Bad-Ad

Have you seen Kecap Sedaap’s commercial which has been vanished from TV recently? The script is about a boy who just comes back from school. He goes straight to the kitchen; apparently his mother is not there. And there is no food served on the table. Meanwhile, the kitchen itself looks very modern and fancy. The boy doesn’t even think to take a look at food storage first, just in case his mother already spares some food for him.

But the first thing he grabs is a big jar full of chips then a bottle of ketchup. Then he starts to eat a bowl of rice just with chips and ketchup. Amazing, he can eat all the content in that bottle instantly, even before he finished with his rice.

When he realized that he’s going to run out of ketchup, and he becomes very angry and start yelling. Suddenly, his slim and well-dressed mother comes up, and brings a new bottle of this Sedaap ketchup. The boy is so happy, and began to continue with his food. And those chips too.

There’s something annoying about this kind of commercial. It’s about the message that might have reached our children. That it’s okay if they just want to eat their food with chip and ketchup only. But, wouldn’t it be wiser, if only they served other kind of food and not just chips and ketchup? If they can’t serve meat, they can still served fish or vegetable or maybe an orange. So there’s enough nutrition in his food. Because I’m sure everybody will say that chips and ketchup is never enough!

I’m a big fan of chips too. I love to eat them with rice as well. But, please don’t be so naïf. No matter of that ketchup is so tasty and full of nutrition, still it can not replace the quality of healthy food, right? So, it doesn’t matter if you like chips and ketchup for your meal, but don’t forget to inform your audience about the real healthy food.

Because commercial can effects people easily. If the commercial teach children that it’s okay for them to have their meal with chips and ketchup only (although their parents can afford them healthy food) along with his mother’s improvement, I think it’s not smart. Is his mother has lost her mind? But teach the children to eat healthy food. It doesn’t have to be fancy, with cheese or milk. Just serve rice, fish, vegetables and simple fruit, like orange or banana. If the children see their favorite artist on TV is eating vegetables, it will be easier for them to eat vegetables too, right?

The bottom line is choose the right method for your commercial script. Especially if you have children as your audience.

Sop Sum-Sum Langsa

What is Asha’s most favorite food, beside chocolate, noodle, biscuits and a sip of coffee? The answer is: SOUP. Since she was a baby, she already loves soup. She’ll have her dinner faster, just because I serve it with soup.

There are a few places which sell delicious soups. One of them is: SUP SUMSUM LANGSA. The place is right beside the famous Mie Aceh in Medan, Mie Aceh Titi Bobrok.

The main menus in here are: various kinds of soup (meat soup or bone soup) and various kinds of soto (beef and chicken). And Asha loves the beef soup. It tastes great. This place has also been visited by Wisata Kuliner’s host, Bondan Winarno. The host of Santapan Nusantara, Enita Sri Yana, has visited this place also.

The price is good too. We only pay 12 ribu rupiahs per bowl for meat soup. And 22 thousand rupiahs per bowl for bone soup.

Sometimes, when you visit Medan, you must visit this place too..

A Baby Story

Between every couple who choose to marry and spend the rest of their life together, having kids is one of few miracles that they wished to come true. I only say a few of them because not every couple ready for such a responsibility and wishes to be a parent some day. Every body has their own reasons.

For our little family having kid is one of few miracles that God has sent us. Asha has come to us in a very short time.

And by the time we celebrate our first wedding anniversary, she also celebrate it with us.

Many people asked me these questions:
”Wow. You have a daughter in just one year. What’s your secret?”
“Are you visiting a gynecologic for this?”
”Do you have certain kind of food or beverage before?”
Etc.

Wise men say, every human kind has their own destiny. It’s been our destiny to have a daughter in our first year of married; while few other women is still trying and praying for this. She’s still not pregnant after married in a couple of years; even when she visiting a famous gynecologic for that.

But, can all this effort give you a guarantee for having a baby in a short time? No. I wrote this article because I have a friend who desperate enough about having a baby very soon. She’s been visit and talk about this to many famous gynecologic she known and spend a lot of money for that. But still can’t a way out.
”I’m exhausting. We already try many ways but still don’t see the right answer for what we’re looking for.”

Human can only do the best, and let God do the rest. After all the efforts that we already give for this dream, we must give space for God to show His Mercy. Don’t need to feel desperate. Because desperate is the gate to be frustrated. And this can danger your marriage life.

If we really want to have a baby to pour our love on, we still can adopt other kids from the orphanage for this. Those kids are longing for parents too; just like you’re longing for kids in your house. Why don’t you choose them and love them like your own kids? And you still can pray for God to give you a chance to have your own kids some day.

A Trip to Hill Park, Sibolangit

The first thing come up in my mind in every Sunday morning when I woke up is: Where are w going to have some fun for today? As you know, I have become a stay at home mother for almost three years and Sunday is really a holiday for me. And this time we choose to go a giant playground Hill Park in Sibolangit.

We leave Medan, by noon. After having a lunch for one hour, we go directly to the playground. Asha has been taking a nap in the car before, so right now she’s really feel excited about this place. When we walk along the boulevard, we can hear a kid’s song playing loudly to entertain the ‘little visitors’.

After pay 20 thousand rupiahs each for the tickets, we enter the playground and start to take picture in every good angle. Here comes Asha with her smile.

First we choose to ride in a the colorful train. We must pay 12 thousand rupiah each for this. Then this train took us around and sees a few places in this wide and giant playground. It’s fun to sit and let this colorful train shows you many places without walking by yourself in the ground.

Next we go to the giant wheels, we can sit and relax while enjoying the panorama of mountains far away. Every roof of >houses in Sibolangit look so tiny; as well as every people that walking around the Hill Park too.

Asha love to play with the giant chicken every time we come to this place. Then she move to giant purple dinosaur. At last she ride the giant green elephant. All of these ”animals” plays its own music each time some body ride it. And Asha enjoy it very much

At last, the day is getting dark and we have to go back to Medan. Besides, Asha is starting to feel sleepy and lost her smile. And she began to sleep on our way back home. What a great holiday we have in Hill Park.

Different Styles of Curtains

Curtain is one of the most important parts of our house interior including bedrooms. Even if we only have a little space to use; we still can use the right kind of curtain to make it looks elegance. Especially for kind of room which use a lot of furniture in it, choosing the right kind of curtain also can make your room looks comfort and neat.

I’ve been browsing around to find different kind of Curtain available. I found many colorful styles curtains or maybe different shades and so on. I also found unique styles using many kinds of drapery. The price is depends on the materials and the style of curtains we like. So make sure that you choose one that meets your budget.

One thing we need to fully understand when we try to find the right measures for our curtain’s materials is the size of our window. So that we can have the right size for the materials we’re going to use for the Curtain. Make sure the material is enough to cover the entire window. And don’t be oversize because it will look tacky.

We also need to know the length of the window rail that we used to hang the curtain. How to measure it? To determine the right size is we must put the measure-tool about 7.5 – 12.5 cm beyond the pelmet. And we must add about 15 cm in each side left and right; so that we have enough room for the folded Curtain beside the window when we open the curtain to let the sunshine in freely into our room.

To measure the size of curtain; we can measure the window’s rail first than divide the result (if we like to use two sheets of curtain in a window) than add about 10-15 cm for the hems in each side.

There are different options we can choose to determine the length of our curtain in the window.
First, the Curtain length is as high as the pelmet. The down side of curtain will be about 1 cm from the pelmet so that much easier to open.
Second, the curtain length is about 10-15 cm under the pelmet.
Third, the curtain is touching the floor surface.
Start the measurement from the rail’s ring down to the lowest limit of the curtain we choose. We need to add about 15 cm each to prevent if only we need to repair some parts in the next day.

The most interesting part in the design of curtain is the top. And for this we need to add more materials about 1.5 up to 2 times the curtain’s wide; so that the curtain will look nice and full.

• For ’pencil pleat’ style, we need to add more materials about 2.5-3 times the default wide measurement.






• For ’triple pleat’ style, we need to add about 2-3 times the default wide measurement.








• For ’box pleat’ style, we must add the materials 3 times the default measurement.






• For ’goblet’ style, we need to add the materials about 2 times the default wide.






• For ’smocked’ style like beehive, add the materials about 2 times the default wide measurement.








• For ’sheer pleat’ style, just use a sheer material about 2 times the default measurement.







Pay attention when you use the material with a certain kind of shade, especially when you want to use smock style in the center of the Curtain. You must calculate the range between each shade, just in case you need to add more material for your curtain. For preventions, you should add one more column of shades in every side as an extra.

Today Is Agasha's Day

Hush now, my dear child…
Don’t cry, daddy’s here.
Hush now, my dear child...
Don’t cry, mommy’s singing..

When you grow up,
Love your brother, love your sister, love other people, all with love..

Be honest in what you do, in what you say,
Be good in all your life ...
Hope your soul will be as pretty as your face, cantik parasmu,
I love it when you smile

Hush now, my dear child…
Don’t cry, daddy’s here.
Hush now, my dear child...
Don’t cry, mommy’s singing..

Our prayer is always with you,
Accompanying you through your life, oh our dear child..

Be honest in what you do, in what you say,
Be good in all your life ...
Hope your soul will be as pretty as your face, cantik parasmu,
I love it when you smile

(Judul: Timang-Timang.
By: Kris Dayanti feat. Anang)

There is no other way to represent this special moment we have today. So I just write that song above. Just for you, our little angel: Agasha Batubara. Happy Belated Day. You will always on mommy and daddy’s prayer...


Hmm...maybe we will take her to Hill Park again. She loves that place..

Destroy The Empty Bottle First

Recently the authority has released a list of 27 imitation cosmetics that has been found in the market. This problem has show up many times this year. About bad people that imitate a certain kind of skin care products and re-sell them back in original price

After looking around, I finally found some picture of the product that has been successfully imitated and has been reselling as original product with original price. There’re also some dangerous materials found in that fake product.

Doctor Kayama (Whitening Day Cream and Whitening Night Cream) contains Mercury

Blossom (Day Cream and Night Cream) contain Mercury

Cameo Make Up Kit 3 in 1 Two Way Cake and Multi Eye Shadow and Blush On that contains Rhodamin B

I can see that from the 27 products list that have been released in the media by authority, I only found three of them in the internet. All of those Chinese products can’t be found anywhere in this modern age. Isn’t that weird? Actually, this can be a bad signal for us about the product’s quality.
This is why I always spare sometimes to search in the internet about product info that I’m going to use before buying it. Even if I can not find the official website, at least I can still read various testimonials from people who has ever used that product before. If most of those testimonials tell positive opinions about it, then I will have that product tested. On the other side; if the opinions are negative I would never use that kind of product ever.

This fake product also has a bad impact for the genuine product who already familiar and has many customers for its qualities. Dr. Kayama’ skin care, for example. This brand has been famous among women who love to have skin treatment in derma-lab. I found one way out for this unfortunate even; just like I wrote in one of my articles before. Beware of fake skin care products you have to destroy the empty bottle before you throw it into your garbage. So nobody could ever re-use that garbage for any bad purposes.

For container made from glass, it will be easier to break it into small pieces before throwing it away. For plastic, make sure you tear it with knife (usually in the area where the brand is written) or burn some spot in before throw it away. At least, those garbage have been broken and can not be re-used for any purposed except for recycling only.

But the most important thing is beware of Chinese products; especially those without any clear information about the distributors, where it come from, and especially always check the ingredients before use it. Avoid using certain skin care products just because you find it cheaper that the other one. Use the save one instead of the cheap one.

Women and cosmetics are closed to each other. We will feel confidence when we look good and feel beautiful. And there’s nothing wrong about it. But be wise. Check and always recheck before you buy a new product of skin care. Do not pay attentions to the price only, but make sure you buy a genuine kind with no dangerous ingredients in it.

Bring Back Our Indonesian Language

Student: “This is Budi”
Teacher: “Good. Let’s try another one.”
Student: “Budi is playing soccer”
Teacher: “That’s good”
What a funny add. Smart; interesting.

When I saw that ad for the first time on TV, I just love it instantly. Especially when I saw that bule (Bule means western people in Indonesia) learn how to read two sentences in Indonesian language. The kind of sentences that actually learned by primary students in reality. It’s interesting to find how they try to learn about Indonesian language; when we as Indonesian people learn about their languages. What I like the most from that ad is the fact when I suddenly realized; that Indonesian language itself has become an underdog in its own country. How so?

These days, if you can not speak English then you’ll be out of the game. Because that means that you could not compete with the others who have learned about this language before. Every company nowadays has made an ability to speak in English fluently as a must. They will choose every one who can speak English fluently than the other who can’t. That’s a reality of life in Indonesia; when Bahasa Indonesia has become an unimportant language in our life.

We can see it from the curriculum that now used by almost every school in this country. Even in Play Groups, the teachers there have been used English as daily language in their class. They even told the students to call them Miss instead of Ibu Guru in Indonesian language. So we can easily find a 7 or 8 years old kid who can speak English fluently and began to loose attention to bahasa Indonesia. This is a reality too.

Many families in this country start to use English in their daily conversation in their houses for one reason. They want to practice English and become very fluent with this language. Some say they have to use English in daily life because they already use it in school. So why don’t use English at home as well? I wonder do they still concern about using their own language anymore; if the answer is yes, when and where?

You have to learn about English at school. It’s a must! Consider this language has become an international language. When you can’t speak English well, you’ll be beaten by the playgroup kids out there. But, on the other side, as Indonesian, we still need to share some spaces to our native language, Bahasa Indonesia. When we have to use English at school; then use Indonesian at home.

In my opinion, by using those to languages altogether; we will speed up our ability in those two languages as well. You can speak English at school, but use bahasa Indonesia when you already at home. If it’s possible, you can also sometimes speak in your native language such as Batak, bahasa Lamaholot, bahasa Sunda, bahasa Karo, bahasa Jawa, etc. And finally you are fluent in three different kinds of languages. Bahasa Indonesia, English and native language as well. So, don’t be too proud if you can speak English fluently if you can’t speak Indonesia in the right grammar too. I think sometimes you should see yourself in the mirror. Are you blonde? Do you have blue eyes? Do you have white skin? If it’s not then you should show yourself as an Indonesian.
.
There are a few countries that ask other people who want to stay in their countries to learn about their languages first as one condition for Visa approval. So, is Indonesia is one of those countries? Hahahaha... well, I’m sorry to tell you that we’re not.

Anybody who wants to come to Indonesia and become a movie star, model, or any kind of jobs; you’re always welcomed here, as long as you bring a lot of dollar in your pocket; even if you can’t speak Indonesia at all, because in this country, everybody can speak English fluently. Take it easy... Hahaha... Isn’t it ironic?

Do you feel proud of it? Hmmm...a little.
Do you feel ashamed? Hmmm...a little
Yeah, there’s nothing we can do. We have to follow every thing in front of us, right?
Well, if you said so.

Indeed, there’s nothing we can do about using English as an international language. I want my kids to learn about that language also)
But it doesn’t mean that we have to throw our own language, bahasa Indonesia, away. Spare some space for bahasa Indonesia in our home. Bring back out tribe’s language into our home.

I saw those Manchester United players learned about Indonesian language on TV; it doesn’t matter if they’re just playing what the script told them what to do. Still it’s the best commercial ad that can open our eyes as an Indonesian. About us as Indonesian have lost our respects for our own language.

Woman And A Car in Medan

A few months ago, I got a chance to learn how to drive a car. And guess, who’s got the chance be the tutor? My husband himself! Hahaha... Because the house we stay is in the middle of nowhere, and it’s difficult for me to go anywhere without driving a car.

So, if I can drive my own car, I’ll be able to go anywhere I want, any time. And I don’t have to wait for my husband to pick me up. However, I actually don’t brave enough to do that. Because, even before my lesson started, I already imagine that my car will crashed somewhere, somehow.


Moreover, my husband can’t be a good driving tutor anyway. All he knows is screaming and yelling every time. 'Watch out'; 'Be careful' and so on. I can’t even write them all here. Because of that, my ‘vulnerable’ self-esteem has gone worst. And that makes every minute of the lesson even harder for me.

Sometimes, I envy every other woman (even teenager) who can drive their own car. How can’t I be like them? Hehehe..

But, that’s not the only problem. In fact, it’s not easy for women to drive their own car in this town. Even if they good at it. Because, if somehow there’s something is not right, like your car is too slow, or it takes a long time for you to park your car, you will hear somebody says this: "No wonder, the driver is a woman!"

Is it really that bad? I mean just because the driver is a woman, so everybody think that she can’t drive properly? But when that ‘mistake’ has made by man, nobody will ever say: 'No wonder, the driver is a man!'
Well, maybe somebody will only yell at him: 'You moron!'
This entire situation has made me even worrier than before.

Even if someday I’ll be able to drive a car, I don’t think that I’ll be ready to drive my car downtown here in messy streets of Medan. Where everybody can stop everywhere they want. Without giving any signs before! Or motorcycle’s drivers who like to slip every car in front of them.
Someone has ever says: 'If you can drive safely in Medan, it will be easier for you to drive a car in Jakarta' because of the messy we have here.


And I’m a kind of person who can have a panic attack easily. If somehow my car has been stopped without notification, then everybody start to yell at me with the sound of horns everywhere. I can assure you; this situation can even make me forget how to start the car again! And by that time, I’m sure I will hear somebody yelling at me: "No wonder, the driver is a woman!” And I’ll be very angry and ashamed as well! Oh, women.

Maybe it’ll be better for me to just take a taxi anyway. I think I’m not ready yet to drive a car downtown. When I make mistake somehow, I’m not ready to hear someone yell at me "Screw you, woman!!” just because they think I can not drive a car properly.

The Cyber World Ethics

What makes me happily spending most of my time sitting in front of my notebook actually? There are two things. First, when my notebook connected with the internet. I feel like the keyboard is calling me over and over again to write every thing that come across my mind, my heart and my ears.

Second is when I get connected with the internet.
I can feel myself flying out of my house, leaving my daughter sleeping beside me. Feels like entering another different worlds without limits. From my living room, I can meet some old friends via Facebook. I think Facebook is one of the best thing that a stay at home mother like me can have. That social network has become a window for me to get along with my other friends outside the house. I can even meet some ex-school friends a long time a go. We haven’t seen each other for more thatn 20 years! All of them are spread all over Indonesia and other country as well. Facebook has become a window for all of us to share words. Facebook.

And then we have Blogspot. I began to write on a blog for about six months ago. I need a place to write my opinions and comments about anything. And I like writing just like I like having a lot of friends. And this blog has given me a chance to write and find new friends as well.

But, do you think that every people in this cyber world can be a friend to each other? Well, obviously not. I read a lot of mailing list or blogs that contains every junk word, insulting other people, humiliating other race, and stuffs like that. I saw many people that haven’t seen each other and don’t even know each other in the real world had hate and attack each other. And people from all around the world can see their fights easily.

Is it because we can’t see each other in this cyber world? Or maybe because they’re just kind of losers that can’t just meet and talk each other? Different opinions among several people are so usual. Every body in this world has a different opinion about certain kind of matters or conditions. But do we need to hate each other and began a fighting in the cyber world for that?

Every body can express their opinions freely You must deal with it!If you disagree with some body else’s opinion, tell him/her politely. To start a discussing is better than start a fighting. Because if other people have a different opinions from you, it doesn’t mean that they’re stupid; but just because they have a different point of views. That’s all.

I believe in the real world, people are judged by their performances and attitudes. Meanwhile, in the cyber world people are judged by their written languages; because no one will see your real face when you mocking other people by your statements. Not even your smiling profile picture. The worst is when some jerks are hiding behind the Anonymous profile. Losers!

If you use a nice and kind language in this cyber world, you’ll get friends from all over the world. But if you choose to offend other people, humiliated them, well, you’ll have enemies from all over the world.