Material Girl

Just the other day I was chatting simultaneously with B and P, B  was discussing where to get cheaper Coach bags and P was telling me about her 4-pairs-of-shoes-purchase last Saturday. P lamented that even with her family debts and the fact that she's supporting the family fully at the age of 23 she tries to 'reward' herself once in a while with a good meal or a shopping spree. You can't help but think that we are a bunch of Material Girls who put much value on what we own, or wanting to own SOMETHING. But is that really a bad thing? Do we all not crave to possess something we like, a car, a handbag, a luxury trip, a WHATEVER? Does it not motivate us at the end of the day to achieve more so that we can BUY MORE? In that instance then are we not just being realistic that we do live in a Material World........ 

D’Cinnamons

Something light, refreshing and different, D'Cinnamons is an Indon band that hails from Bandung. Some good songs are "So Won't You Let Me Be..." and "Good Morning & "Loving You". Overall the Good Morning album is easy to listen to, and definitely for one of those days when you want something else to listen to besides Norah Jones. Try this.

Work????

I'm back in the KL office since the 24th and really I don't have anything much to do. Xmas eve was spent submitting my travel claims, and meebo-ing the rest of the day. Went out for lunch with Andrew and Herman all the way for Chan Sow Lin fish head before heading back to office. After a much restless hour, I went to San Fran for a cup of coffee then decided to leave office BEFORE the official 6pm. How many of u guys have skived just like me anyways? My sis don't believe in skiving, or ular-ing although i've always been doing that. Take it as pausing for a breather from work..or just to let some heat off at work. Nothing wrong with that. We all need a break sometimes.

AND i can expect this for the next few working days that i have in KL before going back to Jakarta. I should be at home smurfing as i see no logic in pretending to work while i'm not really doing any real work. Sigh,,,,...so in case anyone's bored or looking for snake kaki if u happen to be around klcc area, give me a call. 

All I Want For Xmas....

What I want for Xmas? I'm getting real close to being 30 right after xmas, and i guess what i really want for xmas is actually to celebrate the last few days of 2007 with Andrew, family and friends that matter. I was pretty insistent on not spending my Xmas in Indonesia..oh sure, I can do the usual shit partying with the new colleagues in Indonesia, but it's just not the same. Every other day dancing and partying is alright but on Xmas and New Year's Eve????? I'll rather be sitting at home doing nothing but mope around looking at my newborn nephew and just smurf around with Andrew and my family.

I wont be making wishes but just count my blessings...i've finally got a job that's paying me Ok for me to indulge a bit and not to worry so much (less anyways). And to be away from KL has it's bad and good. And I've got a new nephew this year. First boy in our family. Too bad Imn's not around to smurf with us. (ohyea Imn, i threw some of your old rotten shoes btw). I've semi-moved out of Taman Desa. Dont feel nostalgic at all except that Tmn Desa is the most strategic place to get to anywhere!

And Andrew's got me a new skirt. Yippee. Just a tip to all men, it's always safer to either hand the gf your money or take your gf out shopping for xmas, or else you can never go wrong with a diamond or two....Just kidding!

And this year, i've made some nice new friends, especially those I met in Jakarta.....you guys made my new experience there all the more better!

Where's everyone smurfing this Xmas??

Bandung......

I was there last Saturday for one day with some Indon friends & 1 Malaysian and 1 China Chinese. It’s an old town about 2 hours away from Jakarta. It was converted into some city with small bungalows converted into factory outlets, cafes, cake shops, yoghurt shops etc. It was a popular getaway for the Indons from Jakarta….sorta like how Genting is to some Malaysians. Except that Bandung doesn’t have the tackiness that Genting has. We went to some nice restaurants- Sapu Lidi- it’s like restaurant in the jungle with small lakes and great landscaping with food in little huts, Kampung Daun- also with the same concept but on a smaller scale, and the Village- a little romantic getaway with decently priced food and a scenic night view.

I went again on Monday till Tuesday for work, seeing another light of Bandung. It lacked the hustle bustle of Jakarta and people were more laidback when it came to work. We had a nice lunch with a supplier and he shared many great stories of Bandung and Indonesia in general. I put up a night at the Hotel Kedaton but was ‘bothered’ by ‘something’ that night. My Indon colleagues remarked that it was not uncommon as most of the buildings in Bandung is very old with most of the structures still maintained.

Ohwell, it didn’t changed what I thought of Bandung. I thought it was some place that I’d probably go again- Air Asia flies there anyways.

LIFE IS A TEST

Life is like a test. Everyday is a test. Every new experience is a test. So how you want to face this is really up to you. It’s just that there are just some people like me who are just hungry for a new experience. Not many people can say that they actually admit and succumb to it, some people just speak of it but in actual fact they were perfectly comfortable just the way things are. But staying put is not that easy some times. One at my age can’t really deny that of course there are certain responsibilities and commitment that I’ve left. Perhaps for reasons unknown or just to get away. Get away from all that and just to have a slice of something that everybody else is having. The way I see it is that if everyone else can have it, I don’t see why I can’t have a bite. Would you brand that as being selfish, or just plain wanting more? Is it wrong to want more? And yes, it’s a mind-battling if you’re gonna want to justify this. The thing is that there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t succumb to new heights and there are plenty of reasons why you should. At the end of the day, I think instinct surpasses sense. Isn’t there a time when you just want to be impulsive? Above all else, the voice that speaks the loudest is that I do not want to NOT do anything that I would regret much later. Take this as a test.