Pictures of the old buildings in Bandung

Inspired by Toni's recent trip to Bandung, I went to Bandung a day after Christmas and took several shots of the art deco heritage there. I was not really satisfied with the results but I don't like to keep them too long in my archives too. All photos were taken by Canon 450D & Tamron 17-50mm/f2.8 lens.

Happy New Year everyone! May it be happy and healthy, since it seems unlikely to be wealthy for many of us...

Happy Tuesday from Suneo!

If there is one spot of sun spilling onto the floor, a cat will find it and soak it up.- Joan Asper McIntosh

I wasn't much of a cat lover before taking Suneo from the street and adopted him last year. There was a brief, pet-less gap between Fatso’s death (my dog) and Suneo's (the cat) appearance. And by brief, I mean less than a year. Fatso had been a part of my life for about 11 years. When my dog passed away, I had a really hard time getting over it. I wasn't necessarily ready for another pets, but my domestic helper found the sweetest cat ever born, and I named him Suneo! Suneo was the first cat I ever named. He was named after a character in Japanese manga series, Doraemon. It has taken me some time to get to the point of being friends with the kitty. After a while of having Suneo around me, I notice he has "Fatso" ways like following me around, he comes to his name and he likes playing fetch and sometimes sitting in front of the door watching the world go by just like Fatso did. My 9 years old niece, Van, believed Fatso lives in Suneo body.

Anyway I found this on my email and thought I would like to share it with you all. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Here is a list of traits for each and which one are you? I think I have a wonderful mix of both...LOL!

Cat owners tend to be...
* Introverted, self-conscious, shy, secretive, sensitive.
* Interested in quieter pursuits like reading, watching movies and videos, music, etc.
* Are homebodies or prefer quiet places.
* Like their creature comforts and although they expect people to notice them, they tend not to boast, preferring to draw attention to themselves in less direct ways.
* Have a small circle of close friends rather than a larger group.

Dog owners tend to be...
* Extroverted, eager, unembarrassed, open.
* Interested in sports, adventuring, exploring, and outdoor pursuits.
* Like to be busy and go out a lot, like loud places like parties.
* They tease and pick on each other in a friendly way, and like talking and boasting about their accomplishments.
* Have a large circle of friends and acquaintances and they make friends easily.

Say it with flowers

I like all flowers in general because all of them have captivating beauty, but I don't grow them. I don't mind with the dirt and the worms but I am really horrible at taking care of plants. I think I don't have much of a green thumb if you know what I mean. To me all flowers are beautiful whether they grow in the gardens, meadows, prairies, in open fields or along roads. One of the advantage of living in a tropical climate like Indonesia is the availability of beautiful flowers all year around. My favorite flowers are daisies, gerbera daisies and frangipani. The other flowers I love are orchids, sunflowers, lilies, hibiscus, magnolia and tulips (but we don't have them here). Here is some interesting reading that reveals your favorite flower says a lot about you. So, what's your favorite flower/s?

Carnation
If you like this flower, then tradition is very important to you and you have a down to earth attitude. You have loyal and trusted friends and you surround yourself with loved ones who seek your guidance. You would make a great sage in ancient times, or an excellent leader currently.

Daisy
You pay attention to details and see the things most people do not. You are a natural at taking in everything about life and are happy to be alive. You are also a very optimistic person.

The best career for you would be anything where you deal with people. Due to your upbeat attitude, working in a hospital could help brighten the days of those people around you.

Iris
You are often bored with the mundane and enjoy vitality and creativity. You go with inspiration and thrive in jobs where you are your own boss.

If you are doing something with artistry, writing or anything else creative, then you are happiest. The nine to five job atmosphere is something that is completely wrong for you and your creative personality.

Lily
People are drawn to you because you make them feel better about themselves through your nurturing ways. You would make a great therapist and you feel at ease when dealing with everyone else's troubles.

You are a very caring person. Other jobs that would work well for you are a guidance counselor or anything where people need your personal views on their lives.

Rose
You are a friend who gets the first call when news happens within your circle of friends. You are very social and busy, but you crave alone time and at times you feel shy around others.

For women, you are looking to bring the best out in your husband or boyfriend. Due to your outgoing personality, anything in customer service would work well for you.

Tulip
Change is good for you and you are always thinking of ways to improve everyone's lives, including your own. Deep down, you are content with what you have, despite your need for a changing atmosphere.

You would enjoy traveling so try and find a career that takes that into account. Being stuck in the same position for years will drive you nuts.

Quotes of Note ... Good Karma

I received this in my e-mail and thought I would share it with you all.

Instructions for Life from the Dalai Lama

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three R's:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go some place you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Playing with my new lens

One of the benefits of using DSLR Camera is being able to create the blur effect. I especially enjoy the effects colors have on each other and how they interact with the light and the background. I will share with you the following pics and hope you enjoy them.
Aromatherapy Oils from Eka Bali HomeSpa
Telor cicak camilan jaman doeloe
Frangipani

Which one do you like?

Suneo taken with Canon Telephoto zoom lens EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS
Suneo taken with Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

My new gadget

I have decided that it is time to join the bandwagon of DSLR camera users after having a great time shooting all sorts of photos with my compact point-and-click Canon PSA700. I've had this camera for a couple of years now, and would like to to step into an SLR camera. My photography guru friend, Toni Wahid, owns a Canon EOS 40D, but that's a few hundred dollars more than my estimate budget. I don't want to spend more than $1000 on everything put together. So, after narrowing it down to EOS 400D or EOS 450D, I opted for the 450D. It is a well-built, light weight and easy to hold in my hand type of gadget, the controls for setting are also within easy reach.

Toni and his friend at the camera store have been very helpful with the tips on how to take good pictures...but I was a slow learner, I don't think I remember everything that have been told...LOL! Basically they both advised to invest the money on the right lens than a much more advance camera. Because good lenses will work with whatever camera you have and will hold its value well. In photography, Toni said, the camera cost is often the tip of the iceberg. It's the lenses that really drive up the cost. Toni also has been very generous to let me borrow his Canon EF-S 18-55mm (f3.5-5.6) Lens, and I bought a Canon EF-S 55-250mm (f4.5-6) IS Lens. Combined, it makes a good setup for a DSLR beginner. Big thanks to Toni for taking time to teach me how to use this new toy!
Now, with this purchase my sweetie is a $1000 poor but he does not mind at all...LOL! In the meantime, I've been trying to get a little practice with my new DSLR as you can see below:

Pink beauties

I made another trip to Kuntum Nursery in Bogor yesterday with my niece, nephew, and their parents. My brother, as usual, immediately headed to the fish pond and spent his time fishing thru the day. The great thing about going to Kuntum Nursery is they do not charge you an entry fee. But you get to pay for renting the fishing rod and pay for your catch should you desire to bring the fishes home. The girls, as usual, were busy checking the variety of food at the food stalls there, while my niece Van was playing with nephew Alex. Overall, it was a great place to spend your Sunday afternoon to chat over some foods and watch the world go by. After spending time with the little critters, I walked thru the place and found these pretty pink trumpet like flowers on the ground. The almost dry flowers falling from its tree looked pretty in my eyes. I am not sure what's the name of this flowers, but I sure do love it! They are simple and elegant, yet exotic without being weird.

Bandung through my lens

I am back! My weekend was great. I didn’t get enough sleep and I had severe migraine on my way back to Jakarta. I got to visit my friend, and was very happy to see her again. In all, I had a good times. More details in separate post. In the meantime,
here are a few random pictures from my trip to give you an idea of Bandung city.


Siliwangi Military Compound
Gedung Sate (Bandung Historical Building)

Bandung Central Post Office (next to Gedung Sate)
Heritage Factory Outlet (formerly used by the British Institute)

Photos from Bogor Botanical Gardens

Here are some shots I took from Bogor Botanical Gardens :

Wordless Saturday

Meowy Suneo

My cat, Suneo, is an outspoken fearless little thing! He meows all the time if anyone not where he thinks they should be when he thinks they should be there, he meows when he gets bored, he yowls and cries like a baby when he wants to go out. And if I ignore his demands, he will meow, growl and howl until I open the door. Sometimes I meow back at him but he does not like to be talked back to...hahaha! He has to have the last word (meow) in all of our arguments. Suneo is 9 months old now and he has grown into a good looking adult kitty. He sure is a kitty with a lot of cattitude!