No one Ever Really Dies.

Their music is one of my favourite musics EVER!
They are not just another rockstars with HipHop/RnB/Urban touch who constantly shout out loud about the jetset life, the bootylicious girls, and the fast and the furious sport cars.. Their music somehow tickles our awareness about WORLD, human LIFE, the real thing that actually happen around us.. and mostly done in such an attractive composes!

Listen carefully to the song "Lap Dance". But first of all, you need to stop dancing - Yes, I know.. it's hard not to dance to this song. The lyric goes:

I'm just straight ill, ridin' my motorcycle down the streets 
While politicians is soundin' like strippers to me 
They keep sayin' but I don't wanna hear it... 
"Oooh baby you want me? Well you can get this lap dance here for free."

Now that's catchy ;)

Their latest album, "Nothing" shares the stories about the downfall of western economy (the song "Sooner or Later") and the oil spill (the song "Life as a Fish"). Chad Hugo, Shae Haley, and Pharrell Williams are such great musicians, imho.

That's why i was so thrilled to know that they're coming to have a concert in Jakarta! Yes, especially after the major disappointment of the late cancelled concert on 2009. The most exciting part was that i WON a ticket to N.E.R.D. from a twitter quiz from @OZRadioJakarta @D_Makaveli and @BLADE_ID.

And of course, my personal interest to the oh-My-Hot Mr. Pharrell Williams and his music (with N.E.R.D, the Neptunes, and as a producer) is way beyond imagination. So yeah, I scream hysterically as i knew that i could come see the performance for FREE!

I went to the concert alone, wondering how great it is if my soul sistas @r3t4 and @beatajachja could also come along (apparently, one resides in Holland, and the other one suffered from diarrhea LOL).. Guess the URBANGOD heard me, and sent Ms. Shaula, a long lost highschool n college friend of mine, a huge fan of Snoop Dogg, to keep me company. I gasped in excitement as she called my name from afar! YAY!

As i walked around the venue when the gate was still closed, I look around and wonder... So, this is the Urban scene of Jakarta. Quite a disappointment for my concern. Is it the youngster who got no interest? OR is it the industry which suppresses the development of Urban and chooses (lousy) indo pop/Melayu instead? Anyway, the crowd in this niche and segmented market is allrite. We didnt go around pushing other people during the queues or on the (dance) floor. Although I did not approve the "BOO-HOO" yells of some people during RAN's (opening act) performance just because N.E.R.D. was not on stage just yet. That was just plain rude.

N.E.R.D. performed well that nite, even though Chad Hugo was not there. Too bad T.T
Highlight of the nite - besides me successfully GRABBED Pharrell while yelling frantically as he stood there in front of me, and also that brief moment when he took off his white tee *drolls* - was when Pharrell took a girl on to the stage! Yes, miracle does exist.. esp. for that girl.

The fact that the girl Pharrell chose to get on the stage was not some superhot-extrabootylicious with over-the-top make-up mama.. just a casual cutie with glasses and ponytail but actually sang most of N.E.R.D. songs.. makes me fall in love with N.E.R.D. and Pharrell even more! Now that's how a rock star acts! They also took a guy with N.E.R.D. tattooed on his buffy left arm.

Another funny thing, Pharrell looked quite puzzled when he saw a BRA thrown to the stage!! Does this happen often in any given urban/rock concert in Jakarta? Should i pick it up? Should i take the girl who thrown this bra to the stage? ---- Apparently, he left the bra there.. (most probably) longing to be touched. I wonder, was he thinking something like "ah.. the size is too small. not my type."? :P The bra owner was trying to get herself noticed (i saw her), yet failed. Who knows.. maybe she got lucky at the after-party.

Encore! Encore! and Lap Dance ends the show with a BANG! ;) Everyone left with a happy face. Yes, esp. the lucky girl who got to stage, danced, hug, kissed Pharrell and Shae, and got herself the white tee with Pharrell's autograph which she wore directly after the show. Whatta lucky beyotch!

Wanna know more about N.E.R.D.'s music? Here's one of the non-dancing and more to self-awareness songs from N.E.R.D's album "Nothing". Unfortunately, the song was not sung at the show.

N.E.R.D. - Life As A Fish



Viva la N.E.R.D.! ♥ ♥ ♥

Here are some (mixed) pics from some concerts i have ever attend :)

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 :)

Minggu malam, setelah menghabiskan wiken saya di karawaci bersama ck, rb, dd, dan yanto dan kekasihnya, saya pulang dan menyalakan televisi.

Klak, klik, klak, klik.
Then suddenly my eyes were fixed to an image of a man, wearing a wet white shirt, with his hypnotizing eyes and hypnotizing voice. ARIEL, tak lain dan tak bukan! Entah kenapa sosok Ariel saat itu begitu... menggugah! ;p hahahahahaha

PeterPan, yang katanya merupakan super band di Indonesia, menggelar konser terakhirnya di pantai karnaval Ancol minggu malam kemarin. Konser terakhir karena setelah ini mereka akan berganti nama. Saya biasanya biasa-biasa saja sama Peterpan, well... walaupun seringnya suka ngiler sendiri klo ngeliat Ariel hahahaha. Tapi konser pamungkas mereka itu memang benar-benar bagus! Saya bukan berbicara mengenai visual, lighting, ataupun tata panggung yang standard ala Indonesia. Saya berbicara mengenai kualitas - performa dan musikalitas yang tinggi dari Peterpan :)


Bintang tamu-nya juga pentolan-pentolan yang top saat ini. Ada Pasha "Ungu" [uhm.. he's alrite, but i dont really like his songs. Too... ordinary], Giring "Nidji" [he's great, man! keren lah pas duet sama Ariel], Ryan "dMasiv" [original!], dan yang paling ok ada Iwan Fals! Mantaaafffff lah pokoknya. Walopun nonton siaran langsung konsernya Peterpan sambil klak klik liat channel tipi laen, tetap saja konser ini patut diacungi jempol! MANTAFFF!


Ada satu scene yang memorable menurut saya. Saat Ariel menyanyikan lagu BINTANG DI SURGA seakan-akan dia menangis dalam kamuflase keringat yang bercucuran.



Saya rasa sih dia nanggis beneran... Lalu ia berlutut di tengah panggung, membelakangi penonton tetap sambil bernyanyi. Pada akhir lagu, Ariel merebahkan diri seolah pingsan dan terlelap. Saat kamera mengambil gambar dari atas, terlihat image Ariel terbaring di antara 2 sayap yang merupakan lambang peterpan. As if he's a fallen angel. NICE TOUCH!

Sukses untuk Peterpan!

*update
Watch the whole concert on Youtube :)
Sudah saya tularkan ke bea hahahahahaha

Tired, still.
Spent the whole day sleeping and sleeping and sleeping. Yet somehow my energy can not be well-restored! ha! Well, un-restored energy doesn't really keep me from going to Senci to meet Ulmie and Goldie hehehehe

Haven't met Ulmie for 2 years now, since she is still living in NL. She looked good, happy, and - she said this herself - gain a lil weight during her 3 weeks stay in Indo. She brought her bf, Iko si anak gaoool hahaha, who is apparently Sita's friend, too. We ate and chatted for approximately 3 hours there. It was a good catch-up :)

I skipped church the following morning, a thing that made my mom so furious. Well, i prefer sleeping in my own bed than sleeping in the middle of a mass. Doh! Am still in Uge after effect anyway; am not ready to go back to church >:)

So went back to sleep again. and again. and again. I forced myself to wake up and get prepared for Diana Krall's Concert in Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Pasific Place Jakarta :D [Lengkap tuh informasinya!] I adooooooore Diana Krall!

My precious Diana Krall ticket!

I got goosebumps when she got on to the stage. Golda and I [oh yeah, I watched the concert with Goldie and we accidentally met Natnat] got the middle row there, enjoyed every bit of the superb jazz performance! Oh how i ENVY those who got the platinum tickets for they might get the chance to have a cocktail after party with Diana Krall!!! Kya! I spotted several celebrities watching the concert, too.

Edric!! YES i spotted Edric. He walked pass me after the show. I was so stunned i couldn't say a word. And Goldie was not very helpful as she didn't really recognize Edric. Auw... he was so... uhm.. cute? Uhm cute is not the right word. He was so Edric! Sukaaaaaaaaa! Hope I can met you again, uhm maybe in Gading :P Ah, saya suka Edric.

And now i'm hungry again. I'll grab something, anything, to eat before crashing. Ciao!