Surprise No More

a week we've been planning for a surprise party for one of our friend. his wife was busy organising and listing down gifts, we were making sure that we could be at his place before 6.30pm and all other stuff just to make it fun. apparently he planned on hitting the gym today that his wife told him not to as she made a dinner reservation and he should be home by 6.45pm. the minute i reached their place (6.30pm thank you) i suggested on his wife calling him, asking him to call her once he's around the area as she wanted him to get her something from the nearby supermarket. the wife then told me that somehow he reached home at 6.15pm and surprised her and the other guy who was already there instead. LOL! he was asked to leave again and not be back until 7ish. before reaching home he texted his wife asking "ready?". still we surprised him with a birthday song accompanied by harmonica playing and those party popper stuffs.

i truly enjoyed spending the night in a cozy place with few people that are close to my heart. the birthday boy surely had loads of fun as well - being a bartender for those who drinks and kept on changing his attire just like a bride. we managed to asked them to show us some affection publicly even when the wife tried very hard not to oblige. it's just a nice way to end my workday.

again, happy birthday my dear friend!! may you always stay humble and sweet and caring and all other good qualities you have. we love you....

Wondering

some people have many things while others can only wish they had ...

- this one's for the children, nkotb

while i feel blessed with what life has given me so far, i still wonder every now and then - what do i really want? and if i know the answer to some of it - have i work hard in order to realise that dream of mine?

Cancelled!

it was confirmed but 2 days ago the agent called saying the climb is full that we wouldn't be able to do it during good friday. and the only time that is available is the time where either me or my travel companion are unavailable. we were quite annoyed actually because we're given green light and then just like that back to nil. oh well, i guess we're just not fated to do the climb this early in 2008. or maybe i'm just meant to concentrate on the study until april. but still .... so sad!!!

Southern Time

this movie is indeed one worth of the oscar. why's that? well firstly you have to really listen to the thick southern accent (i.e. mumbling all the way). secondly you'd be required to really really listen to what they're talking about if you don't want to miss the story or even the joke thrown here and there. but seriously though, it's a good movie with a great story line and actors who play it well; especially the villain.

shame on me though for only realising it is tommy lee jones instead of clint eastwood who's the sheriff half through the movie. no wonder i kept on telling myself that clint looked totally different here. and josh brolin! i can't help but my mind kept on going back to the days when he played jimmy hickok *the reason our cats were named jimmy and cody* in young riders sans the moustache and the brooding.

pic. courtesy of imdb.com

Random

ngantuk. capek. lemes. males. dikejar2 orang. mengejar2 bos sendiri. browsing. facebook. lotus domino. baca update manhunt yang bikin 5 murid tidak ujian, huh!. xml. iseng2 upload foto ke facebook. domino lagi. baca email. domino lagi. bosan. balik ke schema files. baca email. nge-blog. ngantuk!!

The End

its assessment day today. and 5 people didn't turn up. i was told that four of them were suddenly activated for some special case while the other one received a call in class and left immediately. included in one of them is the guy with that cute smile and great body. i was very curious on what's going on but they said they couldn't reveal it to me apart from those 5 guys are actually in a special unit and they're handling an important case. i managed to get info on which unit they are from and just from browsing the website i know it is quite an 'interesting' unit. well actually i realised this batch comes from a more specialised unit that some of them couldn't come every week because of being deployed, even during class they would get call that need to be attend to immediately just like what happened during the assessment to one of the guy. i thought he too need to leave halfway but apparently no. and only on monday was i being told by one of them that the class is only available for seniors or staff from certain level. well at least i have few contacts in case i need it in the future! hehe, nah i'm not thinking of going to jail or something bad in the future.

anyways, YAY! i got my monday and wednesday back. just in time for the tennis session to start and i can start doing running again.

on another note, i'm enjoying the bionic woman series more. interesting and wicked!

Being A Good Daughter is Hard To Do

sat, march 08th

>> wedding *you have to go as your mum is close to the mother of the bride*
fri, march 14th

>> solemnization *will negotiate with mum to skip this, the advantage of being single*
sat, march 15th

>> wedding *related from both side, stronger from dad - need to go*
sun, march 16th

>> wedding *what do you meant you don't know him? his your mum's 2nd cousin and your dad's cousin!! ; you have to go as you have a stronger bond from dad's side. your parents will be very upset*

i tell you! dad and mum being related creates loads of trouble when it comes to all these wedding thingy. my aunties and uncles can skip it but not me! why? because of dad's relation with them. sigh.
oh well, i count on the briyani dum then. wedding's briyani is totally different from those sell outside.
looking at my wardrobe. only 2 punjabis that fits me now. same clothes few days apart? yeah, if i want mum to kill me!

Casanova

it was a review class yesterday. i couldn't spend the whole 3hrs doing review 'cos well, i was kinda not ready *what's new* for 3hrs of review. not many questions asked as they said it's time for me to give loads of hint for the assessment. duh!

i ended up asking them to question the person next to them and so on until everyone got a chance. come the time where that guy with a great smile (and great bod) :-

him: bagaimanakah guru bahasa kita?

his friend: err .. errr *looking at his notes, this guy is a little slow*

me: *looking at his friend* your answer will determine your final result ya *jokingly of course*

him: *talking softly to his friend* sangat cantik sekali

his friend: dia sangat cantik sekali.

me: if you use sangat you dont' have to use sekali as it means the same. sangat cantik and cantik sekali both mean very pretty. if you use sangat cantik sekali it's like saying something that is very very wuah *can't find the right word, so must be a little expressive, eh*

him: but it's true. dia sangat cantik sekali

me: *speechless, flattered, trying hard to control myself from smiling since looking at him smiling always makes me smile*

sidetrack :-

a friend just texted telling me that she's accepted as a junior official for the F1 in sept. months of waiting and no expectation and she got it! so happy for her. congratulations again, charm.

i'm sure gonna miss his great smile once the assessment is over tomorrow. this class ain't as close as the previous one that i never see all of them sit and chat together. i doubt there'll be gathering or something between the line for this batch.

ps. thanks to yoli for the title inspiration :)

Withdrawal Symptoms

sunday :-

forced myself to wake up at 10. forced myself not to have coke, not even a sip. forced myself to study, done 1 chapter. forced myself not to have coke during movie. decided to go home straight after movie. was feeling a little lethargic that i bought myself a bottle of green tea instead of the usual coke. couldn't sleep until 4ish this morning. spent the time tossing around while my mind had their own journey.

monday :-

woke up late *what else's new?* for the morning pump class. took a cab *again* to work. wishing this eyes could just be shut for few hours instead of staring at the machine.

now :-

i need my coke!

Walking Away

i have so many things in my mind right now that makes me want to put everything down and just take a break. if only i could do that.....

Treasure Hunting

i find the movie a bit draggy. it gets better in the middle and pretty exciting towards the end and i had my fair share of laugh. i can't make up my mind on the genre though, romantic comedy or adventure comedy *if that kinda genre exist* or comedy or just pure entertainment. but for sure, mcconaughey's solid bods and kate's perfect tan does help making the movie more enjoyable.
pic. courtesy of imdb.com

(Feels Like) A First Date

after 2 years i finally catched up with my friend last night. a friend's friend's friend *you tell me* that i met during one of a dinner organised by another friend. we just kinda get along during dinner, few texting and then it faded away; from having each other's number to not having it to back to having it again. after few failed attempt since last december we finally met. and where else to go but the 1st place we met. never meet each other apart from that 1st time, not knowing each other at all, i believe both of us came with an open mind. it's either 'yeah, we can be friends' or 'nah, don't think we can click'. and it turned out good....

Shall We Jump?

it's an alright movie for me. a blockbuster but just not that blockbuster for me. i think i spent time toying with my own list of places to jump to next. i guess its just one of those movie that wants to be the first in using certain effects in a big screen and kinda ignore the storyline? i mean how can you see him as a hero when he did rob a bank? and what happen to that other jumper?
they should've been to south africa though, seeing them appear and disappear between cheetahs, lions and elephant (now i realise that i never see bears in any safari?) - now that's awesome!
pic. courtesy of imdb.com

Yummy Weekend

i've been spending too much time outside the house lately, it's either work or class or movies or gathering or dinner. i haven't had any decent rest since last year, actually. and i felt my body's complaining eversince i came back from my trip.

so after my meetup was cancelled yesterday, i couldn't think of anything but my bed. in fact, i was excited when it got cancelled. i wanted to re-schedule but we've been postponing it since december, mainly due to me, that i thought this time around i have to do it regardless of how tired i am. when she texted saying she didn't hear from me so she made other plans i was utterly happy. instead of joining the friday gathering, i decided to go home. bought dinner and fruit and snacks, had a foot reflexiology, lit candles all over the flat, had a shower, had dinner, and watched a dvd. by 11ish i went to bed.

woke up refresh i had breakfast while watching tv. went out to meet my friends for a dimsum. yupe, dimsum. i didn't want to go actually as i know i have nothing to eat but one of the girl who used to live here is in town for a visit so i thought oh well, i'd just go for the sake of being there as a friend. i am so very happy to know that this friend of mine and her sister are vegetarian! so we joined the yu shang and that's it, just enjoy the conversation while the others ate. went for a movie afterwards and everyone wanted to go home once the movie was over. some are still half awake after their late night out while me and another guy are just simply tired. i know the night is still young, it's not even 6pm but today all i can think about is home, rest, and bed. i realised that once you take a break your body just demands more and more rest. so, grabbed dinner on my way home, bought tabloid nova (blxxdy $2.50) because the headline is interesting *"khiran bukan anak bambang?"* 'cos i know it'll be ages before i this story is published on their site, got some batteries, watered my plants which are definitely happy with my being home early for the last 2 days, watched my fave movie on tv and here i am. still unsure if i am going to watch another dvd, continue reading my book, or just go to bed. and i'm planning to be at home the whole day tomorrow, well apart from going out for groceries.

it's definitely great to be good. and i'm thinking of keeping this habit - on alternate week if possible.

It All Started With A Chair

i've been waiting for this movie for quite some time and it's definitely worth the wait. funny yet it contains a message to the teenagers out there. a refreshing movie and ellen is definitely one talented young actress to watch out for.

pic. courtesy of imdb.com

Jakarta Needs To Be SMART

rather than wasting the money over projects that are abandoned halfway, why don't spend it on building a tunnel like what malaysia did? well we don't have to be ambitious and makes one that is similar or more sophisticated than that, but the idea is there. the government should really do something this time around, no point changing the governor again and again to no avail.

What Legend?

i finally watched the movie last night. and i don't regret not watching it on the big screen. for me it's not a blockbuster but a blahbuster. well will does a great performance, portraying the last man in that island trying to find things to keep him away from boredom and the expression when he thought something had happened to sam in that dark building is very convincing. but the ending? :(
pic. courtesy of imdb.com

YES!!!

alas, collin-adrian won the amazing race asia 2. wooohooo!! they were the last one arriving at the beach, where we have our weekly vb (now our confusion over what the hell were those banners for are finally answered!) but they finished first 'cos adrian is apparently a smart guy when it comes to flags. and when people cheered on them, collin still said thanks to all other teams, kinda lifting up their spirit like he normally does in class. that's one of the reason he's my favourite gym instructor. man, i'm so happy the cocky philippino guys are last, they were truly over confidence. will make a point to attend monday pump to congratulate him!!

P.S. I Love You

i didn't expect the movie to be that good. i expected a normal chick flick but apparently it's more than that. i laughed, i sighed, i cried, i was at awe seeing the pretty scenery, everything. in addition to that, gerard butler is getting more and more yummy. he is a great phantom, a great spartan and a great husband. well, even in character that is.

and denise, i just love all the words that came out of her mouth. nice movie indeed!

John McCarthy: You know, Denise, that's why you're not married. Women act like men. Then they complain men don't want them.

Denise Hennessey: Oh, is that why? 'Cause I thought it was something different. I thought that it was 'cause I deserved the best and he's out there. He's just with all the wrong women. And let me be clear. After CENTURIES of men looking at my tits in stead of my eyes and pinching my ass instead of shaking my hand, I now have the *DIVINE* right to stare at a man's BACKSIDE with vulgar, cheap appreciation if I want to!

pic and quote courtesy of imdb.com

V Is For ...

here comes that day of the year again. the day i'd see loads of rose seller along raffles place and how busy those flower shops around the area are. the day where me and few wormkates waited anxiously for the delivery man to send a bouquet to the IT lady *because her bouquet normally has a minimum of 100 roses* . the day you'd see loads of girls carrying a bouquet on their hand on their way home.

during uni time, me and 2 friends took the opportunity of this day for business - selling chocolates and flowers to felow uni students. we're busy finding rocks to balance the basket, i was busy taking care of the roses i bought from the flower market near home to depok to hand it over to our customer (unfortunately some of the roses got ugly after the strong wind from the metro mini ride). we did make some money though - i think Rp25,000/person. not bad, eh.

few years ago me and my ex-flatmate went for a midnight movie and decided not to do one again on this day. i believe we're the only one without the opposite sex companions and not holding anything in our hand then.

yeah, this day is always overrated. i don't really give a darn about it as it's not one that is celebrated in my belief nor my culture. but that doesn't mean i will say no to any chance or meeting friends nor will i stop myself from having fun peeking at my workmate's flowers. it's also fun seeing those teenage couples on the streets looking shy with the flowers in their hand while the guy looks proud for being the provider of that flower. and i can't wait to see the display of affection tonight as i'll be in town watching a romance movie.

I Want I Want I Want I Want

i have soooo many things i want to do that i made myself confuse. already planned what i want to do next then came another wants. last thursday came a new want and another want yesterday. i might end up with not even a want done :\

oh well... guess i'll just concentrate with one of the wants that must be done - i want to get this application done by this week.

For You, A Thousand TImes Over

i decided to skip gym to watch this movie. it's been out for more than a month now and i don't want to miss it just like what happened to another movie. and i'm just glad i did. a VERY beautiful movie about friendship and loyalty between two boys, a friendship that isn't tarnished not even by war. about forgiving and seeking ways to make amendments. it's just beautiful, so beautiful it made me shed tears seeing how the loyalty of the boy turned back against him. i miss playing kites now ....

pic. courtesy of imdb.com

A Present For Myself

i skipped the morning class again. i reschedule my exam - from end of february to end of april as i am not well-prepared. i have so many things i want to do. things that requires not only time and money, but a certain fitness level as well. and i have break my own record on my weight. i really need to assess myself. i really need to change my habit. pronto!

i am certain that the only way of doing this is to lay low for awhile, if not forever. cutting down on all the unimportant stuff, fine dining and fridays hang out included - not totally but just keep it to the minimum. i have to be firm in saying no instead of giving in to the temptation called foods. i can't do anything to movie though as that is my passion and its like one of my primary needs. as for the rest? all i need now is the willpower to do these but i know i can!!

Weekend Recap

the plan was to attend a friend's wedding in mumbai. but the 2days leave needed was a hindrance that i decided to forgo it. during one of the friday's meetup a friend talked about vietnam. somehow he couldn't make it as he is now freezing his axx of in uk on business trip while me and another friend do it. a pleasant 4D3N in ho chi minh city that gave me a better knowledge of the war and somehow made me wonder if i am claustrophobic or just afraid of dark.

day 1 - 07Feb'08

we arrived in ho chi minh city, formerly known as saigon, in the afternoon, straight to the hotel to put our stuff and out to start our sight seeing. the plan was to visit the war museum but the hotel staff told us it was closed that we ended up walking to the cathedral and post office, one of the attraction in saigon. on our way to the saigon river we stopped to see some dragon and lion dance in front of one of the hotel. it was pretty pack as all the motorbikes (which i think occupied 80% of the road) halted to watch it. we continued our walk once its done and had a nice stroll along the river. from there we saw some festivals so we headed there. crossing the road was a tough job, and that comes from me an indonesian!! its like motorcyle comes from all over you. festival wise, it was a beautiful display of flowers with some exhibition and bridges and of course rats everywhere. tired of walking we headed to one of the known restaurant for dinner. my friend wasn't feeling well afterwards that she threw up on our way back to the hotel. for sure she left some souvenirs along the street in saigon :)

day 2 - 08Feb'08

as we couldn't book a private tour for cu chi tunnel due to the new year we joined the group tour. i actually preferred this kinda tour as its cheaper :). made a stop in a handicraft store where all the things are made by handicapped before heading down to cu chi area. it was quite a long drive and upon seeing those rubber forest along the way i sense a similiarity of that area with lubang buaya. well both are invaded by communist, so i guess thats why i felt that way. it was a good tour along the area and a great knowledge on how the viet cong defended themselves against the americans and south vietnam troops. i decided to forgo trying the first hideout as i am just afraid i'd be stuck on my way down and i don't want to embarass myself because of that. one man tried and he couldn't continue due to the size of his tummy. after watching the video, listening to the explanation, seeing the different bunkers and traps we were given a chance to experience what the viet cong experienced - walking inside the tunnel. we were warned earlier that the tunnel was made small to fit the vietnamese size and not the americans size. few people in front of me decided to quit after trying to enter it. with the huge gap between me and the person in front of me, i went in and we had to squat all the way. the light was very minimum that after passing the first lantern i felt uneasy. i looked back and cl was making this 'oh shxt' kinda smile. i continued and fearing of a panic attack if i kept on going, i stopped saying that i wanted to go out. the guy behind asked me to continue as he said its the same if i go ahead or turn back. so i continued awhile and when i saw a total pitch black in front of me i really had panic attack. what if i fainted and i know if i continued i might've cry. at the same time my heart was pounding mad. so i stopped and insisted on turning back. i felt bad as 3 people had to go out to give way for me but i just didn't care. once out i was sweating like mad and i realised a lot of people decided not to do it as well. i was tempted to go in again after i managed to calm myself but i think being brave wasn't the right thing to do so i walked to the exit area instead. cl told me that it was good i went out as she could sense the panic in my voice. she told me about the squatting and a little crawling and the soreness she had afterwards. we ended the tour by sitting at the area used by the viet cong to eat and ate what they used to eat during the war - steamed tapioca with peanut and tea.

back from the tour we asked the guide to stop us at the war remnant museum. it was a very good history lesson for me. i learned more about the war - the what, when, why, who, and how. they displayed some featus victims of the agent orange as well. i never felt that satisfied getting out of a museum before.

back to the hotel for a short rest before going out for dinner and walk along the streets. it was darn pack but i had to take my hat off for the vietnamese - the road is clean and is not as polluted as jakarta. but i still love my city.

day 3 - 09Feb'08

we started early for a 2 hours drive to the mekong. we booked a private tour for this so we had a nice cozy car but couldn't sleep as the guide kept on explaining about everything along the way. a nice day for cruising along the river. stopped at unicorn island where we had a taste of local snacks and stopped by to see how the coconut candy was made before heading back to the boat and off to phoenix island. took a sampan ride along the small river to get back to the big river. it was a pretty interesting ride i should say. we had our lunch afterwards - elephant ear fish, tiger prawn, vietnamese pancake and some other stuff. i was pretty relax here as they only served seafood. the day before i had difficulty asking if they serve pork - making a pig's honking noise didn't help at all!

on the way back the guide brought us to a temple of the cai dai religion - one of the religion in vietnam. it is pretty "interesting" as cao dai incorporate buddhism, hinduism, taoism, judaism, christianity and islam together!! they used 3 colours one representing buddhism, hinduism, and the rest of the religion in one colour. their symbol is the left eye, big brother is watching you :)

back to the hotel we rested awhile before going out for dinner. we wanted to try the vietnamese food so we went to one that is decent enough. i am actually tempted to try those by the road food but i guess cl isn't that kinda person, furthermore her 1st day experience made her more vigilant when it comes to food - not even ice cubes for her. i am proud of my indonesian stomach!

day 4 - 10Feb'08

we walked to the cathedral area and then city hall area in search of a cyclo but we couldn't find any. so we flagged a taxi to go to the jade emperor pagoda. it was very pack with worshippers. i saw people praying and releasing birds, people praying to all different gods there - it was an interesting place. still i can't get the picture of the sad turtle in the caged dirty pond out of my mind. it must've been one of the offerings but still it's darn cruel for the turtle!!

went to ben thanh market afterwards and had a stroll around the wet market before doing some shopping, well if getting tees for my nieces and nephew can be called shopping that is. took a cyclo back to the hotel. it was an interesting ride! when asked how much he said "up to you, it's new year". once around the area we paid 20,000vnd only to get cursed. they asked for 200,000vnd. nuts! the guy at the hotel told us its 50,000vnd/hour and our journey is just arounf 15mins. i kept on using their "up to you" as a defense and he kinda slapped my hand when i added another 5.000vnd. we were getting annoyed but not wanting to give in. he ended up showing us a paper where its stated 150,000vnd/hour. stupid!! i used that info as a bargain and after quite some time they decided to settle with 50,000vnd.

back to the hotel and rest awhile before flying back home.

it was a pretty interesting getaway indeed. i still can't believe i didn't do the tunnel. i should've asked what to expect inside the tunnel before entering it to avoid that panicky state. so ashamed of myself!!

still ... sun, river, motorbike, 25% of tunnel. i enjoyed it!!

CNY Getaway

to those celebrating it :-

happy lunar new year

i'm off seeing the vietkong

later folks...

map courtesy of mapquest.com

CNY Eve

so i finally had a taste of gv gold class today. went for a movie with yolli - so called celebrating her birthday kinda outing *happy birthday again*. movie was pretty disturbing, but then again it's not tim burton movie if it ain't unique. the cinema itself is good, well after all it is gold class. but i guess i'm just a normal person, after browsing their menu i called the staff asking if it's okay to get my usual nachos combo instead. he was pretty nice to get it for me since i saw some guy went out to get it themself. cozy comfy with a reclining chair and blanket provided. the problem is that i feel so comfortable that i think i don't mind doing it again and again and again.
the blue-green eyed bloke texted me while i was browsing around waiting for the movie to start. nothing much, simply to say hi and telling me that i am not forgotten. thanks for the text and to be honest i am still waiting but not that keen anymore. and i realised now that he has the same hairstyle and same lip as tom welling. no wonder he always reminded me of someone.

Murphy's Law

i've been avoiding work-related rant in my blog for quite some time but i have to succumb to the temptation to rant one now. without the need of elaborating let me just say that i'm just so annoyed to come to work only to see that the key agent wasn't unlocked after the server was restarted yesterday and don't get me to the databases. all need to be done manually and it took me almost the whole day doing so. and its closing where everything must be done faster than a bullet if possible and when boss' favourite sentence is "how is it?"

to make things worst, enterprise manager shows some attitute as well. sometimes you might wonder what's the use of having leave if you come back with more than what you bargained for.

A Family Affair

I have mixed feeling from my trip home last week, but still i'm just happy to meet the family.

this is gonna be a loong entry now that i write this on word while waiting for my flight - 3 more hours to go ...

- Thursday, 31 Jan 08
Landed at 9ish we decided to go straight to my nephew’s school as it’s in ancol and mom’s just afraid of the traffic if we go home first. We reached his school not even at 10 so we had to wait for 3 hrs. They did have a break at 11.30 and by 11 you can see loads of activities going on in the waiting room, parents or maids came with food for the children.

Come recess we didn’t see my nephew so we tried to take a peek in his class. Apparently he’s having his meal there. When asked why not have it outside, he said his mum asked to eat inside the class. Haha, well at least he obeyed his mum. Recess over and I was just tired of waiting in the room we went back to the car and waited there.
Reached home to meet my nieces. i decided to play with them instead of sending my nephew to his mandarin class. I was quite surprised to see my youngest niece as I didn’t expect her to have a lovely eyes and eye lashes than goes all the way up. she’d look so surprised in all the pictures as I tend to take it closer and she’s always at awe with the flash.
- Friday, 01 Feb 08
The plan is to meet juwi for lunch and come what may. i almost screwed the plan as I learnt only today that mum will be doing the cooking for tomorrow. For 150 people, mind you. Normally we cater but mum wanted to promote her briyani and stuff, hence the cooking. I felt bad for leaving that I told juwi I could only make it in the evening. But then mum asked me to continue with my plan ‘cos she’d only start cooking at night and after helping a little bit here and there I told juwi that plan goes on. What do you know, it was raining darn heavy I couldn’t call a cab. At the same time juwi was having transportation problem until she texted me (or was it me calling her?) telling me that busway terminal was closed. Long story short, we cancelled our meetup and she went home instead. I felt a pang of guilt as I was the one asking her to take ½ day leave but then again thank God for her taking ½ day leave, else she’d be stranded in the road just like my nephew.
Poor nephew of mine were stucked in the traffic for 9ish hours. He left his school at 12 and called home at 3 about the traffic at jembatan tiga. Called saying they’re now at jembatan besi then he called again at 4ish telling us he’s now at hotel ciputra. Around 5 he called saying that he has done all his homework and they’re still at hotel ciputra area. By 6ish he called still from the same position. Apparently he also called his dad and mum complaining that he’s tired and hungry. There was once he called saying that the driver said he wanted to leave the car due to the traffic. Haha, I’m sure he must be afraid being left alone there. By 7ish and when they’re still in the same location, my bro-in-law and sis decided to pick him up after asking the driver to make a detour to tanjong priok hoping that they could take another way home. I followed my sis and bro-in-law to pick him up. Problem is the driver isn’t that quick that we had difficulty determining their exact location. Anyways we managed to intercept them at cempaka mas and by 9.30 my nephew was carried back to our car while the driver was asked to rest before driving the car home. Poor boy, he was hungry yet sleepy at the same time that he only had few spoons of rice and went to sleep. What a mess Jakarta is during raining season.
- Saturday, 02 Feb 08
The reason I went home, my youngest niece’s shaving ceremony. As usual we followed the Indian practice, putting some money on the head and let people cut her hair and take the money as a token of appreciation from the parents. It was quite a successful event considering the flood around Jakarta. Few of the invitees couldn’t make it though as they’re busy with the water in their house. It was a little tiring but fun. Sent my nephew to his wushu practice in the evening. 2 hrs of waiting but it was fun seeing the kids practicing especially those green belts with the swords and stuff. my nephew is still holding a white belts, but it’s still fun seeing them trying hard to get the basic movements right.
- Sunday, 03 Feb 08
Together with my sis we went to have hair treatment while her hubby and son played basket ball. Went home and spent another day with my nephew and nieces. helped my nephew with his sempoa (abacus) homework though i ended up learning how to count with sempoa instead, gave up and check the result with my normal math's knowledge.

Poor niece of mine wasn’t feeling well in the evening that my sis had to send her to see a doctor at night. I spent the night feeling a little bit uneasy though after hearing news about the closure of the expressway to airport. I couldn’t afford not to go home on Monday since I have a class to teach at night and it’s closing tomorrow!! My nephew of course was hoping the flood got worst so that I’d be stranded.
- Monday, 04 Feb 08
Afraid of the traffic, I left home with dad at 7.30 when my flight is at 12.20. didn’t get a chance to see my niece as she was at the doctor again after having diarrhoea the night before. After saying goodbye to my nephew and youngest niece I left home. Sending dad to office I was then sent to the airport. Tada…expressway is opened, water is still there but no longer 80cm and I reached the airport at 9ish. Checked-in, I spent my time from one eatery to another. Had bakso malang and teh botol, I spent time browsing their magazine before going out to get some snacks. Sat awhile before heading down to hoka hoka bento from some shrimp roll and another round of teh botol. After having enough of it I decided to go inside and sit one corner, writing all this up so that I can copy and paste it at home.

now i'm home, back from my class. tired but still need to do my laundry. i better get my axx up to take a shower before doing some house chores. nite nite ..

lunch talk

lack of rest, lack of sleep, lack of water resulted in me feeling slightly giddy today. i've been drinking lesser and lesser water nowadays, sometimes just because i am too concentrated at work that i'm lazy to move and top up the water. anyways, i decided to ask my workmate to pack lunch for me so that i could catch some rest, if not sleep, during lunch time. i normally turn my chair towards the glass window and look outside while resting. couldn't do that today as i am too tired that i decided to open my prayer mat and sleep under the desk. it was a good 30mins rest i should say. hmm, maybe i'll bring sarong or something so that i can do it as and when i need to do it during lunch.

lunch wise, since jen is going to arcade i asked her to get me a pack of rice with sotong, acar, and sambal goreng. yummy! it wasn't the same as what i used to order 'cos there's some chilli and gravy that i ended up sweating like mad while eating it. darn spicy. but i guess i needed to sweat it out to ease the fever. now i'm feeling a little bit better but my tummy is growling. and i have a class tonight ...

Carpe Diem

a good movie indeed. actually, let me rephrase. a great movie indeed. nothing can stop you from living, all you need is determination. and imagination and memory. and of course the will to live life to the fullest. never delay doing things you want to do, saying words you want to say, anything.
life is fragile. just never ever give up.
pic. courtesy of imdb.com

Soeharto Dies

finally he died. sounds harsh i know but he's been suffering for quite some time. innalillahi wa inna ilaihi roji'un

Quote

give your life for the one who gives you his love

but

give your self-respect only to the one who is willing to be destroyed for your love

- fanaa, 2006

beraaaattt

Detour

the first time i tried hard saving a ball during the game resulting in me falling down in the court. best part was that my toe got twisted and now its swollen and painful. decided not to join those going for dinner i went home instead with the thought of studying in my mind. bought some food, drinks and detergent prior to reaching home. the food somehow seemed spoiled if not taste awful that i ended up ordering pizza instead. browsing youtube somehow i searched for a bollywood movie and found one i've been wanting to see; it was highly recommended by ally as well.

as for my study? hmmm....

Amusing

i find it amusing when i knew how a friend get to know female friends. how he could just stop and said hi to the girl she saw and ended up with her number. well he is a very charming guy with a good look, guess woman can't resist that. nevertheless, i still find it amusing that he's out on a date with a girl he met while he was passing by a certain area. nothing dodgy or something, well even if there is i don't want to know. i find it much much amusing when another friend left early weeks ago during one of the event 'cos he had a date. why amusing? well she knew the girl she's meeting while he was on a date! basically he said hi and get the number of a girl sitting at the next table while his date went to the loo. there's definitely dodgy stuff going on when he is involved but again i don't want to know. knowing the stuff he shared during the xmas party is more than enough already. as long as they respect me as a friend, i'm fine.

so it's just interesting to see how they operated last night, not both guys mentioned above but same kinda attitude. two guys went up to two ladies who were standing by the edge. they went back a few minutes afterwards. while they're walking back to the group, two other guys approached the girls, the girl said something to them and they laughed. haha, they're couples!! but that didn't deter the boys as they still wandered around afterwards. men!

SIGH

i know its just not meant to be. things happened for a reason. there's always light at the end of the tunnel. i even weighed the pros and cons and honestly i was slightly inclined towards the cons. but still i can't say i wasn't disappointed. a little bit, but still am. it's just a shame to have missed such an opportunity. oh well, bottom line is that its just not meant to be. God knows what's best for me and i believe missing this is the best option

i'll just look at all the stuff i'd be missing had it been the other way around. it's better to spend my energy focusing on things i want to achieve this year. for now, let me have a go with the mars bars, time out, light coke i bought earlier. i'm sure i'll be a lot happier when i meet my friends later.

on a totally different note, registration for the amazing race asia 3 is open!! i am so very keen to try out but cin couldn't take longer leave after back from her 2 mths leave. i want to try but i couldn't find anyone who's willing to try. sigh

Believe It Or Not

me and hp attended the ibm conference at marriott today. before leaving we entered the "hall of predictions" where people can try their luck on palm reading, face reading, chinese horoscope reading, and tarot card reading. honestly, i don't believe in all these because for me fate is only in the hand of God, but that doesn't mean i can't try for fun, right? hehe ...

i chose the tarot card 'cos i'm always intrigue by this. 'bismillah' i shuffled the card, put it down and started to distract the reader with questions on how long he studied this, why he studied this etc. he was nice to answer all my questions while looking at the cards i chose. hmm, first question - "are you singaporean?" no. and he pointed at the card where there's a group of people sitting in a boat in the middle of the ocean - okay well, coincidence. the 2nd statement kinda caught me by surprise and then everything else that came out of his mouth made me smiled and wondered as well. it's not something out of the ordinary, there's some things he said that made me feel like saying 'duh, that happens to everyone' out loud, but it was fun and surprisingly it coincides with what's on my mind. one think he said that made me nodded my head was when he mentioned about me getting distance from my belief. i totally agree with this and i really need to fix this fast.

it was a fun reading and honestly i don't know if i should feel a slight regret doing it. knowing myself better i know i'll have his words spinning in my head for quite some time.

pic. courtesy of yahoo.com (howstuffworks.com)

2nd One

so i've started teaching the bahasa class today. i was told that i was supposed to be teaching intermediate class but the group couldn't make it early that the class had to be postpone, and i ended up with another beginner class. perfectly fine for me 'cos i can make sure to be more organised now that i have teach it before. pretty shocked upon seeing the classroom - it was double the size of my previous one, without those manual projector. it's good though 'cos i have to use whiteboard; another practice for me. not sure if i want to prepare slides for next class, whiteboard seems to be working just fine.

student wise, mostly looks serious and seems like there are few middle aged police officers now compared to last class. during the class the door was open, two officers who're late. and one caught my attention the moment i saw him - cute smile, nice body (buff but not a v-shape like a frog), and just cute. the funny part was after erasing the notes from the whiteboard i called a name to test them and it was his name. so i had to come closer and yes, he has a nice smile. those boyish grin - well he looks like he's still in his twenties, so he is a boy indeed. not bad lah, something to look at if i ever get bored or feeling tired in class.

so far it was a good start. overall people are receptive, lots of laughs and q&a sessions. i am glad that the class a lively even from day 1. 3 hours eh, if they're all plain dead i'd end up dying as well....

Heath Ledger

10 things i hate about you. the patriot. the knight's tale. casanova. brokeback mountain.
found dead. sleeping pills. peak of his career. 28 years old.
what a shame. what a waste. price of popularity?
oh well, who am i to judge....
pic. courtesy of yahoo.com

Emo Time =)

Nice Clip, Nice Song

anyone happen to have the mp3 to share? :)

Carpe Diem

• get out of your comfort zone, don't just leave in the path - get out of that path
• share happinness
• we have become an increasingly comfort addicted people, change that
• fill your life while you have it
• life is just to short to be sorry for oneself, if you're unhappy talk about it. settle things fast
• self-pity is just pathetic. moody is darn pathetic. settle things fast rather than keeping it inside
• you're here to live, not to just sit on a couch

Finally

after months of her missing tennis, late for breakfast, and basically late for every other appointments i had a nice one-on-one catch up with our very own ms. drama queen. it was a simple yet sweet catch up. we started with snacks continued with movie and ended it with dessert. loads of talking, sharing, constructive criticism and simply updating each other. friendship does take a lot of effort and i'm just glad we decided to do this instead of attending the event. nothing beats face-to-face on a 1-on-1 basis.

movie wise, finally after losing his lady to another man, in love with a lady and nothing happened, marrying a lady who's in love with another man, again losing his lady to another man; he ended up with his 1st choice. well done, james - finally....

pic. courtesy of imdb.com

Tipping Point

i am reading a book with the above title now. about how small things could have a huge impact on a large scale. how, for example, mentioning the word 'yawn' could make people reading/listening to it ended up yawning and how others who see it could end up yawning as well and it will just keep on snowballing. and then i went for super sneak preview earlier tonight. a movie about how a lie changed the life of several people including herself. briony's actions is indeed an example of a tipping point. brilliant movie indeed, and not to forget, James McAvoy :) somehow the 'come back, come back to me' reminded me of another movie though - 'come back to me, come back to cold mountain'
on a totally different note, i pity one of the sister from the malaysian team of the amazing race asia. losing her short term memory temporarily - poor girl, i know how scary that can be....

picture courtesy of imdb.com

Life Is Like A Movie, Go To The Cinema

i was feeling tired this morning, well i haven't had enough rest for the past few months now. i skipped pump (what's new?) and it seems that my 4 pillows kept on calling me everytime i woke up to go for a shower. by 7.40ish i texted my boss telling her that i had to take the morning leave and should be at the office in the afternoon. i went back to bed then. of course i couldn't sleep - my body clock has switched on by then. i woke up, showered and went surfing. my plan is to have a relaxing morning - the reason i took 1/2 day leave. by 9ish i was restless and after browsing this and that, i decided to head down to vivo and catch a movie i wanted to watch for quite some time. timing wise is perfect too - can still be in the office on time.

once in the cinema while waiting for the movie to start i spoke to myself, how i could be so lazy waking up for work yet so excited, ignoring how tired i was, in catching a show. that is when i came up with the quote which is the title of this post.

a friend texted me asking my whereabouts since i didn't reply to her email. told her my plan and once at the office the 1st thing i did was to reply to her. she found me amusing to skip work and yet energised for a movie. i shared my newly found quote to her which of course made her laughed. but it is true, movie is part of me.

oh and movie wise? it was a nice movie with a simple plot - 3 brothers heading on a road trip together. as expected when siblings are united, some disagreement, arguments, hiding things from a certain sibling though deep down inside they have a strong bond and love - i can just picture me and my 2 sisters heading out on a road trip together. it must've been a fun irritating at times trip.

Email From Siem Riep

Dear my customers
how are you today ? whay are doing now?
i'm very well thank you . i'm sorry didn't E mail see you
because now is hight season very bacy day
i want you help me something i recomment somefrient
that they want see Ankor wat in siem reap
i would to say good luck to you..
frome me Makara

got an email from the driver i engaged upon during my trip there. seems like he finally got his own tuk tuk and has his own business now. so any of you guys wanting to go there and would like to engaged a personal tuk tuk driver, let me know - i have his contact number :)

Reunion

you see LAH! i was determined to sleep early after only managed to sleep at 6 this morning thanks to the amount of coke intake and yet i couldn't. how am i ever going to be able to wake up early for monday pump remains a question forever. anyways since i'm awake and about, i'll just kill the time typing down my weekend activities.

skipped vb on saturday as i don't think i want to bring all those sweet corns and sweet potatoes with me to sentosa. i've been skipping vb for 3 weeks now that i kinda miss it but at the same time i don't want to rush things. vb starts at 1pm and if i were to do i still had to go home at 3pm. with the court set-up etc we can only play around 1.30ish so well let it go then. left the house at 5.30pm once the rain stopped to attend the reunion - university of indonesia's reunion. i was really overwhelmed by the amount of foods available there - siomay, pempek, soto betawi, combro, tempe mendoan, bakso malang, urap, nasi tumpeng, ayam penyet, sate braddel, ayam bumbu rujak, and many more. as much as i wanted to i had to forgo few dishes as there's no more space for it in me. i finally meet mbak 'anda in person, not just talking over the phone or messenger eversince she arrived here. it was a wonderful gathering, kudos to mbak hany for organising it. i felt a bit bad for not being able to help until the end 'cos we had to rush as we had a movie to catch. a good, no, great movie indeed. awesome plot and i enjoyed every bit of it. as much as i dislike russel crowe i have to admit he gives quite a performance there. i don't have to say anything about denzel though, he's just as awesome as per normal. went home and sleepless until 6am-ish.

left the house around 3.30pm on sunday for a movie-cum-reunion with few friends organised by the lady who finally is back in town. we were supposed to watch national treasure but few of us were afraid it won't be shown by the time she comes back to singers that we finally watched it with our own friends. so the movie was split into two, national treasure for those that haven't watch it and michael clayton for those who have. my review on michael clayton? well it is definitely a verb-challenging movie, you have to listen to the dialogues carefully, but i find it confusing and boring that at one point i was so very tempted to leave the cinema. it gets better 20mins before the movie ends though and i'm glad i didn't leave the cinema. once its done we joined the 1st group whose movie ends earlier for dinner and a simple catching up since quite a few of them just returned from holidays, including the guy i made a bet with and lose the bet - a jug of ribena soda on me next time at vb! left early in order to reach home before 9 and get myself ready for bed early. a plan remains a plan ...

Its Not Real Life Yet Its Over

from usa today :-

Comic fans fume as Marvel erases Spidey-MJ marriage

Those who know Spider-Man only from Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in the movies might be surprised to learn that in the comic book, the web-spinning hero has been married for almost 21 years.
That's why the comic world is in an uproar over Marvel Comics' decision to undo the marriage of Peter Parker and red-haired bombshell Mary Jane Watson, reversing two decades of storytelling.
In Amazing Spider-Man #545 last week, Peter and Mary Jane make a tearful deal with the devil-like character Mephisto: In exchange for saving Aunt May's life, Mephisto erases all traces of the Peter-Mary Jane marriage from memory. ...

read the complete story yourself..

another proof that i'm skivving at work :P

Farewell Smoothies

from wikipedia :-

"Pret A Manger's sole Singapore outlet, opened in 2006 and located in the Ogilvy Centre on Robinson Road in the Central Business District, appeared to have closed permanently as of 2 January 2008" :'(

Is This True?

taken from the book eat pray love by elizabeth gilbert :-

Although it is true that Indonesian birth rates are down lately due to a brilliant recent birth control incentive program: the government promised a new motorcycle to every man who would volunteer to come in for a vasectomy ....

seriously? seriously??

I've Got The Calendar!

Lost and (hopefully) Found

early morning and a message came in. i was like what? and oh well, it could just be someone wishing a happy new year. but i was surprised to read a text from my sister saying kijang was stolen. 31 years of living in that place and everything is a okay. we know the neighbours well and even our next door neighbour used to be a bad guy he assured everyone that our area wouldn't ever be touched by him or his group.
poor dad. he's now in the police station with my bro-in-law. i couldn't help but feel relieved that eventhough dad has no bioligical son, he has them now. my sis told me then mum went to kelurahan (which is just 2 houses away) and found the security guy fast asleep. of course mum flipped since we do pay monthly fee for security. that guy deserves every single thing that mum said to him, and knowing mum i'm sure he's getting a good one there...
oh well, i hope dad can get his car back. hope the insurance cover it, if not. else, knowing dad i know he will let it go. yes these are all loans from the big Guy up above but still i'm hoping to hear a good news.

New Year

no turning back. it's blxxdy expensive but then again it's public holiday (juw, ini berarti imlek i kagak balik and nehi2 gak jadi abis perlu cuti 2 hari seh, mudah2an ada yg kawin lagi dah! =[) payment has been made so there is definitely no turning back. all i need to do now is :-

- cut down on my taxi ride

- cut down on my calling home talking about almost anything to my nephew

action speaks louder than words and i really want to see how i do here. but for sure i'm just glad i turned down the other invitation. else my savings will cry like those hindi movie actress.

on another note, to those sharing the same belief as me ..

here's wishing you a blesses 1429 Hijriah year.

may God bless you (and me) and all your (and my) endeavour this year.

- 1 muharram 1429 H

The Curse of a Goal

during new year i mentioned that my goal is to lose weight and to start it fast. the morning while we're packing up there's few chips left and since i was the one bringing chips of course they asked me to bring it back. i was still contemplating when one of them straightaway said no to me bringing it back as my goal is to lose weight. fine, i was and still am glad to him for reminding me so. i hope the others keep on helping me by reminding me, however harsh it is i will accept it.

today i was given a looong lecture from another friend after putting 'that is a wonderful briyani' on my msn personal message. basically she was advising me on the proper way of eating - cutting carbs, more lean meat, more veggie etc etc. i actually kinda know all this already, hello .. i used to be an avid atkins practitioner before moving to a more healthier south beach diet girl. i don't think anyone will ever believe me if i say i used to be 12kgs lighter. of course i accepted all the advise happily 'cos that's one way of caring that she shows to me, and i appreciate it. i hope each and everyone of my friends will keep on reminding me if i ever go overboard. and yes i am starting a healthy lifestyle bit by bit. i'm going to be discipline with my workout and start watching my diet again. i might not be able to go back to doing south beach diet but i will definitely control my intake. sometimes sharing your goal is a good thing as people can help you achieve it by reminding you about it. yes it might get irritating at times but still the bottom line is they care! so thank you for the caring and i hope i won't disappoint you guys....

ps. while writing this a text came in asking me to join the running session tomorrow, which i decline 'cos i do have my own session eh

On Class and Briyani..

after joining my aunt to her sunday class last year i decided to change side and join another aunt to the class she goes to as soon as it starts again this year. why the change? well, for starters i don't really enjoy the 1st one 'cos i joined in late so i was sometimes left clueless as they have their own book. 2ndly i really want one that focus more on Qur'an reading, it's so difficult to find one that provide private lesson here. and 3rdly, it's a bit far from my place - geylang side and it starts at 9am. excuses excuses eh. anyways the class i intend to join is nearer, simpang bedok there. this aunt of mine normally join the class at darul aman and since the ustadzah (teacher, female) is going to teach reading at at taqwa, she told me about it. and it's at 10! so off we went. unfortunately, it's not Qur'an reading as what my aunt was being told. oh well its okay - lets see what is being shared here. and guess what? while listening to the teacher's explanation i opened the flyers and apparently sunday morning in this mosque is focusing on how to raise children the islamic way. it's for mums and mums-to-be!! i showed to my auntie and we simply looked at each other. haha, since we're there we just continue listening. interesting actually, i learned a lot of new stuff. i am also aware now that the behaviour of your kids don't solely depend on the environment and how they're being brought up, but the quality of the money used by the parents to get them food etc (i.e. is it a halal money etc). she also talked about relationship between husbands and wives and all those that goes along that line. pretty interesting actually but still not sure eh if i'm heading there again next week or join my auntie for the earlier session or even go back to the place i usually go to. oh well, lets see...

on another lighter note, mum called early in the morning just to ask me to attend the wedding after telling me no need yesterday. i tried to refuse but apparently it's her best friend's daughter's wedding and i *as usual* has to take her place. well actually i am glad i did go. the briyani was superb and upon hearing i'm staying alone i was given another pack of it to bring home. my dinner and tomorrow's lunch is settled. again my goal to slim down has to be postpone...

Finally

i finally checked no 5 out and i finally watched this movie. interesting place though we had to spend the whole time standing or sitting by the front porch. interesting movie as well, though the timing was a little bit crazy that i had to struggle 'cos i started to feel that i'm gonna be sick soon. interesting dialogue though it's a little bit dragging when they're arguing but a good one.
photo taken from imdb.com

Contented

i feel very contented with how my day was. nothing much, nothing special, but that doesn't mean i can't feel blessed and contented right?

boss came back from her 2 weeks leave, hence the end of our "freedom" as well. she went out of her room asking if any of us haven't submit the leave form. since i applied 1/2 day for dec 26th but took 1 day instead i went to her room asking for my form. she has submitted it so i took a new one and gave it to her. few minutes afterwards she went to my place with the form saying, "take this, you've already submitted, no need to submit this". sweet boss, isn't she? well, i still keyed 1 day in my timesheet so if HR did some comparison (which unlikely so) it's not going to change anything but still, sweet boss isn't she?

since my goal is to lose weight and i'm in the mood for that i decided to do some quick shopping during lunch - getting myself a pair of sports shoes to replace the one that failed me recently. i was really in the mood so i went to the shop and discussed about my requirements - weekly run less than 10 click, could be more than once a week soon, preparing myself for a longer distance run. yeah right, i was in the mood and i hope the mood stays, eh. they did some leg analysis (which apparently required me to walk back and forth like a model) and gave me some recommendation. i ended up with a pair with a "rollover" kinda thing. though i wasn't very happy with the design i still bought that for its advantage. i went back with a pair of shoe and a new knowledge about my feet and the reason i am prone to ankle injury. this shoe will solely be used for running due to it's specs and i have to make an effort of picking up the shoe in the gym locker for my tennis sessions. well, additional effort but for my own well-being.

the shoe was put into test in the evening when i do my weekly run. due to the construction of singapore flyer and stuff resulted in the closure of certain area of esplanade park that we had to run along the main road, we decided to change the route. empress place - boat quay - clarke quay - ue square and back. but the distance seems shorter that we continued up to river valley (robertson walk) and turned back. i was breatheless for sure due to no exercise for the past few weeks. it was a good run indeed and we decided to stick with this route.

done with running we went to dinner at these nepalese restaurant. so much for nepalese, they only have 4 nepalese snacks and the rest are western food. ordered pakora which is basically curried chicken bakwan (though they used chickpea flour) but it tasted quite nice. called my ex-flatmate in case she wanted to join since it's around her area but no reply. but then we ended up paying her a visit as she extended an invitation to drop by, so why not eh. back home afterwards ...

1/2 day free leave - new shoes - nice run - nice food - nice ending. do i need more reason to be contented?

That's Life

life is like having a cup of tea.
you sit by the side of the window, lift the cup and take a careless sip, only to realize that somebody forgot to put the sugar. too lazy to go for it you somehow struggle through the sugarless cup. until you discover un-dissolved sugar crystal sitting at the bottom...

- taken from an e-greeting sent by my lovely sis

1st Entry of 2008

a nice quiet decent gathering is what we wanted, a nice quiet decent gathering is what we got. no pictures on facebook to maintain the privacy. east coast chalet. bbq. whistling sparklers. do-able goal in 2009 (slimming down for me). a toast to the goal. home-made lemon cheesecake. a stroll along the beach. chit chatting 'til morning. imac subwoofer blxxdy speaker that made everyone else super envious. realisation that a friend is more and more charming with every meet up. witnessing a clash between two neighbours (i miss high school). hot chocolate to start the morning. a blessful night surrounded by sweet friends. and thanks for starting to remind me of my goal just when i only have the thought of breaking it. cheers for spending a wonderful time together.

and now all i need is a sleep ...