Baked Chocolate with Hershey Kisses and Icing Sugar

Baked Chocolate with Hersey Kisses

A healthy bake, i found this recipe from TV program. its basic, and looks so delicious. Also all the ingredients available on my fridge, so why not to try for baked?

so heres the magic!!

Baked Choco

Ingredients:

150 gr Margarine

175 gr Palm Sugar

1/4 tsbp Salt

5 eggs

50 gr cocoa powder

125 gr Almond Flour

50 gr all-purpose flour

75 gr caster sugar

50 gr bread crumb / tepung roti

How – to – Make

1. on the bowl, mixer all margarine, Palm sugar, salt until creamy with medium speed. Then add eggs one by one with the low speed. Mix well

2. Add cocoa, almond flour, flour and caster sugar in the bowl, mix it well. turn it off

3. stir gentle with spatula and add the bread crumbs until all solid.

4. pre heat the oven approx 15-20 minutes

5. Baked in temp 160C within 40-45 minutes

VOILAAA!!!!

with various topping

you also can add whatever you want as a topping, in my experiment i use 2 topping. An easy topping for beginner. 

Hershey Kisses Topping

1. Creme liquid / whip

2. Fresh Milk

3. Rhum / Vanili essence

Mix all 3 liquid ingredients until thick and pour into the cake, also you add Hershey Kisses , M&M’s and Oreo as a variation

Topping Icing Sugar (Very Simple!!!)

1. icing sugar

2. hershey kisses

pouring in to the top of the cake, and decorated with Kisses. WELL DONE!!

icing sugar and kisses 2 topping

This batter also good for cupcakes base. I put some batter on cupcakes wrap. and add some chocolate chips

on cupcakes wrap

tempted to bite the "Kisses"

Happy Weekend y’all , Happy baked!!!

Best Mock-up interview,Fierce!!

Hello, may i speak to ms. Rinny Hafid? i would to invite you on Tuesday on 3pm at Hotel Shangri-La for an interview. Do you have a time?

 Interview? in 5 star Hotel? really? did he had a wrong number to call?No, He doesnt, because he said a correct my full name. But, i never applied for any job in that company. where the hell he know my number and all my ID?

 he replied, “we know from your university, so do you have a time to interview for our company this tuesday?”

OK thats make a sense, since the university off course have my data base as well, and i’m really interesting with that BIG COMPANY. Really, i was dreamed to being a part of that company!!! i remember, back in 2008 i was applied for several position and no-one call from their HR department. LOL “pathetic”!!

 But today, why i have to refused this a great opportunity? am i kidding? or stupid?

i answered very quicked ” YES, would love to come your interview”

 5 hours before the meeting, i learned quickly about the company, this very big company. they produce a cigarette in this world. Very big company and had a lot of best employee. for me, this interview like a have been doing since i was graduate, and they just want to know about me, myself and my passion. i know how to answered this easy question, i have been doing this all the time. through this yeaarrrrrrr!!!! so, i make it gently and calm, like a pro. LOL

 About one a half hour i spent with Mr Eric to interview, like others interviewer we more or less talked about anything he wanted to know about me. But i saw him a lil bit clumsy. And for some reason, i really easy-going after i know about the mock-up interview.

 Me, and 7 candidate whose are they a man, and i am the only one women we felt so excited about the interview, none among us known what was up to. But we had in one common, we’re from the reputable university in town, with a different background. Me in Finance&Banking, Rubi from Economic Management, Rizky from Law School, Renald and Malik from Pshycology, Hendra from IT , Anindya from Computer and the last guy whose name Unggul from Al-azhar, i dont know about him, he quite guy and we dont have a changes to lil bit conversation.

 since, 4 pm and we had a coffee break i just fallen in love with the pastry, i like sweet and all the croissant. damn!! i cant resist,

i have an interview for a great position in the big company, and now what? i am stranded in Luxury Hotel in town. Also had a fancy Dinner in SATOO!! what a lucky me!!! 

 i heard about this from Rubi, hahahah what a shamed he wont left the hotel before we had a dinner, so, we’re 7 in very fine dining at SATOO, we mingle and enjoy the great dinner. BTW, i like SATOO!

 i start with Sushi!! well, i think a lot about sushi tei lately, but now i ate a sushi and fresh shrimp in SATOO. a good start y’all

The-sushi-station

then, i search for taglioni pasta with alfredo sauce and my condiment are a turkey (Happy ThanksGiving!!), Seabass Fish also coriander potato! FIESTA!!! i love my dinner!!!

western Station

Also i tried a duck pecking in Chinese station, they provide a good duck and Indian stall also, but i prefer choose a duck then the curry, since i not really like much about indian curry itself, but yeah why not to try?

The-Peking-Duck-Kitchen-Station

And on the corner i saw JAMU station, they provided some JAMU? really. its so unique!! for the dessert? oohh gosh!! i cant quite from this station, a lot of menus i adored such a cherry jubile, foundue, all the pastries, ice  cream and all kind those dessert always temptating me!!!

dessert station

 

Sweet From Heaven!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i got lil bit tipsy, after i finished my Cheery  Jubilee, is a good combination between the pancake, Grand Monsuir liquier and Cheery condiment with tepanyaki ice cream. wooww!! what a dessert

CherriesJubilee

Thank you for all candidate i hope we will meet again, in a great opportunity. Also Thanks a bunch for ‘secret company’ for this fabs interview. On behalf of the candidate i would say thank you very much. fierce!!!

WELL, just my luck!!

Indomie Kuah Susu

INI SEMUA SALAHIN KE SESA!!!

Kalo ga dia malam-malam ngomongin indomie, ga bakal gw bakal bikin indomie di siang bolong gini. PAKE SUSU lagi! yaataaalaaammm enakk banget!! laknat abisss enaknyaa 

you guys should try this.

Ingredients 

1. Indomie / Whatever brand you name it (KUAH) (Gw sih Rasa ayam bawang)

2. Fresh Milk

3. Butter/Margarine

4. Cheese 

5. 1sdm Susu Bubuk *Whatever you name it 

Very Easy Step:

1. Rebus Mie seperti biasa. Kalo gw rebusnya pake air biasa dulu, baru pas setengah mateng gw masukin ke rebusan fresh milk. Atau mau dr awal rebus pake susu juga its okay. *cemplungin lembaran keju *melted* ♥

2. tuang bumbu pelengkap ditambah butter sesuai selera dan susu bubuk tadi. Gw ga pake minyak yg ada di kemasan

3. tuang rebusan susu ke mangkok, aduk sampai semua rata baru masukin mie-nya. Taburin keju dan saus sambal ‘dua iblis’

Santap!!!!!!!!

Indomie Kuah Susu

plain fresh milk combine with noodles

 

Milk-Noodle-Grated Cheese-Heaven!!!

11/11/11 a century,10 years together!

11.11.11 what a fenomenal!!

Banyak dari sebagian masyarakat yang mengadakan ritual sepakat se-hidup-se-mati hari ini. Di mulai dari tanggal yang unik dan segala keberagaman alasan yang menjadikan hari ini membuat saya sangat kelimpungan membagi waktu untuk mendatangi undangan tersebut. hehhee

Di lain hal, saya masih teringat 10 tahun yang lalu, masih berseragam abu-abu, dan juga menggibarkan semangat perubahan dalam sebuah struktur organisasi yang di sebut OSIS. Dengan modal pakaian abu-abu dan dorongan ingin mendapat emblem dan topi yang tersohor itu, maka berangkat lah saya dan teman-teman satu angkat untuk berjuang dengan nama ‘ABU-ABU’

Abu-abu sebenarnya bukanlah warna, seperti juga hitam dan putih. Abu-abu hanyalah tingkat itensitas warna jika diterjemahkan dalam komposisi hitam-putih.

Dengan modal uang receh yang berkode serta pas-pasan menuju tempat eksekusi. niat banget nih abu-abu! maaf, ralat. Bukan NIAT tapi lebih mengutamakan sisi ‘KEBERSAMAAN’. Jikalau ada dari sekitar 20 ‘ranger’ yang hari itu mangkir dan tidak mengikuti seleksi akhir sudah dipastikan mereka jauh dari kata ‘kebersamaan’. Benerkan cuma 15 orang yang bener-bener niat buat dateng di final test buat dapet tuh emblem dan topi dengan mengorbankan harga diri serta menjunjung tinggi kebersamaan.

gimana gak niat, sebelumnya beberapa bulan sebelum tanggal keramat ini, kami Abu-Abu menjalankan banyak kejadian pahit, asem, asin. kalo mau nanya manis kayaknya belum ada tuh rasa. hahaha..

dari mulai kumpul pertama di RO yang isinya bau kaos kaki asem, trus dihuni oleh banyak anak-anak yang cuma ngikut-ngikut biar tenar sampe senior-senior yang senengnya cengengesan ngeliatin adek kelasnya. Apa yang kita dapat disitu? NOTHING but NAGGING! omelan, cacian, makian yang menambah daftar kerjaan sekolah yang mulai numpuk. sampul osama lah, tanda tangan kakak kelas lah, sampe puzzle yang ga jelas tuh gunanya apaan.

sampai pada akhirnya, di kerjain SPONTAN!! uuhhuuuyyy.. di guyur aer comberan! kenapa ya tetap mau ikutan? jawaban masih ABU-ABU,ask yourself!

Belum lagi ngerjain proker-proker yang sudah berdatangan, dari Buka Puasa, Class Meeting, Seminar Narkoba (perv!!) sampeeee PENSI (heloo!!) semuanya pahit asam manis rame rasanya.

Buka puasa, Proker pertama dengan modal yang sangat besar. Lebih-lebih orang hajatan kawinan. Ketua-nya lupa siapa, tapi yang jelas udah ga ada namanya ketua siapa dan wakil, semuanya kerja demi satu misi! BERHASIL! (berhasil bikin beberapa angkatan kenyang sampe mampus!!) mana ada bukber pake sistem katering orang hajatan kawinan, mana ada bukber pake acara nyambut tamu pake red carpet? ya cuma ABU-ABU yang bisa, dan setelahnya kita mikir gimana bayar katering JUANDIKA!!! daarrr!!!

Seminar Narkoba!!! ini nih yang bikin banyak cerita. Seminar di kala banjir melanda jakarta. Bulan Februari, Johan ngadain seminar narkoba dikawasan banjir, pagi-pagi hujan ga bisa di hindari dan akhirnya saya nekat kesekolah demi BERHASIL nya proker johan, ga disangka menuju sekolah udah sepinggang banjirnya, banyak jalan yang diportal, NEKAT buka sepatu angkat rok, nyemplung deh HP kesayangan. huh! johaaaannn… harusnya bikin SEMINAR BANJIR DKI JAKARTA!! Di tempat lain, kue-kue dan segala nara sumber udah pada kelimpungan, masih ada aja yang naik sepeda di kala banjir hahhaha, jual kue dari pada ga balik modal. Berharap ga ada yang PINGSAN dikala banjir, kalo pun ada ya tinggal di hanyutin aja sampe rumah, siapa yang mau nganter juga? hahaa.. SAYA? jangan ditanya, langsung pulang setelah HP jadi korban

Class Meeting. hahahahhaa.. sangat BERHASIL. Beberapa anak abu-abu adalah atlit-atlit biskuat. ‘macan nya mama’. ada Eka di futsal, Falaq, Johan, Liwe, Mega, Erica di Taekondow. Dan selebihnya penggembira. proker sapa ini saya lupa!! tapi sangat berhasil walau diawal lomba sprint dan di lapangan cacat ada misscommunication. ah biasa itu, sesama Abu-abu aja sering misscom apa lagi sama yang lain.

sampee pada akhirnya the biggest even who never HAPPENED! their exist but utter lack OR Delusion! lol Pensi!! yeaahh enuff said!!

Sebelumnya ABU-ABU ada pre-mental-(dis)oriented. Melakukan hal-hal yang sangat membosan kan dan juga menegangkan. bosan karena cliche assignment dan menegangkan karena full-of-yelling to telling. this is stupid or sumthing? hahahha bawa aqua botol lah, roti kasur lah, coklat ratu lah. Tau ga  ini buat apa? buat nebus yang namanya emblem.

ada Taufik yang nyanyi sambil meluk tiang bendera, adaKartika yang langganan PENGSAN tengah-tengah eksekusi, Asta yang jadi buronan masal kakak kelas, ada liwe yang berasa arti bolywood, itu hanya beberapa yang saya ingat. hahaha.. makan siang yang penuh dramatisir, lickin finger? ieeuuuwww… i did it with JILLY!! geli, tapi karena iming-iming kebersamaan, yahhh mau dikata apa?

jadi inget pas keliling cempaka putih, jalan jongkok , lari, salto sambil nyanyi ‘aci co le e, aci cempeu. aci aci aci’. atau ‘ goodbye i say you good bye , good bye i see you good bye, i see you again but i dont know when, good bye i see you good bye’ kalo dulu udah ada addlips ‘GALAU’ mungkin itu judulnya lagu ‘ABU-ABU GALAU’. Masih banyak lagi lagu-lagu ‘perjuangan’.

Dan pada akhirnya kami 19 ABU-ABU yang masih bertahan dari segala yang pahit, asem, dan manis pada akhirnya.

Dan pada akhirnya malam 11.11.sepuluh tahun yang lalu dengan modal password ‘CALDONAT’ bisa menghadapi rintangan dan setan-setan di tempat eksekusi. dari nari-nari kayak orang gila, nyanyi falsss! lari-lari entah dikejar kunti apa emang dikejar kakak senior sampe bertampar-tamparan. semuanya dilakukan oleh ke -19 GREYS TROOPER

mengapa saya bilang Trooper?  karena, pasukan ini tidak bedanya dengan pasukan berani-mati demi kebersamaan. Dan tahun ini kita mencapai di 10 tahun KEBERSAMAAN kita.

Di dalam desain, abu-abu diidentifikasi dengan nilai tertentu dari angka 0 (sebagai representasi cahaya putih sempurna) hingga 10 (gelap sempurna)

10 tahun dengan maskot si Asrinal (ABU-ABU!!!! teteeeepp asssikkk) , lagu perjuangan dan REJOICE(rey, johan, faris, erica), ruang osis ajang hukum-hukuman sesama TPR yang ga pernah piket jdnya bau kaki tuh ruangan, rapat dengan kebanyakan jam WIA (WAKTU INDONESIA bagian ABU-ABU) banyak cerita dan selalu banyak GAYA. hahahaa…

Benar kata Mega, masa-masa pembodohan massal yang membuat kita sampai sekarang ini. walaupun jarang banget ketemu dan hanya setahun sekali (mending!!) 10 tahun sekali ngumpul! salute!! kalian bener-bener terparti arti dari kebersamaan itu, walau sekarang udah ga ada jilat-jilatan jari abis makan. hahhaa

Pada akhirnya, saya mengucapkan banyak terima kasih kepada angkatan abu-abu 2002. Angkatan yang pernah saya pandang tidak akan bisa solid, angkatan yang punya sejuta alesan klo rapat tetapi angkatan pioneer yang mengadakan foto angkatan di Studio Foto Gading! Sekali lagi NIAT!!! angkatan yang punya KP HURA-HURA, kerjaannya doyan party tapi ga pernah nghitss!hahah.. really appreciate!!  10 tahun sempurna.

10 years ago!!

Al-Falaq, Dewi S, Muhammad Asrinal, Sri M, Fariz Habib, Rinny W Hafid, Juan Dika, Erica P, Wieny P, Kartika Aji, Johan Hermawan, Jelita W, Mega Widya, Lia Liwe, Astarina, Eka Budi, M. Taufik.

(-) Marisa dan Dina Rinantika

nowdays!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends. Friday-ver-sarie  y’all

Harta Karun Nenek

For all this time!! i’m so pissed of… lol i just found a guilty pleasure called ‘treasury’. ngahhahahaa. well, last month i just realize many thing i’ve not seen done in nenek house. Walaupun serrriiinggg banget mondar-mandir bolak balik keluar masuk kerumah nenek, ada satu tempat yang beneran deh ga tau itu fungsinya apaan.

Tempatnya berderetan sama kamar si mbak dan mas yang ngurusin rumah plus gudang yang isinya ga lebih dari alat-alat perkakas buat kebun nenek, dan satu lagi ya ruangan itu, ruangan yang ga pernah saya liat terbuka karena emg ga pernah di buka-buka klo ga perlu. but unlocked!! seriously! isnt weird, tho?

and finally, after we spent a quality time in kitchen (sounds amigu!) LOL then i knew it. Ternyata itu ruangan tempat nenek naro segala macem peralatan masak dan baking, tempat nenek memilih segala macam alat yang  beliau pake untuk memasak dan membuat makanan terenak (leebehhh!) lol

A room full of a kitchen tools with different function, i mean very multifunction. from Stainless Steel to silicon rubber tools. so magnificient!!

what a great!! gilaaa ya, lebih-lebih dari chef-pro yang saya kenal. so many things, i mean kitchen utilities that i dont have in my house. so pissed.. i found some international brand, so i guess while grandma traveling to cengapoh (singapore-red) never to forget to visit IKEA. SAYA MASIH TERKESIMA dengan penemuan pada siang itu. 

a room full of kitchen tools

itu hanya sebagian aja yang ke poto, saking terkesima jadi charlie di willy wonka-nya nenek. LOL kayaknya kita punya satu misi setelah melihat isi ruangan rahasia nenek. kita sama-sama mau beli silicon rubber kitchen tools yang di jual di Toko Ani. Banyak banget yang mau di beli klo masuk ke toko ani. wonderfull place to visit for baker and cooker. cute tools and the ornament itself. 

 

place to chit-chat,eat,and laugh

toko ani

Silicon rubber

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well, at least i have delicious food from nenek kitchen, with her magic room inside. Best touring ever, kalo tau dari awal ada ruangan itu mungkin saya akan lebih jarang menyuruh si mbak untuk ambil alat-alat masak. Mungkin bisa aja tuh kalo saya tertiudr lelap di ruangan itu seharian saking capek-nya ngeliatin satu-satu peralatan masak nenek. hehheehe 

Thank you nenek for taught me many different recipes (dessert!!) as my favorite food, and keep rock n roll in your fabs kitchen. cant wait to another ‘kitchen battle’ with you. *kiss *hugs

me and nenek

Pudding OREO

Like i said before on last story, cooking or baking with nenek ‘so-called-fast-paced-environment’ and not to be mention ‘multi-tasking’

while, i am doin my muffins, nenek already for her ‘fabss recipe from pudding’ she know that i loooveee pudding very much!

pudding oreo-nya itu hampir bikin saya batal puasa. ngahahahaa.. 3 layers with floating oreo? c’mon how you can imagined that? finally, i know how to make it. Unfortunately i was forget to wrote, she asked me to learned it from her ‘KITAB SUCI RESEP NENEK’ hahahaa..

an ancient recipe book! LOL

Thank you for nenek!!

i try to remember the ingredients and how-to-cook

Layer 1

Oreo disusun di loyang

Adonan Puding Coklat (Evaporated milk, Agar-agar bungkus, Schoko Powder, DCC, Gula pasir, 4 kuning telur)

lalu siram deh di atas oreo

Layer 1

 

Layer 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Layer 2

Adonan Puding Putih (Evaporated Milk, Air,Agar-agar, caramel sugar, gula pasir, putih telur kocok kaku)

bagian ini agak complicated, harus bikin caramel dari gula pasir yang nanti dimasukin ke adonan puding putihnya, dan hasilnya gak terlalu putih pekat. Dan harus cepat kerjanya, karena adanya penambahan putih telur kaku.

Layer 3

Layer untuk topping yang isinya hanya whipping cream. (whippy powder, susu dan rhum essence) dan serutan DCC White and Chocolate , plus dried cherry and chocohip!

Pudding Oreo

 

This is my all time favorite pudding!!

 

'beware, you gonna addicted!like my lil sister'

Blueberry Cheese Cake (Non-Baked)

Cooking and Baking sama nenek, you gonna really fast-paced environment. Seriously, i am not lebay or joking. Damn, Good cooker!! i adored her so much!! so many things i’ve learn from nenek. 

next recipe is ‘Blueberry Cheese Cake (non-baked)‘. Resep ini saya dapat dari temen CS Cooking Class. (thanks mbak eva)

easy-simple-but expensive yet creamy ingredients 

Blueberry Cheesecake (NON-BAKED)

375 gr Cream Cheese

125 gr Whipped Cream cair – Mixer hingga kaku

1 sdm Gelatine – Tim dengan 50 ml air

100 gr Unsalted Butter – Lelehkan

125 gr Gula Halus

3 sdm Air Jeruk Nipis (i used orange extract dari backaromen + Air Sdm)

1 bungkus Biskuit Cream Cracker/Oreo – Hancurkan hingga halus

Blueberry Jam (i used ‘Daryl’s Blueberry) —> real blueberry, love it!

Buah Blueberry/Kacang Almond secukupnya

 

How-to-Make

 1. Campur biskuit yang telah dihaluskan dengan 1 sendok makan gula halus dan butter yang dicairkan. Aduk hingga rata dan padatkan ke dalam loyang bulat bongkar pasang (bisa 18 cm/20cm). Dinginkan ke kulkas.

 2. Masukkan cream cheese dan gula halus dalam wadah. Aduk dengan mixer (kecepatan sedang) hingga tercampur rata. Masih menggunakan mixer, masukkan whipped cream yang telah kaku. Aduk rata dan terakhir masukkan air jeruk nipis dan gelatin. Kembali aduk rata. 

 3. Keluarkan loyang dari kulkas. Masukkan adonan ke dalam loyang. Ratakan. Dinginkan cheese cake selama 24 jam. Ini penting agar gelatin mengikat sempurna.

 4. Buka loyang dan letakan cheese cake pada tatakan kue sesuai loyang. Hias dengan selai blueberry pada bagian atas dan kacang almond pada bagian pinggir untuk menambah tekstur

 Note -from-chef: easy right? lets frozen. LOL 

Blueberry Cheese Cake (Non-Baked)

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Before, the takbir for celebrate Ied Fitr 1432 H. Last Friday on Ramadhan, saya dan nenek sepakat untuk membuat 2 kue sekaligus. not exactly cakes, but randomly recipes. awalnya nenek mau minta ajarin ‘Muffin’ (what? me? taught the best chef in her own kitchen?) tapi setelah itu malah banyak banget yg di bikin. so here’s the recap.

Muffin

Chocolate Chip Muffins:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs 1 cup (240 ml) milk or cream

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups (260 grams)

all-purpose flour 2/3 cups

(135 grams) granulatedwhite sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (170 grams) milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:

1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

How-To-Baked: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 – 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups. In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.  In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result. 

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. In a small bowl combine the topping ingredients and then sprinkle a little topping on each muffin. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18 -20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rackand let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

pas masuk ke oven lupa untuk di taburi toping, baru last minute ke inget sama topping-nya jd lah keadaam dan rupa muffinnya seperti itu

on - the - rack

on-the-baked

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

note-from-chef: just follow the instruction, then your muffin would be fully “booommm” delicious! 

The Words Of My Father

It’s nearly Father’s Day, and I acknowledge the ache of missing him. I acknowledge the gratitude I have for my memories: the sound of his laugh popping into my mind at unexpected moments. The words and phrases that entertained, infuriated, taught and shaped me into this ever-changing lump of clay that will always be his daughter.

While driving:
Get around this guy! He’s loafing in the left lane.

On the golf course:
Keep your head down. Don’t try to kill it.

On any professional athlete who showed poor sportsmanship:
He’s a bum.

When I playfully squeezed his bicep:
Be careful. You’ll hurt your hand.

Teaching me to drive a stick shift:
Again. Try it again.

At the end of any long list of questions:
Want a punch in the eye?

When pushed to the limit of his patience:
Geez!!

On any ex/bad boss/person:
he’s a bum. (recurring theme)

Threats:
You better [whatever I was supposed to be doing] or I’m gonna land all over you!

After my haircut:
Your face is hanging out.

Somehow their writers have missed the mark, along with all the other clever wordsmiths who’ve failed to deliver the sort of message my father needs to receive—the one that perhaps all fathers need to receive. So thank you, Dad, for so many things…

…for teaching me how to throw a fastball, wield a mean golf club and sink a jump shot on command…for being my biggest advocate (even still) and for believing in me even before I believed in myself.

…for being oh-so-generous with your time…for listening intently to my wishes and worries…for consideringme a worthy companion as we jogged over the back roads of town, watched doubleheaders into the wee hours and sat in scratchy lawn chairs together, completely mesmerized by the thunderstorms that rolled across the skies in the midst of July’s unbearable heat, summer after endless summer.

San Fransisco Bay. #lastsummer

 

…for letting me date boys with messy hair and muscle cars…for traipsing around the kitchen in your underwear late at night, when said boys needed reminding that it was time to go home (an infinitely mortifying experience then, but absolutely hilarious now)…for walking me down the aisle—twice—and never once saying I told you so.

…for tolerating my teenage years (Oy!), for trusting me with your beloved cars even though the voices inside your head must have screamed, “Noooo!” and for resisting the overwhelming desire to share with my High School Yearbook Committee that hideous photo of me with the mumps. For that alone, I love you dearly.

…for navigating so many road trips—to distant airports, to a good number of college campuses I considered calling home, to my very first job interview in the city. Never mind that we got horribly lost in the process; but getting a glimpse of the White House at rush hour surely was grand.

…for inspiring me to be a responsible individual, to work hard and to strive to do good in this world…for illustrating the power of forgiveness, the refuge of one’s mosque and the necessary nature of grieving our losses…for reminding me that things usually work out in the end—even when they look entirely hopeless at the start.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad and all the dads still giving advice and tossing out one-liners.

Quarter Life Crisis Chaos with 25 amazing people!

Today is my 25th birthday and that number just seems crazy! I feel very young at heart though so I’m trying not to let the number bother me that much. Today I have an appointment with nenek and jeeleekkk in their house (seems so familiar she is my favorite friend)! I’m so excited! It’s funny because i’ve no idea whether they know today is my ACTUAL birthday! On Saturday I will be celebrating with a few friends by going out to party but i end up in jjeeleekk’s house. 

why does turning 25 feel like a mid-life crisis?

25 is a rough age. All your life, you look forward to being 21 so you’re allowed to go to bars and legally drink. Then you spend the next few years being glad that you can go to bars and drink. 22 is cool, Twenty-three is cool, Twenty-four is cool and then BAM. You turn twenty-five and suddenly, it’s not so cool anymore. You’re only five years away from being thirty. You start analyzing every aspect of your life. Where is it going? Why aren’t I married? Why don’t I have kids? Chances are by now, you know several couples who are getting married and several couples who have children. Then you start to think “well my parents were married by now” or “all my uncles and aunts were married by now” or “wait my parents already ME by the time they were twenty-five!”

Then you start thinking about all the things in life that you haven’t done yet. I still haven’t traveled to Brazil… I still haven’t published a book…

Then you start analyzing the person you’re in a relationship with. Are they the one? If not, why am I wasting my time? I’m almost thirty! What if I’m thirty and all my friends are married and I’m not?!”

Carrot Bday Cake

Maybe this doesn’t happen to everyone, but it certainly happened to me. I started reading blogs about people traveling to different countries and looking at pictures of their journeys. I started remembering when I was back in 21 yo and my backpacker journey to europe and do all sorts of activities and life was so fun. Now I felt like all I did was so fabs, me? in early twenty-sumthing? doing my own traveling by myself. I felt like I was too lucky to do some of the things I did in my life, but too young to settle down and have a family yet. Or was I? Maybe I’d be ready if I met the right person. Hmmm… hahhaa

So then I started analyzing my current relationship. Did I really want to marry my boyfriend? but I knew deep down that the thought of marrying didn’t excite me. So why was I with? Was I just afraid of being alone? What if my future husband was out there and I’m missing out because I’m wasting time with my current relotaionship? I knew I didn’t want to end up thirty and the only one out of my friends that wasn’t married!

By the 25th birthday most people expect to have accomplished something with their lives. There’s only five more years until that big three-O and the average person usually hopes that they are well on their way by their 25th year. They’ll have settled into a place of their own, a job and may even be starting a family all ready. (me?? ok’m still searching that points) Some new twenty-five year olds might be thinking that they want their party to be a little more grown-up, a little more sensible around this time. (woohoooooo!!!)

Anyway, I read a story once about a woman who went to some sort of soul searching retreat and the leader asked everyone to think of the one thing they’d always wanted to do in life and write it down. I remember asking myself when I read it “what is the one thing I’ve always wanted to do in life?” and the first thing that came to mind was traveling, because I’d always loved to traveling and write ever since I was young. And the second runner up to writing was music, which is also something I loved to play and listen to since I was a kid.

Then I started analyzing my job. I work as an buroscarbeiterin, so basically I got involved in media and sosio Project. I didn’t mind it, but was I passionate about it? Did I love my job? i love it. I did it because it paid well and it’s something I had years of experience in now. i mean it!

All in all, I think twenty-five is an age where you discover who you really are. What I mean by that is finding who we REALLY are; what we’ve always loved deep down that makes us different from everyone else. I think as young adults, we know what our passions are, but as we get older we get so caught up in life we forget about it. In high school, you don’t care about things you feel passionately about. You care about whose parents are going away that weekend, who’s going to buy you beers and if your current crush is going to attend the party. Then after high school, you care about where you’re going to go to college and where you’re going to work. You don’t worry about if you’re current boyfriend or girlfriend is “the one” or if your job is the job of your dreams. But then when you turn twenty-five, you realize you have to think about these things. After all, you’re reaching adulthood! What a scary thing. I’m still twenty-five though, so I’m still in the process of analyzing every aspect of my life and envying the people who have chased their dreams more than I have. 

this is basically a sequel that includes some things that I’ve learned over the past year that have helped point me in the right direction, and hopefully it will help some of you quarter-lifers, too.

Now, for those of you who haven’t read my previous article, I’ll briefly sum it up for you.

I had just turned twenty-five. I suddenly realized that the dreaded 30 was slowly creeping around the corner and I was facing a few problems, those being:

– I did not want to spend the rest of my life with the person I was in a relationship with

– I had no idea how to tell the person I was in a relationship with that I did not want to spend the rest of my life with him

– I did not want to spend the rest of my life at my dead-end job rotting in a cubicle

– I had no idea how to tell my boss that I did not want to spend the rest of my life rotting in a cubicle

– I wanted to travel. Not a trip to Disneyland traveling. Backpacking through to north-south hidden island traveling. Life-changing traveling.

My point is, for everyone that can relate to feeling lost in the quarter-life crisis chaos, my advice is to do a few things: the first being to really think back on your life and think of the one thing you’ve always wanted to do in life. And then go and do it. I know it sounds easier said than done, but it really isn’t. If you keep a positive mentality that you can do it, you will. And after that, the rest will fall into place. Do what you love, do the thing that deep down you’ve always wanted to do. If you hate your job, find one you love. If you’re in a relationship that makes you feel like you’re settling, don’t be in it. If you want to be in a relationship, find people that share similar interests as you, and go to places where you’ll meet those kinds of people. If you want to travel, then TRAVEL! And remember that a positive mentality is the key to success. If you think you can do it, you will. After all, you only live once…