Saturday, April 18, 2009

My Stash


As I was making jewelry, I realized the amount of stash I've got... sometimes when I've snapped out of my zone and look at my working space I wonder how I don't get confused....

Monday, April 13, 2009

Romantic Chapels in Bali

My cousin Anita is getting married in December. She plans to have her wedding in Bali so the couple went to Bali over the Easter holiday to survey chapels to get married in. I decided to tag along with them for some reason. Well... they offered me to come, I didn’t just decide to crash the party.

We saw some pretty amazing chapels in our trip. We were a bit confused at the time because they’re all so stunning! We were visiting some pretty impressive settings and I don't normally get into luxuries but Indonesians like to think of their weddings to be super special and expensive so I guess it's fun to be able to get into it for a bit. I have to admit that I love expensive things though of course it's not like I could afford it for myself :p. Here are photos of the chapel we visited:



This chapel is called "Amanda" a cozy little triangular chapel in front of a pool for a small wedding. It's the only chapel we visited that is not facing straight towards the sea. The pool is multifunction as a scuba-diving practice. The chapel is so small though. It only fit guests up to 30 people so it's not that practical if you want a large wedding.





This chapel is called "Infinity" Conrad hotel. It's one of the chapel we really like. It's facing straight towards Nusa Dua beach and we love the water feature on the side walk to the chapel. I like the lawn space beside the chapel, it that can be used for the reception or parties. The beach in front of it is really alive, there's people doing all sorts of beachy activities and lots of planes flying by.





This is one of the chapel in Ayana resort (the former Ritz Carlton). The plus side of this chapel is that, it's on a cliff... and before the chapel, they've got make up room especially for the couple to get ready before getting in. I totally adore the chapels that are on a cliff better then the ones that are facing straight to the beach.



This is a photo of the view looking down the cliff next to the chapel. Isn't it amazing?!!! You can't see it in this picture, but they had built a deck on this beach where they set up one table. You can book this table for dinner with one other person (your partner of course) in which you will get however many courses of dinner, 2 butlers, 4 musicians, God knows how many dancers, and 4 hours to enjoy dinner in this spot for (only) US$1.500 ++. I know, it's mad, but apparently you'd have to book a year in advance if you want a spot cause they are fully booked most of the time.... I'm jealous at couples who have managed to get engaged there... It would've been sooo damn nice! >.<

This is the other chapel at the former Ritz Carlton, "Ayana". Bigger chapel and facing directly towards the sea. By this point we start to notice that the water feature in front of a chapel is almost like you couldn't build a chapel in Bali without it...

This is the chapel in St. Regis hotel. One of the most expensive hotels in Bali. The entrance is so amazing that we were all so "wowed" by it for about 10 minutes. One villa we visited is facing towards it's own private beach and have it's own private pool. The sand is raked and sifted every morning so it's supposed to be soft as well as good looking. Though I can't help thinking who had to do all that tedious job. Maybe some kid on detention at a school nearby.... It costs US $2850/night to stay in that particular villa. Well, that just made the chapel less of an impression to make than that villa...

After we walked around the hotel, we were all hot and sweaty and they gave us a mocktail. From memory, it was rockmelon and apel juice with a bit of basil in it... farout... who puts basil in their juice?!

We went to Blue Point spa and villa after St Regis and they have this chapel facing the sea on a cliff! This place is crowded with foreign tourist. The left side of the chapel is a pool and there's a lot of people surfing below the cliff. It seems to be a really popular surfing spot here. Reminds me of my friend Dave, I wish I could bring him here and see him getting all excited with the waves and this spunky place. The view here is amazing too by the way. The right side of this chapel are villas also facing the sea. The villas are quite small, but they have their own private pool, also facing the sea... it's so secluded and romantic! =)

This is a chapel is in the shape of a diamond. Pretty impressive on the first sight but then you'd think, "Man... this idea is forcing a bit..." I can't remember exactly the name of the hotel this chapel's in. I definitely like the lawn around the chapel though.

The last day of our trip, we went to this wedding venue in Uluwatu which is toooootally amazing. This chapel is called "Tirta Uluwatu". Again... on a cliff, facing the sea... my kind of location! =) This chapel accomodate up to 50 people. I'm not really sure why this place made so much more impression on me than the others... think it's because of the service. This venue is specially for weddings so the people here are very experienced in dealing with fussy things that most of us aren't used to. Also... they have class and good taste. Even the employers are against bad ideas from the customers. They'd dread to fulfill requests that they thought are bad ideas on the decor, food, amount of extra guests, etc... Talk about integrity in style!

This is the chapel almost right next to "Tirta Uluwatu" run by the same people. This chapel accomodate up to 100 people. If I were rich and get to marry in Bali, I think this would be it. It's on a cliff facing the sea, secluded, small and cozy... a small wedding sounds attractive to me

After this trip, I finally realize the hassle of getting married. It's a tough job if you want it to be THE biggest day of your life. I wonder if I could cope with the decision making when it comes. I wonder if I could have the wedding of my dreams and still be budget... it looks impossible at this point of view.... I just wanna fly my friends from all of over the world to Bali and enjoy that beach in St. Regis with the raked sand and party till the time we have to check out . Oh wait... that's just a party not even a wedding... meh, I'm all confused now.... Well if I don't get inspired for weddings, at least I'm inspired of awesome venues for a kick ass party in Bali!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

My kind of exhibition

Now this is the kind of exhibition I’m into! The one that allows me to shop!!! It’s completely different than the one in Europe. No one cares if I pop my camera out (though, I still feel conscious about it). And I could ask everyone for their name cards and brochure. I love this, especially looking at traditionally influenced handmade things. They even have people doing demo's drawing batik or making blankets using super cool instruments so traditional that you can't just buy them in a shop.

This is a 5 day exhibition held in Jakarta, exhibiting local art. I had taken a couple of photos with my phone because I forgot my camera. Though, as I was about to upload them, it turns out that I don't have the software to convert the file or something like that... so I only took photos with my camera of the things I've bought. Here are some of the things that I have to give you a tiny glimpse of what was there:





Pictured above here are a pair of batik heels. It’s very beautiful and comfortable, but the best thing about it is the price! Rp 125.000 (US $10.50) for a brand new handmade pair.




Then there’s the handmade flowers, made out of unused corn leaves and coconut tree leaves. Check out those delicate petal waves! They are quite fragile and absolutely not waterproof. Pictured here are small red flowers for Rp.5.000 (US $0.40) and Rp 9.000 (US $0.75) for the larger cream ones. Larger flowers were also available for Rp15.000 (US $1. 25). I reckon the world would be a better place if people can be creative in the things they don’t use like this...



A couple of days later, I went back there with my mum and our family friend, Florence. I love Florence, she’s my no.1 customer next to my mum. =) My mum bought me a pair of silver leaf shaped earrings which were very adorable. It was a little over my budget so I would’t have bought it if my mum was’t around. It was Rp280.000 (US $23.3) for a pair. If I can recall correctly, their jewelry workshop is not too far from here....




Then there’s this precious shirt that I was fighting over with a woman. There’s a batik stand that sells really beautiful shirt in a kimono cut but using batik like patterned materials. One lady there was buying absolutely everything. It was obvious that she was going to re-sell them. I wanted this one shirt so bad and I had to beg her to spare me one of her shopping item. Seriously, she had about a hundred shirts and I had to beg her to spare me one. Anyway... so she did ended up giving it to me. It was a bit pricey compared to the other items they have (Rp 300.000, US $25) and I have to re-cut it because it’s too large for me to begin with, but I just love the cut, pattern and the interesting red so it’s going to be really worth it!


Mumbling About Work

It’s finally April. It’s almost 2 am but I can’t sleep because I’m so excited! In the past year I had been working full time at my dad’s office doing whatever is there to do. I work normal hours from 8am-5pm, but going to work takes an hour and twice as long to get back so that's 12 hours in total out from home. It really suck.

I reckon I’ve been a tough kid in the past years. I could cope moving overseas by myself at 13 to a foreign country, foreign food and language. I could also cope moving from the city to the mountains where I have to chop wood for hot showers, and run up and down mountains 3 times a week. I could cope moving places and changing friends, but now it’s time for the real challenge... office work... I have lost against office work. Office work had really beat me down to the grown.

Sitting around on my bum 8 hours a day just made me feel like the living dead, or a marshmallow, or a rock, depending on the weather. And it’s not just that, it’s as boring as hell. I’ve gone through my diseases, my depression, I’ve proved the world that I suck at going to work. Maybe I am totally unemployable... maybe I’m just adunno... made to bum around at home. I wonder how will I survive the world if I can’t cope with discipline and the ‘serious’ stuff. Looking at those people who always mean ‘business’ convinced me that I will never really grow up. I can't take them seriously for some reason...

So, starting this month I’ve moved jobs and been allowed to work part time. Monday-Wednesday. The rest of the time I could pretty much do anything I want! I’m so excited about it I can’t sleep. Actually, every time I think about it I can’t go to sleep. I keep imagining, I could bead more often, draw, write music, arrange my flowers, discover new places, and have more time for people... oh gosh I wonder if I can mush everything in one go!

Ok, done mumbling. Should really go to sleep now...