That Last Day Again. That New Place Again

Part 1

That Last Day Again

May 28th 2015

Gosh, it's always hard to say goodbye even though I am not leaving the company. However, I am going to move to the other city. Ending my 1 year and 9 months and 10 days in East Surabaya office, I felt loved. Despite my rough time in the beginning, annoying colleagues, stressful moments, and other negativity, I learnt a lot and in the end, established a beautiful bond with these crazy peeps. There was a high turn-over, but for those who remained, we all agree that we are the crazy bunch who have survived.
I have this love-hate feeling towards Good Bye. It is a bittersweet feeling. You always feel loved when it comes to good bye. Yes, there might be people who relieved that they are going to separate with you. Yes, it is always hard to be parting with something that you are used to, you are comfortable with. Then, people will say, "if you want to move forward, you have to go out of your comfort zone." (long sigh)
So, here I am on my last day in the office. Got a little surprise from my crazy colleagues. They knew me too well. I was given a big Plush of ELMO, a towel, and last batch of Starbucks! I will not have a lot of chance of Starbucking in the new city. Good! I need expense-diet. That little surprise has brought tears to my eyes... I love these peeps! Our fun time in the office. Our stressful moments together.
Oh well!
People have been congratulating me and wishing me well. They also said that I must be excited. Excited? Low level yes. Not as much as in the past. Moving to a new place, will have to adjust again, adapt again, get to know around again. I have to step outside my comfort zone again.
At last, everybody is moving forward. There is no time to regret anything. I have to put aside my inner ego to just be under the blanket. Here is that time when I am at the start-point again. Gaah. It is actually not really comfortable, but I have this slight feeling that "everything is going to be alright"
For it is always going to be alright

:)

Till we meet again my Genk Koplak!
Going to miss our BS on skype, everybody's laughter, my kriwul manager, free pizzas and starbucks, and everything about it!

Love you full!!!!

Part 2

That New Place Again

June 2nd 2015

Sorry for getting a little cramp here, but I was so busy till I did not have time to post this up. Therefore, here is a short glimpse of my new place.

Malang is my 4th city to live. I have no idea how long it will last. How it will turn out out. But, surprisingly Malang reminds me of Minneapolis in some ways. One! it is cooler than Surabaya although it is not comparable to Minty Minneapolis' Winter, but it has its own cool weather since it is up in the mountain. Two! I have stayed here for about 4 days and I did more walking than other city I have lived in Indonesia. Just like in Minneapolis, I think I walked about 30-45 minutes to Newman Center every Sunday. Not to mention walking from Marcy Holmes to Downtown. Now it takes me 12-15 minutes to go grocery shopping, and I plan to walk to the church every Sunday and go back by Becak hahahaha. Malang is small, so it is useless to ride a cab. Too short, too much to pay. Three! I live in a rented room of a 20 rooms - house. Reminiscing, Centennial Hall. We have 2 communal kitchens, and people dont really care to each other and most of them are still students. Will see how it goes...It is also walking distance to office, my main reason why I picked this place. 

All in all, I want to tell you one last thing. There is a reason why I felt tired of moving, tired of adapting into a new place. I think it is because I forgot the excitement of 'new place'. New place usually goes with a new hope, new dream, and new life again. I forgot these. I was too immersed to the negativities, to the pressures, and all the bad things that might be happened. I forgot how to have a hope again. Haha. Oh well! New place new hope kinda theory was actually working for me. The fact that I lost nearly 13 kg when I was in Minneapolis can be taken as an example. I had tried so hard to lose weight in Indonesia or Seattle, but it finally worked in Minneapolis. I indeed moved to Minneapolis with a high determination. I think Minneapolis was the place that I excited moving to the most.
Last Sunday I went to the mass, then I started finding my grip again. Mass and church are always the most familiar thing I found in a new place. It reminded me to have a hope again. Just like starting a new habit in this new month (I started a new habit on 1st day of June btw). 

Moving to anew place can be made as when we enter a new year. It is with hope. 

Well! Let's do it right then!

:)

Oh I forgot to tell you. I heart all the houses around my place and office. It is so Dutch influence and pretty! 

Pictures are coming!!!

CVB

The Engo Way

March is finally here!
Guess what, March was just started with bad and good news came hand in hand. Good news leading to upcoming 'Wonderful April' (I just make it up right now). As you might have noticed, I can't wait for April! However, I can' tell you what's about it, but some of you might have a guess. Anyway!

The beginning of March, I got a very shocking news came from my mambo's side of family. A cousin from her only uncle who is still alive, passed away suddenly. The cousin is the only child and her dad is around early 80s. I barely knew her,but somehow, this news shook me terribly. I was affected by death in different way now. But, let me tell you this. This news was really striking.
Firstly, it's a daughter of the only uncle left of my grand pa's siblings. He, the grand-uncle was closed to my mom, but at some point, he and my mom and the rest of her siblings were not in a good term. However, the day my mom passed away, he called us from HongKong and was deeply sad and hurt. He wept like a child on the phone, and continually said how sorry he was. Over and over again. There was definitely a sincerity in there.
Secondly, my grand-uncle was hospitalized and just heard the news a day after his daughter passed away. When I knew this, my heart was aching. It was already bad, but knowing it after all it happened, it might double the pain.

I personally never travelled because someone passed away. When mambo gone, many of her relatives and friends were coming from out of town. I never experienced it because I felt not too affected and also my dad could represent us. There were times, I wanted to go home when someone passed away, but I was already scheduled to be out of town, and also as I mentioned before, my dad could be present.

This time, I decided to fly to Hong Kong to visit my grand-uncle. Again, I have just met him a couple of times, we were not really closed. My uncles and aunts could not make it, but surprisingly I already planned to take a Saturday off. When I heard the cremation was postponed to Monday the following week, I just intuitively decided to go to Hong Kong. My travelling time was exactly 72 hours. I only spent around 36 hours or so in Hong Kong. I was only at my grand-uncle's place, did not go anywhere, even not to the funeral house, since my aunt's body was still kept in the hospital.

I was terribly tired; nonetheless, I was fully contented. Grand-uncle did not recognize me at first, but then, when he was seated nicely at his house after lunch, he then looked at me carefully, and finally recognized me. I was afraid that he might be furious with a reason I could not explain myself. Regardless of the assumption, he embraced me warmly. Warmer by the time passed. I could sense his vulnerability. I was there to represent my own grand-pa, his own big bro, and also my mom and the rest of her siblings. I was glad I did it. My point was just to pay a visit to my grand-uncle and maybe this was a sort way of reconciliation. His wife also recognized me, and to my surprise, I suddenly could understand Chinese.
I believe if my mom was still alive and strong, she might fly out to Hong Kong. If she was not in a good condition, I could picture her to arrange something to her uncle. For my personal insight, I wanted to call this the "Engo Way." Engo is my mom's Chinese name, and what the rest of her relatives called her. As my mom has gone, I strangely had a weird responsibility to continue what my mom would do, especially if it deals with her side of family. I have tried my best to attend every wedding I could, and possibly every funeral. If not, I would pay a visit to their graveyard once I am in hometown. It is like I need to represent her.

To my aunt, she died so young and so sudden. I went to Hong Kong for the first time to attend her wedding, 16 years ago. My mom was the only representative of her own family. Again, 16 years later, I went to Hong Kong for the second time, and who knew that it was to say good bye to my aunt. For the second trip, I realized how beautiful Hong Kong as a country is. Mountains on the side, ocean is on the other side. Tunnels, and amazing infrastructure. However, the buildings were sad, and people look unhappy. It might be only me. I came to windy March weather and foggy day.

Through this occasion, I saw a new side of the Ho family (my mom's family name). How they were hand in hand showed support. How they were extremely good in English. Also, through this occasion, I knew a new side of my mom's siblings. I was so proud to my own uncles and aunts. How they have put their pride aside and showed some supports to their only uncle left (paternal). I can say that my ai (aunt, in Chinese) brought the family once again.

To ai,
You went so fast, and people around you were terribly sad. I know you had been a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, and friends. You left an incredible memory to every one of them. Though, we only met briefly, but I cherished every moment of it.

May you rest in peace, and please say Hello to my mambo up there.

CVB

The only picture I had, having most of my uncles, taken in 2003 

#100happydays

I finished #100happydays 3 days ago.I iImpulsively decided to join in and on the very same day I had a bad day. However, it turned out I appreciated the meal that I had on that night and posted it as the first post of my #100happydays.
#100happydays is a non profit organization that invite people around the world to be happy. It says that many people now spend their 24 hours by not doing anything else but work work work. Also surrounded by negativity; whilst actually there are many small positive things that can make their day. By posting one picture that makes you happy, we are reminded by one small thing than can have power to turn our day to be a better one. At least, by the end of the day you will think of one positive thing to complete your post; even though, your day is full of sh*t.
Not every single day is a happy day. Not rare that I have to 'create' my happy picture. I usually put up memories that make me happy or inspiring quotes. However, there are more days that are genuinely happy. Small or big things. I am happy when I write, when I eat good food, when I meet friends and families, when I suddenly found a meal on my desk, when I see sun rise, when talk about something excitingly, when I watch a movie and shed happy tears and many many good memories. However, on the 100th day, I just know what makes me happiest is being born into my family. Being raised by them. Being present, now, at the very moment. 
Passing day 50s, my days are more genuinely. Automatically, I will find or create a happy picture.I basically think or find one good thing to conclude my day. It makes me feel better. It is always a joy to post one picture a day, not a torture. It is voluntarily done, not forced. 100 days seem fly so fast. It is a bittersweet feeling when it comes to an end. So, I promise my self to continue posting whatever happens that make me happy.
We need happy feelings. Especially, I am a moody person, highly sensitive in certain times. Happy days are easy to create, memories, friends, strawberry juice, free food or simply a lively conversation.In the end, these posts are full of gratitude. Every single piece has its own reason to make me say grace. Basically,

Happy Happy Days

CVB

29 Mei 2014

Bolehkah aku mengulangnya lagi?
"Tidak ada yang kebetulan. Bahkan, setiap orang yang kita temui hari ini, setiap makanan yang kita makan, bahkan setiap cerita yang kita dengar hari ini bukan sebuah kebetulan"

Selamat hari Kenaikan Isa Almasih... :)
Rencana hari ini ternyata direstui sama Dia.
Bangun pagi walaupun agak berat meninggalkan kasur (mumpung hari libur), tapi toh akhirnya bangun dan dijemput Cath-cath untuk misa Kenaikan di Redemptor Mundi, sebuah paroki di daerah Surabaya Barat. Kesempatan ini lumayan menarik karena nge-kos di wilayah Timur, jadinya cuma bisa pergi ke Gereja-gereja sekitar sini saja. Kebetulan kita berdua (aku dan Cath-cath) lagi ngidam makan Brunch, so we appointed Libby brownies for our destination after mass. Mungkin motivasinya rada nge-blur akibat brunch itu, but anyway, Redemptor Mundi is one 'hot' church. At least in my opinion...
Begitu masuk gerbang, Gereja itu berdiri dengan kemegahan sendiri. Dia nggak berbentuk Gereja peninggalan Belanda, tapi, ketahuan kalau Gereja itu dibangun oleh tangan orang Indonesia. Atapnya sedikit meningatkan dengan rumah-rumah Joglo, walaupun tidak persis sama. Kita melewati pintu Barat, dan dari situ sudah terlihat altar dengan salibnya yang luar biasa besar. Yang bikin menarik adalah dinding yang melatarbelakangi salib corpus itu. Batu bata oranye dengan salib dari bahan kayu dengan ukuran raksasa. Dari pintu Utara atau pintu utama bahkan lebih "wah" lagi. Warna oranye batu batanya yang menyatakan bahwa Gereja ini "Indonesia banget." Agak terasa sedikit nuansa Bali di tanah Jawa.
Misa jam 10 itu misa Bahasa Inggris. Sekalian nostalgia sedikit.
Setelah besar begini baru sadar bahwa ada banyak hal yang bisa "menyentuh" saat menghadiri misa. Dari koor, arak-arakan pastor, atau homili. Hari ini, homilinya sedikit menyentil mengenai "fear"
Pasturnya benar dugaanku adalah seorang dari Filipina dengan aksennya yang super khas. Aku pribadi suka dengan aksen mereka :)
Beliau menceritakan tentang pengalamannya bertemu seorang wanita tua yang duduk di kursi roda pada saat penerbangannya ke Taiwan. Wanita tua tersebut bisa langsung menebak bahwa pastor ini berasal dari Filipina, dia langsung diajak ngobrol dalam bahasa tagalog. Kelihatannya, wanita tua ini butuh teman untuk ngobrol, tetapi si pastor terpaksa meninggalkan wanita tua itu karena dia "takut", dia "khawatir" nanti dia ketinggalan pesawat. Padahal, pesawatnya baru 8 jam lagi. Dia takut karena dia di tanah asing, dan ini penerbangan internasional, dan dia belum pernah berada di Taiwan airport, jadinya dia butuh secure diri dengan cara tanya ke informasi. Sayangnya, ketika dia meninggalkan wanita itu untuk bertanya di informasi, dia tidak bisa kembali ke wanita itu setelahnya. Karena, dia sudah cek in. Kejadian itu meninggalkan penyesalan. Dia menyesal lebih ikuti ketakutannya, padahal dia bisa saja menemani wanita tua itu ngobrol, karena dia mengerti bahwa orang tua yang sudah tidak bekerja biasanya senang mengobrol. Lalu, si pastor mengerti bahwa tidak ada yang kebetulan. Dia ditakdirkan untuk bertemu dengan wanita itu untuk menyadari bahwa kekhawatiran itu tidak akan membawanya ke mana.
Cukup berkesan untuk misa pertama di Redemptor Mundi.

Lebih berkesannya lagi ketika makan di Libby Brownies seperti yang sudah direncanakan. Makanannya mendapatkan "Oke", not that great, but not that bad. Eventually, I enjoyed my time more because of the companion. :)
Hari ini, aku kenalan dengan satu orang baru, dan mendengar ceritanya.
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau yang aku temui itu orang perhotelan.
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau dia cerita soal pengalamannya yang luar biasa dengan kerja hampir 2 tahun di salah satu hotel di Bali.
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau konsep kerjanya di hotel dulu itu "bekerja dengan hati"
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau GM di hotelnya dulu itu lulusan Swiss
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau dia cerita dia marah-marah ketika dia kerja di Surabaya yang notabene manajemennya nggak serapih di Bali.
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau aku merasa... ceritanya dia jadi pelajaran buat aku.
Bukan sebuah kebetulan kalau dia share soal bagaimana dia dididik sama atasannya yang dulu.

Sebelumnya, mari saya jelaskan sedikit...
Saya suka kerjaan saya yang sekarang, tapi performance saya bukan yang terbaik. Entah beruntung atau tidak, saya merasa saya tidak mendapatkan teguran keras dari orang-orang, namun...kesadaran saya sendiri yang sepertinya menjadi cambuk buat saya.

Dengar cerita si teman tadi, aku merasa seperti dapat cambukan baru yang melecut pedas tapi membuatku siap lari seperti kuda yang habis dilecut.
Pernah sekali, si teman cerita kalau dia pernah kena tegur keras dari GMnya mengenai performanya yang tidak memuaskan. si GM cuma bilang begini...
"I give you 4 days off. Jangan gunakan 4 hari itu untuk introspeksi. Yang kamu harus lakukan adalah ketika kamu libur dan tidak bekerja bertanya pada dirimu sendiri, apa kamu rindu sama segala sesuatu yang ada di hotel ini atau tidak. Kalau tidak, you can come here pack your things and go back home, itu berarti tempatmu bukan di sini. Tapi, kalau kamu rindu tentang segala sesuatu mengenai hotel ini, berarti cari your missing point. Apa yang membuat kamu jadi "hilang", cari dan temukan"
That is exactly what I have been doing these days. I have been trying to find the missing piece. I realized that I was not in the office even though I was there. Aku udah beberapa kali di-evaluasi dan entah beruntung atau tidak, para supervisor ku itu masih berbicara dengan halus. I should have said that I am lucky, maybe I am... but luck can stop in a minute, otherwise, I admit it and find the way out quickly. I hope it's not too late. It's been 8 months, and I might enjoy it too much; but, I haven't worked my butt off. Adaptation is enough. It's time to get real. Sudah berhari-hari ada sebuah kesadaran yang cukup menganggu, kalau saya belum serius. Belum punya goal. Masih meraba-raba, dan terlena. Ini tidak bisa jadi excuse. it's time to stay in focus while I have time. Karena beruntung atau tidak, saya masih belum dilepas.

Boleh kau katakan, ini sebuah pengakuan. Dan memang ini adalah sebuah pengakuan tentang apa yang sedang menari-nari di kepalaku sepanjang akhir bulan Mei ini. I am facing a challenge, but still looking at it without doing any extra effort to solve it.

My good good friend once said to me when we graduated from college, that we actually entered the university of life. Kita akan terus belajar. Bahkan, ini tingkat yang lebih advance daripada sebelumnya. Dia benar. Working life is actually not a monotone one if we are moving to its dynamic. Beradaptasi di semua challenge. I know quiet well that I am not educated to be a quitter. Nevertheless, I usually took too much time to realize and make a move.
Tapi, apapun yang sudah terjadi bukan sebuah kebetulan.

Itu saja...

Thanks for today...
29 Mei 2014

CVB

Hormonal Effect

Hey girls... enough for hormones?
Yes indeed.

I am tired of being so called sensitive whenever I have my PMS!
I hate PMS. period.

It makes me look bad, like a porcelain which can be broken once you tip it.
You may call it excuse, I may call it precaution. I better fix this and not to blame this hormonal effect. Certainly, not all the girls (thanks God) have this similar symptoms of PMS.
However, I do believe that there are you out there who have this similar feeling. I can hear you say " I feel you."

Anyhow, I want to tone down this hormonal effect a little bit. I might not be able to erase it cleanly and act cool if I am having this disturbing PMS since it's something natural. My body needs to balance out whatever to be balanced; however, this is quiet disturbing. I become more and more sensitive. I feel like this world is pointing at me, every eye sees me, and everything I do is just wrong.

(sigh)

On the other hand, I could see this world beautifully whenever I have my period. funny eh?
I feel so good. So calm. So composed. Relax. I'm just lovin this and want to keep this forever and ever.
But, I can't go against nature right? I have to fully accept that myself will experience this "the whole world against me" and then I will feel "this world is truly wonderful" afterwards.
I might sound exaggerated. I am just pouring out what I have been feeling these past years.

Yet, after having this cycle ; feel everything is bad when I have PMS, feel everything is beautiful when I have period, over and over again, it makes me think that the most important thing is actually

accepting my self

feel good about my self

proud being me

In fact, I should not take my feeling seriously when I am having this PMS. Since, I know it is just hormonal. It might be me who is overly sensitive that I think people would talk "this" about me or "that." It is effecting my self esteem somehow, PMS is. But, well... as I know it is just h-o-r-m-o-n-a-l. My thoughts and my feelings might be just my imagination or even if it is true, I will take it as hormonal effect and wont be too bothered about it. 

I heard that whatever called PMS will be toned down as I grow older.

Whilst typing these down, I am realizing that it is precious to be a woman and self consciously aware that I am a female with all the bio-psychological mechanism. Even tho I hate PMS, I hate feeling small, but it is actually something that I need to get through to balance out myself. It is indeed nurture me to be maturer.  

Again...

process.

Again...

He is magnificent as always. He creates things in His way to make everything works out. 

Again...

Always back to Him...

Again...

It's about gratitude...

haha

Notes:
I have made a post with a similar theme, but address it in different type
Circle of woman - cycle 1
Circle of woman - cycle 2
Circle of woman - cycle 3

CVB

let's feel good about ourselves

Valentine Kelabu

Pengalaman baru datang lagi. Pertama kalinya aku berada di sebuah situasi di mana aku berada di bandara lebih dari 7 jam tanpa kejelasan.
Alam menunjukkan kuasanya.
Gunung Kelud yang terletak di antara Blitar dan Kediri meletus semalam. Surabaya kena dampak hujan vulkanik. Dan aku beserta ke empat teman kerja terkatung-katung di Juanda menanti nasib.
Valentine yang seharusnya pink malah menjadi kelabu. Matahari pun enggan muncul di hari penuh debu ini. Kelabu. Di mana-mana abu. Hatiku pun sesak karena kecewa bertubi-tubi. Begitulah manusia ketika sebuah ekspektasi sudah dibangun, dia akan menjadi seperti gelembung sabun warna warni yang indah. Dan ternyata gelembung itu pecah, ekspektasi itu meretas menyatu dengan udara tanpa ada tanda-tanda bahwa dia pernah ada. Gelap...
Tapi, di sini kita berkata tentang alam yang terlalu besar untuk tangan kita.
Hati manusia boleh kecewa tetapi alam sudah lama kecewa dengan manusia. Dan dia hanya bekerja sebagaimana semestinya. Gunung vulkanik ditakdirkan untuk meletus. Entah untuk menghancurkan atau membersihkan dan menciptakan keadaan baru. Semua itu tergantung dari mana kita melihatnya.
Ada saat-saat di mana tangan manusia menjadi terlalu kecil.
Ada saat-saat di mana ketidak berdayaan adalah salah satu kata sifat untuk manusia secara mutlak.
Kembali lagi "manusia boleh berencana tetapi Tuhan yang pegang kendali"

#10000miles - first edition

Yellow!!!!
I would like to inform you that
1. I am officially jobless... since I have no intention to extend my contract as a school teacher, not because I don't like it but mostly because I want to try something else, aaaand I got an offer in other field... still education related, details will come soon IF only IF everything works as planned...
2. I am on my LONG BREAK! I called it 10000 miles trip because yes! it's 10000 miles journey hahaha...

I am going back to Minnesota baby... yup! Minnesota, USA...
Reminiscing...
Relaxing...
Recharging...  for next steps... to keep going... :)
I am feeling like taking a step back to move 10 steps forward... at least that's my goal..
Oh well... I just tell you about my flight for now...

First thing first, it's all about my ticket.
One week before my flight, I just REALIZED that the ticket has been canceled... In fact, I bought it in April which was 2 months before I left, but I never paid attention to the confirmation status until the day I decided to print it out. I know... stupid right? HOWEVER! it ended up giving me 100 bucks off from the price I got in April balahahahahahahhaa....
I am grateful it happened! WHY? Because, to be frank with you, I don't really like the route I took previously. In spite of fancy All Nippon Airlines (ANA), I was not really happy with the transit schedule. I needed to change airport at New York, JFK to Newark, and with crazy traffic of New York, I didn't think that 4.45hr was enough for my next flight... AND when I came back, I needed to wait at Narita Airport for 17 HOURS!!! Please deh hahaha... So, I was back with safe route. CGK-SIN-OHD-MSP (Jakarta - Singapore - Chicago - Minneapolis) with United Airlines. Still, it didn't turn out smoothly.
I just realized that United (the airline that I have after changed schedule) only allowed ONE baggage!!! Lalalalala, I brought 2 suitcases with an intention to bring back my stuff that I left in MSP. Kudos to Garuda Counter Man...with his brilliant idea I could get my 2 suitcases wrapped with plastic; and counted as ONE baggage... the fact that I will still go home with 2 suitcases was saved for later to think about haha...
Oh yes... Rewind----- to the flight I had from Makassar to Jakarta... I met Jaxith (one of my former students in kinder 2) and his family. His mom asked me whether I needed help since she saw my 2 big suitcases. For your information, weight limit for domestic flight is 20kg. I think I had 3 kg more than it should be. To play safe, I agreed to join them since they were 4 people and their stuff were not that many. And... THank you to Jaxith's mom, I didn't need to pay for airport tax... thanks thanks thanks...

ok... BACK to United.
All was well until the United - Counter - Man told me that I needed to pass the immigration, got my bags, and checked them back in, AND caught my flight in ONE AND A HALF HOUR!!!!!! GaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHHHH
When I first arrived in Chicago, OF COURSE I was half running toward immigration... everything looked good until the officer said... "do you bring your i-20?" I said no, why should I bring it while I am not a student anymore... he insisted that I would be asked, because they needed a proof... GAAH. I got my Traveller visa already... PLEASEEeeeeee! I ended up waiting in the immigration office for 1;25 hr. YES 5 minutes before my flight to MSP... I wanted to cry... T__________T. 30 minutes before the flight, I already tried to let it go... I prepared myself to change my schedule (and... :( bought another ticket perhaps?) 
Then, the nice officer made it all better... He said to me that I needed to go to here... there... and there... after I got my passport back with a sad face.
Such in a nice tone... It did make me feel better...just as simple as that...

Then... the United counter woman gave me help as well. She tried to find another ticket for me... Then! I got it. To MSP at 7.25PM arrived around 9PM by Delta... I said it's fine, and I asked if I needed to pay or not. he shook her head... LALALALA... So, I got a couple hours to cool my self down. I checked in at United counter and they said one baggage is $25. Yes baby, domestic flight (for some airlines) - we needed to pay for checked in baggage. However, they said that my baggage was already checked in 20 hours ago, when I was in Jakarta, so they let my beautiful baggage in without paying anything... Pheeeewwww
So, what I needed to do was only passed the security check point and then waited for my flight.
For little tips to pass the checkpoint in simpler way and fasteeer,
 "don't wear complicated shoes" - because you needed to take them off...
"if you need to wear belt" - please take them off before you entered the checkpoint.
 "if you bring water in a bottle" - drink it up or empty it. There are plenty of water fountain inside the gates.
"if you bring more than one gadgets; ipod, iphone, blackberry, galaxy tab, galaxy note, ipad, sanitary pad (?)" - you better put them all together in one bag. Don't forget to take out your laptop from your bag.
I passed the checkpoint without any problem
After everything was done... I felt like every muscles were broken down, shouted out loud, asked for rest!!!
I was on 'air' for about 23 hours with around 20 hrs lay over in total!
48 hrs without proper sleep
Needed to run
Needed to rush
Carried baggage up and down...
Then, I felt it...
the night breeze of Minneapolis Summer...

I am here...
and it's all good.
Already met good good friendsss and ate Sebastian Joe's ice cream TWICE, ate korean porky bulgogi, dduk boki, and Sechuanese... I still have a long list... and 2 weeks more to go... :)
I don't know what's the outcome of this semi impulsive trip. Well, I already planned this trip last year. I got my visa last August, my original plan was going in December last year, but it turned out that my cousin's wedding, relatives visiting, and it was my last christmas with mambo (who knew). Then, I got my contract ended in June 2013; thus, I decided to take a long break.
I hope you can understand... :)

Here some pictures ...
D-1!!!

Travel document checking!

Things that I brought

For killing time - books, laptop, notes, and spare clothes

 D-DAY

Caught Uzbekistan kids around the counters

Arrived at Singapore!!

this was my spot for 7 hours  - Changi

Day one

a treat after all the fuss

"you - you, me-me attitude is ON!" - Ohare airport 

Day Two

Sechuanese feast for dinner! - Little Sechuan

signing with spooned pen haha

Cakes for dessert from my ultimate favorite Asian bakery in MSP (Green tea cake, taro cake, Pineaple cake, mango cake, and tiramisu)

Meeting good good friends :)

Day THREE

ddukboki and mandu with "anak" I never say no to Korean food ;)

Day FOUR

Met my Super CA - Katie Disalvi and had a beautiful full meal at patio - Stella's, Uptown

Basil Vanila ice cream from Sebastian Joe's for dessert

cooling down at Stone Arch Bridge

Day FIVE

head down to downtown for Pride Parade!!! - AFTER CHURCH hahaha

cooling down after the heat for some frozen yogurt

aaaand then Food Truck for dinner!!!

honey bucket 

of course I chose the best food truck hahaha

Worls Secret Kitchen

It's  A LOOOOONG QUE!!!!!!!!!!

And the wait was worthwhile  - Red Chicken Curry Burrito baby

'anak' got 2 types of taco

a night was not ended yet - Lake Calhoon for Sunday evening walk ;)

d' Handjajas

That's all for now... :)
Excuse me for my bad English... I haven't written in English for a long time hahaha... 

CVB