Toy Story 3

Movie of this week was Toy Story 3 which I really loved and enjoyed. Watched it in 2D because I was broke :P The movie has quite a fast pace. Early on it already established the premise of the story well. I have to say that the story for this movie was the hardest for me to swallow among the rest. Simply because it tackled hard issues of growing up, moving on, and not being able to be in same place anymore or be the same anymore. The last scene was hard for me when Andy had to let go his toys. Even though the toys were in a good place at the end of the story, it just felt sad for me that they're not with Andy. But the truth is, Andy has grown up and so it really was the natural ending for him and for his toys that they must part way.

As I said, the movie moved in quite a fast pace and it felt like a good adventure, a good ride of different scenes and different situations. There were a lot of new characters. A lot of them were very very cute, like the peas in the pod, the hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants, Dolly the cute doll, and Bonnie the girl who had all the toys in the end! She's so cute. I would totally fall in love with a cute girl like Bonnie :P Oh I have to say, the baby doll is darn freaky!!! It was scary for me and it made me uneasy to watch it even though in the end it turned to the good side. Pixar is of course amazing in animation. I am still at awe seeing their work. For some reason, the scene that really made me feel that they were so cool was the scene when the good and bad toys were having a conversation by the dustbin at night. Somehow I was thinking of how the light fell on their body and I just thought it was really good and it felt so natural. I really love the pixar world. It just makes you feel good :) I love the bright colors, the characters, love it all :)

As for the animated short film, Day & Night, which was shown before Toy Story 3, I thought it was really really meaningful. My first though was wow! this is masking taken to a whole different level. Story wise, it is great. There are really a lot of things that can be said without words. I think one thing that people look forward to when watching a Pixar movie is the animated short film that open the movie. These movies never get any publicity and so people like me just find it like some great surprise. If only they would eventually compile them and get them shown on TV. When the animated films get shown on TV, very often the short films don't get shown as well, so it's kinda a shame.

Okay, so how was my week so far? I actually want to say I have a good week! This week had its problem which got me all confused and I did get nervous and scared but for some reason the stress level was still low if compared to how I used to be. I prayed a lot because I really had no idea what's going on and thank God, one of my googling research led to the solution. I believe that everything has its own time. I often feel that a solution to something that I have to solve cannot be rushed, even though the solution may just an easy and simple thing. It's like it it needs 3 days to reveal itself, it's gonna take that 3 days. I know that there are people who don't take this very well but I felt that overall the people who I had to deal with took it very well or so it seemed to me. Either I have learnt that one shouldn't take everything as it seems to be or I have totally been screwed up that I have zero trust with people. I think it's the second one. So anyways, Friday morning I was such in a happy mood. Friday evening when I ended my day, I was thinking that I feel good and it's like I didn't know that one could feel this way. I know it's because I'm still new in all this and maybe I will feel sad about life again but I thought all this time I often wrote about how depressed and sad I am with my life, I should also write passionately if I feel good. I hope it will amplify it and I think I should really write it as my testimony of how good I feel God is to me and how thankful I am everytime He saves my ass :)

I have a good day today too. Had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts today. The donut was so sweet. I still get disappointed that they don't sell the same types of donuts as Dunkin' Donuts in Indonesia. I am so missing chocolate peanut butter!!! Then it was off to class. It's good to be back in class since I skipped last week. Had quite an interesting discussion about things unrelated to what we are studying. It felt to me that today we kinda bonded the most. Ironic, considering that it's our last class for this term and our future existence is uncertain. I don't want to get extinct but right now there are only 3 of us. So sad!!! I'm doing all this so that I can speak French and so it's of the utmost importance that I have a class to go to. I have to admit though that I was thinking that if the class cannot continue, I would go back to my Italian class but I don't want the death of my French class to be permanent and I am worried it would come to that :( I really really really hope we can continue, please God?

Well, that's about it guys. I don't want to write too long and get you all bored :P Though there are so many things we can talk about, like the Swiss who's going to go to jail and get caned in Singapore for drawing a grafiti on the MRT train. I thought the punishment is very very very harsh! But it's Singapore. I'm surprised that I actually felt surprised for the punishment that judge gave. Then there's also the Italians who couldn't make it to the top 16 of the World Cup. I gasped so loudly when I read the news, molto triste! Looking at the schedules, there'll be some interesting matches to watch. Aarrrghhh, I am sad that I am not in Indonesia where I can watch this freely! Okay, enough commentary for now. Take care peeps. Buonanotte tutti!

:) eKa @ 9:01:00 PM • 0 comments

Karate Kid & Baarìa

This week I actually did the things that I wanted to do as mentioned in the last post. I got to talk to my doctor about my medical check result and I got to watch Karate Kid and Baarìa (more about that later). But all that with the expense of me missing out my class today. I actually felt rather weird and uneasy about it, thinking if I really should skip class. Then I just got pretty lazy and perhaps impulsive and decided that I should just go and watch Baarìa. It did feel good being able to wake up at 8 instead of 6:30 something on a Saturday :P

This week, I pretty much have dipped myself in for a whole week in the new chapter of my life. How has it been going? Well, it's okay. I'm still trying to get used with things and I am still in a "approach with caution" mode. Did have fear about certain things, new things that I have to learn and solve, but surprisingly even though I was scared, the stress level wasn't that high. I don't know why. Normally I would freak out more but I was actually in an okay mode. All and all, I have to thank God almighty for His guidance and blessing and for helping me to solve things that I had no idea at all on how to solve. It was actually quite painless for me and I can only thank God for that. The experience this week kinda enlightened me. Sometime some people may think that some people sucks very badly and that person can happen to be you. Well don't be too sad when that happens, because maybe those people who think badly of you, well they're maybe right, but perhaps they maybe don't realize that you yourself have made certain contributions. Contributions or paths which however small help other people reach certain destination. My point is, as I am thankful to God, I would also like to thank this person whom I have never met who laid out certain bricks to help me build something. I think if this person is so tortured in her life, then it would be good to hear that someone is actually thankful for what she's done. So if you ever feel so meaningless in this world, well realize that there could be someone who is so thankful to have cross your path however small the interaction maybe. I have experienced that a little smile from a stranger had lifted my day :)

So I met my doctor today. Decided not to ignore my medical check result because something wrong happened to my body again this week. The same thing that I wrote about back in April. I don't know if it's a relapse, aaarrrgghhhh. I don't think it's as bad as back in April but however it is, the doctor has gotten a clearer view of the situation and I am on a 10-day treatment, again :( I am hating that but again what can I do about it. For some reason I am not as stressed out or as sad as when I was in April. I don't think it's because I can handle my emotion better now. It's more about I am just in such a surrender mode. I can only leave it to God again to deal with this :( So 10 days. I am not loving it!!! But I should deal with it or things may get worse :( As for my medical result, well she cannot give much explanation since all the other things are normal. My cholesterol level are high for someone as young as me, according to the doctor. I wanted to say, I am not that young anymore. But really there's no medication that she can think of to give me. On the outside my body is not showing any signs of illness but I guess inside, it's falling apart. She's just telling me to eat healthily and come back in 3 months to do the test again and see if I can keep everything in the normal range. Well I suppose it bounds to happen to me. I have been living unhealthily without vegetables, so now it backfires. There's a term functioning alcoholic, right? I wonder if I can be a functioning vegetable hater. I guess as rubbish as functioning alcoholic is, I really cannot get away from the healthy stuff. I need to figure out how I can make my diet healthier :(

Let's go to the fun stuff now. Watched Karate Kid this week and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! You know, when I watched the trailer months ago, I was thinking why would I want to watch Karate Kid, it doesn't sound too promising and I thought it would just be another average movie. Furthermore Jaden Smith is in it and that boy just have this air about him, like he thinks he's so cool and whatever and that certain way about him doesn't make him so likeable, at least for me. It's like, you haven't reached your daddy's state yet, so you are not as cool as him, don't act all cool yet. It's like you haven't earned that yet. But somehow closer to opening day, I got drawn to this movie and after watching it, I can say that I think I have a crush on Jaden Smith. Off screen, I still don't find him so likeable but on screen, I have to say that boy is talented. I think he did really really really good. He's such a joy to watch! The boy really can act. His best scene was when he was inside the car with Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan was telling him the sadness that his character had and Jaden Smith was crying in silence. I thought it was totally nice. The movie is really entertaining, I love it! I think this is the best summer blockbuster movie after Iron Man 2. I think it was more entertaining than The A-Team. Let's face it, there are a lot of movies with a lot of hype during this summer blockbuster movies period and yet they kinda fell short, like Prince of Persia. So anyway, Karate Kid is really good, I would totally recommend this to all of you. Although there were parts where I think were too Hollywoodnize by the studio, like seriously, a rows of monks meditating neatly by the river, the different monks who were practising kung fu but appeared to be more like performing, the dragon well? All that are so Hollywood. I would also like to note on the many people there are on screen. I know there are billions of people in China but when I saw the scenes around where Jaden Smith's characters were staying, I just thought there are so many people!!! It made me feel so uneasy, it's like there are no rooms to move. I wonder if it's really China in reality. Maybe it is, because some of the scenes on the streets kinda reminded me of streets in Jakarta. So it was kinda close to reality for me. I also have to question the neighbourhood that Jaden Smith's character lived in China. They should be there as an expat and yet their flat looked pretty shabby. Anyways, watch it peeps, really. I have to give it to Jaden Smith. He did really really really good and watching the movie I think he really worked hard for it :) Mommy and daddy really helped him right :P

Next movie this week is Baarìa. I thought it was not bad but I don't think it will be in the list of Italian movies that I love a lot. I don't think it left a deep impression in me. I couldn't understand the language at all. I think it's because they are in Sicilian not Italian. It's either that or my Italian has turned really really bad. I don't like how the movie concluded. I thought the little twist was unnecessary but I love the last scene. It made me feel good :P I think the actors were great (Italians are a really a pretty bunch) but I think the kids were even more awesome and loveable. Monica Bellucci actually made a cameo in it, in a scene which I thought was unnecessary. In that little scene, she was having a romp and showing tits. So the Indonesian in me came out and felt that that scene was unnecessary. I don't think that scene altered the course of the movie. It was there for comic relief. I guess it really shows the difference in culture between the westerners and asians. Most of european movies will have nudity in it, like it's something normal. However in Asia, especially in Indonesia, a sex tape can grip the nation like there's nothing else happening in the world. There could be oil spill, injustice in Gaza, the world cup, and yet Indonesians are still fixating on the truth behind the sex tapes which may or may not done by some celebrities. Maybe it's in our nature because I myself am curious if the celebrities were really behind it and how the whole thing is going to end :P

Well that's my week peeps. Another week coming. I am still praying every night and day for everything to be alright. I happened to read one of the thing that I wrote in April in this blog, maybe if I seriously project some positivity, miracle can happen. Just 1-2 weeks after that, my life did change. It's a real reminder to try to keep the spirit up all the time. I really need to bring happiness and lightness into my heart. I wish you guys a great weekend and a great week ahead :) Take care all.

:) eKa @ 7:18:00 PM • 0 comments

From 09.06.09 To 10.06.10

This time last year I was in Italy having a journey which I believe changed my life. A journey which is so precious in my life, that in my dying minutes, I hope I would recall it and be at peace that I did it :) The title of this post refers to the 9th of June 2009, in particular to the time when I was inside Sistine Chapel and I got an sms from a boy declaring his freedom and even though I was miles away at that time I could sense his happiness. Fast forward 1 day 1 year later, I was embarking on something new, a new chapter in my life. I wouldn't have thought that less than a year later, I would somewhat follow that boy's footsteps. God really gives everything in His time and one shouldn't be too worried or pushing and forcing things too much.

I remembered days later I was in my Venice hotel room and I sent an sms to the boy telling him I couldn't remember how my usual life was like back in Singapore. On the 9th of June 2010, I could also say the same thing. A lot of people questioned why I had to take such a long break but on that last day of my break (9th of June 2010), I realized that I don't remember how my life was like before, I don't remember how bad and tortured I was feeling. I KNOW I was feeling tortured, burdened, and depressed but I don't feel that anymore and I don't remember how they feel and how bad they feel. I was like a clean new sheet and I think it's good. It's fairer to this new chapter of life I am committing into. If you are wondering how it is so far, well I cannot answer it parce que je n'ai rien fait. Ask me next week. I've been hearing bad things but I realize today that I just have to be grateful with my life and more importantly keep positivity running inside me. I am glad that so far there are nice Indonesians around. They are so nice that they made me feel I am not so Indonesian anymore since I am not as nice and friendly as them :( Errr ... on one side I think I am by nature just pretty into my individualistic self but on another side I think I do have lost the kindness, politeness, and friendliness that Indonesians have by nature :P Anyway, I hope things will be okay for me. Okay maybe I shouldn't be saying that. I should be saying that I am okay, I will do great because after all I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me, no?

Okay, enough about that. Let's go through what's been going on this week. Somehow it feels like a long week for me that it took me awhile to rummage my head to see what I did this week. The last movie I watched during my break was Sex and the City 2. The reviews for this movie hadn't been good. Well it's perhaps a bit over indulgent but I did kinda enjoy it even though it did feel a bit long. I felt that the problems that the ladies were facing were pretty real. Like about Carrie and Mr Big having to spend the rest of their lives just the 2 of them. It will feel rather scarily boring for me too and I would be tempted in getting some days off from each other as well. See I really have commitment phobia :P I thought the last scene where Mr Big gave her an expensive ring even though she kissed another guy was so unrealistic! Then there's Charlotte, the problems that she has with her kids are also real and I can imagine having that when I have kids and it is scary. I also could relate to the sadness that Miranda has, being so near to something and then losing it although it was within grasp because people in power didn't see how amazing she is and didn't appreciate her awesomeness. The only person I couldn't relate with is Samantha. Well you must be some kind of a woman if you can relate to Samantha :P The movie wasn't deeply meaningful but I really enjoyed it :)

Today started in a quite difficult way. I was so sleepy when I woke up. Then Mr. N was sick today so we were even more mellow than usual :( After class, I got the chance to chat with U, the japanese girl who I thought was pretty beautiful. She's apparently pretty friendly and I kinda enjoyed our conversation. It's kinda nice that she will be around, considering that today is L's last day :( I start to get used having her around and enjoy her company. To be losing a person in such a small group is so not fun :( After class I was planning to watch The A-Team with NanSee but she had to work :( Initially we decided to cancel it. However then she asked me if I would like to meet her for a late lunch and I told her I don't mind since yours truly love watching a movie alone. So I get to watch The A-Team today and boy how I love it!!! I thought it was funny and entertaining. They literally had fireworks! I thought they could afford having more fireworks though to make it more fun, but they chose the usual Hollywood bang bang boom kinda trick with things exploding and colliding. I wasn't so keen to see ship containers crashing and getting blown. I guess it's got something to do with the fact that I often see them in Singapore. The ship containers and the ships I mean. Anyway I thought the movie was good. I couldn't really compare it with the tv series. I loved and enjoyed the tv series so much and I also love and enjoy the movie so much though I feel the characters are pretty different. I though the casts were great. I had doubts about the casting but I thought they are all great, including Murdock who I think is the character that I loved the most in the tv series. I thought Liam Neeson was great and of course I love Bradley Cooper. He was the major draw for me to this movie. I didn't enjoy Jessica Biel so much but I think it's because I'm a girl and she kissed Bradley Cooper :P I thought the bad guy was also handsome and he's enjoyable to watch. A competition there for Bradley :P The movie has witty lines and that's always a major plus points for me. I love the movie and I am looking forward for a sequel!!! :D

Well other movies that I am interested in currently are Karate Kid and Baarìa but I don't know if I have time to watch them :( Baarìa is an Italian movie which has limited showing :( It seems to be good. I am so interested to watch this because last week I watch Mediterraneo and I love it so much! It was good. I watched it without subtitle. I don't understand everything word by word but I understood the story and I'm happy that I could understand it. I wonder though if it will make a whole lot of difference on my understanding of the movie when I watched it with the subtitle. But I just think it's important to be able to watch a movie without having subtitle since I spent such a long time learning the language. So people, if you want to watch something different, I do recommend these movies :)

Today after the movie, I met NanSee for lunch and after which we had dessert at Max Brenner. Man! I can die in this place. Chocolate is just so SO HARD to resist. It's kinda interesting that they don't really sell chocolate cakes and chocolate ice cream. Oh by the way, as we were walking around deciding where to eat, I saw the Honeymoon Dessert! I always made it a point to go there everytime I go back to Jakarta since I found out about this place some years ago. I was wondering why there isn't one in Singapore. Apparently there is one in Singapore! In Vivocity! I wonder how long it has been there! I am looking forward taking people there to try the durian dessert that I am addicted to!!! I should also say that this week I also tried another durian dessert in a place whose name I have forgotten. It was also good! It has sago and bits of pomelo. The sago were insignificant and the pomelo was somehow bitter, I didn't like the pomelo much. I don't know why they have to be paired with the glorious durian purée and the blob of durian. Have I hinted enough how I love durian? :P

On other news. Got the cheque which I have waited pretty long for, thank God! I've also gotten my medical check result. There's something abnormal in the result :( There's something in which I have an unusually very high number of. I am worried about what it means. I was recommended to consult my doctor but I have no time to meet her. Aaaarrrgghhh, can I just ignore it? A quick googling showed it maybe related with my kidney :( We shouldn't base our belief in googling but it really made me nervous. I hope I'll be okay because I really don't have the time to deal with it. Well that's all peeps. I am hoping for a great week for all of us. Oh yeah, my virtual life during the day has pretty much been cut off. I cannot be on msn, facebook, twitter, blog, or even simply check my hotmail account :( I don't know how I can survive that way but I guess I need to learn. So anyways, any urgent things you guys need me to respond to, just sms me okay :O)

:) eKa @ 8:11:00 PM • 0 comments

Break Week 3

Hello all, this is my last full week of break. A few days left. A reminder has been received. A request has been made. I think I will get more freaked out nearer to the day but there's no point of doing that ya? I should just again bring positivity in.

So what did I do this week. Monday and Tuesday were rather hard. I had to help my neighbour from back home at the request of my mom. Let me just say I don't deal well with bad tempered people and people who cries. The situation kinda stressed me out and so I don't think I helped them well. I didn't help them up to the end and it really kinda shows that I am not a good person :( And to illustrate to that point more, I am kinda fearful that I'm gonna get some serious bad karma for not helping them all the way :( aarrrgghhh ... I think the only reason I prayed for forgivenes a lot is because I am fearful of the punishment. What a self-absorbed person, no?

Moving on. Movies of the week are Ne Te Retourne Pas and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Ne Te Retourne Pas is a French movie with a bit of Italian in it. There are 2 influential European actress in it as the leading role, Sophie Marceau who is so French and Monica Bellucci who is so Italian. The story is about a woman who was discovering that she was raised as someone else. I thought the suspense build up to move the story was unnecessary but I guess they thought it's a clever way to deliver the story. One of the resolution scenes was deeply symbolical and meaningful. I thought it was good. However the last scene didn't really go down well for me. One may interpret it as having the experience of 2 different persons influencing one's life but for me it's kinda showing a person with double personality. Overall I thought the movie was okay. I guess I am not more excited about it because I just don't like the suspense much. I was so tired so I didn't try hard to understand the French and Italian but it was really good to be hearing Italian again and the Italian guy was definitely more handsome! Speaking of Italian, ieri ho provato di guardare Azur et Asmar di nuovo. La mia versione è in Italiano. L'ho guardato senza il sotto titolo. Ho potuto capire ma forse perchè l'ho guardato prima così ho potuto indovinare il significato. Ma devo ammettere che non è facile per me scrivere in Italiano di nuovo adesso. Le parole francesi e italiane stanno mescolando nella mia testa :( Non parlo il francese bene e dimentico il mio italiano, arrrgghh! Devo guardare i film italiani più!!! Oh yeah, speaking of Azur et Asmar, for some reason I was thinking that it would be cool to be able to speak Arabic.

Next movie was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time which I thought was okay. For me it wasn't amazingly good. It was good but not amazing. It didn't get me as excited as when I watched the first Pirates of the Carribbean movie. I like adventure and such but somehow I didn't get too drawn into Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and I am not rooting much for Prince Dastan. What excited me the most about the movie was actually the setting, the palaces, and the decor inside it. I am loving the arch doorway and the colourful tile mosaic. Well perhaps I am just in this phase currently. Maybe I will soon come back to my pastel Martha Stewart phase :P Anyway back to the movie, it's not bad. I may even watch the sequel of it which I am sure they are planning. For a movie set in Persia, they really removed any Islamic tone in it which is a bit of shame, I felt. By the way, do you know if you wikipedia Persia, it will take you to Iran? Interesting.

I thought that The A-Team would come out this week so that I could watch it as my last parting gift of days of freedom and without responsibilty. Sadly I am mistaken :( I wanted to watch the movies in The Italian Film Festival however they have very limited showing and at a timing which is not so friendly for people with a lot of free time. Foreign film festivals are intended to bring other culture to the people here, however I think commercially it's not viable for the cinemas to give many slots for the movies, which is a shame because it hinders the many people who are actually interested to watch them :(

What else to write? I don't feel like writing much anymore. I'm just gonna post a lot of orchids pictures and a little merlion that I took when I was wandering out yesterday. I didn't feel like putting them on Flickr. I realized how boring my pictures are. I really need to learn to take pictures of people more. Oh yeah, I tried the circle line yesterday for the first time and I think the Esplanade station is kinda inappropriately named. It should be named Suntec instead or City Link. One still has to walk quite a distance to Esplanade when one alights at the Esplanade station. Suntec though becomes quite a breeze. You get to skip the whole city link section. Well that's what I think, unless I stupidly took the wrong exit and went through the longer route. Okay, here are the pictures peeps.













:) eKa @ 8:12:00 PM • 0 comments

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