we arrived in schiphol at 6.30am, it was still dark outside, and we could feel the chillness outside as we stepped out from the plane. it's winter, i know, but i've never expected before that winter and its -4 degrees temperature was like that!! >,< snow was rare in sight, but at every tip of leaves, all over the grass, and in every cars outside the morning dews getting freeze into ice. imagine a greeny waft grass sprinkled with powder all over. it was simply beautiful. beautiful beautiful beautiful. even when we went to volendam to make that classic dutch-like family portrait, the beachwave foam was turned into white powdery ice! it was cold, for sure, not forgetting that netherlands was such a windy country... so it doubles the coldness especially if we don't cover up our face ;p

we had our dinner in a chinese restaurant called "oriental city", it wasn't a very big restaurant, but they cooked the crispiest peking duck with the tastiest sauce i've ever eat!! it's sooo yummy... unfortunately i don't have 2 gasters or longer intestine, or else i'll finished up that duck all by myself ;9~~~

the next morning we drove away to paris through belgium, and stopped in brussel having our meal. that lil' maneken pis?? ahhh just forget that lil' creature, i'm craving for souvenirs and chocolates more than that ;9
arrived in paris around 8pm, we directly checked-in in our hotel with just a bit sneak peek to the eiffel tower--which lights was changed to ocean blue with sparkling dimmed flashes in every hour for around 5 mins... cute!! ^^ and i'm pretty sure i had a very goodnight sleep with eiffel  outside my window...

we're all a bit excited when we found out that paris was a bit warmer than netherland, oh well... moving on from minus 4-6 degrees to 2-3 degrees could make myself grateful, and the most important is... it's not windy at all!! so at least i finally could rolled down my shawl a bit lower than usual, and looked nice in some of the pics taken... teehee ;)

...but not until we arrived in versailles castle, it was december 31st, and there was an extremely loooong queue to enter--and to make it even worse--in a freezy temperature, zero degree at that time, and horrible wind >,< so that after taking some pics--and tried my hardest to hold on the freezy wind as long as possible--we turned around back to the eiffel. oh well... no wind in paris, but there's one in versailles ;p

there was a huge crowd in eiffel, with a long queue to get on the top of the tower, but we'd rather walk a bit and taking some pics. besides, we've  been there before--the top of eiffel--at 2001. and for me, there's nothing special 'bout it. then we drove to napoleon bonaparte's mausoleum, oooh how i loooooove those classic european architecture!! i wonder how they could be sooo perfect in every details of pillars, walls, and carves. it's just gorgeous, from every point of view ^^ the egyptian obelisk was our next stop, there's a small carnival with a merry-go-round near by. cute... ^^ but now it's time for our stomachs to be filled in with a bowl of vietnamese rice noodles with extra slices of beef. hmm...

we're already tired that evening, but somehow the bling-bling eiffel still attracts us to be there at the countdown. but what can i say?? i'd rather had my countdown in ancol beach, jakarta, rather than in eiffel! you see... no fireworks, no music, no trumpets, none at all!! aaaggghh... is it expensive to give all the crowd something beautiful to see? i'm soooo disappointed i'd rather be inside my blanket than freezingly stand outside waiting for nothing! >:p

the road trip to lucerne, switzerland, the next day was a chance for me to have a nice dream sleep along the way. sophisticated 2-stars hotel (and it's cheap, oooh i love online booking!) to stay n super-super-suuuuuperrr wide bedroom for 4 of us. early in the next morning we drove up to mount titlis, and it was snow all over!!! ^^ i can't believe my eyes seeing that sparkled wet snow here and there. and i'm soooo speechless i'd better let you have a look on these photos.

taken by mommy before the tragedy

*i've never been uglier than current

it's a bit awkward spending those precious holiday only with my parents since someone as the member of the family wasn't there with us... oh sorry, not someone, i mean a cat ;p but n'mind, just enjoy my holiday and he'll be just fine though...

first of all, thailand and its beaches are amazingly astounding, they're really are. thailand itself already famous for it was a really attractive place to shop, and it's true!! ethnic bags decorated mostly with beads and elephant ornaments (yeah~ it's thailand, anyway ;p), painted colorful wooden bangles, those heavenly seafood including the best taste of tom yam in the world... *omg, i'm drooling... ;p~~ not forgetting those bling-bling temples which always decorated in golden colors, with fresh lotus buds sold everywhere for the prayers.

and about phuket, krabi and ko phi phi islands... if you watched the 1st season of amazing race asia in the episode where mardy and marsio succeed in finding the fast forward ticket which is hide inbetween those beautiful rocky cliffs islands, or if you remember one of leonardo dicaprio's movie "the beach"... well, it was made there, with its beautiful landscape of its island with slitted cliffs and caves everywhere, greeneries mushroomed inbetween, and beautiful, beautiful clear aquamarine sea together with sparkling white sand beaches. gorgeous! i've to say that ^^

i wish i was there forever!!

the water, the cliffs, the greenery... they're beautiful, aren't they?

as i said, gorgeous isn't it? ...but not the sun, since such a cruel thing happen to my face after that one-full-sunbathing-day >:(

i got sunburns in both my white smooth cheeks, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! T.T

just a short post, i'm currently feel soooo dizzy but happy at the same moment; happy to be home. oh well... after those 4 (quite) boring weeks in neurology but still got an 'A' for that, i'm leaving that damn hospital for (almost) 2 weeks!! i'm breathing fresh air!! ^^ i couldn't be happier than this rite now...

hmm... and if i remember those blue sky, blue sea, clear beach, and white sand waiting for me in days, my lips started to smile ;)

last 01082008 was an important day for me: i met with the girls from my junior high!! ^^ omg... it's been 8 years since we're graduate from junior high, when they came to my eyes i couldn't believe the fact that i saw'em all... it was too happy to be true. one of'em brought her collections of our vintage photos, yeah that kinda photos when we still wore loose uniform shirts, plain face without any make-ups, short socks, keds... and act like weirdos! (if you see our photos then you'll get what i mean ;p) hahaha *LOL* we really missed those times that we laugh for every photos taken, we really do ;)

ahh... girls, i'll looking forward to our reunion next year!! i love you, i'll miss you, always... ;*

*last but not least, bye-bye my lovely holiday...

from 29072008 til 30072008 my family planned to spend a night in safari garden hotel, since at the same our beloved first niece was here--imported by his smart mom ;p--having holiday with his grandparents--my uncle and auntie. surprisingly, 6 families of my mom's siblings could make it!! so there i am, happily surrounded by my family, whole lot of my cousins and a niece... it's been quite a long time since i enjoyed this kinda holiday with my big family ^^ plus, my soon-to-be sis-in-law came from padang! even though she caught a cold the night when she arrived but she managed to catch up with us the next morning, of course, with some drugs and antibiotic in her bag... but still it's ok.

weeks before, my mom went to taman safari together with a workgroup of his office, having a leisure time after a meeting. she told us about a performance held there called "wild wild west: cowboy show", she said it was awesome, funny, with real horses, ducks, sheeps, eagle, and even mouse! so that right after we passed the entrance to the main amusement park we drove straight to the highest part of the hill to watch the show. before the gate was opened, we're being entertained with a small-but-nice country band wearing cowboys-like stuffs, and 15 mins before the show we're able to try using the cowboy leash, spankin' it!!

unfortunately we're not allowed to use video camera during the show--or else the security staff will warn us--so that taking photos were the only thing permitted, but trust me the show was really worth to watch!! the stage performance was nice, the actors and actresses make-up were good, two-thumbs-up for the combos of action and comedy, and not forgetting the real animals!! they're sooo damn cute!!! from ducks, horses, dogs, cats, mouse, sheeps, and eagle... it was outstanding!! i bet not only children, but you'll like it too ;)

oh, and btw... my happy holiday was even more completed with a happy news: my cousin's getting married next month!! i'm sooo happy for her so that i immediately messaging all my cousins 'bout it ^^ kyaaaa...

the soon-to-be bride ^^

*in memoriam of eyang mardiyati busono and eyang busono

2 weeks ago, at 13072008 to be exact, my lil' grandmother (younger sister of my grandmother) passed away. years before she was diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer and had radical mastectomy and a series of chemotherapy. my grandmother also had metastasized breast cancer, in fact that was the et causa of her death. my mom said that unlike my lil' grandmother, she had unilateral mastectomy, but at that time the tumor had already spread to lungs and vertebrae.

my lil' grandfather was famously known as a caring man and love her wife in an extraordinary way--one of a real gentlemen in the whole family--with his one unique habit of kissing his wife 50 times before and after sleep. after she underwent the radical mastectomy, she never want to see her post-op scar, since for her it was too scary. and it was his husband, for every night and day, applying the oinment medications to her scar, and still kiss her 50 times before and after sleep. there are no single women and girls in the whole family not envy her for having such a gentleman as her husband, including me.

fortunately, 2 weeks before my lil' grandmother passed away, me, my brother, and my cousin went to her house in bulaksumur after we received message from my mom which told us that from the last medical control found the tumor had metastasized to the femur and around pelvic bone so that she's no longer able to even stand and walk like usual, and spend the rest of her time lying in bed. when we met her that day, she greets us with her lovely smile and chat with us happily, asking about our parents and our study... and telling us story that makes me surprise: for the last 1 month, when she was no longer able to stand and need to stay in bed, it was her husband--my lil' grandfather--doing all the things for her! feed her, preparing her drugs, help her to bath, changing clothes, wearing adult pad, even he do the toilet himself... and he still kiss her 50 times before and sleep! when we asked him why he didn't call a nurse to take care of her, he replied, "it's to take care of her, i life in this world. as long as i could done it, i'll do it myself. if i'm not, then my life become useless."

....................
*speechless for a moment*

at the day she passed away, his old and wrinkled face couldn't hide his sadness, his cloudy eyes stare straight, and looked empty. we all know how he loves his wife so much, that they're both needed each other, that he always protective to her, how he cares about her... and now that he lost his half part, i couldn't imagine how sad he is...

2 weeks later after her death, at 27072008 to be exact, my lil' grandfather passed away, went after his beloved wife. heart-attack, most probably. it is said that he was founded smile, more beautiful than his wife's when she passed away. i was sooo sad i couldn't help myself from a silent cry... for i clearly remember the last words he said when i came to his house 4 weeks ago.

you went after her, i know... you're both my real forever-and-after-not-even-death-will-do-us-apart couple, you've showed me the true meaning of love til the end...

...and i've lost one of the most gentlemen i've ever met.

there she goes...

...and he went after her

ahh... finally it's holiday! i couldn't hold my lips from smiling since i arrived on soekarno-hatta int'l airport at 25072008 noon, and greet my mom, my brother and his friends happily ^^ it feels sooo good to inspire my hometown's air--even though it's polluted--since for me it smells like a freshly-baked-from-the-oven holiday ;9

on 26072008 morning i saw a new entertainment facilities in fX sudirman called "atmostfear" reported in the news, it's a 72m high sliding tunnel built in the middle of the plaza, down from 7th to 1st floor. it is said that there are only 3 "atmostfear" in the world: indonesia, australia, and... (?) i forgot ;p it looks fun, and of course... i want to try it!! so i told my parents and the others that i wanna try that "atmostfear", and at 10am we drive ourselves there. to experience this "atmostfear", we have to shop at least IDR 1 in any stores in fX, then exchange our payment bill to have a lucky draw to get the "atmostfear" ticket--so we might be unlucky enough to get it ;p--or else we have to shop at least IDR 100,000 to choose having the ticket freely without drawing *smart marketing idea, huh?* after bought some foods, drinks, and stuffs we finally manage to get enough ticket for 5 of us: me, my brother, 2 friends of my brother, and my niece. we went up to the 7th floor, having a short-time in a queue, then wear all the safety equipments, and we're ready to slide!! ^^

for me, it's not too scary actually... even though i realize that some of the safety equipments are already torn, but n'mind! it's the sensation itself that i'm looking for ;p sliding in a special matress down from 7th to 1st floor in 12 secs, i kept my eyes opened for i don't wanna miss any seconds to know how it feels, and even though i was rolling all over as soon as i slide out from the tunnel... it was really, really fun!! ^^ for those not having acrophobia, this "atmostfear" is recommended to try!! ;)

me, post atmostfear-ing ^^