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Lambretta!!! April 29, 2008

Posted by jewel in Internet. add a comment

Lambretta!!! It’s an Indonesian slank expression to say something that’s really slooow. Yup, the internet connection at my office is having trouble since this morning. It’s getting better at 10 am, but now, it’s getting slow again T_T I wish I had unlimited yet cheap internet connection at home so I could browse till I drop ^^;; Right now I only have Telkomnet Instan to connect to the internet. The speed is slow, and it’s not cheap :P When will the Internet Service Provider in Indonesia have a price battle between them just like the battle in telephone call tarif between cellular operators? I need internet so badly X-( I think I’ve already addicted to it ^^;;

FYI, I read from a friend’s blog that a new cellular operator called Axis which offers free internet connection limited to 100MB per month, and it’s valid till 31 May 2008. Being a stingy internet connection hunter, I definitely have to try it ^^;; Last night I bought one Axis number. This morning, I activated it and must wait till the next 24 hours to get the GPRS activated. I hope I’ll get a faster internet connection this time. Wish me luck ^^

Fun Saturday at Inacraft 2008 April 28, 2008

Posted by jewel in Personal. 1 comment so far

Last Saturday, I went to Inacraft with my parents and sister. Inacraft is an annual handcrafted items Event which is held at JHCC, Jakarta. Just like I predicted, we needed almost 1.5 hours to get there and secure a parking lot *usually it only takes 30 minutes* The place was really crowded with people.

We started our stroll with the handcrafted items section. There were many variety of craft’s materials like wood, fabric, brass, rattan, paper pulp, etc. My mother was interested in some flowers made of kasa fabric *I don’t know the english word for Kain Kasa ^^;;* She was pretty sure that she could made it by herself :)

After contented with this section, we go to the handbag section. Omg, the fact that Indonesian are very creative nation is proven here. You could see how beautiful those crafted items. I visited The Sak booth, and met the wife of current Sultan Hamengkubuwono there. I was surprised that this branded handbags were made in Yogyakarta. This brand aren’t even sold in Indonesia, you can only found this brand sold in USA and Europe. Although the bags sold were export remnant, many people crowded around this booth. Why did I interested in this booth? Because they sold crocheted bag, and crochet is my current hobby :D Before, I only made amigurumi out of crochet, and now, I’m also interested in making a crocheted bag. Note to self : I must hurry to buy some nylon yarn this week to make this bag.

Then we continued to the garment section. Almost everywhere you could see batik, batik, and batik :) Maybe this year batik is the trend. According to a national newspaper, the most sold type of batik dress is the baby doll dress. And when I typed this post at my office desk, walk passed me are a man & a woman. This woman is wearing a batik baby doll dress. And I overheard the man’s comment on her dress. He said “You look like wearing a pajamas” *hehehe…what a mean guy ^^;;*

Tired of this section, my father insisted on going back home. Because I was still searching for some items to be bought, I urged my mother and my sister to go back to handcraft section while my father waited at the front door. And guess what, for about 3.5 hours at Inacraft, I didn’t buy anything, nor my mother, nor my sister ^^;; I don’t know whether I’m too picky or stingy, but my DIY spirit kept me from buying those items ^^;; We kept saying that we could make it by ourself ^^

And that Saturday trip was ended with a dinner at a restaurant near Kampung Melayu. At first, we wanted to eat at Sate Bang Mansur. But sadly, it was already closed T_T So we go the nextdoor restaurant called Nasi Goreng Babat Semarangan. Thank god the food isn’t dissapointing. It’s delicious :D And with full stomach, we went back home happily :D

Blogging for a Mosque’s Activity April 25, 2008

Posted by jewel in Personal, Religious. add a comment

Yesterday I created a new blog for Masjid Baitul Hakim, a mosque that I visit every day near my house. This mosque has many  routine lectures which are held after Magrib and Subuh on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. I’m planning to write the summary of each lectures in this blog. What is it for? Of course as a reminder to myself, and maybe others :)

I’m proud of this mosque because nowadays only a tiny number of mosques that have routine lecture as much as this mosque, considering that Baitul Hakim is not a big mosque *note: it’s only a mid size mosque in the middle of a housing, not the well known one like Masjid Al-Azhar, Istiqlal, etc*. I’m so sad of the fact that many muslims rarely visit mosque. And when they visit it, mostly to do Friday’s Pray. Doing pray in our own house is not the same as doing it in a mosque. We will get many pahalas, from the minute we step out from our house, until we get home after. Even our steps to the mosque contribute a lot for our good deed saving in the after life (Akhirat) later. I am lucky to have a family who encourage me to do my pray in the mosque. Because I work at the office from 8 to 5, I only have 2 chances to do the pray in the mosque, which is Isya & Subuh. It feels very peaceful walking in the silent of the night :) Just try it, you’ll found something that can make your religious life more meaningful :)

Waiting for my Amazon Cheque

Posted by jewel in Money. add a comment

It’s almost the end of April and I’m still waiting for my cheque from Amazon. It was sent on the same period as google’s check, but my google’s cheque arrived faster. It took only 2 weeks to arrive though I used regular service *not DHL* What a great service :) Let’s pray so my amazon cheque won’t get lost on its way to my house ^^;;

Oh, talking about cheque, I’m still searching which bank that can accept google’s cheque with low processing fee. I’ve tried Citibank Kelapa Gading, but they won’t accept it if I don’t open an account there :( *you stingy bank :P* I think it’s all just an excuse for their laziness :P How come they won’t accept it? On the cheque, it’s written that it’s payable at Citibank! Maybe I’ll try Bank Syariah Mandiri. I hope the processing fee isn’t too expensive, otherwise, what more can I spend from that tiny amount of money ^^;;

Annoyed by Humming April 24, 2008

Posted by jewel in Personal. add a comment

For the last two days, I kept hearing that humming from a girl sit around my desk. Grr….I really can’t stand hearing people’s humming. I don’t know why, I just hate it. But I can’t speak up to her to telling her off =_= I just wish that she will move to another desk immediately.

I also can’t stand hearing cellphone ring tone repeatedly over and over. People around my desk have a bad habit leaving their cellphone on the desk for a long time. Only god knows where they were going.  The bad thing is, they set the ring volume so high that the sound may travel to the next block! Imagine how you feel hearing that sound over and over. I wish I could throw that cellphone on the wall :P Why can’t they think of other people’s feeling? It just shows how people can get very egoist with each other.

Maybe it’s me that gets annoyed easily. But what can I do? Every person must have had something they hate, right? And as for me, I’ll plug my earphone and play the song loudly so I can’t hear that annoying sound :P

God’s Sexiest Creature flunks you! April 18, 2008

Posted by jewel in Misc, TV. 1 comment so far

You must be wondering what exactly the meaning of the above post title. But  you will understand if you watch tonight’s Indonesian Idol elimination round. I noticed there are quite a lot contestants who sing this song. But all of them *correct me if I’m wrong* fail to go to the next round! I wonder how on earth did they manage to choose that song. It’s not a “right” song to be judged in a competition like that. With all that Aah aah aah and Iih iih iih? It didn’t surprise me that all three judges fail them although one of them has a potential to be a great singer. Too bad her journey must stop tonight. For those of you who have made it to the next round, choose carefully your song ;-)

Crocheted Coral Reef?

Posted by jewel in Crochet, Hobby. add a comment

Crocheted Coral Reef

 This afternoon I spent my time browsing the internet, like always ;-) If you like crochet, you must be amazed of what I found cause this project is so amazing. It combines Math, Art, and Skills all together. How cool is that! What I’m talking about is the Crocheted Coral Reef project, which was exhibited by Institute for Figuring (IFF). They actually put the brief instruction of how to make it, but since I’m a beginner and I can only read japanese pattern, I can’t figure it out T__T Please please teach me how to make it. IFF said that it’s actually a traditional technique which is called “increases”. I know how to do increase, but I need to know the exact pattern so I won’t mess it up ^^;; Oh, one more thing, they also inform that this coral reef project works best if you use cheap acrylic yarn.What a great relief since I use that type of yarn most all the time*poor me* For more info and images about this project, you can go to their website (IFF - Crocheted Coral Reef).

Free Blogger Templates Resources April 17, 2008

Posted by jewel in Blog, Internet, Resources, Tips. 1 comment so far

I have many blogs which are powered by Blogger. You know that the default templates provided by blogger have been used by million of peoples out there. It sure makes your blog not unique and appealing to visitors. To help you find great templates for you blog, I have compiled a list of free blogger templates resources. Here they are (in no particular order):

Hope you find it useful :) If you know other great sites, please inform me so I could update this list.

Trip to Bali April 15, 2008

Posted by jewel in Personal, Travel. 1 comment so far

On the last company outing, we went to Bali for 3 days and 2 nights. Of course if you visit Bali, you have to visit its most famous beach, which is Kuta beach. I stayed at Hard Rock hotel, which location is right in front of Kuta. And could you imagine, I only set my foot on that beach for only 5 minutes, just enough time to take my picture there beside a surfing board *hahaha* Yes, I’m not an avid fan of the beach ^^;;

On the first day, we went to Ubud, and ate fried duck at Bebek Bengil. The food was delicious, but the atmosphere there is the main attraction. The setting is very natural and you could even see the paddy field on the back of the restaurant. We also went to Erlangga market. In the evening, we went to Tanah Lot to watch sunset. Simply beautiful.

Second day, we went to Sukowati market, and buy many kinds of handcrafted things like bags. I bought 4 handbags for my mother and sisters, but I bought nothing for myself ^^;; Then we ate at Angsa Dua restaurant *I’m not sure about the name though*. The food was so so and the worst thing is the toilet :( Beside the taste of the foods, clean toilet is my second factor in determining how great a restaurant is. It’s a must. How could a visitor trust the hygienic of your food if your toilet is dirty. We also went to The Uluwatu Temple, on the top of a very steep cliff. You could see the big wave crashing on the cliff. I was pretty scared actually ^^;; But the view is breathtaking. I heard that the native perform Kecak Dance in the evening, and it must be great to watch.

Oh the third day, we only have half day left because our plane will take off at 2 pm. So we took this opportunity to buy some gifts and snacks to be brought home. I buy 1.5kg of peanuts, named Kacang cap Mentari. My first bite of this peanuts, I regret that I only buy it a little. I should have bought 5 kg! This peanut is so delicious I tell you. I bought it at Toko Tulus. If I went to Bali again, I would definitely buy it. If you happen to know that this peanut is sold at Jakarta, please let me know. I think I’ve already addicted to it ^^

Now June is coming closer. I wonder where we will go on this year outing. I’m hoping the best of it ;-)

Takoyaki Fiesta April 14, 2008

Posted by jewel in Personal, Tips. add a comment

Yesterday I made Takoyaki along with my sister. Takoyaki is a japanese snack which is shaped like a pingpong ball. I got the recipe from the internet *sorry, I forgot the url*. This snack is so delicious. First time I tried Takoyaki was when I bought it at Tako Pochi stall at Mall Kelapa Gading. It was so delicious and I’ve fallen in love immediately :D But then the stall was closed, and I have to buy it from other place. Too bad it’s not as good as the one in Tako Pochi. Right now, I still haven’t made the “right” Takoyaki. Mainly because I missed the important ingredients, the Takoyaki Sauce. I saw one which was sold at a japanese supermarket, but because I am a muslim, I can’t eat any food or drink which contain forbidden ingredients like pig, alcohol, etc. Sadly, most kind of japanese sauce contain Mirin *sweet sake* :( So for you muslim, please be carefull when you eat Japanese food. You should ask the chef what is the food made of.