‘Ndra’s Blog

I recently went to China and I wrote some highlights of the trip to an old friend. Since some of the people are asking about it, I thought why don’t I just share it to the rest of you.

Yes. I am lazy. Ha ha…

So here goes.

China was great! I went to four cities within 10 days, so it was kind of tiring. But it was a wonderful experience nonetheless.

First city that I visited was Beijing. It took about one and a half hour on a small 737 from Seoul. It was raining so it was a bumpy ride with a lot of turbulence. My first impression was there was nothing special. Just long big roads and office building. My first excitement comes on the first night. I visited the ‘Wang Fu Jing’ area where there an amazing number of street peddlers selling food and drinks. Mostly are grilled items on sticks (like satay but without the peanut sauce) of all the common meats such as beef, lamb, chicken. However, I was really intrigued when I saw the lesser common types. (Wait…. I am taking a deep breath….) Among other are as grasshopper, scorpion, ostrich, deer, seahorse, starfish and caterpillar! If you are curious, yes, I tried the last four. The fried caterpillar was crunchy, the starfish was kind of eeky, the ostrich and deer were nice…. 

The next day, I went to the Forbidden City. It was incredible. (See if you can watch the movie, The Last Emperor. It depicts this palace in it’s full glory. Otherwise, you can also see it in Wikipedia). I spent about five hours there and still only covers about half of the ground. There are so many history about the place that it was just overwhelming!  But I was so delighted to learn them as much as I can.

The third day, I finally went and saw the Great Wall of China. It was an impressive feat of engineering considering the sheer size, location and the material took to built it. I have no idea how they transport and lift those huge stones for the wall. I am talking about seriously solid stones. Millions of them in total, placed on  the mountainside, sometimes on over 60 degree angle of inclination!
On the evening, a friend invited us for a dinner in the famous Peking Duck restaurant called ‘Quan Ju De’. It was a seven stories building with each level can take about 450 people. Even with this size, we need to make reservations in advance and still have to wait on a queue before we can get a table. Ha ha…
Anyway, I just learned that you eat these roasted ducks (most part is the crisp skin with a little meat)  not with rice, but with a steamed "lotus leaf pancakes" which looks like a small crepe, plus a sauce and thinly sliced cucumbers. As a side order, we have the duck’s gizzard, thinly sliced and duck’s web which are kind of crunchy. Ha ha! I love these local dishes!

On the last part of the stay, I went to a city called Hang Zhou which is a small city by the lake. I was a very beautiful place. Spent just a day there.

To be continued….

‘don’t get your hopes up though….

July 29, 2006
19.29

For us mere mortals, nothing will ever be enough. Am saying this based on my personal experience you know…

<Now I am listening to… "You always wanted what you haven’t got" by Lighthouse Family>

Anyway, July is a month to remember. This is the month where I made mistakes, enjoyed them and then trying really hard to fix them.

Aaah, the mistakes that we make…..
Who can say a a mistake never should never have happen? I mean, since you never know what will happen afterwards, it is possible that a mistake could actually lead to something wonderful. Wouldn’t it?

An episode of my life ended. A new one begins.

It is sad for me to know that there are paths that offers exciting and endess possibilities out there that you just can’t afford to venture because I am rooted down with my limitations.

I wish I can be free of all that! I wanna be able to decide based on my needs. Not because of the needs of others, even though dear to me.
How many times already I have let a chance go by without capturing it?
How many times have dissapointment filled my chest?
How many times have I left myself down at the end?
I don’t want it no more!

….

Again. My senses is coming back to me. Reminding me of the reasons why I have to make those sacrifices.

Now, I just wanted to let my life flow as it is.
Now, I want to believe that there is a destination for me. A place where I am meant to be. A place where I can be happy.

Nobody knows whether it actually exist. But all I can do is hope….

Okay, I gotta admit it.
I’m getting fat…..   :)

Well, life has been good to me and I think that it is something that I can be thankful of.

So….  May has been a blast. Really really really busy!
The first two weeks were like unbelieveable. From the end of April, I got 5 back to back group including an Indian group as well as a buy out at FS Sayan. Break my record for staying up late at the hotel until 2 AM. Wasn’t the best experience. But I still enjoy it.

Especially when I got the final payment of the group which is a little over……  a MILLION dollars!
That and the appreciation letter from the organizer as well as the client really makes my day.

Then, there was the two weeks of Sales calls in Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Korea started off rough as I was still suffering from a cold from the previous week which I still could’nt shake off. Was sneezing and stuff during that week. It doesn’t help that Seoul was also quite cold for my preference. (20 Celcius. Well…  I am a tropical island boy. The coldest I ever experienced here was 25 degrees. Ha ha)
Not to mention that we arrive at 5 AM and had to do sales calls at NOON.

Kimchi was great. For some reason I quite enjoyed it. Not much time for sightseeing though. Was too busy running around to meet with appointment schedules.

Hong Kong was another story. Read this out loud…

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!

Ha ha. Me and my ‘big brother’ Asni had a great time here. Don’t trust me? See the photo album!
A picture can say a thousand words. More or less….. 

Don’t forget to check out the photos at the ‘Peak’. Some nice shots overlooking Hong Kong’s skyline.

I found Taiwan’s weather is much better this time around. There were actually visible blue skies and it was not raining. Ha ha.
Finnaly got to visit the famous Taipei’s night market and tried the the skill contests there. Got the cutest ‘big headed dog’ doll there was. Can’t believe I brought it back to Bali with me. So happy that it can make somebody as delighted as well.

Guess that’s it for now. Will try to write up some more banter when I got the chance or urge to. 

Take care and enjoy life!

‘Ndra

Mau nulis apa ya?

Kayaknya udah lama ngga nulis soal pengalaman. Isi blog ini kok jadi cuman joke-joke aja.

Kerjaan sih lancar2 aja. Alhamdulilah.
Capek sih. Cuman kan itu biasa. Berikut adalah step2 tipikal yang gua kerjain di kantor.
(Ngga selalu gini sih)

• 09.05 Masuk kantor, say good morning sama Sales Manager Jepang gua yang gila tapi lucu. Kei-san. Juga buat Mbak Yunnie-ku yang udah kerja dari jam 8.30 pagi.  Udah duluan aja dia. Katanya sih bisa lebih konsen ngerjain email kalo masuk lebih pagi karena ngga  ada telepon yang ngegangguin.
• 09.06 Nyalain Komputer. Sambil nunggu booting, ambil air panas buat nyeduh ‘Lou Han Kuo’. Ngga tau apa artinya khan??? Sama… Ngga, ini sebenarnya minuman yang dibuat dari buah dengan nama tersebut. Bagus untuk melegakan tenggorokan dan mengencerkan dahak (biar ngga usah minum Benadryl) he he he… Maklum, ngga tahan ngga ngerokok sih. (Lagi dikurangin kok)
• 09.08 - 13.00, Ngerjain Email. Mulai dari yang lucu lucu kaya joke yang dikirimkan sama Ike dari Jakarta sampai yang bikin marah kaya email dari Agen2 Taiwan gua yang ngga bisa ajak kerjasama. Bikin quotation group, bikin group contarct agreement, bikin proposal, etc.
• 13.00-14.00 Ke Kantin. Makan apa aja yang bisa dimakan. Sebelum bom di Bali bisa ke pantai deket hotel en makan nasi ayam sambil liatin Jimbaran Bay. Asik bo! sekarang tukang nasinya udah pindah ke deket tempat sampah. Hiii… ogah ah makan di situ. Tunggu sampai dia pindah lagi.
• 14.00-17.00 Jam segini ini ada beberapa kemungkinan. Bisa ikut training yang bikin ngantuk. Bisa hosting site inspection yang bikin bercucuran keringat atau bisa juga diajak meeting sama bos mengenai ‘kebijakan’ baru kita. Pokoke macem-macem deh. Tidak bisa di duga. (Makanya, maap ya buat Saras yang kalo nelpon siang2 ngga pernah bisa menghubungi gua. Laen kali coba HP aja. Pasti kok gua cuek’in. He he he)
• 17.00 Pulang.   
• Maap salah. Karena semua kegiatan2 tadi, emailnya kan ngga kepegang. nah sekaranglah waktunya ngerjain. Habis semua selesai, print, trus sortir. Weeeh. bisa bisa Jam 8 baru selesai nih. Nyalain musik ah. Biasanya sih dengerin Pop, Rock ato RnB. Digedein suaranya sambil ikut nyanyi nyanyi kaya John Tyler (itu loh, Vokalisnya Aerosmith yang bibirnya dower itu - Armageddon)
• Abis itu nyalain Firefox kesayangan gua yang udah fully customized buat……. Browsing. he he he. Buka friendster (Maklum orang populer, pasti visitor counternya udah lebih dari 100. bwe he he) sama buka CNN en Detik.com.
• ??.?? Matiin Komputer trus pulang deh.

Nah, Ini sih tipikal hari gua. Asik kan?
Ya ada asik ada ngga nya sih. Namanya juga kerja. Anyway, gua sih bersyukur dengan apa yang gua dapat sekarang ini.

Mau hidup enak? Usaha dong….!

Okay. Thanks for reading.
‘Ndra

To get the full effect, this should be read aloud.
You will understand what ‘tenjewberrymuds’ means by the end of the
conversation.  This has been nominated for the best email of 2005.

The following is a telephone exchange between a hotel guest and
room-service, at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in the
Far East Economic Review:

Room Service (RS): "Morrin, Roon sirbees."

Guest (G):     "Sorry, I thought I had dialed room-service."

RS:         "Rye.  Roon sirbees….morrin!  Jewish to oddor sunteen??"

G:          "Uh, yes…I’d like some bacon and eggs."

RS:         "Ow July den?"

G:           "What??"

RS:        "Ow July den?  pryed, boyud, poochd?"

G:         "Oh, the eggs!  How do I like them?  Sorry, scrambled,
               please."

RS:         "Ow July dee baykeem? Crease?"

G:           "Crisp will be fine."

RS:         "Hokay.  An sahn toes?"

G:             "What?"

RS:         "An toes.  July sahn toes?"

G:             "No, I don’t think so."

RS:         "No, Judo wan sahn toes??"

G:             "I feel really bad about this, but I don’t know what ‘judo
wan sahn toes’ means."

RS:         ’Toes! toes!..Why jew don juan toes?  Ow bow Anglish moppin
we bodder?"

G:         ’English Muffin!!  I’ve got it! You were saying ‘toast’. Fine.
Yes, an English muffin will be fine."

RS:         "We bodder?"

G:             "No…just put the bodder on the side."

RS:         "Wad?"

G:             "I mean butter…just put it on the side."

RS:         "Copy?"

G:         "Excuse me?"

RS:         "Copy..tea…meel?"

G:             "Yes, coffee, please, and that’s all."

RS:         "One minnie.  Scramah egg, crease baykeem, Anglish moppin we
bodder on sigh and copy…rye?"

G:             "Whatever you say."

RS:             "Tenjewberrymuds."

G.             "You’re very welcome."

==========================================

Ha ha ha….. Life in the hospitality industry can be a blast….. or not.
Got this one from Amelia. My lovely cece….

I don’t think that this happened in Asia though. My guess is that it happened in the UK…

Yes…. it could also be Thai…..

What do you guys think?

Bukan Joke - Fakta Ilmiah

Tahukah anda bahwa jika anda berteriak terus menerus
selama 8 tahun, 7 bulan dan 6 hari, energi yang anda keluarkan
akan cukup untuk memanaskan secangkir kopi
(Ngapain? Nggak sebanding sama hasilnya)

Jika anda kentut secara konsisten selama 6 tahun 9 bulan,
anda akan menghasilkan gas yang cukup untuk menciptakan
energi yang diperlukan dalam membuat bom atom.

(Nah, kalo ini mendinganlah, lebih sebanding)

Durasi orgasme seekor babi dapat mencapai 30 menit lamanya!!

(kalo reinkarnasi ada yang berminat jadi Babi ? Cuma gue bingung
kok bisa-bisanya tau soal ini ya)

Membenturkan kepala ke tembok menghabiskan 150 kalori setiap jamnya.

(Hmm…Gue masih kepikiran soal babi tadi……)

Dari banyak spesies, hanya manusia dan lumba-lumba yang bisa
melakukan seks sebagai sebuah kesenangan.

(Oh jadi itu sebabnya Flipper sang lumba-lumba selalu tersenyum
dan babi bisa orgasme 30 menit? Nggak adil, nggak adil !!!!!)

Semua beruang kutub kidal.
(Sebodo amaaattt!)

Seekor kecoa mampu bertahan hidup selama 9 hari tanpa kepala,
sebelum mati karena kelaparan.
(Hii syeerem… Jadi next time kalo mau mbunuh kecoa, make sure seluruh badan ancur!)

Seekor kutu mampu melompat sejauh 350 kali panjang badannya.
Kira-kira sama dengan seorang manusia melompat sejauh lapangan sepak bola !!!

(masih kebayang yang tadi..30 menit bow…kebayang nggak sih?….
dan kenapa musti babi?)

Belalang sembah jantan tidak bisa membuahi betinanya selama
kepalanya masih menempel pada tubuhnya. Sang betina harus
memulai ritual seks dengan memenggal kepala sang jantan.
(Mudah-mudahan nggak ada yang ngasih tahu mereka soal babi tadi….)

Beberapa jenis singa mampu kawin sebanyak 50 kali dalam sehari.

(Boleh juga, tapi lebih gila babi. Quality over quantity bow…)

Alat perasa pada kupu-kupu adalah kakinya.

(Hii…)

Bintang laut tidak mempunyai otak…

(Ah, nggak cuma bintang laut. Manusia juga ada.)

Moral of the Story:
Gile juga tuh babi… salut… hehehehe……

(I did not write this. Got it from one of my friend.
All credit goes to the writer. Just found it to be quite funny.
Comments please….)

An enjoyable read….
———————————————

This is for all you girls 30 years and over…. and for those who are
turning 30, and for those who are scared of moving into their 30’s…AND
for guys who are scared of girls over 30!!!!…This was written by Andy
Rooney from CBS 60 Minutes.

Andy Rooney says:

As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a
few reasons why:

A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What
are you thinking?" She doesn’t care what you think.

If a woman over 30 doesn’t want to watch the game, she doesn’t sit around
whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it’s usually
something more interesting.

A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what
she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a
damn what you might think about her or what she’s doing.

Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at
the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant.

Of course, if you deserve it, they won’t hesitate to shoot you, if they
think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it’s
like to be unappreciated.

A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women
friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend
because she doesn’t trust the guy with other women. Women over 30 couldn’t
care less if you’re attracted to her friends because she knows her friends
won’t betray her.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a
woman over 30. They always know.

A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of
younger women.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her
younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They’ll tell you right off if you are
a jerk if you are acting like one! You don’t ever have to wonder where you
stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of reasons.
Unfortunately, it’s not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed
hot woman of 30+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a
fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress.

Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for
free". Here’s an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage,
why? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get
a little sausage.

Satu hari,
Plato bertanya pada gurunya, "Apa itu cinta? Bagaimana saya bisa
menemukannya?"

Gurunya menjawab, "Ada ladang gandum yang luas didepan sana. Berjalanlah
kamu dan tanpa boleh mundur kembali, kemudian ambillah satu saja ranting. Jika
kamu menemukan ranting yang kamu anggap paling menakjubkan, artinya kamu telah
menemukan cinta."

Plato pun
berjalan, dan tidak seberapa lama, dia kembali dengan tangan kosong, tanpa
membawa apapun.

Gurunya bertanya, "Mengapa kamu tidak membawa satupun ranting?"

Plato menjawab, "Aku hanya boleh membawa satu saja, dan saat berjalan
tidak boleh mundur kembali (berbalik)."

Sebenarnya aku telah menemukan yang paling menakjubkan, tapi aku tak tahu
apakah ada yang lebih menakjubkan lagi di depan sana, jadi tak kuambil ranting
tersebut. Saat kumelanjutkan berjalan lebih jauh lagi, baru kusadari bahwasanya
ranting-ranting yang kutemukan kemudian tak sebagus ranting yang tadi, jadi tak
kuambil sebatangpun pada akhirnya."

Gurunya kemudian menjawab "Jadi ya itulah cinta"

Di hari yang lain, Plato bertanya lagi pada gurunya, "Apa itu perkawinan?
Bagaimana saya bisa menemukannya?"

Gurunya pun menjawab "Ada hutan yang subur didepan saja. Berjalanlah tanpa
boleh mundur kembali (menoleh) dan kamu hanya boleh menebang satu pohon saja.
Dan tebanglah jika kamu menemukan pohon yang paling tinggi, karena artinya kamu
telah menemukan apa itu perkawinan."

Plato pun berjalan, dan tidak seberapa lama, dia kembali dengan membawa pohon.
Pohon tersebut bukanlah pohon yang segar/ subur, dan tidak juga terlalu tinggi.
Pohon itu biasa-biasa saja.

Gurunya bertanya, "Mengapa kamu memotong pohon yang seperti itu?"

Plato pun menjawab, "sebab berdasarkan pengalamanku sebelumnya, setelah
menjelajah hampir setengah hutan, ternyata aku kembali dengan tangan kosong.
Jadi dikesempatan ini, aku lihat pohon ini, dan kurasa tidaklah buruk-buruk
amat, jadi kuputuskan untuk menebangnya dan membawanya kesini. Aku tidak mau
menghilangkan kesempatan untuk mendapatkannya."

Gurunyapun kemudian menjawab, "Dan ya itulah perkawinan."

CATATAN - KECIL  :

Cinta itu semakin dicari, maka semakin tidak ditemukan. Cinta adanya di dalam
lubuk hati, ketika dapat menahan keinginan dan harapan yang lebih.
Ketika pengharapan dan keinginan yang berlebih akan cinta, maka yang didapat
adalah kehampaan… tiada sesuatupun yang didapat, dan tidak dapat dimundurkan
kembali. Waktu dan masa tidak dapat diputar mundur. Terimalah cinta apa adanya.

______________________________________________________________

Perkawinan adalah kelanjutan dari Cinta. Adalah proses mendapatkan kesempatan,
ketika kamu mencari yang terbaik diantara pilihan yang ada, maka akan
mengurangi kesempatan untuk mendapatkannya, Ketika kesempurnaan ingin kau
dapatkan, maka sia2lah waktumu dalam mendapatkan perkawinan itu, karena,
sebenarnya kesempurnaan itu hampa adanya.

Again,

Another cool article from Mbak Nobi…

Keep it coming mbak…!

Would love your comment on these….

—————————————————-

IBU MENCANGKUL, BAPAK MEMASAK

Kalau dulu di sekolah, pada saat pelajaran merangkai
kalimat saya membuat peribahasa seperti demikian, pasti Bahasa Indonesia saya
otomatis mendapat nilai merah di Raport. Tapi itu dulu, sekarang saya kira konteksnya sudah sangat jauh
berbeda. Saya masih ingat saat membaca
komentar seorang ibu yang bunyinya kurang lebih sebagai berikut: “The world has
been under the command of men for over 2,000 years since one of them walked on
water and turned water into wine. So
it’s about time now for women to have their turn in holding the power.” I agreed with her. Mama Mega will definitely agree. Ibu Kartini would have agreed, and Hillary
will make Mr. “Rodham” Clinton to agree.

Given
time and chance, I believe women can do exactly the same things men do, if not
more. Hell, if we can be human
factories, anything less than that will be easy! The thing is, we now have new words being
coined into Webster such as: new-age guy, or girl power, yet no one has ever
discussed about the ‘new-age girl’ term. I mean, define new-age guy; a new breed of guys who don’t mind
supporting their girls’ career anytime. Tough as it sounds, it’s even harder for us, the new-age girls, to
accept the condition as it is. You can
blame it on the hormones, or the pride, or blame Tony Danza if you must, but
sometimes it’s just hard not to let our feelings manipulate our minds, when all
we have as vague guide towards perfect life is the ever changing social values.

But
hey, we weren’t born with Life’s Manual Instruction stamped to our naked
arse! So, you see, nobody’s got to say
that Ibu Mencangkul, Bapak Memasak wasn’t the ideal situation to get by
with. After all, the whole idea can give
our lives a totally new perspective. I,
for example, am more than glad to know that at least I’m standing on my own two
(pretty) feet and won’t be a burden to love or anybody else, any day. Besides, I don’t cook. So, if that’s what life put on my plate, I’ll
take it, and order extra.

Hi all!

So what exactly are pheromones?

Pheromones are airborne chemicals which are emitted to
attract the opposite sex.

Researchers at the

University

of

Colorado

have found
that pheromones are detected through the Vemeronasal Organ (VNO) in the nose.
The VNO functions as the distinct sensory apparatus that detects pheromones.
All people they examined had two small holes on both sides of the hard divider
in the nose. The holes are found just inside the opening of the nose. A group
of clear cells lies just behind these holes. These cells are similar in
appearance to nerve cells . These scientists have concluded these cells are
responsible for detecting human sex pheromones. The pheromones then transmit a
signal to the hypothalamus in the brain (the brain’s center of emotions),
sending a chemical message of sexual attraction.

Pheromones are believed to be detected on an instinctual, subconscious level.
In other words, you don’t know that you’re receiving them, but you are.

There are many different species of animals (including humans) which emit
pheromones. In the animal kingdom, it is very easy to see the awesome power
that pheromones have over sexual instincts. For example, a dog "in
heat" drives other dogs crazy with sexual desire from miles away - using
only their natural pheromones.

Basically, the drive to mate is a strong natural instinct in all animals
(including humans) and sexual chemicals are what drives those sexual instincts.

But pheromones may be much more important than we realize…

Some experts believe that pheromones drive our social interaction as well.

There are many who believe that pheromones also help
to make people feel comfortable around you, and want to be in your
presence. In other words, pheromones may not just be purely a sexual attractant.
Instead, pheromones may also help trigger non-sexual desires to be near a
particular person.

If this is true, then pheromones are even more important to us than we
ever thought possible.

At the present, this appears to be just a theory. But it makes sense. If
pheromones are truly capable of arousing sexual desire in the opposite sex,
then it’s not a stretch to believe that pheromones are equally capable of
arousing social desires in the same manner.

Either way, it is clear that pheromones are extremely powerful and can
definitely influence the sexual desires in others (whether it be with humans or
other species).