being a geeky bookworm

So next to traveling and taking pictures, I LOVE reading. Yeah, I'm a geeky bookworm and I'm SO not ashamed to admit it! I was raised on books more than television and even now, in my late 20s, I read every chance I get- and I'm one of those addicts who CAN'T PUT DOWN A BOOK ONCE I START READING. I got this 'behavior' from my dad, he loves books. Anyway instead of putting a list on this blog page of all the books I love and am waiting to love I thought I'd link you all up to an awesome website full of other book lovers (although they may not all be as geeky as yours truly ;) haha) So here is my profile on the site:

amaramara on goodreads

so you can all check out the books I've read, what I'm waiting to read, and what I'm currently reading :) you know... if you feel like it.

I'm always giving my friends books or recommending books or giving away books once I've read and fell in love with them... and I'm always open to recommendations so if you've read any good books lately, let me know!

happy reading!

Places I Want To Go Before I Die

In no particular order:

Machu Picchu

Cancun

Maldives

Bantayan Island

Tahiti

Cinque Terre

Malta

Turks & Caicos

Turk Pamukkale

Rio de Janeiro

South Africa

Egypt

Israel

Tokyo

Yokohama

Santorini

Antipaxoi Island

Shanghai

Stockholm


there are many places i want to go to, but above mentioned are my priority!

New Idols

I'm following this season's American Idol and became Adam Lambert's fan since the first time I saw him performed. He's amazing. I call him, Adamazing Lambert. He could reach the nearly impossible high notes and I can always feel the emotion everytime he sings. Watch these videos and prove me wrong...

ADAMazing LAMBERT

and I read on my friend's twitter (yes, I'm on a mission to find twitter worthy of my time and effort - so far, it goes really well ;D ) about this contestant of Holland's Got Talent. I can only say: FUNNY SHIIIITTTT

"Britney Spear" --- yes, Spear not Spears.

Philophobia

Philophobia: Fear of falling in love or being in love


People say, finding The One is a far cry from easy. It takes time, God knows how long. Most people have to pass the awful heartbreaks in the process.. some people are just lucky having their paths crossed with their true love in their early days of searching. I happened to be one of the most people, a girl with acute Philophobia. I fell in and out of love several times before I found The One.

Before my husband and I decided to get married, never in my mind had I ever imagine that it would've been him. He made a move on me when I was least expecting love. He caught me off guard, roughly speaking.

I wasn't expecting any romance at that time. I was too bitter to even believe in love. I believed that men can't be trusted. I believed that I could live happily on my own. I believed that relationship is unnecessary, I believed in marriage... NOT!!! I felt so insecure with love and all the sweet things that go with it. To me, love was just an illusion and not long-lasting.

Obviously I was wrong, now as love already found me... I choose to believe in it. As long as that person is The One for you, it would be easier to believe in love actually. Today I believe that trust must be earned. I believe that commitment is sacred. I believe that I'm better with the one I love in living my life. I believe relationship is a blessing and needs to be worked on. Now... I believe in love.

I was one of them. Young adults, work from 9 to 9, go socializing after work and weekends, fun to be around, lots of friends, failed in relationships several times and it hurts more everytime... Remember ladies, the more your work performance improve, the more messed up your personal life is. There is no such thing as having a balanced life, you cannot have it all. Accept that and make a good decision for yourself. Do not torment yourself. People lie when they tell you they have a very balanced life, they are just people who cannot accept them for themselves. You can try though, if you want. But don't say I didn't warn you! Last but not least, these girls needs to be saved and longing to be saved... actually.

You can agree or disagree, above paragraphs are my personal thoughts. I was a Philophobia, but now I'm saved! How about you?

Audrey Hepburn's Quote

via tumblr

Tren Sesuai Umur

waktu taun terakhir SD, tren terakhir adalah sepatu Doc Mart dan nongkrong di Blok M Plaza atau Pondok Indah Mall setiap weekend. Kayaknya belum keren kalau ngga punya sepatu Doc Mart dan ngga ada yang negor waktu hari senin-nya "eh kmarin di PIM sampe jam berapa lo?" #WTF seriously what were we thinking?

masa SMP... Pager! Kaya punya dokter-dokter di rumah sakit. Banyak juga yang memanfaatkan layanan ini untuk PDKT sama gebetannya, walau kadang malu juga nyampein pesannya ke operator ;-) Pada masa ini juga fotobox sedang meraja lela, kalau mau foto rame-rame atau sendiri atau berdua pacar, harus bela-belain ngantri 30 menit sampe 1 jam.

masa SMA... SWEET SEVENTEEN! Tiap minggu adaaa aja yang ulangtaun "sweet seventeen"... sahabat, temen sekelas, temen les, temen di sekolah lain, kakak kelas, adik kelas. Abis itu, foto-foto dipajang dong di organizer! Mulai dengan demam disko, pacarannya mulai-mulai "longterm" and of course, sibuk cari-cari baju/model baju buat PROM NITE.

masa 20an... mulai ke klub-klub khusus 21+ , mulai cari pasangan hidup *sigh* , kerjaan yang oke-gaji besar-dikit stressnya. Trennya? pastinya ke pesta nikah temen SD, SMA, kuliah dan lain-lain. late twenties, udah mulai "renta". mulai ngga kuat begadang, padahal dulu ga tidur berhari-hari juga tetep segar dan bersemangat!

masa 30an. pilihan cuma dua, NGURUS KELUARGA atau MENGEJAR KARIR. yang udah married pastinya ngurus keluarga, kalo yang masih single? WORK HARD, PARTY HARD. udah mampu beli booze sendiri, jalan-jalan keluar negeri, beli label stuff.

point of this posting is, well, ngga usah stress, jalanin aja hidup ini, tua dan muda sama2 punya masalah. semua pasti ada tuntutan dari lingkungan kok. you just have to learn to survive this world and its craziness.

Spa Enthusiast

Here are my reviews on several spa places I went to for the past few months!

January 2008.

at Kima Bajo Resort & Spa, North Celebes - Indonesia

They have 'Mayana Spa'. I must say that this is my favorite so far. I actually fell asleep during the massage treatment. the environment was so peaceful and the massage was just right. I woke up happily and so relaxed. I had the sandalwood aromatherapy and full body massage for 90 minutes. You can choose in which place you want to be treated, beach front (can you imagine, having your body massaged with the ocean sound... priceless moment) or inside beautiful traditional cabanas.

via Kima Bajo Website

I must admit that the spa staff is very good. I chatted from the Spa Manager (I think that's her title) and apparently, she's originally from Bali (got her training and all there too) and loving Manado since she works there. Yet when it comes to pay the bills... hell yea, good quality = expensive. yet, it's worth every penny.

still in January 2008...

Hotel Sedona Manado, North Celebes - Indonesia

The Spa is powered by Martha Tilaar Salon & Day Spa. Famous Indonesian Brand for face, body, hair traditional treatments. I had the 'Traditional Body Wellness (60 minutes)'... unfortunately, i was kinda in a rush at that time, so I didn't really enjoy the massage to the max... I was chased by check out time! Good grief! I should've enjoyed it completely. The staff who was giving me the massage was too hard on me, i like soft-medium energy massage. In the end, i still like it anyways... hahaha. They gave me a javanese drink called bandrek after the treatment. Don't like the drink but it was ok. My relaxed muscles flawlessly overwhelming my body & mind so I didn't mind at all. (In normal condition, I'd definitely complain on that drink!) The price is just the average, not cheap and not too expensive. 

via Hotel Sedona Website

The spa place is right next to the pool, have this wooden outlet with traditional javanese interior. Nice and lovely. And like most of spa facilities, very very quite and peaceful environment.

Actually, I stayed at Grand Hyatt Singapore in March 2008 but at that time, the Spa Facility currently under renovation. I was sooo dissapointed and intend to TRY THE NEW SPA FACILITY in my next visit to Singapore.

April 2008

My family went to Bandung and stayed at Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers. Of course, I tried the Spa Facility... and dad did too. My dad was having the massage treatment in his room for 90 minutes. He loved it. While I went to the Spa Laguna and had my treatment inside a hotel room that reserved for spa treatments. The room located near the swimming pool area.

via Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers website

I love the scent of that room... very very relaxing. I love relax mood. They use the products from Windy Spa. I googled Windy Spa but didn't find any information. If they don't like to be promoted, so be it. Hehe ;-) I tried the FULL BODY MASSAGE CHOCOLATE SCRUB. Sounds good? Hell yeaaa... it was great! Chocolate all over my body (love the aroma) and got massaged. Feels like paradise...

And guess what, not expensive (for Sheraton class). What a good deal! :-)

Till another hotel visit... ;-)