Simply My Notes

After enjoying a full week of traffic-jam-free Jakarta, last night I experienced the "beauty" of Jakarta at night. There were lots of light from the many cars trapped in the crammed roads. Then some music from the horn of a high rank police officer car, trying to get free from the traffic by zigzaging the other cars. Well, maybe his urge to pee was soooo great :p. Not to mention the "charming" black pool made by the rain on the main road of Sudirman. Maybe that pools were the main cause of the jammed road, not the lack of discipline of the people calling themselves intelligent urban people.  This just adding a bigger line of my disappointment smile. I just went to Papi's cemetary and found out that his grave was neglected. And it was just a week after the last time we paid a visit there. It turned out the cemetary official who supposedly had received payment didn't tend the lot. We supposed to go to unofficial cemetary caretaker to tend the grave. When I...

Want to post one of my favorite poem of all time by Robert Frost. Just knew about this great poem when I was still in AIESEC in 1998. It reminds me all the time, that whatever choices I have, it's up to me to decide. I'm following my own path, and that's what have brought me to where I am now. Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: T...

Maap yah, ini bukan judul Harry Potter ke-8, tapi cuma mau kasih contoh simple negative thinking and suudzon (excessive suspicion) itu stupid and ga guna. Have to admit, before coming here, I was a positive and optimistic person. But after a while being under opression and feeling that all doors to opportunity were shut, I become just the opposite. That's why I had Trouble in Paradis e . But for the past weeks, I've begun to lift my self up with some external help. Yang dimaksud di title di atas adalah Harry Potter ke-7 and Asia Cup football tournament yang lagi berlangsung di Indonesia.

As a moslem (though not a good one yet), being in Saudi Arabia offers great advantages. My family is close to the Two Holy Cities and we can travel there anytime we want to. We also feel secure while consuming food and beverages as I've written before  here . Also important is that unlike in Holland, we can easily find places to sholat, even when we are shopping. But few things are not suited to my mind which I think is quite un-Islamic. Therefore, when I was first got here, I realized then why all God's religions were descended to this region. There are still some remains of the Jahiliyiah old time. From first hand experience, these are my notes.

Nope! I wasn't talking about Rafi's having any fever. It's about the current temperature in Jeddah. It's summer time! During the day, it could reach 39 degrees and sometimes 40, while in the evening it's around 36-37. Note, this is not midsummer yet. Uh-oh! We did some househunting during daylight last week with Mukti's friend. Quite tiring. When we got off the car or out of the cool office door, the heat virtually slapped us in the face. I have to put a blanket over Rafi's head and an umbrella over us. It was even worse for Mukti's friend, since he is white. He got exhausted quickly and turn red in an instant.

Udah sejak kemaren2 mau nulis soal ini, cuma takut aja nulisnya kalo malem. Waarom? Habis isinya nyerempet pengalaman ngga enak yang kita alamin hari Senin (25/6) kemaren. We were house hunting and visited a house near the Corniche. When I saw the complex, it wasn't quite up to what I've expected. Anyway, since we were already there, we visited the house accompanied by the Marketing Office Manager. Don't really like the appearance of the frontyard but made no comment. When we entered the door, all of the sudden si mas who was carried by his daddy, burst in tears and loudly screamed while his finger pointing to the closed front door. Even after I opened the door, he still screamed in fear and continued while we made a tour around the house. He stopped when we went outside. Actually, the house itself wasn't scary at all. It was well lit with sunray and some people were inside renovating the house. But, I just couldn't concentrate when si mas was crying like that...

Been a while since the last time I updated this noteblog. Got a way to boost calories intake for Mas R. Chocolate mousse. Got 2 recipes. The hard one from Serge, my Swiss friend in Rotterdam and the simple one from Ready Steady Cook . Chocolate Mousse Ingredients: 100 ml whipping cream (slagroom) 200 gr dark (pure) chocolate block 1 eggyolk 1 eggwhite pinch of vanilla powder 2 tablespoon of fresh milk Preparation The Hard way : 1. Put chocolate with fresh milk in a bowl then put the bowl on a bigger bowl of hot water to melt the chocolate (not au bain marie ). Leave to melt, stir once in a while. When it melts, add the eggyolk, while still in the hot water bowl. 2. Beat the cream and vanilla in a bowl with mixer or electric beater until thick and hold its shape 3. Beat the eggwhite in another bowl until hard (if you put the bowl upside down it shouldn't be spilled out) 4. Add the eggwhite into the whipped cream mixture and mix with spoon thoroughly. 5. Add the...