A Million Girls Would Kill to Have This Job!

If you’ve ever watched the movie The Devil Wears Prada (or read the book), maybe you‘ve ever heard of that line. “This job” here refers to job in a fashion magazine.

Just think you ought to know: I love magazines. I just… I always have! And ever since one of my classmates brought the very first issue of Cosmo Girl Indonesia in my first year of high school (I was 14 then), I immediately want to work in a magazine. An international fashion magazine, to make it more specific. Well, I love fashion (Oh yes, I do! I think every woman do!), and even though I’m not that much into fashion, but wouldn’t it be super awesome? *drooling*

Zillion thanks to God, I’m so lucky to finally got that chance (yeaaayy! :D). There have been a lot of people ask me, how it feels like to work in a high-end fashion magazine. Well, after a week working there, here’s what I can tell you…

1. I think the movie The Devil Wears Prada (and Ugly Betty too) are a wee bit exaggerating. No, there’s no such thing as bitchy office mate who stare at you from head to toe, try to bring you down just because your lack of style, talk shit behind your back, or stab each other’s back (well, at least not in front of me! :D). The girls are quite friendly and they helped me a lot. They invited me to lunch, let me use their computer and cell phone, and shared their snacks. (Yea, I have to admit that after my (canceled) second interview few weeks ago, I cried in the bathroom while making a phone call to my Yandi. But let me just say that that was just a wrong impression I got, and me being a crybaby. :D)
 
2. But it is true that everyone is sooo stylish and glamorous! Even the one whose job seems to have nothing to do with fashion, like the Business Director or Secretary. There’s no formal and boring office look here, everyone’s free to wear whatever they feel like wearing. You name it: ripped jeans, legging (they comes in every color and pattern), mini dress, Doc Marten boots in shocking pink color, smokey eyes…
 
3. Oh, and there’s no strict working hour, too. They usually come to the office at 9, and then go mall-hopping.
 
4. The girls don’t try so hard to be super skinny like in the movies. They eat ‘nasi padang’ and ‘gorengan’, and eat snacks during work. Just like the rest of us… :D
 
5. But the guys are not too friendly. They didn’t even bother to ask my name before they get me to do some job for them. Don’t know why. When I told this to my friend Icha, she asked, “Are you sure they’re straight?” LOL!
 
6. And my Editor-in-Chief? She’s nothing like the wicked dragon lady in The Devil Wears Prada (or the legendary Editor-in-Chief of Vogue US, Anna Wintour, who widely believed as the inspiration for that character). If I were a boy, I would have fallen in love with her, no kidding. She’s still very young, and nice and humble and sincere. And very very stylish too, of course. And what amaze me the most: the moment she heard Adzan maghrib, she left her desk and prayed. I think I should make a new movie, titled The Angel Wears Prada. :D
 
7. No, we don’t get branded stuff for free. I’m telling you: we BORROW them instead. In our office, we’ve got three huge wardrobes loaded with oh-so-fabulous bags, shoes, clothes, and jewelries from fancy brands that I had to try sooo hard to hold the urge to steal them. He-he. There was even a handbag at the same price of a car that I didn’t dare to touch.
 
8. Unlike in other places, noone praised me because I graduated from ‘the-so-called-best-university-in-this-country’. Most of them graduated from private fashion or art schools, or from abroad. They were like, “What? So you’re an engineer? What the hell are you doing here?” So I had to keep my chin down for this time, and I had to work twice harder only to prove that I can really write.

And what did I actually do? Sadly, since I’m the “new kid on the block”, they didn’t let me report something or interview someone, so I had to sit in front of my computer from 9 to 6, and…
- Edited a contributor’s writing about a trip to Komodo Island. Later on, I found out that she’s a well-known traveler and ever worked for a TV program. Wow, it did me an honor to edit her writing.
- Wrote about traveling to London. I made some kind of calendar event for the year 2010 and hotel recommendation. Before writing this, I was warned that our readers comes from A+ class, so they will be attracted by luxurious boutiques, luxurious spas, yada yada yada…, and I had to make sure that the hotels I recommend for them are 5-star ones.
- Translated an interview with Katia Verber (Russian’s socialite, like Paris Hilton)
- Translated two articles from our US edition about career and health tips, and googled some additional infos.
- Googled some images.
And when I’m done with my tasks, they just let me sit on a cozy couch in the corner and read some magazines. We have plenty of international fashion magazines here, from Vogue Australia to Marie Claire Hongkong. And it felt like heaven to a magazines fetish like me! Imagine you’re a chocolate addict and you’re working in a chocolate factory. :D
 
A pretty fine first week, it is. But sadly it’s my last week also. No, it’s not that I give up. In fact, I can’t be more grateful than this. I've made a dream and I've made it come true, and I’ve proved to those who didn’t believe that hey, dreams DO come true! I merely got a better offer, better opportunity, and better challenge in another place. I mean, mall-hopping every single day and brag about Gwen Stefani's lipstick when everyone else in this country is in an uproar over Pansus Bank Century or Artalyta Suryani's unbelievably luxurious cell may be a fun thing to do in few weeks, but there's no way I'm going to do that thing for the rest of my life! Yea, so... I’m moving from fashion to politics.

Maybe a million girls would kill to have this job. The thing is, I’m not one of them… :)

Nobody Likes You When You're Twenty Three!

Nobody likes you when you’re 23
And you still act like you’re in freshmen year
What the hell is wrong with me?
My friends say I should act my age
What’s my age again? What’s my age again?
-What’s My Age Again (Blink 182)-

That was one of the songs I used to listen back then in my high school age. When all the things that matter were “that basketball captain and guitarist boy is drop dead gorgeous” or “that girl’s got a fancy bag I should immediately buy a new bag too”, scheming to skip class with the whole classmates, feeling like the coolest kid in town if I could take daddy’s car to school, whining all day because of mommy wouldn’t allow me to go out at night, and wondering where I’m gonna be when I turn 23.

Well, I’m now 23 already. You know what, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately in front of my netbook, googling the keyword “quarter life crisis” and scrolling through the symptoms:
Are you in a "funk" where you feel like nothing is terribly wrong, but nothing seems right either? Check.
Do you ever feel that time is running out in regards to figuring out your career and deciding whether you want to get married and/or have children? Check.
Do you feel that you have failed because you don't know what you want to do with your life, or do you know what you want to do but can't seem to make it work? Check.
Do you frequently compare yourself to other people your age and feel like you don't measure up? Check.
Are you thinking about going back to grad school because you don't know what else to do with your life? Check.
Is your life just not at all turning out like you planned? Check.

A-ha! I’m officially in quarter life crisis. Quite funny that it doesn’t freak me out (too much), it’s just a phase in this so-called-life and it’s completely normal and I’m going to get through it, I daresay.

Well, 2009 has been the toughest year ever to me. But I’ve learned a lot this year. I’ve learned that “indah pada waktunya” is such a magic spell (but still, waiting is sucks big time, especially when we have no idea when the time will come while we’re repeatedly told to be patient and keep the faith). I’ve learned that we can’t have everything in life. We just can’t. Life is all about choices and we have to choose, and sometimes we have to sacrifice something for an even greater good. I’ve learned that life is, indeed, beautiful, so don’t be a drama queen (or king) and sweat small stuff. I’ve learned that our future lies in our own hand, not in anyone else’s, so have the guts to take a stand, make a move! It’s between who we are and who we could be, it’s between how it is and how it should be.

And I’m pretty much sure that the best is yet to come.

Happy birthday to me! :)

PS: For those of you who would want to give me presents, books will do, and I’ll make things easier by putting my wish list here (hehehee…):

• Anything by Pramoedya Ananta Toer except Larasati and Perawan Remaja dalam Cengkeraman Militer. I already have them.
• Hujan Bulan Juni by Sapardi Djoko Damono
• Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (the original one)
• 9 dari Nadira by Leila S. Chudori
• The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (the original one)