Here, There and Everywhere

I don't know why I often like the cover versions of some certain songs, better than the original versions. Probably it's because of the much later version suits more to my taste, my age, or any other factors. This one, is no exception. Sure, The Beatles made it famous.

But honestly, I melt listening to Neri Per Caso's.

I first knew about this sextet (read: 6 persons forming a singing group, d'oh) from my friend, who played "Quello Che Vuoi" during my company's outing. Man, I thought, I always loved a cappella (read: singing without any musical instruments, 2nd d'oh). A cappella makes me appreciate the only greatest musical instrument God's given to human: our own voice. We can create or copy any kind of sound with it, if we only how to do that. But this group is something else. First, they're Italiano, I couldn't understand a single word they're singing. Second .. out of those many songs I couldn't follow (and it's really frustrating in my book, I tell ya'), they sang "Here, There and Everywhere".

!!!!!!!!

*sigh in relief* Finally a song I could sing along. And it's b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. So beautiful whenever I hear this song, including when a baby product ads used it, including when Clay Aiken sang it on American Idol Season 2, I thought of Neri Per Caso. A group that is barely known in here .. (hey, haven't they ever come to Jakarta once? Yea I remember they sat on stools, singing this song on one of the local TV studio coverage) .. but they are absolutely here and there, and I want them everywhere in my mind. It's simple. It's easy. Can't get enough of it.

To lead a better life
I need my love to be here

Here, making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there's something there

There, running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's there

I want her everywhere and if she's beside me
I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there

To be there and everywhere
Here, there and everywhere

My Immortal

One of the very few songs I love from Evanescence. Caught it first time it played on my iPod U2 Limited Edition, I swear I didn't remember who uploaded this song. I thought, "Who sang this song?" and I looked it up, "Evanescence?? How could they even have a song like this?" But then I remembered Amy Lee, the lead vocalist, who had a clear voice like the one you could hear singing gospels at churches. She's the one that made a metal song such as "Bring Me to Life" more than bearable to my ears.

This song is simply beautiful and haunting.

Scroll MyPod to find this song, or you can watch it from YouTube

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

[Chorus:]
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

[Chorus]

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along

[Chorus]

Later I got a video shared on my Facebook, using this song as background. A video about speeding, the mood was built up a perfect gloom. You may want to watch it here. CAUTION: The video is not for the faint of heart. Up to now, I still cannot erase the image of that girl, looking lovingly at her boyfriend, when a car spins and rolls right toward them .. "When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears .. When you scream I'd fight away all of your fears .." Dammit!

Try This and Don't Bite Your Tongue

• Peter bought a butter. The butter Peter bought was bitter. So Peter bought a better butter, to make the bitter butter better.

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

• Betty Botter had some butter. "But," she said, "this butter's bitter. If I bake this bitter butter, it would make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter that would make my batter better." So she bought a bit of butter, better than her bitter butter. And she baked it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.

• Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.

• A big black bug a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood.

• Pope Sixtus VI's six texts.

• She sells sea shells by the sea shore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

• "Surely Sylvia swims!" shrieked Sammy, surprised. Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink.

• Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

• Sam's shop stock short spotted socks.

• A flea and a fly flew in a flue. Said the flea, "Let us fly!" Said the fly, "Let us flee!" So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

• Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

• Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

• A bitter biting bittern bit a better brother bittern. And the bitterbetter bittern bit the bitter biter back. And the bitter bittern bitten by the better bitten bittern said, "I'm a bitter biter bit, a lack!"

• Mr. See owned a saw. And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw. Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw before Soar saw See, which made Soar sore. Had Soar seen See's saw before See sawed Soar's seesaw, See's saw would not have sawed Soar's seesaw. So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw. But it was sad to see Soar so sore just because See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw!

• The boot black bought the black boot back.

• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

• We surely shall see the shine soon.

• Which witch wished which wicked wish?

-- as posted in CineFriends --

Things to Do When I'm Bored

- Wax the ceiling
- Sharpen my teeth
- Clean and polish my belly button
- Wash a tree
- Boil ice cream
- Run around in squares
- Play dead
- Ask why
- Sleepwalk without sleeping
- Intimidate a piece of chalk
- Count my belly button
- Interview my feet
- Cheer up a potato
- Howl
- Blow bubbles
- Learn to type...with my toes
- Set up my Christmas tree in April
- Sing the ABC song backwards
- Count my teeth with my tongue
- Pretend I'm a telephone and ring
- Baby oil the floor
- Blink wildly and then close my eyes really tight for an interesting light show
- Try to swallow my tongue
- Stare at the back of someone's head until they turn around
- Learn to peel a banana with my feet

Selected from: 474 Things to Do When You're Bored, Things to Do When You're Bored, Fun Stuff to Do When You are Bored to Death

Actual Call Center Conversations, Seriously!

Customer: 'I've been ringing 0800 2100 for two days and can't get through to enquiries, can you help?'
Operator: 'Where did you get that number from, sir?'
Customer: 'It was on the door to the Travel Centre.'
Operator: 'Sir, they are our opening hours.'

Caller : 'Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?'
Operator: 'I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand who you are talking about.'
Caller : 'On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC wall socket and telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for Jack?'
Operator: 'I think you mean the telephone point on the wall.'

Caller : 'Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia?'
Operator: 'Doesn't the product name give you a clue?'

Caller (enquiring about legal requirements while travelling in France ):
'If I register my car in France, do I have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car?'

Caller : 'I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please.'
Operator: 'I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?'
Caller : 'Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the 'B' fell off.'

Then there was the caller who asked for a knitwear company in Woven.
Operator: 'Woven? Are you sure?'
Caller : 'Yes. That's what it says on the label; Woven in Scotland.'

On another occasion, a man making heavy breathing sounds from a phone box told a worried operator:
'I haven't got a pen, so I'm steaming up the window to write the number on.'

Tech Support: 'I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop.'
Customer : 'OK.'
Tech Support: 'Did you get a pop-up menu?'
Customer : 'No.'
Tech Support: 'OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?'
Customer : 'No.'
Tech Support: 'OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?'
Customer : 'Sure. You told me to write 'click' and I wrote 'click'.'

Tech Support: 'OK. In the bottom left hand side of the screen, can you see the 'OK' button displayed?'
Customer : 'Wow. How can you see my screen from there?'

Caller: 'I deleted a file from my PC last week and I have just realised that I need it. If I turn my system clock back two weeks will I have my file back again?'

--------------------
There's always one. This has got to be one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired. This is a true story from the Word Perfect Helpline, which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing the Word Perfect organization for 'Termination without Cause'.
Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee. (Now I know why they record these conversations!):

Operator: 'Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?'
Caller : 'Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect.'
Operator: 'What sort of trouble??'
Caller : 'Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away.'
Operator: 'Went away?'
Caller : 'They disappeared.'
Operator: 'Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?'
Caller : 'Nothing.'
Operator: 'Nothing??'
Caller : 'It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type.'
Operator: 'Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out??'
Caller : 'How do I tell?'
Operator: 'Can you see the C: prompt on the screen??'
Caller : 'What's a sea-prompt?'
Operator: 'Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?'
Caller : 'There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type.'
Operator: 'Does your monitor have a power indicator??'
Caller : 'What's a monitor?'
Operator: 'It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on??'
Caller : 'I don't know.'
Operator: 'Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that??'
Caller : 'Yes, I think so.'
Operator: 'Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall.'
Caller : 'Yes, it is.'
Operator: 'When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one??'
Caller : 'No.'
Operator: 'Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.'
Caller : 'Okay, here it is.'
Operator: 'Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer.'
Caller : 'I can't reach.'
Operator: 'Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is??'
Caller : 'No.'
Operator: 'Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over??'
Caller : 'Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle - it's because it's dark.'
Operator: 'Dark??'
Caller : 'Yes - the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window.'
Operator: 'Well, turn on the office light then.'
Caller : 'I can't.'
Operator: 'No? Why not??'
Caller : 'Because there's a power failure.'
Operator: 'A power......... A power failure? Aha, Okay, we've got it licked now.
Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in??'
Caller : 'Well, yes, I keep them in the closet.'
Operator: 'Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.'
Caller : 'Really? Is it that bad?'
Operator: 'Yes, I'm afraid it is.'
Caller : 'Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them??'
Operator: 'Tell them you're too f --- ing stupid to own a computer!!!!!'

Source: Unknown. I forgot where I got this copied from.

Early Welcoming the Spring

Nail Pia @ Supermal Karawaci

China - Amazing Wu Xia Movie Locations

Movie: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo Hu Cang Long). Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Zi Yi.

Location: The Crouching Tiger desertscapes are the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang Province. The bamboo forest is in Zhejiang Province, southern China. The stately home and courtyard were a set at the Beijing Studios.

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____________________________________________________________________

Movie: House of Flying Daggers (Shi Mian Mai Fu). Cast: Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Zi Yi.

Location: Sets were built at Yongchuan, Sichun Province, in the bamboo forests of Tea Mountain and Bamboo Sea Scenery Park, near the city of Chongqing. Interiors, including the 'Peony Pavilion' and the abandoned Buddhist temple in the bamboo forest, lensed in Beijing Film Studio (where films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Kill Bill were previously filmed).

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____________________________________________________________________

Movie: Hero (Yin Xiong). Cast: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Jet Lee, Zhang Zi Yi, Donny Yuen.

Location: The attack on the calligraphy chool was filmed at Dangjin Mountain in Akesai, near old Dunhuang City, in northwest China, toward Mongolia. The amazing, wind-blasted rock formations, called 'yadan' are here too.

The sword fight above the lake is at Jiu Zhai Gou ('Nine Villages Valley', read more). The lake itself is Jian ZhuHai ('Cold bamboo Sea').

-->

Just to the south, where two valleys merge into Shuzheng Gully, you can see the waterfall, at which Broken Sword and Flying Snow meet in the 'green' sequence. It's the 98-feet-high Nuorilang Falls ('nuorilang' is "magnificent and splendid" in the Tibetan language).

-->

More scenes filmed at the yellow grassy marshland near another lake, Chang Hai (Long Sea).

The elegaic fight between Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Moon (Zhang Ziyi) among fluttering autumnal leaves, is an ancient oak grove in Inner Mongolia. Timing was everything: an employee, stationed out in Mongolia, called the director the moment the leaves turned a perfect shade of gold.

More sources:

Asia Explorers

China Highlights

Budget Travel

Travel China Guide

I'm Addicted To: Movies

Waktu ku masih kecil, nyokap-bokap gue itu kerjanya di bioskop Mayestik, itu yang dekat pasar (kayaknya sekarang bioskop itu masih ada). Bokap gue jadi manajer operasionalnya, nyokap gue yang jagain stand makanan. Nah lho .. ini dia nih. Nah, setiap hari Minggu, gue berikut kakak-adik gue pasti diajak ke sana. Kalo bokap sih, setiap hari juga jaga dari pagi sampai sore. Gue bener-bener nggak inget, film apa yang pertama kali gue nonton di sana. Soalnya bayangin aja, bertahun-tahun setiap hari Minggu dari pagi sampe sore, gue nonton setiap film yang diputar. Gratis!!! Matinee show masih laris pada waktu itu, banyak keluarga ngajak anak-anaknya. Film-film yang diputar di sana kebanyakan film Indonesia yang pastinya masih berjaya banget di tahun-tahun lalu. Terus setiap satu kali show, di tengah-tengah pemutaran film ada waktu jeda/istirahat sekitar 15 menit, buat penonton yang mau ke toilet atau menghambur ke stand buat beli makanan/minuman. Minuman favorit gue pertama-tama: Fanta Merah, minumnya dalam botol pake sedotan. Tapi hanya beberapa saat, soalnya begitu ngeliat bokap ngambil minuman warna coklat (coca cola), gue jadi kepingin nyobain, en terus minuman itu jadi favorit gue sampe sekarang sewaktu nonton bioskop.

Biasanya kita sekeluarga mulai berangkat ke bioskop hari Minggu sekitar jam sembilan pagi, buat jaga buka bioskop jam 11 matinee show. Begitu bioskop dibuka, gue langsung duduk dengan manisnya di kursi paling belakang. Kecuali kalo telat en nggak kebagian duduk, terpaksa duduk atau berdiri di mana aja. Pake kursi lipat tambahan pernah juga. Walau filmnya udah dimulai, gue tancep aja nonton (seperti akhir tanpa awal begitu). Toh gue masih bisa nungguin pertunjukan berikut buat nonton awal filmnya =).

Film Superman The Movie, gue tonton di sana. Saking penuhnya itu bioskop, gue sampe duduknya di anak tangga. Ya nggak 'pa-palah, yang punya bioskop kan mesti pengertian sama penonton yang bayar =). Gue juga pernah nonton film Zorro yang dulu banget, nggak tau deh judul tepatnya apaan. Penontonnya heboh, setiap kali si Zorro berkuda itu muncul membasmi musuh dengan sabetan pedang "Z" nya, penontonnya pada tepuk tangan (maklum, anak-anak kecil). Kadang-kadang kalo berminat film-film barat yang agak-agak dewasa gitu, gue nungguin film yang maennya sore. Ada satu film yang berkesan buat gue yang masih kecil, kalo nggak salah judulnya Who Will Love My Children? .. eh .. asal banget nih gue .. bener nggak sih? Itu lho, yang ceritanya sepasang suami istri punya anak banyak (ada lima atau enam atau tujuh), terus waktu suaminya meninggal dan si istri ketauan mengidap penyakit parah, dia minta anaknya yang paling gede buat nyari orang tua asuh buat adik-adiknya kalo nanti si ibu meninggal. Jadilah si kakak di tengah-tengah suasana bersalju dengan gerobak kayunya, nganterin adik-adiknya ke rumah-rumah orang minta diasuh .. sehingga tinggal dia sendirian, cuma bisa mengintip lewat jendela di udara dingin, ngeliat adiknya hangat di dalam rumah di depan perapian bersama orang tua barunya .. ihik .. nyokap gue sampe nangis nontonnya .. ihik .. Cerita ini banyak disadur lho sama film mandarin, terus sama film Indonesia juga (inget nggak yang maen jadi bapaknya itu Deddy Mizwar, yang jadi ibunya Zoraya Perucha yang ceritanya punya penyakit jantung, yang jadi anak-anaknya .. lupa gue).

Bergaul di bioskop itu asyik. Pernah ketemu sama Ryan Hidayat yang masih imut sama keluarganya ikutan ngantri mau nonton Buah Hati Mama yang dibintangi sama si Ryan sendiri. Lucunya, mereka nggak kebagian karcis, terus pulang lagi .. sedangkan gue .. udah duduk nyantai di dalam buat nonton tuh film. Gue pernah sekali-kalinya ngeliat orang bioskop panik, gara-gara satu orang penontonnya mau melahirkan mendadak, sampe mesti ditidurin di belakang office. Pernah mandi di bioskop, pernah piknik di kantornya (abisnya nyokap sering bawain makan siang buat orang banyak sampe pake panci-panci gede), pernah naik-naik ke ruang operator proyektor .. waduh! Coba waktu itu gue udah gede en ngerti mereka itu lagi ngapain .. gue kan bisa nimba ilmu di bidang perfilman ya .. kali bisa jadi kritikus .. hehe .. Yang ada di pikiran kecil gue ini, gue naik ke sana itu, gara-gara gue lagi seneng-senengnya turun naik tangga =). Sekalian pingin liat roda-roda muter en ngobrol sama operatornya. Juga kepingin nonton film dari sudut pandang yang berbeda, terutama kalo pas yang diputar itu film-film horror yang gue takut banget nontonnya, tapi saking penasarannya kepingin liat juga. Soalnya kalo dari atas itu kan suara filmnya sayup-sayup tak sampai, 'en keliatannya gambar filmnya nggak sedekat waktu nonton dari dalam gedung, jadi nggak gitu ngeri rasanya.

Gue ngerasain hebohnya suasana bioskop pada saat film Nakalnya Anak-Anak diputar .. itu tuh, contekan dari film The Sound of Music, sampe penontonnya maen dorong-dorongan waktu ngantri tiket en masuk ke dalam teater. Eh, gue juga paling senang ngebantuin Mbak-Mbak di belakang loket karcis. Saat-saat yang paling dramatis, waktu gue duduk di kursi tinggi samping si Mbak, terus locket blinds-nya dibuka, dan terpampang di hadapan gue barisan-barisan manusia yang ngantri (pernah kaget satu kali, soalnya kan suasana di belakang office sama belakang locket itu tenang banget, ternyata di depannya begitu dibuka, kok kisruh). Jadi si Mbak yang terima pesanan dan uangnya, terus mereka info ke gue berapa banyak karcis yang orang itu mau, dan gue dengan bangganya ngerobek-robekin tu karcis buat dikasih ke orang yang beli (dua karcis ya Pak? berapa lembar, Bu?)

Waktu nyokap-bokap udah nggak kerja di sana lagi, gue masih tetap senang nonton .. di rumah, atau kalo diajak ke bioskop. Bokap beliin video, wah, senangnya .. mulai deh acara rekam-merekam film yang diputar di TV. Ketika udah gedean dikit, pas rental video mulai banyak, pasti gue nomor satu dalam milih film, yang bayar sih nyokap =). Untuk film-film yang gue seneng, bisa gue rental berkali-kali .. sampe pernah dikasih film gratis sama yang punya rental. Pulang sekolah, pasti mampir dulu ke rental yang kebetulan letaknya di belakang sekolah gue. Milih film, milih es krim campina, tinggal catat nggak usah bayar, buat ditagih ke nyokap setiap akhir bulan .. he .. he .. Film silat berseri seperti Sia Tiauw Eng Hiong, Sin Tiauw Hiap Lu, Chu Lu Siang (Pendekar Harum) entah udah berapa ronde gue tonton. Film mandarin masih banyak beredar di video, apalagi di bioskop. Berhubung bokap senangnya nonton film mandarin, terutama yang action, jadilah gue setiap hari Sabtu ngeliat jadwal pertunjukan film mandarin dari koran. Terus gue bujuk deh bokap buat nonton .. pasti terkabul. Bioskop langganan ya di Gajah Mada Plaza atau Hayam Wuruk Plaza. Atau berburu kaset video di Glodok. Koleksi gue sampe berkardus-kardus .. sekarang udah nggak ada semua, berhubung player beta-nya udah pensiun. Sempet jatuh cinta berat sama Andy Lau yang masih ganteng-gantengnya, film dia gue tonton semua. Tapi sekarang udah ganti idola nih ..

Film mandarin udah banyak yang katro, gue berputar arah nonton film barat yang mulai bagus-bagus. Dimulai dari .. temen-temen gue yang bandel ngajakin nonton midnight pertama buat gue About Last Night-nya Demi Moore sama Rob Lowe. Karena gue masih innocent .. cie ... gue nggak ngerti ni film ceritanya apaan. Terus juga diajakin sama bokap nonton China Girl itu yang ceritanya kisah cinta antara gadis Cina dengan pemuda Italia di Chinatown mana ya .. lupa .., sampe jadi pemicu keributan antar geng yang akhirnya menyebabkan kematian sang dua kekasih (kayak Romeo dan Juliet deh). Mungkin bokap ngerti kalo anaknya ini udah boleh nonton cinta-cinta terlarang .. hihi .. Nontonnya di .. lagi-lagi Gajah Mada Plaza. Besok-besoknya sih, gue udah bisa dilepas sendiri buat nonton pake uang jajan mingguan. Nggak ada yang mau nemenin nonton? Nonton sendiri, siapa takut? Asal jangan ketauan orang rumah aja, biasanya sih gue bilangnya nonton rame-rame, padahal sih sendirian. Pernah lagi ngantri mau nonton film sendirian, eh ketemu temen gue (cowok) yang juga lagi ngantri sendirian .. jadinya, kita berdua nonton bareng. Besoknya ketemu di sekolah, cengar-cengir deh kita berdua.

Sedikit nular ke kakak gue yang cewek, pernah di suatu hari Minggu siang yang panas ... nggak ada orang di rumah .. saking betenya kita berduaan aja, kita pergi nonton di Krekot naik bajaj .. 4000 perak dari Kedoya. Nontonnya .. The Bodyguard. Pulang naik bajaj lagi, sampe rumah diomelin sama nyokap yang kebetulan udah sampe rumah. Orang disuruh jangan kemana-mana buat jaga rumah, eh malah rumahnya ditinggal .. pulang pergi naik bajaj lagi, jauh lagi ke Pasar Baru, kalo ditodong gimana .. hiiiiiii ...

Pernah nonton marathon bareng temen cewek gue pulang sekolah .. cuma berdua aja, sama-sama gila nonton .. filmnya The Silence of the Lambs (sampe teriak-teriak berdua di bioskop saking seremnya), tapi karena begitu keluar bioskop kita malah stress, jadinya pingin nonton lagi yang ringan-ringan, akhirnya terpilih film Mannequin-nya Andrew McCarthy & Kim Catrall.

Berlanjut sampe sekarang .. nyokap pernah saking keselnya ngeliat gue bolak-balik heboh kalo ada film-film baru, bilang gini "Heran, nurunin siapa sih ni anak? Satu keluarga ini nggak ada yang gila nonton kayak dia begitu."

Seandainya nyokap-bokap gue tau .. mereka juga turut bertanggung jawab lho dalam menciptakan Joelliea yang movie mania =p.

-- originally posted in Cinemagsforum, 21 February 2002.
Filed in CineFriends, 1 July 2003 --

How movies influence my relationship?? Probably the best question for it will be: How far does my love of movies go into my life? Then I can say that it goes quite far.

Sekarang keadaannya udah agak beda. We still love movies, but now we have our own way in enjoying it. Udah sulit buat menyatukan keluarga gue buat pergi nonton bareng-bareng ke bioskop. Nyokap bokap gue sekarang lebih seneng nonton televisi. Kalo kakak-adik gue, biasanya sih mereka nonton lewat DVD atau VCD. Kalopun mereka mau nonton di bioskop, seringnya sih mereka jalan sendiri. Tapi kalo pas weekend lagi pada ngumpul dan kebetulan ada film bagus di bioskop, sometimes we go for it and we leave the old people at home =D. Kadang-kadang, gue juga masih suka ngajak nyokap nonton di bioskop, dengan catatan, filmnya harus film drama. Kalo nggak, percuma beli tiket .. nyokap gue pasti ketiduran di dalam gedung bioskop. Kalo bokap gue .. well .. the last time I succeeded to take him to the cinema was to see Ocean's Eleven. Itu juga dengan pertimbangan bokap gue seneng sama film action, dan kita nontonnya rame-rame .. damn, it was fun.

My family is completely aware that I am the particular one in regards with movies. When it comes to movie queries, they will turn their head towards me. Nyokap gue sering ngomel karena gue lebih banyak ngabisin uang buat nonton dibanding beli keperluan lain, seperti pakaian atau buat ditabung misalnya .. oh, she should have known that I spend lots of money to buy delicious food too =D =D. Kalo nyokap denger gue beli vcd 50ribuan .. dvd 100-200ribuan .. ada bujukan terselubung yang meminta gue beli film yang murah-murah aja. Adik gue juga begitu. Kalo kena giliran gue titipin buat nyariin DVD original, hal pertama yang dia lakukan pasti ngedumel karena harga DVD yang mahal. Sedangkan di daerah tempat tinggalnya dia .. it's a heaven of bootlegs. So usually it ends up with me giving them lecture for dummies about the difference between originals and bootlegs =D =D =D. Kakak dan adik ipar gue juga pernah (dan masih) ketiban permintaan titipan gue dengan spesifikasi yang lumayan rumit .. hehehe .. But they know they can't stop me to see movies or to collect movies. With or without their support, I will still see and collect movies. And I love my family, karena walaupun pake acara ngomel-ngomel, mereka selalu berusaha untuk membantu gue. Even my mom .. dengan pengetahuannya yang terbatas tentang film (apalagi tentang DVD) .. she helped me buying my Beauty and the Beast .. "Ma, inget .. Film kartun. Region 1 ya, bukan Region 3. Dan jangan sampe ketipu sama yang bajakan." *lol*. And she got it (with the assistance from my sister and brother who went along with her, of course). The best thing afterwards, I didn't have to pay for it =D. In return, they always know they can borrow my collection any time, and sometimes if I'm generous enough, they can steal some of the movies .. hahaha ..

Regardless who influences who, sepertinya gue selalu menemukan orang-orang yang mengerti tentang hobi gue yang satu ini. Di tempat kerja, gue juga punya beberapa teman ngobrol yang asik banget. Setiap kali gue berpapasan dengan mereka, pertanyaan yang diajukan pertama kali pastinya nggak jauh dari "Terakhir nonton film apa?" And berlanjut bla-bla-bla. Acara kencan gue sama cowok juga sebagian besar dihabiskan dengan nonton film di bioskop, atau di rumah. Until today, my ex-boyfriend and his wife .. and I .. we are still exchanging information and collection of movies (okay, sometimes I rob their collection and they rob mine .. sometimes we buy each other movies as a gift). And my first date with my man was to go to the cinema. He never liked watching movies in cinemas before that, since he preferred to watch it at home. But when he found out that I loved it (I never know where he got the information at the first place) .. he asked me out to see U.S. Marshalls rolled in the big screen .. ain't that sweet? =). And then comes this community, who draws me deeper into friendship with one solid thing in common.

I'm lucky to have those special people in my life, with whom I can share my love of movies greatly.

-- as posted in CineFriends, 24 March 2004 --

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I'm Addicted To: Silver Jeweleries

I love, love white gold jeweleries. They're eternal. And I don't know why, white gold jeweleries always have better design compared to the yellow ones. But since white gold can cost a fortune, there is a second line which is more affordable. And you can wear it anytime anywhere, it rarely attract criminal. Silver.

(Well, you can wear white gold and criminals can still think you are wearing silver. So you're safe ^_^.)

People say silver is high-maintainance thing. Sure it gets tarnished easily. But I don't see it as a problem, cause most silver stores provide free cleaning. Silver polish and bath is also easy to find at store (Ace Hardware, anyone?). One thing needs extra care though, do not put on silver jeweleries if you're allergic to it, unless you want your skin to get rash or turn greenish.

And silver jeweleries are just as adorable. I've had my first gift from my husband-to-be back then: a shiny silver bracelet with a heart charm from Perlini's Silver. He really caught me off-guard. I still remember how I felt when he took that tiny package out of his pocket, unwrap it, and put it on my wrist. Perhaps if he looked closely, he could see my eyes were shining as bright as that silver heart.

I have silver bracelets, necklaces, anklets, earrings, rings, toe rings (huh =D). I treasure them all. But my most favorites are pendants. Collecting pendants are fun. Sometimes they're also painfully cute!! I can have one plain necklace, but I can never get enough pendants. Wear 2-3 pendants at once? Why not?? It's a charm. On the other way around, I also can buy charms and wear them as pendants.

Until now, whenever I pass by a silver store, I just gotta stop and browse the collection, though not everytime I will buy (nowadays, silver is not that cheap anymore). I can never look away from silver jeweleries. So now you know, it's easy to buy me a gift =D.

Places to shop: Perlini's Silver, D'Paris