kl4nis - me and my everyday's life

Online Photoshop

2008-03-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

hei guyss,

it's like adobe photoshop now providing services like picasa. We can edit pictures online now. just go to www.photoshop.com/express where you can edit your pictures there using Adobe PS for free. Just remember that there's space limitation of 2GB.

happy ... good to see things like this haha. Check my photoshop website as well, as I just posted some pics.

I'm Back

2008-03-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Heyyy .. i'm backkkkkkkkkk :)

just a simple post now hoho .. gonna become a story teller again soon in the future.
For the time being ... just want to declare .. I'm BACK!!!!

Attachments

2006-03-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever asked yourself, “Does my life full of attachments?”

Do you like attachments in your life? Do you think that as heavy weight things that you have to carry? How can you get a relief from that? What can you do to solve this?

Yesterday I watched a movie named Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring. This Korean movie was really touching me. There was a young boy, a monk, fooled around with animals (fish, frog, and snake). He tied the animals with rocks, so that those could not move easily. His teacher actually watched for what he had done, and he gave this boy a punishment. He’s being attached with rocks, so that he could feel what those animals felt.

Later on, the teacher asked him to release the animals, but unfortunately some of the animals are dead. At that time, the boy cried … he regretted for what he had done. And, from that time, he never did that again.

Time goes by, the boy became a man, he is young, energetic, and naïve. One day, one girl came there to stay in the temple that this monk and teacher stayed. Actually, the temple itself is a small temple in the center of a lake, in the middle of nowhere. It’s far from anywhere.

This girl had a problem, she was so stressed, and she tried to stay in the temple to get her spirit back. It worked!! But, not by she did prayers, meditation or something like that. She hooked up with the young monk. They felt in love, they did unbearable things, until the teacher knew that the young monk had broken some rules.

The teacher asked the girl to leave, because he thought it’s helpless for her to stay, beside she already felt much better from her stress. The young monk disagreed, but the teacher insisted, so the girl left.

And one summer night, this young monk, burned with his desired and love, he fled away. He thought about his lover, his attachment of life. He couldn’t again resist the biggest temptation, to have a possession, ownership. He was attached to the girl, as he couldn’t stop thinking of her. So, in one night…. He left the old monk, to capture his love.

Summer changed to autumn … and time passed by. One day, this young monk came back to see his teacher. He did a sin, he killed his lover because he couldn’t stop his jealousy of her being with another guy. He thought that, naively, she were attached to him as well, but man’s desire could always change.

Ok .. the story still continue, but I will cut here.

I want to tell about my story here in Abu Dhabi. Since I will finish my working contract here, I prepare to leave the Emirates. But, now, I am attached for something that I wish I can be unattached as soon as possible. I know it is out of my control, since the attachment that I have are dependent to the successful of future project that I have worked for.

I feel awful lately, I feel that due to someone other’s problem, I have to bear the risk of this attachment as well. I was angry, pissed off, and honestly, I complained a lot. I know that this can be done too, but the time to be consumed make me feel that .. I’m going to stay longer in Abu Dhabi 

I don’t want to make it a long story, so …. Cut the story off, right now, I am still in that ‘attachment mode’, and trying hard to finish all of things, so I really wish that I can go home to Indonesia immediately.

Well, I do have some doubts about attachments. I believe that everyone has something that becomes ‘addition’ to their life. Surely everyone always has this all the time, and it sometimes puts away your mind and energy.

Hmmm .. right now .. I just wish that I’m back there in Indonesia … let my wish come true.

assignment from jojo

2005-11-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

lately i have an assignment of 'seven things' from jojo. it's just quite a while, since i went back to indonesia bla bla bla. so without any further explanation .. walaahh!! :)

Seven Things I wanna do before I die:
1. have a dream job in aviation industry
2. travel with my mom to china (north, south, east, west)
3. visiting all the continents in the world (top list : france, nepal, brazil, canada)
4. become an investor – money works for me
5. have a house by the lake
6. get married, have 1 or 2 children
7. watching a real football game live (world cup, EPL, European Cup)

Seven Things I can do:
1. sing while I’m taking a bath (ready to sing on stage)
2. eat a lot of martabak :P (martabak manis especially)
3. supporting someone when they feel blue
4. browsing the internet all days, chatting, playing games
5. walking around all day until the legs hurt
6. movie non stop watching
7. grocery shopping (guys can do this!!!)

Seven Things I say the most:
1. uhuh ?
2. good morning!!
3. yes, me.
4. oh my god!
5. whoops!
6. tet totttt
7. dum dum dumm .. (depends on the song I sing)

Seven Things I can't do:
1. whistling
2. eating durian, sawo, sirsak!!
3. artistic drawing
4. bend my tongue
5. riding a motorcycle (traumatic experience of stupid fall)
6. smoking! (not even cannot, but will not)
7. concentrate on two things at the same time

Seven Things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. big eyes
2. sex appeal
3. smart talks
4. sense of humour
5. physical appearance
6. able to cook :p
7. can connect with my family

Seven Celebrity Crushes (Based on characters in the movie) :
1. michelle pfeiffer – one fine day
2. Keira knightley – love actually
3. Athena Chu – Legend of Condor Heroes
4. Kate Beckinsale - serendipity
5. Penelope Cruz – vanilla sky
6. Jeon Ji-hyeon – my sassy girl
7. Ladya Cheryl AADC

Seven People you wanna tag: (can i do only one)
1. jenny n sik

looks like pinoy

2005-11-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

hehe .. recently i quite had funny feeling when someone just came around me and said 'kabayan'. a lot of people seemed to think that i'm philipines, a pinoy.

well the story might start when i went to philipines. there, people will not say 'kabayan' word, but, instead of that, they directly talked to me in tagalog. LOL. the best reply i can do is .. 'pardon me?!?! i dont understand what you said'.

well, do i look like a pinoy? i honestly now am much darker since i came back from Arab, plus i hooked up a lot in the philipines sun. so, yes .. me, looks very tanned. (dont worry, still handsome though hahaha). and, damned that .. my physical appearance help me a lot to be eligible a pinoy. maybe i should wear a barong t-shirt as well, so that officially i will become one of them :)

ahh .. back to 'kabayan' word, in tagalog kabayan means 'a brother from same home country'. while, in west java, kabayan is the stupidest, craziest, naughtiest, funniest traditional role person of sundanese culture. there were movies made to describe who kabayan is, and how people in west java recognize kabayan. it's quite memorable, and i think lots of children in my hometown know as well about kabayan's story.

so, maybe it will be quite funny if when someone (a lady) ask me 'kabayan', i just reply then .. 'ahh nyai iteung .. kang kabayan teh meni kangen pisan ka nyai' :) hahaha, i'm pretty damned sure that it's gonna be weird as well funny scene to see. i'm looking forward now to find someone call me kabayan then.

76th bday of my father

2005-09-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

suapan kue ke papa
Originally uploaded by kl4nis.

well .. short only .. happy bday oldman!
wish u a eternal peaceful life up there .. and thanks for the abundance love, careness, laughter, supports, and high spirits that always gonna be the guidance for everyday of my life.

miss u dad ..

my grandma passed away

2005-09-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

well .. today i have bad news. my grandma passed away. i've got that in the sms from my big bro. well, he's actually been in sumedang since couple days ago. my grandma fell in the bathroom, and since that, she got stroke. That was happened last friday. And after having the stroke, finally today, 28 Sept 2005 morning at 9.15 AM , she came back to the creator.

i was quite surprised that my mom didnt tell me in the first time when grandma fell, well, it's actually happened for the second time. The first time, i heard that a couple days later, but my grandma was doing ok at that time. My mom considered that me (as well my sis in syd) would think a lot, and we could not concentrate on our work or something.

the bad thing is, i have already scheduled my holiday starting from 5 oct, and i have to make letters from the military officers i worked for, as a permit to leave the country. it takes about 2 days. and since i will have to process that in working day next week (saturday - different working time here in UAE), so it means i can only leave this country in sunday night. And my grandma will already have had a funeral. So, means that i'll be too much late of joining her funeral.

well .. it's not about the past of my grandma that i feel dissapointed, beside i feel grateful for a bit. the creator has let her release her pain, her sickness, and she can go to eternal life peacefully. What i regret is that, sometimes we dont have 'the time'. we planned on something, but yet .. anything can go happening without us can be prepared to change the plan. it's out of control.

I feel that as well with everything that happens in my life. I cannot control anything i plan. So, sometimes i just .. dont want to plan much, except that run everything that's actually right now in front of me.

we, christians, in our pray, always pray that the creator has made a big plan for our life, even we dont plan that. it's just that we believe in faith that the plan is too damned good to be done for us. I'll pretty sure that i will always ask for the blueprints of plans the creator gives to me .. and yet, when i run the plans, i misread the plans, and .. in the end i need to be guided too.

so, my question is why? why there will always be different plans? why there will be something different than we asked? i dont know anymore the answers ... except that, what i can do now is ... having only faiths to guide me.

miss u grans, and be rest in peace.

my pa's writing

2005-09-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

my pa's writing
Originally uploaded by kl4nis.

this is my father's writing. i know it's about richness .. since the letter in the centre means .. fu .. richness. but i dont know the rest of the words meaning.

i remember that my old man always love to write. he used scrap papers for his experimental writing. he loves to write poems, ideas, everything. i think, his writing was his legacy for me and my family.

actually .. i think i miss him right now. he's maybe not a father type, but .. he do loves his children so much. i miss you pa!

funny sundanese movie

2005-09-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

I've got these from my friends. I believe not much of you here understand about sundanese. I actually kinda miss to talk in this language.

So, here are the list :
Saving Private Ryan -- Nulungan si Rian
Enemy At The Gate -- Musuh Ngajedog di Pager
Rocky -- Osok Neunggeulan Batur
Rain Man -- Lalaki Cicing di Bogor
Die Hard - Teu Paeh-Paeh
Die Hard II -- Can Paeh Keneh
There's Something About Marry -- Ari Ceu Meri Kunaon Teh?
Mission Impossible -- Moal Bisa
Titanic -- Tilelep
Paycheck -- Nganjuk Heula
Reign of Fire -- Beubeuleuman
Original Sin -- Tara Ka Mesjid
Sleepless In Seattle -- Cenghar Di Ciateul
Silence of The Lambs -- Embe Pundung
Ghost -- Jurig Kasep
Bad Boys -- Budak Baong
Are We There Yet? -- Lila Amat Teh Nepina?
Home Alone -- Katinggaleun
Freddy vs Jason -- Pasea
Casablanca -- Mengkol Ti Sudirman
Gone In Sixty Seconds -- Indit Siah Kaditu!
The Awakening -- Hudang Sare
After The Sunset -- Tereh Maghrib
The End of Days -- Seep Waktosna
Life is Beautiful -- hirup teh indah

A story by Paulo Coelho

2005-08-25T04:15:00.000-07:00

I have just checked the warrior of the light website, and I am quite smiling to read this story. I hope it's nice to be read by you too :)

Someone arrives from Morocco
Someone arrives from Morocco and tells me a strange story about how certain tribes see original sin.
Eve was walking through the Garden of Eden when the serpent crawled up to her.
“Eat this apple,” said the serpent.
Eve (very well instructed by God) refused.
“Eat this apple,” insisted the serpent, “because you have to be more beautiful for your man.”
“I don’t have to,” answered Eve. “Because he’s got no other woman besides me.”
The serpent laughed:
“Of course he has.”
And since Eve did not believe him, he took her to the top of a hill where there was a well.
“She’s inside this cave. Adam hid her down there.”
Eve leaned over and saw a beautiful woman reflected in the water of the well. Right there and then she ate the apple that the serpent offered her.

According to this same Moroccan tribe, those who recognize themselves in the reflection of the well and are no longer afraid of themselves return to Paradise.

girl power to make me cook

2005-08-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

yesterday i just had a chat with jojo and yume, and suddenly, after some long long long discussion of food cooking (make me really hungry, and really2 want to eat all at that time), a great idea popped up.

why dont us .. (jojo, yume, and I) make a website that provide our cooking experiences in our kitchen. OMG!!!! i have to take a pic of my cooking??? :P it's gonna published to all people in the internet, and .. they will read that. OMG!!

to put something i am not expertise, it's gonna be a big challenge for me. Of course i will not foul myself to cook badly, because at least jojo and yume will comment something hohoho.

but .. these girls idea is brilliant, at least let me have the chance to learn cooking more seriously. well .. looking forward who will post the first recipe. I think about cook something currryyyy .. hmmm ... and think about that, i'm hungry again now.

so girllllsss ... start your cooking now!!!

please also visit y.u.m.m.y h.o.u.s.e, yummies for dummies only :D

A Love story

2005-07-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

--> Got it from the internet, just a very nice thoughts that I really want to share. So lazy of writing something now, so .. i provide u all a nice web story :)

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived, Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge and all the others, including Love.

One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So, all the feelings prepared their boats to leave. Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the island paradise until the very last possible moment. When the island was almost totally under water, Love decided it was time to leave. She began looking for someone to ask for help.

Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat. Love asked, “Richness, can I come with you on your boat?” Richness answered, “I am sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there would be no room for you anywhere”

The Love decided to ask Vanity, who was passing in a beautiful vessel, for help. Love cried out “Vanity, help me please!”, “I can’t help you, “ Vanity said, “You are all wet and will damage my beautiful boat.”

Next Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, “Sadness please let me go with you.” Sadness answered, “Love, I’m sorry, but, I just need to be alone now.”

Then, Love saw Happiness and cried out, “Happiness, please take me with you.” But Happiness was so overjoyed that he didn’t hear Love calling him.

Love began to cry, then, she heard a voice say, “Come love I will take you with me”. It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that she forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived on land the elder went on his way.

Love realized how much she owed the elder and when she met Knowledge she asked who it was that had helped her.

“It was Time”, Knowledge answered. “But why did Time help me when no one else would?”, Love asked. Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity, answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”

cinta yang sempurna (perfect love)

2005-07-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ketika kita berada di tempat pada saat yang tepat,Itulah kesempatan.
when we are in a right place at the right time, that's a chance.

Ketika kita bertemu dengan seseorang yang membuatmu tertarik, Itu bukan pilihan, itu kesempatan. Bertemu dalam suatu peristiwa bukanlah pilihan, Itupun adalah kesempatan.
when we meet someone who attract us, it's not a choice, it's a chance. Occasional meet is not option, it's as well a chance.

Bila kita memutuskan untuk mencintai orang tersebut, Bahkan dengan segala kekurangannya, Itu bukan kesempatan, itu adalah pilihan. Ketika kita memilih bersama dengan seseorang walaupun apapun yang terjadi, Itu adalah pilihan.
if we decide to love someone for what the person is, is not a chance, it's a choice. When we choose to be with this person no matter what, it's a choice.

Bahkan ketika kita menyadari bahwa masih banyak orang lain Yang lebih menarik, lebih pandai, lebih kaya daripada pasanganmu Dan tetap memilih untuk mencintainya, Itulah pilihan.
Even if we realize that there are more attractive person, smarter, richer than the person you love, but you still choose to love, it's a choice.

Perasaan cinta, simpatik, tertarik, Datang bagai kesempatan pada kita. Tetapi cinta sejati yang abadi adalah pilihan. Pilihan yang kita lakukan.
Love, simpathy, attracted, come like a chance to us. But eternal true love is a choice, a choice that we do.

Berbicara tentang pasangan jiwa, Ada suatu kutipan dari film yang Mungkin sangat tepat : "Nasib membawa kita bersama, tetapi tetap bergantung pada kita bagaimana membuat semuanya berhasil"
talking about soulmate, there is a quote from the movie, which is true : "Faith bring us together, but it still depends on us to make everything goes well".

Pasangan jiwa bisa benar-benar ada. Dan bahkan sangat mungkin ada seseorang Yang diciptakan hanya untukmu. Tetapi tetap berpulang padamu Untuk melakukan pilihan apakah engkau ingin Melakukan sesuatu untuk mendapatkannya, atau tidak...
Soulmate is really there. And even it's possible that there's one made for you. But it is back on you to choose, do you want to do something to get him/her, or not ...

Kita mungkin kebetulan bertemu pasangan jiwa kita, Tetapi mencintai dan tetap bersama pasangan jiwa kita, Adalah pilihan yang harus kita lakukan.
we may luckily meet our soulmate, but to love and to be with our soulmate, is a choice that we have to do.

Kita ada di dunia bukan untuk mencari seseorang yang sempurna untuk dicintai TETAPI untuk belajar mencintai orang yang tidak sempurna dengan cara yang sempurna
we are here in the world not to find someone perfect to be loved BUT to learn of loving someone not perfect in a perfect way.

----- >>
This article is given from someone i really love, and when i read that ... it's really nice to share this with everyone.

Well, i have a quote as well, that might support this article. it's from Jerry Maguire movie, when Tom Cruise said to Rene Zelwegger in a phone call ... 'You complete me'. Somehow, those words are so powerful, and those are so true ... love someone you love in a perfect way to make you feel complete :)

will u get married if u dont love him/her?

2005-06-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

have you ever imagined that you will marry someone you dont love?

what I have experienced here in UAE, is that marriages here are pre-arranged by families. If I saw local newspaper, there were written adds like ' Wanted, broom for a nice and good looking young lady, who is from good family, bla bla bla'.

Well it's not common to fall in love by yourself, and having good time of see each other, before you decide to get married rite? but, well .. it's not here. A man should be interfered by his family to find out a bride. They will find for him one, and after only one time meet each other, they will arrange the day!!

It's like the story of siti nurbaya in this modern times, but, yes it's still common here. And, my local friend in office also said that he needs help from his family to find a wife for him.

I asked him, "what if you dont love her?!". He said that, he can learn to love, and beside, it's good to marry someone agreed by the family, to protect family's good name.

I believe that I am quite a modern guy, I am finding someone that I love, and if we have the future, we will go old together then. It's just like sweet songs, but yes, it should have been like that. But, naturally, if we have pre-arranged married, how can you know about your bride/groom? well, there's plenty of time to know after the marriage then, as what people said, but well .. are there?

I respect about this culture, but yet, sometimes I oppose that man/woman dont have much choices to like someone. It's like you are being control for what your life should be. It's not them to live your life, it's your self.

Well, if you choose to learn to love, then that's ok. What if you have learned, and you cant?!? what should you do? I hardly can answer that .............

ps : to someone that I care so much, knowing that you are in this position right now.

friendster is off here

2005-06-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

One thing about internet thing in UAE that might disturb you, is that we cannot easily access some website, since it's against culture here. I agree if it's porn site or something like that, but then, they banned as well friendster, hi5, multiply, etc.

It was ok with friendster, and then ... it's banned now. Suck huh? actually i use friendster to keep track my friends. But i hardly contact anyone since it's banned. What i have to do now is ask my friend's help to update my friendster while i'm here.

I try use proxy server given by RP, colleague here, but then ... it's not working with password login things. Well, back to zero again. So ... anyone has ideas about this thing? i desperate to login to friendster. Well, i am actually looking for mirror site of friendster, but unfortunately there is none.

Well for now ... just in case you all need to contact me, please mail chandra.yokajaya@gmail.com ...

alrighty then ... nice to write again :P

The Bride Snatchers

2005-05-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

I've read about this story from newspaper. it's written by Craig S. Smith from New York Times News Service). I think it's quite touching, and I want to share it with you . Well halass ... :)

When Ainur Tairova realized she was on her way to her wedding, she started choking the driver. Her marriage was intended to be to a man she had met only the day before, and briefly at that. Several of his friends had duped her into getting into a car; they picked up the would-be groom and then headed for his home. Once there, she knew, her chances of leaving before nightfall would be slim, and by daybreak, according to local custom, she would have to submit to being his wife or leave as a taited woman. “I told him I didn’t want to date anyone,” Tairova, 28, recalled. “So he decided to kidnap me the next day.”

Such abductions are common in Bishkek. More than half of Kyrgyzstan’s married women were snatched from the street by their husbands in a custom know as ala kachuu, which translates roughly as “grab and run”. In its most benign form, it is a kind of elopement, in which a man whisks away a willing girlfriend. But often it is something more violent.

Recent surveys suggest that the rate of abductions has steadily grown in the last 50 years and that currently at least a third of Kyrgyzstan’ brides are taken against their will.

The custom predates the arrival of Islam in the 12^th century and appears to have its roots in the region’s once-marauding tribes, which periodically stole horses and women from rivals when supplies ran low. It is practiced in varying degrees across Central Asia but is most prevalent here in Kyrgyzstan, a poor, mountainous land that for decades was a backwater of the Soviet Union.

Kyrgyz men say they snatch women because it is easier than courtship and cheaper than paying the standard “bride price”, which can be as much as $800 plus a cow.

Family or friends often press a reluctant groom, lubricated with vodka and beer, into carrying out an abduction. A 2004 documentary by the Canadian filmmaker Petr Lom records a Kyrgyz family – men and women – discussing a planned abduction as if they were preparing to snatch an unruly mare. The film follows the men of the family as they wander through town hunting for the girl they had planned to kidnap. When they do not find her, they grab one they meet by chance.

Talant Bakchiev, 34, a graduate student at the university in Bishkek, the capital, said he helped kidnap a bride for his brother not long ago. “Men steal women to show that they are men,” he said, revealing a row of gold-capped teeth with his smile.

Once a woman has been taken to a man’s home, her future in-laws try to calm her down and get a white wedding shawl onto her head. The shawl, called a jooluk, is a symbol of her submission. Many women fight fiercely, but about 80 percent of those kidnapped eventually relent, often at the urging of their own parents, who have been summoned to help make their daughters stay.

The practice has technically been illegal for years, first under the Sovyet Union and more recently under the 1994 Kyrgyz criminal code, but the law rarely has been enforced.

“Most people don’t know it’s illegal,” said Russell Kleinbach, a sociology professor at American University in Bishkek whose studies of the practice have helped spur a national debate.

The few prosecutions that do stem from bride snatching are usually for assault or rape, not for the abductions themselves.There are no national statistics on how many kidnappings go awry, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that some end in tragedy.

Four days after the sister of one Kleinbach’s students was kidnapped a few years ago, her body was found in a river. The family that abducted her was never charged with murder. In Lom’s film, a family mourns a daughter who hanged herself after being kidnapped; they too were unsuccessful in bringing the abductors to trial.

Families use force to keep the women from leaving or threaten them with curses that still have a powerful impact in this deeply superstitious land. Some families put bread on their doorstep to prevent an abducted bride from fleeing, or an elderly woman of the family will lie across the threshold. Stepping over either is believed to bring a lifetime of bad luck.

Once a girl has been kept in the home overnight, her fate is all but sealed: with her virginity suspect and her name disgraced, she will find it difficult to attract any other husband.

Under pressure

Brutal as the custom is, it is widely perceived as practical. “Every good marriage begins in tears,” a Kyrgyz saying goes.

In Kyzy-Tuu, a village not far from the capital, even the head man, Samar Bek, kidnapped his wife, Gypara, after she rejected his marriage proposals 16 years ago. She was a 20-year-old university student in Bishkek at the time and he, nine years older, was under pressure from his family to find a bride. Once at his family’s home, she resisted for hours.

“I stayed because I was scared, not because I liked him,” Gypara said as the couple’s four children played around her. Her husband said he would not object if one of his daughters was kidnapped.

“If the feelings of the man are stronger than the feelings of my daughter, I’ll let him take her,” he said. “Love comes and goes.”

The threat of abduction begins to haunt women once they reach their teenage years. Some women attending universities wear wedding bands or head scarves to fool men into thinking they are already married. For Tairova, the anxiety began on the eve of her high school graduation when a friend confided to her that a man named Elim, eight years her senior, planned to kidnap her at the ceremony the next day. She attended the graduation but was terrified, unsure of whom she could trust. The would-be abductor never materialised.

“I think this happens to all young women when they turn 16,” Tairova said, sitting in an empty room of the American University, where she now works. She enrolled in University in the southern Kyrgyz city of Jalalabad but soon learned that another family from her village was considering her as a bride for their son. Strangers began asking people at her school what she looked like.

Then one evening there was a knock at the door of the apartment she shared with her sister. Outside were 10 men, including the would-be husband. For six hours, Tairova refused to step outside her apartment. Finally the men gave up and went away.

Tairova went back to live with her parents and began working as a bookkeeper in a tobacco plant. One day a man came in and introduced himself. They spoke for about 20 minutes, but Tairova told him she was not interested in seeing him again.

The next day she was kidnapped. She was waiting with two friends for the company bus to take them home when a car pulled up. The two men inside offered all three women a ride. One of her friends knew the men, so they agreed. But when the driver took a detour, she became worried. When he stopped to pick up the man from the day before, she started to scream. She grabbed the driver’s neck and began to choke him, but the second man pulled her hands away. Desperate, knowing her only chance was to stop them before they reached her abductor’s house, she blurted out in Russian that she “was not a girl anymore” a euphemism meaning she was no longer a virgin. It was a lie, but it worked.

The driver pulled over and the men got out to discuss what she had said. They climbed back in, silent, and the driver made a U-turn to return the women back to their village.

Tairova said her life in the village changed after that. Men showed no interest in her. People at the factory openly mocked her. Her father, angry that she had told such a damning lie but worried for her safety, escorted her to and from bus stop each day.

Finally her friends introduced her to a suitor willing to overlook her questionable past. She told him right away that she did not want to be abducted; he promised that he would not. After several months of dating, he asked her to marry him. She demurred.

Then, one balmy September evening, she again found herself in a car filled with men, ostensibly on their way to a restaurant to meet other friends. But the car drove into the countryside and soon arrived at the farmhouse of her suitor’s parents.

By then Tairova was hysterical. The man dragged her from the car carried her kicking into the house. She swore at her future mother-in-law. She ducked and struggled when the women tried to put the jooluk on her head. Close to midnight, she broke free and ran outside into the darkness, but the men caught her.

Back in the house, Tairova refused to eat, drink or sleep as the night wore on. The next day her parents arrived and urged her to consent. “I was angry and I felt betrayed,” Tairova said, adding that she had cried the whole day. But as with many Kyrgyz women, she eventually accepted her fate. She since has reconciled with her in-laws and says she is happy with her husband now. “He says he had to kidnap me because he heard someone else was trying to kidnap me first,” she said. “He’s a good man.”

We are going to Fujairah & Khorfakkan – 31 March

2005-04-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Khefhalikum … how is it going, guys?!?! Apa Kabar?!

What a nice Friday. The temperature was not quite hot as we thought, and we all went to Fujairah for a nice weekend trip. It was about 3 hours to reach there, as we also got trapped with heavy traffic in Sharjah (finally I saw a traffic jam here), and it took us for about 1 hour before we could leave Sharjah and directed to city of Manafi.

On the way to Manafi, we stopped by for sightseeing of sand dunes again. Actually, we walk in the dunes, and … I felt the weather became hotter. And also, I parked the car wrongly, so the wheels are stuck in the sand. It took us about another 10 minutes before the car can back to the asphalt road.

Manafi was the place where you can see mountains, built by solid rocks, and maybe if you do have some imaginations about Moses went up of Sinai mountains, that’s kind of mountain in this Manafi. This city has a water spring, and used to made waters in bottle, like Aqua in Indonesia.

We also passed the carpet market. The merchants are Pakistanis, and the carpets are from Iran. And the market itself was mixed with people sold fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately we didn’t buy any carpet, because … we don’t need that haha. But, we actually knew since then where to get Iranian carpets. Hopefully we can get a magic carpet then. Ferry kinda asked this Pakistanis about price of carpets. But after a lot of questions, he left. Did he want to buy it? Hahaha … I guess not.

The dune is nice. I like to see the scenery of dune itself. I consider to take a desert safari, where there are camels riding, sand skiing, watching the sunset, and of course, dinner in Arabic tents with belly dancing performance. I asked front office persons in hotel about this belly dancing, they (mohammed and hillary) had a discussion about whose country has the best belly dancers now. These used to be the Egypt, but now Lebanon has the best belly dancers. I assured myself to watch this at least once. It’s kinda exotic. Ahh …

Back to story now. After Manafi, we headed our way to Fujairah. It’s one of the Emirates ruled by a Sheikh that made allegiance with Abu Dhabi Emirates. Have I told you about Emirates that merged to become United Arab Emirates? Well, there are Abu Dhabi, the richest and the biggest, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah. I think I forgot one, but hopefully that’s all.

Fujairah, compared to Abu Dhabi, is only a small city, even Bogor I think is ‘a little bit’ bigger than this city. The city itself is quite nice and comfortable, but I don’t like to stay here, because there are less people than Abu Dhabi. Well, if you are looking for no traffic jam, easy going life, maybe staying in Fujairah will fit you then. We actually only pass this city, because we directly went to Khorfakkan, the best resorts area in UAE. In summer, this small city is quite full with spectators and tourists, to relieve from hot mid 40 degrees summer.

Khorfakkan has also a corniche, and you can swim here. But … I think, this corniche is less beautiful compared to Abu Dhabi Corniche. And also, if you want to see the scenery, maybe Jumeirah beach in Dubai is more likely place to see. Well, but then, Khorfakkan has a nice underwater seaviews. Maybe for divers, this is gonna be a place to visit, but since I kinda have a phobia of big areas of water (and also SHARKS), I think I’m gonna skip this one then.

Ahhh yes, one more thing, Sharjah has the best lagoon since I am here. The scenery of palace, buildings, and lights played a beautiful harmony to become wallpaper pictures for your computer. To shame that we were so hungry and skipped of photo taking session. Next time we’ll go to Sharjah again .. hopefully it will be less traffic there.

That’s all of story of Fujairah and Khorfakkan. I also submit some pictures in friendster photo album, kindly to see the pics then.

Well … so long, farewell for now … assalamualaikkum then.

Al Ain Tour

2005-03-27T04:21:00.000-08:00

Well today is quite a long day, but it’s still enjoyable. This weekend we are going to Al Ain, the city where late Sheikh Zayed, former President of U.A.E, born. The city is quite small, nothing is quite the same like Abu Dhabi. But it quite gives nice scenery though. With lots of lots of sand dunes, formation of rock, and palm trees in oases.

Before arriving Al Ain, we stopped by to let Sapto and Denny to take sholat, since today is Friday. While they were taking sholat, we left and drive inside a small road, and stopped by to see sand dunes. Raymond and Ferry took a lot of pictures, as well as they took pictures of me. I creatively created a scenario for a picture, and I hope I can upload the pictures a.s.a.p as well … don’t worry, I will.

I also saw camel today, as what my friend Jenny in Jakarta said, “you should see camels, they are cute”. Well, actually I missed cute things about camels. Honestly, it’s smelly hahaha. Maybe the smells make them not cute again.

Ahh, back to story of Al Ain. The city is laid in south of UAE, 150 kms from Abu Dhabi, and we drove there for 1.5 hours. This city is closed to the border of UAE and Sultanate of Oman. And some parts of Al Ain area, is actually part of Oman areas. There is one place we didn’t go today, Buraimi, which is part of Oman, but we can get there directly without any check of passport. So, The borders laid in Buraimi, but border checks by immigration are done 50 kms far from Buraimi, in the road to Muscat, capital of Oman. Maybe after I get my residency visa here, I’ll have a stroll to Oman. I read in Lonely Planets, well .. Oman has a lot of interesting place as well. But for now, better to see unique things of UAE first.

We planned to see a souq (market), and we actually saw one. It’s an animal souq, which is a place to sell goats, sheep, or something like that. But we couldn’t see a lot of activities for today, because we’re quite late, and it’s Friday though. So, we left the souq, and went to see the oases. It’s quite a scenery, but as you know, oases is an area where palm trees grow tall, and the area is quite green enough compared to any other area with lots of sand. Well … but too bad, we couldn’t see waters come out in oases, as like old stories told us, but anyway there’s old watering system sourrounding the oases area. I think that late 50 years before, the camels were taken to the oases I visited today to drink waters.

Actually I wanted to look for camel souq, where people sell camel to be used as traditional transportation. Well, I don’t feel that riding a camel is nice, except that it might quite an experience. But, well … if I want to ride one, I think I don’t need to buy one to ride it right? Maybe it will take 4 days to ride the camel to Abu Dhabi hahaha. But anyway, 50 years ago, late Sheikh Zayed might go to Abu Dhabi by camels. I consider to ride this camel by taking desert safari, and I might take that in winter times, when it’s cooler in UAE.

We also went to former palace of Sheikh Zayed. He actually loved Al Ain so much, that he preferred to stay here. And, because of his love, He poured so much money to make Al Ain can grow to such a nice city. Industries are well built here, as I can see a cement industry, I don’t think it’s Lafarge though, if it’s yes, I will tell my bro about this.

After taking time to see the oases, we finally went to jebel hafeet mountain. It is quite like a Sinai mountain, a old formation of rocks, to top about 1000 metres above sea level. I think it can be compared to the Grampians in Melbourne. But, we don’t have to hike to get to the top of mountain, since there is a nice road to drive to top.

The place is nice, cooler than Al Ain, and … it has quite a scenery. As usual the photographers were busy taking pictures, while I volunteered myself to become their model hahahaha. But anyway, it’s nice to see different kind of things here, because it’s gonna be quite boring to see only Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so it’s better to see the desert then.

And by the way, because of a lot of sightseeing for today, I think that I’m now a little bit tanned. So, hopefully, I will be tanned and chubby now. I hope it’s ok for me … because somebody has complained a lot to me about I’m getting tanned. Hehehe.

Well, that’s all for today, anyway .. actually I posted my pictures in friendster album. I will tell the website address, and I can show to all of you. So … please don’t hesitate to wait ….

That’s all for today reportase … time to see the bachelorette now, but too bad it is the first season about Trista. Ahh, anyway … someone can tell me stories about Amazing Race 7. I really missed that show ...

ciaoooooo

20 Days in Abu Dhabi

2005-03-24T00:21:00.000-08:00

Hillo guys … it’s the 20th days we are here. So, people of TIP, do you already miss us? Hehe. I think the office is quite ‘silence’ without us. But, we all miss you guys too.

Ahh, talking about office things, hopefully Herry hasn’t told you guys about the office. Well, finally we have a decent office now, with Pentium Centrino, 512 mb of memory, 80 gb of harddisc, DVD rom, cd burner, and the best parts is … it has 17” TFT screen. What about that huhh?? Hopefully you guys don’t get jealous on us.

We also has already rented a car. It’s Mitsubishi Lancer 1.4 manual. I prefer to take manual car actually, since automatic car spends more gasoline, and there is no fun of driving that kind of car. We actually preferred to take mazda 6, but since TIP has a ‘limited tight’ budget, we manage to understand the situation. But Lancer is ok, except that if Raymond drives, his tummy touches the steer (well, can you imagine how big his tummy then :D)

I myself has driven the car. The traffic in Abu Dhabi is very nice. There is less traffic jam, so we can manage to get to office in 30-45 minutes. But the trouble is that we always getting checked in front gate of ADNOC. It kinda sucks actually. Because you have to go down from the car, being body and car checked. Today the security person wouldn’t let us in since our permit has not been supplied. But after some talks, they let us in.

We still cook a lot. Since it’s cheaper. Can you imagine that for 3 dirhams we can get 2 dishes, with chicken or meat? Compared that if we eat outside, maybe we have to spend more than 6 dirhams. And if we cook, it’s really cheap … remembering that we stay in Abu Dhabi, mentioned as number 45 of the most expensive capital in the world. (I think Jakarta is in 67). Herry has given us some of his ‘cooking’ lessons, so we can now get the ‘itching’ of ‘cooking’ hahahaha. Well, not yet actually, yesterday Sapto cooked the rice for 1 hour, and it’s still not becoming rice :p

Anyway, we has just had some chit chat with two Bangladeshi, as they came to our room to fix up the stove. It was broken, some water got inside. But it’s ok now.

Well we chatted about their life here and working life story. They have been living here for more than 5 years, and as a skilled labor, they are paid in minimum wages. They actually don’t feel happy about this situation, but they have to do this, since they have family in Bangladesh. They worked in shift, 8 hours per shift as technicians, and I think they are quite busy working in this hotel Dana. So, I understand why they complained then.

They said as well that the room service boy is paid cheaper than them. I actually know one of these room service boys, which turn out to be a nice Nepalese, with the look of Chinese people. His name is Lama, and he has been here for almost 2 years. We talked a lot, and as I can understand his English, I think he had already climbed one of the highest mountains in Nepal as a sherpa. I think it’s not mount everest, but yet, for 7000 metres, it is quite a life achievement right? Well, can you imagine then that this great guy turn out to be only a room service boy?!?!

Hmmm … that’s why UAE is like a beautiful flower. Bees are coming around it, and taking advantages of it. A lot of Indians, Srilangkans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Filipinos are here, since there are jobs for them, and as they come from poor country, they are coming here to look for a better future. Well … I’m here for better future as well, and I hope for that.

So, what do you hope for your future then??

cheerio

Dubai Trip

2005-03-18T03:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Dubai for a trip, as well as to accompany Herry, as he returned to Indonesia yesterday. I drove for the first time in left sided car. It was quite different experience, and I think I still need to be adjustable to this car. We rented Toyota Previa for 400 dirhams, it’s quite cheap, and the space is quite big enough to fit 7-8 people. Maybe Gina and the others from TIP want to come here, we can manage to rent another one :P

I drove from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, and it quite took a while, about 1.5 to 2 hours. I honestly had no idea where we headed to, so I just followed instruction from Denny to know the road. He was such a good navigator himself.

We went to a mal (as usual, we are ‘cowok2 mal’ hehe) as we got lunch there. We ate at the food court, and I ate Chinese noodle from real Chinese restaurant, served by real Chinese people J, and the others got Burger Kings as they wanted to see pinays babe in the service counter. Raymond had already known about her age and how long she stayed in Dubai. Hahahahaa … just kidding.

After that .. we did ‘window shopping’ and ran hurrily to parking lot to leave the mal. Then we drove to Burj Al Arab to see this unique hotel. Yes it was wonderful, and as we parked in public parking lot, everyone just cheered to run to the sea. They all took the cameras, and began to ‘click’ and ‘click’ …. As usual, Sapto and I are the models hehe. While Ferry, he seemed to take pictures of the wind surfers, as there closed to them, is a babe in bikini. Well … I had no idea if he actually took pictures of her hehe

Then suddenly two other bikinis women passed by. I thought Raymond successfully took a picture of them, as the lines of the bikinis are very ‘intriguing’. I had no idea if the picture is good, because until now I haven’t seen the pics. Actually I was surprised because it was a public beach, and not all emirates can accept the idea of those kind of dress code. Well, hopefully I’m all wrong about that, because I feel like I live in 2 different sides of world’s culture.

From Burj al Arab, we went to Bur Dubai, the riverside, where the economics of Dubai run. It looks like Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa in Jakarta, and the scenery was very good. One side looked very modern, but the other looked very traditional. We stopped by in a tourist walking area, and sat in a restaurant for chit chat and drink. We ordered mix juices, it’s good for 15 dirhams, but Raymond said he could get those kind of juices as well in Mal Ambasador for 15000 rupiahs, well … I have no idea about that. But still the juice was very good, with strawberry, apple, melon, kiwi, lemon, orange ….. yummmm

Also we took some pictures of old boats and buildings. The boats were beautiful, and as night came by, the lights lining the boat made it looked more beautiful. So, someone wanna join to get some dinner in the boat, and cruising Dubai Creek? Give me a call then.

Well, that’s the story about Dubai then. It felt great to come there, as it’s my first time there. Hopefully I can manage my time to go to Dubai again. I still want to explore the city, and see the ‘bikinis’ again hahahahhaa ….

Cheers up guys …. Since you will only see the pictures hahaha

p.s : Mona, when will u come to dubai again?

Story of Wednesday

2005-03-16T03:05:00.000-08:00

Well this is Wednesday now, and today I’ve been in Abu Dhabi for 12 days. Time passed by so fast.

Yesterday was an ordinary day. But Abu Dhabi’s weather for the last 3 days is very nice. Breeze wind blew in the afternoon, made the hot sunny day feel cooler.

Khaidar, the driver who always picked us up seemed funnier yesterday. Sapto gave him Gudang Garam cigarette, and he smiled at us a lot. Even his friend, Khalid, the very big funny guy in SOC, joined us to parking lot to see his car. It was Toyota Landcruiser. I think all emirates are rich, because they drive nice car, not kind of small car, but like Toyota Prado, Landcruiser, Mercedes Benz, BMW X5, etc. Well, price of a luxury cars are not too expensive, that’s why a lot of emirates buy luxuries ones.

We were invited to lunch by our host. We were served briyani rice and baked hamoor fishes. Those were very nice. But what most amazed me, was that we all ate in same big plate. So, it was so big plate to serve the rice, so we ate in the same plate, with our hand. That was awesome experience. Because, I honestly never did that before. Maybe people from Padang used to eat like that, but well I’m not.

Briyani rice is rice mixed with chicken, eggs, raisins, and a lot of ingredients. I have no idea what was all inside, instead that the taste was so good. Then Mr. Mubarak, one of our host also offered me to try some oil sauce mixed with the rice. Well, I didn’t like the sauce, it’s kinda like oxen sauce, smelled not nice. But I tried to eat that to respect him.

The fish, hamoor fish was the best. It was fish from sea, freshed, baked with tomato kinda sauce, and the taste …. WOWWWW, Great. I am still imagining the taste in my mouth right now … hehe, made me feel hungry again. Yummmyyyyyy …

The desert was also nice. It’s like ice cream, but with ‘dodol’, and some kind of peanut inside. The taste was sweet, not too sweet. I ate that a lot too … honestly, the food was the best since I came to Abu Dhabi. Mr. Mubarak said that we could get hamoor fish in fish souk (souk = market), and the price is 15 dirhams. But if we want to have it cooked, the price will be 40 dirhams. Hmmm, it’s still nice to eat that, because the fish size is very big, it’s about 4-5 kg.

In the evening, we cooked together. Herry cooked string beans with meat, and ‘telor balado’. While Denny and I made Chicken oyster sauce with potato. Well .. we were full at time we finish eating. Actually I still have to learn about cooking recipes so I can cook a lot of foods.

Well, that’s all about foods. I also yesterday went to internet café, and it’s quite surprising since that the manager of internet café was talking Indonesian. He tought that I was pinoys, but when I said Indonesia, he said ‘selamat malam’. Well … surprising me more, he talked Bahasa very fluently. I had quite a conversation with him in Bahasa …

Well, that’s for yesterday. Today is only 6 here now. And I had come back from office since 3 o’clock. Here we work from 7.30 to 14.30 in this time, while in summer, we will work from 7.00 to 14.00. That’s why we have so much time to hang out, cooking, or just shooping in Abu Dhabi Mal.

I just went to Abu Dhabi Co op, a supermarket here, to buy some eggs, sausages, chili, and onions to cook fried rice this evening. It only costed me 6 dirhams, and shared with 6 people, so for dinner it will only cost 1 dirham per person. Nice huhh???

But actually this afternoon we ate KFC for 10 dirham each person. It was 15 chickens, 1 full cup of coleslaw, a box of French fries, and 6 bun of breads. It’s not option to eat KFC, but since we were so lazy to cook this afternoon, the easiest way to eat was to buy KFC and cooked some rice.

That’s all for today, I have no ideas again what we will do today. I’m not sure I will go to the laundry service to wash my clothes, maybe in Friday. Ahh, tomorrow I will go to dubai, as Herry will return to Indonesia. Hopefully we can get a lot of nice pictures from there. Just wait then …

Well .. that’s all folks. Happy reading my blog then … anyway, give your comments please, it’s kinda a relief for me to hear from anyone.

First Week in Abu Dhabi

2005-03-11T00:56:00.000-08:00

Hi again. It has been a week since I came to Abu Dhabi. Still this city has a lot of things to observe, and I’m looking forward for it.

2 days ago I went to see a villa in manassir area. Actually I have no idea where it is. But the place is not quite good enough. Herry, Denny, and I were picked up by Arabic guy who spoke less English. We tried hard to communicate with him, even sometimes we actually didn’t understand what he said. After seeing the villa, we left, and he suddenly asked for viewing charges of 100 dirham. It’s a silly thing, because we called the owner before, and he said no viewing charges. So, we argued a little bit, and after calling his boss again, he agreed not charge us. But since we are nice Indonesians (well … you all know about us rite??), we want to give him 20 dirham. Surprisingly, he rejected the money. Well, so we didn’t lose anything ….

Ahhh .. I have a little bit of story about food here. Actually for the last 4 days, I always eat swarma for dinner. It’s kind of kebab, with chicken or mutton as meat, and with French fries, sour sauce, and wrapped in paper. It’s VERY NICE!!!!!! I will recommend all of u guys to eat that. Honestly, even 4 days in a row eating swarmas, I still feel want to eat those. Anyway, there is another kind of swarma, with falafel inside. Falafel is like a potato mixed with vegetables, and Denny said it tasted good as well. Maybe I will try that later.

Yesterday, I walked around Sheikh Al Maktoum street to find apartments. We actually have trouble to get apartments here because we are all consider as bachelors. Emirates give easier apartments to rent for someone who has family here. So, each time we visit a building, first we have to ask is the apartment available for bachelor. Suddenly I felt I should get married soon HAHAHAAA (but only for here). The journey to find apartments yesterday is quite hard, since now it’s getting hotter here. I think today is 35 degree up most, and I consider yesterday has quite same temperature as well.

The night we went to corniche area, walking!!!!!! It’s maybe another 5 kms and more. I used my step counters, and for the afternoon, I walked for about 15000 steps, and the evening, it was about another 10000 steps. Hiks hiks, I will lose my weight here. Somebody will feel very happy when I lose my weight …..

The corniche itself is very nice. I consider it’s nice place to walk around. A lot of emirates come here as well to hang out, picnic with family, bicycling, walking, jogging, rollerblading, and also .. as what Herry said, hang out with lovers haha. It’s a shame I only have Raymond here hahaha.

In the corniche, we met another photographer, and he asked Denny, Raymond and Ferry to meet other photographers in Abu Dhabi Photographer Society Forum. I think it’s nice to hang out and meet another person here. So you will have new friends to hang out and cheer. Anyway, yesterday, Herry, Sapto and I were the models for Raymond and Denny’s camera. So guys, if you want to check out the picture, I will try to upload those to my photo album in yahoo, well, it depends on the internet connection here, because the internet café we always used to internet are quite slow when uploading something.

Today I think I’m going to find self service laundry here. MJ – Mari Jo, nice hotel receptionist has told us about the area, but we couldn’t find it. Maybe, we have to ask her to take us there. I think everyone will feel very happy to hang out with MJ, since she’s very nice person, and … single as well AHAHAHAHAHA. But Raymond has already got a trick to hit it on her.

It’s actually hard to find self service laundry here. Raymond has already do laundry, but he had to pay about 50 dirham for laundry. It was counted by how many things you washed. So said 1 shirt is 4 dirham, socks/underwear 2 dirham, pants 5 dirham. It’s gonna be quite expensive to do laundry there. I consider to find self service laundry, since it’s gonna cost me only 10 dirham for 1 big bucket of clothes. Hopefully Denny and I will make it today.

Ahhh a little bit story about taxi here. Taxi is cheap, consider we go about 7 km to Marina Mal and it will only charge us about 7 dirham. But the taxi drivers here are crazy. They drive very fast, and once I sat in front, it made me nervous to see the taxi driver driving the car. The taxi drivers here are Pakistanis. I have no idea why is that. And they are all singles ‘here’. They don’t bring their family to UAE, and now they live here alone. One taxi driver I talked yesterday said that he had wife and 6 children in Peshawar, Pakistan. He worked here for almost 20 years as taxi driver. I feel sad to hear that, since I know taxi drivers are not paid well, and yet they have to support their families in their own country. Now I feel a little bit lucky by myself.

A lot of Chinese people I always meet in Hotel. Actually they are women, and I think they are prostitutes. Because they dress provocatively, and the make up is very thick. This Dana Hotel has 2 pubs for people to visit, that’s why a lot of people come, including these women. Also I met Russian women, or Ukrainians. Taxi driver always say that, they are doing ‘business’, When I asked what business, they always laughed at me.

Actually there are less beautiful women here. The Chinese are the worst. I think the most beautiful people are Emirates. But they always use black dresses, with the covers for their face. Sometimes some of them are open the covers, and … Oh My God … best parts of living in UAE suddenly appear. They have good faces with nice long nose, big beautiful eyes, and brown skins. It’s very exotic. Unfortunately, to see these Emirates faces are quite rare. And that’s why I said it’s very hard to find beautiful women here … so, guys, think to work here, instead of looking for girls hahhahahahahaha

Anyway, there is a weird story 2 days ago. As you know, I have one bracelet that I always use everyday. It’s kinda like rubber bracelet looks like Jesus’s thorn crown, and it looks good actually. And one taxi driver saw that, and touched my hand to see my bracelet. It’s kinda weird because he touched it a little bit long …. WHUAAA I’ve never been touched by a guy. But it’s hard to reject, because maybe it’s impolite. So when he moved his hand from me, I slipped my hand under my leg, so it’s much safer. Damn that Herry and Denny sat at back of the cars.

Suddenly right now I missed nasi lengko in Ambasador Mal. Also I missed canteen food in basement of Graha Paramita, as well as I missed a lot Cheese cookies from Bogor. Anyone knows where there’s online recipe to download, so I can learn to cook, especially Indonesian food. Because I can get the herbs and spices, but yet, I don’t know how to cook …. Please give me online cooking tutorials then.

Well … that’s all for now from Abu Dhabi …

Assalamualaikum guys! greetings

greetings from abu dhabi

2005-03-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, how is it going there? i'm doing fine in abu dhabi. it's my fourth day here, and recently i'm still staying at Dana Hotel. We are still looking for apartments, and it’s quite hard to fine one, since we are limited by the budget, and also … we are limited by facilities we demanded to have. Well, for another thing, demand of renting apartments here are high, and since then the price are getting higher by this year. It was said that it’s raised for 20-30% for this year only. Hopefully we can fine a nice and suitable apartments then.

My office is with Special Operations Command Group 18 of United Arab Emirates. It’s like Army Special Forces Corps in Indonesia. Well, they actually operate the rotary wing aircrafts, and they required maintenance software as my company, Transavia Informatika Pratama provide. The place for the office is actually quite … ‘interesting’. It’s in a middle of desert, close to ADNOC – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – facilities. The place is a barrack, but still it’s quite convenient to stay inside. We have air conditioning system, watering systems, LAN network, everything that support to make this joint development run well … except that they can’t provide internet facilities, since SOC itself has restrictions about data accessibility.

Well, skip with this official things. I think it’s better to tell about how to live here. It’s more interesting to all of you rite? Well, abu dhabi itself, I think as a 24 hours city. In 1 am in the morning, you can still fine a KFC still open, also mal open until late at night. Varieties of good shops are available, from Hugo Boss to Mango, Adidas to Giordano, everything here is available. And, it’s all luxurious. Well … you know what oil can do to a country rite??

Walking in abu dhabi is quite nice too, especially in time right now. Because the weather is between 15-28 degree celcius. I think I hardly walk outdoor in june-sept, since it’s gonna be 30-45 degree. So, now it’s nice time to go for wandering around this big city.

Ahhh, my colleague, denny, he is actually from new york. So he doesn’t mind to walk quite far, as he’s fit enough. But for melburnians like me, it’s quite tiring to walk. Although I know that walking from North Melbourne to Crown is far away, it’s harder to walk here. One block is never actually one block, and .. eventhough there’s a lot of shortcut when you walk, still I think it’s wise to start slowly to explore the city. Today actually I’ve been walking for 5 kms.

I’ve been to Abu Dhabi Mal and Marina Mal. It’s two nice mal where you can fine good quality products. Electronics, dresses, cafes, cinemas, anything. But what I like most is to walk around the city, to see the people. I can meet with Philippines people, Pakistanis, Indians, Lebanese, Syrians, Indonesians, Nepalese, Russians, and also emirates itself. I know hardly meet emirates, it’s easier to find people from other countries here, I have no idea why is that.

Once you have seen Arabians life, it’s actually like what you saw in TV, or magazines. They open grocery shops, some restaurants, laundries, well … as what we can see in Melbourne or Jakarta. But … I think some of them are quite dirty, but not all of them. Still I think it’s acceptable, since I know some areas in Jakarta are like here. But hey, what the hell … I consider abu dhabi is very nice to live.

Abu dhabi has a corniche area where people can hang out, jogging, just to enjoy the evening. This corniche area is a place next to the beach, to walk around and enjoy the sunset. It’s a billions of dirhams development places built by abu dhabi government for their people. I think, they have too much money, that’s why they spend a lot for the emirates people. Hopefully Indonesian government can do that as well … hahahhaha. I tried to walk to cornice today actually. But seemed like we lost. So after that, we take a taxi to see apartments. Silly us, we didn’t take any map. But heyy .. there are two Britons who wanted to go to corniche area and got lost too. So, it’s not only us who are silly then J

I like the food here. They are nice Indians restaurants, one Indonesian Restaurants, KFC, McDonalds, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Lebanese restaurants, and else. I find it’s not hard to adjust with food here, since it’s nice to try different kind of foods. I do enjoy eating chicken massala and roti prata, or lamb sharma, or gado2 hahaha. Everything is available here, except for one thing, I already miss nasi campur kenanga in Mal Ambasador J ohhh poor porky pig ….

Well .. that’s all for now. Hopefully I can tell you a lot of stories, but well … I only have 4 days of stories, so ... I’ll tell you some later.

Take care guys …..

if only

2005-02-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

I've just watched 'If Only' movie, starred by Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Paul Nicholls. The story of this young man, having a dream that his girlfriend will die in an car crash. So the next day after his dream, he acted like a fool, but he showed her his abundance of love.

He took her to his hometown (I was wondering if chicks do like old story about a man she loves), made love, dared her to face her biggest fear, and asked her to sing in her orchestra concert, by giving her created song to the conductor of th orchestra.

She was so thrilled by his acting like fools, but she's so sure that ... he loves her so much. Actually, why he acted like fools, it's because he felt that he will miss her in car crash (as per nightmare before), without having chances to tell her how much he love and adore her.

Well, at least, he finally got the chances. He spilled a lot of words of love, and she seemes stunned by those. And, finally, it was a car accident, but it was not her who died, but him. This young man died in car crash, because he covered to protect her while the car crashed.

I remember that I watch this kind of movie, Sliding Doors. It was like 'what if' condition that make the movie good. I never stop guessing who will die, who is not. Sliding Doors is better than this one, because the story is more complicated. There's no one dead in Sliding Doors, but who's end up with who.

Honestly, I consider myself as too much give terms and conditions to myself about anything happened to me. 'What If This?' or 'If Only That' might come in the slightest chance of my thoughts everyday. Maybe I always one step behind others, and sometimes I felt regretness after I passed some opportunities run to me. I thought, is it me? or the this universe run the other side of me?

I think, the universe is run well, except that me who do not run well with it. I always have obstacles on my own, make me spiritless in emotions to dig deep of my life. I have to challenge that. I brave myself to deal with this obstacles, problems ... I believe that, they always come to you, but the solutions will always be there as well. It depends on how you find out ways to get the solutions. I dare myself ... deal it, dont leave it. Might I deal with failure, but it can be a success. But, I know, success or failure, I will learn a lot, deal with anything that come to me. Make me grow stronger, and be proud for what i've done.

I know I can do anything ... YES, I can.

Luna Kelam

2005-02-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

sadarkah kau luna kelam
apa yang tlah kau sengatkan
ada jiwa bintang malam
kini mereka takkan mampu bersyair
sebelum melihat kau bercahaya

dengar ini luna kelam
jiwaku di genggamanmu
bawa saja pergi
kemana kau suka
ku tak lagi membutuhkannya
jika kau tak ada lagi disini

sejak engkau menyapaku
hatimu .. menjadi incaranku
hanya engkau yang memiliki
tatapan yang melumpuhkan dunia

a good song from Chrisye, feat Eros SO7

chinese new year

2005-02-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

Being a Chinese means that we always celebrate Chinese New Year every year. In my family, Chinese New Year means we gathered together, met parents, met our grandmother, uncles and aunts, cousins, etc etc. All of them always went back to Sumedang, our hometown.

In my past celebrations, I think that the best parts of celebrating this is to get red envelope of ANG PAO. We, the children, felt happy because we get a lot of angpao from the elders. Sometimes 1 child can get up to 20 ang pao at that time. But as we grow up, the ang pao become less, and I think, maybe parents think that ... it's not necessary to give angpao again, and instead of that, we, young generations who have worked and earn some income, give angpao to the elders.

I spoke to my friend about this 'give angpao' thing, and she said that it's not necessary for people who are not married to give angpao. They said that giving angpao when you still bachelor and bachelorette makes you hardly get soulmate (haha, i really dont believe that). So for the singles, it's not appropriate to do that.

I consider that giving angpao for elders as a remembrance for us to give back what we got from them. I learn that they worked hard to make us can study well, can play well, have our weekly wages, etc. So, it's now our duty, as we can earn money by ourself, to thank for what they have done for us.

It's not about the money in the angpao, but it's about to show that you remember them, you care of them, and want to share your success with them. It's yin and yang, once you get something, you also have to give something.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR guys!!

a posting on new blog

2005-02-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

I started this posting, moving my blog from ebloggy.com to blogspot.com. The reason i do this is complains that come to me from my friends. All of them said that they hardly access ebloggy, so ... to make them happy, I decide to move my blog again.

well ... girls, jo, dioni, here, my new blogs, kl4nis.blogspot.com that I will use to post my story and anything. I consider to post a recipe, that it might quite useful for us to learn home style cooking :)

whoopaa ... that's all for now.

cheerio