Category: Life

  • Being a Wife

    Afief & Dara - Blog Miss DaraA few days ago, my husband had a high fever. His temperature was very high that even his palms were hot. I was super worried and I did a bad mistake: googling his symptoms. Google gave two illnesses that matched the symptoms: dengue fever and typhus. Those two illnesses can be very dangerous and the patient may have to be hospitalised. Both can end up in death too. I was shocked and panicked.

    I texted my mother in the middle of the night out of frustration. The next morning, she and Dad came to our place and drove us to the nearest clinic. Turned out, my husband only had a cold and common fever. I was thankful but also embarrassed for being panicked.

    During our marriage, my husband had fallen ill several times, but he’d never had a fever that high. I couldn’t sleep that night. I watched him sleep and my mind wandered and thought of the worst thing possible. He pushed himself too hard on his job. He sits in front of the computer at work all day, and when he comes home he will also sit in front of his laptop up until it’s time for bed. Coding is both his job and his hobby, so it’s kind of hard to pull him apart from his laptop. Should I drag him into a new hobby? Gardening, perhaps? (According to Red, it’s therapeutic. Haha!)

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Life Lately

    Hello! This lazy blogger is finally back again! Where have I been, you might ask (or not)? Nowhere in particular. I just caught up with this whole commuting thing. Living an hour away from the city where we work makes the commute time take most of our time, I guess. There’s a lot of things I could have done instead of sitting behind my husband on our daily motorcycle ride to the city doing nothing. It’s been almost 10 months but I’ve just realised about this time consuming commute these past weeks. I love the house where we live in and the neighbourhood and the small town, but perhaps we need a place closer to the city. There’s still a lot to figure out.

    Well, anyway… It’s October again! It’s my and this blog’s birthday this month. I had planned to throw a blog birthday party by holding a giveaway, but life got in the way and I didn’t finish the planning. Next year, I promise 😉
    Tutoring | Hola Darla
    Miss Jess | Hola Darla
    Laskar Pelangi + Cappuccino | Hola Darla
    Mirror Selfie Using Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime | Hola Darla

    While I was away:

    • I started tutoring again! After months without explaining grammar and reading strategies, this brain can finally breathe again. I teach two boys and one girl on two separate tutoring schedules. I’ve missed being called “Miss Dara” by students 😉
    • I’ve been craving for novels and reading materials. And because money is really tight this month, I finally started reading Laskar Pelangi, a novel that I actually bought in 2008 but never read up until now. Crazy, huh? Haha!
    • I bought a new phone! It’s a Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime (a review coming up soon). It’s a mid-range phone and not too pricey, but it’s the reason why money is really tight this month.

    How are you?

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Forgiveness

    Line Chat | Hola Darla
    Six years ago, I got into a huge fight with a girl on Facebook. I called her “slut”. She was an ex of my (then) boyfriend who wouldn’t stop texting him. I was so annoyed by her presence and I got super mad. After several weeks, we started insulting each other on Facebook. When I finally had had enough, I posted that stupid status calling her that horrible, horrible thing. I was 18 back then, on my first semester of uni. I was a stupid teenager and didn’t think forward. I regretted it in an instant, but the damage was already done.

    Two years later, I tried to apologise to her. I felt I had grown more mature and after carrying the burden of regret for two years, I finally had the courage to apologise. She responded in a cold manner. She said she accepted my apology but I knew for sure I had hurt her too deep. We didn’t keep in touch after that.

    Until a few days ago, on 18 September (always a surprising day), she added me on LINE. We finally talked after four years. I was surprised yet very happy. The burden of regret was lifted and I can walk a little lighter today. I’m so thankful for her forgiveness and if she were here, I would hug her tightly.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you.

    “A thousand friends are too few; one enemy is too many.”
    – Turkish proverb

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Being the First to Get Married among Your BFFs

    Being the First to Get Married among Your BFFs | Hola Darla
    I used to have this strong belief: “Getting married won’t change a thing; having kids will.” As long as there were still the two of us (well, three if you count Jess), we would be able to live our lives just like we had done before getting married. The only change is that we live together now.

    Alas, that is not always the case. As much as I want to be the same person I was before my wedding day, I’ve changed. I’ve changed in more ways than I know.
    Being the First to Get Married among Your BFFs | Hola Darla
    Being in a group chat with my girls is no longer the same. We used to talk a lot about heartbreaks. We were a bunch of single, independent ladies who had been BFFs since high school. We had shared a lot of relationship’s ups and downs. Now that I’m married, I feel like an outsider whenever they talk about heartbreaks. I occasionally have my share of heartbreaks too, but not the same kind as their heartbreaks. I feel odd being the only married person among single ladies.
    Being the First to Get Married among Your BFFs | Hola Darla
    Friendship feels strange nowadays. I know that friends drift away and it’s inevitable, but I never thought that it would happen so clearly before my eyes. Thankfully my husband and I share some friends, so we still get to hang out with them every now and then.

    Don’t get me wrong. Married life is so, so fun! But it also comes with a price. It’s been almost nine months, but there are still a lot to figure out. It’s an adventure I won’t trade for any other thing 🙂

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Change is Hard

    Learn to Dress More Modest (Syar'i) | Hola Darla
    This Eid, I had this resolution of trying to learn to dress more modest. I’ve been wearing loose dresses with wider, chest-covering scarves. I must admit that this style is quite inconvenient; muslim women aren’t supposed to show their skin except for their face and hands, so it is necessary to cover our arms, and eating with long sleeves is not the most pleasant thing in the world. That, or I just need more time to adapt.

    Loose dresses and wider scarves are super comfortable, though. I feel like I’m free to move however I like without the fear of getting anything exposed (like when you wear jeans with small t-shirt and you sit down and half of your buttcrack is showing. Noooooooo!!!)

    Change is hard. I still wear pants whenever I feel loose dresses wouldn’t be comfortable to be worn to certain places, e.g. traditional markets. But I’m learning each day. And I hope I’m getting better at it.

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook