Jakarta Pt 3: Eid Mubarak!

Before beginning the post, I just want to say...


I really hope I can replace that cake vector with a ketupat one.
But yay, last night, I worked my butt off on designing this cake in Illustrator following this tutorial on Youtube. This artwork marks my very first vector made in Illustrator! (Yeah, I'm more a Photoshop person).

Anyway yesterday is surely one of the most blessed day for all Moslems in the world. Eid Mubarak finally concluded Ramadhan month this year.
Our Eid tradition hasn't changed for years! After Eid prayer, my parents and I took off to my grandma's house for what was supposed to be family gathering.

However, turned out that only my family present in the simple event. My extended family members had reportedly paid a visit yesterday, since they celebrated Eid yesterday. Actually, I'm pretty disappointed with this year's government's act in deciding Eid Mubarak day cos it supposedly fell on August 30, 2011, but for some lunar factor, it was slated to the day after.

Apparently it ended up causing a major confusion in Indonesian society. As a result to this, some people celebrated Eid still on August 30 and some - like most people and my family - followed government's regulation which is the day after.

So you see how the whole slating-Eid issue kinda lessened the participants of the social gathering event in my supposedly-big family.
Despite lacking of guests for this year's social gathering event, it didn't reduce my Eid spirit!

Sad news regarding the Ketupat: they only lasted two days before decaying. Good thing my family still had lontong as an alternative to be served to the guests cos this food actually lasted longer.

Nothing beat the lusciousness of authentic Eid food served by my aunt and grandma!

Spotted! A tissue box camouflaging as a blackforest cake! Darn, this thing is undeniably distracting! My cousin and I nearly thought of it as a real cake. She even told me how this thing was soooo tempting to look at during fasting days.

This artwork is made by my aunt. See how her talent is dangerously mesmerizing!

It was a small celebration compared to one of those social gatherings you might even step your foot in. But I love the warm atmosphere and how I surprisingly spent nearly hours chit chatting with my grandma, cousin, and aunt.

That same evening, my family returned home to welcome my friend's parents who came over to have a bite of our still-edible ketupat (apparently it wasn't on its decaying phase just yet). Just today, we had some more guests coming in!

Guess this year's Eid wasn't so disappointing at all.

Signature Testing

Hello, just want to have a quick post.
I'll be adding a signature at the bottom of each post.

Hope it's going to work out for the rest of the post, and I hope you like it too.

Jakarta Pt 2: Beyond the Sea

More fun stories coming up now!
On Friday, on the first week of my vacation in Indonesia, I went out with Fany, Agnes, Monica, Widya, and Carmen to Plaza Semanggi. We had lunch together at its food court. It feels amazing to finally meet my best high school friends, got together, and shared our college experience. Even though my other friends go to different unis here in Jakarta, I can tell each of their uni has slightly different systems. But one unique thing I learn is that the Indonesian uni system and US college system aren't much different!

Anyway, here are some pictures I took. My friends haven't really much changed since high school!

I also gave away some souvenirs from the States for my friends. Don't judge them by the size, I know they're small, but these small hand sanitizers have made themselves quite a trend in the US! (sorta)

And they're cute too!

Afterwards, we decided we'd see Transformers 3: The Dark of the Moon. Actually I've seen it once in the US, but it wouldn't bother me if I saw it for the second time. Although I'm not really a fan of these robots, I was quite mesmerized with the whole effect, which made me agree on the decision of watching it for the second time.

Excuse the blurry image. The lighting kinda sucks.

It seems like it's been forever since I saw a subtitled movie. It took me a moment that I was not in AMC, but in 21. Movies here are certainly subtitled. I'm really relieved by the fact that Indonesian government started releasing Hollywood movies again after several months of disbandment. The release of Harry Potter 7 Part 2, Transformers 3, Kungfu Panda 2, and Fast Five definitely make a good sign (and doesn't anyone realize they're all sequels?)

Well, moving on to Saturday still on the same week. Another reunion with my college friends was on the go, and this time, it'd take place in Seaworld, Ancol. I was psyched, since it certainly sounds better than going to Dufan (I'm not a fan of theme parks with many thrill rides). Unlike the other day, more friends were coming this time!

I went to Nancy's hotel to pick her up. Her hotel isn't located really far from Ancol. Only a couple of minutes away. Then we were off to Seaworld.

Before we entered the aquarium, we found a nice food court located just at its lobby. We decided to chill for a moment while waiting for our other friends to come. I made friends with Aymee's schoolmates who happened to be there as well: TM, her brother, and Joven.

After everyone was there, we entered the Seaworld at last. FYI, I went to another aquarium in less than a month, only the other one that I visited is in Monterey Bay. You know, that infamous Monterey Bay aquarium. I gotta say that aquarium is much larger than Seaworld. Seaworld's concept is more like putting every tank inside one big dark hall. Monterey Bay provides more rooms to display tanks.

Anyway, it doesn't eliminate the fact that Seaworld Indonesia isn't as good as Monterey. I love the fact that Seaworld Indonesia has bigger fish to display (even mammals), like Dugong, shark, and basically large sized beings that will make you drop your jaw in an instant. I don't recall Monterey having large sized fish.

We found Nemo!

Dugong. Probably the largest being and the only mammal we found in Seaworld.


Fresh water fish.


Some amphibians spotted in the site.


Darn, this dude is HUGE!

Then another thing I love about Seaworld Indonesia: they have underwater tunnel!
Unfortunately, most of the pictures taken in the undersea tunnel lacks of quality. The lighting doesn't provide much to produce high quality pictures. So I could only post some of the best ones taken inside.


Stingray found lying on the sand


Uh, I don't know whether it's the fish's real face or some kind of features that resemble face.



I honestly love the picture below, since it's actually the best yet high quality picture I took. Tony's expression reminds me of the song "Part of Your World". It's like he's dreaming to be part of...well...his surrounding.



It was a short visit, but the day was still young. We got out at around 2, had a brief visit to the Gift Shop, and we took off to find a nearby restaurant to have lunch.
Before that, some of my friends passed an ice cream stall and bought some ice cream. Nice to munch on in such a hot day.



We had lunch at Le Bridge. The place was hard to notice, since it turns out to be located far off the coast on a pier. So we had to cross a bridge to the pier across the beach where the restaurant exists.



The view in the bridge isn't so bad at all! It must also be a very rare moment for Jakarta people like me and my friends to take a look at the sea located in our city.



Later on, we returned to Seaworld where TM, her brother, Joven, and Aymee would be picked up. Before parting, we took some pictures. Some appeared to be very hilarious. The picture below is one of those some hilarious pictures. But way to go, boys! You guys show some high respect towards our country!



Last but not least, a group picture was finally taken.



It was a pleasant day! Nancy and I returned to her hotel where my parents had already waited at the lobby. Since it was already dinner time, we stopped by at an authentic seafood restaurant in Pecenongan area.

Bongcheondong’s Ghost

Aymee sent me this link yesterday. At a glimpse, I see the link she sent me contains a web comic strip written in Korean. But Aymee said said. "Just scroll down! Keep scrolling! Don't mind the language, just keep scrolling!" At the same time, another friend of mine knew that Aymee sent me that link. He chatted with me and said "Don't open it!"

But well, I'm a cat, and I feel curiosity was slowly killing me...
And it indeed scared the poo out of me!!!!

Anyway, a bit about the plot. The short comic "Bongcheondong's Ghost (봉천동 귀신)" is based on a local urban legend. It basically tells about a girl seemingly walking back home late at night when she suddenly bumped into a limping woman.
I won't spoil anything here. You need to figure out yourself to see what I'm talking about.

Open if you dare

New Look!

Hey all!
See something different here? Yeah, maybe you've seen it up for a while. But yeah, finally, it's good to announce that...

We have a new look!

Getting out of the pink area! Yay!

I like summer-y color these days and I think it would be great to use them for my new theme. It also kinda shows that I've been into a combination colors of pastel pink, blue, green, and yellow/cream. These days, I also fall in love with stripes, which might explain why I have that up for the background.

I finished messing up around with the banner. As you can see, I first used a not-so-good yet temporary banner, but I thought putting up just a typography for a banner would suit just fine.

Well, I hope you like the new theme.
Anyway, I've got something for you guys. Out of the blue.

It's just some discussion I had with four of my friends on Facebook. We talked about a particular picture (a dream room for four of us) but ended up having 1,013 comments!

Have a great day!

Jakarta Pt 1: Coffee and Ice

Three weeks have passed so quickly in Indonesia, and I already miss Cupertino. Well, or at least I miss some aspects of it. Anyway, the day after my arrival, I attempted to make myself busy. That Monday, August 8, I took a rest in the morning to assure whether I had coped with the jetlag. A bit sleepy, still, but the jetlag itself wasn't as bad as I thought. Later in the afternoon, when I started to feel a little bored, I tweeted my friend Carmen and asked whether she was free, which she really was!

So we quickly arranged to meet up at PIM later that afternoon. It was going to be my first hang-out with friend after arriving in Indonesia! So you can imagine how excited I was.

Basically what we did was we chatted a little in Starbucks, went to Timezone, and got ourselves soaked in sweat through many rounds of Dance Dance Revolution. Her skills definitely have exceeded mine! We went through several DDR rounds before we really were worn out, especially I haven't played it in a while.
Then we went to Ya Kun Kaya Toast to have a cup of tea. Actually, I only accompanied her sipping the tea, since I was fasting.

Then we took some pictures using her Photobooth. I quite love the additional effects installed in her app. It got some cool effects my Photobooth doesn't even have.

Afterwards, we parted and I headed to Bakmi Gajah Mada to meet up with my parents for break fasting. Here comes one of my most anticipated moments in Indonesia: tasting the famous chicken noodle! FYI, Bakmi Gajah Mada - or often abbreviated as Bakmi GM - is often listed under the wishlist of most Indonesian students abroad as their reason to come back to their home country *biased*. The noodle is so famous we Indonesians even talk about it in the States!

Teh Botol!
How I miss this local Jasmine Tea.
I've drunk teh botol in the US before, but isn't it just amazing to have encountered with the bottled one? I mean, it's just unbelievable (excuse my spazz over food. It happens all the time)

ALL HAIL THE CHICKEN NOODLE!
Minus the fried wonton. Not a really big fan of it.

The day after, I hung out with Aymee, Ardy, and Andy in Karawaci. FYI, they're actually my friends back in the US, but we just happened to be in Indonesia, so why not having a reunion? Besides, we wanted to feel the sensation of hanging out in Indonesia (cos we hung out a lot back in the States).

Aymee and I particularly made friends with Andy and Ardy's colleagues: Patricia and Agung. We got along very well, especially Patricia is a big fan of Kpop and Kdrama. So we shared our interests at some point. She also recommended me some good Thai movies, which I became completely drawn to. We basically spent the whole day strolling in Supermall Karawaci, touring Universitas Pelita Harapan, and ended up chilling out in its comfortable lounge.

Two days after, Eileena and Bella - also my friends in the US - invited me to hang out with them in Taman Anggrek Mall. This time, we weren't just strolling around and doing basic mall stuff (read=shopping). We were going to do something a bit extraordinary that day, which was ice skating!

Whoops!
I'm not a good skater, considering I haven't ice skated since I was like eight. I remembered being so good in it, but apparently not anymore. So yeah, I'm back being a rookie.

There's actually a very fun moment during ice skating, and quite shocking too. When I was leaning on the glass in the ice rink (as you can see in the picture above), I spotted someone waving at me. LITERALLY. Bella and Eileena went over and waved to that guy. Apparently, it turns out to be my art history classmate in the States!
He's also Indonesian, of course, but isn't it just unexpected to bump into him in Indonesia? Too bad the sound proof glass didn't allow us to have longer interaction. We basically just did body gestures to communicate, then he passed by.

What a small world it is, isn't it?

Later on, we bumped into this photo studio, which we decided to give it a try. The results aren't so bad at all. In fact, I really like how they turn out to be. Here are the two best ones.

The props rock, don't they? Or is it just me?
The backgrounds are also quite neat. I love them.
Yes, please excuse the narcissism.

FAIL XD
Err...I'm not so sure about this one. We weren't sorta ready with the second shoot, and before we got to pose, the camera captured us. Guess whose hands are on the backgrounds.

We called it a day by having dinner in Hachi Hachi, near the ice rink. I had a bowl of Nabeyaki Udon while Bella and Eileena munched on sushi.

One more thing to conclude the post. I know it's totally off topic.


NASI PADANG!!!
Yeah I had this with my dad to break our fast in PIM. One of the food listed under my wishlist after Bakmi GM.
Nom nom.

I am HOME.

Heylow!
I AM IN INDONESIA!

Yes, I'm finally able to post from my home country. I skipped posting last time I went back here.
Ah, the joy of homecoming. Never knew it would be this overwhelming.

So you ask, when did I arrive here? I arrived here exactly a week ago, on August 7, 2011. That date also marks the anniversary of my departure to US. Wow, time does fly so fast, doesn't it?

Okay, story time. I promise I'm going to make it short, or at least...shorter than any other of my stories.

Days prior to my departure back to Indonesia had been sleepless times. Thing is, I barely had time to pack due to finals, and finals themselves took place right two days before my departure. So you can imagine days before finals, I put on my all-nighter instead of packing.

Packing itself was quite hectic. I technically only had a day to pack and I basically just threw unused clothes and whatever I thought would be useful to use in Indonesia into my 100x90 meters suitcase.

This might explain why I didn't get to take pictures during packing.

In the evening of August 5, 2011, I did final checking on my stuff right after going to Valley Fair to buy some additional souvenirs with Tony and Aymee (not to mention, having late lunch at Cheesecake Factory). While Elda and I were doing final checking, Tony, Aymee, Nancy, and Ray came over to bid me and Elda farewell, since they wouldn't be able to take me to SFO. Instead, Kathleen and William were going to take both Elda and me to SFO. I thanked Tony, Nancy, Aymee, and Ray for loading Elda's and my heavy loads to Kathleen's petite car.

Our flight was at 1.40 am on August 6, 2011 and we departed from the apartment at around 10pm. Since the traffic to the airport wouldn't be stagnant, we dropped by airport's nearby In-N-Out Burger to have ourselves midnight snacks. We bumped into another party: Amira (who was going home as well) along with Joshine and Kezia.

I was a bit worried that we would be late for our flight, but my friends assured me that In-n-Out wasn't so far from SFO. Instead, "It only takes 5 minutes to get there," said William.

At the airport, Kathleen accompanied me and Elda to check in and afterwards, we stumbled upon another Indonesian party and took a picture together (which sadly I don't have). Then Elda and I took off together to the gate.

There was a funny thing happening when I passed the custom. The custom officer checked on my photo ID on passport and looked at me at the same time for validity. Then she smiled and said. "You don't change at all." I burst laughing at her response, seeing that my passport was updated three years ago.

Then, we entered the plane from the same gate my flight was back in December 2010. On the plane, I sat between Elda and long, blonde-haired guy at the window. Things went just fine at first. Elda and I occupied ourselves with a movie (Water for Elephants) played far ahead on TV in the middle of the cabin, cos there were no TVs installed in each seat.

But it wasn't until the blonde guy next to me, poked me and had a conversation with me. At first, I was okay and kept responding to him as form of manner, yet I was annoyed with the fact that I was obviously seen wearing earphones and concentrating myself on the movie when he started the conversation (Dude, I need some privacy)

Then he started to drone on and on and jumped from one topic to another. He even started talking about nonsense in an exuberant way (like humanity, philosophical stuff, even monkeys, chemistry, you know...stuff people surely don't want to hear for light conversation). I felt like I was in some sort of a class, listening to a boring lecture. I gripped onto Elda's hand as a sign for her to distract me, which she did. Elda saved me by quickly talking to me about a scene she was watching at that moment, abruptly stopping the guy from continuing his gibberish talk to me.

Anyway, in Taipei for transit, I had myself a bowl of hot beef noodle for breakfast (It was 7 am and I still had an hour before boarding).
Once we got into the gate, we took some pictures using my laptop...just to kill time.

The flight was relatively shorter than the one from San Francisco to Taipei (although it was delayed for half an hour). Good thing the seats in the flight to Jakarta were equipped with personal entertainment unlike on the plane to Taipei. On board, I decided to see Thor and Kungfu Panda 2, this time, nobody interrupted my movie time.

At around 2.30-ish pm, Elda and I walked out to the arrival hall and greeted our parents.


Excuse my face. But you can see it's a mixture of excitement and exhaustion.

My dad excused himself for driving in the wrong side of the road, which I responded it truly as a joke. I needed to get my sight adjusted to Jakarta scenery after 8 months. Okay, call 8 months a freaking short time. But really, the toxic polluted stench, motorcycles stealing lanes, traffic jams, such things don't even exist in the States! I wonder what would happen to me if I stayed longer in the States, say like a year before coming back now, I would have most likely got a mini heart attack seeing all of these Jakarta mess.

Anywaaaay....I forgot one little tiny detail. It was fasting month, and when my dad asked me what was the first thing I wanted to do that day, I instinctively said: EAT.
For your info, it was freaking 3 pm, three hours before it's time to break the fast. Temptation lures. But my dad just said, "Okay, I'll take you home first cos we've prepared something for you."

And this is what he's talking about:

TA-DAAA. Presenting you, the holy traditional rawon soup!
This is officially the first meal I munched in Indonesia.
Nothing beats the lusciousness of homemade food, served yours truly on the plate and bowl I had longed to use, freshly cooked out of the pot. Really. I cooked stuff like this in States and it didn't even taste the same, plus I'm a horrible cook.

My dad and mom - who were fasting - just sat across the table and saw me munch on this delicacy.

I super duper missed this orange juice. Period. Nothing better to describe my love to this brand of OJ.

I took a short tour around the house just to make sure I didn't forget the layout of the house. There were some minor changes. Some furniture got moved, removed, added, and so on. And on to the most awaited moment.

Voila! C'est ma chambre!

At last! I miss it so much! Everything's still the same for my room, except my bookshelf has been moved downstairs to provide more space.

I didn't spend much time at home and we departed shortly to Pondok Indah Mall to take a stroll with my family, also as an attempt to reduce my jetlag (by keeping me awake).
Anyway, I took some nice shots using my dad's SLR camera. Oh oh, I felt so pro!

PIM has had a lot of changes! They have this new huge restaurant/food court section in the back of the mall.

Even I was so surprised they have Yoshinoya here! And it's pretty packed of people. Guess I need to give it a try though I live pretty close to one back in States.

We were at first trying to look for a place to break my parents' fast. But considering it was Sunday, all the restaurants and seats were fully booked that we decided to go home.

Well, so that basically wraps my August 7, 2011, the day of my arrival in Jakarta. So far, I had been busy for the whole first week in Indonesia, with friends asking me to go out, doctor's appointment, etc. I barely have a day to stay at home all day long. However, today, I decided to take a break for a day. It's good to stay at home after going out so often.

I might not continue relaxing for the rest of my summer in Indonesia. I might work part-time at my cousin's design firm or do something else that is worthy but not energy-wasting (It's summer! Time to relax your tense muscles before getting back to those thick textbooks!)

I remember that I once said I wasn't really excited about going home, particularly because some of my friends I like to hang out with, will study abroad this year. But when I stepped my foot to the messy Jakarta, I never knew I would miss this atmosphere. No matter how miserable the city is compared to Cupertino.

Have a great summer! I'll keep you guys posted! :)