>> FAMILY FEUD

just got off the phone with mom. i wasn't gonna call her or my dad, but i feel like i need to. i've talked about my car insurance problem in my past blog. and i got an insurance company that will give me a policy with pretty much the same amount of premiums i had before. so i was happy. but then i found out that the premium might not hold. why? because i have to put my brother's name as one of the drivers *since he's the one who's basically drive the car*. unfortunately he had 2 points in his driving record from the moving violations he got last year, for obstruction of intersection.. *brenti di tengah² jalan dan di dalam box di perempatan lampu merah*. and because of that i cannot have any lower premium than $800 per six months. nyebelin banget. padahal gue biasanya bayar sekitar $600 per six months.

i'm so upset right now. bukannya gue itungan.. i don't mind paying the bill although practically i'm not the one who drive & use the car, my bro does. he keeps the car with him at school as his means of transportation. but i'm the one who bought the car *not my parents*, it's under my name and i pay for the insurance. nah sekarang gue pikir². enak banget ya adek gue?? tinggal make aja.. he doesn't even bother to chip in for the insurance. at first i didn't mind because i always have the car and i don't care if i have to pay for the insurance because i've been doing it even before he came. i look at it as me paying debts to my parents. since i already earn my living and financially support myself.. if i can, why not help out with my brother's expenses?? maybe not a lot, but in a way it's helping my parents cuz they don't have to worry about supporting him, at least food & car - wise. it's not that my parents couldn't afford it. but both me & my bro was taught to always be independent. we always thought to value money and earn it through our hard works, not just handing out our hands and expect our parents to put the money on it. that's why since i graduated from college, i tried to support myself no matter what, and never ask for money from my parents since... kecuali kalo dikasih.. yaa masak gak diterima sih dikasih rezeki?? heheh... even when i was still in college, i was working left and right so i can earn money to pay for my living costs. jadi biar duit yang dikasih orang tua gue strictly to pay my tuition and the rest i can save it for future emergency. lagian, it feels so damn rewarding knowing that i did some part on getting my degree in college. kayaknya puas banget gituh...

so back to my story about car insurance. yeah.. so now i find out that i have to pay $400 more a year on the car insurance. emang sih kalo dibagi 12 jadinya gak banyak, tapi gue jadi re-considering my decision. i don't mind paying for the bill, but i don't want to pay for the increase because my brother's record brings the price up. he drives the car, he doesn't pay for everything while i'm footing all the bills. kalo ada yang rusak ama mobilnya.. i pay for it!!! trus gue pikir² kok kayaknya gak fair banget gitu?? and i know my parents know nothing about it. cuz if they do i'm sure they'd offer for help. trus after a whole day thinking about it, i decided to tell my mom about this. not that i expect them to foot the bill, but i expect her to talk to my brother. i hate to talk about financials with my family. i hate talking about it with my brother cuz i know i can't expect much from him.. for godsakes, he's still in school. tapi setelah gue pikir² lagi.. kok enak banget ya jadi adek gue?? i have to think about all of these financial things... while i was in college!! cuz no one's helping me... obviously i came here all by myself. sementara adek gue tinggal bawa koper... he stays in with me, he has all the facilities, the cars.. the food... and so on and so forth!!!

don't get me wrong, i really don't mind doing all of that for him. i love my bro dearly. but i think i need to let him grow up to be an independent person. he should not look up for me everytime he has obstacles along the way -- cuz it's the most convenient thing to do... *he knows i'll do it for him*... i think it's time for him to learn the lesson the hard way *which he did recently* and be responsible to everything he does. responsible for all his actions. misalnya dia make kamar mandi, berarti dia juga harus ikut bersihin dan maintain its cleanliness. atau kalo dia abis makan, nyuci piring sendiri. kalo laundry, gak cuman pakaian yang dia pake aja, tapi handuk², sepre & selimut yang dia tidurin. cuz there's no maid walking around and clean after him. but most importantly if he drives the car, he pays for the insurance.. too!! ... oohh.. brother!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/31/2002 01:10:00 PM | [ ]

>> BEWARE GIRLS.. PLEASE READ THIS!!

From: Barbara Baker Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2002 11:55 AM Subject: SERIOUS!! Women Beware! Guys pass to the women in your life. THIS IS TOO SERIOUS. DO NOT DELETE. PLEASE PASS IT ON!! A friend stopped at a pay-at-the-pump gas station to get gas. Once she filled her gas tank after paying at the pump and started to leave, the attendant inside came over the speaker. He told her that something happened with her card and that she needed to come inside to pay. The lady was confused because the transaction showed complete and approved. She told him that and was getting ready to leave, but the attendant once again urged her to come in to pay or else. She proceeded to go inside and started arguing with the attendant about his threat. He told her to calm down and listen carefully. He told her that while she was pumping gas, a guy slipped into the back seat of her car on the other side and he had called the police. She immediately became scared and looked out there in time to see her car door open and the guy slip out. ***The report is that the new gang initiation thing is to bring back a woman's body part. One way they are doing this is crawling under girls/women's cars while they're pumping gas or at grocery stores in the night time. Then they are cutting the lady's ankles to disable them in order to kidnap them, kill and dismember them. The other way is slipping into unattended cars and kidnapping the women to kill and dismember them. Please pass this on to other women, young and old alike. Be extra careful going to and from your car at night. If at all possible, don't go alone! This is real!! The message: 1. ALWAYS lock your car doors, even if you're gone for just a second. 2. Check underneath your car when approaching it for re-entry, and check in the back before getting in. 3. Always be aware of your surroundings and other individuals in your general vicinity, particularly at night! Send this to many girls so your friend will not be the next one. Thanks, Barbara Baker, Secretary Directorate of Training U.S. Army Military Police School (573) 563-8043 TELL ANY WOMEN YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS !!

got this on my work email inbox today. i'm not sure if this is real and not a hoax, but it needs to be taken seriously cuz this is awful!! what's our world going to turn to?? bombs, terrorists, snipers, killing spree.... too much crimes. it's not safe!!!

ps: on a lighter note, i just wanna wish happy birthday for ibiza and my best friend, aretha. well, october 29th was yesterday in jakarta, but it's still the 29th here.. so technically, i'm not late, right?? hihihi...

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/30/2002 02:29:00 AM | [ ]

>> NEW YORK, MUSIM PANAS 1972

Di sini matahari terbit
-tapi entah dimana
Di sini matahari terbenam
-tapi entah dimana
Sinarnya tak pernah tiba di bumi
tersangkut gedung-gedung tinggi

( oleh Ajip Rosidi )

neat poem!! simple but neat...

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/29/2002 06:37:00 AM | [ ]

>> SCRAMBLE SUNDAY

upload two albums on my photo gallery. yeah it's still old pics from my summer vacation to jakarta, and i still have some more. but haven't had a chance to put them in a nicer layout. maybe within a week or two, i'd finish all of them.

just like for the past 3 weeks, i pretty much just stayed at home and work on my projects. sucks!! but i got to save some money. at least i'm not walking around doing nothing and spend money on something unnecessary. oh, but wait, i had a group meeting at the business library yesterday. by the time we're done, i don't have a choice but to stop by at the stores on 34th street *too many stores on the way back to the subway station*. oh well, got me some winter clothes from h&m. i need them anyways.. and i didn't spend that much!!! at least it was worth it. got a nice black pants, 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 turtleneck sweaters.. and only costed me $78. murah kan?? considering...

made lasagna today, special request from my bro. made quite a lot so he can bring 'em to his dorm and stock up on food till next week. am i a good sister or what?? the lasagna came out really good. another success story... !!

i miss talking to "sum1". haven't seen this sum1 online for a while. the whole day i was online.. there's no sign of this person to ever show up. then i disconnected my messenger for a while to restart my computer. by the time i logged on, i got offline messages from sum1 and had gone offline by then. dammit!! talk about ironic...

saw a bit of serendipity and on the line {filmnya lance bass from n*sync.. and it's so fucking corny} on tv. altho the latter movie sucks, but both movies have similar story line.. about fate and destiny to meet your soul mate. jadi kepikiran ttg seseorang niihhh.... is that a sign? just like the movies, gue ketemu ama seseorang just once. tapi gue jadi kepikiran terus. bugging me with the what ifs questions. seandainya......

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/28/2002 11:08:00 AM | [ ]

>> A LETTER FOR LUSI

kemaren gue dapet foward imel dari .... *she asks to be anonymous, tapi pokoknya she's in my fellows list* isi emailnya surat buat lusi. who is lusi? gue juga gak tau. all i know dia anak indonesia di new york dan baru pindah kesini. i've heard her names many times karena ada yang pernah nanya kalo gue kenal ama lusi apa enggak. but there are too many indonesian people in new york.. yang tentunya gue gak kenal semua. but this letter is so nice and well written, i wish i was the one in the receiving end. how lucky you are lusi!! ... if u happen to read this blog...

sebegitu lenggangnya waktu gue di awal minggu
sampai sempet²nya nyariin puisi buat lusi.
apa kabar NY, lou? mungkin matahari sekarang lebih
banyak menyinari barclay dan liberty street.
mudah-mudahan sinarnya juga bisa menelusup jauh
ke relung hatimu yang galau itu. aih, aih...
tapi gue juga sering ketinggalan menikmati
matahari pagi. lagian toh apa bedanya?
gue tak seperti tami yang sangat menikmati
'scent of morning light'. menyeruput Nescafenya
dan bergumam, "hmm.. what would this day become?"
yeah... what would this day become?
tiap hari gue juga berangkat ke kantor dengan
harapan yang sama: dapet imel baru dari anak².
menggerutu bila muncul "no unread messages".
tapi cukup arif untuk maklum bahwa 'silence is
one great art of conversation'.
bahkan ketika jemarimu terlalu malas untuk ngetik
imel, kau masih berkomunikasi denganku.
ada saatnya milis padat dengan tema. begitu ributnya
sampai gue gak bisa mendengar apa yang
kalian berusaha katakan.
tapi justru ketika tak ada yang bisa didebatkan,
keheningan milis bisa sangat memekakkan telinga kita.

iyo bersabda padaku tempo hari dalam sebuah
perbincangan di kanal yahoo messenger;
"kehidupan selalu mencuri dengar."
(sebenarnya kita berdua juga tak tahu persis apa arti kalimat tersebut.)
tapi tema-tema chatting diatas jam 12 malem memang bisa sebegitu kompleks auranya.
seringkali ini merupakan sesi curhat...
about life, love, God, and of course... breast.
well, peradaban juga dapat dimulai dari percakapan seperti ini.

dan aku menulis ini, dear lou... didorong oleh
kekhawatiran (kami) akan keadaanmu.
baca anthrax di koran. liat aksi teror di televisi.
nonton perampokan di filem2 hollywood.
kau hanya berpindah ke kota yang lebih tertekan.
meminjam istilah federico lorca;
"new york adalah rangkaian geometri dan rasa gundah".
karena di NY segala hal adalah geometri yang kaku
dan ilmu ukur yang pasti.
gedung2 papak persegi yang menjulang tinggi.
diantara perbudakan manusia dan mesin.
dan rasa gundahmu akan kehidupan dan cinta
ikut terkotakkan disitu.
namun salju musim dingin dan dedaunan musim gugur
masih tetap rajin menutupi 42nd street dan broadway.
modernitas NY berdiri bersandingan dan
berlawanan dengan alam.
being there, you're equally cursed and blessed.
mungkin ini (kehidupan) yang dirisaukan iyo.
kehidupan yang dimonopoli oleh ilmu pasti.
geometri dan angka yang mencuri dengar isi hati kita.
mencuri dengar jiwa kita. -insecure.

apakah ada bedanya 'scent of morning light' di lower
manhattan dengan di jl. proklamasi?
ketika dua gedung roboh di NY ribuan orang
bertepuk tangan disini. ketika dua ribu bom
dijatuhkan di afganistan ribuan orang berdemo disini.
mengutip kata goenawan muhamad:
sedih, karena modernitas ditaklukan oleh nafsu
paling primitif manusia: bengis kemarahan.
sedih karena dalam dua peristiwa itu nama Tuhan
disebutkan dengan sengit dalam kebencian.
mungkin ini (kehidupan) yang dirisaukan iyo.
kehidupan yang dimonopoli oleh kebencian.
kebencian dan kemarahan yang mencuri dengar
isi hati dan jiwa kita. -insecure.

gue masih inget ketika lo keluar dari SaBuGa
mengenakan toga dan jubah wisudamu itu.
first thing I said was: "i'm proud of you"
-and then you reply in a smile. -secure

mungkin ini (kehidupan) yang dirisaukan iyo.
kehidupan yang dikekang kecemasan.
"akankah anak2 95 bisa ngumpul rame2 lagi?"
andai sekali ini isi hatiku dicuri dengar. -secure.

aku gak tau kapan kita bisa ketemu lagi, dear lou..
some other time... lain waktu.
jika benar bahwa dalam 6 tahun ini
kau hanya memakai palet warna yang sama
-well... ketahuilah bahwa hitam putih sendiri
memiliki banyak warna
if you don't understand black & white,
you will always be confused by colors

dan ketika menulis ini aku bersumpah lagu sting
mengiringi jemariku... 'why should i cry for you'
"...all colors bleed to red
asleep on the ocean's bed
drifting in empty seas
for all my days remaining..."

-lambok e. hutabarat, S.Sn

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/26/2002 03:34:00 AM | [ ]

>> NEW SECTION

in the past i've decided not to put any fellow blogger's link on my site. why? no reason in particular. but maybe because i just don't want to limit my friends on those i announce as "my fellow bloggers." soalnya kalo gitu sih mungkin tiap blog yang gue datengin musti gue taro dong?? and when people starts asking buat tukeran link.. i can't really say anything. if i turned down.. entar kesannya gue sombong. kalo engga.. mau gue taro dimana? i don't even have that section on my blog. the 'LINK' section that i have now is not for bloggers, it's the link for my own purpose. sounds selfish? heck, this is MY blog, isn't it??

but after putting some thoughts into it.. gue pikir kayaknya i need to put them. with my busy schedule lately, i feel that i haven't communicated with anyone in person except my bro, adrian, my co-workers (even not all of them!! ha!), and some of my classmates and professors. doesn't it sound sad?? i hardly hangout with my friends anymore.. cuz i just don't have the time or the luxury to waste my time on just chitchatting. 24 hours seem like getting shorter by days. i know it sounds really bad but i also know it's just a phase.. i'm not gonna stay like this. as much as this really terrifies me, all i know that whatever i sacrifice will bring back something good at the end of the track (like my MBA degree or maybe a better job.. that kinda stuff!) and since i'm spending more and more time in front of my computer, it seems like i communicate more often with my fellow bloggers daripada orang² yang jelas² satu kota ama gue. i've come to know many people in a more personal level and emailing each other almost everyday, padahal ketemu atau tau muka aja enggak. but it's nice to know i can make friends through all of these. so, because of that.. i decided that i should just put a new section for blog links. i know it's not supposed to be such a major decision to make. but it was for me. hahaha.. just to show how complex my mind is.. things like this i really thought of carefully.. aneh ya? anyways.. those who i haven't put their links yet.. sorry, maybe i missed u, but do let me know.

good day!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/25/2002 10:42:00 PM | [ ]

>> UP YOURS, BLOOMBERG!

yeah i know.. i know.. i've been talking about this 'lovely' *ha!* new york's mayor several times in my past blogs. but i can't avoid it. he keeps coming with new idea that just doesn't make any sense . at least not to me!!

well y'all know that he just recently raised the parking fees, right?? and everybody was just angry at that because PARKING IN NEW YORK CITY is definitely confusing and non-existent. susah banget nyari parkir di new york, especially in manhattan... especially during business hours. the good thing is...like many other new yorkers, the workers commute and travel using the subway train. it's a good thing that new york has a good train routes that covers pretty much all the sections of new york triborough. and for $1.50 a ride for the past 6-7 years, it's a reasonable price to pay. it's true that sometimes the service doesn't run on time, but most of the time they do and within a close time period. so waiting is practically non-existent except during off-peak hours and weekends. but the routes change most of the times too, they keeping having these changes all the time. sometimes you get confuse on which train to take to what station at certain date and time. it's just as crazy as the traffic rules that have so many signs in every intersection... people who are driving would need to literally stop just to understand it. and that's a whole different story.

now, most of you know that america is currently under crisis. not just from the terrorism concerns. i'm talking about the economic crisis.. we're in bear market, market is in its all time low.. to say it simply, america is in recession. people are getting laid off here and there, unemployement rate is up and i see beggars all the time on the streets.. more that i've ever seen before. nah, di jaman lagi krisis kayak gini.. bloomberg had a fuckin' terrific idea to raise the parking fines *this doesn't concern me much, .. it doesn't affect the entire people.. cuz not everybody has cars!!* and the newest one he is thinking to raise... THE SUBWAY FARE!! oh come on... yeah it's true that the fare hasn't been increased since 6-7 years ago, it's been the same all this time. we do have an advantage of the fun pass *unlimited all day for $4* and weekly pass *unlimited all week for $17* and there's also the monthly pass *unlimited all month for $63* to cut our commuting costs. technically, if you don't have a car in new york city, you can still survive cuz getting around is so easy.

so now bloomberg wants to hike the price to $2 per ride. yeah, you might say .. hey, it's only 50 cents increase! it's true it's not that much.. BUT what i hate the most is that he couldn't have picked a better time. i mean we're in a fuckin' recession right now!! getting an extra 50 cents does not sound as easy as it is for people who doesn't have a job. look down!! not everybody around you is as rich as you and your friends are.... dammit!! kayaknya jaman sekarang ini dapet raise aja engga.. eh kok malah dinaekin sih ongkos biaya idup.. otaknya ditaro dimana yaa??

so now people are trying to petition this decision. click here to include your name for the petition. up yours, bloomberg!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/24/2002 03:10:00 AM | [ ]

>> WEEKEND FULL OF...{apa ya?}

thank GOD, finally i can rest... for a while!! not that i don't have anything else to do, but at least i can breathe a little...
just a little flashback how busy it was.. and how pathetic my life has been lately... *heck, i don't HAVE a life!!!* here goes... [warning: it's muthafuckin' boring! read at ur own risk!!]

FRIDAY
woke up feeling restless. 5 hours sleep is just not enough for me, especially if that's all you can do everyday for the past two weeks. went to work as usual, busy at work.. bla..bla..bla.. same old routine, same old shit... by five o'clock i was getting ready to leave the office becase i had a group meeting at starbucks in front of my office. the meeting is not until 6.30pm but i wanted to go there early so i can start reading the case for my global business policy class. this class is full of cases and business reports and one of the big ones is due on monday. we actually have three individual case analysis with written reports due and one group case analysis. it's such a hard & committed work because the cases, obviously, are hard, complex and very tricky. this is the last class on my mba program... i guess that's why they set up the class in such a hard way. although i have to admit it's quite fun doing analysis on these cases, because all of them are real companies and i can see just how much problems they have and learning how hard and complicated it is to own a business. and the case that's due for monday is about ben & jerry's homemade, inc.. it's a fun case *especially when describing the nature of the product.. i can't help but drooling on those chunky monkey ice creams.. yumm...* but very complicated.

anyways, back to my story.. by five o'clock i was getting ready to go, but then my boss called me up to do some work. i had to do it, so i stayed. and not just one thing, mind you.. he gave me several works to do, dammit!! iya juga sih gue gak bilang kalo gue mau cabut early hari ini *yeah, leaving five o'clock is early for me!* but i thought it shouldn't be a big deal... it's freaking friday night, for godssakes..!! and just when i finished my work.. my boss came in to my room and told me that i should change my monitor screen to the new one... ha! i figured i'd just do that on monday.. and then i realized he was giving me a new flat panel monitor.. and i'm like.. 'yay!!.... just what i've been waiting for!!' so i decided to stay and install it myself!! hhahahah.... it's nice and it sure saves some space on my desk!!

so after i'm done installing my new monitor, i ran to the elevator and just when the elevator was going down.. i realized that i left something at the office.. so i had to stop the elevator, got out and wait for another one that's going up. dammit!! so by the time i got to starbucks i didn't have any extra time to even read the case. my group members, raj & ramona came by less than fifteen minutes after me. started discussing the case.. and before we know it, it's already 10 o'clock. ramona kept on going with the case. gak ada capeknya ni orang... turns out she didn't go to work that day!! pantesan... all the while me and raj kept looking at her with blank stare.. haha.. both of us were just really tired, we just wanna go home. but the meeting was very useful indeed. i didn't get home until around 11 o'clock... and remember, this is FRIDAY night!! all my friends are out watching the ring *just opened last friday dan gue siriiikkk abiiissss....* while i'm stuck doing my project. my head was just so fu©king heavy, i can't really think anymore.. i can't even feel the hunger!! all i can think about is my bed and my fluffy pillows....

SATURDAY
woke up pretty late. and the first thing i did.. of course... turn on my computer. started reviewing the case, but not really do anything. my head's still heavy, so i decided to just rest and watch some movies. rented windtalkers and watched it with my brother. it's an action-packed movie about friendships during world war 2. directed by john woo, nicholas cage acts as a solder who is ordered to watch for a young navajo code-talker. during the ww2, japanese army was able to break all the codes that US army used during the war. then, the US army came up with a new code using the basic language of navajo indians. it's complicated, it sounds really weird, but it worked, in fact.. the code was never broken until ww2 was over. so eventually the young navajo code-talkers *who is by the way.. cakep banget!! * befriended with the soldier who's watching him (nicholas cage) through many emotional moments together. it is a good movie. i like the story.. and though there are many emotional moments, it's full with actions and war scenes.

after the movie, i still don't feel like going through the case just yet. my bro called dell and got himself a new laptop.. and i got myself a new flat panel monitor for $160!! hahaha.. it comes with the promotion on the laptop.. so i might as well get it!! i'm going flat screen now... anyways, after 3 o'clock we realized we haven't eaten anything the whole day... mau beli makan, maless... bingung juga mau beli apaan.. then i felt like cooking. so went to the grocery stores with my bro.. and made two slabs of shoulder steak with shitake mushroom, aglio olio pasta with turkey bacon, and fiesta corn as the side dish. it was really really good.. hahah.. hell, if i really feel like it, i can really make a good meal.. although i hardly have that feeling.. hahah.. and it's nice after a whole week eating shitty food!!

ad came by right on time.. just when we started to eat. he went paintballing earlier with his friends and looks like he had a good time *he won the game!*. lagi enak²nya makan, adek gue maenan webcam ama mas ky & mr. d yang sekarang roommate-an. showed 'em the platter of my meal.. haha.. pada siriiikk... i'm telling you people, it's better off cooking ur own food daripada beli diluar.. udah mahal, gak jelas bikinnya pake apa.. unless if you can't cook at all and unless you're too tired to cook.. every once in a while is ok.. besides i always enjoy a home cook meal...

by 10 o'clock i decided to take a shower and refresh myself before start my report.. and i ended up cleaning up the bathroom at ten o'clock at night!! *talk about disorder...!!* by midnight, my bro and ad is dozing off and ready to go to sleep.. so i decided to start my homework. hey it's the best way cuz no one's awake, no TV, no sounds.. and i can really concentrate... by 2 o'clock i retired!!

SUNDAY
i pretty much worked my homework the whole day in between my TV break and meals. my bro went to practice with his band and left me alone in the house. and it was the perfect time. i turned off the TV, turned on my diana krall's CD and i'm good to go.

at dinner time, ad came and cooked his specialty food... chicken marsala with egg noodle and my bro came by just before we ate. although i didn't get to finish my report until two o'clock in the morning... then i proofread it and revised it here and there. good thing i called my co-worker and told her to pass the message that i will be coming in late to work tomorrow.. so i can take my time finishing up my work without worrying that i have to wake up early in the morning.

MONDAY
didn't get to work until around noon. didn't really feel like working today. since i haven't eaten anything, i decided to 'fast' *puasa* today. by the time i got to work i can really feel my stomach's growling. i checked the prayer schedule and turned out magrib is going to be around 6pm. damn!! i'd be in the class by then.. and it'd be hard to break my fast. so i had to just break the fast anyways... and got me a nice tuna sandwich.

went to school by five o'clock, got there by exactly five thirty. the prof. asked for the report and confidently i gave it to him. turned out i did something wrong. he called me up and asked me to change it right away. after wondering how i did my report wrong... it turned out he has a case analysis perspective that we should rely on when creating our business report. i didn't have that copy of case analysis perspective. i started to panic. because i have all the mambo-jumbo paperworks needed for this class. i couldn't have missed anything... as more and more people came in, turned out that the prof. gave the wrong handout on the case analysis perspective to us and nobody based their report on that perspective. pfffuiiihhh!!!... i already thought i was gonna fail .... but considering it happens to almost everyone, he was OK with it. we discussed ben & jerry's homemade, inc. again. most of you know about ben & jerry's, i assume. one of the best-flavored ice cream out there. it started in vermont by these two hippies, ben cohen and jerry greenfield. they were best friends since young. ben dropped out of college while jerry graduated from pre-med but not interested in becoming a doctor. so they created the ice cream business out of the fact that they want to make a living. they never expected it to become a $150+ million company. as in any big companies.. the bigger it is, the more complex are the problems. ben & jerry couldn't handle it anymore because they don't have the background and they work the company more or less like 'social club' instead of a business venture. ben is so focus into his social mission... charity, fund raising, fixing the rainforest.. any social activities.. while all the resources were used from the company. jerry is hardly in the office most of the time. the idea that they do not want to tied in to the conventional business approach like how wall street envisioned might put them as their competitive advantage, but in other hand, they dont' have any strategic planning and direction to improve and expand the business. i can just go on and on about them.. because it's so interesting.... and we did have a good discussion about it.

by the time i got home at 9.30pm.. all i can think about was just resting. at least it's gonna be an easier week for me... i know i still have projects waiting, but now i can breathe a little.. not too long, cuz by weekend time.. i'm having another meeting for my other on-going projects. hmmm... i tell you, it's hard to work and go to school at the same time. i can't wait till i get to the end of the tunnel.

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/23/2002 02:31:00 AM | [ ]

>> STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY

first of all, i just wanna say.. GOOD LUCK on your GMAT test, hanzky!!! i believe she's taking it today.

second of all.. thanks for those who encouraged me to post new entry in my blog. hahahah.. sorry if i offended you on my last post. no, it wasn't yelling at anybody, just screaming.. before my head explodes first!! it's just one of those days when to-do-work is unbearable. and people around me just keeps giving me more!! i'm sure you know how that feels!! ok.. next!!

although i've been having so much things on my mind lately.. *and so much things to do* for some reason i keep finding interesting subjects to write about. so, i thought if i write, it'd probably relax me a little.

for those who have been to new york city, you'd know that so much goes on in the streets of new york city. if you haven't been.. then i'll describe it to you. like many other metropolitan cities in the world, new york is very crowded and hectic. i haven't really been to many countries but i know new york has its own characteristics that you can differentiate from other cities. the streets are small *two lanes, altho feels like one cuz there are also cars park on the side*, except for the big avenues, like fifth avenue, sixth ave and some part of broadway. most of them are one way street, except maybe for 3rd ave in downtown area and park ave *although it has a divider in the middle*. there are many high-rise buildings obviously and since the streets are small, the buildings are so close to each other. so much so that when you look up to the sky in one of the streets of nyc, you'll only see buildings and {hopefully} the hint of the blue sky.. *hihi.. rada² exaggerate dikit*. the only thing that's definitely big in new york city is .. the sidewalks!! in midtown area of fifth avenue, for example, the sidewalks from both sides is probably as big as the street itself. and of course that means... a lot of people are WALKING!!!

there's one thing obvious about people in new york city..... they do walk a lot. i myself, everyday, have to walk at least 3-4 blocks just on my way to work. and it's not something to complain about, i mean i really like it... i remember days when i used to walk all the way to downtown area from my 32nd street office building... it's fun, cuz there's so many things to see on the streets of new york city. lots of stores with interesting displays... buildings with unique architectural designs, old buildings... not to mention the interesting people you'd pass by, people who are playing music, selling books, people screaming at each other, people cursing to the cab driver, etc, etc.... it's just part of the new york culture, i guess.

recently i've noticed a lot of things going on in the streets.. *hell, there's always something's going on on the streets of manhattan anyways*.. and this was my recent observation on the streets around my work area. well, the fact that it's very close to empire state building does have an effect to some interesting phenomena. the weather has been nice lately *a bit chilly but nice* and during lunch time.. i can see so many people are out on the streets. i mean, A LOT!! maybe you've seen a movie taken in the streets of new york city and you'd see millions of heads walking on the streets and you'd probably wonder if it's just like that in reality. well, it is just exactly like that around here. sometimes it amazes me.. because not just the streets that are always crowded with so much traffic.. and not just the traffic from the cars.. it's traffic among the street walkers too. sometimes i feel like they should have somekind of signals when they walk on the street. like if they want to turn left or right or stop. people walk very very very fast *except the tourists.. and that's why you can tell* when it's time to cross the street and you see the 'walk' sign signal.. sometimes you can't even see the other side of the road.. since there are so many people blocking in front of you.

not to mention what's going on on the street itself. there's ALWAYS something interesting going on. the other day on my way to work, i saw a funny-looking car passed by. i fixed my eyes on it and in front of the car has a big sign says "BOMB SQUAD". i'm like.. "what the hell?? where's the bomb??" of course the first thing i thought was in empire state building, but as the day goes by i didn't hear anything about any bombs, so it probably just some false alarm or just because they were just passing by.. *duh*

and then recently during my lunch break, i went down to fifth ave. and saw these bunch of people wearing purple body tights with 4 different color wings on their back. they were cruising the street to downtown in rollerblade. wtf?? there were a LOT of them and some of them were holding signs. i tried to catch what it says.. turned out it was just some kind of publicity for the new msn version, i didn't really notice which one though. if you go to msn site, you'll see the background is in purple and the blue-green-orange-and-yellow butterfly wings. and that's how they dress. it's funny.. but it sure did create a lot of attention among the passerbys.

how about film-making and star gazing? it's also another common thing on the streets of new york city. so far i've passed by at least 4-5 movie shoots. a couple of summers ago i passed by empire state and saw they were filming something.. and turned out it was the last episode of "mad about you" *remember the tv show?* if you are a fan of the show you'll know that the last episode has helen hunt running around in front of empire state building in a towel. and that's how i saw her when she walked toward me as i passed by the film shoot area *she just came out of the building.. in her towel*.

in fact, just yesterday there was another film-shoot on the street right next to my building. there were so many people in uniforms. i thought they were filming some korean war veteran or something like that. turned out it was for LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and i loooveee that show. i know there's VINCENT D'ONOFRIO in it *those of you who don't know who he is, he's the chubby soldier in stanley kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET* and i'm a big fan of his. so i looked around looking for him. and after the second time i passed by, .. i saw him in one of the phone booth. but he was in the middle of the shooting, so i can't go after him for a handshake or an autograph. but i passed by him and saw him up close. handsome, white.. as in very pale *maybe from the make up* and very very tall!!.. hihi...

how about star gazing?? hmm.. i can't even remember how many times i've seen movie stars of any famous people on the street... heck, sometimes i don't even know that the person next to me or the one who crossed the street in front of me is a famous person. cuz there are just too many heads in the crowd. i guess... it's just one of the perks of living in new york city. so, do i convince you to come for a visit?? hahahah...

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/18/2002 11:57:00 PM | [ ]

DO NOT DISTURB!!!
i'm busy as hell, goddammit

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/17/2002 03:15:00 AM | [ ]

>> WHAT HAPPEN TO OUR WORLD?

my greatest condolences to the bombing victims in bali. the victims from the attacks last week on a french oil tanker off yemen and american marines in kuwait. basically to all those who have been directly victimized through this 'act of cowardice'. is it terrorist? is it an act from a group of people? is it them? i don't want to point finger at anybody. cuz at the end of the day, all of us should be blamed.

all of our problems are created by us. as in physics, when there's an action there's a reaction. why wouldn't you believe it otherwise?? we don't necessarily aware of what we did that affect the problem, maybe it's only tiny act that contribute it to the bigger problems. but i have to admit everything must come from ourselves. i have read so many blog entries since the bombing in bali. some blamed directly to terrorism. some blamed the cowards. some blamed americans. what i think.. it's all everyone's fault. if you look at the history, all the problems has boiled down from the past. hatred has been a problem from centuries ago. racism, hate between the muslims and jewish, palestina and israel, irish and british, nazi and the jewish, and so on and so forth. can we all just get along??

none of these problems ever resolved. they may shrink but never non-existent. racism, for example. americans may say that it's not like how it was in the 60s. but is that mean that it never happens and totally abolished in the face of the earth? of course not. it's always there, just not as open as before.

i don't want to go all the way back to history. all i know, if we want to live in a safer, peaceful world, it all should start from us. i totally agree with erly who has been promoting this on every blog he comments. there are so many things around us that may contribute to the bigger problems and maybe we need to start realizing that WE should do something about it. it may be small but if everyone is doing it... it's not a dream to expect good things that'll come out of it.

take illegal drugs, for once. many people are using it. i'm sure many of us has tried it or at least know somebody who does. *i myself never tried.. but that's not the point!* have you ever wonder what they do with the money they make out of selling the drugs? and i'm not talking about small amount, it's fu©king HUGE!! have you ever thought that the drug-makers are probably so worried about safety that they have their own set of army.. because they can. think pablo escobar! if they have army, they would need guns. and how would they get their guns? i have seen an anti-drug that's basically said that the money you gave to buy your illegal drugs are taken by the terrorist group. so at the end of the day.. you can say if you buy drugs from the street then you're part of this terrorist act. cuz think about it!! how would terrorist group can raise so much money to build an army of people all over the world?? it must come from illegal money. and whoever's done the anti-drug commercial must've done the research to find that out, wouldn't they? ok, that's one thing and i could go on and on and on.

what i'm trying to say is that we should just look at ourselves before we judge people. whatever happens has happened. there's nothing we can do to take it back. this should just be a wake up call that we should start from ourselves. look at the person next to you and smile. start your day with fresh head and smile. be courteous, be nice, be helpful. say sorry if you offend someone. don't rage on the road, cuz people who drives so slow in front of you maybe just a new driver or has somebody's pregnant in the car that s/he can't drive as fast. be positive. don't judge the book by its cover. the crazy driver who just passed you by might have a good reason to do that. let them go. don't chase them just because you don't like being passed by. it's not worth it. let's make our world a better place to live in.. starting from 10 feet radius around you.

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/15/2002 10:11:00 PM | [ ]

>> WET WET WET {and i don't refer to that eighties band}

it's supposed to rain all day and night today. and it's friday, too.. what a lousy weather for friday. i was thinking of hooking up with some friends for dinner tonite. zak is in town and as always, gotta company this 'lil bro' around. oh well, let's see what happen. although it's just the perfect weather to hang at home and get warm.

just stayed at home last night cuz it was starting to rain lightly when i got out of the office. it's a thursday's must-see-tv night. i'm so in love with that guy noah wyle, dr. carter from ER. hmm.. he's so cute and he has that lovable smile. and i'm so glad his character finally hooks up with abby. hihihi.. what a TV girl, arent' i?

finally i finished 'divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood'. and it's fu©kin' good. i mean i'm so into the characters and the story that when i was finishing it up on my way to work this morning, i almost cried. of course i didn't.. i'm sure all eyes would stare at me if i did. rebecca wells did a really good job in creating that emotional sentences and story lines that even the reader feel it too. damn... now i want to go see the movie, but i'm not sure it'd be as good as the book. let's just wait till the dvd comes out.

speaking about books in wide screen, here's another good one, janet fitch's white oleander. i read this book a long time ago and it was really really good. the flow of the words in each sentences are like a poetry. oprah even said that the book contains what it's called as 'liquid poetry' *whatever that means*. although i vaguely remember the details of the story *after so many books read since...* i do remember strongly how good this book is and how the story and the characters grabbed my attention when i read it. it's that mothafu©kin' goooodd...!

just to show how good and popular the book is, hollywood decided to adapt the novel to the screen. and today is the opening day for the book-translated-to-movie 'white oleander' starring michelle pfeiffer, renee zellweger and robin wright penn. the review comes out very strong, even saying that pfeiffer could earn an oscar nomination for this movie. hmm.. i hope it'll be as good as the book. a must-see on my list!!

it's raining most of the times these days. so it must be fall season already. and that means good quality movies are coming out. usually these movies comes out at this season because it's close at the end of the year and that means 'academy award' considerations. and nothing beats going to the movies in fall/winter cuz obviously it's too cold to hang outside. and also since it's october *halloween time.. boohoo* there'll be many horror movies coming out. the ring is one of the movies i am waiting for. although i heard the original one *from japan* is much scarier that the hollywood version. *doesn't that remind you of 'jelangkung'?*

another novel-based movie that's coming out today is the rules of attraction. based on a novel by bret easton ellis, 'the rules' casts a satirical eye on a surreal sex triangle between three students at a new england college: drug-stealing sean *james van der beek from dawson's creek*, the younger brother of ellis' famous 'american psycho' character patrick bateman; his bisexual friend paul *played by ian somerhalder*; and paul's ex, lauren *shannyn sossamon from '40 days 40 nights'* sounds interesting. i heard it's also a good one although i'm not really fond of the castings. i haven't read the book either.. so i wouldn't really know.. maybe i'll put it on my must-see dvd list. anyone know about this?

so many movies so little time. can you tell i'm a movie freak?

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/12/2002 03:24:00 AM | [ ]

>> RESTLESS.....

gue lagi restless banget akhir² ini. gak jelas kenapa. well, i know why, cuman not exactly which one. abisan lagi banyak banget yang ada di pikiran gue. apalagi kalo bukan urusan sekolah. asli, gue gak pernah se-overwhelm ini yang namanya kerjaan buat sekolah. in one way gue seneng, jadinya waktu gue ter-occupy untuk ngerjain sesuatu.. jadinya gak bored. tapi lama² capek juga. kayaknya waktu gue untuk istirahat dan relax pun berkurang. udah gitu gue emang orangnya paling gak bisa diem, kalo ada yang belom selse pasti bakal terus ada di otak gue. kadang² lagi mikirin gimana caranya to 'attack' a problem i'm facing, gue sampe kepikiran terus menerus.. even pas lagi tidur... ampe kebawa mimpi.. hehehh.. aneh kan? kayaknya otak gue tuh gak berenti²nya mikir. makanya kadang² gue kalo abis bangun tidur bukannya seger, malah tambah capek. i gotta find a way to relax myself. no wonder i keep grinding my teeth when i sleep. to much going on in my head.

maybe i should go to museum or to a bookstore this weekend. relax my mind, at least for awhile, walopun kerjaan gue masih pada numpuk. kemaren gue gak ada kelas 'systems analysis & design' tapi tetep dateng ke sekolah buat group meeting. it's pretty interesting, me and this other guy *chris* took the first series of the class last semester with the same professor. for some reason, he taught the whole book. padahal harusnya setengah di series pertama dan setengah lagi di series ke 2. trus udah gitu he gave us this project last semester which was really fun. we got to learn a lot from it, walopun tuh project gak dikasih grade, tapi everyone was willing to put so much time in it.

nah, di kelas yang sekarang, he also gave us a project. cuman masalahnya, murid²nya kan gak semuanya sama kayak semester lalu, jadinya banyak yang bingung gitu. sementara gue ama si chris ini udah bisa membayangkan apa yang professor kita mau. and like many other students, kalo dikasih project yaa... males²an lah awal semester. sementara gue udah tau gimana ribetnya ini project, belom lagi requirement yang dikasih gak se-simple semester kemaren. kalo semester kemaren kita disuruh bikin prototype buat back-end credit card application system, semester ini kita disuruh bikin internal application for a company's project management system. dan requirement nya banyak banget. bener² musti attentive to detail banget. ah, capek deh gue mikirinnya... mana akhirnya yang paling semangat ngerjain cuman gue ama si chris itu.. soalnya kita pengen motivate yang laen buat kerja. cuman susah nya, even the appointed team leader masih belom bisa punya vision how this application supposed to look like. paarraahhh...!! ya udah gue deh kebagian bikin DFD nya nih. *DFD=data flow diagram* there goes my weekend....

nah itu satu kelas yaa.. kelas gue yang satu lagi *mba680 - global business policy* isinya melulu bisnis. dan tugasnya juga lumayan banyak. 2 bisnis reports ama 1 case analysis with a minimum 30 pages requirement *udah kayak skripsi gak?*. udah gitu company yang musti di-analysis ribet banget. oh well, apa jadinya entar by the end of this semester ya? mudah²an gue gak sampe gila entar. kelasnya sih sebenernya asik soalnya professornya tuh baek abis dan pinter banget. ya terang aja, soalnya dia tuh financial analyst buat nyse *new york stock exchange*. eh, kemaren gue ngobrol² ama dia ternyata dia sering ke jakarta loh. hihi.. he told me about the building he worked when he's in jakarta, and he used to live in the area behind hilton hotel. tapi gue malah yang bingung gitu letaknya dimana pas dia jelasin.. ketauan deh gue buta ama jakarta. hihi... udah gitu, remember that indonesian guy in my class? kemaren gue ngajak ngobrol lagi karena kita satu elevator gitu. terus dia nanya gini:

DIA: "kamu baru ya disini?"
GUE: "ah, enggak, udah lumayan lama.. ini tahun ketiga saya sekolah di pace kok!"
DIA: {a little startled} "emang tadinya dimana? di jakarta?"
GUE: {dalam hati: ni orang maksudnya apa sih? kok ga terima banget kalo gue orang lama disini?} "oh enggak, saya di amerika udah lama.. ngambil bachelor disini juga"
DIA: "ooh, dari pace juga?"
GUE: "enggak, saya ngambil bachelor nya di rhode island"
DIA: {bingung gitu.. sambil kayak mikir sesuatu..} "rhode island..?"
GUE: "iya.. providence, rhode island"
DIA: "oh, providence.. trus kenal gak ama indra?"
GUE: "hah? indra..?? tauu bangeeett.. dia kan sahabat saya... wait the minute... mas ini.. yang tinggal di forest hilss ya?"
DIA: "iya.. saya kan om-nya indra.."
GUE: "ooh, jadi yang tempatnya indra suka nginep?? soalnya kalo indra kesini dan gak nginep di rumah saya, pasti minta dianterin ke forest hilss.. jadi itu rumahnya mas? ya ampuunn, small world.."
DIA: "oh jadi indra kalo kesini maennya pasti sama kamu?"

aduh.. small world banget deh!! padahal tuh rumahnya dia yang di forest hills itu pas di belakangnya apartement gue yang dulu. *doohhhh*

aside from my classes, gue lagi rada² seneng nih. hihih... *blush* jadi gini... waktu gue kemaren balik ke jakarta, dan sempet jalan² ke bali gitu kan. dan gue pernah post kalo gue dikenalin ama temen gue ama anak² band yang manggung di hard rock bali waktu itu. anaknya asik² dan gue mention kalo yang nyanyi cakep² *both guys and the girl* nah teruss.. pas gue lagi ngobrol ama temen gue di bali itu setelah gue balik ke jakarta, dia bilang kalo salah satu dari mereka ada yang nanyain gue, ternyata yang gue suka itu, sebut aja namanya X. trus to make the story short, X dapet email gue dan jadi sering email²an ama gue. malah kemaren sempet chatting segala. cerita ini itu, sampe dia bilang kalo kita bisa click banget, sayangnya kita cuman sempet hangout sekali. gue sih tidak ada maksud selingkuh yaa.. *hihihi..* tapi yaa.. lucu aja. i miss that feeling.. yang pas ketemuan tuh jadi liat²an gitu trus sama² mikir.. "hmm.. cakep juga nih orang.." trus sempet ngobrol bareng dan kok nyambung yaa?? dan akhirnya jadi email²an, cerita² ttg life story, lucu aja. of course, kita bdua gak ada maksud apa² karena dia tau gue udah punya cowok dan gue juga tau dia waktu di bali lagi deket ama cewek juga. but it's always nice to make new friends, ya gak?

anyways, for the mean time, it cheers me up in between my busy days. but honestly, is that wrong? i mean, kita kan gak ada maksud apa² dengan email²an ini. i mean kita tinggalnya jauh banget *dia udah balik ke negaranya*, trus cuman ketemu sekali dan belom tentu ketemu lagi. what are the chances of us even meet again? kayaknya gak ada. so basically, cuman nyari temen and reminiscing the time we met waktu di bali kemaren. walopun temen gue tuh bilang kalo pas kita lagi hangout bareng gitu, she can detect chemistry gue ama si X walopun kita waktu itu gak terlibat dalam conversation yang lama *karena gue ngobrol ama cowok yang satu lagi, dan temen gue itu yang ngobrol ama si X*. but it could be just a spur of the moment aja. gak ada salahnya kan? isn't it our nature to enjoy being admired by the opposite sex and attracted to one, too?

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/11/2002 01:21:00 AM | [ ]

>> CHILLY MORNING...

didn't i just ask for a colder weather?? well, i might just get it already. this morning when i walked down to the subway and to my work, i can feel the chilly fall weather has already knockin on our door. it's actually nice except that i didn't expect the drop as much *from 86F to 48F in two days*.

i still have not recovered from my exhaustion after spending so much time working in front of the computer over the weekend. i had to call in late on monday morning cuz i just couldn't get my eyes open at 8 o'clock *shame on me!*. besides it was one of those long days on monday, had class until 9 o'clock and didn't get home until around 10.15pm. i'm so tired of doing anything else, i just bought one of those frozen dinner cuz my stomach was growling already *what a life...!!* i never had frozen dinner before.. hahah.. maybe only once before and i don't even remember when cuz i always try not to go there. i mean i can always just open my fridge and cook something, whatever's in there. but last night.. i was just too tired to even open the fridge. anyways, i chose a good one though, so no regrets!

and this morning when my alarm keeps buzzing after i snoozed it for several times, i looked up and jumped out of my bad thinking that i was so fu©king late already cuz it shows that i's already 8 o'clock!!! when i got in to the shower, my eyes are still so tired.. but i really want to get to work early, so i forced myself to wake up. while putting on my light makeup in my room, i vaguely heard katie couric *on morning show at nbc* said that it's 7.24 after she did some interview with some guy about the columbine movie. and i'm like.. "what? 7.24? she must be wrong!!" i walked to the living room thinking how can a reporter with her caliber made such a mistake and i looked at the clock on the cable box... it was goddamn 7.24!!! it turned out for some reason my alarm clock was an hour ahead *for god-knows-how*. no wonder i was still so sleepy when i got in to the shower, it was only 7 o'clock for godsakes *i usually woke up at 7.30.. heheh..*!! so after i'm done and ready to go.. i still have a lot of time to spare, so i went online... checked my emails.. nothing interesting.. haha!!

by the time i got to my desk at work it was still pretty early. not everybody came in yet. it's nice. but instead of starting my work.. i picked up the phone and called my friend in bali. had a chat for a good 15 minutes and went back to work as everybody starts coming in. i hope it's gonna be a lovely day today.... cuz all i want to do is to go straight home and relax..... hmm..NO!! i still have projects due, goddamit... as a certain someone i know would say... THAT'S LIFE!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/08/2002 09:18:00 PM | [ ]

>> DINNER & A MOVIE

FRIDAY
han and may picked me up from work and we went to nyonya restaurant in chinatown. great food. met up with the other girls *girls night out!!* for ayu's bday. after dinner, went to a lounge in lower east side and ended up staying there until 1 o'clock in the morning. i was so tired after the busy day at work but i couldn't really leave yet cuz both girls were drinking and i have to be the designated driver and drive them home safely *sigh*. so i stayed. it was fun though, except that i was just so exhausted.

SATURDAY
was supposed to meet up with the girls and go to some flea market in soho. but i ended up staying at home the whole day working on my project in front of the computer. and.. oh yeah, i kinda did the pictures for my pix gallery. so you can go and visit it, except that i have not yet upload all the pictures i have. there are too many of them and so little time. i spent the whole day today in front of the computer in between my projects and redid those pictures.

saw red dragon after i realized my head is just gonna explode if i stayed in front of the computer any longer. it was a really good movie. edward norton is really a very good actor *one of my fave* and do i have to make any compliments for anthony hopkins?? obviously, he's one of the best actors out there and this cannibal character has already a trademark for him. really recommend it, that's all i can say!! *don't wanna spoil the story... since the movie just came out friday night.. obviously, not that many people have seen it yet..*

gosh, that's it!! i really gotta get back to the rest of my projects. what a fu©kin' weekend!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/06/2002 01:07:00 PM | [ ]

>> CONCERTS OF MY LIFE... {SO FAR}

besides books and writing, i love going to concerts. i usually go to so many concerts in a summer, unfortunately i only went to one this past summer. now i'm trying to list out all the concerts i've gone to so far... so here they are in randomly order...

- tommy paige - jakarta *couldn't remember the year, but this was my first concert* [hahah.. don't laugh, i was only in junior high that time, and he was really big among the teenage girls]
- debby gibson - jakarta *masih jaman smp juga nih!*
- new kids on the block - jakarta *just admit it, you like them too during those times...although i keep banging my head nowadays for liking them*
- kenny g. - jakarta *i actually got to take pictures with him.. -grin-*
- bon jovi, 1995 - ancol, jakarta
- woodstock 1999 - rome, new york. featuring: creed, wyclef jean, metallica, live, jewel, rage against the machines, limp bizkit, bush, sheryl crow, red hot chilli peppers, jamiroquai, kid rock, everclear, lit, moe, dave matthews band, and alanis morisette. *stayed and camped out for three days, no shower, no toilet.. how horrible.. but yet fun!!*
- area:one festival, 2001 - moby, nelly furtado, incubus, outkast, and ... *can't remember the other performance.. sorry!*
- the cure, 2000 - jones beach, ny
- no doubt, 2000 - jones beach, ny
- sting, 2000 - jones beach, ny
- maxwell, 2001 - madison square garden, ny
- alicia keys, 2001 - madison square garden, ny *opening act for maxwell*
- india arie, 2001 - madison square garden, ny *opening act for sade*
- sade, 2001 - madison square garden, ny
- amel larieux, 2000 - roxy, new york
- cibo matto, 2001 - irving plaza, new york
- jamiroquai, september 10, 2001 - hammerstein ballroom *gue inget banget tanggalnya, cuz it's the day before 9/11*
- glassjaw, 2001 *new hardcore band, their video just appeared in mtv2 this summer. they're from long island and i happen to know them. one of the member is my friend's (ex)boyfriend*
- astrud gilberto, 2001 - s.o.b.'s, new york *that's not short for son of a b*tch, mind you!! it's sound of brazil!*
- system of a down, 2002 - jones beach, new york
- madonna, 2001 - madison square garden, ny *the best ever!!*
- erykah badu, 2001 - central park, new york
- craig david, 2002 - irving plaza, new york
- black eyed peas, 2000 - new york
- eurythmics, 1999 - madison square garden, ny

there seems to be more than what i have listed, but i just couldn't remember who they are. maybe i'll add it up later... but for sure, there'll be much more to see...

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/05/2002 04:05:00 AM | [ ]

>> HAZY FRIDAY

akhirnya hari jumat juga.. and guess what?? gak panas lagiii.. in fact hari ini bakal drizzle all day.. light rain gitu.. it's just one of those weather you just wanna stay at home under your blanket while watching a movie. how nice... tadi pagi aja gue ampe susah banget bangun abisan udara di luar tuh enak banget buat dipake tidur.. but oh, well, i have a meeting this morning so i have to be at work early.

tadi di meeting lumayan lama juga.. selse² gitu udah waktunya makan siang. but of course i can't go straight to have my lunch. 3 jam di meeting means i'm losing time to do my daily routine and by the time i got to my desk udah banyak aja message² yang musti di reply immediately. but all and all, i'm glad we had the meeting. it's one of those manager's meetings. apparently we have outgrown our system and it just makes it worst for everyone--me included--to do our job efficiently. udah gitu pas meetingnya mulai, gue yang paling pertama di drill ama boss gue *the president of the company*. untung gue udah well-prepared so i can answer all the questions confidently. dan ternyata alesannya dia nanya gue duluan soalnya urusan gue kan di bagian finance/accounting gitu, dan karena market lagi down banget, we are trying to figure out how to reduce our costs and keep our revenues up, or at least steady -- looking at how the market right now it's just too confident to expect getting an increase in revenue. it was actually a very productive meeting. everyone had their ideas and we agreed on making some changes on our system and will try to implement it sometime next year. so we have about 3-4 months for the planning and setting up our requirements for each department.

anyways, lagi pada asik rapat gitu, gue nengok kanan kiri... and it always amazed me that, damn... i'm like the youngest in the meeting! even the second youngest person there *my co-worker steven*, was already thirty-fu©kin'-five-years-old!! that's a lot of difference *11 years*!! no wonder they always treat me like a child. well, my boss does sometimes. well, i always know about this...tapi gue suka annoyed aja kalo gue suka di-treat kayak anak kecil. not in a bad way though, i mean i worked hard to get to my position right now. i remember the first year i started working for this company, it took me a whole freakin' year *maybe more* to show them that i'm capable and worth the authority to do more responsibilities and do my job correctly. and it was worth it. karena sekarang bisa dibilang everyone respected my position and my authority and they are willing to work with me and listen to my ideas and actually implement it. bos gue juga gitu. cuman ya, itu dia.. sometimes my boss treats me like i'm a twelve-year-old when he's joking around *padahal dia juga gak tua² amat, baru 41-an gitu*, but when it comes to professionalism, he knows damn well that he has to look past my age.

itu dia yang gue suka dengan working environment di amerika. as long as you're capable and good at what you're doing you should be respected and awarded accordingly. i don't know how it is in indonesia *cuz i never work there* but i know how hierarchy is the most important thing backhome. kalo disini kan i'm so casual with my boss that i literally can come up to him and told him that he took my pen after he signed a check *heheh.. that's just to put it lightly* or i can correct him if i see that he did a mistake. well, i think the work environment in indonesia shoulda changed by now... but surely not as casual as we are here.

anyways, as it had been for the past days, i didn't have my lunch until 3.30-ish *sigh* padahal gue udah laper berat. dan end-upnya sekarang gue udah males ngelanjutin kerja lagi nih. it's friday anyways... mendingan nungguin waktu pulang aja... hihihi..

good weekend, y'all!! *damn, how do i get that southern accent.. it's from the book i'm reading, 'divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood'* hahah..

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/05/2002 03:55:00 AM | [ ]

>> WHAT'S UP WITH NEW YORK?

it's already october. usually by this time of the year, the weather are getting colder. one of my favorite seasons of the year *i love spring the most*... but no!! it is just freakin' HOT for the past two days. i can't believe i'm still turning my aircon on, for godsakes!! yesterday was up to 85F, and that was a record high since 1927 which reached 90F this time of the year. 1927 was the time of the great depression, wasn't it? and now the US market is pretty much in another level of depression, although not yet hit rock bottom *believe me, i got this tip from my professor who's the financial analyst at nyse *..... can you see the connection..?? hehe... :D

anyways, besides the weather, see my 'quote for the day'. if you wonder what it means, it's because our business-minded-mayor bloomberg is passing the warning for new yorkers to keep the noise down. apparently there are too many noise in some neighborhood areas. and his $olution?? of course... nothing else but looking for MONEY. it's been said on the news today that people who are found to be making some noises *still can't figure out which type of noise it is* will be fined ranging from $25 to $85. ngeselin gak sih??

i don't know about other new yorkers, but i don't really like how bloomberg seem to always look for money in every area in the city. he's managing the city like he's managing his billion-gazillion-dollar-worth company. as i have posted on my blog last july, he agreed on the new law of raising the parking ticket double from $55 to around $105-110. and also he raised the tax on cigarettes, costing it close to 7 bucks each. mind you, i'm not a smoker, so it doesn't really affect me much. but just thinking how he is managing the city with business mind like that.. he's making a lot of enemies. just like when he decided that the world trade center landmark should be developed to build another office building.. make use of the big space, and just build a small monument. all the family who related directly to the 9/11 loss were furious. and now i heard the city may change their plan. i'm not really sure how and what they are going to do with it.. but i ain't never wanna work there, for sure. it's a freakin' cemetary already... for godsakes!! sereemm ajjaa....*btw, did i tell you how bad the smell was in that area after the first couple of weeks of the attack?*

just yesterday, my co-worker just mentioned how he noticed that the number of homeless people are rising in the city since bloomberg took over the office. i totally agree he's a good business man, but not a politician, really!! giuliani was maybe one of new york's best mayor. he cleaned up the area where hookers used to hang out, where all the drug dealers used to do business. he made the streets cleaner and safer and pressed down the number of crimes in the city. *gosipnya sih dia ada hubungan ama mafia di new york.. hehe.. maklum lah he's italian*

anyways, enough ranting about new york fu©ken' city!!

i've been busy at work ... and school, i hardly have the time to just relax and start writing. i have so many ideas and fresh topics on my head but when i tried to write them down.. it seems tasteless. heheh... soo, i guess u just have to stay tune!! it's almost 4 o'clock now and i just finished my lunch. had a sandwich with roasted pepper, alfalfa sprouts and tomato with tazo chai creme frappuccino *very yummeehh.. yet, not caffeinated* from starbucks. i've been eating my lunch really late lately.. it's not good!! my workload has been increasing and today i have to do the most tedious job of all... filing my paperworks!! dammit.. the girl who usually helps me with filing the paperworks *i refuse to call her my assistant!* left the office for about a month for personal reason. and now i have to do all the filing myself. it's fun after haven't done it for a while, but i know i can't keep up with it forever. and i don't really trust anyone handling these documents cuz most of them are strictly confidential. and i found many mistakes that girl has done. oh well, gotta find somebody who is more capable in administrating all these documents.

oohh... brother...can't wait to go home and watch the new episode of FRIENDS, CSI AND ER tonight... whoohooo.. it's a must see tv night!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/04/2002 03:26:00 AM | [ ]

>> I USED TO BE SQUARE.. NOW I'M CUBIC

if you are familiar with the title above, then you must be a regular at ikea. my heaven place to find furniture, and they always have a funny commercial too.

so yeah, i went to ikea last weekend. a last-minute decision after han called and said that she's going to ikea with nic. called up may who was as excited to go too *turns out she never went to ikea before!! where the hell have you been, girl??* got myself a book case, a vanity cabinet, a wall unit to put my make-ups and perfumes on, two bed sheets, a bathroom floor mat, and a couple of boxes with lid. after i dropped off may from ikea, we (me, adrian, & my bro) went to have dinner with adrian's family at sheapshead bay, brooklyn. apparently it's his dad's birthday.

earlier that saturday morning *i really DO mean early..* i had to tag along with adrian to his aunt's house to pick up his 'brand new' used car. his aunt gave him her old car *free of charge.. how lucky!! just when he's thinking of getting one!* because his aunt just bought a new one. somewhat a family day for him cuz adrian ended up spending time with his family *while i went home and to ikea with my friends*. on the way back from ikea, he called that we're invited to have dinner with his dad and his aunt, uncle, and lil cousin. so, the dinner was okay, quite late though, and i didn't even got a chance to change my clothes after coming back from ikea *which i thought should be OK*. but turned out that night was freezing cold, and i'm only wearing a thin blouse. and it's even colder cuz we went to the marina in brooklyn, so it's right off the shore of the bay.. and it's freakin' windy.. people!!!

on sunday, did my homework, studied a little while waiting for my bro finishing a movie he was watching. then off we go to do laundry, 4 loads of them filled with sheets, comforter covers, quilt covers, all the towels i have in the world *and believe me, there are lots and lotsa them...* , and bunch of my clothes *some of them are dirty laundry i brought from jakarta.. heheh..* didn't finish my laundry until 7pm. while waiting for it to finished, i realized i haven't had any meal the whole day!! so since the laundromat is closed to warteg, i have no choice but to go there *dammit!!* this warteg used to have good food when it first started about 3-4 years ago, but then the quality of the food becomes really stagnant, nothing new and they give less quantity now *peliittt...yang punya orang padang soalnya.. hihi*.

after laundry, i just pretty much stayed at home. my bro assembled those cabinets i bought from ikea while i cleaned up my closets and other parts of my apartment. soon enough, everything looks nice and tidy and it makes me feel so relieved and calm *can you tell i'm a clean freak?* i spent the rest of the night looking over one of the project i was doing for my IS class, did first draft and did my comparative essay on SDLC (system development life cycle) and XP (extreme programming). those who are software developer should know both of these processes...*wink²*

now comes the next day. i was so glad it's monday cuz recently i've always had a nice day on mondays *although i used to hate it*. but no, not this monday!! it was a hell of a mess this monday!! i had so much work, didn't have my lunch, just a power smoothie and by 5 o'clock .. off i went to school. the class was very intense cuz the prof. keeps asking us questions. at first i kept my head down because i don't feel like speaking up in this class. he talked mostly about finance at first. but then it got to the point when he talked about how the technology impact the business *good vs. bad* and that's when it started interesting for me cuz i can relate to that *obviously it's my major!*. haha!! i just find myself less interested in finance although i did my undergrad in it, it's like i'm going over to the other side *lol*. anyways, i ended up opening my mouth and started to join the discussion. interesting thing happened. in the middle of his lecture, he pointed out to this guy on the last row of the class and said that he's from indonesia *he was talking about developing nations and somehow pointed at him to confirm the problems most developing countries are having* i was surprised that there is another indonesian in my class. i have never seen that guy!! but then again, there are too many indonesians in new york, i hardly know most of them!!

so at the end of the class, i called him up and asked him if he's been in new york for a while. i don't know if he's just a quiet person or he was startled to find another indonesian in the class, he was just looking at me strangely. so i just bid him goodbye and went home. it's weird and it happens a lot to me. i would walk on the street *in fact it did happen this morning* and i found indonesians walking while chatting *in indonesian, of course*. most of the times i didn't say anything because i don't know where to start, but sometimes i wonder.. why are all these people don't even know that i'm one of them?? if they see me on the street, i can understand cuz there are many other people from other countries that could look like indonesians *philippines, malaysian, thailand.. sometimes even mexican..etc* but in the freakin' class when the prof. called me up by my first name *which obviously a very indonesian name* and they didn't even suspect that i am one?? it's weirrdd.... even when i went to bali, the locals would ask my friend "itu bule dari mana, mbak?" and i'm like.. wtf?? how the hell you figured i'm 'bule' with my indonesian face and my black hair?? maybe it's the way i carried myself.. but how? i don't even have fu©king idea!! am i that americanized?? i don't fu©king think so!! i know all my friends would totally disagree on the thought of me being too americanize, but i still wonder why there would be some who do think so...aneh ah!!...

ps: if you wonder why i always write in english.. cuz i know some people who aren't indonesian stopped by here.... hey, wait the fu©king minute.. i don't have to explain myself!! *duh*


:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/01/2002 10:27:00 PM | [ ]

>> WHAT A DAY!! OH, IT'S ONLY MONDAY...

i'm too tired to write my blog. woke up early, hitched a ride with adrian on his new car. monday traffic. didn't get to work on time, although we left pretty early. early than usual. busy at work. didn't even stop to have my freakin' lunch. 5 o'clock. left to my 'global business policy' class. interesting but tiring. my head is just pretty much burnt out. got home by 9.30pm. all i wanna do is just have a nice meal and lay down. nite nite!!

:: sLesTa

>> posted on 10/01/2002 09:11:00 AM | [ ]