F

or many of us, Sunday gives us a chance to take it easy for a while, take a break from the daily grind and have some fun in the sun. But for sultry actress and singer Julia Perez, 29, Sunday is a busy day.

As an entertainer, Sunday can be a working day for me. Now that I'm busy preparing my second album, I need to take my vocal training seriously.

If I perform on Saturday, for instance, I usually take a rest on Sunday. When I'm off Sunday, I start my day by waking up late, around 11. I usually spend my Sundays with my relatives, especially with my nieces and nephews and my beloved Mom, going to a mall or swimming.

Before I hit the road, I lunch at home with a special menu of European cuisine. I just feel like I need something different because every other day of the week I have Indonesian food, such as rendang (beef stew), tempeh or tofu.

Thank goodness I have a domestic helper who is really good at cooking European food. The dishes range from Italian spaghetti, to French delicacies such as ratatouille and bouillabaisse, and Spanish favorites like paella.

That is really a heavy lunch for me. I usually opt for something lighter for dinner like salad or fruit. Sometimes I don't even have dinner at all. I have to keep my body in shape, you know.

I always get dressed up whenever I go somewhere to hang out, even though I don't like dressing up or putting on make up when I'm not in a show.

But since I got into the entertainment business, I've realized people really care a lot about how I look. They want to see me as a sexy Julia Perez, who always dresses up nicely and puts on makeup for every occasion. So *since I started working in entertainment*, I have always tried to dress up just like I do for a show on TV. To be honest, though, I prefer dressing in casual clothes. I don't like wearing a dress or putting on makeup on a lazy day.

I was more of a tomboy and a sporty girl *as a child*, not caring much about what I wore. I remember when I was a kid I always woke up early in the morning on Sundays and did exercise, like jogging around my housing area, playing badminton or swimming at a nearby pool.

I usually ran 5 kilometers. Now, I can't even run one!

After my Sunday morning exercises, I had breakfast. My Mom used to cook delicious food such as sayur asem *vegetable soup*. Those were the greatest times of my life.

Even though I've never been involved in sporting events, it seems like I can't be far away from them.

Starting this year, I often spend weekends on the soccer field, watching children and teenagers from my soccer school play. Yes, I established a soccer school with my partner *Argentinean soccer player* Gaston Castano in January. We hire qualified coaches from Argentina and Japan.

The school, called Champion Soccer School, is intended for children and teenagers between 6 and 17 years old. They practice every Saturday and Sunday.

I need to be at the pitch on weekends to make sure the coaches give the kids proper training. So far 30 kids have joined the school. That's a good start.

Why soccer? For the record, my father was a soccer player and so is Gaston. I want to give something to my country and this is what I can give.

I want to elevate Indonesian soccer to a better level. Many people blame Indonesian soccer players for the teams not winning big matches. I believe no player ever wants to lose a game.

*The players* need a lot of support from us. I think they just lack support, even from supporters who happen to *always* make trouble and cause problems in soccer games. I just hope the government will pay more attention to the development of soccer in this country.