Trouble sleeping

Here's what i do this weekend!

* Attend a friend's wedding. Lala is my friend back from high school in Jogja. I went there with Shirley [pake acara nyasar-nyasar dikit] and met some other friends. Selamat menempuh hidup baru, lala!

* Grocery shopping and cleaning up! cleaning up here means gardening [baca: menyiram kembang :P] and ironing two big basket full of clothes! hahahahah.. it's been a while since i did those kind of chorus.

* Cook!!! So i cooked asparagus soup and spicy tuna fusilli ^^ and some other insignificant stuffs. I still want to cook Paella and Risotto yumyum
[update: Monday, September 1 - i stupidly forgot to bring my fusilli. Padahal ini udah masuk puasa, mo beli makanan di mana coba!]

* Browsing, sending stuffs to people. Take a look at Agnes Monica's newest clip Godai Aku Lagi. Some drools in awe, some ignores, some comments. I personally think the clip is a little bit provocative considering that it is released close to Ramadhan time in Indonesia.
>> Yuli says, "huhauhau val ini lady marmalade campur britney spears campur men in black campur thriller campur spice girls (posh bukan sih...) hahahha tapi kok tepos? Gag pake chicken fillet? [val: LOL XD XD XD] makin ngile entar hihihi"
>> Golda says, "ini mah versi campuran yang ga jelas abis nich vaaal.. tau sapa yg bikin konsep..tapi at least udah ada orang indo yg brani bikin gnian yach huehehehe... not bad la..."
Anyway, she's a talented girl; my sister adores her.
For those who does not know AgMon, this is her > > > > >

*Update - September 2, 2008
E says,
1. Song:
Soooooo Britney/Madonna/PussycatDolls/every possible pop star you can imagine. Love the urban-disco-pop-esque type of music, nice, fresh & very-AgMon-like (takin other musician influence & make it her own)
2. Video:
Ok, she copied a lot of things from movies & other v-clip, I happen to know some of it.
First, J.Lo's big earing & tanned skin [val: i came up with this idea!], Christina Aguilera's Lady Marmalade / Ain't no other man / Moulin Rouge-esque dress-hair-make-up (the changing room scene).
Second, abduction scene, Madonna's Nothing Really Matters / Spice Girls Who Do You Think You Are / OTT's Story of Love,
Third, the dessert scenes, from the movie Jumper & Aeon Flux (sooooo Charlize Theron).
Well, isn't it quite obvious that he LOVES agmon? And there he goes singing agmon's songs :P
*

* Reading Paulo Coelho The Witch of Portobello... then fell asleep. then read again, then fell asleep again. It's not that the book is not interesting, it's just i'm being a daylight sleepyhead lately. However, when it comes to night, i suddenly become insomnia again >.<' [update: Just got this link... Browse inside Paulo Coelho The Fifth Mountain, check it out!]

* Eating SUSHI TEI with Niev the baldie [plus he refers himself as sexy, doh]. Am still amazed on how CUPU he is :P Hopefully some meaningless photos are coming right up.
[Update: September 5, 2008]

Here is the picture:

Picture's taken from Nv - sushi attack!

Nv, this is called SPICY SALMON MAKI - therefore it is suppose to be SPICY!!!
ha ha ha ha ha XD *tawa penuh kemenangan* sapa suruh dicekokin ini tetep dimakan juga. dasar jelek-botak-putih-sipit! Hey, i should have taken your picture to show the world how cupu you're.

Quotes from Patch Adams

The followings are no poems of mine.
These are several quotes taken from a movie, Patch Adams [1998]:


I love you without knowing how,
or when, or from where...
I love you straightforwardly without complexities or pride.
I love you because I know no other way then this.
So close that your hand, on my chest, is my hand.
So close, that when you close your eyes, I fall asleep.

Death. To die. To expire. To pass on. To perish. To peg out.
To push up daisies. To push up posies. To become extinct.
Curtains, deceased, Demised, departed And defunct.
Dead as a doornail. Dead as a herring. Dead as a mutton. Dead as nits.
The last breath. Paying a debt to nature. The big sleep.
God's way of saying, "Slow down."

Hujan di Jakarta, pertanda banjir?

Sampai di rumah, agak sedikit kehujanan.
Baju sebelah kiri basah terkena rembesan air hujan dari atap bus. Mau bilang apa, bayar 2500 perak kok minta kendaraan yang oke?

Langsung menyantap nasi goreng bikinan bapak langganan di belakang rumah. Maklum, males masak, berhubung mama juga lagi gak ada di rumah [entah kapan mau pulang dari Medan]. Minum teh hangat super manis, lumayan untuk menghilangkan sakit kepalaku. Dari tadi siang memang penglihatan mengabur [lihat dison jadi titik blurry, kok kliatannya tambah cantik lol], jalan agak miring-miring sedikit, mungkin tekanan darahku drop lagi.

Jakarta hujan, banjir lagi...

I just got off the phone with Sher. Stuck in the office, she said.
Ga bisa pulang gara-gara jalan depan kantor banjir [jalan sudirman depan atmajaya]. Di tambah lagi rumahnya ikutan kebanjiran! Stress lah dia, ada laptop dan komputer yang penuh data yang terendam di sana. Hm... apa mau dikata kalau musim hujan datang lebih awal, kalau siklus banjir di jakarta jadi sebulan sekali, kalau orang-orang penghuni jakarta tetap tidak peduli akan kebersihan kota, kalau dalam jangka waktu 50 - bahkan mungkin 20 - tahun ke depan jakarta akan terendam lautan layaknya amsterdam?

- - -

*extra stuff, have already told this to E [this has nothing to do with Jakarta]
This morning i saw Kenny G's unplugged videos, he's doing duets with several singers. I kind of recognize the partner... hum... Li Hong? [read: Lee Hom - English version] My guess were right! Kyaaa he's so freaking talented! I'm a BIG Wang Lee Hom fan.
Next, Kenny G called another talented singer. this time it's from Indonesia. Guess who? Glenn Fredly! I'm also a BIG Glenn Fredly fan. Kutunggu dudamu!!!
Thus, I was content :)

Bali: Part Three - day 8 to day 10

Day eight: Confused by the day
I decided to give myself a little rest. Thus i spent the morning and the afternoon just chilling, relaxing, doing nothing at Indah's place - checked my mails, updated myself with CNN and BBC. Lunch? Indah, Greg, and I went to Nasi Ayam Kedewatan - Greg was upset about some stuffs happened at the hotel. After lunch, i packed my stuffs and got ready to head down to Denpasar. Indah drove me again! No major problems this time hahahaha ole!
P.S. Bye-bye indah schat, it's been a wonderful time staying at your place!

On the way to Denpasar [approximately 6pm], my sister called me to inform that there's been death in the family. My mom's big brother passed away, heart attack we supposed. Everything was so hectic. Mom needed some fast cash [for her and her other brothers] to buy tickets to Medan a.s.a.p. while she has none. Amazingly, yes amazingly... I stupidly and unconsciously left my atm card somewhere in Sanur yesterday! and i just realized it then! But things got sorted out; mom bought one-way tickets for the morning after. What a disaster... because actually we will have a wedding this Saturday at Banjarmasin.

So Rannu, Thia, and Cindy picked me up - feeling sorry for my loss. Well well, we knew that we needed to fill our empty stomach to bust our mood - Mie AHA at Jl. Satelit was the place! They said that Koko yang masak [the chinese chef] alwaaaaays wear a barong shirt - most probably to bring good luck ;) There, Rannu tangled herself with a couple's baby girl. Guess she's ready to be both a mother and a pediatrician hehehehehe

We were full and content. Not Thia - apparently... she was a little upset with her boyfriend. Being on the last two days of my visit, we decided to go to see their favourite, Siluet, performing at Center Stage Hard Rock. The atmosphere was nice - lots of chinese and korean tourists came that night. The band referred us girls as Spice Girls LOL!

We went home at midnight.

Day nine: It's almost...
Rannu and friends dragged me to Udayana, they needed to prepared documents for graduation. I got myself another friend, Martha - she's getting married soon, she reminds me of Anita :) The day was so warm; we were hungry! So we ate at Bumbu Desa [just opened] - the restaurant actually imported the employees from Garut! woooooow, nice concept rite?

There on, we needed to go to the local police station to report my stupidity. Afterwards, we went to Pasar Badung to buy some barong clothes for my sister. Feeling worn out by the sun, we chilled a while at Rannu's place. Changed our clothes and all the things in between.

Next stop was Museum in Denpasar - these girls have been living in Denpasar in 6 years but they never visit it LOL. Well, the objects were not as interesting as the building itself. Nyeeeh... we were there only to satisfy our narcissism! hahahaha

val-rannu-thia-martha-cindy

We dropped Martha back to her place, then off again to Warung Bunana to eat some delicious canai bread and indian martabak. Yum yum... no wonder i gain several kilos :P

From canai to ground zero. There we bumped into Martha again hahahaha... We stayed for a while, then head home - Thia was still upset with her boyfriend. She really need to clear her mind. Rannu and I did little browsing and eating [yes! supper!] before sleeping.

Day ten: home, tan, fat
Whether i like it or not, i have to go home. My sister is waiting - she's home alone. My cong is waiting [you know you miss me!]. And God knows who else might be waiting for me.

So long, Bali! Tot november ;)

Read the complete story!
* Bali: Part One - day 2 to day 4
* Bali: Part Two - day 5 to day 7
* Bali: Part Three - day 8 to day 10

Bali: Part Two - day 5 to day 7

Day five: walk, don't drive
So Rannu and I spent the day walking around Ubud, again. Well, it's a working day so Indah couldn't come along. From Kupu Barong [Indah, i'm promoting your hotel! hehe] we took the shuttle down to Blanco Museum near Ubud center. The place is nice. It is said that the land in which the museum is built upon was given by the local people as a token of appreciation to Antonio Blanco. The artist himself has passed away. Yet his eroctic paintings and arts are very well preserved in this place. His artistic blood also run in the family, esp in Mario Blanco, which focuses more on dead objects - somehow i prefer erotica than a basket of fruits. There at the museum, we made friend with Sebastian from Belgium - cute, but too young i suppose.

Location: Blanco Museum & somewhere down the street of Ubud

There's always erotic arts somewhere in between

We needed to wait for the cats-and-dogs rain to stop before we continued or little journey to the Monkey Forest. Lumayan juga jalannya! There're a lot of tourists in the monkey forest. The tourists were very excited about the monkeys; the monkeys were very excited about the bananas and the peanuts they tourists brought along. Some monkeys acted nice and posed for the cameras, some other went after tourist to beg for fruits. Two monkeys were caught in the act of vulgarism! yes, some sexual actions! hahaha what an exhibitionist!

Tired of observing the monkeys, we went to Bebek Bengil, again, to eat Black Russian cake, again :p Yum yum!

It was already 6pm when we realized that we missed the shuttle car to go back to the hotel. So.... Indah picked us up with her little jimnie! Wahaaaaaaaa.. what a wobbly ride! The three of us made a stop at bintang for grocery shopping. We had our dinner back at Indah's place that night. Greg made us good fussili - he was complaining about "i can cook much better than this if only we have the right ingredients here" lol. Good dinner ended with good shisha :D

Black Russian Cake in the afternoon, pasta & wine for dinner

Day six: work hard, play harder!
Saturday was hectic! I needed to meet some people i failed to meet the previous days - because of the holiday [18th] and the Galungan [19th-21st]. Greg took Indah, Rannu and I down to Sanur. From there on, I rented a car to go to other places.

So we went to the printing company > then dropped Rannu at her place > then visited a partner station, Sunari > then had our Nasi Campur ala Bali at Warung Satria with Inten from Sunari and her brother [Indah and I agreed that Inten looked like our own mama Sita - too bad she can't make to Bali during these days, she's expecting her baby!] > then off to Melia Nusa Dua where I took pictures and discuss some items for the upcoming partner garthering [imagine running around in such a huge place like Melia in heels, high heels - yes, that's what i did!] > then went back to Renon to meet another partner, GSM, whose radio located at Negare [there at Be Sangih we ate/drank Daluman - Balinese "cingcau/cendol/dawet"]. So all work it done. It's time to play!

Indah and I waited for Greg and Jovita [lovely woman, she's the spouse of Kupu Barong GM's in Tuban area - had her own magazine in Bali, top network] at Sunset on 6. The place was already full with people for dinner, but finally we got ourself a place. btw we missed the sunset! Then we moved to Rumours to have our late dinner [it's 10 already!] - the place served good italian food and also good taste of wine. There at Rumours, we accidentally met Farah, one of our juniors from Holland - she was in Bali for a weekend getaway. Suddenly, Titin and Susan [our seniors from Holland; they domain in Seminyak] and Nita came to Rumours just to say hello and goodbye - they're too tired to go anywhere that night.

mbak jovi - indah - val - greg & indah

With our belly full, we went to Hypnotic [where Jovita's husband was already waiting], a new place down by Seminyak square. Originaly, we wanted to go to Ku De Ta [am still curious about the place] but they're having a white party we didn't want to barge in. Hypnotic was so-so - the place was quite small, indoor [it's Bali, the parties should be brought outdoors, man!], and lack of visuals for me. They serve nice watermelon Mojito. Btw, the crowd was quite ackward on Hypnotic. Among the expats, i saw a number of koko-koko surabaya with their acts of trying to get some girls to get drunk so that they can get some that night. wahahahahaha...
P.S: Indah told me that some guy at Hypnotic has been "observing" me back from our dinner in Rumours. Doh, didn't realize it!

Next destination: Living Room. There we met two tante-tante dancing wildly LOL. Oh and we finally had our vodka redbull! Cheers! I was half-deaf there XD
P.S: a guy had a t-shirt with this writings on "FASTER, STRONGER, LONGER, BETTER" and an arrow down to his manhood. Good self-advertisement, hey? But is it appropriate?

Next next destination: Hu'u Bar, just across the street. The place was hip, i liked it very much. Jovita met her friends there, while i was observing the crowd. Here i saw om-om surabaya LOL. I also learned that those chinese tourist can't dance! Well well, since the dance floor was packed, we went outside to the garden. Guess Jovita has reserved a place for us or else we couldn't get to sit anywhere. We sat and enjoyed the night brezze, few meters away from all of the noises.

3 am. Greg needed to stay focus to drive us back to ubud. He was a little drunk, Indah was drunk, I was sober enough to focus on the road. We got back home safe and sound, and exhausted.

Day Seven: Overdose on seafood
It's noon already! Greg, Indah, and I had brunch and catched another meals from McD on our way to Discovery Mall. There we properly met Susan, Titin, and Nita at Black Canyon cafe. The coffee was allright, the services... not that satisfying!

Then we went to Nyoman's at Jimbaran area for out dinner. Again, lots of chinese tourist [why am i always surrounded by chinese? is it a sign or something? lol]. Some local singers sang James Blunt - You're Beautiful incorrectly that it made us laugh. Udah lantang, salah pula!

susan - indah - val - titin - nita - sisa2 perjuangan

So we chated and update each others with funny stories and talked a little business here and there. We planned to have another dinner and "extra stuff" when i visit bali again next time. Overall, it's a good day.

Read the complete story!
* Bali: Part One - day 2 to day 4
* Bali: Part Two - day 5 to day 7
* Bali: Part Three - day 8 to day 10

Bali: Part One - day 2 to day 4

Back at Indah's place in Ubud after spending two days in South Bali area.

Day two: Heading South
Breakfast ala indah, cereal n milk. Soon after, i went straight to Ubud Centre, caught the bus to Kuta [Perama Tour]. I hopped off at Poppies Lane 2. while waiting for my old friend from high school, Rannu [I used to sit n study with her twin, Rendeng - now in Bandung], I helped a German couple to get accomodation down by Poppies Lane.
Perhatian: Saya SokTau sekali loh, padahal ngerti nama jalan juga engga! Good that Indah lend me her Lonely Planet :) thanks, darling!

While in Poppies, I bumped to my new friends i met during my flight to Denpasar, Ruli and Adhi - both from Trans7. Chat with them for a while; they're on duty, following several Brailians soccer players working for Indonesian team.

Then i met Rannu and her friends, Thia and Cindy [they're all doctors ^^].

We had our lunch at Goody's [good food, i tried Fetucinne con Calamari], Legian area. Then we strolled around Legian and Seminyak, looking for acessories and clothes - girl stuffs :) Wondering why we're so tired, we went back to our dorm. I spent the night at Rannu's place after having dinner at KFC hehehehe so freakin full. We ate all day!

Day three: Good Food = Good Life
Woke up at 7.30 am. Kyaaaaa.. Thia's waiting outside! We're ready to roll!

We had our breakfast at Bali Catering & Co., Kerobokan area. I ate pistachio macarun + newyork cheesecake [with strawberries!] + a cup of cappucino. It was so delicious ^^

Location: Bali Catering Co. - delicious food and beyond! :)

Then we went straight to Garuda Wisnu Kencana [GWK]. It was so damn hot that we decided to chill and had our lunch back at Discovery Mall in Kuta. Cindy and I couldn't help wandering to Kuta art market. Too bad the market was not fully open because of Galungan feast in Bali. I got myself some beach-y outfits.

Location: Dreamland - with Thia Cindy and Rannu

Got enough of chilly air, we drove south to Dreamland beach near Uluwatu. Doing nothing, eating singkong keju [ya, kita kan anak singkong :P] and applepastels while looking at cute boys surfing huehuehuehuheu.. We're so worn out we went straight back to denpasar fuuuuuuh
Note: That guy who took our picture was so cute. Stupid me, why didn't i ask his name?!

Day four: Ubud
Ok, i need to buy slipper. I kind of broke my fave sandals :(

So Rannu and I got ourself a ride to Ubud with Perama tour. We strolled down Hanoman street, took pictures [narcism is a must during holidays!], then had our lunch at a small foodstall called Warung Nasi Goreng - indah's recommendation. With our belly full, we walked about Ubud's market. Failed to catch the shuttle bus back to Indah's place, we set our foot to Casa Luna - also Indah's recommendation. We got oruself a new friend there, amanda Midlam from a small town called Eden, australia. she's writing a story about Bali dogs [wish her a wonderful stay].

Location: Ubud - somewhere between rice field and Balinese-Thai lunch

*update
after indah n greg got back from work, we went to Bebek Bengil [dirty duck diner] down Hanoman street. they served tasty duck with sambal matah and veggies and oh-my-godness-it's-so-freaking-delicious Black Russian cake! the cake has such a delicate texture; the mixture of kahlua and other liquours blended spoiled your tongue and warmed you up in the chilly night of Ubud. a must try! hum... jd pengen lg!

That night, the four of us discuss about the local people, the Balinese and their ceremonies, and the difficulties of relationship between different races [since my Rannu had similar problems]. We came to a conclusion that every relationship [esp. those which is nurtured in country such as indonesia] will have to face the PARENTS! at that time, all that matters is the couple itself should be strong enough to stand for what they believe, which is that they love each other and no one else. What an insight :p or maybe we ate too much of black russian ha ha ha

Read the complete story!
* Bali: Part One - day 2 to day 4
* Bali: Part Two - day 5 to day 7
* Bali: Part Three - day 8 to day 10

Hello Bali!

am in Bali! yay!
will update soon. Gotta catch the shuttle bus to Kuta. Gonna meet some friends there :)

ciao!

Read the complete story!
* Bali: Part One - day 2 to day 4
* Bali: Part Two - day 5 to day 7
* Bali: Part Three - day 8 to day 10

Celebrating Indonesia's Independence Day

, "Pemerintah yang bijak menjamin ketertiban dalam masyarakat, pemerintah yang arif adalah yang terartur. Seperti para penguasa, demikian pula para pegawainya; seperti pemerintah kota, demikian pula semua penduduknya. Raja yang tidak terdidik menbinasakan rakyatnya, tetapu sebuah kota sejahtera berkat kearifan para pembesarnya. Di dalam tangan Tuhan terletak kuasa atas bumi, dan pada waktunya Ia mengangkat orang yang serasi atasnya. Di dalam tangan Tuhan-lah terletak kemujuran seseorang, dan kepada para pejabat Tuhan mengaruniakan martabat. Janganlah pernah menaruh benci kepada sesamamu, apa pun juga kesalahannya, dan jangan berbuat apa-apa terpengaruh oleh nafsu. Kecongkakan dibenci oleh Tuhan maupun manusia, dan bagi kedua-duanya kelaliman adalah salah. Pemerintahan beralih dari bangsa yang satu ke bangsa yang lain akibat kelaliman, kekerasan dan uang."
Kitab Putra Sirakh 10: 1-8

Itu bacaan pertama di Misa hari ini. Menarik ya?

Kata orang, 63 tahun merdeka berarti baru 63 % mereka merdeka. Kalau untuk saya, 63 tahun merdeka berarti baru 63 % saya merasa bangga menjadi orang Indonesia. I don't know if figure will ever go up to 100%... Merdeka tapi kesenjangan sosialnya begitu jauh. Merdeka tapi rakyatnya belum dapat menghormati para pahlawannya. Merdeka tapi manusianya belum dapat menghargai keragaman agama, ras, dan budaya yang mereka bangun bersama. Kalau begini, terkadang saya berpikir... "Jangan-jangan bangsa ini akan lebih baik kalau tetap dijajah Belanda..." What do you say?

It is sad to know that Indonesia (nowadays) is mostly well-known as the home for disaster (tsunami, earthquakes, flood and such), corruption, and terrorism. My once proud Indonesian soul is wounded by the fact that foreign people consider Indonesia (and it's people) as a "low" country. Despite of all the genius brains we have, foreign people tend to underestimate us! Actually, I should be ashamed of myself for being speechless; not being able to defend my country by saying beautiful things about it.

Indonesian associate their Independence day with games and local activities. Mereka bergembira sambil lomba makan krupuk [karena krupuk itu murah!], panjat pinang, lompat karung, dst. They like these games so much they usually block the roads and not letting people [with cars] to pass by! It is really annoying as it happened to us earlier today. Geez, we freakin' live in this area!!! Some dude was blocking our way by just standing there in front of the car for a while. Gosh! Maybe we should have ran over him >.<' Some other things about Indonesia's Independence Day this year:

• President SBY got a grand daughter!
• I watch a short biography about Tan Malaka on tv. I think Tan Malaka should have more than one small alley to be named after.
• Panic at the Disco is in concert! Supposedly, i should watch the concert and thank them for being one of my musical supports during my final dissertation hahaha :P But E said that their concert in Jakarta will not be theatrical. Lameeeeee.....

Allrighty. I will be away for a while after this :)
Hup hup vakantie hup!

PACKING!

I AM PACKING!

Tapi bolehlah disela-sela packing kita cuci mata dulu. So, rencana mau bangun pagi-pagi terus jalan penuh sejarah ke MONAS and ke museum gajah demi merayakan sehari menjelang 17 agustus-an [yes, i am being a nationalist!] GAGAL total wahahahahahah.. Me and my family went to Pondok Indah Mall instead. I had my cousin staying over in my house for several months while her husband is doing his study in Bogor [he's a soldier].

Daripada sepupu saya bengong-bengong di rumah maen Sudoku [Ouw, my mom and my cousin got addicted to SUDOKU!!!!], lebih baik kita jalan-jalan laaaaah

I bought my self a purple dress and two new books: Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner! Good, i got myself readings during my vakantie in Bali ;)

Puas muter-muter PIM sampe gempor... [and i think i saw Cherry, one of my friends from Holland] I went to Plaza Senayan to meet my friend Chika and a new guy, Julius. I thought he lives somewhere in Pusat or Selatan when he finally said that he lives in Gading. Gosh, gading lagi gading lagi! He's a nice guy and lil bit cute with the hat :) He's Chika's friend - a friend she had for years but never got the chance to meet in person, till today! We spent our money buying some frappes at Starbucks [baru minggu lalu nongkrong di sini, doh!], chatted about stuffs and blablabla...

My girl Ck's confused about her current "relationship". Darling, i guess you're just having your syndrome of. I had it before. Ho, that's a whole different story. However, I applause you for being sober in whatever decision you made :D Cowo mah ngantri ck klo buat elo, hilang satu eh yang baru nongol lagi. Bagi-bagi gue, ck!

Home. Chat a bit with Cz. You go, boy!
Then i realize that it's a lil bit too late for packing :P
nyeh... I'll do it tomorrow hehehe
oyasuminasai!

P. S. We bumped into Agnes Monica at XXi Senayan. Wow, she's tan and gorgeous!

Ngiler ngeliat vanness? saya juga!

B told me that Vanness grows beard! and it's awful!

So i check on one of his vclip on youtube Fading Into You/我不是自己 and wait. Loading...........
There he is. All muscle and very yummy! Such an eye candy for me :P

But wait a minute. Gosh! Then i saw the beard! NO NO NO! He's too cute for beard! what is it that he's trying to prove? that he's a man? Lol.. I love you Vanness... but please please please get rid of that stupid beard. Kesannya itu jenggot bo'ongan banget sih, kaya tempelan.

ok. Let's compare!

^This is the Vanness Wu i like^
with his long hair and toned body

^This is the same guy, plus beard!^
Hate him so! Tiba-tiba bikin ilfil. doh! >.<'

Another thing i realize is that Vanness is so good in his English, he sucks when he sings in Chinese. Boy, you better keep talking in English. I can't understand any word you say in Chinese wahahahaha :P [karena memang saya tidak mengerti bahasa mandarin, hidup jepang!]

Apapun yang terjadi, tetep ngiler liat Vanness. Tutupin aja mukanya dan jengot-jengot gak jelas ituh, nikmatilah badannya yang kotak-kotak ituh. sluuuuuurp!

mini-trip to Bangka

I went to Bangka last Monday to visit one of RNW's soon-to-be partner station in Pangkal Pinang.

What a bless, I met some new people with great personalities :) There were Amoy i met during the flight (hope your mom's gonna be okay), Tya, Romero, and Dian. After discussing some business, it's time to have fun! It was quite hard to get us transport at the beginning. They offered to drive but I said NO! (berbahaya!)... while at that moment Tya and Dian were fighting over some misunderstanding they had 2 weeks ago.

Location: Sungailiat and Pangkal Pinang

Together (Tya, Romero, Dian, and I) went to Parai beach, Sungailiat. Bahagia ketemu lauuuuut! Mau teriak-teriak tapi kayanya gak pada tempatnya deh :P turis-turis bisa pada bingung. After several narcism episodes, we took off to see another spot. [At this point, Tya and Dian have re-conciliate, yay!]

The naming of the streets in Sungailiat really catch my eyes. It's written in three languages: Bahasa, Arabic, and Chinese. It really portrays the blending of three different cultures in this island. Nice, right?

Sunset didn't stop me from enjoying Pangkal Pinang city. After having double dinner (i was forced to eat twice!), Tya, Dian and I went to Klenteng located in the city center. Then we closed the night chillin at Jaguar, some kind of local "Hard Rock" they have there. It was all good :)

So now I can say: Bea! Gue udah sampe Bangka! tapi gak ikutan ceng beng kekekekeke

Read my journey to Bali!!
* Bali: Part One - day 2 to day 4
* Bali: Part Two - day 5 to day 7
* Bali: Part Three - day 8 to day 10

have yourself a nice flight

Now i see clouds as ocean in the sky.

Mankind should be thankful for God has given them the brain and the intelligence which enables them to build such machine as airplane.

Suddenly i see airplanes not as a mass transportation. It is a vehicle from within it we human can admire God's magnificent creation, the limitless sky and beyond.

Furthermore, as people believed that heaven is located somewhere up in the sky, i can also perceive airplanes as means of religion. It is a vehicle for human impulsive behavior which can bring them "closer" to their God.

Location: somewhere in the sky. on my way back to Jakarta.

Workplace behaviour

I admire Rene Suhandono. I think that he is a good, if not great, career coach. I used to listen to his program on radio.

Here are some "tips" regarding Being Assertive on Workplace i noted while watching a morning program on O Channel which featured Rene Suhandono:

• Being assertive [in this case: SAYING NO] is NOT an evil thing to do! Stop feeling bad about yourself when you have to refuse people's request came upon you.
  

• You yourself decide your own career. It is not your superior that pays you; it is the business that grants you money. I believe that Indonesians tend to worship the path their superior walked upon, dishonestly...

• There is no such thing as being TOO NICE! It's just another way to say "I'm stupid/silly" for letting other people to take advantage of me. This often happen to one of my closest friend, C. I hope she's doing fine with her current job. See girl, stop being "too nice"!

• HELPING OTHERS IS NOT OUR OBLIGATION. IT IS OUR RIGHT. People tend to misunderstood this. Yeah sure, with all of those "lessons" we learned back at high school days.

• It is okay not to help other people if you DO have other priorities to be done. Example: Don't go fulfill whatever your boss' wife crazy requests if you do have much more important matters and workload to deal regarding your boss' business. You work for your boss' anyway...

• Working in the business filled with fake appraisals is not healthy for one's personality. Be careful, you may turn to to be one of the suck-ups. This phenomenon usually occurs on entertainment business as well as governmental business (esp in Indonesia).
  

• Being nice is only genuine when it comes from the heart. Yes, it is quite obvious on the eyes.

Nicely said, right?
So, Rene, I'm looking forward to buy your book!

Weekend with the Pandiangans

Friday August 8th, 2008.
Eight is my favourite number. Yet, when people says that 8-8-8 is a good date, a good day... blah it didn't apply to me! I got all cranky all day, esp with the outrageously stupid phone connection. However, i did make it to meet my friend at Hard Rock that night, got acquainted with several new people, danced with indy barends and crew, admired dj Blanco (he's nice! lucky you, indy!).

Saturday August 9, 2008 + Sunday August 10, 2008.
I did what i had to do; i spent the weekend with the Pandiangans (pssst.. it's a runaway mission from home, actually). So we bought some stuffs at Blok M (Yes, no Gading this weekend. Yay!) then chilled at Senayan. It's so nice just to sit and chat :)

Location: Starbucks Plaza Senayan
zipping dark mocha frappe and hot chocolate :P

Oh! We watched CIDER on KBS. Thank to G, my Korean-girl-soul-trapped-in-Indonesian-girl-body friend. The show was hillarious! Couldn't stop myself from laughing! Then i realize that i need to do more exercise; my back hurts!

Almost officially broke!

I need to pay several tickets today. Habislah persediaan duit-duit saya! am going to Pangkal Pinang next week, and Bali the week after :P wahahahahahha *tawa kemenangan* I am so happy to leave this city, even for a zip!

Actually i prefer to go to Beijing this month. But the plan was to go there with goldie. We got to resechedule our plan since she is going to have her family and or pilgrimage trip on sept. uhm, maybe korea with b? sounds interesting :P

Ok, off me go!

obssesion over coffee :P

I need my shot of coffee! Gara-gara Nia nih!

[updated Friday Aug 8]* DARK MOCHA FRAPPUCINO
among tazo tea, caramel frappucino, and iced water
location: Starbucks La Piazza

Tadi pagi browse-browse blog orang-orang. Pas nyangkut di blog-nya Nia... doh! Her writing about her depression over not-having coffee reminds about how much i love coffee hehehe Padahal tiap kali minum kopi pasti jantung berdebar-debar... tangan gemeteran... kadang-kadang bisa dreamy sendiri. Serasa orang lagi jatuh cinta wakakakakaka... Hmm... maybe COFFEE IS MY SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE!

Suddenly, I crave for Starbucks Dark Mocha Frappucino Blended Coffee "finest arabica coffee, pure dark cocoa and sweet chocolaty bits" yummy yummy yummy! By far, it's my favorite frappe selaen Javachip frappucino :D

My sis said that rumour has it that the new and improved Binus will have either J.co or Starbucks! kyaaaaaaa tidaaaaak bisa gila bisa gilaaaa

p.s.
It's 3.45 pm. I just had my coffeemix :P

Seorang Katolik Sekuler

Sehari yang lalu, kami (sekantor) menemui Bpk IK, seorang praktisi radio yang telah lama juga berkecimpung dalam urusan majalah media research ternama di indonesia. Setelah beberapa kali gagal bertemu, akhirnya kami dapat duduk bersama di salah satu restoran fast food di kawasan perkantoran semanggi. Pilihan tempat yang sangat tidak biasa untuk meeting.

Setelah perkenalan singkat, akhirnya kami mengetahui bahwa beliau adalah seorang jawa katolik tulen. Jelas saja, beliau berasal dari kota Yogyakarta yang sangat kental dengan predikat "bukankah orang yogya itu katolik semua?" ha ha ha.. Beliau seperti langsung merasa dekat dengan kami (yang kebetulan) juga beragama kristen dan katolik. The famous quote "Di mana ada dua atau tiga orang berkumpul dalam nama-Ku..."

Beliau pun menceritakan dongeng-dongeng (begitu beliau menyebutnya) inspiratif mengenai sejak terjang beliau dan beberapa nama besar praktisi lainnya dalam menggembangkan radio-radio ternama di indonesia. Memang berat dan penuh lika-liku.

Tapi bukan radio fokus saya. Fokus saya adalah figur si bapak. Katanya istrinya kristen. Oh, pernikahan "beda" agama, pikir saya. Dan hebatnya, si bapak terlihat begitu mendalami iman katolik beliau dan berani untuk menunjukkannya di depan orang banyak... membuat saya sedikit takut. Takut terbakar karena saya tidak merasa memiliki iman seperti itu. Mungkin juga karena saya telah terbiasa dengan kehidupan manusia-manusia jaman sekarang yang jauh dari Tuhan mereka masing-masing. Mungkin juga telah terbiasa dengan gaya SEKULER orang-orang Eropa, khususnya Belanda.

Malam itu kami menutup meeting kami dengan doa! Bayangkan saja. Terakhir kali saya berdoa di tempat umum secara beramai-ramai (dan juga berlokasi di fast food restaurant) sudah berbulan-bulan lalu ketika saya masih sesekali mengikuti pendalaman iman bersama beberapa teman lain. Waktu itu sepertinya hanya saya dan teman saya Andy (kami yang katolik) yang "ketinggalan" in terms of pengetahuan kami dalam Alkitab dan ke-Tuhan-an. Teman group yang lain seperti sudah canggih sekali karena mereka bahkan memiliki INTEGRATED BIBLE di mobile phone mereka! WOW!

Telah terpatri di benak saya bahwa orang-orang katolik itu cenderung lebih sekuler dibandingkan dengan penganut agama kristen lainnya. Oleh karena itu, melihat seorang katolik seperti bapak IK mengajak kami berdoa bersama untuk menutup meeting yang sama sekali tak berhubungan dengan ke-Tuhan-an terasa cukup aneh sekaligus menyentuh. Seorang jawa katolik tulen yang rendah hati di tengah-tengah rimba kebejatan kota Jakarta.

Saya harap saya tidak hanya mengenakan jubah keagamaan saya di hari Minggu saja. Well, saya memang bukan orang yang religious, tapi saya rasa saya cukup fanatic akan Tuhan saya.

Want to know more about Jesus? Read this.