London Part 4: Third Day in London

03:08 Handini Audita 0 Comments

We woke up a bit late on the third day. Perhaps it is because we felt rally tired the other day. We had such wonderful sleep. Our room were very comfortable.

Since we had realized that we woke up late, I rushed my self on having shower and breakfast. My friend was doing the same thing. However, we had better breakfast compared to the other day. We got roasted chicken for breakfast. How can we get roasted chicken at breakfast?

The night before, we were having dinner at Nandos and ordered roasted chicken. However, we've realized that we cannot finish them all at that night. So we keep the left overs for breakfast. So the roasted chicken was the left overs from dinner. hahahha...

After having shower and breakfast, we directly go to the underground station to reach our destination. On that day, we will be going to the London Bridge. We've reached that location quite fast. However, because it was in the peak season, the underground were very full of people. We cannot even get a seat to seat in. But it was fine since the trip will only be less that 15 minutes.



Finally, we've reached the London Bridge Underground station. We've walked our way to the location of the London Bridge. We were lucky on that day because the weather were awesome. It was very sunny although a bit windy. We lead our way to the "Queen Walk" which is a riverside walking path leading to the London Bridge. I was beautiful but crowded. Many tourist were having pictures in that walk way. The walk way is very big. So it is very fine. On the river where the London Bridge was standing, there was also a very old UK Army Cruise. I forget the name of that big ship, but if I am not mistaken, it was one of the ships that went to the world war 1. It was one of Britain oldest war cruise ship.





During that walk in the "Queen Walk" we just took several pictures with the London Bridge from several different places. There were not many things to see there since the London Bridge it self is the only attraction there. We have took many great pictures of the London Bridge. We even experience our self walking on the London Bridge. We walked until the middle point of the London Bridge. Long ago the London Bridge will open and close when ships were crossing that river. But today, the river is not open for ships anymore so the London Bridge does not open and close like before.









There was not much to do there beside taking pictures of the Bridge. So we do not spent too much time there. We continue our trip to the next destination, The London Dungeon that are located somewhere near that area. It takes us a while to find that location since the location described were not that clear. But after a couple of minutes walk, we have finally reached the London Dungeon.

The London Dungeon is a popular London tourist attraction, which recreates various gory and macabre historical events in a grimly comedic 'gallows humour' style, attempting to make them appealing to younger audiences. It uses a mixture of live actors, special effects and rides.



Opening in 1974, it was initially designed as more a museum of "horrible history", but the Dungeon has evolved to become an actor-led, interactive experience. The Dungeon is operated by Merlin Entertainments.

There are several scenes of attraction in this area. It captures some "horrible history" scene that takes you to a live experience of how the horrible history. It wants you to be scared and horrified. Unfortunately, they don't quite succeed in getting my attraction to their experience. I find it more to be disgusting than scary or terrified. Maybe because I was already used to Indonesian or any Asian horror scene so that London Dungeon felt nothing for me. I cannot also take any pictures inside the London Dungeon since camera are not allowed.

We spent around 3 hours in that area. We also felt very hungry after the London Dungeon attraction. It makes sense since we have not got our lunch yet. So again, with an underground train, we take a ride to London's China Town. There are lot's of Chinese Restaurant located in that area. It is just like little China. We stopped at one of a Chinese bakery to buy my self some pieces of Egg Tart. I've been so wanting these egg tart since ages ago. Finally I can buy some Egg Tart in the UK.

After that, we stopped atone of the Chinese restaurant to buy Dumplings. That restaurant was small and it was the cheapest that we can find in that area. The waitress were not friendly at all. I think that restaurant is a small family owned restaurant operated by all the family members. In that restaurant we can see a Live attraction of the mother making the dumplings. It was attractive to me since I have never seen people making traditional Chinese Dumplings before.

A portion of Dumplings cost GBP 6 consisting 6 dumplings inside. It was quite expensive compared to the food we eat the other day. But it was fine since we needed the experience. We have to eat in the London China town somehow.

Spending a couple of minutes eating and resting our self were a great treat. But we do not want to spend time much longer since we were already very tired. My feet feels awful. So right after we finished our meal, we went back to the underground station and return back to our hotel. That day was enough for us.

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London Trip Part 3: Second Day in London

05:39 Handini Audita 0 Comments

A great night sleep is the best thing to begin a wonderful day. I woke up very well. I am so exited for our first day in London. I took shower as soon as I woke up. Then fulfilled my stomach with instant oat meal and instant cream soup for breakfast. We also have the chance to make our self a cup of tea. This is one of the advantage of living in hotel during holiday. Even though it is a budget hotel.

After having our stomach fulfilled, we head to the underground station to go to the Waterloo station. That is where the London eye and Big Ben is located. The weather is not that bright. Small showers happens that day. But it was still fine.



We start by queuing in a long line to get the ticket to the London eye. Luckily in that day, there is a special offer to receive 25% off if we buy three location ticket at one time. So we decide to buy ticket of London Eye, Madame Tussaud, and London Dungeon. We payed GBP 63 for these. Once again, gosh that is a lot of money.. We are students..! Damn crazy students...!

So we took a ride in the London Eye. Cannot see too much stuff though. A bit disappointed. More over, there was little showers. So it quite disturbs the view. But it was fine. It was worth an experience. We never know when we will be back in London.



After having our experience in the London Eye, rains starts to pour. So it is impossible to take good pictures with the Big Ben. So we decided to put that aside and return to the Big Ben some other day during our trip in London. Because of the wind and the rain, we started to feel hungry. Maybe it is also because we have not eaten lunch. So we stopped at a nearby small restaurants. We ordered our self a "Traditional British Breakfast" meal deal. It is breakfast menu eaten for lunch. The reason for choosing that is simple. It is the cheapest price we got. hahahahaha...



The food was awesome. It was my first time experiencing the Traditional British Breakfast. We payed GBP 5 for this meal including the drinks. After we are full, we head to the underground station to go to Baker Street, where Madame Tussaud is located.

I was so excited to go to Madame Tussaud. It was my first time also. I cannot wait to take pictures with my favorite celebrity wax statues. Even though it was very crowded at Madame Tussaud at that day, I was very happy with the experience given. We are not only able to take pictures with celebrity wax statues, but there are also some interesting rides that are so much fun. There are London History taxi ride, 4D cartoon movie, and some terrifying horror ride. It was so much fun. I took so many pictures with the wax statues.

I took pictures with Edward and Jacob...^^



I took pictures with Prince Harry...^^



I took pictures with Prince William....^^



With an Indian Star that I forgot the name...^^



And also, with SHREK...^^



So much fun but exhausting day. we were very tired and hungry after we finish our tour in Madame Tussaud. So we decided to go straight back to our hotel and have dinner at some restaurants near our hotel.

Without plan, when the underground train reaches Piccadilly Circus, my friend said that we need to stop there for a while. It is a wonderful place he said. Not that popular among students and tourists, but it is great. So we stopped and went out from the station.

And yes... It was great..!!!! Piccadilly Circus is like London's Time Square. There are many electronics billboard. Many people were also gathering in the place. It was so crowded but lively. We take a moment to take pictures there. An amazing London's Time Square.




Being tired and hungry enough for that day. We had so much fun. We head back to our hotel location. Arriving at Colliers Wood again, we stopped to have dinner at Nando's near our hotel to eat Grilled Chicken. We went back to our hotel as soon as we finished eating. I rest my self for a while, then continue to have a great warm bubble bath. After a nice warm bubble bath I head back to sleep. What a wonderful day.. Oh I love life....

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London Trip Part 2: First day in London

04:43 Handini Audita 0 Comments

The day has arrived. The day where we were supposed to leave for London. It was Thursday, 16 February 2012. We had class and presentation until 16:30 at school. Our bus leaves at 22:00 from Glasgow to London. Right after we finished our class, we went home directly. We packed our bags, and eat dinner. We leave our flat at 21:00 heading to Glasgow Buchanan Bus Station. To reach the bus station, we will only need a 30 minutes walk. We stopped for a while in Sainsburry (UK mini market) to buy our self drinks and snacks for the trip. Finally we've reached the bus station after a couple of minutes. We arrived in a perfect time. Not too early, not too late.

As the bus arrive, we head our self to enter the bus. We showed our tickets then enter the bus. There are no seat number on the ticket so we can choose our own seat. There are not so many passengers in the bus, so each person could take two seats. That's a good thing though. So we can rest well in bus.

We choose seats that are somewhere in the middle of the bus. We were happy in the beginning to receive the middle seat. But after the bus go, and people went in and out the toilet provided in the bus, our seat becomes so uncomfortable because we can smell the unpleasant smell from the toilet located at the back of the bus. Damn, we made the wrong choice...

I was also very difficult for me to sleep well. Maybe because I am not very used to sleep while seating. But I always keep the positive things in mind considering that I will have a big interview the next day. So I try my best to shut my eyes and get some sleep.

Finally, the bus trip arrived at London Victoria bus station. It arrives very early in the morning at around 06:30. Cafes and restaurants are not even open yet. People were walking so fast since they already know where they are heading. As a tourist having the first time visiting London, we found it quite difficult to know where we should head for the underground station. There are no maps. There are no people available to ask. So we rely on my friend phone GPS. After a couple of minutes walk, we finally found the underground station.



After arriving in the Underground Station, we buy an "Oyster Card". This card is a top up card for public transportation in London. For tourist, I find it important to have an oyster card since there is a big probability for us to be uncertain about our trip. "Oyster card" can be used for underground subways, or city bus. So it is very convenient to have one. The first thing you should do is buy an "Oyster Card". To do so, you will need to give a GBP 5 deposit. After that you can top up your oyster card and use it for your ticket of transportation.

Then we do small learning on the Underground Map. My friend is from China and he is very used to reading underground map when he was living in Beijing. So first thing is that we need to find the nearest underground station stops to my office location. The nearest one is in Bond Street. So we head to the Bond Street with the underground train.

It took only 5 minutes with the underground train to reach Bond Street station. Since coffee shop and restaurants are not opened yet, we decided to take a walk to find the exact location of the office in which I will be interviewed at noon. We have found and reached 20 Manchester Square, London.

The office is located in the city center. So we decided to walk through some coffee shops that are ready to open. Luckily, just near the office location, we found a Starbucks coffee shop that are already opened. Their coffee shop also had a great place to rest. It has a good place also for my friend to wait while I was being interviewed. So we have breakfast at Starbucks. Not forgetting to drink some coffee to keep myself awake.

After that, I got my self prepared for the interview. Get well dressed with good make up. Here's the day... Off I went for the interview.



The interview took about 3 hours. Very long interview right? My brain was very tired also. I head back to Startbucks where my friend is waiting for me. He is very nice willing to wait for me in that coffee shop with our luggage.

We are very tired. Need some rest. So we head directly to our hotel. Again, with the underground subway train.

It took about 15 minutes train ride. Not bad. We are happy to finally reached "Colliers Wood" station where our hotel is located nearby. We are very happy to see that our hotel were fully surrounded by groceries stores, fast food restaurants, and supermarkets. More over, we are very happy to receive such a great room. It was more than how we expect it to be.

The beds were awesome. There was one double sized bed and one single sized bed. I got to sleep at the double sized bed. My friend sleeps in the single sized bed. He is such a gentleman..:p



The bathroom was also wonderful. Having fulfilled with a bath tub. Hot water were running fast. Gosh I love the room...



We put our bags in our room. I take the opportunity to change my business attire clothing to a more casual clothing. After that we go to Sainsburry located right in front of our hotel to buy snacks and fruits to keep our self occupied during our stay in the hotel. We also have dinner at KFC located just right beside the hotel for dinner. we spend GBP 4 for a very full dinner. Great bargain.

There it was. After a long tiring day, finally we have our self the chance to have a good quality rest. We take a couple of time planning our trip for the next day before we decided to sleep. My body and brain was so tired that I sleep really well at that night.

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London Trip Part 1: The Planning Process

03:26 Handini Audita 0 Comments

One day I had an job interview invitation from one of the world biggest consulting company. The interview is held on London, United Kingdom. The distance between Glasgow and London is quite far. It needs an approximately 9 hours by bus, or around 5 hours train trip. The price of the tickets were not cheap also.

I thought to my self, it might be good if I take a short brake from school and spend more time in London. So if I don't get the job, I don't feel too disappointed because at least I got a good holiday. I looked at my academic calender. The interview will be held on the Friday, 17 February 2012. I got one morning class on that day. I think to my self, "Well, I can ask permission from the lecture". The best thing is that I don't have a class on Monday. Yayy... I can spend 3 days in London then...

So I contact one of my best friend. I ask him if he would like to go with me or not to London. I explain to him the conditions. Surprisingly, he happily willing to join the trip.

We do not do much planning on our trip because the time is actually very limited and we are hell busy with our courses and assignments. But arranging our transportation and our stay way ahead is very important to receive the best deal with cheaper price.

During our class before we book our tickets, we were talking about a friend of ours in class. She is a Russian. She suggested us to go and see the ticket price by one of a new Bus company in UK. She said that their price is very competitive since they are still striving to penetrate the market.

So after we finish the class, we search for tickets to London. We compare prices among companies. We also compare prices and schedules between train, bus, and plane. For sure, the price of the plane is hell expensive. And the train ticket price is also not far different with the plane. So we decided to take the 9 hours bus trip to London. It sucks, but what can we do with a budget limited condition? We paid GBP 80 for two return bus ticket. So per person is GBP 40 return. Not bad for the trip from Glasgow to London.

Next thing we do is book a place to stay. Housing in London can be very expensive. Especially if you want to live around the city center. However, there are a lot of affordable Hostels available around the city center area. We can book from lots of travel websites. One of the example is www.hostelworld.com.

Since we are going to stay in London during week end, we found difficulties to find hostels available during the week end. We have to move from one room to another for this case. It is very uncomfortable. In addition, we keep on hearing bad memories from our friends about their experiences living in hostels. Many said it was uncomfortable, not save, and impossible to get a good rest. The only good thing I hear from my friend about the hostels is that the price is cheap and we will be able to meet new people.

My friend is very picky when it comes to comfort. So he suggested, let's give a little more budget for our stay but spend less on food. he suggested to stay in a budget hotel that is located a bit far from the city center which offer far more cheaper price. In London, distance does not matter as long as there is an Underground Station nearby. Traveling via underground is cheap and fast.

So we start to browse for hotel through some travel websites. We compare prices. we have our heart in Premier Inn hotel. We compare the price in the travel websites with the price in their official website. The price in their official website is cheaper.

We browse every Premier Inn alternative in London. We like the Premier Inn Wimbledon South London. The reason behind that is the hotel located not far from the Underground Station, not far from groceries stores, and surrounded by fast food restaurants. Yeyy... We can save money by eating in fast food restaurants during our holiday...!!!

So we decided to book the rooms online via their official websites. If you book via their official website, you can select a "super saver" price that is way cheaper compared to their original price. The "super saver" price is a room only price with a no cancellation policy. This is a great bargain if you already know from when until when are you going to stay in their hotel. We pay GBP 178 for 3 nights stay. So assuming we divide the bill, we pay GBP 89 per person for 3 nights. So it will be around GBP 30 per person per night. Well it's a lot expensive compared if we stayed in Hostels, but at least we are sure to receive a great save rest during our holiday.

There we have it. We have got our tickets and hotels prepared. The next thing to plan is what will we be doing in London. Well, we don't have an exact plan for that since I was so focused with my interview. So we decided to go with the flow.

0 comments:

The Temptation

18:59 Handini Audita 0 Comments


Last month my mom send me books from Indonesia as I requested. One of the books is "Hermes Temptation" which is written by one of my favourite Indonesian author, Alexandra Dewi. It was a book written by an Indonesian Author, about the Indonesian women, but written in English. Well, bravo for Alexandra Dewi..!!! However, because of school assignment and many other constraints, I have not got the chance to read it.

So last night, as I was trying my best to sleep (since I have sleeping difficulties), I've got my eyes caught looking at my bookshelf. There it was, a book which I requested to be sent by my mother from Indonesia to United Kingdom a month ago. The book had experienced a long trip right?

So I decided to take that book. I flipped pages of that book. I was very entertained with many cartoon pictures in that book which illustrates the stories that the author talk about.



I focus my self reading the introduction of the book. There she was telling us stories about how she (the author) and her best friend got caught up in the crazy world of being Hermes reseller. She tells us also how crazy are Indonesian women about this luxurious handbag.

I reached to the part where she tells a story about when she starts being a reseller by creating 7 BlackBerry Group, having 30 members in each group. She describe how hectic it was to serve these women being adored by these Hermes handbags. Inquiries from people asking about the bags were pouring so much, that her BlackBerry were starting to freeze. Their lives were starting to fall apart because about 80% of their working hours were spent inside their BlackBerry answering queries, explaining things, and negotiating. They even have to bring their BlackBerry while they were eating, watching tv, reading, and even going to the bath room, just in case there is "pop-up" alerting from their customers.

I had my self smiling and laughing as I read this part of the story. There's nothing funny there, but why did I laugh?

That story reminds me exactly of how I was a year ago when I was still reseller of these women bags.
I remember how my boyfriend used to hate it so much when we are traveling in our car and I have myself busy chatting with my customer through BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) instead of having my self talking to him while he drive. I remember how he used to try to put down my BlackBerry by taking it and put in the front drawer of the car. I remember how I used to negotiate with him that I will serve this last customer, and then I'll finish my chat in my BlackBerry afterwards.

I also remember how I always have myself busy with the BBM while I was eating. I will have my hand bringing the spoon full of food to my mouth, and then continue to type the chit-chat in my BlackBerry.

Damn my life was so tempted with the BlackBerry and the "bags" at that time.

"God.. Please lead us not into temptation.."

But don't get me wrong.. I was actually addicted to this. I was so addicted that I conduct this job for more than 2 years. I had to stop at the end of 2011 because I have to fly to UK for my study.

I am addicted of being in touch with women from all over Indonesia who has the same temptation with me to these handbags. It is a lot of pleasure having them satisfied with my answers, willing to purchase, and then satisfied with the purchase. I am addicted to "convincing women for their bags".

I am also very addicted to the dynamic of this business. Conducting this business is like a window shopping everyday. We shop for bags that we think is cute and adorable, then re-sell them to our customer. As a shoppaholic, this has satisfy my "desire to purchase" every time I see a cute and adorable handbags. The best thing about it is that I am able to satisfy my desire without getting my self bankrupt.. Hahahahaha..

Anyway, being a reseller is not always fun and happy though.. There are some downturn. I've experience many of these unpleasant things. I have experience having an unfaithful customer, bad suppliers, and even having my self stuck in the tax and custom office because my bags had problems there.

But out of those bad experience that happens while I was a reseller of these bags, I never regret a thing. It was a wonderful experience being a re-seller of these wonderful women handbags for almost more than two years. Whether I will continue in the future or not, only God knows..

With Love,
From Me, To You...

0 comments:

Happy Birthday Mama Awied

18:52 Handini Audita 0 Comments


26 February was Mama Awied birthday..

Mama Awied is my beloved aunt.

I know this post was late a day. I have it in my mind to write a post in my blog about my aunt, but I did not have the time to do it on Sunday. Well it is better late than nothing.. So this post is fully dedicated to her for her birthday.

I love my aunt so much. My love for her is so big, that it is nearly as equal to my love for my mom.

My aunt is a wonderful women. During my life, she teaches me many things. She introduced me to many wonderful things too. More over, she has many wonderful wisdom that inspires me through my life.

When I was young, I enjoyed sitting at my aunt room to see her doing her make up. I love to see how well she draws her eye brow, fill her lips with colors, and blush her cheek with soft colors.
"She makes me fall in love with make up"


My aunt is very stylish. She is very good at "mix and match" clothing and make it looks fabulous. She has the heart of fashion.
"She introduces me to fashion"


As I grow up, my aunt teaches me about investment. Not heavy investment like stock trading, but she teaches me how to invest on your belongings. She told me to spend less on artificial accessories. Instead, she told me to save my money to buy real gold or diamond accessories. You can invest on them because their price will continue to rise while you have your self enjoying wearing it for your fashion sake.
"She teaches me to be smart on what you buy"


As I have myself busy with my life and work, she always reminds me to remember God. No matter how busy you are, you have to spare your time to pray for your God. No matter how healthy, wealthy, and happy you are, always remember that God is the one who makes it happens.
"She teaches me to remember God in any situation"


As I have myself committed in a serious relationship, she showed me how important it is to support your partner in life. She showed me the power of women being able to play an important role behind the scene of their spouse career.
"She teaches me to be the number one supporter to your spouse"


As I have my self preparing to face the future, she showed me how important it is for women to be able to seek on opportunities. She showed that opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes. What we need is a good eye, heart, and brain to capture the opportunities. She showed that you should try your best to go for any good opportunities in your life because God plan is unpredictable. In Indonesian we called it "Rezeki mana ada yang tahu".
"She teaches me to always be open to opportunities"


26 February was her Birthday..
Once again I would like to say "Happy Birthday"..!!!

Thank you for the love and care you give to me.

Thank you for the lessons and wisdom you had given to my life.

May God bless you always..

I Love you..

0 comments:

Craving For Macaron

03:18 Handini Audita 0 Comments

Sweet Macaron....!!!!!

My favorite sweet ever.. I've always loved this sweet. Back in Indonesia, Macaron can be really costly or expensive. I've been wanting this sweet since months ago. But I just cannot find where Macaron is sold in Glasgow. So today, I decided to browse how to make a Macaron. Looking at the instruction, it seems to be very difficult to make. But since I really want it so bad, so I just give it a try by modifying some parts.

So I went to Aldi in the morning to buy some eggs, ground almond powder, and icing sugar. Only spent around GBP 3 for this. So it is not expensive at all.

After arriving home, I decided to take a try on the recipe. Here are the modified recipe that is a GREAT SUCCESS...!!!!

Ingredients For The Meringue:
4 Egg White
Pinch of Salt
Mixture 1 = 60gr Sugar + 140gr Icing Sugar (Shift Well)
Mixture 2 = 190gr ground Almond Powder + 190gr Icing Sugar (Shift Well)
Drops of Food Coloring

Ingredients For Cream:
200ml Double Cream
2tbs Icing Sugar
1tbs Strawberry Jam

How To Make The Cream:
1. Mix the double cream and Icing sugar in a high speed mixer until stiff.

2. Mix with strawberry jam with low speed mixer until well cooperated.

3. Put in food container, then store in the fridge.

How To Make Meringue:
1. Mix Egg White and Pinch of Salt with high speed mixer until very stiff.

2. Mix "Mixture 1" to the egg white mixture with slow speed mixer. Mix until it is well cooperated. Do not over mix.

3. Turn off the mixer. Add "Mixture 2" into the bowl of mixture. Stir well with a spatula by continuously folding the batter.

4. When it is already perfectly mixed, add food coloring. Do not put too much. Mix well again.

5. Pipe in small equally sized round shape with an icing plastic bag.

6. Smack the plate hard. Then leave in room temperature for 45 minutes.



7. After that, put in the oven of 150 degree Celcius of pre-heated oven. Heat for 20 minutes.

8. Take out from the oven. Wait until it is completely cool. Then you can fill the Meringue with the cream fillings. Then make it into a sandwich.





There you have it.. Your fresh home made Macaron...

Great for Parties..
Great to impress..

Even my baby boy loves it so much...

Bon Appetit...^^

0 comments:

Living Simple: Warren Buffet Way

21:54 Handini Audita 1 Comments

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the world second richest man who has donated USD 31 Billion to charity. There are some facts of his life that could bring inspiration to people. Including myself. Here are a couple of interesting aspects of Warren Buffet life:

1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
"Things were cheap that time.. Encourage your children to invest"


2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
"One could bought many things with little savings... Encourage your children to start some kind of business"


3. He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
"Don't buy more than what you really need and encourage your children to do and think the same"


4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
"You are what you are"


5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world largest private jet company.
"Always think about how you can accomplish things economically"


6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals of the year. He never hold meetings or call them in a regular basis.
"Assign the right people to do the right jobs"


7. He has given his CEO's only two rules.
"RULE NUMBER 1:Do not loose any of your shareholders money"
"RULE NUMBER 2:Do not forget rule number 1"
"Set goals and make sure people focus on them"


8. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.
"Don't try to show off. Just be your self and enjoy what you enjoyed doing"



His Advice For Young People:
Stay away from credit cards (bank loans) and invest in your self. And remember:
A. Money does not create man, but it is the man who created money.
B. Live your life as simple as you are.
C. Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel good.
D. Don't go on brand name. Just wear those things that makes you comfortable.
E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things. Just spend on the who really in need rather.
F. After all, it's your life. Why give chance to others to rule our life.



"The HAPPIEST people DO NOT necessarily have the 'BEST' THINGS. The simply APPRECIATE the things they have"




Let us choose a simpler and smarter way to live..

1 comments:

Pempek, something I really missed from home..

04:10 Handini Audita 3 Comments

Living far away from home sometime gives this very unpleasant feeling of missing the taste of the original traditional food from home country. Pempek, is one of the Indonesian traditional food that I missed a lot. This dish can be simply explained as fish nuggets dipped in a sweet and sour sauce. With ingredients that are limited available in the UK, my friend and I tried to make a modified version of Pempek. The fish being used should have been a special fish called "Ikan Tengiri". I don't know the actual English word for it, but when I Google it, some says that in English they called it "Spanish Mackerel". Since we cannot find the Spanish Mackerel in Glasgow, so we decide to try using "Sea Bass" because the shape and texture of the meat is similar to the "Ikan Tengiri" that we should use. So here are the ingredients for my "first try" piece of Pempek.

Ingredients For The Fish Nugget:
200gr "Seabass" Fish or "Ikan Tengiri" (Blended)
150gr Tapioca Flour
50gr Plain Flour
2 tbs Melted Butter
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tbs Salt
Water to boil + 2 tbs Vegetable Oil
Plain Flour to cover the dough
Vegetable oil to deep fry

Ingredients For The Sauce:
100gr Palm Sugar (Gula Jawa)
2 tbs Vinegar
1 tsp Blended Garlic
3 tbs Tamarind Paste
300ml water
Fresh Blended Chilly / Chilly Powder (according to taste)

How To Make The Fish Nugget:
1. Mix all the ingredients of the fish nugget well until the texture is like a "play dough".

2. Shape it into balls of long oval balls, then boil with water + oil. Boil well until the dough is floating in the boiled water. When the dough is floating, keep boiling for about 5 minutes so it will be cooked well.

3. After cooked well, take out the floating dough, cover with plain flour so it will not stick from one to the other. Leave to cool down.

4. After cooled, deep fry the Fish nugget with medium heat until it is golden brown.

How To Make The Sauce:
1. Boil all the sauce ingredients together.

To serve this dish, you can cut the fried fish nuggets into small pieces. Put it in a bowl, then cover it with the sweet ans sour sauce. This dish usually is not served while hot. It's better served when it has been cool down in a room temperature. The sensation of this dish is on the sour that are combined with the sweet and spicy. Using "Sea Bass" as the fish used in this dish does not taste as good as when using "Ikan Tengiri". But it is just fine to cure my feeling of missing the taste of my favorite traditional food.

Bon Appetit....^^

3 comments:

Smoked Salmon Sushi

03:28 Handini Audita 0 Comments

SUSHIIIIIII..........!!!!!
One of my favorite food. This traditional Japanese food really take my breath away. It's very nice and in fact very easy to make. As a student studying in Glasgow, I currently live in one of the student accommodation outside campus. My flat mate, who comes from Malaysia, teaches me how to make such a simple sushi. It's very simple to make. It is also very fun to make. However it needs special ingredients that should be bought in Asian Supermarket. We need to buy special sushi rice and rice vinegar. This special sushi rice is more sticky compared to the full grain rice that are sold in local supermarkets. Rice vinegar is also special. It is not too sour and it gives very rich sweet flavor to the rice. The sea weed paper, or what is called "Nori" is also needed as the cover of the Sushi. You will also need a special bamboo roll to make the round shape of the sushi.

For the fillings, I just have smoked salmon that I bought in Aldi. Normally, people like to put Cucumber, eggs, carrot, tuna, avocado, and crab stick as the fillings. But I just like the smoked salmon and mayonnaise as the fillings. Smoked Salmon are already been in a cooking process so I don't have the feeling of eating raw materials. To be noted, you can put anything you like as the fillings. Everything depends on your taste. So here is how to make the simple sushi.

Ingredients:
250gr Sushi Rice
2 layer sea weed paper (Nori)
1 tbs Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
100gr Smoked Salmon
Mayonnaise

Tools:
Spoons
Bowl
Plate
Knife
Cutting Board
Bamboo Roll
Rice Cooker

How To Make:
1. With a rice cooker, cook the sushi rice. Don't forget to put enough water in it. Not too much, not too little. A dip of a finger is enough.

2. After the rice is cooked, put in a big plate and place to cool. When it is 100% cool, add evenly the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix well until it is well spread. Divide into two even parts.

3. Put the sea weed paper (Nori) on top of the Bamboo Roll. Wet your hand with water then place evenly the rice on top of the Nori. Press the rice so it will be tight together. Spread evenly mayonnaise. Then put layers of Smoked Salmon on the top quarter part.

4. Roll tightly the sushi.

5. Follow the same steps for the second roll.

6. Cut the sushi into small pieces with a very sharp knife. Make sure you don't cut it too small so that the sushi is able to stand.

This can make about 14 pieces of sushi. The Sushi is best eaten with salty soy sauce. But I personally don't like salty soy sauce.

Bon Appetit....^^

0 comments:

The Awkward Day

21:07 Handini Audita 0 Comments

Today was an awkward day. Why awkward? Because my mood is very uncertain. I don't know whether I should be in a good mood or not. First I had this wonderful dream during my sleep. But then, when it gets to the part where it is my very favorite part, the fire alarm rang. The loud annoying sound of the fire alarm successfully make me awake from my wonderful dream. It was not a good start to begin this day.

So as usual, I check my BlackBerry. There is this surprising email. An email of job interview invitation at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), London, United Kingdom. I know this is a very very very good news. But I just don't know why the happiness just last for about 30 minutes. Since it is in London, I have to book flight tickets and hotels. Yes, this will cost a lot. This "money factor" really destroy my mood.

It becomes awkward since everything that happens in the beginning of the morning really effects my mood. I become very very impatience.

This is awkward.. Even the article that I am writing and you are reading right now is very awkward..

0 comments: