As I’ve told you, my post on Ayat-ayat Cinta (AAC) has brought pretty significant traffic to this blog, and that matters to me, really. Having so many people comment on my post matters to me. Don’t you, bloggers, agree with me?

Well, I won’t talk too much (again) about AAC. Just a quick note that there’s a blog kindly mentioning my post on AAC. It’s Planet Vavai. Thanks

And another virtual neighbor that kindly mentions this blog address is someone from Aku dan Perempuan. She puts Gorgeous Inspirations in one of her links in the sidebar of her blog. And in return—not because she has mentioned my blog, but because I DO think her blog is gorgeous—I put her blog address in my link sidebar as well. It’s worth a click, trust me.

:: The gorgeous inspiration of this post?
Even my blog can inspire other people that I don’t know at all to post their comments and/or to ask someone else to visit my blog

I never thought that writing my point of view on Ayat-ayat Cinta would bring such traffic to this blog

Well then, it’s ‘the Oscar moment’ ( ); I’d like to thank AAC and the fans and the haters, plus to all search engines. You know who you are!

Yes, when I thought I was alone and friend-less, one night my friend from high school texted me, telling me that she was in the middle of laboring (!). She told me she needed friend (what a ‘coincidence’!) while in the process of ‘releasing her first child from her womb’.Really, Dear Lord always know how to move you and how to make you in tears without warning

So have you texted one of your old friends, just in case s/he feels lonely at present?

In terms of teaching, never call me creative, let alone innovative. For the matter of preparing materials and giving tasks/assignments, most of the times I rely on my last-minute-popped-up ideas. Including this final assignment I gave to my three General English classes — find and list as many simple present tense sentences as they can from several blogs I told them. Why blogs? English books and magazines are rare here, so why not benefiting from the internet, especially blogs that have so, so, so many sentences?

It’s just interesting knowing that these following blogs are the most listed as references for many of my students’ assignments:

^^ Dinie Hazel’s The Kupu blog

^^ Zandria’s Keep Up with Me blog

^^ Indonesia Anonymus

^^ No Pasa Nada

^^ Angel’s blog

So, good bye already to January. New year always seems running pretty fast, don’t you think? Well, I never thought that I would have accomplished 6 (yes, six!) items from my 101 list, only in January

#15 Make a good-bye post on the previous I Taste Chocolate blog.

Hopefully this supports my new promise to keep things small and simple, reduce, reuse, and (if possible) recycle. For this matter, I have reduced the amount of blogs I own and manage. Now my eyes can clearly see that it’s wise to integrate the I Taste Chocolate section in this Gorgeous Inspirations blog. Now plan to delete the account on Blogger. FYI, I’ve decided not to eat chocolate for an unplanned range of time ahead, since I’ve just gained new knowledge that many chocolate industries use children to work and some tend to treat them as slaves. Horrible and horrifying! I wonder if my country is already aware of fairtrade-certified food/products (including chocolate). Anyway, it wouldn’t be impossible if I post some of my past ‘journeys’ with certain chocolate products that I haven’t shared with others. Just wait

#19 Plant something from seed.

Never like gardening, frankly speaking, but I remember once I enjoyed nurturing my chili plant back when I was a primary student. So, in view of my effort to be green, I targeted one seed to be planted (and by my very own hands). At first, I planned to buy the seed, but then changed that (personally uncomfortable) idea as I saw a nice opportunity to get the seed from my significant other who routinely goes to an area named Sambas. I asked him to bring me one once he got back, and he turned out to bring several (but so far he handed one only) — a flower by the name of asoka, if I’m not mistaken. It took pretty long for him to deliver me the seed, so by the time he came with the seed, I would say that it was ‘a big seed’, since it already grew a few centimeters taller. And it took me pretty long as well to get the plant to the soil, but still, I made it eventually (though it was planted by a pair of amateur cold hands), and I felt (and still do feel) green! Later I’ll show you the photo of the plant, okay

#21 Turn the radio off and unplug the power cord before bed every day for 2 consecutive weeks.

As I’ve explained previously, it was always pretty hard for me to bunk without any sounds. When (I thought that) my radio was broken, I was inclined to keep the (noisy) ceiling fan turned on, even though the weather actually did not permit. And how happy I was finding out that my radio wasn’t broken (at all) so that I could always and always turn it on even when I’m asleep. Now I know it’s not wise for the earth (and for my dad’s financial management). So why did I only make it for 2 weeks? I did not have the courage to promise to leave the radio off at sleeping time every day for 1001 consecutive days, so the 2 weeks were kind of trial or something (it’s never easy to do something drastically, right?), so that later on I can be used to it. And yes, now that I have accomplished the 2 weeks, I’m already more used with the no-sound state when sleeping (but I still like the noise and the wind from the ceiling fan).

#74 Eat at least one traditional food once a week for 4 consecutive weeks.

I suppose I should do this more, as there are many great traditional food out there in my area (and the food isn’t only from local, but also from other areas in Indonesia. Isn’t it nice to know (and taste) your very own food (even though there are also so many burgers, pizzas, and on, and on)?

#87 On 1 January 2008, read the letter I wrote to myself on the last New Year’s eve.

#92 Open a new savings account at a different bank from mine now.