♥ Mille Feuilles ♥

Surprise Surprise!

2010-05-22T14:00:00.007+08:00

Two weeks ago, my little sister and I decided to surprise our mom for her birthday. Being overseas, both of us more than often missed her birthday for years. She's a very simple person, doesn't demand branded materials - we thought hard and so we decided to give her what she loves best: us being home.

I flew AirAsiaX from Perth to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to pick up my sis. The airplane is actually quite good! I had a good fortune of not having anyone to sit on my row at all, so I have three seats all to myself! This happened again on the flight back to Perth. Praise God :-)

I stopped by at Kuala Lumpur for one day. It felt so good to see my little sister :-) Despite our big age gap, we're actually really close to each other. She went to the hotel where I stayed, which is Park Royal Hotel in the Bukit Bintang area, and we spent the whole day shopping and eating. Thankfully we stayed in the CBD area where it's very close to The Pavilion and Suria KLCC. When she checked on her Pokewalker, I think we walked about 123,000 steps that day. Good exercise for all the eating I did.

We went back to Jakarta the next day, which was mom's birthday. I've already ordered an airport pick-up service with Golden Bird (very professional service, I must say) because I don't want to bother anyone to pick us up, besided, I'm scared that the surprise would be ruined by any slip-ups. The only one who knew about our plan was my dad.

My sis actually lied to my mom - she said that she won't be coming back home for holiday because she will be going to Melaka with her friends. Mom was very sad when she heard it. Sorry Mom, we had to lie! My dad, who works in Bali, also postponed his trip back home so that he can be together with us when we're back.

Anyway, my sis and I both text messaged mom 'happy birthday' in the morning. We also sent her some Orchids (courtesy of my friend's florist business - Darling Buds of May). She really didn't suspect anything. When we arrived, my dad peeked through the blinds and called my mom to come outside because "her birthday present is here".

She was still in her pyjamas - my sis and I hid so that she couldn't see us. She came out and looked around "What is it? I didn't see anything". That's when my sis and I came out and shout "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!". She literally screamed! She ran to the gates and hugged me and sis. Ah, that was the best part of my holiday trip :-)

Sis and I managed to surprise a few more people during the trip - my aunties, uncles and my grandma. A pretty fruitful one! Hehe. We got to spend the whole holiday trip mostly with mom and dad, which was awesome. Until this moment, I still felt like I left my heart there. Almost cried when I was on the plane back to Perth... but, I'm going home again in October for one of my best friend's wedding :-) Can't wait!

Pictures worth a thousand words - so I let these pictures below do the telling on what we did on our surprise visit :-)

No wonder it's hard for me to lose weight... *sigh*

Obsession: Leather Jackets

2010-04-27T23:44:00.001+08:00

Everyone knows that I am not a summer girl. I don't think of flip flops, shorts and t-shirts as my wardrobe staples. I'll take icy cold winter day anytime over summer. Imagine my excitement when Perth is getting cooler by the day (slowly though). That means one thing: I can finally wear my leather jackets, tights and boots. Yeap, I love winter for so many reasons: the freshness it brings, the hibernating, the comfort food and most of all: the fashion.

I am obsessed with winter fashion, especially leather jackets. They are such an essential! Even though they are less bulky than other winter jackets/coats, but they are warmer than most. Because it's leather, the wind doesn't go through the fabric like they do with other jackets; be it tweed, fabric, cotton or even wools.

This winter season, the collarless leather jackets are introduced. It was love at first sight for me. The cut, the way the collar drapes around your shoulders, the distressed-leather material... it's oh-so very biker chic.

Well, looking at the designer labels, it is most definitely will hurt my bank account. But, fear not! After a long search, I have found the chain store version of the collarless leather jacket (and it's mine now tee-hee)

It's so versatile you can wear it with anything. Be it dress with tights and boots; or stripe long sleeves, black skinny, flats and loop scarves. Now, all I need to do is wait until the weather is cool enough and I shall wear this everytime I'm out and about :-) Oh, I feel like a rockstar!

I Still Call Australia Home

2010-04-21T11:54:00.001+08:00

I had a really unpleasant experience on the Transperth bus yesterday afternoon. I was boarding the usual bus home at about 5:10 pm from Perth CBD when an Indigenous lady also went on the bus I am on without paying her fare. If her stop was in CBD, the ride would’ve been free, but her stop is in Victoria Park. The driver let her on the bus and she sat in the disability section on the left side of the bus. I was sitting on the right side, just a row behind her.

Then, I started noticing a smell in the bus. Mind you, the bus is air-conditioned, so the smell travelled faster. It was a smell of glue, and yes, she was glue sniffing. She stuffed the glue inside a transparent plastic bag. A few people (including me) covered their noses with their scarves, tissues and what not. The bus driver didn’t do anything. No one did anything or said anything to this lady.

I had headaches and felt like vomiting on the whole trip (FYI - I still have the headache until now). I was this close of losing my nerves and was in the process of working up a courage to ask this lady (politely, of course) to stop what she’s doing as it had brought a significant amount of disturbance and annoyance to everyone on the bus, when she finally went off the bus. But, as she was standing before she went off, she took a look at everyone who had their noses covered up… and LAUGHED. Real hard.

I’m pretty sure she was doing what she’s doing to push her boundaries. Probably wanting to see whether anyone would do or say anything to stop her. And when she finally figured out no one had the nerve to stop her, she laughed victoriously. She thought she has power to do anything she wants because everyone feared her.

Look, I don’t have anything against the Indigenous race in general. It’s not their skin tone, or physical appearance that annoys me, it’s the attitude. The only time I have seen a well-mannered, well-dressed and educated Aboriginal was in Curtin University. I saw this Aboriginal man who was going to classes and I thought to myself that such person is real (and of course Cathy Freeman and Ernie, but they are public figures. I literally saw this person with my own eyes so it made a bigger impact). I really wonder why there aren’t more of these kind of Indigenous people?

I remembered once I read in the newspaper about this Aboriginal man who complained about his living situation. He literally lives in the kitchen, and it was filthy. Probably the filthies kitchen I’ve ever seen. There are dog feces on the floor. He was looking for sympathy, obviously. I read one of the reader’s comments and it goes kind of like ‘roll up your sleeves and clean it then!’. I have noticed that some of these people lived off Government support and Centrelink. They don’t even work. Why should they expect us to hear their complaints and sympathize if they don’t even do anything about it? And if they had been given help, why didn’t they be grateful instead of thinking ‘I deserve this help’?

I was talking about my experience with a colleague this morning, and she mentioned to me that she was once verbally abused by an Indigenous lady (who was drunk of course). My colleague was just in a news agency wanted to buy some magazines, when suddenly this lady came up to her and called her names like white -c*nt and sl*t. She was so angry but was too scared to do anything. When the Indigenous lady left, the news agency owner came up to her and asked whether she’s okay. She was very shakened up by that experience.

She told me that one of her neighbours one day was also verbally abused by Aboriginals in his own yard. The Aboriginals were playing in his yard and yelled to him to get off of their land. He called the police on them.

They think this is they are the only Australians. Let me just say, I pay my taxes (that goes to subsidising them, I believe) and even if I wasn’t born or raised in Australia, that doesn’t make me less Australian than them. That goes the same to everyone.

Here in Australia, we have a ‘National Sorry Day’ on May 26th. Basically, it was the ‘healing’ day of those Indigenous people who have been removed from their parents/children with force (you can wiki it for more info – I’m not that knowledgeable). So, we say ‘sorry’ to them. Okay fine, that is legit – we made mistake, we said sorry and we try to make it better. But shouldn’t that go both ways? They should also be sorry for harrassing others – verbally, physically, actionally (is there such a word?) – you get what I mean. If they are more educated and civilized, Australia will be a much better place to live, yes?

If you feel uneasy and offended by my post about this issue, then I am sorry. It wasn’t my intention to disrespect anyone, I was just simply expressing my thoughts. FYI – I filed a complaint to Transperth in regards to the incident happened yesterday. I mentioned as well it was part the driver’s fault of letting this woman on the bus without paying her fare. See, I was being fair.

Sneak Peeks :-)

2010-04-19T21:20:00.003+08:00

As promised, a sneak peek of something I have been working on these past couple of weeks.

This project is a collaboration with a very good friend of mine; the talented photographer - Mr Indra Pratama from Photo4Life. I've known Indra almost about 8 years now and he is married to one of my closest girlfriends, Fang-Fang; a very talented lady in arts and crafts herself.

Indra has that magic touch when it comes to art and design. Just these past two years he began to launch his photography business - Photo4Life which specialised in wedding and pre-wedding photography. I have to say I'm always speechless when it comes to seeing one of the photos he took. It was breathtakingly beautiful, simple, pure and magical. He seems to always able to caught the simplest moments yet overflows with pure love and longing.

When Indra asked me whether I want to help him with designing the happy couples' wedding albums, I jumped at the chance. Not only I got to explore the world of art and design closer (and getting free lessons on Photoshop and Illustrator from the master himself hehehe), I got to work with my friends. How cool is that! I really want to help Indra and Fang-Fang to expand their wedding photography business further because I really think they deserve it. They are very talented and the world needs to see it :-)

I can't reveal much on the whole design of the albums (I'm still a beginner, so bear with me!) but I can give you sneak peeks as below pictures. These are the two albums I have been working on; one's concept is very different than the other. One of them is actually my two good friends wedding - so I'm very honoured to have been trusted with this. I really do hope I can deliver! Will post photos once final products have been printed and delivered :-)

As for now, if you are one of the happily engaged couples - feel free to browse around Indra Pratama's portfolio in Photo4Life. I assure you, you will be amazed by his talent :-) I, myself, am reserving him for my pre-wedding and wedding photoshoots (now all I have to do is find the groom!)

Hello Hello :-)

2010-04-18T01:30:00.002+08:00

I don’t know why you said goodbye, I said hello!

know, I know. It’s been almost two months since I last post something on this blog. I don't know why, I just lost the urge all of the sudden. Even if I want to write something, I wouldn't know what to write. If there’s some sort of Blogging University and I have a blog-valuation exam, I think one of the questions would be like this:

What is the main reasons of you not blogging again?

a) (a) My life isn’t interesting enough to blog about

b) (b) Doesn’t have the time to blog

c) (c) Too lazy to blog

d) (d) Twittering > blogging

e) (e) All of the above

I’d definitely choose option E.

In my defense, I’ve been quite busy these days (exagerrate much?). We had a couple of big events at Church which I’m helping out with, such as our annual Food Festival and Kids Festival. But the real reasons on why I didn’t blog were these:

I think pictures worth a thousand words :-)

Yep. I am officially a couch potato. There are about four major series that I’m following at the moment – and I never missed any of it. Some I’ve already watched since they first went on air, some I just recently caught up with. The most recent one will be ‘Glee’ :-) Oh yeah, I’m a proud Gleek! You are too if you notice my first line in this post was taken from the song they did on episode 14 *LOL*

Seriously, these days, there’s nothing else I wanted more except for watching series/movies in my pyjamas after a long day at work and with my macbook attached to my 24” LCD monitor which right at the opposite of my bed, things are looking pretty nifty (iMac on a budget :-P)

Oh, that and a wicked leather jacket for winter which I can't wait to wear!!!

On a more serious note: I am working on a collaboration project with Photo4Life which I am very excited about! Will reveal more soon. Stay tuned!

Precious

2010-02-25T12:32:00.001+08:00

"I learned to love myself. Because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning. And if I don't like myself, there's no reason to even live the life."

(Gabourey Sidibe, 2010)

http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/59419/

A Thousand Layers

2010-02-23T21:51:00.000+08:00

s you might have noticed that I changed the header to my blog, and also the title of it to 'Mille Feuiles'. For the longest time I have been naming my blog the 'Pretty Little Corner' and it's not that I don't like the name, I guess I want my blog title to a reflection of the state of mind that I have right now (does this make sense? no? nevermind hehe).. So after considerations, I decided to go ahead and change the blog title.

Mille Feuilles is french, and it means many layers. It's actually a name of one of my favorite patisserie which I have yet learn to make (I will someday!). You can practically use anything in this Mille Feuilles. If you opt for sweet and pretty you can make it using strawberries and cream, or if you prefer a bittersweet symphony in your tastebuds, go with mocca. Some restaurants make savoury ones as well.

And of course, Mille Feuilles is the name of the Versace couture dress 'Dress of A Thousand Layers' that Carrie Bradshaw wears in Sex And The City Season 6, where she waited for Aleksandr Petrovsky in their posh Paris hotel suite for dinner - and he showed up really late. That dress is retailed for $79,000 *gasp*. It's so pretty, fluffy and I love the colour - I wonder how she managed to bring it to Paris?

I do think that life has a thousand layers yet to unfold. Every person has many layers to discover too, by ourselves and by others. As I looked back to my previous posts, I often write about the discoveries I made about myself, about life and about others. So, I think Mille Feuilles is the perfect fit for this blog's name (or am I just bored to death with the old title? hmmmmm... rocket science!)

Just a lil bit of wisdom from Shrek and Donkey before I log out...

Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs.
Shrek: NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[sighs]
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.

Stay beautiful, friends :-)

Happy Belated Everything!

2010-02-18T06:06:00.001+08:00

he second Sunday of February was the one day that probably mostly everyone anticipated. On 14th February this year, both Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year are celebrated at the same time. I know, I know, this post is overdue by almost a week - but I've been busy and thanks to micro-blogging trends now (follow me @misstazh) I felt like I've already blogged. So, without further a do, 'Happy Belated Valenchine (Valentine & Chinese NY)' altogether, friends! I hope you get to spent it with your loved ones and made them feel special too!

Well, I couldn't say that I'm celebrating both festivities in a big way this year. With Chinese NY, my family never really followed the tradition since I was young anyway. Even though I'm a mix of Chinese - Indonesian, my big family never celebrated CNY like what other families would do. I guess, the Chinese tradition is never big on the family, especially since my grandparents from my mom's side of the family were more Dutch than Chinese. So yeah, I probably had a few red envelopes when I grew up, but it was never extravagant. I remembered the day after CNY in school, where all my friends would talk about how much they 'harvested' yesterday (and the numbers were quite high!) and also what they did with their big families on the day, I would just listened intently with wonderment on my facial expression.

Sure, at that time I was a bit jealous; after all, I was just a kid! I wish I knew how it felt to have lots and lots of red envelopes on CNY - but I don't. As I grew older ~~and none the wiser,~~ what I missed most in CNY is having to have gathered with my loved ones and having family dinners. Usually we had dinners at my parents' crib (because it's too expensive to dine outside on CNY - restaurants usually put high price tags and you have to have a special CNY menu set) and we would just relax and enjoy each other presence.

I think that's when I feel the happiest - being with my loved ones. That's why this year's Valentine's Day is a bit gloom for me because I was just overwhelmed by the feeling of not having my loved ones around me. No, I'm not talking about the one that comes in the shape of a boyfriend - I normally celebrates Valentine's Day with my single pals anyway - but I really miss my family this year. I guess I've been away from them too long now.

Home is where the heart is - and truly, that's where my heart resides. It's funny how after not going back home for holidays in two years, once I stepped inside the house I grew up in, I left a huge sigh of relief and thought to myself "I'm home...". My parents, lil sister and myself have a ritual before going to bed where we all cramped and huddled in my parents bed, joked around or talked about the day that we had. My dad usually took the ownership of the TV remote control, my sis and I would perform some slapstick comedy for them, my mom would nod herself to sleep even though she was watching her favorite show - and we would intentionally annoy her to wake up. That moment right there, is where I feel most loved.

My mom always said that she felt the happiest when she has her two daughters around and we both feel the same way as her. Nothing beats the feeling of being around people you love the most and who loved you the most. I know that my parents and my sister love me no matter what, and I love them come what may. Sure, we have our arguments, but which family doesn't? You're bound to have frictions in your relationships. The key is not to love them because of such and such, but to love them in spite of our failures and weakness. My mom is the true example of this.

She had her share of heartaches; a lot of them really. To cut the story short (or I'll be going on and on about it for pages) let's just say that my dad had been disloyal to her a few times since I was 11 years old (I think) - even thought she was hurting and angry, she always said to me and my sister that we are his children too and we should always give him the respect and love he deserves. After many trials, she always forgave him (to our dismay at that moment) because she felt such compassion towards him. Then, my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer, and I remembered crying and begging my dad on the phone to step up and be there when she needs him, for a change. I think I even threatened him a bit (to hate him for life if he ever left her again); I regretted saying those words to him since my emotion got the best of me. But he did step up. He never left my mom's side when she was in chemotherapy.

Today, I can truly said that their relationship is getting better and better. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them last holiday. Sometimes they are so lovey dovey to each other, I secretly rolled my eyes. But seriously, I've never been happier and at peace with them. Sure, we all have things to work on to improve our family bond - but looking back at the past, I am truly grateful and thankful to God that our relationship improved greatly.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

(1 Corinthians 13)

I'm taking a lesson from my favorite bible verse above, and from my mom, to love people in spite of. After all, love never fails. I really do believe that love is the center of everything. Jesus came down and died for us on the cross for love. Our parents gave birth to us because of love. Our dreams and passion comes from love. Faith and hope comes from love. We should celebrate love daily - not only on Valentine's Day.

As a ~~guilty token from not blogging on time~~ love token this month and as we celebrated love in all its glory, I've designed this wallpaper a while ago for my twitter background. I hope you like it :-) It's in 1024 x 768 resolution at the moment, but let me know if you want it in other resolutions that matches your screen :-)

And now these three remain:

Faith, Hope and Love

But the greatest of these is love

(1 Corinthians 13:13)

Carry love wherever you go, friends :-)

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

2010-02-10T11:03:00.002+08:00

Do you still remember that moment when your age is less than that two digit binary code number (1 and 0 – the geeks will get me on this *LOL*) and you can’t wait to be an adult? I do.

I still remember how I used to dress up in my mom’s dresses, putting on her lipstick (only I pronounced it lisptick hehe), spritzing her perfume, drained myself with her necklaces, trying on her high heels and what not. I also still remember that one time when my mom didn’t let me borrow her lipstick, I coloured my lips with… red marker. I was scolded real bad :-P

My mom used to tell me stories on how I would cried and threw tantrums (notice the plural? Uh-huh) at clothing stores just because I wanted that fairy-princess dresses. True enough, she didn’t buy it for me. Back then, I knew I will be a ~~fairy princess~~ fashion designer so I can make all the dresses I wanted.

Then come the stage of japanese mangas. The first ever manga that I bought was Mari-Chan – it told the story of a girl who’s pursuing her dreams of becoming a ballerina. I wanted to be that girl. Because of ~~my endless nagging and crying and screaming~~ seeing her daughter’s potential, my mom finally enrolled me to a ballet class, which I absolutely loved. I was there for about three years I think, but then she pulled me out because it was getting too expensive. Funnily enough, when Mari-Chan manga series ended, so did my ‘dream’ of becoming a ballerina.

And then I started drawing japanese mangas. I love to copy drawings from my favorite mangas back then, but then started to develop my very own manga (which I didn’t finish due to boredom). Me and my little sister used to spend so many books just for drawing. It drove our teachers mad of course, because we didn’t really pay attention in class except if it was art class.

When I was in freshman year of high-school, I still do a little bit of japanese manga drawings. My favorite class was art class, and I usually got a pretty high mark in it. Come to Year 11, the time when we needed to choose which majors we are going to be in (be it Art, Physics or Economics). Based on the EQ and Talent Quiz the school held, my best major would be in Art & Design. I wanted to be an artist/designer/architect. But due to my parents being typical Indo-Chinese parents, they wanted me to do Economics instead. I didn’t really argue with them, so I just voluntarily agreed – and that goes on until college and graduation. Today, I’m just one of those corporate workers trying to climb the ‘corporate ladder’.

Okay, I’m going off the tangents here. Back to it!

Lately, there are so many of my friends doing their own small business (and not so small business). Pursuing their dreams slowly but sure. I can’t help to think on what my dreams are. There were so many of it. Fashion designer, Artist, Illustrator, Writer (thanks to Carrie Bradshaw), Editor-in-Chief for a prestigious fashion magazine (thanks to Devil Wears Prada) and the most recent: an event organizer of some sort. But, which one, really? I’m a natural born dreamer, and I tend to get a little carried away in my “imagination”.

I admire those people who got a clear vision on who they want to be and what they will be doing when they grow up. They will do practically anything (legal) to get their dreams – and usually they have already learn the basics on the field they’re pursuing. To be honest, I can’t believe I’m doing 9-5 desk work. I always pictured myself as someone who just couldn’t be chained to a desk. I always imagined myself doing something creative and exciting. Something in Art & Design.

When I told my mom I wanted to take Art & Design major in college, she told me “you don’t need to learn it when you got the talent. Just go and learn something in a business major so you can be a successful businesswoman…” It doesn’t work that way unfortunately. You still kinda need your ‘talents’ to be backed up by official certificates and qualifications.

I don’t know what got to me lately; I was so unsure of myself and of what I wanted to do. Some people called it the ‘quarter-life-crisis’. It felt like I hit my second puberty when self-identity crisis is all that was happening in your life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful and feel absolutely blessed with my job at the moment and the learning opportunities it gave me; but I just wanted something… more. I really don’t want to sound ungrateful and snobbish. Forgive me if I seem to sound like one.

But again, I don’t know what I wanted. It feels like I’ve been walking into this long neverending tunnel, and I can’t barely see the light at the end of it. I tested all the water in various pools, but I didn’t dive into one. How can I be so indecisive? What is my ultimate dream? Did I not fight for it hard enough? How did I lose sight of that little girl who was so sure on what she wanted to do in life?

I remembered the parable about talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25: 14-30; how the master gave his three servants talents, each according to their ability, before the master went on his journey. When the master came back, he was pleased with the two servants that multiplied the talents given to them. However, he was furious with that one servant who just buried his portion of the talents because he was scared. The master depicted him as an evil and lazy servant. The master took the one talent he gave to that servant, and gave it to the other faithful servant.

Sometimes I can’t help but to feel like that evil and lazy servant. Maybe because I didn’t pursue it hard enough, my dreams have yet to be granted; or worse, taken away from him and given to someone else. I haven’t been delighting myself in the Lord enough (Psalm 37:4) that’s why the desires of my heart have been ‘delayed’. What I need to do is pretty clear, isn’t it? There are so many passages in the bible that discuss this area – I should’ve get the hint (okay, I ignored the hints).

Maybe this entry sounded selfish – because I wanted things for myself not for others. I’m just trying to be really honest with how I feel right now. Trying to be an open book for a change. I don’t want to only write about my triumphs and victories but I really do want to write about my struggles and weakness. No, I’m not throwing a pity party for myself – I am over that part of my life. No one shows up to my pity party hehehe even though I threw one hell of a party.

I know that God’s plan for me is a plan to prosper me. I do think that He knows I’m not ready as I haven’t been faithful in small things. How can I be trusted with bigger things when I haven’t been faithful in small ones? My time has yet to come. The best has yet to come. But I believe and I have faith that it will come. This too shall pass. These experiences are all learning curves for me; I learned it the hard way.

One thing for sure though: I will never stop dreaming. And try to actually make it come true this time. It will take time for me to figure it out, but I’ll get there. I just need you to believe in me and I promise you, I’ll get there. And I will look back to this day and say “gosh, the flight has been bumpy but my God always promised a safe landing”.

A dream is a wish your heart makes

When you're fast asleep

In dreams you lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday

Your rainbow will come smiling thru

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

The dream that you wish will come true

(A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes - Ost Disney's Cinderella)

Stay beautiful, friends

PS: Just want to say congratulations to a friend who just launched her label for deeply fabulous baby girl fashion "Mischka Aoki" and to another friend who finally took her first step on her pursuit of Make Up Artistry dream :-) you know who you are! I am extremely proud of you both and I will support you guys 150% - wait for my turn yah, who knows we can turn this to a beautiful partnership mwahahahaha.

Book Review: The Lovely Bones

2010-02-04T16:14:00.003+08:00

Title: The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Published: Back Bay Books, 2002

Synopsis (warning: spoilers ahead!)

'The Lovely Bones' was written through the eyes of Susie Salmon - a 14 year old girl from Philadelphia who was brutally murdered in an underground pit on a cornfield in one very unfortunate day by her quiet and awkward neighbour, George Harvey (referred as 'Mr Harvey' throughout the book). Her body was dismembered, put into a safe and was buried in a sinkhole. At first, the police only found a part of Susie's elbow, which didn't convince her family that she was murdered. Detective Len Fenerman scooped the area and later found Susie's biology notes, a copy of 'To Kill A Mockingbird' belonging to Susie, a love note addressed to her from Ray Singh; whom she was in love with; and her winter hat. The discoveries convinced the Salmons that Susie was indeed murdered.

After being murdered, Susie's soul went to her own personal heaven. She met a girl, Holly in heaven - who soon became her best friend; and Franny, her heaven 'guidance counsellor'. As this is her own personal heaven, she can basically have anything she wanted in there. Susie continues to watch over her family (Father - Jack, Mother - Abigail, Sister - Lindsey, Brother - Buckley, Grandma Lynn and her beloved dog, Holiday) struggling to overcome their grief of losing Susie and trying to cope in their own ways.

Jack, Susie's father, suspected Mr Harvey of the murder - however he doesn't have enough evidence to convict him. He became stressed and obsessed with solving her daughter's murder case. Susie's mother, Abigail, became distant from her family and eventually started a short affair with Detective Len Fenerman; she left home shortly after. Grandma Lynn moved into the Salmons household to help Jack raise Lindsey and Buckley. Lindsey - Susie's younger sister - doesn't want to talk about her sister's death and Buckley - the youngest brother - still doesn't understand what had happened to Susie.

Also in the story - Ruth Connors; a friend of Susie's in school whose soul sometimes connected to Susie's. She actually felt Susie's presence in the parking lot the night Susie was murdered. Ruth became best friend with Ray Singh - the boy whom Susie love - and in times, Ray felt that Ruth is Susie. He was first suspected as Susie's murdered, however later proved his innocence with an airtight alibi.

Due to the growing suspicion around Mr Harvey, Lindsey Salmon sneaked into his house when he was gone. She managed to find a sketch drawing of the underground pit and stole it. However, Mr Harvey returned to the house unexpected that cause Lindsey to flee. Sensing danger, Mr Harvey left town and becomes a drifter. Because of Lindsey's discovery, the police bulldozed the cornfield and found a can of coke with Mr Harvey and Susie's fingerprints on it - making him an official suspect.

Later that year, a detective in Connecticut found a woman murdered by Mr Harvey and found Susie's charm bracelet on the murder scene. He called Fenerman and linked the murder with Susie. As they uncover unsolved murder cases and more evidence, Mr Harvey is discovered to be a serial killer who preys on young girls.

The story goes on as Susie watches her mother and father reconcile after years of separation, Lindsey grows up and got married, the love of his life - Ray Singh's friendship with Ruth; basically all the things she couldn't do anymore. While in a diner in wintery New Hampshire, Susie was watching Mr Harvey sees a young woman and approaches her but she rejects him. After the woman left, an icicle that was hanging above Mr Harvey fell and hits him on the head, causing him to die.

Verdict

I came across 'The Lovely Bones' by watching the official trailer of the blockbuster movie adaption of the book (watch it here). I'm always intrigued if a movie is made based on a best-selling book; always compelled me to read the book first before I actually watch the movie since the book is ALWAYS a lot better than the movie. But nevertheless, I wanna watch this movie. Anyone wants to watch it with me? :-)

The idea of a personal heaven is magnificent and very surreal. I kept on having imagination on what it looks like in my head as I read through the book. I finished this book in two days; literally couldn't put it down! However, I don't really like the ending because Mr Harvey died by getting hit on the head with an icicle (natural causes); I'm like 'what?!' - I really wanted the police to catch him and putting him in prison - providing the Salmons with some sort of closure. But overall, I really enjoyed this book - highly recommended as I heard the movie is somewhat disappointing compared to the book itself.

Alice Sebold's story telling was so beautiful, vulnerable and moving at the same time. This is not a crime/thriller investigation novel even thought the backdrop of the story was murder. It's more like a drama, especially seeing the characters unfold in every chapter and the relationship between them. The struggles that every character has in dealing with Susie's death felt so real, especially how the father was obsessed with Susie's murder and how Lindsey sort of detached herself from everything. I especially like the quote on the last page of the book (shown below); which kind of state that Susie has finally able to let go of the world she once knew and realised that her death was only a dark chapter in the lovely journey set out for her loved ones that made them who they are now.

“These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections - sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent - that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been my life.” (p. 320)

It Ain't Easy Being Grey

2010-02-03T12:34:00.007+08:00

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we have a manual book in life, where everything is either black or white? Well, some things in life are black or white (black here means ‘bad’ and white means ‘good’). For example, cheating is obviously black and charity is white. Lying was considered black all the way, but then the term ‘white lies’ came up – when you are lying for a good purpose (or so you think). It doesn’t really considered as ‘black’ anymore because there’s an element of ‘white’ in it. That way it becomes a mixture of black and white, known as the grey area.

It’s really uncomfortable for me being in a situation where things are considered being in a ‘grey’ area – where you don’t really know whether it is wrong or right – and there are debates going on about it constantly.

One of the most common grey areas these days is body art; whether it’s piercing or tattoos. Maybe not for some, but if you’re holding certain beliefs/religion – it can be such a big grey spot. Some see it as a sin, some see it as an art.

I’ve been reading through Christian sites that discusses tattoos, just because I’m really really curious about this matter. This one article I found while I was googling away (yes, I’ve read that before you gave me the link) is pretty informative. However, rather than googling away for info, I decided to ask people that I actually know via twitter and facebook on their thoughts on the subject matter.

Let me clarify: my intention is not to divide people or to stir up arguments and stuff. I’m just curious, but I understand that curiosity can kill the cat. So, I’m very sorry if it sort of looked like I’m trying to ‘divide and conquer’ – I just think that twitter and facebook are the two most common public medias nowadays and a good platform to get information (people asked their friends opinions about what camera to get via twitter and facebook, why can’t I ask to get people’s opinions on tattoos on Christians? ^_^)

Anyway…

It’s interesting on the many different answers (and reactions) that I got. Some people (and most of them are Christians) think that it’s not a problem to have a tattoo; that it’s kinda cool – however considering it due to health reasons (unsteril needles can lead to skin diseases and worse, AIDS) and the fact that you are ‘marked’ forever with your tattoo (won’t look good when you’re all wrinkly and stuff). I’ve known some Christian friends who actually got tattoo-ed recently, and there are many Christian music artists out there that has a tattoo. So far, their tattoos are done at the intent of honoring God. I remembered one of my good friends took a pic of a member of a Christian band who was visiting their church. He’s got a tattoo of his favorite bible verse circling his arm.

I’ve also found via google that there are quite a few Christian tattoo shops in USA. Their policy is to just do tattoos that’s honoring to God – which means no satanic/demonic symbols, no pagan worship symbol, no nudity, etc.

Some other friends felt so strongly about this issue and opposed the idea of Christians (in general) having tattoos but I totally respect their opinions (we are allowed to have opinions, are we not?). Some friends forwarded me the link of the article I just posted above too for reference.

So far, I’m quite agreeing with the article; instead of asking whether Christians in general are allowed to get tattoos, we should ask whether it is okay for ME (as in, individually) to get a tattoo. I think what makes it harder to be okay with tattoo-ing is that the image of people with tattoos are somewhat ain’t good. And being Christians, we get judged more by both believers and non-believers. But, are we judging too much? Again, it remains in the grey area. I guess God gave us conscience and free will; so ultimately you have to make the decision for yourself and include God in it.

This is an excerpt from the article I’ve mentioned earlier:

“Self Exam - To Tattoo or Not To?

Here is a self-exam based on the ideas put forth in Romans 14. These questions will help you decide whether or not getting a tattoo is a sin for you:

1. How does my heart and my conscience convict me? Do I have freedom in Christ and a clear conscience before the Lord regarding the decision to get a tattoo?
2. Am I passing judgment on a brother or sister because I don't have freedom in Christ to receive a tattoo?
3. Will I still want this tattoo years from now?
4. Will my parents and family approve, and/or will my future spouse want me to have this tattoo?
5. Will I cause a weaker brother to stumble if I receive a tattoo?
6. Is my decision based on faith and will the result be glorifying to God?

Ultimately, the decision is between you and God. Though it may not be a black and white issue, there is a right choice for each individual. Take some time to honestly answer these questions and the Lord will show you what to do.

Do I want to get a tattoo?

Well, to be frankly honest with you, I’ve always wanted one. I have some ideas in my head on what to get IF I ever get tattooed one day. I only wanted a small one, and it sure will be hidden; am not going to parade it around. No, it’s not going to be a picture – I like the idea of having a word as a tattoo; something that has meaning for you so you don’t mind of having it for a lifetime. But yeah, I don’t know when I’ll be getting it – it’ll still be a while. If I’m getting one, I want to be sure of it and I want my loved ones to be okay about it, and I want it to reflect my faith in God. There are some of that self-exam questions that I am still thinking about, so yeah, not in the near future or maybe not ever. Who knows? :-)

As Dr Seuss would say, "Sometimes the question is complicated and the answer is simple".

Stay beautiful, friends!

Insanity

2010-01-29T00:54:00.007+08:00

Most of people who knows me in real life know for a fact that I spent most of my days in front of my computer. I remembered during my college years I've been dubbed by a few friends as the 'Queen of MSN' since I'm always online 24/7 (well, still until today thanks to a piece of technology called Blackberry even though I don't chat as much anymore).

I really enjoyed browsing through the internet. Mostly browsing through Facebook (don't we all?), Twitter-ing, iTunes store, Apple Store, Deviantart (for cool and unique desktop wallpapers - highly recommended) and random sites which I found interesting. I probably spend a good 4 hours in front of my macbook everyday (apart from office hours of course).

You see, my 'workstation' at home is a coffee table. It stands probably 40 cm in height, so I used a cushion as a 'chair' and slouch in front of my macbook. This has been going on for YEARS. Everyone knows that this isn't a good idea, especially for your posture. Thanks to my ignorant-self, I finally feel the result of too much slouching. Guess what, I'm still slouching now as I type this entry!
I have been having back pains now and then, and I've always been able to ignore it. Usually the pain stays for a few days, and then it was 'back to normal' (or so I thought). But my back pain took its toll last week, when I've been asked to help with archiving 28 boxes worth of documents in my office. I literally sat on the carpet for about 3 days; compiling, selecting, recording and what-nots; and also lifting up heavy boxes full of documents. All these I did while slouching.

I have never feel that much pain on my lower back before the 28 boxes happened. I felt like I pulled a muscle. My shoulders are very tense, my neck is really tight too. Also, I feel like my feet are dead, due to many hours sitting on the carpet. Not to mention, I feel my bottom slept for 3 whole days. The fact that I'm a side-sleeper doesn't help also, it actually made the pain worse. So today, I finally went to the chiropractor to get it checked out.

This is my first visit to the chiropractor. My little sister said that the word 'chiropractor' sounded like a dinosaur species (to think of it, it kinda does sound like 'velociraptor'). The doctor was really friendly and attentive. He examined my backbone and then he asked me whether I have ever been to a chiropractor before. I shook my head, and then he let a sigh and said "You've got back pains for years, young lady. You just chose to ignore it, didn't you?". Guilty as charged.

He explained to me on why he came to that conclusion. He poked around my shoulder, my neck and my lower back. And truly enough, every spot he poked feel sore. He asked me whether I want him to help me fix this problem. However he mentioned that this won't work like magic, where you can be fixed by just one visit. I have to do an x-ray for him, and then come back twice a week for a few months to get my back sorted out.

And then he said this "But, I can only help you by teaching you how to fix it. YOU have to be the one who fix it. Basically, your whole posture contributes to your back pain. How you do things, exercise you took, how you stand and sit, how you sleep, in short: you have to change everything on the way you do things." I told him on how I have a coffee table for years as my 'workstation'. He laughed and said "Well, that's it. You have to have a proper workstation. If you keep doing the same things you are doing now, guess what, you'll be having the same results."

As soon as he said that, I remembered a famous quote by Albert Einstein:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results"

If Thomas Alva Edison didn't try 10000 different ways on creating light bulbs, we might still rely on candles to provide lights for us. As he famously said about all his experiments in creating the light bulbs: I haven't fail. I've just found 10000 ways that won't work. Heck, if all inventors of everything that we conveniently have today, didn't pursue and keep on trying to invent things, we might as well still be living in a cave (on a totally different note, thank you Steve Job for Apple! One of the most wonderful inventions ever created!).

I pondered to myself the whole day after the chiropractor session: have I been doing things the same way over and over again - and still expects the outcome to be different? Sadly, the answer is a big yes. Gosh, I am insane. No wonder I still have this back pain, I have been slouching for years. No wonder I still experience this, I have been doing that forever! Can anyone be more stubborn and crazier than me? I've been living in groundhog day, where every events seemed to repeat itself.

A good friend once told me that our problems in life basically is linked to ONE root. Either it is your past, your grudges to people, your ego, your dreams, your broken relationships, etc. That root will branch out and turn to our problems like: insecurities, revenge, arrogance, selfishness, hatred, negativity, infidelity, and many more. Just like how my chiropractor told me to fix my back pain with my posture and how I do things, we need to fix our problems by dissecting the root.

"Do you think you have been doing things the right way?" my chiropractor asked me. I said no and he said "Well, at least you're admitting that you've been wrong. That's a start." I learned today (what people have been trying to tell me all these years) that the first step to recovery is to admit that we have that 'root' - admitting that we have been wrong.

Once we do, we'll (hopefully) be doing things differently. Now, I don't expect myself or you to get things right the first time - but hey, the point is: we're learning. If it takes me 1000 different takes to get it right, I'll do it. There will be a time when I will finally have my 'Eureka!' moments. Life is a perpetual learning process. Most of the time it's about the journey, not the destination. Yada-yada-yada.

Easier said that done? You betcha. To cure this back pain, I have to start taking Yoga and Pilates for proper stretching. I have to buy a proper workstation, with proper chair. I have to go the the chiro twice a week. I have to remember not to slouch ever again (and actually do it). There's always a price to pay. But if those things are what it take to cure my back pain for good, I can't not do it, before the pain worsened.
I know I might seem like talking in circles now. I don't really know how to put this. I know I have to deal with some issues in my life - I haven't been dealing with them quite well these past years. Acted like an insane person because I kept doing the same thing, and expect that the outcome will be magically different. Yeah, keep on wishing like how I wish that we'll have a white Christmas here in Australia: NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

So yeah, I will do those things to fix my back pain definitely, but I will also do things to fix the mental and spiritual pain. Talk differently, think differently, act differently. Bear with me, friends, as I'm sure I will make mistakes (and probably frustrates you as well). And I probably will need to read my own note to remind myself over and over again that it's okay to have 'trial and error' session in my life. After all, God's grace is sufficient for us - no matter how many times we messed up. Thank God for that, really.

I hope this makes sense! I seemed to have blabber a lot whenever I got so many things in mind :-) Thanks for being patient, this is one of the things I'm working on (amongst the 1001 other things!)

Stay beautiful, friends!

The Beauty In Ugly

2010-01-25T10:38:00.007+08:00

Just this year, I’ve been introduced to this TV series called ‘Ugly Betty’. It’s been around for a while (I think it’s up to Season 4 now?) and I have watched it on and off over the telly, but I just really got into it during my recent trip to Indo. Thanks to my baby sister who are totally addicted to this series.

Basically, it told us the life of a girl named Betty Suarez. The latina girl who aspires to be a great writer someday. She scored a job in a prestigious fashion magazine ‘MODE’ as the Assistant to the Editor in Chief, Daniel Meade from Meade Publications. Just one tiny problem: she doesn’t look like what a girl supposed to look like if they are working in such a high-end fashion magazine. Betty endured humiliations from her ‘narcississtic’ colleagues – due to her lack of colour coordination, her you-can’t-miss-it braces, her glasses, her hairstyle, her upbringing in Queens, and of course, her body shape which probably isn’t ideal in the ‘MODE Fashion World’.

Betty proved herself to be a strong-minded, smart, more-than-able young lady and earned respect from her colleagues (who didn’t really want to admit that they admired her) and from her boss. She became one of the key people in MODE, and one of the few people that Daniel Meade can totally trust. And she did all that by still dressing like only Betty Suarez can.

I enjoyed watching TV series like Gossip Girl or Sex And The City, where the girls are slim, gorgeous, with impeccable fashion sense (and unlimited budget), but ‘Ugly Betty’ is different. Betty isn’t ‘pretty’ by most people’s standard. She definitely needs a whole new wardrobe and a haircut. And she most definitely needs to get her braces off asap (been there, done that). In the series she didn’t go through a ‘makeover’ stage ala ‘She’s All That’ (or maybe not yet?) – however, her strong characters shine through and made people to see her beyond her outlook appearance.

I don’t know about you readers, but I can totally relate myself to Betty sometimes.

I have always been a plus size girl my whole life – no matter on how hard I tried to lose weight, I could never be skinny like most Asian girls you know. I’m big boned and thanks to my ‘4-days-a-week-swimming’ during my teens, I have really broad shoulders as well. My skin isn’t fair, I’m not tall, I have big feet and so on and so forth. I think the only thing that I truly like about myself physically is my hair *LOL*.

Anyway – I’ve had a hard time growing up as a lot of people ‘teased’ me about how I look (my weight, especially). I remembered my first boyfriend in Junior High (which I found later that he only dated me because he pitied me) broke up with me because I was, er, fat (again, found out from his friend). My parent pestered me constantly about how I look (sometimes more than 3 times a day). Don’t even get me started on the nicknames that people gave me. It didn’t really help my self-esteem when a member of my big family dated a girl who’s a model and that my auntie stated that ‘I should lose weight because in my age I supposed to look pretty’ in front of the model girl and the boys, who only smiled vaguely in discomfort. I seriously wanted to bury myself in a hole and never come out.

Look, I understand totally from my parents point-of-view that they just wanted to have beautiful daughters that they can ‘parade’ around (come on, everyone knew this). Believe me, I totally get it. Especially in the community I grew up in, most girls wear size 6 and 8 clothes. Sometimes I feel like such a disgrace because I don’t look like them. It hurts especially when even my family members kind of ‘teased’ me and told me that I should look like this girl and that girl. My mom at some point even ‘announced’ to every friends and family members that we met that I’m fat. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate them. I love my family to death. However, these things hurt, like, a lot.

This made me think: what’s the point of having brains if you don’t have beauty? Do people still cherish inner-beauty? What about winning people with your personality? Is this all that matter to people in my community? How shallow are we really?

Let’s set aside the people who are for obvious health reasons need to lose weight. I’m talking more about those girls who have curves. Funnily enough, people in Australia celebrates those women who are slightly bigger than average. They don’t discriminate or make fun of them, which I totally dig. We have clothes here for girls with curves, for heaven’s sake! I’m just a bit sad that my community can’t see that. No wonder some girls are addicted to plastic surgery (hello, Heidi Montag!) and aimed to make themselves look like Barbie dolls. Their community most probably didn’t embrace them for ‘who they are’.

Don’t get me wrong… by all means: lose weight and do make over. But remember this: do it for yourself. Don’t do it to get approval from others. You might lost weight and look great, but are you truly happy with yourself? You might strutted down the street like in a catwalk and donned the newest ‘it’ bag, but is that who you really are? Believe me, I tried – and I have never been so miserable in my whole life.

I admire those people who are able to look past the physical outlook and be truly content with themselves. To name a few famous people: America Ferrera (Betty Suarez herself), Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, and Ricki Lee. They are big, bold and beautiful. Our role models should be those people who really are beautiful inside (and out) and not just for their looks.

I have to admit, sometimes I judged people by their looks as well, thanks to my upbringing. I kinda have this ‘evil’ on commenting on what people wear and whether it suits them or not (silently behind their backs of course) – I think I have an inner Perez Hilton or the GFY ladies in me. But I want to stop doing that. I admire their confidence and not caring about what other people think. Seriously, I salute them – I wish I have much of self-confidence in me. We have to love ourselves more, don’t you think? (not in a narcissistic way of course).

I promised myself this year that I will stop trying to live up to the world’s standard of being ‘beautiful’. After all, I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God – God thinks I’m perfect, so I should adopt that way of thinking as well and be content. If I’m losing weight – I want to do it for myself. Not for my parents, my aunties, my other family member, not to prove that I can be as beautiful as that model girl, and to make sure that I am truly truly happy. I want to be Betty Suarez, whose personality shine beyond what other people think of how she looks. To be free of that bondage of worldly possessions and outlook is my goal for 2010~!

Let me leave you with this video clip of Jason Mraz’s song ‘The Beauty in Ugly’. It’s one of the soundtracks for ‘Ugly Betty’ – I think we all should really listen to the words and apply it to ourselves, and make all the fashion statements just by dressing up our minds. Have you heard - positive thinking is so hot right now :-)

The Beauty in Ugly - Jason Mraz

She's so big hearted,

But not so remarkable

Just an ordinary humble girl

Expecting nothing as we're made to think

It's a pretty person's world

But you are beautiful and you better go show it

Go look again, you gotta be true to your own

If you really wanna go to the top

Do you really wanna win?

Don't believe in living normal, just to satisfy demand

Well if you wanna get free

And if you wanna do the passionate thing

And if you wanna get smart for the sake of your heart

You should own your name and stand up tall

And get real and see the beauty in ugly

Well you are fresh, you're face is fabulous

Don't forget you're one of a kind

When nobody is checking the deeds you've done

And nobody is hearing your cries

You make all of the fashion statements

Just by dressing up your mind

Well if you wanna get free

And if you wanna do the passionate thing

And if you wanna get smart for the sake of your heart

You should own your name and stand up tall

And get real and see the beauty in ugly

And see the beauty in ulgy

Well if you wanna get free

And if you wanna do the passionate thing

And if you wanna get smart for the sake of your heart and oh

You should own your name and stand up tall

And get real and see the beauty in ugly

See the beauty in a ugly

Keep being beautiful, my friends :-)

My New Groove

2010-01-18T21:40:00.006+08:00

Hello, you!

Welcome to my humble little blog! I'm so excited to finally blog again. There are so many things that I want to share with you, I don't know where to start!

I have been blogging for about five years now, but the past two years have been a dry spell in my blogging-life. You can say that I kinda lost the will to write. I used to be able to express myself in writing, but that didn't happen this past couple of years. I seriously didn't know what happened! Maybe life got a little too complicated, and I felt confused about it, so I stopped doing the things that used to make me feel better.

I tried to find excuses, like, having no time to write, too busy with life, too many responsibilities, too tired - but I know those are just excuses - not reasons (I just realized recently that they're different haha) but now stop with the excuses! People have been asking me why did I abandon my blog and I couldn't answer them. I guess with the new year just started, I turned a new leaf and wanted to do things that I love (like writing and stuff) to help me remember on what my passion really is and hopefully, finding out the true purpose of my life.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Having a little bit of a writer's block >_< Hopefully this won't happen often!

Thank you again for visiting and I really hope you enjoy my writings :-) please come back often for new posts!

testttttt

2009-01-15T16:30:00.000+09:00

testtttttttt

It's my party and I'd cry if I want to

2008-07-08T21:47:00.003+08:00

Twenty four.

is the amount of hours in a day.

is that famous TV series about that dude, Jack Bauer.

is the number of months in my mobile phone contract.

is 2 x 12, or 3 x 8, or even 4 x 6

Twenty four.

is how old I am now.

Today is indeed, my birthday. One year older, but none the wiser. It feels so weird because I actually didn't feel the 'hype' and excitement of having a birthday. I slept early last night at 11 pm, and couldn't even wake up to answer calls or sms-es. I woke up with one missed call and five birthday sms-es in my mobile.

Today was just an ordinary day. Actually, I could say that I had a bad day at work. Everything was just wrong, orders were late, suppliers were pushing the due date further, salespeoples were panicking out and pushing my patience to the limit. To add to that, my colleagues at work didn't even know that today's my birthday.

I did tell one of my colleague that it's my birthday, in the end. And I told her that I don't want to make a big deal out of it... She kept it hush-hush, but soon enough the whole department was wishing me birthday wishes. And to my surprise, as I went back from lunch (alone, that is!), they prepared me a birthday present! A beautiful rose with beads bracelet and matching earrings!

Today was simply just an ordinary day... the only difference is I am one year older. What made the day special were the birthday wishes from all my friends around the world.. even those ones that I have not been in contact in years left a message on my facebook wall (thank goodness for facebook! hahaha). Earlier this week I got an early birthday present from my sis in Malaysia, and my mom and dad just bought me a digital camera for my birthday! I'm gonna have it real soon :) yaaaayy..

Everyday is full of decisions. Of course, those negative situation above could affect my birthday mood. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to. But hey, nobody is gonna rain in my parade! so I chose to be happy in my birthday and relax :)

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes guys.. through sms-es, phone calls, facebook wall comments, friendster comments, even from your nick on messenger :) It is true, your family and friends are the ones who made your world, no matter where you are. I am officially twenty four years old and trully blessed :)

One hour and seven minutes to go, and I'm no longer the birthday girl.

Hopelessly devoted to...

2008-07-07T13:24:00.004+08:00

Ola people,

If you guys didn't have my facebook or my messenger... you probably won't know this. But I want to shout it out from top of the mountain *okay, i'm exaggerating* that I'm officially a Mac-devotee.

My baby :)

Yeapp! that's right people.. I just recently switched to Macintosh. Since last week Wednesday, to be precise. I'm known as a 'switcher' now, and I don't want to go back to PC *sorry!* hehe.

I've always loved Mac. Secretly desired Mac. But never have the guts to actually buy it. I talked about planning to buy it a lot, but no action. You see, one of my good friend - Rey - is crazy about Mac. My pastors (both of them!) are crazy about Mac. My church uses Mac in everything. Liza's boyfriend, Chris, converted to Mac. My housemate bought a Mac. Everybody uses Mac!

Since I've oftenly uses the church's MacBook Pro, I have gotten familiar with the OS and how they operate. I liked it wayyyy better than PC. Mac is so easy to use, with great interface and graphics, and they do not crash like PC *unless if some guy accidentally squeezed the hard drive part of your MacBook, that is. Note to Jibo!*

All I can say is.. I LOVE IT. This beautiful white thing is my baby! I have much love for it *sad, i know...*

Hey PC users, why don't you change to Mac and join the 'switchers'? :)

What's in a name?

2008-07-06T23:16:00.005+08:00

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet..."

(Juliet - from "Romeo & Juliet" by William Shakespeare)

That was an excerpt from the famous love story "Romeo & Juliet" by William Shakespeare. Here, Juliet expressed her love for Romeo, despite the feud that their families threw at each other. She wished that Romeo's last name was not a Montague, but then she declared that she would love him anyway despite what his name is. Rather sweet isn't it?

Many people have asked what's the story behind my nickname... What is "Cintapopia" and how did I come up with it... The answer is pretty simple, not as complicated as you might think... hehe.

The term "Cintapopia" actually consists of two words: Cinta and Popia. Cinta is an Indonesian language for 'love' while Popia means... vietnamese rolls :D hahahaha. Yeap, altogether combined, it means 'love vietnamese rolls'. Pretty neat, huh? :P

Popia is one of my favorite food. It's easy to make, it's healthy and it has that fresh-summery vibe to it. It's a good entree/finger food snack when entertaining guests. As you might know, our Food Lovers Link began last Saturday. We decided to do potluck night, where everyone bring one dish each to the meeting for all of us to enjoy. Since I didn't have much time to prepare a complicated dish, I made Popia!

Making Popia is veryyyyyy easy. You don't need to boil the vegetables that goes with it because you can eat them straight away - The only 'painful' thing is boiling the rice vermicelli and trying to wrap the Popia in a perfect shape (this is only painful if you're as perfectionist as I am hehe) but if you enjoy cooking, you wouldn't mind at all :)

Anyhoo... here is the play-by-play steps of making Cintapopia...

Ingredients:

- Cucumber

- Carrots

- Snowpea Sprouts

- Coriander

- Rice Vermicelli

- Rice Paper

- Shredded Chicken

Dipping Sauce:

- Hoisin Sauce

- Chilli Powder

- Coriander

- Sweet Soya Sauce

- Hot water

Method:

Wash all the vegetables that you're going to use! Hygiene purposes
Thinly cut the cucumber and carrots
Prepare the snowpea sprouts (or you can use alfalfas here as well) and coriander (you can skip it if you don't like it... but I personally think that it adds a certain aroma and taste to the Popia)
Shred the chicken thinly. For this time I 'cheated' on this one. I don't actually cook the chicken on my own (I was too lazy!) and bought a roasted chicken from Coles instead.. hehe. You can actually replaced the chicken for prawns or pork or even beef... depends on what you love :)
Soak the rice vermicelli in warm water for two minutes until it soften. Drained and pour with cold water to toughen it up.
Soak the rice paper in warm water until it soften
Place the rice paper on a clean surface (and preferable moist)
Put the rice vermicelli first, then your vegetables and chicken on top of the vermicelli
Fold it gently *careful not to tear the rice paper!* as you do with spring rolls.
Put the folded ones aside and start with your next one.
Prepare the sauce: mix hoisin sauce, a little bit of hot water, sweet soya sauce and chilli powder together. Stir it until it mixes well.
Serve your Cintapopia and Bon Appetit!

Making this dish will only take you 20 minutes tops - well depends on how many you are making, that is. My Cintapopia had some leftovers the other night (I think I made too much of it) but was gone anyway since lots of them took away leftovers in containers (I took some too!).

Food - Glorious Food!!!

Food Lovers Link Members - Tien, Adeline, Carol, Me, Felice and Liza

Food Lovers Link was fun! We're going to do another one in two weeks time (it will be on Saturday, every fortnight) and we're going to make Sticky Date Pudding in the next one! Yaaay :) A warm dessert for winter!

I've already asked Raymond as well who's a good friend of mine to contribute a class to our Food Lovers link. He's the head chef of Terrazza Restaurant and he's a great cook! He's the human version of Ratatouille :P He's going to show us how to do his delicious grilled salmon and I can't wait!

So girlss (and guys), if you are in Perth and love food... please don't hesitate to join us! We're not only going to bake, but we also going to cook dishes and eat out to review the food. Our Food Lovers website will be up and running soon - so stay tune!

Jason Mraz - Beautiful Mess

2008-06-30T00:06:00.002+08:00

You’ve got the best of both worlds

You’re the kind of girl who can take down a man,

And lift him back up again

You are strong but you’re needy,

Humble but you’re greedy

Based on your body language, your shouted cursive

I’ve been reading

You’re style is quite selective

though your mind is rather reckless

Well I guess it just suggests that this is just what happiness is

Hey, what a beautiful mess this is

It’s like picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you write

Kind of turn themselves into knives

And don't mind my nerve you can call it fiction

‘Cause I like being submerged in your contradictions dear

‘Cause here we are, here we are

Although you were biased I love your advice

Your comebacks they’re quick

and probably have to do with your insecurities

There’s no shame in being crazy,

depending on how you take these

Words that paraphrasing this relationship we’re staging

And it’s a beautiful mess, yes it is

It’s like, we are picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say

Kind of turn themselves into blades

And the kind and courteous is a life I’ve heard

But it’s nice to say that we played in the dirt

Cause here, here we are,

Here we are Here we are...

We're still here

And what a beautiful mess this is

It’s like taking a guess when the only answer is yes

And through timeless words in priceless pictures

We’ll fly like birds not of this earth

And tides they turn and hearts disfigure

But that’s no concern when we’re wounded together

And we tore our dresses and stained our shirts

But it’s nice today, oh the wait was so worth it

***

My BIG FAT update

2008-06-27T15:35:00.002+08:00

Yellow yellow everyone.. it’s been over three weeks since I last posted an entry in this blog. Sorry for the lack of updates guys.. life been super super busy lately. So here it comes, a BIG FAT update.

Work = CRAZY

Well, it’s end of financial year here in Australia – that means if you are an Accountant (which I am not, thank goodness) you’ll be ripping your hair out soon enough because you need to do end of financial year stuff.

There’s no difference here in Retail! All of my colleagues are out doing stocktake at the moment and guess who’s the lucky one who got left with ALL customer-related processing and admin nitty gritty stuff? Yeap yeap, me.

At the moment – I’m doing three people worth of workload. All the enquiries, the processing, data entries, order, special makes even answering calls are done by me. To cut the story short – I’m exhausted. These past one and a half week got me brain-dead at the end of every workdays. I don’t even have the will and the strength to hit the gym on weekdays! Yep, my filofax at work is filled with scribbles, list of jobs to due on the day, post it notes… gosh, it gives me headache just to think of it @_@

Stocktake will be over very soon (I hope) and then there’s the follow up… the moment where I have to fix everything that went wrong in stocktake. Fun (not).

Sex And The City = FABULOUS

I’ve finally watched SATC The Movie on 10th June 2008. The girls and I had a girls night out. Too bad it’s on weekdays – I went home and change my clothes, then went straight to the cinema. We didn’t have the ‘dress up’ night! Oh well, maybe the next one – if there’s gonna be another one.

I must say the movie was really touching. It was so good to see how the characters have developed over the years and of course the dilemmas that came with it. I literally shed some tears of joy and of sadness – especially when Carrie hits Big with her wedding bouquet – because he left her at the Altar - and Charlotte grabbed her and hugged her to console Carrie AND tell Big to get away from her when he tried to talk to her.

Overall, I’d say it’s worth the wait. The girls are as fabulous as they used to be – with better clothes, better shoes and cosmopolitans still.

Michael Buble Concert = AWESOME

Over that same weekend, I went to Michael Buble’s concert at Challenge Stadium with three of my friends (Fang, Meli & Moni). I’ve always loved Buble – he gives me goosebumps everytime I hear him sings haha. It must be cool to be Emily Blunt *sigh*, maybe Buble sings to her all the time.

The concert was awesome. Buble is not only a singer, he’s an entertainer! He joked around, engaged with his audiences very well. He even ‘made up’ scenes – like when he was saying that he is sick from singin and disappear to the backstage… then one of his bandmates who played the saxophone (I think) took over the singing, and Buble came out looking jealous and not amused. That was hilarious.

The highlight of my concert is not Buble though… it was his opening act, Naturally 7. There are a bunch of guys from New York who do vocal play. It’s like a more advanced acapella group. They LITERALLY do their whole song by only their voices – no instruments. They imitate guitar, saxophones, harmonica, turn table, bass, trombone, etc etc. It was phenomenal! I left the concert early to caught them having their meet & greet event. I ended up buying their DVD and got all seven to sign it! YAYYYY :D

Life = NOT SO GREAT

Lately I have this… umm.. thing. A thing that contradicts with my principle. I’ve tried to shake it off, but it won’t go away. I’ve tried to ‘surrender it all in God’s hands’ but being a mere mortal, I kind of couldn’t. It’s when you don’t want to think about the pink elephant in the room, that you actually think about the pink elephant in the room – if you know what I mean.

And yes, kind of make me feel that I will never be good enough. For anything (or anyone), that is. Oh well, not everyone has to know about this, but I blabbed about it anyway. I just have to get it off of my chest, that’s all. C’est La Vie. So help me, God.

Oh yes, I almost forgot…

Our Foodie Link is going to commence very very soon :) It’s a ‘care group’ program from my church that facilitate for people to express their interest. And yep, nothing tickles my tastebuds more than good food. I’m joining forces with Carol Rode from Oh-For-The-Love-Of-Food in building this Foodie link. I have high hopes for it! Come and join us if you live in Perth and love food. This is the Fatkins Diet.. you won’t lose weight but you’ll have a great time! Haha.

Anyhoo… it’s 3:31 pm and I’m still at the office… waiting for the clock to hit 5 pm and then I’m outta here!

Thank God It’s Friday :)

Blog of The Month

2008-06-02T22:49:00.005+08:00

Hola everyone! :)

One of my favorite free-time activities is blog-walking. I love to visit my friend's blog, my friends' friend's blog, my friends' friend's friend's blog (confused already?). I'm sure you get the idea hehe.

I love to read about their days, their thoughts, their creativities. Most of the time, inspired me to do something, change it or just to create something. After all, in life we are pre-destined to do something - to make a difference in the world. I'm sure a blog is one way to do it.

As you probably noticed, I've put a hit-counter on my blog. To be honest, I'm a little bit surprised to see how many visits I've got for this blog.. It's over 1300! I'm not sure whether that's really what happened, or the hit-counter mis-calculated somehow... but I'm pretty happy. A friend of a friend, which I've been introduced to and met briefly, actually e-mailed me saying that she likes to read my blog and it actually inspired her (you know who you are yaaa.. thanks bgt lho.. I'm very flattered!)

Anyhoo, those kind words from a friend actually gave me encouragement to write more and inspired me to do this 'Blog of The Month' featurette. I want to acknowledge those blogs I've read that entertained me, inspired me and encouraged me :) As the title suggested, I would do this monthly. You are more than welcome to 'refer' me to a certain blog that might be encouraging to you and I will definitely look into it.

So here goes, the first 'Blog of The Month' award goes to...

*drum rolls please*

My very best-friend's blog, 'Crafty Hands' by PangTama.

*applause applause*

I've known her from the first day I arrived in Perth - knew no one, a lil bit scared and intimidated by the fact that I'll be living here alone without my family - but this lovely girl was there and she was one of my first friends in Perth. We lived together for a quite a while, shared hobbies and interests (thank goodness not in guys ya! hahaha) and we've been through a lot. I've seen her grow into a more mature and beautiful *married* woman and it's been an awesome journey being her friend.

Anyhoo, since I first knew her, I've noticed her love for anything crafty and beautiful. She would spend hours looking at Architectural books and admiring them, spend hours playing The Sims to create beautiful 'virtual' home, created something magnificent from scraps - and now, she's beginning to start doing it seriously. Her blog started as a wedding preparation blog called 'Tying-D-Knot' which mainly records her wedding preparations, and some random thoughts in her mind. But as her love for crafts grew, she dedicated her blog more to her crafts now which I totally dig! Check out her blog for some seriously wicked crafts such as beads, clutches, pillow-cases and bags - and yes, she accept orders as well!

She wanted to actually have a proper business involving crafts. She has one at the moment, along side my other beautiful friend, Lisyen. But I'm sure that Fang will actually make it one day - be someone she wants to be and do something that she loves for a living :)

So there you go friends, the Blog of The Month for June. Be sure to visit her blog and leave her encouraging comments. I am hoping to keep this feature every month dilligenty and please please feel free to recommend good blogs to me!

Long weekend is over (what a bummer!) and I'm off to la-la-land now because tomorrow is working-my-ass-off day again. I hope you guys had a great long weekend. I'll be sure to post about mine here in my blog shortly, so stay tuned!

Have a good night everybody! Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite :)

If Only by Shahril Nizam

2008-06-01T22:27:00.000+08:00

I found this poem written in my lil sis blog - which is still under construction, it's literally blank with nothing in it yet - so I won't give you guys the address until she says she's ready to 'share' her blog with the rest of the world (please let it be soon, dear sis!).

Anyway, this poem is writted by Shahril Nizam, a Malaysian poet, who is relatively quite young. You can read all about him here. My lil sis promised to get me his book in Malaysia because I'm afraid they didn't sell his books here... So, I'm waiting on your promise alrite sisss?? I found this poem VERY romantic and sad at the same time. I think it described that 'agony' and 'desperation' of being in love and wanting to let that someone know about it (or not).

What can I say, I am a hopeless romantic at heart :P

If Only (For Love)

If our hearts were to meet,
Let them fall at my feet,
For I’d gain with good measure,
All my pain for this pleasure –

And I shall embrace,
The grim and the grace;
Our earth and the ether;
The nay and the nether –

Through life’s shifting dunes,
Or time’s passing moons
I’d take this fair journey,
For love and love only. –

(by Shahril Nizam, "If Only", Page 137)

Oh glorious weekend!

2008-05-30T23:06:00.005+08:00

'Yellow' everyone!

Finally, the long weekend is here! I'm sooooooooooo happy. I'm determined to enjoy my oh-so-very-short 'holiday' to the max. I'm planning to:

- Finish 'When God Writes Your Love Story' book

- Go to the gym on Saturday morning (pump + combat combo!

- Dye my hair (yeap, my roots are showing!)

- Do major-clean up in the house

- Finished delayed craft projects

- Indulge in DVDs and K-Dramas... hihihi :)

- Sleep in on Monday morning and doing absolutely nothing for the whole day (aside from gym)

- Finished blog layout design requests (I will post the finished 'products' here later on)

- Spend some time with my beloved friends and do goofy things together! always fun!

- Call my mom (again!) and chat chat chatty-chat

- Annoy my lil sis :P through unimportant MSN conversations

- Look for inspiration for new designs and projects

- Make that long-awaited Tiramisu for my friends (if I'm not lazy... hahaha)

Or...

Stuff the entire list, just relax and do whatever comes :P

Anyhoo, in regards of 'celebrating' the arrival of long weekend, my friends and I tried on the new Korean restaurant in Victoria Park last night. It was... ALL YOU CAN EAT. Oh my goodness! This place is bad for me! And true enough, I kept on eating and eating and eating - and now my tummy is bulging. Gosh. But it was good :P

To tell you the truth, I am in the process of launching another blog that my friends thought I should do. I've set up the name and everything, however, there are bits of things that I need to 'get' before I could even start the blog... to name a few, a proper digital camera to take pictures for the blog. I never owned my own digicam (ok, laugh all you wantttt), always wanted one - since I gave up on my mobile's camera. It's pathetic *sigh*.

I am currently in love with Nikon's Coolpix 10 megapixel camera... but it costs a fortune hey. My mom and dad are going to China really really soon and I've been told that it's waaaaaaaaay cheaper there, so I told her to get one for me. I hope they get it! Consider it as an early birthday present, hey mom?

Ok, I think I'm going to stop here. Oh by the way, if you noticed below, I've inserted a 'signature' at the end of my post. This signature is going to be in every post I made because I think it 'personalises' the post more... And, to all drivers out there, be careful when you drive, double demerit points this long weekend, guys!

Have a great LONG weekend, everybody. Til then :)

Seriously not my day.

2008-05-29T00:11:00.003+08:00

Mood: @#$%^&*!!

Listening to: Estelle (feat Kanye West) - American Boy

There are two things that totally bummed me out today.

My leave application for late August was not approved by my boss.

I was planning to go back to Indonesia in late August to be with my family, because during October-February we were not allowed to take any leave at work due to busy times at work during those months, which is fair enough. So, I thought to myself "maybe it's a good idea to go home late August since my sis will have her holiday too, so we can be together in Indo for a couple of weeks".

With great expectations, I've submitted my leave application form last week to my boss to find out today that it was not approved! The reason was because I haven't been there for a year, that means I'm not 'entitled' for annual leave. However, that guy who works in the workshop - which hasn't work with us a year (maybe, nearly - but not quite) has already have around 4 weeks holiday before this month AND he's leaving for another 2 weeks holiday next week! I'm like... what the heck is happening??!! this is so unfair! :(

I told my mum just now, and she was quite sad about the idea of us not being able to be with each other in August... however, she really wants to see me, so she said she wants to go here around that time to visit me, with my dad and my lil sis! yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy!! I miss them so much I could cry, honestly! My dad has never been to Perth before, and he's so eager to see the landscape (he can't help himself, really. What's an Architect to do, hey?) in Perth, which I believe is one of the best in the world.

So, fingers crossed! Hopefully they will be able to come here and see me...

Due to *new* company policy, Internet and E-mail are RESTRICTED for private use.

Okay, let's face it... we - working class people - loved to forward funny e-mails and browse here and there when we feel that we 'had enough for the moment' and needed time to unwind. We e-mailed each other at work, just talking about random stuff to boost up our mood, or to organize what we should be doing on the weekend and what not. I was one of those people.

I think it was bad luck, my boss noticed the 'excessive amount of Internet usage' that's coming out and to my address. Most of them are forwarded e-mails (which made my day and also my colleagues, mind you) and of course, the occassional browsing on the internet when I feel bored and have nothing to do. She reckons that it slowed down the productivity of the company, EVENTHOUGH she admits that I've done a fabulous job in my department and never lack of anything.

So... she gave me a formal warning. A stupid FORMAL WARNING of using the Internet. Seriously, I think this is ridiculous. We need a break every now and then, and funny e-mails helped us to do just that! Sure, I can totally stopped the browsing, but WHAT IF I need to check something urgently in my bank account through the Internet? It's not like I'm on the net for hours and hours, and not doing my job. I concentrate on the job until it's finished, and when it's finished and I don't have anything to do.. then I browse for a couple of minutes. That's it! Gosh, I'm so pissed off. What she didn't know that my colleagues done the same thing, and I was the one who 'got caught'. Totally unfair.

Whoo-sahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

I have nothing left to say. Honestly, I'm just so pissed off now. Thank goodness for combat class - to channel my 'anger' and 'rage' into jabs, hooks, upper-cuts, front-kicks, jump-kicks, side-kicks, roundhouse-kicks, etc etc. T'was a good exercise today. But... I got so hungry I actually ate Indomie for dinner. There goes my effort to lose calories *sigh*.

Oh well, Thursday's here. One more day before the long weekend is here. Hang in there, friends!

xoxo

Update - and more updates

2008-05-28T09:48:00.003+08:00

Good morning, Upper-East Siders :)

As you might have noticed, I slightly changed my blog appearance a lil bit. You can tell that I was bored, hey? I loved the banner my lil sis made for me, however I just felt that I need a little change in my oh-so-stagnant life. So my blog was the first one I ‘renovated’. The new banner is much simpler than the old one – because I feel that I need some simplicity in my life. I kinda like the effect that the pattern of my background is embedded into the letters – make the title kind of like it was cut out from the white ‘paper’ that I ‘wrote’ my blog on, doncha think?

I also changed the title of my blog into ‘Pretty Little Corner’. The reason is simple, because I wrote my blog post usually in my room which is in the corner of the house, and I considered my room as pretty (a girl has to take pride in her room!). It’s my fortress of solitude – where all the ~~sleeping in and being lazy happened~~ thoughts and ideas come out of nowhere. One day I’ll post pictures of my ‘pretty little corner’ here for you to see.

Anyway, on a more random note, I’ve watched Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of Crystal Skull last night with friends. I’ve been adoring Indy’s adventures since I was a kid and been watching all three movies over and over again. My favourite out of three was The Last Crusade. I reckon that was the funniest – perhaps because Sean Connery was there starring as Indy’s father, which added major points to the comic relief. I’ve always been fascinated by adventure stories like these and Indy is definitely one of my favourite.

However…

I was disappointed when I watched The Kingdom of Crystal Skull. I expected the usual Indiana’s style of adventure – with artefacts, ancient history, the puzzles, the riddles and what not. This one didn’t have enough of it. Instead, there’s Extra Terrestrial involved in this. I’m like ‘what the?’. Me no likey. Maybe because Steven Spielberg directed this movie – he just couldn’t resist to put a lil bit of ET in it? Or maybe I was expecting too much of this movie…

Well, to my consolation, there’s the hot Shia LaBeouf in it, so I’m pretty much consoled HAHA. But yes, despite all that, it’s good to see Indy in action again with his trademark fedora hat and that famous theme song – and who would’ve thought he would marry Marianne Ravenwood (from Raides of The Lost Ark) and found out that he had a son! Hmm… what are the chances of Shia LaBeouf becoming the next Indiana Jones (they did share the name Henry Jones :P).

Oh yes, this weekend is LONG WEEKEND.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!

I’m so looking forward to itttttttttttttttt (notice the excitement in my tone? hehe)

I have so many things I want to do this weekend. I've finished the new episodes of Gossip Girl all the way, also 2nd season of Heroes and Psych. Carol lend me the korean drama 'Princess Hours' too, so maybe that's my next indulgement for this weekend? I am known of my capabilities to wrap up the entire season of TV series in one hit :P.

Too excited, I don’t even know where to start... I’ll keep you posted!

Over and out people, have a great day!

xoxo

Persuasion

2008-05-21T23:07:00.001+08:00

“…there could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved”

(Jane Austen's "Persuasion", Chapter 8, Pharagraph 3)

Simpletons

2008-05-21T21:14:00.005+08:00

Mood: thoughtful

Listening to: Colbie Caillat - Magic

Aloha people!

A friend of mine forwarded this email to me with a video of a cute lil baby boy who laughed histerically over paper-tearing! It's hilarious to see how he laughed - seemed like he was enjoying himself so much he didn't care about anything else. It's true, baby does not need expensive toys, so we could forget Toy shopping for Christmas and birthdays for them?

Anyway, it got me thinking. When was the last time we laughed like he laughed? When was the last time you enjoyed simple pleasures in life without getting distracted by your routines or responsibilities? Since when did we become 'complicated' and not being the 'simpletons' that we were?

Ah, I remembered when I was a little girl. I had a happy childhood, I must say. I remembered of not having to care about the world's problems, of not feeling like you have the burden of the world on your shoulders. The only problems you face were whether you are able to watch your favorite cartoon without finishing your homework first (turned out to be that you CAN'T *sigh*), whether your mum and dad would buy you that toy you want so badly (and for my case, it was a Goggle Pink figurine... I know) or what to play with your friends on a weekend afternoon.

As we grow up, our eyes has been opened to all the imperfections of life. People disappointed you, friends betrayed you, your plans don't work, you're not happy with yourself and so on and so forth. How did we get here? How did we forget to love life itself? We only have one shot in life, better make it count, right?

Life is complicated as it is, do not complicate it even more. Keep it simple. Live your day one day at a time. Sure, you've set your short-term and long-term goals - keep trying to fulfill it at your best capabilities, but don't stress yourself too much. Yeah, I'm preaching to the choir. Being an overthinker, I often stressed myself out. I think about things too much, feel too much, and without I realize it, I've depressed myself. I forgot how to 'enjoy' life and all the things that comes with it. After all my blog does entitled 'Life, Love and Laughter' and I should live up to it.

What are my simple pleasure in life... I asked myself that very question tonight. I believe that it's your friends and family who made your world, no matter where. Perth - as boring as it is - seemed so much more fun when you have your loved ones around you. Your joys seemed to doubled and your sorrows seemed to eased.

I hope that we all could laugh like that lil cute baby everyday of our lives :)

xoxo

Insomnia

2008-05-15T08:16:00.001+08:00

Mood: lost?
Listening to: One Republic - Stop & Stare

Have you ever had one of those sleepless nights when your mind just keep wandering off and your brain - magically - couldn't stop thinking and by the time you look at the clock it's time to wake up and get ready for work?

I just had one of those episodes last night. I slept around 1 am, and to my dismay, woke up at 4:30 am - and just couldn't go back to sleep. I stayed in bed the whole time, tried to close my eyes, turning around here and there, fixed my pillow, counted sheeps, and what not - but still, I was awake. This could only mean : I am stressing, worrying and freaking out about things. Overthinker, that's what I am.

I have been dealing with this certain issue most of my life. It's weird because sometimes we don't seem to learn from our own mistakes. Even though I've tried SO HARD to avoid it, to fix it, to plan ahead, cut back on things and stuff - the issue seems not to have left you. It brings you down, it haunts you in moments that you've least expected it to happen and certainly, you don't need that to happen. You've got enough in your plate - and usually, your default reaction will be "Oh, GREAT! Now this happen? Could it be any worse?!!"

To be honest, I'm not happy with myself at the moment. I know I shouldn't - but I can't help it. It frustrates me that I seem to have not yet achieve anything major in my life - academically, financially, spiritually, mentally - pretty pathetic for someone my age. I can't really complain about it though since most of what I'm facing right now were results from careless decision making. So yea, have to live with the consequences, I guess. That's seems fair. But I've had enough! I'm trying to move forward but it feels like I'm going nowhere.

They say, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" - but sometimes you think enough is enough. It's like we want the quick fix, the shortcut to make it all go away. Oh, how I wished I could talk to a butterfly and ask how did it feel being trapped in the cocoon for so long before the catepillar morphed into a butterfly? how painful was the process of the ugly duckling growing up into a beautiful swan? I don't think I will ever be a swan or a butterfly. It feels like I'm stuck in a middle of nowhere, not knowing where to go or what's the next step to take. Selfishly, I want to be happy with my life, not just feel content about it.

Or maybe, I am too proud to admit that I couldn't do it by myself? I thought I've learned that God's powers are way greater than human? I've thought that I have faith in Him? My plate's full and I refused to give it away to God? He did say "cast all your anxieties on Me and I will give you peace". I thought I was doing that already? Apparently not.

Was I just blabbering and making no sense at all?

Haha. Blame my lack of sleep last night. Oh well, I'll just enjoy my dark chocolate now - my aphrodisiac and hopefully I feel better by the end of the day. It's tough being an overthinker :P

Happy Thursday everyone, tomorrow's Friday. YAAAAAAAAY :)

xoxo

My huckleberry friend, moonriver and me

2008-05-13T23:21:00.000+08:00

Hello guys!

Just wanting to share with you guys one of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite movies, sung by one of my favorite actresses - the late Audrey Hepburn. Who could get enough of Breakfast At Tiffany's, My Fair Lady or Sabrina?

They don't make movies like these anymore, do they? Classic, effortlessly beautiful and timeless. Audrey Hepburn sure was a beauty - so chic, elegant and classy. I don't think anyone could ever have the same charm as her.

Anyway, here's a short clip from the movie 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' with the famous song 'Moonriver'. I still got goosebumps everytime I watch the movie! So I hope you guys will love it as much as I do... Where's my huckleberry friend?

Moon river wider than a mile

I'm crossing you in style someday

You dream maker, you heartbreaker

Wherever you're going, I'm going your way...

Two drifters off to see the world

There's such a lot of world to see

We're after the same rainbow's end

Waiting round the band

My huckleberry friend, moon river

And me...

***

Love of my life

2008-05-12T00:34:00.000+08:00

Today (11/05/08) is Mother's Day in Australia. So I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there (and mother-to-bes). Come on guys, don't forget to tell your mum that you love her and take her out or something for the day. Shower her with praises, compliments, gifts, you name it - as you would need to do everyday.

Due to this occassion, I would like to introduce the most special person in my life to you. My dearest mommy. I haven't talk about her much in this blog, but I really want you to know what sort of person she is and why she means more than the world to me.

Mom & I - at my graduation day which she said was one of the proudest moments in her life

I know I know, I looked nothing like her. She's tall, has sort of 'dutch' foreign look (as my grandfather's dad had dutch genetics in him - blame my dad's strong chinese genetics on why I don't look like my mom at all!), slender and very calm. She's exactly the opposite of me who's reckless, loud and a lil bit of a daredevil. She's quite a shy person and she's really nice to everyone - again, nothing like me :P

I am very close to my mom - especially since I'm the eldest in the family. My mom, my lil sis and I would spend the night talking to each other in her bedroom about random stuff, laughing at each other, doing silly faces or just watching whatever show that's on the TV while she dozed off to sleep and I will annoy her until she wakes up hehehe. We love the same food, had the same taste in clothes, same size of shoes, tops and pants (not anymore, I think! I'm way fatter than she is).

Of course, like any normal child, despite my closeness with her, there are times I considered her as 'annoying'. The time when she gets naggy, especially. "You are too fat, you HAVE to go on a diet and lose 10 kgs!" - "Why do you have pimples in your face, put some acne cream on!" - "Don't eat too much." - "Save up, don't go shopping all the time!" - "No, you cannot have this." - "You have to set an example for your sister." and what not. Oh, how I loved for her not to be around me at those times. I guess, living far away from your family do have its benefit. You became independent and not depended on your parents anymore. You can do pretty much whatever you want without needing their approval and stuff.

About two years ago, my mom found a lump on her left breast. She refused to get it check despite the countless effort and 'nagging' from me and my sis to get it looked at by a specialist due to reasons like 'I don't want to spend more money on silly stuff like this - I want your sister to get into a good school'. Still, in the midst of her sickness, she thinks of other people. She still managed to tell me not to worry as she would be fine. Thanks to my lil sis, she managed to get my mom to see a doctor - and there it was... the verdict. She was diagnosed with a stadium three breast cancer.

After the diagnoses, my mom went through a painful chemo process. She became thin, her skin was darker, she had bigger eye bags, and of course, the scary hair-loss. She will vomit all the time and then she finally shaved her hair completely. The sad thing is, I wasn't there. I wasn't there with her through the whole process. I was here, in Perth, working. I really wanted to come home but I couldn't afford to do it. It was so hard knowing that she suffered so much and I wasn't there even if I really want to - like how she was there everytime I was sick, nurturing me back to health.

Dad, my lil sis and mom - during her chemo

I actually considered on going back for good to Indonesia to be with her, but she rejected the idea. "Life is so much better for you in Australia. Stay there and make it work. I know you can do it..".

Seeing her sick - hurts me a lot. Made me realize how much I love my mom. She meant more than the world to me, I wouldn't trade her with anyone else or for anything else. I would rather hear her nagging me all the time rather than not hearing her voice at all. She's my role-model, one of the bravest women I've ever known. The one that loved me for who I am not for who I could be. The one who no matter what, will support me. Everything seems so much easier and lighter when I'm with her and she said it all the time... "My greatest joy is to have my two daughters here with me...". She is my greatest joy and it's sad that I have to realize this because she was not well.

I don't know what I would do if she's not here with me anymore. If she's not with me, how can I be me?

She had her left breast taken out and the doctors told her that she was 'clean'. However, recently they found something in her left shoulder... and both of her arms started to ache and hurt. The doctors don't know what it is yet - however she was told that it might be the cancer, spreading. Oh God, please no...

To be honest, at this very minute, I am worried about her. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Oh, how I long to be with her... and held her in my arms, telling her that I will be with her every step of her ways. She needs to fight this for herself... and just because I am selfish, for me. Because I could not exist if she's not with me.

The one thing that I ask from God is this... please let her remember that I love her forever and ever and not let her forget that. Please grant me time, to be with her and to actually make her proud. Please let her know that she's not alone. Please let her know that she means everything to me. Please allow me to repay her love and kindness. I'd do anything to keep her with me as long as I can. So friends, please do pray for her as well... I really need all the prayers that my mom could get, I know that God listens to our prayers...

So, mommy... Happy Mother's Day. I am thanking God for the beautiful mom He has blessed me with. You are beautiful and strong, inside and out. I couldn't ask for a better mom than you... It hurts me seeing you hurt, and although I'm not there in body - I am constantly praying and thinking about you and I would NEVER stop loving you. You are, indeed, the love of my life. Please be well... I don't want to be without you. I wish you were here with me or I was there with you. So many things I want to tell you, so many things I want to achieve for you. Let me live my dreams for you - and I want you there watching me as I live it.

I love you, mom. Always have, always will.

Missing you each and everyday,

your daughter.

PS: You know those times when I told you to not treat me like a child anymore? Guess what... I am still your little girl and there won't be a time that I don't need you by my side.

***

A Tear & A Smile

2008-05-06T22:15:00.000+08:00

I would not exchange the sorrows of my heart

for the joys of the multitude.

And I would not have the tears that sadness makes to flow

from my every part turn into laughter.

I would that my life remain a tear and a smile.

A tear to purify my heart and give me understanding

of life's secrets and hidden things.

A smile to draw me high to the sons of my kind

and to be a symbol of my glorification of the gods.

A tear to unite me with those of broken heart;

a smile to be a sign of my joy in existence.

I would rather that I died in yearning and longing

than that I lived weary and despairing.

I want the hunger for love and beauty

to be in the depths of my spirit,

for I have seen those who are satisfied the most wretched of people.

I have heard the sigh of those in yearning and longing,

and it is sweeter than the sweetest melody.

With evening's coming the flower folds her petals and sleeps,

embracing her longing.

At morning's approach she opens her lips to meet the sun's kiss.

The life of a flower is longing and fulfillment.

A tear and a smile.

The waters of the sea become vapor and rise

and come together and are a cloud.

And the cloud floats above the hills and valleys

until it meets the gentle breeze,

then falls weeping to the fields and joins with the brooks

and rivers to return to the sea, its home.

The life of clouds is a parting and a meeting.

A tear and a smile.

And so does the spirit become separated from the greater spirit

to move in the world of matter

and pass as a cloud over the mountain of sorrow

and the plains of joy to meet the breeze of death

and return whence it came...

To the ocean of Love and Beauty --- to God.

(Kahlil Gibran - A Tear & A Smile, 1914)

***

Soul Searching

2008-05-05T12:51:00.000+08:00

Mood: nostalgic

Listening to: Lingua - Bila Ku Ingat

As you might have noticed on my sidebar to your right - I've been reading a book by Eric & Leslie Lundy titled "When God Writes Your Love Story". I haven't finished the book yet (half way through! I'm planning to finish it by this weekend) but this book has made me think about stuff that I don't actually want to think about (or I deny to think about?).

Everyone needs someone. A soulmate, as they call that certain person. They even have an entry in the Dictionary. According to them, a soulmate is a person with whom one has a strong affinity/attraction. The origin of this 'soulmate' concept was not clear, but I found as I typed the word 'soulmate' in Wikipedia one of the theory of soulmate was from Aristophanes in Plato's Symposium is that that humans originally were combined of four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but Zeus feared their power and split them all in half, condemning them to spending their lives searching for the other half to complete them.

A bit freaky, isn't it? :P

One of the most popular questions that people asked me was "So, have you had a boyfriend yet?", "When are you getting married?", "So, who's the lucky guy?" - and so on and so forth. These questions especially came from my family in Indo. Well, to you guys who are not Asians - it's kind of uncommon for a young lady my age to not have a boyfriend or a fiancee or not planning a wedding (your own, that is). The fact is, almost all of my friends which have the same age (or similar) as mine had been married. And (maybe) it kills my family to see me not even having a boyfriend.

Ok, it's been seven years since I last had one (yeap, it was in highschool. and yes, I'm pathetic!) but I'd rather not rush it. Easy comes, easy goes - they say. Some people called me a 'perfectionist' and I'm too picky... but I think you can never be too careful about these kind of things, right? You don't want to spend the rest of your life with the wrong person and be miserable. Better safe than sorry.

I guess, I'm a bit traumatized by relationships. Most of the one that I had been in left me broken hearted and in tears, even looking at what my parents had been through made me a bit scared to trust that opposite sex. I think I'm cursed that way hahaha. Ironic, really. I don't want to feel this way, but I do. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my time being single - exploring my capabilities, my skills, my personality, etc.

But yeah, finally - after years of 'single and fabulous' moments - I do feel a bit lonely, especially when most of the friends your age are married (or planning one), building houses together, went on to family dinners from both side of the family - it kind of singled you out even though they didn't mean to. Luckily, I have my friends here which, even though they are married or planning to get married soon, they didn't ruled you out of activities and we actually get along really really well (too well sometimes, haha).

Because of that book, I'm beginning to 'think' about it a lot... After all, I am turning 24 this year and it'd be nice to have someone in your life (apart from your family n friends) that you can count on. I am waiting on God's appointed time to actually meet the appointed one. Let God take your pen away from you, and write you a beautiful Love Story that would last forever...

Incompatible, it don't matter though

'cos someone's bound to hear my cry

Speak out if you do

You're not easy to find

Is it possible Mr. Loveable

Is already in my life?

Right in front of me

Or maybe you're in disguise?

Who doesn't long for someone to hold

Who knows how to love you without being told

Somebody tell me why I'm on my own

If there's a soulmate for everyone

Here we are again, circles never end

How do I find the perfect fit

There's enough for everyone

But I'm still waiting in line

(Natasha Bedingfield - Soulmate)

xoxo

If the shoe fits, wear it.

2008-05-01T15:44:00.000+08:00

Mood: impatiently waiting for Friday

Listening to: Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air

If there's one thing I can fill up my wardrobe with, it would be shoes. Please ask my friends around - I do have a thing for shoes. Why? Because no matter how fat we get, how old we get - shoes, will always be the same. Most of my clothes are pretty safe and plain, but I always play it up with shoes (and bags, and accessories - yes I'm big on those things!). I love my shoes, and my shoes love me. The feeling's mutual, you see :)

I watched Sex And The City reruns last night on Arena channel. The episode was when Carrie lost her beloved 'Sedaraby' Manolo Blahnik (pictured here) at a party where she was forced to take them off - and some girl with (obviously) excellent taste in shoes ran off with her beautiful new silver-sparkly shoes. Carrie was devastated and told the host of the party - however, instead of offering to pay Carrie back for the lost Manolo, she refused to do so and told her that "I don't need to pay for your extravagant lifestyle". The host used to be one of the Manolo devotees - until she got married and have kids.

However, Carrie spent a lot of money for this host. She bought her engagement presents, wedding presents, and of course baby shower gifts for child number one, two, and the latest - three. She spent a significant amount of money for this woman, and this woman refused to pay back $485 for her lost Manolo Blahnik. While Carrie respected and celebrated the host's life choices, the host refused to celebrate Carrie's.

Sometimes in life, we forgot to celebrate other people's life choices - or to just simply understand what they are going through. Of course, we all have our own opinions on things - and maybe some time, we are right. But you won't ever know and fully understand what they are going through unless you are in their shoes.

For example, I have this girl at work (to protect her privacy, let's call her Miss R) who has very wealthy parents and leads very extravagant lifestyle. Her shoes is Chanel, her bag is Balenciaga, her sunnies is Chloe, her necklaces and rings are Tiffany's, and so on and so forth. Sure, there's nothing wrong with being rich - and when you got it, flaunt it - which is very humanly for everyone. It's our pride, and God forgives, sometimes we can't help it.

Then one day, I was out for a walk at lunch time with her, and my other colleagues. We went to Target, and I saw this really cute open toe black patent sling-back shoes which was on sale for $20. I was so excited, and when I tried it on, it did look good! But as I expressed my excitement and my intention on buying it, Miss R said to me "Annie, what are you doing buying cheap shoes???!!!" with a disgusted look on her face. I was speechless, but then my other colleague, Alison, said "buying cheap stuff is fun, and when you get tired of them or they wore out, you could just chuck them in the bin without feeling guilty." and Miss R was laughing.

That's not the first time she said it. She hurts many people in this matter, when she expressed her 'objection' of the 'cheap stuff' that we are wearing. Well, too bad so sad - not all of us has rich parents to begin with, and not all of us still got monthly allowances from our parents (and they still pay for our rent/mortgages). Sure, life will be beautiful if all of us could have those - but unfortunately not.

People lead different lives - therefore, people have different situations. We need to stop expecting (and sometimes, forcing) people to come up to our standard. People are born unique - different capabilities, different calling in their lives, different talents, different point of view of things, different desires, different dreams/goals. The best thing we need to do as a friend is understanding them - because sometimes they just need to be understood and listened to without us strongly expressing our opinions.

Sure, we will always pray for them and support them in prayer, but it's time for us to start wearing their shoes and ponder how does it feel like walking in them.

Of course, life is a perpetual learning process. That's why it needs time for us to learn this, but the point, my friends, is that we are learning.

xoxo

Hello, Sunflower...

2008-05-01T00:01:00.000+08:00

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

(Sonnet #18 - William Shakespeare)

***

Bittersweet Symphony

2008-04-29T19:39:00.000+08:00

Mood: blessed ^_^
Listening to: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

Everyone knows that I love to eat. I love to snack. I love to nibble. And one of my favorite treats while relaxing is dark chocolate. No, I don't like milk chocolate or white chocolate. I only love dark ones. Apparently eating a small bar of dark chocolate is really good for your health. Afterall, chocolate is an aphrodisiac - it produces endorphine, the happyderm. That's why it's very effective to eat chocolate during your mood swings, it helped to calm your nerves down (ok ok, mine mostly!).

And why dark chocolate, did you say? Probably because it has a unique taste - a combination of bitter and sweet into one. It doesn't get you naseous (as you do if you eat anything too sweet). Dark chocolates are good for the heart, the blood circulation, improve digestion and stimulate kidney, and so much more. It's like the perfect bittersweet symphony - that makes you happy :)

Life is like that sometimes, isn't it? Forrest Gump said "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get." Indeed, life is a bittersweet symphony. Sometimes you're on top of the world, you've got everything going on for you - but then one minute later, you're in your lowest darkest valley and you feel like nothing (or no one) could pull you back.

Last Sunday, Ps Mike Rumende (the newest addition to The ROCKS family, welcome Ps Mike!) shared about being in sync with God's purpose - and how that road to the 'There' He has prepared for us won't be smooth. Sometimes He would take the highway, rather than 'my way' - full of obstacles, trials, examinations - until you've reached the Promised Land.

Ps Mike pointed out some interesting illustration about this - this particular one appealed to me the most. It's an extract from the book of Exodus - 15:25. It was when the Israelites were thirsty and they had no decent water to drink. The water was bitter, so Moses cried out to God, asking for His help - and He delivered a wood. Moses threw the wood into the water, and the water becomes sweet. "There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them."

Our lives were once like that bitter water. We couldn't drink from it so our thirst were not quenched. We cried out to someone - that higher power that created Heaven and Earth. He sent the Wood - which is Jesus Christ to rescue us. Our lives are paid in full by His Blood. He gave us that privilege to sit at the right hand of God - equal to Himself, as God's sons and daughters. That wood made the water sweet - and so does Jesus to our lives.

Bitterness is essential. Trials, disappointments and those obstacles are essential for our growth. To actually living God's purpose - we need to be dependant on Him. To always have that 'point of desperation' that allows God to show His powers and to perform His miracles in our lives, until we have that 'The Lord is my ______' moments. Only if we let God be who He is - that our lives will be changed, our circumstances will be won over.

I am very blessed to say that, today, the Lord has answered one of my prayers - in a time period which is unbelievable since I was just praying about it two nights ago. When I found out about this answer to my prayer - I couldn't say anything. I was speechless, and I almost cried (but that wouldn't be funny since I was at work!) but God has perform a breakthrough. When He ensured me that He is mighty to save me, He is indeed! Everything will be beautiful in His time - and I'm still waiting on Him to showed me the way to my Promised Land.

The truth is.. if I hadn't make that mistake in my life and reached that desperation, I wouldn't call on God to help me (Heck, I would be a major hypocrite) and He wouldn't have a platform to perform His miracles... How awesome is that!

Life is a bittersweet symphony. But only when you acknowledge that bitterness and overcame it, you will appreciate the sweetness even more when it comes. Now, that's what I call an aphrodisiac :)

***

Sweetness

2008-04-28T11:52:00.000+08:00

Juno MacGuff: I think I'm in love with you.

Paulie Bleeker: You mean as friends?

Juno MacGuff: No... I mean for real. 'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know...

Paulie Bleeker: I try really hard, actually.

(A conversation between two friends - "Juno")

Second Chance

2008-04-27T16:36:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time - not long ago from today - there was a girl. A girl who claimed that she's a Christian. It has been 6 years since she received the free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ into her heart. At first, she was on fire. The fire burned ever so strongly. She enjoyed that moment, she was in love after all. This Jesus Christ she knew, changed her life. Changed her beliefs, her perspective and her priorities - for that moment.

Years gone by, she served 'faithfully' in her home church. At first, she was just in the choir. She always enjoyed singing since she was young. Then it grew - she was the singer and now she was one of the worship leader in the church. Not only in the worship team, she was in the creative team of special events in her church - camp, Christmas musicals, Easter, you name it.

Sure, to her fellow church members she looked fine. Looked like she had everything together. Little did they know, she was not okay. Everything went wrong. She did not have it together - far from it. Yes, she still served week after week. But that 'fire'... that 'passion' was not there anymore. She saw her ministry as her obligation. Something that she just needs to do - because she had to. She had 'no choice' but to do it.

Deep inside, she knew there is something wrong with her. She was a hypocrite, you can say that. She shook it off, saying that this was only a phase and that she would go through it. "Life is like a ferris wheel, sometimes I'm up.. and sometimes I'm down. This is my down time, I'll be up again in no time," she said. But, boy, was she wrong. Things went downhill from there - her problems, not only it did not go away, it had gotten worse.

Still, she was too proud to admit that she needed help. She 'pretended' everything is hunky-dori. She still lead worship in church - yes, she can sing - but she knew, the Holy Spirit wasn't there anymore. She lost it and she did not want to admit that she did. "I'll just play along," she thought. Afterall, she is the worship leader. She was not supposed to be like this, people should not know about this.

She was contemplating on going to this year's church camp. "It doesn't seem interesting," she thought to herself. It was on a public holiday, and oh-how she loves her public holidays, her days off from work. But then as she was approached to be in the committee team, she could not resist. She loved event organizing, so "This might be work," she assured herself. So she did. Meetings after meetings, until it was the day before the camp.

Her fellow Christian gathered around to pray for the camp that day. Of course, she had to go, she was one of the committees. She had not pray in such a long time. She had not worship God in such a long time. But that night in the prayer meeting, she suddenly had the urge to pray - to expect something BIG to happen in the camp. A breakthrough is what she needed. And with that, she prayed.

The D-Day had finally arrived. First day of camp went alright, she couldn't sleep that night. The bed was hard, she was worried about the bugs that's around, she was worried about not being able to get up on time to do her 'wake up call' for the campers. She was tired. That whole day was full on. Session after session, the big activity games, the clean up after it, it was exhausting. By the last session of the night she was exhausted.

Her youth Pastor led worship that night. At first, she didn't feel like singing and jumping up and down because she was tired, but she did anyway. What's the difference, she thought to herself. But this time is different. She felt something. Something that she once knew. She once experienced. She missed it. The feeling was so strong, she couldn't explain what it is. She couldn't sing anymore. She couldn't help herself but to cry. He was there. He - whom she ignored. He - whom she forgotten. He - whom she denied. He knocked on her heart once more, asking her whether He could come in or not...

"Admit it, you need Me...", that voice said in her heart. She couldn't lie anymore, she needed Him. She was desperate. She didn't know whoelse to turn to. "I was here all along, but you didn't let Me in...", the voice echoed. She broke down. That was it - the whole truth. She did not let Him in. She did not let Him be who He is. She was not strong, she was weak. She was a nobody - but to Him, she is a somebody. She thought He ignored her, but it was the other way around. He's there, all along, waiting for her to call on Him. To admit that she needed Him more than ever.

"Forgive me..." she said. That night, she said the prayer she once prayed. "Please come into my heart," she said. "Please correct me," she said. She didn't know what else to say - but one thing she knows, He understood. He knew everything from the start. He knew what's wrong with her. She did not need to tell Him the whole story, He already knew. He just need her to say it, that she could not do it by herself. He has come to her rescue. And just like that, she felt peace. She felt at ease.

The Servant of God approached her afterwards. He told her things that he wanted to tell her since months ago. He knew because it was revealed to him what she did and went through. He prayed for her, she could only cry. There and then, she asked for forgiveness again. and He gave her a second chance. After the camp, she went home and prayed that night. She praised Him and worshipped Him for everything He has done in her life and for everything that He's going to help her do. "Everything will be alright. Be still and know that I AM." He told her.

This morning, she went to church. She felt at ease, she felt light. The Servant of God pulled her aside and said, "Last night I was praying, and I could sense that you were worshipping God at that moment...". She smiled. "This is only the beginning," she told him. And as she was praising and worshipping God in her church, that song that spoke to her so much was sung by her fellow worship team members... and she felt safe, and right at home.

So it's with everything I am

I reached out for Your hand

The hope, the change, the second chance I've gained

On You I throw my life

Casting all my fears aside

How could greater Love than this

Ever possibly exist...

(Hillsong United - Second Chance)

Go Go Go~!!

2008-04-24T09:14:00.000+08:00

Mood: excited!

Listening to: Justin Timberlake feat T.I - Let Me Talk To You/My Love

I am in a state of blurriness as I'm typing this. Why, you ask? Simply because I only slept for four hours last night in total.

Tonight is the start of our church camp - entitled "No Limits". I am part of the committee, so my friends and I had a final meeting last night at church with our pastors as well. We prayed for the camp and sang praises, and then continue on with the preparation for the activities. Ka Ira, San-San and Ci Hulda did a great job in preparing the goodie bags beforehand, so it was ready yesterday when we had the meeting! Good job :)

So, this time I got to be in the Activities Committee - just like the last camp we had. I couldn't spill details on what's gonna happen in the camp but I just want to warn you guys who's coming - be afraid. Be VERY afraid *evil laugh*. And by default, I have to do the morning exercise as well. The so-called 'Senam Kesegaran Jasmani' aka SKJ 88 (translated to english: Body Freshener Aerobics *what the?*). This time I'm going to do ~~Inul's infamous goyang ngebor~~ a combination of stretching, body jam, body combat and who knows, maybe some push-ups and sit-ups as well.

who knows I might get you to lift weights!

Luckily, I have my 'assistant' - Meli - with me this time to do it together, so it's gonna double the ~~suffering~~ fun! We stayed at church last night until 12:30 am, trying to sort out what music to use, what sort of ~~embarassments~~ aerobics movements we're going to have, and so on and so forth. I was soaked with sweat at the end of the night, and have to take shower again when I went back home (mind you, I had already taken a shower right before I went to the meeting!!) and then packed away for the camp - which has not been finished as we speak (I hope I can get it done in time later!).

The funny thing is, I wasn't excited about the camp as I used to at first. I was - to be honest - skeptical about it - because there are way less attendants this time, lack of organizations, and obviously not enough time frame to prepare for it as well. So I was going just for the sake to 'do my job description' and not expecting anything from this camp.

But last night when we prayed together, I felt a sudden urge in my heart to pray for excitement and enthusiasm from the attendants. I did pray for it. It's like God reminded me that, this camp, is not about the events, or how many people are going to attend it. He did say on the bible that even if there's only two or three people who gathered in His name, He will be there with them. The purpose of this camp is to be with God. To reconnect. To go back to basic - the Blesser.

So we prayed. We believe that God is going to do something great in this camp for us! He will do a revival - but only if our hearts are willing to accept it. Afterall, He did give us freewill to make choices. But nonetheless, He will bless us and He will be there with us in the camp - and of course we will have fun!

I came home last night - with expectations and excitement for the camp. I just know for sure that God will answer prayers, will lightened up our paths, will mend the broken heart, will help us to go through whatever our problems are. I can't tell you why I'm so certain, because I just am. Afterall, sometimes you can just 'be' without knowing the reason why, right? :)

Here we go, guys! No limits, no boundaries - break forth, and enlarge our territories. Be excited because we are going to be blessed!

xoxo

Red and Gold

2008-04-23T08:56:00.000+08:00

Mood: so-so

Listening to: Colbie Calliat - Realize

The sky has lost its colour, the sun has turned to grey and the colour of the leaves are red and gold. Yes, my dear friends, autumn is here. No more of those ridiculous summer heat, no more of those 'my-skin-got-darker-by-itself' eventhough I covered it up and certainly no more flies (double yay!).

For some reason, your mood changes as season changed (or is it just me?). In spring, you feel light - because of all the colours in the flowers that bloomed, the birds chirping, blue sky. In summer, you felt the urge to exercise to get the perfect beach body (yea, rite tas), you kinda feel short-fused because of the heat and somehow your energy level is like the energizer bunny.

In autumn, things changed. You felt it's harder to wake up in the morning, you felt the sudden urge to drink that long macchiato every morning (or more coffee, to you who drinks coffee everyday anyway) just for the sake of waking you up, you lost the will to do exercise - you just simply want to snuggle up in your couch, watching sappy movies while you're drinking hot chocolate. And then comes winter, those autumn urges are still there PLUS the never-ending appetite to eat, eat, eat (and Chris with his yummy take on shabu-shabu. hehehe).

It's not only the mood that changed, the colours you wear changed as well. I noticed a lot more of darker colours such as black, navy blue, maroon, dark brown, and so on in winter and autumn. Whilst the pastel colours of spring and bright summery colours are kind-of out of the picture. Also the songs you listen to - I've realized that I've listen to more folksie, light, eerie, tranquil songs (such as the lovely Colbie Calliat - you should download her songs! they're great!) rather than upbeat RnB stuff that I usually listen to during summer (while jazz has been a constant aspect in my life, so that it doesn't count).

And yeah, this morning I woke up to find that it was raining outside, it was freaking cold, and was feeling very very lazy and I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than five minutes. I even dozed off a bit on the bus as it was stuck in traffic (rain = ridiculous traffic in Shepperton Road = feels like Jakarta), came to work late because of that and now.. blogging? Do your work, Tasia!

Am I the only one who felt this way? Or is it anybody out there who feels the same way too? Hello???

The good thing about this weather is, I couldn't wait to wear my jackets, my beanies, my opaque thights and my gloves! so, double yay!

Over and out, peeps.

xoxo

Totally in love with this song

2008-04-23T00:39:00.000+08:00

** It's 12:43 am right now... I really should've gone to bed, gotta wake up early tomorrow for work. At the moment, it's raining outside. I'm cold. I'm sleepy, but I can't sleep. This song has been playing up in my head these past few days, I can't shake it off! I'm in love with this song.

Take time to realize,
That your warmth is crashing down on in
Take time to realize,
That I am on your side
Didn't I, didn't I tell you?

But I can't spell it out for you,
No, it's never gonna be that simple
No, I can't spell it out for you

If you just realize what I just realized,
Then we'd be perfect for each other
and will never find another
Just realized what I just realized
we'd never have to wonder if
we missed out on each other now

~ Colbie Caillat - Realize

A proud one, I am.

2008-04-22T19:48:00.000+08:00

Mood: sleepy!

Listening to: Melee - Built To Last

Hello folks!

As you may have noticed, I've got a new banner in my blog. This banner was designed by my super-talented Graphic Designer to be, my very own little sister, Alexandra Talissa.

She's 5½ years younger than me. The quite big age gap made us argue oftenly when we were kids (what are kids to do, right?). We shared the same love for art. At such a young age, both of us loves to draw japanese manga characters - we would spend hours and hours 'imagining' this far far away land - where the characters are named after flowers and seasons - and our mum yelling at the background, telling us to stop drawing and do our homework.

Me & lil missy @ Kuala Lumpur, 2008

But since I went to college, my drawings stopped there. I never practiced again - well, occassionally - but not my sister. She drew and drew, she even taught herself photoshop (and now she's an expert on one, that is!). I took business pathway in University, just like what my mum wanted me to, only to find that I don't like it at all. My mum 'learned her lesson' of not forcing her daughters on what to study, so she let my lil sis took Art in Uni.

And true enough, she mastered it. She's a natural. A great Graphic Designer to be, a great Illustrator and I have never been prouder. Her works at the moment were published in her school's website and she told me yesterday that one of her Typography artwork is going to be in the students exhibition.

Some of my sister's artwork @ Uni

I always wonder to myself, what life would be like if I followed my heart to study design? I always have that passion for art and design, whether it's fashion, graphic or interior. I didn't insist when my mum told me not to take design, or when my dad said 'do not take architecture like I did, you wouldn't sleep for days'. To be honest, until today I still have that regret and 'what-ifs' about Design school. I so want it - I just didn't insist hard enough.

There were times in my Uni years that I struggled so much to finish my subjects. I would broke down in tears, called up my mum and say that I couldn't do it. My mum regretted pushing me to choose business school - like what she did when I was in highschool (I ended up in Economics major, not in Art major which I would like to be). I still ended up as the student with highest Accounting score from the entire school, but mind you, I do not like numbers. Never do, never will. I am planning to go to design school - if it's not too late because I really really want it.

That's why I am so proud of my sister. She nailed it. She followed her heart and she used her potential to the maximum capacity. I am proud on what she achieved, how she's changed and excel in her studies. My mum and I would brag constantly about her 'geniusness' and would admire her artwork for hours.

So there you go! She's on her term break now and bored to death (or so to speak) - so I, being a very understanding sister, decided to ~~use her~~ ask her to do my blog's banner. She did it only in a couple of hours... and it's beautiful! I loved it! but still she said she's not satisfied because she's used to work on things for days until she's completely satisfied (yes, she is a perfectionist, like me).

I hope you like the banner, as I do! Thanks again lil sis :) Love you much!!! Updated my blog with a web counter as well, and also re-designed the profile picture part of the blog... nothing much, but I'm in the process in designing a new layout as a whole and am in the process of launching yet another blog of mine which according to my friends 'you should do this kind of blog' ... so watch this space!!

xoxo

Allow me to be frank

2008-04-16T10:32:00.000+08:00

I have no idea why - but this week seemed to move on so sssssllllooooooooowwwwwww. I felt exhausted, and today's just a Wednesday! Oh how I wish today is Friday :(

On a more random note, I feel like crap today. Maybe it's PMS - it automatically turned me into the self-loating-crazy-emo gal. So, hello to all of you who has never seen this side of me. You won't like it. I hate about being this 'dark-side' - I don't like her. She's dark, judgemental, resentful, hateful, envious, and all those things you guys would hate. So beware, proceed with caution!

Gosh, I feel like I'm Nikki from Heroes. Only uglier and waaay fatter.

That's all.

Monday morning came too soon!

2008-04-14T08:41:00.000+08:00

Hello Upper East Siders,

(ok, I'm officially hooked on Gossip Girl. The new season's coming up on 21st April! yeaaayy)

How was your weekend? I hope everyone had a great one! Mine was busy busy busy and full on. On Friday night, my friends and I went to try out the new Tony Roma's restaurant in CBD. I've always love Tony Roma's - been eating since I was in junior high school back then in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Since it had just opened, I think, last week - they didn't take bookings by phone calls, so we have to physically be there and put our names down and wait ~~impatiently~~ patiently. And so, that was exactly what we did. We waited for around 45 minutes - it was packed! But then the owner felt bad and offered us a free complimentary onion loaf and drinks at the bar while we were waiting, so YAY! that's what you called getting the best from both worlds :)

So anyway, the wait was worth it. The 'Original Baby Back Ribs' was everything I hoped for. Juicy, spicy and yummy! Ka Ira and I shared a full slab of ribs and all of us shared the entree that Jibo ordered (yep, Jibo eats a lot when Xenia's not around. Haha). The night was full of laughter and VERY interesting conversations *wink*. I came home with fuller tummy and lighter steps. Oh, how I love Friday nights - and it was Moni's birthday... so happy happy birthday, Monceeeeeeeee!!! :)

My excitement was captured by Chris that night. Ok, fine. I love food, so what?? :P

Saturday was not like any other Saturdays. I had two parties to attend in one day and one of them was organized by me. So I was practically running around like a mad woman the whole day, trying to get things done! Luckily I had my friends who helped me majorly - thanks guys!

The first party was for Pastor D's birthday which was held at his beautiful house. The food? don't ask - it was top notch! All my favorite Indonesian cooks in Perth (red: Tante Yanti, Tante Retno and Ci Erika!) indulged us me with all those yummy food I missed! I didn't eat a lot, but enough to make me feel bloated and full! So, happy birthday Pastor D! You might be 40 years old now, but you looked young and handsome still! :P

The second party of the day was Sandriana's Appreciation Dinner aka Farewell Party. It was bittersweet for my friends and I, because San-San is a good friend of ours. Liza, Ka Ira, Fang-Fang and I organized her farewell party at Terrazza Nedlands. We also made her a scrapbook full of 'questionnaires' filled by Rockers about her. It was hilarious to see them trying to fill out the questionnaires - they said it was harder than an exam! Haha, sorry guys! :)

Anyhoo, Ka Ira and I decorated the function room we booked upstairs for the party. Because San-San is petite, cute, bubbly and girlie - I've decided to use all pastel colors in the room - dominated by pink. This is how it looks like...

We've used balloons for the all over decoration in the room. I've purchased bunches of light peach and light mauve roses, as well as a yellow and light green... er.. flower (I don't know what it's called!) and made centrepieces combining all four colours. It was pretty! It's very shabby chic! (I'm soooo gonna do it for my wedding. Someday. Somehow. HAHA). We've also borrowed the church's lanterns to put as centrepieces as well. Thankfully, I still have the light pink and light green napkins from Xenia's baby shower that I didn't use - we alternate the two of them together with the cutleries. And for the icing on the cake - butterfly confetties all over the table cloth. For short: it sort of looked like a 'Rose Garden' theme party :P and I absolutely LOVE it!

San-San and her scrapbook - her homework to read for the night :)

I (heart) San-San :: I'm gonna miss this girl so much :(

The girls and I also made a scrapbook for San-San. We handmade thIte cover of the scrapbook - with collages of patterned papers in different kinds of pink - and a dash of bejewelled add-ons. The scrapbook was titled 'San-San & I' - and was finished by Liza in that very afternoon! Thanks heaaaaps, Sasa! :) It looks like that San-San had a lovely night - and that's enough for us :)

It's so sad to see her go - but on the other hand, I'm also excited for her as she will embrace new adventures ahead. She's like a superwoman. Tiny but powerful! There's nothing she cannot do (and I mean it!). She's a great assett to THE ROCKS, a great friend, a great sister-in-Christ and a partner in crime :P I will definitely miss her a lot and the times we've spent together... Don't forget us, San! You will always be our San-San!

And on Sunday - the usual stuff... serving in Church and it was great! Then Liza, Adeline, San-San and I went for a chit-chat girl talk at the Coffee Club in Carousel. Their Coffee Club Baked Cheesecake was the highlight of the afternoon - it was beautiful! We talked and talked for hours - then eventually went home when we realized we spent 4 hours doing that! Anyhoo, I spent the rest of the night at Fang's place - watching TV and eating dinner, catching up with each other. It was Wayne's birthday, by the way - but he's too busy doing his scuba diving thing and didn't have time to catch up with us! BOO!!! Hehehe :P Anyway, happy happy birthday Wendis!

*Pheeeww* that was my weekend. Three birthdays in a row, two parties and one hectic Sunday. And I've got an ever-growing tummy because of too much food intake! There's nothing else I want more than to take a sickie today - but unfortunately I couldn't since it's always so busy on Mondays and I just took a sickie last week. Stupid, stupid girl! Anyhoo, I still think Monday morning always came too soon - and weekends are never enough!

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope yours is better than mine :)

xoxo

And they lived happily ever after?

2008-04-08T16:48:00.001+08:00

"You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Mst people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true."
(Meredith Grey, "Grey's Anatomy")

Since I was just a little girl, I love fairytales (don't we all?) I love the fact that the princesses are pretty, there are fairies involved, cute creatures who can sing and dance (and do house chores with you!) and of course, the handsome prince charmings. Most of the time, the story tells you about two different person from two different worlds who overcome the evil witch/the stepmother to be with each other. The bottom line: love conquers all. Ah, such a pretty picture hey?

I used to have this 'faith' or 'picture' that I'm going to get my own happy ending. Y'know.. that 'and they lived happily ever after' part. But I guess that a child-like faith - that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Once you're married - that's it. You ARE going to lived happily ever after and whatnot. Everything will be peaches and cream. It's heaven on earth. You name it.

Here's the thing... Fairytale stories always end when the prince finally married the girl of his dreams, he will swept her away on his white horse, riding off to the sunset. And then the famous line will appear 'and they lived happily ever after'. But what happens after that? A friend of mine asked the same question this afternoon - "Are there mortgages in fairytales?" "what happens next??? did Prince Charming and Cinderella argued on who has to take the trash out this week?" "Did Sleeping Beauty get mad to Prince Phillip because he snored in his sleep?" and so on and so forth.

You know the real story of The Little Mermaid? It's not the one that Disney created where Ariel finally married Prince Eric. The real mermaid died and turned into a foam in the sea because of her unrequited love to the Prince who married the Princess from another kingdom. He never knew that the mermaid loves him.

I came across that quote above from Grey's Anatomy movie and I can't help myself to ponder... I remember how I woke up one day, opened my eyes and the fairytale faded away. I remember how awful that felt - it's like this dream was ripped out of you, that you have to throw that dream unwillingly. You came across unrequited love, betrayal, broken-heartness, unfaithfulness, lies and so many things that disappointed you. Sadly, I have to throw that belief far far away. Love is never going to be enough.

We are all like that in a way, I suppose. As we grow older, we experienced things. Things that sometimes we want to forget - but it's a part of you anyway so you can't. We complicate things and over analyzed without us even realizing. Suddenly the truth hits us, there is NO happily ever after in this oh-so-cruel-cruel world. Relationship and most importantly, marriage, needs hard work - I know this not because I have been married before... but because of my parents' marriage.

I can't go on into details at this moment - so let's just say that my family is not perfect. We had lots of ups and downs - and my sister and I were somehow 'forced' to grow up even before we need to. My happiest moments were those ones I couldn't recall anymore since it was such a long long time ago. At one point in time - I have almost swore myself off men. Even my sister used to say that she didn't want to get married since it seems so hard (knock on wood!!!!).

I learned along the way that there's no such thing as a perfect family. Everyone I know, has family issues. Some are not-so-complicated, some are wayyyyy more complicated. Then you kind of feel relieved that you're not the odd one out. I used to not want to talk about it - but as you find people who endures the same thing as you, the words just poured out - and it makes me feel so much better.

My mum told me to 'marry the one who loves you more than you love him, that way you won't end up getting hurt'. I rejected her opinion - saying that it's not fair for the other party since it's kind of like a one-sided thing. But then my friends told me that their mothers taught them the same thing... No fairytale is like that, isn't it? The love between Prince Charming and Cinderella are perfect... did that love 'died' along the way? We have no idea. Or maybe it's true, when we are loved, more than we love them, it won't hurt us?

However, doesn't matter how cynical we are. We still have that hope (even if it's just tiny) that when you least expected it - your fairytale will come true. I know I do. No matter how messy life gets - no matter how hurt I was (and still is, I think - or maybe I'm just getting used to it?) I have hope, that someday I will open up my eyes and my fairytale would come true. It's like Charlotte York in SATC... the real optimist who always believe in love - even when she thought she lost it.

Pardon my rant for today. I know I'm going out of tangents here and there, but it's just something that I need to 'let out' :) Ah... I miss those simpler days. But for what it's worth, I learned my lesson and won't lose my faith. I hope it goes the same to you and we all could have our happily-ever-afters one day.

Over and out.

TGIF!

2008-04-04T09:24:00.000+08:00

Yaaaaaayyyy.. it's Friday! My favorite day of the week (apart from public holidays). I have a friend's birthday party tonight - so that'll be a nice change for me because I usually stayed at home and be lazy with DVDs. I haven't got a chance to think about what I'm going to wear, well, I just have to rampage my wardrobe again tonight, because I can't find anything to wear yesterday (I'm getting fat!). But maybe I was just too tired to look... Fingers crossed!

Anyway... My lovely friend, Liza just told me about this phenomenal comeback of...

*drum rolls please*

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!

Yes yes, NKOTB has officially reunited. They performed on the TODAY show in Rockafeller Plaza. How long ago was it after they broken up? 14 years or so? Man, that was a long time ago... I was just.... 9 years old! I still remember how I used to love that 'Step by Step' song. I grew up with that song in my head. Xenia, Arianty and I even sang the 'Happy Birthday' song by NKOTB at Carrina's Sweet Seventeen a few years back as well.

I remembered that Joey McIntyre had a single back then called 'Stay The Same' which is quite a huge success, but it was just a one-hit wonder. Jordan Knight also had a one-hit wonder, i think it was 'Give It To You' or something... I kinda like that song actually, and I have to say the dance moves were hot!

So yeah, do you still remember what Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg (he's Mark Wahlberg's brother, btw) Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood looked like 14 years ago? Hmm.. let's compared it with the 'now' edition.

Then: ahh... pay attention to the Rooster-like quiffs.. the outfit and those baby faces.

Now: sleek, mature, and manly? er... doesn't Donny Wahlberg looked EXACTLY like Mark Wahlberg?

You can read the full news here regarding the group comeback. Man, this reminds me of that movie 'Music & Lyrics' where Hugh Grant played a 80's pop band has-been trying to make a comeback in the new millenium. Anyway, all the best to NKOTB! I hope they still have the 'charm' to wow us with their songs eventhough they more like Old Kids On The Block now (OKOTB).

And now, to freshened up your memory - or just simply to indulge your inner youth... I'll leave you with this...

C'mon everybody siiiingggg.....

♪♫ Step by Steeeepppp.... Oooooohh Babyyy.. Gonna get to you giiiirrrllllll ♪♫

OK, I'm behaving like a 9 year old now :P

***

Zac Posen for Target

2008-04-03T12:19:00.001+08:00

If you live in Australia and you love fashion, today's your lucky day. Zac Posen for Target collection is launched in Australia on the 3rd April 2008 (which is, today!). I am so excited, since I always loved Zac Posen's designs. I love how great it looked on Katherine Heigl, Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebrities who's wearing his designs. It kinda of resembled 50's Hollywood Fashion Icons in a way, I think.

Gwyneth Paltrow & Katherine Heigl shone in Zac Posen

I had a peek on the Target website - and in my opinion the range looks great. Even better than what Yeojin Bae, Josh Goot and Stella McCartney did because it's more tailored - now that I'm working I need more tailored shirts and skirts and pants and dresses, and so on and so forth :P

I'm absolutely smitten with the tailored dress in the collection below, which is the second right at the bottom row... the dress comes in black, brown and red. I think the red is nice, but if I bought the black I could use it for work... I hope it'll looked good when I tried it on. It sure looked good in the picture, but hey, they were on models. Nuff said!

I'm going to Target at my lunch time, thank God it's just right across the street from my office. I love working in CBD... hahahaha :D I'm so glad that Target is doing this 'Designers for Target' thing, so that we - commoners - could have a slice of heaven that we actually can afford! Next one: Collette Dinnigan's Lingerie Line for Target is out on the 17th April 2008! And I've heard that it's going to be less than $20. BARGAIN!

Collette Dinnigan for Target

A Friday-kind-of-Thursday

2008-04-03T10:25:00.000+08:00

It's Thursday, everyone. But it feels like a Friday. Have you ever feel that way? It makes you want to rip your hair out because you WANT it to be Friday (which means weekend is just right around the corner). Kinda sucks, but oh well... only two days to weekend, and I've got my Chai Latte and French Toast for breakfast so I'm full and happy :) Hehehe (Doesn't take much to make me happy, does it?)

Anyway, just a quick update... I did some re-designing of my blog layout last night! I've always wanted to have ruffle-like borders but I didn't know how to do it, until last night when I played around with Photoshop and think of something that might do the trick. And it did! I am so happy on the way it looks! It's not perfect, but at least I'm getting somewhere... I might changed the header as well in the near future, as I'm currently looking for some inspirations.

Haha.. this shows that I'm the type of person who gets bored with things really easily and always wants to find a way to 'spice things up' a little, I guess :P

Last Sunday night, my friends and I went to Long Bar in Pagoda Hotel to watched Meli performed. She is Fang's little sister and she's very talented in music. She's now currently studying contemporary Jazz (I think) in ECU and she sings like an angel! She's the vocalist for WAYJO (Western Australia Youth Jazz Orchestra) and they performed in Long Bar once a month performing Jazz, Swing and Big Band numbers. I'm really into those kind of music so I always enjoyed their performances.

In WAYJO performances, they always have this huge group of swing dancers from various dance clubs around WA. It's kind of cool seeing them dancing to the numbers. Sometimes they have weird movement which makes me want to laugh at them, but most of them are really good in their dancing.

I was just saying to Fang and our other friends, if we were living in the 'Grease' era - this would be what we were doing on weekends - out dancing!! A proper dancing, not like the one in nightclubs. The blokes would dress up and so would the girls. All the glitz and glamour of yesteryear... Ah, what a bliss! I would dress up like what Olivia Newton John did in Grease... will the guys dress up like John Travolta? I leave that up to you!

I've got chills, they're multiplying!

Then we were thinking on how lifestyle in yesteryears are a little bit more cultured than ours now. The guys were (at least I think they were) gentlemen, who will give up their seats for the ladies, who will opened the door, lift their hats off to greet them, and so on and so forth. Instead of getting drunk and going to nightclubs, they go dancing, eat at diners, and drive-in movies. Which I think is really cute. And don't get me started on the dresses!!! They just don't make dresses like they used to, do they? *sigh*

Hmm... Maybe I should do a Grease-themed Costume Party? I think that'll be super fun!

I blame the rain.

2008-03-31T10:13:00.000+08:00

My friends know that I am such a mellow person. Sensitive, emotional, moody, mellow... you name it. Maybe it's the Cancerian characteristics which have been bestowed upon me? But strangely enough, I haven't been mellow in quite a long time now. For months actually.

When I'm down or mellow or sad, I usually let myself cry for a second to let it all out - then I'll feel so much better. I haven't cried in ages as far as I remember. I have no idea why. It kinda feels that something inside 'prevents' me from crying - and then it feels as if your heart just skipped a beat and everything felt numb. Maybe I'm not sad enough or maybe it's the summer heat (and believe me, it's been real hot here!).

This morning is different. I woke up to find that it's cloudy and it's raining quite heavily outside. Autumn is here, I guess. The cold weather made me NOT want to go to work and stayed in bed the whole day, but a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do. So I got ready, grabbed my flimsy brolly and went to work.

The bus was packed today, but thank God, I managed to find a seat just near the window. My shoes are a bit wet, and so does my bag. School is on again, and so many students chatting and screaming in the bus which annoyed me. So I put on my iPod to cast away all those noise. For the whole journey, I just stared outside and watched the raindrops streamed down the window.

And I felt like crying my heart out that very instant. I don't know why. I don't know which one of these things in my heart and my head that makes me want to cry. It's too many.

What is it about the rain that makes me want to cry?

Or maybe it's the greyness of the sky?
Or is it the song I played in my iPod? but I have been listening to it over and over and over again and it never made me want to cry.
Or maybe that 'thing' I think I just realized recently and tried really hard to avoid?

Or maybe I'm just over-reacting...?

Whatever it is, forgive me if I'm not myself today (or maybe I'm just being myself...)

I blame it all on the rain.

An Easter Holiday

2008-03-25T09:24:00.000+09:00

First of all, Happy Easter to all of you! I hope you had a great Easter because I had a fabulous one!

As I stated in my previous posts, some friends and I went down south on Easter holiday. This is actually the first Easter in six or seven years that I spent on holidays with friends. The past six Easters I spent serving in Church - don't get me wrong, it's great! but I just really want to have a holiday with friends and the only time we are able to do that was Easter because everyone is on holidays. So, apologies to Pastor D and Ci Hulda for not being able to be rostered this Easter - but I heard it was a great one so YAY!

We started the road trip on a very fine Friday morning. Woke up early and got picked up by the gank in our fabulous rented Hyundai Imax. To our surprise, the car was huge and spacious. It can fit 8 people easily without squishing anyone and all of our luggage.

As usual, Captain Chrizz has his GPS ready to guide us and Indra as the co-captain of the day. We stopped at Hungry Jack's @ Mandurah for brekkie - which was nice and head off straight to Margaret River.

the whole gank with our super spacious car

We stopped by for lunch at Cape Lavender. Too bad that the lavenders are not in season so only some of them were blooming. I must recommend this restaurant to everyone! Their food are gorgeous. I had their Spicy Squid for entree, Salmon with mashed potato and brocollini as my main and a Lavender Creme Brulee with Raspberry Shiraz as dessert. I gotta tell ya, the salmon is the best one I had so far in my entire life! I also brought home their lavender carbenet jam and lavender tea. Haven't tried them - but I will very very soon!

After lunch we head straight to our apartment. It was gorgeous - a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment with spa. We also have tennis court (half of it though!), swimming pool and barbeque area. We didn't play tennis outdoor since it's only half court - but Indra brought Nintendo Wii and we had fun playing it. Fang knocked Indra out in boxing EVERYTIME! Domestic Violence, Australia Says NO!!!

We basically spent the trip with wine tasting - cheese tasting - eating, drinking and be merry - until our tummy is round and fat. To sum it all, it was very memorable and fun! I felt so relaxed and so at ease it's amazing. On our way back, we visit the famous Bunker Bay Resort - and man, it was gorgeous! it's like something that comes out of a postcard. The beach has white sand with a very very clear blue sea. Very tempted to actually jumped in and played in the sea - however since it's 'private property of the Bunker Bay guests only' and we kind of 'trespassing'. Well technically we had lunch there, so we're guests too I guess :P

we love Bunker Bay!! YEAAAYY.. (look at Chris's pose! *LOL*)

waiting eagerly for my lunch @ Bunker Bay Resort

I can't post too many pics here because we took SO MANY pictures with Indra's fabulous professional photography skills. Liza n Chris also had their so-called pre-prewed photos, if you know what I mean, which turned out beautifully. Well done and thank you, Indra! You could see the pics from the trip in his website: http://www.8round.com/album2.

Now I'm at my office - losing my will to work and wanting more holidays! We're actually planning to go on another road trip around September/October - so I'm searching for good holiday accommodations and booking them now!

So what did you do for Easter? I hope it's as great as mine - or greater even!

Happy Tuesday, everyone... and back to reality... *work, brain! work!!*

***

♪ Spider Pig... Spider Pig ♫

2008-03-19T12:53:00.000+09:00

Something happened to me. Something that I have never experienced before - and I would never thought it will happened to me. I got bitten by a spider... A SPIDER!!!!

It was a three-day process for me to figured out that I have been bitten by a spider and this is the chronology of the event...

Day 1
I went home from work on Wednesday, changed my clothes and went straight to a meeting at church. When I went home from that meeting, I found a tiny lump on my left arm - like a mosquito bite. I thought to myself "it's just a mozi bite, should be fine..." completely ignored it, and went to sleep peacefully.

Day 2
As soon as I arrived at the office, I felt that my left arm itched a bit. So, being me - a self-ignorant fool - I scratched it. You know that feeling when you have an itch that's very very itchy and you scratch it? feels so good, right? That's exactly what I was feeling. By afternoon, my whole left arm went red and even more itchy. I spent the whole night trying really hard not to scratch it, but failed!

Day 3
Woke up today, and to my horror, found that my arm was swelling. It was really big, red and VERY itchy. Even more itchy than yesterday. Even my left sleeve couldn't really fit into my left arm since it was really swelling. I still came up to work, however, when my colleagues saw it, they convinced me to book a doctor appointment right away.

Altogether now.... OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny enough, the doctor gasped in the sight of my arm. Was it that horrible??!!! Yes, it was! I was officially a she-hulk. A red she-hulk that is. He said that it was most likely a spider bite, to be precise, a whitetail spider bite. 95% of the bite is harmless, however - to those unlucky 5% - the poison from the spider's venom will 'eat' their muscle slowly and completely ruin it. SCARY!!

He said that I was lucky that I got treated as soon as possible, and that I had quite a strong reaction to the bite. He gave me tablets and creams to heal it. Kindly enough, my boss sent me home early because he was worried and he wants me to get some rest. Pretty much spent Friday night nursing my swollen arm at home.

What bummed me the most was that very Saturday was my friend's wedding. He was a very good friend of mine from college. I have thought about what dress I was going to wear, how I was going to do my hair, which shoes and which accessories I was going to wear - but apparently because of my horrid swollen arm - I had to cancel :(

Fang told me that the wedding was lovely, and knowing our friend - Ace aka Bryan (BRYAN??!! since whennnnn??!!) - is a VERY romantic person, he prepared a surprise firework for his new wife while her favorite song was played on the background. So sweet! I'm so sad I have to miss that...

But anyway, on a more positive note, due to my horrid swollen arm I get to rest the whole day Saturday at home, just being lazy. I'm still expecting symptoms of myself turning into spiderman. Tried the whole 'web throwing with 'metal' hand shape' but didn't work until now. Maybe it took some time for the spider DNA to adjust... However, since i'm a pig (because I love to eat and I do look like one, you know) that makes me not a spiderman... but a spider pig??

♪ Spider Pig, Spider Pig... Does whatever a Spider Pig does... Can she swing from a web? No, she can't. She's a pig. LOOK OUT! She is a Spider Pig ♪

Stupid Homer.

***

An unexpected kind gesture

2008-03-13T15:14:00.000+09:00

Just a quick update...

You guys remember that post where I said I was 'struggling' with what I have to do in the office because we were short on staff at the moment? Well... as I was working my way through the pile of jobs I have in front of me... My boss, the lovely and funny "CR" walked to my desk and put this in front of me.

"You're doing such a great job..." He said. I was touched. Didn't expect it at all. Not that I really fancy wine or anything - but that was a nice gesture. The wine is from the 'Howling Wolves' Margaret River, and it was a sparkling white shiraz. The bottle was pretty and pinkish-champagne... I wonder whether it taste nice too? NO! no wine for lunch!!!

Well, that made my day so far... but a big PAY RISE will make my day even MORE!

Get Carried Away

2008-03-13T00:25:00.000+09:00

It's almost here... my most anticipated movie of the year... I have watched the trailer over and over and over again until I lost count on how many times I actually played it - yet I forgot to share it with you here in my blog.. so, drum roll please... the girls are back!

Yes yes! My favorite group of girls are finally here for a HOT comeback. Once again, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte will take us walking (more like strutting for Carrie though) through downtown NY in all its glory - starting in May 2008.

Sex And The City - by far - is my favorite television show ever!! I know that some people consider it to be just 'sex' as in intimate-wise, but apparently I read somewhere that the 'sex' in SATC was meant for genders. Like women vs men, mars vs venus. Note the constant issues that the lead female characters have in finding 'true love'.

I was so sad when the series ended. Happy for the ending though, but left a bit curious on what's gonna happen for Carrie and Big. And who would've thought that Big's real name is John James Preston! Gosh, so many things are being kept so secretive.

Will Carrie and Big get married? Charlotte is really pregnant? Could Steve be cheating on Miranda? Sam and Smith are still together? And look at Charlotte's adopted chinese girl... she's adorable!

And of course, Patricia Field, the stylist guru for SATC (she's also doing Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle at the moment) came up with more dramatic fashion statements, which will look ridiculous on us, but look great on the girls! How could I not be wanting the bags, the shoes and the clothes!

I love the fact that SATC is based in the 'it' city, NYC. The hype, the night-life, the brunches, Central Park, Charlotte's posh fifth avenue apartment... I love them all. NYC is definitely one of my must-visit cities. For a hint of NYC daily, check out Ming the Merciless's blog with daily photographs of NYC. Makes me want to go there even more. NOT HELPING!

I absolutely love the song choices used for this trailer. The opening jazz number was "Blue Skies" which I think in this trailer, was performed by Ella Fitzgerald (?) - which is one of my all-time favorite jazz number - then followed by India Arie's version by "The Heart of The Matter". And it gives me goosebumps hearing the SATC theme in big band at the end of it. Seriously classy!

I can't wait until this movie is here in Australia. Oh please hurry, I miss the girls so much! I'm planning to go to the advanced screening if anyone's interested in joining. I hope Hoyts Cinema do SATC Advanced screening though - so will keep you posted!

For now, check out the official SATC Movie blog for your SATC indulgence :)

Inspire me!

2008-03-12T08:45:00.000+09:00

I don't know why but lately I don't have any inspiration on writing on my blog. Why is that so?? I guess that's because nothing's exciting is happening on my life lately. Basically, my life from Monday-Friday is about work - yes, I'm officially a workaholic.

One of my colleagues at work, Alisha, suddenly resigned about three weeks ago - without giving her two weeks notice. She had been working in the company for like 7 or 8 years and I have no idea why she quit. Anyway, by default, her work had been allocated to me and my other colleague, Alison. In the same time, we had another girl starting to work with us as our junior assistant and I'm the one appointed to trained her.

It was a real mess for the first week without Alisha here in the company - she basically runs the workshop and making sure that every job has been done in timely manner by the jewellers. Imagine me and Alison have to process the job, run around chasing it, and train a new person at the same time! It's CRAZY! I didn't go to lunch at the appointed time for like two weeks in a row, and basically exhausted when I got home.

And at this very moment, Alison's on a three-weeks holiday. A well-deserved holiday I say, because she's been working really hard. I was left with the department and the new girl. I was soooooo scared! Because that means I have to Alison's work too for three weeks. I prayed to God on Monday before I went to work... saying please help me and please make it easier in anyway possible. And so far so good, I got most of the jobs I need to get out up until Friday. We will have a training on a new system today so I will pretty much be away from my computer (I guess).

It's funny though... I have this one-year devotional calendar I put on my desk at the office. And for this whole time, all the encouragement words for the day up until today was about COURAGE and asking God for help in times of need. Coincidence? I don't think so :) God's timing is always right and there is NO such thing as coincidence.

Look at the bright side... Despite all the busy-ness of work, I've got more responsibility now. I've got entrusted more than what I used to. With great power comes great responsibilities I guess... and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And I love my job, my colleagues, my boss and the company! So, Praise God for allowing me to work here and to experience all these :)

But for now, let me just say... I am VERY looking forward for Easter holidays since a bunch of us will go away to Margaret River for three days! Note to self: take a lot of pictures and will definitely write about the trip here in the blog. Finally, some inspiration!

Oh hey... I wrote a post. I did.
Being a workaholic can be inspiring too at times, I guess :P

Over and out people.

You know you love me,
xoxo
Gossip Girl
(YES I'M ADDICTED TO THIS SERIES!!!!)

Nasi Lengko Ala Tasia & Fang

2008-02-16T20:21:00.000+09:00

Desperate situation calls for desperate measures. I guess those saying is actually real for me and Fang today. We are desperately want to eat a good meal from back home which we couldn't find in Perth, so we decided to make one just like it. You see, my parents came from Tegal... I grew up speaking Javanese and ate their kind of food. Fang came from Purwokerto which is near Tegal, so basically we came from the same cultural background.

Today, we decided to make Nasi Lengko. It's one of the traditional cuisine from Tegal/Purwokerto which consists of fried tofu, tempe, beansprout and cucumber. Then we add peanut sauce, the 'kerupuk mie' (somekind of crackers) and sweet soya sauce on top. We served them with rice (some sort of gado gado mixed with rice, i guess...)

So our small 'adventure' began from Kongs Oriental Supermarket where we bought the ingredients. Somehow we couldn't find cucumbers in that store. So we walked to Coles which is right across the street... but the things is.. I forgot my wallet at home and Fang didn't have any cash in hers. Therefore, we decided to do it without cucumber (sigh)

The first thing that we have to do to make Lengko is to make the peanut sauce. We have to crushed together chilli and garlic until they blended. But... due to the shortage of our mortal and pestal ability (yeap, we're not that talented) Fang managed to find a very creative way to crushed them... with a wrench.

So this is what she did... she put the garlic and chilli in a plastic, and beat them up with the wrench! A bit brutal, but she managed to do it. Well done, Fang!

So after that, we prepared all the ingredients for Nasi Lengko. We create the peanut sauce, fried the tahu and tempe, fried the kerupuk and boil the beansprouts.

After everything is ready, then we start on the fun part. Putting it all together! :) So basically you just put the rice together with everything, and it came out like this...

VOILA!!!

And now the time we were waiting for... eating it! Fang and I were really pleased with the result we couldn't stop eating. We actually thinking of getting a second round if we're hungry again later on. Oops!

Happy Ya Ya Ya... Happy Ye Ye Ye... Aku senang jadi anak Tegal :P

Comfort food

2008-02-16T10:06:00.000+09:00

As for those of you who knows me well, you will know for sure that I love noodles more than I love rice. One of my favorite comfort food is the legendary... indomie! You are not indonesian or any other asian if you don't like instant noodles :P

I know it's not healthy - but who could resist them? With so many variations of delicious taste, you simply couldn't say no to them.

To cut our expenses from eating out (believe me, eating out here is not like eating out in Jakarta in the Abang-Abang section which cost you only what... $1.50?) my friends and I are implementing (duile bahasanya) a new tradition of cooking on weekends. We would decide on what to cook, and then on weekends we would gather up at someone's house (usually Fang's or Chris's) to put the menu into practice!

Today I would like to share one of my comfort food recipes... My grandma used to cook indomie like this and we all loved it. I shared it with my friends the other day and now they're hooked! (I guess Gossip Girl is not the only thing that can get you hooked).

Anyway... here goes... presenting the "Talkative Noodle" aka "Bakmie Bawel" (yes, they named it that way because apparently I love to talk.. geez!) or the more 'kampung' version of the name is InTerNet (Indomie, Telor, Kornet) Best to be eaten at winter time!

Bakmie Bawel
Serves: one

Ingredients:
Blue Band Margarine (the best brand, seriously)
Garlic
Chilli
Egg
Indomie kuah (preferable Soto Mie)
Hamper Beef Corned (or Spam would do too)
Meatballs (any kind you like)
Vegetables (any kind you like)
Coriander
Lemon
Water
But again, these ingredients can be altered depending on your preferences.

Method

Chopped up garlic roughly and diced spam (if you decided to use spam, if you are using the hamper beef, just put it to the wok straight away later) and slice the chilli.
Heat up your wok (make sure your wok is deep enough for the soup) and put one tsp of Blue Band Margarin
Sautee the garlic and chilli until their aroma comes out, put your spam/hamper beef into the wook. Sautee until it changes color.
Put one (or two) chicken eggs and scramble it (if you want to have an egg sauce instead of normal soup, put the eggs last after the soup and stir)
Pour hot water inside the wok. If you don't like it too soup-y don't pour too much of the water (just as long as you can cook the noodles) but if you like the soup, be my guest :)
Put your uncooked indomie noodles inside, and put the spices from the packet straight into the bowl!
Stir well, put your vegetables inside.
After it's cooked, pour a little bit of soup into the bowl to stir the spices with. After it's stirred, pour the whole thing inside the bowl
Squeeze one slice of lemon on top, decorate it with fried shallots, chillies and corianders
Eat up and enjoy :)

Best served during winter, with friends and laughter on the side :)

23 Going 30?

2008-02-16T02:12:00.000+09:00

I have just been talking to a friend of mine lately about how our lives has developed over the years without us even realizing it.

It seemed like it's only yesterday when we were at our college years... then uni years... with all the stress of assignments and exams, with all of those glorified day-offs, staying up late at uni to work on ur assignment even though you end chatting in MSN or browsing through Friendster (yeap, Facebook was not even IT at that time), juggling between school and full time job... man, what a life!

And now suddenly you'll find yourself to be almost 24 years old (OK, I admit.. that's only me!) with a bachelor degree and a full time job. You basically don't want to go out and play on weekday nights due to tiredness (I don't even know how to anymore! ahaha), you kinda hate dressing up for some reason, you tend to eat MORE, you love to stay in with a good movie and a homecook meal, you don't have the strength to go out and shop around during weekends (that's a good thing for me!)... to cut the story short - u became a lazy bum :P

Time goes by so quickly, and before you know it, you'll be like... 30. Wait, that's a scary thought! Hahaha. But it's trueee... What if you wake up and realize that you haven't achieved what you want to achieved.. you haven't done what you want to do... you'll never know right?

That's why, I'm compiling a list of things that I want to do before I'm 30. Here goes...

Buy a car in 2008 (happening!)
Buy a house here in Perth in two years time (if I decide to stay here for a long long long time, that is)
To learn Chinese and French
Get a tattoo, and yes, I'm serious.
Visit US at least once more with my friends
To adopt another Compassion child - and actually visit them in real life
To actually lose those extra pounds on me... for good!
To do a culinary course - and master it
Own my small business with my best friends
Visit Europe with mum and sis
To reach that digits in my bank account
Maybe... study again?
To be able to pay my sister's tuition fee
Have a dog here in Perth
To climb up that career ladder. I'll get there someday!
To actually try out for Australian Idol... I'm just curious about it!
Oh... and, to get a boyfriend and get married. HAHAHA. I almost forgot that one!
To enjoy every second of your life to the max - that's an ongoing process
To be better.. and better.. and better - that's also an ongoing process)
To learn piano at same stage. I have a very minimum knowledge of keys and chords it's embarassing
To actually stick to this list and crossed it off one by one :P

That is for now I guess... I'm pretty sure that I'll be adding some more to it and when I'm 30, I'll make the list of things to do before I turn... er... 40?

Celebrating LOVE

2008-02-14T01:36:00.000+09:00

Since it's 14/02/08... I just had to say Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. May your day be filled with love and joy with your loved ones.

To think of it, we should make everyday Valentine's Day. I mean, expressions of love doesn't need to only be shown on a special day. Make an effort to surprise your loved ons with little things, call up your parents in Indo to find out how they are doing and say that you love them, do one act of random kindness everyday, and just be nice to each other :)

After all, we should work like we don't need the money, love like your heart has never been broken and dance like no one's watching.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone~!

I'm a Self-confessed Foodie

2008-02-14T00:24:00.000+09:00

So it's been... what, two months after I last blogged? I know, I know. I should've write more constantly in my blog if I want to keep it alive, and I will try hard this year to make that happen. Anyway, I hope you all are well and so do your loved ones. I had a two week holiday in January so I went back to Indo to be with my mum, which was really awesome.

My whole trip was really packed. I only had a short holiday, however I managed to squeeze in a 3 days 2 nights trip to Malaysia to visit my baby sister. But everything was great, eventhough I was so so so tired from it. The highlight of my trip was (besides seeing my family and friends) the food!

I managed to compile a list of food that I want to eat, but I ate only like one third of it :( but at least I ate the most most important ones! Now you can see how much I love my food - and yes, with Lisyen as my foodie partner by my side we managed to tear Mangga Dua apart to shop AND eat. Maybe I should write a Jakarta food guide :P Below are just a couple of my 'evidences' that you can look (and drool) at.

Evidence 1

Beautika - Manado food! if you can handle an extreme level of HOTNESS, then you should try Beautika. I ate there and literally sweating, puffing, and teary-eyed because of the chilli, but it was hella good. I think they have two outlets which are in Hang Lekir or Tanah Abang. In the picture is Sayur Bunga Pepaya, Ikan Tude and Ayam Woku, topped with the yummy Sambal Roa (which I managed to bring to Perth! YAYYYY) - you should try their awesome Es Duren Kacang here too!

Evidence 2

Sushi Tei - Sushi Galore! If you ever in Indo (Jakarta, that is... or Bandung) you HAVE to try the sushi in Sushi Tei. They are fabulous! Especially the Dragon Roll which were arranged in the shape of the dragon. I ate here with Josh and Arthur the other day, while watching the mbak-mbak and mas-mas star-strucked by Ari Wibowo's presence! But man, I couldn't care less since I was enjoying my food so much!

I only took pictures in those two restaurants... However I do recommend these for you to try out:

Yakoya Shabu-Shabu Restaurant @ Plaza Bumi Daya - great shabu-shabu which cost only Rp.100.000,- per head. But be warned, do not try to have an ice ocha drinking competition with your friend, you will end up throwing up in the bathroom like me! (kembung, gokil!!)
Bakmie Alok - Tanjung Duren - My parents eat here since they were only dating, until now. It's definitely one of my favorite noodles! The noodles are a bit er... what's the english for it yah? rubbery. haha. but mannnn... it's really good! especially if you eat it with onion chives and lots lots of chilli :)
Wong Tegal - Tanjung Duren - My parents came from Tegal originally. Even though I was born and raised in Jakarta, I spoke Tegal fluently and love the food to death. Wong Tegal was owned by my parents' friends (since it's a very small town, everyone knows each other) which served traditional Tegal cuisine like Nasi Lengko, Nasi Rames, Nasi Bogana, Nasi Langgi, etc etc.
Sandwich Bakar - Puri Indah - Some sort of roti panggang but wayyyy more expensive. The sandwich bakar itself was quite alright, but hey you have to try the Wedang Ronde with Soya Bean Milk. I was introduced to it by the Soejantos, was a bit reluctant of trying it out at first because Wedang Ronde is always served with Ginger. Surprisingly, it was really good and I don't want to turn back :P
Bakmie Poppay - Mangga Dua - Lisyen and I rushed into Bakmie Poppay the minute we arrived in Mangga Dua. Our main focus was to shop, however we HAVE to stop here and eat. When we arrived, the place was not open yet but lots of people have waited outside patiently (or impatiently?) to eat the noodles. We ordered one each, with one pempek on the side to share, topped with es buah from across the resto. Then we ate the Rujak Medan. MAN! we are so in need of a diet, syen!
Pepper Lunch - Mal Taman Anggrek - Anny & I went shopping in TA. After hours and hours of walking, we got pretty hungry and decided to try Pepper Lunch. They served your meal uncooked in a hot plate, so you can cook it yourself. The chicken I had was pretty good, and so does Anny's Salmon.
Green Tea Latte @ Starbucks - It's not food, more to a drink. One sentence: WHY DON'T WE HAVE STARBUCKS HERE??!!!
Saung Greenville - Greenville - I've been bragging about the seafood here especially the Black Pepper Crab. They started out the business from their garage at home, and expanded into a mega-seafood restaurant which always fully booked every night! Compared to the seafood prices in Oz, converted to dollars it's hella cheap :P

Ah, I can't remember anymore of the food I ate, and I couldn't help but keep drooling and picturing the food in my mind. Why do I love food so much? Tanyakan saja pada rumput2 yang bergoyang.

Kalo kata anak-anak sih, "Apa sih yang gak enak, Tas?"

Potato Couch

2007-12-18T22:55:00.000+09:00

I'm officially turning into a potato couch.

I am not exaggerating... this is true! Due to excessive amount of brain usage at work, I always came home feeling tired, restless, sleepy, hungry (don't I always?) and most of the time, with headaches. Don't get me wrong, I extremely love what I'm doing, but I'm just tired.

When I was about to go home from work (late. again!) I thought to myself, I needed to relax and unwind. What should I do...? And then my mind shifted and went "Eureka!" when I remembered what's waiting for me at home. These.

Ah... yes! I have a couple of extremely large Mangoes in my fridge. Cool, sweet and yummy. Just what I need. And with a hot green tea with honey and lemon on the side, accompanied with a magazine I just bought, it made my evening unforgettable.

Tomorrow's a new day!

Girlfriends in God

2007-12-14T11:09:00.000+09:00

I subscribed to this daily devotional for women from Crosswalk called "Girlfriends in God". I have them sent everyday to my office email, so before I start the day I will read through it and take it all in.

This one from yesterday was really good... How many times in life that you thought you will be happy when you already achieved something? And when you did, you set yourself another 'goal' and ensure yourself that you will be happy once it's fulfilled... I know I did that sooo many times.

So I just want to share with you, what I believed is very encouraging. I need to work on this as well!

Be happy TODAY and right now! I hope this will bless you as it has blessed me :)

(and while you're at it.. feel free to browse that Crosswalk website and subscribe to a devotional or two! note: The weekly Max Lucado one is really good as well - he's my favorite author!)

***

I have come that they may have life,

and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

Jesus lived and died so that we can experience abundant life! "Abundant" literally means "going beyond; full or exuberant". In other words, life should be saturated - not punctuated - with joy. Yet, we postpone joy.

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another baby. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we get that promotion, when we are able to go on our dream vacation or when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges, dark times and trials. Understand and accept the fact that we live in a broken world but also accept that fact that because God lives, we can choose to be happy anyway. Treasure every moment that you have and remember that time waits for no one.

Stop waiting...
...until your car or home is paid off
...until you get a new car or home
...until your kids leave the house
...until you go back to school
...until you finish school
...until you lose 10 lbs.
...until you gain 10 lbs.
...until you get married
...until you have kids
...until you retire
...until summer
...until spring
...until winter
...until fall
...until you die

"There is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Work like you don't need money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

And dance like no one's watching."

I have seen the light!

2007-12-12T10:46:00.000+09:00

No, no... this posting is not about The ROCKS's last year Christmas musical which had the same title.

If you have been staying in WA in the month of December, you might know about the fact that WA held an annual Christmas Lights competition for the houses. So basically, what happen is that the houses will be decorated in Christmas lights and what-nots to compete for the best every year. At night, the lights will be on until about 10pm, for people to visit and they can vote online on which house they like the best.

Every year before everyone went back for Christmas holidays, my friends and I always circled around Perth, 'hunting' for those Christmas lights houses. We downloaded a list of the address from a website, and went searching for them. Our survival kit those nights were our maps, because most of the houses are located in the suburbs that we (sometimes) never heard of. So, it's a christmas lights hunting with a twist :P

So, I'm planning to go again this year. My must visit suburb would be Joondalup (which I reckon the best decorated ones!). I already downloaded a list from The West Australian Newspaper for the addresses of the houses. You can get it from the link below, and I also posted some pics I get from The West for your eyes' indulgement :)

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=50412

Aren't they gorgeous? The only thing missing is winter... Yes Australia, keep on dreaming of a white Christmas!

Apart from their beauty, I was just wondering... how much do they spend on electric bills??

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff.

2007-12-06T22:03:00.000+09:00

My goodness, December is already here! Time flies so fast, ey? This means that the countdown until X'mas has officially starts.

So, how've u guys been? I hope all is well with you :) As for me, I've been really really busy. The 'Heaven's Lamb' production was last week, and it was a huge success. All of us really enjoyed ourselves that night, even though we're anxious and tired. Despite the 'messy' dress rehearsal in the morning, the actual production went really smooth to our surprise. I think we all a HUGE thanks to Mr Alamin who prayed with his friend in the prayer room the whole time we were doing the production.

There was a miracle as well during the production. Sharleen, our lead ballet dancer, hurt her back during the final dress rehearsal. She accidentally fell down while she was doing a move, and strained one of her muscle on her hips. She barely couldn't stand straight and was visiting a physio on our break, and she had to use one of that wrap thingie around the waist and hips to keep it straight.

Before her dance scene, I found her in the dressing room and she was in pain. I asked her not to give it her 110% shot because I'm scared she'll get hurt even more. She said she will give her best shot. So I offered to pray together with her, that God may help her to do her best. During her dance scene, I couldn't believe it. She was smiling and could do all her dance moves perfectly.

The next day I called her to check how she was doing. She said she's still in pain but better. Then she told me that on the day, when she was waiting for her turn, her hips still felt sore. But the minute she was on stage, the pain was gone completely, and she can move freely. The minute she got off the stage, she started to feel the pain again. I also found out that Mr Alamin prayed for her before the production as well... God is good, yah? the power of prayer, the power of healing! it's true! and I hope that Sharleen will get well soon!!! :)

A lot of people had been given us a positive feedback regarding the musical. A lot of them feel blessed from it, and they also said that they could see us enjoying ourselves as well on the production. When it was all over, we felt really happy because we were enjoying ourselves even though we're tired and it went well. Great job everyone! good times yahh!!!

And now, people are starting to leave Perth for holidays. Well, I will be stuck here for December as I've got a lot of things to do at work. By the way, the new work is great and I'm enjoying every bit of it :) we're sooo busy, especially around this time because everyone wants to get something for their beloved ones for X'mas, but I feel really happy to go to work everyday and learn new things. The environment is great, my co-workers are really friendly and the boss if cool.. and not to mention the beautiful things I get to see everyday.. hehehe. Being busy at work really makes ur time flies, suddenly it's lunch time.. and then suddenly it's home time. HoHoHo ^o^

Oh btw, I just had an epiphany. Life is so much easier if you don't sweat the small things. Whining can only waste your energy upon something that's not even worth it. There's this big quote upon our wall in the office that clearly say it. Winning is not whining. Rather than using your time to whine about people, 'contemplate' about them (which I usually did) trying to analyze why did they do this and that, be all 'detective' like (sherlock holmes wannabe, i say) or even worse bitchin about things in your surroundings... you could use your precious time to actually makes your life even more worthwhile. After all, we only lived once, right?

That's about it! My random rambles for today :P I hope your week will be good and you will have a fabulous weekend as well (and btw, I have to work as well this weekend). My crew and I will have our very own Xmas celebration this weekend before we all part ways in celebrating Xmas holidays.. gosh, I'm so gonna miss them! Come back soon yah peopleeeeeeee...

Have a good one, everybody! :)

In between weddings, facebook and Heaven's Lamb

2007-11-06T22:20:00.000+09:00

Hi folks! How've you been? I hope everything's been well with you guys :)

At last, I finally have the time and willingness to do another post... I know, i know.. it's been a while! As you guys might know, I've been busy with wedding preparations and no, not mine! I've been helping some friends out in their weddings. Two weddings in four weeks... that was kinda exhausting but I had fun :)

The Bridal Party: Rey, Fang-Fang, Indra, Rafael, Me and Defy

The first ones to tied the know was two of my best friends, Indra & Fang-Fang. I've known them for about 6 years now and we've been close friends since God knows when. I've been helping her preparing for the big day since the first day she planned it, it was frustrating but FUN! The day was special also because Defy, our best friend, came all the way from Sydney to join the fun!

After weeks of preparing the timeline, to our relief, the events went smoothly... even though it's a lil bit wet at first. The weather forecast for the day was raining. We could actually see grey skies as we walked out from Fang's house to go to the ceremony. Fang was very worried that it would rain all day, but then we decided to just get on with it. The motto for the day was "Ya... sudahlahhhhh!!!" (which means: Oh, well..) but to our surprise, it was bright blue skies! Thank God! Sure to keep the bride & groom happy :)

The reception went smoothly as well... Old Swan Brewery looked really nicely decorated with handmade napkin rings and table cloth by Fang's mom (good job, tanteeee) and the flowers were nice too. The only disappointment that I had was when the slideshow's music didn't play at all because of a faulty cable! And I stayed up all night to make it :( but, oh well... no sweat!

Overall, we enjoyed ourselves that day and I am certainly very happy for my two best friends! They are perfect for each other and I believe that God has a lot of good things in store for them... So next step, our own business?? Fang, Ndra? hehehehe :)

The next wedding took place two weeks after their's. It was Ivan & Adeline's. Despite the flies and horse-manure-smell during the ceremony (note to self: outdoor parties could be really challenging!) it was a fun night, with most of the guys DRUNK. I don't have many pictures yet so I'll keep you posted when I have one :) Anyway, congratulations guys!

And these past four weeks I found out that Facebook is addictive! It's soooo much fun than Friendster! It has all these applications you can add to your profile page and you can play around with it, poke people, and stuff. It's sooooo cool!

My latest favorite is the Polyvore application, where you can make some sort of 'scrapbook' with real items taken from websites (even net-a-porter!) to describe your sense of style. Highly addictive! I've posted some of my collages here for you to look at... You can create your own background with items and pictures and positioned them the way you wanted them to be... so cool! Hey friendster users, switch to facebook! Hoho...

My Stylesheet #1 - "Night & Day"

My Stylesheet #2 - Pink Is The New Black

My Stylesheet #3 - Passport To Paris

Pheeewww... at least I don't have anymore weddings to go to this year! But then, I am currently busy with the production of The ROCKS Christmas Musical: "Heaven's Lamb". It's scheduled to be performed on 1st December 2007 at 6:00 pm at Perth Christian Life Centre. I will post the poster here after I get the soft-copy from my friend.

With only three weeks left in our window, we are rushing and stressing to prepare everything. It's so hard to produce musicals because we're not only have to practice dialogues, we also have to remember dance moves and song lyrics. Believe me, if you've seen our practice schedules you would say the same thing. I almost cried when I see it! Full on, even on Sunday!

I'm so eager to get this production up and running. Over and done with! I know we'll all be very relieved after the day and have our well-deserved break over December... I think I'm going home, but still not sure... I am currently looking for another job opportunities because I decided that the place I'm currently working with (more to the boss though) doesn't suit my principals and I'm going to move on... so, we'll see :) wish me luck so I can find my dream job, guys!

Over and out, people! Have a good one!

FUNNYYYYYY! :)

2007-10-03T11:48:00.000+08:00

Check out these funny DVD commercials from Thailand!

HILARIOUS!

It was beautiful...

2007-10-03T10:24:00.000+08:00

Hello folks...

Just a quick update from Lisyen's wedding last Saturday (29/09/07). It was sunny but breezy, clear blue sky and the weather just absolutely beautiful...

My friends and I as the wedding committee arrived around 8:30 at the venue. We set up the tables, the decorations, and the food as well. Met Lisyen in the 'back room' where she was hiding and oh-my-goodness.. she looked absolutely gorgeous! Went outside to meet up with Agus, the groom and he looked stunning as well :) What a gorgeous couple they make!

Anyways, the ceremony ran late because of the so-called culture of Indonesians 'ngaret'ness. So if you put 10:30 on your invitation, please expect them to be there at least 10 minutes late. Despite of it, it was a beautiful ceremony. Of course Lisyen's siblings successfully made us cry (tears of happiness, of course) on their surprise speech for the newlyweds (good job cici, mingki n alung!). The Sunday School kids also sang a song for their beloved 'oma' which was really really good :)

The ceremony ended with lots and lots of food! And of course photo sessions with the newlyweds :) oh and by the way, I caught the bouquet - and NO it doesn't mean anything! I don't believe in those kinds of myths!

After the newlyweds left the building, the committee cleaned up the place. We ended up with so many left-over blue cupcakes that we have no idea what to do with them at all! So... one of us (I can't remember who) had a brilliant idea of taking those 4 trays full of cupcakes down to the streets and gave them away for free... so we did exactly that and in 15 minutes, it's all GONE! :)

...the cupcakes and fairy flosses as silent witnesses to the special day...

[photo by: Indra Pratama]

In conclusion (gw kayak lagi bikin essay aja gitu), it was a beautiful wedding... I want to congratulate the happy couple for their new chapter in life and all God's blessings that lie ahead of them...

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Agus Joewono!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres...
[1 Corinthians 13]

I wish you guys all God's best in everything. May your days be filled with happiness, joy, love and laughters... Keep being a blessing for others as you have been a blessing to us in Perth... I love you both very dearly, and please visit Perth oftenly as I will miss you guys sooooo bad :(

Ready... Set... Go!

2007-09-28T11:23:00.000+08:00

Hello, people! I finally have time to do a blog update. These past few weeks has been really really hectic for me due to a lot of events coming up... and one for tomorrow is Ariel's wedding! She has officially opened the 'Wedding Season' this year, with Indra&Fang's following up 2 weeks after hers and Ivan&Adel's on the next fortnight. Crazyyyyyy!

My body feels exhausted but I am excited! I am so happy for the three of my friends who are going to tie the knot because I've known them all quite well... It seemed like just yesterday that we discussed assignments, exams, guys (as in potential boyfriends!) and here they are now.. ready to walked down that aisle, promised to be together for a lifetime and opened up a brand new chapter in their lives... I'm just so happy for them! :) because that means I get to organize their hens nights! (be afraid, girls... be VERY afraid!!!)

Last week we had Lisyen's hens night (to avoid any confusion: Ariel = Lisyen). It went quite well but if I had more time to prepare, it would be better I guess... but hey the most important thing was Lisyen enjoyed it (IYA KAN SYEN???!!) and for those of you who was curious on what was happening.. you can check her friendster for a very very sexy sneak-peek photo :P

Oh and the highlight of this week is the LONG WEEKEND ahead! *woo-hoo!* I'm so going to relax and do me-moments that I need to catch up on (like mani padi, gym, book, cleaning... ahhh the serenity!) Perth Royal Show is also back in town starting tomorrow (we're going next Saturday guys!! calling all RoyalShowBoys Band :P) and my colleagues at work are starting to get psyched out over the AFL Grand Final this weekend... At least this week is long weekend.. I believe that all my full-time workers friends agree with me that we are all looking forward to this week as we feel like the below video week after week after week :P

I've got my annual leave for Fang's wedding approved by my boss... I've got 5 days off to fully helped her prepare for the wedding day. Defy is going to be here a week before (YAY!!!) so a full team of bridesmaids are ready to help, fang!! Kikis & Lia (Indra's lil bro and his gf) are coming this Monday from Jakarta so it's going to be merry and brighttttt... (emang Christmas?)

Crazzzyyyyy... See how time has changed us hey... From boys, exams and parties to work, financial and weddings... Xenia is having her baby in 2 weeks, and who knows who might come next (iren? hehehehehehehehehehe) One thing does not change though... I still feel and look like a sausage!

Over and out people :) Will update more with pics pics picsssss :D

On medication

2007-09-11T00:19:00.000+08:00

For the last week and a half, I've been down with this throat infection virus thingy and still am at this moment. The virus managed to knock me out last week, resulting in a full week of work absences, two doctor visits, and a week of bed-rest and 'home-arrest'.

The two doctors I saw told me the exact same thing: "It's a virus and antibiotics won't cure it. You just have to take it easy, drink plenty of water, and get some rest. Do not overworked or overstressed yourself because it's only going to make it worse." No antibiotics... greatttttt. No quick way to cure this because the doctors told me "it's going to take you a while to be 100%". Great.

Some problems in life are just like this virus, don't you think? No quick way of curing your disappointments, no antibiotics. Like a friend who broke a promise he made from a long time ago just like that, or an ex-boyfriend who moved on too quickly, or the pain and agony of being away from your loved ones, to have a near-death experience, being pissed off at someone but couldn't do anything, or being pressured by work and your boss... y'know, those kinds of things.

You wished you'll get over it quickly. Painless. But the reality is.. it won't be that easy. There's not antibiotics to cure it, the only way is for you to chill, take your time.. take it easy. But life's gotta move on. The world does not stop for your grief...

So for now, I'm just going to take it easy... thank goodness I have the new super-thick US Vogue with me tonight, to help me rest and 'take my mind off things' :)

Updates updates

2007-08-26T23:11:00.000+08:00

Well, hello there! Been a while since I last blogged, ey? I've been very busy lately, with work, ministry, events and also things going on in my mind and in my heart. Go figure :P I guess it's the time of the month already. I can't believe how fast time flies... It's almost September.. that means one month to Ariel's wedding, two months to Fang's and two months and a half to Adel's. wooo.. busy busy!

Anyway, some updates here for you guys... My weekend was packed! I couldn't believe this is already Sunday night (the fact that I hate so much because it means that tomorrow is Monday again, and the start of a new working week...) I hardly had the time to unwind and have 'me-moments'... Feel sooooo exhausted now, and I don't feel that great either... I feel like a flu is coming but noooo.. rebuke in the name of the Lord yaaahh :)

Saturday...
Woke up at 6:30 in the morning.. went to the flower warehouse to buy some gorgeous tulips for the beautiful yummy mummy to be :) Organized the baby shower for xen.. so went to Carousel to find some stuff. Couldn't find the stuff that were on my mind, so had to find alternatives for them. Went to the venue early to set up.. the party went good though :) Came home around 6:30, had a shower and then on my bed.. wif my laptop.. and fell asleep at 8 pm!! hahah all the way to the morning... this is the most decent sleep I had in months i think...

Sunday...
Woke up early today because I had to be at church by 9 am. Leading worship again this Sunday. Went home after church, brought KFC! hahaha.. i'm craving for it since I dunno when.. Had a friend's farewell dinner tonight. Had too many cocktails!!! I have a headache now as we speak.

And that's it!! full on! I hardly had the time to relax... my whole body feel soooo sore right now. I want another Friday, this time I gotta take it easy ey... Another monday tomorrow, another five days to a weekend. Man, that feels like a loooooooong time. But then again, thank God I have a job... and a nice co-worker to have lunch with (right, Lauren? hehe)

Our "pursuit of happyness"

2007-08-15T23:26:00.000+08:00

Lately I felt so tired. Tired of routines, the things that I have to do on a daily basis day after day. It seems like my life's pretty much the same. Nothing is exciting anymore and to add to that I feel like I didn't have enough rest.

So tonight I dragged Rey to accompany me to Video Ezy (hehe, thanks Rey!). I need to unwind, and one of the easy ways to do it is to watch some DVDs. One DVD in particular caught my eyes. It was the movie I really wanted to watch since it came out but never had a chance to watch it. It was Will Smith's 'The Pursuit of Happyness' which was inspired by Chris Gardner's true story... I know it's really lateeeee since the movie came out months ago, but better late than never, right :)

I was so amazed on how 'personal' and deeply moving this movie is. It told us about a man named Chris Gardner who pursued his dream and put his son's welfare and safety more than anything. The movie potrayed the most crucial and painful moments in his life, when he thought his world had ended, but he always managed to soar right through it. He even experienced being homeless, completely broke and had to sleep in a public restroom with his son.

His diligence and persistence gave him the reward (or happiness, as he called it) in the end. Resulting on him being one of the most well-known broker in the world until this very second (he even had a private conversation with Nelson Mandela and even helped Bill Clinton managed the economy while he was still the president of USA), but what amazes me is that he created more work opportunities for people. He spreads his 'happiness' to others.

As I finished watching this movie, I couldn't help but wonder... how do we define happiness? As Pastor D's sermon at THE ROCKS last week said... we don't even know for sure what makes us happy. In a way, that's true... a bit ironic, isn't it?

I guess our definition of happiness would be different from each other. Some may state a wealthy life as their happiness. Some may state having a happy family or going on a trip around the world. Different people have different definitions. What's mine? what's yours?

I don't know for sure what's my happiness is, but I know some things are able to make me feel a little bit better... things like:

Knowing that my favorite pair of shoes are on sale for half price (or more)
Having a stash of my favorite sambel pete around to eat
A good hair day
When the clock hits 5 pm on working days... that means home time!
Staying at home on a rainy afternoon, slouching in bed all day with a good book and jazz music playing on the background
The sound of my loved ones' voices
Being slapstick-silly with my dad
Hanging out with friends watching Australian Idol with KFC for dinner :)
A good homemade meal back at Indonesia
Cuddling around my lil sis and mum every night. Chatting away until we got very very sleepy
Chit chat coffee-time with my nyonkies
Shopping spree!!! or window shopping would do as well
Going to Ikea and then redecorate my room
Buying a Chanel Le Vernis
Having a manicure and a pedicure
Watching a good movie on DVD, accompanied with a bowl of chocolate ice cream (like tonight!)
Helping others and put smiles on their faces

Those are only some I can think of. I'm sure we all will be adding to the list as we go through the journey of life, until we find that eternal happiness (which I found in my Salvation, thank God). Pay attention to the word 'pursuit'. We all are in a journey to find happiness, to pursue happiness and to have hopes to achieve it someday, somehow. And again, the word 'pursuit' means it won't come easy at all. We will have to push through, shed tears, feel pain, sacrifice and a whole lot more... But in the end it's going to be worth it... it's happiness :)

Oh and by the way, Euphoria means at the state of extreme happiness (if you don't get what I'm talking about... read the post before this one). So I think it's just the proper name for the business as our aim and goal is to help them and bring happiness to others.

After all,
There's no point of being happy if you can't bring happiness to other people's lives, right? :)

PS: for those of you who are struggling this very moment. No matter what you are facing, I am praying for you. Heaven is not far away :)

Crafty crafty!

2007-08-12T21:42:00.000+08:00

Another weekend has gone by! I can't believe tomorrow is Monday again already. Not enough weekendss!! but then again, I have to be thankful because I have a job, though... so, less complaining please! hehehe :)

Anyway, just recently some of my girlfriends and I have decided to 'start' our own party planner business. Since we have a lot of bridal showers, weddings and one baby shower on the way (who knows there will be a lot more next year?? *hints to my married friends! hehehe) those events will be the perfect occasion for us to have trial-and-errors.

As a result of our ideas, we decided to help a friend to plan a baby shower for her big sis at the end of August. Last Saturday I stayed at home for the day, and made handmade invitations for the event. We are also scheduled to decorate and entertain the guests for the events as well, so I am currently doing a research as we speak for activities and games to be played on the day. If anyone of you has an idea, please feel free to let me know! I need all the help I can get my hands on!

Because the shower is for a baby girl, I've decided to use pink as the main color scheme for the event. However, since the mother-to-be is not a big fan of pink, I splashed pastel green here and there for accent.

The invitation itself was created with Christina Re range of paper couture. I got the idea of the invitation from my Bible bookmark, because it's small, compact and people are able to put it in their bible (I do that, by the way hehe) for keepsakes. I was about to print the wording, and then found out that my printer is out of ink!!!! So... I handwrote them. All 40 pieces of it! took me ages... (Lesson no 1: check ink level in your printer!). I've uploaded some of the pics here, but excuse my camera... it's not that clear. I'll took some better pictures later alongside the decorations and stuff for our so-called 'portfolio' :)

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the result, however I felt that I can do better if I have more time. I can only go shopping for the papers and ribbons on Saturday since that's the only day I'm free... I hope the recipients for the invitations love them as well! So we can go on and designed some more... and maybe one day it can be a full-time job... who knows, right?

I have already bought some blank canvases... to finish my delayed craft project hopefully by this coming weekend. Stay tune for the finished results :)

Oh, and I've been thinking about what the business name should be... How does Euphoria sound?

More than just a pretty face

2007-08-07T23:28:00.000+08:00

Lately, I found myself obsessing over flowers. I don't know why! Maybe it's because I've been helping in organizing one of my best friends' wedding and the fact that everyone is getting married so I'll be seeing lots and lots of flowers. And I'm really into a shabby chic vintage kind of mode at the moment, so maybe that explains my flower obsession.

It's incredible that God creates such beautiful things... like me! (haha!) no no, seriously... There are so many different types of flowers with different shapes, forms, textures and colors. It's just amazing how God came up with that! I have a few flowers that I really fancied. Roses are classic, Tulips are cute and Lilies are classic. But, my current favorite (the one that I'm obsessing over) is Peonies.

Somehow I found them classy and chic, with a subtle hint of flirtatiousness. It has lots of ruffles which adds texture and volume to it looks topped off with pretty pastel colors as well (the one pictured above have strong fuschia colors.. still loved it though!). I had purchased some fake ones (mind you, I don't have a green thumb so might as well go with the fake ones hehehe. But I really wanted the real one though...) to be placed in my so-called 'vintage corner' in my room. I did take a picture of it, however the flower that I placed on my dressing table aren't the peonies (I placed it somewhere else) but I'll just show you a peek on that vintage-corner anyway...

Anyhoo, Peonies have been used a lot in weddings as bouquets and centerpieces. So I'm a bit curious on what's the meaning of the flower itself. Apparently, flowers have language! Therefore we can't just by any flower for any occasion since it might send the wrong message. The language of flowers are called Florigraphy. I managed to google it, and found some... here you go for your guideline (especially for you, Adams... hehehe)

Alstroemeria: a cut flower available in a variety of colors, symbolizes strong bond with another person, as well as prosperity
Amaryllis: an indoor flowering bulb whose showy blossoms represent pride and radiant beauty
Azalea: symbolizes first love and romance
Carnations: represent pride and beauty
Chrysanthemum: symbolizes fidelity- a great choice to celebrate your wedding anniversary!
Daffodil: a sure sign of spring, but also represents chivalry
Daisy: signifies loyal love
Delphinium: this rare blue flower symbolizes all things heavenly
Peony: a flower originally from China, traditionally means "I love you"
Statice: stands for remembrance–include them in a bouquet to tell your sweetheart you miss them
Stock: a fragrant flower meaning "you'll always be beautiful to me"
Sunflower: a statement of pure love, longevity, and adoration
Tulip: a symbol of fame, but also stands for the "perfect lover"
Violet: represents faithfulness and affection

Ahh... perfection :) can't wait to use it on my own wedding (which is, WHEN? hahaha)

She said...

2007-08-03T11:14:00.000+08:00

".. Later that day I got into thinking about relationships...

There are those that open you up to something new and exotic,
those that are old and familiar,
those that bring up lots of questions,
those that bring you somewhere unexpected,
those that bring you far from where you started,
and those that bring you back.

But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all
is the one you have with yourself.

And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous..."

-- Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and The City Season 6 - "A Girl In Paris Part Deux" --

Hype!

2007-08-03T10:27:00.000+08:00

The long awaited The Simpsons movie has finally showing in every major cinemas in the world. The wait has been for almost 20 years, and last week some friends and I went to see it. It was typical Simpsons movie (quite short, really. only 90 minutes) but it was really hilarious, konyol, funny and very entertaining.

The rating for this movie in Rotten Tomatoes is actually really good (about 86% at the moment) and it beats Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix in the box office (sadly, I was quite disappointed with that movie.. not as good as the book!). But, I never realized that the hype of The Simpsons movie is "that-crazy" until I found this on the web...

The Simpsons family has been featured in the fashion spread in US Vogue for the August 07 edition! The lady in the black bob hair is Linda Evangelista (yes, the supermodel) who are 'supposedly' take them to visit the major fashion labels in the world. The clothes that they are wearing (very well illustrated) were actual clothes from the collection of each designers. They are Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Lanvin, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Versace and Viktor & Rolf. As you can see from the spread, each designer has been illustrated to the picture too. Donatella and Karl Lagerfeld are very obviously illustrated, don't you think?

By the way, doesn't Marge look hot in a wavy hair like in the Versace shoot? and look at Homer trying to mimic Karl Lagerfeld in the Chanel shoot!

In my personal opinion, I don't think they would ever let The Simpsons family in the front row of any fashion shows considering Homer and Bart are very much the trouble makers :P (I know I wouldn't).

Sister 2 Sister

2007-08-01T12:14:00.000+08:00

Being a very self-centered, forgetful and arrogant kind of big sis, I forgot to mention about how talented my little sis is in the posting below!! (honest mistake sis, sorryyyyyyy)

Anyhoo, let me give you a little background on her.

Her full name is Alexandra Talissa. People call her Tali (yea i know, sad! hahahaha :P) but for me, she's simply my Tabbies.. hehehe.

She's going 18 this year (even though she looked 16! hahaha) - and she's so talented in art! She's currently studying Graphic Design in The One University, Malaysia yang konon kabarnya one of the best Design Institute in the world.

Her life revolves around photoshop, copic and anime (this is true!) I still remember on how I taught her how to draw her very first manga character (yeap, I was her 'guru' back thennn..) and then I saw her grow to become more and more creative in that area. I stopped sketching a long time (sketched more to fashion nowadays) but Tabbies definitely still does. Her skills are like, WOW! She learned it by herself by playing around with photoshop a lot.

I was amazed when I saw her latest creations. She has this portfolio book she used to carry around EVERYWHERE (literally, everywhere!) full of her amazing sketches and artwork. It's unbelievable how someone so young can produce highly skilled artworks like her. She produced a short comic book last year (or was it the year before?) and she made like double-profit from it. I've got one copy here with me, so if anyone wants to have a look, give me a buzz :)

I believe that she'll be huge someday, looking at her talents. She has already helped her highschool magazine as being the illustrator and design coordinator, who knows she'll own her own business soon?

Please check out her works at http://kunisaki.deviantart.com and be amazed, be VERY VERY amazed :)

I love you lil sis! *^__________^*

Creativity

2007-07-30T21:09:00.000+08:00

Since I was a little girl, I enjoy and love art in any form. My family has intense art blood running through our veins. My grandpa (from my mum's side) is a musician. He played piano and saxophone. His mum is an architect. She was the one who design the house my mum spent her childhood in (still standing until this very moment... very beautiful house!). My grandma (again, from my mum's side) was a dressmaker. My mum herself graduated with an English Literature degree.

As from my dad, he's an architect. The house we live in at the moment (in Indonesia, of course) was designed and built by him 15 years ago. He renovated it oftenly, changed the paint color on the wall, the color of the couch, the verandah, the garage, EVERYTHING! - so we never get tired or bored with the house. Many people who had been to our house loved it! Many of the furnitures in our house are custom-builed (designed by my dad, of course) and vintage. My grandpa from my dad's side was a carpenter and owned his own workshop with some employees working for him. My grandma is a cook (really good one... i'm craving for her cooking at the moment.. huhu) and a singer.

So during my sparetime, I love to do a little bit of art... I don't do a lot of sketches like I did before, but I do like to play around with my photoshop. I like to edit pictures and give them a little edge, then make it into an icon. It's not much, but I really enjoyed it. Most of the pictures that I edited was picture of celebrated icons or a clip from a movie i like.

I've posted some here... it's already in the perfect size to be used for MSN display pic... So, please feel free to use them if you want to, and let me know what you think! :)

Fight!

2007-07-30T08:57:00.000+08:00

Have you ever felt so helpless because you can't help those around you? At times like this, I really wish I'm omnipresent or owned the 'Pintu Ajaib' that Doraemon has. My loved ones around the world are hurting, fighting their way to conquer problems, and how I wish I can be there for them physically and mentally. While prayers, support and encouragements are possible... it's impossible for me to be there physically even though I so badly want it.

I saw Laras's nick a few days ago in MSN. It said: "Fight the GOOD Fight". Christians are not designed to just 'accept' the way life as it is without a fight for the better life. God allows problems to come into our lives so that we can soar and rise through it, and come out as conquerers and winners. As it's stated in the Serenity prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference."

This is it. This is the good fight.

For the queen of my heart: Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). You're always on my mind, everyday and everytime. His eye is on the sparrow... so don't you worry. Oh, how I wish I can be there with you to hold your hands... but I can't. I will be with you there in spirit and prayers. I miss you everyday and I love you so much... Everything will be alright.

My ever-dearest best friend... I don't know what's God's plan for you behind all this, but I know it is for the best. Everything will be beautiful in His time yah nyonk... Really really wish I could be there for you physically but unfortunately can't.. But I'm always just a phone call and a prayer away :)