Happiness

Hey Champ...
I betcha life has been treating u well.. Coz I found out that lately I'm living a life that makes me feel whole and content.

I finally found a true friendship, a kind that I've never had before. I've never imagine that I would be able to have that kind of relationship (re: friendship). What people say that a good friend is hard to find is completely, really-really true. Now that I've found it, I will nurture it as much as I could; with my whole heart, giving my loyalty to the friend who is loyal to me, accepting me the way I am, who are also a good influencer; helping me to become a better person, enriching me and patronizing me to stay in the right path. God, I thank you for this blessing You've provided me.

Other thing that also help me feel content is the job that I'm having at the moment. Although I'm still figuring out many things, I can at least try to enjoy my work, especially when my Boz and Supervisors provided me a supportive environment to perform as best as I could. Being rewarded with trust and respect within only a short period of working time for them is really surprising. I'm happy for the great treatment, though on the other hand I see it as a burden since I should not disappoint them or misuse the privileges for my personal interests. The temptation is huuugggeee, but thank God I can still manage to fight it.

Last but not least is my family and a place that I can call a home. Without them, I believe I can't be where I am right now. Thank you mom, thank you dad for the lessons and the way you've raised me. Although I'm still naughty and disobedient, I always keep your advice in my mind and heart and always try my best not to disappoint you guys. Believe me when I say this, I love you both although it's hard for me to show/say it out loud due to some barriers established between us. Yeah, I do love you guys.

In d end, I can say that Happiness is a state of emotion someone earns through hard works and by making lots of efforts which in the end could boost up the motivation to live a life. Without it, one would be miserable and confused.

As for now, my one quest that I gotta conquer is to find the Love of my life. I believe when the right time comes, that person will show up. And I do hope by that time I'm gonna be ready to embrace it. I'm tired of hoping and expecting too much. I'm sick of uncertainties, and playing games is not my thing. As for now, I can settle being by my own... I will be waiting for my REAL bright, shining ★ that is meant for me...

Take care Champ, I will talk to you soon enough you won't notice that I'm gone...

I know you love me,

Xoxo,

Cho

"Take a chance & take a risk in everything you do. It may not be as unstable as you thought. Take a step back and admire what you've done because in the end, it might be worth it. And if it's not, you learned a lesson in life and you will have grown wiser. So live your life without regrets, take chances and risks, and see how far you can fly"

Now I know...

I think I'm waaaayyy over with my melodramatic mood. I think I know why I acted that way and now I'm learning how to cope with it, how to deal with it with many helps my beloved people showed me, though perhaps they don't realize how they did it. I just feel lucky to be where I am at the moment.

I feel lucky to have people who loves me
I feel lucky to have people whom I can care about
I feel lucky to have people whom I can love
I feel lucky with the wonderful ride of my life

When I feel lucky, I feel happy
When I feel happy, all I can think of is people I care the most;
Wanting to share my happiness with them,
wanting them to feel what I feel
Though I realize I can't want them to be by my side all the time

Yeah, I think that's the essence of loving. When you love something or someone, you can't turn what you love into your possession 'coz nothing and no one wants to be possessed. Instead, you should be able to let them be free and be what they want to be, especially if they're living creatures.

Yeah, I'm so lucky...
God, please let this feeling stays
Love you...

"Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky oh my, baby I'm trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

...

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music, feel the air
I'll put a flower in your hair

Though the breezes through the trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning 'round
You hold me right here right now"


(lyrics: Lucky by Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat)

Thursday, August 21st 2008

Yeah..
Thursday...
August 21st 2008...

One of the best day in my life..
The day I will never forget in my life...

There are too many to mention
Too many to be kept as secrets
Yet I wanna shout it out loud to the world

Let the walls be the silent witness

Part One: Road Trip to Java - Surabaya

Few weeks ago, when I was granted a permission to take some days-off from the office, I went to visit my sister who now runs a business in Surabaya (in Gedangan, Sidoardjo to be exact).

While getting to know her business, I also had a chance to explore a little bit of Surabaya as well. We (my sister, me and my brotha) went to Tunjungan Plaza, known as the biggest mall in Surabaya, and some other places such as Pakuwon Mall, Sports Club, ACE Hardware and Hypermart (gya..ha..ha..ha. LoL).

We did not visit any tourism attraction since my siblings were not really interested to explore them. Only, we accidentally passed Jembatan Merah (red bridge) district, without the ability to see the bridge since we were in a car and had no intention to park and walk down... (sigh.... poor me....)

While my siblings were interested to taste the famous Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi (established since my father lived there before settling down) or Savory Donuts Lines (BBQing, Mushi-Mushi, Chicken Ragout) from Ring Master; I was the only one who had the courage to try the authentic Rujak Cingur, a traditional dish from Surabaya which mixes cow's mucus membranes (snout) with fruits and vegetables garnished with dressings made out of petis (dried shrimp) and other ingredients such as nuts, chili, Javanese sugar, etc.

In Javanese language, cingur = snout.

I've been longing to taste the dish ever since I heard it from a friend in 2004. Although I wasn't able to find the famous rujak cingur from Delta (a restaurant), I liked it and willing to eat it again whenever I return to Surabaya.

Pretty much, that was my experience spending 2 nights in Surabaya. Not really fun, eh? The day after that, we went on a road trip to Jogjakarta.... Now that's when the fun started to begin....

(to be continued)

the famous dish from Surabaya, Rujak Cingur
(image was taken from here)

Soto Ayam Ambengan Pak Sadi
(Mr.Sadi's Ambengan Chicken Soup)
(image was taken from here)

I just remember that while I was in Surabaya I also became a handyman, helping my sister built a TV deck and cabinet for her clothings... a bit time-consuming.. that's why we didn't really explore Surabaya... hahaha (LoL)

My Peaceful Day

To be honest, this is the first time I really enjoy my time spent at home, resting in a quiet and peaceful environment... My parents went shopping, my sister went out vacationing, my brother went out with friends... and It's all me (with a maid), myself and I...

Finally I can really appreciate free times at home after being coped with (quite easy) office tasks on my intern for a month and a half. Thank God I insisted for a 2-months term only (although I'm still figuring out what am I gonna do for the rest of another free month before semester begins).

I begin to get used to office-workers/commuter lifestyle. During the weekdays: Wake up in the morning, get ready, go to work, work hardly (or at least try hardly to work... hihi... we are the party animals... =D), deal with people at work (either with the bitchy or the nice, warm and friendly one), lunch with colleagues (inside or outside office), get back to work after lunch, continue to work (hardly), hit the gym (or shower only.. haha), sign-out and continue my activities at night (if any, such as choir) and finally go home to get some sleep and rest. During the weekends: Life is all about me, my family and my friends.

The most important thing is that I am able to share my life... life at home, life at work, life with family, life with friends and, off course, personal life... with someone else who cares about me although we are parted by distance. Wish we could see each other more often... Fly me up to where you are beyond the distant star, I wish upon tonight to see you smile... If only for a while, to know you're there.. A breath away's not far to where you are... Sigh... Mellow me... (it's the song from which I became hypnotized with the singer's voice ever since I hear it the first time on TV. Now, it's even more memorable 'coz of someone...)

Yet, I still have a report from work to finish before Monday and another report for competition with some campus friends to be done by at least Monday (if i'm not mistaken... tell me guys) and to add it up, another report for Student Committee that has been waiting to be finished since a long, long, long... yes, long... long, very loooooonnggg time ago...

Sigh.. how could I enjoy today and tomorrow? Well... We'll see if Procrastinate me will show up or hide behind the Dilligent me. Oh.. and one thing to make the datelines even stricter ... I'm leaving for a one-week vacation on this coming Monday night... and planning not to bring any works with me. Thank to my boss who let me go for a 4-days off vacation and pay those days off back by extending my days at work without extending the intern contract term.

My oh my.... How can I not thank Lord Jesus for this life He gives me...

One Precious Day

Today I didn't have any class at all.
As well as the rest of the week (except Tuesday).
And the following week (except Tuesday).
....

Mid-term exam was the reason. Since I only have 3 subjects for this semester, lucky me (or perhaps, unfortunate me to deal with so many free times), I have lots of free days during the mid-term exam weeks. Today was the first of my free days and I decided to accompany and drive my dad to an office at Serpong. To my surprise, my brother didn't have any school as well, thus I decided to ask him and my sister to join me.. and that makes my mom went with us as well.. As the result, off we went at 10 AM with that little Jazz packed with 5 huge people....

After we dropped our father, we went to see a beautiful house nearby and see its design and concept. Afterwards, we decided to have lunch at a newly-opened McDonald's in Alam Sutera. The time I spent with mom and my siblings were so precious since it was such a rare occassion, having a quality time outside the house. And yeah, I was so happy that we could spent the day together. People were staring at us (me, my sista and bro) and we were so confused why... someone even dare to approach us and ask where did we get our shirts... haha.. that's the time when we realize why they were staring at us and that also made my bro says that "this is the first time and the last time" (that we ever wear same shirts) hahahha....







The rest of the day was kindda boring since it involves traffic jam, traffic jam and traffic jam.. But what I remember the most from today was the time we spent together in the car: chit-chat, play jokes and discuss things together... Sigh.. what a precious day today is.

My Best Solitaire Moment

My last weekend was really fun and relaxing. It was a long-weekend since on Monday the country celebrated Hindu Day of Silence. I was actually already booked since the previous month for a family activity, either at Kampung Sampireun, Garut (if not fully booked) or Puncak (at my relative's villa in Kota Bunga)...

But instead......,

Since I feel a great necessity to have a time for my own -away from duties & obligations- I went to my friend's place. I told my parents that I had to do some group assignments with friends and that me and classmates had decided to conduct a meeting in my friend's crib in Bogor to work on the project and spend some quality times together. Well... half of the story was true and half of it was not... hehehe...naughty me.. :P

I really worked on my assignment (and I really finished it in one day...yeay!) and had my quality times with my friends.......... in Jakarta... hehehe... :D

On Saturday, after I had a clubs-brainstorming meeting on campus, my friends and I went to a painting exhibition and apartment show unit exhibition at Rasuna Epicentrum Center, a mega-billion project from Bakrie, located at Kuningan, South Jakarta.
In the evening we had dinner at Din Tai Fung, Plaza Arcadia Senayan (the xiao long bao was really delicious and entertaining... worth to try) before we went to X-2, a new, very happening and hip club in Plaza Senayan.

The new club was huge and has 4 different clubbing areas. The center floor was for trance music lover and there was a room was for disco fever. These two areas were located at the club's first floor. At it's second floor, there was another big room for hip-hop R&B brotha' n sista'. I don't remember all the names for these areas except for one specific room that was dedicated only for members: "Ego". Yep, as the name means, the room was really egoistic that non-members could not enter.

In my opinion, the club has a great interior and clubbing concept, but it was so packed with mixed crowds that I found a hard time to enjoy myself. After about maybe an hour or so, we decided to pay a visit to Red Square to meet some friends for a while and go home. Yep... we finally hit the road to be home by around 01.00 hrs.

The next day, Sunday, I really spent my whole day in the house working on my assignments while my friends went outside for the painting auction. I was satisfied that I accomplished my college assignments on that day and was able to use internet for e-mails, chatting, and some research.
In the afternoon, I went swimming for a while. I actually wanted to swim for 30minutes, but since I hadn't eaten anything energizing throughout the day (again, bad diet program), I could only survived for 15 minutes in the pool and only 3 minutes in the sauna until I decided to hit the shower and back to the living room and have some rest, watching the hillarious Will & Grace series.

On Monday, I finally went back home and had lunch with my bro at The Buffet in Mal Ciputra. During my trip back home, riding my motorcycle, I really felt a satisfaction and happiness of having time for my own, away from my duties and obligation as student, son, and community member (moreover, the day was cool and windy and shiny when I rode my motorbike home). Yep... nobody and nothing put pressures on me. It was really peaceful, and I feel very much ready to face the real world again: assignments, paper works, selling sandwiches, being a son, being a brother, being a student and last but not least: being a member in this judgmental society.

Thanks to my friends R+S for the hospitality they have provided me and also to da' gank for spending time with me.

I'm Finally BACK in the Business

Finally, I'm back in selling sandwiches on campus. Gosh, I've been not selling sandwiches since November 2006 due to a huge project on campus.

After I got back from the Philippines, I actually had a plan to start selling again, but since there was flood, it was postponed... After the flood, there was an increase in the raw material's price, and it's the most important: BREADS.

The vendor told me that the increase in price was due to the post-flood effect and also due to the increase in price of rice. I was hoping that the price increase would be temporary only... Until last week, I finally decided that I really need to get extra money (ho..ho..ho...) for my savings; thus I have to start selling again this week.

Actually the main reason why I sell sandwiches is, other than hobby in cooking & creating food, I don't have any particular activities that keep me occupied. When I'm not occupied, I can easily get bored with life, and I can easily get fat... Ha..ha..ha.. All I think and do is eating and snacking... hehehe :] (no wonder I am this big...)

Anyway... I planned to give a new look to my brand... BTW, my sandwiches' brand is "d'echo' which in English means Echo's. The new look would start on the menu. Thanks to my friend Dimas Hartoro for creating such a crazy, funny yet appealing menu name, description and additional comments. I think I'll post the menu later on...

Thank God for your blessings... I really am...

Love you, God!

Fresh in Da Mornin

This morning I woke up with a "right" feeling, and that would be the outcome of having a good sleep. Gosh...I've been wanted this thing for a loooooonngg time ago: I slept just enough, and I woke up at the right time, with no pressure to hurry to do chores (yippiiieee...) or to chase time... It's very peaceful... really... :)

And, by the way, I've found the solution for my dizzy problem: I just need to eat a better lunch at the exact time at the right calories amount. Yesterday I went to Sushi Tei (my number one favorite restaurant) with my classmates for lunch. There I had salmon sushi, salmon maki, kanimayo tobbiko and crispy rolls. I shared the orders with two of my friends, so I think I ate lunch properly yesterday: not too much and not too little. Hehehe.. (usually when I go to Sushi Tei, I could order many sushi, rolls and other menus.. hehehe...)

But, I'm still stressed with my weight. Seems I need to work harder and put more efforts in obtaining my goal to lose 10kgs.... aaarrrggghhh...

*wishing that gold's gym (www.goldsgym.co.id) already open @ Mal Ciputra*