Night and Day

The sun was just setting.
Welcome to summer sunshine time, when days stretch and suddenly I go into panic mode when it gets dark (and realised it would be way past normal dinner time.)

Here's another A-Z meme, albeit looser in format than the one I did last year.

Each player starts with some random facts/habits about himself/herself. As you are tagged you need to post the rules and your responses on your own blog. At the end of your post, you need to choose some people to tag, list their names and, of course, leave them a comment, telling they have been tagged and they need to read your blog for more information.

A: arsenic. I've come across this word quite a few times in the past 48 hours...

B: Brenda. Was manager when I worked at Baku. Surprisingly, I still remember her mobile number out of heart.

C: Cillit Bang. My new best friend in cleaning, ...second best to be exact.

D: Denim. Anyone interested in some?

E: Extravagant. A crazy, shopaholic side of me that rarely appears but is dangerous and potentially destructive when it does.

F: Fried onions. They caramelise (and it was part of lunch.)

G: "Gem, ini warna apa?" A question some graphic design-trained friend finds annoying.

H: Hosny. Sister's husband-to-be, so that makes him... brother-in-law-to-be. He's got other pet names too.

I: Iris. Is it supposed to be purple in colour, blue or what?! Oh, and a beautiful part of human eyes to behold, albeit tricky to draw.

J: Jif. Favourite brand of cleaning liquid product (just did a thorough clean-up hence the multiple domestic references.)

K: KY. Interesting if not moodily fluctuative, and a good friend. Yes, that's a nickname. Yes, people double-take it.

L: Lonely. Home alone I am, lonely I am not.

M: Marsha Marsha Marsha. A cousin of mine always write her name three times whenever she's trying out a new pen (yes Rez that's you), so this is my shoddy bloggy take on it.

N: Night and Day. The Depapepe song playing at the moment.

O: Onions. They worsen the occurence of flatulence.

P: Perseverance. Next thing on the list of characters to tackle.

Q: Quantum. Hey, I don't want to answer 'question' or 'quasar'! Plus, a designer based in London used it as inspiration for his A/W08 collection.

R: Russia. It's on my top five places to travel to.

S: Satin ribbon. Me + satin ribbon = inseparable.

T: Television. "Television is a medium - it is neither rare nor well-done."

U: Uniform. I have a fascination for sailor-style girl uniforms, but from photographs I've seen so far... they're either badly cut or on verge of extinction (hail blazers! or so Japanese high schools thought... maybe.)

V: Vivisection. The word sounds nice to ears... until the brain decodes what it means.

W: Wii. Simply t3h gaming platform of choice. Maybe Nintendo can do Wii body pods for full-on physical gaming interaction?

X: X marks the area. To trim away excess fabric surface, pivot darts etc etc.

Y: Yawn. The air is nice for napping... ooooh this is not where I want to head or what I want to accomplish!!

Z: Zephyr. Another nice word I looked up in the dictionnary many years ago.

...it's done.
I'm tagging ayahshiva, calad, devi, harph and nophee (see ramblings bar on right hand side.) Back to work for me!

Take care ^__^

(am I ranting or what?!)

I was looking at a few articles on a rather contemptious topic to discuss (i.e. one related to the blocking of several user-generated content sites). In particular, I'm referring to the Xenophobic and Commander parts of avianto's post. Here they come.

"Indonesians are one of the most xenophobic and racist people in the world."
Of course not. Some of us are normal.
We merely ask from which part of the country people come from.
We revel in gushing to others where we come from.
We think it's great knowing people from different ethnic groups, but when it comes to inter-ethnic marriages we just think that's too far-fetched.
We think fair colouring is solely and purely because of non-indigenous gene mix.
We're always curious to know how much genes 'belong' to certain groups of distinct ethnicity.

Humans are prone to creatively using prejudice to pad out bits of information they lack in decision-making, and they furnish the lacking bits a tad too well (I'm still prone to this.) To make it worse, the world is locked in some sort of mental argumentative state where being able to defeat or demean an opposing party is a quality highly touted, despite best efforts to dress the shallowness of concepts in eloquent words (I'm prone to this, too.) We prejudice too much, shut our eyes and ears and minds too often, and revel in getting things done one way *with a stomp* and not the other.
Anyone can be xenophobic and racist, Indonesian or not.

Keep your eyes open for things that dispel preconceived, it-should-work-this-way ideas. Simply keep your senses peeled, just in case your eyes fail you. And if they still fail you? ...I don't know. I just hope a divine Somebody knocks me out of the road to metaphorical sensory failure.

Why not look at other ways of solving problems, and more importantly keep eyes fixed on the main aim of pursuing a particular project? As I learn today, there are three different ways to put together a particular sleeve opening that looks exactly the same on the inside and outside. Just think about how many ways could really be done if only the outside needs to look the same, or if the sleeve ovening simply needs to function a certain way.

...I could probably write a book out of prejudices thrown at me, and make money out of it. That is not bad at all, hee hee ^__^

P.S. for bookhunting, look at this one and that one. Enjoy!

(mad hatter)

Here's a fun video to watch... enjoy!

Striking imagery. Can't help but wonder why RCA millinery graduates have plenty of the wild side in them... look here too for more crazed imagery.

(plonking orgy)

The list of CDs-to-buy-in-Japan had just gotten longer.
Depapepe is in the list.

Highly recommended songs/items are Night and Day, Summer Parade, Pachelbel's Canon, Over the Sea, Sky!Sky!Sky, Wake Up! and Snow Dance. I'm sure you'd have your own pick, so take your leisure in listening to whatever catches your fancy.

No, I haven't got any fixed plans to go to Japan, but anyway...

(eggy goodness)

I love good food.

However, one of the last things I would do is to slave away for one-and-a-half hours in the kitchen to prepare a meal at the end of a long day. I'd like to share a nifty recipe for a quick and quite nutritionally balanced dish, one that I learnt on my first few days studying away from home... thanks to dad (I modified it, though.) It's suitable for vegetarians - sorry vegans, haven't quite worked out how it'd be for you folks. The best thing about it is: it doesn't involve any cooking pans' washing-up afterwards.
So let's get started!

One-bowl egg wonder

1 decent-sized egg (chicken, duck's, geese... but not quail's!)
A handful of thinly sliced/chopped soft vegetables
Salt, pepper, seasonings...
Optional frankfurter or sausages, finely sliced or chopped
Steamed rice or noodles, to serve


Get yourself a microwave-proof bowl or deep (but small) dish
Something made out of ceramic or pyrex works wonders; try not to use melamine or plastic and steer clear from metal dishes.

Layer/arrange the vegetables on bottom of bowl
Season lightly, as you will season the dish again towards the end.

Crack the egg open
If preferred, the egg can be beaten up prior to being poured into the bowl, but I usually find it unjustified to soil a perfectly fine and clean bowl. Try to distribute the egg evenly. Season lightly. If you choose the sunny-side-up method, remember to prick the yolk... I will not be held responsible for protein time-bombs in microwaves! ;)

Layer/sprinkle the optional meaty stuff
Arrange it as well as you can... this is the stuff you will see sitting on your table (or served to guests), so at least it looked like you made some effort to prepare it. Plus, it saves you from having to clean any accidental spatters from the microwave later on.

Microwave time!
Microwave on high for 60-90 seconds. Check, then continue heating for another minute if you like your egg well-done. Don't be tempted to do the microwaving in one shot. The break is important for two things: to prevent heat build-up and to check how your dish is cooking.

In the meantime...
Serve rice or noodles in another bowl, top with any fancy toppings you want, wash the knife and cutting board, wait till microwave says 'ding' (the bowl can be very hot.) Enjoy!


Notes:
- you can be truly lazy and pop your rice on the bottom of bowl (before veg)
- if you decide to pop your rice in with everything else, make sure you coat your dish in clean water to prevent rice from sticking and giving you a hard time at washing-up... since your aim would be to cut down on prep/clean-up time
- use sliced shiitake mushrooms, beat the egg(s) and steam the dish... you'll end up with a chawan mushi
- stick to soft vegetables... this means things like tomatoes, onions, peppers/capsicums, mushrooms, cucumbers, broccoli, mange-touts and leafy greens. Stay clear from root vegetables as they are prone to undercooking and you'll have to peel them too!
- topping tips: nori, spring onions, pickles, cheese...?
- I don't coat/spray my microwaving bowl with oil, but you can do so if that's your fancy
- experiment with different seasonings to achieve different flavours... yes, it can be fun :)) (my basic ones are good-quality salt and pepper)


Anyway, that's all... I've enjoyed today's experiment with duck's eggs. I only have had the green salted ones before... and I've never expected them to be so big and with such translucent shells!


Have a nice day, and bon appetit ^__^

(dA reactivated)

After neglecting it for a few years, I'm back on dA with a [pseudo-]vengeance.

Needless to say, the link is listed on the usual spot... so enjoy :D

(some 10 years ago)

It has been a while since then (and from its anniversary too), so maybe now is a good time to share something about it.

It was the Tuesday after a long week-end, and I was feeling lethargically lazy.
A few days earlier we had dinner to celebrate my dad's not-quite-golden birthday (enough reason for a proper meal out) at a very fancy restaurant... my first brush with nouvelle cuisine. The day after his birthday (which was my sister's - she was in Melbourne by herself back then) I went for white water rafting with my mum, fell into the rapids and got out unhurt with the exception of a scrape on my knee. The nice long weekend ended and I had to go back to my uncle's, at whose house I was staying "to improve discipline"... or so according to my mum. My uncle's house was located in a housing area behind Ciputra mall. So, two days into the week and headed for an English lesson, I sulked whilst getting trapped in a traffic jam resulting from a demo: short for demonstration. It was sometime after 2PM.

Getting back to my uncle's after the English lesson was even harder than getting out of it and (whilst on the car) I started thinking that maybeeeee I should have skipped the lesson altogether. I was sure the driver wasn't pleased with the traffic conditions either, and thought that each of us wouldn't have had to put up with the extraordinarily long rides. Anyway, I got to my uncle's, had dinner, and heard something on the TV about some demo turning sour with some police or military people getting their hands into it to stop people from 'demonstrating' (wow, I thought university students had a lot of free time on their hands, that was cool.) Couldn't remember much for the rest of day, except that it was rather uneventful..

The next day, we went to school on an unusually deserted route. We usually went off early in the morning anyway (as my cousin had a penchant for sitting in class half an hour before school started), but the emptiness was unusual. We got to school and got told to go back home. I was secretly happy with the extra day off.

The day was spent sitting on front of the TV. My uncle went in and out to plan out security measures, barricades etc with the menfolk of the housing complex. I went to bed after being briefed by my room-sharing cousin on some things about 'security', and that I should wake up when a metal clanging noise (i.e. makeshift alarm) was sounded. I think we were supposed to pick a thing for self-defense... I chose my colour guard's flag baton, sans flag.

When the makeshift alarm was sounded that night, I slept like a log.
My cousin swore that she would've left me if I didn't wake up.
So I thought, "okay... it's getting serious."

The next few days came in and out in a blur.

Another night with one or two makeshift alarms, and I woke up pronto this time around. I got used to the drill. I gripped the flag baton so hard I could feel my nails digging into flesh. I made up fictional scenarios of what might happen and rehearsed silently in my head how I would react to each of them. I huddled close to my girl cousins and the house maids, dreading every noise made and hoping that the rioters would come to their senses and morning would come and this hulabaloo would end, and that everybody will go back to school and work and do what they're supposed to do and come back home with a happy face.

My uncle's driveway/open garage was turned into a neighbourhood watchers' relaxation point, replete with drinks and small snacks. I got introduced to a man around his age... my dad's friend/acquaintance at uni apparently, who lived just a few doors down, who had a child my age who was busy playing his (or her? excuse lack of gender indicator in Indonesian) gaming console back home. My room-sharing cousin told me about his private physics/maths tutor (living in a nearly housing complex) who tested home-made bombs contained within glass bottles by throwing one on an asphalt road. I can't recall what exactly she said about the experiment's result: only that the glass bottle broke upon contact, some chemical reactions happened, and that nobody should mess with this tutor guy.

A few days later, I got picked up or sent off to my parents' on the other side of town. Remembered going to my dad's office in central Jakarta (deserted but thankfully intact) and the flurry of instructions my mum left to the building keeper/watcher. Rode back home with both parents in the same car. Got told to 'pack some clothes' whilst my parents debated on the plus and cons of staying in the Regent, flying out or staying put. I congratulated myself for having studied Melbourne's public transport system for the past year or so.

Needless to say, by my fourteenth birthday in early June I was back at my uncle's.
In light of the events that unfolded, and maybe due to my sister's contemplation that moving out earlier "might be a better experience for Marsha", my parents decided to send me off to study halfway through third year of junior high.

I do not have an impressively unusual brush with the May 1998 riots, nor do I directly and substantially suffer because of it. However, I still shudder at the mention of it - how civilised humans could turn against each other and do onto others what they would never do onto themselves. I'm not strictly talking about the ensuing riots here; I'm also referring to events leading up to these riots.

I still cannot look at images of the riots and not have the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I can't stand reading or hearing testimonies from riot victims or their family members. The riots were horrific; it feels wrong and I don't like it at all.

Put others before oneself and put oneself into others' shoes, and the world will be a better place.

Good night :))

(reflecting last post)

Hello!
I submitted my essay: one down, two (three? four?) projects to go.

Re-reading the previous post, I recalled a cardinal rule of thinking:
there are two sides to a story
(at least.)

These quotes may also sum up the mundanes of everyday dressing, and could be whittled down to simple phenomenons dressed up in anthropological academic speak. They could also be verbal manifestations of the day-to-day significance of appearing a certain way, considering that we dress ourselves at least once a day (I'm assuming here - if you have the luxury to read this blog then it's likely to be twice or thrice.)

I can make the argument swings both ways, but the point is... is dressing a crucial part of life? That bit is for you to find out. Are we okay with that? ^__^

(is it, or is it not?)

Here are a few quotes I trawled through in process of completing my cultural studies essay...

Not only have men been reluctant to wear clothes that exude sexuality but they have also been loathe to indulge in other behaviour associated [emphasis added] with sexual display, including shopping.
--- Jennifer Craik

At least on the surface, consumer culture appeared, and indeed appears, to be beginning to deliver the individuality and difference that it had always promised.
--- Steven Miles

There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl [emphasis added]. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is suitable for the boy; while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.
--- The Infant's Department (June 1918)

One thing that fashion is quite categorically not is an expression of individuality.
--- Rosalind Coward

Value systems are inevitably embodied in our dress.
--- Elizabeth Wilson

Is fashion, then, a shallow subject? Think again.
Also, a suggestion on what to do to a wedding gown post-ceremony.
Seize the day :))

(daun kelor)

It was a pleasant suprise to find out this girl is merely one degree of separation away (alert thanks to qunang).

Well then, I've been enjoying anonimity to a point of indifference. To many people I meet everyday, I am oddly average... or am I ordinarily odd?

Maybe the extent of 'the world' I circulate myself in is comparatively small, and hence it's easier to find links between random people and those I know. If one works in applied quantum physics, then his or her 'world' is highly specialised to an extent one may personally know each other. However, looking at how people on my Facebook friends' list relate, It's also possible to conclude my 'world' consists of a few separate spheres which occasionally intersect.

Then, maybe after all... dunia selebar daun kelor.
Who knows?

Now off on a tangent: here are pictures from today's hair modeling session. Sixty-five years ago, it would've been unimaginable to have a Japanese guy (with the help of a translator and a Caribbean-descent supervisor) cut an Indonesian girl's hair. What a dramatic change the past few decades has experienced, and to the existence of us all... vive la diversité!

(Next thing I know I might be crying out le roi est mort, vive le roi etcetera... xD )



Seize the day.

Vivaldi's "Spring"

Spring.
It's a time of new beginnings, renewals, etc etc.
And a good time to learn new skills (when is not a good time to learn, anyway?)

Anyway, armed with a Wacom tablet and oC, I'm launching myself into a digital/illustration skills acquisition project. Here's an example of what I did! Needless to say, I just threw myself into a weird world of pricey computer accessories. I haven't even worked out how much the software's proper activation would cost...

Anyway, today's temperature is less summery and more like spring.
Take care!

Please Don't Stop the Music

Out of this week's sketchbook: a drawing/illustration.

The title is aptly named - it randomly came from this morning's pre-class brainwash music. The sun came up at five, which is not a bad thing as the days are longer for now... but could be potentially catastrophic when people forget to keep an eye on time. The sun sets after 9PM these days!

Summer... the stifling and sticky gloriously sunlit days are ahead. Well, to be honest I like spring better.