I couldn’t resist the adorable products from Cute-Plush online store, so I finally decided to buy them. It’s my first experience buying something online, so I was kinda nervous, hehe. Here are the three items I’ve ordered (click on the images to view product details at the website):

It costed me around $25 (around Rp 250.000,-) with shipping cost. They said it’ll arrive in 1-2 weeks, and they’re right - it took about two weeks and one day to arrive in my home in Indonesia. I ripped the package open in excitement and…

The ring came in a white box. It looked just like what I expected, though the ring is too big for my tiny fingers. Thank goodness it’s adjustable.

Here is the necklace. I think it’s kinda small and on the back there are some brown marks, but I don’t really mind. It’s quite hard for me to wear it on my own though, I’m not very good at putting on this kind of necklace with ring openings thing. I can’t really explain and I don’t know what it’s called, so you can just see on the image on the right.

Lastly, the pirate bunny charm.

This one is also smaller than I expected. I like "noisy" phone charms with bells, so this charm is kinda quiet for me. Just a personal taste. When it’s new the strap may be a little hard to put on or take off the phone. Hm, strangely I didn’t get any business card like this reviewer did.

Overall, all the products are very good and I got what I have seen from the website. The products are smooth and there are no sharp ugly edges around them, and they’re all can be used well. I’m satisfied with the quality of products, so I guess I will try buying again next time

Are you interested in buying stuffs from this store too? They’ve got a wide variety of cute stuffs, from accessories, plushies, shirts, mouse pads and many more. Check it out!

   Maaf kali ini postnya nggak ditulis secara berurutan, tapi kurang lebih inilah tempat-tempat yang akhir-akhir ini gw kunjungi:

Downtown SF

Union Square - Di sana ada pohon natal gede, toko-toko gede, dan ice rink buat skating.

Chinatown! Banyak toko oleh-oleh murah, toko barang-barang nyentrik, Chinese food, dan Chinese people. (Ya iya lah!) Di tengah jalan tiba-tiba ada orang manggil kita, "Eh! Orang Indo ya?". Kita ngangguk, trus dia ketawa lalu pergi. Wah, senang juga ketemu rakyat setanah air di negeri orang, haha.

Downtown Sunnyvale

Under construction… dan random bapak-bapak pakai rok.

Di sini gw nemu toko buku bekas. Orang-orang bisa jual beli buku yang udah dibaca disini dengan harga yang lebih murah. Padahal banyak bukunya yang masih dalam kondisi bagus (biarpun ada juga sih yang udah rada-rada ancur gitu, tapi bisa dibaca). Sayang gw cuma boleh beli dua buku disini, huh. Daripada buku menumpuk di rumah cuma dibaca sekali-dua kali, mendingan kayak gini kan? Buku-buku lama kita bisa dibaca orang lain dan nggak kehilangan ‘value’nya.

Let your books travel, guys! They’re not meant to be stuck on your bookshelves, they’re written to be read!

Farmers’ Market

Seminggu sekali diadakan Farmers’ Market, di mana orang-orang lokal bisa jualan sayur-mayur organik dan berbagai makanan lainnya. Waktu gw ke situ ada orang lagi promosi CD albumnya sambil nyanyi-nyanyi. Kalau mau belanja bahan makanan disitu, harus bawa kantong plastik sendiri. Berhubung kami berdua nggak tau, jadi kita cuma bisa liat-liat aja. Akhirnya di situ gw beli crepes sementara kakak gw keliling nyari sweet corn gara-gara liat banyak orang yang makan.

 VTA (Valley Transportation Authority)

Untuk keliling-keliling, gw naik kereta yang disebut VTA. Di sini nggak ada yang meriksa tiket kita, jadi tergantung kejujuran para penumpang aja untuk beli tiket. Kalo di Indo kayak gini juga gimana jadinya yah… hohoho. Lalu, jadwal kereta di sini mendetil sampai menit-menitnya, misalnya "1:07" ato "12:23" dan keretanya juga hampir selalu datang tepat waktu. Di dalamnya ada tempat buat ‘gantung’ sepeda buat orang-orang yang melaksanakan ‘bike to work’. Keretanya nggak berhenti di setiap station, jadi kalau mau berhenti ada tombol yang harus dipencet buat ’stop request’.

Tekan tombol sebelum menyeberang! Nyebrang di sini nggak perlu mempertaruhkan nyawa pake acara lari-lari menghindari mobil yang melesat sana-sini.

 Paseo de San Antonio

Kiri: nggak tau apaan, sepertinya tribute untuk seseorang.
Kanan: palm trees and sunset whee~

Art museum, dan di sebelahnya ada ice rink under the palms.

The Tech, museum teknologi, dan waktu gw dateng ada exhibition tentang Star Trek juga. Di situ banyak alat-alat eksperimen yang lumayan menarik (contoh, di kanan: robot buat ngatur balok buat spelling kata). Selain itu, kita bisa nonton teater IMAX yang gede dan layarnya berbentuk globe. Gw nonton yang temanya Space Station, ceritanya tentang perjuangan orang-orang dari 16 negara buat membangun stasiun luar angkasa. 

***

Selain itu gw juga sempet pergi ke San Jose Japantown (nggak ada apa-apa, gw cuma numpang makan Japanese food disitu), Great Mall (untuk nonton Sherlock Holmes - keren! Gw pengen baca novelnya lagi), Macy’s, Target, dan makan seafood buffet di Tatami. Capek juga tiap hari harus jalan kaki ke stasiun kereta trus jalan-jalan lagi. Tapi overall, it was fun being here in US! Tapi sayang sebentar lagi liburan gw berakhir, huh… Back to school deh

–Tag from Notebook Doodles~

1. what is your current obsession?
Taking pictures

2. what are you wearing today?
A long-sleeved black shirt layered with a sleeveless grey turtleneck, jeans pants and black converse shoes. I can’t stand the coldness.

3. what’s for dinner?
Hainam chicken rice.

4. what’s the last thing you bought?
A new planner and a blue handbag! It’s small, light, and easy to carry, neato!

5. what are you listening to right now?
Theme of the Diabolical Box. The PL playlist is repeating itself over and over.

6. what do you think about the person who tagged you?
She seems like a nice person, and her doodles are cute!

7. if you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Hmm… I guess London or Luzern will do.

8. one thing you wanna change about yourself?
Have a more stable mood.

9. if you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Japan, please! Or US’ Disneyland.

10. which language do you want to learn?
Japanese and french. Comment allez vous desuka? *fail*

11. what’s your favourite quote?
"Memoir is about handing over your life to someone and saying: ‘This is what I went through, this is who I am, and maybe you can learn something from it.’ " (it’s also in my ‘about me’ page)

12 . would you cook for me?
No. I can’t cook and I don’t even know who you are. lol

13. what is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
Ignore, ignore, ignore… leave.

14. what are you afraid of the most?
People fear what they don’t understand. Thus, I fear math and physics.

15. who do you want to meet right now?
Him, and my buddies…

16. what is your favourite color?
Green, blue, and orange.

17. give us 3 styling tips that work for you.
I lack common fashion sense, but I should say:
Only wear something that you feel comfortable and confident with
Layer your outfits (with blazers, jackets, cardigans, etc)
Do some mix-and-match your wardrobe to find new outfit combinations rather than keep buying new clothes.

18. what is your dream job?
A magazine editor, columnist, or an illustrator.

19. what’s your favorite magazine?
Between Readers’ Digest, GoGirl, and B’Girl.

20. if you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Plushies and books

21. what do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Hmm, I don’t know. Many fashion items just shout "FAIL!" for most people, but for several people who wear them right, it can shout "WIN".

22. who according to you is the most over-rated writer?
(Twilight fans do not attack me!) Stephenie Meyer.

23. what brings a smile on your face instantly?
Surprise gifts! Or a plushie. Haha.

24. a word that you say a lot?
Uh… I dunno.

25. what kind of haircut do you prefer?
Even though I have medium-length hair, I actually prefer long wavy hair. They look prettier!

26. what are you going to do after this?
Go downstairs to watch TV and play with my brother’s baby.

27. what do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Listen to good music, rant (either to a person or by writing), then sleep. Voila, when you wake up everything looks better.

28. what makes you go wild?
Not sure… It’s just randomly generated inside me.

29. what are your favourite movies?
UP and Avatar. I’m a sucker for amazingly done animations.

30. what inspires you?
Places, things, people, and events around me. Oh, and also artworks from people I admire.

31. what do your friends call you most commonly?
"Chelle".

32. would you prefer coffee or tea?
Tea. I’m not really a coffee person.

33. which other blogs do you love visiting?
I’ll fill these with links later, but here goes the names: Kari-shma @tumblr, Notebook Doodles, My Milk Toof, etc.

34. favorite dessert/sweet?
Ice cream and… chocolate chip cookies?

35. how many tabs are turned on in your browser right now?
Two.

36. when you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Oh, everyone’s awake except me.

37. favorite season?
Summer… not to mention I only have two choices: rainy and summer.

38. one wish that you really want to see it come true?
Hmm, the world in peace and joy?

39. what breaks your heart?
When people I love hurt me.

40. what’s one thing you really want to do in life?
Do things that I enjoy doing, and somehow make it to benefit other people too.

Ditag Alvin. Iseng-iseng ah.

kamu saya TAG xixxxixi… Jika kamu membaca ini dan kena TAG, maka copy kan semua isi notes ini, tulis (baca: ketikkan :p) semua jawaban pertanyaan dan TAG 25 orang korban lain huhuhu… Jangan lupa TAG juga saya, agar saya tahu jawaban kamu. Jadi kamu tinggal mencari 24 orang korban lain.. Saya TAG kamu, karena saya ingin mengenal kamu lebih jauh.

Step 1 : Introduction

1. Syapa nama Ori~mu ?
Michelle

2. Tempat tinggal sekarang ?
Sekarang lagi di SF, tapi gw tinggal di Jakarta lah.

3. Skull / Kul ?
Sekolah. Spell it right!

4. Tempat tanggal lahir ?
Jakarta, 18 Agustus 1994

5. Urutan sekolah dari SD hingga sekarang ?
ipk, dengan setia.

6. Kegiatan belakangan ini ?
Browsing, maen DS, dengerin lagu, maen sama anaknya kakak gw, foto-foto, baca buku.

7. Sejak kapan terjun ke dunia net ?
sejak SD, diajarin koko maen games di Yahoo!
…I feel like a geek.

8. Gabung pertama kali di ?
Blogboleh

9. Selanjutna ?
Friendster, Blogsome, Plurk Facebook, Twitter

10. Alamat Email yang dipakai ?
tigaa

11. Sering OL di?
kompie. hape saia tidak memadai dipakai buat ol.

12. Game yang sedang dimainkan belakangan ini ?
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. Gak tamat-tamat euy.

13. Yang memiliki tantangan terbesar ?
eh, life?

14. Status sekarang ?
"HAPPY NEW YEAR Y’ALL! may this new year become a blessing for us, and we can improve to become a better person… Gbua" …eh bukan status fb ya?

15. Yang selalu wall-to-wall dgn lw tiap hari ?
nggak ada. I don’t like spamming people’s walls with unimportant chit-chats.

16. Yang sedang dekat dgn anda ?
moses, celin, magi, cilla, plus a few others…
but if you’re taking it literally, yang lagi deket sama gw adalah kakak gw yang lagi asyik betulin kabel sama bokap gw yang lagi mencoba main DS.

17. Udah berapa lama ?
different with each person.

18. Jumlah Hape ?
2

19. Apa aja ?
A pair of nokia bututs

Step 2 : Advanced

20. Kerjaan yang sedang ditekuni ?
Trying out new things and learning how to be happy.

21. Gajina ?
Self-satisfaction and new skills.

22. Nama Twitter ?
pockycrab

23. Sering OL pke apa ?
Tweetdeck

24. Alasanna ?
Gak perlu capek-capek pencet "1 new tweet" kayak di webpage nya, dan tweetnya lebih cepet ke-publish.

25. Makanan kesukaan ?
nasi goreng, spaghetti bolognese, pancake, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream

26. Minuman Kesukaan ?
teh botol sosro, chocolate milkshake, ice tea, air putih

27. Mie instan favorite ?
Indomie pake telor

28. Punya Laptop ?
Adaaa

29. OS komp skarang ?
Windows Vista

30. Wallpaper skarang
Tulisan 2010

31. Dapet darimana ?
Onextrapixel.com

32. Aliran musik favorit ?
Don’t really care about genres, but amazingly most of my music library belongs to Alternative Rock or Pop.

33. Band fav ?
MUSE.

34. Band yang d benci ?
nothing in particular… I don’t give much attention to what I don’t like.

35. Band luar fav ?
MUSE.

36. Band jepang fav ?
em… gak ada sih. Can I say Vocaloid?

37. Artis fav ?
Gila gw harus brapa kali nyebutin MUSE dsni yah? Ganti Taylor Swift deeeh.

38. Cita-cita saat kecil?
Director film, scriptwriter, mangaka.

39. Acara TV favorit?
Hardly ever watch TV anymore.

Step 3 : Info singkat

40. Nada dering SMS lw ?
Bunyi "cring" gitu deh.

41. Kalo nada dering telpon ?
Map of Problematique

42. Syapa yang sms smalam ?
Moses

43. isina ?
:)

44. Speed dial no 1 di hape
…stupid question

45. Yang terakhir kali telpon ?
Koko gw

46. Total inbox minggu ini ?
Gk tau dehh, hahaha

47. Wallpaper hape ?
Texture biru2 gtu

48. Kartu yang dipake ?
Matrix dan XL

49. Dalam seminggu habis brapa rebu buat pulsa ?
Tergantung mood

50. Nama contact pertama di hape ?
Aldi

51. Nama Contact Terakhir ?
Zara

52. Terakhir Chat di YM ?
pak Harie

53. Alamat YM ?
(sama dgn email yahoo)

54. Pesan terakhir yang d terima ?
"Jangan maen komputer mlulu!"

55. Dari syapa ?
kakak gw

56. Mood blakangan ini ?
Random mood swing between delighted-bored-static-cranky-sleepy.

57. Kalo dapet tiket liburan, pengenna kemana ?
Keliling Europe once more.

58. Quote yang ingin Disampaikan ?
"Love is not a habit, a commitment, or a debt. It isn’t what romantic songs tell us - love simply is. Love is. No definitions. Love and don’t ask too many questions. Just love."

59. Ucapan Terakhir ?
Sayonara, arigato… Ah, jadi kepengen dengerin When Love Ends for the First Time.