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...

The Traffic

I have to go to office by myself today. My husband need to bring the car for a check out, we will need it to go home this Aidil Fitri.
So I go on a motorbike. Its nothing new to me. I used to do when I was in college. But it was about 10 years ago. I haven't ride by my self for at least 8 years. That's since I got married, coz why should I if my husband can drive me anywhere?
Traffic is horrible now. I started me trip by coming out the street into the road, and a bus horn on me. Then a big truck pass by so close to me, and so fast I almost fly...
It's o so crowded. In some jam point I needed to put one of my feet on the ground, sometimes both. Its like walking with your butt on a saddle. My distance with other vehicles is between 20-50 centimeters. If I go little faster, I will hit the vehicle in front of me. If I go slower, somebody behind might hit me.
I horned at least 10 times to people who passed or crossed crazily, as many as my self horned by other. I didn't ride recklessly, I was just too careful, so ride slowly, that people think I was too slow and stand in their way...

How long the traffic is gonne be like this?

I dream of a transportation system... With busways... and subways... and monorail...
And everybody go anywhere by public transportation, and not fullfill the road with their own, like what's happening now.

I got in my office 10 minutes slower then I usually did, when I go with my husband.

Alhamdulillah I could make it, it was such an adventure.

SNOW IN YOGYA

Went to Snow world last Sunday...
My children (and husband... ahhm) are here.....!!!! I'm in Yogya, still having my one-month-course, and they visit me....

It was -15 celcius degree... You breathe and fog on your face...
Irsyad couldn't help it. He cried right after we got in. But the rest enjoyed it. Sliding on ice... wuiii!!!
I needed to take a rest (got out for a while) and got in again. It was really cold. How could they live in an iglo?

Not enough with getting frozen in extra large freezer, we try the ice skating arena. Ibit learned fast, while I fell and fell again. So I quit. I guess I'll try it some other time, when I have time for my-very-own. Arsyad and Irsyad got tired-sleepy-hungry I thought, they cried about this and that. So we stopped, had lunch, and back to the hotel.

Well... It was heavy and tiring day. But we had fun... until they had to go back home...

I'm gonna miss you.....

I will have to leave for a month. Uuuuu.. I imagine it as a year! Leaving my children over nights is still hard for me. I know this is a duty, and thats why I will go anyway. Besides, I hope it will give me more knowledge about my job.

The End....

'Can I speak to Mama Rosa, please?'
'I'm sorry you can't. She doesnt live here anymore.'
Bang! This is what I didn't want to hear.
'But why?'
'I believe she told you why'
'She told me everything was fine, you both have forgive each aother and decided to stay together'
'I wanted to, for my kids, but I can't. She gave me too much lies'
I don't know if I'm ready to hear the rest.
'What do you mean?'
'She didn't tell me the whole story. I heard from peolpe around us but not from her'
'What you heard from other people could be wrong'
'I wished so, but it's true. I've checked it out at the kid's school, and I found she didn't pay to the school the money I've given'
'Just because the money lies?'
'The money lies and other, you dont wanna hear'
I don't.
'I've strengthened my self to take her as the way she was, but cheated me is something I can't bear'
Me neither.
'What about the children?'
'Insya Allah I can take care of them. Being around her mother is not healthy at all for them'
Sigh.
'I hope this is the best decision, I'm really sorry to know this. It's sad'
'It surely is, but I hope you understand'
I do understand how you feel, but I still don't understand her.....