Transit

8 July 2007, 23 pm

I'm typing this at Changi airport transit hotel. Iki is sleeping
beside me and Hiro is crazily running around the airport, shopping! I
can't imagine what will that shopping freak buy. For him this airport
is heaven hahaha.

Iki was a very good boy today. It really was a very easy and smooth
journey. People around us kept praising how good he is as a baby. He
didn't cry, played and ate well. 180 degree different from my last
journey with him last february. I was alone and he cried from take off
to landing :p.

And I'm also very happy today. Besides at last getting my Louis
Vuitton wallet at Incheon airport, I also got another gift from
singapore airlines: a swarovski neclace. Just because accidentaly the
fork they served me had a sharp broken edge that hurted my finger.
From the stewardess to the chief stewardess came to my seat to
apologize and make sure that my finger stopped bleeding and was
allright. At last the inflight chief also came to apologize and gave
that swarovski gift as a service from Singapore Airlines. Nice, huh?.
SIA is really a first class airlines with a first class service!

　

Satisfying day. Tomorrrow morning we will continue to fly to Manado.
Hope it would be at least as smooth as today.

Damn cough (>.<)

It's been more than a week!!!

I'm tired of taking a rest the whole day yet I must to stop this damn cough getting worse.
This afternoon I went to hospital (again), and there the doctor found out that my old asthma has a role to make this cough getting worse these few days (sigh).
We're leaving to Indonesia in three days and I hate to go on board with this condition. Most of all, I'm afraid I couldn't eat all the food in my "must-be-eaten-list" (which mostly are spicy and hot) to save my throat.
I regularly take the medicine, I have good rest almost the whole day, I keep my neck warm, I drank lemon juice + Indonesian sweet soy sauce (no lime here!), I drank hot ginger drink, even I drank 1/2 cup of tumeric liquid (suggested by my mum this afternoon). Still no sign that this cough will go away soon *desperate*.

Arrgghhhh any other super good idea to cure a sore throat + cough in three days??

Argghhhhhhh

Have a terrible sore throat, my head hammered, and painful muscle all over my body. I believe so does Iki as he also got flu since yesterday. But why did he just want to play (with ME!) the whole day instead of sleeping?!?!

I took some medicine so I also need to have some sleep, but this little boy seemed so healthy playing around with his nose running. I felt to tired and sleepy that I tried to put him into sleep. 1 hour, 2 hour, failed. I took him out on his baby car (usually it worked!), but also failed. He got more excited to play outside. So I brought him back here, let him playing on the living room, and laid down trying to give rest to myself. But he kept coming and pulling me out of bed to play with him.

I put him again on his bed and ignored him, he cried. I thought then he would asleep if I stayed on his bed too. But he didn't. Once I came to his bed, he grinned and started playing again. I left and ignored him again, and he cried again, and grinned back at the second I sit on his bed. It happened again and again that I lost my patience.

So at last I shouted at him, pointing him to sleep on his bed. He was surprised, scared, but laid down. Now it's 3:20 PM. He just felt asleep, but me?

I was too angry that I couldn't close my eyes anymore now. Arghhhhhhhhhh

Seoul one day trip

Well, I did't have a hot date (_ _o). Being too tired drown my mood. Too bad that I blew the only chance we could have to enjoy a personal moment without Iki in Korea. Hiro was a bit mad last night, but then we managad to make it up. Anyway seems that it was the best choice since we had a tiring journey the next day.

Today we went to Seoul. We started in the morning by renting a Jumbo taxi so that everyone could have a big space in the car, and enjoy the journey with a skilled driver. It was much more expensive than using normal taxi, but oh, trust me, I vomitted several times after taking taxi in Korea. They drive like a bemo driver in Surabaya :p

We had lunch soon after we arrived in Seoul. The famous Samgaetang (chicken ginseng soup) at a famous big restaurant nearby Gyengbokgung (one of Seoul's historical tourist attraction). Surprisingly there was a pretty long queue in front of the restaurant. Hiro was a bit complaining already, but I insisted to go in line since we don't have any more lunch option, and it was a very hot afternoon, and I was terribly hungry, and most important was I really wanted to eat that Samgaetang hihihi. The food wes superb as usual, and my parents in law enjoyed it as well. I was even more satisfied when we saw a very very very long queue in front of that restaurant after we finished eating. How lucky we were!



Then we went to Lotte Department. My parents in law wanted to buy some Korean food as souvenirs for their friends. And I used that chance to go to the DFS upstair. There I got my new baby, LOUIS VUITTON WALLET beibehhh!!!! From my parents in law and Hiro as my birthday present this year :p. How I can't wait for our next journey to Indonesia next month, since I could really get that "baby" at Duty Free counter at the airport right before departure!!



After finishing our business there we went to Nandaemun. It's a market selling many kinds of Korean souvenirs and fake branded goods. I bought some Korean souvenirs to bring to Indonesia, and I was really really satisfied with the price I got. I told Hiro not to talk in Japanese and sent my parents in law waiting for me pretty far. There as an Indonesian, and by speaking some Korean words, I could get much cheaper price :p. An Asian woman bought the same thing 1.5 times more expensive no matter how hard she tried to negotiate, and when I gave the seller "confusing" look, she said that I spoke really good Korean. Even better, she put some more free gifts into my plastic bag (might be to shut my mouth up hehehe). I almost forgot the satisfaction of getting a desired price when negotiating during shopping. Oh yeah, shopping orgasm beibehh hahaha



Again it was too hot and too crowded so everybody got tired easily. We decided to go home afterwards. It was only a 6 hours journey but all of us were almost out of battery. Anyway everyone seems enjoyed the journey. Especially ME hehehe (^____^)

A visit

I'd been very busy lately, cleaning up my house. Why? We got a visit. An important visit from the almighty parents in law hahaha.
Yeah, they're here now, sleeping soundlessly in the guest room.
Iki is very happy today to meet his grandparents. He totally forgot me. Spent the whole time playing with An-chan and Jin-chan. He even didn't want to sleep. He cried when I took him from his An-chan and brought him to bed. He finally fell asleep at 11 p.m. The latest ever haha

Since Iki is very happy to play with his grandparents, perhaps tomorrow I could have a date with papa-chan? watching movie would be great, but an hour drinking at a bar is more than OK (^__^)

Nightmare

I woke up in horror with Iki's voice spinning in my head this morning. Mamaaa...mamaaa.
I sat on my bed, and saw Iki standing on his bed. Oh how I felt relieved.

I got a nightmare.
I saw Iki on a bed. A white bed.
He's crying. Loudly. Sadly
Calling mama. Mamaaaa Mamaaa
Calling papa. Papaaa Papaaa
Screaming "itaiiiii, itaiiii*" with his swollen eyes
Trying to reach me. Asking for a hug.
He's crying, crying and crying
He's tied there, on that white bed. Couldn't move.

It's exactly the same view when he just got his operation done last december.

Argggghhhhh I can't see him in that condition anymore
I don't want to
I don't want him to go through it once more time

Yesterday evening Hiro told me: "I made a phone call to Iki's doctor, trying to change the check up time into late september instead of early one. And the doctor said that he wanted to talk a bit more to us since Iki's condition needs to be operated as soon as possible after September check up"

That statement freaked me out. Leading me into that nightmare.



I don't want to see him in that condition again....please, not again...

My first friend

At last, after about 1.5 years living in Korea, I got my first friend.

We met at the park about a month ago. She wanted to practice her English, and I was more than happy to get a friend, so we get along pretty well. Last week she invited me to come to her house, introduced me to Korean households, Korean food, Korean tea, Korea's must be visited places, and I surprisingly enjoyed our conversations (with a help of calculator translator hehehe).

Yesterday I invited her to come to my house. It was the first invitation I made ever since I live in Korea. I mean, my OWN invitation. Because previously there're always Hiro's boss or colleagues coming to our place for dinner (and little drink :p).
I made tiramisu for us, and "baby" tiramisu for the kids (no alcohol); and we enjoyed it with a cup of coffee and some fruits she brought. They loved my tiramisu, and I promised myself to bake them chocolate cake for their next visit :p.

Though I thought that I enjoyed my small circle of life with Hiro and Iki, it's in fact really really nice to have someone else to talk to (though with a help of an electric dictionary). She's Janice, my first ever friend in Korea. The first person who doesn't care about my nationality. The first person who keeps talking to me at the park under the curiosity eyes of other mothers. (But damn, I couldn't remember her Korean name (@_@)!!)

I hope someday.....someday, I would be able to invite my dear friends in Surabaya and made tiramisu for them. Dare to try my food, pals? :p

Thank you

Actually I kno w you'd say that I'm too dru nk to write this.
But I really want tothnk you
NOT ONly for the woderfuyl dinner you prepared
also for the another great year I COUld spend witrh you

Thank you.

For the laugh. love and life that we shar e

What should I do?

Both my brother and sister are doctors now. My brother just got partial scholarship for master education as a thorax surgeon, meanwhile my sister will go to Papua to dedicate her knowledge there. I'm proud of them, and most of all, of my parents. After 1998 economic crisis, we lost almost everything. We're not a rich family. My father is a bemo driver now yet he works really really hard to complete his dream for his children. It was almost impossible. I told my father to stop his ambition. But when he told me that education was the only thing he could give to his children. If he stopped before they're graduated, he would feel that he failed. Failed as a father. I tried to understand and worked 12 hours everyday in Surabaya to support them.

Now they've graduated. Isn't it time for my father to relax now? I thought so, but then my brother told me about that partial scholarship. Well, eventhough "partial", he still needs A LOT of money. Let's say 7000 USD for the first payment with total tuition fee about USD 28,000. Impossible. For Indonesian it's a lot of money. Especially for not a rich family like mine. I told them it would be very difficult.

He's a doctor already. I think it's already a big modal to start earning his future. It's time for my father to take a rest. It's time for my brother to make his own life. If he wanted to study he could work first to collect the money. I talked to him, to my parents, even to my sister. To my surprise they also wanted him to continue his study. No matter how difficult it would be, they will try their best. Even my sister said she would support him as well from what she would earn in Papua. They just need to sell the land in Jakarta, and all the financial problem would be solved.

The thing is, it's not easy to sell a land. How long have they been trying to?! And at the end now they expect me to lend the money.....
I want them to see reality. I want my brother to earn his own life now, not just expecting for helps and miracles to come. So I decided to refuse. Besides Hiro has helped them a lot. I don't have any heart to ask that amount of money from him. He also works hard and wants to enjoy his life. My family problem is not his responsibility. I may sound like a cruel sister, but I believe its for my brother's own sake.

I thought it would stop him. Nope. He's going to go to Papua for a few with my sister to work. He wants to collect as much money as he could to be able to join the class in December. But he hasn't got any news from the hospital in Papua, so what he could do is waiting. Waiting for the news from the hospital and miracle that the land could be sold really fast. My mother will also go to Jakarta next week, to work at a relative's restaurant. Meanwhile my father stays in Manado, working days and nights. So does my sister. They work hard, save money, eat the cheapest food. To collect that impossible amount of money before December. While keep praying and hoping that someone would buy our land in Jakarta.

It breaks my heart.
I live a good life here and I eat the best food. Thinking of my family makes me sad.

Beforehand I planned to go home this summer. I miss them. Terribly. I want to show my little boy to them. But in this kind of situation, I look like a big sister who can spend thousands dollars to come to Manado but doesn't want to help her brother.

What should I do.............??? I can't let this matter out of my mind. I feel like my head is going to explode.

What am I doing?

Life runs so smoothly now. I just have usual exciting routine, taking care of Iki and households, plus some more relaxing time for myself: reading books, watching drama, or simply chatting with my midnight friends: enyo and valens. That's it. Everyday.

Boring? nope. There's little Iki with his new surprises everyday. At least for now I'm enjoying my life.

For short updates of my daily life, I'm using Twitter now. Add me if you're using it too :). It's on my sidebar as well, so follow me at my twitter (^__^)

follow shiefralo at http://twitter.com

What's wrong with my stomach?!?!?!

I couldn't eat Indonesian food recently. Everytime I eat Indonesian food, I would always throw up the whole day. Nasi uduk, sambal terasi, petis, telur dadar, nasi goreng, kerupuk, ayam kalasan, opor ayam, even pisang goreng! Unbelievable!!!!!! The more I tried, the more I felt like there's war inside my stomach, and ended up vomitting. It drives me crazy, and drives Hiro mad.

Why?!?!!??! I love Indonesian food.......(T___________T).

What if I kept vomitting when I go to Indonesia for holiday?! Hiiii thinking of this scared me to death. Going home = eating Indonesian food as much as possible.

What's wrong with my stomach.............? hiks...

PS: Before this story leads into wrong conclusion, FYI, I'm NOT pregnant!

Lovely spring

Spring has come. Sakura has shown its once-a-year beauty. We're lucky that we could see those beautiful trees nearby our apartment, along the main street. A real beauty.



We also have started our small garden at the veranda already. Not much since the temperature is still pretty cold for other plants. I have morning glory flowers in one pot, which have just shown its tiny green leaves yesterday. Two strawberry trees with small flowers blooming already, and one unknown flower that hasn't shown any blooming sign since February *sigh*.



I love this season, andI love this gardening thing, another refreshing from my routine. Give me new little surprise to see every morning :p. Even little Iki also enjoying this new activity.

Damn Expensive Tooth

I got a hole on my left most behind upper tooth. I terribly big one. Actually I knew I had it since I was pregnant. But then the dentist in Surabaya couldn't do anything due to my pregnancy. She asked me to come back after giving birth for that tooth treatment. But then I moved to Korea, and my new busy life here made that tooth forgotten.

Until last week......
When that forgotten unseen tooth started to disturb my life. Yeah, toothache sucks. I'm sure you guys know how it feels that there's no need to describe it :D.

So yesterday afternoon I went to a dentist with Hiro and Iki. I went to this dentist last year to fix a 1 mm diameter hole on my tooth. It costed me 100 USD for that tiny hole so we're pretty worried on how much would it cost this time!

He examined my tooth and explained that I will need root canal treatment. I will have to visit him like 8 times to have my tooth done. One the first treatment he gave damn injection, made me produced a loud long painful scream. Which was felt even more painful as I heard long loud laugh from the waiting room "HUAHAHAHAHAA Iki...Iki...listen to mama. She's screaming like a baby ne......huuhhaahuahahahaha" (@_@). GRRRRRRR

But then he was not laughing anymore as the doctor explained how much the total cost would be. And I was as shocked as him as well. Total cost would be around 600,000 won. Or 600 USD. For a damn single broken tooth. Insurance from Hiro's company would probably cover only 140 USD of treatment fee since the cheapest crown for covering the tooth available in that clinic is not one of those covered by Japanese national insurance. Bah.

As we walked home Hiro announced: "You had better stop snacking chocolate and ice cream!". Eeeeee??? I must live without chocolate....?! (T_T)
And he did prove what he said by eating ice cream BESIDE me while watching drama last night (T_T).....*drooling*

................Damn expensive tooth!!!!!!!!!! !!!

14 Sai no Haha

English translation: 14 Years Old Mother.

Is a Japanese drama I just finished watching last night. Was Japanese drama with highest rating throughout year 2006's drama. I watched the latest episode when I was in Japan last February, got really interested, and asked Hiro to download the full story. Of course no English subtitle, but I can understand!!!

This drama is about a 14 years old junior high school girl, Ichinose Miki, who got pregnant with her boyfriend, Kirino Satoshi (who's 15 years old). Miki was shocked, and so was her family. In addition, Satoshi's mother said bad things about Miki and tried to bring Satoshi out of Japan. A mother who wants to save her son's future.
Miki's family wanted Miki to have abortion. Besides to save Miki's future, also being pregnant in 14 years old age has a pretty high risk. And did Miki have the abortion? No...she couldn't. That pure Miki thought that if she (Miki) is a very important thing for her parents, then the baby inside her body will also be a very important thing for her. She fought for the baby. She insisted to continue her pregnancy and give birth to the baby. She was so stubborn and confident, but her character really swept my tears away.
Miki had to face a lot of consequences for her BRAVE decision, especially after a magazine's reporter found out about this and made the story top news throughout Japan. She was expelled from her school, she lost her bestfriend, her little brother also lost his friends, her father lost his position at the office. Not to mention other people's look everywhere she walked. This pregnancy also gave effect to Satoshi's family. Satoshi's mother lost her job, became almost crazy and tried to kill herself, Satoshi also got mocked by his friends at school. That family at last had to leave their big house and stayed at a very small and dirty apartment.

Society was Miki's enemy, but then at the end society gave her what she needed the most. Support.

She was so young but she could decide such an important thing for her life. She gave chance to that little creature in her body to grow up, be born and alive.

Being a mother, this drama made me think. What if my son did the same? what if I had a daughter and got pregnant at such a young age? How would I face the world? Would I support her?

Miki gave me the answer......(^__^)

Coffee orgasm

All I need are:

• 1 coffee spoon Starbucks coffee powder
• Milk
• Latte cup set
• Shierly-made caramel
• Liquor (amaretto is the best!)
  

Drip the coffee powder with about 80 celcius degree boiled water.
Pour 60 ml milk into latte cup. Heat until about 40-50 celcius degree. Whip well.
Pour the coffee into the cup slowly, then the liquor and caramel. Done.



Best paired with watching downloaded Japanese drama. Hmmmmm.....

So easy to get orgasm. Coffee orgasm (^__^)

"sent with hugs and kisses from Amsterdam"

Hiro brought a small package from our mailbox yesterday afternoon.
"Hey....from Sheila!"

I left my houseworks in a second and jumped taking the box from him. Ella's handwriting brought me into big smile. Waaaa.....when was the last time I saw this?! felt like ages!!!
Looking at the two small packages there made my smile even bigger (^_____^)



Thank you Ella!!!!!!!! Sooooooooooo pretty, and I'm soooooo happy. "Sent with hugs and kisses from Amsterdam" is written behind the nice postcard, and I did feel like got kissed and hugged :).

I really love them. Holland's famous mini windmills, and they're moving when I softly touched them. Reminds me of Amsterdam and my precious memories with my ex-colleagues at CDU there, and now reminds me of my little lovely scatter-box friend, YOU (^_^)

Again, thank you.

Do I look good? heheheh

I'm frustrated

Hahahah... I know...I know....I know what's in your mind. Imoet is complaining again! But it's what a blog for, right? to write down whatever happened, which are accidentally not always happy things :p

I ALWAYS fall asleep whenever I put Iki into sleep every night recently, and wake up after 1 a.m. It drives me mad because I lost time for myself. I have a long personal to-do list, and wake up after 1 a.m makes it all impossible to do. If only I could wake up at 11 p.m, I could have all the time to have my favourite long bath time, I could read blogs and news from my computer, I could upload more stories in my blogs (not only the complaining ones :p), I could study Japanese again (after I found my old language books), I could read novel, I could have more recipes translated. And most important, I could have little talk with Hiro. Oh...I feel like it's been ages not having a real talk with him! Precisely, not talking with ANYONE :(

Well, it's good to have enough sleep on the other hand.....but I lost my personal moments. After the whole day taking care of Iki and households, I desperately need them now.

Why not turning on alarm clock at 11 p.m? I don't want to wake Iki up :p. He's sensitive to alarm clock.

Why not asking Hiro to wake me up? He did until about 1 month ago, and he was always complaining because it's too damn hard to wake me up. Once he got really really mad because I didn't want to wake up and said that he would NEVER wake me up anymore hahahah. Well, my mistake :p.

So now I feel so frustrated. I could have long sleep but I couldn't do my private things. Not even taking a bath before sleeping for I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore until 4.30 a.m if I do that. No refreshing at all for myself now, for really I have no time at all at daytime recently. Iki is very time consuming now hahah

I couldn't even get "good night cuddle" tonight....(_ _o). Hiro didn't want to touch me because for him I'm too dirty without taking a bath before bedtime! Oh, great..... :(

Well...guess I could continue my sleep now after writing all these trash here

Good night, my blog....you're the only one I can talk to now!

Duit

Ngopi dari postingannya Ella yang judulnya "Kenapa?":

Kenapa ya, kadang-kadang orang merasa udah dekeeeeeeet banget sama satu orang, terus berteman deket, merasa sehati sepikir dan saling ngerti satu sama lain, bahkan bisa baca pikiran mereka, udah kayak sodara sendiri... ehhh kalo nyangkut urusan duit, ternyata sama aja ngemplang, melarikan diri, ngilang, sambil ninggalin utang? (*harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia ngilang meninggalkan utang, halahhh*)

Kenapa ya, kadang-kadang orang merasa udah baiiikkk dan sayaaang banget sama satu orang, terus pas udah nggak baik dan nggak sayang lagi, ehhh buntut-buntutnya duit lagi yang jadi masalah, plus ungkat-ungkit masa lalu sampe ke sen-sen dan rincian terkecil? (*lha ya jelas aja, udah ngga baik, ngga sayang, masa masih mau dibelain juga soal duit?? Hahaha*)

Aku mau nambahin daftarnya:
Kenapa ya, kangen orang rumah, tapi saban telpon karena kangen buntut2nya mestiiiiiiii ada masalah duitnya. Duit ini, duit itu, duit begini, duit begitu. Pokoknya intinya minta duit hahahah

Bikin rencana masa depan, lagi-lagi buntutnya gimana ngatur duit
Bikin rencana liburan, lagi-lagi buntutnya gimana biar duitnya cukup
Bikin rencana makan mingguan juga lagi-lagi gimana biar duit jatahnya nyisa

Dari ella lagi:
Kenapa ya,

Ternyata manusia itu...

buntut-buntutnya

duit juga, duit lagi.

Bumi berputar mengelilingi matahari, yeah right.

Human beings revolve around ... duittttt

Karena duit orang bisa senang, bisa sedih, bisa ketawa, bisa kecewa, bisa tega.
Karena duit orang bisa dapat teman, kehilangan teman, disukai sodara, dibenci sodara, dapat jodoh, bisa dapat hidup layak tapi juga bisa kehilangan nyawa.
Karena duit orang bisa dihormati, bisa juga dilecehkan.

Haiyahhh duittttttt
*saking gemesnya barusan ngeremes duit 1000 won* (nominal uang kertas paling cilik di Korea soale hahahaha)

Iki's right ear

Lately Iki seems really uncomfortable with his right ear. He always points cotton buds and asks me to clean his ear. So I always do that to make him feel better. But indeed, he's not getting any better at all.
Once I brought him to the doctor and asked him to check his ear. I didn't dare to put the cotton bud too deep so I thought there must be lots of dirts inside his ear. But the doctor said it was okay. That there's nothing to be worried about his ear.

Day by day Iki is getting more uncomfortable with that ear. He kept rubbing it and pointing the cotton buds. So last 3 days, after bath I tried to clean the ear deeper. Indeed, i got a pretty big dirt. But Iki cried a lot. Since then he never let me clean his right ear yet he kept rubbing it for so many times in a day.

I started to get worried. And so did Hiro.
He looked for information at the internet and baby books about baby's ear treatment, and found one shocking fact.
"BABY'S EAR SHOULD NOT BE CLEANED USING COTTON BUD. IT WILL JUST PUSH THE DIRT DEEPER INTO THE EAR"

What??!?! God....I've been doing it for over a year!!!!! I felt like I lost my power. Can you imagine?! How much dirt would it be inside Iki's ear by now?!

Must go to ear specialist now to clean the dirt, and check Iki's hearing ability. It was saturday night (oh no, midnight!), and I must wait until Monday (T_T). Couldn't sleep the whole night.

What if....hmmmm I don't want to say it here, but I am so worried (_ _o)

Records.....?!

Dapat pe er dari mamanya Ameera nih!!!!
Aku sih gak fanatik musik. Suka ya karena sering dengar aja, dan banyakan gak tau judulnya ama yang nyanyi siapa hahaha. Makanya ini pe er lumayan bikin jidat mengernyit, jadi inget2 pas bikin pe er kimia waktu es em a dulu hihihi

Records that change your life.
Ya ilah......baca titlenya sampe mlongo hahah. Untuk sementara sih belum ada any records yang mengubah hidupku. Paling berubah karena hamil huehueheuhe

Records you've listened more than once.
Wah kalo ini definitely "Grandfather clock"nya Hirai Ken. Lagu kenangan sih. Sampe ribuan kali muter juga gak bosen-bosen. Bahkan dulu waktu diindonesia selama 2 tahun aku pake ring tone lagu ini. Temen2 sampe sumpek :p. Apalagi dibagian lirik lagu yang ada "tick tack..tick tack....". Katanya Jonathan ama enyo (duh kangen ama omelan mereka), sampe terngiang-ngiang di telinga "tick tack...tick tack..."

Records that you just don't understand.
Sama kayak ella, METAL!!!! mati deh kalo denger itu. Gedumbrangan gak jelas.

Records that made you laugh.
TTM-nya Ratu,. Huehehehehehe....enak'e pek :p

Records that made you cry.
Hmmmmmm.......Phantom of the opera. Dulu pas lagi boom di kantor suka dengerin lagu itu, pas kena masalah gede. Halah...biasalag cinta-cintaan. Jadi saban denger lagu itu langsung merinding, termenung, sampe akhirnya nangis :p

Records that creep the hell out of you.
Gyah!! opening songnya sinetron-sinetron horror di indonesia. Inget2 dulu mesti mbak Parti (pembantu kos) nyetel tipi nyuaringgg pas film horror. Bikin aku langsung kabur dari kamarku ke kamar Pei.

Records you wish had never been made.
Hahahaha....gak ada kayaknya. Sesebel2nya ama lagu, kalo gak suka tinggal dimatiin :p

Records that you've just listening.
Lagu anak-anaknya Iki di playlist itunes. Aduuuh tiap hariiiiii kudu denger, nyanyiin sambil joget entah untuk keberapa ratus kali.

Records that you've been meaning to buy or steal.
Banyakan records yang aku baca di cd dari Indonesia ya curian. Alisan hasil donlot ato ngopi dari cdnya temen (yang juga bajakan hihihi)

Makasih pe ernya, mamanya ameera =)). Jadi senyum2 sambil nulis.
Next homework, buat: Pre-chan, Mee, Enyo. and Vanie. Kudu dikerjain loh ya [ngancam mode: ON]

Am 27!

Monday afternoon, when I was doing some houseworks
Hiro: Let's go Seoul and stay at Park Hyatt Hotel. Now...!
Me: eee? now?
Hiro: Un. Aku reserve sekarang ya. How long do you need to get ready?
Me: eee? expensive yo disana!
Hiro: Gak apa-apa. Kita celebrate your birthday.

So last monday we had an early celebration for my birthday. We enjoyed the best hotel in Seoul and had the best food I've ever had in Korea *drooling thinking of those food*. Couldn't take any picture since Hiro said with alarming eyes: "Jangan take foto disini, malu yo!" hahaha, but the memory was carved in my mind. Best of all, I thank God that I could celebrate my birthday with the people I love. No words to describe my feeling that night. Especially when another surprise came. What a perfect dinner, can't help not to cry. Hahaha dasar cengeng :p.



Thanks, Hiro. For taking care of Iki and let me have a great rest and keep surprising me with your always-last-minute plans (^_-).

And yeah, I also got a surprise from Iki. He got diarrhea as we got back home from Seoul, and became very very very VERY clingy ever since (_ _o). Even during his nap and sleeping time (can't believe how sensitive his "mama radar" is!).

Had spaghetti carbonara as my birthday noodle and big bowl of tiramisu to close that day. Both are Shierly-made. Perfect.



I am 27. Already 27. Can't believe how fast time runs. I was still celebrating my 25th birthday in Surabaya with my friends, and then so many things happened. Changed my life upside down. Suddenly now here I am. 27 Years old, a mother, a wife, and still live my life to the fullest.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. By emails, offline messages, chats, friendster testimonials and phone calls. Really really made my day. Completed my 27th birthday.
Mariza (you're the first one), Mee, Valens (waiting forward for the books), Enyo (for the diamond ring huehehe), Yendy, Shantee, Anita, Ekke-chan, Annerie, Cindy, Octa, Tina. Pei (thanks for waking me up, otherwise couldn't have my birthday tiramisu hihihi), Nina (for the happy birthday song, ur voice is still as wonderful as I could remember). Yunita, Ella, Martin (masih curious about u :p) ,Vanie (better late than never hihihi), and Carla (I am so touched, thanks yo!)
Sorry I haven't replied almost all emails and messages. Again, my boy is still having his diarrhea :p

Again, thank you (^______^) *nyengir sampe mulutnya lebaaarr*

Gōngxǐ fācái

Chinese New Year is one of important holidays in Korea since Korean calendar is following this lunar calendar. Gift package sets are now can be found in all supermarket and shopping mall, dominating almost 80% space there. People are going to their hometown to celebrate it. At some places I could see them bringing big luggage in one hand and Hanbok (Korean traditional cloth) in other hand. Hiro got 5 days holiday now, but this time we're not going anywhere.

Missing home, this chinese new year celebration brings me back to my childhood time. Born from a mother whose Indonesian-chinese blood line, I experienced this chinese-Indonesian tradition when I spent my childhood in Banjarmasin. A city where my mother comes from and has almost all her family there. I lived in a big long house where traditionally all the family members are all packed there. Almost 16 cousins were living together.

Chinese new year in my mind was a busy happy time to celebrate. Days before that, our mothers bought us new red clothes for welcoming it. Chinese believe that red is a symbol of happiness so especially during chinese New Year, red color is a must for our new clothes. Early in the morning we would all wake up, got dressed, and rushed to the main room of the big house. There was already a big dining table full of various food in the living room, right in front of the main door. There's "Engkong" (my grandfather)'s black and white picture in the middle, with burnt incents on the left and right side of it. In front of that, all the delicious food were beautifully decorated.

At first my grandmother lit the first incents and prayed in front of the table. After that she put the incents inside that glass standing beside my engkong's picture. After that all her children would do the same ceremony one by one, starting from the eldest. Then we, all the grandchildren got our turn one by one. The table would remain there the whole day, giving chance for any guest who visited us to pray for our grandfather and to wish us a prosperous New Year. Usually at the end of the day, all the children would wait nearby the table until our grandmother cleaned it up. What for? of course for the delicious food and sweets hahahah

After the praying ceremony in the morning, usually the children got the red small envelopes with money inside called ANGPAU from the parents and elderly. As long as I can remember, this was the best part of New Year for us as a kid. We spent the whole day visiting relatives and friends to wish them New Year, and of course....to get more and more Angpau hahaha.

Can't really remember when, but maybe when I was in Junior High my grandmother didn't do the table praying tradition anymore because Catholic church said that it's forbidden. Of course we still did the Angpao hunting :p years after. But I then as I moved to Surabaya to study at a university there, I stopped following the tradition. Chinese New Year for me now is only a childhood memory. I even just knew the real story behind Chinese New Year celebration after reading Ceplas ceplos blog :p

And to all my friends who celebrate this Chinese New Year: May you have a prosperous and a very happy New Year. Gōngxǐ fācái Xīnián kuàilè.

Happy valentine

My small and very simple valentine surprise for my two men:



Our valentine was full of joy and love and hunger hahahaha. The cake was vanished within seconds.

Happy valentine, dear all my friends!!!!!!!!!!!
Whatever has happened in your life, may love be the reason

A break

Yes. A mother needs a break.
Last two weeks I had 2.5 hours manicure and pedicure at a nail salon nearby. I left Iki at home with Hiro. Really felt good. Both because I got my hands and feet done, and I felt relax going away alone. It was the first time, and I got Iki hated me because I left him hahahaha. He cried and didn't want me to hug and feed him, just wanted papa to hold him (>_<).

Then this weekend Hiro reserved a face massage for me at home. A 1.5 hours relaxation in my own living room meanwhile Hiro took care of Iki and brought him out to the park. That massage left my skin freshened, my muscle relaxed, and my brain calmed. I enjoyed it so much and thanks Hiro that I will have this massage twice a month.

And yes. A father also needs a break.
After working and taking care of Iki at home, Hiro definitely needs a break too.
So he also had his nail done, and face massage right after I got massaged hahaha.

This is how we enjoy living in Korea and give a break to ourselves.

New haircut

Oh yeah!! this definitely is one of a must in my to-do-list everytime I go to Japan. Hair dressers in Korea sucks. I got three times experience cutting my hair here and wanted to cry looking at the mirror and saw what they did to my precious hair. Well, maybe not in all over Korea, but three times experience scared me enough to try the forth one.

This time I cut my hair in Yokohama, since I stayed at Hiro's sister house in that city. Going there alone freed my from Hiro's domineering attitude in choosing my hair style hahahahah. Using my extremely broken Japanese, I explained the hair stylist what I expected and asked for her best recommendation.

So now I got my new hair cut, and I loveeeeeee this style so much. It's not as conservative as before (again, there was no Hiro there hehehe). Still short, but modern. Looks sporty and matured at the same time. First word from my mother in law: Kakkoiiii!!!! (KEREN!)

Happy (^__^)

Keluh kesah :p

Ah...lagi pingin nulis sesuatu pake bahasa Indonesia. Tepatnya lagi pengen berkeluh kesah, paling puas ngomel kan pake bahasa sendiriiiii :p

Baru pulang dari Jepang tadi malam. Bawa Iki cek lagi. Wah sedih deh denger hasilnya, tapi keputusan butuh operasi lagi apa enggak nanti awal September. Harus ke Jepang lagi. Rodok kesel seh...selain sekarang Iki di pesawat super nakal, awal September benerannya udah bikin rencana mo ke Indo. Haiyahh. Buyar kabeh rencanaku.

Akhir2 ini kesepian banget. Rasanya terisolir abis2an dari dunia luar. Tiap hari ya ngurusin Iki aja. Temen gak punya disini. Gak nyangka orang2 dilingkunganku tinggal segitu besarnya diskriminasi ke aku. Jadi yah...cuma Iki sama Hiro. Seakrang bahasaku ya jadi bahasa anak-anak kali yah. Abis ngomongnya cuma sama Iki tok. Kalo malam Hiro pulang ya harus fokus ke Iki. Kalo di meja makan, misalnya mama papa ngobrol sendiri, si Iki marah2. Pokoknya harus perhatian full ke Iki. Akhir2 ini kalo nidurin Iki juga aku ikut ketiduran. Bangun2 dah jam 1 malam harus mulai bersih2 dapur. Abis itu ngenet bentar trus tidur. Benerannya pengen ngobrol2 sama Hiro. Tapi Hiro juga sibuk ama hobi komputer sama handphone-nya. Abis dia kerja seharian, pulang masih ngurusin Iki. Kasihan kalo pas dia mau nyantai aku juga nuntut waktunya dia buat aku. Jadi yah....ngalah deh....Tau gak gimana aku sama Hiro komunikasi? banyakan lewat chatting ato sms singkat hahahah *ketawa getir*

Sekarang gak tau mo curhat-curhat sama siapa lagi. Chatting kalo siang juga impossible. Mana boleh ama mr. Iki?! Bisanya online malam, tapi temen2 gak ada yang online hahah. Kapan hari masih bisa nelpon2 murah pakai Skype. Tapi barusan tariffnya Skype berubah, jadi mahal. Jadi kalo nelpon2 diomelin :p. Jadi sekarang chatting gak bisa, nelpon ya cuma nelpon mama. Ngobrol juga gak bisa. Bener2 tinggal sama Iki lah bisa ngomong. Bener2 kesepian. Bener2 kerasa sendiri.

Akibatnya? jadi frustasi sendiri. Emosi susah di kontrol. Tapi ya itu tadi. Lagi2 gak tau mau disalurkan dimana. Jadi ditekan kuat2 didada. Kadang2 sampe rasanya sesak napas hahaha

Udah ah keluh kesahnya. Masih harus bongkar koper ama bersih-bersih. Abis ngomel gini aku kerasa enakan gak yaaaa :p

Eating with "eyes"

Hiro always says and STRESSES that Japanese people eat with their "eyes". That's why in Japan all the food I've ever seen were beautifully decorated (including home dining!). Besides the taste, appearance is one important thing to present a meal. This is especially a mother's job, to satisfy both the eyes and the stomaches of the whole family member.

Therefore I also have to do the same to Iki since a very young age. Ever since he started his first food, I already tried to present it as interesting as I could. Well, I can say that I am one of the most unartistic person in this world. I have to prepare beautiful meal yet I don't have "beautiful" eyes. So instead of preparing beautiful food, I give Iki "eye-catching" food. Oh trust me, it really takes time since I'm still not used to do this. Anyway it's decorated and he got interested on it, right? hahahaha

But I guess my "eyes" are getting better? :p

Mama's food

I am so happy that I want to cry!!!!
Got a package from my mom. A box full of my home-made (mom-made for exact!) Indonesian food and some important Indonesian spices.

From dried Indonesian chillies, fresh ones, lemon grasses, sambal goreng tempe, not-too-hot salted fish (my mom said so that Hiro can eat it as well....but for me it's HOT hahaha), super hot salted fish, dried Indonesian lime leaves, dried kemangi leaves and my grandma's recipe's pork sate sauce. She knew exactly what to send to make me got this food orgasm hahaha

I feel like eating at home now, as I never thought I would be able to eat all these food in Korea.

No matter how delicious the food I've eaten all these time (or even I've cooked myself), I always and will always miss my mom's food. It's the taste that I could never find anywhere but from my mom's kitchen.

Not only the food hehehe....I miss you also, mama....

New Year

Time runs so fast, huh...
It's new year again tomorrow. It's 2007. It's no longer 2006!

Today, on the last day of 2006, we celebrate Iki's first birthday. I baked cake and was so happy that everyone loved it.



And now, as the clock ticking slpwly, leaving 2006, I am thinking of what I am now. Some scenes of my life this year flashed back and forth. What had happened, and what can be predicted would happen. Some brought me into smile, some into tears, and some into laugh. But most of all, I realised 1 important thing tonight.

That since last new year; after Iki was born, for exact; I am no longer Shierly. I am a mother. JUST a mother. Not a Shierly anymore. Not a woman anymore.

Just a mother.

I've got to "kill" Shierly and woman in me, since they have wants and needs that're not suitable for a role as a mother.

I'll be a better mother. That's it. My only new year's resolution.

Happy new year, everyone. I wish you a wonderful prosperous year and a never ending happiness (^__^)

Our first Christmas

I made lots of plans for our first Christmas.
I wanted it to be unforgetable, with georgous food, cakes, wine, and laughter.

But Iki was sick!!!
His flu was getting worse. Harder cough, runny nose, and over 38.5 Celcius degree fever. He felt so bad so he just wanted a hug, or a companion while weakly playing on the floor :(

My heart sank. Both seeing my boy sick, and thinking of my broken-into-pieces plan. But as we put Iki into sleep last night, Hiro said that this is the best first christmas. That we're all together. All the good thing can be postponed. After Iki recovered, we will celebrate Christmas, Iki's birthday and New year altogether.

Indeed he's right. Being together is the best. Perhaps Iki also wanted to celebrate his first christmas this way. Being clingy to his mama and papa, spending the whole day inside his parents' arms.

And I wish all my friends Merry Christmas. Hope you also had an unforgetable moments this christmas. May all the Joy brings you a great New Year (^____^)

Just read Hiro's blog in weird Indonesian about our first Christmas. Terharu deh :p

Tadaima....!!

Read: Aku sudah pulang...!!
(As translated in Doraemon series).

Yes, we're home (^___^)
Last friday Iki's tube was removed already. What a strong boy. I'm so proud of this little monster.

He got a bad cough now, so it was not an easy journey at all to go back to Korea. I brought 3 luggages with me, so I had to tied Iki at the cart like a dog when I had to take my luggages from the luggage belt. Everyone around was looking at me as if I were a terrible mother, but no one had any heart to give me a hand. Blah!

Anyway it was such a big relief to see Hiro waiting outside.
We're home, Iki. We're home....!!

As we went out, Hiro rushed hugging Iki: "Okaeri Ikiiiiiiiii"

And Iki?!
He looked at Hiro as if he's a perfect stranger, and...HUAAAAAAAAAAAAA (>__<). He cried panicly. Poor papa-chan :p

Out of hospital

At last I got the chance to write something here...

Last Thursday Iki was out of hospital already. Only 2 days after operation??? I was as surprised as you. But seems that home is the best place for Iki to get well. Hospital's circumstances doesn't support baby mentally hahaha.

We stay at Hiro's sister house instead of my parents' in law's. It's closer to the hospital. However, I must sleep with my mother in law. Hiks...godd byw privacy. I can't even get the chance to scratch my back using coin on the bed as well as spending my free time at night chatting. So guys, if you see my online mark but didn't give any reply to ur messages, it's because I couldn't. I'm so sorry.
But anyway Iki is really happy because his cousins here love to play with him. He plays a lot, he eats a lot, he is getting better. He rarely cries. Only during diaper change, tube cleaning and stool cleaning for he feels painful.

Yesterday I brought Iki to the hospital. Doctor said he's good, just a small stitch opening problem. But generally after the tube will be removed this friday (hope no more problem occurs), we can go back to Korea as planned on 24th.

Thank you for the supports, emails and instant messages friends....Sorry I haven't got the chance to drop you any replies.

Room 4203, 20:01 p.m

I laid beside Iki and let him fell asleep inside my arm. His cheeks and eyelashes are still wet of tears, but his regular breathing sound comforts me. It was such a hard day for him.

Iki was taken into the operation room at 7:45 a.m, left me and Hiro in front of the door. Waiting is sucks, especially in front of that red operation room. I can't stop watching that sliding door, expecting doctor's familiar face would pop up with great news.

The operation took 4.5 hours, plus minus 30 minutes anestheasy time before and after operation. So we waited for 5.5 hours in front of operation room. Thanks God....it's finished!!! Iki now must face the post operation pain, but I will take a good care for him.

Iki cried most of the time after that. Tightly tied on the bed, tired, pain mixed up. He terribly wants a hug but he must not move for at least 36 hours. Poor Iki....I want to save him....

Lucky he still ate and had milk a lot. More than I had expected. He's now fighting with hbis pain but I believe my boy will be able to manage!!!

First day

Today is Iki's first day at the hospital.
He is such a good boy during this trip to Japan. He rarely cried, he enjoyed playing with his grandparents and he ate really really a lot.

Also today in the hospital he made me proud of being such a sweet good baby. He looked happy and enjoyed his stay (because there're lots of toys in the playroom or because the nurses are ppretty?!). He ate a lot as well, and slept early. Perhaps he wanted to give his mama and papa chance to have a dinner date? heheeh

And tonight....
Is my first night sleeping without Iki.
I wonder if he sleeps well.
I wonder what if he woke up midnight and found no mama around?
I can't wait for the sun to rise so that I can meet him again.

I terribly miss him now.......

Thanks!

This afternoon I got a package from Indonesia.
Batik and blangkon as early christmas gifts for me and Iki from Uti, birthday present for Iki (interesting story books and DANGDUT CD!!! hahaha) from Emmy, Excellogix photos' CD from Boo, and my favourite Clara NG's novels.

Really really thanks. I am so happy, and so is Iki. I want to write more. I do. But I've got to continue packing since tomorrow (oh no! this morning!) we're leaving to Japan.

Miss you, guys. Again, Thanks!

Abon cakalang pedas

Last week I got package from my mother. Most of all, I was very very happy to see a big pot of abon cakalang pedas (hot dry-fried skipjack tuna). It's like a TREASURE for me.

So almost everyday last week I add some of my abon in my lunch. Got terrible stomach pain at the first days since my stomach is not getting used to "very spicy" food anymore. But thanks, mama. This food reminds me of home. And this probably is the only favourite food my mother can send me since other food have quite a strong smell (T_T).

Look at the abon pedas onigiri I made for my lunch :p. Eating Indonesian food in Japanese style hahaha. Well, it was good!

Snow

This morning as I opened the curtain I saw thin white snow covered the city.
Beautiful....first snow of this winter.



It would be very cold outside. I remember last year I slipped many times walking on the ice.
And as I'm typing this, the snow is falling again outside. A quite heavy one.
It's been cold these past two weeks, but today as I saw this snow, I got this strong feeling that "winter has really come"

Indonesian traditional medication

Hiro DID NOT believe Indonesian traditional medication. He always said that I did stupid things scratching my back using coins, that I used stupid dirty black paste on my body and drank disgusting drinks after I gave birth, that I used smelly oil (telon oil or kayuputih oil) as warming oil or massage oil, and that I took smelly tablets whenever I caught a cold.

But In fact, he must admit that all of those medications works best in this house.

I used Indonesian traditional medication to cure myself after giving birth.



The result?!
I got 7 kgs weight reduced a week after delivering a baby, and within 3 months I got my normal body weight back. Without any food diet since I was breastfeeding at that time. I also got no stretchmarks at all. OK, for body shaping I wore wacoal's garter he bought in Japan, but I believed the Indonesian traditional medicine helped a lot.

Indonesian warming oil works best for me. Hiro never used it, fine. But this so called smelly oil also works for Iki. If he got constipated and stomachache, I just applied some oil on his stomach and voila!! he can finish his stool business ;-).

And now? still Hiro doesn't believe Indonesian traditional medication?!
HOHOHO

Once he got all his body painful, I insisted scratching his back with coin. He felt much much better right after that.

These two weeks Hiro got flu. And yesterday he got fever and felt very bad. I made him drink ANTANGIN I my mother just sent me. Of course he did complain when he took the medicine. That it was so smelly, that the more he drank the more he can feel the smell, that the medicine left yucky taste in his throat bla bla bla... BUT....He got his flu fully recovered!



Still don't believe Indonesian traditional medication? (^_-)

Going to Seoul

Last Saturday we went to Seoul. Actually we only wanted to go to Duty Free Shop in Lotte Department Store and then directly go to wedding party, but at the end we couldn't manage to arrive at the reception on time, so we just decided to stay in Seoul.

Christmas decorations can already be seen. Iki was very happy, pointing here and there, screaming and laughing.



I couldn't find what I want in DFS, so after getting Louis Vuitton bag for Hiro's sister, we went for a short walk in Myeongdong.
Now Iki likes to explore all places. He doesn't want to sit quietly on my lap anymore. So most likely in restaurant, he always disturbs us by crawling around (@_@). So either Hiro or I must watch him closely.


crawling in starbucks

I don't know if this is right or wrong, but we let him do what he wants as long as it's not dangerous. Of course he becomes dirty and invites other people's curious eyes. But he's very happy and active and satisfied!

After Hiro got a new handphone (again) for him, we went back to Incheon.

The trip was exhausting, but when I looked how happy was Iki and Hiro, it's not a tiring day anymore (^_^)

Handphones in our house

Hiro is soooo crazy about technology. He can spend hours in front of computer reading information about latest technology on earth, spend nights setting all computers in our house (there're 5 here), and now setting mobile phones.

Sometimes I just can't understand. For me, 1 computer and 1 handphone is more than enough. But for Hiro?!

Look at the handphones in this house:



8 Handphones!!!
And I'm afraid the number will increase as technology is a never ending process (@_@)

Durian

Today when we went shopping I screamed as I saw big durian displayed in the supermarket.
Waaaaa durian! durian! durian!! Durian in Korea!!!!



But then I screamed louder as I saw the price:



WTF!!! 110,000 Won = 110 USD = 1.000.000 Rupiah!!!!
My mind was like: "Ancik!!! Durian sejuta pekkk!!!"
Though I wanted it badly, OF COURSE....I didn't buy it (T_T)

Ofuro

According to Wikipedia, ofuro is a type of bathtub commonly used in Japan. Ofuro are part of a Japanese ritual of bathing. They are not used for washing but for relaxing. Washing is carried out separately outside the ofuro. The water is usually approximately 39 to 40 degrees Celsius.

Ella's comment on my previous post inspired me to write about this Japanese ritual that i still find hard to do in JAPAN.
In Japan only? in JAPANESE HOUSES for precise. I can enjoy hot tub bath in my own house, or hotels, but not in Japanese houses. No matter in whose housewas. If I stayed in my parents in law's house, my mother in law always reminded me EVERYNIGHT to get into ofuro. That also Iki-chan MUST be put into ofuro. She said that Iki's a Japanese and that he must get used to this habit (meanwhile I put Iki into ofuro more for "cold temperature" reason). Sometimes to make her satisfied I said "yes" but just took a "long" hot shower instead (well, she wouldn't know if I really get into ofuro or not, right? :p)

Why?

In Japan, everybody in a house gets into the ofuro everynight, using the same water. Yes...same water. They install kind of device that can keep the temperature as wished (usually around 40-41 degree Celcius) so that everyone can use the water in warm condition. But still, THE SAME WATER. Before getting into the tub, one must take shower first, to clean their body perfectly so that the ofuro will remind clean when they get into it. SAME WATER?! :p

Yeah, right. SAME WATER matters here for me. I don't have to explain it here, but I guess you can guess what I mean. I can't share same water for bath. Well, definitely OK sharing it with mu husband and son, but not with other people. It about something private.

Honestly I feel like becoming dirty again after getting into ofuro hehehhe. Well...SAME WATER!!
One example, once when I was inside ofuro and looked into the water around me, accidentally I captured 'hair' right in front of my nose. I jumped out in a second!

But I guess next month I can't get rid of ofuro. It's winter and would be very cold there (T_T).

I think I'll just take another shower to clean my body again after getting out of ofuro :P.

Christmas tree

It's still November but I already got the mood to decorate my christmas tree hehehe.
This time I put it in veranda to avoid Iki's little hand's touch there. From downstair, I can see our aparment is decorated with colorful lights at night, though I can't see the tree from there :p.

Hope next month Iki and I can manage to go back to Korea on time so that we can spend Christmas together with papa-chan at home (^__^) ===> My Christmas wish hehehe

My smartphone, my smart friend

I will spend almost the whole next month in Japan. To let me stay connected with the world (I'll stay isolated at my in parents in law's house), Hiro bought me this smartphone: HTC X01HT



A palm size phone with lots of features:

Network	GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900 / WCDMA
Dimensions	58 × 112.5 × 21.95 mm
Weight in g	176
SAR in W/kg
Display Type	TFT
Display Size	240 × 320
Touchscreen	Yes
Memory in MB	64MB SDRAM ;128MB ROM
Card Slot	mini SD Slot
Connectivity	Bluetooth IrDA USB WLAN
Flight Mode	No
inbuilt Handsfree	No
Messaging	SMS MMS Mail
Videocall	No
Camera	2MP
Audio	poly Ringtone
Applications	Sync Java Games
others	Windows Mobile 5.0
Standby/ Talktime	250/3h
Office Applications	Calendar Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook)

How much? For 2 years contract, we have to pay 0 Yen. Yes, true. "0" = zero = free!!
It was locked only for Japanese softbank's SIM CARD, but Hiro successfully unlocked it. So Now I can use it as a phone anywhere in the world, except Korea.

I can use this device as a phone (of course!) and organizer. And also most important that I can use the internet for 2 months for free. We had to buy Agile Messenger software so that I can chat with my friends for 15 euro, but it worthed.
And most of all... it uses windows mobile so I can install skype there and make a mobile phone call to anywhere in the world for a very cheap price. Nice, huh?

I'm sorry, my boy......

Last monday I took Iki to hospital for final check up before operation. This time I travelled to Japan without Hiro so I drove whole my in laws family worried. They were afraid if I couldn't reach the hospital. If Iki was crying, If I couldn't get seat in the train because it was Japan's rush hour, if I couldn't get taxi and so on and so on. I assured them that I would be OK, that I'd travelled all the way from Korea to Japan only with Iki, so they shouldn't be worried that much.

And indeed they shouldn't. The journey to the hospital was surprisingly smooth. I got seat in the train, I got taxi soon after I went off the station, and so as the journey back. God really blessed me (^__^).
Iki was also such a good boy. More than a half way in the train to the hospital he was really a quiet boy. A beautiful young woman was standing in front of us and he just sat nicely while watching her :p. And on the way back home, he slept well the whole journey.

But as we arrived at the hospital, he became very naughty. Taking out all the stuffs from my big bag and throwing them away to the floor, pulling people's hair sitting behind us, screaming and crying if he couldn't get what he want. We still had to wait for 1 hour there so I felt so fed up trying to calm him down.

But then as we entered the doctor's room and Iki had to start his examinations and health tests there, I felt so helpless watching. Iki cried cried and cried. I could feel that he felt so painful from his cries. He cried until he became very weak and had no power. Just stared at me, squeaking helplessly. His eyes were asking me to help him.
During his 3.5 hours examinations. I didn't see him smiling at all. All were tears.

When we're home. He didn't want anyone taking him from me at all. He was just there inside my arm, hugging me tightly. I knew he was trauma. Whenever someone took him from me in the hospital, he would be in pain.

My heart broke. I wanted to but I couldn't cry. In front of him I must smile and be strong. For they were the only supports I could give him.

I felt guilty that he had to get through all of that pains. It was not even the operations yet. And was not the post-operations pain that according to doctor would make him suffering.

I felt guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
It was all because of me. It was because I didn't take much care of myself during my pregnancy that I had to give birth to him prematurely.
If only I let him stayed inside me until all of him perfectly developed.
If only....if only.....

And now as I'm watching him sleeping, I want to tell him that if possible I want to take all the pains from him. That I want to lay on the operation table for him.
That I am so sorry.......

Sudden cold

Last couple of weeks the weather was still really really friendly here. Let's say it was still about 20-23 degree at the highest. Korean news said that it was the warmest October since 1973. I still enjoyed lots of outdoor activities with Iki.

But yesterday, the temperature suddenly dropped. It was 5 degree celcius at the highest, and this morning it was -1 degree celcius. Eastern part of Korean peninsula even had heavy snowfall yesterday.

What an extreme weather (>_<).

So....I guess we have to welcome this sudden winter. Time to wear my new coat then :p

Refreshing

Following up some comments on my previous post about being too tired, I planned to have 2 hours refreshing this weekend.
Going to nail salon was on my top list. So after shopping and finishing some houseworks, I was thinking to go out alone.
But then after all the works done, and Hiro brought Iki out to the park, I can't resist not to lay on the bed. Especially when suddenly total silence came into the house and I found myself alone. All alone in my house.
So I did have my resfreshing. 2 hours nap instead of going out alone =)).
At first I thought that my "refreshing" means going out alone and have some time away from all the works at home. It's not true, huh? :p. Sleeping can be a great refresher as well. Nap is something I can't do on weekdays anyway :p.

I feel good now. Ready for another "challenging" week with Iki (^_-)!

Custom made shoes

I have small feet that it's very difficult for me to find shoes at the right size. When I was in Indonesia, though not easy, the possibility to find one was not as difficult as trying to find one in Japan. Especially women's shoes. Last year I had to buy shoes at the children corner -with children's style (@_@).

I was in a need of new pair of shoes. As guessed, it was difficult to find simple shoes of my size. We almost gave up that I was thinking to buy any low first heels shoes with my size we could find, until I found this pair of shoes. Simple yet elegant. Suitable for various occasions. But again....the smallest size was too big for me.

Surprisingly the shopkeeper said that I could order my size's shoes, and would be ready in a week. At first we just thought that the smaller size stocks will come in a week, but he asked me to open my shoes and measured my feet. OH!!! I was surprised and happy. Shoes of my size!!!



One English speaking customer then explained to us, that in all Korean's Department Stores we can find these order made shoes shops' counters. Really good for people whose feet are too small or too big, right *wink*

That pair of simple order made shoes costs us 138,600 won after 30% discounts (about 140 USD). Hmmmm I hope the quality won't be dissapointing :p