Another Victoria's Secrets

[this was originally posted on Dec 14, 2013]




As hard as I could admit, my time to leave Bali had finally come. I went to Bali last Sunday with Mom to pack and sell my stuff there and let go of my beloved room. The packing were done until the last minute we were staying but thankfully all furniture were sold out in just one day. My lovely Yamaha Fino scooter was also sold to a friend, my room was overtaken by another friend, so I left it all in peace, knowing that my stuff are in the right hands.


It indeed felt heavy for me to let go of my free life in Bali, having a place of my own and to do anything that I want there. But I know in order to achieve something great, a good sacrifice must be done. I know that I'd come back to Bali one day, to stay longer and bigger--but my time there has done for now. I have to go back to 'real life' in Tangerang to chase my dreams first.


As much as I hate the idea of living back in Jakarta area again, it appears that it's pretty cool to stay in BSD City, where things aren't as crowded, hard, or expensive as in Jakarta. I know it's gonna be another struggle from zero but my aim is as high as to become a hero. "May the bridges I burn light the way," as Paulo Coelho said. I know it'll all be alright.

Last weekend I watched this movie on cable TV, a very interesting one I found. I didn't watch the first few minutes but enough to caught my attention, perhaps because of the 18th century setting or because of the names mentioned, which were HM Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare. So the movie was talking about the behind-the-scene of the big poet's name.

This movie is a fiction, which could be true, but also could be wrong. But the imagination of what had happened back there at that age, those tragedy and sad love story, left an imprint in my heart. The fact that the great Shakespeare himself were never recorded to have attend any school or any educated history strengthen the basic of this movie.

So Shakespeare could be a fraud. And the identity of the true master of poetry himself remains a mystery. I think the real winner here isn't the one who bears the big name for all time, but the one who could stay humble behind all the spotlight. If this Earl of Oxford was the real creator of all the poems, sonnets and plays that Shakespeare claimed, I must learn a lot about modesty, humility and anonymity from him!

[this was originally posted on Jan 21, 2014]

I had seen so many quizzes and stuff about names, but this one here is really the coolest of all. Not only it says about our names, but also about our past life. Of course there's no guarantee that this is 100% true, but the fact that it fits most of my family member when we try it, I really convince that we can use this as a fun reference to recall our past incarnation life. Sometimes putting nickname works better than submitting your full name--that's what happened with my cousins. Let's find out the past!


Anyway for me, I was a male in my last incarnation--tried all under Victoria name and Vicky and Tori--and they all represents a bit of me (by the brief psychological profiles and the lessons brought to presents), but all are saying that I was a male. This a bit confirming one psychic said about my past: he said I was the reincarnation of my great grandfather. Well, it's all not so important anyway. But one answer I could get from this: it explains my fear of getting pregnant and of marriage commitment!


Now, is your question being answered?

[this was originally posted on Jan 16, 2014]
*put The Fray's "How To Save A Life" chorus part for back sound*


Today I have lost a friend. Not that she died, she is just out of my life. I really am not in the mood of telling complete story about this, but I want to mark the date that she is officially gone from my life. Although the cause of it was really an unimportant annoying thing, which she asked me to delete some photos from my blog.

First, this is my blog and I don't like ANYONE to tell me what to put or not to put in. Second, the way she asked me was not so polite (which was too demanding), not in the pleasing way that one would consider a request. Thus, I had followed her request few weeks ago, but she asked for more pictures to be taken down. Her excuse was that she was cuddling with her ex and one photo tend to pornographic. FYI, the photo was: the ex was holding her left shoulder in a group (there wasn't any pic just the two of them--always group photos) and the other 'pornographic' one was a pic of few people sitting together in one sofa in a house in which there was a party.

Too bad I couldn't put the pics here to prove it to you because all I did was always wrong: I asked her to be patient because I wasn't with my laptop to edit my blog--she kept on texting me with words I couldn't understand (as if I could delete the pics with just a blink of eye); I asked which date should I delete, she didn't replied correctly--and the post with dates she mentioned wasn't exist in my blog; I said I couldn't open my own blogspot, she said I was a liar (and told my best friend, my other friend, my brother, her cousin and even her ex's mother about it, which knew nothing about this case); I replied to her in more firm words, she replied with hysterical 'how dare you'. Now, I just stopped replying, she's freaking out we're not friends anymore. P.S. The list above may happened in different turn--I may lost track of order--, but these all happened for the last one month of my once peaceful life.

As much as I hate the idea of losing someone--tho she's already not getting along with me for years now--but this is the force that came from out of myself, therefore I cannot do much about it. Some things I can change, but some things I can't. This is one of the second things and sometimes it really happens in life. Now that I look back at all the messages she and I had been exchanging the past whole month, I could see how she isn't appreciating me and my rights and my limits and being so selfish living in her imaginative world in which she's so afraid to be seen imperfect. The imperfectness here I'm talking about is of one having the time of her life, having fun with friends and boyfriend in the same picture frame. None of those were pornographic or out-of-the-line stuff--they were purely some young adults having fun.

Apparently she's been taking her life too seriously and decided to sacrifice friendship instead. Talking about the last subject, however, she had been abandoned by so many for the past 3-4 years, only they are all being fake in front of her. But then again, all she sees is the other friends are still 'standing by' her and I am the only one who don't want to do things as she wishes. I'm the only traitor she sees but I don't mind about it. I stand on my ground and rules and I don't play fake. I don't do what my heart says no to and I just say it upfront.

Well, I guess you just shouldn't mess with any Aries in your life. Once they declare war, war will they have, no matter how you avoid or postpone it. An Aries will always gets what she wants, in any way. Now that I deleted so many photos from my blog--which I still mourn about it, because no matter how ugly, those are the memories and part of my past. And I really can't accept her reason about concerning her children that could someday see the pics--hey the kids aren't even born yet!

I had always thought I could never understand Geminis and Sagittariuses. Now my list is added with one more person. I really can't understand how selfish they could be. If one cannot accept the reality and the past of one's life, do not blame others for keeping photographs of memories. But then again, it's never a loss for me to lose the photos and that kind of friend. I just dislike her way of approaching me, I guess that's the main reason why I didn't want to erase the pics. Had she asked me more nicely and patiently, I'd grant her wishes just like that. Maybe this is just a day when you ought to lose a friend. A rare day indeed.

Found this on Facebook, I think it's good to know the utilities. Keep this in mind!

[this was posted originally on Jan 2, 2014]





It had been weeks since my last post now, due to my year-end holiday vacations. So I went to Karmel Valley on Cikanyere village, Cipanas, Puncak, on Christmas Eve with my family: mom, Aunti Dewi, Oma, Aunti Lena and her kids--Hizkia, Lauren and Angel. We went by a super-special invitation to celebrate God's birth on the quiet valley.



We went home on 26th, after a day-full of road trip. Angel stayed over then on 27th the two of us went to Yogyakarta by 9:40 p.m. Argo Lawu Fakultatif night-train. This was her first train experience, so it was really exciting for us. We arrived at Tugu Station on Dec 28, 5:30 a.m. and waited for the city to wake up at McDonald's Malioboro. We walked around the area, then took a becak ride to Jl. Prawirotaman.



We arrived at ViaVia shop at around 10 a.m. and took a look around the cute stuff they sell there, had a pineapple pancake and black java coffee. Clemy, Fabian and his cousin, Yoan, came after and we had lunch together. Later, Fabian's friends came along and joined the lunch, too. Then the five of us went to some Biennale Art Expo at Jl. Tirtodipuran before we split up.







Angel and I then went to our booked hostel, Rumah Mertua, somewhere in Jl. Palagan Tentara. It was a bit out-of-nowhere but once we were inside, we continuously amazed by the javanese decoration and hotel facilities they have. Also, the service was very nice, friendly and complimenting. This small guesthouse/boutique hotel has some kind of star-hotel qualities in it. Very much recommended!











We spent the next days taking one-day-courses of batik and silver jewelry making. It was really fun to create something artful, and also Julie joined us on our last day for the silver class. It had been 4 years since the last time we met, so we spent the whole 2-hours course time to work and catch up with stories. We had lunch at Aglioo! in Jl. Prawirotaman and sped up to airport for our 2:45 p.m. flight back home.














Information

Batik Workshop
Batik Winotosastro
Jl. Tirtodipuran 54
Yogyakarta
+(62) 274 371226
www.winotosastro.com/batik

Silver Class
Studio 76
Jl. Purbayan 3B
Kotagede, Yogyakarta
+(62) 274 714 7676
www.artstudio76.com/silver-cource 

Last Sunday, my friend Lita was celebrating her daughter's first birthday and invited my Bandung friends to come also. I thought this could really be a cool event to attend as well to greet my old friends in just one visit. So I made this surprise appearance debut by hitch-hiking Nina's car. She lives in BSD City also with her husband, Donny, and children: Daniella and Nino.

I hadn't come to the birth or birthdays of any of my friends since Jesselyn's birth (Irma's first daughter, which was 2,5 years ago) so I thought this could be good for me to make up all my absence to the others, too. I bought 7 presents: for Irma's son--Jason(3mo); for his sister, Jesselyn(2,5); for Ester's children--Hayden(6) and Haydee(4); for the birthday girl Nadia (1); and for Danie & Nino.


Quite a rob for my saving, but I guess it's worth it. We came to Aries an hour earlier, to a new café named Mingle, where the Joswaras (Ester's family) was already there along with Rica (friend of Lita and Rian's). I was happy that they seemed happy to see me, and were surprised because they didn't know that I'm back in Java again.

The party was simple but quite warm. I could greet Lita's parents, Tante Lena and Oom Wendy, who are always nice and welcoming to me, considering me as their daughter. I also met W and his wife, Yuli, and son, Tristan--who I haven't met since their wedding. Also Rian came with his son Alden but without wife, Angely, who just gave birth to a daughter 5 days earlier.


Everybody knows how I don't like kids, but apparently kids love me. I played with Haydee and Danie who are old enough to be talked to, and chat with the mothers most of time. The party ended at around 1.30 p.m. and I went with Nina's family to Nina's mother's house in Kemanggisan, which I've visited many years ago before she was married. But I didn't made it back to BSD City that afternoon.


My brother and sister asked me to meet up that very afternoon at Pacific Place, so there I went by taxi. We met at ak.'sa.ra where I drooled over all the merchandises they sell there, then chilled at a new dessert parlor Pannacotta. This was our first meeting for this month, especially after I settled back at Mom's house. I really love the companion of my siblings, and Fabian, too.

After a while we decided to have dinner somewhere cheaper, so we went to Mi-Ka, which stands for Mi Kare (curry noodle) in Jl. Brawijaya IV, South Jakarta. For Rp 20,000.- we can choose between ramen noodle soup or rice to eat with the curry. Each completed with egg and beef teriyaki and chicken katsu. It was such a super great meal!


*) EVIL stands for "Ester, Victoria, Irma & Lely" at the beginning; then Lely was replaced by Lita who joined up later.

This Hollywood movie producer was proposing to his lovely lady with the thing he does best: a short movie. Watch this and prepare some tissue for the ending. What more to say, it's simply beautiful!
Ladies and gentlemen, here's Justin & Emily: