Girls, Can You Relate to This?

I certainly can.

Oh, there's the guys' version too.

Silly Things I've Done #6

At nearby McDonald outlet

Me: "Can I have McChicken Wings meal, please?"
Cashier: "Sure. What would you like to drink?"
Me: "Sprite, please."
Cashier: "Do you want to upsize?"
Me: "No."
Cashier: "OK. Eat here or take away?"
Me: "Take away. Can I change the fries to seaweed shaker fries?"
Cashier: "I'm sorry, no.. If you want it, you have to @#$!@##$&*"
Me: (Thinking that @#$!@##$&* was spoken in Chinese) "I'm sorry, can you speak in English?"
Cashier: "I AM speaking English. I was saying, if you want the shaker fries, you have to upsize your meal. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Me: "Perfectly clear, Sir."
(Drat, I shouldn't eat that muscle relaxant pill and going around talking to people...)

Guys and Girls in Love

It's not easy for a girl. It's not easy for a guy too.

Guys, I know how hard it is for you. You have to be the one chasing after the girl and put all the efforts to get your love. Even when you're not sure what the result may be. But remember, whether you're successful or not, it takes two sides to decide. You need an opponent in the game. Without her, you'll be playing alone and it's just ridiculous to play alone. So, be mindful of what she's going through.

Girls, I know how hard it is for you. I AM a girl too. I know how annoying it is when a guy keeps saying how nice it is to be a girl because all she has to do is to accept or reject. Decision making is never an easy thing to do. I'm sure you guys understand. So, girls, don't blindly decide. You have to see and respect the efforts the guys are making.

So, guys and girls, always be mindful of what you say. You don't know what the others are going through. Even though you just want to joke about it. Even jokes can lose its wittiness if it's said too many times.

Always respect others.

Celebrities doppelgänger #2

Ha, and it was only yesterday I thought I wouldn't find another celebrities doppelgänger. Here is an additional pair I've just remembered. Please welcome, our first Indonesian celebrity doppelgänger!

Marcell Siahaan - John Legend

Celebrities doppelgänger #1

After watching numerous movies, series and dramas, I found that some celebrities have doppelgänger! To me, they really look alike. Here are some of them I managed to find so far.

Takuya Kimura - Won Bin

Ye Ji-won - Kim Sun-ah

Isla Fisher - Amy Adams

Dominic Purcell - Nick Lachey

Yoon Eun-hye - Jung So-min

Son Ye-jin - Kim So-hyun

What do you think? Well, the Koreans probably look like each other because of the plastic surgeries which they might have gone through.

Maybe I'll post more photos if I encounter more celebrities doppelgängers. 

joke of the day

A: "B, badanmu ga sakit?"
B: "Ha? Sakit apaan?"
A: "Itu.. kamu kan baru jatuh dari surga. Sakit ga?"
B: "..."

a few minutes after that...

B: "A, kamu ga capek?"
A: "Hah? Capek knp?"
B: "Kamu emang ga capek abis manjat keluar dari neraka?"
A: "..."

A Horror Story

One Sunday night while walking through a vast, dark garden after our photo-shoot session for the church.

A: "Err, it's very dark here, so scary."
B: "It's perfect for telling ghost story!"
C: "Wanna hear one? I'll tell you one. Tomorrow is Monday."

Silly Things I've Done #5

"Salah Baca"

NOTE: Aku ga se-despo itu buat dipanggil cantik kok ㅠ.ㅠ I read way, way too fast. Scan reading is dangerous.

Almost lover (alias TTM? or Friends with Benefits)

Nice tune, nice voice, nice song. This song is for all of you who are in a "complicated" relationship, or "friends with benefits" or what we, Indonesians, call it "TTM (Teman Tapi Mesra)". I hope you can get out of such situation soon. Blessed are those who aren't and weren't. I hope you won't experience such a thing :D

Sounds familiar?

Try listening to the song by Rixton, "Me and My Broken Heart" below. Focus on the chorus.

Ever heard that chord progression somewhere? The similar melody in other song?

I immediately thought of Rob Thomas' "Lonely No More".

Agree? No?

Global Warming

"Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore tells US Senate there is 'no proof' humans cause climate change"

That title left me dumb founded. Really? That statement came out from Greenpeace co-founder?

I'm certainly not an expert in climate change, but what I do know is that this earth is certainly getting warmer than decades ago. There are proofs on that. Sea level is rising, ice caps are melting, drought is longer, weather is more extreme. Let me repeat; it certainly is a fact that the earth's temperature keep rising since 10 years ago. Mr Moore didn't deny it either.

So why waste time debating with IPCC's claim whether or not human activity is the dominant cause of the climate change? Even if it's not the dominant cause, the fact is the earth is getting hotter and hotter. Even if it's not the dominant cause, shouldn't we do something about this continuously increasing temperature? Even if it's not the dominant cause, isn't it still one of the cause?

I understand that knowing the dominant cause of global warming will lead to (maybe) efficient solutions on keeping the earth's temperature constant. But, how long shall we wait until we know what that is? While the scientists keep searching for the cause, the temperature won't stop rising.

Since the scientists already know that one of the cause is human activity, shouldn't we tackle this one problem first? However significant it is? For the good of mankind?

"However, I am confident that history will bear me out, both in terms of the futility of relying on computer models to predict the future, and the fact that warmer temperatures are better than colder temperatures for most species."        - Patrick Moore

Well, I doubt that he will participate in any action to reduce the rate of rising temperature.

There is no sure guarantee that the temperature will stop rising. Based on trend, scientists conclude that it will keep rising at uncontrollable rate if we don't do anything.

Certainly Mr Moore is not the one experiencing long drought in Africa, or evacuating to higher lands because of rising sea level. If this continues, I'm worried that Pulau Seribu, archipelago just west off Jakarta, will be no more. And many others islands. I'm worried that capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, will have to move somewhere else because it will be underwater by then. I'm worried that there is no enough land for people to live on.

And what a wonderful timing that I read an article about an ancient virus from 30,000 years ago was resurrected in a lab. Warmer world means more permafrost are rapidly melting. This discovery worries the experts that more harmful pathogens could be revived. Maybe by then one of the apocalypse movies is no longer a fiction.

Still think that a warmer world (and it will continue that way unless we do something I think) is better?

Faces

I went to toilet and accidentally looked at this, and it made me smile:

See the face? It's quite cute, isn't it?

I didn't rearrange the toilet rolls. They're just accidentally arranged like that.

I think I saw somewhere about a photo project done by a certain person to capture faces in everyday stuff we see.

Well, if I'm not lazy (and remember about it), I want to start my own project.

joke of the day

During Sunday School lesson for preschoolers, when reviewing the lesson towards the end of the class.

Teacher: "OK everyone, so what is this picture?" (showing picture of trees)

Students: "Trees!"

Teacher: "Good! And God made the trees." (turns towards A) "So, A, who made the trees?"

A: (innocently replies) "Me!"

Me: (stifling laughter)

joke of the day

#1
(It happened around 10 years ago)

At church, after the Sunday Service and when we (my dad, mom, 2 sisters, brother and I) were going out of the sanctuary shaking hands with church members.

Church member: (shaking hands with each one of us, I was the last one on the line) "Oh, these are your kids?
(to my eldest sis) Oh, this must be the eldest one...
(to my 2^nd sis) And this is the 2^nd daughter. How tall you are!
(to my brother) Ah! And this must be the youngest! The only son!
(to me) And this is? (facing my eldest sis) Your friend?"
Me: "..."

#2
(It happened during my 2013 Christmas - 2014 New Year holiday in Surabaya)

At church, before the service began and when we (my dad, mom, my 2nd sis, brother and I) were greeting church members. Suddenly, my mother came to me, laughing like there's no tomorrow.

Me: "What's wrong?"
Mom: "You know what, there's a church member who thought that you're your brother's girlfriend."
Me: "...Urghh..."

(starting to really doubt that I'm a member of this family)

A Strange Encounter at the Airport

I was on my way to the bus stop at Changi Airport basement car park when a lady stopped me. She was lost and trying to ask for direction in a very poor English. Lucky I caught a glimpse of her passport, which told me that she's Indonesian. Quickly I told her to speak to me in Indonesian so I can help her.  

Her friends left her behind when she was caught up at the immigration line. She passed me her passport for me to check. From her passport I gathered that she arrived in Singapore from Jakarta and was going to Qatar next. She didn't know where to go since the officer at the check in gate refused to let her in. From her look, I assumed that she's a domestic helper being sent to Qatar for work.  

She passed me her passport twice. Without a tiniest doubt. That's when I decided that she wasn't a con woman. Besides, her face looked really worried.  

"My group leader told me to just show this piece of paper to the officer when I want to check in. I showed it to the officer, but he just waved me away. I wonder what's wrong and my friends are not with me. Can you please tell me where I should go?". The piece of paper she talked about was a document in Arabic letters which of course I can't read. But I got a feeling that it was just a visa document for her to be allowed entry to the country. 

I thought she just merely didn't know where the departure area and the gates are. She looked really lost when I told her it's at Level 1, so I decided to just accompany her there.

On the way, I asked where her ticket to Qatar was, so that I know which airline and which gate that airline was at.

"The officer also asked me the same thing, but I don't have it. It's with the group leader and I don't know where he is." 

...  

Rapunzel Puzzle

This was my 2^nd puzzle project. Thanks to those who bought this for my 25^th birthday present. You've listened very well :)

This is a late post since actually I worked on the puzzle during my Christmas - New Year holiday in Surabaya, to kill idle time when I was at home. I finished it all by myself. In 4 days. I'm very proud of it. Next time, I gotta do faster.

I left the puzzle in Surabaya because initially I planned to frame it there. But then I was thinking, where should I put it after I frame it. So, in the end I didn't get it framed. I keep it in parts, like the previous puzzle.

Oh, how I can't wait for my next puzzle project.

Taxi Talk

Due to the nature of my work, I travel a lot by taxi. Since then, I have been engaged in numerous trivial talks with the taxi driver. Some are super trivial; talking about my home town, Indonesia, travelling plans, etc. Some are interesting; discussing about the behaviour of taxi drivers, about governments and just recently, about love.

First of all, I'd like to thank the taxi driver just now (sorry, I didn't get your name, was under severe headache attack and I didn't want to make it worse by reading your name plate) for your kind advice. It's really funny and meaningful at the same time.

An Advise of Love

"Are your parents against interracial marriage?"

"Yes, as far as I know."

"What would you do if you love a man not of your race, love him very much? Would you go against your parents and fight for your love or listen to your parents?"

That question baffled me for a moment.

"I was never in such situation, so I don't know. Probably I'd listen to my parents. If they're against it, I won't push too hard. They know better."

"Well, my wife fight for me. And I'm glad she did. She went as far as going against her parents. Her parents disowned her at that time, wouldn't even look at me. Her brother pushed me and talked rudely to me. Now that we are happily living life as husband and wife, and still together until now, they accepted her back. Well, not too surprising, since her other siblings had failed marriages, though they married Chinese. The husbands of her sisters fell to gambling and womanizing. It's just so sad. So I tell you, don't marry young, marry around 28-30 years old, and marry the right guy."

joke of the day

...oops, you've got caught searching for wi-fi.

Wonders of Google+ Photos

I just recently turned on auto back-up to Google+ for the photos stored in my phone. Then, this is what I found when I browsed my photos through the web version of the Google+:

I think Google has announced this feature during Google I/O 2013 but I forgot. Anyway, what it does is compiling at least 5 consecutive photos taken and making it into short .gif animation. The feature is called "Auto Awesome". Awesome indeed, haha.

Here is another one:

Never cease to be amazed by how cute my nephew is :)

joke of the day

#1
Bro: (pointing at a "Buy 1 Get 1" banner) "Look at that promotion banner. See something wrong?"
Me: "Nope. What's wrong with it?"
Bro: "Well, of course if you buy one, you'll get one. Don't you think so? If you get two, the shop won't survive."
Me: "..."

#2
(in front of "Leftfoot" store)
Bro: "Why the name?"
Me: "Because it only sells the left shoes."
Bro: "..."
Me: "Really! That's why they always put that "Buy 1 Get 1 FREE" poster, so you can get a pair."
Bro: "............."

Silly Things I've Done #4

1. Flagged down a police car instead of a taxi. Twice. To my defense, it was already late at night.
2. Ate a clearly (vaguely to me) spoiled 'babi kecap' just because I didn't want to waste food. Puked big time the next day.
3. Absent-mindedly put a sizzling hot spoon from the pot on my mouth. Ouchie.

Frozen - Not Your Ordinary Disney Princess Story

"Some people are worth melting for"

- Olaf, the Snowman

Even before I watched it, I've fallen in love with the movie. The music, the song, the lyrics, the dialogue, all have captured my attention in a zap. Though I only caught half a sentence of the song ("For the first time in forever...") and that quote above from the trailer, I was sure it's gonna be good.

And it is.

It breaks the usual formula where the Princess is swept away by Prince Charming, just like Brave did, which I also love.

Happy new year 2014!

Yup, first of all..happy new year to you all!! I hope 2014 will be a great year for all of you. (Amen!)

In this new year which only 2 days have just passed by, I might have discovered a buried talent in me. It's... unexpectedly, a gift of... fortune telling? Or prophesying in other word.

I spent my Christmas and new year in Surabaya, hardly ever read any news, let alone opened Google news during my stay there. I was even too lazy to check on my Gmail. So I was not that updated in any international news.

Then one night, still a December night, I had this weird dream, where I learned the news that Yoona of SNSD (K-pop lover must know them at least) was dating Lee Min-ho (Heir, Faith). It really was out of nowhere. I wasn't watching or reading anything related to K-pop which can lead to that ridiculous dream before I slept that night. And I'm not a fan of SNSD or Lee Min-ho, so I wouldn't know about their latest gossips.

And then this afternoon, when I was bored, I browsed Google news and found out that THAT Yoona really is dating someone. But not with Lee Min-ho haha (she's dating Lee Seung-gi). So I was wrong there. But still, the news really is the same! And the guy's surname is the same!

Source: Channel NewsAsia, MediaCorp

A few months back, I just learned that Orlando Bloom was married to Mirranda Kerr (Victoria's Secret model). Then, a few weeks following, I was wondering whether their little family was still one, and they were. Then... a few days after that, they were divorced. They were not the first couple who divorced right after I was wondering how their relationship is.

Some don't-know-how-many-years-ago, I was wondering about how long Adjie Massaid, a pretty famous Indonesian celebrity, had been married to his 1^st wife, Reza Artamevia. They were still together when I thought about that. Then, around 2-3 days after, a big scoop on the newspaper said that they just divorced after almost 6 years of marriage. Ha.

The same thing happened on the then Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston couple. Since they were the first western celebrity couple whose wedding I watched on TV news, of course I got curious on how they were doing after a few years. A week after my curiosity rose, I read the news that they were getting a divorce. HA.

Well, let's just think that they are really big coincidences, shall we?