Bruno! or the first time I ever walked out of a movie theater

I like movies. A lot. So, I was quite sad and disappointed when I saw Sascha Baron Cohen's movie Bruno. There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie, especially since it is his follow up to Borat, which I found hilarious.
First off, I am not a homophobe or a bible preaching Christian. I just happen to be a cinephile who can understand how hard it is to make a decent movie. But what makes me angry and disappointed with Bruno is that the movie is a waste of Cohen's talents.
Bruno is not funny. Sure there are some scenes where I giggled, but overall (overall as in the first hour of the movie) I found the movie to be too desperate for my laugh. Sascha is a talented actor; he can fool anybody including Ron Paul! The material is lame. Most of the gags are used to shock the audience. I knew there was going to be a penis showing up, but I didn't expect a different version of meat spin. Sascha Baron Cohen could have come up with a better script.

I knew I should have watched Moon or 500 days of Summer.

My Inner Foodie

Babi Guling (from holihelp @ tripadvisor.com)

I like food. I don't try to hide that. But these past few days, I haven't been thinking (or eating) food. I'm still suffering from jet lag, so my appetite is non existent. That, plus my recent trip to Harvey Nichols. Harvey makes me want to be smaller and richer. It's quite pathetic really. I must admit that it sucks that I love food and clothes. Those two things are best kept at moderation, otherwise I will be crying if I do not get enough of the other.

I decided to plug my usb drive to my computer. What I found were many Word documents that I had forgotten about since arriving home. One of them happened to be a record of where I went to eat and what I ate. I have such amazing memory, I know.

When I went to Singapore, Indonesia, and Bali, there were so many restaurants that I wanted to go to. There are so many places I went to and to be honest, the French restaurants in Indonesia are just as amazing as the local food. Some of my favorites:

Riva, located at The Park Lane in Jakarta, Indonesia
Website: http://www.parklanejakarta.com/ under Dining
Riva is a French restaurant with a "twist". I do not really know about the "twist" since I have not been to France yet (I'm going there eventually) but the food is lovely. Every month, they feature different dishes from different regions. I was there in the beginning of July and had Wagyu beef (Steak au Poivre) while a relative of mine had Dorade, a fish from the Mediterranean. The texture of the fish felt like butter! I am not kidding. It was light and buttery and omigosh-so wonderful. Fortunately, since this is Indonesia and not France, the prices are better. I think I am going to go to France when the Euro is lower than the Dollar.

Babi Guling Bu Oka, located in Ubud, Indonesia
Website: http://thinqbali.com/blogi/babi-guling-bu-oka/
You want a real Balinese experience? This restaurant is known for its pork dishes. I had a rice plate with crispy pork skin, blood sausages, and this sweet and rather crunchy red pig. This place is busy, and definitely be flexible! The sitting arrangements may be uncomfortable and you may have to sit on the floor to eat. However, I really enjoyed the community style. There are rows of tables lined up and you may not know who you are sitting next to. I sat next to a family from Sweden and their translator. It was quite amusing to see the translator teach the family how to eat with their hands. Bu Oka is a great experience!

Block M, located in Jakarta, Indonesia
Website: http://jakartablokm.com/
This place is actually a district filled with night clubs and restaurants. I did not go inside any of the discotheques but I did go to this nice Japanese restaurant. I am quite sad I forgot the name of this lovely place, but really, any Japanese restaurant located at Block M is good. That area is supposedly catered to Japanese businessmen. I had sashimi moriawase as well as a seaweed salad. All the fish is fresh and the service is great and friendly.

Cassis, located in Jakarta, Indonesia
Website: http://cassis-gourmand.com/home.php
Cassis is a French restaurant. Unlike Riva, you should have a great and large (very large) appetite to fully enjoy everything. It's similar to the saying "too much of a good thing." I love red meats. Which is why I should have chosen a lighter appetizer. But every time I read the menu and something new and delicious sounding comes up, I have to have it. So I had this very large salad- could I even call it a salad? It was a mixture of fresh greens with grilled eggplant and sundried tomatoes and thinly sliced raw meats (carpaccio). On top of that was this citrusy balsamic vinagarette and a sprinkling of proscuitto. Yum. Everything is really delicious there. Just ask the wonderful staff there to help you pick out what to eat. Otherwise you might end up like me, full by the end of the appetizer to only realize I still have a main dish of beef fillet with pan seared foie gras. And a chocolate souffle, courtesy of the staff. They do want to indulge me.

I will post more when I feel like it. :)

Otherside

I have just traveled sixteen hours from Singapore back to the States. It is very early in the morning (or very late at night) and I still cannot sleep. I think the reason I cannot sleep is not all because of jet lag. I just found out that I had not completed some work that was due actually, a week ago, so I panicked. I had a meltdown in a sense. Because I felt that a year of what I worked on was wasted. So I cried for a while. Then I called this automated service and had what needed to be delivered. Done right?
No. I am still thinking about whether or not everything will be okay. Because, I am not feeling okay. I had a meltdown. Maybe it was not a meltdown, maybe just a moment of panicking, but since I labeled it as a meltdown, maybe it really is a meltdown. One reason I call it a meltdown-- I have experienced this same panic-induced feeling many times in my life. I have really have many "experiences," but I have experienced meltdowns all too often. In a way, maybe I am being too melodramatic, but I feel a knot inside of myself that indicates that I am stressed and unhappy.
The second reason came out of this indirect, more existential problem I have. After I did my best to sort things through and get rid of my worries, this problem popped up. I felt that if I live my life always worrying about getting things done on time and just surviving, then maybe, what is the point of living? I am not depressed. I feel as though I am just surviving though. There are certain things that I cherish and remember, but maybe those were distractions, or maybe holidays and vacations, from reality? I feel lost. I have no clue what I am doing and where I am going. I know where I want to go, but I do not know exactly how to get there.

In one scene of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Harry is lying awake in his sleeping bag, remembering that just a few hours ago, he was at a wedding, having a wonderful time, and now, he is the most wanted criminal in the UK. That is exactly how I feel. Though, more grounded to my reality. It just shows how volatile and unexpected life can be.

A Few More Days Left

I am bored. Very bored indeed. And I think I have a writer's block. Every time I try to think of something to add to the many collection of stories I have, I end up writing useless garbage about what type of food I hope to eat.

I just bought two sheer tops and one jean skirt. I have no idea what to do with those two shirts. Hopefully I will use them. Probably most likely not. What a waste of thirty dollars.

Summer Time

I'm back! I haven't seen this blog for a few months. I guess it comes with the fact that I was being a real slouch and couch potato suffering from senioritis. Well, I decided to walk to the computer and start typing again. However, the walk to the computer is actually a 10,000 mile trip from my nice cozy home to a little place called Jakarta. While looking at food blogs today, I realized that I have a blog as well. And while no one reads it, it's a great place for me to put my ideas in a very organized place. If only I could just include the ideas and get rid of the crap. Oh, shit. The possibility of me just coming up with ideas without some philosophical or absurd shit is really humanly impossible.

So, here I am in Indonesia. Way too cynical for a supposedly relaxing vacation. Well, that's what I was thinking would happen when I was way too bored in California. I am not relaxed. To be honest, a few weeks ago I had a panic attack. Unfortunately and stupidly for me, I informed some of the closest people about what I was panicking about. They too, started to panic with me and it soon became a case of the sky falling. I think I might as well keep my obsession with films a secret as my friends and family will be going apeshit on me the moment I let that truth out.

Every day, I am stuck in my relatives' office space. It's quite big, but it's still a prison. My one escape is the internet and the awesome IPod Touch that they have no idea how to use. I am unsuccessfully trying to teach them about it, though. I am now addicted to Reddit, Fazed, Facebook, My Parents Joined Facebook, We Have Lasers!!!!, and True Blood. My idea of the perfect vacation is thus, ruined.

What makes it worst is that fact my relatives and friends are religious. Since Jakarta is such a really awful place if you need transportation, I am stuck with them. I can't drive here; I will probably crash into a motorcyclist and have massive road rage. So, I have to accompany them to church. While I find the entire idea of having billions of fans who worship and never question their faith to be intriguing, I really am not a church person. I never really grew up with a certain religion or a certain God. My parents left me to decide for myself. I am very glad that at least one of my relatives shares my point of view, however, the rest of my relatives and friends here are quite the opposite. I have had six arguments so far about religion, mainly because my relatives have been trying to get me baptized. Thus the reason I am on the computer or any glowing rectangle.

Vacation blows. I can't wait to go home, get to a pool, and start reading books. And watching movies. God knows how much I love movies.