First Guests To My New Home - Entry Basi Part 1

Above is the pic of the first ever guests to my new home. A happy & loving couple who live in a house which resembles the castle one would find in a Disneyland theme park.

The couple are "orang2 kuat Petronas". If you want to be a Petronas station vendor, the husband is the guy to find. If you love (or hate) Petronas ads, then you have to thank the wife.

They are now performing Umrah.

To the Petronas couple, by the time you guys read this entry, you both must have already returned home safely from Umrah. Aku rasa aku tau salah satu doa korang kat sana... suruh Zack and Ijal kahwin cepat... betul tak?

Eff Off Fiskal!!

A few days ago someone told me Air Asialan was having promotional fares for some of their destinations. One of them is Penang.

I clicked on Air Asialan's website to check out the promotional return fare for CGK-PEN route. I selected the dates and voila!!!.... the return ticket price is Rp724,998 (approx RM260).

Cheap huh? Or so you thought.

You see, I am a KITAS (Kartu Izin Tinggal Sementara) holder. And as a KITAS holder, I am required under the law to pay an exit tax or known as FISKAL everytime I exit Indonesia.

The amount? Rp 1 million (approx. RM357).

That is dearer than the flight ticket to PEN.

Add in the FISKAL to the cheap Air Asialan fare, the trip to Penang would not be that cheap anymore.

Lets for awhile imagine there is no FISKAL. I could use the Rp1 million to pay for a two nights accommodation in a 3-star hotel in Penang.

I do contribute to the Kantor Pajak's coffers in term of personal income tax, annually. Why the hell then, is the Indonesian government charging FISKAL?

IT IS BLOODY UNFAIR!!!! and not to mention UTTERLY GREEDY!!!

The more important question is, where do all this FISKAL go? To repair roads? To contsruct more highways? To put in place modern public transportation? To build more schools? To help the poor?

I DOUBT!!!

Could any Indonesian explain to me why the need to charge FISKAL?

I Beg Your Pardon...... JA-CARR What?

First of all, let me clarify that I have nothing against those whose first language is not English, who speaks English with American or British accent. You can speak in any accent you want for all I care.

What matters most to me is speaking with correct grammar.

I went to a school where most of my mates spoke in English. I remember there was this one particular guy, Noorhisham, who joined us in standard three. He had just returned to Malaysia after spending 6 years in the UK. I got to know later that his father was working with the Malaysian Embassy in London.

He spoke English with British accent.

Naturally, we were all in awe with his accent. Ye la.. zaman bebudak dulu kagum le kalo ada orang cakap omputih sebijik macam Mr Brown dalam cerita Mind Your Language tu.

But, inspite of being in the UK for 6 years and spoke the Queen's English, he spoke perfect Bahasa Malaysia as well.

Yesterday, I met an Indonesian guy who has a good command of the English language... with an accent... well I think to him it was American accent. Was I annoyed? Ermmm a bit... because I felt he was over doing the accent to the point it sounded neither American nor British.

But what irked me most was his pronuncation of Jakarta. His own capital city.

Guy with unknown accent (GWUA) : "So, how long have you been in JA-CARR-DHAA?"

Me : "Phuantek ayam betul sebutan ko" (dalam hati.. of course)

GWUA : "I live in West JA-CARR-DHAA, have you been there?"

Me : "Pehal ngan lidah ko ni Jawa ooiiii??" (again... dalam hati)

The word JA-CARR-DHAA was the single most irritating part of the whole conversation. I mean, you're a true blooded Javanese, couldn't you pronounce the name of your own city correctly? Why Americanise the pronunciation? Phuanteekkkk!!!

It's JA-KAR-TA...... one more time.... JA-KAR-TA!!!!

Sheeshhhh!!!!!

A Mug For Jamaluddin Mat

Two weeks ago, Peanutbutter, Dydybanod and myself were on a shopping spree at IT Kuningan. We stopped by at a "pernak-pernik" shop on level 2 and found the mug above.

Hopefully, the mug would still be available when JM comes to Jakarta in August.

JM, ko jgn nak perasan nama ko femes kat sini. Sebenornya mug tu ditempah oleh sorang majikan untuk tukang kebun dia sebab taknak tukang kebun dia pakei mug Royal Doulton.

Relaxing & Peaceful Long Weekend

Apart from the Maulidur Rasul holiday on Thursday, Indonesia had another public holiday on Friday - Good Friday or Hari Raya Paskah, where Christians commemorate the death of "Jesus".

So, four long days all to myself. At first I wanted to travel to Jogjakarta but dropped the idea due to several reasons.

First of all, Air Asialan do not have a direct flight to Jogja from Jakarta. I'd have to get the flight to Solo and then travel by road to Jogja. Nahhhh.... too much hassle.

Secondly, there were other direct flights to Jogja but the price for a return ticket was exorbitant. Plus I was still to overcome my fears of flying with a local (Indonesian) airlines (no thanks to the media report on the standard of local airlines safety).

Then there was my last option. Travel by train. I just couldn't find the time to buy the ticket early since I was too wrapped up with work.

So, as fate would have it, I was stuck in Jakarta.

Nevertheless, I was able to have a complete rest. Four days of total bliss!!

I managed to trim the front lawn. Nasib baik le kecik. Penat mencangkung potong rumput ni. Neighbour2 aku siap pandang. Sure deme confuse aku ni tuan rumah ke orang gaji.

I finished reading Zaid Ibrahim's book. In retrospect, he had mentioned about the way to go for BN to face the just concluded GE. Well, if only Sleepy-Head had taken notice.

Also, managed to catch Tompi's performance at Grand Indonesia. Apart from Tompi, other artistes who performed were Ari and Bibus (all ex-Groovology). One thing I have to mention about watching live performances in Indonesia is the ever sporting audiences. They would happily sing along and dance to the beat. They really let their hair down.

Ohh... one more thing, thanks to Peanutbutter, I bought a juicer. Now, I have a new found hobby - to create a concoction of juice by mixing several types of fruits. Dah macam hantu buah pulak aku ni. Pantang nampak buah, terus beli.

I've also come to know that apples + watermelon + celery = yuksss!!! Oranges + grapes + lemon = heaven. Apples + celery + ginger = yummy!! Apples + lemon + carrots + grapes = next best thing to orgasm!.

The other next best thing to orgasm is Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice-cream. Tapi kat sini mahal nak mampus.

I'll be super-busy with lots of work for the coming two weeks. My CFO and the head of internal audit are paying a visit. A lot of numbers to crunch. A lot of convincing to do... ehh.. itu part boss aku.

Meanwhile, Ada Band will be performing at Planet Hollywood on 28th March. Wanna go?

Being Away

Last Saturday I received a call from my mum in KL.

She conveyed the good news that the latest addition to the family has arrived. My little bro's wife gave birth to a cute baby boy on 1st March 2008.

Hoorahh!! This brings my total nephew to three. Hope the next one would be a niece.

Another important event in the family and I wasn't arround to witness and share their joy. That's the part I hate most being far away.

Precious family moments without my presence.

I missed out watching my nephews grow into fine young boys. I missed out on my little bro's "akad nikah" ceremony. My dad's minor operation, I wasn't there. When my mum was going through a tough time recently, I wasn't there in person to comfort and support her.

I hope they'd forgive me for not being around. Believe me, not a single day passed without me thinking of the family I love in KL.

I cherish the times I go back home for a short holiday. On every single trip home, after being away for months, I noticed how age has caught up with my parents. How much taller my nephews have grown since I last saw them.

It's a sacrifice I have to make at this point of my career. But, it won't be long before I do go back for good.

Itinerary - Javajazz 2008

To my dear guests who are coming this weekend.

I've taken the liberty to prepare the itinerary for your visit to Jakarta (sebenornye tengah break kejap... letih nengok nombor memanjang).

Thursday (6th March 2008)
- Arrival of Peanutbutter and Dydy at Soekarno-Hatta airport
- Dinner at Kemang Food Fest
- Sessi Ngengum Cumat (mengeji, mengumpat & cuci mata) at Starbucks Sudirman

Friday (7th March 2008)
- Breakfast at PIM2
- Pasar Mayestik
- Pasar Taman Puring
- Blok M Plaza
- JavaJazz 2008 (Glenn Fredly ia a must yea Peanutbutter)
- Arrival of mystery guest who will then wait for the arrival of SP, Imrun and Marieya

(weiii... Marieya, ko nak dtg umah aku tak reti2 ke nak call... bawak murtabak sekotak dua ok)

- Mystery guest, please take the others for dinner at Kemang or any other place of your choice.
- All congregate at Senayan City
- Karaoke, Senayan City

Saturday (8th March)
- Breakfast at PIM2
- ITC Mangga 2
- Lunch Grand Indonesia/Plaza Indonesia
- Roam around Grand Indonesia/Plaza Indonesia
- Warung Apresiasi
- Dinner at Planet Hollywood (2nd Born Band) - reservation made for 7

Sunday (8th March)
- Breakfast at PIM2
- ITC Kuningan
- Lunch at Garuda Sarinah
- Blok M Plaza
- Pondok Indah Mall 1 & 2
- Send off SP, Imrun & Marieya to Soekarno-Hatta Airport

Monday & Tuesday (9th March and 10th March)
- Free and easy with Peanutbutter and Dydy

If there's any other places you guys would like to include in the itinerary above, feel free to do so. Kalo ada masa boleh menyelit, kita selitkan.