Some songs help me remember certain memories and this time I'm gonna talk about Peter Cetera's and Crystal Bernard's "(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight", which became a hit in Indo in 1995. Here's the video clip:
This song took me straight back to my High School trip to Bali because they kept playing this song on the radio during our Bali trip. I was on my last year in High School and was in a different class than my closest friends. There were 6 classes altogether (about 40 students per class) and we went by buses. I was in a bus with some of my closest friends. Luckily the teachers weren't very strict on things like this he he he he...However, I spent most of the bus trip resting 'coz I had such a bad case of motion sickness despite the fact that I took some medication already prior to the trip. If I remember correctly I threw up 6 times altogether during the bus trip and once on the ferry trip to Bali. Yeah, my sea sickness is even MUCH worse than my motion sickness. Mind you, the ferry trip only lasted for 30 minutes but my mistake was looking at the waves!!! On the way back by the ferry, though, I sat down and closed my eyes the whole time and it went fine! Phew!!!
Anyway, our bus stopped for a few hours during the night due to an accident. I was asleep at that time so I didn't know what was going on. It was dark outside and I woke up 'coz the students in the bus were getting hyped out about something. Turned out that the driver must've dozed off and then our bus accidentally hit a minibus. I don't remember anymore what happened to the minibus or how bad the damage was. :-( So we had to wait for the bus company to send us another driver while the police took the other driver. I certainly hope the driver and the people in the minibus were fine in the end. There was at least one teacher in each bus, though, so we didn't have to do anything much because the teacher dealt with it. The delay meant that we were late when we arrived in Bali (it was probably around 2 or 3 am when we arrived at the hotel) and we went straight to our own rooms to sleep (again luckily I could be in the same room with some of my close friends - the main point was that each room was filled with 4 students). Back then there were no ATMs whatsoever (no debit cards, either), so everybody took cash for the trip. There were no mobile phones, so many of the students went to a phone rental place (there were several booths of phone that one could use to make long-distance phone calls) and I remembered having to queue for a while before I could contact my parents.
Every day there was special programs for us where we toured around the place together by buses except for one free day when we could do whatever we wanted. My close friends and I rented a car and we went around for a while, though it wasn't really effective because we got lost many times (no GPS at that time!).
Here's a pic of me and two close friends at the beach. Yeah, I had that kind of face 'coz my naughty friend took off my hat!!!!!!!!!!! Pardon the quality of the pic 'coz the photo was taken with a regular camera ha ha ha ha ha...
And what did the teachers do while we were having fun at the beach? They had to watch our belongings he he he he he he he...
One last memory that I'd never forget. A bunch of us were already in a bus somewhere in Bali, waiting for the other students to come so that we could go somewhere else when all of a sudden this young blonde tourist just came inside the bus, smiled at us (with the tip of his nose covered in lots of sunscreen) and then went out from the back of the bus whereas some of the girls in the bus shrieked out and tried to snap a pic of the guy HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...oh dear goodness!!!! Memories!!! :-D
1. Getting the best bday present ever from hubby: A LOVE LETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or to be exact a love email he he...which I printed and reread. It made me cry today when I woke up and checked my mailbox he he...It was everything I could have hoped for in a love letter - and more! Oh, and it's in Finnish! :-D
2. A friend dropped by and brought a doughnut and a small candle and we had a nice chat over coffee and doughnuts. And she brought me a homemade gift and card as well! BLESS HER!!! What a perfect day!
3. A customer who had the initiative to take out somebody else's shopping cart that had been left inside the store to the place where it belonged.
4. Understanding and thoughtful parents and in-laws that don't ask or push us about giving them any grandkids once I explained to them our decision that two is a complete family and that we don't wish to try any treatment or anything else. They respect our decision fully.
5. Patient people that come along my way (including dear hubby).
6. People that don't take me to any unnecessary guilt trips about any topics at all (including parents, in-laws, and hubby).
7. My family have been enjoying their trip to Bali with SIL's family.
8. My Mom and Ken got sick "at the right time", so they were fine already before they were supposed to fly to Bali. That way they got to enjoy the trip fully.
Yep, definitely not feeling like myself. I have a cold and a blocked nose...may heaven help me when I'm at work today...the trouble is I have to have enough brain power to concentrate in counting and speaking Finnish. We'll see how it goes. At least it's a rather short shift today and tomorrow I have a day off.
Just wanna share this INCREDIBLE sea life experience with you all...if you can, watch it in HD by clicking this link: Bali Diving HD.
While blog-hopping, I came upon a blog idea he he...When I was in High School, we went to Bali on buses and then a ferry. On the way there, our bus had an accident. Apparently the driver was sleepy, so our bus hit a car. I don't remember anymore what had happened, but it was surely rather serious, 'coz the car was small and our bus was HUGE. If I remember correctly, the car driver and passengers had to be taken to a hospital.
At that time most of us were sleeping 'coz it was such a LONG way from Bandung to Surabaya, but the noise woke us up. We didn't really feel the impact of the collision 'coz it was a huge bus, but we heard people talking outside and the bus had stopped moving for a while. In each bus there was at least one teacher, so we didn't have to deal with anything.
The bus driver had to go, so there was a LONG delay while we waited for the bus company to send another bus driver to drive us to Bali. We were supposed to arrive in the hotel in the evening (or late evening), but we finally arrived at around 3 am.
The next day, the students wanted to call their parents, so we all went to phone kiosks and we queued to be able to contact our families. Back then there were no mobiles yet in Indo, so we had to do it. I couldn't talk too long with my Mom 'coz there was a long line of students behind me, but when I told Mom about the accident, she said, "Oh, no wonder I was SO restless and I couldn't sleep well. I could only fall asleep after around 3 am."
Coincidence? Probably a mother's instinct he he he he...
One thing I dread about living far away from my parents is seeing their pics and realizing that they look older than the last time I saw them. Gladly my Mom has the privilege of being forever younger than her real age (people always guess that she's around her 50's whereas her real age is 61) and she always rejoices in that fact. Just now my brother sent me a batch of pictures of my family after he bought a digital camera right before his honeymoon.
December 27th was my Dad's 65th birthday and my brother and wife bought him a birthday cake along with the candles and some pizza. Yeah, Dad specifically asked for pizza from Pizza Hut (he's a HUGE fan of pizza from that resto) even though Mom had cooked some other dishes ha ha ha ha ha ha...I was touched when I saw how HAPPY Dad was in this pic, but my heart also sank when I realized that he had grown older than the last time I saw him. Anyway, at least he looks VERY happy, don't you think so?
It was clear to me that Dad dressed up for the occasion. By the way, that's the shirt I bought him about two years ago he he he he...There's also a picture of my Mom alone, but she didn't look her best, so I don't want to share it here he he he he...Instead, I'll share a pic of my brother and wife in Bali Bird Park on their honeymoon he he he...Here it is!!!
And here's a stunning pic of sunset in Bali. Bro bought a digital camera with 12.1 MP (IXUS 960), so it can capture more amazing pics than mine can he he he he...
Ahhhh...my family...I LOVE them and God bless them!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! I managed to call my parents again earlier today and I could talk to Mom, my brother, and his new wife he he he he he...
First of all, the wedding was a success though they said it was SO crowded there. They sent out 450 invitations and ordered 700 plates (portions of food). They held the wedding in one of the Chinese restaurants in Bandung. As usual, since it's a restaurant, they were ready to add more food if there were more guests. And indeed they had to add more food: 145 plates (portions) more!!! Gee...I can imagine how crowded it was even though they decided to rent both the first and second floor.
Even the restaurant owner was shocked and said to my Mom, "I've never seen these many guests coming to a wedding held here." HA HA HA HA HA...My Mom told me that it was because I didn't invite many relatives at all on my wedding day. Plus both my brother and his wife have SO MANY friends!!!!
Then my Mom said that my brother's wife's Mom kept on crying at church during the wedding ceremony. Poor her!!! Even today she came over to our house with her hubby to talk to their daughter he he he he...I guess they missed her already!!! ;-D My brother spent two nights in a hotel with his new bride, and then today they came back to my parents' place. They are given an upstairs bedroom and a small living room at the side of my parents' house so that they can get some privacy he he he...
Then I asked Mom to hand over the phone to my brother. My brother said that he was sweating like a pig NON-STOP for hours during the party since the room was so crowded. Oh daer he he he he...He bought a digital camera earlier today since tomorrow they're going to Bali on their honeymoon. I told him to be careful there and I wished him a nice honeymoon.
I also got to talk to his wife for a little while. She said that it was SO tiring he he he...but she was glad it was over. Then I asked how she liked her new bedroom. She said that she still couldn't sleep well since it felt weird that there was another "creature" sleeping next to her HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...Ahem...then I wished her an enjoyable honeymoon as well and I didn't talk too long since I knew her parents wanted to talk to her, too.
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I'm glad that now my parents have a new daughter he he he he...I hope that they'll live together harmoniously throughout the years and that God'll give them good health all through the coming days. ;-D And I'm GLAD finally my brother got himself a digital camera so he can keep on sending pictures of my familyyyyyyy via emaillll he he he he he he he he he he he he he...
I've been busy today, so I'll only begin blog-hopping now he he he he...All in all, today's a WONDERFUL Monday for me. Hope today's been MAGNIFICENT for you too! ;-D
