Apple Pie

I have been wanting to learn to make (or is it to bake ?) an apple pie, ever since a Dutch friend taught me how to. But that was a very long time ago, and I lost the recipe she gave me (sorry Jazz !)

The other day, I was so bored, and was just surfing here and there, and finally stumbled upon this nice blog "seTiap langkahku...", and I was like, 'hmm... this one looks kind of simple to make, perhaps it's worth to try'. So I tried.

And, voila ....



At first attempt, it didn't taste so good, was okay, but not that good. So I tried to 'modify' the original recipe that I got from mba Ine , added some of the ingredients. And finally, it tasted a lot better. Hahaha, I am so happy ! :-)
At last .......... I can bake an apple pie !! Thanks so much mba Ine !

Here's there recipe, the modified one, if you wanna see the 'original' one then go to mba Ine's blog

Ingredients :

I. Fillings :
- 500gr of apples, sliced into small pieces
- 50gr of raisins
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder
- 100gr of sugar
- 1/2 cup of water

II. Crust :
- 250gr of flour
- 2 egg yolks ( 1 for brushing the surface)
- 50gr of powdered sugar
- 125gr of margarine
- a pinch of salt
- a bit of cold water, not too much.

Directions :

I. Fillings : cook all the ingredients until the water (almost) runs dry and the apples are softer, dont forget to stir it once in a while. Let it cool off.

II. Crust :
1. Mix all the 'II' ingredients, use a pastry blender (I dont have one, so I just use my both hands hehe ...)
2. Split it into two pieces and put it in the fridge for 15 mins.
3. Flatten them using a rolling pin into 1/2 cm of thickness, gently place it onto the pan, use a fork to make holes on the dough so when it's baked, the dough won't rise. Flatten the other dough as well to cover the surface.
4. Pour the cooked 'I' ingredients into the dough.
5. Place the rest of the flatten dough on top of it.
6. Brush the surface with egg yolk
7. Baked for around 60 min. (well, I used my Mom's very old oven, so it took longer).

If you tried the recipe above and it tasted awful, haha then I dont know what's wrong, it worked just fine for me. Perhaps you should go look for another recipe on the web ;-)

Happy Idul Fitri 1430 H

It is always hard.
For the past two years, just the thought of Ramadan was coming, would instantly melt me, thinking of you're not here with us anymore to celebrate the Hari Raya Idul Fitri.
I wonder when will I ever get this feeling go away, but then would that means I finally managed to forget you ? I don't think I would want that either.



People might think that I (or Mama or Kandar) am too sentimental about you. But perhaps that's because they've never ever felt of losing someone whom so very close to them, or perhaps, they're just stronger that I am.

I am thinking of you, always, in every breath I take, see you in every corner and dreams, feeling you close to me as if you were just miles away from us, not really gone forever. But what I am missing so much of you is to hear you calling out my name, to hear you laughing and tell stories, to feel your warm hand caressing my head.
Prayers after prayers I wish for you, and yet I still feel I haven't prayed so much for you.
How I miss you Pa ...

May Allah always Showered you with countless blessings and forgive every mistake you did.

As for me, God has given me so much blessings already this year, and I am happy that I could share those blessings with some people whom needed it most. I am very grateful of what I got, families and friends who were always there to help us. Thank you for those who's been always remembered and helped us, and for sticking up with us after all these years without expecting something in return. May God blessed them all. Amien ..

Diklat PBJ Angkatan VI 2009

It seems like I only write on this blog of mine whenever I attended a course/training. Perhaps because that was the only time that's worth to write on, perhaps I have been too busy lately, or perhaps I was just so lazy to write these days.

Two weeks ago, I had to attend this short course about Procurement in Pusdiklat Anggaran & Perbendaharaan, Ciawi Gadog, Bogor. I hated the course, didn't feel like attending it at all, but I did anyway.



I got there on Sunday afternoon, May 24th. I got a room in the E block, it was E02 precisely. There are 3 bedrooms on each block, each bedroom has two single beds. When I got there, the 3 of my roommates were already there, was so shocked knowing that there was no TV and AC provided.
But most of all, I think the dorm was okay, and the food there wasn't that bad at all, although after a few days we got bored with the same menu. Oh and the water didn't go well with my skin, I got rashes ever since I took a shower there.

As time moved on, I tried to start talking to my roommates, while still waiting
for my (bedroom)mate. It was a smooth start in getting to know my new friends, they all were very nice, there was Yetti (whom later we called "Mommie"-just because she's the oldest and married one) from Depag and there was Rosa from KPDT and there was Novi (whom later I called "Ijaaahh"- because on one night, saw her ironing her clothes and it crossed my mind to call her that). I couldn't sleep at all that night. So when the morning came, I felt so tired and sleepy.

When the Opening ceremony, I started to get excited waiting for my roommate, who hadn't showed up yet. Kept guessing around everytime I saw a girl, I was like, could it be her or her ? We all wondered, where and what happened to this "mbak" Gilang Tantri something ( I forgot), how come she hasn't showed up yet ?
We got the answer after lunch ...... Turned out that there was no mbak Gilang, there was "mas" Gilang hahaha !!! Yeap, Gilang is a guy !!! They thought Gilang was a girl, as his name sounds like a girl's so much. So..... the room was all mine .....

My first day didn't go too well, they put me in the front seat/desk, right in front of the lecturer, great, and I felt so very sleepy. I think the lecturer knew exactly I was so sleepy and almost dozed off, which was why he kept asking me questions !! And everytime he asked, I got it all wrong. Darn darn ...

It's so good to have new friends (Joko, I changed my mind, you were right) specially my roommates - Mommie, Rosa, Ijah ....... they're fun people to be with. Every night we would be talking and discussing about the guys haha, and of course a bit of the lectures hehe ... The main topic was mostly about Rosa and her "brondong" and funny stuff that happened during the class. And there was Ika - a cute and a very active girl (specially when it came to taking pics), and Bu Nourma who came all the way from Manado, who always talked dirty ;-), and Ana who cared so much of everything and of course the head of the class, Tommy, who loved taking pics of himself ! :-p

Well, to be honest, I won't expect too much for the exam's result, I did study, but still, some times things just don't go exactly like I expected it to, I did my best in the exam, though I forgot most of the stuff. So I wont be surprised if my name isn't gonna appear in the list.

But I am glad I attended this short course, got some nice new friends, funny ones, and most of all, now I know about Procurement, a bit, compared to those who's been in the field for so long, I am still nothing. :-)
Thanks guys, for making the Procurement course not so bad and boring after all.

Jaq's wedding

Diklat Peneliti Pertama Gel. XIII 2008

Hmmm ......... home at last ... after 3 weeks in the short course about being a Researcher (Peneliti), I feel so relieved, now that it's all over, I don't really care about the result, the point and everything, I did my best in there, that's what the most important, right ? When I was asked the other day, about attending this short course, I was like, "God, why me ? I hate being in a dorm for another 3 weeks", but then it occured to me, good opportunity might not come twice in your life, so I agreed to attend this short course, which was held in Cibinong Science Center. We stayed in a room for 3. My roommates were Nayla and Fitri. They had been a very nice roommates, they helped and supported me in studying.

The first 2 days, we had this activity called "outbound", where we played some games in groups / teams, there were 3 teams, Red, Blue and Yellow teams, I was in the Red team. I didn't like playing in those games, I knew that the games were gonna be exhausted ones, so when there was an offer about being an observer of the games, I pretended being sick, then the head of the team, Effendi allowed me to be the observer, haha ! When I, and the other observers from the other teams was told what we should do as an observer and that in the end, we should give a presentation about our task, I was like, "WHAT ?!", that was even worse than playing those games, I hate being stared at by so many people. Always makes me nervous. So I ended up giving a presentation that afternoon, not bad, though I didn't exactly know what I said or did, I managed to make the audience laughed, haha, they probably laughed at me anyway, but I don't care, I did what I had to do.

Days passed, we got to know each other, I like my new friends, they're nice people, and darn smart ones too. Although I think, that we weren't that close as I was in the Prajab, Prajab was more intense. Maybe because I didn't get the chance of being in a study group with some of them, I ended up in a group with the same people for a few times. In Prajab, we always studied in groups, and the groups were different everytime, so I (or the rest of the class XIV) got to know each other, knew each other's thoughts about some things... despites all those things, I still like my new friends ! :-)
There were Nayla and Fitri, whom busy match-making people, including me ! So when I told them that I liked watching this guy in our class, they went busy guessing every night and day, "is it ... ? or is it ... ? maybe it's ... " haha they even used a methodology in their research about me ! I told them, that I only liked to watch him, nothing more, no bla bla bla feelings or anything, it was simply because he was kind of cool and good to watch, that was it. They still don't know who he was haha.... Although I think, the dude knew that I was watching him. Hehe .. if you knew who you are, I didn't mean anything, I just liked watching you in the classroom. :-)
And then there was Effendi, whom busy finding a girl to be his second wife, funny and always sleepy and yawning in the class but very nice, he bought us chicken noodles and siomay, hehe ..
There was Riyan, who made me all blushed when he was taking my pic, I was like, "darn, why on earth am I even blushing now ?" (Riyan nyebelin dehh !)
There were Inul and Dani, who always teased me about "cumi ..cumi..and cumi !" I wonder why did they serve cumi when I wasn't there ? Not even on my last day !! Darn..
There was Sonny, whom busy chasing one girl to another haha ! Ohh..... and then there was Sofyan and his unspoken love ... hehe.. :-p It wasn't a secret anymore that Sofyan falls for Wening, even the Professor knows about it. That night, the farewell party night, I (and probably the others too) was expecting to witness he spoke out his feelings to Wening, but it didn't happen, bummer. :-(

We got busy when it was time to submitted our paper, and presented it. I was sooo very nervous, was so afraid that I would fail this presentation test, was worried that I wouldn't be able to answer the questions. I put a lot of work and energy in writing this paper. Nayla and Fitri had been very helpful, but Ery saved my a#@ ! She was there to be my second guidance, after Prof. Bambang, she was there for me night and day. And when the presetation day came, she was still there, and Mom, and Nayla and Fitri, and my Genie was there too helping me out about the Near Infrared, everyones wished me good luck. I felt very lucky, realized that I still got people around me who care about me. And I remembered what Paulo Coelho said in his book - The Alchemist, "When you want something, all the universe will conspires in helping you to achieve it", I felt that so much during my presentation test day. I wanted to pass this presentation test so much. So I did my best. For those who had helped me out, thank you so much. And Ery, thanks again, for switching on the light above my head.

When I was asked, why do I want to be a Researcher (Peneliti) ? I couldn't think of anything smart to answered that question. I just told them that it's the only choice there is besides being a 'Perekayasa' (hehe ... I am not sure what it says in English). The truth is, I wanna be a Researcher, just like my Dad, he was so proud and loved being a Researcher, he was nearly being an APU (Ahli Peneliti Utama), he always got excited of being a Professor, but God loves him more, so he never got the chance to feel or to be a Prof. So here I am, taking my first step in following your dream Pa.. (I am missing you, always).

Diklat Peneliti Pertama Gel. XIII 2008

Another short course, for another 3 weeks, stayed in another dorm.
Was okay, the people, the facilities, the lecturer. It's always great to meet and know new friends.

Idul Fitri 2008

Hmm ... hari pertama masuk kerja, kantor masih sepiiii bangett, mungkin masih pada dikampung halaman, atau masih cape dari pulang mudik.

Jadi ngantuk ...

Hingga tahun lalu, saat takbir dikumandangkan dimana-mana, suara itu terdengar begitu indahnya, penuh dengan rasa suka cita.

Tahun ini terasa lain, karena tanpa Bapak ...

Takbir itu jadi terasa menyakitkan Pa, menyayat hati. Seandainya ... seandainya .. ya Allah ... tapi tak ada yang berdaya untuk melawan kuasaMu.

"Ogut rindu banget deh sama bondeng", itu yang kadang kita berdua ucapkan.
Saya kangeeennn banget sama Bapak, semoga Allah selalu memberikan rahmatNya kepada Bapak. Amien ...

Liburan

I decided to take a week off and went to visit my Aunt in Surabaya. She runs an eating place called "Marica" in Waru-Sidoarjo, their special menu is fish, Gurami (Gurame) fish, whether it's fried or roasted (or is it grilled ?), mmmmmmmm yum yum ....




We took a train called "Bima", took 12 hours to get to Surabaya, stopped at Gubeng station. We arrived around 6 in the morning. After a brief rest, we all went to Batu - Malang, was great, the mountains and hills. Malang is well-known for their apples, green apples, taste sooooo sweeett..



On our way back, there was a traffic, so we stopped by at this hotel for a while, just to avoid the traffic. The hotel was old, was a Dutch remains. It's a five stories building, but only 3 stories are used (operated), rumor has it, the 4th and the 5th floors are haunted.




The next day, my uncle decided to take us to Bali, for only a day. Was a long exhausted trip. But it was worth it, unfortunately, when we got there, it was the Galungan day, so most of the shops are closed, no Angkot around as well, although we managed to get one, he said he is a Moslem, so he didnt take a day off on Galungan day. Went to Tanah Lot and Kuta beach, did some shopping then went back to Surabaya in the evening. Loved every moment of it.




We also went to see this old Indonesian submarine monument (Monumen Kapal Selam), too bad there was no one around to guide, to explained us about the ship. But it was cool, I got to know what's inside the submarine.