RIP My Friend

I'd like to light a virtual candle for a friend of mine who passed a way due to asthma a few days ago. She was a close friend of mine in elementary school, though after that we went our separate ways. It was really shocking to hear about her passing because I never knew she had asthma. Another friend in FB wrote about her passing and I was really shocked because it all happened so quickly. And I heard that she'd been preparing for her wedding this year. Can't imagine how the groom-to-be must feel...ugh...



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I remember that she and I used to write letters to each other when we got separated into different classrooms in fourth grade. Her aunt and my Mom used to pick us up from school, so we would ask them to give the letters back and forth. I don't remember anymore what we "talked about" in the letters, but I don't think this practice lasted very long.

In sixth grade we were finally in the same class again and we used to join in with another girl if there were any group tasks we had to do. Unfortunately we went to different schools after that, so we kinda lost contact with each other. We met again somewhere along the line, though the last time was probably a few years before I moved to Finland (so already a decade ago or so). A few years ago when I visited my hometown and organized a small gathering with my ex elementary school friends, she couldn't come because the date coincided with her brother's wedding and she had to help out, so she couldn't come. Just a few days prior to hearing about her passing, I was determined that the next time I visited Indo again, I just HAD to meet her. Well...not a chance now, unless after God calls me back home, too. 

But anyway, rest in peace, dear Devianne...may the Lord comfort all the bereaved... 

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. - Psalm 34:18 

Oddity + A Meme

I had a talk with an ex-school friend earlier today and it made me have some ideas on what to write here in my blog. We were talking about one particular ex-elementary school friend who was considered "odd". He used to be teased a lot back then.

So this friend and I talked about this "odd" friend and when we last saw him. Funny thing is that we couldn't really pinpoint what was truly "un-mainstream" about him that made him feel "different" than the rest. However, I have to note that now he's become more "mainstream", so he's no longer "odd".

This short conversation made me think of what we consider "normal" and what we consider "odd". Don't we all have our own oddities? Don't we want to be unique as a person? Yet in spite of wishing to be unique, we don't want to be "odd" enough that we'll be considered so "un-mainstream" that people will think we're losing some screws in our brains.

People are interesting beings, don't you think so??? Yeah, I know this topic has no real conclusion, because I've just started thinking about it...but if any of you has any real conclusion, bring it on! :-D

Now it's time for me to go read some Finnish. I'll blog-hop tomorrow, OK? I'm still in my "lazy" mode here he he he...

P.S. Bad news: I (and some other friends who aren't really students at the school) can't participate in the rest of the Finnish classes anymore 'coz the government body has run out of money to support us. If we want to continue going there, we have to pay for it ourselves, but 'coz it's rather expensive, I decided not to pay. Instead, I'll just wait for the evening course in autumn and in the meantime I'll do my best to continue studying Finnish on my own.

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Dawn tagged me with this meme. Let's see what it's about...

1. What are your current obsessions? Collecting Finnish novels and trying to make myself pregnant WA HA HA HA HA...

2. Which items from your closet are you wearing most often? Underwear of course.

3. Last thing you bought? Grocery from the supermarket. I bought salmon, mince meat, milk, salad, and vitamin C.

4. What's for dinner? It was what I made yesterday: pork steak and potatoes.

5. Say something to the person who tagged you. She's a brave person who's fighting with some past issues in her life. She loves her family so much. :-))))

6. Favorite vacation spot? Definitely my hometown, Bandung, since I MISS my family and friends and ALL THE FOOD!!!!!! UUUGGGHHHH now I'm drooling...

7. When was the last time you told your Mom you love her? Errrr...it's not a custom for us to say "I love you" to each other...so unfortunately I've never said it, though I once wrote down a long thank you/appreciation email in which I wrote to her "I love you".

8. 3 things to do before you die. Hard to say, 'coz I don't know when it's going to happen...gee...I can't think of anything right now. It's like my brain's stuck to the present and it doesn't want to think too far ahead. So no answer for this one, sorry...except perhaps have my own kids hi hi...

9. Reading right now. Several Finnish books which I read randomly depending on my mood.

10. What's the last movie you saw and enjoyed, rate out of 5 stars. Bolt. It's 4.7 stars out of 5. WE LOVED IT! :-D

11. Guilty pleasure. Potato chips...ohhhh, I feel so wickeddddd whenever I eat potato chips hi hi hi...

12. Name the last blog you visited and left a comment on before this one? ( link and info please)
Hans and Shinta vid Neyst.

13. What season is your favorite? I try to enjoy every season as best as I can, so my fave season is whichever season is happening at the present. :-))))

14. What are you watching on TV right now? Lots of series, such as Heroes, Lost, Pushing Daisies, CSI, Fringe.

Why Always Busy These Days?

Hmmm...dunno the answer, but it seems that way. I have some emails to answer and some projects to finish. One project to finish is a presentation about blogging for next Friday at the library. My boss and colleagues want to hear about blogging in Finnish. That means I have to write everything down so that I don't have to memorize them ha ha ha...this is rather difficult as there are many English terms in blogging that I don't know in Finnish, such as "widget" etc.

I'm halfway done on my third project at the library. It turns out to be such a big project which will take so much time to finish he he he...

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Oh well...btw, hubby's ordering Wii Fit package with different kinds of sports activities. I'm SO excited to try it out since I've been rather bored doing Tae-bo using the same CDs over and over again he he he he he he he...I wanna try out different kinds of exercises! ;-D

Funny thing is that I had been thinking of trying out Wii Fit, but I didn't want to spend the money...and then WHAM, hubby bought it HA HA HA HA HA...Incredible!!! Is it a "coincidence" or did he read my mind? ;-D

What else? I found an ex elementary school friend in Facebook that I haven't seen for...hmmm...19 years!!! He told me what he remembered about me. I don't remember that incident AT ALL, but I have a different memory which he doesn't remember. ;-D

The other project I'm working on is a secret. I'm going to tell you only later if it proves to be successful he he he he he...

I've bought two more Finnish novels from the library at a discount again. WHOOPPPEEEEE!!! I LOVE collecting cheap books. I know I may not be able to understand some of them yet since they're so thick and they're for adults, but at least they're at home (easy to reach), so I can read them anytime I want to. :-D

I've been feeling UPBEAT these days and not at all deflated like the other day. My colleagues are always SO encouraging, especially my boss, so that helps me feel useful at work. ;-D I'll blog-hop later on after I finish one project. Take care, everybody!!!