Another Victoria's Secrets

I don't normally post jokes, but this one really caught my attention. I laugh hard every time I see this. Come on, laugh with me!

I was feeling rather desperate yesterday, having problems with love life (which is big for me, no matter how small it is, for I am over-thinking and over-reacting about it) and feeling kind of stuck at home. So when my best friend invited me to come to Bandung, I spontaneously said yes and arranged everything to go there for a week.

I called my cousin to meet and stay over at his place for a night or so, booked a transportation and even told few of friends I'd want to meet in Bandung. I packed all my clothes for a week's holiday and got all into a gym bag for clothes, backpack for laptop and gadgets and handbag for daily needs. I was super-excited to imagine meeting all friends and visiting places I had left behind.

So I had to depart by 9 a.m. this morning by X-Trans but earlier this morning they called and said it'd be delayed till 10:30 a.m. I thought, this might be a sign for me to cancel. But then I thought again, I had already called everyone and be ready myself for the journey. So I slept for another hour, did some yoga then showered and get dressed. I was absolutely ready for the trip.

It was already 10:40 a.m. and the travel car hadn't come yet. While waiting, I got a text that the project I had expected since last Monday suddenly got a green light and I need to have a meeting for that this afternoon. It was really a last minute call, but I thought the project is more important than meeting friends so as the car arrived to take us to Bandung, I cancelled it and thankfully could get a refund.

So here I am again back at home after a very short an hour trip to Bandung (it was only from home to X-Trans pool then waited there for 30 minutes then go back again by taxi) and feeling refreshed already. Perhaps it's because of the excitement of packing and imagining the friends and places I'd visit, or simply because of I got the job going, but I feel refreshed now. Silly yet such a fun 'trip' indeed!

Call me outdated but I just finished watching Frozen and can't keep myself for replaying it over and over again. Not just because I love the animation details, the figures of the princess and queen (especially Elsa as Snow Queen, of course) but also the soundtracks. 'For the First Time In Forever', however, is also a great song and 'Let It Go' had won the Academy Award's best original song and sang by Demi Lovato.

But I really am captured by 'Do You Wanna Build A Snowman' and also keep replaying the song. I just found a reprise to the song sang by Elsa that should've been in the scene where Anna just froze--I agree it'll make the movie even better for the touch of the closeness of their sisterhood and the answer to Anna's years of waiting for just that one question. I wonder why they decided not to put it into the movie. It would be just perfect with this reprise.

This movie is about love between sisters, and also true love. It also speaks to us how fear would never get anything right, only will make things worse--as also anxiety, distrust and loneliness. Love, instead, would bring summer to our hearts. Although I'm almost 30 years old now I still need to learn a lot about love and the act of love.

I just realized that I'd been Elsa who let worry control her but now I want to start opening my heart to love and let love fulfill me instead of fear and anger. Actually I had known about this, especially for the past 1.5 years but I keep on falling to the valley of insecurity and get panicked. Someone said once, fear is okay but panic is deadly.

Frozen really reminds me to keep being optimistic and happy like the young Anna who never gets tired asking Elsa to play and 'build a snowman'. I am not gonna let go of anything that makes me happy and of anyone that loves me and promise to set him free. The act of true love that melts frozen heart. I agree 100% with Kevin Fallon to say this as Disney's best movie since Lion King. This really is full of love and inspiring.

Last Sunday I went to meet Jessie and Alif in Bintaro. We talked for hours in Bakoel Koffie and ended up watching this movie Pompeii at Lotte Mall and had dinner at Burger & Grill nearby. I really spent my whole Sunday in Bintaro with them. It was fun, but what bothered me more to put it here on my blog was the movie.


About the movie, Pompeii is a good one, with the Roman empire setting on 79 AD in Pompeii city that stood at the foot of Vesuvius mountain. When the volcano erupted with no warning, the whole city was buried alive from the hot lava. Different from the documentary of the same city I've watched on BBC, this movie centers on the main character, Milo, a slave who became gladiator and fell in love with the princess of Pompeii, Cassia, and her family's struggle against the corrupt senator.

This is basically a love story, and as I see it that way, this movie has almost no weakness. The casts are mostly new and fresh actors, especially for Kit Harrington and Emily Browning. The plot was nicely flowing, from Milo's childhood to his adult age. The love triangle and political problem are normally displayed. I have no comment on the story. And the visual effect was great.

What I want to discuss here is more to the mystery behind the Mount Vesuvius eruption. With many eruptions in Indonesia lately (Mt. Sinabung, Mt. Merapi, Mt. Kelud for the past few months), I found this movie both related and refreshing. What made me question here, is why the Vesuvius' 12 hours of eruption could perish all of the inhabitants of Herculaneum and Pompeii, while in Indonesia lately there are still many survivors. Perhaps the eruptions lately weren't as big as it was in South Italy nearly 2000 years ago, but still I find this really bizarre.

Have I mentioned before about my childhood friends from Petra elementary when I lived in Taman Alfa Indah, before Bandung? Well I've been in touch with them again since 2010, after 17 years separated without any news about any of them. Suddenly, thanks to Facebook, everyone was back in my life, although I remember only some of them all.



Lately I have been hanging out with them again, at least once a month. The usual members are Jovita, Alif and Alex. Sometimes Alonzo and Chriswandy join us, sometimes more to the party. Last month, Rama and his wife joined the reunion in eX, some drink at Stark Bierhaus after Japanese dinner at Ootoya.

I'm kind of amazed on our friendship, by the way. I knew them only a little before I was 8 years old and met them again only occasionally in the past 4 years but I felt closer to them than any group of my high school or junior high in Bandung that I met everyday for 6 years. Even my 1-year friends from Binus are more attached than my 4-years ones in Maranatha.

Sometimes I think about this and I think it's kind of weird to have some people we rarely meet closer to heart than the ones whom we meet more often/intense. But then again, it's quality over quantity. And to have friends is already a blessing, no matter how often you guys meet. Next, we're planning to afternoon jogging together. I really am blessed to have friends like them!

I haven't had such a ladies' day out for a while, but yesterday I went out with some girls--the first time since I got in Jakarta again. I went out with Lisa and Prisca Soetikno, Indonesia's newest comer in music industry. Her single Super PD will be out soon and I got an honor to get to know her more before her fame. It was a really fun day at Plaza Indonesia, and my sister came joined us after work. I really hope I could get more ladies' day outs from now on because I enjoyed it so much!

Last Sunday I went for a project meeting with Rachelle. She picked up a really great spot in Jl. Ahmad Dahlan, located next to Sosijak, near RM. Ampera and Soto Kudus Blok M. The snack shop called Broti, 'brood en thee' or 'bread and tea' in Dutch. Funny that we just found this deli because the waitress said it had been there for about 1.5 years now. Rachelle and I had made up our minds to make this our spot.

Broti serves only light meals, mostly made by their homemade signature bread and standard beverages (don't look for certain coffee variant here). They also make their own jams and other bread mates. A combination of old wooden Indonesian (Javanese and Betawi) furniture, vintage knick-knacks, batik cloths and old tea servings. A classic!

I watched this last night and I must say, this movie spoke a lot. First, I love the casts. As always, Hanks' movies are always great, although he's not my favorite actor. And Emma Thompson was really great in here. Just perfect for the roles. Then, the story behind Mary Poppins itself. The love of a daughter to her father was annoyingly huge, that affected the rest of her life.

And at the end of it all, we could still learn a lot even a long after our own book was published. Well, we can't stop learning things in life indeed. There's beauty in every little thing that happened to us, even the most miserable one. The important thing is, how we react and reflect to it. Sometimes it's not about forgiveness to others. It could be forgiveness to ourselves. This really is a great movie!

Completed in 2007 by Merkx + Girod Architecten, the Selexyz Dominicanen Book Store in Maastricht in the Netherlands is an incredible church conversion that was originally consecrated in 1294. Located between Maastricht’s two major squares (the Markt and the Vrijthof), the bookstore is run by a large Dutch chain in collaboration with the city council of Maastricht.  

The location has not been used as a church for over 200 years. Before becoming a bookstore it served as a bicycle storage, exam hall for students, a Christmas market and venue for various shows and events. While some may find this usage peculiar, there are actually a significant number of abandoned churches in the Netherlands, many of them hundreds of years old.   

With land being a premium in the country, local governments have opted to convert and restore (just look at those ceilings!) rather than demolish these historic abandoned buildings. For those interested in more information, there’s a great write-up on this building at Crossroads Magazine. 















Submitted by Ron E. 
By courtesy of Oom A.E. Pryana.

Below are some of the many optical illusion mural arts by John Pugh. Such a mind blowing creation, especially the almost live 3D objects of his art. A marvelous painter, I'd say.

  
Main Street,  Los Gatos, California. Even the woman peering into the ruin is part of the mural.


Taylor Hall, California State University, Chico, California. The Doric-style columns are actually nothing but paint.
 

Honolulu, Hawaii. This mural took two months of studio work to plan and another six months to execute with the help of 11 other artists. Featured are Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the  Hawaiian Islands, and Duke Kahanamoku, the ultimate father of surfing.



This mural at the Cafe Trompe L'oeil, San Jose, California, is entitled "Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life". This customer doesn't leave at closing time (she's part of the painting, hard to believe!)


Twenty-nine Palms, California. "Valentine" the bull and a patient buzzard are waiting for the artist to awake (again, they are all part of the art!)


'Bay in a Bottle',  Santa Cruz, California. The passer-by is part of the mural.


"Slowin' Down to Take a Look" in Winslow, Arizona. Included, of course, is "a girl, my lord, in a flat bed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me."



More pictures here.

A large submarine sinkhole in Belize which is over 984 feet across and 407 feet deep. The sinkhole was formed during several episodes of quaternary glaciation when sea levels were much lower.


2. Puente del Inca


A natural rock bridge in Argentina. Bright orange and yellow bacteria mats are created by natural sulphur springs which cover the rock walls.


3. Balls Pyramid


The worlds tallest sea stack, at 562 metres, in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.


4. The Moeraki Boulders 


Found in New Zealand, the gigantic boulders started forming on the ocean floor and can now been seen sitting mysteriously on the coastline thanks to centuries of erosion.


5. The Beauty Pool of Yellowstone National Park


The hot spring allows luminous algae and bacteria to flourish creating a vivid array of colors.

An award winning photographer from Dallas, Tom Hussey, decided to make a photo series of senior citizens with reflection of their younger age. Hussey was inspired by a veteran who was going to celebrate his 80th birthday. This series will speak to every age, race, belief or profession of human being. These will grip your soul as it did to me!










For more photos, click here.