Royal Jordanian.

I need to vent here. Never... never fly with Royal Jordanian anymore. We supposed to fly at 11 am, we arrived at 9 am and found out that we had to stand in line which was stop moving because the agents are not ready (big mistake : They forgot to put some datas in the computer the night before....so the computer is not ready). Ammar and I had to be separated, he waited to the luggages with Nadia, and I am waiting in the line with Aidan. Finally they started to get the passengers passports and tickets (only), scanned them, and then we still have to make lines for the luggages. Our flight was delayed 3 hours, but in the monitor still said : ON TIME!!!

The flight was about 11 hours direct to Jordan. They didn't let us sleep at all. The flight attendants don's pick up garbages. They don't come when you press the buttons to call them. They don't have snacks and milk... big.. big difference compares with Singapore Airlines.

We arrived in Jordan, and missed our connecting flight. We supposed to fly at 7 am, but we arrived at 8.15 am. Only 2 flights to Damascus every day, so we had to stay in Jordan until 9 pm for the next flight.

We waited 10 hours in Jordan, thanks for the hotel, we slept finally and took some bath.

Finally we arrived in Damascus.. We lost 4 of 5 our luggages. Can you imagine that ?

After 3 days, we finally got our luggages. I have handwashed the kids clothings (only 3 pairs for Aidan, and 2 pairs for Nadia), because we left the next morning for the vacation trip.

I think it is the worst travel ever in our family history, but we made it safe to Damascus and we had a lot of fun for the big family reunion. Nadia enjoys her cousins so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FINA!!!

It's my sister's birthday.. Due to the 12 hours difference, it should be on the 18th Indonesian standard time..... Just a day after Indonesian's independence day.
Mommy Froggy, Nadia said she really wants to see you again. She asked thousands of times whenever she saw me packing, she asked if we were going to Indonesia... No honey, we are going to Syria...

Kak Ina, semoga selalu diberkahi Allah SWT, sehat selalu, murah rezeki, dan anything you wished for will come true...

I miss you so much....

I updated my photography blogspot a bit, not a whole lot of pictures. busy. busy.. busy.. darn it.. I have tons of pictures.. I kept telling Ammar how much I need 48 hours a day... it's just not enough time.

Loved photography since I got my first camera at the age of 7 years old.
I read a lot about photography. My favourite online reading is :
http://www.kenrockwell.com

I love gadgets, I love electronics, more than anything. No, I lied.. I love music, too. I can play piano, cello, violin, and clarinet, but of course, I play piano the most.

When I started dating Amora, he asked me what I wanted for my birthday. It was in year 2000. I told him, you will never go wrong with electronics. I got a god bracelet instead!!! (Not to excited about that.. hahaha). My exs likes gadgets, too. They bought me palm pilots, mp3, etc and I remember I was just like a child when I received them.. loved them... and at that time I wished my husband will give me gadgets instead of jewelries and flowers. My family knows already, they bombarded me this year with gadgets on my birthday in May.. hahaha.

My wish came true... I got high def camcoder earlier to celebrate our 5th anniversary on Sept 1. Yay, Ammar!!! Now, I am ready to travel

I really don't know where to start.

My list of things to do are beyond possible. We are leaving in 8 days and I have tons of stuff to do.
I want to do the best things for my in laws to bring with us. Yes, it will be my first trip to Syria, Damascus, and so do for Aidan and Nadia. It will be fun for all of us, Ammar got nervous because he has not been there for 9 years and he wonders how Syria looks like now.

I am a bit overwhelm, the grasses grow like weed and I fell on my tail bone exactly in the corner of the cement steps outside the sunroom. Boy, was that HURT!!! Ammar fell so sorry, he knows how much it hurts. I must have bruised my tail bone. It feels like being pregnant again, getting move around so slow, especially after sitting down quite a while.
Ammar will take over mowing the lawn. There are so much stuff inside the house needs to be organized....

We had a wonderful August 17th celebration. (it's Indonesian's Independence Day). The IndoMichigan groups had some potluck picnic at a wonderful Kensington Park, oversees the lake... Nice food, nice weather, nice photoshoots... my girl didn't want to go home. The photos are coming up, but here is the email from the group about the event today.

Gee. Listening to the Anthem Song today, almost made me cry. I wonder why ? Because I used to sing it every single Mondays during my school years ? Being an American citizen doesn't make me pure American. I still have that feeling of nationality towards Indonesia.

Anyway, here is the comment :
"Our picnic was a great success, we have a great weather, great food and
plenty of it, great company, and most of all we get to see and meet new
people and old friends. I don't have the exact count, but my guess we
have close to 150 - 160 people in attendance this afternoon.

First, I would like to congratulate all our committee members. You put
together this program is such a short time. From thinking about it to
reality in 6 weeks. You have done well !
Thank you Ria, Tri and Ina for providing a great traditional dance at
the picnic.
Pictures will be uploaded to our new website as soon as it's available.

Thank you all for coming and participating, we are looking forward to
have another bigger and better picnic nex year.
Please, let us know if you have any idea/suggestion or would like to
volunteer to be in the committee for next year."

Merdeka !!!

I am sorry in advance for this one of a kind post. Actually I just want to be more sentimental here, maybe I just want to vent and share a bit about myself. I have never vent in the www before, not even to my friends about people around us, which you meet every single day of your life.

There are so many kind of people out there in the world. The one really bugs me so much is a person who constantly in denial, lying to themselves every single day, acting as they are the best ones compare to others, said something which they think it's true (don't care if it is not) and have the tendency to believe on what they wanted to believe (which ones were more convenient to them). They cannot see other people who are better then themselves. This people would do anything to become someone else. I called this people is a constant liar, because they are the most dangerous people to be friends with.

The second group of people which I am not fond of, and usually I just have no tolerance with them is the snobbish, arrogant, especially someone who has money, but they think money can buy everything. I met lots of people, who once so snobbish in the beginning, and once they know me or my family, they change completely 180 degree, then they wanted to be friends with me, well, I never ended up being friends with them, because I just lost interests.

The people I love the most : Someone who is honest, kind, down to earth, and don't talk about other people's bad, beautiful from inside basically, no matter they have money or not, no matter their education level is.

I never pretend to be nice to people when I don't like them. I don't have this typical 2 faces some of people has. My mother always says to me that she is amazed how many friends that I keep for most of my life. She said I don't have so many friends like my sister does, but I tend to have them for life. People sometimes misinterpret me, sometimes they judge me for what I am not as a person.. let them be (it is well known that you cannot pleased everyone). Time usually tells, which one is right or wrong, but usually I am the one who laughs at the end. I still have friends from my elementary school, and I love every single one of them, they are from very poor family to the very rich family, no schools to the highest schools you have ever think of. I don't look from the way they dressed, I don't look from whatever cars they drive, I don't look for how the houses look like, I don't look how pretty or not so handsome they are. I just look their inner beauty.

To our best friends, Bill and Lisa.

It was a very nice party. Everyone was so wonderful at the party. We are so happy that Aidan got the experience of having "grandmas" for a while. Nadia found her best friend, Alexandra. The dancers were the best idea ever for the party. Bravo, Lisa. Illona is such a nice woman, now I know how you, Lisa becoming a very fun and thoughtful woman.
You guys deserves each other, it's finally happens, you reunited. You look so cute together last night.
We are so happy for you and God Bless you both. Hope every single wish you want come true, especially that very special thing.
You have wonderful family and friends. Such lucky couples you are.

P.S.: Talked to Connie and Lou. We will arrange the dinner at our house after we come back from vacation in September. Hopefully Andrew and Julia will be here, too (we talked to him about it, too).

Last night, After I put Aidan to sleep and Ammar put Nadia to sleep, I went to my bed, start studying. Ammar went to the office room, finishing up his work.

After 15 minutes, I heard someone got in my door, surprisingly it was Nadia. (Nadia doesn't go out of her bedroom most of the time)
Me : "Hi Nadia, aren't you supposed to go to sleep ? Tomorrow is school day."
Nadia : "Hi, Mommy, Aidan kept waking me up. He is too noisy."
Me : "Oh, Aidan is sleeping, and I think you are the one who is noisy most."
Nadia : (changing subject) "Hey Mommy, what are you reading ?"
Me : "I am studying for my board exam."
Nadia : "What is it about ?"
Me : "It's about human body."
Nadia started to talk and talk and talk and talk....
Me : "Nadia, I am studying right now, it is very important. If you want to go to sleep, go to your room, but if you want to stay in Mommy's bed, you cannot make any noise or talk to me, okay ? Because I need to concentrate."
Nadia : "Okay."
Me : I put the pillow next to me for her to lying down."
Nadia lied down next to me, then I started to read again.
After 15 minutes, I didn't hear from her, not a work, I looked at her, she was watching me with her beautiful big eyes"
I smiled at her,.... gave her a big hug, and kissed her....
After a while, I got so tired, at least for 45 minutes, my brain couldn't compromise tonight. So tired. So I prepared myself to sleep, I hugged Nadia, she was still not sleeping yet.
Hm... how much I miss cuddling with her in my own bed.. it's a luxury, it doesn't happen very often.

The next thing I know, Ammar brought Aidan to my bed to be nursed.... It's morning time!!!

What a crew we got today. The Molly Maid usually only have 2 ladies to clean our house professionally. Today, there are 4 people... gee... and they finished our big house just in an hour. Good for Aidan because he just doesn't like the noises they made during the cleaning.
Nadia came home and I asked her not to make a mess because the house is sparkling clean... She got so disappointed, she said : "Oh, I missed them... I want to see the cleaning ladies and play with them...."
I said : "Nadia, last time when you were home, and the cleaning ladies came, you kept talking to them, they can't work..."
Nadia : "Why ?"

I had to cancel my haircut appointment because until 7.30 pm, Ammar was not home yet... he is so busy with 6 new complicated patients... Oh well, that's what you paid for having a loving tender smart busy husband. I reschedule it for 8.30 pm on Friday. Hopefully he will be home at 8 pm on Friday.
I am so exhausted today... I slept right after Aidan slept and Ammar read books for Nadia, and when Ammar came to the bed, he told Nadia who wanted me to kiss and hug her that her mommy had already slept. She came to the bed, jumped on my bed and gave me lots of kisses and whispered : "Mommy, I am giving you lots of good night's kisses"

My mother's little sister died in October 2006, and when I went to Jakarta, I missed to see her. She was diagnosed with cervical, lung cancer, and the whole nine yards a year before she died. Her husband (my uncle) was a huge smoker, day and night, as far as I remember, he always smokes every time I see him. So, my aunt became a passive smoker.
Everything was done to make her better, from going back and fourth between Jakarta, Medan and Singapore, she tried so hard to live longer. My sister, who is a physician, came along with her all the time to talk to the doctors in Singapore.
2 months after she was diagnosed, her husband was also diagnosed with cancer in larynx. Of course, after that he stopped smoking.
I feel so sorry for the only daughter, who got this news about her parents. Thanks God, she got married right before her mom passed away. I saw her in Jakarta, in December 2006, great news, she was pregnant.
I talked to my sister yesterday and she told me that my uncle passed away last week.

God, please help their daughter and grandchild (I am so happy that Laura, my cousin, got a chance to introduce her son to her father, which I have never got that chance with my own father).

Inna lillahi, wa inna lillahi roji'un.

P.S.: Please, please, please, readers, stop smoking, or don't even try to smoke.