Has anyone seen this classic movie directed by Zhang Yimou? Well, I just saw it the other day at Crunchyroll. The beauty about sites like Crunchyroll is that I can watch it for free (though you need to subscribe if you want to watch more than 5 clips) he he he he he...No need to download, but you do need to have a fast internet connection. ;-D
If some of you have seen Raise the Red Lantern, what do you think about it? I'm GLAD I wasn't born in that age and place where concubines abounded. I felt sad in a way when watching the "politics" among the concubines as they tried to grab the attention of the husband.
I can't imagine how life is for people who have many wives or husbands. How can a man be fair to more than one wife?
One thing that intrigued me was that the main character was a university student for 6 months and she made bad choices while being a concubine that really drove her to the edge. It's very clear that even though you're "educated" (because the other concubines weren't highly educated as she was), that doesn't mean that you're wise. Wisdom comes with experience.
It's sad to think that women that day lived like that, but it's reality...History is history and hopefully the sad parts in history won't be repeated.
Oh, almost forgot...another thing that intrigued me is how it feels like to have a foot massage like in the movie. All the concubines are dying to have that special foot massage again he he he he he...Interestiiinnggg!!!
P.S. If any of you is thinking of watching the movie in Crunchyroll, one word of advice from me is that DO NOT read the comments at the side since they may contain spoilers!!! The movie consists of 4 parts and there are plenty of comments already and one time I accidentally read some comments while waiting for the movie to load and that was a BIG mistake he he he he he...
Everybody should be careful of Sexual Predators that may lurk around in the neighbourhood. After all, it's MUCH better to prevent something bad from happening rather than regretting it. I found this website that listed names, nicknames, and even the latest photos of sexual offenders and their locations in America.
Megan's Law is the name of the federal bill that ensures this list to be created and published for public. If you visit the site, you can also get email alerts if any of the sexual offenders moves to your neighbourhood. So let's raise our awareness about this and spread the news!
A friend of mine recently wrote about HIIT in his blog. If you're thinking about slimming down, maybe you should read this post of his. I'm also trying to do this since I want to slim down a little bit before going back to Indo he he he he...
It doesn't take a long time to do HIIT, though it is a TOUGH exercise (runners may love this exercise). I can't even do it 5-6 times in a row yet, especially since I usually do it at the end of my Taebo sessions HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...but I'm trying to build up my stamina. ;-D
Curious about HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)? Go here:
Living in a cold country means that you've got to have proper insulation for your house. Otherwise the home dwellers will suffer during winter and they'll have to pay so much money to heat up their houses. Yikes! Nobody wants to pay more!
For years and years, houses in Europe have been using double Precast Concrete walls for this purpose. This type of wall is strong, safe, and durable. Another benefit of using precast concrete is the fact that you can save more money than using poured concrete on the site of construction. Marvelous, isn't it?
If you're thinking of building a house somewhere in America, maybe you should check out Jensen Precast that manufactures precast concrete products, including residential and commercial Precast Concrete Septic Tanks, dry/wet wells, bunker silos, etc. They've been in this business since 1968, so they have more than enough experience already. After all, you want the best for your house, don't you?
My parents were never too strict with us when it comes to education. However, they expected us to finish school in a normal period of time since it was costly for them to pay for our education. My Mom kept on saying to us when we were little, "You don't have to get an 8 or 9 for your school reports. As long as you get a 6, then it's fine."
Mind you that in Indo at that time, "blue" marks (safe marks) started from 6 and the highest mark was 9 for school reports of each subject. "Red" marks started from 5 and below. The schools would make the students stay in the same grade if they get red marks for certain subjects, for example Mathematics. However, if the student only got one 5 for a subject that wasn't too crucial, then the school would let him/her go to the upper grade.
One of my closest friends told me that she used to be scared if she went home with a test mark less than 8, since her mother expected her to get high marks all the time. In elementary schools at that time, every one of our test had to be signed by one of our parents to make sure that the parents knew our marks.
I must admit that if I remember correctly, twice I faked my parents' signature since I got bad marks for the tests HI HI HI HI HI HI...
In Junior High School and High School, we didn't have to get our parents' signature for our individual tests, but of course they wanted one of their signatures in our school reports. Reports came either quarterly or every half a year.
In Indonesia, it's "easier" to find a good job in a big company if your university GPA is high enough. Usually recruiting companies ask for a 2,75 GPA (the highest GPA is 4,00 and it means that you ALWAYS get an A for each subject). Some international companies even ask for a 3,00 GPA (meaning that at least your average mark is a B for each subject). You CAN be recruited still even if your GPA is lower than they require as long as you know the boss he he he...
Of course GPA doesn't count much if you want to open your own business. The only problem if you want to open your business is finding the fund to do so he he he...And if you are into doing marketing in some companies (like the insurance company where my Dad worked), then you don't need to worry about your GPA.
Speaking of education, I don't know how it works here in Finland. Everything is SO different from Indonesia. For example: Over here it's a normal thing to do a job training and get some money from the government, whereas in Indonesia it's not possible to do that UNLESS you're accepted as an employee first.
Back to my parents...I always remember the story that my Mom tells me about my brother. Mom kept on telling us, "I don't like lies. I don't want to be lied to. As long as you're honest with me, I won't be angry, okay?"
That promise "backfired" one day when my brother came to Mom and said, "Mom, don't be angry, okay? I want to tell you something."
Mom said, "Okay, I promise I won't be angry. What is it?"
My brother admitted, "I've got 4 for a test. Here it is."
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...My Mom COULD NOT be angry since she had promised not to, right? Of course she was surprised, but she calmed herself down and said, "Okay, then that means you need to study even better for the next test. If you can get a good mark for the next test, then your average mark will still be blue instead of red."
One thing I admire about my Mom is how well she understands us. She knows that my brother is "slower" than me in learning things. I think mainly it's because he gets distracted more easily than me. Everybody has different ways of learning things and I'm quite a focused person, so I get things done faster than him.
My parents didn't force my brother to get into a "strict" High School since they knew it would only make him stressed out. So he went to a less strict school and he BLOSSOMED there!!! He found teachers who believed in him and that drove him to study hard!!! ;-D
Additional info: I was sometimes lazy to go to school, so sometimes I told them that I wanted to skip school and I only needed to type the letter of absence myself and ask for their signature to give to the school the next day (they always let me do it) HI HI HI HI HI...But usually I only took a "day off" from school during the semester or year since I didn't want to miss too much as I would have to catch up on everything later on.
I'm really GRATEFUL for my parents for their understanding, support, and hard work for getting us through university. They never forced us to choose a certain direction. I know I haven't always been an easy daughter to deal with (stubborn me!!!) but I can always count on them. I owe them EVERYTHING!!!
Note to self: I should write them an email to thank them personally. :-)))
Are you on a weight loss program and you're thinking of using pills to help you, such as Cheap Phentermine? Well, before you decide on taking any pills, you should click on the link to read what other people have to say about their experiences in taking those pills.
The website provides consumer reviews on different types of diet pills. A friend of mine once used some type of diet pills to help her lose weight prior to her wedding, but she got the prescription from her doctor and she continued seeing her doctor for a check-up to make sure that everything went well. She has stopped taking them, though, but it did work for a while.
I've never taken any diet pills, so I can't share any experiences, but health is indeed very important and we should make sure we eat a healthy diet, we exercise regularly, and we get enough sleep every day as best as we can. Other than that, if you're over 30 years old, you should probably consider taking a multivitamin every day to stay fit.
Cheers to health!!! ;-D
As you know, I've just met my friends. I decided to walk there since I thought the exercise would be good, but I almost got lost HI HI HI...I'm NOT good at directions!!! I did look it up on the map first, though. The first time I went there, hubby took me there and he picked me up. Since I walked there, I had to go through a different road, so everything looked very unfamiliar hi hi hi...However, I was GLAD that I found it after all! I was getting thirsty anyway hi hi hi...
It should have taken me about 20 minutes (max.) to reach her house, but in the end it took almost 30 minutes since I went to the wrong parts of the roads hi hi hi...I almost gave up and I wanted to call hubby to ask for directions, you know?
It was FUN, though we got distracted a lot since there were FOUR females there plus two babies and a 3,5-year-old he he he...I got to hold one baby for a while (glad he didn't cry) HI HI HI...I'll show you the picture in a while. Since we were so busy talking, we didn't get too many chances to take pictures HA HA HA HA HA...But that's fine since there're zits on my face, anyway hi hi...
We decide to hold a weekly meeting (if we can make it every week) to socialize and to discuss Finnish in general. We do need every practise we can get. I'll let you know how it goes next Tuesday (we decide to meet next Tuesday at around 11 am). I have nothing much to do except blogging and buying stuff to bring to Indo, so it's WONDERFUL to be able to meet the girls again he he he he...
OK, now I've uploaded the pics. Here are they:
The above baby boy is around 6 months old. He's a BIG TALL baby!!! I held him in my lap for a while HE HE HE HE HE...He loves kicking and he's STRONG! ;-D
The little girl there is about 8 months old. She enjoyed playing with the boy's toy HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
Here are the mothers with their babies. My other friend Michelle was also with us, so I'm the only one without any kids yet he he he he...
Anyway, remember the 2-in-1 Chess Station I ordered for my Dad from ebay? Well, Helsinki PO is holding it right now as they want me to give explanation as to what's inside the package, so I sent them an email about the whole thing and I attached the emails concerning my order, as well. I HOPE it gets sorted out ASAP and I don't have to pay too much since the chess station itself doesn't cost too much (only around €22). Maybe they don't believe it since I found out that it's quite a heavy package (around 1 kg).
Oh well...WISH ME LUCK then! I don't care even if I have to pay the customs tax as long as it's still reasonable, but I just don't want it to arrive LATE 'coz then I won't be able to bring it to Indo!
Time to blog-hop!!! ;-D
P.S. I've also written down my FIRST post in the third blog:
This blog will be about my journey in learning Finnish and I'll post good links on learning Finnish online and I'll also share the things I've learnt "the hard way" he he he he...
Finally I wrote down my first post in Finnish! To my readers who can read Finnish, you're welcome to visit. To all of you who can't read Finnish, you're also welcome to visit he he he he he...
I've just written down a small introductory post and of course hubby corrected my grammar and everything. At least I didn't make too many mistakes hi hi hi hi hi hi...but I think I'm going to create another blog in English about my journey in learning Finnish (maybe it'll be beneficial for other people who's learning Finnish, too!!!)
So here's the link to my Finnish blog: Pikku Ihme.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your support during my journey here in Finland...I TRULY appreciate it, guys and girls!!!!
P.S. "Pikku" means small and "ihme" means miracle he he...
So another training has ended. On the last day, my MIL's big sister came by with her husband and as usual, the 76-year-old lady gave me a tight hug HE HE HE HE HE HE...We talked for a little while. ;-D
Another old Finnish couple came by to see the same Sodankylä's old photo exhibition in our office. Upon seeing me, they were so curious about me, so they started asking questions. The one thing I loved about them was that if I seemed confused about their questions, they'd rephrase it in a simpler way. ;-D
Ahhh...it feels a little bit weird being at home again, you know? I know I have tons of things to do: blogging, learn more Finnish on my own, thinking of what else to bring home and buying them, starting off my new Finnish blog, writing down posts in my draft so that when I'm in Indo my blog isn't empty, etc. etc. etc.
But first of all tomorrow I'm going to meet my friends YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! I wanted to do it last month already, but then I got busy with the week holiday and then the training, so I didn't have time to arrange a meeting. I'm going to go to my friend's house and then two more friends are coming there, so it's gonna be SO MUCH FUN!!!! HO HO HO HO HO...
I also should add more exercise this month as I don't wanna diet HI HI HI HI HI HI...I can almost taste already all the GLORIOUS food that I can eat in Indo...yum yum...I think the other night I also dreamt of meeting so many people in Indo. Yeah, now I'm having INDO FEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR HE HE HE HE HE HE...
Anyway, last Friday I was busy cooking for my in-laws. I cooked Chicken Teriyaki and Indonesian Fried Rice (with oyster sauce and sweet soy sauce and some chili). I'm GLAD they liked them HE HE HE HE...I thought that the taste would be different from typical Finnish food, so I wanted them to try. I'm going to bring some more Indo spices later on so that I can also introduce other types of Indo food to my in-laws. ;-D
Okay, now let me continue studying Finnish a little bit. I'll blog-hop later on!
