Some Flashbacks

What happened 2 weeks ago:
Tried Mr.Curry in Grand Indonesia - a restaurant that exists in Singapore. I know, but it's different - soalnya makan bareng bokap. Raditya Dika lagi makan juga di belakang kita huahahah. Lagi banyak seleb deh pokoknya lagi ada event HardRock.FM sepertinya. Also spotted The Cash lagi makan - Vincent :( *kasian* sepertinya masih sedih atas kekalahan Belanda *sotoy*

What happened 2 weeks ago, a day after Mr.Curry :
Dinner in Yoshinoya in Grand Indonesia, just across Mr.Curry. Nah it sounds kebangetan, I know - Yoshinoya gitu loh, bukan cuma eksis - tapi everywhere. But once again, it's different, soalnya makannya bareng nyokap. Ada Ariyo Wahab yang ganteng - gondrong - dan brewokan pula ahahah :)))

What happened every weekends starting from June 12th 2010 :
Family :) lunch / dinner in (almost always) Chinese (don't ask) restaurants.

What happened today :
The 7th Hokben of summer holiday period. I was eating with mom. Funny, because in our left - were also mother - daughter, and in our right : also mother-daughter.

And the conclusion of the flashbacks is :
I don't wanna leave this country.

:(

Tiny TV

Dad brought this small TV to my room so we could watch TV while playing with computer. For the first time I thought it's annoying - the noise -, then I realized that I had to watch the world cup downstair (in Indonesia you can't watch the world cup with cable (errr..)- I mean you must use normal antenna) - with mosquitoes and with no aircon . So I used it to watch late night matches on my lap on my bed in the dark (it's not advisable for your eyes but it creates extraordinary nuance :) - yeah it's sometime hard to adjust the antenna on my bed, few improvisations and experiments needed. Ahahah.

I didn't realize how important it was until there was a long blackout one day and it's almost match time! Ah that's what the tiny TV was for! Since then I diligently recharged it almost every afternoon - just in case.

But there's another day - I was happily watching the semifinal between the Netherlands and Uruguay - suddenly the picture's gone - empty battery. I madly ran to my parents' room to join my dad watching the crucial last minutes from a bigger TV, silently (mom was sleeping). Ahahah.

I wanna bring this machine to Singapore. Channel 5 isn't so bad. I don't know how to ask hahahah. Afraid.

Universal Studios!

Yak another long overdue post..this event occurred around.. errr.. more than a month ago?

A merry Wednesday morning in Harboutfront station : Can't wait to plaaaaay (nah it means we are young. Still young, friends! Come on!). Universal Studios here we come!

We were really excited that for efficiency, we planned carefully what to play first and where to go next by observing and marking the map - and we realized - koq kalah yah sama Dufan mainannya.

So, the theme park is divided into sections as shown below : Because they, sadly, hadn't opened the ultimate ride (Battlestar Galactica), we went for the 'second' one for the first ride, The Mummy Returns Roller Coaster woo - hooo couldn't waiiit, TO EGYPT!

Otw to Egypt thru..a whole new world

And this was it,

Okay, apparently : no bags allowed. So we had to go to an automated rented locker room just next to the mummy temple and put our bags there, then we rushed in ready to queue (and thank God, there was no queue when we went there :D It wasn't holiday season yet). We just walked and walked and walked through a dark and cold rooms (the tunnels were scary, really, it's meant to be a place for mummies ya know). And we reached the cart. Seriously no queue!

This ride : "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!! Eh? ..That's it?"

It was a thrilling excitement in total darkness. It was fast and sometimes we felt like being almost thrown from the seat - we were waiting for the 'final surprise', whether it's a mummy or another sharp turning point, ehh taunya udah selesai. Huhuu. Yasudah deh.

Next stop : The Lost World.

I tried. I tried to 'get the feeling'. That we were really entering Jurassic Park. But I couldn't huhuu too old to 'fool' myself. I was completely aware that we were college students having fun in a theme park in Singapore.
It's okay girl. 21 is a perfectly appropriate age for theme parks anyway. We'd know there's a hardworking person inside that costume. We're able to ride a roller coaster elegantly (huh?).

Hey old soul, please be 21.

Okay so before we queued for the Rapid Water Adventure a.k.a arung jeram, we bought disposable raincoats (I hate wearing wet clothes in theme parks. Or anywhere? Repot ganti bajunya - apalagi di Dufan).

Comparison with Dufan's Arung Jeram (-spoiler alert-) : well - arung jeram is more stable, shaky from the start until the end, I think averagely bigger currents, lebih basah lah. The Universal Studio's one is erm.. okay... where's the current? Gw lebih cemas sama raincoatnya sapa tau bolong. Trus things started to go wrong (yang kabel listrik lepas itu loh) ada lah dikit ombak, ada dinosaurusnya!!! Hahahah. Terlalu kaku tapi keliatan robotnya. Nah makin lama2 makin gawat nih ceritanya (lumayan serem juga takut di samping tiba2 ada T-Rex loncat), terus kita naik, naik, terjebak di 1 ruangan (tuh kan ada dinosarusnya hiii), trus dijatohin dari atas (ya ga curam2 amat sih, ga seserem niagara tentunya), tapi baguslah, ada climaxnya.

There's another attraction in The Lost World, canopy flyer. Yaa gantung2 asik gitu sih hehe, asik kalo buat ngeringin baju yang abis main arung jeram. In its walls you'll find these :

Kyaaaaaaaa those are the mosquitos from the past that are used for reproducing those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park 1!!! Fascinating!!! - and thoughtful.

Okeh, itu cuma film. Ingat yah nak.

Speaking about Jurassic Park, there's an attraction called : Lights, Action, and Camera! : Hosted by Steven Spielberg (of course he wasn't physically there ahahah). It's my favorite!

It's about the making of special effects in film studios. Kereeeen.

Ada poster Jaws kirain apaan. Udah girang banget gw - tapi merinding hehe.

I like the Hollywood & New York sections so muchhh - especially this building :

Tinggal pake long coat, pose, eh tiba2 di Eropa. Ahahah.

The ship from Madagascar

Sci-Fi City

too bad Battlestar Galactica was still closed..

I'll ride them someday

Oh btw, there's a ride in Sci-Fi City called, the accelerator - wow, this is a must try attraction. It will leave your mouth open.

Far Far Away :

Shrek 4D was soo cool. Really real in a way, especially the ones with the "liquid". You'll see funny posters along the queue :
Talking about princesses. EHM.

Waktu kecil gw merasa kuning + pink adalah kombinasi warna ter-sweet di dunia.

After moving from one place to another with a mission of finding a place for lunch, (else were crowded), we decided to land in Friar's. A restaurant for wraps woo-hoo.

Oh we got 5$ voucher for dining and another 5$ for shopping (included in admission ticket price). So this meal cost only 3++. K.E.N.Y.A.N.G banget ga nyangka, padahal wrapnya isinya cuma selada sama ayam (to emang padet banget sih). Oh you can add spices and cheese powder on your fries!

Abis makan kita naik roller coaster lagi (yang lain ngantrinya lagi parah soalnya), tapi ini yang junior lah - this ride : "ahhh ini mah apaan.. pendek, nyantai aja.... *naik*naik*naik*baru makan nih, koq tinggi ya?*naik*kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......!"dan kita mulai beradaptasi. Lumayan. Hahahah.

Waterworld!

Nah ini nih yang biasanya ada di TV hahahah. Yang bikin gw seneng pemerannya bule semua. Ganteng2 beneran. Dan iseng2 bangett! Jangan deket2 kalo ga mo disiram. Jangan duduk di depan juga. Masa ada tante2 lewat panas2 pake payung dong, trus 1 bule lagi "jaga" di gerbang memberikan tatapan aneh, "is it raining here?" trus dia nyipratin air.

"Helen!"

"Mariner"

...? Apa ini? Mestinya kan :

"RANGGAAAA!!!!"

"Cinta?"

Atau :

"Galih!"

"Ratna!"

Dan bahkan :

"Radit!"

"Jani!"

Yasudahlahya tuh mariner ganteng ini. Sayang ada Helen.

JADI,
Overally kalo soal attractions/rides sih jauh lebih challenging Dufan, menurut saya. Tapi kalo soal makanan, souvenirs, kebersihan, ya gimana yah ini Universal Studios gitu loh.

Main2 sampe sore :D

This was tempting. But the shopping voucher's only 5 bucks.
Btw - I like the stores so much I wish I were a little girlll.
Those are dreamlands.

The Legen....*wait for it*...dary.

Bayangin. Ada toko Hershey's di gerbang.
(Untung bukan di dalem - yang harus bayar 60 dolar ouch).

Thanks God for the much celebrated day :D

Ahahahah. Talking About Originality.

Keep walking, keep shining.

And the World Cup is Over. Now I'm Scared.

90 minutes/day makes time flies away. It's almost mid July already.

The Charm of Football
Or Soccer, I actually prefer calling it soccer to avoid confusion. And a new confusion will arise, "So which English do you use, actually?" Err, I don't know. I write 'colour' with ou and 'realize' with z.

And I prefer calling the pros footballers instead of soccer players. Ahahah. Sorry.

Okay now straight to the point (sorry girls need to walk around first): Have you ever tried to explain why is soccer so fascinating? Here's my attempt: because it's not just about techniques and regulations, it's about being a human, with passion, and emotions that touch the hearts of many. Whether it's overflowing joy or an anguish, affecting a person, a team, and don't forget a (massive) group of supporters. This is the arena where grown up men cry or jump around and hug each other and it's normal.

Just like watching a play on a green stage - but it's reality.

And because it is not just a sport, it's a game. For professional players, soccer is a way of life, and for us, serious supporters, it has already become an essential spice of our life, a strong one.

Speaking about world cup, hmm. It smells like a large-scaled indulgence. We talk nations here. It's a language we all can understand. Matches after matches, sensations after sensations, and emotions after emotions. Especially for the people who take it seriously. Like me.

Hahaha, (again, after 2006) gw kadang malah bersyukur Italy udah pulang kampung. Maksud gw nonton pertandingan lain aja deg-degan apalagi nonton team sendiri. I told myself often, "I would have passed out if this is Italy,". And I remember in 2006, or '02-'03's Champions League, the final night, gw ga berani nonton prediksi, road to finals, etc. Perut kram all the way hahahah. Biasanya gw ga mungkin bisa tidur dulu, pasti melek sampe tengah malem, pas pertandingan mulai, gw kasih tau bokap, bokap nonton, gw ngumpet di belakang, berdoa sambil nangis. Sesekali ngintip. Gw suka punya feeling komentatornya teriak, "goooalll.." terus perasaan gw ga enak, takut kebobolan, pas gw ngintip, ga ada apa2 tuh. Hahahah.

And I always dislike watching closing ceremonies. Everybody dislikes saying goodbye to fun.

But after all these craziness and soccer fever caused by the world cup, people shouldn't worry because there will be new seasons of serie A and EPL and La Liga and Bundesliga and Champions League, and, ehm, our own, Ligana, with all the exciting transfer market. But I'm returning to Singapore in less than 3 weeks.

Kalo udah begini, I'm back to the question I asked in mid 2007, when I was about to leave for Singapore. Will there be a TV there? And apparently there was a TV in year 1's apartment. And after I found out the only league the national TV broadcasts was "S League (--)" and if you wanna watch the European leagues you have to subscribe to cable sport channels, and the long-known fact that I was gaptek, the basic question then popped,

"Can I live without soccer?"

Well it's kinda hard for the first weeks, and throughout the year if there's a big match especially in Champions League. I really disliked the idea of not being able to watch my Juve (and Rossi and Raikkonen) on TV on weekends like I used to do. It's my routine since junior high.

But I got the point, God wants me to learn that watching soccer isn't everything (maybe yea I sometimes took it too seriously, and too emotionally) and the only thing you can't live without is God Himself, the only source of life. It's proven that without soccer, I'm okay. And I don't know if I would get the same grade if I spent my weekends in front of TV in foundation year.

Weekends after weekends, I learned to let go. Ya I still envy people with TV honestly, yes I'm still learning. And of course, as God told me to tell myself, I can survive without weekly soccer supply.

And thanks to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, I will have to tell myself once again. And learn again. Oh I don't wanna imagine. But for sure, with God, I will conquer this.

Tuhan, aku beneran takut balik ke Singapur lagi. Tuhan tolong..

Winning the World Cup is (Almost) Impossible

As a serious supporter who once had a period of longing and waiting and praying for the valuable victory, I'm fully aware of that fact.

In four years : many losers and only one winner. Many great and even legendary footballers, or star studded teams didn't have the chance to win the title, and numerous people didn't have a chance of witnessing their beloved team lifting the cup. For most people, it's just a dream. The results are often unpredictable, history can't always be trusted, predictions aren't always correct, and skill isn't enough.

Luck is needed. I prefer calling it 'grace', favor and blessing from above. The God factor.

And as one of the few lucky supporters, I'm fully aware of that fact. Thank You Lord for 2006, and maybe again someday? :)

"In the soccer world, what more can we expect than winning the world cup?"

Congratulations Spain,

Last week Nadal, now La Furia Roja, maybe later Jorge Lorenzo?

Although I felt bad for the Dutch,

but I'm happy for Torres and Xabi Alonso.

And apparently,

it's your turn.

Awwww. Yuk kita sama2 ke Eropa jadi reporter olahraga!

And Germany's Thomas Mueller won the golden boot yaay!
Look at the birthdate. Painful, isn't it?

image source : FIFA.com

Fabric Hunting

Good things happen on holidays. Better things happen afterwards. Amen :D

Passer Baroe

Mom's picking a... Songket! :D

Vibrant colours pretty flowers

But The Rest of My Day was Good.

Today I found out that my only copy of La Gazzetta dello Sport was accidentally thrown away when mom was moving my stuff out from my Indo bedroom :(

Oh no..

I know it's only a newspaper, but it's too historical and valuable to let go.. I'd been hearing about it from local media for years and I really wanted to know what it's like (it was apparently, pink)and to own one, and when I bought it it was in 2006 a day after Italy beat Australia and it was of course, the headline, and you'd find everything about how was Italy doing in the event inside.. I was so happy bringing it back to Jakarta...

If, if.. if I will, someday, go to Italy again and buy the pink newspaper it's not gonnabe 2006.. oh no I really hope I'll find it somewhere..

Tapi..

Tuhan.. beneran mo ke Italy lagi dong hehe..

Somebody's Me

Alguien te quiere. Alguien te espera. Esto es para ti.

And for all of you,

Ahahaha look at Marshall's face!!!!

Semifinal is Around the Corner!

Before 2006. Or 2008. Or 2010 before Italy's out (ya I recovered faster than I thought : one night) I had never been a supporter of other countries.

Yaa I always have back ups tho, teams to support after Italy's gone (after sometime, I will realize ga asik juga sih kalo ga dukung siapa2), but I also can't be too fanatics about them, it's like..I just prefer them to win. And they're likely to revolve around Southern Europe(for Euro) or South America (for World Cup). The ones that speak Spanish or Portuguese. Spain. Portugal. Brazil. ARGENTINA.

But this time. I go for the westerns. Context : Soccer, only. This event, only. And these teams I "support" (minus Italy ahahah) are doin' well. And lookin' good. Yea:

1. Germany.
Honestly the initial reason was sympathy. Ahaha.
I mean I witnessed them lost in '02final. We beat them in '06 semifinal (I'm happy about that actually---sympathy.), and they lost again in '08 final. Losing in the final hurts a lot, fiuh, I understand. But after watching their counter attacks this world cup : WOOO HOOO ICH WIRKLICH UNTERSTUTZE DICH, DER PANZER!!!!

And for mr.runner up, Michael Ballack :( I wunsche Ihnen eine gute Zukunft in Leverkusen.

Kasian banget sihhhh. Udah di timnas runner up, di klub runner up, pas cedera Jerman malah terlihat menjanjikan, kadang2 sepakbola memang menyakitkan. Mana ganteng lagi pas dateng ke Cape Town kemaren huhuuu, watching his teammates having fun on the field :( Ich habe Mitleid mit Ihnen, Herr Ballack.

Oh I don't like their flag. No offense.

2. The Netherlands.
This world cup's full of surprise isn't it. I always have one feeling about Brazil : they win. 92,75%. So when the Netherlands had to face them I was quite prepared - and I couldn't believe they beat Brazil!

O R A N J E ! ! !

I'm sorry Kaka, altough I love you and your beauty and it breaks my heart seeing you walking out holding your tears :(but I have to put my country above my love for you:)

Okay. Indonesia and the Netherlands crossed path big time. Long story. You'll find so many Dutch people of Indonesian descent and vice versa. And some of them are the reason why they're one of my back-ups this world cup.

And they've never won the title.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
I thought he's mixed but from his (I'm not sure if this is official) website, he's pure Indonesian.

Eh I heard Heitinga and de Zeeuw are of Mollucan descent as well, and van Persie's grandma came from Surabaya?

So this time, it's (hopefully) gonnabe either Deutschland, or Dutch-land. Just enjoy the games :)