Monday, December 24, 2012

Review on 2012 (Part 2) : LEAVE THE YOUTH CHOIR

I'd joined the Catholic Church Choir in my parish since 1988....when I was still in the senior high school. At the moment, my parish was still very young and there was no youth community. The choir was builted to facilitate the young ages, so we could have at least one regular activity to meet and unite every week. At the moment, our choir didn't have a name. We simply was called St. Aloysius Gonzaga Youth Choir.
 
I had been through too many managerial changes while I was still an active member in this choir. And not just managerial. There was many changes in our members, too... Moving out of our parish because of the new job or living places, got married or even have a child.... Yes, our youth choir was no longer purely for single, unmarried youth. We became so solid, that marriage couldn't stop us getting together and training our voice.
 
This year, after suffering for a lack of active members for some time, the management finally was able to persuade the newer youth generation to join the choir which is now called AG Voice (AG is a shortened from Aloysius Gonzaga, our parish's name). These new members are averagely half of my age....makes me one of two eldest members in the choir...hehehe... The other one is also the long-time member like me. We're both the first generation of the choir....hehehe...
 
In the mid-year, the management conducted a change-over. At the time, I was almost a life-time songs coordinator. I handled the task since 1990.....22 years!!! So many times I asked each new management to find my replacement, but no one wanted the job....[sigh!]. In my point of view, it's a simple task. You just have to prepare and organize the songs for each assignment, make sure there's enough copies for each member, and file those songs.
 
Anyway, this time I insisted the management to also replace me. I just started my own business which for a while only runs in the evenings, makes me super-duper tired to attend any choir practices. Of course, I didn't say my real reason to them. I just said that it really, really didn't fair to left me behind one more time....hehehe.. So, finally there is one new blood who agree to takeover my task...hurrrrayyy...!!! And started the heavy job for me to compile all of those songs in my house in containers, ready to ship out to its new home.
 
Slowly but sure, I started to backout from the choir. I didn't join their weekend retreat out of town. Didn't attend wedding choirs on Saturdays. And finally skipped practices. At first, I only told them that I had something to do that evening. One week became two weeks, became one month and finally I decided not to join in this Christmas duty. Success!!!!!
 
Finally, I'm able to leave the choir, with no regrets at all. Someone is finally doing my old task. The new generation of choir has a good numbers of member and good voice quality...more than mine, I think....:)... One nice accomplishment of mine on 2012....:)
 
After on duty for Holy Saturday 2012
 

Review on 2012 (Part 1): SAD NEWS

Each time closing to the end of every year, I notice that there is an increasing number of people passing away. Either because of age or illness or natural disaster. We - that's my family - call it as The Calculation of Year End. When my own Dad passes away on November 2009, we remembered it and quietly took a humour in it.
 
This year, however, I received two sad news from my friends who lost their fathers. Last week, Stardust sent me a sms that her father passed away suddenly. This morning I read Mbak Fida's blog about the passing away of his father after being hospitalized for some time. So close to Christmas.....a uniquely family time...I can only hope that they will be strong enough to keep on moving and live, because I know they are strong persons....
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The After-effect of Fever

I rarely surrender to any illness. Well, mostly I only suffer from an allergic to any weather-changes, or gastroenteritis. And I always try to get ahead from any signs of illness. Why? Because I have too many things to be done....no time to get sick...hihihi....so exaggerated, huh? hihihi....
 
Anyway, there's one aspect of illness I hate at the most. It's called FEVER.
I know that fever is actually a good sign. It means my antibody is active and fight hard to kill any germs that attack my body. Trouble is, while I could stay up and fully functional although I suffer from a bad cough for 3 months, once I'm struck by a fever, I lost all of energy I have in a mere of hour. And it won't stop there....
 
Once I get a fever, it means I need to take a medicine to help me get over it soon and back to my feet (and my daily activities....hihihi....). Oh, sure it will help me getting through the fever attack. I could sleep. The soreness all over my body will disappear. And in a mere hours, my temperature will get down to normal again....

When the fever leaves my body, it also take away my strength. As soon as I could stand still and no longer feel happy just stay in bed, I will immediately back to work. While I'm very eager to depart, twenty minutes driving to the office will rob my entire energy, and I will reach the office feeling very weak and shaking. Well, that's not a big problem....I could steal a nap whenever I need....hihihi...and there's hot drink I could take to boost my energy.

The big problem after I got a fever is sleeping. While I could sleep during the fever attack, the first night afterwards I will unable to sleep. Why? Because I get nightmare. In that dream, I always feel like being watched or chased. But I can't runaway, sometimes I even feel like sucked up into emptiness. Sometimes I succeed to runaway very fast, till I fly away like a balloon (now I know how the loose-balloon feels...hihihi...). It wakes me up and keeps recurring no matter how strong I will my brain to close and stop the nightmares. So I will feel unrefreshed next morning. Added to the very limited energy I have, it's quite a hard struggle to stay focus during the working hours and driving home afterwards.

How long will it go on? Usually till the next weekend, when I have time enough to rest my mind and sleep all day. See, one day fever, and I need a week to convalescence.. A wasting time indeed....hihihi....

 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Fallen Ill on Weekend

My body have a peculiar habit: only to get sick on vacations.... Not happened automatically, of course...hehehe.... I used to train my brain to take control what should be happened on my body at certain times. That way, I could minimize any damages, especially on critical and most important moments. Of course, sometimes it also ruined my vacation....who wants to stay on bed while you have the whole day to have fun? Uh, wait a minute...stay on bed all day is also fun...hahahaha....

Last week, the third week of November 2012 was a busy time for me. Plus, there was an extra vacation in the middle of the week. On Monday, I had a feeling that was something wrong in my body. Finally three months under the extreme heat of our dry season had begun to affect me. Too many iced waters, sleep under AC or fan turned on at maximum speed combined with less of quality sleep at night.

Fine - I thought - let's go back and drink more hot waters, instead iced ones. I don't have time to fall ill on this week, there are so many things to be done....so I thought.

On Wednesday, I felt a PMS coming over. Usually it was no problem for me. But maybe because my condition was slightly under the usual form, I felt that I need to take an antacid as a precaution. And everything run smoothly as planned...

On Saturday, as usual when on vacations, I prefer to eat light and fresh food, like salads. The extreme heat that day made me reluctant to eat anything else. So, for lunch and dinner I just had one of  Indonesian salad called asinan. It's consisted of tofu, potatoes, bean sprouts covered with mixture sauce of crushed peanut and vinegar. It's quite refreshing for a hot day. Too bad, I can't show the picture of it, because I practically ate the most of it....hehehe....

And that was the trigger of my suffer. Everything was still okay till midnight. I was still up, playing online games when suddenly I felt a very bad stomachache. I couldn't sleep at all, spent every two hours going to the bathroom, felt there were so many gasses playing around in my abdominal. On Sunday morning, I couldn't keep stay up for long.... And in the afternoon I developed a slight fever. Fortunately, after that the antacid I took finally worked. But I had already lost so many energy, that I had to skip work on Monday...made a havoc in the office....hehehehe....

Have I already been fit again today? That's still a big question.....hehehe... I have been back to work since yesterday, still not on 100% good condition. But still I need to go, there are so many things waiting for my attention...and so many chaos stories, too....[sigh!]... I'm still having trouble to sleep these last two nights....the after-effect of my illness... My body insists to take its own time to heal, apparently....hahaha...

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Running Away

These days, my hours has been filled with many problems, many confrontations. 

At the workplace, business has been stalled. I guess it's typically of many businesses lately. It needs a new blood to survive and for a chance to grow bigger. And to do that, it would need new equipments and - more important - new hiring workers. Unfortunately, the owner refuse to spend any money for that, but it never stops him for demanding a bigger and bigger income every time.

At home, I have to deal with an almost teenager who frequently head to head with his elderly grandma. Small matters could become a very big row. I try to keep calm and patient, but it also makes a fire deep inside me flare up and I can feel it's ready to explode anytime....

Sometimes, when I'm feeling so tired, I wish that I could leave everything behind for a while and go for a holiday. Just me. In a five star hotel, with a cable TV and good food. What will I do? Just spend all day on the bed....:P...sleeping, watching CSI and How I Met Your Mother.

Then, I thought the afterwards. After the short holiday, I have to come back home, back to the routinity, back to all of the problems..... Yikes!!!!
It seems running away won't solve my problems....only dry out my saving account...
It would be much better to face them, and try to solve it step by step, one by one. And hoping that during the stressful way, I will encounter some delightful detours that makes my heartache and tiredness is worthwhile....:)


Thursday, September 6, 2012

My First Rainbow Cake

Ever since it was launched by one bakery in my town, I've been dying to taste it. Its colorful layers (well, it is rainbow cake, so it should be colorful like rainbow, right? hihihi....) was really tempting.

After months and months dreaming and imagining, finally I found it while shopping at Carrefour, one of hypermarkets in my town. I bought two pieces of it with different topping, and ate one of them while waiting for my sister's flight.

How did it taste? The first one I ate was quite nice. Maybe because I ate it immediately after it got out from freezer. Well, it was rather too sweet for my taste. Not the bread, but the cream between the layers...it was too sugary.

The second one was kept in the refrigerator for days, before I decided to eat it. Of course, it had become quite hard and almost tasteless....hihihi....

Never mind, I know now the taste of a Rainbow Cake. It won't haunt me anymore....hihihi....



Thursday, August 23, 2012

1000 days after Dad's Passaway

 
My dad had passed away on November 27, 2009.....a thousand days ago... on age 74 years after been ill for so long and spent most of the last year of his life in and out of hospital.
 
Sadly, I barely have any sweet memories with him. Why? Because we didn't spent too many times as family while he still alived and we're still young children. He was a Navy officer, and spent most of his active duties on the seas. When he had retired, we were already teenagers and young adults with our own busy daily activities and ring of friends. I, for instance, didn't know how to stay long and keep talking with him about our days. Most of times, I just said hi, good morning and I have to go [somewhere].
 
Even when the other siblings of mine had gotten out from home - because of marriage or work out of town - made me the only child still lived with my parents, I couldn't get any closer to him. I simply couldn't find any common grounds to easily talk with him.
 
Once, before his passaway, while I was stopping by at the hospital to give something Mom needed, out of the blue he invited me to sit beside him for a while. I refused him, firstly because my time was very limited, I had to depart to my work ASAP. Secondly, because I was scared he would talk the way people near death talking....asking for something I wasn't ready to answer, requesting for something I wasn't sure to be able to do. Have I regretted for refusing his final request? Hmmm....no, I don't think so....I'm just curious about what things he wanted to say to me....but it really doesn't matter to me....:)
 
On August 21, 2012 evening, we gave a special mass for him. It's part of Javanese tradition. These last three years, we had carefully planned our activities in accordance with the remembrance days for Dad's passaway. Seven days after his passaway, 100 days after, a year after, two years after. This year is the final ritual. After the mass and after cleaned the house and put everything back to its original place, Mom said to us - her children - : "It is all done. From now on, it's time to step forward and make a new living."
 
And so it is.... Mom and I start to concentrate in building our new baby business - it's a laundry business. It is not as though we will forget Dad, because there's still Mom that I think will always reminds me of him. After all, how else am I here, breathing and living, without  Dad? hehehe...
 
So, Dad, I hope you are listening up there. Rest in peace, Dad. Don't worry, we're okay here, and will try to keep on okay....:)... Sail on, Dad.....
 

Friday, August 10, 2012

Birthday's Wishlist on 2012

Last year, I made a thanksgiving note for each of nine days prior to my birthday.
This year, I had decided to make a wish-list instead. Like last year, I put them up as a status on my FB wall one by one everyday. And here they are :

#1: And There were None (Agatha Christie) - Indonesian version or Twilight - original version or City of Bones - original version

#2: an android cellphone with big key pads
#3: to be financially independent by next year
#4: visit Lake Toba and its Samosir Island 


#5: Visit Tana Toraja


#6: winning a hundred million jackpot and tax free
#7: to own a chain of refurbished old colonial houses
#8: able to take a holiday anytime anywhere
#9: share a birthday dinner with a certain twin someday....;)

They said that life is begun at 40. So here I am, finally found the courage to plant the foundation and take a first step forward. I hope Life will be so generous to me, to encourage me to keep on trying and making my dreams come true.....
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to me!!!

PS: ummmm....anyone is willing to grant me one of the wish-list above? hihihi....


Saturday, June 9, 2012

While Waiting in Line

Doraemon with the bamboo-copter
One day, while waiting for the regular bus on her way home, my sister put up this status in her Facebook: "....wish I could fly..."

When I read her status, a thought came into my mind... What if there were many other people wished the same at the same time? Meet a traffic jammed or wait for a never-come-bus...gets frustrated and then yells in Doraemon's way: "Bamboo-copterrrr......!!!!" Off you go and fly with a kind of helicopter blades on the top of your head..... Trouble is, you won't be alone..... You look in front of you, there are many other people start to go up the sky - just like you. You look back, the same thing happens there, too. And in no time at all, you'll get stuck in the same traffic jammed...only this time on the sky.....haizzzzzzz.....

Then I looked for another alternative. Again a thought came into my mind...maybe it should be better to wish having a magical skill like a genie. Just blink!!!...next, you'll be where you wanna be....

And - once again - a wicked thought came into my mind. What if there are other people wish the same??? An image came into my mind...... You blink and disappear, then out of no where : "Bangggg....!!!!" You just collided your head with another person who did the same magical "blink"...... Hihihi, not a safe way either....hihihi... 

So, for any of you who's standing in line for something and wishing for a short-cut, please think that there are maybe other persons who wish the same. Imagine what chaos will appear for the result. Hopefully, you'll end up laughing, entertained by your own imagination and suddenly find that you're next in line..... Oh, how fast the time has flown.....hihihi...


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Strawberries!!!

Taken with a Sony Ericcson J108i Cedar
A week ago, while I fought against the flu bug who tried to infiltrate my health, suddenly I was longing for a taste of strawberries. My eyes kept searching along the fruit stalls at a market I passed on my way to work. But all I saw were mangoes, melons, oranges, paw-paws....no strawberries. Hmmmm, I thought, maybe the season had already past for it. The alternative was, buying a fresh juice.....but fresh juices without ice was too heavy for me, and ice was not good for my health at the time. It would weaken my defense against the flu bug...hehehe...

Yesterday morning, suddenly I saw a fruit stall sold strawberries in mini packages. Unfortunately, I couldn't pull over, as I was in the middle of a busy road and my time was rather limited. So, this morning I decided to try looking for the stall again. I found it and the strawberries was still available....furthermore, I had a chance to stop and buy it...yay!!! I bought two mini boxes, each contained 15-20 strawberries. I planned to open and share one box with my colleagues at the office, and bring home the other one.

At the office, I got another surprise. A colleague who had a leave yesterday brought me a box of strawberries, too....hehehe... She saw it while visiting some place and remembered that I had hunted for it for days. So, she bought it for me...hehehe...

So, today I have 3 boxes of strawberries in my hand. I had opened the one from my colleague, ate some of it as a snack...hihihi... Can't be too much, as a friend reminded me, I have to be careful with my stomach while savor it...hehehe... It tasted yummy!!!!


Monday, June 4, 2012

Nightmares

Image source: beembe.com
Everyone has a bad dream sometimes while sleeping. Sometimes, this bad dream could happen more than once, makes it a reccurence nightmare for the person. Below are two of some recurrence nightmares I've experienced :

1) Back to college year
I really hate this kind of dream. Usually it started with me mounting a very high stairs and walking a very long corridor. Then, suddenly I was in a studio class with many drawing desks around. At the time, usually my sane brain reminded the other side of my brain that I had finished my college years, so there was no reason at all for me suferring the pressure all over again. And I woke up startledly.....

2) Couldn't find any decent bathroom
This is the most reccurence nightmare I have. In this kind of dream, usually I badly needed to be hurry to go somewhere, so I needed to take shower or just go to a toilet. Problem is, I always had difficulties to locate a nearest bathroom. Either there was always something that prevent me to go and find it, or I had to search till the end of a corridor. The next problem is, the bathroom I found always sooooo small, dark and not clean at all.
Whenever I had this nightmare, my sane brain had to work extra hard to wake me up. Usually, I woke up very tired.....and in need to go to the bathroom....hihihi...to ensure myself that it was only in my dream, that I have a spacey and clean enough bathroom in real world....hihihi....

See, there's always a part of my brain that always wake me up from any nightmares. When a bad dream become too strong, there's always a voice that telling me that it's just a dream, that I should wake up to cut the dream short. Hihihi....I think I'm very blessed with a very good guardian angel that watches over me 26 hours a day.....hihihi... I don't think I deserve it, but thank you, God...very much....

Monday, May 28, 2012

"Me" Time

image source : crashtestmommy.net
How many of you dream of a time for pampering yourself? A time where there's none will disturb you in doing something you like... A moment when time in this world may stop for a while...

If I list all of my daily activities, you may think that I am a very busy person....well, many of my friends thought so....hehehe... First of all, I have my job which I could describe generally as an administrative assistant. At home, I help my elderly Mom managing our home and taking care The Little One. As a social person, I belong to a youth catholic choir in my parish, that holds a weekly practice every Tuesday night at 8-10pm. On weekends, I spend most of the time doing my laundry, cleaning the house and shopping for the next week. So, when do I have my Me-Time?

Will you laugh if I say that my Me-Time mostly is whenever I'm at work? Hehehe...but it's true! Most of my working time, I spend it alone in the office. My colleagues usually work outside, either at a project or in our nursery. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that I work at a landscape contractor that also has an indoor plants nursery. So, usually in the morning, we all come into the office to talk about our schedule for today. Then, at the least on 9am, my colleagues depart to each schedule and I'll be left alone to do my tasks in my own time.... If there aren't anymore (urgently) to be done, then I do anything else to fill my time until the closing time....reading books, blogging, watching DVDs, playing games....or sleeping....hehehe....

Even when I'm ill, I prefer to report on duty, whenever my health allows me to stand up, of course....hehehe... Because whenever I'm absent from work, my cellphone won't stop ringing, either my colleagues or the boss keeps asking this or that. Apparently, everyone is stuck in the office. The incredible thing is, the moment I report on duty, they all will disappear from the office and I will be left alone again.....haizzzzzz....


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Italian for Beginners: A Review

This is a book written by Kristin Harmel, a verrrrrry nice birthday gift from a verrrrrryyy good friend of mine. She told me that she picked the book at first because of the title. Huh??? She explained further: because I have an Italian friend....that's what made her interested. Hihihi...

At first, I thought this was a story about a language of love from an Italian's point of view. But I was wrong, because the main caracter was an American. Italy was the main background of this sweet story.

Cat Connelly, the American girl, was used to take care her Dad and little sister ever since her Italian mother passed away when she was still in the final year of senior high school. After her little sister got married and she herself just broken-hearted finding a seemingly perfect man  apparently still married and had children, her father insisted Cat to take a holiday.....a strange one, because she never took a leave from work even for any illness.

When finally she took her father's advice, a bad things happened that made her suddenly alone and without any place to go. A help from an Italian woman made her holiday getting better. Furthermore, finally she made a peace with her past and passed-away mother. Of course, the happiest ending was she also finally made a peace with the perfect man who actually was already a widower and who also Italian....hihihi... Finally, all was around Italian subjects.....hihihi....

I like the writer's description about beautiful places in Italy....made my dream of visiting Europe one day is getting stronger and stronger.....while it seems still further and further away....hehehe.... And it also awakes my old desire to learn about photography.....hehhhh, still such an expensive hobby. For a meantime, I'm still learning to handle my Yashica compact digicam properly.... It is quite complicated, I swear!!!! hihihi...

Friday, April 27, 2012

Child or No Child?


Once, a friend asked how many children I would like to have in my family. At the time, I said that I always saw myself surrounded by five children and the oldest was a boy.

In a recent conversation with another friend, we discussed about having a child of our own. This time I said to this friend that if and when I finally get married, I think I don't want to get pregnant and have a child of my own. It's no longer my priority.

It is not a health issue. Many doctors say that nowadays 40yro women could be pregnant and deliver babies as safely as 30yro ones. It is more to my personal moral-responsibility. When you decide to deliver a person to this world, you'd better take a great responsible to raise him to become a good person.

At the moment, I have a little boy in my care. Although not my own, I always consider him as a part of my life. Through him, I have learnt how many patience I have to care for a child, to raise the little one become a good person....and it is very limited....hehehe... My mom is the one who teach the little one, from learning to read and count till studying Geographic. Her patience is so great, because the little one is not the easiest person to teach. I'm very thankful that Mom is still in a great shape in her old days, still be able to teach high school mathematics to the little one, while most of them has lost me...hehehe... Of course, I can't depend on her to be able to teach my next offspring, right? It is not fair for her....

In my dream, at age 40 and married, I should have been free from caring little children. Instead, I should be able to concentrate in building (or re-building) a sweet relationship with my better-half. So, I hope women won't say that I'm not fulfilling my destiny as a woman....I'll fight you over the "destiny" thing....hehehe... On the other side, I hope my better-half will agree with my principal, that I won't put my marriage on the urge to keep on our heredity.



Thursday, April 26, 2012

Easter Week and Illness

I belong to a catholic youth choir which is always on duty for Holy Saturday and Christmas Eve masses. And it has became a joke between my friends - especially in Altos - that I'm always fallen ill close to the due date of our performance. Usually, I get caught by a bad cough...that makes me have to struggle hard between breathe, coughing and singing.

This year, as usual, I became very cautious when we reached two weeks before the Holy Saturday (April 7). After the general rehearsal at April 3, I was ready to congratulate myself. Because beside the sore throat due to the intensive practices we had, it looked like for the first time I would be able to perform in 100% healthy condition...... How wrong I was!!!!

During two weeks prior to Easter, the weather was changing quickly between cold and humid. I was on duty for playing organ during the Holy Thursday Mass. That was the first time I felt that the AC inside our church was too cold. In addition, I sat exactly under the AC vent. I went home that night feeling so frozen and cramp.

When I attended the Good Friday Mass the following day, I was so dismayed finding the AC was still too cold for me....even after I wore a shawl to warm myself. In the middle of the mass, I found out red spots appeared on both of my arms. Great, I thought, my skin began to cry out. After the mass, I checked and found out that the spots also appeared on my thighs. Great, sooo great - I said to my family - apparently I got the skin allergic thanks to the freezing temperature of the AC. Years before (on my university days), I got the same illness when I was assigned to stay at a little town during a very cold weather.

On Saturday morning, April 7, 12 hours before our performance, I still felt normal. I drove my family to visit Dad's grave early morning. Then went to have the car being washed, and also bought a special coconut for the skin rash. I started to feel worse by midday, feeling so weak...and the rash kept spreading all over my body. So, I took an anti-allergic pill and slept. I said to myself, if I couldn't wake up in time for the choir, so be it... Surprisingly, I woke up at 8pm, enough time to get ready and join my choir. Was I feeling better? Nope!! In fact, I woke up with a fever...that made me doubted whether I could make it. But with each step I took in readying myself, I felt that the fever went away. So be it....I wore the uniform, doubled with a shawl and went to sing for the Holy Saturday Mass. Of course, half way of the mass, I felt my energy being drained....that I had to fight hard to keep on till the end.

The illness stroke back on Sunday....as usual, after the important event has passed by.....hehehe... I began to have a high fever during the afternoon, that made my face very red according to my sister. She was worried that the skin allergic could be actually a Rubella (German measles). Haizzzzzz....I could have spread it to so many people if it was true.

So, on Monday morning, I went to a general practitioner near my house to make sure what my illness was. Apparently I had made the doctor confused..hehehehe... But after checking my condition, he said that it wasn't Rubella. Just a nasty skin allergic with complication. Thank God!!! But the high fever made me weak for three days and had to struggle for a week to regain my 100% condition.

Apparently, I still can't celebrate Easter without having sick.....hahaha...maybe next year...we'll see....hehehe...





Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Newest Book Collection of Mine

Lately, I have a longing to read Agatha Christie's books more and more. I couldn't sleep at night before read one book. I had re-read and re-read all of her books I had in my collection. Then, I decided to buy some new ones. I had visited three big bookstores in my city, but there were only a few of them available....and not the ones I'm interested in...:(.

Yesterday, while doing some errands for the office, I visited a new discount bookstore. There, I found three books that I never read before. Still not the one I'm looking for, but the synopsis made me interested. Finally, I bought one of them.

In the evening, on the way out of a mall, I found another two books of Agatha Christie. One book I couldn't remember whether I had read before or not, although the title was quite familiar. The other was among those first books of Agatha Christie I read. In the end, I decided to buy both of them.

So, after searching for almost a month, finally I bought three books of Agatha Christie in one day...(Yikes!!! hihihi....) And I'm still waiting to find the one I want most. Which one? The English title is AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. The Indonesian version is called SEPULUH ANAK NEGRO. When I finally get it in my possession, I'll tell you why I'm interested in it......:P

Taken with a Sony-Ericsson J108i Cedar


Saturday, March 10, 2012

Tears of the Bride

Eitssss....do not expect me to share a story about a crying bride....hehehe...
This is about a flowering creeper that grows inside the nursery of my workplace. I was so enthralled with the beauty color of its flower, that I took a picture of it....

Here you go....

 Taken with a Sony-Ericcson J108i Cedar

I'm not an expert in Botany. The plant supplier said that it's locally known as Air Mata Pengantin (English: Tears of the Bride). I asked Uncle Google, he said that it's also known as Rangoon Creeper or in Botanical term Quisqualis Indica.

Beauuuuuuuuuuuuuutiful, huh?



Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Wish you all a Perfect Day today

One morning last week, I woke up with this song playing in my mind over and over again. At first, I couldn't remember who sang the song....I didn't even know the whole lyric...hihihi.... All in my mind was the sentence "....such a perfect day....dudududu....."

So, the first time I got a free time at work, I browsed the internet and found out that the song's title was Perfect Day, written by Lou Reed. Then, I searched the youtube and liked the most the Duran Duran's performance for the song. After that, I listened to the song over and over again, while wondering why, oh, why this song got caught in my brain.

Then I remembered something....February 14 is the Valentine's Day.... Oh, right, maybe that's why......hihihi.... Okay, I present this song as a sweet gift of the Valentine's Day for my friends and all of readers. Especially for a friend who is spending the moment at Bali trying to know more someone before taking a further step....I hope you know who you are....hihihi... 

Have a lovely quality time with your beloved...or to be beloved....
I hope you all have a perfect day...:)

Just a perfect day..
Drink sangria in the park
And later, when it gets dark
We go home

Just a perfect day..
Feed animals in the zoo
And later, a movie too
And then home

It's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on..
You just keep me hanging on..

Just a perfect day..
Problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
Such fun

Just a perfect day
You made me forget myself
I thought I was someone else
Someone new

(chorus)

You're gonna reap, just what you sow....
You're gonna reap, just what you sow....
You're gonna reap, just what you sow....
You're gonna reap, just what you sow....
You're gonna reap, just what you sow....
You're gonna reap, just what you sow....




Monday, January 30, 2012

Spring Cleaning on Weekend

Jan 23, 2012 in Indonesia was a holiday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. As it was also Monday, it meant that we, Indonesian, had a long weekend.....that is who works 5 days a week, like me....hehehehe....
 
Originally, I planned to visit my sister at Yogyakarta with my nephew and mom. But, due to a bad planning, I couldn't get any train tickets. It had been sold out since two days before I queued...that's one week before the D-Day.... Apparently, now everyone watches each long-weekend-holiday on the calendar.....not just me....hahahaha....
 
So, we decided to stay at home and did the usual chores we do on every weekend. Started on Saturday morning.... After delivered my nephew to his school, I took the car and had it washed at a car-wash nearby. I only had to wait for 30 minutes to have it done, but due to the lack of sleep on the night before....added to the holiday syndrome....I felt sooooo sleepy. After I was back at home, I immediately went back to the bed and slept till after midday.....hihihi... Day-1 was spent mostly on the bed....hahaha...
 
On Sunday, I woke up quite earlier than my usual time.  So, I decided to do my laundry. At first, only my clothes..... Then, as I had time more than enough and the sun shone brightly, I decided to change my sheet and my nephew's too. While I walked by the front window of the living room, I noticed that the curtain needed a washing as well. In the end, I did the washing for almost 2,5 hours....one hour longer than usual... I just realised how many my washing were, when it all had dried up and needed ironing....hahahaha... All I could say was: "Yikes!!!!"
 
After did the washing, I swept and washed the floor of our house. All was cleaned, then it was the time for me to clean myself up. I washed my hair, scrub my face and body.....a thorough bath, that is....hehehe...
 
At Sunday evening, after finally all had finished, I looked around. I got a fresh and clean sheet on my bed. All of my working gears were ready to wear. The house felt so fresh. And I still had ONE DAY holiday left.....yay!!!!
 
 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Most Un-Impressive Christmas

Usually, Christmas and Easter time is the busiest moment for me. I'm belonging to a church choir that's always on duty on Christmas Eve and Holy Saturday. The preparation for the event usually is done since 2-3 months before. 

So, entering December - for example -, I will barely have any chance to take a breathe. Even decorating our Christmas Tree at home will become something that have to be planned carefully when to start. Luckily, the Roman Catholic Church always start to install the Christmas Tree after the 4th week of Advent. My family just follows the tradition and never put up the Christmas Tree earlier than that. So, during the 3 weeks before Christmas, I will fill up my time with intensive choir practices at least twice a week from 8pm till 11pm, hunting for Christmas gifts for The Little One on weekends, shopping for Mom....plus getting sick due to the flu viruses and tiredness.....hehehe...

Last year, my parish council decided to hold only ONE Christmas Eve Mass. They worried about the terrorism threat thats supposed to concentrate their act on our area that time. So, my choir wasn't on duty, but they had been given a chance to sing one song at the Mass Closure.

I could foresee that the only one Christmas Eve Mass would make everything became complicated. The security system made us couldn't park vehicles near the church. Then, I would have to compete with other thousand people to find a good seat, so we could follow the mass nicely. So, finally I decided not to attend the Christmas Eve Mass - for the first time as long as I could remember - , instead I attended the early morning mass.

About three nights before Dec 24, I was at church, waited for picking up The Little One from his Altar Boys practice. While waiting, I sat and watched the committee of Children and Youth community held the prep for the Children Mass. I was feeling a little peculiar....hehehe..usually at the same time, I would be busy practicing with my choir.

After attending the Christmas Morning Mass, I felt something missing. I felt as though I haven't celebrated Christmas at all, as though I just came home from attending another weekly mass. There was no queuing to take picture in front of the Christmas Tree at church. In fact, I took the picture on the last week before it was due to be taken off....hehehe... It was nice, actually, because I didn't have to queue nor wait for everybody to get away from my view....hihihi...


Monday, January 2, 2012

2012: E & R

Finally!!!! This is the year that I've been waiting for....since I heard those ancient prophecies about this year. Personally, I don't really worry about the doomsday that many had predicted. I'm more interested in the Galactic Phenomenon that many believe will happen in the end of this year. If there will happen many natural disasters (earthquakes, flood, hard rain, long dry season, etc.), I believe that those are caused by the phenomenon.

Anyway, I don't want to talk about something that hasn't happened, yet....hihihi... We'll see one event in each day and let's pray that we will have the strength necessary for us to get through to the end of this year and celebrate New Year again.

I saw the record of my writing and found out that last year I published only 11 times.....barely once monthly...hehehe... Many of my materials left in draft state and unfinished. Many more were unwritten, stuck and rotten in my head. So, I failed to gain a goal in my last-year-resolution : WRITING MORE. Will I write more this year? I fervently hope so....hehehe.... I should try to dig deeper into my brain and get those unwritten material out into the air.

Another last-year-resolution: FIND A BUSINESS FOR MY OWN. In the middle of last year, Mom and I had decided to build a home-laundry as a core for a later-on business: boarding house. After got a massive headache in finding a perfect name for all-purposes, finally before Christmas we agreed to one business name. Hopefully, we can formally open the business in this month.

So, I think I will concentrate in those two during this year. I really hope that Life will loan me Its strength to push, and push, and push and make the wheel run throughout this year.
And for the readers all over the world, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope you're as excited as me in welcoming 2012....:-)