Today marks the 28th day of her passing, and I really wanted to share the story of her life with Oppo

Aisyah.

I’m the one who give her her name, you know. I found a magazine with the same name when my mother was pregnant with her. I asked my parents if it’s okay to named my still-unborn sister Aisyah, as I think it’s a cute name, and I hope she’d be as cute as her name. And she was.

She’s actually should be the third children in our family, but my mother had a miscarriage. I was just entered the first grade. At that time, I joked to my parents that maybe God recalled my sister to make her even cuter and smarter than before. He probably thought that she’s still not good enough for us and strived to create an even better one. A few months later, my mother got pregnant again. My sister was estimated to be born at the end of my first grade. I still remember my homeroom teacher announced that I’d have a sister in the near future, and my classmates were clapping and congratulating me.

My mother was admitted to a navy hospital in downtown, the same hospital where I was born. However, while I was born in natural way (I mean without any operation), my mother should undergone c-section to birth my sister. I remember my grandparents picked me up from the school on a Thursday afternoon to go to the hospital. My father was already there. When we arrived, we met my mother lying on the bed being pushed to the surgical room. I can’t remember how long did we wait. I don’t think it reached an hour.

Then, the operation room opened and a nurse was holding a baby. The baby didn’t cry, but rather their eyes were wide open, looking around at their surrounding, looking interested. I had a brief thought that if only that baby was my sister. They looked so cute. Then the sister announced that it’s indeed the daughter of Mr. Rameli. I couldn’t believe it – the baby was my sister! I remember my father trembled holding my sister, and whispered the adzan – the Muslim’s call to prayer – to her right ear. I think it’s the equivalent of baptism to Christianity? Anyway, you get the idea.



I’ve always put a laissez-faire approach when supervising my sister. When she’s a baby, she loved to disassemble piles of stuff in our house. She’d create an avalanche of objects, then she’d inspect them one by one. Meanwhile, I was lying on the couch watching TV. She also did some weird stuff, like putting herself on a basket, for some reason? I love it though. I always laugh every time I see the pictures, even until now.

Other than being cute, my sister showed her intelligence when she grew up. When she’s in the sixth grade (the final year of elementary school in Indonesia), she joined me to take TOEFL ITP (Test of English as a Foreign Language – Institutional Testing Program) to accompany our cousin who was about to graduate. I just entered the university, and we were required to take the same test too, which I got the score of 587. The passing grade for bachelor students is 477, so I didn’t have to worry about my English test. This was my sister’s first English test, and for the umpteenth time for my cousin. All of the exam’s participants were students who were about to graduate, and my sister and I were the two youngest person in the exam room.

Aisyah and our cousin that I'm talking about

There are 3 sections for the TOEFL test; listening, grammar, and reading. You’re not allowed to proceed to the next section, and have to wait for the instruction from the invigilator. My sister didn’t know that, and she got asleep after finished working at the grammar section and waiting to move to the next section. The invigilator woke her up 30 minutes before the exam ended, asking if she already finished her test, which of course not. She answered hurriedly until the exam ended. My cousin and I teased her about it which upset her, but in the end she got the last laugh. I received 590, which I think is just 1 more correct answer compared with my previous test. My cousin got 420 something, which means he had to take the test again. My sister? She got 507, higher than some of the other bachelor students. When I was in sixth grade, I also took the same TOEFL test and only got 420.

Other than her predigious English skill, she’s also brilliant in school. She joined several competitions and won some of them. She was even interviewed on the local newspaper – here’s the article. It’s written in Indonesian, but I found Google Chrome’s translate to English feature works well. Her competitive trait was continued until she graduated senior high school (grade 10 to 12). She loved participating in competition to make posters or infographics, or being the illustrator for group projects. I have to share them here to you on separate post because her drawing is incredible. I even modified one of her illustration for my phone’s wallpaper.

(Left) Aisyah wearing a crown because she's a queen. (Right) Holding her award-winning poster

Holding her beloved Void

My father, my sister, me, and our maternal grandmother after my graduation ceremony

Oh I just remember that she made several funny pictures about Bunbun, though I could only managed to find two of them:

I have to tell you that she lurked on Oppo too. I’ve always wanted her to make an account and introduced herself – I’m sure Oppo would welcome her here. She asked some questions about Oppo, and here are 3 that I can remember:

• What is hour rule, and why is Pip-bip the only one to do that?
• Why did all of the posts are about red cars? (I think it’s because of theme day several months ago)
• Why does Just-jeepin keep making posts about Jeep accessories? Is he going to buy one?

I think I have to end here. It’s already 900-something words. I’ll continue on a separate post about the rest of her life through the end of senior high school to university.

We learned about Aisyah’s scoliosis when she’s in the 6th grade. Our uncle – who is an orthopedic surgeon – warned us not to let her haul heavy items on her back, to avoid making her scoliosis even worse. Following his recommendation, our parents bought her a series of wheeled backpacks that she used during her time as junior and senior high school student.

My father was also concerned about the computer for her. Being a high school student means that a portable was basically a requirement. But due to her small stature, even the smallest laptop could still be heavy for her. Considering that she’s still in junior high school, our father and I decided that a tablet could satisfy her needs. I chose the iPad Mini 2 for her, in the highest spec available: wifi and cellular with 128gb of storage. And Aisyah chose a red case for it. Her friends later told me that it’s the trademark of her — Aisyah and her little red iPad.

Because of the form factor, she started to explore doodling on the iPad. I saw several lightweight illustrating applications installed there. I think she discovered her hidden talent of drawing thanks to the iPad.

In 2018, she got accepted to one of two best public schools in Surabaya. Our parents and I are extremely proud of her. Our father decided that it’s time to upgrade her iPad to something better. He wanted a Microsoft Surface Pro for her. But it wasn’t officially sold in Indonesia. My father and I even planned to go to Singapore just to buy it. Thankfully, it’s available on sale on various Indonesian online marketplaces. I ordered one from Jakarta – the Microsoft Surface Pro 2017 – with the fancy Alcantara type cover, because she wanted it. I told her that her computer worth double of the price of my laptop that I got when I entered senior high school. Later she also ordered the stylus for drawing. This marked the moment her creativity got unleashed to its maximum potential.

Let’s start with this very casual drawing of her. I really love its simplicity and the popping colors. I really wanted her to make one for me, but I always delay it.

I also found this doodle, though I can’t recall seeing her drawing this. The style looks very corporate-y – like the one you see on websites these days, so I don't know if she's the one who drew this.



During the early period of the pandemic, I saw her making this cool, badge-style illustration about Hotel Quarantina – partly thanks to our neighbor who, at that time, played the song “Hotel California”. You can see her creativity of twisting the song into something that’s relatable at that time.

I really love it that I even paid for it to be made as stickers that I put on my personal and work-issued laptop.

She also made this illustration about staying at home. I’m sure the black cat represents her beloved Void.

During the month of Ramadan – the time of the year when Muslims are fasting from dawn till dusk – she drew an illustration celebrating the arrival of the holy month.



Her next illustrations are my favorite. The one that I modified for my phone’s wallpaper. She made a couple of vintage style posters about a twin lens reflex camera called Rollerflex, which might be inspired by Rolleiflex. She might got the inspiration after I bought one, though it’s made by Yashica.

These are the pictures that she used for the inspiration:



And here are the results:

The words, translated into English, are:

It’s time for Sir and Madam to celebrate Eid with
the best camera!
Rollerflex

I modified the male version so it fills the entire screen of my iPhone:



The last illustration that she drew is about an advertisement of a fair – The 31st Surabaya Fair, to be precise.



Other than doodling using her Surface, she’s also talented in drawing and painting on canvas. She made 3 illustrations that are proudly displayed on her room.



I adore this illustration of potted plants. I also wanted her to draw one to be displayed on the house that my wife and I are going to live in, but again I delayed asking her for that.



I remember making some comments about these painting. I asked her what kind of planet is that house on. Colorful flowers, blue mountain, but red sky? And no other house in sight? She just told me to go away because I “ruined the vibe”, whatever that means. I also made fun of her painting on the right, saying that blue cat doesn’t exists. I also told her that I would secretly paint the cat in black when she’s sleeping.

Lastly, please take a look at her inspiration board. The stuff pinned there were different, depending on what made inspired at that time.


I admire her illustrations. Seeing her drawing brings me joy, and I hope Oppo also enjoys seeing her creations as much as me.

Specifically on 30 May – a couple of weeks from now.

I've been dating my (first) girlfriend for more than 11 years, since we were in junior high school. Back then it was shocking that a jerk like me (I was a bully and rank 3rd from the bottom of the class) could attract someone like my girlfriend – a smart and kind person, so basically just the opposite of me. Not to mention that there were many other boys who also tried to court her. People were convinced that I used "love magic" on her

We were lucky that we got accepted into the same senior high school, and our classroom was adjoined. Naturally she's in the academically-top performance class, while I somehow got in the creatively-minded class. After high school we went to a different university – she studied Pharmacy while I studied Informatics.

After I got accepted to Iceland, my parents told me to marry my girlfriend before I go. I obliged, we went to her house, and her parents agreed for the marriage. After that, my parents told me that they won't pay the tuition to Iceland, and they know damn well that I can't tell my girlfriend's parents that the wedding is off because I'm not going abroad, so here we are.
 

The most recent picture of me and my girlfriend together, on my graduation day a couple of years ago

Two days ago I finally married my girlfriend, after dating her for more than 11 years. Special moment needs to be documented using special apparatus, so I splurged and bought a couple of Kodak Portra 400 in 120 film format, loaded to my favorite camera – the Yashica Mat-124G TLR.

The event was held in the outdoor area of a hotel in downtown Surabaya. Coincidentally, the road where the hotel is located is next to our high school, where we met for the first time. My father and I went through this road every day when he took me to the school. Every time I pass this road, I was reminded back to those beautiful times.

We wear the modern take of traditional Malay clothing for marriage, which thank God because it’s not too complicated to don – well, at least for me anyway. Five minutes and I was ready to roll. Anyway, here are the photos.

All of the square photos were taken using the TLR

Welcome sign for the event

Waiting for the marriage official to arrive. I browsed Oppo while waiting there

My wife and I holding together the dowry, flanked by our parents

My best friends brought a cardboard cut-out of the one who couldn't arrive, because he was stationed in other island

 
It was very tiring – guests after guests asked to take photos with us. And I'm also the kind of person who hates being photographed. I prefer to be the one who take the photos instead.

I took this picture at the end of the event, before I left the venue, to see and remember the stage for the last time before it got dismantled.

The hotel management put up this nice decor for our room

And also surprised us with this delicious cheesecake

Still trying to get the makeup off her face

The view from our room, overlooking several old (and new) buildings

A beautiful evening to end a very exhausting, but memorable day

Today marks the 10th day since the passing of my dear sister. I wanted to thank all of you for your kind words. I was unable to personally answer each of your comments, but I’m touched with your kindness and eternally grateful for all of your support during the most difficult time I’ve ever experienced in my life.

My sister passed away during the recovery process following her scoliosis surgery. She was admitted to the hospital on February 6, after years of supervision under our uncle who works as an orthopedic surgeon, and months of preparation for the operation.

On February 10, the surgery was performed from 7.30 AM until 11.30 PM. Then she was moved to the ICU to recover, and was allowed to move back to her hospital room on February 13.

Succeeding the operation, the doctors started the physiotherapy to prepare her to get back on her normal self. She was so strong and persevere through all of it. Her progress during the recovery process was incredible. We were hopeful that she could come home soon.

The problem started when she tried to wake up and sit straight, after she passed the breathing therapy that she did while laying on the bed. The therapy for sitting started on February 21. That night, she started to throw up, and it happened until the next day. The doctors were confident that it’s just a normal side effect and diagnose her with something, that my mother refuted because my sisters didn’t exhibit the symptoms at all in her entire life. Alas, the doctors didn’t change their mind and proceeded with the analysis.

On Wednesday, 23 February, they finally realized that they might be wrong, and did some check up on her for another diagnosis, that was indeed the cause for her death.

My dear sister, Aisyah Hana Rameli, passed away at the tender age of 18 years, 9 months, and 22 days young.

The last time I saw her was on the day she went to the hospital. My wife and I weren’t able to visit her because she was isolated due to her weak immune following the surgery, and most importantly to prevent her from catching Covid.

The last time I communicated with her was on Tuesday afternoon – I told her that the outfit she’s been waiting for so long had arrived. I wanted to talk more with her, but decided not to as I wanted her to continue to take a rest. There would be plenty of time to talk about silly stuff when she arrived at home. The time that never comes.

Each day I regret why I didn’t talk more to her. She was in so much pain after the surgery. My mother told me after her funeral, that she often found my sister awake in the middle of the night, pinching her own legs to divert her mind from her pain. If someone came to me, offering me to erase her pain but I have to set fire to my Taft, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

I wanted to write an eulogy to her, but still unable to do so. I’m overwhelmed with emotion every time I remember about her. For several days after her passing, I couldn’t say her full name without breaking down in tears. I still can’t believe she will not be next to my side for the rest of my life.
 

 
This is all I can say for now Oppo.

Picture this: my Taft fully laden with vegetables — 1 sack of potatoes, 2 boxes of bananas, 1 box of tomatoes, and assortment of others — given from my wife’s grandmother, taken fresh from their garden. The road was very steep and narrow. I had to use first gear to move forward, and the road’s width is the same as my car. I can’t see what’s in front of me after the road leveled.

Then, when I arrived at the top of the road, I got presented with this absolutely breathtaking view:



The picture can’t do justice about how incredible the view is. I can see for miles ahead. I feel like I was at the highest point in Madura.

The routes I had taken were also amazing. Let me just show you the pictures:

I will definitely miss driving through Madura.

We celebrated the 2021 Eid al-Fitr, and I made a post about it too. The Muslims use a lunar-based calendar (al-Qamariyah), which is why Muslim-related events move 11 days in advance compared with the previous year.

I didn't include this in last year's post, but my parents insisted for us to take a family photo because everyone else is doing it, and to "commemorate us as a whole family before welcoming a new member at the end of the month" – because I'd get married at the end of May. I also imagined that in 2022 we'd take the same picture but with my wife included; 5 person in the photo, not 4.

I don't know why I made that expression

So much stuff has changed in the span of one year. I didn't even remember that 2021 Eid happened exactly a year ago, if not for Google Photos memories feature. At least Oppo is still here, so I have friends to share with everything that happens in my life.

I still remember it very clear; I was watching Brooklyn 99 on my laptop, anxiously waiting for the email from the university. The interviewer told me that the announcement would be sent in a week's time. At 10 PM, my phone dinged and I trembled to open the email. You know the story; I got accepted.

I remember going out from my room to tell the good news to my family. My father and my sister were in the living room watching the TV. I was very excited to tell them about this good news. My sister hugged me, saying "Congratulations brother, you're almost there to reach your dream". I could tell my parents weren't pleased to hear this news. They congratulated me, but I could see it in their eyes that they got panicked, that this wasn't the outcome that they expected. My sister however, I could tell that she's sincerely happy and proud of me. The memory of her reaction was forever ingrained in me.

She also asked me "Does this mean you'll buy me a computer mouse?" because I promised her that if I got accepted, I'll buy her the mouse of her choice. Well, as long as it's less than 1 million Rupiah (~$70). She chose this flat Logitech mouse in pink – her favorite color:
 

 
Little did I know that less than 365 days later, its owner won't be using it again.

As for the Iceland, the short story is that I might not go there anymore. Wish I could tell more, but it hurts me deeply that besides I lost my sister, my life long dream to leave my family and this wretched country seemed to be slipping away each day.

My father managed to borrow this 20-liters external fuel tank from his brother this morning. On top of that, he also managed to fill it with diesel fuel. I’m so grateful that I don’t have to buy the 10-liters fuel tank from Ace Hardware, because it’s pricey. I had booked rooms in 4-star hotels that’s cheaper than a spare fuel tank.



Speaking of hotel, last night my wife managed to book and pay (sadly using my bank account) a room for 2 nights in downtown Pamekasan — our destination city. What bummed me is that there’s a 4-star hotel in the city, while the one that my wife booked is a 3-star. Admittedly I sent her the listing for this 3-star hotel but I didn’t tell her to search for other hotels that are better. The reason is that, in the past few years, I feel that the standard of the hotels have fallen — 3-star hotels feel like 2-star hotels. Oh well.

I also monitored the routes, both the north and the south, throughout the day. Here are the screenshots that I took today:

10 AM

12.30 PM

3 PM

4.45 PM

It consistently shows that the traffic through the north coast is less crowded compared with the south coast. However, I forgot to mention in my last post about the danger of driving in Madura at night.

Madura island is known as the nest for vehicle thieves. A lot of stolen vehicles — mostly motorcycles — are transported to the island before being parted to be sold. A few days ago, a motorcycle thief was stopped by the police at the Suramadu bridge (which connects Surabaya with Madura island). He decided to jump off the bridge to avoid getting caught. His body was found lifeless, brought ashore by the waves.

Even though I drive a car, I have to exercise extra precaution, especially because the route that I’ll be taking is not as crowded as the southern roads and it’s highly likely that we will still on the way after the sun has set.

To counter the grim story, I also bought this Timex Standard Chrono (also called as Weekender Chrono?) as a gift for myself. Employers in Indonesia are required to give bonus to their employees for Eid — we called it the 13th payday.



The Timex will replace my cheap digital Casio watch that I’ve been using for the past 3 years. My rationale is given that I will meet new relatives for the first time, I have to present myself as someone who is stable, both mentally and economically, and show that my wife is in safe hands. Superfluous? Maybe. But I prefer analog watches than digital anyway, and I bought the Casio mostly to try how it’s like living with a digital wristwatch. The jury is still out about this.



I’m cautiously optimistic for the road trip tomorrow. It’s not something that I’ve ever done before, and there are a lot of factors into play that can influence how the day will be. Having the jerrycan full of diesel fuel really helps to relieve the range anxiety. Of course I’ll only use it if I’m unable to find gas station that sells diesel fuel. For now, let’s just hope for the best.

Don't you dare to disappoint me, Taft!!!

My wife managed to toy around with the schedule and got herself free for today, so we hit the road in the morning instead of the afternoon. We departed at 8.30, stopped at a gas station (13 liters for 67 thousand Rupiahs), picked up my wife’s brother at my parent-in-laws house, then went straight to Pamekasan.

The roads were incredible. Later I’ll make a post about our journey. Right now I’m too exhausted and wanted to lay on the floor to rest.

I can see Java for miles from my current viewpoint.
 

@pip-bip Not sure, but I'll just follow whatever route my friend choose — he and I aren't that much different in preferring empty back roads than busy main routes.

@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly the government increased the price of petrol — on April fools day no less! — by 50%, and also hiked the tolls price, so we're doubly screwed. People are complaining about the increased price of everything but the wages are stagnant, and the government is mulling to change the constitution to increase the president term from 2 to 3 times. It's very messy here.

@Gabriella I haven't seen this in person – not even sure if Honda plans to sell this in Indonesia – but the e is my favorite EV.

I like its simplistic design, especially in snot green color. The range also easily covers what I need during inner-city driving. I can charge it every night after I arrived at home from work.

The main reason why my family can't consider vehicles other than SUV, and high-riding crossover like the Renault / Dacia Duster, is the flood that will almost certainly happens when it's raining. I mean, take a look at this road, near where I work:

@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly Oh I absolutely agree with what you've said. But, Kijang Innova is not exactly a small vehicle (for us anyway), so using it to scout new routes isn't ideal. And its engine is not that efficient too. One thing my friend and I aren't keen to find out is how much we have to pay for the fuel.

I think using the Taft or a Jimny / Katana / Samurai is much more suitable for scouting. Last year when my wife and I went to Kediri, we decided to drive through the back roads on the way home. On the route that we took, a bridge was partially destroyed so we had to drive through a field. The Duster did well, but my mother wasn't thrilled hearing the story, and I was nervous damaging the vehicle too. I can't imagine if we have to go through the same thing using the Kijang Innova

@CarsOfFortLangley Ha! It also attracted my attention, which is why I put it in the post. I tried to find more information about it, but I only found that it's one of many packages offered, called "Jeep Adventure". It's something that I'll definitely signed up to if we indeed go there!

@StreetsofPerth Oh yeah I forgot to mention it, but based on Google Street View, the scenery on the southern route should be beautiful – or at least much better compared with the northern route.

Usually I try to go to restaurants with "local flavor" instead of places that taken a page out of Starbucks' design, but it's been uncommonly hot here (and in Bojonegoro) for the past week so a place with AC is a must. I also don't like sitting near people who are smoking, so outdoor venues are not on the table. It's unfortunate though! My friend showed a list of other places where we can meet, but none of them had AC, no dedicated location for smoking area, and a live karaoke, which I also don't like.

This time is to Bojonegoro. I think I had mentioned this before? Not a problem, gotta churn out #contents these days.

Anyway, my friend and I (and his sister… and my wife) are going there because he and I wanted to visit another friend who is currently interning at a public hospital in the city. We’ve been friends since the 7th grade, and we try to catch up with each other routinely. It’s nice to keep your friends close, y’know?

Me and the friend who's currently interning at Bojonegoro

For this trip, we’re going to use my friend’s 2005 Toyota Kijang Innova instead of the Taft. While the Taft will certainly make a road trip more interesting, I think this time an uneventful one will be much preferred. Being driven in a competent and comfortable vehicle is not a bad thing.



Unfortunately the toll only covers roughly half the way there, with the remainder of the trip has to go through the national road. Just like my road trip to Pamekasan a couple of weeks ago, we are presented with two routes: north and south.

The north route is the safest bet; it’s the main road used by the people, so the roads are wide and relatively straightforward. However, because it’s the default route, many people will go through there, which means it's a busy road. Not to mention, trucks clogging up the roads.

Meanwhile, the southern route should be less busy and more relaxing (we hope). However, none of us have driven through this route, so it could be a bit challenging. Google Maps even recommends us to drive through the southern route even though it’s 40 kilometers longer.



We don’t even know what to do in Bojonegoro, other than meeting up at a cafe on the evening (my wife and my friend’s sister most likely will stay in the hotel).

The cafe that my friend proposes for the meeting place

My friend mentioned that he found one place that we could visit called Teksas, which is a word play of Texas. It’s named like that because this region is filled with traditional oil wells and extractions.

I mean, it’s certainly unique, but we’re not keen about it and still looking for other, more ordinary places to visit (suggestions are welcomed?). A road trip is still a road trip though! I’m so eager for Monday to come, which is not something that I usually say!

@Highlander said in DOTS Tercel:

@Dr-Zoidberg is this rusty enough for you?

Don't forget to ping @David-Tracy too, just in case he wanted to diversify his fleet.

@Miss-Mercedes Your storage areas look beautiful – is that someone's house, based on the building next to your vehicles on the lead image? Having another place to stash your vehicles – or even your stuff, like those offered by self-storage vendors – isn't common here, so I'm curious to hear more about it.