Another Victoria's Secrets

"your favorite song at this time last year"

Well, I was going on to a break up and I was pretty much torn inside for the moment, so I don't really sure what song I fancied this time last year.. I guess a rather mellow songs, but I'm not really sure. But I loved Maliq & D'Essentials' Coba Katakan so much during the whole year last year, it fitted pretty well with me then, Lol. Now come sing this with me!

"a song from your childhood"

This was my lullaby song by Dad. He used to sing this to all of us before sleep and I had always thought that this was actually a lullaby song like Indonesian "nina bobo". I just knew that this is actually a Christmas song years later. When I asked my sister about the same question above, she answered straightly the same song title: The Little Drummer Boy. While browsing for the video I found this short movie about the song:

Oh my! I'm so pre-occupied lately I nearly had no time for myself! But luckily, I could slipped in a day for fun, on Saturday (23 July), to go to Ancol with Rachelle. After dealing with some stuff at home, I went to pick her up by 2 p.m. We had lunch at Tanjung Duren, then arrived at Ancol by 4.30 p.m. We still need to go to Carnaval Beach, which was located on the other side of the site.



We met Sume as we reached the entrance gate to Java Rockin' Land then we headed to Propaganda Stage for Sarasvati performance by 5.30. So we had some time to lounge at the shore before they started to sing. It was my first beach moment again after more than a year, so I was enjoying it tho it was just for a quarter of hour there.



During Sarasvati, we met James of Signals band and his friend, also Ester and Eko--Rachelle's friends. We had dinner too, and after a while, met Sume at Tebz booth. Again I met James and followed him to BNI stage where Erland was, and by the time we got there, Kensington band was just started playing so Erland and I watched them till Rachelle, Ester, Eko and Sume joined us.


After Kensington, we headed to the main stage where Ed Kowalczyk of LIVE was performing. Feeling bored, we went around and met Otto of Rock Salad band and his gank, also met with Felix and Corry of d'Ave band. They went for Neon Trees, but Rachelle and I were heading straight back to the main stage where The Cranberries would be playing. It was too crowded even 1.5 hours before the performance! Luckily we met Egan, another friend of Rachelle, who got a spot with his friends. Soon, we joined up and befriends with them.


It was finally 11 and The Cranberries was there on stage! Geez I couldn't believe that I was finally watching their live performance, being about 2 meters far from the furthest stage (still it was around 6-8 meters from where the other band members were, but thankfully, Dolores came our way now and then). I was already super hilarious about it. Lol.
At the end of the day, we met Markus and Slamet, my Binusian friends, by accident (we tried to keep in touch but the non-Simpati phone signals was ugly) and also met Yonas, my junior high mate, before the show. Otto joined us by around 1 a.m. and after people went home, we finally met Toba, Obay and their friends, who were so hard to be contacted before. I guess that completed all the people I ought to meet that night on JRL. Rachelle stayed over at our place that night and it was very tiring for all of us, but I should say, it was all worth it! :)

"a song that makes you feel guilty"

are all gospel and charismatic songs. Lol. I'm not as intense as I was to go to church and follow all those komsel, PDKK, Mudika (now OMK) and stuff. Any Christian songs would lead me back to God and remind me of how far I've left Him. Not that far, actually, but it's just not as close as before. Ah, life...

"a song that you wish you could play"

There is one ultimate song that every musician can play--at least every musician that I know. This song is sort of a "must" in every jam session (I'm not talking about jazz or blues session, definitely not) and I really wish I can grab a guitar and play this on a relaxing gathering occasion with friends or family. The song is definitely More Than Words by Extreme.

"a song that you can play on an instrument"

is the one with the easiest and limited chords in it. I learned to play guitar during my junior high years and only chords of this song that I remember till now. Here I present you... *drum chores* Last Kiss by Pearl Jam. LOL!

"a song that makes you laugh"

is definitely a song from Naif. Even in their "most serious" songs, they slipped funny lyric on it and successfully made me laugh whenever the first time I listen to their songs, made it memorable to anyone's mind, for sure. Well, their not-too-new song Karena Kamu Cuma Satu is my favorite. I especially love how they put "Kau satu-satunya, dan tak ada dua, apalagi tiga". I wish you all understand Indonesian to laugh with me here)

"a song that you want to be played at your funeral"

Oh my, this one is the hardest of all those 30-days songs! Gosh, I really dunno what to be played on at my funeral.. My teenage soul would want something sad like Kavana's "Will You Wait For Me?" or The William Brother's "Can't Cry Hard Enough" (for I was kinda an emo girl back then... Lol) but my adult soul now would like something more mature, more calming to the ones I'd left behind. Maybe something like... Somewhere Over The Rainbow (but the newer, lighter, more cheerful version). This one is from Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

I'm kinda new to divorce stuff actually, for my parents never did it--perhaps I do better on facing people's death than this. But people around me are divorcing and I'm learning from them. I know a very close family whose parents got split up and the kids are going their own ways after that. It's kinda sad, seeing a solid team now splattered, but that's life, and hard times are coming to us in one way or another.

While seeing the other siblings put up with this understandingly, this one kid caught my attention more, for he's playing the victim here. Now I can see how true Coelho's saying here: "you are not a victim". This boy here thinks he's the victim of his parents' ugly marriage and he's blaming them for not sticking together like their vows and now living a miserable life alone, separated from his family.

He chose to stay away and lamenting on his fate, how on earth things could be so hard on him, why his parents don't just be together, bla bla bla. He's choosing his ideal way on dealing with this, drowning with his own thoughts and accusation. His siblings, on the other way, listen to their mother's version and understand.

They don't judge--they understand. I think life is way easier to deal with by understanding. With love and big heart, you can feel all peace, tho things aren't going the way you're planning to be. But with hatred and having to blame things on people, you're playing the victim and can never get enough about it. You will keep living in such agony, keep asking why--while even the real 'why' is coming to you, you won't ever accept it, for you'd already have your own version on pitying your sad life.

This ain't healthy, not for you and the people you're blaming on. This is the tumor you need to get out of your body. Clean up your mind and love one another from the heart. Things won't always happen according to your plan, but by His plan, who had arranging and managing it from long before you were even born.

Now why playing it sadly, while you can choose the other way by a more positive spectacles and be happy all the time? Remove all the sadness, agony and stop think of yourself as the victim, whatever condition you are in. Parents may be divorced, spouse may leave you at one point. People disappoint you, but God has greater plan for you. Why don't we all just concentrate on that and be graced? You are blessed from the start, but it's always your decision to keeping it or not. You are the better judge to yourself, but the Almighty God never judge.

"a song that you want to play at your wedding"

Oh, this is kinda difficult. Perhaps India Arie's Can I Walk With You, maybe. But this is still undefined, because I haven't met the groom yet. Most probably I'm gonna change this song into "our song", whatever it will be with my future husband. But I always like this song.

"a song that you listen to when you're sad"

Regina Spektor just know how to put my sadness away by her Better song. Pompink gave this to me one day when I was totally down, and suddenly I was getting better. I'm so blessed for having friends who always know the best songs to uplift my mood.

"a song that you listen to when you're happy"

is actually any song on my playlist. Maybe for one example, is A Fine Frenzy's Electric Twist. Been loving it since the first time Ratih 'gave' it to me, this one song had been my company thru the days.

"a song that you listen to when you're angry"

They said "you are becoming what you are feeding yourself with", so instead of listening to angry songs, I prefer listening to Daniel Powter's Bad Day and things are usually getting better.

"a song from your favorite album"

I love Bon Jovi, The Cranberries, Oasis and other bands from that era for nothing compares their greatness--perhaps because I was raised with their music back then. For I've put the first ones on my recent post already, this time's Oasis's turn. Enjoy and sing-a-long this Champagne Supernova from (What's The Story) Morning Glory? album with me!

"a song that you wish you heard on the radio"

is anything from Club 8, Acid House Kings and She & Him. Too bad, they are rarely played there :'(

"a song that you hear often on the radio"

is between Andien's Pulang and Selena Gomez' Who Says. I love Pulang so much I found it calms me down and feel like I wanna go home... only I hadn't found the 'home' she was singing about. Soon, I hope. Lol.

"a song you used to love but now hate"

is anything becoming too major, liked by too many people, played too often in the radio. Perhaps like Bruno Mars' Just The Way You Are. It's just so overwhelming. Lol.

"a song that describes you"


is actually my Day 01's song, God Help The Girl. But if I need to find another song, I think Five For Fighting's Superman suits me most. I feel like I'm no ordinary girl here and it's just not easy to be me in my neighborhood. I also love TLC's Unpretty and Aguilera's Beautiful. They helped me being strong as I am today during my adolescent years.

"a song that no one would expect you to love"

I forgot to blog about this, but my aunt is making super delicious cakes, with klappertaart as the specialty. Klappertaart is a Manadonese cake based with coconut (kelapa, in Indonesian), wheat flour, milk, butter and egg. They usually add rum, walnuts, raisins and cinnamons on top of the cake. Manadonese klappertaart usually has a very soft texture like custard for it is not being baked. Makassar's is more solid, and this one's what my aunt's offering.

Price (until the day I posted this) is IDR 120,000 for a recipe with different size options:

• 1 x (24 x 24 cm)
• 2 x (16 x 21 cm)
• 11 x ( 7 x 8 cm)
• 20 x ø 6 cm

Besides the klappertaart, my aunt also bake Ontbijtkoek, Cake Tapé, African Gateau, and many others by order. Contact her on +6281 8824 388 or follow her twitter for info and details at @Auntie_Agnes. But for now, delivery is only served around Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. Smakelijk eten, mijn vrienden!

"a song that is a guilty pleasure"

This is my and my sister's favorite. Dunno why, but we love to sing and hop and dance on the bed to this Culture Club's Karma Chameleon. This, and Roxette's Dressed for Success, are our songs!

"a song from a band you hate"

I so dislike this famous Indonesian band, but I like this one song, tho I believe that it's being great mostly because of Andien. All and all, good song must be respected well, so I acclaimed this as the only song I love from Ungu. Sorry, no hard feeling. At least, there is one, right?

"a song from your favorite band"

My favorite band is definitely The Cranberries. Despite their most famous hits, I love Saving Grace, Analyse, In The Ghetto, and this You and Me.

"a song that makes you fall asleep"

It was all began when I broke up with one of my ex. We used to talk on the phone before sleep during our time together and when we broke up, I felt terribly lonely and I needed to find the replacement to our random discussions. This song came just in the right time, with its 4 mins duration and very blissful music, it's just the most perfect lullaby for me.

As I got my salary and honorarium paid, I found myself shopped quite a lot lately. I've been vacuumed from shopping for months and now the need increased. Don't blame me for being such a shopaholic now. I do really need all those things I've purchased! (No, I exaggerated it. What I really needed were just the make ups. I bought the rest just because they're nice and offered me great deal of price in this summer sale season. Lol.)

"a song that you can dance to"

Yea, I definitely can always dance to this! I love dancing and I know how to jive and this is just the perfect rhythm for dancing mood. That Thing You Do! from The Wonders.

"a song that you know all the words to"

Tho there are more than just a few, this one is my favorite. It's because Bon Jovi's Cross Road was the first cassette I've ever bought on my own (I was on 6th grade). Always had always been my favorite.

Despite of the too-many-already stuff I sell, I am managing myself to sell this rainforest roasted coffee beans. The products were sold internationally only, but now we are testing the local market. Came in four variations: Espresso / Espresso Alta, Single Origin (Flores, Toraja, Sumatra and Java), Signature (blend of two or three different premium Arabica and Robusta), and Collezione (such as Luwak / Civet Coffee and Lanang / Peaberry Coffee).

Packaged with either pressurized canisters or foil-lined bags with pressure-relief valves in 250g and 1,000g (for Luwak, 70g and 125g are available), we offer you true sensation of drinking coffee. Visit here for more information, or simply drop comment here for ordering.

"a song that reminds you of a certain event"

There was an event that I remember each time I hear Bryan Adams' I'll Always Be Right There. I forgot the date but it was at Neo Calista that I first time heard this song, played and sang beautifully by a café-to-café singer the night I had a date with an ex.

We were already broke up by then, and he asked me out that night and the song just made the moment felt perfect: marvelous Bandung city view at night from the hill, great Western food, romantic acoustic music, and the right person. It was very beautiful, actually, but the memories about this guy just fade away as I'm moving on with my life.

Still, this song brings me back to that sweet moment of ours, tho it's now long broken and forgotten.