But Life Goes On...

Yes it does, but that is what makes our loss much more intensely profound...because you're no longer here with us, Ma!

Sometimes, I wonder about the life that I used to have with you. A life full of laughter and happiness, where did it go, Ma? I hang on to every piece of evidence that I can get, yellowish pictures of your younger days, videos that had you on them, your handwriting, your old bags and clothes. Still, you're not here with us.

Now I don't cry as much as I did. But, some things are still bringing such pain into my heart. Memories of your last moment here, celebrating Christmas and Chinese New Year without you, things that I want to share with you but can't.

Oh well, Ma. I know that life will still go on. I've got so much things to do in this life. Things that I want to pass on to your grandchildren. Things that I learned from you.
But I wish you were here with us, Ma. I really do wish that with all my heart.

Look Ma, look at the pussy willow that I had for chinese new year. See all the leaves  that came out out of those branches? Spring has already come now...winter has passed! But how we miss you. So much..so much..

A thought about the big D

"Again?" that's what my maid said when I told her that I might come home late that day, as I needed to to for a funeral wake for a colleague's father-in-law. That's the second one in two weeks time. Yes, again! DEATH is part of life that is inevitable.

It's always so depressing to go for a funeral wake. We may not know the person, but we do feel for the family and relative left behind. And, like a routine, there will be talk on how it happens, and for the people who die because of certain illness, there will be talk about how the illness change the family life. Of course, there's always exceptional case, like my friend's grandmother who passed away peacefully in the age of 100, died in her sleep. But the last funeral that I attended, a 73-year-old who passed away because of lung cancer, was one of sad story. The cancer spread to the brain, the family did what they could, they sent him for radiotherapy, and that's after 1 year history of chemo. Part of his head was all black and burnt, but the saddest part of all, he suffered from memory loss. Not being able to remember the family, his reasons to staying alive. All of us kept quiet while we listened to my colleague telling us about the deceased last days, eerily quiet.

It got me thinking. How difficult it is to die with dignity. When we are sick, we automatically turn into a different person. We show the meanest, darkest side of us to the people around us, ironically, the people we love most. It is a trying time to the person and the family. We pity the patient. On the other hand, look at the family. Look at the spouse, the parents, the children, the siblings. The sickness changes their life terribly. Gone are the days when they can laugh freely without feeling guilty. What is left is just the feeling of helplessness as they watch their loved ones fade away. And sometimes, the big D seems like the great escape. How sad! How very sad.

Then again, I heard another sad story, of a colleague (that I never know of), passed away after he did his jogging. He was only 38 and is a father of 4. It happened so suddenly, so unexpected. He still had his half packet of peanuts on his office table. Who would have thought?

As someone commented to me later, "Life is just too short, too precious! So, don't go on diet, and enjoy the last piece of the cheesecake!"

Ok, maybe just enjoy half of it so that you can live longer

Just an excuse to have cake

I did not have time to come up with a cake for hubby on his birthday. We were in Jakarta on his birthday, and we went to Kidzania with the children on that day. We had dinner to celebrate Y and my mother's birthday together, but we did not have cake. With the holiday season in Jakarta, my parents have got two cakes that they have not finished eating yet. One cake was from Dapur Cokelat and the other cake was from Harvest. Both were chocolate cakes, but not up to my standard. Both were disappointingly dry. Or I am biased, because I am just not a fan of chocolate mousse cake.

Since Y went back to Singapore a few days earlier, I asked him to buy a cake from Awfully Chocolate. Maybe it's a post birthday cake, or just another excuse to have cake. I am not sure. Y always wanted to try the banana chocolate, although I love AC's chocolate rum & cherry better. I was thinking, I should try out something that I've never tried before and figured that chocolate banana should be a good choice.

So, here's the cake:

I usually love Awfully Chocolate's chocolate cake, but this one, is definitely not my thing. Or I just hate the combination of banana and chocolate. Y's uncle and aunt also commented the same thing about this cake. There is nothing fancy about this cake.

But then again, Y loves his banana, tracing down from his Darwinian origin. And he loves his chocolate.

I asked Y if we are going to buy the cake again. He said, "No! Your cake is much better than AC!" I am so happy with his compliment.

So, I have this entry, although I don't bake this cake, and I am still disappointed with this cake! But I figure, Y's compliment is worth to be blogged!

So, everyone, if you want to buy Awfully Chocolate, don't buy Chocolate Banana. If you want to have better cake, you can even contact me for some pointers on how to make a mean chocolate cake, okay! Even better, when I have nothing to do, I can even bake chocolate cake for you! 

Mid Autumn Festival means...

Mooncakes!

And lanterns too.

Yesterday, we went to visit the 2008 lantern festival in Chinese Garden. It was my first time visiting Chinese Garden. And it was perfect timing, as it was on weekdays, and it was not so crowded. We could leisurely walk and enjoy the lanterns.

This year's theme is Sanrio. And the characters from Sanrio were lanternized exquisitely.  The lanterns display were beautiful. The tickets we bought also entitled us to get small paper lantern with Sanrio characters design. Nice and cute!

While I have not got the time to blog on mooncakes, as I enjoyed eating mooncakes more than taking photos of them, I made sure I took the pictures of the lanterns.

Treasure Hunt

For  those people who outbid me in Ebay, eat your heart out. I got this book from Amazon at half the price, and since it was shipped to US address, I saved on shipping cost as well *evil grin*

                                  

I got the translated version of Hilda Boswell's Treasury of Children's Stories from my mother when I was six years old. It was my first sophisticated book, since it had small fonts and each page contained more than few sentences, very complicated for children my age at that time. I liked it, but did not appreciate it until few years later. By then, the book was getting old, damaged to the spine, some pages torn and loose, thanks to those people who borrowed it and thought that they could just abuse it since the book was not theirs. 

I preserved whatever left of the book, kept it well in my bookshelf, until much later. I wanted to buy the second copy, but the book has been out of print. I also brought my beloved copy to Singapore.

Hilda Boswell personally selected and illustrated the stories in the book. The illustrations were beautiful. As a child, I was so fixated upon the illustration, characters from her books appeared in my dreams. The lovely illustration of fairies, princes and princesses, flowers and animals really enlivened the stories she has handpicked.

The stories were also as unforgettable, she has achieved her objective when she said in her foreword, "...but the sort of stories that stick in your memory--that you are drawn back to time and time again." I can't tell which one is my favorites, I love so many of them. I love Our Field, Through The Fire, The Story of Fairyfoot, to name a few. And the image of Tom of Water Babies, swimming together with the fishes, or little David Copperfield sitting by the window sill in the moonlit night, still lingers in my mind. 

I tried to find the english copy of this book, but I guess, never did try hard enough. I remember I was browsing through the children section in Dymock in Sydney, but I could not find it.

Now that I have my children, I really want to share this book with them, especially with my daughter. Not trying to be sexist, I believe my daughter will come to treasure this book better than my son. And there went my hunt for this book.

Kinokuniya and Borders have confirmed that this book was no longer available in the market. At that time, the idea of buying used book did not appeal to me. I bought a lot of used books before, but those were romance novels. I doubted I could find used copy that was still in excellent condition, since this book was first published sometime in early seventies to early eighties.

But as I did more and more searches, I grew desperate. The book has gone out of print for quite sometime. I could only find used book copies in the net.

So I made up my mind, I would buy even a used copy, so that I could read the original versions of the stories so close to my heart to my children. I went to Amazon UK, a mistake, since most of the marketplace book sellers did not do international shipping. I went to E-bay, found a copy, place a bid, so confident of winning, and found out that I was not the only one eyeing for this book. I did not take the outbidding well. Especially since the book was auctioned in British Pound currency, the book became so expensive for me. At most I would just pay for $15, since I still needed to pay a lot for the shipping cost as well. Since then, I learned that Hilda Boswell has many fans still searching for her books who's willing to pay high prices for her used copy books. And I am just a fan, but I will not pay excessively silly price for her book as I still have the other copy at home.

After being outbid in E-bay for many times, I found out that Y was about to visit US for business. He got me an address of his colleague that I could send the book too. I was still hopeful of winning a copy that I bid in E-bay. By the time I found out that I was getting outbid again (although I have raised my bid to $20), I was so fed up. I went to Amazon, and at that instant, bought a copy at US$5. In the description, it was described as very good with minor dents, but clean copy appeared never read.

From US, Y sent me a text message, "The inside is very good, some scratches at the cover, but barely noticeable". I sighed with relief, I have not been had by the Amazon marketplace seller. I turned into an eager child when Y came back from his trip (which was few hours ago) and handed me the book. It is really a treasure. The copy has some minor dents at the cover and its spine, but the pages really are excellent. They are as good as new. My daughter was also equally excited about the book, because I've been telling her that this copy will be hers, and she just loves story book. I don't really intend to let her know that she can only own the book when she's old enough to drive a car, so that she can appreciate this book too.

Meanwhile, I just want to share the news with the whole world, "I am now a proud owner of (another) Hilda Boswell's Treasury of Children's Stories!" And this book is indeed a treasure!

So, the next one in line...Hilda Boswell's Treasury of Poetry?

 

Busy Bee August (Part 3) : Home will be where the heart is

I was told

Ev'ry day in my childhood:

Even when we grow old

Home will be where the heart is

Never were words so true

My heart's far, far away

Home is too

Home - from Beauty and the Beast, The Musical

Part of my busy bee August was because I had to go back home twice in 2 weeks time. In both weeks, I went to Jakarta on Tuesday, stayed in Dharmawangsa Hotel until Friday, where I actually had a chance to visit home and spent a night there and went back to Singapore on Saturday. Tiring, yes. But it's a chance for me to visit home!

People always commented when they found out that I was about to go back to Jakarta for my business trip, "Oh, you are going home!" Is it really?

Something that they have forgotten to take into account; when it's business trip, it's not really home. I did not stay in my childhood home. I had to stay in a hotel. My trip is about work, work, and more work. Oh, did I mention traffic jam? I may sound someone with the nose so stuck up in the air when I write about traffic jam in Jakarta (either you live with it, or you migrate to other country). As much as I hate it, after years of training, I just learn to live with it. When I am in Jakarta, just blame everything to traffic, but don't complain about it. In Kota Singa, I can always complain about how bad traffic is and how government fail to control the car population even with the ever increasing ERP charges.

But is Jakarta still home for me? My parents house is still my home, and nothing will change that. My room is still there, although I can't use it anymore since my mother has handed it over to the heir of the throne and I had to use my sister's room now. But the sense of familiarity, the smell of home, is really something priceless. Knowing that I've got a place that I really belong to, when everything else fails me! But then, home is not really home when it comes to Jakarta. Traffic congestion was killer! And the sight of children begging or people asking money at the traffic light junction is something that I've never gotten used to since I was young. Although I also define home as a place to get good and cheap lulur massage and creambath as well as good and cheap shopping spree in Mangga Dua. And home is where I can get nice pempek palembang, rujak bebek and my favourite kolak pisang. Not to mention, nice affordable restaurant that's so rare in Singapore.

But over the years, I've also come to love this "fine city". It has never been love at the first sight. Although, when I first came to the city, there was this sense of euphoria of being in the new place, exploring something new. But then the euphoric feeling did not last, and I missed home terribly. Especially after I had my children. I wanted them to be brought up in the place where I spent my childhood, to be brought up the way I was brought up. I just wanted to go back and stayed in Jakarta, where it's home.

But, slowly, there's this feeling of attachment that comes from the fine city. Maybe it's from the way I can walk leisurely on the streets, knowing that the chance of someone mugging me is very slim. Or maybe because of the friendship with the people here that I have made over the years. Or how I can physically blend in the society where I can proudly announce, "I am chinese!" and did not get the racist stare! (my racist stare only came later, when people find out that the chinese looking lady, does not speak chinese, but speaks fluent bahasa indonesia -- so I don't know which one is worse). But I've started to love this city, and now I have adopted this city as my second home, without feeling guilty about having two homes.

Belle said that home should be where the heart is. So, I split my heart into two and put them in the two countries I call home.

In August, where both my homes celebrate the national day and independence day, respectively, I came up with the strawberry shortcake. Its red and white tone just matched well with the flags from both countries.

I have posted the recipe for the cake, since I bought a Japanese recipe book with gorgeous pictures of cakes (yes, it's written in Japanese). And I took pain to translate the recipe for this cake. For that effort, I believe I should be rewarded with something as simple as sharing the recipe with other people.

Happy birthday to both of my homes!

Nothing lasts, nothing holds

All of me

My heart's far, far away

Home and free

Busy Bee August (Part 2) : Adventure of a non-adventurer

"I thought you said you did not want to go to the forest!"
"I am not going to the forest, I am going to Pekanbaru!"
"What do you think Pekanbaru is? It's a forest!"

I was sort of cursing and swearing about going to Pekanbaru. The thing is, I am not so keen on going any business trips. Because business trip means changes from my daily routine. And on top of that, I just hate packing and unpacking my things. Lame excuse, but it's so true. And I also heard about the forest fire in Pekanbaru. So, that's it. Pekanbaru is a forest, with raging forest fire.
Still I had no choice. I've got a guest that I need to accompany, and so I reluctantly went for this trip. I consoled myself, it's a short trip, less than 2 days.

I left Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon, and reached PB in the early evening, before the sun set, so I still managed to get glimpse of PB before the darkness set in.

So, how's PB? 

"Pekanbaru is a two-time Adipura Award winner!" boasted the driver who sent me to the hotel.  I understood why he was so proud of his city. The city was very clean. He continued to explain that there were two shifts of road cleaners employed to maintain the city's cleanliness. Having spent most of my time in big cities, it was a nice break to see smaller town. 

I had my visual feast on the city on the way to the hotel from the airport.

this is the picture I took from the hotel window

I stayed on Aryadutta Hotel. Supposedly the best hotel in the city. I've got no complain, but my travel companion, from the same company, was busy making phone calls to move us to another hotel. He told me that Aryadutta Hotel was too quiet for his liking. Due to some security approval, we still ended up in the same hotel.

Dinner was at Jalansutra's acclaimed Restoran Anom. Supposedly one of the best chinese restaurant in PB, Resto Anom was famous for its Udang Telor Asin (Salted Yolk Prawn). The dish itself was disappointing, it was runny with very mild salted yolk taste. The other dishes were not too bad, good review from the rest of our group. As our host (who came from Jakarta) explained, it's famous in PB, but we could not compare it to Jakarta's chinese food restaurant. I'll give them 3/5 rating.

No picture of the food from Resto Anom, as I was too hungry and busy eating to my heart's content

We went to Kerinci, another town close to PB, about an hour drive to meet one of our customers and to check on illegal logging business (??!). The road to Kerinci was narrow and winding. We've also got to be wary as there were wild Sumatran tigers abound.

Wild Sumatran Tiger

I would not live up to my non-adventurer tittle if I did take too many pictures of PB or Kerinci in that matter. Believe it or not, rather than enjoying the scene of a new place, I was either chatting with my travel companion or busy sleeping.

And there went my full day of PB and Kerinci. I also found out that equator line actually passed through PB. Too bad, I did not get to see the monument as we traveled to the opposite direction.

Some pictures that showed that indeed PB has forest to prove my colleague's words. No, I did not go to the forest, but the logs & chipped woods came from the forest.

So, that's the end of the adventure for me. I am still not looking forward to this kind of adventure in the future. But, I have to admit that it was quite fun. At least I did not encounter something nasty in the forest, and, oh, I did not go to the forest at all.

Busy Bee August (Part 1) : Communication Cram

I don't know how other people can keep up with blogging. For one, I admire the time that they can spend on blogging. Maybe it's poor time management on my part, or just the lame excuse, but honestly, I just do not have time to update this blog. And I live in the lion country, where internet connection is considered superior. I just can't imagine, living in a place, where internet speed is as big a problem as the traffic congestion, and spending my time uploading data to update my blog.

Those people must have had plenty of time and patience on their hands.

When I see those people who can work, get their degree, sell cakes online, be a mother to young children, really it's a two-thumbs up for them. They inspire me, but I just can't find the self-discipline to follow their path in multi-tasking. It's just me and my lackadaisical life, perhaps.  Maybe because I spend most of my free time reading cooking books and watching korean/taiwan/japanese/local singapore drama. But, hey, I need something for relaxation too, right?

Okay, so let's start to count how busy I've been this month. I started out this month with some communication cram. I am not a good communicator when it comes to public speaking. So I thought I can improve on that.  A proactive step on my part to embrace on public speaking skills.

Firstly, I signed up for Toastmaster Club in my company. A decision that I later regretted  since I then found out (after I signed up) that my VP will come to watch how we are doing as well. That's pressurizing. But then, during my observation session, I had my fun watching others delivered their short presentation, although with the level of skills that they have, I wonder why they still need to attend Toastmaster Club. They just made me feel very nervous about my own presentation when I have to do it later. But, oh well, I guess, I just need to find some courage and do it. Besides, TC comes with free lunch, and that's enough motivation for me to sign up for the membership. 

Secondly, I also attended some communication class. Communication in 4 Dimensions, held by SIM. I was not too impressed with the course. It's a 3-day course, and the trainer was busy trying to prove that there were 4 dimensions in communication. Which I have not problem accepting. I mean, she should know something that I do not, that's why she's the trainer, and I am just the lazy participant. I just want to know, how to apply these 4 dimensions to improve the communication. However, this is nice course to do when you want to get away from your daily mundane office routines. I had fun watching clips of movies, refreshing "The Secret" knowledge, learning about short exercise that you can do for 5 minutes a day, as well as meeting new friends during the course. And since the course was held in a hotel, the buffet lunch and tea breaks were above average. But I will not recommend this course to people who really want to improve their communication skills. In fact, I find that TC is better tools to improve communication, particularly in public speaking. 

So, am I a better communicator now? Still plenty of room for me to improve and plenty of opportunities for me that I can use to practice. And until the next TC meeting, I just hope that I will not be the one who has to do the ice breaker!

To my little boy on his 5th birthday

My dearest little boy,

Has it been 5 years since we have you in our life?

Somehow, we just can't imagine our life without you.


Looking at you now, it's just hard to imagine that you were actually the same baby that we saw in the 3D ultrasound long time ago! The baby that we saw in the screen were only 6 cm long. But you were such an active baby even then. I remember looking at the alien on the screen, boxing and cycling non stop, and wondering if the doctor were actually just lying. Maybe you're not really our baby. Maybe your father and I were just looking at some video on someone else's baby. So hard to believe that the little thing we saw in the screen turned out to be you. The perfect you.


You and your cheerful smile. You and your mischievous laugh. You and your sunny nature. You and your kind heart.


And, it is even harder to believe that the little baby with twinkles in his eyes, can already praise me, "mama, why are you so good in baking cakes?"
You really made me blush when you said that.


Your mama learns baking so that you and your little sister will have a home-made birthday cakes year after year.


Happy birthday, my little boy!

Contemplating 2007

This is going to be my last post in 2007. In two days time, I'll be flying to my hometown and I'll be staying there for Christmas and New Year. Internet connection in my hometown sucks big time. So, I don't expect to post anything during my stay.

Okay, 2007 is almost over in a blink of an eye. But at one time, I could not wait for the year to be over. And I am so glad that it is almost over. Just a few more days to go.

Oh, right! This is going to be a long post. How I can sum up 365 days in a few sentences, well, more than a few, remains a challenge for me.

I think this year, our faith were fiercely tested when we found out about my mother's sickness. My mother has always been the pillar of strength in our family. She's our dragon lady. Yet, I can never forget her look when I picked her up in the airport and she looked at me in daze. The woman who brought me to this world could not recognize me, her own daughter. It was just so devastating.

And I just felt so helpless, for not being able to do anything for her for her! And I questioned myself, over and over again, how good a daughter I was. At one time, in her dazed and confused days, I just felt like asking her, if I had made her proud. If she's happy to have me as her daughter. The question never reached her, because I was afraid to hear the answer.

Health is truly the priceless gift in our life. And I am so grateful, that all of us in the family (Yohan and I, Ma & Pa, our children) are doing well. My mother is getting better everyday, and for it, I am more than grateful.

The big flood happened in Jakarta, and our children were there at that time. I learned about the true quality of my parents and how much they love their grandchildren. I also learned about some people who were not sincerely concerned about my children, despite their blood relation. No name is being mentioned here to protect the privacy of the accused.

Career wise, I'd say that I was doing okay in 2007. Not too many days of staying back late in the office, which was more than I could ask for. I was coping well with my current job. And just recently, I was offered the opportunity to take up new responsibility that is outside my comfort zone. Um, actually "offered" was not really the good term to use here. I was politely pushed to take up the new responsibility. I've had my reservations about my new job, but, let's just wait and see. Anyway, the effective date of the job is only in 2008. And I am supposed to be whingeing about 2007 now.

I am also guilty of not spending enough time with my children, especially big N. To their credit, they have been doing well so far. My big N enjoys his school and teacher. Making friends and learning new things. My little N began to attend her toddler class in July 2007, and she was doing equally great. Health-wise, I have been hoping that they have better immune system and not falling ill that often. Especially for my big N. Let this be my hopes for year 2008.

Personally, in 2007, I feel that I have metamorphosed into a cynical person now. It did not happen overnight of course. I just realize that I do not see the world in the rose tinted glasses anymore. I have turned into a clean freak, nature-averse kind of person. That's so different than who I was--10 years ago.

Also, I realize that I have turned into a shopaholic. My husband can testify for this. Every month, whenever he shows me (my) credit card bills, I will widen my eyes as I look at him, to give him a damsel-in-distress look. When I speak to him, I will whimper my voice to mimic a 15 year-old and ask him nicely to settle my credit card bills. This damsel-in-distress tactic, I have learned, has a great impact in deciding whether or not my husband is going to pay for my credit card bills. Of course I can pay for the bills myself. But the cheap thrill is to get the HUSBAND pay for the credit card bills. That's what husband is for!

So, let's toast to my wonderful husband, who just settled my credit card bill for this month!!

To conclude this post, I will not say that 2007 is a bad year. It's just...more challenging for me!

On a positive note to end this year, a new little addition, has joined our family on 6 Dec 2007. My sister has given birth to a cute little girl on that day. Welcome to this world, little Chloe!

I put up the picture of Ariel jigsaw puzzle here, as I find that doing the 99-pieces (that belongs to little N) was a great bonding for me and my husband. We worked together to finish the puzzle, while little N was watching TV. And I guess, it just represents our teamwork, for year 2007. Well, fear not, as our xmas present for big N is a 300-pieces jigsaw puzzle. Yohan and I can do a lot of bonding together in early next year.

Confession of An Average Student

This year's PSLE has just been announced. The student with the record breaking high score of 294 has just been interviewed on TV.

And this has brought back the bittersweet memory of my student years.

As a student, I was never part of the elite high achiever. In other words, I was just an average student. Really, I was only 6/10 student! No exaggeration here. Usually, I would score so low during the first semester. Mom would get so upset, and started to preach me about the importance of education in my life. I would cry and promised that I would study harder.
Somehow, miraculously, in the second semester, I would score better, and somehow, I did not have to repeat the class.
The next year, I would follow the same cycle of grades volatility.
Having said that, I was not part of the top 10 in the class. But I would not be in the lowest 10 as well. I was average. AVERAGE!

I would expect, luck has something to do with my result. When I was dealing with multiple choice question, no denial, I could easily guess the answer. So, I shamefully admit, I was one lucky gal when it came to studying. That is, until the school ruled out that wrong answer should be be negatively marked. Who came up with such ruling? That was so cruel. Anyway, it turned out that such ruling could not tame me. I still moved on to next class.

These are the list of subject that I hated back then, in no particular order:
1. Math
This should include algebra, geometry, mathematical logic (logika matematika, are the Indonesian teachers just making this subject up? This is a senseless subject. Example: Budi is stupid. Budi is rich. So, rich people are stupid. Where is the logic?)
2. Biology.
I hate memorizing all those latin terminology. And since I have sworn that I would never be a doctor, no incentive for me to learn biology at all. The only latin name of plant that still sticks in my brain is: Aloe Vera. And I did not learn it from my Biology lesson. I learned it from TV ad.
3. Chemistry.
Again, I have no idea why I should remember that gold is Au for Aurum.
4. Physics.
Why should it be a closed book test? I could not remember any of the formula that I needed to memorize prior to the exams. None! Well, maybe E=MC2. Then again, everyone knows that.
5. Bahasa Indonesia
Asam kandis asam gelugur. Kedua asam di riang-riang. Menangis badan di pintu kubur. Teringat badan belum sembayang.
(Loose translation: kandis tamarind, gelugur tamarind ( I have no knowledge of these 2 kinds of tamarind). Both tamarind...something. Cry does the body, in front of the grave. When the body remembers the prayerless life)
Holly cow, I still could remember the above..what do you call it..puisi or sajak or sanjak or haiku..scarry!
6. History
We learn from the history that we've never learned anything from history. So, why bother.
7. Moral Education.
It's should be applied, not memorized! And even after having this as part of the subject in school, Indonesia is still the nation with one of the highest corruption in the world? Shame! Shame!
8. PSPB.
No idea what it was all about.
9. Physical Education/PE Theory!
The source of all my education years of suffering. PE should not be part of the curriculum, it should be part of Extra Curricular activity. Students should not be memorizing the measurement of football field, nor should they be made to memorize the shape of the football field. Gosh! I scored 4/10 for this subject, simply because the teacher could not put 0/10 in my report book! Realy a waste of time. Mentri Pendidikan Nasional Indonesia, if you read this blog, consider this as a petition to abolish this subject from the curriculum. It's just inhumane to ask a motoric moron to shoot the basket ball into the ring, even after the hundredth try, she still missed it. It has scarred my spirit! Such a traumatic experience.
10. Geography.
I was having such a hard time to come up with the last subject that I hate. Finally, I came up with Geography! Why bother memorizing the shape of a country. Then again, can't blame the old educators. There's no such thing like google earth back then.

Of course, having spent a wee bit of time studying: 12 years of basic schooling (primary to high school) + 5 years of higher learning (under + post graduate), it has entitled me the right to say the following statement: EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT! It has shaped me, and made me who I am today. I made friends, I had fun, I learned to question, I learned to ask.
I am a product of an asian rote learning education. It may not be perfect, but it has brought up the greatness in me. I had no deep respect to any special teacher. But I still respect them. If I have to live my life all over again, studying for another 17 years, I would gladly do it again. But please, no PE.

So, congratulations to Natasha Nabila Muhammad Nasir!
Continue doing what you are doing ! But please remember, there are things more important than just grades in life. Education is about learning, learning to make friends, learning to be kind to the rest of human kind, learning to question the wrong, learning to enjoy life, as well as to learn how to cook! These characteristics will survive you in your life later on!

And to my N & N, I promise, I will give you the best of education there is. So, just like me during my student days, have fun, make friends, be creative, learn problem solving, learn about giving, rather than taking, learn to cope with stress and pressure from exams, learn about right and wrong, learn to be responsible. And with your curious eyes, continue to wonder about the world, and be critical, be inquisitive, but be forgiving. Be a lifelong learner. And having been there, done that, I will make sure to turn you two into a fine all rounder, making sure that you have enjoyable study years! I don't expect you to read 320 books by the time you are 9. But reading is a wonderful experience. It will open up the world for you, part of your learning experience. And little N, if you turn out to be a motoric moron like me, I'll make sure that I come up with the petition of abolishing PE from the curriculum.

This is a note written by a student (as she is still learning up till now). An average student. But in her life standards, she thinks she's doing well as an average student!

Reminiscing - 6 years

You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore....but let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. - Kahlil Gibran



4th Nov 2001

I remember the heat. I remember the guests. I remember how beautiful my mother looked on that day. I remember my father's tears when we gave him the slice of our wedding cake. I remember my husband and I giggling over the withered rose pinned to his jacket. I remember someone mentioned that my uncle cried when my father gave me away. I remember the priest quoting John Gray's book during his sermon, and I said to myself, "you expect me to read Men are from Mars, Women Are from Venus?...Don't you know Yohan and I were John Gray's muse?". I remember I had fried rice for my breakfast on that day. I remember my lipstick colour on that day. I remember I was crying when I read out my wedding vow.

I still remember that day as if it were only yesterday.

4 Nov 2007

Yet, today, we celebrate our 6th years together. Six years of happiness, laughter, anger, tears! Six long years, but they feel so short.
We know each other well, but not well enough to always understand each other. We love each other so much, but not so much as to avoid the silly little arguments. We spend our time together but sometimes we just did not put our heart together.
But...
Despite the differences, we are still together.
Despite the silly little arguments, we still love each other.
And if we compare ourselves with celebrities, yes, our anniversary calls for a celebration!

Happy 6th Anniversary to us!

And, in the above picture, that's us, 6 years ago..when we've only just begun!

And my 6th wedding anniversary gift: PINK KitchenAid!

First Blog

Not really! It was not my first. I forgot my password to my other blog and failed to recover it.
So, yes..my first attempt for this blog. Well, I'll get to like this blog. Sooner or later.