The news agency Reuters did a survey to find out where Santa lives and concluded that Santa lives in Iceland because Santa Claus of Iceland was the only one responded to the survey question. Curiously, they didn’t send the…
The news agency Reuters did a survey to find out where Santa lives and concluded that Santa lives in Iceland because Santa Claus of Iceland was the only one responded to the survey question. Curiously, they didn’t send the…
Some Germans prefer trees to family for Christmas. Surprising? Some would say not. And of course there are also people who’d rather skip the whole Christmas thingy altogether. Think your employer has strict company policy? Well, at least you…
Before I head out to the coldness outside, I’d like to wish everyone in the Northern Hemisphere a happy winter since today is the winter solstice a.k.a. the first official day of winter a.k.a. the shortest day of year. May…
Teen pleads guilty after blog confession. Though he later retracted his words and deleting them from the blog, he still gets 5 years in prison. His blog is somewhere at blurty.com. A self-proclaimed ‘parking ticket Santa’ is paying for…
Troy said he likes it better if I post the daily links like I did yesterday instead of in the regular links-for-today format. Since today is his birthday, his wish is my command, so I’m going to comply. Though…
My dearest, darling husband Troy turns 30 today. Now he is in the same age group with me, ie. old. Bwahahaha!!! Go wish him a happy birthday! Well, if his site is up anyway. We forgot to renew his…
Danger due to [fill in the blank]. Use your imagination. What a linklogger to do when del.icio.us is down? Get panic, of course. But I’ve got over it. Finally. Did a bit of Christmas shopping this past weekend. I…
We had to put our Betta fish Finnegan to sleep yesterday. It was not an easy decision, but he seemed to be in so much pain that we just had to do it. It was more than a little…
Contrary to what I said in yesterday’s post, I didn’t stay in. The weather wasn’t fantastic but what the hell. My mind was set. I was going. When I walked to the bus stop, I couldn’t see the sidewalk because…
I’ve been living in Canada for more than a year but I still let the weather beat me all the time. I still haven’t got around to buying a birthday present for Troy even though his birthday is only…
These shows aren’t necessarily begun in 2005. The only criteria for this list is that they were being aired on TV this year and I watched each one of them at least a couple of times. Now on with the…
Ever had one of those days when the Internet seems so boring? Well, today is one of those days for me. Now don’t get me wrong. You’ll still get your daily dose of silly links from me today. It’ll show…
T: Now that we’re done with season two of Scrubs, we can start watching season two of Arrested Development. F: We have season two of Arrested Development? T: Yup. F: You mean in your computer? T: No, on DVD. F:…
Good news. Thanks to Google Adsense, I actually have money to buy Troy his birthday presents and Christmas gifts this year. Not really a lot of money, but money nonetheless. Last year, I managed to scrape enough money to buy…
I watched Le Battement d’ailes du papillon or Happenstance (UK title) or The Beating of the Butterfly’s Wings (International title) last weekend on DVD with Troy and his parents. I really liked it. The movie is starring Audrey Tautou of…
Troy and I have been to many thrift stores, antique markets, and flea markets all over Southwestern Ontario in our search for vintage cameras that we can actually use to take photos, or those that just look cool enough…
I tag my Flickr photos with the seasons in which the photos were taken, but lately I’ve been more and more tempted to tag the photos I took recently with “winter” instead of the actual season, ie. “autumn”, because the…
You might have noticed the 9rules logo sitting pretty in the sidebar for a few days now. Apparently, someone out there thinks that this weblog actually has content. Promise me you won’t tell them the truth, will you? ;) Nothing…
Friday night was cold. The temperature was below freezing, no doubt about it. As we were approaching the entrance of a bookstore, a boy came to us and asked if we’d like to buy some chocolate bars from him for…
Neither I nor Troy watch “Invasion” (I gave the show one chance but had to change the channels after 15 minutes because I couldn’t stand it anymore), but last night I guess we were I was too lazy to browse…
I had an appointment with a doctor this morning, which explained the lack of links for today. I needed to get a medical exam for immigration purpose. It was pretty painless, but I was so nervous that the doctor had…
Yesterday was the half-anniversary of our wedding, and guess who forgot all about it? Not Troy. Yeah, I know. I’m a bad wife. I’m supposed to be better at remembering dates. Bad, bad Firda! I didn’t realise it was our…
F: If we had a daughter, would you name her Sally Ann after Salvation Army, or Vivi after Value Village, or Goodwill after, well, Goodwill? T: No, unless you want to. Though I kind of like Goodwill after Goodwill. F:…
It was windy at -10°C so I decided to make a comparison of some free, file hosting services. Not that the weather has anything to do with file hosting services. I just felt like using a sub-zero temperature and the…
So we got a snowsquall this morning. It was fun watching it behind the window at home where it is always summer, thanks to our overly-hardworking heater. But I doubt it is any fun for anyone who has to…
Yes, the maple tree in front of our apartment did eventually change colours. The leaves were brilliantly yellow for a couple of weeks. In the morning, when the sun was in the right angle, our apartment would be bathed…
That’s my dad, my older brother, and me. I think this photo was taken in 1973 when I was only several months old. I still wear that pissy look every now and then. Okay, so I always wear that…
I wonder if I’m the only weblogger in the world with a titling problem. I always find coming up with a weblog post so much easier than coming up with an appropriate title for the post. I guess it…
So we went to see the new Harry Potter movie today. We got to the cinema an hour before the show. The cinema doors were still locked (we were going to the matinee), but there were already people sort of…
We’re getting the first serious snow of the year today. We already got some not-so-serious one last week. Basically. serious snow stays on the ground while not-so-serious snow melts as soon as it touches the ground. I love snow,…
So I just spent half an hour watching Rick Mercer Report on CBC and laughing at all the Canadian inside jokes being thrown throughout the show. All was good with the world, until I heard the Coronation Street theme song…
Because Dave asked for it, here’s a picture of the Socks. On the top row are Stripey Sock, the self-conscious monkey whose eyes keep falling off, and Troy Sock, who’s supposed to look like my husband Troy but actually…
Dude! I haven’t even been away for a month yet. I was just taking my annual leave from blogging. It was really sweet of you to miss me, though. I feel special. :) So, how have you all been? Have…
— I’ve been hating bedtime because I keep having trouble sleeping. Last night was a one off. — The maple tree in front of our apartment is STILL all green and bushy! — We’ve been keeping all the windows in…
Today is my nephew Emir’s 3rd birthday. I wish I could be in Indonesia to celebrate it with him. I remember the day he was born like it was only yesterday. Oh the days he, my mother and I…
The long, Thanksgiving weekend is coming up and Troy and I are going down to Troy’s parents place to spend the weekend there. Originally, we had a circus to go to this weekend, but they cancelled the show, which was…
Meet Finnegan, or Finney for short, the latest addition to Casa Troy and Firda. He’s a Betta, also known as the Siamese fighting fish, also known as Cupang in Indonesian. Curiously, Cupang is also Indonesian for hickey. It all…
Every superhero has at least one super power (we all know I’m a superhero, right?). My super power is, I could listen to one song over and over again for hours without going insane (well, not any more insane than…
Call me anal, but I have problem with businesses telling people that some things are pre-owned when they actually mean previously owned or, to put it simply, used. Pre-owned is SO not used! Pre-owned would mean the exact opposite of…
We spent the long, Labour Day weekend at Troy’s family cottage by the lake. It was a weekend of firsts for me. It was: — the first cottage weekend since Troy and I got married; — the first time I…
We’re planning on buying ourselves a board game this evening to bring up to the cottage tomorrow. We already know what we’re getting but it’s always nice to get some recommendations or to hear about board games we’ve never heard/played…
This might be a bit late because I forgot to write an entry about it earlier, but they are giving away free registration codes in conjunction with the Opera 10-year online anniversary party. The registration codes will make your copy…
These are the things about Canada that we found silly/funny/interesting during our trip out East: — Every province has their own moose and deer crossing signs. It was interesting to see the difference between the signs as we went from…
Yesterday we celebrated our third month of being married by going on a vintage camera shopping spree (well, sort of). We managed to get hold of four cameras; three of which take 120 films and one takes 135/35mm films. That…
And as you can see, the weblog is now sporting the standard Movable Type 3.2 template. Don’t worry. It won’t be long until the weblog has a new look. Well, I came up with a new design but ended up…
Not having a mother anymore, I used to get upset when I see someone talking to his/her mother in a less than pleasant way. I used to think that they don’t know how lucky he/she is to still have a…
Above is my most favourite picture from the whole honeymoon trip. It was taken on the ferry that took us from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia. I like how I look so happy and how Troy…
I did something that you might consider silly last week before we left Prince Edward Island. I wrote my mum a letter and put it in a bottle. After we crossed the Confederation Bridge that connects Prince Edward Island and…
No, we’re not back from our honeymoon yet. I’m posting this from our motel room in Mabou, Nova Scotia. Today is our last day in Nova Scotia because this afternoon we’re going to hop on a ferry that will take…
In about 7 hours from now, Troy and I will be off on our two-week honeymoon adventure in Atlantic-Canada. That means that updates on this weblog will be rare and few until we get back, if at all. If we…
As of today, we’ve been married for two months and we haven’t started killing each other yet, which I think is a good sign considering there are people who filed for a divorce or annulment in less than a month…
So, our wedding reception has come and gone (click the picture above for a Flickr photoset, or watch the slideshow). It was a lot of fun. I felt like I was actually making friends. Sure I’ve met a lot…
So today Movable Type decided not to work for me anymore. Don’t say I didn’t try to make it stay because I cared enough to upgrade, downgrade, and then upgrade again to make it work, but it just didn’t happen….
Okay, where were we? Oh right, the weekend. Well, the weekend was tiring and my whole body is still sore. I sprained my right wrist and left ankle playing volleyball in the pool. I should’ve been sticking to swimming instead…
I woke up this morning at 8 after only two and a half hours of sleep. I felt like a zombie and I was hungry. Didn’t feel like cooking. Quick decision was made. Tim Hortons to the rescue. It was…
— Between the heatwave, design work, and Troy’s broken laptop, we definitely need more sleep. — I’ve always wanted to write about the three things that Indonesia got right and Canada got wrong, but never got around to it. —…
I never thought it would come to this but I’m getting tired of web design. After finishing all the projects I’m currently working on, I’m taking a break to figure out what I want to do for the rest of…
I like you. I like you a lot. We’ve only known each other for a a year, but you’ve already treated me like a member of the big family. I’m really touched. When I just got here, I compiled a…
I had my first encounter with some of those, uh, door-to-door religion salesmen yesterday. It wasn’t pleasant because they made me angry but I managed to keep my cool and didn’t slam the door on them. First mistake, they were…
Yes, that’s Troy’s hairy thigh in the picture. I’m sorry if it disturbs you. The happy-looking girl in the Polaroid is, of course, yours truly. Troy took the picture of me with our Polaroid camera shortly before I took…
+ See? I look like the guy on the t-shirt. - Yeah, but I look too happy, unlike the monkey. + Why wouldn’t you? - Why wouldn’t I what? + Be happy? - pause I don’t know. confused because…
From this week on, every Thursday I’m going to post a short short story that I wrote myself. Feel free to do the same if you like. The following story was originally written to amuse Troy at work. There was…
— It’s starting to feel like Canada again, now that the temperature has gone down to the high 20s (Celsius degree). — I seem to handle hot weather worse than Canadians, who are used to cold weather. — If Canadians…
Summer is not officially here yet, but it already feels like summer. In fact, it feels pretty much like Jakarta (Indonesia) during the dry season. I can’t say that I like it. I hate hot weather. It turns me into…
Neil passed me this book meme, and while I’m not really an avid book reader, I just thought I’d do it, just for the fun of it. So here goes. Books owned. I left behind hundreds of books in Indonesia….
This is not a post about rabbit. It is said that if the first words you utter on the first day of the month are “rabbit rabbit”, you’ll have good luck all month long. As I said before, this is…
I’ve uploaded some unofficial photos from our wedding to Flickr and into a photoset. Troy’s dad took the photos. Well, the ones where he’s not inside the frame anyway. But they all came from his camera. The photos are…
I’d always wanted to elope, so elope I did. Troy and I tied the knot on Saturday in a short and sweet civil ceremony at the Waterloo Park. I hope my family won’t hate me for this (I called…
We finally made it to Temiscaming, Quebec on Sunday where we had some authentic Quebecois poutine. Woohoo! I’ve been somewhere outside of Ontario! Of course I forgot to take a picture of the said poutine (I was too hungry)…
I wouldn’t have noticed that today was Friday the 13th hadn’t I checked my site referrers. I saw a bunch of hits coming from people searching for triskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, while the fear of…
Last weekend my brother called me from Indonesia and he sounded really worried. He asked me repeatedly if I was all right (as if once was not enough) before he hung up, which kind of annoyed me because it was…
The lack of sleep I had on Friday took its toll on me over the weekend. I was feeling sleepy and tired all the time. But we had a busy weekend nonetheless. We went to the Elora Book Sale…
I am so sleepy. See, Troy had to leave for Michigan at 4 in the morning. He tried not wake me up as he was getting ready to leave, but I woke up anyway. I couldn’t sleep since. And…
Polio cases spread in Indonesia I’m kind of worried for my little niece and nephew in Indonesia, though I probably shouldn’t since they’ve been vaccinated. Or so I believe. (tags: indonesia polio health news) Texas to cheerleaders: Don’t shake…
A while ago, Wayne Yang interviewed me (and several other Asian webloggers) by email about blogging in Asia for an article in San Francisco Gate. Just received an email informing me that the article is up: ASIAN POP: Blogging…
So we went to Toronto this past weekend. The last time I was in Toronto was last Summer. I like Toronto better in Summer. In Spring, it’s just so miserably cold, wet, and windy. But then again, I don’t…
(The Pop Shoppe!, originally uploaded by firda.) So we went to Hasty Market to get The Pop Shoppe last night. Of course we took the long way, making stops at the bank, Future Shop, Office Depot, and Zellers. We…
Oh wow, for a weekend with crappy weather, I have so much to tell you. See, on Saturday, after waking up, having breakfast, and playing a few rounds of Guess-the-Google, Troy and I went to a thrift store and…
(Snow in April, originally uploaded by firda.) I hate Canadian weather sometimes. See, I have nothing against rain and snow. It may rain or snow at any time of the year. But please, not on a weekend! The picture…
Go Firefox! It’s good to know that the majority of my visitors see the design of this weblog the way I want them to see it. Geeky readers might be interested in the bottom 4 browsers, so here goes:…
‘Tis a rainy day Buds turning into fresh leaves Spring is here to stay. Remember when I used to post a haiku every day? I’m sure at least a couple of my readers do since they used to guestblog here…
I came across this article a while ago, Your Camera Does Not Matter. Didn’t really read it until five minutes ago, and boy, was it good. I no longer want a better camera now. Well, almost. I still do,…
Rock Point Provincial Park is located on the north shore of Lake Erie, south of Dunnville, Ontario, not too far away from Buffalo, New York. We went there on Saturday for our weekly hiking/picture-taking trip. The park was still closed…
We’re going away for the weekend, down to the boy’s parents place. We’ve been invited to a barbecue type thing in Simcoe (I think) on Saturday, but hopefully the boy would be nice enough to take me to a provincial…
Have I told you how much I hate “24” the TV show? This show makes me dumb. I always try to ignore it while Troy is watching it but it’s not that easy. Did you notice that Jack Bauer’s back-up/partner/sidekick/whatever…
Last night I dreamed that it was the early morning of my birthday and I was trying out a telescope I got as a birthday present from Troy outside. The telescope looked more like a PDA than a telescope, i.e….
If I were a singer/songwriter, I would write a song called “I Believe (There is a Super Patient Man for Every Difficult Woman in the World)”, and I would dedicate it to Troy. It sounds like a fantastic title for…
(At the Book Sale, originally uploaded by firda.) Didn’t get a new spring coat. Did pick up a new pair of pants. (Very comfortable! For only $15!) Did make it to the book sale in Dunnville. Had to go through…
I haven’t posted any journal entry here for ages so I thought I’d post one today because I feel like boring you to death. I know talking about last weekend when another weekend is only a day away is kind…
Last Saturday was, in theory, the last day of Winter. I was blindfolded and forced by the boy to pick a spot on the map of Southwestern Ontario to determine where we were going that day and my finger…
Troy and I have been coming up with lines to use on us in the scenes from the next episode of the Amazing Race if we were one of the teams participating in it. Troy and Firda get lost. “Where…
Every year (or at least since the Bloggies™ started being awarded during the SxSW), before the results of the Bloggies™ were out, I always got an email from Nikolai, asking me whom I’d like to receive the award for me…
I was just wondering, how many of you are down with something (cold/flu) right now? I know for a fact that the boy is one. He’s been sick since last weekend. It’s mostly a coughing cold and for the last…
You know, I really wish my life was as simple as it was 15 odd years ago. All I did was go to university and back home, five days a week and just lazying around on weekends. Nothing to worry…
(Sarah Slean at Starlight Club, originally uploaded by firda.) A couple of nights ago, a bunch of us went to see Sarah Slean live at the Starlight Club here in Waterloo. I only knew a couple of songs by Sarah…
(The Piano Player, originally uploaded by firda.) This is my entry for this week’s Illustration Friday: Jazz (click to enlarge). I’ve never been good at drawing living creatures, or anything for that matter, and that’s my excuse for the piano…
(Close-Up III, originally uploaded by firda.) I finally got around to making my very first snow, um, creature, with a little (a lot of?) help from the boy, in the frontyard of the boy’s parents place last Saturday. We…
I don’t know if any of you has ever heard of the song Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. It’s a rap song. Not being a fan of rap music, I’ve never heard of that song until I came across Nina…
I’ve been seeing a lot of businesses here with a neon sign saying open when they’re really not. I wonder if it’s a Canadian thing. Either way, it’s slowly becoming one of my pet peeves. And speaking of unisex…
I started blogging today 5 years ago. I didn’t have my own domain then. My weblog was hosted at freespeech.org (about the only free host with no ads I could find back then) and was powered by Blogger, which was…
Since I know you guys are dying to hear about how my curling-watching night went, here’s the scoop. First of all, I’m sure curling is an exciting sport to play and all, but it’s not really the most exciting thing…
The boy thinks that my weblog readers like me better when I’m blogging from Indonesia because now that I’m blogging from Canada, I get considerably less comments to my weblog posts. I wonder if it’s true. Hrm. Speaking of the…
(The Flight of Three Feathers, originally uploaded by firda.) I participated in the Illustration Friday for the first time yesterday. I wasn’t going to blog about it because my entry was really crappy and made with Photoshop to boot,…
(Happy Valentine’s Day, originally uploaded by firda.) I wasn’t expecting to get anything for Valentine’s Day from the boy because, really, we already say “I love you” and show our love to each other every day, but look what…
I had been tinkering with my RSS feeds for, like, ever but I just couldn’t be satisfied with the results. I’ve finally found something that does exactly what I need: FeedBurner. It’s a one-feed-for-all type thing. No more headaches about…