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.
Lebaran Holiday
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...
