The Giant Candle...

Once upon a time...

me (m) : Let's hang out!

friend (f) : Yesss...where to?!
m : Dunno...anywhere

f : Hmm...I'd like to go to the National Monument, bcoz, don't laugh, I've never been to the top....
m : Huahahahahhaha....you haven't??!

f : You have?

m : Hell, yeah..! (In elementary school)

As it turned out, I kept forgetting and asking what it's like and how get to the top.

Shame shame!

lilin emasnya mana ya?

over the top...

Istiqlal Mosque from the top

attack of the Giant..

Best Finding: Black CursePurse

Iam a huge fan of purses and wallets. I sort of collect them, all brands, from the original to the non-original ones. From leather to plastics. I just love them....

Yesterday, while running errands in Blok M Area, I spotted this black vinyl leather cursepurse for only 20,000 rups!

I know...I know, it is a replica of an expensive brand. Well, ok, fakey...But, it has many pockets and card holders!

In my eyes, it looks glamorous!

What da ya think?

Charles & Keith-is purse

Cover Your Closet

My latest DIY project would be this old (and ugly) cupboard of my brother's that he still keeps in my so-called walking closet (room). Seriously, I really wanted to just get rid off this, but the wood is still in great condition, except that my brother drew things on it when he was young.

don't you just wanna to remove this thang?!

don't you just wanna to remove this thang?!

Instead of re-furnishing and painting it, which would cost some, I tore pages from some fashion mags that have goods pics to cover the bad scratches. Using double tape, I stuck them on the two doors of the cupboard. Yes, it may take quite some time and hours, but I just need to be patient and meticulous displaying them.

pick mag pages with best pics. Preferably, not printed ads with many writings

I chose both color and BW pics for the cover, although total BW pics are better (but they're not easy to find, aren't they?).

self-photos are also good

I admit it is not so exceptional, but I am pretty much satisfied with the result. At least I don't have to spend money to do so. Free and simple!

ps. I'm still figuring out how to make the big black suitcase above the board look better (or how to throw it??)

Best Finding: Cute Display

To be honest, I am not quite sure what these are. My sister said those are candle-brackets, but...really??

I'd say those are simply cute slim-female decorations that you could display on tables or desk or else. Whatever they are, I got these from (again) Oke Doku for 6,000 rup only each. I put them on my file container, next to my (real) candle-bracket I have earlier. I accented with green plastic tray to bring more color.

Trashy to Flashy

When going through my computer archives the other day, I spotted a box of old floppy discs that were still in my desk at home. Oh my, I completely forgot that I still kept them! Yes, still can't believe it myself.
I was about to dispose the floppies, when this idea came across my mind of making a use of them. Hmm...

 I tore the discs apart and took the black round plastic plates from inside. 




 They looked like mini phonograph records.

I put double tape on and stuck them on the drawers of my plain greenish file plastic container in my sanctuary, and, ....

My container no longer looks boring! Yihaa...!

Tools: Floppy disc, scissor, double tape

Earring Net

I just bought this table tennis net from the all-6000rup-item shop - Oke Doku (seriously, you ACTUALLY can find good inspiring cheap items here for your home) - that I thought maybe would be useful in my sanctuary (bedroom that is) which I planned to re-decorate.

I decided to use it for my earring collection that I haven't yet well organized.

How?

Simple,...

• Prepare the table tennis net. Fold it and tie the net bands to a hanger. Just like that!



• Then hang the tip of earrings on the net.



• Add some accessories to the hanger to give a bit of arty look to the hanger. In this case, I hang my sunglasses on the hanger.



• I also put my big bracelet and band into the net.

Voila!

Coincidently, it matches my sanctuary's wall color!

Stories Behind

Merlion. Salah satu landmark ngetop Singapore, perpaduan antara singa dan mermaid atau duyung.

Kalo ini perpaduan antara manusia dan air, kami menyebutya Merdini, ... alter ego of my sister Dini.

Naik Singapore Flyer di malam hari lebih disarankan (entrance fee: SGD 29, tapi buat turis beli 2 gratis 1, tinggal nunjukin paspor). Kita masuk kapsul Flyer barengan dgn pasangan Korea (trust me, I know how they sound) yg baru nginjekin kaki dah syur takesyur saling motret2 (tanpa niat berinteraksi). As much as I love Korean stuff, sebel jg sih ngeliat itu. Huh, kita jg bisa poto2! *nyolot gak jelas*.

Langsung gue ngeluarin tripod dan menyuruh kakak2 gue berfoto mesra. Cekkreekk...
Wadoh gelap...

Tiba2 aa ide cemerlang, gue nyalain senter dari hape dan minta keponakan gue utk megang dan menerangi kakak2 gue. Cekreekk...Berhasil! Lumayan dpt beberapa shot.

Pada akhirnya...

Cowo korea-nya mendekati kami dan minta difoto berdua istrinya pake kamera gue, tapi memory card-nya dari dia. Dia mau bayar untuk itu (aga ga jelas sih ngomong apa, tapi udah siap2 megang dompet), karena mereka lagi honeymoon. Huuuu....

Yah dasar ga tega, gue foto deh...

(tapi gue siksa sedikit dgn koreografi yg aneh2 hihihihi)

Clark Quay (baca: Klark Ki), tempat hang out yg enak bgt. Di peta, dr tempat nginep kita di Sommerset Road cukup jauh, naek taksi deh. Ga taunye...ngggeeengg...cciiiitttt. nyampe! Yaelah...(naek bajaj jg bisa kalo di Jakarta, 12rb kali hehe).

Awalnya berniat ke tempat makan gaul Chijmes. Krn liyer letaknya, kita menanyakan lokasinya ke segerombolan anak muda, yg nunjuk ke kiri mengarah ke menara suatu gereja.

"Isn't that a church?" tanya kita

"Yes, it used to be..." kata mereka.

Jalan...jalan...lho kok tempat gaul sepi?? Ah masuk..lho...ini mah mang gereja beneran! St. Andrew's Cathedral. Trnyata, Chijmes ada di arah kanan anak2 td. Siauull...

Expensive Lion

Dapet juga kesempatan jalan2 ke Singapore bareng keluarga (as in my sis, bro-in-law and niece) beberapa waktu lalu. Kata orang, negara bersih and rapih. Bener, tapi juga muahaal2 (utk ukuran negara Asia Tenggara), dan ini juga diakui oleh orang Singapura sendiri.

Saat foto2 (dgn gembira ria norak hehe) di daerah Fullerton, kita didekati oleh bapak2 yang udah jalannya aga terbungkuk2...

"Where do you come from?"
"Indonesia"
"Why do you come here (Singapore)?"

Lah..emang ga boleh?


"Because it's...beautiful...clean," serentak kita jawab.
"But, it's expensive here...," sambil bapak itu tertawa ngeloyor.

Hahaha...curcol.

Juga obrolan kita dgn supir taxi keturunan Tionghoa tp bisa bahasa Melayu campur2 Inggris.

"Kalo untu pusing2 ka Singapo bollela, but stay, no....expensive!" Kita senyum2 mengangguk...

Diapun terus ngoceh ttg kehidupan mahal di Singapore. Kita hny bisa mantuk2 dengerin curhatannya (abis heboh sendiri sih, jd ga bisa jawab hihi). Dia mengibaratkan earn 4 spend 5. Tapi gitu2 dia mengagumi presiden kita SBY. Hehe seneng jg sih dengernya, dan...

"...and that's Pak Mo...," sambil nunjuk ke arah kiri.

Eh, apa tadi? say what?? Pak Mo? (Bu Mo-nya mana?? hihihi).
Kitapun menoleh ke arah kiri...Park Mall di daerah Fort Canning Park.
*nahan ketawa*


jadi, intinya Singapore mahal toh, tapi...kenapa masih bnyak ya orng Indonesia yg singgah ke negara ini?? *sambil lirik diri sendiri...oopss*



Apapun pendapatnya, sepertinya Singapore masih jadi negara tetangga favorit utk dikunjungi.

Still...hope I'll come back and have more fun, like I had this time with my family...amen.

Baliwood

Menjelang rencana cuti liburan, gue dpt kabar kalo gue n satu temen kantor disuruh salah satu Bos Besar ikut beliau utk membantu dalam sebuah event di Denpasar, Bali. Wadoooh!

Paniiikk...krn blm jelas kapan hrs brangkat dan eventnya pasti lama, smntara bentar lg cuti. Ga lucu aja tiba2 cuti batal....tidaaaakkkkk!!

Ternyata paman untung msh menjadi temen gue, dipastikan gue (dan temen) brangkat pas seminggu sblm gue cuti dan akan menghabiskan 6 hari di Bali. Berarti....abis dr Bali langsung cabut cuti libur lg dong...yippeeyy!

2 hari pertama di Bali disibukkan dgn wara wiri ngurusin event (sambil curi2 nongkrong2 sih hehe), dan hari ke-3 (saat mulai dihinggapi kebosanan krn ke Bali kok kerja sih huhuhu) mulai ga jelas statusnya, krn event akbar yg sepatutnya diselenggarakan pd hari ke-4 dst terancam gagal. Walaupun gt wara wiri tetep berjalan...

Paman untung kembali main, ternyata event akbar tsb diputuskan hny sbg exhibition di hari ke-4, itupun stengah hari...yippeeyy (again)!

Day4, D-Day, Free Day

Tugas gue n temen selesai lbh dulu drpd pengurus lain, ya udah akirnya malah cabut dan kegirangan krn hari2 berikutnya bakal bisa bebaaass....yippeyy (again again)!!

Dgn menyewa mobil (dan driver), kita putusin ke Uluwatu. Menuju Ulutawatu, kita mampir di GWK *asli gue kok takut ya liat patung Wishnu* dan Pak Kadek, driver kita, mengusulkan ke Padang Padang, secluded beach, yg dia bilang banyak bule topless...wadaoow. Dan benar...seenak udelnya aja mereka ganti bikini dan celana renang disitu.

Bule2 yg pd sunbathing nengok panjang pas kita lewat. Sementara mereka berbikini dan tlenji2, gue n temen bs dibilang pakain 'tertutup' utk ukuran mereka hihihi. Yaah mana kepikir bisa sempet maen ke pantai tlenji gini?!

Pantai Tlenji...eh Padang Padang

Mendekati sore, kita ke Uluwatu. Kita didampingi masuk oleh Pak Kadek. Kita jg nonton Tari Kecak. Cukup mahal sekitar Rp. 100rb, tapi gapapa deh. Sekali2 bayar mahal demi budaya negeri sendiri, cieeh...

Lagi menunggu persiapan Tari Kecak, tiba2 Pak Kadek melambai2 manggil sembari nunjuk ke arah langit senja. Ohmigod! beautiful sunset! Thx Pak Kadek...

The Sunset Uluwatu - As recommended by Pak Kadek...

Tari Kecaknya cukup menghibur, banyak bule2 terkesan. Selepas itu, dinner at Jimbaran. Romantique...sayang bgt perginya ama temen *lirik sebel* hehehe.


Tari Kecak and Hanoman in style

my (not so) romantic dinner at Jimbaran with friend *Ugh..*

Dan seterusnya...

Besoknya ke Tampak Siring. Sayang gue lagi berhalangan jd ga bisa masuk kedalam Pura huhuhu. Udah siang, kita mampir minum kelapa muda di Kintamani. Ada anak kecil bule nanyain apa sih yg kita minum. Dia bingung kita kok minum dari batok kelapa gt...hihihi.

Above: G. Batur - G. Agung - Down: A couple at Seminyak beach

Kita mampir juga di Telaga Awang, yaitu deretan sawah teras. Yg lucu, pas turun dari mobil di lokasi ini, para pedagang suvenir mengrubungi gue sambil berseru "One Dollar...one Dollar!!" Oopps..dikira gue bule! *thx to my buceri-ness* So dgn iseng gue jawab "No, thank you..." dgn aksen ala cinca lawrra hihihi.

Sempet juga kita ke Ubud dan Seminyak (dua minyak..tiga minyak hehe). Karena agak mendung, liat pantai Seminyak serasa lihat pantai tak berujung. How lovely...

Proud to have all these in my country.
Hope I'll come back...

ps. Pelajaran bg kita semua, utk selalu mencintai negeri ini...

pps. Pelajaran bg kita semua *eh gue deng hehe*, walaupun judulnya kerja/tugas ke Bali, HARUS TETAP bawa bikini or setidaknya baju pantai sebenarnya...

Roadtrip: Pangandaran

Gue, ei dan yiyin berencana ke Pantai Pangandaran dgn cara ngeteng alias naek transportasi umum, dari kota Tasikmalaya.

Kita naeik bis yg lewat depan Yogya Mall, Tasik. Gue pikir bis menuju ke Pangandaran adalah bis AC ala Prima Jasa gitu, ga taunya pas dateng tuh bis, kaget...krn mirip kopaja/metro mini di Jakarta, dgn biaya Rp. 25.000, selama 3 jam perjalanan, plus bakal lewatin perbukitan berkelok2. Kebayang kan...kursi ala Kopaja yg muat buat 1 1/2 orang, dan...gue kebagian 1/2nya, yg bikin gue pun separuh nyawa, eh...separuh kaki deng. Doweengg....

Mo tidur jg ga bs, mo dengerin mp3...keganggu suara2 'jeruk..jeruk...aqua..aqua...tahu...tahu' dibeberapa pitstop. Suara2 itu ga akan berlalu kalo kita ga jawab tidak atau geleng. Arrgh...

Stlah pan**t panas dan tepos, akhirnya nyampe jg jam 1an di terminal kompleks pantai, tapi...kok pantainya ga keliatan??

Setelah nanya2 (ei sih yg nanya krn kepiawian berbahasa Sunda), kita harus naik becak dl Rp. 10.000 tuk ke pantai. Bisa jalan tp terima kasih...saya sudah pegal! *mulai nada tinggi*

Genjot...jot...jot...tring! nemu deh pantai Pangandaran
Sayang, sedikit gagal, karena udara mendung, dan setelah 1 jam malah hujan. Oh no...



Walaupun gitu, tetep seneng sih krn adanya bau laut bikin jd udara sejuk.....hmmm...exhale...inhale...

*sniff sniff*

Tunggu...bau apa nih?
Whoaa....Kudaa.



Karena satu dan lain hal (baca: telat bangun jdnya nyampe sini dah siang bgt deh huh!), kita ga bisa lama2 disini. Selain hujan, juga bis terakhir menuju Tasikmalaya adalah jam 15.00. Buru2 deh ke Terminal bisnya...Hampir aja dah mau berangkat.

Di perjalanan pulang, gue milih duduk di belakang pak sopir (yang sedang bekerja...*kyk lagu*) biar bisa tidur dgn tenang...Zzzzzz...

Hope I'll come back...

Tasik's One Best

Satu hal yang selalu membuat gue kangen utk ke Tasikmalaya, yang sebenar bahkan bukan kampung halaman gue, adalah....Bakmi Sari Rasa.

Temen gue, ei, yg pertama kali memperkenalkan tempat makan ini. Ei yang mang asal Tasik selalu menggebu2 kalo lagi cerita ttg bakmie ini. Awalnya dulu menanggapinya sih biasa aja, tapi begitu mencoba...weleh...nambah truuss! Dan itu sudah 10 thn yg lalu.

Ketika tempo hari, kembali ei mengajak ke Tasik, gue dah wanti2 tempat ini harus masuk agenda liburan kita. Rasanya 'woohooo!' bisa kesitu lagi, dan gue pikir krn sudah 10 thn yg dulu mud...ah masih kuat nambah, skrng ga bakal lagi dong...tp ya ternyata.......*tebak sendiri*

Yum...yumm...

Bakmi Sari Rasa yang terletak di Pasar Ciheudeng di pusat kota Tasikmalaya, ini sbnarnya sama sih kyk bakmi2 yg laen tp apa yaa....rasanya medok plus sambelnya beda mirip2 sambel bajak merah gt plus pake daging cincang. Mie-nya sendiri pun konon buat sendiri, ga beli jadi. Semangkuk kalo ga salah sekitar Rp. 12.000,-. Duh, mantab...