Pictures

Whenever I took a ride on the bus to my workplace and i saw the autumn leaves along the road, i could feel the temptation of taking pictures of those sceneries. I think this is the most beautiful time of the autumn view along that road. Too bad, when i think about the cool wind, i just shut my mind about taking pictures outside. I'm quite sure even before i could click the shutter button, my fingers will be freezing. NO WAY. I won't  sacrifice my fingers for pictures. So, instead of capturing that outdoor view, i took these pictures today.

my new cup. snoopy, charlie brown and others are there!

the new year cards which i have to send by today! so lazy to go out though.

Thought of The Day

Since high school i never really knew what did i really wanna learn about. I could not set a certain goal like most of my friends did on our senior year. My friends were so busy attending prep classes for universities' entrance examinations, while i was just amazed looking at how they were really passionate on trying to reach their dreams. At that time i chose to study computer science, but i never really sure what was the motive behind that. Well, what i know at least i thought it might be cool if could be an expert on that field. There i went to study computer science, but before i could dive to the field, God sent me to Japan where now i am studying international bio-business. Sometimes i try to think deeply what do i really learn here. I dont think i've become much smarter than when i was a high schooler. Well perhaps i'm not as smart as before since i've totally forgot most of physics formulas or cross reaction on chemistry. Yes i learned a bit of business management, marketing, management strategy, and also a (very) little of computer programming, database, etc. But at this point, on my third year in the university, i begin to ask myself again. Is this really what i want to learn?

So far i enjoy studying what i've been studying, but i just dont think this fits me the best. Yes, indeed i got to blame myself for always been less-inspired when it comes to find what i really want.

There are times when me and friends were going to eat then we discussed on what we're gonna eat. And my friends started to mention food names but i just responded by saying 'i dont want that, i dont what this, blablabla, but i dont know what i want to eat.' Yeah, its often happen to me. I know what i dont like but i have zero idea on what i like.

Maybe i just need to know myself better, i need to try bunch of new stuff. Who knows someday i will discover what passion really is. One thing i know about what i wish i could do later in the future, i want to contribute to society development. And the problem is, i still need to figure out the 5W+H. Yeah i know, i got a long road to go. I just need to keep on trying and stop procrastinating.

Anyway, 2011 will be over in less than two weeks. Have you done all your resolution for the year? I dont have any though. hehe. All that i know 2011 was a really unforgettable year. I wish i could be more grateful each time i look back to what have happened in the past three hundred something days.

Enjoy the rest of the year with happiness ya all :D

Dear No One

Howdy y'll! I'm coming back with something that i think is a must thing to share cuz i believe there're many of you who could relate to it. Thanks to Tori Kelly for writing this song, called "Dear No One". Enjoy :)

Our Favorite Thing

I recognize that this one thing is one of our favorite things to do. It is a photobooth thing which is called as Purikura in Japan.
The most interesting about purikura which makes it different with other photobooth we find in other countries is that it makes our eyes look bigger and much rounded. Just as cute as the characters in Japanese manga (well, only if you consider that as cute though haha)
So here is the latest purikura that me, Dhilla, and Kidu took together last weekend ;)

Pocky Date! And, Birthday!

Hey all! It's pocky day hahaha! A day which i heard there are so many people are getting married today. Well, i got to be honest i also had a dream to get married on this day! Haha. But, it's just too early for me. So, NO. I should wait for the right moment. hehe

Anyway what so special about today for me is... It's my birthday today! Going further in my twenties. :) Oh, I feel old already. But anyway thanks to these girls Dhilla and Kidu who were trying to surprise me last night, and it was kind of failing a bit, but still, i didn't expect that you two would do so! So i appreciate your efforts, girls :D Thanks for making the start of this day sweet :) And also thanks for everyone for greeting me with birthday wishes through facebook, twitter, sms, and straight to me, etc :D Love you all!

My fave strawberry shortcake, Dhilla&Kidu, a sweet detail on the birthday gift :)

Daisuki na Dorama, Daisuki na Uta

Hey everyone! It's been a while, isn't it? These couples of weeks have been crazy. Harvest Festival has passed. It was exhausting but fun at the same time. Followed with a week full of essays. Most of my energy probably used up and I finally caught cold. But I'm a lot better now, at least i don't feel pain on my throat anymore.

Btw, Eid Mubarak for all of you who celebrated it yesterday :D The funny thing about yesterday is that when RIP Shaun the Sheep became a trending topic on twitter. Wasn't that hilarious? It was probably because many non-moslems didn't get the joke created by some Indonesians. Haha.

So anyway, the next thing doesn't related to the stuff i talked above, but it does to the title. I'm gonna share to you one of my favorite songs, which is the theme song of my favorite Japanese drama. It's titled "Ohisama, taisetsuna anata e". Enjoy :D

      

Blackbird

Quote of The Day

"A work ethic. I Love it. That is why this country is still number one! But, behind Germany and France and Belgium and Japan and China, and thanks God for Bangladesh."

taken from Friends with Benefits.

Critics?

It's been a long time, huh? I've gone back to Indonesia for the summer holiday and even got back again to Japan two days ago. The times when i was home which counted for about 40 days were priceless :D I had a great holiday. I even finally got myself flown to Tarakan Island, East Kalimantan and surprised my grandma as I suddenly visited her without prior notice. It was full of spontaneity. I just decided to buy the ticket 2 days before my departure.

Anyway, the holiday thing is not the main thing that i actually want to write about. Have you ever criticized people, saying they're wrong, they should've done this and that?? Well, am kinda sure you have. Hehe. Who have never done that? And mostly people who feel offended by the critics often say "See yourself first. Do you think you are good enough to say so?" etc. Indeed it's true that we get to see ourselves, do introspection, evaluate ourselves. Since I believe that nobody is perfect. I personally think me myself is not perfect at all. I did  loads of mistakes, I disappointed others, I hurt others, etc. And I won't deny that I criticized people quite often. So is that making me wrong because I critic others? Maybe it could be relative depending on how we see it. But i think as long as the person realized that he/she is not good enough yet, as long as he/she doesn't think that he/she is the most perfect person in the world, it's so human. I think it's one of the human's social functions. Maybe rather that using the word 'critic', it would be less sharp if we replace the word with 'remind'. Yup, reminding each other isn't something bad, especially if we're reminding others for good. But, of course there should be an exchange, there should be feedback. We also need to listen to what other people say about us.

So, when there's somebody criticizing (or 'reminding') us, don't let yourself get offended quickly and throwing the sentence like these, "See yourself first. Do you think you are good enough to say so?" etc. Start to see things differently. Try to see from different perspective. Try to think that the critic might be actually important for us. We might really need to evaluate. Just say, "Thank you!"

Am telling you this, doesn't mean that I've always done these 'positive way' to face critics. But am trying to remind myself to do so. So, good luck friends :D Wish the world would be much more peaceful as people try to be positive!

Btw, saying sorry is never too late, right? Please forgive for all past mistakes :)

Parting Is Often A Hard Thing To Do

Hi friends, how are you? Today is the 7th day of Ramadhan. And this year i have the chance to experience how it feels to spend few days of Ramadhan in Japan. Yep, just for the first week cuz i'll be going home to Indonesia tomorrow for my summer holiday. So, how does it feel so far? Well, actually it's doing okay. I can do the responsibility of fasting just like usual, the differences are that i have to prepare my sahur and ifthar by myself and also that most people around me are not doing fasting. So, besides the fact that i lost those the special Ramadhan atmosphere which i usually have in Indonesia, anything is just fine. Not eating and drinking for about 16 hours was thought to be a bit harder, but in fact, no it's not hard at all. But because the fajr time is so early (it's around 3:15 am) so far i always stay awake till fajr, and then after i sleep. So, lately i feel like i'm sleepless. Haha, not that bad actually. At least it doesn't make me walking like a zombie during the day :p 

There's one resolution this summer that i think i won't make it. Visiting any sunflower garden in Japan. Sooo saad ;( I've always wanted to see something like this..

img source: Pixdaus

But it's okay, i hope i still have the coming years to be waited for and to go to those gardens full of sunflower. 

So, tomorrow i'll be home again after almost a year. Happy, that's an absolute feeling, of course, who wouldn't be? But somehow there are these feeelings which make me uncomfortable. At one side, i think i'll be missing my room a lot in Tokyo, but at the other side, i miss home, family, and friends in Indonesia. I know later, at the time when i should go back again to Tokyo, i would feel hard to leave home (again). Sigh. Parting will never really be easy at all. That's it.

Harry Potter

Hi all :) It's weekend already *wow time flies so fast*. Anyway have you watched the last Harry Potter movie which is Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2? I watched it last week and it was beyond amazing :D 

Actually I'm not that freak about Harry Potter, i've never read any of the books. But i did watch all the movies from the first sequel till the last sequel which is split into two parts. Personally, i think that the sequels which are very much amazing are the first sequel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and the 2nd part of the last sequel, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

Why the first sequel was great is that because it was the first! Hahaha, it's the whole brand new story, a new imagination, it's fresh. And why the last movie was also great is because it told us the untold stories behind each of the other sequels, it sums up the story in a quite perfect way. I personally love the scene when Neville Longbottom talked bravely in front of Voldemort and his followers. But i was a bit hoping for a more dramatic scene when Voldemort died. Anyway overall it was amazing! I didn't watch in 3D though, because i can't really deal with it, i often get dizzy when i watch 3D movies. hehe.

I'm a huge fan of Hermione Granger! She's smart and perfectly beautiful :) So, after i watched the movie, I bought Hermione's wand hehehehe :) Of course nothing would happen even if i mentioned some spells ;p

So, be sure to watch the last Harry Potter movie even if you're not a fan of it. It's one of the worth watching movies ever. I'm a bit sad though when i realize that it's the last ;'( Don't want it to end yet. Hiks. Anyway have a good day :D

Why Does Color Matter?

I suddenly wonder why does sometimes color matter? In this case, i'm talking about what color we wear. Today, i just took any clothes that i could easily find in my wardrobe. Turned out that they're dominantly black. Actually i wore a greyish pants and beige onepiece, but i added a black cardigan and a black scarf.
Then i went to the campus, met few friends before and during the class. Few of them were asking "Why do you wear black?" And i was like "Why? It's okay, right?"
I ended up thinking what's so weird about wearing black today? Maybe because it's summer? So we have to wear something brighter.
But, back in my home country which has only two seasons; dry and wet seasons, i guess it's normal to wear black even in a
bright sunny day. Well, although i had an experience when one of the lecturers said she was wondering why many of us liked to wear black.
Anyway, i don't really care whether it's summer or winter, i just like to wear anything that i feel like to wear. No matter what people think about it. How about you?

ケツメイシ「こだま」

Pop Master by Nana Mizuki

Hey all :) How was your week? It feels like time flies so fast till i realize it's Friday already. Time to relax for a while after we put so many efforts to do our responsibilities for the past few days. Let's say hello to the weekend :D

Btw i'd like to invite you to listen to a singing lesson on nhk world radio this weekend, fyi, i'm gonna be in that  soon to be broadcast-ed program :)

You can listen to the program in English or in 16 other available languages like Indonesian, Thai, Urdu, etc. Just follow this LINK :D  

Marumo Dance by Mana-chan, Suzuki-kun, and SMAP :D

This is a clip which was aired on Fuji terebi channel in Bistro SMAP program. Not to mention, the kids are sooo cute. But the SMAP members are also cute :) *especially Kimura Takuya-the one who wears white and red clothes.

Things I'm Thankful For In The Last Few Days

First, for the fact that i got a chance to be one of the honor students from my department again this year. I didn't think that i would make it again this year. Anyway, being an honor student is not suppose to be the goal of studying. I see it more as a bonus reward for the hard work we've done. Don't you think so folks?

Second, for the chance to learn how to sing a Japanese song with a talented singing couch. I love listening to the music, i love singing, but i never really able to sing well. And today i learned to sing a Japanese song entitled "Pop Master" by Mizuki Nana. Well, i didn't practice for the whole song though, but for the parts that i practiced today, i would say i got better :)

Third, for the unbelievably amazing team work i had with three other people in preparing a presentation for bio-business case study course. All of us didn't really know each other before, we are all different in interests, passions, etc. But we could manage to be ready by the time we need to present it. And as for me, it's a real challenge to deliver a presentation in Japanese language. Blah. The hardest part was when the audiences started to ask questions, it's like they didn't care whether me, a foreigner who has limited proficiency in Japanese, understand the question or not (-__-). And guess what, i didn't understand many of the questions so i had my team mates to explain the questions in more understandable phrases. LOL. Otsukaresan, minna :)

So, those were three things i'm thankful for in the last few days. Well, of course there are a bunch of other things which i should be thankful for that i don't think those should be listed here. hehe.

Anyway, enjoy the remaining of the week by being productive friends! Bye :D  

A Little Bit Stronger - Leighton Meester

Woke up late today 

And I still felt the sting of the pain 

But I brushed my teeth anyway 

Got dressed through the mess 

And put a smile on my face 

I got a little bit stronger 

Riding in the car to work 

And I'm trying to ignore the hurt 

So I turned on the radio 

Stupid song made me think of you 

I listened to it for a minute 

But then I changed it 

And I'm getting a little bit stronger 

Just a little bit stronger 

I'm done hoping that we can work it out 

I'm done with how it feels 

Spinning my wheels 

And letting you drag my heart around 

And I'm done thinking you could ever change 

I know my heart will never be the same 

But I'm telling myself I'll be okay 

Even on my weakest days 

I get a little bit stronger 

I get a little bit stronger 

It doesn't happen overnight 

Then you turn around and months gone by 

And you realize you haven't cried 

I'm not giving you an hour, or a second, or another minute longer 

I'm busy getting stronger 

I'm done hoping that we can work it out 

I'm done with how it feels 

Spinning my wheels 

And letting you drag my heart around 

And I'm done thinking that you could ever change 

I know my heart will never be the same 

But I'm telling myself I'll be okay 

Even on my weakest days 

I get a little bit stronger 

Just a little bit stronger 

Getting along without you, baby 

I'm better off without you, baby 

How does it feel without me, baby? 

I'm getting stronger without you, baby 

I'm done hoping that we can work it out 

I'm done with how it feels 

Spinning my wheels 

And letting you drag my heart around 

And I'm done thinking that you could ever change 

I know my heart will never be the same 

But I'm telling myself I'll be okay 

Even on my weakest days 

I get a little bit stronger 

Just a little bit stronger 

I get a little bit stronger 

Just a little bit stronger 

A little bit, a little bit, a little bit stronger 

A little bit stronger

Jumpin' In For A While

photo credit goes to Reihan Akira

Hi people :) How're you doing? Here in Japan, we just had a few days of national holidays, which is known as Golden Week. Actually today is no longer a part of those national holidays, but since my english professor decided not to held the only class i supposed to have today, i could extend my golden week till sunday :) hihi.. Well, it's not the time when i could just lying lazily on my bed the whole days though. I'm not gonna tolerate any procrastination till this holiday ends. I hope i could finish all stuffs that need to be done. Amin.

Anyway, i've been thinking a lot these couples of weeks. I'm not just thinking about one thing, but many things so that i get myself confused. Guys, is this the sign that i'm really getting into the adult's world?

One thing that i finally learned, we can't have everything to be as perfect as we wished. We can't deny not every person could go along with us, we met, we argued, and we left. The point is that we have to be grateful for what we have, for those who chose to stay around us, for those who never leave us.

I'm happy being who i am, being with people i love and people who love me, too.

For this peaceful feelings and for things i learned lately, i can't thank You enough, ya Rabb :)

Welcome New Semester :)

School has finally started since last week. Luckily i'm enjoying the most of it. Now i think we could really feel that life has actually been normal aftersince the disaster.
This semester i'll start to be a member of new lab *we don't do something like chemical experiment though*. I'm excited to know more Japanese friends here. But one thing that might be more important is that i have to start thinking of my graduation thesis from now on. I hope this tiny brain of mine could work well :)
Anyway i'm updating this post using my new gadget! Yes i finally got myself an iPhone :)

Pray For Japan "Tsuru"

This is a video made by Indonesian Student Association in Japan together with Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo. Well, i'm actually a committee in the association, but i didn't contribute anything in the making of the video. So, i think that it's one way to contribute by helping to spread the video here :)

Please be kind to click the "like" button for this video on Youtube :)

Let's pray for Japan!

Some Snaps!

I'm so bored today. Can't wait till around 4 pm so i could leave my room and do something. So, as i tried to chill out a bit, i decided to post some photos that i took last weekend when i went for hanami *enjoying cherry blossoms* with my friends. Just so you know, that day was a real great day! We were all happy :D

Still Need To Be Alert

Today is exactly a month after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake happened. Along with the cherry blossoms which now have already bloomed, people, which also including me are trying to welcome the beautiful season with new spirit, leaving the bitter past behind.

We're trying yet this earth we stand on is not finished with its business. It's still bringing us strong shakes even today. Another magnitude 7.1 earthquake happened with the center at Fukushima. Tsunami warnings and advisories were released for a while along the east coast line of Japan from Miyagi to Chiba following the earthquake. Fortunately now those warnings and advisories had been canceled. And so far, there are no irregular activities reported at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

No matter how many earthquake would still happen from now on, i just hope we all can stay stand strong above this earth we live in.

God, please keep us under Your guard :)

Me Likey Country S(tr)ong

Unforgettable March

March is another part of my long spring holiday. Thus, i've been making many plans to do on March. First, spending time together with my mom for a week since my mom had to go to a seminar in Niigata University. We planned to spend a whole day in Tokyo after the seminar. Second, me together with Dhilla and Fani were planning to go to Disney Resort (Disney Sea and Disney Land) for two days on 14th and 15th of March, we've also booked the hotel.

Everything seemed so fine. I spent 3 days in Niigata with mom starting from March 7th, then headed back to Tokyo on 10th. We walked around Shibuya for a while till then i had to go to work so my mom walked around other places by herself. After i finished my work, we went home together again. 

The next day, which was March 11th, was a very sunny day. It was a perfect day to travel. So, me and mom decided to go to places that she had never been to. Odaiba and Yokohama were the options that we chose. We left home before 11am. We decided to go to Odaiba first because i thought of enjoying Minatomirai , Yokohama view at night.

So, there we were at Aquacity, Odaiba. After we had lunch, my mom prayed first. It was around 2pm and we were on the 6th floor. When my mom done, i got my turn to pray. When i was still praying, i started to feel the quake. At the first time i thought i was normal, since there are always a lot of quake in Japan. But, it was getting bigger. I started to loose focus while praying. And it was still shaking until i finished praying. The quake was REALLY STRONG. I've never experienced earthquake as strong as that one. I was confused, i didn't know what to do. I wanted to run but my mom said we should just wait there because the shake was too strong. Yeah, it was even really hard to move. We waited for quite long until the first quake stopped.  All i could do were keep praying that the quake would stop soon and the building wouldn't collapse, and keep holding on my mom. There were high school students crying full of fears near us. When it stopped we hurried go down stairs and went out from the building. I saw some lights and decorations had fell down.

People were gathering outside the building. Some people seemed panic, some others didn't seem so panic. There was even a kid throwing up. But it didn't stop there. Another big quake happened then followed by  dozens of quite strong aftershocks. There was also smoke which i thought it because there's a building on fire not so far from the place where i was standing.

Me, mom, and a lot of other people were just waited there for a while. When we felt that the situation has gotten calm, my mom asked me to take photo at the Tokyo Decks. So, yeah even after a scary earthquake, we could still able to enjoy taking photos.

mom, Liberty Statue Miniature and Rainbow Bridge as the background

people sat and waited at the Tokyo Decks

If you figured by the pictures, the weather that day changed drastically after the quake. the warm weather changed to be so cold. We tried to go to the train station but it was closed due to the quake. Then we heard an announcement that we were suggested to go to a higher place because there's a tsunami warning. Oh, alright. There i was, started to get panic. I couldn't imagine if the tsunami would really hit us. Bus and taxi were so crowded. There's no other choice, so me and mom decided to walk to get far from Odaiba which was on the sea shore area. It was around 4 pm. We walked for few hours until we finally crossed the bridge to Tokyo area. We tried to get on the bus, but the street was so crowded that the cars couldn't even move. So, we got off from the bus and continued walking until we found a police box in Ginza area. We already knew the worst scenario to go home was to walk. Yes, walk! So, we asked the police man the direction to go to Setagaya area. This police man was very nice, he told us that we had to go to Shinjuku first, at least we could check if the train has continued to operate again while walking. From Ginza to Shinjuku, we had to pass Hanzomon and some other areas. We walked for hours, mom's feet were getting hurt. But, we tried to keep walking and took a rest for 2 or 3 times until we arrived at Shinjuku. Along the way, we walked together with hundreds or even thousands? of people.

We found out that all trains were still suspended and the traffic around Shinjuku was really bad so cars couldn't barely move. We tried to ask police men there on how to walk to Setagaya area, but they didn't even have a map! They couldn't tell us the clear direction. So, the only way that i know was if i walked from Shibuya. So, we aksed the direction to go to Shibuya. It was already 9:53 pm. It means that we've walked for about 6 hours!

From Shinjuku, we needed to follow the Yamanote Line track to go to Shibuya-- Shinjuku-Yoyogi-Harajuku-Shibuya. Between Yoyogi and Harajuku, we found a police office then we took a rest for a while there. I was glad because the police officers there were so nice. I even told one of them that we've walked from Odaiba, then he told us to rest first. Along the way, i watched the news about the tsunami that hit northeastern part of Japan. But, in that police office, they didn't show the news. They just showed another video. I thought maybe they didn't want to make us "the walkers" panic. 

So, after sitting for a while, we walked again and arrived at Shibuya at around 12 am. We first checked the bus that goes to Setagaya area. But the man there said it would take about 5 or 6 hours (normally it only takes 40-60 mins). Fortunately, the man told us that Den en Toshi Line had started to operate. Ya, it was the  first and only line that's moving since the quake. Luckily it passed the station near to our place. So we decided to take the train, buuuttt, the queue line was very long. It took about 1 hour until me and mom could finally get on the train! And the train was very crowded even worse compared to hectic hours when people go home after work. 

But, thanks God we could arrived at home safely. Aftershocks were still happening almost every couple of minutes. We couldn't just sleep right away. We still needed to check the flight for my mom but there was no information about the flight schedule. Then we decided to sleep and wake up early to check the flight status again in the morning. The flight for my mom that day was cancelled. We tried to find flight ticket for the next day but we only got the flight ticket for Monday, March 14th. 

I felt happy because i could spend more time with mom but in other side, i also felt worry. I wanted her to go back to Indonesia as soon as possible to be safe. Anyway, on the day after the quake, March 12th, i just stayed at home (*guest house actually) with mom for the whole day. Both of us were exhausted after walking for about 8 hours. 

Sunday, March 13th, mom was bored and trying to convince me to go outside. But i didn't want to go because i thought that it wasn't safe enough, since there are still some aftershocks. Mom still tried to convince me to go somewhere. So i decided to take her to a department store near our place. Going to a far place was way of too risky because the train could stop anytime. We could also have dinner together with my Indonesian friends in Nodai at a restaurant near our place. Before we went to sleep, we checked the access to Narita airport first because most of the transportations to the airport were suspended after the earthquake.  But, there wasn't any infomation so we just made sure that my mom's things were packed neatly and slept. 

Early in the morning around 4:30 am, after we prayed, we turned on the tv and there it was the infomation about the access to the aiport. Apparently there were only 2 units of skyliner that're going to the airport for that day. So, we hurried go to the Ueno station. Luckily we still could get the ticket for the last skyliner. So, there i said goodbye to my mom. A bit sad because i couldn't go with her to the airport. If i went to the airport, i wouldn't be able to go back to my dorm since there's no access. 

Days after the great earthquake and tsunami

Now it's been almost two weeks since the earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern part of Japan. The disaster weren't only quake and tsunami, but they are followed by the cooling system failure of nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture. People were panic, even there are some embassies of some countries that suggested their people to leave Japan. How about me? I've been trying to keep calm. I'm still in Tokyo now. I don't plan to go to Indonesia unless the condition gets too serious and dangerous. Air and water in Tokyo has been contaminated by the nuclear radiation in low level. But government said that it's still on the level where it won't cause health problems. Anyway they suggested to the infants not to drink from the tap water directly.

Graduation ceremony at my campus was cancelled, the welcome ceremony for the new students has also been cancelled. The shedules of the guidance for new students and classes are postponed for about a week. So, i got my holiday period extended. But i'm not so happy about this. I'm bored already.

Tokyo Isn't a Ghost City

It's so funny that some media in countries outside Japan published these kind of articles which say that Tokyo is a ghost city. We're living normal lives here. It doesn't seem as normal as it should be because of  the lack of electricity and fuel supply. Egg and toilet paper are quite hard to find, but we could still buy them in some stores even with higher prices than usual.   

Anyway, thats all that i want to share for now. Actually there's still a bunch of things i would love to share but i'm tired of typing everything. hehehehe. So, see you again everyone and stay safe! Adios!

 

Current Wishlist ;)

Fielding Field Mouse Family from The Sylvanian Families
Couldn't find the family-set in the Sylvanian Families Japanese Shop yet, so i'm still considering to buy per unit or buy other available family-sets. Oh, but i fell in love with them already ;')

*It's actually because i adore Dhilla's rabbits from the Sylvanian Families, so that i wish i could have mine too. hehehe

To The Best Mom Ever

お母さん、
お誕生日おめでとう！
いつも元気で生きていくように　 

Hey, friends! I remember when i first uploaded a photo of my mini danbo and big danbo together in facebook, and i told my mother that it's not only me who also had danbo, but my friends, too. Then she asked me to take a photo of a big danbo together with 3 mini danbo. The reason why my mom wanted 3 mini danbo was because the big danbo would represent herself while the other 3 mini danbo would represent her children; me, my sister, and my brother. But, i hadn't had the chance to do what she wanted, so i decided to do that for her birthday. I borrowed the other 2 mini danbo from Dhilla and Akira, and Akira also lent me his 35mm lens for a bonus ;) hehehe.

I've been downloading digi scrapbook freebies a lot but rarely got a chance to make any digital scrapbook. Here are some of great resources for digi scrapbook stuff: shabbyprincess, freedigitalscrapbooking, digiscrapdepot, etc *you can easily find those kind of sites by just googling ;p 

I finished making this happy birthday card 3 days ago, and i really wanted to uploaded as soon as possible. But since it supposed to be uploaded on the exact day of my mom's birthday, so i needed to hold up a little. Uh, that was a kind of hard though. hehehe.

Well, i'm not good at finding words, but happy birthday mom! I love you :D

Wouldn't Change A Thing

So, this song is originally sang by Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas in Camp Rock 2 *honestly haven't watched this one*. But the one that i post here is a cover version by Jenny Suk and TJ Brown, and i personally think that they sing this song better than the real singers. hehehe. So, enjoy :D

It's like he doesn't hear a word I say,
His mind is somewhere far away,
And I don't know how to get there,
It's like,
(She's way too serious)
All he wants is to chill out,
(She's always in a rush)
He makes me wanna pull all my hair out,
(And interrupting)
Like he doesn't even care,
(Like she doesn't even care)

You,
me
We're face to face
But we don't see eye to eye

Like fire and rain

(Like fire and rain)
You can drive me insane
(You can drive me insane)
But I can't stay mad at you for anything
We're Venus and Mars
(We're Venus and Mars)
We're like different stars
(Like different stars)
But you're the harmony to every song I sing
And I wouldn't change a thing

She's always trying to save the day
Just wanna let my music play
She's all or nothing
But my feelings never change
(Why, do you try to read my mind?)
I try to read her mind
(It's not good to psychoanalyze)
She tries to pick a fight
To get attention
That's what all of my friends say
(That's what all of my friends say)

You,
Me
We're face to face
But we don't see eye to eye
Like fire and rain
(Like fire and rain)
You can drive me insane
(You can drive me insane)
But I can't stay mad at you for anything
We're Venus and Mars
(We're Venus and Mars)
We're like different stars
(Like different stars)
But you're the harmony to every song I sing
And I wouldn't change a thing

When I'm yes, she's no
When I hold on, he just lets go

We're perfectly imperfect
But I wouldn't change a thing, no
We're like fire and rain
(Like fire and rain)
You can drive me insane
(You can drive me insane)
But I can't stay mad at you for anything
We're Venus and Mars
(We're Venus and Mars)
We're like different stars
(Like different stars)
But you're the harmony to every song I sing
And I wouldn't change a thing

But I can't stay mad at you for anything
We're Venus and Mars
(We're Venus and Mars)
We're like different stars
(Like different stars)
But you're the harmony to every song I sing
And I wouldn't change a
Wouldn't change a thing

Field Work Experience

Hi friends! So finally i'm writing this post which has been postponed for way too long. It's about my trip to Niigata perfecture which was started on Feb 3rd until Feb 13th. This trip wasn't for holiday but actually it's for field work practice as one of the required course for the sophomore students in my department at college. 

I chose to go to Joetsu Tokyo Nodai, during winter *not summer which is actually the most common time to go for agriculture practice* for some reasons. Anyway, there i was with 4 other friends spending 10 days together and doing some agricultural practices. Since it was still winter, there weren't so many things to do. All what we did were doing dried pumpkin packaging, harvesting autumn poem, and the best i've ever experienced there--harvesting radish.

I'd tell you why i think that harvesting radish is my best experience that i had there. So, long time before i went there, i've asked my professor what would we do there since it was winter. And he answered, "We would harvest the radish." Then, after i spent more than a week there, we still didn't do that. So, i was a kind of waiting for the moment while my friends wished that we would never do that. hehe. Finally, after waiting for quite long, we were asked to harvest the radish in the last day of our field work period. To be honest, it wasn't an easy job. We needed to dig the snow for about 1 meter deep. I was like wondering how i could i do that since i had never done that before. But, with full of spirit, i managed to dig the hole by myself and could harvest 5 radishes. The most wonderful part of that work was, when i could finally pull the radish out from the ground (it's hard, trust me!), i raised the radish up high and screamed happily. I felt like i was a champion of something. hehe.

So, here i put few photos that were taken by cellphone's camera. The quality isn't so good, sorry for that, but i hope it still proper enough to share my experiences there :)

I Was Trying To Be...

Hello friends! It's been so long since the last time i wrote here. I was far away from Tokyo for about 10 days but have been back for almost a week though. Actually there are a lot of experiences that i had during those 10 days that i'd love to share here. But maybe i'll hold it up a bit more because apparently i have another thing that i want to write right now.

So, lets the story begin...

For those people around me, i'm sure most of them are already aware that cooking isn't something that i could really enjoy. Yeah, it's true. Unlike most girls, i don't like being in the kitchen, preparing and cooking food. When it's still possible to have meal outside, cheap and healthy enough, i won't bother myself to think what should i cook for today. I don't like the feeling of putting too many efforts and times to prepare food. Furthermore, often when i try to cook, then i finish it, i'm not hungry anymore, i loose my appetite (not because it's not delicious). See? I don't really see a significant reason for making me want to cook everyday.

But, since now i'm 21 already, recently i started to think about the future. What if i become someone's wife and i can't cook? So, for the future's sake, i've promised to myself to try to cook as often as possible.

I started from very simple kinds of cooking. At least it has the nutrients that would be important. Although i don't really like vegetables, but i understand that later, in the future, i should prepare food with vegetables also for the family.

So, yesterday i made meat and vegetables saute. That was the first time i cooked something like that. Really. I know it might be too easy for most of you guys, but as for me, i was confused for a few times regarding what seasonings should i put into, how the order is, what should be done first, etc. Anyway, i could finally made it and it was tasty enough for me.

Then i showed a photo of the food to him. Well, i didn't hope that he will praise or what, because i knew it wasn't so great to made such food. Then he commented. Actually his comment wasn't insulting nor bad, but somehow made me quite disappointed and lost my spirit to cook again. Huh, a very sensitive me. 

So, that's it. Maybe it will take weeks till i finally go to the kitchen again. Bye cooking spirit ;'(

Bye Exams! Hellooo FUN DAYS :D

Yo, guys! It's me AJ! *uuups no noooo..not AJ but it's me edhika :D

I've been having this AJ Rafael fever ever since dhilla shared a youtube video link of him. He's so cool and talented and a really great figure of best friend for the people around him i guess :)

From almost all of the videos that he uploaded to his channel, my very favorite one is his duet with Jenny Suk singing a cover of 1234 (plain white t's) and best i ever had (drake). You can access that video here.

And here, i want to share you another video from, which i also like, for sure. This is an original song by AJ himself. Enjoy :)

Btw, starting from today i'm free from final exams. Yeay for being free :D A long holiday is really close now. But, i need to go for agricultural practice first, to Niigata, starting from Feb 4th for ten days long. As for you know, Niigata is one of some prefectures in Japan which is experiencing the heaviest snow for this winter. So, i guess i should be prepared for the killin' snow (because it's too cold, and i don't really like that T_T). I'm quite prepared actually, i've bought a pair of snow boots which was on sale for 50%. And  do you what was the reason that boots were on sale? Because they're shocking pink! But, who cares anyway :D

Speaking of being free from exam, (since it's now already Feb 2nd, so it's yesterday, yes sooo yesterday) yesterday after i finished the last exam, i re-checked an email which was sent by my mom, telling me to see a tamiya store. She gave me the link, so there i tried to find the address and the instruction how to get to the store. Then, i went out from the dorm, started my another adventure to a new place. LOL. I really love it when i have to go to a new place, getting all the transportation info from the internet, sometimes i check on google map first then either i print it out or send the map to my phone (since i'm not using a smart phone, so i can't always rely on it to see gps or such a thing). Getting on the train, transfer from one line to another line, i've gotten used to it. I don't have that panic syndrome anymore like i used to have when I travelled alone. But here it is, one thing that still becomes a challenge for me, finding an address. Especially when the address is quite far from the station, and requires me to go through several blocks, furthermore, the station itself has so many gates. It makes me lost my cardinal directions! Well, but as long as the time is not so tight or in other words there's no need to worry about being late, i'll be enjoying so much the adventure of finding the address. I don't care if i got lost for a while. ahahaha. I believe that i can always find a way back home :)

So, that was what happened to me. I was lost! It was started with the map that i checked before i went to the tamiya store. The store is right next to mizuho bank. So, when i arrived in the right station, all i knew was that i should find that bank. After walking for a few minutes, i found the building of mizuho bank, but there was no tamiya store next to it. I decided to call the store and made sure that the store is still located in that area. They said they're still there. But i said i was right in front of the bank (i called using a public phone, and that was my first time here in Japan.LOL). And they said that i might be in front of another mizuho bank, not the one that should be next to the tamiya store. Well, okay then. I walked again, tried to find the store. It took me for more than 30 minutes and made me asked 4 people along the way until i finally found the store. Yeay for finally stepping my feet there :D And thanks God 3 from 4 people that i asked for directions could be really helpful (the other one didn't have any idea about the location of that another mizuho bank). Got no problems at all on the way back home.

So, i guess that's all for now, it's 1.31 am already here. Need to get a good sleep a.s.a.p. Good night everyone :D

Random #Prince Charming

Many ladies wait till their prince charmings come by riding their white horses. Well, that happens a lot, in fairy tales though. As for me, well, i'm not actually waiting for my prince charming, but i've been daydreaming of getting a visit by someone, singing while playing his guitar. Any song will do, as long as it calms me down. 

Chicha, Decha, and The Missing iPod

Hi friends :)

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good. I went to a talkshow yesterday where there were 3 japanese and 1 french who decided to be Moslems and shared their stories. And today was a cleaning day up to the afternoon, then i just browsed around the net and listened to some good musics.

Anyway, i finally decided a name for each danbo of mine. I named the mini danbo Chicha, and for the big danbo, i named it Decha :)

What do you think? Cute, right? :D

Well, actually i should've started preparing for my final exam, but.. yeah ok, i will, right after i've done posting this.

Some Clips From Nagano :)

So, i finally did combine some clips taken by Mas Asad (Abu) during the trip to Mandarao, Nagano when we went snowboarding. This video isn't to show you how great we were, but just to share how much fun we had there. And you could also see some silly scenes when some of us fell down. And for us, it just makes us laughing each time we see it and makes us wanna go again so soon (but  i guess not until next year :p).

So, enjoy..

The Trees and The Moon

It's winter already but the snow hasn't fell yet here in Tokyo. Can't lie that i'm quite excited for the snow to fall, but in the other hand, i don't really like how it bites every little inch of my skin. 

There was no class today. I think that's because tomorrow there will be a college entry exam held in all over Japan (well, i don't know if it's right or not actually. hehe), and my campus will be one of the places to hold the exam. A bit thankful for not having any classes today cuz i haven't finished my reports, but also feel so bored. Then i took a ride around the area with my bicycle, dropped by at some stores to buy food and some other stuff, enjoyed the bright sunny day, alone, just by myself. Being alone sometimes is just exactly what i need.

Anyway, they just cut the trees in the dorm. Kinda sad because only few branches left, but also happy at the same time because now i have broader view from my room. That's the moon, the remaining branches, and the building no. 18 of my campus. Feels like it's gonna be a calm night :)

One Plus Four

A photo that i took quite long time ago, oh well maybe a month ago, when i and some of my friends were waiting to see the lunar eclipse from the rooftops of our dorms (boy's dorm and girl's dorm). Too bad we couldn't see the eclipse because it was cloudy ;(

Next, some photos of my danbo family that i took during my trip to Nagano last week. I went to Nagano for snowboarding with some friends. It was so much fun even though i got a really bad neck and back pain as the trade off. But i wish i could go back there and do snowboard again anytime soon (haven't make a plan yet, but still hoping that it will be true). Btw, i did stupidity when i wanted to take these photos below. FYI, the temperature was below 0 at that time (of course!) and i went out from the hotel wearing a pair of sandals and borrowed a friend's jacket. I didn't wear any gloves at that time. I tried to make a snowman as the photo property. But once i touched the snow, my hands were freezing and really hard to move. I couldn't even hold the camera properly. So it took quite some times till my hands could move again and could click the shutter button properly. hehehe..and my feet were also freezing because i just put on sandals (-__-").

Anyway it was so cold today. I think it's now still extremely cold in all over Japan. My friend told me that it will be around -1 degree celcius tomorrow morning at 7 am (but we won't have snow yet. grrr..). And that's the time for me to go to the morning baito. Oh, it's gonna be sooooo not okay. I hate cold weather ;( Well, the thing is that i must not forget to bring my gloves so that my hands won't be freezing like what happened today when i ride back my bicycle from the station to the dorm. My hands were painfully red.

Mellow Mode: ON

"We're Trashing The Planet" - the story of cosmetics

Hey all, how are you?
Today when i signed to my facebook account, i saw on my news feed that one of my friend shared a video from storyofstuff.org and i think that video was very interesting and quite informative if you haven't known the fact about some stuff that was produced but is actually creating trashes to our planet, and even much worse than that that stuff is actually poisoning us with lots of toxic.

So, here i also want to share one of the video, hope you'll enjoy it :)

トイレの神様

I watched and listened to this song in NHK channel last night around the changing of year time. Listening to the lyric brought teardrops from my eyes..really touching :')