yunkce_maniez's Xanga

closing entry for the year

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:43:49 GMT

it's a bit early to do a closing entry, but i figured it probably be another semester until i write an entry which would be about the welcoming of a special member in the family... may, to be exact, is the due date predicted for the birth of a special someone, a new addition to me and dut!
the year has been great, with several changes happening, some are good, others not so pleasant.. personally, i just feel that it's part of the challenges that i need to face so that i can grow up into a bigger and better person.. and i do thank God that i don't get stressed easily,... work has been more challenging, not because of a demanding job, but rather, a totally negative and unreasonable boss whose way of thinking is beyond my wildest imagination... but then again, it's part of life! i suppose i could just quit but i guess i will face the same thing should i move on to a new job, and to find a new job will be another risk to take with the current economy situation...
ok can't think of anything else, grey's anatomy is getting more concentration than this blog...

no news = good news

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:22:46 GMT

perhaps i shouldn't have jinxed my state of orderliness by complaining and asking for excitement... now my peace at work has been shaken.. the (local) management for the brand that i've been working for has been merged with several other brands so now i've got a new boss... and like all other change in management, it comes with a few new rules that we will have to follow... there's a major restructuring and i'll just say that it's not gonna be pleasant for some of us... while some has been promoted, others will be demoted (or maybe get discharged) and it stirred a bit of emotion in the office.... i've heard rumors flying around regarding the new management and it's quite hard to keep my mind open due to the notoriety, but we'll wait and see if it's true.. i'll make my own judgment.

joy of cooking

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:23:09 GMT

the week's been rather slow with 2 of my colleagues and my manager off to hong kong for paid vacation/training... but it was the discovery made at home which makes my week highlight-able... due to the fact that my carpool mates weren't available, i had to drive on my own to work... +ves: can get up later, can come home earlier, flexible schedule, independent, can go to the stores or anytime i want... -ves: the parking and gasoline alone cost me rp 200k/ week ! enough to override all the good points and convince me not to drive on my own!!!
well, the few days that i was able to come home by 6.30 have relight the chef spirit in my heart again... it was a long long time ago since i last made an extensive proper dinner (fried rice and instant noodles don't count!) the last time i cooked from scratch was when i was preparing dinner for my caregroup back in lafayette or when i was trying up a new recipe in kokomo... and that was like 2003! in the 5 years between 2003 and the premarital condition, i am hardly in the kitchen for more than 10 minutes, and even if i was supposed to cook, in the end, the maid took over all the things i planned to do, and i was just there with my arms folded only to give instructions.... but the last few days were different... since i am unable to stop by my parents house, and dut's parents are away, it is crucial for our survival that i prepare dinner, otherwise we'd die of starvation (ok, that's a bit exaggerated)... so i was there in MY kitchen, 0 maid present, reliving the joy of cooking again, and it was fun... i admit that it's not always cheaper to cook on my own coz rp 10k can get your stomach full, but home cooking is a luxury nowadays! and i'm not talking about all the sharks fin or lobsters here... dut's taste buds aren't severely challenged and i dun have a recipe book to follow, but as long as i can whip up a decent meal (his decent meals consist of soup or a vegie and meat dish, no exquisite aesthetics required) he's satisfied... and there is nothing better for a wife than for her husband to enjoy her cooking! and believe it or not, i'm pretty happy if this becomes my lifestyle...
so there's the third post, actually there's still more stuffs running through my head, but 3 posts a day should be enough.... will do burst posts again soon...

m&s + pat field = ???

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:43:16 GMT

i first read the news from susie bubble, with her peanut butter and olives metaphore, in fact i was quite surprised how in the world that marks & spencer could get patricia field (hello, stylist to the devil wears prada, sex and the city!! winner of emmy award and owner to her own namesake brand) to design for them... from what i noticed, they've been trying to revamp their image from this unfashionable gross retail store to a trendier boutique-y brand... starting with twiggy, noemi, erin o'connor, and mylene klass, and then with lily cole as the latest limited brand campaign, and now pat field!
existing in quite a number of countries (can't exactly remember how many, but the folks in US won't be happy!), m&s is not exactly a match made in heaven with pat fields... i know the brand is thought of old fashioned and conservative by many ppl in indonesia, with the customer base of older women (due to the higher dispensable income) but it's getting better! now more younger customers have started to patronize the shops....
i don't know how the 24 pieces (35 total, but only 24 will be available to the indonesian market) of the collection "destination style new york" will be received by the people here in october with the film scheduled to be released in july (the kate moss for topshop was a blah here!).. it's something to look forward too... yes it's a publicity stunt! how else would you find the opportunity to be dressed by the red haired lady? unless of course you can get on a plane and drop by her boutique in new york.... it will be fun to see if there will be people waiting in line on the day the clothes are released!

vs's sale...!

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:12:31 GMT

the victoria's secret annual sale is here... it's been a week or so in fact and me being the bargain hunter that i am have ordered some "christmas presents" for myself.... why christmas? coz i ain't paying the shipping fee to indonesia just for it to get lost in customs! so the solution: ask my dear friend renny who's coming home for christmas to bring it back for me... hehehe a bit too early for christmas shopping but a good deal never hurts and by then its a good time to update my lingerie wardrobe... anyways, if you plan to order some, rather than using the semisale offer code for the free shipping, it's more cost savvy to use the offer code for the 3 tier discount... just google "victoria's secret offer code" and you can find the code... for those of you who has the vs credit card can even stack the discount with free shipping.. ok, happy shopping!!

who are you?

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:44:02 GMT

perhaps the single thing i often hear from my mom when i was growing up is: "why can't you be like her?"...
and in many cases, i was never up to her standard despite the achievements that i had... it wasn't worth bragging, but it meant something to me, then again perhaps they weren't enuff for her... and i knew i was different growing up, unlike the rest of my friends... i was one of the geek, never the heart of the party and i was satisfied to be under the limelight of a leader (coz that meant no responsibility or whatsoever) and i was happy doing things just for myself, just because i know that it's gonna be a loosing battle trying to over achieve my mom's expectation, coz there's always somebody else better... and my mom would still be going "look and so and so, she's earning ...." or "so and so just bought a very expensive diamond jewelery for their mom"...
after all these years, eventually i realized that all the insecurities i had was from the words that i heard in my adolescent stage.. being brought up in a traditional chinese family, the methods were emotional blackmail and negative feedbacks... praises and ratifications were as rare as the pink diamond... encouragement came in very dispiriting words... good thing i was an optimistic person, still taking all those in positively... otherwise, i dare not even imagine...
and obviously, there were repercussions. i had a tough fight finding myself and knowing what i want, because even though i try to filter all the negative frequency out, the subconscious mind will pick in a tune or two... and i thank God that after being born again, i finally can safely say that i'm secure of who i am... now i know who i am, and as hard as it is to do, i no longer compare myself with others and get green eyed over their grasses, no longer am i jealous over their victories... i admire those who dare to express who they are despite of what the rest of the world says... growing up, the mind was always taught to follow the mainstream, but it's when we go against the flow to follow our dream is when we are acting on our security... the road is still a long way to go, i believe i'm one step closer to the goal now that i know who i am... do you know who you are?

title-less post

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:02:00 GMT

my life has been in a rut lately and i kinda resent it. other than work, there is nothing interesting that's going on with me... not expecting yet if you must know, cause i'm not so sure if i can adjust to such a change... or maybe i need it?

tribute to the late steve

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:03:47 GMT

(x)sml started their sale a week ago, besides getting 2 jackets, this is what i picked from the rows of hanged clothes slashed 50% off.... ta da... a brown (yes i know it look a bit greenish here instead of brown) jumpsuit....
at first sight, it looked as if i'm going crocodile hunting, i was unsure whether to get it or not, hence the pic from the fitting room... i left the store only to show it to my friend who finally convinced me to go back and get it. but then again at less than 20 usd (rp 185k to be exact), i'm convinced that it's a steal... not that i'm trying to follow the latest jumpsuit trends (if you haven't read/heard about it, yes it's gonna be the trend for this season and probably the next), but i just couldn't resist to add this steve irwin inspired outfit to my wardrobe ... now i just have to find the right moment to wear it, when i'll be drinking less and walking more because i'll most probably dread it when i have to take it off and on all the time if i need to do you know what ...

beauty is in the eye of the beholder... or not?

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:56:13 GMT

perhaps the beholder has similar view of proportionality? according to dr. stephen marquardt, the perfect beauty can be defined mathematically... after long hours of research, covered here, who knows that beauty is connected to phi? Ø or 1.618 0339 887... i've heard of phi being the most aesthetically pleasing ratio that our eyes like, but the fact that there is a correlation between facial beauty and phi is certainly a new and odd thing... so in short, dr marquadt came up with the marquardt mask which defines points in relation to the golden number.. if your facial features fall within the points, then you are beautiful, despite the color of your skin, the crooked nose, or uneven set eyes...

pic taken from MBA California website

out of curiosity, vanity, and in the leisure time of my sunday afternoon while accompanying the beloved hubby playing his playstion, i moused around using photoshop to see what my face would look like in the perfect world (should i be able to print a permanent mask out of a single picture)... nevermind the small eyes and lack of double eyelids, here are before and after pics...

notice any difference? in case you didn't: the face is sharper, nose and lips a teeny bit smaller, and eyebrows more sloping... blame it on the genetics!!! if only i didn't inherit my mom's strong jawbone ! but i'm still thankful that the proportionality in my facial features are within acceptable limits. so there, i'm happy with my square face...
now i understand why there are people who has the most unique features can still look attractive while the people with the most beautiful pair of eyes can look so unpleasing....

professionalism

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 03:08:12 GMT

just a random thought that passed through my mind... i work in a company where most of the top management, except for the cfo and a few other posts involving ownership and decision making, are held by expatriates from all over the world, which got me asking, where are the indonesians? aren't we good enuff to hold the top positions?
look around and you'll see that most of the five star hotels are managed by caucasian general managers, the top bosses of the multinational firms are probably foreigners with paychecks in dollar, apartments, and luxurious european cars... the few institutions whose executives are local are either government owned or semi private..
a discussion with dut led me to the following conclusion: since indonesia is a land of opportunity, many of us who are smart enuff would rather be our own bosses rather than working our 4sses of for somebody else especially because we'll have to start from a lowly position, slaving more than 10 hrs a day, with a minuscule pay compared to the high living cost and spending habits that we're probably used to when we're still living with our parents... then there are some of us who inherit businesses from our parents... and the rest who are actually pursuing professional career chose to do it outside of indonesia because the pay is higher, the benefits are better, where the opportunities are abundant and above than average talents are more apprecated or just because we prefer to stay in the comfort zone as readjusting to the 'new' environment can be a culturally shocking experience after staying away for more than 10 years...
then there's another possibility where these caucasian people bring the impression of prestige to the company, honestly, i dun understand why, because again, there are people capable of doing things better than them, but somehow, these people can gain more respect compared to native indonesian...
personally, i dunno if i'm gonna climb the professional career ladder...of course the indonesian dream is to own a multi million dollar business that can be managed from home, and i no doubt want that too... but as of now, i'm still enjoying what i'm doing, and at this moment i can't imagine having to quit work and be a stay at home mom... the calling's just not there yet but perhaps i will, or perhaps 10 years from now you'll see my pic in the magazine ranked as a top director, or a fashion designer... or i'll see your pics? who knows ya? we'll wait and see....