Chasing Harry Winston

Oh my... another disappointment. After those many days reading Lauren Weisberger's Chasing Harry Winston, I found myself so glad to FINALLY reach the last page. *Pardon my humble opinion* It wasn't downright bad or anything, but it was so... plain I had to push my way through pages. When I was about half the book, I found the e-book version of Lauren Weisberger's Everyone Worth Knowing so I alternately read them both. I found Everyone Worth Knowing waayy much more interesting.

Okay so Chasing Harry Winston tells a story of three bestfriends, Adriana, Leigh, and Emmy. The story begins with Emmy and her bf breaking up. This event lead to Emmy's new resolution followed by Adriana's.

Adriana is a party animal trying to commit to one man only and secure herself a Harry Winston ring whereas the-commitment-type Emmy tries a new life-style; to collect men from every continent that is. And Leigh, although she's in so-perfect relationship, somehow she's not content with what she has, like something's missing but she can't quite put a finger on the matter and can't stop wondering what goes wrong actually. Well, Adriana, Leigh and Emmy soon figure out that apparently they are not being honest with themselves and that by trying to lead a completely new life they're being someone they're not, DUH!! *so cliché*. This book definitely falls under my never-read-twice category. Gee I wish I bought Everyone Worth Knowing instead...

I'm not really head over heels into Chicklit, but among those that I've read, none yet coming as close as to dethrone Shopaholic series

Feeling guilty

ohmigod, I.Can't.Stand.Him!! There's a Korean guy here sitting next to me who keeps moving it's driving me nuts. He seems to keep flailing his arms in every direction while talking *in his countrymen signature loud voice*. This behaviour, my friends, indeed looked cute to me for a solid one week. But, it goes unbelievably annoying if you have to endure this man every single day. For what I think would be a peaceful moment when he doesn't talk, he writes with SUCH intense the whole desk shaking and dramatically throws and scatters papers everywhere. Ow and he doesn't forget to make LOUD sigh *the kind of sigh only Korean can make, I assure you* every 5 minutes literally!! Oohhh how I wish I could yell at him to stop.

He's funny, granted, but other than that, I seem to get more irritated every passing hour and today I just couldn't help it anymore. Believe me, I TRIED to maintain my composure and act nicely in front of him *oh what a hard work* but certainly something wrong with me today that I simply couldn't take it. Um maybe my emotion was written clearly enough on my face that few minutes ago he finally asked me if I happened to be not in a good mood today. Oh and I felt guilty all of a sudden *sigh*

Long Weekend :: part 2 ::

What a dull weekend. Didn't exactly plan anything anyway. It was all started on Friday, I got to go home earlier at 3 o'clock *can't believe my luck*. Later that day, I met my brother at 7 and at 9 pm went to the gym with the girls. Granted, I had a lot of time between 3 and 7 pm, and actually planned a little self-indulgence time in Starbucks near apartment, but I ended up drinking instant hot cocoa instead *sigh* Why? So it was my quick decision that ruined everything. I thought it would be way more comfortable if I changed my clothes for something more casual, warmed myself a little in my apartment and grabbed a good book. The sky and the weather that day were just perfect, made me want to sketch too. Since I didn't bring my sketchbook, going home first made a good sense. Wrong decision. I should have just dashed to Starbucks, coz once I dropped my bag and curled up under the blanket I just knew instantly; no Starbucks for me. With the afternoon sunlight showered my room and crisp autumn breeze made its way in through a slightly opened balcony door, you tell me if there was really any way I could resist the temptation to take a quick nap. So that was the end of my little self-indulgence plan outside. When I think about it now, it was such a shame! I let it slip just like that. I could kill for weekdays-afternoon-Starbucks time now! Oh well, lesson learned.


~Nov 02, 03~
Continuing the previous post about my long weekend; on Sunday, didn't go anywhere in particular. Ow, me and ellen did grocery shopping tho, and I spent the entire day cooking for the next 4 days lunches. And finally, Nov 03. We went to Nobi san's house for a "GET" party. It was fun. Delicious food and we got to see a very beautiful night view from the balcony.

Maya Angelou :: A Letter to My Daughter

... It is my intent to say you may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. You will be changed, events will change you, but you have to decide not to be reduced.

~Maya Angelou (when interviewed by CNN)~

Long Weekend :: part 1 ::

Long weekend!!! cheers to that! libur 3 hari hehe, hmm liburan kali ini lumayan ada kegiatan. Sabtu seharian jalan, soale ada temen *haven't met before* dateng ke Jpn, so pada ngumpul di Shibuya bentar trus lanjut ke Ueno buat nyari coat. Abis itu malemnya si Rendy having belated b'day party di Nabezou Shinjuku. Capek banget seharian jalan, ampe Machida skitar jam 12-an malem. Photo menyusul di-upload klo dah dapet. Eh ya, hihi akhirnya gw makan Krispy Kreme Jpn jg *thanks to Stivan ~sering2 donk ^^~*

Oya oya, pertama kali liat bintang di Tokyo hihi, duh excuse me deh for being udik, but I do love watching stars tp disini hampir ga pernah nongol. Terakhir liat di Mount Fuji. Hmm yg kemaren ini sih cuman dikiiit banget but it's okay lah drpd kagak ada. Besok2nya tepar ampe ga ke gereja *again... duh do forgive me dear God* bangun sih bangun jam 8an tp badan rasanya pegel2 mana dingin pula kan. Malemnya maunya ke New Hope Church Sagamihara tp berhubung yg laen pada ke Mount Takao, ga pergi dah. Padahal dah janji mo dateng lagi hahaha

Hmm kemaren tuh bener2 ngerasa really weird. Tiap kali denger, I felt something like a big thump in my chest, bener2 di otak gw tuh rasanya mrk manggil the one person I knew. Mesti struggle buat ga fall apart lagi, to keep smiling. It's just plainly ridiculous, bener2 ga da hubungannya sama skali, I know. But even one common thing is enough to make me remember all stuffs again. Gosh, I'm being silly.

Regret?... Sort of

Lately, there seems to be more people from Yokogawa show up at Hachiouji. Really annoying *excruciating would be the exact word* It's not the people, mind you, it's.. well it's me! I envy them. Looking at their laptop with Yokogawa sign on it, all the software and applications that I'm *still* familiar with. For a split second the most stupid thought even crossed my mind, uh to apologize sincerely for quitting in the first place and to ask whether they have some tricks up their sleeves to get me back there. Pretty stupid huh?! Who whined months ago that she had enough? Who said repeatedly to herself that she deserved something better? And now when the chance is on the plate, am I going to throw it away just because the mere sight of ****ing company logo?? Hell no! Huahahaha so yeah, I made my choice two months ago and am gonna stick with it. But you see, even if I were to change my mind and beg my Eigyou-kata, I couldn't get my old job back that easily. Indeed, they made it pretty clear b'fore, no turning back, no stepping foot even in other division. So... I guess I should thank God for making this one way track only *grin* I ought to step forward no matter what.
But he's sitting in front of me now, a guy from Yokogawa. Typing ever so fast, and oh look at that label with an application name written on it... I KNOW THAT APP! That one's unmistakeably the last app I was working on before I walked out. Eww *wince*... as silly as it may sound, I MISS MY OLD JOB!!

:: Shikkari shite!!! ::

It's all 'bout Nature ::Painting::

:: Pine Forest ::

October 19, 2008
~Watercolor~

:: Daisies ::
October 19, 2008
~ Watercolor ~

It might just be true if I say "Battered, bruised daisies" wakkakaka
Okay a little story behind the daisies painting. I have this watercolor tutorial book and am at the "Negative Painting" chapter rite now. It has been long since I really wanted to make one myself but there was always another thing that took my attention. So, on Sunday morning while I was at it, reading through the particular chapter, I thought why shouldn't I try the technique? And the chaos began. Basically, so much a beginner myself in watercolor, I may need an art product called masking fluid that saves white. Just apply the product to area where you want to save the white. It's that easy. Spares you a lot of time and trouble also.

But you see, I said to myself; "Hey let's do this without one and see how it goes" and as a result, the finished negative-painting daisies is not what I expected *sob*

>> oh my... this is brilliant huahahahaha LMAO

So little money so many to buy

Okay, so I have this list of things I REALLY wanna buy, but... considering that three days ago I just bought winter jacket for a good 8k yen *quite a fortune for me sob*, I don't have the heart to spend even a penny. Ohh but I do love the jacket, I must say the jacket's well worth the price. Inge found it when we wandered around the Jorna mall and so we both came back on Monday night to get them with different color, mine is white and hers is black. It's a casual jacket *I want the formal one too ~groan~*


These are on my list:
1. Gossip Girl Novel (1-7)
2. No-heel boots
3. Formal coat

:: About the GG novels, I'm not sure yet, are they as good as the GG tv show? The last thing I want is for the novels to shatter the image I got from the show *isn't it the other way round? ... No, I watched the tv show first * hmm... okay, I think I can wait a couple months for the GG.

:: No. 2 on the list, no-heel dark brown leather boots. Now, that's pretty hard to resist. But I own 3 boots already, so uh-huh the boots can wait.

:: Ugh formal coat, I'm desperate for this one. So... should I??


~It's already Autumn, me love Autumn yet loathe it *sigh*~

S***** meeting *hmph*

Another Hachiouji branch meeting in Saturday *why??*
This time it was held in Kokubunji at 1:10 pm, but before that I had to show up earlier for medical check up. Know what, I got lost!! old story for me *sigh* The map they gave me? Well useless. I don't know how to read map, I just can't! Right there in front of the station, a map in one hand and a blank look on my face, I tried to figure out where I was on the map. After spending so much time standing.. looking to the left.. to the right.. eyes to the map.. to the street..to the left again... that was it! I gave up and asked a very kind policeman for direction. He, laughing, said that I had to rotate the map 90 degree to the left, then there you go, just followed the road! Oh okay, so I got it turned up-side down, great *how should I know?* and I had no more than 4 minutes left for medical check up appointment.

You know that Japanese are so damn nuts *please note: in a good way* about being on time right? So I freaked out, then... I got lost *yes yes I know, again* ended up asking for direction. I ran and... I met my Branch Manager, he said few things I nodded and I ran again! Gosh... I didn't salute him properly, oh well, screw him I then asked another person, past a tall building *I didnt know that THE building was the "it" building*, after a while decided to come back to the building, hesitantly went approaching a man wearing a doctor-like suits, and the first thing he said to me before I had a chance to open my mouth was this: "Medical check up? Please go inside, the room is in the basement." Eureka!! I found it! A huge grin on my face. But hmm.. this was written on the map: "Only 5 minutes walk from the Kokubunji station" and I was like, what, 20 minutes late?? Just great!

Travel Sketch ::Nikko::

::June 21, 2008::

::August 08, 2008::

Travel Sketch ::Enoshima::

Doesn't look like Enoshima tho... guess I still need practice *huge sigh*

Did the sketch in McD near Enoshima station while waiting for Rendy, Ria, Evan. Got to see cute jellyfish too.

Hong Kong oh Hong Kong

To tell you the truth, I'm so afraid of going on vacation to HK. Why?? Well... while it'd be nice having my friends with me traveling to other country, it's this hunch telling me that somewhat I'm not gonna get through the supposedly nice holiday in HK smoothly without getting reminded of what I couldn't get yet. And that only means one thing for me: Another cold, harsh poke in the wound.

I've been thinking about this since the idea of spending this year's Christmas in HK was first brought up. I'm thrilled yet scared, I couldn't wait, I really wanna go but at da same time hate every thought of days I'm gonna spend there. How is this possible?? Hmph I really miss the "senior high school me", the "college girl me". Uhhh how I swear to God, I wanna curse OUT LOUD!!! Which is sadly, something I cannot do ^o^v

Now tell me, if getting all sentimental *again!!* at Christmas - which is a time to celebrate, to be all happy and alive - is something you're looking for? No? Exactly. I'm doomed.

mighty to save

Love this song. On the night of the Passion World Tour, Louie Giglio told us a true story of a young girl whose life too screwed up she thought she had no place before God. But of course, nobody's forsaken by Him. She was saved. She walked with Jesus only for 3 months before she died. This song, Mighty to Save, is the first song she heard soon after she became a Christian. She went home and googled for the lyrics then wrote them in her diary.

Passion World Tour 2008 ::Tokyo::

Now, the second part of my weekend chronicle ^o^ On Sunday, Me, Evan and Belmond went to Shibuya, to the hall near Yoyogi Park. Passion World Tour 2008 was held there. Tokyo is their 15th stop. Here is the list of cities they visited: KYIV :: Stockholm :: Sao Paulo :: Kampala :: Paris :: London :: Manila :: Kuala Lumpur :: Jakarta :: Johannesburg :: Cape Town :: Mexico City :: Vancouver :: Seoul :: Tokyo. On October 16 they will rock Hong Kong and finally Sydney will end the tour.

I'm glad I came. So blessed. On top of that I'm so darn grateful I have a God whom I can call Father *sob sob*

Ow yesterday was my first time going to a concert. It was great. Will edit this post later and add some photos ^^

A retreat to Oarai

What a tiring long weekend! It began on Saturday when I joined a retreat to Oarai with my church community. I didn't sleep enough the night before and I had to be in Suidoubashi at 9 o'clock. So I literally had to drag myself out of bed at 7 o'clock to get ready. It takes 1 hour by train from Machida to Suidoubashi. Ohh how I longed to call my friends and tell them I wasn't going. I needed my sleep!!!! Well, somehow I made it on time. 9 o'clock sharp people!!! But guess what! I arrived there and only 20 people or so were there. 20 out of 60 people (more or less)!!! Where was everybody??? And the mystery was solved. My friend told me.

A friend:
>>"Didn't you know?"
Me:
>>"No, what?"
A friend:
>>"They told us to gather here at 9 o'clock so that everyone will be here at 10 o'clock, you know... given the Indonesian culture... rubber clock."
Me:
>>*speechless* "..... oh okay."
A friend:
>>"This way certainly it would stick to the schedule. The bus will be here at 10 o'clock and off we go to Oarai at exactly 11 o'clock"
Me:
>>"Well, I didn't know about that. It would be nice though to have a sleep for another hour."
A friend:
>>"Have you had your breakfast?"
Me:
>>*Show her a Choco Croissant bag* "I thought I wouldn't make it in time, so... no, I haven't had breakfast."

Oarai Station >> The diesel train

But the breathtaking view from the bus window along the way to Oarai made it up to my lack of sleep. It was stunningly beautiful. There were rice fields in every direction for as far as I could see which reminded me of Ubud a lot* Oh how I love Ubud T.T * Anyway, about the retreat, I had a few humiliating accidents *things happen ~grin~* but it was fun overall. I left earlier, on Sunday, coz we were planning the usual all-you-can-eat dinner for Edwin's birthday party.

::will be continued on the next post::

Made with love... part 2

Dunno what to write so I post the rest of my paintings.

October 2006
~ Oil on Canvas ~

I especially like the sky the most if it has a glint of yellow. I don't know... I just... love it.

~Oil on Canvas~

Mom's fave painting... * Gosh!! I forgot to sign it T.T *

Eat, Pray, Love

I've finished reading The Shack and I was running out of books! So I was roaming in kinokuniya shinjuku friday night, looking for new books and tadaa... Eat, Pray, Love!! When i read the review on the back, I caught a word "Bali", and that did it! I had to buy this book! *pardon this subjective, stupid thought ~grin~* That and the simple cover won me over.

While I admit I did buy this book solely bcoz the story took place in my beloved-beloved island, Bali, I must say this time I didn't regret buying a book based on compulsive act ^^ Ugh I still remember my past disappointment over one of Paulo Coelho's books.

Anyhow, I found the story to be familiar in its own way. I mean I believe you can relate yourself, friends, or someone you know more or less to the story, to the quest of finding the real joy. The book tells us about the author's seek of pleasure, God and the balance between the two after a harsh divorce. As you may well have guessed from the title, eat is about pleasure and she tried to find it in Italy eating lots of pastas, gelattos and pizza like a good Italian *comment: this is where i came to envy her!* The seek of God took place in India, in an ashram and... finally, she found balance between pleasure and God in ehm... behold... Bali.

The book itself is divided into 3 parts with each part tells a life she led in those 3 countries; Italy, India, and Indonesia. One more thing that I really like about this book is that Liz Gilbert wrote it with a lot of sense of humor. So while this is a book about a woman's pilgrimage, it's so much different than any other memoirs. I kinda expected to get a feeling similar to those when I read someone's "true story", but I didn't. I found myself laughing every now and then reading this book. It's entertaining and refreshing, though I started to get a little bored once I entered the India part, you know, with all the yoga talk. I'm not a Yogis and not interested to become one, so it pretty much explains why I can't really accept the philosophy (and the ritual... and the chanting... okay never mind). Overall, I LOVE this book.

Me the book addict

"Throwing a book in a trash is like throwing away a person"... Oprah

Well, I couldn't agree more with her. Think about how much effort author put into writing a book and it just feels so wrong to disrespect it.

Talking about books, Aren't you drooling over a wood-panelled library of your own? And I haven't even mentioned the cozy couch, maybe a fireplace and a good music... I could spend hours in there.


Aah maybe I will have my own painting studio too. The one that has a view to the garden and a huge french-style patio door huehehe *umm wait... it's a must!! my future house MUST HAVE those two rooms ^^ *

::photo courtesy of oprah.com::

Yokogawa farewell party

So yesterday was my last day working for Yokogawa. Me, Adachi-san, Hamada-san, Kikyouhara-san, and Manji-san had a ridiculously big portion of lunch in this lovely bricked-wall Italian restaurant. From Kikyouhara-san I learned that Endou-san, my branch manager, had said a few things about me. She overheard him saying that he was glad having me work with them. That was before I said I wanted to quit. Ugh... I didn't know then what to say. Of all people I worked with, he's the most unlikely person to say those things. And all of a sudden, I felt bad.

I guess we never know how human heart and feeling function, do we? I mean, there I was, completely eager to end the day and the next thing I felt was this I-wish-I-had-one-more-day-with-them kinda feeling. Geez! And the same thing happened today. Now that I've quit, instead of having a good mood I wake up and had this horrible.. horrible feeling. hhh I do wish I could go back home soon and start a new life somewhere hmm preferably australia ^^

Ow btw, I took picture with them after farewell party. It's only for 10 months thus, never been really good friends but somehow I miss them already. Wish you all a great success. You are my first colleagues... so you'd better be honoured with that very fact huahahaha

♪Let me introduce, Yokogawa Information System - YSL2 group! ♪

~Flower bouquet from my senpai~　　　
arigatou ne minna...

:: Getting cold here, the beginning of autumn. It's this season already... time goes by so fast indeed ::

Tuesdays with Morrie

A great book by Mitch Albom.

"What is it about silence that makes people uneasy?"... Morrie Schwartz