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Thea January 26th, 2009

It’s like I were in the top of the world. The place where beauty and nature combine perfectly. It also answers my curiosity of what people keep saying that it’s indeed a really tranquil place, where my friend, Nora, thinks that God has given too many stars above it’s sky. Bromo and it’s surroundings.

Plan has been set. My trip there  isn’t only me and my hubby. Instead, we go with with other five friends. People call that I have another honeymoon, but I call it a reunion with old great friends. Too much work and study, of course we need a great vacation. The choice was swinging between Bromo and Lombok. Lombok is too far and needs extra time while Bromo is relatively near. That’s why we choose Bromo.

To get to Bromo, we took train to Surabaya, where Sasti welcomed us warmly. Hot tea, snack and delicious fried rice were served for our hungry tummy. She’s lovely, isn’t she?. Then the trip should be continued to Probolinggo and Cemoro Lawang. It too about two-hour-bus trip to arrive at Probolinggo. If you plan to go to Bromo, from bus station of Probolinggo, you have to take Bison. Bison is a call for a 12-passenger car that serves Probolinggo-Cemoro Lawang route.

Along the way to Cemoro Lawang, the scenery is very beautiful. The rain was pouring down on the half of our journey. Right and left, we could see greeny valley with tall-sturdy trees. Getting the higher altitude, palms are scattering everywhere. The temperature got cooler. We tightened our jacket. One hour passed and we arrived at Cemoro Lawang.

Cemoro Lawang is the common place where tourists like us rest before go to Taman Nasioanal Bromo-Tengger-Semeru. Arriving around 4 pm, not much too see there as it was raining. We stayed at local’s house. Besides homestaying like what we did, tourists can also find lodging around Cemoro Lawang. The fare varies, ranging between 200 thousand to 500 thousands. Homestaying is much more price-friendly. For a house with four rooms, we only paid 400 thousand.

Tummy needed to be fulled and we searched food after settling our carriage in to the house. There’s a food stall who served more choices of food than other. The food? Not bad. The price? Pretty much expensive. But what you can expect more in a place where delicious food is a luxury?? We prefered paying more expensive to get the tastier one, thought it broke our backpacking principle.

In the night before going sleeping, we stared at above and watched so many stars. Beautiful. It’s just a blessing for us who rarely see stars as we never have clear sky in the polluted city like Jakarta.

Alarm was set. We had to wake up at three in the morning to catch the sunrise. The experience of catching the sunrise was more like off road experience. We got in to hartop, an old jeep car with huge machine capacity, that took us in to a place where sunrise can be seen. The path was so damn rocky in several spots. Wooww…what a experience. We bumped in the car where cruised the pre dawn to the sunrise place.

Unexpectedly! There were many people arrived before us. We thought the spot would not crowded. We went wrong. It turned out that the gate to Taman Nasional Bromo-Tengger-Semeru are not only Probolinggo and Malang. But many people also depart from Pasuruan. Well, it’s paid off with great sunrise, even not too clear because of the cloud. And the eruption of Semeru, which my hubby said occurred in every fifteen minutes. And again, with good pics and good models like us. No offense:p

After sunrise, we went to Bromo crater. The hartop went down from the sunrise place and took us to the sand desert. There are two ways to reach the ladder to see the crater. First, walking and second, taking horse. Walking is free and taking horse needs 75 thousand rupiah. We chose walking. It’s not about price actually but to measure how fit us and know our endurance:D. People believe that the number of the ladders isn’t precise, meaning no one knows the exact number of the ladders. Maybe it’s around 200-250 ladders.

After Bromo crater, my friend, Yanto, suggested us to see the savana. He said that it was very beautiful. Actually it’s not included in a package we took. Therefore we had to pay 75 thousand because of the extra trip. It turned out worth-seeing as it’s so drop-dead beautiful. Had Peter Jackson seen this place, Lord of The Ring would have been taken in this place and not in New Zealand. It’s like I see a scenery which I often see in the calendar. The land is flowery, yellow and purple. The valley is green and gives calm into sould. Just like it very much.

I don’t know any other word to express my feeling to that place but heavenly:). You should go there.

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Thea January 18th, 2009

I should know what’s in mind of person who said that toothache is much better than heartache. As long as I know, toothache leaves nothing but pain, not only on the teeth themselves, but also at head. At the end, it brings toothache and headache at the same time. Perfect!!But if I have to choose, heartache or toothache, better not each one of them. I prefer to stay healthy, both psych and mental:p.

Generally speaking, tooth is not only functioning aesthetically. It helps us to cut and bite the food we eat.  The delicious pizza won’t mean anything if we can’t eat it. In short, tooth is very important as it’s related with the most important activity in our life, accordingly eating.

Two common problems about tooth are caries and plaque. Maybe some of you have ever experience bad caries that it causes swollen gum. It must be very hurt when chewing. The worse, I ever heard, is because tooth nerves are continuing to other nerves and organ in our body, such as kidney, they can harm the other parts too. The open-decayed tooth is a gate of the gems and bacteria to get in to other parts through the tooth nerves.

Departing from awareness that tooth health is a must, Ogi and I visited dentist yesterday. It’s a plan which had been delayed for weeks actually. Yes, both of us we’re lazy to go to the dentist and chose to go other errands in weekend. But no again yesterday. We had to. And the result, I got caries in four teeth. Ogi had the same number too. What a shame!!!
Unlike Ogi who was willing to go to the dentist as he felt hurt in his teeth, I felt nothing. My intend was just having minor checking on my teeth and didn’t expect that they were in trouble. No pain, no hurt, but it turned out that they were sick. The caries would have been worse just in case we didn’t check it. Thanks God we went there!! Finally.

As the dentist suggested ” Have a regular checking every six months will help us to monitor our tooth health”, we will go there in June or July. It should really work on us!

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Thea January 14th, 2009

http://www.detikinet.com/read/2009/01/15/055546/1068612/328/standar-internasional-telkomsel-untuk-jelajah-internasional

Congrats guys….let’s do much better

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Thea January 7th, 2009

Living in Jakarta for  more than two years makes me accustomed with horn sound..teettt..teetttttt.

I see people here are very easy to hit the horn button and seem less patient of waiting.
Yeah people in Jakarta are busy and should move fast (otherwise they will be late).

And now, my hubby is learning to hit the horn button which He never did it before residing at Jakarta. And we are now more familiar with sound of teettt..teeettttt:D

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Thea December 30th, 2008

The first time I set my eyes to the house, I knew exactly that it was the same house I saw at the photo. In several chattings, the owner invited me to visit her home sweet home.  However, due to time limitation , I couldn’t go there until last Sunday, finally I touched down at that sweet castle. rumahsenyumpagi, that’s the call.

I should admit that the location is quite far from my home, approximately 1.5 hours to get there. Ika said that we’re great as we could find the house without making a phone call to her.

The look of the house? Extraordinary one, with the a pretty tall wall in the left side. Entering the home, the black tiles decorate the floor. My fave one is the large windows surrounding the house, allowing sun shining in to the house. Perfect!

What amazes us isn’t only the appearance of the house, but the story that the house was built before they married. Never did we dream to build a house before we tied a knot last August, but Kelik and Ika made it. Reading the story in the blog, I find the spirit they gathered in house building process. I know there’s a bunch a love in the house, in the frames on the wall, and in their littleluckyfrangipani.

Looking up to them makes me dare to dream. A dream I have been long chasing, but so shame putting little courage in it. On our way home from rumahsenyumpagi, I discussed a lot with my hubby in the car and we knew that the time has come, to build our dream.

Happy new year all. Seize your dream and make it real in 2009:)

• Fellas , Every Day Life
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Thea December 23rd, 2008

Holiday mood is already in the air but definitely I won’t spend the new year eve anywhere, probably at home, this time.

So sad that I have to cancel my plan to Bidadari Isand with my hubby and Wipi along with Camat as well. The notification that I can’t get my leave is so near to the edge, even when Wippie already paid the down payment. Aaaghhh!!!

Okay, my plan to Bangka Belitung is failed, then to Padang Bukittingi is also same and when I try to find some luck at Bidadari Island, it turns out ending sadly too! Sorry my lovely huckelberry. Next year we are going to destinations we are dreaming(with a note:asal blom hamil lho ya…)

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Thea December 8th, 2008

Once you have a chance to visit Magetan, there’s another spot that you may visit aside Sarangan lake which is located at the feet of Lawu mountain. In the Desa Gandu, Rejosari, Magetan, the people are actively involved in culinary business, which has empowered local economy impulse.

My visit to Sentra Ayam Panggang Gandu was solicit, unplanned. Starting from a plan of attending a best friend’s wedding at Ngawi, my friend, Citra and her hubby treated us to have a lunch at Gandu. Entering the village, on the left and right side, I saw houses with tag ” Ayam Bakar”. Almost every house there sells ayam panggang (roasted chicken). The appearance of the home doesn’t look like a restaurant as it’s not set like that. Instead, guests will be served in each house’s living room. No chair but all sit on the floor.

We arrived in a house which is said serves one of the most delicious ayam panggang. Mas Eddy, Citra’s hubby, ordered for us. Not so long after that, the menus came. There were two plates of ayam panggang, one was onion flavor and another one was bumbu rujak flavor. Hmm it looked delicious. The ayam panggang wasn’t served alone as there were other companions such as lalapan, botok, trancam, pelas, and of course sambel. All of them really awoke our appetite.

I tried the ayam panggang bumbu rujak. Though it was a little bit tough, the flavor was so nice. Maknyusss. It’s combination of sweet, salty and spicy at once. Then, I moved the botok into my mouth…hmmmm delicious. Just like the one my mum’s cook. The trancam wasn’t less delicious. They were good combined with the warm white rice. Yummyyy:)

I am so sorry that I can’t give a detail information on the price as I was there because I was treated:D. But once talking with Mas Eddy, He implied that the price of a whole chicken is around 44-45 thousands rupiah. Worth it as it can be eaten by 4-5 people.

Glossary:
Botok: mix vegetable which steamed in a banana leaf
Trancam: mix fresh vegetable with coconut sauce
Pelas: dish made of black soya bean

• Culinary
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Thea December 4th, 2008

Recommendation letter is an effective tool to promote or endorse a person to fit a position. It’s widely used by an employer before they hire a staff or universities for approving new students. As it can be a decisive mean, recommendation letter should be written in an impressive way.  Frankly, writing this letter is not easy for me. That’s why I read a lot of recommendation letters my lectures wrote to me. And based on my experience writing recommendation letter for my colleague Fenny, I would be more than happy to share following tips for you.

1. For recommending a person, please pay to attention to the wording! Avoid “weak and blunt” words. Instead of using nice and diligent, you can apply words such as determined.

2. To begin with, state what kind of relationship you have with the person you recommend. Write down how long and how do you know him/her.
Example: I have known Ms. Chandra since we went to Gadjah Mada University in 2000. While we were at college, we took the same concentration accordingly Political Economy International. Therefore, Ms. Chandra and I were involved intensely in class rooms, discussions, and paper work.

3. Then you can continue to your impression to the person. You can convey your experience with him/her and reveal prominent experience that may be effective such as tell how independent or determined she/he is. Academic award needs to be shared here.
Example: My first impression of her was she was a smart and clever student. And I found out that my impression was correct. Not only smart and clever, Ms. Chandra was also a determined student. She mastered all subjects she took and obtained excellent grades. She showed her strong passion in learning something new. Obviously she was a fast-learner and I am highly convinced that she stays the same now.

Make sure that you have covered up teh exceptional quality in every paragraph. Recommendation letter isn’t necessary the long one but brief, clear and giving correct description on the person.

4. When you finished conveying the quality of the person, you can sum up with a sentence reaffirming his/her quality so he/she is qualified for the position/scholarship.
Example: With the above-stated considerations, I highly recommend Ms. Chandra for the scholarship.

5. Don’t forget stating that you can be contacted for further discussion and state the most convenient time to call you.

Any other tips???

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Thea November 27th, 2008

In a phone conversation with SBY, Obama said that he’s missing nasi goreng, bakso and rambutan. All of those local delicacies were a part of his childhood while living at Jakarta, Indonesia with his family.

Food is memorable, especially when it’s unique, special and of course delicious. It has a “special” capability to melt the situation. The relationship also can begin from a dinner banquet. Diplomacy occasion is not complete without serving the guests with dinner or lunch.

USA and Libya have been involved in unfriendly relationship for years. But last September, another story happened when USA secretary of the state visited Libya and met the Libya president, Moamar Kadaffi. They met in a comfortable situation. Kadaffi served his honored colleague by asking her to look around to his kitchen. Leeza (nick name of USA Secretary of State) was accompanied to have a look at the kitchen and of course tasted Iftar, the Libya delicacy. The success of kitchen diplomacy marks the milestone of USA-Libya relationship.

In 2003, Govt. of Thailand launched program Thai Global Food which aimed at reaffirming the international culture to its appeal. 8000 Thai restaurants around the world were up and it didn’t only introducing Thai food to foreigner but also attracted them to visit Thailand. 15 million tourists are recorded coming to Thailand every year.

According to a source, Diplomats in Washington have pointed out from time to time that restaurants are often the only contacts that most Americans have with other cultures. See, it has a magnificent role. Some say that meal time is the best one when you want to discuss about sensitive things, in sense it’s the moment when people share the same dish and ignore differences for a while.

Maybe our govt, can learn form Thailand. We can encourage entrepreneur to run Indonesia restaurants abroad and make it easier for them to import local ingredients from Indonesia. So, Mr. Obama won’t meet any difficulty when he wants to memorize his childhood through the Indonesian delicacy.

• Culinary
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Thea November 23rd, 2008

In our daily life, we’re often engaged in conversations with our partners, friends, couples, or opponents. Have you ever, in that conversation, felt that you’re dominant over your counterparts? You talk much more than them and listen less.

This happens with me. I talk too much and I realize that it’s one of my weakness. I have been trying to talk less and listen more, especially in certain occasions. Two years ago, my tutor in an official training shared his experience to be an active listener.

Active listener is that involves in active listening activity. Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. When talk to somebody, we often don’t listen to them attentively. We’re often distracted and not focus. The conversation doesn’t get our attention.

Becoming an active listener is not easy, but of course we can learn step by step. According to several sources, I share several steps:
1. Pay attention to others’ behavior and body language
2. Listen attentively what others say and feel their emotion
3. Having heard them, then paraphrase their statements
4. We need to ask clarification sometimes
5. State you view (if you want to) but after they say all thing

Active listening has several benefits such as avoid misunderstanding, makes us to listen to others attentively, and cause people to be more open up. This strategy is used widely to scrutinize cross-cultural conflict but in every day life, it’s very useful to improve the quality of relationship between us and our nearest persons.

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