Travelling to New Zealand

Let me tell you another place I would like to see. It’s New Zealand. A friend of mine tell me that the place is a perfect destination to enjoy arts and entertainment, because it offers various types of local music scenes, entertainment venues, cultures, fashion and art galleries. It is also the right place to expand our romantic relationship and to share valuable time with our loved one while enjoying beautiful scenery.

While we’re in the country, my friend suggests me to visit cities like Christchurch, Auckland and of course Wellington. Christchurch is the international gateway to the South Island. The city is famous for its natural beauty and strong cultural heritage. As for beautiful beaches, idyllic holiday islands and exciting nightlife, we can have them all in Auckland. And as the capital city, Wellington has so much to offer, from picturesque walks around the stunning harbour to adventurous activities.

And as usual, accommodation always becomes one of the primary concerns when we are travelling to some places. But we don’t need to worry about it. There are always hotels offering good deals and last minute bookings. Just go and visit Cheaperthanhotels-NZ and the pages of Auckland Hotels, Wellington Hotels and Christchurch Hotels.

Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington*

*Pictures courtesy of:
- christchurch.org.nz
- auckland.co.nz
- traveljournals.net

Payday loans

Every time I’m running out of cash in the middle of the month I always dream about having a trusty source for loans before I receive my next paycheque. I don’t want to go to my friends to lend me the money, I prefer to get it from external sources.

And here it is, I just realise that actually there are some sort of places where you really can get payday loans and receive cash in advance during your rainy days, and trustsource.org is one of the places. I learn from the site that it is the fastest way to obtain secure loans. The application process is quick and easy.

Still from the site, I also learn that there are various types of payday loans we can apply, such as additional earnings, women’s payday, maximum wages cash advance, silent cash loan cash advance and urgent cash relief pay day advance. Wow, what a very interesting information I get this morning. I really hope that I won’t be short on cash, but if I am, at least now I know where I can get the loans.

Ashop Commerce

When you are doing your online shopping, have you ever wondered how actually shop owners manage and track down all the things that you buy from their online store? I have. And there is also one small thing that invites my curiosity, i.e. the virtual shopping cart that accommodates all my stuffs just like a real shopping trolley in a supermarket.

But the curiosity doesn’t linger on my mind that long, because I finally find the answer now. After surfing the Internet for a while, I understand that there are some companies offering shopping cart software for online traders. And Ashop Commerce is one of them. In fact, Ashop Commerce’s ecommerce software is known as one of the world’s most easy to use web based administrations.

Now I have a clearer idea on how the online business runs, the shop owner uses the shopping cart software to process the buying procedure, starting from the choosing of goods, putting it on the cart and paying it online.

Smorty can serve you right

Writing entries in blog is more like a habit than a hobby for me. I still can remember clearly the first time I decided to have a blog account and why I decided so. Yes, I signed up to one of the blog provider in 2002 and posted my first entry on 2 July 2002.

During those years I was so eager to write and express my mind, feeling and experience in writing. So I actually open an account in a blog as a means of learning, practising and improving my writing skill. But sadly to say, the skill is not improving significantly up to now.

But it’s all right, at least I can express things better in written now. In addition, I can freely transfer whatever things running in my head or my absurd feeling to my blog and share it with friends.

And it is now even better, because I just heard from a friend that I can write the things that I like and get paid for blogging by joining smorty. I still can post my personal stories and write any tasks available for me at the same time. Isn’t it fantastic? Smorty really can serve you right.

kabar gembira!

barusan saya mendapat imel dari paypal yang berisi kabar yang menggembirakan. yup, sekarang pengguna paypal di indonesia sudah bisa menarik dana yang ada di paypal lewat bank2 lokal di indonesia! berita yang sangat menyenangkan.

berarti sekarang tidak perlu repot menarik dana dari paypal ke kartu kredit, lalu mencairkan dana tersebut dengan dipotong biaya sekian persen. baguslah.

mmm, tapi tetap saja, saat ini saya masih belum bisa memverifikasi paypal saya, karena belum punya kartu kredit yang diperlukan untuk melakukan verifikasi rekening paypal. sayang yaaa, hehehe.

tapi gak masalah, saya masih bisa nebeng di paypal adik saya yang sudah lolos verifikasi. yang penting, sekarang paypal sudah bisa withdraw di bank2 lokal indonesia! yeah, baby!! kita coba buktikan segera!!!

Dyson vacuum cleaners

Who needs broom and mop if you can have dyson vacuum cleaners? It helps you save your energy when doing the cleaning.

With less effort, you can enjoy an optimum result of clean room by using dyson vacuum cleaners. So, who could reject such temptation? Of course you won’t!

In that case, why don’t you just browse this page and choose which cleaners would suit you better. Just go and visit www.wize.com/vacuums/brand!Dyson. Happy cleaning up! ;D

Exploring nightlife in Denmark and Iceland

I’ve heard that Copenhagen is one of the most expensive city in the world, but I’ve also read that a survey showed that Danish people occupy the first position for happiness ranking. It reflects that they are the happiest people in the world. The contradiction attracts me to see how actually life in Denmark is.

After conducting some online research, I’ve learned that Danish people love music, any music from folk, jazz, blues, rock to pop. It can be seen from the night life with various type of music genre they have there. As the capital city, Copenhagen is a city of all-night-long party. It offers plenty of good hangout options, from old-fashioned Danish pubs to trendy fusion cafes. And for free entertainment, we can simply stroll along Strøget, especially between Nytorv and Höjbro Plads, where you can see musicians, magicians, jugglers and other street performers in the late afternoon and evening.

Copenhagen*

And if we really want to enjoy brisk nightlife, while we are still in the north, we can go the Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. The city is known as the nightlife capital of the north. Every night you can try different places to hang out, because there are more than 100 different bars and clubs in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik nightlife*

Even though cities in the north are known for its costly living expenses, we can still find quite affordable rate for accommodation. We can check Cheaperthanhotels-Denmark to find good deals hotels or to book last minutes accommodation. We can also see these pages for more information: Denmark Hotels, Copenhagen Hotels, Iceland Hotels and Reykjavik Hotels.

*Images courtesy of:
- copenhagenhousing.com
- photos.igougo.com
- aesu.com

Italy and my dream holidays

I have a dream of visiting Italy for vacation. There are so many things that interest me there: warm weather, historical places, football, most updated fashion trend, and most importantly, friendly, good-looking people who would nicely greet you.

When I have a chance to visit Italy, I’d like to explore Rome, Milan and Venice. I would love to see Roman ruins, visit small medieval hill towns, gaze at magnificent churches and historical monuments and drift on the canals of Venice. And last but certainly not the least, I would love to indulge the pleasures of having good food, good wine and good coffee with good friends.

Well, maybe it’s time to stop my dream about Italy. It’s time to bring it into realisation. And for a start, I should check and find where I can stay in Italy during my vacation, and of course I have to find good deals accommodation. In that case, it will be good if I start checking on the Internet for the location and cost of hotels in Italy, which varies from cheap rooms to luxury resorts. I get the information from Cheaperthanhotels in Italy that I could try to find and book accommodation from Italy Hotels, Rome Hotels, Milan Hotels and Venice Hotels.

Costa Brava, Costa Del Sol and Benidorm: Perfect places for holidays

Ever thinking about visiting some new exotic places in Spain? Here are some options you may find interesting: Costa Brava, Costa Del Sol and Benidorm.

Costa Brava, a coastal region in Catalonia, has an excellent view of rocky cliffs and a mix of pebble and sandy beaches. The place also offers the combination of a good summer climate and fantastic beaches, which you can enjoy from seaside resorts and Costa Brava Hotels.

The second option available for you is Costa del Sol, a beautiful spot on the Mediterranean sea. The place is highly developed and attracts tourists from all around the globe. During their vacation there, most of the tourists enjoy their stay in Costa Del Sol Hotels.

Last but not least, Benidorm, located in the province of Alicante, also offers marvellous place for holidays. Somehow, Benidorm is mostly popular with British and Dutch tourists. You can find brisk night-life activities all nights in bars and clubs in most of the resorts. So, if you’re interested to have a lively, memorable vacation there, you can just find and book your accommodation in Benidorm Hotels or Alicante Hotels.

Costa Brava, Costa Del Sol and Benidorm

(images courtesy of webshots.com)

My wonderful time in Portugal

I had memorable holidays in Portugal last year. Though I didn’t visit too many tourist attractions due to time constraint, I was enjoying my stay in Lisbon and I could see how Portugal has diverse culture and beautiful scenery, as represented in Lisbon.

During my time there, I spent much time in Baixa, the heart of the city. It has refined squares, pedestrian streets, cafes and shops, old tramcars, street performers and anything you want to see as tourists. And if you want to see the city’s most photographed landmark, you can go to Belem Tower, the symbol of the Age of Discovery. You should also visit Jeronimos Monastery, a World Heritage monument, also becomes Vasco da Gama’s resting place.

Another interesting place to visit while you’re in Portugal is Cabo da Roca, which is located a little bit further outside Lisbon. The place is known as the most western tip of the European continent.

Actually, there are plenty of beautiful and wonderful places to see in Portugal. I believe staying a few days there won’t be enough. And I’m sure, once you come there, you want to come back again and again. In that case, it might help you a lot if you check the various great deals on Cheaperthanhotels. For Portugal, you can find and book hotels, even for last minutes’ time, from these pages: Cheap Hotels in Portugal, Cheap Hotels in Lisbon, Cheap Hotels in Algarve, Cheap Hotels in Madeira.

Camcorder tripods

When you’re videotaping any memorable occasions in your life, it will be very helpful if you have tripods to support your camcorder. There are various types and brands of camcorder tripods in the market nowadays.

It will be confusing to choose which tripod is suitable for you. But don’t worry, you can try to find it from tripod reviews and ratings page in http://wize.com/tripods. You can compare tripods from any brands, types and prices there.

So, what are you waiting now? Just go and visit the page to find good camcorder tripods for you. Then, start taping your unforgettable moments with your camcorder.

Road trips in Scandinavia

If you have holidays for two weeks, why not trying to arrange road trips in Scandinavian countries? You can drive from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and you will have a fun and memorable experience to remember.

You don’t have to worry that you will be exhausting during the trip, because you can easily find hotels in each country. For example, when you are in Sweden or Norway, you can book your accommodation through Sweden hotels or Norway hotels. Or when you’re in the capital city, you can focus on checking your places to stay in Stockholm hotels or Oslo hotels.

As for travelling tips, when driving along the Scandinavian cities, you have to make sure that you follow all the applicable regulations. For example, you must be over 18 years old and having driver’s license, you must wear seatbelt, you’re not allowed to drive under the influence of alcohol, you’re not allowed to drive while on the phone, dipped headlights must be on 24 hours, and you must be aware of the speed limits.

But you don’t have to worry, all the regulations are actually not so difficult to follow, the roads are mostly perfect and you won’t have problem in understanding the traffic signs.

Enjoying Gran Canaria

Canary Islands in the Atlantic off the northwestern coast of Africa comprise of seven islands belonging to Spain. The largest island among it is Tenerife, which is also one of the European paradise isles offering lush forests, volcanoes, and exotic flora and fauna. You can prove it yourself by spending some nights in Tenerife hotels.

The third largest island of Canary Islands is Gran Canaria. The island is visited by more than 2 million tourists annually, who can find their accommodation in Gran Canaria Hotels. The island has 32 natural protected areas, such as Doramas’s jungle and Nublo park.

The island has a wonderful beach namely Maspaloma, which is known throughout the world for its splendid sand sea. The beach is closed to a popular tourist destination with bars and restaurants called Playa del Ingles. That’s why tourists can also enjoy the place by staying in Playa Del Ingles hotels or in Playa de las Americas hotels.

While in the island, tourists can also go to the lighthouse at Maspalomas, picturesque village of Little Venice, Jardin Canario botanical garden, as well as try some underwater attractions like scuba diving.

lapor!

yup, akhirnya saya benar2 sudah menerima fisik pembayaran hasil membuat iklan, dari blogsvertise. belum terlalu besar, tapi lumayanlah untuk permulaan dan sekedar pembuktian kebenarannya :D

btw, tabungan tagihan saya ke blogsvertise untuk bulan depan mulai sedikit lebih bagus nih. gak besar2 banget sih, tapi lumayanlah untuk nambah2 bayar asuransi, hehehe.

Travelling to Barcelona

When you are stuck in a cold snowy winter in a country where sun rarely appears, have you ever dreamed about having a good travel plan to a warmer place to have relaxing sunbath and nice strolling in beautiful beaches? If yes, then you should go to Barcelona and spend some nights in Barcelona Hotels.

The total amount of beaches in Barcelona is 7, and the largest and oldest ones are Sebastia and Barceloneta beaches. And if you want to see a busy street, which is most frequently visited by tourists and locals, you can go to the iconic La Rambla, an area full of cafes, markets and theatres. The street also connects Placa Catalunya and Christopher Columbus monument. There, you can also find good places to stay in Ramblas Hotels.

As for additional information on temperatures, the coldest months of the year are January and February, but the lowest temperature is only around 10 °C, while the hottest ones are July and August which temperature is around 30 °C.

So, if you’re now ready to make holidays arrangement to Barcelona, you can try to find accommodation in Barcelona Hoteles or Barcelona Hotels.

oknum bkn yang brengsek...

barusan saya mendapat sms dari seorang teman yang membantu pengurusan cuti di luar tanggungan yang saya ajukan: "BKN minta duit 100 dolar untuk dibagi2 ke 4 orang. tadi gw kesana krn infonya surat cuti lo keselip. thx."

WHATTEFUCK??!!! saya terlalu emosi membacanya, sampai2 saya perlu waktu beberapa menit untuk menenangkan diri agar tidak terlalu kasar saat membalas sms, karena kasihan pada teman saya.

akhirnya saya mengirim sms balasan ke teman saya: "bilangin de ke org BKN, emang dikira gampang nyari duit 100 dolar. jgn mentang2 idupnya susah jadi pns brarti boleh nodong orang seenaknya."

saya sungguh2 berharap teman saya akan menyampaikan itu ke manusia2 kardus di BKN. seenaknya saja memeras orang untuk pekerjaan yang seharusnya mereka kerjakan dengan baik. berani2an memasang tarif dalam dolar. bayangkan, dalam dolar!!! may you fucking rot in hell!!!!!!

what kind of bride will you be

hehe, lucu nih, ada undangan dari teman untuk add application 'what kind of bride will you be' di facebook. setelah di-approve dan menjawab beberapa pertanyaan, inilah hasil yang muncul...

What Kind of Bride Will You Be?
Your result is: You Will Be an Unconventional Bride!

"You're probably the type of girl who never considered getting married - until you met *him*
You're not a big fan of white dresses, church weddings, or cheesy DJ's
That's okay - you'll do it your way... whether that means a Vegas wedding or guys as bridesmen
While you may not toss the bouquet (or have anyone to toss it to), it will still be the most romantic day of your life!"

hehehe... sepertinya hasilnya lumayan cocok (meskipun belum terbukti benar) :D

penyedih vs penakut

kalau bisa memilih, mungkin saya lebih senang menjadi orang yang mudah sedih atau terharu dibanding menjadi seorang penakut. karena sepertinya lebih menguntungkan menjadi seorang penyedih dibanding penakut.

orang yang mudah sedih atau terharu terkesan sebagai orang yang mudah tersentuh hati dan perasaannya. dan sepertinya hal itu dipandang lebih mulia dibanding orang yang mudah takut, meskipun takut juga sesuatu yang melibatkan hati dan perasaan.

coba bandingkan percakapan2 berikut ini...

obrolan x-y
x: nonton film ini yuk?
y: gak deh, takut gue. filmnya horor gitu.
x: ah payah lo, gitu aja takut.
y: ya mau gimana lagi, emang gw takut.
x: itu kan cuma perasaan lo aja, gak usah dipikirin.
y: (pala lo ga usah dipikirin!!!)

obrolan x-z
x: nonton film ini yuk?
z: gak deh, gw takut nangis. filmnya sedih.
x: iya sih emang filmnya agak mengharukan. gak papa kok.
z: tapi gw gampang banget sedih.
x: ya wajarlah, berarti lo masih punya perasaan.
z: :)

terlihat kan bagaimana perbedaan reaksi yang muncul? si penyedih mendapat tanggapan yang lebih simpatik ketika menunjukkan rasa sedihnya, sedangkan si penakut kurang beruntung dan tidak mendapatkan tanggapan yang sama ketika memperlihatkan rasa takutnya.

si penyedih mungkin merasa capek hati kalau terlalu sering melihat atau mengalami hal yang menyedihkan. tapi jangan salah, si penakut juga sering merasa capek hati dan pikirin saat tanpa diundang pikiran2 seram datang mengganggu. ia harus sekuat tenaga memikirkan hal2 lain yang lebih cerah dan menyenangkan untuk mengalihkan pikiran tak diundang tadi. dan itu sangat melelahkan.

yah, semoga ke depannya si penakut bisa mendapat tanggapan yang lebih simpatik atas sifat penakut yang tak pernah diinginkannya itu.

Prizes to win

Who wouldn’t like to play a game? Most likely everybody would like it, especially when it involves free gifts or sweepstake, ranging from HDTVs, designer bags, I-Phones to cash prizes. And hopefully the possibility to win the prizes over is quite big.

Do you want to know why? Because, apparently, there will be new winner everyday to get those prizes. They just play this user-friendly game, which is based on text reverse-auction. So, why don’t we find out more about it in www.bid4prizes.com. Who knows, maybe it's time for our luck to come.

Processing credit card payments

If you are a businessman whose company offers services or products online, it will be beneficial if you’re accepting credit cards on website. This kind of payment solution will facilitate people to submit payment online by using the Internet credit card processor.

Nowadays, there are various popular credit card payment methods, among others, Visa & Mastercard Payment Solutions, which will help you to process your online transaction. But of course, you have to be extra careful with bad credit merchant processor.

So, why not start using that kind of payment process and start to setup credit card processing now?

Transports and hotels in London's airports

London is one of the big cities in the world with four airports to accommodate the movement of entering and leaving the city. London Heathrow is one of them. It has direct access to central London by hopping on the Piccadilly Line tube. It is also convenient to combine the riding of Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, with takes only 15 minutes, and then continued with a Taxi to your final destination. If you’re coming from outside London, National Express bus usually offers an option to take you directly from your city to the airport. Around the area, you could also find London Heathrow Hotels offering good price to stay overnight.

London Gatwick is another airport in the city. From there, you can continue by Gatwick Express to London Victoria Station with takes 30-35 minutes, Southern Rail train to Victoria with takes more or less the same time with the previous one, or you can continue by First Capital Connect services from Gatwick station to London Bridge, City Thameslink, Farringdon, Kings Cross to Luton Airport. You can also find and spend nights in London Gatwick Hotels nearby the area with good discounted price.

The third airport is London Stansted, which also offers comfortable transports into central London. You can go by Stansted Express, London underground (also known as tube), Terravision, and you can also try National Express Bus. As an airport in a big city, you can also easily find good discounted place to stay overnight in London Stansted Hotels.

Last but not least, there is also Luton Airport in London. It lies a bit further away from the M1 motorway and connects to the M25 motorway. But there is also fast way to get there from London by National Express. And don’t worry, you can also find good places if you need to stay overnight there. Just go and find best deal for London Luton Hotels in the area.

PD itu penting!

ternyata memang benar, percaya diri adalah sebagian dari iman. hehe, gak ding. tapi saya yakin, PD itu mutlak kita miliki, dengan kadar yang pas tentunya.

saya membuktikannya pagi ini, ketika menerima imel balasan tentang sebuah proyek pekerjaan berdurasi 7 hari. ada sebuah kalimat dalam imel tersebut yang tiba2 menghilangkan kepercayaan diri saya. kalimat itu berbunyi: if your translation and your presentation skills are really good xx€ is fine for me.

saya jadi berpikir ulang dan mulai ragu untuk menerima pekerjaan itu, mengingat sudah lama sekali saya tidak menjadi interpreter. untungnya saya sempat ngobrol dengan seorang teman yang kebetulan memberikan cerita dan contoh kasus sangat tepat untuk memunculkan kembali PD yang memudar itu. saya pun membalas imel untuk menyanggupi pekerjaan tersebut. saya juga menyatakan siap diuji dan siap menerima pembatalan apabila dianggap tidak mampu.

barusan saya kembali mendapat imel balasan yang terbaru. kali ini isinya lebih melegakan dan memberikan kepercayaan baru bagi diri saya: Don’t worry I will not cancel it. If your Indonesian is as good as your English, there will be no problem....

fiuh. memang benar ternyata, percaya diri adalah sebagian dari iman.

how to fall in love

saat sedang berselancar mencari data untuk bahan tulisan tentang apa yang berlangsung di otak seseorang yang sedang jatuh cinta, saya mendapat bonus informasi menarik tentang tips2 untuk jatuh cinta.

ini dia cuplikan yang diambil dari situs web your amazing brain.

how to fall in love:
1. find a complete stranger.
2. reveal to each other intimate details about your lives for half an hour.
3. then, stare deeply into each other's eyes without talking for 4 minutes.

York psychologist, Professor Arthur Arun, has been studying why people fall in love. He asked his subjects to carry out the above 3 steps and found that many of his couples felt deeply attracted after 34-minute experiment. Two of his subjects later got married.

nah, siapa yang tertarik mempraktekkan tips2 tersebut? ;D

pemulung maya

dua postingan saya sebelum ini memang hanya berisi iklan. yup, saya kembali mengumpulkan receh lewat dunia maya. untuk ukuran saya yang baru coba2 mencari pendapatan lewat dunia itu mungkin lebih pas kalau disebut pemulung maya, karena yang bisa saya kumpulkan saat ini baru seperak dua perak. itupun belum benar2 bisa dirasakan fisik uangnya secara nyata.

baru tanggal 10 besok saya bisa membuktikan. pada tanggal itu, pembayaran pertama saya akan ditransfer ke rekening paypal yang saya daftarkan. untuk edisi perdana ini saya tidak menggunakan rekening paypal pribadi saya karena belum diverifikasi oleh paypal. kali ini saya coba menggunakan jasa pihak ketiga, yaitu onespay, untuk mencairkan recehan yang saya dapat. itupun sifatnya masih gambling bagi saya, meskipun banyak yang merekomendasikan kualitas layanan onespay.

moga2 semua berjalan lancar, karena kalau ditotal2 tagihan saya yang akan cair berturut2 tanggal 10, 11, dan 12 ini total berjumlah 21 usd. tidak terlalu besar, tapi semoga bisa menjadi awal yang baik :)

saya mulai termotivasi untuk menjadi pemulung maya setelah membaca sebuah blog, dimana si empunya sudah pengalaman mendapat penghasilan yang lumayan dengan menulis review2 iklan di blognya. sekarang bayangkan saja, kalau dia punya 10 blog dan setiap harinya setiap blog mendapat pekerjaan menulis iklan/review senilai 7,5-10 usd, berarti dalam sehari dia bisa mendapat 75-100 usd. bayangkan berapa yang didapat dalam 10 hari? atau bahkan dalam sebulan? wow.

dan pekerjaan itu termasuk mudah dikerjakan, maksimal hanya membutuhkan waktu 30 menit. hmmm, kerja 1/2 jam sudah bisa mengantongi 5-10 usd. coba bandingkan dengan menerjemahkan film berdurasi 1/2 jam dengan pendapatan juga antara 5-10 usd. padahal untuk menerjemahkan film berdurasi 1/2 jam saja saya perlu waktu lebih dari 2 jam.

haha. sepertinya saya mulai bermimpi. tapi, bukankah segala sesuatu yang baik dan besar kadang berawal dari sebuah impian? ;D

miele vacuum cleaner

Good brand is one of the most important considerations when you’re looking for home appliances like vacuum cleaner. It’s just s simple appliance but it’s also a significant tool if you want to keep your house clean. Thus, Miele Vacuum Cleaner should be considered as one of best buy appliances.

Miele offers various types of vacuum cleaner with good quality and performance included, like Miele S251i Plus Bagged Canister Vacuum, Miele S4210 Bagged Canister Vacuum, Miele S4210 Carina Bagged Canister Vacuum, and many more.

Among those various types, Miele’s users have expressed their satisfaction of buying and using the vacuum cleaner by saying that the product is reliable, lightweight, quiet, user-friendly, powerful, compact and very capable. So, why not trying to get Miele vacuum cleaner for yourself?

Janome Sewing Machine

If we want to talk about the world’s leading sewing machine brand, Janome is the name to appear first. It’s a perfect sewing machine, either for those who are professional in sewing business or simply an interested beginner.

Janome sewing machine is manufactured to provide the beautiful and professional results we expect. The product is sturdy, well made and quiet. It also wonderfully works at a manageable, steady speed to ease our works.

To name several Janome’s products, we could try Janome Hello Kitty 11706, Janome Jem Gold 660 or Janome Mini Compact. All of those could help us sewing and make stitching easier.

keramahan yang berlebih

satu hal yang cukup mengganggu saat kita masuk ke sebuah pertokoan adalah keramahan yang berlebihan. "silakan, ada yang bisa dibantu?" atau "mau cari apa?" adalah dua contoh sapaan standar tak perlu yang sering kita dengar.

kalau boleh kurang ajar, mungkin saya akan menyaut "mbak mau bantu saya? gimana kalo mbak tutup mulut dan menyingkir dari penglihatan saya, itu pasti sangat membantu" atau "yang pasti bukan mencari mbak!". untung saya masih cukup sopan, sehingga yang terlontar dari mulut saya hanyalah, "makasih mbak, mau liat2 aja".

serba salah memang jadi penjaga toko. terlalu ramah diprotes, terlalu jutek apalagi. buat saya, kedua hal itu sangat mengganggu. kalau boleh usul, mereka seharusnya berprinsip "i'm nonexistent until i'm needed".

sedikit sadis memang, tapi sepertinya lebih baik begitu. mereka cukup berdiri di tempat2 yang strategis, tutup mulut dengan setelan tersenyum, dan hanya menyapa kalau si pengunjung bertanya kepadanya. gak perlulah mereka mengajukan pertanyaan basa-basi yang mengganggu itu dan kemudian mengikuti si pengunjung. kayak gak ada kerjaan lain aja.

salah satu contoh toko yang penjaganya berlebihan adalah ace hardware yang baru dibuka di bilangan permata hijau. untuk ukuran toko yang tak seberapa besar, ace sepertinya mempekerjakan seribu penjaga toko yang tersebar berdiri dimana2 dan rajin memberikan sapaan2 gak penting.

dibalik keramahan yang berlebihan itu, ternyata masih ada juga penjaganya yang tidak bisa memberi jawaban cerdas ketika kita mengomentari wc-nya yang baunya amit2. "mungkin itu obat pembersihnya yang gak bagus, jadi baunya gak enak".

sampai di situ jawaban dia masih bagus. dan seharusnya cukup berhenti di situ dan, meskipun dengan tetap tersenyum dan berusaha terlihat ramah, jangan dilanjutkan lagi dengan, "yaah, maklum deh mbak, namanya juga tempat umum. jadi wajar aja kalau suka bau begitu. terima aja apa adanya."

ealah mbak, mbak, situ sih maennya cuma ke terminal bus yang wc umumnya emang bau terus, jadi emang udah biasa.

refleksi 2007 untuk 2008

sebuah entry yang cukup basi. bagaimana tidak, refleksi2 akhir tahun seperti ini biasanya ditulis di hari2 akhir menjelang pergantian tahun, bukan 4 hari setelah tahun berganti.

mau bagaimana lagi, seperti sudah diduga, koneksi internet saya terputus 15 menit menjelang detik2 kedatangan tahun 2008 karena saya lalai membayar kewajiban saya (lalai atau emang lagi gak punya duit?). dan baru hari ini saya bisa kembali mengakses dunia maya secara leluasa di komputer.

bagaimana dengan refleksinya? tahun 2007 menjadi salah satu tonggak sejarah terpenting dalam hidup saya, karena setelah bekerja dalam situasi 'hidup segan, mati tak mau' selama 7 tahun, akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk melepaskan diri dari pekerjaan itu.

2007 juga penting karena di kuartal akhir tahun tersebut saya mulai bisa 'merasakan' dan 'melihat' yang mana sebetulnya teman2 saya yang sesungguhnya.

tidak kalah penting, di akhir 2007 saya memutuskan untuk mencoba berani hidup sendiri. dalam artian, saya mulai berusaha memberanikan diri untuk tinggal sendiri secara terpisah dari keluarga (meskipun masih di satu halaman). saya berusaha menghilangkan sifat penakut atas bayangan2 menyeramkan yang sering mengganggu pikiran. cukup melelahkan memang, tapi saya harus berusaha.

semoga tahun 2008 ini juga menjadi tonggak sejarah terpenting yang baik bagi saya dan kehidupan.