europe saver.. here we come!!

finally! it's our official honeymoon. hahaha.. thank God i found this tour. though it was departed from jakarta, it was worth it. since it's low season, no tour departed from surabaya. and we, me mostly, were desperate finding a tour in october, so when we found out about this one, we just took it. and so here we gooo...

#day 1 : arrived at jakarta and flight to abu dhabi
oh my gosh.. it's a long flight and we arrived in the middle of the night. we were starving and the only open restaurant were BK. so, we ate BK and we found out that our connecting flight to milan was delayed for 3 hours. damn... we assumed some from the agenda will be removed since we lost 3 hours. yaikss.. not too good for first day...

#day 2: arrived at milan finally..
after a long and tiring night.. gotta sleep at the airport since it would be morning in milan, and as compensation for the delay, we got a food voucher which only available at BK, upper crust and yumcha, but since it was 2 AM in the morning, we only had few options, sooo... croissant at upper crust was our breakfast.. the bad news since we got delayed, they cancelled the visit to san siro..noooo... but we still got to visit the cathedral and a little time to shop. the cathedral there were amazing! there were carvings and paintings everywhere. very amazing.. even they got carvings at the gate. it was made from iron! unbelievable.. and then we were heading to swiss to spend the night.

#day 3: ski resort
today's agenda was going to the top of alpen mountain which is the jungfraujoch mountain. people called it top of europe. we were warned not to be super excited, not to wandering around too much so we caught our breath. since it would be thousands feet above sea level, the oxygen level would be decreasing, so we had to save our breath. we rode the train to the top. it was amazing. the view.. were so breathtaking. the green grass, the trees and the houses.. even the snow on the grass. and as we were approaching the top, we could see the snow were covering the tops. it was white and clean and shiny. once we were on the top, all i could see was snow everywhere. contrasting to the clear blue sky. even though it was minus 5 degrees, it was okay since there were no wind. my husband said i was lucky it was a sunny day.. when he were in mount titlis, there were  snowfalls so he couldn't see much. too bad we couldn't do the dog riding sleigh. and we couldn't play ski either. but it was fun. we played at the ice palace and then headed down to interlaken by another train. on our way down, we could see a waterfall. it was amazing. liked in the movies. at the interlaken we just ate dinner and shopping again.

#day 4: on the bus..
today we were going to paris. but had lunch stop first at dijon. since everyone were excited for paris, the tour leader made the stop really quick. just for lunch and then went straight to paris. no city tour. and no escargot dining, since only 2 people in the bus who were curious for eating it, so we decided to eat chinese food again. hahaha.. we were craving for rice!! during our walk to the restaurant (the driver kinda gave us the wrong direction, so we kinda walked around the block like some duck group missing its leader.. ) i saw a pastry shop. they looked really good...yeah, i do have sweet tooth. so, to ease my cravings, after lunch we stopped by at the shop and bought few pastries. turned out it was soooo... delicious.. yummy.. pricey though. but it's worth the money.. and when we arrived at our hotel, it turned out to be a cool one. free wifi at the lobby, magical decorations, beautiful lake behind it, and also it was near to disneyland! yay... but too bad it already late so we cancelled our getaway to paris and saved it for tomorrow.

#day 5: just like a parisian
today we separated from the group. our mission today was exploring paris like a true parisian. first stop was disneyland park. since we only had short time, we decided just one park. disneyland was awesome. though i couldn't ride some attractions.. (he had no intention to accompany me playing roller coaster and stuff. i had to play by myself, which is no fun at all.. aisshh..) but we rode most of the safe attractions. too bad the parade hasn't started yet. and as we were about to exit, there was a disney villain show.. we didn't stop to watch it until the end since the clock is ticking. another bad news was no fireworks in autumn. *sob2..
we joined the group again for lunch only. we hurried since we were already late, but we had to be patience since we couldn't force the metro to go faster. haha.. but it turned out that we were on time. the traffic was pretty heavy, so the bus was arriving late.
next stop was the hop on-hop off bus. we chose the l'open tour paris bus. it had open deck so we could take picture more freely. we chose the green route which included several famous sites such as grand palace, concorde, madeline, and louvre, which was actually our next destination. louvre was hugee... and i'm pretty sure if i wanted to look at all the stuff there, a day wouldn't be enough. so we just skipped all the stuff there and just went straight to the famous stuff, such as milo and monalisa. hahaha... pretty bad tourists. wkwkww.. but we were running out of time. if only i could go there once again.. *sigh*
and then since he wanted to show me eiffel at night, he insisted to find the port for canal cruise. we had to walk from notre dame (since i had to go to there...i never went there..) back to the port neuf.  finally we found it, but the boat's already sailed. we decided to ride the next one, it was 6 pm, but the sky was still clear.. oh noo.. we forgot that night came later in europe. hiks. so the light on eiffel just lit after we were docked back at the port. sighhh... too baddd...
actually, since everybody said in paris everything were cheaper, we planned to spend the night shopping. but we were starving and i haven't been photographed in front of the arc the triomphe, so... we rode the metro once again.. long journey to champ-elysee and walked and walked and walked.. until we found McD to eat. haiss.. and after we ate, it was already late. so we decided to skip the shopping and go home, hoping that it won't be that expensive in the next city. and sooo... that's how we ended the day.. running to catch the bus back to the hotel with eyes half closed.

#day 6: on the road again
bye-bye paris... we going on the road again.. headed for amsterdam with quick stop at brussels. lunch at chinese again and then city tour and shopping. there was this statue of a peeing kid. i wondered why they made it into tourist's interest. turned out the story was, back in world war 2, when the enemy tried to bomb belgium, this kid peed on the bomb, so the plan was falling apart. the kid save the country. hahaha.. is that story even true? and then as we were gathering around at the city center, there were this sudden crowd. a lot of guys dancing and singing across the yard, wearing tux and bringing beer and flowers. we assumed they were getting a marriage registration, but we were wondering where the bride was. some guessed they were gay. and our tour leader also said like that. so i guessed they were right. after that we headed to amsterdam.
the hotel was even better. free wifi everywhere. more complete toilletries.. hahaa.. i guessed that's why we loved being colonized by them. they provided everything. hahaha..

#day 7: windmill. cheese. clog.
first agenda for today were being photographed in front of the windmill, which holland was famous for. and then went to cheese and clog factory. after that we headed to volendam. took picture in traditional local clothing and then ate their famous fish and chips. then we were back to amsterdam for canal cruise. but since there was a demonstration along the way to the port, the bus kinda stucked there and couldn't move. so our local guide decided to go on a walk. through the red light district. hahahaa... since we were going on shortcut, apparently we had to go through that district. wakakkaa.. the first girl that we saw was a he-she.. wakkaka..
the canal cruise turned out to be a big disappointment. the canals were not so clean anymore and there were no exquisite building along the canal borders, unlike paris. we stopped by at jewel factory.. another agenda in every tour to rip our money.. hahaha.. and the last and best part for the day was having indonesian food for dinner.

#day 8: ouch.. eau de cologne city
today we were on the road again, to frankfurt with a stop at cologne, the city origin of eau de cologne. we started this trip with excitement, since our tour leader said she would give us 4 hours to shop. since i had to find shoes for dad, i was excited also. at cologne, we ate chinese again.. (it's cheaper than swiss) and then headed to the dome, the famous church there. it was huge and magnificent like the one in milan. but unfortunately, there was a demonstration outside the church. it was a huge commotion, even the number of police guarding there were increasing as the mass were getting bigger in number also. then we walked around the shopping center. we were wondering, why all the shops were closed. but at first we thought since it was lunch time, probably they would open again after lunch time was over. but then every single shops were closed, the only opened shops were the souvenirs shops and cafes. then my husband suddenly remembered, it was sunday.. and all shops closed at sundays.. hikkss.. so i was standing there, outside the shops, looking at the shoes that we were supposed to buy for my dad. i was so clooosseee ... aiyaaa... *crying out loud* there were another shops opened at the central station near there, but no shoes shop. so when we were back at the bus, as an apology from the tour leader, she gave us a small sample bottle of the famous eau de cologne, no 4711. after that we headed to frankfurt with heavy heart. today was our last day there...

#day 9: auf wiedersehen...
today we headed back to indonesia, with a long stop at abu dhabi. 7 hours. sigh... after breakfast everyone were busy packing stuff.. then we headed to frankfurt airport. at the airport no shoes shop again. *sigh* but i found longchamp.. (since we didn't have time to shop in paris). we were hoping that they will delay us at frankfurt to lessen the waiting time at abu dhabi, but our wish were not granted. the plane arrived on time and we spent the night on the plane

#day 10: jet lag
we arrived at abu dhabi, got something to eat and then looked around for a place to sleep. we had to sleep since it was night in jakarta. so if we didn't want jet lag, we had to sleep so when we arrived we were wide awake. we could sleep for one or two hours, but the AC were not favoring us to sleep also. it was chilly cold so we decided to get up and looked around for information, whether our flight got delayed again or not. turned out the flight was on time. so at 5 am, we were boarded to plane and back to jakarta. hiks.. i wanted my vacation.. mooorreee..
since we were from surabaya, we had to wait again for the plane to be back to surabaya. long and tiring journey back home. but at 8 pm, we were arrived at surabaya safe and sound. and tired. and ready to sleep. it was fun.. though there were troubles and misfortunes.. but overall, it was fun. i wish i could have the time and money to be back there once again.. swiss and paris particularly..

a wrap of last month

in a blink of an eye, i've become someone's wife. yep, i'm already married! thank God everything went fine. from the church and the ceremony to the party. everything was marvelous. everybody kept talking about it until today. even some people want to copy ours. hahaha...and talking about my wedding, this wedding isn't any wedding, since i'm a pastor's daughter and my mom in laws has a lot of acquitances, sooo.. the number of the wedding guests are a lot. thank God our EO are marvelous. though there were frictions here and there, but we survived though. they were professional. it's worth the money. for sure. oh.. and by the way, our EO is MAJESTIC.

well, for those who can't come to our wedding, here's the details...

my morning started at 3 am. yep.. gotta woke up early and headed to the salon, HOUSE OF LEA. unfortunately, some misfortune happened. the guy who supposed to pick me up were late because of a flat tire. he were late 30 minutes, but since our schedule included those little misfortune like that, so it didn't disturb our time schedule. but at the salon, another misfortune happened again. there were blackout right exactly after i 've arrived. but it didn't last long. thankfully.. hahaa.. and then i get my face and hair done. here the funny parts. since we were agreed to do a western style, we weren't supposed to see each other until at the church, but i think our "followers" were a little bit behind, so when i was down the stair, there he was.. at the bottom of the stair. hahhaa.. but luckily, i haven't changed my clothes, so he just saw my hair and make up done.

after a chaos in the salon, we were back to the hotel to take pictures and record for the morning clip. i felt stupid though. we were acting this and that for a few minutes, no script. and that's why i felt stupid. we had to look like we were having conversations while smiling all the time. it's kinda difficult, and they often reminded us to smile again and again. hahaa.. thank God, our photographer had a lot of ideas to crack a laugh from us. by the way, his name is JONAS from RECORDANCE. and after shots are taken and video are recorded, we were headed to church. thankfully, we chose an alphard, it's big enough so it didn't squeeze my gown too much.

since the bride team arrived earlier than the groom team, we had to wait until all the groom team arrived. some people have arrived though and curious enough to see us. i think i had the most photographers on site, since many volunteered to take pictures as gift instead of money or things. feels like a celebrity for the day. hahaha.. and so the ceremony began. since we only practiced the entrance for couple times, everyone were nervous that something would go south. thankfully, despite a few mistakes in the name calling, the entrace were okay. after the usual thing, we headed to the stage for holy communion. since i refused to have like what ko guan had before, so om an just called a few people to say one or two words as advise for us. but then at the holy communion, since my dad's guest mostly pastors, so om an called every pastors in the room to join us in the holy communion. you might imagine, how crowded the stage were. all i could see was black suit all around. hahaha.. felt like band of brothers. the funny part is, after all is over, om handono told us that one of the congregation member told him that he wanted a ceremony like us. but he replied that this was a special occasion, hahahaa... too bad for him..

after the ceremony, we had a lot of agenda. started from the marriage registration, photo taking, cinciu and stuff. luckily we could eat. but we couldn't meet every one who came to our party at the church. and then we had photo session at the majapahit hotel, as compliment from GRAND CITY, our afternoon party venue. i've already exhausted since my gown, even though it's lighter than other gown, but still, it's pretty heavy. and my heels.. my feet were started to killing me. but i had to endure, one down, one more to go. so we headed back to the grand city and waited for the wedding dance rehearsal and the touch up.

we both were nervous since we only practiced once and then we practiced once more ourselves. and there was the marlupi great mother, hahaha.. she scolded me for not being gentle and flowy and confidence. hehehe.. but her advice was right. she's the expert after all. and then, the party began. we were to exhausted and nervous so we just let it be. let the EO to take care it all. we just followed their direction. several comments were nice. they liked the orchestra, DAVID ALL STARS really good. their first song especially. my head couldn't stop nodding following the rhythm. some like RBYKA and her angel tattoo on her back. the star of the night probably FRANS SISIR. most of the pastors like him. even though no bad comments, but no appraisal for IKA PUTRI either. The MC were polite as we requested, but not too boring. we really thank INDRA HERLAMBANG and OPIE for doing it accordingly our requests. and the cute kids from MARLUPI.

talking about the kids, i was pretty amazed by them. there was a misunderstanding about our wedding dance, but the kids were so good. after a few directions, they could dance the new formation quickly. and talking about the video, once the morning clip was played, no one kept eating. everyone was watching the video. even us. hahaha.. pretty amazing what PRESTIGE did though. i had goose bumps watching it. heehee.. it really worth the money. ohh.. and i forgot to mention the amazing decorations from STEVE DECOR. some of my friends told me it was amazing. and not to mention the additional effect of lighting and sound from LASIKA and effect works from FANTASYWORK. and not forgetting TOSCA USHERETTES for guiding our guests to their table. i heard no complaint about them, so i guess they've done a great work. oh, and about the cake, i always said that i didn't want the usual spiku cake, which is yellow and chocolate cake, so when we had to fed each other, one got the yellow one, and the other got the chocolate one. since we're both like chocolate, i always joked that our wedding cake had to be a all chocolate one, so we won't quarrel about it on stage. thankfully, ANGIE's CAKE arranged it to be chocolate cake! without me asking them. hahaha..

about after party, the most wanted things are our souvenirs, which is a animal figurine night lamp. there were 5 kinds of them, so people could choose if there were still available stocks. the animals are cute.. too bad since there were many guests, there were none left for me T.T even we had to give the sample we had before the final product. aiyaaa.. i guess LIGHTCRAFT's work are pretty good.

once again, i thank every one that's involved in my wedding preparation and D-day.. thank you for your help. and i'm sorry i couldn't thank each and every one of you in person. we really appreciate all you hard works. God bless you all.. thank you for making our dreams come true.

fairy godmother, give me a dress ..

last couple weeks, i was struggling to find the right wedding dress for me. last month, we've tried several dresses, and i was interested in this mermaid gown. but unfortunately, there were another couple that also interested in that dress. so since they chose it first, i have to wait for them to decide whether or not they'll take the dress. and the marketing assistant who helped me to choose my gown told me that there was another dress for me to try, but i have to wait since they were preparing it for shipping to Jakarta. and it was it. i have to wait until 2 weeks ago. since i have to wait, i asked around how to pick the right gown.

personally, i don't like those big gown and full of bling2 stuff, but if i chose too simple gown, my mother in law will be pissed since she wanted it to be awesome, since i have this huge hall where the party is held. but i wouldn't decline a wonderful dress if it makes me looks amazing. so i started asking questions. some vote for the mermaid dress, some vote for another dress. but couple of my dearest friend suggested me to try for another gown. try as many as i can.. but unfortunately, i'm the kind of person that's difficult to make a choice if there were many options to go.

so, since the assistant thought that i could try more, i postponed my decision and decided to wait and try some more. i asked here and there for advice and put it into mind. this is once in a lifetime choice, so i don't want to just listen to what everybody's saying, but i also don't want to push my ego and not listening to what tothers' saying. and most importantly, i begged God to give me the proper dress and the right one in the right time.

so here i am.. two weeks ago i tried some more, and although my heart's still favor that mermaid dress, i also like the dress that i have to wait from jakarta. i turned out to be a A-line ballgown one, but enough bling2 on the body part but just scattered pieces here and there on the dress. it fit me perfectly and it went well with the bolero that i tried. so since it's pretty time limit, we decided to go for the second dress. this one is all in one dress. it's a big ballgown and has enough bling that my mother in law fond of, but also a light dress that i fond of. my mom and my sisters think it's great, and my best friend couldn't agree more.

so for those in misery, here are my few tips:
1. try some types of gown first, the a-line, ballgown, mermaid, and decide which one complement your body type. try some different fabric too.. since you have to adjust the weight. tulle is lighter than sateen. so try which one you can bear since you have to wear it all day long. and asked the expert which one that complement you, since they are the expert, what they say are probably true. which color to go is also important since you have to synchronize it with the decoration and the theme of your party.
2. try some more and take pictures. ask advice and comments from your dearest one! your husband might be clueless about fashion, but males has some sense too when it comes to our appearance. they can help you choose since he can see which one that make you shine! and don't forget about your family and friends. just sample some of your closest friend and ask their opinion.
3. put into consideration where your party will be held. although i like simple dress, but since i have a huge ballroom for my party, it's a big no-no for no train dress since people might having difficulty to spot you in that huge room. if you're having an outdoor party, a simple one is the best option for you.
4. don't just think that you have to be shiny.. those tiny jewels and crystals sewed into the gown will increased the gown's weight. and it's killing me! that's why i don't like too much bling2.
5. if you wanted to wear a bolero, try it also when you try your dress. some neckline don't complement with bolero. so be careful!
so....happy playing gown girls! believe me, although it's stressing, but i do like trying different gowns. although i am clueless at first, but trying more and more make me know which one that i like and which one that i resent. i like the feeling of being a princess for one day. and put into your mind, whatever gown you choose, you will be a rockstar on that day!

untold stories

twitter really makes me lazy to write. i can't believe i haven't written about the last baksos i had. social charity like that almost always crush my heart as i know there are so many people in need but they don't have the money to get the medical care they needed. it's so sad.. and i stumble upon this old man. he was coming alone, with his eyes already deteriorating. but he still could walk slowly and steady. he complained about the itch on his back which he's had it for almost years. when i pulled up his shirt and looked at his back, i was confused. his back is covered with crust and i don't know what the hell it was. it seems like it had been going on several stages. forming vesicles and then burst and dried up, and it was forming vesicles again. and it happened again and again. as if like he's having a pile of roof on his back. pretty scary, and i have no idea what he's having. and neither valen nor andre, whom sitting next to me at the baksos. the only suggestion was giving him something to ease the itch and have him back to the puskesmas and get the referral to RSUDS.

if only i had the information to know what he's having.. and if only i knew the cure. the worst part is, when i suggested him to go to the puskesmas, he told me that he had no one to accompany him anywhere. i have no idea how he could be there. *sigh* this is the irony of this country. people could live in splurge while other live in suffering. hmmpphhh..

politics here and there

huff..pretty hectic month.. gotta finish the invitation list, gotta choose the wedding gown..and so much more. but the most annoying part is my PTT troubles. the head of the organization turned out to be a "not so kind" person. he's trying to be nice and holy, but the fact is people get pissed by him. and the fact is, i'm kinda pessimist that he'll sign my letters. it's been in his hand for almost a month and no news. pretty disappointing. what kind of support if he's reluctant to sign the papers right away? puff... too much politics around the clinics. the working climate is not conducive anymore. i've decided if he didn't sign it, then heck with it. i'm better off without it. if He allows me to be a resident, then He'll show the way to make me one.

the more exciting part is choosing a honeymoon destination. so far i couldn't change Bali from his mind, but we keep another option open. what do you guys think? Manado or New Zealand? hmm.. in other hand i would love to experience diving.. but in other hand, New Zealand pretty attractive.. the scenery.. hopefully it's peaceful and has nice weather.. ,not like here. humpfff... let's see how much it will cost.. so, good luck for all of us. the clock is ticking. two months from now people...

counting the days

just today it slipped my mind
we're all laughing and talking, keep on drinking and eating
talking about the past, talking about today, talking about the future we should have someday
talking about our dreams, about our expectations
with no worries, with no hesitation
we seems fighting the time, refusing to age
but then time do flies
yesterday, we might be a little kid
and then without even realize it, we've graduated from college and started to live as an adult
and now, as life cycle, we started to make family ourselves

we met new guy, we date, we broke off
we started a new relationship again and then we decided that we've found the meaning of life
we've been engaged and then getting married
without even realize it my friend, we, who refused to age, started to grow up
we grew up by nature, by the force of nature
we are becoming an adult
and it hit me today

couple months from now, i'll be someone's wife
and then i have to be responsible not just for my life, but also for someone's else
we grow up my friend
we grow up and there's nothing we can do about it
just live your life!

last part for ever after

yak..akhirnya konseling kita SELESAI!! yipeee... not that i hate it, just you know, i'd prefer spending it having fun after all the hard day at work all week long. so, for the last counseling, since i'm half dozed due to exhaustion and a little bit feverish, i'm not quite remember about what we talked about. all i know is that we should communicate everything with our spouse and always ask for God's guidance. and then there's a turning back part. our first lesson was learning how to give since our purpose of being married is to give happiness to our spouse. but the last lesson, we could take and give. the reason why they told us at the end is because taking is easy, but giving is hard to do, so they have to remind us to giving for almost the whole session and just one session to tell us that there should be a balance of take and give.

and at the end of our counseling, we had to take a personality test. just like the old one. whether we are sanguinist, choleric, melancolic or phlegmatic. another test to check my personality though. back in my senior high days, i was sanguin-melancholic, but thanks to Hantoro, i was changed to sanguin choleric. but on my last test, my phlegmatic is rising!! pretty confusing, since my phlegmatic was always at the bottom of four. so i guess i'm not stable enough. hahahaa... david on the other hand, is pretty amazing. he had a stable personality all his life. no significant differences among those four. all almost equal. emotionless person. hahaha...

whatever it is, i hope it's enough to help us in walking marriage life. huff. many people reminded me of how close i am in becoming a wife. please.. don't remind me again. i don't know how to react. i don't think there will be such difference though. but maybe i was wrong. yeah, i might move into other house, but we still live in same city. we could meet everyday. or i could sleep over someday. right now, i don't know what to feel. excited perhaps, and sometimes scared. but all i know is that it's not only me.. with 3 more months to go, we still have a lot to prepare. oh gosh.. hopefully everything will be just fine.