Last Sunday, I had two missions at Mall Kelapa Gading (MKG). First, to meet my new online friend from Mari Merajut Mailing List. Second, to buy a new pair of shoes to replace my old one. My first mission has been done successfully :D I met 5 new friends there who gave me lot of new knowledge about crochet. Two of them also sold crochet hook and yarns. I bought 2 new crochet hooks and quite a lot yarns. I don’t know what I’ll be making of them, I’ll think about it later ^^;; I also learned to crochet on canvas. Swat taught us how to do it, and we’re lucky to be able to try it first hand cause she brought extra canvas and nylon yarns for us. It’s quite hard at first, maybe because I’m still new at it, but I’m sure I’ll be able to master it soon *hohoho…I hope ^^;;* We chatted & learned from each other for about 2.5 hours. Time passed very quickly when you enjoy what you’re doing ^^

But that didn’t happen to my second mission. I failed miserably to found a new pair of shoes that match my taste and of course my budget T_T I found couple of shoes that I love, but they didn’t meet my budget. And once that I found the one that I like and met my budget, my size wasn’t available T_T *darn it* I spent about 4 hours strolling around MKG. Instead of finding my new pair of shoes, I found a pair that match my sister’s request *she also need to buy a new one*. After buying my sister’s shoes, I kept looking for mine, but still no result. I’ll try again this Tuesday. I hope this time I’ll found it.

Last night I cooked instant noodle for my father. The brand that I cooked has a lottery program going on. When I pulled out the seasoning bag, I found a little coupon attached to it. Wow..it meant that I was just winning a prize! The coupon size was really small, and I could only see image of cars, motorcycle, tv, and a dvd player on it. Omg…the least I could won was a DVD player. Omg…omg XD I quickly informed my sisters and my parent. We all sat together and I started to scratch the coupon. At first glimpse, I could see Rp 1000 written on it. I still hoped that it could be Rp 1.000.000. So I continued to scratch the rest of it. Guess what….there’s nothing more. Yes, I only won that Rp 1000 T_T Damn it. I had my hope held up high just to be crushed like that T_T It was really a big surprise, too bad it’s not a happy surprise :P Next time I win a coupon like that, I’ll make sure not being over excited like I did before :P

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

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 :)

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

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 ;-)

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.

I’ve joined TDA Community for almost 2 years *I guess*. This community is a place where people who run their own business could share knowledge and support each other. So basically, if you currently don’t have any business and just working for a company, you are encouraged to have your own business. Eventually, when your business has established, you can quit your job and run your business full time.

Talking about having my own business, I actually do have some, although all of them are considered in hibernate mode ^^;; I don’t have a confident to call them “business” because the scale is very small, not to mention the profit. What kind of business am I running? Right now, I’m making girls accessories made of felt and yarns. My sales person is my sister’s high school student :) I once had an order to make a promotional tote bag for a company. The profit was quite a lot. Too bad I didn’t do serious things to promote my business. Well…that’s a little about my hibernated business. I’ll continue later :)

Last Saturday, Mass Marriage Ceremony was held at Masjid Baitul Hakim near my house. This mass marriage was held to help financially challenged couple to registered their marriage at KUA. Hence their marriage will be acknowledged by nation law. This marriage was one of mosque’s programs in order to celebrate the birth of prophet Muhammad SAW. I was asked to read the translation of some verses in Al-Qur’an which is related to marriage. Because I have some experience before, I wasn’t feeling nervous when I read it. Thank god my job was done nicely ^^ Seeing those happy newly wedds, I hope I can meet my soulmate soon ^^

When my father bought a little turtle for Kiki, my cute 5 years old nephew , he named it “Kura-kura Ninja” We just smile when we heard it :) At first, Kiki still played with Kura-kura Ninja, but then, he got bored quickly with it, leaving the care of Kura-kura Ninja to our family. I pity this little turtle, so I decided to take care of him. Feeding & cleaning his cage everyday made me love him gradually. One morning, we found him upside down and not moving a single muscle. I tried to shake his cage for a minute, but still no reaction. Finally, we came to a conclusion that Kura-kura Ninja has died :( I was a little confused because I thought turtle is a long-live animal. For the last time, I wanted to clean him. I took him out of his cage and started to shower him. Then I saw him moved a little and started to wave his arms and legs. Omg, he’s alive :D Maybe he was just sleeping when we thought he was dead. Oh you naughty little turtle, no more surprise please ;)