sermon...

sermon today was by andy comiskey from california. he stated that most christian church's believe in "hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil". in an asian society like indonesia (where most people are still rather conservative), church goers tend to choose to maintain their social honour instead of baring themselves to god. meaning that if mr/mrs xyz, who loves god and is a strong believer, were to commit adultery on weekdays, they will never confess it while they are in church. and those behaviours should not be related to real chrisitianity.

he was actually trying to tell us that if we do not start to confess/realise our weaknesses, we would hardly change or grow spiritually. he confessed that he used to have problems with homosexuality and pornography. and even now, some of the old habits may show up sometime, cos we humans are not perfect and the temptation to other things are just way too strong. opening up to the weakness of our own humanity actually would make us stronger. it would made us realise of our own mistakes, instead of being a prisoner of hope. "for that when i am weak, therefore i am strong."

the sermon was more to this, but i am trying my best to summarise the main points in short. there was also a confession by this phlipino lady about her sexual abuse and addiction. the service ended up with the rev. dave inviting us to come up front to be prayed for if we want to change something in our life (like emotional problems, lust, greed... and so on). i actually wanted to go up front cos i do need to improve a lot of aspects in my life but did hesitated for a while as i'm still on the process of trying to get to know the church better. julie also pondered. so waited for 1 minute and 10 people were already up front. decided to leave in the end cos i just didn't wanna wait too long.

was listening to the cd by sr while driving julie home. mellow and nice.

got up on time...

yup, i'm up. gotta change and pick up julie very soon (i still do not know the exact position of her new place). will have to try and get to know EIS more first. :)

untitled

after the failure to post a blog 2 days ago, i'm feeling a lil' dissapointed and lazy to rewrite the same blog again. i just don't take failure very well eh?

* * *

got this juice recipe by frans, which i wanted to post 2 days ago. those of you who want to try detox/lose weight/just want to drink juice/any other reasons may want to try it:

1. bitter melon, tomato, carrot, orange
2. bitter melon, choy sum, carrot, orange
3. bitter melon, carrot, orange, apple (green)
4. bitter melon, cucumber, carrot, orange
5. winter melon? (labu in indonesia), carrot, orange, starfruit, pineapple

note: the main idea is to add some veges to fruits, so it does not taste too sweet or fattening.

hmnn... bitter melon does not sound good to me. but my friend did mention that bitter melon (if raw) is not bitter. quite an interesting discovery?

can't wait to try the recipe. but first, gotta get myself the dream juicer: breville's juice fountain plus. it is said to be one of the most valueable juicer. you don't even to skin off any your apple or orange when it. no nasty seed, residue, sandy pieces of the fruits in the juice. and now, they have it in red, blue and tangerine. but the catch is, they are not available in jakarta. tang's singapore sells them. the juicer was on indent the last time i was there. and a huge abudance of breville in koala land, since it's an australian company.

* * *

met yudith up for lunch near her office (5 mins drive from mine) this noon. the food was simple; the conversation, entertaining. was planning of taking her to tamani but she said she couldn't leave her office for too long. we both had seafood fried rice with some prawn egg rolls. was real glad to meet my dd. she's sweet, nice, polite and matured. she did took my mind off the not-so-happy events for a few hours. plan to met her up for lunch again soon.

* * *

had a not-so-happy event number one which i do not really want mention right now. plus another not-so-happy event number two which i do not wish to mention too. most probably, the not-so-happy event number one led to the not-so-happy event number two. maybe i am easily hurt. maybe i'm overly sensitive. maybe i am hard to understand. maybe i may not look as happy as i am.

all i know is that, i'm not-so-happy anymore.

music: airport - david tao

i love monday!

today's a rather hectic day at work. my boss sms me early in the morning to say that he'll be coming over at 10.30 to discuss something. then halfway through the discussion, i gotta go extent my driving license (cos i've already had an appointment with the guy who's handling it). the procedure was brief. reached kemayoran, met the PIC, went into room, sign my name, check details and took my pic. tadaa... done. the license will then be sent over to me. how nice is that?

no nomat today, cos tere and i wanted to go gym. plus we wanted to get something for hary's birthday. when we reached EX, i realized i didn't bring my gym bag. dang! so, went straight for the gift. we knew what we wanted to get him and headed straight to burberry. however, the polo tee that we fancy was outta stock. saw a long sleeve shirt that would look good on hary, but they only have size S left. way too small for him. i guess that's what happens when you try to buy something from a store that's on sale.

looked around but most boutiques were already closed by then. in the end, we saw something we both agree was nice, in raoul. however, the sales girl already closed the cashier. hence, could not pay for it there and then. not much of a luck, i guess. maybe we'll try again tomorrow.

on the way back to parking lot, we decided to stop over at tori-q to meet asun and linda. tere wanted to ask them to have abuba, but we ended up having ketoprak somewhere near my place. linda promoted the ketoprak as "3 m - murah, meriah, mencret", which means cheap, good value and stomache. linda always have a way to make people smile. hope to meet the both of them again soon.

reminder for lose weight program: no gym and had supper tonight (no good). wedding to attend tomorrow (no good either) and something else on wednesdat (no good again!). geez... definitely gotta gym on thursday. but well, i do feel good.

music: sakura no ki no shita de - tsuji ayano (on repeat mode)
mood: blessed, peaceful and full

stages of love

couldn't continue sleeping. so after showering, i came back in front of the computer. while waiting for the download of toshihiko kabayashi, i came across this article on stages of love.

"Love in the heart was not meant there to stay. Love is not love till you give it away". For love to be ever lasting and eternal every one should be aware of the different stages of love and know its significance. Following are the different phases through which you will travel in your love life and only those who pass it will have an endless love.

ATTRACTION
Attraction can be defined as something, which is more than friendship and is a step towards getting ready for a relationship. Now attraction is of two types:

a. Physical Attraction - happens when your body reacts to another person. Heart rate increases; temperature rises, palms get sweaty; stomach flutters; throat tightens; etc. This is what will tell you that you are ready for the first contact and also whether you are comfortable in the company of the other person.

b. Emotional Attraction - develops next if the circumstances are right. After being drawn to a person physically, you then begin to come closer. If you find you have things in common -- hobbies, ideologies, career, education, or some other common ground -- then an emotional attraction starts to form. Sometimes an emotional attraction can occur even when a physical attraction does not. And in this case, the bond will be stronger between the two who connect, since no preconceived notions based on physical appearance has occurred.

INTIMACY
Intimacy is something, which a person experiences when you learn to trust and believe your lover. It is a close association with another person of the deepest nature. You share you thoughts, feelings, and dreams. You feel free to discuss everything with this person and you are absolutely comfortable in his company. Thus intimacy develops gradually. If you can't establish intimacy with your partner, your relationship may work for a while, but is unlikely to endure throughout the years. Intimacy is actually the path to a true, healthy and beautiful relationship.

ROMANCE
Romance is the essence of a relationship. Without romance your love life will not exist. Romance is the true identity of your love. It brings out your true self and helps you be a better lover, husband and partner. Romance is a celebration of the life you live as part of a couple. It springs naturally and originates from within your heart. It makes you do things that you possibly couldn't have imagined to do otherwise. It shows you who you are and reminds you of the role you play in a relationship. Romance is not responsibility but it is caring about your responsibilities towards your lover and partner. Romance is the appreciation of two people who are celebrating the lucky coincidence that they found each other.

PASSION
The third stage is passion, which basically means a desire for another person, which has grown to an intensity that can't be ignored. This is often where an emotional relationship turns into a physical relationship. The passion stage is very important. For from here you will understand the true meaning and nature of your relationship. If there is no passion then its best to let go but if there is passion in your relationship then it is time to go on to the next stage.

COMMITMENT
The last stage is commitment. This is when you know that you want to spend your whole life with this person you love and you can do anything for him. It is when your whole world just revolves round your lover and you take a pledge to remain true to your mate throughout good and bad times, be by his side whenever he needs you.

what is love anyway? yesterday, the couple whom i thought were meant for each other, who will soon ready for some serious commitments, had some problem with their relationship. how do we take it from a boyish-girlie kind of relationship to the matured kind of relationship? how much time should we spend with our partner? when is becoming too comfortable becomes uncomfortable for our partner? so many questions and yet no fulfilling answer.

music: how deep is your love - color me badd

emotions

had a rather emotional day yesterday. the negative emotions are most probably due to the fact that i did not get much of a good sleep these few days.

let's start with the positive emotions. went to TA for lunch with tere (she insisted on eating the siomay there) and did a some shopping. then we changed location to PS to meet henry for not sure what (late lunch? coffee? dinner?). we finally settled for chatterbox as the rest would be too crowded. i haven't tried the chatterbox in PS since it was renovated. the newly design resto was uplifting, food was above average and price was acceptable. we talked about a few serious matters but ended up joking around. the usual but entertaining stuff. anyway, on my way to the toilet (which was inside the kinnokuniya bookshop), i bought a fortune magazine. was actually looking for my favourite tabloid (they don't sell cheap tabloid there) when fortune caught my attention.

while flipping through the fortune in the resto and i found out that blogging is the top tech trends to watch in 2005. was of course delighted and proud. hehe. but well, henry and tere didn't know what blogging was.

now the negative ones. was awaken 10.15 this morning by a phonecall from julie. geez... i woke up way too late for church. felt kind of guilty about it. then mum called around 12 to ask where i was. when she found out that i did not go to church, the usual nag starts again. and instead of my usual "yes, mum" reaction, i challenged her today. that made her upset. later that night, mum confronted me about the "not going to church" incident. we haven't quite finished our debate over the phone this morning. got quite emotional. but well, i was angry. i was angry at her for not trusting me. i was angry at her for trying to shape me so much to the person that she wants me to be.

anyway, the strategy i chose to handle with my mum today was not a wise choice. after much thought, i think i should go back to the old strategy. will be more patient next time. it is never wise to upset your own parent.

hmnn... busy week ahead. better go back to bed now. :)

mood: much much better than before
music: none

the aviator

just got back from watching the aviator (supposingly 3 winner of the golden globe awards, including best picture of the year). i dunno if i was sleepy or what, but i didn't really enjoy the movie. however, we did make a great discovery about the seats in EX. they could be reclined! but unfortunately for us, the discovery was made only at the end of the 170 mins movie, so will just have to try them the next time round.

henry mentioned that we should watch meet the fockers sometime weekday next week. he suggested monday's nomat. let me know if you wanna tag along.

anyway, it is raining outside, again! it's been raining all week long. ughh... wonder what happens to those ppl who are affected by the flood in jakarta.

human nature?

today's lunch was accompanied by many interesting, unexpected guests and therefore was enjoyable. there were mont, lita (mont gf), robert (a.k.a. zhong), zhong's fiancee, delon, tere, julie, mami, mum, araya and me. later, julie mentioned that araya kept calling her and tere "kuku evi" instead of their own name. that, of course, put a gigantic smile on my face. hmnn... ever wondered what adults would do to put a smile on faces of the little ones? :)

went to kemayoran after lunch. the main aim was to sun-blast the front glass panel of the car. however, i ended up with additional nokia car charger, protective border for side mirror and down-payment for synthetic leather seat covers. plus, i also saw a jaw dropper pioneer car audio cd player. that's just the human nature isn't it? humans are never satisfied. the more products we are aware of, the more kind of products he/she will want to own. that side of the human weakness made my purse go flat.

and now, i'm feeling rather tired. so wish that someone could tuck me into bed right now. but i got a midnight to catch. the ticket was already purchase. guess i've got no choice, better get ready then.

feeling: tired + sleepy
music: it's cold outside - steve tyrell & jane monheit

ninja & samurai

now, we present you the best hair-styled samurai and sexy ninja! yippie!!!

mood: ecstatic but tired.
music: a thousand miles - vanessa carlton

cute!

CY as geisha, chris as the last samurai.

CY is my mum's best friend (aunt vin chee in sydney) youngest daughter. the pic was taken while they were on their holiday in japan just recently. she emailed them to me a few days ago. i thought it was cute, so i asked her if could share it with everyone on my blog. she replied "sure... we can be celebrities then". adorable aren't they?

hmnn...

so-so...

was raining cats and dogs when i got out of gym. so heavy that i had to turn on the wiper to full blast. guess more parts of jakarta will be flooded tomorrow, which would most likely lead to traffic jam! traffic jam leads to inefficiency, frustration, deals not made, employees not going to work... ughh!

mum mentioned about dinner at home on thursday night. but i had promised yani to have dinner with her the very same day. a bit of dilemma there. life choices... some may seem easy and does not differ much at the time of decision. however, the impact (if seen 10 years from now) might be huge. it's like choosing to turn 0.1 of a degree to the left instead of going straight. u won't probably see any difference between these two choices 5 cm from the start point, but after 100 m, the gap will be more apparent.

bought pump for my one and only guppy two days ago. discoveries made: guppy seems rather anxious at first, but appear to be pleased now. guppy swam around more often than before. there's a slight buzzing sound coming from the pump, which is kind of annoying sometime. guppy cheerful = entertain evi = evi spirit's up. yay! i'm thinking to maybe buy a bigger fish bowl/vase to accommodate more fish to entertain me. :)

music: close to you - david tao
books: don't sweat the small stuff for women - kristine carlson
mood: so-so...

reminder...

two-o-o-five to-do-list:
1. lose weight (ten kg at least)
2. increase sales/profit for company
3. get a normal bf

i'm posting this to-do-list to remind myself. not too sure abt the tres goal but that's what most ppl advice, so will include it for the moment. i'm currently on the pleasing mode. hehe. evi will start to think of a plan/strategy for to-do-list uno and dos starting tomorrow. evi will have to review these goals once-a-month the least. go evi! go evi! <-- that reminded me of sr. :)

can't wait for the idul adha holiday this friday. although i'm not muslim and do not celebrate this festival of sacrifice, i will be more than happy to take the day off work. plan to sleep till noon that day. hmnn...

mood: >50% determined
music: ada band - manusia bodoh

hair loss, church hunt & earrings

was having my shower after workout. and i did the usual "pull my hair till the end" to see how many strands of hair will appear on my palm. saw 5-6 every time i pulled it back. by the end of the shower, i noticed a chunk of hair on the shower "filter". then it kind of struck me that i was losing too much hair.

i usually do not freak out over hair loss. this is bcos i have been blessed with too many strands of hair on my head. much more than the average hair count. if people with average hair count gets a 30 mins hair cut, mine will be somewhere around 50 mins. u may think that's a blessing, but for me it's like:
1. i could not use most hair clip (too much hair, the hair clip won't clip).
2. i have to spend more money on shampoo, conditioner and other hair product (double the normal expenditure).
3. it takes way too long to dry my hair (longer maintenance time).

for that, i tried ways and means to reduce my hair. layering it, smoothing and ignoring my hair loss. but the hair loss that day was too much. so i revert back to using the not-so-pleasant smelling herbal shampoo which was supposed to make my scalp healthy. didn't like the herbal smell on my head... but well, it will reduce hair loss temporary.

anyway, i made a discovery about the "behaviour" of my hair (or scalps). approximately once a year, i will experience major hair loss for about a month. then the hair grows back again. anyone of you experiencing this? or is it just me? and i have to constantly change my shampoo. sticking to a particular brand of shampoo for too long makes the scalp itch. maybe it's just me and my sensitive skin!

* * *

went to IES (international english service) located at wisma staco this morning. and JPCC (jakarta praise community church) at STC last sunday. that's what julie and i have been doing for the past two sundays, church hunting. my current church, GRII (the link is for the surabaya branch), has absolutely good sermons. however i would really prefer an english speaking church. there's always a but to anything isn't it? anyway, will probably try out IES for a few more weeks.

* * *

bought 3 pairs of earrings for Rp. 30.000 each today. same design but different colour. they look good on me. tere said so too. can't wait to wear the blue one. it just makes my face glows. hehe. :)

mood: hungry but contented
music: explosive - bond

hectic morning, tsunami and bible, AR

woke up 8.20 this morning. i know it's kind of late when work starts at 9. then, when i was freshening up in the bathroom, my mobile rang. it was uncle buck on the phone!

uncle buck: morning, evi. where r u?
evi: morning, i'm still home.
uncle buck: i'm already in ur office. i'm always on time, u know.
*evi recalls that she's supposed to be in the office by 8.45am, to pass uncle buck's passport to him.*
evi (while freaking out): i'm so sorry. i'll be on my way now. will call delon to ask if he has the key to the metal drawer in my office.
uncle buck: hmnn... looks like i won't make it to the italian embassy.
evi: u will, i'll call up delon now. will call u back in a min to update u, k.

it was 9.07 by then, so i called the office to ask for delon. he too, hasn't arrived. so i changed. no make up. went down the lift and was driving out of the apartment by 9.16. drove like mad to office. called delon on the way to explain the situation.

beside the tarakan hospital, i decided to turn right to break traffic rulers (so i can reach office faster) and was stopped by police. ughhh! since i was late and had an expired license, decided to settle with *smiles on my face*.

reached office, parked and ran frantically with my new (also current fav) beige heels to the 3rd floor. when i opened up the drawer, the passport was not there anymore. was stunned for like half a second. then i went to delon's office. he said it has been settled. *phew*.

anyway, decided with delon that we should make a duplication key of the metal drawer for p. djoni and budi. :)

* * *

greeted montz over the ym the yesterday. after the "hi, how r u?" gesture, mont mentioned about some "coincidence" between tsunami and bible. tsunami happened on 26 december, and on the bible, ezekiel 26:12, was They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.

some of u might argue that this may just be a "coincidence", cos there are altogether 66 books (39 old; 27 new) in the bible. and if search in 26:12 on every book, there might just be something that's connected to the tsunami. but i believe that the bible is one of the world's greatest book, till now. am rather proud to be a christian! yea!

* * *

saw a friend (who shall remain anonymous for now) ol on the msn. neve saw him ol before and haven't seen him for sometime, so decided to buzz. he told me that he quit his job and is now with a new pizza chain. then bread, then AR. anyway, got something important to do tomorrow (which is still a secret). once i've succeed, then will announce it here. that is, if it was allowed by the group.

also, have to get some "boost weight loss" juice recipe from him. need to keep on track with the weight loss program. will review result and change strategy if it doesn't work well. remember the keys to success, evi!

and... would need to find a safe way to keep secret in the blog. any suggestion?

mood: glad now. excited about tomorrow.
music: just one more dance - michael buble

fashion cafe @ EX

tia wanted to visit the fashion tv cafe after the dinner. it's originally by michel adams, fashion tv. the place just opened less than a month, opposite celebrity fitness at EX. was kind of tired, but quite enjoyed it in the end.

sushi tei

left to right: tresia, me, kevin, henry, hary, natali, tia & bianca.

had dinner yesterday at sushi tei. the occasion? tia and bianca came over from sydney.

well, they actually visited bali. then they saw the cheap AWAIR deal from bali to jakarta. the return ticket for two was below around Rp. 700.000. Quite a good deal eh? I asked if the plane was in a bad condition or unpleasant smell (suspected that it might be similar to LION Air). Both tia and bianca said that the plane ride was better than average: brand new plane, no unpleasant smell, young & pretty stewardess but had a freezing air con. well, they flew back to bali this morning, and will be flying back to sydney in a few days' time. hope to see you both again soon, either in sydney or jakarta. :)

nerd test

was curious and decided to try out the nerd test. here's my score below:

Overall, you scored as follows:
66% scored higher,
1% scored the same, and
32% scored lower.

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:
Not nerdy, but definitely not hip.

hmnn... i'm somewhere in between. *safe ground* :)

kinetic torch

bought a kinetic torch while i was looking for water dispenser (with 3 other colleagues) in mangdu 2 days ago. the torch does not need any battery nor bulb. cool right? the instructions said: shake the torch for 15-30 seconds and get light for around 15-20 mins. the front of the packaging reads "works every time, even if you have not used it for years". it's not as bright as the normal torch. however, i recalled that in every emergency cases when i need to use the torch light, its battery life would already be minimal or dead. so decided to buy one for Rp. 55.000. quite expensive for a torch, but it's a new product and looks rather sleek. it is currently kept in the office drawer, just in case the electricity goes down and i could then get down the stairs with this torch. :)

hmnn... another discovery made: i can't seem to post more than one picture per blog! kind of annoys me. but well, blogger is free! so no complains. :)

music: love is in the air - john paul young

only one left!

this is what the tank looks like now! i know, i'm an awful fish owner. however, judging by the fact that this is my first attempt to rear fish since young, maybe i could be forgiven? hehe.

first red fish committed suicide by jumping out of the tank. then the plant inside the tank turned rather yellowish. that reminded me of a friend who mentioned that the water plant was taking too much oxygen when it is not photosynthesis-ing and that might cause the fish to die (due to lack of oxygen). since the placement of the tank was beside a pillar (no sunshine shining), therefore decided to chuck the plant away. the second red fish died for not sure whatever reason. apparently, when the office boy changed the water of the tank, he broke the brick pot. now, there's only 1 fish left with the broken brick pot! i have a strong feeling that the last one is not going to last long in there.

i saw a cute fish while i was having my lunch in galung (rice with choices in pluit, very yummy) last sunday. the adorable fish had orange head, white body, black and white tail. suits perfectly with the interior of my office. will try to look for it soon. when i go get the new fish, i promise myself that i'll definitely get an air pump. :)

maybe someone can give me tips on "how to be a good fish owner?".

fishes...

well, this is the second batch of fish that arrived in my office about a week ago. i bought the first batch (6 guppies) from the row of fish shops opposite my office. all 6 died in a few days time. what a shame! the second batch (2 red and 1 white) was given to me by mustofa, the security guard in the office. think he took pity of me and decided to bring some fish from his home. hehe. very sweet of him to bring me the fishes though. :)

in the office

at last! i finally knew how to use the hello thingy to post photos! hehe! anyway, this is taken in the new office sometime last week. very orangey rite?

comment link, work & me

after reading instructions and on haloscan (free weblog commenting service) i eventually managed to edit the font, size, position of the "comment" link. a sense of victory was soon felt. after all, i can still manage to do it.

lots of activities in the workplace yesterday (since it's after midnight now). can't really decide which to write first. first: i was faced with a problem that i never encountered before. reacted quite emotionally. luckily, the three wonderful souls in the office "rescued" me. quite relieved that it's over now. but i can still feel the after effect in my gastric. second: andre has not been coming to work for days. i consulted p. djoni as to whether i should pay my marketing a visit. later found out that he has been admitted to carolus, ICU. dengue fever... ughh. definitely have to pay him a visit! shall arrange for it later today. third: have to help andre follow up his work, while mine is piling too. heh?!?

last saturday, p. michael informed me via sms that mira sau's mum caught a stroke and was having an operation. prayed for yong po when i was in church the sunday morning. went to comfort mira sau in PIK, she seemed troubled and tensed. so did p. michael. felt rather upset and worried, esp. about mira sau. to my surprise, i. irene took it better than mira sau this time round. the incident got me thinking... when do we know when it's time to let go of the ones we love?

anyway, i went to smoothed my hair after PIK visit. now it's straight and more flat than ever. liked it cos it's not too expensive; doesn't do as much damage as rebonding and saves me time on hair maintenance. however, think it's too flat.

will try to post some pics and add some links to the blog very soon. hopefully!

first blog

huraaayy... my first blog entry! decided to try blogging cos andy and kev recommended it. seems fun to be able to share with the world. i'm feeling rather tired right now, cos it's already 12.28 AM. spent the last two pathetic hours reading info on blogger.com, deciding the title (ughh... didn't know u could change it in a sec) and template. finally settled for this one, called "scribe". the template reminds me of dianne and magda. will definitely try to personalised it more when i have time.

mood: excited, yet sleepy