Innalillahi Wainnailaihi Roji'un.
To my dear friend, Rajaman, my deepest condolences to you and your family on the passing of your beloved father. Semoga roh arwah di cucuri rahmat dan di tempatkan bersama orang-orang soleh.
Rajaman, you know we will always be there for you in this trying time.
C76 -(vi 1-30) Surah An'am:
God did separate Light from Darkness;He reigns not only in heaven but also On earth; Mercy is His Law;To Him shall we return At the end of all things. How can we Then depart from truth and forge lies Against Him? It is folly to say that there is Nothing beyond our present life.
27 February 2008
19 February 2008
Fancy A Mercy?
On the last day of his looonnnngggg holiday in Jakarta, Steve requested me to get him a taxi to ferry him to the Bandara (short for Bandar Udara or airport).
However, this was no ordinary request. He made it crystal clear that he wanted the Mercedes C-Class Silverbird taxi or known as the Mercy executive taxi (Indonesians call Mercs, Mercy).
"I want to travel in style" katanyer. Sebenornye dia nak menghabih-kan rupiah dia. Lain kali kalo ada rupiah lebih and tak nak bawak balik Malaysia, cuba-cubale bawak letak kat celah2 kusyen sofa aku.
Anyway, I called up Bluebird's call centre and made my request for a Mercy Silverbird taxi. The lady on the other end of the line said she could not promise a Mercy.
By the way, the Bluebird Group which operates the famous Bluebird taxis has different brandnames for different types of vehicles in its' fleet.
... and not this
Steve was visibly upset when I told him that they could not promise a Mercy. Ngalahkan superstar Hong Kong tul.
However, lucky for him, moments later a black C-Class pulled up at the gate. Steve was smiling ear-to-ear.
He then forced the Silverbird driver to snap a photo of us with the Mercy at the back. Siap ko... lain kali untuk hantor ko ke airport aku pesan Silver Bajai je.
However, this was no ordinary request. He made it crystal clear that he wanted the Mercedes C-Class Silverbird taxi or known as the Mercy executive taxi (Indonesians call Mercs, Mercy).
"I want to travel in style" katanyer. Sebenornye dia nak menghabih-kan rupiah dia. Lain kali kalo ada rupiah lebih and tak nak bawak balik Malaysia, cuba-cubale bawak letak kat celah2 kusyen sofa aku.
Anyway, I called up Bluebird's call centre and made my request for a Mercy Silverbird taxi. The lady on the other end of the line said she could not promise a Mercy.
By the way, the Bluebird Group which operates the famous Bluebird taxis has different brandnames for different types of vehicles in its' fleet.
- Bluebird - the normal Toyota Vios taxi
- Silverbird - executive taxi, usually Toyota Cedric, Toyota Crown or Mercedes Benz C-Class
- Goldenbird - luxury limousines from E-Class Mercs to Toyota Alphard
- Bigbird - chartered buses.
... and not this
Steve was visibly upset when I told him that they could not promise a Mercy. Ngalahkan superstar Hong Kong tul.
However, lucky for him, moments later a black C-Class pulled up at the gate. Steve was smiling ear-to-ear.
He then forced the Silverbird driver to snap a photo of us with the Mercy at the back. Siap ko... lain kali untuk hantor ko ke airport aku pesan Silver Bajai je.
Moving Out
Moving out from a highrise apartment can be so tiring especially so when you do it all by yourself.
Luckily, it didn't involve large and heavy items such as furnitures. Nevertheless, it was still an exhausting task.
I began packing my stuff a few days before the scheduled moving out day. Everything neatly put into paper and plastic bags. I wanted to get cardboard boxes but as time didn't permit me to search for them, I settled for plastic and paper bags.
Below are the before and after pics.
The first group of guests to my Kintamani apartment were Mrs Peanutbutter, Mr Peanutbutter and Sakitpeyut. That was back in March 2006 when they were here for Javajazz.
The honour of being the final guests to my home in Kintamani went to Steve and Ashley.
In between these two groups, I received countless number of guests whom I had the pleasure of entertaining while they were in Jakarta.
After calling it home for exactly two years, I finally bade farewell to B-16-5 on 1st February 2008.
Some interesting facts on Kintamani Apartment and my stay there:
Luckily, it didn't involve large and heavy items such as furnitures. Nevertheless, it was still an exhausting task.
I began packing my stuff a few days before the scheduled moving out day. Everything neatly put into paper and plastic bags. I wanted to get cardboard boxes but as time didn't permit me to search for them, I settled for plastic and paper bags.
Below are the before and after pics.
The first group of guests to my Kintamani apartment were Mrs Peanutbutter, Mr Peanutbutter and Sakitpeyut. That was back in March 2006 when they were here for Javajazz.
The honour of being the final guests to my home in Kintamani went to Steve and Ashley.
In between these two groups, I received countless number of guests whom I had the pleasure of entertaining while they were in Jakarta.
After calling it home for exactly two years, I finally bade farewell to B-16-5 on 1st February 2008.
Some interesting facts on Kintamani Apartment and my stay there:
- The apartment complex was completed in 1997.
- Formerly, the land on which the apartment was built, was a moslem cemetary.
- No, I didn't experience any ghost sightings.
- There're one large pool for adults, one kids pool complete with water slide and a large outdoor jacuzzi.
- I swam twice in the pool (adult pool, of course) in Nov. 2006 and in Nov. 2007.
- The security guard would make rounds checking every unit, every night, at three hour intervals starting from 11pm (bertuah kalo pak guard kat Malaysia buat mcm ni).
- Experienced 3 earthquake tremors, in July 2006, July 2007 and August 2007 (the strongest).
- In the three intances above, I ran down the emergency stairs from the 16th floor to the ground floor in less than 3 minutes. The last one I ran bare-footed.
- Ari Wibowo stayed in the same apartment block before he moved out in June 2006.
- From July 2006 until the day I moved out, I was the only Malaysian staying in Kintamani.
- Being the only Malaysian, most security guards know me by name.
Bila le gamaknya aku boleh merasa dok apartment macam ni lagi... hmmmmm....
18 February 2008
Afgan
Pic taken from http://www.afgan-wannab.com/ Last week I bought an album by a new Indonesian singer named Afgan Syah Reza.
Since I was very busy entertaining my guests, I haven't had the chance to listen through the album... until last night.
The verdict?
I instantly fell in love with it. The music genre I would say, is jazz R&B. Afgan has a big soulful voice which belies his age - 19.
My favourite song is a track called Betapa Aku Cinta Padamu.
Ehh.. how can I share the song with you guys lahh? Peanutbutter... cam maner nak letak lagu kat dalam blog ni?
14 February 2008
Warung Apresiasi
After having dinner at Mbah Jingkrak we (Steve, Berty, Johan, Veri and moi) went to Warung Apresiasi which was just across the road.
By the way, Mbah Jingkrak is a nice restaurant serving delicious local cuisine. Very traditional ambience with not so traditional names on its menu.
Those who love extremely spicy dishes, I suggest ordering Ayam Iblis (loosely translated as devil's chicken).
For my drink, I tried Es Beras Kencur. It's actually a jamu concoction but not as strong as the original one. For seconds, I tried Es Jujur (sial je nama jus ni), coconut drink mixed with selasih, coconut flesh and lime.
After a hearty dinner, we went across to Warung Apresiasi (WA).
As I mentioned earlier, WA is a place for new bands to perform, showcasing their songs and music to the public. We were told by Berty that the now famous Ungu band had their humble beginnings there.
As you enter WA, you could see the stage located at the centre. Surrounding the stage are tables and chairs where you could sit and have your drink while enjoying the performances.
A band need only to pay a meagre Rp10,000 (that's roughly RM3.50) to perform!!
The night we were there, we sat through performances from three bands.
My personal take on them? Extraordinarily talented!!!... except maybe for the band from Kalimantan which I didn't particularly like their type of music.
I truly enjoyed the performance from the second band called Amadeous. The vocals of the lead singer could easily put established male band singers in Malaysia to shame. Betul... memang best deme ni... dah le sore bagus, they even write their own songs which immediately catches your heart. Lagu tak meleleh leleh macam kat Malaysia tu... yang boleh jadi macam ubat batuk kalo dengar.
Seriously, when it comes to music, Indonesians are a few rungs above Malaysia.
After the 3rd band performed, a famous singer (can't recall his name) who was in the audience, was asked to go on stage to perform.
He managed to get musicians among the crowd to play the drums and guitars there and then. Impromptu! And presto!!! He had a full band accompanying him. Senang je.
Aku nak jugak offer diri naik tapi harp takde la pulak kat atas tu. Kalo idak aku dah naik. Steve pulak reti main er-hu (ala.. yang macam gitar pompuan2 zaman Dinasti Cheng main tu).. tapi alat tu pun takde.
If you're in Jakarta, please do make a stop at Warung Apresiasi. It's located behind Blok M Plaza. No cover charge. Tapi kome order le ayor... jangan le duduk kat situ berjam-jam tapi tak order. Tu Kedekut Iblis namanyer... syaitonnn!! (buat gaya Ahmad Nisfu).
Ms Peanut & Dydy, I have included WA in your itinerary. We'll enjoy the music and feast our eyes. OK onnot?
By the way, Mbah Jingkrak is a nice restaurant serving delicious local cuisine. Very traditional ambience with not so traditional names on its menu.
Those who love extremely spicy dishes, I suggest ordering Ayam Iblis (loosely translated as devil's chicken).
For my drink, I tried Es Beras Kencur. It's actually a jamu concoction but not as strong as the original one. For seconds, I tried Es Jujur (sial je nama jus ni), coconut drink mixed with selasih, coconut flesh and lime.
After a hearty dinner, we went across to Warung Apresiasi (WA).
As I mentioned earlier, WA is a place for new bands to perform, showcasing their songs and music to the public. We were told by Berty that the now famous Ungu band had their humble beginnings there.
As you enter WA, you could see the stage located at the centre. Surrounding the stage are tables and chairs where you could sit and have your drink while enjoying the performances.
A band need only to pay a meagre Rp10,000 (that's roughly RM3.50) to perform!!
The night we were there, we sat through performances from three bands.
My personal take on them? Extraordinarily talented!!!... except maybe for the band from Kalimantan which I didn't particularly like their type of music.
I truly enjoyed the performance from the second band called Amadeous. The vocals of the lead singer could easily put established male band singers in Malaysia to shame. Betul... memang best deme ni... dah le sore bagus, they even write their own songs which immediately catches your heart. Lagu tak meleleh leleh macam kat Malaysia tu... yang boleh jadi macam ubat batuk kalo dengar.
Seriously, when it comes to music, Indonesians are a few rungs above Malaysia.
After the 3rd band performed, a famous singer (can't recall his name) who was in the audience, was asked to go on stage to perform.
He managed to get musicians among the crowd to play the drums and guitars there and then. Impromptu! And presto!!! He had a full band accompanying him. Senang je.
Aku nak jugak offer diri naik tapi harp takde la pulak kat atas tu. Kalo idak aku dah naik. Steve pulak reti main er-hu (ala.. yang macam gitar pompuan2 zaman Dinasti Cheng main tu).. tapi alat tu pun takde.
If you're in Jakarta, please do make a stop at Warung Apresiasi. It's located behind Blok M Plaza. No cover charge. Tapi kome order le ayor... jangan le duduk kat situ berjam-jam tapi tak order. Tu Kedekut Iblis namanyer... syaitonnn!! (buat gaya Ahmad Nisfu).
Ms Peanut & Dydy, I have included WA in your itinerary. We'll enjoy the music and feast our eyes. OK onnot?
First Studio Experience
Two nights ago I accompanied the taiko of TBLM Bank, Steve, who is on a looooonnggggg holiday here to meet up with his friend, Berty, at Jln Bangka, which is not too far away from Kemang.
Berty, is an aspiring singer. She invited us to the studio where she was doing vocal test for a couple of songs.
Well, actually, Berty gave us two options. First, to watch her doing the vocal test or second, to watch her boyfriend's futsal match. Since neither Steve nor myself have been to a recording studio, we unanimously went for the former.
And it was really, really, awesome.
Yogi and Miko (sound engineer)
When we got there, Berty was recording a song titled "Kini". A catchy upbeat number composed by a highly talented chap named Yogi, who was also present.
Being our first ever visit to a recording studio, we were both amazed at the equipment and the whole recording process. Seriously, we looked like a couple of orang hulu errr.... orang hulu Tanjung Sepat kot.
Steve buat2 pandai bagi instruction to Berty
Then Berty recorded a slow number. Another great song which would instantly make you humming to the melody. Again, composed by Yogi.
Guys, when Berty finally comes out with her first album, I strongly recommend you to get it. Steve has self-appointed himself as Berty's manager cum image consultant for Malaysia. Sukati ko je kan. Aku jadi Berty punya financial advisor pun takpe le.
That's Berty singing Kini
After the recording was over, they gathered at the living area. Yogi was strumming the guitar and the rest sang. Sore masing-masing punyale sedap giler. When they were singing More Than Words, I wanted to sing along but not wanting to menyumbangkan keharmonian vokal deme, aku nyanyi dalam perut je la... kang ada yang tetiba sawan & guling-guling atas lantai lepas dengar sore aku.
The next night, we went to Warung Apresiasi. It's a place for new bands to showcase their music. Another great night of entertainment. More on this in my next entry.
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