Catatan Akhir Tahun 2011

Hufffttt....., tau-tau dah akhir tahun lagi neh. Apa aja ya yg udah terjadi taun ini?
First, gue sebut tahun ini adalah 'the unexpected year'. Bukan diartikan sebagai 'tahun yg tdk diharapkan' loh ya..., tapi lebih ke 'tak terduga' ato 'di luar dugaan', ato 'meleset dari perkiraan', 'di luar rencana', dan sejenisnya.....
Dulu, di awal taun ini gue dah pe-de dengan segudang rencana. Lulus kuliah, balik ke indo, daftar ke UNV (United Nation Volunteer), trus dapet assignment, ato ngelamar kerja di tempat2 yg menawarkan petualangan (harusnya gue ikut Jejak Petualang aja kali ya), dapet kerja di tempat yg seruuu, trus kerja 2 thn, loving my job, trus mau lanjut kuliah lagi 2013. 
Gue dulu bayanginnya taun ini gue bakal kerja di NGO yg ngurusin anak-anak gak mampu, yang di tempat-tempat terpencil gitu, ngajar anak-anak itu, sambil menggunakan ilmu engineering gue utk membangun daerah itu, misalnya pengolahan sampah, ato pemurnian air.
Ato kalo gak bisa kerja kayak yg gue sebut tadi ya, at least gue dapet kerja di perusahaan bagus supaya gaji gue bisa gue gunakan juga buat berpartner sama pelayanan/organisasi yang fokusnya children well-being ato anti human trafficking, dan juga ladang misi *cieeehhhh, teuteup hatinya misi booo....

I WILL NOT LOWER MY STANDARD

My random thought, and also my commitment.....

***

Though I know I’m getting older

and a lot of people say it’s time to get married

I WILL NOT LOWER MY STANDARD.

Until today, I haven’t met my future husband yet

or I just have not known who is he yet,

but I believe that he is a real Godly man who is worth waiting for (and praying for).

People might say I’m too picky

but I would say, I have to be strictly picky

because I WILL NOT LOWER MY STANDARD.

Married is once in a lifetime decision

A commitment to love,

share my life with him until death separates us

and glorify God all the days of our lives

So, I will not accept any one less than the best that God has for me.

I WILL NOT LOWER MY STANDARD

Although I might have to wait many more years for the right person

to share life, godly home, and God’s vision.

People keep asking and mocking

Friends around me are getting married, have got married, or have a boy/girlfriend

which supposedly created a peer-pressure,

but I won’t be pressured

and I WILL NOT LOWER MY STANDARD by accepting the first fool who come across

or by accepting any born-again christian guy

just because he dares to say ‘I love you’

No no no, it won’t happen

because it requires more than just a gut

I WILL NOT LOWER MY STANDARD, because GOD’S STANDARD IS NOW MINE

***

for me, marriage is neither a destination, nor a purpose in life

It is not about me or my future husband

It’s about God and our journey with God

God has to be the center of it all, even from this moment when we haven’t met each other

WARNING!!!: Marriage is neither a solution for your problem, nor an escape from A dissatisfaction of your current condition

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Edisi random. Gue cuma mau merekap beberapa dialog yg paling sering gue lakonin

A      : Ehh..ocha, pa kabar?

Gue : Baik...baik. lu?

A      : Baik juga. Lu dimana sekarang?

Gue : Disini

A      : iya maksud gue kerja dimana sekarang?

Gue : belom kerja, masih pengacara (pengangguran banyak acara-Red) aja, hehe

A      : #terdiamgakberaninanyananyalagi

Gue : minggu depan gue mau kondangan nih, temen gue merit

B     : kondangan mulu lu. Giliran lu merit kapan?

Gue : Hari Sabtu

B     : Sabtu kapan?

Gue : kapan-kapan

B     : yeaa...yeaa...klasik

Kakak : Eh, temen lu si C itu dah punya cowok belom?

Gue : udah

Kakak : Kalo si D?

Gue : udah jg

Kakak: elu kapan?

Gue : kapan-kapan (again)....

yak, begitulah, tampaknya lagunya Koes Plus, 'Kapan Kapan' menjadi jawaban andalan gue.

because, seriously I have no answer for those FAQ (Frequently Asked Question). Gue jadi udah kebal sama pertanyaan-pertanyaan yg entah udah berapa ratus/ribu kali orang tanya. Oh well, let the time unfold the mystery. Cheers!

My Masterpiece

I love photography. Here are some of my shots which I consider as 'well done'. 

Well, I am not quite a pro yet though, but I think these are quite good.

1. Sydney Harbour Bridge

Taken in Sydney, one fine summer night. No further image editing. 

Camera Canon EOS 1000 D, lens: 18-55 mm f 3.5-5.6 Canon lens

f-stop: f/10

focal length: 20 mm

exp. time: 20 sec

ISO: 100

This is my favourite shot. I love this place, I love the colour, composition, and lighting

One Little Step at A Time

Sabtu lalu gue ketemuan sama salah seorang adik di youth ministry dulu, si Echa, dan dia nulis jg blog ttg pertemuan ini, tapi beda topik, haha. Lalu kami makan2, ngobrol2, saling menanyakan kabar kami masing2, dan kabar temen2 kami yg laen. At some point I was overwhelmed by the fact that some of our friends (who used to serve The Lord together with us) have chosen the path that we don't understand as a follower of Christ. Some chose to yoke with unbelievers, and some have been compromising with the world in some areas of life. Tapi dapat disimpulkan bahwa dua hal yang menjadi major issue nya adalah "pekerjaan" dan "teman hidup". Dua hal ini yang membuat banyak orang stumble and drifted from their tracks. Dua hal ini emang sensitif, bisa membuat orang semakin jauh, ato semakin dekat dgn Tuhan. Dan puji Tuhan, ini dua hal yang gue gak punya saat ini, hahaha :D. Perfect! But I will have them someday though.

But eniwei, sepanjang hari itu aku terus bertanya-tanya sama Tuhan. "koq bisa ya Tuhan, koq bisa", "padahal kan dulu mereka bla bla bla", "padahal kan dulu sama-sama pernah mengalami perjumpaan dgn Engkau", "padahal kan...dst..dst..dst.", "aku gak habis pikir Tuhan, kalo mereka bisa kayak gtu, gue yang tdk lbh kuat dari mereka ini pun tidak fail-proof donk", " koq bisa ya mereka mengingkari sendiri apa yang dulu mereka percayai?",  "trus gimana Tuhan biar gak menyimpang dari track Mu?"

2012

Weeeww...gak kerasa ini dah akhir tahun lagi, dan setaon ini (2011) gw kayaknya gak banyak ngerjain apa-apa deh. Tapi aku juga belajar banyak hal. Well, may be this is a sabbatical year for me. But I can't thank God enough for what He has done for me this year. His mercy, favour, kindness, goodness, and everything. Ahhh...my heart is overflowed with thanksgiving. People might only see how easy my life was, this particular year, but God knows the truth, inside out.

Dan sebentar lagi dah mo thn 2012. Banyak orang yang takut kalo 2012 nanti bakal kiamat, the end of the world. Oh well, I don't believe that. Ini pasti gara-gara film kampring yang dulu itu. Fyi, sebenernya end of the world udah mulai dari kapan taon tuh, ini udah akhir jaman memang, liat aja tanda-tandanya dah persis ama yg dibilang di alkitab. Tanda-tanda akhir jaman nih diantaranya: people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, etc (2Tim3:1-4). 

Ada yg takut menghadapi 2012, tapi ada jg yg penuh harap. Ada banyak yg pengen merit 2012, dan pilih tanggal cantik 12-12-12, secara kalo udah 2013 ntar gak ada lagi 13-13-13?!?!@##

But buat gue sendiri, gw berharap 2012 is a year of breakthrough. Though it is still unclear to me where will I be in 2012, and what will I do, but I have a full confidence in God, that He is already there, to pave a way for me, and to make sure that I will make it through. Terus terang, 2012 masih blank buat gw, gak ngerti, clueless, oblivious, but it can only means that I have to fasten my trust in God. Well, whatever you may hold oh 2012, I will welcome you with a big smile :))!!!

Dreams

I'm not craving for a nice trip to Europe
to visit places where people repeatedly marvel at their beauties
I'm not craving for a luxurious and comfortable life
where we can have a comfy house, car(s)
and probably go on a nice holiday every year
I'm not dreaming of getting married a.s.a.p
and then have a nice little family
like many girls might dream
I'm not dreaming of getting a job in a multinational company
cashing out million dollars, so I can buy things for my family
and provide a financial security for my parents at their sixties.
Please don't get me wrong, I didn't say that those are wrong
For some people, those might become their goals and achievements for life
And that's fine
But those just don't work for me
I would rather be in a third world country
somewhere out there where my hands are needed most
helping girls to gain the strength to dream again
helping those who've been ruined, to build their lives again
I would rather be amongst those who are oppressed
and see the smile rises on their faces again
I would rather be with legends
who forsake their own lives for the well-being and freedom of many
I would rather be with them
When life is getting tougher, when the world is getting selfish
Let us be among those who are selfless
But I just find a tough time thinking about where to start
............................
Well, perhaps I can just start right here, right now
with what I have

Absence

cold is the absence of heat
dark is the absence of light
death is the absence of life
hell is the absence of God

Saatnya cari kerja'h!

yaaakkkk......masa ManTab (makan tabungan-red) sudah harus segera diakhiri
kalo tangki bensin, skalanya dari ijo dah mulai ke kuning dan hampir mendekati merah nih.
berhubung tabungan dah mulai menipis, saatnya saya mencari kerja, yuuhuuuu....
gile, koq baru sekarang gw mikir nyari kerja ya?hahaha
kemaren kemane aje neng?? (^_^)

but, I will just take it easy
gw gak mau stress, apalagi desperate dalam masa2 mencari kerja, pe-de aja lagi'h
tapi jgn salah, kepercayaan diri gw bukan karena gw punya gelar loh, melainkan gw percaya somehow Tuhan dah sediakan pekerjaan yg udah di-customize buat gw
there's nothing to do with my title, well may be just a little
kenapa gw belom kerja jg setelah kurang lebih tujuh bulan pulang ke tanah air?
pertama, memang belom ada pekerjaan yg sesuai dgn hati nurani (ceileeeehhhh, gaya lo!)
tapi emang bener, men! gw gak mau kerja cuman gara-gara butuh duit, butuh gajinya.
dan alhasil emang gw gak nemu2 pekerjaan yg sesuai, hahaha. soalnya I'm not interested in the jobs I'm qualified for, and I'm not qualified for the jobs I'm passionate about, hehehe
kedua, ijazah gw baru dateng last week (^_^). yg terakhir ini alesan aja sih
Eniwei, apapun alesannya, I enjoyed this season. Season of nganggur but banyak acara (pengacara), season of kondangan, ngumpul-ngumpul sama keluarga, kumpul-kumpul sama temen lama, season of nonton tipi, maen game, tidur sepuasnyaa (parahhhhh), hahaha =D, and of course yg lbh penting adalah season of trusting God and keep holding on to His words, His promises, although I see nothing. 
so, buat kamu-kamu yg lagi cari kerja juga, take it easy, men (and women =D)! tetep semangat, nanti pasti dapet juga koq....
Inget, kerja itu gak cuman buat gaji, but how you can impact the life of other people, and glorify God.
God bless!

Crossroad

After a looooong season of selah, here I am in the crossroads again
There's a decision I have to make, a step I have to take
The traffic lights will soon turn from red to green
I have to move..........


I couldn't afford making a wrong turn, because re-routing is sometimes costly, painful, and it's wasting the time. Like the children of Israel. They could've been at their destination in 40 days, but they spent 40 years in the dessert. No way, I don't want to spend 40 years wandering around in the dessert :D.
The only way I can choose the right turn is to ask the One who knows the route of my life, the one and only, my Maker, God Almighty.
But I don't want to just ask Him to give me the map, I want Him to be my Guide.


Thanks God for Holy Spirit, my constant companion
I believe I'll never get lost as long as I let Him be my Guide
and I give my ears to listen to His instructions,
because His word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path


Then I also realize this thing:
I could spend my whole life trying to find God's perfect will in every step that I have to take (e.g what He wants me to do, where He wants me to go, what kind of job/ministry He wants me to do, whom He wants me to be married to, how much money should I give, etc.). But if I fail to realize that to find Him and know Him intimately are the greatest treasures ever, all my searching will be meaningless.


So, my point is........intimacy with God is the answer. We won't be confused in the crossroad, we won't be worried in the storm, and we won't lose hope in the valley if we have a relationship with Jesus, because we know Him so well. 
Well, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ....let us draw near to Him. God bless....

Introducing.......my best friends :)

¡Hola! te presento a mis amigos

These are my two favourite and best friends who have been faithfully accompanied me during this season................, 

Meet this gorgeous dog. His name is MOPI

Mopi is approximately 5 (human) years old. I don't know what breed he is, but he looks so much alike his dad. His (late) mom, was our dog, and was actually the cute tiny little one with long hair, and round eyes, but I guess his dad's gene prevails. His dad was just a random dog in our neighborhood.

Mopi likes to bark whenever he sees a stranger approaching our house. Well, he also barks when he sees people just walk pass our house though. So, he always barks when there is a guest coming. But once he knows that this guest is welcomed by us, he will stop barking and then sit down nicely under the table, eavesdropping whatever my dad and the guest are talking about (as if he know what they're talking about).

Forgiveness vs Betrayal

I saw a tweet from a famous speaker some weeks ago, it's about forgiveness. The tweet was pretty much sounds like this : "everyone thought that forgiveness is always a great idea until the day they have to forgive". Hmmmm....., what do you think?

I always thought that forgiveness is a great idea, whether or not I have to forgive someone at that moment. I always thought that to forgive is easy, because I know I have been freely forgiven by Jesus Christ. I always easily forgive someone who did wrong to me, and easily forget someone else's fault. I have even counseled so many people and told them to forgive. 

Yes, I have always thought that to forgive is easy, until I was betrayed by my own best friends. That was hard for me, because best friends are the people I share my inner life with. I don't need to tell the whole story, but the point is I've just discovered that they have been lied to me and I have been betrayed. It was hurt when someone you trusted has lied to you. Well, I refer "they" here as 2 persons, each with different case, story, and timeline.

But, I still want to choose to forgive. It has been easy for me to forgive back then, why would it be so much different now just because they are my close friends? So, let love and forgiveness prevail. I forgive you, my friends......, just as Jesus has forgiven all my sins.

It is not good for man to be alone

Sorry, most of this article is written in Bahasa Indonesia, and it's not about finding the right life-partner :D


Sengaja judulnya itu, soalnya pasti mengundang perhatian kamyu-kamyu yang lagi mencari pewahyuan ato sekedar seneng baca sesuatu yang berbau Teman Hidup :D.

Who doesn’t know that famous scripture? Hayo ngacung yang belom pernah denger ayat ini!!!!

“It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him (Genesis 2:18, NLT)”.

Yup, kita sering mendengar kutipan ayat tersebut kalo orang lagi bicara soal teman hidup. But this time, my friend, I will share and unfold something bigger than just finding-the-right-partner context. Eitss..., jangan kecewa dulu. If you bear with me, you will uncover something greater. So, are you ready???

Dunia sudah terbalik - A Relationship Paradigm

Dunia emang sudah kebalik gak karuan, ato mungkin orang-orang nganggepnya itu normal tapi cara pandang gue yg  terbalik dari mereka punya. No wonder, I don’t want to compromise to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Nah, sekarang coba liat sendiri, bener gak dunia ini sudah upside-down downside-up gak karuan regarding relationship: 
 

Unmarried couples keep having sex, while married couples stop having one.

Unmarried couple (yg baru pacaran doank) banyak mengumbar romantisme (baik physical maupun emotional lewat kata, such as “i love u, miss u, need u, want u, etc.”), sementara married couple malah diem-dieman, dingin-dinginan, no more flame.

Angka perceraian kian meningkat, even a christian couple is not fireproof. 

And the world said, that's common, that's normal. 

Poverty Quick Facts

• Children under age 18 make up nearly 48 percent of the population of the world's least developed countries, compared with 21 percent of the population of the world's industrialized nations.
• More than 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and modern forms of energy.
• Over 1.4 billion people in the developing world live below the poverty line (U.S.$1.25 per day).
• Every day 1,500 women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth that could have been prevented. Each day 10,000 newborns die within a month of birth, and daily the same number of babies are also born dead.
• Annual world economy breaks down like this:    

         1. Low Income, $935 or less: 37%
         2. Lower Middle Income, $936 to $3,705: 38%
         3. Upper Middle Income, $3,706 to $11,455: 9%
         4. High Income, $11,456 or more: 16%

• In developing countries, approximately 130 million children and teens — age 17 or under — have lost one or both parents.
• More than 9 million children under age 5 die each year. Two-thirds of these deaths — more than 6 million every year — are preventable.
• Approximately one-third of the world's poor people live in India.

Sources: www.compassion.com, www.unicef.org, www.undp.org, www.worldbank.org, www.who.int,
www.freeworldacademy.com, www.un.org, www.timesofindia.com

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house

What a beautiful home, GOD of the Angel Armies! I've always longed to live in a place like this, 

Always dreamed of a room in Your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive! 

Birds find nooks and crannies in Your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. 
They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. 
GOD of the Angel Armies! King! God! How blessed they are to live and sing there! 

And how blessed all those in whom You live, whose lives become roads You travel; 

They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!

God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn--Zion! God in full view!
(Psalm 84: 1-7, The Message)

Check this out!

But God...I don't have to do this.....

I came back to my sister’s house for an 'emergency' call after spending 3 weeks at my parents’ house. She has to go out of town for 9 days for her career-related program. She asked me to look after his 4 years old son, cook for her family,  and take care of her household.  Her husband is actually still in town, and they have a part-time nanny, but my sister insisted that  I have to come to her house. After all, I haven’t had any job yet. Yes, I’m still unemployed, and that is another story. Anyway, so, I took a long journey back here, 11 hours by bus, plus trapped in the seasonal Indonesian Idul Fitri traffic, when in fact I should've just continued my long holiday with my parents instead. 

I know it won’t be easy here. My nephew is an attention-seeker, violent-screamer, and rebellious kind of kid at this stage. Not all the time, but most of the time. Sometimes he is cute and nice. Well, I know it wasn’t 100% his fault. I don’t know how his parents had raised him.

His dad, my brother in law,  is a workaholic kind of dad. As long as I’m in his house, he will just leave his son with me whenever possible, so he is free to work at home. He is a lecturer. He likes to bring his works home. So, in other words, I'm a substitute player for a mum/nanny/housekeeper.

Daddy's girl

I always enjoy spending my time with my Dad. Yes, I’m my daddy’s girl. He loves to involve me in his activities; from gardening, feeding our fish in the pond, delivering fish to customers (my dad run a small business in fishery), doing a sudoku puzzle (random), to catching up with his old friends (though i don’t know them). He enjoyed my companion, and I enjoyed his. He also taught me how to drive and encourage me to be brave. When I did something wrong, he warned me. But if I did something right, he gladly praise me and said he was proud of me. Although I don’t have any job yet, my Dad was still proud of me and didn’t feel ashamed when he met his friends and introduced his ‘jobless’ daughter to them. It makes me pondering, my Dad just proud of me for who I am, not only for my achievements.

I’m so blessed I have this beautiful relationship with my earthly Dad. It helps me to have a great relationship with my heavenly Father as well. My earthly Dad is a great Dad, but God, my heavenly Father is even more... He is the best.

2 YEARS

2 years might be too short, but it was also quite a long period of time

too short because I had lots of fun

too short because I was surrounded by lovely, godly people

too short because I had lots of things to do

too short because I enjoyed every moments at church

and was expectant

too short because so many exciting things happened all the way

too short because  I had amazing adventures

too short because I got so many things to learn

but then I realize, it was quite a long period of time

when I see certain  things have changed

I know, so many things could happen in 2 years

I encounter some new buildings which weren’t there when I left

new roads have been built

new celebrities on TV

new songs in church services

and so on

And of course,,,people could change a lot in 2 years

Yes, they do

My baby nephew now goes to school, while the other is able to walk

Some friends got married, and some have kids already

Those I met weren’t the same people I used to know

A geographical distance is transformed into an emotional distance

People have different priorities

And I feel we’re just  not in the same page anymore

I realize, certain things do change, certain things have to change
But one thing I know would never change
Jesus remains the same; yesterday, today, and forever......faithful. Amen!

Lesson from babysitting my nephew - Obedience-

I spent my past 2 months babysitting my 4 and a half yrs old nephew. He is a smart, sweet, funny, and cute kid. But sometimes we (his parents and I) were made upset because of his rebellious attitude. Well, you know...he's just a kid. Whenever we told him not to, he always does the opposite. When he wants something, he just couldn't understand the meaning of "wait!". He wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and everything has to be fulfilled "now!" as he wishes. And of course, if we don't fulfill what he asks, he will cry, whine, scream, and probably throw his toys on us. When we explain the reason why we forbid him to do this and that, why we can't give him what he wants at the moment, and that it's all for his own sake, etc...., he just don't want to know.Well...., he's just a kid. However, we still love him no matter how he is. But of course it saddened us when he become a disobedient kid.

Prayer for your salvation

My prayer is that you would discover the author of love...the Lord Jesus Christ

His life and death represent the greatest gift of love the world will ever see

"This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1John 4:9-10, NLT)

God paid the ultimate price by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory, restore our relationship with Him and empower us for life.

It is through Jesus Christ that we can know and be reconciled with God

All we need to do is believe in Him and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour

It is as simple as praying a prayer, asking Jesus to meet you right where you are

It is a brand new start of living in a relationship with God

If you are not sure that you personally know the Lord Jesus, then I encourage you to make this prayer today

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me

thank you for Your amazing love

I repent of my sins and thank you for Your forgiveness

Please come into my life and give me a fresh start, a brand new life

I believe in You and accept You as my Lord and Saviour

I am now a follower of Jesus Christ and You live in me

Help me to live my life for You from this day forward. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

So if you have invited Jesus to come into your life, and accepted Him as your Lord and Saviour, you are now a new creation. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17, NIV).

If you don't like yourself or your life, let God remake it, and give you a brand new one.

God bless you!

System Tool 2011 - How to remove/get rid of it

My computer had caught such an annoying malicious software recently, called "System Tools".
I didn't know where it came from, suddenly it just auto-installed in my computer without my permission.
Then it performed a computer scanning which I later found out that it was fake. It pretended that my computer has been infected with heaps of dangerous viruses as listed by its 'fake scanner'. The interface of System Tool pretty much looks like this

Then it said that if I want my computer to be secure, I need to remove those viruses by installing this software. If I click 'remove' button, it will lead me to a download page where I should buy the software. It even include the 'secure payment' option. Luckily I didn't do that.
But this System Tool was so annoying. It blocked all my applications, then gave an alert message

"Warning!
application cannot be executed. The file cmd.exe was infected
Please activate your antivirus software"

A Silent Lullaby

I was dreaming of your crystal-clear eyes

and the sweet smile from your tiny lips

I was looking forward to the day

when I finally hold your soft little hands

Can't wait to see the sparkle in your eyes

when I finally home and present you a Cinderella's dress,

brought from wonderland, miles away across the ocean.

I was dreaming of the day when you'll first call me aunty,

the sister of your father

then you will show me a dance you learn from school,

with a pretty ballerina dress

or sing me some songs you learn from your mom and dad

But God has chosen a better homeland for you

He has handpicked you to grow up in heaven

where there is no weeping, and no pain,

so you don't have to see injustice in this world

He, who has formed you in your mother's womb,

has chosen you to be His princess

and His mighty arms cover you in grace

Goodbye my dear,

though I've never seen you, I know you have my heart already

sleep tight..., I'll sing you a lullaby

-a lament for my niece-

7 Feb 2011 - 10 Feb 2011

Counting down NYE 2011 in Sydney-The longest 16.5 hours in my life

This is probably one of the most ridiculous thing I've ever done in my life

For the sake of New Year's Eve fireworks in one of the most iconic place in the world, I spent more than a half day waiting.....

31 Dec 2010

07.00 am : me and a bunch of friends caught a bus from Newtown, heading to Macquarie's Point. I know that place is the most wanted NYE spot, so we better be hurry up

The streets were quiet that morning though..., not so many vehicles or people around, so I thought we must be quite early :p

7.30 am : arrive at Art Gallery road, oh my gosh...., there are hundreds, and I guess almost a thousand of people already queuing :(. Geez, what time did they get there? I bet they spent overnight, and slept there. We joined the queue which already overflowed in the park nearby

7.30 - 10.00 am : queuing in the park, playing some board games with friends, eating, and people watching, just for killing the time.

10.00 am : the gate was finally open, and we started moving...yaaaayyy...., but it's still a long way to go to the spot.