Excerpts... Dec 30 2004

Excerpt from my journal

Tuesday, December 30, 2004 0324 hours

CHRISTMAS!

Christmas came and the spirit is always with us.

Tanya and I had our best Christmas together. She planned a Christmas dinners since weeks ago and I came, helped her cook and prepare the ingredients. Had a close encounter with a dead squid. Never thought their ink tubes feels like harden plastic.
We ate macaroni scotel (darn my spelling), tom yam koong (a sour taste Thai soup), a tofu meal (cooked by Niko) and on top of it a juice slash moose for dessert. It was great.
Before we dine together (there’s this little round table that functions as a dining table, but it’s so small and we just put our meal and dishes there) Juniko asked the family to share their opinions and hopes about each other.

Niko thanks everyone for the trust they’ve placed on her, for her decision to give support more on the financial aspects as well for the closeness she has with Tanya over this past year. She also urges Pak Delon to be more talkative and open to the rest of the family, and to keep serving God as he has in the choir at Pernias.

Willy is grateful for the experience he has as a computer lab assistant at Binus and for the sickness and health that followed, also for his Dad’s sacrifice in cycling him to Binus every morning.

Tanya thanked everyone and promised to finish her studies as soon as possible.

Papa (Mr. Delon) was very peculiar that evening. When each of their children spoke, he kept his head lowered and gave a kind of testimony. I don’t know why he referred himself as Oom, but he told a story about a painting (his painting I guess) and how his life was like it. About its restoration, and how he felt his life being restored to God and how he’s grateful for every ooportunity God has presented to him. Afterwards he ended his ‘prayer’ in the Catholic way.

I spend the night at Tanya’s house on Christmas eve.

The day after (which is Christmas) we went to my home, enjoyed the gathering with our friends from YES.
Dad also gave a sermon at Kayu Putih that evening.
The evening we celebrated Christy 14th birthday. Man, I still remember the day he was born many years ago.

The night.. late night Tanya and I spent time with Bertram, Vani and Ernst. We sang along some songs, made a lot of good laughs, and I entertain them with a good selection of songs. Tanya and I also sang For Always that time.

It was raining hard that night and I drove Tanya home on the Kuda. Bang Juang and Elita accompanied me.

I enjoyed last Sunday evening with Tanya and Willy. Going to the wedding of Tanya’s cousin. Her name is Marya and she’s a couple of years older than me. I also get to meet many of Tanya’s aunts and cousins. There was Davina, Martin, Johan (Han Han), Michael and Silvi who I’ve met before. I also encounter Andri (some sort of busy guy who didn’t want to be photographed with the family and newlyweds), Ryan (Davina’s little brother who weighs 96kg) and Maya and Monica (Maya’s little sister) and Leo (Aunt Lily’s son who's studying at SMP Taruna Bakti, Bandung)

Well, the wedding reception was nice and Tanya and I won a prize. It’s a teapot/mug that we gave to Leo.