I always thought Jakarta has nothing special to see~ other than its miserable air pollution and unbelievably crazy traffic, we are famous for uhh pretty much nothing I guess…  but then I thought it wouldn’t be fair to pass such judgement if I never thoroughly explore the city. So we (me, L, B, and Ms Photographer) decided to go on somewhat you may call a one day excursion in the city! we didn't expect so much to see in 1 day, cause Jakarta is HUGE, but we managed to visit some interesting spots...

1st stop:  Dutch Cemetery now turned Prasasti Museum (1795-present)

Descrīption: a bit spooky atmosphere, but i saw some of the coolest statues and tomb stone.. they keep over than 1000 collection of tombs monuments, statues, miniature, etc since the era of Dutch colonial.

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2nd stop: GLOSARIUM Photography Exhibition (April 11th-May 11th, 2008)

Descrīption: Exhibit 146 pictures of local new young talented photographers

~ this one above is my favorite! :))



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3rd Stop: Lunch at Passer Baroe (1810-present)

Descrīption: one of the oldest local market in the city, looking for cheap cheap bargain stuff?! here's the place!

~ takin picture at the front gate, with an orange Bajaj (auto-rickshaw) passing behind haha,, perfect!



~ yeah we were hungry!! had some italian gelato for desert,,yummm!



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4th Stop: Jakarta Old Town-heritage area (1600s-present)

Descrīption: Dubbed "the jewel of Asia" in the 16th century by European sailors, Old Jakarta — or Batavia, as it was named by the Dutch — was once considered a center of commerce for the whole continent due to its strategic location, fertile resources, and rich culture. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta_Old_Town)

~ ex-Dutch Indies general governoor palace...











~ The Addam's Family! xD



~ Its a wrap, team!! (Left to right: Me, L, B, and Ms Photographer)

Whenever you grow tired of your daily lifestyle or routinity (office, school, work, assignments, deadlines, etc), it is actually the perfect time for you to take sometimes off and pay attention to your surrounding a little bit more.. you never know what you might discover!

Advantage for me, at least now if any of you decide to come and visit Jakarta, i'll be a better equipped tour guide! haha..

SO, jakarta anyone???

women are full of mysteries, so they said,,
thought this could reveal a bit of the mystery, and give you guys bit of a hint

44 things girls wish guys knew

1. Don’t tell us when you think other girls are hot.

2. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

3. If you don't act like soap-opera guys, don’t expect us to dress like Victoria Secret Models.

4. Mark anniversaries on the calendar.

5. We think about you all the time

6 This is how we see it : Don't call = Don't care.

7. Which also means that if we don’t call, take a hint.

8. We like you to be a little jealous. But overly possessive is not necessary.

9. Being able to make us laugh is so much more important than knowing how much you can bench-press.

10. We're allowed to be late. You're not.

11. Eye contact is the key.

12. Don't take longer to get ready than we do.

13. Laugh at our jokes.

14. 3 words: honesty, honesty, honesty!

15. Girls can be groupies. Guy groupies are stalkers.

16. Do not start with us. You will not win.

17. Would you like it if a guy treated your sister that way? Didn't think so.

18 If you ask nicely, we’ll answer the same way.

19. We will never have enough clothes or shoes.

20. We have an excuse for being bitchy at least once a month.

21 Open the door for us no matter where we are.

22. We love surprises.

23. We like to be kissed softly. Not with an iron tongue.

24. Pay attention to the little things we do, because they mean the most.

25. Boxers and maybe boxer briefs sometimes. Never tighty-whities!

26. Always brush your teeth before you see us. A fresh mouth and white teeth are a necessity.

27. Clean your room before we come over.

28. Even though you're sometimes insensitive and hurt us, we still love you with everything we are.

29. Don't act hard around your friends

30. Sometimes "NO" really means "NO!".

31. "Wife beaters" are not an adequate form of fashion.

32. If we wanted to be on video tape, we’d be a porn star. NOT your girlfriend.

33. Sensitive guys are great.. but crying more than we do in a movie just isn't right.

34. Don’t let ex-girlfriends cause drama, relationships are stressful enough.

35. It takes a special kind of stupid to forget birthdays.

36. Guys who are good cuddlers = guys who know how to satisfy a woman.

37. "Fat chicks" have feelings, too.

38. Silent treatment, shoulder shrugs, tears, yelling, & nasty looks add up to = YOU DID SOMETHING WRONG.

39. The excuse "I can't dance" is unacceptable. We’ll appreciate the simple fact that you’re
trying.

40. Just because a girl doesn’t pick up on the first ring, doesn’t mean she’s not waiting by the phone.

41. You don’t have to spend a lot; if it means a lot.

42. Don’t say you love me if you don’t mean it.

43. Don’t lie to us. We will catch you.

44. When the girls get together, we talk about everything. Meaning, my best friends know EVERYTHING about you.


It feels nice to be understood, wouldn't you agree ladies?

Have a great wednesday y'all!
~Liza~

I've been picked by gajo

This is a wonderful game.  For those who have been picked, please state who has picked you for the game.


A.
Answer the questions as follows.  Then, delete one of the questions you don't like and add a new question.  There should be 20 questions in total.  Pass it on to 11 people and list the people who will need to answer those questions.  Notify them by signing on their guestbook and tell them that they've been picked.  The chosen ones will have to answer the questions.  They will then be forever blessed by God and everyone.

B.
The 11 chosen ones will have to mention who has picked them and they will have to pass it onto others in order for the game to continue.  There are to be no repeated invites.  The chosen one will be blessed by everyone who has participated in this game and their wishes will come true in the not so distant future.


~The questions begin~


1. Is reality in this world harsh?
A: It is,, but you just gotta have a little faith to make it all better! Tats all it takes,,

2. What is the happiest thing in life?
A: to wake up every morning and realize that you’re still breathing

3. How long has it been since you've thought about things quietly? (In this busy lifestyle)
A: 1 hour ago,, when i was in the toilet  

4. What country would you really want to travel to?
A: right now,, Dublin, Ireland

5. What annoys you most about yourself?
A:  when I’m trying too hard to please people around me and forgetting the ones I care most.


6. What do you do if you're not happy?
A:  2 words --> my guitar,,its my best friend through the troubled times, i just sing all  the unhappy thoughts away!

7. What is your personal goal in life?
A: Finding out God’s big plan in me and make it happen

8. Any practical goals in the next 5 years?
A:  to open our own diner with my sister,, wish us luck!

9. Any habits you cant get rid off?
A： procrastinatingg!!

10. What is supernatural powers you would like to have?                                                                                                                    A: invisible,,

 

11. The most beautiful place?
A：in the embrace of the person you love most

12. If you can fulfill one wish, what would it be?
A： for everybody to go to heaven someday,,, we have enough misery in the world, I just can’t stand the thought that anyone should endure more in hell. Not even for the most evil person on earth.

13. What are the things you'd expect in your other half?
A:  talking bout expectations,, i believe evryone has a LOT, whether they admit it or not,, but i really like this statement "maybe some woman aren't meant to be tamed, maybe they're supposed to run wild until they find someone, just as wild, to run with"

 

14. What do you think you lack and how would you like to improve upon that?
A：moolah management!! Really suck at this,, gotta stop spending, and start saving!! Like real soon! 

 

15. What would you want to do if there were 7 days left before the end of the world?
A: im not a creative person, so maybe id just stay at home with the family,,, and just make sure im not in a toilet situation when it happen, or it can be messy,,,

 

16. What's on your mind today?
A： werk werk werk!! blehhhh,,,

17.Say something honest to someone you're thinking of. (Say that person's name as well)
A: too shy laa 

18. Any situation that you'd hate?
A：definitely waiting,, punctuality is important to me,, i just think lateness is such a waste of time, and people really need to appreciate it more,,

19. What is the worst thing that can happen on this earth?
A:  id like to say unthinkable major disasters provoked by global warming,, but that's not the worst yet,, the worst is dying and not knowing where you'd end up,, heaven or hell,,

20. If God is listening to you right now, what would you say to Him?                     A:  i have tons of questions which need answers, but i wont ask that,, i just wanna say thanks for keep finding me whenever im lost,,,

 
Next, I'd like to pass it on to...

Wwjd (yumi-san), kennyun (kenny), a9502072 (Ting), Marsha, Jaine, kinwai.cheung, elisa010 (elisa lin), sensationnn, Myleswu (ken)

Don't forget to pass it on!

Being frank and open has been valued more in our time. It’s the civilized way, the straightforward way, the western way.
If you don’t like it just say it. It’s the freedom of expression. It’s an essay with a crystal-clear thesis statement.

I used to feel sick of Indonesians who speak in such an enigmatic way, neither say yes nor no, leaving the addressee with awkward feeling, guessing desperately, unable to decipher.

We call that chit-chat, small talk, politeness, even hypocracy,,whatever. To some people, Asian is an adjective for winding thoughts, secrecy, camouflage. Anything but directness.
But now I realize I do that a lot too. I work in a foreign company in Jakarta, most of my co-workers are expatriates. and communicating with them daily, made me realize one thing..I speak in layers too!  I don’t show my true feelings. I let others speculate, making assumptions about what I really mean.

And it hit me right there,,I say hey, this isn't so bad. Its not bad at all.

It’s not inferior to the so-called freedom of speech.
In fact, it’s art..

And only those who understand art can read between the lines. It’s not the wrong way. It’s just a different way to communicate, a slightly sly way you can deliberately choose to express yourself.
And the interesting thing is you can create a treasure game for others to discover the meaning.


Indonesian culture for example, particularly the Javanese (a local tribe in Indonesia), is about layers and layers, and you need to be really clever and
insightful to get through these layers. We Indonesians love games. Word games. We love dancing with all those happy signifiers without having to end the game for a fixed signified. I believe we pioneered poststructuralism way before Derrida.


Now let’s invert the question: Why are most (I would say most, not all) Westerners so open?


Don’t they enjoy the game of exploring, of trying to find the truth--- just to realize that they sometimes can’t reveal the truth because it’s not located anywhere?


Don’t they?

---

Credits to Ms.Intan, my lecture at the univ. of Indonesia, for the inspiration
and to JasonChau, for his interesting post about western vs eastern cultures..just love it.. 

earlier tonite i was walking to the car after dinner with my work colleagues when i found this heart shape hole at the parking lot,, and i was like "hey this is cute",,next thing i was all over the place looking for dried figs and TADAA,,,,



HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!!
have a hearty one!!

love and kisses,
~Liza~