Project 365

I just purchased this book by Brene Brown. I’ve been slacking myself for buying this book merely because I have MANY books to read. But when I saw a 50% discount of this book at Book Depository, I decided to buy it immediately. A 50% discount AND a free shipping worldwide! A really good deal, huh? If you’re interested in this book, I suggest to buy it IMMEDIATELY!

I admit I’ve been buying many books (and accessories). It’s what Indonesians call "kalap". I’m just afraid that I won’t be able to do this anymore when I go back to Indonesia. It’s impossible for me to get cheap English books (and cheap accessories) over there. The postal service is not reliable too so I don’t know how I can cope living without online shopping hahaha. Well, for now I can rely on my sister who lives in KL. I can send all the books to her and she can bring them to me when she goes back to Jakarta. That’s my plan :P. For the next one year haha. I hope she keeps on living there so I can take an advantage hehe.

Admiring my rose before it dies 🙂

I did a bit of experimenting today. I wanted to make an Egyptian macaroni bachamel (a popular lasagna-like food), but it would involve quite a bit of tasks and would require some pans and dishes (I was too lazy to wash them haha). So I thought of making a veggie lasagna. About two years ago, I was invited to a family dinner of my Dutch friend and his mom cooked this type of baked veggie cheese pasta thing. It was delicious! Ever since that dinner, I had been trying to make it my own, but… you know me?! Always not in a mood of cooking.

So today, I took out all of the ingredients and made this veggie lasagna. I’m not a fan of tomato sauce to be honest, so I used a bachamel sauce instead (which was easy to make). I put some broccolis, potatoes, and mushrooms. I’m a cheese lover, so I put lots of cheese on top (I even put two different cheese hahaha… one of them was parmesan cheese).

Alright, the picture doesn’t do it justice. But I assure you, it was delicious! LOL! The broccolis were too overcooked though; because I think I steamed them too long before putting them in the oven. So, next time I’d probably steam them for few minutes. I’d definitely add more varieties of veggies next time… like zucchinis, cauliflowers, etc.

Loving it! 🙂

A beautiful red rose :). I can’t remember when was the last time I got a rose haha…

Well… not only the rose that made my day, of course.

I met many new people during an international dinner today. It was such a great evening. It always felt good to be in your comfort zone. And yes, I realized that this was my comfort zone. I always enjoy to be around with people who are interested in different cultures, who have been abroad for quite some time (hence, they know the kinds of things we’ve been through as a foreigner), who do not judge others based on their appearance, and so on…

I haven’t had time to write about the trip. So, for now… I can only post some pictures with the captions. These are some of the best parts of the road trip, sorted by my most favorite ones 🙂

Switzerland: The Alps & The Lake

The roads to the Alps were still closed as it was still snowing heavily over there, so we had no choice other than to take the Gotthard tunnel, the third longest tunnel in the world. The Alps and the lake were so beautiful. Too bad most of the places in Switzerland are touristy and too crowded, compared to New Zealand… But the good thing about traveling with car was that, we got to avoid the tourists and got to "chase" the view of Alps and the lake… so breathtaking!

CouchSurfing

Couchsurfing at locals’ houses is by far my favorite part of any previous travels that I did! I got to learn and discover new things. It was memorable! My couchsurfing experience in Arzo, Switzerland was THE BEST one out of all! We got to stay at a super cozy 16th century apartment and got a chance to have a delicious vegetarian dinner and a breakfast prepared by our wonderful host! We couldn’t ask for a better host 🙂 She’s just the best!

"The Great Wall of Switzerland"

We planned to go to Lugano in the Italian part of Switzerland, but our host recommended these castles in Bellinzona (there are three castles by the way), not too far from Lugano. So we decided to change our plan and went to Bellinzona instead! It was worth it 🙂

Italian Pizza

Our main aim of going to Italy was to EAT! We didn’t regret it at all! I ordered a seafood pizza (Frutti di Mare) and it was DELICIOUS, even more delicious than the Italian pizza at my favorite Pizza Café at UQ (Uni of Queensland).

Côte d’Azur

The beach was beautiful, but the weather wasn’t that nice and the city was just too posh, full of wealthy tourists. It’s not my most favorite parts of the trip but it’s just refreshing to see the beach again!

This was my third and probably the last time to do a bike tour around Lisse. What I love the most about this bike tour was our picnic and my first discovery of a tulip field with a windmill background! I always saw it in the postcards or calendars but never in real life! I thought it was unreal and was photoshopped! But I was so satisfied that I finally found it 😉

I’ve been busy preparing for tomorrow’s gathering! So excited about it 🙂

Here’s the hint:

YEAAAAH! I’m on the first page of Indonesian translators on TED! How cool! Hahaha… I would be "kicked out" by someone else if I stopped translating :P.

At least I know how it feels to be on the first page (does it matter?!) hahaha. I’m going to translate more videos if I have free time! TED is the coolest thing ever.

Here are some of the talks that I’ve translated.