Fireblog

Excuse Me..............

aah... another traffic-free monday morning as usual..40mnts(23km) 2d office :) when mondays r considered a hell day, i find it 2b d most traffic-free day of d week.. i'll share some tricks for the road:

1. monday-wednesday, always leave between 7am..7.30 would b d ideal time 2get out of d house..thursday n friday, try leaving earlier.. 6.30am is d ideal time but u can still leave @8am n hav little traffic..but never leave past 8.30am!
2. go through as little traffic lights as u can and if possible, always find roads wher u r goin against traffic.

these 2tips can only work when ur office is on the outskirts of business centers and ur working hour starts at 9am.. which means it is only possible if:

1. u r very very lucky to have found a working place like that..
2. u own a company thus u can decide its location and working hours huehehehehe...!
   

btw... congrats 2a dear friend (dont worry i wont link ur blog ;p) who just had a great date..
movies, reserved dinner, and a night stroll on monas park... only one element missing hehehe but i'd say he did his homework, eh? ;) i guess he has dis undying luv 4u hahaha considering 5years.. hehehe..
just remember wat i said (the one correlated 2d date.. not the other story hahaha)

~veryverylocal:D

Luis Miguel's sabor a mi is quite a romantic song.. ive tried searching the lyrics n found the original lyric and translation..i thought the translation was a bit off(just teeny tiny bits), so ive edited little things here and there...please feel free 2correct me if u suspect a mistranslation :)

Japenggo Shokudo
The Plaza Semanggi
3rd Floor No.5

Gudeg Bu Tjitro
Jl. Veteran I No.23

This resto beside JIS Pondok Indah is really somethin.. The 1st branch was opened in Semarang, Central Java.. the place in semarang is far from cozy.. it was a small place where young, moneyless (usually college students haha) people hang-out for cheap food.. the place is far from fancy.. the one in jakarta on the other hand, is i'd say makes d cut of bein d top 20% of fancy restos list(my list btw :p).. the place is simple yet very eye-catching.. u can eat inside if ur a family.. it also has a terrace if u'd like to have a romantic dinner with candles beside the fish pond.. another terrace is located adjacent to the main eating area.. Instead of seeing old messed up motorcycles, u c bmw, volvo, and mercedes benz in the parking lot.. quite amazing considering the food is still cheap.

Ok..i recommend the inhouse special Bentuman Steak or Roman Steak.. i'd had them b4 so i ordered the Medium Size Aborigin Steak(21k) which was tenderloin covered with hot melted cheese, mushrooms, and sauce. i of course chose baked potato over the french fries... another specialty is the spaghetti with ribs (20k).. my girlfriend chose spaghetti bolognaise(12k) coz she wasnt dat hungry yet.. for drinks she chose applejuice(7k) while i had the inhouse special, bentuman juice (8k) which was strawberry+lemon+apple+other things i forgot.. all juices are fresh.. i then ordered d bentuman salad(9.5k) which was carrot+greenpeas+cucumber+green beans+pineapple covered in thousand island..

the salad was ok.. compared to the other menus, i think the salad had the least value for money (but hey, everythin else is cheap!:p).. the steak was good. u can still feel the taste of the meat in your mouth.. this is a very important bonus point bcoz in other places the sauce usually camouflages the taste of meat... but i knew i had 2eat fast tho... this was bcoz a main sauce ingredient was cheese.. a flaw when using hot melted cheese is dat it gets cold really fast and the taste usually fades away after dat.. the spaghetti my girlfriend chose tastes good.. i cant describe d sauce better than saying that the italian pasta had indonesian taste.. other than the sauce being not as thick as my liking (u cant scoop the sauce with a fork), it was excellent.. the apple juice was pure apple.. they didnt filter the water only so ther was quite a lot of apple fiber.. the bentuman juice was splendid.. maybe a bit too much strawberry but still nice.. it's got a nice kick in d taste..

so for a total(+tax) of IDR 67.700(proof dat cheap != badfood), i'd say the food was worth slighty more value4money than the Dutch Resto..the only flaw was the salad which i believed shouldve cost much less :p btw this is another "just right" portion restaurant.. just my type.. :)

~weks4am!mustsleep:p

Ohkay... ive been 2dis resto b4 but just 4 every1's info, this is a family restaurant. a small nice cozy place with nothing 2fancy.. all the menu portions are "just-right".. meaning u dont get 2full which is my favorite type...

the special is the Hutspot Met Klutspak (i think i got the last word wrong haha) which is basically mashed potato with strips of meat and covered in gravy..
ive had dat b4 so this time i decided to try the Fentucini (isnt this italian?) which cost 14k.. my girlfriend had the Hutspot (17.5k).. she drank the chocolate float (8k) while i had orangejuice (7k).. for appetizers i chose the belgian fries with mayonaise (10k), which i think is actually mustard+mayo.. and for dessert my girlfriend had 2scoops of vanilla ice (7k)..

She tot the Hutspot tasted good but got boring as time passed.. me as a mashed potato fan (a fan of most potato cookings) dont mind having just mashed potato as a meal haha... anywho.. the fettucini was good.. the belgian fries wer my favorite last time i was there... but last time the fries were shared with my cousins so i didnt hav as many as i had yesterday.. the fries were huge and the mustard+mayo was so stuffing dat we had to push ourselves 2finish them.. but they were really good.. intially.. i mean they wer good till i had to take off my belt and force them down my throat hahaha... the ice cream was nice tho.. standard vanilla covered with strawberry and chocolate syrup..

a total of IDR 63.500 for all that, plus the comfy place made me feel my money was worth it.. just one advice tho.. if u cant handle too much food, dont order appetizers.. or just have appetizers+soup/somethin lite :p

last week i picked up my girlfriend @her office in thamrin...
after shopping books at QB thamrin, we err... i was hungry...
ther was d standard choice of Bakmi Gajahmada, and the lame choice the golden arches (theyr everywher in jkt)...

the best foods in jakarta is either in d blokM area or Kemang but the traffic would be like hell after work hours so our choice was limited to the sarinah region..
not knowing what to choose, we decided 2try out Hot Planet.. a simple place.. almost like a diner but two storeys..

so we took a seat (non-smoking of course) and looked @d menu.. "wats d specialty?" i asked.. the waiter said "konro ribs".. [-_-]" if i had wanted konro ribs i'd have gone 2 Tata Daeng's ribs in tebet.. "wat else is d specialty?".. "uhm.. our steaks..sirloin/tenderloin steak.." another [-_-]" i'd prefer to go to abuba steak in d fatmawati area or ben tuman (it means 2b addicted in javanese btw) steak in Pondok Indah..

so i looked @d menus again..and considering the name Hot Planet, i tot about hot plates and ordered a what-i-tot-was-a-safe Sizzling Black Peppered Beef Hotplate...my girlfriend chose a much safer menu of Tuna Croissant..she drank avocado juice while i chose the lime squash..

the black pepper beef was awful.. ok..not non-edible, but ive tasted much better cooking with much less price.. the downfall of the recipe was dat d beef was boiled 1st.. this is a No-No when cooking steak.. u lose the taste, the thickness of the meat, and of course the proteins are destroyed...the flavor only had one taste which was spicy.. i dont mind spicy food, but really..u cant appreciate food if the only taste was chilly! my girlfriend's tuna was ok.. the standard white tuna croissant. nothing special. the chips could use some salt tho..

anyway, IDR 77.000 with a menu consisting of tuna croissant(17k), beef hotplate (25k), avocado juice(14k), and lime squash (14k), the food was far from my expectations of a restaurant at thamrin.. u could get much better tasting (and healthier) foods in many other places tho i admit compared to the other restos @thamrin, a price like dat is considered cheap.. maybe dats d only reason y its still open...
- august 28,2005

just took a shower n was about 2go 2d office...
but thers this leak behind my toilet..the pipe dat goes in d wall has been leaking for some time.. ive been wantin 2fix it but just didnt hav d time (nor will) to do it.. so i thought "hey, i'll just get d monkey wrench from d garage n tighten it up a little..." so after running downstairs n up getting d wrench, i kneeled and tried to tighten the pipe..

as i turned the wrench ther was a "CRAAACK!" sound.. oops, dat cant b good i thought.. the pipe broke and water started pouring out (i think pour is an understatement hehe).. all wet n a bit surprised, i ran outside 2get a ladder n went up the water tower to close the pipe water.. when i went back 2d bathroom, it was already flooded n water was sipping from underneath the door...

after cleaning the mess, i took a look at the broken flexible pipe.. damn its broken.. so i guess i'll hav 2buy a replacement.. at that moment a colleague called and asked whether i'll be goin 2d office 2day..anyway, the store is about 1km away.. a bit long for a quick walk, but 2short for a car.. so i decided 2walk..@d store, i realized d pipe dat was broken was d cheap kind..so i asked for d best quality pipe... dat left me with only IDR 5,000- in my wallet Do'h!..

so i went back n fixed the toilet (hopefully for good this time)... i hate having to kneel down n using a monkey wrench in such a small space.. it took about 1/2 an hour... it was about almost 11am when all (the mopping n cleaning up) was finished n i toyed with the idea of not comin in 2office 2day..

it was quite an even match between responsibility vs fun n games.. but in d end, responsibility won by a very small margin n i changed clothes (d shirt was all wet with sweat)..made it 2d office just in time 4d friday prayer..an here i am now posting this post :p

haha doesn't sound brave or heroic of me ya..? :p
last night, i had a hard time tryin 2sleep.. i chatted w/a friend till 2am..
i knew i had 2sleep coz i had 2leave 4d office early dis mornin...
but the feeling i had that early in d mornin was really bad.. it wasnt as bad as when "IT' 1st attacked, but really gave me enough discomfort 2not sleep well..
i dreamt i was being chased around by dinosaurs.. i was killed (stomped on or eaten) all the time.. the dream kept on repeating itself (i hate those dreams).. i cross a lake, suddenly dinosaurs emerge.. i die, then d dream starts all over again.. the variations of my death wer d only thing different in each "act" haha...

and then i woke up... had this scared feeling up my spine...i knew "IT" was inside.. this time i was more scared coz i turned off d lights in my room this time haha.... since last time i didnt have the chance 2look around (i was ambushed) i tried lookin around my room..the sight of it surprised me.. i duno if his presence was of any relevance 2my dream, but there it was... on my door..

"on the door?" u ask?.. yup... it was crawling.. it looked like a giant lizard(relevant 2my dream?), but as i looked closer, the body shape resembled that of a human..i couldnt really make out everything coz "IT" was almost invisible.. almost transparant.. have u seen d movie Predator(starring arnold suasanasegar)? it was somethin like dat.. i could only make out the shape coz it created a sort of ripple in the air.. i looked at it for a long time making sure it wasnt a trick my eyes wer playing on me.. i searched for a source of light tryin 2find dat maybe it was just a reflection of some sort.. but there wer none...and then it moved..

haha now this was getting scary, i thought.."IT" had been there watching me.. and then started to crawl from the door to the wall.. this was when i was certain it's body resembles dat of a human.. but it CRAWLED!! dats what freaked me out! here was this creature, watchin me all dis time.. was it studying me? ready 2attack?

when he got 2d wall, i wasted no time.. i just bolted through d door. hahaha... i hurriedly went downstairs 2d living room wher ther was light and my aunt was praying in her room (i heard her reading the Qur'an).. i looked at the clock.. only 2.20am! my dreams and all that only lasted 20minutes??? it felt like hours..! my mind was racing, my heart was working extra time... i really wanted 2call some1 at d time but i'd probably receive some pretty good swearin if i woke up anybody @2am haha...

soon my bodily functions started 2work normally again..i still had this bad feeling, but it was much much less powerful... so i slept on the couch... i woke up @around 4am... again with a bad feeling... i knew "IT" was here again..i didnt want2look around n went straight upstairs 2my room again.. haha its like playin tag.. in my room it was cold(i didnt turn off d AC as i went downstairs... sorry SBY-JK :p) but all the feeling of fear was gone.. maybe it had gone back 2its tree n left d house? who knows... at least i can sleep in peace...

didnt feel like sleepin at all tho... coz the alarm woke me up not long after... usually my alarm is set to 4.30, but considering what happened dat nite, i set it to 5.30...

hehe guess i've gotta grow stronger... i wonder if my mom's uncle is still alive... mayb he can help... heheheh... cant help 2quote starwars: "the dark force is strong within you.."

With his capital tied up in merchant ships at sea, Antonio must go to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender(a.k.a loanshark) he despises, to borrow the money promised. Shylock wraps his grudge in kindness, offering a three-month loan at no interest, but if not repaid, Antonio will owe a pound of his flesh chosen by Shylock. The Jew's daughter then elopes with a Christian, whetting Shylock's hatred for Christians and furthermore Antonio, whom he believed assisted the eloping.

While Bassanio's away wooing Portia, all of Antonio's ships founder. Unable to pay his debt, Antonio surrenders to the penalty. Shylock, in anger and resentment towards Antonio, demanded his pound of flesh to be taken from the location nearest to the heart. With court assembled and a judgment due, the resourceful Lady Portia swings into action to save Bassanio's best friend.

If you thought Leonardo di Caprio's Romeo & Juliet act was a laugh, this is a movie that'll replenish the magic of Shakespeare. Possible problems faced by viewers are the similar Italian names and fashion, which if you're not used to, would take extra effort in remembering the characters and their roles. The lines, like many other shakespeare work, are witty, funny, and romantic with a touch of sarcasm. The movie itself is catagorized as a Romantic Drama/Comedy. The only downfall was the adaptation only told the main story of the original play and thus left out many intriguing side stories. A must see for Shakespeare fans, I give this movie a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

note: I would have given 3.75 stars because the side stories were really good, but since the movie was uncensored and filled with flashes of nudity, i gave an extra 0.75 *wide grin*

A small tip for people eager to read shakespeare but have trouble with old English:
1. Just read out the letters. They are spelled a bit different, but sound just the same.
2. As far as grammar is concerned, u understand Master Yoda of Starwars right? Its the same thing :)

david bach on his best selling book the automatic millionaire stated that the reason we want to get rich is not because we want the cash and the ability 2buy anything we want. we want to get rich because we want the feeling of being rich.

let me elaborate.. the best feeling we get when we have money is when we give it away. maybe to charity, the local mosque/church, beggars on d street, and so forth. by being rich, we are able to experience that feeling.. we feel good when we are able to support and provide for people.. if what we search for is not the money but the feeling of being rich, must we become rich first? :)

is the saying "by giving, u receive many folds more" (found in modern religions) true? well...the richest people in the world today gave to charity long b4 they wer rich.. even if u r a non-believer doesnt this fact catch ur attention? sure the saying had been repeated over n over again during preaches n religious gatherings... but it never actually hit home for me.. i give 2charity to d mosques n beggars on d street, but i never really felt what mr. Bach meant.. I used 2think dat u had 2get filthy rich 1st, then give back 2d society in millions.. it finally hit me on the head (n heart) when i was moving 2my new house...

as i was moving a couple of weeks ago, i found my nintendo player..hehe.. the memories of playing mario bros3 came back... the player wasnt broken, just out of date thus nvr played again.. as i got 2d garbage can 2throw it away, d local trash-collector came and asked whether he could keep d console..i told him 2take it n his face glowed..i then hurriedly told him 2wait while i search 4all d games i cud find.. seeing dat man's face really made my day...d feeling was indescribable..

n then i saw my ninja turtle toys... hahaha that really jogged my memory.. since my ironing-lady had a 7yr old son, i decided 2give it 2her (it was hard,but im 2old 4it anyway :p) n hoped her son wud enjoy the turtle's company as much as i did..

im a sentimental person.. i keep almost all my possesions from childhood toys, trophies, awards, n so forth... anything dat gave me good memories, i kept.. but i now know those memories will b difficult 2b replaced even if ther is no physical object dat helps u remember it.. even if the memories do diminish through time, at least u'd hav a more precious memory of making people's lives better..

now i understand.. and mr.bach's book helped make me realize...since its not the money we want, but the ability to give to others, we dont have 2b rich 1st! i kno those reading this will probably laugh n say "every1 knows dat, u moron..", but think 1st; wat hav u given 2 society? wat hav u done 2help make people's life better.. i knew, but i didnt understand... now i do (hopefully)..

"IT" finally attacked last nite..

background info on "IT"...
a couple o years ago, my parents bought a piece of land which is now our home.. a man (bataknese) bought d land behind our land not long after.. he cut down all trees except this one big bamboo tree.. when we asked y, he answered that ther was "somethin" livin ther and dat his "abilities" wer insufficient to drive "IT" out.. 'hoho,' i thought..now dis is interesting +grins+

a couple o months ago as d finalization of d house was comin near, i sometimes stay guard (sleep ther).. sometimes i'd have a bad feeling, once i even thought i saw "IT" moving out in d back.. but nothin ever happened..

last nite, as i was sleeping.. "IT" finally came.. I confirmed it afterwards wit my cousin dat was sleeping in d next room n he felt "IT" pass but "IT" didnt do anything 2him. if u look @my house pic, my room is d1 above d large front window, behind it is d room my cousin's stayin in, and behind dat is d tree.. "IT"'s aura was so much different than what i've experienced b4.. it was strong and dark.. i've felt the aura b4 but this time it was really strong.. "IT" was not like the "cigarette-stubbing-middle-aged-guy" in Pertamina Hospital, nor like "girl-turned- granny-prankster" in Pokus (my kost in depok), nor the "tryin-to-be-scary-green-hag" in building C Fasilkom.. wished it was like d "nice-little-girl-with-her-family" i also met in Pertamina Hospital.

hmm.. a little more flashback is needed here.. I come from a bloodline of people that can see "things".. my great grandpa used 2fight "them" all d time.. my grandma wud sometimes talk to "them".. i cannot yet control dis ability.. it just comes n goes..

back 2d story.. the batak man was right.. "IT" was powerful.. and "IT" was not just havin fun playin tricks.. i fell asleep without turning out the lights last nite.. but when "IT" came, everythin was dark.. "IT" came n tried to possess me..not just nindih (duno d english word 4dis).. to be frank, last nite was d 1st time i was frightened.. i was convulging(is dis d correct word?) seizurelike just to get "IT" off me..i finally suceeded and it was really tiring..i was breathing short n hard.. and then "IT" attacked again... thou tired, this time i was ready n d 2nd attack and thank goodness it didnt last as long as d 1st..

yes, it was scary.. but nothin serious happened.. d fact dat d 2nd attack didnt last as long thou i was tired is a good sign :) what'll happen next? haha i'll just hav2wait n see :D

as a note, "IT" did not show "IT'"s form last nite.. all i saw was darkness... mayb next time "IT" will hav d guts 2show "IT"self..

last saturday nite i went to TC bar wit my cousins.. d married gals wern't allowed by their parents hahaha.. so it was just non-married,good lookin guys n gals dat went :p err..except for 1cousin who was married but didnt tell his wife wher we wer goin hahaha..

Man it's been a long time since ive been out enjoyin d nite life.. ever since i entered fasilkom i rarely go 2bars,cafes,or discos anymore..so last saturday i was thinkin "man im 2old 4dis.." not really in d mood @1st.. the environment didnt help.. the air smelt of alcohol filled wit smoke.. d place was quite full (it was bout 11pm when we got ther) but we managed 2find a spot on d 2nd floor.. a cousin dat was already ther wit his friends came over n said dat d band 2nite was awesome.. i tot "yeah yeah.. of course they r.. its sat nite.. but im 2old 2enjoy these things anymore.. just 2old.."so i looked @d menu n ordered somethin "safe".. the waiter was promoting d latest alcohol-mumbojumbo-invention but i told him i was drivin..so i got d usual coffee n chatted wit my cousins on d latest gossip, work, etc etc while waiting 4d music (they wer on a recess when we entered)... and checkin out d new fashion in style worn by hot chicks of course haha..

then d band came out.. it wasnt a band really.. an acapella consisting of 2guys n 1girl..the girl was cute, one guy was skinny and dark, the other looks just like a young version of Mr.Johar of IDC (a bit local here)..bloated stomach, wearin only undershirt n pants hahaha... but when they sang.. wow.. every high note, every curve in the music was like an incantation which got us all in a trance.. claps and whistles followed each song.. songs like "A Whole New World; Peabo+Reginna, Kiss from a Rose; Seal, Un Amore Per Sempre/Alejate (i forgot); Josh Groban" wer sung to near perfection..

Now i remember what i missed bout d nite life (beside d drugs, alcohol, n sex of course)... just hangin out wit friends (cousins in dis case), drinkin, talkin bout bizniz or just gossip, n listenin 2good music..well basically havin fun.. oh how i now miss d nite life hehehe... btw, the acapella band is called DIVA (asked a waiter 4their name).. if u ever see their name, check em out..

so we left d joint bout 1.30.. i think the government makes them close @1am (cmiiw)? well we wer goin home anyway since different "species of animals" take over after 1am..

the next mornin i woke up @so weak haha... experienced another dream/reality thing... i woke up @5am.. body couldnt move..forced myself 2get outta bed.. just as i rolled over, it felt as if i was underwater for a long time n just resurfaced taking air.. and then suddenly im awake again.. so it was just a dream b4? so i got up n took a wudhu n prayed.. then dat feelin again! and i was in bed as if ive just woken up 4d 1st time..did i dream bout praying?? then i walked down d stairs.. then it happened again! me walkin was a dream? dat happened bout 6 or 7 times.. my gf sms-ed me n i read it (awake).. then replied it in my dreams... haha i need a psychiatrist.. i didnt remember taking any crack or weed or grass or marijuana or anythin of d sort d nite b4.. althou dat would explain things perfectly hahaha...

U say it is human to compare and choose the better.. just trust my feelings...
but a man's word is his bond.. if it can no longer be trusted, what else does he have?

i realize that people (including myself) have been regretting almost constantly what we havent done. and y we dont do somethin bout it.. it seems dat most of our regrets r about relationship choices, passed up opportunities, indiscretions, bad decisions, or procastrinations.

lets 1st discuss bout inaction.. the road that we did not take.. y do we regret past choices dat wud only affect us? at first glance, it seems dat no logical good can come out of these regrets.. ther have been many advices of these thoughts, one most easily remembered by Stephen Stills (did i get his name right?); "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."

what is d emotion triggered by regret? i think it is grief. a very selfish grief haha.. what good value can come of it? we can regret because we can imagine. we can imagine what the present would be if we took a different path in the past. but y did we take the present path that we have taken instead of the path we did not take? i believe bcoz we knew dat we cant take every path.. there wer choices to be made and bcoz we did not have the present information (knowledge) at the time, we thought that the choices we've made had greater emotional, logical, and intellectual (had d minimum risk mayb?) appeal. So regrets come from present information we have acquired that make us imagine of what things could have been, thus the saying "if i knew then what i know now..."

so when u regret working doing X instead of doing Y, or regret being with X when u couldve been with Y, etc etc.. this means we are unhappy and feel regret which allows us to imagine a different present.. we regret for what mightve been n grieve over the choices we've made.

unhappiness(grief) may bcome a catalyst, some sort of motivational push for us in our lives. it educates us..so it can be positive when correctly responded to.. by grieving something in d past, we gain valuable knowledge. for example, if u wer playing with something sharp (knife,sword,scissor?) and it slipped of ur fingers and cut u, u would feel pain(grief) from the xperience and not play with it again.. but if when it slipped it missed cutting u, u would have little or no grief at all n thus will probably play with it again in the near future..

but whats the purpose of regret? The imagination of "what might be" could still b positive as explained above.. but what about things dat r irreversible? what if it was too late? what if what d choices we've made could not be undone in the future (eg. signed a 10yr contract n realize u dont like d work, ur dream wo/man whom uve never had the guts 2xpress ur feelings to got married)? If its too late, then y do we still regret it?

I believe the answer is escapism.. when we r unhappy, we tend to create stories to comfort/console us.. we tend to imagine "what couldve been" and insert that in our present. our imaginations become so vivid that it can jump out of time and become a real possibility in our present! If we fail to rid of these imaginations, in time they stop becoming our consolation (positive) and become a regret (negative). We must be able to separate what is real and what is mere imagination.

Our paths crossed not a blink ago

But quite a few things of you I now know
A chapter from your book of life I have opened

And found your dreams, some which I comprehend

And some I do not, while others I try not..

Your tales of love I have read

And found your passion for love worthy of envy

Your efforts and struggles truly captivate me

The pains and sufferings you have faced are more

Than one soul should be allowed to endure

Even so.. Which each stumble,

Each fall, and even when faced by a thick wall..

A way out you always find

And you continue to move forward

With high hopes still, and head up high

To search that flame which shall never die

I am no fortune teller

The future therefore I cannot foresee

All I know is when you think all seems bleak

And you feel all is lost and your heart is weak

Remember of friends you still have

Who can help stop you weep

And bring back the colors to your cheek

3rd of August 2005

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