Everything for the love of soccer<\/p>\n
Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For Tamara Geraldine, staying in the RCTI studio every day for
\n11 hours during World Cup 2002 is more than just fulfilling her
\njob duties.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old host of the program which is broadcast by the
\nTV station gleefully admitted to be a big fan of the sport.<\/p>\n
\"I could turn down a job offer somewhere if an important
\nfootball game would be on at the same time with the job,\" Tamara
\ntold The Jakarta Post while waiting for a game between Argentina
\nand Sweden on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
She said that her love for the game came after spending years
\nof her childhood in small towns where there was not much
\nentertainment.<\/p>\n
Her father, who worked for the state-owned oil and gas company
\nPertamina, also served as the manager of the Balikpapan Football
\nClub during the years of their stay in the East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Since she had little else to do, her father always took her to
\nsee football practices.<\/p>\n
Young Tamara became more and more addicted to the sport and
\nshe even chose soccer as an extracurricular activity at schools
\nafter she returned to her hometown in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Today, she plays video game soccer quite often.<\/p>\n
However, it seems that her love for the game is not the only
\nthing which impelled the studio to hire her as one of the hosts
\nfor the worldwide celebrated event.<\/p>\n
The refreshingly open and opinionated woman got the natural
\ncharm which rarely can be found in most local figures on TV
\ntoday.<\/p>\n
The successes of sports program Boom Basket aired by RCTI and
\ninfotainment program the Gossip Show aired by TPI owe a lot to
\nher natural likability and good sense of humor.<\/p>\n
Many people also find her Batak accent, which she uses every
\nnow and then, charming.<\/p>\n
Being aware of her comedic talent, Tamara said that she would
\nconsider a role in a sitcom series.<\/p>\n
\"But it must be a smart one,\" she said mentioning the U.S. TV
\nseries Friends.<\/p>\n
However, she vowed not to take part in any sinetron (local
\ndrama series) ever again since she did not like her experience in
\nthe starring role in a series titled Kerinduan (The Longing) a
\nfew years ago.<\/p>\n
\"Even though the studio said that my acting was good, I know
\nwhat I'm capable of and not capable of. If I kept doing what I
\ncouldn't do well, I'd be a nuisance,\" Tamara said, chuckling.<\/p>\n
Tamara's statement certainly sounded very refreshing since
\nthere are so many non-talents and so-called celebrities who
\nappear in countless TV series today, but still come off as
\narrogant and egotistic.<\/p>\n
Tamara is the kind of girl you would like to be your next door
\nneighbor. She would be glad to talk to you about almost anything
\nwhich probably comes from her hobby of reading a wide range of
\nbooks.<\/p>\n
\"It's such an amazing feeling to read the works of great minds,\"
\nTamara said, mentioning names from local writer Sapardi Djoko
\nDamono to world-famous poet Khalil Gibran. \"I find intellect
\nsexier than physical aspects.\"<\/p>\n
She also considers reading books as an investment for her
\nmind.<\/p>\n
\"Before we got married, I told my husband that I wouldn't be
\nable to compete with pretty women out there since I didn't have
\nthe perfect body, but if he was willing to look deeper in me, I
\nhave other qualities I could offer,\" Tamara said.<\/p>\n
She married two years ago to Tien Thinh Pham, a Vietnamese-
\nborn German citizen, who works as a marketing official at
\nIndosat.<\/p>\n
However, Tamara admitted that there were a lot of things she
\nwas not into and one of them was fashion.<\/p>\n
\"Oh, I don't know anything about fashion,\" Tamara said.<\/p>\n
She also said that she did not have passion for music which
\nwas strange since her first job on TV was to be a presenter for a
\nmusic program for Indosiar.<\/p>\n
The TV station was looking for a woman with good English and a
\nbit of a tomboy look, so they went and looked for talent at all-
\ngirls school Tarakanita where Tamara went.<\/p>\n
\"My principal told the TV people to hire me, probably because
\nthe school was fed up with me,\" Tamara said, giggling. \"I was
\nsuch a troublemaker at school.\"<\/p>\n
Tamara said that spending seven years in an all-girls school
\nduring junior high, high school and a vocational school in
\nTarakanita, made her a very independent woman.<\/p>\n
That was also the reason why she was not too worried if her
\nhusband did not have time for them together due to his work.<\/p>\n
\"I can amuse myself even when I feel pain,\" she said admitting
\nthat she was a very happy person.<\/p>\n
Tamara said that she was very pleased with her life.<\/p>\n
\"I think there are many people who would want the life I'm
\nleading now. So far, my life has never been shaken by gossip, I
\ngot my career going very well and have a good husband,\" Tamara
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, she admitted that her life would be fulfilled if one
\nday she would be blessed with having kids, too.<\/p>\n
\"That's something beyond my control,\" Tamara said in a
\nslightly sad tone.<\/p>\n
\"But hey, it also means that I'm extraordinary, too, right? It
\ntakes a lot to have been married for two years without having
\nkids and still be happy,\" Tamara said, cheering herself up.<\/p>\n
Any principles you have in life, Tamara?<\/p>\n
\"I don't want to be rich because then I'd be arrogant but I
\ndon't want to be poor otherwise I'd steal,\" she said. \"But that
\n(wisdom) is not mine. I stole it from (Indian guru) Rabindranath
\nTagore,\" Tamara said smiling.<\/p>",
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