Missing the alien at Flushing Meadows

Pernah nonton MIB ngga....

Itu lhoo..Men in Black yang dibintangi Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones..
Film yang sempat menjadi hits ini kayaknya lumayan ngetop deh :)

Remember this tower?

If you watched Men in Black, the movie filled with funny and funky aliens, this is the tower where Agent J and K beat the aliens and kicked them out of our earth :). 

Kalau ngg salah, di tower ini Agent J dan Agent K menyelamatkan bumi dengan mengalahkan alien-alien lucu yang punya niat menguasai bumi :)...karena adegan terakhirnya, jadi seruuu bangeeet ...

Dan ternyata ooh ternyata, tower ini letaknya ngg jauh dari rumah kami di Astoria, NY...

here's the famous tower....awaaas ada alien :)

Living in Astoria, Queens, does give us the opportunity to browse around this interesting neighborhood.

One of them is the famous Corona Park,  Flushing Meadows.

we have beautiful park surroundings the tower...

By the time I started writing this, the 2014 US Open just started. And you' ll see the banner every where near the Corona Park. Now that it has finished (or almost..or even already? My, I didn't follow it at all), the park always attracts people with its charms. Be it its history, great location or beautiful landscape.

Best known as the prime location of the US Open, Flushing Meadows Corona Park is indeed a beautiful park. And it's huge...covering 1,255 acres of lush garden, lake, museum, zoo and many more, this park is unsurprisingly the New York City's fourth-largest park. 

It was the site of two World's Fairs ...
Yup, not once, but twice. It was back in 1939–1940 as well as 1964–1965. Its unique design and outstanding size is truly an eye-catcher. 

the Unisphere...

It took us around 20-minute drive from Astoria to this beautiful park. 
Fully equipped with strollers, helmets, food and refreshment, we went here and enjoyed a lovely afternoon. Although the weather was a bit chilly, but we had many visitors flocking around enjoying their time here.

the world is in our hand :)

Once we arrived in the unisphere, Bo and Obi dashed out with their scooters :)

Not to forget some photo session here and there :), including Obi et Bapak... 

The Unisphere sendiri merupakan bola dunia yang terbuat dari baja dengan ukuran fantastis, sekitar 140 kaki atau 42 meter. Buat saya lumayan besar deeeh dan memang terlihat luar biasa karena detailnya yang juga dibuat dengan sangat baik. Tidak heran kalau bola dunia ini turut memeriahkan Pekan Dunia atau World Fair pada tahun 1964 - 1965. 

Saat kami menikmati sore di sini, ternyata banyak juga lho pedagang 'asongan' yang keliling dengan cemilan khas Meksiko seperti enchillada dan juga es krim :). Sayang saya ngg sempet foto mereka...

Waktu berada di dekat Unisphere, hal pertama yang saya lakukan adalah mencari Indonesia :0). Tentu dooong....soalnya kangen. Yuuup...my lovely home country. I managed to find it easily and showed it to Bo et Obi. I even showed them Lampung, our home town, at the southern tip of Sumatera island. Well,  it was a fun geography session indeed :). 

Flushing Meadows - Corona Park seringkali disebut juga  Flushing Meadows Park. Taman ini buka setiap hari dan terletak di Queens, New York. Taman ini luas sekali lhooo...meliputi area sekitar 1961 sq miles atau kurang lebih 5.079 km². 

Di dekat sini, masih di dalam kompleks yang sama, ada Queens Zoo juga....

Kita sudah sempat mampir, tapi sharenya di cerita yang lain yaah :)

Plus Museum Queens yang terkenal dengan scale model kota New York yang besaaar dan detail banget dan dulunya adalah New York City Building yang juga menjadi tempat  di mana Majelis Umum PBB bersidang di tahun 1946 - 1950, sebelum Markas Besar PBB dibangun di tepi East River dan 1st Avenue di Manhattan.  

Hmm, looks like I have to come back with more stories and photos as well...

Cheers...

1.     
2. 
   
3. 
   

Just a little break...

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky..."Rabindranath Tagore

Amidst my stormy days, here comes my peaceful blue sky...

from the 32nd floor of the east wing of the UN One Hotel NYC

Linking up with Skywatch Friday...

To those who love the sky, come and join us :)

WW: Welcome, Mr. President...

We had an extremely busy week welcoming our President, H.E. DR. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the First Lady, to NY during the High-level Week of the UN General Assembly Meeting..

And Bo, together with Cica, was welcoming them with a huge bouquet of lily :), wearing our traditional attire from Lampung, my hometown ..

Psst... they were interviewed as well :)..

Too bad I didn't really got a good picture...just wait for the photos taken by our official photographer  then ..

Join us on Wordless Wednesday :p...

#BoetObi's Diary: visiting pediatrics in NYC ...

As we moved in to NYC in May,. tons of adjustments have to be done
Well, that's for sure...
And that includes the kids' schools...

Waktu kami pindah di awal bulan Mei, Bo baru saja menyelesaikan ujian tengah semester. Agak tricky juga sih, soalnya itu artinya kami akan berangkat dan pindah sebelum Bo menyelesaikan kelas 1nya di SDN 01 Cipinang alias SD Kuda Laut.

Sayang memang, tapi apa hendak dikata, tugas tidak bisa menunggu dan berangkat duluan terpisah dari suami dan anak-anak juga bukan pilihan ideal. So akhirnya, kami pun berangkat berbekal raport tengah semester. Setelah mengecek laman sekolah umum di NY, daftar dokumen yang perlu dipenuhi untuk pendaftaran murid baru pun kami dapat. Salah satunya adalah kartu imunisasi.

Well, complete record of immunization is one of the prerequisites to register for school here in NY City.

We had the same requirements when we enrolled Bo in his Jardin d'enfants back there in Geneve, Switzerland.

But this time, we have Bo et Obi.

Well, it's not that complicated or confusing if the list of obliged and supplementary  immunization lists in every country is the same. But it is only natural that the lists might be distinguished from one another as every country faces different risks in term of communicable diseases.Not to mention different weather and other geographical factors.

For Bo, it was a bit complicated as he has 3 immunization cards.
Yuuup...three cards :)

welcoming Bo to the world...

One set from Melbourne, Australia, when he was born. Such a brief period but important phase of developing his immune system

One from Jakarta, where he stayed till 10 months and finally one from Geneve, where he spent most of his childhood. I feel like I start collecting immunization cards here :)...

here's the list from GE...

So, we have to combine them all to get a complete set of immunization that Bo has had. And is not that easy at all as we have slightly different lists here

By the time he moved to NY with us, Bo is required to have more immunization as we have, unsurprisingly, different immunization requirements. He had to go through blood test to check his immune system, compare the lists and decide what to add. I felt so guilty looking at all those shots that have to be given at the same time but Bo really stood out for it.

For Obi, it's a different story :)

She has one set from Geneve, as the crucial first 7 months of her life was spent there, then one set from Jakarta as well, pretty much the same as Bo's. Quite colorful, I can say...





Soo...that's about the cards :)..

Another complication we had at that time was that it was the last days of registration Obi's UPK. UPK stands for Universal Pre-Kindergarten, the free pre-school program provided by the NYC Government. No wonder the place is quite limited and the price for private Pre-K can rise up to USD 1000 for full-day program.

 Since the registration for this program started last March, we had to rush and submitted the application form as soon as we can. That means, on that day. Yuup, that particular day...

So up we went searching for pediatrics for my Bo et Obi...asking around, getting some info from friends who have kids with the similar age, browsing the internet, consulting with our insurance agent. Then we finally decided to get to Dr. Robert Yu to be the Doc for our kids. Lucky us, he is so used to consulting with Indonesian parents, so we managed to get the appointment directly on that day. Alhamdulillah...knowing how tricky it can be to get an appointment, I felt so blessed and relieved :). 

So, right on that day, we went to the Doc and the kids seemed to enjoy that very first visit. For sure, they loved the overall interior, boosting colorful walls with children's favorite cartoon characters and cute animals. That's, of course, before the needles were involved.

Obi loved the panda she found on the cabinet where the Doc examined her immunization list and gave her the shots. All smiley ..in the first 10 minutes...

go green for today...

Well, who wouldn't love Nemo swimming around you? I love thaaat...
While waiting for the shots, Obi was exploring the rest of the room as well...

swim with me...

I suddenly miss diving....

Then the Doc decided to  give Obi Haemophilus influenzae Type B (Hib), Pneumococcal Conjugate, Varicella, et MMR, as required by the NYC Health Department as well as Education Department. Jadi imunisasi tambahan ini disesuaikan dengan daftar imunisasi wajib bagi seluruh anak di AS.

While Bo got an extra dose of Polio, MMR, Varicella and TDAP (tetanus diphtheria). All in one day...But alhamdulillah, the kids were fin after all those shots. No fever at all,  just scolding mommy for letting the Doc give them shots :).

So, after 4 shots in a row (with a little kicking and screaming :) ), Obi and Bo had completed their immunizations cards and we were all set for the enrollment of the new schools. And Bo et Obi got stickers  (transformers for Bo et princess for Obi :)) and lollypop ..I normally don't give them the sweet things like that but I guess they deserve to have one..

Here are more snapshots from our visit to the Doc :)...
How's you kid's visit for immunizations?
Bagi bagi dong pengalaman mengajak anak-anak imunisasi :)

after the shots...puffy eyes from crying.. 

what's on TV, Bang...

Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 49 : Barang Tua

Barang tua?

Have something in mind?

Ini yang membuat aku sukaaaa dengan Turnamen Foto Perjalanan :)...selalu tertantang untuk ngubek-ngubek album foto dan hard disk :)

Kali ini, saya memutuskan untuk ikut dengan menampilkan barang tua peninggalan ancient Egypt alias Mesir Kuno yang saya gemari :). Entah kenapa, saya seneng banget dengan peninggalan dari masa itu...Alhamdulillah sudah sempet melihat Mesir walaupun belum semua :)..

But the one that I put down here is the petite female figurines from ancient Egypt that are displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, not the one in the Egyptian National Museum :). I got a chance to visit the second largest Egyptian Museum ...the one in Turino.

I love it because it's turquoise...and pretty unique...

Dan inilah barang tua pilihanku :)...

Foto ini diikutsertakan dalam Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 49: Barang Tua

WW: Misty water

"Misty water colored memories....of the way we were..."

Barbra Streisand 

Missing my homeland and its endless beauty ...

Kawah Putih, Bandung

Join me on Wordless Wednesday peopleeee :)....

Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 48: Pemenangnya adalaaah...

Yelloooow dear friends...

Punteeen baru mengumumkan pemenang Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 48 yang mengangkat tema chamber alias ruangan :)...

I was thinking chambers can speak more than thousand words, wherever and whatever it is..
Saya sendiri selalu menyempatkan diri untuk mencari tempat dan ruangan yang penuh cerita ini setiap bepergian ke mana saja..
And I always found one :)

Sooo....sebelumnya makasiiiiih ya buat semua yang berkenan ikutan dan mampir ke ronde  kali ini :)..
Kalau mau liat siapa saja, feel free to check them out di Galeri Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 48
Ada beberapa teman yang mengirim fotonya telat :). Saya tetap memasukkan fotonya di Galeri Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 48, namun tidak memasukkannya ke dalam pemilihan pemenang.

Dan, pemenangnya adalaaaaah...

Silviana Apple :) @silvianapple

Dengan foto ruangan Kasunan Surakarta Hadiningrat yang sarat sejarah dan pesan moral untuk keselamatan kita di dunia dan akhirat :)
Ingatan saya langsung terlempar ke masa lampau di mana para Raja, Ratu serta putra-putrinya melakukan berbagai aktivitas di sini...gracefully enjoying the day with family and friends.

Terima kasih sekali lagi untuk semua teman-teman yang berkenan meramaikan Turnamen Foto Perjalanan Ronde 48 dengan fotonya yang beraneka dan juga kaya pesan :).

So, Silvi...selamat melanjutkan estafet TFP ronde ke-49 yaaaa...jangan lupa toel kita untuk ikutan lagiiii :)

Have a lovely day everyone...and happy #ItchyFeet :)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Humanity

I guess the photo speaks for itself...
These series of photos just show the various faces of human..

we are the world..

to you and you only, my Creator..

good morning, world...

laughing out loud...

Join us on Weekly Photo Challenge, with Humanity as this week's theme..

Sunset at Astoria Park

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator".Mahatma Gandhi (sources from here)

Queensborough Bridge with Manhattan skyline on the background..

Linking up with Skywatch Friday...

To those who love the sky, come and join us :)

Pesta Rakyat 2014 @NYC

Setiap tahunnya, dalam rangkaian peringatan Dirgahayu negeri kita tercinta, Konsulat Jenderal Republik Indonesia (KJRI) di New York mengadakan Pesta Rakyat.

the opening of Pesta Rakyat 2014

Kali ini, Pesta Rakyat 2014 diselenggarakan di Landmark on the Park yang persis berseberangan dengan Central Park sisi Barat. Tempat yang juga merupakan aula gereja ini mudah dijangkau dengan transportasi umum. Hal ini merupakan faktor penting lho, karena acara diselenggarakan pada hari Sabtu dan parkir susaaah hehehe. Susah dalam arti berbagai tempat akan penuh dan harus membayar karena banyak yang masih ngantor or kerja. Well, at least jika kita bisa naik transportasi umum dengan mudah, insya allah yang hadir dalam acara ini akan banyak. And that's exactly the case here :)

Layaknya perhelatan tahunan yang di nanti - nanti masyarakat Indonesia yang berada di New York City dan sekitarnya,  acara tahun ini pun berlangsung seru.

How exciting to have a lovely weekend filled with non-stop entertainment from various kinds,- traditional Indonesian to modern contemporary- and super yummy food from home that you always dearly miss. And the chance to meet friends from different part of NYC and the surrounding cities...Won't miss it for the world :).

on the way to Pesta Rakyat..

Kami sekeluarga pun semangat untuk menghadiri acara tahunan ini. Meskipun saya masih dalam masa penyembuhan, namun rasanya sayang jika tidak hadir. Apalagi ini menjadi pengalaman pertama kami untuk menikmati Pesta Rakyat. Udah kebayaaang banyaknya makanan khas nusantara yang pastiii buat ngiler :).

So off we got prepared...getting ready. We were thinking about taking the public transport but then my hubby decided to drive instead. 

It was a lovely weekend indeed...where clear blue sky and perfect weather surely accompany our journey.

it was really a beautiful day...view otw as well :)

When we arrived, (after making three turns to find parking spot - surprised, surprised :)), the place is already crowded. 

Rameeeee asliii...

jadi tambah semangaaat deh kami mengisi buku tamu dan mendapat nomor door prize. Denger - denger hadiahnya termasuk gadgets, laptop dan tiket lho...plus aneka vouchers ...hmmmm..

Masuk ruangan, sudah banyak teman yang lalu lapangan dengan makanan khas Indonesia. Wuhuuuu....tapi sebelumnya foto duluuuu dong. Apalagi ada background khusus khas Indonesia yang cantik. Dan Obi pun langsung berpose :). Click...

Masuk lebih dalam  ke tempat acara, ruangan sudah penuh dan ramai dengan pengunjung. Bangku pun  hampir tak tersisa. Kalau ramai sih tidak heran memang...karena warga indonesia yang datang berasal dari berbagai penjuru kota New York maupun negara bagian lainnya seperti New Hampshire, Maine, Philadelphia,  New Jersey, Connecticut,  dan kota lain.

Tuh..rameee kaaan...

Pesta Rakyat kali ini juga menjadi ajang Silahturahmi dan temu kangen. So, photo session is indeed on the agenda. Pssst, tongsis pun beraksi lhoooo di sini :)

Dan tentu sajaaaaa....bagian yang paling seru adalah kuliner tanah air tercinta :). Meskipun banyak yang tidak sempet saya foto, makanan yang dijajakan dalam Pesta Rakyat kali ini cukup beragam. Mulai dari sate padang, siomay, mie pangsit, es teler, es cendol, tekwan, rendang, gulai dan makanan padang...sampai tape uli, kue kembang goyang, bakwan, tahu isi, lemper, gemblong, kumba sari, dan teman-temannya... 

Bayangkan..buat kami di sini, makanan yang mudah dijumpai di tanah air ini benar-benar anugrah. Meskipun restoran Indonesia termasuk banyak, namun to have them all in one place is heaven! 

Intinya,  untuk urusan perut, bahagiaaa deh ♡♡♡♡

sudut makanan Padang :)

tape uli et kembang goyaaaang :) 

ini es campur epic banget...sampai suamiku ngg bagi-bagi...

aneka kue....dan gorengaaaan :)

Berbagai pertunjukan yang ditampilkan pun meriaaah...mulai dari tari tradisonal Indonesia yang begitu meriah dan rancak, berbagai classical number in grand piano yang dimainkan oleh orang-orang Indonesia yang berbakat, band yang menampilkan lagu-lagu Indonesia maupun top 40 yang seru, hingga tari kontemporer yang menarik karena dibawakan anak-anak dengan lucuuuu...

Pokoknya seruuu...

Bareng Tita yang kan membawakan tari Japin...

graceful traditional dance...

bravooooo...

All in all, we were really having fun!

Tak terasa, waktu sudah meunjukkan pukul 2 siang. Langsung teringat tiket parkir hehehe...bukannya apa-apa, kebetulan kami kebagian tempat parkir yang hanya bisa di book 2 jam dan setelah 2 kali diperpanjang, kami pun memutuskan untuk mampir sebentar ke Central Park. Apalagi saya sempat janji dengan Bo et Obi untuk main ke taman favorit kami ini.

And since we entered through Strawberry Fields, we managed to briefly stop and pay homage to the famous Imagine mozaics, where everyone solemnly remembered the untimely death of John Lenon.

Then, after a brief session of running around barefoot on the green grass and some selfies while lying comfortably on the ground,  we finally called it a day.

look who's having fuuuun...

leyeh-leyeh duluuuu...

with Obiiiii :)

one of my fave spots in Central Park...

Well, it's been fun indeeed..we all went home with huge smiles on our faces :).

Hopefully we get the opportunity to enjoy next year's Pesta Rakyat ..