Sunday, 09 April 2006 @ 5:36pm. I’m taking things slow today since yesterday was pretty busy, but in a good, interesting way!
I bought my first issue of Playboy yesterday. It’s my first issue ever actually and it’s a bit ironic that I bought it in a predominantly Muslim country and not in the U.S. The first Indonesian issue is very tame. There is no nudity at all, much to the disappointment of some Indonesians. Most of the magazine contains articles. There’s even an article by famous author Pramoedya Ananta Toer and one piece on East Timor. The magazine was expensive, almost USD$5.00, but it’s an historical event so I forked over the cash. My two friends and I didn’t have to say a word to the vendor; he knew immediately what we wanted and pulled out copies from a locked bottom drawer, smiling the entire time. It will be very interesting to see how all of this unfolds, especially given the recent tense climate and debates over the anti-pornography and pornographic action bill…
I then had lunch at Trattoria, a wonderful new Italian restaurant. I had a vegetarian thin-crust personal pizza. I was dancing in my seat! Freebies included bread and olive oil while you wait for your meal and then a shot of rich chocolate and vodka as a finisher.
We then met up with two other friends and went to an arts exhibition called “Heavenly Cloths from Sumba” at Bentara Budaya Jakarta:
This last picture is considered to be a modern motif:
More information about Sumba can be found here…
I thought the following was a good quote (taken from my calendar), especially after we capped the evening off with dessert at Koi Restaurant:
“What use are cartridges in battle? I always carry chocolate instead.” - George Bernard Shaw
I had a chocolate tart with basil icecream. It was heavenly, a nice complement to the heavenly Sumba cloths. 
Yesterday was a much-appreciated and much-needed break from my usual routine of work, sleep, eat, exercise, and then repeat!
