Weekend in Semarang

I never feel that I belong in Jakarta. However, upon being back to Jakarta from my weekend trip to Semarang, I actually felt sort of - I don't know - at home. Semarang is a lovely and quiet small town, and it's nice to visit, but I know that I'm a big city girl.

We went by train and I felt admittedly nervous. I've only been on trains abroad, and the transportation in Indonesia is rather sketchy. But I was up for a new experience so there we were. The train was better than I thought, probably because we rode on executive class, and the journey was smooth. I like how we got there, sat down, and depart - unlike flying, where there are so many things to do before you actually get your arse flown. The only downside I suppose was the length of the trip - although you can actually look at the view as compensation, but it sores your body after a while. We departed from Jakarta's Gambir station at 10.15 and arrived at Semarang's Tawang station at 16.40.

We took a sightseeing car trip but there were only few places that our chaffeur could point out. The appeal of the town is how old it is, and how little things have changed. Well, except for some growingly abundant advertisement billboards which ruins the sight of the town. There's even this huge billboard right in front of Toko Oen, a restaurant that's been purposely kept the way it was when it started in 1936. It was an outrage!

But oh, Toko Oen itself is extremely lovely, antique and comfortable. I could sit there for hours, thinking of how many people have been there in the 72 years of its operation, how many people ate the same food I did, and what's going on in their minds while they sat there. I love old buildings and Toko Oen is an indulgence of old time atmosphere! They even cover up the air conditioners with old style cabinets to preserve the nostalgic feeling. Lovely! Then we went to the Candi hill area, but unlike in the old days, we can no longer gaze down upon the city - newly built houses block the once lovely view. A bit disappointed, we headed back down and did what we always do in Jakarta - mallratting.

Out of curiosity, I went to Mal Ciputra. It looks EXACTLY like its twin in Jakarta, only it's half the size! Heck, probably even a quarter. It was like looking at a toy model! The inside is similar as well, it's nothing to write home about. But it's already one of the biggest buildings in town. It's just the uncanny similarity is so funny. I suppose there's another mall, DP Mall, but we didn't bother.

The most impressive tourism object that I visited was however the Sam Poo Kong temple. It was built to honour Zheng He [look it up] and it was way grander than my expectations. I was a bit reluctant to visit it, but when I got there I took a look at everything! I even almost took a picture wearing traditional Chinese costumes - I kind of regret I didn't. Next time I visit, I will.

There's another building I will visit next time I get around to Semarang: Lawang Sewu. Apparently it's famous for being haunted, and I had no idea until the chaffeur told us about it. People can actually tour inside for something called the Horror Tour! Needless to say nobody in my party was interested, and I didn't feel like doing the tour alone, so...! Anyone up for it?

It was a great weekend full of new experiences, and I'd visit again should the chance arise. It also made me realise a lot of things, probably putting things in perspective, which is why I love travelling so much. See you again Semarang!

Jakarta Great Sale

Why do people [men] stereotype women as shoppers? During the Senayan City midnight sale, I saw as many men shopping eagerly. I went with my friends who were all male, and the male section of Debenhams was just as crowded as the female section which I visited with my family a day before. On the day before I felt pity for the men who seemed obviously bored in the women's section, but when I was in the men's section, I saw bored women sitting around waiting. The young ones [girlfriends, I presume] were tagging along with their boys, helping them pick shirts and jackets with a loving look in their eyes. Ah, to be young. But the older ones [wives, I presume] sat down unamused while their men perused bargain bins.

It was part of the Jakarta Great Sale, spanning from June until July, as part of celebrating Jakarta's anniversary. Last night there also was a midnight sale at Plaza Indonesia, but due to bad experiences finding a parking space on even regular Saturday night, I refrained from going. But oh - best of all - Zara's on sale as well! Me and my friend Rosa literally ran towards the store when we saw the sign!

Anyway, it's been a great sale and you can really find good stuff with great price if you look really good.

Claudia's Self Improvement

Ananya

I never think much about showering. I thin it as just an act of cleaning up myself and - sometimes - a waste of precious time. Yet, I have to do it twice a day.

So, it was a delightful surprise when I received a The Body Shop gift set, the Ananya series of shower gel, body milk and eau de toilette. The smell is rather perfume-like, with sweet tones. Plus, they feel great on your skin. The scent of the shower gel alone lingers for hours, it's a good pick-me-up throughout the day to know that you at least smell good.

Besides, The Body Shop has a great concept of trading and protecting the planet. I might start visiting to pick up some more things there.

It was then that I realised, that having a good shower gel might just be the simplest way to pamper yourself twice a day. I mean why not, better indulge yourself while you're at it, right?

Shoe-aholic?!

I'm over my shopping budget for May, but I've been looking for a pair of high-heeled Mary Janes for soooo long. I actually want something plain black and shiny, but this pair I saw at Charles & Keith are close enough:

And then of course, I fell in love with the Converse Coolette Wedge. I mean, how could I not?! Besides having a strange fanatism towards the Converse brand, the Coolette Wedge is all I could possibly want in shoes: it's black, canvas, sleek, simple yet unique, feminine, high-heeled, and got that Converse look. It's one of the rare items that I see and just go, oh, that's made for me. And when I tried them on, they felt super snug and comfortable [as Converse shoes always are]. Oh and there's a bonus of free t-shirt. I just *had* to buy them.

Thank goodness May is ending and it's time to reset my shopping budget. Teehee.

Red Dash Pink

This one's a rather simple one to make: a stripe of light colour crossing your dark coloured nails.

1. First step of all, as always, apply basecoat.

2. Apply the light coloured polish - in this case it's nudish pink. Always apply the light colours first to contrast with the darker colours. This time I chose a colour that's very close to my natural nail colours so that in a glimpse it'd give the effect that my red polish had been smeared off in the middle.

3. After the light layer is reasonably dry, apply the dark layer. First, apply the part that's wider at the bottom and polish diagonally all the way to the edge of your nail. It takes focus and accuracy to run the brush straight, so take your time. Avoid metallic textured colours that show your brush strokes; choose plain or finely glittered [dusty glitter kind]. With these you can polish slowly and carefully with smooth result. Also, don't use too much polish on the brush - just use a little to create the diagonal line. You can always fill the rest later if it ends up being too transparent.

4. Using the dark diagonal layer as guide, apply the other dark layer side, running the brush parallel with the slant of the first dark layer side. As in the first layer, take the time to create straight lines first, then filling the rest afterwards.

5. Let dry. If possible, use only 1 coat of dark layer, but most likely the nail surface would still look uneven - the dark layer would naturally look raised. So take the light coloured polish again, and run lightly once between the dark layers - just to even out the surface.

6. Apply top coat.

It's really not that difficult!

Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate

Aside from The Sims, my other favourite game series would have to be Mystery Case Files. The basic idea of the series is to find hidden objects in a picture of a scene, which is not as easy as it may sound.

The Madame Fate game is the fourth release of the series, which I just finished tonight, and thought was worth sharing/recommending here. It has improved a lot compared to the previous releases [Huntsville, Prime Suspects, and Ravenhearst] - the pictures are more beautiful, the items are harder to find with some extra twists, and the puzzles are more insanely mind boggling. I guarantee it will keep you playing for hours out of curiosity! It does also make you feel challenged to do your best to solve every puzzle and find every object. With the previous games, I could play casually while eating chips and listening to music - but with this one, it takes extra concentration. As soon as I get sleepy or tired, even the slightest lack of concentration already results in failure to play the game 'properly'.

This is definitely one good game to exercise your brain, you can almost feel it spinning while you play - and I can't wait to play it for the second time, even if only to beat my previous time.

London Skyline Time-Slip Photos

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7355753.stm

This fascinates me for more than one reason: It's a neat and original idea, it's in my dream city, and looking at it makes me love life. I'm loving life so much right now to the point of regretting not savouring every minute more intensely, although I already fairly do day by day.

Time-slip. That's a fact that we take so much for granted, since time is always slipping away. When you look at these kinds of time-slip photos, fast forwarded ones, it makes you realise that life is indeed too short.

So the idea of the project is that it takes pictures of London skyline every 5 seconds from a few angles, which results then can be viewed from inside the 'drum' that houses the cameras. You basically can rewind through the photos by walking around in the drum - around the available monitors, or just closer and further from them, to change the image. I SO hope to visit it, but well, I guess I must make do with watching the video above.

What you DON'T do

We may feel that we'd never do anything to hurt anyone... But, the scary thing is, we can hurt people by something we don't do!

My friend is hurt because of things her friend didn't do. That friend of hers doesn't even think that he's wrong. I got hurt because my colleagues forgot to include me in an admittedly trivial thing. A lot of us hurt our secret admirers - or even our steady partner - without even knowing it. We might hurt a kid by spontaneously showing more affection towards her cuter sister. We might make someone doubt themselves by not giving compliments to their artwork. We might dampen our inferior's spirits by only correcting their mistakes and never praising their jobs well done.

Hurting people is easier than we might think, and we've got to be careful.

Green Festival

Today I visited the Green Festival, an event to raise awareness regarding our suffering Earth. The overall event, design and management were quite pleasant, as hinted by the entrance gate:

It was however Benny & Mice that attracted my attention in the first place. They were in the main picture of the festival's headline reportage in Kompas, our nation's leading [and my personal favourite] newspaper. I never miss the cartoon every Sunday! They're pretty much the only Indonesian I'm a fan of. Witty, wacky, and funny, they poke fun on anything in Indonesian culture. And they do it oh so precisely!! They're the epitome of Sunday morning to me - still hazy eyed, sipping warm coffee and unshowered, reading Benny & Mice before everything else on Sunday edition of Kompas. Here I am with my heroes:

The green exhibition itself is arranged in a one-way multiple rooms, divided in sections as a house would. Each room describes things we could do to save energy in our bedroom, bathroom, etc. It's all neat and interesting:

Finally, I of course HAD to take a picture with the mascot, despite having to wait in line with just about everyone else:

There's even Starbucks there!

Graduation Day

I feel really overwhelmed about my students' Graduation Day right now. It's 7 weeks away, and I feel like I'm not going to finish the preparations on time. Everytime I finish something, something else would come up for me to worry about. Right now I'm really nervous about the decoration. What would I do to spice up the plain multifunction hall? It seems like a lot of work, and quite frankly I didn't think much about it before. I was too busy preparing the ceremony, music, photo slideshows, souvenirs, costumes, and it scares me because new things keep popping up!! Is this a kind of a panic attack? Not to mention that I actually don't want to let them go, since I've come to love them so much!

If any of you knows any good, fun, or unique graduation ideas/songs/whatever, please don't hesitate to comment here!

Work Hard, Play Harder

Everyday I feel tired and worn out at the end of the day. Weekend's my time to relax and rejuvenate, so that I can come back fresh on Monday. Right?

Wrong! Every weekend's end I feel that I've wronged my body. Today was the worst - I still felt exhausted when time forced me to leave my bed and go to school. I barely could open my eyes, let alone concentrate on anything. Hangover from the weekend is a killer! I was literally dying, I could just drop and fall asleep in the middle of the school. My kids gave me energy to go on, but my whole body complained. My legs hurt - that uncomfortable feeling that doesn't get better even when you relax your legs - I lacked of focus, having headache, and longing for a nap so badly.

Perhaps I'm just getting old, or getting overboard... well what can I do? I've only got 2 weekend days in a week!

Mallhopping

There's a plethora of malls in Jakarta. In fact, we don't seem to have much choice to spend our holidays! Want to eat? Go to the mall. The cinema's in the mall. Shop, in the mall, obviously. There are even play arenas and art exhibitions in the mall. Everything you want, conveniently located in 1 luxurious building.

I went with my family to the newly opened Pacific Place, to make use of their 25% off food promotion [with ANZ card, until early May]. The design is much like Senayan City, some corners look exactly the same, I felt like I was lost in a fabricated heaven. I mean I love these places for being so comfortable and luxurious, but with malls popping up here and there looking identical, I feel like I'm being swept away in an uncontrollable spiral downward the hedonistically consumptive lifestyle.

Then we went to Citraland to find a new faucet. That's right, our kitchen sink's faucet was broken this morning. It's also packed, I couldn't believe that there are so many people in each mall every weekend! Not much else to do - no nice parks to stroll through, no stylish museums to visit, no public libraries to enjoy... there's virtually nothing to do. Nothing nice anyway.

Then off with my friends, to eat dinner and watch Three Kingdoms. We went to eX and it's crowded once again! We almost didn't get seats for the show, but managed - although it was a bit too close to the screen for comfort. Luckily the film was enjoyable.

But hell, I spent the day mallhopping.

Seinfeld

I never get the jokes of stand-up comics, hence I don't really find Seinfeld funny. But it's on every weeknight right at the time I need to relax [i.e. just finished working], so inevitably I often end up watching it.

I still don't laugh much, but a striking thought hit me - their group is exactly like my own group of friends! Elaine with her 3 male friends - how they tend to take care of her, how laid back and relaxed their friendship is without any politics and hidden agendas attached, and - oh dearie me, the whole thing just resembles our group so much!! Except that we're not that crazy. Perhaps.

Fasting

Fasting does our body good in so many ways. I actually feel better for eating less, and I feel lighter. It saves lunch money. It gives much more time to do things instead of eating. [I always multitask while I eat anyway]. I feel so much grateful for my food when it's time to break the fast, instead of taking them for granted. It's all good.

Just My Luck

A store heir. An unemployed architect. A factory co-owner. A kindergarten teacher.
What do members of this group have in common?
"Everyone in this car is single!" One of us pointed out, and the bland truth hit us for a moment before we roared in laughter. Half amused, half confused, there's an unsaid question eternally looming among us: Why? It seems like there's a curse spreading around our group - but, perhaps it's the other way around, it's the curse that binds us together.
We're not really looking, let alone being desperate or anything, but still, it's an ironically amusing thought.
I've got this senseless fear that a certain someone might be gay. "God can't be that cruel!" I thought. But then - I looked back and realised that I've been living a cruel joke anyway, and based on my luck, I'm actually going to be surprised if he's straight. I'm writing this in the most lighthearted way possible, smirking, but oh God if You would, please let me out of this joke.
Don't let him be gay.

Just a Day Off

Finished filling out report books.
Women fighting for sale items are scarier than a bull running festival.
Manic Street Preachers make Rihanna's Umbrella sound good.
Somewhere Over The Rainbow is tough to sing.
Bonbon is sweet, Panpan is spicy, Dingding is neither.
Danny Noriega got voted off... pff.
Buy 1 get 1 at Starbucks.
My Sims want to go on a vacation.

Short on Money, Long on Time

In the eye of modern capitalist lifestyle, the phrase may seem like a lazy excuse for underachiever buggers. In an age where money is everything and jobs seem to be the main ingredient of life, God forbid that individuals other than studying youngters would still rejoice over being short on money and long on time.

Today's the first day of me having an unplanned cutback from 14 hours of work to roughly 11-12 hours a day. It's depressing, obviously, since I make slightly less money than previous months - but, dear God, how sweet it is to have time to actually do things. To take it slow, to enjoy not having to rush in the restriction of time.
To live.
How sweet it is to experience what Paolo Nutini sang in 'New Shoes':
Oh, short on money,
but long on time,
slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
and i'm running late,
and i don't need an excuse

I already plan to fill back those hours with paid work, and soon I will be back on 'long on money, short on time' - but in the mean time, I'm just going to enjoy the sweet sunshine - or in my case these days, the comfortably beautiful rain.

Secret Garden

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one of my favourite books of all time. I like reading stories where the main characters are children, and I love English country gardens/mansions. Children story books are often more beautiful and pure - with limitless imaginations, earnestly charming personalities, and big appreciation of many things in life that adults often take for granted... or just don't notice anymore.

On top of all that, the idea of having a personal secret garden is extremely fascinating to me. It'd be heavenly to have a beautiful, fragrant, and tranquil enclosure that nobody else knows about, in the middle of a beautiful English country garden.

I thought it'd be a bit weird to call this blog a secret garden, when it's online on the worldwide web - but, upon further pondering, I thought it's still a secret in the sense that nobody will see it anyway unless I give them the link. Which is the purpose in the first place, where I and some closest friends plan to keep each other updated with each others' lives. So, here we go....

100 Random Things About Me

1. My name is Claudia.
2. I believe in God.
3. I love chocolate.
4. I could play The Sims all night.
5. I can't NOT listen to music.
6. An avid fan of Suede.
7. I love Great Britain.
8. I prefer British English.
9. I like to spend my free time in front of my computer.
10. I wish I lived during The Beatles' height of fame.
11. I'm learning Mandarin.
12. I know a little French and Dutch.
13. I read Benny & Mice comic strip every Sunday morning.
14. I don't watch local telly.
15. My favourite Starbucks is non-fat no-whip iced mocha.
16. I love salty french fries.
17. I like to read classic children storybooks.
18. I love European films.
19. I can drive, but I hate parking.
20. I love nail art and nail polishes.
21. I love crystalline things.
22. I love documentaries except where animals eat each other.
23. My favourite colours are black and blue.
24. I never leave home without my mobile.
25. I love BBC.co.uk
26. I'm afraid of needles, but I've got 4 piercings.
27. I love iPods.
28. I recently reformatted my computer, and am installing things right now.
29. I play organ at church.
30. I can't stand pain.
31. I like the piano, and self-taught myself to play.
32. I could fall asleep crying, listening to Damien Rice.
33. Katharine McPhee was the only American Idol contestant I've ever rooted for.
34. I adore musical boxes especially the antique ones.
35. I can play drums, but not so good.
36. I like people who are knowledgeable.
37. I love trying or starting new things.
38. I've been keeping a diary since I was little.
39. I get angry easily, but I forget easily as well.
40. I used to love New Kids on the Block.
41. My 'home channel' is Star world.
42. I watch useless MTV reality shows on Saturdays.
43. I take everything too personally.
44. My first gig was Ash.
45. I was once held under a knife point while waiting for the bus.
46. I really want to visit London.
47. I don't like cigarette smoke.
48. I fell off a jungle gym when I was small, and got more embarrassed than hurt.
49. I took ballet lessons when I was young.
50. I can cook simple meals.
51. My special place is Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.
52. I like to help strangers in need.
53. I love visiting cultural centres.
54. My earliest memory was looking at my newborn sister.
55. I had a happy childhood that I often wish to come back to.
56. I'm training my English accent.
57. Ronald McDonald and his clown brethren creep me out.
58. Celebrities are just people like us. Except John Lennon and The Beatles, of course.
59. The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
60. I love rainy days.
61. I can't swim.
62. I name my gadgets with Elvish names.
63. When I'm really angry, I cry.
64. I set up a daily schedule of things to do.
65. Some people find me intimidating.
66. I don't talk much.
67. I almost burned my classmate's hair with my candle during a kindergarten Christmas play.
68. I love my students way too much.
69. My favourite ice cream flavour is choc choc chip.
70. I hold a degree in architecture.
71. I have already got over 100 Pokemons.
72. I once got a perfect point for a singing test at school.
73. I had a secret crush on someone for 4 years during middle school.
74. That person on 73 didn't even remember who I was when we met again in a reunion.
75. I love playing Moonlight Sonata.
76. I want to have a secret garden in an English country mansion.
77. My favourite beach is Nusa Dua, Bali.
78. I hate politics and economics.
79. I must have everything I wear colour coordinated.
80. I love Italian food.
81. I have a vast collection of hair accessories.
82. I have a penchant for earrings, especially silver ones.
83. I'd rather spend my money travelling.
84. I love Coca Cola classic. Other variants just don't do it.
85. The first mobile phone I had was a Nokia.
86. I was always the best in the class during elementary school.
87. I love Converse shoes, ballet flats, and boots.
88. I'm a loyal Maybelline user.
89. I grocery shop at Carrefour.
90. I love to wear Esprit, Zara, and Levi's.
91. I fancy someone at the moment.
92. I'm loving my teaching job.
93. The only things I love about my country are my family, friends, and students.
94. I'm able to juggle 2 balls and play hulahoop.
95. I'm a vegetarian.
96. I hate going to salons.
97. My biggest fear is losing my loved ones.
98. I wish I had more income.
99. Going to music concerts gets me high.
100. I wrote this to kick off this new blog.