Money Money Money

ENGLISH

I think all of us agree that money is one important thing in our life. Without money, we can't live (probably except some traditional tribes who still live their own ways and pretty secluded from the civilization). Here, I don't want to write about that big thing, but about small thing that happens around me.

I used to be kind and generous. For example when my friends and I had meal somewhere, usually I paid all first then my friends paid to me. I also let my friends copied many mp3s or videos from my computer, then used my blank CD, and made new CD for them, and I didn't take any charge. I also took them with my car, so I had to take them from their home, then went somewhere, sometimes went to my house, then I took them home back. At first actually I was okay and no problem with that. But as time flew, I don't think that's okay or no problem... . Why?? Because sometimes recently I also felt that they exploited me. Here's some examples. One day we had dinner at one restaurant, and as usual I paid first. Then, my friend should pay me Rp. 70,000.oo but he only paid Rp. 50,000.oo and said he would paid the rest later. But the fact is: he NEVER pays the rest. Or sometimes, he didn't even PAY the Rp. 70,000.oo that he was supposed to pay. And if I ask him about his loan to me (because I need the money and I don't take any profit from that (if he loaned Rp 100,000.oo I would ask Rp 100,000.oo, NOT Rp 120,000.oo)), he says: "NO, I don't loan anything to you!!" That's also my fault actually because I didn't bring the bills, but I think even if I had brought the bill, it would not have changed a lot (probably he would say that he had already paid Rp. 70,000.oo). Then, one day he said to me he wanted to go to my house and I said okay, but then he said that I had to take him home, what!?!?!? That's pretty weird, I knew what he was gonna do in my house, he wanted to copy many mp3s or videos again, and of course used my blank CD again. I was also tired that day and said that probably I couldn't take him home, and I would call a taxi for him when he wanted to go home. But he refused, he didn't want to go to my house if I didn't take him home... . Umm, that's weird.... . Then, one day, because I was fed up with that, I said everybody should pay themselves (I didn't want to pay for all first again), and he said I was very stingy, but I didn't care. And of course, I didn't lose any money that I actually deserved. I think there are many people out there who are also like that, when I told this problem to one of my friend, I knew that some of my friend's friends are also like that.... . Well, not all of my friends are like that, many of them (or most of them) are honest and fair. So???

----

Talking about the show Indonesian Idol last night, we finally eliminated Lee. That was a correct decision I think, since IMO, some of the worst performers last night were Lee, Dirly, Ihsan, and Tesa.

::: Rupiah

::: Bottom three this week

INDONESIAN

Menurutku semua dari kita setuju kalau uang adalah satu hal penting dalam hidup kita. Tanpa uang kita nggak bisa hidup (mungkin kecuali beberapa suku tradisional yang masih hidup dengan cara mereka dan agak terpencil dari peradaban). Disini, aku nggak mau nulis tentang hal besar itu, tapi cuma hal kecil yang terjadi di sekitar aku.

Aku tuh dulu baik banget loh. Misalnya aja ketika aku sama temen-temenku lagi makan dimana gitu, biasanya aku yang membayar semuanya duluan, trus temenku membayar ke aku. Aku juga membiarkan temenku untuk meminta banyak mp3 dan video dari komputerku, trus memakai CD kosongku, dan membuatkan mereka CD baru, dan aku nggak minta bayaran. Aku juga mengantar mereka naik mobilku, jadi aku harus menjemput mereka dari rumah, pergi kemana gitu, trus kadang-kadang ke rumahku, trus nganter mereka pulang. Pertamanya sebenernya aku oke-oke aja sama itu dan nggak masalah. Tapi seiring dengan mengalirnya waktu, aku nggak merasa itu oke-oke aja atau nggak masalah... . Kenapa?? Soalnya kadang-kadang akhir-akhir ini aku merasa kalo mereka memanfaatkan aku. Ini beberapa contohnya. Suatu hari kami makan di sebuah restoran, kemudian kayak biasanya, aku yang bayar dulu. Trus, temenku seharusnya membayar Rp. 70.000,oo tapi dia cuma membayar Rp. 50.000,oo dan ngomong kalo sisanya akan dibayar kemudian. Tapi kenyataannya: dia TIDAK PERNAH membayar sisanya. Atau malah kadang-kadang, dia TIDAK membayar yang Rp. 70.000,oo itu yang seharusnya dia bayar. Dan ketika aku meminta utangnya (soalnya aku lagi butuh uang dan aku nggak ngambil untung dari utangnya itu (kalo utangnya Rp. 100.000,oo ya aku mintanya Rp. 100.000,oo bukan Rp. 120.000,oo)), dia bilang: "ENGGAK, aku kan nggak utang sama kamu!!" Sebenernya itu kesalahanku juga sih soalnya aku nggak bawa notanya, tapi menurutku walaupun aku bawa notanya, kayaknya juga nggak terlalu berubah deh (mungkin dia bakal omong kalo dia sudah membayar Rp. 70.000,oo). Trus suatu hari, dia bilang kalo dia mau dateng ke rumahku dan aku bilang iya, tapi trus tahu-tahu dia bilang kalo aku mesti nganterin dia pulang, apa!?!?!? Itu agak aneh, aku tahu dia mau apa di rumahku, pasti mau minta lagu mp3 atau video lagi, dan tentu aja pake CD kosongku lagi. Aku juga lagi capek sih waktu itu dan bilang kalo mungkin aku nggak bisa nganter pulang, dan aku akan nelpon taksi untuk nganter dia pulang. Tapi dia menolak, dia nggak mau ke rumahku kalo aku nggak mau nganter dia pulang.... . Umm, itu kan aneh.... . Trus, suatu hari, karena aku sudah muak dengan semua itu, aku bilang tiap orang langsung bayar sendiri-sendiri (aku nggak mau membayar untuk semua lagi), dan aku dibilang sangat pelit, tapi ya aku biarin aja. Dan tentu aja, aku nggak kehilangan uang yang aku berhak. Aku kira ada lumayan banyak orang seperti itu di luar sana, waktu aku cerita masalah ini ke temenku, aku jadi tahu kalo temennya temenku beberapa juga kayak gitu... . Hmm, nggak semua temenku seperti itu sih, banyak dari mereka (kebanyakan malah) tuh adil dan jujur. Jadi???

----

Ngomong-ngomong tentang show Indonesian Idol semalam, akhirnya Lee tereliminasi. Itu adalah keputusan yang tepat menurutku soalnya, menurutku beberapa yang terjelak adalah Lee, Dirly, Ihsan dan Tesa.

World Cup starts TODAY!!!

ENGLISH

All soccer mania all over the world must be very happy and excited today since the worldwide event which is held only once in four years, THE WORLD CUP, starts today....

I am not a soccer mania actually, and also seldom (or never) watching football match, but for World Cup, I don't know why but I am pretty interested in it. Even probably I don't watch the match, but I also feel pretty curious to know the result... :) Four years ago when this event was held in Korea-Japan (I was in the second year of Junior High-School) I also felt the same....



::: The World Cup

INDONESIAN

Semua penggila sepakbola di seluruh dunia pasti sangat senang hari ini soalnya even dunia yang diadakan sekali dalam empat tahun, PIALA DUNIA, dimulai hari ini ....

Aku bukanlah penggila bola sebenernya, dan juga jarang banget (atau malah nggak pernah) nonton pertandingan bola, tapi untuk Piala Dunia, aku nggak tahu kenapa tapi aku lumayan tertarik loh. Biarpun mungkin aku nggak nonton pertandingannya, tapi aku ngerasa lumayan penasaran untuk tahu hasilnya.... :) Empat tahun yang lalu ketika even ini diadakan di Korea-Jepang (aku lagi kelas 2 SMP waktu itu) aku juga merasakan hal yang sama....

My Bali Vacation PART THREE (Day 6 and 7)

ENGLISH

previous part................

Day 6

Because we were so sleepy, we got up pretty late at 10.30 AM in the morning, and because of that, unfortunately, we automatically wasted our breakfast vouchers (only available until 10 AM) that day. Then, after everybody was ready, we walked to the airport to go to Garuda Indonesia office again to ask again about our flight back to Jogjakarta the next day. The answer was still the same, the flight would not land at Adisutjipto Airport, but at Adisumarmo Airport Solo, and the transport from Solo to Jogjakarta was not Garuda's responsibility. Ok, after that we had lunch at a chinese food restaurant (I don't remember the name, but it was somewhere near the airport, not very close actually, about 5 minutes by taxi). Then, we went back to our hotel (we dropped in a laundry first, my friend wanted to take his clothes).

That evening, we planned to go to Jimbaran Bay to have dinner there. Well, the driver (who we hired to bring us to Bedugul and Lovina the previous days) offered to bring us to Jimbaran Bay with special rates, Rp. 100,000.oo and he would bring us to one cheap restaurant that he knew. He said that if we went there by taxi, we would have to pay more expensive, around Rp. 120,000.oo or even more. Because we had already been suspicious and disappointed to the driver, we just said okey and if we wanted to hire him again, we would call him (and of course we didn't call him. Okay, probably the taxi fee would be more expensive Rp. 20,000.oo but cheap restaurant that he knew?? After having experience with him bringing us to a buffet restaurant, we didn't think that's cheap. We were pretty sure that he would bring us to restaurant which would give him tips, and of course it was not gonnabe cheap....). Then, we caught a taxi and guess what?? The taxi rate was only Rp. 23,000.oo which means around Rp. 46,000.oo vv. Fiuuhhh.... . Lucky we didn't step into alligator’s mouth. Then, because there were so many restaurants, we chose the closest one and had dinner there. We chose our table first, then after ordering drinks, we ordered our meal. There were only some choices of seafood: fish, mussels, calamari, crabs, and prawns. And after ordered mine, I went back to my seat and enjoyed the evening view of Jimbaran Bay and Ngurah Rai International Airport Bali (the location was pretty close to the airport so we could watch many planes took off or landed). Then, finally our meals came and we started to eat. The food was not very tasty (at least for us, I don't know for other people) actually >> one of my friend complained to us (which is actually totally useless) because the food was not tasty (and the price was so high), but he ate 4 plates of rice... . Hmmmm... . But when we come to Jimbaran, we shouldn't expect tasty food, because of some reasons. First, Jimbaran is in Bali, and probably our tongue doesn't suit with Bali's food. Second, when we go to Jimbaran we are mainly looking for the atmosphere (the bay, etc), so food is number two. After that, we went back home by taxi, and yes, it was only Rp. 24,000.oo.

Day 7

We got up at 9 AM in the morning, and this day we didn't waste our breakfast vouchers. We had breakfast there in the hotel. Then, after packing our luggages, we still had about 8 hours before our flight took off (it took off at 6.50 PM according to the schedule), and what were we gonna do in that 8 hours?? We were confused at first, and finally we decided to go to Bali Galeria Mall in Simpang Siur.

Hmm, the mall was apparently not very crowded at that time (or probably because we came there too early). So, we went and also wasted our time in Gramedia to buy some books. After that, we had lunch at the food court. Then, because it was still 1.45 PM, we decided to watch a movie at Cinema21. There were only 2 rooms and 2 movies there, X-Men III The Last Stand in room 1, and The DaVinci Code in room 2. Because I had already watched DVC (only me who had already watched that movie actually), so we watched X-Men III. The movie started at 2.15 PM and unfortunately, because we were pretty late buying the tickets, we got the front seats (the nearest to the screen which was not very comfortable). Okay, then I tried to enjoy the film (actually I don't really like the story X-Men), and I could enjoy it. It was pretty good with high-imagination, but I still prefer DVC to X-Men III... :) The movie ended at about 4 PM, and then we left the mall, took our luggages from our hotel, then went to the airport directly.

Unfortunately, we were too early about 20 minutes (the check-in table for GA 255 had not been open yet, so we had to wait). Luckily I bought some comics at Gramedia that afternoon, and I could read it while we were waiting for it. Then, after 20 minutes, we checked-in, and we still had about 2 hours before our flight. So, we went to KFC first and had dinner there. After that, we went to the waiting area and waited for our flight at Gate 16. Then, there was an announcement that GA 255 would be delayed until 7 PM (that's not really a problem, only 10 minutes late). At 7 PM, we boarded to our plane and took off from Bali at about 7.10 PM. Bye bye Bali..... :)

On board, there was a stupid, selfish, idiot, sux man. Before the plane took off, the air stewardess reminded him to turn off his cellphone, and he said okay. But guess what?? When we were flying, he sent some sms' and also received some.... :( Arrrggghhhh.... . The weather at that time was not very nice, and he held his cellphone, kept it active, and sent sms?? Arrggghhhh..... . Lucky our flight was okay. Then, after 1 hour flying, we finally landed at Adisumarmo Airport, Solo. That was my first time to Adisumarmo Airport, the runway was okay (better than Jogjakarta Airport's runway). But, the terminal building was terrible, Jogjakarta's was a lot better.... :) Then, we caught a taxi and went back to Yogyakarta, and after 1 more hour journey, I arrived at my house.

~ THE END ~


Are you left behind and wanna read the first part of this trilogy?? Click here

::: South View of Jimbaran Bay

::: North View of Jimbaran Bay

::: My meal at Jimbaran (fried calamaris, oyster sauces mussels, and fried fish; plus tumis kangkung)

::: X-Men III, The Last Stand

::: My ticket and boarding pass

::: Boeing 737-400 Garuda Indonesia GA 255 which brought me to Adisumarmo Airport, Solo

::: Welcome on board

::: Taking off from Ngurah Rai Bali Int'l Airport, Bye-bye Bali.....

Note: click pics to enlarge them

INDONESIAN

bagian sebelumnya..............

Hari 6

Karena kita ngantuk banget, kita bangunnya agak terlambat deh sekitar jam 10.30 di pagi hari, dan karena itu, sayangnya, kita otomatis menyia-nyiakan kupan sarapan (cuma berlaku sampe jam 10 pagi doank) hari itu. Trus, setelah semuanya siap, kita jalan kaki ke airport untuk pergi ke kantor Garuda Indonesia lagi untuk menanyakan penerbangan ke Yogyakarta keeseokan harinya. Jawabannya masih sama, penerbangan nggak akan mendarat di Bandara Adisutjipto tetapi dialihkan ke Bandara Adisumarmo Solo, dan transpor dari Solo ke Jogja bukanlah tanggung-jawab Garuda. Ok, habis itu kita makan siang di sebuah restoran chinese food (aku nggak inget namanya, cuma terletak di suatu tempat deketnya airport, nggak deket-deket banget sih, sekitar 5 menit naik taksi). Trus kita balik ke hotel (kita mampir dulu di tempat laundry, temenku mau ngambil bajunya).

Sore harinya, kita berencana untuk pergi ke Pantai Jimbaran untuk makan malam disana. Sopirnya (yang kita sewa untuk mengantar kita ke Bedugul dan Lovina hari-hari sebelumnya) menawarkan untuk mengantar kita ke Pantai Jimbaran dengan harga spesial, Rp. 100.000,oo dan dia akan membawa kita ke restoran murah yang dia tahu. Katanya, kalo misalnya kita naik taksi, kita bakalan harus bayar lebih mahal, sekitar Rp. 120.000,oo an bahkan lebih. Tapi karena kita sudah curiga dan kecewa sama nih sopir, kita cuma omong oke dan kalo kita mau pakai dia lagi, kita akan menghubungi dia (jelas aja kita nggak menghubungi dia. Oke deh, mungkin ongkos taksi lebih mahal Rp. 20.000,oo tapi restoran murah yang dia tahu?? Setelah pengalaman dengan dia membawa kita restoran prasmanan, kita nggak berpikir kalo itu murah. Kita lumayan yakin kalo dia bakal bawa kita ke restoran yang ngasih dia tips, dan tentu aja itu nggak murah.... ). Trus, akhirnya kita naik taksi dan tebak apa?? Ongkosnya cuma Rp. 23.000,oo sekali jalan yang berarti sekitar Rp 46.000,oo pp. Fiuuhhh.... . Untung kita nggak melangkah masuk ke mulut buaya. Trus, karena ada banyak banget restorannya, kita memilih yang paling deket dan makan disana. Kita memilih meja dulu, kemudian memesan minuman, trus baru mesen makanan. Ternyata ada beberapa macam makanan: ikan, kerang besar, cumi-cumi, kepiting, sama udang. Dan setelah memesan punyaku, aku balik duduk dan menikmati pemandangan sore Pantai Jimbaran dan Bandara Internasional Ngurah Rai Bali (lokasinya lumayan deket sama bandara jadi kita bisa menonton pesawat mendarat dan tinggal landas). Trus akhirnya makanan kita dateng dan kita mulai makan. Makanannya nggak terlalu enak sebenernya (paling nggak sih untuk kami, tapi nggak tahu untuk orang lain) sebenernya >> salah satu temenku komplain ke kita (yang sebenernya bener-bener nggak berguna kan?) soalnya makanannya nggak enak (tetapi harganya mahal), tapi dia makan 4 piring nasi... . Hmmmm... . Tapi ketika kita dateng ke Jimbaran, kita seharusnya nggak terlalu mengharapkan makanan enak karena beberapa alasan. Pertama, Jimbaran itu ada di Bali dan mungkin aja lidah kita nggak cocok sama makanan Bali. Kedua, orang dateng ke Jimbaran kan biasanya nyari suasana (pantainya, dll), jadi makanan nomer dua deh. Habis itu, kita balik ke hotel naik taksi, dan bener, ongkosnya cuma Rp. 24.000,oo.

Hari 7

Kita bangun jam 9 pagi harinya dan hari ini kita tidak menyia-nyiakan kupon sarapan kita. Kita makan pagi di hotel. Trus, habis mengepak barang-barang kita, kita masih punya waktu sekitar 8 jam sebelum pesawat berangkat (jam 6.50 malem berdasarkan jadwal), dan apakah yang kita lakukan selama 8 jam itu?? Kita pertamanya bingung juga, akhirnya memutuskan untuk pergi ke Mall Bali Galeria di Simpang Siur.

Hmm, mallnya ternyata nggak terlalu ramai jam itu (atau mungkin kita datengnya kesana yang terlalu awal). Jadi, kita pergi dan menghabiskan waktu di Gramedia untuk membeli beberapa buku. Habis itu kita makan siang di food courtnya sana. Trus, karena masih jam 1.45 siang, kita memutuskan untuk nonton film di Cinema21. Disana cuma ada 2 ruangan dan 2 film, X-Men III The Last Stand di ruangan 1 dan The DaVinci Code di ruangan 2. Karena aku udah pernah nonton DVC (sebenernya cuma aku yang udah pernah nonton film ini) , jadi kita nonton X-Men III. Filmnya dimulai jam 2.15 siang dan sayangnya, mungkin karena kita agak telat beli tiketnya, kita dapet kursi di depan (yang paling deket sama layar yang tentu aja nggak nyaman nontonnya). Okay, trus aku mencoba untuk menikmati filmnya (sebenernya aku nggak terlalu suka sama cerita X-Men), dan aku bisa. Filmnya lumayan bagus juga dengan imajinasi yang tinggi, tapi aku masih lebih suka DVC daripada X-Men III.... :) Filmnya selesai sekitar jam 4 sore, dan setelahnya kita meninggalkan mall, mengambil koper di hotel, dan langsung pergi ke airport.

Sayangnya, kita dateng ke airportnya agak terlalu cepat 20 menit (meja check-in-nya untuk GA 255 belum dibuka, jadi kita harus menunggu). Untungnya aku siangnya membeli beberapa komik di Gramedia, dan aku bisa membacanya sambil menunggu. Trus, setelah 20 menit kita check-in dan kita masih ada waktu sekitar 2 jam sebelum pesawat berangkat. Jadi, kita pergi ke KFC dulu dan makan disana. Habis itu kita pergi ke ruang tunggu dan menunggu pesawat di pintu 16. Trus, ada pengumuman kalo katanya GA 255 bakalan ditunda sampe jam 7 malem (nggak masalah sih, cuma 10 menit telat koq). Jam 7 malem, kita naik pesawat dan tinggal landas dari Bali sekitar jam 7.10 malam. Bye bye Bali..... :)

Di dalam pesawat, ada orang yang tolol, egois, idiot, menyebalkan. Sebelum pesawat tinggal landas, pramugarinya udah mengingatkan dia untuk mematikan hp-nya, dan dia bilang oke. Tapi tebak apa?? Ketika lagi terbang, dia mengirim beberapa sms dan juga menerima beberapa.... :( Arrrggghhhh.... . Cuaca saat itu nggak terlalu bagus dan dia memegang hpnya, tetap membiarkannya aktif, dan mengirim sms?? Arrggghhhh..... . Untung pesawatnya nggak papa tuh. Trus, setelah 1 jam terbang, kita akhirnya mendarat di Bandara Adisumarmo, Solo. Itu adalah kali pertama aku ke Bandara Adisumarmo. Landasan pacunya oke (lebih bagus daripada Bandara Adisutjipto Yogyakarta). Tapi gedung terminalnya parah, Airport Jogja jauh lebih baik.... :) Trus, kita naik taksi dan balik ke Yogyakarta, dan setelah satu jam lagi perjalanan, aku sampe di rumah.

~ SELESAI ~

Apakah anda tertinggal dan ingin membaca bagian pertama dari trilogi ini?? Klik disini

Monday Story and Rumor (One More Interlude)

ENGLISH

Just as you know, I am still on holiday today (after UAN we are free... . We just have to go to school 2 weeks later, 19th June, to see our UAN and UAS result). So, what did I do today??

This morning, I got up at 9 AM (this is one thing that I really love about holiday, we can get up whenever we want... :D). Then, I played computer just for a while, because my brothers' friends came to our house and just like usual, they wanted to play this computer. OK, then I moved downstair, turned the TV on and hoped tried to find interesting program to watch, but unfortunately, I couldn't find any. So, because there was nothing to do, I just lounged on the bed and read some comics, and of course, the sleeping virus attacked me and I fell asleep. After 1 hour sleeping, I woke up and had lunch.

At 1.30 PM, I went to my friends' home, picked them up, and went to Toga Mas Bookstore. I bought some books and magazine there (something to read during the holiday), then because we still had much time, we just went around the city and looked at the city after the earthquake.... :) Finally, I witnessed saw Gramedia Building in General Soedirman Street which was pretty heavily damaged. I didn't take the picture, but I think there are so many other webs that provide show us the pics of Yogyakarta recently after the earthquake. The traffic here in Yogyakarta now is also not as comfortable as before the earthquake, there are so many trucks and so many motorbikers drive carelessly (they endanger not only themselves but also the other people). Then, we had dinner at Kiko Restaurant and went back home.

After the earthquake, there are so many rumors here which spread via sms. The latest rumor says that according to CNN, there will be another earthquake next Wednesday, the earthquake is even bigger than the 27th May 2006 earthquake and potentially causes tsunami. For me, that doesn't make any sense. If it's true that CNN says that (or at least the institution that came up with that prediction), of course the same news will also be announced here via television or newspaper, not via sms. Then, last week, there was a similar rumor, but that rumor used the name BBC. Hmmm.... . I'm tired of this.... . Now, the activity of Merapi raises and potentially will erupt in days. Hope the eruption is not dangerous or causes another disaster here in Jogjakarta, one big earthquake is more than enough..... :(

Well, tomorrow is "Satan" day, 06-06-06....

INDONESIAN

Seperti yang sudah diketahui, aku hari ini masih dalam suasana liburan (habis UAN kan kita bebas.... . Kita cuma harus ke sekolah 2 minggu lagi, tanggal 19 Juni, untuk melihat hasil UAN dan UAS kita). Jadi, apa yang aku lakukan hari ini??

Pagi ini, aku bangun jam 9 pagi (ini adalah satu hal yang sangat aku sukai tentang liburan, kita bisa bangun bebas kapanpun kita mau.... :D)> Trus aku main komputer cuma sebentar, soalnya temen-temennya adikku dateng ke rumahku, dan seperti biasa, mereka mau memainkan komputer ini. OK, aku pindah ke lantai bawah, nyalain TV, dan berharap mencoba untuk mencari acara TV yang menarik untuk ditonton, sayangnya aku nggak menemukannya. Jadi, karena nggak ada yang mesti dilakuin, ya udah aku tiduran di ranjang sambil baca beberapa komik, dan tentu aja, virus tidur menyerangku, dan aku merasa ngantuk. Setelah tidur selama 1 jam, aku bangun trus makan siang.

Jam 1.30 siang, aku pergi ke rumah temenku, menjemput mereka, dan pergi ke Toko Buku Toga Mas. Aku beli beberapa buku dan majalah disana (untuk bahan bacaan selama liburan), trus karena kita masih punya banyak waktu ya udah kita jalan-jalan keliling Kota Yogyakarta dan melihat kota setelah gempa bumi.... :) Akhirnya aku menyaksikan melihat Gedung Gramedia di Jalan Jenderal Soedirman yang rusak lumayan parah. Aku nggak ngambil gambarnya sih, cuma kan ada banyak web tuh yang menyediakan menunjukkan gambar-gambar dari Yogyakarta setelah gempa bumi. Lalu lintas di Yogyakarta juga sekarang nggak senyaman sebelum gempa bumi, banyak banget truk di jalan dan banyak banget pengguna motor yang nyetirnya nggak hati-hati (mereka kan nggak hanya membahayakan diri mereka sendiri, tapi juga orang lain tuh). Trus, kita makan di Restoran Kiko dan balik ke rumah.

Setelah gempa bumi, banyak isu sekarang yang menyebar melalui sms. Isu terbaru berkata berdasarkan CNN, akan ada gempa bumi lain besok Rabu, gempa ini bahkan lebih besar daripada gempa tanggal 27 Mei 2006 dan berpotensi untuk menimbulkan tsunami. Untuk aku, isu ini nggak masuk akal. Kalo bener CNN mengatakan itu (atau paling nggak lembaga yang mengeluarkan prediksi itu), tentu saja berita yang sama akan diumumkan melalui televisi atau koran, tapi bukan melalui sms. Trus, minggu lalu, ada isu yang serupa, tapi menggunakan nama BBC. Hmmm.... . Aku capek sama hal ini.... . Sekarang, aktivitas Gunung Merapi meningkat dan berpotensi untuk erupsi dalam beberapa hari. Semoga erupsi ini nggak bahaya atau menimbulkan bencana lain di Yogyakarta, satu gempa bumi yang besar sudah lebih dari cukup.... :(

Oya, besok Hari "Setan" tuh, 06-06-06....

Spectacular Show Indonesian Idol 3 + Earthquake

ENGLISH

Last Friday night, I watched the first spectacular show of Indonesian Idol season 3. The theme this week was Platinum 12 (each contestant sang one song which was inside an album that got platinum award (more than 150,000 copies)). My personal thought on last night performance:

o1 - Ihsan : not his best performance, he could do it a lot better. Score: 6
02 - Maria : pretty good in singing her song even if this song is actually out of her field. Score: 7.8
03 - Dirly : not as bad as some weeks ago, I (or we) could see improvement, however it's still not as good as the other contestants. Score: 5.2
04 - Depe : she has a powerful voice, she was great singing that song (Rahasia Perempuan) even if that song is actually boys' song. Score: 8
05 - Lee : pretty good, but not superb or very bad. I classify his performance as mediocre. Score: 7
06 - Brinet : not very good but also not very bad. She was better than 2 weeks ago when she got voted off from the show. Score: 6.7
07 - Sisi : again, another good performance. She does deserve to be in the top 12. Score: 7.8
08 - Ilham : I don't know why but this week he was so boring, not very special. Score: 4.5
09 - Christy : another great voice, but she was still stiff (probably because she was nervous singing on a bigger stage). Score: 8
10 - Nobo : good choice of song, really suited him. Score: 7.8
11 - Gea : nice performance. Gea doesn't have the best voice, but she is definitely an entertainer. Score: 7.5
12 - Tesa : another boring performance (his style was okay, but his voice was not as good as his style and dance), I don't know why the judges praised him. Score: 5

So, in my opinion, the bottom three should be:
10. Dirly
11. Tesa
12. Ilham >> voted off

However, Indonesia decided the bottom three were:
10. Gea
11. Nobo
12. Depe >> voted off

Well, I don't know why but the voting result last night really shocked me. The bottom three were all good and three of the best contestants this season, and we had to lose Depe last night. Actually I had predicted that probably Depe would be like Mandisa in American Idol season 5. Both of them have great and powerful voice, however, their physical appearance are not good-looking and because of that, both of them can't stay long on that stage. What happened last night?? >> actually I just voted for Maria, lol... :D

Last night when I watched the result show of Indonesian Idol, there was another earthquake shook Jogjakarta, not very big, but it was pretty long, about 5 seconds. Then, this morning (4 AM), another earthquake shook Jogjakarta again. So, I moved from my room (upstair) to the living room (downstair, near the door) and slept there... :( I couldn't sleep well..... :(

PS: again, this is an interlude message between the Bali Vacation Trilogy... :)

::: Bottom three this week

INDONESIAN

Jumat malam kemarin, aku nonton Spektakuler Show pertama dari Indonesian Idol musim ketiga. Tema minggu ini adalah Platinum 12 (setiap kontestan akan menyanyikan satu lagu yang terdapat dalam album yang mendapatkah penghargaan platinum (lebih dari 150.000 kopi)). Pendapatku pribadi tentang show semalam:

o1 - Ihsan : Bukan penampilannya yang terbaik, dia bisa melakukannya dengan lebih bagus lagi. Score: 6
02 - Maria : lumayan bagus waktu menyanyikan lagunya walaupun sebenernya tuh lagu bukan elemennya. Score: 7.8
03 - Dirly : nggak sejelek beberapa minggu yang lalu sih. Aku (atau kita) dapat melihat peningkatan, tetapi bagaimanapun juga masih belum sebagus kontestan lainnya. Score: 5.2
04 - Depe : dia punya suara yang kuat, dan sangat bagus dalam menyanyikan lagunya (Rahasia Perempuan) walaupun sebenernya itu adalah lagu laki-laki. Score: 8
05 - Lee : lumayan bagus sih, cuma nggak bagus-bagus amat atau jelek-jelek amat. Aku mengklasifikasikannya sebagai biasa-biasa saja. Score: 7
06 - Brinet : nggak bagus-bagus amat atau jelek-jelek amat. Tapi dia nyanyinya lebih bagus daripada 2 minggu lalu waktu dia tereliminasi. Score: 6.7
07 - Sisi : sekali lagi, penampilan yang bagus. Dia berhak koq berada di 12 besar. Score: 7.8
08 - Ilham : Aku nggak tahu kenapa cuma minggu ini dia membosankan banget, nggak terlalu spesial. Score: 4.5
09 - Christy : suara yang bagus lagi, cuma dia masih kaku (mungkin gara-gara dia cemas soalnya kan ini adalah penampilannya yang pertama di panggung besar). Score: 8
10 - Nobo : pilihan lagu yang bagus, bener-bener cocok sama dia. Score: 7.8
11 - Gea : penampilan yang bagus. Gea nggak punya suara yang terbaik dalam show ini, tapi jelas dia adalah seorang entertainer. Score: 7.5
12 - Tesa : penampilan yang membosankan (gayanya sih oke, tapi suaranya nggak seoke gaya sama tariannya). Aku nggak tahu kenapa koq jurinya memuji dia. Score: 5

Jadi, menurutku pendapatku, 3 terbawah seharusnya:
10. Dirly
11. Tesa
12. Ilham >> tersisih

Bagaimanapun juga, Indonesia memutuskan bahwa 3 terbawahnya:
10. Gea
11. Nobo
12. Depe >> tersisih

Hmm, aku nggak tahu kenapa tapi hasil polling semalam bener-bener mengejutkan aku. Tiga terbawahnya semuanya bagus-bagus dan merupakan 3 dari kontestan terbaik musim ini, dan kita harus kehilangan Depe semalam. Sebenernya aku sudah memrpediksikan juga sih kalo mungkin nasibnya Depe bakalan mirip sama Mandisa di American Idol musim kelima. Keduanya memiliki suara yang bagus dan kuat, cuma sayangnya penampilan fisik mereka nggak mendukung, dan karena itu keduanya nggak bisa bertahan lama di panggung. Apa sih yg sebenernya terjadi semalem?? >> sebenernya aku cuma dukung Maria sih, lol... :D

Tadi malem waktu aku nonton result shownya Indonesian Idol, ada satu lagi gempa yang mengguncangkan Jogjakarta, nggak besar-besar amat sih, tapi berlangsung lumayan lama, sekitar 5 detik. Trus pagi ini (jam 4 pagi) ada gempa lain yang mengguncang Yogyakarta. Aku terpaksa pindah dari kamarku (di atas) ke ruang keluarga (di bawah, deket sama pintu) dan tidur disana... :( Aku nggak bisa tidur dengan nyenyak deh... :(

PS: sekali lagi, ini adalah message selingan di antara trilogi Liburan di Bali... :)

My Bali Vacation PART TWO (Day 4 and 5)

ENGLISH

previous part....................................

I've changed my mind, and I'll write my Bali Vacation Story in 3 parts (again) >> so I can write more details here.... :)

Day 4

We got up at 8.30 AM in the morning, and left our hotel at 10 AM. We then directly went to the Bedugul Botanical Garden, not so far away from the Bratan Lake. Botanical Garden was a nice place with nice air. It was a big park (almost similar with Safari Park at Cisarua (Bogor) or Pandaan (East Java), but there is no animal there). Then, after going around the park (to the greenhouse, garden, and lake view garden), we left the park and wanted to have lunch.

Our driver recommended a buffet restaurant (he said it was Rp 40,000.oo the night before, then he said it was Rp. 50,000.oo that morning >> which made me suspicious). He said that was cheap (what!?!? Rp. 50,000.oo per person is cheap?? Usually we just needed around Rp. 12,000.oo per person and even if we wanted to double it, we just needed Rp. 24,000.oo; would we double our meal so many times that became that expensive?? Clearly nope >> note: we consumed that ammount of money when we had meal at cheap restaurants, we didn't always have meal there, sometimes we also spent more money too....). OK, back to topic. We then went to that restaurant, and guess what?? The price was Rp. 60,000.oo per person including tax and service!!! Then, the menus were just standart, nothing special or the traditional food of Bali. Well, we then just got out the restaurant, and went accross the road to the lake and found some small stalls, some were food stalls, and we ate there. The food was Betutu Chicken and it was only Rp. 5,000.oo per person.

Then, after having lunch we left Bedugul Lake and went to Lovina Bay, near Singaraja (in the north of Bali). We felt that our driver became a little bit different after finding out that we didn't eat at restaurant he recommended (I know probably the restaurant would give him tips if we ate there..... ). On the way, we stopped at Git-git Waterfall. From the parking lot to the waterfall was so far away. There were so many foreigners there (some were German, I know that... :D). Then, after that we continued our journey to Lovina. Finally at 4 PM we arrived at our hotel and took a rest. Guess what?? There was NO television in our room (the rate was Rp. 300,000.oo per night?? Isn't that crazy????). So, that night we went to a cafe near Lovina Bay and bought drinks there and watched TV (Indonesian Idol). We sent back Brinet and Tesa to the competition that night. After that, we went back home

Day 5

We got up at 4.30 AM in the morning, then went to the bay to watch dolphins. After bargaining, we dealed and then went to the open sea. The journey took about 40 minutes from the bay to the place where many dolphins lived (so, we also watched the sunrise on the boat). Well, finally we watched the dolphins (you can watch the video below, can you find the dolphins?? :D). Then, at 6.50 AM we went back to the seashore. On the way, my friend got an sms which told us that Jogja had just been shaken by a massive earthquake!!!! We were shocked and then I called my brother in Jogjakarta (it was still in the morning, I knew that he was free that day and he must sleep at that time), and luckily he and my family were all safe. Then, we checked out at 8.30 AM and went to Denpasar. At 10.50 AM we arrived at Denpasar and bought pork sausages, smoked pork ham, and dendeng (my family entrusted me those presents). Then, after checking-in at the hotel in Kuta, we watched TV (Metro TV) to find out some more newest informations about Jogjakarta. Watching that show didn't make us feel comfortable, because that channel (and some other channels) only focused on destructed areas, the other areas which were actually safe (like the city of Jogjakarta) were only showed a little. Then, because I was so sleepy and exhausted, I took a nap.

That night one of my friend and I went to Ngurah Rai Airport to go to Garuda Indonesia office to ask about our flight back to Jogja. The officer said probably we wouldn't land at Adisutjipto Airport Jogjakarta, but at Adisumarmo Airport Solo, but they still waited for further notice. Then, some other friends asked to go to the disco. OK, then we walked so far away to Kuta Bay. Then, after ordering some expensive drinks (we hadn't danced yet at that time), I alone decided to go back to the hotel to watch American Idol (that show was the last show, probably we would never watch that show again if we missed that episode; in other hands, I can go to the disco whenever and wherever I like, so staying in the disco that night was not very necessary... :D). I decided to walk (to save more money instead I still had 60 minutes before the show started), and apparently it needed 48 minutes to walk to the hotel!!! So exhausting, but healthy... :D Then, I watched American Idol, and found out that Taylor Hicks was crowned the title.

to be continued...................................................

::: Greenhouse at Bedugul Botanical Garden

::: Garden

::: Lake View Garden

::: Bratan Lake

::: Git-git Waterfall

::: Lovina Bay

::: sunrise at the open sea

::: Can you find the dolphins???

Note: Click pics to enlarge

INDONESIAN

Bagian sebelumnya..................................

Aku mengubah pikiranku, jadi aku bakalan menulis Cerita Liburan ke Bali ini dalam 3 bagian (lagi) >> jadi aku bisa menulis lebih banyak detail disini... :)

Hari 4

Kita bangun jam 8.30 pagi, trus meninggalkan hotel jam 10 pagi. Trus kita langsung pergi ke Bedugul Botanical Garden, nggak jauh-jauh amat dari Danau Bratan. Botanical Garden adalah taman yang bagus dengan udara yang nyaman. Taman itu adalah taman yang sangat besar (mirip sama Taman Safari di Cisarua (Bogor) dan Pandaan (Jawa Timur) cuma nggak ada binatangnya). Trus habis mengelilingi taman (ke rumah kaca, taman, dan taman untuk melihat danau), kita meninggalkan taman dan mau makan siang.

Sopir kami merekomendasikan sebuah restoran prasmanan (dia bilang katanya harganya Rp. 40.000,oo malam sebelumnya, trus paginya berubah menjadi Rp. 50.000,oo per orang >> membuat aku menjadi curiga). Dia bilang katanya itu murah (apa!?!?!? Rp. 50.000,oo seorang murah?? Biasanya juga kita habisnya Rp. 12.000,oo seorang dan kalo mau makan porsi dobel kan cuma Rp. 24.000,oo apa kita bakalan tambah sampe banyak kali sehingga jadi semahal itu?? Jelas aja enggak >> note: kita mengkonsumsi uang sejumlah itu soalnya kita makan di restoran murah, kita nggak selalu makan disana, kadang kita juga menghabiskan uang lebih juga....). OK, kembali ke topik. Kita trus pergi ke restoran itu, dan tebak apa?? Harganya ternyata Rp. 60.000,oo termasuk pajak dan pelayanan!!! Trus, menunya juga biasa-biasa aja, nggak ada yang spesial atau makanan tradisional Bali-nya. Trus kita meninggalkan tuh restoran, trus menyeberang jalan dan menemukan beberapa warung kecil, beberapa jual makanan juga, dan kita makan disana. Menunya adalah Ayam Betutu dan harganya cuma Rp. 5.000,oo per-orang.

Trus, habis makan siang, kita meninggalkan Danau Bedugul dan menuju Pantai Lovina, di dekat Singaraja (di utara Pulau Bali). Kita ngerasa kalau sopirnya jadi agak berubah setelah mengetahui kita nggak jadi makan di restoran yang dia rekomendasikan (aku tahu mungkin aja tuh restoran ngasi dia tips kalo kita makan disana.... ). Di jalan, kita mampir di Air Terjun Git-git. Dari tempat parkir ke air terjunnya jauh banget. Ada banyak turis-turis asing juga (beberapa adalah orang Jerman, aku tahu itu... :D). Trus, setelah itu kita melanjutkan perjalanan ke Lovina. Akhirnya jam 4 sore kita sampe di hotel dan istirahat. Tebak apa?? Nggak ada televisi loh di ruangannya (padahal harganya Rp. 300.000,oo semalam Apakah itu nggak gila namanya???). Jadi, malam itu kita pergi ke sebuah kafe di deket Pantai Lovina dan membeli minuman dan menonton TV (Indonesian Idol). Kita mengembalikan Brinet dan Tesa ke kompetisi malem itu. Habis itu, kita pulang.

Hari 5

Kita bangun jam 4.30 pagi, trus kita pergi ke pantai untuk melihat lumba-lumba. Habis tawar-menawar, kita sepakat trus pergi ke laut bebas. Perjalanannya membutuhkan waktu sekitar 40 menit untuk sampai di tempat yang banyak lumba-lumbanya (jadi, kita juga melihat matahari terbit di atas perahu). Kita akhirnya melihat lumba-lumbanya (bisa dilihat tuh di video yang ada di atas, bisakah kalian menemukan lumba-lumbanya?? :D). Trus, jam 6.50 pagi kita kembali ke pantai. Dalam perjalanan, temenku menerima sms yang isinya mengatakan kalo Jogjakarta baru saja diguncan sama gempa bumi yang besar!!! Kita shock trus aku telpon adikku di Jogjakarta (pas itu masih pagi, aku tahu adikku lagi libur, dan dia mesti lagi tidur pas jam itu), dan untungnya dia sama keluargaku semuanya selamat. Trus, kita check-out dari hotel jam 8.30 pagi trus pergi ke Denpasar. Jam 10.50 kita sampe di Denpasar dan membeli beberapa sosis babi, ham babi asap, dan dendeng (keluargaku titip itu semua ke aku). Trus, habis check-in di hotel di Kuta, kita nonton TV (Metro TV) untuk mencari beberapa berita terbaru tentang Yogyakarta). Nonton acaranya bukannya bikin kita tenang dan nyaman soalnya tuh channel (dan banyak channel lainnya) hanya fokus pada area yang hancur, area lain yang sebenernya aman (misalnya Kota Yogyakarta) cuma ditunjukkin sedikit. Trus, karena aku ngantuk banget dan capek, aku istirahat siang.

Malamnya aku sama salah satu temenku pergi ke Bandara Ngurah Rai untuk pergi ke kantor Garuda Indonesia untuk menanyakan penerbangan kembali ke Jogja nantinya. Petugasnya bilang kalo mungkin kita nggak akan mendarat di Bandara Adisutjipto Jogjakarta, tapi di Bandara Adisumarmo Solo, tapi mereka masih menunggu pemberitahuan lebih lanjut. Trus, temen-temen yang lain ngajakin pergi ke disco. OK, trus kita jalan jauuuuh banget ke Pantai Kuta. Trus, habis memesan beberapa minuman mahal (belum dance sih pas itu), aku sendiri memutuskan untuk balik ke hote dan nonton American Idol GrandFinal. (ini adalah show terakhir, mungkin aja kita nggak akan pernah nonton show ini lagi kalo kita melewatkan show malam itu; disisi lain, aku masih bisa koq pergi ke disco kapanpun dan dimanapun aku suka, jadi tinggal di tempat disko malam itu nggak terlalu mendesak... :D). Aku memutuskan untuk jalan kaku (untuk ngirit uang di samping masih ada waktu sekitar 60 menit sebelum acaranya mulai), dan ternyata membutuhkan waktu 48 menit untuk jalan kaki menuju hotel!!! Capek banget, tetapi sehat... :D Trus, aku nonton American Idol dan tahu kalo Taylor Hicks memenangkan show itu.

bersambung...................................................

Congratulations Taylor!!

Taylor Hicks

ENGLISH

Finally, Taylor Hicks was crowned as the winner of American Idol this season, after beating Katharine McPhee in the finale last week. Just like last year when I wrote a tribute message for Carrie Underwood after she won the show last season, I also wanna write a tribute message for Taylor Hicks, even he is not my favorite contestant.

Personally, I would prefer to watch Katharine McPhee as the winner. However, Taylor Hicks also deserves to get the title, because he got the most number of votes which means that many people like him. Taylor has unique voice and also weird unique dance which is really the trademark of him. Sometimes people don't have to sing well and perfectly to be successful, in other hands, some people who are really gifted great and beatiful voice don't always success in their life. I think Taylor will have a great carrier waiting for him in his future... :)

For Katharine McPhee, being the runner up of the show is not always bad. Look what has happened to Clay Aiken and Bo Bice who are still famous and have worldwide carrier. So, keep on fire and keep The McPheever burning, lol... :)

PS: this is an interlude message between my Bali Vacation Post... :) I know some are waiting for the next part of my Bali Vacation Post, so be patient... :) I'm working on that.


INDONESIAN

Akhirnya, Taylor Hicks memenangkan kontes American Idol musim ini, setelah mengalahkan Katharine McPhee dalam grandfinal minggu lalu. Seperti tahun sebelumnya ketika aku menulis message persembahan untuk Carrie Underwood setelah dia memenangkan show yang sama musim sebelumnya, aku juga pingin menuliskan sebuah message persembahan lagi untuk Taylor Hicks, biarpun dia bukanlah kontestan favoritku.

Secara pribadi, aku lebih memilih untuk melihat Katharine McPhee memenangkan kontes ini. Tetapi bagaimanapun juga, Taylor Hicks juga berhak atas gelar itu, soalnya dia mendapatkan jumlah suara yang paling banyak yang berarti banyak orang yang menyukai dia. Taylor memiliki suara yang untik dan juga tarian yang aneh unik yang benar-benar merupakan ciri khasnya dia. Kadang-kadang orang nggak harus bisa bernyanyi dengan baik atau sempurna untuk menjadi sukses, di sisi lain banyak orang berbakat yang memiliki suara yang indah dan hebat namun nggak sukses dalam kehidupan mereka. Menurutku Taylor akan memiliki karier yang cemerlang menanti dirinya di masa depan... :)

Untuk Katharine McPhee, menjadi runner up dalam show ini juga nggak selalu jelek. Lihat apa yang terjadi pada Clay Aiken dan Bo Bice. Keduanya sekarang juga sangat terkenal dan bahkan memiliki karier tingkat internasional. Jadi tetap semangat dan tetap kobarkan api McPheever... lol :)

PS: ini adalah message selingan di antara cerita Liburan Bali-ku... :) Aku tahu ada yang sedang menunggu bagian selanjutnya dari cerita Bali, jadi sabar yaa... . Lagi aku kerjain koq... :)


Katharine McPhee