2009 Wrapup
7:54 am
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
To all my beloved friend
Back in Surabaya
3:52 pm
The city of great, super tasty, cheap food!So far I've had my food orgasm having eaten Bebek Goreng Palupi, Tahu Campur and various delicious Chinese
So I finished my commitment on the book project in the end of October. December marks the month as
Clumsiness of the Day
7:21 pm
Don't you miss my clumsy stories?Well, I thought I had taken that label off of me long time ago since I have become fully efficient, organized and careful.Not
Festival Jajanan Bango
11:08 pm
This post is to give you an advance notice that I will be submitting posts in Bahasa Indonesia in the next couple of weeks in relation with my wish to
3:06 pm
Okay, after so many denials and much reluctance on joining different social networking sites (except
I'm not sure whether it is wise to be friends with your boss.There are indeed a lot of positivity that can be gained to cheer up the working environment.
Photoblog
12:12 pm
Sorry for the long delay. Life has been mysteriously hectic (that includes the fascination over TV series Lost and Prison Break so I couldn't get myself
It took me 3 days to finally see the view from my hotel room at Hermes Palace. Wasn't bad, but wasn't exactly spectacular, either.
Work
It was hectic today. Fabio and I were at breakfast at 8 something when he got a call that 2 luxurious hotels in Jakarta were bombed. They were the Ritz Carlton Hotel and J.W. Marriott Hotel.
Speculations emerged soon after the bombing which killed 9 people, 2 of them being completely destroyed. Some security analysts said that although it was too early to decide who was behind this, there was a possibility that Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) was behind this. Politicians linked the bombing to the election since it was just a little while ago the Presidential election of Indonesia was conducted.
In the mean time, Indonesian football enthusiasts were deeply disappointed and angered by the occurence that soon after the news went worldwide, famous English club Manchester United had to cancel their trip to Indonesia given the fact that they were supposedly to be staying in Ritz Carlton hotel.
So we spent the day going for rounds of live interviews with the government of Aceh while in the mean time making calls to some analysts so that Fabio could write it in the 30 minutes to one hour window time he had within one interview and another.
Change of ticket
We survived the day, nevertheless. And I've decided to stay longer to see more of Aceh. Vincent did not like the idea, but I hardly saw anything during my three-day stay. I just had to change my Garuda ticket so that I could go home on Sunday.
World Bank Aceh staff
I like them. They're sweet, friendly, very accommodating, and helpful. Some of them like photography and so I shared some of photography tips with them and they almost immediately thought that I was a pro photographer.
"I am not," I said, "But I will be."
That's a positive thing to say about your future career. Hehe...
This is Dhea. She works at the front office and she definitely has an interesting face. I also found out that Dhea and the other WB girls seemed to collect cute stuff and display them on their desks. Look at this one over here.
Food
One of the most important things in my travel is the specialty food of the region I'm visiting. I made some research in advance and decided that I wanted to eat Ayam Tangkap, just because of its name. Ayam means chicken and Tangkap (verb) means to catch. Wasted name like that caught my interest. I mean of course you have to catch the chicken first before you kill it and cook it, right? Anyway, below is Ayam Tangkap.
Review: I have to go rough this time, I'm sorry. But ayam tangkap is not that much of a special food. It consists of small pieces of chicken that are deepfried along with some herbs of I don't remember what kind (I don't think I've ever heard it before). I liked the fried greens but the chicken was just.... ordinary.
WorkIt was hectic today. Fabio and I were at breakfast at 8 something when he got a call that 2 luxurious hotels in Jakarta were bombed. They were the Ritz Carlton Hotel and J.W. Marriott Hotel.
Speculations emerged soon after the bombing which killed 9 people, 2 of them being completely destroyed. Some security analysts said that although it was too early to decide who was behind this, there was a possibility that Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) was behind this. Politicians linked the bombing to the election since it was just a little while ago the Presidential election of Indonesia was conducted.
In the mean time, Indonesian football enthusiasts were deeply disappointed and angered by the occurence that soon after the news went worldwide, famous English club Manchester United had to cancel their trip to Indonesia given the fact that they were supposedly to be staying in Ritz Carlton hotel.
So we spent the day going for rounds of live interviews with the government of Aceh while in the mean time making calls to some analysts so that Fabio could write it in the 30 minutes to one hour window time he had within one interview and another.
Change of ticket
We survived the day, nevertheless. And I've decided to stay longer to see more of Aceh. Vincent did not like the idea, but I hardly saw anything during my three-day stay. I just had to change my Garuda ticket so that I could go home on Sunday.
World Bank Aceh staff
I like them. They're sweet, friendly, very accommodating, and helpful. Some of them like photography and so I shared some of photography tips with them and they almost immediately thought that I was a pro photographer.
"I am not," I said, "But I will be."
That's a positive thing to say about your future career. Hehe...
This is Dhea. She works at the front office and she definitely has an interesting face. I also found out that Dhea and the other WB girls seemed to collect cute stuff and display them on their desks. Look at this one over here.
FoodOne of the most important things in my travel is the specialty food of the region I'm visiting. I made some research in advance and decided that I wanted to eat Ayam Tangkap, just because of its name. Ayam means chicken and Tangkap (verb) means to catch. Wasted name like that caught my interest. I mean of course you have to catch the chicken first before you kill it and cook it, right? Anyway, below is Ayam Tangkap.
Review: I have to go rough this time, I'm sorry. But ayam tangkap is not that much of a special food. It consists of small pieces of chicken that are deepfried along with some herbs of I don't remember what kind (I don't think I've ever heard it before). I liked the fried greens but the chicken was just.... ordinary.
Aceh Day Two
1:04 pm
Those are some pictures I took on day two. It was a busy day and I didn't go out much. I've got one
Aceh Day One
4:06 pm
Half Day Journey.So I'm in Aceh for work. Wednesday, the 15th I left my house at 5 o'clock to catch
This is too hilarious to be missed.
The video shows the Air New Zealand crews explaining how to use the safety tools in the airplanes. It is a common procedure for every airline to do this before the plane takes off. What is different from Air New Zealand's video is that the crews were all naked. What looks to be uniforms they are wearing is actually bodypainting.
This trick works its wonder as now more people on board are paying attention to what air safety is and how to use it.
Have you ever got to the point that you thought you were helpless and had no power at all about something?I'm feeling that at the moment.A friend, a
Blogging in English
7:17 am
Michelle Udem, an intern reporter from the Jakarta Globe - an English-language newspaper in Jakarta
Fail Translation
7:07 am
I've attended 3 classes of French course at Alliance Francais Denpasar and I was already bragging to Vincent's friends, Pascal and Briggite, that I speak
Ricardo Evers
9:34 am
Even at the time I'm writing this piece, I still can't believe it happened. Not to someone with such
Reality Check
11:41 am
Life is so short.After my friend Pierre Flaneur died at the age of 30 last year of a heart failure, I am not convinced that age determines our lifeline.The
I know a few of very strong people who got down on their knees and cried after they watched this video. It's very inspirational especially to those who experienced or did not experience this kind of love from their father. And I hope there are fathers out there who can see this video and be moved to do more for their children.
Favourite Quote of the Month
4:16 pm
I stole it from a friend who posted this quote on her facebook status, which says:"If you want to do something wrong, do it right."I absolutely agree
48 Hours in Bali
8:25 pm
The article I worked so hard for the Vietnamese East and West magazine is up! Both in prints and online.
Photography: The Attitude
7:43 am
I have a few accounts in some photography sites like DeviantArt (DA), UseFilm and Fotografer.net (FN).
Gardening
9:57 am
I'm terrible at gardening. I mean I never bothered to try. Just to imagine how dirty my hands would
Buku Carla Launched
1:58 pm
Youtube link is taken from Indonesia Matters
Ilham Anas, Indonesian Obama's look-alike, is delivering his "speech" in this very short video.
Don't embarrass Indonesia in the next Presidential election! "Jangan Bikin Malu 2009!"
PS: You need to understand Bahasa a little bit to get the fun from this video.
First Photo Published at SCMP
10:19 am
Fabio assigned me to go to this Buddha relic exhibition at the Buddha Dharma Vihara, Sunset Rd, about
Gerindra's Campaign
6:43 am
So, the first part of the Indonesian legislative election is almost over. The air and atmosphere of
I've been practising to write articles in Bahasa Indonesia lately. I thought it would be a huge challenge
I found a very interesting thing today. To me at least.I used to monitor www.luwaran.com quite regularly
Babu Ngeblog
6:45 am
I have not read a lot for a while. But I did read the last book of Harry Potter, cookbooks (OK, might
In Her Own World
12:01 pm
As a child, I used to be so much absorbed in my own fantasy sci-fi world. Most of the plots would make
Winzz Music
6:07 am
While I'm getting more and more unproductive each day, Vincent is the other way around. He just made
Zain Verjee, a CNN newsreader had mistakenly reported that the Northwest Airlines was selling penis on flights.
What she actually had to say was that the US-based airlines was selling peanuts on the plane.
Unfortunately the slip of tongue did not happen only once, but three times during the telecast.
"Northwest began serving penis this month as its merger partner Atlanta-based Delta airlines has done for years," Verjee said.
Baked Spaghetti Fritata
5:12 am
Level: Even Sheila can do it without the instant bumbu.---This is so easy so that if you need to do
Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI)1 - Indonesian Ulema Council - rejected the gay meeting supposedly to be held in Palembang, South Sumatra, Sunday, 1 March
Kamanuel, Kamanuel!
11:12 am
What has always annoyed me since I moved in Bali in September 2007 is the HUGE challenge to find a place in Bali.First of all, the number of the houses
Bali is chosen
10:50 am
The poll has been closed for a while now. But we'd like to thank you very much for voting.So the question
Michelle in Bali
5:38 pm
Michelle has been in Bali for 3 weeks now. She mostly stays with her mother, but like twice or thrice
This song rocks!!! Listen to it and you're gonna love it!
The lyric taken from AZLYRICS:
"The Wine Song"
Song and melodies change and change
And sway
But they still stay the same
The songs that we sung when the dark days come
Are the songs that we sung when we chased them away
If I ever found a pot of gold
I'd buy bottles untold of the nectar of the vines
I'm going to die with a twinkle in my eye
'cause I sung songs spun stories loved laughed and drank wine
Tomorrow is another day
The cats are out to play, to play
That old rusty spaceship wants to sail
Into the milky way again
On a river of red red wine
Run...
(let's have some)
Fun...
(we'll)
Drink...
(a toast to the)
Sun...
In summer the bushfires rage and rage
And rage
On such beautiful days
And we fight them with water that runs through the cracks
Water we're desperately trying to save
So I'll just live on wine and water my vines
And sleep on the wind with the fires right behind
And sing on the beaches and dance through the night
Oh we'll cry 'pass the wine, pass the wine, pass the wine'
Run...
(let's have some)
Fun...
(we'll)
Drink...
(a toast to the)
Sun...
Oh what a beautiful day today!
Today's a day to celebrate
Grab your bucket, grab your spade
We're heading down to Half Moon Bay
I saw a plane go into a cloud
I'm drunk I'm happy I'm singing and loud
Two o'clock in the arvo, but hey that's allowed...
I'm having a good time and of that I am proud
