It's JULY!!!

Lalalala... Summer school holiday, super-crowded theme parks, people making love to the sun and getting tanned, girls with bikinis playing volleyball at beaches.. yeah boys, in your dreams! --> cause this is Indonesia! haha!

JULY also equals Wedding season!
summer wedding dresses, pretty white flower arrangement, candles in the warm night.. sounds perfect rite?
*ehem* sounds scary for some, sounds wonderful for others. in this case, i can only say that i'm happy for those who has finally found someone to love and to live their whole life with.

I went to a wedding last Saturday in Bogor. A wedding of my dear friends, Chikha and Ruben. After a year of heavy preparation, they finally celebrate their wedding with a funky theme: Jeans! :) although i'd say that the event space was rather glamourous.. the wedding party itself was laid-back. Get rid of the formal gown and tuxedo! let's be casual.

For a start, Chikha gave us her girlfriends jeans textile to work on our personal denim dresses. and these are the dresses (pls excuse for the lo-def picture, blackberry style), all pretty and fab after a long exhausting and emotional fight with the tailor. not for me tho, mine's is made by my mom. totally customized and fit to my voluptuous proportion.

pretty women, aight! ;)

i'll update the pic as soon as a better one come along - the one that goes down to our high heels!

The guests (esp. the men) were also very comfortable walking around in their jeans and still looking handsome in their shirt, mostly in white. The mothers of the bride and the groom also looked stunning with their dress-gown, and seemed to be a funky proud parents. The party was so swell that it got into the local media in Bogor: Jurnal Bogor :)

So, congrats again for you two. Best of luck for your marriage, dear.

July is my favourite month of the year.. because it's my birth month too ;) *hint*

January... burning me.

• Skin was still very very dark from my trip from Bali and Uge. and I was still eager to burn myself even more. Ok, what happen in Uge stays in Uge haha..
• Watching Diana Krall's concert with Goldie was lovely indeed.
  

February... What Valentine?

• I met Zee for the very first time (in Burger King Thamrin - after waiting for around two hours!), and got myself a new best friend in a blink :)
• Love life was so low, esp on Valentine's day. But Chikha gave me Starbucks' chocolate cupcake topped with colourful hearts. nyam! *Update: I suddenly remember that on last year's Valentine's day - i got myself a free dvd player hahaha
  
• Putri and Dave came to town! wonderful dinner and hilarious talks and meaningful eye-glances were involved hahaha
  
• Got myself an outrageous decision to visit Australia with my baby B. Too bad, i missed meeting Lina since she was in Indo (argh!!!!). Melbourne was just another Jakarta for me; loved Sydney for it's somehow-similarity with Madrid; Goldcoast theme parks and the stay-up-all-night-since-we-wanted-to-save-money-for-hostel night under the stars was extremely tiring yet remarkable.
• However, i missed Zee's bday :( - and i missed meeting Alex :p
  

March. Crashing Aussie and every other places.

• Still wondering around Australia for several days. Coldplay superb concert in Melbourne was also one of the reasons why i went to Aussie. Details! Missed my Mom's bday too :( but i managed to give her some nice souvenirs from Aussie :)
• Involved myself in another spontaneous getaway plan. No, actually Chikha was the devil - in a good way (?) for not letting me be miserable and regretful in the future. Thank you girl!
• Came to a weeding in Bogor with the girls, and spent a nice eve at Kedai Kita :) I did crash several weddings now and then hahaha
• Skipped the Java Jazz Festival this year. no urge. no urge.

April. Long live the Queen!

• Friend's wedding was coming up in 2 weeks. Chikha and I agreed to help and make ourselves Wedding Organizer duo :P - a very challenging project it was.
• The shocking news about the killing attempt of the queen of Holland was almost ruining the big reception at Ritz-Carlton. almost. however, a reception without Mr. E was not as fun :(

i guess i still miss some points here....
when was our trip to Kebun Raya Bogor and Museum Gajah? Zee.. Ari... help :S

May. all my friends be merry and gay.

• Sneaking around and got bitten by mosquitoes before surprising Ari on her bday at Kafe Pisa :) i got licked too... i think it was Ari. or Zee? hmm..... *Update: ARI licked me!
  
• and on the same day, I got very busy with the wedding! it's was successful and almost everybody was happy. at least i was. i got to sing and to bring lots of good food home hahaha
• It's a 3days 2nights with my girls (and boys) in Singapore :) while half of us team was crazed with shopping and pre-wedding-ing, Ari, Zee, and I was busy over-torturing ourselves by walking around to experience another side of Singapore.. temples and markets. So we have experienced metro-tour, walking-tour, and car-tour (with great thanks to Sham).
• Sukabumi with Chikha and Ruben :) for the weekend - a culinary trip indeed!! I took pleasure of every flavour tingled in mouth, and gain weight in an instant. uhm 3kg in 2days? that's hilarious.
• My old and dear friend from Ambon came and we spent some hours all together. Gosh, I haven't seen Natalia in 10 years!
  
• Dominik and Lilith came to Indo for holiday. a week in Jakarta, another week in Bali. the whole group reunited in Jakarta for few days. Odd moments risen, as well as old flames. and of course, in the end, we all get burned.

June... i stay alone.

• Another month alone at the office. Lame.....
  

July be my birthday :)

• More wedding crashing! and off to the Public which was apparently going to be closed the day after.
• My birthday was around the corner and i didn't really mind about not having surprise party. It is written that my bday is forgettable. Yet, my beloved friends caught me off guard. I was very very touched T.T with the cake and the kisses. I had a fun weekend - a home-cooked meal of tempe and sambal, and Harry Potter at Blitz.
  
• However... my bday was not complete because Ari was not around T.T and B almost (arrrrgggggh!!!!) missed my bday.

and i miss some stuff happened in July. I mean was my July really that lame? xD
did i cut my long long hair and missed it instantly in July?

August comes too soon

• Supposedly, i went to Java Rockin Land. but i went to...
• Jogjakarta. This time it's to commemorate 1000 (Javanese) days of my father's pass. I also took the time to go around Jogjakarta with my dear friend Beni, went to Solo to Ardy-Nita's reception, and visited some tourist attractions with my mom and sister. That was fun :)
• I saw Ardy&Nita again in Jakarta for our small gathering with dear friends from Amsterdam. The event that was suppose to be just us 10.. turned out to be just us 20 people hahaha..
• Ujung Genteng (again) with my beloved girls (and boys). a trip without scandal, at last hahaha..
• Shhh.. and a daring ride with Ari! Super thumbs up for her super bravery riding motorbike on super high-risk tracks with high-risk weather. Near-death-experiences to the max! totally advanced!

September to remember!!

• People lined up to get Visa on September! with a great luck, i managed to get mine one day prior to my departure.
• So, i boosted myself by buying iPod Nano (purple) and filled its 16GB space with songs, songs, and songs. At last, i fulfill one of my personal wishes.
• and yes, I went to Holland! For office stuffs. I called it my Selligent trip. At first, i really couldn't believe that it's real. even after i stepped my feet on Holland's busy Schipol airport. It's like coming home after years of longing :) Another personal wish fulfilled.
  
• Reminiscing the good old days, hanging out with my good old friends, eating falafel and lays chips and hero onbijtvrucht, doing nothing and be happy about it, loving the cold weather, and indulging myself in bra-shopping ;)
• Fons has been very wonderful to me :) we had Spanish dinner at that little place in Zeedijk. He even gave me a gorgeous shirt + tank top as my farewell present.
  
• Got away to Prague for a nice weekend getaway with baby C. Praag is Prachtig! If i do have the time and the money, i really wanna to go to Czech Republic again.. and spend some more days wandering in Prague's streets.. maybe even go to other fascinating Eastern European countries. and maybe i'll finally have the gut to try the excrutiatingly herb-sy taste of Becherovka.
  
• Missed Ika's wedding - several days after i went back to Indo.
• I learned what "cinta mati/cinta gila/cinta buta" means. To be loved so deeply can be beautiful and deadly at the same time...
  

October quite a battle

• Even though the bachelorette party was canceled... (my condolences for Alex), my diet was a scam (there's no way i can be thinner in a week hahaha) but at least we did managed to gave Lala & Jose a kinky gift for their marriage!! and we managed to come in our silver "armour", doing all the crazy things at the reception. Uhm.. I suddenly wanna see the video.
  
• Office work, updating database and preparing for the upcoming campaign!
• Niels is here :D and he's my date to Soulnation! Musiq Soulchild's performance was *speechless* the thing that i look forward the most for the last couple of months. Too bad, Estelle was not performing.
• caught myself in a very awkward situation, and survived ;)
• I met Kaysan (Dory's big baby boy) for the very first time and got entertained the whole time. He's such an adorable kid. Poking his petite mommy all the time.

November black and blue

• Bali was scheduled for the weekend ;) I finally met gorgeous Radha for the very first time and fell in love instantly! Also there for her mommy, my dear Sita - haven't met her for almost 5 years! and she is still a stunning woman.
• uhm.. also got a glimpse of Indah's belly, the soon to be mom, and tried out almost every flavour of her up and rising business Gelato Secret's in Ubud. Next time, I want apple&cinammon as well as tomato&basil for my gelato! I mean, u can not say not to good stuff ;)
• Again. I'm working alone for another month.
• Crazed up with the IDR 0 (not joking!) seats from AirAsia. Successfully secured seats for my upcoming trip to Vietnam and Bangkok - will do a duo travelers with Ms. Ari.
• Kalimantan trip was also on the agenda. I went back and forth to Sampit, Palangkaraya, and Banjarmasin. Got extremely exhausted from the trip, but happy. I got to meet new networks, radio partners, best friend, best friends' mothers, and my family/cousins too. Add some extra bling in Martapura.. i couldn't ask for more.
• Alfons was in Indo for almost two weeks, but we passed each other's schedule every time :(
  
• A Samirono reunion. at last! It was only 15 girls that came that day (including Chikha), but it was nice and cozy :)
  

December razzle and dazzle!

• Extremely busy with the marketing campaign i've been involved with for the company. do this, initiate that, translate this, explain that. Hectic to the max, but enjoyable. I'll say i am a work addict hahaha
• However, playing around was still on the list. A jolly picnic session (under the rain) with best friends was the perfect medicine to cure my tired mind.
• Ika was in Jakarta for sev days to prep her reception next year. We stole a little of her most precious time to meet up and catch up with each other :)
• Another session with Radha (she's thinner!), with Robert this time. Baby Radha remembers me!

So what did I have for Christmas?
I had a low and silent Christmas. Also a bit down since my B and my girls were not around.
It started with 3-4hours of heavy heart wake-up call (implicitly and explicitly). It got better after a fancy brunch with my American friends at Social House. and it ended with a small visit from my relatives. Nevertheless, I really believe that i received a wonderful Christmas present this year.

And how about New Year's Eve?
New Year's Eve (NYE) was a blast! My agenda started quite early in the afternoon, good coffee and good conversation with our network at Kedai Kopi Phoenam, a nice coffee place in Wahid Hasyim area. They served delicious roti kaya and coffee from Sulawesi. Later on, I had another fancy Italian dinner (i mean, u need to spoil urself from time to time hahaha) with enjoyable companions at PEPeNERO and mingled around till the count down!

Overall, i can only see my life in 2009 in HIGHLIGHTS.
because that is exactly what we human need to do.
to see everything in bright light.
to embrace every blessing.
to walk every path with good will and positive thoughts.
and everything that we human can't understand, let it be...
the answers will come to us eventually :)

... read part 2
... or start from part 1

Tuesday Sept 22
I woke up lazily on Tuesday. I sat with Pooh in living room, doing nothing, and i loved it! After a while, I packed a my bag, got myself into the shower, and headed to Amsterdam. Finally, I got to see Citra's office hehehe and the people working there since I temporarily put my bag in there.

The weather was quite ok for Amsterdam that day. It was already afternoon so i rushed myself to Nieuwendijk to grab some souvenir and also some stuffs for my self - the ever so tempting bras at Hunkemoller! hehehehe that was quite a shopping.

Dinner at Tokyo Cafe [in Spui 15] with friends was next on the agenda. There was Dominik and Lilith (yay, it's great to see them again!), Citra and Edwin, Ardy and Anita, Neysa and Komar (another newlywed hehe), and my dear Yuli :) Although the service was poor that night, we managed to stay happy by exchanging stories with each other.

Good will, unsteady hand hehe

I went to Den Haag to sleepover at Citra's place - i knew that she's gonna kill me if i don't. At Den Haag station, I got a chance to meet Fonzie, too. Yeah, Yuli and Fonzie are such a cool couple - gotta love them together. A bus ride, a late night tea, some CD burning attempts, and we're all crashed into our beds.

Wednesday Sept 23
Another lazy morning...
I pulled myself up since I wanted to go rummaging Dominik's place in Utrecht. Yes darling, I traveled from one city to another, from a friend's house to another :) No shopping, only crashing.
Got a little stumbled upon Citra's funny locking front door since I forgot to bring Rina's liquor from Prague - gonna see her in Utrecht for dinner. Fortunately, Citra's neighbour was at home. My wild guess was he was confused of this crazy girl in front of Citra's front door, grumbling. She might be a thief! But then again, the neighbour showed me the "trick" with the front door lock something with a little left (or right) and upward (or downward) push on the door xD Lol... No, I could not remember!

the dude and the big white couch! plus the new TV set :P

Seeing Dominik in his crib was also an good thing. Aha! So there's the big white couch he was talking about. The fancy TV-set... and the work/play station :P it's all good, man! Only one thing that i didn't like at all: the toilet! It's too small (even for me!) and it took 10-15 minutes to reload the water in the toilet. The people inventing this place was a maniac.

Anyway, we spent the afternoon watching "Horton hears a who" on the new fancy TV :P with me munching roombotter appletaart from AH supermarket *oh, my mouth's watering* Lilith was sick that day, so she was resting in bed most of the time.

Too bad that Dom and Lilith couldn't join for dinner by the canal. Utrecht has an area where most of the restaurants are located downright next to the canal, underneath the shopping area. I had a chilly, cozy, and lovely Italian dinner with Rina, Ruudie, Niels, and Citra. My pizza was so huge, I couldn't finish it T.T sorry dear pizza...

I spent the night at Citra's place again - my last vacation night. hux...

Thursday Sept 24
It just slap me in the face. Holiday's almost over.
With my last strength of happiness, I packed my stuff and went to Amsterdam. Had lunch of patat oorlog en kipkorn with Citra's - and David, too hehe.. a funny guy. I strolled around the neighbourhood to buy some authentic cheese (with pesto and Italian spices) and for some window shopping.

Kecap was going to pick me up in Sloterdijk station so that we can get my suitcase I left in Haarlem. He showed up with his work outfit - suit and tie and all, handsome indeed. I think all boys look good when they pull out their suit :)

Some packing and some shower, and I was ready to go. Haha.. not really tho.
Alfons, Ika, Vina, Citra, and Niels were also there in the airport to say good bye. Lucas also came up unexpectedly hehe..

My suitcase was overweight :P Yeah sure, with all those souvenirs and foods i brought along!
Another funny thing (!) was when I was almost (almost) didn't get a seat on the plane since the flight was overbooked! I was actually happy to know that so then i might had a chance to stay for another night and then able to watch Jose James concert with Cit and Niels. Lol :P

But they got me a seat after all *sigh*
So i said goodbye to my all of beloved, thanking them for their hospitality during my short stay.

Cherioo Amsterdam. Gonna see you again, soon!
*keeping my hope high* :)

More pics on facebook!!

... read Part 1

Saturday-Monday Sept 19-21

Weekend getaway to PRAGUE!

Prague is one of the place I have been dreaming to go! Since i got the chance, then I should go and pursue my dream :P

I went to Prague with Citra. She took care of the flights and the hotel. I guess this is my first time having an unplanned trip abroad. There's gotta be a first time in everything...

Our flight to Prague was a long one, because we got to transit at Charles de Gaulle, Paris. Pfff... I disliked that airport. Got us carrying our stuff from one terminal to another in the most confusing way! Plus, I was already sickened from the extremely awful flight/ride from Amsterdam. As if I'm in the bus instead of a plane! Seriously!

We arrived in Prague at 5 pm something (19/09). The airport was not so fancy, considering the facts that Prague is one of the greatest places in the world - I am now convinced that Schiphol Amsterdam is one of the top-notch airports in the world. After exchanging money to Czech currency (CZK) and buying ourselves bus tickets to get to the city, I figured that Czech do not really speak English. Time to put body-language into practice haha..

The hotel was nowhere to be found, at first. The local people were not helping too.. Yihaa, that's what happen if didn't do any research before my trip xD After running around for blocks with exhaustion, I finally figured out the street names and found ourselves standing in front of the hotel... which was only about 100 meters from the metro station Anděl. Dang!

We indulged ourselves in good (and very affordable) food by Zlatý Klas (Plzeňská 9 Anděl), a Czech restaurant located in the neighbourhood. Mushroom risotto with cream, broccoli and Parmesan cheese by the price of 99 CZK was my order. I indulged my eyes with all the handsome men all around me. What a lovely sight! A small club called Jet Set (Radlická 1C-1D, Anděl) nearby the restaurant was our next stop. It was only 11pm and we didn't think that we needed to end our first night in Prague just yet. So we dropped by and order Lolita - vodka, pisang ambon, orgeat syrop, lemon, and pineapple juice - for Citra, and Orgasmus - vodka, kahlua, baileys, amaretto, cream - for me. The taste? It's orgasmic!

We started the day (20/09) - not too early - walking by the riverside towards Karlův most (Charles Bridge). The weather was certainly nicer than in Holland. Too bad the Charles bridge was under construction :( so i didn't get the full "Prague-in video-clips" effect, especially with European tourists flooding the place for weekend getaway, too. The church next to Charles bridge was holding a weeding ceremony - I had a sneak peek and got to see the long weeding dress and white decorations. We continued our walk to the Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) and witnessed the infamous beyond imagination Astronomical clock with its 24-hour scale, sun, moon, and zodiac ring. What a ingenious beauty!

*a week afterward, i watch Ne-Yo's most recent video-clip "Part of the List" and stupidly think "hey, i think i've seen this place before... it's familiar". A google search later... "Doh! it's Prague!"

Since I was totally confused of the street names (all over again) and also small passages we found every now and then, we just went wherever our feet took us. We did urge ourselves to go to the Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle) complex, located on a hill quite near the city center.

St. Vitus Cathedral was huge and awesome, as well as its surrounding area. As soon as we saw another bride-groom, we realized that we were in a good date: 20-09-2009 :) awwww.. makes me wanna go and just marry someone a.s.a.p (big LOL)

The warmth of the sun really got us in the lazy mood, especially since our feet was already heavy from walking up to the hill. However, we did manage to stroll around the castle, took pictures, and flirted with Czech's castle guard. Hahaha.. i loved the way his eyes followed me around without moving his head whatsoever. We walked down passing the Svatováclavská vinice (St. Wenceslas´ Vineyard) on east part of the castle.

The day slowly crawled into night. We were in Národní area when suddenly our stomach growled. So we walked to Citra's colleague recommendation: U Fleků (Křemencova 11, Praha) brewery and restaurant. It's one of the oldest beer house/restaurant in Prague - when i browsed through the website it is said that the place have been brewing beer for 500 years, dates back to 1499! We sat in Velký sál (The Big Lounge), accompanied with Czech music (which sounded like German's), and Czech big meal for the night. The waiter did offer bok beer and Becherovka as apperitiv, but i said no. Becherovka is Czech original traditional liquer made from herbs and spices; most people do not really enjoy the "medicine-like" taste.

Prague is also the center of jazz and classical music. Those who loves these kinds of music will not get bored in this city since there are always music performances and concerts every single day (Yes! every single day). One of the great place to watch such performance is in Reduta Jazz Club (Národní 20, Prague). Reduta is one of the oldest jazz club in Prague. The place is quite small for a famous jazz place. Oldskol taste, oldskol place. The walls were filled with black and white photographs of famous jazz/blues musician of the world. The tables and chairs were not arranged in an unusual shapes, the bar was somewhere down the hall - one have to get the drinks oneself. That night, from 21.00 till 22.00 something, we watched the performance of Bartas Band - a blues local band from Prague.

The next day (21/09), we went to Vyšehrad, a castle located on a hill over the Vltava river, by trem this time - too tired of walking! But somehow, we still need to walk up the steep hill. After some turns, I saw this huge "fortress" made of big old bricks. The yellow autumn leaves was already decorating the path on the castle complex. Situated within the castle is the Basilica of St Peter & St Paul, as well as the Vyšehrad cemetery. Local legend holds that Vyšehrad was the location of the first settlement which would later become Prague.

Praag is Prachtig!
Prague is beautiful ~*

more prague pics on facebook :)

Continue to Part 3...

Saturday Sept 12
It's 5.20 am GMT+1. The plane landed 30minutes earlier than scheduled. After 16-hours flight with KLM, with a short transit in Kuala Lumpur, i finally set my foot on Schiphol airport. It felt very nice to be in Holland again after almost 3 years away. Haha... i said it like i am originally living in Holland xD

Somehow, i felt sad to hear "mind your step" ~* audio warning placed on those fast tracks. My student days were gone, along with many great memories attached to it... as if i come "home" to "nothing". But when i saw Niels and Citra in the arrival hall to come pick me up, i was delighted all over again.

After putting my stuff in de Baronie bed & breakfast - and added a little rest to that - we went straight to Rotterdam ;) sitting on the car, looking at the A4 highway... was so soothing. A good way of refreshing my aching body from the journey. Walking around in Rotterdam was fun - since i was acting as a tourist ;) visiting the kubuswoningen and the market, taking all kinds of pictures. Outrageous eating habit occur when we bought cheese (combined with olives, dry tomatos, and garlic) and kipbeling (salty fried fish), knowing that we just ate Burger King just an hour ago. I'm sorry, I can't help it! hahaha We closed the deal drinking coffee in Hotel New York. I loooooove the place :)

Citra's house in Den Haag was our next stop! She cooked a HUGE portion of mie ayam and forced me to finish it all and then ate Edwin's apple pie as dessert. I was incredibly full, up to the neck!

Niels dropped Citra n I back in Amsterdam so that we could meet up with our high school friends. Yes, apparently i have several high school friends living in Amsterdam area. We went to ESCAPE and dancing our feet off until 4 am. On the way back, I realized that I hadn't been sleeping for almost 26 hours :p

not so girls night out hehe

Sunday Sept 13
The original plan was to go to Brussels for the day. But suddenly i felt a little lazy, seeing how the clumsy windy rainy weather outside. So we decided to go to Hermitage museum instead. It's a new Russian culture museum located in Nieuwe Herengracht (Waterlooplein) area. We spent about 3 hours there, awed by the gorgeous Tsarina/princess/duchess dresses displayed - alongside with other stuffs, too.

*TAPAS oh yeah!

Alfons was next on the agenda. We went to have dinner in this cute and cozy Spanish eat house in Zeedijk area (the red light district area). The paella was enormous and delicious, accompanied with assorted tapas (ham, black and green olives, sardines, and octopus - all covered in olive oil), and of course Sangria! Alfons was very kind to "trakteer" our dinner ;) For the dessert, we walked to the little Italian ice cream place in Nieuwmakt.

*the name of the eethuis is Centra. Located in Lange Niezel 29, Amsterdam.

Monday Sept 14
It fells funny to go through an old routine: take a train to Hilversum Noord station, and then walk for about 10-15 minutes towards the office. Got a little distracted by the new round about placed along the way. The building stays the same, they're renovating and repainting it i suppose - looking at those high constructed poles surrounding it. Very pleased to see my M&M colleagues. At last, i got to put the faces to the names! The hall to the cafeteria looks the same. Although they replaced the old coffee machines to a more fancy ones ;) My dear wiener melange coffee still have the same taste...

After one introduction day at the office, i went back to Amsterdam to grab Maoz Falafel and its open salad bar :D my stomach was filled with all different kinds of food that day hahahaha

FALAFEL - my favourite :D

Tuesday Sept 15
The weather was quite clumsy- with extra wind blower i guess. After spending another day at the office, i went to Hilversum to drink some coffee in Hilversum with Rina and Prita. Then I hurried back to Amsterdam to meet Ika and to watch Inglorious Bastards at Pathe Tuchinski :p gyahahahaha... *trying to make some people jealous here* Using my Pathe unlimited card [yes, i still have it!] we gain access to the theater.

Lol, got my self dizzy during the movie - with the front row seat [the zaal was packed!], a giant screen, a movie spoken in German-France-and-little-English and dutch subtitle >.<' ROFL and no Dominik by my side to translate into proper English. Gotta watch the movie again in Indo! Wednesday Sept 16
Late today! -.-'
Gotta go to ABN Diemen to manage my frozen account. Gosh! the procedure was so annoying, good thing that the guy was cute. An ease to my eyes :P hope everything's alright with my money.

I managed to take some reminiscing pictures too of my old student flat. De Kiezel, where we all met, became family and lovers and friends for life :) "Whatever happens in Kiezel, stays in Kiezel" Quite right, since the building will be destroyed and rebuild into some new fancy thing soon.

Our beloved Diemen and Diemerplein - full of memories

The train to Hilversum was vertraging (Eng: delayed) for 15 minutes already from Amsterdam. On the way to Hilversum, the train suddenly stop again for about 15-20 minutes at Naarden Bussum station. The train trip, which was supposedly only 30mins max, became a-60mins-trip! Ha, NS clearly stands for Nooit Stipt (Eng: never punctual). Imagine running trains in Indonesia hahaha...

After a training and "enlightenment" session of Selligent, my colleagues and I went to a Japanese restaurant at Hilversum. The name's Kimono - a teppanyaki, not a sushi place. We had a great time up till 10 pm when everybody seemed to be exhausted already. I discover Michele's great feet [compared to mine] and great appetite! Really want to have a second round of Japanese onbeperekt (Eng: unlimited) with Rina and Michele at Osaka :)

M&M colleagues

I went back to Utrecht that night, sleep-over at Rina's crib. On the bus from Utrecht Centraal to Rina's place, I accidentally met April Liping! I still recognize her short hair. It's so funny because we didn't get the chance to meet when she was in Jakarta the previous week. What a coincidence!

Rina's crib? Lovely! The red wall, filled with snapshots of her and Ruudie, the cozy super big Indonesian style sofa, the music instruments all over the place, the colourful posters and accessories. After a midnite chat session with Rina and Ruudie, I slept peacefully at Thijs' overflowing-with-toys room. Hope i can provide a room like that for my baby hehe

Thursday Sept 17

Bazar with my darlings

Had another great dinner today, with friends :) Ardy, Anita, Barry, Vina, Llyod, Ika, Shaula, Citra, Niels, and me. The place, BAZAR, is a Mediterranean restaurant located in Albert Cuypstraat 182. The Mediterranean atmosphere goes all through the 2-storey restaurant, with the enchanting scent from the Arabic/Moroccan/Greek/Mediterranean food presented in a huge and unraveling portion. The price was very reasonable too, around 10-15 Euro per dish ;)
*ok, writing this part makes me hungry... i need to stop*

see... this is how good the food presented. this one's Bizarre Bazar!

Friday Sept 18
It's the last day at the office. Had a free lunch with Indonesian afdeling and spent my last working hours practicing my new Selligent knowledge. Silly thing happened afterward!

Supposedly, I got to catch the train on 17.45 to Amsterdam - then meet Kecap at my B&B - then meet Citra - then go to Haarlem.

But when i was going to step out of the office, Michel and Niels told me not to. The train (esp. to Amsterdam) was out of service for an hour, maybe more... since "something" happened in Naarden Bussum station. We had a tip that it might be suicide! o_O So i called Kecap to postpone. But since he's a very kind person [and maybe out of activity :P], he picked me up at the office! Thanks a lot. Whoa, girls... don't you all agree that we need more gentleman like him in this world?

Since we're not able to catch Citra in Haarlem anyway, we had dinner at this Italian place called Vapiano, Oosterdokskade 145, nearby OBA-Openbaare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Eng: public library). I enjoyed it very much! The place is a pasta-pizza bar, similar to Marche in Jakarta.

Each customer got a card, they can go around the place, decide which kind of Italian food they want - pasta, pizza, etc - which will be cooked before their eyes, swipe the card, eat and laugh and be happy, then pay in the cashier afterward. My cook was a tall, blond, white South-African lad, with a very strong British accent. He presented my Fussili Pesto met Garnalen en Spinazie beautifully. Gosh, it's yummy! Again, thank you :)

With extra full belly, we went to the B&B to take my suitcase. I have already said goodbye to Tuhami, the nice B&B owner in the morning, so i just dropped off my keys in the kitchen.




His apartment was very much of the boys' den. I was so happy to meet my darling friends - Bouvi, Pooh, Binsar, and Rhein. They're practicing some great music composed/arranged by Aras for their special show. After smoking pot session, i just sat back and enjoyed the friendly "student-like" atmosphere in the room. The big difference is that they're all working now :) yes, that is the thing i miss the most...

two of the boys :)

more pics on facebook *__*

Continue to Part 2 ...

Ujung Genteng, again! (this time, with updated information)

Kali ini saya bertualang bersama sahabat-sahabat saya, para wanita-wanita gahar dan tentengannya masing-masing, dalam rangka liburan 17agustus-an. Teman-teman Bogor sayangnya gak bisa ikutan.

Seru ga? Ya SERU lah. Wong kita berletih-letih ria beriringan naik motor dari Jakarta/Karawaci - Bogor - Ujung Genteng. Ck & Rb, Z & Alx, saya & Ari. Maklum lah, cuma saya dan Ari yang masih single dan tidak berhasil membawa tentengan :P Modal NEKAT pokoknya! Saya gak bisa naek motor, jadilah Ari yang jadi sang pengendara. Acungi jempol buat Ari! TOP MARKOTOP! Lala & Jose menyusul kami sehari kemudian dengan mobil. Jose juga mantaf saat harus naik motor :D

ck - lala - val - ari - zee
with those silly headbands we girls look like
farmers going fishing LOL

Jakarta - Ujung Genteng is approximately 200km away (one-way trip), with a crazy landscape: the road goes up and down, lots of twist and turns, blind turning points, cliff on the side of the road, and the thick morning fog will limit your eyesight till only 1-2 meters before you.

Interesting, right?

I suggest you to go there (if you go from Jakarta/Bogor) by midnight - either by car, or by bikes. So then you will find the road less crowded, less buses and big trucks - they often slow down your journey a lot. Then you will get there around 6-7 am. Well, that arrival time depends on your speed, your breaks(you should rest - and eat/drink, and pee - sometimes), and your willingness to ride in the dark cold night! ;)

The sooner you get to UGe, the merrier will you become... since the shinning sun and the glimpse of the blue sea will drawn you to forget your rest and go straight to the beach!

Since UGe is getting more and more commercial for local tourists and also for photographers (believe me, the place has great landscapes), the local people start charging for entrance fees. We need to, at least, give 2 times entrance fee. Anyway, it's not that much. The lodging and the "ojek" fee are also higher than last year. Pfff... tourists also need to be aware that the shops (warungs) sometimes charge you even more.

* Entrance fee = 3000-5000 IDR per person/bike/car.
Depends on how big your group is.

* Transportation = 120,000 IDR per 1x "OJEK" (guide + bike) ride to Ombak Tujuh.
You NEED guide to go there. Even my friends who have been to UGe 20x still need to use that guide. They are nice people and they come in very handy.

* Accomodation = free (if you sleep on your tent/car), 450,000 IDR per night (local people's house, depend on how big the house) - 1,000,000 IDR or more (they have villas, too).
If you travel with a big group and want some new experience, try living in local people's houses. Usually, the place is clean, have several beds, and the owner does not bother how many people should fit in one house.
Example: your group consist 10 people. If all stay in one house, then it's only 45,000 IDR per person per night. Dude, that's cheap.

* Attractions = BEACHES! for FREE!
There are lots of nice beaches there. Start from Cibuaya, Pangumbahan, Panarikan, Cikepuh, and of course Ombak Tujuh ("Seven Waves" beach). Why does it being called Ombak Tujuh? I shall not spoil the details here. You should see it for yourself.
UGe is also a home for sea turtles. You can see them mostly on full moon period. To get into the sea turtle are, you will need to give a little entrance fee.
If you love fishing, then bring your fishing equipments along ;)

* Apparels = Swim suit and summery clothes!
Remember to bring your swim suit and goggle. Well, at least me and my friends always go around swimming, not only taking pictures. I also recommend to bring one-piece clothes that's thin and easy to dry, short pants and tank tops, hat or whatever to cover your head from the heat (heat can make you go dizzy the whole day, not good). Forget not to use sunblock. Have yourself a nice evenly applied tanned skin :)

but...

Why you SHOULDN'T GO to Ujung Genteng?

* Because you (I refer to girls with pretty hairs and pretty skins and pretty faces) will get soooo TANNED (FYI, being tan is not popular for Indonesian girls) . and sometimes, excruciating SUNBURNS! I mean, if you go to the beach, you should go home with beautiful tanned skin. If you use you big hat and long sleeves shirt all the time, you better be at home watching tv.

* Because you will get CUTS! Lots of CUTS! On your hands, your fingers, your feet, your thighs, your calves, your arms, and sometimes - when you get lucky - your face. The road to Ombak Tujuh is not only a bumpy ride, it shall also be a dry-branches-and-trees-and-reeds-sweeping-your-body-all-the-time ride :) i love it! The CUTS can also caused by corals. You know, when-you-swim-and-the-wave-sweeps-you-and-you-hit-the-coral kind of cuts :)
Hehe.. One should at least have 1 bleeding cut as a solid proof that he/she has been to UGe! Well, that's only my opinion.

* Because you will be super exhausted! Cmon, going there is exhausting enough (this only applies to those who rides by themselves). Then going to the beaches. Then not having enough sleep. If you sweat all the little things, you better be on your bed with your air co.

For me and my friends? We don't care. The sunburns, the cuts, the exhaustions - it's all worthy! Hopefully we can go to UGe at least once a year.

More pictures? Soon!!

Read my previous UGe trip:
UGe: The After-Effect

I arrived in Tugu Train Station at 5.30 am that Saturday morning after spending approximately 9 hours journey from Jakarta. An encouragement hug was given by B before my train left - i needed that.

The air was cool and crisp. I heard language and accent familiar to my ear, offering foods, snacks and transport. Once you're in Jogja, it's a must for you to ride on a Becak (tricycle traditional transport) and just feel the air touches your face.

Usually, Lusy has already stood by, ready to pick me up. But since she's back to her hometown, i prefer to stay a little longer at the station. An hour afterward, my aunt and uncle also arrived from Jakarta. The family from my father side gathered in Jogja for the 1000 days commemoration of my father's pass. After a cup of coffee with my aunt and uncle, which i think they didn't really enjoy that much, i decided to stay and wandered around the city by myself. I have no good reason to go straight to my father's old place anyway.

I met up with a good old friend from college, Beni, the very same morning. He took my red flowery backpack so that i can walk lightly around the city. It was too early to stroll in Malioboro, it was only 8.00 am. That was the time when i spotted that Trans Jogja bus shelter in front of Inna Garuda hotel. "Let's try on this!" i said to myself. Minutes later, I was nicely seated inside Trans Jogja bus, heading towards Ambarukmo Mall.

After some killing time at Ambarukmo Plaza - AmPlaz (i heard AmPlaz, i reckon Ambon Plaza), rummaging about shoes and reminiscing the joy of high school every time i saw group of girls wearing tartan blue skirt and over sized shirt (that's Stella Duce's uniform for Friday and Saturday) - I was picked up by Beni and Vina, his fiancee. Together, we went to Solo to Ardy-Nita's wedding reception.

Funny, I was the only one who showed up single. Funny for other people, i suppose. Unknowingly (or rather, dumbly) talking about how pity one was for one person in front of that person as if that person is not exist is not acceptable. What a strength, i only needed to endure such gazes for 3 hours.

I went straight to my father's old place (as for now, i'm gonna refer to it as grandpa's) later that night. I arrived at midnight, in a familiar house, a house i used to know. They (my uncle's family who lived there with my grandpa) have built some new extensions to the house. Blah, i guess they have money after all. I greeted my family there, then greeted my mom (she's been in Jogja for 2 days), then forget about everything else.

The House

I slept deep for 4-5 hours. The cracking sound of incoming family members woke me up, lazily. They really got what it took to bug other people peace! They shouted louder than those barking dogs.

That warm day, I saw my father's sanctuary. It's made from shinny black marmer with a small white/gold Italian-made cross on the headrest. I looked closer, I saw the mistake carvings on the information tablet. They wrote May 20 as my father birth date... when in fact, it's August 29. Want to hear some funny stuff? They blamed my Mom for their own mistake! They said my Mom was the one who gave such information, yelled at her in front of people - I was not there at the time.

The following day was SSDD. Same Shit Different Day. We served foods and snacks to people. We held a commemoration mass. I worked and helped people out like zombie. As soon as people left, i wiped my smile out of my face. I only got mellow and heartbroken when i saw my Mom's crying in the dark beside my father's tomb later that night. So much love, so much pain. At last, my job with all "commemoration" fuss... was done.

I took my mother and my little sister for a trip on Tuesday. We rarely have a holiday together, so i took the moment to get them to Prambanan Temple and Kraton Ratu Boko ruins (still, with Trans Jogja). We ate lunch at Kedai Cobek at AmPlaz, a must-try restaurant in my opinion. My mom's appetite was hilarious!! SHE ATE A LOT, like she has not been feed for a week (which was quite close to the truth). Then we had a near-fire experience while browsing for shoes! hahaha thin smokes coming out from nowhere... it was a "kortsluit".

J.co at Malioboro Mall was my next stop. I met Jenny and Inov, my former high school friends :) They looked just just the same; just add hair length and hair colour. Bitching around, talking in Javanese language for 4 hours were fun hehe though i have to admit i am more comfortable talking in Bahasa or in English. Javanese need some extra effort, you know. We jumped to a 50,000 IDR worth taxi ride as soon as the mall closed. My mom was so tired walking the whole day.

I took my mom and my sister the next day to eat Gudeg Bu Wiwik at Wijilan, before my flight. The price for a portion of Gudeg + chicken + egg - 25,000 IDR - was quite epensive compared to other (that's according to C) but the taste was "oh so original!" Gudeg, which is made from jackfruit added with spices etc., can be extremely sweet for first-timers :) but that's how food is usually made in Jogja, sweet. One should combine the "gudeg" with the "krecek", one of it's spicy side dish. Accompany your food with tea, then you are officially in Jogja!

I met Beni and Vina again before i left. They helped me to get to Trans Jogja, heading to airport. My backpack was filled with dirty clothes, my belly filled with gudeg, my other bag filled with Bakpia Bu Sri Putri (my favourite "bakpia" brand) for friends and collega. I dragged my exhausted body to the airplane. Will be home any minute now.

I kissed my grandpa and my father goodbye, hoping to see them soon.
For what it's worth... I love Jogja, I will always love Jogja.

No. I am not going to show empathy for the blast victim of Kuningan that happened several days ago. Lots of people and media have done that for them. I have also put on Indonesian flag on my Twitter avatar >> how to? #indonesiaunite <<

Yay! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME! ~*

July 18 - The day before the D-day
Too bad i couldn't be at Rannu's weeding in Bali. It's a little too much to ask for such a short notice. I did not have the money :P Anyway, Happy Birthday and Happy Wedding, Rannu!

But i did go to someone's weeding. My friend, Ruben, was going to play with his band on someone's wed in Bogor. Unplanned, i joined him along with Chikha and Zee. Ari was not around because she's having a weekend trip to Jogja [argh%^&@&*!!]. With a little makeover on the clothing section... [to be honest, we - Zee and i - were not prepared at all] voila! we became a "part" of the band! Good music and good food. Extremely good Zup-a-soup! and a glass of Heineken to top it off!

After the wed, we found it too difficult to lay off the night. So we decided to have a sneak peek at Public. Little that we knew that that was the last opening night for Public!!! They have closed Embassy, Wonder bar, etc. Public was the last one to go. The lot will be replaced with apartment. Too bad :(

With a little confidence, we walked to the entrance. Oops! It was invitation only kinda party! I worked on my innocent face and talked it out with the bouncer.. and voila! we were in! :D
Well, we only stayed there for an hour or so. Just needed the loud music and the dance/night life ambiance that haven't been felt for quite some time. "Happy birthday" hugs and kisses were given when the clock passed 00.00. oh yeah!


July 19 - The ups and downs
Started a little early in the morning. Went to church with my mom, although it's not my ideal time to pray. With an extremely sleepy head (!!!), i crashed again as soon as i got home. On my mobile, some friends sent "happy birthday" texts... very kind of them.

Still with an extremely sleepy head and not really a fine mood [since i've been waiting for certain people's wishes...], Chikha Ruben and Zee crashed my room with a cake, shouting Happy Birthday out loud! Kyaaaaaaaaa... that was the sweetest thing! *terharu - blurry eyes* T.T I shed my growing tears and sincerely thanked them :)

>> hopefully i can upload the cake's pic soon! <<

We said a little pray, ate the birthday cake together, then ate (this eating thing went continuously) lalapan with sambal and chicken my mom made, then ate more cake while watching Penelope. When we went to Karawaci to (originally) accompany Chikha to go on air, we (with no purpose at all!) ended eating more cakes and bakso :P More eating in the midnite... sipping fresh advocado juice and eating Nasi Goreng Keju Korned alias Juned! I never thought that we would ate so much that day!

A dear friend whose call/text have been awaited the whole day finally called me around 22.00. Two more hours to go, then i will not forgive you, girl!!! But another loved one failed to remember my birthday, as always :'(

July 20 - The closing time
The initial plan was to go to Blitz and watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! There was no line up for the day. Well almost all of friends have watched HP 6 on the weekend. We watched in Auditorium1, the big one. The place reminds me of Pathe, the grote zaal, and my movie adventure back in Holland. Anyway, the movie ticket worth the price of IDR 50,000 - a price that's considered quite high for Indonesian. A little note about the movie: Hermione's hair is getting better, i guess she uses hair mousse now. And Ginny.. she's taller than Harry!

The plan was accomplished with no harm done :) and I am so happy! Just a movie, a plate of Hoka-Hoka Bento, and a little chit chat before we all went home. Too bad Ari, you weren't there.
It was a lovely way to spend a long weekend, indeed.

I traveled to Sukabumi last weekend with Chika and Ruben. A culinary trip - that's how we call it hehehe :)

It was my first ever trip to Sukabumi (the city) and to actually stay there for the night. Usually i only passed through Sukabumi without ever really enjoying the food, etc there. Where is Sukabumi, anyway? Take a look at this pic below.


Sukabumi is a vast region within West Java province. According to Wikipedia,

"Sukabumi is a city located about 80 km (50 miles) south of the national capital, Jakarta. At an altitude of approximately 600 meters (2000 feet), the city is a minor hill station resort, with a cooler climate than the surrounding lowlands."

We went there by car from Jakarta on Friday night. We transited in Bogor, grabbed some stuffs and continued our midnight travel. We spent approximately 2-3 hours on the road.I can still recall the road as it is the same road that we took to go to Ujung Genteng (UGe). Aaaaw.. I miss Uge summer trip even more :'(

Back to Sukabumi!
I gained several pounds by just spending 2 days at Sukabumi! o_O'
Why? Because we ate 5-6 times a day! Noodles, batagor, yogurt, more noodles - all homemade.

kyahahahaha.. how can one resist all these food temptation???

Mie Cinco, with chopped grilled pork

Mie Yamien Pangsit Penganten :P~

I forgot to write this. Silly me.

Last week (May 2, 2009) my friend Yanto got married. Congratulation, btw!

No, I'm not gonna talk about how sacred the mass was.. nor how hype the wedding reception was. I'm gonna say something about the Wedding Organizer (WO). The WO was, in fact, Chika and I *this is me being proud*

Initially, we were only there to support Yanto's wedding... what he should and should not do; how to arrange this and that; fixing the D-day schedule and so on. But then it went on and on and on... Soon we realized that we were taking care of (almost) the whole aspect of the wedding! kyahahahaha

Even the bride and the groom were not as panic and as hectic as us (-.-)' ~nyeeeeh...
From schedule to seating arrangement to wedding singer to being just plain-pscyho-friend-having-fun-at-other-friend's-wedding girl.

and of course the wedding photo with friends -
always the silly one

That wedding was our debute to become a (possible) real wedding organizer hahahaha
Not bad... not bad at all ;)

Siapa sih yang tak suka mengenang masa lalu alias bernostalgia? Memori-memori baik yang menyenangkan mau pun tidak menyenangkan yang telah kita simpan dengan rapi di bilik-bilik otak kita memang selayaknya sesekali kita kunjungi. Sekedar untuk melepas rindu dan sebagai materi pembelajaran dalam hidup.

Saat ini, di situs paling hot di Indonesia saat ini, Facebook, network saya sedang berbondong-bondong meng-upload foto lama atau lebih afdol kalau disebut foto-foto jadul (= jaman dulu). Mulai dari foto-foto SMA (maklum, saya masih termasuk kalangan 20-something sehingga masa kuliah belum dianggap jadul), foto-foto SMP, dan foto-foto SD! Rasanya menarik sekali melihat begitu banyak perubahan yang terjadi di antara teman-teman sendiri.

Ada yang dulu gemuk, sekarang menjadi kurus. Ada pula kebalikannya. Ada yang dulu terlihat sangat cupu (= culun punya) sekarang menjadi seorang fashionista. Ada yang dulu masih sangat lugu ternyata sekarang sudah berkeluarga. Ada yang terlihat biasa-biasa saja, ternyata sekarang sudah melanglang buana. Ada yang dulu begitu popular di sekolah, sekarang menghilang entah kemana. Beragam cerita bisa kita sambung-sambungkan sendiri yang akhirnya berubah menjadi gosip kalangan tertentu.

Jangan salah, saya juga termasuk pencinta hal-hal yang berbau nostalgia. Pada fase saat ini, saya merindukan teman-teman saya dari SD/SMP saya di AMBON. Sepuluh tahun sudah berlalu, begitu banyak yang telah berubah. Begitu banyak pula yang tidak berubah.

Ayo tebak. Saya yang mana?

Entah mengapa, kami anak-anak Ambon ini cukup terikat satu dengan yang lain. Rasanya 10 tahun itu hanya sekejap mata. Lulusan SD Xaverius A2 dan SMP Katolik Ambon banyak yang telah berkarir dan berdomisili di Jakarta, Surabaya, dan Manado. Yang masih setia bolak-balik ke Ambon pun masih ada.

Untuk sedikit mengobati rasa rindu, kami meng-upload foto-foto masa kecil yang masih tersisa (banyak yang telah menjadi abu karena kerusuhan di Ambon tahun 1999). Terkadang, kami yang tinggal di Jakarta menyempatkan diri bertemu walau hanya beberapa jam. Makan, mengobrol dengan bahasa Ambon (tentunya), dan saling update berita-berita teman terbaru: siapa yang akan menikah, siapa yang menjadi apa, siapa yang tinggal dimana, dll. Sayang saya belum sempat menilik teman-teman yang di Surabaya.

Wah, sudah 10 tahun berlalu ya... *jumpalitan*
Mungkin sudah tepat saatnya untuk REUNI akbar!?

----
update 29 March 2010!

Yang mau kangen-kangenan (khususnya Angkatan 1996) bisa gabung di Facebook group :)

P.S. SD Xaverius now is even on Foursquare! ;)

So my dear friend bea "tricked" me into this runaway trip :P
here's my lil notes along the way...

Day 1: Feb 20 - Melbourne
Arrived in Melbourne airport around 9 am local time. The time difference with Indo is 4hours prior. Funny, i didn't really feel like i'm abroad. My first impression about the airport is even funnier, i felt like i'm in Kupang... with it's deserted bushes etc. The only difference is that the air is fresher and cooler compared to Jakarta.

Nothing special about the city, too. With its high way, and metropolis look of high rise buildings and towers, i feel like i'm still driving trough the SBD area of Sudirman and Kuningan. Weird, huh? I suddenly feel something i've never really experience before.. homesick about Jakarta. only a little dose of it.

Soon after we arrived at Raymond's apartment. That so called homesick feeling is gone and replaced by Kruidenhof-homesick as the apartment resembles the one we used to live in Diemen.

Day 2: Feb 21 - Melbourne & Sdyney
Woke up at 11 something after a very deep sleep! After a brief breakfast and a refreshing shower, we started packing for Sydney and Goldcoast. Our 6 pm flight was quite rock n roll hahaha as well as our taxi ride to Westend backpacker hostel by Pitt and Campbell street.

I fell in love at the first sight with Sydney. The city in general reminded me of Madrid :) in some ways. After dropping our luggage we started walking (in the rain, good that we brought umbrellas) for about 30-45 minutes towards The Rock area. Pancakes on The Rock was our ultimate destination that night. What a bliss.. the food was delicious and worth queuing for. With our belly full of fruit pancakes, tandori pizza, and mexican rolls we strolled to the harbour to witness the famous opera house and harbour bridge (plus the ever grand arcadia cruise ship) in the glimmering night. It's actually nice to talk and to greet random people we bumped into. Realizing that it's midnite already we walked back to the hostel.

2 am and it's time for us to crash.

yes, i heart sydney.

Day 3: Feb 22 - Sydney
We started the day at 10 something by walking to the Chinatown to have our big breakfast... a gigantic portion of fried rice ala something. There on we entered Paddy market, Sydney's traditional market, just for window shopping. Our walk got us into Hyde park and St. Mary's Cathedral in the heart of the city. Considering it's Sunday, we walked towards the church just to find that the Eucharist was just over. However, i had a picture with the bishop! This is me being religious :P

We strolled down to Circular Quay to enjoy the day view of the Opera house etc. It was freaking hot! PFFFF... So we decided to catch the bus to get to Darling harbour. With big and small boats spread across the area, the place was awesome. Our booked dinner at Hurricane grill restaurant was gigantic and full of meat! well, at least for me. Suffering from over eating, we enjoyed the night scenery of Darling harbour.

The headache i got from hot-cold temperature that day was killing me so i skipped late Starbucks and preferred to swallowed my medicine and sleep as soon as we got to our room.

Day 4: Feb 23 - Sydney & Gold Coast
My headache seemed to ease this morning. We actually ate our yesterday's takeaway breakfast :P With fulfilled belly, we walked to Hyde park to catch bus 380 to get to Bondi beach. Good thing that we're blessed with sunny sky and good weather (not too hot, not too cold, perfect for beach-walking).

The beach itself was pretty: cool water, high tide. Suitable for surfers and wave-catchers. Phew I instantly imagined my friends running happily catching tides in this very beach. or maybe they would prefer to watch them girls with bikinis instead hahaha

Our big fat lunch was a large pack of fish and chips, Aussie's style, accompanied with the interestingly sweet and sour taste of seafood sauce. Next in line was our dessert: the infamous deep fried mars bars - the one and only! even i, a non mars bar lover, have to say that this food is brilliant!! They had the mars bars covered in batter. As the bar was fried, the choc and caramel inside melted while the outside looked shinny in oil. When one crunched the bar, the melted choc and caramel touched the taste buds and brought one the ultimate pleasure.

After another dip in the water, we went back to the city... getting ready to got in to the plane to gold coast.

The time difference between Sydney and Gold coast was quite funny/disturbing. 1,5hours since Gold Coast does not apply the daily saving time thingy. Quite exhausted from our little trip to Bondi, we got ourselves to our next accommodation: Islander hotel. oh, btw thirza did not join us to Goldcoast. Leaving bea, raymond, olaf, and me wandered around in Surfer's Paradise that night. After a not-so-decent-pizza at La Porchetta that evening, we headed to the beach (of course!) to feel the extra smooth sands slipping through our toes. Clear sky, too.

Day 5: Feb 24 - Gold Coast
It's DREAMWORLD!!! and it's not crowded at all :P

We dragged out sleepyhead and rode Cyclone (roller-coaster) first. Ouw the thrills and drills, my head hurted even more. Feeling a little sick, we continued to Wipe out located next to Cyclone. Wipe out resembles Tornado in Dufan (or, apparently... vice versa).

to be written...

Day 6: Feb 25 - Gold Coast
It's MOVIEWORLD!!!

to be written...

February 14, or as most people refer as Valentine's Day is the day for lovers, for love, for teens, when any irrational (read = utterly stupid) actions are allowed and considered in the forbidden name of love. It also means a lot of candy hearts and "I-Love-You"s and fluffy pink stuffs which badly pokes me in the eyes.

So I rather spent my Feb 14 with friends. Let me describe the ambient: my all time favourite Javachip Frappe tasted so indulging in my tongue, while we girls blabbered about good things (and bad things, too) as the smooth live jazz music soothed our ears.
Too bad Ari couldn't tag along.

Ck came with these cute cupcakes :)
Rasanya pengen diliat2in aja.. gak usah dimakan.

/KILL!
Seperti kata Zee, kita emang lebih jago pose camen daripada pose manis.

Oh, here's something cute i found while browsing at Zee's journal. This post is too good i am obliged to re-post it here.
Medically Speaking of Love by Zee.
When the object of my affection walks by...
This is what I feel:
My heart falls into my stomach and splashes my innards. All the moisture makes me sweat profusely. When the brain burns out altogether, the mouth disengages and I babble like a cretin until he leaves.
*sayup sayup terdengar lagu it's good to be in love by Frou Frou*

- - -

I am content that i decided to spend the day with you guys.
God knows how h e a v y my heart that day...