This movie tells us about an irregular job that someone has. Ryan Bingham (beautifully played by George Clooney), a person who is responsible for laying-off an employee, seems like having a thrill of the side benefit from his job. He got to fly all over America, with American Airlines, to go to a company who hire his specialties of terminating an employee. He works at CTC that stands for Career Transition & Consultation, that its job desk is to send out the bad news in time like this, tells someone that he or she is no longer needed in their company and offered them a severance package to start a new life, a life that they always wanted before but could not be achieved due to their daily routines at work. Obviously, it is not an easy job for someone to do but somehow Ryan Bingham successfully ‘lured’ the employee to take the severance package and just go on with their new life.
Another interesting story that this movie tried to tell is how Ryan travel all over America using an airplanes, how he is being treated as a privileged person by the airlines, and also by the hotels, where he spent most of his time at Hilton. This benefit comes because of his loyalty of using the same airlines all over the year. Imagine he has to go on travel for 340 days up in the air and just spend only 22 days in his hometown in Omaha, Nebraska. How many miles would he get from his travel? And it is also one of his goals in life, to get as many miles as possible, until he loose counts. By the end of the movie, he managed to fulfill just that. 10,000,000 miles of air travel. With that he is the number #7 person in America who could achieve this. He got to talk with the pilot and his name would then be carved at the side of the airplanes. Apparently, another privileges comes with his achievements, get a dedicated phone line from American Airlines, etc.
But that’s not all, one of his lucky privileges is when he met Alex, a career woman, who turns out to be a frequent flyers as well. Hence they spend some quality time together by having an affair that Ryan soon realized that she already has a family and children.
Another part of the story is when he got back to his hometown and met his boss and briefly told about the company’s plan to apply the video conference termination through the internet. With this plan, he would no longer be needed to travel all over America and just simply do his job at his office in Omaha. This brilliant idea was brought up by Natalie, a young ambitious girl, who followed his boyfriend to Omaha just to get engaged, but later shown that love was not on her side. This plan is brought into the company to reduce the travel and insurance cost. Felt being threatened of losing all of his privileges, Ryan told his boss that Natalie should join her to know what the real deal of their job was, by flying all over America and handed over the news directly and face to face with the employee, not through some internet protocols. Along the journey they found themselves opening up for a different side of their life, Ryan by trying to settle down with Alex, and Natalie by learning how to deal with different effects from people after having a sad news about termination.
Overall, it is a good movie and really meant a lot personally by viewers in America especially in times of crisis like this. No wonder why it is being nominated for 6 Academy Awards for this year including Best Picture and Best Actor. Well, good luck for them, let’s see the result soon in early March. As for me, I definitely need to be Up in The Air again, last time we done that was last year, July 2009, traveling to Yogyakarta.
Showing posts with label leisure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leisure. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Zeus, Poseidon, Hercules, Athena, Aphrodite. Do you remember those names?!.. Yupp, they are the God and Goddes according to the ancient Greek myth. Well, there is more.. such as Perceus/Percy, Luke, Annabeth? Ring a bell? Guess not… they are the Demigod, half-human and half God, they are the offspring of the God with their human wife/husband.
This story tells us about the adventure of Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), Poseidon’s offspring, Groover (Brandon T. Jackon), a Saythr and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), Athena’s offspring in their conquest for the saving of Percy’s Mom from Hades (Steve Coogan), God of the Underworld. It all began when Zeus (Sean Bean), God of the Sun and Poseidon, God of the Sea involved in small dispute up in the Empire State Building asking who might have stolen the Lightning Bulb which is the most powerful God’s weapon created by Zeus. All along Zeus suspected that it was Percy who had stolen it. This has created a quarrel between Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus ordered him to bring the Lightning Bulb back before the War between Gods begin, a.k.a, the end of the world.
On the other part of the story, Percy just found out that he was one of the Demigods, for instance he able and like being in the water for a very long time, has the ability to cure himself by having water and most of all his ability to control the water. He was being protected by Groover all along. Hence, when trouble comes, this is when a Rufy and a Minotaur hunted him in order to get the Lightning Bulb, he was instructed to be at the Demigod’s camp, where there were plenty other Demigods. (Yupp, apparently God or Goddes often come to the earth to make out with human, hehehe.) In that camp Percy was taught on how to fight and develop his ability by Mr. Brutner (Pierce Brosnan), a Centaur who along the way told him about his background. On this camp is where he met Luke, another Demigod, Hermes’ offspring, who kind of helped him in bringing his Mom back from Hades lair in the Underworld by giving him a Treasure Map of the Three Magic Pearl location and also the Underwold location. He also gave him the Magic Shield where in it the Lightning Bulb being hidden by Luke all the time. So now, you have figured out who is the bad guy here.
In his journey of finding the pearl he, Annabeth and Groover met with Medusa (Uma Thurman), also with a five-headed beast in Nashville, a Lotus seduction in Las Vegas casino and also with Perseipon (Rosario Dawson), apologize for my lack of knowledge in spelling the God’s name. She was kept by Hades in his lair forever and have tried to escape from him forever,. Apparently she is one of the good guys.
In the end, there is a happy ending, where he could have his Mom back and get a chance to talk to his father, Poseidon, who had left him when he was only 7 months old.
Overall, this movie is one of the “just-ok” category movie especially when you are a kind of person who digs an adventure, myth, fantasy and also special ability/power type of movie.. And most probably there will be a sequel of the movie that I might look forward to, just to have a leisure time with my wife.
One tips: you might want to browse and learn again the Greeks Gods and Goddess myth before you go to the movie
This story tells us about the adventure of Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), Poseidon’s offspring, Groover (Brandon T. Jackon), a Saythr and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), Athena’s offspring in their conquest for the saving of Percy’s Mom from Hades (Steve Coogan), God of the Underworld. It all began when Zeus (Sean Bean), God of the Sun and Poseidon, God of the Sea involved in small dispute up in the Empire State Building asking who might have stolen the Lightning Bulb which is the most powerful God’s weapon created by Zeus. All along Zeus suspected that it was Percy who had stolen it. This has created a quarrel between Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus ordered him to bring the Lightning Bulb back before the War between Gods begin, a.k.a, the end of the world.
On the other part of the story, Percy just found out that he was one of the Demigods, for instance he able and like being in the water for a very long time, has the ability to cure himself by having water and most of all his ability to control the water. He was being protected by Groover all along. Hence, when trouble comes, this is when a Rufy and a Minotaur hunted him in order to get the Lightning Bulb, he was instructed to be at the Demigod’s camp, where there were plenty other Demigods. (Yupp, apparently God or Goddes often come to the earth to make out with human, hehehe.) In that camp Percy was taught on how to fight and develop his ability by Mr. Brutner (Pierce Brosnan), a Centaur who along the way told him about his background. On this camp is where he met Luke, another Demigod, Hermes’ offspring, who kind of helped him in bringing his Mom back from Hades lair in the Underworld by giving him a Treasure Map of the Three Magic Pearl location and also the Underwold location. He also gave him the Magic Shield where in it the Lightning Bulb being hidden by Luke all the time. So now, you have figured out who is the bad guy here.
In his journey of finding the pearl he, Annabeth and Groover met with Medusa (Uma Thurman), also with a five-headed beast in Nashville, a Lotus seduction in Las Vegas casino and also with Perseipon (Rosario Dawson), apologize for my lack of knowledge in spelling the God’s name. She was kept by Hades in his lair forever and have tried to escape from him forever,. Apparently she is one of the good guys.
In the end, there is a happy ending, where he could have his Mom back and get a chance to talk to his father, Poseidon, who had left him when he was only 7 months old.
Overall, this movie is one of the “just-ok” category movie especially when you are a kind of person who digs an adventure, myth, fantasy and also special ability/power type of movie.. And most probably there will be a sequel of the movie that I might look forward to, just to have a leisure time with my wife.
One tips: you might want to browse and learn again the Greeks Gods and Goddess myth before you go to the movie
Sunday, February 7, 2010
From Paris With Love
This movie tells about the newly recruited secret agent, Reese (Jonathan Rhys Myers) who is working for the United States Ambassador in Paris. Part of him being the Ambassador’s personal assistant, it turns out that he has been recruited as a secret agent by the U.S Department of Defense. His first job was to change a license number of an operation car that will be used by a more senior secret agent. He successfully nailed that easy job. His second task was even harder; he got to set a bug/ recording device at office of the Foreign Minister of France while at the same time attending a meeting along with the ambassador, after several attempts he finally set the device.
Now, the real action began when he was told to pick up Charles Wax (John Travolta) at the custom’s office in the airport who turns out to be the best secret agent who was sent to wipe-off terrorist chain in Paris. His slogan was Wax-On, Wax-Off. All the guns fire, butt-kicking action and bomb blast comes after he joined him finishing the tasks. The action happened at the Chinese restaurant, which turns out to be a kokain dealer spot, Chinese factory, slumdog apartment, rooftop, highways, and almost everywhere.
Here we could see that the newly recruited, Reese, still has the beginner’s nerve breakdown while holding a gun, and even to make his first shot, who in the end belongs to his fiancée.
Overall, it was a good movie, filled with action and blast, and some jokes during the assignment and recommended for the action-thirst movie goers.
Now, the real action began when he was told to pick up Charles Wax (John Travolta) at the custom’s office in the airport who turns out to be the best secret agent who was sent to wipe-off terrorist chain in Paris. His slogan was Wax-On, Wax-Off. All the guns fire, butt-kicking action and bomb blast comes after he joined him finishing the tasks. The action happened at the Chinese restaurant, which turns out to be a kokain dealer spot, Chinese factory, slumdog apartment, rooftop, highways, and almost everywhere.
Here we could see that the newly recruited, Reese, still has the beginner’s nerve breakdown while holding a gun, and even to make his first shot, who in the end belongs to his fiancée.
Overall, it was a good movie, filled with action and blast, and some jokes during the assignment and recommended for the action-thirst movie goers.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Immigrant
Knowing that it will be full schedule with wedding reception on our weekend, me and my wife took the courtesy to visit one of the happening clubs in Jakarta on Friday night. It is called Immigrant. The place is located at the 6th floor of the extension building in Plaza Indonesia. It is a combination of fancy restaurant and cool bar and lounge. Here you will find a seriously long bar ready to serve your drinking appetite until late at night. The entrance fee is only Rp 100,000 per person and you will get a free drink according to your preference, alcohol or non alcohol drink.
We arrived there at 10.30 pm and were told by the reception that it will be a guest DJ coming all the way down from UK to perform, I forgot his name. When we arrived, there was only a few people, well it is still early, right? So, we wandered around the clubs and there was an outdoor area where you could see the beautiful city light of Jakarta and also look directly down to the famous Bundaran Hotel Indonesia. The view was superb but it was a bit humid and hot outside, thus we went back inside to enjoy the ambience of the club.
People started coming in at 11.00 pm and so does the guest DJ. He finally made his first appearance at 11.30 pm and it was a rocking night ever since. The sound system inside the clubs is nice, you could hear loud music that he played very well and of course there are pretty ladies inside. It seems that the crowd in Immigrant is mostly occupied with adults just like in Blowfish (it will be in our next schedule) and it is not like what would be in Public, Embassy, etc. where you could find teenagers there, not that I am complaining though.
Unfortunately we have to go back to our house soon, so after an hour or so enjoying the guest DJ performance, at 00.30 am we went straight to our house and the traffic was great. For sure, there will be other clubs to visit in Jakarta just to taste a thrill of music here in the city.
We arrived there at 10.30 pm and were told by the reception that it will be a guest DJ coming all the way down from UK to perform, I forgot his name. When we arrived, there was only a few people, well it is still early, right? So, we wandered around the clubs and there was an outdoor area where you could see the beautiful city light of Jakarta and also look directly down to the famous Bundaran Hotel Indonesia. The view was superb but it was a bit humid and hot outside, thus we went back inside to enjoy the ambience of the club.
People started coming in at 11.00 pm and so does the guest DJ. He finally made his first appearance at 11.30 pm and it was a rocking night ever since. The sound system inside the clubs is nice, you could hear loud music that he played very well and of course there are pretty ladies inside. It seems that the crowd in Immigrant is mostly occupied with adults just like in Blowfish (it will be in our next schedule) and it is not like what would be in Public, Embassy, etc. where you could find teenagers there, not that I am complaining though.
Unfortunately we have to go back to our house soon, so after an hour or so enjoying the guest DJ performance, at 00.30 am we went straight to our house and the traffic was great. For sure, there will be other clubs to visit in Jakarta just to taste a thrill of music here in the city.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Taman Menteng - Barry oh Barry..
A nice way to spend your Sunday afternoon is by wandering around the Jakarta city with your family since you don’t get that opportunity a lot in the city, especially on weekdays. It seems that Jakarta offers a different joy and fun during weekend, one of them is the less traffic at Jalan Sudirman and M. Thamrin. I took the courtesy of having my family, my Mom and little sister to visit one of the cool places to hang out in Jakarta, it is called Taman Menteng. We departed from our house at 3 p.m. and we arrived there at 3.30 pm.
The place is famous with its two glass-buildings and surrounding greenery and also its football/basketball court. But nowadays Taman Menteng is even more famous with the controversial Little Barack Obama statue, which they called it the Barry statue.
Well, the reason of being controversial is because some people in Jakarta believe that there are other significant person or hero from Jakarta that deserves a spot or place in the park such as Muhammad Husni Thamrin, Benyamin Sueb, etc., So, why it has to be Barry (little Barack)? Is it just because he went to the elementary school in Menteng area, near the park itself, and now that he has become the president of USA? During the first week of its installment people kept discussing and opposing it, even some are willing to take it doen from the park. Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to see the statue before something bad happened to it.
Aside from the controversial statue, the park was crowded with teenagers and lovers who seemed to be in their own world. Hehehe..
We spent the rest of the afternoon by taking pictures and wander around the park.
Too bad the park is less maintained because you could see garbage, trash and some writings on the wall. Plus it was raining at that time; hence you could see some of the spots in the park are flooded by water, even the parking spot is a bit drained by water. Why do some people just could not appreciate art and maintain the park for our own amusement? Sometimes I feel pity to those kinds of people.
After spending an hour of enjoying the view in Taman Menteng, we went back to our car and headed straight to Plaza Senayan for some late lunch there. Now here is one place of a high maintenance building.
The route is going to Jalan Sudirman, until you find the Bundaran Hotel Indonesia where you could see the flushing fountain and also the Selamat Datang statue. Afterwards you take the right turn going to Kuningan or Menteng area, passing the Hotel Nikko entrance and just follow the road until you find the second intersection, make a right turn and then you will see the Taman Menteng on your left side. Or if you are from Kuningan area, just follow Jalan Rasuna Said going to Menteng, you will find the park on your right side.
Entrance fee is only Rp 3,000 for car parking
The place is famous with its two glass-buildings and surrounding greenery and also its football/basketball court. But nowadays Taman Menteng is even more famous with the controversial Little Barack Obama statue, which they called it the Barry statue.
Well, the reason of being controversial is because some people in Jakarta believe that there are other significant person or hero from Jakarta that deserves a spot or place in the park such as Muhammad Husni Thamrin, Benyamin Sueb, etc., So, why it has to be Barry (little Barack)? Is it just because he went to the elementary school in Menteng area, near the park itself, and now that he has become the president of USA? During the first week of its installment people kept discussing and opposing it, even some are willing to take it doen from the park. Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to see the statue before something bad happened to it.
Aside from the controversial statue, the park was crowded with teenagers and lovers who seemed to be in their own world. Hehehe..
We spent the rest of the afternoon by taking pictures and wander around the park.
Too bad the park is less maintained because you could see garbage, trash and some writings on the wall. Plus it was raining at that time; hence you could see some of the spots in the park are flooded by water, even the parking spot is a bit drained by water. Why do some people just could not appreciate art and maintain the park for our own amusement? Sometimes I feel pity to those kinds of people.
After spending an hour of enjoying the view in Taman Menteng, we went back to our car and headed straight to Plaza Senayan for some late lunch there. Now here is one place of a high maintenance building.
The route is going to Jalan Sudirman, until you find the Bundaran Hotel Indonesia where you could see the flushing fountain and also the Selamat Datang statue. Afterwards you take the right turn going to Kuningan or Menteng area, passing the Hotel Nikko entrance and just follow the road until you find the second intersection, make a right turn and then you will see the Taman Menteng on your left side. Or if you are from Kuningan area, just follow Jalan Rasuna Said going to Menteng, you will find the park on your right side.
Entrance fee is only Rp 3,000 for car parking
Monday, January 11, 2010
SnowBay water Park - TMII
On Sunday morning in December 2009, I and my wife took my lovely daughter to visit the SnowBay Water Park. It is located at the inside of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah complex area. It would be the second time my lovely daughter swam in the swimming pool. Luckily we arrived there in the morning so that we still able to find a parking space near the entrance of the SnowBay water park.
There was a credit card promotion at that time, “buy 1 get 1”, and since our daughter is still under 2 years old, she did not get charged for the entrance fee. Speaking about the entrance fee, personally I think that it is quite expensive, but it depends on your visit time, because the price would be different according to it. On weekday, adult is Rp 100,000, child (2 – 5 years old only) is Rp 80,000. While on weekend adult is Rp 120,000, child is Rp 100,000. Plus the deposit fee Rp 25,000 which you could get it back if you are not using the locker, buy foods and drink inside.
But nevertheless, the place is filled with fun. Once you entered the place you would feel like you are in the cold place in the Artic perhaps, since the decoration is filled up with snow and white ornament on top of it. Although it is in the middle of the day you would still have a kind of cold feeling.
When we finished changing with our swimsuit we went straight to the baby/children swimming pool area.
After several unsuccessful attempts of getting my lovely daughter to swim in it, I decided to amuse myself with what they have in store starting from Giant Bucket, Hurricane and Tube coaster. Well, I only went once to the tube coaster and my body was flipping around from right to left during the ride, it was fun though. Afterwards, I took the liberty of swimming at the Typhoon river along with my family. It was a slow current at the river and very relaxing yet my lovely daughter still cried all the way along the ride.
So after spending nearly 3 hours in SnowBay water park and a few sun burn, we decided to head back home because it was already 1 p.m and we need some extra calories after the thrilled-exercise in SnowBay water park. The price is worth-it with the excitement you would find there.
I guess, our next trip would be exploring Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, because the last time I went there was way back in elementary school and I personally think there will be much things to explore in TMII. Well, that would be just another story to tell isn’t it? Hehe..
How to get there: Take the JOOR toll road, exit at TMII and just ask people nearby on where the location of TMII is. It is quite fast and easy to go there.
The entrance fee of TMII is around Rp 10,000 – Rp 30,000; it varies on how many people inside your car.
There was a credit card promotion at that time, “buy 1 get 1”, and since our daughter is still under 2 years old, she did not get charged for the entrance fee. Speaking about the entrance fee, personally I think that it is quite expensive, but it depends on your visit time, because the price would be different according to it. On weekday, adult is Rp 100,000, child (2 – 5 years old only) is Rp 80,000. While on weekend adult is Rp 120,000, child is Rp 100,000. Plus the deposit fee Rp 25,000 which you could get it back if you are not using the locker, buy foods and drink inside.
But nevertheless, the place is filled with fun. Once you entered the place you would feel like you are in the cold place in the Artic perhaps, since the decoration is filled up with snow and white ornament on top of it. Although it is in the middle of the day you would still have a kind of cold feeling.
When we finished changing with our swimsuit we went straight to the baby/children swimming pool area.
After several unsuccessful attempts of getting my lovely daughter to swim in it, I decided to amuse myself with what they have in store starting from Giant Bucket, Hurricane and Tube coaster. Well, I only went once to the tube coaster and my body was flipping around from right to left during the ride, it was fun though. Afterwards, I took the liberty of swimming at the Typhoon river along with my family. It was a slow current at the river and very relaxing yet my lovely daughter still cried all the way along the ride.
So after spending nearly 3 hours in SnowBay water park and a few sun burn, we decided to head back home because it was already 1 p.m and we need some extra calories after the thrilled-exercise in SnowBay water park. The price is worth-it with the excitement you would find there.
I guess, our next trip would be exploring Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, because the last time I went there was way back in elementary school and I personally think there will be much things to explore in TMII. Well, that would be just another story to tell isn’t it? Hehe..
How to get there: Take the JOOR toll road, exit at TMII and just ask people nearby on where the location of TMII is. It is quite fast and easy to go there.
The entrance fee of TMII is around Rp 10,000 – Rp 30,000; it varies on how many people inside your car.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Director: Guy Ritchie
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mike Strong
Intriguing, one word to describe the first movie that me and my wife watch in 2010, Sherlock Holmes. Guy Ritchie, the director of the movie, has successfully made us felt anticipated and enthusiast during the whole movie. Each second we asked ourselves what would happen next hence you will not be bored watching it. The way he filmed it was brilliant. There are some scenes which are my favorite, scenes where Sherlock Holmes in slow motion tells us on what would happen next and afterwards it goes normal again and just like what he had said before and also scenes where he explained the reason or cause of death just like a super power detective.
The movie was set in early industrialization time in England, I don’t know the exact time, but I could see lovely view in the town where all are seemed a bit dark, starting from the road, ports, transportation, building and houses. I could see the famous Parliament building and also the London Bridge being build (I don’t know whether it is London Bridge or just another bridge in the city, hehe..).
The actors were superb. There is this kind of chemistry and bond between Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law), where as a team they were one side to another but as a friend they were kind of against one another in a good way. Not to mention the lovely Ms. Adler (Rachel McAdams) who beautifully played the role as a strong, smart and independent woman in the movie.
The movie is about the chase of Lord Blackwood (Mike Strong) by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and also about the chase of Ms Adler by Sherlock Holmes, who turned out to have a special feeling towards each other. The former was the whole plot of the movie while the latter was a kind of the might seems to be a sequel of the movie. Lord Blackwood which considers himself has a sort dark magical power, successfully brought fears to the people in the city by his power. It turns out that all of his tricks were just a scientific and smart move of him working together with his genius man who done all the research. Sherlock Holmes who pays attention to details even the smallest one managed to figure them out. He kind of has a slight disorder that really served him well in analyzing details. This man even could fight, well not like Jet Lee kungfu fight kind of thing, but smart move and punch that could knock his enemies, and the same thing goes with Dr. Watson who asked himself why he kept pulled in a situation with Sherlock Holmes, where he thought that all of the situation were intentionally set by Sherlock Holmes.
In the end, Lord Blackwood was just a regular guy that could not wake up after his death and I was left intrigued with what could have happened next with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Ms. Adler and also Dr. Mirioty, a professor whom she worked for. Well I would not mind waiting for another year to watch the sequel of Sherlock Holmes adventure.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mike Strong
Intriguing, one word to describe the first movie that me and my wife watch in 2010, Sherlock Holmes. Guy Ritchie, the director of the movie, has successfully made us felt anticipated and enthusiast during the whole movie. Each second we asked ourselves what would happen next hence you will not be bored watching it. The way he filmed it was brilliant. There are some scenes which are my favorite, scenes where Sherlock Holmes in slow motion tells us on what would happen next and afterwards it goes normal again and just like what he had said before and also scenes where he explained the reason or cause of death just like a super power detective.
The movie was set in early industrialization time in England, I don’t know the exact time, but I could see lovely view in the town where all are seemed a bit dark, starting from the road, ports, transportation, building and houses. I could see the famous Parliament building and also the London Bridge being build (I don’t know whether it is London Bridge or just another bridge in the city, hehe..).
The actors were superb. There is this kind of chemistry and bond between Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law), where as a team they were one side to another but as a friend they were kind of against one another in a good way. Not to mention the lovely Ms. Adler (Rachel McAdams) who beautifully played the role as a strong, smart and independent woman in the movie.
The movie is about the chase of Lord Blackwood (Mike Strong) by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and also about the chase of Ms Adler by Sherlock Holmes, who turned out to have a special feeling towards each other. The former was the whole plot of the movie while the latter was a kind of the might seems to be a sequel of the movie. Lord Blackwood which considers himself has a sort dark magical power, successfully brought fears to the people in the city by his power. It turns out that all of his tricks were just a scientific and smart move of him working together with his genius man who done all the research. Sherlock Holmes who pays attention to details even the smallest one managed to figure them out. He kind of has a slight disorder that really served him well in analyzing details. This man even could fight, well not like Jet Lee kungfu fight kind of thing, but smart move and punch that could knock his enemies, and the same thing goes with Dr. Watson who asked himself why he kept pulled in a situation with Sherlock Holmes, where he thought that all of the situation were intentionally set by Sherlock Holmes.
In the end, Lord Blackwood was just a regular guy that could not wake up after his death and I was left intrigued with what could have happened next with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Ms. Adler and also Dr. Mirioty, a professor whom she worked for. Well I would not mind waiting for another year to watch the sequel of Sherlock Holmes adventure.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Java R&W team Away Day @ Bandung (Dec 2008)
Three years has finally come for me to join the last team away day with my department which is Java Reservoir and Wells. This time, I am one of the event committee whose job description is to manage almost the whole thing from accommodation, activity, safety concern and also leisure time. After hard discussion with the rest of the committee member, finally we have come to an agreement to spend our team away day at Bandung for 2 days-1 night activity. As for accommodation, we choose the Beverly Hills town House which is located at Cisitu area. The place is wonderful where there are around 10 – 20 townhouses which could occupy 4 – 6 person each. We arrived there at 10 a.m. and went straight to a short team meeting for one and a half hour to discuss our achievement in 2008 and our plan for 2009.
Afterwards, we went to the Bumi Sangkuriang area for lunch and then followed by games and outbound activity such as Flying Fox, Balance Stick, Japanese Samurai and also Crazy Doughnut.
Personally I had a huge fun and “excitement” on the latter game, where our team became literally crazy due to our in-capability of moving that doughnut to other place using a long stick after several attempts.
And after us finally able to move it, we were just so desperate enough to know that there was not only one doughnut but four of them. But hey, it is supposed to be a Team activity right? Hence with our new spirit and strategy we were able to move all of them and managed to be the number two spot during the day.
At 5 p.m. we went back to our townhouse to clean our self and get ready for a nice dinner at Sierra restaurant. The menu is okay but the ambience and the view were superb. It was a clear night sky at that time thus we were able to see the city lights from Bandung city, accompanied by a wonderful slow music.
In the morning, we were divided into two groups, Shopping group and Adventure group. The idea is to spend the rest of the morning and be back at the townhouse at 11 a.m.
So here we are the Adventure group getting ready for the Offroad activity and then followed by Paint Ball activity at Cikole area near Lembang. The former was the first one for me; it was fun and exciting actually, where we go on a modified-Land Rover to a very muddy and tranquil street in middle of the the forest on our way to the Paint Ball arena in Cikole. For sure, paint ball game is one way of having fun, especially in the middle of the forest. It felt like you actually went to a war with the entire wardrobe minus the real bullet.
Unfortunately, our team lost to the other team, perhaps due to the excitement of making many strategies but some of them did not happen at the actual execution.
On our way back to the townhouse we choose to go at the main road not the Offroad anymore because it was already 11.30 a.m. and yes we were already late. So at 1 p.m. we left the townhouse for lunch at the Arisan café which is nice actually, the food is great (supported by our huge hunger at that time) and the restaurant is simple yet classy.
Having our stomach filled with nice foods, our group went back to Jakarta, exhausted and excited. Well, once again Bandung has never disappointed me.
How to get there:
Bandung: from Jakarta, take the Jakarta Cipularang (Purbaleunyi) toll road, exit at Pasteur for an easier access to the main city, but could be very heavy traffic especially at weekend, and long holiday. You could take an alternative route, exit at Buah Batu toll gate. Toll fee for Jakarta – Bandung is around 50,000 rupiah and normally the duration of going there is 2 – 2.5 hours, it depends on the traffic at the toll road. Sometimes it could get you up to 3 – 4 hours during heavy traffic.
The price for each of the Beverly Hills townhouse is ranging from 700,000 to 1,500,000/night and the outdoor activity (Offroad and Paintball comes as one package) is around 150,000 to 300,000 rupiah/person
Afterwards, we went to the Bumi Sangkuriang area for lunch and then followed by games and outbound activity such as Flying Fox, Balance Stick, Japanese Samurai and also Crazy Doughnut.
Personally I had a huge fun and “excitement” on the latter game, where our team became literally crazy due to our in-capability of moving that doughnut to other place using a long stick after several attempts.
And after us finally able to move it, we were just so desperate enough to know that there was not only one doughnut but four of them. But hey, it is supposed to be a Team activity right? Hence with our new spirit and strategy we were able to move all of them and managed to be the number two spot during the day.
At 5 p.m. we went back to our townhouse to clean our self and get ready for a nice dinner at Sierra restaurant. The menu is okay but the ambience and the view were superb. It was a clear night sky at that time thus we were able to see the city lights from Bandung city, accompanied by a wonderful slow music.
In the morning, we were divided into two groups, Shopping group and Adventure group. The idea is to spend the rest of the morning and be back at the townhouse at 11 a.m.
So here we are the Adventure group getting ready for the Offroad activity and then followed by Paint Ball activity at Cikole area near Lembang. The former was the first one for me; it was fun and exciting actually, where we go on a modified-Land Rover to a very muddy and tranquil street in middle of the the forest on our way to the Paint Ball arena in Cikole. For sure, paint ball game is one way of having fun, especially in the middle of the forest. It felt like you actually went to a war with the entire wardrobe minus the real bullet.
Unfortunately, our team lost to the other team, perhaps due to the excitement of making many strategies but some of them did not happen at the actual execution.
On our way back to the townhouse we choose to go at the main road not the Offroad anymore because it was already 11.30 a.m. and yes we were already late. So at 1 p.m. we left the townhouse for lunch at the Arisan café which is nice actually, the food is great (supported by our huge hunger at that time) and the restaurant is simple yet classy.
Having our stomach filled with nice foods, our group went back to Jakarta, exhausted and excited. Well, once again Bandung has never disappointed me.
How to get there:
Bandung: from Jakarta, take the Jakarta Cipularang (Purbaleunyi) toll road, exit at Pasteur for an easier access to the main city, but could be very heavy traffic especially at weekend, and long holiday. You could take an alternative route, exit at Buah Batu toll gate. Toll fee for Jakarta – Bandung is around 50,000 rupiah and normally the duration of going there is 2 – 2.5 hours, it depends on the traffic at the toll road. Sometimes it could get you up to 3 – 4 hours during heavy traffic.
The price for each of the Beverly Hills townhouse is ranging from 700,000 to 1,500,000/night and the outdoor activity (Offroad and Paintball comes as one package) is around 150,000 to 300,000 rupiah/person
Tantre and The Brondonx (Oct - Nov 2008)
“Okay boys, I’ll see you tomorrow at 6.30 a.m at Ragunan sport center!” Tantre said. She is the leader of our group called Tantre and The Brondonx. There are 10 of us in the group. Tantre stands for Tante, an Indonesian word describing a classy and dignified mid-aged woman and simply because she is the eldest among us. The rest of us were boys and girls from 23 – 28 years old.
This group was created in order to join a sporty and healthy competition within our office which is called Run-A-Muck. This is a one month program where we got to be very healthy and sporty and competing with 10 – 15 other groups. Therefore during that one specific month, Tantre and The Brondonx has made some what so-called sporty event every week such as jogging around at the office park during lunch break wearing nothing but a short pants, jump suit and T-shirt while spreading away some flyers containing healthy way of living to the passerby.
Not only that, we also went to Monas on a lovely Sunday morning and luckily there were some kind of a sport event being there at the same time which is the-10,000-foot step for a stronger bone held by one of the dairy products producer specialized in Milk for the stronger bone.
After walking for almost an hour from Djakarta Theater to Monas, the distance is only 500m, (too much photo session involved during the walk), we spent the rest of the morning eating Ketupat/Lontong Sayur, Nasi Goreng and Bubur Ayam at the food stall around Monas area. It was a perfect way to end the day.
On the last week of the month, as she said before, we were supposed to gather at Ragunan sport center at 6.30 a.m, all of us managed to get there around 7-ish in the morning. Of all my 28 years of living in Jakarta, this is the very first time I visited Ragunan Sport Center, turns out that it was not bad at all, you will find jogging track which is like the one in Gelora Senayan, plus there is a football field, swimming pool, badminton and volley ball court and many others.
Luckily the jogging track was not too crowded at that time only some local athlete who were doing a routine in the jogging track. Thus we spent an hour of exercising and jogging plus another one and a half hour of photo session. Hehe..
This is another reason why our group, Tantre and The Brondonx, was selected as the Best Group of the Year, it is simply because we were very consistent and cooperative doing some sports and photo session.
As a reward, each of us was awarded an IPOD by the committee and a fancy dinner plus Karaoke as a special treat from our beloved Tantre. Sadly, now Tantre and The Brondonx has been separated by work condition, I have moved to a different company and some others as well, even there is one of us who is working at East Kalimantan but we believe that the sporty and cooperative spirit will remain strong deep within ourself.
How to get there:
Monas: just take the the Busway from Blok-M to Kota, stop at Monas, or if you want to walk, you can park your car at the Djakarta Theather and walk or ride your bike to Monas for about half an hour. It is a good way to spend your Sunday morning especially when there is a car-free day which is usually held on the last week of the month. You could call the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) for the exact date of the car-free day.
Ragunan Sport Center: take the Busway from Kuningan to Ragunan, stop at the Ragunan Busway Terminal and walk to the Sport Center which is only 400 m from the terminal. Or you can always take your car with you, go to the Departemen Pertanian intersection at Jl. TB Simatupang, turn right if you were coming from Pondok Indah, go straight until you find the entrance to the Ragunan zoo, do not enter the zoo, make a left turn at the corner of the entrance, or you could simply ask the street vendor for direction.
This group was created in order to join a sporty and healthy competition within our office which is called Run-A-Muck. This is a one month program where we got to be very healthy and sporty and competing with 10 – 15 other groups. Therefore during that one specific month, Tantre and The Brondonx has made some what so-called sporty event every week such as jogging around at the office park during lunch break wearing nothing but a short pants, jump suit and T-shirt while spreading away some flyers containing healthy way of living to the passerby.
Not only that, we also went to Monas on a lovely Sunday morning and luckily there were some kind of a sport event being there at the same time which is the-10,000-foot step for a stronger bone held by one of the dairy products producer specialized in Milk for the stronger bone.
After walking for almost an hour from Djakarta Theater to Monas, the distance is only 500m, (too much photo session involved during the walk), we spent the rest of the morning eating Ketupat/Lontong Sayur, Nasi Goreng and Bubur Ayam at the food stall around Monas area. It was a perfect way to end the day.
On the last week of the month, as she said before, we were supposed to gather at Ragunan sport center at 6.30 a.m, all of us managed to get there around 7-ish in the morning. Of all my 28 years of living in Jakarta, this is the very first time I visited Ragunan Sport Center, turns out that it was not bad at all, you will find jogging track which is like the one in Gelora Senayan, plus there is a football field, swimming pool, badminton and volley ball court and many others.
Luckily the jogging track was not too crowded at that time only some local athlete who were doing a routine in the jogging track. Thus we spent an hour of exercising and jogging plus another one and a half hour of photo session. Hehe..
This is another reason why our group, Tantre and The Brondonx, was selected as the Best Group of the Year, it is simply because we were very consistent and cooperative doing some sports and photo session.
As a reward, each of us was awarded an IPOD by the committee and a fancy dinner plus Karaoke as a special treat from our beloved Tantre. Sadly, now Tantre and The Brondonx has been separated by work condition, I have moved to a different company and some others as well, even there is one of us who is working at East Kalimantan but we believe that the sporty and cooperative spirit will remain strong deep within ourself.
How to get there:
Monas: just take the the Busway from Blok-M to Kota, stop at Monas, or if you want to walk, you can park your car at the Djakarta Theather and walk or ride your bike to Monas for about half an hour. It is a good way to spend your Sunday morning especially when there is a car-free day which is usually held on the last week of the month. You could call the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) for the exact date of the car-free day.
Ragunan Sport Center: take the Busway from Kuningan to Ragunan, stop at the Ragunan Busway Terminal and walk to the Sport Center which is only 400 m from the terminal. Or you can always take your car with you, go to the Departemen Pertanian intersection at Jl. TB Simatupang, turn right if you were coming from Pondok Indah, go straight until you find the entrance to the Ragunan zoo, do not enter the zoo, make a left turn at the corner of the entrance, or you could simply ask the street vendor for direction.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Rafting @ Citarik (Dec 2009): First time but definitely not the last
It is quite unusual actually, for me at least, where now due to the small team member in my department (there are only nine of us, 4 expats and 5 national employees); we got the chance to go rafting at Citarik River as our Away Day event.
Normally, in my previous company where there were fifty-ish person, an Away Day event would be a regular outbound activity, not that im complaining though, such as Flying Fox, outdoor games, Paint Ball, or Offroad, followed by fancy dinner and then straight back to Jakarta but now something new to me, “rafting”. I’ve always wanted to go rafting since in college but my Mom always told me not to do that knowing that it would be very dangerous and most of all she still remember that I could not swim and would be drowned eventually, well that was true 10 years ago, now I could swim Mom, hehe.. Thus, I always keep that craving deep inside of me until now, my 28th years of living.
I was picked up very early at 4.30 a.m on Thursday morning, 17th December 2009, and the plan was to get there at 9.00 a.m. for a short team meeting. The traffic to Sukabumi was very heavy, even in the morning and it is even worse than the road to Puncak with only two lanes each for going up and down, not to mention the big trucks and the sophisticated “angkot” driver. Hence, we arrived at Caldera resort (one of the rafting provider in Citarik river) at 9.30 a.m, went straight for breakfast and at 10.00 we started with team meeting to have a brainstorm for our 2009 performance and achievement and decide the 2010 objectives.
We had lunch at 12.00 a.m and soon afterwards we get prepared for rafting. Personal PPE is provided by Caldera such as helmet, life jacket and of course “dayung”. After 20 minutes of riding a truck, we arrived at the upstream part of the Citarik River, this 20 minutes journey itself felt like an Offroad, where the road was very bumpy but it was fun.
Not long after that, the instructor divided us into 2 rafts and gave a brief instruction of what we are supposed to do during rafting. It turns out that there are some words, codes and instructions that normally used during rafting but all I could remember was “Boom-Boom” where you should bend your head and body in upward position and hold on to Dear God tightly because there will be a bumpy raft, waves or even rocks in front. Although there were no rocks or heavy raft in front, our instructor sometimes yelled “Boom-Boom” intentionally just to see our reaction and his amusement.
The 2-hours-rafting felt so short and the stream was not very rough at that times so none of us got injured or drowned, only one of my expat colleague flipped over at one of the raft.
There are 10 – 30 rafts along the river ranging from easy rafts until rough rafts and you could go rafting for 2 up to 4 hours, it depends on your preference but of course the price would be different. We took the 2 hours package that cost us Rp 180.000/pax.
It was quite an experience for me going rafting; we left from Caldera at 4 p.m. and due to the crazy traffic going down from Sukabumi to Ciawi, I arrived at my house in Pondok Pinang at 10 p.m.
Next time rafting would be the 4 hours package at the rainy season.
Mom, wish me luck..!!
Infos:
There are 4 provider of rafting in Citarik River: Caldera, Arus Liar, and two others. Minimum is to have 4 people for one raft. If there are only two of you then you still should pay for 4 people.
How to get there: take the JORR, exit at the Ciawi toll gate, pass the market and just follow the roads going up, after the 2nd or 3rd gas station (in your left side) there will be a right turn going up as well, follow that road you will then see the tea trees and palm trees plantation and when you see the Caldera/Arus Liar billboard sign, turn left. They are located next to the Citarik River.
Traveling time would be 3 ~ 5 hrs (depends on the traffic) Don’t forget to bring an extra shirt and short for rafting, toiletries, and sunblock.
Photos would be taken care by the provider with an extra cost for it.
Normally, in my previous company where there were fifty-ish person, an Away Day event would be a regular outbound activity, not that im complaining though, such as Flying Fox, outdoor games, Paint Ball, or Offroad, followed by fancy dinner and then straight back to Jakarta but now something new to me, “rafting”. I’ve always wanted to go rafting since in college but my Mom always told me not to do that knowing that it would be very dangerous and most of all she still remember that I could not swim and would be drowned eventually, well that was true 10 years ago, now I could swim Mom, hehe.. Thus, I always keep that craving deep inside of me until now, my 28th years of living.
I was picked up very early at 4.30 a.m on Thursday morning, 17th December 2009, and the plan was to get there at 9.00 a.m. for a short team meeting. The traffic to Sukabumi was very heavy, even in the morning and it is even worse than the road to Puncak with only two lanes each for going up and down, not to mention the big trucks and the sophisticated “angkot” driver. Hence, we arrived at Caldera resort (one of the rafting provider in Citarik river) at 9.30 a.m, went straight for breakfast and at 10.00 we started with team meeting to have a brainstorm for our 2009 performance and achievement and decide the 2010 objectives.
We had lunch at 12.00 a.m and soon afterwards we get prepared for rafting. Personal PPE is provided by Caldera such as helmet, life jacket and of course “dayung”. After 20 minutes of riding a truck, we arrived at the upstream part of the Citarik River, this 20 minutes journey itself felt like an Offroad, where the road was very bumpy but it was fun.
Not long after that, the instructor divided us into 2 rafts and gave a brief instruction of what we are supposed to do during rafting. It turns out that there are some words, codes and instructions that normally used during rafting but all I could remember was “Boom-Boom” where you should bend your head and body in upward position and hold on to Dear God tightly because there will be a bumpy raft, waves or even rocks in front. Although there were no rocks or heavy raft in front, our instructor sometimes yelled “Boom-Boom” intentionally just to see our reaction and his amusement.
The 2-hours-rafting felt so short and the stream was not very rough at that times so none of us got injured or drowned, only one of my expat colleague flipped over at one of the raft.
There are 10 – 30 rafts along the river ranging from easy rafts until rough rafts and you could go rafting for 2 up to 4 hours, it depends on your preference but of course the price would be different. We took the 2 hours package that cost us Rp 180.000/pax.
It was quite an experience for me going rafting; we left from Caldera at 4 p.m. and due to the crazy traffic going down from Sukabumi to Ciawi, I arrived at my house in Pondok Pinang at 10 p.m.
Next time rafting would be the 4 hours package at the rainy season.
Mom, wish me luck..!!
Infos:
There are 4 provider of rafting in Citarik River: Caldera, Arus Liar, and two others. Minimum is to have 4 people for one raft. If there are only two of you then you still should pay for 4 people.
How to get there: take the JORR, exit at the Ciawi toll gate, pass the market and just follow the roads going up, after the 2nd or 3rd gas station (in your left side) there will be a right turn going up as well, follow that road you will then see the tea trees and palm trees plantation and when you see the Caldera/Arus Liar billboard sign, turn left. They are located next to the Citarik River.
Traveling time would be 3 ~ 5 hrs (depends on the traffic) Don’t forget to bring an extra shirt and short for rafting, toiletries, and sunblock.
Photos would be taken care by the provider with an extra cost for it.
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