Surakarta, a small town in Central Java. I was born in 1973
and spent most of my childhood there. I have three younger
sisters. My mother, who was a teacher in an elementary school,
encouraged us to love reading books and writing out our opinions.
I still remember when I had my first diary. My mother bought
a diary as a gift for my 8th birthday. In it I started to
write about everything including poems and short stories.
I also had many pen pals at that time. Some of them are still
friends.
How did you end up in Bali?
It's all because my husband, Dr. Alainsoen, decided to work
in Denpasar. We moved here from Surabaya in 1998 after we
finished his Doctoral and my Bachelor degree.
How did you get interested in collecting autographs?
It was all my father's fault. Though he's not a politician
but an accountant in a local firm, he was always interested
in political issues and he often told me any interesting news
that he read in newspapers, mostly about politics. So, when
I was about 9 years old, my father read an article in a local
newspaper in Surakarta about two Indonesian children who wrote
letters to our former President Soeharto. They asked the President
for a bicycle and they got it! So, my father said 'Hey, look
... why don't you send a letter to the President like these
children?'. That was when this hobby started. I wrote a letter
to our former President Soeharto and then another letter and
then another letter. Finally, after three letters, which
took about 4 years, I got a reply with a photograph of our
former president and the first lady in a special frame with
a Garuda symbol on it. I was sooo happy ... it cannot be described.
The happiness of a little child. Another thing that made me
happy is that I have made my father proud of what I have done.
What is your technique in approaching people for their autograph?
This hobby makes me more interested in reading newspapers.
I collect any information to do with famous people. When I
read that a country just elected a new president or a new
prime minister, I would write a letter of congratulations
to him or her. If I sent a letter on any special occasions
such as birthdays, marriages, changing presidents, prime ministers,
premiers, governors, mayors or senators, it would increase
the likelihood of a positive response because my letter would
show that I am paying special attention to them or their country.
I always send a “Thank You” letter for any replies
I got so that they know that I received their letters and
that I appreciate their kindness.
What were the first and the last autographs you collected?
My first autograph was from our former President Soeharto
and the last was from the President of the Republic of Philippines
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and from Prime Minister Stanislav
Gross of Czech Republic (they arrived the same day). Now I
have a total of 51 autographs in my collection. I will continue
this challenging hobby until I don't know who to write to
anymore!
Do you specialize in collecting certain types of autographs?
My collection consists mostly of autographs of politicians.
I am not so interested in collecting autographs of movie stars.
I don't know why. Maybe because in my opinion there are lots
of people who can be movie stars but there are only a few
selected individuals who can be a president of a country.
What’s the most valuable autograph you’ve ever
collected?
An autograph from our former Pope John Paul II, the Dalai
Lama and our former President Soeharto. But I think every
autograph in my collection is valuable! I love them all. Considering
that I have to be so patient waiting for a reply and that
I spend so much of my time and money sending out letters...
that makes me appreciate my whole collection. All of them
are valuable to me.
Do you ever trade or sell your autographs with other collectors?
I never trade or sell my collection with other collectors.
I don't know any other people who have this hobby. It's an
interesting hobby actually. In addition to making you happy
when you get a reply, you also obtain more knowledge about
one country as you will always follow any information you
have from any news media. But I think I would not sell or
trade any autograph in my collection as each has a special
meaning for me. Especially when someone signed and wrote a
special note such as 'To Debby Lukito G. with Best Regards'
for example.
What is the most difficult signature you’ve ever collected?
My most difficult autograph was from Mayor Dave Bronconnier
of Calgary, Canada. The mayor was also my first 'dream-come-true'
to meet someone famous. The reason I wanted to add Mayor Bronconnier
to my collection is because we visit Calgary regularly. I
sent about 5 letters to him and only his assistant ever replied.
First I was told that it was uncommon for them to give out
autographs. Second, they said that Mayor Bronconnier did not
wish to reply to my request. I then sent another letter telling
them that Calgary is like a second city for my husband. He
spent about 10 years there studying and working. This at last
did the trick and Mayor Bronconnier replied my letter. When
I visited Calgary last in March 2005, I contacted the mayor's
office and asked if I could meet him personally. Of course,
they first refused my request, stating that such a meeting
is not normal for them. But I didn't give up. Finally, I met
Mayor Bronconnier personally, had a chat with him, took pictures
and had him sign a book for me. Another famous person that
I met personally is one of Indonesia’s government
ministers, Dr. Meutia Hatta Swasono (Minister of Women Empowerment).
She is also the daughter of our first Vice-President Mr. Mohammad
Hatta. She visited my daughter's school (Taman Rama School)
last April and I was lucky to have an interview with her.
We took pictures together and I asked her to sign her autograph.
Whose autograph do you dream about collecting one day?
The most difficult signatures to get are from famous people
in Asia such as the Prime Minister of Singapore, Malaysia,
Japan and from other countries in the region. I even collect
'refusal letters' from their assistants. Until now, I haven’t
yet to be successful collecting these famous peoples’
autographs. I also dream about collecting autographs from
the President and First Lady of the United States and of course
from our own President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.
I have sent letters, but I haven’t received a reply
as of yet. I would also like autographs from Steven Spielberg,
my favorite film director, Tom Hanks, my favorite actor,
or hmmm ... Josh Groban, my favorite singer. Ha….ha…ha…
For anyone interested in being considered for Siapa, please
contact : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2005 Al Hickey
You can read all past articles of Siapa
at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz
