Changes

Our Indo trip is approaching fast. The last time I was there was almost 2 years ago when I visited Indo on my own. Three years ago we visited Indo for the first time after I moved to Finland, but back then I didn't feel nervous at all. I remember clearly 2 years ago I felt so nervous about going back to Indo. One reason was that I had to leave R2 behind. For the past few days I've also felt nervous about going back to Indo again, even though this time we're leaving together again.

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After pondering about it, I realized some possible reasons why I feel this way:

1. Having lived in quite a safe place means I've learnt to let my guard down on most occasions. Now that we're going to Indo, I have to get prepared mentally to be alert, to beware of pickpockets and stuff like that, 'coz we're going to use public transit in Bandung as well.

2. I have to get prepared mentally as well to handle all the noise, the huge amount of people, the traffic jam, the heat, the moist weather, etc. I always thought I was a city girl until I moved here. Now I don't think I can live with daily doses of noise, too many people, traffic jam, pollution unless I absolutely have to.

3. Another mental preparation is needed when I think of all the well-meaning neighbours and or relatives who'll probably ask me about our "baby program". I was thinking of telling them, "So what if we have no kids? The world is already too full of people anyway." But that kind of answer might induce longer conversations about this topic, so I might just opt to smile and say nothing much.

I'm telling ya that nowadays Indo's "warmth" (read: the habit where your business is my business) annoys me MUCH more than it used to be. And I'm not feeling this way only for my own sake, but also for the sake of other people in Indo who "don't fit the mold". I even felt the urge to hold this campaign in FB to gather up as many Indo people as possible to be aware of "annoying questions". To read the annoying questions, click here.

Another thing I remembered from my trip 2 years ago was how much I loathed the fact that Indo people couldn't queue very well in public toilets. I don't know why but it annoys me so much now. I'd like to know how I feel this time on this matter (or any other matter that now annoy me so much about Indo).

Another change I've felt is my taste bud. There is at least one certain dish that I used to LOVE LOVE LOVE in the past, but now I've lost the ability to enjoy it. I know this doesn't only happen to me 'coz one friend who moved back to Indo after living abroad has also stated that she doesn't like many kinds of dishes that she used to love anymore. Strange but true.

Anyways, I'll report more on this after our trip to Indo. Right now I'm REALLY looking forward to our spa appointment in Bangkok and also spending time with my family and friends in Bandung. Take care, y'all and I guess when I have time I can also blog a little from Bandung! :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. More pronounced autumn colours around me. Such as these:




2. Only a few days to go before our long holiday starts. YEEESSSSSS!!!!

3. A few customers wished me a nice trip and some of them told me that they'd miss me. :-D Bless them! They almost made me wet my eyes at work ha ha...

4. Getting positive feedback from an old lady.

5. A while ago, a different old lady held my hand after our encounter at the till. The deliberate gesture made my heart feel warm. :-D

6. Seeing the little girl's stunned expression when she realized that I was at the store at the time when she and her Dad and little sister came by. She couldn't speak at all for at least 30 seconds after I greeted her. :-D

7. Laughing so much with hubby the other night until we had tears in our eyes. It felt WONDERFUL to laugh like that.

8. Having parents and in-laws (yep, mostly the mothers) who don't try to bend me according to their will nor try to change our decisions. They respect our lives and our decisions and I can't be thankful enough for that.

9. Trying up a new recipe to make buns and adding my own topping out of whim and turned out they were the MOST delicious buns I had ever made in my entire life!!!

10. Eating the hot buns with such pleasure that I had to stop myself to eat more than one at a time ha ha...Note: I put the dough in sauna after we had sauna 'coz it used yeast and it rose so well. Next time I make something like that with yeast again, I should do it after our sauna eve. :-D

11. Listening to some customers joke with one another. :-D

A Quickie Before Work

I'm just gonna post random pics that I haven't posted before ha ha...My mind's elsewhere this week and I bet you know where it is...OUR HOLIDAY PLANS!!! Yep, can't wait already to just go and board the plane. The other day I booked a massage for us in Bangkok. We'll see how it goes. I'm gonna report about it later on ha ha...

OK, here goes...

Flowers in front of MIL's apartment:



The ice-cream I had when the company treated us to dinner. VERY yummy!!! :-D


The pepper pork steak I had. It cost 19.50 Euros - no way I'd ever want to pay for it by myself, though it was good. :-D


Another lovely cloud formation - the photo was taken already last month in Kelujärvi.


Last photo was taken after the company dinner. Photo taken at around 11 pm. Yep, it's getting dark now during the night. Midnight Sun is over he he...


OK, now I need to get ready to work!!! Have a blessed day, people! :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. GOT A RAISE!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, been working for a year and now it's time for a raise hi hi...However, what made me SO ECSTATIC was that it was MUCH more than I'd expected! SO THANKFUL for God's blessing!!!! :-D *jumping up and down the place in glee*

2. The thought of a long holiday with R2 and my family in Indo (and friends there as well). It makes me even more pumped up at work ha ha...

3. Getting a new worker at work which'd definitely help us more in the long run.

4. Watching autumn colours admist still-warm-afternoons in a supposedly-already-autumn-period - there were cold days last week but this week has been exceptionally warm again (photos taken by mobile) he he...




5. Something happened that made me realize that R2 and I are still on the same wavelength. :-D

6. Having a job still to go back to after the holiday.

7. Lovely moisturizing lip balms, which will be especially handy in winter.

8. Knowing MIL has enjoyed this new phase of life where she gets many more new friends and she can even go on a holiday abroad later on with BIL and BIL's family.

9. Hubby for making me laugh so easily, for making it SUPER hard for me to get really angry even when I'm cranky due to fatigue or lack or sleep and when I'm having PMS. I don't know how you do it, but BLESS you!!!

10. The company treated us to a nice dinner (we could choose our own drinks and meal) so all of us went there except one who couldn't come due to some reasons. It sure was nice to be treated 'coz if I have to pay it myself, I wouldn't have gone HA HA HA HA...

Puzzle Project: Done!

Yep...the puzzle was done already on 7th, but I just haven't been in the mood to blog about it. Asked MIL where she bought the puzzle glue and found out that it's WAY more expensive than the puzzle itself. I bought the puzzle for 6-7 Euros only and you wanna know how much the glue cost? €12.90!!! I know it can be used for 4 puzzles as big as 1,000 pieces each, but then that's quite a lot of money for glue, don't ya think?

Oh well...let me just share some pics then...

First pic: the puzzle, photo taken using flash.


2nd pic: photo taken without flash.


3rd pic: My SUPER HAPPY face, taken after we had just finished the puzzle together hi hi...


I'm telling ya that it's fun for me to make a puzzle together 'coz it means spending quality time with hubby (you see, quality time is my primary love language). I think if I find nice puzzles like this again in the future, I'm gonna buy more (didn't know R2 was into puzzle until I bought this one) HA HA HA HA HA...In the meantime, I have another puzzle in stock already, but maybe we should do it later after our Indo trip hi hi...

Anyway, the below pic was taken 2 weeks ago. HUGE blackcurrants picked from my MIL's garden. I picked about 5 litres of 'em and many of them are MUCH bigger than the ones last year and there were still SO MANY of them left, but I didn't have time to pick more that day.

Side note: I know, I know, my hand is SMALL but still those blackcurrants are HUGE, trust me! :-D


I've been busy browsing for things to do and places to visit in Bangkok and reading about tips on Bangkok. One thing we'd really love to do is go to a spa ha ha ha...Other than that, we don't know yet what we're going to do. R2 says that we don't have to plan everything in advance. So I guess we'll just see what we can do. I just hope our luggage stays intact and they don't come late 'coz I've got already 18 kgs of things and goodies for my family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And yeah, I haven't even packed any clothes yet, but at least going to a tropical country (or two tropical countries) means that we won't be packing heavy jackets or boots. Besides, we can always buy shorts and T-shirts later on he he...Good thing R2 comes with me this time. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to bring anything much at all ha ha ha...Can't wait!!! Just two more weeks of work and then our holiday starts!!!!!!!! :-D :-D :-D

Childhood Memory: Kaleidoscope

I remembered that when I was a child, one time I was playing with this magnificent toy whose name I never knew. It was the shape of a small "telescope" and I had to peep into it to see wonderful abstract images. If I shook the "telescope tube", the abstract image changed pattern. Felt like magic at that time!!!

Ever since then, I had been wondering what it was and where I could possibly find it again. I had this nagging feeling, though, that it was from USA, so I never tried to find it in Indonesia. I don't know if I had that toy or if it was my cousin's toy or if a relative who lives in the States gave it to me, but I remember the magical feeling I had when I was playing with the toy. It was just beautiful to play with! Too beautiful to be true. Shake once, the pattern changed. Shake again, it kept on changing patterns. Amazing!

Anyhow, a few months ago when I was trying to find educational toys for Ken (after we bought the plane tickets to Indo), I went to this online store and accidentally found it!!!! Its name is Kaleidoscope. Click on the link to read the history of kaleidoscope. It's been around since 1817!!! Geeeezzz...

So you can imagine how excited I was when I found it after all these years of having this nagging feeling of wanting to find out what it was he he he he he...YIIIIHHHHAAAAA!!!!

P.S. Have to remember to ask my Mom later on to find out if I ever had it for myself or if it was someone else's toy he he...

Puzzle #2, Wasp Nest, and Photo Answer

Last night R2 and I did the puzzle again. Well, he did most of it anyway. He even did it upside down!!! I mean I was sitting down on a stool facing the picture, but he was sitting on the opposite side of me, but still he managed to put so many pieces together! Unbelievable! I just suck big time in doing puzzles ha ha ha ha ha...but we had fun anyway.

Here's a pic of the puzzle 5 days ago (mind you, I did all that in a few days!!! It took me at least one or two hours or even more each day). I did all of this on my own, without R2's help:


Last night we did it for about 2 hours and here's the result. R2 did almost all of the rest. I only contributed to probably 15% of it.


What about the wasp nest on the title, you wonder? Well, when R2 was cutting the grass with a lawnmower the other day, he found out that in our little shed outside the garden, there is a wasp nest. Here's a pic of it:


We browsed around to find out the best way to get rid of it (it's about 15 cm tall), but R2 decided to wait until winter comes before we do anything 'coz they're far away from the house and they're not bothering us anyway.

OK, the last set of pics is the one I put on my previous Picture Time post. Here's the pic that I asked you to guess:


Here's the answer. Ta daaaaa....:-D Did any one of you guessed right? HE HE HE...I don't know what it's called in English, but you can hang pots of flowers on those four "circles" by using hooks.

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