Britgalhere World

Bahwasanya pada tanggal 16 Agustus 2001….

Daku dengan sukses membanting EP dan Wiwied di depan Sunken. Hohohoho…. (hasil tempaan BondX).
Hari itu juga pengumuman nilai ELKA dan gue dapet A…

Such a fine day…

The worst book, the best movie…

Yupe! That it my comment. Among the 6th relased books, for me the 5th book was dull, boring, not up to my expectation. However, I like this 5th movie the best compared to the other movies.

I just read view reviews in www.movie.yahoo.sg, most of the users give bad review, well mostly they give 50% ok and 50% bad. I will not say this is the best movie ever, because it is not (Pirates of Carribean 3 is better than this, I daresay) but this one is more appealing compared to its successors.

I do not like Goblet of Fire movie. They were trying to hard to combine all the pieces; details, plot, characterization, effect, but these spices did not create a delicious dish. 4th movie is scattered and awkward. I read the book and I was greatly dissapointed with the movie. Not sure about people who hadn’t read the book.

I feel, the team has learned from their previous mistake. Rather than trying too hard in giving details, they have successed to maintain the plots and characters. I can see the continuity from one scene to the others. Though have to admit that it lacks of funny scenes, but the suspense is built nicely. I really like its dark atmosphere - as Harry Potter is not a flowery cheerful story, I think starts from the 3rd movie, Prizoner of Azkaban, they are consistently maintain this dark and gloomy ambience.

I admit, a lot of details are missing, such as love story between Harry and Cho Chang, history of Longbottoms family, Harry’s frustration and what is really happen to him so Dumbledore is avoiding him, Hagrid and Olympia’s attempt to persuade giant community not to join Voldemort, OWLs exam, etc, etc… They even change the story. Cho Chang is not supposed to be the one who tell the secret of Dumbledore Army, it is her friend. But I guess this change is necessary in order not to drag the movie with too much explanations and details.

Umbridge character is really well played by Imelda Staunton. It is just perfect. This little woman who fancy and fake-sweet polite from outside has a vicious character inside, is trying to "discipline" Hogwarts and streamline it with ministry will. I believe those who read book will give two thumbs for her acting.

I would compliment the fighting scenes as well. The magical battle in Ministry of Mistery is pictured really cool!!! With the blured images and light crossing here and there. Voldermort battle against Dumbledore and Harry is also impressive. There is a scene where Voldemort dissolves into sand and enters Harry, tries to take control of his mind. I do not remember the book describes this, but anyway… it is a good scene…

Last one, as an ex-teenager… I would like to say… The Twin are really cute!!! I do not like Harry’s new hairdo.. but it quite supports his frustrating and rebel character in this story.

Well, all above comments are written by me who has read the book. Again, not really sure the opinion from them who do not read it. Overall, it is a good enjoyable passing time movie, so why not? ;p

Lonely… I am so lonely, I have nobody to call my own…

Yeah baby… that is one of Akon’s song… really like the song. But I don’t like the feeling. Especially in Sunday night when you have this pop-up annoying reminder in your head that you have to go work tomorrow! Waaaaa!!!!

Somehow I feel pathetic and weak when I realize that I feel lonely. But what the heck, everyone must have this feeling, even if you are the most independent and self-assured person in this world.

So… I was trying to write something and thinking to write about feeling lonely. When I was browsing to find some materials, I find a good write up in this link:

http://www.personal-development.com/chuck/loneliness2.htm

Just want to summarize and share what I have read. Hope it can be useful for anyone who care to read this blog… hehehe….

Loneliness is (obviously) feeling lonely. It is just another feelings that human feels. However, loneliness is not that “innocent as it looks”, it can lead into anxiety or depression. One can be crippled by self-pity and helplessness. As soon as the stress that caused by loneliness take over yourself, it can weak immune system and trigger so many illness.

The good news is we can do something about it. As life is always about taking options, we can choose whether to drawn into the feeling or really do something about it. We need to remember that we are not our feelings, feelings is just a part of us.

The author, Gallozzi, gives some suggestions how to deal with loneliness. First is to give away what you wish to receive. If you need a friend, then be a friend. If you need support then give support. By healing other’s loneliness, we might cure our own. By giving support to others, we might get the supports in return. However, it is important to be sincere, upright, with whole-hearted. If we do something just to expect we receive something else in return, then the result will only backfire. People receive the most when they give the most. It is better to give of yourself, but keep the expectation lower (I want to write, “do not expect anything” but I guess most of the time we can not be “expectation-free” ;p).

Think of others rather than be full of yourself. Being needy will not help as it will just drain your friends’ energy and drive them away. It is wise not to dump your problems and overwhelm others. Learn to listen and comfort other, then you will not just swimming in your ocean of loneliness (I am trying hard to carve those sentences inside my head… and my heart — sometimes your head does understand, but your heart just roaring like untamed lion, eating your head alive… hehehe..). 

In this website, it is also mentioned that it is good to be alone. You need to spend sometimes with yourself, to know yourself better. It is an opportunity for reflection, self-discovery, and growth. Yet, do not deprive others because of this.

Besides that website, I also find that it is important to have a hobby. Not all the times we can spend with our family and friends. They have their own life too. And to have a hobby will be very helpful and useful.

Well, nothing is really going to change in one night. After reading the article, I really hope I could make use of it. I believe so many people are feeling lonely by now. I hope we can find our own way and overcome that.

God bless you all J 

Ketika sedang jalan-jalan di Orchard minggu kemarin, dengan rencana-rencana di kepala mengenai liburan ke sebuah pulau di Malaysia, dan tinggal di hotel bintang lima, tiba-tiba terasa betapa materialistisnya orang-orang jaman sekarang, well termasuk gue sendiri.

Terbersit gambaran-gambaran masa lalu serupa gambar di film-film tahun 80-an. Ketika tinggi gue tak lebih dari 120 cm, saat adik gue masih putih kecil chubby and sangat lucu :D. Keluarga kami belum semapan saat ini. Namun setiap hari minggu, mama akan selalu mencoba untuk menghabiskan waktu bersama kami. Setiap bulan mama sudah punya rencana. Masih teringat ketika mama menghitung dan menyisihkan sejumlah uang dari dompet cokelatnya. Dan gue duduk di kasurnya yang besar mendengarkan rencana mama dengan gembira.

Naik sepeda di Gasibu, gratis dan menyenangkan. Gue dan adik gue bereksplorasi menjelajah Gasibu dengan sepeda roda tiga kami. Kalau papa ikut, papa mengajari kami bermain bulutangkis. Kami punya dua buat "mini" raket, punya gue berwarna kuning dan adek hijau.

Kebun binatang adalah tempat yang kami singgahi lebih dari 100 kali. Sampai hari ini, kalau gak ada perubahan yang radikal (dan gue pikir gak ada..) gue masih ingat semua rute, binatang mana di kandang sebelah mana. Ada sebuah kolam di dekat kandang buaya, dan kita bisa menyewa perahu dan keliling kolam sekitar 10 menit. Mungkin kedengarannya sederhana sekali, tapi saat itu kita merasa senang  bisa keliling-keliling kolam dengan "pulau" (yang sangat kecil sekali di tengah-tengah) dengan kandang monyetnya. Gue selalu terpukau melihat harimau dan singa. (Sampai hari ini gue punya obsesi untuk memelihara anak harimau atau singa yang bakal gue kasih nama "Google" sesuai dengan permintaan salah satu temen gue di sini…hehehe…). Masih ingat, mama dan adek sempat melihat adegan ular yang kejar-kejaran dengan angsa, berakhir dengan angsa yang malang jadi santapan makan siang. Di bagian akuarium, ada ular laut yang dinamai ular laut pelangi, dan mereka punya semacam presentasi tentang kehidupan laut selama 15 menit. Dan gue akan duduk tenang menikmati keindahan karang (saat itu gue berangan-angan kapan gue bisa liat yang aslinya…). Setiap kali kita akan pergi kebun binatang, mama selalu membangunkan kita pagi-pagi, soalnya kalau kita sampai siang hari, kita akan dihadiahi bau spesial karena binatang-binatangnya dengan nyaman mengeluarkan sarapan mereka

Taman Lalu Lintas adalah salah satu tempat yang mahal, "fancy place". Permainan yang paling gue senangi ialah memancing ikan-ikan kayu. Jika berhasil memancing sejumlah ikan, maka gue bisa menukarkan ikan-ikan itu dengan buku tulis, penghapus warna-warni yang wangi, dan pensil. "Wahana" yang paling mahal ialah kereta api mini yang mengelilingi seluruh taman. Tidak setiap saat kita berkesempatan untuk naik kereta api tersebut, tergantung pengaturan budget minggu itu. Komedi putar adalah wahana wajib yang selalu kita naiki, dan oh… gue ingat ada semacam mobil-mobilan (kayak bom-bom car) yang bisa kita naiki atau bisa menyewa sepeda juga (kita gak boleh bawa sepeda sendiri ).

Yang paling mewah adalah KINGS Mall. Mereka punya semacam "super mini Dufan" dengan kora-kora mininya. Biasanya kita akan mengajak Mas Vani, my dearest cousin, untuk ikutan bermain di sana. Wahana favorit gue adalah kolam bola. Bola-bola warna-warni bertumpah ruah di sebuah ruangan kecil dan gue dengan super gembira "berenang" di dalamnya. Gue selalu terpukau dengan warna, dan gak ada yang lebih menyenangkan daripada "tenggalam" di dalamnya. Bom-bom car selalu jadi pilihan semua orang. Senang sekali menabrak-nabrak semua orang tanpa harus ada yang terluka. Hehehe…

Terlepas dari semua itu, yang paling membahagiakan adalah punya seorang mama yang sangat menyayangi kami semua. Mama selalu memikirkan kebahagiaan kami. Walaupun kami gak punya uang, tapi mama bisa dengan cerdasnya mengatur semua sehingga kami selalu merasa cukup dan tidak kekurangan apapun. Di saat tidak ada uang di tangan, selain Gasibu, mama akan mengajak kami untuk melukis, menggambar, atau membaca buku dan menulis cerita. Sekolah di Santa Angela yang notabene dengan orang-orang kaya tidak pernah membuat kami iri dengan anak-anak lain. Sekarang, ketika gue merasakan gimana capeknya bekerja, gue pikir walaupun secapek apa pun mama, dia selalu berusaha untuk melakukan aktifitas bersama.

Hal-hal sederhana bisa begitu berarti. Sementara di sini, ketika gue bisa makan enak, kalau mau setiap hari, di restoran dan gue punya cukup uang untuk membeli barang-barang yang gue inginkan, gue justru mudah lupa dengan hal-hal sederhana. Dan bukannya bersyukur dengan apa yang gue punya, gue malah lebih berfokus dengan "yang gak ada" di sini.

I wish I could go back to those times, strolling along in Gasibu with my bike with my dear brother, share the launghter and all the joy…

Sabtu malam (30/Jun) yang menyenangkan dan mengenyangkan! Abis nonton Transformer bareng Iped dan Abduh, kita makan malam di Surabaya Restoran, Lucky Plaza, lt 2. Ayam Penyetnya yummie dan gue dengan sukses menghabiskan 2 botol teh botol (ooh, teh botol!!!). Pas kita ngobrol seputar Bandung, tiba-tiba salah satu dari kita keceplos, "Bala-bala!!!".

FYI, di Singapur hampir gak ada tukang dagang pinggir jalan. Kalau misalnya ngeliat dagang gorengan di sini (yang paling terkenal Old Chang Kee, yummie juga tuh, ada nugget, chicken in wrap, crab, prawn, sluruupppsss) penampakannya fancy dan bersih!!! Gak ada acara ngegoreng pake minyak yang warnanya cokelat kehitam-hitaman disertai bumbu sedap debu jalanan dan asap knalpot… hehehe… Tapi menurut gue justru itu yang bikin bala-bala dan sejenisnya punya cita rasa tersendiri… (kalau bikin di rumah, gak tau kenapa rasanya kok beda… :D)

Bala-bala itu hanya campuran tepung dan sayuran… Bala-bala gank termasuk pisang goreng, cireng (aci digoreng), dan gehu (tahu isi toge). Gehu menempati urutan kedua di daftar favorit gue!!!

Sehubungan dengan kangen dadakan untuk makan bala-bala, gue membajak resep dari http://www.keseharian.com/dapur/balabala.html. Silakan dicoba, kalo sempet kirim2 ke sini lebih bagus lagi!! Hehehe…

BALA-BALA

Bahan
250 gr tepung terigu, terigu kiloan lebih bagus
55 gr tepung kanji
3 lembar kol, iris halus, cuci, tiriskan
1 batang wortel, iris dadu kecil, cuci, tiriskan
50 gr tauge, siangi, cuci, tiriskan
2 batang daun bawang, iris
1 butir telur (opt)
250 ml air
minyak sayur untuk menggoreng

Bumbu halus
4 siung bawang putih
4 siung bawang merah
1 sdt garam
1 sdt merica

Cara membuat
1. Campur semua bahan dengan bumbu halus, aduk rata
2. Panaskan minyak, goreng adonan 1 sdm demi 1 sdm, bolak-balik sampai kekuningan
3. Angkat, tiriskan, sajikan hangat bersama cabe rawit hijau

Oooooohh, bala-bala, bala-bala, bala-bala…..