Welcoming 2010

I fall in love with hope

("Have A Little Faith", by Mitch Albom)

Senandung Cinta dari Rumah Kayu

A good book. Written by Dee & Kuti. Telling about family, friendship and love. Just a simple one. A perfect companion while sipping a cup of hot chocolate.

Check their blog here.

A Lovely Long Weekend

I really enjoyed last long weekend:

• Visited Salabintana, Sukabumi. Old hotel, big trees, green surrounding, green...green..everywhere. What a fresh air. From Sukabumi, we continued our journey to Puncak and finally had dinner at Cimory. Nice place, good food and friendly playground. My girls love it.
• Finished reading Kronik Betawi written by Ratih Kumala. A story that reminds me of Si Doel Anak Sekolahan since it tells about Betawi completely, i.e. the people, the history, the culture, etc. I enjoyed the Bahasa Betawi in this novel a lot.
• Watched Sang Pemimpi and love it. Truly inspiring.
  

Sympathy for Prita Mulyasari

Menjadi dokter itu baik
Menjadi pedagang juga baik
Tetapi bila mencampurkan keduanya, maka menjadi tidak baik sama sekali

(Dr. Gan Koen Han, Guru Besar Mikrobiologi FKUI tahun 1952)

Mafalda

I am not a big fan of comic strip, I prefer books without any illustration, so I can have my own unlimited imagination about the story I read. But, not for this comic strip, from the moment I saw it, I abruptly felt in love with this cute little girl, Mafalda.

Mafalda is an approximately-6-yr-old-Argentine-girl, who is deeply concerned about humanity and world peace, she's the lead character of the comic strip written and drawn by Argentine cartoonist, JOAQUIN SALVADOR LAVADO (pen name QUINO) long time a go, back in 1964 to 1973. Mafalda is very popular, it's been translated into 30 languages.

Although it's been made long time a go, but since mankind problems are still same old boring matters. i.e: poverty, corruption, war, etc, therefore Mafalda still seems up-to-date with today's condition and we still can enjoy it.

Thank you to Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG) that already translated this comic strip and plan to publish Mafalda every month. So far Mafalda 1 and Mafalda 2 already in bookstores. Can't wait for the next Mafalda. Also thank you to Icha for the reference.

Finally, I can add my favorite comic strip list, beside Wimpy Kid, now please welcome Mafalda.

note: above picture is the sculpture of Mafalda made by Argentine sculptor, Pablo Irrgang, installed in Buenos Aires.

Tanah Tabu

Di ujung sabar, ada perlawanan
Di batas nafsu, ada kehancuran
Dan airmata hanyalah untuk yang lemah

Curious about this novel written by Anindita S. Thayf after reading the tag line at the front of its cover as the First Winner of Sayembara Novel DKJ 2008.

The story takes place in Papua, not a common setting for a novel. The lead character here is a little girl named Leksi and her strong grandma, Mabel, her mom, Mace and her two pet friends, Pum and Kwee.

The author wrote about Papua --a beautiful place with its green forest, the rivers, the people and their unique culture-- in a detail way, it must be needed a serious research for all the description appeared in this novel. But talking about Papua, it's not only talking about good things, as we know, up until now there are also many problems there, the poverty, the illiteracy, the dispute between Papua people and the newcomers, the domestic violence done by drunk hubbies to their poor wives, and many more. Honestly, reading this novel makes me feel deep sympathy for Papua and all the problems around it.

Two thumbs up for Anindita, who could perfectly conveyed the story of Papua in a remarkable way. I love the way she told her story, all in all it really is a recommended novel.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland & the End of the World

I mostly fall in love with Haruki Murakami's works, particularly when he writes about love and relationship, it's always so simple, different and touchy. I didn't find those kind of things in this book. This book tells about weird things, so weird until I couldn't imagine it, it's just beyond my imagination and I knew that Murakami is a master in all these things.

You'll find a lot of bizarre characters here, there's a split-brained data processor, a crazy professor who believes that the world is going to end, a dream reader, a strange town that needs people to leave their shadows if they want to enter it, the beasts, the monsters, and the list of these strange characters will go on and on since this story really needs your big imagination if you want to enjoy it.

Well..it's not going to be an easy reading book though, but it's still worth to read since I guess this book is really a delicious mind food.

Najla vs Her Grandma

My home is nearby my parents' home, yep, that's simply my strategy as a 9-to-5 worker, in case my girls are sick or something happens with the nanny, I can ask my parents to take care of them, I know it's not a good thing to do though, but still I have to admit that I am lucky..:D

Therefore, my parents regularly visit our home and have some chitchat with their granddaughters. A Couple days a go, my mom a.k.a Najla's grandma came to our home. I was still in the office. Grandma, Najla and Nayzea played happily. Out of the blue, Najla did something wrong and her grandma advised her not to do that again. Najla got upset about it, she cried and finally said, "Nenek, pulang aja, nenek nggak usah kerja di sini lagi. Her Grandma was left speechless, couldn't believe that she just being fired by her dear granddaughter...:)

Bogor Botanical Garden

At the moment, Najla and Nayzea landed on Bogor Botanical Garden, they screamed altogether, "Wow...bagusssss banget!". They run, played, laughed cheerfully. Looking at their happy faces made me promise my self that instead of going to shopping mall frequently, it's time for me to consider taking my girls more on outdoor activities...:)

Home Visit 2009

Najla's school, TK Seruni has a special program called Home Visit, it means students and their teachers visit one of their classmates' home and study there. Last Tuesday was Najla's turn. There're 18 classmates and 2 teachers came to our home for studying, playing and eating together. It's absolutely fun. Looking at their innocence, curiousity and happiness were really something. Perhaps, if we deal with children everyday, it will make us younger.

Just check the pictures above, they're lovely, aren't they???

Mary and Max

Sometimes perfect strangers make the best friends. That's the statement written on the cover of this DVD. This is a unique movie of a claymation animation that based on a true story. Yes, this great movie is talking about an almost-20-yr-old-friendship between two very different people, Mary, a lonely-8-yr-old-girl living in Melbourne, Australia and Max Horowitz, a 44-yr-old-Jewish-man, who is obese, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, and lives all alone in New York City.

• Mary and Max are penpals. There're a lot of stories told in their letters about their feeling and people around them. Sometimes it is sad, other time it is funny. Beside sharing stories, they also always attach their letters with other's favorite things, such as: chocolate. They both really care for each other. Once, Max tells Mary that he has difficulties to express his feeling and Mary finally puts her tears in a bottle and sends it to Max, whoaaa...this time not only Max who cries, me as well.

• A highly recommended movie. You'll find a lot of touching screen and humor also. No wonders, this movie received many awards. I love one of Max statement about life in his letter, sort of like this:"Life is like a sidewalk. Some are well paved, others --like mine and yours-- aren't, there are cracks, smoke butts, banana skins and many more, here and there. I just hope that someday our sidewalks will meet and when that time comes, I want to share a can of condensed milk with you."

The Art of Giving

Doing nice things for others makes you feel warm inside
Why?
Because when you give, good things come back to you

(Starbucks Coffee 2008 Planner)

Have a Little Faith

The latest book of Mitch Albom, inspiring, heartwarming, beautifully written, nothing's left to say but a highly recommended book. This one is a true story, remind me of Albom's other remarkable book Tuesdays with Morrie.

It's a story about an unusual request of an 82-yr-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown who asked him to deliver his eulogy. It took 8 years of beautiful journey before Albom could finish the eulogy. In preparing the eulogy, Albom needed to know the rabbi better, he visited him many times, talked with him and his family, and received many great lesson during their conversations.

Beside talking about Albert Lewis, the rabbi, at the same time Albom also tells about Henry Covington, a pastor --formerly a drug dealer-- who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.

From these two men, we learn two worlds, two faiths, two communities that will inspire us in many ways.

Love

Love --the infatuation kind 'he's so handsome, she's so beautiful' -- that can be shrivel. As soon as something goes wrong, that kind of love can fly out the window.

On the other hand, a true love can enrich itself. It gets tested and grows stronger.

("Have A Little Faith" by Mitch Albom)

After 7 Years

There's a Warung Pecel Lele nearby my parents' home. Last weekend, my hubby and I had dinner there.

Hubby: I remember 7 years a go, we had our first dinner together here. And you know what, it's all still the same

Me: You mean the taste of the food. Yep, they're good in maintaining their quality

Hubby: I am not talking about food. I am talking about you. Yes...you, after all this time, what I feel inside about you is still the same. Nothing's changed

Me: *speechless, touched, flattered, grateful*

Thank you Ayah, for all great moments that we share together. You rock. Love you more and more each day.

Midnight's Children

Pffiuhhh.....finally I could finish this big, thick, heavy, yet enchanting novel (689 pages) that make me deeply fall in love with. Certain facts related to this novel are:

• This novel is the 2nd novel written by Salman Rushdie in 1981. It won The Booker Prize in 1981 and then awarded the "Booker of Bookers" Prize and the best all-time Prize in 1993 and 2008 to celebrate the Booker Prize 25th and 40th anniversary.

• The story is about Saleem Sinai, who then tells his story in a fictitious autobiography way. Started by a nurse switched two babies who were born on August 15, 1947, similar with India independence day. The nurse thought that her heroic action would change India fate, that at that moment was so chaotic with religious and ethnic riot. The consequences were, Saleem Sinai, who actually a Hindu baby, was raised by a wealthy Muslim family, while Shiva, the real Muslim boy, was raised by a Hindu family in a slum area.
  

• Midnight's Children is a bright and complex text. Rushdie mixed a lot of genres here -history, fantasy, myth, tradition and classic text- and packed them in a humorous and bright way. Apart from the controversy of the author, I have to admit that this book is so rich. Every sentence is meaningful. You have to carefully read it with full concentration, otherwise you will lose the essential meaning.
  

• Already translated by PT Serambi Ilmu Semesta on August 2009. Good translation. In fact, I am amazed by Yuliani Liputo (the translator) and Anton Kurnia (the editor) work, who could transform Rushdie's writing stlye into Bahasa Indonesia, so I can enjoy reading this story and even love it *put this book in my all time favorite book list*.
  

Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Yay...Wimpy Kid series is back. This is the 4th book. Be ready to keep laughing at all ridiculous yet hilarious journal of Greg Heffley.

It's about a 3 months summer vacation and all activities done by Greg. This summer break, he gets to be around his beloved family all the time. Salute to Jeff Kinney, the author, who could perfectly tell the story from a junior high school student's perspective.

A very entertaining book. Especially for a stressful-with-jobs-and-office-stuff-mom like me. This Wimpy Kid book series soon will be adapted into movie and planned to be released on April 1, 2010.

The 5th book also will be published in 2010. Can't hardly wait.

Quote of the Day

Everything you do in life will leave a mark
So try to be conscious of that in your every action

("Like the Flowing River", Paulo Coelho)

Pertaruhan (At Stake)

Just finished watching this great documentary film anthology produced by Nia Dinata last night. It made me burst into tears. It hit my heart badly. I lost my words. Kept thinking about it all night long.

This movie is a compilation of 4 short documentaries about Indonesian women and their authority on their own body. There's Ruwati, who must go through a tumor surgery but feels reluctant to do it since her future husband doesn't allow it for the sake of her virginity. There's also Riantini who cannot express her sexual orientation in her hometown.

Second story is about the pros and cons of woman circumcising. What's the point? Is it related to health, religion or just a tradition? The third story is about the treatment for unmarried women. They have to face a lot of difficulties from paramedics when they want to take pap smear test just because they don't have marriage certificate.

And the last one, the most touching story, is about Nur and Mira, who have to make their living by crushing the pebbles during the day and become prostitutes at night to earn only 1$ for their service.

If people said that documentary movie is boring, you have to check this one out. You'll feel that you involve with it. You'll be curious and at the same time a bit stressful thinking about what will happen with all these strong women. Watching this movie make me realize that women are special with our uniqueness, strength and weakness. This movie reminds me of Perempuan Punya Cerita, produced also by Nia Dinata, but I think Pertaruhan is better, perhaps since it's a documentary movie and talks about reality around us, it just seems so real.

The School of Essential Ingredients

A very beautiful and delicious story. Soon after you finish reading this book, you will feel that you want to eat it. Yep, that's because Erica Bauermeister wrote her debut novel with all her heart. No wonder if this book will definitely warm our heart.

The story is about Lilian, a 30-something-woman, who owns a restaurant and loves cooking. She holds a cooking class in her restaurant every first Monday of the month.

There are 8 students in her class. Each of them has his/her own life including the problems and reasons for attending the cooking class. Beside telling about the recipes, the story also reveals about life of the students. There's Claire, a mom of 2 kids, who is so busy with domestic chores and children stuffs, until she finally doesn't have any me-time for herself. There's also Carl and Helen, an old happy couple that have family secret, Tom, who still mourns for the loss of his wife, etc. All students have their own interesting stories.

I love the way the author conveys her story. I can feel the aromas, the flavor, the textures of all foods cooked in this book. I dream of attending a nice cooking class as described in this book.

A very recommended book. You will love it. Reminds me of Joanne Harris' Chocolat. Penerbit Bentang's already translated it in Bahasa on September 2009 under title Kelas Memasak Lilian. Good translation though.

Green Tea Latte

Feeling so sleepy at the office, finally I decided to go down and headed to Starbucks with a friend:

Me : "What do you think of this Green Tea Latte?"
Him: " It tastes exactly like Teh Cap Kepala Jenggot"

Lately, I'm in Love with....

After more than 13 years becoming a 9 to 5 employee, lately I just feel tired. Out of the blue, I begin to think to quit, to resign, to leave it all behind and start a totally new thing. But...what does it suppose to be? Thinking, imagining, dreaming again and again and still a lot of options, too many actually, scattering in my head.

1. Checking this blog really making me want to take a sewing class and dreaming someday I'll be able to sew clothes, bags, wallets, etc for my girls.
2. While looking at this blog and her cute cakes and cookies, put me in a big dilemma, either to join sewing class or cooking class first or even both of them at the same time? hohoho....
3. or taking writing class and someday I can produce great stories as written by one of my favorite author here.
4. Amazed by beautiful pictures here, don't blame me if I suddenly want to buy a new camera and learn how to take a good picture.
   

Okay, stop it, the list will go on and on, I know I am just a person with so many dreams, well...at this moment, I am going to enjoy my life, spend great time with my two princesses and at last feel grateful for all.

Unimagined

This book is a memoir of Imran Ahmad, a muslim Pakistani who was born in Pakistan and at the age of one year, in 1964, moved to England with his family. Imran would tell in detail his childhood as an immigrant. He experienced the good and the bad things as well. He had to face the unfairness, such as: the racism, either in his shool or in his neigbourhood. He also had a cultural shock, as a muslim who had to mingle in the west culture. He even got confused about his religion and tried his best to get the best explanation about it.

The writer told his story from his point of view at one year old until he reached the age of 25, since he was so honest in telling his life, therefore you will find a lot of funny things here. Following his story will make you feel like spending your childhood together with him. A really joy to read.

Already translated in Bahasa by Penerbit Mizan on September 2009 under title Bocah Muslim Di Negeri James Bond, I know I feel uncomfortable either with the title, but perhaps Mizan has its reason for that. Still it's worth to read.

Six Suspects

Vicky Rai, the son of the Home Minister in Uttar Pradesh, India, has been shot dead by one of the guests at his own private party. The police arrest 6 people with guns in their possession as suspects.

Arun Advani, India's investigative journalist has a mission to find out the murderer. In doing so, Advani reveals all 6 eccentric characters of the suspects. There are the bureaucrat, the actress, the tribal, the thief, the politician and the American.

All of them have their secret motives to murder Vicky Rai since Rai is notoriously known as a rich spoil brat who always believes that he is above the law. Therefore he can do anything he wants without any law consequences.

The second book written by Vikas Swarup after Q & A (now filmed as Slumdog Millionaire). Still as brilliant as his first book, even this book is more interesting than the first one. A fast-paced read which will leave you satisfyingly stunned. It will take you around cities in India. You will not be able to stop it. You will be too curious to find out the bare truth and its unpredictable ending.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

It's been such a long time, I have never enjoyed a criminal book this much. Yup, this book written by Stieg Larsson, a Sweden author and journalist, really impressed me a lot. I couldn't put it down. I glued to it till late at night.

This book is the 1st book of the Millenium Trilogy, a story about a long lost girl --40 years a go-- of the wealthy family in Sweden, Harriet Vanger. Her uncle, Henrik Vanger is still curious about the case, he assigns Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist and also the owner of Millenium magazine, to do the investigation of Harriet's case since he's sure that the murderer is one of the Vanger's family member.

This book will take you around Sweden and its cities. It's packed suspense, criminal and financial case in a very smart way. I love the lead character, Blomkvist and also his partner, a very genius girl, Lisbeth Salander. I can't wait for the 2nd book "The Girl Who Played With Fire".

Already adapted into movie in Sweden and received many awards. A very recommended book, already translated in bahasa by Qanita on July 2009.

Lebaran Holiday

Just got back from Lampung, my hubby's hometown. As usual, on 1st Lebaran Day, we did Ied prayer at my parents' place, then asked forgiveness with each other, continued with eating ketupat and other delicious food, at last we said good bye and ready to leave Jakarta.

It's always nice to go to Lampung on 1st Lebaran day, the road was empty, it took only 6 hours to get there. The activities there was full of visiting relatives and eating...eating..and eating.

Since my girls couldn't sleep without air conditioned bedroom *oh...gosh*, instead of staying at their grandma's house, we needed to check in a nearby hotel. This time we stayed at this new hotel, just opened for 3 months, nice hotel, located in the central of Bandar Lampung, easy to reach and close to my parents-in-law's house.

This trip is purely for lebaran trip, therefore no traveling to any recreation place at all, beside the places were so crowded, our silaturahmi agenda also so tight *sigh*.

One thing that I noted in this mudik trip was this time the mudik members only consisted of 4 persons, yay..finally we could do travelling without any nanny, just the 4 of us, my hubby, me & the girls!

Still, there's also a thing that I regretted a lot, yup, I had 10 days of holidays and had no chance to read even a single book, so busy with mudik stuff and domestic chores *excuse*.....shame on me.

The Winner Stands Alone

The newest book written by my favorite author, Paulo Coelho. This time the story takes place within 24 hours at Cannes Film Festival. The central character here is Igor, a very successful Russian entrepreneur who was left by her wife, Ewa. Igor thinks that he can get his wife back by destroying the whole world. So, here it is, the cruel adventure of Igor begins, he starts killing innocent people.

Beside the action story, I love the vivid description about the people behind the Cannes scene, the producers, actors, designers and supermodels. What they think, what actually happen to them before they can achieve their present position, well...it's definitely not a simple thing to do, it's related to many aspect, people, hard work, luck, and the like.

Not like Coelho's other books, this book combines action, murder, police and at the same time also telling about fame, fortune and celebrity. What a perfect theme!

Catatan dari Balik Dapur Si Tukang Masak

"Saya cukup bingung jika ada orang yang bilang tidak bisa masak. Kita perlu makan 3 kali sehari, 1095 kali setahun untuk hidup. Masak kita membiarkan pasokan makanan kita tergantung pada orang lain terus?"(Bara Pattiradjawane)

This book is a collection of Bara Pattiradjawane's writing that had been published in Area Magazine. Yes, Bara Pattiradjawane, the food presenter at Gula-gula Trans TV, he's not only good in cooking but also in writing.

It's just a simple journal, telling about daily activities and stuff around us. Every short story is closed by a recipe. There are 47 short stories meaning you'll get 47 simple but interesting recipe, yay....

I enjoy reading this book. Very inspiring.

Pisang Ijo

I had a break fasting with my beloved family yesterday. Tired and bored of having kolak as ta'jil, I finally decided to have Pisang Ijo, a special dessert from Makasar, as our ta'jil.

I ordered Pisang Ijo from here, a friend of mine who is very good in cooking all kinds of food. Thank you, Bimala, for the great Pisang Ijo. My family love it and agree to claim that Pisang Ijo will always be our favorite.

Quote of the Day

"Even if you're doing the same thing over and over, you need to discover something new, fantastic, and unbelievable that went unnoticed the time before."

("The Winner Stands Alone", Paulo Coelho)

Negeri 5 Menara

A friend of mine recommended me to read this book written by A. Fuadi. She said that this is a good book. It turns out that what my friend said it's totally true. I enjoy the story very much.

It's a story of Alif Fikri, a young guy from West Sumatera. All his life was spent in his small village near Maninjau Lake. Until one day his mom asks him to continue his study in an islamic school. At first Alif feels reluctant about it since he plans to continue his study to a general Senior High School, but not to dissapoint his mom he finally agrees to go to Islamic Boarding School (Pesantren) in West Java.

The story then continue with Alif's life in Pesantren. Never thought that life in Pesantren is so hard. Very strict, very firm, they have to obey many rules, such as: they must speak english or Arabic, they have to wake up very early, no tolerance for being late either to do the prayer or eat their meals, and many more. But Alif also has a good time, when he enjoys his friendship with 5 of his best friends from all over Indonesia.

This book is the first book of Trilogy, perhaps next book will tell about Alif's life in college and his experience when he studies abroad. Yes, this story is adapted from the writer's true story when he studied in Pesantren Gontor. Very inspiring, from Alif, I learn that nothing is impossible. As long as we dare to dream and struggle for it, it will all comes true. Just like Alif story, from small village in West Sumatra, he finally can achieve all his goals with his motto 'man jadda wajada' (if you really fight for it, you'll succeed).

Perahu Kertas

I always love Dewi 'Dee' Lestari's writing. I read most of her works. Like this one, "Perahu Kertas", the story is much more simple compared to her other works i.e Supernova, but still...I enjoy it a lot.

It's a love story of Kugy and Keenan with some obstacles, misunderstanding, fights, sacrifice and stuff like that. The setting is in Bali, Bandung and Jakarta. It's started since they are in college students until they finally grow up and find the up and down of life. You'll love the character of Kugy, she's described as unique girl with 'special' thoughts, imagination, and acts.

Like I said it's just a simple story, but I don't know, I just can't stop reading it and enjoy every part of it. Dee rocks as always...

Cerita Si Lala

Another graphic diary of Sheila Rooswitha Putri. Reminds me of this graphic diary, since both of them are talking about everyday life activities. The difference is Cerita Si Lala is more fun. Perhaps, because the lead character (Lala) is still young and newly wed. She and her hubby are kind of happy go lucky couple. While Curhat Tita is more serious, a story about Tita, a mom with two kids and her life as a lecturer in Bandung. Still..I enjoy all. These simple books make me smile...

Quote of the Day

Caught this line in one of big shopping mall in Jakarta:

"Whoever said money can't by happiness, simply didn't know where to go shopping"
(Bo Derek)

Sastra Pranikah

"Berikanlah yang terbaik dari diri kita untuk anak, daripada untuk perusahaan orang lain. Jiwa anak yang stabil akan memberi keuntungan untuk kita dan dirinya sendiri nanti. Anak yang labil akan selamanya bergantung kepada kita, tidak peduli berapa pun usianya." (Nyi Vinon, "Sastra Pranikah")

This book is an autobiography of Vinondini Indriati a.k.a Nyi Vinon. The story is about Nyi Vinon's life. I have never heard of her story either, until I read her book and I get to admit that this book is unique. It is different in many ways, the square shape of the book, the difficulties in getting this book in bookshops, yep..you have to order it, and last but not least is the content of the book.

Just like other autobiography, this book also tells about the author's life in detail. Her childhood, her school, her friends, her thoughts, her opinion and many more. But...I just love the way she tells her story, the way she conveys her opinion about something, very honest, naive and hilarious at the same time. Sometimes makes me thinking, other time, makes me laughing.

I am going to put this book as one of my favorite autobiography, simple but touchy, absolutely not 'an ordinary' book.

Departures

Departures (Okuribito) is a Japanese movie. Winner of the Best Foreign Language Movie of Oscar 2009.

A story about a guy, Daigo Kobayashi, who used to be a cellist in an orchestra. One day the orchestra is dissolved. Daigo gets confused and finally decides to move back to his hometown together with his wife. He plans to start a new life and find a job.

Out of the blue, he reads a vacancy in a newspaper. At first he thinks the job will be in a travel agency since the job code is 'Departures'. But it turns out that he is wrong. It's not a common job, it relates to the funeral. Preparing all the corpse arrangement before it's put in the coffin and ready for the funeral.

A very interesting movie. I love it a lot.

Tales From the Road

Another travelling book written by local author, Suluh Pratitasari also known as matatita. This book is a journal of the author journey from Jogjakarta to Nepal. It reminds me of other travelling book written by Trinity "The Naked Traveler".

Both books are interesting with their own way, one of the differences is the way they tell the stories, if Trinity tells more about her journey in many countries, matatita describes more about culture and local people, perhaps because her background is an anthropologist, therefore we find a lot of info on Dayak people, Asmat culture, and even Jogja with its people and culture as the author hometown.

Reading traveling book always make me adding my wishlist with a new destination to visit for next holiday.

Anne of the Island

The 3rd book of Anne of Green Gables series. Telling about Anne's experience as a college student. As a young and pretty lady, Anne is busy not only for studying, but also for rejecting love proposal from some young guys.

The story is still amazing as usual. But since Anne is getting more mature, she is not as naive as she used to be. She's still cheerful, lovable and funny...but I lose her basic character as a child. Well...time flies, people change.

Nevertheless this serial is really enjoyable. The detail description on a peaceful, green and flowery place really calm me down. This book makes me dream, imagine, and suddenly feel that I need a holiday again *as always*....

Intermezzo

Najla (4,5 yrs old) asked me the other night:

Najla: "Ma, kenapa burung bisa terbang?"
Me : "Karena burung punya sayap."
Najla: "Trus kenapa BALON bisa terbang????"

Lovely Things

Ramadhan month is getting closer, in fact it is one week away, as usual I have my Ramadhan wishlist, this time I plan to buy new prayer wear (mukena) for my girls. Yeah...they're getting bigger so fast and it seems that their prayer wears do not fit them anymore.

After browsing here and there, visiting shopping mall and some people blogs, at the end I arrive at this blog, find their lovely products and suddenly get confused which one will be the best praying wear for my girls? Check their products, it's soooo...cute!!!

Happy Birthday, Ayah

Dear Ayah,

Happy 36th birthday
Wish Ayah good health, long and prosperous life
Wish Ayah to lead a happy, peaceful and fruitful life
Wish Ayah all the best things in life

Wish Ayah to stay the same
Nothing to be changed
'cause you're already the greatest Ayah ever

Love, hugs & kisses,
Mama, Najla & Nayzea

How The World Makes Love

This book is the sequel of Franz Wisner's Honeymoon with My Brother. This time these two siblings go on the road again to get love lesson around the globe. They want to learn more about dating, romance and marriage. They go to 7 countries, including Brazil,India, Nicaragua, Czech Republic, Egypt, New Zealand and Botswana.

If you love the 1st book, I am sure you will enjoy this book even more. Still the same touching and funny story. In this sequel, Franz, the author also tells about his own love story on how he finally finds his true love.

Already translated in Bahasa by PT Serambi Ilmu Semesta on June 2009.

Banda Aceh, Meulaboh & Its Surrounding

After leaving my place of birth, Banda Aceh, for ages, I finally had the opportunity to visit it for a week, yay... I was so excited, one of my wishlist came true. Thank God.

It took almost 3 hours in the plane from Jakarta to Banda Aceh, thank God, my 2 girls stayed calm and enjoyed their time very much. We landed in Banda Aceh, the capital city of Nangroe Aceh Darussalam at 11.25 am and my relatives were already ready to pick us up and continue our trip to my hometown, West Aceh, Meulaboh. Never thought that the journey was so hard, due to tsunami back in 2004, the overland road from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh was partly broke down. Still, we enjoyed the trip since we dropped by several time for having lunch, dinner, and caught beautiful panorama along the road. No wonder we finally arrived in Meulaboh at 11 pm and surprisingly, there were a lot of relatives there who still waited patiently just to welcome us, I was deeply touched and felt like a celeb for a moment..:)

There's always a blessing in disguise for everything, even the most traumatic and frightening disaster like tsunami could have positive side. Aceh now is full of make over, new houses, mosques, school, hospitals and roads are being built. Since Aceh received a lot of fund from NGO all over the world, therefore I notice that the buildings are designed beautifully and inspired by many different culture.

If on the way to Meulaboh, we passed the road along the beach, while on our way back to Banda Aceh, we chosed other route, we passed Seulawah mountain, Pidie, Sigli and all the conflict areas once controlled by GAM, fortunately, now it's a safe area, even if we passed it during midnight.

It's really a very great holidays. Can't wait to go back there. I love the beach, the mountain, the famous Aceh food, the 'Ulee Kareng coffee, the people with their hospitality, and all...I am gonna miss you a lot, my dear gampong...

Doubt

Another great movie. Awarded by 5 Academy Award Nominations. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Doubt is a must see movie. The setting was back in 1964, there's a dispute between a nun and a priest in a Chatolic school. Never thought that hatred can cause such a malicious things. The nun tried hard to expell the priest out of school, although there's not enough evidence, one thing that certain was doubt.

I love one of the speech delivered by the priest, when he was accused of having put a special interest in a troubled boy, the excerpt is as follows:

"A woman came to confess her sin to a priest, she said that she's spread a gossip about her friend, was it wrong to do that? The priest said, of course it's a sin. How could I make it up? Asked the woman. Just take a pillow to the roof, bring a knife along, when you arrive at the roof, stab the pillow. As soon as the woman did it, she visited the priest again to report that she had done what the priest asked. The priest asked, what you found when you stabbed the pillow? I found feathers, answered the woman. The priest asked again, can you collect all the feathers and put it back to the original form? No, father, said the woman. The priest exclaimed, that's GOSSIP!!!!!"

Swahili For The Broken-Hearted

Yes, Peter Moore again. Still telling his traveling story in a hilarious way. Although, this traveling plan was made due to his breaking-up with his girlfriend, though it was still told in usual Moore's way, full of funny things.

In Moore's previous book, "The Full Montezuma", he told his travel experience in Central America with his girlfriend, but it turned out that 6 months after they returned back to Australia, they broke up.

This time Moore told his journey around Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo. A lot of interesting experiences happenned, such as: suffering of Malaria that caused him failed to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, becoming an accidental actor in a movie made in Kenya, trapped in a riot with firing gun in Ethiopia, and last but not least, the interaction between Moore, other backpackers and local people. All is enjoyable.

Intermezzo #2

I overheard this conversation on Breakfast Club at Kosmopolitan FM couple days a go between the radio anchors, Santi Bonis & Indra Herlambang.

Indra: "Kita liburan bareng, yuk!"
Santi: "Yuk, gue maunya ke gunung"
Indra: "Yah...gue maunya ke pantai"
Santi: "Wah...enaknya gimana ya?"
Indra: "Kita harus cari jalan tengah"
Santi: "So..kita kemana dong?"
Indra: "Paling pas, ya...ke MALL"

Intermezzo #1

My 2nd daughter, Nayzea (2,5 yrs old), currently is crazy about learning alphabets and numbers. She keeps asking about them religiously, anytime, anywhere.

Nayzea: "Ma, ini angka berapa?" (sambil nunjuk huruf F)
Me : "Itu bukan angka, itu huruf"
Nayzea: "Jadi, ini huruf BERAPA?

The Mistress of Spices

I read the novel with the same title written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni years a go and I love her writing. Her books usually tell about fairy tale, legend, romance and some children story as well.

I have never known that this book adapted into movie, until one day I came across the VCD at a disc shop and curious about it. I love the story, it's about Tilo, a woman who is also a Mistress of Spices. She has special ability to forecast the future. She knows what the best spices for everyone. She uses her ability totally to help other people.

To maintain her power, there are three rules to be followed, first, she must use her ability only for other people's need, she's not allowed to touch other people skin, and last one, she is prohibited to leave her spices store.

Things are getting complicated when Tilo falls in love with her customer, Dough. She is in a big dillema, either to leave the spices or follow her desire of love.

I love many things in the movie, the shop where Tilo works, "Spice Bazaar", her ability to find the best spices for her customers and mix them, and the last one is Aishwarya Rai herself as Tilo, she's so beautiful and act so natural.

Accuracy of Death

I spent my time during this long weekend by watching my dusty VCDs and DVDs. Usually the VCD player was under my girls'control, therefore I used to watch a lot of Barneys and Barbies movies, but this time I did some negotiation with them and thank God, some agreements were made, yay!!!

This time I watch a Japanese movie, Accuracy of Death a.k.a. Sweet Rain based on best-selling novel by Kotaro Isaka. I haven't read the novel, so I can't compare them, but the fact is the movie is great.

The story is unique. The setting is in Japan. The characters are mostly lonely people remind me of Haruki Murakami's books. It is about a man or a Grim Reaper, named Chiba who has a job as an observer for a person that is going to die within 7 days. Chiba will follow the person and monitor thoroughly, afterwards he has to give decision either this person is going to be 'executed' or 'passed over'.

There are three subjects that must be observed by Chiba, his first subject is a 27-yr-old-woman, Kazue Fujiki, the second one is a Yakuza agent and last one is an old hairdresser woman who lives in the countryside. The story moves a bit slowly but it's set in a beautiful way. Certain conflict also arise, usually when Chiba emotionally involves with his subject.

A good movie though, curious about the book, need to check it at the bookshop soon.

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

I read the book last year and finally watched the VCD the other day without expecting too much since I had a lot of dissapointment of watching a movie adapted from a book/novel.

It turned out that this movie is soooo...good, it still made me burst into tears and kept me awake in the night, just like the time when I finished the book with the same title written by John Boyne.

Anne of Avonlea

The 2nd book of Anne of Green Gables' series, which actually consist of 5 books and it seems that Qanita will translate all, yay...!

If the 1st book tells about Anne as a little girl, while the sequel tells about Anne as a young teacher at Avonlea (her former school back then). Although Anne's already 17 years old, her character's still the same, brave, cheerful and full of imagination. Following Anne's experiences in handling her students are very funny, touchy and inspiring.

I really love this Anne's serial. It warms my heart. It transferred me back to my old memories when I was so busy reading Enid Blyton's books.I feel like I go back to the old days. Imagining and dreaming to undergo an adventurous life. Miss the old days and feel so old....:))

I enjoy not only the translation by Maria M. Lubis, who successfully can keep the 'soul' of the original story, but also the colorful cover of the book. The 3rd book "Anne of the Island" has also already been translated and published by Qanita. Can't wait to grab that book very soon.

The White Tiger

It took almost a month to finish this book. No.......it's not because this is a bad book, in fact it really is a very good book otherwise it won't win the Man Booker Prize 2008. I just have less opportunity to read these days. There are two main reasons, first it's almost two months now that my girls sleep schedule is changed into midnight. Yup..they now have a habit to sleep between 11 pm-12 pm and the bad news is before they fall asleep, I have to read their story books and when they finally sleep, their mother, without a doubt, also falls into a deep sleep.

Second reason is the passengers in my express train are getting more and more. It's almost impossible for me to get a seat now. No seat means no time to read. Okay...stop complaining and giving excuses. Perhaps, the reason is just simply because 'the older you are, the slower you read', who knows?

Let's talk about this good book written by Indian author, Aravind Adiga.This book reminds me of Vikas Swarup's Q and A (Slumdog Millionaire the movie). The setting is in India with its gap between the rich and the poor, the corruption everywhere, exactly like our own country. It tells about a life of a complicated guy, Balram Halwai, who used to be a poor guy. He works as a servant, a driver and then he kills his master. He runs away. Starting a new life and becoming an entrepreneur. The story is told from Balram's perspective. He tells his story in details, how he transforms himself from a poor guy into a successful businessman. It's a touching story yet funny. An interesting book, anyway.

Kecewa

There's a scream from my little girl, Nayzea (2,5 yrs old) in the dead of the night:

Nayzea: "Mamaaaaaaaaa....."
Me : "Ada apa, Zea?" (with worried tone)
Nayzea: "Mama, ada 'kecewa' di kamar mandi"

Dance Dance Dance

Haruki Murakami again. The 12th book that I've read so far, still have 3 more books to finish. Enjoyable story as usual. This book is a continuation of another Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase. Similar characters appear again in this book, i.e: the Sheep Man, the Rat, and Kiki. Yet, it's still okay to read this book only without reading Wild Sheep.

But, compared to Wild Sheep, Dance is a lot more exciting. There's romance, detective story, funny and weird things, all packed in a special way.

It's a story about a 34-yr-old guy (Murakami didn't even bother to give name to the lead character) who looks for his vanished girlfriend, Kiki. In his quest, he comes across certain weird or should I say 'unique' people, such as: Gotanda, a well known actor who used to be his classmate in high school, Yuki, a 13-yr-old girl who is abandoned by her parents, and Yumiyoshi, a hotel receptionist who finally has special relationship with the lead character.

These 4 characters meet, involve, influence and end up with unpredictable ending. A complex story but..I love it, though.

Quote of the Day

"Kalau Anda melihat diri Anda melakukan sesuatu dengan buruk dan sudah tidak ada lagi orang yang mau repot-repot memberitahu Anda, maka tempat itu tidak baik untuk Anda.

Anda mungkin tidak ingin mendengar kritikan, tetapi pengkritik Anda seringkali adalah satu-satunya orang yang memberi tahu Anda bahwa dia masih mencintai dan memedulikan Anda dan ingin menjadikan Anda lebih baik"

("The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch)

The Rug Merchant

This book reminds me of Carson McCullers' book "Where All the Lonely Hearts Go" that I read sometimes a go. A book that tells about loneliness, sadness and despair in a beautiful way. I know those three conditions are not nice things to enjoy, but I have to admit that the writer, Meg Mullins is really a master in describing the negative feeling in a good way.

This story is about Ushman, an Iranian guy who leaves his country, his wife and his mother in order to get a better life in New York. But, dreams not always have a good ending. His wife leaves him and gets married with other guy. This condition really turns Ushman down. He breaks into pieces.

Out of the blue, he meets Stella, a 19-yr-old-American-girl who also has sad stories about her family. They get together and have a special relationship. Again, happy ending is not their friend. This relationship does not lead to a good ending. The differencies on age, religion and culture indeed become a serious problem between them.

Already translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Penerbit Bentang on May 2009.

La Tahzan for Mothers

Being a mother is definitely not a simple thing. Despite of blessing we get as a mother, we also must be ready to work hard.

This book's written by Asma Nadia and friends, consists of 16 stories. All tells about mothers, kids, and stuff related to family matters.

As a not-so-patient-and-also-a-not-so-familiar-with-kitchen-stuff-mom, I learn a lot from this book. How to handle the children, how to control our emotion *the hardest part*, and how to give our best in raising our children. To reach these goals, we do not have to be the most perfect mom, but...at least we need to do something in order to become a better mom that our children can be proud of.

Quote of the Day

I am still reading Murakami's book "Dance Dance Dance", find this lines and love it:

"I enjoy shopping at Kinokuniya. You may not believe this, but the lettuce you buy there lasts longer than lettuce anywhere else. Don't ask me why. Maybe they round up the lettuce after they close for the day and give them special training. It wouldn't surprise me. This is advanced capitalism, after all."

Wish List

Some thoughts just come to my mind:

1. Taking my little girls to Pekan Raya Jakarta, Taman Safari Indonesia, Taman Buah Mekarsari, Rumah Keramik F. Widayanto at Tanah Baru, and Kampung Betawi Setu Babakan.

2. Taking my 2nd child, Nayzea, to Kiddy Cut, her Dora-look-haircut is getting more gondrong. Need to prepare myself seriously, incase she screams and scares other customers..:))

3. Visiting my parents' hometown and my place of birth, Banda Aceh and its surrounding.

4. Stop worrying and start enjoying everything.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

This book made me crying. Made me laughing. Made my feeling mixed up completely. Yup, this book, written by Marina Lewycka, not only telling about tractors but it is a story about Nikolai Mayevskyj, a-84-yr-old-widower,who falls in love to Valentina, a-36-yr-old-widow from Ukraine.

Nikolai's daughters --Vera and Nadezhda-- who used to hate each other after their mother's death, finally decide to make peace and try their best to save their father from his new materialistic wife.

This book's nominated for Booker prize 2005. It's deeply funny, witty, and all in all is enjoyable. Already translated into Bahasa Indonesia by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama on February 2008.

The Last Lecture

I came across this book several times at a bookstore, still no intention to buy it, until one day, my boss asked all group heads got together and watched the VCD and at that time, I experienced a very touchy story.

Yes, this is a true story about Randy Pausch, 47 yrs old, a Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He was dying of pancreatic cancer. Doctor said that he only had 6 months to live. When he was given the chance to deliver his last lecture at his campus, he didn't talk about death at all. In fact, he talked about life. His childhood. His dreams. He talked about "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". All things that lead us to a better life. This lecture had changed a lot of people's point of view about life. Randy's spirit and his positive attitude are very good example for us, to dream, to struggle and at last make it all comes true.

A very recommended book. Already translated in Bahasa Indonesia by Ufuk Press on February 2009 (4th edition).

The Sorrows of An American

I give up reading this book, written by Siri Hustvedt. I tried my best to finish it and eventually realized that this book was not my thing.

Actually, the story itself is interesting, but...I don't know, perhaps the flow is too slow or because a lot of psychological things spread in this book. The conclusion is I can't stand it. So sorry to see this book returned back to the bookshelf.

After the Quake

This book contains of six stories written by Haruki Murakami and set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, when Japan became brutally aware of the fragility of its daily existence.

As usual, all the six stories are superb. I can't even choose my favorite one since almost all are fascinating. Weird stories also come up, the most unique one is a story about a giant talking frog who says that he needs help to save Tokyo from destruction.

I enjoy the book a lot. Love it. Definitely.

Princess Masako

At the time I finished this book, a memoir of Princess Masako (Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne) written by Australian journalist, Ben Hills and suddenly gloomy feeling spread all over me. I feel so sorry for Princess Masako. As a brilliant woman, a diplomat, graduated from Harvard, speaking 6 foreign languages, finally get depressed, mentally and physically, not able to appear in public, not even can manage herself. It turns out that it's so hard to adapt from a modern woman into a traditional one. How poor you are.

Living in a palace of course a totally different life compared to ordinary people's life, but it could be worse when it comes to Chrysanthemum Throne. They're so mysterious. A lot of pressure from the palace people, especially from Imperial Household Agency (Kunaicho). Stressful for not having a son as the successor of the emperor, after 9 years of marriage. Princess Masako finally gave birth of a baby girl, Princess Aiko, with the help of IVF (In Vitro Fertilization).

This book is prohibited in Japan, considered as insulting Japanese people and the Imperial family.

It's already translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Pustaka Alvabet on March 2009 (3rd edition). If you're curious about life in a mysterious palace, check this out and trust me it's absolutely not a nice one.

Lovely Things

Things that made me happy lately:

1.Finally I got the opportunity to try "Bebek Goreng Pak Slamet" at Cireunde, Pondok Cabe. This place was just opened and always full during weekends. It's yummy, as a duck lover, I have to admit that it's worth to try. Hope, the menu could be added more, so we have more choices instead of fried ducks only.

2. Got Rumah Cantik Citra voucher from a friend of mine, Noni, thanks dear. I tried the body scrub and face massage (totok wajah). It's really a cozy place & nice service. Salute to Unilever.

3. As a book freak, I was so excited at Periplus, enjoying their 25% discount on all book items by using HSBC credit card, yay...I bought 5 new books ("The Winner Stands Alone" by Paulo Coelho, "In the Kitchen" by Monica Ali, "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" by David Sedaris, "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga, and last but not least "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella).

4. After absent for quite sometime (got pregnant, breastfeeding, got 2nd pregnancy, and dealing with other baby's stuff),finally I got the opportunity to watch Teater Koma, "Tanda Cinta (The Metaphor of Love)" at Komunitas Salihara. I love it.

5. Curious about "Claudia/Jasmine" the movie after reading the recommendation here. Bought the VCD, watched it and eventually enjoyed it.

6. Enjoying a four-day-holiday (Thursday-Sunday), having quality time with my girls.

7. Planning to start traveling again (after off for quite sometime). So excited about it.

Botchan

A modern classic novel written by Natsume Soseki. This novel actually released in Japan long time ago, back in 1906, translated into English in 1971 and finally PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama translated it into Bahasa Indonesia on February 2009.

This is a story about a young man, a very-honest-sometimes-naive teacher. His character puts him mostly in difficult situation. Since Botchan always says the truth and very frank in everything, people around him feel uncomfortable. He is eventually known as a rebellious teacher.

The writer wrote the story in a humorous way, though still with classic style. This story is very popular in Japan. People love it.

A Tiring Week

I just finished joining a-3-day-training at one of the biggest Finance Consultant in Jakarta, it's conducted from Friday till Sunday, at 8.00 AM - 06.00 PM, yep...it's true no weekend this week, no leyeh-leyeh day, no time for playing with my girls, no time for blogging, unless for facebooking as the only one relaxing thing for me *excuse*.

The topic of the training actually were so interesting, the facilitators were also great persons, they're all experts in their field, therefore they presented their material in such an excellent ways, but...one thing that I learned and it's so important that every human has limitation, after 5 days of working, we need a day off.

Since the topic is a bit serious, we supposed to be in our best condition in order to easily absorbing what the facilitator conveyed, but on our second day, our body and mind were not so 'cooperative' anymore. In fact, I ended up at Bersih Sehat, had a one hour massage to recharge my self, I was afraid I would not be able to attend the last day of training.

I dont't know what crossing my Japanese boss' thought to create such a weekend training, doesn't he learn that he will not get a maximum result since he forced human capacity? Even, the Consultant Office Staff said that this is the first time for them to conduct a weekend training.

Well...being a leader is not easy after all...that's what I learned in the training.

Kitchen

I wonder why almost all of Japanese writers always having excellent things to write. Unpredictable, beyond belief, weird things, and stuff like that. Were they born as a genius or what?

Kitchen was actually written long time a go, back in 1988, by Banana Yoshimoto, but it's just translated into bahasa by kepustakaan Populer Gramedia on April 2009.

The book divided into 2 (two) separate stories: Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow.

Kitchen tells about Mikage Sakurai, a lonely girl who used to live with her grandma and when her grandma passes away, she has no body to rely on. Her parents already died long time a go.

Mikage loves kitchen very much. She's happy every time she spends time there. But the kitchen she loves most is Tanabe's kitchen. Tanabe is one of her friend. As soon as the pasing away of her grandma, Mikage agrees on Tanabe's offer to move to his house. She has good time there with Yuichi Tanabe and his transsexual mother, Erika Tanabe. When Erika's murdered and died, Mikage and Yuichi drown in their deep sorrow and try hard to overcome it.

While Moonlight Shadow tells about Satsuki, a girl who feels depressed at the time her boy friend died in a car crash. One day, she meets a mysterious woman, Arura, who knows how to deal with Satsuki's despair and sorrows.

Both stories are sad stories, but Banana Yoshimoto (her real name is Mahoko Yoshimoto) could present them in a very interesting way.

Kitchen was her first debut and awarded with many prizes and already translated in more than 20 (twenty) countries.