Drying

This dry season is so bad. It's really hot, and seem like never ending. Sawm in these days really challenging. Alhamdulillah we can get through it.
Only...
We're about to have water crisis. Our well doesn't give as much water as usual. We have to use water thriftily. I had to carry water pail by pail from my neighbor's well. Quite heavy... I only used to lift barbels of 2kgs...
Last night the sky was cloudy. And the wind blew so har. It was even thundery. I expected rain would fall. But no... it was only drizzling. Well, better than nothing. I hope the rain come soon.

Strength

Alhamdulillah I'm still here
And I don't want to go nowhere else

Give me strength to stand till the end
Don't let me be weak
'Coz the strength is YOURS...

Four Blind Men and Elephant

There were four blind men. They've been blind since they were born. They've really never seen anything in their life. There is some thing they really curious about. It's the big animal elephant.
One day, a friend of theirs, who isn't blind, took them to the zoo so they can meet an elephant. Blind 1 touches the elephant's hose and says: elephant's not big.
Blind 2 touches the ear and says: it's something lika a fan to me.
Blind 3 touches the body and says: it is big... it's lilka a wall....
Blind 4 touches the tail and says: i think it's like a rope, so small....

Note: you cannot judge a thing only by knowing a part of it. You need to hear the whole sentence to understand the meaning, listening to only a part of it will give you a different meaning, it might brings you to prejudices......

Last One Third

Ramadhan’s running out. I haven’t finished reading Qur’an. I still got to 7th juzz, and I have missed 7 days coz having my ‘official break’.
My twin boys seem so hard doing sawm. Days getting hotter these last few days. I can’t see them drying, so I let them drink water (not anything else) at noon. It’s just a practice for them anyway, and they’re just 4 years old. Alhamdulillah their elder sister can bear it. She washes her face whenever see feels thirsty, and then sleeps or reads something. I proud of her effort to succeed fasting until maghrib.
People don’t seem to get the soul of Ramadhan. Do I? Everybody’s busy preparing this and that for Iedul Fitri. Advertisings everywhere using Iedul Fitri as a moment. Clothes, biscuits, syrups, cars... Attracts people to come to stores and malls, spending time shopping for the Ied day.
Mosque getting lost jamaah more and more each day. Well, only the surfivors well achieve the victory....
Wow, can I catch up 23 juzzes in this last 9 days? Laziness is still in me….

GARANG ASEM TANPA BUNGKUS (GARANG ASEM WITHOUT WRAPPING)

Seperti biasa… aku bikin memasak menjadi sederhana, cepat, dan tidak menyusahkan…
Membungkus garang asem itu menyusahkan…
Jadi aku bikin seperti ini:
As usual, I make cooking simple, quick, not hard. Wrapping Garang Asem is hard, so I make it like this:

Sambil mendidihkan 500ml air, iris tipis 3 siung bawang putih dan 5 siung bawang merah. Potong-potong 3 buah cabe hijau besar dan 3 buah tomat hijau. Masukkan semuanya ke dalam air, plus 2 lembar daun salam dan sepotong lengkuas yang dimemarkan. Jangan lupa masukkan selembar (atau sesobek?) daun pisang yang sudah dicuci bersih. Nah ini untuk membuat aroma daun pisang tetep hadir walau tidak ada acara bungkus-membungkus...
While boiling 5ooml of water, slice 3 garlics, 5 shallots, 3 big green chilli, and 3 green tomatoes. Put it into water plus 2 salam leaves and a piece of lengkuas. also put a slice of clean washed banana leave to keep its aroma exist, eventhough you dont wrap the chicken with it.

Setelah air mendidih masukkan 1/2kg ayam yang sudah dipotong sesuai selera. Juga masukkan 50gr gula jawa dan 1/2 sdt garam. Masukkan 300 ml santan, aduk terus supaya santan tidak pecah.
As the water is boiled, put in 500grs of cut chicken. Add 50grs of brown sugar and a half teaspoon of salt. Last, add 300ml of coconut milk, stir to keep coconut milk suspensed.
Tunggu sampai ayam empuk, jadilah...
Wait until the chicken is well cooked, and there you go....

THE SEVEN WONDERS

I read an article about The New Seven Wonders that based up on a poll among people over the world. Was it really all people over the world, or just a part of them?

When I was in Elementary school, until in High School, I knew that Borobudur Temple and Pyramid were included in. And I think these two temples are wonders. Well, may be Borodudur Temple is less greater than Pyramid. Since Pyramid was built thousand years BC, with complicated rooms of faraoh's grave.

Borobudur Temple was built in 7-8th century. And it's quite complicated to me. All over the temple's wall, is relief tells the story Mahabharata, from beginning to the end. It' has five levels with different idea in each level. It has at least 900 statues of Budha in many different positions. Well, they're all sitting, but if you see it well, you'll find the different pose of the palms and the eyes, really... The stones were put together using eggs as glue (mmmm.... how many tons of eggs they have used?) It's beautiful!!

I have visited it three times, and no refuse to visit it more...

I hope I can visit Pyramid one day... coz I think it's wonderful...

Unfortunately, both Pyramid and Borobudur temple are no longer parts of seven wonders. And for exchange, is a statue that was built in 20th century. O please.... by the time, man can build almost anything they wish using the knowledge of concretes and steels and anything...

Man have 'fly' by the time.... Why don't make planes as wonders as well?

BUS

There is a bus that brings me a little closer to my dream of transportation

Most city buses are small sized. Rusty-body with holes here and there. Sounds terrible. Black smoke blow behind. Hot inside. Full of passengers, even stand hanging on bars on the bus ceiling. The worst part: smoking passengers, like the air isn't dirty enough for us to breathe in.

This bus of my dream....
Big. Aircond. Music. Standing passengers don't spend all space in the bus. And for all those comforts, I only need to pay 20% more than the ordinary buses.

Well..
Busway goes in Jakarta...
It's coming up in Yogya...
I wait for it to run in Semarang...