A Short Catch Up

I would like to say an apology for not updating blog for more than a month, but I feel like I'm such a big head if I say that!

I've just been back from vacation to Singapore, Lombok and Jakarta. A short and sweet one. Back home in Indonesia, apart from enjoying all the food and meeting up again with the loved ones, I was enjoying the hype of pre-presidential election. I watched in television the speeches and interviews of some candidates, and although in my opinion none of them have distinctive program that sets them apart from each other, but I think I know now who I'd vote. ;)

During my 2-week stay there I also witnessed one of Indonesia's strangest case which I think endanger Indonesia's reputation as a democratic nation. It was the biggest headline during my stay there, it's about a modest indonesian woman being jailed for sending around complain email about improper treatment(s) she had received from Omni International Hospital Jakarta. The hospital sued, and she lost. Almost all indonesian blogs and social networking sites reacted to this case, but I missed the momentum in commenting to their postings.

I could not ignore the case of Manohara and Prince of Kelantan Malaysia. The news was everywhere! On top of that, there was also Ambalat issue with Malaysia, abused indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia, in which again, contribute more to the already un-romantic relationship between the two neighbours, Indonesian and Malaysia. I did not have a car to transport me from one point to another in Jakarta that I needed to use taxi to go everywhere. I noticed that in many taxis I was in, there is one topic they'd like to talk about with me: Malaysia.

In Jakarta I also watched in TV the famous speech of President Obama in Cairo in which he mentioned a few times about Indonesia being a good example in interfaith tolerance in its society as he witnessed it firsthand during his childhood in Indonesia. I believe what he said and I think his speech was cool.

What's new about me... Well..

Not much. Work gets busier to an extent that I feel a need to put more effort in taking more care in my physical and mental health. Beside continuing doing daily yoga/meditation and some regular sports, I have found two new things that I love to do to support that effort: scuba diving and belly dancing. (taddaaaaa!!) :D

Belly dancing is something I've always wanted to try because first of all, I love to dance; and second of all, it looks so difficult it makes me feel challenged. I took the class here just 5 minutes from my housein Luanda and yes I can confirm, it IS difficult!! Imagine moving your shoulder or ribcage or hip in lot of different ways but has to be in isolation of each other and then you have to mix the moves (duh!), and plus, you have to look as beautiful as a goddess when you're doing it. Soooo much coordination needed. I've had 4 classes already and I did not get it yet!! But I'm not going to give up.. :D

As for scuba diving, although I've only had around 30 dives in my logbook, it can be too early to say that I love it, but I think I can confirm now that I do. It's not about the water and the fish only. It's the whole chain of activities: the team-work nature, the planning, the fact that you need to keep sane underwater and to breath in a relaxed manner, the feeling of weightlessness underwater, the fact that it uses basic chemical engineering principle the theory just feels so natural (haha! hey it helps!!).. And then of course, the main thing itself which is to see the fish and the corals.. Berry berry niceee!! :)

Well this post is suppopsed to be a short one as the title suggested "A Short Catch Up". But short is relative..

Have a good weekend! :)