Outdoor Activities - Spring/Summer 2009 - Part One

I have been doing some outdoor activities this spring/summer, and have enjoyed them very much. Below are some activities that I've done so far...

Coldplay concert in the Gorge Amphitheater

Sheldon and I went to Quincy, WA for Coldplay concert. It is pretty far from Seattle (took us 3 hours from Seattle), and fortunately it is worthed. Sheldon was pretty much complaining all the way there as why a big band like Coldplay want to have a concert in the middle of nowhere. Once we arrived there, we were awed. This is the most gorgeous amphitheater I ever been to. It was an outdoor amphitheater with columbia gorge in the background. Unfortunately, we did not take any pics of the amphitheater, but you should google it, and you will be amazed. The Coldplay was performed very good. This is one of the best concerts that I ever been to. Chris Martin was great, he was energetic and had great vocal. Also as a tribute to Michael Jackson, they perfomed Billy Jean.

On the way to the Gorge Amphitheater

Sunset

Viva LaVida Tour

COLDPLAY

River Rafting in Skykomish river

I went rafting with bunch of friends in Gold Bar area. They rate this river level 5, but it wasn't as thrilled as i thought it would be. But still, I had fun on this trip. It was tiring though because the water level was so low, so we have to paddle a lot to avoid boulders. The pic was taken in the area that called "Boulder Drop." This is the area where they rate level 5.

~FUN TIME~

Camping in Kalaloch, Olympic National Park

During 4th of July weekend, Sheldon, I and the Pham family went to Olympic National park and camped 2 nights in Kalaloch Campground. It is located next to wide sandy beach. I love it! I love the feeling of smooth sand on my feet, I love listening to the sound of the ocean, I love beachcombing together with Sheldon and found cool stuffs. The only downside was the weather wasn't like I expected :(. It was chillin from morning until around 4 PM... then the sun started to come up until about 9 PM. Overall, I had a great time camping in kalaloch. You should consider to camp in this place if you like beach. However, they don't have showers (they do have flush toilet). And also, don't book campgrounds near HWY 101, it is kinda noisy with trucks pass by at night.

Beach combing with Sheldon

Me in Ruby Beach

Me on the beach near our campground.

Kayaking in Lake Union

Me and Ervy

Paragliding

Finally, I checked paragliding from my bucket list :). Sheldon, Heidi, Jon, Bram and I did tandem paragliding in tiger mountain, Issaquah. It was not really an adrenalin rush activity like skydiving, but it was still a great experience. The scary part was running towards the cliff to launch the parachute. I was 20 minutes up in the air, just enjoyed my flight and took pictures. My one tip to whoever wants to do paragliding is to take dramamine if you easily get motion sickness.

Sheldon and his instructor...

Me before launching

Fly like a bird

Weekend getaway to Vegas

I just came back from 4 days trip to vegas with Sheldon. It was a good relaxing trip, but I would choose another destination if I have an option to go outside US.

As we did not have any plans, we spent most of our times playing slot machines and walking from hotel to another on the strip. Here are some highlights on this trip:

1. This is the first time I watched light performance on Fremont street. Fremont street itself is located in old downtown las vegas. They put a roof on the street for 5 block long with LCD TV.


2. Living garden performance in Pallazo was so impressive. Three ladies wore white costumes and pretended to be garden statues. When they moved their hands, water came out from their fingers and heads. Also there were two ladies dressed up as wild ivies. That was really cool.

3. We went to the world of Coke and paid 7 dollar to try 16 drink samples from around the world. From those samples, our favorites are: Bibo Kiwi Mango and Bibo Pine Nut from South Africa, Fanta Kolita from Costa Rica and Smart Watermelon from China. There was one drink called Beverly from Italy. That drink is damn nasty... It was so bitter, the only word that can describe it is HORRIBLE. I can't believe they really produce that kind of drink and people really buy it.

4. We went to one of Cirque du Soleil show called Mystere. I was impressed with the stage artistic. As for the acrobatic part, it was a standard performance. You should watch this show when you are in Vegas. From all Cirque du Soleil shows, this one is a good show with reasonable price.

5. I was impressed with buffet selection at Mirage. For the price we paid, it was so worthed and surprisingly the food tastes very good,too. You can find from sushi, chinese style noodle station, crab legs, shrimp cocktail, italian food, greek food, prime rib, mexican food, and last but not least wide variety of dessert station :).

6. I was playing blackjack in our hotel casino (Westin) until 3 AM :P. That was the first time, I gambled on a table and stopped because the casino floor manager said "the casino is closed, that will be your last bet" :s. I and another players were looking at each other and wonder since when vegas casino is not 24/7. Then our dealers said they only opened 12 hours a day because of the current recession.

7. We watched a show called V at the Planet Hollywood hotel. It was a mix acts show. They had comedy, acrobats, magician, etc. It was an OK show, we watched it because we got free tickets :). Anyway, the opening act was two gaucho guys, and we were so surprised because we saw them performing last year when we were on a cruise to Alaska.

Summer just passed, welcome Fall

Ola my friends...

It has been a while from my last blog. Last one was just right after my trip to Alaska, which was on May. Ummm... let me think what have been going on in my life...

The highlight of the summer is I did skydiving :D... I can't believe I finally did it. It was AWESOME! I jumped with an instructor from 12,500 feet and 1 minute free fall. The free fall was the best part, after the parachute was opened... I felt dizzy as we cruisin to left and right so many times for 4 minutes.

Of course, I got so scare before jumping. We took 25 minute plane ride and the view was awesome. Somewhat it calmed me. But when the plane door was opened. I got so scared... the wind blew so hard and it was very cold. I screamed "I am not ready, I am not ready", while my hands held so tight to the plane, but my instructor just grabbed me and pushed me out of the plane. I closed my eyes and I could feel my body fllipped around. Few seconds later on, we were stable and I opened my eyes. The free fall felt like flying instead falling down. I will definately do it again. And I am planning my next jump next year. This time, it will be from 18,000 feet, 1 1/2 minute free fall :D

My mom and sister visited us for one month last August. I really had a great time when they were here. We had a lot of laughes, shared a lot of gossip and wasted a lot of time for shopping :P. We did a trip to whistler... and that was ok! The first night was a horrible night. We rent a condo, which is literally 50 feet from a nightclub :(. OMG, they were so loud. I cried since I could not sleep due to noise while I was so tired. That was a nightmare! Good thing, we could find a 2 bedroom studio @ Marriott, so we moved the next day.

We got locked out of our house for the 3rd time this year! Isn't that horrible! :(. The first one, we got locked out but luckily one of the window was opened, so we can go in. The second one, we had a tenant, and she was in south center mall. We called her, and in 20 mintues she was arrived and we could go in. The third time, there were no windows opened and we had no tenant. It was 10 o'clock at night. So we called 24-hour locksmith. When sheldon called them and asked for the rate, they said the rate is $39.99 plus labor. We thought it was a good deal considering we were in "emergency" situation. When he came, he put $39.99 and the labor rate is $129.99. Geez, that was a ripped off. We were pissed off... but nothing we can do. He was able to open the door in less than 10 seconds! that's really2 sux... oh well... it's a lesson for us!

TO BE CONTINUED

Alaska Trip

Arghhhhhhhh..... I was writing about 5 paragraphs about our trip to Alaska, and accidentally I deleted them during editing arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I will write in another time... here are some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

See how big the iceberg compare to the boat behind it

Skagway scenery

Glacier Lake in Skagway

Ayu @ Tracy Arm Fjord

Sheldon and Ayu in Skagway - that's our ship in the background

Juneu

Sheldon sunbathing :D

Sheldon and Ayu with big iceberg on the background

Ayu was trying to take pictures of the orcas

Ayat Ayat Cinta

I was browsing youtube for Indonesian songs and it came to my attention people's comments about a movie called Ayat Ayat Cinta when I watched a new Rossa's song. I wasn't really interested in it at first because it seems to be a religious movie. But people gave really really good comments so I decided to look for it on youtube.

BIG TWO THUMBS for this movie. Yes, it has religious flavor in it, but it is purely a love story movie. This is a story about a young poor guy named Fahril, who is a muslim protagonist. He never really closed to women besides his mom. Then one day, he gets a scholarship from Al-Azhar Uni in Egypt, and when he is in Egypt, there are 4 beautiful women who likes him. The first woman named Maria. She is a christian who lives just above his apartment. He likes her too to some extend, but they know religion difference is the reason why they can't be together. But she still has a big hope on him.
The second woman named Nurul. She is his colleague who has a big crush on him.
The third woman named Noura. A helpless woman who gets a domestic abuse from her family. One day, Fahril helps her when she gets abuse and from there, she has a big crush on him. He hurt her in some point and gave him a big trouble.
The fourth woman named Aisha. She is the one that he finally pickes her as his wife. But he doesn't know her at all when he made that decision. In that story, as he is a muslim protagonist, he doesn't believe in a relationship prior to marriage. He knows her from his teacher whom he looked at as his father. The marriage problem suddenly occurs because his wife is richer than him. Also he sometimes likes to compare her to Maria.

A complex love story with a twist at the end. I was crying half of the movie *blush*, but when I told my mom about it, she said "the president and the vice president were crying when they watched this movie." HAHA I am not the only one :P
I recommend you to watch this movie.

I just checked that it has been 2 months from my last blog, so here some updates what have been happened in my life:

1. I did my singing performance 2 weeks ago :D... I was very nervous and almost gave up on it. But thankgoodness I did it :D... I had a blast and would like to take that class again in the future. Thank you for Sheldon, Kristi, Kei and Margareth to come and support me :)

2. About a month ago, Sheldon and I went to Portland for a weekend gateaway. Man... Portland is sucks... We drove around downtown for about 20 minutes and nothing much ... We went to Multonomah Falls... I thought it will be a nice waterfall but then errrrrrrrr *thumb down*... And of course the highlight of the trip is *drumroll* ... SALT AND PEPPER SQUID by Thien Hong Restaurant :D

3. Sheldon and I will be on cruise to Alaska in May. We are very excited... We plan to do gold panning, kayak, have traditional salmon bake, and maybe have some Alaskan amber :)

4. A week ago Sheldon and I went to Columbia Winery and Red Hook Brewery (They are next to each other)for some tastings. Oh geez... I was crashed after trying 6 type of wines and 5 type of beers. I felt horrible... my face was so red... my head was very dizzy... and finally I threw up when we got home :(... I can't drink anymore :S

5. My husband gave me "Dance Dance Revolution" game for my birthday :D... Yeah... I will dance 'til drop this weekend :P

Old School Songs

I've been spending sometime browsing for my favorite old songs on youtube :D... so here some of my favorite old songs:

PJ & Duncan (Ant & Dec) - Eternal Love


Boyzone - Love me for a reason


Jordan Hill - Remember me this way - Ost from Casper


Rick Astley - Hopelessly


Bed and Breakfast - If you were mine


Duran Duran - Out of my Mind - Ost of the Saint


Reza - Pertama


Ahmad band - Bidadari di Kesunyian


GIGI - Angan


Dewa19 - Kirana


Kahitna - Sampai Nanti

Be Outside My Comfort Zone

HAPPY NEW YEAR for everyone! Have a resolution for 2008? I have! I want to lose all the weight that I gain after meeting Sheldon :D...

Btw, I started this year by taking a class that is absolutely outside of my comfort zone... BEGINNING JAZZ VOCAL Class!!!!! I actually signed up for this class two years ago, but it was cancelled because not enough people signed up. Then I signed up again the next quarter, but I dropped it after the first class because I felt I was going to embarrass myself and actually had a nerve break down as other people in class have had previous vocal experiences and they were good. I knew that there would be a public performance at the end of the class. I just could not see myself singing in the public with those people.

As time went by, I decided to give myself another try... I was thinking if I have the same breakdown, I can drop the class with a full refund. So I have nothing to lose. I went to the class, and again! all people have previous choir experiences or have taken vocal classes. And AGAIN! I am the suckest in the class. I was experience the same thing... The teacher gave us "everyday I have the blues" by BB king as a warm up song. I almost cried after I sang it as I could not sing the notes properly. Singing blues is just a nightmare.

I went home and told Sheldon that I was going to drop this class again. But he kept encouraging me to go to the class. He did not want me to give up again. He was even willing to come to the second class to be my support!!!! I had my moments where I fight with myself to either drop it or not. But then somehow I was able to drag myself to go to the second class.

Surprisingly, everything was turned around after meeting a new guy in the second class. He said he have taken a vocal class and he is taking a music class too this quarter. And surprisingly his singing is as bad as mine :P. But he just enjoyed himself while he sang. He sang his heart out, and looked so confidence even he was not familiar with "everyday I have the blues". Then it was my turned to sang the song. Nervous kicked in, but felt not much pressure, this time I just wanted to sing and I did not care if I sang the right note or not. Everyone knows I don't have any vocal experience, so I should not hard on myself, I do not have to prove anything. I sang the song my best and of course still sang it out of tunes hahahahahaha! but the second time was better! I sang a couple more songs and I had a blast. I can't wait to come the class again next week.

I'm glad and proud of myself to throw myself out there to experience a new thing outside my comfort zone. I just hate the moment when I am the worst among the pack and don't know how to do things properly. But I am able to convince myself there is always a first time for everything and it has to start somewhere. I am going to perform in the next 8 weeks in one of the jazz pub. I told my girlfriends about it and they will there for me to give a full support! YEAH, u girls are rocks! And of course my lovely husband will be there with his full support and for sure he will get sick of me singing "everyday I have the blues, autumn leaves and L-O-V-E" everyday for the next 8 weeks hahahahahaha...

Weekend in Jakarta

That's right, last weekend I was in Jakarta. Five days trip include flying time was a short, tiring trip but very worthed. Thanks goodness, I could upgrade my ticket to business and first class on the way back to Seattle. I slept comfortably. I had a blast... I met my family and friends, attended a best friend's wedding, shopped 'til dropped, and went clubbing. I am looking for another trip to Indo.

Juan, the groom; Michael, the bestman; and the groomsmen

Diana, the bride and her father entered the church

Walked down the aisle

Melina, the bride and her father entered the church (second wedding that I attended)

Ayu and Primary School's Friends

Ayu, Hengki, Nikko and Nyong

Ayu, Diana and Vivi

Ayu and the bride

Mila, Ayu and Angela

I Love You

I have been watching Sex and the City marathon in the past 3 days, and did not much sleep last Sat nite coz I kept watching the DVD until 4 AM :S... I know this series have been aired for a while, but I did not watch it before because it was in HBO and I am a cheapo who doesn't want to pay extra for it :). I just got into it 2 weeks ago when Sheldon was away for business trip and I could watch tv until 12 AM and here you go, I let myself watch this series and this weekend I dedicated myself to watch the whole series:D... It was fun watching it as single womena are looking for their loves... remind myself on who I am 3-4 years ago :P. Towards the end, it was about settling down with life and realizing how important it is to have people that we can count on and love. So I am dedicating this blog to the people I love:


1. I love my husband, Sheldon. He is the best bless I ever got. Even he is a pain sometimes, but I know his love to me is sincere and he has become my other half.


2. I love my dad and mom. I can't thank enough for their efforts and supports for who I am now.


3. I love my sister... she is truly the best best friend I ever had.


4. I love my gals... Diana, Kristi and Yuli... They are my best friends and my sisters that always there to listen and to support me with their encouraging words.


5. Last but not least, I love my Creator who have given me a wonderful life. I am grateful to be alive...


So for people I love... THANK YOU... for being there for me... I LOVE YOU

This Weekend

Friday - October 26th... I had a dinner at Maggianos to celebrate Kristi's birthday. We ordered family style dinner and we got 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 4 main courses and 2 desserts. I was so full afterwards...The restaurant was nice, the food was great and the most important thing I had a great time hanging out with my friends :D

Saturday - October 27th... I and Yuli got another piercings on our earlobes. I did 2 piercings on my left ear. One is an old one that has been closed and the other one is new. I also did a costume shopping for office Halloween event. I decided to be a buttefly :)... I bought a butterfly wing and face glitter...

Sunday - October 28th... I, Yuli, Margareth and Spencer did pumpkin carving... Here's pictures of our pumpkins... Please vote for your favorite pumpkin...

Ayu and Margareth's - Boo Bat


Spencer's

Yuli's

Time

Today I want to share a song by Billy Porter called Time. I heard this song for the first time on "so you think you can dance" show. Mia Michaels, my favorite choreographer, used this song for her piece about the reunion between her and her dad. Very touchy. This song reminds me that the most precious thing that we have is time. To hear the song, you can click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aytKrsagjz8

What is time?

Is it the Autumn leaves that change,

or the snow that floats from the sky.

What is time,

is it the air we breathe,

or the wings that teach a newborn bird to fly.

Who can tell, I don't know, will we change, will we grow.

What is time,

is it eternity in Heaven,

or just a hope for peace on Earth.

Where's the time..gone.. in the blink of an eye.

But with every blink a pearl,

We live, we learn, we love, in time,

we give, we yearn, we grow.

In time..Time for change, it's time to care, it's not too late, don't despair.

Reach inside your heart to find the joy, the love to share with all mankind, for we know.

All we have is time~

My Sad Feeling

It is really hard to hear that your best friend went through a really hard time and made a selfless life time decision. When I heard the news from her, I was shocked but never thought I would be so sad for her. I thought about what she said over and over and finally it made me cry. I don't know what I would do if I am in her position. People make mistakes with the consequence that we never know. But when a best friend made ONLY a mistake and really changed her future life, I feel her pain and sadness. I want to be next to her to give a full moral support but I can't :(. I told her but I would be down in Indonesia to meet her in November, but because I just changed my last name and waiting for the new card, it gives me a risk to go back to United States. But I will call the USCIS (the government agency for immigration) if I am able to use my old card since I won't get my card in November. I only hope that she finds her happiness soon. Love you D!!!!! *Hugs and kisses*

If you were me which one will you choose?

1. 7-day cruise in Carribean... buffet food all week long, relax on the beaches, scuba/diving, and a possibility of swimming with sting rays...

2. 4-day window shopping and walking in London

3. 7-day camping in yellowstone... visiting one of the seven wonder of the world

4. 7-day relaxing in Thailand

5. 7-day shopping 'til drop in Singapore and Hong Kong

Camping Trip

I, Sheldon, Yuli, Spencer, and Mr. Doodley went camping at Ocean City State Park. It is located 50 miles west of Olympia. The area is called Ocean Shores. The beaches are so nice... They get hard sand, so people can drive along the beaches. The view is awesome. The worst part is it was a wet weekend. On Saturday, it was raining most of the day and we finally decided to spend the evening at Quinault Casino next to the campsite hihihihihi.... I wasn't in the mood for gambling, but rather than bored, I planned to spend $20 on 1 cents and 5 cents machine. I guess that night was my night... I won $60 on those machines :D... never been in my life winning so much money on 1 cents machine. So here are some pictures from our camping trip:

It is my and Sheldon's tent... Sheldon was smart, he brought an air matress, blankets, pillows, body pillows :D.....

Walking from the campsite to the beach... I love the color combination of blue sky and green grass

Enjoy the bon fire under the rain... looks melancholic huh?


The view of Ocean Shores in the morning

The rest of the pictures were taken during sunset... I love this place, I absolutely will be back for another camping trip...

Sheldon

Ayu

Spencer

Ayu, Yuli and Doodley

View from the highest building in Seattle

Last June, Early invited me and Sheldon to her wedding party on the 75th floor of Columbia Tower. It is the highest building in Seattle. As expected, the view is awesome. But the most awesome view can only be seen from women restroom :)... I took some pictures from the restroom to share with all of u...

I and the Bride