Last Pieces from July

Hmm... ada beberapa acara yg gak ke 'lapor' langsung di bulan Juli. Bukan karena males ngapdet, tapi gara-gara beberapa foto keapus secara misterius dari kompie setelah selesai di otak-atik/resize dsb dll. Sedih euy! Belom mantep pake software baru buat ngedit foto, jadinya begini....
Ryx, foto gw tetep hilang tak berbekas huahaaaaa...

Ya sud, laporan pertama dari Honjo. Minggu tanggal 17 Juli kemaren ada festival Gyon di Honjo. Ini festival pertama gw. Tapi gara-gara keluar apato kecepetan (jam 2 siang udah keluar... ngapain juga gak seh, wong acara puncaknya jam 5... ck ck ck), pas harusnya acara puncak jam 5, kita malah kecapean n pulang. Alhasil gw gak nonton nggotong-gotongan itu. Nyebelin emang... Sebenernya kita mo balik lagi, tapi Hikari keburu molor dengan sukses. Lagian pas siang itu, panasnya ampun-ampunan. Yah, tunggu ajalah festival berikutnya pas mo masuk winter. Sori, jadinya foto yg gw punya cuman ini:


Ini salah satu peserta dan yg kanan ini Papap n Hikari lg berlomba ngambil ikan dengan ciduk kertas di stall pinggir jalan. Lumayan, dapet 2 ikan mas koki. (Cuma 2 aja nunggu babe ngambilnya lama bener!)
Sempet juga makan pisang yang dilumurin coklat (nyam nyammm...) n crepes bikinan orang Honjo. Cuman, festivalnya aja yg gak keliat hehehe...

Laporan yang kedua dari Odaiba. Papap kumpul-kumpul dengan teman-temannya di Odaiba, 10 Juli lalu. Niatnya sih, laporan lengkap ada di blog Papap. Berhubung password nya lupa (iye lupa! udah lama gak pernah ngapdet. yg ngapdet pun bukan gw or babe hehe) dan males pula, ditambah hilangnya foto-foto gw, ntar-ntaran aja lah gw tulis di blognya Papap.




So, abis ngumpul-ngumpul sama temen-temen Papap, kita maen ke Odaiba, Tokyo Bay itu. Jalan sampe Aqua City. Sempet liat-liat diskon blanjaan di Aqua City itu. Foto-foto di Liberty Statue-nya Aqua City (sumpah mirip sama Liberty and Golden Gate asli kalo dari fotonya doang). Trus sembari pulang, naek perahu dari Odaiba ke Asakusa.
Oh ya, gw mo cerita dikit. Waktu masih di apato temen, si Hikari tiba-tiba ngejar orang hitam yang lagi lewat, sambil manggil-manggil. Wah, kita pada surprised. Gak ada takut-takutnya gitu. Di dadahinlah Hikari sama cowok itu, trus dia jalan lagi. Eh, sama Hikari dikejar lagi sampai ke ujung lapangan. Dipanggil-panggil dengan penuh semangat. Akhirnya tuh orang berenti n ngobrol gitu sama Hikari. Gw deketin aja. Pas gw liat, ditangan Hikari ada daun-daun banyak. Si orang ini jelas gak ngerti Hikari yg lagi ngomong sambil terus nyodorin tangannya itu.
Gw tanya: Hikari kenapa, Nak?
Hikari: Aku punya makanan dino. (sambil ngasih liat tangannya)
Gw: Buat apa?
Hikari: Aku mau kasih makan dino!
Gubrak! Matilah gw!

Org itu: What did he say? (sambil senyum2)
Gw: He wants you to play with him feeding the birds. (untunnnggg ada burung2 disitu)
Gw: I'm sorry about this.
Org itu: No problem. I like kids.
Trus dia stay sebentar buat ambil daun-daun dari tangan Hikari n dikasihin ke burung.
Baru hari itu gw bersyukur Hikari belom bisa bahasa Inggris....

Yah, sisa hari itu, liat di foto-foto berikut aja dan difoto album juga. Silahkan...









Mudah-mudahan bisa main lagi kesana....

Honjo City Hall

This the most important place in Honjo for us. How can't it be? This is the place that issues all the elligibilities to stay in Honjo. It's a kind of Kelurahan and Kecamatan combined into one. Of course, it doesn't have all the 'culture' that our kelurahan and kecamatan has. It's surprisingly efficient and free from 'uang siluman' (gw sampe gak punya hati buat nulis the English wordnya). The people are very friendly, and the place is also child friendly: they provide toys for children. What I like best about this place is it never takes us more than an hour to get everything done! Besides, they keep our database in the office so that we don't have to bring all of our papers like birth certificate, visa, passport, id card, etc. every time we have to go there. That surely will kill all the photocopy businesses around kelurahan and kecamatan, right?!

We went to this place a few weeks ago, actually. The last time is to renew our tax and insurance forms. Hikari likes to go to this place because it has a big pond full of golden fish and koi... That's why we always have to drag him every time we want to go home. And then he will go home in tears...

Well, here is Hikari posing with his fish:









until Papap decides it's already late and we have to drag Hikari home... literally...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HIKARI TERSAYANG

Rabu, 20 Juli 2005 ini, Hikari kami tersayang ulang tahun yang ke-3.
Jagoan kecil kami sudah tahu kalau hari itu dia berulang tahun.
Sudah beberapa hari dia menghitung kalender dan bertanya pada kami.
"Mama, Papa, kapan Ari ulang tahun?"
Mama, Papa, Eyang, Oom, Uwak, semua sibuk dengan ulang tahunnya.
"Hikari, ulang tahun mau dikasih apa?" tanya kami semua.
Dan disebutlah semua keinginannya, yang tiap kali ditanya tentu berubah.
Mobil-mobilan, kereta shinkansen, buku semut, kebon binatang, dino, kue ulang tahun, dan lain-lain.
Sayang, kami ingin bisa memberikan dunia padamu, Nak.
Karena kamu kesayangan kami semua.
Karena kamu kebanggaan kami semua.
Karena kamu sudah memberikan dunia pada kami.
Dengan senyummu, tawamu, celotehmu, nakal-nakal kecilmu, bahkan tangismu.
Alhamdulillah.
Bahkan kami bersyukur ketika kamu mulai dengan kalimat favorit baru "Nggak mau!" seminggu yang lalu.
Karena, dengan itu kamu memberi kami pengetahuan akan dunia.
Jadilah orang besar, Nak.
Jadilah manusia yang sholeh.
Jadilah manusia yang berguna untuk sekitarmu.

Tahun ini ulang tahun Hikari jauh dari 'rumah'. Alhamdulillah, masih bisa merayakan bersama teman-teman: dengan Kakak Reyhan, Adik Yukika, Bapak & Ibu Reyhan, Tante Fitri, dan Om Is.
Papa: "Hikari, hari ini senang gak?"
Hikari: "Senang."
Mama: "Senang kenapa?"
Hikari: "Kan, Hikari ulang tahun. Hikari dapet hadiah. Banyak."
Papa: "Siapa yang kasih hadiahnya?"
Hikari: "Eyang, Mama...."
Papa: "Siapa lagi?"
Hikari cium Mama: "Mama, makasih ya mobil-mobilannya."
Papa: "Loh, kok makasihnya ke mama? Itu kan papa yang kasihhhhh....??????"
hehehehe...


Selamat Ulang Tahun, sayang.


Kado yang ditemukan Hikari ketika bangun pagi. Dari Papa, Mama, dan Eyang.


Kue ulang tahun yummy hadiah Tante Ully. Terimakasih, tante.


Hikari dan Reyhan


Ari dan mainan barunya.

Kue ulang tahun yummmyyyyy....

Harry Potter 6: My Comment

Finished it yesterday!
How do I feel?
JKR's got to be kidding!!! Her next HP book should -no- must be published sometime next week! Or I'll be very very very disappointed!!!
Well, I must admit she is a good storyteller, still this is not what I wanted it to end.
First, the book should have tittled something like: Harry Potter and His Daily Life Story.
Second, that person who dies in this book should have died more dramatically or fashionably. (I'm not gonna say who dies because the last time I histerically mentioned who died in HP 5, I got shouts, screams, curses, all those things even two ears can't bear, from -at least- 5 people, and 2 persons actually wanted to kill me... How was I supposed to know that you guys hadn't finished reading it yet? I started reading it quite later than all of you, eh?)
I think this book is like a bunch of short stories lengthened to a novel! It feels like JKR still wrote the opening of the 6th. book and hadn't finished with the ending, yet.
Then, I must correct myself when I said I disliked the 5th. book (because my 'hero' died in this 5th. edition, and because this edition is so gloomy, so cursed, that all the characters should go into mental hospital if I had to write the ending of the 5th. edition). But, the 6th. is worse. Raise your hand, if you agree with me...

HARRY POTTER 6th. Edition

(Breathing... heavily...)
Today is really exciting, amazing, exhilarating, all the words in the world that you can use for being 'in the seventh heaven'! And YES it's because I've received MY HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE! (I know, I've mentioned this in my today's corner, but I just can't shup up!)
And, this is not exagerating(!) for I've been dying to read this book since... since I finished the 5th. Edition, of course! More, I've been waiting for this book to be in my hands since February 18, 2005(!) when I made the order in Kinokuniya.
The ironic part for me is, I'm afraid to read it now... ??? ... Yes, it's true. No matter how dying I am to be able to read it as fast as I can, or how excited I am that makes my hands tremble when I hold it, I'm afraid to read it now...
Because? Because once I started to read it, I cannot stop!!! How can that be a problem? BUT IT IS A PROBLEM! Because I'll forget the rest of the world even exists!!! That's why! Reality check, I cannot even be alone in my waking hours without the kid occupying my time... and how about cooking? cleaning? laundrying? and I still have 6 other books to finish reading and review writing -although they are not as exciting as this HP but they pay my bills.
Anyway, I bought the bloomsbury-adult version. According to this site, there are some versions/formats/covers available: scholastic (American), children, adult. I feel 'click' with the British formats. May be it's because I always read that format since the beginning. The cover of bloomsbury adult version is rather 'gloomy and dark', unlike the scholastic which is green and misty. The children version is brighter. I've never read the HP scholastic, either. Anyone has? Can you compare? Let me know what you found out......... please? Eit, but, not the content of the 6th. ed., okay? Just tell me how different the language, the story, or else between the American and British versions. Thanks! (still trembling.......... should I read it now? or not? or yes? or not?)

The Ultimate Guide to Conquer My Kitchen

After 6 months of cooking struggle, I was finally able to make a guide list on how to conquer a kitchen -mostly, my kitchen. Although I mention 'ULTIMATE', what do I know about cooking? It's only been 6 months, anyway. Just read on, and enjoy my struggle...

1) The first thing you should do to conquer a kitchen is to Get yourself an apron. You wouldn't like food stain and food smell on your favorite clothes, would you? If possible, find a nice, encouraging, spirit-boosting apron. Mine is an encouraging one. Encouraging, because if I do what it says, I'll end up being a master of 'halfdone' to 'neverdone' food. Thanks to my kid bro who knows me this much!

(read: Tukang masak temporary. Khusus masakan setengah mateng! Enak tidak enak harus dimakan. Kalau enak bilang enak, kalau tidak enak juga harus bilang enak -hehe.. gw banget!-- Hobi saya sebenarnya adalah makan-makan saja, tapi hari ini saya mengalah demi perdamaian dunia. -sorry, no English translation. It won't be funny.)

2) Buy recipe books. They help a lot for two things: you can bring them to the kitchen so that you can cheat on the recipe during cooking, and you can have a written proof of the food you're trying to make -in case, something goes wrong (just blame the recipe!)

3) Don't buy books with sophisticated-meaning-complicated recipes. Remember, you're trying to conquer your kitchen. Not becoming a five-star-hotel chef!

4) Read the books before you buy them. Find the vocabulary of cooking techniques and ingredients that you're not familiar with, or that you're not comfortable with, and when you do find them...
-If you can't guess what it means, don't buy the books! (In my case, I'm not quite sure what "serve within 15 minutes of preparation" means. Should we wait 15 minutes after it's done to serve the food? Well, it's just me...)
-If you find some discouraging sentences in the recipe, don't buy the books! (I find "Cooking time may vary slightly depending on the type of oven you are using" discouraging. I'm struggling to be able to cook, and now I also have to 'study' my oven?! Get outta here!)
-If you find a long-complicated-cooking step, don't buy the books! (Try this: "When the water returns to the boil, pour 1 cup of cold water. Bring water back to the boil and cook the noodles for about 2-3 minutes or until just tender when tested, taking care not to overcook... bla bla bla..." and all that long is for Step 1 only!)
-If you can't find any pictures of the cooking techniques steps, or the pictures of the supposed-to-be-like food, don't buy the books. How else should you find out your cooking is supposed to be like, or how you're supposed to do it?

5) Browse the internet for more recipes! You can choose which one is cheaper: to pay for the internet connection fee or to buy recipe books... (this can only happen in Indonesia hehe...)

6) Shop like there's no tomorrow. Don't bother to check the price: It's frustating enough to check cooking ingredients! Besides, shopping can boost your spirit to cook.


7) But, before you shop till you drop, Find a comfortable store. You know, the one where you can spend hours without knowing it??? Again, don't bother about the price! Just fill up the trolley!

7) Memorize the names of veggies, meats, cooking ingredients, etc. as if you'd have a biology exam tomorrow! By the way, don't just memorize the names, you've got to know which ingredient/veggie/meat/etc. goes with what name because it determines how your food would taste... yeah, it's that bad!

8) Get to know your weapons, a.k.a. cooking utensils. Shop for them if you don't have a complete collection. Yes, complete collection. It can bring your mood back when you're staring at your kitchen.




9) Find yourself a cooking guru. Mine is 20-minutes-by-bike away... This very nice and kind lady in yellow on the left is my cooking guru. She never tells me how silly I am as a cook; She just laughs! (I can live with that!) I managed to get her to teach me how to make her precious brownies, and I successfully have made my own meatballs too, thanks to her recipe.


10) For your cooking improvement, Find yourself 'food police' or 'food critics'. You know, the ones who tell you whether your cooking sucks (or the ones who never tell you how sucks your cooking is). They are also the ones who've got to eat your cooking. Sounds fair, doesn't it? Mine never tell me my cooking sucks, and they eat my cooking too.

11) Play your favorite tune when you cook. It helps you relax. Your tension can contaminate the food you're trying to make. Perhaps you can try Mozart for Cooking (if you find one, let me know). If plants can be happy while listening to Mozart, may be food can too. Who knows?

12) This number and the numbers after it are still under construction. But...

...) My ultimate guide to conquer my kitchen is Don't cook, if you don't feel like doing it. Tomorrow is another day.

Note: You, guys, are welcome to add more to the list, though comments like: "It never happens to me." won't be taken into consideration and won't be very much appreciated since -read the tittle again- it's MY kitchen. Ha!