Filed under: ramblings
Congrats to Kas & Shahreel for the new addition to the family. Baby Donna Falihah was born early this morning at 1.26AM after a quick 2 hour labor heheh Kas was so proud of it. They got to the hospital at 11.30PM and the baby was born just 2 hours later. 6 lbs 12 oz, 21 inch. Kas was having contractions the whole day but she was still working and didn’t get home from the office until 7pm. She’s pretty crazy hehe.. but that was her plan… she didn’t want to go the hospital until it’s REALLY time.
My first time holding a baby this young.. I’ve always refused to hold a baby less than 1-2 weeks old before because they seem so fragile hehhehe so this is she .. at about 11 hours old 
and in the afternoon I went to Sam’s club with the Hillery’s … and their baby looked so BIG !, especially after seeing little Falihah earlier.
Oh yeah.. when I informed Arine about the delivery she asked what room they’re in. Told her they’re in room 209, she’s like "That’s our room !" hehe it’s cool that these 2 babies were born in the same room.
Kai Sean is now 7 weeks old.
the first pic was taken last week at their house, and the last two were him at Sam’s club shopping today he’s soooo cute ! I’ve seen him quite a few times since he was born and I saw him laugh for the first time today, and I captured it on my camera too! Usually when I came to visit, he’s always so sleepy 
well seems like this is the year where everyone is having a baby !! One of my cousin in Bandung is expecting a 3rd one when I was home last December. Another cousin said she will try for a 2nd one this year (dunno if she’s been succesful yet or not :p)..
Quite a few friends from Purdue are expecting their first child this year.. Congrats to Davina & Eri for their baby girl ( born last week .. saw her pic on mom’s friendster account hehe ). I can’t wait to see Lia & Acis’s firstborn in a few months Yulia & Wing in Canada are also expecting their 2nd one. One of my coworkers just told me yesterday that she’s 3 months pregnant. I told her that she is the 10th person I know who is pregnant this year ! It’s pretty crazy hehe
Filed under: ramblings
I already moved about 150 lbs of stuffs to Austin hehe in 3 big luggages (clothes, handbags, shoes) to Austin…. so there shouldn’t be too much left here since I don’t plan to bring any furniture with me, RIght ? that’s what I thought :p But as I started cleaning up and packing more stuffs to bring, one box after another filled up so fast !
Last Sunday Kas & Shahreel already picked up a bunch of stuffs including my coffee table, 2 bookshelves, a big picture frame, a ricecooker, a fan, an area rug, and a shoe rack, but my apartment didn’t look any less crowded !
I already scheduled disconnect dates for my gas, electricity, cable tv + internet. I’ve also changed my address on all of my accounts ( I think I did all ). Yesterday I dropped one luggage at Fedex. It was the luggage that Thomas was supposed to bring to Austin last time, but since he cancelled his trip, I got it back with me.
And tonight I made so many trips to the dumpster throwing away stuffs, but mostly empty boxes. I can’t believe how much boxes I have been accumulating in my storage room the past 4.5 years !! I still kept the box for a laptop that I bought for Lung2.. hmmm 4 years ago ? I just threw away the box for my cookware set which I bought 5 years ago. .. Well this is a lesson learned.. I will not be saving any boxes in the future !!!
I also packed 6 full boxes just now. 2 boxes = books, magazines, letters, important papers. 2 boxes = DVDs, VCDs, CDs my treasures. Last 2 boxes = winter clothes, food processor, percussion massager, foot spa. The first 4 boxes I will ship using USPS Media Mail. The other 2 I will use FedEx Home Delivery.
Ok… wrote my plan for the next week and a half..
Wednesday / Thursday
- Drop boxes at USPS, ship Media Mail
- continue clean up, buang-buang barang ! Sort items for donation
Friday
- give dinnerware for Thomas to Andrew
- maybe pack another box for Fedex ?
- change address at post office
Saturday
- Drop boxes at Fedex
Sunday
- Donate stuffs to Goodwill
NEXT WEEK
Feli to pick up sofa + chair
TK to pick up TV + stand
Jamie & Karthik to pick up cooler, fitness ball, exercise dvd, ++ …
Kas & Shahreel to pick up paper shredder, curtain, ++ …
Monday – Wednesday
- write feedbacks for people at work
Thursday (last day of work – bye-bye to this laptop)
- Vicki to pick up microwave (if unsold)
- Bill to pick up monitor (if unsold)
Friday (final cleaning day)
- last trip to Goodwill to donate any unsold furniture
- transfer stuffs to Magda’s (bedside table, vacuum cleaner, food, cleaners, detergent, etc)
- office chair for Yuldi (if unsold)
- speakers for Kas (if unsold)
- clean up kitchen + bathroom + vacuum the whole apt
- make apt as empty as possible
- put items in car
- pick up Hendrik in airport 10PM
Saturday morning
- transfer bed to Magda’s (if unsold)
- empty apartment
- 11.30 AM move-out inspection, drop key at office
- noon, leave Columbus
- 1PM Lunch @ Buca di Beppo
- On the way to TEXAS by 3PM
Sunday evening
- Home in Austin
Filed under: ramblings
Had good time tonight at Arine’s .. we were all laughing all the time .. my last girls night in Columbus 
… I honestly don’t know how I’d survive the last couple of years here without these people ^_^ oh.. plus my downloaded "harta"
looking back in time
2002 - moved to Columbus in April .. started the ‘real life’ at 21 … earning my own money.. loved my job & the people I worked with.. not much going on in Columbus though.. Cummins that time hadn’t been hiring for a while.. I didn’t see people my age around.. I still went back to Purdue every other week or so.. Alex, Yuli, and Tin2 were still there.. Lia, Kimpeng, Sherly, Lusi were also there. I think I even still went to Permias callout that year
2003 - Magda started working here full time. Indonesian population in Columbus me+1 = 2 Met Kas for the first time because I spotted her name on an email list and I sent her a note Back then we used to go to Bloomington, Louisville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis on weekends.. I still went back to Purdue maybe once a month ? Was this the year that we went to Cedar Point ? oh it was fun time !
2004 - already 2 years working, first time thinking of moving to Austin, but I wanted to wait until I got my promotion so that I’d have more on my resume before job searching … got my promotion in August, but I was offered the black belt position just a couple months later… so I decided to stay and see what it’s like .. Hendrik also wanted me to grab this opportunity… around this time my Purdue visit frequency had decreased significantly to probably every other month now … I only went if we planned something special.. like if we wanted to go to Chicago ..
2005 – 2006 quite challenging 2 years at work, it’s tough !! .. thought about quitting several times.. but in the end I’m VERY glad that I made it through.. Indonesian & Malaysian population at its peak hehehe .. started having more & bigger get togethers.. Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Birthdays, potlucks, Girls nights… Patty started exercise days hehe , got to know Kathy & Warittha. Pork Days with Arine & Jamie hehe .. oh I also saw Hendrik more often than before.. almost every month..
I don’t know how many times Lia or others asked me "Kapan pindah Ver?"
2007 – time flew so fast.. a lot of things happened in the past 5 years to people around me… new couples, breakups, some got married, some got divorced.. some had a baby .. some had 2 babies.. attended lots of graduations, quite a few farewells too.. so it’s my turn to move on now ! April 7th.. so that day is finally coming….
Filed under: wedding
yeah yeah we’re already married… it was just a civil ceremony, so early next year when we go home, we’ll be married again in Holy Matrimony in Hendrik’s hometown of Muntilan :p A reception will follow in Yogya. We’re also going to have an earlier party in Bandung the previous weekend. Our parents said it will be the "engagement" party hahaha but we’re already married !!
Our parents finalized these dates a few weeks ago soon after they picked our March 1st date – and they also have made down payments at both venues. I’m gonna have lots of fun planning two wedding parties ! Well hopefully I’ll definitely have to use a wedding organizer(s) because I won’t be in Indonesia for the months leading up to THE DayS !
Other than having these dates.. I haven’t really started any planning yet… hmmm maybe I’ve been saving pictures of gowns, cakes, and bouquets.. hehe but that’s about it. :p
My Mom’s way ahead of me. She has decided on her make up artist ! Hehehe she used his service a couple of weeks ago for a special occasion that I’m not really clear about, but she’s so satisfied with the result that she immediately decided that she’s going to use him for our wedding ! She even took Dad to get their picture taken because she liked it so much ;p
Filed under: ramblings
oww so proud of myself. I just finished filing my 2006 taxes… I’m more than 1 month early !! this never happens before :p I usually always waited till the very last days to do this..
E-filed both Federal and State returns.. as expected I owe both money :’( .. but it’s not too bad.. the important thing is I’m done !
I went for my MBA admission interview yesterday. The interviewer is a UT MBA alumnus who now works for Eli Lilly in Indy. I met her in a Starbucks in Greenwood. It didn’t go as well as I’d like it to be :’( I didn’t really prepare for it.. I thought I would just be myself.. well big mistake,… I didn’t even answer the "Why MBA and how do you expect to apply your MBA degree" question well.. it’s actually the #1 question that I had expected :’( and then THE question that I had the most problem answering was "What do you think will be your challenges in starting up your own business ?" ……. uhmm………
I also had expected question like "What do you think is the weakest and strongest part of your application and why ?" .. but because I didn’t practice my answer.. it didn’t flow nicely … :’(
The only question that I think I had no problem with was "Why UT ?" .. gave her an honest answer that I’m moving to Austin no matter what.. Austin is where I will be at least for the next year .. (well until Hendrik gets his greencard).
So I know I want an MBA (although I didn’t answer why I want an MBA that well) … and coincidentally Austin has McCombs ! BUT I applied to UT because I know McCombs has a good MBA program.. I wouldn’t have applied if it is an unknown school .. if I don’t get in, I’m not going to go to just any college in town or nearby.. I’d rather postpone my MBA plan until Hendrik and I are ready to relocate somewhere again where there is a good business school if Austin doesn’t have any good business school.
the comment that didn’t make me feel good at all was .. at the end she said "Well if for some reason this doesn’t work out for you, and you didn’t get admission, I’m sure with your experience and background you will have no problem finding a job in Austin." huaaaaaaaaaa what is that supposed to mean ???
oh well.. it’s over now, now I can only wait.. they said that usually they make the decision about 3-4 weeks after the interview… I hope I will get in. .. I hope I hope I hope !
Lessons learned … always pratice practice and practice answering interview questions !!
Filed under: ramblings
Dear Kevin:
It is with great reluctance that I submit this letter as my formal resignation from Cummins, effective April 5th, 2007. I recently got married and will be relocating to Austin, TX to join with my husband. I’m also pursuing acceptance to the full time MBA program at the University of Texas at Austin, which will begin in August.
This decision was not an easy one, and involved a lot of thoughtful consideration, particularly with respect to my own plans for my future; but I believe I have made the right decision that I hope you will understand and support.
It has been my pleasure working for Cummins and with you personally. My six sigma black belt experience is invaluable to me and I would like to thank you once again for having me as part of your team. I wish you and the organization continued success. Please let me know how I can help to make a smooth transition during my remaining time here.
Sincerely,
Vera Foe
submitted my resignation letter on Monday .. so it’s official now.. more and more people at work are finding out that I’m leaving suddenly everyone wants to have lunch with me hahaha I’m so relieved.. can talk about this freely in the office now work also seems going well.. still have plenty of stuffs to do.. tying up loose knots here and there.. but overall I’m just so happy these days .. and my coworkers can tell too !
oh there’s one thing, wish me luck for my MBA admission interview tomorrow ! morning
Filed under: ramblings
Wednesday, 28 Feb 2007 6.30pm – Buca di Beppo Austin
We celebrated our upcoming wedding with Hendrik’s coworkers and their families. I made a reservation for 25 people, but 3 couples couldn’t make it at the last minute. So we had Rodger, Kevin, Jeff, Anne, little Jocelyn, Kim, Matthew, little Michelle, Chad, Cheri, Michelle, Russ, Sundeep, Kirni, little Raunakk, Meggie, Hendrik, and me … in total we had 18 people including the 3 toddlers.
Our waitress found out that we were getting married the next day so she had the whole room ( we were seated at the poster room ) sang "Going to the Chapel", and gave us some candles to blow :p
Thursday, 1 March 2007 4pm @ Travis County Justice of the Peace Precint 2
We arrived at the precint a little early, when we got inside the room that has "Judge Barbara Bembry" on the door, it was crowded, lots of people waiting. It’s such a small room, one side of the room had several clerks behind the windows. I felt like everyone was staring at us. For a second there I thought that I will be married in front of these people, that all we’re supposed to do was just sign a paper right there at one of those windows
Hendrik checked in and we went out to wait at the hallway. Soon afterwards, Herry, Toga, Kathy, and Linda arrived and waited with us. Then a door opened up in the hallway, it turned out to be the court room. The judge asked us to come in. Now we had the court room to ourselves. She asked me & Hendrik to come forward and stand in front of everyone. And then she asked us to repeat after her.. honestly I don’t even remember our vow exactly. It was the standard, "I, …, take …, as my wife / husband" vow.. and then since we also had rings to exchange we also said "With this ring, I … ". Everything went very fast. The judge probably signed our marriage license within 10 minutes we were there. Bob & Meggie also signed as our witnesses. Hendrik and I actually didn’t get to sign anything :p Our names were already in the license. We did sign the marriage license application on Monday.
So we were married just like that .. we had more than an hour to kill before our dinner reservation so we went to Toga & Kathy’s house.. and we finally got to see our cake – which was a special wedding gift from Kathy .. it turned out so much better than I had imagined… Not that I ever doubted Kathy’s skill, I really just wasn’t expecting much since it was free and we’ve been telling her to make it simple, and stress that it’s "buat kita2 doang" – :p hahaha .. I know she’s good, I’ve seen pictures of her work before so here it is..
oh by the way, I just bought the dress that same day around 1pm :p Hehe I actually wasn’t planning to, I was going to wear an old white dress that I have .. but since we had nothing to do, we decided to go to the outlet mall after lunch, and tadaaa I found a dress haha.. The salesgirl at BCBG couldn’t believe it when I told her I was going to wear it to MY wedding in 3 hours hehe
6pm – dinner @ Sushi Sake
Party of 13, Hendrik, me, Bob, and Meggie. Our guests : Kathy & Toga, Linda & Herman, Johan & Melinda, Agustina, Herry, Roy. 
