Owner: Finally Woken URL:http://finally-woken.com Join Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:25:46 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A look into Scotland from a stranger's eyes. An Indonesian stranded in Aberdeen and has to deal with Scottish people, accent, weather (most of the time), food, and football. Then she looks at Indonesia from 12,000 km away. It's a culture shock! Site statistics:Click here
Santa Business 2007-12-07 07:20:00 It's a hot topic amongst Santa
s around the world. No, we're not talking about well-groomed Santas with 6-pack tummies (so the red outfit can look better on them) and trendy stubbles rather than long beardie. Santas now have to start paying attention to their... err... laughter, because it could offend women. clipped from news.sky.comSacked Santa's Ho Ho Ho Blow A Santa working in an Australian department store has claimed he was sacked for saying "ho ho ho" because it could offend women. Jolly Santas may offendEmployment company Westaff, which supplies shops with their own red-robed Father Christmas, had earlier asked its Santas not to use the phrase.It claimed that as the word "ho" is American slang for whore, it could be offensive to female shoppers.Santas were advised to say "ha ha ha" instead. Click here for the complete news.If you think being a Santa is easy, you should think again. There's more jobs rather than having kids on laps, laugh (but no ho ho ho!), and grooming Read more:Business
2008 Bugil's Calendar 2007-12-05 07:11:00 I received Eastern Promise newsletter update this morning. Something caught my eyes and I stopped scrolling when I nearly reached the bottom page. I blinked. Again. And again. Probably I was dreaming. But no. The half-naked lady picture was still there.Stop drooling. It's not me, obviously. It's the teaser or promotion of the upcoming calendar for Bugil's, Eastern Promise (EP), Cazbar, De Hooi and One Tree bars. The girls in the calendar are the barmaids. Bugil's has been producing calendar every year for several times now. Usually they pick one theme and the barmaids will pose with skimpy clothes according to the theme. Last year the theme was sport, so the barmaids (which are now coming from not only Bugil's but also from the other bars) put some skimpy sport clothes on and posed as if they played football, boxing, etc.Usually Stuart bought the calendar (he's such a loyal customer, he bought everything that Bugil's sales, including T-shirts - he's got many, Bart's Bule Gil Read more:Calendar
Donald Trump's Scotland Golf Plan Rejected 2007-12-02 05:26:00 It's not everyday Donal Trump
faces a rejection. But his plan to build a £1 billions (that's Rp 20 trillions or about one-third of Indonesia State Budget of Revenues and Expenditures!) golf complex and housing development at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire was rejected last weekend by Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure committee. It doesn't matter that the development could bring £150m to the local economy over the next decade and creating 400 jobs. It doesn't matter that the reason why Donald
Trump chose Scotland
in the first place is because he's half Sottish, while he could choose some other place which would easily say yes to whatever his proposal is.I'm sure if this happens in Indonesia the local council will have voted yes even before seeing and reviewing the proposal, just because he is Donald Trump
. So, should we suggest Indonesia to Mr.Trump?
Read more:Rejected
Is Our Ministry of Tourism Sleeping?#2 2007-11-28 17:30:00 Not long ago Rasa Sayange song has sparked a rift between Indonesia and Malaysia because the song is believed to be created by Indonesian (hence, belongs to Indonesia) but was used to promote Malaysian Tourism
industry. Now Indonesians are upset again toward a new controversial issue.This time, it's the traditional dance from Ponorogo, a regency (kabupaten) in East Java, called Reog. The (similar) dance is featured in Malaysian Ministry
of Cultural, Art & Heritage and is called Barongan Dance.I am not going to write about how mad I am, as an Indonesian, about this issue. I am sure there has been many complains, officially and unofficially, to Malaysian government. I'm very sure a lot of Indonesian bloggers write about this on theirs which will have sparked a lot of debates (for example see Unspun's posting about the song Rasa Sayange which generated over 400 comments, some commentators suffered from verbal diarrhea and used very vicious, harsh words).That's not what I have in Read more:Sleeping
What's in A Name? #2 2007-11-27 01:45:00 clipped from news.bbc.co.'Muhammad' teddy teacher arrested Gillian Gibbons is described as "a talented and able teacher "A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, said she made an "innocent mistake" by letting the six and seven-year-olds choose the name.Ms Gibbons was arrested after several parents made complaints.The BBC has learned the charge could lead to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine.See the complete news here.
What's in A Name? 2007-11-26 09:58:00 "What's in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet."(Romeo & Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)I've been confused with my own name for my entire life. It started when I was born and continues until today. Unlike Westerners, most of Indonesians don't have family name except several ethnic groups like Batak and Manado, so instead of having forename, middle name, and surname, most of Indonesians have only two names (sometimes even one. Remember our former presidents Soeharto and Soekarno?). But my dad does have surname, so he wanted to put it on my birth certificate. The smart registration officer refused his plea, arguing that it wasn't my own name, and since the father's name would be stated anyway, it means I would automatically take my father's surname.Right. If only that was the case. The first problem started when I went to primary school. The school put my first and middle name but dropped my surname on the certificate. Why? They said that's what it st
You've Done Us Proud! 2007-11-21 01:56:00 I can't believe that I'm actually writing about football here. Not what I think about football like my previous posts (see Everything He Does Is Magic). Not tips for guys how to make peace with their partner when they want to watch football. But really, I'm talking about the biggest game happened in Scotland.Yes. Scotland vs. Italy. Last Saturday. In Glasgow.Those of you might wonder, have I gone nuts? Did Stuart tie me on a sofa to make me watch it? Did he drug me or buy me expensive gifts to get me to be patience for 90 minutes? Have I become a geezer bird? No, my dear friends. I'm mentally and physically perfectly fine and healthy, and I decided to watch the game, or for more precise, to watch the game with my laptop on (which means I would glance at telly every 5 minutes), because it was so huge the whole nation kept talking about it a month before the match and is still talking about it, so it's difficult to not get infatuated by the whole thing. When Stuart said it's an i Read more:Proud
Bloody Religion 2007-11-16 03:03:00 clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Mother dies after refusing blood The 22-year-old's funeral took place at Telford Crematorium A young Jehovah's Witness has died after giving birth to twins, amid claims that she had refused a blood transfusion because of her faith.Emma Gough, 22, of Telford, Shropshire, gave birth on 25 October. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital said an internal review into the case would take place.The twins, a boy and a girl, are healthy and are being cared for by their father, Anthony Gough, 24.A friend said the family was going through "immense... turmoil and grief"."We follow the Bible and abstain from blood and I've got no reason to believe that Emma didn't share those views," the friend Terry Lovejoy added. I've heard about Jehovah's Witness but I don't think that the (shall I call it) religion exists in Indonesia (does it?) so I'm not familiar with it. I'm not even a Christian or Catholic, even though I went to all-girls-Catholic school fro Read more:Religion
I Love Scotland 2007-11-12 03:41:00 Note: I must say that this story is written because I feel guilty that I have written many things about Scotland
which seem more like complains, especially about the weather. Weather is not that bad, if we know how to handle it (which puts me in the category of 'virgin' since I have no clue. But I'm learning, and I'm still alive, which is the most important thing). Scotland has got so many other good things and I just realized I haven't written any of those, so I'll take my chance now. When my family found out I was going to move to Scotland, most of them were freaked out. My auntie, despite of being married to a German and calls Germany as her second home, thinks that Scotland is far, far away. She told me, "You only need to walk to North Pole! Aduh, Anita, can't you choose some other country which is closer to Indonesia?". This is the same auntie who was disappointed when I canceled my plan to get my post-grad degree in Germany and chose Australia instead. Only after telling p
Embracing The Wild Weather 2007-11-09 10:34:00 I've visited Aberdeen a couple of times before permanently move here. But we've always visited the city between September and October, so I didn't really feel the cold weather. The coldest temperature I had experienced was 9⁰C, but that was 6.00 AM in the morning and I had it for a few seconds from the house to the car, so it doesn't really count. My so much winter experience was when I lived in Sydney, where when it's hit under 15⁰C people are seen walking around with thick coats, scarves and gloves. And there's no snow in Sydney!This time, though, will be my first experience to feel the 'real' cold weather. I've tried my best to avoid it, by arranging my trip back to Indonesia in December-January (I wish I could stay until May but Stuart veto-ed my idea), but this particular week in early November has been colder, much colder. The heater is on more often inside the house, the darkness falls earlier it makes 4.00 PM looks like night time, the kettle is put on all the time Read more:Embracing
Britz 2007-11-09 04:22:00 I watched a program in Channel 4 the other day called "Britz" and it just... tickled me. The program, fictional of course, showed brother and sister, born in UK, Pakistan origin, Moslem (who don't drink, don't eat pork, but still sleep around, ironically), who went to totally opposite directions. The brother joined MI5 (perhaps like FBI in the USA?) and worked undercover among his childhood friends to find out more about terrorism acts, or let's say, the suspicion about who's going to blow up Britain. His background was perfect for him to infiltrate the organization.The sister, a medical student, experienced a much more personal tragedy, starting with seeing her best friend was taken by the police, and when she and her fellow students were demonstrating outside the station, she was arrested without any clear charges and was being verbally abused by the police officer who said that if she didn't shut up they will shove the bacon into her throat along with the beer. She was released
Living in A Foreign Country... Is It Always Better? 2007-10-29 03:30:00 I received an email from my friend the other day. She's one of the few Indonesians who could hop on the plane and fly to the US when she's fed up with what she's encountered. Which means 1) she has money, 2) she has passport, and 3) most importantly, she has her visa ready. Nevertheless, she said that she's so jealous to find out that I've been living outside Indonesia for several months now. She said that I'm so lucky, and is sure that I'm having a good time. That I must be relieved to get out Indonesia, or Jakarta in particular.This is not the first time I received such comments. Several friends commented the same thing. Some even said I'm not meant to be living in Indonesia, that I'm better off somewhere else. Funnily enough, only my colleagues in L'Oréal reacted differently (when I said Scotland, they looked at me like I was out of my mind and said, "It's really cold up there!". Which means they know exactly where Scotland is - a plus point because most of Indonesians Read more:Always Better
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Bule (Caucasian) Guy Dating Indonesian Girl 2007-10-21 16:47:00 I came across this article the other day, and saw that the post got 239 comments. The author and the main contributor of the blog, remains anonymous so I wouldn't know whether it's a guy or a lady. A lady named Parvita left a lengthy comment and I guess that was when everybody started the subject of discussion: an expatriate (by expatriate I think she meant a Caucasian) guy vs. Indonesian
girl. I don't understand why this became a topic anyway? It's a preference that people make, like I like orange more than grape, or I prefer Frank Gehry rather than Norman Foster. Some people prefer to like Caucasians, some only choose Asians, etc. It's a taste. You can't tell people what or who to like or dislike. But then throw some spices on the relationship between Caucasian and Indonesian, namely money, and this becomes a horrendous subject. Like what Indonesian girls do are so taboo and so sophisticated no other ethnic groups do that. So what if one side has money and is ready to throw Read more:Dating
Every Little Thing He Does is Magic: Comments from A Football Junkie! 2007-10-16 05:34:00 I've just checked my blog just now and found out someone, who puts a screen name as Jakarta Casual, has left a comment about my writing in early October. The writing was talking about football, about how I never understand why men in general are so crazy about this game, and about me offering a solution for a truce between men and his girl. When men think that shoes and handbags are stupid hobby and boring, so do I think about football in general.Judging by his blog it seems like he's a true believer of football or anything to do with it, and I apparently touched his soft spots and he counter-wrote my writing. I think it's hilarious, and I quote verbatim here (he quoted my 8 rules and left comments on each):Tuesday, October 16, 2007 A woman trying to get her head round football!This post made me smile. I don't normally go off about ather blogs unless they have a relevance to the main topic here but things are a bit quiet. This blog is from an Indonesian woman living in Aberdeen (wh Read more:Comments
, Every Little
, Every Little Thing
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What A Difference A Nationality Made 2007-10-15 06:05:00 In my short career as a globetrotter I've learned something valuable: it sucks being Indonesian. As a country we only have dual agreements with 11 countries which allow Indonesian citizens to enter those 11 countries without having to applied for a visa. That means for the rest of countries in the world, we have to go through a tiring process of applying visa with supporting documents from family card, bank statement, proof of evidence that we have friends/family in the destined country, until the assurance from our office that we, indeed, are coming back to work for them, but wait, they don't pay for our holiday (hence bank statement). But funnily enough Indonesia allows 63 other countries' citizens to apply visa on arrival, (click here for a complete list) which doesn't apply to Indonesians who travel to those 63 countries. So Stuart can apply his visa when he lands in Jakarta, in between his toilet visit and luggage collection, but I couldn't dream the same thing for UK. It's Read more:Nationality
Why I Took The Wrong Toll Exit This Afternoon 2007-10-10 17:19:00 Note: The story happened more than 6 months ago. By then I was still working for L'Oreal Group Indonesia. I was managing a finance project which consolidated 9 countries throughout Asia, and then my boss decided to go ahead with office renovation project, which was my responsibility too. I thought it should be easy, but boy how wrong I was! I think now it's safe to publish the story based on several reasons: 1) the project was finished including the maintenance period, 2) I'm no longer working for L'Oreal, 3) the person I mentioned a lot here has moved to another company 4) both my boss in L'Oreal and the person's boss have moved to different companies respectively too.Here is my story....Saturday, 27 January, 2007I just changed my job, and like any other story, I was asked to join my client's company, L'Oreal Group Indonesia, the very great opportunity that I wouldn't want to miss.This means that now I'm being Procon Indah's client.We have one office fit-out/renovation proj Read more:Afternoon
, Wrong
Every Litte Thing He Does Is Magic 2007-10-04 02:54:00 Sunday. Is. The. Holy. Day. For. Stuart. Because football is on. So for the entire day he will sit on the sofa watching the game, sometimes flicking the channel to see F-1 and rugby matches, sometimes golf competition, but football is the main menu. Last weekend I was sitting with him, not paying attention because I was busy surfing Gucci website, but I glanced once in a while to see what's one, and this time it struck me. It's basically the same thing all over again. 22 People chasing after 1 ball. After 90 minutes, it will be another match for another 90 minutes. And another. And another. And another. The difference is only their costume color, which determines the club or country they represent. I asked Stuart how could he stand for watching the same thing all over again for hours? If it's 90 minutes game, I could understand. But to see the camera moves from left to right and back again, for hours? If it's me, I would have had a seizure after the second match.... My comp Read more:Magic
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Is Our Ministry of Tourism Sleeping? 2007-09-27 10:32:00 I never thought I was a proud Indonesian. There are so many things our nation has done that made me embarrass enough to admit that I'm from the largest archipelago state. It struck me when I was living in Australia, especially during East Timor's independence issue. By that time we were still recovering from economy crisis, we were struggling with new presidents, we were juggling whether we need military support in our lives and if we don't, what are we gonna do with them, and there were constant riots and terrors throughout the region. I remember we went to uni theatre to be presented with images of beheaded people in Kalimantan (Borneo) as part of the stupid fight between indigenous people and immigrants from Java, and Aceh people were constantly seeking supports to be free from the republic. When Ramos Horta (now East Timor's president) was visiting our uni to seek supports and to give his speech about the preparation of East Timor to be separated from Indonesia, I cou Read more:Ministry
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Things that We Thought Are Normal.... 2007-08-31 11:28:00 Stuart finds me crazy. Well, it's not the first time, but this is the first time I realize that what we usually have in Indonesia are considered crazy. Here they are: Pisang goreng (banana fritter). Pisang goreng with chocolate sauce, condensed milk, and grated cheese. Or pisang goreng with melted brown sugar and icing sugar. Or pisang goreng with sambal (Manado style).Bread or toast with strawberry jam, poached egg, and cheese. (Or is it just me? Anyone else fancy that?)French fries with McDonald's ice cream (I don't do that, but many of my friends are insane enough to combine something deep fried and hot with extremely soft, cold, and sweet taste) We have ice tea and hot tea. We can order teh tawar (means tea without sugar or bitter tea) or teh manis (with sugar). We don't have tea with milk. Only Thai and Indian people do. And some Taiwanese invent bubble tea, which I love but am sure that British will find it disgusting....Pizza with egg in it. Noone does that, only Indon Read more:Normal
Confusing Weather (2) 2007-08-27 11:30:00 Note: I must say here that I am forced to write something good about Scottish weather. Stuart and GG are deeply concerned that I have sent the incorrect message across the nation that the sun forget to shine in Scotland and the weather is entirely, continuously dreadful. But to me, the virgin of weather-changing-climate, the amateur of four-season-in-one-day temperature, Scottish weather is still confusing. It's not just because it is awfully cold during summer, but because it could change just in seconds. Last Wednesday I put a grey cashmere dress which reaches my knees on, have a pair of black thighs and ankle boots, because when I looked outside the window, I strongly believe that it was cold and windy. It took 10 minutes walking for me to to reach the town, and of course, the joke was on me! Suddenly the sun decided to finish hiding and to show itself in all glory, and the town was filled with people walking down in Union Street only wearing tank tops and mini skirts. I felt lik Read more:Confusing
Confusing Weather 2007-08-03 11:32:00 Tips: read this while listening to Ciara's 1,2 Step song. Let me see ya1, 2 stepI love it when ya1, 2 stepEverybody1, 2 stepWe about to get it on People have had warned me that UK weather is terrible, but I've only come here during autumn and it was usually cold and cloudy, so I thought, what can be more awful than that? I've had a bonus when the first time we landed in London three years ago and it was so bright, warm and clear I was only wearing a tanktop next to my pregnant friend. And my experience of autumn in these past 3 years wasn't so bad, ultimately I've survived by wearing 3 layers, my winter coat (bought in Australia, so it's not thick), and knee-length boots. So when I arrived in Aberdeen in early July, I thought, it's summer, it's supposed to be warm (hopefully hot), and I can wear my Bali attire (you know, backless, low neckline, very short pants, and jeweled sandals). Well so far I've been here for a month, and never in my life I've worn the wrong Read more:Confusing
RSVP 2007-07-30 06:21:00 RSVP: "Répondez s'il-vous-plaît" or "Réservez s'il-vous-plaît", a French phrase that translates to "Please respond" or "Please book your place". "Response Shall Verify Presence" is an English substitute for the meaning of "R.S.V.P." What would you do if you hold the biggest party in your life and the people you invite haven't RSVP-ed, and it's already less than 2 weeks to D-Day? Why is it so difficult for some people just to say NO, sorry, I couldn't make it? I remember vividly, when my friend in Singapore held a wedding, she said how upset she was because one of our highschool friends couldn't confirm until a week before the wedding. The problem was with seating arrangement the bride must decide whether to spare 2 chairs (and must pay for those!), or simply just cross her friends out of the list, with the risk of having her confirmed in last minute that she could attend the wedding (and of course she wanted her friends to be there so crossing someone out of the list is
These Pumps Are NOT Made For Walkin' 2007-07-22 11:37:00 Tips: read this while watching or listening to the Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made for Walkin' cover version, where Jessica Simpson is strutting around with sexy red boots.... In my attempt to conquer the granite city (a.k.a Aberdeen), I decided that last Thursday was a perfect day to walk around the city. Now, as everybody knows, Indonesians are not used to walk. Yes, we could walk for hours while shopping in Plaza Senayan or even Mangga Dua, but that's a totally different exercise. In Jakarta, while working at Jakarta Stock Exchange Building, just to go to Automall (which is, literally, practically, across the street and only takes 3 minutes walk), we sometimes opt for driving. While working in L'Oreal in Kuningan, Stuart couldn't understand why I always insisted on driving my car to Cazbar for lunch, fighting the consistent traffic jam on the roundabout across Singaporean & The Netherlands Embassies, rather than walking, which perhaps, takes less time than drivin
Toilet Humor 2007-12-19 06:28:00 In certain shopping malls in Surabaya, like Tunjungan Plaza and Surabaya Delta Plaza, every time you have the urge, you have to pay Rp 1,000 (around USD 0.10) per person to enter the toilet. This weird policy has been applied for years without protests from the visitors or the council.When I was studying architecture, we were taught several rules we have to apply when designing toilets, i.e. the ratio between visitors and the number of cubicles, the appropriate or suitable materials used, access, lighting, power, plumbing, air conditioning, and so on. The standard designs vary between hospitals, commercial buildings like shopping malls, offices, schools, residential buildings, or special buildings like nuclear station. We also were taught that toilet is a part of public amenities and the standard design is supervised by the council. I have found the Government Regulation (Peraturan Menteri Pekerjaan Umum no.30/PRT/M/2006: Pedoman Teknis Fasilitas dan Aksesbilitas Pada Bangunan Gedung Read more:Humor
, Toilet
Rude Indonesians 2007-12-14 05:36:00 I'm just back in Indonesia (I suppose I can't call it home anymore because Scotland is my home now) yesterday and before too long I'm annoyed already. Not because the idiot KLM counter officer in Aberdeen airport made my luggage wandered around Schiphol Airport without its owner and arrived a day after me. Not because the unbelievably slow dial-up internet connection makes me drink coffee three times more out of a boredom of waiting for the graphics and words to grace my monitor screen. Not because I have been so used to quiet Aberdeen I had to bite my nails waiting for the traffic to move. It is because I realise that Indonesians
are rude.Yes, we keep bragging as the country of friendly people with smiles and good services. Which somewhat is true. When money is present, Indonesians smile broadly. I expect to get good services from taxi drivers, bank officers, receptionists, waiters, even security guards. But those who are not in the service industry will behave like this is their o
On Anonymous Bloggers 2008-03-10 05:23:53 Since last week I have been following closely the intense debate among expats in Indonesia about anonymous blogger, an issue raised by Fatih Suyud when he awarded Rob Baiton as the blogger of the week and praised Rob as one of the few Western bloggers who reveals his own true identity. Fatih actually has written a lot of postings about what he calls ghost bloggers - 7 actually including the Rob Baiton's posting - but this time he has successfully attracted many comments and ripostes, perhaps because he specifically targets 'foreign expatriates who blog on Indonesia' under the pseudonymous.Unspun reacted at the same day, and clipped Fatih's post on his blog and said that he thoroughly agrees with Fatih. John Orford, Jakartass, Oigal and Treespotter contributed their thoughts on this issue o
On Anonymous Bloggers (2) 2008-03-10 05:22:25 There was a big hoo-ha a while a go when Fatih raised an old issue about anonymous blogging. He particularly dislikes those who blog anonymously on sensitive issues, like politics or religions, and suspect that they have hidden agendas. Fatih's post generated ripostes and comments from expats in Indonesia.Unspun, stands firmly behind Fatih, showed how bad anonymous blogger can be, by clipping an article from The New York Times about a suicide of an advertising agency's creative director in Chicago, allegedly after couldn't handle the harsh criticism from AgencySpy and AdScam, two blogs written by advertising industry insiders. clipped from www.nytimes.comVisitors to AgencySpy and AdScam, two sharp-tongued blogs written by advertising industry insiders, posted comments blaming the sites fo
No title 2008-03-08 18:25:45 One of the Scottish national symbols is kilt, a traditional garment of modern Scottish and Celtic (more specifically Gaelic) culture typically worn by men (from Wikipedia).clipped from www.macgregorandmacduff.co.uk The original kilt was known as the feileadh mhór (philamore) or "big wrap". After the ban and during the 1800s the kilt evolved into something like what we wear today. This is known in Gaelic as the feileadh beag (philabeg) or little wrap.The top and bottom parts were separated, the top half (the plaid) being worn over the shoulder and detachable for comfort. The bottom part was now tailored with sewn in pleats but no hire companies were on the horizon just yet.Originally the apron of the garment (the front part) was left unattached but one story, possibly apocry
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