Olympics and Moon Cake Festival...

Wahaha....I've 'neglected' my blog for so many days...! Lots of things to do and also because Facebook has attracted my attention from my blog, yah....more time for FB than blog...hehehe..

Okay...yesterday midnight(about 12 o'clock), I still couldn't sleep at all so I went to the living room and watched TV. Coincidentally, I turned to one of the China's TV Channels, CCTV Xin Wen, then I was surprised to find out that at the same time, in Denmark, there was an official meeting to announce which country will have the opportunity to organize the next Olympic in 2016(after Olympic 2012 in London)!!!

Woaaaahhh... every candidate representatives had come and waited for the result. All of them were so curious to know which country will get this Golden Ticket! At the meeting, I could see Mr. and Mrs. Obama, the Prime Minister of Japan, and other govermental members. The candidates which had applied for the Olympic 2016 are Brazil(Rio de Janeiro), Chicago, Tokyo(Japan, oh...I love this country so much...!), and Madrid.

Only Japan, who had had the experience in organizing such a great ceremony, I had also watched every ads about each countries....Oh! They're so cool! Awesome! Each videos shows the cultures, scenery, and other attractive sites that will add some points to this election/voting. Not long after that, the chief ofthe Olympic Organization announced that Rio d'Janeiro wins! Whooooho! Every Brazil representatives jumped up and shouted in amazements! The Brazilians who had gathered at Copacabana beach to listen to this announcement, danced happily after this great news. This is also the first time for Brazil to hold this Olympic competition and of course, they must be well-prepared for it! :)

Oh ya, today is also the day of Moon Cake Festival! Oh, I've waited for so long! Eventually I can enjoy the taste of those delicious Moon Cakes! Hwahahaha....! Happy Moon Cake Festival, everyone!

Long time no see...

Udah lama nggak nge-blog...kali ini ada kesempatan tapi sayangnya buat nge-curhatin mood aku yang lagi down... entah kenapa, tak ada sedikitpun semangat yang muncul hari ini bahkan sejak aku bangun tidur. Apakah karena aku tak bisa menerima keadaan kalau sebenarnya hari ini adalah pengumuman finalis lomba yang aku ikutin....hah...sebenarnya sejak jauh-jauh hari aku udah nyiapin mental buat menerima semuanya. Tapi yah...gimana pun mentalku ternyata belum cukup kuat untuk menerima kalau aku gagal menjadi salah satu finalis, hiks...
BTW, hidup tetap harus dijalani....nyokapku juga udah menghiburku dengan mengatakan hal-hal yang klise, tapi aku sangat menghargai usahanya, thanks a lot Mom, you're still the best! Katanya, masih ada kesempatan lain kok, kegagalan dalam sebuah kompetisi adalah hal yang sangat biasa, so just TAKE IT EASY! Bukan cuma kamu (gue mksdnya..) yang gak terpilih kok, masih banyak yang laen, jadi jgn putus asa, bla...bla...bla... Hmm...ada benarnya juga sih....
YA OKELAH.....seperti yang tadi aku sebutin, LIFE MUST GO ON ! Bener gak? hwe..he..he...
>selamat buat yang udah jadi finalis ya! (ucapan selamat dari gue yang sportif, haha)

OMG !!! THE WORLD-SHOCKING NEWS!!!

I never imagine that 'this' will happen so fast...Jack-o has died! OMG! I can't believe it! I'm sure that all of you must have known this news right? This morning when I woke up, actually half-awake, I went to the kitchen to have breakfast. As usual, I took the newspaper and started to read it. But before I found the article of Michael Jackson's death, my Mom said to me :
"Hey, Michael Jackson a..." And I replied:
"Hah? What's wrong with him?" I still didn't care about his news, maybe another controversy again.
"He's died......." No need a second to make me become like this :

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG100x! that time I was completely awake! Then I opened the newspaper and found a full-page of his article, he's died because of drugs overdose. Walah! This is a real world-shaking news! Even though I'm not his big fan, but honestly I like his songs and his legendary Moonwalk Style!

I could say nothing but deepest condolences to his family!

HIIIIIIIIIKKKSS.........!

I believe that his songs will remain forever in this world for he is one of the most famous mega-star on Earth! Agree? :)

BEWARE !!! DEVILS ARE EVERYWHERE!

Aku kaget, shock, plus prihatin setelah melihat video yang ditunjukkan oleh dosen pake Hape Blackberry beliau. Pak Dosen mendapatkan video ini dari salah satu website ternama kemudian menunjukkannya kepada mahasiswa/i-nya. Aku nggak nyangka bakal ada orang seperti ini di dunia setelah menonton video singkat ini. Beberapa hari setelah menontonnya, aku denger dari nyokapku kalau video ini ternyata juga jadi bahan pembicaraan ibu-ibu di pasar! Berikut aku menyertakan video tersebut dan silakan Anda menontonnya, mungkin perasaan Anda akan sama dengan saya setelah menonton video PENINDASAN PRT KEPADA ANAK MAJIKAN itu!
Berikut video-nya :
Kejadian ini tersingkap karena si anak, konon, terus-menerus mengeluh sakit di tubuhnya pada ortunya. tapi si anak tidak(berani) memberitahu penyebab rasa sakitnya itu. Ketika sang majikan bertanya pada si pembantu, ia hanya menyangkal alias pura2 tak tahu. Sang majikan lantas curiga dan memasang kamera pengintai CCTV di sudut ruangan tanpa sepengetahuan si pembantu. Setelah melihat hasil rekaman, tahulah sang majikan bahwa si pembantu ini telah menganiaya anak mereka. Yang kudenger sih, mereka menuntut si PRT dan akhirnya si PRT (cuma) dihukum 2 tahun penjara!
Note: di video ini, yang disiksa adalah gadis kecil berusia 3 tahun, PRT-nya memakai celana biru, anak lain yang duduk di kursi juga anak majikan yang masih berusia 1 tahun. Parah bgt, pasti hati nuraninya sudah menghilang entah ke mana!

APRIL...It's an eventful month!!!

Wew…, April…what a busy month for everybody! Not only for ‘the high schoolers’, who had just finished their National Final Examination (this really makes me remember the moment when I was in the Senior Year!), but also for me and my friends! Yet another assignment to do and the mid-term exams are enough to make my days even tougher and confusing, hehe…
But luckily, there were some events that can make me feel less miserable this passed April, for they were unique, exciting and informative! Now I’m glad to share them with you and it’s gonna be a long posting!

On the fourth of April, I went to Suryo Street along with my Mom to attend The Jewelry Workshop, which was held by Rapid Education Consultant Medan and JDMIS(Jewellery Design&Management International School) from Singapore. We arrived there a few minutes after the scheduled time and we thought we were late, but it’s surprising that we found ourselves as the first comer! Then the staff led us to the workshop room (there was a table with many equipments and a slide-projector) but nobody was there except two of us! We took a seat and just kept waiting at the others. Suddenly two foreigners (‘bule’) came into the room. They started to greet us (“Thank you for coming, bla...bla…bla…”). I thought that it’s a rare opportunity to learn from the native speakers how they speak good English and I was the interpreter for my Mom, hehe :-)
Finally the other visitors(who had also reserved the seat like us) came and the workshop started. The two foreigners are British but they have been teaching in Singapore for years. One of them is Mrs. Tanya. She explained a lot of things related to Jewelry Design and about JDMIS institute in SG. For instance, about jewelry industries, the course modules, some jewelry modelling, history and trends, and descriptions about designers, Gemmology(the study of jewels/gemstones), also about JDMIS itself.
After the slide show, Mrs. Tanya started to perform her skills and techniques in making jewelries, like using metal clay (this clay is sold in SG and contains lots of tiny particles, a.k.a silver powder) to make a silver ring! I never knew that making a silver ring can be so much easier than I thought (if we have the materials)!! She also made a beautiful necklace with stringing method. I got some brochures and booklet for further details. After the workshop, we went to another room to see the jewelries exhibition.

Most of the jewelries were made by the students of JDMIS, cool huh?! It was a really nice day and I got something new from this event, the knowledge about the art of jewelry design! Oh ya, JDMIS also will make a short course for family to learn about jewelry design and you’ll get certificate after the course. I think it’ll open in June.

Next, the second event was on 18th and was held at USU! It was the Japanese Cultural Festival (Bunkasai)! What a great opportunity to know more about Japan, cool! It was also a coincidence because I didn’t know it was being held again in Medan until I read the article from Analisa newspaper. I must not miss this annual event!!! So I told my friend, Christine (halo Chris! Hehe..I know you are very fond of everything about Japan), and we arranged a meeting on the next day to visit USU! Yeah, there we saw a lot of things, it was very crowded too! There were some stands for bazaar, selling Japanese stuffs

and food, also band and cosplay performances(anime and harajuku style), we met a contestant with an awesome costume(from the anime: Rozen Maiden)

, yukata photography (so many people queue up only to take some pictures with yukata),

Japanese Ghost house, etc. We also watched Japan movie, the title is Gomen (Sorry) presented by The Japan Foundation. The story is about a boy, who is dealing with the problem of maturity and his first love to an older girl. It’s a funny movie actually but some dialogue and the acting of the kids were too bold! The main character can say something awful(jijay) without any hesitation! For me, it’s too weird for kids to do that! But after all it’s a nice movie. Christine also bought Okonomiyaki

which sold by one of the food stands. It tastes good, a little bit like pasta I think.

N.B: We also took a pic with a kawai woman in Yukata :)

That day was hot but exciting! Yeah, hope Bunkasai will be held again next year !

On 25th April, I went to Grand Angkasa Hotel to join a training seminar which held by my college. The seminar was about Table Manner.

There, the hotel staff taught us about the correct attitude and rules of eating at the formal situation, like social gathering, business contact, the origin, arrangement of menu and beverages, types of alcoholic beverages(like Gin, Vodka, Rum, Tequila,etc.), table d’hote setting, etc. Unfortunately, this seminar is not for free, hehehe… every participant must pay Rp 90.000,- to join this event.

But I think it’s worth the expense, for we had a short tour to the swimming pool, grand ballroom, Tian Wai Tian Oriental Restaurant to let us know more about this five-star hotel and also we could enjoy delicious meals after the tour,hehe…:-P

The appetizer was a plate of Caesar Salad-it’s yummy! And I finally know that it comes from Mexico!

Next menu is Soup(honestly, I don’t like it!) but after the main course came, haha…I had my appetite again! This was absolutely delicious! Chicken Steak with black pepper gravy, yum…yum! The steak is filled with vegetables and cheese! Hoho…!

Afterwards, the dessert was a plate of rich Chocolate cake with Vanilla ice cream! Sluuurp…!

I was too full when the last beverage came, a glass of Terong Belanda juice, and I just drank a little. That day was a nice day too! When the seminar was over, all of us gathered to take a picture at the lobby of Grand Angkasa.
After I went outside the lobby, together with my classmates, to wait for my Dad to fetch me, we saw someone coming out with several staffs. We were surprised to see that Mr. Syamsul Arifin and Mr. Gatot Pujo Nugroho were there! It seemed that they just had an important meeting at Grand Angkasa. Well… it’s great to see them directly! Hoho…
Yeah, this was a great month, I think. Lots of new things to see and hope this May is going to bring me more different and inspiring events!

The Election Day!!!

Yuhuuu...! After several days of campaign with lots of posters, banners, billboards of campaigners, which you can find all around Medan, finally the time for the general election (Pemilu 2009) has come! Well, I chose the Caleg that my Dad support. There were also many people came to join the vote, most of them are from the nearest neighborhood. After giving a tick to the A3- sized papers, and put them into the box, I dipped my fingertip into the ink. Aaargh! now it looks weird with the Purple color on it! Haiya...I know it will be difficult to rinse it! But this day is a nice day for me. It's a day off for every people! I and my family also went to see some TPS around. Many acek-acek and a-i around, some of them was sitting at the kopi-tiam after joining the election, discussing about politics, etc. Haha.... after today there will be another holiday!
It's Easter Day! Yihaaa! This makes me remember about the Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, etc. I also have a PC game, which the Easter Bunny becomes the victim, hehe...It's a horrible game, honestly!

Cocoa to chocolate

Yo! Blogging again!
Hwahahaha….This Sunday I feel relax bcoz my project for the afternoon class has been done on time. Then last week when my Mom was talking with the housekeeper, suddenly I heard from her that she planted some Cocoa bean at her small backyard of her house. Therefore, I asked her,”Bik, how does the inner part of Cocoa look like?”

She replied,”Oh, you can’t figure it out if I just decribed it to you. You must see it yourself. Maybe tomorrow I’ll bring it for you.”
“Hah? Really?! Gee, thanks!”I said. And she really did it.

She said that there is a wide variety of Cocoa fruit growth in different places. Some of them have a reddish skin, some of them will be yellow if they are ripe. And this is the first time for me to see Cocoa in front of me! Very close to me! I wonder how this Cocoa can transform into the most delicious and famous Chocolate. There must be a long process until it can become Cocoa powder and even Chocolate.

And after I cut it into two, I was quite ‘amazed’ when the seeds came out. Hoho…the milky white flesh sure looked appetizing. But after I tasted one, my face became like this:

It’s sour! Huekk….! Almost like Mangosteen…!

and when I bit it, the bitter and undescribable taste came out. That time I knew, the Chocolate factory must have used a lot of sugar to make it sweet! That’s why some people said that Chocolate is not good if we eat it a lot!

The housekeeper also said that she must dry the Cocoa beans off under the sunlight and after that she can sell them to the factory.
Huhu…Finally I’ve seen the real Cocoa and even taste the weird flavor…This makes me love Chocolate more and more!

N.B : this is the Cocoa bean after it has been cut into two pieces. :)

Fuaaahhh....! (What the...?!)

Hehehe...three(actually two, Saturday is a free day for college student like me...)holidays in-a-row! Enough for me to take a deep breath of relief after those final exam! Yeah, it's over!
But there are still some annoying assignments and tasks I have to do! Never mind-lah!
Oh ya, udah lama gak nge-blog... tapi akhir-akhir ini baca koran(rutinitas gue juga) banyak bgt kejadian2 yang Hhhhh....memprihatinkan...! Misalnya insiden di NTU, Singapore tuh! Weleh2!
Dan AKHIRNYA! PRESENTASI gue di kampus selesai sudah!!! Gue benar2 'mencair' setelah giliran gue selesai! Berhari-hari gue stress abiz gara-gara mikirin tuh! Makan, mandi, sampe 'boker' pun kepikir! Stress bgt! Pasalnya gue nih kalo harus berdiri di hadapan belasan orang sambil mempresentasikan sesuatu tuh, bagaimana kerasnya berlatih, tetap aja hasilnya grogi plus tersendat-sendat ngomongnya alias gagap non-permanen hehe...
Tapi teman-teman gue tuh bilang bagus karena gue ngomong pake bahasa Inggris(buat dapat nilai plus!), mungkin buat menghibur gue yang udah hampir 'menggila' karena depresi kali ya!
Ada teman gue yang maki2 dosennya gara-gara bikin dia mati gaya di depan kelas! Memang sih, presentasi dia kacau abiz...udah ruang kelasnya dingin bgt, tambah stress aja!
Well...gini deh uneg2 gue...sekian dulu ya, mo ngerjain tugas2 lain yang udah gak sabar nungguin gue, hehehe...Bye!

THE WARMTH OF VALENTINE

Yesterday was Valentine day. It is a day that being ‘worshipped’ by almost everyone in the world. This is a L-O-V-E day and usually identical to couples. But for those who are still single, hehe…can celebrate Valentine in many ways too, with friends and/or family.
Celebrating Valentine day doesn’t have to make a big party. A simple way will also become meaningful, like what my Mom did yesterday evening.

Actually nothing special was happening until the sky became dark… I was using computer, my Dad was doing his tasks, my Sister and little brother was watching TV. We were too busy with our ‘business’ and didn’t pay attention to my Mom in the kitchen, preparing dinner for us. Then suddenly she came to the living room and brought a special menu for us! A heart-shaped steam rice with corn, shitake mushroom and pork. Absolutely delicious!

We were surprised and of course, felt very happy! The atmosphere was getting warm, full of Mom’s love, hehehe….Thanks a lot Mom! :)
That evening had become a simple yet lovely Valentine moment!


HAPPY VALENTINE, GUYS!

*THE LAST DAY OF CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION (CAP GO MEH)*

Last Monday, the night of Cap Go Meh (February 9th), my Dad brought us (my Mom, my Sis, and me)to visit THE GRAND VIHARA MAITREYA at Cemara Asri Complex(my little brother didn't want to go bcoz he prefered to watch BLACK CAT Anime at home).
I’ve heard that this huge temple is very famous in Medan but that night was the first time for me to go there so I was quite curious about it. And after we arrived there (that day was a very lucky day, we got a strategic parking place in front of the temple when so many visitors were also looking for it!) I was totally amazed to see how magnificent it is!!! Hundreds of light bulbs made the temple looked so beautiful! We were also welcomed by two gigantic statue of China’s legendary creatures, Qi Ling(It has a body of Lion and head of Dragon) in front of the Vihara. After we got inside, thousands of Chinese people had already come to enjoy the atmosphere! No matter old or young, all of them looked very happy!
There were also some unique and fun spots, like a wishing tree. It is a Cherry blossom tree, actually. Lots of papers with wishes from visitors were attached to the branches. We visitors, can used a long stick prepared by the temple to hang up our papers to the highest branch we could reach! Beside of the wishing tree, there is a big statue of smiling Buddha Maitreya. Many people prayed for His blessings and touched His feet, belly, or big pocket to ask for luck! It’s so unique, I think, and also the first time for me to see that! :) We also met my forth uncle, grandmother, and my cousins there! Oh ya, there were a lot of beautiful fireworks which were not only enjoyed by Chinese people who celebrate Cap Go Meh Festival but also many people with different religion had come to enjoy the atmosphere! That night, all of us really had a lot of fun under the bright full moon!
N.B: Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my pocket camera that night so I can’t take the pictures of those happy moments… huhu…X(

Confused...

Hhhh....
After those holidays, I think I should be ready to deal with my activities again, like going back to campus. But this morning I was astonished because nobody was in the class! It made me think again and again, I was not late to class and based on the announcement, college activities will be started again on 2nd of February, what the hell is happening actually?! This morning I've wasted some money on the street and then going home with disappointment and felt hopeless!
Now I'm confused of whether I should go to college again tomorrow but I'm afraid that today's incident will be repeated again....hopefully not! X0

GONG XI FAT CHAI!

HOORAAAAYYY!!!

恭喜发财！
GONG XI FA CAI!!!

牛年吉祥！
NIU NIAN JI XIANG!

:)

HAPPY SA CAP MEH, HAHAHA...!

HOORAY! Today is Chinese New Year Eve! What a wonderful day, isn't it?! Tomorrow is gonna be Chinese Lunar New Year, I've waited for so long and it's a FAMILY GATHERING TIME! It will be full of happiness and nostalgic moment! Now my Mom is preparing delicious meals for my family! Hwahaha...I'll enjoy those special meals and tomorrow I'll get the most wanted RED POCKET for my income, hehe...

I can't wait for tomorrow!!! Oh ya, I wish in this coming OX year, everything will be better.

Wish my family, friends, relatives, and everyone has a happy and prosperous New Year!

GONG XI FAT CHAI!!!!!

恭喜发财 吉祥如意

ALOHA!!!!!

Wuih! Postingan pertama tahun 2009! Udah tanggal segini nih…tapi….IMLEK sudah dekat!!! (Yup, Chinese New Year is approaching! What have I prepared ya? Of course THE RED POCKET is the most wanted item in this Festival, hehe! And the Cow will be the next icon in 2009! Mmooooooo…!) :)
Oh ya, by the way…aku pengen sharing suatu peristiwa apes yang terjadi dua hari yang lalu, huhu…tapi mungkin gak akan mudah dilupakan nih!
Gini nih, waktu itu hari udah malam sekitar jam 8 lebih, aku bareng kakak sama Nyokap lagi keluar pake mobil Kijang kami menuju rumah Nenek, untuk menjenguk beliau yang lagi sakit. Tapi masih setengah perjalanan, Nyokapku bilang kalau beliau pengen mampir sebentar ke butik terdekat untuk beli baju baru buat Imlek nantinya, kemudian baru ke rumah Nenek(jaraknya juga gak jauh2 amat dari rumahku). Acara shopping akhirnya selesai dan waktu masuk ke dalam mobil yang diparkir, Nyokapku kaget karena mendadak mesin mobilnya gak mau nyala padahal udah di-starter beberapa kali. Kakakku pun ngusul biar dia yang mencoba tapi hasilnya sama juga, mobil gak bergerak sama sekali. “Gawat…”pikirku. Sementara itu pegawai butik di depan kami sudah mulai membereskan barang-barang karena sebentar lagi butik itu akan ditutup! Parahnya lagi, kami bertiga waktu itu lupa bawa Hape! Benar-benar seperti skenario yang sudah direncanakan sejak awal! Keadaan sekitar kami lumayan gelap karena sedikit lampu jalan yang berfungsi. Nyokapku langsung masuk kembali ke butik yang hampir tutup itu dan permisi meminjam telepon mereka untuk menghubungi Bokap yang lagi di rumah…Kami pun telah menyiapkan mental untuk dimarahi habis-habisan sama beliau! Beberapa menit kemudian Bokapku gak kunjung muncul juga, kami jadi makin ketakutan plus kepanasan di tengah malam yang gelap nan sunyi itu. Nyokapku pun segera mengunci pintu mobil dan hanya membuka sedikit celah jendela sbg saluran udara karena takut tindak kejahatan yang mungkin terjadi malam-malam begini. Aku terus mengawasi kendaraan2 yang lewat sampai akhirnya aku melihat sosok Bokapku dari kejauhan! Hhh…syukurlah! Tapi Beliau diam saja dan begitu tenang memeriksa masalah mesin mobil kami, tanpa ekspresi jengkel sedikitpun! Beberapa saat kemudian tetes-tetes air dari langit mulai berjatuhan…HUJAN! Sial, mobil kami belum sepenuhnya nyala tapi malah turun hujan(walaupun gak deras bgt)…apes banget! Akhirnya Bokapku masuk ke dalam mobil dan mencoba men-starter mesin sementara aku, kakak, dan Nyokapku terpaksa membantu mendorong mobil dari belakang! Pengendara2 yang lewat sempat pula memandangi kami, aduh malunya! Tiba-tiba seorang kakek dengan jenggot putih dan pakaian kotor nan lusuh melihat kami dan menawarkan bantuan mendorong mobil. Aku cukup salut dengan tenaganya itu! Beberapa saat kemudian mobil kami mulai bergetar dan akhirnya bergerak juga! Bokapku pun segera mengambil secarik 5000 rupiah sebagai tanda terima kasih untuk bantuannya. Dan akhirnya kami langsung bergegas pulang!
Wuih…itu benar-benar malam yang mendebarkan di awal tahun ini, Hahaha…!