What I Buy for Boxing Day

04:55 Handini Audita 0 Comments


I know it's boxing day where many products are in massive discount. But as what I have said, I have know what I want to buy in boxing day. So I just buy an Amazon Kindle that I need for my study. What's funny is that this product is not for sale or discount in Boxing day. But I buy it anyway since I need it to read journals in a "paper less" way (printing is expensive here for me). I bought this for GBP89 in Argos. Why in Argos? It's the only store selling Kindle that opens on Boxing Day. Kindle is basically an e-book reader. What makes it special is its ability to produce e-book in it's simplicity, meaning that not too much technology attached. It does not produce bright lights so we don't get easily tired when reading the e-book. For me, it's quite a bargain. The product is so slim, light, and energy savvy. It creates convenience in reading. Must have...:*

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Boxing Day

03:22 Handini Audita 0 Comments


In the past, boxing day is just an ordinary one day after Christmas when the wealthy people of the Britain will give a box containing gifts to their servants. Today, as the atmosphere of Christmas has not fade yet, Boxing Day seems to raise the excitement on December for its shopping excitement. Being held just one day after Christmas, Boxing Day is just being adored. People are exited to shop aggressively due to the great big discount every shop offered. It is the time where shops have sales, often with dramatic price reduction.

This shopping moment is also adored by international students like my friends and I. Friends are exited and planning to shop together on this moment of shop. In fact, some of my friends living in a smaller city prefer to stay for some days in a bigger city to achieve better shopping deals. This craziness of sale and discount seems to transform the shopping ego of every individuals becoming irrational.

Living in Glasgow, as one of the big cities in Scotland, I am lucky enough to be able to experience the atmosphere of a great boxing day sale. To be honest, I was not prepared to shop aggressively. I have known already what I wish to buy to avoid my irrational shopping that leads me to broke afterwards. My flat mate however is so exited about this boxing day. She gathers information about which shops got great discounts, and what time each shops opens. It surprise that some shops are even open at 5 am in the morning. God..! Even the sun shines at around 7 in Glasgow.

Anyway, my flat mate went to the city center before 8am. It is also because after hearing my advice not to go there too early. I decided to go a bit late for this sale. So I went out to the city center at around 10am. I arrived at the city center a couple of minutes later. I was not surprise seeing many people bringing big shopping bags filled with many products with massive discount promotion written in their shopping bag. Girls, boys, young, old, all were exited about the sale.

Since I have known already what I want to buy, I decided to just take a walk to many shops to observe the craziness of sale. In Apple Store, I can see many people lining up to enter the store. It seems that this shop limits the amount of people entering the shop to prevent the unexpected things to happen. For ordinary middle brands like New Look, Topshop, H&M, and such, the discounts were not that surprising in my opinion. The products that are sold in discount are also very limited. In addition, the products discounted are the old products that it seems to be needed for them to sell quick. For the clothing line, it seems that "NEXT" offers great discounts. I can see many people in the street carrying a NEXT shopping bag.

The high end products in another hand, offers such a great discounts. Gucci for instance, offers discount up to 50%. The shop are very crowded by many people wanting to buy their high end luxury goods. Mulberry also got great deal. In fact, their stores are nearly empty because people are aggressively buying their products. You can get a Mulberry Alexa for GBP 477 discounted from GBP 795. Damn... If my status is not a student with limited amount of money to spend here, I will definitely buy that bag.

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Christmas Dinner

06:07 Handini Audita 0 Comments


As international student in the UK, my friends and I were far away from home. That is why we like to gather together so we decrease the feel of homesick. This Christmas, we held a Christmas dinner. We all bring food to share. I bring Roasted Chicken. It was a nice little merry Christmas. We can feel all the joy and all the love. It was wonderful..


In fact, we each bring a gift that is wrapped in News Paper. We put it under the Christmas tree so that no body know which one is whose. After having dinner we play a game of randomly distributing the gifts. It was so much fun. I receive a water bottle. This is perfect since I need those to bring coffee everyday for campus.




Anyway, once again.... MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE... ^_^

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Roasted Chicken

05:10 Handini Audita 0 Comments

On Christmas dinner I made home made Roasted Chicken. It is very simple to make. My friends all adore the Roasted Chicken. So I am going to share how to make a simple Roasted Chicken.

Hint: tbs = Table Spoon ; tsp = Tea Spoon

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (around 1,5kg)
50gr Butter
1 tbs Chicken Seasoning
1 tbs Ginger Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp Tumeric Powder
1 tbs Black Pepper Powder
1 tbs Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt




Stuffing (mix all the stuffing):
1 whole big onion (slice them in thick chunks)
1 whole garlic (remove the skin)
1/2 tsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp Tumeric Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

Utensils:
Spoon + Knife + Bowl
Baking Tray
Plastic Cling Firm
Aluminium Foil
Oven


HOW TO MAKE:
1. Melt the butter until it is soft and thick. Do not put too long in the pan otherwise it will turn into liquid like oil.


2. Mix the butter with chicken seasoning, ginger, cumin, tumeric, black pepper, garlic powders, and salt.


3. Prepare the one whole chicken on top of a "Plastic Cling Firm". Make sure the plastic is long enough to be able to cover all the surface of the chicken.


4. Cover all the surface of the chicken with the butter mix (in step 1). Make sure that it covers all the surface evenly. Don't forget to put some of the butter mix inside the chicken too. Even out with your fingers or spoon. After the butter is well spread, wrap the chicken with the "Plastic Cling Firm". Leave it to marinade for about 2 hours in room temperature.


5. After it is marinade, remove the "Plastic Cling Wrap". Put the Chicken on top of a baking tray that has been covered with "Aluminium Foil". Put all the stuffing inside the chicken body. Then, put the chicken into the oven for 60 minutes in 200 degrees Celsius.


6. After it is golden brown, remove the chicken from the oven. And that is it...! Your fresh home made delicious roasted chicken... ^_^



IMPORTANT TIPS:
1. Use rubber glove when rubbing the butter mix so you don't get your hand dirty and yellow because of the tumeric powder.

2. Turn the chicken over when it is half way cook (when 30 minutes) to get all the surface of the chicken evenly cooked and avoiding one part of the chicken to burn.

3. Change the pan for serving. The chicken will produce great amount of oil when it is cooked. So you will reduce the oil when you change your pan when serving the chicken.

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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

18:02 Handini Audita 0 Comments

Have yourself a merry little Christmas..
Let your heart be light...
From now on your troubles will be out of sight...


Merry Christmas for all the Blogger

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Enamel Mug: "Keep Calm and Carry On"

04:02 Handini Audita 0 Comments


On my previous post I wrote about a mug that is given by one of my best friend for Christmas. A simple mug written "Keep Calm and Carry On" actually have a very important historical background here in the United Kingdom.

It was 1939 and Britain was on the brick of war. In anticipation of this, the British Government's Ministry of Information commissioned a series of propaganda posters to reassure the population they would be defended at all costs.

The posters were to be displayed all over the country once war was declared. Using only the crown of King George VI, this particular poster simply read "Keep Calm and Carry On". It never actually made it onto the walls of Britain and was never actually issued.

A crumpled copy of the poster was however rediscovered by chance many years later among a pile of dusty old books in a book store in Northumberland, England.

This simple poster with its simple message is just as relevant today as it was back in the 1930's.

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A gift where he cannot wait to give

03:32 Handini Audita 0 Comments

Christmas is coming...!!!!!!

The lights in the street and the business of the Christmas market really tell that Christmas is coming. We can find many people in the city center shop for gifts to be given to their loved one in Christmas.

A best friend of mine just cannot wait to give me a Christmas gift. Instead of giving the gift on the day of Christmas, he instead give me the gift on the 22 December 2011. He give me the gift when we have dinner together. Yes, it was a couple of days earlier from Christmas.

He said to me that it is very important to give the present as soon as possible. So I opened the gift given by him that is wrapped in a very beautiful box.



It was a simple mug with a very deep meaning for me..

To let you know, I receive one of the grade of the assignment from my uni. I worked so hard in it and put so much effort in the work. The feedback received was not bad, but I don't understand why I receive bad grade for it. I was devastated.

I panic in the moment I receive the grade. It is very important for me to succeed in this master program. I did not want to fail. That's why I always put my very best effort in it. But the output that I receive is just disappointing.

So one of my best friend give me the mug with "Keep Calm and Carry On" words written on it. He told me that it is just best to just keep calm and go on with life. It is not the end of the world, and I still can make an effort to change the final grade (by doing good in exam).

I have to say that he was right...

When we receive one problem in life, isn't it better just to face it? If we think about it all the time, what will happen is just that we cannot think and focus on the available alternative of solution to solve the problem. Every problem have a solution. So why should we stick on the problem for a long time? Why don't we just try our best to focus on the solution rather on the problem. Focus on the solution to get out of the problem rather than focusing on the problem itself and fell more deeper to the problem.

So for everyone in the world who has a problem...

"Keep Calm and Carry On"

Just remember one thing in mind...

"In the end everything is going to be okay. If it is not okay, then it is not the end"

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To Love = To Bring Happiness

00:53 Handini Audita 0 Comments

One day, a best friend of mine, which I treat him as a big brother, came to me starting a conversation about love..

He started his story by saying "I have to tell you a serious project of mine... I am chasing someone.. But currently she is still in a relationship with someone else". I know that this will become a very long conversation. So I put down things that I was working on to focus on this conversation. I will always be there for my Big Brother.. >.<

Without too much thinking I give him a direct response that some people may not agree. Some people might think it's something unethical. I said to him "If she is not married yet, why not... Go for it dude... This is not the time for ethics to speak. This is the time for your happiness to speak".

I understand that this will make my best friend a bastard. But honestly, what I mean by my answer is not to steel someone to be with you by force. But it is the action to make you an option for them to put you in their life by giving them happiness. Okay, it's complicated....

He replied to me by saying "Someone said to me, what they did to you is their Karma, what you did is your Karma. I am afraid that in the future I will loose her the way I got her".

Well, yes.. I do believe in Karma. That is why I am always very careful with things I do in this world. But once again, I am not suggesting him to steal her from her partner. I explain to him by him a story about someone that I know very well in my life. Let's just pretend their name as Liliana and Bill.

Liliana was a girl that was in relationship with someone older than her age. Her ex is someone who had a good career and have a future. They seem like a happy couple. However, Liliana was not happy with the relationship. She feels that he is very dominance in the relationship. He forced her to do things that transforms her into someone that he desires. They argue a lot. Liliana was not happy.

Meanwhile, a guy name Bill known as a friend of Liliana, have deep feelings to Liliana. Bill conducts anything he can to always make Liliana happy. Bill will always be there for Liliana whenever she needs him. He respects Liliana wisely. He share his vision with Liliana. He shows that love could be shown in many different way. He shows to Liliana that she is not alone in this world, and when the world left her behind, at least she still have Bill. Isn't that what loving really means? Bringing happiness to anyone we love in this world.

The purity of love and caring that Bill shows to Liliana opens her eyes that she deserves to be happy. Not a single person in this world have the rights to take away happiness from someone life. Liliana receive very big strength from deep inside her to leave her ex. It was quite uneasy for Liliana to end the relationship with her ex. But she have all the strength and courage to say no more to unhappiness.

And yes, now Liliana and Bill is a happy couple. So does Bill do something wrong that would give him his Karma? I believe not..

What I see is the fact that in the first stage all that Bill do is just to make the person that he LOVE to be HAPPY. He brings HAPPINESS to someone without considering who she is. It is not Bill that got Liliana, but it is Liliana that choose Bill to be in her life. So what is wrong with making a human being experiencing true happiness in life?

So I continue my conversation with my best friend by saying "Look, if you want to know that girl wants you or not, just try to make her happy without the aim of approaching here. Let her choose in her own. And if she does not choose you, at least yo know that she is experiencing more happiness with someone else. And you are relief that the girl that you love is happy".

Focus on bringing happiness. Just make the one you love in life HAPPY no matter they are your family, your friends, or even strangers. You choose them to be in your life, so let them choose you to be in their life by making them happy.

Bring happiness to the world....

0 comments:

Have yourself a good quality sleep

23:39 Handini Audita 2 Comments

I have serious trouble in sleeping lately. I've tried to make myself as relax as possible, but it seems to be impossible to sleep. I did not know what went wrong. I was tired enough with the my daily activities. I've walked 2km to uni, climb very steep hill (my uni is located right on top of the very steep Glasgow hill), work as hard as possible to get my brain tired, but sleep still cannot be achieved. I've struggled in so many ways to get my self a nice good sleep, but nothing seems to work.

Today I saw a wonderful video on "TED" about how better life is with an enough amount of sleep. It shows how life can be more productive, creative, innovative, yet better in so many ways when we have enough sleep.













I know that today sleep deprivation has been a total issue. Many people all over the world having to suffer of not getting enough sleep. Competition in business, work place, or even school sometimes lead to the deprivation of sleep. I understand that sometime this deprivation of sleep cannot be avoided. Having assignment that has not been accomplish, deadlines, stress, or even forcing our self not to sleep because of several reasons just makes it more than enough to make our self avoid sleep.

The video explains just enough about how good quality sleep could gives you better quality of life. Isn't it nice to have a life where your emotion is better controlled, your brain is more focused, your face is as bright as the star, and your eyes could see clearer? The wonderful thing is that we can achieve that by having enough sleep.

So please, starting from the moment you read this article, organize your activities neatly so you can have a good nice sleep every single day.

Have the moment in your life where you can shut your eyes, and discover the great ideas that lie inside us, to shut your engine and discover the power of sleep.

2 comments:

Let The Journey Begin....!!!!!!

01:15 Handini Audita 0 Comments


It was just months after my undergrad graduation that my parents decided to send me for my master degree in United Kingdom. I know that my parents had plan to send me for master directly right after graduation, but the decision to send me to UK is quite a sudden.

Yes, I know them so well... They always make sudden decision.

But it's not sucks though.

I am very glad and enjoy every moment here in the UK. Meet new people, new friends, new life style. Everything is delightful..:D

Anyway, I come to study in the University of Strathclyde. Maybe some of you might never hear this university, but for your information, this is a triple accredited university...

I am taking Master of International Marketing. It is the marketing knowledge that focuses on International Business (that's what the uni said). To be honest, taking this course is very challenging. There are many talented students from many different place of the world. The lectures are also very demanding. So it is a challenging task to be accomplish.. GANBATE..!!!!

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