Messy Garden

VII

2026-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

the rain is falling
relentlessy all day long
heatwave to follow

CSS Background Patterns

2026-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

I generated the CSS code for the honeycomb pattern in the header using this tool. Really simple and easy!

VI

2026-08-21T00:00:00+00:00

lichen on tree trunks
at a Walmart parking lot:
how do you survive?

Scenes from a Golf Course

2026-08-07T00:00:00+00:00

Every year, husband's employer takes the employees and their significant others golfing. I couldn't care less about golf but I kind of enjoy driving the golf cart and taking photos of the surroundings while people are walking around, looking for the ball they just hit. These are some of the photos I took on this year's annual golfing thing. Can you tell that I was obsessed with one tree in particular?

</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div> </div>

The OG Messy Garden

2026-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

I'd like to show you a glimpse of the real-life Messy Garden, starting from its peak blooming season until the last flower. This photoset will continue to be updated as the season progresses.

</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div>
</a> </div> </div>

V

2026-08-03T00:00:00+00:00

a cool, breezy day
not a cloud in the blue skies:
where's the fun in that?

IV

2026-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

strong gusts tipped over
my potted tomato plants
for the umpteenth time

III

2026-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

little bug flying
under spotlight with the star:
you have been noticed

Email address obfuscation: What works in 2026?

2026-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

I love that there are so many ways to obfuscate your email address so spammers don't spam the crap out of it.
I hate that you have to put so much extra effort just to have a simple email address on your website so spammers don't spam the crap out of it.

II

2026-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

aloe says hello
then falls off its too small pot:
a repot request

I

2026-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

a bald eagle swoops
a small bird sees the danger:
a narrow escape

Slash Pages

2026-07-23T00:00:00+00:00

I was looking for ideas for things to add to Messy Garden when I came across this resource. Some of the pages listed I've never even thought of creating before. Colour me inspired. It might do the same to you.
Now which pages should I create. Hmmm. Decision, decision...

Zola

2026-07-23T00:00:00+00:00

I tried all sorts of static site generators,from the popular ones like Hugo, Astro, and 11ty to the obscure ones, but ultimately, as someone who knows nothing about back-end coding stuff, I went with the one whose error messages I could easily 1</a> decipher, and that's Zola.

Relatively speaking. ↩</a> </li> </ol> </section>

Friendship through blogging

2025-11-19T15:09:08+00:00

The thing about having a boring life is, you don't really have much to say about it. Every time someone asks me "what's new?" in real life, my answer is almost always "not much". I could tell them about the lovely things I thrifted recently, or the new houseplants I just bought, or the bread or cake or cookies I baked last Friday, or what an amazing country Iceland is and how it's been in my mind a lot lately, but the people that I know in real life (except for the husband, who is my biggest and only fan) wouldn't interested in any of those. Trust me, I tried telling them all those things. All I got in return was a blank stare.
I started thinking about all the responses I got on the Fediverse when I posted about this café with a quirky window in Iceland (I received photos people took from inside the café, which I didn't get to see), or the cinnamon rolls that I just baked that looked all wonky (some kind souls told me they still looked delicious). There are actually people out there who share the same interests as me. The tragedy is, I don't know any of those people in real life.
Have you ever met any of your blog readers in real life? Well, I happen to be married to one of mine. We used to live on the opposite side of the world. He started reading my blog about a year after I started blogging. We became online friends and we would chat on ICQ almost every night. We were online friends for 4 years before we finally met in real life and eventually fell in love. We got married exactly a year after the day we first met in person. We actually celebrated our 20th anniversary this year!
Other than the husband, I've had people in the wild (including a couple who lived in our old neighbourhood) come up to me to say hi because they recognised me from my blog and/or Flickr. It was both awkward and cool at the same time. I always didn't know why to say, but, luckily, the husband was always by my side to rescue me (as in doing most of the talking for me) when it happened. He's always had much better social skills than me.
I've also met with a few other Canadian bloggers in real life through the personal projects they had, one of which gave me the opportunity to show some of my photography works at gallery spaces in Toronto! Those were fun, but still a bit awkward.
What wasn't super awkward was meeting with my closest blog friends. I met with my Australian buddy R in Niagara Falls (common interest: blogging) and had a really great time that I wish would never end. Unfortunately, she was doing a US tour at the time and the Canadian side of Niagara Falls was just a quick detour. I still wish she was living nearby instead of on the other side of the world.
Then I had an impromptu meeting with N in Michigan (common interest: web design). We hadn't been in touch for a long while at the time but I found myself in his neck of woods when the husband had to attend a training there. I sent him an email, not knowing if he still lived in the area. He replied and he did still live in the area, so we met up for dinner to catch up.
The last blog friend meet-up I had was in Ottawa. W (common interest: being Southeast Asian?) came to Ottawa all the way from Singapore for a work thing. As luck wouid have it, we happened to be in Ottawa at the same time for the husband's work thing. We met up, gave him a quick tour of Ottawa, and then we had dinner together.
Will I ever meet with any kindred spirits in real life through this new blog? Only time will tell. I kind of doubt it, though. I find it harder to form meaningful friendships in today's Internet than in the Internet of over 20 years ago. But the husband has made a small legion of online friends through a Discord group in the last two or three years, some of whom we've met in real life, so I guess there's still some glimmer of hope for it to happen. (And no, I'm not on Discord as a personal choice.)
If any of you, gentle readers, are going to be in the Southwestern Ontario part of Canada and would like to meet up and be awkward together, give me a shout. The husband would have to do most of the talking as I'm super shy and socially inept, but I promise to try to make it fun for everyone involved, and bring you my favourite chocolate from a local chocolatier. :-)

Life happened

2025-11-15T12:06:44+00:00

</figure>
I'm really behind in my blogging this month. The thing is, when I'm anxious about something, I just don't feel like writing. I read that writing it down might help with reducing the anxiety. Unfortunately, my brain doesn't work that way. Writing takes too much of me in times of anxiety. Or anxiety takes too much of me that I don't have the energy to write. I think the latter is more likely.
Anyway, a lot happened since my last post. The husband went to Mexico with a handful of guys he's been friends with since childhood to celebrate their milestone birthday. While he was away, I received the old (13 years old!) Thinkpad laptop ordered a week prior from eBay, which kept me occupied. I uninstalled the Windows 11 Pro that came with it and installed Zorin OS</a> on it instead. I haven't looked back.
Days after the husband came back from Mexico, I had to go to a much dreaded doctor's appointment, which was the main source of my anxiety. Let's just say that it wasn't as bad as I'd expected, but it could've gone better. I'm going to have see the doctor again in the near future, so expect another period of high anxiety and no blogging.
On a happier note, we became mortgage-free yesterday! Woohoo! It took 17 years, but the house is finally ours! We were broke when we bought it and didn't even put in a down payment. It's not a fancy house in a fancy neighbourhood. Just a small, century house on the wrong side of the tracks, with a view of a grocery store. I think we're going to live here forever because, even though we could sell it for twice the price we bought it for, we wouldn't be able to afford to buy a bigger house if we wanted to stay in the same town. Real estate prices here are crazy high! Luckily we love our little house. We love that it's close to a grocery store and only a 1-minute commute from the husband's workplace.
The photo above is, sadly, not of our house. I wish it was. I would love to live in a turf-roofed house by a fjord in Iceland, my happy place. I picked that photo for the post because it's one of the few photos of the two of us. You can see me in the reflection on the window. You just have to squint a bit to see it. :-) I took it on our most recent visit to Iceland in May this year.
I've been trying to figure out where to go for our annual road trip next year but, holy cow, car rental fee is so expensive in all the countries I'm interested in visiting. I'm a thrifty traveller who likes to visit expensive countries. It's complicated. Might just have to stay within Canada and use our own car to travel East. I need to see the ocean!

Weird Web October, recapped

2025-11-01T21:25:03+00:00

This year's Weird Web October</a> came to an end yesterday. Part of me is relieved because trying to come up with something in the form of a website every day was kind of exhausting. Sometimes I couldn't come up with anything until near bedtime. Another part of me is kind of missing it already because I did enjoy the challenge of putting an idea into something people can see or read or interact with. It was fun. I would definitely do it again next year.
Of all the 31 silly web things I came up with last month, I could definitely pick a few favourites, but I could also point you to a bunch that are just plain lazy and/or derivative. But hey, I tried! Unfortunately, some days, the inspiration just wasn't there, or I simply didn't find the theme too inspiring. I'm no AI that could pull anything out of the wazoo. Anyway, these are the 10 creations that I'm the most proud of, for various reasons:

Filters</a>, where I apply CSS invert filter on some of the world's most famous paintings. Just because.</li>
Remix</a>, where I turn a beat maker into some kind of animal hell sound maker. I annoyed the crap out of the husband making this.</li>
Blink</a>, where I recreated a seizure-inducing Geocities GIF page, using GIFs from actual Geocities pages cached by the Wayback Machine.</li>
Warning</a>, where I turned a theme with a negative undertone into something heartwarming.</li>
Battle</a>, where I turned cute puffins with punny names into war machines.</li>
Doubles</a>, where I turned some photos I took over Thanksgiving weekend into double exposure photos with CSS.</li>
Transition</a>, where I wrote my first haiku in probably over a decade just the fill a negative space on the page.</li>
Memory</a>, where I put together some memories of living dangerously in Indonesia as a little kid.</li>
Surprise</a>, where I tried to crowdsource some surprising facts to fill the page, but not very successfully (submission is still open!).</li>
Spooky</a>, where I wrote down a couple of strange happenings in my life that others might consider spooky but which I just found kind of hard to write.</li> </ul>
If you don't have time to check out all 31 of them</a>, at least check out the ones I listed above. Some I'm proud of because of the coding, others because of the idea or the writing. I know I said I hated JavaScript and that I wouldn't use it if I could help it. Well, unfortunately, some things can only be done with JavaScript and I had to use it in a bunch of them. I did learn a little bit more about it and I guess it's not really that bad? I mean, I still hate it, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I had to. I also got to refresh my CSS and PHP knowledge, which was great.
All in all, I had fun. I learned a lot. Would do it again. A+++++. (Sorry, eBay joke.)

This is Halloween

2025-10-31T18:40:42+00:00

</figure>
It's Halloween, the last day of October. I feel like I should post something, just so that I could say I posted one entry more this month than I did last month. An improvement! I don't track my visitors/readers so I don't even know if anyone is reading this blog, but I'm documenting my boring life mostly for myself. So there.
We're not handing out candies this Halloween because the resident Halloween candy-giver is away. The Blue Jays vs Dodgers game is on tonight in Toronto. As a Canadian, I'm obliged to say that I hope the Blue Jays will win the game, but other than that, I really couldn't care less about sports in general. The Blue Jays mania is real, though. Everywhere I go, I'd hear someone talking about it. Even the grocery store across the street is all decked out with the Blue Jays logo. It is definitely A Big Deal™ around here. I love it for them. And by them I mean the people who actually care about the game and the Blue Jays.
Let's change the topic, shall we? Earlier this week, I got frustrated with not being able to install some scripts to my server from my Android tablet, even after installing a terminal app. I went to eBay to see if I could find a half decent, used laptop for cheap so I could do my thing. Found one that looked good in passing for, like, $100. Couldn't be bothered to look at it closely. Sent the link to the husband, hoping that he'd scrutinize the listing for me and tell me if it was a good buy. He didn't. He just bought it for me without giving the listing a closer look. Sigh. I had to do the scrutiny after he told me he bought it. Lucky for us, it didn't say anything was broken. Just that the battery life is not the greatest, which is to be expected from a 13 years old laptop. It's supposed to be delivered on Monday. I hope it's not a total garbage.
I'm pretty excited about the laptop—a ThinkPad—because I've never had a proper one before. I had a netbook a long time ago but I wouldn't call it a proper laptop. It was the slowest thing ever! The husband said it still works. Slow as a snail, but works.
Anyway, the old laptop I'm getting comes pre-installed with Windows 11. I don't even know how the seller managed to install it on such an old machine but somehow they did. I'm pretty sure it's going to be super slow. I'm planning on ditching Windows and installing Linux on it instead. We'll see how it goes. I've never installed or used Linux before, but there's a first time for everything. I'm looking forward to trying out the many, different Linux distros, and installing all the scripts! All of them scripts!!
Well, I feel like having a snack attack so that's all the boring news for today. Ta-ta for now, and Happy Halloween to those who celebrate!
(Photo of my cat-in-law Tigger by me, spookified by @eclectech</a> on Mastodon.)

I was a little one once

2025-10-22T21:55:22+00:00

I spent this morning digging out some of my earliest memories. It was for a feature I wanted to make for today's Weird Web October where the theme was "Memory". Might not sound too weird of a feature, but they're memories from the 70's, and they took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, where I was born. Things were... different back then, let's just put it that way.
The memories were surprisingly came back to me quite easily. I'm pretty sure that the memory from the day my Grandma died was my first memory. I was 3 years old. The rest happened before we moved to our final home in 1979, when I was 6 and a first-grader. I actually got all the memories—or rather, whatever I could remember from the period—put together by lunchtime.
I realize that the memories might not put my parents in good light, but keep in mind, I belong to the GenX: the generation famous for practically raising themselves. Both my parents had a full time job. They did the best they could with the cards they were dealt with. We had an aunt and uncle who were supposed to keep an eye on my brothers and I while our parents were at work, but they had their own lives. We did fine on our own. We took care of each other. We stayed out of trouble (most of the times). When we got into trouble, it was because we were kids, and kids are famously dumb.
I don't like talking about our final home because that's where things started to fall apart with my parents. I'd rather leave out memories from that part of my life and keep things happy, light, and just a little bit weird. So, without further ado, I present Somehow I Survived</a>, a collection of memories of living dangerously as a little one in the 70's, in Jakarta, Indonesia (I didn't move to Canada until I was in my early 30s). Enjoy!

The old Web: lost & found

2025-10-19T20:58:37+00:00

</figure>
I mentioned in my about page that I used to be a web designer. I have a degree in library science, but I was a web designer for longer than I was a librarian. Even when I was at my last library job. I was tasked with the maintenance of the office website, which I was more than happy to do. I just loved tinkering with CSS and HTML. But then, somehow, I lost interest in the webby stuff altogether (blogging included), partly because of my rising interest in photography—both analog and digital—and partly because I switched to WordPress.
WordPress themes were available so freely and abundantly, and it made me lazy. All I had to do was pick one of the gazillion pre-made themes, customized it a bit, and I got a presentable blog. I'd change the look of my blog almost as often as I change clothes. I'd be happy with it for a little while, but the design never actually felt like mine, and it was bugging me.
I tried to make my own theme from scratch so many times but never got around to finishing one. There were so many templates to create and customize. It was too overwhelming for me so I just quit. Don't even get me started on the newfangled block editor. Ugh. I hated it so much. I've always been a Notepad kind of web designer. The block editor simply went way over my head. Not to mention that it didn't work on my Android tablet, which is what I've been using to do stuff on the Web for the last 15 years or so.
Not having a blog that's sporting my own design, I just didn't feel like blogging anymore. Plus, all my blog friends from the early 2000's had all quit blogging (though I did get to meet a few of them in person, even the ones from Australia and Singapore). I spent a lot of time on Flickr, where I made a lot of connections, until Yahoo! bought it and it started to go downhill. Everyone I liked started to disappear from the site and eventually I did too. I also spent a bit of time on Twitter, but never really made any real connections there, and we all know what happened to Twitter.
Then I had a stint as a "plantstagrammer" on Instagram a couple of years before the pandemic hit. It was one of the most cringey times of my life, but it would be a remiss if I didn't mention that my plantstagram had almost reached 50k followers when Instagram algorithm screwed me over and my "engagement" plummeted drastically. I wasn't willing to change to please the algorithm gods (and evil Zuck), so I quit. I still love plants, though.
I'm so glad that I eventually found the Fediverse. It almost feels like the old Internet that I knew and loved, where people were mostly civilized, supportive, and kind. A couple of months ago, I started reading about the #IndieWeb on the Fediverse, which reignited my interest in blogging and web design. And then I read somewhere about Datenstrom Yellow</a>, which is the small, flat-file system that's currently powering this blog. I've registered three new domain names since, which I admit is a bit excessive. But when I got an idea for a website, I just can't help thinking about a domain name to go with it, and then I have to register it.
I figured myboringlife.online would be a great domain name for my new blog because it would release me from the pressure to be interesting/to write interesting posts. With a domain name like this, I could be my true, authentic, boring, old self and people wouldn't expect more. Might even make me want to blog more. Genius! Hopefully I won't get tired of it too soon. At the end of the day, I just wish my old blog friends would start blogging again. It would be so fun to start reading about each other's life again, but I understand that they probably have other, better, more important things to do than blogging.

Awake and nerding out

2025-10-16T03:11:56+00:00

I should've been sleeping, but instead, I did some site maintenance, mostly on the Open Graph meta tags. They came all messed up out of the box. Site name was where the title should be and vice versa, the title of the index page was just "Blog" which is super non-descriptive, default image was way too small. The list goes on. It took me a while to figure out how to change those, but once I did, I was on a roll!
I even made a custom favicon for the site using a pixelart that I drew myself. It's just a simple drawing of a spiral, which is a good representation of my life, if you ask me. But I drew it with my own hand and I'm rather proud of it, especially since I can't draw to save my life. I'm in awe of people who can actually draw.
Well, it's almost 3:30 in the morning. I really, really should go to sleep. Okay, I'm going to post this and go to sleep. Nighty night!

Blogging is hard

2025-10-15T19:40:21+00:00

</figure>
It's been two weeks since my last post but I've been creating a stupid web thing every day</a> this month for Weird Web October so there is some content being created. Just not here in this blog. I really need to find a writing prompt website. It might inspire me to blog more.
Another Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone. As usual, I spent it with the husband and his immediate family up at the cottage. Also, as usual, I got all peopled out after 24 hours. I'm an introvert who thrives on peace and quiet. There was no peace and quiet whatsoever at the cottage. I ate a lot, but it was mostly stress-eating!
I brought homemade desserts for the turkey dinner along with a container full of homemade cranberry and white chocolate cookies. The cookies were gone so quick that I suspect someone might have thrown them into the garbage for some unknown reason. I'm only 75% convinced that they all got eaten. I mean, it was a lot of cookies!
Aaanyway, I feel like redesigning this blog already. The current design is so generic and boring! Might be fun.

Weird Web October

2025-10-01T23:58:10+00:00

I came across a link to Weird Web October</a> today. I decided to participate in the challenge because I figured it would be a good way to refresh/renew my rusty CSS/HTML/PHP knowledge. (I was going to add JavaScript but nope. I won't ever use JavaScript if I can help it. I hate it so much.) Anyway, the theme for day 1 was "Transparency" and already I was this close to giving up because I couldn't come up with anything weird and transparent. My entry is definitely not weird enough but hopefully it's transparent enough. You can check out all my creations here</a> if you're interested.

Happy birthday, Mama!

2025-09-29T15:33:06+00:00

</figure>
It's my mom's birthday today. She would've been 82. She passed away 22 years ago, less than two months before her 60th birthday. I still celebrate her birthday every year. I even bought a cake today. That's the cake I bought in the photo. It's a Sticky Toffee Pudding cake. I love Sticky Toffee Pudding and I know she would've wanted me to get something that I liked. I wish I could share the cake with her. Scratch that. I wish I could share my life with her. But I'd be more than happy if I could for just share a cake with her once a year. I miss her so much. I miss her every single day.
I was cooking a traditional dish of Yogyakarta (the city my mom and I went for our last vacation together) for dinner. She'd spent some of her happiest years in that city. An old song from the 90's with the city as its title started playing in my head, and I started to bawl when it got to this part of the lyrics:

Walau kini kau telah tiada, tak kembali
(Even though you're now gone, never to come back)
Namun kotamu hadirkan senyummu, abadi
(But your city brings back your smile, eternally)
Izinkanlah aku untuk selalu pulang lagi
(Please allow me to always come back)
Bíla hati mulai sepi tanpa terobati
(Whenever my heart starts feeling uncurably lonely) </blockquote>
Yogyakarta is the only place in my home country that I'd love to go back to, but I know it wouldn't be the same without her. I'd probably end up crying throughout the visit. Doesn't sound like a fun vacation.
Yogyakarta by KLa Project (YouTube)</a>

Bring back the blogs

2025-09-29T11:23:04+00:00

I don't know what others think about this, but from my experience as an early 2000 blogger, personal blogs died because the search engine traffic died (thanks, Google algorithm) and most people didn't feel like screaming into the void. Finding audience on Twitter was so much easier. Writing short, mindless posts/microblogging was also so much easier than writing a proper blog post. Why bother with a blog?
However, Twitter as we knew it is a distant memory now and Bluesky is pretty much a loud, doomscrolling arena. With all the crazy things going on in this crazy world, I actually find screaming into the void cathartic . Hopefully I'm not the only one who feels that way and that it means the return of personal blogs. Fingers crossed? I'm really looking forward to reading about everyone's mundane, day-to-day routines again, and I'm not even being sarcastic.
Reading the news feed is so depressing these days. Reading personal blogs would be a form of escapism and would help keep our sanity intact. Please, pretty please, start blogging about your life again?

Not Nordic

2025-09-17T13:28:03+00:00

</figure>
I love this photo of the husband. He looks so serene. I took it in Iceland on our third Iceland trip back in 2017. When we're in Iceland, he keeps being mistaken for an Icelandic. The grocery story clerk would say something in Icelandic and he'd be like "Guh?" It's kind of funny. He also kept being mistaken for a Norwegian the one time we were in Norway for a road trip. It's the blond hair and blue eyes, I guess. I don't think he has any Nordic lineage, though.
I wanted to post this photo somewhere but I didn't know where since I'd stopped posting to Instagram and Facebook. But then I thought, hey, I do have a new blog! And that was the appropriately boring origin story of this blog post.
The end.

Energy vampire

2025-09-16T23:50:45+00:00

I had an encounter with an energy vampire today, but it wasn't a person. It was a place.
I needed to get some Asian grocery items for my plan to cook two weeks' worth of Indonesian food, so we went to the nearest Asian supermarket, which was in our old hometown, some 40 minute drive away from our current residence. It had been a while (as in years) since the last time I went to that supermarket. The place was smaller than I remembered it to be, and the way they organized the goods just didn't make sense.
You'd think that they'd put all the instant noodles in one aisle that's dedicated to instant noodles, but nope. There were at least three aisles with instant noodles mixed with other stuff. There were no signs indicating what could be found in each aisle. It was so confusing. It took forever just to find the spice section. The disorganization really drained my energy, more than the actual walking around trying to find the stuff I needed. It was like doing a treasure hunt, but without the fun part. I hated it so much. I left the place feeling so exhausted.
I really hope I wouldn't have the need to go back there again, like, ever. There are other Asian supermarkets that I'd rather go to, but, unfortunately, they're all quite a bit of a drive. Going to any of them on a week day evening just isn't going to happen. That's why we usually do our Asian grocery shopping on a weekend. Today was more of an emergency shopping.
You could call the Asian supermarket I went to today my Kryptonite. Or, better still, Colin Robinson. (If you know, you know.)

2024 was a good year

2025-09-13T16:23:43+00:00

</figure>
2024 was indeed a good year, at least for skygazing. It started with a total solar eclipse in April, followed by northern light sightings in May and October, and there was also a comet sighting in the mix. All could be seen a short drive away from home. Very convenient indeed.
This year has been really quiet in comparison. But then again, 2025 hasn't been a stellar year in general with all the crazy stupid things going on in the world. Any major celestial event would be very welcome at this point. Yes, that includes a large meteor hurling towards the Earth lol.
Seriously. If I could time travel, I wouldn't mind going back to 2024. It was a very eventful, memorable year. And mostly in a good way, except for the fact that whathisface was elected president again. That really put a damper to it, and to just about anything. That turd.

Like a River

2016-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I used to sing along to Alanis Morissette at the top of my lungs when I felt like screaming, and I felt like screaming a lot in my 20s. It was the unhappiest period of my life. I had my mom, but even she was depressive. I always felt helpless when I saw her cry because there was really nothing I could to make her feel better.
My mom was much happier before she had to retire (she was forced to; her post was abolished) but she always found things to keep herself busy after: she started and ran a tiny corner store out of our house (she loved selling candies to little kids), and taught English at a language school and privately at home. I often overheard her brag to her pupils about how good my English was, how good I was with computers, and how my good English and computer skills helped me get good jobs. She was such a mom. But then my dad had to retire too and things changed for the worse.
The only time my mom could be herself was when my dad went out of town. She would hum some oldies songs, make silly mom jokes, and just seem so relaxed and happy. I loved when my mom was happy. It made me happy. But my dad wasn’t away very often ever since he retired because, unlike my mom, he was fine with not doing much. I very rarely saw my mom happy since.
Alanis Morissette’s “Heart of the House”</a> describes the kind of relationship I had with my mom perfectly. It could’ve been our anthem. We were each other’s buddy and ally, and my mom was undoubtedly the heart of the house. After she died, our house no longer felt like home. It was just a house full of pain and sadness that I had to escape at all costs, dead or alive.
Carly Simon’s “Like A River”</a> helped me deal with losing my mom a little bit. It is comforting to think of her death as her being “already home, making it nice for when I come, like the way I find my bed turned down coming in from a late night out” because she used to do exactly that.
I sure do find comfort in the most obscure songs.

Winging It

2016-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Sometimes I forget that we’re all just winging it. We’re all just doing the best we can to survive. Things work out better for some people than others, easier for some than others due to certain factors that mostly come down to luck. Birth lottery. Genetic lottery. Things beyond our control. Then we try to make the best of what we’ve got. But we’re really just winging it.
My parents did everything they thought was best for us. Things didn’t always work out but they must’ve done certain things right: we turned out okay. Sadly they didn’t win the marriage lottery. My parents belonged to the group of parents who stay together for the kids (even though they hated each other’s guts.) They thought they were doing us a favour. It might work for my brothers because they didn’t live with them all the time like I did, but it didn’t work for me. It messed me up without them ever realizing it. But I forgive them. I have to. I realize they were just winging it.
I really don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. I certainly didn’t know what I was doing back in my old country. I seemed to have done everything wrong. I didn’t walk right, wasn’t religious enough, was too much of a leftist, was ugly, was too fat, didn’t socialize enough, was too much of a tomboy, was too clumsy to be sporty, and the list went on and on. My only grace was that I was book smart. "Book smart, street stupid," to quote Sarah Slean. I was always good enough for my mom but such a disappointment to my dad because I was different: I was nothing like any of his friends’ daughters and he couldn’t accept it.
I was just doing what I thought was best for myself when I moved halfway around the world to be as far away as I could from my dad after my mom passed away. Had I stayed, I would’ve ended up killing myself. I was doing him a favour, too: he had never had to bury a child. I hope that before he passed away, that point of view ever crossed his mind, and that at least for one small moment, he realized that just like him, who married another woman only months after my mom’s passing, I wanted to be happy. That just like him, I was just winging it through this life.

The Losses

2016-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
My first memory is of my maternal grandmother’s death (I never knew my paternal grandparents). I was 3. I heard a commotion early in the morning. Grandma had fallen in the bathroom. The next thing I remember was seeing her lifeless body in the living room, all wrapped up except for her face, ready for the funeral; my mom and aunts sobbing by her sides.
I was there by my mom’s side when she breathed her last breath in a hospital room shared with three other patients. Before she passed, she said she didn’t care anymore if she died, and that her parents had come to pick her up. A nurse was there, checking all the apparatus attached to my mom when her heart stopped beating. She didn’t know what to do. She ran out for help. Help came about 15 minutes later, which felt like forever. They unnecessarily intubated her. There was no way they could’ve brought her back. After all that, the doctor came to me and said, “You knew it was coming, right?” That was all she said to me before she left.
I learned about my father’s accident and of his death last week from Facebook posts I was tagged on. There was never any personal messages to me from my family. I’ll just leave it at that.

The Playlist

2016-09-09T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I’ve started creating a playlist for our upcoming road trip. It’s one of my favourite parts of trip preparation. I’d add songs that I like the sound of after listening to it for only half a minute at most. It makes listening to the playlist for the first time all that more exciting. Of course there will be surprises. Some pleasant, in that a song turns out to be even better than I thought it would be; some others, the complete opposite. Either way, it’s fun.
We picked up a 16GB 2nd generation iPod Touch from Kijiji before our trip to Iceland three years ago. It was $50 and in great condition. I think it was one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. I had a lot of fun jailbreaking it. I could tweet from it if I wanted to. Anyway, one day my husband used it to listen to music while mowing the lawn and somehow the screen cracked. That was before we even left for Iceland. Luckily it still worked. More than three years, it still does. And we’ve used it a lot!
I was scouring Bandcamp to find some new-to-me artists and songs to add to my playlist and fell in love with the music of Ayla Nereo</a> and Jenny Sturgeon</a>. I can’t wait to listen to their songs during our drive around Scotland next month! I still haven’t got around to making a day-to-day itinerary for the trip but eh, I never said I was good at prioritizing.

The Self

2016-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Recently I read something about how when you lost someone, you’ll never really get over the loss. You just learned to live without them. It’s because every single person is unique and irreplaceable. So am I. So are you.
I always have a hard time believing that on my bad days, I’m not myself. I’ve always been myself and being myself includes having bad days and not being happy all the time. Though I do suspect “I’m not myself” is just a figure of speech.
I didn’t have a very good sleep the two nights I spent in a hotel somewhere in the Ottawa Valley. Partly because the bed was so firm it hurt my body and partly because of something I should care about, and I do care about, but just don’t react the way I should, and it bothers me and makes me feel like a horrible person. How’s that for vague?
Anyway, I should go to bed now. Maybe I’ll feel better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep. I’m actually pretty excited about sleeping in my own bed tonight. It’s so nice and soft. Yes, I should definitely go to bed now.

To the Sea

2016-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Many of my fondest childhood memories involve the sea, or being near it.
I remember going to the fish market by the sea with my parents as a kid, seeing sea creatures bigger than myself being laid out for sale by the fishermen, being fascinated by it. Going on family outings to Bidadari Island in the Gulf of Jakarta, playing around the ruins of a Dutch fortress on the island, pretending to be a pirate. Taking the ferry ride across the Sunda Strait and feeling excited to see the mighty Krakatoa sticking out of the sea. Building a sand castle on a beach by the South Java Sea and having a horde of Japanese tourists take a picture of me, the scrawny little brown girl in a red swimsuit.
By the time I hit teenagehood, I barely saw the sea anymore.
I can’t say I missed the sea then. But then again, I had many other things occupy my mind. Only after we came back from our honeymoon in the Canadian Maritimes did I realize how much happier I am when I’m by the sea. Unfortunately, we live in a landlocked area, 2 days drive away from the seafront. Sure we live between two Great Lakes but it’s not the same. While I love the Great Lakes (I’d made it a goal to visit all five of them, and I did), I’m head-over-heel in love with the sea.
Many of my fondest memories with my husband involve the sea, or being near it.
I remember driving the Cabot Trail on our honeymoon and being awestruck by the sea views. Seeing the humpback whales on a zodiac off the coast of Tofino. Getting sea-sprayed on the boat that took us to see the icebergs off the coast of northern Newfoundland. The bumpy but exciting ferry ride to the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland. Seeing a puffin for the first time on a piece of rock by the Norwegian Sea. Letting the gale force wind beat the crap out of us on the ferry to Iles-de-la-Madeleine in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Seeing foxes roam freely at sunset near the red cliffs of Cavendish in Prince Edward Island. Watching the Northern Gannets dive into the sea in Percé, Quebec. Hiking to North America’s largest colony of them on the top of a cliff in Ile Bonaventure. Seeing a large pod of beluga whales in the St. Lawrence estuary.
I’m sure there are still many more my tired brain couldn’t recall.
I can’t wait to be by the sea again with my husband. I heard Scotland has stunning coasts and sea views.

At Sunset

2016-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Took someone we met through my blog many years ago, who’s visiting from Singapore, on a quick tour of downtown Ottawa at sunset today. My husband kept missing the lookout points so we didn’t stop anywhere and I got no chance to take any pictures. We’re not very good tour guides, obviously. Downtown Ottawa is currently so full of construction projects it’s not even funny.
Other than my Canadian husband, I’ve now met three people I came to know through my blog, from three different countries (Australia, USA, Singapore) and they were all lovely folks. I’m a lucky duck.
Anyway, we’ve been on the road since 9:30 in the morning. It’s now 10:45 at night and I’m too tired to write anything substantial. This will have to suffice for today. More tomorrow, I promise!
PS. The golf course next to the hotel we’re staying is so full of gigantic groundhogs. They’re quite adorbs! I kind of wish they’d invade the hotel.

The Unwritten

2016-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
In middle school, I found out that I really enjoyed writing. My Indonesian grammar teacher thought I was good at it (he enjoyed reading my stuff in writing/composition class). My mom, of course, did too. So I thought, that’s it. I’ve got it figured out. When I grow up, I’m going to be a writer! A writer of fiction! I’m going to be a bestselling author of bestselling books! Or so I thought.
I spent my whole teenage years trying to come up with one single short story that I thought would be good enough to get published in some teen magazine. I never really did come up with one. I was too embarrassed to have my mom read anything I came up with, let alone a teacher, because it was really just typical teenager crap. I only had myself to rely on for feedback, and I’ve always been my worst critic. Since it was all up to me, everything ended up in the garbage can. I eventually gave up and just let the dream die.
In university, some mates were given the responsibility to come up with content for the bulletin board in our building. It was basically like a sad version of trashy magazine with the kind of articles you’d see in Cosmopolitan. Nobody really cared about the bulletin board but one of the mates really wanted to make something out of it and wanted us to contribute. I thought, what the hell, I’d contribute a short story. No one’s really going to read it anyway so who cares if it’s bad.
So I wrote and contributed a fictional story about an uneventful bus ride to the university. If you knew how bad the public transportation is in Jakarta, you would know there is no such thing as an uneventful bus ride. That issue of the bulletin, including my stupid story, stayed tacked to the board for far longer than I’d anticipated. No one wanted to take over after that because, really, nobody cared. I did get one comment about my story from my English professor. She said she loved it. She thought it was hilarious. She made my day.
I still daydream about becoming a bestselling author of bestselling books every now and then, but I know it’ll remain just a dream. I still do enjoy writing, but I’m doing it mostly as a therapy these days. Writing tires my brain out, and when my brain is tired, it can’t afford to come up with the worst case scenario for everything. Hence this blog you’re reading.
(Thanks for reading, by the way. It’s always good to know somebody’s reading.)

The View

2016-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
When we just moved to the house where I grew up, the area was still in development. We had an open view of a paddy field to the west and, on clear days, a volcano, Mount Salak, to the north. Unlike regular rice fields, paddy fields are partially flooded. We used to like to take a walk on the walking paths among the paddies and watch the little critters in the water. Mostly frogs and tadpoles, and the odd freshwater fish. It was one of the best memories from my childhood.
My first view of the Canadian Rockies was of Mount Robson in British Columbia. It was the big, towering, snow-capped mountain I’d always imagined any mountains in the Alps to be like, except I was in North America. I was so taken by the view I had tears in my eyes. I have seen more of the Rockies since, but Mount Robson will always have a special place in my heart as my first Rocky Mountain love. (Geographically-speaking, it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.)
When I was at my aunt’s in Wimbledon the year after my mom died, I stayed in the same bedroom my mom had stayed several years prior. When I looked out the window, I saw roofs and chimneys, and when I looked down, the high street. I thought about how my mom would’ve had the same view when she was there. We used to daydream about going to London together. It never happened and never will, but it was comforting to know that at least we had shared the same view of Wimbledon through that window, though at different times.
Where are Doctor Who and his TARDIS when you need them?

Home, Sweet Home

2016-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
The first house I’ve ever lived in was located down a narrow alley. It had a water well in the backyard that we shared with our next door neighbours. To get water, you use a pulley to lower a bucket into the well and then pull it back up with water in the bucket. There was no electric pump or anything. Just that bucket-and-pulley thing and a manual water pump. We also had a big hole in the backyard where we threw our garbage in and burned it when the hole got too full. I burnt my wrist playing in that hole once. I still have the scar to remember it by. The house was believed to be haunted. I lived there until I was 5.
The second house I’ve ever lived in had no electricity. We used big, battery-powered flashlights at night to light up the house. Our tiny, black-and-white TV was powered by a car-battery that we had to take to a shop to have recharged every now and then. I just assumed that everyone had no electricity so I didn’t find the way we lived strange at all. We had a jasmine bush growing along the driveway. It bloomed all year long. Even now, the sweet smell of jasmine is still my most favourite scent. It reminds me of my mom. She used to pick some jasmine flowers in the morning before she left for work and scatter them on top of her bed. This house was also said to be haunted. We only lasted less than 2 years there.
The third house I’ve ever lived in was a two-storey house in a corner lot with barely a yard, but somehow we still managed to squeeze in two small fish ponds. We shared a wall with the next door neighbours. Before we had a phone, whenever we wanted to hang out with the girls next door, we’d knock on the shared wall and hope that one of the girls would hear it. If they did, they’d knock back and we’d all go outside and play. I lived most of my life there. Things were okay when I was a kid but it only went downhill from there. It hit rock bottom when my mom died. I had to move as far away as I could from that house to feel better. To the other side of the world. To Canada.
The fourth house I’ve ever lived in is our current residence. Eight years ago, we decided we’d had enough of living in an apartment with a bunch of inconsiderate people as neighbours, so we started househunting and found this place. It was old enough for my liking (built in 1919), the price was right, and it was move-in ready. It was destined to be ours, sold to us on its first day in the market. It’s an old, red brick, detached house that’s neither big nor fancy. It creaks, but surprisingly, has no creepy vibes. Some say it’s on the wrong side of the tracks, but I feel safe here. Everywhere I look, I see something that makes me smile, and I get to live in it with my favourite person, who makes me laugh on a daily basis. It’s a great place to be. Everything I love and need is here. It’s home. My home, sweet home.

Happy Thoughts

2016-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I’m looking forward to seeing the ocean again, the castle ruins and the heeland coos, the munros and the glens, to hearing people speak in charming accents, to driving up and down the mountain roads and along the coasts, to getting myself familiar with new music I’d have loaded into my trusty old iPod with the cracked screen, and to seeing the northern lights more vividly than ever.
I’m looking forward to experiencing autumn in other parts of the world, to driving through the mists on the right side of the road, to watch the stormy seas safely from the shore, to letting the lighthouse shine its light on me in the dark of night, to eating haggis, nips and tatties, skyr, kleinur, and kjötsúpa, and to a cup of hot chocolate from a chocolatier in the middle of nowhere.
I’m looking forward to walking up and and down the hills and to complaining about it (as I always do), to reading words written in languages I don’t understand and to trying to figure out how to pronounce those words, to window-shopping and to eating unfamiliar food in unfamiliar places, to the walks on the beach, and to seeing something beautiful and not taking a picture of it because I know any picture I took wouldn’t do it justice.
I’m looking forward to spending two whole weeks with my love, to hopefully meeting up with old friends, to getting lost and stumbling upon interesting places, to seeing some wildlife, to finding interesting rocks to take home as souvenirs, to visiting national parks, to trying out new snacks, and to smelling the mouth-watering aroma of the noodle soup on “our street” again.
I’m looking forward to getting weary of travelling and to longing to be home, to the drive home from the airport, to getting home and to greeting the house like it was an old friend, to being happy to be sleeping on my own bed again, and to having a renewed appreciation of all the little things that make this old house a home.

At the Cemetery

2016-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I went to the funeral of a relative today and her grave happened to be located right next to the grave of a friend’s sister whose funeral I attended 6 years ago. Both died fairly young and unexpectedly. Both survived by their parents.
The cemetery in the picture above is located on the ground of a church in Hvalfjörđur (Whale Fjord), West Iceland. In the Netflix show, Sense8, this is the location of the grave of Riley Blue’s newborn baby. Excellent location scouting. Beautiful view all around from this spot.
My mother was buried in the same grave as her mother. It had been her wish. The cemetery where she was buried is one of the least peaceful spots I could think of, but it was the only place she wanted as her final resting place. She lost her mother when she was 33. I lost mine, her, when I was 30.
After the interment today, while we were having lunch in the basement of the church, I kept having the chorus part of Hayden’s “My Parents House” play in my head, and then I realized just how fitting this part of the song is for a funeral.

And I can’t recreate those times we used to have
Without you they’ll be bad. </blockquote>
The rest of the song is completely inappropriate.
It’s strange how my brain works.

Seeing Red

2016-08-31T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
One of my favourite non-technical photography tips I’ve picked up is shoot anything red because it’ll make any picture pop. It helps that red happens to be one of my favourite colours. It used to be my most favourite colour but I’ve learned that even my most favourite colour has a tendency to change.
To see what my current favourite colour is, all you have to do is have a peek into my wardrobe and see the dominant colour. I used to wear a lot of earthy colours because I figured since I was brown, anything brownish would be a safe colour for me. But then I saw some pictures of me in a lot of brown and thought, my goodness, somebody needs some colours in her life!
And then I decided to start wearing more red because I thought I looked good in red. It’s bright and bold and the colour of Canada! But some days I just feel like red is too in-your-face, especially when I don’t feel like getting noticed, which is most of the time to be honest.
In the middle of this colour crisis, I read about how Scandinavian ladies wear a lot of grey and I thought they looked really good in it. Maybe I would too. So I started picking up and wearing a lot of grey, and I liked it. I still do. It’s simple, chic, can be dressed up and down easily, and always goes well with a colourful scarf. Grey is a good colour.
I don’t know how it happened but somehow this year I started wearing a lot of blue. I like blue but it’s never been a favourite colour of mine. But I do like blue. It’s the colour of my husband’s kind eyes, and the sky, and the ocean, and I love them all. Blue is a good colour.

Mean Swans

2016-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Did you know that a swan could break your arms with its wings? At least once a year there’s news about such incident in the local paper. They may look all docile and graceful, but they can be mean jerks. I always try to stay a good distance away from them because I just don’t trust them.
Case in point: a couple of years back, we were taking a leisurely stroll along the river when we witnessed a swan harrassing a girl on a kayak. She was just minding her own business when a swan started gliding from the other side of the river towards her and just went all batshit crazy on her, flapping its wings around, making loud noises and freaking the crap out of her. The girl started crying and screaming, trying to make an escape but the swan wouldn’t budge. So my husband started throwing some rocks into the water near the swan to distract it just so that the girl could paddle away from it, which she did while crying. It was nuts. If I were her, I’d be traumatized for life!
Moral of the story: never ever trust a swan! I’ve kind of boycotted the swans by not taking any pictures of them since the incident, but the light at dusk yesterday looked so beautiful on them I couldn’t resist. At least they can’t harm anyone in a picture.

Bacon & Eggs

2016-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

My lovely husband doesn’t cook very often but when he does, it’s a treat! He cooked me bacon and eggs yesterday for lunch. It was pretty good, though the bacon was a bit too salty. The eggs were perfect, however. It takes a lot to ruin fried eggs.
I like to stay out of the kitchen when my husband is cooking. He makes me nervous because he always drops stuff by accident. Not just in the kitchen, mind you. It’s just more nerve-wracking in the kitchen, what with all the breakables and pointy stuff and all.
I also prefer to be left alone in the kitchen because I’m a big control freak when I’m cooking. I want everything to be done my way or I’ll get unreasonably upset. I know that carrots would taste the same whichever way you cut it but, you know, my brain is wired funny.

My First Panic Attack (Maybe)

2015-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I know I’ve been living with anxiety for as long as I can remember, but I just had a flashback to the time I almost drowned in a swimming pool, and the cause might have been my very first panic attack.
I was a good swimmer. Probably not the fastest, but I had good stamina. I’m talking about me at age—I don’t know—maybe 9 to 14? Anyway, we used to have a free pass to a swimming pool in one of the largest hotels in Jakarta at the time where I had a swimming instructor who taught me how to swim.
Once I became a confident swimmer, I enjoyed swimming laps at the deep end of the pool (as in swimming the width of the pool back and forth) because it was always less crowded. It was an Olympic size pool with lines on the tiles to indicate lanes but no physical lane dividers.
I was in the middle of doing a lap when, all of a sudden, I thought about how deep the pool was (it was in fact 3 meters deep) and how I could die if I drowned. That did me in. Dread overtook me and suddenly I just couldn’t breathe and I forgot how to swim. I tried to stay afloat but that didn’t work very well in my panic. Luckily, the lifeguard wasn’t slacking in his job. He saved me and brought me to dry, solid ground, to the arms of my loving mother.
I lost a chunk of confidence in my swimming that day. It took me a while before I was swimming the deep end of the pool again, and even then, I had to make sure that my mother was nearby.
I’m not a confident swimmer at all now. I’m too afraid to swim in open water or to swim the deep end of the pool (when I do have access to a proper swimming pool, usually when we’re travelling) is something I’d rather not do because I really can’t control my anxiety, and I generally just don’t want to drown.

Why I Chose Photography

2015-03-14T00:00:00+00:00

Photography is my visual art expression of choice because I cannot draw to save my life.
This morning I woke up too early, as usual, and while browsing the Internet, came across a tutorial on how to draw a puffin. I’ve been drawing puffins on my tablet obsessively since. Even picked up a stylus just for this purpose.
These are my first three puffins. They are not the greatest. The one on the right is my favourite.

I’ll keep trying. Who knows. I might come up with a masterpiece! (Not likely but it doesn’t cost anything to dream.)

Happy By The Sea

2014-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I'm an island girl. I was born and raised on an island. I like to think that is the reason why I'm the happiest when I'm by the sea but that wouldn't be true. Back when I was living on the island of Java in Indonesia, I'd be lucky if I got to be at the seaside once a year. At least in my adult life. And I wasn't happy. Maybe I just didn't see the sea enough.
My parents did take us to the beach and the seaside open-air fish market fairly often when we were kids. Man, that fish market was stinky! But we got to see a lot of interesting sea creatures albeit in a less than alive state. You know, creatures like big tuna. Big tuna does look pretty impressive for little kids (parents, take notes!). Maybe it has something to do with the good memories I have from such outings? I don't know. There is something about the sea that makes me feel so free and happy.… 

Basia Bulat, I Love You, But...

2014-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
We went to our first music show of the year on Saturday night with my brother- and sister-in-law at the Casbah in Hamilton, Ontario. My brother-in-law invited us to come with them to see Basia Bulat</a> last month. My husband said yes to him and then he told me he said yes for us and then I googled the venue and found out it was a standing-room only venue. I just knew I wouldn't be having the greatest time of my life that night.
After having Lebanese food for dinner at the restaurant next door to the venue, we joined the line-up and stood in line for about half an hour. It was a little chilly and I left my hat and gloves in the car which was parked several blocks away. It wasn't the proudest moment of my life, but I survived. I am Canadian after all.
Once we got in, we noticed that the few seats at the back of the room were all taken already, so we just stood by the wall, thinking that at least if we got tired, we could always lean against the wall. I learned later that leaning against the wall didn't really help to alleviate sore feet caused by standing too long.
About an hour later, once all 200 people with tickets were in (it was a sold-out show), the first opening act finally started playing. It was a folk-ish pop duo called Ash & Bloom</a>. They were okay. My feet had already started to get sore by then but I was still able to enjoy the music a little bit. I could hardly see what was going on on the stage because (1) I'm short and (2) the tallest people in the room seemed to be all gathered right in front of the stage blocking the view for every one. Jerks.
Then it was back to standing around waiting for the next opening act to play (not that there was any other choice). It was probably only half an hour or so of waiting but it felt more like an hour to me. My feet had started throbbing by then. I leaned my back against the wall and rested one foot against the wall alternately, but it didn't really help because as soon as I got it back on the floor, it started throbbing again. I closed my eyes and tried to go to my happy place. No workie.
The second opening act was the Weather Station</a>. They played some really mellow songs. I still couldn't see what was going on on the stage so I decided to just do some people-watching. It was kind of interesting. There was this one guy who was probably the biggest fan of the Weather Station. At some point, he shushed the whole room and people actually went quiet! Craziness! He was also the person who clapped the loudest after every song. Such dedication. As for my feet, they were hurting so much by then it just couldn't get any worse.
The wait between the Weather Station and Basia Bulat was the longest wait ever! I was really wishing Basia would start playing right away, but no such luck. She was on the stage for the longest time getting things ready before her performance but then she left the stage and didn't come back until about half an hour later. I gave her a death stare when she walked past me on her way back to the stage. How dare she made me wait this long on my sore, sore feet! Fortunately for her, she didn't notice or she would've freaked out. I give the best death stares. :-)
The first several songs she played were from her new album. I didn't know any of them. I only knew the stuff from her first two albums, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I don't know what to think about her newer songs. They sound a bit too much like Feist's. When she played her older songs that night, they were played in a dancey kind of way, which I didn't really care for. We didn't bother to wait until the end of her show. We left during the first encore. Our feet were just too sore.

Dear Basia Bulat,
I love you, but my love for you was at all time low that night. I love you a lot more when you're playing an acoustic solo show in a small venue with seating (emphasis on seating). I know it's hardly an unconditional love, but that's all I can afford to give you. And that's the secret I would've told you when you asked for it that night 1</a>, if I had been one of those people who would tell secrets to a room full of strangers.
Love,
Firda xo </blockquote>

She did ask the audience to tell her a secret, but no takers. ↩</a> </li> </ol> </section>

Hey, It's My Name! In a Magazine!

2014-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

I spent all morning processing photos to go with a post about Iceland's famous Golden Circle route, but then I got lazy and decided to go with this lazy post instead. The Golden Circle post will have to wait until next week.
So I got quoted in an issue of the North American edition of the National Geographic Traveler magazine (I always feel dirty typing traveller with only one "l" because my mum raised me to use British English). I posted a comment on an article about how Canadians loved their Nanaimo bar</a> in the online version of the magazine a while ago (and was later informed that it might appear in a future print issue). I have never met anyone in Canada who is passionate about Nanaimo bar. Not a single one. But everyone I know seems to love butter tarts. Hence my comment.
I have even found what I think to be the best butter tarts ever. You'll have to go to Culbert's Bakery in Goderich, Ontario to get your grubby hands on them but they are totally worth the trip. They sell two kinds of butter tarts: the cheap kind with store-bought crust, and the rather pricey one with homemade crust. Don't be cheap. Always go with the ones with homemade crust. Trust me, you won't regret it. The crust is just the right consistency (not hard but not too crumbly either) and the filling has crunchy, caramelised top a la crème brûlée. Drools! I'm so looking forward to getting my fix this spring!
While we're talking about food, I've been using our slow cooker a lot lately. Partly because our oven is broken and partly because it's so easy and convenient. So far I've made pot roasts, lasagnas, chicken wings, and bread with various results. They weren't bad but not the greatest either. I think the word I'm looking for is mediocre. Right now a whole chicken is cooking in the slow cooker. Hopefully it will taste good. If not, at least I got it for cheap because it was on sale.
Do you have any slow cooking recipes which you swear by? Feel free to share!

The Obligatory 14th Blogiversary Post

2014-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Weblog Wannabe turned 14 years old today! Happy birthday, dear old blog! My god you're old!
There have been times when I felt like pulling the plug on the blog but I just couldn't do it. This is where I met my husband! I know this is only a virtual place and nobody cares about this blog other than me and perhaps my husband, but it's staying for the time being, albeit in a somewhat comatose state. I did post seventeen updates to the blog last year, mostly before our trip to Iceland. My goal this year is to post more, even if it's only one more update than I did last year. I think it's doable. :-)
If you're reading this post on a feed reader, you might have missed the blog's new look. I picked this theme because I felt it would be more accommodating to other types of updates because sometimes I only feel like posting a video or an audio or a picture I took while on the road without a long-winded text to accompany it. In other words, this theme would help me keep a blog while being lazy. :-) But seriously, you want me to be able to post short updates from the road because I might have some interesting road trips to share with you this year!
The big travel plan for the year is to fly to Calgary, Alberta and then drive our way east to Saskatchewan and then back to Alberta. This will take place in the springtime. We've got the tickets to Calgary and back but I'm still working on the road trip itinerary. We're planning on seeing a lot of the Canadian Badlands and the Prairies and less of the rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, and scorpions (yikes!). We're going to be on the road for 10 days. Hopefully Alberta and Saskatchewan will be flood-free this year. They had a big flood last year, especially in Southern Alberta, where we will be. Fingers crossed!
I might also post something about the planning of our next trip to Europe as well, which should take place some time next year if we're not too broke. Troy would like to visit his fatherland Belgium. Probably swing by Germany to visit friends in Berlin. If it was up to me, I'd rather go back to Iceland and explore the Westfjords, but this next trip will be to celebrate Troy's big four oh so I really have no say on the main destinations but at least I'll still get to have fun planning the itinerary! If there is one thing I'm good at, it's finding interesting places to visit that not too many people have ever heard of. I always have a tonne of fun doing it.
And of course there will be the random posts about my craft projects. I still enjoy crochet after all.
So there's a sneak peek of what you can expect from the blog this year. Same old, same old, but that's Weblog Wannabe to you! To all my old, faithful readers, if you're still reading this, thank you for sticking around!

To Be Unholy

2009-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

My dad is selling our house, the house in which I grew up in Indonesia. The house of pain as I like to think of it. I swear if you were there, you'd be able to feel unhappiness emanating from every corner. I haven't been in that house in over 5 years and yet I don't miss it. It isn't home anymore. Not since my mother passed away anyway. And I've never been a big fan of the nosy, meddling neighbours.
I was just thinking about the neighbours we had growing up. The couple living next door were devout Muslims. Once they complained to my mother about me playing Silent Night—a Christmas song—on the piano which they thought was inappropriate and un-Islamic coming from a Muslim household. I guess they picked the wrong parental unit to file such a ridiculous complaint. My mother told me about it and we had a giggle. It was our little secret. She never told me to stop playing the song. Whatever I liked to play on the piano was fine by her. Since then, whenever I felt like playing the piano and I knew the neighbours were home, I'd play Silent Night just to be annoying. If I felt generous, I'd play the only other Christmas song I knew how to play, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, which I doubt the neighbours knew was a Christmas song.
Had it been my dad they had complained to, it would've been another story. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear would've been the only Christmas song I'd be able to play at home, because to him, the neighbours were always right.
I miss my piano. I hate that the last memory I had of it is of the smell of the cigarette the man who bought it smoked inside our house when he came to pick it up. No one had ever smoked inside our house when my mother was alive.

For Goodness' Sake

2009-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

I have issues with religion. I really do. It's never been my thing, mostly because I hate being told what to do and I like to think for myself. I know religion works for some people and all I can say is more power to them. But I'm not going to go feinto the heavy stuff with this entry. I just need to rant about a few things that have been bugging me for awhile.
Since I was raised in a family of Muslims, let's start with Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Adha is a holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. To make long story short, God -- who apparently has strange sense of humour -- replaced his son with a sheep. And so began the tradition of sacrificing livestock to feed the poor on Eid al-Adha. It's all good, except they do the slaughtering in public, and parents actually take their little kids to witness the bloody murder! So wrong! Don't they know what a traumatizing experience it could be?
And then there are people who disagree with the whole slaughtering animal thing. They ask, why don't they replace the animals with fruits and vegetables? Well, it's because meat is relatively expensive and therefore less affordable to the poor than fruits and vegetables. The animal slaughter is for a good cause. I'm okay with that, but I'm not really okay with the evergreen tree slaughter happening around Christmas time because it's solely for decorative purpose. Nothing higher than that. And yet, people who complain about the animal slaughter on Eid al-Adha have no issues with the chopping of the trees. What's up with that? Is it because trees don't make noises, nor do they look at you with mournful eyes?
Last but not least is my Santa Claus rant. What's with all the lying to the little kids about presents coming from Santa Claus? Would it be wrong just to tell them instead that the presents come from their parents because their parents love them very much? Don't you think that maybe it would make kids respect their parents more? I also find the whole sitting-on-Santa's-lap thing kind of creepy. Creepier still is when it's grown-up women who do the sitting. How could you be sure that underneath his big, red pants Santa isn't having an erection while you're doing that, because it is Fake Santa after all, i.e., not really a saint?
Okay, I'm feeling better now that I've got it all off my chest. Move along!

Sure Sign of Twitter Overdose

2009-11-25T00:00:00+00:00

The thing about online presence and social networking is this: sometimes you get to read too much about someone. Their whereabouts, the music they're listening, the food they are eating, are posted there on Twitter, and we really couldn't care less about it. Yet when they're absent and we haven't seen any status updates for awhile, we sort of, kind of, miss them. Does it mean that you've been conditioned to care after undergoing the torture of reading TMI</a> updates for so long or is it just in us to care? Or should I search and replace the "we" and "us" in this paragraph to "I" and "me"? Because that's how it gets with me.
I really don't care about the minor details, but I do need to know that the people I know -- even if I only know them virtually -- are fine. Sure you might think I don't care about you because you probably don't care about me or my well-being, but somehow, in a way I can't quite explain, I do care about you. I just don't need to know where you are or what you're doing every frickin' minute! I'm sure your stalkers would appreciate such updates but please, just think about the common, non-stalkerly population, mmmkay?

Ouchie

2009-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

We got our H1N1 flu jab on Friday. We came in half an hour before the clinic started but the queue was already twice the length of the hall, and it was a pretty big hall. Fortunately, there were about 6 or 8 arm-jabbing stations (for lack of better terms) so the line was moving at a decent pace.
Watching the people in the queue was kind of interesting and a good distraction for me. My hands got cold just thinking about the prospect of having a needle penetrating my arm. Anyway, the old man in front of us was a social butterfly and he occasionally would leave the line to say hi to some people, including an actor he didn't really know. The old man behind us talked in a Scottish accent and he was kind of gossipy. And yes, there were a lot of senior citizens.
After standing in line for about an hour, our turns came. First we had to answer some questions and then off to the arm-jabbing stations! The nurse asked me if I'd had a flu shot before. I said no and she said, "You must be very healthy!" Ha! I have a pretty good immune system, that's true. But if by healthy you mean fit, I am so unfit it's not even funny.
The arm-jabbing part took only a splitting second but man, even now, four days later, my upper arm is still tender to the touch. But at least I can now lay on my left side without hurting (too much). The first couple of nights were no fun at all and I had trouble sleeping. Mind you, the left side is my favourite side to sleep on. But eh, I guess it's a small price to pay considering the alternatives.

Weathered

2009-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Yesterday, it was a beautiful, sunny, t-shirt kind of day. Today, it's back to the grey, one-digit-temperature kind of day. I guess the change is a bit too much for my body because I'm not feeling too great right now. I hope this won't turn into a full-blown cold.
We went thrifting yesterday and I went all girly-like and picked up two blouses, one hooded cardigan and a pair of shoes. I get a kick out of hearing nice comments about what I'm wearing and I'm always proud to say I got it from a thrift store. Salvation Army chic doesn't have to mean bag lady-look. ;) Mind you, I'm far from being trendy. I don't even wear make-up. But I like feeling good about what I'm wearing. Though admittedly most of the time I care more about comfort than fashion. As long as it's comfy, I don't care if it makes me look fat.
Ugh, too headachey to write more.

Splish Splash

2009-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

What is it about swimming that makes you sleepy? Is it the amount of chlorine that ended up in your eyes? I suspect so. Though it's probably not. But it's always the case, even when I was a kid. After a swim, all I want to do is sleep.
We started going swimming in an indoor, heated pool at a hotel in town last week. We're lucky enough to have free access to the pool so might as well take advantage of it. It's nice to be able to swim in warm water because even in the summer, the water in an outdoor pool, more often than not, is too cold for me.
I used to swim a lot growing up. My mother was a strong swimmer and she wanted me to be just as strong swimmer as she was. I think I didn't disappoint. She always watched proudly as I swam laps at a hotel's Olympic-sized swimming pool where we went for our weekly swim.
The thing about swimming is, when you're used to swimming regularly, if you stop, you get fat. That's what happened to me. At least I still have my swimmer's shoulders. I never needed any shoulder pads. Shoulder pads only make me look like an American football player.

Four Years Already

2009-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Four years already
Since the day we exchanged vows
At Waterloo Park.
Four years already
Since the night I fell asleep
At Star Wars viewing.
Four years already
Since you wore that batik shirt
Does it still fit, Troy? ;)
Four years already
I still have not lost my ring
They're still not engraved.
Four years already
May we have many more years
To love and explore!
(These cheesy haikus are brought to you by the letter X and the number 0.)

Dreams are nothing more than wishes

2009-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

Because I'm feeling mellow and homesick, I'll make a list of things I wish I'd thought to bring over here with me when I left Indonesia 5 years ago:

My good, old blanket that my mum bought me many years ago and that my brother back home said he hadn't seen for a long time;</li>
Pictures of my mum (because my memory of the way she looked is fading);</li>
Pictures of me from when I was a toddler;</li>
The carved, wooden jewelry box with all my mum's jewelry that she left me when she died (no gold or diamonds in it);</li>
My copy of Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window</a> (reading that book always makes me feel happy).</li> </ol>
Also, I'm jealous of everyone who still has a mother and of other Indonesians living abroad who receive a care package from their family members back in Indonesia every now and then (I never did).
Things to be grateful about:

I have an awesome husband;</li>
My computer has been behaving ever since it got a new processor;</li>
I can take pretty pictures and make pretty things;</li>
I'm not broke;</li>
I have an awesome husband.</li> </ol>

(Impatiently) Waiting for Spring

2009-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

I like winter but I'm really, really looking forward to spring because I can't wait to start my garden. This house was sold to us in April last year but we couldn't move in until July and by then it was already a bit too late to start a garden. But this year, I'm going to have a whole year to grow whatever I want! Yippee!
My plan was to turn the backyard into a vegetable garden, but I've changed my mind. You see, a couple of weeks ago, I very ambitiously bought seeds to grow 11 (!) different varieties of heirloom tomatoes off eBay. I thought filling the whole backyard with tomato plants sounded like a boatload of fun and a half. But then common sense kicked in and I realised that it would be way too much work, especially for a novice (not to mention lazy) gardener like myself. So I've decided to be less ambitious and just plant 3 or 4 varieties this year and see how it goes. I won't even plant them in the garden. I'll plant them in 5-gallon buckets instead because I read that it would make the plants easier to maintain. I will also put them on the deck so I don't procrastinate too much when it comes to watering because they need a lot of water to grow!
Now for the backyard, I think I'll just focus on making it look easier on the eye since the previous owner did pretty much nothing to the backyard. No flower beds, no plants, nothing but weed-infected grass. I'm going to put in some lovely flowering plants. In fact, I'm going to start growing them from seeds some time this week using the winter sowing method</a>. I've never done it before so it's going to be an exciting experiment! Basically, you just plant the seeds in plastic pop bottles, put them outside the house and then forget all about it until spring. By then the seedlings should be ready for planting on the ground. I don't know if I'll be able to do the forgetting all about it until spring part due to my obsessive nature, but the rest sounds pretty easy. We'll see how it goes!
Another reason I'm really looking forward to spring: I can't wait to see our cherry tree blooming! Cherry blossoms are so pretty. That is assuming that it's still alive. Dormant trees make me wonder sometimes.
Oh, I know that 99.9% of my readership has no interest in gardening but just bear with me, mmmkay? ;)

Hillside Inside 2009

2009-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Troy already wrote an in-depth report of the Hillside Inside Festival we went to this past Saturday so I'll just write a short version, mostly because I'm lazy. So here goes, in the order of appearance:
The D'Urbervilles</a>. Never heard of them before, but they weren't horrible and their stage act was entertaining.

Great Lake Swimmers at Hillside Inside 2009</figcaption> </figure>
Great Lake Swimmers</a>. One of my favourite Canadian bands, I was thrilled that we got to stand next to the stage! I don't think their music is the kind of music you'd play in an arena, though. Their performance was enjoyable, but I really feel that they didn't sound like they should. I'm blaming it on the venue.
The Magic. It's a local Guelph band, apparently, and, just like the D'Urbervilles, they weren't horrible. They dressed like a glam rock band and played music with an 80's vibe. Groovy!

K'naan at Hillside Inside 2009</figcaption> </figure>
K'naan. I've always enjoyed listening to his first album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, but I hadn't expected to be blown away by his live performance. And blown away, I was. He was amazing and his was the best performance in the whole festival, hands down. And I'm not even a big fan of hip hop music. Once again, we got to stand next to the stage, which was awesome.
Jay Malinowski</a>. Um, I was too busy trying to figure out how to eat my Jamaican Chicken Curry Roti wrap thingy properly to pay attention to his music. All I can say is, that was a very filling dinner! I wasn't hungry again until we were on our way home close to midnight.

Bell Orchestre at Hillside Inside 2009</figcaption> </figure>
Bell Orchestre. I had no expectations since I never heard of them before but they turned up to be quite enjoyable. They played orchestral, instrumental rock a la Godspeed You! Black Emperor (if you're familiar with their music) with strings, brass and percussion. The violin girl had very toned arms!
Thunderheist</a>. If I were a teenage party girl, I'd probably enjoy their music. They had these flygirls dancing on stage to some of their songs. And there was this flyboy wannabe dancing to their music right in front of where we were sitting. He had some pretty good moves but still, I had to try hard not to laugh because I'm easily amused. Of course Troy had to conveniently go to the washroom.
Bedouin Soundclash. The lead vocal is Jay Malinowski (see number 5). I kind of enjoyed two or three of their songs. But after awhile, I felt like telling to them to play that song from that commercial already.

That 1 Guy at Hillside Inside 2009</figcaption> </figure>
That 1 Guy</a>. It's a one-man band who played music from various genres with his magic pipe (and no, I didn't mean bong). He was entertaining and his music was enjoyable, but he also kind of reminded me of our dirty neighbour across the hall back in Waterloo who liked to play crappy music out loud every Friday night.
Sam Roberts Band</a>. I really, really, REALLY DID NOT ENJOY their music. The hour they played felt like the longest hour ever. I kept praying pleasegodletthisbetheirlastsong over and over again, but god didn't listen to me. Sigh.

Stars at Hillside Inside 2009</figcaption> </figure>
Stars</a>. By this time, I was already too tired to be enthusiastic and SO ready to go home. I only knew three of the songs they played. The male vocal dude had a very theatrical stage act. Maybe that's what they call making love to the audience? He also kind of reminded me of Ben Linus from LOST for some reasons. I don't know why. He wasn't creepy or anything.
All in all, we had a good time. I hope your Saturday was awesome, too!

The Piano

2009-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

I miss playing a piano. We had a piano back home in Indonesia from when I was in Grade 3 to six months after my mum passed away. My dad sold it so he could get remarried. I couldn't leave my room when they came to pick it up. I couldn't bear to watch it. The guy who bought it smoke a cigarette inside our house. My mum wouldn't have let anyone smoke inside our house. My dad didn't seem to care. It was a bad day. I felt like screaming. Instead I just locked myself up in my room and cried.
Our piano was a shiny, black, Yamaha upright piano. It was beautiful. My parents bought it because they wanted all their children to take piano lessons. I was the only one who didn't quit taking the lessons after a few months. I took piano lessons from Grade 3 to first year of high school. That made me the only person in the family who could play the piano properly. I wasn't great at it. I couldn't play by ear. I could only play by reading the sheet music. But there were songs that I had played so much that I could play them by heart. I would have a hard time playing them if I had to play them by reading the sheet music. My brain is wired weirdly.
My mum used to drive me to the music school every Saturday. I loved playing the piano but I really didn't enjoy taking the lessons. The only reason I didn't quit was only because I was worried that if I did, my parents would sell the piano. Sometimes I would talk my mum into letting me skip the piano lessons. Sometimes she was game because she was an awesome mum and we were buddies and we would go to the market near the music school instead where we would shop and eat our favourite street food. It's funny because my mum paid for my piano lessons.
Thinking about the piano always makes my eyes go wet.

When I started using the Internet

2009-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

I first started using the Internet in 1996. You've probably been online long before that, but keep in mind, it's Indonesia I'm talking about. I signed up for an Internet account after a field trip to an Internet provider for a class in University. I have to admit, it took me awhile to figure out how to hook up the computer to the Internet. Stupid TCP/IP! But when I did, I was instantly hooked! So many things to read!
Like many other bored kids on the Internet, I had countless free GeoCities and Tripod accounts. I'd always preferred GeoCities to Tripod., until Yahoo! bought it and introduced pop-up ads. Ick! My first webmail account was with Rocketmail before Yahoo! bought the service in 1997 and transferred all Rocketmail accounts to Yahoo! Mail, which was lame. Yahoo! seemed to ruin everything that was good back then. The only good thing about Yahoo! was, if your site got listed on the Yahoo! directory, you could brag about it and it actually brought you quite a few hits.
Some Indonesian guy once sent me an email upon seeing my pictures on one of my GeoCities sites and asked me to remove them because he was concerned that people from outside Indonesia would think that all Indonesian girls are as ugly as me. Nice! Sadly, that site is no longer up. I didn't take it down. Yahoo! did, apparently. I met a bunch of Internet assholes along the way, but mostly on IRC. Remember a/s/l?
I have a site at Angelfire from 1997 that's still up but you have to beg me for the link (it's that embarrassing). I kept some kind of a blog on that site. I posted wacky news articles from Indonesia, copied straight from a local English language newspaper by hand. No fancy cut-and-paste! See? I've always been a hardcore blogger. Heh.
I found Usenet very entertaining. I would download news from random servers using my email client just to see what kind of crap they had for me to read.
I learned how to use stylesheet/CSS in 1998. I loved it and still do. I practiced my CSS-Fu a lot while online-journalling (that's what blogging was called back then) over at Diaryland between 1998 and 1999. I discovered Blogger in early 2000 when it was still owned by Pyra instead of Google, before Blogspot was conceived. Made quite a few friends from the world over. And the rest, as they say, is history.

On The Day Spent in Toronto

2008-11-26T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
We spent yesterday in Toronto. First, we went to visit our friends who recently had a baby. The baby had a big poop while I was holding him in my arms. It was kind of stinky. It's been ages since I had to smell baby poo. Thank god for diapers that don't leak.
At lunchtime, we went to this middle eastern fast food restaurant where both we and the restaurant got our orders confused and Troy ended up having to eat stuff he didn't necessarily like which he finished anyway and I had to eat a big meal which I felt bad for not finishing.
After lunch, the three of us (Troy, the baby's dad, and I) went to the newly renovated Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). I thought 3 hours would be enough time to see everything in the gallery but I was wrong. We would've needed at least another hour, but unfortunately, we had to leave because we had to meet a friend at a Chinese restaurant for dinner.
I still wasn't super hungry after the big lunch episode but I wished I had been. We ordered a lot of yummy stuff and I really wanted to eat more but my tummy was so full so I just ended up watching the rest of the group eat all the dumplings and pancakes.
Our next destination was the gallery where the group art show I was part of was held. It was the closing night. We came half an hour early so we offered to help prepare things for the event before trying to finish a quiz in order to enter a contest with a $500 prize. Seven of our friends (including the baby) came to the closing event and one of them won the $500! Lucky her.
Around 9pm we went back to our friends' apartment to hang out more with them and the baby and have some hot chocolate before we headed back home. We had to drive through the rain and snow to get home but the roads were surprisingly still in good condition. We got home after midnight and went to bed and slept in.
I've been feeling blah all day today. I experimented with some photography techniques to distract my mind from thinking about things that would make me cry and the photo above was one of the results. Cheesy or cool? You be the judge.

On Parties

2008-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

I don't like going to parties. Every time I go to one, I always wish I could fast forward time. I'm the happiest when I'm on my way home from a party because it means one party down for me. Yay! But ooh, what do we have here. Two parties to go to within a week! Oh joy!
I'm not a very social person. I always don't know what to say to people in social situations. I know I should probably ask people questions just to be conversational, but I really don't know where the line between being conversational and being nosy lies and I really don't want to be nosy.
I used to bring a camera to parties just so that I would have something to fiddle with to kill the time, but now I think I'm getting good at killing time just by watching people doing things people usually do at parties. The drunks are especially entertaining. They used to scare me but now they amuse me more than anything.
My least favourite party food is cold meat and bread. I come from a country where the meat is always warm if not hot and served with warm rice. Cold meat with bread was a foreign and strange concept to me and I still haven't quite embraced or appreciated it even after all these years. Unfortunately, Canadians love their cold meat and bread and serve it any time they have a chance.
Oh well. At least it's only two parties. Could've been worse. Could've been THREE parties. Well, it is actually three parties within a week but I'm not counting the art show closing event on Tuesday because I'm kind of excited about it. Well, to be completely honest, I'm more excited about the prospect of spending a day in Toronto more than the party itself (think photo ops) but I digress.
The only kind of party I kind of enjoy is the party in which we are the hosts because there are always plenty of things for me to do other than making conversations. I just leave the conversational part to Troy. He's kind of good at it.

On Canadian Music Scene

2008-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

One of my plans for this year was to go to more music concerts and we have indeed gone to several, all Canadian artists. We even saw Hayden</a> twice! I've been a Hayden fan even before I went to Canada but I didn't get to see him live until earlier this year when he had a new album out and he started touring. We got to sit on the second row from the stage which was awesome. We saw Feist</a> twice, too. We also saw Sarah Slean</a> for the second time. The first time we saw her was three or four years ago in a small club in Waterloo. But I'm not going to talk about them in this post. Instead, I'm going to talk about the opening acts, the lesser-known artists who warm the stage for the main performers. So far, I've never been disappointed by an opening act.
Let's start from the first Sarah Slean show in Waterloo. The opening act was a French-Canadian singer/songwriter named Jorane</a>. She was funny and she had an adorable accent. She sang and played a cello, and she had a beautiful voice. She sounded almost like Tori Amos. One of her songs, Red Mountains, which is about growing old with someone you love, always makes me a bit teary-eyed. I don't think she's produced any more albums since, which is too bad because I think she's very talented.
The second Sarah Slean show in Kitchener was opened by Royal Wood</a>. Troy first heard one of his songs, Juliet, on the radio and really liked it. He mentioned it to me and I listened to it and I really liked it, too. I don't think we knew he was going to be the opening act when we bought the tickets to see Sarah Slean. We learned about it later and were really looking forward to seeing his performance. And he was really good. His voice was deep and beautiful. I was hoping that he'd save Juliet for later just in case the rest of his songs sucked but instead, he started with it, and the rest of his songs were actually quite enjoyable. We like his performance enough to buy tickets to see him again in January.
The first Hayden show in Kitchener was opened by an artists we had never heard called Basia Bulat</a>. She was really, really good. Her voice was really unique and beautiful and she played some interesting instruments while she was singing, also beautifully. It's hard to pick one favourite song from her album because they're all very good (it's one of the most-played album in our household this year) but if I had to pick one, I would go with I Was a Daughter. The drumming, the violin, the handclaps, Basia's voice, it's a perfect tune.
The second Hayden show in London, Ontario was also the second Feist show we went to. Hayden was the opening act. He performed with a band this time (he performed practically solo in the first one). He was still really good, but I much prefer his solo performance in a smaller venue. The John Labatt Centre was too big and the band kind of took away the acoustic quality that I love about Hayden's music.
The first Feist show in Kitchener was opened by the Great Lake Swimmers</a>. Troy and I had been listening to their music for over a year and we had been wanting to see them live. We were thrilled to learn that they were going to open for Feist, and they didn't disappoint. They were so much better live. They really took advantage of the acoustic of the hall and the way their music filled the room was amazing. They didn't perform our favourite song, I Will Never See The Sun, but their performance of Moving Pictures, Silent Films more than made up for it.
I'd throw in Martha Wainwright</a> because we're going to see her show next month. I don't remember who's going to open for her. I've never heard his name before but hopefully he'll be as awesome as the other opening acts I've seen.

On TV Medical Dramas

2008-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

I hate hospitals. They bring back bad memories. I do have good memories of the births of my nephew and niece but the bad memories seem to outweigh good ones. Strangely enough, I just can't stop watching Grey's Anatomy. It's not really my most favourite TV show, but it's up there. I know that in reality doctors don't really have time to dedicate to a patient's personal affairs, but in the show they do. I think that's the reason I keep watching. Because unlike the doctors who treated my mum at the hospital prior to her death, the doctors in the show care about the patients and their families. And when a patient dies, they don't tell the family "You did know it was coming, right?" like the doctor who declared my mum's death did. They'd say they're sorry and mean every words. For an hour every week, I see doctors they way I wanted the doctors who treated my mum to be. Warm and caring.
Obviously I still have issues with the circumstances surrounding my mum's death. How we couldn't afford to keep her in the ICU. How incompetent the nurses outside the ICU were. How I had to watch my mum stop breathing and die. How when the doctor finally showed up, it was already too late. How I had to wash my mum's dead body before her funeral. How no one would give me a hug. The list of issues could go on and on forever, I could write a book on it. No wonder I still have nightmares and flashbacks five years later. I should've seen a grief counsellor but there was no such thing in Indonesia. Not that I knew of anyway. I wonder if it's too late to see one now. Probably is.
Not a happy post, but it's a post.

On The Lack of Indonesian Food

2008-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

I'm not a big fan of western food. I have never been a big fan of hamburgers, hot dogs, or pizzas. But I have always loved steaks and spaghetti. The latter is because my mum used to cook us spaghetti on special occasions. She always made the sauce from scratch and it was always good. I'm a big fan of food made from scratch. Canned food is a big no-no for me though I'll still eat it if I have to. I guess that makes me a princess.
I'm a HUGE fan of Indonesian food and Canada is really the worst place for that. Indonesian restaurants in Ontario can only be found in the most unlikely places and even then, the food they serve is far from being authentic. The only Indonesian food I've had in a restaurant that tastes almost authentic is the Lobster Martabak I had at Bhima's Warung in Waterloo on our first wedding anniversary. The authentic martabak</a> would have ground beef instead of lobster in it, but I don't mind lobster.
Before I left Indonesia, I hardly ever cooked. I baked, but not cooked. In order to meet my own demand for homemade Indonesian food, I have learned to come up with recipes for my favourite Indonesian food. I just have to try to remember what something tastes like and then try to extract the ingredients in my brain. I'm getting pretty good at it after several failed attempts. I cook Indonesian food a lot and I like my Indonesian food spicy, which doesn't bode well with Troy's western tastebud. Poor Troy. He has to fend for himself a lot. Good thing he likes his toast.
I guess I should end this post by sharing one of my favourite made-up recipes which I believe tastes very Indonesian. It's called Spicy Oven-baked Fish Fillet. I guess it's more or less my version of Pepes Ikan. I'll just describe it quickly in a not so professional manner because I'm not a professional cook.
First, heat up the oven to 375° F. Then grab a piece of aluminium foil, big enough to wrap the fish fillet. Put about 2 or 3 tablespoons of sambal oelek on the aluminium foil and then a teaspoon of the following: onion powder, garlic powder, ginger powder, coriander powder, lemongrass powder, and turmeric powder, plus salt and sugar to taste, and a tablespoon of cooking oil. Mix well. Coat the fish well with the concoction, wrap, and put it in the oven for half an hour. Serve with white rice. It's spicy, but oh so good! I had it for lunch yesterday and had it again today. It's that good! Give it a try!

On Mixtapes

2008-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

Back when I was in university and my brother was in his first job, we used to sell mixtapes. My brother would do the marketing and sales and I would do the mixtape-making. We sold the mixtapes for two thousand and five hundred rupiahs each, which sounds like a lot but actually only about 25 cents in US/Canadian dollars. I think all the money went to my brother. I only liked making mixtapes. I didn't really care about the money.
As for the kind of music I used to put on the mixtapes, it's the kind of music that I would now call crap. It's amazing how much my taste in music has evolved since. I've become as big a music snob as Troy is. And since I don't really have much time to write a wordy entry today, I've made a virtual mixtape for you to listen to. Aren't I nice? ;) It's just a random selection of songs that I enjoyed recently and not necessarily new songs.
And here's the list of the songs:

The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens</li>
Neptune City by Nicole Atkins</li>
Castaway by Camphor</li>
Bur Oak by Bowerbirds</li>
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes cover) by First Aid Kit</li>
Trouble in the Fields by Sarah Harmer</li>
For Emma by Bon Iver</li>
I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Death Cab For Cutie Cover) by Amy Millan</li>
True Colors (Cyndi Lauper cover) by Ane Brun</li>
My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) by Regina Spektor</li> </ol>
Enjoy!

On Things of Comfort

2008-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

When I was a kid, I had a teddy bear who didn't really have a name until he got old and stinky. Then he earned his name: Stinky Teddy. I loved Stinky Teddy. I wouldn't let anyond washed him because his smell was one of the things that I found comforting. I would carry him everywhere. I would pluck on his fur while I was sucking my thumb (yes, I was a thumbsucker) and roll the plucked fur into tiny furballs.
After years, Stinky Teddy finally turned pretty much bald and he must've been so stinky that my mum had to come up with this story about Stinky Teddy being dead. I trusted my mum, as I always had, so we arranged a little funeral for him. I put Stinky Teddy on a chair for my brother and myself to carry to the backyard, Stinky Teddy's final resting place. I don't remember getting a replacement for Stinky Teddy. If I did, I guess I just didn't love it as much as I loved Stinky Teddy because I have no memories of it. I did find myself a replacement for Stinky Teddy years later, but in another form.
It was moving day. We were moving from the house without electricity to the house I grew up in. I was lying on my parents bed with my mum, waiting for the movers to come and pick up the bed, when I made an epic discovery. I discovered how highly pluckable the blanket on my parents bed was! Of course I had to ask my mum for it. That was how the blanket became Stinky Teddy's official replacement.
From then on, I would suck my thumb while plucking the soft fleece off the blanket to roll into tiny furballs. You wouldn't believe how comforting it was. Soon the blanket earned its name: Sucker. I kept Sucker for many years until it became ragged and disintegrated and I had to unwillingly threw it away. My mum gave me another blanket to replace it but sadly, it wasn't as pluckable as the original Sucker so I didn't care much for it. By then I was already in high school and had quit sucking my thumb for years. But that was not the end of Sucker.
One day, my mum and I went to a department store, and guess what I saw? A stack of brand new blankets that looked exactly like the good, old Sucker! I felt like I was in heaven. I told my mum about it and she was more than happy to buy one for me. And so the plucking continued.
I loved Sucker Junior just as much as I loved the old one, if not more. It was my faithful companion. It comforted me when I was feeling depressed. It was the only thing in my life that didn't change after my mum died. I even promised the silly blanket that I would take it with me wherever I go. I didn't keep my promise. I left it in Indonesia when I went to Canada four years ago. It might sound crazy but I feel kind of guilty about it. I also miss it a lot. I miss the comfort it gave me. It was the kind of comfort I used to feel when I was a kid. A simple, uncomplicated kind of comfort.
I really hope my family back in Indonesia hasn't thrown Sucker Junior away just so that I can fulfill my promise and bring it to Canada with me someday.

On Dangerous Childhood

2008-11-08T00:00:00+00:00

My grandpa dropped me when I was a baby. I didn't find out about it until I was in university (I lost all my grandparents before I was 10). I read about it in a letter my grandma wrote to my mother. My grandma sounded very upset about it.
I burned my wrist while playing around in a garbage hole in our backyard when I was 3 or 4. Back then every household in Indonesia seemed to have a garbage hole where people threw the garbage into and burned it when the hole got too full. I don't know why I was playing there. Bored, maybe? I don't remember having a lot of toys when I was a kid.
Around the same time, I hurt the back of my head while we were visiting someone. I was sitting on an ottoman but I guess I didn't remember that ottomans had no back. I leaned back and bonk! I fell, and the back of my head hit the floor. Hard. I didn't pass out but the back of my head got squishy and it stayed squishy for some time. My mother lost a lot of weight worrying about me.
I don't remember how many times I broke my lips running into a street sign post when I was a kid. All I remember is it happened a lot. I got distracted way too easily. I still do.
My childhood friends, my older brother and I used to play hopscotch using pieces of asbestos as counters. Yes, asbestos.
When I was in elementary school, a teacher broke a thermometer in front of us just so that he could pass the tiny blob of mercury around the class because he thought it was highly educational.
And that, my faithful readers, is the kind of childhood I had and surprisingly survived.

On Coming Home

2008-11-07T00:00:00+00:00

Well, here we are. Home sweet home. Good to be home again. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good night's sleep tonight. Didn't sleep very well last night. Took me ages to fall asleep and even then I was only sleeping on and off while consistently having a dream about Barack Obama. Interestingly, Troy had a Barack Obama dream too last night! We're definitely connected. Troy and I, that is. Not Troy, Barack Obama, and I. Though imagine how cool it would be if Obama was dreaming about Troy and me last night when Troy and I were having a dream about him.
We left Sault Ste. Marie around 9 in the morning. It was raining and the rain didn't stop until we were three-quarter of the way to Sudbury. Since it wasn't raining anymore, we decided to make a quick visit to the Big Nickel</a> in Sudbury. The Big Nickel is BIG! I'd post a picture but I didn't do digital during this trip so you just have to wait patiently until the film gets developed and I get around to scanning it.
We made another stop to check out a suspension bridge we'd seen on our way up on Highway 69. It's called the William E. Small Bridge. It was built 50 feet above the French River</a> and is apparently the largest snowmobile bridge of its kind in the world. It can hold up to 100 snowmobiles at a time! But if I went for a snowmobile ride with my 99 imaginary friends who all had a snowmobile, I wouldn't try to squeeze all 100 of us and our snowmobiles on it because when Troy and I were standing on one side at the same time, the bridge got kind of wobbly. And then we saw an otter, but none of us got a picture.
The rest of the drive was pretty much boring. It started raining again and the rain got heavier as we got closer to home. We got home around 8 in the evening. It's been almost 3 hours since then and I am SO ready for bed! YAWN! Sorry for the boring post. I'm too tired to be interesting...

On Sault Ste. Marie

2008-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Guess where we had dinner tonight? An Indonesian restaurant! Yes, in Sault Ste. Marie of all places! Of course it's not authentic and it serves mostly Chinese food but eh, I applaud any restaurant owner who is brave enough to call their restaurant an Indonesian restaurant. Mind you, Indonesian restaurants in Ontario don't usually survive. Well, not in Toronto anyway.
I spent roughly five hours just walking around the waterfront and the downtown area. Three hours by myself, a couple of hours with Troy. Needless to say, both my legs are really sore right now. But it was a lovely day and it was nice to spend it outside along with the sweet, elderly people who were doing their morning round of walk and/or walking their dogs. Seeing elderly couples walking together in quiet companionship always warms my heart.
The walk itself was pretty uneventful. I got to finish two rolls of film. Even got to do some shopping and had a quick lunch. Splurged on a new blouse. Also bought myself a winter scarf I'd been wanting since last year because it was on sale. It used to be $25 but I got it for $2.50. Score! Went to a rather shady diner where Troy had a late lunch after my first round of walk. On the women's washroom door, they had stuck a piece of paper with this note written on it: "Out of Order. Please Use Men's." I'm glad my bladder was empty and I felt no bowel movement.
My second round of walk with Troy took us as far as the Sault Ste. Marie Canal</a>. The canal allows boats from Lake Huron to enter Lake Superior and vice versa. We didn't see any activities at the canal, though. The area around the canal has some old and interesting buildings/historic sites that just called for pictures. Really looking forward to have the rolls of film developed.
As we were walking back to the hotel, I noticed some things that I saw on my first round of walk weren't there anymore. The bear statues and the big pair of fake fish I saw in the morning had simply vanished! I don't know if they were just done for the day and went home to return in the morning tomorrow or someone stole them. They were too big to be stolen easily, though. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Maybe.
I don't know what our plan is for tomorrow. We're leaving Sault Ste. Marie for sure but the weather forecast calls for a rainy day so I don't know if we'll be able to go places to take pictures. We'll see. Whatever we end up doing, you should hear about it tomorrow. If we don't end up in a scary motel in the middle of nowhere with no internet connection, that is.

On Long Drives

2008-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

We made it to Sault Ste. Marie in one piece and in less than 10 hours! Boy, that was a long drive! My back is sore from sitting too long. Didn't see any wildlife in the Ontario wilderness sadly. Just a lot of rundown, beaten up, and defeated businesses along Highway 69. Mostly restaurants and motels. Along Highway 17, some houses look barely standing but still lived in, some others have simply been abandoned. The signs along the highways kept me entertained. My favourite one was the one that said "Large Vehicles Need More Room". I was tempted to write "Well, duh!" underneath it with a Sharpie, but I didn't because I'm a good, law-abiding person. Ahem.
The landscape along the highways was quite rocky. The trees were bare, except for the evergreens, since it's quite late into the season, but I find the bare, white birch trees quite attractive. Didn't take any pictures, though. We're planning on taking our time driving back on Friday so I can take pictures of whatever I find interesting along the way. Tomorrow Troy will be at work all day so I have all day to explore the city by myself. I don't think I'll be adventurous enough to explore the whole city but I'll explore whatever is within a walking distance from our hotel, which is quite a lot, actually.
We had fish and chips dinner today at a restaurant down the street from where we're staying. It was a very busy place. At some point, the waiters sang a happy birthday to a young customer while bringing him a piece of cake and everyone clapped their hands. Later, a bunch of Finnish girls (as in girls from Finland ringette team) sang a happy birthday to the same person, but in Finnish language. Everyone clapped again. It was really cute! Who knew you could find so many Finnish girls in Sault Ste. Marie of all places!
Well, I've got to give the laptop back to Troy because he needs to update his blog</a>, too. Tomorrow, I'll tell you all about my Sault Ste. Marie exploration. See you then!

On Travelling

2008-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

There are two things that have been keeping me excited today. The first one is the U.S. election (of course). The second one is our trip up north, and it's not just up north of Toronto a.k.a. the cottage country. It's way up north, as in Sault Ste. Marie</a> a.k.a. the Soo by the Lake Superior. And we're driving up there tomorrow!
Troy will be there for work. I'm tagging along just because I've never been there and I love going to new places. When some place is in the news, I like being able to say, "Hey, I've been there!". If I didn't tag along, Troy would be able to take a shorter route through the States. But since I'm tagging along and I'm not a U.S. visa holder, we're taking the long way up through the Ontario wilderness. It will be a 10+ hour drive for us to get to the Soo (as opposed to the 7+ hour drive through the States to get to the same place)! Fun! Of course I'm also tagging along for the photo ops. New places always have photo ops written all over them.
Once I've seen Lake Superior, I will have seen four out of the five Great Lakes of North America</a>. The only one left would be Lake Michigan and only because Lake Michigan is not part of Canada. And did I mention that I've been to 8 out of 10 Canadian provinces? I've seen so much of Canada in 4 years than I'd seen of Indonesia in 30 years! Kind of sad, huh? For the records, I've only been to 8 out of 33 Indonesian provinces</a>. I'll have to fix that someday.
The U.S. election news keeps distracting me from writing this post. If I had the right to vote in the U.S. election, I'd vote for Obama, if only because some people keep calling him things that he isn't, just because he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia</a>, among other things.
I really have to start packing, pick the cameras to bring and other things one needs to do when they're about to take a long trip. The next update will be delivered straight from Sault Ste. Marie, assuming that their Internet connection works. See you tomorrow!

On Being Sentimental

2008-11-03T00:00:00+00:00

This past Sunday we went for a walk downtown while waiting for the rolls of film we dropped off at the photo lab to get developed. I noticed that most restaurants are closed on Sundays. I also noticed that there are so many things to photograph in downtown Stratford, yet I keep stalling from doing just that because I'm worried that once I've photographed everything there is to photograph in this town, I would have the urge to move somewhere else, and we can't have that.
Still, I keep telling myself that one of these days, I'm going to go for a walk around the downtown area and take a bunch of pictures with the Holga</a>. Why the Holga, you ask? No reasons. I just haven't used it much lately. And I really should use it more often, especially now that I know the local photo lab does same-day developing of medium format colour film. Back in Waterloo, it would take 24 hours and would cost more too!
The longer I live in this town, the more I like it. I hardly miss Waterloo. Well, I do miss the Princess Cinemas, and the Asian restaurants on University, and the Waterloo Park (mostly for sentimental reasons; we got married there), and Conestoga Mall, but other than that, not really. We drove through Waterloo on our way to Elora on Saturday and noticed that not much had changed, which was kind of disappointing. For some reasons, I was expecting Waterloo to have transformed into a bustling metropolis while I wasn't looking. I'm silly that way.
I was expecting something similar would happen to our cherry tree. The morning after we planted the tree, I had to check if the tree had grown a foot taller overnight. Of course it hadn't. I almost wish we could skip winter so I could see the cherry blossoms. Almost. But winter is my favourite season. How could I skip it? Well, I would probably skip it for Troy if I could because I love him and stuff and he hates winter.

Memory Lane

2008-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

When I was 4 or 5 years old, we used to live in a house with no electricity for a couple of years. My parents must have decided to move there because the rent was cheap and that way they could save up some money to buy a house. Anyway, since we had no electricity, we had to use a charcoal-powered iron to iron our clothes. Well, I never used it since I was just a kid but my mum and whoever was looking after me and my brothers while my parents were at work used it and sometimes I'd help with fanning the fire on the charcoals until they turned into embers, which means the iron is ready for hardcore ironing.
I had a lot of fond memories of that house. I got my first bike when we were living there. It was a red bike with training wheels. My older brother, who is only a year older than me, had a blue one.
I also went to school for the first time in that period. Kindergarten. I remember that my brother and I used to hate going to school on Saturdays because the school had something called "Mung Bean Porridge Saturdays" when all the kids had to eat a bowl of mung bean porridge and we hated mung bean porridge with a passion. We love it now that we're older. Of course I haven't had it in ages.
I learned to write when we were living there. Cursive, no less. I could almost hear my mother's voice every time I think about it. "Go up, and down, and give it a curl!" I must've learned how to read during the same time period but for some reasons, I don't remember anything about it.
And then kindergarten was over and my brother and I had to go to elementary school. We had some memorable classmates, considering we only went there for less than a year. We had these two brothers who hated each other so much they went into a fist fight at recess every day. And a pretty girl whose first name was Sampi</a> which we thought was really weird. And another girl with a medical condition that made her eyes looked as if they were about to pop out. We learned years later from a magazine that she had had a successful surgery in Japan and that she looked normal now.
My favourite thing ever was the ride home from school. We would hail a becak (pedicab) and we would ride through a field with a lot of water buffalo dung that we'd call landmines. It was especially fun on rainy days because the whole field would turn all muddy and the ride would be longer. I'm sure it wasn't much fun for the pedicab driver, but for the 6 year-old me, it was more fun than a rollercoaster ride.
My dad at the time drove an old, ratty jeep with a canvas roof that would leak all over the place when it was raining. Just another thing that fit my idea of fun only too perfectly.
We had so much fun in that house with no electricity. So many firsts. So many happy memories. Almost made me wish we had never moved. The next house we lived in, the house where we grew up, I think of it now as the House of Pain. But that's another story for another day.

(Not) Hallowe'en (Anymore)

2008-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

So, how many trick-or-treaters came knocking on your door yesterday? We got 18! Might sound like a sad number but it's actually 18 more than we're used to. As some of you know, up to July this year, we lived in a Waterloo apartment with shady neighbours. Well, not all of them were shady but some of them were. It was very wise of the parents not to let their kids go trick-or-treating to our building. Either that or kids just don't go trick-or-treating to apartment buildings as a rule.
Anyway, out of the 18 kids, the last three didn't wear a costume. But since I wasn't the one who came out to hand the kids chocolate bars, it wasn't a big deal. Would've been a big deal otherwise because I do think it's unfair to the costume-wearing kids. I mean, by wearing costume, the kids entertain us and so they earn the treats. The non-costume-wearing kids just don't deserve it. Maybe I just overthink it. I don't know. It didn't bother Troy so it shouldn't have bothered me.
Do you remember what costume you were wearing on your first Hallowe'en? The first time I went to a Hallowe'en party, I was already 25 years old, so of course I remember what I was wearing. This was back in Indonesia during my first job when I worked with a bunch of expatriates. I was wearing my version of a pirate costume. It was basically just black pants, a stripey t-shirt, a black shirt on top of it and a bandanna. I didn't put too much effort into it because it was a company Hallowe'en party and I'd expected that it would be kind of lame, and it was. Sadly.
My second Hallowe'en party was here in Canada back in 2004. It was actually a buck-and-doe slash Hallowe'en party. Anyway, I went as Miss Universe. I wore a dark raincoat with a bunch of star stickers on it and a dollar store tiara. My costume didn't win me anything but I did win a door prize that night. It was a waffle-maker and it has gotten a lot of use since.
I don't remember exactly when I carved my first Hallowe'en pumpkin. It was either last year or two years ago. Anyway, I tried to carve the old-timey Strongbad</a> but it didn't work very well. I think I carved the pumpkin a week before Halloween and since our apartment was like the warmest apartment in the world, when Hallowe'en came, the pumpkin was already in the garbage because it got moldy really quickly and looked kind of gross so we had to throw it out. The pumpkin in the picture above is Troy's masterpiece. Doesn't it look awesome? Mine sucked so much that I'd rather not show it to you. And I don't know why the picture is so blurry. The original is not blurry.
By the way, check out the Kids Halloween Candy Code</a>. I don't know if it's real but it's amusing nonetheless. My favourite is the code for Werther's Originals. I love those candies, even if they're considered old people candies. Well, I think that's all for today, kids. I have to go because I have so many leftover chocolate bars to eat before bedtime!
Just kidding.
Or am I?

Today's Contemplation

2008-10-07T00:00:00+00:00

I've been thinking about my photography a lot lately. I do want to make it a career but I just don't know if I have what it takes to be a professional photographer. I know I'm a good photographer, as in I have the eye. What I'm lacking is the people skill. I'm not very good with people. Hell, I'm SCARED of people. That's why I prefer taking pictures of landscape and animals to taking pictures of people. Unfortunately, there is no money in that. At least not for me since I know there are many other photographers who make a boatload of money from landscape and animal photography.
I like to think that I just haven't got to that stage YET (my sad attempt at positive thinking) but what if I'll never get to that stage? People seem to like my work but apparently not enough to want to own it and hang it on their walls (except for the few people who do have my work hanging on their walls or have bought my work, you know you're awesome).
I really need to get over my fear of people. Not really an easy thing to do if you were me. I grew up in a society where people are super judgmental. Growing up, my father seemed to care more about what our neighbours think about us than what WE think about us. I've had the idea that people are evil because they judge, because you'll never know what they say about you behind your back, planted in my head for so long that it's become almost impossible to pull out.
Now that I'm living in another country and in a different society, I know I should give people another chance, especially since I need to market my skills to people in order to help the family economy (not that we live in poverty or anything but we do need to travel). I've also met some super nice people here whom I know won't judge me or talk nasty about me behind my back. I know that by fearing people, I'm being judgmental myself, which makes me one of those people I fear, and it's so screwed up that I don't know what to think about that. In fact, I've never thought about it before. Oh the wonder of stream of consciousness writing!
I guess what I need to do is: (1) stop judging people/seeing them as monsters; (2) figure out what I'd like to focus on in my professional photography (I'm thinking family, maternity, pet, and children, and maybe small weddings); (3) revamp my portfolio site to make it more business-like and put in some new work that I'm proud of; (4) do some marketing; (4a) make some business cards; (4b) maybe put some ads somewhere?; and last but not least (5) practice talking on the phone (I'm telephonophobic; when I'm talking on the phone, my brain shrinks to pea-size).
On an unrelated note, I fell in love with the music of Frances England</a> today (I'm a sucker for sweet, folksy, kiddy songs) and would someone please buy both her CDs for me, kthxbai.

Home is...

2008-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

My two major plans for the house interior have been pretty much thwarted. Furnishing the house with Danish Modern furniture? No go. Every time we came across a piece of Danish Modern furniture, Troy would say either it's too big or plain ugly. Painting the door and window wood trims white? No go again. But I don't really mind. I've come to a realization that all the wood is what gives the house character. Plus, we really hate painting. We found out about it the hard way.
Oh, and I really didn't want to have Troy's big, ugly, monstrous shelves anywhere in the house, but look what's standing by the back wall of the dining room. None other than the big, ugly, monstrous shelves! The only one of my plans that actually came together was the plan to have mismatch furniture in the living room because that's how our living room is. A living room with matching furniture is just too grown-up for my liking.
I've accepted the fact that the house will never, ever look perfect like other people's houses in home improvement magazines because (1) we're not rich and (2) we have way too much crap in our possession. As long as the house feels like home to me instead of like someone else's house, I'm happy. Hell, I'm happy to have a home to call my own at all since my old home is no longer. Home to me was the house I grew up with, with my mother in it. After she passed away, it just didn't feel like home anymore. Now I have a new home. Home is this old house full of books, CDs, DVDs, videogames, and board games, and with Troy in it.
It may sound cliché, but home is indeed where the heart is.
Addendum: When I'm feeling homesick, it's always for the home with my mother in it which always makes my homesickness feel worse than it should be because that home I'm longing for just doesn't exist anymore. I'm really looking forward to being away and feeling homesick for this house we're living in. (This might happen next month!)

It's Getting Closer!

2008-07-17T00:00:00+00:00

It's been years since the last time I got any comment demanding me to update, and I got one today which made me feel all warm and fuzzy, so I just have to update. This one's for you, Tia! :)
So, we're taking possession of the house on Monday, which is only four days away. Already we've started figuring out ways of getting a mattress into the house without having to rent a U-Haul truck so that we could spend our first of many nights there right after we got the house keys. The current solution is to get one of those cheap IKEA spring mattresses just because they come roll-packed and hopefully easy to take home.
We're going to have overnight guests the weekend after our big move-in weekend so I spent last night making a list of things to buy to make all three bedrooms sleepable for under $1,000. I think I did a pretty good job because I got Troy's approval and we're going to IKEA on Saturday morning to do some bedroom shopping. Yeah, I know. IKEA is not exactly the symbol of premium quality furniture but it's all we can afford right now.
Last night I came to a realisation that there's no way I'd be able to pick a paint colour for the living room until we got ourselves a couch. If we had unlimited budget, we could paint the living room any colour we want and then buy any furniture that goes with the wall colour regardless of the price. Since we're on a tight budget, it's the other way around. We'll have to paint around the couch.
There isn't really a very wide selection of couches within our budget. I found one that I really loved that we could actually afford only to be told by the furniture store that the couch wouldn't be available until August 21. Seriously, if it's not available yet, why on earth do they have it listed on their website? If they really want to do it, they could at least put the date where it'll become available. That would've saved me a big disappointment. Hopefully by Tuesday we would've found ourselves a couch because that's the day I'm planning to start painting.
Troy packed around 90% of all the books we have on Sunday, which was a big accomplishment because the majority of our possessions comprises of books. We're going to pack the rest as we go all through next week.
I'm going to miss Waterloo, but I will learn to love Stratford, my next hometown, where the winters are more than just a little snowy.
I miss Winter already.

Mostly Furniture Rant

2008-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

It's only 17 days to go before we take possession of the house. Have we started packing yet? Well, Troy has. Like REALLY packing? Not quite. Troy has packed all his DVD collection and some of his CDs and books but not enough to make a dent. We simply have So. Much. Crap. And I'm going to have so many clothing items to donate to thrift stores.
Speaking of thrift stores, is it so wrong that I want mismatch furniture for our house? Of course the mismatch furniture has to be solid wood furniture that people are letting go for cheap. Fortunately, there are plenty of those. Unfortunately, Troy is not a big fan of the mismatch furniture idea. He's a traditional guy when it comes to home decoration. :)
Well, mismatch is probably not the word. I do have one particular style that I like. I'm a big fan of vintage Danish Modern furniture. I spot them all the time in online classified ad sites I've been scouring for the last three months. Unfortunately, a certain used furniture store in town has been doing the same thing, probably for longer than I have. Needless to say, the lower-priced pieces of furniture that I like don't usually last very long in the market because the store always moves quickly and snatches all the good deals, leaving me with some overpriced (or rather, consciously priced) stuff sold by people who actually know how much the furniture's worth. Not that we currently have any storage for furniture. I wish we did, but we don't. We also don't have a truck, so it's a really frustrating situation for me. I hate watching the pieces of furniture I like disappear one by one and I hate it more because I know where they're going and I know that the store is reselling them for more money than what they paid to get them.
I'm not a big fan of carved wood furniture. They might be hot about 75-100 years ago but now, I find most of them rather ugly. And man, let me tell you. There are so many ugly pieces of furniture people are trying to sell for crazy prices! A lot of them are couches. I'm kind of tempted to start a new blog to showcase all the ugly couches I found. Tonnes of cringe-worthy material out there. We might have to buy ourselves a new couch which, sadly, is neither cheap nor green.
Let's see, what else? Oh, I've been obsessing over paint colours for the house for as long as I've been obsessing over furniture. At least when it comes to furniture, I know for sure what I want. Not so much when it comes to paint colours. It's just that one day I like cheerful. The next day I like dramatic. And the day after that I like calm. I wish they sold paints that change colours according to the inhabitant's mood. Kind of like the mood ring but for the walls. Wouldn't that be great?
Well, it's almost lunchtime. I've been denying myself stinky fried rice for days that my taste bud is feeling deprived so I'd better make some now. What, you want the recipe for my beloved stinky fried rice? Well, all you need is onion, garlic, an egg, ground chili (also known as sambal oelek), salt and pepper, vegetable oil, and of course rice. Cook the rice, chopped the onion and garlic, heat the oil in the wok, fry the onion and garlic until fragrant, throw in a pinch of pepper, throw in the ground chili, break the egg into the wok and scramble, throw in the rice and salt, mix well, and voila! Stinky Fried Rice a la Firda! (Note: Stinky fried rice is only stinky to those who don't like spicy food. You know. Like Troy.)

And So Life Goes On

2008-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

How are you, gentle readers? Long time no update. Things have been crazy these last couple of weeks with Troy's grandpa getting sick, one of Troy's cousins passed away, and on the day of her funeral, Troy's grandpa passed away. In addition, I've been down with a nasty cold since last week.
We made some efforts to cheer ourselves up this past weekend by going to a concert and see a movie, but it didn't quite work out because, well, both the artists we saw at the concert (Canadian artists named Sarah Slean</a> and Royal Wood</a>, in case you're curious) had to mention something about their grandparents passing away and sang sad songs about them. Seriously, what are the odds?
And then of course I had to suggest that we went to see a movie called Young@Heart without thinking that it could potentially make us sad again. The movie is a documentary about a group of senior citizens who sing punk rock songs (among others) in a chorus and a couple of the chorus members died during the filming. :( It was a good movie nonetheless. I'd highly recommend it. Check out the trailer</a>.
Everything else seems to have taken a backseat lately. I haven't taken any pictures other than snapshots in ages. We haven't bought anything for the house in a couple of weeks. At least my plant collection is still going strong, though I think I've killed my lychee plant. But my avocado plant is growing like crazy!
Um, what else? Tomorrow is our anniversary. We will have been married for 3 years! Woo! I think we're going to a schnitzel place for our anniversary dinner. And then we're going to go up to the cottage the weekend after this weekend to spend some time with friends, play a lot of board games, and eat a lot of meat. Should be fun.
There isn't really much else to report. Hopefully exciting things will start happening again.

Our House

2008-05-05T00:00:00+00:00

Here's the list of features in our newly acquired house as compared to this list</a> I made of my ideal house:

older than your grandparents, if your grandparents were born in 1920;</li>
detached (yes!);</li>
not too spacious rooms, but that only means less space to clean (compromise);</li>
3 bedrooms (yes!);</li>
good-sized, fenced backyard sans the mature trees;</li>
smells nice (yes!);</li>
main floor is carpet-free;</li>
medium-sized galley-style kitchen;</li>
a bathroom on the same level with the master bedroom (yes!);</li>
a partly finished basement;</li>
relatively good privacy;</li>
both porch and deck for my plants (yes!);</li>
oil heating (compromise);</li>
newer electrical wiring (yes!);</li>
private driveway (yes!);</li>
seemingly nice neighbourhood.</li> </ul>
We could've bought a bigger house with a beautiful view but the amount of work required to make the house up to code was daunting and would cost us an arm and a leg so we had to make a couple of compromises and get the best house we could get without going over-budget. I think we bought the house at just the right time because now I don't think we could buy a house as nice as what we just bought with the budget we had. Suddenly they all cost $20,000 more! So yeah, we're quite happy with our acquisition.
Now that we've bought a smallish house, I've become quite addicted to the Apartment Therapy weblog</a> because it offers a lot of ideas for decorating your small space and space-saving tips. I've also picked up a lot of books on home decorating from our favourite bargain book stores and book sales. I really can't wait to start buying furniture and decorate the house! But sadly, I have to wait for a little less than 3 months for that. :( Oh well. Time will fly, I'm sure.

OMGLOLWTFBBQ

2008-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

Yesterday I became a permanent resident of Canada (basically like a Canadian citizen without the rights to vote or be voted in the federal election and can be kicked out of the country if committed a crime) and today? Today we became homeowners. Yeah, I know. Crazy.
I'll write a longer post once everything has sunk in. In the meantime, if anyone would like to offer me a job or have a lead on a job, preferably a telecommuting job in the new media industry, feel free to contact me.

My Ideal House

2008-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

According to Troy, we still haven't found a house to buy after two weeks of hardcore househunting sessions because my standards are too high. I disagree with that. I don't think my standards are too high. I just know exactly what I want.
In case you want to see whether my standards are too high or not, these are my ideal house criteria, in no particular order:

older than your grandparents, because newer houses seem to be lacking character;</li>
detached, because I don't want to have to share a wall with a neighbour ever again;</li>
spacious rooms, because we have way too much crap to accommodate;</li>
at least 3 bedrooms, though if the house is exceptionally nice, 2 bedrooms would be fine;</li>
good-sized, fenced backyard with mature trees;</li>
smells nice/doesn't smell like death by nicotine;</li>
carpet-free, or at least minimum carpeting;</li>
large kitchen, so I don't have to be scared of being in the kitchen with Troy at the same time;</li>
a bathroom on the same level with the master bedroom;</li>
finished basement, though unfinished one would be fine as long as it can be used for (mostly book) storage;</li>
good privacy;</li>
porch or deck or sunroom for my plants;</li>
gas heating, preferably high-efficiency;</li>
newer electrical wiring, i.e. no more fuses, so the house can be easily insured;</li>
private driveway;</li>
friendly neighbourhood;</li> </ul>
Um, I think that's about all. Since we're going to be stuck with the house for many years, might as well get one that's closest to being ideal. I think it's realistic. What do you think?

Stale Weekend Wrap-up

2008-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

In case you're wondering about how the Picture the Cure Again show I was talking about last week</a> went, it went fine. I got one picture sold on the opening night, which was cool. We got six friends show up and some of them bought pictures. Even we bought a picture (for when we have a house because all the walls in our tiny apartment are taken). That's the condensed version of how Saturday went anyway. The unabridged version is as follows.
Before going to the show, we went to the Royal Ontario Museum</a>. We parked the car near our friends' condo in Davisville then took the subway to the museum. Our friends let us use their subway passes so it was free subway rides for us! Yay! Before we entered the museum, we had some street meat (i.e. hot dogs) and I ended up having ketchup all over my cashmere sweater. Fantastic. The first thing I did once we got into the museum was trying to find a washroom so I could wash off the ketchup from my sweater since I didn't really want to wear a ketchup-smeared sweater to the show. That'd be gross. Luckily, the ketchup washed off quite easily. No bleach required. Phew!
We only had two hours to check out the museum which we later found wasn't enough. We spent most of our time checking out the skeletons of some prehistoric animals and reading about them. Have I ever told you that Pterodactyl is one of my favourite words? Pterodactyl, fjord, see the patterns? I like words started with two consonants! Anyway, we saw some Pterodactyls skeletons. They were cool. Trust me, our visit to the museum was a lot more interesting than this lame story.
After our visit to the museum, we took another subway ride and then walked to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner with friends. There were some Indonesian dishes in the menu but I wasn't sure about the authenticity so instead of ordering any of those, I just ordered a Malaysian dish, Nasi Lemak</a>, which turned out to be not as good as what I had in Vancouver. The anchovies or ikan bilis were buried deep inside the tamarind sauce. I actually had to dig for them. Still, it was a pretty satisfying dinner and everyone seemed to enjoy what they ordered.
After dinner, we walked across the Chinatown to the gallery where Picture the Cure Again was. Google Map said it was only a 0.6 km walk but it felt much longer than that. We had to walk back to the subway station after the show a couple of hours later and it didn't take long for me to slow down considerably. My legs felt like they were made of stone. So heavy. So tired. Even the next day my legs still felt heavy. I walked a lot more than that when we were in Winnipeg but didn't feel that tired. What's up with that?
The next day, we went to a camera show in Thornhill and I scored 28 rolls of film—including 5 rolls of Agfa Optima that Lomography is selling for 16 dollars excluding shipping—for 15 dollars. Happiness! Then we went to IKEA to have cheap lunch and Troy bought me some cacti and daffodil bulbs. We spent the rest of the day thrift store-hopping until we were thrift stored out. Then we went to a grocery store to buy the stuff I needed to make Rice Krispy bars because I was craving for those. I started making them as soon as we got home and they were so good! I made another batch yesterday but they weren't as good as the first batch. Oh well.
Another weekend is coming up and it's the weekend before my birthday! Yay! We'll kick off the birthday weekend by having dinner at my favourite Mennonite restaurant on Friday night. Can't wait! I'm hungry already. Mmm, broasted chicken...

Let's Talk About My Addiction

2008-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

Hello, my name is Firda and I'm a plant addict. Right now I have this craving to go to a nursery and buy a boatload of plants and seeds. Last night I gave in to the temptation and bought myself some seeds off eBay, from a nursery in Newfoundland no less. And today I spent all morning browsing eBay for more seeds of exotic plants, but so far I've been good and haven't ordered any more. This would all be fine and dandy if we didn't live in a cramped apartment and if over half of our dining table wasn't occupied by potted plants already.
I'm blaming my addiction on my late mother. I used to think that she loved her plants more than she loved me (not true at all, she loved me until the day she died). She'd scrape soil off the gutters for her plants. Having new planters would make her so excitedly happy. She'd ask strangers for cuttings of plants she wanted. She actually had an ICU section for all her plants that weren't doing well. Knowing that I loved flowers, she'd put her best flowering plants right by my bedroom window and keep them flowering.
Sadly, I had zero interests on plants when my mother was alive. Watering her plants was just a chore, a big pain in the butt, made worse by my jealousy of the plants for getting hours of special attention every day from my mother. When she went away for a month, many of her plants were dying from abandonment by the time she got back (my fault, guilty as charged). I was sure she was going to kill me, but surprisingly, she didn't make a big fuss of it. I was so relieved. Though I did feel guilty to see the many plants occupying her ICU section afterwards. Of course she nursed them all back to health. She was good at it.
When my mother died, I did what I knew my mum would've liked me to do with all the flowers we received from people expressing their condolences. I tried to keep them alive for as long as I could. Since I had zero idea on how to handle flowers, they didn't last very long. It made me sad and it made me wish I'd inherited my mother's green thumb.
Well, what do you know. Five years later, here I am. My mother might not have passed her green thumb on to me but she definitely passed me her addiction. I like to think I'm not as big a plant addict as her but I'm getting there for sure. And it all started four years ago, when we bought a peace lily plant from a supermarket to commemorate the first anniversary of my mother's passing. Since then, the urge to buy and grow more plants just keeps getting stronger and stronger. So you see, it all comes back to her. My mother. The original plant addict among the two of us. Without her blood running in me, I probably wouldn't recognise the joy of watching tiny little seeds turn into plants.
Just one dark little secret. Unlike my mother, sometimes I wish some of my plants would die a natural death so I could buy some new ones. I think that makes me the Darth Vader of the gardening world or something to that effect. I know it's evil, but I just can't help it! Though I'm sure I would stop wishing death upon my plants once we have a house of our own that I could fill up with as many plants as I want. That would be so freakin' awesome!

Picture the Cure Again

2008-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I donated three prints to be auctioned off at the Picture the Cure event last year to benefit Canadian Cancer Society</a>. They weren't sold, but they'll be up for sale again between Saturday, March 29 and April 4 in the "Picture the Cure Again" retrospective show at Hotshot Gallery in Kensington Market, Toronto, along with many other great prints by artists from around the world, from the past three years of Picture the Cure. If you happen to be in the area, please drop by and consider buying a print or two. It's for a good cause. The opening reception will start at 7PM and will continue until 11PM.
Troy and I will be there. In fact, we'll be in Toronto for most of the day since we're planning on checking out the Royal Ontario Museum</a> to see the dinosaur skeletons and stuff. Originally, we were planning on going to the Art Gallery of Ontario</a> because it's been years since the last time we were there but it is currently closed to public and won't be open again until this Fall. Hopefully the weather will be nice. According to the Weather Office, it'll be 2°C (36°F) in Toronto on Saturday, which is warm by my standard.
I'm pretty excited about the weekend, especially since we're planning on having a make-believe Indonesian dinner at a Malaysian restaurant before going to the opening reception at the *Hotshot Gallery. Make-believe because Malaysian food is close to Indonesian food, but not that close. Indonesian food is so much better! :D I love me some Indonesian food. Too bad all Indonesian restaurants in Greater Toronto Area seem to have gone out of business.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

I probably should've wished you a happy new year with yesterday's post but the day was kind of blah (as in grey and snowy) yesterday it just didn't feel appropriate. Today, however, is sunny and the sky is blue. The kind of day you'd wish other people good things and really mean it, so happy new year, everyone!
So, I have plans for this year. I'd rather call it plans instead of resolutions because it's okay for plans to fall through while resolutions you have to keep or you'll feel bad otherwise. I don't have too many plans at the moment since I'm one of those plan-as-I-go people but as of now I have plans to (in no particular order):

shoot more with film cameras, especially now that I'm a proud owner of a beautiful Hasselblad 500C/M</a> medium format SLR camera;</li>
get at least one more A12 film back for the Hasselblad;</li>
get a manual Canon 35mm film camera (Canon AE-1 or A-1) that works (my ancient Canon FTb doesn't work too well) with a f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens or find a fast M-42 lens for my Pentax and Praktica SLR cameras;</li>
do some research on renting space to do a solo show (if I feel confident enough, unless someone is generous enough to provide free space for my solo show);</li>
learn how to use my brand new Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC ultra wide angle lens properly with my year-old Canon Rebel XTi (thank God for generous husbands);</li>
decide which cameras to bring to our trip to the Canadian Maritimes ahead of time instead of the day before the trip;</li>
enjoy the beautiful views during the trip instead of after the trip while browsing the pictures from it;</li>
call my family back in Indonesia at least once a month (I really suck at keeping in touch);</li>
go to more music concerts;</li>
redesign this blog.</li> </ul>
Wow. I didn't know I had that many plans. I think I've already had enough plans to last me a whole year! I was going to add "have less nightmares" to the list but sadly I have no control over my dreams. Last night I had a nightmare in which I was back in high school. It was horrible. I truly hated high school. I've never felt more invisible than I was back in high school. So many superficial rich brats. They were worse than zombies! At least zombies would notice people who had brain. Heh. I know, bad joke.
Happy new year once again!

Days Gone By

2007-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Since the last time I posted, I have:

given in to the temptation and bought a Hasselblad 500C/M camera outfit a.k.a. the Hasselblad 500 Classic off eBay.</li>
bought various accessories for the said Hasselblad even though I hadn't had the camera in hand.</li>
ventured the foreign world of video-gaming in order to give Troy a Nintendo DS Lite</a> for his birthday, which was on the 20th this month (got it from evil Walmart, no less, because it was the only place that still had any in stock less than two weeks before Christmas).</li>
also bought a game called Chibi Robo: Park Patrol to accompany the DS console which turns out to be the dumbest game ever to me, but Troy seems to enjoy playing it.</li>
taken the most bus rides in one day in the history of my life (6 different buses, 7 bus drivers).</li>
found out from a grumpy bus driver that bus fare is now $2.50 instead of $2.25 and apparently has been since July this year (obviously I hadn't taken a bus ride in ages).</li>
been amused by how mothers suddenly become video-gaming experts around Christmas-time.</li>
thought to myself that if I ever decided to become a novelist and needed to get inspirations for characters in my story, all I'd have to do is take a bus ride and observe the passengers.</li>
had my mango seed sprouted, and the plant is getting bigger and bigger every day!</li>
marvelled at how the year fly by.</li>
been looking forward to the new year and even more exciting adventures of Troy and Firda. :)</li> </ul>

Busy Bee?

2007-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Since the last time I posted, I have:

got a new scanner (Epson Perfection 4490</a>);</li>
finally received my Diana+</a> camera (never received the pick-up notice because it was delivered to someone else's house but we went to the post office and I showed my ID and they gave me my package);</li>
shot one roll of film with the said Diana+;</li>
started growing a pineapple plant out of a pineapple top (it's grown new roots and new leaves);</li>
started growing a mango plant</a> out of a mango pit (it's grown a root);</li>
picked up a pomegranate from a grocery store for the sole purpose of growing it;</li>
done two family photo sessions with babies;</li>
seen Great Lake Swimmers</a> and Feist</a> live in Kitchener;</li>
had Troy buy us tickets to see Hayden</a> live in Kitchener next month;</li>
made alfredo sauce (low calorie version) from scratch for the first time;</li>
finished my kitchen curtain sewing project (made out of a bed sheet I picked up from a thrift store);</li>
started writing a blog entry but forgot to save it before closing the browser window (oops!).</li> </ul>
What's not on the list is the procrastinating part, but let's just take it for granted, shall we? ;)

Refragmenting Fragments

2007-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

Last Saturday, Troy, our friend Joe and I went to a meet and greet event with Canadian director Bruce McDonald</a> at the Princess Cinema</a> cafe prior to seeing his latest offering called The Tracey Fragments</a>. I wouldn't call myself a fan of Bruce McDonald, having only seen one of his movies thus far, but Troy was really excited about the event. I was only in it for the hot chocolate and the movie. I didn't even bring any cameras with me to the event.
Bruce arrived about an hour late because he missed his train and so on and so forth and half an hour into his lateness I already started talking the guys into leaving since we each already got the free comic book they promised to the first 40 people to show up. But Troy said that since we'd already waited this long, we might as well wait until he showed up. And show up, he did. Praise be the flying spaghetti monster!
As I said earlier, I didn't bring any cameras with me, and boy did I ever regret it. You see, after dealing with his older (as in age) fans who were busy singing him praises, Bruce sat in the table set up for him with a cup of coffee for a minute before he moved -- taking his chair with him -- straight to our table. So, sitting across the tiny round table right in front of me was the man who's potentially made my degrees of separation to Kevin Bacon much lower, and he was chatting with Troy like they were old friends.
While he was happily signing stuff for Troy and Joe, I was beating myself for not bringing my camera with me. It's just that I wasn't expecting to be able to see him up close and personal like that, which was one of the reasons I didn't bother to bring a camera. I thought we would have to line up to chat with him (which I think is lame) instead of having him come to our table.
Life lesson #5878: Always have a camera with you. That is a lesson I learned ages ago but somehow forgot.
The Tracey Fragments itself is a pretty cool movie. It's... artsy, for lack of better term. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Some might even find it a bit pretentious, but it was just the director doing his own thing. I'm okay with that. I do my own thing all the time with photography. If people like it, great. If not, well, at least I like it. :)
Anyway, if you're any good at video editing, you should check out the movie website. If you click on the Re-Fragmented menu, it will bring you to a download area where all the movie footage, musical score and script are available for free under the Creative Commons license. If you live in Canada and you made a cool video out of it, you're encouraged to submit it and if you're lucky, you could win a prize and have your video featured on the DVD release. It kind of makes me wish I knew anything about video editing. Even if you're lacking video editing skills, you should at least download the musical score by Broken Social Scene</a>. Some of the tracks are pretty catchy, especially their cover of Patti Smith's song, Horses.
I actually started writing this post two or three days ago, but I am a procrastinator.

I'm a Film Hoarder

2007-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Isn't it ironic now that I have a boatload of film to burn, I don't feel like shooting film at all? I do keep getting tempted to pick up one of my TLR</a> cameras, but I guess the temptation is not really that great because I never actually did.
In addition to the boatload of expired print film I picked up from a camera show a while ago, I picked up a brick of expired slide film (Kodak Ektachrome E100SW -- could've picked up some Fuji Velvia but I didn't because I'm a Kodak kind of girl) for a dollar each this past weekend, thanks to a tip from a Flickr contact. The idea was to get into cross-processing</a>, but to get a slide film cross-processed, I would have to go to Toronto if I don't want to break the bank as my regular photolab charges a fortune and a half for it. We only go to Toronto once or twice a year. And we already passed our Toronto quota for this year, meaning this cross-processing idea is actually not very feasible. But I digress.
So, we're going to go to yet another camera show on Sunday. The guy from whom we bought the boatload of print film in the last camera show might be there, but unless he has my beloved but discontinued Kodak UltraColor 120 film on his table, I don't think I'd pick up any more film. I have enough film to last a couple of years. But I might pick up more when we go to the camera show in the Spring. We'll see.
While we're on the topic of photography, I came across a site called DIY Photography</a> this morning and it's actually quite interesting, especially if you're a DIY type. A couple of articles that piqued my interest were the ones that show you how to make heart-shaped (or whatever-shaped) bokeh</a> and how to use a condom to waterproof your camera</a>. It's like the second best alternative use for a condom after this one</a>.
Oooh, I just used the words photography and condom in the same paragraph. W00t!

Travel Stories from Western Canada

2007-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I've been putting off writing about the trip for so long that I've actually forgotten some of the things I found interesting. I'd better write the ones I haven't yet forgotten now before the trip becomes just a distant memory.
BC Lookouts. For some reasons in British Columbia, they put up lookouts at all the wrong places. So you're driving in the mountains and you see a beautiful view. You start looking around for a lookout so you can stop to enjoy the view and take some pictures. Just when the beautiful view can't be seen anymore, there it is: a lookout! Seriously. Why did they even bother?
Misleading Sign. On our way to Banff, AB from Jasper, AB, we stopped at the Peyto Lake lookout. I wasn't feeling too great (it was that time of month) and didn't really feel like doing strenuous hiking. I read the sign at the beginning of the trail and it said that to get to the lookout there was only a small steep part on the trail and I thought, hey, I could do one small steep part. That turned out to be One Big Fat Frickin' Lie. When they said a small steep part they really meant half a dozen big, stinkin' steep parts. A couple of people who passed me on their way back and saw me looking like I was about to die were nice enough to cheer me on and told me that it was totally worth it. And it was. But boy, did I almost die from exhaustion.
Banff Before Jasper. There is a good reason people usually go to Banff before they visit Jasper instead of the other way around like we did. If you go to Jasper before you go to Banff, you just won't be too impressed with Banff. In Jasper, we ran out of time before we ran out of things to see (and we were there for three days). In Banff, we ran out of things to see after only half a day. If I could do the trip all over again, I'd skip Banff and either spend more days in Jasper or in Vancouver Island.
Haunted Room? While we were in Canmore, AB, if we were not driving around, I'd be in bed reading. We spent two nights in a two-bedroom condo type thing and once every night while I was alone in the bedroom, the bedroom door handle would be moving up and down, like someone was trying to open a locked door. The door wasn't locked. Each time I thought it was Troy and I would open the door to allow him in but there was no one in the hallway. It didn't scare me or anything. It was just weird. It actually happened again the morning we were leaving. I thought to myself, silly ghost, and it made me smile. :)
Whale-watching. Going whale-watching on a Zodiac off the coast of Tofino, BC was a lot of fun, though I can understand why it's not recommended for people with bad neck or back and pregnant women. It can get really bumpy! We saw some humpback whales and at some point a couple of them went circling our boat and got so close to us that I was worried that they would go under our boat and capsize it. Of course it didn't happen. They're whales, not some silly shark from Jaws. Duh!
TV Show Set. Troy's parents and I went to Squamish, BC one day and upon following some worn-out signs to some beach (which turned out to be not much of a beach but it did have a breathtaking view of the fjord), we came across the set of a new Canadian TV show called Search and Rescue</a>. They were filming six months worth of episodes there. It's probably going to be a really lame show but I'm going to have to watch at least one episode when it's aired next year just to be able to say that I've been there on the set. :)
Questionable Malaysian Food. When we were in Richmond, BC, we went to a couple of Southeast Asian restaurants. It's funny that a lot of the stuff in the menus that they claimed to be Malaysian was what I know to be Indonesian. Like Gado-Gado</a>. Gado-Gado is SO Indonesian but in the menu it was described as Malaysian vegetable salad with peanut sauce. Huh? We ordered something called Indonesian Spring Rolls in one of the restaurants which turned out to be something I didn't even know exist before. Not a big fan of the spring rolls but Troy and his dad seemed to enjoy it. At least the Nasi Goreng</a> I had was pretty authentic.
Sugus Candies. We visited a couple of malls in Richmond for some "Asian experience" and came across a couple of Asian supermarkets that, surprisingly, didn't sell any durians</a> (blasphemy!). But what they lack in durian department, they made up in candy department. Those places actually sold my Most Favourite Candies Ever: Sugus candies</a>! OMG, I was in heaven! None of the Asian supermarkets I've been to in Ontario carried those. I wish I'd had the foresight to stock up on the candies, but I only picked up one small bag of assorted Sugus candies and a single block of Black Currant-flavoured ones, and they're all gone now. Sad llama. :(
I can't think of more stories from the trip. Troy might be able to remind me of some more. Will have to ask him. But for now, this will have to do.

Home Sweet Home

2007-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

Well, I've been back from the trip since Friday night but then I had to start getting all stressed out about the medical check-up I had to go through on Tuesday for immigration purposes (which went well, by the way) and then I've been busy putting together my application for Canadian permanent residency, which is supposed to be sent in early next week.
It's a busy time in Firdaland. I've been so busy that I've got really behind in processing the 7 GB worth of pictures that I took during the trip, plus the two rolls of 35mm film that have been processed and scanned into a CD by the photolab (thank God!). Still have yet to drop off the two rolls of 120 film for processing. And I still have a roll of 120 negative from before the trip that needs to be scanned. Hopefully some time next week I'll be able to catch up with my photography.
I had an amazing trip out west. Saw a lot of wildlife, except for moose and bears. I've seen more bears in a dump in Ontario (about half a dozen) than in the Canadian Rockies or Vancouver Island (zero). But all the elks (lots of them), wolves, deers, pikas, bald eagle, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, and humpback whales I saw kind of made up for the lack of moose and bears. And I took tonnes of pictures of the ever so mesmerizing jellyfish at the Vancouver Aquarium. I love jellyfish, but I don't think I'd want to come across them in the wild because they sting.
Hmm, I don't know why I started writing this entry. I don't usually make much sense late at night. I guess I just needed to let you know that I'm home safe and sound and in one piece.
More pictures are coming up, I promise! In the meantime, just enjoy the few I've uploaded to Flickr</a>.

Cookie and Photography

2007-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Why didn't you ever tell me that the comment form wouldn't save your information? Oh wait. You never did comment so you had no way to know! I got it. Sigh. I guess that's what you get for being a blog lurker. Lurkers beget lurkers. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that the comment form cookie script is fixed and that if you don't want to have to fill out your name/email/URL ever again when you're commenting here, just leave a comment on this entry and check "Remember personal info?" box before pushing the "Post" button. If you don't really have any comment, just tell me what your favourite ice cream flavour is. Mine is Gold Medal Ribbon™ from Baskin Robbins. Mmm, ice cream...
I was going to cut the entry short there but I thought I might as well tell you more because who knows when I will feel compelled to update this here blog again next. Soooo, I had three firsts this past weekend. The first first was buying a lens for my DSLR new instead of used. Well, technically Troy bought the lens but you know what I mean. He bought me the lens I'd been wanting for awhile, the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, because he's the most awesome husband in the world. Yay! The second first was selling prints. Oh yes, SMooSH and Loba, you are indeed my very first buyers. Your names have been recorded in the history of my life. Or something to that effect. And the third first was being the official photographer for someone's wedding. I tried to shoot scenes that I thought would look romantic and wedding-y and stuff but I think the results look more funny than anything. Oh well. Let's hope the newlyweds won't unfriend me after seeing the results.
And oooh, oooh, Friday next week we're going to begin our two-week adventure out west! So excited! I still have yet to decide which ones of my 170-something film cameras to bring. Troy would only let me bring three of them, sadly. But he's the one who's going to be carrying all those cameras all over the place for me so it's understandable. :D Last night I actually had a dream about the trip in which I forgot to bring my film cameras and I was so upset. I had my DSLR with me but I was still upset. I take it as a reminder for me not to forget to bring the film cameras, or else. As much as I love my DSLR camera, film is still my favourite medium.
Well, I think that's all the news for now. I've got stuff to do. You know, like procrastinating from doing stuff. It keeps me busy. ;)

Because I Like Photography

2007-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Uh, I guess I missed posting an entry on this here wee blog last week. Sometimes I wish I had a lot to complain about. You know how popular whiny and complainy blogs seem to be these days. I have to admit that I quite enjoy reading such blogs, though only when I'm in a good mood and I can afford to laugh at other people's petty problems.
I've been working on my new photography portfolio. Last week I was so ready to move in to the darkside with an all-Flash portfolio site but now I'm not so sure about it anymore. For one thing, it's not really super easy to update. Not to mention that people who have Flash disabled for whatever reasons wouldn't be able to see anything and as a former web designer who always put accessibility on top of everything, it just doesn't feel right. So I guess I'm going back to square one with the site.
While we're on the topic of photography, I might be able to afford to buy a new lens soon. Yay! After checking out the prices of the Canon lenses, I entertained the thought of buying a Nikon D40 with the kit lens instead which cost about the same with the Canon lens that I want (in Canada anyway), but then decided that I want the lens more than a second DSLR camera. I'm thinking of getting the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM because it has image stabilization and the equivalent of a 5x zoom (well, almost), but we'll see. The price might put my better half off, but personally, I think it would make a good investment.
Speaking of investments, I recently got a manual external flash off eBay to be used on a wedding shoot next month. It's a cheap Vivitar one because I didn't feel like spending hundreds of dollars on a fancypants Canon-brand flash that I would probably use only once or twice a year (I'm a natural light fanatic). I was just checking a wedding photography group on Flickr and turns out that even professional photographers prefer manual flash to the TTL one. It made me feel better for not investing too much on one. :)
We're going to the cinema tonight to see the new Harry Potter movie. Here's hoping that there won't be too many noisy and annoying kids in the theater.

Happy Friday the 13th (Again)!

2007-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
If you went to Port Dover, Ontario today, you'd be able to see tonnes of bikers and their big bikes. If you're lucky, you might even be able to see some naked biker chicks, but the first and only time I went to the Port Dover's Friday the 13th thingy, I didn't see any naked biker chicks. Only some really drunk ones.
Anyway, Troy had to go to Kentucky two days ago for work. He was only away for one night, but by gosh, I missed him so much! Maybe it was because the trip was on a very short notice, my brain just wasn't prepared for not having him around. But he was back last night, just after midnight, on a Friday the 13th, and as he walked in, I couldn't stop grinning like a fool. If that's not love, I don't know what is.
Oh, there's a weird story about the night when Troy was away. I smelled my mum in the apartment. She might have died for four years but I could and would never forget her smell; the smell that gave me comfort for many years. Did I freak out? Not at all! I just looked around and smile. If it was really my mum checking me out, I'd consider it a good thing. She'd probably hate to see how messy this apartment is (she was a neat freak), but at least she'd be able to see that I'm happy and loved. All she'd ever wanted was for me to be happy. The night before that night, I had a dream about her. We were travelling together and we were just heading up to Paris, France when I woke up.
July has always been the hardest month of the year for me ever since my mum died. You see, every month my brain would recall all the memories of the most distinctive events from that month in my life. Like in May, I'd be all excited about our wedding anniversary and would relive every wedding-related thing we did that month in 2005. July just happens to be the month leading to my mum's death. Not a happy month at all, but I've been keeping my mind busy on other things. I haven't cried at all.
At least there is one good thing I'd be able to recall in the July of the coming years: my very first art show! It's nothing major since I only have two pictures in it and it's all for charity but I'm excited about it nonetheless. The photography goal I set for myself this year was to participate in at least one show. I've scored my goal. Next year's goal would be a solo show. Can't see it happening right now, but next year, you'll never know!

Picture The Cure

2007-07-03T00:00:00+00:00

Picture The Cure is an annual event benefiting the Canadian Cancer Society initiated by Irina Souiki in 2005. This year's event showcases over 200 pictures from more than 80 participating artists from Canada and abroad and takes place in the Steam Whistle Brewery's Roundhouse Gallery in Toronto (right across the CN Tower, on the south side) from July 4 to July 30.
In the closing event, all of the pictures in the gallery will be auctioned off and all the proceeds will go to the Canadian Cancer Society. Admission to the opening event (starts at 6pm tomorrow) and every day throughout the event (noon to 6pm on Monday to Saturday, noon to 5pm on Sunday) is free. Admission to the closing event (July 30, starts at 7pm) is $15 at the door and includes a free drink and a tour of the brewery.
That said, I will have two pictures hanging in the gallery and available for auction (1</a>, 2</a>). I will also have one picture</a> in the catalogue</a> available for sale (not for auction) and is priced at $40 (12×18 print, unmatted and unframed, proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society).
So, if you live in Toronto or happen to be in the Toronto area this month, do check out the event and help us reach the fundraising goal set at $10,000! It's all for a good cause. I don't know when Troy and I will be there but we will be there for sure some time this month.
You know, we have driven so far out East in our honeymoon, up to the furthest end of Nova Scotia, and yet Toronto seems so far away from here even though in actuality, it's only about an hour drive. Damn you, Toronto traffic! :)

I Hate Summer

2007-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Oh, hello there! Long time no see! Where have you been? I've been everywhere and nowhere. Everywhere in the weekends, nowhere during the week. Same old, same old. In addition, I've been sick for the last week or so. Have really bad coughs. I hope I'll get better before the weekend because we're going back to the cottage this weekend for more barbecue, lake swimming, and gaming fun with friends. I'd say more mosquito bites but that part isn't fun at all!
Being sick has its advantage, though. I get to do more reading because I don't really feel like sitting in front of the computer all day when I'm sick. Last week I finally got around to finishing reading The Time Traveler's Wife</a> by Audrey Niffenegger, which is probably the thickest book I've ever finished reading. 518 pages! Considering how short my attention span is, it was quite an accomplishment. And I picked up the book, oh, only two years ago! :)
Finishing that book made me enjoy our most recent visit to bargain book stores even more. I picked up The Areas of My Expertise</a> by John Hodgman (the PC guy in the Mac ad campaign) and Lullabies for Little Criminals</a> by Heather O'Neill. I listened to an excerpt from the latter on CBC a while ago and had been on the lookout for it since. Sure I could've picked up a copy from Chapters or Coles but why pay a major bookstore 20-something dollars when you can get the book for 5 dollars new from a small bargain bookstore. Troy actually got the whole series of PostSecret</a> books from the bargain book stores for 6-7 dollars each. Those book stores are that awesome. We really don't need more books because we already have hundreds if not thousands of books in our to-be-read piles (well, Troy does anyway) but we just can't help buying more. I think we may need counselling!
Oh, in case you're wondering about the story behind the picture above, I took it at the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada</a> yesterday. It was fun to hang out with a bunch of cute donkeys who like to be brushed and to listen to the story behind each donkey from one of the caretakers. Many of the donkeys are products of abusive owners. I'm so glad that they ended up at the sanctuary where they can live in dignity. One of the caretakers has to point out every time that even though the donkeys have big bellies, none of them is pregnant. They just like to eat! :) If you live around Guelph and have nothing better to do on a Sunday, you should consider visiting the sanctuary. You'll love it.
By the way, I do hate summer. It's my least favourite season. Hot weather and blood-sucking bugs aren't really my favourite combo. Now back to bed for me!

Garage Sale Pet Peeves

2007-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Wow, it's been more than a week since I last updated the wee blog! Yet I don't really have much to report even though we've been busy doing stuff. Just don't think anyone would find the stuff we do very interesting. Unless you're really into: (1) garage sales; (2) cameras; (3) watching Canada's Worst Handyman. But you're not really, are you? What? You're actually into going to garage sales? Alright! Let's talk about it then.
So, garage sales. Don't you just hate it when people have a garage sale and put high price tags on their crap? Those are things you don't want anymore that you're trying to sell, people! Price everything accordingly. No one wants to pay $50 for your crappy 1.8MP digital camera, especially when it doesn't come with the box, cables, driver, and manual. We paid $5 recently for a Kodak box film camera, but at least it was antique. Digital cameras, unfortunately, don't go into the antique category yet. Wait for 25-30 more years and try again.
Another thing I hate is when people don't put price labels on their crap. Make some effort, people! We are more willing to buy your crap when it is priced properly (and reasonably). It's also less annoying for us because we won't have to hear you quoting the price without being asked every time we touch every single junk you have out for sale.
And please, don't sell toys that your kids obviously still love. It makes us feel bad and it makes you look bad. Also, before letting your kids sell lemonade during your garage sale event, please teach them the concept of change. If you can't be bothered to do that, please put up a sign that says "correct change only, please". Having to spend two dollars on a tiny cup of lemonade that's priced 50 cents because your kids think every coin is a 50 cent coin is extravagant. And we need all the change we have to buy your crap.
And last but not least, please don't be a jerk and do take down your garage sale signs as soon as you're done with it. Having to drive for miles for a garage sale that's already over is a waste of gas, and you know how expensive gas is these days.

Wedding Anniversary #2

2007-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
I think every single TV show has featured an episode about online relationships gone terribly wrong but none with a happy ending. Yes, You've Got Mail</a> has a happy ending but it's a movie, not a TV show. I remember seeing the movie with a couple of friends from work. We had to sit on the front row because those were the only seats available. All of the other seats had been taken.
While the storyline was not very realistic, the three of us enjoyed the movie. Can't say that we found it very inspiring, but who would've thought that out of the three of us, two would actually find love on the Internet later on. True story! My friend married someone she met through ICQ and the last time I heard from her, she already had a baby. The other person is, of course, me. I travelled halfway around the world to meet Troy, one of the most frequent commenters on my blog, and an all-around good guy, and married him a year later.
Today is the 3rd anniversary of our first real-life meeting and the 2nd anniversary of our wedding. We're still happily married and I still let Troy tell our story to anyone who cares enough to ask about how we met because my story would be too long-winded (since I wouldn't be able too leave out all the gory details) and full of 'Net lingo. My favourite response from people to whom we just told our story is "good to hear a happy story coming from people who met through the Internet." I usually just smile in response but the little voice in my heart thanks Troy for not turning up to be one of those creepy guys you see on Dateline</a>. :)
Happy anniversary to us!

Photography and Serendipity

2007-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
The guy at the photolab is funny because he always recognises me every time I stop by to drop some rolls of film for developing and he has stopped asking for my last name to write on the receipt and just writes it, but he always spells it wrong and a different way every time (the latest one being Bak instead of Beka). I've got to the point of not caring about the spelling. He doesn't need my name when I'm picking up the negatives anyway. He knows which rolls are mine. I assume he doesn't have too many customers who shoot medium format film.
I guess I haven't mentioned here that I got some of my pictures of the city of Cambridge, Ontario used in a guide published by the Cambridge Tourism Board called Discover Cambridge. I even got a credit in the acknowledgment section along with my photography website address and they printed 200,000 copies of the guide. Can you say instant fame? ;) Well, not really, but still it was kind of cool. They found the pictures by way of Flickr, in case you're wondering.
Speaking of Flickr, our last stop in our Wellington County photo tour this past Saturday was the city of Guelph. I had been bugging Troy to buy me ice cream all day and we finally stopped to buy ice cream from this place in Guelph called the Boathouse. When we got there, I saw a girl who looked like one of my Flickr contacts, but I wasn't too sure. Turned out it was really her because when we bumped into her as we were leaving, she asked if it was me and I if it was her and we were both right! She said I was one of her favourite photographers on Flickr, which made me feel kind of warm and fuzzy. :) She was the second person to recognise me in real life through Flickr.
As if that wasn't enough of a coincidence, we had friends in Guelph inviting us over for dinner that night and as we were hanging around in the kitchen, I saw a newspaper published by the University of Guelph laying on the table and guess who I saw in the front page photo? It was the girl, the Flickr contact I had bumped into earlier! Life can be very interesting sometimes, don't you think?

Too Much Love (Not Enough Hate)

2007-04-16T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Don't you just love the title of this entry? It could've been a title of a crappy song from the 90s. But I'm referring the title to my blog entries. A friend recently asked me what I posted about in my blog. I told him that I posted about how much I hated people. But after checking my archives, I don't really post too much about hating people. It's just that people I hate aren't really worth the bandwidth and the energy I'd have to spend writing the post.
Anyway, since I'm feeling kind of meh today, I think I'm going to concentrate on things that I love. Things like:

Being married. I love that "not looking" feeling.</li>
Discovering good cover songs. Have you ever listened to Aimee Mann's cover of The Scientist by Coldplay? So good.</li>
Seeing some obscure foreign movie</a> at an independent cinema with only four other people and with us being the only people who laughed out loud during what might or might not be a tearjerker scene (we're not sure but we thought it was funny). We did just that this past Saturday.</li>
Finding out that I have at least a week's worth of photos to post to the wee photoblog.</li>
Cooking any Indonesian dish successfully. Did that one today.</li>
Playing Wii Fitness and getting a Wii Fitness Age that is below my actual age.</li>
Getting comments on my blog entries other than spam and crap comments like "WHO CARES?" that someone cared enough to post yesterday and which I happily deleted.</li>
Thinking about our upcoming trip to Newfoundland. I might get to see a fjord!</li>
The word "fjord</a>".</li>
The awesomeness that is my extension tube</a> set.</li>
Checking out dogs that are available for adoption for free, even if we can't have one yet.</li>
Thinking about my future Indonesian restaurant or my future family photography business (parents and children only, no weddings). Yup, I finally know what I want to be when I grow up.</li>
Chocolate, glorious chocolate!</li>
You, because you read this entry until the end. You rock! :)</li> </ul>

Belated Birthday Post

2007-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
My birthday was this past Saturday and it was lovely. I got a Venus Flytrap</a> plant kit, a couple of books, and an extension tube set for my dSLR from Troy, a 35mm Ricoh SLR camera kit from my brother- and sister-in-law, and some cash from Troy's parents and grandparents which I spent on a light box kit with two studio lights. Yay, so many new toys to play with!
On my birthday, Troy took me out on a day trip to Port Maitland, where the Grand River meets Lake Erie. We walked along the pier towards the lighthouse and halfway there I felt like going back to the car because it was so frickin' cold but I didn't. I just braved the crappy weather and kept taking pictures. Once we got back to the parking lot, a car pulled in and two men came out with their fishing rods and started walking up the pier. I didn't think their fishing endeavour would last very long.
Later in the evening, Troy's parents took us out for a birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant and my sister-in-law sneakily told the restaurant people that it was my birthday and, well, you know what happened. I got singing waitresses bringing me a big slice of chocolate cake after we finished our main course. We shared the cake between the six of us. We were so full for the rest of the evening that my mother-in-law had to wait until the next day to bring out my birthday cake. As you can see in the picture, it had eight candles on it. Yes, it was indeed my 8th birthday.
I wish.

Positive Vibes Needed

2007-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
When I checked my email first thing in the morning, the only news I got was from my younger brother, telling me that one of my aunts in Indonesia was in a hospital and that my older brother was already there with her (she lives in another city, about four hours away from our hometown), and that he might join him tomorrow.
The first thought that came to my mind was, she was dying. And then came the guilt. We haven't been in touch since I moved to Canada. I've always wanted to send her some news but I don't have her address and my brothers have been slacking from getting her address for me. Her birthday is in January. I bought her a card. It's still sitting there on my desk. I really hope she'll pull it through. Out of all my mother's sisters, she's my favourite. Just like my mum, she was always so proud of me, always spoiling me rotten (she's unmarried, no kids of her own). There was always a birthday card from her every year.
Anyway, I'm just posting this so I could ask you to send some positive vibes her way. I don't know how this positive vibe thing works but if people all over the world are still requesting it, it must be working somehow. Just address the vibes to Firda's Favourite Aunt, please, and thank you.

Stream of Consciousness

2007-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Okay, those of you who keep checking this blog for an update may rejoice because, at long last, there's a new entry! You guys made me feel bad every time you showed up in my visitor statistics. I'm such a lazy blogger. Oooh, ooh, and this is not just a new entry. It's a new bulleted entry! Hooray!

We're going to Newfoundland this year! Or British Columbia! Or both! We don't know yet! But we're going somewhere! Yay for travelling! We didn't do any travelling last year. It was kind of sad. </li>

I only signed up for a Facebook</a> account because I wanted to be able to read Troy's profile. But then I got addicted to changing my status. But seriously, social networking sites and I don't really mix because I'm an anti social. </li>

We went to a wedding on Friday night and we were seated at the head table with the bride and the groom even though we were not in the wedding party. That was a first for me. And the prime rib was humongous. </li>

I've been attempting a redesign and I came up with a new design that was all Web Two-Oh yesterday. Of course I ended up hating it. </li>

Sometimes I got tired of speaking English and I'd start speaking Indonesian to Troy whose knowledge of Indonesian language is limited to a couple of phrases: "Aku cinta kamu" (I love you) and "Seekor anjing/kucing/kuda/sapi" (A dog/cat/horse/cow.) It's always fun. </li>
Sometimes I also got tired of writing in English and I'd blog somewhere else</a> in my own language. I miss using my language. </li>

I also miss all the lovely Indonesian food, but my Indonesian cooking is improving. Hopefully someone will be nice enough to take me to an Indonesian restaurant that serves authentic Indonesian food for my birthday. Hint, hint. </li> </ul>

I suggested McFlurries for dinner today, but alas, Troy wants to have some chicken stir-fry. Mmm, Caramilk McFlurry</a>. It's so bad it's good. It's about the only thing I'd buy from McDonald's.</li> </ul>

I wish someone would sponsor me to travel across Canada and take pictures with various toy/plastic cameras and later would publish the pictures in a book. Oh yes. That's the kind of thing I would love to do. </li>

I dream BIG. Some of my biggest dreams have actually come true. </li>

I like stream of consciousness blog writing. As you may have noticed, I'm pretty random. </li>

I also like cheesecake. </li> </ul>

I Still Like Winter, Really

2007-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Troy didn't get to go home last night. I told him to just succumb to his fate and stay in Stratford instead of waiting around for the highways to open which might or might not happen. He spent the night at his co-worker's place so I had to sleep alone, which wasn't too bad because I got to sleep with the light on. I like sleeping with the light on (did it all the time back in Indonesia) though I know it's not very energy-friendly. I have this silly belief that if I slept with my glasses on, I'd be able to see better when I'm dreaming and wouldn't have nightmares about stepping on a pile of poo or something like that. The same goes with sleeping with the light on. I'd be able to see if anyone tried to kill me in my nightmares and be able to prevent it. Told you it was silly! :)
Anyway, I often wonder who gets to write the weather warnings at the Canadian Weather Office because sometimes they seem to try too hard to be poetic. Here's an example:

Very cold Arctic air has settled back across southern Ontario accompanied by bitterly cold northwesterly winds. These very cold conditions will produce wind chill values ranging from minus 30 in portions of the southwest to around minus 35 in Toronto to as low as minus 39 northeast of Toronto. Readings are particularly severe in extreme eastern Ontario along the Ottawa Valley where readings are hovering below minus 40 with northwest winds of 30 to 40 km/h. These bitterly cold readings will ease later this morning as the mercury begins to climb and winds abate slightly. </blockquote>
Or is it just me? I mean, they could've just said very cold winds instead of bitterly cold winds. Though I have to say that I kind of like the sound of the last sentence of the paragraph.
By the way, don't get me wrong. I still like winter. I just don't like it when it's this cold. My first two winters were ideal. Well, maybe not the winter before this one. It was too mild for my liking. My first winter was the best! Did I ever tell you that I handle winter better that Troy does? ;) He handles summer better that I do, however. I don't like Canadian summer. It's different from the Indonesian year-long summer, you know. Canadian summer has way too much UV in its ingredients!

The Proper 7th Blogiversary Post I Said I'd Write

2007-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy reminds me of a chat I once had years ago with my good friend Emlyn</a>, whom I met through blogging and who was probably my biggest fan ever (no one else ever created a website dedicated to me). I told him how I wanted to make my life extraordinary and he told me that my life was already extraordinary. He made me think and he was right. It's just ironic how he became part of the reason that made my life extraordinary. He had to end his own life. I guess he wasn't as lucky as I was.
When I was feeling like there was no point in life, I had friends who were there for me and who told me to hang on and promised me that life would get better. Friends that I wouldn't have met if not for blogging, who lived in other parts of the world but whom I felt closer to than any friends I had in real life. I dedicate this post to them: Troy</a>, Rebecca</a>, and Jordan</a>. Thank you for being around when I needed you most (even though I frustrated you most of the time) and for being the awesome friends that you are.
If you asked me what the biggest thing I'd achieved through my 7 years of blogging, my answer would be my life. Blogging saved my life. And really, what could've been a bigger achievement?
I couldn't have written a better blogiversary post than this.

A Week in Review

2007-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Well, I think it's about time that I write a proper post and give you an update on my wonderful and exciting life (note the sarcasm, but my life isn't really bad). Let's start from Thursday last week.
Thursday, I re-arranged the living room and now this place feels more like Casa Troy and Firda rather than Troy's bachelor pad. Yay! Should've done it two years ago. Troy wasn't too fond of the new arrangement at first but I think he's warmed up to it.
Friday, we went to the funeral of Troy's great-aunt. She was a lovely lady, and a good photographer. Her husband passed away in December last year and now, I guess, they're together again.
Saturday was the much anticipated Wii Weekend with Rannie and Jay. We don't entertain much and it showed, but Troy and I had fun, and I knocked Troy out at the Wii Sports Boxing game, which was awesome. Once Rannie and Jay left, we just knew we had to get one of those ever so elusive Wiis.
Sunday, I wasn't feeling too great and my head was pounding but we didn't feel like staying in so we went to a local cemetery to take pictures. Didn't last very long there because it was very cold so we decided to just check out some stores to find a Wii. Of course we didn't succeed.
Monday, we started checking the Console Watch website obsessively for the Wii and its accessories. Troy did some research and found that EB Games replenished their Wii stock on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
Tuesday, Troy went to an EB Games store and got us one of those Wiis. Yay! It was also my 7th blogiversary, but I was too excited about the Wii to really care. I'm going to have to write a proper blogiversary post one of these days.
Wednesday, I started my new morning ritual of playing some Wii Sports to get my body to work out and get some sweat out. Yes, playing Wii Sports is some kind of exercise and some kind of exercise is better than none at all.
And that was my week in review. Told you it was exciting. :P Oh, forgot to mention that my peace lily is producing a flower! It's been around two years since the last time it bloomed. I must've done something right! Now if only I could make my African violet to produce some flowers, I'd be one happy llama. Any tips?

It's All About the Photo Ops

2007-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Well, Troy said, "So you should like update your blog and junk!" And I aim to please, so here I am, updating my blog and junk even though I have a sore throat and therefore am not feeling too hot right now.
We received the magazine with my picture in it yesterday. It was cool. Like too cool to drool for school. Also yesterday I heard that I'm getting another picture published in another magazine. I was like, OMG, people actually like my work and crap! It was a rather humbling moment. Kinda like when I started getting clients in my web designer days, minus all the frustrations of dealing with the said clients, which I can definitely do without.
I've been posting to my photolog daily without fail since I re-started it almost three weeks ago, so if you ever miss my posts (ha!), definitely head over there. I always tell a little story to go with the picture. Not necessarily interesting, but a story nonetheless.
So it looks like we might be driving out East again in autumn (waaah, such a long time from now!), only this time there would be four of us since we're going to tag along with Troy's parents. I heard the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia looks even more beautiful in autumn so that's one photo op I'm looking forward to. I'm also hoping that we'd be able to stop at Gaspé Peninsula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasp%C3%A9_Peninsula), Quebec and walk down the seabed in the Bay of Fundy</a> in New Brunswick during the low tide.
Tomorrow we're going to make a daytrip to the Niagara Falls for some photo ops. The weather there is supposed to be better than here in Waterloo where it snows every single day. This snow thing is really getting kind of old. We have a wedding to go to next month and I wonder if there will still be snow on the ground by then. I guess there's only one way to find out.

The Toronto Turkey Treat

2007-01-22T00:00:00+00:00


I really don't understand Flickr sometimes. The picture above I almost didn't upload because I thought it was kind of boring but it ended up being the most popular shot of the batch. Pictures that I really, really like, on the other hand, never got much loving from the Flickr community. Go figure.
So, the weekend. Um, what did we do? It feels like a long time ago. I'm going to have to scrape up my memory first. Mind you, I have a really crappy short-term memory. So crappy that sometimes I'd go to the kitchen to pick up something and when I got to the kitchen, which is only like three footsteps away, I've already forgotten what I'm supposed to pick up.
Okay. The weekend. Weekend starts Friday night, right? Well, we got tonnes of snow on Friday so we didn't really do much Friday night. We did make it to a thrift store and then to a nearby game store (J&J Cards and Collectibles</a> on Weber Street, if you live in Waterloo, is the best place to buy board games -- lowest price ever!) to buy Blokus Duo</a> before getting ourselves some ice cream. Yes, we actually had ice cream after a heavy snowfall. Who said you're not supposed to have ice cream when the temperature is below freezing? And we got the ice cream from McDonald's no less. So bad. Spent the rest of the night playing Blokus Duo. Well, at least until Troy got tired of winning and decided to play a video game instead.
Saturday, after winning a camera and a lens on eBay, Troy, our friend Joe, and I headed out to Toronto for a turkey dinner at SMooSH and Loba</a>'s. I thought I liked big cities but now I realised that I don't really. At least I can't say that I'm a big fan of Toronto. First of all, the highway signings in Toronto are not very visitor-friendly. If you're not a Toronto resident, you're just bound to miss your exits. In addition, some intersections have no street signs and sometimes you just have no idea where the hell you are. Troy always gets pissed while driving in and around Toronto and I don't blame him, though his pissiness (is that a word?) always rubs off on me and that's not very cool. But the drive to Toronto this time was totally worth it. The food, especially the turkey, was so good. Like, very, very good. And the hosts and the other guests were entertaining. We even got to bring home some turkey leftover, so it's turkey fried rice for me for lunch and deep-fried turkey soup with vermicelli for us for supper today. Yum!
The drive back to Waterloo was a lot less eventful, though at some point the highway got kind of foggy and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because all the lights looked like vertical lines. Had to ask the guys if they were seeing the same just to make sure. Wish I had taken a picture of it. Once we got to Waterloo, the three of us played a game of Settlers of Catan and Troy wasn't too happy about the fact that my trading with Joe led to Joe's winning. What can I say. I was tired and sleepy and I just wanted to go to bed.
I was tired and sleepy all through Sunday. I think both of us were. But we still made it to a couple of thrift stores, a discount book store, and a Vietnamese restaurant in Cambridge. Troy picked up a Sega Master System</a> from one of the thrift stores. It's pretty ugly compared to, say, a Nintendo Wii. We went to a Walmart and a Toys R Us in Kitchener yesterday to see if they had any Wii left, but alas, no such luck. Someday we will be lucky enough to get one. Someday.
Troy went to Michigan last Thursday. I was hoping he'd be able to pick up some Polaroid 600 film from a Ritz Camera store because it cost around $10 less than it was here in Canada but the Ritz Camera he went to had no Polaroid 600 film at all. Boo! I was a sad llama, but not for very long.

The Long Overdue Update

2007-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Troy kept bugging me to update so here's an update. Hrm. Where to start? Oh look, there's actually some snow on the ground! We walked to the dollar store down the road after supper and it was quite pleasant. It wasn't super cold even though it was already dark but it wasn't warm enough for the snow to melt. It was what I'd call the perfect winter temperature. Though I wouldn't mind a -30°C temperature since it would be cold enough to freeze the lakes and that would make for some interesting photo ops. Heh.
This past weekend was pretty fun. On Saturday we went to thrift stores (as usual), came home, and then our friend Joe came and the three of us went to our local independent cinema to see a selection of commercials from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival (yes, we actually paid money to watch commercials -- strange but true). It was entertaining. Some of the commercials (mostly sports-related ones) were boring, some were racy, but in general they were pretty funny. The English language school commercial one has got to be my favourite. We went for dinner afterwards and then went back to our place to play a game of Settlers of Catan before Joe left.
We didn't do much on Sunday. Took a detour a little outside town on our way to the grocery store because I wanted to take panorama pictures of a snow-covered farm land with my plastic camera. Then we did the grocery shopping, had supper, and went to the independent cinema (again!) to see a documentary film called Manufactured Landscapes. The film follows a Canadian photographer, Edward Burtynsky</a>, as he travels across China to photograph the effects of the industrial revolution. It was interesting and just a tad bit depressing.
Let's see, what else? Um, remember our plan to get a Nintendo Wii as a Valentine's Day present to ourselves? Well, even if we couldn't get hold of one, we'll still be able to at least play some Wii games at our place for a little while since we've signed up to be part of the Photojunkie's GTA Wii Tour. Of course we (the tour crew, Troy and I) are going to go picture-taking together as well because it is going to be a special stop after all (we don't really live in the Greater Toronto Area/GTA). Troy and I are pretty excited about that.
Troy is in the mood for cleaning right now. It's awesome! He's so much better at cleaning than me. And it's already past our bedtime so I guess I should get ready for bed. Ta-ta for now!

2006 Recap

2006-12-29T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Well, since this entry is probably my last entry for this year, I might as well post my 2006 recap. When it comes to photography, 2006 has been a good year for me.

One of my honeymoon photos made the Utata front page.</li>
I learned to do my own black and white film development and Troy got me a scanner than can scan both 35mm and medium format films.</li>
I participated in this year's World Pinhole Photography Day</a> and one of my pinhole photos ended up being my most popular shot on Flickr</a>.</li>
One of my Holga photos won a prize in this year's World Toy Camera Day.</li>
I got the word this month that another one of my Holga photos</a> will be published in the Winter issue of Lightleaks Magazine</a>, coming out either in late January or early February 2007.</li>
I got all the cameras I'd ever wanted (this includes a Rolleicord, a Yashica Mat, a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and a Lomo LC-A).</li>
I got around to putting together my photography portfolio, even though it's still very much a work in progress.</li> </ul>
Photography aside, this year has been pretty uneventful, except for Troy's one week of hospitalisation due to appendicitis and my stomach problem. Both were big pains in the backside.
Here's hoping for a better health next year, another good photography year for me, and an all-around good year for everyone!

Yesterday Was Da Bomb!

2006-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Yesterday was my first day of that time of month and I thought it might be a good idea for me to do some running around catching buses and shopping for Christmas presents to give to my beloved husband. I don't know what the hell I was thinking.
The first bus was like 15 minutes late, so I missed the second bus -- no thanks to the first bus -- and had to wait for 15 minutes for the next bus. When the next bus arrived, the driver had to wait for another 15 minutes before he moved the bus. At least he was cute and said thank you when I dropped my fares into the slot. Plus, he was the only bus driver I came across that day (there were four of them) that wasn't grumpy. Bus driver #4 actually looked like he was ready to kill me by the time I hopped on the bus. And I didn't do anything to him other than say hi! Is it wrong to say hi to bus drivers? But then again, his bus kind of smelled like stale pee. I'd be grumpy too if I were him.
People in general were also grumpy that day. When I mentioned it to my beloved husband, he said people were always grumpy when Christmas was near. So much for the Christmas spirit and all that jazz, eh? Anyway, their grumpiness kind of rubbed off on me. I couldn't help cussing to myself over and over again under my breath during my running around. It wasn't a good day, but at least my Christmas shopping is almost done and soon the only grumpy person I'll have to deal with is my beloved husband. Not that he's grumpy all the time. He's only grumpy when he's driving. Poor boy just doesn't get along too well with other drivers.
Aaanyway. Have I ever told you how much I love gift-wrapping? It is a stressful activity to some (including my beloved husband), but to me, it's very therapeutic. There is something zen about it. It makes me feel at peace and all that new age crap. I wrapped all my presents to Troy and some others last night and had a good time. I even offered to wrap Troy's presents to me but he politely declined. Boo! I'm glad we still have a bunch more presents to buy, because it means I'll have a bunch of things to wrap, which is awesome. I'd buy people presents just so that I could do some gift-wrapping. Too bad I'm not rich, eh?
Oooh, ooh, I almost forgot. I saw the best graffiti ever yesterday on some pole by a school. It read "Different doesn't mean your clever." (Emphasis on "your" is mine.) Hadn't I been on a bus with a bunch of strangers, I would've laughed out loud.

My Brand Spanking New Digital SLR Camera

2006-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Watching Death Cab For Cutie's I Will Follow You Into the Dark video first thing in the morning is really not the best way to start your day. I ended up bawling my eyes out. If you think the song is depressing, wait until you watch the video. I actually watched the video a couple more times after the first time because I'm a glutton for punishment and I ended up bawling. Every. Single. Time.
I did get my brand spanking new digital SLR camera in the mail on Wednesday, by the way, but it came with an additional feature (since Canon refuses to call it a malfunction): a dead pixel on the 2.5 inch LCD screen. If you paid lots of money on a product, you'd expect the product to be perfect, right? So that night we brought the camera back to Future Shop for an exchange. After waiting around for what felt like ages, we drove home with another Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I hated having to charge the battery all over again (90 minutes is a frickin' long time!) but I didn't have any other choice. Once the battery was all charged, I tested the camera and this one turned out to be perfect. Yay!
I wanted to call my camera Chuck Norris but Troy thought it was dumb. He wanted to call it Christi (XTi, Christi -- got it?) but I thought it was lame. I think I'm going to call it Penelope instead. Not after Penelope Cruz, but after one of James Kim's daughters. I didn't post about the camera on Wednesday because I was upset about James Kim -- the CNet senior editor who went missing while searching for help for his stranded family -- being found dead. It's amazing how much the live (or death) of strangers can affect you.
I still have yet to take the camera outside. Hopefully I'll be able to do it this weekend. The weather is supposed to be warmish on Sunday. That would be nice for a change.

Sweet Bejeebus!

2006-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
I could listen to Cat Power singing Lived In Bars all day and night. Of course I would have to stop once Troy is home from work. Don't want to drive the poor boy nuts just yet. ;)
Anyway, I survived the annual family get-together #1 by eating a lot of peanuts and carrots, playing some pool rather badly (didn't score any points, but it killed the time), and helping my team of three win the 80s Trivial Pursuit (mostly to avoid the karaoke session). Surprisingly, I knew some stuff that the North Americans didn't, including the answer to the final question. Oh, and I got a pretty cool gift from the gift exchange thingy: a scrapbooking kit. Sweet bejeebus! That's something that I could actually use! The annual family get-together #2 is next weekend. We'll see if I survive that one.
Oooh, oooh, and something exciting happened last night. We bought the Canon Digital Rebel XTi</a> a.k.a. the Canon EOS 400D online! It was on sale at Future Shop -- almost $100 off the regular price -- so we thought we'd bite the bullet and buy it even though we couldn't afford to buy a big memory card and a spare battery just yet. The camera is supposed to arrive in the mail on Wednesday. I can't wait! I'm giddy with anticipation. Until we can afford a bigger memory card, I guess I'll have to make do with Troy's 128MB CF card and just take a few pictures at a time with the camera. :)
To make things even better, we've brought home some turkey leftover from the get-together. I'm definitely making some deep-fried turkey soup with vermicelli for lunch AND supper today! Mmm, deep-fried turkey... Life is good.

In Which She Complains About the Weather

2006-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Am I the only one in Southwestern Ontario who thinks that it's a bit too warm for a late autumn yet people seem to ignore it and still dress in layers? I mean, last weekend was pretty warm but Troy and I seemed to be the only people walking around in t-shirts and jeans with no coats on. And I'm a tropical island girl! What's up with that? I thought Canadians were cold-proof!
Anyway, I was just checking the weather forecast and the temperature is supposed to be falling today. Sweet! Though only to 5°C, which isn't exactly cold, but it's still better than low-teens. By Sunday, the temperature will be down to -1°C at the highest. Yay! And with flurries! Double yay! And then Troy will start getting grumpy every time I insist on us going some place to take pictures. Poor Troy. Unlike me, he hates cold weather and snow. And he's still waiting for winter to grow old on me, in vain.
They've been getting tonnes of snow out West, even in Vancouver. I wonder when our turn will be.

Blast from the Past

2006-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

At the Christmas party last weekend, I mentioned to the people seated with us that I was Indonesian.

Not Nice

2006-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
We woke up to a very foggy morning. I think it was because the sun was out yesterday. The sun is out today, too. We might wake up to another foggy morning tomorrow. I wanted to take pictures of all the fogs but foggy morning in the suburb doesn't really look all that dramatic so I put down the camera and laid myself flat on my back in bed with no pillows under my head. I felt the most comfortable feeling I'd felt in weeks.
My stomach had just started feeling better when my period began. Now it's feeling like crap again. Ugh! Periods suck. The only edible thing that can soothe my stomach seems to be the watermelon. Too bad watermelons are so expensive at this time of year. And I only have a few slices left.
We need to do grocery shopping. It's not even a week yet since the last time we did grocery shopping. But the last time, we picked up mostly vegetables. Vegetables, they're gone really quickly. All you have to do is cook once. Oh bad food, how I miss thee! But my stomach doesn't like you anymore.
I was running out of rice yesterday, but I still had plenty of glutinous rice. I cooked the glutinous rice because I wanted to make some fried rice for lunch. But once fried, the final product looked like a big, herbal-y, lumpy goop. Didn't look all that appetizing. I ate some anyway because I was hungry but I threw the rest away. It didn't taste all that great either.
I've been listening to Cat Power</a> all morning. Her voice soothes me. Troy thinks she's creepy. I don't know why.

Once I wanted to be the greatest
Two fists of solid rock
With brains that could explain
Any feeling
Cat Power, The Greatest</a> </blockquote>
I should shower and go for a walk. Maybe it will make me feel better and less complainy.

Can I just say "Untitled"?

2006-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

I've never been in an ambulance until last Monday. I sat in the front seat. Would've been cool if it was only a joyride and not because your better half is in an excruciating pain. </li>

I'm still trying to figure out how to make it to the hospital by bus in the shortest time possible. </li>

I have already figured out that the hospital is only two turns away from our apartment. </li>

The bus ride to the hospital always feels longer than the ride back home. </li>

I like how you can get a transfer ticket. That way you only have to pay one bus fare even though you have to hop on two buses to get to where you want to go. </li>

I think I know how to get to wherever I want to go in Kitchener-Waterloo area by bus now. </li>

CTV must've screwed up last night because I think I watched the second episode of the new season of Grey's Anatomy last night instead of the season premiere. </li>

I've been posting Troy's daily progress (and setbacks) in his blog</a> because his friends read it and I though they'd like to know. </li>

I hope Troy will make a speedy recovery and can go home soon. I've never felt this lonely and alone since my mother passed away. </li>

Well, I'd better make my lunch before getting ready to go to the hospital. I'm tired of having Tim Horton's stuff for lunch. </li> </ul>

I Like Weekends

2006-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Well, another weekend has come and gone. It was a fun one, even though my whole body ended up being all sore. It was mostly from our visit to the Webster's Falls in the Niagara Escarpment near Hamilton on Sunday. You see, to get to the bottom of the falls, you have to climb down a stairway. Climbing down the steep stairway wasn't a big deal. Climbing up is another story altogether because I'm not really the fittest person in the world. I'm just glad it didn't start raining until we finished climbing up the stairs. It would've been worse otherwise.
We weren't quite sure where to go after the falls, especially since it was raining heavily. As we usually do in this kind of situation, we just aimed for the thrift stores. But we got sidetracked and ended up in IKEA in Burlington instead. The plan was to check out some bookshelves but we ended up buying anything but bookshelves. Mostly kitchen utensils. And some photo frames. And a plant for me. I don't know what the plant is called so I just call it Spot. Speaking of IKEA, if your name is Chris, you're a noticeboard in IKEA world. But you probably know it already.
We went to a couple of thrift stores after IKEA. Picked up a few things but nothing phenomenal. We did pick up a camera from an antique market to add into our vintage camera collection on Saturday. It was a Sawyer's Nomad 620 (I still have yet to take a picture of it). It's pretty craptastic. After our visit to the antique market, we met up with our friend Joe and we went to the cinema together to see Lady in the Water</a>. It was a pretty entertaining movie. More funny than scary. It's definitely different from M. Night Shyamalan's previous works, and different is good.
We're going up to the cottage two weekends from now. Can't wait! I'm really looking forward to trying out the camera we won from an auction awhile ago—the Pacemaker Crown Graphic</a>—while we are there. So excited!
I'm such a geek.

Capote and V

2006-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

We went to see Capote</a> and V for Vendetta last weekend.

Goodbye, Finnegan!

2005-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
We had to put our Betta fish Finnegan to sleep yesterday. It was not an easy decision, but he seemed to be in so much pain that we just had to do it. It was more than a little upsetting to say the least. The picture above was taken a few days ago when he was still in his quarantine tank. I moved him back to his galactic bowl once I saw that he was dying. Thought he'd like to spend his last minutes at home. Finney was a good fish, and we miss him already.

Screw the Weather

2005-12-16T00:00:00+00:00

Contrary to what I said in yesterday's post, I didn't stay in. The weather wasn't fantastic but what the hell. My mind was set. I was going. When I walked to the bus stop, I couldn't see the sidewalk because it was covered thickly with snow. That was one of the few times I was glad I had my hiking boots. Hiking boots make excellent winter boots. Except that your feet will eventually get cold unless you keep on moving. Might be the same case with winter boots but I don't know. I have no winter boots.
Anyway, I spent some three hours at the mall and came home with four presents. All for Troy. Two are birthday presents and the other two are for Christmas. Though I might change my mind. I'm still going to get some more presents for Troy. I'm planning to walk to a bookstore this afternoon. It's really windy out there (the wind chill is -11) but if I could survive yesterday's crap weather, I should survive today's.
In other news, I'm feeling kind of blah today. Partly because our Betta fish Finnegan is dying despite our efforts to medicate him, and partly because I keep dreaming about my family in Indonesia at night, which makes me feel homesick. I really wish that teleporter thingy (a la Star Trek) really did exist.

I'm the Queen of Procrastination

2005-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
I've been living in Canada for more than a year but I still let the weather beat me all the time. I still haven't got around to buying a birthday present for Troy even though his birthday is only five days away, let alone doing any Christmas shopping, because when the weather is clear, it's so fricking cold (below -10°C) and when the temperature is a bit higher (as in higher than -10°C but lower than 0), it's snowing heavily.
Last year I attempted to do a last minute Christmas shopping the day before Christmas day. There was a blizzard earlier that day and the snow on the ground was probably 20cm. thick. I made it to the bus stop, but the bus never did arrive (I learned later the there was a huge delay due the city streets being covered thickly with snow). After 45 minutes of waiting, I told the guy I'd been waiting for the bus with that I gave up and went back to the apartment after wishing him luck.
One would think that should teach me something, but of course I learned no lesson from that. I had plan to go out shopping today. The temperature is only -2°C, but of course it's snowing heavily. What a queen of procrastination to do? Staying in, of course, and hoping that there won't be any blizzard the day before Troy's birthday. When will I learn that the weather is not going to get much better at this time of year? Probably never.

Always Broke

2005-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

T: Now that we're done with season two of Scrubs, we can start watching season two of Arrested Development.
F: We have season two of Arrested Development?
T: Yup.
F: You mean in your computer?
T: No, on DVD.
F: We have the DVD?
T: Yah. We picked it up a couple of months ago.
F: Oh right. I think we got broke after that.
T: Baby, we're always broke.
F: I guess so...

Good News vs. Bad News

2005-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

Good news. Thanks to Google Adsense, I actually have money to buy Troy his birthday presents and Christmas gifts this year. Not really a lot of money, but money nonetheless. Last year, I managed to scrape enough money to buy him a small birthday present but had to use his money to buy him his Christmas gifts, which was really lame. So thanks for all the clicks, guys! :)
Bad news. Our Betta fish Finnegan</a> that we adopted on my mother's birthday in September is sick. He won't eat and he just looks really blah. We did a lot of research last night and concluded that the little guy is feeling depressed. We bought some stuff to treat his depression today so I hope he will be back to his old self and will start eating again soon. Please send some good vibes to Finney!
Good news. Our peace lily is blooming! We bought the peace lily from a grocery store last year on the first anniversary of my mother's death. It was blooming when we bought it, but it never bloomed again, until now. We're very excited about it. My mum would be so proud.
Bad news. A couple of days ago, I found that Troy's basket of Pothos that he's had for years is dying because I kept forgetting to water it (I'm blaming it on the location). So I watered it like crazy, hoping that it would be enough to recover the plant. Today, a few of the leaves seem to have regained their strength, but most of them are still limp. I still have hopes that the limp leaves will pick up some strength soon. Fingers crossed.
Good news. Well, there isn't really any more good news, but I like to think the fact that there is an equal number of good news and bad news means that all is good. Life is good. It could be better. But for now, good is good enough for me. And I hope that life is treating you just as well, if not better.

Vintage Camera Junkies

2005-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Troy and I have been to many thrift stores, antique markets, and flea markets all over Southwestern Ontario in our search for vintage cameras that we can actually use to take photos, or those that just look cool enough to justify the fact that we can't really take photos with them due to film unavailability. Most of the time, we are disgusted with the outrageous price. A lot of these cameras are so overly-priced it's not even funny. Some sellers are even crazy enough to sell some broken, box cameras for more than $10 each when a working one only worths something between $1 and $10. I mean, what are they thinking?
Anyway, just when we were about to lose all hopes on ever getting reasonably-priced, vintage, working cameras, we came to the right place at the right time last weekend and got the cameras pictured above for 50 cents each from an antique market. They might have scratches here and there but we don't really care, because they work. We have the film for the one on the left (Argus 75) but not for the one on the right (Metro-Flex). If anyone know of a place in Canada where we can buy 127 roll film, do let us know. We could buy 127 film from the States online, but we can't really justify the shipping and custom fees.
Collecting vintage cameras is very addictive. We just can't stop looking. I really don't know where to store our recent acquisitions. We definitely need a bigger apartment. :)

The Little Chocolate Bar Boy

2005-12-05T00:00:00+00:00

Friday night was cold. The temperature was below freezing, no doubt about it. As we were approaching the entrance of a bookstore, a boy came to us and asked if we'd like to buy some chocolate bars from him for a charity. At first Troy said he'd buy some when we were leaving, but after seeing how cold the boy looked, he changed his mind and bought two chocolate bars from him right then.
"I hope you'll be able to come home soon." Troy said. The boy's reply made me feel so sad. "Not until I sold sixty," he quietly muttered. I swear, had I had money to spare, I would've bought all his chocolate bars just so that he could go home because, really, it was so freaking cold that night! I still think about that boy even now. I hope he's somewhere warm right now.

Poked and Prodded

2005-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

I had an appointment with a doctor this morning, which explained the lack of links for today. I needed to get a medical exam for immigration purposes. It was pretty painless, but I was so nervous that the doctor had to make a comment about how my heart was pounding so hard after he was done examining everything, including my breasts for lumps (yes, a breast exam by a male doctor). The doctor didn't find anything wrong, which was great. One chest x-ray and three vials of blood later, the whole thing was done. Phew. It's so nice not to have to worry about it anymore.
I'll post some links for you tomorrow as per usual. But now, I should probably put together my Christmas list since the deadline set by Troy's mom is this weekend. The only problem is, I don't really know what I want (except for a digital SLR camera, but it is out of question, heh). Oh well. I'll come up with something.

The Maple Tree

2005-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Yes, the maple tree in front of our apartment did eventually change colours. The leaves were brilliantly yellow for a couple of weeks. In the morning, when the sun was in the right angle, our apartment would be bathed in yellow light. It was beautiful. Right now, the tree is pretty much bare. Yet the black squirrel who claimed the tree as his territory can still be seen there, jumping around, going up and down.
It was flurrying when I took the picture on the right. Unfortunately, the Polaroid camera couldn't capture it. Flurries are pretty. It makes you feel as if you could see the wind.

The Wayback Machine

2005-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
That's my dad, my older brother, and me. I think this photo was taken in 1973 when I was only several months old. I still wear that pissy look every now and then.
</a>
Okay, so I always wear that pissy look. It didn't take me very long to lose all faith in humanity. I still remember the dress my mum wears in this photo. It was very colourful. I even still remember the way she smelt.
</a>
That's my parents on their honeymoon in 1971. Doesn't my mum look pretty? I wish I was half as pretty as she was. I miss her so much.

Totally Random

2005-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

I've been hating bedtime because I keep having trouble sleeping. Last night was a one off.</li>
The maple tree in front of our apartment is STILL all green and bushy!</li>
We've been keeping all the windows in our apartment closed for a couple of weeks now or else I would freeze.</li>
I think the latest trend among Canadian geese this year is to fly in Batman logo formation.</li>
I don't care about iPods. I really don't. Though if I had to go to a Hallowe'en party, I'd go as a broken iPod nano.</li>
I don't care about brands when it comes to clothing but I can be a brand-fanatic when it comes to grocery.</li>
The prospect of picking up photos I took with the vintage cameras from the photolab makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.</li>
Troy is the biggest fan of my cooking (obviously).</li>
I think turkey is the new and improved chicken.</li>
If I started my own religion (appropriately named the Church of Firda), the followers would have to religiously go to thrift stores/antique markets/garage sales every Sunday to find vintage cameras to donate to the church (ie. me).</li>
I'm a self-proclaimed heathen. By my father's religious standard, I am SO going to hell. And I don't even drink alcohol!</li>
I'm in love with Yoplait Source yoghurt. So good.</li>
I've run out of random things to say.</li> </ul>

Autumn Is Better Than Fall

2005-10-07T00:00:00+00:00

The long, Thanksgiving weekend is coming up and Troy and I are going down to Troy's parents place to spend the weekend there. Originally, we had a circus to go to this weekend, but they cancelled the show, which was kind of disappointing. My consolation was that at least the fall fair would still be there and I'd be able to take plenty of lovely pictures with my various vintage and lo-tech cameras there. But then I checked the weather forecast and found that the weather wouldn't be so good this weekend, which wouldn't be a problem had we bought faster speed films for the cameras, which we didn't. What a bummer. Not that it's going to stop me from taking pictures. Bring it on! Even if the pictures turned up too dark, there's always Photoshop to spruce them up a bit. Right? Not that I photoshop my pictures a lot, mind you. And if all else fails, I'd still have pictures taken with my trusty digital camera, which rarely fails me.
On a completely different note, I've been sending telepathic messages to the maple tree in front of our apartment for the last couple of weeks. The message says: "Start changing colour because it's autumn already and green is not the right colour for the season!" But I think the tree is cheerfully ignoring me. It's still all green and bushy. I hope the tree will finally get the message, now that the temperature is getting lower (it's in the low teen today). See, when I got back to Canada from Indonesia last year, the trees were already bare. I didn't get to see the autumn colours. That's why I'm dying to see it for the first time, the way I was dying to see snow for the first time last winter. I just want to complete my four-season experience and make up for the month I lost last year.
Anyway, I've got to start packing now. Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadian readers and have a good long weekend. May the Force be with your turkey!

Finnegan the Galactic Wonder Fish

2005-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Meet Finnegan, or Finney for short, the latest addition to Casa Troy and Firda. He's a Betta, also known as the Siamese fighting fish, also known as Cupang in Indonesian. Curiously, Cupang is also Indonesian for hickey</a>.
It all began on Tuesday when I spotted this aquarium in a store at the mall. I thought if I were a fish, I would love to live there. I showed it to Troy and he said I could have it if I wanted it. Doh, of course I wanted it! So we bought it and took it home. I decided to put the aquarium in the bathroom, next to the sink, near the toilet bowl for easy maintenance. I thought the fish would like to live closer to their, um, highway to heaven. That night it was decided that we were getting a Betta instead of a goldfish. The next day I started preparing the aquarium. Rinsing the inside of the aquarium, washing the stones, letting the water sit overnight, you know the drill. And then came the day we had been waiting for: the day we were getting the fish!
We went to this pet store at the mall and straight to the fish section. Okay, so we had to check out some puppies first, but whatever. I had my eyes on four Bettas and it was hard for me to decide which one to get because I liked them all just as much. What a girl to do? Well, I just solved the problem the Indonesian way. I sang this song while pointing to a different Betta with every syllable clockwise: "Bas bis bus, pi-sang re-bus. Du-it se-ra-tus, gu-nung me-le-tus!" The song ended when I was pointing at this particular bluish red Betta, so it was decided. We were taking that little fella home.
Putting the fish into the aquarium was a messy process. I'll spare you the detail. But half an hour or so after we got home, the fish was settled in his new home. The first thing he checked out was the rocket, which wasn't surprising since he was a Galactic Wonder Fish after all. Then came the hardest part: picking a name. I wanted to call him Marty because on the box that came with the aquarium it was written "Marty the Galactic Wonder Fish not included." But Troy said it wasn't a very original name. That was when he came up with Finney, short for Finnegan, which I liked. So Finnegan it is.
Finnegan came into our lives on my mother's birthday. She'd be 62 years old if she was still alive. She would've loved the crazy aquarium and the fish. I'm sure she was smiling down on us. (More photos of Finney here</a>.)

Labour Day Weekend Report

2005-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

We spent the long, Labour Day weekend at Troy's family cottage by the lake. It was a weekend of firsts for me. It was:

the first cottage weekend since Troy and I got married;</li>
the first time I had Smores</a> (the real thing, not the chocolate bar);</li>
the first time I did scrapbooking (one of our friends put together a scrapbook out of our wedding and honeymoon pictures for us, isn't that sweet?);</li>
the first time I saw black bears in their natural habitat (they were hanging around this dump/recycling place when we were bringing in all the garbage from the weekend -- Troy doesn't think it's their natural habitat but whatever);</li>
the first time I've been to an island in Eagle Lake other than the good, old Blueberry Island;</li>
the first time I took a picture of a rainbow</a>;</li>
the first time in years that I finished reading a book without much effort (it was The Five People You Meet in Heaven</a> by Mitch Albom -- such a beautiful story, highly recommended);</li>
the first time I took pictures with the Ansco Shur Shot and the Ansco B2 Speedex Junior that we got from some antique stores two weekends ago.</li> </ul>
Um, I think that's about all. It was an okay weekend. It would've been better had the weather been friendlier. It was cold, rainy, and windy most of the time. The weather didn't improve until Sunday. Of course Monday, which happened to be the day we had to leave the cottage, had to be the sunniest day of all. Stupid weather. And I wouldn't even try to swim. My body doesn't deal with cold water very well, especially in the outdoor.
Anyway, if you're interested in seeing the pictures from the weekend, you can find them in this Flickr photoset</a>. If you have a high speed internet connection, I would recommend watching the slideshow</a>. Enjoy!

Canadian Observations

2005-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
These are the things about Canada that we found silly/funny/interesting during our trip out East:

Every province has their own moose and deer crossing signs. It was interesting to see the difference between the signs as we went from one province to another. No moose crossing signs in PEI, though. </li>

I thought I was only imagining it when I first read it on a road sign, but apparently there really is a place called Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!</a> in Quebec (see the photographic evidence</a>). </li>

There are more French-speaking regions in Eastern Canada than you think. Some of them are pretty hardcore in their frenchness (is that a word?). </li>

Troy almost brought me across the border to Maine by accident. Luckily, I noticed a sign facing US-side which said "Custom". That was when we realised it was a border crossing point. </li>

Camping on top of the Appalachian mountain range inside a non-waterproofed tent isn't really all that fun and exciting. </li>

Canadian bugs are FIERCE! </li>

Nova Scotians pronounce the word interesting 'inte_RES_ting'. It's kind of interesting. </li>

I didn't get stared at until we got to Quebec City (our last stop before we went home). Every time I entered a room, all eyes would be on me. I almost thought I was a celebrity! </li>

Storekeepers in PEI, or at least in Charlottetown, don't seem to be too crazy about tourists. </li>

Americans are all over the Eastern Canada. </li>

Apparently, if you put an American flag in front of your business, you're guaranteed to get a lot of American customers. </li>

The people of Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia really need to get creative and start selling t-shirts that say "I Was Shagged by Aliens in Shag Harbour" (read this page</a> for context). All we could find there was a public toilet, which is not necessarily a bad thing. </li>

Speaking of public toilets, Atlantic Superstore is your friend. When other businesses failed to provide us with a public toilet, Atlantic Superstore never did. </li>

Troy visited so many public toilets during our trip that I had to suggest that he wrote a book called The Washrooms of Canadian Maritime. It would be kind of like The Bridges of Madison County</a>, only less cheesy and with more toilets. And printed in Comic Sans. </li>

Irving</a> owns Eastern Canada, but mostly Saint John, New Brunswick where they own everything from gas stations to bakeries. </li>

Souvenirs from Eastern Canada cost an arm and a leg. </li>

Vietnamese cuisine is unknown in Eastern Canada. We coudn't find any Vietnamese restaurant until we got to Montreal, Quebec on our way back. And we didn't even stop there. I felt so deprived. </li>

People in Quebec like to put big things on top of their barns. Those things range from a life-size cow statue to a tractor. </li>

If you go East, you won't see too many police officers after Quebec (if any). No mounties, either. </li>

In New Brunswick, we passed the hometown of a Canadian Idol competitor, Casey LeBlanc, who apparently got eliminated last week. We wouldn't have known about that fact hadn't they put up posters showing support all over the place. </li>

You won't find too many gas stations or places to eat in PEI outside the major tourist areas. </li>

If I had to describe PEI in two words, those words would be "new potatoes". New potatoes everywhere! </li>

We saw dolphins, seals, and deer in their natural habitats, but sadly no whales or moose. </li>

We drove over 5,000 kilometers during our two weeks of honeymoon. Had we driven the distance in Europe, we would've travelled through a bunch of countries! Maybe next time. :) </li> </ul>

Because Random is Good

2005-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Yesterday we celebrated our third month of being married by going on a vintage camera shopping spree (well, sort of). We managed to get hold of four cameras; three of which take 120 films and one takes 135/35mm films. That means we could actually use them to take pictures! Yay! The oldest one of the bunch comes from the 30s. It's older than most people I know.
This weekend, which happens to be the Labour Day long weekend, is going to be spent with friends at Troy's family cottage up north by the lake. I'm so excited about it because I'm planning to take our newly acquired vintage cameras. I really can't wait to start taking pictures with them in the outdoor. Things look especially pretty there at sunrise and sunset.
During the honeymoon, neither of us ever saw the sunrise since we always tried to get as much sleep as possible. We did see the sunset once in Nova Scotia, which looked pretty, but I really couldn't wait to go back to the place we were staying because a zillion bugs were having me for supper. I ended up with several minor bug bites and one major one that lasted all week. We scratched watching sunsets off of our agenda after that incident.
Before we left for our honeymoon, Troy made me promise not to hurt myself. Not that I'm into self-mutilation or anything. I'm just clumsy, a walking disaster. Well, I survived the nature. Didn't fall at all when walking on slippery surfaces outdoor. But I fell on my butt in the shower (of all places) the day before we left Nova Scotia. Luckily, nothing was broken. Only bruised.
During last year's cottage long weekend, I managed to get myself stranded on the other side of the lake while canoeing alone and had to call for a rescue because I didn't think I could make it back to the cottage on my own due to the rather strong wind. Troy and a friend ended up picking me up on a motorboat. We went back to the cottage with the canoe in tow. I also managed to sprain my shoulder while trying to keep my balance as I was hopping onto the canoe. Conclusion: Firda plus canoe equals disaster.
We went to a post-baby shower party on Saturday night. We just had to share the story about our Tom Selleck sighting in Nova Scotia with everyone and found that – much to our surprise (and horror) – many girls still go ga-ga over Tom Selleck. And we thought it was only this one particular girl we know. ;)
Hmm, I don't really know how to end this post. I think I'll just end it by saying that I have a big hair today.

Home Sweet Home

2005-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

Not having a mother anymore, I used to get upset when I see someone talking to his/her mother in a less than pleasant way. I used to think that they don't know how lucky he/she is to still have a mother. But then I gave it more thought and decided that it was me who got lucky to have a mother like mine. A mother who was not just a mother, but also a friend. She was my best friend, my partner-in-crime, the person who understood me the most. Why do you think I haven't got over her death after all these years?
My mother was the heart of the house. After she died, home just didn't feel like home anymore. It was a house, yes. But definitely not home. My mother was home. That's why I didn't have any objection when my brother asked me if he could rent out my bedroom to some college student a couple of months ago. Whatever. It was just a room. Only now does it hit me that if I did go 'home', I wouldn't have a room to stay anymore. And I thought I would always have at least a room to return to, no matter how long I'd been away. But my brother could use the money and I probably wouldn't go back to Indonesia in years so...
I guess it is official now that home is wherever my beloved husband and I live. Currently, it's Waterloo. Who knows where it will be in the future. It might not be my native land or the place where I grew up. But it is home, because this is where my heart is. And that's all that really matters.

It's Picture Time!

2005-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
Above is my most favourite picture from the whole honeymoon trip. It was taken on the ferry that took us from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia. I like how I look so happy and how Troy is sporting what I like to call his Machu Picchu look. Nova Scotia is in the background. And yes, it was that foggy (and rainy and cold), though it got better once we landed.
</a>
Yes, that's the paparazzi-style picture of Tom Selleck that I was talking about before</a>, taken in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, mostly for Loba</a> (who just got engaged to SMooSH -- congrats again!). The larger version of the picture is here</a>. It was him, really.
</a>
Troy asked me to take this picture of the brand new version of the Xbox gaming console as it was being showcased on the Halifax waterfront. I think only gamers would find it interesting. I got two comments already on this picture, though. Silly gamers! :P
The rest of the honeymoon pictures can be found in this Flickr photoset</a> (there are hundreds of them – be warned!), though I still have five and a half days worth of pictures left to upload. Told you I'd take a lot of pictures! Well, I'd better start editing and uploading the pictures again. Enjoy!

Message in a Bottle

2005-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

I did something that you might consider silly last week before we left Prince Edward Island. I wrote my mum a letter and put it in a bottle. After we crossed the Confederation Bridge that connects Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, I asked Troy to throw the bottle into the Atlantic Ocean for me. We watched the bottle float, drift, and finally disappear. My mum might never read the letter, but some other person might, and she/he would know just how much I love her.
(In case you're new to this weblog, my mother died two years ago. I miss her every single day.)

Hello from Nova Scotia!

2005-08-08T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
No, we're not back from our honeymoon yet. I'm posting this from our motel room in Mabou, Nova Scotia. Today is our last day in Nova Scotia because this afternoon we're going to hop on a ferry that will take us to Prince Edward Island, the land of Anne of Green Gables</a>. We're even going to stay in Cavendish where Anne was supposed to live.
Apart from my little incident in the bathroom last night which left my back and elbow feeling sore and tender, Nova Scotia has been a lot of fun. We drove through the Cabot Trail</a> yesterday, which was fantastic. The trail has some of the most breathtaking sceneries I've ever seen in my entire life. Oh, and we saw Tom Selleck (you know, Magnum P.I.?) in Lunenburg last week. I even took a picture of him paparazzi-style. But you might have to wait until we get back from our honeymoon to see the picture. :)
Anyway, I've got to shower now before we head out to Caribou, Nova Scotia to catch the ferry. We might have some internet access at the place we're staying at in Prince Edward Island but we'll see. Until next update!

2nd Wedding Monthiversary

2005-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

As of today, we've been married for two months and we haven't started killing each other yet, which I think is a good sign considering there are people who filed for a divorce or annulment in less than a month after the wedding or even sooner (case in point, Britney Spears's first marriage).
Some time ago, I suggested that if we had a boy and girl, we named them Paul and Esther so that if we needed both of them at the same time, we could just yell "Polyester!!!". At the time I thought it was a brilliant idea, but now that I've given more thoughts on how much our kids would hate us for that, we should probably find some other name combinations (Polyethylene? Polyethene?). Not that we're planning on having kids in the near future. At least not until we have our own house.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I got yet another visit from some of those door-to-door religion salesmen a couple of days ago. At least this time the person who was doing the talking was polite and not pushy, unlike the last one</a>. I could actually see us playing chess together in some other circumstances. But, well, he was a man with a mission and probably had no time for chess and I'm not really into religion so I guess we're just not meant to be.
The guy said that they could show us how we as husband and wife could work well together as a family unit. But the thing is, we already work well together, or rather, do no work well together (ha-ha, I'm so puny!) *glances at the piles of dirty dishes*, which is quite unfortunate for them. Unless they'd do the dishes for us, in which case I'd probably invite them in and happily (pretend to) read their brochures while they were at it.
Anyway, happy second monthiversary, baby</a>! Here's to many, many, many more two-months! :)

Our Wedding Reception

2005-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
So, our wedding reception has come and gone (click the picture above for a Flickr photoset, or watch the slideshow</a>). It was a lot of fun. I felt like I was actually making friends. Sure I've met a lot of the guests before, but I didn't really get to have a chat with them until the reception. In case any of them is reading this, it was really nice chatting with you! I don't get to have a lengthy discussion about Asian food or just crazy food in general very often. I also had fun going on a 'field trip' with a few of our guests to some of the Wilsonville landmarks (cemetery and duck pond) and watching our esteemed guests feeding the fish in the pond some grass. It was very... zen.
We got some really lovely presents and monetary gifts from our guests. The latter will definitely be going into our honeymoon fund. We are going to be driving out East for our two-week honeymoon this Saturday morning, making a stop along the way somewhere in Quebec. We haven't decided where exactly. Probably Quebec City. Hopefully we'll be able to find some place to stay, with this weekend being a long weekend and all.
We're thinking of taking a ferry from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia, spend the rest of the week exploring the province, and then spend the week after in Prince Edward Island. At least that's the plan. God knows we're not very good at sticking to a plan.
As you can probably tell, I'm very excited about the trip. I've never been outside of Ontario before, except for our one-hour escapade (ha!) in Spring to a part of Quebec around the border called Temiscaming where we had some original recipe poutine</a>, and my half an hour stopover in Vancouver, British Columbia on my way to Toronto. If you've been to the Atlantic-Canada -- especially Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island -- before and you have any places you'd like to recommend, please let me know in a comment.
Ohmigod, I just saw a trailer for this new show called Tommy Lee Goes to College. I hope it's going to be a show that is so bad it's good because we desperately need something to watch on TV this summer.
Well, the bed is beckoning. But before I finished writing this rambling entry, I have one request for you. Would you please tell Troy</a> that the colour of Mountain Dew (the liquid, not the can) is yellow and not green? I'd appreciate that.

Sore Body, Tired Mind

2005-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

Okay, where were we? Oh right, the weekend. Well, the weekend was tiring and my whole body is still sore. I sprained my right wrist and left ankle playing volleyball in the pool. I should've been sticking to swimming instead of joining the game.
Anyway, we got to Troy's parents place Friday evening and didn't waste time to jump into the pool. I can't remember what we did after that but I do remember being half awake most of the time.
Saturday was spent roaming the streets of Brantford, checking out some thrift stores and the mall, looking for, um, well, stuff. It wasn't a very successful trip. Then we got home and, once again, jumped into the pool and played some volleyball.
Saturday evening we went to see the performance of Wayward Sister</a> in Lynedoch, near Simcoe. They gave an amazing performance, singing a capella versions of (mostly) pop songs, including a couple of my favourites, Strong Enough (Sheryl Crow) and Message in a Bottle (the Police). You should see them if you get the chance.
After the show, a bunch of us went to this party of friends of a friend's parents. It was a 'classic' party of drunk, turkey-hunting Canadian farmers where a bunch people just sat around a campfire, singing some silly songs and just generally being drunk. There was even a redneck hot tub</a> where you could cool off if you wanted to. I must say that it was pretty entertaining to watch. After standing around for two hours chatting and watching the party, we left home. My legs were so sore I couldn't fall asleep until I took some Advils.
Sunday morning, we went to have breakfast with a couple of friends in Waterford. The place was more packed than usual for some reasons. After breakfast, Troy and I went to Simcoe to pick up stuff for the wedding reception and then made a stop at the Waterford Antique Market</a>. We left the market with five vintage cameras for our collection. Woohoo! When we were back at Troy's parents place, we jumped back into the pool and played some more volleyball. That was when I sprained my wrist and ankle. Joy!
We drove back home to Waterloo after having a big KFC supper with the family. My body felt really sore on Monday and Tuesday. It's still sore now but not as much as before. And we still have so much to do in preparation for the wedding reception on Saturday. Argh! But the next Saturday, we'll be off to the Atlantic Canada for our honeymoon. Yippee! I can't wait! I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures.

I'm a Zombie Now

2005-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I woke up this morning at 8 after only two and a half hours of sleep. I felt like a zombie and I was hungry. Didn't feel like cooking. Quick decision was made. Tim Hortons</a> to the rescue. It was a beautiful morning. So nicely warm. And at Tim Hortons, everyone was so cheerful. I'm pretty sure I was the only living zombie there. There was a line-up. The morning coffee people. I tried to decide between a medium iced cappuccino and a bottle of iced tea. Iced tea won. Took home that and a couple of danishes.
When I got back to the apartment building, I could hear the motorbike-riding neighbour from across the hall vacuuming his apartment while listening to "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf. If I ever made a zombie movie, that song would SO be in the soundtrack, just for the cheesiness factor. I don't know why, but I find zombie movies cheesy.
I still feel like a zombie, but I have a feeling that after eating the two danishes from Tim Hortons, I would feel more like a human. Oh, in case you're wondering, they're chocolate danish and strawberry and cheese danish a.k.a. the best things to ever come out of Tim Hortons. Want some?

Random Things in My Head

2005-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

Between the heatwave, design work, and Troy's broken laptop, we definitely need more sleep.</li>
I've always wanted to write about the three things that Indonesia got right and Canada got wrong, but never got around to it.</li>
If you're curious, it's the food, the coins, and the movie tickets with seat number.</li>
I still can't tell the dimes from the nickels. Well, maybe I could if I made more effort, but I can't be bothered.</li>
If our vintage camera collection kept expanding at this rate, by the end of the summer, we'd need to move to a bigger apartment.</li>
Troy and I got a haircut yesterday and we now look so sexy. Well, at least Troy does.</li>
I've been listening to a cover of Britney Spears' "Everytime" done by an Irish bloke over and over again since last weekend, and I still haven't got tired of it yet. I think it's the cello (or is it a violin?). You can download the song from here</a>.</li>
I found justcurio.us</a> through Jordan</a> a couple of nights ago and had a lot of fun there. I got some person in the States calling me a "stupid Canadian" for spelling colour with a "u". What can I say, I speak English, not American.</li>
Speaking of rude people, I once had a very concerned Indonesian man emailing me about 6 or 7 years ago, telling me to remove my photos from my homepage because he was worried that the international world would think all Indonesian women looked just as ugly as me.</li>
My homepage was one of the very few personal homepages by Indonesian listed on Yahoo! at the time. I avoided Yahoo! since because getting listed there seemed like an invitation for rude people to visit. I still got two or three more sites listed on Yahoo! after that. And no, I didn't submit them.</li>
I don't like rude people, but I realise that sometimes I could be unintentionally rude due to my lack of social skills. That's why I'd rather keep my mouth shut when I'm among people other than Troy.</li>
Our wedding reception is only 9 days away! I'm so excited about being my own photographer during the reception. I wish I'd been the one to take our wedding pictures. (And no, I'm not a photographer.)</li>
I can't wait for our honeymoon.</li>
God, how I miss Indonesian food.</li> </ul>

On Web Design & Photography

2005-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

I never thought it would come to this but I'm getting tired of web design. After finishing all the projects I'm currently working on, I'm taking a break to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. It's just that designing has felt more like a chore than a passion to me lately. I don't know if I want to do it anymore. Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy designing for myself. I don't always feel like designing, but when I do, I always enjoy it. I guess I just don't enjoy doing it commercially.
So, after I'm done with all the projects, I'm going to bring Book of Styles back to life, but not in a new form as promised. It will be pretty much like the old form. Only problem is, I left all the Shades of Grey templates in my computer back in Indonesia. If you happen to have the whole templates from the Shades of Grey series, I'd really appreciate it if you could email them to me (firda at wannabegirl dot org) so I could put them all back up and everyone could take advantage of them.
In case you're wondering, there is something else that currently occupies my heart more than web design does (other than my husband, of course). It's photography. I've fallen in love with photography. Call me unfaithful to web design if you will, but photography is so much more rewarding. It gives instant gratification, or almost instant gratification in the case of film photography. I got out of bed at 6:30 in the morning last Sunday and went out to take pictures. It was the most satisfying experience. Morning light makes everything look so much better. Try to do it some time. You won't regret it!

Dear Canada,

2005-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

I like you. I like you a lot. We've only known each other for a year, but you've already treated me like a member of the big family. I'm really touched.
When I just got here, I compiled a list of things about Canada I didn't know about. I missed those things when I was back in Indonesia for a month after being here for 4.5 months. But when I'm back here in your land, I miss Indonesian food constantly. If I could have one wish, I would wish for at least one authentic Indonesian restaurant here in in Waterloo so that I could go there when I'm feeling homesick.
A lot has changed since I wrote the abovementioned list. Your oddities don't strike me as odd anymore. I've been able to incorporate the Canadian "eh?" into my daily conversation, and I've also been able to tolerate your lower temperature better. Now I can stand not to wear my sweatshirt when the temperature is in the mid- to high-teens. I hope you are proud of me. I'm not so crazy about your higher temperature, though. 38°C in Spring was not cool! But I know it wasn't your fault.
I'm married to one of your men now. He's a lovely man; sweet, caring, and gentle. Like most Canadians, he likes maple syrup, but he still can't get me to try it even though I've been here for a year. Not that I'm complaining. I really hope you won't take this personally, but maple syrup scares me. I don't know why. It just does. I'm sorry.
Finally, I just want to wish you a happy birthday. My husband and I are going to go to one of your birthday celebrations today. I enjoyed last year's celebration, and I'm sure I'll enjoy this year's just as much, if not more. Please keep being friendly, open-minded, and beautiful. Those are the things that I like the most about you.
Sincerely yours,
Firda

Those Pesky People

2005-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

I had my first encounter with some of those, uh, door-to-door religion salesmen yesterday. It wasn't pleasant because they made me angry but I managed to keep my cool and didn't slam the door on them.
First mistake, they were insulting my intelligence by talking to me like I was an idiot *and* in an insulting tone to boot.
Second mistake, they just assumed that I was unhappy. "This will totally bring happiness into your life," one of them said. I've come a long way to be this happy and they had the balls to just assume that I was unhappy, just because I didn't believe in what they did? How dare they? They didn't even look like a bunch of happy people to start with. I mean, if you're trying to sell perfume, you should at least try to smell good.
I ended up being cranky all evening. Troy kept telling me that they were not worth it but they really pissed me off. Anyway, here's some snippets from the encounter:
+ I'm sorry, I'm not into religion.
- What? You don't believe in Jesus?
+ I believe in good people.
- This will totally bring happiness into your life.
+ I'm already happy. Thanks. *[close the door]*
They'd better be not coming back.

Bad Monkey!

2005-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
T: See? I look like the guy on the t-shirt.
F: I look too happy to be the monkey.
T: Why wouldn't you be?
F: Why wouldn't I be what?
T: Happy?
F: *pause* I don't know. *confused because for once she actually had no reason to be unhappy*
We got ours for free but you can buy the Bad Monkey t-shirts from Blogography if you're so inclined. Troy is away in Indiana until tomorrow. Time to par-tay!!! (Yeah right, as if I had any friends here.)
I haven't been feeling too well for a couple of days now. Stupid cold. I'm blaming it on Tim Hortons' Iced Capuccino.

Wonderfully Random

2005-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

It's starting to feel like Canada again, now that the temperature has gone down to the high 20s (Celsius degree).</li>
I seem to handle hot weather worse than Canadians, who are used to cold weather.</li>
If Canadians did live in igloos, they'd all be homeless by now.</li>
We went to Toronto on Saturday, only to realise that we'd missed watching the Toronto's World Naked Bike Ride</a> event.</li>
We made it to SMooSH and Loba</a>'s fun housewarming BBQ party without getting lost (much).</li>
We brought our own beef steaks to be BBQ-ed.</li>
We marinated the steaks in a mix of Pepsi, orange juice, black pepper, salt, BBQ sauce, garlic powder, and Maggi seasoning without having the slightest idea what it would taste like.</li>
The steak turned up to be the best-tasting steak I ever had.</li>
Housewarming parties make me want to move to a new place. I wouldn't mind moving to Stratford</a>, where Troy works.</li>
The Skydome</a> looks ugly with the red Rogers Centre signs on it.</li>
The CN Tower</a> doesn't look very glamorous at night.</li>
Toronto has the biggest</a> raccoons</a>.</li>
Homeless people make me sad.</li>
Little kids like Troy, and so do dogs of all breed.</li>
In Tegan and Sara</a>'s song "I Know I Know I Know", there's a line that says "I know I know I know what else are we here for" but I keep hearing it as "I know I know I know solitary hippo".</li>
I wish there was really a song with "solitary hippo"</a> in it.</li>
We watched three episodes of Scrubs</a> on DVD yesterday. Now I'm in love with the show.</li>
We have a shiny new balcony. We're going to put a couple of chairs there and hang some flower boxes all over the railings.</li>
I want to plant the flowers from scratch because it seems to be so much more fun.</li>
I wouldn't know what to do with the flower boxes in winter.</li>
That is all.</li> </ul>

Crazy Hot Spring

2005-06-09T00:00:00+00:00

Summer is not officially here yet, but it already feels like it. In fact, it feels pretty much like Jakarta (Indonesia) during the dry season. I can't say that I like it. I hate hot weather. It turns me into Ms. Grumpypants. The heat made me so grumpy a couple of nights ago that Troy decided to buy us a box fan yesterday. We picked up a 20" one. It's big and awesome! It's blowing coolish air like there's no tomorrow. It was also pretty hard to find. They were probably sold out or something. We didn't find one that was big enough for us until we got to the 5th place, which happened to be a grocery store. When we went to pay for it, the cashier lady said that we were the first to buy a fan on her shift. I don't know what that was supposed to mean, but I like to think that it means we're special. Heh.
Speaking of hot weather, I don't know what had got into us on Sunday but we decided to go for a walk along the trail between Waterloo and Kitchener (a.k.a. the Iron Horse Trail</a>) when it was, like, 30°C out there. Can't say that I enjoyed it too much. We walked all the way to Victoria Park, watched the ducks for a while before trying to find something to drink. There was an event going on there, apparently organised by the local LGBT community. I thought there would be people selling ice-cream or something there. After all, it was hot and it was an event with a lot of people. In a park. But noooo! No ice-cream seller. Luckily I spotted a small cafe right across the river so I was saved from the horrible fate of dying from dehydration. I had the best iced lemon tea EVER there. But man, was I ever so grumpy. I couldn't make it back to Waterloo because it was too hot and I was too tired and too grumpy so Troy had to walk back to Waterloo alone to pick up the car and then drove all the way to Kitchener to pick me up. While waiting for him, I sat under the tree by the parking lot of a home hardware store. People were looking at me funny, but whatever. I'm kind of used to that.
The weekend wasn't entirely unpleasant, though. Saturday was quite fun. We went to several garage sales in Waterloo and then we went to a Rockport factory outlet in St. Jacobs to pick up a pair of new sandals for me before driving to Elmira (where they were having Robin in the Hood festivities), West Montrose (to see the Kissing Bridge</a>), and finally to Guelph where we had a Chinese buffet lunch, took a walk along the river, and had yummy ice-cream before heading back to Waterloo.
This coming weekend, I'll be sure to spend a lot of time in a swimming pool. I hope my swimsuit still fits!

Rabbit Rabbit!

2005-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

This is not a post about rabbit. It is said that if the first words you utter on the first day of the month are "rabbit rabbit", you'll have good luck all month long.
As I said before, this is not a post about rabbit. I just wanted to share some silly trivias from our wedding:

I wanted a bagpiper in our wedding, but Troy vetoed the idea;</li>
We shopped for wedding rings online</a> because jewelry store people scare us;</li>
I originally bought the skirt I wore at the wedding to wear to the wedding of a friend of Troy's from university summer last year so it was more or less 'something old';</li>
I wore nothing blue;</li>
I wanted to wear Troy's underpants just for the sake of having 'something borrowed' but Troy said no;</li>
My white blouse was something new;</li>
Troy wore a batik shirt I bought him the last time I was in Indonesia;</li>
Our reading was from "Oh the Places You'll Go"</a> by Dr. Seuss;</li>
We walked down the proverbial aisle to "La Redecouverte" from Amelié OST;</li>
We stumbled on our vows;</li>
Troy vowed to take me out for Vietnamese food every week or so and to support my internet addiction;</li>
I vowed to endure his videogaming habit and morally support his addiction to garage sales, book sales, and thrift stores;</li>
As a favour, our guests received Polaroid pictures of us and them together, taken with a Polaroid Land 660 camera we got from a garage sale for $3;</li>
I had red spots all over my arms, legs and face from where the black flies bit me the weekend before the wedding, but concealer did wonders;</li>
Going bridal shopping alone was depressing;</li>
My family didn't know about the wedding until today, thanks to their nearly dysfunctional phone;</li>
They were calling for a thunderstorm on our wedding day, but thankfully, it didn't happen;</li>
Our wedding officiant pronounced my name incorrectly all through the ceremony;</li>
I designed the wedding program in MS-Word;</li>
I accidentally smeared lipstick all over the shoulder of my father-in-law's coat when he was giving me a hug before the wedding;</li>
Troy picked up the bouquet and my flowery head piece from the flower shop himself, only 45 minutes before the wedding;</li>
We had two webloggers among our guests, one of whom has posted a glowing review (ha!) of our wedding;</li>
We saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith</a> on our wedding night with a couple of friends, and I kept falling asleep during the first hour;</li>
Before the movie, we had to stand in a long line outside the cinema in a drizzling rain for at least 20 minutes and I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it;</li>
We're planning on going to Prince Edward Island</a> and maybe Nova Scotia</a> for our honeymoon sometime in the summer.</li> </ul>
I'll add more to the list if I can think of anything else to add.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2005-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

</figure>
I'd always wanted to elope, so elope I did. Troy</a> and I tied the knot on Saturday in a short and sweet civil ceremony at the Waterloo Park. I hope my family won't hate me for this (I called home this morning to let my family know about the news, but nobody answered, so I emailed one of my brothers instead -- no reply so far). So now I am part of a self-proclaimed crazy family. Both Troy's mother's side of the family and his father's side of the family claim they are crazy. I guess that's the reason everyone warmly welcomes me into the family. Because I'm crazy, too! :)
For a wedding that was planned in only two weeks, it went pretty awesomely. More pictures and gory details are coming up.

A Stale Entry

2005-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

We finally made it to Temiscaming, Quebec on Sunday where we had some authentic Quebecois poutine. Woohoo! I've finally been somewhere outside of Ontario! Of course I forgot to take a picture of the said poutine (I was too hungry) but trust me, it was yummy. It was supposed to take less than 2 hours to get there from Troy's family cottage where we spent this past weekend, but of course we had to take the long way, i.e. North Bay - Mattawa - Temiscaming instead of the shorter North Bay - Temiscaming route. But had we taken the short way, we would've missed seeing Timber Lake. The sign alone worth the extra hour drive.

The Ghost of Me

2005-05-11T00:00:00+00:00

Last weekend my brother called me from Indonesia and he sounded really worried. He asked me repeatedly if I was all right (as if once was not enough) before he hung up, which kind of annoyed me because it was early in the morning and I was still half asleep.
This morning I called my brother and learned that the reason he sounded so worried was because there had been sightings of my ghost in my bedroom, sitting in front of the computer or standing in front of the mirror. Crazy, eh? I'm not even dead yet! But it was enough to make my family think I was already dead. Doh! If I were dead, Troy</a> would've let them know.
Anyway, I hope my call was enough to drive the ghost away from my room and that my family wouldn't think I was calling from the afterlife.

Busy Weekend

2005-05-10T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
The lack of sleep I had on Friday took its toll on me over the weekend. I was feeling sleepy and tired all the time. But we had a busy weekend nonetheless. We went to the Elora Book Sale on Saturday and Sunday mornings (because once is not enough for the book-loving Troy</a>), went to several garage sales, a thrift store and a book store, tried a new Vietnamese restaurant in Waterloo, got our ring sizes taken (without buying any rings), drove past Fergus and Rockwood, bought a Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake from MacMillan's in Acton (so good!), drove around Milton where I saw a restaurant with a sign saying "Oriental Cuisine and Donuts" (guh?), and saw the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</a> movie. Not necessarily in that order. The movie was quite enjoyable. Keep in mind that I've never read the book so I had no expectations.
Anyway, Spring is definitely not a good time to be inside our insanely warm apartment. The central heating is still on even though it's already over 20°C out there, no thanks to our ignorant landlord. I've got all the windows open but it's still so warm in here! I'm kind of glad to know that they're expecting a thunderstorm this afternoon</a>. That should cool the air down a little bit. I've also been struggling with some dry skin conditions related to being in a warm and dry place most of the time. I've tried Dove and Olay products before, but they didn't really do much help. Now I've found that the products that work the best on me is Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash (in shower) combined with St. Ives 24 Hour Moisture Body Lotion for Extra Dry Skin (after shower). I've only been using this combination for three days but my skin condition has improved a great deal. Happiness!
We have no plans for this weekend yet, but we're going to spend the weekend after this weekend at Troy's family cottage up north. Should be fun. I miss canoeing. Sure I suck at navigating the canoe, but I miss it nonetheless. I just have to make sure not to hurt my shoulder this time. It's raining now, thank goodness. Perfect time for a shower.

Toronto in Spring

2005-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
So we went to Toronto this past weekend. The last time I was in Toronto was last Summer. I like Toronto better in the Summer. In Spring, it's just so miserably cold, wet, and windy. But then again, I don't really like Spring in general so the problem is not really in the place. It's in the timing. I never thought of Winter as miserably cold because, duh, it's Winter and Canadian winter is supposed to be miserably cold!
Anyway, I've been trying to concentrate my thoughts on Summer and the places we could visit when it's all warm and sunny instead of spending all Spring hating Spring. I've ordered free brochures/travel guides from just about every single province/territory in Canada, including Nunavut (don't ask). I can't wait to receive them in the mail! This Summer we're planning on driving across Canada to Nova Scotia</a> and then to Prince Edward Island</a>. It's going to be fun, fun, fun!
I'm eating strawberries right now. It's easier to think about Summer in Spring when you're eating strawberries. I like strawberries. Don't you?

The Pop Shoppe!

2005-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

</a> (The Pop Shoppe!</a>, originally uploaded by firda</a>.)
So we went to a Hasty Market to get The Pop Shoppe</a> last night. Of course we took the long way, making stops at the bank, Future Shop, Office Depot, and Zellers. We picked up three rolls of film for my pinhole camera at Zellers for $8, which we thought was cheap, until we came to Canadian Tire and saw that they sold five rolls of film for $10. Ack!
When we got to the Hasty Market, I was worried they'd run out of The Pop Shoppe already so I was glad to see that they still had plenty of them. I picked up The Pop Shoppe Root Beer because I'm a big fan of root beer, but sadly, I can't really call it my favourite. I like it better than Barq's, but less than I like A&W and MUG root beer. Troy picked up his childhood favourite, The Pop Shoppe Cream Soda. I think it's really good and according to Troy, it still tastes the same as it was ages ago.
Anyway, I didn't grow up in Canada or the States so I have no childhood memories of The Pop Shoppe. But if you do, feel free to share in the comment. I'd love to hear it.

A Thrifty Weekend

2005-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

Oh wow, for a weekend with crappy weather, I have so much to tell you.
</a>
See, on Saturday, after waking up, having breakfast, and playing a few rounds of Guess-the-Google, Troy</a> and I went to a thrift store and I got myself a compact 35mm film camera for $1.50 to be hacked into a pinhole camera</a>. After about an hour, we went back to our apartment because we were expecting a visit from our friend Joe. And then Joe came and we went to have Vietnamese dinner in downtown Kitchener.
After dinner, we went to a used book store across the street from the Vietnamese restaurant where Troy bought his very first Lucky Luke</a> comic (I grew up reading Lucky Luke!) and then to a cinema to watch Kung Fu Hustle</a>. I'm not usually into kung fu movies or slapstick comedies, but I didn't mind Kung Fu Hustle. It was funny and entertaining.
After the movie, we went back to the apartment. While Joe and Troy were having quality time together discussing videogames, I did some brainstorming, planning out my way to hack the aforementioned compact camera into a pinhole one. After Joe left, I got into the action. My tools of choice were a screwdriver, a hammer, and a burning candle. It was enough to make Troy think I'd end up burning the apartment down. I couldn't finish hacking the camera that night because I was already too sleepy and it was already past 2AM.
Sunday was spent visiting some thrift stores in Kitchener and Cambridge. I got myself yet another compact 35mm film camera as a backup to the one we bought the day before and Troy got himself a bunch of Terry Pratchett books. We also made a quick stop at Winners where Troy bought me a super-comfy t-shirt and bought himself some toys. What can I say, he's a kid at heart. :)
Before we went home, we had some yummy grilled chicken breasts for dinner at Applebees. It's a shame that the chicken breasts were so tiny. We had a craving for cheesecake after dinner so we went on a mission to get ourselves some cheeecake. We had to make a stop at three places before we found it. Mmmm, cheesecake. So evil yet so good!
When we got back home, we found that each one of us had won a t-shirt from Blogography</a>! That put a nice ending to an otherwise uneventful day. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV while hacking the camera to death. Only after the camera was ready did I realise that I didn't have a roll of film with me so I couldn't start shooting right away. Doh!
Tonight we're going to pick up a roll of film and go on a mission to find Pop Shoppe, the legendary Canadian soft drink. I can hardly wait!

Mishmash, Hodgepodge, Whatever

2005-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

'Tis a rainy day
Buds turning into fresh leaves
Spring is here to stay
Remember when I used to post a haiku every day? I'm sure at least a couple of my readers do since they used to guestblog here and had to cover the haiku-writing job. For some reasons, I feel like writing haikus today. Could it be the springtime effect?
In case you're wondering why I haven't posted any yummy del.icio.us links lately, it's because del.icio.us is hating me and won't post the links here. For the time being, please visit my del.icio.us page</a> for all the linky goodness. I'm still trying to figure out what's gone wrong between us (me and del.icio.us, that is).
I received two Flickr Pro accounts from Flickr to give away a couple of days ago. I've given one away to Troy for being a good boy (see Troy's Flickr</a>). I haven't given away the other one to anyone yet, mostly because I'm picky. I'd only give it away to someone who can't afford a Pro account and whose photographic works I like. I haven't found that person. Yet.
We've decided to start watching a new TV show: Revelations</a>. It's pretty interesting, and spooky at times. We watch it in order to avoid American Idol. Well, fifteen more minutes of Law and Order and I'm going to bed. TV almost owns me. Almost.

Long Walk, No Opossums

2005-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Rock Point Provincial Park</a> is located on the north shore of Lake Erie, south of Dunnville, Ontario, not too far away from Buffalo, New York. We went there on Saturday for our weekly hiking/picture-taking trip.
The park was still closed for winter and won't be open until May. We parked right in front of the gate and soon I realised that we might have to take a long walk to get to the lake. I was right. We didn't see any signs of the lake until we walked for a couple of kilometers into the park. We were supposed to be able to see some opossums there but alas, we didn't see any. All we saw was lots and lots of shells, fossils embedded in limestone, and driftwood. The only animals we saw other than the tiny little fish inside some puddles along the beach were two Canadian geese, a few butterflies, a snake, a number of birds, and plenty of bugs.
As we walked along the beach to get a better view of the lighthouse on Mohawk Island</a>, we could hear the annoying sound of an ATV breaking the silence every now and then. We even passed the guy driving the offending vehicle. If the park was officially open, I'm sure there wouldn't be any beach buggy all over the place, which would be nice, but then we'd probably have to pay admission fee to get into the park, which wouldn't be nice. Hehe.
Anyway, Rock Point is obviously no Rockwood but it's not really the worst place I've ever been. If anything, I still managed to take some pretty pictures</a>. As we walked back to where we parked, we saw another place closer to the lake where we could've parked. If we ever go there again, we'd definitely park there. The long walk was really the worst part of the trip!

On Photography

2005-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

I came across this article a while ago, Your Camera Does Not Matter</a>. Didn't really read it until five minutes ago, and boy, was it good. I no longer want a better camera now. Well, almost. I still do, but not as much as I used to.
You see, it's not the camera that makes good pictures. It's the photographers, their ability to make a good composition and how well they know their cameras and photography techniques. I've seen some people with expensive cameras coming up with mediocre pictures while others with cheap, toy cameras coming up with great pictures. It proves the point perfectly.
My camera is actually the crappiest in the Olympus Camedia UltraZoom series. You don't know how many times I was tempted to trade it with another camera, but I like its 8× optical zoom capability too much, so I never did and I don't think I ever will. At least not until I know I can afford a better camera without getting into a serious financial trouble, which probably won't happen in the near future.

An Eventful Weekend

2005-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Have I told you how much I hate "24"</a> the TV show? This show makes me dumb. I always try to ignore it while Troy</a> is watching it but it's not that easy. Did you notice that Jack Bauer's back-up/partner/sidekick/whatever always ends up dead? But I won't get into any more picky details because it would only make me angry. I'm just going to talk about what we did this past weekend.
On Saturday, I decided that I wanted to go to Rockwood Conservation Area, which is somewhere outside the city of Guelph. Before we headed out that way, we dropped by a thrift store here in Waterloo where we picked up some stuff. Mostly old records for Troy's record collection.
After our visit to the thrift store, we drove towards Guelph, but before we got to Guelph, someone hit Troy's car</a> from behind so we had to take a detour to the Waterloo Regional Police HQ and then to an OPP office to report the accident. Good time. NOT! We could've gone to Guelph OPP, which was closer, but noooo! The guy that hit Troy's car just had to bring us back to Cambridge instead. After about an hour of driving around and doing paperwork, we hit the road again.
</a>
We finally made it to Rockwood Conservation Area after missing the entrance to the park as far as Acton, which is the town next to Rockwood. The park is awesome. It has an old mill ruins, limestone cliffs, caves, glacial potholes, a hiking trail along the Eramosa River, and a sandy beach. The old mill is my favourite part of the package. It's just so beautiful. Check out the pictures if you're interested. After spending 3+ hours there, we went back to Acton for dinner and I had a yummy steak. Mmmm, steak...
Oh, before I forget, thanks for wishing me a happy birthday. I had a good day. I got a cool telescope from Troy and a lovely bouquet from Troy's parents. We had a birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant. Since it was my birthday, the waiters sang me a silly song and I got a complimentary chocolate cake</a> from the restaurant, plus a chance to win a prize by rolling a wheel of fortune thingy</a>. The prize I won was a $5 voucher, which is better than a pie in the face (yes, it was one of the "prizes"). And now I'm going to get ready for bed. Night!

Odd Dream

2005-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

Last night I dreamed that it was the early morning of my birthday and I was trying out a telescope I got as a birthday present from Troy outside. The telescope looked more like a PDA than a telescope, i.e. you pointed it upwards and you'd see a planetary image on the screen. I was rather disappointed in the dream because I'd wanted an old skool telescope, but in real life, I would really love to have that kind of telescope if it really exists.
Anyway, as I was trying out the telescope, suddenly the sky lighted up and there was aurora borealis! And not only that, there was a rainbow, too! It was awesome. I ran to the apartment to get my camera, but once I got my camera and I was ready to take a picture, the aurora had already subsided. The rainbow lingered, though. Don't ask me how you could see a rainbow when it was dark outside. Like I said, it was just a dream.
"Happy birthday to me..."

It's My Life

2005-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

I haven't posted any journal entry here for ages so I thought I'd post one today because I feel like boring you to death. I know talking about last weekend when another weekend is only a day away is kind of lame, but whatever. Last weekend was a long weekend due to the Good Friday, so on Thursday night, we went down to the boy's parents place for the weekend.
The highlight of the weekend was our trip to the Long Point Provincial Park</a>. The park was still closed for Winter but who cares. We went in anyway. The best thing about closed parks is, you don't have to pay any admission fee. And of course I took a lot of pictures while we were there. Click the lovely picture below for more pictures from our trip.
</a>
Fast forward to yesterday. I went to the mall to pick up a new spring coat because my old one is already too shabby, but after 4 hours of walking around and trying out about a dozen spring coats, all I got was the exercise. I hate how my body size is not small enough to fit L size but not big enough for XL. Anyway, I'm going to go back to the mall today and find The Spring Coat That Fits Me & My Wallet™ and I swear I'll only spend at most 1 hour there.
This weekend we're going to go to the monthly book sale in Dunnville and then find that spot where the Grand River meets Lake Erie (Port Maitland?) so I could take a lot of pictures, and bore the boy to death in the process. You don't know how much I love taking pictures. I automatically turn everything I see into a photographic composition, even when I don't have a camera with me. Yeah, I know. I'm a freakazoid.
Finally, my birthday is only six days away. hint hint At the moment, what I want, what I really, really want is a new digital camera, or a telescope. So I'm a geek. Just sue me. You won't get much. It's going to be my second birthday without my mother in this world. How I miss my mum. But at least this year I'll get to spend it with my dearest darling boyfriend. He's good with presents, and I love getting presents. And that's why he's the one for me. Hehe. :)

Last Day of Winter

2005-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
Last Saturday was, in theory, the last day of Winter. I was blindfolded and forced by the boy</a> to pick a spot on the map of Southwestern Ontario to determine where we were going that day and my finger fell on the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park</a>. (It didn't really happen that way but imagine how cool it would be if it did!)
The park was located near the town of Erin. We had lunch just outsite Erin and then made a stop in downtown Erin to check out a couple of bookstores and bought some chocolatey goodness before hitting the road again. There wasn't really any sign on the main road leading to the park, so naturally, we got lost. We ended up in Belfountain Conservation Area, which would be an okayish place to get lost in if only it wasn't wintertime</a>.
To cut a long story short, we finally made it to the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, and once again, it would be a great place to explore if only it wasn't wintertime</a>. There is supposed to be at least a river and a lake there, but we couldn't see where the river or the lake was because most of the ground was covered with snow! We didn't walk very far into the park because it was so windy and so freezing cold. I really can't wait to go back there in the summer.
On our way back, we made a stop in a small antique shop in Alton, where I took some mirror photos</a>, before heading towards home. We had supper at a Vietnamese restaurant in Guelph and didn't leave the city until we checked out every single Blockbusters and Rogers Videos we could find.
When we got home, the apartment felt so insanely warm, which isn't unusual. We changed into our jammies and spent the night watching Maria Full of Grace</a> and Elephant</a> -- both are depressing movies -- and went to bed after Saturday Night Live</a> where Ashton Kutcher was hosting and his girlfriend Demi Moore showed up as an old lady.
Fin.

If We Were in the Amazing Race

2005-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

Troy</a> and I have been coming up with lines to use on us in the scenes from the next episode of the Amazing Race</a> if we were one of the teams participating in it.
- Troy and Firda got lost. "Where are we?" "Um, somewhere in the Amazon?"
- Troy and Firda can't remember where they parked the car. "I'm pretty sure I parked the car here." "Well, if you did, it must've been going for a ride by itself somewhere."
- Troy hurt his wrist while Firda sprained her ankle. "My wrist is killing me..." *splat* "My ankle! I think I broke my ankle!!!"
- Troy and Firda got lost. Again. "Is this the turn?" "I don't know. It's not on the map."
- Troy and Firda lost the clue. "Do you have the clue with you?" "I thought you had it with you!"
- Firda is having a nervous breakdown while Troy is getting frustrated. "I can't go on anymore! *cries*" "Stop it! You were the one who begged me to join!"
- Troy and Firda lost their backpacks. "Um, Troy. I think we left our backpacks in the cab." "Oh, dammit. The cab's gone!"
- Troy and Firda can't decide which one of them is to eat a dozen raw fish. "I don't like fish. You do." "Well, I do like fish, but not raw."
- Firda is enjoying a bowl of cow brain, intestine, and tripe dish in Indonesia while other teams are throwing up. "Man, this is so good! I want more! I missed Indonesian food." "I'm so proud of you, baby!"
- Troy and Firda got lost, for the third time in the race. "Where's the damn clue? We have passed the palace a dozen times already." "Did you know that Monaco is the second smallest country in the world?"
I could go on and on but, well, you get the idea. Some couples just are not meant to be in the Amazing Race. But if we were, I think our label would be the dorky "Blogging Couple".

The Piano Player

2005-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

</a> (The Piano Player</a>, originally uploaded by firda</a>.)
This is my entry for this week's Illustration Friday</a>: Jazz (click to enlarge</a>). I've never been good at drawing living creatures, or anything for that matter, and that's my excuse for the piano player not looking very proportional. I just hope that he looks jazzy enough. And man, do I miss playing piano. My parents bought me a piano when I was in Grade 3. I took piano lessons for 7 years. I think I was the piano teacher's least favourite pupil. I didn't have a very good hand-eye coordination. Still don't. But I liked to play. Anyway, my father sold my piano last year. He didn't even ask me if it was okay. It was a sad day.

We're Open, But We're Not!

2005-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
I've been seeing a lot of businesses here with a neon sign saying open when they're really not. I wonder if it's a Canadian thing. Either way, it's slowly becoming one of my pet peeves.
And speaking of beauty salons, the boy and I had a haircut together a couple of days ago at one of those First Choice Haircutters places. Oh the horror! It's just that the girl who was giving me a haircut looked kind of nervous and she kept telling me, "It's just hair, right? It'll grow back." How would you feel if you were in my situation? Would you get as worried as much as I did all through the ordeal? Worst still, I had to take off my glasses when she started cutting so I couldn't see whether she was screwing up or not (I'm blind as a bat without my glasses). Was the haircut a total failure? You decide.</a> No wonder the boy called me "Crazy Hair" this morning before he left for work. It looks a lot more boring now that I've combed it.
Oh, and the boy thinks I should post a link to my Illustration Friday</a> entry here, so there you go</a>. I'm such a wannabe. I could never be an illustrator for real. And be sure to check out the boy's entry as well. It's so heartbreaking.

The Obligatory 5th Blogiversary Post

2005-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

I started blogging today 5 years ago. I didn't have my own domain then. My weblog was hosted at freespeech.org (about the only free host with no ads I could find back then) and was powered by Blogger</a>, which was the only free blogging tool available at that time (but on second thought, there was Pitas</a>, but Blogger was cooler anyway). Jordan</a> and Nikolai</a> were among the first blogging friends I made. We might not be in touch as much as we used to, but hey, at least we still acknowledge each other's existence.
I've been asked why I blogged in English instead of in my own native language, Bahasa Indonesia. The first reason is because I liked English language and I knew my English wasn't too shabby so why not blogged in English. The second reason is, if I blogged in Bahasa Indonesia five years ago, I wouldn't have any readers other than myself. I was about the only Indonesian weblogger I knew. Now I'm sure there are thousands of Indonesian webloggers out there. Will I start blogging in my own language? Well, I did make an attempt</a>. I'm just not very good at updating it. In fact, I haven't updated it since I started it. Maybe I'll start updating it again soon. Maybe. If anyone would read it, that is.
Anyway, I spent part of today at the Waterloo Park with the man that I love</a> whom I wouldn't have met if not for my weblog. It was fun and I took a lot of pictures</a> (warning: too much cuteness) while we were there. It was also snowing and so freezing cold, but it was worth it. I had a good day.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading this weblog faithfully over the years. Without you, I would've stopped blogging a long time ago. I enjoy blogging when I know that I have an audience. That's why I like getting comments. :) And now I'd better post this entry because in less than 10 minutes, my blogiversary will be over!

Curling Thursday

2005-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

Since I know you guys are dying to hear about how my curling-watching night</a> went, here's the scoop. First of all, I'm sure curling is an exciting sport to play and all, but it's not really the most exciting thing in the world to watch. The amusing brush-the-ice thing can only keep you entertained for so long. In my case, it kept me amused for no more than 15 minutes. I spent the next 75 minutes trying to keep myself entertained by taking random pictures</a> of people having fun sliding around, sweeping stones and brushing the ice. And they boy's team didn't even win!
Towards the end of the game, I was bored enough to try to chat up an elderly man sitting near me. It was either my question was too dumb ("Do you usually play here?") or he didn't hear me (the boy always says I need to speak up) but I was cheerfully ignored. My guess is it was the former because later I found out that he's actually part of one of the teams playing for the local league. Oops.
When we were leaving the curling arena, it was snowing heavily, but I just couldn't resist asking the boy to make a stop at the nearby Tim Hortons for a cup of hot chocolate and an apple fritter, so we did. Fast forward, we were back on the highway in the middle of a blizzard and my stomach started to hurt badly. And I mean REALLY badly. Of course I didn't tell the boy about it until we passed another Tim Hortons, meaning that I wouldn't get the release I badly needed until the next Tim Hortons in Kitchener.
I couldn't be happier when we got to that particular Tim Hortons. It was the one and only time I ever entered Tim Hortons only to use the bathroom. I tried to sneak out of the place stealthily after I was done with my business in the bathroom while hoping that none of the people behind the counter would notice, but of course I had to have a problem opening the door out. C'est la vie.
Don't worry, Tim Hortons</a>. I might not be Canadian and may never be one, but after last night's incident, you will always have a special place in my heart. And no, I'm not going to sacrifice another of my CSI watching night just for the sake of watching a curling game. Unless the boy bribes me with something really good. Like a Vietnamese dinner.

Curling As A Sport

2005-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

The boy</a> thinks that my weblog readers like me better when I'm blogging from Indonesia because now that I'm blogging from Canada, I get considerably less comments to my weblog posts. I wonder if it's true. Hrm.
Speaking of the boy, I'm going to watch him curl tonight. No, not curl as in curling his hair (he doesn't look good with curly hair). Curl, as in sports. Probably the dorkiest sport game I've ever known. Even the boy doesn't think I would find it very exciting. He suggests that I bring a book and a lot of snacks with me in case I get bored. I'm going to take a lot of pictures of the boy in action for sure, especially when he's doing the highly amusing mop-the-floor brush-the-ice thing. Fun stuff.
And now I'm going to play some virtual curling</a> to get in the mood for the game tonight. Trust me, the real thing is much dorkier than that.

The Flight of Three Feathers

2005-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

</a> (The Flight of Three Feathers</a>, originally uploaded by firda</a>.)
I participated in the Illustration Friday</a> for the first time yesterday. I wasn't going to blog about it because my entry was really crappy and made with Photoshop to boot, but the boy (whose entry is much more interesting than mine) thought I should, so there you go. Let me know what you think about it. I kind of regret not saving the original, high-resolution version because I thought it didn't worth it but oh well. I can always replicate the process easily if I want to.

Misery Loves Company

2005-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

I'm miserable when I'm sick. I really am. I've been sick since Sunday. It's just a cold but my body doesn't take cold virus too lightly. It just has to make me feel like dying. The worst part of it is I'll more than likely be stuck with the damn virus for at least two weeks. You don't recover very quickly when you have diabetic tendencies.
Anyway, we didn't get to make a snowman last weekend because the boy had a cold, but we made it to the monthly book sale in Dunnville</a> on Saturday. I got to pick up some supposedly expensive, seriously nerdy computer books (New Riders and McGraw-Hill/Osborne</a> publications) for 2 dollars each, which made my day. And then we went back to the boy's parents place and made some Risolles (both meat and vegetarian versions) to bring to the birthday party of one of the boy's friends that night.
The party was fun. We got to hang out with three very cute little kids who really liked balloons. We received a lot of compliments for the Risolles we made, which seemed to be a big hit at the party. A friend of the boy who used to be a chef even ordered a couple dozens of them. Not sure when we'd be able to deliver the order, though. Who said I couldn't cook? Oh wait. I think it was me.
On Sunday, we went to this store in Simcoe that was having a closing/everything-must-go sale and I picked up a couple of t-shirts, one of which cost only 4 dollars. If anything, last weekend was all about good deals (I was going to say that it was all about getting sick since everyone seemed to be down with a cold, but I digress).
And now, back to feeling miserable.

Port Dover in Winter

2005-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

</a>
We went to the small town of Port Dover on the north shore of Lake Erie on Sunday afternoon because I wanted to see the beach in winter (after seeing the Jim Carrey and Kate Winslett characters in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" going to a beach in winter). We didn't expect to find the lake all frozen up with some mountains of ice on top of it but that's what we saw. You could go there, walked all over the lake, and pretend you were in the Arctic! It was awesome. And the sunset was breathtaking. I took a bunch of pictures while we were there which I've turned into a Flickr photoset</a>. Have a look. You'd wish you were there. ;)
You know, I think I've almost become a Canadian because when the temperature is -2°C, I could make a comment about how warm it is and actually mean it. You wouldn't be able to do that unless you've walked around outside when the temperature is lower than -30°C (with wind chill anyway). I really love Canadian winter, even if some real Canadians hate it. To those of you who think I'd die in winter, I think I'll survive it just fine. :)
Next in my winter agenda: building my very first snowman (I've played 5-pin bowling and walked on the frozen Lake Erie, but I still haven't built a snowman -- sad, eh?) and going to a ski slope. No, I won't go skiing. It would be safer for a walking disaster such as myself not to do anything extreme. I just want to take pictures. Here's looking at the boy</a>'s general direction.

Mmmm, Cream Collon!

2005-01-24T00:00:00+00:00

</a> (Mmmm, Cream Collon!</a>, originally uploaded by firda</a>.)
The boy and I went to the Asian food market in Kitchener yesterday (but not before having a nice lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant) for our weekly Asian food shopping and we picked up a bunch of fun Asian snacks. Our favourite acquisitions are pictured above.
I finished the Japanese Cream Collon in less than 15 minutes because it was wicked good and it came in a snazzy box</a> which says 100% Happy Day inside and some Japanese inscription that I don't know the meaning of.
Hello Panda is the boy's favourite snack and it was made in Singapore. It's just some biscuits with chocolate filling. Not really my favourite but it's not so bad.
I've had Japanese strawberry-flavoured Pocky before but never Thai-made ones. I'm sure it will be just as good as ordinary Pocky as I will find out soon.
Finally, the Sunflower seeds which taste fine to me but not to the boy. On the bag you can find instructions on how to eat the seeds</a>. It's quite educational.
The Asian food market is definitely one of my favourite places in Canada.

Music Meme

2005-01-24T00:00:00+00:00

I don't usually do survey memes, but since this one is passed on to me by the boy, I just have to be a good girlfriend and comply. :)
1. What's the total size of music files on your computer? Well, my computer is back in my room in Indonesia so I have no way to check. I'm using the boy's computer while I'm in Canada so I'll just copy the boy's answer: approximately 3.2 gigabytes of music.
2. What is the last CD you bought? Oh gosh, I really don't know. It's been ages since the last time I bought a music CD. The last few CDs I got are gifts from my weblog readers. They bought them off of my Amazon wishlist. I do have the best readers in the world. :) Anyway, I think the last CD I received in the mail from Amazon is The Red Violin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
3. What is the last song you listened to before you read this post? I think it's "Hiding Behind the Moon" by Jeff Hanson. I had a dream that night that I went to a restaurant with my late mother and my mother told me that she liked that song and I was like, "But you've never heard of that song!" and it's true because the first time I listened to that song was several months after she died. She just gave me a mysterious smile. I like to think that she was just trying to tell me that she's still watching me from wherever she is.
4. Name four songs that you listen to a lot or that mean a lot to you. "Moonriver"</a> means a lot to me because it was the last song I sang to my mother before she died. "The Book of Love"</a> by the Magnetic Fields is pretty much our (the boy's and mine) song. I love "Circle of Friends"</a> by Edie Brickell because it speaks for me. And finally, "Wise Up"</a> by Aimee Mann, mostly because I like the movie where the song came from, i.e. Magnolia.
5. Which three people are you passing the baton on to and why? Errr, I don't know. Whoever wants to do this, I guess. Anyone? Post a comment if you did it! I promise to check it out. :)

A Dining Table, Finally!

2005-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

We finally got ourselves a dining table set a couple of days ago after the boy finally got tired of not having enough space to put things on when we are cooking. It's now sitting pretty in the corner of our tiny little kitchen, right by the window where it is the coldest. That's probably the reason we still haven't dined on it yet.

Slow Blogging Day

2005-01-13T00:00:00+00:00

It's been a slow blogging day. Well, make it two days. And the sky hasn't been clear for, like, ever so I'm going to miss seeing Saturn (the planet, not the car) tonight. If the sky is clear where you are, step outside tonight around 7:30pm, look up and look east. You're bound to notice it.
Today's been so warm for a winter day (14°C!) and most of the snow has melted. Some people (like the boy) might rejoice but not me. I happen to like winter. I want my winter back!!! And it looks like it is going to be back tonight. The temperature is going to drop to -8°C! Yippee! Happiness is sub-zero temperature. And going out to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner tonight.
The last time we went to a Vietnamese restaurant, the boy</a> took a tiny bite of a bird's eye chili (after seeing me chewing it like it was chocolate) and instantly felt like he was dying. Poor boy. I hope that experience didn't traumatise him.
Boring post, huh? Told you it was a slow blogging day!

Mario Party 5 vs. Halo 2

2005-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

I've never ever played any videogames in my whole life until a couple of weeks ago when I started playing Mario Party 5 with the boy, for a very silly reason. See, last month I told the boy that I wanted to beat him at Halo 2. Then the boy told me that I needed practice first and that playing Mario Party 5 would prepare me for Halo 2. And I believed him.
Now, I've seen the boy playing Halo 2 against one of his friends before. The game wasn't even remotely close to Mario Party 5. I'm really not sure how I could be good at playing Halo 2 (which is an Xbox game) by playing Mario Party 5 (which is a Gamecube game).
I've played Mario Party 5 against the boy for a couple of weeks now and I still haven't managed to kick his butt. My chance for kicking his butt at Halo 2 seems to be as slim as a sheet of toilet paper.

My Mother and Music

2005-01-07T00:00:00+00:00

I got my love of music from my mother. I know a lot of oldies songs because of her. She liked to listen mostly to songs from the 60s. I like to think that it was because they brought back happy memories to her.
There have been at least three occasions while I'm here in Canada that a song brought back memories of my mother. The first occasion was in a church during a wedding ceremony. The wedding singer sang "A Time for Us", which was one of my mother's favourite songs. The second occasion was when we were in the car and the boy played a cover version of "Moonriver"</a> on the car stereo. My mum asked me to me sing the day before she died. It was the only song that I could think of so I sang it for her. The last one was a couple of days ago, when one of the characters in the TV show "Lost" sang "La Mer"</a>, which was also one of my mother's favourite songs.
I'm sure there was also an occasion when I heard "Solitaire" playing but I can't remember exactly when or where. It was the song playing in the hospital's P.A. system when we were taking my mother's body to the morgue.
When she was happy, my mum would sing, and when she was singing, I would have a very good day. She didn't sing much in the last couple of years of her life.

A Mixed Bag of Randomness

2005-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

First of all, if I owe you an email, please be patient because I am swamped. I will get back to you. I guess this is what you get for taking a break from replying emails for 2 weeks. My justification: it was holidays season.
Search referral of the day is "how firda beka learn english". Here's how: I had an English teacher extraordinaire for a mother and I happened to be her favourite student. The rest is up to your imagination.
Oh, did you know (or would you care) that Britney Spears is planning to quit her music career to become a forensic scientist</a> after being inspired by CSI, the TV show? Probably not.
The boy and I have become addicted to Vietnamese food</a>. We just have to go to a Vietnamese restaurant at least once a week. I don't know why the boy has become addicted to it, but the reason for my addiction is it's the closest to Indonesian food I can get while I'm in Canada.
Over the holidays season, I learn that I'm not so bad at trivia. I did fairly well at the Canadian edition of Cranium (even though my team lost by quite a narrow margin) and the boy and I managed to win the 90s edition of Trivial Pursuit</a>. To quote a friend of the boy's, between the boy and me, we've got the universe covered. We rock! :)
Did I mention that we saw Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events</a> last weekend? I obviously liked it better than The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou</a> because I didn't fall asleep this time. And Jude Law's voice is oh so sexy! ;)
Um, I think that's about all for now. More later!

Yearly Wrap-Up

2005-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

So, it's 2005 already. The New Year's Eve highlights include me falling asleep during the viewing of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou</a> at a local cinema (not that the movie was horrible or anything; I was just sleepy) and feeling depressed for the rest of the night, which continued on to most of New Year's Day. Not really a good start to a new year but whatever. I'm not taking any anti-depressant so I can't really control how I feel.
Last year would've been a good year, if only it hadn't ended up with a major disaster which affected my home country Indonesia greatly. It was hard to feel happy and celebratory on New Year's Eve when you knew that thousands of Indonesians like myself had just died and thousands others just lost everything. I may not know any of them personally, but they could've been my own family.
Anyway, I'm not going to make any New Year's resolutions because I'm no good at keeping it, but this year I'm going to try to at least deal with some unfinished business, be better at replying emails, and find out for sure if I really have Bipolar Disorder</a> (I have the symptoms) and get a professional help if I do. I sincerely hope that 2005 will turn up to be a much better year for everyone.

Fortune Cookies and Other Tales

2004-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Last weekend, we had supper at the boy's favourite Pad Thai restaurant in Stratford. The restaurant is run by a Vietnamese couple. It was nothing fancy, but the food was good. Besides, you just can't help but liking a place where the toilet is called the "lady + man room". The restaurant lady immediately recognised the boy since he is a returning customer and she greeted him warmly. But once she saw me walking behind him, she started grinning from ear to ear, which made me feel like some teenage girl being brought home by her teenage boyfriend to see his parents for the first time.
I was kind of expecting the lady to start interrogating the boy about me (because that's what Asian mothers would do), and she did, but not until he went up to the counter to pay the bill after we had our meals. I could hear her asking the boy all sorts of questions, but I couldn't really listen to what they were talking about from the table. Later the boy told me what she said. Among other things, she said that if we have a baby, our baby is going to be beautiful. You don't get fortune cookies from dining in Vietnamese restaurants, but I like to think of what the Vietnamese lady said as our own personalised fortune cookie.
Speaking of fortune cookies, when we went to a Chinese buffet in Burlington last summer, we each got a fortune cookie. Mine said, "You will always have good luck in your personal affairs." And guess what? I've been pretty lucky in my personal affairs since then. Coincidence? More than likely.
So, have you ever got a fortune cookie that seemed to actually bring you luck? How long did the luck last? I'm curious!

An Update, Finally!

2004-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

In case anyone's still checking my weblog, I've been back in Canada since October 16. I just didn't get around to updating this wee blog until today, mostly because I've been sick with a really bad case of cold even before I left Indonesia and I only started to feeling better yesterday. I still get a coughing fit every now and then but not as much as I used to. It's probably just my lungs reacting to the cold air (autumn in Canada is verrry cold!) because -- as the doctor told me some years ago -- my lungs are kind of allergic to cold air. But of course I didn't remember what the doctor said until earlier this week. Oopsie! Still, I can't wait to see the snow in winter. I will worry about how cold it would be later when winter is actually here.
Anyway, the boy</a> and I picked up a new digital camera for me yesterday at Best Buy in Kitchener. My new camera is an Olympus Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom with 8x optical zoom. It's rather bulky but I love it. I've always wanted a camera with a long zoom, mostly because I'm always too lazy to go near the object of my photographs. Heh. The camera only came with a lousy 16MB xD memory card but the boy</a>, being the lovely person that he is, bought me an extra 128MB xD card for me to play with. Happy, happy, joy, joy! :) Look forward to a lot of lovely photographs of autumn in Canada from yours truly, as soon as I could figure out how to transfer the pictures to the computer. Trust me, it's not that easy. But maybe I'm just dumb.
Oh, I saw my very first lunar eclipse last night! It was so very cool. I love how the moon became bloody red. I'm sure many cults of vampires were having a field day last night. Well, either that or I've just watched too much of CSI (remember that episode?). I tried to take some pictures of the eclipse with my new camera but it was so freezing cold in the parking lot that my limbs were all shaky and it reflected on my pictures of the moon. I think the boy</a> managed to take some pretty decent pictures of it. Will have to see it when I've got the pictures transferred to the computer. Well, I'm going back to my hiding place now where I have a bunch of Krispy Kreme donuts waiting to be devoured. Mmmm, donuts! Until next time!

To-Do List

2004-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

I'm supposed to be flying back to Canada on Friday next week but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Well, I will fly back to Canada this month but probably not next Friday because I still have so many things to do prior to my departure. Anyway, knowing what a huge procrastinator I am, I've decided to make a to-do list and post it online so that the world would know when I'm slacking (not that the world cares, mind you).
So here goes the list (in no particular order, except for the ticket-related stuff):

Book the tickets (booked for Saturday the 16th because there's no available seat for Friday the 15th)</li>
Pay for the said tickets (got the ticket in hand, woohoo!)</li>
Buy some thick sweaters (not really that thick, can't find thick ones in crazy hot Indonesia)</li>
Pick up some crazy Indonesian stuff for the boy</a></li>
Get a haircut (because First Choice Haircutters</a> scare me)</li>
Stock up on deodorants because I'm allergic to Secret</a> and I don't want to waste my money trying out other brands (didn't really stock up; just bought one that doesn't give me a rash)</li>
Buy a bag of durian candies (because the boy is curious about durian's allegedly nasty smell)</li>
Exchange my rupiahs for Canadian dollars (could only find myself 120 CDN since CDN is a rarity here in Indonesia; the rest has to be in USD)</li>
Master the art of packing</a></li>
Start packing (actually finished it two hours before I was supposed to leave home for the airport -- yay!)</li> </ol>
Speaking of packing, I hate packing just as much as I hate unpacking. I think the reason I hate packing is because I know that I will have to unpack when I get to the other end. Though living off a suitcase is a big pain in the butt as well. I still haven't unpacked from my last trip because, really, what's the point? I'm going to have to pack again soon! So I'm lazy. Just sue me. You won't get much. (I'm still trying to convince myself that a 27-hour flight is not really as bad as it sounds.)

Happy Birthday, Mama!

2004-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Today would've been my mother's 61st birthday had she still been alive, but she passed away last year after being in a very poor health for almost a year, only a little less than two months before her 60th birthday. I can still feel the sadness every time I see other people hanging out with their mothers or when I hear someone talking about the things their mother does to drive them crazy or even when I hear anything about someone else's mother. I can't help but thinking how lucky they are to still have a mother.
I don't know whether my mother would be happy or not if she was still alive. Life in Indonesia doesn't get any easier. But I'm sure she'd be happy to know that I have finally seen the world (well, one more continent that she ever saw in her lifetime but fewer countries) and that I've found someone who makes me happy. After all, all she ever wanted was for me to be happy. I just wish that she could see me.
I just remembered that I actually have my mother's last picture in my computer's hard drive (note: photo is missing). It was taken some time in May 2003, a few days after my niece was born. She was already bedridden by then. Less than three months later, she passed away.
Happy birthday, Mama, wherever you are...

The Last Day

2004-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

Well, today is my last day in Canada. In less than 8 hours, I will leave Toronto, Ontario, Canada for London, England. I'm going to miss so many things about Canada: the wide open space, the friendly people, the car headlights in broad daylight, the huge number of red trucks on the street, the dollar store nearby, and most of all, I'm going to miss Troy</a>. Here's my favourite picture of us from one of our trips (note: photo seems to be missing). That one was taken in Cape Croker, which is the creepiest place I ever visited in Canada.
Anyway, I have to get going now but I'll probably be able to post again when I get to London. Regular blogging will continue when my globetrotting adventure is over and I'm back home again, which is only a week from now. Later!

When Mosquitoes Attack

2004-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

I had my first encounter with Canadian mosquitoes a couple of days ago when we were walking on a trail along the river that was leading to St. Jacobs</a>. Apparently, Canadian mosquitoes are greenish (unless my eyes were playing tricks on me) and they attack you in big groups. They don’t play one-on-one, for sure. Their bites would feel itchy but won’t give you bumps. Now Indonesian mosquitoes are black and they attack individually. Their bites are really itchy and will leave you with tiny bumps that will usually disappear the next day.
Anyway, the mosquito attack (ambush?) forced us to turn direction back to Troy</a>’s car. Instead of walking the trail to St. Jacobs, we went there by car instead, which was fine by me. :) Once we got to St. Jacobs, we took a walk around the town (village?) for a bit and then we had ice-cream. Mmmm, ice-cream! We ate the ice-cream while sitting by the murky river, watching the wild animals doing, uh, whatever they were doing.
None of the mosquitoes that bit us was a carrier of the West Nile virus, thankfully. At least I don't think so. Hrm. Now I wonder how long the incubation period for the West Nile virus is. Let’s see… Usually 3 to 14 days.</a> I guess we’re not safe yet. Oh well.

A Wok in the Clouds

2004-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

You know what made me happy today? We finally got ourselves a wok. Yes, a wok! Man, living without a wok for 2 weeks was horrible. I had been looking all over for a wok in supermarkets for the past 2 weeks but to no avail. This evening Troy</a> took me for a wok-hunting. Canadians probably don’t use a wok to cook because we didn’t find any wok until we got to the third store. The wok and I must be meant to be together because there was actually a 25% discount for it, which isn’t really that much considering the 15% tax, but still, a discount is a discount and Troy was happy about it so it’s all good. Cookware is so expensive in Canada. That’s probably the reason why the food here sucks (note to Troy: please don’t send me home, yet).
Anyway, we’re going to spend this weekend in Toronto. It should be fun. If anything, it would be a nice change from the small-townish Waterloo. Check back in a couple of days for the Toronto story!

Harry Potter the Third

2004-06-11T00:00:00+00:00

So Troy</a> and I went to see that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie this evening and I noticed another, um, fascinating (?) thing about Canada. The line for popcorn is actually much longer than the line for movie tickets! In fact, there’s no line at all for movie tickets. It’s always the other way around in Indonesia.
Anyway, I bet you thought I was going to give you a review of the movie. Well, sorry to disappoint you. I’m no good at reviewing movies. All I can say is I really enjoyed it because the scenes were great, the musical score was done by one of my favourite modern composers of all time, the kids were, well, a little different than before (still the same kids but — I don’t know — they just seem different) but still fun to watch, and the popcorn was plentiful. Good stuff. We actually stayed until the end of the end credits.
If you have no time to see the movie, you can always read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Fifteen Minutes</a> and you’ll feel like you’ve seen it already. Well, sort of.
By the way, after the previous post, I guess you all know now that I’m just a human simulation machine instead of a real human. Don’t bother looking forward to the next release of Firda™ because their team of engineers is actually too busy working on other projects that aren’t as hopeless as the project that is yours truly. *sniff* So sad.

It’s A Canadian Thing

2004-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

These are things about Canada (or more specifically, Waterloo) I didn’t know about until I got here (and some of them came as quite a shock, coming from a country like Indonesia):

People say ‘hey, how are you doing?’ to each other, even strangers they pass on the street (like yours truly);</li>
People have their car headlights on, even on bright, sunny days;</li>
If you’re an eavesdropper and English is the only language you know, you’d be frustrated because a lot of people here talk to each other in languages other than English;</li>
You don’t get seat number with your movie ticket;</li>
If you go for a walk, cars actually stop to let you cross the street (that always makes me feel important, heh);</li>
Parking lots are huge;</li>
Canadian squirrels are less shy than their British cousins;</li>
Contrary to popular belief, Canadians don’t say ‘eh’ a lot (at least Troy</a> doesn’t; I still have yet to hear him say ‘eh’);</li>
Gas stations (and supposedly parking lots) are the place where drivers go wild and abandon all driving rules;</li>
You can’t commit suicide on railway tracks in Waterloo because no train will ever pass;</li>
Sunny days don’t necessarily mean warm days;</li>
I could pass for Canadian, if only I didn’t wear a thick sweatshirt all the time (because real Canadians are cold-proof).</li> </ol>
Well, that’s all I can think of for now. There’ll be more as I continue my Canadian adventure. Today is my one-week anniversary (if there is such thing) of my stay in the Great White North, and I’m loving it so far!

Isn’t Life Exciting?

2004-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

I’m in the middle of setting up a photolog to post pictures from and stories about my adventure in England right now, but knowing how short my attention span is, it may take a while before it’s up and running so standard disclaimer applies: don’t hold your breath.
Anyway, ever since I got to Canada, I always wake up at six in the morning, and Troy</a> won’t wake up until at least ten on weekends (what can I say, he loves to sleep) so I always have hours to keep myself entertained in the morning. Thank goodness for broadband internet. Troy has showed me how to use his stereo set and DVD player but so far, only the computer, TV, and the kitchen have peaked my interest. And no, I haven’t cooked anything from scratch since I arrived. I’ve just been having some ready-to-cook stuff from the supermarket. Yes, I’ve been bad.
Oh, if you’ve been wondering what Firda Approved™ food products are, it’s just things that I usually have back home in Indonesia. (Anyone know any supermarket chains in Canada that actually have jasmine tea?) And dude, it’s so cold here but Troy actually finds 14°C warm. Brrrrr. But at least the air here is not as dry as it was in England. And woo, there’ll be a thunderstorm on Monday</a>! I’m so glad the weather was fine when my plane landed. I would hate to fly in bad weather.
I think we’re supposed to be going to the zoo to see some llamas (among others) today but we’ll see. Troy still has yet to wake up. Sleepyhead. And I just had a big yawn. Should I go back to sleep?

Greetings from Canada!

2004-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I’d post from England but I just didn’t have the time to do so. I arrived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada yesterday evening. The flight from London to Toronto took about 8 hours. It didn’t feel all that long. People drive on the wrong side of the road here, but I forgive them.
Anyway, Troy</a> picked me up at the airport in Toronto. Instead of getting freaked out to see me, he gave me a hug. That was very brave of him. We went straight to his place in Waterloo. After I had a shower, we went grocery shopping (at 9:30 PM, no less) because Troy wanted me to get stuff for me to eat. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many Firda Approved™ food products there, but I’ll live.
I really would like to write more but Troy’s computer’s keyboard is driving me nuts so I guess that’s all for now. When I’ve got used to this ergonomic keyboard thing, I’ll share some stories about my adventures in England (with pictures of the infamous Quack the Duck!). Later!

Off to England I Go!

2004-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Well, I’m leaving home soon to the airport where I’ll hop on a plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (where I’ll be sitting around doing nothing for 2 hours) and then to London, England. I will occasionally post to my weblog during my 9-day stay in England from my uncle’s laptop so the next update will be from England. As for replying to emails, I’m sorry I didn’t get around to it because my last days here were so hectic! I’ll reply to you when I’m in Canada, or at least try to. Until next update!

Look! An Update!

2004-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…</sing>
Actually, no. I haven’t even started packing, but I’ve finally got all the visas I need in hand. I am now an ecstatic holder of UK and Canada multiple entry visas. Yippeee! In less than a week, I’ll be in England to visit my aunt and uncle, and in two weeks, I’ll be in Canada to annoy the hell out of Troy</a> with my antics. Fun! :) And thanks to Rachel, I now have a cool digital camera that I’m going to use to visually share my adventures with you. Aren’t you excited? ;)
Well, I’m dead tired after running around all day trying to get everything done for my trips so off to bed I go! If I owe you an email, I’ll try to get back to you before I leave Indonesia on Tuesday. Until then, take care and be good!

Excuses, Excuses

2004-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Sorry for the lack of update lately. I just haven’t been feeling like blogging due to a certain family situation that leaves me feeling depressed most of the time. I’ll spare you the details but this much I can say: if you have a father who always tries to make your life easier, you should count yourself lucky. Some of us (including myself) aren’t that lucky.
On a happier note, I got myself a UK visa today. Yayness! After three years of having a passport, there’s finally something to see among the passport pages. I’ll be leaving Jakarta for London on May 18 and, if I’m lucky enough to get the Canadian visa, I’ll be flying to Toronto from London on May 28. I really can’t wait to start my adventure. Too bad it’s still a little less than a month away.
Well, until next update! I hope all of you are doing good.

A Birthday Post

2004-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

Dear Self,
Happy birthday! I know you’re cursing under your breath to hear that but the day is still young and there’s still a chance for it to turn up to be a happy one, no matter how small the chance is. Try to be optimistic for a change. Someone might give you a nice present. Or even bake you a cake. Who knows.
I’m so impressed that you’ve lived this long. For someone who lives on dreaming of things that she wishes would happen to her but never seem to happen for real, who spends at least 6 days a week in front of her computer because she’s always too broke to go out, you’re not doing too badly at all. Way to go!
I’m glad that you have the trip to look forward to right now. I know you’re thinking, “After the trip then what?” Well, after the trip, you’ll go back to your life before the trip, which is not really much of a life, but that’s all you’ve got and you’re supposed to cherish it. Yeah, I hear you. Bullshit. You’re allowed to say that. After all, it’s your birthday!
Life sucks, doesn’t it? But you’ve got to hang on. Just grab anything you can hold on to. Don’t be too picky. Life might get better. I wish I could promise you that it will get better, but I can’t. All I can say is it might get better and you have to keep afloat so you could find out. Of course something that might get better, might also get worse. That’s just the way it is.
The thing about life is, you’ll never know what’s going to happen. Just keep thinking what you’re thinking, that you have to go through so much crap because one day, when you’re happy, you’ll be happy forever. There’ll be no more crap for you because you’ve been through it all. Wouldn’t it be nice?
I wish I could buy you a present, but, as we both know, we’re broke. If there’s still some flour in the kitchen, you can always bake yourself a cake. You know you’re good at cake baking.
Hey, remember when mum ordered a special birthday meal package from a caterer for you two years ago? That was good, wasn’t it? She was already bedridden the next year. And now she’s no more. Birthday is certainly different without her. But I’m sure she’s wishing you a happy birthday from wherever she is right now. She always wanted you to be happy.
It’s okay to cry. Just cry as hard as you can. It’ll make you feel better. Of course you can always wait until father delivers his “you’ve been a bad girl” lecture. That way you won’t have to cry twice. It would save you a lot of energy.
Now get off the computer, go downstairs, and face the evil father. After that, your birthday will be practically over. Remember that I love you just as you are, no matter what your father says. Take care of yourself. Life might get better.
Love,
Me
PS. See? No preaching from father! Only a 5 dollar bill. That’s quite an improvement from last year, don’t you think?

Current Status: Alive

2004-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

This post is for those of you who are wondering whether or not I am still alive. As you can see, as of this writing, I am still alive and typing, but not necessarily blogging. During my absence from your life, I have:

been having coughing fits;</li>
locked myself in my room for two nights due to some unfortunate family situation;</li>
played a lot with my nephew;</li>
received two CDs from Chris</a> in California and two books from Ian in Scotland off my Amazon wishlist (thanks a lot, guys!);</li>
watched more TV than usual;</li>
been having mood swings, as usual;</li>
been dreading my birthday, which is coming up in 5 days;</li>
got the best (early) birthday present ever from my aunt and uncle in England (whom I’m going to visit in May): a return ticket to Canada!</li> </ol>
For the time being, my life is a little bit of everything, which is nice for a change because usually my life can be summed up in one word: depressing. But right now, as long as I’m focusing my thoughts on my upcoming trip to England and Canada, I’m happy as I can be.

Telephonophobia

2004-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

A few of you might know that I have a telephonophobia or fear of telephones. I fear answering phone calls, making a phone call, and talking on the phone. When I’m on the phone, my brain just freezes and I turn into a moron.
This afternoon I took about an hour or so just to get myself to make a phone call to a travel agency to check for airfares and stuff and guess how long the conversation lasted? Less than three minutes! And the travel agent hung up on me even though I still had a few more questions! How rude!
I know that I should have made another phone call to another travel agency, but that can wait. Making one phone call a day is more than enough for me. I don’t even know why I have a cellphone. It’s not like anyone ever calls me. Not that I mind.

Big, Blue Bag of Happiness

2004-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

I was having a crap day, but then the postman came to deliver something in a big, blue, Deutsche Post bag. It was pretty heavy. What could it be, I wonder. The last time I received a package with Deutsche Post mark, it was something from Amazon.com. As it turned out, it was no different this time.
Inside the big, blue bag was a brown, Amazon.com cardboad box and inside the box was a 2-CD album of Leonard Cohen, a novel by David Sedaris, and a big design book (yes, the book does live up to the title) off my Amazon wishlist from Steven in Belgium. Yay! That really brightened up my day. Thanks a million, Steven! :)
People have been asking me why I have very few fictions on my Amazon wishlist. The reason is, I can usually find the fictions I’d like to read in local bookstores while books on web design and development are rare and few, and when they are available, they usually cost almost twice the original price.
As for why there is no DVD on my wishlist, even though I love movies, I have no DVD player. All I have is a VCD player. A certain someone that shall remain nameless had to spend long hours burning DVDs and convert them into VCD format just so that I could see Donnie Darko and Memento, but I think he’s had enough of the hassle and won’t do it ever again :)
Now, anyone want to buy me a digital camera for my birthday next month? ;) Man, how I hate birthdays. As far as I can remember, there’s been only one happy birthday in my entire life and it was already 6 years ago. I am so not looking forward to my next birthday. It’s bound to be worse than ever because it will be my very first birthday since my mother passed away. My mother had always been the only one who would bother to try to make my birthdays a good one. I wish I could have her back for my birthday, but since I can’t, a digital camera will do. Heh. (And no, I’m not really expecting you to buy me a digital camera.)

A Sign of Life

2004-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Troy</a> thinks I should update my weblog because some of you are worried about me so here’s an update. Now you can stop worrying because all’s well with the world for your poor, old Firda is alive! :) I still get a headache every now and then, especially if I spend a longish time in front of the computer, but I guess I should get used to it because I really need to get back to work.
In other news, I signed up with a new ISP today because the old ISP — which is one and the same with the phone company — charged heaps for internet access while with the new ISP I have unlimited internet access with a flat rate so hopefully my bills will be considerably smaller next month. Smaller bills make a happy Firda.
In case you’re wondering about what I did during my “sick leave”, I was just playing around with Orkut</a> for a bit, but once the novelty wore off and my friends count got stuck at 11, I started playing Spider Solitaire and now I’m addicted to it. I know I once said I didn’t know how to play it but a teenage cousin of mine taught me how to play it about a month ago so now I know how, though I’m still not very good at it. But then again, I generally suck at just about any game.
Well, I’ll post more when the headache gets a bit bearable. Later skater!

Not Feeling Well

2004-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

I haven’t been feeling well, physically. I’m not sure if I’m just catching a common cold or the deadly dengue fever virus (there’s currently a dengue fever outbreak here). I certainly hope it’s the former. As far as depression goes, I’ve got it under control. For now anyway. Though the uncertainty about my state of health is kind of depressing me. So, if things are a bit slow around here, the reason would be my poor health. Just thought I’d let you know because you care, right? I know you do :)
Update: Okay, so the fever I was having freaked me out enough to make me want to see a doctor. I had my brother drive me to a nearby clinic. The doctor had my blood checked immediately because he said dengue fever</a> these days had some pretty unusual symptoms and it was better safe than sorry. I got the results in 10 minutes. The doctor explained the results to me and the verdict was, it was just a ‘flu. Phew. He told me to get a lot of rest and drink a lot of water, and that’s what I’m going to do :)

This Saturday

2004-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

I went to bed at 3 AM after working non-stop since 6 PM on Friday, and at 6 AM my brother already woke me up because we were leaving soon to the cemetery to visit our mum’s grave. We haven’t been there for nearly two months and I was really missing her. For some odd reasons, visiting her grave makes me miss her a tiny bit less.
At the cemetery, there was a signpost with the rules and regulations of the cemetery written on it. The last point really amused me. It says that the cemetery is only intended for skeletons and dead bodies, not for living human beings. I thought it was funny. I’m sure mum would’ve found it funny, too. It was probably her who made me look towards that direction because I’d never noticed that signpost before. She and I had similar sense of humour.
On my mother’s grave, there was a plant and it was blooming with a lot of purple flowers. None of us knew what the plant was called. My mother was a self-taught botanist. I’m sure she would know what the plant was called. So I simply told the others, “Don’t worry. She knows.”
Then we went to an aunt’s place and our aunt fed us, the hungry, motherless kids, well and we got to get some stuff off our chest about the whole depressing home situation. Good stuff. It doesn’t and won’t solve the problem, but just sharing it helps a great deal. We are all stressed out about it. Losing a mother is not easy at all.
When I got home, there was a package from Amazon.com for me. In the package was a book, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers, courtesy Greg</a> (thank you!). It was the first book anyone ever bought me off of my Amazon wishlist. It really made my day.
Today is indeed the best Saturday I’ve had in a very, very long time.

Happy New Year

2004-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

It is the new year already for us futurists a.k.a. the southern hemisphereans. I was crying when I entered the year 2003 because I just knew bad things were going to happen to me, and I was right. I actually feel happyish this time of year, though. I really hope that it means good things are going to happen to me this year. I’m not too optimistic about it, but you’ll never know.
Anyway, this is the first thing I ate this year. It’s called Kue Dadar. The only Kue Dadar recipe I could find is rather poorly written</a>. When they say desiccated coconut, it should be just plain, grated coconut, really. It’s basically just a pancake with a filling made of grated coconut mixed with palm sugar. It’s really yummy, and you just have to take my words for it.
Wanna know my goals for 2004?
I won’t call them resolutions. I don’t make new year’s resolutions. I call them goals. Goals are made to be achieved but sometimes you fail to achieve it and it’s okay because such is life. Anyway, here’s my goals:

to get Book of Styles up and running;</li>
to get my tiny, little template shop/business site up and running;</li>
to celebrate my birthday anywhere but here and far, far away from my dad because I don’t think I could take any more “you’ve been bad” birthday lecture from him (he ruined my birthday that way every year);</li>
to make enough money to buy a nice digital camera so I could stop torturing you with crappy pictures taken with my cheap webcam.</li> </ol>
Um, I think that’s all. And please, stop whining to me about Book of Styles because it really, really, really annoys me. I’ll get it up when it’s ready, ‘kay? ‘Kay.
Now let’s start the ride into the new year and let’s hope the road will be less bumpy than it was last year!