7:00:00 PM
I once lived in State College, Pennsylvania for 4 years, and yet never have I attended the Annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. I was always in a vacation, or simply not in-town. But maybe I was not really interested, especially after the riot that happened during the festival in 2000 (if I'm not mistaken).
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July 10, 2002
4:02:00 PM
July 8, 2002. 'Twas the happiest birthday in my life, inasmuch as my memory could reflect. The day started with a surprise from my friends at around 12.20 AM. I knew I would get a surprise, so I kind of waited. As the minutes went by, I decided to go to bed... when I suddenly heard the doorbell ringing a few minutes later. Honestly, I didn't expect so many people would come: Bayu, Henny, Sandra, Deni, Gino, Iwan, Jill, Anthony. As I had expected, they brought me tiramisu cake from Buca di Beppo =D But that wasn't all. Bayu brought his finest bottle of champagne for a toast to my birthday. Sandra & Henny brought me a yellow bouquet of roses. "Friendship is forever" =)
By 1 AM, they all went home. I had been sleepy before they came, so I planned on sleeping right after they left. But around 2 AM, I found myself engaged in a pretty deep conversation with Bayu online (in MSN); about people, personality, and constructive criticism. I finally bid the night adieu at 5 AM and said hello to sunlight around 11.40 AM. I hurriedly got ready, since Marco was taking me to lunch at La Cachette, Los Angeles. Without further ado, I instantly put the restaurant into my "favorite French restaurant" list. Everything we tried there, and I mean everything, was delicious. Flawless. Succulent!
On the evening, Bayu & Henny accompanied me to the LAX airport to pick up my mother & younger brother. Yes, they came to celebrate the day! :D We had dinner at Chaya Brasserie, Los Angeles. It was pretty good. The appetizers were not as good as the entrees, though. Unfortunately, we were too full to try the desserts, so I will have to come back there again someday.
You now see why it was my loveliest birthday. My close friends and family were there. The food was good. The surprise was meaningful (hey, I never got one before!). Above everything, I thank God for my 23rd birthday, for I have gotten so much :)
4:17:00 AM
Happy Fourth of July, USA's Independence Day!
Today's schedule:
09.00 AM : Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe church.
10.30 AM : Mudika (catholic youth) of Indonesian Community's annual picnic at Schabarum Regional Park, Rowland Heights.
03.00 PM :Anime Expo! =D At the Long Beach Convention Center, Westin Hotel, and Hyatt Regency Hotel.
09.00 PM : Fireworks at the Queen Mary, Long Beach.
Well planned, aren't we? :) And now.. to sleep must I go.
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July 03, 2002
10:52:00 PM
But, Dican, isn't waiting always the worst part of practically everything?
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7:23:00 AM
European fashion design is so much better (and a lot cheaper!) than here in the USA. No wonder the famous designers mostly come from Europe. I wish I lived somewhere in Europe for that matter. But thanks to Yoox (among other European online clothing stores), I don't have to try so hard as to literally fly to Europe just to get my hands on their fashion.
On myself... For three weeks when my mom was here, I hardly got enough sleep (if you haven't already known: I love sleeping. 8-9 hours a night is the average). And so, I have been sleeping for 10 hours since my mom went back to Indonesia last Monday, June 24. Yes, I'm tired, very tired. It has been dragging for days. During those 3 weeks, I have been eating out, driving, washing dishes, going to daily mass, and praying much more often than before (and after =P). To my surprise, I do miss the routine. And her as well. But she's coming again next week, with my dad and my younger brother. The whole family is going to be here for a while.
On restaurants... The good thing about having someone else in your house: you get to try new restaurants more often. Two outstanding restaurants worth mentioning are Chez Sateau in Arcadia and Crustacean in Beverly Hills. I personally like Chez Sateau better than Crustacean in terms of the food quality vs price. Everything is delicious; from paté maison to the thatcher grilled chicken, from the caviar to the vanilla bean & macadamia nut fudge ice cream terrine, from the chopped spring salad to the green apple sorbet! I will surely be their faithful customer when I move to Arcadia soon :3
The atmosphere at Crustacean is very nice, especially with the aquarium floor. Their specialties (among others) are the garlic crab & garlic noodles, which are very subtle & delicate in taste. The sponge cake covered with chocolate is also delish. But for the overall price, I would choose Chez Sateau anytime!
On life and people... The more I know about people, their personalities, and their problems; the more I'm grateful for myself and what I am. The more I appreciate my life and live it to the fullest. For I shall not be in want, and so must you. Thus, halt your complaining and look around... aren't there a lot of people more unfortunate than you?
Something to think about: Psalm 23.
The more I realize how gracious God is to all people on earth, no matter how evil and sinful they are and whether they believe in God or not. He is still very kind to us and loves us. Even the word kind does not justify how deep the meaning is.
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July 02, 2002
7:42:00 AM
Cannot wait to tell: I am going to Anime Expo! =D It's held at Long Beach on July 4-7. I'm going with Henny and Judhis. This summer is going to be awesome. Beaches + picnics + movies + jazz festivals + concerts + vacations + family + friends... :3
I truly live by the moment, enjoying my life every step of the way. Thank you, Lord!
I am finally back from the silence. I do have a lot of updates (i.e. on my life) to be written in the next entry. It feels great to finally have a facelift. I'm totally bored with the last grey layout that I've been having for 7 months; thus the new layout. It's still simple, yes, but at least it has more colors.
Oh, go watch Lilo & Stitch! It's very funny, the animation is fabulous, the story is wonderful, the characters are lovable, what more can you ask. It makes me want to go to the beach more often. In fact, I went to Huntington Beach with the Niko's (Ronald, Sandra, Gabby, plus Daniel) and Judhis last Sunday evening. It was breezy, but the water is very clean and the scenery is beautiful. We had dinner at Ruby's that is located at the farthest end of the pier.
One could then predict: I collapsed the next day after driving such long miles all around Southern California. Uh, well, not really =P Just from La Habra, to Monterey Park, to West Covina, to Huntington Beach, back to West Covina, then to La Habra. 120+ miles in total.
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Elyse. July 8 to be exact.
An Indonesian. Lives in Jakarta.
Graduated from Penn State Univ.
Music organizer @ Fleur de Lis.
Owns kuya.net. Mail sushibox.
A passion in design, music, fashion, arts, literature , anime & manga, fine cuisine, psychology, photography.
Loves shopping, reading, sleeping, browsing + listening to jazz, singing.
An avid observer of life and people.
Adores style and simplicity.
