s p o R a d i c That’s exactly what this blog is. Item 1 Forgot about this. Got busy and/or distracted with other things. Plus, lost internet connection for a while. With too much to update when it was restored, brings us to…. Item B Got lazy and/or bored with pouring the contents of my head and heart online. Referring to the above mega-update requirement leads us to… 3rd Item Too many things rushing out, don’t even know where to start. Plus censoring contents were starting to piss me off. Shortage of patience, y’see ;) Anyways.. What’s been happening since April? The Lang Tengah trip was EXcellent . Small island off Terengganu with only 3 resorts, located in between Redang Island & the Perhentian Islands with no/minimal mobile reception (only certain spots for certain providers). The room was huge, with 2 single beds. I stayed alone cuz one of my colleagues had to cancel. Her daughter was hospitalized. There are no TVs & refrigerators in the rooms. There’s a common room with 1 TV. No cable. There’s also 1 room with a pool table, and we saw speakers n a disco ball hanging in there. Maybe it turns into a “discotheque” or something at times. Let’s do the chronicle thing. A short, summarised version. Day 1 Reached Kuala Terengganu Airport, transfer to private jetty on a bus (the guide was just too funny. although he didn’t know that), speed boat to Blue Coral Resort. Mysterious welcome drink, welcome note n briefing by the resort dude & found out only 1 room is ready. So we dumped our stuff there and waited for lunch. All meals were provided, buffet-style (ala carte items were also available, but u gotta pay your own), every group had their own assigned tables (u sit there for every meal). After lunch n checking into our respective rooms, changed into suits and beach wear, explored a neighbouring resort. There, me, As & Mervin jumped into the water for a bit. Ahhhh… Too nice! Headed back and chilled in the pool. Evening: Cyril & As’ verandah, chatting & munching. After dinner, we hung out, had drinks and played pictionary. I won every game, with diff partners *woohoo!* then crashed. Day 2 First to wake up. Went around waking everyone up for bfast. Tanner was the first to join me. Siew Mun & Mervin didn’t get up to eat. After bfast, had shower n joined Tanner on the beach for drinks. Had to scrape plans of joining the resort’s snorkeling trip with Lam. Dozed off on the sand to teasings and the rest attempted a volleyball game. Lunch. Got snorkeling gear from the resort n hit the sea. My first time ever! There are some really funky fishies out there. Especially the one with the huge-ass face! Saw my first parrot fish, colourful fella. Had one fish stare me right in the face when i first went in. Freaked me out for a bit there. Shit load of sea cucumber and corals(duh), ofcourse. Had a laugh at each other, especially at Tanner & Cyril. Hit the pool, showered, then joined the Tanner, Merv & Cyril at the dining area. There were sitting outside, having munchies & beers. Chilled out, gambled (blackjack) and short nap before dinner. After dinner, watched TV for a bit, hung out at the beach with Merv, Siew Mun & Lam. Merv helped finish the chilean wine Anas gave. Chitchat, took out more drinks & munchies, settled for more blackjack. Over-all, I won RM7. Before the drinks got me, and i dozed off. Yep, yet again. Yes, to teasings n laughter. After gambling (Merv won pretty big, i was told), Cyril called it a night. The rest moved to Siew Mun’s room, which i promptly crashed on the bed supposedly for a short nap. Next thing i know, he was waking me up asking for my room key. I went back and zonked. They apparently moved to Tanner & Merv’s room to smoke n almost died laughing. Tanner got emo & almost killed himself, thanks to Merv *hahaha* Final Day Went to breakfast by myself. The rest already said they’re not gonna get cuz it sucked. Had a quick one then back to shower and slept a bit more. Hung out at the verandah reading, then to the beach. I had to vacate my room earlier cuz are ppl checking in later. Dumped stuff in Siew Mun & Lam’s room. Hung out at their verandah, then As’ verandah. Discovered lunch was not included. Went to the next resort to check out their food, came back n ordered off the menu. Merv went on to Perhentian, by hitching a ride with the next resort’s snorkeling trip boat. The owner’s really cool to let him do that, Siew Mun sorta know him anyways. Checked out, said byebye to everyone and hopped on the boat. Got to the airport with hours to kill before we can check in. Had food, drinks and rounds of cards. Played Chotaiti, refreshed my memory since it’s been awhile. Cyril & As went into the waiting room first, we joined them when we found out it was much cooler. Damn Terengganu’s hot!! Played more cards n watched TV while waiting to board. Reached KL and straight to LB to get the cars. Hung out there for a bit before heading back. Tanner dropped me & Siew Mun home, after food at Murni in SS2. All in all.. it was a good trip. Very relaxing. The island’s a great place if you’re looking to zone out & not expecting loads of activities like watersports & shit like that. More foreigners than locals, so it’s really quiet & laid back. Check out www.pinganchorage.com.my for packages to the islands. That’s the operator we used, call them to get the latest prices (which can be cheaper). *whew!* Until next time… Out.
Curious Makeup
Tumbleroll
yep yep yep we have been absent from blognews since AUGUST! man, it has been 4 months since the last time we’ve updated this page! A lot of things has been going on in four months! —- 1. Rani got a new job at JTC Corporation one-north department. 2. We and KARIB Gembira (Happy Friendship) performed successfully in Indonesia Arts Festival in Victoria Theater in front of 1000 people. 3. We, Kiki, Dimas and Yati went to Malacca for Deepavali Holiday and we indulged ourselves with peranakan food just before Ramadan Month started. You can see Malacca our photo album here ! 4. Our dearest friend Micky Goh passed away last month : —- Today we went for audition for Detrash event in orchard for next month. After practising for only one night, we finally settled with two songs: - A Waltz-Bossa Overjoyed - An A-Capella Soleram (DOWNLOADABLE!) and Kroncong Kemayoran We think it’s more important that we are having fun while singing these songs, with whatever audition result comes out later! Wish us luck!
Okay okay, we have been so busy and unable to update this news. First, we will be performing in orchard, again, this wednesday. Last sunday’s performance hasn’t been so successful, partly because of the rain. We sincerely hope that this week performance will be better than before. This morning Mas Indi saved a snail from the pathway and into the grass, to prevent the snail being stepped on to his death. I was touched by his simple yet cute action!
Rani has been feeling very guilty for the past several days after watching Japan Hour on ChannelNews Asia: re: SUSHI. Last night in the quiet moment just before we fell asleep she suddenly woke up and said, “Doggone it! I should have dipped the fish topping first into the soy souce! Head first!”. I was surprised by her attention to details especially in dealing with delicacies. PS: For those of you who’d seen her eat Sushi would know that she’ll chow down on the fish first!
Happy Lebaran to everybody! Bapak and Ibu Hindro came to visit us to celebrate hari raya. Yesterday we took them to Geylang Night Market along with Askar. We had Otak Otak, Pulot Bakar (a kind of Lemper with shrimp filling), Dendeng, Chicken Shawarma (a really good one), Peanut cake (but I like better Cheese-Chocolate Martabak Manis from Bandung), Halal lasagna, and of course TURKISH ICE CREAM! It was totally crowded there, and it was difficult to move around! People spilled over to the road. We met Dewi and Yusoff who were used to be in Bumi Band. I have never seen them in Traditional Malay attire before. They mentioned to us that they were no longer in Bumi Band. As for today, friends kept coming to our place to greet and celebrate Lebaran. Mak Tuti prepared chicken opor and meatball sambal, accompanied with beef-lung rendang that she brought from Padang. As dessert, we all shared big basket of Sumatran Durian which was brought from the forest in Anai Valley. We played music all day long and jamming, and we never stop eating. Daniel brought his guitar and played everything from jazz to blues. Kiki joined the jam session with her saxophone, while Ramses watched her in admiration. Adi could not stop singing. Later, Leonard joined and hit the piano playing blues and jazz. Geraldine helped Adi sang Chinese songs. Later that day, Askar and Feca also visited us and helped us finish the meal. BTW have you checked out our new personal name card? We made one using a hand-carved chinese seal of our family name as the logo, made in Melaka during our last trip with Kiki, Dimas and Yati. here it is!
Mas Indi and I, along with Dimas, Adi, Jay broke the fast in Geylang Night Market at S-11 Food Court. I had Nasi Goreng Ikan Asin with Baby Sotong Asam Manis. Later we regretted having dinner, because we found a wide variety of foodstalls along the way to Joo Chiat. We closed our trip with a big scoop of Turkish Ice Cream , vanilla and chocolate flavour, made from goat milk and all natural ingredients. The ice cream has a very unique sticky texture and does not have aftertaste like other ice creams with preservatives. I was so happy to find Fresh Melinjo in Geylang Serai Night Market , now that I will be able to cook real Sayur Asam with Melinjo. I was surprised that they also sell Fresh Jengkol, but I wouldnt buy it! I don’t want my husband to avoid me if I have bad “Jengkol” breath. Mas Indi is not a kind of guy who likes smelly food. He does not even like durian! That is why I haven’t eaten Durian ever since I got married :> On our way home in MRT, we met Andi and Fahmi, our two architect friends. Yesterday Mas Indi and I had dinner with Leonard and Melissa in our favorite restaurant: Lotus Thai . We had a great discussion about things, from volunteerism to Melissa’s initiative in countering child trafficking and to work on Palestinian-Israeli peace workshop simulation. It intrigued us to start to get ourselves involved in NGO activities in Singapore. I have never known any NGO in Singapore that deals with developing countries, which is one of my main interest, until now I know what UNIFEM does. Leonard parked his car right in front of the Himalayan restaurant. On our way home, the chef of Himalaya persuaded us to visit his restaurant. I asked him if he cooks things with saffron, and I particularly was interested in Saffron Ice Cream. He then offered me to make a special Saffron Ice Cream if I come and eat at his restaurant. He gave me his phone number so that I could call him before coming to his restaurant and he would make sure that my order would be ready. How sweet! The menu looked good too. We plan to try Himalaya North Indian and Nepali restaurant next time!
As mentioned right below, we want to accompany Karyn to fulfill her desire of Thai Food at Lotus Thai Restaurant which we consider the best Thai restaurant in Singapore. It is located in Tanjong Pagar Murray Terrace and has the authentic Thai taste and great spiciness. The Sea Food Tom Yam is to die for. We also recommend the Lemongrass Salad and Mango Salad. Chicken With Basil and Pad Thai are also our favorites. Don’t forget to order Sweet Tapioca for dessert!
As mentioned right below, we want to accompany Karyn to fulfill her desire of Thai Food at Lotus Thai Restaurant which we consider the best Thai restaurant in Singapore. It is located in Tanjong Pagar Murray Terrace and has the authentic Thai taste and great spiciness. The Sea Food Tom Yam is to die for. We also recommend the Lemongrass Salad and Mango Salad. Chicken With Basil and Pad Thai are also our favorites. Don’t forget to order Sweet Tapioca for dessert!
Yesterday night Mas Indi brought me one pint of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Cherry Garcia ! He just knows what and when to give pleasant surprise for me. I think Ben and Jerry’s have a bolder taste, a funkier type of ice cream, whereas Movenpick ice cream (my favorite is Maple Walnut) has a smoother taste, a classier type. Indonesia is mentioned in Ben and Jerry’s website . Is this an example of fair trade? Do the vanilla farmers in Indonesia receive appropriate reward? This morning I accompanied Mas Indi practicing golf in Temasek Club driving range. Too bad he just realized now how comfortable it is to practice near our house. Now it is too late because the driving range is going to be demolished pretty soon to build a new road connecting Queensway to AYE, right in front of our estate. After breakfast we went to Shangri-La hotel and met up with Fanny Bahar and David Hutagalung. Askar and I continued to walk to Plaza Singapore to get Pizza for brunch. I have been longing for pizza for quite a long time. The Pizza at Pasta Mania has great cheese and seafood topping but I don’t like the crust. I think the crust is too crispy like crackers. I don’t like Pizza Hut crust either, because it is too bread like. I prefer the pizza crust in Papa John’s , California Pizza Kitchen , or Domino’s which has rubbery crust and tasty. We continued to walk to Sonata Dance Supplies where I inquired about the price of ballet equipment. I would need to spend at least $80 to buy those equipments. Then we went to Times bookshop where I bought “ Stupid White Men ” by Michael Moore and “ Why Do People Hate America ” by Sardar and Davies. Then I went to Specialist Shopping Center to find out the cost for Adult Ballet class, which turned out to be cheaper then YMCA. I think I will enroll to this class in August. Having class once a week will be enough. I went home after that and Askar followed to Hang Jebat to seek shelter from the rain. I ended up cooking chicken porridge for him.
To answer Fay’s question: “And Rani, your sudden craving for nJ ice cream kebetulan ke or because you baru baca pasal BnJ on my website? Hehe. Hope to see you guys next week. :)” No, Fay, I did not tell Mas Indi about my desire for Ice Cream. In fact, I was expecting Movenpick! Somehow miracle does happen. After we chatted about BnJ, Mas Indi later came home bringing a pint of Cherry Garcia without me asking for it. And by now one pint has already run thin. This morning, while Mas Indi was doing putting and driving in Raffles Country Club with the big bosses, I was having breakfast with my former boss (my present foster dad), Mr. Jeremy Wagstaff in Borders Bistro Orchard Road. He was bragging about his new Palm Tungsten with bright screen nice resolution and all wi-fi capability (which he could not manage to make it work in Borders Bistro). I also introduce myself to Ms. Sari Sudarsono , a very kind petite young lady who works for LA Times Indonesia. I ended up buying books on learning chinese characters and chinese dictionary with hanyu pinyin.
Friday My dear wife was walking on her graduation day! Although the dude did not pronounce her name correctly, she managed to shake the older dude’s hand and then raised her arms to show victory to her parents sitting among the crowd! As you know, no other students would even dare to do that. The would only bow to the guests and that’s it! Yes, my wife is always full of life and joy. It was the day that marked another beginning of her life: a professional life as an Urban Designer! I recalled the day when she first came to NUS when we were living at the HDB flat. It was a bit hard for her to adjust to life in Singapore as compared to Hawaii, but after we managed to get a place for ourselves her energy skyrocketed. It’s amazing how much she has improved in her professionalism. ConGRADUATION to you, dear MicroWife! PS: The commencement ceremony at NUS did not seem sacred. In fact, it looked very mechanical and different from most ceremonies. Rani’s dad was annoyed when he heard Majulah Singapura only played halfway! He said, “It was a big day for students, why not just play it until it finished, rather than sampling it?” Saturday We took a bus trip to Melaka with Hasry Delima Express Bus from Lavender-Kallang intersection. It costs SGD11 one way per head, relatively cheap knowing that it will take us halfway between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. We arrived at 13:00 at the Melaka bus terminal and hired a taxi for RM10 to take us to Baba House on Tun Tan Cheng Lock Street . Baba House is a historical shop house with 60 rooms inside a 200-year old structure. We managed to get one deluxe room for Rani’s parents and one standard room for us lovebirds. I really have so much to say about Melaka so why don’t you just click here or here to get a gist of it! There will always be festival market going on Jalan Hang Jebat on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. You could get putu, grilled dried sotong, sugar cane juice, at half the cost you would have to pay in Singapore (while the taste quality will be doubled on every food you eat here!). Sunday We woke up around 0800 and ate breakfast at the Baba House hotel, free breakfast if you danced Macarena just before you checked-in. After we checked-out, we took a river boat tour (private boat tour, that is, at RM 50 for one hour!). Oh, you gotta see it to believe it! The government of Melaka has done an excellent job revitalizing the riverfront as well as the preservation of the key landmarks. After boat tour, we hired a taxi to eat at Bibik Neo , an original peranakan restaurant with an excellent array of “asam pedas”. Make sure you come here and order the kangkong belacan as well as three orders to Kerapu Asam Pedas. It ended up only costing us less than RM9 per person for such a friendly service. Oh by the way, we asked the Indian taxi driver to eat with us but he was full already and sat down to watch us eat the delicacies while having a modest lime juice. We then took Metrobus Ekspres bus to Kuala Lumpur, leaving at 1230 and arriving at Hentian Pudu around 1600 (the last 1/2 kilometer took us about 30 minutes to finish because the parking arrangement inside the basement was awkward, not allowing our 45 seater bus to zip in through quickly!). We then took a taxi for RM20 (what a rip off!) to get to KLCC where Danny and Sisca Tobing had been waiting for us the outdoor terrace of Dome cafe. For your information, Danny and Sisca just got married in May 2003 and now Sisca is 2 month pregnant. I have known Sisca for over 15 years - went to the same middle and high schools). Danny was a charter pilot who took over a business from his father dealing in marine and offshore drilling services. They both just moved to KL from Indonesia/Singapore and have loved every minute of it! Rani and I felt that they made an excellent choice of making a nice home in Ampang, on top a hill overlooking the Petronas tower from about 5 km away.
I had lunch with Azlin in NUS Arts Canteen. As usual, I was having Japanese Salmon Teriyaki. I personally think that the Japanese Food Stall is the best in NUS! Azlin gave me a pack of Aroma Coffee that Henry brought from Bandung. This is a very unique coffee that is stored and aged for 8 years to eliminate the acidity and increase the robustness / body. Even now, Mr. Widya is still using firewood to roast the coffee for two hours to full perfection, without any additive or chemicals. We gave some sampler to our neighbours. Even Mike Willie who has espresso machine complimented this Coffee. I think Kopi Aroma is the best coffee in the world! I also met with Prima after lunch and we ended up having some coffee with JW in Engineering Canteen. Later in the evening, while Mas Indi was having dinner with Minister Jayakumar, Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the whole US-Asean guys in Shangri-La Hotel, I was struggling in CASA Lab in NUS trying to make ArcGIS Editing works without crashing. On the other corner Simon was playing WarCraft in his SGI Computer!
Resurrected from slumber of years. For the time being. Got myself a job at Leo Burnett KL . Been there for a little over a year. having the time of my life. Learned so much, still learning a whole lot.. very excited. Met a lot of people who i never thought i would.. DJs, F1 drivers, etc… Still single as ever. Done a few things, accomplished a bunch, changed this and that.. First times for a number of things has occured. Almost a different person now. Almost, not quite. Still the same ol’ girl deep down, but with different priorities. Enjoying the ride of life, though bumpy and choppy at times. Current mode : I wanna do this, so be it. Will think about consequences later. Current music : Gatecrasher (1st compilation) - Late set (Disc 2) Next up : Work-wise : Sunday event @Planet Hollywood Non-work : Lang Tengah with the Events team Current thought : Work @9am. Shitload to do. Preparation for Sunday. Current petty shit : Unanswered sms message .out.
Here’s my First post
I should have started this last year . There’s no time like the present.
