A heart's last song

Who knows what a heart conceals
What one says is not what one feels
It might have hurt so bad no one can heal
But act so brilliantly so no one can reveal

Only heart itself knows the truth that ache
Smile it is forced to put on is fake
Trying to hold itself not to break
Promise itself never to make another mistake

Surrounded by people yet so alone
Living a dream no longer of its own
Its own dream buried in the unknown
Maybe because people suggested "Don't!"

To whom does a heart belong
One may ask this question all life long
A love song that has gone so wrong
The heart won't sing another song

A14 nightmare

For those who don't live in Cambridge, I would need to give an introduction of what A14 is.

The road in UK are numbered. M road = motorway (for example, M1, M11, etc), where the road signs are blue in colour. It's at least a dual-carriageways where the speed limit is 70 mph. No pedestrians, cyclists, moped, learner drivers, agricultural vehicles, and animals allowed in it. The roads are usually straight, no bends, no roundabout, no right junctions. A road are like motorway without those restrictions, indicated by the colour of the road signs, green in colour. Some A roads like A14 are dual-carriageways where the speed limit is 70 mph, some are single-carriageways where the speed limit is 60 mph.

A14 is what take me from home (Milton) to work (Huntingdon). I usually leave home at 7:30 and reach Huntingdon in 25 minutes, with normal traffic. This road is cursed. A14 is main road for long distance lorries from the East Coast ports to the industrial Midlands, making it one of the busiest (and scariest) roads in the country.

It's such a nightmare of a road, I would have prefered public transport than driving myself. However as I researched at the beginning of my job in Huntingdon, this is not possible.

To go by bus, I would have to take the bus from Milton to Cambridge City Centre, take the bus to Huntingdon from there. The bus service from Milton to Cambridge City Centre is not reliable, but even if it is, the bus from Cambridge to Huntingdon is via A14 anyway, which doesn't really solve my problem. Moreover, from Huntingdon bus station to where I work is half an hour to walk, making a total journey from my home to work about 2 hours (at least) in peak hours.

The train option has the same problem. I have to go by bus from Milton to Cambridge City Centre, then either walk or take the bus from Cambridge City Centre to the Cambridge Railway Station. Walking is around 40 minutes. From there, there's no direct line from Cambridge to Huntingdon, so I'd have to go to Peterborough and catch the train from Peterborough to Huntingdon. After all that chaos, I still have to think of how to walk from Huntingdon Railway Station to where I work. I estimate it would be at least 40 minutes, across A14 *shudder*.

The only other option for me then would be either walk from home to work (which is absurd) or cycle (which is more absurd on A14).

I am left with no other option but to drive along this devil road.

This morning, I left home 15 minutes later than usual (7:45 am), because I had to cook spaghetti for lunch. When I got to Milton roundabout to join A14 westbound to go to Huntingdon, I heard on the radio that there's an accident in A14. As I was hearing this, I looked down to see how bad the situation was. To my horror, the traffic was not moving at all, not even an inch! I quickly thought of other ways to go to work. Since I heard the accident was in Girton, A428 (my other route to work in case A14 is closed) is no longer a possible route, since I have to pass Girton to go to A428. I kept thinking how else to get to A428, when I suddenly thought of a route: Landbeach - Cottenham - Impington - Dry Drayton, then on to A14 just after Girton. All this was in my brain in a matter of seconds. Bingo! My chosen alternative route wasn't all that busy, I guess the accident must have just happened as I heard it (lucky me!). Had I left the house 15 minutes earlier (7:30 as usual), I would have been caught in the traffic jam, not moving anywhere. According to BBC News, the accident happened at 7:30 am. Phew! The travel news on the radio said they have closed the whole carriageways in Girton (both directions), and vehicles travelling westbound (which I would have been), should just switch off their engines because it will be long before the road re-opens!

I kept hearing all this traffic news as I was going through the small roads towards A14. Apparently there were four vehicles involved in the accident, one of them caught fire, and a lorry turned sideways on the central reservation, blocking the whole four lanes! No wonder they had to close the whole road! In anyway, I was incredibly lucky. A14 after Dry Drayton to Huntingdon was absolutely clear (since most of the traffic are held at Girton). I hope they manage to re-open A14 before my time to drive back to home.

Update: It's 2pm, and no sign of the road being re-opened :(

The Big Five-O

For the first time in the history of my life, my weight has finally reached 50 (kilograms)!! Yayyyy!!! I thought this day would never come :D I know I owe all of it from the pregnancy, otherwise I wouldn't even have crossed 48, but standing on the scale, looking down and saw that number 50 brought a joy I can't explain. Maybe this is how people on a diet feel when they just lost 5 kgs. In any case, I'm happy and in a good mood although the weather was really crap this morning. Windy and rainy :( Autumn is definitely here, summer's gone. But I'm not complaining. Not today :D

Here's the result from last week's quiz:
1. Barbara Eden.
2. Edelweiss.
3. Polygyny. (FYI, one female with many males is called "polyandry").
4. Five.
5. Muscat.
6. Baking soda / baking powder / bicarbonate soda.
7. A Tale of Two Cities. (Actually, I was going to ask "What are the two cities in "A Tale of Two Cities?" But I thought that was more difficult, don't you think?).
8. Dido.
9. Gandhi.
10. A.

This time round, I have 7 takers!! SEVEN!!! That's almost a double of the previous number of contestants! Yay, I'm so happy! Thank you guys for spending time in doing the quiz. *hug* For those who read my blog, knew some of the answers but didn't bother to try, you know who you are, shame on you! :p

The winners: (I'll only mention 1-3 this time)
1. Joe and Nagi, both with 8 points.
2. Hasto with 7 points. He actually got 8 points but I found out that he got one of the answers by looking up a book! Minus one point for that, sorry :D
Other contestants (in alphabetical order): Tina, Tony, Zheng and Zita. Better luck next time, guys! Thanks for taking part, see you in my next quiz :D

Do you want to see how I look when I was little? Click here. If it wasn't for the earrings, I think people would have mistaken me for a boy! :( I have more pictures like that, I'll post it in my photo album once my site is up and running. Site? What site? A-ha! Just wait and see... (this is probably going to be a long wait.. hihi).

It's very boring to see cricket match on TV lately. There's this ICC Championship going on in England. I don't really understand why countries like USA, Bangladesh and Kenya are even considered in the championship. I think it's a complete waste of time. Especially USA. Probably if they have their own World Championship of Cricket, they'll do very well, just like they do in baseball and ice-hockey. I mean, come on! They don't really have to play, with both eyes closed Australia and New Zealand would defeat them anyday. The only countries worth mentioning in this championships are Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, India, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Apart from Zimbabwe (I think they're good but not as good as England and Sri Lanka which are in their pool), they will be in the semifinals. The others (USA, Kenya and Bangladesh) are just there to make up numbers. Why can't they have their own pool instead? Get this. Put Australia, New Zealand, South Africa in pool A, West Indies, India, Pakistan in pool B, and then England, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in pool C. The three musketeers, USA, Kenya and Bangladesh can have their own pool. Wouldn't then matches in all the pools be worth watching? Pick on someone your own size! I mean, Australia defeating (sorry, "trashing" is more like the word suitable here) USA in cricket (with breaking a record, obviously) is not a proud moment. It boosts their players' performance, but what's the point, really?

Putting weaker team in each pool is just a conspiracy theory so that all the big guns will be there in the semifinals. We know who'll be in the semifinal before the championship starts. Why bother doing this "who are you trying to impress" round?

Easier Quiz!

Following the complaints from many people (who then decided not to take my quiz), I've made an easier quiz this time. I am hoping to get more response than my previous one.

1. (TV) Who played Jeannie in TV series "I Dream of Jeannie"?

2. (World) What is Austria's national flower?

3. (Word) What's the term used specifically for "the union of one man with more than one woman"? (Hint: Polygamy = the union of one person with many mates, that's NOT the answer.)

4. (Animal) How many eyes does a bee have?

5. (Geography) What is the capital of Oman?

6. (Science) What is Sodium Bicarbonate better known as?

7. (Literature) Which book has "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." as its opening line?

8. (Music) Which artist has a realname: Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong?

9. (Movie) What 1982 movie had the most extras of all time?

10. (Pot luck) What is "abstruse"?
a. Difficult to understand.
b. To thrust upward.
c. Lying across.

Honey, I'm home!!

Two weeks had gone so fast. I guess time flies when you have so much fun. During the holiday, I gained 4 kgs. I have to confirm this with my weighing scale at home, but last time I check in Indonesia, I weigh 49 kg! *dance* This is the fattest I've been in my entire lifetime, thanks to this pregnancy and continuous eating in Indonesia :D I hope I didn't lose it all during the flight journey home! (I always lose around 1 kg while flying from/to England to Indonesia).

I met so many people I want to meet, and managed to avoid people I don't want to see. All worked out very well!

First I ofcourse met Zita. We three sisters are very close to each other, even if during this course of this holiday I didn't meet any of my friends, the experience of being together, the three of us, would have made it all worthwhile. Sure I have to meet my parents, but there is this different bond between me and my two sisters that I can't really explain. Probably if I find the words later on, I'll try to explain it. On Saturday evening we (me and Yovita) landed in Singapore, then we had dinner with Elvina, her mother, her sister-in-law, and Robby. Had chilli crab with mantou, well.. amongst other things :D I also went to Elvina's new house (she just bought this new house in Simei). Very spacious and nice compare to the one she rented before.

I also saw Amelia, one of my dear friend from primary, secondary and high school. In my mind she has always been the mature, wise one. She still is. On top of that, she looks more sophisticated in her business suit. Yet she's still approachable and easy to talk to. We caught up with so many news and gossips, while filling our tummies with lovely food :D

I also met Sunil, one of our friends from Melbourne now working in Singapore. Tried Indian cuisine in Boat Quay with him. It was during Singapore's National Day or something, that when we had dinner there, we saw fireworks! Either that or I was so special that Singapore celebrated the arrival of The Serene Highness Monica von Semarang :D

I made a stop over in Jakarta before going to Semarang on 17th August. Yes, on Indonesia's Independence day. Instead of attending a flag ceremony, I went to see Chrisma and my friends from indospc. I met Cathy, Heni, Hery, Dewi, Pris, Erna, Annie, Romy and his friend. Chrisma was still as bubbly as ever, with some more pimples on her face! You who think pimples are not contageous, think again! I remember Chrisma's boyfriend from highschool (back then he was not her boyfriend), Cahyo, he used to have lots of spots on his face. Seeing Chrisma now, it could be a spreading disease :p Just kidding, Cheese, you look as cute as how I remember you always. I've made a long post in indospc about our meeting, so there's no point in repeating it here.

In Semarang, I had lots of food. In particular, I had my favourite noodle, Mie Agus (Jl. Petudungan), TWICE! Oh, I still want some more of that. Please please please, those who live in Semarang, would you be kind enough to send me 2 portion of Mie Agus' wonton noodle soup and 1 portion of fried siomay?

Met my highschool friends (Eveline, Astrid, Natalia, Christina, Anto, Reza, Johan, Joyo, Yusup) one Sunday afternoon. In particular was really surprised to see Reza. How big he's grown now :D I speak as if he's still in growing terms. Really, he's just as how he was before, just as I remember him to be, but the meat had spread in all directions :D

Eveline still looked the same, except that she's now married. From what she told me, she sounded very happy and contended. So is Astrid. Saw Eveline's and Astrid's wedding photos. I even saw Eveline's wedding video! The video just came when I was at her house. Anto is now a successful manager at Horizon Hotel, a famous one in Semarang. Johan has his own company. Joyo had become a good architect, as I predicted him to be. Christina has a bright career in Djarum, while Natalia runs her own bakery shop.

I had so much fun that afternoon when we all met, laughed a lot, caught up with more news and more gossips, but there's this other feeling inside me that reminds me we've all changed. We're no longer those teenagers with no responsibilities and wondering about our future. That future that we wondered and dreamed about, is here to stay. We still talked about silly things that don't make sense, but we also talked about serious things like jobs, marriages, etc. I'm so proud of ourselves, we've turned out just fine.

Something else had turned out fine. I had my second scan yesterday, the baby is normal and it's a boy. Now we really have to seriously decide on a name. My tummy is getting bigger so that's also a relief.

While I was away in the far east, I've missed world news and especially Olympics. Indonesia didn't cover Olympic at all. All the Olympic news I get were from other people or newspaper. I don't read newspaper very often due to my "busy" schedule in Semarang, so I just read some of the news yesterday. While reading the news, despite the fact that Indonesia is far ahead of India in medal tally (YES! India had more people in terms of population but obviously that doesn't mean much), India doesn't win in Archery! To think that their ancestors were great archers, namely Bhisma, Arjuna, etc, where in the name of God have the genes gone? Obvious place: South Korea. :D Only one thing that Indians are still good at. History said that from one lady came out 100 offsprings, collectively called Kaurawas. Look at their population growth. They're still experts in making babies! *hahaha*

I'll update this post with more photos once I get space for them. Nagi's working on it. :D

Almost forgot, I have answers for last post's quiz.
1. Stephen Fry.
2. 1977.
3. Delhi.
4. Renoir.
5. S.
6. Rodent.
7. Ovine.
8. "More than this".
9. Prince.
10. A.

Sadly, there were not many takers. I had only 4 entries, so I won't be making it frequently.
Nagi's the leader with 6 points, followed by Tony, Cathy, then Zheng.