déclaration d'indépendance

i'm borrowing this from my brother as he greets the Republic:

Selamat hari merdeka negeriku...
semoga rakyatmu masih ingat akan arti kemerdekaan dan perjuangan untuk mendapatkanmu...

translation:
happy independence day to my beloved country...
may your people still remember the meaning of independence and the fight to accrue one...

mal à la tête

I hadn't been to a movie in Indonesia for years and years now.
By this time -- a year after I came home, my brother took me out to see WALL-E.

We went on 7pm showing, so I got some snacks at the stand before it started.
While I was standing in line, I overheard the lady in front of me asked to have her order delivered to her seat when the movie commencing. She had 3 kids with her.
Perhaps a little lost in translation, I thought "wow! what a service!"

We sat through commercials, previews, & the short movie (it's a PIXAR's!) for the next 10 minutes.
As the main picture rolled in, 2-3 busboys came buzzing around delivering orders.
One of them passed right in front of us.
I would be a little more understanding if they had kids with them.
But the one sat next to us were a young couple -- even younger than me!
Geeez! That was a sheer of laziness! -- May you become obese!

Perhaps, they could improve this "amazing" service by delivering the food 5 minutes before the movie. Otherwise, it'd just be annoyance to other attendants.

And I heard my mother's voice on the back of my head: please be considerate to others...
How about you?

bienvenue

to the little girl that was born at dawn:

welcome to the world, dear!
we'd been waiting for you.
may you grow up to be a healthy, witty, active, & dedicated to your parents & your country.

love always~

une vacance parfaite

I arrived quite late for the Easter feast chez Richard.
The plan was to join them for lunch, but I couldn't make it since my parents' friends came to visit on the hour I supposed to take the train.
Anyway, the trip was great.
Golden afternoon sun reflected on Hudson... marvelous~

I got there at 4:30pm and basically gulped down everything in sight while everybody was out to the river..
Afterwards, I sat out on the porch with a book to taste the fresh air with just enough sun... mmm.. parfait!

Soon enough the group came back from the river.
Gave everyone a hug and wish them a happy easter.
In no time, it was dinner time.
A friend of mine came to join.

It was a wonderful day.
Good food, good companies.


thanx for coming!
sorry that you had to sit through a monkey story~

une crise cardiaque

I found it funny, everytime somebody came to visit me...
They picked up a magazine from my stacks and (to?) continued the conversation.

Anyway, I had a small episode of heart attack today.
I was planning to wear my fabulous boots this morning, but I couldn't find them!!! eeeeeeeeeeeek!
Even after splling half of my closet I still couldn't find them.
I was running late for work, so I settled for a pair of booties.
Wasn't bad at all, although looking très french!

After work, I messaged my mother right away since she had been organizing my room in the past 6 months.
Digged a little deeper into the closet while waiting.
Started to check out not so obvious space to place a pair of boots, et voilà!
They were hanging at the back of the closet hidden by the jackets!

Unfortunately, the forecast says it is going to rain tomorrow~

la nourriture, la musique, et les amis

I had a rendezvous with a friend for an Indonesian dinner.
We were checking out this place I found on the net while looking for lunch one day, Bali Nusa Indah.
He brought his cousin with him who happened to be in town, since they hadn't seen each other for 5 years.

The dinner turned out to be ok. *pheuw*
Nothing compared to the original of course.
I ordered: otak-otak, perkedel jagung, pempek palembang, soup bakso daging... - i'm following what is written on the menu here, of course back home they only call it bakso.
Quick review:
* otak-otak: a little fishy, but acceptable.
* perkedel jagung: should use less flour and more corn, afterall that is why they call it "corn fritters"!
* pempek palembang: too sweet.. very javanese.
* soup bakso daging: hmm.. if they make their own bakso and not buy a ready made from chinatown, this can be good.
My friends both had Nasi Rames which included nasi putih, sambal goreng udang buncis, rendang padang, kare ayam, sate sapi, gado-gado acar, ikan teri, krupuk udang.
* Sambal goreng udang buncis: ehmm.. I've never seen one, but then again I'm not very fond of string beans.. taste is ok.
* Rendang padang and kare ayam: seems like another instant spices - brand: Bumbu Bamboe.
* Sate sapi: good.
* Gado-gado acar: I don't dare to try..
* Ikan Teri: good.
* Krupuk Udang: good.

Anyway since it was the first time for his cousin to be in New York, we kinda had to take him out for entertainment.
He said he wanted to experience New York at nite, but not so fond of clubbing.
The only thing I could think of was a jazz club.
So we had down to the village for Smalls.

It was a little quite we we arrived.. pretty early.. just half past nine.
It was just ok... until Mike Moreno Quintet hit the stage.
The space was packed instantly.
Since we were there early, we got to sit all the way in front behind the piano man.
My neighbor's girlfriend came to join us as well.
It was a good nite... to listen to music... to be surrounded by friends... to be in the city... to be alive.

la dernière fois où j'étais ici, j'a fini à carol gardens~

c'est le jour

the day I put my foot back on downtown was the day the pain went away~