On what I'm reading

Tears tears tears. I will make sure the next time I'm blogging, I know why a person cries and why one person tends to cry easier. But anyway, I cried at the end of 'The fault in our stars - John Green'. Like suffocated, puffy-eyed type of crying. Silly, I know.

Without further ado, I have listed the books that I've read up to today. I am also writing them in order from which I like the best until which I like the least (I may read good books at the same time and I'll number all of them '1').

1. The sense of an ending - Julian Barnes (Kindle)
I borrowed it from online library and  read it on my Kindle (Its name is Lucky Charm). I love it. It was only 150 pages, so I read it pretty fast, but it left me wanting more. I will definitely try to catch up with his other works.

2. Peace like a river - Leif Enger (Hardcover)
I was frustrated when every book that I wanted was checked out at that time. Then, I tried to increase the probability by going back several years to see if any books interested me. You know, new books get checked out pretty fast. I found Peace like a river. I love the stories and the characters which were set back in 1960s. The title also somewhat made me feel peaceful when reading the book. Like, even when reading the height of the story, I kept calm and really believed that everything was going to be alright.

2. The fault in our stars - John Green (Hardcover)
It's a young adult novel. It was an easy read, but I think it was more than that. It was also written well. Though I can not relate to the characters' feelings about their sickness (cancer), I kind of want to befriend these people. They were not over the top made-up 'it' characters (you know, like in a movie where a girl is just like super cool and happy all the freaking time or like a guy who impresses people with his clever remarks). This book made me cry at the end (FYI: A lot of things make me cry, so it's not like everybody will cry reading this book).

4. Paper town - John Green (Hardcover)
I like The fault in our stars better, but I still like this book. The book follows the story of a young teenage boy solving clues left by his crush which lead to her whereabouts. So, it's somewhat feel like reading a detective book with a better writing style.

5. Snow child - Eowyn Ivy (Kindle)
See, it got like 4.5 starts from Amazon and that's why I bought it. But, I thought it would be a better story. I am still kind of confused if the child is a miracle child made out of the snowman child or a real child. I am not sure if the writer tries to set it straight or just to make it up to the readers which one to believe. I am not sure what the difference between her story and the Russian folktale on which it is loosely based (Snegurochka). I know it's different, but it feels the same except for the setting. Maybe I need to reread it?

6. The weird sisters - Eleanor Brown (Kindle)
I waited for the online version to become available from the library for a long time. I was disappointed. I like the idea for the story, but I can not help but to compare it with something like 'In her shoes'. Both books tell a story about the weird relationship among (between) sisters. But, the bottom line is that they love each other. I did not feel the pain that the sisters go through in this book. I may even have to pick 'In her shoes' between these. On the other hand, I do like the Shakespeare's references.

Currently starting to read: A discovery of witches - Deborah Harkness

*Writing this post makes me realize that I haven't read a non-fiction lately. I'm planning to read 'The Swerve' soon.

On my latest obsession

Nope, I am not obsessed with fall riding boots or trench coats,* but I'm obsessed with these:

1. Revenge - abc

Been waiting for this show all summer long. A little bit disappointed with the first episode of the second season, but I'm still obsesses with Emily Thorne. I may or may not like the time slot change. I like that it's on a Sunday, but I don't like it because I thought I could start watching The Good Wife again. Oh well

2. Concrete Mixer - Culver's

A little bit weird obsession coming into fall season, but here I am getting this almost once every week. I found my new 2 toppings which I could have probably thought about it before. Cookie dough and Kit Kat! I still haven't got enough of it yet, so I still count it as my obsession.

3. Flipboard

Yaay to this app! I highly recommend this app. You pick what you like (news, science, design, photography, etc) and there you have it. It gathers everything from all around the web. It sounds sooo simple, but I like the design of this flipboard app. I don't really have to go to a specific news website. I also like the category 'flipboard picks', it features interesting thing. I find myself open this Flipboard app the first thing in the morning. From my Samsung S3, the flipboard has grids of each category you chose. This is actually what I'd like to see with facebook news feed. For example a 2x3 grid; photo upload, status update, gaming stuff, etc. If I click 'photo upload' category, it will tell me which friends just upload pictures. So it's not too cluttered like what it is now.

4. Cocoa Puff

First time I have this cereal. Love it! I can have this cereal more than once a day. I also love how in the end, I'm drinking chocolate milk ;)

5. Horizontal Railing

Ever since my mom-in-law gave us the idea of having horizontal railing, I can't stay away from it. The modern look, the clean and simple feel. We will have brushed nickel for everything else (windows and door hardware, bathroom faucet and shower), so the metal feel fits well. The one thing that I found is that little kids will try to climb it as a ladder. But, we are so obsessed with this metal horizontal railing, my mommy genes just disappeared (scientist found that there might be a mommy gene which can make a woman to be more motherly, so to speak). We have to also see about the price. Railing system from wood will be cheaper.

Happy Fall!

*Note: I am not because I have been avoiding them. I don't look at them yet. I hope the time will come soon for me to be obsessed with them :)

Engineering Saturday

He put his arm around me and said, "Do you still remember 395* class?" "Yeah," I said. "Well then, we're mixing some concrete tomorrow."

I did not know what I got myself into. A little back story: The places where they put cribbing needed to be filled in. Concrete guys won't be able to come until next Monday. But, the carpenter needed to put the joists in. Solution: We filled in ourselves!

All I can remember is bagels, back pain, Menards, back pain, kiddie pool, back pain. We went to Menards to get supplies; 6-60 lbs sand mix, 2-90 lbs cement, 1-5 gal bucket. We used the kiddie pool that we bought Lucky that one time. 

1. We filled in the 5'x5' (we had to do 2 of them) with more crushed rocks, so we needed less mix.

2. Then we mix 3-60 lbs sand, 1-90 lbs cement, 20 gal of aggregate (the crushed rocks), and 1.5 gal of water for each 5'x5'. It was so hard to mix. And according to my friend, I did not do it right if my back is in pain. Well, tracing back my memory to 395*, I remember mixing much less of a mix in a group, a group of 4-5 people. Those 4-5 people would usually consists of 3-4 males and 1 female. We took turn and by 'we', I meant the male students. But I did the mixing too this time. (Picture shows John mixing)

3. We then poured the material, spread, and smoothed it out. Oh, we did not forget to put our hand prints.

They all sound pretty straightforward and easy. But, it left me pretty beat up. And yes, my lower back is still sore, but it's much better.

Looking forward to another. Engineering Saturday!


*CEE 395: Material for constructed facilities.

If I have a twitter..

Note: I think it's hard to find a title that always start with 'on'. All these title posts, either they're right on or they're a bit weird. So I may have let that go...

I have a twitter account that I don't use. I don't believe in that anymore. But, I have some things in my mind that I need to say:

It is hard to fall asleep when your husband is snoring, but it's even harder to do when your dog's snoring at the same time.

I always feel bad when I end up buying something that I have previously bought for someone as a gift  just because I like it a lot.

Anyway, today is Fridee. Just to give an update, we have found our flooring for the house. We love it so much. 

1. Natural Hickory

We are using hardwood floors for the bedrooms and living rooms (downstairs and upstairs). Both of us do not like oak feel. The grain. Just a preference, not judging. But surprisingly, we both like the natural character hickory. We like the different tone color.

2. Daltile - San Michele and Heathland

We will have 12"x24" tiles throughout most of the first floor and bathroom. I love the rectangular tiles and the vein cut and that travertine feel. Love it! We'll also staggered them when they're laid out. We'll have mosaic tiles (2"x2") Heathland - Sunrise for the shower floor and a 9"x12" wall tile Heathland - White Rock with one accent wall Heathland - Sage in the master bath :)

Note: Nobody likes my Hello Kitty tiles! If I have a baby girl, I'm going to tell her to ask daddy to install Hello Kitty tiles in her bathroom :p Who could resist a little girl asking for a Hello Kitty tile?? 

Next step is to get cabinets for the bathroom as we need running water before we're moving back in :)

Originally, we were going with quartz. And I love this Bianco River for the clean bathroom feel and Chrome for the more upbeat bar feel. But, you know the price is not as friendly esp. the one that I picked out :( So we're looking at granite remnants where we know we can get a better deal. 

We'll see. Happy Fridee, though!

On what I'm reading

What I've read:

The Cost of Hope - Amanda Bennett

I like this book and I think it's well written. Of course I'm crying when I'm reading it. But it shows her perseverance and how much she loved her husband. It also makes me question our existing healthcare industry. The book covers the actual cost that the family spent, so the title is being up front at the same time, the cost of hope.

Abundance - Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler

Again, it makes me realize how great our world is and how great the power of the people. The book is filled with positive energy which is needed in this sometimes negative world. I think we need positive reinforcement in every problem we're facing. Yes, the world has a problem such as clean water availability and world hunger. Let's not sit down and be doomed, but put our thinking cap instead because we may live in abundance one day!

These following books are classic books which I have not read previously. They were not assigned readings in my high school.

Of Mice and Men - John Steinback

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger. I really love this book. 

What I'm currently reading:

Snow child - Eowyn Ivey

I haven't actually read a single word, but I'm going to start today. I hope it's going to be good :)

From Amazon.com:

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

On our Minneapolis trip

This past weekend, we (with Lucky!) went to Minneapolis for a friend's wedding. We arrived at about 10:00pm. Lucky was looking super cute checking out this big reception hall at Hyatt Regency (thanks to Priceline). You know like a amazed and all. Wait, who in the world complimenting their own dog? It's like I'm saying to people: "My (future) daughter looks beautiful." It sounds wrong. Also, I want to comment on the hotel. I felt like it was a very pretentious hotel. This "fancy" hotel will charge for internet. I mean, nowadays they have free wi-fi in every other 3-star hotel you know.

Anyway, every time I go to a city, there will be a buffering time. It's like my brain forgets that I grew up in a city. (World ranking for Jakarta: 13th by population, 6th by population density, and 2nd by population with the official metropolitan area, according to Wikipedia - please don't judge my source). So naturally, I should not be wowed by tall buildings or should not feel uneasy about seeing more cars and more people. But I was......not for long, though......

On Saturday, we decided to take a walk around Lake Harriet. I'm gonna say upfront that I don't like walking that much. I'd prefer biking. But for that, we needed to rent it. So yeah, we made lots of  a couple stops as I needed to rest my legs (By the end of the walk, I had cramps). We took pictures along the way too and my fav. one was the shadow pictures. From left to right: Lucky, Mr. and me. Or as I said to Mr.: "Yeah this picture from left to right represents who likes to pass gas the most and whose gas is the stinkiest. I'm just kidding.......NOT!" I'm not kidding, Lucky's fart is toxic.

We then had lunch with my brother and his girlfriend at French Meadow. It was delish! I ordered grass-fed beef burger (I have always thought that it's obvious for a cow to eat grass????) Then time to get ready.

The wedding was awesome, we (my brother and I) danced and caught up with old friends. The next morning we had dim sum at Pagoda restaurant. Mr. did not eat, I'm sure because he never had one before and he found it weird. But I have not had dim sum in a while (spare ribs and chicken feet!). I still like Phoenix in Chicago better.

Anyway, we had fun, but it's just too little amount of time and a bit harder to bring Lucky.

On the bright side ...

On the bright side...my brother received Microscopy Society of America Presidential Student Award for 2012. So proud of his past, present, and future achievements!

We may somewhat still live out of our suitcases. But, on the bright side ... Lucky seems to be settling in just fine. Note: do you notice that she puts her paws underneath her head when sleeping?

We may have very warm weather this summer and our plants are not as fruitful, but on the bright side... we are able to work our magic and make our homemade salsa. Ingredients include varieties of peppers, tomatoes, red onion, lemon juice, and cilantro. That's it. Oh! and lots of love ;)

Life can be full of surprises. But at the end of the day, I know he (and my family too) will be there for me. I don't want to dwell in the hardships, but I want to look at the bright side...

the bright back side of our new tree fort 

Much much love goes to Rebecca G. who is currently in Uganda. If you read this, I'd like to tell you that I keep my calendar open, just in case...You know what I mean ;p

On keeping the chandelier

The chandelier was there the first time we took a look at the house. It might be the prettiest thing that came originally with the place (except for the lake, of course). I can't afford to throw it out just like that. So, we keep the chandelier. I will refinish it with new coat of paint and hang it in the new office room. That way, I still have a piece of memory from when the first period we lived in the house. I am that kind of person who is always trying to preserve memories* 

Even better, if we get a sofa sleeper for that room, I can get this cute chandelier-ish pillow!!

*Hopefully it does not turn into compulsive hoarding.

**I created this post yesterday morning. Previously, Mr. informed me that the tree will not be removed yet during the first phase of demolition. So, I was super excited to find this side table idea. I could not wait to tell him and maaaaayybe I could convince him to keep the tree trunk. But, yesterday evening when we visited the house for the first day of demolition, the tree was gone :'( I just can't get the tree side table idea out of my mind, though.

On harvesting the pepa!

Every summer, we grow peppers and tomatoes. This summer, the tomatoes are not doing good due to the excessive heat that we've been experiencing. But, the peppers are doing ok. We grow them 2 ways; in a hanging planter (L) and in the ground (R). We are testing which way grows more peppers. So far, we have concluded that growing them in the ground will produce more peppers. I don't know if this is the case for everybody, but we plan on growing them just in the ground next summer.

We grow more varieties this year and we have picked some of them. From left to right: Garden Salsa, Sweet Banana, Giant Marconi, Hot Banana, and UFO (Unidentified Familiar Object - We know it's pepper (and hence 'Familiar') but the name tag was missing, so we could not tell what it was (and hence 'Unidentified').  We haven't picked the jalapeño, habanero, and fajita bells yet.

We used the Sweet Banana and the UFO as topping on frozen pizza (sometimes too tired to cook and to eat outside). They were delicious. We can't wait to make salsa with this. I'm guessing we want to buy some tomatoes from Farmer's Market or somewhere since our home grown tomatoes are not growing.

Happy Harvest Day!

On winning that Olympic medal

Thus far, Indonesia has won 1 silver and 1 bronze in London 2012. The silver medal is contributed by Triyatno in Men’s 69kg Weightlifting. The bronze is from Eko Yuli Irawan in Men’s 62kg Weightlifting. I’m proud. These events may not gain too much attention (if any), but I remember Weightlifting always contributes something to Indonesia’s medal counts in Olympics. Congratulations again J

Triyatno's story (L) on The Jakarta Post
Eko Yuli Irawan's story (R) on The Jakarta Post

Now, the real disappointment for me must come from Badminton. This has been the sport other than football (soccer) that my family follows religiously (I guess my dad also likes Boxing on a late Sunday morning). My dad, brother, uncles, and cousins used to play for hours on Sundays (or table tennis which is very Asian I realize). It was a good time.

Badminton was first introduced as an official Olympic sport in 1992. That year, Indonesia won Gold and Bronze medals in Men’s Singles (Alan Budikusuma), Gold in Women’s Singles (Susi Susanti), and Silver in Men’s Doubles (Eddy Hartono and Rudy Gunawan). The Olympics after that (1996 – 2008), we won 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 4 Bronze Medals. I think it’s pretty awesome. But I know our achievement has been slowly declining. (Total medal count is 30 for China and 18 for Indonesia)

I’m also aware that the competition is FIERCE. Players from China (i.e. Lin Dan) and Malaysia (i.e. Chong Wei Lee) have been really great (They won Gold and Silver in Men’s Singles – Beijing ‘08). In London 2012, they beat Taufik Hidayat (Gold – Athens ’04) and Simon Santoso, respectively.  Prior to their matches, my dad and I already felt that they are going to be tough matches and we would most likely lose. I think it’s great to be the other position, to be feared or to be the favorite. But, time after time after time in any competitions, there have been moments where the least favorite one, the “weaker” one, comes through and becomes the champion. It’s not this year for Indonesia.

I feel that we don’t have that regeneration where talented young men and women should be properly trained. Well, I’m not even sure how they train for tournament nowadays. I won’t say much, especially with the disqualification of our Women’s Doubles (here from NPR). It’s embarrassing, but then again I have never represented Indonesia in the Olympics, so no place to judge. There is still one more game though, Mixed Doubles, for Bronze. We just have to wait and see.

Taufik Hidayat (L) and Simon Santoso (R)
London 2012 - Badminton

I don't want to look at things pessimistically (one thing from the book that I'm currently reading: Abundace - The Future is Better Than You Think, but it's for another post) and I still do believe that we have the potential and the urge to be #1 again (if we ever did?). So let’s go! Let’s get better!

“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” - Samuel Beckett

On our photobooth story

On my latest obsession

Spicy McBites. We both loved it. We always get the shareable size with honey and honey mustard (it wasn't as good with ranch). As the name says, it's bite-size and it's spicy (Whoo!). Can't believe that I'm obsessed with junk fast food.

Yes, that's right. I am obsessed with holding a book, feeling the papers between fingers, and smelling it. The problem is I own a kindle. Mr. bought me a kindle a year ago. I loved it. I still do. However, since I bought several books last month, I could not stop thinking about holding a book. (Wait for another installment of what I'm reading)

Songza. My brother introduced this playlist. And now, I'm obsessed. It allows you to pick playlist based on the "mood". Oh, this is Sunday afternoon, I'm in the mood for nap song. Oh, this is Monday morning, play me a song for working. I do recommend Songza. I mean, Songza Monster is so cute.

On the house project

We will be renovating our house soon :) I'm super excited and nervous at the same time. I will be likely posting a lot about this.

The one room that I would like try to design is the office. I'm starting to browse home office inspirations. I definitely like lots of lights and somewhat like NY loft design. The thing is that NY loft design is not really clear. I'm not clear myself. But, you know that high ceiling, maybe some bricks with light colors, vintage looking furniture, and pastel colors.

 I do love the sliding door. It has characters.

Source (from top left corner, CW): ©Freshome.com, ©Houzz.com, ©Better Homes and Garden (bhg.com), 

©Houzz.com

I wish to find more! Excited!

on my TG family

Dear TG,

I'm sure this letter will find each one of you well. A lot has happened to us since our high school graduation in 2005.

Honestly, I may not remember much of our times together, but I do have a warm feeling thinking about us altogether. Do you remember our 10-cm-below-the-knee-tablecloth skirt? Someone mentioned to me one time that the skirt was supposedly able to tell a baby bump, just in case on of the girls got knocked up!

I remember our regular hangout time and place at school: during the first 15 min break at the elementary auditorium.

We would always meet up at a mall, wander aimlessly until we're tired, and go take picture at a photobooth.

Do you remember our chemistry class project in 10th grade, where we got together for the first time? I remember being some sort of fairy using that plastic magic wand. What were you at that time? Who was the carbon dioxide? Who was the bajaj driver?

I remember the first time we started our "family lineage." I was very chatty and loud, you said (I was not the only one, clearly) and that's why I got to be the grandmother (grand-mère in French as JQ was obsessed with Princess Diaries, I believe? and hence the nickname mère). It was ironic, becase I'm the youngest in the group. Not only that, I got to have four (yes! Four!) "husbands"; Jerry Yan, Tetsu, Raul Gonzales, and Bae Yong Joon. Do you still remember who were you? whose child? whose grandchild?
This sounds sooo silly today, but hey, aren't we the silly group?

Anybody remember going to Vita's house to surprise her on her birthday? We went to eat Pizza Hut afterwards.

I remember not being to go every time you guys went out of town, Bandung or Puncak. Remember, my overprotective parents? ;p But I did attend that one swimming time at Amanda's usual place. I feel like Amanda was the one who always going somewhere, Mangga Dua, Pasar Baru and always be dressing up so girly. Oh, remember, Amanda's mom and my mom grew up in the same state! Hahaha. Her brother was pretty famous too among us.

Then I remember our TGF book. So sad that a few of the books got lost in circulation :(

Do you remember that A LOT of teachers thought Angie and Vita were twins? That was funny! Is Angie still singing? Other than Angie, who can sing in the group? Definitely not me.

Vita and I would call each other at night. It raised my mom's eyebrows, "Don't you think it's enough time to chat at school? What else could you two possibly talk about?" Oh mom. I mean, we'd discuss schoolwork too, you know with some boy talks in between. I'd share everything with her! I'm glad I got to see her (the only TG I saw) the last time I went home. She must be busy preparing for her wedding!

What can I say about Tiffany. Another TG who can not stop talking. The one person with whom I shared the same class three years straight. I remember working on our biology group presentation. I mean, she put the best freaking animation. Well, I'm sure I helped too. Our powerpoint compared to any groups was a KILLER. It was pretty narcissistic too. Our group pictures were like on every slide! Good job, though! It's impressive.

Remember the conversation about Sunny wanting to be a nun? But then she went to medical school instead, insisting that she still could help others by doing so. What a saint.

Angguni. Remember our live-in? I remember our bathroom, separated from the house itself. Remember that one dog who's about to chase us and you said, calmly, "Don't be afraid. Just walk normally, he can smell your fears you know." Then, we planted corns :)

Talking about live-in. I remember one night the students were about to gather for something (maybe a mass?) and Tiffany brought along her women's napkin and suddenly threw it out into some sort of field. That made JQ upset. JQ insisted she find the darn thing. Haha.

Tiara always had the latest cellphone. Remember, she had that one Nokia phone with a shape of a leaf? Haha. Pretty sweet. Even look at her glasses. It's blue! I'm sure she's the only one who can pull it off with her cuteness. And this year, she's getting married too. Sad I can't come (yes, I'm sure I'm invited).

When we got separated into science, social science, and linguistic, it was pretty hard. We didn't share the same stories anymore. But we took Chinese. I think it was 8 of us. I don't remember who took it, but it was hard. I did homework last minute. Every single time. For me, it was just a time to get together again. I took Fashion Design too. It's horrible, I just did not want to spend time cutting magazines for inspirations. By that time, I should have known being creative is not in my vein, but I loved me some physics or maths (though the math teacher was beyond ridiculous). Anyway, art is subjective :p

I liked the time when we're just copying down notes from the blackboard. We'd pretend (or maybe not) we couldn't see from the back so that we would sit with one of us seated in the front that week. To chat of course. Regulated seating sucked.

Almost everyday, my goal was just to make Sunny or Clara laughed. I felt really good if those two laughed when I started telling jokes or just being funny. (This confirms the fact in previous post that I should be a comedian) Anyway though, Clara would laugh at anything and wouldn't stop laughing. I had to re-think, "Was it really that funny?" and Sunny sometimes got irritated by me.

I'm sure we all remember Tiffany and her highschool sweetheart. If teachers knew about your love life, then it's a BIG deal. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding with him :)

I remember that story when Tiffany and Clara were on a bus, met by an exhibitionist. Ugh! It's a very different story, but it's still funny!

JQ, we took Japanese together. Well, you did. By the end of this post, I feel that I was practically fooling around in high school. I mean, yeah I had the lesson, but we would just play with Agatha's little brother. I don't remember any Japanese, except for Hajimemashite or Doumo Arigatou. Didn't we have that one Japanese class drama performance? Since I was so behind (well, I started attending in the middle of the session), I did not have any parts. Lame.

JQ, we also took batik together. We went beyond creative with our prints and tie-dyes. Now, I love this extra-curricular of mine! Go batik!

Oh! Remember I cried in 10th grade because my bean sprout did not sprout? HAHAHA. I felt like I put so much time into it and I did not want to disappoint my dad who helped or failed on the first high school biology project. I also cried when I got 1.0/10.0 for accounting class? It wasn't fair. The girls from St. Mary middle school had accounting class before! I'm sure I missed a lot of stories among us, between you and me or between you and another TG. But, if you read this, please write one or two kind memories that you remember. Anything with TG is a good story! :)

The Gillass Family

Front row (L-R): Tiara Kartika (Tolly), Anastasia Adeline (Mere), Maria Angela (cuteh/cutie), Wuri (Orrie), Sunny Orlena (does she have a nickname???)
Middle Row (L-R): Maria Jaclyn (JQ), Veronica Amanda (Mandako), Yoselda Malona (Yos), Vita Aprilia (Shippou)
End Row (L-R): Giasinta Angguni (Gone), Clara Vania (Chubby), Benedicta Tiffany (Popoy)

Love,
Mere

On something new

The wait is over, we got Samsung S3 in white (Mr. got one in pebble blue). Blackberry is out of the picture. It's pretty neat when you actually have a working (smart) phone. 

Yes. He is an amazing brother. He got us the new iPad. Oh! We had our names engraved too :)

Let's not hope these gadgets will make us a robot. Mr.'s still gonna be a cute one, though. ;p

On finding a fragrance for the big day

I read the article somewhere about wearing a different fragrance on your wedding day. That way, if you happen to smell the fragrance that you wore, it would definitely take you back to the memory.* I remember really liking the idea without realizing that it could be difficult to do.

I searched high and low for it, but I want it to be a classic piece for sure. My casual go-to perfume is Stella by Stella McCartney. I so love this perfume. It's not too flowery and not too strong (my nose is not going to cooperate with a strong smelling perfume). Stella perfume has a freshness hint and I like the sexy-overnight smell even more. I won't go as far as describing it  since I'm not writing a perfume review. But it's hard to find something else that I strongly like.

Naturally, I want something totally different for the wedding day. Not totally change the personality, but don't smell the same. I went to several places, Dior, Lancome, Burberry, Chanel etc, but could not find any. Thankfully I did not give up. The actual problem is that I was indecisive, I needed that affirmation that whatever it is, it is indeed a nice-smelling perfume. That affirmation would later come from my mother. We went shopping together and visited Chanel. I did not like No. 5. I'm still not sure why it's one of the best selling perfume. I don't like perfume that smells like perfume (i.e. Chanel No. 5 or J'adore Dior). I liked Chanel Allure. But the problem was (this will sound ridiculous) the bottle was not pretty looking (Does this mean I judge a book by it's cover??). Before we moved on, we sprayed Coco Chanel Mademoiselle. 

It's so classic without being over the top. 

It screams elegance without being boring. 

It's sweet without being cutsie. 

It has a character without being an attention whore. 

Ok, I should stop there.  But, hopefully the message is clear; all of the above represents my personalities I feel like a million dollar wearing it without actually having a million dollar. 

   

Now the main message is to tell my friends (esp. Rebecca G. if she ever reads this) and my family or even any brides to be to take the time and find that one perfume that will make you remember that fine wedding day of yours.* It's really worth the effort.

* This is assuming that you do want to remember that day. For myself, as long as there is no 20/20 type of drama, it's good. Those dramas can range from: 'The story of wedding day goes dark as the maid of honor kidnaps the bride as she can not longer hold her feeling of love for the groom' to 'Sad tragedy in weddingville: the parents of the bride reveals that she was adopted and that her real parents are also the groom's parents' )

Hopefully is going to rain soon here in Mad-is-on.

On being a mrs

On what I'm reading

This particular edition is more on what I've read

    

       

Essentially, I kept putting of writing thoughts about these books. I bought 2 out 6 books (Cutting for Stone and The Power of Habit) and I borrowed the rest from the library.

a.       Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

This is a story about a missing wife and who’s to blame. The book is un-put-down-able for me I finished reading it in a day. The first was really good and I felt like I could relate to the characters. The second part was pretty good too. It starts to reveal who did what and how. The third part, not so much. I did not like it or the ending. But, I know how hard it is to end a book that is brilliant. Overall, I like Gillian Flynn’s ideas and writing in Gone Girl and look forward to her other books (previously published).

b.      The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

This is a brilliant book. It’s very well written. Coming from an engineering background, I like the research that he’s done prior to writing the book. I itch every time someone states a “fact” with no base in science world (Here, I am trying to dodge bullet when someone asks “What about religion?” IMO, religion is based on personal faith. It’s a cheap shot for someone to judge/accuse/etc someone else based on his/her religion OR VICE VERSA). But, I took a detour. Anyway, I think it’s really useful to know the basic knowledge of habit and look at a lot of examples in different type of environments (personal, business, etc). I like his writing style of repetition. He repeated the important points throughout the chapter/book so that the readers will understand/sink-in those messages. I recommend reading The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg for everybody (those who actually want to modify habits or not). I have always been interested in this field (social-psychology -behavioral-ish field).*

c.       The Tiger’s Wife – Tea Obreht

Honestly, I don’t want to spend a lot of times to review this book. I have only one good thought for it; I actually like the story of between his grandfather and the deathless man as well as between his grandfather and the tiger’s wife. These stories are good and I wish it’s just more about him. I had to read fast (the opposite of ‘take my time and enjoy the words’). It was painful for me. But, I don’t want to be saying bad stuffs too much. After all, the book has claimed major success. Tea Obreht won several awards for her work.

d.      Ali in Wonderland (and Other Tall Tales) – Ali Wentworth

I picked up this book after I read ‘Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me?’ (Thoughts below). The funny thing was that I did not know who Ali Wentworth was. It is an easy reading. The book kept me entertained for the entire time. One particular thing that this book gave me was more knowledge. See, I grew up knowing nothing about ‘In Living Color’ or ‘WASP’ or ‘George Stephanopoulos’ (I’m going to play my ‘being an immigrant’ card as many times as possible). But, this book ignited my curiosity and made me google here and there (I can hear someone gasp reading the word 'google') to quench it and thus added more to my (trivial) knowledge. I just don’t know a good time to tap that information yet.

e.      Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) – Mindy Kaling

I was skeptical. I like The Office, but Mindy character always appears soooo short. I thought to myself, “Why do you want to read about someone who is not really doing much?” But I did anyway and I’m super glad. After reading the book, I know that she’s smart and she’s funny. I’m sure she’ll appreciate those two compliments. I admire her growing up and I like her determination. I think this is a must-read book. I remember laughing in a bus shelter, outside our apartment, on the bus, in the car, etc. Yes, because I brought my kindle and read the book everywhere. Now, I can’t wait to watch her new show next fall, The Mindy Project. Also, what am I doing in the engineering field instead of comedy??*

If Mindy ever reads this, I’d like to say: Mindy, you’re a smart, funny, and minority woman. Triple threat!**

f.        Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese

I really thought I had written about this book in my blog. Yes or No? (Note to self: check your entries again). If yes, I still feel the same, ditto to whatever I wrote. If not, this is a perfect book to end this post. He’s able to fuse two of his identities (being a professor in medical field at Stanford and growing up in Ethiopia) and produce a good writing. I love the stories, I love the characters. I feel them. I fall in love with Ethiopia. I want to be a surgeon*. I cried for the last 20% of the book. I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait for his next book. Oh! I really have a lot of respects for him.

*I love how by the end of the posts, I have thought about 3 different careers that I’d like to pursue.

** No, I’m not being racists, I’m a minority myself. I’m just being trying to be funny.

On getting through the heat wave

Last week was painful. You would think growing up in a place close to the equator (air pollution should be added in the equation as well), I would manage not to complain during the heat wave in Madison, WI (read here). Well, I did not complain (too much), but I was close to pull out my hair. Our AC was (is) not working. We were forced to use the old-fashioned fan. Thankfully, we were working during the day (in a waste-of-energy-by-cranking-up-the-AC- type of environment), so the only problem was between 6pm - 7am.

We also tried the cheap solution, such as putting a frozen water (in a container) in front of the fan, but it did not work. It felt OK at night where we're sleeping as the fan was blowing exactly in the direction when we're sleeping. But, the main victim was not us (nor our dying brown grass), but it was Lucky, the dog. She's not so lucky after all. Can you imagine wearing a jacket (analogy for her fur) and not being able to cool off for a week?? I mean, the house was about at least 86 degree day and night. Poor girl.

That's why we decided on Thursday (second to lat of the heat wave week, smart owners) that we should get her a kiddie pool (Menards for $16). We filled it up, we took her in, and voila! we got a smile from her. She did not like to sit down though. I think she does not know what to do. It's not a real pool where it's deeper and she can actually swim in it. She does not like to sit or lay down either (you know, she can submerse her body then). I was sad looking at her not enjoying the true purpose of the kiddie pool. Eventually, she found something that kept her busy.

The bottom of the kiddie pool is a pattern of seahorse, octopus, and treasure chest. In bright colors. What would you think they are if you're a dog? That's right.
Daddy and mommy got me a bunch of TOYS! 
Let me grab one of these (as she tried to grab them with front paws)
Why can't I grab it? 
So then she tried again.
and again.
and again.
Basically, she kept making that scratching (whatever it is) movement everywhere.
Thankfully no holes (yet). But, she looked so cute and she seemed to enjoy herself. That made us a proud parents owners. I think it's over now. I think the weather is going back to be normal. But we still need some rain!

Stay hydrated.

How do you get this damn thing? (You can see the dying brown grass at the back)

On getting ready for pregnancy

Nope, we are not trying yet.

Mr. and I have not thought too much about it, although he's wondering why I have been looking up day cares around Madison area. I know, we still have a lot going on (i.e. house renovation soon, Mr. to finish his part-time PhD, me getting a job), but I like the idea of getting ready even before trying. I want to know what  to change or what to do to.

I checked out this website http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/features/protect-your-pregnancy-before-you-conceive and I break it down here:
a. Smoking - I don't smoke (check) But I do need to stop that a-glass-of wine-a-day thing.
b. Folic Acid - This is the part where I'm not sure what my daily intake is to begin with. But I remember that I bought one daily women's multivitamin. So, this entry is a reminder that I need to take this multivitamin that contains 400 mcg of folic acid from now :)
c. The two-week rule related to caffeine intake. I'm going to stop drinking soda. Before I got to the US, it's very rarely of me to drink pops. Caffeine intake from coffee? I'm trying to cut back, but I can't promise to stop drinking it, so I'll use the two week rule here.
d. Seafood - Geez. I love me some fish. But I know that the mercury is no good. I'll stop too (by this time, I can only imagine that soft shell crab taste in my mouth). Another thing that it mentions is fume from chemical (cleaning products). This is tricky. I'm the one usually cleaning up the house, so it's not really realistic to ask Mr., is it?
e. Pre-exam check - I am one of those women (if any) who actually have not checked anything related to my womanhood (I did check for STD and stuff, though). Should do it soon?

Now I think this is a weird post. But, good to know.

On being a mrs.

Mr. and Mrs.

Funny how those three words mean so much love.

I'm writing this so I won't forget. I'm falling in love with my husband all over again :)

On this song that's stuck in my head

Wow! I just have to write this. Right after finishing my last entry, I remember that I want to listen to Maroon 5's new single. Payphone. 

I am a follower of The Voice. Not as much as I did on the first season. So, I missed the first half of Maroon 5's performance on TV. But, I remember liking the end of the song.

So, here I am 10 minutes later, keep repeating the song over and over again. It feels good t listen to it, the melody just hits me. The last time I remember really liking a song the first I heard it was R. Kelly - The World's Greatest in middle school. Well, I didn't like this as much as R.Kelly's song first time (I was probably little and The World's Greatest was just so beautiful for me). But, I like it a lot that I am really trying to memorize the lyrics so I can sing along.

For someone who's getting married soon, the lyric itself does not apply to me. But hey! I can relate to that. I was in "love," but it turned out  was not love after all. And I hope that happy ever after exists, though! :)

Help me! Who's with me on this one?

On what would be the best part of wedding planning..so far..

What might be the best part of the wedding planning? The answer might be different to every bride-to-be. For me, it was not when I found my dress, it was not picking out flowers. All of those made me nervous and feel relieved once I decided on something. Not so much a good feeling. So what is it then?

Last week, I sent out our wedding invitations. Sure, parts of me feel relieved. But mostly, that was the first time that I felt that the wedding is coming together. All of these preparations were not bounding. Now that everyone is invited, I feel that I have to make this happen, otherwise.. embarrassment? Anyway, on top that is the feeling that I'm getting every time I open my mailbox. How many replies will I get today? Who are they? What do they want to eat? etc etc.  It makes me anxious and excited, in a good way.

Our invitation itself is pretty unique. We did not print it in the US. We printed them in Indonesia. One thing that really struck me was the invitation cost. They were expensive for just a cost of paper. The next thing that made me feel kind of weird was also the fact that the ceremony and the reception invitations are on a separate piece. For me, it was not practical as I am inviting everybody to the reception whom I am inviting to the ceremony as well. I decided to ask my mom to look around invitation shops back home and she found it. She mentioned that I could pick a design and the shop could send me the email and I could approve it online. Then, when I was home in November for a cousin's wedding, we could go to the shop and proof everything.

We decided to go with blue and gold color. The cover was made out of velvet fabric. The printing was embossed. It was pretty. It would cost a million if I were to buy it in the US. But, it costed us less. Although, it would be cheaper if were to invite more people thus printing more. The inside was cool. I drew a map and I manually glued it down at the back of the invite. I also actually created my own RSVP card. Not too hard.

It basically looks like a book. The cover page in front. When you open it, our initials will be there. When you flip the page, a poem by e.e.cummings is  on the left side and the information about the wedding itself is on the right. If you flip again, directions are on the left and the map that I glued on is on the right. We put the RSVP at the back as well.

The only concern is that J is not inviting a lot of people. I should rephrase that, he is not inviting anybody who is not his family. Oh God! We need people!

On knowing that he's the one

This is not meant to be an advice on knowing how you know that your significant other is the one. But for sure, I know mine is. This is how: (Well, this is one of the infinite reasons why I know he's the one)

I had this dream that I was married with my ex boyfriend (s) (It may be different one for every different dream). And I was crying..in my dream... I remembered that I was saying to myself, "What have you done? How did you get into this marriage? I'm stuck! I can't get out!" But then I woke up from it and realized it was a dream. I can't tell you how relieved I felt. So relieved...And how happy I was when I put my head on J's chest and put my arm around him. 


That's how.

On having a good memory

I don't recall when exactly I started to realize this fact. Growing up, I did not see anything different. At school, I disliked memorizing lines and lines of definition, but I liked reading and memorizing important dates. It sounds silly, I know. In sixth grade,I got a 9.5 out of 10 for my religion class (Although I actually aced every quiz or exam there was, but "only God is perfect 10.") But that was it.

It wasn't until I was in college and meet more people. I emphasize the verb meet because really, they were not in my group of friends, nor were they in the same class. I just met them randomly, a  friend of A, or B, ... or Z whom I bumped into on the street and just started chatting. Or this person that my friend kept telling me in his/ her stories from his/ her class or something like that. The funny thing is that I will always remember those things. I will remember the people and what they said, especially if something "big" happens. I still remember the story about this guy that my friend told me last year and scared her when I recalled that story this year. It's also not always about people, it can be about the setting of a place or what happened along the way.

I don't know about other people's memories. I know that a lot of people have brought it up to me,"How do you know this?" which then I replied, "I was there with you...?" I mean, I like it, but it can make people feel weird sometimes. Another downside is that people tend to tell you the same stories. They don't remember that they've told you this story, so they'd tell you again with the same tone and with almost the same complaints/happiness. Definitely though, I don't need to hear someone bragging about how good she/he was in such and such, with examples of when this and that happened...twice...

My really good friend sent me this link. She said, "This is my advice for you."

Oh! Revenge is on tonight!

On what I'm reading

I am not gonna lie that I may be a bit too late to just find out that you can borrow an ebook for your Kindle through public library. Last Saturday, I opened up a new library card, which made me feel like I accomplished much. Since then, I have been browsing for lots of books and placed a hold on one or two books. The first book that I put a hold on is The Tiger's Wife. Honestly, I already forget why I picked that book, but I can only feel my excitement right now. I am patron 207 out of 212 in line for that book. Gee. So then, I browsed for more books that had less waiting line. I found Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (by: Ransom Riggs). The summary sounds really interesting. Although if I read the reviews by previous readers, none of them really like it a lot. At first, I could not even remember the title. I guess coming from a non-English speaking country, I did not know that Peregrine is a bird's name.

Anyway, I can not put my Kindle down (my Kindle name is Lucky Charm). I feel that the book is easy to read and interesting. I like the combination of the pictures and the story. Again though, I am afraid that the book will actually disappoint me. But, right now I am excited to find out about the twists and can't wait until later in the day where I have to proctor an exam and spend 2 hours reading (well, minus if students have any questions)

:)

*Update: April 13th
Yes, I am disappointed at the ending. It was running pretty good, but seriously, it really does look like the author is just writing based on the pictures that could be found. I could be wrong, but that's what I feel like. The writing itself is good. I am just hoping for another ending.

On my latest obsession

I have once again become a fashion slave. Pretty much last year, I did not care about fashion and in general, how I look like. But this time around, with my wedding and rehearsal dinner coming up, plus all the days that I'll be spending with families and friends, I feel the need to somewhat catch up with my collection. Let's start with the rehearsal dinner dress. I'm in love with Zara blue lace dress, but I'm wearing my lacy wedding dress the next day. It may be too much all at once. So I decided to get the Tulip dress. I saw Kate Middleton in one of the Tulip dress versions, in different pattern. It looked good on her. But that particular color was a goner online and there is this green color left. While I like that one too, but every time I look at it, it reminds me of Indonesian batik pattern (where I'm from). Instead, I bought this version of the Tulip dress for the rehearsal dinner. I may want to add a pop of color. Maybe I'll wear my blue Pour La Victoire oxford heel shoes and royal blue earrings.

 

And, for either Friday morning, where I need to pick up my families, or Sunday morning, where I will have to say good-bye to my family. I bought this dress, Contrasting Collar dress. I am really in love with this one :) Makes me happy to think about it.

I also spotted a lot of other dresses from modcloth, but I think that I should stop before I'm spending a lot more money.

Next stop. My obsession with shoes is back! (Should not be that excited). But, in shorts I am obsesses with cap-toe quilted flats. The winner is of course French Sole Passport:

It is so sweet. It's neatly crafted, and it's super elegant. However, I don't think I really want to spend $225 for something that small. I mean, I can save the money and get a jet ski instead.

I have been looking for something similar or just its replacement, something affordable but either has the same two-tone color, quilted, or cap-toe. But nothing really speaks to me and when there is one, they're out of stock. The conclusion: I'm a bit late at fashion. Just wait until I get a job, though ;)

Now, off to stuffs that make me want to put on my bikini right now and jump to a lake, but I can't since I'm in the middle of Wisconsin spring.

Coast Celeste Print Dress

BCBG Delphine Jacquard Cocktail Dress

Oasis Bird Pleated Dress. My size is gone anyway

ModCloth Shore to Love Dress

 Well, better get back to work now.