With The Power Of A Minus 7.5 Glasses

[Copy paste. Love this song so much. Though I don’t have the skill to comprehend the lyrics (yet :P), but I’ll trust on the google result I found.]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2U1HX6GMCw]

悲しくないわけじゃないの 誰にも言わずにいただけ 「私、大人なんだから」

誰も傷つけないよう そうよ、笑って振る舞えるわ 「私、大人でしょ?」

強がらずに生きてくには その手にすがればよかっただけなのに 上手に泣けないでいる君へ

君が幸せでありますように 私が心から想ってるわ 君が幸せでいてくれるなら 私もね、強がって生きるわ

繋ぎとめるためになんて 涙は流したくない 「もう、大丈夫よ」

おかしいでしょ 見え見えの 悲しいくらいの嘘を わざと(ついて) 笑顔(つくる) そういう生き物よ

振り返らず生きてくには 何かを忘れてゆくものなのに 素直に泣けないでいる君へ

君が幸せでありますように 私が心から想ってるわ 出逢うことなどなくたっていい この地球(ほし)の何処かにいるから

その理想を捨てきれず雨に打たれ Deeply Deeply Deeply Deeply そこから 何かがまた始まるわ

君が幸せでありますように 私が心から想ってるわ 君が幸せでいてくれるなら 私もね、歩いてゆけるわ

君が幸せでありますように この地球(ほし)の何処かで想ってるわ 出逢うことなどなくたっていい 胸張って強がって生きましょう

-何処かにいる親愛なる君-

It’s been a very long year. It’s been quite some time since I talk about feeling in this blog so just skip this haha. It will be just me rambling. You’ve been warned.

When do I get here? It’s like there’s this invisible line and suddenly it’s difficult just to wake up day by day. That’s an overstatement of course. There were still those days which I could not wait to start. I’m grateful that this year I get enough of those moments to help me get through. Well, I’m sure that’s probably what happened to people, there are ups and downs et cetera et cetera.

I took one month unpaid leave at office. And right before the time I had to go back to work, I failed another scholarship attempt (I thought I’d get used to the feeling but hell no!) I got to see Jason Mraz live performance again, awesome night. I scored my first fiction translation project (and I’m currently on my first non-fiction translation project).

The number of my working day this year is the lowest since I started working because in addition to one month unpaid leave, I took a lot of sick leaves and I used all my annual leaves before the end of the year. And it’s not for fun reason, I didn’t travel this year. I’m glad that it’s over and it arrived at a good end.

I might not have expressed enough gratitude for the help and support from my A+ for this. If any of you read this, thank you. I was not even the main character of the whole thing but it did hit me quite hard. Thank you for being there, for the ears and shoulders, for the kind words, for all running-away sessions. I hope I can return the favor, not that I want any of you to fall into a pit or something like that but I’d like to remind you over and over again that for you guys, everything is always above 8. ;)

What else, what else? Oh, I love my November 9 this year (and year before that -Mraz!- and year before that -forget!- and year before that -Lombok!- and year… oh, you know, it’s Nov 9 :D). I think that’s all I want to share so let’s end this post with picture of this handsome little fellow, meet Benjy:

And hm, I think I’ve got a busted heart, hehe.

Real change is an inside job. You might alter things a day or two with money and systems, but the heart of the matter is and always will be, the matter of the heart — Max Lucado

I was enjoying my walk to the book store, same path as it always has been. Today I took off at the afternoon rather than morning time as usual. I walked in the shade of buildings and trees on my left but I could still feel the heat.

The sun shines very well in this part of earth. Some people wears hat, like this one old man in front of me. He was a caucasian male, old enough to have had all his hair white. He walked slowly and with thought of having an afternoon relax walk, I followed right behind him.

The old man wore a checkered shirt, a khaki trousers, and a cowboy hat. Several minutes gone by, a few steps in front of us was a group of local boys sitting leisurely, doing nothing, which was a completely normal sight.

What unusual was when the old man with cowboy hat and I were about to pass them. The old man stopped in front of a boy wearing a cap sideways. Then he fixed the boy’s cap. Then he presumed walking, all happened in less than a minute. The group bursted out laughing, seeing each other with confusion written in their face.

I was confused, too, and let out a giggle. I looked at the man’s back, kind of hoping he would turn around and gave a jokingly smile or else. But he didn’t show any intention of doing so. I wanted to see his face, to perhaps catch the why but unfortunately I had arrived at my destination at that time.

I don’t know, is cap worn sideway a complete no no to him? Is he a man with his pride lies in the collection of his hats? What do you guys think? Nevertheless, the stranger with cowboy hat made my afternoon.

• I regret not taking pictures with my Optimus Prime. Hm.

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Total: 13

• this is what I remember, blogs from 2008

Some stats

current active: 3 so so/barely alive (would like to keep them but no strength to post dilligently :P):  6 internet ghost (should be deleted but still have hope that someday someday…):  3 already in heaven: 1

public, searchable: 10 public, not searchable: 1 private: 2

photo blog: 3

individual blog: 11 joint blog: 2

wordpress: 3 blogger: 4 posterous: 2 tumblr: 4

오모~~ ㅋㅋㅋ

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This week I just got my books from Book Depository, the online bookstore based in UK. I first heard about Book Depository from this forum (in Indonesian). The store offers free shipping to worldwide, including to Indonesia.

But free shipping does not always mean cheaper. Like any other purchase, comparison will help deciding from options available. I asked several questions before buying books, especially import books, from Book Depository or from any bookstore for that matter.

Are the books available in local bookstore? No. In Kuta, where I currently live, I haven’t seen the books in Periplus, Times bookstore and even Gramedia.

Have you checked local(Indonesian) online bookstore? I actually could send an inquiry to several bookstore such as Kinokuniya (customer_service@kinokuniya.co.id), Periplus, Times bookstore, or Aksara (info@aksara.com). They accept book order either via email or form on their website (and they respond in twitter, too). A friend had an experience buying the third book of Hunger Games trilogy from Kinokuniya and the service was excellent.

I think I could get my books in Kinokuniya. Though their Indonesian website doesn’t have any search form yet but I assume what I can find in other Kinokuniya’s website can also be found in their Indonesian store (well, if it’s not in stock, I think they can make it available since they’re one company, right?). I did the search in their Singapore website. The books were available but at price I’m not willing to pay. :P

What’s with the price? I can’t say any particular store has the absolute best price for all books. Price comparison is a must. The import books on local bookstores usually have higher price than the stores like Amazon and Book Depository. So, if Amazon has shipping cost, does that mean Book Depository is the better way to go? Not always. Some books we’ll find it cheaper and some more expensive at Amazon, and other books at the same price. So, always compare, compare carefully!

Anything else to pay? I could think of 2 things, time and means of payment. I think the first one is more general. It takes 25 days for the books to come into my bookshelf. Let me note down the dates:

26 Feb: ordering date 1 & 2 March: books dispatched (I order 2 books, they were dispatched separately and that’s why I got 2 packages) 22 March: my happy day!

What makes it worth the long wait is the total of 300K IDR difference with Kinokuniya price. If it’s under 100K IDR, I would bear with it because I might have got the books faster from Kinokuniya, if the book is in stock. If it’s not in stock, with 300K IDR difference, I need to wait for 3-4 weeks as they order it from their warehouse. But that’s my case.

Another friend of mine just got her books from Kinokuniya Jakarta. She ordered it by email and the books are available. She  pays 80K IDR more than the price at Book Depository but the books arrives within 2 days.

What about means of payment? I took it into consideration because I still don’t own a credit card. Lucky me, my dear friend Rika was willing to help me with the purchase (I can’t thank you enough, jeng!). But I feel that it would be great if I can handle (control?) all my book purchase process from beginning to end. I’m thinking of getting a credit card but that’s another story.

There’s actually a way to purchase import books without credit card. There are at least 2 online bookstores in Indonesia that helps us purchase books from Amazon (yes, only from Amazon at the moment), BukaBuku and Bookoopedia. I just tried buying via Bookoopedia a few days ago (ok, guilty! I can’t stop buying books!!). The total price is 50K IDR higher than Book Depository but I don’t need any credit card so it’s wonderful. I hope the books will arive safely (cross my fingers).

I chose Bookoopedia because when I searched for the books, Bukabuku didn’t list the new price on my books. The books I wanted to buy was recently discounted but the discounted price only showed up in Bookoopedia. See? Always compare!

This is imported goods, any tax? I’ve heard things and I’ve read things. Both Bookoopedia and Bukabuku said that total order higher than $50 is subjected to tax (read it here and here, in Indonesian).  I have nothing on this so I don’t have much to say. I’ll update it when my Bookoopedia order arrives.

Is that it? Is that all? Alternative! Regarding bookshopping, there is still e-book. I have no thought of converting to an ebook reader (am I using the correct term here?). But one day, one twitter account intercepted my conversation with Periplus (I was looking for a book by George Orwell, 1984). That account was of an online bookstore, specialized in ebooks. I guess they are the first in Indonesia. Check out their website here, Papataka. Quite a unique name, huh?

I guess that’s all for now. Happy book hunting!

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I am.

If any of you happen to see me cry over small matters, you don’t need to tell me that I am such a crybaby.

Because I already know.

What I still don’t know is how to stop my tears from flowing voluntarily so easily.

sigh

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At some point, I stopped reading Danielle Steel’s novel. I don’t like the after-effects because it can easily stir up my feeling. I didn’t watch J-dorama and K-dorama that much for the same reason. I remember that after I watched my first K-dorama, Coffee Prince, my first impression was that between J and K dorama (I had watched some J doramas at that time), the later had given me longer hangover.

And there’s no other dorama after that. And few months ago, when a friend at the office recommended a Korean variety show, I accepted it without high expectation. And then it was like a rolling snow ball from there. And now I am learning the language. LOL. Wish me luck! ^^

So, as I’m learning, I feel the need to be exposed to the language as much as possible. Thanks to the faithful downloaders around me, I can get to copy abundant Korean shows… and their dorama.

These few weeks, I have been watching 2 titles. I have finished watching Dream High (드림하이). I was happy watching it because besides the story, I recognized few words, grammar usages or custom about Korean that I have learned. Though it’s not much, it gave me a good feeling. About the story, I think they focus on the dancing and singing thingy, most of the casts belongs to a girl/boyband anyway. There are love scenes but not the one that moves my heart whatsoever so it’s ok for me.

The second one is Sungkyunkwan Scandal (성균관 스캔들). I found the Korean language here is different than in Dream High because the story takes place when Korea was still a kingdom. I guess the language used is either in the most polite form (since the characters are scholars) or it’s an old style, I don’t know. They even hadn’t used 한글 (Hangul, current Korean writing system) yet.

I have 5 episodes left and this afternoon I recalled the slight feeling of aaaw.. how cute.. how cool.. how romantic. Hm. Though it was not on heavy dose but it made me remember the no dorama reason I mentioned before.

Maybe it’s me that easily get swayed by things like that. I guess I’m a drama queen indeed. I still don’t like to have my mood swing just by watching some tv series but I don’t know… It’s just that I feel like I want to see more of K-dorama this time.

아.. 어떻게..

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when the dog bites! when the bee stings!

… cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels…

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