan kerudungnya pada Delisa dan sebatang papan dengan harapan Delisa selamat dan tetap dapat melanjutkan bacaan shalatnya.

Delisa terhempas ke semak-semak sejauh enam kilometer dari sekolahnya. Delisa pingsan selama enam hari. Tangannya patah, kakinya luka parah tak bisa diselamatkan. Kerudung dan pakaiannya robek tak berbentuk. Badannya penuh luka dan lebam. Di dekat Delisa, ada mayat Tiur, teman main sepedanya, yang tergeletak begitu saja dengan mata terbuka. Delisa sempat bolak-balik pingsan-siuman beberapa kali. Entah darimana, ada lima apel berjejer di dekatnya, bisa dimakan. Ia minum air hujan yang turun tiap malam. Namun tetap saja, tubuh Delisa yang kecil tidak kuat dengan kondisi panas terik dan hujan yang datang bergantian. Delisa tidak tahu apa-apa lagi hingga akhirnya ia diselamatkan oleh seorang tentara asing. Hingga ia bertemu dengan teman-teman baru. Hingga ia dapat bertemu lagi dengan Abinya, melanjutkan hidup berdua. Hingga ia terus berusaha menikmati hidup dengan ceria walaupun sekarang tubuhnya cacat dan tidak punya siapa-siapa kecuali Abi dan teman-teman barunya. Lalu bagaimana hafalan shalatnya?

Novel karya Tere Liye (yang ternyata laki-laki, oke, gue kira dia cewek, oke, maap om) ini benar-benar menguras air mata. Gue baru baca pas istirahat di SQ sekitar 65 halaman. Lalu ngelanjutin di rumah dari jam setengah 10, hingga buku itu tamat pada pukul 11.30 malam, jujur aja gue gabisa berenti nangis sepanjang membaca 200 halaman, menghabiskan sisa persediaan tissue di kamar. Buku ini adalah sebuah renungan bagi siapa pun yang membacanya. Di kemas dengan bahasa sehari-hari yang ringan sehingga mudah dimengerti oleh siapa saja, bahwa hidup Delisa tidak mudah. Ia menghadapi berbagai tantangan yang sulit. Namun tetap saja ia menjalani hidup seperti tidak ada beban. Bila ada kesalahan, ia cepat memperbaiki dan belajar untuk tidak mengulanginya lagi.

Sebetulnya, yang lebih bikin nangis itu catatan kaki yang di buat pengarang tentang sikap atau kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh Delisa. Misalnya nih, pas Delisa bangun dari pingsan lalu melihat mayat temannya tergeletak begitu saja di depannya. Kalau kita bacanya sungguh-sungguh pasti langsung serem kan kalo dibayangin? Udah serem, trus ada catatan kakinya: "Delisa baru 6 tahun tapi sudah harus melihat yang seperti itu, bagaimana dengan orang-orang berdosa di luar sana yang masih bisa berhura-hura saat banyak saudaranya tertimpa bencana memilukan" (yah kurang lebih seperti itu). Allahuakbar, Vany berasa lagi muhasabah kayak pas tafakur alam! Langsung deh banjir air mata lagi di situ. Oke, mari sudahi cerita air matanya.

Udah kan tuh yang bagus-bagusnya. Bisa untuk renungan, ceritanya mudah di cerna, bahasanya gampang dimengerti, dan oh, Delisa ini benar-benar tipikal anak baru masuk SD. Pas banget untuk anak-anak yang biar rajin shalat, kasih aja buku ini, biar jadi pelajaran juga mengenai keimanan, ketaatan, kasih sayang, kedisiplinan, ketulusan dan sikap toleransi beragama.^^

Tapi jujur, personally, gue ngga terlalu suka cerita yang banyak kalimat di dalam kurungnya. Nah, di novel ini banyak kalimat yang ada di dalam kurung. Kenapa ngga dijelasin aja di kalimat selanjutnya? Biar lebih rapi gitu loh. Hal ini jadi satu minus buat gue. Namun, minusnya ini tertutup banget sama kebagusan novel yang udah disebutin di atas.

Sekilas tentang Tere Liye (yang aslinya ternyata cowok), beliau ini adalah penulis novel-novel yang bersifat religius. Gue baru baca ini doang sih, ada satu lagi buku beliau di perpustakaan (ketauan bacanya modal minjem perpus) tapi lagi dipinjam orang. Tadi buka multiply-nya juga, banyak foto-foto yang bagus. Mungkin om Tere Liye ini juga seorang fotografer ya. Yang pasti, novelnya yang ini amat sangat wajar kalau sampai dicetak berkali-kali dan best seller. 

Tertarik? Coba cari di perpustakaan sekolah kamu, atau beli sendiri biar bisa disimpen untuk saat-saat yang dibutuhkan ;)

Ps. Delisa bisa bilang ke Ummi dan Abinya kalo dia cinta mereka karena Allah. Walaupun cuma demi coklat, tapi ucapannya tulus sampai orang tuanya nangis. Ada yang bisa begitu juga? Gue.. jujur aja.. ngga.. *malu* :"""
P.P.s. Thank you so much my dear Najla for telling me about this book! Love ya!

Source: google.com

This is the best game on FOE, seriously. On that game, you're playing as Jordan of The Ready Set. You have to save all GK tour's line up who are kidnapped by sexy vampire (edward cullen is really the most disgusting one), kiddos from hogwarts and snooki of Jersey Shore. And if you live in the US, you can get a chance to win some prizes they have for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranks.I really wish I lived in The States now.

Anyway, another cool thing today was a live streaming chat I did with JC Charles of Aim For The Weekend (you should follow them on twitter, like their facebook page and add their myspace!) 

I showed him my AFTW bracelet and he said it's awesome. Kak Ayutta should've shipped some of the bracelets to VA so we can wear the same bracelet :D

Gotta get my dinner, ta-dah!